Android Headliner: Why the HTC One (M8)’s Camera Misses the Mark

 

If you’re a fan of great-looking hardware, good sound quality and meaningful software features, then this was a good week for you. The new HTC One (M8) hit the scene and then immediately became available in stores. However, if you’re a fan of genuinely good mobile photography, then this week wasn’t so good for you. The new HTC One features some pretty impressive camera features, and definitely has some bragging rights, there’s no denying that. However, when all’s said and done, we’re left with low-resolution, soft images that most of us with even a passing interest in photography would have issues with sharing. The Duo Camera at the heart of the HTC One misses the mark, and instead of focusing on genuinely good images, HTC chased gimmicks.

Being able to edit photos after the fact to the degree that HTC allows in the new One is brilliant, and being able to refocus parts of a shot is downright cool. However, that novelty will soon wear thin when you realize that you’re just shooting 4-megapixel images a lot of the time. There’s nothing “ultra” about a 4-megapixel file in 2014, no matter how big those pixels are, HTC. Last year when reviewing the HTC One, I was very impressed with the camera and as I prefer to shoot with honest camera hardware, as oppose to smartphones, it takes a lot to impress me in a phone. I love photography, and it’s a very personal interest of mine. The photos I take are the ones that I want to keep as memories, pieces of art and that I want to share with my friends and family. Instagram is a fad as far as I’m concerned and while everyone thinks they can take a good-looking photo thanks to “Vintage Look filter #3456819391″, they can’t. Unfortunately for us that genuinely care about our images though, it’s the Instagram generation HTC has targeted here.

Being able to shoot slow-motion video in HD, easily control the ISO and White Balance while shooting, refocus after the fact are all awesome; but they’re just another fad. The uncomfortable truth when talking about the UltraPixel camera on the HTC One (M8) is that HTC grew lazy. Sure, it takes in a lot of light, which is key, but that’s all it can do. With Optical Image Stabilisation available in even the Nexus 5, it’s just sad to not see it being used here on the One. Add that to the fact that 2560 x 1600 screens are on most high-end tablets, and sharing images and footage to our TVs is getting easier and easier with Chromecast and other similar services, and that 4-megapixel shooter will start to show its age.

Last year, the HTC One produced bright, colorful images that looked more like genuine photos than other smartphone shooters. However, even then there were cracks showing and while everyone else pulled their socks up and Sony and Samsung both introduced better imaging experiences, HTC added another camera and a cool, fashionable feature. What they should have done, is spent time thinking how they could improve the UltraPixel camera in ways that would help it stay relevant, and continue to take the great shots that HTC promised it would.

I can’t say for certain just how good, or how bad, the images from this new HTC One are until I take some shots with it myself. However, things aren’t looking good for HTC and their Duo Camera. When I do get my hands on the new HTC One, I’ll be excited to try out the new camera, and I hope to be proven wrong, but so far it seems that HTC have left the one feature that needed work the most untouched.

Android OTA: Device Updates & Firmware Report – March 28th Edition

Android 4.4.2 Update Continues for the One in the UK, While the One Max Gets Android 4.4.2 Across Europe

Last month, the update to Android 4.4.2 KitKat was halted in the UK for the HTC One due to users reporting problems. Now however, things are back on those on all the major networks across the pond should be getting the update now. The update is more of an under-the-hood sort of thing, bringing with it few cosmetic changes, but it’s nice to have. The same can be said for the HTC One Max across Europe, as it’s been reported that the same update is rolling out to users of the 5.9-inch giant throughout the region.

The Nokia X Receives its First Update…Allow Color Changing of Tiles

Nokia’s weird Android phone has received its first update this past week and brings with it the ability to change the color of third-party app tiles on the main display. While nothing groundbreaking or anything, it’s a nice feature we suppose. The OTA was only small at 16MB in size, and changing colors for app tiles is as simple as long pressing on them and choosing the color wheel option.

HTC One Mini on AT&T Gets Android 4.4.2 and Sense 5.5

HTC have been pretty busy this week, announced a new smartphone and all, but they still managed to find time for some of their users of the HTC One Mini. On AT&T, the device has been bought up to Android 4.4.2 KitKat and is now running Sense 5.5 to boot. You’ve probably already gotten the update by now, but if you’re still waiting on it, the version number you’re looking for is 3.10.502.3 and it comes in at a sizable 658MB. Definitely one to download over WiFi, the Sense 5.5 side of things will bring extra features to BlinkFeed and more.

Sony Xperia Z1, Z1 Compact and Xperia Z Ultra Are Now Running Android 4.4.2 KitKat

Over the last couple of weeks, Sony has been rolling out Android 4.4.2 to their flagship devices of 2013, including the Xperia Z1, the Z1 Compact and the Xperia Z Ultra. All three devices should now be running software version 14.3.A.0.681, with mostly cosmetic changes. Essentially, this update brings a little of the KitKat look to Sony’s skin and brings things in line with the Xperia Z2. The emoji in the keyboard are now that of the Google Keyboard, the status bar icons are now all white and overall, things just look a little more like Google’s vision of KitKat, and there is a little bit of a speed boost as well. A nice update to have for sure, it should have hit most devices by now.

HTC One Max on Sprint Receives KitKat Update

Keeping their updates on the right track, HTC and Sprint rolled out Android 4.4.2 to the One Max earlier this week and while it’s too soon for a Sense 6 update, there’s still a lot to love about some tasty KitKat action on the One Max. The build number for this one is 2.09.651.1 and it comes in at 340MB, so download over WiFi when ready.

Sony’s Xperia M Receives Android 4.3 Jelly Bean Update

The extremely budget-minded Xperia M just got a little better this week thanks to the update to Android 4.3 Jelly Bean. The build number is 15.4.A.0.23 and this is something that only really applies to our European readers, as it’s rolled out in a number of European countries. While nothing special, it’s a nice update and does bring with it some of the more updated Sony features to the Xperia M.

Sony Announces the CP-W5 Qi Wireless Charger with 5000mAh Battery Pack

Today, Sony announced a new Qi-compatible wireless charger – which should mean that all their upcoming devices will be available with Qi Wireless charging, as of right now, none of them do. However this wireless charger is unlike others out there, it’s also Sony’s first wireless charger. It has a built-in battery, so you can essentially charge your device wirelessly. There’s a 5000mAh battery inside to charge your device, of course you can always just plug in the charger and set your phone down on top. Sony is claiming that you can charge this over 1,000 times and it’ll still retain 90% of its battery capacity. Which is pretty darn good. If you charge it once a day, that should last almost 3 years. Sony is only going to be offering the CP-W5 Qi-Wireless Charger in white, at least at launch.

It’s great to see more and more wireless chargers popping up on the market these days. We’ve already reviewed quite a few of them, like the the Tylt Vu, and the RAVPower Wireless charger, both work great. I’m really thinking that wireless charging is the future, especially with wearables. You don’t want to have to put your smart watch in a cradle and then plug it in, like you do with the Galaxy Gear, it’s just to time consuming, and what if you lose that cradle? Yeah not the best implementation of charging a wearable.

Hopefully Sony announcing this means that we’ll see future smartphones from Sony with Qi wireless charging capability. As far as I know, none of their phones have it at this point. I’ll be crossing my fingers and hoping that changes pretty soon. Sony says that the CP-W5 will be available in April, so we’ll let everyone know when it’s available so we can all run out and get one. There’s also no word on pricing, but I’d expect at least $50, since that’s the normal asking price for wireless chargers right now.

Microsoft Office Suite For Android Is Now Free To Use

Those of you who have perhaps considered using Microsoft’s Office suite for your Android devices, will be happy to know that the app for Android is now completely free to use on your smartphone. Microsoft Office is definitely a formidable office suite app except for one tiny little factor, to use the app you had to be a subscriber of the Office 365 service that allowed you to use the programs on your Desktop. That is no longer the case, and the app is completely free and allows access to all the programs and use of files. You can view, edit, and create Office documents on your Android devices without having to pay for the Office 365 sub fee, which makes a world of difference especially for the people that may have been on the fence about picking up the service for their computers.

The app actually looks to have a decent interface and should be able to provide anything you would need this type of app for, and it provides tons of features like cloud access to files in OneDrive and OneDrive for business. Word, Excel, and Powerpoint have all been optimized for use on smaller displays like phones, so the experience should pan out to be pretty decent. This could help Microsoft gain some users for the app since there are plenty of other useful apps out that don’t need sub fees, but another downside is that it is only compatible with smartphones and not tablets. Having such access on the go is still somewhat useful, but office apps like this just feel more at home on a tablet. It’s much easier to edit and create documents of all kinds with a larger screen, and if you really have to do some in depth creation with lots of typing you can hook up a bluetooth keyboard to take full advantage of the bigger display.

As of this very moment, you can download and install Office for Mobile on your device, but a sign-in is still required to access any of the apps features. We have included the Play Store linkto get to the app for those who want to set it up while they wait for update to take place.

BlinkFeed Will Soon be Available for Non-HTC Devices

The All New HTC One has finally been made official, and now that it is officially in our lives, we can settle down and wait for the next thing. In the mean time, some of you may be digging HTC’s BlinkFeed, but you don’t have an HTC One device. You’ll be glad to know that BlinkFeed will be making its way into the Pay Store for non-HTC devices to use. Some of you might laugh at the notion, but it actually isn’t a bad little app. We all love news feeds, and there are countless apps for feeds out there, only BlinkFeed really tries to bring all you need together in one smooth running feed.

I guess HTC felt that BlinkFeed was popular enough to release in the Play Store, and they plan on pushing more of their apps into the Play Store as well. Seems to be working for Moto X apps, and it makes them easier to update the app rather than having to push a complete update through an OTA. Let us know what you think about this idea, and if you would download it onto your non-HTC device.

LG G2 vs. Nexus 5: Specs Of Best Android Phones 2013 Pitted; Google And LG Phone Battle It Out In Features; Smartphone Camera Comparison Shows Which Is Better

LG G2 vs. Nexus 5: Both of these Android flagships are 5-inches in size and though the Nexus 5 is a Google brand, it’s also made by LG and has the same operating system. But specs and in some cases performance of the LG and Google flagships can be very different. Of course, likle in many smartphones, a smartphone camera comparison is a must (which you can read at the last section).

 

Source: Google Play

 

 

DESIGN 

According to a review by Stuff.TV, the LG G2 and Nexus 5 are narrow-bezelled phones with screen around the 5-inch mark and from the front there’s little to tell the difference between them, except the LG logo on the G2 and the Nexus 5’s unadorned face.

But when you flip the units, you spot a difference pretty clearly. The Google Nexus 5 has a rubbery, matte-finished backside with a stamped “Nexus” logo. On the other hand, the LG G2 has a glossy plastic rear with centre-mounted camera and below it, a power/volume control button.

Stuff. TV notes that the button is a bold design decision from LG. A downside of having the button placed on that end is that you can find yourself accidentally increasing the volume when trying to turn off the unit, and vice versa.

The design of the Nexus 5 makes it look a little lighter than the LG G2. Nexus 5 weighs at 130 grams, while the LG G2 is at 143. Both devices are under 9 mm in depth. The Nexus 5 seems more pocket-friendly and both phones have useful notification LED on the front.

DISPLAY

Source: LG

The LG G2 has a 5.2-inch Full HD display with a pixel density of 423 ppi, while the Nexus 5 has a 4.9-inch Full HD screen with 445 ppi. Stuff.TV notes that there’s barely anything between these two devices, the LG G2 is slightly larger, while the Nexus 5 is a bit sharper.

Some subtle differences worth noting here though is that the Nexus 5’s screen is a little cooler than the G2. Some may even consider it “washed out” at times. But the G2 sports the richest, brightest and most vivid screens there is. It also gives great viewing angles. Both the Nexus 5 and LG g2 though sports very excellent displays.

UNIT SPECS 

The LG G2 and Nexus 5 both feature the Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 CPU under the hood, and running almost similarly at 2.3GHz. Both have 2GB of RAM and a variant of 16GB and 32GB. In terms of connectivity, the two units have NFC and Bluetooth 4.0, though the LG G2 has an IR blaster that, in tandem with an app, allows it to act as a remote control for pretty much any device.

Stuff.TV says that looking at the specs, both the LG G2 and Nexus 5 are very capable units. Neither of them really will struggle running apps.

Battery life is where the LG G2 edges out the Nexus 5 in some respects. It has 3,000 mAh and in a test by Stuff.TV delivered up to 19 hours of normal use before it dropped. The Nexus 5 is packed with a 2,000 mAh battery and in terms of life doesn’t come close to the LG G2 or Samsung Galaxy S4.

On the area of music playback, the Nexus 5 is as good as pretty much any other phone out there. The LG G2 supports 24-bit/192 KHz Hi-Res Audio files. Use a pair of decent headphones with the Google flagship and you can listen to studio master quality tunes.

CONSUMER BATTLEGROUND SPECS - The Camera 

It could well be the biggest and greatest feature where a lot of units battle, the camera. One of the much-loved features of a handset and a key indicator of a smartphone, the LG G2 and Nexus 5 has very different specs. The LG flagship has a 13MP rear-facing camera with optical image stabilization. Without a doubt, Stuff.TV noted, it’s one of the best smartphone snappers in the market today.

Optical image stabilization helps with immensely dim, murky conditions. This new camera enhancement allows the user to capture sharper shots at night and indoors, even when the flash is turned off. Colour reproduction is also impressive.

The Google Nexus 5, on the other hand, has an 8MP main camera that comes with optical image stabilization as well. The device’s camera has a speedy new autofocus and boosted the vibrancy and contrast of photos. The LG G2 seems better at accurately representing real-life colors.

On the video side, the LG G2 captures 1080P at a smooth 60 fps, while the Nexus 5 is limited at 30 fps. Both the LG G2 and Nexus 5 does a respectable job in shooting video. In terms of front-facing camera, the G2 has a 2.1MP spec, while the Nexus 5 has 1.3MP.

PRICE 

In terms of price, the Nexus 5 is at $349 for its 16GB version, while the 32GB variant is at $399. The unit is unlocked, not requiring you to be committed to any carrier. A quick search online shows that the LG G2 unlocked is available for $499.20 (T-Mobile) but can be had for $0 up-front.

Sony Xperia E1 Dual Now Available

Sony unveiled its latest affordable dual-SIM Android-powered smartphone, the Xperia E1, at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas back in January and now, with no official announcement, the handset is available to buy from Infibeam, an independent electronics retailer in India, for 9,899 INR — which equates to approximately $162, with a  free pair of Sony MDR-ZX110A headphones thrown in.

In terms of specification the low-to-mid range smartphone packs a 4-inch TFT capacitive touchscreen with a resolution of 480 x 800 pixels, a Qualcomm MSM8210 Snapdragon 200 chipset powered by two 1.2GHz Cortex-A7 central processing units, 512MB of RAM, 4GB of internal storage (expandable up to 32GB via microSD), an Adreno 302 GPU, a 3.15-megapixel rear-facing camera equipped with optical image stabilization and a 1,750 mAh non-removable Li-Ion battery.

Straight out of the box the E1 runs the latest build of Android 4.3 Jelly Bean with Sony’s X-Reality custom user interface plastered over the top, but its rumored to be receiving the much-anticipated 4.4.2 KitKat upgrade in the not-too-distant future.

At present, the handset is only available to purchase in black, purple and white, but the pink, lime and yellow colorways are expected to touchdown in India within the next couple of weeks.

If you like the sound of the Sony Xperia E1 Dual and want to order an unlocked model from Indian retailer Infibeam — click the source link below.

Source: Infibeam

iOS 7.1 Makes the iPhone 4 Snappier

Last September, when Apple released iOS 7 to the public, the iPhone 4 was the oldest model supported by the operating system. However, many iPhone 4 users found their devices to be slow and unresponsive, something Apple was likely aware of because there were a number of iOS 7 features that didn't work at all on the iPhone 4, including Siri, AirDrop, AirPlay Mirroring, and a number of special effects across the user interface including parallax, some translucency effects, and live wallpapers. Today, with the release of iOS 7.1, Apple has much improved the experience of iPhone 4 users on iOS 7, though not entirely back to what users saw in iOS 6.1.3. According to Ars Technica, there is a measurable improvement in iOS 7.1 across a number of native iOS apps, including the speed at which the apps open from the home screen: There's a measurable improvement over iOS 7.0 across all of these apps, some more noticeable than others. In a few instances, iOS 7.1 very nearly catches up with iOS 6.1.3, which is impressive given the gap between the two operating systems in some of these apps. It's not a complete recovery from the original iOS 7.0 release, but it's about as good as Apple can do with hardware this old. The small speed improvements are present throughout the operating system, and this makes the iPhone 4 feel more responsive than it did, if not always as responsive as it once was. iOS 7.1 also helps with the UI jerkiness that was all over the place in 7.0. It's easiest to capture the difference in video—actions like launching apps or pulling up the Control Center shade are always visibly jerky in iOS 7.0, but they're smooth (or at least smoother) in the new update. As Ars notes, iOS 7.1 may well be the final major iOS release for the iPhone 4, as Apple generally removes support for the last generation of iPhones when it releases a new operating system each year. Ars says iOS 7.1 makes the experience good enough that using the iPhone 4 is no longer "unbearable", but that there are "unmistakable" benefits to moving to a faster phone.