Let's Talk Tech
We posted a reminder yesterday that Google will soon be pulling support for 3rd party Google Voice clients. No big deal for people who use Android and iOS, as the Voice will likely get rolled up into the Hangouts app.
However Windows Phone users are getting caught in the cold war crossfire between Microsoft and Google, and it’s unlikely we’ll see a “Live Tiled” version of Hangouts any time soon. In the meantime, here’s how I’ll continue to use Google Voice on my Windows Phone…
Samsung isn’t know for doing “simple”, so it’s an interesting experiment watching them try to streamline the Gear experience for the Gear Fit. Let’s take a look at the build, setup, and features of Samsung’s newest fitness accessory!
In our first part, comparing still photos, the Galaxy S5’s larger sensor showed a clear advantage in offering up a shallower depth of field for more photographic output.
Now we’re going to compare video performance in a series of real world tests. Brightly lit outdoor scenes, low light, tracking movement, and image stabilization. Will the M8 be able to eke out a victory here?
Galaxy S5 Video Tests
HTC One M8 Video Tests
Time for another installment of the most comprehensive camera test on the internet!
We’ve already discussed some of the improvements Samsung has made to their camera in our brief comparison between the GS5 and the One M8, so now let’s see those improvements in action!
Samsung stepped up the sensor size on the Galaxy S5, and it’s now similar in size to cameras like those found on the Lumia Icon and 1520. Let’s see how it compares to the rest of the smartphone landscape running through our real world tests!
Continue reading “Camera Test: Video Samples from the Samsung Galaxy S5 on AT&T”
Samsung’s follow up to the Galaxy Gear is finally in my hot little hands!
Let’s see what’s improved on the Gear 2, and how it stacks up to watches like the Toq, Pebble, and Martian!
Let’s get this out of the way right now. The One M8 camera is good. Maybe it’s even “very good”, but over the last year we’ve seen some excellent cameras bolted onto the backs of our phones by companies like Sony and Nokia.
The M7 was my favorite camera on an Android phone of last year, and was only bested by the likes of Nokia. It lost the resolution battle with only a 4MP sensor, but the combo of larger “UltraPixels” and Optical Image Stabilization made it one of the best devices to shoot on in indoor and low light environments. Outdoor pics were very good, low light pics were gorgeous, and video was nicely smoothed out by the stabilizing hardware.
My expectations were tremendously high for the M8.
The M7 was a revolution. Stereo front facing speakers on a phone. With one listen, it became my preferred multimedia mobile, and the standard by which I judged every phone and tablet which followed it. Every single audio review I’ve done since has been normalized against the M7.
It should come as no surprise that a newer phone will have better features than its predecessor. We call that “progress”, but considering how stellar the audio playback was on the M7, many of us had doubts that the M8 would be demonstrably better.
Well we were wrong.
Take a listen for yourself as we pit the former heavyweight up against the new champion. The M7 is dead. Long live the M8.
HTC One M7 Speaker Playback Test
HTC One M8 Speaker Playback Test
Continue reading “How much better are the BoomSound Speakers on the HTC One M8 vs the M7?”
Another handy Google announcement. After updating Youtube, Google is also making their stock camera available on Google Play!
If you’re familiar with a recent Nexus or the Moto X camera, Google is now allowing ANY phone running Android 4.4 (KitKat) to download the app for free. It’s helpful consistency if you’re considering switching to a different manufacturer for your next phone or tablet, you wont have to re-learn the camera UI. It’s also nice knowing that your camera software can be updated like a regular app instead of waiting for a full OS or ROM update to get carrier approval.
Here’s our full hands on feature walk through and review!
Google Camera (Google Play) Continue reading “Google Camera App available for all phones running KitKat – Full Review and Feature Walk through!”