Galaxy S6 and Zenfone 2 charge up the fastest, test finds
Fast charging is almost an essential feature for the heavy smartphone user these days, what with battery life not being quite up to scratch. Many phones released this year feature Qualcomm’s Quick Charge 2.0 technology, and other handset vendors, such as Samsung and OPPO, have their own versions too. Tom’s Guide has gone through a selection of recent flagships to see how quickly they can be charged up.
To summarize the results, the Samsung Galaxy S6 and Asus Zenfone 2 come out as the clear winners, although their charging patterns are a little different to each other. The Google Nexus 6 and LG G4 also put in a good result, while the iPhone 6 and OnePlus 2 lag quite a long way behind.
The Zenfone 2 is the fastest out of the blocks, reaching 17 percent charge after just 5 minutes and 32 percent after 15 minutes. Come the 30 minute mark, the Zenfone 2 and Galaxy S6 have pulled quite a way out in front, both surpassing the 50 percent market. Other handsets are still in the low 40s at this point.
In the latter stages of charging it is the Galaxy S6 that takes a strong lead though. The handset reaches 80 percent battery life after just 48 minutes and a full charge after 1 hour 22 minutes. The Zenfone 2 finishes charging after 1:49 and the other Quick Charge phones mostly finish in the similar 1:50-ish region, what with different battery capacities affecting the results slightly. The OnePlus 2 and iPhone 6, neither of which feature fast charging technology, fall some way behind, both taking well over 2 hours to complete a full charge.
This is certainly an impressive showing for the low cost Zenfone 2, especially given its large 3,000mAh battery. It is also easy to appreciate why some users were disappointed at the lack of a quick charging feature with the new OnePlus 2. Be sure to check out the source link below for a detailed breakdown of the results.
Don’t Miss: Best wireless chargers – how they work and perform
Is quick charge technology a must have feature for you these days, or are you still happy to leave your phone to charge over night?
[Deal] Buy a Moto X Play from Koodo Mobile and get $100 bonus credit or a free Moto 360
The Moto X Play only launched in Canada a few days ago, but that doesn’t mean you can’t pick it up on a decent deal already. Koodo Mobile is currently offering new customers a Moto 360 smartwatch or a $100 bonus credit when purchasing a Moto X Play on a Tab plan.
@koodo is going a @Motorola_CA deal where you get a Moto X Play and get a Moto 360 for free! pic.twitter.com/3SVMouRPM7
— Ryan Cheng (@Beast_Cheng) August 23, 2015
http://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js
As you can see from Ryan Cheung’s tweet above, it’s an in-store promotion, if you are looking for the deal online, you will only find the $100 bonus credit offer.
If the thought of a Moto 360 or $100 bonus credit isn’t quite enough of an incentive, perhaps the fact that Koodo Mobile is one of only two Canadian carriers to include the Play’s 15W Turbo Charger in the box might sway you. That is worth another $29. As previously mentioned, though, this deal is only for new customers buying the Moto X Play on a Tab plan, and you can only get the Moto 360 offer at Koodo Mobile’s retail outlets and retail partners while stocks last.
Source: Koodo, Ryan Cheung (Twitter)
Via: MobileSyrup
Come comment on this article: [Deal] Buy a Moto X Play from Koodo Mobile and get $100 bonus credit or a free Moto 360
Meet WileyFox, Britain’s answer to OnePlus
Wileyfox isn’t a smartphone brand you’ve heard of before. They’re an entirely new player from the UK hoping to muscle into the already packed Android market with, you’ve guessed it, smartphones that combine “good enough” specs with surprisingly competitive price tags. The company is announcing two phones today, the Storm and the Swift, which run the Cyanogen flavour of Android in sleek, but not particularly adventurous packages. The £199 Storm is the more premium of the two, boasting a 5-inch 1080p display, a Snapdragon 615 processor, 3GB of RAM and 32GB of storage. In the camera department, you’ll find a 20-megapixel camera on the back and an 8-megapixel version up front.
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The £129 Swift, meanwhile, is as an even more wallet-friendly affair. The resolution of the 5-inch display is slightly lower, and it runs on a less powerful Snapdragon 410 processor and 2GB of RAM. There’s 16GB of onboard storage and, like the Storm, it comes with a microSD slot that supports up to 32GB cards. Finally, it boasts a 13-megapixel rear-facing camera and a 5-megapixel selfie snapper to round out its cheap, but surprisingly cheerful spec sheet. Both will be available exclusively online and pre-orders start this week — the cheaper Swift will ship in early September before its beefier Storm sibling arrives in October.
The company’s approach reminds us of OnePlus. Wileyfox isn’t promoting any “flagship killers” here, but they’re operating on the same model of low margins and a “pure” user experience. There’s no visible bloatware or unwanted services to increase the company’s profits — this is a small venture that hopes to win consumers hearts before lining its own pockets. Even with this strategy though, Wileyfox has a mountain to climb. Motorola’s Moto E and Moto G have smashed expectations for low and mid-tier smartphones, but even they face competition from Huawei’s Honor line and own-brand phones by EE and Vodafone. Cyanogen OS is a clean, customisation-friendly version of Android, but the company has a lot of work to do to sway consumers from the more trusted smartphone brands.
Filed under:
Cellphones
Source:
Wileyfox
Tags: mobile, smartphone, wileyfox
‘Spam King’ guilty of posting 27 million Facebook messages
One of the web’s all-time notorious spammers is facing jail time after pleading guilty to sending 27 million unwanted messages to Facebook users. Sanford Wallace, aka “the Spam King,” aka “Spamford Wallace,” admitted that he unlawfully accessed over 500,000 accounts on the network between 2008-9 in violation of a court order. This is far from his first rodeo — Sanford was annoying consumers well before the internet came along, when he sent junk faxes in violation of laws enacted in 1991. Since then, he’s faced lawsuits for email spamming, multiple-window launching (remember that?) spyware scams and MySpace phishing, to name a few.
So far, Wallace has been fined well over $4 million, and Facebook was granted a $711 million in damages in its 2009 lawsuit. Though Zuckerberg & Co. never collected a dime due to Wallace’s bankruptcy, the judge in the case strongly recommended criminal charges. Following a two-year FBI investigation, a grand jury did just that and charged him with electronic mail fraud, damage to protected computers and criminal contempt. With the guilty plea, Sanford now faces up to three years in jail and a $250,000 fine when sentenced on December 7th. His victims likely hope he gets the book thrown at him (preferably a heavy hardcover), but given his past history, we probably haven’t seen the last of the Spam King.
Filed under:
Internet, Software, Facebook
Source:
Bloomberg
Tags: facebook, fraud, SanfordWallace, spam, SpamKing
Sony teases greater smartphone camera focus abilities for IFA
A few unofficial teasers and leaks regarding some upcoming smartphones from Sony have been gradually trickling out over the past couple of weeks, but now we have an official teaser from Sony Xperia GB. The tweet is all about some new camera technology, which the company appears to have planned for a new smartphone release taking place at IFA on September 2nd.
Get ready for a smartphone with greater focus. All will become clear on 02.09.2015. pic.twitter.com/Mm7HjWKojA
— Sony Xperia GB (@sonyxperiagb) August 24, 2015
http://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js
All of the references to cameras and focusing leads me to believe that the upcoming handset will likely make use of Sony’s latest Exmor RS IMX230 or IMX240 image sensor. The IMX230 features 21 megapixels, which is typical for Sony’s flagship devices, along with 192 point phase detection autofocus technology (PDAF), for faster and more accurate object focusing. Sony unveiled its PDAF and traditional contrast hybrid auto-focus technology with the launch of the Xperia M5 less than one month ago, which may also feature in this new handset.
Unfortunately, we can’t really see the phone because of the blur in the image, but the design looks the same as the company’s existing Xperia series, although the size perhaps suggests that a Compact variant is on the way. Last week, a press shot of the Xperia Z5 Compact leaked online and pictures from earlier in the month hint that an entire Xperia Z5 range might be on the way.
We don’t have too many other specification rumors to go on at this point. One or more of Sony’s upcoming devices may be making use of Sony’s 4K X-Reality display software and a fingerprint scanner is also said to be included.
The teaser leaves us with a date set for September 2nd, meaning that there’s a little over a week left to wait until we see what Sony has to offer.
Sony teases the Sony Xperia Z5 for an IFA 2015 announcement
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It appears that it is time for Sony to release a new flagship, as Sony teases the Sony Xperia Z5 in its latest tweet – and the place is going to be Berlin at IFA 2015. Sony today tweeted the image below, a blurry photo of the Berlin gate with the caption “Get ready for a smartphone with greater focus. All will become clear on 02.09.2015” which is confirmation of that fact. Sony has teased its new hybrid autofocus camera sensor before, which resulted in the release of the Sony Xperia M5 and the Sony Xperia C5 Ultra, and presumably the feedback has been good (or at least, not bad).
Get ready for a smartphone with greater focus. All will become clear on 02.09.2015. pic.twitter.com/Mm7HjWKojA
— Sony Xperia GB (@sonyxperiagb) August 24, 2015
http://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js
Rumours say that the Sony Xperia Z5 Compact will also feature alongside its larger brother, however it appears the expected Sony Xperia Z5 Ultra won’t be making an appearance as it isn’t ready yet. There are rumours that the Xperia Z5 will add a fingerprint scanner to its arsenal, but we’ll have to see if a new camera and the scanner are all Sony has up its sleeves. Bring on IFA 2015.
What do you think about the Sony Xperia Z5? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
Source: Twitter via XperiaBlog
The post Sony teases the Sony Xperia Z5 for an IFA 2015 announcement appeared first on AndroidSPIN.
Amazon brings HDR video streaming to the UK
Sure, Amazon is focusing on Ultra HD (4K) broadcasts for its upcoming streaming content, but that isn’t all that the company has on the agenda. Two months after it began supporting high dynamic range (HDR) in the US, Prime members in the UK now have the chance to watch some Amazon Instant Video shows in more vivid detail.
HDR, if you’re unfamiliar with the term, basically increases the “range” of colours and brightness in your TV picture. It doesn’t rely on extra pixels, but instead highlights darker parts of the screen while simultaneously boosting the brighter areas. Fundamentally, it means you’ll see greater detail in low-light areas and colours will feel a lot more realistic. Samsung already sells a number of HDR-supporting sets, which you’ll need to have in order to watch Amazon’s updated streams.
Talking of streams, the company has only made the complete first season of Mozart in the Jungle and the pilot of its upcoming Red Oaks show available in the superior picture quality, but more will come to Prime in the near future. In that time, we can expect Netflix to also get in on the act, giving subscribers more choice over how they watch their favourite shows.
Filed under:
Home Entertainment, Internet, HD, Amazon
Source:
Advanced Television
Tags: amazon, hdpostcross, hdr, highdynamicrange, mozartinthejungle, prime, primeinstantvideo
Mirror your Android device on your Mac or PC with Vysor
There are plenty of ways to mirror your smartphone onto your desktop, but none are as apparently easy (or snappy) as this one. Vysor has been cooked-up by AllCast creator Koush as a seamless way to mirror your Android device’s display onto a Windows, Linux or Mac computer. All you’ll need to do is connect one to the other over USB and install the Chrome plugin and in a few seconds, you should be able to control your phone with a keyboard and mouse. It may have been intended as a developer tool, but one keen-eyed Reddit user spotted the app while it was in private beta and shared it with the world.
As Koush himself points out in the second video below, one feature that hasn’t been noticed was Vysor Share. With it, users can remotely control a smartphone from another machine through the internet, as long as both PCs have the app installed. That way, power users can actually push (or pull) updates to far-off phones using Android’s Debug Bridge functionality. In the future, the developer is hoping to tweak this offering to enable developers to connect to multiple devices at a time. Right now, users are asked to just give it a try and offer your feedback, so have at it!
Filed under:
Cellphones, Internet, Software, Google
Via:
Reddit
Source:
Google Plus, (2), Vysor
Tags: ADB, Android, AndroidMirroring, google, Koush, KoushikDutta, Mirroring, Remote, video, Vysor
Unlocked LG G4 available for just $419
If you’re looking for a new smartphone and the recent spate of handsets from OnePlus, Samsung and ZTE don’t quite tickle your fancy, then listen up: the LG G4 is available unlocked, SIM free and for just $419 on eBay, which is a cracking price for such a capable smartphone.
LG G4 in video:
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The GSM model being sold is the H815 International version, which is compatible with HSPA and most of the LTE bands used by T-Mobile and AT&T but if you’re on Verizon or Sprint, you’re out of luck as this won’t be compatible with your network.
As if the price wasn’t good enough, this particular model will definitely appeal if you’re someone who likes to mod your phone. The H815 is the only version of the G4 to support LG’s boot loader unlock tool and with TWRP custom recovery support also available online, this is a model that’s set up ready for tinker.
In case you’ve forgotten, the LG G4 is certainly one of the most impressive devices this year and has a feature-rich specs list that includes a Quad HD display, Snapdragon 808 processor, 3GB RAM and 16GB expandable storage. On the back is a 16MP rear camera with optical image stabilisation, laser autofocus and colour spectrum sensor, the front snapper is an 8MP snapper while the handset runs Android 5.1 Lollipop with and has a 3000 mAh removable battery.
LG G4 review: a phone that attempts to do everything
Are you planning to buy the LG G4 at this super-cheap price? Let us know your views in the comments below guys!
Neil Young’s Pono is having expansion and funding troubles
Neil Young says the Pono music player and its accompanying high-quality music service aren’t doing too badly. He also admits, however, that things haven’t been easy since he and his team managed to raise $6 million via Kickstarter. In a Facebook post, the music legend writes that the company still doesn’t have a proper CEO since the last one left over a year ago. Young is the acting head honcho, but he’d prefer a “proven business leader” to take over the role. In addition, his team’s efforts to expand to Canada, UK and Germany and open up http://www.ponomusic.com in those areas are being hampered by lack of funding — clearly, that Kickstarter money is not nearly enough. Young says, however, that the store will open in those countries as soon as the company has the means to make it happen.
That said, it’s not all bad news for Pono, as we mentioned: Young claims that the company sold “tens of thousands of players and [put] hundreds of thousands of tracks in the ears of music lovers,” since it launched, even without advertising. Plus, Pono’s planning to release speakers and headphones to go with its HD music player in the future.
[Image credit: NRK P3/Flickr]
Filed under:
Misc
Via:
Variety
Source:
Neil Young (Facebook)
Tags: music, neilyoung, pono
AIVAnet 