Honor 8 feature focus – Camera
While popular smartphone manufacturers like LG and Apple have just recently adopted dual camera configurations, Huawei has largely led the way, beginning with the Huawei P9. While the P9 never made its way to the United States, the Honor brand is now bringing its own dual camera tech to the US with the Honor 8.
More Huawei Coverage:
- Honor 8 review
- Huawei P9 feature focus – Camera
As we highlighted in our comprehensive review, the Honor 8 offers two factors that are often mutually exclusive: a high-end dual camera experience and an affordable price. Let’s take a closer look at what exactly the Honor 8’s camera is packing with our Honor 8 camera feature focus!
Buy Honor 8 now!
Technical Details
Before we jump into our image analysis, it’s worth reviewing the technical details of the Honor 8’s cameras. The primary configuration is composed of two lenses with f/2.2 apertures. Thanks to Honor’s unique technology, when you go to take a picture, the first lens captures a color image while the second lens captures a monochrome image.
This in itself may seem a bit futile, but when combined with some clever software processing, the Honor 8 is able to produce better, more vivid 12 MP images with crispier details. This can be primarily attributed to a greater availability of light ― up to three times more than a single lens, according to Honor.
This dual lens configuration, in addition to the fast aperture and larger 1.25 μm pixel size, are remarkably functional in lower-light conditions as well, which we’ll analyze below.
The cameras are accompanied by a dual-tone LED flash, which helps balance skin tones when using the flash. There’s also a laser module for laser autofocus, which is utilized in synchrony with contrast detection. Honor says that this improves the Honor 8’s autofocus speed, which is obviously very important when capturing time sensitive subjects.
Of course, we can’t forget about the 8 MP front-facing camera. It has an f/2.4 aperture, and you can view a couple sample images below.
Results
Generally speaking, the front-facing camera produces great results. Yes, Honor’s Beauty mode is alive and well in the Honor 8’s camera software, but there’s now a slider to control the amount of skin softening. It’s fair to say that the results can still look slightly unnatural, but this effect can always be toned down from the default setting or turned off completely.
The camera app also offers a myriad of primary camera modes, including but not limited to manual, panorama, HDR, time-lapse, and slow-mo. Each of these modes works as you would expect. In the panoramic image above, the Honor 8 did an excellent job with stitching each piece of the photo together.
In this panoramic image, there are some areas where the stitching wasn’t perfect, but it’s still a great image overall.
As we have seen with previous Honor smartphones, the Honor 8 includes a wide aperture mode which enables artificial background blur, up to f/0.95. The effect can be very fun to play around with and certainly gives otherwise plain looking images artistic looks.
This effect is still artificial though, and can stumble a bit in lower contrast scenes like the one on the left. Mainly, the processing software seems to have trouble isolating the banner from the cloudy sky in the background. Regardless of the sometimes disappointing results, this mode can really take your smartphone photography to a more creative level.
Although there is an HDR mode which can be manually selected from the modes view, the normal auto mode often provides more than enough dynamic range, making many of the HDR photos virtually indistinguishable from the normal photos.
Taking a closer look at those “normal photos,” you can see just how well the Honor 8 balances the highlights and shadows. In the left image, this can be seen especially when looking at the properly exposed sky and detailed darker areas. On the right, the sky is just a tad overexposed, but the statue in the center is surprisingly well detailed.
Contrast is quite good across the board, actually, as can be seen in the images above. The Honor 8 also seems to do well with color saturation; images don’t come out oversaturated like they often do with the Samsung Galaxy S7, but they’re also still fairly punchy.
Overall, the Honor 8’s camera captures great stills in good lighting. Sadly, video recording isn’t up to par with competing options. In addition to maxing out at 1080P/60p when most others go up to 4K/30p, the actual video quality is a bit under what you might expect. Colors appear muted in comparison to how they do in still images, and the software processing sometimes mixes up the correct white balance mid-shot.
There’s also no optical image stabilization, so it can be tricky to get a steady shot at times. It’s hard to recommend the Honor 8 for video because many competing options simply offer superior quality.
In low-light conditions, the Honor 8’s camera offers surprisingly strong performance when compared to other affordable flagships. Granted, images do still appear noticeably noisy in dim conditions.
Colors also appear less punchy and more muted, although there’s still a good amount of contrast overall. Detail can be a mixed bag and primarily depends on how steady you hold the phone when taking the shot. In order to compensate for the lack of light, the Honor 8 lowers the shutter speed, meaning that the sensor is exposed for a longer period of time.
If you have shaky hands, this can be problematic when trying to capture the details of a low-light scene. Once you minimize camera shake, you’ll get noticeably better results. While the Honor 8’s camera isn’t as impressive in low-light when compared to phones like the Galaxy S7, it’s important to consider Honor’s competitive pricing.
In fact, perhaps the most impressing aspect here is how Honor was able to defy our expectations. One of the most pressing compromises with the vast majority of affordable smartphones is camera performance, yet the Honor 8 still manages to impress in this department.
That concludes our Honor 8 camera feature focus. How do you feel about the Honor 8’s camera? Is it enough to make you go out and purchase the Honor 8? Please do let us know your thoughts in the comment section below!
Buy Honor 8 now!
Chromebooks now have an easy time running Android apps
You no longer have to be an early adopter to run Android apps on a Chromebook. Google has released a stable version of Chrome OS that includes Google Play Store access in beta, giving you the opportunity to run mobile apps on top of your usual web access. You’ll have to own an Acer Chromebook R11 or an ASUS Chromebook Flip to give this update a shot, but it beats having to run a Chrome OS beta just to see what all the fuss is about.
It’s not certain which systems are coming next, although we’d expect the late Chromebook Pixel 2 to be next in line given that it’s the only one listed as supporting Android apps in beta Chrome OS releases. Almost all other compatible devices (including machines from HP, Lenovo and Samsung) are still waiting for their turn. But hey, it’s a step in the right direction — you’re that much closer to running your favorite phone apps from the comfort of your PC.
Via: Android Police
Source: Chrome Releases, The Chromium Projects
iTunes ‘Spoken Editions’ podcasts will read you written news
It looks like Apple is getting ready to launch a new iTunes offering, and someone pulled the trigger a bit too early. TechCrunch has spotted podcasts branded “Spoken Editions” on the service, which seem to be short programs reading written news from select publications, so you can listen to them while doing something else, like driving or working. Apple has already pulled them all down, but not before TC saw Spoken Editions of Wired, Time, Mic, Forbes, Playboy and even of its own publication.
Apparently, when you look at a file’s description, it says it’s powered by SpokenLayer, a service that creates and distributes audio versions of the written word. That company’s CEO told TechCrunch that it specializes in making each publication sound distinct, in making their voices shine through in the spoken renditions of their pieces. Participating publications and SpokenLayer will split what they make from the podcasts’ audio ads. While you won’t find the files that slipped through anymore, you’ll be able to listen to them soon — TC says the offering will be available as soon as early October.
[Image credit: TechCrunch]
Source: iTunes
Many recovered Clinton emails won’t go public before election
Hope you aren’t waiting for the State Department to publish every last document from Hillary Clinton’s private email server before making a voting decision — you’re going to be disappointed. A federal judge has set a schedule that will only publish 1,050 pages of recently recovered material (out of roughly 10,000 pages) by November 4th, mere days before the US presidential election on the 8th. The Department has promised to process 500 pages per month, so you won’t get the full scoop until well after the next president takes office.
There’s no guarantee that there will be any bombshells in these messages. About 9,400 of the nearly 15,000 recovered documents have already been ruled out as strictly personal, and as many as half of the remaining 5,600 files (the ones being published) may be copies of data that Clinton’s team already shared. However, there’s no way of telling the importance of these messages right now. Judicial Watch and other activist groups suing the government are already disappointed with the schedule, and are accusing the State Department of creating an “absolutely corrupt process” for publishing data. What if a crucial revelation pops up after it’s too late?
Officials might not have much choice, mind you. The judge established the timetable with consideration for the State Department’s existing trouble grappling with both those activist group lawsuits as well as thousands of data requests. Simply put, the government division might not be prepared to disclose that much data that quickly. While that’s not going to assuage Americans demanding as much transparency as possible, it may be the practical reality.
Via: Reuters
Source: Wall Street Journal
GekoGrip xM3 Series Modular Magnetic CD slot car mount for smartphones (review)
A couple of weeks ago I reviewed a smartphone mount for your automobile from GekoGrip. It was a modular magnetic vent mount that certainly met a high level of quality for a reasonable price. I can’t emphasize enough how dangerous it is to talk or text with your smartphone in your hand while driving. It’s against the law for a reason, and for your own sake you should obey the rules so you can make it safely no matter your destination.
I’ve switched out my vent mount from GekoGrip for its CD slot mount for those of you who prefer to keep your air vents free of distraction. The GekoGrip CD slot mount is a solid option for those of you who want to keep your windshield free of distraction while giving your antiquated CD players a whole new purpose.
Let’s check it out.
Design and Build
The GekoGip xM3 series modular magnetic CD slot car mount is just as its name describes – a cd slot mount designed to hold your smartphone in place while keeping you safe while driving. It’s designed to fit in the CD slot, without actually intruding into the CD player where the internals can be exposed to dust.
It has a solid plastic build, which minimizes the weight while offering high durability. There is a screw on the bottom which leverages the center piece of the mount to grip in between the top and bottom part of your CD slot.
When inserted into the slot and tightened down, the center piece moves several millimeters to position itself neatly in between the top and bottom of the slot. It doesn’t have unlimited range, meaning it won’t destroy your CD player no matter how tight you make it.
Once tightened, which takes a matter of seconds, you can see the Gecko shaped magnetic head in the front of the CD slot that protrudes about 2.5 inches giving you access to the buttons behind it.
If you still use CDs while you drive to listen to music, this isn’t the mount for you. You will always find yourself pulling it out to listen to a CD, but the reality is most people have gone away from compact disc technology.
I tend to prefer this mount style over windshield mounts, as the latter can create blindspots in your field of view. Depending on the state you live in, some windshield mounts might even be illegal due to that distraction. Or they may be limited by where you can actually mount them to a windshield, like the lower left hand corner of your window. Failure to comply with proper windshield mount placement can result in an expensive ticket, or worse an accident which you will be at fault for.
The GekoGrip CD slot mount offers two styles of magnetic attachment – one rectangular piece of metal for placing between your smartphone and its case, or the second is a very sticky circular disk for those of you who prefer to go case free. What I like about the rectangular metal piece for sandwiching between the case and phone is the ultra soft felt like material which prevents scratches on your phone.
The magnet is strong enough to hold up to 300g of weight, which is more than enough strength to hold up heavier phones like my Samsung Galaxy Note 7 (169g) in a BodyGuardz case. You’re also free to rotate your smartphone 360 degrees, giving you the freedom to position your device in whatever way you prefer. There’s a swivel too so passengers can turn the smartphone towards themselves if they want to help with the music selection or navigation.
I particularly like this mount mainly because it is placed where the auto manufacturer decided the safest place for the radio would be. It’s not too low or too high, which may seem like a small detail, but it helps me keep my eyes on the road at all times.
In a city like San Diego where we have millions of tourists each year who don’t always know where they are going, that little detail goes a long way in keeping me safe. It literally only takes seconds of taking your eyes off the road to get into a bad accident out here.
The magnet is the same as found on the vent mount I reviewed before, which is strong enough to keep my phone in place even with my bouncy off road suspension and pot hole riddled roads in San Diego. This mount is ultra convenient because I never have to tighten my phone down into a mount, instead I just stick it to the magnet and get on my way.
Summary
I am thoroughly impressed with GekoGrip’s CD slot mount. It’s build very well and will not damage your CD slot. The triangular magnet is strong enough to hold any of my smartphones in place while keeping my windshield free of blind spots.
Priced at $24.95 at Amazon, I can’t think of a more important investment in your safety for when you drive. Personally I don’t care if you get a ticket because if you are using a smartphone while driving you should consider yourself lucky. But I care about your safety first and foremost. $25 is a bargain if it prevents you from being injured or if it prevents you from injuring others. The stories of people crashing while driving distracted are real. There is absolutely no reason with today’s available accessories, for these accidents to occur. A death over a text message is just not worth it.
As we rely more on our mobile devices, accessories like the GekoGrip mount become even more important. If you don’t have a car mount, get one today. I highly recommend the GekoGrip xM3 Magnetic CD slot Car Mount where you can get it from Amazon with free Prime Shipping.
If you would like to read my review of the GekoGrip xM3 vent mount, check it out in the link below. Be smart and stay safe.
GekoGrip Modular magnetic air vent car mount (review)
Google’s self-driving car is the victim in a serious crash
Google’s self-driving cars don’t have a flawless safety record, but it’s clearer than ever that careless human drivers remain the greater threat. A commercial van running a red light struck one of Google’s autonomous Lexus SUVs as it crossed a Mountain View intersection, seriously damaging the side of the vehicle. Neither the Google observers nor the van driver were hurt, thankfully. However, this is likely the worst incident to date for Google’s driverless cars — previous crashes have typically involved humans rear-ending the robotic cars at low speed.
Google will likely shed full detail on the collision in its self-driving car report due at the end of the month. It makes no bones about what happened in a statement, though (see below). The Lexus didn’t enter the intersection until “at least” 6 seconds after its traffic light turned green. There was no question that the van driver was at fault, in other words. Google also stressed that red light violations are the “leading cause” of car crashes in US cities, and that 94 percent of those are due to human mistakes.
Although the outcome could have been much worse, the crash underscores a key problem with moving to autonomous cars: that piloted and robotic vehicles will likely have to share the roads for a long while. Google, Uber and others can design driverless systems that follow the law to a tee and adapt swiftly to unexpected road hazards, but it might be near-impossible to protect against human drivers who throw caution to the wind. Crashes like these likely won’t disappear unless self-driving tech becomes the rule.
“A Google vehicle was traveling northbound on Phyllis Ave. in Mountain View when a car heading westbound on El Camino Real ran a red light and collided with the right side of our vehicle. Our light was green for at least six seconds before our car entered the intersection. Thousands of crashes happen everyday on U.S. roads, and red-light running is the leading cause of urban crashes in the U.S. Human error plays a role in 94% of these crashes, which is why we’re developing fully self-driving technology to make our roads safer.”
Via: 9to5Google, TechCrunch
Source: KRON, CBS
Hiroshi Lockheimer is on the Pixel hype train
OK, we get it. As the SVP of Android, Chrome and Google Play Lockheimer should be amped about the things to come. We’d go as far as saying that’s his job. So what makes this particular time a company executive praising his products worth talking about?
We announced the 1st version of Android 8 years ago today. I have a feeling 8 years from now we’ll be talking about Oct 4, 2016.
— Hiroshi Lockheimer (@lockheimer) September 24, 2016
He’s comparing the coming Pixel phones (all but confirmed to be coming on October 4) to Android’s debut with the T-Mobile G1. And he’s doing it in front of all the die-hard Android nerds who are going to hold him to it.
We have limited information about what’s in store come October. We gather that the rebranding of Google’s Nexus line with the Pixel name means a more active involvement from Google in all areas — from design and software to advertising and support. Think of them as HTC phones made for someone else like HTC used to do for HP and Palm — yes, your old Treo 650 was made by HTC. This means Google is the company who will see these phones succeed or fail. And Lockheimer is betting on success.
We have to wait a few more weeks to see the Pixel phones for ourselves. And we’ll have to wait even longer to say anything about their success. In the meantime, we’ll take all the teasing you care to give us, Hiroshi.
A love letter to my Philips Wake-up Light
You know what’s easier than getting me to wake up? Raising the dead and the Titanic at the same damn time. You’d have thought that going to bed earlier each night, quitting bacon and using tech to adopt a healthier lifestyle would have altered that. But, no. The only thing that’s been able to help has been Philips’ Wake-up Light, which has been faithfully rousing me for the last eight years. But now that it’s beginning to break down, it’s time to deliver this only slightly preemptory eulogy.
I first became obsessed with wake-up lights back in the early ’90s, when a British TV program investigated the then-new-fangled gadgets. The devices are designed to replicate our exposure to dawn, allowing us to wake from sleep cycles much as our ancestors did. I wasn’t even 12 at the time, but I swore I’d buy one as soon as I grew up. At 23, I finally took the plunge, and picked up the Philips HF3745, which has lasted for eight years.
Wake-up lights are the practical implementation of the theories behind dawn simulation and how it relates to our circadian rhythms. For most of human history, we’ve worked (hunting and gathering) during the day and slept at night, rising at dawn and falling at dusk. Electric lighting (and smartphones) have messed with our sense of sleeping, but it’s believed that those primal responses are still wired into our brains. Philips’ device, along with many others like it, uses a bright yellow bulb that gradually increases in intensity during the 30 minutes before you want to get up.
I know it’s effective because I’m able to get out of my bed only 15 or 20 minutes after I’m meant to, compared to an hour when I don’t use it. If I’m in a foreign country for a trade show, I need to set my phone alarm to go off every five minutes for half an hour if I want to be up on time.
The HF3745 has a built-in FM radio, which is another great way to help you get up in the morning, at least if you pick the right channels. My personal favorite is to wake up to Radio 4 — Britain’s equivalent of NPR — and listen to the Today Programme. It’s a show in which right-wing lunatics are wheeled on to offer their mad opinions without threat of challenge or correction, and rightly boils my piss every morning. In fact, it’s this combination of dawn simulation and piss boiling that ensures I’m up and at my desk by eight o’clock every day.
Unfortunately, eight years after buying it, the device is now showing its age, and things aren’t working as they should any more. The buttons, when pressed, now trigger random functions, and activating the alarm causes the time to be reset to midnight. As a stop-gap, I’ve set up the Hue Lux bulb in my bedroom to operate in a similar fashion, although I often forget that I can’t turn the bulb off at the switch if I want it to work. That also removes the radio aspect, which is a key component of my wake-up routine.
I’ve been keeping an eye on Philips’ latest generation of wake-up lights in the hope of buying a replacement. Unfortunately, the new models still come with built-in FM radios, and while the UK keeps postponing its analog switchover, it seems silly to buy a device with a soon-to-be-outdated component. If there were one with a DAB module inside, I’d probably snap one up right away, which is a reason why I haven’t bought the Lumie Active 250, which also uses FM.
I did ask Philips about this, and it said that it’s considering adding DAB radios to its future models. Which isn’t ideal, since I’m not going to be buying one of these now and then another one in a year or two’s time. If I’m going to replace this warhorse, it won’t be on a temporary basis.
I’ve also tried other styles of wake-up lights, most notably Withings’ Aura, which did so little for me that I think they harmed my sleeping. The orange light that’s designed to send you to sleep seemed to wire me permanently awake, and I spent much of that week in a terrified state of hypnagogia. Which is all the more reason to celebrate Philips’ beautiful, wonderful, useful wake-up light HF3745. It may not be the flashiest piece of tech in the house, but it’s probably one of the most important.
SpaceX thinks Falcon 9 blew up due to a helium system breach
SpaceX is still in the midst of examining every video, audio and image of the September 1st Falcon 9 explosion, but it’s already found one possible explanation for the unfortunate event. According to the private space corp’s latest update, the huge explosion might have been caused by a large breach in the rocket’s helium pressurization system. The company also clarified that what happened wasn’t a repeat of the CRS-7 incident, another failed rocket launch last year that was caused by a faulty strut.
Part of the statement reads:
“At this stage of the investigation, preliminary review of the data and debris suggests that a large breach in the cryogenic helium system of the second stage liquid oxygen tank took place. All plausible causes are being tracked in an extensive fault tree and carefully investigated. Through the fault tree and data review process, we have exonerated any connection with last year’s CRS-7 mishap.”
The September launch that went up in flames took the AMOS-6 communications satellite with it, which Facebook was supposed to use to provide free internet connection in 14 African countries. Spacecom, the satellite’s maker, is now asking SpaceX for either $50 million in compensation or a free flight.
While the helium system’s breach led to the fiery explosion, SpaceX still isn’t sure whether it was only an effect of something else. The company is determined to get to the bottom of things, though — earlier this month, SpaceX chief Elon Musk posted a call for people’s recording of the event on Twitter. That company’s internal investigators are now looking at whatever media they can find, with help from the FAA, NASA, US Air Force and various industry experts.
Via: Popular Mechanics
Source: SpaceX
Six sun-powered ships
By Cat DiStasio
The vast majority of boats rely on fossil fuels that tax the environment. Fortunately, alternative energy is on the rise in the marine world, and solar-powered ships are prepared to sail into a much cleaner future. It’s been a few years since the world’s largest (at the time) solar-powered ship completed its journey around the world, and a number of a fresh concepts are now awaiting construction. Giant multimillion dollar luxury yachts promise stellar sightseeing adventures with silent, solar-powered engines, while a unique vertical marine vessel will someday serve as a long-term base for deep sea research. Meanwhile, an autonomous solar-powered boat is currently making its way across the Atlantic. Read on to learn about all the wild and crazy solar-powered vessels just waiting to hit the waves.
PlanetSolar’s record-setting Turanor boat
At the end of its successful 18-month trip around the globe in 2012, the Turanor PlanetSolar was the largest solar-powered boat in the world. The $26 million catamaran-style vessel measured 101 feet long and 49 feet wide, with a capacity up to 50 passengers. Some 537 square meters of photovoltaic panels powered the Swiss-designed solar boat during its round-the-world journey.
The SeaOrbiter marine research vessel
French architect Jacques Rougerie designed the SeaOrbiter, a futuristic vertically oriented marine vessel that offers a round-the-clock undersea station for long-term research and observation. SeaOrbiter has multiple levels of underwater cabins and a wide skirt that offers divers a place to rest while they study oceanic ecosystems. Two years after a successful crowdfunding campaign raised nearly $388,000, the ship still hasn’t come to fruition. A key element of the design, the Eye of SeaOrbiter, was finished in May 2015 and will remain on display while project backers organize funding to build the rest of the ship, which will likely cost tens of millions to complete.
The Solar Voyager is autonomous and completely solar-powered
Although many new solar-powered boats are enormous ships, there are a few exceptions. The Solar Voyager, a small vessel designed and built by Isaac Penny and Christopher Sam Soon, is one of them. Solar Voyager is a low-slung single-hulled boat with a roof covered edge to edge in solar panels. The autonomous marine vessel is currently sailing across the Atlantic Ocean, having disembarked Boston on June 1st, and it’s aiming to dock in Portugal some time next month. Penny and Sam Soon monitor the boat’s progress through remote updates, received every 15 minutes through the boat’s on-board satellite uplink. All they need to do now is find someone in Portugal to help grab the unmanned boat when it nears the shore.
Duffy London’s solar super yacht
Another concept in the making, Solaris is a $33 million luxury super yacht that generates its own clean energy from multiple renewable sources. The 144-foot-long boat features a huge rooftop solar array as well as several wind turbines. Electricity generated on the ship from solar and wind also power an electrolysis system that splits water molecules, creating hydrogen fuel. In the cabin below, five separate bedrooms house up to 10 guests, with additional lodging space for the yacht’s crew. The yacht is expected to be built by 2020, and designer Duffy London aims to target eco-tourism hotspots around the world with this unique clean energy vessel.
Soel Yachts SoelCat 12 cruiser
Dutch marine designers Soel Yachts created the concept for the SoelCat 12, a 39-foot catamaran built from lightweight, resilient materials and powered by electricity generated on-board from 809 solar panels. The pontoon-like day sailor is capable of cutting through the waves silently when operating via sun-generated electricity, and also features two 30kW battery-powered motors for a boost of speed when needed. Created for sightseeing adventures, SoelCat 12 employs special seawater-resistant materials for added durability, and Soel Yachts plans to manufacture the boat as a prefabricated flat-pack item, so that high-end tourism outlets around the world can easily order and assemble their own solar-powered cruiser.
The Helios solar sailboat
Another concept yet to be built, the Helios yacht has more in common with a sailboat than the other luxury cruisers we’ve featured, but it packs a solar-powered punch with the best of them. Rather than using sails made from canvas, Helios features flexible solar cell-clad sails made of silicon. Some 2,500 solar panels would line the sails, generating 355 kWh of clean energy. Italian designers Marco Ferrari and Alberto Franchi envision the yacht as a 180.5-foot-long vessel capable of carrying eight crew members and 10 guests, who would never be bored thanks to the included sunbathing deck, infinity pool and movie theater.
AIVAnet 