LG V20 review – CNET
The Good The LG V20 records really high-quality audio and features a swappable battery and secondary wide-angle lens.
The Bad For its high price, the phone doesn’t break any new ground in camera performance or battery life.
The Bottom Line The LG V20 is the best phone you can buy with a removable battery, and its audio recording prowess is a cherry on top, but skip the phone if neither is a priority.
The LG V20 isn’t a bad phone. It covers all its bases with the latest hardware and a solid design. But other handsets edge it out in so many ways that, aside from the V20’s swappable battery, you’re better off buying something else.
If you want a better camera, get the Google Pixel (or its bigger counterpart the XL). If you want a longer battery life, get the Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge. Faster processing speeds (at least on paper)? The Apple iPhone 7 Plus. Better value? OnePlus 3.
The swappable battery is great. As is the ability to add storage via microSD. And my favorite feature about the V20 is its ability to record high-quality audio. It does this better than any other phone I’ve come in contact with. If the mention of these three features gets you pumped, then this might be the phone for you. If they don’t, then there’s no reason to buy it.
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Metal-clad LG V20 has clever trick to remove battery
Things I liked
So what do I like about the V20? Let me list the ways…
It records great audio
The V20 the phone for the concert-goer because it handles live audio recording superbly. It’s equipped with three mics and four digital-to-analog converters (the latter apparently helps reduce white noise). The phone can record much clearer and accurate 24-bit sound compared to the standard 16-bit.
I took it to a Gallant concert and recorded only a few feet away from the third row. Afterward, I listened to the recordings on separate stereo speakers. It sounded fantastic — bass tones were deep and full without sounding distorted and blown out, and compared to my friend’s footage (who happened to have a Google Nexus 6P), the V20’s recording was notably richer, crisper and more immersive.
The V20 has a couple of options to tinker around with audio quality.
Josh Miller/CNET
You can swap out the battery and increase storage
You don’t always have to offer the latest technology to keep people happy. Like I mentioned before, the V20 has a removable battery and expandable memory. They’re nothing new, but they’re a rarity among marquee handsets these days. Many people can’t live without at least one of these features, and the V20 has both.
A replaceable battery comes in handy when you’re out and about, running low on battery life, and want to quickly swap in a reserve. It’s also useful if you plan to resell the device and you can promise a fresh battery. Expandable storage lets you snap and record way more photos and videos, without really worrying about running out of space..
Press the release button and swap out the battery.
Josh Miller/CNET
Its secondary screen is actually useful
Like its V10 predecessor, the V20 has a secondary screen that sits on top of its regular display. With this iteration, LG increased its contrast and brightness, so it’s easier to read. You can choose to have this screen perpetually on (even if your device is sleeping) or off, and it displays your custom signature, common settings, favorite apps, recent contacts and notifications.
This isn’t essential, but it can be pretty useful. Because there’s no app drawer by default (you can turn it back on from Settings) having shortcut access to your favorite apps is easier than sifting through several home screen pages.
Swipe through the second screen for your favorite apps.
Josh Miller/CNET
It’s as fast as any Android (but slower than the iPhone)
With its Snapdragon 820 processor, the handset had no problem keeping up with its rivals. It performed as well as the Pixel XL (which has the slightly more advanced 821 processor) in our benchmarks, though both the Galaxy S7 Edge and OnePlus 3 edged it out by a hair. The iPhone 7 Plus, however, which has an altogether different and proprietary A10 chipset, dominated the results with impressively high marks.
Then again, these are just diagnostic tests on paper. All these devices work fast and smooth, and any speed differences between any of these phones would be hard to discern. For all your daily mobile needs, you should be satisfied with any of them.
LG V20 Benchmark Scores
LG V20
1579
3634
29152
Google Pixel XL
1556
5201
28256
Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge
1724
4062
28031
OnePlus 3
1752
4159
30337
Apple iPhone 7 Plus
3531
6106
37889
Legend:
Geekbench 4 Single-Core
Geekbench 4 Multi-Core
3DMark Ice Storm Unlimited
Note:
Longer bars indicate better performance
What gives me pause
The V20 has many strong points, but there are drawbacks, too. While none of these shortcomings are individual deal breakers, they are things to keep in mind.
The camera is good but won’t blow you away
Like the G5, LG is doubling down on its wide-angle endeavors. The V20 has two shooters on the back, including a 16-megapixel standard lens and an 8-megapixel wide-angle lens that can capture up to 135 degrees. The single 5-megapixel camera on the front can also switch between an 83-degree frame and a wider 120-degree setup.
CHiP Smart Cookie Oven Release Date, Price and Specs – CNET
To use the CHiP Smart Cookie Oven, you scan the label on a pack of dough pods, drop as many as four pods into the appliance, and press start.
Alex Golov/SideChef
Baking cookies for Santa could get a little easier next Christmas Eve. SideChef, the company behind the recipe app of the same name, just launched a Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign for a Wi-Fi-connected cookie oven.
The Chip Smart Cookie Oven is kind of like a Keurig for cookies — the countertop appliance is designed to bake just enough cookies for one (or more if you’re feeling generous). SideChef’s goal is to raise $100,000 to make the Chip a reality, and the company has until Dec. 2 to do so. We’ve seen smart-home gadget companies flourish and flounder when they depend on crowdfunding campaigns, so it’s too early to see where the Chip will land.
Here’s how the smart cookie oven will work: SideChef will sell cookie dough pods that each contain enough for one cookie. You use the Chip’s app to scan the QR code on the package of dough, and the app will send baking instructions to the Chip via Wi-Fi. Pop the dough out of the pods and into the Chip, which contains a 4-inch convection fan that circulates hot air to bake the cookie. Less than 10 minutes later, SideChef promises you’ll have a perfect cookie, and the app will send you a notification when it’s done. You can also use the app to send CookieGrams, videos of you eating cookies that I can only assume is a cruel way to strike revenge on your hungriest enemies.
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You need to know about these smart kitchen gadgets
This product sounds like the Jetsons’ version of an Easy-Bake Oven, and the price reflects that. SideChef estimates that the retail price for the Chip will be $249 (roughly £200 in the UK or AU$325). However, 500 folks who want to get in early can preorder the oven for $99 (£80 or AU$130) during the Kickstarter campaign (if you miss that deal, you can still preorder a unit for $129/£105/AU$170). And don’t forget those pods: SideChef will sell subscriptions for its cookie dough pods with prices ranging from 88 cents to $2 a pod.
This is all running under the assumption that SideChef will raise all the money they need to bring Chip to life. As with other crowdfunding campaigns, nothing is guaranteed.
I love a freshly baked cookie as much as the next gal with a sweet tooth. But that’s a steep price when you consider that you can buy a tub of cookie dough that will make three dozen cookies for about $4 in the US. Fortunately, you’ll be able to use manual settings on the Chip if you want to use your own cookie dough. Just remember that you’ll still only be able to make a maximum of four cookies at a time, which wouldn’t even get me through the first leg of a decent Netflix binge.
Machines like the Chip that are designed to cook one type of food are a questionable use of valuable kitchen countertop real estate, especially if you don’t have daily hankerings for freshly baked goods. But the Chip could go the way of the Flatev, single-serve, pod-based tortilla maker that raised nearly $136,200 during the product’s fully funded Kickstarter campaign. SideChef will just have to prove that the Chip can bake cookies well enough to make folks ignore the value of multiuse toaster ovens and store-bought dough in favor of a specialty product.
Tap your cheek to ask Siri a question with Bragi Dash update
The Bragi Dash wireless headphones are already incredibly smart and sophisticated, but this month’s software update 2.2 makes them practically magical. Bragi OS 2.2 enables the MyTap beta, which will at first allow users to tap a cheek to activate Siri or Google Now. The update also introduces Windshield, an audio transparency trick that allows wearers to listen to music and hear their surroundings at the same time, plus improved heart rate measurements and upgraded Bluetooth capabilities “for many” users. Bragi OS 2.2 is due to roll out on November 21st.
The MyTap beta marks the introduction of Bragi’s Kinectic User Interface, which is designed to allow users to control the Dash without touching it. On November 21st, only Siri and Google Now functions will be live, but future updates will add the ability to nod to answer a phone call, shake your head “no” to decline a call and tap the side of your face to change a song.
The Dash is quite possibly the most ambitious line of wireless headphones on the market, but they come at a price, as we noted in our January review. The Dash is priced at $280, though in September Bragi announced a cheaper, pared-down line of wireless earbuds, the Headphone, that costs $150.
Huawei Nova Plus second opinion: Canada’s best $400 phone
The best value in Canadian smartphones today.
Canada is a strange market for handsets right now. It hasn’t transitioned to financing, so phones are still purchased through carriers on subsidy, and the weak Canadian dollar has actually pushed on-contract prices up over the past few years.
What that means is that Canadians get hosed (see what I did there?) from every angle, since the cost of wireless service has also steadily risen along with the demand for LTE data.
That’s why the Huawei Nova Plus is such an interesting proposition. It’s a $400 phone, free on contract, and available now at Rogers (and soon, Bell). It’s got some blistering specs for the price, and exceptional build quality taken straight from the Nexus 6P, which debuted for $699 last year, when the Canadian dollar was 10% stronger.
In other words, you’re getting a deal.
The deal
But why should you care about a phone that’s $400 outright when phones nearly twice the price are frequently discounted to $0 on contract?
Unfortunately, it’s not more economical to buy a Nova Plus at $0 over, say, a Sony Xperia X Performance which, even with an outright price of $700, is still free on contract. The advantage only comes in when you consider the total cost of the phone.
By buying the Nova Plus at its full retail price of $400, you can then turn around and get monthly discounts on your plan, in the vicinity of $240 over two years ($10 per month), bringing down the overall cost of ownership.
That’s one place to start.
The phone
In a market like Canada, where every good phone appears to be inching towards $1,000, it’s pretty remarkable that this device is only $400.
The other reason is fairly straightforward: the Nova Plus is a pretty great phone at any price. Not only is it the best phone to be released under the Huawei brand in Canada since the Nexus 6P, but it takes a lot of hardware cues from that device as well (though its smaller, cheaper sibling, the Nova looks almost exactly like the 6P).
The metal chassis is robust and fairly seamless, a testament to Huawei’s mastery of materials. This feels like no other $400 phone you can buy today. The glass covering the 1080p screen curves ever-so-slightly into the metal bezel, which gives the display an infinity pool effect and makes it more comfortable when swiping horizontally — something you can do with one hand on this relatively compact body, despite the screen’s capacious 5.5 inches.
On the bottom, a USB-C port brings the phone into the future, while the 3.5mm headphone jack on the top keeps it planted firmly in the present. A fingerprint sensor — likely identical to that of the Nexus 6P, based on its performance and reliability — sits below the 16MP sensor on the back.
In a market like Canada, where every phone appears to be inching towards that $1,000 point, it’s pretty remarkable that this device is only $400. Even the Moto Z Play, which runs on the same Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 platform, costs an additional $250. And let’s talk about this Snapdragon 625 for a moment: in my Moto Z Play review, I praised it for effortlessly powering that phone’s 1080p display, and I’m happy to say the same sentiment applies here. In spite of the slightly more heavy-handed skin with EMUI 4.1, the phone flies in almost every general-purpose task, and I’ve yet to encounter lag or stutter when playing games or operating heavy machinery apps.
There is one strange omissions, though: unlike the Moto Z Play, the Nova Plus lacks 5GHz Wi-Fi capabilities, which translates, in my house where 2.4GHz signals abound, to a poor experience that forces me onto LTE more over than I’d like.
That skin, though
Sorry, I’m just not a huge fan of this phone’s software design choices. Part of it is that I’ve been poisoned (in a good way) by the Google Pixel, but a lot of it has to do with the fact that Huawei has corrected a lot of its past mistakes with EMUI 5.0 which will hopefully be pushed out, along with Android 7.0 Nougat, in an update next year.
There are two main issues, as highlighted in my overview of the Honor 8 which runs the same software: the notification shade makes changes for the worse to the user experience, often squashing or otherwise obstructing expandable notifications like Google Maps’ navigation directions.
And the launcher lacks an app drawer, which would be fine if Huawei didn’t make it so damn difficult to set a new default. Unlike other Android skins, once you install a new launcher like Nova or Action, you actually have to go into Settings —> Apps —> Advanced —> Default app settings and change it through there.
I can look past these things, because on the whole the software is quite functional, if a little drab. There are considerate features, like the option to use the fingerprint sensor as a gesture control for accessing the notification shade, or an easy way to swipe horizontally across the navigation buttons to activate one-handed mode.
The camera
Unlike the Honor 8, which sports two 12MP sensors, the Nova Plus offers a single 16MP shooter. As Alex mentioned in his review, the phone takes great daylight shots, and its f/2.0 lens is fast and accurate, helped by the presence of optical image stabilization — but struggles in low light due to the relatively small size of the pixels.
Further frustrating things is the lack of automatic HDR, which seems to be a significant oversight given how important it has become to companies like Samsung, Google and Apple. There is an option to activate HDR, but you have to manually toggle it each time, similar to the way you’d turn on slow motion or beauty mode.
Huawei Nova Plus (left) / Google Pixel XL (right)
In low light, the sensor picks up more noise than the Pixel XL, and is generally a bit less reliable, but overall the results are extremely encouraging. Low light photography in general continues to be an aspect of mobile optics where Huawei struggles against the big names, but it’s hard to fault this particular phone given the price point. It even supports 4K video, which is a generous bonus.
The battery
Here’s where we end things on a high note. The 3,340mAh cell inside the Nova Plus is large on paper, and forgiving in practice. Coupled with the low-power Snapdragon 625 chip and relatively low-resolution (but still ample) 1080p LCD display, the Nova Plus manages over a day, and often two days, on a single charge.
I used the phone as my daily driver in and around the Toronto area for a week or so, and came away impressed with its longevity.
I used the phone as my daily driver in and around the Toronto area for a week or so, and came away impressed with its longevity. It didn’t reach quite the heights (or lengths, I guess) as the Moto Z Play, but it gave that more-expensive phone a run for its proverbial money, and in practice few people are going to wait until the middle of the following day to charge their device anyway.
Should you buy it? Absolutely
The Huawei Nova Plus is the best $400 phone you can buy in Canada today, and if you’re reading this in a European country where the product is sold you can take this as an additional endorsement. It’s fast, attractive, and has no major flaws. In fact, my only concern is the speed at which it will get EMUI 5.0 alongside Android 7.0, which should make it an even better prospect, and a greater value.
See at Rogers
Dell made its own Surface Studio-like PC with dual screens and a Dial
One week after Microsoft showed up Apple by unveiling a touchscreen, foldable, drafting-table-like PC for creatives, Dell has teased that it made a similar all-in-one machine, and it even comes with a Dial-like input device.
At the Adobe MAX conference, Dell previewed a short teaser that showed its upcoming device. It looks like a Windows 10 PC similar to Microsoft’s Surface Studio, but it’s also different. There doesn’t seem to be any keyboard or mouse, for instance. Instead, you get a touch display that serves as a virtual keyboard. You also get a stylus to sketch and Dell’s own version of the Surface Dial.
Microsoft
Like the Dial, this device sits on the display and provides access to quick actions, such as changing the color of an element in Photoshop. Windows chief Terry Myerson revealed last week that Microsoft is open to letting partners use its technology to develop similar devices, so we’re probably seeing the first results of that now with Dell’s dual-screen, all-in-one.
Dell didn’t announce the specs, name, or pricing for its device. However, MSPowerUser managed to grab a copy of the 90-second teaser, which you can see below. It ends with a mention that the device will be unveiled soon.
The video also says “welcome to your new workspace”.
LastPass is now free across all your devices
Password manager and two-factor authenticator app LastPass has always had a quirky pricing scheme. While it was free on mobile, syncing all your passwords and logins across devices — one of the key features of a password manager — required a subscription to use. Starting today, however, multiple-device access to LastPass is completely free.
Users who are already have a free LastPass account will now be able to sync between the browser extension and the mobile app. Meanwhile, those users who already pay for LastPass Premium will still have a few extra features like family sharing for up to five users, 1GB of encrypted file storage, YubiKey and other two-factor login integrations, desktop fingerprint identification and the ability to use LastPass for applications. In order to support the freemium model, the unpaid users will see ads showing up in LastPass, so a Premium subscription might be worth the $1 monthly fee just to get rid of the clutter.
Besides saving you the trouble of remembering all your logins and passwords, password managers are an increasingly necessary part of any sane person’s setup now that there seems to be a major password breach nearly every week. Of course, even password managers are not impervious to hacks — LastPass itself was breached last year, but the company has been smart about finding and addressing new security flaws before they cause a problem.
Source: LastPass Blog
EE updates its £130 Robin tablet for kids ahead of Christmas
It was a year ago to this very day that EE began offering the first Robin tablet: a bumper-bound slate designed with kids in mind. And with Christmas fast approaching, the carrier has today launched an updated, second-gen Robin to fill those empty stockings. It brings a few welcome, albeit relatively minor improvements on the hardware front. You’re still looking at a 7-inch (1,024 x 600) display, quad-core 1.1GHz processor and 2-megapixel camera, but both RAM and storage have doubled to 2GB and 16GB, respectively.
The new Robin also comes with a different bumper that includes a carry handle/kickstand, and apparently, of the device’s 40 preloaded e-books and apps, some of the games now feature gesture controls, responding to what the front-facing VGA camera sees. The 4G tablet still runs EE’s kid-friendly Kurio OS (based on Android 5.1 Lollipop) and comes with Hopster preinstalled, which offers kids shows, songs and a variety of other educational content. Depending on the contract you choose, you get either a three-month free trial of Hopster, or two years of unlimited access.
All the parental controls are still part of the package, and improved it’s said. These include app permissions, internet filters and time limits, with support for multiple profiles. It kinda feels like EE has done the bare minimum here though, plugging some pretty minor improvements to keep the Robin’s price tag at £130 on pay-as-you-go. Amazon’s Fire Kids Edition tablet might be a better option, starting at £95 with a two-year guarantee and free access to plenty of appropriate content.
If your sprog requires 4G data and/or you’d rather spread the cost, however, then EE’s Robin can be picked up on 24-month contracts from £16 per month (with a £30 upfront payment).
Source: EE
Sling TV just added even more kids programming
It seems like every other month, at least, Sling TV brings new content to its video-streaming service. That’s great for those of you who pay $20 (or more) for the monthly subscription. The latest update, announced today, focuses on adding even more programming to the Kids Extra bundle. You’ll now find over 200 on-demand TV shows and movies from Kabillion, Kaboom and Splash, in addition to what’s been available from Disney Junior, TeenNick, NickToons and other similar channels.
As part of this, Sling TV also rolled out a hub called Sling Kids, which makes it easier to find the content you or your little ones want to watch. For example, you can narrow things down by age-appropriate categories, like 5-7 or 8-11 years old. In case you’re not aware, Kids Extra does cost $5 per month to add to your existing Sling Orange or Sling Blue account. Still, not a bad price to pay to keep your kids in a chill mood.
Source: Sling TV
Twitter will stream its first live awards show on December 1st
Twitter is already a hotbed of discussion during awards shows, and now it’s ready to broadcast one of those shows — if not necessarily the one you expect. The social network has reached a deal to stream The Game Awards when they kick off December 1st at 8:30PM Eastern. You can watch the whole of Geoff Keighley’s hybrid of ceremony and game premieres through either Twitter’s website or its official mobile apps, whether or not you’re logged in. It’s an easy fit when TGA caters to a tech-savvy audience that already offers running commentary on Twitter, but you no longer have to juggle apps or websites to have your say.
The awards show may amount to a test run for Twitter. The company is no longer a stranger to streaming live sports or political events, but live entertainment is relatively uncharted territory. If it can show that there’s a significant audience willing to watch awards broadcasts directly on Twitter, it may stand a better chance of scoring deals for massive galas like the Emmys or Oscars. And that’s important for a company counting on video to turn around its ailing fortunes.
Source: PR Newswire
No, US citizens can’t vote by phone
An unsettling series of tweets surfaced on Twitter earlier today advising users to vote by phone. This is, of course, impossible: The voting system in the US requires citizens to register locally and vote either in-person or via absentee ballot sent in over snail mail. The tweets have been removed and at least one account that first sent them has been banned, but the lesson remains: Be smart, ignore trolls.
Twitter just informed me that attempting to disenfranchise voters is not a violation of their Terms of Service. @jack @Support pic.twitter.com/YXVdt8sHwA
— Robert McNees (@mcnees) November 2, 2016
In the end, Twitter took them down. But they originally refused: In a reply to user @mcgee, who had reported the misleading tweets, the social media company stated that they didn’t violate Twitter Rules. They certainly didn’t violate the terms’ guidelines on harassment, impersonation or spam.
But they could have violated the Rules’ prohibition on using their service “unlawful purposes or in furtherance of illegal activities” in attempting to manipulate the election, which is illegal. Assuring citizens that their votes had been counted when they hadn’t is disenfranchisement, and those hoax advertisements were plastered with Hillary Clinton media and loaded with hashtags related to her campaign. It’s not hard to see which users they were trying to fool.
At least one Twitter user who created some or all of the tweets referenced by @mcgee above had their account temporarily suspended. As of publication time, the official reason is unknown.
update: tweets have now been deleted shortly after BuzzFeed News inquired (though their response to McNees was that it didn’t violate rules)
— Charlie Warzel (@cwarzel) November 2, 2016
As WIRED points out, Twitter likely sat out of the discussion to avoid setting any precedent of truth policing on their service, a quixotic endeavor even outside election season. Indeed, they gave no further comment to Engadget aside from pointing out that the tweets had been removed.
You can’t vote by phone, on Twitter or anywhere online — but there are resources to help you on the internet. If you’re not sure where to vote, Google “where to vote in _____”, filling in with your state. Or direct-message the @gov Twitter account. But whatever you do, don’t give in to trolls.
Source: WIRED
AIVAnet 