Google Pixel C tablet review: Out with the Nexus, in with the Pixel
Google’s event last Fall left little surprise in the way of Nexus news after a barrage of leaks that preceded it. But we fortunately didn’t know the whole story of that day. Instead of releasing another iteration of the Nexus tablet, Google had taken matters into its own hands and launched a home-brewed solution – the Pixel C.
This announcement threw the mobile industry for a loop for a few reasons: 1) The Nexus program was for the first time challenged, 2) The Pixel branding had historically been reserved for Google’s own pompous Chromebook (running Chrome OS), and 3) This Pixel device ran Android instead of Chrome OS.
The head scratching was put to the side when Google showed off its neat approach to an Android tablet. The body screamed quality with a sturdy, all-metal build. The complementing keyboard accessory was given the same level of refinement, and neatly integrates with the tablet through a clever use of magnets. Let’s review if the Pixel C is all that it’s cracked up to be.
Design
The build is where the Pixel line shines, as quality is one of Google’s biggest ideas behind it. The Pixel C continues the trend that the Chromebook Pixel started. It is the little brother, if you will. Smaller in size and lesser in capability (and in price). Nonetheless, the superb design and construction from the Chromebook Pixel is ever-so present. As far as I’m concerned, this thing is the definition of a premium device.
Except for the front glass, metal surrounds the tablet from every corner. Its soft and smooth finish makes for a fantastic feel in hand. The chassis has been machined impeccably, from the curvature that flows onto the sides to the speaker grills.
From the front, you can see the lip of the metal casing. It surrounds the glass and has a subtle chamfer to smooth the transition.
The power and volume rocker buttons are made of the same sturdy metal (located by the top, left corner). There’s a simplicity and cohesion to them, as they just appear to protrude from the chassis. They are firm and tactile to the press. The brand-spanking new USB Type-C port lives on the bottom, left side, and the 3.5mm headphone jack is on the opposite top, right side.
The primary camera has a small cutout on the back, right corner. It was thoughtful of Google to recess the camera module so that it doesn’t get scratched. The front facing camera is dead center on the bezel above the display. And speaking of the bezel (black space around the screen), it won’t win any awards for being the thinnest. It’s not exorbitant but is definitely significant.
If you recall last years Nexus 9, HTC had incorporated dual front stereo speakers. Although Google had been seemingly sold on the idea (Nexus phones have had stereo speakers too), the Pixel C settled with side-firing speakers instead. But at least there’s still two of them.
Lastly, there are a couple subtle features towards the top of the device. Four microphones along the very top ensure that the Pixel C listens for your “Ok Google” voice commands, even if you’re across the room (noise-cancellation in tow).
You may have already noticed the slit on the back. It’s a split of four LED windows. When the Pixel C is in use, it shines Chrome’s signature colors (blue, red, yellow, and green). But it isn’t just for looks. When the display is off, it can show you the battery status (by fourths – 25%, 50%, etc.) when you knock on the back. It also shines red when there’s little battery remaining.
Display
The Pixel C packs a 10.2″ sized display (in a 1:√2 aspect ratio). It is an LTPS (Low Temperature Poly-Silicon) LCD panel and I must say, Google nailed it with this one. The picture quality (backed by a sharp 2560×1800 pixel resolution) shines stupendously, with a full sRGB color gamut. And at even extreme viewing angles, I didn’t get any hint of washed out or degraded colors.
At 500 nits, it can get plenty bright (50% brightness was typically sufficient in my use). This also mean that outdoor visibility is fantastic.
The display is just a winner all-around, and it totally backs the quality that the Pixel C promotes in presentation.
Performance
Another thing that backs the Pixel C’s top-notch hardware is the lightning fast performance. Android Marshmallow just flies on the Pixel C, the fastest I’ve ever seen it.
The speedy performance is thanks to the choice in SoC – Nvidia’s latest Tegra X1 beast of a chipset. It has an octa-core processor and a 256-core GPU (graphics processing unit), coupled with 3GB of RAM. This horsepower gives Marshmallow a super satisfying fluidity, making it a real joy to navigate around the Material Design UI and play games.
The Pixel C comes in two storage quantities – 32GB or 64GB (with the latter priced at $100 more. Tsk tsk, Google). And there’s no microSD slot for expansion, so you better get comfortable with cloud services if you need more storage. There’s also no SD card reader. It’s sounding more and more like Google didn’t aim the Pixel C to serve as a primary computer (more on this point later).
Although the dual speakers don’t fire sound directly towards you, I did find that they get surprisingly loud. Also, the quality remains composed even at the highest volume. Audio from the headphone jack sounded great as well.
Tablet Usability
You’ll probably be in familiar territory if you’ve used a 10″ tablet before. I’m not personally a fan of large tablets, navigation can be a bit cumbersome while handling.
Fortunately, although the tablet is mostly comprised of metal, it isn’t slippery. The finish has some friction to it and I’ve had no problem keeping my grip. The robust feel of the chassis has made it a joy to handle and well representative of its price. But money isn’t the only cost of a premium build. The tablet is hefty, at 1.14 lbs.
The Pixel C and Dell XPS 13 – brothers from another mother.
The large size makes for a couple ergonomic concerns. My hands borderline grip the sides where the speaker grills are located. I often use my thumbs for support when I’m watching a video (it’s just comfortable for me), and they naturally land right over the speakers. The other concern is with the power button. It’s on the top of the device (left corner), which is a reach to get to. What frustrates me more is that there’s no tap-to-wake to help the inconvenience. Last year’s Nexus 9 had tap-to-wake. What gives?
Keyboard
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It first must be said that while Google included the neat keyboard attachment with our review unit, it’s not included in the retail purchase of the Pixel C. It’s a separate purchase, and not a cheap one, at $150. However, I’ll argue that having the keyboard with this tablet is less crucial than let’s say the Microsoft Surface. Windows is a productivity-focused OS, while Android is not.
I love that although the keyboard is an accessory, it’s not an afterthought, whatsoever. It’s as well built as the Pixel C is, with the same metallic foundation. The keys, which are chiclet style, are also made from Aluminum. Their sturdiness and soft finish makes it a pleasure to type.
I’ve had no problems using the keyboard for lengthy writing sessions (I used it for this review). The keys are decently spaced and have great key-press travel. However, Google had to smush some keys (particularly, the “Enter” key is too small) and omit lesser used symbols to fit it in the Pixel C’s form-factor. Nonetheless, if the Pixel C wanted to be a productivity machine, this keyboard could do it with flying colors.
The Hotkey button “…” toggles extra symbol keys from the virtual keyboard. It can also be used for key combination shortcuts.
Before you commit to the Pixel C + keyboard combo, make sure that you’re okay with the fact that there’s no touchpad. Navigation through the UI is still done via the touchscreen despite the laptop form that the Pixel C can take. This is kind of awkward, especially if you’re an avid laptop user, but it works.
The magnet/kickstand system is pretty fantastic, in my opinion. There’s no special dock to line up when connecting the tablet to the keyboard; just effortlessly plop it on the kickstand and you get a most satisfying merger. The two pieces won’t separate until you want them to. Also, Google made sure to make the magnets attract in the correct orientation, so you can’t accidentally connect the tablet upside-down. This also goes when you close the device (tablet screen face down on the keyboard). There’s only one orientation where the magnets will clasp.
The kickstand is very stiff, which allows the user to freely set the tablet’s angle. The tilt range goes from all the way flat to almost 90° vertical. Be careful to stop when you get to either limit, or the tablet will fly off. That brings me to a point about the magnetic connection. It’s so strong that detaching the pieces is slightly jolting. Users need to be mindful and keep a good grip to avoid gravity taking control. Also, I’ve had a few times that the two pieces inadvertently rubbed against each other when I pulled them apart, which can lead to scratches.
The keyboard communicates through Bluetooth and has its own battery. But you never have to worry about charging it. The tablet charges the keyboard wirelessly when they’re mated. Also, the system is smart enough to only pair the keyboard when the tablet is on the kickstand.
Camera
I’ll cut to the chase and say that the cameras on the Pixel C aren’t anything to write home about. We have a 8MP sensor on the back and 2MP on the front. They work fine for if you’re not mindful on quality. You’ll get an alright shot in good lighting situations, but as the light goes away, quality goes south pretty quickly (grainy-ness will show up).
Check out the gallery below and be the judge:
It’s not as critical to have a great camera on a tablet as it is a smartphone, but I feel like Google should’ve done a bit better, at least with the front camera. I see more likeliness in video chatting than using the rear camera while you’re out and about.
Battery
I was satisfied with the life of the Pixel C’s 34.2 WHr capacity battery. My tablet usage is very on and off. Therefore, the battery life test is determined by usage as much as it is Doze’s efficiency.
Straight up usage shows a really constant battery drain for typical use cases (web browsing, chatting, video watching). I observed about 10% battery drain an hour (with 50% brightness).
With a more on/off behavior, Doze really shows its power when the tablet is not in use. The following battery drain was over a few days.
Notice how little battery life Doze uses with a couple days of no use.
Software
Tons of reviewers bash the Pixel C for not having productivity features to justify the keyboard’s existence. But I think that they’re looking at it wrongly. The keyboard is meant to compliment Android (if you type more than the average bear). Adding on a keyboard doesn’t mean that it’s now a productivity beast, that’s just an implication that the industry is making based on similar devices on the market. My belief is that Google did not target a productivity-focused audience with the Pixel C, or try to make Android something that it’s not.
So from that perspective, let’s dive into the software experience. Android 6.0 (Marshmallow) is as fabulous as ever on the Pixel C. In combination with the powerhouse Tegra X1 chipset, all of the Material Design animations and transitions just fly. Material Design is so beautiful when you see it with this level of fluidity. Sometimes I just want to use it with no purpose; only to play around the UI and adore the response.
You’ll be in familiar territory if you’ve used Material Design. But because this is a tablet, you get native landscape support. The notification shade drops down from the location where you drag it down. The bottom navigation bar splits the three-button layout, with Back and Home on the left corner and Recent Apps on the right. Other than these things, you pretty much have the same UI as on Android phones.
I must mention that everything has not been picture perfect. There are a couple repercussions from Android 6.0 not thoroughly being tuned into a tablet interface. My biggest gripe was that content often merely gets stretched to fill the display’s extra space (unless it’s one of the few apps that is coded to take advantage of the larger screen real estate, such as Gmail and YouTube). It seems like a wasted opportunity to make the user feel like the tablet’s large screen was a vauable investment.
Content generally stays small, while the space is stretched
A Dual Window mode in Android 6.0 would have helped tremendously in this case (Google has said it’s in the works). Also, apps sometimes aren’t coded with landscape support. This is especially awkward when you’re using the Pixel C like a laptop; it disrupts the experience.
I also dealt with a bug in my use. At some point, the performance stopped being speedy, and rather, was jittery and not completely responsive to my taps. So much so that I stopped using it (powering off/on didn’t fix it). When I picked it up again a couple days later (with the intent of factory resetting), I noticed the issue was gone. Weird.
Final Thoughts
Some may look at Google’s Pixel C as a lost cause. From certain angles, I can get on board with that. There are plenty of more capable 2-in-1’s out there at this price-point. But then I feel like we’re missing the point. The Pixel C is made for the premium Android lover. It’s not about practicality.
The fact that it’s a Pixel or that it has a keyboard attachment shouldn’t confuse that this thing is first and foremost an Android tablet. The Pixel branding is a progression and the keyboard is an enhancement. And it makes senses when you look at the retail price of last year’s Nexus 9 – $399 (16GB model). When you take into account the Pixel C’s souped up build and larger screen, the $100 extra is justified (the 32GB Pixel C starts at $499).
However, there’s certainly more work to do. Usability can be improved on a few fronts, such as adding back in tap-to-wake and shedding off a little weight. The cameras don’t represent the quality that the rest of the device does. And maybe most importantly, we need more support in Android to take advantage of the larger screens on tablets.
I look forward to seeing where the Pixel C heads in the future, and hope Google gives the same treatment to its phone this year. But for now, if you’re an Android fan in need of a tablet, and value a premium device, then look no further.
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Scosche Strikedrive EZTIP reversible micro USB car charger: review
It’s not very often that I get excited to review a car charger, but today is very different. There’s a high probability if you’re using an Android device that you are also using micro-USB to charge it. If you have other portable tech devices like Bluetooth speakers and headphones, you’re also using micro-USB to charge those too. With micro-USB being the standard for Android devices it makes it much easier for consumers to go with one cable type, and it frees us from the need to buy proprietary chargers like Apple does with its products.
So whether you buy a device from Sony, Samsung, LG, Motorola and so on, in all likelihood your cable is going to be the same type in micro-USB.
The major pitfall of micro-USB is that the plug is not reversible. The top of the plug is slightly smaller than the bottom which forces you to plug in the tip in the proper orientation. Another problem is the micro-USB is “micro”, so it is difficult to see which side is the top and which is the bottom if you have bad eyes like I do. We’ve all been forced to get used to this problem, and we do it without complaint because that is what we are used to.
Scosche, an award winning innovative company, has finally solved the problem with micro-USB and created the first mass market reversible micro-USB tip in a car charger called the Strikedrive EZTIP.
Design
We sometimes get caught up in feeling the need to radically change something in order to “innovate”. But, sometimes the smallest modifications are the ones with the most lasting impact. And Scosche has a great understanding of that with the Strikedrive EZTIP.
Scosche created a fully reversible micro-USB tip that can be plugged into any device with a female micro-USB receptacle. The Scosche micro-USB car charger is rated at 12 watt/2.4amp that provides fast charging while you’re in your car. It also comes with a small charging unit that prevents it from sticking out of the socket, and with a spring coiled cable to keep it off your feet and out of the way.
It is designed to work with Android devices, tablets, cameras, speakers, headphones and anything else with micro-USB.
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Usage
For a few months I had given up using micro-USB with my smartphones, because I was using the Nexus 6P and Nexus 5X. Both of those phones have the USB type-C charging standard. While USB type-C can theoretically transfer data files faster than micro-USB, the main advantage is that it is the first plug to be fully reversible. While using both Nexus devices is when I learned how important that feature is.
Standard micro-USB(left), Strikedrive EZTIP(middle), USB type-C(right)
Not having to look at which way I plug my charging cable in is a huge benefit, especially when driving. The last thing you want to do is look at your charging cable while on the road as it can be life endangering. We know we aren’t supposed to be looking at, or touching our smartphones while driving, but the reality is there are still many of us who do.
I can tell you from experience with USB type-C, that having a reversible tip is a feature you shouldn’t overlook. The Scosche Strikedrive EZTIP works no differently than USB type-C, and fits as snug as micro-USB. I have been using the Scosche reversible micro-USB car charger with a whole host of devices, and it works incredibly well and is something that should replace the standard micro-USB tip.
Summary
Having a symmetrical charging tip is something you probably thought would have been the accepted standard versus the traditional micro-USB plug we use now. But it isn’t. We have to fumble with our charging cables, and look closely to make sure they are inserted in the right direction. Scosche solves that seemingly minor issue with the Strikedrive EZTIP and the reversible micro-USB car charger.
It seems minor, but once you have tried it you will want to replace all of your micro-USB cables. And there’s no more important area to replace your cable than in the car if you’re the type to mess with your devices while driving. It’s small changes like the reversible micro-USB tip that have the biggest impacts on our lives, and Scosche hit a home run with its Strikedrive EZTIP car charger.
Learn more at Scosche or at Amazon.com.
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Aftershokz Trekz Titanium bone conducting headphones: review
Like many people I commute to work on a bicycle. One of my biggest problems, besides dodging inattentive drivers, is being able to listen to music while still being able to hear traffic around you. I’m pretty much stuck with one option and only one option. A Bluetooth speaker. Most speakers aren’t made to be mounted on a bike, and the speakers that are take up valuable space on your handlebars.
While I was at CES this year, I bumped into the folks at Aftershokz who showed me their lineup of bone conducting headphones and were kind enough to provide me with a pair of Aftershokz Trekz Titanium to review. I’ve pretty much worn these headphones every day since.
Aftershokz Trekz Titanium bone conducting headphones overview
Aftershockz utilizes a nontraditional method of delivering sound to your eardrums – bone conduction. Instead of creating sound through small speakers and directing it into your ear canal, Aftershokz Trekz Titanium sends vibrations directly into your ear by vibrating the soft bones in front of your ear. The benefit of utilizing this method is that you can still hear what’s going on around you.
The Trekz Titanium feature a titanium band that is almost impossible to bend out of shape and does a great job in adding to the portability and durability of the headphones. The titanium band also helps to minimize the Trekz Titanium’s footprint as the band is much smaller than their other bone conduction headphones.
The Trekz Titanium feature just three buttons, two volume buttons, and a multipurpose button. The volume up button doubles as the power button, which frees up the multi-purpose button for other options, including initiating Google Now voice commands. It also can change the song being played as well as answer and hang up phone calls.
All this and they are also wireless, utilizing Bluetooth 4.0.
Aftershokz Trekz Titanium bone conducting headphones setup
The setup procedure is fairly easy. All you need to do to pair the phone is turn the headphones on by holding down the volume up / power button and keep it depressed until the headphones announce that they are in pairing mode. From there you can search for them from your phone and pair them to your device.
Aftershokz Trekz Titanium bone conducting headphones usage
The Trekz Titanium headphones are very comfortable even when worn for long periods of time, and because they don’t block your ear canal, they are easy to leave on all the time. After a while, there was a slight discomfort that I felt from wearing them all day, but it wasn’t anywhere near the point of needing to remove them.
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The battery life is excellent. They lasted me, on average, 2 days of normal use before I needed to charge them.
The sound quality was also pretty good. Because the headphones don’t go directly into the ear, the bass response is less than other on-ear or in-ear options. Another downside is that these headphones are not suited for listening to music at high levels. This detracts from being able to be immersed in your music. It seems that Aftershokz is aware of this, and they provide a pair of memory foam ear plugs to help. It does help, and it’s the only way to listen to the headphones at full volume. If not, the vibrations will cause the small hairs inside your ear to move back and forth. It will tickle the insides of your ear to the point where you won’t want to continue listening at that volume level.
This never happened at low to medium volume levels. In fact, low to medium volume levels are where these headphones excel. They allow you to be aware of what’s going on around you while still enjoying your music. I bike to work every day and being able to hear the traffic around me is extremely important so as to avoid any kind of accident.
One downside is that when you move your head from left to right it’s easy for the headphones to shift on your head. This is further complicated if you’re wearing a helmet or high-collared jacket. It’s easy enough to readjust, but it can be a little annoying when you’re having to do it several times during your commute.
Another area where I used the headphones was at work. I like to listen to music, but I also need tobe able to hear my desk phone ring. It’s also nice to carry on a conversation while you have music playing on your headphones.
In reality, the headphones normally sound like ambient sound. They don’t sound like they are directly beaming the music into your ears. They sound more like you’re listening to music on speaker somewhere in the room.
Another negative that I found was that the microphone was a little finicky at times. It seems like if I leaned back in my chair, brought my hands above my head, or any other change in position could compromise the person’s ability on the other end of the call to hear me. This was frustrating at first, but after I figured it out, I just made sure to maintain a proper posture during my phone conversations.
4.16 out of 5 stars
Overall these headphones are really great. They aren’t a replacement for your super awesome over the ear headphones, but they aren’t meant to be. Instead, they bring something else to the table. They bring the ability to listen to music without having to go deaf to the world around you. That is the main reason why these are now my go-to headphones. They sell for $129 on Aftershokz.com. What do you think? Are you going to give them a try?
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honor 5X review
There may have not been a lot of high-profile Android device releases at this year’s CES, but that doesn’t mean that there wasn’t anything for consumers to get excited about. In particular, the latest smartphone offering from honor joins the ever growing list of smartphones that fall in the “premium but affordable” category, and continues to push the boundaries for what is expected from a device with a sub-$200 price tag.
The great news here is that with the honor 5X seeing an official release in the US, users don’t have to worry about compatibility with US network carriers, or any costs that are otherwise associated with importing these devices. What else does the latest budget-friendly offering from honor bring to the table? We find out, in this comprehensive honor 5X review!
Design
As mentioned, the honor 5X blurs the lines when it comes to what we generally expect from a device at this price point, and that starts with its design and build quality, with the phone featuring a metal unibody construction. The brushed metal build allows for a premium look and feel that you will be hard-pressed to find with other budget-friendly smartphones, but it has to be mentioned that the metal does make the phone quite slippery. Unfortunately, the metal is not of the highest grade either, making the body prone to scratches, and something you will have to be cautious about when handling it.
While even the sides are made of metal, the top and bottom of the phone is made from plastic, but honor has done a great job of making that something that is not particularly noticeable just by looking at it. The power button and volume rocker are on the right side, and offer a good amount of tactile feedback. The buttons also feature a grippy, textured pattern that makes for a pleasant experience when using them. The headphone jack and the microUSB port are at up top and at the bottom respectively, with the latter flanked by two grills, even though only one of them houses the speaker.
The honor 5X weighs 158 grams and is 8.2 mm thick, and with its 5.5-inch display, the handling experience is very manageable. All said and done, it is certainly very impressive that honor has managed to bring something that is quickly becoming the high-end standard, a metal build, to a device that falls in the budget category, and goes above and beyond what its price point might suggest.
Display
The honor 5X comes with a 5.5-inch IPS LCD display with a 1920 x 1080 resolution, resulting in a pixel density of 401 ppi. The display is actually quite impressive as well, and features vibrant colors that aren’t too over saturated, and with the whites being neither too warm, nor too cool. At this resolution, text is sharp and clear, and brightness is of no concern either, and allows for comfortable outdoor visibility.
However, of note is the fact that the backlight shines through in darker areas more so than what is seen with other LCD panels out there, and the black bezel around the display can also be a bit of an eyesore, especially if you opt for the white version of the device. That said, these are the only areas where the screen falls short, and the overall viewing experience on this display is otherwise really good.
Performance
Under the hood, the honor 5X comes with an octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 processor, clocked at 1.5 GHz, and backed by the Adreno 405 GPU and 2 GB of RAM. There is a 3 GB of RAM version of the device available as well though, for those looking to get a little more out of the multi-tasking capabilities of the device. This has been the processing package of choice for most smartphones that fall in this premium but affordable category, and while the performance understandably doesn’t match up to current generation flagships, it has usually been good for the most part.
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However, that isn’t entirely the case when it comes to the honor 5X, with things seeming a little more sluggish that what we’ve seen before. Animations will be choppy occasionally, and applications do take an extra second to open. There is also a bit of a delay when pressing keys on the keyboard, and the phone even freezes for a second or two while typing. You may also see app refreshes when switching between then via the Recent Apps screen, which is why spending a little extra to get the 3 GB RAM version may make sense for some users. Granted, the performance isn’t vastly different when compared to other smartphones powered by the Snapdragon 615, and these extra stutters can be attributed to the lack of polish of Huawei’s EMUI software package as well.
Hardware
16 GB is the only internal storage option available here, but you do get expandable storage via microSD card by up to 128 GB, to help alleviate any storage concerns. The device also comes with a standard suite of connectivity options, along with dual SIM capabilities, as well as 4G LTE compatibility on the AT&T and T-Mobile networks, which is something that cannot often be said about smartphones from Chinese OEMs, and is another big positive of the honor 5X.
Another useful addition in hardware that is not usually found with other similarly priced smartphones is a fingerprint scanner, placed on the back of the phone. The rear placement of the fingerprint reader definitely grows on you, and makes unlocking the device very easy, and without the need for any unnecessary hand gymnastics. The scanner also unlocks the device directly, without you having to press the power button first, and the reader is very fast and reliable. To see a fingerprint scanner on a budget-friendly device is an impressive fact by itself, and even more so when considering its high quality.
The scanner does more than just unlock the device as well, and offers some additional functionality in the form of gesture controls. Swiping up launches the Recent Apps screen, a tap takes you back to any previous screen, and a tap and hold functions as a home button. Swiping down opens the notification drop down, and you can even use the scanner to answer calls, silence alarms, and take photos. With it being fast and very reliable, and packed with a slew of useful gesture controls, it has to be said that the honor 5X features one of the best fingerprint scanner implementations in the market right now.
Despite the appearance of a dual speaker setup, only the grill at the bottom right houses a speaker, and with this placement, is very easy to cover up when watching videos or playing games in the landscape orientation. The sound quality of the speaker is not particularly good either, with audio sounding muffled and almost distorted, even at lower volumes.
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The honor 5X comes with a 3,000 mAh non-removable battery, and allows for surprisingly impressive battery life. Even on a day which involved a lot of gaming and taking pictures, the device managed close to 6 hours of screen-on time. You may not be getting any fast charging capabilities here, but with the battery life being as good as it is, its absence is not going to be felt either.
See also: Best cheap Android phones (January 2016)
Camera
The honor 5X comes with a 13 MP rear shooter, with a f/2.0 aperture, and a dual tone LED flash, along with a 5 MP front-facing unit. There is no optical image stabilization to be had however, and overall, the quality is actually more of the same when compared to other smartphones that fall in this price range.
In optimal conditions, such as outdoors, the camera performs to the best of its ability and shots do look nice. Without any post processing or sharpening going on, pictures tend to have a lot of softness to them, but despite the seeming lack of sharpness, the images are still clear. The color temperature seems to be more towards the warm side, and colors appear to lack that punch of vibrancy as well. Areas of photos will also be overexposed the majority of the time, but all said and done, you can certainly get some pleasant looking shots from this camera when in good lighting situations.
HDR is available to help brighten up the shadows, and it does a great job for the most part. Sometimes, HDR tends to create an entirely brighter image however, resulting in a poorer looking picture instead. As lighting conditions deteriorate, the camera will try to compensate for the lack of light by increasing the shutter speed, but with no OIS to be found, very steady hands will be required to avoid blurry photos.
The camera can also shoot video in 1080p, but the lack of OIS once again means that videos will be pretty shaky, and over exposing is an issue here as well. It also tries to correct the exposure very rapidly with harsh adjustments, that can be very distracting. Video recording does come with a few extra modes though, including slow motion capture, and object tracking, which lets you select a particular object to focus on, after which the camera will track and focus on that object only, no matter where you move.
The front-facing 5 MP camera also takes some decent shots, albeit with some extra noise. Indoor shots end up being less sharp and with a great amount of noise as well. The overall camera experience definitely has a lot of room for improvement, but is actually par for the course when compared to its similarly priced competition.
Software
On the software side of things, the honor 5X is running Huawei’s EMUI 3.1 out of the box, based on Android 5.1.1 Lollipop. You won’t see a lot of Material Design elements in this user interface, and as is the case with most software packages from Chinese OEMs, there is no app drawer to be found, leaving users dependent on folders to stay organized.
The software package is of course, very different from stock Android, but that isn’t necessarily a bad thing. The notification drop down is very well organized, and split into two parts, with one housing all the notifications, and a swipe left required to bring up the quick toggles. Not only does this allow for a lot more notifications to be shown at once, but there is a lot more information here as well, including the exact time for received notifications. Customizations are seen in the form of themes, transition animations, and home screen grid, and you also get some fun features like shake to re-align icons and auto-align.
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This particular software experience may not be for everybody, but if you do give it a chance, there are a lot of extra and fun features to be had. Huawei has also stated that the honor 5X will receive timely software updates, including an official OTA update for EMUI 4.0 based on Android 6.0 Marshmallow, as well as monthly security updates. In fact, the security updates for January are already available for the device, even before its release, and it does look like Huawei is going to stick to their word in this regard.
Specifications
| Honor 5X | |
|---|---|
| Display | 5.5-inch 1920 x 1080 resolution, 401ppi TP & LCD full lamination |
| Operating system | Android 5.1 Lollipop Huawei EMUI 3.1 |
| Processor | Octa-core 1.5GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 |
| Memory | 2GB of RAM |
| Internal Storage | 16GB, expandable up to 128GB via microSD |
| Dual SIM | Yes |
| Cameras | 13MP rear camera with f/2.0 aperture, SmartImage 3.0 image processor, 28mm wide angle lens with flash 5MP front camera with f/2.4 aperture, 22mm wide angle |
| Mobile Connectivity | GSM 850, WCDMA Bands 1, 2, 4, 5, LTE Bands 2, 4, 5, 12, 17 |
| Connectivity | WiFi 802.11 b/g/n, 2.4QG Bluetooth 4.1 microUSB 2.0 GPS, AGPS, Glonass |
| Sensors | Fingerprint sensor, Accelerometer, Proximity sensor, Ambient light sensor, Digital compass |
| Battery | 3000mAh, non-removable |
| Dimensions | 151.3 x 76.3 x 8.15mm 158g |
| Colors | Dark Grey, Daybreak Silver, Sunset Gold |
Gallery
Pricing and final thoughts
The honor 5X is currently up for pre-order from Amazon and NewEgg, with the device set to be shipped on January 31. The device is priced at just $199.99, with the available color options including grey, silver, and gold.
So there you have it for this in-depth look at the honor 5X! Priced at just $200, the honor 5X is definitely a great buy, and is one of the only phone at this price point to offer both a premium metal build and a fingerprint scanner, aspects that are usually found with devices priced at more than double what the honor 5X costs. These two things alone make the phone a great bargain, but add to the mix a great display experience and a feature packed software package, and it is difficult to not recommend the honor 5X. Granted, the device isn’t flawless, with its mediocre camera and speaker, and somewhat sluggish performance, but its very affordable price tag more than makes up for any issues the phone may have.
RotoView PDF Reader brings gestures to mobile document viewing [Review]
As a college student, I find myself opening PDF documents on my phone quite often. From class syllabi to assignments to event flyers, PDFs tend to be one of the most frequently used document forms around campus. So when I began to explore RotoView PDF Reader, I wondered what set it apart from other apps like Google Docs or Polaris Office. As the name suggests, Rotoview offers a different approach for viewing PDFs, especially content-rich documents.
Function & Features
Many of the documents kept on my smartphone are content-rich — that is, each page of a PDF contains a large amount of text and/or photos, forcing me to zoom in to read specific lines. Admittedly, I have gotten frustrated with other PDF readers after zooming in, because I am forced to drag around the document to reach a different part of the page. The developers behind RotoView sought to fix that annoyance by implementing gesture-controlled scrolling within a PDF document.
Essentially, RotoView (which is also the name of the gesture feature within the app) can be enabled or disabled in a few ways. Once enabled, users can tilt their device up, down, left, or right, to move the document around. For the most part, the gesture control works as well as can be expected. It is a bit wonky at first, but after some adjustments to the sensitivity in the settings, I finally found a happy medium between scrolling speed and angle sensitivity.
Once RotoView is enabled, moving within a document is fairly self-explanatory. I did get slightly frustrated once I found a particular place in a document, as any movement of my smartphone caused the viewfinder to scroll elsewhere. I found an option built into the app that disables RotoView after a number of seconds without movement (the number can be adjusted, as with most features in this app), and I immediately put it to use.
I was pleasantly surprised to see all the adjustment options built into RotoView, as some device accelerometers are more sensitive to certain angles. It is worth noting that RotoView will not work unless the user is already zoomed into a page of a PDF.
The RotoView gestures also include a page-scrolling feature, which I found very useful for multiple-page documents like a class syllabus. By moving the viewfinder all the way to the left or right side of a page and holding it there for a second,users can get to the next or previous page within the PDF. A small arrow will appear before the page switch is made, so the user isn’t surprised when they suddenly find themselves on another page.
This gesture also works with PDF documents that show pages above and below each other, rather than to the left or right. It is worth noting that the page gesture can be disabled in settings.
The main gesture feature is enabled with an up-and-down shake of the device, a caveat to an otherwise fluid system. I lost track of the number of times I shook my Galaxy S6 up and down at every imaginable angle before the app finally recognized that I was trying to enable the gesture. While the sensitivity for this shake-to-enable feature can be adjusted, I have yet to enable it on the first or even third attempt.
RotoView also brings a feature called Continuous Scrolling to PDF viewing, and I actually found myself using this more often than that standard RotoView feature. Continuous Scrolling is essentially the same as the main gesture, except that the former is enabled with a long-press anywhere on a zoomed-in document. Once it is activated, the gesture scrolling will work as long as the user’s finger remains on the screen.
All the features mentioned above are great for PDF viewing, but what about PDF editing or annotating? RotoView seems to have an answer to this question, with integrated annotation options. Within a PDF document, users can enable several different annotations, such as drawing a square, circle, straight line, or freehand line. I took the liberty of showing what each of these looks like in the screenshot above.
There is also an option to select text and highlight it, underline it, strike through it, or underline with a squiggly line (as in, this word is misspelled). I used the highlight feature quite a bit with class schedules, highlighting test dates and assignments. Finally, users can add a small note anywhere on the page, as seen on the left side of the photo above. Of course, the colors for all these annotations can be changed to whatever your heart desires.
Design
The overall look and feel of RotoView PDF Reader leaves more than a little to be desired. Outdated color schemes and highlights were definitely not in keeping with more recent Lollipop and Marshmallow design trends. For those of you who have been around long enough to remember it, the colors and icons of RotoView actually remind me of Android version 4.0, called Ice Cream Sandwich. With light blues and blacks throughout the app, it’s clear that RotoView may be in need of a serious design upgrade.
Opening the app brings you to a list of all the PDF files saved on your local storage. Interestingly, the list doesn’t seem to be organized in a certain way. The files are not listed by date or alphabetically, nor are they prioritized by which was opened most recently. After digging through the settings, I found no way to implement any kind of organization in the main list. This is more of a nuisance than a deal-breaker, especially for users who have more than a few PDF files on their device.
A small settings icon at the top brings back those old Android design notes again. The options are actually fairly extensive, with even more choices enabled if you choose to purchase the $0.99 premium upgrade (which I recommend). The same design flows through the settings, and it serves as another reminder that function over form is certainly the name of the game for RotoView.
Within a PDF, the optics are only slightly more pleasant. A scrolling thumbnail view of the pages in the document sits at the bottom of the screen, and it disappears after a second or two. The menu bar at the top does the same once you zoom in, but it can be quickly called upon with a simple tap anywhere on the screen.
Conclusion
Even without the premium upgrade, the gestures and features packed into this app are outstanding. With a bit of tinkering, users can get some great usage out of RotoView. Despite this, an outdated design does bring the app down a few pegs. A refreshed look with Lollipop design cues would launch this app into contention with some of the most-downloaded document viewing apps currently available on the Play Store.
The bottom line is that RotoView PDF Reader is a solid app that gives users an alternative way to view content-rich PDFs on their smartphone or tablet. Where it lacks in appearance, it makes up in function. RotoView PDF Reader is available for free from the Google Play Store, with a $0.99 in-app premium upgrade that enables saving annotated PDF files. The upgrade also disables ads within the app itself.
Google Play Store: RotoView PDF Reader
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The Android Apple Music App: Good looking, but like the iPhone lacks features and value (App Review)
Apple is notorious for locking down its software and ecosystem by keeping things all to themselves. Apple doesn’t readily share its software and for the most part and has only released three apps into the Google Play Store, one of which is a very poorly two star rated Move to iOS app. A change occurred last year when Apple decided to release its music app, in beta form, to Android users where it offered a free 90-day subscription.
Naturally being a huge fan of music, and intrigued by Apple joining Android, I decided to give the Apple Music app a try. And for the last month I’ve realized the app is representative of what an iPhone is – good looking, over-priced, and definitely lacking in features.
Description
Apple Music was released to the Google Play Store in November of 2015. Apple has decided to call it a beta release, seemingly as an excuse to make up for its shortcomings on Android devices. At $9.99 Apple Music is identically priced to Google Play Music, but offers a smaller library at 30 million songs to Google’s 35 million.
Google and Apple both released Family Subscription plans last year, where you can pay just $14.99 for unlimited music streaming and downloading for a household of six. Pathetically, if you do subscribe to Apple Music on Android and want to join as a family, you’ll need to a Mac OS computer or iOS device.
Apple Music description from the Google Play Store
In order to use the Apple Music App, you will need to create an Apple ID just to get started. The app will not let you past the sign in page to access free music without going through the painstaking process of dropping in your credit card information just for a free trial. You will need to give your full address, credit card information and phone number just to be able to listen to music. And you cannot use other payment services like your Google Wallet or Paypal. Just to start using the app is a painful process.
Just like the iOS app, Apple Music for Android is full of musical recommendations, human-curated playlists and radio. You can create your own playlists and access music you’ve purchased through iTunes on the My Music page. You can download songs, playlists and full albums for offline listening when you don’t have a connection. The Connect tab lets you follow your favorite artists and see photos, songs and other updates they share.
Like other music streaming apps, Apple Music does have human-curated playlists and radio stations. And like other subscription based services, you are free to create your own playlists and download music for off-line use.
Usage
I am a subscriber to TIDAL which offers true HiFi audio that streams at much higher bit-rates than anything else available. The main downside to TIDAL is its much smaller library of music.
I’m also a subscriber to Google Play Music which offers a family plan that doesn’t require an iOS device, includes a free subscription to YouTube Red and allows me access to over 35 million songs. Being a subscriber to both of these services gives me a good foundation for what a good music streaming app should be.
When I first installed the Apple Music app on my Android device, I was hoping to get started by just downloading the app. I was annoyed that I had to go through the entire sign-up process – luckily I had an Apple ID from my iPhone days, but I still had to type in all of my information again like my address and credit card information. I didn’t understand why I couldn’t just login with my Apple ID and get going. The sign process is downright cumbersome.
Moving past the sign-up process and getting into the app was a pleasant experience. Apple Music, while being a tad busy looking, is still really good looking. The images it uses are very clear and the layout looks great.
Once I started to use the app I noticed that the app severely lagged at times when trying to load my downloaded playlists. It didn’t do it all of the time, but you can definitely tell Apple Music for Android is still in beta form. I experienced app crashes too – I gave the app a spin on my Nexus 6P, Note5 and LG V10 so there would be no performance issues blamed on hardware. I was also very disappointed to learn that I could not stream music to my Chromecasts I have setup on my TV and home stereo system.
A feature that I am a huge fan of on all mobile devices is the ability to use voice control, especially while driving or when cooking. Voice control is an absolute must have feature. Apple Music for Android is missing any voice control or the ability to even search the library with voice commands. You can’t even use Google’s voice recognition system in the Apple Music app which is mind boggling.
When it came to music, I could select and listen to most songs that I already have on my other subscription services. In that sense, Apple Music performed as described where it at least delivered music to my smartphone.
Other than the superficial aspect of the app, Apple Music failed to win me over in anyway. Instead it just validated what I think of the Apple iPhone – it looks great, does a “good enough” job, lacks features, and is highly over-priced.
What I liked
- The look and layout of the app
What I didn’t like
- Sign up process
- Smaller library than Google Play Music
- No integration to the Chromecast
- Lack of HiFi audio
- Inability to install on Nexus 9
- App slowness and crashes
- Lack of music videos
Summary
Apple Music for Android is a pathetic attempt by Apple for sharing its software with Android. It lacks features, is highly over priced for what you get, and offers no additional features over Google Play Music or Spotify. You don’t even get music videos with a full subscription to Apple Music, which is a feature found on other music streaming services. Apple’s music app is so bad it almost seems like it was intended to be that way as an insult to Android users. I honestly hope Apple sticks to keeping its software to themselves and staying within its own ecosystem if its going to give us inadequate attempts like Apple Music.
For now, I will be cancelling my subscription before Apple charges me $9.99. I do not recommend the Apple Music app.
Google Play Store – LINK
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Huawei Mate 8 review
This review has been written by Nirave Gondhia with the video review (above) by Joshua Vergara. Be sure to check out YouTube as well, where you can watch the video in 4K!
The rise of Chinese manufacturers over the past two years made it inevitable that Google would eventually choose one of them to make its flagship handset and last year saw Huawei team up with the search giant on the Nexus 6P flagship. Sporting an all-metal design, pure Android experience and lightning fast fingerprint sensor – not to mention the best smartphone camera of 2015 – the Nexus 6P has, rightly, been a success.
Like LG and Samsung before it, many expected the success of the Nexus flagship to influence Huawei’s own flagship devices that followed and at CES 2016, the Mate 8 – which was launched in China last month – was finally given its global debut. Prior to CES, there had been many rumours that Huawei would use the Nexus 6P as a springboard for a push into the US market and while the honor 5X is launching stateside, the Mate 8 is nowhere to be seen.
Huawei has always made good hardware and the Mate 8 looks to be no different but has the Chinese company learnt anything from working closely with Google and in particular, is its UX any closer to stock Android? How does the Mate 8 compare to past Huawei flagships? Let’s take a look: hit the jump and join me for the written Mate 8 review and be sure to check out Josh’s video review above.
Specifications
Here’s the key Huawei Mate 8 specs:
| Huawei Mate 8 | |
|---|---|
| Display | 6.0-inch IPS-NEO LCD display 1920 x 1080, 368ppi Corning Gorilla Glass 4 |
| Processor | Quad-core 2.3GHz Cortex-A72 + quad-core 1.8GHz Cortex A53 HiSilicon Kirin 950 |
| GPU | Mali-T880 MP4 |
| RAM | 3/4GB, depending on storage option |
| Storage | 32/64/128GB |
| MicroSD | Yes, up to 128GB |
| Camera | 16MP rear camera, OIS, phase detection auto focus 8MP front camera |
| Software | Android 6.0 Marshmallow Emotion UI 4.0 |
| Battery | 4000mAh, non-removable |
| Dimensions | 157.1 x 80.6 x 7.9mm 185g |
Design
Looking at Huawei’s list of past flagships such as the Mate S, Mate 7 and P8, there’s one thing that’s clear: Coupled with the Nexus 6P, it’s clear Huawei understands exactly what premium hardware is and while the Mate 8 does have a few tweaks, the design language hasn’t changed all that much since the Mate 7.
That being said, Huawei has one of the strongest design languages in the industry and while a lack of significant change runs the risk of it becoming stale, the company isn’t there just yet. Although the Mate 8 design is more than acceptable, we would like to see the company show us the next stage of its design language in future flagship devices.
The metal finish is most definitely premium in the hand and the precise curves and gradient of the rear provide the handset with its ergonomic feel. The Mate 8 is a large device like every Mate smartphone – the Mate S aside – before it but it is probably the smallest 6-inch smartphone on the market, thanks to impressively small bezels around the display. Huawei is known for its ability to deliver large displays crammed inside a smaller-than-expected body and the Mate 8 is no different.
At 7.9mm thick, the Mate 8 is not the slimmest smartphone on the market but the symmetrical design and slightly curved rear mean it feels much slimmer in the hand. The in-hand experience is further enhanced by the 185-gram weight and the Mate 8 does feel reassuringly solid in daily usage.
The backside of the phone is where Huawei’s design language used to stand out from the competition; dating back as far as 2013 and the Mate 7, Huawei has dabbled in metal on its flagship devices and at the time, the company (alongside HTC) was leading the pack. However, since then, metal has become the new plastic and almost all companies are now attempting to incorporate metal in their flagships. While Huawei is no longer unique in this, its design language isn’t stale just yet but as mentioned, we’d like to see a few changes to differentiate its future flagships.
Where Josh and I definitely agree is which colour Mate 8 to get; Josh has the Silver version while I have the space gray but both of us agree that the Mocca brown Mate 8 is the version you should try to get. Neither the Silver nor the Space Gray are bad colour choices but the Mocca colour is quite unique and this helps it to stand out from the myriad of other metal-clad smartphones on the market.
Beneath the camera on the rear, we have a feature that Huawei has become superb in delivering: the fingerprint sensor. From the square sensor in the Mate 7 to the gesture-enabled Honor 7, the ultra fast sensor on the back of the Nexus 6P and now, the scanner in the Mate 8, it’s clear that Huawei understands fingerprint scanners and the Mate 8 is no different. While it doesn’t have all the gestures found in the Honor 7 and Mate S, its definitely up there with the best fingerprint sensors on the market.
Overall, the Mate 8 continues Huawei’s impressive design language and the design is definitely one of our favourite elements on the phone. It may have a 6-inch display but Huawei’s innovative design means the phone feels much smaller than you’d think.
Display
In January last year, we sat down with Huawei’s executives in China and during the course of several discussions, one topic that kept creeping up was display resolution and whether Huawei would eventually offer QHD resolution (and above) on its flagship devices. At the time, the answer was a resounding no but fast forward to the latter part of the year and the Huawei-made Nexus 6P became the first Huawei-made smartphone to offer QHD resolution.
Less than two months later, Huawei unveiled the Mate 8 and, despite all the rumours and leaks suggesting a QHD display was in the works, Huawei chose to stick with its guns and opted for Full HD resolution. Normally this wouldn’t be an issue but the Mate 8 was meant to arrive with great aplomb onto the market and a 6-inch Full HD panel really does – at least on paper – stretch the boundaries of whether the display is good enough.
In actual usage, the JDI-NEO display technology certainly helps to pick up some of the shortfall from not having QHD resolution and while the Mate 8 sports what is probably the best 6-inch 1080p screen on the market, it is just Full HD resolution. For the spec-lovers amongst you, this translates to a density of 368 pixels per inch, which is lower than the Galaxy Note 5 and most other similarly sized devices.
I personally find that while FHD resolution is more than satisfactory, I would have preferred QHD, especially given the price of the Mate 8 and its status as a premium flagship. While Josh agrees with this, he does point out that FHD means everything is a little easier to see than with QHD resolution and the Mate 8 is perfect for those who want a bigger screen for easier reading, rather than to have more space to display content.
What about in direct light? Huawei hasn’t always been the best smartphone to use in direct sunlight but the Mate 8 is definitely one of the company’s better attempts. In direct sunlight (or even incandescent or tungsten lighting), it’s easy enough to see what’s on the display as long as the brightness is set to full and auto brightness is turned off.
Overall, Full HD may not provide a great experience on paper but the Mate 8 screen is certainly more than satisfactory in real world usage and if you’re someone who prefers a bigger screen so you can see things more clearly, this is definitely the smartphone for you. However, if you’re a tech aficionado, you may find that you miss QHD resolution after using the Mate 8 for any substantial period of time but the battery life savings of opting for FHD more than make up for any shortcomings in the screen department.
Software
The most contentious part of Huawei smartphones is – and has been for many generations – the company’s EMUI interface which polarises most users. While some find it easy to adjust to, others certainly do not and this is where the company has often been lambasted in previous reviews.
Having worked with Google on stock Android for the Nexus 6P, there was hope that we’d finally see Huawei opt for a more westernised interface as part of EMUI 4 but has the company done so or are they still trying to force a Chinese-inspired interface on a Western market? Furthermore, are some of the bugs from Lollipop finally fixed in their first Marshmallow device and can EMUI help Huawei compete against other OEMs in Western markets? Let’s find out.
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Prior to Lollipop, Huawei’s EMUI was clean, simple and relatively easy-to-use but the introduction of Material Design in Lollipop resulted in the company trying to revamp its interface to match Google’s new design guidelines. Unfortunately, it mostly failed in this attempt but with EMUI 4.0 bringing Marshmallow to Huawei devices, are we finally given an interface that hasn’t been designed with China in mind? In short, the answer is: no.
This is one of the biggest problems with the Mate 8 and one that I personally find is quite difficult to overcome. For as good as the hardware is, the software is really poor and it almost feels like Huawei has taken a step back in this department over the past year. From the first build of EMUI 3 last year, bugs such as the notification bar being difficult to read thanks to odd colour choices have existed and while we’ve seen the company mostly fix these in the EMUI v3.1 found running on the new Honor 5X, the Mate 8 still has glaring bugs in the software.
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One of the most polarising elements of EMUI is the lack of an app-drawer and while Huawei has certainly made the home screen management more than satisfactory, not having an app drawer is likely to detract from the experience for many Western users. In fact, like previous Huawei smartphones, installing a launcher is probably one of the first things you’ll find yourself doing. Unfortunately, even when you do install a new launcher, the notification menu text bug still persists, so if you use Gmail especially, you can expect to be opening the app or relying on a widget more than you do on other devices.
Look past these glaring issues and the story isn’t much better; Huawei has taken the approach of many other OEMs and sought to add features using its own interface but has failed in its implementation. Some of the new features that Huawei has sought to include are an improved knuckle sense experience – including the draw a letter to launch an app feature that was present on the Mate S – being able to locate your phone through voice control and launching two windows at the same time.
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The knuckle sense feature was first launched early last year and at the time, we said it required a lot of work to be truly useful. Several months later, it still needs a lot of work and while it somewhat worked on the Mate S, I’ve personally been unable to successfully take a screenshot or launch an app at least once. For Josh, it has worked a few times but we both agree that it’s a feature that Huawei might as well remove as, in theory, it’s meant to make things quicker to launch but you almost have to punch your phone in order to make the feature work. Voice control is another area that Huawei has been dabbling in over the past year and again, the company has a lot of work to do in this area but at least it is usable.
It’s not all negative as a couple of features in EMUI are quite useful; especially for reviewers and people who have to show others how to do something on a phone, built-in support for screen recording – which is activated by double tapping the display using your knuckle – is great and works really well. EMUI also provides a lot of control over the experience and lets you customise many features and while this is great to have, the sheer amount of controls in the general UI actually makes it very difficult to use overall.
While a lot of thought has gone into the performance and design, the software seems to have been rushed out the door and both Josh and I are disappointed that working with Google on the 6P hasn’t delivered a more refined user experience. With a lot of patience and time, you can make EMUI work exactly how you want it to but the problem for Huawei is that most people will give up on EMUI long before then.
Camera
Huawei isn’t known for including exceptional cameras in its smartphones but over the past year, we’ve definitely seen them improve considerably in this department. From the new features launched in the P8 to the excellent Honor 7 camera and then the Nexus 6P – which had the best smartphone camera of 2015 – there was a lot of hope that the Mate 8 could prove to be Huawei’s best yet. Equipped with a new Sony sensor, does the Mate 8 deliver in the camera department? In a word: hardly.
The specs list reads that the Mate 8 offers a 16MP camera with f/2.0 aperture for better low light images, Optical Image Stabilisation for less noisy photos and 0.1 second phase detection autofocus and these features mostly live up to their hardware billing. The problem for Huawei however is that its camera processing fails to make the most of this hardware and even the presence of OIS doesn’t seem to prevent some blur in photos captured.
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While the Mate 8 does struggle with abject camera processing, Huawei deserves credit for some of the features they’ve added. Among the many camera modes is the ability to capture super night photos (which takes awesome low light photos), light painting (which is an excellent mode to capture light trails from cars or to help you be really creative in low light) and Professional mode, which offers a plethora of options for the budding photographer.
While Auto mode results in less-than-impressive photos, the sheer volume of controls in Professional mode, coupled with the way changes are reflected in the viewfinder before you press capture, means you can take some really nice photos if you’re willing to spend time to do so. I personally think you should use Professional mode at all times on the Mate 8 and while Josh agrees that it’s a great mode, he does raise the valid point that most people won’t bother. This means that in auto mode, the Mate 8 camera does absolutely nothing to impress you.
No HDR (left) vs HDR (right)
As good as the options that Huawei has included are, there are some that are most definitely disappointing. For example, turning HDR mode on results in almost no improvements to the picture (as you can see above) and this is not acceptable on any smartphone, let alone one that carries such a large price tag.
Despite being powered by Huawei’s own latest processor, there is still no support for 4K video recording. Yes, the Mate 8 does let you capture Full HD video at 60 frames per second, which is not something that’s common on smartphones, but the lack of 4K recording on an ultra premium flagship in 2016 in inexcusable.
Here’s some images we’ve captured on the Mate 8 – do let us know what you think of the Mate 8 camera in the comments below.
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There’s no covering up the fact that while the Mate 8 camera does have some great hardware, it is seriously lacking in the camera department with Josh and I both agreeing the camera is mediocre at best. Like the software, the camera on the Mate 8 really detracts away from the overall smartphone experience and sadly, it is bad enough that it may forfend you even buying the Mate 8.
Performance
One of the reasons the Mate 8 is long-awaited is the chipset under the hood, with Huawei finally bringing its long-awaited Kirin 950 SoC to the market. Arguably the key challenger to the 2016 chipsets from Qualcomm and Samsung – the Snapdragon 820 and Exynos 8890 respectively – the Kirin 950 is expected to set the benchmark for performance this year and from our testing, it definitely delivers on this.
As we covered during our podcasts at CES, this is one very powerful smartphone and we’re yet to find a way to actually slow it down. Although the Mate 8 versions we have come with just 3GB RAM (with around 1.3GB free when nothing is running in the background), the Kirin 950 makes it seem like there are several gigabytes of RAM available to use and definitely sets the benchmark for what flagship performance should be like this year.
When switching between apps, loading new apps or even running games, the Mate 8 shows zero sign of lag and if you’re after a non-stock handset that has the performance of a stock Android smartphone, the Mate 8 definitely ticks this box. The Mali-T880 GPU finally delivers an experience that seems to be on par with the Adreno GPU used in other processors (although this will only truly become apparent once handsets using these other 2016 processors are launched in the coming months) and solves a big problem with previous Huawei devices, which was the graphics performance.
Hardware
If smartphones were about raw performance, the Mate 8 would certainly lead the current crop but as we know it’s about more than just performance, so what about the rest of the hardware? Other notable features include dual SIM support by default in every variant – which instantly gives the Mate 8 an advantage over other flagships that have separate variants with Dual SIM support – a microSD card slot (which takes up the second SIM slot) and an NFC chipset.
All of these work as well as you’d expect and just like previous Huawei smartphones, the presence of metal has no impact on network reliability with Huawei’s extensive experience in antennae heralding great signal and network performance in its latest flagship smartphone. One area that is a let down is the bottom-mounted speaker which is average at best and while it is louder than previous Huawei smartphones with body to the sound, it is definitely lacking overall compared to other flagship devices and even the Nexus 6P.
Overall, the hardware on the Mate 8 is almost close to perfect, as is the performance, and aside from a few issues with the speaker, there’s very little that Huawei could have done to make it better. Without doubt, this is one of the main reasons you should buy the Mate 8 and this is reflected in our ratings, with the Mate 8 coming ever so close to scoring a perfect 10 in this section.
Battery
If there’s one feature that made Huawei’s Mate range stand out from the rest, it was the battery, with the Mate 7 proving to be a battery behemoth that very few – if any – smartphones came close to. The Nexus 6P continued this trend and Doze Mode in Marshmallow proved to be the welcome fix that Android needed for better standby time but does the Mate 8 continue in this vein?
Under the enclosed metal-body is a 4000mAh non-removable battery that supports fast charging and the capacity is one of the highest on the market. The Mate 7 had a 4100mAh battery (in body that was similarly sized) while the Nexus 6P is powered by a 3450mAh unit and at least on paper, the Mate 8 should lead the battery stakes yet again. As we’ve found in the past however, a big battery doesn’t necessarily mean great battery life, so is the Mate 8 the battery behemoth you need in your pocket? In a word: YES.
The large capacity coupled with Huawei’s own optimisations in its chipset all combine to deliver exceptional battery life and overall battery life depends on which of Huawei’s included modes you use.
For example: if you use the Smart mode (which is typical day-to-day usage), you can expect to get 2 days’ worth of overall battery life with around 7 hours’ Screen-on-Time (SoT) while if you want brute power, the Performance mode should let you use the full package and still get a full days’ usage with around 4.5 hours SoT.
For the times when you are running low, Huawei claims you can charge the Mate 8 for half an hour to get a full days’ usage and in our testing, rapid charging seems to add around 35% in half an hour (it increased from 15% to 50%). However, while the presence of rapid charging is certainly welcome, the Mate 8 doesn’t support Quick Charge 2.0 so you’ll need to use the included charger in the box to get the faster charging speeds. On the topic of charging, the Mate 8 also doesn’t support wireless charging which is certainly not a deal breaker but something to keep in mind if this is important to you.
The Nexus 6P and the Mate 7 before it are both excellent for battery life and with its new flagship, Huawei seems to have continued this trend. When we spoke to Huawei last January, we were told the company was avoiding higher-than-FHD resolution as it didn’t want to impact on the battery life and while we would have liked to have seen QHD resolution on the Mate 8, there’s no doubt it would have impacted on the battery life. As it stands, the Mate 8 is setting the benchmark for the battery life you can expect from a 2016 flagship and it remains to be seen whether its competitors can actually compete against this.
Final Thoughts
There you have it – Huawei’s latest flagship ticks a lot of the right boxes but some of its gremlins from the past still remain; we’ve always known that Huawei’s hardware is fantastic but the most surprising thing about the Mate 8 has to be just how poorly optimised the software actually is. Yes, it’s more than satisfactory if you’re willing to adjust to it, but with so many flagship devices to choose from, EMUI v4.0 may prove to be a step too far for many users.
The performance and battery – while being fantastic – are not enough to detract away from the poor software and camera experience.
Previous Nexus manufacturers have used their partnership with Google as a springboard onto bigger and greater success, look no further than LG, who have made several Nexus devices in the past and gained much greater recognition for it, but for Huawei, the Mate 8 isn’t the smartphone to do this. However, as the development process for a smartphone can take several months, we’re willing to give Huawei the benefit of the doubt and wait until the next flagship to see the real benefits of working with Google.
So should you buy the Mate 8? Honestly, I would find it difficult to recommend the Mate 8 as the performance and battery – while being fantastic – are not enough to detract away from the poor software and camera experience. That being said, it is still one of the nicest smartphones on the market and feels absolutely great in the hand.
Josh had similar thoughts, stating that
The performance and power (battery) of the Mate 8 just barely cover up the flaws of a device we still love.
Yes, the Huawei Mate 8 is an excellent smartphone and, for the most part, it does rank well amongst the current crop of flagship devices but the few flaws it has are major and while in previous devices Huawei could get away with some of these, we’d have expected a better camera and software experience from its latest flagship. With all that being said, if you’re willing to customise the interface and don’t mind the camera, the Mate 8 is definitely worth a closer look.
What do you think of the Huawei Mate 8 and do you plan to buy one? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below and don’t forget to check out all of our Mate 8 coverage.
Shure SE215 headphones review: Big sound, small package, just right price
The SE215 dominates the sub-$100 earphone price bracket.
Shure is not a mainstream brand name, because the manufacturer is more associated with audio gear that isn’t quite wallet-friendly. On the other hand, it is a favorite among the audiophile community because the company knows how to bring some kickin’ sound that is equally engaging as it is high quality.
As of late, Shure sought to reach out to more audio lovers by filling in its lower price gap. I reviewed the SRH145 on-ears not too long ago, which surprised me over how much they offer at $39. Shure has now provided us one of its entry-level earphones to review for you guys – the SE215.
The SE line of in-ears ranges from $50 all the way up to $1,000. But despite the price, Shure is very careful to give you the most for your money and not compromise on the audio enjoyment that it excels at. Let’s check out if the SE215 maintains that philosophy and delivers Shure’s awesome sound.
Design
I wouldn’t necessarily call the SE215 a looker. Shure seems to rather focus on a design that’s functional than eye-pleasing. I’d agree with that from the perspective that in-ears aren’t really that noticeable when donned, especially compared over-ears.
Almost all of Shure’s SE earphones follow the same design – a jellybean-shaped chassis with a cable that is meant to route over your ears. Traditional earphones just have the cable fall in front of you.
Shure doesn’t just do this to stray from the herd, there’s a reason. When the cable goes around your ear it helps tremendously with microphonics (noise from the cable rubbing on you).
The chassis is a smooth, hard plastic that feels solid. It’s semi-transparent, so you can peak in and see the tiny micro driver that does the audio magic. The sound is fed into your ear via a stem that extends from the chassis. It’s angled just right, so that it aims directly at your eardrum.
Something you won’t find on earphones at this price point is removable cables. The fact that Shure uses the same design across all its models allows the manufacturer to keep some of these same benefits. The cable connects to the chassis via a MMCX connector. It’s a common standard along audio gear.
Here’s the kicker of this feature: If your cable fails (which isn’t uncommon), you can simply buy another and swap it out. This ability helps ensure that these headphones will be long-lived investment.
The cable that Shure includes is pretty standard – comprised of a black, smooth finish wrapping. There is a symmetrical Y-splitter down about 13″ from the earpieces, with a chin slider to help with cable movement. The cable is a bit thick from the splitter to the jack, but not stiff. The total cable length is 64″, and the headphone jack is right-angled
Lastly, included in the box is a soft, zipper carrying case. It has a little pocket on the inside for small accessories (like eartips) and a clip on the outside.
Usability
When talking about earphones, eartips are a sensitive subject. Manufacturers have a slightly different approach to try to capture a good fit among most people and transfer the exact sound signature that they hope to. Different eartips can significantly change the impact of certain elements in the sound. A good example is between silicone and foam tips. Silicone tips tend to promote bass while foam tips calm it. Additionally, passive isolation is different between materials. Foam tips excel with sound isolation.
Shure is generous when it comes to eartips. The SE215 packaging include three sizes of both silicone and foam tips, to suit your fancy.
The medium foam tips come installed
I also have to mention that Shure’s signature black tips (dubbed Shure “Olives”) don’t really wear out in my use. Foam tips are generally prone to stop keeping their shape or eventually fall apart. That’s not so with the Olives in my lengthy experience with them.
If you haven’t worn earphones of this design, there is a slight learning curve. It isn’t just the typical stick-in and you’re done. You sorta need to position the earpiece, stick it in, and then fit the cable around your ear. It’s inconvenient at first, but eventually becomes second-nature.
You’ll realize after a while why many audio manufacturers these days choose this kind of design. Once donned, it’s a comfy and secure fit. And there’s almost no microphonics as you move around (because the noise gets dampened by your ear before it gets to your ear canal). Additionally, this design allows the user to covertly route the cable down their back if it’s preferred.
Shure even provides a guide on how to use its earphones.
I would say that Shure could do better with the thicker “memory” wire that is on the portion of the cable that routes around the ear. The stiffness doesn’t let the user wrap the cable snugly around the ear. Instead, it awkwardly goes up and over. The stiffness does let up slightly over time though.
Sound
*For my sound trials, I used the LG V10 (HiFi SABRE 9018 DAC setting) and Tidal HiFi music samples.
Now we get to the meat of the review – the sound quality. I’ll jump right to it and say that Shure maintains its excellent audio prowess. These little guys sound spectacular for $99.
Talk about in your face. The mids are what it’s about in the sound signature. This means that guitar strums and vocals have a presence like they’re actually there. It also adds a fullness to the music that many headphone reproductions lack. Shure is not trying to bias out ear-candy, it wants to give you the full impact of the recording.
The bass is delicate while still being very relevant. In other words, it hits with plenty of strength, but I wouldn’t call this a basshead’s headphone. I could use a bit more sub-bass; it doesn’t go very deep. But the definition is thoughtful.
My opinion of the treble is almost exactly the same. It doesn’t hide, it’s very relevant in the overall sound, which is great. The whole sound signature is so balanced and cleanly delivered. But you can get nit-picky and say that the treble doesn’t extend as far as it could (higher pitches get rolled-off).
Depth is where I can hear compromise. While the sound reproduction sounds great, it could use extension to fill out the space, if you will. I’m talking about the capture of things like echoing or distances (be more 3D than 2D). The soundstage presentation of the SE215 isn’t wide and doesn’t give you a mental image of the how the sounds surround the space. And yes, earphones can do this, you just have to go up higher in the price chain. Shure isn’t going to give you all for $99, but I’m very satisfied with how much is there.
Final Thoughts
Shure has captured me with its sound, and I’m really glad that its making itself more accessible with an affordable price. The SE215 is able to show what the company is capable of. It is the baseline, which considerately starts off with the company’s quality audio reproduction and engaging sound signature.
The SE215 are no doubt one of the best earphones out there for $99. The fit, sound isolation, and removable cable push the value even further. If you’re considering stepping up your audio game, you need to think about these.
The post Shure SE215 headphones review: Big sound, small package, just right price appeared first on AndroidGuys.
Shure SE215 headphones review: Big sound, small package, just right price
The SE215 dominates the sub-$100 earphone price bracket.
Shure is not a mainstream brand name, because the manufacturer is more associated with audio gear that isn’t quite wallet-friendly. On the other hand, it is a favorite among the audiophile community because the company knows how to bring some kickin’ sound that is equally engaging as it is high quality.
As of late, Shure sought to reach out to more audio lovers by filling in its lower price gap. I reviewed the SRH145 on-ears not too long ago, which surprised me over how much they offer at $39. Shure has now provided us one of its entry-level earphones to review for you guys – the SE215.
The SE line of in-ears ranges from $50 all the way up to $1,000. But despite the price, Shure is very careful to give you the most for your money and not compromise on the audio enjoyment that it excels at. Let’s check out if the SE215 maintains that philosophy and delivers Shure’s awesome sound.
Design
I wouldn’t necessarily call the SE215 a looker. Shure seems to rather focus on a design that’s functional than eye-pleasing. I’d agree with that from the perspective that in-ears aren’t really that noticeable when donned, especially compared over-ears.
Almost all of Shure’s SE earphones follow the same design – a jellybean-shaped chassis with a cable that is meant to route over your ears. Traditional earphones just have the cable fall in front of you.
Shure doesn’t just do this to stray from the herd, there’s a reason. When the cable goes around your ear it helps tremendously with microphonics (noise from the cable rubbing on you).
The chassis is a smooth, hard plastic that feels solid. It’s semi-transparent, so you can peak in and see the tiny micro driver that does the audio magic. The sound is fed into your ear via a stem that extends from the chassis. It’s angled just right, so that it aims directly at your eardrum.
Something you won’t find on earphones at this price point is removable cables. The fact that Shure uses the same design across all its models allows the manufacturer to keep some of these same benefits. The cable connects to the chassis via a MMCX connector. It’s a common standard along audio gear.
Here’s the kicker of this feature: If your cable fails (which isn’t uncommon), you can simply buy another and swap it out. This ability helps ensure that these headphones will be long-lived investment.
The cable that Shure includes is pretty standard – comprised of a black, smooth finish wrapping. There is a symmetrical Y-splitter down about 13″ from the earpieces, with a chin slider to help with cable movement. The cable is a bit thick from the splitter to the jack, but not stiff. The total cable length is 64″, and the headphone jack is right-angled
Lastly, included in the box is a soft, zipper carrying case. It has a little pocket on the inside for small accessories (like eartips) and a clip on the outside.
Usability
When talking about earphones, eartips are a sensitive subject. Manufacturers have a slightly different approach to try to capture a good fit among most people and transfer the exact sound signature that they hope to. Different eartips can significantly change the impact of certain elements in the sound. A good example is between silicone and foam tips. Silicone tips tend to promote bass while foam tips calm it. Additionally, passive isolation is different between materials. Foam tips excel with sound isolation.
Shure is generous when it comes to eartips. The SE215 packaging include three sizes of both silicone and foam tips, to suit your fancy.
The medium foam tips come installed
I also have to mention that Shure’s signature black tips (dubbed Shure “Olives”) don’t really wear out in my use. Foam tips are generally prone to stop keeping their shape or eventually fall apart. That’s not so with the Olives in my lengthy experience with them.
If you haven’t worn earphones of this design, there is a slight learning curve. It isn’t just the typical stick-in and you’re done. You sorta need to position the earpiece, stick it in, and then fit the cable around your ear. It’s inconvenient at first, but eventually becomes second-nature.
You’ll realize after a while why many audio manufacturers these days choose this kind of design. Once donned, it’s a comfy and secure fit. And there’s almost no microphonics as you move around (because the noise gets dampened by your ear before it gets to your ear canal). Additionally, this design allows the user to covertly route the cable down their back if it’s preferred.
Shure even provides a guide on how to use its earphones.
I would say that Shure could do better with the thicker “memory” wire that is on the portion of the cable that routes around the ear. The stiffness doesn’t let the user wrap the cable snugly around the ear. Instead, it awkwardly goes up and over. The stiffness does let up slightly over time though.
Sound
*For my sound trials, I used the LG V10 (HiFi SABRE 9018 DAC setting) and Tidal HiFi music samples.
Now we get to the meat of the review – the sound quality. I’ll jump right to it and say that Shure maintains its excellent audio prowess. These little guys sound spectacular for $99.
Talk about in your face. The mids are what it’s about in the sound signature. This means that guitar strums and vocals have a presence like they’re actually there. It also adds a fullness to the music that many headphone reproductions lack. Shure is not trying to bias out ear-candy, it wants to give you the full impact of the recording.
The bass is delicate while still being very relevant. In other words, it hits with plenty of strength, but I wouldn’t call this a basshead’s headphone. I could use a bit more sub-bass; it doesn’t go very deep. But the definition is thoughtful.
My opinion of the treble is almost exactly the same. It doesn’t hide, it’s very relevant in the overall sound, which is great. The whole sound signature is so balanced and cleanly delivered. But you can get nit-picky and say that the treble doesn’t extend as far as it could (higher pitches get rolled-off).
Depth is where I can hear compromise. While the sound reproduction sounds great, it could use extension to fill out the space, if you will. I’m talking about the capture of things like echoing or distances (be more 3D than 2D). The soundstage presentation of the SE215 isn’t wide and doesn’t give you a mental image of the how the sounds surround the space. And yes, earphones can do this, you just have to go up higher in the price chain. Shure isn’t going to give you all for $99, but I’m very satisfied with how much is there.
Final Thoughts
Shure has captured me with its sound, and I’m really glad that its making itself more accessible with an affordable price. The SE215 is able to show what the company is capable of. It is the baseline, which considerately starts off with the company’s quality audio reproduction and engaging sound signature.
The SE215 are no doubt one of the best earphones out there for $99. The fit, sound isolation, and removable cable push the value even further. If you’re considering stepping up your audio game, you need to think about these.
The post Shure SE215 headphones review: Big sound, small package, just right price appeared first on AndroidGuys.
Charge, store, and more with the Mosaic (Review)
As we continue to keep more and more of our lives on our devices, we realize that the majority of them are lacking when it comes to two big areas: storage and battery life. With many of us keeping tons of movies, pictures, documents, and more on our phones, tablets, and other devices, we are taking up more storage and using more battery than ever before.
Of course, the amount of times we have actually accessed these items are pretty low. We keep movies on our phone for long car rides, plane trips, and times when we don’t have an internet connection and need some entertainment. We keep photos so we can look back and remember moments in our lives. However, we don’t normally need these things on a daily basis, but we still like to keep them with us for one reason or another.
So what do you do? You can keep them on your phone and use up that valuable storage, you can offload them to the cloud which will require you to waste data to view them, or you can put them on a microSD card or microUSB flash drive. This last method is what many people do, but there are fewer and fewer phones with microSD card slots and having a flash drive hanging out of your phone isn’t the most elegant solution.
Enter, the Mosaic from PowerStick. It is the end-all, be-all for your storage and power needs. Not only is the Mosaic a power bank, but it also serves as a wireless storage device and even works as a WiFi extender for when you need a signal boost.
Design and Build Quality
The design of the Mosaic is minimalistic with a white plastic body and a soft plastic underside to keep it secure in a table. The Mosaic logo is on the top of the device in a chopped up style that is simple but eyecatching. Overall, it is fairly small with a 5″x3″ body that stands less than an inch tall. This plus its light weight make it easy to toss in a bag and carry with you without taking up much space or weighing you down.
There is a single button on the left side along with three LEDs for indicating battery level, transfer mode, and WiFi mode. On the back, you’ll find the USB type-A port for charging your devices, and on the front, you can see the USB type-C port for charging the Mosaic itself.
The Mosaic comes with a rigid case with room for the charging cable, tablet charger adapter, and user guide. It’s rigid outside and soft inside means this case will also help protect your Mosaic from any drops or damage.
Using the Mosaic
The Mosaic can do many things, but let’s take them one at a time. First off, it serves as either a 4500mAh or 7000mAh power bank (depending on your configuration) to keep your devices fully charged throughout the day. With that much power at your disposal, you can fully charge almost any phone or tablet out there at least once with many able to fully charge two times or more. This means that you should never find yourself with a dead device during a camping trip or long car ride.
The Mosaic charges with a USB type-C connector, but it comes with a USB type-A to USB type-C cable for those of you (like me) who don’t have any devices that use USB type-C. Don’t worry though, the port used to charge your device from the Mosaic is still USB type-A so all of your microUSB cables will work. The remaining battery percentage is displayed by an LED light on the side that turns from green to red when the battery drops to 20%.
The biggest draw of the Mosaic is its wireless storage capabilities. The Mosaic emits its own wireless signal, and once you connect to it in you WiFi settings, you can access all that you have stored on it through the companion app. This means you can watch movies stored on the Mosaic without having to connect it to your phone.
The Mosaic comes in several configurations so you can select the storage that you need. You can get a 7000mAh power bank with storage options from 16GB all the way to 256GB.
One awesome part about this wireless storage is that it allows up to seven people to access different items at one time. So if your kids are going to be stuck in the car for a long time, you can give them each a phone or tablet and they can all watch different movies all stored on the Mosaic. There are tons of scenarios where this wireless file access would be useful.
I used the Mosaic to store pictures, a movie, and some documents, and I found that accessing them was extremely easy and simple. Unfortunately, you must use a computer to add and delete files from the Mosaic which means you cannot upload pictures and videos you take on your phone directly to the Mosaic. This was slightly disappointing, but it did not detract from how well the Mosaic acts as a wireless storage device.
The Mosaic app has storage divided up into videos, pictures, photos, and documents. You can connect it to your computer and store your files in their respective group to make sure they are easier to find. When it came to watching videos off the Mosaic, I found that while most major formats will play back just fine, MP4 seems to play back the best. I had one or two slight pauses in other video formats.
As an added bonus, the Mosaic can act as a WiFi extender to give you an extra signal boost when you cannot get closer to your router. My room is on the other end of the house from the router, and the Mosaic provided a noticeable signal improvement. I usually suffer from some connection drops, but the signal stayed strong when connected through the Mosaic.
After using the Mosaic for a few weeks, I have been extremely impressed with how well it has handled being a power bank, storage device, and WiFi extender in one. It went from something I was skeptical about to a device that has a permanent spot in my bag. I do wish that I could transfer files from my phone to the Mosaic without using a computer, but that has been my only problem with the Mosaic so far.
If you like to keep lots of movies, photos, documents, or anything else with you but don’t want to take up precious storage in your phone, I would highly recommend taking a look at the Mosaic. It is sleek, portable, and powerful. While it is considerably more expensive than a regular power bank or microSD card with the lowest storage model starting at $130, the convenience of wireless storage plus having everything wrapped into one makes it well worth it. You can get the Mosaic by Powerstick in any of its configurations by clicking on the corresponding button below!
Get your 16GB Mosaic!Get your 32GB Mosaic!Get your 64GB Mosaic!Get your 128GB Mosaic!Get your 256GB Mosaic!
The post Charge, store, and more with the Mosaic (Review) appeared first on AndroidGuys.
AIVAnet 