Nexus 6P vs iPhone 6S Plus
Buy Nexus 6P
Buy iPhone 6S Plus
Google decided to take its Nexus smartphone line down a new path with the Nexus 6, a premium device that unfortunately featured a price tag to match its quality. Continuing on that path, the Nexus 6P is the most premium Nexus device yet, and comes at a lower price tag than its predecessor.
In the other camp is the latest large display smartphone from Apple. Even though this is an “S” year for the series, this device strays for the standard formula by bringing to the table some new and useful additions and upgrades. How does these large display flagships compare? We find out, in this comprehensive look at the Nexus 6P vs iPhone 6S Plus!
Design
As far as the design is concerned, its clear that metal is the order of the day with both smartphones.
The iPhone 6S Plus, as the name suggests, is the larger of Apple’s two new smartphones of this year, and given that it is an “S” iteration, it’s not surprising that the design language of its predecessor has been retained, bringing back the metal unibody construction seen with last year’s iPhone 6. Rounded sides and corners keep the phone feeling really smooth in the hand, maybe too much so however, resulting in a somewhat slippery handling experience, which isn’t great news for a device with a large display.
2.5D glass adorns the front, with the signature home button the only real blemish to be seen here, once again featuring an embedded fingerprint scanner. The sides retain the classic layout as well, with the volume rocker under the silence toggle, and at the bottom is the Lightning port, flanked by the single speaker and the headphone jack. On the back, the only clear lines on the phone outline a rectangle in the middle, and there is also the protruding camera at the top left corner.
On the other hand, the Nexus 6P features a big departure from the way Nexus smartphones have been constructed in the past. While Nexus manufacturers have tended to borrow design cues from their own flagship offerings, things are a little different this year. With Huawei at the helm, there has been a distinct re-imagining of what a premium Nexus smartphone should be.
Metal encompasses a more boxy design, with the flat sides contributing to the handling experience. The volume rocker and power button are all placed on the right side, with the latter placed to be within easy reach and featuring a textured pattern to make it easy to locate by feel. The front face of the device is dominated by the large display, and there is not much else to be found here, save for the front-facing camera, and the dual speaker setup. The headphone jack is up top, and at the bottom is the USB Type-C port, that brings a new standard to the world of Android.
On the back is where the unique design element is to be found, with the black bar up top that houses the camera package. It might look a little odd, but it certainly grows on you, and looks much better than what the initial press renders may have suggested. If nothing else, it serves the purpose of keeping the camera physically protected. On the back is also where you will find the new fingerprint reader, powered by Nexus Imprint, in the middle, placed within comfortable reach of your index finger.
Deciding between these two designs is obviously a matter of personal choice, but the choice can be pretty easy when looking at such different devices. The iPhone 6S Plus feels like the sleeker of the two, but the Nexus 6P takes the series to new premium heights with a sturdy feel and industrial look. While both smartphones do look great, it is worth mentioning here that while the iPhone 6S Plus is simply a much larger version of its flagship counterpart, the Nexus 6P stands alone, with only the plastic clad Nexus 5X as its smaller alternative.
Display
Displays on these two devices brought higher resolutions than what were found in previous iterations, even if Apple still doesn’t try to match up to the standards currently set by the Android powerhouses.
The iPhone 6S Plus features a 5.5-inch IPS LCD display with a Full HD resolution, resulting in a pixel density of 401 ppi. 1080p was a development that wasn’t made available to Apple users until the arrival of the Plus line, but the company has always done a good job with their displays, regardless of their comparatively lower resolutions. Colors are nice and vivid, and the translucent effects in iOS help showcase how well the IPS display can perform. Brightness is of no concern either, even if it has to be pumped up to the highest level in daylight for optimal viewing, and while sharpness might be slightly lacking in comparison, reading text is of no issue on this Full HD screen.
1080p is a thing of the past when looking at the latest and greatest in the world of Android however, with Quad HD becoming the accepted flagship standard. The 5.7-inch AMOLED display of the Nexus 6P features a 2560 x 1440 resolution, resulting in a pixel density of 518 ppi. AMOLED is always a good choice if you’re looking for deep backs and high contrast, that really make the colors pop. The high resolution makes everything from media to text look great, with everything as sharp as ever.
The spec hungry will obviously prefer the Quad HD display, but we know that 1080p is still considered the bare standard, and performs just fine for the vast majority of people. Apple does a good job leveraging the IPS display for good quality viewing, but its Android competitor not only brings a higher resolution, but also an AMOLED construction, that allows for a very enjoyable experience of its own.
Performance
A by-the-numbers comparison is not indicative of performance capabilities here, given the two very different ecosystems these processing packages have to power, but in both cases, we are dealing with the pure version of the respective software experiences, resulting in performances that are as high as it should be.
Apple makes its own processing packages, and the iPhone 6S Plus packs a dual-core Apple A9 processor, clocked at 1.84 GHz and backed by the PowerVR GT7600 GPU and 2 GB of RAM. Android fans will consider this really paltry compared to what dominates in the Android world, but for iOS, this processing package works just fine. Moving in and out of screens and applications is smooth and easy, all applications thus far have run without incident, and the gaming experience remained very good during our testing as well.
On the other hand, the Nexus 6P comes with an octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 processor, clocked at 2 GHz, and backed by the Adreno 430 GPU and 3 GB of RAM. This processing package is the current flagship standard, and with the stock software experience to be found on-board, performance is definitely as good as ever. There were no problems getting just about anything done on the Nexus 6P, and gaming has been a wonderful experience as well, further enhanced by the availability of a high resolution display and great sounding front-facing speakers.
All said and done, regardless of which device you may pick, you will certainly not have a difficult time getting things done with these smartphones.
Hardware
Hardware is one area in which the separation between Android and Apple smartphones has gradually been decreasing, with similar features being added (or omitted) in both cases.
The iPhone 6S Plus brings back the fingerprint reader from previous generations, but in an even faster iteration, so much so that the finger used to press the home button doesn’t even need to rest there to unlock the device. Just the actual press of the button itself is more than enough for the sensor to register a fingerprint. Though there is only a single bottom-mounted speaker to be had, the sound coming from it is actually fairly robust, even if not particularly loud.
The Lightning port, when it was first introduced, was a pretty big change for plenty of Apple users, and this is a growing pain that Android users will now have to contend with when it comes to USB Type-C. Finally, in battery, the 2,750 mAh unit of the iPhone 6S Plus is large enough to provide only about a day and half in total with low overall usage, though the standby time is impressive on the Apple phones. Also worth mentioning here is the fact that fast charging has yet to come to the Apple world.
A new hardware addition with the Nexus 6P is the fingerprint reader that is mounted on the back, and is the main point of reference for the new Nexus imprint portion of Android 6.0 Marshmallow. The scanner does work very well, even if it is a little slower than Apple’s, but an index finger on the back wakes the phone and gives you direct access to the homescreens. The Nexus 6P also goes above and beyond with the availability of dual front-facing speakers, that do a great job of bringing pretty loud, full, stereo sound to whatever you are doing, making gaming and media-consumption very fun experiences.
USB Type-C is the new standard for Android, and while it is kind of hard to remember to bring the cord along when heading out, the benefit here is the fast charging, that allows for the large 3,450 mAh battery of the Nexus 6P to fully charge in around 90 minutes. Battery life also benefits from the new Doze feature of Android 6.0 Marshmallow, allowing for standby times that now rival that of the iPhone. It does require the phone to be sitting flat without any sensors being triggered at all, but the bottom line is that, with typical moderate usage, users could get the device to last for as long as 2 days fairly easily.
Simply put, the Nexus 6P is the phone that will appeal to the power user, with its front-facing speakers, reliable fast charging, and big battery that can go the distance. Plenty of users have been able to get power usage of the iPhones, but without these extras, it falls just short, and will definitely need a tether faster than its Android competitor.
Camera
Moving on to the camera, the iPhone 6S Plus features an upgraded 12 MP rear camera with a f/2.2 aperture, along with a 5 MP front-facing unit. The main addition with the rear camera is the ability to record 4K video, which puts it on par with plenty of current generation Android smartphone cameras. Optical image stabilization is also something the iPhone can boast over the Nexus 6P, which surprisingly left it out.
Taking selfies gets an extra feature with a screen-powered flash, and while this does tend to wash out subjects no matter what kind of picture it is, users can at least get some light in really dark situations. As far as the camera application is concerned, the features are fairly robust, but without much manual control. Swiping on the view finder brings up the photo, video, timelapse, and hyperlapse options, but the main focus here is on offering a good default camera interface, and it works pretty well in that regard.
On the other hand, the Nexus 6P also comes with a 12 MP rear camera, which – as Google made sure to tout – has a bigger sensor size than most other Android smartphones, but also the iPhone 6S Plus. OIS is missing here, but the larger sensor should still be able to get in a little more light than typical. The front-facing camera is 8 MP, so pictures will be larger on the 6P than they are on the iPhone, but without a secondary light source, selfies in poorly-lit conditions will be a pain.
Nexus 6P camera samples
Google’s own camera application is also focused on being an automatic shooter, so there aren’t really manual controls to be seen here either. Other than the ability to make HDR+ automatic or not, use Lens Blur for a depth of field look, or capture a Photo Sphere, the app is pretty simplistic, and doesn’t come with too many bells and whistles.
iPhone 6S Plus camera samples
Of course, what matters the most here is the quality of the shots possible with these cameras, and in this case, the two phones are on an even playing field. The iPhone family has always been lauded for bringing good camera experiences, and that continues with the iPhone 6S Plus. OIS does a good job of getting in a little more light in poorly-lit conditions, and it does get a bit more than the Nexus. While previous Nexus devices were infamous for their average camera quality, the Nexus 6P marks new territory with a larger sensor, that, even without OIS, does a great job in photos. To that end, we actually found plenty of photos to be a toss-up in terms of detail and visuals.
Software
Finally, on the software side of things, we return to the age-old comparison of Android vs iOS, that might have admittedly been much easier to conduct only a couple of years ago.
iOS is still aesthetically about the same as its past few iterations. The homescreens contain all the installed applications, and while widgets are still unavailable, a few additions over the last couple of years have made a difference. The notification dropdown is similar to Android’s original creation, but a secondary screen can bring up a few extra shortcuts and glances at some contextual information, and a swipe up from the bottom opens the Control Center, where a number of controls and toggles are easily accessible.
Of course, the biggest addition with the iPhone 6S Plus is 3D Touch, which leverages a layer of sensors underneath the screen to sense any harder than normal presses. By doing so, shortcuts will appear from icons on the homescreens, and previews pop up in various built-in applications. This is a level of input that Apple has effectively added in, and adds a new dimension to what has been a very familiar software experience over the years. Apple’s design prowess permeates through iOS, with all the elements shown in a very smooth and pleasing way. Such is the benefit of a focused, unitary ecosystem, that anyone who gets an iPhone will get this kind of experience without fail.
That is also why the Nexus family is so important to Android lovers. If the purest software experience is what you’re looking for, the Nexus is where one will have to go to get it. Android 6.0 Marshmallow is the latest iteration of Android the way that Google wants it to be experienced, and while it is as smooth and snappy as ever, it is also a robust package in and of itself.
You can, of course, fill up your homescreen with icons, but this being Android, a variety of widgets are available. On the side is Google Now, and the notification dropdown here includes its own version of Quick Settings, so that everything you may need remains within easy reach. Marshmallow has refined some of the well-known aspects, like adding a frequently used apps line in the now vertical scrolling app drawer. App permissions bring a certain level of security to daily tasks, similar to how iOS might constantly notify users that other apps are being triggered or opened, but a whole page for deeper insight is now available too.
Google Now on Tap is an easy way to quickly do a search based on what is on the screen, though it might seem a little fickle at times. Though Material Design arrived a couple of versions ago, the overall Android experience has been refined, and made not only easier on the eyes, but also easier on workflow. Multi-tasking might be a little bare, but you won’t have any trouble with work or play on this mature operating system.
People that are already entrenched in the Android or iOS camp will have little reason to move to the other ecosystem. In the past, app support for iOS used to be more robust than on Android, but that gap is all but closed.
Specs comparison
| Moto X Style / Pure Edition | iPhone 6s Plus | |
|---|---|---|
| Display | 5.7-inch AMOLED display Quad HD resolution, 518 ppi |
5.5-inch IPS LCD display Full HD resolution, 401 ppi |
| Processor | 2 GHz octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 Adreno 430 GPU |
1.8 GHz dual-core Apple A9 PowerVR GT7600 GPU |
| RAM | 3 GB | 2 GB |
| Storage | 32/64/128 GB no expansion |
16/64/128 GB no expansion |
| Camera | 12 MP rear camera, 1.55 micron pixel size, laser auto focus, dual LED flash 5 MP front-facing camera |
12 MP rear camera with OIS 5 MP front-facing camera |
| Connectivity | Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac Bluetooth 4.1 GPS + GLONASS NFC USB 2.0, USB Type-C |
a/b/g/n/ac Bluetooth 4.2 GPS + GLONASS NFC ( with Apple Pay only) USB 2.0 |
| Software | Android 6.0 Marshmallow | iOS 9 |
| Battery | 3,450 mAh | 2,750 mAh |
| Dimensions | 159.3 x 77.8 x 7.3 mm 178 grams |
158.2 x 77.9 x 7.3 mm 192 grams |
Gallery
Pricing and final thoughts
Prices for both of these devices reach the premium brackets, but the iPhone is notorious for being a very expensive phone, especially when a higher storage capacity is factored in. $749 total in payments to T-Mobile gets you the 16 GB version, with the 64 GB iteration setting you back and additional $100. On the other hand, the Nexus 6P is more aggressively priced, but given its unlocked nature, requires a full payment. $499 will get you the base model, requiring another $50 for the 64 GB edition.
So there you have it for this in-depth look at the Nexus 6P vs iPhone 6S Plus! These are the bigger quintessential devices of their respective lines, and they both certainly bring a lot to the table. Apple jumped into the large form factor game only last year, and with the 6S Plus, it is more about refining the formula, aside from the one main addition in 3D Touch. The Nexus 6P is Google’s latest attempt to not only provide a great reference point, but rather be a device that is worthy of claiming the flagship crown. With a design overhaul, Marshmallow additions, and an improved camera, it is worthy of being considered as such.
If you want a larger display with performance to match, either of these devices will do. Purists will stick to what they know and love, and in this comparison, we see that the grass is greener on the other side, in either case.
Charge everything at once with an iClever 6-Port USB Desktop Rapid Charger: Review
In today’s world, it’s not uncommon for people to have multiple devices and most charge via USB. Myself, I have a tablet, phone, Bluetooth headset, Bluetooth speaker, and an extended battery. So, the problem that presents itself is how to charge all the devices at the same time. iClever’s 6-Port USB Desktop Rapid Charger helps to solve this issue.
iClever’s 6-Port USB Desktop Rapid Charger overview
The charger itself is relatively small. It’s just over seven inches long, four inches tall, and 2 inches wide. There are six USB ports on the front and a standard 115-volt wall plugin on the back. Each USB port has a maximum output of five volts and two point four amps.
The charger also features SmartID Technology, which recognizes the electronic device and maximizes charging efficiency.
iClever’s 6-Port USB Desktop Rapid Charger usage
I had to break out a few of my older devices in order to push the charger to the max, but I found that iClever’s charger was able to handle all my devices at the same time with ease. One of my favorite features is the charger’s diminutive size. It fit on my desk without any problems, but I found that it did not want to stay upright when the USB cables were draped to the side. This isn’t a deal killer by any means, but a removable base plate would solve this problem.
Where I see myself getting the most use of the charger is while traveling with my family. While I myself have multiple devices, my wife and kid’s devices require that we take a boatload of chargers with us on any trip that we take. With this device, we are all able to charge our devices without having to pack the chargers.
One of my gripes, albeit a small one, is that the device is a magnet for fingerprints. You won’t have to touch it very often, especially if you leave the USB cables plugged in all the time, but when you do touch it expect to leave fingerprints. Even if you don’t leave them plugged in all the time, I feel that the convenience of the charger outweighs the cosmetic blemishes that your fingerprints will leave.
I also feel like, they should have added the ability to turn the device into a powered USB hub.
3.88 out of 5 stars
Overall this is a great device if you have a need to charge several of your gadgets at the same time. It comes with a 12-month replacement warranty and the price isn’t bad either. You can pick it up for $22.99 on Amazon.
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AAXA Technologies P700 HD LED Micro projector (Review)
Having the ability to bring presentations with you on your smartphone, USB flash drive, or other media device is useless if you don’t have the ability to share it with a group. Portable projectors are taking hold and replacing the need for paper presentations as well as presentations from a laptop display. The AAXA Technologies P700 HD Micro Projector is a tool that every business professional should consider adding to their briefcase/laptop bag. It is a portable, compact, well-built, battery-powered and easy to use.
It’s so good, it can even be used for home entertainment as well.
Design
The AAXA P700 projector is an LED(light-emitting diode) projector which is different from your traditional projectors as they use different lighting technology to display the image or video. LED lamps have better electrical efficiency and longer lifespan than their LCD and DLP projector counterparts. What this means in real world usage is you can make the size of the projector smaller and you can make it portable which is perfect for business purposes.
Measuring in at 6.9″x3.9″x1.6″ the AAXA P700 is much smaller than the hardback copy of Built to Last by Jim Collins, who also authored the famous book Good to Great. There is a high chance that if you’re a business professional, you’ve probably read or at least heard of one of those books before. If you have carried one in your laptop bag, briefcase, suitcase, etc. before, you should have no problems dropping the AAXA P700 in your bag as well. It only weighs 1.37 pounds which is lighter than some portable batteries used for charging mobile phones and tablets.
The external design of the AAXA P700 looks the part as its external body is made of glossy plastic – white on the lower half with a black top. It is tuxedo like giving it a very elegant look. On the sides are a manual focusing wheel, on/off switch, HDMI input, TF-card input, headphone out port and the power input slot. In the front is obviously the output lens projector, and around back has slots for VGA, AV and a full size USB input. On the top are built-in controls for navigating on-screen(remote control is included too). On the bottom is an input for attaching the AAXA P700 to a tripod to make it easier to display your images or videos if you need height.
Overall the design is elegant, compact, lightweight and portable.
Usage
I have access to quite a few meeting rooms inside of the building at the company I work at. We either use projectors(bulbs) or LCD televisions. LCD displays are limited in size and are difficult to mount. They typically only work for our small group meetings. Our projectors on the other hand are a couple of years old and required professional ceiling mounts. They also need their bulbs switched out on a regular basis which is not an easy task. They either burn out completely or lose brightness over time making it hard to see. The old style projectors are very loud because of the built-in fans to keep the bulbs and circuitry from overheating. Five or ten years ago, these projectors were fantastic, but after using the AAXA P700 I will be recommending we swap our projectors out.
The AAXA P700 really shines. Not only is it easy to bring into work with me to test, but it is also very bright. Brightness is one of the most important factors when presenting information – if your viewers cannot see what you are presenting they will disengage. The AAXA P700 is very clear making it super easy to see from the back of the room. The other benefit of being small is that the built-in fan is quiet and doesn’t require much on my part to speak over it.
Lighting at 50% in the meeting room. Still a very bright image.
I found the remote AAXA provided to be very responsive and simple. This is also important because you don’t want to be fiddling around with a remote control when you’re preparing a presentation. I connected a laptop to it using an HDMI cable as well as an external USB port. In my experience, these two ports are the most commonly used by sales reps and business professionals when giving presentations. Just like using a standard TV, all you need to do is select the proper input and it will display the image from your laptop or whatever device is connected via HDMI.
For my external USB drive, the AAXA P700 could read standard files such as MP3, WMA, OGG, WAV, AVI, BMP, JPG, GIF and TXT. I tested out most of these files types and they all loaded and displayed with ease.
For business purposes, there are no flaws with the AAXA P700. It even has 70 minutes worth of battery power which is long enough for the typical 30-60 minute presentation.
Knowing that the projector could handle HDMI, I connected my Chromecast to it. I streamed videos in my bedroom when I took it home. The AAXA P700 has a built-in speaker which is loud enough for a quiet room, but if you want real entertainment quality sound don’t expect much. The volume is loud but lacks depth and bass. When I was watching a video, I simply connected external speakers via the headphone out port to improve sound quality. The sound output was very clear and entertaining with external speakers.
But the most important part, the display output, was absolutely incredible. I projected the video at my white colored bedroom wall, and the image was so clear I thought I could use this as a entertainment device for my bedroom if I wanted. It’s smaller than a wall-mounted TV and can be moved to any other room at anytime. I even threw up a video for cat – my cat was instantly entertained. She was trying to interact with the birds on the wall. She and I could not get enough of the AAXA P700.
The image was so clear even my cat was entertained by the bird.
Specs
PROJECTION SYSTEM
| Max Resolution: | 1920×1080 (1080P) |
| Native Resolution: | 1280×800 (WXGA) |
| Brightness (DC): | 650 LED Lumens |
| Brightness (Battery): | 350 LED Lumens |
| Contrast Ratio: | 2000:01:00 |
| Projection Lens: | Manual Focus |
| Projection Image: | Available Size 10 ~ 150 inch |
| Lamp: | Triple RGB LEDs with Vibrant Color Technology |
| Life 15,000hrs | |
| Projection Offset: | 100% |
GENERAL SPECS
| Audio Output: | 1W (x2) Stereo Speakers |
| Stereo speaker/headphone mini-jack | |
| Color: | White/Black |
| File Playback: | MicroSD& USB Host reader |
| Menu Language: | English, Spanish, French, German, Chinese |
| Aspect Ratio Control: | 16:09 |
| Battery Life: | 70 Minute Li-Ion Rechargeable Battery (Removable) |
| Dimensions: | 6.9″ X 3.9″ X 1.6″ |
| Weight: | 1.37 lbs |
| Power Consumption: | 45 Watts |
| Supported Formats: | MP3 / WMA / OGG / WAV / AVI |
| BMP / JPG / GIF / TXT |
Summary
The AAXA Technologies P700 HD Micro Projector is a rock star for business use and can easily be adapted for home use as well. All around it is a fantastic option for its affordable price, compact size, litany of features and gives a very bright and clear display output. It isn’t bigger than a typical business book and should fit nicely in your work bag. You can display up to 150″ giving a fun view for movies,pictures, games and most importantly presentations. You can learn more at AAXA Technologies or make a purchase from Amazon.com. I just showed it to the head of I.T. at my company and he ordered one for use on business trips.
Image with lights off.
Same image as above but with lights off.
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Order & Chaos 2: Redemption review
MMORPGs take too much of your time, efforts and sometimes money. Choosing which you will play is of salient importance. After all, these are not games you just play for a little bit, or can finish in a few hours. A good MMORPG will keep you busy for months, or even years.
Is Order & Chaos 2: Redemption the one you will dedicate your time to? The series sure has plenty of followers, so there is an ample community that will tell you this is the mobile MMORPG to download. In fact, we did put its predecessor in our list of the top 15 Android MMORPG games.
I personally thought I should go ahead and take the bullet for the team by downloading the title and taking care of this review, risking months of MMORPG addiction that would surely obliterate my social life. I have been playing Order & Chaos 2: Redemption for a couple weeks and am ready to tell you my thoughts on it, so let’s dig into all the details.
The Story
Undoubtedly, RPGs are recognized for their deep narratives, which tend to be very well elaborated and provoke emotions no other types of games can achieve. And of course; these are all about role-playing, after all. Order & Chaos 2 is not the exception to this unwritten rule.
As you would expect, this is the continuation to Order & Chaos Online. It has been 600 years since the destruction of the Primal Heart, which ended up causing an unexpected cataclysmic event that caused unbelievable damage to everything this world’s residents knew.
The world is now recovering from all the destruction and heroes are beginning to rise once again. Your goal is to help keep piece and find redemption (that is part of the title, after all).
Characters
Character customization is a staple most MMORPGs adhere to, and Order & Chaos 2 is not the exception. The question is whether this game satisfies your needs for appearance modification or not.
Let’s start by saying I am definitely satisfied with the races and classes. There won’t be a plethora of choices, but Gameloft did a good job at keeping each class and race under its own category and specific characteristics.
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You can opt to be a human, elf, orc, mendel or kratan. By the way, the last one happens to be new. Kratans are these reptile-like, tall beasts with an immense amount of strength. They are kind of gentle giants, though, as they happen to prefer diplomacy if possible.
When it comes to appearance customization, the app does very well, but it also doesn’t come near other console-level games. Yes, you can modify your character’s looks a bit, but you only get a few options for the hair, skin color and face types.
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I would like to see a deeper appearance altering system, as I am used to having the ability to change every single part of the face and body in my characters, but this will definitely do for a mobile game. Remember, Gameloft can’t go crazy and add even more MBs to their already sizable game app.
Weapon crafting and customization are also viable options. You can even add abilities to your weapons, which is actually quite helpful.
The world
Like any good MMORPG, one of Order & Chaos 2’s largest assets (literally) is its world. Gameloft calls it “a living and breathing world”, and that is exactly what it seems like. For starters, it’s huge. But it’s not like those RPGs that have immense maps with repetitive, lame visuals. You definitely won’t be walking through monotonous fields here (at least not most of the time).
This world is very much alive. There’s plenty of scenery alterations wherever you go. Other characters will always be present, both players and non-players. I do wish I could see other live players more often, but there are enough out there to keep the social aspect active. And we can’t forget about those monsters, which you can always pick fights on and get loot from.
I do have to say it’s easy to get lost in the game, as the map is a bit hard to read and reach. But what MMORPG doesn’t have a confusing map? At least you can use the guidance line to lead your way when you are heading to a mission.
Gameplay
Gameplay is important for any dedicated gamer. Especially when it comes to titles like Order & Chaos 2, in which the battle system will mean the difference between you totally loving or hating the game. Does Order & Chaos 2 do a good job? It’s definitely fun and active, but strategic gamers probably won’t like its button-smashing nature.
This is because you have to press a button every single time you want your character to do somethings. Otherwise he/she will just stand there and chill while the enemy depletes that precious health bar.
There are four buttons in the bottom-right corner. The main one is for the regular attack, while the other three can give you access to abilities you will continue to get throughout the progression of the game. By the way, these can be customized and switched at will.
Moving around is an important part of the battle, as well, which does make things a bit more exciting. For example, I chose to be a ranger, which means I can back off and continue shooting while the enemies try to get close to me. In most cases I can walk away from a battle with zero damage.
If you need more help, it’s also possible to pull out a secondary menu that will grant you access to more skills, potions and other items. Do try to vary your skills and switch them around depending on your conditions. Sticking to the same attacks is easy, but it gets repetitive, and adapting with your environment can really give you the upper hand in combat.
Quests and missions
Things get interesting here. Order & Chaos: Redemption is certainly no casual game. Gameloft has managed to bring a near-console quality MMORPG to mobile devices. Nothing is lacking here, but we can definitely tell some casual mobile gaming elements were integrated.
Remember those WoW quests and missions in which you had to walk for hours on end? Regular MMORPGs are a sit-down-and-spend-all-your-day-in-the-computer kind of experience. But you can’t do that on mobile. The battery won’t even last that long! Though Order & Chaos 2 can be fun if you continue playing for extended periods of time, it is also designed to be picked up for quick gaming sessions.
I believe my longest mission so far has lasted about 15 minutes. This means I could pull off a quest or mission during a work break, or maybe a bus ride. Just be careful with that data, which this game sure is good at consuming. And obviously, it has no offline mode.
The user will have to get missions from specific characters in the game. These will ask for help and get you started on the intricate story. Don’t you worry, you won’t run out of things to do!
Final thoughts
Will you take on this quest or spend your precious time on another time-consuming hobby? That is the question we are trying to answer here, as an MMORPG like Order & Chaos 2: Redemption is no small investment.
Honestly, it had been some years since I last took on an MMORPG and can say I am satisfied with what Gameloft has put together here. For one, fans of the first Order & Chaos game will definitely have to give it a try. It is a direct continuation of the story, after all. But this doesn’t mean those of us outside this clique won’t find some fun in this game.
I spent some good time with Order & Chaos 2 and can say I am really enjoying the experience. You get the complex story, map, character customization and weapons system, but there is no time-consuming element involved. You can play this game in little spurs, as well as hard-core sessions. It’s a great balance that caters to both casual gamers and more dedicated users alike.
And did I mention it’s a free game? Yes, there are in-app purchases in here, but I found I never had to use them to really enjoy the game and move forward. Those who find pleasure in long, complex games that never really end will find a nice home in the Order & Chaos 2 world. I believe you can’t do much better than this when it comes to mobile MMORPGs.
Hit the button below to download Order & Chaos 2: Redemption straight from the Google Play Store. And don’t forget to hit the comments and tell us your very own experiences on the game. Have you been playing this title? What do you think of it? Do you have a preference for another similar game?
Motorola Droid Maxx 2 review
It has been a long since the Motorola Droid Maxx was launched; mid-2013, to be exact. Fans of the battery beast have been hoping for a successor, and this year Motorola has finally decided to bring the series back to life, again in collaboration with Verizon. The equation has been changed this time around, though. In fact, the Droid Maxx 2 is pretty much a re-branded Moto X Play.
Regardless, it is battery life that characterized the Maxx series, and the second iteration sure takes care of that department. Just how good is this phone, though? Does it deserve that precious spot in your pocket? Let’s find out!
Design
The first thing you’ll notice on the back of the device is that Verizon logo on top of the ‘Droid’ branding. And this is to be expected, as both the Droid Maxx and Maxx 2 are Verizon exclusives, something that plays a huge part in setting this phone apart from the Moto X Play. Also on the back are the camera, flash and that beloved Motorola dimple we have gotten so used to, all housed in a metal frame. This dimple acts as a nice resting point for your finger.
To add even more comfort to the phone, Motorola has included a very nice rubbery material along the back. It has a different pattern than what we have seen in the Moto X Style/Pure Edition, which also feels a bit softer to the touch.
This material choice provides a great grip on the device, but it also comes with a downside – the phone does get dirty quite easily.
There’s another caveat in the design department. Unlike its twin, the Moto X Play, the Droid Maxx 2 has no Moto Maker support. On the bright side, users are still able to remove the back plate, giving them the freedom to exchange textures and colors at will.
Flip the phone around and you will find a classic Motorola look. The speaker grills pop out ever so slightly, and the front-facing camera can be found up top. By the way, don’t mistake these for dual speaker grills; the bottom one is the only one that will output sound while playing media.
This can create a little bit of an awkward, unbalanced listening experience, but at least the speaker is on the front, which is definitely a plus. It’s nowhere near being the best audio around, but it does offer some crisp sounds and ample treble.
Motorola is very good at making bezels small, and the Droid Maxx 2 is no exception. This makes the phone easy to hold, even with that massive 5.5-inch screen. What we do have here is some added volume and mass to the phone, as it measures in at 10.9 mm of thickness and weighs 169 grams. Regardless, it has a great grip to it and is among the most comfortable to hold.
Going around the handset we can also find the volume and power buttons on the right side. I do wish the power button had a Moto X Pure-like texture, though, as operating the Maxx 2 simply by touch makes things a bit confusing.
Display
Speaking of that 5.5-inch screen: we have a beautiful HD LCD display on the front of the Droid Maxx 2. It does not consist of Motorola’s shatter-proof technology (like the Droid Turbo 2), but its Gorilla Glass 3 should hold up as well as most 2015 flagships.
While QHD is quickly becoming the standard in higher-end phones, FHD is a common resolution for mid-tier devices, and so the inclusion of a 1080p display here makes a lot of sense. Not to mention, this is one of the best FHD panels we have seen!
It’s interesting to see Motorola going with LCD technology, though, as one of their biggest features is Moto Display. This capability showcases notifications over a black background, which saves energy in the case of AMOLED screens. But then again, this is a more affordable handset, and some sacrifices had to be made. On the bright side (literally), this screen is quite vibrant and dazzling.
Performance & Hardware
Under the hood, the Droid Maxx 2 houses a Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 processor, backed by an Adreno GPU and 2 GB of RAM. And though it only comes with 16 GB of internal storage, users do have access to a micro SD card slot capable of handling 128 GB cards.
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On paper, the new Droid Maxx 2 doesn’t seem like anything to write home about, but I must say the phone performs exceptionally well. It runs very smoothly while performing most tasks and handles multi-tasking with no hesitation. It may fall short of your needs if you are a heavy gamer, but for the most part it delivers pretty fast performance.
As for battery life, this remains one of the biggest selling points for the Droid Maxx series. The Droid Maxx 2 has a huge 3630 mAh battery (nonremovable). Along with the power-efficient 1080p resolution and lower end specs, you can surely get some great battery life out of this smartphone. It will last you an entire day, even with heavy usage.
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With moderate usage we were able to get over 5 hours of screen-on time. Some days I was at around 40% by the time I went to sleep (light to moderate use). Taking that into account, you could say some users will get up to 2 days of battery life. The Droid Maxx 2 can also be charged with Motorola’s Turbo Charger, which is one of the fastest in the market. The sad part here is that the phone doesn’t come with this charger, but you can buy it separately.
Camera
This camera is light years ahead of what we saw on the 2013 Droid Maxx. Just like other 2015 Moto phones, the Droid Maxx 2 sports a 21 MP rear camera and a 5 MP front shooter. Photos are consistently great, producing substantial amounts of detail, while keeping colors bright and vibrant.
With that said, I do have to mention the camera has a tendency to over-expose images a bit. But that is an area in which Motorola’s camera app really helps, as exposure is easily adjustable. However, the rest of the shooting experience can be a bit weird, at least if you are like me and dislike the whole drag-to-focus and tap-to-shoot mechanics.
As it goes with other phones, shooting in low-light scenarios will result in a significant quality degradation. That’s to be expected, but we did notice it even falls behind other 2015 smartphones. These images aren’t horrible, however. And though there is no OIS to help shots being blurry, the software stabilization found in video works great. By the way, 4K recording also works great.
The 5 MP front-facing camera has a wider angle lens, which does create really nice looking selfies with a good amount of detail.
I would say the cameras on the Droid Maxx 2 are among the best Motorola has ever made, and there’s a lot to love here.
Software
One of Motorola’s main lures is their near vanilla Android experience, which is something the Droid Maxx 2 inherits from previous generations. Our main gripe is that we do find plenty of Verizon bloatware here, however.
Out of the box, the Droid Maxx 2 is running Android 5.1.1 Lollipop, which is a little disappointing considering Marshmallow is starting to spread out to some devices. Android 6.0 is starting to become something we expect out of new phones, given that it came out of the box with the HTC One A9. Sure, there is the promise of an update coming, but you know how things go with Verizon. We might have to wait longer than expected.
Besides those couple disappointments, everything else is great about the Droid Maxx 2’s software. You can expect the same Material Design look; from the pull-down menu to the settings and recent apps.
Motorola phones are interesting, because people praise their stock feel, but they also love their customizations. The Droid Maxx 2 may have slightly less features than other Moto handsets, but it’s still worth a look. Moto Display is still there, but since there are no movement sensors in the front, and so you can’t wave your hand over the phone to activate it. Users will have to move their phones a bit, instead.
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Moto Voice also makes sure you can access content without having to touch the phone. It’s similar to the “OK, Google” command, but you can program it to listen to any phrase of your choice. This one is actually quite fun! Gestures like twisting your wrist to launch the camera are still there, but we are missing the chopping one, which turns on the flashlight.
The software itself does run perfectly. I found no shutters, hiccups of animation choppiness. Since you can uninstall most Verizon apps, bloatware also won’t be too much of an issue after doing some housekeeping.
Specifications
| Motorola Droid Maxx 2 | |
|---|---|
| Display | 5.5-inch display 1920 x 1080 resolution, 403ppi Gorilla Glass 3 |
| Processor | 1.7GHz octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 |
| GPU | Adreno 405 |
| RAM | 2GB |
| Storage | 16GB |
| MicroSD | Up to 128GB |
| Connectivity | Wi-Fi a/b/g/n/ac Universal LTE bands Bluetooth 4.1 NFC GPS+GLONASS |
| Networks | XT1565: VZW GSM/GPRS/EDGE (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz) UMTS/HSPA+ (850, 900, 1900, 2100 MHz) CDMA (850, 1900 MHz) 4G LTE (2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 13, 20) |
| SIM card | Nano SIM |
| Water repellent | Yes |
| Camera | 21MP rear camera, f/2.0 aperture 5MP front camera |
| Battery | Non-removable 3630mAh |
| Software | Android 5.1.1 Lollipop Upgrade to Android 6.0 Marshmallow coming eventually |
| Colors | Black with Deep Sea Blue Back White with Winter White Back Interchangeable back plates also available |
| Dimensions | 148 x 75 x 8.9-10.9mm 169g |
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Pricing and conclusion
As the Verizon phone that it is, customers can purchase the Maxx 2 for zero dollars down and $16/mo over a 2-year period. It’s full retail price is only $384, though whether that’s a good or bad deal for the specs, depends on you. It is worth mentioning that Verizon is doing something pretty cool here, allowing users to trade in their old phones for up to $300 towards the purchase of the Droid Maxx 2.
You get a lot with the Droid Maxx 2 for a relatively affordable price. With its great camera, fantastic battery life and great software, it’s definitely worthy of your consideration, especially if you were tempted by the Moto X Play and had hoped to see it come stateside. Sure, there are plenty of other phones that are priced and spec’d similarly or better, but this remains one of the best mid-range options out there for Verizon customers.
Motorola Droid Turbo 2 review
Buy Droid Turbo 2 from Verizon
Recently the major points of focus for Verizon’s Droid series of smartphones have been on battery life and durability, especially when it came to last year’s Droid Turbo, which featured ballistic nylon or re-enforced Kevlar backings to make for quite a durable device. Additionally, the Turbo packed a large battery that allowed for an impressive battery life.
With its successor, Motorola is aiming to further improve upon and refine what are the most exciting aspects of the Droid Turbo series, while also updating the hardware package to better compete with the current crop of flagship smartphones. Available exclusively from Verizon Wireless, does the latest Motorola offering prove to be a compelling option? We find out, in this in-depth review of the Motorola Droid Turbo 2!
Other members of the Moto family
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Design
The Droid Turbo 2 may be a lot of things, but attractive may not be one of them. Following its official launch, there were quite a lot of complaints with regards to how the front of the device wasn’t the most appealing to look at, and we have to agree. With the split speaker grills, slew of sensors, the front-facing camera with flash, and of course, the Verizon logo, there is certainly a lot going on up front. For what it is worth, this is all far more noticeable on the white iteration of the device, which happens to be the color of our review unit. The bezels along the sides of the display of the Droid Turbo 2 aren’t particularly thin either, which also takes away from the look.
The Droid Turbo 2 does borrow some design elements from the Moto X Style (Pure Edition), with the signature Motorola dimple on the back a part of the metal bar that also houses the camera unit. The back isn’t as curved however, making for a slightly thinner device than the Moto X Pure Edition when comparing their thickest points. With its 5.4-inch display, the handling experience with the Droid Turbo 2 is a little more manageable as well, but might still be outside the realm of comfortable one-handed use for some users.
Up top is the headphone jack and the SIM tray that also has a slot for the microSD card, and on the bottom is the microUSB port. On the right side are the volume rocker and the power button, with the latter coming with a textured finish that makes it very easy to locate.
For the first time, Motorola brings its Moto Maker customization suite to the Droid series, allowing for users to choose between various options for the backing, the accent colors, and the colors of the front face, while also offering the ability to add an engraving, for that little bit more of a personal touch. For the backing, the standard soft grip material is available, as also seen with the Moto X Pure Edition, and users can also opt for ballistic nylon, that some fans will appreciate, along with leather materials as well. The customization available via Moto Maker is one of the more compelling features of Motorola’s flagships, and bringing it to the Droid line is certainly a great move.
Display
The big news with the Droid Turbo 2 is the fact that it features a shatterproof display, courtesy of Motorola’s new Shattershield tech. This happens due to the fact that the screen comes with five different layers, starting with a layer of plastic that covers the display. The display itself is slightly flexible, allowing for it to bend on impact and absorb shock, instead of shattering. Along with that, there is a dual-touch layer, so if one touch layer does happen to be affected, there is always a backup.
Having dropped the device face down on concrete, hardwood flooring, and down the stairs, repeatedly, the display does manage to survive everything with hardly any hints of damage. There are consequences of course, with the plastic layer being more prone to scratches, and given the fact that the device itself isn’t rated for protection against impact, while the display may survive, the components inside may not if the fall is hard enough.
As far as the display is concerned, it is a 5.4-inch AMOLED screen with a Quad HD resolution, resulting in a pixel density of 540 ppi. With its high resolution, sharpness is of no concern, and you get the vibrant colors and deep blacks that are expected from AMOLED screens, along with decent viewing angles. Granted, the display may not be as impressive as other AMOLED screens out there, given the multiple layers that are to be found, but we were surprised by how good of a viewing experience Motorola was able to maintain.
Performance and hardware
Under the hood, the Droid Turbo 2 comes with an octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 processor, clocked at 2 GHz, and backed by the Adreno 430 GPU and 3 GB of RAM. This processing package is the current flagship standard, and with Motorola’s near stock software experience on-board, the performance of the Droid Turbo 2 is as good as expected. The device handles everything from swiping, scrolling, and opening applications, to multi-tasking and gaming very well, and everything remains smooth and snappy for the most part.
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32 GB or 64 GB of on-board storage is available, and if storage is of concern, the good news is the expandable storage via microSD card, by up to 128 GB, is also to be found here. The device also comes with a standard suite of connectivity options, but as far as network compatibility is concerned, the Droid Turbo 2 is exclusively available only for Verizon Wireless customers. However, there is an international version of the device as well, called the Moto X Force.
While the device may give the appearance of a dual front-facing speaker setup, there is actually only a single speaker to be found, under the speaker grill at the bottom right below the display. The speaker actually does get pretty loud and sounds very crisp and clear. While not as good as any stereo front-facing speakers, it is certainly better than any rear or bottom-mounted speakers out there.
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In battery, the Droid Turbo 2 packs a large 3,760 mAh unit, which Motorola claimed would last for 48 hours. In our testing, with moderate use that involved a lot of texting, taking a few pictures, watching some videos, and surfing the web, the device managed up to 5 and a half hours of screen-on time. However, it is quite difficult to drain the battery in just one day. There would be around 40% of battery left at the end of the day, and leaving it uncharged for the night, the device would last up to another half a day. Usage varies from user to user, but it shouldn’t be difficult to get up to 30 hours of battery life from the Droid Turbo 2. If you do find yourself needing to recharge, Motorola’s Turbo Charger will help get you back up and running in no time.
Camera
In camera, you get a 21 MP rear camera and a 5 MP front-facing shooter, which is identical to the camera package seen with the Moto X Style (Pure Edition). There is no optical image stabilization however, which means you will have to keep your hands steady when taking images in low-light conditions, and this will likely result in some shaky videos.
The primary camera is capable of taking some great photos, with good color reproduction and detail. The quality understandably deteriorates as lighting conditions worsen, and in low light situations, some grain is to be seen, along with colors losing their vibrancy. As mentioned, you will also have to keep your hands steady to avoid blurry images in these conditions, but for the most part, the device manages decent shots in low light.
The front-facing 5 MP camera takes some great shots as well, with good detail, and with its wide angle lens, it is easy to get quite a lot into the frame. There is also a front-facing flash, but other than in really dark places, this is not something you will end up using as often.
Video recording is pretty good too, with the software-based stabilization somewhat making up for the lack of OIS, and the device is capable of shooting video in 4K as well. Overall, the Droid Turbo 2 offers a great camera that allows for shots that should please most users.
Software
In software, the Droid Turbo 2 runs Android 5.1.1 Lollipop out of the box. While an official update to the Android 6.0 Marshmallow is in the works, it is a little disappointing to see a new device not running the latest version of Android right off the bat. Further, the Droid Turbo 2 will be dependent on Verizon Wireless to roll out the update, and the network carrier has historically not had the best track record in this regard.
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Motorola’s take on Android keeps things as close to stock as possible, but with some useful additions baked in. Moto Display lets you have a quick glance at the notifications by simply waving your hand over the display, or picking up the phone. Moto Voice proves to be a good voice assistant, and Moto Actions includes some useful gesture controls, such as twisting your wrist to launch the camera, or performing a chopping motion to activate the flashlight. Given that this is a Verizon device however, there are a lot of pre-installed Verizon applications, along with a few games, but luckily, most of these apps can be uninstalled if required.
Specifications
| Display | 5.4-inch display Quad HD resolution, 540ppi / Shatter Shield tech |
| Processor | Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 processor / Adreno 430 GPU |
| RAM | 3 GB |
| Storage | 32/64 GB expandable via microSD up to 2TB |
| Camera | 21 MP rear camera with dual LED flash 5 MP front-facing camera with wide angle lens and front-facing flash |
| Connectivity | Wi-Fi a/b/g/n/ac Universal LTE bands Bluetooth 4.1 NFC GPS+GLONASS |
| Network | 4G LTE (Cat 4) CDMA / EVDO Rev A UMTS / HSPA+ Bands: CDMA (850, 1900MHz) GSM / GPRS / EDGE (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz) UMTS / HSPA+ (850, 900, 1900, 2100 MHz) 4G LTE (B2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 13) GSM / EDGE |
| Battery | 3,760 mAh Battery with Turbo & Fast Wireless Charging / Supports PMA and Qi wireless charging (wireless charger sold separately |
| Software | Android 5.1.1 Lollipop |
| Colors | Moto Maker support included |
| Weight and size | 149.8 mm x 78 mm x 7.6 mm – 9.2 mm, Weight 169g |
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Pricing and final thoughts
The Droid Turbo 2 is available via Verizon’s EDGE agreement, priced at $26 per month for the 32 GB version, and $30 for the 64 GB iteration, with the off-contract priced of $624 and $720 respectively.
So there you have it for this in-depth look at the Motorola Droid Turbo 2! The Droid Turbo 2 is essentially the Moto X Pure Edition on steroids, with its larger battery, shatterproof display, and slightly more powerful processing package. Of course, The Droid Turbo 2 is available exclusively from Verizon Wireless in the US, but international users will be able to get their hands on the device, under the Moto X Force moniker. If you do decide to pick up the 64 GB version of the device, you also get the added benefit of being able to change the look entirely once during the first two years.
Overall, the Droid Turbo 2 is a great smartphone, though it is on the pricey side. However, if battery life and a well-protected display are important to you, this is definitely the phone to consider.
Jabra Sport Pace Wireless earbuds (Review)
Exercise is a daily activity for many of us. Whether it be walks at the park, running at the track or lifting weights in the gym, we all try to get in exercise to improve our health. I am a regular gym user as I like to lift weights and perform cardio on indoor machines. Music is a must have for me. I have been working out for almost 20 years now, 5-7 days a week, for 45-90 minutes per session. Exercise makes me feel better, allows me to eat more( I love food) and also clears my head from a long day at work. Walking my dog every night is also something I do regularly.
I remember getting my first mp3 player in 2002 and having music with me whenever I hit the gym. Music helps pump me up and keep me going at a healthy pace. Having plug-in headphones is something I have learned to live with, but is something that can be a nuisance when the cord gets tangled and pulls the phone out of my pocket. Enter the Jabra Sport Pace Wireless earbuds.
Design
The Jabra Sport Pace Wireless earbuds are designed and optimized for fitness use. Exercise creates sweat which can can wreak havoc on electronics, but the Jabra Sport Pace Wireless earbuds are designed to withstand the abuses associated with fitness training.
The earbuds come with soft plastic hooks that flex to wrap around your ears keeping them in place. They are connected by a roughly foot long rubberized cable, with an integrated inline remote control so you can turn up/down the volume, rewind/fast forward music, and also take phone calls. Everything you need is contained withing the Bluetooth connected headset to help keep your workout flowing.
The cable comes in three colors, yellow, blue or red and is also reflective as an added safety feature. Personally, I like the bright colors as it is easier to spot around my house.
Usage
Honestly, I didn’t expect much when it came to sound quality when I put on the Jabra Wireless Sport Pace earbuds. Last year I tried to use a name-brand set of wireless headphones(not Jabra) and was disappointed at the quality of sound they produced. Sound reproduction should be the focus of any earbuds as we want to truly enjoy our music. Having sound isolation and great sound reproduction is a must when it comes to fitness as music really can help you enjoy your workouts.
First and foremost the Jabra Sport Pace Wireless earbuds sound fantastic. I know sound quality is purely subjective, but I have gone through my tests when it comes to earbuds. I have been a fan of them for years and was quite an active member of the audiophile site Headfi.org. It isn’t uncommon to spend hundreds if not thousands of dollars on earbuds and equipment dedicated to sound reproduction. Audiophiles can be quite snobby at times when it comes to earbuds, but my take on it is, if you like what you’re listening to, then go with it. And the Jabra Sport Pace Wireless earbuds fit the bill.
If you workout for more than five hours at a time, then these earbuds aren’t for you. But I would guess that most of you keep your workouts to two hours or less, in which these can more than handle that amount of time. The Jabra Sport Pace Wireless earbuds are rated at five-hours for talk time and I regularly used mine for two to three days of workouts without recharging them.
Since I claimed to be an audiophile, wireless earbuds haven’t been apart of my tech arsenal ever really. I gave them a shot last year, but have stuck with wired headsets because they sound better. Now that the sound quality has improved, wireless earbuds will now be my go to for workouts as the benefits are tremendous. The Jabra Sport Pace Wireless earbuds are water-resistant(IP54 rating), come with a reflective coating for added visibility at night, and also stay out of my way when I am lifting weights. It’s so nice to avoid accidentally getting tangled in my earbud cord and ripping my phone from my pocket.
Also having inline remote controls is much easier than pulling out my phone, turning on the screen to fast-forward/rewind the song and to control the volume. All of those features are built into the inline remote along with a microphone for taking calls. I tried a few calls with my mom to test out the earbuds and they performed flawlessly.
If anyone is going to tell me she can’t hear me, it is my mother when she says “WHAT? You’re breaking up. Are you on a headset or something?” Not once did she say this in our hour long phone calls. Jabra has made me a fan.
As the days get dark quicker and nights get colder, I am frequently putting on hoodies now. It is really nice not to have to deal with unplugging my earbuds when I want to take my hoodie off. Wireless is truly the way to go for earbuds if you work out.
Specs
Summary
If you enjoy the fitness lifestyle and enjoy listening to music, the Jabra Sport Pace Wireless earbuds are for you. They offer incredible sound quality, simplicity by removing your cord, added visibility if you are an outdoors buff and a wireless method for talking on the phone. For $99.99 I find these earbuds to be comfortable and light-weight. They offer an incredible value and I highly recommend them to you.
If you want to learn more head on over to Jabra.com or to Amazon.com to make a purchase.
The post Jabra Sport Pace Wireless earbuds (Review) appeared first on AndroidGuys.
Moto X Style (Pure Edition) vs Samsung Galaxy S6
When the Samsung Galaxy S6 debuted earlier this year, the Korean manufacturer surprised the world by introducing a major overhaul to the build quality and design of its flagship, which better matched the premium price the series commanded. While this was a much-needed change, it did result in some previously signature features going by the wayside.
On the other hand, the latest high-end offering from Motorola retained a lot of what made its predecessor so good, and it remains mostly familiar, save for the bump in size, slightly more refined design elements, and necessary upgrades to key hardware aspects.
How does Motorola’s inexpensive flagship fair against what is arguably the best Galaxy S smartphone that Samsung has ever produced? We find out, in this in-depth look at the Moto X Style (Pure Edition) vs Samsung Galaxy S6!
Design
In terms of design, the first thing you will notice with these two smartphones is how different they are when it comes to the overall aesthetics.
As mentioned, the Moto X Pure Edition retains a lot of the design language of its predecessor, apart from the significant bump in size, including a metal frame, and the curved corners and back that allows for the device to nestle nicely in the palm of your hand. Given its larger footprint, the handling experience isn’t the most comfortable, but the ultra-thin bezels around the sides of the display and small top and bottom chin make for a device that is a lot more manageable that what its 5.7-inch display might suggest. The standard rubbery silicone backing provides a lot of grip as well, but if that is not very important, there are plenty of other options available to you via Moto Maker.
Like the other Moto X family members before it, one of the biggest selling points of the current Motorola flagship is the level of customization available to you. Moto Maker allows you to pick and choose your own color scheme, accent colors, and material for the back cover, and you also have the ability to add custom engravings and messages on the back, for that little bit more of a personalized touch. This kind of personalization is unmatched by any other OEM, and is a very unique aspect of the Moto X experience.
On the other hand, the Samsung Galaxy S6 may have only a handful of color options to choose from, but the big story with the latest Galaxy S flagship was Samsung’s decision to be done with plastic, in favor of a glass and metal unibody construction. With a lot of familiar elements, it does look like a Samsung smartphone through and through, but it looks and feels far more high-end, as is expected from a flagship device of this caliber.
The glass on the back can be a fingerprint magnet, and does make the phone somewhat slippery as well, but given its more compact size, one-handed use is still very comfortable with the Galaxy S6.
Display
The Moto X Pure Edition comes with a 5.7-inch IPS LCD display, while the Samsung Galaxy S6 features a 5.1-inch Super AMOLED screen. With the resolution of both displays being 2560 x 1440, sharpness is of no concern with either. The Galaxy S6 does come with a higher pixel density of 577 ppi compared to the 520 ppi of the Moto X Pure Edition, but that is a difference that is going to hardly be noticeable. What is notable however is the distinction caused by the different underlying technologies of these two displays.
Samsung is well known for its display prowess, and once again, the Super AMOLED display of the Galaxy S6 offers the vibrant, saturated colors and high contrast that we’ve come to expect. The inky dark blacks are not only great for battery life, but also look much cleaner when compared to the grayish blacks on the LCD display of the Motorola smartphone.
That’s not to say that the display of the Moto X Pure Edition is disappointing in any way. It is a great looking screen with surprisingly great colors, viewing angles, and brightness, and while the use of AMOLED might have made more sense given some of the software features available with the Moto X, the switch to LCD is certainly not a deal breaker. Gaming and media-consumption is also very enjoyable with the Moto X Pure Edition, with users able to take advantage of the additional display real estate this is available to them.
Performance
Under the hood, the Moto X Pure Edition features a hexa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 808 processor, clocked at 1.8 GHz, and backed by the Adreno 418 GPU, while the Samsung Galaxy S6 comes with an octa-core Exynos 7420 processor, clocked at 2.1 GHz, and backed by the Mali-T760MP8 GPU. While both devices offer 3 GB of RAM, you are dealing with the much faster DDR4 RAM with the Galaxy S6, compared to DDR3 on the Motorola device.
The Moto X Pure Edition may not be winning any specs races, but Motorola’s focus with their devices has always been on providing a great user experience, and that, fortunately, continues to hold true with their latest offering. Courtesy of a near-stock software iteration, the Moto X Pure Edition is fast, fluid, responsive, and rarely skips a beat. Swiping, scrolling, opening applications, multi-tasking, and gaming are all handled extremely well, and ultimately, that is what is going to matter the most.
On the other hand, Samsung flagships have always come with whatever was deemed the latest and greatest at the time, but unfortunately, real world performance has historically never lived up to expectations. This time around, Samsung decided to give the Snapdragons of the world a skip in favor of their in-house processing package, and that has proved to be a fantastic move.
The Galaxy S6 performs the way a flagship should, with a lot of credit going to Samsung’s optimization of their Touchwiz software suite, that comes with a lot less bloatware and unnecessary features than we’ve seen from Samsung in the past. The Galaxy S6 is easily the smoothest performing Samsung flagship that has ever been released, and while it still has its flaws, like the aggressive RAM management, it is still leaps and bounds ahead of what we’ve seen from the company over the years.
Hardware
In storage, the Moto X Pure Edition is available with 16 GB, 32 GB, and 64 GB of storage, while the Samsung Galaxy S6 comes with 32 GB, 64 GB, and 128 GB variants. The higher storage options may be the better way to go with the Galaxy S6, given the lack of expandable storage, a previous staple feature that Samsung decided to remove this time around. The story is the opposite with the Motorola flagship however, with the Moto X Pure Edition featuring expandable storage via microSD card, something that wasn’t available with its predecessors. This means that you will be able to alleviate any storage concerns, even if you opt for the base 16 GB model.
Another advantage the Moto X Pure Edition has over the Samsung Galaxy S6 is in terms of speaker quality. The former comes with a dual front-facing speaker setup which sounds fantastic, and provides a far better audio experience for gaming and watching videos when compared to the single, bottom-mounted speaker of the latter. The speaker of the Galaxy S6 is not bad by any means and can actually get quite loud, but it does pale in comparison to the Moto X Pure Edition.
The Galaxy S6 does feature a few extras in hardware that aren’t available with the Moto X Pure Edition, starting with the fingerprint scanner. If you appreciate the added benefit and security of having a fingerprint reader, then the reader on the Galaxy S6 is certainly not going to disappoint. The reader is fast, reliable, and easy to set up, and its touch type nature is a far better implementation that the swipe gesture version seen with some of Samsung’s earlier flagships. Apart from unlocking the device, the fingerprint scanner is also compatible for use with Samsung Pay and Android Pay, for that layer of extra security when using these mobile payment systems. The Galaxy S6 also comes with a heart rate monitor on the back, which is a useful addition for some.
On the battery front, the Moto X Pure Edition comes with a 3,000 mAh battery, larger than the 2,550 mAh unit of the Samsung Galaxy S6. Neither battery is replaceable, and while that is standard for the Moto X device, it is a significant departure from the norm for the Samsung flagship. The battery life is better with the Moto X Pure Edition, but not significantly so.
Both devices come with fast charging capabilities as well, making it extremely easy to get both phones up and running in a short time. The Samsung Galaxy S6 also comes with support for both standards of wireless charging, which is always a nice option to have.
Camera
The Moto X Pure Edition comes with a 21 MP rear camera, with phase detection auto focus and a f/2.0 aperture, while the Galaxy S6 features a 16 MP camera, with a f/1.9 aperture, and optical image stabilization.
Moto X Pure Edition camera samples
The Moto X series has never really been known for its camera capabilities, but the Moto X Pure Edition features some significant improvements this time around, resulting in a camera experience that can finally match up to the rest of the competition. Both smartphones are capable of taking excellent photos in most lighting situations, but the edge has to be given to the Galaxy S6 here, for its better dynamic range and low-light performance.
Samsung Galaxy S6 camera samples
Where the Moto X Pure Edition falls short is with regards to the camera application. It is far too minimalistic, especially when compared to what is available with the Galaxy S6. The GS6 camera app comes with a few more options and manual controls that really help make a difference. Futhermore, tapping on the viewfinder to take a shot on the Motorola device just doesn’t feel as intuitive as having a dedicated shutter button.
Software
On the software side of things, both smartphones are running Android 5.1.1 Lollipop, but the experience each offers is completely different from the other. With the Moto X Pure Edition, you get a near stock Android iteration with some useful features from Motorola baked in, such as twisting your wrist to open the camera, chopping twice to turn on the LED flash, glancing at notifications with Moto Display, or discreetly performing voice commands, just to name a few.
The Galaxy S6 on the other hand, comes with Samsung’s typical Touchwiz interface, and while it is a significant departure from stock Android, it is a much cleaner and toned down build of Touchwiz this time around. There is a lot less bloatware, and Samsung also got rid of a lot of unnecessary features. Those that were useful are retained however, such as multi-window, and motion gestures, like swiping your palm over the screen to capture a screen shot, or flipping the phone over to mute a call. Things may not aesthetically be very different from previous iterations of Touchwiz, but if you aren’t a fan of the look, you can now easily change it via the built-in theme store. The theme store is extremely robust, with a lot of options to choose from, and is probably one of the best features of this new version of Touchwiz.
If getting timely updates is of concern, the safer bet would be on the Moto X Pure Edition to get the official update to Android 6.0 Marshmallow first, but hopefully, we won’t be waiting too long for either of these devices to get updated.
Specs comparison
| Samsung Galaxy S6 | Moto X Style (Pure Edition) | |
|---|---|---|
| Display | 5.1-inch Super AMOLED display Quad HD resolution, 577 ppi |
5.7-inch IPS LCD display Quad HD resolution, 515 ppi |
| Processor | 2.1 GHz octa-core Exynos 7420 processor Mali-T760MP8 GPU |
1.8 GHz hexa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 808 processor Adreno 418 GPU |
| RAM | 3 GB | 3 GB |
| Storage | 32/64/128 GB | 16/32/64 GB expandable via microSD up to 128 GB |
| Camera | 16 MP rear camera with LED flash, OIS 5 MP front-facing camera |
21 MP rear camera with dual LED flash 5 MP front-facing camera with wide angle lens and front-facing flash |
| Connectivity | Wi-Fi a/b/g/n/ac Bluetooth 4.1 NFC GPS+GLONASS |
Wi-Fi a/b/g/n/ac Universal LTE bands Bluetooth 4.1 NFC GPS+GLONASS |
| Battery | 2,550 mAh | 3,000 mAh |
| Software | Android 5.1.1 Lollipop | Android 5.1.1 Lollipop |
| Dimensions | 143.4 x 70.5 x 6.8 mm 128 grams |
153.9 x 76.2 x 11.1 mm 179 grams |
| Colors | White Pearl, Black Sapphire, Gold Platinum, Blue Topaz | Moto Maker Coated Silicon Rubber Horween leather and natural wood Metallic accents Engraving |
Gallery
Conclusion
So there you have it for this in-depth look at the Moto X Style (Pure Edition) vs Samsung Galaxy S6! When picking up any new smartphone, price always has an important role to play, and we’ve seen a big surge in devices that continue to offer great specifications and features at affordable price points. Considering that the Moto X Pure Edition features a large Quad HD display, great front-facing speakers, a pretty decent camera, and a lot of customization via Moto Maker, its $400 starting price makes it one of the best bang for your buck devices of 2015.
The Galaxy S6 is clearly the more expensive of the two, by a big margin, but it offers a few useful like extras, like a fingerprint scanner, wireless charging, and more powerful specifications. It is up to you as to whether these features are worth the extra cost, and if they are, then the Galaxy S6 will certainly not disappoint. However, if you are looking for a smartphone that provides a lot of value for not a lot of money, look no further than the Moto X Pure Edition.
LuguLake Swan Wireless Speaker – Great things come in small packages (Review)
The elegant LuguLake Swan Wireless speaker fits both aesthetically and auditorily in the modern chic home. With its black circular shape and craned head, it produces clear audio in 360 degrees and looks good doing it. Additionally, the size is perfect for fitting into a hand while moving around the house while you play your jams.
If you’re at all curious about the name LuguLake, its name is derived from the actual Lugu Lake in China. It is quite a storied lake, Kublai Khan and his Mongolian army even established their army headquarters just south of Lugu Lake. After doing some research, I found the pictures of the actual Lugu Lake to be quite beautiful and see where the Swan Wireless speaker derives its beautiful form from.
Design
The LuguLake Swan Wireless Speaker is about the size of a small apple and was actually a little smaller than expected, but sometimes good things come in small packages. The speaker itself points upwards towards a small cone that gently pulses red while in use that they call a “breathing light”. The speaker pointing up at the breathing light creates a full 360 degree sound spectrum, meaning you don’t have to point the direction at your ears to make it sound clear.
On the top of the LuguLake Swan Wireless speaker there are a few buttons to control your audio: volume up, volume down, next track, previous track, and a bluetooth pairing button. The bluetooth pairing button is used for play/pause, when media is playing, and also doubles as the answer and reject call button (long press/short press) when a call comes in and is also also used to hang up a call. Lastly, speaker charges over USB like any other modern gadget and has a physical on/off switch on it’s bottom.
The speaker also comes with NFC built in making for a very simple pairing. All you have to do is make sure NFC is enabled on your smartphone and simply tap to connect against the speaker.
The Lugulake Swan Wireless speaker also comes with a built-in Li-Ion battery and can be recharged using a standard micro-USB plug.
Usage
I was surprised in the office twice by coworkers poking their head into my office to comment on how surprising it was that such a small speaker could be heard four offices down the hall. Both insisting that I continue blasting my classic rock Spotify station because they enjoyed the Swan so much. One of them even asked me for a link on Amazon.com and purchased one for himself the moment he left my office.
The speaker really does sound great from any angle and it plays loud enough to entertain in a room with people talking (or be heard four offices down). The breathing light is actually pretty soothing and the speaker itself looks great on any of the tables or desks I’ve had it sitting on while listening. On my first day with the LuguLake Swan Wireless Speaker I accidentally left it on while falling asleep, which turned out to be a mistake. It woke me up in the early morning notifying me “Battery Low”, so be careful to power it off before bed! The battery does get a good long haul of playing in, it lasted through an entire day of playing music at high volumes while I worked with only being turned off a couple times.
In addition to being a speaker for listening to music, it also served as a great tool for taking phone calls. I took a couple of conference calls on it and wasn’t tethered to my desk using my traditional phone line. This came in handy when I had to leave my office to check on some chemical reactions in my lab a few doors down.
Specs
- Advanced Bluetooth 4.0 technology. Home-developed module and high transfer speed. It offers Hi-Fi audio quality and comes with 2 full range Neodymium driver, offering rich and clear sound quality
- Zinc alloy built body. Easy to operate – it comes with a touch sense control panel.
- The Swan Wireless Bluetooth speaker comes with Hands free Call Voice Promote functionality which enables you to receive calls on the go. A simple touch of the Bluetooth lights transforms it to a Speaker phone.
- Package included: 1 * LuguLake Swan bluetooth 4.0 speaker, 1 * usb charging cable, 1 * user manual. Size: 85 x 80 x 85 mm
Summary
The LuguLake Swan Wireless Speaker is a beautiful little speaker with good output for it’s size. It projects 360 degrees of high-quality sound with beauty, making it a great buy for anyone who likes their accessories to match their style. For sale on Amazon.com at $40, the LuguLake Swan Wireless speaker does offer great features while being simple to use. You really don’t need to spend a ton of money these days to get high-quality Bluetooth speakers.
You can check out the LuguLake Swan Wireless speaker at Amazon.com.
The post LuguLake Swan Wireless Speaker – Great things come in small packages (Review) appeared first on AndroidGuys.
A very cool review of the verykool Jet SL5009
A while back I wrote an article about Why low to mid level phones are the “Next Big Thing”. I recently received an entry-level phone from a company named verykool. In this review, we will see if the verykool Jet SL5009 disproves my thesis or corroborates it.
verykool overview
The verykool Jet SL5009 is an inexpensive Android-based smartphone with LTE. One of their claims to fame is their low price point, a 5″ screen, Android 5.1 Lollipop, and the inclusion of both front-facing and rear-facing flashes. The phone also comes with a gel case and screen protector included. Here is the complete list of specs.
- 2G bands GSM 850 / 1900 – SIM 1 & SIM 2
- 3G bands HSDPA 850 / 1700(AWS) / 1900 / 2100
- 4G bands LTE band 2(1900), 4(1700/2100), 5(850), 7(2600), 17(700)
- Dimensions 147 x 72.5 x 8.9 mm (5.79 x 2.85 x 0.35 in)
- Weight 165 g (5.82 oz)
- SIM Dual SIM (Micro-SIM, dual stand-by)
- 5.0 inches IPS LCD capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors (~64.6% screen-to-body ratio)
- Resolution 480 x 854 pixels (~196 PPI pixel density)
- Multitouch (2 fingers only)
- Scratch-resistant glass
- Android 5.1 (Lollipop)
- Mediatek MT6735M
- CPU Quad-core 1.1 GHz Cortex-A7
- MicroSD, up to 64 GB
- Internal 8 GB
- 1 GB RAM
- 8 MP rear-facing camera, 3264 x 2448 pixels, autofocus, LED flash
- Video 720p@30fps
- 1.3 MP front-facing camera, LED flash
- 3.5mm jack
- Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Wi-Fi Direct, hotspot
- Bluetooth v4.0, A2DP, LE
- GPS, with A-GPS
- FM radio
- USB microUSB v2.0
- Li-Ion 1900 mAh battery
verykool usage
Software:
One of the first things that I noticed about the phone is that it runs stock Android 5.1 and there is almost no bloatware whatsoever. In fact, the only bloatware I could find on the phone was the verykool app. It was easy enough to disable, but it tripped me up at first because the app is set to automatically launch at boot. If you don’t get through the initial setup quickly enough, the app will launch before you finish the setup process. You can just use the back button to return to the setup, but as it will launch automatically after every reboot, I recommend disabling the app right away.
Hardware:
The next thing I noticed about the phone was the form factor. The phone is pretty thin. It’s not iPhone thin, but it’s thinner than my LG G3. In every other dimension, it is on par with the G3. One big difference is that the G3 has much smaller bezels and is able to pack a 5.5″ screen in the same space that the SL5009 packs a 5″ screen. However, the phone feels good in your hand and unlike my G3 it doesn’t feel like it’s going to slip out of my hand at any given moment.
Even though the screen’s resolution is only 480 x 854 pixels, I found the clarity and resolution to be quite good. It’s not QHD good, or even 720p good, but I’m reminded that most early Android phones and even the early iPhone’s resolutions were worse than this screen. After using it for a while, I didn’t even notice that it wasn’t HD.
One of the aspects of the phone that I really like is the screen brightness. The screen gets very bright, almost too bright. This makes it super easy to see, even in direct sunlight. I would even venture to say that the screen’s visibility in direct sunlight is among the best in the industry.
The one knock on the screen would be its visibility from an angle. Even though the screen features IPS technology, the image quality decreases when being viewed at an angle. It’s to be expected on a device in this price range.
The speakers sound quality is ok. It’s not great, but it’s not bad either. The biggest advantages that it has is that the speaker is loud, much louder that you would expect a phone in this price range to be. The headset speaker is also pretty good, but it’s lacking VoLTE, so the audio doesn’t get that HD sound like you might expect from a higher end phone.
The headphones that come with the phone, however, are another story. They, like the standard issue headphones of other manufacturers, are bud style headphones, but the quality is subpar at the most. I found that they were uncomfortable to use for any extended period of time and the sound quality was bad too. They had a muffled sound to them and the bass seemed way too exaggerated for bud headphones. There was no problem with sound over Bluetooth.
Another thing that I wasn’t too fond of was the capacitive buttons. The actual contact area was small and if I didn’t get my finger exactly on the button, it wouldn’t register the touch. Also, while the buttons were backlit, they would only turn on when they were touched. When the backlight was not on, the buttons were impossible to see.
While there were no issues with the Bluetooth, I found that the phone was missing one of my favorite features on my previous Android phones, the voice dialer. You can imagine my disappointment when I tried to use my LG Tone headphones to initiate a voice call and nothing happened. Another unintended consequence of this is that while the phone has Android 5.1, the phone does not support Android Auto. I suspect that both issues are related.
The phone also features dual SIM card slots and switch between cards, but as I did not have a second SIM card to test it with, I am unsure of how this will work, or even how it will benefit the average American consumer. If you do a lot of international traveling I can see this being more beneficial.
One downside of the SIM card slots is that they are a pain to take out of the phone. They fit very tight into their respective slots. They are rather difficult to get a grip on.
Performance:
Overall the phone feels very responsive. At times, it did freeze up for a few seconds, but it did not happen very regularly and I was using the phone pretty heavily. I am more of a power user, so the average Joe will probably not run into any problems. However, this is where having a removable battery really comes in handy. Just pop it out and back in and you’re golden.
The phone also performed well with gaming. While the CPU and GPU aren’t going to set any records, the phone’s lower resolution allows for the processor to make the gameplay smooth. I found that it was best to close any other running apps because of the phone’s meager 1GB of RAM. The games that I tried were Asphalt 8 and Fallout Shelter. Both performed very well. The only knock being that they seemed to take a little longer to load. Once the game was loaded the gameplay was very smooth. I was also able to use a gamepad with the phone while playing Asphalt 8 with the higher graphics, without any hiccups.
The phone’s 8 GB of storage will limit how many games you can actually install, but the phone does support moving some of your apps to the micro SD card, but even so, you will still run out of space fairly quickly when installing games and other large apps.
Although the battery is only 1,900 mAh, the battery life isn’t too bad. Under light use, I could make through the whole day on a single charge. Using it heavily will cause the battery to drain more quickly and you’ll need to put it on a charger to make it throughout the day. I tried downloading a battery saving app, but the verykool Jet’s memory management is so aggressive with it’s 1 GB of RAM, that the battery saver app wasn’t able to do anything.
verykool benchmarks
As you can see from the benchmarks below, the verykool Jet SL5009 isn’t too shabby for an entry-level phone. It comes in performing slightly above Samsung’s flagship model from 2012, the Galaxy S III.
verykool camera
The camera isn’t too shabby either. The 8mp rear-facing camera performs pretty well in sunlight but falls short in low-light conditions. The flash is essential in low light photography.
Speaking of flashes, you may have noticed from the overview section that the camera has a front facing flash. Unfortunately, that flash is paired with a sub-par 1.3 MP camera. The flash merely illuminates the subject enough to make out the features and the picture comes out looking grainy and overexposed.
Take a look at the gallery below for some examples.
3.44 out of 5 stars
Overall, this is a great entry level phone and it proves that you don’t need to spend $600 + to get a good phone. It won’t compete with or even compare to the big budget flagship models, but if you’re on a budget and you want a phone with a decent sized screen, then this is a great option for you.
To me, this is the ideal phone to get your kid. It’s big enough and verykool enough to keep the other kids from making fun of them, but not too expensive to replace, when they drop it or throw it during a temper tantrum.
So what are you waiting for? Head over to Amazon to get yours.
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AIVAnet 