LG G Flex 2 Review: Gimmick turned useful

For awhile now, innovation in the mobile phone space has been stagnant in terms of hardware. These days new flagships simply have bigger, higher resolution screens, with faster processors and more RAM than most users know what to do with. In an attempt to make a name for themselves, both Samsung and LG have been playing with the idea of flexible touch screens. For Samsung, this came to fruition in the Samsung Note Edge and S6 Edge. For LG, it has come in the form of the LG G Flex 2 (say that five times fast).

When I first found I would be reviewing this device, it was more out of curiosity than any thoughts of the curve being useful. Yet, the more I used the G Flex 2, the more I found the curve to be a natural extension of my hand than another device. Read on for more information!

While doing the review, the LG G Flex 2 had Android 5.0.1 Lollipop, with LG’s new UX 4.0 skin on top. I have mixed feelings about the software on this phone, because it is (in my opinion) the most useful UI skin of all the manufacturers (except Motorola, but they don’t have a UI skin technically). At the same time, it is the most ugly UI of all the manufacturers. With Lollipop being such a beautiful piece of software, LG takes away all of that by placing ugly color combinations and nonsensical placement of words and icons. Luckily, with the use of other launchers, you really only see the UI in the settings.

“Something that was originally seen as a gimmick has become very useful“

Once I get past the look of their UI, the software is great. In fact, I didn’t seem to have any memory leak issues or major bugs many others have faced when dealing with Android 5.0. Further, the ability to customize a lot of the little aspects of the phone to my liking is very useful. I would have maybe liked to see more software tailored to the screen’s curve. However, one of LG’s newest features – called “Glance” – seemed easier to accomplish with a curved screen than other LG’s phones.

Navigating the software was smooth, with me never experiencing lag. LG’s Knock Code feature was as useful as usual. All-in-all, I enjoyed the software on the phone. Just wish it wasn’t so stinking ugly.

The LG G Flex 2 has a 5.5″ P-OLED 1080p screen, giving it a pixel density of 403 pixels per inch. While most top-end smartphones these days are opting for a Quad HD display (including LG’s own G4), the choice to go with 1080p on the G Flex 2 wasn’t a bad one, in my opinion. When the pixels per inch go above 400 (and arguably even over 300), you’re hard-pressed to see any pixels with the naked eye. Further, some people prefer the 1080p display as it doesn’t tend to drain battery life as quickly (which perhaps lends to the G Flex 2’s great battery life – more later).

“The G Flex 2 feels like an extension of my hand“

One choice I believe was in LG’s favor that changed from the original G Flex to the G Flex 2 was the screen size. The original was a whopping 6 inches, which was before the Nexus 6 made that size popular. While the G Flex 2 is no small phone, 5.5″ is much easier to handle than the original (I’ll talk about feel more in “Design”).

The P-OLED display allows for true blacks, and rich colors. The display is bright and crisp, and even viewable in direct sunlight. The curve of the display (in terms of viewing angles) was at times helpful, and at times not. Usually, the curve was helpful, because if one part of the screen had a glare on it, it was not present on the entire screen. However, whenever I placed the phone in a car dock, the phone would stand upright. This would cause the top to curve down ever so slightly, so that the auto brightness would not set for outside, but rather darker. This was solved by disabling auto brightness and manually setting it, but something that is a little annoying to do.

I am sure this is what most users are curious about. Let me put it this way: something that was originally seen as a gimmick has become, in my opinion, very useful.

Let me start with the fact that the phone does not feel like it has a 5.5″ screen because of the curve. That, coupled with the dimensions of the phone (149.10 mm x 75.30 mm x 9.40 mm) and the weight (152 grams), and the phone feels more like a 5.0″-5.2″ phone. Certainly a much easier hold than the original G Flex. While I couldn’t reach my thumb all the way to the other corner of the screen, I come pretty close.

Past that, and the curve allows the phone to just feel better/easier to use than just about any other phone. When I use it for a call, if actually feels like I’m using a phone, rather than a brick. When the phone is in my pocket, it just seems to form better against my leg, rather than a brick. And scrolling through web pages, flicking through images, and any other situation that calls for me to run my finger across the screen seems so much more natural… rather than a brick.

I think you get the idea: the G Flex 2 feels more like an extension of my hand, rather than a brick that can post cat photos on the internet.

Other than the curve itself, the phone certainly has a plastic feel, but the metal edge around the screen helps take away the cheap feeling you might otherwise get. Also, the buttons are on the back (a trademark of LG these days), and seem easier to reach because of the curve.

Here’s what I know: after using this phone for an extended period of time, going back to a phone without that curve just felt, unnatural.

The camera on the G Flex 2 isn’t anything to write home about, but it isn’t bad either. Included below are a few sample shots I took. It comes with a 13 MP rear shooter, and a 2.1 front-facing shooter. The rear camera has laser-focus, which I found to be quicker than most other cameras. It can shoot 1080p video. The camera does have Optical Image Stabilization, something that most smartphones are missing these days.

Otherwise, not a whole lot that is special about the camera on this phone.

The G Flex 2 overall was a great phone to use. Actions were quick, apps loaded up smoothly, and I never noticed any lag. Probably the only thing I noticed was that the phone was able to get pretty hot when playing a game, or doing a lot of multi-tasking. This is likely due to the fact that it uses a Snapdragon 810, though. Otherwise, its 3 GB of RAM could handle everything I threw at it.

Battery life was phenomenal. I often tell people that LG is one of the leaders in battery performance, and the G Flex 2 is no exception. I played with the phone a lot, but thanks to the 3,000 mAh battery, I often went to bed with about 30% left, and almost 5 hours of screen on time. Had I not used it so much each day, I could have likely gotten 2 and a half days out of it, no problem.

To be honest, there’s not a whole lot more to say about its performance, which is a good thing.

LG’s G Flex 2 seems to be a big improvement from the original G Flex, but those who had adopted the original won’t feel left in the dust, as the curve certainly is prominent in day-to-day use. Otherwise, those looking for a phone with a big screen that durable, and has something unique to it, shouldn’t look too far, as the G Flex 2 is a great entry into the smartphone race.

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Defense of Greece TD: Worth it? [App Review]

Tower-defense games: love them or hate them, you’ve got to admit that they provide a lengthy challenge that can be played anywhere. First Games Interactive has created one based on the Ancient Greeks defending against the hordes of Romans. Read on to see if it’s worth downloading.

Setup

On the opening screen, you’re greeted by a Greek engineer and his assistant. They explain the basic story behind the game: the Greeks are being attacked by Romans and have to defend. You’re taken through a tutorial on all the different towers and the physics behind everything. It was very thorough and I had no doubts when I started playing by myself. You can obviously turn off the music and sound. There is no option to connect to Google Play Games, which may not be a big deal, but there is no saving your progress or improving your Google profile score. Otherwise, you’ll have no struggle beginning to play.

Gameplay

If you don’t know what a tower-defense game is, think of it as a bunch of enemies who are following a path. In-between these paths are your defenses, called ‘towers’ that use their dedicated powers to fight back against the incoming hoards. I’m not sure whether it was due to the fact that I hadn’t played the game for long past the tutorial, but there were only 4 towers available – a rather disappointing amount. Perhaps advancing further into the game reveals more weapons. (UPDATE: More are unlocked as you advance) Lag was not present and there were no annoying adverts – only the type that occasionally pops up when you finish a level. If you’re seeking pleasurable gaming experiences, look no further.

Is it for me?

Unless you have something against TD games, it’s a decent try. Unfortunately, there’s also probably a better tower defense out there. But go ahead and try it!

What we liked:

• Thorough tutorial
• Storyline
• Graphics

And not so much:

• Too few defenses (UPDATE: More are unlocked as you advance)
• User Interface

Let me put it like this: It’s a good game, but there’s better tower defenses out there. There’s nothing really wrong with it, but it doesn’t seem to have anything unique that other games don’t.

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MINIRIG the only Bluetooth speaker you will ever need.

The search is over! MINIRIG has finally answered the question I have asked every year about portable Bluetooth speakers. Yes, you can have a portable speaker that truly sounds good. I have listened to countless portable speakers, but the one key element missing is the quality of the sound. Sure there are larger speakers that would do the trick, but that does not make it very portable. The MINIRIG has set the bar on sound quality from a small footprint. Even at the highest volume there is no distortion, which is something other portable speakers have failed to master.

The speaker is made up of a single machined piece of anodized aluminum with a very minimal design,  light weight, simple to operate, and has an astounding battery life. The speaker has an attractive design that comes in a variety of colors.  The MINIRIG is also light weight making it easy to keep with you. The device it is connected to controls the volume leaving you with two options on the speaker itself, high and low. Setup is also a breeze by simply turning it on and finding the Bluetooth on your phone. I have found most speakers have a difficult time connecting with  a device. The MINIRIG always worked and never posed any issues connecting with a multitude of phones and tablets. The housing comes in several color choices made of aluminum and covered in matte poly carbonate making it extremely durable.

The sound is what truly sets it apart from the rest of the field providing crisp clear audio even at the maximum volume. The sound also fills the entire room with ease making it a joy to listen to even from a distance. Deep tones come through fairly well making it all the better considering most portable speakers have no deep tone at all. Various forms of music are handled amazingly something hardly ever found. Most other speakers fall short when changing to new genres limiting their capabilities. From country to hip hop and everything in between the speaker fails to disappoint.

Battery life is a constant issue for any portable device. The MINIRIG has a rated fifty hour battery and it is no joke. Several days went by before I had to charge it. The speaker even allows you to charge your phone making it perfect for lay overs and camping trips. I was able to go a few weeks without charging the speaker with casual listening. when I left the speaker playing it lasted over two days without a charge set on low volume for test purposes.

The MINIRIG surpassed all the expectations I had with a small portable speaker. The quality of the build and capabilities of the speaker rivaled larger non mobile units with ease. Even as good as this product is you can take it up a notch by adding another MINIRIG and a Subwoofer. Unfortunately I did not have this set up but given how impressed I was with just one I can say the additions would be well worth the price. The speaker is also IPX4 rated so it is resistant to small accidents with water. If there is one knock on the MINIRIG the fact that it is not fully submersible is a minor let down.

MINIRIG comes in seven different colors and three packages of 1, 2, or 2.1. The price starts at $219.05 for just the speaker and is worth every penny. The full package of two speakers plus the sub woofer is $608.69. The company is PASCE Ltd in Bristol UK. The unit was designed by a group of engineers and over time refined into the final product of the MINIRIG. The quality of the build and capabilities display the hard work and attention to detail the team has put forth. In conclusion this is the only speaker you will ever need for your mobile audio needs.

MINIRIG

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Meizu MX5 review

Buy now on Amazon

A big focus by smartphone manufacturers this year has been on offering consumers quality devices that don’t break the bank, and we’ve seen some fantastic new additions to this segment from the like of Asus, Alcatel OneTouch, and a slew of Chinese OEMs. The fact that high-end doesn’t necessarily have to mean expensive was really brought into the spotlight just this week however, with the ZTE Axon Phone, OnePlus 2. and the new Motorola flagships, the Moto X Style and Moto X Play, bursting on to the scene. Joining this intensely competitive arena now is Meizu, with their latest flagship offering. Does this device manage to stand out in this ever-growing and impressive crowd? We find that out, and more, in this in-depth Meizu MX5 review!

Design

The Meizu MX5 retains a lot of the design language of its predecessor, and as such, also continues to feature a very familiar look with an inspiration that is obvious. Unlike previous iterations of this flagship line though, Meizu has gone from using a metal frame and plastic backing to a full metal unibody design that curves around the sides to meet the large display up front, allowing for the premium feel that is expected from a current generation flagship.

One easily noticeable difference in the design between generations is the presence of a physical home button up front, with an integrated fingerprint scanner, in the case of the Meizu MX5, replacing the capacitive home button found with its predecessor, which also doubled as a notification light. With this feature not available anymore, a notification LED is now included, found in its more traditional location above the display. The home button can feel a little cheap at times, which isn’t great, given all the different ways this button is used – as a home button, as a back button, and as a fingerprint scanner.

Taking a look around the device, on the right side is the power button below the volume rocker, placed to be within easy reach, and the dual SIM card slot can be found on the opposite side. The buttons may not be of the highest quality, but do offer a decent tactile feel and good responsiveness. The headphone jack is up top, and at the bottom is the microUSB port, flanked by a microphone and a single speaker unit.

While not the thinnest smartphone around, its 7.6 mm thickness makes it quite sleek, and its weight of 149 grams results in a device that feels substantial and comfortable in the hand. Despite its metal construction, the MX5 isn’t particularly slippery and provides a secure grip, and the overall handling experience is far better than what you might get with other smartphones with a similar build.

Display

The Meizu MX5 comes with a 5.5-inch AMOLED display with a 1080p resolution, resulting in a pixel density of 401 ppi, and the display is protected by a Corning Gorilla Glass 3 panel, to keep things scratch-free. Meizu decided to ditch the rather odd 16:10 aspect ratio seen with its previous devices for the more standard 16:9, which is a very welcome change.

While Quad HD is dominating the high-end Android smartphone scene, the 1080p display of the Meizu MX5 certainly more than gets the job done. The display is beautiful, with AMOLED technology bringing everything we love about it, including colors that pop and are nice and saturated, deep blacks, and high brightness. The color temperature does lean towards the warmer side of things though, resulting in a slightly pinkish hue on white backgrounds. It may not be the sharpest display around, but the difference is hardly noticeable, and the media-viewing and gaming experience is an absolute joy.

Performance

Under the hood, the Meizu MX5 packs an octa-core MediaTek MT6795 (Helio X10 Turbo) processor, clocked at 2.2 GHz, and backed by the PowerVR G6200 GPU and 3 GB of RAM.

MediaTek processors may not entirely match up with the Snapdragons of the world, but in the case of the Meizu MX5, there were rarely any problems with performance. Opening, closing, and switching between apps is a breeze, and the device flies through the various elements of the UI. The device also handles multi-tasking and gaming very well, which hasn’t always been the case with Meizu devices and others that feature MediaTek processors. That said, a big contributing factor to this smooth performance is also the software optimization that Meizu has managed with the latest version of the FlyMe OS.

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Hardware

The phone is available in 16, 32, and 64 GB variants, but with the lack of expandable storage via microSD card, you will certainly be better off opting for the higher built-in storage options. The device also comes with a standard suite of connectivity options, along with 4G LTE support, but it is recommended to check for compatibility with your local network carrier first if you do decide to pick up this device.

As mentioned, the physical home button up front has different uses, with a press required for it to work as a home button, and a tap to make it function like a back button. Finally, the button also comes with an integrated fingerprint scanner, that is called M-Touch. The touch type implementation is certainly the one we prefer, and it works incredibly well on the MX5. It is really fast, making it very quick and easy to unlock the device and get into your homescreen. There have been no issues with the scanner failing to recognize the fingerprint, and it actually manages to feel faster than the implementations found with some of the other, more high-end, devices out there.

The single speaker at the bottom isn’t the best sounding out there, but is far from the worst. The audio can sometimes sound a bit tinny, but overall, it allows for a decent audio experience, and can certainly get very loud. As is the case with any bottom-mounted speaker though, it is fairly easy to cover it up when holding the device in the landscape orientation, but the curve along that side does alleviate this issue to some extent, even if only a little bit.

On the battery front, the Meizu MX5 comes with a 3,150 mAh non-removable battery, that allows for some impressive battery life. Regardless of your usage, you can always manage up to 4.5 hours of screen-on time, and the battery should allow for a full day of use for most users. Something odd is the fact that the “Phone Idle” mode seems to strain the battery a lot, which is very surprising. Since the battery life is still good, it isn’t a big concern, but the battery life should get even better if and when this bug is fixed.

There are few different battery saving modes built-in as well, with the default Balance mode functioning very well for the most part. Graphic-intensive gaming may require a switch to Performance mode, but the default setting otherwise keeps everything running smoothly. There is of course, a power saving mode available that lets you get that little bit of extra juice out of the battery. If you do run out of battery life, the MX5 comes with fast charging capabilities, called M-Charge, that will allow you to charge the device to up to 60% in just 40 minutes.

Camera

The Meizu MX5 comes with a 20.7 MP rear camera, with an f/2.2 aperture, and found below the camera is a dual tone LED flash and a laser-guided autofocus. The camera app is very simple, clean, and easy to use, with quick access to a bunch of different modes, like a full manual mode, that gives you granular control over aspects like shutter speed, ISO, exposure, and focus. Other modes include panorama, and Light Field, that takes a lot of shots fast at different focus points, allowing you adjust the focus after the fact.

Shooting in Auto mode allows for some good looking pictures, and it is actually quite surprising how nice they can look, with saturated colors and good detail. Dynamic range is good, but it is up to you to cater the shot correctly, so even if Auto mode is supposed to automatically adjust to take the best picture, that isn’t always the case.

Tapping on the viewfinder helps with the focus and the adjustment of light, but this can be very finicky. You have to make sure that you tap exactly on where you want the camera to focus, and adjust the light to that area. Being off by just a little bit can result in an image that is either too dark, or too bright, and it does require a few tries to get it just right, which can be frustrating. HDR helps in this regard, but does require a second or two to take the picture.

Overall though, when you do get it right, some great shots are possible. As expected, low light shots can be a little noisy and lacking in detail, but the images don’t look too bad either. Video recording is great on the MX5 too, recording at 30 fps, along with 4K recording available as well. Slow Motion video capture is also possible, at 100 fps, and even though that isn’t as slow as some other flagship smartphones, the quality is certainly impressive.

The device also comes with a 5 MP front-facing camera, which allows for some decent self portraits. Pictures have a good amount of detail, but one thing you do have to watch out for is the fact that it tends to prioritize the primary subject, making anything that is even slightly in the background a little blurry. Taking advantage of the front-facing camera is Beauty mode, with settings that lets you change the size of your eyes, make your face a bit slimmer, and more. This mode may not be practical or useful for everyone, but can definitely be fun to play around with.

Software

On the software side of things, the Meizu MX5 runs its own customized FlyMe OS 4.5, based on Android 5.0.1 Lollipop. Of course, you’ll be hard pressed to find any stock Android and Material Design elements in this user interface, and overall, the software experience can take some getting used to.

For starters, there is no application drawer available, leaving users dependent on folders to stay organized and keep the homescreens from getting too cluttered. The Settings menu is very iOS-like in its implementation, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but is of course, very different from what you may already be familiar with. Trying to get to the Settings app itself can be a pain, as there isn’t a direct shortcut available in the Quick Settings menu in the notification dropdown, so you will have to make sure that the Settings icon is at placed at an easily accessible location on the homescreen.

The FlyMe OS may be one of the more simpler takes on Android, but it does pack some cool and useful features, like the ability to lock apps so that they require a pass code to get in to. As mentioned, the physical home button also doubles as a back button, but when it comes to opening the multi-tasking screen, it does get a little strange, since there is no dedicated Recent Apps key to be found. You will have to slowly swipe up from the bottom, to open what looks a lot like the iOS 6 used app dock. Previews of the apps isn’t available, but you can close them with a simple swipe up.

Specifications

Display	5.5 inch AMOLED Full HD (1080×1920) Density: 401ppi
Processor	Octa-core MediaTek Helio X10 8 x 2.2GHz Power VR G6200 GPU
Storage	16/32/64GB Expandable: No
RAM	3GB
Connectivity	Wi-Fi a/b/g/n/ac Bluetooth 4.1 GPS+GLONASS
Software	Android 5.0.1 Lollipop Flyme OS 4.5
Camera	20.7 MP rear camera with dual LED flash 5 MP front-facing camera
Battery	3,150 mAh
Colors	black, silver, gold
Dimensions	149.9 x 74.7 x 7.6 mm 149 grams

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Pricing and final thoughts

One of the key aspects of a device like the Meizu MX5 is its affordable price point, with the device starting at $339 for the 16 GB iteration, and going up to $459 for the highest 64 GB storage option. Available colors for the Meizu MX5 include black, gold, and silver.

So there you have it for this closer look at the Meizu MX5! The device may have some cosmetic issues, like the somewhat cheap feeling home button, but it does what it is meant to do amazingly well.

The performance is smooth, the display is beautiful, the battery life is impressive, the camera is reliable, the fingerprint scanner is fantastic and the overall build quality is actually very nice, allowing for a great feel in the hand. In the end, the Meizu MX5 is definitely a worthy competitor in the affordable smartphone space, but it might be easy to miss in the crowd, especially with the latest flagship devices that have launched over the last few days.

Buy now on Amazon

Epic App Battles of Android: Beats Music vs. TIDAL

In the final installment of App Battles Round 1, we’ll be spectating the battle between Beats and TIDAL.

In the Black corner, we have TIDAL, Jay-Z’s premium with 500 000 downloads and a 3,5 star rating.

In the Red corner, we have Beats, Dr. Dre’s premium with 10 000 000 to 50 000 000 downloads and 4,5 star rating.

Who will win this battle between Jay-z and Dr. Dre? They are both in the ring and ready! FIGHT!

Round 1: App design

We’re gonna start this off by having a look at TIDAL first, and although they both have some design in common, I’ll about each app separately first.

The first thing you’ll notice is the dark design that it features.The entire app is based off a black background, which contrasts well with the album art and song titles. It’s ideal for night time as it doesn’t strain your eyes too much. While it certainly won’t be a bad idea to be able to customize it to your liking, I had no problem with the dull color combo.

The actual layout of everything was actually rather efficient and pleasing to use. It’s not cluttered or designed in a way that makes you despise it. There’s a simple panel that can be opened up by swiping on the left side of the screen. This is basically the main way you get around and swap between feature like “What’s new”, “TIDAL Rising” and of course all your playlists, favorite music, settings and the “Offline” mode toggle (We’ll chat more about these features later).

TIDAL certainly took some time to create a pleasurable experience.Everything is easy to use and easy to find. But how does Beats fare?

Beats has a simple color scheme, namely something made up of black and white, with the occasional spot of red. The bold text is punchy but not overdone, while the absence of material design makes you luster for what could’ve been something great. Again, themes do not exist so only thing you can choose is your music, but hey, this is not a big problem.

Fortunately the design is universal, which means the text and colors are the same throughout. You get the standard menu by swiping from your left, and the feeds from artists you follow are available by swiping from your right. Overall the graphics seemed great and there’s no place where Dr. Dre’s minions let their design guard down. At least that  I could see.

Both the Red and Black team have had a fair fight this round. Although they put their best foot forward, it appears to be a tie. Perhaps one would’ve had the edge had they had the ability to color shift

Service	Score /10
Beats	8
TIDAL	8

Winner: Tie

Round 2: Features

Both teams are refreshed and ready for Round 2! This time we’ll compare them head on.

When I opened Beats, it prompted me to pick a couple of artists and genre’s I liked. After the setup I saw that these made up the majority of the recommend songs, with very little presence of artists that I said I did not like. TIDAL, on the other hand, offers no such thing and throws you in the deep end. You’re by yourself to slowly find what you like amongst everything. It was rather inconvenient as most other streaming services prompt you to select your favorite’s. But that said, TIDAL offers HiFI, lossless audio quality with 1411kbps, significantly better than Beat’s 320kbps. For those that aren’t audiophiles, that basically means that TIDAL offers better music quality over Beat’s. You will need a good pair of headsets to make a difference though, and even if you’re running decent Internet speeds, the tracks might pause a few seconds in-between as the next one loads.

And of course, both offer offline modes. As the name hints, this allows you to save songs for times when you don’t have Internet, as you obviously won’t be able stream. Both worked effectively and it easy to implement as you just add the tracks to a playlist and flip the switch to “Offline”.

I should also mention that Beats offers over 20 million songs, while TIDAL offers over 30 million.

Although there is no defining feature that gives any of them a reasonable lead, I think it’s safer to say that TIDAL’s higher quality tracks will the larger selection has an edge over the ability to filter your favorite genres and artists when you start the app.

Service	Score /10
Beats	8
TIDAL	9

Winner: TIDAL

Both opponents are equally bruised but TIDAL managed to throw a few more punches.

Round 3: Pricing

As much as we would like them to, free trials don’t last forever. Beats Music offers a 14 day free trial that allows you to test out the full version and see how much you like it. TIDAL is a bit more generous and offers 30 day trials that also allows full free access to premium features. The ‘Premium’ tag only applies to TIDAL which allows you access to HiFi tracks, or FLAC ( Free Lossless Audio Codec), the 14211kbps we talked about earlier.

Service	Trial Period	Price Tier 1	Price Tier 2
Beats Music	14 Days	US $9.99	–
TIDAL	30 Days	US $9.99 (TIDAL Premium)	US $19.99 (TIDAL HiFi)

It does seem that TIDAL is asking too much for $19.99 for something that only gives you more by upping the quality. Perhaps they would’ve had a more convincing deal if it was $14.99 or less. Beats only has one price plan. It should be mentioned that TIDAL has different plans including Family – which offers discounts for more people – and Student – which halves the price. Beats had no such deals and discounts, and might end up paying dearly for that.

Beats looses a considerable amount of points for lack of different tiers and discounts. TIDAL looses out at the price of Premium tag.

Service	Pricing
Beats	6
TIDAL	7

Round Winner: TIDAL

With 2/3 rounds won, TIDAL advances to the next round. Who will be his opponent? Keep tuned to androidguys.com to find out!

 

 

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Wizards Maze HD: Spooky Fun

Halloween might still be a while away, but who says we can’t have a bit of spooky fun? In Wizards Maze, the creepiness comes to life as you find your way through, you guessed it a maze. Can you handle the monsters, the confusing paths and elusive keys? Read on!

Setup

You’re greeted by the main menu upon opening up the game. The eerie font ushers you in, there’s a list of levels surrounded by various buttons, you select the “Start” button and you’re off.  My character is placed in the maze and awaits my command, except I have no idea of what I’m actually doing and what my goal is. Fortunately my hands soon found the simple controls and within no time I was walking about. Although it’s simple, that’s no excuse for a non-existing tutorial. Nonetheless, I soon discovered I had to collect keys scattered around the maze, and unlock several doors to lead to the final portal for the next level. And talking about controls, you can choose various layouts that suit you best.

Gameplay

As previously stated, the game is based on finding your way around a maze. Obstacles like spiders and slimes crawl around aggressively,  threatening to kill you if you’re not careful enough. Keys are placed in various strategic places, making you run back and forth to advance. Perhaps one of the funnest things you can do is shoot your magic balls of flames to attack enemies and interact with elements of the game; namely to break ice gates. I was constantly shooting just in the name of fun; I’m sure I’m not the only one who will be doing so. Strangely, there are adverts but they it only shows when I started the game up. The developers certainly had us in mind. Everything ran smoothly and no lag showed its ugly head throughout gameplay, which should be expected as the graphics aren’t exactly cutting edge. There could’ve also been some challenges or a storyline behind everything

Is it for me?

There’s no reason you shouldn’t attempt to give the game a spin. It can be played in short bursts or over long periods of time and would be ideal to fulfill any sudden gaming urges, unless you’re into hardcore zombie killing.

What we liked:

• Great, simple gameplay
• Easy User Interface
• Challenging levels
• Playful music

And not so much…

• Lack of tutorial
• No challenges or storyline behind the game

If you’re looking for something challenging yet easy to play, Wizard Maze is the ideal game for you. It’s really suitable for literally whenever you want to play, wherever. Early Halloween, anyone?

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Griddition: Maths on the go (App Review)

I’m sure most of you remember that you probably did maths at some stage of your life. And, yes, while it was probably the bane of your life, we may not appreciate maths as much as we should. Love it or hate it, there are apps for it. The app I’m talking about speciffically is called “Griddition”, and today I’ll be reviewing it.

Setup

Barring the fact that there was a tutorial, Griddition is extremely simple. The tutorial give you a good idea of what it’s about, but I was still a bit confused on my first try. I’m going stress ‘first try’ because it really doesn’t take long to get into the full swing of things. One round is all you’ll need to play at max efficiency.

There are different themes you can use later on in the game as you unlock more levels. As I haven’t yet advanced too far, I’m unable to share my views on them, although their names at least sound cool.

Gameplay

I wouldn’t exactly call Griddition a game. The ‘gameplay’ simply doesn’t fit the standards for a game, while it certainly isn’t not a game. It’s more of something that’s designed to be played in a math classroom or to pass away time on the bus. Think of it as Sodoku, but all the numbers that you input have to equal the number at the end. You simply drag the availible numbers into their slots and try beat your previous time. Your ultimate goal is to improve your score and unlock bigger grids. All of this is a treat thanks to the great but simple user interface and the lack of annoying adverts. My time spent with the app was indeed pleasant.

 

Is it for me?

Although Griddition is a great app, it’s not really just for anyone. I personally doubt if I would use it on a constant basis, although other people will likely differ. The fact that it is ad free and does not require internet connection means that it’s specially ideal for places like the classroom and for your offspring in the back of the car.

What we liked:

• Great user interface
• Lack of adverts
• No internet required

 And not so much…

• Not much to make you want to play
• Lack of levels/storymode

All-in-all, Griddition is a great app that you probably won’t like a lot. It’ll be great for kids but no so much for grown-ups, although other people might beg to differ. The gameplay is in no way entertaining, remember how I said that it’s “not really a game”? But hey, head on over to the Play Store and give it a try!

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ZTE Axon review

Pre-order now on Amazon

Chinese OEMs are slowly but surely expanding their presence in the U.S. market, bringing to the highly-competitive arena what these companies are already known for around the world, great devices at comparatively more affordable price points. ZTE’s latest high-end offering is a prime example of this, and is a device that ZTE claims is made entirely with the consumer in mind. Of course, this is not the first time we’ve heard this bold claim from other OEMs. Does ZTE manage to stand true to their statement? We find out, in this in-depth Axon Phone by ZTE review!

Design

Looking at the current crop of high-end and mid-range smartphones, it is immediately noticeable that design has become a very important aspect of the smartphone experience. The availability of various color options, different material choices, and the use of premium build materials from the likes of Samsung, LG, HTC, and Motorola means that ZTE had a difficult task on their hands as far as design was concerned, and fortunately, the Axon Phone delivers.

The body of the Axon Phone is made entirely of a smooth metal that gives it that high quality premium feel that we all expect from any high-end smartphone, and a tapered back with rounded corners, similar to what is seen with a device like the HTC One M9, makes the device sit very comfortably in the hand. The great feel aside, the smooth metal finish can make the phone feel a bit slippery, and not helping the handling experience is the fact that the device is quite tall due to the large bezels and front speaker grills. Reaching up to the top to access something like the notification shade does require some hand gymnastics, and makes the phone feel even less secure when you can’t maintain your grip.

The Axon Phone is clearly not in the race for being the thinnest or lightest device either, with it weighing just shy of 175 grams, and coming in at just a little over 9 mm thick. This isn’t a bad thing though, as the added heft makes the phone feel even more substantial than it already is.

To give the Axon Phone a unique design element, ZTE added a distinctive grill pattern that can be found in multiple locations, such as the earpiece, front-facing speaker, and the rear camera. This is designed to make the phone stand out and focus the attention on certain parts on the device without being too over the top, and it definitely works. The grills aesthetically flow well with the overall design of the phone, and there’s no denying that it will garner a double take when out and about.

Taking a look around the device, the buttons are in very ergonomic locations, which helps alleviate some of the concerns with regards to the handling experience. The power button is on the right side, with the volume rocker and the SIM card slot on the opposite side. Also on the right side is a dedicated camera shutter button, which is something we do appreciate but is unfortunately not often seen with Android smartphones. Up top is the headphone jack next to a microphone, and the microUSB port is at the bottom, also next to another microphone. Finally, the Axon Phone features a capacitive circle home button, with the two dots flanking it, which act as the menu and recent apps keys. A nice touch with the home button is that it also doubles as a notification light, and will pulsate any time you get a notification or to indicate that the battery is low, which certainly proves to be very useful.

Display

For ZTE to truly compete with the heavy hitters, the Axon Phone had to be packed to the gills with the latest and greatest in current smartphone tech, and once again, ZTE manages to deliver, with it all starting with the display. The Axon Phone features a 5.5-inch IPS LCD display with a Quad HD resolution, resulting in a pixel density of 534 ppi, and there’s no doubt that this is a fantastic looking screen. It is is big, bright, and beautiful, with accurate color reproduction, and great viewing angles and contrast, making for a display that is an absolute pleasure to use. The large size and high resolution make it ideal for any sort of content, and there’s a nice amount of saturation that makes the screen pop. Brightness isn’t an issue either, and outdoor visibility is comfortable, and while you may not get the deep blacks afforded by AMOLED panels, the black levels on this LCD screen are still pretty good.

Performance

Under the hood, the Axon Phone features the octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 processor, clocked at 2 GHz, and backed by the Adreno 430 GPU and a whopping 4 GB of RAM. Despite some known overheating issues, this processing package is still one of the best in the business right now, and that is reflected in the performance of the Axon Phone. Opening, closing, and switching between applications are all smooth, multi-tasking is an absolute breeze, and playing graphically intensive games caused no trouble at all. As good as the processor is, some of the credit for this fluid and lag free performance has to be given to the software which isn’t bogged down by a slew of pre-installed applications or unnecessary features.

As mentioned, the Snapdragon 810 is notorious for running hot, but this wasn’t exactly the case with the Axon Phone, which is a good thing. The device did get warm on a few occasions, but that was only during long gaming sessions, and would happen with almost any smartphone out there. Feeling the heat permeate through the metal body is a little bit jarring, but it has yet to get the point where the device got uncomfortably hot to the touch, and/or rendered any features or applications inoperable.

Hardware

ZTE made a very big deal about the audio experience provided by the Axon Phone, and deservedly so. The Axon Phone is the first smartphone to be released in the U.S. with a Hi-Fi audio chipset built-in for both listening and recording. You can use any pair of headphones or earbuds that you are comfortable with, but ZTE does include a very nice pair of JBL earphones in the box, available for free if you took advantage of the pre-order system, but will otherwise require an additional $50. The Hi-Fi audio definitely works well and it was easy to notice a difference in audio in comparison to a couple of other flagships like the Galaxy S6 and HTC One M9, while using the same JBL earphones with all of them.

On the Axon Phone, the sound is not only louder, but it is also a lot fuller, with depth especially along the mids and lows.

One aspect of the audio experience that isn’t quite what you might expect, however, is the front-facing speaker. The presence of dual speaker grills would lead you to believe that the device features a dual stereo speaker setup, but that is unfortunately not the case with there actually being only a single speaker on the bottom grill. The speaker does sound good and gets quite loud, but without a second speaker up top for a true stereo sound, the audio can be very lopsided, especially when using the device in the landscape orientation while watching videos or playing games, and is not particularly impressive overall.

Apart from the standard suite of connectivity options, the Axon Phone also comes with 4G LTE support for the AT&T and T-Mobile networks in the U.S. As far as storage is concerned, 32 GB is available on-board, but rather odd and disappointing is the lack of expandable storage via microSD card. 32 GB of storage should still be enough for most users, but if you’re heavily media-centric, some memory management will be required on your part.

When it comes to the battery, the large 3,000 mAh battery that powers the Axon Phone allows for some good battery life, but it isn’t spectacular. It is good enough to provide a full day of use with around 4 hours of screen-on time, but that is the upper limit as far as screen-on time is concerned. Even on a day with heavy usage, that involved playing a lot of games and taking lots of pictures, the phone still managed 4 hours of screen-on time, despite lasting only around 8 hours off the charger. With more casual usage, that number jumps drastically to between 13 and 16 hours, but with the screen-on time showing only a slight increase to around 4.5 hours. If you do end of charging the device halfway through your day, you will be able to take advantage of its fast-charging capabilities via Qualcomm QuickCharge 2.0. that will have you back up and running in a short amount of time.

Camera

Another big highlight of the Axon Phone is when it comes to the camera. The main camera on the rear is a 13 MP shooter with a f/1.8 aperture and OIS, but there is also an additional 2 MP camera for capturing depth information, similar to the Duo Camera setup seen with the HTC One M8. Selfie lovers will be happy with the 8 MP front-facing shooter with a wide angle lens, that should provide for some great self portraits, and also allow users to easily fit additional subjects into the frame.

The camera UI is simple, and navigating through the various elements involves swipes across the viewfinder to switch between modes. Typical modes like manual, panorama, sport, HDR, slow motion video, and more are all available but the one that stands out the most is the bokeh mode, which takes advantage of the refocusing capabilities of the camera. What is interesting about this bokeh mode is that it allows for manual f stop control, or at least, that is what you are led to believe. It does alter the depth of field or background blur, but unlike a real aperture change as possible with a DSLR, it doesn’t affect how much light enters the lens, regardless of if you’re shooting wide open at f/1.0 or f/8.0.

Shooting in this mode will allow for images to be refocused after the fact, along with the level of blur to be adjusted, and the camera does a really great job of separating objects in the foreground from the background. It can look very artificial if you get too carried away with the blur effect, and it can only fully refocus on a different part of an image if it hasn’t already been blurred out by the camera’s natural bokeh. It’s cool and can be rather convincing if you follow the appropriate guidelines, but right now, it still feels more like a novelty than a must-have feature.

In terms of general every day picture taking, the camera experience is mostly more positive than negative. The shutter speed and auto focus is very quick, which makes it very easy to snap photos, helped along by the inclusion of a dedicated camera shutter button. While the physical button is a nice touch, some unfortunate omissions are the lack of the half press to focus feature as well as the fact that the button cannot be used to launch the camera from a sleep state, but is hopefully something that will be addressed and added in a future update.

In fair to good lighting conditions, the camera is able to produce some pretty excellent images with adequate, natural looking colors, and maintains a high level of sharpness and clarity even when zoomed in. Dynamic range is just okay though, and tends to crush the darks a little too much, resulting in the loss of a lot of detail because of it. HDR works well to alleviate that in most situations, but in some cases it does tend to bias towards a more overexposed look with less natural looking colors. Macro shots can also be very hit or miss. The camera can sometimes find the right focus point quickly, but other times, it almost becomes an exercise in frustration to get the image that you want.

Even with OIS and a f/1.8 aperture, low light and night time photography is decent at best, and the image processing may be to blame. There’s a lot of noise reduction going on, which leads to softer details, and colors are much more muted in these situations, that it makes it tough capture an appealing image. As a whole, the camera is good, but as it stands right now it seems to fall a bit short of the hype.

Software

On the software side of things, the Axon Phone offers a very clean Android experience in comparison to the far more heavily skinned iterations seen with other ZTE devices. The device ships with Android 5.1.1 Lollipop, and it is mostly a stock Android experience with all of Google’s Material Design elements kept intact. There are a few changes, like the custom launcher that offers the typical features like widgets and wallpapers, but you can also change the home screen scroll effect to something a little more dynamic. Themes are also available, but the theme engine isn’t very robust at the moment, leaving users with only a few choices to pick from.

The Quick Settings toggles have also been slightly tweaked, allowing users to rearrange the shortcuts to any order they find useful, and there are a lot more toggle options available as well, beyond what you find with stock Lollipop. Another functional change from Lollipop is the addition of a quick info panel that is accessible with a swipe from the bottom, which houses a music player, starred contacts, a step counter, and sports news from Yahoo. It can be useful to some, but I found it to get in the way more than anything, especially when trying to swipe away the notification panel, which launched this quick info panel instead.

ZTE has also kept the app experience extremely clean by not bogging things down with a slew of pre-installed bloatware. There is only a couple of pre-loaded applications with Argus and RockMyRun, both of which are geared towards health and fitness. Argus is a simple pedometer to help keep track of your steps, and can constantly keep you updated on your lockscreen and notification panel. You can even connect with friends to see how well they are doing, and helps keep you motivated towards meeting your health goals. The RockMyRun app on the other is essentially just a music player, but can tailor the tempo of the beat to the pace of your run to help keep you going. Listening to the music is free, but if you want manual control over the tempo, or have it automatically change based on your pace, you will have to pay a $4.99 per month subscription fee for the service, which also removes any in-app ads.

Specifications

Display	5.5-inch TFT LCD with 2560 x 1440 resolution, PPI 534
Processor	2.0 GHz Octa-Core Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 (MSM8994)
RAM	4GB
Storage	32GB
Camera	Dual lens rear: 13MP, 2MP, dual LED flash, 4K HD, Front: 8MP, 88 degree wide-angle, 1080p video and 4K at 30FPS
Battery	3000 mAh
Connectivity	T-Mobile, AT&T network compatible: LTE B2/B4/B5/B12/B17/B29/B30, LTE IR B7/B3/B1/B13, USM/HSPA 850/1700/1900/2100 MHz, GSM/EDGE 850/900/1800/1900 MHz, CA Band 2/4 + Band 17, LTE (Cat 6)
Software	Android 5.1 Lollipop
Dimensions	6.06″ x 2.9″ x 0.37″ (154 x 75 x 9.3mm)

Gallery

Pricing and final thoughts

The Axon Phone is available now for pre-order directly through ZTE and other outlets like Amazon, Ebay, and NewEgg, for $449.98, with the color options including phthalo blue, ion gold, and chromium silver. To make users feel more at ease with buying an unlocked phone, the Axon Phone comes with Passport 1.0, a protection plan that offers free premium protection, along with a 2 year warranty, advanced exchanges, and free two-way shipping should anything ever happen to your device.

So there you have it for this comprehensive look at the Axon Phone by ZTE! While its premium metal build, Quad HD display, a decent camera, and the latest processing package may not be above and beyond what is available with any current generation flagship, what makes the Axon Phone so impressive is its price point, which is significantly cheaper than any device this phone is directly competing with. ZTE may be the fourth largest smartphone manufacturer in the US, but their presence is generally unknown when compared to the heavy hitters of the Android world, but the Axon Phone is the company’s gateway to changing that, and they are certainly on the right track.

Pre-order now on Amazon

UFO Flight: Unpolished or unfinished?

After a few minutes of playing UFO Flight, there’s a bit of nostalgia that began to creep in. At first I wasn’t sure what it was, but I soon remembered my old rival: Flappy Bird. There’s no denying that UFO Flight, albeit probably unintentional, steals some gameplay from the old classic. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said about the addictive and entertaining gameplay.

Setup

To put it bluntly, there is no setup. For such a basic game, it simply doesn’t require it. There’s a big ‘Play’ button next to the leaderboard/Google Play Games button and a mute button, which actually stays on the screen even when you’re not at the main menu. The tutorial, which always shows when you open the game, tells you which sides of the screen to tap on to duck or jump. It’s very basic, and while you could argue that it’s all what’s necessary, it took me a couple of runs to realize that I could double-tap to jump even higher.

Gameplay

Do you remember how, in Flappy Bird, you had to avoid the pipes and fly in-between them? To sum the game up, replace the bird with a UFO, and the pipes with obstacles such as birds, bees and a few vicious blocks of LEGO. Jump, duck and double-jump to make your way past these. One of the highlights was that I could have a decent game with no lag and adverts while playing. This, however, was not enough to make up for the repetitive obstacles that sometimes glitch, leaving you stuck between two obstacles and inevitably making you lose the round. The user interface was rather nasty, as buttons were oddly placed with half an advert showing at the end of the round. And the graphics? They could’ve been better. But hey, at least there’s a highscore for you to beat.

Is it for me?

Probably not. Unless you don’t mind a few glitches and lame graphics, you’ve probably got better things to do. If you have a child, they probably don’t care too much about what they play and might enjoy the obstacles. Excuse the birds and the bees pun.

What we liked

• Ability to play anywhere, anytime
• Simple gameplay

And not so much…

• The user interface
• Being trapped between obstacles as a glitch
• Ugly graphics

While it’s not a bad game, some elements create a stronger negative impression that did not leave me begging for more, namely the combined lame graphics and not-so-great user interface. The gameplay simply weighs less than the negatives.

 

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