*http://cnet.com.feedsportal.com/c/34938/f/645093/s/30dc5c07/sc/21/l/0Lnews0Bcnet0N0C830A10E178520I30E5760A16150E710Cshould0Eyou0Elet0Eyour0Elover0Espy0Eon0Eyour0Eiphone0Emessages0C0Dpart0Frss0Gsubj0Fnews0Gtag0Ftitle/story01.htm
The early reviews are in, and few seem thrilled with the Galaxy Gear, the so-called smartwatch that the South Korean electronics giant Samsung announced this week.
The Galaxy Gear syncs with your Samsung Galaxy smartphone — only one model for now, which we’ll get to later — and allows you to make phone calls, send and receive text messages, control music playback, take pictures and record video and voice.
On stage in Berlin Wednesday, Pranav Mistry, Samsung America’s director of research, touted Galaxy Gear as “tomorrow’s state of the art.” But industry observers as well as reviewers who’ve had time with the device aren’t that impressed.
“I was kind of waiting for that killer app that would distinguish Samsung’s smart watch from the Pebble,” said Ben Arnold, director of industry analysis at NPD Group, referring to the croudfunded smartwatch that’s already available. “I’m not as excited about smartwatches today as I was three weeks ago.”
Smart, But Not That Smart
The Galaxy Gear is not a standalone device; that is, it doesn’t have the capability to connect to Wi-Fi and doesn’t have its own data connection. In order for it to connect to the Internet, it must be paired with your smartphone via Bluetooth. In that sense, it’s much more an extension of your smartphone, or a remote control, than an independent device. Samsung even calls it a “companion device” in a promotional video.
Google Glass, conversely, can connect to the Internet either by pairing with a smartphone or connecting to a Wi-Fi network.
Gear, for now, only pairs with Samsung’s forthcoming Galaxy Note 3 smartphone, but updates for the Galaxy S4 and S III to make them compatible with the device are expected later this year. Although Engadget called the Samsung-only compatibility “perhaps the biggest setback,” Arnold said that being “tied into the Galaxy ecosystem” may actually work to Samsung’s advantage.
If you’re not connected to your phone via Gear, you can still do certain things, like take and store pictures. And, of course, it works as — gasp — a watch!
Not Quite Voice-Activated
Samsung touted in its press release that someone with her hands full of groceries “could make a call by speaking into the Galaxy Gear without touching the screen.” But it seems you still have to press a button on the side of the watch in order to get Gear to listen to a voice command. It may not be on the screen, but it’s still not easy if your hands are full of groceries. In other words, Gear is less like the hands-free Moto X, which is always listening for the phrase “OK Google Now,” and more like Apple’s Siri, which requires you to press a button in order to give a command.
That said, Consumer Reports’ Mike Gikas noted that Samsung’s virtual assistant feature S-Voice was “100 percent” successful in setting several calendar appointments, and Gikas writes that you can also use voice commands to make a call or find a contact.
Music But No Speaker
People can use the Galaxy Gear to browse, play and pause music on the forthcoming Galaxy Note 3. Engadget’s Zach Honig notes that Galaxy Gear lets you control music from third-party apps, like Spotify and Pandora, not just music loaded on the device.
But none of Samsung’s “featured apps” for Gear are for music, and reps from Spotify and Pandora haven’t returned a request for comment asking if they’re developing apps specifically for the device. As The Verge notes, music can’t be played from Gear’s small wristband speaker, so it seems it’s merely a remote.
Slow And Steady May Not Win The Race
Multiple reports from reviewers who’ve had hands-on time with Galaxy Gear complain that the watch is slow. Indeed, even in the official video from Samsung and demonstrations from Samsung employees, it appears the screen is lagging.
Not-So-Long Battery Life
Samsung promises you can get a full day out of the Gear before it needs to be recharged, but as we all know from our experience with smartphones, battery life is never what it’s advertised and often gets worse with time. The Verge noted on Wednesday that the cameras on the Galaxy Gear demo units stopped working by the end of the press briefing because the device’s battery was low. The short battery life prompted Sarah Rotman Epps, a Forrester analyst who has studied wearable tech, to write in a blog post that taking the Gear off to charge each night makes it less likely that people will make a habit of wearing it each day.
The Bottom Line
At $299, it’s a lot to pay for a companion device that doesn’t work independently. Tero Kuittinen, a mobile analyst and vice president at Alekstra, a firm that works to reduce companies’ phone bills, called the price “a major stumbling block.”
Kuittenen said people are already paying to upgrade their smartphones and now tablets every few years, which adds up.
“Now, people have both a smartphone and a tablet, so in order to create a new product category you’d have to put big demands on [the] budgets of households,” Kuittenen said.
Samsung hasn’t said when the Gear will go on sale in the U.S., but it will be available in 140 countries on Sept. 25.
*http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/09/05/galaxy-gear-reviews_n_3876018.html?utm_hp_ref=technology
With all the top smartphones in the world boasting their quad-core processors and Full HD displays, it’s harder and harder for an individual to really stand out. With the Xperia Z, Sony made a brave attempt at differentiating by waterproofing the phone so you can spill beer on it without it giving up the ghost.
The Xperia Z1 keeps its liquid-repelling credentials, along with sexy glass design and Full HD screen. Its quad-core processor has been supercharged to 2.2GHz, and its camera now boasts an impressive 20.7 megapixels.
There’s no word yet on exactly how much Sony will demand for this high-spec beast, but it’s safe to assume that it’ll be roughly on a par with the Xperia Z. Don’t expect to pick it up for any less than £500 when it goes on sale in the UK in the coming few weeks.
Design
There’s no question that the Z1 is the successor to the Xperia Z. With the all-glass front and back, the family resemblance is striking. Throw in the sleek Xperia branding on the back, the camera lens in the top-left corner, and the rather large power button on the right-hand edge and you’d be forgiven for mistaking the two.
There are differences, though. Chief among them is the aluminium band that now wraps around the edge. It’s milled from a single piece of metal that Sony reckons makes it stronger. It certainly makes it more comfortable to hold. The previous model had a bit of a sharp edge to it, but the rounded metal on the Z1 feels much nicer, not to mention more luxurious.
It has roughly similar dimensions to the Z, but it’s marginally thicker. Although both the Z1 and Samsung Galaxy S4 have 5-inch displays, the Z1 is slightly longer and wider than Samsung’s phone. You still won’t struggle to cram it into your Levis, but if you want a compact phone to wrap your hands around, you might want to look elsewhere.
Like the Xperia Z, the Z1 is completely waterproof. You can submerge it in water to a depth of 1.5 metres for up to 30 minutes. If you’ve destroyed a phone by dropping it in the toilet — or by making calls in the rain — the Z1 might be the phone for you. It keeps water out by sealing its ports with smaller flaps. While the Xperia Z placed a flap over the headphone jack, the Z1 has simply made the jack itself waterproof, meaning you don’t need to undo it every time you want to plug your headphones in.
(Credit:Display
At 5 inches on the diameter, the screen stays the same physical size as it was on the Xperia Z. The Full HD resolution remains the same as well, although Sony reckons the display has seen an update.
At a hands-on event, it boasted that the phone now uses the same Bravia technology found in its high-end TVs that boast rich colours, deep contrast, and pin-sharp clarity. I wasn’t able to bring up CNET’s usual set of screen test images and videos, but it certainly looked pretty good. The older Z had a great screen, though, so the Z1 has a lot to do if it wants to beat its predecessor.
Processor and software
Stuffed inside that glass and metal body is Qualcomm’s latest Snapdragon 800 quad-core processor, clocked at an astonishing 2.2GHz. The Galaxy S4 currently sits proudly around the top of the phone power league, but that has a slightly slower 1.9GHz chip.
I wasn’t able to run our usual set of brutal tests to see exactly how the two measure up, but it’s safe to say that the Z1 is going to be a powerful beast. To help keep it chugging along, Sony has whacked in a capacious 3,000mAh battery.
It’s running on Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean. That’s not the latest version of Google’s mobile software — that’s 4.3 Jelly Bean — but with Sony’s cosmetic changes, you probably won’t tell much difference. It has the same basic functionality of Android with multiple home screens, but you’re able to easily change the order of your app icons in the menu to quickly show most-used apps or custom order.
The image and video galleries have been replaced, too, and Sony has lumped in its Music and Video Unlimited streaming apps. While these are paid-for services, you will get 60 days of music streaming for free as well six free “blockbuster” movies, including “Elysium,” as soon as it becomes available as a digital download.
Camera
Probably the most exciting update to the Z1 is the camera, which now boasts a whopping 20.7 megapixels. That’s a significant jump from the 13 megapixels of its predecessor, but Sony says that there’s more than just a megapixel bump going on.
The sensor size, at 1/2.3-inch, is bigger than what you’d find on your normal smartphone and is similar to the Samsung Galaxy S4 Zoom’s (1/2.33-inch). In comparison, the iPhone 5 uses a small 1/3.2-inch sensor, and the HTC One’s UltraPixel sensor is slightly larger at 1/3-inch. The Nokia Lumia 1020 has the biggest sensor at 1/1.5-inch for smartphones running a modern OS.
The Z1 also uses a wide angle 27mm f/2.0 G Lens, and Sony claims that its Bionz image processor has been tweaked to minimize noise in low-light environments.
As can be seen in the sample shots below, the performance of the prototype unit for outdoor shots seemed average at best, though low-light performance was definitely much better compared with those from the Samsung Galaxy S4. The large pictures captured with the 20.7-megapixel sensor does mean you can capture a lot more details, though the average picture size (at 3.6MB) will be a concern for anyone who wants to take a lot of pictures. Color performance was also pretty accurate.
Indoor low-light test shot
(Credit:
Aloysius Low/CNET)
Outdoor test shot
(Credit:
Aloysius Low/CNET)
Macro test shot
(Credit:
Aloysius Low/CNET)
We didn’t test Superior Auto mode because the software wasn’t yet finalized.
There’s new camera software, as well. You can load new apps directly in the camera, letting you perform neat tricks without having to switch between different apps. There are four onboard as standard — including a burst-mode that lets you select the best shot from 61 photos and an app that lets you live-stream video to your Facebook page. Sony says it’s working with developers to bring more apps. There’s also the usual array of scene modes as well as sweep panorama and HDR modes.
Outlook
With its Full HD screen and waterproof design, Sony’s Xperia Z was already a great phone, particularly for those of you who are quite clumsy or live on boats. The addition of the aluminium band makes the Z1 both look and feel like a more luxurious product, while the beefy processor and supercharged camera should make it a top performer in all respects.
CNET’s Aloysius Low contributed to this report.
*http://reviews.cnet.com/smartphones/sony-xperia-z1/4505-6452_7-35827086.html
*http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/34518/f/631681/s/30dc31ea/sc/5/l/0L0Sfool0N0Cinvesting0Cgeneral0C20A130C0A90C0A50Capples0Esecret0Esales0Eweapon0Ethe0Eiphone0E40Baspx0Dsource0Fehesitrf0A0A0A0A0A0A1/story01.htm
PayPal’s Android and iOS mobile apps have received a major update today. The entire feature set and interface has completely changed in an attempt to get consumers to use PayPal as a one-stop-shop for all their banking needs. You can now pay for items before you go to the store, transfer money to your friends, and look up deals near by. The app is like a combination of Google Wallet and Foursquare, but a bit more powerful.
Offers are also a great addition since they are automatically applied when you use PayPal. Foursquare, on the other hand, has no payment mechanism built into the app so users still need to alert the shop or restaurant that they’ve “checked in” in order to redeem the offer.
Still, PayPal has a long way to go before mobile payments and digital wallets are widely used. Sliding a credit card is still one of the simplest and quickest ways of paying for something. PayPal still requires you enter your password on your phone or requires you to use your PayPal pin number in the store. While it’s convenient to shop from your phone, when you’re in a rush, the credit card still offers a better experience.
Download PayPal for Android and iOS .
*http://news.en.softonic.com/paypals-new-app-wants-to-replace-your-wallet
In less than 24 hours, a new app tactfully titled Ghetto Tracker–a service seeking to help people identify safe areas in unfamiliar cities–has already garnered enough backlash to prompt an immediate name change to Good Part of Town.
However, the PR move may not do much to alter the public’s reception of the app, which critics are slamming as a racist, classist app for helping the rich to avoid the poor.
The app functions by allowing locals to rate the safety of different parts of a given area. According to The Week, the original launch of the page featured a white family of four smiling alongside the app’s promise to show users “which parts of town are safe and which ones are ghetto, or unsafe.”
In addition to the name change, all mention of the word “ghetto” has been removed from the site. The site now features an ethnically diverse family on its homepage.
In an email sent to Gawker, the app’s team said it changed the name in response to emails from a woman whose family had been contained in an actual World War II ghetto and one from a man who grew up in a struggling area and went on to graduate from college and overcome his upbringing.
“I can’t be held responsible for the assumptions people may make in regards to factors like race and income,” the letter to Gawker continued. “I’ve seen comments on blogs and in twitter that are trying to say this is encouraging racism or social stratification and that was never our intention.”
But critics have pointed out the app’s adverse effects on the community, regardless of the app’s intentions.
“It’s pretty detrimental to society when we reinforce the idea that poor or crime-heavy areas are places to be categorically avoided or shamed,” David Holmes wrote on PandoDaily. “As if to assume that every person who lives in an area with comparatively high crime or poverty is a criminal, or that these areas are devoid of culture or positivity.”
Also on HuffPost:
*http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/09/04/ghetto-tracker_n_3869051.html
The “Name Your Own Price” bundle happens to include Camtasia, which we noted poor switcher Ken Hess should have looked up before bemoaning the lack of screen recording tools on the Mac. Yes, QuickTime will record your screen, but Camtasia performs a few extra tricks QuickTime doesn’t, as we mention here.
The bundle is called “name your own price” because while the total value of the software in it is worth $412, you can pay whatever you want, as long as it beats the average, and get all 10 apps. There’s also charity involved, and a chance to win an iPhone 5S. Details:
So it’s maybe not the cheapest way to get all 10 apps, but it’s a good deal if you don’t have many of them plus you’ll be giving some money to charity. Check it out, or our Deals page for more bargains.
*http://www.tuaw.com/2013/09/05/deal-name-your-own-price-mac-bundle/
