The Bezel-less Sharp Aquos Crystal.

There are reasons why devices have BEZELS, the major reason being, to give devices structural integrity.The sharp Aquos Crystal is defying this, and for the first time we are seeing a manufacturer designing a device with a zero bezel device at the top, right, and left side of the device except the bottom that has a fat bezel.

Display And Resolution

The Aquos Crystal is a getting lots of attention not because of the specs it packs , but for its zero bezel.The Aquos display is a 5.0 inch, edge to edge display with a 720 x 1280 pixels (294 PPI) resolution which makes it great to focus on whatever it is you may be doing, watching movies, browsing and playing games on this device looks cool in the display aspect and not in performance though, you feel like there is no boundaries between you and the movies, the games or the pages you are browsing.

Performance

As earlier mentioned , the Aquos did not excel in performance because of the middle class Quad-core 1.2 GHz Cortex-A7 Qualcomm MSM8926 Snapdragon 400 chipset and a 1.5Gb RAM spotted inside .However, it is decent enough to run most application and some 3D games, not all.

Camera

An 8.0 MP primary and 1.2MP secondary camera looks quite decent but not great.It can shoot video of 1080p@30FPS.

Features

There are features sacrificed on this device, basically because of its design, the font facing camera is at the bottom, so when you are taking a selfie, the Aquous has to be turn upside down. It lacks a proper ear-piece but features the Direct Wave Receiver technology which vibrates the entire screen so that you can receive calls by placing your ear near the screen at any point and angle.

In conclusion, I will say you really have to be careful when handling the Aquos Crystal , as dropping it may compromise the structural integrity.I also doubt if there can be a cover or casing for the device that will not cover up some part of the screen estate.

Read More

The Google Nexus 9 Impression.

Announced on 15 October 2014, alongside the nexus 6, Nexus Streamer, and the Android lollipop.The nexus 9 is a combined effort of both Google and HTC, and one thing kept in mind while building this is the user.

At a perfectly sized LCD display of 8.9 inch, and a resolution of 2048*1536 (281PPI), The screen is big enough to work and watch on, but small enough to carry around in one hand. Nexus 9 is the first tablet to run Android lollipop out of the box and to support 64bit processor ,which makes it access more memory address at a go.With a 2.3GHz dual-core Nvidia K1 chip processor and a 2Gb of RAM memory, running applications, watching movies and playing games will be a breeze.

The battery life of the device should be great, thanks to the project Volta in the Lollipop 5.0 and the 6700mAh battery.The project Volta helps to maximize battery by using a new jobSscheduler API that pile up less important app request for later time when the device is plugged in. HTC did not fail to add their boom sound stereo speaker which makes you want to listen to any thing coming out of the speakers.

The camera department is just Ok for a tablet. Nexus 9 captures images with an 8 Megapixels rear camera and a 1.6 Megapixels for the front facing shutter. Nexus 9 comes in two variant, the 16gb and the 32g variant.It also comes in 3 different colors,the white, black, and the sand color.

The Nexus 9 Can be used with a magnetically attached, fully-responsive keyboard that allows you to type at different angles. Sold separately, it helps you get stuff done at home, at the office, and on the go.

Read More

Nexus 6 Impressions.

The Nexus 6 was officially announced yesterday, along side the Nexus 9 and the Nexus Streamer. The Nexus 6 manufactured by Motorola, looks like a blown up version of the 2014 Moto X . The Nexus comes pre-installed with the latest Android OS Lollipop, making it the first phone to run Android lolipop.

Nexus 6 packs a 5.9 inch Quad HD display, coated with a Gorilla 3 glass for protection, and at a resolution of 1440*2560(493 PPI density) it is a delight to watch movies and play games on. Inside the hood it is powered by the Snapdragon 805 chipset clocked at 2.7GHz and a 3,220MAh battery that can last over 24hrs after a full charge. Google said, with a 15 minutes charge it can last 6 hours.The Snapdragon 805 chipset is paired with an Adreno 420 GPU for exciting graphical experience.

The device spots a 2MP font-facing camera and a 13 Megapixels camera sensor at the rear side a with Optical Image Stabilization and a dual led flash that captures images in daylight and low light.One feature that Motorola included is the ambient display, first spotted on the Moto 360. It can light up once in senses that a user want to check a notification.

Available in a 32gb and a 64gb version, you've also got the choice of choosing between two colors available, Cloud White and Midnight Blue.
There have been no news on weather it support a Micro SD card slot or not.Pre-order starts on October 29 in the US,and should cost about $649.

Read More

Google Finally Announces Android 5.0 As Lollipop.

We have always known the naming convention for the Android OS, and that next Android Operating System will be a name of a desert starting with an alphabet L.Since Android L was announced at the Google I/O in June 2014, there have been rumors of names like the Lime Meringue Pie, lollipop, just to mention a few.On Wednesday 14 October 2014 Google officially announced that the next iteration of its Android OS will be Android Lollipop.
Google is set to release the lollipop update for the Nexus 4, Nexus 5 and the Nexus 7, Nexus 10 and Gooplay edition devices in the coming week, while the nexus 6, Nexus 9, will ship with the newly released version of the OS. For flagship devices like the Samsung S5, HTC One M8, LG G3 and many other high-end devices a date to start rolling out update is not yet known.

What is New In The Lollipop

Material Design.

Talking about what is new in the lollipop, One of the major changes from previous version is the new Material Design code named Quantum Paper.The Material Design allows for a flatter icon and fluid animation which will improve the user experience and give application a more consistent look across various devices . The material design is however, not the only change on the lollipop, the onscreen buttons have been redesigned to a more bolder button for easy navigation and the lock screen have been tweaked a bit to perform more function from the lockscreen.

From left to right-lollipop vs Kit Kat.

Android lollipop Lockscreen

Battery Life

Battery life in Android 5.0 promises to be better compared to previous versions, thanks to the project Volta and the new battery historian app that gives you a clear and detailed information on what as been squeezing out the juice on your device. Google said after analyzing battery life on previous versions, putting the screen on for a second reduces two minutes of stand-by time because, apps want to update and send log files, and as a result kill battery faster.On lollipop Google introduce a new Job Scheduler API that keeps the device asleep for most of the time to later schedule task when device is charging to fix the problem.

Battery Historian App

Support For A 64 Bit Architecture.

Lollipop is the first Android OS to support a 64 bit architecture/Processor .The will make device manufacturers to start rolling out 64 bit hardware to take advantage of this feature . The advantage of utilizing a 64 bit architecture is that the processor can access more chunk of memory and address space at a go, leading to after processing time.

I hope devices manufactures will put all hands on deck to make this update start rolling out as soon as possible.

Read More

Google PlayStore 5.0.31 With Material Design

                              
We all are awaiting the public release of the upcoming Android L and one thing we are looking forward to in Android L is it's redefined design I.e the material design. The google play store now receives an update to 5.0.31 which add more material design, the icons are much flatter now, nicely and smoothly moving animation with sharper colors. This leaves us to think we might just be getting the Android L sooner.Although, this is no official version as it has not been released by Google yet, but you can try it out by side-loading it onto your device. If you use Android L preview you might want to chill a little till google roll out the update themself as it as been confirmed that uninstalling this update will not be as easy on Android L preview.

Download the Playstore 5.0.31.apk

More Material Design
                                 
                                                           

Read More

Various Bluetooth Versions

Most people already knows what a Bluetooth is and what its functions are, but not every one actually knows that they come in version or generations, and with every iteration or generation comes a better feature and out-performs previous generations.


Before we run through the various versions of Bluetooth, let me give a proper definition of what Bluetooth is.

Bluetooth are wireless technology standard for exchanging data over short distance. Bluetooth is managed by the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG), which has more than 20,000 member companies in the areas of
telecommunication, computing, networking, and consumer.

Now there are about four versions of the Bluetooth at the time of writing this post,and they include the following listed below

Bluetooth v1.0 and v1.0b
These are the first version of Bluetooth technology and the come with a lot of issues like interoperability among Bluetooth devices.

Bluetooth 1.1
This version came with bug fixes found in the previous version, although there are many feature include but one of the major features is the possibility of non-encrypted channels.

Bluetooth 1.2
Version 1.2 came with improved connection and faster discovery time, higher transmission speed of up to 721bit/s theoreticall.

Bluetooth v2.0 +EDR
Released in 2004 and add Enhanced Data Rate (EDR) for faster transmission of data up to 3MBit/s.

Bluetooth 2.1 +EDR
This version was launched in 2007 and the major difference from the version 2.0 was the Secure Simple Pairing (SSP) for improved security.

Bluetooth v 3.0 +HS
Created in 2009 with its High Speed feature can transfer up to 24MBit/s. The version 3.0 establishes a connection using the normal Bluetooth protocol but transfers data using the 802.11 protocol I.e wireless LAN Protocol.

Bluetooth v4.0 

This version was was released in the mid 2010, it is usually called the Bluetooth Smart and it incorporates many Bluetooth protocol.It include the classic Bluetooth protocol which incorporates previous Bluetooth protocol.Secondly, it include Bluetooth high speed , based on WiFi and lastly Bluetooth low-energy for to reduce battery consumption.

Bluetooth v4.1
This version was a minor update which add limited discovery time and dual mode which allows the Bluetooth to support many role.

That is it with various versions of the Bluetooth.Next time you are trying to pick up a devices with Bluetooth functionality make sure they have the latest version available.

Read More

The Moto 360

2104 is known as the year of wearables and already we have seen a lot of manufacturers rolling out their own piece of wearable technology, from smartwatches to sunglasses .Moto 360 is an android powered Smartwatch manufactured by Motorola.Moto 360 is one of  the most anticipated wearable device of the year and was released on September 5 2014.
Let's take a look at the Moto 360 in two simple categories.

Hardware And Design

The Moto  360 has a form factor based on a circular design like most conventional watches. It has  1.56" capacitive display with a resolution of 320*290 pixels .Under the hood it is powerd by a 1GHz TI Omap 3 processor and a 512MB RAM.4Gb of  Storage capacity is not very large but still ok considering it's only a smartwatch .The a 300mAh battery in the device can last you an average of 15hrs of light usage and can be recharged by a QI wireless charger that can charge the battery pretty fast.It also IP67 Certified,meaning it is fully dust and water resistant.Pairing to an android device is through  Bluetooth .

Software and Operating system

The Moto 360 is powered by the Android wear 1.0 operating system specially built for wearable technology.It has access to the Playstore for android wear applications and Google Now.
VERDICT: The moto 360 is a great piece of wearable technology and a fashionable piece as well.
Availability in Nigeria is none as it is not available in any store In the country however, you can purchase from store outside the country and then ship to Nigeria. It cost about $250 in the United states.

Read More