Try Yahoo Finance on Firefox »Source: 2016 OPPO Camera Phone Taipei Spring Wave Music & Art Festival to Open on April 3-4
Monday, February 29, 2016
2016 OPPO Camera Phone Taipei Spring Wave Music & Art Festival to Open on April 3-4
Try Yahoo Finance on Firefox »Source: 2016 OPPO Camera Phone Taipei Spring Wave Music & Art Festival to Open on April 3-4
Sunday, February 28, 2016
KGI: 4-inch iPhone with 12MP camera, $4-500 price range
Kuo cut his estimate as he expects the cheaper price of the iPhone 5s to draw buyers away from the new 4-inch iPhone.
In his latest note, Ming-chi Kuo of KGI Securities said that like the iPhone 6S before it the iPhone SE main engine is the A9 mobile processor. To start with, we now have reports that the new 4-inch iPhone would be christened the iPhone SE. The original rumor had the iPhone SE launching three days after being unveiled.
Other features that receive a mention include the possibility of the device coming in 16GB and 64GB variants with support for 802.11ac Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.2 and not to mention, Live Photos support. The device is expected to offer a 12-megapixel camera like its most recent siblings, plus up to 64GB of storage, Apple Pay, and an A9 chip.
So far, it looks like the iPhone SE will be more like the iPhone 6s than the iPhone 5s, which rumors have previously stated.
The new iPhone SE is touted to have remarkably different aesthetics from the iPhone 5s and will feature a so-called "2.5D" cover glass- the slightly curved display introduced with the iPhone 6.
Kuo still strongly believes that the 4-inch iPhone will cost around the $4-500 price bracket. The launch of the new phone and a 50% price cut on the iPhone 5s are expected to grow 4-inch iPhone shipments by 131% year-over-year to 37 million units in 2016. Reports have earlier suggested that a sizeable number of iPhone users have opted not to jump into the large-screen iPhones, somehow indicating that they prefer the smaller, easy to slip and out of the pocket old models. This would help with sales in emerging markets such as India and China. The iPhone SE also has the advantage of running iOS 9, the newest software update from Apple.
Another killer feature identical to the current iPhone flagship is a 12-megapixel main shooter. The new iPhone SE could go on sale as early as March 18, reports add - although some reports said that it could be pushed back till March 22.
Source: KGI: 4-inch iPhone with 12MP camera, $4-500 price range
Galaxy S7 Camera Is 'Game Changing Ć¢€” Samsung
The cunning plan to get rid of the Samsung Logo was first tried in Japan past year.
Another major change is the camera's capabilities.
The Samsung Galaxy J5 (2016) may be tentatively released on June 17.
If you were surprised that the camera should take such a prominent role in Samsung's Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Edge unveiling this week, you shouldn't be. It is built better than any iPhone or LG phone.
Two variants of the Galaxy S7 were launched at the Korean electronics giant's Unpacked 2016 event in Barcelona, Spain, earlier this week. My hands-on time has been limited to controlled settings. The existence of this feature in stock Android gave an option to the end user to inexpensively increase their phone's internal storage to a more practical limit, without having to dabble in the world of root and beyond. Even if two years have passed since these devices have been launched, we can say that they're still very popular because they have some good specifications that attract many buyers. Despite this, the new rear camera is even more streamlined, presenting as a bump of just 0.46mm on the outside of the case. We feel Samsung should've gone with 3GB on the A5 as well but that is what we get here. Cameras have always been a part of Samsung's mobile efforts. "Especially in low-light conditions where..." We'll see if that's been fixed with the S7.
Samsung's new Galaxy S7 is equipped with a 5.1-inch display touting a 2,560x1,440-pixel resolution and a 12MP camera. The S7 Edge is a handsome phone that has a 5.5-inch Quad HD screen.
The tradeoff of a thicker and heavier phone?
The S7 Edge is available on the same collection of plans, although with an ever so slightly increased monthly repayment.
$76 a month increases the data allowance to 3GB and includes 150 global minutes, but if you move up to the $85 offering you'll get 8GB (6GB plus 2GB bonus) and 300 worldwide minutes.
We'll bring you a more thorough run-down as soon as we have more information and testing results, but for now, the Galaxy S7 is the one you should start saving up for.
Ditto for wireless charging - and the fast wireless charging that works with Samsung's special ($70) charging pad.
Both the handsets come equipped with a fingerprint sensor.
Like Samsung's late 2015 phablets, the Galaxy S7 jumps up to 4 GB of RAM. With the iPhone, you hard press on an app icon. If you can live without key improvements in these areas, though, it's worth seeing if you can find the S6 Edge suitably discounted. Whichever one you prefer, you're still getting a superb bargain here.
Of course, like we mentioned before, it's a software issue and can be fixed, but by Samsung and LG, or alternative third parties?
One remaining difference is the screen technology. Because most of the screen is dark, the screen sips rather than drains power in this mode - at least in theory. However, both companies have released their flagships with this option tweaked. Apps on the phone will ease sharing with friends and viewing on the VR devices.
Advance orders for the S7 phones started this week. The latest flagship is available under a variety of models and colors but with everyone wanting to get its hands on it, the stock might be quite a problem.
Australia says new FIFA chief a reformer, praises his energyQualified lawyer, Gianni Infantino was born in March 1970 and holds both Italian and Swiss nationalities. Infantino grew up in Brig, Switzerland, a town less than 6 miles from Blatter's hometown of Visp.
Source: Galaxy S7 Camera Is 'Game Changing — Samsung
Saturday, February 27, 2016
Samsung Looks Even More Like Apple with Its New S7 Phone
One of the better features of recently launched mobile products is that they come with the latest software and firmware already installed.
Barcelona:Technology giant Samsung has unveiled two new flagship devices-S7 and Galaxy S7 edge- as it looks to bolster sales to buck the slowdown in smartphone industry growth. The S7 comes out with a 5.1 inched screen and the S7 Edge with a 5.5 inched screen. The battery life, especially on the Edge version, is said to be spectacular.
The switch to metal and glass past year meant that the Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge lost the water resistance of previous Samsung flagships, but the feature is back in 2016.
In the UAE, prices of Galaxy S7 start at Dh2,399 while that of the S7 edge start at Dh2,799. It stretches to 5.5 inches, mostly coming from the curvature.
The LG device got unique modular battery system that let its users install more features on the phone.
Camera in Galaxy S7 has been scaled down to 12MP from the 16MP in its predecessor. The "Edge" parts are more prominent this time, and the reflection on them doesn't cause the same amount of screen glare as the Galaxy S6 Edge.
Unlike the iPhone, the S7 is waterproof.
Granted, the S7 Edge can support more space with the microSD slot, but 128GB is really not bad in comparison. The Galaxy S6's camera is no slouch-a 16-megapixel shooter. So if you wanted to eject your microSD card and insert it into your PC to copy photos, videos, or music, you wouldn't be able to do that. Similarly, T-Mobile is offering a year of Netflix for Galaxy S7 buyers.
Both the S7 and the S7 Edge are due to be released on March 11th and preorders begin today. Whereas Galaxy S7 with Qualcomm's Snapdragon 820 processor is releasing only in America, Japan and China whereas in the other regions, the smartphone series comes with Exynos CPU. There was a slight delay in starting the Internet app, which is still the worst browser available for Anroid. Not the same smaller size as the regular Galaxy S7 or the Galaxy S6 Edge. And you choose the medium amount because one seems too little and the other too big, so the middle man just seems like enough... and then a week later your phone is full? Nevertheless, the new devices have an excellent array of features that would leave tech buffs excited. The upgrade is also out for Galaxy Note 5 handsets in Cambodia with a model number SM-N920C.
Arab Coalition Air Strikes Kill 40 Northeast of Yemen Capital: ResidentsThe advance, backed by the Saudi-led warplanes, came very slowly because of the rebel-planted mines on the roads towards Sanaa. The U.N. says the fighting in Yemen has killed more than 6,000 people since March 2015 and wounded more than 35,000.
Source: Samsung Looks Even More Like Apple with Its New S7 Phone
iPhone 6s vs. Samsung Galaxy S7 preliminary camera comparison
Posted by Rajesh Pandey on Feb 27, 2016 | No Comments 
Source: iPhone 6s vs. Samsung Galaxy S7 preliminary camera comparison
A lot has been said about the camera on the Samsung Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge since their launch earlier this week. While the cameras on Samsung's latest flagship handsets now feature the same resolution sensor as found on the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus — 12MP, they do feature many other improvements and additions that make them better than Apple's latest iPhones.
This includes features like dual pixel sensor technology, a wider aperture, OIS and more. Many other Android phones also feature camera specs that on paper sound better than the iPhone 6s, but are unable to match the latter's performance in day-to-day life. So, looking beyond the hardware jargon, how does the 12MP shooter on the Galaxy S7 stack up against the iPhone 6s?
Read: Why the Samsung Galaxy S7 camera is better than Galaxy S6?
The Galaxy S7 and S7 edge are scheduled to go on sale on March 11 in the United States and other key markets of the world. Until then, it is tough to tell which smartphone's camera is better between the two. Nonetheless, the folks over at PhoneArena were able to shoot some quick comparison shots between the iPhone 6s and the Galaxy S7 at the Mobile World Congress show floor that does give us a sneak peek of how the camera performance of these two devices stack against each other.
In all the comparison images above, there is a trend: the photos from the Galaxy S7 are brighter thanks to its wider f1/7 aperture. The iPhone 6s only comes with an f/2.2 lens, so its sensor receives less light than the 12MP shooter on the S7. Nonetheless, despite being at such a huge disadvantage, the iPhone 6s does a pretty good job here. Plus, unlike the iPhone 6s Plus, the iPhone 6s does not feature OIS, which would have likely helped the latter's performance further here.
Read: 5 Galaxy S7 features we want in the iPhone 7
It is tough to say which handset is the winner here. Sure, the photos takes from the Galaxy S7 are brighter, but without having a look at the full resolution samples, it is tough to say which device captures more details and keeps the noise in check. Keep in mind that a wider aperture lens can lead to blurring around the edges, which is tough to make out from the above images. The smaller aperture lens on the iPhone 6s is devoid of any such issue, but it is possible that the Galaxy S7's 12MP shooter suffers from something like this.
While the above comparison shots are in no way enough to know which smartphone has the better camera of the two, whose photos do you like the most? Galaxy S7 or iPhone 6s? Drop in a comment and let us know about it. Credit where its due though: Android OEMs have made huge strides in the camera department with their phones over the last couple of years and caught up with Apple. It will now be interesting to see what — if anything — Apple does with the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus to push the camera performance in its smartphones to a new level once again.
[Via PhoneArena]
Like this post? Share it!Related Topics: iPhone 6s, Samsung Galaxy S7, Top Stories
Source: iPhone 6s vs. Samsung Galaxy S7 preliminary camera comparison
Friday, February 26, 2016
Asus ZenFone Zoom Review: The smartphone camera to beat?
We don't see "experiment phones" as often as we used to. Smartphone design is largely homogenizing around a limited range of design options and aesthetics. Whenever a company takes a risk, targets a specific niche, it's always exciting to see what might arrive. Asus is doing just that for the camera crowd, building a phone around one specific feature. This isn't just a "camera phone", the clue to their targeted demographic is in the name of the device.
Immediately we can drop any pretense of this being an "all rounder" phone, but who is this device actually for? Does the Asus ZenFone Zoom succeed in its experiment? Here's our full review!
Hardware and Design
The ZenFone Zoom is a big phone, and it feels like a big phone in the hand. This is understandable as the camera module requires quite a bit of space, but this introduces challenges for other hardware components. The 5.5" IPS LCD is respectably bright for outdoor reading, it has very good viewing angles, but bezel snobs will be disappointed by the screen to front face ratio here. There's a lot of bordering plastic, a large forehead, non-backlit capacitive hardware navigation buttons, and a separate chin piece. Ultimately the screen only takes up around 65% of the front face, and that's how we arrive at a phone bigger than an LG V10, with a screen about the size of an LG G4.
The whole affair is powered by an Intel Atom Z3580 Quad Core, which was initially released around the same time as the Qualcomm 805 which powered phones like the Note 4. Our review unit came equipped with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of built in storage, with a 3000mAh battery.
The overall design is attractive and practical. The removable back plate is leather, and as the phone is camera focused, includes a handy little ridge to help hold onto the device. The edges are aluminum, which recalls devices like the Note 4, and corners are rounded similarly to what we might find on an HTC M9.
The back is removable, granting access to MicroSD and SIM card slots, but the battery is not user replaceable.
The focus on camera performance also influences button arrangement. Like a Lumia, all controls are on the right side of the phone, which makes operation much easier if the phone is ever mounted to tripod. The volume rocker doubles as the zoom rocker. There's a two stage shutter button for launching the camera app and shooting stills, and a dedicated button to shoot video. The bottom left corner holds a lanyard strap port, a handy addition to prevent accidentally dropping the ZenFone. It'd be nice if more phones, even non-camera focused phones, had this option.
From an aesthetics perspective, it's one of the best balancing acts we've ever seen marrying smartphone to point and shoot camera.
SoftwareThe ZenUI launcher default settings recall the juicy colored efforts of LG circa the G2. Happily, this launcher is easy to customize, with similar options found on third party launchers like Nova. If granular settings aren't your thing, you can also theme directly through the Asus store, with plenty of free and premium options to customize your phone.
Like previous Asus phones, there's quite a bit of custom software pre-installed on the ZenFone Zoom. Happily, less of that seems to come from third parties, only Trip Adviser, Amazon Kindle, and Clean Master. The number of management apps feels unnecessary though. Asus provides a mobile manager which monitors battery, RAM, and data usage. There's a separate app for monitoring battery and performance modes. Clean Master also claims to help you save battery by killing background apps, and monitoring RAM. All three of those management apps work separately from the built in settings and processes built into Android.
The ZenFone Zoom is still running on Android 5.0, but during our two weeks using the device we have received to small patches. While we don't know when we might receive an update to Lollipop or Marshmallow, we are at least receiving support to fix bugs.
CameraOur Real Camera Review will give you the most in-depth look at the ZenFone Zoom's camera performance available on the internet.
Here's the real meat and potatoes of this review. Asus is betting on the camera, and has created one of the most undeniably cool solutions for incorporating a zoom in a phone. Instead of stapling a phone to a point and shoot camera lens ala the Galaxy K Zoom, the Asus utilizes a series of periscope-like prisms that allow the entire lens assembly to be mounted vertically in the camera housing. Nothing protrudes from the rear. The actual zoom feature works surprisingly well, giving you a 3X optical reach which doesn't degrade your images like software "cropping" zoom solutions on other fixed lens phones.
The issue facing potential customers is that the rest of the camera experience feels compromised. We have a 1/3 inch 13MP image sensor, paired with OIS and laser autofocus, but actual output from this setup falls far behind other similar camera sensors. Images are a bit dull, detail and color often feel smeared. While you do have options to adjust post processing, changing a setting like sharpening, one adjustment step often feels like too much or too little.
We run into compromises. The ZenFone doesn't start with a particularly wide aperture of f/2.7, but as you zoom, it closes down to f/4.8. This is common for a zoom lens, but it does mean that the zoom will be trickier to use indoors and at night. Also, The smaller sensor size and aperture combo means this won't deliver the prettiest background blur.
Video performance is also disappointing. We see similar dull color and contrast, and a general lack of clarity. The Asus will top out at 30FPS 1080p video, but the frame rate will drop in low light to 20FPS. Indoor and night time video will look streaky or blurry.
If you look at the lenses produced for DSLRs, it can be really difficult to create a clear, sharp zoom lens at an affordable price. A good short zoom will often cost almost as much as a low end camera body. The engineering feat of building a zoom lens into a phone is impressive, but it comes at the expense of clarity, bokeh, and low light performance.
PerformanceIntel's Atom processor hasn't been a popular chipset for mobile phones. Sliding through the UI, loading social media apps, and streaming HD media, you'll rarely encounter lags or stutters. We should be able to take this for granted in this day and age, where mid-range and low-end phone processors handle the basics reasonably well. Having 4GB of RAM on tap meant fast recovery times for apps, once we backed off the manager apps killing background services.
Taxing this hardware with some games, we see this chipset struggle. Older titles like Skyforce 2014 play fluid and smooth. Moving to Riptide GP2, we start to see the occasional dropped frame or lag, but it's still an acceptable gaming experience. Playing more demanding titles like Marvel Future Fight, game play becomes choppy, even on medium graphics settings. It does feel like the kind of performance we would have expected from a year old flagship, and depending on what titles you enjoy, can still be outperformed by a Note 4.
Battery
Battery performance on our review unit was a bit disappointing. When used for basic communication, it's an easy phone to push through dinner time. Incorporating any multimedia throughout your day will hit this battery hard. On a video streaming test, 30 minutes of HD video playback at 50% screen brightness, the ZenFone Zoom drained 12% of its battery, making it one of the worst performers we've run through similar tests. By comparison, a Galaxy S6 with a brighter, higher resolution screen and smaller battery only drained 10%. If you engage in a little light gaming, you'll probably need to top off the battery before dinner. The combo of firing up the camera sensor and keeping the screen bright for outdoor photography will also drain juice quickly.
Quick charging helps take some of the sting off, and you can count on around a 60% charge after an hour plugged in.
Audio
Call quality is a bit lean from the front speaker, but there weren't any complaints from callers about the audio quality being sent. The noise reduction mics did a fine job during outdoor calls.
The rear speaker is plenty loud for alerts, notifications, and ringtones, but falls a bit flat for video, music, and video gaming. Dull reproduction, lack of clarity, and there's just not enough room on a single speaker to introduce more bass.
Headphone playback is somewhat poor. There's a general air you can hear in moments of silence. It's not quite a hiss, but is an observable noise floor. Bass lacks oomph, and the highs feel more magnified than they need to be. On live classical recordings, this actually kind of works, but rock and electronica felt shrill and tinny for any elements in the higher EQ.
We also ran into some issues with the two different audio processing modes on the ZenFone. Moving between the Asus processing and Android's native processing can crash the EQ plugin.
Pros+Practical build quality with premium materials+Camera-centric ergonomics+Innovative camera zoom design
Cons-Lackluster photo and video output-Mediocre battery life for multimedia and content creation-Large footprint for medium sized screen
Price and AvailabilityThe unlocked ZenFone Zoom sells for $399 through online retailers like B&H.
Conclusion
This is always painful.
We want to reward daring design. We want to celebrate when companies take risks. The ZenFone Zoom is an incredible feat of camera design, but the crown jewel feature of this phone in many ways compromises the camera that the zoom lens is supposed to enhance. That unfortunately becomes the end of the review. When a company places so much responsibility on one feature, it's exceedingly difficult to ignore that feature for any kind of objective comparison with other phones. It's the ZenFone Zoom, we can't rightfully say "but ignoring the camera…".
There's a market for every device, but the ZenFone Zoom is a niche of a niche. The consumer here needs to care enough about photo features to value the zoom, but isn't as discerning when it comes to photo and video output. Otherwise, there are a number of devices around this price point which can outperform the ZenFone, or cheaper devices that can hang with it.
Source: Asus ZenFone Zoom Review: The smartphone camera to beat?
How to Prevent Your Android Phone from Overheating
Your phone overheats. But is it happening all by itself, or do you have apps running in the background that you don't know about? Perhaps you're gaming too much, or the environmental conditions are too extreme… the fact is, it's difficult to pinpoint just why your smartphone is overheating.
Perhaps the device becomes sluggish when hot, or perhaps it shuts down until it has cooled. Either way, it has to stop. So let's have a look at the various causes and help you to work out just what is going on.
Let's Get Past the Obvious StuffUsually when you're looking for a reason for your phone overheating, you'll determine the cause as something obvious, such as overuse, or remaining connected to your Bluetooth speaker for too long. The chances are that you've also hit the Web and Googled a few phrases based on error messages that you've seen. You might even have checked particular apps.
Almost every time you will have come across a collection of the same old reasons for your phone overheating. "Your display brightness is too high," or, "Your Wi-Fi has been connected for too long." "You've been playing too many games," is another (often with the additional "it's not a game console" advice).
By 2016, no one should be using a phone that overheats under normal use. Perhaps Wi-Fi is an issue, but it won't be the connection itself that is the problem — rather, the way it's being used. We'll come to that later. But first…
Don't Forget High Intensity Camera ActivitiesI've been using a Sony Xperia Z5 for some months now. It's only in this past week, while recording a video with the front facing camera, that I've found the device overheating — to such an extent that a warning notice was displayed.
To summarise the scenario, the phone was in its flip cover faux leather case, which features a basic friction stand. The phone was also situated in direct sunlight, although shielded from this by the case.
While I was using the highest quality settings on the camera, and the video lasted around 20 minutes, it was nevertheless a surprise to receive a warning that the phone would shut down due to overheating.
So, while the connectivity options, high display brightness, and regular gaming can impact your phone's temperature, where it is situated and how high your camera settings are can also play a part.
Don't Forget VirusesMalware on your Android device may well be a problem that causes excessive heat. After all, the developers of the malware aren't exactly interested in the health of your device; they just want your data.
Our look at smartphone malware is a good starting place for dealing with this, though it's unlikely to be a virus if you've never checked the "Allow installation of apps from unknown sources" button in the settings.
Is Your Case Suffocating Your Phone?But following up on that is the issue of the case, a common factor that many smartphone owners overlook.
Almost every case is constructed from plastic or has a large amount of plastic, and even those that are made with leather have the same problem: the phone is insulated, keeping heat in and cold out.
But for safety reasons, as the phone gets warm (particularly during high performance tasks), it needs to radiate the heat away, and the presence of a case made from an insulated material prevents this.
It's like exercising in a duffle coat.
Your options here aren't great, however. Removing your phone from the case is a good start, but if you're uncomfortable with this (perhaps looking after it to maintain its resell value), then it is not a viable long term option. With regards to the example I made above, using a standard smartphone tripod with the phone out of its case would have been preferable.
Could another factor be involved?
Check Your Battery and Charger CableAnother thing to consider is the state of your battery and the charger cable. If you have an older phone that has been regularly overcharged (you should never charge to 100%, for instance, and regularly charge to 80-90% to increase battery life), then smartphone overheating can occur. Our tips on improving smartphone battery life should help here.
However, you should also check the quality of your charger cable. Phones should not get hot when charging (certainly not hot enough to cause problems), and when this occurs, the reason can be either a damaged battery (and swapping these out on modern phones is a problem) or a poor quality charging cable.
An easy way to deal with this would be to replace the cable.
Could it Be Wi-Fi After All?Well, no. But it could be that your smartphone is overheating due to the way in which Wi-Fi is being overused. Android users in particular are susceptible to apps running in the background and drawing on resources, such as CPU and Wi-Fi or mobile Internet. If apps are allowed to run in this way, things can heat up.
One way to put an end to this is with Greenify, a free Play Store app that enables you to identify resource leechers and put the misbehaving apps into hibernation.
While this puts background functionality out of service, you can be confident that it will also mean reduced resource use, which can help to keep your smartphone from overheating.
How Do You Prevent Smartphone Overheating?Have you been hit by your smartphone getting too hot and slowing, or worse, shutting down? Have any of the suggestions here helped?
We're aware that this is a tricky issue with a myriad of causes and solutions. If you have been affected by this and found out what the problem was, share it in the comments.
Source: How to Prevent Your Android Phone from Overheating
Thursday, February 25, 2016
HTC says its next phone will have a 'very, very compelling camera experience'
Just a few days ago, Samsung and LG introduced their new Android flagships, and each company placed a big focus on the capabilities of their new phone's camera. Now that that info is out there, though, HTC is feeling pretty confident about the camera on its upcoming flagship.
HTC CFO Chialin Chang said in an interview with CNET that his company's next phone "will have a very, very compelling camera experience." Chang went on to emphasize that that statement is being made after HTC has seen "what's going on in the market." The exec didn't divulge any other features of HTC's next phone, but he did say that it'll be shown off "very soon."
HTC has made news with the cameras on its past three One M flagships. The One M7 introduced an UltraPixel sensor, the One M8 added a second sensor for adjusting a photo's focus after it'd been taken, and the One M9 switched to a more traditional 20-megapixel sensor. Unfortunately for HTC, the One M9's camera was the target of a lot of criticism following the device's launch.
Many folks rely on their smartphone's camera as the only device to capture photos from their lives, so a phone's camera performance is important. HTC seems to recognize this and is touting that its next phone's camera will be solid, so it'll be interesting to put that camera to the test and see how it compares to other flagship phones on the market.
HTC recently teased its One M10 flagship, but it's unknown when the device might be revealed.
Source: HTC says its next phone will have a 'very, very compelling camera experience'
Corephotonics Dual Camera for Smartphones: Hitting One Bird with Two Stones
LG's new premiere smartphone, the G5, has a second rear camera for wide angle shots. But Corephotonics' new smartphone module shoots with its two cameras at once. It then uses the company's proprietary software to merge the two pictures and create a significantly improved single image.
Corephotonics' technology not only leads to sharper images, it also leads to faster autofocus, reduces motion blur and counteracts the Waterloo of smartphone cameras: awful low light images. CNET checked out one of Corephotonics' prototypes at this year's Mobile World Congress:
Corephotonics' method sounds similar to HDR imaging, where a single camera takes multiple low or standard dynamic range photos and merges them to make a photo with, well, a high dynamic range. But as CNET mentions in their video, Corephotonics' setup is more flexible and powerful because it can pair different cameras to adapt to the device's target price or purpose.
The company currently has three modules: one achieves up to 3x optical zoom using a 13MP and an 8MP camera, one gets great low light shots by using a black and white 13MP camera with a colored 13MP camera, and the Hawkeye prototype, the one featured in the video, also uses two 13MP cameras but is capable of up to 5x optical zoom. Corephotonics also said on its website that it can pair a standard camera with a depth sensor, similar to the HTC M8 or motion sensors like the Kinect. Even cameras are going multi-core these days. If only we could do the same with batteries.
[via CNET via PetaPixel]
Source: Corephotonics Dual Camera for Smartphones: Hitting One Bird with Two Stones
Wednesday, February 24, 2016
Are High-End Smartphones Overtaking Professional DSLRs in TodayĆ¢€™s Digital Camera Market?
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Smartphones have slowly been taking over almost every electronic gadget on the market today. At present, a high-end smartphone can replace most of the gadgets we used to rely on such as calculators, MP3 players, recording devices, digital cameras, and even televisions—causing a significant decline in the production and sales of many of these formerly indispensable electronics.
Compact digital cameras and DSLR cameras are still considered essential by professional photographers and hardcore photography enthusiasts. A blog post in Adorama Learning Center notes that DSLRs allow people to experience photography at its best, making them the tool of choice for professional photographers worldwide.
However, these cameras are not as in-demand as they once were. The digital camera market has been hit particularly hard in recent years following the rise of consumer interest in the far more versatile high-end smartphone.
An Overview of Total Camera Production Over the Last Eight Decades
Image Source: Mayflower Concepts
According to a graph created by Mayflower Concepts based on statistical data from Japanese organization CIPA (Camera & Imaging Products Association), digital camera production experienced an all-time high shortly after a noticeable drop in 2009, which can be attributed to the global recession. This was preceded by a substantial upsurge in the early to mid-2000s, at which overall camera production went up from a little under 40,000 to 100,000 units for compact digital cameras and DSLR cameras. However, production began to decrease in 2011, which incidentally, coincided with the release of the iPhone 4S—the first iPhone model to boast 8 megapixels (significantly higher than its predecessor's 5 megapixels)—and 1080p HD video recording.
If we were to factor in the smartphones, we would probably get a much more accurate picture of what the digital camera market is like now. Taking the same graph by Mayflower Concepts, photographer Sven Skafisk created a new one that included smartphones, using data from Gartner Inc.
Image Source: PetaPixel.com
Interestingly, the average DSLR camera production has not changed much in contrast to compact point-and-shoot cameras. The same can be said for mirrorless cameras, which rose to popularity in 2012.
The data shows that something has indeed affected the digital camera market—and the sudden popularity of high-end smartphones had to do with it. Still, judging by the virtually unchanged DSLR camera production levels in the past few years, it seems there is no danger yet of smartphones overtaking the professional side of the digital camera spectrum.
Why is that so? Smartphones that are currently on the market still lack certain features that make them a comparable replacement to a high-quality DSLR camera. In fact, they have a long way to go before they can compete with any DSLR, and this is because for most professional applications—whether it be a magazine photo shoot or a high-quality YouTube video)—people still prefer the powerful advantages of a DSLR camera.
For instance, here are a few key DSLR features that you definitely won't get from a smartphone:
Not everyone who needs a camera will require all these features, of course, and that's where the smartphones win.
Smartphones Beat Out DSLR Cameras in Flickr's List of Most Used Camera Brands
Image Source: Flickr
With each passing year, smartphone cameras just get better and better. They still are not quite up to par with the image quality of professional camera models, but to most people, they are clearly good enough. Case in point—in Flickr's latest list of most popular camera brands used by the Flickr community, Apple claims the top spot over DSLR giants Canon and Nikon, with Samsung ranking third. Thanks to the impressive quality of most smartphone cameras these days, more and more photography enthusiasts have been using their mobile devices to fulfill their artistic urges—at less cost. Some smartphones do clock in at around the same price as basic DSLR camera models, but if you take into account the fact that your phone also doubles as a video camera, music player, daily planner, watch, and so much more; it is clearly the more cost-effective, not to mention more versatile, option.
Nonetheless, all members of the digital camera family—not just DSLR cameras—that have interchangeable lenses are still strongly in the running despite the rise of smartphone sales. "Digital cameras with a built-in lens have faced fierce competition with the advent of the smartphone," CIPA states in a recent press release.
"Digital cameras with an interchangeable lens, however, provide picture quality that is completely different from that of smartphones and demonstrate an unrestricted expressiveness when combined with highly individualistic exchangeable lenses, which continue to excite camera fans, and demand for these cameras remains firm."
Overall demand for digital cameras in general is still declining, though. CIPA's press release, which details an outlook on the shipment forecast for 2016, predicts a year-on-year decline of 12.4% in total shipments of digital cameras. This is significantly better than that of 2015, which saw a decline of 18.5% from the year before. Total digital camera shipments for 2016 are projected to be at 31 million units—4.4 million units less than the previous year.
The good news is, DSLR cameras and other types of digital cameras with interchangeable lenses are still performing relatively well and are making up for the slack in overall production and sales from regular compact digital cameras with built-in lenses.
"Digital cameras with an interchangeable lens are rapidly accounting for a steadily increasing share of total shipments—27% in 2013, 32% in 2014, and 37% in 2015—and acted as a break on the decline in total shipments," reports CIPA.
Canon Inc. Spokesman Takafumi Hongo even had this to say to bolster the case for digital cameras. "Taking photos with smartphones and editing them with apps is like cooking with cheap ingredients and a lot of artificial flavoring. Using interchangeable (lens) cameras is like food cooked slowly with natural, genuine ingredients."
Therefore, as far as the digital camera market goes, DSLR cameras still maintain a strong foothold in their particular niche. Maybe someday, technology will produce smartphones that can seriously compete with powerful professional digital cameras but, until then, for consumers who have very distinct needs when it comes to their camera equipment, there is nothing on the market that can come close to a professional DSLR camera.
Source: Are High-End Smartphones Overtaking Professional DSLRs in Today's Digital Camera Market?
Why the LG G5 Should be Your Next Phone
Immediately after both Samsung and LG unveiled their next flagship phones this past weekend, the discussion began – which of the three (if any) are you going to buy? We tossed out polls asking not only that question, but why you might be passing on all three as well. You've given your reasons why or why not, so now it's our turn. Tim and I decided to tackle each side of the Korean match-up. As you can tell by the title of this post, I've got LG and he has Samsung.
In the post below, you'll find a handful of reasons why the LG G5 just might be the phone for you, even after Samsung took time out this week to unveil two amazing phones. You see, the G5, at least in my opinion, matches up quite nicely to the new Galaxy S7, maybe even besting it in a few areas.
This is why the LG G5 should be your next phone.
It'll probably get faster updates
For many of you, this is reason enough to skip on Samsung's new phones. The LG G5, assuming LG keeps up with what they have done with the G4, will more than likely get the next version of Android (Android N) weeks if not months before the Galaxy S7 or S7 Edge. Samsung just barely started pushing Android 6.0 Marshmallow to some of its global devices from 2015 and hasn't even sniffed a US carrier-attached phone. LG's G4 saw Marshmallow internationally in Poland back in October and then through Sprint in December before hitting every major US carrier, including Verizon, by early February. Even the 2-year old G3 has received Marshmallow on a handful of carriers. Again, Samsung has failed to push Marshmallow to any of its US devices at this time, including the S6, S6 Edge, S6 Edge+, Note 5, S5, and Note 4.
Samsung could change how they push updates, but they've never been good at it. LG, which was once terrible at updating phones, has gotten much better in recent years. So if you want Android N within a couple of months of release, the G5 should get you there faster than Samsung will.
Removable battery
While Samsung may have included bigger batteries in the Galaxy S7 (3000mAh) and S7 Edge (3600mAh), LG stuck to what it has done for years and that's going the removable route. The battery capacity weighs in at 2800mAh, so it's not that far off from the regular Galaxy S7, yet should you drop to day-ending levels of juice, you can always swap in a full battery and be on about your day. That means less time on a charger and more time for balling out on the town with your bad-ass metal self.
Oh, and if swappable batteries isn't your thing, the LG G5 also supports Qualcomm's Quick Charge 3.0, which means you could grab up to 80% charge in just 35 minutes with a capable charger. The bottom line is that the LG G5 has a big enough battery for most, but it offers the flexibility heavy hitters require.
It's modular, man!
With the G5, LG tried to make a phone that can get even better over time. They built a modular phone that sees expansion and new features via removable battery slot. For now, LG is pushing out a camera grip and a Hi-Fi audio DAC, but should hardware partners see the potential, that list could grow and we could see some really cool innovations around the G5.
Today, the options to expand the functionality of the G5 are geared towards camera enthusiasts and audiophiles. The camera grip turns the G5 into a point-and-shoot style camera, with zoom controls, shutter, and video record button, all while making it much more easy to handle. It also adds an additional 1200mAh of battery. As for the DAC, we're talking about giving G5 users the ultimate audio experience by upscaling audio played to 32-bit. What other phone can do that?
Dual cameras
Because two is always better than one, right? OK, not always, but with the G5, LG tossed in two cameras to give you the opportunity to never miss a shot, or at the very least, know that you can adjust more than anyone else to get the right shot. The G5 has a 16MP standard camera that will take incredible shots on its own, but LG also tossed in an 8MP wide-angle (135-degree) shooter for those tight shots or those that include an area most cameras will struggle to capture. The cameras are aided by laser autofocus and enough manual controls to get even the most advanced photog feeling steamy.
It's not a fingerprint magnet
I spent a solid hour with the Galaxy S7 this week and needed to wipe off the fingerprints more times than I care to remember. While fingerprint issues don't seem like reason enough to skip a phone, some of us would rather own a phone with equally as impressive specs that doesn't require a t-shirt wiping every couple of minutes. The LG G5 sports a full metal body that feels great, looks great, and isn't a smudgefest. It's also likely to be more durable than the S7, which features glass on both the front and back. Sure, it has an arguably ugly dual-camera hump on its backside, but it won't gross out your friends when you hand it to them to take a quick pic of you posing in your latest sneaker pick-up.
Source: Why the LG G5 Should be Your Next Phone
Tuesday, February 23, 2016
Galaxy S7 Camera: Sony Xperia No Longer The Best Camera Phone?
When the rumors about Galaxy S7 started, there were stories that Samsung is working to bring the best camera to its upcoming flagship. Some believed that Samsung may adopt Sony Xperia's image sensor to deliver high-quality pictures. Then the news came that the company, though working on improving the camera, had actually downgrade the megapixels. Let's us see what has happened with the Galaxy S7 camera:
Sony Xperia is known for its excellent quality camera. Whenever you are looking to buy a smartphone for photography, yo can blindly choose any of the Xperia phones. With so much buzz built around Galaxy S7 camera, I wonder if it has lived up to the expectations. Starting with the megapixels, yes, they have been downgraded to 12 MP. But Samsung has adopted dual-pixel technology for the phone. What is that? Every pixel has two photodiodes on the image sensor, instead of only one. How does that make things better? Your Galaxy S7 camera will focus as accurately and as fast as human eyes.
Galaxy S7 camera has not just focused on still photography, but also on motion pictures. To add action to your shots, Galaxy S7 camera has introduced motion panorama and motion photo on both the latest phones, Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Edge. This is how you can capture movements with motion panorama, motion photo lets you "capture the three beautiful seconds that happen before you press the shutter," says Samsung. Then there comes a Spotlight feature that allows you to "highlight certain parts of your face and make your features stand out," writes Samsung on its website. You can find the Spotlight feature in Beauty Mode.
The Galaxy S7 camera will also give you excellent results in low-light. Insufficient light is the main reason why we miss out on some of the best shots. Samsung seems to have fixed it too. To allow you to click even when there is not enough light indoors, or the sun has set on an outdoor shoot, Galaxy S7 has adopted a "brighter F1.7 lens and larger 1.4Āµm pixels on the image sensor" so that the phone captures much more light and deliver sharp pictures with excellent details.
When put on paper, this Galaxy S7 camera looks to be the best choice for photo freaks. It not just delivers quality pictures under any circumstance, but will also let you let you do something more than other smartphone photos do. Has it really been able to beat Sony Xperia? You will know once you start using the camera.
Source: Galaxy S7 Camera: Sony Xperia No Longer The Best Camera Phone?
5 Great Camera Apps for Android Smartphones
Smartphones play a huge role in helping us keep clean copies of some of the best moments we've had in life. These devices are equipped with top-notch cameras that capture some of the most appealing photos as well as videos.
These devices are equipped with top-notch cameras that capture some of the most appealing photos as well as videos.
While Android smartphones come with a pre-installed camera app, you don't always get the best results from this application. To get the best, here is a list of the 5 best camera apps to download and install on your Android device.
Google Camera
Google has its own camera app and with it, you will get quite a number of manual settings. However, basic things such as ISO, white balance and filters are not present. Nonetheless, the app still comes with other quality features such as Lens Blur, Photo Sphere and Panorama modes. This app has at times been reported to have some issues on some devices, but the cases are very few to be noticed.
Open Camera
Open Camera offers great speed and is lightweight – something most Android users would prefer. The app is free in the Play Store and you will have access to everything you need, be it ISO, manual focus, exposure time for Android Lollipop users and so on.
To make the speed aspect even sweeter, you can have the app's widget added on the home screen such that taking a picture only takes a single press.
A Better Camera
With the A Batter Camera app, you will be having a superior photo app as compared to the many offerings available on the Play Store. The camera app comes with features such as Bestshot for taking a number of photos in succession, then the least blurred and most impressive one is presented to you. Amazing huh!
You will also enjoy post-processing and recording videos with real time HDR when using A Better Camera. Even though this app has some great features on the offer, lots of the best ones must be purchased via in-app purchases.
Manual Camera
Manual Camera app provides Android users with a wide range of settings options you won't find on other photo apps. Things like focus, shutter speed, exposure compensation, white balance and others are available, meaning that controlling every detail of your photo is not a problem when using this app.
Another great feature of Manual Camera is that you will be able to save photos in RAW format. With this format, your photos will be open to further processing whenever new possibilities arise. While this app is one of the best so far, you will have to be using Android 5.0 Lollipop and above in order to enjoy it.
Camera360 Ultimate
One of the Play Store's most popular camera apps, Camera360 Ultimate offers quite a number of pretty features. The app makes use of a lens-filter system which can be employed before taking a picture. In this way, you will save more time as you won't need to take a picture first before checking whether it's fixable via addition of a funny filter. This photo app has many features to play around with, just find out how they can be useful to you.
The Camera360 Ultimate app comes with a clean interface that is easy to use, something that is quite hard to come by as far as other camera apps are concerned.
Source: 5 Great Camera Apps for Android Smartphones
Monday, February 22, 2016
Samsung Galaxy S7 camera superior to iPhone 6s in low-light MWC test
Samsung's latest flagship has debuted, and the camera is a point of interest. The rear-facing camera is a mere 12-megapixel sensor, but it features a big aperture, large pixels, and optical image stabilization. This should make for great low-light photos, and Samsung's own test at Mobile World Conference confirms this.
The above photos were taken together at one time in a very dim room, and the shot from the Galaxy S7 is far brighter than either the iPhone 6s or the Galaxy S6. It's really impressive! However, there are a few variables that might be influencing this test.
First of all, the phone was mounted to a table, so this doesn't show how good the optical image stabilization is, nor does it show how well the phone accounts for blur. The exposure might have also been set higher, but we don't know that. Either way, the camera shows some real potential, but we'll have to test it for ourselves to see how well it really performs.
What do you guys think? Is this amazing camera going to be the defining factor of the Galaxy S7? Would this aspect influence your smartphone buying decision? As a happy owner of a Moto X, I can honestly say I'm being swayed.
Source: Samsung Galaxy S7 camera superior to iPhone 6s in low-light MWC test
The world's first phone with a built-in thermal camera is kinda hot
The CAT S60 is a brand new smartphone that features the world's first ever Thermal Imaging camera, allowing you to go all Alien vs. Predator. The camera can detect heat signatures from 50 - 100 feet away.
It has it's own app, so you can open the standard Android camera when you're in your down time and flick open FLIR when it's time to get to work. A new rugged phone from Cat has a similar camera built in. The FLIR sensor sits above the regular 13MP camera on the back of the phone, meaning you can overlay a real-world outline over the thermally-imaged image. The company will showcase the device at MWC 2016 in Barcelona next week. Considering the fact that the smartphone more resembles a working tool than just a handset, its price does not seem to be too high, especially given that the smartphone thermal camera market is starting to take off (albeit at higher than 80x60 pixed quality).
While the structural process was a major focus in the S60, the thermal camera is certainly a big selling feature. If you capture an image and want to find out later what the exact temperature was in any particular spot, it's possible to press on it to find out - all of that detail is captured with the picture and stored in its metadata.
As well as being dust and dirt resistant the S60 is waterproof and can be fully submerged underwater up to depths of 2 metres, or 5 metres if you make sure the tiny protective covers are over the microphone and charging port. The phone is waterproof (IP68) and should survive drops of up to 1.8 metres.
The Cat S60 will run on Android 6.0 Marshmallow, will be powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 617 octa core processor clocked at 1.5GHz, which will be backed by 3GB of RAM and will have an internal memory of 32GB, which can be expanded up to 128GB with a microSD card.
"The Cat S60 represents a milestone for smartphones".
Sure, the iPhone and Samsung Galaxy phones are slim and stylish, but they can be as delicate as a vase in an antique shop if you're not careful.
Launching in June, the Cat S60 will cost $599 (€649, £500) and will be sold unlocked, so can be used on any network.
Earnhardt the fastest in final Daytona practiceHamlin raced to his first Daytona 500 victory Sunday , the first for Toyota, and the first in 23 years for Joe Gibbs Racing. Even though we don't have a Sprint Cup-worthy track in our area, NASCAR is big in Western Washington.
Source: The world's first phone with a built-in thermal camera is kinda hot
Sunday, February 21, 2016
LG G5 Top 5 Features: Modules, Dual Rear Cameras, and More
This is the phone LG hopes will take on Samsung's Galaxy S7 and Apple's iPhone 7. The phone loses a bit of its character in the process, but there is some good news here - the drawbacks usually associated with unibody phones don't apply here.
The G5 is 7.7 mm thick, with rounded edges and a protruding bar for the two (yes, two) rear camera lenses.
I only had the opportunity to take a couple of quick snaps with the G5's camera, but the images looked sharp and rather vibrant.
On top of those ecosystem-related enhancements, LG also announced more standard enhancements to the G5, including: that it will now use the USB-C cables that most of the phone industry is expected to move to in the near future; that it has an improved, wider-angle camera; that it has a screen that partly keeps running even when the phone is asleep, allowing users to the clock; and that it has a new processor and graphics engine that should be better for virtual reality.
No price has been set for the phone, but if the LG G5 is priced like other flagship smartphones and the two previous versions, expect the price to be £385.
The LG G4 was more of the same in terms of design from LG, but this year LG have thrown out the rulebook and started again from scratch.
Onboard storage totals 32GB, and this can be extended by up to 2TB with a microSD card. The G5 is powered by a 2,800 mAh battery that can be ejected from the case, making this phone the only unibody metal smartphone we're aware of that has a replaceable battery. Sticking to its roots, LG yet maintains the focus on these basic things and is providing removable battery support in the G5 that features an anodized aluminium build along with slim aesthetics. The G5 has a lot to offer, and delivers more than the G4 from past year. The cameras sit on either side of the sensors and LED flash, one with a 78-degree standard lens and another with a 135-degree wide-angle lens (the 8MP), which LG says is "the widest available on any camera". One notable difference is that the display has shrunk from the 5.5-inch size we've come to know and love to a more manageable 5.3-inch display. The battery capacity is slightly down at 2,800mAh, but this should be offset by the more power efficient chip an d display technology.
The QHD display has an always-on mode.
All the usual premium connectivity options are here, including LTE, 802.11 ac Wi-Fi, NFC, GPS, and Bluetooth 4.2.
Last year the LG G4 was one of the best LG phones in years.
But, what's this about modularity? The phone's modular design brings in a separate camera module which has buttons to take pictures. Basically, this allows the phone to transform to a bunch of other products including a digital camera, a Hi-Fi player and more.
The LG Cam Plus module, for instance, comes with buttons for releasing the camera shutter, flash and zoom.
LG Hi-Fi Plus is an external 32-bit Digital-to-Analog converter (DAC) and amplifier unit, created in collaboration with Bang & Olufsen, a company known for its sound equipment. The foldable goggles are meant for watching VR content on the go, and LG claims the accessory is "one-third as heavy as competing smartphone VR goggles". We've been covering all things LG today, and have the full announcement to read and a closer look at what's on the inside here. As we revealed earlier this week, the phone features an expansion slot you can use to swap in batteries and other modules. The LG CAM Plus, 360 VR camera and headset are all part of that system. Two other promised friends - a camera-equipped rolling ball that doubles as a home-monitoring device and a mortal enemy to your pets and a drone controller that promises to simplify piloting an aircraft - weren't available for hands-on demos.
Source: LG G5 Top 5 Features: Modules, Dual Rear Cameras, and More
LG G5 in video shorts: cameras, selfies, batteries and storage
Unless you had an invite for the LG event in Barcelona today, you haven't had the pleasure of handling the LG G5, not until April when the phone launches.
We know it's not quite the same, but here are a few short moments of what it's like to live with a G5.
First, the wide-angle lens, part of G5's dual camera setup. The phone actually snaps photos with both, so you get one 135° and one 75° photo.
The camera has manual controls, which allows people with photography skills to dial in just the right settings.
Of course, an important class of photos is selfies. The G5 has only one selfie camera on its front (unlike the V10), but it's an 8MP shooter.
With all those photos, the battery will start to run out. No worries though, you can just pop in another battery.
And storage won't be an issue either, this problem is solved with plug and play too.
Source: LG G5 in video shorts: cameras, selfies, batteries and storage
Saturday, February 20, 2016
ASUS ZenFone Zoom Review: 3x Optical Zoom On A Phone That Would Still Be Good Without It
It wasn't long ago that ASUS, while beloved by many on the desktop computing scene, was hardly a player when it came to smartphones. Some early Android tablet adopters will remember their Transformer books, but the ZenFone line is relatively new and has been the most serious attempt by ASUS to break into phones. It would be easy to overstate the popularity of the ZenFone, especially in western markets, but there's no doubt that lovers of Android now have ASUS on their radar.
We at Android Police have looked at several ZenFones and the latest entry is the ZenFone Zoom, which is a characteristic mixture of uniqueness, ambition, value, and zaniness that we have seen before. As the name would suggest, the big differentiating factor of the Zoom is its high-quality camera sensor that comes with 3x optical zoom, something very unusual—though not unheard of—for a serious smartphone.
More than just a cheap phone fitted with a nice lens, the Zoom also has a 64-bit Intel processor and 4GB of RAM coming standard. When I say it is a serious smartphone, that's what I mean; ASUS is positioning the device as more than just a fancy camera that runs Android, but rather a top-flight phone that has a camera to match. But does it live up to that kind of billing?
Yes and no. ASUS's ZenUI, which is reminiscent of Samsung's TouchWiz in ways both good and bad, is going to be a non-starter for many people. And 1080p resolution on a 5.5" display doesn't scream "flagship" like some of the other specifications. On the other hand, a starting sticker price of $399 USD doesn't sound so much like a mainstream brand flagship either.
Design and HardwareMy first inclination is to say that this is no engineering marvel, which is mostly correct. Nobody will be asking how ASUS could possibly fit a modern smartphone's internals into a package 12mm thick or weighing 185g. On the other hand, the Zoom does, well, zoom. A non-standard feature does in some ways call for a non-standard setup.
To keep the optical zoom in a relatively tight package, ASUS compares the method employed to a periscope. Rather than expanding out and toward the object, it is happening laterally. It is quite complicated and took some highly original thinking along with the camera hardware partner, HOYA, to implement.
On the aesthetic side, a big fat camera on the back is still a big fat camera. Indeed, it could bulge out far more with a less impressive design. But if you're comparing it to smartphones that lack optical zoom—and chances are that you are—then the one thing you see when you look at the Zoom is the fact it looks a lot like a slim point-and-shoot camera upon first glance. This is the tradeoff, of course. The redeeming detail is a metal band around the edge of the phone that makes the look and feel much better than it would be without it.
Less critically, ASUS used a real-but-feels-faux-leather material for the rest of the removable back plate. I'm no fan of the way this looks, and unlike Samsung's vaguely leathery texture from a couple product generations ago, the feel to the Zoom's back plate is more like plastic. This is probably better than Samsung's implementation in the sense that you aren't forced into thinking about what a pale imitation of a nice leather it is every time you feel it in your hands. For what it's worth, ASUS has lots to say about the leather on their ZenFone Zoom micro-site, but I had to be corrected by a reader to be able to tell that it wasn't fake.
Included are dedicated shutter and record buttons, which serve no other function. When shooting in landscape mode (which you always should be!), this is very useful and perfectly justified on a phone like the Zoom. The volume rocker doubles as a zoom toggle, which is again a nice addition. Like other ZenFones, there are capacitive buttons in place of the more dynamic navigation bar built into Android's OS. The power button, unlike the ZenFone 2 and ZenFone 2 Laser, is along the side instead of the top.
Compared to the various ZenFone 2 Laser and Selfie models I have used, the display on the Zoom beats it. Colors look better and even more important than that, the overall maximum brightness is noticeably higher. The aforemention ZenFone models were tough to see on a bright day outdoors, but that is not true of the Zoom, which has enough oomph.
However, the auto-brightness is too conservative for my taste and there aren't straightforward ways to deal with that fact. There are some third-party applications but it is always much better to get those details right in the stock OS.
While pleasant and functional enough, the display isn't selling this phone. At and even below this price point, you will likely find higher resolution and perhaps more technically impressive displays in devices cheaper than this one. To me, it meets a minimum standard for the phone it is trying to be. If that's what is keeping the price down, then it seems like a logical tradeoff.
CameraIt's the ZenFone Zoom after all, so does the camera work well? Indeed, it is a very good camera. I am not a firm believer in the superiority of ASUS's software implementation, as it is noticeably slower to zoom than my familiar Galaxy S6, and things like HDR take far more time to complete and do not occur automatically.
However, I do appreciate the manual mode that allows for toggling the white balance, focus distance, exposure, and a few other odds and ends. Importantly, in several situations in which I expected to need to make those adjustments, the automatic mode did just as well. I attribute this in large part to the laser auto-focus.
Here is a shot of what is known as "the oval" at Ohio State University, shot in automatic mode without zoom. In general, I don't think it excels at this kind of photo, though maybe it simply stresses my shaky hands.
And here is an equivalent shot with maximum zoom (3x).
Last but not least, some HDR versions for comparison.
To give a sense of a medium-distance subject, I just picked out a broken tree branch on the ground. First you'll see the 1x zoom, then the 3x zoom. I think it drives home just how helpful the optical zoom is.
One night in my apartment, which is very poorly lit once the sun goes down, I caught my cat doing an adorable thing. And this isn't just any cat, it's my black cat. Getting a good exposure on a photo with this cat in it is far from straightforward. Often, you just end up with a black silhouette. Other times, everything surrounding the cat is overexposed after focusing on the dark black fur. I feel that this situation posed a legitimate challenge to a supposedly top-of-the-line smartphone camera.
It nailed it, even without the aid of the (mostly useless) low-light mode, which drastically reduces the resolution in an effort to do a longer exposure. Even without HDR, which could have been helpful, it captured a nice moment that I wanted to preserve. There's a bit of over-exposure of the surrounding items, given that the lighting was fairly dim, but it all looks realistic.
Another challenge I threw at the camera was taking a macro shot through glass. I was taking some photos of my fish tank and noticed that my show fish were becoming very curious. Okay, I thought, let's put the lens right up against the glass (to cut the glare) and try to get an up close and personal shot of this beautiful fish.
In this case, it was really closer than the 5cm minimum distance for macro shots recommend by ASUS. Pretty impressive.
In these latter two situations, the macro shot through glass and general photo in poor, indoor lighting, the ZenFone Zoom did noticeably better than what I have come to expect when using the (also-excellent) Samsung Galaxy S6 camera.
PerformanceWith 4GB and a 64-bit, quad-core processor, performance better be pretty great. Indeed it is, as there's no everyday kind of activity that could produce even much of a stutter from the Zoom. In my own tradition of passive aggressively complaining about my Samsung Galaxy S6, I'll say the Zoom blows the S6 out of the water when it comes to UI smoothness, task switching, and the like.
Battery life is very good as well. Obviously, the usual caveats apply here: everyone uses phones differently, there are variables we cannot know or control for, etc. Rather than relying solely on my subjective impression, I have had GSam Battery Monitor keeping tabs on things. Over about two weeks, the average life on a charge has been 1 day, 20 hours, and some change with an average of 2 hours and 33 minutes screen-on time. For comparison's sake, the averages for my S6 are 16 hours, 46 minutes per charge with a mere 1 hour, 8 minutes screen-on time. For the record, I made sure to install all apps I use on my daily driver S6 so the comparisons could be relatively meaningful.
SoftwareRelated to performance is the software, which is certainly responsible for some of the smooth use and long-lasting battery. As for the latter, there are several proprietary features available for managing the battery. I appreciate being able to customize when the phone goes into a power-saving mode, particularly having it turn on and off depending on the time of day.
Less useful is the "auto-start manager," which purports to keep chosen apps from running when the phone boots. This is enabled by default and prevents nearly all user-downloaded apps from running without first being manually opened. This causes some bizarre syncing behavior and if you don't go in yourself and mess with it, you will miss some notifications.
I made a comparison to TouchWiz earlier and it is due to ZenUI's similar "more is more" approach that sometimes gives you unique features and other times redundancy, needlessly altered interfaces, and the like. I certainly wonder how tiresome ZenUI would be if use over a longer period, but I'm one who doesn't get quite as bent out of shape when software developers dare deviate from vanilla Android.
Still, you get some oddities and bloat. Seemingly moreso than previous ASUS models I have tested, this one engaged in a great deal of self-promotion, which erodes the sense that you are using a high-end phone. In the second screenshot above, you can see what appears to be an odd translation built into one of the promo notifications, something which isn't too uncommon.
If there's a reason to not buy the Zoom, this could easily be the top one. Beyond what is already mentioned, I do not see evidence that ASUS is going to be particularly fast with updates. This device is still on Android 5.0.
ConclusionASUS has made a nice phone here and to be perfectly honest I was operating under the assumption that it was far more expensive when I began testing it out. What a pleasant surprise to see it is more along the high-midrange, which helps to justify some of its drawbacks. There's no fingerprint sensor, the display is middling, and ZenUI will alienate a lot of the people who are savvy enough to know about ASUS's line of phones. It's not an aesthetic knockout, either, even if it looks way better than you would expect a phone with optical zoom to look.
On the other hand, the positives are noteworthy. The camera is for real, even if the software side seems as if it might benefit from under the hood improvements. The Intel SoC runs speedily and without getting warm under most use cases. 4GB of RAM means multi-tasking is painless and could offer a degree of future-proofing.
Is it time to sell off your Nexus 6P or some other current flagship to get this phone? Maybe not. But if you want to save a bit of money, really appreciate an excellent camera, and are not an Android OS purist, you should take a long, hard look at the ASUS ZenFone Zoom.
It has just released in the US, but it's a little difficult to find at this point. You can get more info at ASUS's online store, where it is listed at $399, or pull the trigger at B&H Photo for the same price.
Note: The unit used for this article was provided to us by ASUS on a temporary basis for the purposes of the review.
Source: ASUS ZenFone Zoom Review: 3x Optical Zoom On A Phone That Would Still Be Good Without It
LG's trio of new affordable phones each have one distinctive feature:
LG's trio of new affordable phones each have one distinctive feature
Source: LG's trio of new affordable phones each have one distinctive feature:
LG courts budget-minded users with the X Cam, X Screen, and Stylus 2, which have a dual rear camera, a secondary screen and a stylus, respectively.
by Lynn La 21 February 2016Source: LG's trio of new affordable phones each have one distinctive feature:
Friday, February 19, 2016
iPhone 7 Suppliers Prepping For Dual-Lens Cameras, Stereo Speakers
The iPhone 7 is expected to be launched later this year, but it seems that it has not stopped the rumor mill from churning out a ton of juicy details about Apple's next-gen flagship smartphone. In fact according to the latest rumors from DigiTimes (via MacRumors), it has been suggested that suppliers are already gearing up to prepare components for Apple.
To be more specific, they are gearing up to produce components like dual-lens cameras and stereo speakers, both of which are expected to be part of the iPhone 7's design. The dual-lens camera has been rumored about for a while now, but it was last month where it was indicated that only the higher-end iPhone 7 Plus model could get the feature.
It was suggested that this is because Apple wants to create an iPhone variant that might appeal to the photography enthusiast looking to get more out of their phones. As for the stereo speaker rumor, we heard about this earlier this month where the rumors claimed that in place of the removed headphone port, Apple might add a second speaker in its place.
Considering that the speakers are still downwards facing, we're not sure how much of a stereo effect this could create, but if it results in a potentially louder and better quality sounding iPhone, why not? But for now, do take it with a grain of salt.
Filed in Apple >Cellphones >Rumors. Read more about iphone 7.
Source: iPhone 7 Suppliers Prepping For Dual-Lens Cameras, Stereo Speakers
The iPhone Camera As A Professional Tool
Foodie magazine Bon AppĆ©tit has done something quite risky with this month's issue. Photographers have left their cameras at their desks and used iPhones to shoot all the photos for the 43-page feature story of the magazine. This wasn't Apple's idea — Bon AppĆ©tit was working on a Culture issue, and the iPhone is part of the food culture now.
"When we were discussing what the cover for the issue should be, we realized that nothing captures the zeitgeist of food culture like someone snapping a photo of their meal with their phone," Bon AppĆ©tit Editor-in-Chief Adam Rapoport told me. "It's what we all do — all of us. And so we then thought, 'Wait a minute — what if we actually shot the entire feature well with iPhones?' And I guess you could say that's just how we think. As editors, attempting something new and different is what keeps our jobs interesting."
If it sounds like a gimmick, Cait Oppermann had a different reaction. "I was really excited about it, because despite being a photographer as my job, the camera I use most in my everyday life is actually my iPhone," she said. "In some ways, it's the camera I'm most comfortable with. But I actually felt kind of weird doing it professionally."
And this is key to understanding what's happening to professional photography right now. Some industries, like fashion and food, have been heavily influenced by mobile phone cameras and Instagram. If you want to spot the most interesting trends in food and fashion, you browse Instagram — and eventually, you post your own photos on Instagram.
That's why it makes sense that a food magazine would try working with iPhones as everyone on staff is already using their phones so much. "If you love food, and eat well, and are willing to take the time, you can snap beautiful shots of food. And it's in those images how we now share our love for food. Even professional photographers." Rapoport said. "All of our main photographers are active on Instagram. But what's interesting is that it's a different medium than the printed page — so how they approach it is different than how they treat jobs for magazines like Bon AppĆ©tit."
And the feature looks fantastic. At first, I wasn't sure I was looking at the right photos as you would think they were shot with a DSLR camera. And yet, they were iPhone photos.
There are a few things worth noting. I would have done a terrible job compared to Bon AppƩtit's photographers. It proves that the iPhone is a great creativity tool as it provides a lot of depth for professional photographers.
Photographers still used their computers to edit the shots. And the iPhone is a constrained tool as you can't change the lens or tether the iPhone to a computer to instantly see the photos on a big screen. But you can do a lot with an iPhone.
Back in December, 60 Minutes unveiled that 800 people are working on the iPhone camera at Apple. Apple is dedicating a lot of resources on its camera as it thinks it could be an important differentiating factor with other phone manufactures and even previous iPhone models.
The company wants to push the boundaries of what you can shoot with a phone. And we're going to hear stories about professional photographers leaving their DSLR at home more and more often.
Source: The iPhone Camera As A Professional Tool
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