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 — 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 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
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