THE UMI SUPER IS AWESOME!

The ‘UMi Super’ Takes the Crown as King of the Mid-range Phones.

No longer do you have to pay the big bucks for a phone that includes a great hardware, great design & decent camera performance. The UMi Super storms onto the stage, fixing the mistakes of the UMi Touch, whilst offering nearly all of the features most people look for in a modern smartphone.

Inside the UMi Super you’ll find one of the latest MediaTek Octa-Core Mobile Processors, 4GBs of RAM, 32GBs of Samsung eMMC storage, an ARM Mali-860 Dual-Core GPU, Full HD Screen and to top it all off it even includes a fingerprint sensor. If this isn’t enough to get your tech buds tingling, then add to this, that the UMi Super will be launching for around £160 ($220 / €199) and we’ve got ourselves some real value for money.

Although I have a lot of praise and compliments for the UMi Super there were a few niggles and software hiccups that popped up during testing. I’ll dive into in more details of those niggles below, but first, let’s take a look at the UMi Super Pros & Con’s.

Screen

The 5.5″ Full HD screen is a real pleasure to behold with its excellent viewing angles and natural colour tone. Images & video are crisp thanks to the 1920x1080p resolution that gives the phone a respectable PPI of 401 which is plenty for a 5.5″ phone. Also included is MediaTek’s MiraVision software which allows you to tweak the screen settings to your desired look (natural, vivid or custom).

Screen Tech Specs: SHARP 5.5″ LTPS Screen, Natural Colours, 1080×1920, 401 PPI, 2.5D, Gorilla Glass 3

Design & Build-quality

As soon as you pick the UMi Super up, it oozes monolithic slab sturdiness. This phone isn’t light at 185 grams, but the trade-off is that you get the extra battery life and a phone that feels like it could survive the apocalypse.

Colours Available: Grey, Gold & Silver

Hardware & Responsiveness

Here’s the bit we all want to know, how does the UMi Super hold up when we put it through it’s Android paces. I wasn’t expecting anything less than fast, knowing that the Super has a 2GHz Octo-Core (Helio P10) mobile processor inside and you’ll be pleased to know all my expectations were met. It’s quick, noticeably quicker than previous generations of MediaTek processors like the MT6753 and the MTK6735.

Helio P10 is 30% more power efficient than previous generation MediaTek CPU’s

CPU: Octa-Core 2GHz
GPU: Mali-T860 700MHz Dual-Core
RAM: 4GB
Storage: 32GB Samsung (Fast!) (read speed: 216MB/s , write speed: 145MB/s)
Expandable: 264GB

Battery

Inside the UMi Super, you’ll find a hefty 4000mAh Sony battery that scored one of the best Geekbench battery scores we’ve seen in a while. UMi have coupled this large capacity battery with PE+ Quick Charge Technology that they claim can charge the phone up to 75% in just 30 minutes.

We put this claim to the test below, although, I should point out that as the Super uses a 2-pin charger we did use an adapter, between the charger and the plug socket, during our tests.

As you can see below our results aren’t quite as optimistic as the UMi claims (still decent for a 4000mAh battery):

• 50% – 1 hour
• 75% – 1 hour 28 minutes
• 100% – 2 hours 10 minutes

• 

• Back Camera:

  • Panasonic Lens (MN34172)
  • 13MP
  • Bright Dual LED Flash
  • 1080P video recording

  Front Camera:

  • 5MP
  • GalaxyCore® GC5005
  • Beauty Mode
  • Inbuilt Filters

  Do I recommend the UMi Super?? Yes, absolutely!

Find out "No. 1 D6 Smartwatch Images Surface, Android 5.1 In Tow"

Smartwatches are still kind of a niche product. Many tech companies have released their very own smartwatches, and Android Wear platform has become quite popular amongst companies, but smartwatch sales are still not booming, general consumers simply don’t find smartwatches all that appealing just yet, but manufacturers are hoping that will change in the future. You have probably heard of Motorola’s Moto 360 smartwatches, the Huawei Watch, and Samsung’s Gear S2, for example. Well, a ton of less known companies manufacture Android-powered smartwatches, like No. 1 for example.
The No. 1 is a China-based company which we’ve talked about a number of times thus far. The company has introduced the No. 1 D5 a while back, a sporty smartwatch which was equipped with Android 4.4 KitKat. Well, our source at the company has confirmed that a new No. 1 smartwatch is coming, the No. 1 D6. This smartwatch will be more powerful than the No. 1 D6, and will ship with Android 5.1 Lollipop out of the box. Now, if you look at the gallery down below, you’ll get to see quite a few real life images of this smartwatch. That is pretty much all the info that was shared by our source, though we’re sure the company will share more info in the coming weeks.
If you take a look at the images down below, you’ll get to see that this smartwatch is made out of metal, and that it is a square-shaped smartwatch. The device has plenty of bezel on it, unfortunately, and there are three capacitive buttons included below the display, menu, home and back, respectively. The watch will ship with a leather band, which is also quite visible in the images, and it seems like the watch will offer a heart rate sensor on the back as well. There are also four POGO pins included on the back which will be used to charge this smartwatch. The watch you can see in the images sports gold (body) plus brown (band) color combo, though it is possible No. 1 plans to introduce more color options, and the watch band will be replaceable either way, so chances are you’ll be able to put any regular watch band instead of the one that ships with this smartwatch.


and you can find it and more on: https://www.chinavasion.com/

An Affordable Classic Worth Buying "Homtom HT3"

All new Homtom HT3 is coming soon on the market, and the presale has already begun. Today we are discussing this new model, for all you who are interested in buying it. Everything from the phone’s specs to the price will be covered; with pros and cons and our opinion at the end, so you can get to know this smartphone well before you decide to buy it.

Let’s take a glance at the new Homtom HT3:

When it comes to the Homtom HT3 features- all in general- we can describe them as pretty straightforward. The new Homtom model will provide you almost everything you need, considering an average smartphone user requirements. Uploading your photos to Facebook or Instagram, playing games, enjoying HD YouTube videos, using messaging applications like Viber or Whatsapp, and many other standard functions. An excellent entry model for older persons- who are not accustomed to the smartphone era – and small children, for example.

Homtom HT3 is everything we can expect from a Chinese manufacturer, affordable models with basic modern design. There are no special features that attract attention, but the one thing that is positive about this phone is the price. Seems that this model is youth-oriented since all the specs are balanced equally to provide the best visual experience for a low price.

Camera

The Homtom HT3 has dual cameras.  The rear camera has an 8MP resolution, providing decent results for the price. If you like to post selfies on Facebook and Instagram, the front camera of 5MP will be more than enough to meet all your requirements.

Some of the additional features are LED flash, Autofocus, and Digital Zoom.

Battery

The battery is one the best features considering this model. It is a Lithium-ion polymer battery with a high capacity of 3000 mAh. The endurance of the battery can go up to three days, with the average level of usage.

Operating System (OS)

This model uses Android 5.1 Lollipop operating system, which has proved to be reliant. Everything about this model is made to be as good as possible for a low price. You will be surprised with the model’s smooth and fast running with no lags, even if you start multiple apps at the same time. We expect that the performance will decrease in time and with more apps installed.

And you can find more on: https://www.chinavasion.com/ 

 Check out the features of the new Homtom HT3 smartphone:

Display	5 inches (1280 x 720 pixels) HD IPS capacitive touch-screen display
CPU	MTK6580 quad core 1.3 GHz
System	Android 5.1
GPU	Mali 400 MP
RAM	1 GB
ROM	8 GB upgradable up to 64 GB
Camera	Rear Camera (8 MP) Front camera (5 MP)
Battery	Stand-by time Up To 200 hours Talk time Up To 9 hours Capacity (mAh) 3000 mAh
Sensors	gravity sensors, proximity sensors, and light sensor
Features	3.5 mm audio jack, Mobile hotspot, USB, GPRS, EDGE, Wi-Fi, GPS connectivity features
Card Slots	SIM Card Slot Dual SIM SIM Card Type Micro-SIM Card
Network	2G GSM(850/900/1800/1900MHz) 3G WCDMA(2100MHz), WCDMA(1900MHz), WCDMA(800MHz)
Product size	145.3 x 73 x 7.5 mm
Package contents	User Manual – English × 1, Power adapter (110-240V 50/60Hz) × 1, Phone to USB cable × 1, Cellphone × 1
Product weight	160 grams

James Bond should use Sony's Xperia Z5

At the end of 2015, Sony Mobile Indonesia brings Xperia Z5 Compact, Xperia Z5 and Xperia Z5 Premium which powered by the notoriously hot Snapdragon 810. The display is the thing that sets these phones apart from Z5 Premium which has the highest 4K resolution. 

Unlike Xperia Z5 and Z5 which have compact frosted glass backside, Z5 Premium has clear-shiny glass backside with gold and silver color. The Dual-SIM (support 4G) and microSD slot has protection cap and located on the left side, micro USB port and lanyard slot is on the bottom side, audio jack is on the top side while shutter, volume, and power button are all on the right side. It’s more convenient to use with two hands since it has a square design, large dimension and it weighs 180 gram.

Even so, male users should have no problem using this phone with one hand. We don’t discuss much Z5 Premium UI since it has the same UI and already discussed in Xperia Z5 compact video. Basically, this phone runs similar to Xperia UI which is based on Android 5.1.1 and consumes 1.5GB of RAM. Xperia Z5 Premium is the first smartphone boasting 4K resolution and 806 ppi. But that’s not its native resolution. 4K resolution is only active when watching 4K video. So when users are  browsing, playing games or watching the standard video, the display maximum resolution is full HD.

It’s Sony way to reduce battery drain as well as to prevent the phone from overheating. When we try to play 4K video from YouTube, the highest resolution option is Full HD due to YouTube apps recognize Z5 Premium native resolution as Full HD instead of 4K. So we try to shot 4K video using the phone rear camera and expect to see 4K video upscaled from full HD. Unfortunately, we can’t see any difference between full HD and 4K resolution on such a small screen.

Despite its very high resolution, the 5.5-inch display with Triluminos Display technology is without a doubt state of the art. Xperia Z5 Premium is still powered by Snapdragon 810 2GHz octa-core CPU, Adreno 430 GPU, 32GB internal storage and 3GB of RAM, not 4GB as we expected.

The rear camera has 23MP with hybrid autofocus which works fast and produces detail photo with perfect color compare to Samsung Galaxy S6 and LG G4. There’s one weakness, though, the camera is struggling to focus on the very close object. Just like all Xperia Z5 series, Z5 Premium is not suitable for creating depth of field photo with blurred background. Taking video shot is another story. The camera quality is high up there with iPhone 6 Plus. You can choose to shot 30 fps 4K video or 60 fps Full HD video. Focus switching is fast and smooth and the intelligent steady shot feature will reduce the shaky effect.

What do you know about "Canon EOS 80D" ??

The new 80D, which replaces the 70D launched in July 2013, sits smack in the middle of Canon's SLR line-up, above the 760D and below the 7D Mark II.

That puts it in prime enthusiast territory, which means it needs to appeal to people who want to shoot a range of subjects in a variety of conditions. These users also want an extensive feature set with plenty of control options, but they don't need a full-on professional-grade camera.

Canon has given the 80D a new 24-million-pixel sensor along with a Digic 6 processing engine. This may sound similar to the 24Mp 750D and 760D, but these lower-level cameras have Hybrid AF III devices, not the Dual Pixel CMOS AF sensor of the 80D.

The 80D's sensor and processor combination brings a native sensitivity range of ISO 100-16,000 (a third of a stop higher than the 70D), and a maximum expansion value of ISO 25,600 (the same as the 70D).

And while the maximum continuous shooting rate is the same as the 70D's at 7fps, the burst depth has been increased to 110 JPEGs or 25 raw files when a UHS-1 SD card is used; that's a significant step up from the 65 JPEG or 16 raw files possible with the 70D.

Modern SLRs have two autofocus systems, one for when using the camera conventionally and composing images in the viewfinder (i.e. in reflex mode) and the second for use in Live View and video mode. Canon has improved both of these systems for the 80D in comparison with the 70D.

The reflex mode system, for instance, has 45 AF points, all of which are cross-type, whereas the 70D has 19 points. This means the new camera has better AF point coverage, making it more able to find and follow subjects around the frame.

Furthermore, all of the points are cross-type with lenses that have a maximum aperture of f/5.6 or greater while the central 27 operate at f/8 and nine of them are cross-type at f/8. That's good news for anyone using telephoto lens/teleconverter combinations that reduce the maximum aperture to f/8.

Canon got onboard with Wi-Fi connectivity in its cameras relatively early on, and it's now starting to include NFC (Near Field Communication) in new models – including the 80D. This enables the camera to be connected to an NFC enabled smartphone or tablet, the Canon Connect Station CS100 or other Canon cameras with just a tap.

Another point worthy of note is that, like the 5DS/R and 1DX Mark II, the 80D has Ambience priority and White priority options for the automatic white balance system. Using the Ambience priority setting produces images that retain some of the colour created by the lighting whereas the White priority setting is intended to remove the colour cast.

The Amazing Samsung Galaxy S7

The Samsung Galaxy S7 finds itself in a slightly tricky situation. Samsung needed a big win from the Galaxy S6 in 2015, which it got after reinventing the design of its flagship smartphone, but you're not going to get the same degree of evolution again just a year later.

This means the Galaxy S7 falls firmly into the iterative camp, building on the solid foundations laid by its predecessor without fiddling with the winning formula too much.

Some will argue this phone should be called the Galaxy S6S, but are they right? I've put the Samsung Galaxy S7 through its paces to see if it's a worthy seventh-generation flagship, or a just cheeky six-point-five instalment.

There's initial good news in the fact that the S7 isn't competing as closely with the Galaxy S7 Edge as the S6 was with the S6 Edge last year, with the curved display variant getting a bump in screen size this time round, taking it more into phablet territory.

That leaves the way clear for the 5.1-inch Galaxy S7 to make its mark as the core flagship handset, and it commands a price tag which places it at the top of the mobile tree. Yet, unlike its predecessor it only comes in one variant (32GB of storage), making pricing more straightforward.

In the UK you're looking at £529 SIM-free, while those in the US will have to part with $199 upfront as part of a two-year contract. In Australia the SIM-free price is set at AU$1,149.

Those prices pretty much match up with the 32GB Galaxy S6, so at least Samsung isn't trying to short-change us, but it's still a considerable amount to part with for a device which isn't exactly reinventing the smartphone wheel.

That said, it's hard not to like the Samsung Galaxy S7. It takes the much-improved, premium design from the Galaxy S6 and reinstates a few features from the Galaxy S5 which were shockingly missing from its successor.