Android Magazine UK - Issue No. 49

BUILD A BETTER WEB www.webdesignermag.co.uk Available s FREERESOURCEDOWNLOADSEVERYISSUE fromallgood newsagentsand supermarkets ON SALE NOW jQuery special eff ects | CSS animations | HTML5 games | Get started with Ruby PRACTICALTIPS BEHINDTHESCENES INDUSTRYOPINION BUY YOUR ISS Print edition available at www.imagineshop.co.uk Digitaledition available at www.greatdigitalmags.com Available on the following platforms facebook.com/webdesignermag twitter.com/webdesignermag

Hacker Zøne status update Which devices are best for thehackings ? Tips&Tricks Nexus 6 Rooted? Yes Active Developmen QQQ High Google’s first phable Too many hide them from your Google account smartphone but you may use it is easy to root, with (removal isn’t possible), including any regularly on your tablet. Android will hackers eager to that you might have signed into in your attempt to automatically install all exploit Android devices? Lollipop’s features. local electronics retailer or borrowed. ownedappsifAndroidBackupis Receive a new Android tablet or phone To delete your older Android devices activated on your account. for Christmas? Still puzzled by the fact from your account head toplay.google. To prevent this from slowing down Sony Xperia Z2 that you have too many devices com/settings and deselect unwanted your enjoyment on your new Android attached to your account each time devices in the Visibility column. device, it is worth deleting the backup Rooted? Yes you go to install an app? data before you sign into the newer Active Development: Although it is potentially useful for phoneortabletforthefirsttime.Do QQQ Medium Manage new Rooting the Z2 just got Google to retain details of your devices this by opening www.google.com/ easier with XDA Forum – particularly so you can track them in device apps settings/dashboard and clicking on the user ‘rafealbelo’ lost or stolen scenarios – the job of Android section. Here you’ll find a list of successfully hacking a installing a new app on your latest After signing into a new Android device, all devices and Android ROMs you’ve locked Z2 with no custom recovery. device can be tricky if you have you may want to prevent it from had associated with your Google multiple Android handsets registered installing apps you have already account. At the bottom click the button on the same Google account. If you’re purchased. For instance, an office app labelled ‘Delete back up data’, then OnePlus One no longer using older devices, you can might be useless on your new proceed with signing into your new Rooted? Yes device. Backup can be re-enabled on Active Development: any of your Android devices later in QQQ High This popular Chinese Settings>Backup & reset. phone runs Cyanogenmod as standard, so is highly Disable bad customisable. vibrations LG G Watch Vibrations can be beneficial. Having Rooted? Yes the vibrate mode enabled will let you Active Development: QQQ High know when your phone is ringing in Android Wear is easy yourpocketorbaganditwillalso to hack and Gohma is make a noise all of its own if your our recommended Android device has been placed on custom watch ROM . ahardsurface. Unfortunately though, it’s also a bit of a battery killer. Disabling vibrate mode can increase your battery life, Deselect older devices to make app Delete backup data to stop apps being installation smoother auto-installedonanewAndroiddevice so if you don’t really need it enabled q hacks Close unneeded apps quickly 1 Use the App Switcher 2 Force stop apps 3 Use a third party Having too many open apps may Using the built-in app switcher Another built-in tool is the App app killer not slow down your phone but it tool is the obvious solution and is Manager. Found in Settings, you can Other than restarting Android to will delay your ability to switch quickest when only a few apps are find apps you want to close one-by close open apps quickly (which between them. Unlike desktop open. Hold down the Home button -one by selecting the Force Stop disables your phone momentarily), computers, it’s easy to quickly (HTC) or tap the app switcher button button. Information on storage and use a third party app killer to close close unwanted apps on Android. (Samsung) and swipe apps away. cache is here. Both can be emptied. all open apps with a single tap. 52

Share your tips »facebook »twitter »email Got a great tip, or found /littlegreenrobot @lgrobot [email protected] Follow us on Twitter to Discovered anything good about a cool shortcut? Let us know! Like us on Facebook and send us your tips & tricks your Android phone? Let us know! join our online community integrates with Android. Of particular security threats’ enables Google to harmful app detection’ checkbox will interest is the Ads screen, where check device activity and prevent aid Google’s detection of bad apps. you will fi nd the ability to Opt out of – or warn – you about threats that For the very best device security, interest-based ads, which stops could harm your Android or your make sure that all of these settings apps on your device from using your data. Meanwhile, the ‘Improve are enabled. Google advertising ID in order to display ads based on your search interests. This can often result in the building of profi les using your data without you being aware. With the ‘Opt out…’ option checked you can stop such profi les from being created, while the ‘Reset advertising ID’ button will replace an existing ID with a new randomly generated string that will prevent the existing profi le from being used at any point in the future. Disabling vibrate mode will increase battery life Use Google it is sensible to get rid of it altogether. Options for vibrate modes can be foundinSettings–notethatwe’re security talkingaboutmorethanjustthe vibrationthatisactivatedwhenyour Also in the Google Settings app is phone rings. Touching hardware the Security screen, where you’ll buttons, typing and using the volume fi nd a quartet of options to provide controls can all have an associated security for your phone or tablet, vibration, depending on the model of online and physically. your phone. Switching these off can Split into two sections, Android result in real battery benefits – Device Manager is fi rst. Here, you’ll what’snottolike? fi nd the ‘Remotely locate this device’ option. When this is Ad Privacy in enabled, the location of your hardware can be seen from the Settings Android Device Manager, which is accessible in your Google Account profi le. This is joined by the ‘Allow There’s a fair chance that you have remote lock and erase’ function, seen the Google Settings icon in designed to give you total control your Android app drawer and over your device’s data should it decided to steer clear of it. However, happen to be stolen. hidden inside are a range of options The second section, Verify apps, Google’s security options can be used to defend your thatcanbeusedtomanageyour offers a pair of active threat- device from online and Google account and how this focused tools. ‘Scan device for physical threats Hacking the easy way Getgreatnewfeatures without gettingyourhands(too)dirty Zapper Task Hosts Editor ROM Toolbox Killer & Manager Price: Free Pro Price: Free From: Google Play Price: £3.99/$5.99 From: Google Play Need root? Yes From: Google Play If you need to block Need root? Yes Need root? No access to a particular Kill several apps at the website or access a Need help installing or same time with this tweaking ROMs? This different version is a must-have for all time-saving utility which displays a list of anything usually hidden by ROM fl ashers, your DNS, this that is currently running. Windows-style hosts jam-packed with tools Simply select multiple fi le editor is the tool and features to put apps and click the Kill you in total control of you need. button to close them. your ROMs. Check our website daily 53 for even more tips & tricks » www.littlegreenrobot.co.uk

Hacker Zøne Works with » Nexus 5 Difficulty » Intermediate Get Ambient Display on xus 5 mbient Display is a new s6 display setting exclusive to ions Athe Nexus 6. When ambient displayisenabled,thedeviceshows 1 Check for updates a slick black-and-white lock screen The fi rst step is to ensure that whenever a new notification comes you are running Lollipop. Go to through to your device. Settings>About phone and check the If you want to take a closer look Android version number. If your device a notification, just tap the screen hasn’t updated to Lollipop, force it to nch the full colour version of look for updates. From the About creen. From here, you can phone screen, tap System updates ttotheapporscreen and then ‘Check for update’ to search r notification relates for relevant updates. e-tapping that Display ck the 5, M eorby lay ZIP, l. se mods sh ‘lift to wake’ ucanstilladdthis 5byinstallingthe nOn/Offapp. 6 Download Gravity rial shows you how to Screen ll Ambient Display At this point you have Nexus 6-style ence on your rooted Nexus 5, notifications and ambient display, but flashing the custom ROM or the not its ‘lift to wake’ functionality. To mbient Display zip and then add this functionality to your Nexus 5, installing Gravity Screen. It also head to the Google Play store and explores some additional Gravity download Gravity Screen On/Off. Screen settings that can help you Once it’s finished downloading, get more out of your Ambient launch the app. Display experience.

2 Flash Android 3 Flash Ambient 4 Enable Ambient 5 Flash xTraSmooth Lollipop display ZIP display Another option is to fl ash If you’ve rooted your device, it’s Once you’ve installed stock Select the Ambient display ZIP fi le the xTraSmooth for Nexus 5 ROM possible your Nexus 5 is no longer Lollipop on your device, either fl ash and select Yes – Install. Once which includes Ambient display. On recognising Over-The-Air (OTA) a custom ROM or fl ash the ambient installed, reboot your device. You your device, go to bit.ly/1DOEUdQ. software updates. If this is the display zip. To fl ash the zip, should now have Ambient display Then download the ROM and boot case, you’ll need to install Lollipop download the fi le from http://bit. on your Nexus 5. If you aren’t seeing your device into custom recovery. manually. Download the Nexus 5 ly/1zd1Trm, then boot into your Ambient display notifi cations, Flash and reboot your device – you update from bit.ly/1u561dQ and custom recovery and select ‘Install ensure it’s enabled by going to should now have Ambient display then fl ash it to your device. update from zip card’. Settings>Display>Ambient display. on your Nexus 5. Turn off Set pocket Lift to wake Sensitivity and 7 8 9 10 automatically sensor If you are after the ‘lift to Timeout Tap the Activate button and read Use the Pocket Sensor slider to set wake’ functionality, enable ‘Turn To save battery, you can tweak how the on-screen warning, tap OK and the desired angle – think about Screen ON by Motion’ and your sensitive your screen is to being relaunch the app. You can now edit how you angle your phone when device will wake up automatically turned on by motion. Drag the your Gravity Screen On/Off settings you’re popping it into your bag or when it’s moved and facing Sensitivity slider to the desired to your liking. Start by telling the pocket. To start using this feature upwards. You can also enable ‘Turn position. You can also limit how app what angle your phone needs properly, tap the On/Off button in Screen ON by Proximity,’ so your many times your device is woken by to be at for the screen to the app’s upper-left corner so that device wakes up whenever the motion within a certain time period automatically turn off. it is in the On position. proximity sensor is uncovered. using the Timeout slider. 55

Hacker Zøne Works with » Varies with devicedDiffi culty Level Easyce Easily backup individual partition Save yourself hen you’re modifying your Android device, the fi les that boot you should always create backups, time and memory Wparticularly before performing larger system, or your user data. This app detects all the partitions on your device and enables you to make a on your device, customisations such as fl ashing a new ROM. backup of each partition individually. by creating Although it’s sometimes necessary to perform a Partitions Backup & Restore requires root. If you complete backup, if you’re making smaller changes to want to use this app to restore a partition, you’ll also backups of your device then a full backup isn’t always necessary. need to have a fi le explorer app installed, such as the specifi c fi les Partitions Backup & Restore is a free app that lets ES File Explorer, which is available as a free you to create backups of specifi c partitions, such as download from the Play store. 1 Download Partitions 2 Choose the format 3 Make your backups Backup & Restore and location On the main menu tap all the partitions Install Partitions Backup & Restore from the Play Choose if you want backups stored on the you want to backup. Tap the blue circle and store. Once the app has downloaded, launch it external or internal SD card and pick a format. select Backup. Once the backup is complete, and grant Superuser permissions. Then choose Raw is the usual format but Compressed backup you’ll see a message that the fi les have been where your backups will be stored and in what saves space. On a Samsung device, TAR archive saved to a new ‘PartitionsBackups’ folder. For format, so tap the wrench icon in the toolbar. has backups you can restore via Odin. extra security, copy these fi les to your computer. 4 Restore a Partition 5 Navigate to 6 Backup fi rst blocks Youcanalsousetheapptorestorea PartitionsBackups Tap the three-dotted icon and select partition, as long as the file is a Raw partition In the side-menu, select your file explorer app ‘Backup fi rst blocks.’ If you get a hard-brick, copy image with the .img extension. To restore a and go to the ‘PartitionsBackups’ folder. Tap the the backup fi le to an external SD card, insert it partition, tap the three-dotted icon in the app’s fi le you want to restore. It’s useful to backup the into your device, copy the bootloader across, top-right corner and select ‘Restore a partition.’ fi rst 100MB of your device’s internal memory to boot into download mode and download the PIT, Read the warning and then tap OK. help you recover a hard-bricked device. PDA, CSC and PHONE fi les. 56

App used » ZIPThemer Difficulty » Intermediate Customise y device’s soft k Modify the f you’re not a fan of the Lollipop soft keys or you Lollipop in m just want to try something new, you can replace these modificat functions of your Iyour device’s soft keys with a whole range of work on any devic handset’s buttons different graphics. Candy Shop is a huge collection of an AOSP ROM. customisations covering many aspects of the Android Before you start, you with ZIPThemer user interface, including soft keys. recovery installed and ac and Candy Shop This tutorial shows you how to apply any of the on your device and is in a fla Candy Shop soft key modifi cations to your rooted installed your current ROM via device. Although this is written with the Nexus 5 and then this ZIP fi le ideal. 1 Choose your graphics 2 Confi gure your ROM 3 Add your +Theme Head over to Google Play and download Launch the ZipThemer app. Tap the Return to the main ZIPThemer screen by the free ZipThemer app. Next, go to the XDA three-dotted menu icon and select Update Edify. tapping the back soft key. You’ll see the Output Developers thread http://bit.ly/1BNruOx, which Then tap Browse and navigate to the folder path has updated to include your selected ROM. contains lots of different soft keys that you can where you stored your custom ROM’s zip fi le. Tap +Theme and navigate to your Download apply to your device. Download the Zip fi le(s) you Select the zip and tap Confi gure. After a few folder. Find the Candy Shop ZIP you want to use want to try on your device. moments, you’ll see a Success message. and give it a tap to select. 4 Build it 5 Undo File 6 Flash and reboot To make the generated ZIP file easier The first time you create a ZIPThemer Boot into your device’s custom recovery, to find when you come to flash it, you may file, the app asks whether you want to create a flash your new ROM and then reboot your device. want to change the location where the file is fl ashable Undo File too. If you don’t like your You should now have some new-look soft keys! If stored.Todothissimplytapandeditthe changes, you can remove them quickly and you’re unhappy with the result, you can revert to Output path. Then when you’re ready to easily by fl ashing this Undo fi le, so for now tap your old soft keys by booting back into recovery create your file, tap Build it! Always. The app will then create your fi les. mode and fl ashing the Undo fi le. 57

Hacker Zøne Works with » Varies with device Diffi culty » Intermediate Reverse USB tethering for Mac Share your Mac’s Wi-Fi connection with your Android phone or tablet ethering is where you share your Android single internet port available and you want device’s internet connection with other Internet access on both your Mac and your Tdevices, such as your laptop. But sometimes Android, or maybe you’re running low on 1 Enable USB it makes more sense to share your computer’s battery and want to charge your Android tethering internet connection with your Android. This can device while accessing the internet. Connect your Android device to your be achieved via reverse USB tethering. This tutorial shows you how to reverse Mac with the USB cable. On your Reverse USB tethering is useful in several tether. This requires a rooted device with USB Android, go to Settings>More> situations. For example, maybe there’s only a tethering capabilities. To check whether you Tethering & portable hotspot>USB have access to USB tethering, connect tethering. Then on your Mac go to bit. your Android to your computer using ly/1vvDXUK and download the the USB cable. Then access your HoRNDOS driver so that your Mac can Android’s Settings>More>Tethering use Android’s USB tethering mode. and portable hotspot and check whether you can select USB tethering. If you can’t select USB tethering, you will need to fl ash a ROM that has USB tethering enabled, such as CyanogenMod. You’ll also need to have BusyBox and Terminal Emulator installed on your device, both of which are available from the Google Play store. Once you’ve successfully reverse tethered, the fi nal few steps show you how to quickly and easily share your Android device’s internet connection with your Mac, so regardless of which device has the internet connection originally, you will always be able to access it on both your 6 Experimental fix Mac and your Android. If you do fi nd that some apps are failing to connect to the Internet, then you may be able to kick-start the connection using an experimental fi x. To do this, launch the Terminal Emulator. The fi rst step is fi nding the name of your specifi c 3G interface, so enter busybox ifconfi g to begin a full search. 58

2 Internet Sharing 3 Enable Internet 4 Launch terminal 5 Reverse USB Once the driver has Sharing emulator tether downloaded, launch it and follow the Open ‘Share your connection from:’ On your Android device, open the Enter ‘netcfg rndis0 dhcp’. Close installation instructions. At this point and choose your regular internet Terminal Emulator and type su. the Terminal Emulator. Your Android your Mac may notify you of a new connection, for example, Wi-Fi. In Enter busybox ifconfi g which will device should now have access to network interface. If it does, click the ‘To computer using:’ section, return the name of your USB your Mac’s internet connection. It’s Network Preferences and select select your Android device. Then interface – usually either rndis0 or possible some of your apps may not Apply. Open your Mac’s System check internet sharing. If a warning usb0. The following commands use recognise the USB tether as an Preferences and select appears, read it and if you are the interface rndis0 but if yours is internet connection, so at this point Sharing>Internet Sharing option. comfortable, click Start. usb0, then use this instead. it’s worth testing a few of your apps. 7 Force USB 8 Use Wi-Fi hotspot 9 Connect to 10 Try a shortcut connection You may want to share your AndroidAP If you fi nd yourself making Turn on your 3G connection. Then phone’s internet connection with Return to the main ‘Tethering & heavy use of your Android’s hotspot return to the Terminal Emulator and your computer. The best way is to portable Wi-Fi hotspot’ screen and capabilities, you may want to run the following, replacing turn your Android into a portable tap ‘Portable Wi-Fi hotspot’. Then download an app that makes it ‘your-interface’ with the name of Wi-Fi hotspot. On your device, open your Mac’s Wi-Fi menu and easier to toggle this feature on and your 3G interface ‘ifconfi g your- select Settings>More>Tethering & choose the new AndroidAP network. off. One such app is Portable Wi-Fi, interface 0.0.0.0’. Disconnect your portable hotspot>Set up Wi-Fi Enter your password and after a few which you can download for free 3G, test the apps again and you hotspot. Tap Security and ensure seconds your Mac should be from the Google Play store to aid should have internet connection. your hotspot is password-protected. sharing your Android device’s Wi-Fi. easy hotspot usage. 59

Hacker Zøne Works with » Android 5.0.1 Diffi culty Level » Easy Add a Clear All Recents button Close all running o you have a habit of leaving windows and them one by one by swiping. This makes closing apps running in the background? This kind of apps and windows Dmultitasking can affect the performance on multiple tasks a frustrating and drawn-out process. The good news is that if you’re running Android across your your device and makes returning to a particular 5.0.1, you can download a Clear All Recents button Lollipop device screen more confusing, as you need to trawl through that appears whenever you tap the overview soft key. multiple tasks running on your device. Then you can close all running tasks quickly and with just a Lollipop does have an overview soft key that easily by simply tapping this button. single tap displays all the apps, windows and other tasks that To follow this tutorial you require a rooted device, are running on your device, but you can only dismiss a custom recovery and stock Android 5.0.1. 1 Check your version 2 Flash Stock 5.0.1 3 Clear All Recents zip The Clear All Recents button is only If you’re not running 5.0.1, you’ll need to Navigate to http://bit.ly/1B5RRia in your guaranteed to work on version 5.0.1 of stock flash the 5.0.1 factory image. Nexus users can device’s browser and download the Clear All Android, although it may work on some 5.0.1 grab these fi les from the Google Developers Recents button zip. Once this complete, boot custom ROMs. To check what version of Android website, whereas other users should go to the your device into custom recovery mode. Then you’re running, go to Settings>About Phone and XDA Developers forum, navigate to their device’s use the volume and select buttons to select then take a look at Android version. board and search for a 5.0.1 thread. Install Zip, followed by ‘Choose zip from /sdcard’. 4 Install & reboot 5 Launch some tasks 6 Clear all recents Go to the Download folder, select the To see your new Clear All Recents You’ll see a new, tripled-line icon above ‘ClearAllRecentsButton.zip’ file and then select button in action, open a few apps and windows your currently running tasks. Give this Clear All Yes-Install. Once the file has finished installing, on your device and leave them running in the Recents button a tap and all your tasks will reboot your device. When you first boot your background. Then tap the square overview soft disappear. To check this button is working device,youwon’tseetheClearAllRecents key, which displays all the tasks that are correctly, tap the overview soft key again and button straight away. currently running on your Android device. your device should have nothing to display. 60

FOR THE GNU GENERATION www.linuxuser.co.uk • FREERESOURCEDOWNLOADEVERYISSUE Available from all good newsagents & supermarkets today ON SALE NOW: » Total Linux Security » Win Raspberry Pi 2 » Network monitoring tools THELATESTNEWS ESSENTIAL GUIDES DEFINITIVE REVIEWS INDUSTRY INSIGHT EXPERT OPINION BUY YOUR ISSUE TODAY Print edition available at www.imagineshop.co.uk Digital edition available at www.greatdigitalmags.com Available on the following platforms facebook.com/LinuxUserUK twitter.com/LinuxUserMag

Reviews 62

Group test Top camera Whether you’re snapping selfi es in your room or capturing incredible landscapes, we reveal the best phones camera phone on the market dedicated fans of brands and the lower end with those who mostly just hen debating what new phone to get, the quality of the camera is often high on the list of every buyer’s must-have features. With want a functional phone, the mid-range market is full of users looking for W so many phones on the market boasting similar screens, battery particular features without breaking the bank. With this in mind, we’ve life and processors, the ability to take a good picture could make or break a decided to test four of the leading mid-range phones that pride themselves purchase decision. With camera technology reaching the point that any on their cameras to see which is best. The Samsung K Zoom is able to more megapixels would be a waste, extra features are becoming draw on Samsung’s dedicated digital camera division, but HTC are increasingly important to smartphone manufacturers trying to stand out critically-acclaimed for their camera featues. The LG G3 boasts a laser- from the crowd. The mid-range market seems to be rapidly becoming the guided snapper, while the Honor 6 was something of a surprise hit. Which main battle ground. While the higher end of the market is occupied with YKNN ENCKO VJG VKVNG QH DGUV OKF TCPIG ECOGTC RJQPG! 4GCF QP VQ ƒ PF QWV 63

Reviews Super stable The K Zoom is one of very few Samsung products to contain Optical Image Video Samsung Stability – the anti-shake recording technology used by many of its competitors. Even The K Zoom is capable of Galaxy K Zoom when in zoom mode, this video at 60fps. While you fi lming 1920x1080 FHD keeps images very clear can zoom during fi lming, it is a bit cumbersome and information slow, although the image remains crystal clear. Refocusing happens Price £400/$TBC quickly and automatically » More information www.samsung.com » Supplied by Samsung technical specs » Operating system........Android KitKat 4.4.2 BSI CMOS » Processor ...........................Exynos5 Hexa-Core 1.7GHz » Memory ...............................2GB RAM sensor The K Zoom creates good » Dimensions .......................137.5 x 70.8 x 20.2mm quality low light images Xenon fl ash » Weight ...................................200g because of its BSI CMOS If you want to take top » Display size .......................4.8-in sensor. In this quality photos day and confi guration, all the night, a good fl ash is » Display resolution ........720 x 1280 wiring is placed behind the required. The K Zoom » Connectivity .....................4G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0 light-receiving surface, uses xenon rather than meaning less is needed to LEDs in its fl ash, which » Camera ................................20.7MP rear, 2.0MP front create a visible image travels further and looks much less artifi cial »head-to-head Pixel count At 20.7MP, the K Zoom has one of the highest megapixel counts of any smartphone on the market. Although the screen is only 4.8” and not great for viewing the photos, the quality of Samsung the camera still shines through Ease-of-use The extendable lens looks formidable, but the K Zoom is easy to use. A button in Galaxy K Zoom the bottom-right corner means you can take one-handed pictures and the various The smartphone that gets you closer to the modes are extremely simple to navigate action than ever before Added features There are lots of functions available to amsung has a good relat o while the handset the same squat the K Zoom user, although there is little with camera phones. Th s the Galaxy S3, at 200g it is that isn’t already standard on Samsung, S snappers on their Galaxy vier than even the Galaxy Note 4. like Panorama and Continuous Shot. Pro range regularly run a much high 10x e protruding lens also means that Suggest is new though and it’s excellent megapixel count than most of K Zoom doesn’t sit fl at on table their rivals, bar Sony. However, OPTICAL d is a hefty presence in your Front-facing camera they have really pushed the bo ZOOM cket. However, the weight, while The 2MP front-facing camera is surprisingly out with the Galaxy K Zoom wh ceable, doesn’t make a lot of sharp. You can also use the rear camera, packs a fully extendable lens in ence during use and if you get over choosing where you want your face to its casing. This provides the 20 it rests, the K Zoom does actually appear before fl ipping the phone over to camera with 10x optical zoom, ol. The S5-style textured case and take the shot a bit of focussing, is surprisingly sharp, magnifying superior lens makes it look like a serious piece of pictures and words from over 10 metres away. It kit. With its incredible zoom and easy use, the K »Verdict comes loaded with a wide range of features, the Zoom is a well designed device for event best of which being Pro Suggest. This mode takes photography – whether you’re at a festival or Phone-wise it’s basically a in the scene in front of it and suggests a range of sporting occasion – and its panorama and fi lters for the shot which are applied instantly. continuous shot options ensure that you never mini S5, but the photographs These are based on the lighting and scene in front miss a thing. The K Zoom’s 4G connectivity means it produces are some of the of the camera and are quite intuitive. There are you can upload any great picture straight to social sharpest we’ve seen, even also further fi lters that you can download for free media. Running Android KitKat, it’s hard to say at full zoom. A great choice if from the Samsung store. However, all of this does whether the K Zoom is a phone with a heavy you don’t mind the bulk come at a bit of a cost. The space required to emphasis on photography, or a digital camera with store the retractable lens adds extra bulk to the smartphone features. 64

Group test Voice Wide angle command To back the Desire Eye’s bid to be the ultimate Pressing a button or a selfi e camera, it includes screen can prove tricky a wide-angle option to fi t when trying to do it more people in a shot. It one-handed, so HTC has also includes auto-focus, HTC Desire Eye included voice commands something rarely found on to make it easier to keep front-facing cameras your photographs completely shake-free information Price £399.99/$459 » More information www.htc.com » Supplied by HTC UK technical specs » Operating system........Android KitKat 4.4.2 » Processor ...........................2.3GHz Quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 » Memory ...............................16GB RAM » Dimensions .......................151.7 x 73.8 x 8.5mm Face tracking Face merge » Weight ...................................154g The Desire Eye has One of the Desire Eye’s » Display size .......................5.2-in advanced face-tracking main extra features is the » Display resolution ........1920 x 1080 technology included in its face-merge. Choose two » Connectivity .....................4G. Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0 front-facing camera to photos from your gallery keep the user visible and and use a sliding scale to » Camera ................................13MP rear, 13MP front in focus during group merge features together photos. It also works and create a cool but during video calls, which is slightly scary composite a very useful feature image of two people »head-to-head Pixel count At 13MP it is one lowest resolution rear cameras in this test, but its photos still look sharp on the hi-res screen. Off-camera, however, the photos are noticeably less clear than the three rival phones Ease-of-use Everything is located along a translucent, H ye removable side bar. A bit of guesswork is needed to fi nd some of the more elaborate With a greater emphasis on the front-facing camera functions, but Voice Control and camera,thisisthecameraforsnappingselfies the dedicated shutter button are pluses f there is one manufacturer w d video modes. The slow motion Added features embraced the selfi e generati unction is easy to use and the The Desire Eye comes loaded with fun Iit’s HTC. The Desire Eye boast ing options are excellent too. HDR photography features. Split Capture and whopping 13MP front-facing ode provides a notable difference Photo Booth create crazy pictures while camera, which could seem like 13MP you aren’t keen on using the there are lots of basic manual modes, like something of an overreach – camera werful LED fl ash present on both changing the ISO and white balance after all, there are plenty of 5M front-facing meras. The dedicated shutter front-facing cameras that are tton on the side is a good addition. Front-facing camera perfectly adequate for close-up en took longer to focus than we The front-facing camera really is the Desire snaps. However, if you love a se have liked but once it did, the Face Eye’s main selling point. 13MP is more than front of a landmark or are into s its job well in selfi e mode and enough for the close-up nature of front- Vines on your phone, the Eye caters for you sharp images were created with the rear camera. facing snaps, and the fl ash means that you’ll magnifi cently. The standard Beauty Face The HTC’s screen is stunning and all pictures never have a dodgy, dark photo ever again application can be toggled pre- and post-shot and were reproduced with vibrant colours, which will the ISO options are easily found and instantly please the photography crowd no end. This applied. Setting up voice control for button-free phone is defi nitely targeted at the teenage »Verdict selfi es is also easy but it’s over-sensitive, market due to its unique colouring, powerful front The Desire Eye is a resulting in a number of unfl attering photos. HTC camera and wide variety of wacky editing has worked hard to put the fun into the camera options. There isn’t a lot here for the camera reasonably priced, upper-mid with a range of extras, such as Photo Booth, Face enthusiast, so if you’re looking to create art then range phone. The front-facing Merge and a raft of fi lters and editing options. In you would be best to look elsewhere. However, if camera is excellent, with a terms of personalising your photographs, it’s the you are after a very good phone with a camera good rear-facer. It’s fine for all standout model of the four. The rear-facing primed for your Facebook page then this is one of bar the enthusiast camera is also 13MP and comes with various the best options to go for. 65

Reviews Dual LED The dual LED fl ash system lights the shot from the Gestu right and the left of the contr shutter. This creates a more even light than the LG G3 A simple single LED fl ash systems hand is e photo in s found in a lot of phones information is particu you’re try one-hand works exc Price £390/$599 » More information www.lg.com » Supplied by Clove.co.uk technical specs » Operating system........Android 4.4 KitKat » Processor ...........................2.5GHz Quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 » Memory ...............................2GB RAM 16GB storage » Dimensions .......................146.3 x 74.6 x 8.9mm Clear g » Weight ...................................140g LG has re re » Display size .......................5.5-in icons from le pixel when you » Display resolution ........2560 x 1440 there are he G3 means can be viewed » Connectivity .....................4G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0 pictures g clarity, » Camera ................................13MP rear, 2.1MP front of your sh u to edit your easily fou confi dence, simply by y’ll still look top-right bigger screen »head-to-head Pixel count Overall the LG has the lowest pixel count in the test – 13MP on the rear and 2.1MP on the front is pretty standard for mid-range models, but is definitely lacking when compared to its three rivals in this test Ease-of-use For the point-and-clicker, this is a very simple camera. Voice control is excellent and the shutter button is nice and large. Editing L options are well organised too, with clear sliders and instructions on how they work The smartphone with laser-guided focusing Added features f you are the kind of person w and, the pictures taken are of a Sadly the added features are fairly limited. taking spontaneous snaps, quality. A lot of cameras clutter their Standard tools such as cropping and a I the LG G3 is for you. Its two een with icons, even when the nice range of fi lters, don’t disguise the fact headline features are its Optic hoto is being taken. We like the fact that there is little for the camera expert or Imaging Stabilisation and its Laser focus at LG removes all of these to a the casual photographer laser-guided focus beam. Thes enu in the corner of the screen so Front-facing camera combine to form a camera app our view isn’t obstructed. It is a bit of 2MP is pretty much the same level as the that not only focuses quickly, b hame that you lose around half an Samsung but it doesn’t feel as sharp. It also can also take an excellent, ste from the top and bottom of the has the fewest extra functions to play with, photo. Capturing a moment w but we’d rather have it blacked out so if you don’t like messing about with your phone often means an unfocu ons getting in the way. In terms of selfi es then there isn’t a lot to do or a blurry streak. Not on the G3, which copes with added features, the G3 is generous without a moving camera or target. The front-facing pushing the boat out. There isn’t anything camera is much less adept, however, and when particularly innovative in the editing options, with a »Verdict held at arm’s length image the quality is noticeably crop tool, fi lters and the option to add different There are a lot of very good reduced. It didn’t cope well with harsh lighting even frames. The most interesting function would probably be the Magic Focus tool but it isn’t with HDR mode enabled. It does come to the fore points to appreciate in the in low-level lighting, with the front-facing fl ash anywhere near localised enough to make good pull G3 and the OIS is fantastic, useful and effective – clearly this is a phone focus shots. Overall this is a very good camera but LG should have put a camera designed for the club selfi e, rather than phone and if you enjoy snapping action shots, this little more work into its front the beach or the park. The G3’s comfortable size is a great choice. You should probably look camera and editing tools and shape makes single-handed photo taking elsewhere if you want a top quality selfi e camera easy, and with the OIS in action and even a slightly or added extras to play around with though. 66

Group test Pics in a fl If you need to cap i mageinahurry, clicks on the volu button takes a sn evenwiththeloc Honor 6 on, meaning you setting capture a photo s ar feature in out of your pocke butrarelyfoundin information udget models, HDR hree photos at texposuresand hem together, Price £249.99/$TBC g better low-light » More information www.hihonor.com and clearer » Supplied by Huawei sinharshsunlight technical specs » Operating system........Android KitKat 4.4 » Processor ...........................1.3GHz octa-core » Memory ...............................3GB RAM » Dimensions .......................139.6 x 69.7 x 7.5mm » Weight ...................................130g » Display size .......................5-in Selfi e box » Display resolution ........1920 x 1080 It can be frustrating Super screen » Connectivity .....................LTE CAT-6 300Mbps, NFC, take a photo and re With a screen size of 5 dual-band Wi-Fi, that you’re looking inches, a PPI depth of 441 Bluetooth 4.0 nowhere near the le and 16M colours, the The Honor 6 comba photos you take are » Camera ................................13MP rear, 5MP front by having a small bo displayed brilliantly on the look at to show you Honor 6’s bright and where the lens is colourful screen »head-to-head Pixel count The Honor 6 does have the lowest overall megapixel count of the four cameras, but it’s level with the HTC on the back and comfortably beats the Samsung and Sony on the front, so it sits nicely in the middle Ease-of-use The Honor 6 is very basic and intuitive – ideal for a relative beginner. The extra features are laid out nicely so you’ll never Honor 6 have to go hunting for a particular mode Quality front and back cameras without the price tag Added features Pretty standard in terms of extras. It he Honor 6 sits with the llowing you to snap a picture and comes loaded with panorama and fi lter mid-range models but still change the point of focus modes. We are quite fond of the audio T to mix it with the big boys rwards. As with the rest of the note mode which enables you to add vocal when it comes to the camera. A mera’s apps, it isn’t diffi cult to use messages onto your photographs 13MP rear camera and 5MP on all. Honor’s manufacturer, Huawei, the front is nearly twice what yo Super-fast snapping aims that you can snap a shot in Front-facing camera would expect at this price point 6 seconds by tapping the volume The Honor 6 has the second-most powerful The rear-facing camera is quick twice, even when the screen is in the test. It has the added bonus of a focus and takes good quality d. We managed to get 0.7 seconds panoramic mode on its front-facing camera, photos, even at full zoom. It has picture was still very clear despite so you can take the widest group shot of any number of extra modes, with co g and a slightly shaky hand. Viewing camera on the market shot providing a range of photo options and HDR the pictures on the 5-in, 1920 x 1080 resolution mode brightening up dark pictures. We liked Audio screen was an absolute joy, with the vibrant Note, which allows you to add sound to a photo. colours and high pixel count really bringing the »Verdict This Snapchat-like element is a nice touch and is photos to life. Huawei has somehow managed to easy to use. The front-facing camera is a really pack an awful lot of excellent features into the Excellent camera for quick good piece of kit, offering 5MP of sharpness, which Honor 6 for a pretty low price. Both the front and snaps and composed is more than enough. The panorama mode is a rear cameras produce good quality images, there shots. Not got the depth or superb idea, so if you’re into group shots, this is a decent number of editing options for both finesse of the others, but is trumps any wide-angle selfi e mode. We were a cameras and the quick shot function is superb. It refreshingly simple, effective little disappointed, however, in the Beauty Face is a little less sharp than its rivals and several and much better than its feature that didn’t sharpen as intuitively as the modes don’t quite stack up, but pound-for-pound, other models. The All-Focus mode is impressive the Honor 6 is great value for money. mid-range competitors 67

Reviews The Winner… Samsung K Zoom t probably doesn’t come as much of a shock, but the phone that is basically a camera with a phone attached is our pick for best camera phone. The HTC IDesire Eye has done a good job with its powerful front-facing camera and it does pick out a lot of background details, but for overall quality of phone and camera, the Samsung reigned supreme. Its front-facing offering did an admirable job, while the rear one is just fantastic. If you are a regular at festivals or sporting events, this will take photos your friends will be incredibly envious of with its razor-sharp 10x optical zoom. The LG G3 is one of our favourite phones, but when focusing just on its camera features, the handset falls short. The rear-facing camera is clear, quick to focus and sharp, but the front-facing one is disappointing. The Samsung beats it on pretty much all fronts, although if we were talking about the phone as a whole, the LG would have it beaten. The Honor 6 was the surprise package of the four, keeping up with its rivals despite the price difference. Both cameras were effective and easy-to-use but it was just lacking a bit of fi nesse and clarity. If you are a keen phone photo taker but don’t want to shell out the mega bucks for a fl agship model, the K Zoom will take care of all your basic needs while delivering a truly fi rst rate camera experience. GROUP TEST WINNER Samsung Galaxy K Zoom HTC Desire Eye LG G3 Honor 6 OS Android KitKat 4.4.2 Android KitKat 4.4.2 Android KitKat 4.4 Android KitKat 4.4 Exynos5 Hexa-Core 1.7GHz 2.3GHz Quad-core Qualcomm 2.5GHz Quad-core Qualcomm Processor 1.3GHz octa-core Snapdragon 801 Snapdragon 801 Memory 2GB RAM 16GB RAM 2GB RAM 16GB storage 3GB RAM Dimensions 137.5 x 70.8 x 20.2mm 151.7 x 73.8 x 8.5mm 146.3 x 74.6 x 8.9mm 139.6 x 69.7 x 7.5mm Weight 200g 154g 140g 130g Display Size 4.8-in 5.2-in 5.5-in 5-in Display Resolution 720 x 1280 1920 x 1080 2560 x 1440 1920 x 1080 4G, Wifi , Bluetooth 4.0 4G. Wifi , Bluetooth 4.0 4G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0 LTE CAT-6 300Mbps, NFC, dual-band Connectivity Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0 Camera 20.7MP rear, 2.0MP front 13MP rear, 13MP front 13MP rear, 2.1MP front 13MP rear, 5MP front Overall score 68

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Reviews HTC Desire 820 HTC updates its mid-range Desire phablet with a 64-bit processor and a refi ned design language hen we reviewed the HTC Desire 816 back in issue 40, we concluded that it Wrepresented a return to form for HTC’s Snap happy mid-range line-up. Not long has passed yet here The Desire 820 has an 8MP HTC are with the successor, the Desire 820. The front-facing camera for even old adage ‘if it ain’t broke don’t fi x it’ certainly better selfi es, with innovative software features including a applies in the world of mobile phones and HTC photo booth mode, live have taken this approach with the 820 – it takes makeup and a slightly the best aspects of the 816 and builds on them. disturbing face merging feature to creep out you The basic formula is the same – a 5.5” 720P and your friends screen, Qualcomm processor, more RAM, plastic body, LTE data, expandable memory and a high spec front facing camera. As you’d expect though, many of the specifi cations have received a slight upgrade. When we reviewed the 816, we were surprised how good the screen looked, given its 720P resolution at a 5.5” size. Impressively, the display on the Desire 820 looks even better! It’s brighter and sharper, again showing that as long as the display is high quality, resolution isn’t everything. The processor in the device is one of the most Fast processor The Desire 820 is one of the signifi cant upgrades – gone is the low end (but fi rst devices to use the impressive) Snapdragon 400, replaced instead Snapdragon 615 processor. by an Octa-core big.LITTLE 64-bit Snapdragon The 64-bit, octa-core chip has 4 1.5GHz ARM Cortex A53 615. With 4 cores at 1.5GHz and 4 cores at 1GHz, cores and 4 1.0GHz A53 the CPU is powerful but has the ability to be cores for great power effi ciency extremely power effi cient when doing non- intensive tasks. Although Android KitKat doesn’t take advantage of 64-bit processors, Android 5.0 Lollipop does, and HTC have pledged to update the Desire 820. The Desire 820 is HTC’s fi rst device to use the ‘doubleshot’ moulding method, proudly demonstrated on-screen in HTC’s press conference. The approach allows for two-tone styles on the device without compromising build quality. It is a very well made phone indeed, Storage boost matching the best polycarbonate devices from The internal storage on the even the likes of Nokia. Desire 820 has doubled As 4G availability in the UK gradually increases, compared to its Desire 816 predecessor, giving you 16GB some networks are already starting to roll out on board in addition to speed upgrades. The fi rst of these is LTE-A CAT4 microSD expansion. The slot supports microSDXC, which which provides for speeds of up to 150Mbps. enables you to use cards up With its cutting edge processor and modem, the to 128GB in size Desire 820 supports this technology, so as it comes online you will be more than ready to take advantage. Also a big improvement over its Video watching predecessor is the inclusion of dual band W-iFi. for... The 5.5” screen and BoomSound speakers on The reception, as you’d expect, is excellent, the Desire 820 are ideal for watching videos. 70

Review HTCDesire820 something which is a defi nite benefi t of any manageable, as long as you forget any ideas of plastic bodied phones. using it one handed. The new plastics on the information If there is any doubt as to the target market for phone are very nice but the glossy back has this device, then the 8 megapixel front-facing some downsides. It’s a little bit slippery in the Price TBC camera should quickly resolve it. Second only to hand, susceptible to fi ngerprints and we worry it »More information htc.co.uk HTC dedicated selfi e phone, the Desire Eye, with will show scratches easily. When it’s clean and »Supplied by HTC it’s 13 megapixel camera and front-facing fl ash, new though, it looks fantastic. the 8 megapixel lens on the front of the Desire In some markets the Desire 820 is available 820 takes some of the fi nest self-portraits of with dual SIM slots (as seen on the Moto G 2nd Battery life any phone, with clever software features to Generation), but in the UK it’s likely that the The 2600mAh impress your friends. For the less concieted, the single version SIM will be offered. Provided HTC battery is smaller 13MP rear camera takes decent pictures too. can get a wide distribution of the device in the than other phablets, So what’s not to like about the Desire 820? UK, they could really have a hit on their hands. so expect good but not especially It’s big, really big, courtesy of that huge screen There is a veracious appetite for larger devices in and the BoomSound speakers. As phones in the market and the mid-range price point is very general get larger though, it somehow feels underserved in that regard. technical specs Two-tone Bold speakers DotViewcase » Operating system ............... Android 4.4.2 KitKat The Desire 820 is BoomSound – HTC’s brand The HTC had fantastic constructed using HTC’s new nameforitsdualfront-facing success with the Dot View » Processor ................................... Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 ‘doubleshot’ process, which stereo speakers – is present case on the One (M8) and it’s Octa-core creates a two-tone colour andasimpressiveasever. now available for most HTC » Memory .......................................16GB ROM / 2GB RAM unibodythatisextremely Their inclusion does make for devices, including the Desire » Dimensions ..............................157.7 x 78.74 x 7.74mm strong.Thisalsofeatureson larger bezels top and bottom, 820. It provides excellent thenewHTCDesireEye.The butwethinkthatit’saworthy protection while cleverly still » Weight ..........................................155g devicehasaglossyfinish trade-off, particularly for enabling notifications to be » Display size ...............................5.5 inch which is available in a number gaming and movies viewed through the holes » Display resolution ...............1280x720 pixels of different colours on the front » Connectivity ............................ LTE-A 150Mbps » Expansion slot .......................microSD HTCDesire820 HTC Desire HTCONE 816 (E8) Issue40 issue43 better than worse than Performance The mid-range Snapdragon 615 chip looks l ikeawinner.Consistentlyfastinuse Design HTC’s new design language is maturing well, butglossyplasticsarefingerprintmagnets Features TheDesire820offersmoreofeverything– more RAM, more storage, more megapixels Value for money Atamid-rangepricepointtheDesire820 couldseriouslyworrymuchmoreexpensive devicesonthemarket »Verdict HTChaven’trestedontheir laurels following the Desire 816.Nowitjustneedsa wider European release Speedy transfers Future-proofing Bigger memory The 820 supports 150Mbps LTE-A for fast HTC confirmed the Desire 820 will be updated The 2GB memory, means that applications are transfers.VodafoneandEEaresupportingtoo. toLollipop,soit’sagoodbuyforthefuture. less likely to be shut down. 71

Reviews Huawei’s follow up to the well received Honor 6 is the new, low cost, 3C. Does Honor 3C cheaper still remain desirable? raise was heaped on Huawei’s campaign to win over the West, the Honor 6. Low- and Pmid-range phones in particular are a delicate balancing act between cost, features and design flair and the Honor 6 got it virtually spot on. On the back of this success Honor, a Huawei sub-brand, have launched the 3C at less than half the price of Bold display The Honor 3C has a its sibling. Strangely, the £100-£150 price bracket 5” 720P display. It’s a is becoming a very competitive space in the LTPS panel, which means it’s bright, Android market, with no less than three versions of sharp and has good the Moto G available and a growing number of colour reproduction. budget devices from the heavyweights of The phone has a 69% screen to body ratio Samsung, Sony, LG and HTC. It seems companies which is reasonable have realised that the real profits are to be made for its class, not from the flagship devices, but from the mass particularly with capacitive buttons market. Flagships are still important for their ‘halo effect’ but they have to be complemented by a solid mid-range lineup. No review of a phone in this lower tier of Android can be complete without comparing the device to the Motorola Moto G, which is the undisputed king of this segment. So how does the Honor 3C measure up to its competitors? Holding the Honor 3C in your hand, the family Dual sim resemblance to the Honor 6 is sadly undetectable One of the Honor 3C’s key rivals is the and some of the inevitable cost-saving measures 2nd Generation Moto are immediately obvious. The device feels cheaper G, which features by virtue of it’s plastic back and its oversized dual SIM slots. The 3C does too, buttons feel old-fashioned. Thankfully, things accepting a pair of improve when you turn the device on – the 5-inch microSIM cards, one to run in 3G and the 720P LTPS screen really is excellent. other in 2G mode The phone runs Android 4.2 Jelly Bean with a skin called Emotion UI 2.0 that can be found on a whole host of Huawei devices and as before, its somewhat polarising – feeling like a hybrid of iOS of yesteryear with Android. At least it can be largely disabled by installing a custom launcher and the stock Google apps. Huawei upgrade track record gives cause for concern. It is borderline unacceptable for a device to be shipping in 2015 running such an old version of Upgrade? The Honor 3C Android and we don’t hold out much hope for an includes Emotion UI update. Custom ROMs might be the best chance 2.0 on top of Android 4.2 Jelly Bean. for an upgrade to the latest Android OS but as a Unfortunately, both fairly niche device, developer support is far from of these versions lag guaranteed. behind the latest releases (3.0 and 5.0 Performance of the Honor 3C is acceptable respectively) with no and while the Mediatek processor isn’t exactly indication when or if cutting edge, its inadequacies are well disguised an upgrade will become available by the generous 2GB RAM, provided you don’t try and tax it too much graphically with demanding games. The 8GB internal storage fills quickly (only 6GB is actually available for use on a box fresh device), but it is expandable using a Dual access microSD card up to 64GB in size. for... If you have a work and a personal phone or The 8 megapixel rear-facing camera on the travel a lot, the dual SIM is useful to have. 72

Honor 3C information Price From £109.99 »More information www.hihonor.com »Supplied by Huawei Battery life The 2300mAh battery will give a full day of normal use, but drains faster in dual SIM mode technical specs »Operating system...............Android 4.2 »Processor...................................Mediatek MTK6582 1.3GHz Quad Core »Memory.......................................8GB / 2GB »Dimensions..............................139.5x71.4x9.2mm »Weight..........................................140g »Display size...............................5.0-inch »Display resolution...............1,280x720pixels » Connectivity............................3G / 21 Mbps »Expansion slot.......................microSD Honor3C HTC Desire Moto G 510 (2014) Issue44 ssue44 better than worse than Performance The Honor 3C is an adequate performer, Selfieorportrait Expandable storage Easy to use thanks largely to the generous 2GB RAM A5Megapixelcameracanbefoundon The Honor 3C includes 8GB storage, Thedeviceisglassfrontedwitha the front of the Honor 3C to however, this is expandable via removable plastic back. The volume Design complement the 8 Megapixel unit on microSD. The battery is also andpowerbuttonsareonthesideof the rear. Optimised for selfies, the front removable, which is becoming thedeviceforeasyaccess,the WhiletheHonor6hasastrikingdesign,the facing camera includes a ‘beauty increasingly rare on devices today. 2GB headphone port is on the top and the 3C is largely anonymous but inoffensive mode’ for live image touch-ups which RAMisahighlightwith1GBbeingmore microUSBsocketisoffsetonthe could prove useful common at this price point bottom of the device Features The biggest omission is LTE connectivity, phone can take reasonable pictures in good which delicately air brushes out any which now appears in low cost devices lighting conditions, but struggles particularly in imperfections that are present! low light. However, the 5 megapixel front-facing The situation with the cameras very much Value for money At barely over £100, the Honor 3C is camera fares better. Although it too works best sums up the Honor 3C – while it’s not going to amongst the cheapest Android devices in bright conditions – most of us don’t want to be the perfect phone for everyone, providing you take selfi es in the dark anyway! With many of don’t plan to do anything too taxing and you it’s nearest rivals offering cameras of 2 don’t expect too much from the main camera, »Verdict megapixels at best, the Honor 3C is a good tool then you will likely be happy with your bargain for the more snap happy amongst us. The purchase. The only problem? The second The Honor 3C is a good Honor camera app is also fully featured, with a generation Moto G is superior to the Honor 3C in device overall, but the host of options including a beauty shot mode almost every regard. software build and weak camera disappoint Watching Videos Cool cases Long battery life Theimpressive5”,294pixelsperinchscreen, 5 different colour cases are available from The 2300mAh battery is large and swappable makes it great for watching videos. Honor, with more available from third parties. – ideal for long days. 73

Reviews Acer Chromebook 13 How does Acer’s latest Chromebook offering stack up? Google Now cards The menu on the right brings up a selection of your Google Now cards, giving you instant access to information about sports, traffic, weather and many more things you are interested in. It also lists actions such as screenshots Saved pages You don’t have to worry about losing all your favourite pages when switching laptops. Logging into your Google account brings up your most visited pages list from your previous laptop, so you don’t have to go about building them up again Surprise, Surprise Preloaded programs One fun option in the settings is The full suite of Google programs is the ‘Surprise Me’ desktop, which preloaded on your menu, so you can randomly chooses a new desktop access all aspects of the Play store background every time you open and Google Office programs with just your computer. There is a decent one click. It also offers offline modes set of stock wallpapers as well as for certain programs as well the option to load your own he main selling points of Chromebooks are middle of the Chromebook market at £219. For Angry Birds, it managed just fine. Video playback that they’re light, cheap and do the basics that, you get a 2.1Ghz quad-core NVIDIA Tegra K1 was excellent and, although the screen gets Twell. In this regard, Acer’s follow up to its processor, 13.3-in 1920 x 1080 HD screen and noticeably darker around the edges as your viewing popular C720 Chromebook is fairly successful. At 100GB of Google Drive storage. angle widens, three people could comfortably 1.5kg it is marginally on the heavy side for a The processor performed all the tasks we set it, watch a film without much loss of vision. Chromebook, but very light compared to most as long as we didn’t try having too many things This model runs the latest version of Chrome laptops. Design-wise it isn’t going to win any going at once. Games played smoothly and looked and comes loaded with its familiar suite of Google awards but it has a simple, clean appeal and it great on the sharp screen, although it was lacking certainly isn’t something you will be embarrassed the richness of colour that we’d hoped for. If you to use in public. However, it does feel a bit cheap are a gamer we probably wouldn’t recommend Portability and plasticky and we’d have liked the edges to be using this model as the processor will struggle to for... At just 1.5kg, you can easily carry the slightly more rounded. Its price is slap bang in the run high-end games. However, for games such as Chromebook around or have it on your lap. 74

Review Acer Chromebook 13 Play programs where everything is contained in a spaced out around the back and the rear of the small, pop up menu in the bottom-left corner. That machine’s sides, so from the front it looks very information makes for a clean desktop and a menu set-up that clean and smooth. The keyboard keys are nicely is a lot more user friendly than Windows 8. Beyond spaced out, so there is little chance of you Price From £219/$249 the shortcuts to Google applications there are not accidentally mistyping and they are very responsive. »More information www.acer.co.uk a lot of programs installed, which does make sense The touchpad is nice to use too as it’s a good size »Supplied by Acer as bloatware would seriously eat into the and reacts instantly to scrolling and clicking. Chromebook’s limited memory. Overall there is little to criticise in the Acer Its built-in webcam is capable of taking 1280x720 Chromebook 13. It looks good, its fast and the Battery life resolution photos. The image it produces is a bit screen is sharp. We would like the screen’s colour 3220mAH battery provides 11.5 hours pixelated, but on the whole it’s a good camera and to be a little brighter and the camera could be a bit use in energy saving would defi nitely suffi ce for Facebook pictures. sharper, but generally it’s a very good machine. mode. Closer to 10 There is also a wide range of fi lters if you want to Obviously the issue with all Chromebooks is their in standard mode play around and edit your pictures. The memory capacity and limited processors, but Chromebook is nice and fast, with a quick boot-up unless you are trying to perform a lot of memory time and loads webpages, fi les and emails in a heavy tasks or play involving games, you should be technical specs matter of seconds – another bonus due to the lack fi ne with the Acer. Streaming videos, playing simple » Operating system ............... Chrome OS of bloatware. One of its big selling points is its games and creating documents will all be easily » Processor ................................... 2.1Ghz quad-core long-life battery. It is claimed that it lasts 11 hours achieved by the Acer’s brand new processor, which NVIDIA Tegra K1 and although our tests showed it to be a couple of is impressively fast. Its specs might not quite stand » Memory .......................................2GB hours less than that, it’s still very impressive. up to the likes of the Toshiba Chromebook or the » Dimensions ..............................327 x 227.5 x 18mm Around the edges you’ve got two USB ports, a HDMI Samsung Chromebook 2, but for the price this is » Weight ..........................................1.5kg port, headphone jack and AC adaptor point, all defi nitely worth considering over its competitors. » Display size ...............................13.3 inch » Display resolution ...............1366x768 pixels » Connectivity ............................ Wi-Fi, Bluetooth » Expansion slot .......................SD card AcerChromebook N/A N/A better than worse than Performance Struggleswithmemory-sappingtasks,but day-to-day games and loading times are really very good Design Looks good when closed and keyboard is well laid out but feels a little bit cheap Features Notmuchtosayhere.Decentcameraand Synced apps thestandardportsbutlittleelse Android phones running Lollipop are able to sync up with the Chromebook. Value for money Notifications and apps that are running on your phone are instantly loaded onto You get an awful lot of quality for not much your Chromebook, so you don’t have to money with the Acer keep checking your phone when you’re using it Auto-Bluetooth »Verdict The Chromebook is Bluetooth enabled automatically so you can easily transfer Unlessyouneedalotof filesandphotosfromyoursmartphoneor tablettothelaptop,evenifyouareinan memory, the Acer is speedy area without wifi. However, it can be disabled with one click andhasagreatscreenand long battery life Speedy boot Great viewing Enjoying peace TheChromebookisrapidwhenbootingup, Watching movies. The 1920 x 1080 HD screen The Chromebook runs pretty much silently, taking20secondsfromopeningtodesktop. delivers superb clarity when watching films. making it perfect for watching TV and movies. 75

Reviews Adjustable strap Asus If the leather strap isn’t for you, then you can swap it out with ZenWatch any standard watch strap thanks to the hinges on the ZenWatch. We recommend going for a metal strap to give it a nice information premium fi nish Price £199.99 Chunky design » More information www.asus.com With the two layers of metal » Supplied by www.asus.com encasing the capacitive screen, the watch face does look and feel chunky. If you’ve got small Battery life wrists it’s surprisingly noticeable how big the ZenWatch is Expect around 13 hours of life from the 369mAh battery before you need Works with Wear to charge This is without doubt the best Android Wear smartwatch you cancurrentlybuy.Thescreen size is ideal for getting the most technical specs outofWearandthird-partyapps workreallywelltoo » Operating system ...............Android Wear » Processor ................................... 1.2GHz dual-core Snapdragon 400 Fast response » Memory .......................................4GB flash, 512MB RAM Thanks to the power of a » Dimensions ..............................51 x 39.9 x 7.9mm dual-core processor moving » Weight ..........................................75g around, the ZenWatch feels snappy and responsive. The only » Display size ...............................1.63 inch l agwenoticedwaswhenwe » Display resolution ...............320x320 pixels initially setup the smartwatch » Connectivity .............................Bluetooth » Expansion slot .......................N/A Asus ZenWatch AsusZenWatch N/A Moto 360 issue 46 With a premium design and a slick processor, can the better than worse than ZenWatch prove we should care about Android Wear? Performance ndroid Wear is not even a year old, but Benefitingfromseveralsystemupdates,the It’s a pleasure to use the ZenWatch thanks there are already second generation of interface is much superior to our earlier tests with to the 1.2GHz dual-core processor Asmartwatches on the market. Following on the G Watch. Everything from setting the watch up from plastic prototypes like the LG G Watch and to managing apps works flawlessly, but some will Design Samsung Gear Live, the new breed have a more still crave a slightly bigger screen. Although it’s Thechunkybuildmightbeaputoff,butit premium feel. However, while the likes of the Moto moreofanannoyancethananythingelse,the givestheZenWatchamorepremiumfinish 360 and the G Watch R have stolen the headlines, metallic back can get quite warm sometimes. This the Asus ZenWatch has largely fl own under the dependsonhowoftenyouusethesmartwatch, Features radar - but this could be an advantage. which – given the nature of the device – should be The best smartwatch to utilise Wear yet. Some complain square screens on really the less than five minutes at a time. Addingyourownwatchstrapisanicetouch smartwatches are ugly, while others say circular However, having a powered-up processor and Value for money screens are impractical. The ZenWatch is thebestintegrationofAndroidWeartodatedoes The ZenWatch is competitively priced when predominantly square, but has pleasantly round come with certain downfalls. Battery life takes a compared to other smartwatches for sale edges that make it look like a luxury timepiece. massive hit and while the accompanying wireless We’d go as far saying it’s the fi rst smartwatch that charging plate works really well, we got just under »Verdict we actually felt comfortable wearing. The metallic 14 hours of life from the 369mAh battery. For any smartwatch to be truly successful, it really needs build is chunky and has a notably weight, but it We’re still dubious about the helps cut a svelte fi gure when on the wrist and to last a whole day without needing a charge. It’sclearthatAsushaslearntfromthepast looks arguably better than the Moto 360. batterylife,buttheAsus Currently, all Android Wear watches have similar mistakesofitscompetitorswhenitcomestothe ZenWatch is still the best specs. The ZenWatc has familiar dual-core 1.2GHz ZenWatch. Although it’s a little chunky and still smartwatch on the market processor, with 512MB of RAM to keep things lacks the battery life we want, it’s by far and away ticking nicely. It has the added benefi t of 4GB of the best smartwatch out there right now. If you’re internal storage, but using a signifi cant amount of interested in investing in Android Wear, this is the it does cause some noticeable slowdown. smartwatch of choice. 76

Clear speaker Sonim realise that the XP7 Extreme is likely to be used in noisy Review environments and with that in mind, it has an extremely loud 103dB Strong screen speaker. This is complemented by a The screen on the XP7 very bright notifi cation LED, built into Extreme is a relatively the ‘antenna stub’ low resolution (by Sonim XP7 today’s standards) at 800x480 WVGA unit, but Cover yourself it does have excellent Extreme outdoor visibility, it is It’s all very well having a device usable with gloves and that makes fantastic claims of course, it is very about it’s durability, but the XP7 hard to break! Extreme also backs it up with a information 3 Year comprehensive warranty that includes accidental breakage cover. You can use Price $579 the device with confi dence » More information www.indiegogo.com » Supplied by Sonim Battery life The XP7 Extreme’s 4800mAh battery is truly epic, outlasting Drop resistant anything else we’ve The XP7 Extreme is ever tested resistant to drops onto concrete from 6.5 feet, from any angle and IP 68/IP 69 certifi ed for full technical specs submersion in water 6.5 feet deep for up to 30 » Operating system ...............Android 4.4 KitKat minutes. You can even » Processor ................................... Snapdragon 410 1.2GHz pressure wash it! » Memory .......................................16GB storage / 1GB RAM » Dimensions ..............................137mm x 72.1mm x 20.8mm » Weight ..........................................290g » Display size ...............................4-inch » Display resolution ...............800x480 pixels Sonim XP7 Extreme » Connectivity .............................4G » Expansion slot .......................N/A What if you need you need phone that’s not just SonimXP7Extreme waterproof or even drop-proof, but virtually CAT S50 N/A issue46 indestructible? Sonim has you covered he Sonim XP7 Extreme is not a conventional rather it’ll sit in your kit bag ready for when you go better tha worse than phone. The fi rst clue is in the name – never out to do extreme sports or work in challenging Thas the word ‘Extreme’ been used more conditions. The IP68/IP 69 protection rating against appropriately. Aside from the device itself, its water and micro-particles, resistance to shocks of Performance conception has also been a little unorthodox up to 30G and vibrations from 5Hz to 500Hz, 6.5 The Snapdragon 410 processor is more compared to its competitors – its development feet drop and impact resistance, an operating than capable of driving the WVGA screen and release has been funded by a successful temperature range from -4 to 55 degrees celsius, crowdfunding campaign on indiegogo, which the ability to withstand a ton of metric pressure or Design quickly exceeded its $150,000 funding target. 4J of impact (puncture resistance) on the case (2J TheXP7Extremeisaboutfunctional design, The XP7 Extreme has a 1.2GHz Qualcomm on the screen) and resistance to oils and butitgivesconfidenceanddoesits job well Snapdragon 410 processor at its heart, with 1GB chemicals, means it’s going to be pretty hard to Features RAM and 16GB (non-expandable) storage. This is a damage or destroy the device. But if you do, a three It has all the features that matter, but there popular mid-tier confi guration at the moment but year warranty is included which covers accidental are a few extra things that could be useful on the Sonim it works particularly well. The damage. You get a lot of peace of mind for your Snapdragon 410 CPU is very frugal when it comes money with this phone. Value for money to battery consumption and with the relatively However, this is Android Magazine and a very The XP7 is very competitively priced against low-resolution WVGA screen on the device, it is important part of the XP7 Extreme is how well it similar specialist tools more than powerful enough to provide a actually functions as an Android device. Thankfully consistently smooth experience. there are no disappointments there. The software Connectivity is a particular highlight on the build is relatively stock with only a few useful »Verdict phone. As well as LTE support, the XP7 Extreme tweaks and additions and with the full complement includes dual-band Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0 and NFC. of Google apps, when you’re using the device it Ifyouneedaphonethat can Signal strength is very impressive, which is useful if feels just like any other Android handset, except withstand virtually anything, you will be using the device in more remote you can throw it around just for fun! locations where signal is hard to come by. Other Android devices are available which offer a then the Sonim XP7 is the tool If you buy a Sonim XP7 Extreme, it’s important to degree of ruggedness and may be easier to live for the job be aware that this is a big phone. A really big with day to day, but if you want ultimate protection phone, thanks to its huge 4800mAh battery. It’s a with insane battery life, then the Sonim XP7 tool that is not likely to be for everyday use but Extreme is the only choice. 77

Reviews Special offers Pick up the Smart 4 Power for as little as a £14 per month contract. To feel the Vodafone month Vodafone also includes 6 month benefi t of that LTE speed, from £27 per Smart 4 Power free subscription to Spotify, NowTV or Sky Sports Mobile TV information It’s a good thing that you c Limited m Price £100 those box sets and playlists, struggle to store them h » More information Vodafon advertised as having 4GB, » Supplied by Vodafone requirements, there’s just 1 to play with. However, it a 3 Battery life The 3000mAh cel Quad-core pro provided over a da The Smart 4 Power lives u and a half charge o with a 1.3GHz quad-core pro average use, it’s no Snapdragon 810, it ke including music our day-to-day phone usa streaming playing games with he technical spe Lightning-fast » Operating system ...............Android 4.4 KitKat Imagequalityforthe5MPre » Processor ................................... 1.3GHz quad-core as expected for this price p MTK 6582 M, MTK 6290 crisp, but vivid. The fro » Memory .......................................4GB storage, 1GB RAM camera is worse. However, b arequick,withbarely » Dimensions ..............................141 x 71.4 x 9.5 mm tapping the screen to takin » Weight ..........................................162g » Display size ...............................5.0-inch » Display resolution ...............540 x 960 pixels » Connectivity .............................4G/ Bluetooth 4.0/ FM Radio » Expansion slot .......................microSD, up to 32GB Vodaf VodafoneSmart4Power Alcate Moto G 4G Can Vodafone persuade you to switch OneTouch Power Pop S3 networks with this 4G phablet? issue 42 issue 42 better tha worse than ore and more carriers are offering disappointing 220 pixels per inch. The end result own-brand budget phones. EE launched is a slightly blurry images, which is far from ideal. Mthe Kestrel phone last year, while This is actually the same resolution as the Kestrel, Performance Vodafone has been pushing its Smart range, from butduetothescreen’ssmallersize,EE’sphone Aquadprocessorand1GBRAM,ensure the 4-inch 3G Smart 4 mini through to the Smart has a crisper image. The Smart 4 Power’s viewing thatthehandsetcankeepupwithdailyuse Tab 4G tablet. The Smart 4 Power sits in the angles are also narrow, so despite the extra screen middle, marketed as Vodafone’s own mobile size, you’ll struggle to watch videos on it with other Design entertainment system. Coupling 4G connectivity people, unless they’re prepared to snuggle up close. Availableaseitherablackorwhiteoblong, with a 5-inch quad HD touchscreen, on paper this IntermsofLTEconnectivity,theSmart4Power the overall design is rather boring phablet offers the speed and display size needed fairs better. It offers CAT4 4G, which works out at to enjoy music and video streaming on the go. 150mps downloads and 50mps uploads, while the Features However, the reality is not quite as impressive. CAT3 Moto G 4G only offers 100mps uploads. Includes next to no stand-out features, Firstly, it’s a bit dull to look at. Available in black However, as the Smart 4 Power is exclusive to except Vodafone’s own range of apps or white, the Smart 4 Power is completely Vodafone, you’re limited to the company’s own 4G Value for money anonymous – it just looks any other handset. With coverage. Looking at OpenSignal data, this is It couldn’t be much cheaper, while Vodafone a thick bezel and hefty 162g weight, the phone stronger than EE or any other UK carrier’s coverage offer some competitive contract deals feels a bit awkward being used one-handed and in the south-east of England, but unfortunately is sat in your pocket. However, it also boasts a large quite patchy across the rest of the country. »Verdict 3,500mAh battery that gave us a day and half use, Kestrel’s Jellybean, with a few Vodafone apps It also runs stock Android KitKat, one up on the so we’ll forgive its added chunkiness. That all-important display is bright and A competent phablet that colourful with high contrast and we didn’t thrown in. Disappointingly, these apps add very little, but use up a lot of the tiny 4GB memory. struggles to distinguish itself, experience any problems using it in direct All in all, the Vodafone Smart 4 Power offers a with disappointing screen sunlight. The 5-inch screen is a good size for better budget phone than most – better than the clarity but good 4G speeds viewing videos and is notably bigger than its rival Kestrel – but still leaves a lot to be desired. If you’re the EE Kestrel or budget 4G market leader, the already on Vodafone and are looking for an affordable Moto G 4G. However, the display has a resolution phone then it’s worth considering, but the Smart 4 of 540 x 960 pixels, which works out as a Powerisnotworthswitchingcarriersfor. 78

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Reviews The best portable Bluetooth speakers Super are put to the test speakers EDITOR’S Libratone Zipp Pure Voca CHOICE » Price £299.95/ $299.95 » More information www.libratone.com » Price £99.99/ $TBC » More information www.pure.com If you want your speakers to not actually look like This Bluetooth speaker from Pure does everything speakers, you may be interested in the Libratone Zipp. you’d want from a speaker and more. It delivers crystal It comes in your choice of coloured Italian wool cloth clear audio at all volumes and pitches, with a strong to disguise the metal grills and plastic coating. Audio vibration on the bass demonstrating its power. It’s quality is superb and provides a rich, 360 degree really quick and simple to pair up and the controls are sound. The Bluetooth technology pairs up instantly easily accessible and understood. The Bluetooth call and you can get four hours wireless playback. It’s system is fantastic as well, with the receiver still able pretty big for a supposedly portable speaker and to hear us from over six feet away. An excellent device sounds sublime, but is a lot pricier than the other at a very reasonable cost. models. 80

Denon Envaya Mini » Price £99/ $149 » More information www.denon.co.uk Denon has taken a l a risk by producing a small, budget version of its popular Envaya speaker, but has succeeded in miniaturising the technology without compromising on quality. It uses Apt-x technology to stream at such speeds you barely notice any lag if using it as a booster while watching something on your laptop or tablet. Its low end is superb as well and it looks great. Denon’s experiment with a low cost device has been a rousing success. Jabra Solemate » Price £129.99/ $149.99 » More information www.jabra.co.uk Jabra talks the talk but unfortunately the Solemate doesn’t walk the walk. We were promised a speaker with a powerful bass and soaring highs but it didn’t deliver on either. Both were good but nothing spectacular. It also didn’t come with a wall charger, which is an oversight. We’re also a little unsure about the styling. It’s meant to resemble a shoe, hence the sole pun, but it just doesn’t look like something you’d want in your home. 81

Apps Want your money back? 2 hour wonder You’ve got 2 hours to decide! »0-40 minutes ! 40 Simplesetupisagoodstart 120 80 BillGuard EDITOR’S 120 ! 40 »40-80 minutes Realise food spending is a 80 little too high CHOICE plan to eat less is in place 80 120 ! 40 »80-120 minutes Budget The easy way to check your balance keep refund Before the rise of designed BillGuard app comes in. what potential suspicious activity is internet banking and Connecting your accounts with the going on with your card, without comparison sites, most app only takes a couple of steps having to wait till the end of the people stuck all their each and then you’re good to go. month when your statement comes money in one bank and left it there. Each account’s outgoings are split through. If you’re worried about However, people are much more up into an easily understood wheel, safety, you needn’t be. The app is savvy when it comes to money these which tracks how much you have encrypted with bank app-level days and it’s easier than ever to spent on rent, eating out or security, password protected and search for the best deals. The upside shopping. This can be really helpful in the added ID protection is provided of this is that people are getting working out which areas you need to by Experian, one of the world leaders more bang for their buck, but the scale back if you’re needing to save in credit dealings. Also no money downside is the sheer number of for something. BillGuard also allows gets moved with BillGuard. It is accounts to keep track of. If you have you to set up spending goals and merely a tool to show you where and a savings account with one bank, an budgeting targets. Having all your when money is moving, meaning that ISA with another and your main accounts in one place and being able if anyone steals your phone and current account with a third, it can be to see the wheel of spending makes gains access to the app, they will very diffi cult to keep track of where the process of sticking to a budget only be able to see your outgoings all your money is going into and much easier because it’s much and can’t transfer your life savings coming out of. Most high street harder to hide your spending from into their account. It will let you banks now have apps but it can be a yourself when there’s only one app to report suspicious activity to your hassle to switch between them log into! The app will also alert you if bank if there is an unexpected BillGuardmakesiteasytomanageyour moneyonbothyourphoneortablet when trying to work out your it thinks any strange payments have charge, kick-starting a process that fi nances. This is where the stylishly- been made. This way you can see would otherwise require you to go into the bank or deal with the minefi eld of a helpline. BillGuard is a really accessible app, providing an important service in a way that is very easy to understand. The budgeting side of it is also easy to set up and stick to, thanks to the large spending wheel in the middle. Switching between accounts is much easier than opening and closing multiple banking apps and makes you much more likely to take control of your fi nances. »specification Price Free Designed for Phone and tablet Requires Android 4.0 » verdict Performance Design Value Well designed, useful and free. Everything that banking should be Add as many accounts as you want to keep track of »best free BANKING AWARENESS » If you’re a little boggled, this handy free alternative app explains some of the tougher banking terminology. 82

EDITOR’S CHOICE Add fi lters to your Camu photos and videos Photo-editing app footage or just lighten up a scene. struggling to fi nd a practical Camu has fi nally Camu offers much more beyond application for this beyond a made its way onto the standard Instagram filters landscape snap that just misses Android and we though. You can write on your out a boring middle section, but it Camu offers a r couldn’t wait to get our hands on photos in four different fonts, blur works an absolute treat and is perfect for landsc it. There is a paid version but for sections of the shot and zoom in something we’ve never seen Instagram style sho the majority of users, the free to create stunning close-ups. All of version will provide suffi cient these actions are really easy to before. It also lets y trickery to add to your photos and perform and means that you can pictures in 4:3 and 1:1 videos. There are 10 fi lters for you get extra creative with your shots couldsaveyoualotofcr to choose from and each offers in post production. The advanced time. You get a lot of app fo plenty of variety, so whether you settings in the top-left hand with Camu and it’s extremely want to make your photos warmer, corner offer further ways to to get started and use. colder, retro or black-and-white, enhance your photographic there is scope to do that. We also creativity. The sideways teardrop really like the fact that Camu offers sharpens up a section of the »specification you the ability to fi lm scenes with screen, making those classy pull Price Free + IAPs all these fi lters as well, allowing focus shots effortless. There’s Designed for: Tablet & Phone you to channel your inner also an intriguing mode that Requires Android: 4.0 Hitchcock with black-and-white enables you to take a photo that is » verdict half theheightofanormalshot, » like this? try this! then capture a second that gets Completely user friendly and full of handy functions to placed directly below it. We’re Photo Editor pro enjoy getting creative with Photo editor that has loads of tools stretched along the bottom for easy access There are ten fi lter options, with more available if you pay for it Smart Volume Controller RAM Booster Flashchat Manage all your audio settings in one place Ultimate Pal Easily keep in contact all around campus Android devices often make it a bit of a mission to fi nd your sound Set your phone’s memory settings, so this handy app condenses them all into one place. The Flashchat is a free Smart Volume Controller lets you set your ringtone, notifi cation, media free once and for all messaging app that and alarm volumes with a simple slider. This is both quicker and easier to AJK Labs has produced a enables users to chat with visualise than in your device’s settings. It RAM booster that looks others on the same Wi-Fi network. It also groups together the options for good but doesn’t do a lot. is trying to fi t into quite a small niche setting your phone to loud, vibrate or Its selling point is that it can boost market by providing a service that silent in the form of icons, which speeds your available RAM by shutting down connects people who are in the up the process once again. This is a well apps that eat up memory. It also has same 1km area but choose not to put-together app that does exactly what it four modes, each with levels of email, text, Whatsapp or, y’know, says on the tin which is nice. It’s not ruthlessness when deciding what to talk. One suggestion is students on exactly going to change your life but it will abort. However, we noticed barely their campus Wi-Fi, but that is a bit of make the process of altering all your any difference and a stretch. It does phone settings that much easier, the percentage work well, even if it especially if you are having to do it a lot available is very basic. One when switching between work, home and increased only by benefi t in the era social occasions. It’s also free to 10 per cent at of privacy invasion: download which adds to the appeal. most. Although it all messages looks good, you vanish when you » Price Free could just close disconnect from » Designed for Phone and tablet » Requires Android 2.1 apps yourself. the network. » Price Free + IAPs » Price Free » Designed for Phone and tablet » Designed for Tablet & Phone » Requires Android 2.2 » Requires Android 2.3.3 »best free VOLUME CONTROL + » A little more complicated in terms of alternative design but Volume Control + does look awesome. 83

Apps VSCO EDITOR’S CHOICE Cam Humin Getintouchwiththewider photo community Organise your contacts book This app is really one for the photography fan in you. With the alphabetical without jumping betwee VSCO has brought together and recently called screens. Humin syncs ahugecommunityofphotographers, lists, it was generally together all of your conta all of whom are encouraged to assumed that phone from Google, Facebook an upload their work to the app with a manufacturers had cracked the Linkedin, but only after ask journal explaining the how, why and address book. However, the folks your permission and it says where behind the pictures. As you’d at Humin disagreed and set doesn’tuseanyofthatinfor expect from an app of this type, it is about creating a more intuitive beyond what is needed to ma gorgeously presented, with sweeping way of organising your contacts. app work, so your data should tiles and elegant typefaces. It will Settingituptakesonlyafew safe from marketing vultures. takeyoualittlewhiletogettogrips minutes and once you’ve done it Syncing all this data builds up a with the menu options as there isn’t you can set about organising your of data about each contact, suc much by way of explanation, but Humin home screen. Scroll their phone number, workplace a onceyoudoyou’rerewardedwitha through your contacts list to thelasttimeyouwereatthesam »specification worldofincrediblephotographyand make a small database of your Facebook-organised event, which interesting stories. It’s incredibly most commonly called contacts. useful. The contact screen also Price Free easy to import your photos onto the This puts your favourites list right gives you the options to call, text or Designed for Phone appandshareonyourpersonal at your fingertips, which is email, so this app is very much a Requires Android 4.0.3 VSCO page. If you are into incredibly handy, especially if one-stop shop for all your discovering new photographers, this you’re permanently attached to communication needs. The scroll » verdict isdefinitelyasuperbfreeappthat your phone and want to make menu for finding your contacts is in Performance feels much more premium and calls with just a couple of taps no real order, despite looking neat worthwhile than scrolling through and minimal scrolling. Directly with its tile format, and it would Design dozens of Instagram snaps of food below that is your recent actually be handy if this were Value and sunsets. It looks great, is easy to contacts list, which pulls organised either in alphabetical or get involved in and is regularly together incoming calls, outgoing favourites order. Humin hasn’t so Excellent modernisation of the contacts book. Would updated to create a unique and calls and texts. Although much reinvented the wheel as defi nitely recommend it rewarding user experience. favourites lists and call logs are refined it, but we have to give credit fairly common, it’s defi nitely a for the way it has made sorting bonus to have both sitting on the contacts much easier. app’s home screen where you can access them in a fl ash »best free CONTACTS+» Not only does Contacts+ combine all your contacts, alternative butitalsoblocksspamcallsandtexts Snapchat Snapchat evolves once again Snapchat is building itself the left brings up a full page picture up to be more than just a and a swipe upward lets you read photo sharing app. First that story. A couple of taps on the came the ability to chat to your back button of your phone takes you contacts. Then came My Story and back swiftly to the menu. All in all this now it’s Discover. One tap gets you to is nicely put together and we hope the home screen where you can fi nd we can customise it in the future, but video and photo content from Yahoo, until then we can’t really see Cosmopolitan, Mail Online, Food ourselves using it that much. Network, Vice, MTV, People, National »Price Free Geographic and Bleacher Report. View and post your own photography easily »Designed for Phone and tablet with VSCO Cam This provides users with a rounded »Requires Android Varies with device set of news, sport, entertainment »Price Free+IAPs » Designed for Phone and tablet and music news to enjoy. A swipe to » Requires Android 4.0 »best free BBC NEWS» If you want news, entertainment, sport and music alternative news, we can’t really recommend anything other than the BBC 84

tohead head to Theweatherforecastfavouritetakes on new challenger YAHOOWEATHER vs WEATHERTIMELINE YahooWeatherhasalwaysbeenpopular on the Play store, but Weather Timeline has stormed up the charts with its on-trend Material Design look. The new app uses multiple sources for more accurate weather reports, giving it » specification both style and » specification Price Free substance. Which Price £0.99/$0.99 Designed for: Phone and tablet should you Designed for: Phone and tablet Requires Android: 2.3 Requires Android: 4.0 download? Yahoo Weather Weather Timeline Weather forecasts stretch as Drawing forecasts from a faras10daysahead,butalso varietyofsourcesforadded include hourly updates. Yahoo accuracy, Weather Timeline also has maps and information ACCURACY summaries the next hour, on wind, pressures, chance of thenext48hoursandthe rain, and sunrise/sunset times. next week’s weather. Photos of your location drawn Following in Lollipop’s from Flickr provide a backdrop footsteps, this app has to forecasts. Interactive maps adoptedaMaterialDesign offer insight, while animations PRESENTATION look. Displaying the forecast of spinning turbines illustrate on simple cards, it’s easy to the wind speeds. understandatjustaglance. Yahoo offers six widgets, in a Weather Timeline includes wide variety of sizes. The fi ve widgets. The most largest displays a fi ve-day useful is one that includes forecast, while the smallest WIDGETS a card stack to switch only takes up a one-by-one slot between forecasts for and shows current conditions. different cities. SmartWeatherisafeature A fi ve-day forecast not that enables you to forecast enough for you? Timeline the weather for where your includes a ‘time machine’ friends and family live by SPECIAL FEATURES feature to show you the syncing with Facebook or your forecast months and even Yahoo Mail contacts. years in advance. Alloftheinformationyouneed Not over-packed with features, is displayed when you open the WeatherTimelineiseasyto app,however,asimpleswipe operate and understand, even upwards offers deeper insight. EASE OF USE if its approach is unusual. Swiping horizontally lets you Additional radar maps are switch between locations. available with a tap. And the It is a very close call with both providing accurate and insightful winner is... forecasts, but Yahoo Weather just manages to fend off this challenger. While Weather Timeline has the hipper look, Yahoo Weather’s mix of YAHOO WEATHER hyperlocal photography and intricate animations give it a polished feel. 85

Games Epic Heroes War EDITOR’S CHOICE Build the most epic hero army of all time If you’re a fan of games like Pokémon or Street Fighter, you will probably get hooked on Epic Heroes War, a new fi ghting RPG. Starting out as a lowly warrior with a few minions, you fi ght your way through a series of fantasy battles. Each victory earns you coins to spend on armour, weapons and your mini marauders. Setting up takes under fi ve minutes and then you’re free to do battle in an imagined fantasy world. You have four attacks available, each offers something different, be it an attack from a distance, one that targets all enemies or just an epic smash. These take a while to reload so use them wisely. The battle Powerful attacks can easily send your mechanics are simple but there’s enough to differentiate each attack. to completing a battle without enemies running for cover This is a step up from the button- summoning a single helper or losing mashing world of Street Fighter, life. Successful missions earn you leaning more towards the tactical gems that help you later in the game. battling of Pokémon. As with almost all free-to-play games, After each battle you can upgrade, you’ll progress faster by paying for giving you a rapid sense of coin and equipment packages, but progression. You also have to make you aren’t stopped moving forward if tactical decisions on what items to you don’t. An excellent game that equip. Too little defence leaves you looks good and plays well. exposed to attack, but not enough » Price Free + IAPs attack means you lose out on a » Designed for Tablet bonus. The bonus mission option is a » Requires Android 2.3 nice touch. The missions range from Build up your weapon store and army, and achieve Conquer targets killing a certain number of enemies what we’ve Kesselberg been playing Legendary Asphalt Overdrive Racing Free We’re revisiting one of the fi rst games we played on Android: Asphalt. The Kesselberg run in Fast paced, awesome graphics and a succession of sublime motors, makes three minutes this a classic racing game. The Kesselberg is a well-known hill climb in the motor racing world. It’s also Big Hero 6 Bot the scene for Kesselberg Legendary Keeping the car on the straight and narrow isn’t so easy Fight Free Racing, one of the most stripped easy to accidentally tap the brakes responsive controls this could be a This ties-in with Disney’s latest animated adventure. It’s a classic down racing games you’ll ever play. andheadintoaskid,andtheycan good game, if a bit limited. match-em-up game but it is full of colour, It’sjustyou,acarandatwistyroad. beunresponsive–anicontohelp cool characters and missions to make The controls take practice as they’re you see where the brake is would be »Price Free this extremely appealing to all ages. » Designed for Tablet completely invisible. Steer via screen helpful. The sounds are excellent, » Requires Android 3.2 taps and braking by tapping the although the constant revving is Recommend a game… bottom of the screen. However, it’s unrealistic. With more visible and »twitter 86 @lgrobot

quickhits top apps for... Words On Tour Takeatouroftheworldinwords nimated aming Zynga is one of the kings as “Fantastique!” of the mobile gaming It’s bright and EDITOR’S worldandWordsOnTour visually appealing to CHOICE is their latest offering. They’ve look at. Zynga has edgedawayfromthemultiplayer built its reputation angle of Words With Friends to on pick-up-and-play createasingleplayerchallenge games and Words On Tour is exactly game.Travelroundtheworld the kind of game you need for that completing various tasks, such spare fi ve minutes, it’s taxing as collecting a specific amount of without being impossible. The tiles in a set number of goes or leaderboard adds a crucial completing a phrase, Wheel of competitive element that would Fortune style, by clearing letters otherwise be missing from the in that phrase. The variety inside game, and you don’t have that worry the levels is good and the of being nudged by an impatient Looney Tunes difficulty ramps up with different opponent – it is the ideal, stress- Dash Free + IAPs letter grid designs making you free travelling companion. Keep Bugs Bunny away from Elmer Fudd work for your round-the-world in this pursuit game. It’s a fun game in the style of an endless runner, that has ticket.Weliketheconceptofthe »Price Free + IAPs stages to give you some rest. »Designed for Phone and tablet journey, though there’s little to »Requires Android 4.0.3 distinguish one country from the As you make your way across the globe, the other bar regional phrases such puzzles get tougher Swinging Stupendo Free + IAPs This circus-based game is very much in Cute, Evil Crossy Road the style of Flappy Bird but with more elaborate graphics. Excellent controls, great audio and the chance to & Strange Frogger and friends enter the 21st century occasionally take a break! Is it really worth reinventing the classic Crossy Road Firewater Cowboy game of Rock, Paper, Scissors? answers the age old This side-scrolling endless runner sees Chase Free + IAPs question ‘Why did Rock, Paper, Scissors the chicken cross the road?’ you as a cowboy who is escaping from a was one of the – it crossed the road group of Native Americans, picking up coins, speed boosts and trying to avoid simplest games ever because you told it to. Much those prickly cacti! until the Big Bang Theory like Frogger from 34 years added Lizard and Spock into ago,yourjobistoseearange the mix. However, Mars On A of farm animals safely across Copter Survival Stick has changed the trio of a succession of roads, lakes – An Adventure Free eternal rivals to Cute, Evil and and train tracks. There’s This side-scrolling adventure Strange monsters. Choose pretty much no let up gets you to pilot a helicopter through a littered underground cave. It is simple your monster and attempt to because hesitating too much and not too frantic. win coins and streaks by results in your character Run rabbit run! An endless beating monsters controlled beingcarriedoffscreenbya series of hazards for by AI or other players in a swoopingeagle–abrutal collectable animals to cross best-of-three Cute, Evil, messageaboutthecircleoflifefromYodo1Games.A Space Shuttle Who will win the eternal Strange battle. The contest of cute versus strange? simple fl ick sends your critter scampering across the Flight Free animations are good fun and screen dodging cars, trucks and trains. This game is There are echoes of Asteroid here as you pilot a space shuttle through an asteroid it’s a well made game, but the random nature of the game nothing more or less than you would expect. It’s fun and fi eld, only this time you’ve got no mechanics is frustrating. No matter how much you play frustrating but that’s purely down to your own abilities, as weapon to defend yourself. Looks really good and plays well. this game, you won’t be able to improve your skills. The the game mechanics work perfectly and there is always a option to battle anyone worldwide is nice, but when was gap as long as you are brave enough to take it. We loved the last time you played Rock, Paper, Scissors for fun? It’s the range of animals and prizes on offer in this basic but Mr Ninja Fever Free a decent game but lacks skill development. very entertaining game. + IAPs » Price Free + iAPs » Price Free + IAPs The tiny martial artist, Mr Ninja, leaps » Designed for Phone and tablet » Designed for Phone and tablet from planet to planet capturing aliens » Requires Android 2.3 » Requires Android 2.3 along the way. Fast paced, really good fun and character progression. Check our website for 87 even more game reviews » www.littlegreenrobot.co.uk

BUYER’S GUIDE Discover the best smartphones, tablets and accessories to buy in our top ten charts For the most up-to-date reviews, head to www.littlegreenrobot.co.uk THE LATEST ONLINE INCLUDE... ASUS ZENWATCH » ACER CHROMEBOOK 13 » LG G FLEX 2 88

Buyer’s Guide TOP 10 SUPER SMARTPHONES THE BEST FLAGSHIP AND MID-RANGE ANDROID PHONES ON THE MARKET 1 Moto X (2014) £325 While the previous Moto X had been something of a flagship underdog, the second-gen model has emergedasamust-havedevice.Aslightlylargerscreensizeat5.2inches,metalchassisandthe option to personalise your handset before you buy with the Moto Maker program, while remaining See issue 45 cheaperthanitsrivalsandwithanearstockexperience,enablesMotorolatostealourtopslot.The only downside is that the new Moto X still lacks a microSD slot to expand the memory. 2 Sony Xperia Z3 £383.33 Despitebeingmadeofreinforcedglassandaluminium,andbeingwaterproof,theXperiaZ3isavery stylishall-terraindeviceandweighslittleinthehand.The20.7MPcamera(alsowaterproof)isoneof thebestwe’veseenonaphoneandthePlayStationRemotePlayfeaturewillappealtogamers. See issue 44 3 LG G3 £325 PippingSamsung,HTCandSonytotheposttolaunchthefirstnext-gendevice,theLGG3haswonus over with its pin-sharp QHD screen, laser-focused 13MP camera and lightning-fast processor. See issue 41 However, its faux metal plastic casing is disappointing, as is its mono speaker. 4 HTC ONE (M8) £391 Acomboofacompletelychromeunibodyandabig,brightscreenmakesHTC’sflagshipphoneoneof the best-looking on the market. A pair of BoomSound speakers, FM radio, infrared TV remote and quick media-casting options result in a powerful and portable entertainment system. See issue 37 5 Samsung Galaxy Alpha £249 Mimicking the iPhone’s chamfered metal case, there is no denying the slim and sleek Alpha is Samsung’s best-looking phone ever. Overall performance is strong and the advanced HDR Live camerafeatureisaplus.Butevenwithanewsetofpower-savingtools,thebatteryisabitsmall. See issue 43 6 SamsungGalaxyNote4 £458.33 Tolookat,theNote4isamodestupdateontheNote3,withasame-sizedisplayandcontinued emphasis on using the S Pen stylus. However, it has been revamped in almost every area. The TouchWiz interface handles better than ever, it has a 16MP camera and has an extra-long battery life. See issue 45 7 Nexus 6 £415.83 Google’s first phablet, the Nexus 6 is larger than either a Galaxy Note 4 or OnePlus One. This makes it an awkward fit for one-handed use but the gigantic 5.9-inch QHD display looks fantastic. It also has a super-fastprocessorand3GBRAMforzippyuse,alongwithacommendable13MPcamera. See issue 47 8 Samsung Galaxy S5 £336.33 WiththelaunchoftheS6,theGalaxyS5isnowalast-gendevice.It’sspecsarebehindthoseofthe newbreedliketheNexus6andXperiaZ3,butitsrangeoffitnessfeaturesandthumbprintscanner See issue 38 mean that it is still an impressive handset, despite its disappointing plastic chassis. 9 Google Nexus 5 From £299 AsaGoogleproduct,theNexus5isalong-terminvestmentasitisguaranteedtohavefirstpickof future updates to the Android OS. However, though it still performs well, in terms of specs – in See issue 32 particular the processor, camera and battery life – it’s a lot less competitive than it used to be. 10 Xiaomi Mi4 From £200 While OnePlus is the bigger name in Chinese exports, Xiaomi is selling millions of units in its home country.TheMi4managestoundercuttheOnePlusOneonpricewhilemaintainingimpressivebuild quality.LikeOnePlus,Xiaomiusesanon-standardOSbutit’sequaltoKitKat4.4. See issue 44 In case you missed it…Selfie essentials Read more in issue 48 Selfy camera shutter case Olloclip 4-in-1 photo lens Selfie Pods selfie stick Eye-FiMobiSDcard » Price £29.99/$39.99 » Price £59.99/$69.99 » Price £34.99/$TBC » Price £33.33/$49.99 » Website iluv.com » Website olloclip.com » Website selfiepods.co.uk WINNER » Website www.eyefi .com This Galaxy S5 case Clipping onto the top of Part selfie stick, part tripod, the Notsomuch a phone includes a removable your phone camera, you stick extends to one accessory, as one for your remote control that can can use the Olloclip to metre for better camera, plug this SD card activate your camera switch lenses to add self-portraits. The into your old digital camera shutter for improved effects to your photos. retractable tripod is to give it its on Wi-Fi fi eld. selfi es. Unfortunately, it This includes a fish-eye handy for photo Then you can access your does add quite a bulky look when and a wide-angle lens that magnifies shoots and also watc camera’s photos easily on it’s on your handset. theimageupto10xand15x. videos hands-free. your phone and upload them online. 89

Buyer’s Guide TOP10BUDGETBUYS IF YOU’RE SHOPPING FOR A SMARTPHONE ON A SHOESTRING, CHECK OUTTHESELOW-COSTMOBILEMUST-HAVES 1 Moto G 4G From £120.80 The Moto X’s budget cousin set new standards for the low-cost phone with support for 4G. While it’s madeofacheapplastic,theMotoGhasnotcompromisedonscreenquality,whichis4.5inchesof sturdy Gorilla Glass 3 and offers 1280x720 pixels. The small memory can be boosted thanks to a See issue 42 microSD slot. Running near-stock Android, MotorolahasconfirmedMotoG4G’snextupgradewillbe Lollipop, ensuring future-proofing for some time despite the launch of a new Moto G (2014) model. 2 Moto G (2014) £120.80 Whilethesecond-genMotoXhaswonusover,theMotoG(2014)hasfallenshortofthetopduetoa lack of 4G despite the similar price point. However, this is a trade-off if you would rather have the slightlylarger5-inchscreenortheusefuladditionofadualSIM. See issue 44 3 Moto E £78.33 Availableforunder£100,SIM-freeandnocontract,theMotoEistheultimateno-strings-attached smartphone.Withasturdy,splashproofcase,1980mAhbatterythatwillgothedistanceandmicroSD slottoexpandthetiny1GBmemory,theMotoEisanimpressivebuildthatwon’tbreakthebank. See issue 40 4 Samsung Galaxy Ace 3 £81 WhileSamsung’shigh-endhandsetsgetalotofattention,thecompanyhasamuchbroaderrange. TheGalaxyAce3isnowonitsthirdincarnationandat£81itsitsneatlyinthebudgettomid-range See issue 34 category.Thisisa4GhandsetwithadistinctiveSamsunglookandfeatures. 5 EE Kestrel £100 OnlyavailablefromtheEEnetwork,itsown-brandKestrelphoneisoffering4Gdataspeedsatavery reasonableprice.ProducedbyHuawei,thehandsethasacurveddesignwhichgivesitauniqueflair. Good battery life ensures it can handle its quad-core engine and 4G’s inevitable drain. See issue 40 6 HTC Desire 510 £119 At4.7inches,withabudgetpricetagandLTEconnectivity,thisisHTC’sanswertotheMotoG4G. However, cost-saving measures such as a 5MP camera and poor screen quality mean it just can’t See issue 44 compete.HTC’sSense6UIisstillherethough,offeringoneofthebestcustominterfacesforAndroid. 7 Acer Liquid Z5 £95 Agood-lookingphonewithtaperededges,theAcerLiquidZ5offersastylishalternativetomostblack brick handsets. Its innovative Float Apps interface also makes it easy to multitask apps. However, See issue 39 humdrum specs, like a low-res screen, leave it ranking low in the competitive world of budget phones. 8 Nokia X £79.90 The launch of the slimmer, faster Nokia X2 has driven the price of the Nokia X down, but this original Microsoft-Android hybrid still deserves attention. A bestselling handset in India and Pakistan, it has great build quality with a tough polycarbonate chassis available in a range of colours. See issue 38 9 Alcatel OneTouch Idol Mini £79.99 The understated style and low-end specs make the Alcatel OneTouch Idol Mini a great option for first-time or light users. SwiftKey as the default keyboard is a welcome addition. However, it’s hard to See issue 39 j ustifytheexcessivebloatwareonaphonethatonlyhas4GBstorage. 10 Huawei Ascend Y300 £40 Only offering a dual-core processor is going to damn this Huawei in the eyes of many potential buyers, but it shouldn’t be dismissed quickly. The well-reviewed Ascend Y530 is only a slight spec upgrade on the Y300 but is around double the price. Ideal for young or cash-strapped users. See issue 28 In case you missed it… Must-have news apps Read more in issue 47 Watchup: Your Daily The Guardian Flipboard YahooNewsDigest » Price Free + IAPs » PriceFree WINNER Newscast » Price Free » PriceFree If you prefer to watch The redesigned app This magazine-style For those of you who rather than read the for The Guardian app sucks in news are two busy to trawl news, Watchup is newspaper has a from your favourite through news sites, ideal. Providing a slick UI and some websites and social Yahoo’s app offers platform to view YouTube newscasts clever features, including the networks, and presents them in twice-daily cliff notes for the from local, national and international option to personalise the front a glossy, interactive layouts. You day’s top stories. Articles are sources, you watch endlessly rolling page with the types of stories that can even cherry-pick your attractively laid out with body news or set alerts to view videos at interest you most. You can also favourite stories and produce text usefully broken up by your preferred time of day. save articles for offline reading. you’re own digital fanzine. insightful infographics. 90

Buyer’s Guide TOP10BEST TABLETS WHETHER YOU’RE LOOKING FOR A SEVEN- OR TEN-INCH DISPLAY, THESE ARE THE TOP TABLETS AVAILABLE ON ANDROID 1 onyXperiaZ3TabletCompact From £284 h its 8-inch screen and premium price tag, Sony is pitching the Z3 squarely against the iPad Mini in d to compete with its rivals. Weighing just 270g, it is slim and slender with a stylish minimalist i gnthatbeliestheblazingprocessorand3GBRAMunderthehood.ItsTriluminosdisplaycangive msung’sSuperAMOLEDscreensarunfortheirmoneyandworksfantasticallywithSony’sPS4 motePlayfeaturesoyoucanenjoyconsole-qualitygamesonthego. See issue 46 2 Google Nexus 9 From £319 A mighty Nvidia Tegra K1 processor and 3GB RAM mean that even running the most graphic-heavy games won’t slow this 64-bit tablet down. The built-in BoomSound speakers also offer great sound quality, making Google’s new tablet an all-round media consumption device. See issue 45 3 Samsung Galaxy S Tab 10.5 From £358.33 Ultra thin and ultra bright, colours look vibrant and details distinct on this powerful Super AMOLED screen.Samsung’siPadslayeralsoputsmanyotherAndroidtabletstoshame,withamulti-window See issue 43 mode to display several apps at once and octo-core processor ensuring lightning-fast performance. 4 Sony Xperia Z2 Tablet From £349 Arguably one of the most portable 10-inch tablets available, the Xperia Z2 Tablet is waterproof and cansupportaSIMcardfor4Guse.Itisalsosurprisinglythinandlighttocarry,andincludes See issue 39 power-savingmodestoensurelongerbatterylife.Reasonablyhigh-spec,ithasawhopping3GBRAM. 5 Google Nexus 7 (2013) From £199 RecentlysupersededbytheNexus9,theNexus7stilloffersastockAndroidalternativeforthemini tabletmarket,withtheaddedbenefitofrunningthelatestAndroidOSandbeingfirstinlinefor upgrades.Thedownsidesareitslast-genspecsandlackofamicroSDslot. See issue 29 6 Tesco Hudl 2 £129 GOING UP This sequel to the supermarket chain’s own-brand tablet can’t compete with premium models, but setsanewbenchmarkforbudgettablets.Uppingthedisplaysizefrom7to8.3inches,theHudl2also See issue 44 runs Android 4.4.2 KitKat and can handle anything you throw at it thanks to an Intel Atom processor. 7 LG G Pad 8.3 £199 GOING UP Awell-roundedtablet,theLGGPad8.3offerssolidspecswithaselectionofimpressivebuilt-inapps. TheseincludePolarisOfficesoyoucanwritedocumentsonthego,andQPair,whichsharesyour See issue 40 smartphonenotificationstoyourtabletsoyounevermissimportantupdates. 8 Samsung Galaxy TabPRO 8.4 Wi-Fi £199 The smallest tablet in Samsung’s collection, the TabPRO 8.4 proves that good things do come in small packages. A stunning 359ppi screen puts the Nexus 7 to shame, though we’d prefer higher-quality speakers. However, an 8MP camera and intuitive interface are good compensation. See issue 38 GOING UP 9 Alcatel OneTouch Pixi 7 £64.99 NEW ENTRY This7-inchtabletcan’tbefaultedforitsprice,whichisoneofthemostaffordableonthemarket.It runs Android KitKat 4.4, offers 1080p video playback and has a triple-core processor. It’s also See issue 48 incredibly lightweight for added portability, but lacks memory with only 4GB RAM. 10 Amazon Fire HD6 £79 Despite only having a 6-inch display and a budget price tag, the Fire HD6 is a decent tablet for watching movies and listening to music. However, the inferior forked OS and lack of third-party app support make the Fire HD6 hard to recommended for regular let alone heavy-duty use. See issue 46 NEVER MISS AN ISSUE OF ANDROID MAGAZINE For the latest reviews, SAVE check out our great 30% subscription offer on on first three page 30 issues 91

DroidSupport »troubleshooting advice » hints and tips »email an expert Got an Android- related problem that There’s an insufficient you need solving? Let us know! [email protected] Share your tips & tricks memory warning, but Join us on Facebook and Twitter to share and receive some great tips and advice »facebook Ihavespace? /littlegreenrobot Like us on Facebook and join in our Android community »twitter @lgrobot “My husband’s Samsung Galaxy S2 keeps saying Follow us on Twitter to send that there’s not enough storage space or insuffi cient your thoughts and questions memory whenever we try to download an app. It’s so frustrating because we know there’s plenty of memory on his phone. I’ve tidied up the apps and moved some (those thatcouldbemoved)overto Did you know? his new 32GB SD card.” When you next receive a notifi cation from Shirley McKendry an app and want to stop them, simply hold down your fi nger on the latest one that appears. Then tap App info and Hi Shirley. When you say reluctantly untick the Show notifi cations option in A that you have plenty of suggestafull the next screen. This is the easiest way to quickly stop them. memory available, it reset to see if wouldbeusefultoknow there is a system exactlyhowmuch.TheAndroid issue causing operatingsystemwillrequireat this to happen least10%freetooperatewhichin Provided you some cases could mean that going have the lates below 1GB of free space can cause version of An problems. If this is not the case that is availa and you really do have a lot of runningony space, try going to there should Settings>General>Storage and tap reason for t theCacheddatasectiontodelete happen un thecurrentcache.Also,gotothe phone is ru Phone app and dial *#9900#. On of system thescreenthatappears,tap the above ‘Delete dumpstate/logcat’ and resolve th confirm the action. This will Withafu delete the data files and you should n should see no adverse reaction even if y occurbecauseofthis.Youcan reset, bu now try to download apps again know h and hopefully it will work fine. If if the p youarestillhavingproblemsand after fo thereisalotoffreespace All Android devices require space to run You can dial a number to remove log the operating system in available, we would have to fi les which are often problematic 92

Ask your questions »facebook »email Got a problem with your Android phone or tablet? /littlegreenrobot [email protected] Send it to us and we’ll fi nd the solution Get help from our Send your questions for our team of DroidSupport experts to tackle Facebook community I can’t turn off my screen when it’s charging! “Why does my Galaxy screen turn on and often stay on while it is charging? I have looked everywhere for the settings to change this and cannot fi nd them and it gets quite annoying at night when I am trying to sleep!” Andrew Caves A Hi Andrew. If you are there, you could enable them and usingyourGalaxyina make sure the Stay awake option is normal way, there is no unticked. It sounds bizarre to turn reason for the screen to turn on on the options that can cause the andstayonwhilecharging,butit problem but it is likely to work, so canhappenifaparticular go to Settings>About device and developer option is enabled. If you tap the Build number section until have already set up developer Developer options are turned on. access by tapping the build Also,makesureyouareusingthe number in Settings multiple times, charging cable that came with your There are no standard settings to keep therewillbeanoptionlistedcalled Galaxyandplugitintoawalland the screen on while charging Stay awake. If this is ticked, the notacomputer.Itispossiblethat Galaxy screen will stay on while alertsoractivityonacomputercan turnedoffaswell.Thescreenwill charging,soitisworthgoingto turn on an Android phone screen turn on when charging reaches Settings>General and seeing if when it is not required. Finally, as 100%, but it should turn off very Developeroptionsexist.Now,ifyou a double check go to quickly afterwards so hopefully do not have Developer options Settings>Display>Daydream and one of the above solutions will Developer options let you tweak your enabledandtheproblemisstill make sure that this option is work for you. Android device in unusual ways hints&tips Get more from your Android phone with our handy hints Change Chrome site settings Stop unwanted purchases Music on Android Wear The quickest way to tell Chrome how to You can stop unwanted purchases from In Google’s Play Music app, you can utilise every site you visit is to go to 2 changing the ‘Require authentication for 3 download music to your Android Wear Google Play by going to Settings and Settings in the app and select Site watch automatically. Go to the Play Music ngs. Here you can manage cookies, purchases’ option to All. This means you will settings and tick the ‘Download to Android Script and many other features. enter password for every new purchase. Wear’ option, but be aware of your memory. 93

DroidSupport Did you know? If you don’t use Gmail and want your emails scanned so Google Now can track packages and offer insight from your communications, set up a forward so all your emails are sent to Gmail. It’s in the background so you can still use your email. Why does make sure it is happening truly My entire randomly and not just on certain my music music tracks – we want to avoid iPhone on corruption in the tracks pause themselves. The next thing to Android? check are your headphones, to randomly? rule out the possibility of a Is there an easy way for me to broken connection which is My phone keeps pausing music causing the headphone control transfer every important piece when it is playing, but it happens to send a command to your of data on my iPhone to my new randomly and usually when I am phone. If your phone has motion Galaxy Note? I use most of the carrying it in my hand or in my pocket. or proximity sensors enabled, Google services anyway so Any ideas what could be causing this try turning these off, because it email and calendar entries are becauseitisdrivingmemad! could be that you are covered, but I would like my text Grace Arnold accidentally sending messages, call logs and media instructions to your phone when to be moved over as well. I’m A Hi Grace. This must be you don’t want to and some of notsurethatIcansavemy very annoying but there these will pause the music should be a simple immediately. There really can texts? Jean Drees solution and we’ll talk you be no other reasons attributable Hi Jean. Recently, the big through a few options. First up, tothisproblemandwe’resure A Android phone that one of the b answers You are as responsible as the camera for manufacturers have Hardware is usually the cause of music playback problems focussing correctly realised that it’s important for people to keep their data when particularlyinlowlight,you they upgrade devices and there need to take note of the are various official tools which let focusing square in the centre of you move your information in one the screen. It changes colour as go without spending hours you move the phone and works messing about with individual asagoodindicatorastohow filesandsettings.Ifyouwantto wellfocusedthelensis.Ifit move your iPhone data to a Galaxy turns green you should end up Note,goto bit.ly/18V3A7i to take Ihave with a good quality image but advantage of the Samsung Smart a Galaxy you can also see on the screen Switch software which can be at phone how clear the photo will be. If used to move every piece of data gwiththe you are too close to an object from an iPhone backup to your er how youmayseethecamerafocus new Galaxy Note. The service is nthan perfectly and then go blurred very complete, you will save time ofocus again, which means that you usingitandhopefullyourstepby gets needtostepbackalittleto step will be all you need to ors. Do bring it perfectly into focus. It complete the process for your mera takes patience but with a bit of iPhone to be in your Galaxy Note. rctic our hot hould ry. It is le tha em abut to tr rst to it hing ic. eras, ly uite et en

Share your tips »facebook »twitter »email Got a great tip, or found a /littlegreenrobot @lgrobot [email protected] Like us on Facebook and Follow us on Twitter to Discovered anything good about cool shortcut? Let us know! join our online community send us your tips & tricks your Android phone? Let us know! Imagine Publishing Ltd Richmond House, 33 Richmond Hill Bournemouth, Dorset, BH2 6EZ +44 (0) 1202 586200 Web: www.imagine-publishing.co.uk www.greatdigitalmags.com www.littlegreenrobot.co.uk Magazine team Deputy Editor Jack Parsons [email protected] 01202 586279 Production Editor Siobhan Maguire Staff Writer Jamie Frier Senior Designer Adam Markiewicz Photographer James Sheppard Senior Art Editor Will Shum Editor in Chief Dan Hutchinson Publishing Director Aaron Asadi Head of Design Ross Andrews Contributors Christian Cawley, Oliver Hill, Shaun McGill, Paul O’Brien, 1 Select your transfer mode 2 Make a new connection Harry Slater, Jessica Thornsby Back up your iPhone in iTunes, or to iCloud if You should now connect your phone via USB Advertising Digital or printed media packs are available on request. you prefer, and then go to bit.ly/18V3A7i and select to your PC or Mac. It is quite possible that your Head of Sales Hang Deretz 01202 586442 the type of transfer you want to undertake. There phone will not be seen and if this happens, look for [email protected] are options available for iPhone, Android phones, the Install Driver option at the top. Also if you have Advertising Manager Alex Carnegie 01202 586430 BlackBerry and Symbian devices. Once you have Android File Transfer installed, you may need to [email protected] made your choice, go to the next step. uninstall it to make Samsung Smart Switch work. FileSilo.co.uk Assets and resource filesfor this magazine can be found on this website. Support [email protected] International Android Magazine is available for licensing. Contact the International department to discuss partnership opportunities. 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It’s worth going Printing & Distribution Printed by William Gibbons, 26 Planetary Road, phones connect to the same computer, so make to do something else while this process completes Willenhall, West Midlands, WV13 3XT surethatyouarecarefulwhenmakingyourselection. because it can take many minutes to finish. In our Distributed in the UK, Eire & the Rest of the World by: Marketforce, Blue Fin Building, 110 Southwark Street, London, Youcannowmovetothenextstep. tests, more than ten minutes isn’t unusual. SE1 0SU, 0203 148 3300, www.marketforce.co.uk Distributed in Australia by: Network Services (a division of Bauer Media Group) Level 21 Civic Tower, 66-68 Goulburn Street, Sydney, New South Wales 2000, Australia +61 2 8667 5288 Disclaimer The publisher cannot accept responsibility for any unsolicited material lost or damaged in the post. All text and layout is the copyright of Imagine Publishing Ltd. Nothing in this magazine may be reproduced in whole or part without the written permission of the publisher. All copyrights are recognised and used specifically for the purpose of criticism and review. Although the magazine has endeavoured to ensure all information is correct at time of print, prices and availability may change. This magazine is fully independent and not affiliated in any way with the companies mentioned herein. If you submit material to Imagine Publishing via post, email, social network or any other means, you automatically grant Imagine Publishing an irrevocable, perpetual, royalty-free license to use the material across its entire portfolio, in print, online and digital, and to deliver the material to existing and future clients, including but not limited to international licensees for reproduction in international, licensed editions of Imagine products. Any material you submit is sent at your risk and, although every care is taken, neither Imagine Publishing nor its employees, agents or subcontractors shall be liable for the loss or damage. Android is a trademark of Google Inc. 5 What to move? 6 The transfer is complete © Imagine Publishing Ltd 2015 ISSN 2047-1580 Youcannowchoosewantyouwantto When the transfer has finished, which can transfer to your Android phone. In theory you take some time if a lot of media has been selected, should see all the basics like contacts and you will see a confirmation message detailing calendar entries, plus text messages, call logs and exactly what has been moved. If errors occurred, even alarms. Be aware of space limits before these will also be listed so that you can look at moving music, photos and videos though. alternative ways to complete the transfer. Check our website daily 95 for even more tips & tricks »www.littlegreenrobot.co.uk

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