2013-10-26



Is the Lumia 1520 just a glorified hand warmer?



Cold hands? No worries, here’s a new Nokia

What do I think of the Nokia Lumia 1520? Well quite frankly I think it’s pointless, it’s nothing more than a glorified hand warmer. But it’s OK, because Nokia will back me up wholeheartedly here.

Let’s travel back almost two years, to January 2012. We were in a whirlwind of excess at CES in Las Vegas and it appeared Sin City was bringing the best out of Nokia boss Stephen Elop as he laid into quad-core handsets. Continue reading…

7 things you’ll love about the iPad Air



The best new bits of Apple’s highest-end iPad

The new iPad isn’t cheaper, and there are no barnstorming new features – so for example the TouchID fingerprint scanner hasn’t made its way across from the iPhone 5S – and of course rivals are catching up.

Is the iPad Air good enough to stay ahead of the competition? Here are the key differences between the new iPad Air and the outgoing iPad 4. Continue reading…

7 things you’ll hate about the iPad Air

The features that will gladden the hearts of rival manufacturers

You can’t change the world every time, but for many people the fifth generation iPad, the iPad Air, came accompanied by a whiff of disappointment.

Part of that was no doubt due to the terribly poor launch event, which had us watching from behind our hands for long stretches as Apple’s execs traded painful banter – but a much bigger part of it is that the iPad Air appears to lack the wow factor. Here are seven reasons why you might be annoyed by the iPad Air. Continue reading…

10 things you didn’t know your smartphone could do

Supercharge your phone in ten easy steps

Smartphones are great, they’re basically a computer in your pocket packed full of features to make your life easier. But some of those features are less obvious than others, so to help you get the most out of your phone here are 10 things that you might not have known it could do. Continue reading…

20 OS X Mavericks tips and tricks

Surf the new wave of Mac OS features with our awesome breakdown

The tenth major release of OS X – Mavericks – proves beyond doubt that Apple refuses to rest on its laurels, even if it is all out of cats. This iteration looks to improve your Mac’s battery life, introduces Finder enhancements, and continues the trend of iCloud and iOS integration. These tips are guaranteed to help you get the most out of your Mavericks Mac. Continue reading…

11 ways Apple and Google can save the smartwatch

Because it’s not smart enough… yet

The offerings so far haven’t blown us away. But Apple’s (probably) got one in the works and we’re pretty sure we’re about to see Google drop its own. We reckon they could be about to send the smartwatch into the big time and we’ve got eleven handy suggestions to help them out. Continue reading…

How the Z30 could save BlackBerry

The brand’s not dead yet, here’s why…

If you haven’t heard, BlackBerry is in a spot of bother. Massive delays to BlackBerry 10 and a muted response to its last batch of handsets have meant that many have fallen out of favor with the company. But while fighting out against the HTC One, Samsung Galaxy S4 and the iPhone 5S is going to prove difficult, we reckon the Z30 could be BlackBerry’s saviour, and be a precursor for things to come. Continue reading…

This week’s hottest reviews…

Mac OS X 10.9 Mavericks

Apple’s newest OS is good news for power users

The tenth major revision of OS X, Mavericks, marks an attempt at a fresh start. It introduces new features that are aimed at professionals, updates major interface components, it overhauls the system’s branding. Big cats are out, and California locations are in (Mavericks being a surfing hotspot). Oh yeah, and it’s available as a free download!

While there’s nothing transformative here, nor is there anything that will make OS X a drastically unfamiliar experience, and that’s a good thing when it comes to the lifeblood of your desktop.

What we have instead are a number of refinements that will make your Mac for the most part easier to use and nicer to look at. Mac OS X Mavericks review

Samsung UE55F9000

Samsung’s first ‘affordable’ Ultra HD TV blazes into town

Samsung’s UE55F9000 is another simply spectacular UHD/4K screen that also happens to bring the high-resolution technology in at more manageable price and size levels than any previous UHD model.

Its slender design delivers an attractive alternative to the bigger look of Sony’s 4K TVs, and its Smart TV service is unmatched in terms of the video streaming content on offer.

The UE55F9000 isn’t necessarily better than Sony’s X9005A 4K models, but it’s certainly just as good, simply offering a surprisingly different approach to the undoubted joys of UHD. Samsung UE55F9000 review

Apple iPad Air

Apple’s flagship tablet is thinner, lighter and has a new name

It’s hard to put into words how much Apple has improved the iPad, offering a stunning level of detail and power with a build quality that’s unrivalled. But the reduction in thickness, and especially weight could well ensure that the iPad Air is the finest tablet on the market.

It will always have its detractors, but in the tablet market at least Apple is making no compromises – it’s level on price for the most part, and if it had a microSD card slot, then the critics would probably have nothing to say at all. Hands on: Apple iPad Air review

Apple iPad mini 2

A big step for Apple’s next generation of mini tablet

The original iPad mini blew us away, but we were also clear on the improvements we wanted to see, and Apple has taken steps to make the iPad mini 2 with Retina even more attractive.

Faster, prettier and more featured, the new iPad mini is everything we hoped it would be. Although there was nothing that we didn’t expect, it should be noted that this is a tablet that ticks every box. Hands on: Apple iPad mini 2 review

Canon EOS 70D

It’s got a new sensor and a touchscreen and it’s awesome!

The announcement of any Canon DSLR usually creates a lot of excitement, but when that camera launches a new sensor with a new pixel count (for the manufacturer) and is aimed at enthusiast photographers, it ups the ante considerably. So naturally there’s been quite a buzz surrounding the new Canon EOS 70D, which has a 20.2 million-pixel CMOS sensor coupled with a Digic 5 processor. Canon EOS 70D review

Panasonic DMP-BDT230

Awesome 2D, 3D and upscaling Blu-ray player in a quirky yet speedy interface

In the furore about whether streaming is taking over from optical discs, Panasonic’s mid-range Blu-ray player makes a strong case for the survival of hard media. Panasonic DMP-BDT230 review

Medion Erazer X7825

This laptop’s got the gaming grunt but does it have all-round portable prowess?

It’s a tricky situation when a laptop does well at its primary purpose but fails horribly elsewhere. Most of the time, storage performance isn’t going to have much impact on your gaming experience, though when it does you’ll be very annoyed. Medion Erazer X7825 review

Mio MiVue 388 Drive Recorder

Your last line of on-road defence!

There’s a war out there on Britain’s roads and it’s becoming a case of every man for himself. OK, that’s just a teensy bit hyperbolic. But the Mio MiVue 388 drive recorder might just make a difference to your long-term survival – as a fully licenced driver, at least. Mio MiVue 388 review

This week’s best videos…

HTC One Max review…

YouTube : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tmaiP0LD4IU

iPad Air: Hands on…

YouTube : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YkugIR2Ra5s

iPad mini 2: Hands on…

YouTube : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tnDClKRPxa8

    

TechRadar: World of tech

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