Samsung Gear S review

The dream of a fully standalone wrist gadget that can make phone calls, stay connected and even help you be sounds good, at least on paper. To own a smartwatch usually means having it be perma-paired to a phone in your pocket: it ends up being, largely, a phone accessory. That's starting to change. A few bold watches are trying to break away and be their own devices, with their own phone service to boot.

The Samsung Gear S is one of those. This is Samsung's sixth smartwatch in a little over a year, but it has one big difference: it gets its own cell service and data. It even has its own SIM-card slot. It's a watch that's also a phone.

Someday soon, smartwatches might be devices that work totally on their own, no phone necessary: as a connected Web browser, a music player, a fitness device. But the Samsung Gear S is not exactly that magic watch. Yes, it can do a surprising number of things. But it still needs a Samsung phone to make most features work. It runs Samsung's limited Tizen software and dedicated Gear apps, closing it off from the richer ecosystem of Google's Android Wear. And it requires a connected data plan to even use it as a cellular device.

SAMSUNG GEAR S

For some of my time with the Gear S, I paired it with a Samsung phone. But for most of the time, I tried using it on its own, as a true independent smartwatch. Well, I should say "independent," because if you're going to use a Gear S, you're still best off bringing a phone along.

The Gear S has its own speakers and microphone. It vibrates when you get messages or an alarm goes off. It's studded with sensors: accelerometer, gyroscope and compass, optical heart rate, ambient light for screen brightness, UV and barometer. It has Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.1 and 3G cellular. It's got 4GB of storage, 512MB of RAM and a dual-core processor. And it weighs 66 grams (2.3 ounces). But its display is the most impressive part...and, to some degree, the most alienating.The rubbery-plastic sport-type band it comes with can pop out around the Gear S central unit and be replaced with another band accessory. It snaps on like previous Gear watches: an adjustable watch band with a clip, it sizes and fits easily.The watch is IP67-rated water-resistant, which means you can get it wet, but you're not meant to shower or swim with it. It's about the same story as Samsung's previous Gear watches.

The Gear S has a 2-inch 480x360-pixel AMOLED display, a bigger screen and a larger pixel count than other Android Wear smartwatches and previous Samsung Gears. It's longer, almost feeling like a mini-phone in portrait mode.

You need to pay for a phone/data package to use the Gear S standalone features, but they are fun to play with. The Gear S packs Bluetooth 4.0, 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi and multiband cellular: 3G, but not 4G LTE. You can keep the Gear S perpetually paired with your Samsung phone and use it as a connected accessory, like Android Wear, or you can completely decouple and use the Gear S with nothing else at all.

Sony Xperia Z2

The Sony Xperia Z2 is the latest flagship super-phone from Sony, replacing the Xperia Z1 released last year. The new phone keeps the same aluminium-edged design, sexy glass front and back, Full HD display, quad-core processor and impressive 20.7-megapixel camera. Like its predecessor, it's completely waterproof.

You might wonder, then, exactly what is new on the Z2?

Well, it has a slightly larger 5.2-inch display, a slimmer bezel around the edge, a marginally faster 2.3GHz Qualcomm processor, the latest Android 4.4.2 KitKat software and a camera capable of capturing 4K video. Although those are only marginal upgrades, the Z1 was already a smashing piece of kit, and it might be slightly too soon for a full overhaul, given that it was only released in September last year.

It's available to preorder in the UK and wider Europe now for an eye-watering price of £600 (€700). The company is yet to confirm if it will ever get a US release, but I wouldn't get your hopes up -- the Z1 never got a proper release in the States, and the Z1S was announced at CES earlier this year as a US variant of the older phone. It's listed as "coming soon" on Sony's Asia site (with no pricing given), but there's no sign of it yet for Australia.

The Z2's glass panels do make it rather more susceptible to scratches from keys in your pocket, so if you want to keep it looking pristine -- which I imagine you will, given how much you've paid for it -- you should pop it in a case. Like its siblings, the Z2 is completely waterproof, but the waterproof rating has been slightly increased. It's IP55 and IP58 rated which basically means you can completely submerse it in up to 1.5 metres of water for up to 30 minutes at a time.

The 5.2-inch display packs the same 1,920x1,080-pixel resolution as the previous Z1. As the Z2 is marginally bigger, the screen has a slightly lower pixel density -- 423 pixels per inch against the Z1's 440 -- as the same number of pixels are being stretched over a larger area. In reality though, it's not a difference you're ever likely to notice.

The Z2 arrives running the latest version of Google's mobile operating system, Android 4.4.2 KitKat. You'd be right to expect the latest version of software on new launches, but Sony does have a habit of using older Android iterations -- the Z1 Compact launched only recently with the ageing Jelly Bean -- so it's refreshing to find the latest software on board as standard.

Around the back of the phone is the same 20.7-megapixel camera you'll find on both the Z1 and the Z1 Compact. It's an impressive amount of megapixels, but it doesn't necessarily guarantee better pictures. 

The Z2 has a trick up its sleeve in the form of 4K video capture -- that's considerably more than the resolution previously available. I put it against the S5, which can also shoot 4K, and watched the footage back on a 65-inch Panasonic 4K TV.

Google launched its Android One initiative in New Delhi, India.

Android One, one Android

While Android has a dominant grasp of the market, one knock competitors like Apple always mention is that the software's ecosystem is fragmented. Because it's an open platform, meaning anyone can use and adapt it, hardware partners like Samsung have modified it to fit their needs, leaving users and software developers to wade through Android's many iterations.

But the very name Android One -- and Google's rule that hardware partners run stock Android -- seems to suggest the company wants to home in on a more consistent experience. Onstage at I/O, Pichai emphasized that all the software on Android One comes from Google.

GOOGLE LAUNCHED ANDROID ONE IN NEW DELHI TODAY

"Google has been quietly clamping down on OEMs [or hardware manufacturers] from making things too custom," said Melissa Chau, an analyst at IDC, who covers the smartphone market in Asia.Google's main play here, though, is reeling in manufacturers who are using Android, but are not certified for Google Mobile Services, or Google apps like Maps or Search, said Chau. "They want to make sure, if you're buying a $100 phone, you're actually using Google services," she said. "They're trying to clean out all that super fragmented stuff."

The company has also been aiming toward more uniformity with other Android projects. For Android Wear -- a modified version of the operating system tailor-made for wearable devices like smartwatches -- software updates come more directly from Google, instead of first having to be tested by carriers. That's because smartwatches typically must be connected to smartphones, so carriers are not involved. (Though an exception is Samsung's Gear S watch, which has a built-in modem.)

Comparison: Apple Watch, Moto 360 And Samsung Gear S

2014 is the year of the smartwatch. First, Samsung debuted its Gear devices, then LG and Motorola open their cards on with their Android Wear wearables, and now that Apple has joined the LEAGUE.
So to make easier to you .We hereby present the comparison between Apple Watch, Moto 360 and Samsung Gear S. 

SPECS	MOTO 360	SAMSUNG GEAR S	APPLE WATCH
Compatible with	Android	Android	iOS
Shape	Round	Square	Rounded square
Material	Stainless steel	Plastic	Steel, Aluminum, or 18K Gold
Default strap	Leather	Rubber	Varies by model
Connectivity	Bluetooth 4.0 LE	Bluetooth 4.1 LE, 3G, and Wi-Fi	Bluetooth 4.0 LE
Water resistance	IP67 (30 minutes, 3 feet)	IP67 (30 minutes, 3 feet)	Yes, details TBA
Extras	Pedometer, heart-rate monitor	3G, Wi-Fi, heart-rate monitor	Heart-rate monitor, accelerometer, remote camera
Colors	Black, silver	Black, white	Stainless steel silver, yellow gold, rose gold, black, grey, and aluminim silver
Price	$250	N/A	Starts at $350

MOTO 360

APPLE WATCH

SAMSUNG GEAR S

HTC IS COMING WITH SMART WATCH NEXT YEAR.

Like LG, Motorola, and Samsung for one of its smartwatches, HTC would base its device on Android Wear, Google's platform for wearable devices. But the company will likely use an altered version of Android Wear that would include different elements and features.
A similar opportunity could arise for HTC on the wearables side. The company also has to solve a few common complaints about smartwatches, including the bulkiness of the devices and the battery life. While Apple offers a design that is slightly slimmer than the competition (it is still a fairly thick watch), the company was mum on battery life on Tuesday.

AFTER MOTO, APPLE AND SAMSUNG HTC IS COMING WITH ANDROID WEAR NEXT YEAR

HTC could use the spark. Once hailed a pioneer in Android -- having built the original Android smartphone in the G1 -- the company has seen its market share evaporate as larger companies such as Samsung muscled it out of the premium smartphone game. Despite winning rave reviews for its metallic body, the HTC One M8 hasn't made a huge dent in the market.

The early 2015 time frame does represent a delay from HTC's previous target of putting out a smartwatch in time for the holidays this year, which Chairwoman Cher Wang laid out in an interview in February.

With the market likely frozen until Apple offers its watch for sale early next year, HTC has a little extra time.

Moto 360 smartwatch First Impression

The much awaited Android Wear-powered 'timepiece' is finally here and we were among the few to play with it.

Is the Moto 360 the best smartwatch among the current crop? It's difficult to answer that without spending a few days with it but it did make an impression during the few minutes we were able to get our hands on it.

MOTO 360

The first thing that comes to your mind when you see the Moto 360 is that it looks like a real watch. Unlike some of the other smartwatches that we've used, it doesn't look like a miniature wrist smartphone. This is essentially where the Moto 360 leaves the others behind.
                                
While it's not in the league of jewel-adorned, crafted Swiss timepieces, the Moto 360 looks stunning thanks to the stainless steel case and Horween leather strap. The watch is water resistant (IP67) which means it can handle occasional spills and splashes. 
But does it also look good on the wrist? Not quite. The Moto 360 looks oversized, especially on petite wrists. The big dial is overbearing and looks a little odd compared to conventional wrist watches. It is also pretty thick at 11.5mm and heavy at 49gram. The watch has a single crown-like hardware button that brings up the system menu. 

Moto 360 sports a 1.56-inch backlit LCD display with 320x290p screen resolution. The display has Corning Gorilla Glass 3 for protection against scratches. It offers excellent viewing angles and brightness levels, despite being slightly reflective. The different watch-faces come to life, making it look like a real watch.

The one oddity that remains is the black strip at the bottom that prevents the display from being truly circular. It looks awkward at first but you tend to forget about it as you start using the watch.


The Moto 360 is powered by a Texas Instruments OMAP 3 processor and 512MB RAM. It runs Google's Android Wear operating system and has to be connected with smartphones running Android 4.3 or higher via Bluetooth LE. You can access the menu and navigate through the different apps and functions through the touch display or make use of voice commands (the watch has two microphones).

The "Ok Google" command can help you give instructions to the watch to send text messages, set a reminder, check the weather, track your heart rate, open an app control music or ask for directions. The demo unit at the launch venue did not really respond to the commands due to excessive ambient noise and poor internet connectivity. Voice commands work for offline features work even if the watch is not connected to the internet.
Motorola has got a lot of things right with the Moto 360 but we'd want our smartwatch to last longer than just a day. The watch costs $249.99 (Rs 15,000 approximately) in the US and is slated to arrive in India, later this month. We'll have a full review up when we get a chance to use the watch for a few days.

The first round Android Wear: MOTO 360

The Moto 360 -- which holds the distinction of being the first circular Android Wear timepiece -- is available in the US starting September 5 for $250. It will come to other parts of the world later this year (local pricing has yet to be determined).

MOTO 360

It's been a long time coming. Despite its end of summer launch window, the Moto's curved stylings were enough to overshadow the first pair of Android Wear watches, the squared off, uninspired, cheap-looking LG G Watch and Samsung Gear Live. In the meantime, though, a second wave of Android Wear watches has already begun jockeying for attention (and disposable income).

DIFFERENT DIALS OF MOTO 360

But those new models are still over the horizon. The 360 is here now. But was it worth the wait?

I finally have one on my wrist, and have had a chance to start playing around with it. It's definitely an eye-catcher, but not entirely as exciting as it once was on paper.

FEATURES 

The Moto 360 is the first round Android Wear smartwatch. Others will come, including the LG G Watch R, but this is the first you can buy. At $250 in the US (it'll arrive in other countries later this year), it's $30 more than the original LG G Watch, and $50 more than the Samsung Gear Live.

It has a look that definitely feels premium: everything about the Moto 360 looks clean and well-made: polished steel, a thin watchband that tucks underneath, and a beautiful set of specially-designed software watch faces.

The Moto 360 has a few hardware features that could set it apart besides design: it has inductive charging, which works without any dongle. Yes, you still need the included charging dock to drop the watch into, which still saddles you with an accessory. Still, it's a lot nicer than most clip-on charging accessories.

There's also an optical heart rate monitor on the watch's backside, like Samsung's smartwatches have. Motorola's is differently engineered, and also has different software: a beautiful round dial shows not only your heart rate, but your activity intensity, estimated by heart rate. The app will track how many targeted active minutes a day that you exercise, with a goal of 30 moderate activity minutes five days a week.

The Moto 360 leans heavily on voice commands, like all Android Wear watches, but Motorola promises an extra dash of natural language processing and noise-cancelling microphone excellence on the Moto 360. The Moto 360 understands what I say, but in noisy places it might have an edge on the competition.

SIZE

The Moto 360's 1.56-inch-diameter round display is big, bold, and feels a lot larger than a square display. It has a 320x290 resolution, effectively, at 205ppi. Actually, it's not fully round: there's a bit of a black bar on the bottom, perhaps a consequence of Motorola going for such a thin bezel that a custom round display needed to be crafted. That bit of black ruins the effect a bit, and mars the look of Motorola's pre-installed beautiful round watch faces. In a way, it shatters some of the illusion that the watch is trying to create when it's in watch mode. It's a shame, because every other part of the Moto 360's screen, and its really thin bezel, is really impressive to behold.

WALKING DEAD SEASON 1 GAME IS AVAILABLE ON GOOGLE PLAY STORE

If you are on a look out for some new, interesting games for your Android device, we suggest you go through this list. You surely will fine a game (or two) that is new, different and worth a try for free.

1) The Walking Dead: Season One

Game description as per developer:The Walking Dead is a five-part game series (Episode 2-5 can be purchased via in-app) set in the same universe as Robert Kirkman’s award-winning series. Play as Lee Everett, a convicted criminal, who has been given a second chance at life in a world devastated by the undead. With corpses returning to life and survivors stopping at nothing to maintain their own safety, protecting an orphaned girl named Clementine may offer him redemption in a world gone to hell. Experience events, meet people and visit locations that foreshadow the story of Deputy Sheriff Rick Grimes. A tailored game experience – actions, choices and decisions you make will affect how your story plays out across the entire series.

Download The Walking Dead: Season from here.

2) Clumsy Ninja

Game description as per developer:
Meet Clumsy Ninja, the most hapless ninja ever to grace a touchscreen! Train him, throw him, tickle him, and even tie balloons to him. Everything you do will make Clumsy Ninja more skillful, and help him find his missing friend Kira. Clumsy Ninja is the next generation of interactive characters! He can sense, feel, move, and react uniquely every time. Prepare to be amazed…oh, and please take good care of him! Train your ninja to learn new tricks and super-special Ninja Moves! Impress his Sensei and earn new Ninja Belts on your way to find Kira, or just have fun with over 70 unique interactive items, including trampolines, punch bags, ball guns, a chicken and… a squirrel!

Download Clumsy Ninja from here.

3) FarmVille 2: Country Escape

Game description as per developer:Out of Facebook, straight onto your Android device. A new mobile-optimized FarmVille experience is now available! It’s FarmVille tailored for you and the way you want to play. Best of all, it’s free! Farm at your own pace, whether you have 30 seconds or 30 minutes. Play with friends or on your own in our new Anonymous Mode: Facebook not required. You can also play when not connected to the internet. Join a Farm Co-Op to trade and share, and go on Farm Adventures to collect rare goods. Now, you can finally play FarmVille anytime… anywhere.

Download FarmVille 2: Country Escape from here.

Top 8 affordable Quad-Core tablets compared

The defining benchmark of a Post PC era is that tablets are becoming hugely popular and are giving a stiff competition to laptops and ultrabooks. And why not? They are much more portable and offer almost all the features and capabilities one can get on a laptop. Most modern-day tablets are easily as powerful (if not more) as two-three year old laptops.

The ‘slate’ has been prevalent for quite a few years but the modern age tablet gained popularity and traction in the year 2010. In our opinion, the credit goes to Apple for shaping the tablet market when it released the first iPad in 2010 and pushed tablet segment into the mainstream consumer market. The company also brought in capacitive touchscreens to the tablet category which meant that users could just tap away with their fingers without having to rely on a stylus pen. A number of manufacturers followed Apple’s move and today every hardware-based technology company operating in the consumer space has a tablet to offer.

SAMSUNG GALAXY 10.1"

According to the International Data Corp. (IDC) the year 2013 saw a rise of 50.6% in tablet sales with the worldwide tablet shipments totalling to 217.1 million, an increase from 144.2 million in 2012. For the Indian market, researchers have predicted that the period of 2013- 2014 will see a boost of 50% in the sales on tablets. These numbers are actually huge and are a big threat for laptop makers as the tablet has been marginalizing PCs and laptops for quite some time.

A large chunk of the total number of tablets in the market is occupied by Android as it has become the dominating platform in the mobile device industry purely by number of devices adopting it. Apart from Android one can even get their hands on a Windows 8.1 running tablet under a budget of `25,000 which provides the Modern UI, as well as proper desktop mode just like a PC. Today, manufacturers like Apple and Samsung offer tablets in a premium range but a large portion of consumers in the Indian market opt for more affordable tablets to fit their budgets.

While we are on the subject, the budget category of tablets has widened a lot and with Indian brands bringing in a mix of their own products, there has been an increase in variety as well. If we look back to 2013, getting your hands on a powerful tablet meant shelling out a lot of money. But times have changed and one can easily get a tablet running on a quad-core processor with plenty of features under a budget of Rs 20,000 without breaking a sweat.

For this shootout we have picked tablets from well-known companies and also some indigenous brands which provide some competitive features. The focus here is on tablets selling around `25,000 which attracts the majority of the consumers. We have included eight Android tablets namely the Dell Venue 7 and Venue 8, iBerry Auxus CoreX8, iBall Slide 3G Q1035, Micromax Canvas Tab, Google Nexus 7 (2013), MTV Slash 4X and Simmtronics XPad Turbo. We have also included two Windows 8.1 tablets one from Dell and one from Acer.

THE PLATFORMS

Android had stepped into the tablet game by releasing a different version altogether (3.0 Honeycomb) which was specifically designed for tablets. It did not gain a lot of popularity back then, so Google scrapped it off and made a unified version (4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich) that would run both on smartphones and tablets. Today the platform is on the verge of becoming the most selling tablet operating system and the numbers are just going stronger by the day. Almost all of the Android tablets that we have tested run on Android 4.2 and the only tablet with the latest KitKat update was the Nexus 7.

Hopefully manufacturers will be announcing some new tablet this year with Google’s latest 4.4.2 update. With almost 2 million apps available on the Google Play store, Android tablets are poised to take over the industry. When Microsoft had announced that Windows 8 will feature an app ecosystem on top of the traditional desktop layout, it seemed logical that the OS would be ported to tablet devices. The good part is that one can get a full-fledged desktop/laptop experience but the bad part is that using its touchscreen on the desktop mode is a real pain. The tiled UI is similar to what we have seen on Windows Phone devices and the apps work in a similar fashion. With the app development steadily going stronger, Windows 8.1 tablets could soon gain a decent market share.