Apple iOS 7 beta review

Introduction

The last couple of iOS updates were hanging on the wrong side between too little and too late. The user interface is six years old now and while it has been repeatedly polished in every revision so far, it was decidedly starting to look stale. And it's not just a matter of visuals either. iOS 5 brought little to nothing in terms of new features and some would even argue that iOS 6 was actually a step back. It seems though that Apple has found inspiration again and is ready to take the game to the opposition.

The UI that launched on the original iPhone way back in June 2007 has finally been put to rest. Android has stepped up in big strides since Gingerbread to dominate the smartphone game. Meanwhile, Windows Phone keeps bringing new features, and even the conservative BlackBerry broke with the old ways and completely redesigned its platform. It was about time Apple did something different with the iOS.

The iOS 7 is among the largest upgrades the OS has ever been given - not quite the game changer that the iPhone OS 2 and the App Store were, but it certainly took a lot of effort. It not only brings some key new features and a few cool system apps, but it also completely overhauls the user interface and tweaks the right things under the hood.

Key features

• Complete UI overhaul with adaptive colors and system-wide Back swipe gesture
• New system icons and folders, animated icons available
• System-wide parallax effect
• Dynamic wallpapers
• Control Center with toggles, multimedia controls and shortcuts
• Updated Notification Center with three tabs
• All apps multitasking with new card interface
• Updated Safari browser with unified search filed
• iTunes radio
• AirDrop file sharing
• Inclinometer within the Compass app
• Camera filters with live preview and new square mode
• New Photos app with better photo organization, picture editing
• Weather app with live weather animations
• Updated Maps with Night mode and Turn-by-Turn walking directions
• New Siri interface, new supported commands, new voices
• Contact Blacklist
• FaceTime audio
• Activation lock
• Automatic app update
• Cellular data usage breakdown
• Chinese-English, Italian, Korean and Dutch dictionaries
• iOS in the Car coming in 2014 in selected cars

Main disadvantages

• Very iTunes dependent for uploading files and multimedia
• No open file system means you often have to duplicate files
• Limited integration of 3rd party social networks and services
• No widgets
• Air Drop works only between selected iOS 7 or later running devices
• No lockscreen shortcuts (besides those in the Control Center)
• Very basic camera UI with limited features and settings
• Limited codecs support
• iTunes radio only works in the US

The iOS 7 indeed has gone flat, but brings dynamic wallpapers and parallax view to make those flat icons pop to life. Indeed, the parallax effect is one of the few among the newly introduced features that is truly unique to iOS (yes, it is available as an app for Android, but here it's baked right into the OS). There is lots of transparency throughout the iOS, brand-new flat theme, all-new system apps, live icons, and a lot more.

From a functionality perspective, Apple has finally decided to give us connectivity toggles organized within the new Control Center, iTunes radio streaming service, the notification center has been completely redesigned, there is AirDrop for easy sharing between different iOS devices, and even more capable Siri.

Of course, there are still missing features. And while our prayers of an open file system were always likely to remain unanswered, those for better utilization of the lockscreen (with widgets and shortcuts) had a chance. Well, you can't have it all, they say.

The iOS 7 update will be seeded to iPhone 5, 4S and 4; iPad 2, 3, 4 and mini; and iPod Touch 5 generation. But not all features will become available on all devices. We also believe the iOS will be the last upgrade for the iPhone 4 and iPad 2.

To help you quickly identify what you'll be getting on your iPhone, iPad or iPod, we've got a handy table that lets you see everything at a glance.

		Updated Siri	iTunes Radio	AirDrop	Panorama	Square photos	Camera filters	Photo filters
	iPhone 4		•			•		•
	iPhone 4S	•	•		•	•		•
	iPhone 5	•	•	•	•	•	•	•
	iPod touch 5G	•	•	•	•	•	•	•
	iPad 2		•
	iPad 3	•	•			•		•
	iPad 4	•	•	•		•	•	•
	iPad mini	•	•	•		•		•

Enough small talk though, let's get down to it and see what the new iOS is capable of.

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LG G2 hands-on

Introduction

It's been a well documented and, some might say, overly-teased affair but it has come to an end. The LG G2 flagship is upon us here in New York city and it brings a ton of innovation in one of the most compact over-5" bodies out there on the market.

The LG G2 comes with an almost bezel-less 5.2" FullHD display in a body not much bigger than the one on the Galaxy S4. It gets even more interesting when we get to the camera. It's a 13 MP unit and it offers optical image stabilization in order to minimize blur and allow higher shooting speeds under unfavorable light.

The LG G2 comes to tackle the competition, especially devices like the Samsung Galaxy S4 and HTC One with a larger screen, more potent chipset, superior camera (on paper), bigger battery, etc.

Take a look at what the LG G2 has to offer.

LG G2 at a glance

• General: Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE, quad-band UMTS/HSPA, penta-band LTE support, LTE-Advanced
• Form factor: Touchscreen bar phone
• Dimensions: 138.5 x 70.9 x 8.9 mm, 143 g
• Display: 5.2" 16M-color 1080p (1920 x 1080 pixels) power efficient capacitive touchscreen IPS LCD with Gorilla Glass 3 and ~424 ppi and 450 nit brightness, extremely narrow bezels (2.65 mm)
• CPU: Quad-core 2.3 GHz Krait 400
• GPU: Adreno 330
• Chipset: Snapdragon 800 chipset
• RAM: 2GB
• OS: Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean
• Memory: 16/32GB storage, microSD card slot (region-specific availability of the slot)
• Cameras: Primary 13 MP auto-focus optically-stabilized camera, 8X digital zoom, face detection, HDR mode, panorama, geo-tagging; Full HD (1080p) video recording at 60fps, Secondary 2.1 MP front-facing camera with FullHD video capture
• Connectivity: Dual-band Wi-Fi a/b/g/n/ac, Wi-Fi hotspot, Bluetooth 4.0 LE, standard microUSB port with MHL and USB host, GPS receiver with A-GPS, GLONASS, 3.5mm audio jack, NFC, wireless screen sharing (Miracast protocol)
• Misc: Camera has sapphire glass cover, customizable system key (can assign different functions to back, home, menu buttons); tap twice on the screen to turn it on and off
• Battery capacity: 3,000mAh Li-Po unit (2,610mAh in some markets)

LG purposefully teased the LG G2 relentlessly over the past couple of weeks and it managed to build up the hype, leading to today's event but this move also obliterated any mystery that could have surrounded the just announced flagship.

   
LG G2 live photos

It's clear that LG will be going for the crown with the LG G2. It waited enough so it can release it as an unmatched contender in regards to its size to power ratio and seems to have put a lot of effort into differentiating it. There are a lot of software tweaks to explore and we're very eager to check the camera on board the G2.

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Sony Xperia Z Ultra review

Introduction

With the Xperia Z Ultra, Sony is finally turning its attention towards a market segment it has avoided so far. The market headstart of their flagship Xperia Z along with the subsequent releases in the upper midrange has set quite a serious foundation for Sony's mobile phone business creating an excellent possibility for experimenting in a niche that has been invented and so far dominated by Samsung's Note series.

    
Sony Xperia Z Ultra official images

Of course, a 6.4" phablet stands little chance of matching the sales of a proper flagship such as the Xperia Z, but it's all about sending a message. And the message is loud and clear: "Be my guest, Galaxy Note III". There's more to it of course - it's about the company's level of confidence to venture into unknown territories. Indeed, it's not every day that we see a device that not only dwarfs the Samsung Galaxy Mega 6.3, but is getting ready to challenge the Note III. It takes courage to stand up to the standard-setter but, at least on paper, the Xperia Z Ultra has the looks and the powerful hardware to pull it off.

Before we proceed any further, here's the cheat sheet for this review.

key features

• Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE support; 3G with 42Mbps HSPA; 150Mbps LTE
• 6.4" 16M-color 1080p capacitive touchscreen Triluminos display (344ppi pixel density); X-Reality engine
• Android OS v4.2.2 Jelly Bean with custom UI
• Quad-core 2.2 GHz Krait 400 CPU, 2 GB RAM, Adreno 330 GPU; Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 chipset
• 8 MP autofocus camera with geo-tagging, HDR
• 1080p video recording @ 30fps, continuous autofocus and stereo sound
• 2 MP front-facing camera, 1080p video recording
• IP 58 certification - dust resistant and water resistant
• Wi-Fi a/b/g/n/ac, Wi-Fi Direct and DLNA; Wireless TV out
• GPS with A-GPS, GLONASS
• 16GB of built-in storage; microSD card slot
• MHL-enabled microUSB port
• Bluetooth v4.0
• NFC
• Standard 3.5 mm audio jack
• Accelerometer and proximity sensor
• Active noise cancellation with dedicated mic
• Gorgeous design and impressively slim waistline
• Ample 3050 mAh battery

Main disadvantage

• Unwieldy size for a phone
• Non user-replaceable battery
• No camera flash or camera shutter key
• Below average loudspeaker performance (probably due to the increased water tightness)
• No proper video playback decoders (XviD, DivX) out of the box

The Sony Xperia Z Ultra is one beast of a smartphone (although at this size it already steps on tablet territory). The Snapdragon 800 chipset brings a meaningful performance improvement over an already very snappy Snapdragon 600, while the screen packs all the latest technology Sony has its hands on. The Triluminos display of 1080p resolution promises to solve the long-standing viewing angle issues in Sony's lineup, while the X-Reality enhancements means punchy colors and impressive contrast.

   
Sony Xperia Z Ultra at ours

With the screen and chipset bagging two industry firsts for the Sony Xperia Z Ultra, you'll forgive us for being overly enthusiastic at the start of this review. There's quite a lot to test still and we are itching to see Sony's latest brave our review routine. We start with the design and build right after the break, followed by a closer look at the display before we treat you to a lengthy tour of the UI.

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Samsung hands-ons

Introduction

Samsung UNPACKED 2013 Episode II event in Berlin brought us three new Galaxy devices, just as expected. The Galaxy Note 3 phablet is definitely the most eagerly anticipated one among mobile phone fans, but Samsung has also refreshed the Galaxy Note 10.1 slate and brought us the brand new Galaxy Gear smartwatch.

Samsung Galaxy Note 3 is the successor to the world's most famous phablet - the Galaxy Note II. It has been rumored for quite some time and as usual, most of those rumors turned out to be the truthful. The Note 3 brings a huge 5.7" Super AMOLED 1080p display, runs on world's most powerful chipset to date - the Snapdragon 800, and offers a new 13MP camera capable of 4K video recording.

The S-Pen is what actually makes the Note lineup so special, and Samsung has surely provided the Note 3 with even more S-Pen compatible apps, handwriting-recognition features and drawing tools.

There is also one more thing different about the new Note - it arguably looks better than ever (if though not everybody here at the office agrees). Samsung has its entire back to look like leather and the Note 3 looks just amazing.

Speaking of the leather back, the Note 10.1 2014 has received the same treatment and it looks gorgeaous as well with the white version being our favorite.

Samsung has decided to take after Apple's naming convention and chose not to rename the new Galaxy Note 10.1 slate any further. It is going to be known just as 2014 edition, but will keep away any additional numeration from the name. That’s sad as lately, the confusing iPad naming scheme as of late is the only thing no other manufacturer should try to copy.

The new Galaxy Note 10.1 comes with 10.1-inch WQXGA (2560x1600px) SuperClear LCD display and also runs on the snappy Snapdragon 800 chipset. Android 4.3 Jelly Bean as in charge of things, while the S-Pen functionality has been greatly improved, too.

Finally, it seems everyone will be soon or later joining the smart watch party. Samsung has announced the Galaxy Gear smartwatch. The gadget runs on a custom-built 800MHz processor and is intended to be a companion to the Galaxy smartphones and phablets, not a separate Android device. Mind you, it will only operate with certain high-end models and some would need to be updated in order to be compatible, such as the Galaxy S4, for instance.

Well, we've spent some quality time with all three gadgets and we are ready to tell you all about them. Our exclusive tour starts right after the jump.

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LG G Pad 8.3 hands-on

Introduction

LG jumped the gun a little bit announcing the LG G Pad 8.3 before IFA started, but now the company is giving it a proper introduction. The 8.3" tablet has been designed specifically to fit snugly in hands and pockets rather than for raw screen size.

   
   
LG put a lot of thought in designing the G Pad 8.3

That said, LG has managed to fit a fairly large screen considering the tablet doesn't feel big in our hands. The aluminum unibody design is a definite plus too, along with the expandable storage and the pair of stereo speakers.

LG G Pad 8.3 at a glance

• Form factor: 8.3" tablet with aluminum unibody
• Dimensions: 216.8 x 126.5 x 8.3mm
• Screen: 8.3" 1,920 x 1,200, 273ppi
• Chipset: Snapdragon 600, quad-core Krait 300 at 1.7GHz, Adreno 320, 2GB RAM
• OS: Android 4.2.2
• Camera: 5MP back camera, 1.2MP front-facing camera
• Video camera: 1080p recording for the main camera, 720p for the front camera
• Battery: 4,600mAh
• Storage: 16GB built-in; expandable via microSD card slot
• Misc: stereo speakers on the back

The screen is sharp and with great colors and LG has prepared some proprietary goodies - the KnockON from the LG G2 (wake the device with a tap rather than the power button), but also three-finger swipe to quickly switch between apps and, our favorite, QPair.

    
LG G Pad 8.3

QPair connects the G Pad to your Android smartphone ala BlackBerry Bridge on their Playbook - any Android smartphone (Jelly Bean recommended). It will display messages from the phone on the tablet and let you reply to them, even move browser tabs between the phone and tablet. What we liked best is that LG didn't get territorial and didn't make QPair an LG-exclusive feature.

Jump over to the next page for our thoughts on the hardware, a video demo of QPair and even a few benchmarks and camera samples.

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