Gadgets

This year has brought a sudden surge of innovativeness and risk taking attitude toe the smartphone industry which was sorely missed last couple of years. Samsung took the stage with its refreshing take on the Galaxy S series with Galaxy S8after the debacle of the Note 7. On other hand Apple did the impossible and came up with an iPhone which simply takes every breath away with it bezel less wonder (with unfortunate top notch). Google isn’t far away from the party as it brought a new refined Google Pixel 2 which has more software based optimization making it the best of Android experience on any given smartphone.  Here is a through comparison which will aid in making an formed buying decision.Design Factor

All three models feature the bezels or edge to edge display in different manners but none of them are pioneer of it. The best thing about this display is that we get the same phone but with a large display without any increase in their overall form factor thereby making them easier to hold in hand than other options from the earlier days. iPhone X is quite larger when compared to the iPhone 8 and it is bit awkward to use while Samsung S8 slides into the hand perfectly without any issue. When it comes it comes to daily usage, ergonomics and utility Samsung S8 is the prime candidate while iPhone X comes next but Google Pixel 2XL is simply too large and bold than any other smartphone.

Biometrics/Security

All three of these smartphones has tried to boost the security on the mobile with more refined and new age bio metrics presence. Apple simply takes the lead with its Face ID which is its exclusive selling point. This facial recognition system can be easily used to unlock the phone without the need of entering passwords and it also saw the demise of the fingerprint ID on the Apple iPhone. This facial recognition is good, accurate and smart but it also fails to get the job done in the low light condition or you go through a makeover like growing a beard or simply shaving it off.

Samsung brought a whole arsenal of biometric security feature on the Galaxy S8 with facial recognition, fingerprint detection ad iris scanning onto the smartphone. However the most reliable option on this smartphone still happens to be the fingerprint scanner than any other method though the placement of the sensor beside camera was a poor choice. Google Pixel 2 XL comes with the facil as well as fingerprint recognition and both of them just work fine when comes to unlocking the device and nothing special about it.

Display

iPhone X and Samsung Galaxy S8 offers the best of the OLED based full-screen display while Google Pixel 2 suffers from the screen burning and blue glares which are evident in everyday use. However the notch on iPhone X display simply plays a spoilsport and winner emerges none other Samsung S8 which is just mesmerising to look into and upon.  All of these displays offers crisp and rich colors with sharper details and goes easy on the eyes. iPhone X comes with a 5.8 inch OLED display with a resolution of 2436 x 1125 even Samsung S8 also has a similar sized screen of 5.8 inch OLED display with a resolution of 2880 x 1440. Out of these three, Google Pixel 2 XL has the largest display at 6 inch with an OLED brimming at a resolution of 2960 x 1440.

When it comes to daily Samsung S8 happened to offers a best mix of colour and detail than any other smartphone. Though it is eveident than in showing certain pictures all of these smartphone tend to show completely different picture from one another which is cause a concern.

Battery Life

When comparing smartphones we tend to talk the battery backup right at the end but in order modern having a great smartphone which last for few hours isn’t an option. The battery lives offered by all these devices are quite similar and each phone has its own distinct way of handling battery usage to increase the overall life. Sadly iPhone X performed poorly on the daily basis by needing charge before the end of the day though depending upon your usage you might be able to stretch it to the end of the night. On other hand Galaxy S8 and Pixel 2 XL offered a much battery life due to battery enhancement baked right in the Android OS. In this regard winner was the Google very Pixel 2 XL which seemed to be charged enough to cover half of the next day as well.

Camera

Flagships are known to offers high end camera for almost DSLR level of photography experience and these three aren’t much different. Google Pixel took the crown of best camera on smartphone from the Apple iPhone last year and it even does so this year with Google Pixel 2 XL.  All of these devices excel in different areas when we exclusively talk about the camera performance. iPhone X tend to capture better color and details as well as the best selfies you can ever get hold of.  Google Pixel 2 XL is more aptly suited for the low light photography challenges while Samsung S8 simply doesn’t come any close of these two devices.

iPhone X has an elegant design with impressive display but it doesn’t have age old home screen which adds a learning curve for the users. Google Pixel 2 XL simply lay bare the best of Android on a device which is highly capable in very manner but that screen burn issue is serious advantage. Samsung S8 simply offers the best flagship smartphone experience but its interface isn’t as exciting as Google Pixel 2 XL or Apple iPhone X. Each of these smartphones excels in one area while lags in another. You should make your buying decision based on your priorities in the features.

The Google Mini is a 360 degree speaker and currently selling at $30. The Google Mini is wrapped in various coloured fabrics. Google has given importance to its design, but it is not as efficient as the Amazon Echo Dot.

It comes with a micro USB cable for power supply and the LEDs light up when the speaker is active. At the back of the Google Mini is a small slider, to mute the sound. The Google Mini has touch sensors to control the volume. When you tap on the left of the speaker, you can turn down the volume and tap on the right to increase the volume.

The Google Home Mini runs on Google Assistant, and makes use of voice commands to perform functions like setting alarms, getting weather reports, etc.

The Google Mini, one of the low cost speakers, was a popular choice for quite a few of the people out there. With its built-in speaker, it is used to listen to belt out loud music. It is not a very powerful speaker, but due to its low cost, many people went in for the Google Mini.

Performance

Some of its users were faced with the device crashing when playing music at high volumes. When turning up the volume, especially to the maximum level, the Google Home Mini crashed and restarted. This was noticed when playing a couple of songs. Sound tracks like “Royals” by Lorde and “Icon” by Jayden Smith, when played at high volumes were causing the Google Mini to crash.

It is not exactly clear at what volume, the Google Mini crashes. But the users say that the songs like “Royal” and “Icon”, when played at the highest volume, caused the Google Mini to crash.

This is likely to be caused by some bug.  Google is aware of the scenario, as many of the users have been posting their comments on the Google Forum as well as Reddit. They are gathering all the feedback from their users and are looking out for a solution to the problem.

Google has requested their users to use the power cable supplied along with the Google Home Mini. They have advised their users to fill out a crash report and send in their complaints. The company has assured them of a solution to the problem. Google is trying to fix the problem, but how long will it take is anyone’s guess.

If you have a Google Mini speaker, then the most advisable thing to do right now, is not to play it at maximum volume. One can only hope that Google comes out with a permanent solution as soon as possible.

Xiaomi has made a name for itself globally within the shortest amount though it majorly sells its products in two countries with the highest amount of consumers namely China and India. Since its inception Xiaomi wanted to be seen as a firm which brings a connected ecosystem of the device but not simply as a core smartphone manufacturer. Therefore Xiaomi funded other small companies, labeled its logo on its products and provided the best class connected devices at affordable price points. Xiaomi Yi 360 is another successful product from the Xiaomi backing of the Yi Technology which is growing like on global scale.Xiaomi Yi 360 as the name gives away is a ‘360 camera’ which offers a unique perspective to the users of their surroundings.

This camera is widely available globally from Europe, Asia to U.S. where it is being sold by the Microsoft’s brick and stores as well as online stores. Xiaomi has priced this camera aptly at just $399 which makes it highly competitive and value for money product in the market. It offers quite high end features to the users in it price range which gives a stiff competition to the Samsung Gear 360. Samsung Gear 360 has support for only 4K resolution video capturing but the Yi 360 can easily overtake with its 5.7 resolution recording capability.

Xiaomi Yi 360 Better hardware, better specs

The Yi 360 comes in a unique rectangular shape with a sleek modernized design though it is available in only black variant. It is loaded with a 12 megapixel Sony camera sensors with a f/2.0 aperture and the ability to capture 220 degree videos. Under the hood it has the Ambarella H2V95 processor which is good enough to stitch the videos in the 4K resolution but to make to turn videos in 5.7K resolution users will need to export it to a computer.

It has a single camera along with a 2 inch display screen which showcases the mode being used at any given moment. It also has three buttons, MicroSD card slot and Wi-Fi support. Users download its dedicated app from the app store and once you are connected with the camera then you will be able to preview footage in real time on your mobile device and shoot away.

Shoot videos like never before

With 5.7K resolution video quality is simply amazing though the mic provided with this camera isn’t good enough. Photos & videos captured using it is amazing both in the daylight conditions as well as low-light conditions. Colour accuracy is perfect, distortion is bare minimum and the details captured in the shot are quite impressive. The best thing about Yi 360 is that it can even record 360 time lapse videos which offer a unique perspective but it gets recorded only in 4K resolution. Xiaomi has provided this camera with a remarkable 1430 mAh battery which is good enough to get an hour of continuous recording.

OnePlus has carved a name for itself by offering flagship features at half the price of the high-end flagships from the rivals. Since last year it has also started a unique trend of bi-flagship cycle wherein two flagships devices are released within a year. OnePlus 5T isn’t a major upgrade over its predecessor but it is a much-needed upgrade to remain consistent in the ever-changing smartphone market. 2017 saw the launch of larger yet sleek display in the aspect ratio of 18:9 and the recent launch of flagship from Samsung, Apple, LG and other Chinese OEMs has simply made OnePlus 5 quite dated with its 16:9 screen ratio.

Keeping the price intact

In the long line-up of OnePlus devices, OnePlus 5T is the seventh smartphone from the Chinese flagship killer which offers a valuable upgrade over the OnePlus 5. OnePlus has decided to discontinue this smartphone in order to push the sales of the T variant. This latest smartphone was launched a mega event in New York where it was unveiled by none other than the company’s founder Carl Pei.  Like every other OnePlus device this smartphone also retains the iconic dash charge support which helps in charging the device at a lightning fast speed.

This new OnePlus 5T smartphone also keeps the similar dual camera setup with a minor change and it comes with a large 6-inch display when compared to OnePlus 5 display of 5.5 inches. Samsung and Apple are known to gradually push their flagship prices up with each passing iteration but OnePlus kept the ‘T’ variant same as the regular version of its flagship at just $499. This phone will be making the global debut on the November 21 and the good thing is that it will be made available in bulk in all the major markets.

Features boasted by the OnePlus 5T

OnePlus gives enough reason to the users to make the upgrade to its OnePlus 5T device. This smartphone retains the processor of OnePlus 5 as Qualcomm hasn’t released any new version in the last six months. OnePlus devices are known to offer almost stock Android like feel with its very own Oxygen OS which offers some quirky features under the hood.  Some of the exciting new features of the OnePlus 5T variant are as follows;

1. Larger displayof OnePlus 5T—larger display is everywhere from the iPhone X, Samsung Galaxy S8 to LG G6. OnePlus, therefore, brought a massive 6-inch display on the 5T in the 18:9 aspect ratios to remain competitive in the flagship market.
2. Enhanced dual camera setup –OnePlus has improved the camera technology on the OnePlus 5T to bring better clarity to the low light photos. It comes loaded with a 16MP main shooter along with the 20MP secondary shooter working together to capture awesome low-light images.
3. Better and quicker facial recognition– Apple facial recognition is good with the so-called awful ‘notch’ OnePlus has simply aced it with a better and quicker facial recognition on the OnePlus 5T.

One of the things any new iPhone X owner would have to get used to is the fact that there is now no home button. Right from the time when the first iPhone was released to now there has always been a home button. This absence of a home button actually changes things up a bit.

It may take a couple of days to get used to the new gestures and ways to interact with your new iPhone X without a home button, but many of the tap, swipe, pinch and other functions remain the same as compared to previous models.

The Power button in the new iPhone X takes up some of the functionality of the home button that is where Face identification and a few tactile interactions are concerned. But in the end it is important to know how to navigate the interface without a home button.

 Going Home on the iPhone X:

If you are on a page or an app and are looking for ways to get off the current content and want to land the home page, then all you have to do is swipe the bar that appears on the bottom part of the screen, up and lift your finger off from there. That will take you directly to the home screen. The bar appears white or black depending on the matter you are reading.

Moving to different apps in the iPhone X:

To get to the apps that are at present running on the phone all you have to do is swipe right, this brings you to an app that is already opened. You can then swipe right or left depending on the app that you want to see. An important feature to note here is that if you pause at an app for a few seconds, the app moves to the rightmost position.

Swiping and getting rid of apps while multi- tasking in iPhone X:

To get rid of some of the apps that are running, you can access the multi- task list of apps by swiping the bar at the bottom to the top and hold it there, this is different form the home gesture as you remove your finger from the screen once the bar is dragged to the top. Once you get to a list of the apps running, it is then a simple task of tapping and holding on an app to get the minus sign on it that allows you to get rid of the app.

Swiping for Notification and Control center on the iPhone X:

To get to the notification center all you have to do is swipe down from the time that is displayed on the top of the phone, this then brings you to notifications that you can click on normally to go to the respective app.

Unlike previous models, the control center can be reached by swiping down from the WiFi, Cellular and battery usage icon.

Swiping to get Spotlight in the iPhone X:

All one needs to do in order to get the spotlight search is to swipe down from anywhere on the home screen.

HTC has come out with its latest smart phone-HTC U11 Life with the Android One operating system. It is the latest smart phone to join the Android One family.

The HTC U11 Life will be first launched in Germany and will roll out in Europe and Asia Pacific region either towards the end of this year or in 2018. It will not be selling in US any time soon. It comes at a cost of $349, which is almost half the price of its predecessor, the HTC U11.

Features

The body of the HTC U11 Life is of polycarbonate frame, IP67 waterproofing.

It has a 5.2” Super LCD screen, resolution of 1080 x 1920 pixels, 16:9 ratio.

The operating system used is Android One Oreo.

The HTC U11 Life has a Snapdragon 630 chipset with 3GB of RAM and 32GB  of storage with a microSD slot.

The phone is powered by a 2,600mAh battery.

The USonic headphones with noise cancellation  comes along with the phone and has Hi-Res audio.

The HTC U11 Life costs much less than some of the other smart phones, but it is the first Android One phone to launch with the Android Oreo. You can get the Google Assistant by squeezing the phone using the HTC’s Edge Sense technology. The HTC U11 Life has a powerful camera for taking high quality photos and videos.

Android Oreo

U11 Life is the first Android One phone that is launched with Android Oreo, making the phone more powerful with less battery drain. The Android phones are secure, coming as it were with monthly updates and malware protection.  It will be possible for the HTC U11 Life to upgrade to Android P when it comes into existence.

HTC’s Edge Sense technology

HTC has taken it one notch further, where the Edge Sense technology is used. The Google Assistant gets launched when you squeeze your phone. All the other smart phones using the Android One can get the Google Assistant by just saying “OK Google” or pressing down on the home button. By using the HTC’s Edge Sense technology, you can even take selfies, search for directions to your destination and perform various tasks with just a squeeze of the phone.

Camera

The HTC U11 Life camera is faster, and gives clearer and sharper photos even when the lighting is not much. It has a 16MP sensor with HDR Boost and has the capability of capturing high quality video. The front and rear cameras come with a 16MP resolution and f/2.0 aperture lenses.

Comparison of HTC U11 Life with HTC U11

Both are available in Sapphire blue, having a 16:9 black front display, finger print scanner and buttons for apps. Both have the Edge Sense feature, allowing you to perform actions by just a squeeze of the phone. Both of them also have the IP67 water and dust resistance. The  U11 Life  is slightly smaller than its predecessor at 5.2” and cheaper too. The U11 has a Gorilla Glass back panel, while the U11 Life is of acrylic, which makes it more prone to scratching, but does not crack or shatter easily. Hence, the fall in price as that compared to U11, which is priced at $649.

For all the book worms out there, reading is become even better with Amazon’s latest gadget, The all new Kindle Oasis. Last year Amazon rolled out its new Kindle Oasis series in kindle and this year you can feast yourself on the all new kindle oasis. As the name suggests the device is an oasis of sorts allowing the user a lot of different ways of enjoying their books.

Amazon’s Kindle Oasis can now even be used under water to a depth of 2m and for 60 minutes as given by IPX8 standards, which is pretty cool if you’re a mermaid, but for us mere mortals dropping the gadget in the water may now not be such a bad thing. Amazon Oasis now comes with a 12 Led backlight as opposed to the 10 Led light in the previous one.

Having no space to save all your ebooks/audiobooks, fret no more as the new Amazon oasis comes with 8GB of storage. The Amazon Kindle also comes with an added feature which allows you to shift from ebook to audio all at a commands notice. So you now can enjoy reading a book at home and then listening to it on your way to work or maybe even listen to it while coking at home. But things may not be so simple as that. If you buy an ebook you also have to pay for the audio book before you can avail of such a feature. Amazon has made this simpler for you by offering the audiobook at a discount provided that you already bought the ebook.

The amazon kindle Oasis comes in an all new design made in an aluminum finish and a larger 7 inch screen as compared to the last model. The gadget also has its screen towards the left, this asymmetrical design helps the user to better handle the device while reading. Amazon Kindle Oasis now comes with a 300PPI screen meaning that the device now fits in more words per page thereby ensuring fewer pages to be turned.

Kindle Oasis has now an even longer battery life. Unlike the last model, the current one does not require a large battery cover instead the company said that it has made the new amazon kindle Oasis with an already built in cover and it is also providing a number of water resistant options.

The font on the new amazon Kindle can be customized according to ones needs and the color of the screen can be changed from black with white text to white with black text. A reader can even change the boldness of the text to suit their individual reading styles.

Pricing of the device is made much cheaper this year around despite the device now offering much more to the user. The gadget will be available at an introductory price of 250$ which is 40$ less than the previous model. The fall in the ebook market was a major concern to the sales of kindles, but apparently Amazon seems unfazed as is obvious with the release of the new amazon kindle Oasis.

With the technological revolution brought by the engineers and the scientists all over the world, we are at a certain level of comfort like YotaPhone, which was unthinkable in the last couple of decades. There has been a great change in terms of the gadgets and the digital world. We can get access to anything with just a few clicks. The internet is one thing that has made or rather bridged the world into a unit and we are quite fortunate to have this. T

he internet has paved the way for many things and with the time things are only getting better. The current generation has a lot to avail and the world has changed a lot. The introduction of the Smartphone YotaPhone has made our lives easier. We can do whatever we feel like and most important fact is that the whole world is at our fingertips with a single YotaPhone Smartphone and the internet.

THE SMART DEVICES Like YOTAPHONE

There are many phones that are launched on a daily basis. The top companies of the world are always in the news for all this. There has been a great change of hardware and OS for the smart phones and this has made things more compatible.

Yotaphone is one of a kind, which is very cheap to use according to the configuration and other relevant details. The Yotaphone 2 was launched in the year of 2014. The phone is unique in nature as it has dual screens and it is first of its kind. The display makes it more enjoyable and friendly. You can easily understand the nature and enjoy the graphics of the phone with the display.

THE LAEST YOTAPHONE SPECIFICATIONS

The specifications will make you feel overwhelmed as well as pleased. The communications between the other Smartphones are very natural as well as emotional. There is always a personal assistant and with the help of this, you can manage your personal account and your day to day activities.

This would ensure that everything is intact and you need not worry about the other things. The display is always there to remind you of the things and this will make your tasks easier to handle. You can always set your Yotaphone dashboard for your meetings, parties, travel plans and many more activities in life.

THE YOTAPHONE UPDATES

There are updates always-in real time and this would allow you to enjoy a hassle-free life. You would have a personal caretaker to remind you of everything. The Yotaphones are a Russian brand which has taken the innovation to a different level.

You can easily keep a track of the latest e-books and you can enjoy them at your leisure time. The second screen is the eye catcher where mostly the back is used for the battery cover. The real-time notifications will help you keep updated and you just have to swipe or tap.

A number of reports had confirmed that next iPhone will do away with a physical home button which has been an iconic appeal for the iPhone. However new reports are suggesting that Apple has found a way of bringing a dedicated key for triggering the ever popular Siri on the iPhone 8.

This actual key or button for Siri will act as the multipurpose sleep/wake/power button. This inside detail about the next iPhone has been discovered by a developer named Guilhermo Rambo. He has also got inside information pertaining to some other upcoming Apple products which includes HomePod and a new 4K Apple TV.

iPhone 8 is different to interact with Siri

Apple Siri is simply the first popular AI on any given smartphone and Apple has ensured the way of interacting with Siri remains associated with the voice commands. So Apple users have mainly used voice command ‘Hey Siri’ so far to ensure that it gets the work done.

But a number of users have complained that this isn’t a reliable way as it fails to recognize the voice in certain conditions. Having a dedicated key for Siri on iPhone 8 will provide respite to those users as they will be able to Siri and its functionalities by simply pressing a button.

More functions for a single button

Apple will turn the power button into a dedicated key for Siri but at the same time it will retain its usual function of sleep, wake and power. This means list of things which can be done by a single key on the iPhone 8 will simply enlarge by itself and it might end up confusing some of the users. The list of things which can be done with the button:

1. Simply pressing the button will allow users to lock or wake up their iPhone.
2. Holding down the button for longer time will help in powering down the iPhone.
3. In iOS 11 users will get a new Emergency SOS option which will allow users to automatically dial 911 by pressing the button five times in quick succession.
4. In iOS 11 will get another unique option called ‘cop mode’ which will disable the Touch ID temporarily upon pressing the power button.

iPhone 8: Change in home button design is a major shift for Apple

Apple is known for keeping its device iconic feature intact regardless of the backlash but this time Apple has to transform the way people use their iPhone on a whole new level. It is simply eliminating the whole concept of having a home button but in its place a sleek ‘software bar’ will be offered to the users.

Apple will be introducing a relatively thin and smart ‘software bar’ which will remain present in place of the home button. User can drag this bar right to the middle of the screen in order to open the iPhone 8. If users is within any app then simply performing this gesture back again will help in multitasking.

Most companies still work to unlock their computers. Experts detect more than 2,000 cyber attacks against companies from 64 countries using Find My Device option.

Dozens of companies are still working to free their computers, blocked by the data hijacking virus. Some have capitulated and have chosen to pay the pirates, who ask for 300 dollars (264 euros) in bitcoin to release the equipment. The hacker’s address to get the revenue in this crypto-currency has received at least 45 transactions and the equivalent of more than 9,000 euros, according to Blockchain, the platform that supports bitcoin. Information indicating that cybercriminals can not actually unlock stolen data because their email account has been blocked helps to ensure that no payments are being made. Ok, what if your iPhone being hacked by the same cybercriminals who have spread Ransomware.

Although features like “find my iPhone” have helped slow down cell phone thefts, they also provide a new avenue of attack for hackers.

The security feature is now being used by hackers to block the hardware of some Apple users, and blackmail them to pay a ransom, or ransomware, for their devices to be unlocked.

Originally introduced by Apple in 2010, the “Find My Device” service allows users to use the GPS location to find exactly where their iPhone, iPad or Mac is. “Lost Mode” allows users to lock their device remotely, prevent a thief from having access to personal information. But unfortunately, that means that if a cyber hacker steals somebody’s login information, he can use it to ask for redemption to regain access to the device.

The rescue message is displayed on the lock screen itself, often with an address from an account to deposit Bitcoin. In most of the cases, the hacker may demand 0.01 Bitcoin to unlock the device, or about $ 50 dollars.

As in all cases of ransomware, the Find My Device general advice is not to pay for blackmail, as this only encourages hackers to continue with their practice. The best option would be to contact Apple directly to help solve the problem.

Although this is still not a widespread problem, there have been several recent reports from users who find their systems blocked without warning. Macmyth.com claims that it is derived from hacks of third-party services, coupled with the old problem of password reuse. That has led to the blocking of some Apple devices.

It also highlights the fact that one of the key issues with Apple’s Find My Device service is that it does not require two authentication factors. That is understandable considering that an Apple user may have only one device of that brand, and therefore, its use would not be possible if it loses it. But that problem could be solved in the style of Google, which offers a backup on secondary devices for these cases.

Even if you have not been affected by this latest attack, regardless of the brand of your device, it is important to use secure passwords, unique login credentials, and two-factor authentication whenever possible. Although that does not guarantee that you can not be hacked, it makes it more complicated to do so, which is often enough to avoid problems.