If you’re like us, every one of your mobile devices could use a performance boost in one crucial area: battery life. Timbuk2 saw the exigency to keep phones, tablets, PMPs and cameras in the juice, and aims to meet that need with the Power Commute messenger bag announced earlier this year. And now you, dear reader can pick one up starting today for $199 from REI or through Timbuk2’s website. Before you rush off to part with a pair of Benjamins for the bag and its waterproof Joey T1 portable power source, however, read on for our hands-on impressions.
Finland’s biggest game studio is heading back into the coop, pulling out its Angry Birds franchise for yet another go on a whole mess of platforms — this time, even Windows 8 and its mobile counterpart get some attention. Moreover, Rovio’s teamed with the folks at LucasArts (now part of the Disney family) to craft an entirely thematic experience: enter Angry Birds Star Wars. But fret not — just because Angry Birds Star Warsseems like a shameless tie-in doesn’t mean it’s a bad game (it is, however, a shameless tie-in, no matter which way you cut it). In fact, it’s quite good, melding pieces of Angry Birds Space — arguably the best and most creative entry in the Angry Birds franchise — with new gameplay elements. Rather than birds which explode or other such modifiers, post-fling, Angry Birds Star Wars equips each of several themed birds with one weapon apiece. An Obi-Wan Kenobi-themed bird uses The Force to push enemies or blocks, while a Han Solo-themed bird fires three blasts from a space pistol, just to name a few.
That Angry Birds Space component is little more than gravity effects, but it helps to mix up the often redundant level design — if you’ve played more than one Angry Birds game, you’ve seen most of what’s on offer here. That isn’t necessarily a bad thing, per se, but be forewarned if you’re expecting the kind of innovation we saw from Rovio’s last Angry Birds spinoff, Bad Piggies. Angry Birds Star Wars launches today on iOS ($0.99 / iPhone, $2.99 / iPad), Android (Free SD version, HD is $2.99), Amazon Kindle Fire, Mac ($4.99), PC, Windows Phone ($0.99), and Windows 8 ($4.99). Go after the break to check out the cinematic and gameplay trailers, along with the PR.
Wireless charging has made headlines in recent weeks, but a new Qualcomm Halo trial kicking off in the UK is targeting the devices that live in your garage rather than in your pocket. Just as Google’s Nexus 4 and Nokia’s Lumia 920 each support wireless charging, rejuicing via simple desk pads rather than the fumble of slotting in a microUSB cable, so chip and wireless specialist Qualcomm sees the future of electric and hybrid urban mobility being wire-free. There’s a big difference, though, between a fifty buck charging plate for your phone and a way of cutting the cord for electric vehicles and potentially opening up the road as a dynamic power highway. SlashGear caught up with Qualcomm and some select partners to find out what makes Halo special, and why it’s just as much at home on a 200mph racing car as it is your city runabout.
Qualcomm’s trial scheme – in association with Renault and others – kicks off a two year project in London, UK, to see the feasibility and issues around wireless rather than traditional conductive charging. It’s based on Qualcomm’s Halo technology, which puts special inductive coils in both the road and the chassis underneath your car and, when the two line up, can fire across power with much the same efficiency as a regular cable might deliver.
Inductive systems of this sort aren’t new – in fact, industrial facilities have been using similar technology, running automated machinery around factory floors fueled by powerline tracks embedded in the concrete, for more than two decades now – but they’re yet to spread in any effective way from relatively closed systems.
London’s busy and convoluted streets are anything but a closed, controlled system, but that’s exactly why the city was selected by the Qualcomm-led project. It offers a mixture of road conditions, weather types, and usage scenarios, and a combination of sedans, taxis, vans, and other vehicles are expected to take part over the two year period.
Halo is a big step away from plugging in your EV (electric vehicle) to a mains electric point. Instead, you simply drive up to a power-embedded parking space and – being guided in, either by a dialog on the dashboard display or on your smartphone – roughly line up the coils in order for the electricity to start flowing. Early iterations only supported the sort of power you’d get from a slow, overnight charger – around the 3 KWh point, good for a full charge in around seven hours – but the technology now offers a 3hr charge with 7 KWh versions, and even a 1hr charge with the fastest 20 KWh standard.
Qualcomm Halo and Renault Fluence demo:
Renault is the big partner, or at least the one most likely to be seen on roads, with its specially crafted Fluence EV carrying Halo technology (along with a set of regular charging plugs). Citroen is also taking part, with a compact EV, while the more esoteric Delta E-4 will be a rarer sight though probably more eye-catching thanks to its gullwing doors. The Delta also has the most entertaining dashboard, a Tesla-style full touchscreen for navigating through charging programs and efficiency reports. In contrast, the Renault shifts Halo duties to a smartphone app – which we played with on a Samsung Galaxy S III – which helps position the car over the pad as well as begin, end, and monitor charging. The Citroen has a cutesy pod on the instrument binnacle that shows power status.
Unfortunately, the general public won’t be able to snap up a Halo-enabled car during the trial. Instead, they’ll be limited to select fleet users, including cab company Addison Lee, with a further cab deployment planned for sometime in 2014. In fact, the team behind the trial see cabs as being ideal customers for wireless charging, with each waiting period in a taxi rank the ideal opportunity to top up a battery. Initially, though, partner Chargemaster will be adding Halo to six of its London based privately-run “POLAR” EV charging locations, though the goal is to upgrade all 4,000+ points across the UK.
Nor will those with existing EVs be likely to see an upgrade. Qualcomm tells us that the cost of retrofitting Halo – as well as the regulatory and safety hurdles – means the relatively small userbase of current drivers isn’t really a target. Instead, the company is aiming for more widespread adoption with OEMs and upcoming models. It’ll also need to convince buyers to tick the EV box at the point of ordering; Renault says it is attempting to price its models at roughly the point of the diesel-powered equivalent, but there’s infrastructure required for the wireless charging pad if you want one for your garage at home, and you can’t simply plug Halo into a regular power socket. That’s currently along the line of roughly £2,500-3,000 ($4,000-4,800), not including the background infrastructure, though to be fair that’s roughly akin to a wired setup.
In the future, though, your Halo-equipped car may not even need to stand still in order to be recharged. Right now, fixed charging points make sense, from a cost-of-infrastructure standpoint as well as given that most cars sit unused overnight and for several hours during the day. However, Qualcomm also envisages a time when dynamic charging is used: Halo embedded in continuous strings along the roadway, with EVs constantly being powered as they drive over them.
Qualcomm Halo official video:
It’s cost not technology holding back such deployment today. In fact, the current Halo pads support dynamic charging already; right now, though, actually ripping up the road to bury them in place is unfeasible. Qualcomm and others will need to successfully position Halo as a standard, too, in order for the technology to be so broadly adopted that ubiquity makes commercial sense. There are more partners in the trial to be announced, the company told us, and other car manufacturers have been invited to take part, but it’s far from an industry standard yet.
The first evidence of that is likely to be in FIA Formula E, the freshly-announced EV racing cousin to F1. Set to begin in May 2014, it will see new EV racetracks in ten cities across the world, with ten teams pitting their all-electric cars against each other. Right now, the plan is for a relay race setup of sorts – each team would have two cars, driving one for roughly 20 minutes, before leaving it in a pit-stop to recharge while a second car was driven for a further 20 minutes, and then finally returning to the first, “refueled” car for the final 20 minute dash – but the closed environment of a racetrack makes it ideal for dynamic installation.
And don’t doubt that EVs can deliver when it comes to high-speed performance. Drayson Racing Technologies showed us its B12/69 EV, a 200mph+ Le Mans style race car equipped with Halo charging and good for a 3.0 second 0-62mph sprint. The racing team used the B12/69 EV as a Halo testbed during the last Goodwood Festival of Speed, setting a new hill climb record back in July and relying solely on the Qualcomm system for recharging during the entire weekend. In fact, the EV version of the car out-performs its predecessor, which hid a 5.5-litre biofuel engine at the rear instead.
In the end, Halo is a play for a growing market: one where EVs are looked upon more favorably by governments and regulators than traditional gas-guzzlers; where the infrastructure and driver-awareness exists to support them; and where consideration for the environment matches enthusiasm for the independence of having a car. Qualcomm and its partners make a pretty convincing argument for the Halo system specifically, however.
Rather than rely on the sluggish improvement in battery efficiency, or trying to squeeze more batteries into a vehicle to increase range, Halo targets ease of use and ubiquity. By topping up your EV multiple times during the day – without having to fiddle with a power cable or in fact do anything more than park on a certain spot – you can extend your range while also trimming the number of heavy batteries you’re carrying. We’ll have to wait to see how the data crunches at the end of the trial to know if the reality matches the Halo hyperbole, but just as smartphone users are being told they should simply drop down their handsets to recharge, so one day might we just park-up to top-up our zero emissions car.
The trusty D5100 and D7000 have held sway over Nikon’s low-to-mid DSLR range for around 18 months now, but come December and there’ll be a new option driving a wedge right between them. The D5200 will still fulfill the role of a lightweight “advanced beginner” model and physically it’s the spitting image of the D5100, but at the same time it brings some fundamental and distinctly D7000-like photographic improvements to try to excuse its £720 (body-only) recommended retail price. (Update: that equates to around $1,150, but Nikon tells us that there’s no official US pricing or arrival date at this time.)
The D5200 offers a 39-point AF system for smarter focusing and tracking of moving subjects (compared to the 11-point module on the D5100), a 2,016-pixel RGB metering sensor (whereas the D5100 judged exposure based on just 420 pixels), and a new Expeed 3 processor that permits up to five shots per second (versus the older camera’s 4 fps). There’s also a brand new main image sensor: a DX-format chip that is the same size as the D5100’s and yet somehow squeezes in 8 million more pixels, bringing the effective resolution to 24.1 megapixels. Need more convincing? The camera also has a slightly simpler-looking UI, a stereo internal mic, more choice of h.264 frame rates up to 60 frames per second (in 1080i), and compatibility with Nikon’s admittedly flaky WU-1a wireless adapter. Check out our hands-on video after the break plus a review roundup in the next few weeks, and then, if you’re still not appeased, don’t sweat it: the D5100 and D7000 will continue to be sold for the forseeable, and both with ever-increasing discounts.
The Nokia Lumia 920 has been marketed as a beast in the smartphone camera universe, and today we’re having a peek at how it stands up against the iPhone 5. Nokia has marketed the Lumia 920, their top-class hero for Windows Phone 8, as having PureView imaging technology and a lovely Carl Zeiss lens to make it all click at 8 megapixels. Apple’s iPhone 5 also has 8 megapixels under the hood and calls its amalgamation of technology “iSight” – with a reminder that the iPhone lineup has had the most popular camera in the world for several years running, even IF there are better cameras out there.
We’ve done a battle similar to this one with the Nokia Lumia 920 vs the Samsung Galaxy S III just this past week – read the comments to see the real winner. As it stands, judgement is having to be based on one element or the other – no one camera has stood out as the most fantastic in all areas of quality. Now we’ll have a peek at the iPhone 5′s shooter prowess to see if it’s able to take the 920 out of the game in one swoop.
Pay close attention to the low-light capabilities of the 920 and the sharpness of both units. The Nokia Lumia 920 is “only going to get better” as our friendly Nokia representative lets us know: the software on the device we’re using here is not in its absolute final stage. It’s been suggested by many friendly commenters that the upgrade before the final launch of this AT&T version of the 920 may well improve the quality of the photos it takes significantly – we’ll just have to wait and see!
For now you’re getting exactly what’s available: with the Verizon iPhone 5 taking on the AT&T Nokia Lumia 920. Of course it doesn’t matter which carrier we’re working with here, as they’ve all got the same optics and innards in the end. Also be sure to see our full Nokia Lumia 920 review and our full iPhone 5 review to get the full picture on both as well!
Dog Movement
Nokia Lumia 920
iPhone 5
Bricks
Nokia Lumia 920
iPhone 5
Buildings
Nokia Lumia 920
iPhone 5
Basement Dark A
Nokia Lumia 920
iPhone 5
Basement Dark B
Nokia Lumia 920
iPhone 5
Product Shot: USB
Nokia Lumia 920
iPhone 5
NOTE: You can click any photo to see the original at full uncompressed quality. Stick around and let us know what you think of the results! Also be sure to request any other tests you’d like us to conduct with these units as well – we want you to be in the know!
Google is up to its fourth Nexus smartphone, and the LG Nexus 4 faces a very different mobile world from the heady days of the Nexus One. Back then, Google’s Nexus led the field in specifications, a deliberate kick to manufacturers to be more imaginative with their Android devices. The Nexus 4, however, faces ambitious and best-selling Android phones (not to mention the iPhone 5, and the launch of Windows Phone 8) that are already capable and compelling. Does the new Nexus have a place in the mobile market? Read on for our full review.
Hardware
If you’ve been keeping up to date with recent Android devices, the Nexus 4 should come as little surprise. Like Samsung before it, LG has looked to a recent flagship to build from, and the Nexus 4 is a not-too-distant cousin to the LG Optimus G.
That’s not a bad place to start, however. The Optimus passes over its 4.7-inch 1280 x 768 resolution HD IPS+ display – mustering 320ppi, versus the 326ppi of the iPhone 5, but in practical terms equally smooth in appearance – and while LCD is a first for the previously all-AMOLED Nexus line-up, it’s a beautiful panel. Blacks are deep and rich, while colors are bright but not over-saturated as can sometimes be the case with AMOLED. LG’s integration of the touch-layer and the top glass means graphics swim right underneath your fingertip.
The Nexus 4 also gets Qualcomm’s 1.5GHz quadcore Snapdragon S4 Pro with Adreno 320 GPU and 2GB of RAM. As per the Galaxy Nexus, there’s no room for a microSD card: instead, you’re stuck with either 8GB or 16GB of internal storage, and relying on Google Drive if you need any more.
It’s not the only compromise, either. Unlike the Optimus G, the Nexus 4 lacks LTE, topping out instead at pentaband HSPA+ 42Mbps with support for both AT&T and T-Mobile USA’s networks. That, Google has said, is because of the cost and complexity of outfitting phones with LTE radios to suit each carrier, particularly when you’re aiming – as the search giant is – to sell more devices unlocked and SIM-free than you are subsidized through carriers. Other connectivity isn’t quite so disappointing, with dual band WiFi b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0, NFC for Android Beam, and microUSB.
The usual array of sensors are present – accelerometer, digital compass, ambient light, proximity, gyroscope, barometer, and GPS – and the 2,100 mAh battery can be charged either via microUSB as normal, or using a wireless charger. Google has opted for the Qi standard, which means any compatible wireless charger – including those Nokia will offer alongside its new Lumia Windows Phone 8 range – will work to juice up your Nexus.
On the back there’s an 8-megapixel camera and an LED flash, while the front-facing camera offers 1.3-megapixel resolution. The 139g body itself – which measures in at 133.9 x 68.7 x 9.1 mm – is made of a combination of plastic and glass, and feels considerably better in the hand than it looks in pictures. The edges of the Gorilla Glass 2 fascia curve slightly along the longer sides, meaning your thumb never encounters a blunt line when you’re swiping, and the glass back panel is a cool, crisp touch. The soft-touch sides are easily gripped, and while opinions have been mixed here about the sparkly finish LG has given the rear, it’s at least better than mock carbon-fiber.
Performance
With a final software update yet to come – more on that in the next section on Android 4.2 Jelly Bean – it’s possible that Google could coax some extra performance out of the Nexus 4. As it stands, our benchmarking describes a phone that falls behind what the near-identically specified Optimus G achieved. In AnTuTu, the Nexus 4 scored 8,903, behind the scores of the HTC One X+, Note II, and Galaxy S III; in the same test, the Optimus G managed a huge 11,278.
In Smartbench 2012, the Nexus 4 scored 2961 in the productivity category and 2954 in gaming, while in Quadrant it edged ahead of the original HTC One X with a score of 4961. SunSpider, the test of browser JavaScript performance, the new Nexus scored 2170.4ms (lower is better).
What’s interesting is that the difference in raw numbers doesn’t add up to a phone that feels sluggish in use. No matter the app or the complexity of the webpage, the Nexus 4 whipped through with zero lag or delay. It’s fast and responsive, and a great playing ground for the new version of Jelly Bean.
Android 4.2 Jelly Bean
Google’s new version of Android is a minor refresh, as the unchanged name suggests, but there are a few key improvements which the Nexus 4 (and the Nexus 10 tablet) debut. Ostensibly it looks the same as Jelly Bean as we’ve seen it before, with the most visible difference promising to be the new lock screen, which will show widgets for calendar, email, and other apps. Third-party developers will be able to add their own lock screen widgets to apps available from the Play marketplace. Unfortunately, the new lock screen tech wasn’t ready in time for our review, and will go live when the final ROM hits the Nexus 4 in time for its November 13 release.
What we could try is the new Google Now, which introduces fresh cards highlighting nearby events and concerts, upcoming hotel and flight reservations, places known for being photography hot-spots, and what movies are showing in nearby theaters. Voice search gets an update too, and can now be used – if you speak sufficiently clearly, and have a data connection – to set and search appointments along with open up apps. It’s worth noting, though, that Jelly Bean 4.1 users can already try the new features by updating the Google Search app on their device.
Android’s flexibility with third-party keyboards has seen a number of alternative input options arise, though Google may well be putting some of them out of business with its new Gesture Type ‘board. Like Swype, it allows text entry by sliding a finger between letters, rather than the usual hunt and tap, with a new word prediction system floating a box above your fingertip for easier review. It makes a real difference with one-handed typing, Google’s new system keeping up with faster swiping and proving capable of picking out the most likely word we were typing, as well as gradually learning from our most frequently used words.
Wireless displays, with Miracast, are now supported natively, though you’ll of course need a smart TV or monitor that can handle the standard. Alternatively, there are various third-party set-top boxes that can bring an existing screen up to speed. It works particularly well when watching streaming video, whether rented from Google Play and streamed from the cloud, or stored locally on the Nexus 4 itself.
Jelly Bean was already a solid, capable OS, and this 4.2 version only polishes that. There are a few useful tweaks to the Gmail app with new gestures to shift messages from the inbox to the archive, along with zoom support. Finally, the pull-down notifications menu offers options to respond to an alert, not just open or dismiss it. You can snooze a ringing alarm, for instance, or fire off an email to meeting attendees from a reminder about an upcoming appointment.
Camera
The Nexus 4′s main camera uses an 8-megapixel BSI sensor with f/2.4 lens, and is capable of 1080p Full HD video; unlike some variants of the Optimus G, it misses out on the 13-megapixel sensor. Up front is a 1.3-megapixel camera with 720p video recording.
Previous Nexus phones haven’t been known for their incredible camera quality, but the Nexus 4 delivers a noticeable step up. It’s not the best camera we’ve seen on a recent phone – Samsung’s Galaxy S III produces more colorful stills, to our eyes, for instance – but it’s a huge improvement over the Googlephones that came before.
Video, unsurprisingly, is much in line with what we saw from the Optimus G. Colors are accurate, if a little muted, and the continuous autofocus makes it easy to piece together a more impressive clip than the usual point-and-shoot.
(Click for expanded view)
Of course, it’s Photo Sphere that has been getting the most attention, a new addition to Android devices. It pieces together different frames into an overall 360-degree image, which can then be shared as stills or uploaded to Google Maps for use with the Street View viewer. In practice, while some impressive images can be coaxed out of Photo Sphere, it’s also capable of some pretty underwhelming pictures. Indoors, with busy scenes, we had problems with badly-blended joins; outdoor panoramas proved far more successful.
Phone and Battery
Voice calls with the Nexus 4 were in line with what we experienced from the Optimus G, clear and with no issues with drops or static; the dual microphones help there. Google quotes up to 10hrs of talktime from the 2,100 mAh battery, or up to 7hrs web browsing, though in our experience it was heavily dependent on how bright we had the screen set. LG’s HD IPS+ technology is certainly capable of some impressive brightness levels, but it also chews through battery life at the same time. Set to a more moderate level, we got through a full day before needing a recharge.
Of course, Google would like you to be setting the Nexus 4 down on a wireless charger when you’re not using it, though one isn’t included in the box. The switch to Qi technology from previous types of dock means you don’t get Pogo pins on the Nexus 4, though the number of products that actually use them is so slim that for most people it’s unlikely to make a difference.
Pricing and Value
Google’s first Nexus was not only a spur to smartphone manufacturers, but the company’s attempt to claw back some autonomy in mobile from carriers. That failed to transpire, but Google hasn’t given up on its strategy of marginalizing them to “dumb pipes.” The Nexus 4 will be offered via T-Mobile USA, priced at $199 for the 16GB model with a new, two-year agreement, but the real deal is when you go SIM-free.
Google is offering the Nexus 4 via the Play store, priced at $299 for the 8GB or $349 for the 16GB, unlocked and SIM-free. That means you can simply drop in your choice of AT&T or T-Mobile SIM – or, indeed, a SIM from an international provider – and get going, whether it’s a post-pay or a pre-pay card.
The deals available when you’re not wanting a subsidized device are generally significantly better, and so those willing to piece together a phone and plan separately are at an advantage. Considering the specifications, the Nexus 4 makes other Android phones – not to mention recently-announced Windows Phone 8 devices and the iPhone – start to look expensive.
Wrap-up
The LG Nexus 4 and Android 4.2 Jelly Bean are a very strong combination. LG’s flagship hardware is capable of a smoothness we’ve only really seen hinted at with the effects of Project Butter until now; on the S4 Pro chipset it simply flies. Meanwhile, the gradual refinement of Android itself is more than welcome, and though Photo Sphere is undoubtedly a gimmick, features like Gesture Type make a noticeable difference to the usability of the phone.
That makes it all the more frustrating that so few people will have access to Android 4.2. With so few devices updated to even the previous version of Jelly Bean, the saga of Android fragmentation shows little sign of ending. Google’s strategy to address that appears to be more affordable hardware, though it remains to be seen whether the company can make unlocked devices popular in a way that it failed to manage at the start of the Nexus project.
None of that takes away from how capable the LG Nexus 4 is, however, and how keenly priced. Nexus devices are already appealing, being as they are at the front of the line for new Android updates, but until now there’s always been a compromise somewhere along the way. With the Nexus 4, the compromise is as small as its ever been, and the fact that it’s so very affordable makes it strongly recommended for those wanting the best of Android today.
Windows 8 officially launched last week, which means that a ton of new computers, laptops, and tablets are either on shelves now or coming up soon. By far one of the most interesting new Windows 8 machines is the Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga 13, a new convertible that aims to show off Windows 8 in all of its touch-based glory. The major selling point of the Yoga 13 is its 360-degree hinge, which allows you to use the laptop in a number of different ways. It’s certainly cool, if not a little strange at first.
If you couldn’t already tell, I haven’t used very many convertibles. I was never really sold on the idea of a tablet/laptop hybrid, but with what I’ve seen of the IdeaPad Yoga 13, I might be singing a different tune by the time everything is said and done. The Yoga 13 impresses right out of the box – the silver chassis looks sleek, and I was actually surprised by how light it is. I was certainly expecting heavier than 3.3 pounds, though with that weight, the Yoga 13 still has some heft that you won’t find in traditional ultrabooks.
The screen is really nice as well, though again a little unconventional as far as ultrabook screens go. Instead of running at the 1366×768 resolution we’re all so bored with, the Yoga 13′s touch screen is running at 1600×900 resolution. It’s an odd resolution that we don’t see to often in notebooks, but it’s a welcome change. The visuals are sharp and touch is responsive. This plays hand-in-hand with the touch-friendly tiles in Windows 8; even when using the Yoga 13 in notebook mode, I’m finding myself using the touch screen instead of the track pad. I said in my Windows 8 review that the operating system was clearly geared toward touch screens, and the Yoga 13 backs that assertion up.
There are four different “modes” Lenovo has been pushing with the Yoga 13: notebook mode, which is self-explanatory; stand mode, which allows the user to place the keyboard face-down with the screen angled upward; tent mode, which has the user standing the laptop up on its ends like a little mini tent; and tablet mode, achieved by folding the screen all the way around to the underside of the notebook. Tablet mode feels a little strange at first due to the fact that the keyboard is exposed on the slate’s backside, but thankfully the keyboard and trackpad are both disabled when you’re using a mode other than the traditional notebook setup. This means that you don’t have to worry about hitting keys and screwing everything up while using the machine in tablet mode.
On the inside, there isn’t too much deviation from the hardware found in other ultrabooks. We’ve got a third-gen Intel Core i5 processor clocked at 1.7Ghz – essentially the industry standard for ultrabooks – working alongside 4GB of DDR3L RAM, making the Yoga 13 quite the little speed demon. That’s all helped along by the 128GB SSD, so if it’s speed you want, the Yoga 13 probably isn’t going to disappoint. On the outside, the pickings are a little slim, as you’ve only got one USB 3.0 port and one USB 2.0 port to take advantage of. Those are joined by a 2-in-1 card slot (SD and MMC), a headphone jack, a full-size HDMI port, and of course, the jack for the power adapter.
I’m impressed with what I’ve seen of the IdeaPad Yoga 13 so far. There are certainly aspects that are going to take some getting used to, but I’m looking forward to spending more time with the Yoga 13 and seeing all that it and its 360-degree hinge have to offer. My full review of the IdeaPad Yoga 13 will be coming up shortly, but in the meantime, let me know if there’s anything in particular you’d like me to touch on.
The Nokia Lumia 920 in its AT&T iteration has landed on the SlashGear test bench complete with PureView imaging and Carl Zeiss wide-angle optics this week – so of course it’s immediately time to test it against the Samsung Galaxy S III. We’ll be testing its camera against the iPhone 5 as well rather soon – and whatever other devices you request as well – but first it’s time to battle one of the biggest competitors Nokia has in the field. The Samsung Galaxy S III wasn’t originally pushed specifically on its photo-taking abilities nearly so much as the Lumia 920 has been, so pay close attention to how they compare in some real-world tests.
What we’re testing here is color value, if it’s true-to-life nice, and how several different lighting conditions work with the gear we’ve got in both devices. This isn’t about to get too technical, of course, because these devices are meant to be used by everyone, not just photo aficionados. That said, if you’ve got any insight to add on what you’re seeing here, please feel free to contribute.
Each set is set up like this: The Nokia Lumia 920 is first, and the Samsung Galaxy S III is second. You can click any image to get the original version in a new window if you want to do up-close comparisons, too.
Leaves
Nokia Lumia 920
Samsung Galaxy S III
Bright Light
Nokia Lumia 920
Samsung Galaxy S III
Target
Nokia Lumia 920
Samsung Galaxy S III
Candy
Nokia Lumia 920
Samsung Galaxy S III
Running Dog
Nokia Lumia 920
Samsung Galaxy S III
Product Shot (rubber ducky)
Nokia Lumia 920
Samsung Galaxy S III
Basement Dark Shot A
Nokia Lumia 920
Samsung Galaxy S III
Basement Dark Shot B
Nokia Lumia 920
Samsung Galaxy S III
This post will continue to be updated throughout the day with photos near and far depending on the suggestions we get from you, the reader! Let us know what kinds of situations you’d like us to photograph and we’ll do our best to replicate your request with both devices. Have a peek at our first hands-on with the Nokia Lumia 920 from AT&T as well as our full review of the Galaxy S III as well!
Note that this is only the beginning – we’ll be continuing to test the low-light and no-blur abilities of the Nokia Lumia 920 in the near future, and will certainly be expanding in the full review as well. Stay tuned to the Microsoft portal we’ve got set up for you Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8 addicts now too – jump on in!
The Nokia Lumia 920 has finally arrived, complete with AT&T‘s 4G LTE data speed and Windows Phone 8 in its final iteration. This device has a 4.5-inch display with 768 x 1280 pixel resolution, making this a massively dense 332 PPI machine, and has no less than Corning Gorilla Glass 2 up front to protect it. Under the hood we’ve got the most advanced mobile operating system Microsoft has ever produced backed up by a fabulous Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 dual-core processor clocked at 1.5GHz – it’s quick!
This device feels just as great to hold as each of the Nokia devices produced before with the same body – pillowy, round edges yet secure and solid throughout. The back is made entirely of hard plastic – here in red, but coming in several colors in the end, while the front is that one single Gorilla Glass 2 panel you’ll just want to rub up against your cheek its so smooth; there’s just something about those round edges. The top and the bottom of the device are flat and contain a couple of rather impressive speakers and a microUSB port on the bottom and a SIM card tray and single centered headphone jack at the top.
The right side of the device has a set of three buttons – one near the bottom (or the right side if you’re holding it landscape) controls the camera, while the other two are made for power/lock and volume control. The left side of the device has no buttons or ports of any kind. The back of the device also has a camera that’s drool-worthy: Carl Zeiss and Tessar 2.0/26 packing gear with a dual-LED flash to back it up. This camera also works with PureView technology and a host of software features that make it unique – we’ll be presenting a full section on this part of the device in our full review.
The software inside this device is extremely swift. The only loading times that we’ve noticed thus far have been in starting up a game for the first time and in waiting for a data connection – on the other hand, AT&T 4G LTE has been rather responsive on the whole. The display, too, has been suitably impressive – though the glare from the glass might give you a bit of trouble outdoors, the brightness should back you up even in near-direct sunlight.
We’ll be giving this smartphone a full rundown in review form soon – for now, let us know everything you want to know about the AT&T Nokia Lumia 920 and we’ll do our best to cover it all!
Now that Microsoft’s officially flooded the world with good tidings of Windows Phone 8, it’s the turn of OEMs and carriers to get the word out about their own Microsoft-flavored smartphones. We finally got a chance to play with Nokia’s previously leaked and recently announced Lumia 822 for Verizon, a mid-range handset similar to the Lumia 820 on AT&T and the Lumia 810 for T-Mobile that will cost $99 with a two-year contract. Availability is slated for sometime in November — it’s been a long time since we’ve seen a Nokia device on Verizon (sorry, but those Pantech-built models don’t count), so this is rather exciting news.
Spec-wise the Lumia 822 features a 4.3-inch WVGA ClearBlack AMOLED display, an eight-megapixel autofocus Carl Zeiss camera, a 1.2MP front-facing shooter, a Qualcomm dual-core 1.5GHz Snapdragon S4 processor, 1GB or RAM, 16GB of internal flash, microSD support for additional storage, and optional Qi-compatible wireless charging. Radios include CDMA and LTE for Verizon, GSM / GPRS / EDGE / UMTS / HSPA+ for global roaming, WiFi a/b/g/n, Bluetooth 3.0, A-GPS and NFC.
In terms of design, the Lumia 822 is much curvier than its siblings and the battery cover doesn’t wrap around the sides. The camera pod and flash placement matches the longitudinal setup from the Lumia 920 and Lumia 810 instead of the transverse layout found on the Lumia 820. At 142g (5 ounces) it’s quite a hefty device, but despite being 11.2mm (0.44 inches) thick, it feels very nice in hand. Build quality is solid, which is pretty much what you’d expect from Nokia. The phone will be available in three colors: black, white and our favorite, a stunning shade of grey. See for yourself in the gallery below, and peek after the break for our hands-on video.
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