Iphone 7 and Iphone 7 Plus.

As we get closer to the much awaited September unveiling of the iphone 7 range  , we're starting to see more and more rumors which are practically just cementing the information that has been leaked before.

First of all Apple, this time round, has decided to include a 256GB model of the iphone 7 or the Iphone 7 plus or maybe even both. You're probably wondering why i missed out the pro model. That's because lately there have been rumors from "Industry sources" that there will be no pro model and there will only be the two. The normal iphone and the plus model.

There is another major difference in this years iphone models. The plus model is said to be having a dual camera setup and the normal would have just the normal single camera. So judging by the picture , the phone that's labelled Iphone 7 pro, will actually be the Plus model. This may be Apple's way of saying that they're still in the smartphone game with all the other companies this year that have released phones with dual camera setups like lg and huawei. However one may say that Apple has run out of new gimmicks and so is relying upon the strategies of other successful companies in the business.

"Bob , wheres the headphone jack? i cant find it anywhere!!!"

Yes, you read that right. People wouldn't find the 3.5mm headphone jack anywhere on the new iphones and that's because Apple decided that headphone jacks are "a thing of the past" and that its time to move on. What seemed to be pretty much unimportant (since every phone had it) has now become a "FEATURE". Headphone jacks were just there and no one expected them not be since these have been on phones since the early Nokia days however companies like Apple and Motorola have taken a step forward and have removed the headphone jack. Motorola released its Moto z phones earlier this summer and got a lot of praise for their unique phones but also got a lot of hate for removing the headphone jack. Maybe it'll be different in Apple's case since whatever Apple does , that becomes the normal standard for phones.

So the real question is, Should we say goodbye to headphone jacks or should we have hope that companies will still include them in their future phones. 

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Gaming on a laptop or a Desktop?

Should gaming be done on a Laptop or a Desktop? Perhaps one of the biggest questions of a consumer if he/she is getting into pc gaming.The answer to that question is more complicated than you think.

The first thing that pops into mind is the fact that a laptop is portable and so you can enjoy the premium gaming experience on the  go , wherever you are , on a plane for example. However how much would you actually loose at the cost of portability? Desktop cpu's are mostly custom made and are fitted with premium high quality fans that can endure the intensive gaming sessions without causing any thermal throttling. This is the one of the main reasons why people looking to get into pc gaming prefer the pc rather than the laptop.

Another main reason why people would much rather get a desktop is that as you can see in the above picture the setup has multiple displays, which further enhances your gaming experience. This sadly cannot be done on laptops. 

Laptop screens, no matter how high the resolution , will still be smaller than desktop monitors in term of size and that makes a huge difference in the world of gaming. Now one may argue that a laptop can be connected to an external display like a tv but that isn't as immersive as playing on a monitor.

Keyboard. No matter what you think of your "ultra high end back lit laptop keyboard" an external keyboard is still better. the keys are definitely more tactile and the spacing on external keyboards are just right.Since Pc gaming requires precise movement of the fingers , unlike in console gaming where gaming is largely done on those huge analogs, the keyboard has to be just perfect.

Now comes the dilemma of the price. you can get a pretty sweet gaming desktop for around $500. However for the same price or even in the same price range, you would not find even a decent gaming laptop. Good laptops worthy of the name of "Gaming laptops" start above $1000 and thats just the starting price. laptops such as those of Alienware go upto $5000. Notice the difference?

In the end most people would prefer to get a desktop for gaming but there are still  some people who would get a laptop just for its portability.  

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Allo and Duo

Google has yet again released another one of its chatting apps. This time two of them  Allo and Duo. They first announced these apps in their google I/O earlier this year. However this time round google decided to make two separate apps for video calling and text messages.

Duo being the app which lets you video chat with your contacts saved on your phone. This of course relies on the numbers that you have saved on your phone or sim and not an account. This is different from google's previous app , hangouts, which let users add their friends through their email as well as their numbers. Also google hangouts was only one app and supported both video calling and text messages.Another cool feature about Duo is that it supports a smooth video calling experience even with a not so high end internet connection and it can switch from wifi to mobile data without dropping the call or any hangs in the call.

Allo however has not been released as of yet but Duo is rolling out on the play store and you can download it of you are in a supported region.

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The Asus Zenwatch 3

Asus is planning to release the third installment in its smartwatch series, the zenwatch 3. Although nothing is yet confirmed on when that is happening we atleast do know that it will happen sometime in the near future.

Just hope that since this is a circular design resembling the moto 360, the screen is fully round and there isn't any dead space on the bottom like the first gen moto 360.

Judging by the photo there seem to be 3 buttons on the right side of the watch whereas until now smartwaches running android wear only have one primary button either on the right or the left, mostly its the right.

lets hope that Asus prices this watch competitively too match match its much awaited arrival.

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The next gen of Nexus

Google releases its nexus phone every year. In 2015 however it released , for the first time , two new nexus smartphones. The larger of the two being the nexus 6p from huawei and the smaller 5 inch variant , the nexus 5x from lg once gain. 

This time round google plans to release two new nexus phones as well just like the last time. One would be in the phablet category and one will be a smaller screened phone. However unlike last year, One manufacturer is rumored to make both the phones, HTC. Htc phones are known for their design but coupled with google's stock software this may be one of the best nexus's we have gotten so far.

Just like last year, we are getting a smaller nexus, the nexus 5p wihth The Snapdragon 820 chipset, 4GB RAM, and 32GB of storage . There is also said to be a 2770mAh battery and USB Type-C charging. In terms of camera, It has also ben leaked that there will be a 13-megapixel rear snapper and an 8-megapixel front snapper.The display is said to be 5-inches, with a 1920 x 1080 pixel resolution

The larger nexus is codenamed "Marlin" and is said to have a 5.5-inch 2560 x 1440 pixel resolution AMOLED display, 4GB of RAM and 32GB or 128GB of memory.The leak also suggested there would be a 12-megapixel rear snapper, 8-megapixel front camera and a 3450mAh battery with USB Type-C charging.

There is still now official statement released by google on when these phones will be released but judging by the progress of google's new software , Android 7.0 Nougat, there isnt much time left. Google should release the two nexus phones with android 7.0 Nougat on board in late September or in the first couple of weeks of August.

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Loosing Sleep

why is it that you cant get enough sleep at night? Everybody secretly knows that its partially because of you using your phone right before sleeping. Now this may not be the case with everyone but it mostly is.

Smartphones emit a blue sort of light. This blue light is used by phone companies to make the screens on phones more efficient. However these can also cause loss of sleep during the night. The blue light affects a hormone in our body called "melatonin" ,which essentially reminds our body to sleep and rest, causing it to not effectively do its job.

Apple introduced a feature in is ios 9.3 beta release allowing the screen to display a yellow hue or tint which is different from the blue light that the screen usually emits. With this there is no disruption to the, as i like to call it, "The Sleep Hormone" which allows us to sleep and rest with ease.This feature is automatically turned on when its night time. Apple described that the software uses the phones clock and geolocation to determine when its dark outside and thus turns it on. Note that it can also be turned off manually if you dont want this feature by going into settings.

This feature is also available on some android devices through custom roms and third party apps like this app here. Night Screen

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Chinese Smartphone Companies

While many people prefer an expensive , top of the line smartphone with the latest specs , there are other phones which are top of the line with the latest specs but with a cheaper price tag and the companies that make these phones arent quite as popular as those other Multi billion dollar companies.Many of these companies seem to originate from China.

One such example is the company "OnePlus". Oneplus was actually a part of oppo, the very popular Chinese smartphone company, but due to some conflicts it broke apart and formed its own entity. It released its first phone in 2014 when the latest snapdragon soc was the snapdragon 801. However all the flagships that were using this package were quite expensive. This is primarily how oneplus gained its popularity. It released a phone called the OnePlus One with all the latest specs but priced it at only $299 for the base 16gb model and $349 for the 64gb model. It was even given the title of "The Flagship Killer". It also came with no bloatware installed as it came with the very popular custom rom cyanogenmod. With the stock like rom and amazing specs the oneplus one was a phone not to be reckoned with. 

OnePlus, like all other companies, used social media as their primary source for advertisement before the release of its first phone and created so much Hype that at the time of release , oneplus couldnt keep up with the demand and was given bad reviews for it. It simply didnt expect this kind of reaction from the people. Oneplus went on and released two new phones in 2015, the oneplus x and the oneplus 2. Both were not as well received again due to the same issue. they couldnt keep up with the demand. Furthermore to order a oneplus phone one had to go through their disastrous invite system program which was also one of the major reasons why the company failed.

However in 2016 they released their third flagship phone with the same philosophy of the flagship killer at a budget price point, the OnePlus 3. this time round they ditched the invite system and seem to be keeping up with the demand. the phone itself is pretty amazing with great specs and a uni body simplistic metal design. 

Another such company is xiaomi. Xiaomi first started out when it was only making custom roms for android phones but then it started releasing smartphones , not for the international market at first but only for the local market, China. it was very well received by the public as it did not have the issues that OnePlus had. Gradually Xiaomi became even popular than apple in China as they pretty much gave consumers what they wanted. a flagship phone with a budget price, nice design and their own set of apps that were to be used in China only. lately they have been focusing on expanding to other areas of the globe like India and the west too. the latest offering that they have is the Xiaomi mi5.

While i have only described two of these type of companies , there are many more just like these and in my opinion Chinese Smartphone Companies will one day take over the industry!

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PC vs CONSOLE

Perhaps one of the most debated questions on the internet today is whether to get a gaming pc (or laptop) or a console such as the xbox or the PlayStation.

The average person can easily be thrown into contemplation to the answer of the very same question but technology enthusiasts know right away. A gaming PC is the way to go! Definitely the pc gives better graphics and performance , given that it isn't a cheap system. Perhaps thats one of the main disadvantages of a gaming pc. If you want good graphics and speedy performance you have to shell out some cash for it. 

The console isnt "Cheap" by any means , its cheaper when compared to a decent gaming rig. Therefore people tend to buy consoles more than gaming pc's. 

As you can see for yourselves, there is much more detail on the right than the left. the graphics on the ps4 are much smoother and smudged out whereas on the pc its very fine and detailed. Another big advantage that a pc user has is that they can tweak the graphic setting according to their own liking and so people who dont just want to be binded by the console settings and want to test out the extremes of their rig will surely prefer the pc instead of the console.

Which side are you on? Console or PC. comment and let me know.

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Wearables

Every thing these days is becoming smart. Who would've thought that even our watches one day, would be connected to the internet!

Everything from watches to glasses and even vr headsets , wearables are slowly creeping into our daily lives just as smartphones first did. However the main question is, Do we really need these? are these absolutely necessary? because if these were smartphones the answer to those both questions would've been "yes".

As normal watches do these smartwatches come in different shapes and sizes with different looks, each unique in its own way. However one  main difference is that we can actually customize how the dial looks.  This way one would never get bored of the same watch ever again. Another handy feature of these smartwatches is that since these are powered by google's android wear and are connected to your phone, you can directly access notifications and "google cards" from google now which can be pretty useful at times. For example if you are following the details of a particular flight and google is showing the timings of the flight in google now, then you can easily access these details on your watch without taking out your phone.

Google glass is another type of wearable. you pretty much know this by now but google glass are just fancy glasses that has a screen and is connected to the internet through your smartphone. it pretty much does the same job as a smartwatch does except that its on your face and not on your wrist and you dont have to directly look at your wrist anymore for those google cards or time.

Another device,which im not entirely sure is considered a wearable, is the VR headset. These have become very popular these days and they basically allow you to experience "virtual reality" directly through your phone. This is actually pretty cool if you think about it but do we actually need it? focus on the word "need".

perhaps the only wearble that i think is a necessity are smart bands that track your vitals and record your fitness attributes. these have a better practical use over all the other wearables out on the market right now and maybe that is the reason why these sell the most as compared to smartwatches or smart glasses.

Therefore in my opinion these expensive wearables are not a necessity in this period of time but maybe in the near future things might change. What do you think? Are wearables worth the money or are they just another gimmick?

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Age of the Smartphones

Technology has advanced at a scary fast speed and by scary fast i mean one day technology controlling the world! No but seriously if you think about it technology has already taken over the world.The last 5-6 years can easily be described as "The Age of the Smartphones". Almost every person on the planet owns a smartphone whether it be an iPhone or an android, cheap or expensive, a smartphone never the less.

Of approximately the 14 hours that a person is awake , he/she spends at least 8 hours looking at a phone screen. Phones have taken over our lives. This can be greatly due to social media being so easily accessible right on your phone. Just think about it. Every time you're bored or in an awkward place or position you automatically turn towards your phone. With all this time being spent on smartphones , people have started to discard their notebooks and laptops as the smartphones coming these days can accomplish any task thrown at them as easily as a laptop would. OK that is a bit of an exaggeration but still smartphones are becoming very powerful. My laptop has 4gb of ram and an android phone has 6gb of it. You see what i mean!

People have also started to use their phones for payment with services like android pay and Samsung pay as well as apple pay. Hence all our bank account details are on our smartphones which we carry everywhere with us. How safe really is that? Even if these services are Hacker proof who's to say that our smartphone wont get stolen.

Then comes the question of privacy. How safe is it to store personal details and share pretty much everything going on with our lives on the internet? Even if you think that you have turned on all those privacy settings so no one can see your info , where do you think that info is stored? On a server somewhere in the world, that's where. And even if that server is owned by a trusted company how can you safely say that one day that company wouldn't use your personal info for their personal gains if it comes to that.

Smartphones can be very useful if used correctly but there are several security issues associated with them as well as mentioned above and even  more! Use your phones wisely.  

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Android Purists

Stock Android.

why do many android enthusiasts prefer the stock look of the android os rather than a custom user interface on top of android such as Samsung's touchwiz ux and lg's  own skin on top of android.

Google released the first nexus phone with its stock android with the sole purpose that people experience android as it was intended and for other companies like samsung and lg to follow in google's footsteps. However these companies decided not to go with the pure stock android skin but put their own custom skin on top of  the android os. Now some people may argue that these custom skins are more flexible and versatile but in my opinion these skins just hinder the true potential of android and slow down the phone's performance. Google has therefore released its nexus line of smartphones with the latest duo being the nexus 6p and the nexus 5x. 

The nexus phones have the pure stock android skin with absolutely no bloatware installed and a very simple interface for navigation through the ui. Unlike the skinned versions of android, the stock nexus rom has a very clean design and coupled with the new material design of google that was released in its lollipop release, the phone looks and performs the way google first intended for android. Even though samsung has come a long way too and improved its skin on top of android, i still feel that if the flagships of samsung ran stock android , it would certainly perform even better than it already is.



Which version of android would you prefer. Tell me in the comment section!

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IOS vs Android

Ever since the first iPhone from Apple was released the entire smartphone market and industry changed. Capacitive  touch screens suddenly became  more popular , smartphone photography became more popular and a lot more changed.Apple had released the perfect smartphone. However soon after , google released the first nexus which was made by HTC and powered by the android operating system.

Since then many people have argued over which operating system is better. well there is no clear answer for it. It all comes down to personal preference and use. having used both android and ios i can tell you that both have their ups and downs. Starting with the pros of android. The android os is perfect for all types of consumers, be it for the business class , for teens getting their first smartphone, for aged people or for people who use their smartphone primarily for multimedia purposes. In short Android powered phones come in all shapes and sizes with different price ranges. Android, furthermore is very customizable. By customizable i dont just mean slapping a fancy cover on the back of the phone! we can actually change almost the entire look of the software inside the phone in addition to the hardware customization. For example we can change the default launcher that the phone ships with. we can change the locksreen. we can even change keyboards. Some of these features are available on ios as well but are more correctly implemented on android. If you are not satisfied even after the customizations then you can take it one step further by rooting your phone. by doing this you can open a very wide variety of customizations that arent available on the stock software. you can even change the entire rom if you want by flashing a custom recovery. if not an entire rom then you can try out the xposed framework. this basically allows you to turn your stock rom into any  rom you want through installing different modules.

Now onto the pros of the iPhone. Apple has stuck to a very simple philosophy. The simpler the better. IOS is very simple or a more better way to describe it is "user friendly". We can easily navigate through the os without getting tangled up in useless bloatware or settings. It has a plain and easy card type layout for its app grid and one can swipe left or right to access these apps on different pages. Everything is pretty straightforward and there is no need to fiddle around with the settings or apps to complete a certain task.

Perhaps the most biggest advantage ios has over android is that it is much more "user friendly". people who dont want much of a hassle and just want to get the job done will prefer the iPhone over any android phone. However people who like to fiddle around and explore would definitely like android better as they can customize their phone to their liking.

In the end it comes down to user preference. Both operating systems have come a long way since their date of release and have improved greatly. One can even say that smartphones will replace laptops or small notebooks as pretty much anything can be done right from your smartphone nowadays.

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Droid turbo in 2016

Motorola Droid Turbo in 2016

Motorola came back in the mobile industry in the fall of 2013 and that too with a bang with its newly anounced moto x series. Although the moto x wasn't the best phone by any standards (looks or specs) it certianly performed the way a flagship should. However motorola even in previous years had joined hands with verizon and released its droid series of smartphones. Such a phone was released in the fall of 2014. The Droid turbo for verizon or the moto max for europe.

The Droid Turbo

the droid turbo came in the same year as the second gen moto x but whereas the moto x came with the motomaker this phone had no such luxury for customization. It did however came in 3 colours and 2 types of materials. One was of a nylon type which came in either black or blue and one came in a kevlar type material which came in either red or black colour. Personally having held both i would much rather prefer the nylon backing over the kevlar.

Getting looks out of the way, lets get into the actual performance of the phone. The droid turbo had the same internal specs as the nexus 6 with the exception of the camera. It had a snapdragon 805 SOC, 3 gigs of ram and a quad hd 1440p Amoled screen. the phone is a beast on paper and in real life too.

With this came a 21 megapixel camera too over the nexus 6's 13 megapixel one. There is great clarity and colours certianly do pop in the pictures taken by the droid turbo but sadly more megapixels does not mean better camera quality. the camera suffers greatly in low light conditions where a ton of noise creeps in and the picture doesn't come out great as one would have expected. In the daylight however its a totally different story. As you can see there is a ton of detail in the pictures and the colours really do pop. Notice the colour of the rust on the steel bar.here is another phoot shot by the droid turbo:

      

Also given that we can work with 21 megapixles, we can crop and zoom on quite a lot before loosing too much detail and that is always a plus point.

So now comes the screen. the Droid Turbo is equipped with a 5.2 inch 1440p Amoled screen. Being of the amoled variety the colours are really saturated and the blacks are deep blacks as it is with these kind of screens. However this may not appeal to every person out there. For me , Amoled screens are better and given that this is a quad hd screen makes it even better.

perhaps the mkst dissapointing thing of the droid turbo is its battery life. Its certianly bulky and not thin by any means and that is due to its large 3900 mah battery. Now one would hope that a battery this size would last them atleast 35-40 hours with moderate usage. but sadly that is not the case. it barely holds its own by the end of the day ( by which i mean 9-10pm ). 

personally having owned the droid turbo i can very safley say that motorola made the right choices in future proofing the phone. I have had no lags or hiccups in the year that i have used it and have more than enjoyed the stock like experience from a verizon exclusive phone! 

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