Wednesday, September 24, 2014

Port side! Anker 5-Port USB Desktop Charger Review

As convenient as USB charging is, traveling a lot gives me the problem of available outlets for all my devices. I've had some success with some dual port ones that can handle my Xperia Tablet Z and my Xperia Z1 Compact... but nowadays, even phones need 2.1A of power. So those just won't do anymore.

A quick Google search led me to Anker and their 5-port USB desktop charger. It's quite simple. 5 intelligent USB ports. 2.1A on ALL ports... ALL THE TIME! Sweet! The intelligent chip inside the charger regulates the amount of power. Handles tablets, phones, phones in use, etc. Charges all devices at full speed.

It's about the size of the Apple Macbook power adapter so it's easy enough to carry around and won't add any significant weight or bulk to your bag.

So far, so good. Most of the time, I use up about 4 ports. Leaving one free for a friend or any new gadget I may buy in the future. I'm quite happy with it and their customer support was quite quick to send an email asking if I was happy with my purchase.

If you have more than 3 USB devices that are taking up outlet space, this is a definite must-have in your kit!


Wednesday, July 2, 2014

Ok Google!

Yay! Google Now "hot word" detection from any screen is now active on my account!

Saturday, May 31, 2014

Big things come in small...er... Compact packages. A Sony Xperia Z1 Compact Review

I'm not a fan of the current trend of ever-growing smartphone screen sizes, aka "Phablets". Mainly because I feel they are a compromise from both sides. They are neither small enough to be convenient to carry around, nor are their screens large enough to enjoy surfing or media properly. I don't think manufacturers should stop making phones bigger, I just wish they'd offer smaller options that aren't based on ancient technology. Thankfully, Sony did just that with the Xperia Z1 Compact.

At 4.3", the Z1 Compact is not small. Unlike the older Xperia Mini or Mini Pro, the Z1 Compact is just that, a compact version of it's larger 5" sibling, the Z1. Both sport a 2.2GHz Quad-core CPU, 20 Megapixel Sony Exmor RS camera, 2GB RAM, 16GB on-board memory, LTE, and IP rating. The only difference being screen size. The Z1 has a Full HD (1920 x 1080) screen, while the Z1 Compact has an HD (1280 x 720) screen. In actual use, the slightly lower pixel density of the Z1 Compact is not noticeable and offers very good color rendition and media performance. For those that may be wondering, the back of the Compact is plastic. The Japanese version however, is glass. I'm not fond of cases at all. So to protect my phone, I immediately got matte protectors for the front and back. The matte screen protector does degrade screen quality slightly, but it also keep it fingerprint free, and reduces glare. The benefits, for me, outweighed the slight color degradation.

Performance of the Z1 Compact is quite exceptional. I've been told that it's even better than the Z1 due to the fact that both the CPU and GPU have fewer pixels to power. As nice as the stock Sony Home app is, I find the common Android layout quite cluttered, hence I use Smart Launcher 2 which allows me to clean up my home screen and significantly boost performance. This launcher has worked on my old X10 Mini Pro til my current Z1 Compact and makes it so much easier to navigate with one hand. On the Compact, it uses such little resources, the phone really blazes through everything even faster than stock.

Battery life on the Compact is great. Coming from the much older Xperia P, which gave me about 7-10 hours of use, the Compact gives me well over 24 hours under similar settings. I used to always have to charge my phone at least 2x a day with my normal use, the Compact leaves me with about 25% charge by the time I'm about to sleep. This is using Sony's Stamina Mode which I leave on all the time. Without it, my Xperia P would last about 5-6 hours, and the Compact would last about 18-20 hours. Disabling data (or switching to 2G only) increases standby time significantly on both my phones. So glad I no longer have to lug around my charger or a power bank!

Audio performance is great too. My preferred audio app is Power Amp primarily because it can crossfade tracks. But other than that, the built-in Walkman app is great. Very sleek and refined. The Clear Audio feature in the Settings really makes a difference in audio quality/clarity when using Bluetooth headsets. But if you're plugged in via the headphone jack into a stereo system, you may want to disable this for a purer sound experience. The speaker is located at the bottom of the phone. Which I think is brilliant. Although the grille makes it look like the speaker occupies the whole bottom of the phone, the actual speaker is only about a third of the grille on the left side. Why I prefer this position is because it allows you to place your phone in your pocket with the speaker facing up and keeps it unobstructed for calls and notifications. You will appreciate this when you keep your phone in your back pocket since it rings pretty loud in a crowded street or mall. I wouldn't really rate any built-in speaker for proper media playback but it has decent volume specially when xLoud and Clear Phase are used. Other than that, I always use external speakers or a headset.

The camera is fantastic. Low light performance is excellent and Superior Auto is getting better. It may be a 20 megapixel camera but this is only available in Manual mode with HDR disabled. HDR, Superior Auto, and the other features drop resolution down to 8MP which is more than decent but kinda disappointing. 3rd party plug-ins like 360 Panorama and the Augmented Reality apps (quite fun) are accessible directly from the camera app or as individual apps on your home screen. Quick-lauch (holding the camera button down to launch the camera) will only launch in Superior Auto mode.

So far so good. Although I wish they had made the Xperia Z1 Compact a bit narrower, I think this is an excellent choice for those that don't want to sacrifice performance for the sake of a more pocketable Android device.

Tuesday, April 22, 2014

Sony Smartwatch2 SW2 Update!

Sony's Smartwatch2 has just gotten a very good update! The new firmware tweaks existing apps, and offers a new watch face editor that allows drag and drop elements to layout your own display. Several different clocks, weather, date & notification widgets are available for you to position anywhere on the display.

A convenient "Tap twice to wake" feature is added, and responds to shaking your wrist as well. This basically turns on the backlight so you can see the time in low light conditions. It does NOT unlock the watch to enter the menu. You will still need to press the power button to access the apps.

A new calculator (VERY handy) is also present, and has a little Easter Egg hidden in it. On Sony's marketing material, the time displayed is 10:35. Enter 1035 on the calculator and press "=" and a little Snake game will now appear in the watch. :)

Head on over to Google Play and update your SmartWatch 2 app on your phone!

Past Tech Gospels

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