Canon PowerShot SX610 HS Review

Last year’s PowerShot SX600 HS offered a good balance of performance and features at a reasonable price, so it’s perhaps unsurprising that Canon hasn’t altered this recipe much for the new SX610 HS. It features the same 18x optically stabilised lens giving a 35mm-equivalent focal length of 25-450mm.
The Canon PowerShot SX610 HS does boast a new 20.2-megapixel, back-illuminated CMOS sensor, but it’s paired with the aging DIGIC 4+ processor. Consequently the extra demand of processing more pixels has caused a drop in continuous shooting speed to just 2.5fps, down from the SX600 HS’s 3.9fps. Fortunately there’s Full HD video recording for when this isn’t fast enough.


Canon has also made some subtle changes to the case design to improve ergonomics, and the new model receives a high-resolution 922,000-dot monitor. You also get Wi-Fi connectivity with NFC pairing for easy image sharing and remote camera control, plus there’s some clever creative extras. Hybrid Auto mode records stills together with short accompanying video clips to better document your day, whilst Creative Shot mode will automatically capture several shots and apply a different filter effect to each.
The Canon PowerShot SX610 HS retails for $249.99 / £179.99.

Ease of Use

The outgoing PowerShot SX600 HS certainly wasn’t a tricky camera to operate, but Canon has made its replacement even more user-friendly. The case design has been tweaked with a larger front finger ridge and a more generously-sized rear thumb rest. Small touches, but they noticeably improve ergonomics and help make the new model sit more securely in the hand.
This is partly helped by the Canon PowerShot SX610 HS’s relatively chunky dimensions. At 105.3 x 61.0 x 26.7 mm and 191g ready-to-shoot, it’s almost identical in size and weight to the outgoing SX600 HS. Whilst that makes this comfortably less bulky than Canon’s 30x zoom SX710 HS, it’s worth remembering that Sony’s Cyber-shot DSC-WX350 manages to be noticeably smaller and 15% lighter than the SX610 HS, yet it packs 20x optical zoom.

Sony Xperia Z4

Sony Xperia Z4 smartphone was launched in April 2015. The phone comes with a 5.20-inch touchscreen display with a resolution of 1080 pixels by 1920 pixels

The Sony Xperia Z4 is powered by 1.5GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 processor and it comes with 3GB of RAM. The phone packs 32GB of internal storage that can be expanded up to 128GB via a microSD card. As far as the cameras are concerned, the Sony Xperia Z4 packs a 20.7-megapixel primary camera on the rear and a 5.1-megapixel front shooter for selfies.

The Sony Xperia Z4 runs Android 5.0 and is powered by a 2930mAh non removable battery. It measures 146.00 x 72.00 x 6.90 (height x width x thickness) and weighs 144.00 grams.

The Sony Xperia Z4 is a single SIM (GSM) smartphone that accepts a Nano-SIM. Connectivity options include Wi-Fi, GPS, Bluetooth, NFC, FM, 4G. Sensors on the phone include Proximity sensor, Ambient light sensor, Accelerometer, and Gyroscope. 

 

About Sony

Sony Mobile (previously known as Sony Ericsson Mobile) is a subsidiary of the electronics giant Sony Corporation. The company's Xperia range that started off with Windows Mobile OS has moved to Android and is a significant part of the smartphone market today. The company markets some of its phones as waterproof and dustproof.

Sony Xperia Z3

What is the Sony Xperia Z3?

Sony seems intent on sticking to its crazy-short phone refresh cycle, with the Xperia Z3 arriving just six months after its predecessor, the Xperia Z2. Sony's latest Android-powered flagship, The Xperia Z3 lands alongside the Z3 Tablet Compact and the Xperia Z3 Compact, to complete the Z3 family. Given its speedy turnaround, the question is how much could Sony improve? The answer, not a great deal, it seems.
For looks, it’s not a radical departure from the Z2, though the body is svelter and lighter. Power’s been increased a little, there have been some improvements with the camera, and with an upgrade to Android 5.0 Lollipop it should prove to be even slicker still. The best news is that all of the things that made the Z2 so great, such as the superb screen, lengthy battery life and super-fast performance have all remained.

As you'd expect of a flagship, this is the best Sony phone yet, and despite the small improvements, the Xperia Z3 manages to keep pace with the HTC One M8, Samsung Galaxy S5, LG G3 and the iPhone 6. If you own an Xperia Z2, or even a Z1 though, you may be best served holding out for later this summer, when its successor, the Xperia Z4, is pencilled in to arrive.
We sincerely hope the Xperia Z4 makes a more momentous leap forward.

Sony Xperia Z3 – Design

There’s still the same combination of glass and aluminium with features like front-facing speakers and the camera sensor positioned at the back. At 7.3mm thick, it’s slimmer than the Z2 but not quite as svelte as the iPhone 6. It weighs 10g less than the Z2, not that you are really going to notice. What is more evident is the narrower frame, making it better suited for one-handed use.
It’s available in black, green, white and copper, the latter of which we had the pleasure of pulling out of our pocket. It’s actually not as garish or tacky as it first seems and is a colour that kind of grows on you.
The anodised aluminium finish has a very iPhone 6-look about it until you flip it over and see the glass rear. It might look nice, but it has irritating habit of slipping off sofa arms and pretty much any soft, not totally flat surface you leave it on. The S5’s dimpled back and even the all-metallic One M8 offers a more reassuring feel.

The corners are curvier, too, which ought to make it more comfortable to hold. It doesn't. Why? Because on every edge you your hand rests there's a button, a vanity seal or a charging dock. Buttons are at least well placed and thinner and while there’s nothing else out there like the Z3, we’d say the iPhone 6 and the One M8 have the more attractive, less fussy design.
One thing those two phones lack, however, is the Z3’s resistance to dust and water. Sony has moved up to a higher IP68 certification, which means as long as the latches covering the charging port and nano SIM card slot are closed, you can now dunk it into water for up to 1.5 metres for thirty minutes.
Those latches guarding the micro USB charging port, nano SIM and micro SD card slot feel more robust than the ones on previous Xperia Z handsets and should hopefully do a better job of keeping those vital internals protected.

S Galaxy Tab S2 9.7 vs. Apple iPad

Samsung and Apple each have tablets that are clearly designed to compete head to head. The new Galaxy Tab S2 9.7 and the iPad Air 2 have the same screen size and price, but there are real differences between these two, and not just that one runs Android and the other iOS.
We’re here to share our hands-on experience of how Samsung’s flagship tablet stacks up against Apple’s in real world use.

Build and Design

Apple makes the most popular tablets and Samsung’s design strategy seems to be to imitate that success. The Galaxy Tab S2 9.7 made the switch to a 4:3 screen aspect ratio, the same ratio used in all iPad models, so Samsung’s and Apple’s latest are quite similar in size and shape.

While they have similar dimensions, Samsung worked hard to make its newest tablet thin and light; it’s only marginally slimmer than its rival but is definitely lighter, making it easier to hold for long periods. The iPad feels a touch sturdier, though.

Specifically the Tab S2 is 9.3 x 6.7 x 0.22 inches while the Air 2 is 9.4 x 6.6 x 0.24, so Apple’s offering is just slightly taller and wider and just a hair thinner, but these differences aren’t really noticable in everyday use. What’s a bit more noticeable is that the Air 2 weighs 0.96 pounds but the Tab S2 is just 0.86 lbs.


One of the reasons the Samsung model is lighter is the back of its casing is plastic, where Apple used aluminum. That said, both tablets have a very polished, professional look.
Apple’s model comes in dark grey, silver, and gold casings, and Samsung’s in black, white, and gold.

Display

A highlight of the Galaxy Tab S2 9.7 is its Active Matrix Organic LED display, in which no backlight is necessary because each screen pixel glows on its own. As a result, AMOLED displays offer very vivid colors, and look better when used outdoors than do traditional LCDs like the one in the iPad Air 2. Apple’s display is one of the best available, but LCDs just don’t look as good as AMOLED screens.
Aside from this, though, both screens are practically identical: 9.7 inches with a resolution of 2048 x 1536, giving them each a pixel density of about 264 ppi.
AMOLED technology gives the Galaxy Tab S2 9.7 a definite advantage in this area, if not a huge one.

Best tablet 2016: the top tabs we've reviewed

It's a difficult process divining which place each of these excellent tablets should occupy in our list, so we take into account multiple elements including performance, battery life, screen quality and more.
Price plays a part, as does age: a tablet that's been replaced by a sequel will tumble down the rankings as you can get all the great features on a better slate.
If none of the best tablets here take your fancy then head on over to our tablet reviews pages, where you'll find in-depth reviews for many more models.
Let us know your thoughts on the top 10 (and whether you think we've got the order wrong) in the comment box below.


The tablet is now a thing - from the days when nobody considered a laptop without a keyboard to be a good thing to today, where a slate full of more power than some games consoles is nestled in bags across the world.
And with that popularity comes the dreaded notion of choice. Do you eschew Apple's high prices, join the Android brigade and find the best iPad alternative? Or jump on board Cupertino's lovetrain, and use one of the most popular tablets on the planet?

Samsung Galaxy S6 Review: Design

Samsung Galaxy S6 Review: Design 

Samsung is one of the world’s most popular brands, next to Apple and Google. But the thing about Samsung is that it didn’t really get there on merit –– it sort of bought its way in with INSANE levels of spending on marketing and advertising (reportedly $12 billion in 2012). It has always made excellent handsets, a prime example would be the Galaxy Note which gave birth to the whole phablet scene, but more recently it has fallen on tough times (sales dropped, the Galaxy S5 flopped) because people got sick of the company drumming out the same old crap year after year.
And then something happened in late 2014…
Samsung began to pump out great looking handsets. The Galaxy Note 4 was, of course, brilliant –– Note updates always are. But for me it was the Galaxy Alpha that really showed a change in the way Samsung built and designed phones; it was just stunning to behold. For this reason, I began (for the first time in a very long while) to actually get excited about the prospect of a new Galaxy S flagship.
The Galaxy S6 takes everything that was great about the Alpha, its gorgeous shape, sleek profile and excellent contouring, and takes it several steps further. The result is a brilliantly realised handset that sits perfectly in your hand and pocket. The Galaxy S6 is a goldilocks handset if ever there was one, being just the right size. Handy if phablets aren’t your thing and you want a phone with the very best specs and hardware currently available.

What is the Samsung Galaxy S7?

What is the Samsung Galaxy S7?

When I first picked up the Samsung Galaxy S7 I was underwhelmed. Was it simply going to be a minor update to the S6? After a few hours of use though I was won over. And even weeks later I’m still so impressed at how Samsung has made loads of minor changes that add up to create a fantastic phone.
HTC might have made wholesale changes with the HTC 10 and LG went all modular for the LG G5, but the Galaxy S7 stands atop the Android pile.
It looks sleeker than the iPhone 6S, has a better camera than the Nexus 6P and boasts a screen that leaves all the competition in the dust. It’s the most complete phone I’ve ever used.

Samsung Galaxy S7 – Design

After the massive, and much needed, change in design direction Samsung took with the Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge in 2015, all rumours pointed to things staying pretty much the same for the Galaxy S7.
Well, it’s not like Apple, HTC or Sony make drastic changes to their industrial design every year.
And that’s exactly the case here. Place the Galaxy S7 next to the S6 and you’d be hard pushed to instantly pick which one is which. Frankly, this doesn’t bother me in the slightest. The S6 was already one of the best-looking phones around, and the Galaxy S7 follows suit.