Blackberry Z10 (Review): The Dawn or Dusk of Blackberry?

Is it an iPhone.... is it the HTC One. No its the Blackberry Z10. The Z10 is the first phone to support Blackberry 10. According to Blackberry, This smarrphone is meant to signify a new start for Blackberry (Formerly known as RIM.) Blackberry 10 is the company's last attempt at success but with assets drying up and time passing by, will it be enough to keep the company afloat in this vicious smartphone tide. to put it simply, The Z10 is the rather disastrous Dawn of blackberry 10 but I can already see Blackberry's Dusk soon approaching!


HARDWARE

At first glance, the device does look stunning. Its glossy 4.2 inch screen, its smooth edges and bold buttons as simple yet utterly elegant! The immersive screen has a good re
solution (of  359 pixels per inch) The screen makes for clear, crisp and immersive content viewing (if your battery isn't dead.) Its when you hold the device in your hands when the problems roll out. The device has that common mid-range plastic-feel and it just seems too small, its definitely small for previous Galaxy S users but it may be okay for previous iPhone or Blackberry users. Overall, I like the look of the device. It undoubtable looks premium but it doesn't feel it. The phone's design is unique however It still isn't better than the Galaxy S4, the iPhone 5 or even its twin, the HTC One.

A SPEC-SENTENCE

A spec-sheet thats so short, it can be called a "Spec-sentence." We've seen amazing spec-sheets over the past few months from Samsung and Nokia, Spec-sheets that I struggle to write on one page. Then you get Blackberry with a few average specs that we've seen 2 years ago. The saddest part is that blackberry openly boasts these "Features"on its websites. They expect phrases like, "Front-Facing camera" and "3G ready" to draw customers in. * Lets take a moment of silence to show how pathetic is, if you can stop laughing. *  

TOUR

On the front of the device, you will find The 4.2 inch screen. Blackberry branding below the screen. The headset speaker, LED indicator and the illusive Front-facing camera. Something I really don't understand is the dual bezels on the device, many people have commented that they are for 'design' purposes but if so I really think it doesn't look nice (at all.) It would have been good to see some speakers on them (like the HTC One.)  but the again Blackberry has so little content to play through the speakers. On the bottom you shall find the primary speakers, which make for muffled sound quality. The positioning of the speakers are bad as I find myself covering the speakers when holding it in landscape mode. The Top of the device has a Sleep/wake button which is also oddly placed right in the middle. Although it looks better, its just hard to press the button when using the phone with one hand. The right side is home to two volume rockers as well as a programmable button in the middle. (similar to the one found on the 9900.) The left side houses the connection ports, The MicroUSB Charging port and the HDMI Port for sharing your screen. Finally we yet to the removable back panel which you will remove to install a Sim card or MicroSD as well as to remove or change the battery. Speaking of the Battery, The Z10 has a fairly large 1800 mAH battery which is good for about a day however the battery life does tend to deteriorate after a few weeks of usage. Getting back to the Back of the device, the Z10 has a textured Back panel which isn't as good as the one on the Q10 but its really nice and gripp-able. On the back you will also find the fair 8MP camera and the Blackberry logo. 

CAMERA

The Rear-shooter is a 8MP camera which is very similar to the iPhone 5 and the Q10's. It makes for Clear and crisp pictures. The camera is amazing and is definitely a camera I would use for everyday photography. Although the flash helps in low-light situations, I find that the flash gives pictures an unusual glowing hue. The Z10 also has a fair front-facing camera that can be used to take pictures of yourself and for 3rd party apps like Skype.

BLACKBERRY 10 OS

Blackberry 10 is Blackberry's last attempt to get you, the end user to join the Blackberry eco-system abandoning all android and iOS have to offer for what seems like a joke if you ask me. Blackberry 10 virtually takes features from iOS and Android and calls them their own! Apple and Google  haven't even bothered to do anything about it because I think even they feel sorry for Blackberry's failed attempt. Blackberry 10 just feels like you living in 2008. The software has a good look to it but at the end of the day the features are outdated and aren't useful. An example is one of Blackberry 10's key features is Blackberry Remind which does what Apple's Reminders did in iOS 5 (in 2011)!

BLACKBERRY BALANCE

Blackberry Balance is a feature that separates your work files from your personal files, which I think is an amazing feature. It works well and its definitely a feature I love in Blackberry 10. It really defines Blackberry as a work phone and a personal phone for real business people.  Its more features like these that I want to see.

BLACKBERRY HUB

Blackberry Hub allows you to have a peek at your notifications at a glance from any application by just swiping across the screen. The feature is similar to Android and iOS's Notifications but the layout is unique. It works fairly well, however I would have liked to see Blackberry allow you to reply to messages from Blackberry Hub. 

KEYBOARD

I hate to give it to Blackberry but the on-screen keyboard on the Z10 is undoubtable the best i've ever typed on. It just looks stunning and works even better. With the keyboard its just easier to draft an email or text a friend. It feels real, typing is not only easier but friendlier, The Blackberry keyboard learns your way of typing and adjust so you don't have to worry about miss spelling a word because the Blackberry Keyboard will correct you. It also looks at your most used words to give you word suggestions, all you have to do it swipe them up. Its as easy as QWERTY. 

DOCS TO GO

Edit and write your own Microsoft Office Word, exel or powerpoint documents ,basically polaris with blackberry branding! Docs to go is really helpful as you can edit documents on the way to meeting on the streets of south africa and nobody will steal the phone because even thieves don't want blackberrys. Maybe that would be a good feature for blackberry to add to their brochures... You're welcome Blackberry! No seriously , Docs to go on the Q10 is hard to use due to the small screen , so I find it useless on the Q10 also getting the documents onto your PC can be a lengthy task. (installing unneeded software)

BLACKBERRY WORLD

Blackberry World would either make or brake Blackberry 10. It doesn't matter how bad the Operating system is, if Blackberry world had a good selection of apps then the software would be shadowed. Sadly thats not the case. I do commend Blackberry for trying - blackberry gave out several "Dev Alpha"devices to help developers get a feel of Blackberry 10 but few of them developed worth while applications and as a result, blackberry world isn't just okay, its scarce! Although Blackberry now allows you to port android applications they don't work that well or they don't work at all! On the Q10 you will hardly find android applications that will run on its unusual square screen, same goes with the Q5. Another thing Blackberry introduced is music and videos to the Blackberry World, which indeed opens new opportunities but why buy music on blackberry when you can buy it on Apple and listen to it on your computer and on your iPad/iPods where as you can only listen to Blackberry music on your Blackberry 10 Smartphone. (Blackberry "World" isn't available on previous Blackberry devices)

BLACKBERRY MESSENGER

Blackberry Messenger got a new blackberry 10 facelift however no matter how popular BBM is, i still think the platform is slow and that other platforms like ChatOn and whatsapp are the best messaging platforms. BBM was the major factor on previous Blackberry smart phones but with no BIS (Blackberry Internet Services) It just isn't needed. I have also found lately that there are more people using whatsapp than BBM. I just think BBM features are outdated and Blackberry just played attention on useless details instead of focusing on the bigger picture. I find myself hardly using features like BBM Voice and Video as their simple aren't enough people with Blackberry 10 smart phones.

SEARCH

The search tool is really handy. Have you ever really needed a file but cant find it. Say goodbye to those angry bosses or teachers because this search utility beats Apple's by far. Blackberry Search suggest files from the device as well as suggestions on Blackberry World and the internet in order to supply you with the best search results on a mobile device. 

SOFTWARE CONCLUSION

Overall I think Blackberry OS 10 is a really big improvement from Blackberry OS7. It has better graphics, a better layout and is faster but with dated features and annoying gestures this OS update just isn't enough to make people move from Android or iOS to Blackberry 10. From a Software standpoint, Blackberry 10 just seems confused! Is it a flagship device? Is it a Social phone? Is it a Blackberry? It just seems as though blackberry tried too hard. They were to busy trying to mimic their competition that they lost view of what Blackberry was really about, now it doesn't feel like im holding a Blackberry in my hands. Blackberry 10 has some amazing features like Blackberry Keyboard and Blackberry search but will a search utility and on-screen keyboard really save Blackberry? 

CONCLUSION

Blackberry has done an amazing job with the Z10 its beautiful and its unique. No matter what people may say. The Z10 is in my opinion a bold and striking move for Blackberry. I like that they made that move but I question whether its enough for the company. A dated operating system, a seemingly confused design and a dead App Store means consumers aren't interested in the Z10. Why would they be when there are phones with better specs and software. Blackberry is dying, but they are ending on a good note. I see a device that isn't all that good but its reliable, its convenient and its just a statement to everyone on how far Blackberry has come. It may not be the best phone out there but as a business person, a social person or a student. The Z10 is a phone i'd buy. Features like Blackberry keyboard, blackberry search , Docs to go and even the annoying gestures makes this phone so perfect for everyday life. I like this phone because its not trying to be something its not! It may be the dusk of Blackberry but its definitely the dawn of something new, Something unique and something that I really like...

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Blackberry Q10 (Review) : A Traditional Blackberry with the Right dilution of Android and Apple.... In other Words, A Fruit Cocktail!

"Fantastic, Fast. innovative, The Next Big thing" are 4 words that don't describe the Q10. The Q10 is Blackberry as it was made to be. It is the Blackberry 10 device for those few Blackberry-lovers out there. It has a stylish design, a QWERTY keyboard and a 3.1 inch multi-touch display but is that really enough to hide from the fact that Blackberry 10 OS is a failed attempt at iOS and Android?

HARDWARE

I chose to review the Q10 before the Z10 because frankly, I like to focus on the positive features of a device when I review it but with the Z10, there truly isn't anything to commend Blackberry on, but I wont go into too much detail on the Z10 because you're here to read about the Q10 and see it for what it truly is. Lets talk about the hardware, amazingly smooth keys that make for comfortable typing. The Q10 has a rather small 3.1 inch display which has a fairly low pixel resolution when compared to other flagship smart phones like the Samsung Galaxy S4.  Although bad, the resolution is much better than what ive seen on previous Blackberry devices like the Bold 9900. The Back of the device has a rather premium looking carbon fibre like design but once its in your hands, it just feels plasticy and not at all premium! Don't get me wrong, I love the design but im very disappointed with regards to the little details like speaker grills and  parts where Blackberry should have added premium materials like they did with the 9900. Under its plastic exterior, the Q10 packs a Snapdragon S4 Quad-core processor.  Overall , I think the Spec sheet isn't exiting to many but is definitely an improvement for previous Blackberry owners, its a good spec update but Blackberry users are a minority and Blackberry needs to reach out and expand their horizons and draw in new customers but with this hardware, I just don't understand why anyone would leave their flagship S4's or even the S3 for this phone.

CAMERA

The Rear shooter is a 8MP camera which makes for crisp detailed pictures. The camera is really good and is definitely a camera that id use everyday. The flash helps in low-light situations but I find that the flash gives the pictures and unusual glowing hue. The Q10 also has a fair front-facing camera that can be used to take pictures or used in 3rd part applications like Skype. 

TOUR

On the front you shall find a the QWERTY keyboard, Blackberry Branding, a headset speaker, a front-facing camera and an LED indicator. On the bottom of the device, you'll find the main speaker grill which produces amazing crisp sound quality however its placing is bad as the sound isn't firing at you but away from you. On the top theres a classic Blackberry Sleep/Wake button and on the right -hand side you'll find the volume rocker and the programmable button. On the Left-hand side is a Micro- HDMI port and a micro USB port for charging the phone.

BLACKBERRY 10.1 OS

Blackberry 10 is Blackberry's last attempt to get you, the end user to join the Blackberry eco-system abandoning all android and iOS have to offer for what seems like a joke if you ask me. Blackberry 10 virtually takes features from iOS and Android and calls them their own! Apple and Google  haven't even bothered to do anything about it because I think even they feel sorry for Blackberry's failed attempt. Blackberry 10 just feels like you living in 2008. The software has a good look to it but at the end of the day the features are outdated and aren't useful. An example is one of Blackberry 10's key features is Blackberry Remind which does what Apple's Reminders did in iOS 5 (in 2011)!

Photo Credit - BerryReview

BLACKBERRY BALANCE

Blackberry Balance is a feature that separates your work files from your personal files, which I think is an amazing feature. It works well and its definitely a feature I love in Blackberry 10. It really defines Blackberry as a work phone and a personal phone for real business people.  Its more features like these that I want to see.

BLACKBERRY HUB

Blackberry Hub allows you to have a peek at your notifications at a glance from any application by just swiping across the screen. The feature is similar to Android and iOS's Notifications but the layout is unique. It works fairly well, however I would have liked to see Blackberry allow you to reply to messages from Blackberry Hub. 

DOCS TO GO

Edit and write your own Microsoft Office Word, exel or powerpoint documents ,basically polaris with blackberry branding! Docs to go is really helpful as you can edit documents on the way to meeting on the streets of south africa and nobody will steal the phone because even thieves don't want blackberrys. Maybe that would be a good feature for blackberry to add to their brochures... You're welcome Blackberry! No seriously , Docs to go on the Q10 is hard to use due to the small screen , so I find it useless on the Q10 also getting the documents onto your PC can be a lengthy task. (installing unneeded software)

BLACKBERRY WORLD

Blackberry World would either make or brake Blackberry 10. It doesn't matter how bad the Operating system is, if Blackberry world had a good selection of apps then the software would be shadowed. Sadly thats not the case. I do commend Blackberry for trying - blackberry gave out several "Dev Alpha"devices to help developers get a feel of Blackberry 10 but few of them developed worth while applications and as a result, blackberry world isn't just okay, its scarce! Although Blackberry now allows you to port android applications they don't work that well or they don't work at all! On the Q10 you will hardly find android applications that will run on its unusual square screen, same goes with the Q5. Another thing Blackberry introduced is music and videos to the Blackberry World, which indeed opens new opportunities but why buy music on blackberry when you can buy it on Apple and listen to it on your computer and on your iPad/iPods where as you can only listen to Blackberry music on your Blackberry 10 Smartphone. (Blackberry "World" isn't available on previous Blackberry devices)

BLACKBERRY MESSENGER

Blackberry Messenger got a new blackberry 10 facelift however no matter how popular BBM is, i still think the platform is slow and that other platforms like ChatOn and whatsapp are the best messaging platforms. BBM was the major factor on previous Blackberry smart phones but with no BIS (Blackberry Internet Services) It just isn't needed. I have also found lately that there are more people using whatsapp than BBM. I just think BBM features are outdated and Blackberry just played attention on useless details instead of focusing on the bigger picture. I find myself hardly using features like BBM Voice and Video as their simple aren't enough people with Blackberry 10 smart phones.

SOFTWARE CONCLUSION

Overall I think Blackberry OS 10 is a really big improvement from Blackberry OS7. It has better graphics, a better layout and is faster but with dated features and annoying gestures this OS update just isn't enough to make people move from Android or iOS to Blackberry 10. From a Software standpoint, Blackberry 10 just seems confused! Is it a flagship device? Is it a Social phone? Is it a Blackberry? It just seems as though blackberry tried too hard. They were to busy trying to mimic their competition that they lost view of what Blackberry was really about, now it doesn't feel like im holding a Blackberry in my hands.

CONCLUSION

 I would firstly like to address a complaint that surfaced recently that said im against Blackberry, I am in no way against Blackberry, im fact I like blackberry's. There was just a unique feeling about using a Blackberry handset and being part of the Blackberry eco-system but that feeling truly lacks in OS 10. I feel as though Blackberry has done an amazing job on the Q10, its gorgeous and captures a see in it a slight hint of what blackberry was and what it wants to be, thats just it - Blackberry isn't there as yet and  I cant justify and I doubt anyone else would spend R8000 on the Q10 when you can get a higher specced Galaxy S4 for the same price. I keep telling myself that Blackberry can only improve from OS10 but at the same time I remind myself that Blackberry's time is limited and their funds are rapidly drying up. I Love Blackberrys and I hope blackberry will be continue but at this moment in time, Blackberry 10 is only appealing to SOME previous Blackberry Owners. Blackberry 10 just isn't good enough for the majority of tech users. With regards to the Q10 in particular, I believe Blackberry could have really made this a good phone as there are no QWERTY keyboard smart phones with these specs but the software lets it down and stops eager consumers from buying it. Blackberry 10 was suppose to be the rebirth or death of Blackberry but it really feels like Blackberry is just on "life Support" at the moment, neither here nor there. Blackberry is still in the game but they need to do something before funds deflate, time lapses and most importantly consumers loose interest... 

Basically everything boils down to us, we need to stop blaming blackberry. I am in no way saying you cant criticize them, im simply saying that you should give them a chance. You cant expect them to get better if they don't have customers to better the eco-sytem for. So for the final verdict - Should you buy a Q10 ? Yes and No. The Blackberry Q10 is a excellent work phone. It does will do what you need it to do on a daily basis but nothing more. Its a good phone for a person who wants just that but for the avid gamers, teen or even a app-lover I wouldn't recommend this phone. If you are adamant on getting a Blackberry 10 device, Id recommend waiting for the launch of the Blackberry A10 later this year or the iPhone 5S. In conclusion ... Blackberry's fruits may be dry but the Blackberry's seeds can always disperse to give life to new technology ... or Blackberry can stay Blackberry!


Thanks to Shailen Desai for this Review unit and thanks to all of you for reading this and supporting my blog. Please note,  The content of this Blog post belongs collectively to iGeekDroid, iBlogUnscripted and Mikail Jassat unless otherwise stated. Any use of this content is plagiarism unless prior permission is given my the author.

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HTC One (Review) : Is it The Number one Phone for you?

Photo Credit - Wired

The HTC 'One'. The name of this phone is quite ironic for HTC because many Tech Reviewers (including myself) have labelled this flagship smartphone the 'Second' best phone of 2013 (So far). If thats not enough, the number one usually represents the word 'first' when infact this phone's design is extremely similar to that of the Blackberry Z10 and let me remind you that the Z10 was released months before. It was 'first' to have this design .  I would suggest to any HTC officials reading this to get a new person to name your phones and maybe hire new people to design our phones while you at it! Well jokes aside, lets see what the HTC One has to offer and whether this phone is the 'One' for you!

HARDWARE AND DESIGN 

At first look, the HTC One seems very familiar (which could or could not be a good thing). Its bold White/Black bezels mimic the Z10's ,  its tapered edges and metallic back remind me of the iPhone 5 and its crisp 4.7 inch , 468ppi screen is similar to that of the S4. Then as you take a closer look, your perspective changes, the details like the front- firing Speakers , the smooth metal uni-body design with each curve and line a brush-stroke of perfection. Its in the details that HTC hooked me onto the HTC One and I found after glancing at it time to time the design grows on me more and more. Dare I say this but I think the design of the HTC One is better than the iPhone 5. Even if HTC did copy Blackberry's design they sure made it a lot better!

Photo Credit - CNET

SPEAKERS & SOUND

HTC without doubt have the best mobile sound system on the HTC One which they call BoomSound. The Dual Front-Firing speakers are stunning and provide crisp and clear audio but I that when holding the phone in landscape, its difficult to place your hands out of the speaker's way. This is for me renders the speakers useless and I watch Videos and listen to music in landscape mode. The HTC One also has Beats Audio integration.

BATTERY

This phone has a colossal 2600 mAh Battery that HTC says should be good for ± 18 Hours of talk-time depending on your Connection (3G, HSPA+ or LTE.) Theres actually been quite an uproar about the battery problem on this phone with users saying they only seem to get 7/8 hours of Battery life out of the box when using 4G LTE. This Shouldn't be a problem anymore as HTC has released a software update that should give you a longer battery-life. The HTC One also gives you better Battery-life if you use it on 3G rather than LTE. 

Photo Credit - Android Australia

CAMERA

The HTC renamed its camera to HTC Ultra-pixel, for any one know doesn't know what an ultra-pixel is - its a word that HTC is using to distract from the fact that the HTC One has a 4MP primary camera! So now that you aren't mystified by that word the Camera seems pretty weak however I remind you that there's much more to a good camera than the number of megapixels and the  HTC One has them all. 

Overall I think the Design is impeccable. Its not unique but familiar (which I'm starting to like.) Its simply a beautiful piece of hardware with a smooth yet grippable back, delicately carved buttons and curved edges. Its like a long lost friend but with more processing power... 

It'll always be there when you need it unless the battery dies... 

CONVENIENCE HAS A NEW NAME ( HTC SENSE 5 ) 

In the past I haven't really liked HTC Sense (their Android Overlay.) It seems very unnecessary and distracts from the beauty of Stock Android . I'm not implying AT ALL that Stock Android is good but you got to admit that its pretty beautiful. The Icons on HTC Sense 5 are better than the previous ones but still look dated compared to iOS and even Blackberry 10! 

BLINKFEED 

Photo Credit - The National

This feature is absolutely amazing! Although it looks a lot like Flip-board and even Windows phone (Again with the Stealing ideas.) Its stunning. Blink-feed breaks away from Traditional Android and bring you all of your selected news, social media updates and glances at your calendar and other applications rather than the boring Application and Widgets screen.  It allows you to truly customize your phone however I find that The news articles distract me from the reason I actually turned on my phone and Blinkfeed can be very heavy on data which is not practical in everyday use. Another thing is with blinkfeed if someone picks up your phone, they have instant access to all of your personal social media accounts and messages. Presently there are no ways of removing blinkfeed. The overall feeling of blink feed and infact HTC Sense 5 is convenience. Blink feed makes life so much easier by putting everything you care about into a simple homepage. 

GALLERY & CAMERA

In this current smartphone war it neccasary for phones to not only have powerful cameras but to have software features to go with it - HTC has amazed me with their line of in-Camera features. These include burst-shot, HDR video which allows you to video in low- light areas, a feature that allows you to combine burst shots into a single frame , Slow motion video recording, Object removal and HTC Zoe and most importantly features that Samsung and Apple don't have! The Gallery app has an amazing feature that present and organizes your pictures by date !

APP DRAWER

For some odd reason HTC thought it fantastic to let you organize your app drawer! You can now list you app in alphabetic order, custom or most recent. Although it'll take some time to get use to, I think It will allow users the customization that Android is known for.

CONCLUSION ( IS IT THE 'ONE' WE'VE BEEN WAITING FOR?) 

I Started off by saying the HTC One was just Second best but the HTC One is so much more than that, its complicated in a way thats uncomplicated, its reliable and Convenient (in the form of Blinkfeed.) The HTC One is simply irresistible. Although it makes me annoyed at times and I find certain features to be 'cheesy' and mimics of other phones. Although I find the HTC One to be second best, its lovable and it works and its definitely the one phone i'd keep for a 2-year contract. It's unquestionably the one for me, what about you?   

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iBlog Awards : TOP10 SMARTPHONE

1.) Samsung Galaxy S4
2.) HTC One
3.) Xperia Z
4.) Blackberry Q10
5.) iPhone 5
6.) HTC First
7.) Nokia Lumia 925
8.) Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini
9.) Nexus 4
10.) Blackberry Z10

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Amazon Kindle Fire HD 7' : Review

The Amazon kindle Fire HD was launched last year as a sequel to the original Kindle Fire. The Kindle Fire was large and bulky with no challenging specs not even a camera. However this new addition to the kindle range has a all new design, operating system and some pretty impressive specs. Will this 7' Tablet stand out from the rest and maybe even go on to challenge the iPad Mini? Lets see..

HARDWARE

Keeping with the idea of the kindle Fire, The Kindle Fire HD has a very minamalistic design (and thats to make it more affordable.) Small changes on this device like tapered edges and a more grip-able back makes the reading experience on this tablet that much more comfortable. The 7' screen has a higher resolution (hence the HD') and is wider and shorter than the original Fire.The screen is suppose to be fit with anti-glare technology but I find that the glare on this tablet is in fact the same as any other tablet.  With the Kindle Fire Hd amazon really wanted it to be used to consume all types of media (like video and audio) which is why amazon put two dolby stereo speakers on the back of this tablet. A nice feature that definitely stands out. Overall the design is a big leap from its  box-shaped predecessor yet it doesn't seem premium in-front of competitors like the Samsung Galaxy Tab II 7' and off course the iPad Mini.

CAMERA & BATTERY 

The Fire has a below average 1.3 MP front-facing camera. The camera is used exclusively on third-party applications like Skype for video calling. It is important to note that it doesn't have any amazon/kindle camera application for taking pictures (like PhotoBooth on the iPad mini) if you want to take pictures you need to install a third-party application. The 4400 mAh battery is pretty good and takes about 2 days to drain on mid-use (reading and average video consumption.)

OPERATING SYSTEM  

The kindle Fire HD runs a forked version of android , just like the Fire. The 'Kindle OS' has the bottom shortcut bar like android (with Home , settings and favorites) but thats the end of the android features. It has a homepage which has your recent apps/books/magazines/movies and TV shows in a carousel as well as a recommendations strip closer to the bottom (from the Amazon Store.) The actual reading experience on the kindle range is by far the best with features that are simply irreplaceable by Apple's iBooks and even Barnes and Noble's Nook. Amazon gives you total customization of your reading experience letting you customize font size, font and even page colour so that your reading experience is suited to the way you like to read. The thing I love about the kindle reading software is that if gives you your page number , your loc (location) in the book and the estimated time left until you finish your chapter and book (estimated through your reading speed) which gives you a feeling of how far you are in the book. The Kindle Fire also has a feature called X-Ray which gives you a break-down of all the characters and scenes and tells you where they appear in the book, it is a great way to summarize information about acharacter/ place when you have forgotten it. The new X-Ray also works with videos using IMDb. The Kindle Fire HD integrates a new software called Kindle Free-Time which is a feature that totally customizes your kindle for children which doesn't allow them to access your files. You can also customize the number of hours your children reads or watches movies. As well as the age restriction of the movies or books. 

STORE 

The amazon store is the heart of the Kindle Fire. With amazing Books titles , magazines , TV Shows and Movies. The Store also has a feature called Whispe



rSync that allows you to share the content bought on your kindle with any other android, iOS or Windows device. The Store doesn't have all of the apps available on traditional Android app stores like Google play however there is a good selection of apps.
The App store has books, movies and TV shows.

OTHER PICTURES

CONCLUSION  

The amazon Kindle fire HD 7' is a great tablet, its HD screen allows for better viewing of content from the Amazon Store. Games, Movies, books and magazines look crisper on than on the original kindle Fire. The Software on the Kindle Fire is minimalist but amazing at the same time. The camera isn't that amazing and doesn't add value to the tablet. Although the Fire HD is really good it doesn't have any exiting specs and features that make if different to the rest. I'd definitely recommend it to a regular book or magazine reader, but other than that the Fire HD isn't made for anything else other than entertainment. 

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5 Gadget Gifts Ideas for Mothers Day.

As you know national mothers-day is this sunday and if you are anything like me , you have either forgotten or are going last-minute gift shopping. So here are a few GADGET GIFT IDEAS!

1. AMAZON KINDLE PAPERWHITE

The Amazon Kindle Paperwhite in my opinion is the best E-Reader on the market with a stunning new Kindle Operating system which is simple and easy to use (perfect for mom). The 6' E-Ink screen is touch screen with quick (almost unnoticeable refreshes) and a new built in reading light so that mom can finish her cliff-hanger murder mystery at night. The Kindle paperwhite has an amazing 8 week battery life , perfect for traveling and just plain day-to-day use. With over 6 fonts and different font sizes for mom to pick from. With the new WhisperSync feature , you can buy books for mom on your iPhone (or any iOS; Android or Windows device) as well as read them yourself. Mom is guaranteed to love this light-weight E-Reader.     

 R2200

2. IPOD NANO 

If your mom loves music, this could be the answer. The new iPod nano has a stunning new design. The simple OS is based on the 2.5' multi- touch Screen. The form-factor of the nano is small enough to fit in mom's pocket or handbag and big enough to use comfortably. Mom could easily load her music, an audiobook or even the audio copy of the Qur'an/Bible. The nano comes with pre-loaded apps (Music, Video, Radio, Photos, podcasts and Fitness.) At present the iPod nano doesn't have any App Store or ability to load more apps onto the device. Mom can also store pictures of her children or even grandchildren. The Nike Fitness+ app means that mom can go for a morning jog/walk listen to PowerMusic on the way and have a look at stats like how far she walked, how many calories she burnt. It is an amazing way for mom to keep in shape and track her progress doing it. Mom will definitely love     it and if she doesn't i'm sure you will!

R1899

3. APPLE MACBOOK AIR 11'

If you are really looking to spoil you mom this mothers day or just kissing up to her - The Macbook Air is a perfect entry laptop into the Apple Mac world. Mac OSX is a simple software that allows users to customize the size of apps so that mom can see them easily however buying a macbook itself can be pretty expensive as well as extra costs for software like Office for Mac (R1200). The macbook is slim and light-weight. An amazing companion for work or hobbies.

 R9999

4 . SONY S-FRAME WI-FI SERIES

What better gift than to remind mom of all the good memories  you've had. The Sony S-Frame is the best way to do that. Mom can view pictures from a SD card, the devices memory or even your Facebook profile (which could or could not be a good thing). The Sony S-Frame can also give you the weather, your Facebook updates and the date. A easy and cheaper alternative to printing and framing pictures. The S-Frame automatically organizes and plays your pictures on the amazing screen out of the box. mom doesn't have to spend hours setting up it, she can enjoy amazing slideshows from day one. 

Mom will love it!

R799

5. SAMSUNG GALAXY S4

The Samsung Galaxy S4 is the perfect way for you and your mom to keep in touch. the S4 runs Android Jelly Bean 2.2 with Samsung's Touchwiz UX which is both the easiest and most customizable software out there , whether you mom is 30 or 90, I can guarantee she will love this amazing software! I'd definitely recommend it, I think its better than the iPhone 5. The S4 makes it easy for mom to communicate, keep healthy and fit (using the S'Health app). I would suggest if you go for this option you should buy yourself one too! (if you don't have one already)

 R7899

Happy Mothers day! Hope these GADGET GIFT IDEAS! were helpful - Send your pictures of  your mothers day gadget gifts to : iblogunscripted@yahoo.com. 

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iPhone 5 Review

 The iPhone is very unique in the sense  that it doesn't need a introduction, everybody knows the iPhone. Its famous , for obvious reasons -


 1.) Its an Apple iOS Device
2.) Its has an amazing build quality
3.) its resale value is very good
4.) its popularity
5.) its just amazingly simple ( for the young and old).

The New addition to the family has gotten a huge amount of upgrades - a bigger screen with a higher resolution , LTE capabilities and off course a new design of unexplainable beauty.  So lets see how this iPhone compares to its predecessors and off course its hungry competitors!

HARDWARE

The factor that I love about Apple products is what i call the  i Factor ( i as in iDevices are truly a blessing to the eye)- And they are like i said 'unexplainably beautiful'! With the iPhone 5 many people said when it came out that the design was just enhanced from the iPhone 4S to accommodate the new bigger 4' screen (including myself) but you cant say that before you have held the device in your hand and had a good look at the iPhone. It has a Apple's signature home button on the front and a Black/ White bezel wrapped around the Screen. The Side and back of the iPhone comes in either Slate / silver (depending on the color you chose). Around the side you have the Sleep/ Wake  button on the top, the Nano SIM card tray on the right side and the volume rocker on the left hand side. The 8-Pin lightning connector and the 3.5 mm headphone jack is located on the bottom along with the speakers. The iPhone 5's Multi- tone back is actually inspired by the iPhone (1st Generation) which also had a multi-tone back, The design at the back is 2 strips polished black/White strips on the top and bottom and then either slate/Silver in the middle. The Design overall is very spectacular and premium and I think its amazing compared to most phones on the market at the moment.

SCREEN 

The phone has a bigger 4' Retina Display which is the same width just longer. The Screen is 326 pixels/inch. The Resolution on this phone is stunning and it separates this phone from the rest. However  I don't think it was necessary for Apple to upgrade the screen size to 4' , I think the previous 3.5' Display was perfect (size-wise) and I think Apple just lost money and customers by making the phone bigger ( because after all people who use iPhones everyday don't want something that big) 

CAMERA

The iPhone 5 has an amazing 8MP iSight Camera. The new camera app has a feature to take panorama shots (which are 180 degree pictures). However compared to other phones the iPhone 5 has very few options and settings when taking pictures and the zoom is so bad, its not useful at all. (which is a huge downside.) 

                                                 A picture taken with the camera

THE BATTERY

Theres not much to say about the battery , it does its job and carries me through the day without fail.

THE NEW 8-PIN LIGHTNING CONECTOR 

For anyone who doesn't know, Apple has updated its charging port from the big 30pin dock connector to the new smaller 8pin lightning connector. Theres no big reason why Apple changed the charging port other than its smaller, it saves space and its faster but the new lightning connector may make consumers who have many docking stations and other exesories using the old 30-pin dock connector however you can buy a 30pin to 8pin convertor from Apple and that may work on some of your docking connectors. 

iOS

There is truly nothing like iOS! thats why it suites the phone itself. The iPhone 5 runs iOS 6. Now don't get me wrong iOS 6 is spectacular but there is a very small gap between iOS 5 and iOS 6 and thats a very important thing to note because if you get bored of a phone very easily the iPhone 5 or infact any iPhone isn't the phone for you. iOS doesn't really get updated with brand new features quickly unlike Android OS all in all I think iOS might be too simple not allowing users to customize and personalize as much as Android , Blackberry and Windows Phone OS allows you to. The Good part about iOS is the Apps! Comparatively the iOS App Store has much more quantity and quality, the Apps available for the iPhone 5 work in complete harmony with the device especially high graphic games which play beautifully on the 4' Retina Display.

Siri

Theres many virtual assistant systems like S'Voice , Google Now) but Siri is the original one and I think its the by far the best. In iOS 6 Siri is able to answer your question about almost anything, she can book movie tickets, tell you the weather, send messages , remind you and tell you scores. Siri now has full Facebook and Twitter integration so that you can update your status just by saying it to siri.

iMESSAGING 
Send messages to any other Apple iOS device for free using Wifi or 3G. You can talk to someone on your iPhone and your message will automatically sync to your iPad , your iPod and your Mac.

iMAPS
Apple's battle to eliminate Google from their system continues in iOS 6 as Apple makes a leap to replace Google Maps ( the previous default mapping system on iOS 5 and older) for their own mapping system - iMaps, which is a collaboration between Apple and other navigation specialist like TomTom. The New software brings new detailed maps that I really believe look better than the previous version. The biggest leap forward is the Voice guided navigation, it works pretty well but uses a lot of data and still isn't as good as systems like Nokia Drive. iMaps ,in my opinion, isn't perfect and often can't even complete simple actions like finding my correct current location but nevertheless I think iMaps is a step in the right direction for Apple and with some improvements I think it could be an excellent feature.

PHOTOSTREAM

Apple introduced photostream with iOS 5 as a way to get easy access to your photos from your iOS device or your Mac. iOS 6's Photo stream allows you to now share your photos with other iOS devices and Macs allowing others to like and comment on the photos you share, this feature is spectacular. 

OTHER PICTURES

CONCLUSION

Overall I thought the iPhone 5 is amazing and is definitely one of the best Smartphone on the market at the moment. However I think the iPhone 5 is a lot like the iPhone 4S which is a lot like the iPhone 4, What i'm trying to say is that Apple hasn't really made many significant changes with their devices over the past few years they just 'enhanced' it and I think if Apple doesn't make a significant improvement in their devices soon competition like Samsung will soon pass them. Apple used to be the leaders in the smartphone game but now they are falling behind - its taking them way to long to bring new features into iOS and often Apple users only get to use those features last. In conclusion I think this phone is spectacular it beats it predecessors (by half an inch) and it beats most its competitors (for now) ...


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