XIAOMI MI 5

XIAOMI MI 5 REVIEW: EXTRAORDINARY VALUE ANDROID PHONE RIVALS GALAXY S7

Xiaomi’s phones are rare sightings in the UK, but the company’s market dominance in China and increasingly India (where this Mi 5 goes on open sale tomorrow - 1 June) means many more people are starting to hear of Xiaomi. Not officially sold here, the only way you’ll get your hands on one is through unofficial channels. GearBest supplied our Xiaomi Mi 5 for review. Also see: Best phones 2016.

The Mi 5 sits at the top of Xiaomi’s line-up, and is a worthy competitor to the iPhone 6s, LG G5and Samsung Galaxy S7, but at half the price. It lacks some features of those phones, such as an always-on display, modular design, removable battery, microSD support and waterproofing, but in all other respects this is a true next-generation smartphone with performance to match.

Three versions of the Mi 5 exist. A version with 3GB of RAM comes with either 32- or 64GB of RAM (we’ve reviewed the 32GB version here). There’s also a Pro edition with a ceramic body, 4GB of RAM and 128GB of storage, which has been shown to score in excess of 140K points in AnTuTu - that’s faster than any phone we’ve tested.

The entry option reviewed here is still crazy-fast, with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 820processor nestled under its gorgeous, brilliantly bright and virtually edge-to-edge 5.15in IPS screen. The Mi 5 is gorgeous, a mix of glass and metal with a design somewhere between the Galaxy S7 and iPhone 6s.

A 16Mp Sony IMX298 camera sits flush to the phone’s rear, and with four-axis optical image stabilisation and phase-detection autofocus the Xiaomi can take some fantastic photos and video.

Connectivity options are strong with dual-SIM 4G support, alongside an IR blaster, dual-band 802.11ac Wi-Fi, NFC, Bluetooth 4.2, USB-C and a new fingerprint scanner hidden inside a physical Home button. A 3000mAh battery, which is good for a day’s use, is insanely fast to charge with support for Qualcomm Quick Charge 3.0. Also see: Best dual-SIM phones and dual-SIM buying advice.

samsung galaxy A5

Samsung Galaxy A5 review

KEY FEATURES

• Full metal unibody design
• Snapdragon 615 CPU
• 13-megapixel main camera
• 5MP front-facing camera
• 16GB internal memory 2GB RAM
• 4G
• Manufacturer: Samsung
• Review Price: £349.00

WHAT IS THE SAMSUNG GALAXY A5 (2016)?

Samsung has mastered the high-end with the Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Edge, but it has always struggled a with affordable devices. This is because Samsung kept skimping on important features to save money.

That changed with 2015’s Galaxy A5, and even more so with the updated 2016 version. The Galaxy A5 (2016) ticks all the right boxes; good screen, fast camera and sleek design. But it’s still not perfect, and some of Samsung’s older issues come back to haunt it.

SAMSUNG GALAXY A5 (2016) – DESIGN

Remember Samsung’s Galaxy Alpha from 2014? A lot of people don’t, but this minor release was vitally important. It was a turning point where Samsung shifted its design focus and began creating handsets capable of standing beside the iPhone visually. The A5 (2016), like last year’s version, is the spiritual successor to the Alpha.

It’s all metal and glass, with rounded corners and a flat back. It lacks the curved sides that make the Galaxy S7 such a pleasure to hold, but it’s still comfortable in hand.

Metal phones in this price-range are far from rare, Honor and OnePlus have been doing it for a while, but none feel quite as good as this. The volume buttons and lock switch have a satisfying click, while the microUSB port and speaker grilles on the bottom are finely cut and precise. The headphone jack sits on the bottom too, a design choice I’m always on board with.

The Galaxy A5 is slightly taller than both the Galaxy S7 and S6, but ever so slightly lighter.

As is typical with just about every Samsung phone, there’s a home button sitting below the screen. Tucked inside is a fingerprint scanner that’s about as fast as the one on the S7, but it seems much less accurate. It can’t compete with the Honor phones for unlocking speed, but it’s absolutely fine.

There’s a strong hint of the Galaxy S6 here, and it’s still a fingerprint magnet. Use the phone for 5-minutes and it will be covered in marks and smudges. There are a couple of improvements in design though; the ugly blue colour scheme has gone for a much nicer black and there’s almost no camera hump.

The Galaxy A5 is easily one of the sleekest looking phones at this price-range. It feels much sturdier than the OnePlus X (£199) and it’s much nicer than the plastic Nexus 5X.

SAMSUNG GALAXY A5 (2016) – DISPLAY

Samsung’s displays have long been regarded as the pinnacle of mobile screens, with the Galaxy S7 currently the best out there.

While the A5 isn’t going to match its classier brothers for visual fidelity, it’s still a great display for the price.

It’s 5.2-inches, with a 1080p resolution and uses Super AMOLED tech which is the killer feature.

It’s bright, vivid and oh so colourful just as you’d expect from AMOLED. If you prefer something a little more true to life, there are a number of screen modes to choose from. I like the default one myself, but it’s all down to personal preference.

Whites can sometimes look a little muddy, but blacks are deep and bright colours have multiple levels of vibrancy. Outdoor visibility isn’t great though, unless you jack the brightness up (or keep the rather uneven auto-brightness on) all the way. Thanks to the dense resolution, pixels are universally hard to spot unless you get really really close.

Sony Xperia Z5

Sony Xperia Z5 review

Update: We've put the Sony Xperia Z5 through speed, battery and camera tests against many of the latest flagships and updated this review to reflect our findings.

Something feels different with the Sony Xperia Z5. After years of too-hasty handset updates from Sony with minimal enhancements (the Xperia Z3+ back in May was no exception), this finally feels like a worthwhile advance on the previous model.

• Buy Sony Xperia Z5 at Amazon for $498.44

The problem is, does anyone really need a new phone from Sony? The Xperia Z1only launched in 2013, the same year as the Samsung Galaxy Note 3. That's not very long ago at all – one upgrade cycle for people stuck in two year contracts, who will now be getting a phone four iterations along the line if they stay Sony-loyal.

• Save £99 on the Xperia Z5 with Black Friday code BLAFRIZ5

But the Xperia Z5 feels like a different tack from Sony, and after the mess of the Xperia Z3+ it's good to see some real change.

Sony has also followed Microsoft's Windows 10 example and skipped a number, for the non-Japanese market at least: the Xperia Z3+ was called the Xperia Z4 in Japan, a muddle that the company has now resolved by jumping straight to Z5.

Sony's Xperia Z5 comes alongside the Xperia Z5 Compact and the Xperia Z5 Premium. The Xperia Z5 sits in the middle of the price scale and the same goes for its specs.

In the UK, it's had a pre-release price drop on Sony's official store, from the original listing of £599 (about AU$1,249) to £549 (about AU$1,144). That original price may have been a placeholder, but it seems more likely to be a revision of strategy as it tries to land in a very congested flagship smartphone market.

In the US, there's been no official price drop, since this GSM-only phone still costs $599 through several retail channels. But you can find it for $539 on Amazon. Just don't go looking for a subsidized deal at Verizon or AT&T, because Sony launched this phone without carrier store support.

samsung galaxy A3

Samsung Galaxy A3 review

KEY FEATURES

• 4.7-inch 720p display
• Exynos 7580 (Snapdragon 410)
• 1.5GB RAM
• 16GB internal storage
• 16GB internal storage and microSD
• Android 5.1.1
• 2,300mAh battery
• Manufacturer: Samsung
• Review Price: £210.00

WHAT IS THE GALAXY A3?

Everybody is talking about the Galaxy S7 and the Galaxy S7 Edge, but these flagship phones don’t come cheap. If you aren’t bothered about 4K video, fingerprint readers or quad-HD screens then the Galaxy A3 might be right up your street.

The Galaxy A3 is a surprisingly capable mid-range phone. You get the classy, glass and metal body introduced by last year’s Galaxy S6, a vibrant 4.7-inch AMOLED screen and above-average battery life for half the price of Samsung’s top-end Galaxy S7. It isn’t perfect, but for the price you can’t go wrong.

GALAXY A3 – DESIGN

We usually associate budget or mid-range phones with being cheap and plasticky. The good news is that aside from being a little smaller, the A3 is virtually indistinguishable from the Galaxy S6, which is one of the most attractive phones on the market.

It’s also a refreshing change to be able to use a phone one-handed. At 4.7-inches, your thumb can reach almost all of the screen without having to resort to the finger acrobats required on larger phones.

At 132g and 7.3mm thick, the A3 is easy to hold and sits comfortably in your hand thanks to its rounded corners.

If you’ve used a Samsung phone before, you’ll be familiar with the phone’s layout. The Home button (sans fingerprint reader) and the flanking capacitive return and recently used menu buttons make use of the bezel, rather than taking up screen real-estate in the form of the on-screen buttons used by the majority of Android phones.

Unlike Samsung’s flagship S7, the A3 isn’t water- or dust-resistant. We’d happy if it were simply fingerprint resistant – the glass body so easily picks up smudges and fingerprints that you’d be wise to keep a micro-fibre cloth handy!
Read more at http://www.trustedreviews.com/samsung-galaxy-a3-review#vwt8wRHyUBaRtVhJ.99

samsung galaxy Tab 4

Samsung Galaxy Tab 4  review:

the Samsung Galaxy Tab 4's meager specs and humble design make it easy to pass over in a sea of budget Android devices. But don't be too hasty, as it is worth your consideration. It has a pretty good HD display, coupled with capable performance for general use, an IR blaster and Samsung's vast array of added functionality, including Multi Window for optimized multitasking.

And it's available for just $180 (after a $20 instant rebate) in the US and £159 in the UK. That's a fair price for what you're getting, and you won't really go wrong with the Galaxy Tab 4. But if you're willing to shop around, there are plenty of other, and better options.

Editors' note: The Samsung Galaxy Tab 4 is identical to the Galaxy Tab 4 Nook ; parts of this review are similar.

The Galaxy Tab 4 isn't much of a looker: you're getting a plastic slab in your choice of white or black. It weighs just over half a pound (9.76 ounces/277 g) and is 4.25 inches (10.8 cm) wide, making it comfortable enough to hold aloft for extended periods of time. The back is smooth, and while it's not exactly grippy or textured it's also not slippery, and feels nice in my hands. Admittedly, it's not the most satisfying of devices to use or hold, but it's leagues ahead of cheaper tablets like the $99Toshiba Excite Go , which sacrificed much to hit a low price point.

The Tab 4's headphone jack sits up top, while the Micro-USB charging port sits on the bottom. The physical home button is flanked on either side by the capacitive back and app-switcher buttons on the lower bezel. The lock switch and volume control rocker are on the right side, while the microSD card slot sits on the bottom right, hidden by a flap that's secure, but fairly easy to open when you need to. There's also an IR blaster on the side, so you can use the tablet as a remote control with the Samsung WatchOn app.

Nokia lumia 1020

Nokia Lumia 1020 review


  youcan sum up the Nokia Lumia 1020 in three words: 41, megapixel, camera.

It's the Lumia 1020's high-octane shooter -- along with Nokia's custom camera app -- that defines this next marquee Windows Phone 8 device, and that gives mobile photographers a reason to salivate. In the 1020, Nokia pushes the smartphone camera envelope with a combination of raw image-capturing prowess and close-cropping capability that makes it one of the most artistically able smartphone cameras we've tested.

Would we ditch our point-and-shoot cameras and rely on the Lumia 1020 instead? For day-to-day and weekend events, absolutely; the 1020 is the ultimate in convenience and approaches point-and-shoot quality. However, based on our tests so far, Nokia still has a ways to go before it can completely supplant the need for a higher-level standalone camera. We'd take it away for the weekend, but wouldn't use it to shoot our kid's first birthday.

Like the 16-megapixel Samsung Galaxy S4 Zoom (reviewed), the Lumia 1020 is a niche device. Casual users may not venture from automatic settings and may not notice much difference in image quality unless they frequently crop photos tightly. Of course, the S4 Zoom's optical zoom element gives the 1020 a run for its money where that's concerned. However, overall, the 1020 offers often technically better images in a much more portable chassis.

The 1020's $299.99 on-contract price with AT&T is too steep for casual users, who can capture high-quality everyday stills and videos with handsets that cost $200 or less. Serious photographers, however, will appreciate the phone's genuine two-in-one capabilities. The Lumia 1020 also is sold globally.

Design and build

The first thing you're probably asking yourself is if owning the Lumia 1020 is like carrying a bulky point-and-shoot camera in your pocket. Blessedly, it is not.

Compared with the chunky Galaxy S4 Zoom and bulbous Nokia 808 PureView (the company's first attempt at a 41-megapixel phone), the Lumia 1020 seems only slightly thicker than the Lumia 920 and 928, both of which it physically resembles.

Dimensions of 5.1 inches tall by 2.8 inches wide are pretty standard, and the 1020 measures 0.4 inch thick throughout most of its body. It's that large camera module on the back (about 1.75 inches in diameter) that protrudes a full 0.51 inch from the phone's face.

That means the phone won't lie flat on its back, which is surprisingly sometimes helpful when the face tilts toward you as if on a stand. Amazingly, I did carry the phone around in my back pocket for long stretches without noticing it too much. When I held it, my fingers adjusted to grip the 1020 below its bulge.

Keeping the phone this slim was quite the design feat, especially when you compare the 1020 with the chunky S4 Zoom, which is shaped more like a point-and-shoot with a smartphone attached.

Samsung galaxy Note3

Samsung Galaxy Note 3 review

KEY FEATURES

• 5.7-inch 1080p Super AMOLED screen
• 32GB internal memory with microSD slot
• Snapdragon 800 2.3GHz CPU
• Android 4.3 with TouchWiz
• 13-megapixel main camera with LED flash
• Manufacturer: Samsung
• Review Price: £619.99

WHAT IS THE SAMSUNG GALAXY NOTE 3?

The Galaxy Note 3 is a slightly large-screened Android phone equipped with a Wacom digitiser stylus. The bigger brother to the Galaxy S5 it’s also arguably a lot more interesting, although at £600 SIM-free the additional benefits come at a price. There are quite a few aspects of the phone we're not totally enamoured with, particulry regarding some of Samsung's design decisions, but this is a great phone for gadget lovers and geeks alike.

SAMSUNG GALAXY NOTE 3 – DESIGN

There's no hiding it, the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 is a very large phone. Saying that, it's still not quite in the same league as huge mobiles like the Galaxy Mega 6.3 and Xperia Z Ultra. You won’t feel entirely ridiculous putting it to your ear, and holding it in one hand is not too much of a struggle. Samsung has actually managed to make the Galaxy Note 3 narrower than the Galaxy Note 2, even though the new phone has a larger 5.7-inch display

While this is an impressive feat by Samsung we should not forget that the phone is still 8cm wide. If you crave a phone that you can easily use one-handed, then this is not it. For a bit of context, the iPhone 5S is just 5.8cm wide.

The Note 3 is also among the first Galaxy phones not to use a glossy rear plastic cover. Samsung has tried to fool us into thinking the Note 3 has a leather rear. It looks like leather, from a distance, and the battery cover has fake stitching around its outer edges. But make no mistake – this is not leather.

So what is it? It’s rubberised plastic with a leather-effect grain to give it a frictional quality of the real thing.

Take the battery cover off and you’ll see quite how similar it actually is to the back of the Galaxy S4 and Note 2. It’s thin, bendy and plastic. And while it doesn’t feel bad as such, we prefer the aluminium of the HTC One M8 and the matt plastic of the Nokia Lumia 925.

Read more at http://www.trustedreviews.com/samsung-galaxy-note-3-review#ImF74b0mauQ5LEtj.99