HTC has discounted its flagship HTC 10 a few times recently, but if you missed or passed on those sales, you’ve now got another opportunity to get a deal on the 10.
From October 1 through October 8, HTC will slash $150 off the price of the HTC 10. The flagship Android phone is normally priced at $699, so its price will drop to $549 during this sale.
The UE49KS8000 has three big attractions to its name. First, it's one of Samsung's so-called SUHD TVs. This means it combines a super-bright LCD panel with a local dimming system for the backlight plus wide colour spectrum capabilities built on a proprietary version of Quantum Dot technology.
Second, it's a flat TV rather than a curved one. This makes it a relative rarity in Samsung's SUHD range, yet for many AV fans flat remains very much where it's at.
Finally, for a TV that offers so many cutting edge features and so much 'next-generation' potential, the UE49KS8000's £1300 price tag looks like it could represent great value. Provided the TV lives up to its on-paper promise, of course.
Samsung has sensibly stepped away from the aggressively stylised but chunky look of many of its 2015 TVs in favour of the sort of slimmer, more minimalist looks that have served it so well in years gone by.
The narrowness of the screen frame is echoed by a slender rear that stands in stark and, for me, welcome contrast to the quite chunky depth created by Samsung's curved TVs. In fact, with its 1094 x 636 x 43mm (W x H x D) dimensions, the UE49KS8000 lends itself much more naturally to wall hanging than any of Samsung's curved models.
The addition of a gleaming metallic trim to the outer edge of the UE49KS8000's screen frame gives the set a really high-end feel that's sealed by a nifty curved single-bar foot mount finished in polished aluminium.
I did notice while setting the TV up that its build quality isn't as imposing as that of Samsung's more expensive 2016 TVs. There's a rather plasticky feel to the non-metal bits. Still, most normal people don't stroke their TV once it's installed, and from a typical viewing distance the set certainly looks reassuringly expensive.
The UE49KS8000's connectivity is strong too, thanks to its highlights of four HDMIs, three USBs, and the usual choice of either wired or Wi-Fi network connectivity. The only major connection disappointment is the lack of a normal headphone port; the only way to use headphones with this TV is via Bluetooth.
Screen sizes available: 49-inch, 55-inch, 65-inch, 75-inch | Tuner: Freeview HD | 4K: Yes | HDR: Yes (HDR10) | Panel technology: LCD with edge LED lighting | Smart TV: Yes, Tizen | Curved: No | Dimensions: 1094 x 636 x 43mm (W x H x D) | 3D: No | Inputs: Four HDMIs, three USBs, optical digital audio output, Wi-Fi, Ethernet port, Tuner input
Design TL;DR: The UE49KS8000 is one of the prettiest TVs around this year - so long as you're not bothered by the fact that it isn't curved.
Samsung's latest Tizen-based Smart TVs make it much easier than their predecessors did to get quickly to interesting or favourite content.
Calling up the home screen still initially presents you with the same single row of icons along the bottom of your screen you got with 2015's Samsung smart TVs, showing your most recently used and favourite apps. Highlight one of the icons, though, and you'll now see a secondary contextual 'deck' of icons appear above the main one that changes depending on the icon you've selected from the lower deck.
There's really no overstating how much slicker this simple change makes the process of navigating through all the UE49KS8000's myriad content options.
Your less-used downloaded apps and Samsung's online app 'store' can be accessed via a simple selectable box on the left of the home screen, and you can easily customise the home screen to ensure it always contains your favourite apps.
Available apps are headlined by 4K and HDR versions of Amazon and Netflix; YouTube; Playstation Now; the BBC iPlayer; and the ITV Hub. At the time of writing neither the All4 or My5 catch up services were available, though, making me wish Samsung would join the other main UK TV brands in offering a third-party 'catch up' solution such as Freetime, Freeview Play or YouView.
Smart TV TL;DR: Samsung's 2nd-gen Tizen interface is a considerable improvement on 2015's build - though it would be helpful if Samsung provided a more comprehensive catch-up TV solution.
With the standard dynamic range content that still occupies the majority of our viewing time, the UE49KS8000 is an exceptional performer for its money.
At the heart of its SDR thrills is a superb black level response by edge-lit LCD TV standards. Dark scenes benefit from black colours that actually look black - especially if you use the local dimming system that lets different segments of the TV's edge-mounted LEDs deliver different amounts of light to suit the image content.
What's more, in SDR mode this localised LED control expands the TV's contrast range while suffering hardly any unwanted light pollution around bright objects, even when those bright objects appear against near-black backdrops. This is a very rare accomplishment in the edge LED world.
Having such deep blacks to play off also helps the UE49KS8000's SDR colours look impressively vivid and accurate.
It's important to stress, too, that the excellent black levels aren't achieved at the expense of shadow detailing. In fact, dark scenes contain so much subtle detailing and colour information that they enjoy a sense of depth that's pretty much on a par with bright scenes, making for a much more consistent viewing experience than you commonly get with edge LED TVs.
The vividness of the UE49KS8000's colours, meanwhile, is joined by some gorgeously subtle colour toning, which helps to emphasise the clarity of what can fairly be described as one of the sharpest, most detailed UHD images I've seen in 2016.
While the UE49KS8000 is inevitably at its best with native UHD sources, it's certainly no slouch at upscaling HD sources. Blu-rays and HD broadcasts enjoy a clear boost in sharpness while simultaneously having the vast majority of any source noise they may have contained magically removed.
The only word of caution here is that you shouldn't set the TV's sharpness higher than around 25 with upscaled HD, otherwise areas of fine detail or very defined edges can start to 'glow' quite distractingly.
HD/SDR Performance TL;DR: I can't think of another TV at the UE49KS8000's price point that's capable of delivering a better picture with HD and SDR sources.
While the UE49KS8000 is a great SDR performer, it's with HDR that it most makes its mark against the competition.
The first point to make about the UE49KS8000's HDR performance is that it's the proud owner of an Ultra HD Premium badge. This means that its UHD screen is capable of delivering the 1000-nit peak brightness, 0.05 nit black levels and 90%+ of the cinema world's DCI-P3 colour spectrum requirements defined by the AV industry's Ultra HD Alliance as being key to a 'proper' HDR experience.
These specifications translate on the UE49KS8000 into superbly bold, dynamic HDR pictures that get much closer to unlocking the format's full potential than any other sub-£1500 TV.
Particularly effective is the way the UE49KS8000 can hit brightness peaks above the 1000 nit level used in the mastering of a healthy chunk of the current HDR sources out there. As well as instantly 'selling' the impact of HDR versus SDR, this brightness helps Samsung's TV resolve subtle tonal detailing in the brightest areas that tends to 'flare out' on less bright TVs.
It should be said that the UE49KS8000 can't hold on to its highest brightness levels for more than a few seconds, whereas Panasonic's HDR TVs are able to maintain their (lower) peak brightness levels for much longer. However, there isn't currently much 'real world' content out there that requires a TV to hold on to large areas of extreme brightness for a length of time that should cause the UE49KS8000 problems.
The UE49KS8000 also does a stellar job of delivering the wide colour ranges that are part of the Ultra HD Blu-ray HDR experience. Whether it's the insanely red trees at the start of Star Trek: Into Darkness or the lush animated tones of The Peanuts Movie, wide colour gamut content always looks fantastically punchy and dynamic. The richness of the colours holds up during dark scenes better than usual with LCD TVs too.
The UE49KS8000 isn't only good at showing off the most dynamic aspects of HDR and wide colour gamut sources, though. It's also got enough finesse in its HDR toning to handle less explosive image areas like skin and cloudy skies with real sensitivity and naturalism.
As noted when watching standard dynamic range content, the huge range of colour tones available to the UE49KS8000 in HDR mode joins forces with the native UHD resolution to deliver superbly detailed images.
The only detractor from the KS8000's mostly stellar clarity is some fairly pronounced motion judder when showing 4K content. You can tackle this with the TV's motion processing, but since the judder is quite severe the motion processing has to work harder than it ideally would, thus causing a few distracting digital side effects.
I should point out, too, that the UE49KS8000's 49-inch screen doesn't deliver as much impact from its native UHD resolution as bigger screens would - though you can still see some difference from a fairly typical viewing distance.
The UE49KS8000's biggest picture 4K/HDR flaw involves its backlight. HDR's much more extreme brightness range means that sometimes when the TV is required to show a bright HDR image against a dark HDR background you can clearly see vertical bands of light running down the image, as the edge LED lighting system tries to get sufficient light to the bright object.
Whenever this happens you're aware that you're watching the TV's technology at work, reducing your sense of immersion in the onscreen action.
The problem disappears if you turn off the local dimming, but I wouldn't recommend this as it reduces both the excellent black level performance and the intensity of HDR's brightness peaks.
To be fair, the light bar issue is not very aggressive so long as you stick with the low setting of the local dimming system. The problem is much less noticeable, too, if the room you're watching TV in is quite bright, and it's also true that you only see the offending light bars during quite dark HDR scenes.
If you're the sort of person who likes to dim the lights for serious film-viewing sessions from time to time, though, will certainly see the light banding at least a few times during pretty much any film.
4K/HDR Performance TL;DR: Despite being smaller than I usually like my UHD TVs, the UE49KS8000 delivers the most spectacular HDR UHD images I've seen at its price point.
Despite its enviably trim bodywork, the UE49KS8000 produces a pretty potent audio performance. It can hit movie-friendly volume levels without the speakers distorting or dropping out, and packs its treble range with plenty of subtle detailing and effect placement. Voices sound clear and authentic, the soundstage spreads beyond the physical confines of the TV's chassis without becoming incoherent, and the speakers open up to accommodate action movie sequences without starting to sound brittle and thin.
In a perfect world there'd be more bass to flesh out explosions, gun fire and the like. But perfect sound and very thin TVs seldom go together, and by the standards of thin TVs generally the UE49KS8000's audio is well above average.
Sound quality TL;DR: The UE49KS8000 sounds much more powerful and detailed than its skinny chassis would lead you to expect.
There aren't any other TVs at the UE49KS8000's price point that can match the dynamics of its HDR performance. The Panasonic TX-58DX750, though, gives you a more subdued but still impressive all-round 4K HDR picture in a much bigger 58-inch screen for just £1,149.
If you'd like one of Samsung's curved TVs rather than the UE49KS8000's flat screen, I'd recommend finding a couple of hundred pounds more for the bigger 55-inch UE55KS7500.
One final alternative would be the Panasonic TX-DX802 series. These 4K HDR TVs are widely available for under £1,100, and stand out from the crowd thanks to its external sound bar audio system and a unique design which sees its 50-inch screen hanging between two easel-style legs. The 50DX802's picture and sound quality are both strong, though it doesn't deliver quite such extreme HDR images as the UE49KS8000 and also joins Samsung's set in exhibiting a few backlight issues.
The UE49KS8000 is a class act for its money. It sets the right tone as soon as you get it out of the box with a trim, glamorous design, and swiftly builds on that with its killer combi of a Tizen-driven smart TV system, a native UHD resolution and high dynamic range playback.
It's even managed to secure the AV industry's Ultra HD Premium seal of approval, meaning it hits the contrast, colour, resolution and brightness specifications recommended for a full-blooded HDR experience.
Its pictures deliver on this HDR potential with levels of brightness and colour you just don't get anywhere else for the same sort of money - though it's a star with standard dynamic range footage too.
There is a price to pay for such dynamic pictures in the appearance of some backlight clouding flaws during dark HDR scenes, but in the end the pros far outweigh the cons.
Google Maps is getting a lot of love lately. After being updated with a blue dot direction beam and new voice commands, Google is now giving Maps some Google Calendar integration.
Samsung’s newest Galaxy A smartphone, the Galaxy A8 (2016), is now official.
Announced by South Korean carrier SK Telecom, the Galaxy A8 (2016) runs Android 6.0.1 on a 5.7-inch 1920x1080 display. There’s a 16-megapixel camera on its backside and an 8-megapixel camera on its face, as well as an octa-core Exynos 7420 processor and 3GB of RAM inside of its metal shell.
Earlier in September, Apple started its keynote event, the one where it eventually debuted the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus, with a bit of a surprise. Nintendo’s own chief game designer, Shigeru Miyamoto, took the stage and unveiled Super Mario Run. It’s an endless runner game, and its reveal was kind of a big deal.
We've compiled a 'Top 10' list of our favorite iOS apps to hit the App Store in September 2016. The apps highlighted in this video include Allo, Marline, Weather Widget, Zip Zap, Patch, Keelo, Odio, NBA 2K17, Cardboard Camera, Blend. Which app is your favorite?
Ever since its popular D40 model back in 2006, Nikon has done well to dismantle the idea of a DSLR needing to be a large, cumbersome machine. Of course, since then the company has released many even more compact mirrorless 1-series cameras aimed at a junior audience, although it's maintained its footing in the entry-level DSLR sector with a slew of compact and easy-to-use alternatives for those after something more traditional.
For a number of years, Nikon has chosen to split these into two camps. The D5xxx series has presented an approachable but reasonably powerful solution for those wanting to get going with DSLR photography, but have a little extra growing space as they become more confident, while the D3xxx series has adhered to a no-frills template, one that prioritises small size, light weight and a simple design, all the while maintaining the benefits of an interchangable-lens system.
The D3400 is Nikon's latest contribution to the latter series, and a follow-up to the D3300. Not only has the company managed to shave a little of the D3300's weight off the body for this new iteration, but it's also boosted its battery life and improved a number of features to make it a mightier proposition for the novice user. It's also launched the camera alongside a redesigned kit lens, one that sports a retractable inner barrel and a more streamlined design that eschews the focusing and Vibration Reduction switches we're used to seeing.
But, after so many warmly received models and a raft of fine competitors in both DSLR and mirrorless categories, does the D3400 have enough going for it to make it worth the beginner's attention?
As is the case with every entry-level DSLR, the D3400 has been furnished with an APS-C sized sensor, which is believed to be the same as the one inside the D3300. Its 24.2MP pixel count is very respectable – certainly we wouldn't expect this to be any higher at this level – and this is heightened by the lack of an optical low-pass filter, which should help it to capture better detail than would otherwise be the case.
This works over a reasonably wide sensitivity range of ISO100-25,600, which represents a one-stop expansion over the native ISO12,800 range of its D3300 predecessor. Once again it's paired with Nikon's Expeed 4 processing engine, which, among other things, allows for 5fps burst shooting and Full HD video recording up to an impressive 60p. Nikon's familiar Picture Controls are also on hand, although for those wanting their images and videos processed into more distinct styles immediately, Effects such as Super Vivid, Illustration and Toy Camera are also accessible through the mode dial.
The camera's 11-point AF system features a single cross-type point in the centre of its array, with a maximum sensitivity down to -1EV. You can set the system to focus continuously on a subject, including with Nikon's 3D tracking technology, and the camera can also continue to autofocus in live view and when recording videos. Manual focus is also possible, selectable through the menu and performed with a ring at the very front of the camera's kit lens.
Not that they're not bettered elsewhere, but the specs of both the viewfinder and LCD are in keeping with what we expect at this level. The viewfinder is based on a pentamirror construction and shows approximately 95% of the scene, while the LCD measures 3in in size and has a respectable resolution of 921k dots.
Wi-Fi hasn't been included inside the body, although wireless image transmission is still possible through the SnapBridge feature. First incorporated inside the D500 earlier in the year, this uses always-on Bluetooth Low Energy to deliver images straight to smart devices, either as they are captured or afterwards. It's not possible to control the camera's shooting settings remotely in any way, although this is not too great an omission on such a model.
To help the first-time user understand their camera better, Nikon has once again implemented its Guide mode feature. This provides an alternative to the main menus and helps the user quickly capture specific types of images. There's also the familiar '?' button that can be called upon to explain camera functions.
Nikon though has made a few omissions from the D3300. Gone is the microphone port around the camera's side, which means that you're restricted to the built in monaural microphones, although this is not a critical loss when you consider that it's aimed at beginner users. The flash has become weaker too, its guide number dropping from GN 12m at ISO 100 to just 7m here. Perhaps most importantly, built-in sensor-cleaning technology has also failed to make the cut, which means you have to use a more tedious process that requires you to take a reference photo before processing it with the included Capture NX D software, or raise the mirror and physically clean it with a swab or blower.
The core specs – notably the sensor, AF system and video specs – compare well with the camera's chief rival, the Canon EOS 1300D, although these and others are essentially unchanged from the D3300. Some may lament the lack of built-in Wi-Fi, however, as well as a touchscreen.
The D3400 is designed to be small and lightweight, but Nikon has ensured there is enough grip to get hold of the camera and space on the rear for the thumb to rest without knocking into any controls. At just 650g with its battery, memory card and kit lens in place the model is one of the lightest DSLR combinations around, around 40g lighter than the Canon EOS 1300D and its own 18-55mm kit lens and around 200g lighter than the Pentax K-50 and lens.
Naturally, such a small and light body does have its downsides. Mounting anything but Nikon's smallest and lightest lenses makes for an imbalanced partnership, for example, and it's easy to get your nose in the way of the menu selector pad on the rear which can make adjusting the focusing point tricky. The camera also lacks the build quality of its D5xxx siblings, which is to be expected given its lower billing, but harder to swallow given that they currently reside in a very similar price bracket.
Still, there are many positives elsewhere. A soft rubber around the grip improves the model's feel in the hand, and this is complemented with the same finish on the thumb rest. The mode dial is easy to grip and rotate, and while buttons are somewhat flat and lack much travel they are reasonably sized and well marked. The customisable Fn button to the side of the lens mount is very welcome, particularly in the absence of a direct control for ISO, although this can be assigned three alternative functions. Also nice to find is a dedicated drive mode button, which you'll no doubt find useful if you tend to call upon burst-shooting and self-timer options with any frequency.
In line with many other APS-C based rivals, the camera's 11-point Multi CAM 1000 AF system covers a healthy proportion of the frame, the points arranged in a diamond-like formation. This is essentially unchanged from previous models, although the new AF-P 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR kit lens has been engineered to provide fast and quiet focus.
It is indeed very quiet, with just a slight burr as it works, and something that's easily masked by most ambient noise. Overall speed is also very good, with the system bringing subjects to focus as promptly as expected when shooting in good light. Naturally this slows in poorer light, although the AF assist lamp is relatively bright and readily springs into play.
Although only the central AF point is cross type for enhanced sensitivity, the points immediately above and below it also prove to be more sensitive than the other surrounding points. I found this triplet could focus on very low-contrast subjects where the other eight could not.
When set to track a moving subject the system is capable of keeping up as a subject moves around the scene, although as points are positioned much further apart from each other than on cameras with a more densely packed array, it can often lose subjects if they don't occupy enough of the frame to begin with.
There's a slight focusing slowdown in live view, although a comparison with a similarly-sized Nikkor lens with an SWM motor shows the newer AF-P version to be both faster and quieter. In good light it still manages to find the subject without too much hesitation, although during this review there were occasions in poorer light where the system could not find focus at all. Still, for studio and other tripod-based shooting, this is completely usable.
The camera's metering system can be alternated between multi, centre-weighted and spot options, and on its default multi setting it behaves with a pleasing predictability. We were pleased to see it didn't tend to overexpose when faced with a predominantly dark subject, although, as is the case with many DSLRs, it does appear to lean slightly towards underexposure when faced with brighter areas. Still, with a dedicated exposure compensation button on the top plate that works in conjunction with the rear command dial, any intervention here is fast and straightforward.
The camera's Auto White Balance performance is similarly very good, with just a handful of slips during the course of this review. It did better than expected under artificial lighting, with just a little warmth taken away from some scenes, although performance under the traditionally difficult mixed natural/artificial conditions remained commendable.
With a fast memory card in place and the camera set to its 5fps burst mode, the D3400 manages anywhere between 13 and 28 JPEGs captured at their finest setting before it begins to slowdown. Set to capture Raw images this decreases to eight frames and raw and JPEGs captured simultaneously reduces this to six. The D3400 is unlikely to be anyone's first choice for action photography and so this performance is likely to be deemed adequate, although those wanting to capture prolonged bursts may find it tricky to do so when shooting raw files.
The camera's viewfinder doesn't throw any particularly surprises, with a pleasingly clear, colour-accurate and reasonably bright rendition of the scene. The LCD screen beneath it is fixed in place and not sensitive to touch, but these are not features we should expect as standard on an entry-level DSLR (even if a handful of rivals do offer one or the other, or both). The key thing is that it can reproduce the scene faithfully and show details clearly, and with 921k dots it does a good job to do both in balanced conditions and indoors. One thing that may cause concern is that the screen appears to be positioned far back behind its protective panel, something that easily causes reflections and compromises visibility in brighter conditions.
Wireless image transfer takes place over the camera's Bluetooth-running SnapBridge system, for which you need Nikon's dedicated app of the same name. This has not been well received since it introduction earlier in the year, and it was not possible to establish a connection when paired with an iPhone 6 for the duration of this test, despite both devices recognising each other.
The Vibration Reduction system inside the AF-P 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR kit lens is activated through the menu system rather than a switch on its barrel as is traditionally the case, although there appeared to be no difference in its performance next to other VR lenses with the same claims of effectiveness. The system has a clear effect on the stability of the viewfinder image (which helps with composition) and analysing images afterwards showed to have a positive effect on sharpness at lower shutter speeds.
It doesn't come as too great a surprise that the camera doesn't quite stretch to recording 4K video, offering Full HD instead, although good results are possible. Manual control over exposure may be enabled and while a little rolling shutter is visible in certain scenes, this is only really an issue if you pan the camera at speed. The kit lens appears to focus smoothly and very quietly (if a little slowly) while recording, although results appear somewhat weaker at the wide end than at the 55mm setting, so an alternative lens may be called for for wider compositions.
One feature that deserves high praise is the 1200-shot battery life. Having initially charged it fully, the camera maintained a full three bars after two days of being tested. Battery life is an issue for many compact system cameras, whose small batteries often have to power both LCD screen and electronic viewfinders, although the D3400's battery is far juicier than most other DSLR batteries too (certainly in this class). This places the D3400 at a huge advantage over other models.
Nikon has also included in-camera Raw processing among the D3400's features, a feature offered in previous D3xxx models but typically confined to more advanced cameras elsewhere. This allows for quick editing and multiple versions of the same image to be created without recourse to a computer, and you can view changes as you make them before committing. Whether or not the intended audience will use this is another matter, but it's a genuinely useful feature that's pleasing to see on board.
One small annoyance is that Nikon has maintained the same 'this option is not available at the current settings or in the camera's current state' error message from previous models. This is particularly unhelpful when faced with unselectable options as it doesn't explain exactly why they cannot be chosen, and it may cause the first-time user to have to check their manual more often than should be necessary.
With no low-pass filter in front of its sensor, it's possible to record a very good level of detail in images, particularly if you use a high-quality prime lens, a macro optic or one of Nikon's pro-oriented zooms. One thing that lets down image quality is the standard of the 18-55mm VR kit lens, particularly at the wideangle and telephoto extremes.
At wider apertures images are somewhat soft, particularly in corners and at the edges of the frame, although when used in an intermediate focal length it's possible get some very good sharpness in the centre of the frame. As with many similar kit lenses, lateral chromatic aberration and curvilinear distortion can be visible in Raw files, although both are successfully and automatically dealt with in JPEGs.
One thing those processing images will appreciate is the camera's healthy dynamic range. I found images underexposed by up to around 3-3.5EV stops could still be rectified (depending on ISO) without noise becoming an issue – at least not one that can't be dealt with by way of careful noise reduction.
The camera's slight tendency towards underexposure when dealing with bright areas also means that more highlight detail is retained than would otherwise be the case, although these areas can be tamed in post-production too. Against high-contrast edges it's also easy to spot purple fringing, and this remains in JPEGs, so this is one area of attention for raw post-production.
In the kinds of conditions in which high ISOs would be called upon, images captured up until around 800 range are still well coloured and troubled to no great degree by noise, although it becomes harder to process this out from images captured after this point. It's a shame there is no control over high-ISO noise reduction past on and off, as some may prefer to adjust this in finer increments. Fortunately, the effective VR system inside the kit lens means you shouldn't immediately need to call upon higher options as light levels fall.
Nikon's Picture Control options provide a sensible array of color options, and it's great to see the Flat option that first came along in the much more advanced D810. This can be used when recording videos, as a means of providing a better starting point for grading. Otherwise, the Standard mode is suitable for everyday shooting, neither saturating colors unnaturally nor leaving them lacklustre. The Vivid mode is a lovely choice for flowers and foliage, and gives colours just the right pep, although all can be adjusted fairly comprehensively with regards to contrast, saturation, brightness and so on.
Viewed in isolation, the Nikon D3400 is a fine performer and more than enough camera for most people just getting started with DSLR photography. Its body is small and light and its specs, while very similar to its predecessor's, are perfectly decent for a model of its class. Image and video quality is more than satisfactory too, and with the further benefit of in-camera raw processing, you can also polish up your creations quickly and easily for immediate use.
As a Nikon DSLR, its compatibility with decades worth of top-quality Nikkor glass is another major advantage. Furthermore, the benefit of its optical low-pass-filter-free sensor means that you can get the best out of these optics.
The advantage of the 1200-shot battery shouldn't be overlooked too, and means that it's much more likely to be taken to a festival, on holiday or elsewhere where you may not always have easy access to a power supply. Yet, the fact that its mammoth battery life is it's only real USP means that it struggles to stand out in a sea of also-credible alternatives.
After all, those with £500/$650 or so to spend have an overwhelming number of options across mirrorless and DSLR categories, while many mirrorless models manage to not only better the D3400 for size and weight, but also arrive with more flexible touchscreen LCDs and far better connectivity options. Particularly when you consider the D3400's likely audience is smartphone users, the lack of a touchscreen and a reliable connectivity seems are a real pity.
No longer Nikon's latest and greatest entry-level DSLR, but almost
Sensor: APS-C CMOS | Megapixels: 24.2MP | Screen: 3.2-inch articulating, 1,037,000 dots | Continuous shooting speed: 5fps | Movies: 1080p
The D5300 may have been updated by the D5500, although its impressive spec sheet, ongoing availability and similar price point makes it well worth considering. Currently, for only around £50 more, you get a host of superior tech inside a better-built body, including a 39-point AF system, Wi-Fi, GPS and a larger, higher-resolution articulating LCD screen. Once the D3400 starts to drop in price it may well represent better value, but for now, the D5300 easily has greater appeal.
Read the full review: Nikon D5300
Great camera that replaces the EOS 1200D
Sensor: APS-C CMOS | Megapixels: 18MP | Screen: 3.0-inch, 920,000 dots | Continuous shooting speed: 3fps | Movies: 1080p
On paper the EOS 1300D isn't quite as well specified as the D3400, with an 18MP sensor, 9-point AF system, more restricted ISO range and a battery that has nowhere near as much juice per charge, although it does offer Wi-Fi which the D3400 does not. It's main advantage, however, is price: having been launched at a lower RRP and with a six-month headstart, you can currently find it quite a bit cheaper. If you can find the even more compact EOS Rebel SL1 / EOS 100D, it's also well worth adding to your shortlist.
Read the full review: Canon EOS Rebel T6 /Canon EOS 1300D
Great camera that replaces the EOS 1200D
Sensor: APS-C CMOS | Megapixels: 16.2MP | Screen: 3.0-inch, 921,000 dots | Continuous shooting speed: 6fps | Movies: 1080p
Pentax may not have the market share of Canon or Nikon, but don't let that sway you into overlooking the K-50. For less money than the D3400 you get a plethora of extras, such as a pentaprism (not pentamirror) viewfinder with approx. 100% coverage, together with a faster 6fps burst rate, higher maximum sensitivity of ISO51,200 and a top shutter speed of 1/6000sec, all inside a weather-resistant body.
Read the full review: Pentax K-50
[Editor's Note: What immediately follows is a rundown of the latest developments and features Google has added to Apps for Work (G Suite) since this review was first written.]
September 2016
August 2016
July 2016
June 2016
May 2016
April 2016
March 2016
February 2016
January 2016
Now move on to Page 2 for our full review and detailed look at what Google Apps for Work offers, including an evaluation of features, pricing, and ease-of-use.
Darren Allan contributed to this article
For decades, the gold standard of office productivity software has been Microsoft Office – it inherited IBM's status as the technology nobody got fired for buying. But while Office is undoubtedly powerful, many of its users don't use many of its features. So why pay for things your organisation doesn't use?
That's the rationale behind Google Apps for Work, or G Suite as it is now known. Where Office tries to do everything imaginable, Google's suite is much more basic. That said, it's much more powerful than it was when the package debuted in 2006, but the emphasis on simplicity and speed remains.
Google Apps for Work (G Suite) is organised into four categories spanning eleven products. Under Communicate you'll find Gmail, Hangouts and Calendar; under Store there's Google Drive; under Collaborate there's Docs, Sheets, Forms, Slides and Sites; and under Manage there's Admin and Vault. That final one is designed to archive corporate email in organisations that have to retain data for regulatory compliance.
And as ever, the pricing is refreshingly simple. The base product is £3.30 ($5.66) per user per month, and the Premium version is £6.60 ($11.32) per user per month. If your organisation is an educational establishment, Google also has a version for you: Google Apps for Education is free.
While we're on the subject of free apps, you can of course get Gmail, Docs, Sheets and other Google apps for free – so why spend money? The short answer is that the paid-for version gives you more storage, management, and the ability to use your own domain – so emails come from @yourcompany.com instead of @gmail.com.
Users on the base version of G Suite get 30GB of storage, which is twice the amount of the free products, and users on the Premium version get unlimited storage, while you also get improved admin controls and the Vault email archive. Both the base and premium versions come with HD videoconferencing via Hangouts and 24/7 phone, chat and email support.
Google's main rival here is of course Microsoft, and Redmond's Office 365 comes with a number of price tags attached depending on which version you want and how many users you're planning on giving it to.
Microsoft has cut the price of Office 365 to make it more competitive, and it now comes in four tiers: Office 365 Business Essentials, which is £3.10 per user per month; Office 365 Business, which is £7 per user per month; Office 365 Business Premium, which is £7.80 per user per month; and Office 365 Enterprise E3, which is £14.70 per user per month. The first three plans are limited to a maximum of 300 users per year.
The most basic version of Office 365 offers web-based versions of Office apps, 1TB of storage per user plus a 50GB email inbox, unlimited online meetings and HD videoconferencing, plus business-focused social networking for collaborating across departments.
The next step up, Business, offers full Office apps for desktop, laptop, tablet and smartphone along with 1TB of storage, but not the extra 50GB email inboxes. If you want that and the desktop/mobile apps too, you'll need Office 365 Business Premium. As with Google there's 24-hour web support and phone support for "critical issues".
One deal-breaker here might be compliance: Microsoft's compliance tools are limited to the Enterprise product, which is twice the price of Google Apps for Work Premium.
The sign-up process takes mere seconds and once you've created your account you'll be taken to the Admin Console. This has eight key options: users, company profile, billing, reports, apps, device management, security and support.
It's possible to add users in two ways – manually, or by uploading a CSV file containing multiple user details. Once you've done that you can then specify which apps they can use, so for example you might want to let users access email but not Google Hangouts. You can also disable unwanted apps globally.
One of the most interesting sections here is Mobile Device Management, which enables you to mandate passwords and Google Sync on user devices, to encrypt data, configure Wi-Fi and to enable or disable automatic syncing and the device's camera.
You can also remotely wipe devices either manually or automatically if they haven't been synchronised for a specified period.
The Admin Console also contains some additional tools: group creation, third-party apps, domain management and settings for other free Google services such as Google Analytics, AdWords, Google+ and Google App Engine.
The optional Vault, which doubles the per-user price from £3.30 ($5.66) per month to £6.60 ($11.32), is designed for organisations that need to retain email and chat data and other digital information for regulatory compliance.
You can set data retention options globally or based on particular dates, groups or search terms, search the archive using the familiar Google search field, and you can audit the data and export it for further analysis. It doesn't store all communications, however – any chats marked off the record aren't stored.
If you're not sure whether you require Vault or if it isn't currently necessary, it's possible to upgrade to the with-Vault version from within your Google Apps for Work (G Suite) Admin Console.
Google's apps come in two forms – cross-platform, browser-based apps and mobile apps for iOS and Android. Microsoft's mobile OS isn't supported beyond Google Sync for mail, contacts and calendars.
It's worth noting that the browser apps only use local storage if you're using the Chrome browser or Chrome OS, although the standalone Google Drive desktop app keeps everything in sync if you prefer a different web browser (and of course Gmail is widely supported by desktop email software and mobile email apps). The features available offline differ from product to product and platform to platform.
Docs, Sheets and Slides are Google's equivalents of Word, Excel and PowerPoint, although a more accurate comparison would be to Apple's most recent iWork apps – the emphasis is on simplicity and ease of use rather than power features.
That's particularly apparent in Slides, which also appears to prize simplicity over making presentations that don't look absolutely awful.
We wouldn't want to craft a massive, complicated manuscript in Docs, but then that isn't what Docs is designed to do. It's a fast and user-friendly way to create everyday documents and to share them with colleagues and clients. The companion Drawing app adds functions such as WordArt-style text effects, simple image creation, diagrams and flow charts.
It's a similar story with Sheets, which covers the most common Excel functions (including pivot tables) but doesn't have the power of Microsoft's offering. It is improving, though, and now that it supports Google's App Script add-ons it's possible to automate workflows and develop custom apps – although it's still way behind Microsoft here.
There are two additional apps for creating content: Forms, which as the name suggests is for creating and completing online forms, and Sites, which can be used to create shared pages on the intranet or public internet. Sites is a template-driven affair and while it won't give professional web designers any nightmares, it's an effective way to publish web content without any knowledge of web content creation.
Online collaboration has been baked into Google Apps from the outset, and sharing documents with colleagues or clients is effortless. The Revision History panel tracks changes and there's a separate panel for comments, which can be notified via email as well as in the app.
Sharing is a one-button affair, with options including public, anyone with the correct link, anyone within the organisation, or sharing only with a specified group of people. These options only apply to unpublished documents, however – anything published via the Publish to the Web option, which makes an online copy of the current document, is publicly available.
In addition to the obligatory Microsoft Office formats, Google Apps also supports documents including Open Document Format, Rich Text Format, PDF, plaintext and zipped HTML. Spreadsheets can be saved as CSV and tab-delimited files, and presentations can be output in SVG and PNG formats.
The big selling point here is importing rather than exporting, however – it's useful to be able to bring non-Google documents into G Suite and make them editable and collaborative.
Google Apps also includes Google's Hangouts service, which you can make available for text, voice and video calls with anybody or limit conversations to just those people who are members of the same organisation. Hangouts can be shared with up to 15 people and used for video chat, presentation sharing or screen sharing.
Google Apps for Work (G Suite) is very competitively priced and easy to administer. While the various apps aren't quite as fully featured as power users might like, they're more than adequate for most everyday office work.
The apps may be too simple for some organisations, and not everybody loves Google's software interface – although it's much better than it used to be. You also might not be comfortable with the thought that your company's communications are being scanned by Google.
Rather than be all things to all men and women, Google's suite is content to cover the basics and to cover them well. It's fast, lightweight and works on a wide range of devices, and it's both easy to use and easy to administer.
If Google's apps cover the features your users will need every day, it's a very compelling product for SMEs – and with 30 days to put it through its paces without providing any billing details, it's a product you can test risk-free.
Samsung has experienced quite the rollercoaster ride during this second half of the year. Samsung started off strong with the initial release of the Galaxy Note 7, and despite the fact that the Note 7 ultimately didn’t differ much from the Galaxy S7 apart from the S Pen experience and the new Iris Scanner, Samsung stood a good chance to snag converters who were unhappy that the iPhone 7 didn’t come with a 3.5mm headphone jack.
After launching at major US carriers on September 16, the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus are now making their way to prepaid operators.
The iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus today launched in select Cricket Wireless retail stores. Here’s what Cricket’s pricing for the new iPhones looks like:
Flagship smartphone season will continue through to at least November 3, as Huawei just announced an event for that date.
Huawei today handed out save-the-dates for an event on November 3 in Munich, Germany. There aren’t many details about what Huawei will show at the event, but the company does tease that it’ll unveil “a new flagship device.”
The last time we reviewed a wireless external hard disk drive from Western Digital – the My Passport Wireless – we came out rather unimpressed by the device.
This time around, the My Passport Wireless Pro, a souped-up version of the aforementioned wireless drive, landed on our desk for evaluation – note that it complements rather than replaces the existing model.
It has a radically different design and, arguably, an improved set of features with a lot of lessons learnt from the first-generation wireless hard drive.
The 3TB version we were sent is on sale at Amazon for £200 (around $260, AU$340) while the 2TB model costs £180 (around $235, AU$305). In comparison, the 2TB model of the My Passport Wireless sells for £146 (around $190, AU$250) while a standard 3TB hard disk drive like the Maxtor M3 costs £90 (around $115, AU$150) and a 2TB HDD (Seagate Expansion) retails for £63 (around $80, AU$105).
Clearly you are paying a premium for a premium product, but there's a niche market that won't mind doing so.
The Pro moniker in the name and the wording of the product description on Western Digital's website make it clear that this drive is aimed at a prosumer audience, one that wouldn't mind paying extra if that means "streamlining your workflow" as WD puts it.
The My Passport Wireless Pro reminded us of an external DVD player or the Voyo V3 mini PC. Think about it – it's about the same size as a DVD disk with dimensions of 125 x 125 x 22mm, and it weighs 450g.
The drive is made of anthracite-coloured ABS plastic with plenty of rounded corners, and it feels solid.
On top there's the WD logo and six status lights: four to indicate the battery capacity, one for the Wi-Fi status and one to indicate whether the drive is spinning. There's also a removable sticker with the SSID and default password of the device.
Flip it over and on the underside you'll find four rubber feet as well as another sticker with more details about the My Passport Wireless Pro – including the serial number and the MAC address.
An SD card slot is located on one side and two square buttons – one for power and the other one for accessing the SD card – are located on the other, alongside a flat USB 3.0 connector and a standard USB 2.0 host port.
Long press the SD card button and the contents of your SD card will be automatically copied or moved – depending on how the button is configured – to the hard disk drive. In that mode, the lights on top will indicate how far the copy/move process has got to go.
The drive came with a 12.24W (5.1V/2.4A) power supply unit and interchangeable plugs for UK, EU and US markets.
The My Passport Wireless Pro uses a 15mm tall, 2.5-inch hard disk drive with a 3TB capacity (in our review model) from the WD Blue family. The WD30NPRZ runs at 5,400RPM and is equipped with 64MB cache. It consumes an average of 2W in read/write mode and 0.7W when idle. It's worth noting that the average drive read time stands at 8.5ms.
The drive performed quite well on CrystalDiskMark, hitting 121.9MBps and 120.9MBps in read and write respectively.
That's better than the drives we tested last year and likely to be due to the higher platter density which allows more bytes to be crammed in per unit volume/area.
Sadly, we couldn't get our Windows 10 test machine to connect with the drive wirelessly, either on the 2.4GHz or 5GHz channels. That was likely an issue with Windows rather than the device.
The drive offers 802.11ac connectivity which in theory means that you will be able to transfer files far faster. You will obviously need to have compatible devices to make the most of it.
The Wireless Pro also comes with a massive 6,400mAh battery which can be used as a power bank. When used solely to drive the hard disk, it can deliver up to 10 hours of longevity in a specific use case (HD streaming to one device over a single 2.4GHz band).
Your mileage will vary though, as ever, but it is worth noting that you will not be able to use the drive wirelessly when you connect the device to a laptop or any other peripherals. However, Wi-Fi does still work when the My Passport Wireless Pro is connected to an emergency power bank.
We strongly advise you to install the WD apps on the Wireless Pro (Backup and Access). Once you manage to connect to it over Wi-Fi, head over to http://mypassport to configure your drive.
One thing we noted when testing the device is that it vibrates a fair bit. We also observed a sharp, difficult to describe, sound that occurred frequently when switching Wi-Fi on and off; outside of that, the My Passport Wireless Pro was quiet. This didn't have any impact on performance and is likely to be an issue that can be ignored.
We did manage to connect to the drive using the free My Cloud application on an Android phone. From there you can change a number of parameters including what happens when you insert a USB stick (or a DSLR camera or another external hard drive) or an SD card.
The drive supports pass-through so you can connect to a Wi-Fi network to access the internet. Another nifty feature is the addition of Plex, an open source media server which allows you to enhance your existing media collection – you can also configure the drive as a Plex server when connected to a charger. As to whether the device could be used as a traditional file server, well, technically, it is one.
The My Passport Wireless Pro is also compatible with Adobe's Creative Cloud solution and supports up to eight devices, so it's ideal for small networks as an internet hotspot.
It's probably far cheaper to get a couple of devices to replace the Wireless Pro (a hard drive coupled with a hotspot/battery/card reader), but if you go that route you don't have the elegance of an integrated solution.
So for the target audience (photographers and videographers), the My Passport Wireless Pro is a great, if not perfect, match. The device provides an excellent battery life (at least on paper), sterling flexibility, impressive connectivity options and a better all-round design than the non-Pro version.
The addition of Plex is an interesting feature and we'd like to see more of this sort of thing in the future.
It’s been a while since developers had a new build of Android Wear 2.0 to test out, but that drought ends today.
