Why The Apple Watch Doesn’t Need More Than A Few Hours Of Active Use Time

Apple’s upcoming wearable still prompts a lot of
questions, not least of which is how long it will
last on a full charge of its battery. A new report
form 9to5Mac suggests that Apple is looking at a
smartwatch that will offer 2.5 hours of continuous
use for processor-intensive applications like
games, 3.5 hours for continuous use of standard
apps and 4 hours of active fitness tracking in the
background. Apple’s target for mixed use is 19
hours, including long periods where the display is
off, but the initial hardware might not quite live up
to that expectation, per 9to5Mac’s sources.
The report also claims that the Apple Watch team
had hoped for higher numbers, and that it also
helped contribute to a supposed delay of launch
plans from late last year to early next. And at first
glance, the number on paper might provoke some
head-scratching or looks of concern among Apple
Watchers; 3.5 hours of app use sounds abysmal
when measured up against devices like the
iPhone, for instance.
But even if Apple falls somewhat short of these
figures, it’s likely not going to hurt the consumer
success of the wearable, for a few reasons. One of
them is that this device is in reality meant to be
an occasional use gadget, and the initial
limitations for developers backs that up. Apple is
setting developers up to use the platform as a
conduit for essential information from the
smartphone, and a triage device that works
precisely because it allows for quick action, rather
than prolonged use sessions.
Apple also has existing device capabilities working
to its advantage – the field of Android Wear
devices generally offer about the same in terms of
battery consumption, with some probably doing
worse, and some slightly better. The point is that
consumer expectation is primed for lower active
use times, and daily charging. Battery life is a
metric that Apple will have to match, or improve
upon with each successive generation, but it can
start where consumer expectation for wearables
already is, so long as it delivers a superior
experience in other regards.
Which leads to the next point working in Apple’s
favor: The original iPhone promised only five
hours of “talk, video and browsing” time, which
was meagre compared to the luxurious long life of
competing smartphone devices from the likes of
BlackBerry. The Apple Watch, as described in this
report, won’t be that far off, and it’s intended for
use sessions that should be far shorter and less
taxing on its internal powerhouse.
The original iPhone actually fell quite short of
some of its competitors in this regard, but the
experience was enough to answer the naysayers
who argued no one would want to deal with the
hassle of a phone you had to charge every day
(GASP). Obviously, people were more than willing,
and that was in a market where there were options
that scored far better in terms of battery
expectations, which in this case there really are
not, barring the Pebble, but I think the Pebble is
actually a good analog to BlackBerry in terms of
the competitive landscape Apple will encounter
when it debuts the Apple Watch, as its experience
pales in similar ways.
For all the complaints about battery life on
contemporary devices, it hasn’t seemed to
seriously hamper sales of any device type, or
specific hardware to date in a way that
jeopardized the viability of the product. Apple can
shoot for table stakes in this instance, so long as
everything else offers a new level of polish and functionality.

Face us testing Simple app for low end android

Not content with spinning out apps for stickers
inside Messenger , Groups and new addition
Rooms , Facebook has launched another
standalone app. Facebook Lite , which some may
recall as a simplified version of its mobile
website from 2009-2010, is specifically designed
for low-end Android devices in emerging markets.
TechCrunch understands that the app was quietly
launched in a handful of countries in Asia and
Africa over the weekend — Bangladesh, Nepal,
Nigeria, South Africa, Sudan, Sri Lanka,
Vietnam and Zimbabwe to be precise — where it is
being testing with a view to further expansions.
That said, a wider launch is not a certainty and
Facebook could quietly can the project if it doesn’t
believe it is worth pursuing.
The app has been built to accommodate low-end
and dated Android devices — it is just 252 KB in
size — and those on 2G/poor quality internet
connections. It’s based on Snaptu, Facebook’s
feature phone client, but includes some native
Android features, such as push notifications and
camera integration, to make the experience a
more sophisticated one.
Why is Facebook launching yet another app?
Smartphone sales are soaring in India, which was
the fastest growing market in Asia Pacific in Q3
2014, while there’s huge potential in Africa and
Southeast Asia where mobile will be (or already
is) the primary internet platform for millions. Even
though Facebook retooled its Android app
specifically for emerging markets last year, it is
making sure that it offers a good experience to
any user not matter their device or network
connection. (Android is the platform of choice for
most smartphone owners in emerging markets
since devices can cost upwards of $30.)
Facebook already has its Internet.org project,
which provides free access to a range of mobile
internet services including, of course, Facebook.
Internet.org is currently limited to a selection of
countries in Africa at this point and, since it is
being developed in partnership with carriers and
other telecom industry players , launches are time
and resource intensive: so why not pull together a
‘Lite’ app that can potentially be pushed to
millions overnight, that’s Facebook’s thinking
here.
If you’re in one of the aforementioned eight
countries where Facebook Lite has launched —
and you have an Android phone — then you can
check it out here .
The early signs seem positive. The app has
already crossed 10,000 downloads at the time of
writing, with a 4.6 rating from an initial 693
reviewers. The few early users tweeting about it
seem impressed too

Windows 10 is just what an OS should be, and that's why no one cares

In the lead-up to this week's Microsoft
presentation, everyone - including us - referred to
it as "the Windows 10 event," and of course the
consumer features of Windows 10 were indeed
detailed. Today, however, nobody's talking about
Windows 10.
That's a slight exaggeration. The specialist tech
press - including us! - is poring over the details of
Windows 10, exploring what Cortana on the
desktop, the Spartan browser and the new gaming
features will mean when Windows 10 ships. What's
more, Microsoft's decision to make Windows 10
free for the first year is justifiably generating lots of
column inches too, as analysts work out what this
means not just for consumers but also for
Microsoft's business model and its bottom line.
But all of that is overshadowed - not just in the
tech press and the mainstream media, but on
forums, Reddit, Facebook and Twitter - by
HaloLens and the Surface Hub.
This is inevitable and understandable, but it's
nevertheless not especially healthy.
More foundation than flash
In the BBC satire series The Thick of It, a
government minister tries to recover from an
earlier bungle by using a press conference to
announce that there's nothing new to announce.
His department has been doing the kind of good,
solid, dependable work that the press always
ignores in favour of attention-grabbing new
innovations.
The non-press-conference doesn't go well. That's
because however much we might tell ourselves
that we're good, meritocratic citizens who care
about the things that are really, truly important, we
are instinctively drawn to the new and to the shiny.
It's happening with the Windows 10 event too.
Windows 10 is actually a remarkably bold OS. It
might still prove a fool's errand, but Microsoft's
vision for a truly unified operating system across
mobile, tablet, desktop - as distinct from Apple's
dual-platform, cloud-linked strategy and Google's
the-cloud-is-the-platform strategy - is nothing if
not audacious.
Still, it sounds like business as usual, and not even
skipping a number does anything to make
Windows 10 seem like anything other than just the
latest in a long, drudging line of updates to
something that provides fundamentally the same
interaction paradigm that Microsoft introduced
nearly thirty years ago.
Even if it was called something new - a name that
signalled this was something daring - who would
get excited about it? It's an operating system.
Microsoft may well want people to love Windows,
but it's very hard to get the general public to
understand what an operating system is, never
mind summon up any strong feelings about one -
and if you're aiming for a positive strong feeling,
you've got an even tougher job.
Holograms, though? Holograms, we can get - and
can get excited about. Let's gloss over the fact
that what Microsoft showed off was only a
hologram in the way movies have done
"holograms" for years. This is cool, sci-fi-level
stuff.
And giant tablets? Even if we think they're a bit
daft, we understand what they are, and they look
good in a thumbnail for a news story on the front
page. The Surface Hub is new (or at least a new
iteration of an idea so rare that few people will
have seen one) and so it too is something to get
fired up about.
Windows, though. Windows is dull. Sure, Windows
10 might be wonderful. Indeed, this new Microsoft
has an encouraging energy about it, and there's
reason to think it might be. But few people get
seriously exercised about an operating system.
Good news is no news
Of course, the irony about that The Thick of It
scene is that, while the situation came about by
mistake (and naturally the press was furious about
being dragged to a non-announcement), the
principle was perfectly valid. Teach the media a
lesson: stop being obsessed with the new, and
respect the value of the well-executed, behind-the-
scenes work that everything else depends on. And
that's a pretty decent definition of an operating
system, wouldn't you say?
Yet here we are; Microsoft announces arguably its
most radical plan ever for arguably its most
critical product - and makes it free to boot - but
we're all talking about a toy that so far is no more
real than one of its own fake holograms. We ought
to be more impressed with bricks and mortar than
smoke and mirrors.

New launched gadgets

Oppo U3
The Oppo U3 , the company's latest offering in the phablet realm, is now officially launched. As we suspected , however, the rumored 4x zoom lens turned out too good to be true, and a fixed focal length lens is all you get. Still, the smartphone packs pretty respectable hardware. Built around the massive 5.9-inch display of 1080p resolution, the device features a 64-bit bit Mediatek 6752 chipset with an octa-core processor, clocked at 1.7GHz. It is paired with 2GB of RAM and the 16GB of internal storage is expandable. A 3,000mAh battery is next on the list of chief specs and the fast charging support means 30 minutes of charging can get you an impressive 75% charge (as long as you use a suitable
charger). Imaging department is covered by a 13MP rear camera and a 5MP selfie snapper. The main unit on the back employs a Sony IMX214 sensor with a 1/3.06" diagonal and can pull off software tricks resulting in 50MP images, if you absolutely must make billboard-sized prints. The front camera utilizes wide angle glass and an LED flash for more
flattering group selfies. Despite the colossal size of the phablet at 156.8 x 81 x 8mm and 195g, Oppo is keen to target it at a more graceful audience. The company is offering a Rabbit's Tail case, which is basically a fur ball, attached to the back cover, allowing for more secure hold by gentle fingers. The Oppo U3 runs on Android KitKat 4.4.4 out of the box. No word is out yet on prices and availability.

HP slate 8

The enterprise tablet market is chock full of
powerful devices that offer portability, durability
and style. Among the best available devices are
the Dell Venue 11 Pro 7140 (starting at $699,
£430, AU$795), a 1.55 pound, 11-inch device that
packs 9 hours of battery life into a single charge.
Also on the list is the Samsung Galaxy Tab Pro
(starting at $545, £549, AU$995) a large format
12-inch device driven by 1.9GHz Quad core
processor.
If you don't require enterprise-specific features, the iPad Air 2 (starting at $499, £399, AU$619) and the Microsoft Surface Pro 3 Pro 3 (starting at $799, £521 and AU$988) should obviously be considered. If you want a tablet that can do something no other tablet on the market can, you should look into the HP Pro Slate 12
Specs and features
The thing you need to know about the HP Pro Slate 12 and its little brother the Pro Slate 8 is that both devices can turn physical pen-to-paper drawings into digital files. The Pro Slate uses a Duet Pen with built-in ultrasonic microphones that mimic the movements you're making when you write on a piece of paper in order to translate images into digital files. The transition from physical to digital is simultaneous. During my testing, I witnessed no lag time and no missed spots. The written image was identical in color quality and texture to the digital copy.
You'll love looking at this device: it is built on a gorgeous silver and black bezel with speakers that line the top and bottom edges of the device. This impressively large tablet only weighs 1.87 pounds and is only 0.31 inches thick. It features an 8 megapixel front-facing camera and a 2 megapixel rear camera. The screen features a 1,600 x 1,200 resolution Corning Gorilla Glass display. You can house up to 32GB of storage and 2GB of RAM into the device. Connectivity options include 802.11b/g/n/ac Wi-Fi and micro USB connectivity. The Pro Slate 12 features a Snapdragon 801 chip, running on Android 4.4 KitKat, on a charge that will last for up to 10 hours.
Performance
In addition to the incredible written document digitization, this tablet also features snappy operating speed. Programs open instantly, even when media is being streamed over WiFi. What you won't love is the interference that may occur when trying to digitize notes off of slanted surfaces. Notes must be taken on a table or desk in order to be copied correctly onto the Slate. If you're taking notes standing up or on your lap, you'll likely not get an exact replica on the device.
The design is pretty slick, but I hate how much real estate surrounds the screen. Not only do you have about a half-inch of speaker at the top and bottom of the tablet, but there is about three- quarters of an inch of border surrounding all four sides of the display. The screen is prone to severe light-bleed so don't expect to watch Netflix with the sun at your back. When the room is dark, the images are spectacular, but if there is any light in the background your image will be affected. I love that the Duet Pen has an ink tip as well as a digital tip. This makes it incredibly easy to go from physical writing to digital note-taking without having to swap out writing instruments. What's also nice is that the ink tip won't destroy the Pro Slate 12's screen, so you can accidentally try to create a digital note with the ink-tip without having to scrap your entire device. Early verdict If you're a student, or if you take minutes at meetings, the ability to turn written notes into simultaneous digital copies is magical. But this device isn't a one-trick pony: it features a speedy processor, a sleek design and it's incredibly light and portable. For only $529, the HP Pro Slate 12 is an ideal tablet for productivity.

Samsung Galaxy A3 ,A7 review

Side by side on a table, the two nearly identical rectangular handsets look innocuous enough and extremely familiar. Yet two things quietly make the Samsung Galaxy A3 and A5 stand out: their all-aluminum material and their unibody construction. Following the metal-l framed (and plastic-backed) Samsung Galaxy Alpha and Galaxy Note 4, the A5 and A3 represent Samsung's first stab at an all-metal build, and the first of its smartphones to seal in the battery completely. The square-sided handsets look and feel good, similar to the Alpha, or like smaller, more maneuverable versions of the Note They're also on the light side and are noticeably slim -- in fact, they're the most svelte Galaxy phones yet. Don't look for any real standout textures or design elements to show off the move to metal; these smooth-backed specimens are understated as far as that goes.
Since the back cover isn't removable, you'll find the SIM-card and microSD-card slots on the rightvedge. In some countries, a hybrid slot will accommodate either a second SIM or a storage card, just not both at the same time. As midrange phones, you won't find a heart-rate monitor built in with the camera module; Samsung says that sensor is reserved for more premium phones like the Galaxy S5 , Galaxy Note 4, and Galaxy Alpha. Midrange specs You might think that luxe metal casings like these would house equally high-end specs, but the A series is actually defined by midrange specs that target a more youthful demographic. Samsung's market studies revealed that this group isn't fussy about top-flight hardware, but is turning toward the metal trend in a serious way.

Samsung also points out that the A5 ad A3 emphasize sound quality, with adjustable audio that increases volume when it detects competing background noise. Another feature, called Wise Voice, helps keep volume levels constant for the receiver even if you're holding the phone away from your face. Sounds good in theory, though I didn't get a chance to test out either enhancement. In terms of color, both the A3 and A5 will come in six shades. There's the usual black and white, gold and silver metallics, and the same blossom pink and light blue as the Note 4. As usual, not every color will be available in every country.
Extra themes
Android 4.4 KitKat is the OS standard for these phones, with Samsung's TouchWiz interface on top. In a nod to self-expression, a new take on the UI lets you apply four new themes -- such asb"nature" -- that applies pre-selected images and ringtones. The A3 and A5 also have their own unique touch sounds that other Galaxy phones don't.
Supercharged selfies
The A3 and A5 may fall in the middle of the hardware spectrum, but they have a few fun new camera features dedicated to selfies, another huge trend we're seeing in smartphones.

Htc desire 820 Review

In our review of the HTC Desire 816, we were enamored by the solid package HTC was able to deliver – easily making it one of the more noteworthy devices in the mid-range market. Even with its universal acclaim, its only area of opportunity came in its processing performance. Naturally, it suffices for basic things, but strains under the pressure with intensive stuff. Well, that’s where the HTC Desire 820 comes into mind, as it bears an impressive piece of silicon in the form of a potent 64-bit octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 processor. The package contains: Design It’s seriously one of the better looking plastic phones on the market. Historically speaking, HTC is known for the meticulous designs of its devices – and the Desire 820 surely follows in that rich tradition! For a glossy plastic bodied thing, it’s surprisingly attractive, slim for its massive size, lightweight, and solidly constructed to give it some substance. Indeed, it bears the same design language as the Desire 816 before it, but it’s been evolved to exhibit a livelier look, thanks in part to the way they’ve accented the device. It’s an effective amount on our particular review unit, which has a slick contrast due to the blue accents around its edges and camera lens. Fashioned to follow HTC’s design principles, it features the same dual front-firing speakers of its siblings. At the same time, it’s accompanied with the usual suspect of ports and buttons around its trim – they include its power button, volume control, microphones, microUSB 2.0 port, and 3.5mm headset jack. Another unique characteristic of the Desire 820 is that it’s a dual-SIM device, a nifty offering for the global traveler.

Samsung Galaxy A3 Review

The main thing to note about the Samsung Galaxy A3 is that it's one of the first widespread phones from the South Korean firm that brings an all metal unibody. That fact alone should be enough to make a few of
you take a look at this hands on review, given this is something we've been begging Samsung for for
a very long time. The Galaxy S5 just didn't match up to the iPhone 6 and HTC One M8 in the design stakes and while the Galaxy Alpha and Note 4 improved things, they still weren't perfect. So why make the A series, a lower-cost range of phones from Samsung, the first to use such a design outside of South Korea? The thing is (and I feel almost bad for writing this after demanding that Samsung ups it design language for years) the Samsung Galaxy A3 still
doesn't feel that premium. The back metal plate feels hollow and slightly polycarbonate still, so if you're looking to get an early peek at the Samsung Galaxy S6 Mini, this isn't it. But that's unfair. This is a phone that's going to be competing with the HTC One Mini 2, the Sony M series and a selection of Chinese brands at the lower end of the scale. It's light, the 4.5-inch screen is more impressive than you'd expect from a qHD option and the general use feels surprisingly snappy.
The surprise comes when you consider the specs: a quad-core 1.2GHz Snapdragon 400 CPU with
1GB of RAM, which isn't too far from what was used in the Samsung Gear Live Android Wear watch.
I'd worry about the A3 over a long period of time, given that it will probably start to suffer somewhat with more apps placed on it, but at the lower end of the pricing scale it seems perfectly serviceable
right now. After the curiosity that was the Galaxy Alpha, Samsung's decided to reverse the design
decisions made there: where the more expensive model has a removable battery and no memory
expansion, the power pack in the A3 is locked in but there's a port to slot a microSD into. The latter will help a lot, given this is still native Touchwiz running atop Android 4.4 (although I'm still getting the exact iteration of the OS confirmed) which means that the OS will take up a relatively large amount of the space on the device (although nowhere near as bad as it used to be for Samsung). There's also the issue of apps nabbing all the internal memory, which thankfully should be slightly appeased by the expandable memory. The battery life of the Samsung Galaxy A3 should be more than acceptable, given it's got a 1900mAh battery. That might not sound like much, but given the lower-spec CPU and RAM, combined
with the lack of pixels compared to today's 1080p beasts, Samsung should be able to make some significant savings here when it comes to juice retention. The other 'big' thing here is that the Wide Selfie mode, which curiously debuted on the Galaxy Note 4 (when such a trick would be better suited to the more budget handset that the youth can afford) is indeed present on the Galaxy A3. The results were fine on the 5MP camera on the front of this phone, and the 8MP snapper on the back, while looking a touch washed out compared to its A5 brethren, was competent enough and will probably deliver good enough photos for the money. The rest of the Samsung Galaxy A3 is really rather hard to typify, and that's something which is becoming common in many Samsung phones. The TouchWiz overlay still doesn't impress, and while I really like the steps forward taken with the design,
it still doesn't fill me with stroke-worthy wonder as you'd hope an all metal phone would. Things like the protruding camera model irk, as
that extra space could have been extended to make the back of the A3 a little thicker and let you get a bigger battery in there. But otherwise, this feels like a solid and well madephone from Samsung, something that sits well next the Alpha (and could really be considered asthe Galaxy Alpha Mini) and fills a hole in the supply chain that Samsung didn't fill with the Galaxy S5 Mini. We liked The all metal design is a step in the right direction for Samsung, and the speed and precision with which this phone performed was impressive, given the amount of grunt under the hood. The screen was bright and sharp too, with me guessing it was 720p rather than the qHD on offer.
The cameras look mighty as well, and if you're Samsung fan, TouchWiz is there and unencumbered. We disliked While I feel like a hypocrite for suggesting it, the all metal design of the A3 doesn't really screen premium in the way you'd expect it to. It's too light, feels too hollow and doesn't really add much
right now. That said, it's still one of the most beautiful phones Samsung has ever produced. Early verdict
The Galaxy A3 will sell pretty well thanks to the loyalty fans have for the brand and the likely lower price point. Some users might which there were a few minor adjustments to improve the phone no end - perhaps that's what will happen with the
Samsung Galaxy S6?