Skype on Android phones now lets you maintain eye contact while you multitask
Up until now Skype's smartphone Android app has required users to actually focus on their conversations if they want to see what the person they're talking to is doing - but no more.
A new Android Skype phone app update has added a picture-in-picture feature that lets you keep looking at your conversation partner's face even as you tool around in other apps.
The feature was previously available only on Android tablets, which made sense back when smartphones weren't literally the same size as them.
Those were the days
Picture-in-picture for the Android Skype app shows a smaller Skype window that floats above whatever other apps you're using.You can easily move it around so it isn't in the way, and the person you're supposed to be having a conversation with will never even know that they're less important to you than checking your News Feed is.
The Android Skype update also adds faster loading for chats opened from notifications, Google+ style formatted text, bug fixes, and more.
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LG G3's Android 5.0 Lollipop update is rolling out now for some
LG's latest flagship phablet, the LG G3, is getting upgraded to Android 5.0 Lollipop this week - at least for users in Korea.
Don't despair, though, as that means the international version of the Lollipop update is probably coming soon as well.
This is more or less right on schedule with what LG has said, not to mention what we heard when the G3's Lollipop update leaked in screenshots on a Polish website at the beginning of November.
The site said Lollipop improves the G3's performance, among other tweaks and changes, and soon you'll be able to test it out for yourself.
A simple question
Meanwhile the LG G2 is still scheduled to get its own Lollipop update, although it's a lower priority and will arrive some time in the future.Check out TechRadar's Lollipop release date hub if you're asking yourself the question, "Lollipop: when can I get it?"
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Chromecast apps updated again with Comedy Central, Nickelodeon and more
Google has added yet another batch of new Chromecast apps to its streaming stick's ever-growing arsenal of entertainment options.
The seven new apps include something for everyone, with Comedy Central, Sesame Street Go, Nickelodeon, TuneIn, Epix, YuppTV, and Encore Play.
With the holidays approaching Google is no doubt eager to continue adding value to the affordable and appealing Chromecast, and more casting apps is a great way to do so.
The last batch of new Chromecast apps hit in September with Twitch, Disney and others. But this flood of apps begs the question: are there any services left that don't have Chromecast support? And why the hell not?
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Updated: The slimmer Moto 360 is now available in gold and silver
Update: The slim-band Moto 360 is now available in both silver and the new champagne gold color, arriving just in time for the holidays - as Motorola promised they would.
They're a little more expensive, but for a higher-quality watch band it's probably worth it.
You can get the Moto 360 in these new options directly from Motorola.com, and with the holiday shopping season heating up it would probably be wise to act quickly if you want to receive it before the new year.
Original story follows…
The Moto 360 is a sleek-looking smartwatch, but until now it's been lacking in options.
Thankfully Motorola has officially unveiled the champagne gold Motor 360, slimmer watch bands and more, new accessories and choices that popped up originally in an Amazon leak at the end of October.
At the time we spotted the gold smartwatch, new band sizes, a silver Moto 360 with a brown leather strap, and new bands in dark metal and dark silver.
Now Motorola's revealed all that and more.
So many choices
The device maker says the new bands are made of aircraft-grade stainless steel with a tri-link design that matches the 360's round face.The smartwatch launches with light and dark metal straps today, November 6, for $299 (about £190, AU$350) on Motorola's site. The slim bands, including a silver version and the more expensive $329 (about £210, AU$385) gold one, will arrive closer to the holidays.
Motorola also teased a bunch of other standalone interchangeable bands, including new colors of leather, new leather straps from DODOcase and silicone straps by TYLT.
Finally new watch face customization options and designs and a new Moto Body fitness app are coming to the Moto 360 in updates soon.
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Sony too is cutting down on the number of phones it makes
Many smartphone makers - most noticeably Samsung, though others are guilty too - have operated under the philosophy "quantity over quality" for several years.
But a Samsung exec revealed in November that the Korean company is changing its tune going into 2015, and now Sony has said the same, reports Reuters.
Sony Mobile Chief Hiroki Totoki reportedly told investors that the company is going to start prioritizing profit over "size or market share."
They'll let sales dip as much as 30% as long as that means recovering from their $2.1 billion (about £1.33b, AU$2.46b) loss from this fiscal year.
Let gaming lead the way
Totoki said the Xperia smartphones, including the new flagship Sony Xperia Z3, didn't perform as the company had hoped.They'll reveal more about the Xperia line's future - presumably including info on the Xperia Z4 that leaked in late November - around March 2015.
But with Sony TVs taking a dive along with smartphones, the company will reportedly rely on its PlayStation video games, video and music distribution services and image sensor business for the next few years.
Hopefully that means a return to profitability - and we won't complain about a greater focus on the PS4 and PS Vita.
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Industry voice: Loons and lasers - why the world needs IPv6
While there's no denying that the Internet has changed the world, it hasn't reached everyone yet. In fact, the International Telecommunications Union estimates that 61 percent of the world's 7.1 billion people are still not using it..
Developed economies are leading the way in terms of Internet penetration and usage, while regions such as Africa are rapidly investing in Internet infrastructure. Developing a robust Internet infrastructure impacts a range of areas – from business, education, medical support, through to more intangible things like cultural expression and keeping in touch with friends and families.
Difficulties
But it can be difficult to establish Internet infrastructure in some regions of the world. There are vast distances to cover with cables or even expensive satellite-enabled hardware. Cables need to be buried, otherwise they can be easily damaged, and this means that often a large investment is required.Without local Internet Exchange Points (IXPs) and Domain Name Servers, Internet Service Providers (ISPs) cannot thrive, and end users will experience significant latency as traffic is routed out of the local network and through other countries or regions before data is returned, often with considerable added transit costs.
Tech giants intervene
It's not just local governments, IXPs and ISPs who are looking to solve the connectivity problem; some of the world's biggest tech giants have also turned their attention to the matter. Recently, it has been suggested that infrared signals projected from the sky by autonomous drones will be part of the next evolution of the Internet. Facebook plans to use a fleet of solar-powered drones to do the job while Google proposes using high altitude balloons.These air-based solutions would effectively create gigantic WiFi zones in relatively remote regions, opening up Internet access to even more people. These ideas from Facebook and Google show incredible innovation and help to resolve a number of the issues mentioned above. The ambition to connect the whole globe to the Internet is admirable, but there are other challenges in addition to the delivery method.
Collaboration needed
At the RIPE NCC, we think there must be a collaborative effort from the entire community. Soaring advances in Internet infrastructure only address part of the problem. If all 7.1 billion people on earth were able to connect to the Internet overnight, without IPv6 the experience would be poor for a lot of them.That's because every device that connects to the Internet needs an IP address and we've already reached IPv4 exhaustion in most parts of the world. There were just 4.3 billion IPv4 addresses in the first place, so you can see that even if everyone only used one IP address, we'd still be short a couple of billion. And this is overlooking the fact that we are typically using multiple devices, and our environment is increasingly becoming IP enabled. IPv6 is the new standard, which allows for 340 trillion, trillion, trillion addresses so there's no chance we'll run out any time soon.
Supporting developing nations with high-flying infrastructure is admirable, but ultimately it's only part of the solution. Asking countries and citizens to invest in Internet hardware that isn't IPv6-ready is a short-term solution that may end up costing more in the long term. Only by considering and deploying IPv6 in all hardware developments can we help to safeguard the future of the Internet and give everyone the access they deserve.
- Axel Pawlik is the Managing Director of the RIPE Network Coordination Centre (RIPE NCC). He has worked in the Internet industry for over 28 years.
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Industry voice: Keeping Cloud-Stored Data from storms
There is a rush to place data into the cloud, but only now people are starting to question how safe their data really is.
Partly due to its novelty, the cloud has developed a mysterious veneer about it, causing us to question what the cloud customer should be doing to make certain that end users are not affected and whether it really is possible to insure ourselves against cloud outages. There is already an abundance of information at our disposal regarding how we can back up our local machines to the cloud, but there really is little on how a business can ensure its data stored in the cloud is safe.
Back it up
The answer to protecting a business's data stored in the cloud is the same as it ever has been - back everything up. You should never put all your eggs in one basket. Backups are the important component of any possible 'Plan B' for when disaster does in fact strike. The cloud comes with the attractive promise of the access to your data anytime, anywhere, but apart from backing up that data to another cloud-based storage provider, the best way to protect your data for a rainy day is to back it up to a local resource.What is more relevant today is the concern of these so-called 'cloud outages' or 'cloud attacks'. The loss of access to data has the potential to significantly impact daily business operations even though the data is still out there - somewhere. The potential impact of a business losing access to its online CRM or ERP systems for a period of time is unthinkable.
Code Spaces
Recently Code Spaces suffered a DDoS attack from an unknown party who managed to acquire access to their Amazon EC2 control panel. The attackers demanded a large sum of money to cease what had already proven to be a devastating crusade against the tech giant. After some time however, Code Spaces managed to regain their panel after removing all EBS snapshots, S3 buckets and all AMI.Looking forward, there is a very well-proven method in backing up data known as the '3-2-1 principle' – 3 Copies, 2 Physical Locations, 1 Offsite. If you chose to back up your data to another cloud provider while keeping an on-site copy, and the live data itself you can fulfil that principle, however rest assured that all cloud providers have taken the time to consider many possible disaster scenarios.
Encrypt the lot
Another effective practice is ensuring your data is encrypted and even more importantly, knowing when it was encrypted. If the cloud provider is responsible for the encryption of your data, then they will also be able to decrypt it. However if your data is encrypted before it is transferred up to the cloud then only your business's IT department will be the ones able to decrypt it - a relatively simple practice that can only add security to your cloud-stored information.The cloud is both a very effective and useful piece of the modern business, but its purpose is meant to be more of a tool rather than a crutch. That said, with the right back-up strategies and precautions in place, its benefits are limitless.
- Lawrence Garvin, Head Geek, SolarWinds
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Industry voice: Text analytics for SMEs
The Internet is a busy place, and social media is an ever-growing piece. Hundreds of thousands of tweets, status updates, pictures, and reviews are posted every minute, and that number just keeps going up. For a small or medium sized business (SMB) owner, it is more important than ever to properly manage your online presence.
That being said, properly managing large amounts of social media data (reviews, mentions on twitter, and so on) as an SMB owner requires massive amounts of your most precious resource: time. You simply don't have the time each day to read through tweets, reviews, and every other online mention of your business.
But you still need to listen.
Text analytics is an amalgamation of processes beginning with input gathering and culminating in pattern identification and trend analysis – is the best way for an enterprising SMB owner like yourself to manage your online presence. Rather than manually reading every mention of your business or your competitors that you can find, you can have machines do the work for you.More important is the sheer volume of input a good text analysis program can process. While responding to individual complaints can cultivate a positive reputation with your customers, different people can have wildly opposing views of the same product; if you base your decisions off of only a few data points, you could be alienating a significant portion of your customer base.
This is where the processing power of a text analysis engine proves invaluable. By gathering large quantities of data and identifying named entities, you can identify patterns and trends that will show shifts in customer attitude over time.
Fortunately, you don't have to worry about implementing text analytics yourself. There is a myriad of social listening, social marketing, or customer experience management tools out there that provide a complete system; which makes the pricing affordable to SMBs.
Of course, while a computer can gather the information and identify trends and patterns, a person is required to decide what to do next. There are two things to keep in mind when using a text analytics tool: first and foremost, base your decisions on those trends or on comparisons, never on point data. Second, use a wide view of your market and competitors – you have the ability to listen to more than you ever could before; use that ability.
- Noah Blier is a marketing intern at Lexalytics, one of the leading providers of text analytics and sentiment analysis.
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Hands-on review: Wearhaus Arc
The Wearhaus Arc and the Nintendo 3DS XL may seem crazy to compare, what with one being a pair of headphones and the other being a portable game console. Bear with me. Each of these devices are plain enough to get lost in the always-evolving sea of emerging tech, but there’s something innovative about each of them that I love, that gives me a good reason to stick them in my bag long after they hit retail.
The Wearhaus Arc shines like the Nintendo 3DS, where one its biggest draws is how it turns a private and isolated experience, into a fun, social event that I can participate in just by heading out the door every morning.
Set to ship out in 2015 (no price announced as of this writing), the Wearhaus Arc is a pair of Bluetooth headphones that work just fine as a standalone pair, but are uniquely equipped to broadcast curated stations with music from any app, including Spotify, SoundCloud, Pandora and more via Bluetooth. When other Arc users join your station, they’ll be able to hang out, listen to what you’re listening to, and have a text chat with you about your great taste within the app.
My demo was limited to using one pair of Arcs, so I wasn’t able to test out these social features. I’ll be able to give you a much more detailed look at the app’s features and the station functionality in our full review.
Arc appeal
The design of the Arc’s sturdy plastic frame is simple and pleasant. The model I was able to test was white, with metallic accents near the charging port, 3.5mm auxiliary jack for wired listening, and the hard-to-find power button.
Pressing against the ears are two on-ear, memory foam-padded ear cups. The tight seal around your ears is made comfortable with soft leather coating the foam. These materials do a good job of directing music straight to your ears.
After all, noise leakage from headphones isn’t the kind of “social experience” the person next to you on the bus wants to participate in. I’m interested to see whether these headphones get active noise cancellation before launch.
What makes the Arc pop comes is a ring of clear LEDs rimming each ear piece, where a customizable strobe of color emanates from. With an early build of the app, I was able to change it to a good handful of basic colors. It’s a fun perk that does nothing more than help to personalize your set of Arcs, but is nevertheless welcome. I noticed a ton of people staring at me while I was wearing these lit-up headphones on the subway. Thankfully, I had nothing to be embarrassed about – these cans look great.
The only embarrassment I encountered was trying to make adjustments with the touch controls embedded in the right cup. At times, touch felt like more work than changing the song manually on my phone. I experimented with the tips of my fingers, the sides, and the middle of them. I just couldn’t find the sweet spot to activate the touch sensor.
Early verdict
In its unfinished form, the Wearhaus Arc headphones show signs of lasting appeal in a competitive market. Problems exist with its current build, but with a promising app concept, this niche attempt at making your music social could actually catch on.If Wearhaus manages to fix some of the more nagging issues here, namely the touch controls and recessed power button, the company will have crafted some seriously premium cans. Of course, it’s also crucial that the social features meet a similar level of quality. So, stay tuned for our full review to see whether Wearhaus’s tweeters are worth liking.
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Industry voice: Service supply chain evolution
The merits of fixed verses variable cost structure has long been debated in the industry. As technology evolves and customers demand innovation in service delivery and the intelligence that can be derived by providing a break-fix service; the industry seems attached it its outdated, antiquated delivery/cost model.
The big question is whether innovation within services can be delivered on a variable cost base? And can pricing be a differentiator in the evolution of the service supply chain?
As the majority traditional service supply chain continues to steadfastly remain fragmented, its fixed inflexible cost structures have become increasingly expensive against the context of the revenue they are earning today. It's these costs that are putting price pressure in the market; the change in the products and the simplification and reduction of the revenue attached to the maintenance has made the fixed price model and its legacy engineering costs outdated.
Anatomy of the fixed and variable cost
If we look at what the fixed service costs are, we see a combination of skilled engineers, external repairs, parts and logistics, as well as diagnostics – all of which often are still operated in the traditional unconnected way.On the other hand, if we work within a re-designed (fit for purpose) connected infrastructure based model then variable service innovation and pricing modernisation becomes the norm The customer pays by the type of activity that's required, when it's required with the correct skill to deliver. This means that when there is a requirement for a particular skill in the field environment then that's what is assigned to the call, not an over-skilled or under-skilled engineer/technician/tech courier.
There will always be a need for various skill levels in the field, the difficulty in the traditional service supply infrastructure is its inability to respond and adapt to the rapid simplification of product and its continued incapability to deliver modern service
Variable viable
Anecdotal evidence suggests that a complex service call requires a senior engineer, which accounts for approximately 20 per cent of all service calls. The rest is split between the technical courier and the internal engineer. It's within this ground where a variable cost model is far more effective and specific in responding to a customer demand driven ethos but only within a fit for purpose infrastructure model.This allows the service provider to flex the cost base against the demand using the re-designed skill profile as required. This in turn creates the environment for innovation and increases the responsiveness to the customer enabling the service provider to create a modern, intelligent service supply chain, while freeing valuable working capital on the core IP and differentiators.
These economies of scale can be achieved through aggregation. While many of the larger service providers all have their own infrastructure, if one of those components is non-core it doesn't add any differentiation. If it can be shared with multiple parties, greater value can be obtained for the end client where they do differentiate.
However, sharing infrastructure and the ability to aggregate can't be orchestrated within a siloed organisation. The industry needs to embrace more efficient ways of generating economies of scale, by taking the non core competencies in a connected supply chain and putting them into a service model that's connected and can demonstrate aggregation and economies.
Doing more for less
The fixed against variable pricing model is without a doubt a huge step change in the methodology, collaboration and delivery. And the consequences are even greater. To meet customer demands, major changes are required in the infrastructure to meet innovation and pricing needs.To deliver the variable cost model, service providers have to make strategic changes that will impact almost every element of service, from repair centres to logistics providers and sub-contractors. In my view, this is the only way the industry can not just reduce costs, but continue to innovate, make sustainable margins within its break fix business and ensure it stays a sustainable and strategic component of its managed services proposition.
- Glyn Dodd is the managing director at technology support specialist Centrex Services.
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The UK is still a long way off being ready for the Internet of Things
Introduction and infrastructure
Earlier this year, the UK government announced that it will give the Internet of Things (IoT) a £45 million (around $70 million, AU$83 million) funding boost – and indeed this cash injection is central to the government's IoT plans. It has opted to spread its bets and disseminate the cash via a number of vehicles and to multiple organisations who can help bring the UK up to speed.This is a far cry from previous government IT projects which saw billions go to one organisation (selected from a pool of cronies) and ended in misery and embarrassment as the resultant systems were overblown, overweight and failed overnight. The infamous computerised NHS record keeping system cost up to £10 billion (around $15.7 billion, AU$18.4 billion) and at one point was described as "the biggest IT failure ever seen."
The government is hoping this time will be different. The £45 million (around $70 million, AU$83 million) figure breaks down to investment in areas such as location services, digital health and remote working. There are also plans to incentivise startups to create IoT specific technology through investment competitions and other funding tools.
This money is supposed to cover a shortfall in preparedness, and it's supposed to get the UK battle ready to compete with other countries that are pushing ahead – such as Spain's flagship IoT city Santander.
Appetite for tech
But are we ready? On a consumer level, yes. The public has shown a real appetite for adopting new technology. Young people are especially tech savvy and if there's a genuine benefit – for example saving money on energy bills – then consumers will take to new technology with aplomb.But on an infrastructure level, less so. Whilst issues of available bandwidth have been raised, Tom Cheesewright, futurologist, believes that a more damning problem is looming – namely infrastructure: "The biggest concerns are at a geographical scale. Bandwidth isn't so much of an issue: 3G/4G, whitespace and actually unlicensed RF bands should be plenty.
"The bigger issues are around power and the readiness of state institutions. Our power grid is ancient and far from smart. Most local government bodies are struggling to get truly into the web era, let alone physical computing. There's a massive imagination gap, before you even consider the investment needed.
"This is an opportunity though. Transforming the grid and city-scale technology with old approaches to design and procurement would be slow and painful. If we can apply some 'internet culture' – user-driven design, agile, iterative development, open source hardware and software – then we might be able to leapfrog a generation of technology and truly take advantage of the promise of the IoT."
Beyond the screen
Cheesewright also expressed concerns that companies and developers in the UK aren't working on the kind of next-generation tech that's going to be required for IoT: "Very few developers and digital agencies, the people who ought to be exploring this space the earliest, have yet started to experiment with anything beyond the screen. The ones that do will have a massive advantage as we begin to enter a post-screen age."Think about the bandwidth of the interface between workers and computers: if you're limited to the screen, mouse and keyboard while others are interacting via the much richer medium of the physical world, you're going to be at a huge disadvantage, especially as computers begin to understand more and more of the context of our world – location, social graph, environment etc."
However, a spokesperson from the department of business innovation and skills countered, and said that a new funding initiative, via Innovate UK – the government's startup investment body – has launched a funding competition for early stage companies in the Cambridge and Shoreditch tech clusters.
Whether or not the winning startups are the ones who will create the kind of technology Cheesewright is talking about – and the people issuing the grants are sufficiently clued up enough to recognise the right startups – remains to be seen.
Expert opinions
TechRadar Pro asked five experts: "Is the UK ready for IoT?" Of those five, four came back with security concerns. More specifically, whether or not developers are building in security to IoT related devices and if the government should legislate to make security mandatory.Heledd Lloyd Jones, partner and Information Governance team lead at Blake Morgan, explained to TechRadar how security for IoT devices simply isn't top priority for developers: "Anecdotally, it appears that in many cases cyber-security will have been an afterthought because the need to address security risks has not been obvious to developers at the design stage.
"For example, while the incentives for hacking into bank databases and military defences are self-evident, the motivation for hacking into domestic baby monitoring devices, pacemakers, and refrigerators are not so obvious. However, the risks posed to health, safety, wellbeing and commercial reputation by hacking and program malfunction where smart devices are used in context of healthcare provision and energy and transport infrastructure are plainly considerable."
Others experts echoed Jones' comments. Dave Larson, CTO of Corero Networks, explained that DDoS attacks (distributed denial of service) could become more common because of the increased number of internet connected devices in an IoT city.
"In the case of DDoS attacks, the reality is that any device, infrastructure, application etc, that is connected to the internet is at risk of attack, or even more worrisome, to be recruited as a bot in an army to be used in DDoS attacks against unsuspecting victims."
Larson continued: "It is almost unthinkable to consider the scale and destruction that could be perpetrated by exploiting even a small fraction of the anticipated billions of IoT devices that will be deployed in the coming years."
Ready or not...
Larson's chilling vision of the future where billions of IoT devices are utilised as bots for DDoS attacks is, probably, rather far-fetched. But clearly there are security concerns about how well protected these devices will be, and how they'll be supported once deployed. Will every manufacturer offer some sort of 24/7 IT support for their individual device? Or will the government have to build a facility just to manage the security of all these devices? The latter is more probable.But what's most concerning is the fact that these are serious concerns that could stop a countrywide IoT rollout in its tracks. Yet there isn't much noise being made from Whitehall about how these issues will be tackled, just plenty of predictable pleasing soundbites that barely scratch the surface of what needs to be done to ready the UK for IoT.
- You might also want to read: Why organisations should approach the Internet of Things with caution
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Industry voice: How an SME can get into into the Public Sector Market?
With government commitment to SMEs and several access routes, including the G-Cloud framework's online marketplace 'CloudStore,' the public sector market is now within the reach of small businesses.
Is it a market worth getting into?
Conducting business with public bodies represents a significant opportunity for all businesses. In the most recent fiscal year the public spending total was £729 billion, split between £560 billion spent by central government and £169 billion spent by local authorities. A large proportion of this expenditure is spent on goods and services and an increasing proportion of these services are IT based. Accessing this market can be difficult for SMEs, as many think public sector contracts are out of their reach.Working for public sector bodies can be extremely beneficial for SMEs. Transparent tendering, detailed information, fair processes, strict adherence to contractual terms and payment on time are just some of the benefits companies conducting business with public bodies enjoy. There is also a vast range of public bodies that can potentially become customers for small businesses. Local Authorities, Emergency Services, the National Health Service, the Armed Forces and Universities are all public bodies that small businesses can benefit from establishing good commercial relationships with. Central government bodies like the Ministry of Defence, HMRC and the Transport Department are also in need of a wide range of goods and services, both specialist and otherwise.
The government's commitment
The government is committed to enabling small businesses to compete successfully for public sector contracts. Encouraging the UK SME base to take on public sector contracts stimulates the economy, as SMEs are extremely significant in terms of their contribution to output and employment. SMEs operate in all sectors of the economy, performing a range of functions that are continuously expanding. More than 27,800 small and medium sized businesses deliver more than 33% of the total commercial contribution to the UK economy. Across the 'EU four' (UK, Germany, France and Italy), the mid market represents about 1.5% of all companies, yet it generates more than 33% of private sector revenue, employing the same proportion of the countries' workforce.The usual method public bodies operate when purchasing goods and services is by tendering. The public sector body provides an outline of its requirements so that all potential suppliers can bid with the details and cost of their solution. The main reason for this is fairness and visibility. The process is open for scrutiny and review and offers each participating company a chance to compete equally, as well as finding the best value for money solution. This process allows small businesses to compete with larger organisations for government contracts and prevents long-term deals being made without competition.
Access routes
The Government initiative 'Contract Finder' is a free online service that enables SMEs to search for all government contract opportunities worth more than £10,000 and some worth upwards of £100,000. The service also offers a host of email alerts, e-books and advice on securing public sector contracts. The service also shows the range of sub-contracting opportunities to work with larger businesses that have already secured high-value government contracts. It is ideal for small businesses looking to move into the public sector market, as it offers advanced searches that can specify location, the type of work required and how much the contract is worth.Along with Contract Finder, there are a number of other places small businesses can look for public sector contracts. For small businesses that are seeking to expand their business reach across the EU, the Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU) lists a great deal of the contracts available, with the added benefit of a wider range of opportunities. Tenders Electronic Daily (TED) is an online supplement to the OJEU, which can be accessed free of charge to search for up to date opportunities and register for live updates. The Small Business Research Institute (SBRI) is a more unique facility, as it lists challenges set by public bodies for SMEs to come up with innovative solutions for specific problems that current solutions cannot solve. As well as presenting these opportunities, the SBRI also offers funding, partnerships and future support to the small businesses that want to undertake the challenges.
Some methods of bidding for public sector opportunities can take a long time to complete. Official processes can have set time tables and complex projects could take years to arrange before work can begin.
SMEs can offer the best value for money
Therefore, even if a small business can offer the best value for money solution, it needs to be certain it can go the distance before committing to the project. The idea of a long, drawn out process can put some businesses off the idea of public sector contracts, but for businesses that provide IT services, particularly cloud-based services that will already match the requirements sought after by public bodies, implementation time may not be such a big concern.A short cut for IT service providers
The Government has committed to all new and redesigned public services conforming to the 'digital by default' service standard, estimating potential public sector savings of more than £1.7 billion each year. This initiative represents a significant opportunity for IT service providers that want to enter the public sector market. The new G-Cloud initiative encourages all public sector bodies to purchase IT products and services on a 'pay as you go' basis from several accredited suppliers, rather than entering into long contracts with single large IT providers. Small IT businesses that can offer their services on this basis are in a unique position to benefit from this recommended format.With the G-Cloud format, public sector bodies are encouraged to purchase required services from a range of different providers, mixing and matching as necessary. This approach means that public bodies can benefit from a combination of niche products, from different specialist providers and at different preferential prices. Not only does this approach drastically reduce expenditure, but it allows more businesses to benefit from public contracts, stimulating the economy, facilitating innovation and supporting local businesses.
The G-Cloud framework's online marketplace 'CloudStore' catalogues more than 13,000 cloud based services. If an SME IT service provider has a cloud based service that it wants to available to public sector bodies on the CloudStore, the service goes through OJEU tendering beforehand. This simplifies the process and shortens the time it takes for future deals to become operational. The public sector organisation can therefore avoid the overheads of further tendering and can purchase directly from
SMEs with no delay.
Whilst there has been a lot of uptake from central government bodies, local authorities have been under utilising the CloudStore. Despite this, SMEs have netted 57% of the total spent through G-Cloud. Local authorities are committed to supporting local businesses and are under aware of the effectiveness of G-Cloud at realising this opportunity to do so.G-Cloud represents a short cut for smaller IT firms that offer cloud-based services to penetrate the public sector market without having to go through some of the longer procedures needed to secure contracts. If local businesses want to expand into public sector contracts, they need to make the most of this this key market.
Go for it
The local IT SME community has a responsibility to support local authorities in fully utilising G-Cloud and advertise its availability. Making G-Cloud a successful platform will further demonstrate how effective the mid market in the UK and the rest of Europe is in supporting the public sector. This will lead to increased governmental commitment to support the SME community by creating further access to public sector contracts, for a wider range of service providers.- Simon Shorthose has been ReadSoft UK's Managing Director since 2009.
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Review: HTC Desire Eye
Introduction and design
It's pretty clear from the outset that HTC is targeting the Desire Eye at the selfie-loving young 'uns that might not have the means for an HTC One M8 or an iPhone 6. The front-facing 13MP camera is given top billing as HTC proclaims this the ultimate selfie phone.HTC is no stranger to pioneering mobile photography. The Taiwanese company came up with UltraPixels for the original HTC One and then the Duo depth sensor for the One M8. There's a clearly identifiable trend with selfies, so it's no surprise HTC wants to grab a piece of the action.
Other manufactures have tried similar tricks. Samsung and Sony brought out the Galaxy Grand Prime and Xperia C3 earlier this year each marketed on the strength of their selfies. But HTC has gone one better and is determined to prove it.
Photography may be what HTC uses to lure you in but even though this is a Desire phone, it still boasts some pretty impressive components. There's a full HD 5.2-inch screen, a Snapdragon 801 processor with 2GB of RAM and of course the 13MP cameras with dual LED flash. These kinds of specs make me question where the phone sits in HTC's line up, as on paper they put it square with the HTC One E8.
What I'm trying to say is that this is a good deal for the £350 ($550, AU$640) HTC is asking for. In the UK, you'll be able to pick up the Desire Eye for £29 on a two year, £38 per month contract with all you can eat data and all you can eat minutes.
The starkest difference between the Desire and One ranges are the design materials employed. The Desire Eye doesn't boast a premium metal chassis.
Instead, it's built with a polycarbonate unibody that gives it both colour and, more importantly, IPX7 waterproofing, meaning the Desire Eye is water resistant up to 1 metre for up to 30 minutes, just don't use it while it's submerged.
Just because it's not metal, doesn't mean there's not as much quality in the craftsmanship of the Desire Eye. The polycarbonate body is matte and soft to the touch and feels really sturdy.
Also, with a 5.2-inch screen, the Desire Eye is a big phone. It's larger than both the HTC One (4.7-inches) and the HTC One M8 (5-inches) and therefore won't appeal to everyone. Overall dimensions for the phone are 151.7 x 73.8 x 8.5mm and the bezels, whilst not enormous, are noticeable.
Using the HTC Desire Eye with just one hand is very tricky and I couldn't reach my thumb across to the other side of the screen while typing. The silver lining to that problem is that because the Desire Eye has a solid, waterproof chassis, I didn't feel any need to add extra bulk with a shell or case for the phone.
The screen itself is a beauty though. Having a Full HD display on a phone is old news now, but I was particularly struck by the brightness of HTC's screen.
The top and bottom of the phone are free from any buttons as they're all located along the right edge of the phone. There's the volume rocker, power switch and a dedicated shutter button for the camera.
All you'll find above and below are the 3.5mm headphone jack and microUSB charging port.
On the left side of the handset are the two slots for the NanoSIM and the microSD card. As I mentioned, both of these are covered with flaps to maintain the waterproofing. They're tricky to get off, but better that than non-waterproofing in my opinion.
Even though it's really nice, there are two tiny problems with the construction. The flaps covering the SIM and microSD are the first. The second issue is that the lovely matte casing isn't very grippable. On three separate occasions the phone slipped out of my hand.
Although as a side note, the inclusion of a microSD card slot is a big plus – the Desire Eye only comes with a 16GB configuration, 7GB of which is already used by the preinstalled software.
The back of the HTC Desire Eye is clean and uninterrupted. The company has put the camera lens in the top left-hand corner, rather than centrally like on the One M8. The same isn't true on the front of the phone – HTC has put the front-facing 13MP sensor right in the middle of the top bezel.
The "Eye" moniker is fitting, this phone is constantly looking at you. Next to the lens is a small notification light that flashes when you've got an email or message. It also indicates when the phone is fully charged.
Despite the giant lens, HTC has kept its front-facing BoomSound speakers which, it's fair to say, have become a really popular feature. They're located between the black bezel and the white chassis above and below the screen.
I'll delve more into the performance of these speakers later on but suffice to say it's good to see that HTC hasn't overlooked it. My only concern is that having them sunk into the chassis means there's a possiblity for dust and grime to accumulate there.
The HTC Desire Eye comes in a choice of two different colours, either the red and white of our review model or a navy/light blue blend. Both look nice although I have to admit that the white and red configuration is the one that stands out to me. HTC uses a double shot moulding process that seamlessly integrates the two colours into the one unibody design.
The Taiwanese company has constructed a really nice piece of consumer technology here. The size of the device is a subjective issue, but the build quality and durability are excellent. Even for a phone that isn't meant as a flagship device, I really feel it stands out when it comes to design.
Key features and media
Front-facing camera
Let's jump right into it. This phone's centrepiece is the front-facing 13MP camera that promises you the best selfies on the market.Except, well, it doesn't. Not quite. There are several features that HTC has debuted with this phone, which I'll deal with in depth later. Right here though, I want to talk about the camera's performance.
It's sufficient, but really not the groundbreaking feature HTC wants it to be. We picked up the early signs during our initial hands-on test of the phone. It's not as good in low light as the iPhone 6 or the HTC One M8. The extra megapixels pick up greater detail but the colour isn't as well balanced and leans towards a whiter, washed out appearance.
This can be alleviated somewhat in darker situations with the dual-LED flash that HTC has added to the front of the device. It's an addition that sets the Eye apart as few other smartphones – the Acer Liquid E3 is an exception – can offer a front flash.
Video calling is handled at 1080p Full HD quality and I found the Desire Eye was always accurate with its face-tracking ability. Even as I moved about the room, it kept my face in focus.
Other features, like split selfies are well integrated and add value to the device. But since HTC is planning to bring them to other phones in its line-up in the future, the uniqueness is kind of lost here. More on that later, though.
Waterproof unibody
HTC uses a double shot injection moulding process to build the polycarbonate casing for the Desire Eye. The process means there are no gaps or seams for water and grime to get stuck in and the Eye really shines for it. Everyone I showed the phone made a positive comment about its construction.It's not impervious though. My review handset now boasts a small scar next to the power switch from one of the times it slipped out of my hands. Something I have yet to tell HTC about, actually.
While the One M8 and LG G3 were rightly praised for their gleaming aluminium bodies, I often felt the need to wrap them up in some kind of case to protect them. That meant I rarely appreciated exactly how well made they are. Not so with the Desire Eye, it feels capable and sturdy and I think that's one of its strongest features.
Sense 6.0
HTC's Sense UI really helps to differentiate it from its Android brethren. It runs smoothly and brings with it several unique apps and widgets that vary in terms of usefulness. Some are great, like BlinkFeed and Zoe, which is now a separate app that lets you create "stories" around your photos and videos.Some are not so good: it's unlikely you'll use stocks unless you're a trader by profession while HTC News requires you to set up an HTC account in order to view a news feed about the company. Frankly, you'd have to be a pretty massive HTC fan to bother with it.
There are several themes and wallpapers to take advantage of and, while it's nice, there are plenty of downloadable alternatives on the Google Play store. But enough of that here, click over to the next section to read more about the HTC Desire Eye's interface.
Media
The HTC Desire Eye isn't going to let you down when it comes to media. The rounded edges and matte design give it a comfortable feel when you're holding it in landscape to watch a video. And audio is well served by both the BoomSound front-facing speakers and the 2.5v amplifier inside the headphone jack.The biggest constraint you're going to get with media is the 16GB storage inside the Desire Eye. And even that can be worked around because HTC has added a microSD slot that'll boost the storage by up to 128GB.
If you're going to watch video on a smartphone, then a 5.2-inch, Full HD display with a 424 pixel density isn't a bad way to do it. The Desire Eye will go up to an impressive level of brightness, although you can expect that to take a chunk out of the battery.
The phone arrives with Google's Play services which means you can download or stream music and video to the device from the competitively-priced online store. Every now and then you get sales and reductions to take advantage of as well.
One small annoyance is the lack of a pre-installed video player that'll let you watch your native files. Since the HTC Desire Eye runs Android, you can attach it to your PC and drag and drop over any video files you fancy. But all you get when you boot up the phone is Google Play Movies which tries to force you into streaming.
I gave up trying to find my standalone media through the app and downloaded MXPlayer from Google Play instead. It's a small point, but one that needs to be made – why isn't there a standard video player installed already?
HTC's music player, by contrast, is a solid offering and will catalogue your music and display the album art where available. There's also a cool visualiser and the ability to download lyrics to your songs as well. These are fringe benefits of course, but they can come in handy if you want to practice your karaoke.
The actual audio is crisp and nicely balanced. And even though the Beats partnership is long gone, there's good range across the spectrum including the bass. HTC has yet to add active noise cancellation to its handsets and it's not been added to the Desire Eye.
The size of the Eye might not be optimal for tapping out messages, but it's great if you like to use your smartphone for gaming. I'd like to see HTC shrink the bezels slightly on future handsets but it wasn't long before I was sunk into Modern Combat 4, Real Racing 3 and Sonic the Hedgehog. The first two test out graphical power whilst the third is all about speed.
I didn't have any problems (besides battery drain) while gaming on the Desire Eye and the extra screen size is great for squeezing in more of the action. Additionally, the handset kept cool even during extensive sessions.
I've found that previous HTC handsets, especially the original HTC One, tended to get quite toasty when put under a lot of strain. That's not the case here and, as I mentioned before, it's also really comfortable to hold for long periods.
Interface and performance
The HTC Sense interface has set the brand aside from other Android handsets for some time now and the company has worked continuously to improve it. The Desire Eye comes with Sense 6.0 overlayed onto Android 4.4 KitKat.
Although HTC has said it will be delivering Android 5.0 Lollipop to its flagship handsets within the next 90 days, there's been no mention of the Desire range.
Sense is anchored on the HTC BlinkFeed news aggregator app. You can disable it if you want but I've consistently found it to be a really useful feature. It exists as a homescreen all its own and delivers tiled news content based around your own curated interests. You can throw in Twitter, Facebook and other updates as well if you fancy.
It'll also sync nicely with your calendar, so you can see at a glance if you've got any important commitments each day.
Swiping away from BlinkFeed gives you the traditional homescreen app layout and the option to add widgets and group apps together into folders. There's still the app drawer, which you can get to by hitting the small grid icon between the four anchored apps.
Swiping down from any point gives you the notification panel and the option to quickly access the settings or dismiss the notifications altogether. It's a simple interface to get to know and anyone familiar with Android won't be put off by it.
But if you prefer the stock Android experience of the Nexus 5, then HTC's offering might be a touch overbearing for you.
Performance
There's a quad core Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 CPU inside the HTC Desire Eye, giving it more muscle than you might think for a mid-tier handset. Although the chip has been surpassed by the Snapdragon 805, many of 2014's flagship handsets, including the Samsung Galaxy S5 and Sony Xperia Z2, shipped with the 801.The speed is clocked at 2.27GHz and HTC has also matched the 2GB of RAM in its current flagship, the One M8. It means the Desire Eye has plenty of speed when running multiple apps and games.
I ran the Geekbench 3 benchmarking test and the Eye returned a 2713 multi-core score and a 954 single-core score. This puts it on a par with the likes of the Sony Xperia Z2 and the LG G3 which scored 2765 and 2561 on the multi-core test respectively.
In real world terms, the phone coped really well with demanding 3D games like Modern Combat 4 or Real Racing 3. It relies on an Adreno 330 GPU for gaming and other visualisations and in this case, having a larger screen really improves the experience.
There's not much that this phone won't be able to handle. I had all the connectivity switched on, multiple tabs opened in the browser and music playing and it still kept the speed up. The only thing to keep in mind is that with only 16GB of storage, you're apt to run out of space quickly.
Battery life and the essentials
The battery on board the phone is a 2,400mAh non-removable lithium ion one and, as ever, screen size is going to play a big part in battery life. However, HTC has done what it can to give you options to preserve the battery life.You can view the battery usage details through the settings tabs and choose whether or not to engage power saver mode to optimise battery life. There's also a sleep mode option that'll turn off the data connection during extended inactivity.
If you're getting dangerously low then you can use the extreme power saving mode. It'll shut down all but the bare essentials – calling, messaging and emails – in order to conserve power.
To get an idea of the Eye's battery credentials I turned on everything I could (Bluetooth, NFC, Wi-Fi), threw the brightness to full and played a 90 minute HD video, the usual TechRadar test. It dropped the battery down from 100% to 73% which, all things considered, isn't too shabby.
It's worth pointing out as well that Qualcomm's Snapdragon 801 processor features integrated Quick Charge technology that, the company says, results in 75% faster battery charging than those without said technology. And while the Desire Eye's battery performance wasn't anything special, I did notice that it charged up nice and quickly.
I used the Eye for a few days to check out how it performed with general usage. I count that as regular messaging, a few phone calls, some downloads, game playing and music playback. And, like most decent smartphones, it comfortably lasted an entire day but not much more than that.
The essentials
Calling
The 5.2-inch size makes the HTC Desire Eye an interesting proposition when it comes to the essentials. It's not too big that you'll feel stupid holding it up to your ear, but if you have small hands you're going to struggle to reach across the on-screen keyboard.Making calls on the Desire Eye is as you would expect from a noted manufacturer like HTC. The company's been making phones for the last fifteen years or so and knows how to do it. I found call clarity and volume were both fine, even when talking with plenty of background noise. None of my recipients reported any issues on their end either.
Signal strength never posed a problem and HTC is well versed in presenting a clean, simple contact database. You can import from your SIM or an email account and the phone will pull in profile pictures for incoming calls if you've synced your numbers with your Facebook account.
I frequently put my calls on speakerphone when chatting to people at home so I can do it while cooking or tidying things away. In this case, the BoomSound speakers gave my calls plenty of volume and I was assured the microphone was picking up my voice even when across the room.
Messaging
HTC's keyboard gets the job done although, as I mentioned before, the size of the Desire Eye can make typing one-handed tricky. The word prediction is, for the most part, accurate. Once or twice it seemed to stagger over applying the caps lock for certain words. Predicted text appears in a small banner above the keyboard showing multiple suggestions.It doesn't have the swipe-to-text feature that you'll find on other manufacturer's keyboards but thanks to Google Play you can download SwiftKey to sort you out.
I only had one spot of trouble with messaging on the Desire Eye when, one evening, it wasn't able to send messages through even though I had signal. I reset the phone and the problem persisted, although a full shutdown and restart seemed to sort the problem out.
Browsing
Like pretty much every other Android handset out there, the Desire Eye comes with two browsers – a standard HTC one and Google's Chrome. Both are equally adept and surfing the web, letting you tab pages, save bookmarks, browse incognito and view your history.
It comes down to personal preference but I like the look of Chrome and the option to carry my bookmarks over from my desktop browser. With both browsers you can pinch to zoom and rotate the page to view it in landscape. It's an obvious benefit of having a larger screen that you can see more of the website. You can also set the Desire Eye to automatically favour mobile or desktop pages depending on your preference.
What would be easiest though is if we could save the space and just have a single browser installed. One day, perhaps.
Camera
HTC is making the Desire Eye all about the camera. The company has dropped the 4MP "Ultrapixel" route it took with the One M7 and One M8 and opted for a 13MP snapper instead. Two, in fact.Both the front and the back cameras are supported by a two-tone dual-LED flash and are capable of shooting 1080p video at 30fps. The front-facing camera has a slightly wider lens so you can have group video calling as well.
HTC's face-tracking software does a good job of keeping everyone in focus, although I'm not sure how often you're really going to use a smartphone for a team video conference.
Unfortunately, as I mentioned earlier, the front-facing camera just isn't quite as good as HTC wants it to be. It picks up a lot of light and the result is a whitening of the images that's noticeable when looking at skin tone. Then again, in low-light situations without the flash the camera struggles and isn't as good as the HTC One M8.
Obviously the increase in pixels does have an effect and the front camera on the Eye will pick up plenty of detail. Although amusingly, it comes with an adjustable "beautification scale" that will smooth out the imperfections the camera has picked up in your skin.
To be clear, the quality of the front-facing camera is a big step up from the 5MP cameras we're used to seeing on phones and tablets, but just isn't enough to beat out the flagship models. I do just want to mention the dedicated shutter button, though. On most Android handsets you can use the volume rocker as a makeshift shutter button, but it's always a pleasure to have a proper one built in.
The rear-facing camera is a solid enough performer, but it still won't best the very top phones. The sensor produces an image that's ever-so-slightly darker with a better contrast.
If you really want to get into the nuts and bolts of the camera then HTC has given you the means to do so. There are several ways to adjust the ISO and white balance, as well as applying filters and post-snap crops and edits.
There's no Duo sensor here like there was on the M8 so you can't re-focus the picture after you've taken it. HTC has also left out its Zoe mode that combines a high-res burst mode with a 3-second video snippet.
You can shoot a 360 degree panorama or use the photo booth mode which acts as a surrogate burst mode for Zoe. Perhaps the most interesting feature though is the dual-capture mode that shoots simultaneously from the front and back cameras – splitting the screen in two.
HTC's promotional video showed this in use on a mountain bike ride – capturing both the direction of travel and the commentary from the rider. It's a pretty neat feature that shouldn't by any stretch be a reason to buy the phone, but you'll have fun creating things with it.
That's about the best way to sum up the cameras on the Desire Eye. The features are fun to play with, but don't buy the phone on the strength of the camera alone. Click over the page to see some examples of pictures taken with the Desire Eye.
Camera examples
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Comparisons
Nokia Lumia 735
Nokia might have been consumed by Microsoft, but the Lumia brand has always been known for its strong built-in cameras. The Lumia 735 – one of the last to bear the Nokia name – has a powerful 5MP front-facing camera to try and lure in the same selfie crowd as the HTC Desire Eye.
Like every Lumia, it comes in a range of colours and feels like it can withstand plenty of knocks. When it comes to performance though, the Lumia 735 gets pasted by the Desire Eye. The processor on board the Lumia is a Snapdragon 400 backed by 1GB of RAM and the 4.7-inch display is a mere 1,280 x 800 resolution. If it's performance you're after, definitely go for the Desire Eye.
If, however, you're just after the best selfie device, the Lumia 735 puts forward a good case. There's a 5MP front-facing sensor with a single LED flash and decent colour reproduction. Nokia's Lumia Selfie app lets you add in filters, should you wish. In terms of contrast, it's on a par with the Eye – although HTC's handset can lay claim to capturing more detail.
- Read our full Nokia Lumia 735 review
Acer Liquid E3
Acer's not known for making smartphones, and it shows with this model as soon as you try and make a call. Call quality leaves a lot to be desired even though the rest of the phone isn't too bad – especially given its £128 ($210, AU$237) price.
Acer is keen to make much of the camera features of the Liquid E3. It's got a rear-facing 13MP camera and a front-facing 2MP one aided by an LED flash. There aren't many settings to play with though and although the output is decent, pictures are still a long way from the quality of a top-end Samsung, Sony or indeed HTC handset.
For selfie fans there's face detection and a self timer, but in practice the Liquid E3 struggles with balancing light. There doesn't appear to be a manual way to engage the forward-facing flash either. So unless you're really after a budget selfie phone for your next purchase, the HTC Desire Eye remains the better choice between the two.
- Read our full Acer Liquid E3 review
Huawei Ascend P7
Huawei's Ascend P7 is perhaps more of a threat to the Desire Eye than either of the two previous handsets. It's got a 1.8GHz quad-core processor, Full HD 5-inch display, 2GB of RAM, microSD slot, a front-facing 8MP camera and a favourable €449 (around £370, $625, AU$690) price point.
Selfies on the Ascend P7 aren't bad to begin with, but then Huawei has added plenty of features to play with including the beauty slider scale. Like the Desire Eye it promises to remove the imperfections in your face but ends up looking a bit ridiculous. There's also a front-facing panorama option to squeeze even more people into your selfie.
Huawei has clad it all into a well designed package that is smaller and thinner than the Desire Eye, although it doesn't feel quite as robust. What's more, the Emotion UI that Huawei uses isn't as good as HTC's Sense overlay.
Gun to my head, I'd pick the Desire Eye over the Ascend P7 but it's still a worthwhile handset given the price.
- Read our full Huawei Ascend P7 review
Verdict
I liked the Desire Eye. Which surprised me. At first I thought it'd be too plasticy and too big – and I think there's still something in the second reason. A 5.2-inch smartphone is going to be too big for some, no matter how well it's made.But trust me, it's very well made. In fact, HTC's got the promotion of this device all wrong. It shouldn't be about the 13MP cameras, which aren't better than you'll find elsewhere, but about the build quality.
We liked
HTC has always nailed design. The metallic premium casing of the One series was very well received and I'd be surprised if the Desire Eye doesn't get a similar reaction. The construction of the phone's chassis is excellent. It feels comfortable in the hand, it's durable and waterproof and it looks really good.Then there are the specs. Suffice to say there's a lot more power here than we've ever seen from the Desire range before. It's on a par with some of the flagships from earlier this year certainly makes a case for surpassing those from last year. We're looking at the HTC One in particular.
HTC Sense is also a good way to differentiate the company's phones from the other Android offerings and some features, like BlinkFeed and the battery saver, are really useful.
We disliked
For a phone sold on the strength of its cameras, they're really not all that great. The rear-facing camera doesn't offer a knockout feature like OIS and the lens is easily obscured by your finger. The front-facing camera meanwhile chooses a wide angle over better low-light performance. They're not bad cameras, by any means, but they're definitely not the reason to buy the phone.Storage seems like a bit of a weak point to pull the Desire Eye up on, considering it offers a microSD slot – but I'd still liked to have seen a 32GB option.
Likewise, it seems like I'm labouring the point a bit, but this is quite a large phone. Not just the screen, either. It's got a bulky chassis that, while excellently designed, isn't going to play nice with skinny jean pockets and small handbags.
Final verdict
Rather than pushing the camera features, HTC should have focused on the fact they've crafted a handset with great build quality and specifications approaching most flagship phones.The front-facing camera doesn't cope as well in low light as the HTC One M8 or the iPhone 6. But then the polycarbonate casing looks good, the phone won't break if you drop it in a sink full of water and it's not as expensive as the flagships.
It's difficult to know exactly where to put the Desire Eye because of this. It's certainly one of the best "mid tier" handsets I've ever seen. Don't believe the marketing HTC is pushing on you, but do consider it if you want a good all-rounder at a reasonable price.
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Review: Updated: iPad mini 2 with Retina display
Introduction
The new iPad mini 2 (or iPad mini with Retina display, if you want to give it Apple's elongated title) is the next step in the smaller tablet wars - and with Google and Amazon stepping up their respective games, the Cupertino brand needed something that hit back with strength.However, even with that landscape, we were still surprised when Apple announced the iPad mini 2 on stage, coming with things like the A7 chip under the hood and a 128GB iteration to satisfy those that crave a lot of HD action.
On top of that, there's the much-needed Retina screen (as the name might have told you) and an improvement in battery size to help power those pixels more effectively.
However, there's the big issue of price, which Apple has had to balance carefully over recent years. No matter how much you like the look of the iPad mini 2, you have to factor in that it will set you back nearly £320 (US$399, AU$479) for the lowest-spec 16GB model with Wi-Fi connectivity only.
Consider the rivals, and you'll see that Apple has a real fight on its hands. Google's 7-inch Nexus 7 is £199 (US$229, AU$299) at the same spec, and Amazon's Kindle Fire HDX starts at the same level (although you'll need to put up with the ads to get it at that price).
Even LG's G Pad 8.3 is only £199 (around US$250, AU$399) for the 16GB model, and that lets you supplement the meager innards with a microSD card.
Given Apple's decision to allow users to download the iWork catalog for free, as well as Garageband, iPhoto and iMovie, you'll really be looking at buying the 32GB tablet option at a minimum.
It's here that you have to wonder at Apple's pricing strategy. The doubling of the internal storage is something that apparently costs twice as much to achieve, compared to Google, and even less for Amazon.
That said, the iPad mini 2 does still feel like decent value for money given it's not a loss leader over Google and Amazon, and not just because of the tired "Well, it's an Apple device and therefore spending more should be expected" excuse.
We've never bought into that, and never will. Apple makes well-designed and premium products, but as the extra cost for larger capacities illustrates, it's not always justified.
But while in the phone market we can't understand why an iPhone 5S costs so much more than an HTC One or a Galaxy S4, in the tablet space Apple has a justified lead.
The iPad mini 2 is an excellent device. There's no other way to look at it. We were pretty impressed with the original mini a year ago, but bemoaned the low-res screen and under-powered chipset powering things along.
So we fully expected the iPad mini 2 to be another sidekick to a bigger brother, and with the iPad Air showing itself to be the best tablet on the market, we fully thought we'd be getting a smaller iPad with a Retina screen and an A6 chip - so the decision to make the tablet 64-bit enabled with the latest A7 CPU is a really great thing to see.
It takes an already well made device and adds in so much more: the aluminum finish no longer feels like a deflection from the fact the iPad mini doesn't have the engine to compete with its Snapdragon-powered rivals.
Check out the benchmark speeds later and you'll see just how much better the CPU is for day-to-day tasks and, coupled with the rich app ecosystem and improved operating system, you'll see how Apple justifies charging the premium price.
M7 Chip
The addition of the M7 chip in the iPad mini 2 seems on the surface to be a little redundant, given you won't be doing much in the way of exercise with the mini strapped to your arm.However, there are journal-style apps coming out that will use information on where you've been and the weather at the time - tiny tasks that don't need the help of the larger chip.
Design
When reviewing the iPad mini 2, we've compared it to the previous version of the smaller tablet - both with and without iOS 7. The jump in the OS is marked, but even without that, all owners of the original mini will feel a pang of envy when you hand them the newer one.With the screen turned off, there's very little difference between the two versions - the options of Space Gray and Silver are different to the black and silver versions from 2012, and there's a slight increase in the weight from 312g to 331g.
But in the hand there's nothing to choose between them - which is fine, as the design last year was the saving grace of an otherwise low-powered, but cheaper, tablet.
What we've seen is the iPad mini design being taken on by the iPad Air, and now back again on the smaller sequel, and it really works.
Apple is still maintaining that users will be able to hold it one-handed, and while this is uncomfortable when done for long periods, we did find that on occasion for browsing the internet we were able to work with a single palm.
The aluminum-clad design feels hugely premium. If you've walked into an Apple store thinking that the mini 2 is too expensive compared to the Nexus 7, then the second it's thrust into your palms you'll realize that there's no comparison between the two when it comes to build quality.
While the new Nexus 7 is a much-improved design from Asus , it's still a rubberized device that relies on plastic to make it feel robust and a little lighter.
The iPad mini 2 has the same effect, but it's hugely more impressive. It's not £160 (US$170, AU$180) better, which is something of an issue for those torn between the two tablets, and any Nexus 7 fan would have a very valid reason for purchasing the Google tablet.
But looking simply at Apple's design, and it's easily the best on the market. The smooth covering, machined speaker holes and gently curved edges all combine very well to give a really secure feeling, that this is the device that it was worth forking out a little more.
Even down to the solid click of the sound toggle, or the long travel of the power, home and volume buttons, the whole thing makes you feel like it's robust and won't crack on you a year or so down the line.
There's no TouchID on offer here, and we're torn over whether this is a big miss. We use it all the time on the iPhone 5S and now the iPhone 6, but that's only because it's there. It marginally makes using the phone easier, which is nice.
It's missing more on the iPad mini 2 for a couple of reasons. Firstly, you're more inclined to pick this tablet up like a phone, meaning your natural impulse is to hold the power button.
Secondly, tapping out a passcode on this screen is harder as your thumb isn't as well placed, meaning most will avoid iPad security altogether.
Given the 64-bit architecture is there for the encryption, it seems odd that Apple has left this out for the mini 2 and the Air – and it's not like its omission is enough to upgrade to next year when the sequels appear.
Screen
The Retina display on the iPad mini 2 is overdue. It should have appeared on the first version, but either Apple was struggling to get that technology in at the right price 12 months ago or just wanted to give it something to upgrade to. Whatever the reason, it feels very late now.Given there are multiple rumors of Apple's iPad mini 2 screens being hard to produce, leading to the delay we're seeing for this tablet, we can perhaps believe the earlier version of events - but given Apple's larger profit margins, we reckon that if it had wanted to it could have launched a Retina iPad mini a year ago.
Anyway, the good news is that it's here now and it looks stunning. The crisp characters, the more realistic colors, the sharpness of the icons - all excellent and well represented.
Some have criticized the mini 2 for having slightly more washed out colors compared to the Air, but only in side-by-side comparisons is this evident - we couldn't help being impressed by the added sharpness every time we turned on the smaller tablet.
It's so much better that when we handed this device to an iPad mini owner, they were instantly upset - you could see they wanted to upgrade from a device that cost a fair amount only a year ago.
We're still torn on the issue of screen ratio - the iPad mini 2 follows Apple's tablet strategy of keeping the 4:3 screen, which is the same as seen on TVs before widescreen came in.
This means that video needs the black bars above and below - and sounds horribly last-generation when you consider that most other tablets (the Nexus 7 being the most popular) are in 16:9 widescreen.
However, while video watching is a large portion of what you're going to do with the mini 2, it isn't the primary reason to buy the tablet. For web browsing, swishing through the home screen or using some of the 425,000 dedicated iPad apps, the larger screen (at 7.9in) is excellent, offering more space by expanding the sides a little more.
So while the video experience seems a little marred, we do appreciate that the additional pixels make scrolling through the web that much nicer, and gaming becomes more immersive.
When you've got a graphics chip as capable as the one on offer here, you'll see that's a real plus point.
So Apple: we're still irked that you took this long to deliver us an iPad mini with a Retina display, but by making it the same resolution as the iPad Air (1,536 x 2,048) and higher-res than the competition (the LG, Google and Amazon options all come in at 1,920 x 1,200, albeit offering the same 325PPI) you've given a really cracking screen that goes far beyond what would be acceptable on a tablet.
Some have claimed it's hypocritical to criticize the iPhone 5S for not coming up with new screen technology and not do the same with the mini 2 - but to our minds, the distinction is clear.
The mini 2 needed to only make the step up to Retina to be considered a success, as tablets are held to a different standard to phones. And to pack this many pixels into a sub-8-inch screen, bringing the same PPI as the iPhone, is really impressive too.
However, let's get a bit more technical now: the only problem, if we were to identify one, is that Apple hasn't made the best screen on the market, according to DisplayMate. Ray Soneira of the same laboratory testing facility has run the three displays through a variety of tests, and while the Mini 2 performs fairly well in most scenarios, it's often bested by the competition.
Credit: Republished with permission from DisplayMate Technologies
For instance, that while all three have a really good level of sharpness at distance and differing viewing angles, and critically performed well when being calibrated, in many cases the iPad Mini 2 came up short. For instance, the color reproduction wasn't as good compared to the other two, and the contrast wasn't as accurate.
The iPad Mini 2 definitely errs on the more 'natural' when it comes to color reproduction, according to DisplayMate's findings, and in our own side by side tests we noted the same thing. The iPad Mini 2 takes things too far at times, where the others show a clear and rich picture, especially when viewing photos.
This leads to lower color accuracy too, where the others managed it quite happily; again, natural options are too the fore here. We noticed that the Amazon Kindle Fire HDX has the best screen for movies and photos, which is down to two things: dynamic contrast and using quantum dot technology.
Credit: Republished with permission from DisplayMate Technologies
The former you'll be able to see easily - lower the brightness on the screen when looking at a photo, and the decrease won't be uniform. This might sound bad but what it does is keep the darker scenes well lit so you can still make out all portions of the screen without losing the overall visibility. For a tablet that some might say is only there to allow users to buy more things, the technology is very effective.
But what of Quantum Dots? Here's what DisplayMate had to say on the subject: "Quantum Dots are almost magical because they use Quantum Physics to produce highly saturated primary colors for LCDs that are similar to those produced by OLED displays.
"They not only significantly increase the size of the Color Gamut by 40-50 percent but also improve the power efficiency by an additional 15-20 percent. Instead of using White LEDs (which have yellow phosphors) that produce a broad light spectrum that makes it hard to efficiently produce saturated colors, Quantum Dots directly convert the light from Blue LEDs into highly saturated primary colors for LCDs."
You can head over to the DisplayMate report to see the full findings of the tablet test, but the results were that while the Amazon and Google tablets were matched in terms of performance, the iPad Mini 2 had less accurate color reproduction, and lower peak brightness while still drawing the most power - it was also the most reflective.
That said we do like the natural reproduction of the iPad Mini 2 - the other two did err on the 'impressive' side when it comes to display type, which can grate slightly at times but wow most others.
Verdict
We're really splitting hairs here - all three tablets have an incredible screen, which is a big step forward over last year. Apple might struggle with things like color reproduction, and color accuracy is a worry, but it's not a bad effort, despite sitting well in third place.The other two tablets just have great screens and offer brilliant value for money as a result - there's nothing to choose between them in our eyes, but we do prefer the dynamic range of the Kindle Fire HDX in day to day tests, although we can't really get on board with the UI. Overall the Google Nexus 7 is our pick - but we urge you to try all three and see which suits your tastes most.
Interface
The iPad mini 2 won't be a surprise to anyone running a current iPhone or iPad, as it launched with iOS 7 and can now be updated to iOS 8.But beyond the new features we're happy to report the iPad mini 2 is nice and fast, despite being a touch slower when it comes to CPU performance compared with the iPad Air.
We're getting to a point where describing a smartphone or tablet as quick under the finger is pointless – once you reach a certain point there's not a lot more speed to be gained.
Even dual-core phones were more than acceptable, so why make a point of highlighting the speed of the new iPad?
Well, it's just virtually flawless through all kinds of tasks. A millisecond faster from a finger press might not seem like much, but once you do a hundred or a thousand of them in a day, and then go back to the previous iPad mini, you'll realise that there's a real difference in the operation.
The iPad mini 2 is slightly behind the iPad Air in benchmarking terms, but leagues ahead of the Nexus 7, scoring 2,220 on the GeekBench 3 "real world" testing compared to the Tegra 3-powered Google device, which managed just 1,800.
However, Apple's claims of total speed domination don't appear to be completely founded, as the Amazon Kindle Fire HDX, with its Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 chip, was marginally faster in our tests.
The two both performed amazingly well, but it's interesting to note that in performance terms, Apple can't justify the improvement as a reason for a higher cost.
iOS 7 and iOS 8: an all new face
Like it or loathe it, iOS 7 was still a real step forward for a company that desperately needed to refresh its offering in the face of stiff competition from Android and iOS 8 further improves things.The new flatter interface takes away the pointless need to pretend all apps are real-life objects just to integrate them into people's lives - users know that pressing the Photos app will take them there, no matter the result.
Like most popular platforms that get upgraded, there was a large amount of flack coming Apple's way for iOS 7, with juddery icons shown when returning to the homescreen.
This can be negated by heading into Settings, General, Accessibility and then toggling "Reduce Motion" to On, which creates a much nicer fade transition.
Things like the Parallax effect, which moves the image in the background to create a 3D effect, are much more stable on the iPad mini 2.
And while this was annoyingly unpredictable on the iPhone 5S, on the mini 2 it's much better and we wouldn't advise you turn it off, unlike on other Apple devices.
It doesn't even have a huge effect on battery life, which is impressive in itself.
The rest of the interface is easy to use and makes sense for the most part. One of the bigger features of iOS 7 was the notification bar, found by dragging from the top of the tablet. This gives access to updates, calendar entries and missed messages.
Initially it was one of the weaker parts of the OS, as it always started on the calendar, which doesn't often give a lot of useful information.
The "Missed" section was often also sparsely populated, but update to iOS 8 and a swipe will start you on the Today and Notifications menu, the latter of which is a condensed version of the All and Missed tabs from iOS 7 and it's a big improvement all round, putting more relevant information at the fore.
However, there are a lot of other areas in which the Cupertino brand has made strides in terms of improving the user experience with iOS 7 and iOS 8.
For instance, swiping upwards with all five fingers (or double tapping the home button) will lead to the multi-tasking pane, which shows all of your apps in large thumbnails.
This is an excellent interface, although perhaps a little large, and you can swiftly jump between apps or flick a thumbnail upwards to end it.
We would like to give a special mention to the "five finger pinch" if you've not used it before on previous iPads. Make sure it's enabled in Settings > General, and then simply pinch in with four or five fingers in any app to return to the home screen. You'll be doing it on your phone before you know it, such is its simplicity.
The new Control Center is something worth highlighting too - drag up from the bottom of the screen and you can control music, brightness, turn on Wi-Fi and loads more.
We would have thought that most people know all about this feature, but the number of iOS 7 and iOS 8 users who get their minds blown when we show them that this exists means it's worth highlighting.
It's annoying you can't alter the toggles here, and long-pressing them doesn't move into the menu to get a more advanced look at things like Wi-Fi. Apple has clearly written the architecture to handle other toggles (like on most Android phones) so why it's not here is unclear.
Well, it is: Apple doesn't like the option of too much customization to keep things simple. For some that's amazing, for others it feels locked down and far too authoritarian on a device they've paid a lot of money for.
There are tonnes of nuances to Apples UI that we'd like to laud here, but we invite you to go and use it for yourself, as despite there being no tutorial, there's very little here that the novice user won't be able to pick up.
And it is well worth upgrading the iPad mini 2 to iOS 8, for new features such as keyboard extensions, Siri improvements and more.
Messaging
Typing on the iPad mini 2 is an interesting experience. It feels like the whining of the privileged to even mention it, but such is the balanced weight of the Retina-clad mini that holding the device in portrait mode and using two hands to enter text makes it feel too top heavy.If you split the keyboard (either through pinching outwards on the keys themselves, or dragging up the keyboard icon) it doesn't break apart fully until too far up the page.
And the landscape option pales in comparison to the iPad Air, with the smaller strike zones meaning that even if you prop the mini 2 up with a cover, it's still not as accurate as we'd like for a productivity device.
You might argue that writing longer documents is an ancillary function, but when Apple is shoving its iWork apps on consumers for free, you can argue quite easily that the company is hoping enough people buy iPads as laptops replacements.
I will give a shout-out to the improvements made in iOS 8 though, as it now supports third party keyboards and even the stock keyboard is now a little better thanks to next word suggestions.
Email and iMessage
While it can be hard to find the people you want (or at least have all the social networks linked) messaging on the iPad is a much better experience.There's iMessage and the decent inbuilt email app on offer as standard, and the variety of other chat apps you can download is mind blowing.
iMessage remains a slightly confusing app in that it can pull in information on your phone number and email addresses and use these to connect to other users - however, this isn't always accurate when you're trying to share details and can result in people trying to contact you in the wrong way.
It's better than it is on the iPhone, which has texting to worry about too, but it's never the most reliable system to set up in our eyes.
Thankfully, the Mail app is a lot better, with a wide and expansive view that makes full use of the screen size.
You get a decent column down one side to see all your missives, and a gentle swipe across allows you to move or edit the mail or send it to the trash can.
On top of that, emails are grouped together nicely when in conversation flow, email folders are easy to use and you can have all your messages in one inbox, even with a variety of accounts being used.
We also like the VIP setting, allowing you to tag only your boss and colleagues, so you know when to panic should you see a mail arriving there.
Facetime
Adding in the Facetime HD camera is a big plus for the iPad mini 2, as it feels like the 1.2MP camera on the front of the device is so much smoother than before.It has all the same easy functionality as the previous iterations but makes things look so much better over a decent Wi-Fi connection. Facetracking also works well to keep things in focus, and obviously allows you to give up your soul for the odd selfie.
Facetime is still a little impenetrable to set up for some - you have to know which numbers or email addresses have been used to access the service though, which can be frustrating when you have a contact and they've only set up Facetime on a certain email address instead of the number you have for them.
But with the addition of Facetime Audio, and the improved Facetime HD camera, this is a great device for when you're on the go and want to say goodnight to your goldfish from the bus.
And with Facetime Audio now an option, you can have free voice calls with other enabled users thanks to VOIP technology. Once in the app you can set up your favourite people as instant contacts to call - and helpfully they can also be set to call through voice or video by default.
While there aren't that many other ways to talk to people over the iPad mini 2, the Contacts app is still obviously on board, giving access to all the people you've spoken to and saved over the years.
However, be careful when adding accounts, as you'll likely have a few on there and it's very easy to have information from Exchange, Gmail, Hotmail and iCloud all jostling for position in your list, as well as those from Facebook too.
It's not as easy as on Android to change these though, as you'll need to jump into the external Settings app once more to check the right boxes.
However, when this is done things are nice and simple, showing the friends you've saved as well as their Facebook picture (or other that you've tagged) if you've linked the accounts.
However, here's an issue we're not sure why Apple hasn't fixed as yet: contact linking is nigh-on impossible unless you drill right down through the editing menu.
You can pull all manner of social network account info into a contact card, but when adding the names in you're not going to link to the right person unless you're exact with your spelling.
It's confusing as to why your contact lists aren't pulled from Twitter, Facebook, Flickr and more when you're trying to perform this task, but it's very difficult to tag people together, which is irritating when you want pictures to go alongside each name.
Internet
The internet browser on the iPad mini 2 needs to be impressive, as otherwise one of the key functions for this device is really negated thanks to the upgraded screen.While you might not be seeing much of an upgrade over older iPads in terms of functionality, the speed in overall use of the device is definitely something to be lauded.
The main difference over last year's iPad mini (out of the box) is that iOS 7 makes everything a little cleaner and less obtrusive.
The URL bar won't dynamically retreat like it does on the iPhone range, but with 7.9 inches of space to play with, we can't say that we blame it too much.
The bar is actually chock-full of functionality in the same way as its Android counterpart, although there's perhaps a spot more relevance to everything that's run with the mini 2.
For instance, the reading mode is just a simple icon of text lines in the URL bar, allowing you to easily switch to a more text-friendly mode.
It's a little irritating that you can't sync this with Pocket, as although you might be fine using the "Saved for Later" function of Safari on the iPad, if you're not using an iPhone as your smartphone, there's no central repository for all the articles you want to read later.
At least if you copy the URL of the site you're reading the app can intelligently work out that you might want to save it to Pocket - but when you can share links over Facebook and Twitter with such ease then it doesn't seem fair that other popular apps aren't supported.
Of course this is completely subjective, and something we would have expected from Apple a few years ago. It's become more relaxed about working with partners recently, however, so perhaps the functionality will come.
In reality, all these reading modes don't mean much when you've got such a speedy and responsive browser.
Apple is touting the fact the iPad mini 2 is one of the first tablets to use MIMO wireless connectivity, allowing for a stronger and faster Wi-Fi connection. In reality this means that you can wander further from the router and still get access to the internet when you've decided against shelling out for the cellular version of the iPad.
We've covered this in our Battery section in more depth, so check that out if you want to find out how the new mini compares to the original in terms of speed.
The Retina display, which has finally made its way to the iPad mini 2, is really bright and clear for reading stories on the go, and the 7.9-inch screen gives you so much more room to work with over the iPhone 5S.
It's no surprise that Apple would make strides in this area, although text wrapping when zoomed in could still do with some work.
However, the internet browser on the iPad mini 2 is one to be rather respected, as it does what it needs to do with considerable aplomb.
Whether you want to see a list of shared links from Twitter (which is a rather underrated feature, drawing only the tweets from your friends that contain links) or save articles to check out when you don't have connectivity, there's little the iPad can't do.
If you're in a family home with a number of Apple devices then you can easily share links using AirDrop, and this will be useful for those that hate doing the same over messaging or Facebook - although with iMessage, it's hardly a chore.
We would say that something like Google Chrome is a better bet if you're a fan of simplicity though, as over time we found that we never used things like the Reader mode or the integrated quick link.
Chrome, on the other hand, is simple and unobtrusive and connects to Google accounts well too. We're not saying that Safari is a bad browser or anything, but it's worth thinking about the options at times.
But Apple has kept things simple on both functionality and the interface on the iPad mini 2's internet browser, and that makes a lot of sense to us.
Media
When it comes to all manner of media, the iPad mini 2 is a great device to consume the content you want on the go.It starts at 16GB capacity, but 4GB of this eaten up straight out of the box, which means we can only recommend you start with the 32GB version for your media collection.
Given we had managed to suck up 12GB just by downloading a couple of TV programs, three HD games and plonked on a lot of music, that's not going to last well over the course of your ownership.
We're really rather frustrated that Apple hasn't scrapped the 16GB iteration of the iPad mini, as it's going to annoy a lot of buyers who go for the cheapest option thinking they're getting a good deal, when in reality it's going to be a compromised performance for many when they have to start deleting content.
You do at least have the option of the 128GB option as the highest tier device now, which is a nice move, but again begs the question of whether Apple is aiming the mini 2 at the productivity space.
Music
The audio performance of the iPad mini 2 is hugely impressive, even with the most basic of earbuds on offer.There are plenty of other reviews out there that seem to gloss over the fact that the iPad is as much a media-centric device as anything else, and no matter how many streaming services you subscribe to, the output is always going to be limited by the hardware.
But what Apple has done, and to be honest, always managed to do, is bring refined audio output to a system that commands a premium price.
Through a decent pair of headphones it's possible to capture all the nuance of high-bitrate audio, and even streamed to an external speaker via Bluetooth things don't sound as muddy and horrendous as they might on other devices.
It's a much more compelling option as a portable music player because it has the same audio performance as the Air, yet is so much easier to sling in a bag or even a generous pocket.
It also makes the interface feel a little less stretched out, thanks to there being less screen estate to go around.
On top of that, the lock screen has excellent integration for third party apps, so the likes of Spotify feel as much a part of the iPad mini 2 as its own music player.
So while sonically we're enamored, the interface still feels like, as with other elements in iOS 8 for iPad, it's designed for an iPhone and stretched up.
We get that it's meant to be a simple way to show as many songs as possible, and appreciate the widgets on the lock screen and in the Control Center. However, can't we have a more beautiful interface? You can either have a long list of songs with a tiny controller at the top, or a Now Playing screen that is surrounded by bland and unsubtle white.
What happened to the Cover Flow beauty of the first iPhone? Where did that go? It's made even worse by the fact that finally we have a processor that can keep up with all the artwork, yet all we get is this pool of limpid uninterestingness.
Video
Video on the iPad mini 2 is excellent. There's no other way to describe it. You've got sharp images, a large screen and, the black bars aside thanks to the 4:3 screen ratio, a thoroughly immersive experience.However, it's not the best out there. You can argue that the larger iPad Air and the Amazon Kindle Fire HDX both have better screens when it comes to color reproduction, giving a more natural-looking experience.
But once you've plopped your favorite movies onto the iPad mini 2, you're in a very good place indeed. The 7.9 inch screen is a really portable size that means you can cart the mini 2 around with you without getting wrist ache from too much watching.
The range of movie codes supported is still disappointing though, with MP4 really the main one that will be supported. iTunes is still an infuriating platform to use to get video onto your iPad – for instance, we needed to encode our battery test video into 1080p from 1080p just to allow it on.
Compare this to the drag-and-drop nature of Android and you'll see that there's still a disparity between the systems.
However, once it's on there, things generally look really good, and that's what matters. Yes, unknown files will have odd thumbnails, but for the most part everything is slick.
You've also got the added bonus that a number of Blu-ray discs now come with an iPad-compatible copy of the film, where Android has to make do with Ultraviolet. Apple's method is so simple and works just as well as if you'd paid far over the odds for a simple TV show or movie from its own store.
We're getting sick of moaning about the cost of videos on the iTunes store, but at least the breadth is getting seriously wide – if you've got an Apple TV you'll wonder how you ever spent so many nights in BlockBusters trying to choose a film to rent.
Camera
The camera interface on the iPad mini 2 is something of a confusing one, as just like the iPad Air it's got a stripped-down version of the iPhone 5S and iPhone 6 app.
This means that instead of the ability to take Slo-Mo videos and make them look amazing on the larger screen, you've instead got the option to take a photo, a video, or a square photo for portrait shots.
You at least get HDR mode, but even the filters, which have similar options available in the separate Photobooth app out of the box, aren't available.
Given the architecture is almost identical from the iPhone 5S to the iPad Air and mini 2, we can't see why these options aren't there.
We're not going to get that upset, as this might minimize the amount of people using their iPad to take a picture. It's not a good look, and you shouldn't be doing it.
We're more tolerant of this on a smaller iPad, and we have to say that despite only taking 5MP stills the output is very impressive.
The ability to lock auto focus and exposure is still very handy, and in portrait mode especially it was very easy to actually take pictures thanks to the even weight of the device.
Flicking between the modes was no hassle with one hand, and while we noted a couple of times when the auto focus took too long to kick in, when it got it right we were really pleased with the results.
Being able to edit them on the device with iPhoto was brilliant too, although you're more limited with what you can do with the smaller screen. We kept wishing we could alter them on the Air instead, which has a much larger capacity for editing thanks to the increase in size, if not pixel count.
Battery and apps
The battery on the iPad mini 2 is 50% bigger than its predecessor, but even still we were rather worried about how the new iPad mini would fare when it has to power more pixels and a much stronger engine.In reality, there's not a lot to worry about. Running our looped video battery test on both the iPad mini and mini 2 (with iOS 7.0.4 on board and all displays corrected to the same lumen output) showed only a 3% difference in the battery drain, although the original device did fare slightly better.
This isn't surprising though, as pixel driving is one of the major reasons for battery depletion, along with the screen brightness.
It's interesting to note that the iPad mini 2 can run to a higher brightness than the iPad Air, although the larger device was better than both of its smaller variants, coming in with a 4% better score than the new Retina iPad mini.
However, and this is important for those trying to decide between the iPad mini 2 and the Google Nexus 7: it appears that having fewer pixels is kinder to the tablet, showing an almost 33% improvement for the Google tablet in battery performance over our video test.
The Amazon Kindle Fire HDX was surprisingly similar in battery life to the mini 2, coming in at only 3% better power management in the same test, which is close to negligible when you'll be using your tablet for a variety of tasks.
In general use we didn't see as much of a problem – there was certainly no instance of battery draining rapidly as we've seen on other tablets in this smaller category.
You can do a good portion of email reading, watching a TV show and playing a couple of higher-res games before you hit 80% battery life, which is more than adequate in our eyes.
This really equates to a device that you only need to charge every three days, even with the added bonus of it being so portable, and for a tablet that's easily enough.
Apps and connectivity
The Wi-Fi performance of the iPad mini 2 is really rather good thanks in no small part to the addition of the MiMo technology (Multiple in, Multiple out) that uses a load more antennas to give a really strong and stable connection to your router.We tested this against the iPad mini, and close to the router speeds were relatively similar. However, as we moved further away things started to drop quickly on the original smaller iPad, where the new Retina-shod version managed to hold on more than admirably.
It's not so much that you need to think of the new tech as offering faster speeds, but if you're in a house that struggles to get Wi-Fi signal to the outlying rooms, this iPad will certainly help there.
4G bands has also been supercharged in the same way as we saw on the iPad Air, and low power Bluetooth is also on board as well, making it an incredibly well-connected device.
Apps
Apple has thrown on reams of free software with the iPad mini 2 (and other iOS 7 and iOS 8 devices too), so you now get access to the likes of Pages, Numbers, Keynote from the iWork tribe as well as iPhoto, iMovie and Garageband for free.These are incredibly powerful tools for what is still essentially a cut-down mobile device – we can't say that we'd recommend using them regularly without a keyboard (in the case of iWork) but elements such as iPhoto and Garageband really give you the chance to express yourself fluidly.
When you consider that the iPad mini 2 will be appearing under the Christmas tree for a few lucky (and wealthy) people, having software right out of the box (well, you do have to download it actually, and it's a fairly hefty download) is a big plus for a shiny new toy.
However, it's worth noting that on the smaller iPad screen it's not as pleasurable to use things like the Garageband app when you want to be precise in your chord strumming or drumming – the larger iPad Air is more adept here.
That said, the portability of the mini 2, despite not being that far ahead of the slimmed down iPad Air, is a real help when you want to be creative on the go.
On top of that, we still feel the need to laud the Apple App Store for its ability to offer the best apps around. We're talking about things like BBC iPlayer and Sky Go, both of which offer improved user interfaces and allowed downloads first before the Android hop came.
The gap between Apple and Google's app portals is narrowing, but there's no doubt that users will still feel far more secure in the app experience they'll get on an Apple tablet compared to an Android one for now, and that's a big reason to purchase.
Maps should also gain something of a special mention, as while it was a PR disaster for Apple, it's slowly clawing its way back to usable thanks to constant upgrades.
Also consider
In response to reader requests, we'll be running a side by side screen test of these tablets soon - so stay tuned.Google Nexus 7
The Google Nexus 7 is probably the biggest rival in the small tablet category to Apple's new mini.
It has a similar vertical dimensions, but runs with a much thinner screen to allow for a 16:9 screen ratio.
This has both positive and negative points to it: on the one hand, the thinner dimensions make it much easier to hold the Nexus 7 in a single palm, and even two handed it feels great.
However, as soon as we get to web browsing on it, we miss the larger expanse of the iPad mini 2's screen, thanks to the extra width that 0.9-inches gives us. It doesn't sound like much, but it makes a big difference.
The screen technology on the iPad is a little bit higher-res than the Nexus 7 can offer, although in day to day use you won't really see the difference in sharpness given both are able to pump out over 1080p resolution, which is more than enough.
Color reproduction is a little lower on the Nexus 7, which can look a little washed out at times, but for the price, we can't say we're too upset.
And that's where the Nexus 7 wins in the biggest way: the iPad mini 2 is nearly twice as expensive as Google's offering at the 32GB size (which is the minimum we think you should consider) and yet doesn't offer twice the performance.
The iPad mini 2 is faster, has a better design and a richer and more robust apps catalog, but when it comes to price Google has streaked ahead.
Amazon Kindle Fire HDX
Talking of price: as long as you're willing to put up with lock screen ads, Amazon's new tablet is actually a little cheaper than Google's for the 32GB option.
It's got a lot of positives over the iPad mini 2 as well, thanks to a slightly more powerful chipset in the Snapdragon 800 – we were surprised that the much-touted A7 chip wasn't miles ahead in the speed stakes on our Geekbench testing.
It's slightly better on battery too, although not by much, but it does have an improved screen. Amazon told us that this was because it believes it's managed to get to the highest level of sharpness needed – we've heard that before from companies that have then gone and unleashed a higher-res model months later, but at least the screen tech has been improved on the HDX for more realistic colors.
However, for all the glitz and glorious speeds of the HDX, it still has a few foibles: the interface is very simplistic, which won't appeal to many; it also manages the impressive feat of moving from too simple to hard to navigate at times, something Apple doesn't have to worry about.
There are much fewer apps as well, thanks to Amazon curating everything on its own store – this will improve over time, but there's no doubt Google and Apple are light years ahead in this key area.
LG G Pad 8.3
LG has made the tablet which takes the design fight to Apple in the most believable way. Managing to stuff in a larger screen means it's actually negating the problem of closed-in web browsing, and it does so in an attractive aluminum shell.
Where it falls down though is on the main things we need it to be great at: speed and battery life. The former isn't as much of an issue as at least LG has optimized things in a way that the Snapdragon 600 processor doesn't leave us wanting more too often, but it's certainly not market leading.
The battery needs to be better though. Lasting only a day or so in most scenarios isn't going to be good enough for the on-the-go tablet user, so that will put off a fair few buyers choosing between this and the iPad mini.
But apart from the higher price, LG has come out with a tablet that belies its lower-spec innards and offers genuinely useful options with things like Q Slide to hide commonly used apps until needed, and Q Pair to help your phone and tablet interact more readily.
It's ideas like that which Apple should be aping - but for now, we'll just say that the G Pad is a really valid choice if you want a stylish Android tablet.
iPad Air
Strangely, Apple has made the biggest competitor to the iPad mini. You could argue that having two strong contenders and mostly just altering the screen size makes sense from a business perspective, but in reality the upgraded design of the Air starts to squeeze the relevance of the mini 2.
For not a lot more cash you can have the larger screen, which allows better typing, easier interaction with loads of apps and a longer-lasting battery.
You do lose a touch of screen sharpness and portability, but such is the lightness of the Air that we can't really call it non-portable in any way. It sits nicely in most bags and just keeps on chugging in terms of battery life.
Apple really needed to keep the price point the same for the iPad mini 2 to differentiate better between these two products, because as it stands unless someone really had a problem with the larger screen we'd say that they should definitely check out the Air first - after all, not much money for a 1.8-inch jump in screen size is nothing to be sniffed at.
Hands on pictures
Verdict
Well, the iPad mini 2 being a shrunken down version of the Air eh? Who saw that coming? Well, we all did.We weren't really sure what to expect when looking at the new iPad mini though. Would it have a poor battery? Would the screen be lower brightness? Would it somehow be made out of recycled chicken droppings?
Luckily none of that came to pass, and Apple's managed to really raise the bar set from the first iPad mini - albeit in a market where the rest of the market has massively raised its game.
We liked
The design of the iPad mini was great already; so much so that Apple scaled it up and used it on the larger version. It's back in an almost identical form here, but seems less likely to chip and still wows us with the all-encompassing aluminum design.We'd also like to applaud Apple for managing to get large battery and powerful processor under the hood to make a market-leading tablet, and both of those features work very well.
Battery life is strong, the A7 chip works in a robust fashion, and the Retina screen, while massively overdue, is clear and crisp.
And then there's the usual Apple stuff we're starting to tire of praising: the amount of 4G bands, the MiMo wireless connectivity to improve Wi-Fi, the strong catalog of apps. It's all there and make a tablet that's beyond par in so many ways.
We disliked
Talking of things we're tired of talking about: we're going to mention the price again. It was so nice being able to avoid it with the iPad Air, coming as that did with a comparable tag to the competition in the larger-screen arena.While it's slightly unfair to compare Apple to Google or Amazon, who both sell their devices for cost or slightly under to engage users with the ecosystem, Apple is using that normal route of charging a bit more to make a profit.
And forcing you to use its ecosystem, of course.
But that doesn't detract from the fact you can buy a Google Nexus 7 for 25-30% less than the comparable 16GB / 32GB option from Apple – and that increase in price to improve the amount of storage on board has no justification.
It's a shame because otherwise this is a flawless tablet. You might get a little annoyed at the colors not being as vibrant on the screen as some in the competition, but we can 't really call that an issue.
The storage issue should also be noted here as it's linked to the price. While you can buy versions of the tablet that will have more than enough space for your content, the 16GB option isn't enough.
We're not going to label this as a big negative, as it's completely down to user choice - but the step up in price from 16GB to 32GB means this is a little prohibitive for some.
Verdict
The iPad mini 2 is almost flawless in so many ways. The rich App catalog mean it's a device that will grow with you, and the 64-bit A7 chip and Retina display are certainly future-proofing users from an outdated device.The design is still the best in the tablet category, with perhaps only the LG G pad 8.3 coming close.
On top of that iOS 7 is at least a step forward, while the update to iOS 8 has kept it fresh and finally being able to see things in the clarity they deserve is hugely important.
Even gaming is sensational on this tablet, which is essentially all the first mini should have been… and a little more.
But the price is still something that really jars when you consider the rivals. The Nexus 7 has a crisp and clear screen, a strong app catalog (although not as polished) and a decent build – for so much less cash.
The Amazon Kindle Fire HDX follows the same path, but with a better processor – although not the greatest user interface.
We were torn when scoring the iPad mini 2 as, in a vacuum, there's nothing that touches it apart from the larger Air, and these are tablets in different categories. You wouldn't own both, but the iPad mini 2 is no longer a sidekick to the larger model.
Given the weight and size reduction of the iPad Air too, there's a strong argument to be for just stepping up and buying the larger tablet if you want to invest in a premium product - there's not much difference in price now Apple has upped the cost of the smaller option.
So here's the upshot: if you're willing more on a tablet and want it to be a little more portable, then the iPad mini 2 with Retina display can't be beaten. It's slick, fast, powerful and comes with so much free software and design wins that it will provide a trouble-free existence for many years.
But if you're thinking about saving money, the competition is strong too. It's nowhere near as good as the iPad mini 2, but for the cost reduction you can forgive a multitude of sins.
The iPad mini 2 might not be a sidekick to the Air in terms of spec but, thanks to Apple raising the price even further this year, it's playing second fiddle to its larger brother.
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Updated: Best Canon camera: the whole Canon range explained
Canon Ixus and travel/bridge cameras
Canon makes a whole range of cameras, from pocket-sized point-and-shoot compact cameras, right up to professional DSLRs – but which is the best Canon camera for what you want to do?The sheer number of Canon cameras can be quite confusing, so here's a guide to the different types, who these cameras are aimed at and the best Canon camera for you.
Canon Ixus compact cameras
These are ideal if you're a casual photographer looking for a simple point-and-shoot camera that doesn't blind you with science. More experienced photographers could probably point out dozens of missing features and failings in the image quality, but not everyone is that demanding – and not everyone wants to have to learn about photography just to capture pictures of their friends, family and travels.
This is the market that Canon's Ixus cameras are aimed at. They range from the inexpensive Ixus 145 and Ixus 150, both with a 16-megapixel lens and 8x optical zoom, through the Ixus 150 (20 megapixels and 10x zoom) up to the 16-megapixel 12x zoom Ixus 265.
To find out more, check out our Techradar camera reviews:
• Canon Ixus 145 review
• Canon Ixus 150 review
• Canon Ixus 265 review
Canon PowerShot D30 waterproof camera
The D30 is the perfect compact camera for more adventurous travellers. It's waterproof down to a depth of 25m, which is pretty good going for a consumer camera without a specialised underwater housing. It's also designed to survive a drop of 2m, and it has GPS built in so it can add location data to your photos.
The D30 also offers full HD video recording and a funky Movie Digest mode that'll capture a short video clip in conjunction with your images and compile everything into an HD movie.
• See our full Canon D30 review.
Canon PowerShot N and N100
The PowerShot N has a fun design with a square, 'any way up' body and a flip-up screen that can also double as a makeshift camera stand for hands-free photography.
The Canon N isn't intended to take the place of a DSLR or even a phone, but to complement them as a 'take-everywhere' type camera. The Canon PowerShot N is easy to use, and it's small enough to slip in a pocket, yet it produces high-quality images for a compact camera.
The newer PowerShot N100 looks more conventional – it's rectangular rather than square, but it too is designed for fun, 'social' photography.
Its unique selling point is a second lens on the back of the camera that captures a selfie at the moment that you're taking the picture.
• Canon PowerShot N review
• Canon PowerShot N100 review (hands on)
Canon PowerShot travel zoom/bridge cameras
Bridge cameras are designed to 'bridge' the gap between regular compact cameras and digital SLRs, with a long-zoom lens to take care of as wide a variety of subjects as possible.Some fall into the 'travel zoom' category – they have a long zoom range, but the lens retracts into the body when the camera is switched off, and you can still get the camera in your pocket.
These include the Canon PowerShot SX600 HS, which has a 16-megapixel sensor and an 18x zoom lens. The SX700 HS goes further, with a massive 30x zoom range, and it will still fit easily in a pocket.
The PowerShot SX170 IS is a lower-cost camera with a 16x zoom lens and a slightly thicker body – the shape is just starting to resemble the protruding grip and lens of a bridge camera design.
Canon describes the next model,the PowerShot SX400 IS as a 'mini' bridge camera. It's certainly smaller than other bridge cameras, but the deep SLR-style design means it's more awkward to push into a pocket. On the upside, it does have a 30x optical zoom.
From here on, you're definitely into bridge camera territory. The PowerShot SX510 HS has a 30x optical zoom lens, and the newer PowerShot SX520 has a 42x optical zoom and 16-megapixel resolution.
The top model, though, is the PowerShot SX60 HS, with a massive 60x zoom range, full manual control and the option shoot raw files. It even comes with an electronic viewfinder, so it's the most versatile of all of Canon's bridge cameras.
The one problem for the SX60 HS and all the other Canon bridge cameras is that the sensor is small – it's unavoidable when designing a camera with this kind of zoom range while keeping the size and the cost manageable.
If outright image quality is your main priority, but you still want a camera that's easily portable, you need one of Canon's advanced PowerShot compact cameras.
• Canon PowerShot SX600 HS review
• Canon PowerShot SX700 HS review
• Canon PowerShot SX170 IS review
• Canon PowerShot SX400 IS review
• Canon PowerShot SX510 HS review
• Canon PowerShot SX520 HS review
• Canon PowerShot SX60 HS review
Canon PowerShot high-end compacts
This is an area of the market that's seen some exciting changes recently. In the past, a high-end compact camera would have a slightly larger sensor than a regular point-and-shoot model – for example, a 1/1.7-inch sensor rather than the usual 1/2.3-inch – and this would give a modest and useful boost to the image quality.You would also get a better quality lens, manual control, the ability to shoot raw files and a higher grade of finish and construction.
Canon PowerShot S120 and S200
Canon's two smallest high-end compacts fit into this category. The S120 is highly regarded for its size and power, using a control ring around the lens for many common adjustments. It comes with a 12-megapixel sensor and a 5x zoom with a minimum focal length of 24mm equivalent and an f/1.8-5.7 maximum aperture.
The S200 is a slightly cheaper version, with a 10-megapixel sensor and 24-120mm f/2.0-5.9 lens. The ISO range is slightly reduced and the screen on the back has a lower resolution.
If you find these cameras are too small, the PowerShot G16 could be the answer.
• Canon PowerShot S120 review
Canon PowerShot G16
The G16 is the last of Canon's 'old-school' high-end compacts. It has a 1/1.7-inch sensor, like the smaller S120 and S200 models, but in a larger body, with more external controls, an optical direct vision viewfinder and a 5x 28-140mm equivalent lens.
The zoom range might sound similar to the S120 and S200, but the maximum aperture is much wider at longer focal lengths. The smaller PowerShots can only manage f/5.7 and f/5.9 at full zoom, but the G16 lens offers f/1.8 at its shortest focal length, but only drops to f/2.8 at full zoom.
The issue with the G16 is that it still uses a relatively small 1/1.7-inch sensor, where rival makers are moving towards larger sensors in their high-end compact cameras. This is why the next two Canon PowerShots are so interesting.
• Canon PowerShot G16 review
Canon PowerShot G7 X
The G7 X is smaller and simpler than the G16 (it's hardly larger than the S120 and S200), but it has a much larger 20.2-megapixel 1-inch sensor – almost four times the size of the G16's. Larger sensors usually mean larger lenses, so it's all the more impressive that Canon has managed to match (more or less) the zoom range of the G16 with a 24-100mm f/1.8-2.8 lens.
The G7 X doesn't have a viewfinder, nor any means of attaching one, but that's design compromise in order to produce such a small camera.
It does, however, have a flip-up touch-screen display, built-in Wi-Fi and a full HD movie mode which allows full manual control over shutter speed, lens aperture and ISO, together with frame rates up to 60p.
• Canon PowerShot G7 X review.
Canon PowerShot G1 X Mark II
The G1 X Mark II has a larger sensor still – a 1.5-inch device somewhere between the 1-inch sensor of the G7 X and the APS-C sensors in Canon's DSLRs in size.The original G1 X followed the same, rather bulky design of the G16, but the Mark II version is slimmer and neater although – controversially – Canon has dropped the optical viewfinder (though you can clip on an optional EVF unit).
The G1 X Mark II has a 12.8-megapixel sensor designed more with overall image quality and low light performance in mind than outright resolution, and a 24-120mm equivalent f/2.0-3.9 zoom lens.
It does have a larger sensor than the G7 X, but the lens is not as fast at long zoom settings and the outright resolution (megapixels) is lower.
If these cameras still don't offer the kind of image quality, control and versatility you're looking for, then the next logical step is Canon's range of digital SLRs.
• Canon PowerShot G1 X Mark II review.
Canon DSLRs for beginners
DSLRs are the favourite type of camera for hobbyist photographers, enthusiasts and pros. Canon is one of the two main players in the DSLR market (the other is Nikon) and the current Canon DSLR line-up falls into three categories, aimed at beginners, enthusiasts and professionals.We'll also reserve a special mention for Canon's only mirrorless compact system camera, the EOS-M.
All current beginner-level Canon EOS cameras are intuitive and easy to use, even for those with absolutely no prior photographic knowledge. Intelligent auto modes and scene modes tailor the camera settings to make the most of wide-ranging shooting scenarios, while semi-automatic and manual modes let you take over the settings when you're ready and as you learn new skills.
Canon EOS 1200D/Canon EOS Rebel T5
Sensor: APS-C format CMOS | Megapixels: 18.0Mp | Autofocus: 9-point AF, 1 cross type | Continuous shooting: 3fps | Monitor: 3-inch 460,000 dots | Video: 1080pIf price is the key determining factor when you're choosing a DLSR, then the 1200D has to be a very strong contender. It delivers great image quality, classic DSLR design and handling and access to Canon's full range of lenses and accessories.
The biggest problem with the 1200D is that it's just not that exciting. Its predecessor, the EOS 1100D, was on the market for a full three years, so it would have been nice to see some more audacious specs, such as built-in Wi-Fi or a touch-screen display, but the 1200D really offers more of the same – a set of basic but effective features for budget-conscious photographers and novices.
Nevertheless, Canon has once again produced a reliable camera capable of creating some beautiful images. If you're in the market for your first DSLR and you're fine with a no-frills purchase, then the 1200D is a great option.
• See our full Canon 1200D review/Canon EOS Rebel T5 review.
Canon EOS 100D/Canon EOS SL1
Sensor: APS-C format CMOS | Megapixels: 18.0Mp | Autofocus: 9-point AF, 1 cross type | Continuous shooting: 4fps | Monitor: 3-inch, 1,040,000 dot, touch-sensitive | Video: 1080pAn exercise in downsizing, the 100D is the most compact and lightweight D-SLR that Canon has ever made, yet still features plenty of upscaled attractions, incuding an 18Mp sensor and a 3-inch 1040k touch-screen LCD that adds touchscreen operation.
The 100D uses Canon's Hybrid CMOS AF system where a selection of its photosites are used for phase-detection autofocus, making continuous autofocus possible when shooting video.
It also features the beginner-friendly Scene Intelligent Auto shooting mode, as featured on the Canon EOS M, 700D and 70D. A step up over the older and more basic 'green square' full auto mode, it analyses scenes as you're composing shots, not only checking brightness, contrast and colour, but also detecting faces and watching out for movement.
Naturally, you can adjust all shooting parameters in the more advanced 'creative zone' of the shooting dial that includes the usual P, Av, Tv and M options. The sensitivity range is good too, stretching to ISO 12800 in its standard range, and all the way to ISO 25600 in expanded mode.
Read our full Canon 100D review/Canon SL1 review.
Canon EOS 700D/Canon EOS Rebel T5i
Sensor: APS-C format CMOS | Megapixels: 18.0Mp | Autofocus: 9-point AF, all cross type | Continuous shooting: 5fps | Monitor: 3-inch, 1,040,000 dot, touch-sensitive | Video: 1080pA little larger than the 100D and nearly 50 per cent heavier, the 700D sits at the top of Canon's beginners' range of D-SLRs. Like the 100D, it has nine autofocus points for phase-detection AF in regular stills shooting mode, but this time all nine points are cross-type, rather than just the central point. This makes for improved autofocus performance with greater accuracy when using any of the peripheral points.
A larger capacity battery boosts life to 440 shots compared with the 100D's 380 shots, and the 700D also boasts a faster maximum burst rate of 5fps instead of 4fps. Both cameras feature a high-resolution 1040k, 3-inch touchscreen LCD, but the one in the 700D is a 'vari-angle' screen with full articulation.
The same features that make the 100D so ideal as a beginners' camera are retained in the 700D. These include an on-screen feature guide, Scene Intelligent Auto and a wide range of scene modes, as well as a Basic + mode for adjusting 'ambience' settings like vivid, soft, warm and cool.
Read our full Canon 700D review/Canon Rebel T5i review
Canon EOS-M
Sensor: APS-C format CMOS | Megapixels: 18.0Mp | Autofocus: 31-point Hybrid CMOS AF | Continuous shooting: 4.3fps | Monitor: 3.2-inch, 1,040,000 dot, touch-sensitive | Video: 1080pThis is Canon's one and only entry so far in the mirrorless compact system camera market. The EOS-M uses the same 18-megapixel CMOS sensor as Canon's entry-level DSLRs, but introduces a new lens mount – the removal of the mirror means that the distance from the lens to the sensor is shorter and regular Canon SLR lenses won't fit (though you can get an adaptor).
The EOS-M is a decent enough camera and the picture quality is first rate, but its conservative design means that it's smaller than a DSLR but still not really pocket-sized (a problem for many compact system cameras). With the 18-55mm lens mounted the M feels unbalanced in your hand and the slim grip on front doesn't provide enough purchase.
Canon's Hybrid AF system isn't as fast as Panasonic or Olympus's contrast detection systems – or Sony's Hybrid AF system – and the M isn't suited to shooting anything other than stationary subjects.
• Read our Canon EOS-M review.
Canon DSLRs for enthusiasts
Cameras for the enthusiast sector typically feature a greater abundance of direct-access controls for advanced shooting adjustments. These enable expert photographers to change settings quickly and effectively. A secondary info LCD on the tops of enthusiasts' cameras also helps to enable a running check on creative shooting settings. You also get faster continuous shooting and better build quality.Canon EOS 70D
Sensor: APS-C format CMOS | Megapixels: 20.2Mp | Autofocus: 19 AF points, all cross-type | Continuous shooting: 7fps | Monitor: 3.2-inch, 1,040,000 dot, touch-sensitive | Video: 1080pThe 70D brought a genuinely exciting innovation to D-SLR photography, in the form of a brand new 20.2Mp 'Dual Pixel' image sensor which contains two photo diodes for each pixel. This enables much faster phase-detection autofocus performance in live view and video shooting modes.
Like the 700D, there's a fully articulated touchscreen LCD but pressing any desired point in live view shooting results in much quicker focusing. Regular autofocus modes also benefit from a 19-point rather than the 9-point AF module in Canon's cheaper DSLRs, and all the points are cross-type.
As an 'enthusiast' level camera, the 70D includes a secondary info LCD on the top plate, along with useful direct access buttons for controlling shooting parameters on the fly. As with the 100D and 700D, automatic in-camera corrections are available for chromatic aberration and vignetting when using most own-brand Canon lenses.
The 70D also offers built-in Wi-Fi and a 7fps maximum burst rate wrapped up in a lightweight polycarbonate shell that makes it only a little bigger and heavier than the 700D.
• Read our full Canon 70D review.
Canon EOS 7D Mark II
Sensor: APS-C format CMOS | Megapixels: 20.2Mp | Autofocus: 65 AF points, all cross-type | Continuous shooting: 10fps | Monitor: 3-inch, 1,040,000 dot, touch-sensitive | Video: 1080pThe 7D Mark II is the replacement for the veteran EOS 7D, and offers higher resolution, faster continuous shooting and an advanced autofocus system, with 65 points and the ability to tailor how the camera responds to subject movement. It's effecting, though it is also complex – the shooting scenarios help to some extent, but explanations that accompany them don't always seem that clear.
The evaluative metering system is also very good and manages to find a good balance between the brightness of the whole scene and the brightness of the object under the active AF point when suggesting exposure settings.
Surprisingly, perhaps, the 7D Mark II does not have built-in Wi-Fi, though it does have built-in GPS for tagging your images with location information.
Enthusiast photographers tend to shoot a bit of everything and they need a versatile camera that can cope with a wide range of subjects and conditions. The EOS 7D Mark II's weatherproofing means that it can be used in harsher conditions than all of Canon's other current SLRs apart from the pro-level EOS-1D X. Its autofocus system can also get moving subjects sharp quickly, and keep them sharp as they move around the frame or towards/away from the camera. It's Canon's best APS-C format camera to date.
• See our full Canon 7D Mark II review.
Canon EOS 6D
Sensor: Full frame CMOS | Megapixels: 20.2Mp | Autofocus: 11 AF points, 1 cross-type | Continuous shooting: 4.5fps | Monitor: 3-inch, 1,040,000 dot | Video: 1080pThe 6D is Canon's cheapest full-frame camera, and costs have been cut in certain areas. The build quality mid way between that of the 70D and 7D Mark II. It has a polycarbonate top plate but the front and back sections of the body are made from sturdier magnesium alloy.
The 6D boasts not only Wi-Fi connectivity but also built-in GPS. The only catch is that, when enabled, the GPS module really munches through battery charge, even when the camera is switched off.
We've come to expect the lack of a pop-up flash on professional grade cameras but it's a strange omission for an enthusiast level model. The 6D also lacks the advanced Dual Pixel autofocus of the 70D, or the more basic hybrid autofocus system of the 100D and 700D.
Where the 70D and 7D have 19-point autofocus (all cross-type points), the 6D only has 11 points and, of these, only the central point is cross-type. Even so, autofocus performance is good overall. The 6D's redeeming feature is its superb image quality with the kind of control over depth of field that you can only get from a full-frame camera.
• Read our full Canon 6D review.
Canon DSLRs for pros
For pro photographers, as well as for serious amateurs who demand the very best performance and robust build quality, the main choice is between the Canon 5D Mk III and Canon 1D X. There are no APS-C format bodies in Canon's professional-level line-up.An important consideration when upgrading from APS-C to full-frame bodies is that the latter are incompatible with EF-S lenses, which are designed exclusively for use with APS-C format cameras.
Canon EOS 5D Mark III
Sensor: Full frame CMOS | Megapixels: 22.3Mp | Autofocus: 61 AF points, 41 cross-type, 1 dual cross-type | Continuous shooting: 6fps | Monitor: 3.2-inch, 1,040,000 dot | Video: 1080pIt's nearly a decade since the original 5D brought full-frame digital photography to the masses, and the Mk III edition brings a wealth of upgrades, fully justifying its position as a professional camera. Notable enhancements over the Mark II include a step up from 9-point autofocus to a 61-point AF system with 41 cross-type points and five dual-cross points, just like in the 1D X.
There's also a DIGIC 5+ image processor and a more generous sensitivity range that stretches to ISO 25600 – you can extend this to ISO 102400 in expanded mode. The maximum drive rate beats that of the 6D's 4.5fps and, compared with the 5D Mk II, speed is boosted from 3.9fps to 6fps.
Direct access controls are more wide-ranging than in the 6D and the 5D Mark III has dual card slots, one for SD/HC/XC cards and the other for Compact Flash.
The 5D Mk III is well built, with a rugged magnesium alloy body, though the size and weight are very manageable given that it's a pro spec camera.
• Read our full Canon 5D Mark III review.
Canon EOS-1D X
Sensor: Full frame CMOS | Megapixels: 18.1Mp | Autofocus: 61 AF points, 41 cross-type, 5 dual cross-type | Continuous shooting: 12fps | Monitor: 3.2-inch, 1,040,000 dot | Video: 1080pIncreased image resolution is not necessarily a priority in a pro camera, and Canon's range-topping 1D X professional body is limited to 18.1Mp. This helps to ensure fast continuous drive rates and immaculate image quality, even at very high ISO settings.
Performance also gets a boost from the fitment of two DIGIC 5+ image processors, and the end result is an ultra-fast 12fps burst rate, which you can boost further still to 14fps if you can live without autofocus and metering after the first shot in a rapid-fire sequence. The 1D X also offers a whopping ISO 51200 in its standard range, and goes up to ISO 204800 in expanded mode.
The 1D X has a magnesium alloy shell with weather seals and really feels like it's built to take the knocks of a hard-working professional life.
It's a relatively big and heavy camera, but the handling is superb, helped by an integrated vertical grip with duplicated shooting controls, dual multi-controllers and a centralised quick control dial. Image quality is stunning, even in very low lighting conditions when using extremely high sensitivity settings.
• Read our full Canon 1D X review.
So which is the best Canon camera for you?
As we said at the start, Canon has cameras for everyone to point-and-shoot snappers to busy working professional photographers, so here's a quick summary of the key models.- Canon Ixus cameras are perfect for casual use by people who want to take pictures but don't want to be bothered by technicalities. They're straightforward to use and slip easily into a pocket or a bag.
- Canon PowerShot bridge cameras have much longer zoom ranges and fall into two main camps: pocket-sized cameras that are only a little larger than the Ixus models but much more versatile – so-called 'travel cameras', and full-blown 'bridge' cameras that look and feel a little like a DSLR. These won't fit in your pocket, but they do have very long zoom range.
- Canon PowerShot high-end compacts are designed for real enthusiasts who want good picture quality and advanced controls in a camera that's smaller and more portable than a DSLR. The S120, S200 and G16 are 'old-school', using a sensor slightly larger than a regular compact's for better quality, but the big-sensor G7 X and G1 X Mark II are the most exciting.
- The next step up from here is a DSLR. We should also mention the Canon EOS-M, but this is Canon's only mirrorless compact system camera to date, with no firm indication there will be another.
- If you're just starting out, the EOS 1200D is a great budget choice, the 100D is tiny (for a DSLR) and the 700D is a terrific all-rounder.
- Enthusiasts will want more hands-on control and more features, and the 70D offers both. The new 7D Mark II is more expensive but a semi-professional powerhouse that's right at the cutting edge. Or, if you can afford it, the 6D sacrifices some technological sophistication but offers full-frame image quality.
- For pros, there are really just two choices. The EOS 5D Mark III is a great all-rounder for both stills and video, but if you need to capture fast-moving action, the stunning 12fps EOS-1D X is the one to go for.
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Review: Updated: iPad Air 2
Introduction and design
It was hard to see how Apple could improve on the first iPad Air - arguably the finest tablet ever produced.And then it went and did so with the iPad Air 2. You can talk all you like about what counts as "too thin" but there's no denying that this new tablet is a feat of engineering that again pushes the limits of what makes a premium slate.
Not only that, but the relentless desire to make the thing thinner has resulted in a better screen too, as the layers that make up the backlight, touchscreen digitizer and LCD screen are so close that Apple now claims there is zero air in between them.
The result? A less reflective display that looks brighter and more colorful. And it really is.
There's the question of where the iPad Air 2 sits in the market, as it's US$499 (£399, AU$619) for the basic version, and you can pay up to US$829 (£659, AU$1,019) for the fully specced, Wi-Fi + 4G model.
But while that cost is high, it's no more than is being charged by Samsung or Sony for their comparable tablets.
Of course on contract it's ridiculously expensive, but then again I think most people will still want to buy the iPad Air 2 as a sofa-dwelling device, so the 4G option isn't going to be the real reason you buy this tablet.
I'll get onto the design in a moment - but it's worth noting that the design alone is a good reason to pick up the new iPad Air 2. It's super light, amazingly slim and will delight over and over again for the first fortnight of ownership, before you slip back to the standard tech nonchalance that creeps over us all eventually.
Did the iPad Air need to get thinner and more powerful? Not really - I'm already struggling to find must-have reasons for the improved A8X chip beyond a much faster interface and the promise of better apps and games to come - but once you actually handle the new iPad Air 2, you'll be sold.
Design
At 6.1mm thick, the Apple iPad Air 2 is easily one of the slimmest tablets on the market. It's not actually the thinnest, but we're at the point now where fractions of a millimetre really don't matter.Thinness for its own sake can be an error - there is a point of diminishing returns where only marginal improvements can be achieved, at the cost of structural integrity, battery life and overall performance - but Apple hasn't reached that point yet.
The iPad Air 2 feels like a very solid tablet that can be held easily for hours without it getting uncomfortable. The iPad Air was hardly a big tablet, and the Samsung Galaxy Tab S matches the iPad Air 2 in weight, if not thickness.
Where the Apple device wins though is the overall packaging. Samsung's option is good, but clearly an assemblage of distinct parts. The plastic back, the larger-bezelled screen and the rim are all competing parts, where the iPad Air 2 is a complete package, smooth and easy to hold in one hand.
I was almost loath to put it in a case - it needs to be protected if you're going to be running it around town, as that back and chamfered edges will scuff up eventually - but if you're going to be a sofa-warrior with your new tablet, the Smart Cover will do just fine and won't obscure the impressive design.
The sad thing here is the loss of the silencing switch, which has departed due to size restrictions. Apple would argue that this is because the new Control Center makes the option available throughout the OS with just a flick of the hand, but in truth I'm really going to miss being able to silence the tablet without even looking.
The power button remains at the top and the volume keys have shuffled a little upwards now free of the silence key, but otherwise the only real design changes are the speaker grill at the bottom of the tablet (now a single row of holes, rather than the two before) and the Touch ID on the home key.
You'd be hard pressed to tell the difference between the iPad Air 2 and the iPad Air without a spotter's guide, but the iPad Air 2 has a deeper black bezel which helps enhance the picture - plus it now comes in gold to join space gray and silver.
The camera stays where it has been, both front and back, with the new 8MP iSight snapper not jutting out as it does on the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus. The fact no tablet camera needs to be that high res, nor should people be taking pics with a tablet anyway, is something to discuss in another article.
Does the iPad Air 2's design warrant the high price tag? Yes, more than any other tablet on the market. It brings a premium build, quality finish, great looks and while it doesn't need to be this thin, the structure doesn't seem to have had an effect on the actual performance of the tablet, and does add something in the palm.
Key features
Before the launch of the Apple iPad Air 2, I'd have been hard pressed to predict Apple's improvements.I wondered if Apple might have shaved some weight off, added some bits to the camera, shoved an upgraded processor in there (or at least matched that of the iPhone 6) - but that seemed like a very middling upgrade.
But somehow, the combination of the above, plus the improved screen and Touch ID, has created a very complete package. Not one that I'd ever recommend to those that have the iPad Air, but definitely a brilliant jump for anyone coming from the iPad 3 or earlier.
Pencil lasers
Apple showed off its improvements to an already-impressive tablet by lasering through the pencil it used to demonstrate the thickness of the iPad Air. While the width is obviously a design element, it's worth reiterating here as it's a really key feature of this tablet.
The 437g weight is more important than the thickness, in fairness. The width of the thing is largely unnoticeable in the hand, especially when we're talking millimetres, and is more of a marketing tool.
But the lower weight, combined with the smooth, ceramic-style back, makes the new Apple iPad Air 2 feel like a really premium product.
On top of that, it's closer than ever to perfect when it comes to being a laptop replacement when teamed with a Bluetooth. The reduced weight and thickness enhance the tablet's elegance and portability, and that pushes the iPad Air 2 further into consideration.
Touch ID and Apple Pay
On the iPhone, Touch ID is a brilliant addition. It's a way to add a passcode without really noticing it's happened, and (when widely implemented) will allow you to pay for things on the go without your credit card around.This makes a lot of sense to me, and is really great addition to the mobile ecosystem.
I'm not as bothered about it on the iPad Air 2, mostly because I don't feel the need to secure my tablet as much as my phone. I take it out of the house less, I pull it out of the bag less, and generally don't worry about security on it as much.
It's still a great feature - I was confused when Apple didn't include it on the original iPad Air - but given the fact that the iPad is an unwieldy substitute for a credit card, it's not vital here.
It's a nice-to-have feature, rather than a crucial one. Apple is making a big deal about the fact you can secure apps with it as well, but this is only useful if you want to secure certain apps (which, admittedly, some people will want to do - it's more convenient to only have the key things locked down).
It would be nice to have the Mail app use Touch ID, and then I could get rid of it on the lock screen. I'm already considering turning it off, as it's more cumbersome to press given the dimensions here, and the fact the tablet mostly stays at home.
A8X chip
The A8X chip is screamingly fast, according to Apple, and nothing I've been able to do on the new iPad has suggested otherwise.It's hard to know how to really push a tablet with this kind of power, as the likes of Real Racing or Sky Gamblers have always looked rather good on the larger screen.
And even though this is second (and a bit) generation 64-bit architecture from Apple, which does have some efficiency upgrades, we're still light years away from that being a useful addition, when really all it does right now is make apps a bit bigger and take up more room internally.
The big change here appears to be to the battery life - it's no coincidence that the graphical capabilities of the Air 2 are 2.5x that of the Air, and that means stuff can be run more efficiently.
There's also the ability to use the touchscreen more effectively - the response time of the touch is much increased here, and browsing with the iPad Air 2 is a pleasurable experience.
That's not directly linked to the chipset at the heart, but it does help.
All new screen
The new screen technology on the iPad Air 2 is one of my favorite changes here. The improvement in thinness is negligible, the camera superfluous, but the screen of a tablet is something that always needs refining. I love it when brands show ambition, whether they do it by increasing the resolution, the contrast ratio or the brightness.
The iPad Air screen was pretty neat in itself, with resolution of 1,536 x 2,048. The Air 2 has kept that sharpness, but because the internal layers of the screen are laminated together, there is less air between the components (in fact, Apple says there's no air whatsoever) which leads to deeper blacks and more vibrant colors. Pictures really come alive when viewed on the iPad Air 2, markedly so compared to its predecessor.
The other benefit of that compressed screen is that it reduces reflectivity - combine that with the anti-reflection coating, and watching films with a light behind you isn't impossible.
Credit: Republished with permission from DisplayMate Technologies
Laboratory testing at DisplayMate Technologies compared the iPad Air 2 with its predecessor, as well as the iPad Mini 3 to explore the difference. As you can see from the graph above, the average screen reflection on the iPad Air 2 is down to 2.5 per cent compared to the 6.5 per cent recorded by the iPad Air.
Similarly, the iPad Air 2 more than doubled the score of its predecessor when it comes to contrast rating for high ambient light.
Credit: Republished with permission from DisplayMate Technologies
Apple would like you to believe that you can watch anything without difficulty, but that's not the case. However, the reflections are much diminished, and it's a satisfying step forward on the screen front.
New camera
I'll return to this in more depth later in the review, but it is one of the key features. Apple has bundled an 8MP iSight camera on the rear of the new iPad Air, and thanks to the A8X chip, the tablet can now also take slow motion video, like the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus.The new resolution does produce nicer pictures, and the ability to time lapse or see bigger panoramas is a plus, but I'm still not bothered by the additional technology stuck on the back of the tablet.
However, if you're one of those people that finds it acceptable to use a tablet as a camera in public, this is the best and most feature-rich option from Apple. Doesn't mean you should use it, though.
Interface and performance
The interface on the iPad Air 2 is something that will be familiar to anyone who's used an Apple product in the past. It's the first device (along with the iPad mini 3) to run iOS 8.1 right out of the box, and as such you'd expect it to be stable and easy to use.Early testing suggests that crashes are being kept to a minimum, something that sadly can't be said for the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, which don't play nicely with Google Chrome or the inbuilt Mail app.
The larger 9.7-inch screen of the iPad Air 2 is great for navigating around the grid of icons, but not so much if you're looking to use this device one-handed.
Although if you are, you've probably not understood basic ergonomics. And possibly physics, as this is a two handed device and as such the lower weight makes it easy to tap and swipe around.
I won't run through the impressive tweaks that run through iOS 8, as they're ably covered in my colleague Matt Swider's iOS 8 review, but suffice to say that everything is much slicker on the iPad. Got an iMessage? The notification from the top of the screen lets you answer it without having to exit the app.
Want to switch the Air 2 on silent? (This one is important as the hardware switch allowing you to do just that has disappeared) Then it's a quick trip into the Control Center, found at the bottom of any screen on the tablet - although it can be something of a nightmare trying to pull it up when swiping skywards from the home button.
But anyway - you can look at the rest of that yourselves in the dedicated review - and iOS 8 works superbly on the iPad Air 2. What I want to talk about is the improved touchscreen responsiveness: it's brilliant.
Clearly a response to Google's constant refinement to its Android software (which began with Project Butter in Jelly Bean and really made a difference to touching the front glass of Android devices) the iPad Air 2 features a much more responsive touch panel which makes it much simpler to register swipes through.
It's one of those things that you don't really notice until it comes, as I never really thought the Air lagged previously. But the slick Samsung Galaxy Tab S showed that it could be so much better on a tablet, and Apple has stepped up here with the Air 2.
And talking of stepping up - it's done something magical to that A8X chipset at the heart of the tablet. It's nearly 40% faster than the competition, including the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus and all the other top smartphones. In the GeekBench 3 tests, the iPad Air 2 averaged 4,500, compared to around 2,800 for any big handset you can think of.
Apple promised big upgrades, but this is so huge that I have to wonder if there's some kind of optimization here - although the faster speed under the finger and smooth graphics (Zen Garden, for instance, runs much more smoothly on the Air 2 than the iPhone 6 Plus) show the improvements are evident in normal use too.
Battery
Apple decided to go for design over battery life with the iPad Air 2, and while this is a bugbear of mine when it comes smartphones I don't mind it here, it's less of a hindrance in a tablet.The battery life of 10 hours of web browsing or watching video has been ported over to the new iPad Air from the original, but given that had a thicker chassis it's really impressive that the power has been preserved, which is largely down to that improved A8X chip chugging along at the heart of things.
The screen is still as hungry as ever before, as the battery test was pretty power-sucking compared to its rivals. The iPad mini 2 only took down 16% in the looped video test last year (a Full HD 90 minute video from 100% at full brightness), where the iPad Air 2 went down by 21%.
It's not a terrible result though - while you'll lose about 20% watching streamed video at full brightness over 80 minutes' use, the general power consumption when out and about is bordering on negligible.
I've left the tablet in a bag for a quite a few hours and come back to only find 2% gone, so Apple's really worked on making sure apps don't chew down power without you looking.
It's a slightly different scenario when it comes to gaming, as the longer sessions really take it out of the power pack, especially with the higher-power titles.
It's not terrible, but I wouldn't feel comfortable taking the iPad Air 2 on a long haul flight if I was thinking of playing Real Racing 3 for three hours. Mostly because I would have played too much of one game, but also because my battery would be in danger of running out.
While I've yet to find out the official numbers of how big the battery is in the iPad Air 2, for most people the battery on the new tablet, even if browsing the web or using the tablet as a laptop replacement, is pretty good indeed.
I don't think battery life is that much of a worry for most tablet users given than you'll have to be pretty forgetful to not plug it into power once in a while before it runs completely dry.
Camera
I wish I could somehow type the long sigh I emit whenever I begin to talk about the camera on any tablet - and Apple's only gone and made the camera better here, which makes things worse for people like me trying to hold off the barbarians.
Like the selfie phenomenon, the idea of bringing a tablet as main camera to important events suddenly seems to be acceptable. I've seen people taking pictures of a bride walking down the aisle with an iPad mini, and missed a big goal at a football match because someone thought it the right time to try and take a picture of themselves on a tablet
The problem is, companies like Apple are extolling the virtues of using the large screen as a more ample viewfinder.
No. Use a phone screen if you must, or even get a proper camera. But don't use a tablet. While you'll get acceptable shots with the iPad Air 2, and the resolution gives a clearer picture, it's still not a great experience - and you break a basic law of civilization in the process.
But if you must use the camera, at least Apple has imbued the iPad Air 2 with some of the higher-power tricks. Slow motion video is included this time around (although only to 120 frames per second (fps), not the super smooth 240 fps that comes with both the new iPhones).
There's time lapse mode, burst mode (front and back cameras) and a larger panorama mode making it easy to take wider pictures of over 40MP using the tablet screen.
I don't mind the idea of using this for time lapse, as the larger screen and longer battery are actually pretty handy for setting up a shot - but why you'd have a tablet at a beautiful landscape which might require a panorama is beyond me. Group shots, maybe.
The other win here is the built in editing suite in the Photos app - it's good on the iPhone, but with the larger screen it's great for touching up photos.
The new iCloud shared photo stream is also a really handy way of sharing photos between an iPhone and an iPad - simply have both devices logged into the same iCloud account, favorite something on one and it will instantly appear on the other.
The overall camera prowess of the iPad Air 2 isn't that bad, but it's nothing special. In side by side comparisons with the iPad Air, the photos have very little difference bar sharpness, and the low light capabilities are nothing to write home about, and certainly not in the iPhone 6's league.
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Media
The iPad Air 2 is a great device for consuming media on - although there is an interesting talking point here.I think it's great that Apple is now offering a 128GB option for all its iOS devices now - but why are the increments 16GB, 64GB and 128GB?
I like that Apple has doubled the middle storage option, bringing the 64GB model in at the same price as last year's 32GB - so why does the 16GB still exist? Make that 32GB, Apple, and solve this problem.
I make this point as it's a real issue: if you're downloading all the free apps from Apple, like Pages and iMovie, you'll have eaten up a good portion of the inbuilt space already. And thanks to the move to a 64-bit architecture from Apple last year, the iPad Air 2 games and apps take up even more space for not that much extra in terms of performance.
So if you're going for the 16GB option, you'll need to watch how many movies you store, how high the quality of your Spotify music library is, and make sure you don't save too many home movies on there either.
Of course, there's every chance you won't do a lot of this with your new iPad - apart from music and the odd movie, most people won't be taking photos (fingers crossed) meaning you'll be able to pick and choose your apps.
But if you're not using the iPad Air 2 for movies or TV shows, then you're really missing out. It's a great device for a marathon movie session thanks to being light with a less reflective screen and improved color and contrast ratios.
It's actually even visible in daylight (just) and while it's not in the same league as the Sony Xperia Z3 when it comes to visibility, the iPad Air 2 is one of the best tablet screens on the market - bested possibly only by the Galaxy Tab S, which has brilliant color reproduction and black levels.
The single speaker is impressively powerful too - I wouldn't have thought with the thickness shaved, the mono speaker would be any good, but it's rich, strong and really pumps out the bass on the new iPad.
It's really good for showing off movies or video clips to friends, although if it were front facing then it would be a much better experience.
And through the headphones, the experience follows Apple's established prowess in music, with rich and punchy sound coming through even lower end cans.
Gaming on the iPad Air 2 is something to behold. Its rich, immersive screen is perfect for either the point-and-prod gaming on the go (it's no surprise to see popular TV game show app companions as high sellers on the App Store) or a speedier car game.
Both of these are easy to play, the choice is fairly vast and while the selection isn't particularly strong (there surely have to be more game titles coming soon that take advantage of the sheer number of sensors, GPU performance and Metal, which allows a stronger and slicker game play performance on the iPad) it will only get better - plus there are plenty of kids' games to pass off to your children if you're brave enough with your new tablet.
The essentials
Sure it's a fancy tablet when you're using all those clever apps, but how does the iPad Air 2 handle the basics?Handoff
The best thing about the iPad Air 2 is that it not only does the basics really well, it now allows more functionality thanks to the Handoff features from iOS 8.Admittedly, this is a limited feature that's only enabled for those who have an iPhone running the latest software, but many will. If both are linked into the same iCloud account, even if your phone isn't in arm's reach you can still make and receive calls on the tablet.
You can either use the inbuilt speaker and microphone, or pair it with a headset. Whichever you choose, it's a nice way to de-clutter the desk if you're one to keep things neat. The other party is able to hear you fine over the speakerphone, so in essence Handoff turns your tablet into a smartphone when you need it.
You can even make calls from your contacts list too - it's not the best as Apple's contacts app is still, well, poor thanks to confusing social integration and a very uninspiring design (this is an area where Android phones really excel) but it works.
The only thing that stops the iPad Air 2 from being a brilliant smartphone replacement is the fact it can't send or receive text messages. It can do iMessage happily, and a Mac running Yosemite can handle those missives, but annoyingly, the iPad won't get any SMS.
That aside I was really, really impressed by the functionality. It's not new and it's not vital, but it works without needing any input from the user. That's the best way things should be.
Messaging
The messaging side of things on the iPad Air 2 is pretty good outside of the text message problem, but then again it always has on the iPad. The large and expansive keyboard allows you to rattle out messages rather quickly in landscape view when placed on the knees, and as such can be more of a laptop replacement than you'd expect.This is doubly true given last year's move from Apple to bring its office software into the mix for free. Now you can edit documents and spreadsheets from the iPad without needing to pay extra.
And the Mail app, which does share the same boring view as the contacts app, is still a powerful tool and improved again with iOS 8. You can see important emails on the lockscreen and then choose to archive or mark as read without needing to unlock the phone.
The same thing happens with the notification window at the top of the phone when you're in another app. This kind of integration is really useful, and more than that, it brings a feeling of satisfying unity to using the iPad.
Internet browser
The other thing to note is the internet browsing on the new iPad Air. Thanks to that A8X chip, combined with faster Wi-Fi and improved 4G bands, using the internet wherever you are is really slick, with instant tapping and loading in some cases.
Apple would prefer you to use Safari for everything, and it's probably the slightly speedier browser here, but Chrome is equally impressive and useful if you've linked everything together on other machines.
The iPad Air 2 is a great device for the things you need to do with a tablet on a day to day basis - and that's before we even get into the fact it's got, by far, the best app ecosystem.
The competition
The good news for you tablet fans out there is that even if you're not a fan of the iPad Air 2, or want to make sure you're getting the best value for money, there are plenty of other decent options.In fact, the last 12 months have seen arguably the greatest jump in quality from the competition yet - so take a look at these pretenders to the iThrone:
Samsung Galaxy Tab S
Samsung's been making reasonable tablets for a while now. It's been a curious situation actually: while the tablets were always powerful, they were simultaneously cheap-feeling and expensive.
The Tab S is still pricey, but no more than the iPad Air 2, and in some cases actually a little cheaper. However, it's got the same low weight, a comparable thickness (although a tiny bit deeper) and trumps the Apple tablet when it comes to screen quality, with that Super AMOLED screen sharper, brighter and bigger.
However, while it's put together in a rigid and premium way, it lacks the cohesive design language Apple has created in the Air 2. However, the Tab S is the best Android tablet on the market right now, and a worthy competitor to the iPad Air 2.
Nexus 9
Although it's technically not released yet, and as such shouldn't really be in this section, I'm not going to compare the iPad Air 2 to the Nexus 10 tablet from 2012.
The new Nexus slate is a really great device and warrants a mention here, as it too goes for a 4:3 screen aspect ratio meaning a more expansive display, although not as good for watching movies on.
The rubberized back might not please everyone, but it's every comfortable to hold and light too - plus the metal rim adds to the character of the design.
On top of that it's cheaper than the iPad Air 2, has a comparable UI with the new Android Lollipop 5.0 OS and is generally the tablet of choice if you want naked Android.
It doesn't quite have the impressive feature set of the Air 2, but it is the only one here that can come close to Apple's prowess when it comes to benchmarking. It's a cut above the current smartphone range, and as such is a good consideration for day to day browsing and the like.
- All you need to know about the Nexus 9
Sony Xperia Z2 Tablet
OK, it's a few months old now, but Sony is definitely the closest to Apple when it comes to making a beautiful tablet. The Z2 Tablet is more angular are industrial than the Apple option, but it's still a quality piece of machinery in its own right.
It feels light (as it should do, being the same weight as Apple's challenger) and has a lot of added extras: it's IP58 water and dust resistant, has NFC for easy connectivity to a range of devices and can control the TV through its infra red blaster.
What else? Well, it's going to be upgraded to the latest version of Android Lollipop in the near future, has a longer battery life (with Stamina Mode to push things further) and also has a really clear and vibrant screen that's as sharp as Apple's.
It's still being sold for the same high price as the Air 2, but it's a strong challenger - albeit one that might be upgraded in a few months time when the Z4 Tablet emerges.
iPad Air
Of course there's always the option from the previous year to check out - and the Air is staying around at the lower price point.
What you get for your smaller spend is a less vibrant screen, a heavier device and a slower chipset at the heart, without the benefit of Touch ID.
It's quite a lot to lose as Apple has touched up and tinkered with nearly every element to make the Air 2 a real step forward, but for the cash you're still getting a brilliant tablet that's now playing at a more palatable budget level.
It's got all the same iOS 8.1 upgrades too, so while you don't get slow motion video, a lot of other treats will appear. A slightly older but my no means unworthy tablet.
Verdict
Some summaries are easy to write. Last year's iPad Air, for example: a stunning tablet, with an obvious case for winning the first 5 star review I'd given to such a device. It was a sign that the market had evolved to the point of delivering a truly useful tablet.
But I remember wondering how that could be topped, whether Apple would just give it a tiny push and call it all-new (like it's done with the iPad mini 3, lest we forget).
The challenge is even greater this year, as not only does Apple have to top its own lofty goal, but also beat off the much-improved competition from Samsung, Google/HTC and Sony. So how has the iPad Air 2 fared?
We liked
When I saw this getting unveiled onstage, I was nonplussed. Better screen? A bit thinner? I needed to be convinced. Then I held it, and I really was.It's not just lighter, it's perceptibly lighter. I'll regret writing this in a year's time, but I think there's no way tablets can get any thinner, without some genius move in engineering. It feels like there should be a danger that this tablet is too fragile, although it hasn't seemed to be in testing.
I really like the improved screen, and there will probably be a few smug faces over in South Korea looking at the fact colors seem more vibrant on the new iPad Air 2, rather than focusing on natural hues.
The battery life is impressive, the power under the hood unprecedented and generally, everything on this tablet really just works.
And in comparison to the competition, it's not even that expensive, although spending up to US$829, (£659, AU$1019) on the Wi-Fi and 4G 128GB version is a little on the pricey side, especially when Macbooks aren't a lot more and general laptops can be had for less.
We disliked
The 16GB option is still too small for Retina HD apps, as they'll munch through your capacity in no time at all.Add to that the increased space a 64-bit app will take and if you're thinking of nabbing a load of high-power apps (which you should want to, given the new grunt from the A8X chip) then you're going to quickly run into problems with storage.
And as we know, there's no room for expansion on Apple tablets. Given the brand has been "generous" enough to double the 32GB option to 64GB for no extra money, it seems odd it wouldn't do the same for the entry-level model.
The rest of the dislikes are beyond nitpicking: the slow motion video is capped at 120fps (although that is irritating as 240fps on the iPhone 6, a less powerful device, is actually awesome) and you can't get text messages, only iMessages, on the tablet.
If that's all I can find wrong with the Air 2, that has to bode well.
Verdict
Apple has improved on perfection with the iPad Air 2, making something that anyone using a tablet from 2012 or earlier should be thinking very strongly about upgrading to.The combination of power, better screen, improved design and upgraded OS make this a very, very compelling device - and that's before getting into the fact the app ecosystem is so much stronger than on Android.
It's even better now iOS 8 is capable of scaling apps so seamlessly - the days of low-res iPhone apps are gone. It's another hammer blow to the Google tablet market, although I'm fully confident that's going to catch up in quality soon.
It's no good just saying that a tablet has good design, power or specifications. The ultimate success or failure of any device depends on how it's packaged and whether it comes in at the right price. Apple has drawn on all its strengths to make a tablet that seems to have no flaws, and it will be the best tablet in the market throughout the next year.
The only problem the brand will have is how to make it better in 12 months time. I'm glad that's not a problem I have to solve.
If you're thinking about which tablet to buy, don't. Just pick up the iPad Air 2 and you won't want to make another choice.
Read More ...
Review: Updated: iPad mini 3
Introduction and key features
The iPad mini 3 is a curious beast.Curious insofar in that I don't really know where it's supposed to fit into the tablet market, an arena arguably created by Apple itself.
It's not the top-end tablet that technology fans will lust after, given it's based almost entirely on last year's technology.
Nor is it the budget option, occupying the higher price point its predecessor held for the last 12 months, starting at $399, £319, AU$499 for the basic 16GB Wi-Fi only option.
While I'm used to Apple bringing out incremental updates, this one is the oddest of them all: it's the iPad mini 2, but with added Touch ID.
Oh, and it comes in gold too, if that gets you excited (and to be fair, it does for a lot of people).
But otherwise, there's nothing that marks this new tablet out from the one that launched to such fanfare last year. OK, you might argue that the mini 2 (or mini with Retina as it was known) was such a good device that it didn't need updating. Not the greatest thing for Apple to do, but I can run with that.
Like I said, it's not like the company doesn't have a previous history of doing such a thing (the iPad 3 to 4 was pretty much that, an incremental update that was mostly designed to bring the Lightning connector to the tablet world, with added CPU grunt).
Except - EXCEPT - Apple is leaving the iPad Mini 2 on the market, with a price cut of US$100 (£80, AU$130).
Is a gold iPad with a fingerprint scanner really worth the extra money? That's a whole Christmas present or three for many people, so what's Apple up to here?
Key features
Let's step away from that argument for a while and check out the iPad mini 3 on its own merits, without worrying how it compares to competitors. What makes this a tablet worth your time?Touch ID and Apple Pay
The Touch ID sensor is the biggest improvement on the new mini slate, and it's technology Apple is (rightly) proud of.None of this swiping up and down business: this is the most perfect biometric sensor on the mobile market and has secured hundreds of thousands of iPhones that would have otherwise been left open to thieves.
The premise is so simple: set it up in a few seconds, and pressing the home button to turn on your tablet will unlock it securely. If for some reason the fingerprint doesn't work (it hates wet hands, for instance) you can simply tap in a passcode as before.
It works really well, and as you can set up multiple fingerprints, it doesn't matter which way up you hold the tablet - it can be opened simply however it's oriented.
And with iOS 8 the Touch ID APK has been opened up too, so developers can now add in the security to their apps. So if you're an Evernote user and want to keep that app from prying eyes, a fingerprint block can be put in place.
But the big reason Touch ID is here is Apple Pay, sadly limited to the US at the moment. While you can use the system on a phone to pay contactlessly for items on the go, the Touch ID sensor on the iPad mini 3 limits you to online shopping.
It works really well though: in the test I had earlier this year, a simple tap of "Apple Pay" at the online checkout prompts a fingerprint scan and all your details are securely shown. Neither party sees your fingerprint, instead using a secure token generated by the iPad itself.
So in a tap you've paid and chosen your delivery address. It's all very smooth.
However, there aren't a lot of retailers that currently support Apple Pay online, as it's only just rolled out. Were this to be used for paying on the go, the contactless terminals are already there - although you'd look like a massive fool tapping your iPad.
But the contactless tech isn't integrated into the iPad mini 3, so this capability is only relevant online. In theory it's great and simple, but until the number of retailers offering Apple Pay on their sites proliferates, it's mostly just a secure way of accessing your iPad - and that's not a big enough change to justify the price hike over the iPad mini 2.
Gold option
There's not a lot to say here other than that the iPad mini 3 now comes in a golden sheen, but to many that will be a big reason to buy.It's something it has over the mini 2, and does look sleek and sophisticated; more so than the champagne colour that was so clamored for with the iPhone 5S.
128GB storage
The iPad mini 2 did have a 128GB option, but that's now been retired, meaning the only way to get your gigabytes at the top end is to buy the most expensive version of the mini 3 - currently standing at US$729 (£579, AU$899).
I'd argue that 128GB is probably a bit more than most people will want, but I'd always recommend buying as much storage as you can afford.
The reason for this is to futureproof yourself: you don't want to buy a 16GB version and find that 12 months down the line you're forced to delete photos or home videos just to update your version of iOS.
Retina screen
Remember, I'm talking about the mini 3 in isolation here. Yes, this screen was seen on the iPad mini 2, but it was so much sharper than I was expecting last year that I don't begrudge it turning up again on the mini 3.It's a 1,536 x 2,048 resolution, and at 7.9 inches it offers very crisp text and images. It's actually the same res as the iPad Air 2, but crunched down it's more crisp thanks to the pixels being closer together.
Old technology is a poor argument for buying a new tablet, but at the same time I was so impressed by the screen last year that I don't mind seeing it again.
That said, I wish it had the same zero gap construction as the iPad Air 2, with its lower reflectivity and improved colour reproduction. It's a great screen, but one that could have been slightly better with the advancements Apple has made in other iPad models.
According to comparisons carried out by DisplayMate, the iPad Mini 3 doesn't match its bigger brothers when it comes to colour accuracy. Apple has also denied the iPad Mini 3 the enhanced anti-reflection coating and bonded cover glass that it used for the iPad Air 2.
As you would expect, all other aspects of the screen's performance are identical to the iPad Mini 2 as well: viewing angles, contrast and brightness to list a few.
Obviously, the Mini 3 is a different proposition than the iPad Air 2 so a difference in screen quality is understandable. My point is that it's a shame Apple didn't spend at least a little effort upgrading the Mini's screen from it's predecessor.
Design
The iPad mini 3 is exactly the same dimensions as the iPad Mini 2, at 200 x 134.7 x 7.5 mm and 331g.The design isn't terrible by any means - the chassis is very similar to that seen on the first iPad mini two years ago, but that was such a pleasurable thing to hold that I don't mind seeing it again and again.
Unfortunately the gold version, which will be most buyers' color of choice, isn't the most attractive if you're going for the 4G version. The top features a cut-out section needed to let the radio signal through, but it's white. This jarring decision is out of keeping with the attention to detail expected from Apple.
Holding the iPad mini 3 isn't a bad sensation at all - it's a pleasing, well-packaged device indeed.
It lacks the balance of the iPad Air 2, despite being over 100g lighter, and feels a little chunkier in the hand thanks to the greater thickness.
But it fits nicely in a jacket pocket and at 331g, doesn't weigh it down too much either.
The power button, volume keys and silencer switch (the latter remaining although it's disappeared on the iPad Air 2) are all exactly where they were on the mini 2 - are you getting the feeling that there's a theme here?
There's a sense of a massively missed opportunity here from Apple. The iPad mini 2 was a triumph as it was simply a shrunken version of the iPad Air, with the same design language and power.
The mini 3 is just a rebadged mini 2. It could have been amazing. If this was slimmed down to the same extent as the Air 2, it would have been perfect for the pocket. The screen could have been sublime, the edges improved and overall look and feel a step up.
Given it costs the same as last year's model, I would have expected it to have the same upgrades and attention - as it stands I can't work out where Apple has spent the money to bring the new technology. Touch ID isn't enough to explain it.
Interface and performance
There's nothing wrong with the way the iPad mini 3 performs under the finger. It's mostly stable enough, with very little in the way of crashing. However, it's always worth checking back on these reviews as such gremlins can show their face after a few weeks' use.However, the general interface is as simple as you'd expect. iOS 8.1 works as well here as it does on the iPhone range, but with added features to make it a little more stable and usable.
The main interface is a simple layout: grids of app icons as before. But swipe around and you'll see some features that really help it feel like a next generation product. For instance, on the lock screen you can swipe an email and archive or mark as read without even unlocking your tablet.
If you're playing a game and a message comes in, swipe down on the top notification and you'll be able to send a reply without having to exit the app and possibly lose vital points or places in a race.
Then there's the Control Center, which isn't perhaps new but does give an always-available place to set the volume, brightness, connect or disconnect to Wi-Fi or Bluetooth, turn on the torch and set up the calculator.
It might not sound like much (and man alive, it can be hard to drag it up from the bottom of the screen sometimes) but it's good that it's so pervasive throughout the tablet.
The notifications bar has been given an overhaul too, with widgets in the Today section providing a really useful feature.
Whether it's offering your flight info from BA (if you've got the app installed), or enabling you to bid on ending items from eBay without leaving your app (although this doesn't seem to work in the UK), it's a really novel way of doing things.
However, there aren't that many apps that can take advantage of this right now, which is a bit of a shame. Hopefully that will increase in the future.
The general interface is easy to use. It annoyingly doesn't have the home button double tap feature from the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus (where hitting that button twice without pressing it will cause half the screen to drop down within easy reach of your digits). I say annoyingly because this would have been a really nice way to use the mini 3 one-handed.
I don't know why Apple doesn't just put the back button at the bottom right-hand corner of the screen. It would solve all the problems.
The performance of the iPad mini 3 is fine, although not as responsive when it comes to the touchscreen as the iPad Air 2 as it doesn't pack the same new technology for improved finger accuracy.
It also scores ever so slightly lower in the benchmarking tests compared to the iPad mini 2. I'm talking single digit percentages (2,478 compared to 2,481 on the GeekBench 3 test) showing that, again, you're getting nothing here that you wouldn't on last year's model, save for being able to use the fingerprint scanner for security and payments.
Battery and camera
Battery life on the iPad Mini 3 is quoted at 10 hours for multimedia, which mostly refers to video watching or browsing the web.It certainly doesn't refer to gaming, which hammers the battery life of the mini 3, although not as much as some other tablets. This is such a popular refrain for a mobile gaming experience that I've learned not to expect too much juice left after a particularly powerful game is pushed through the smaller screen.
That said, it's worth it. Despite the more muted colors (which you'll only notice if you've played with an iPad Air 2) the general gaming prowess of the mini 3 means I don't mind knowing it will leave me with minimal battery.
The general battery test, a looped Full HD video run for 90 minutes, showed a drain of 18%, which is, again, almost identical to that seen on the iPad mini 2. Have I mentioned these two models are pretty similar?
However, the general use drain for the mini 3 is excellent. Throw it in a bag for a few days and you can definitely still expect to have a lot of power left over by the end of the week. It's probably not what you're going to do with such a tablet, but if you do feel the need to leave it for a day or two the power won't get sucked down with background apps.
The quoted time of 10 hours seems a little over the top when it comes to web browsing, but with lower screen brightness could probably be achieved. I could have tested it by sitting under the covers playing with the mini 3 throughout a whole night with no cease, but I didn't.
I feel like I've let you down in some way. Sorry.
The upshot is this: the battery life of the iPad mini 3 is precisely as expected. Stream video at higher brightness (and the screen does get pretty bright) and you'll suck down 20% in around 90 minutes. Play a high power game like Real Racing 3 and it's not so bad - compared to the iPad Air 2, the mini 3 can hold its power during gaming a lot better, only losing a few percent every 10 minutes.
I really wish the more powerful A8X chip was running under the hood here, as the battery life would be stellar on a device like this.
Camera
The camera on the mini 3 is nothing to write home about, in the same way as it wasn't last year. The reason is the range of options isn't the same as it is on the iPhone range - no filters to apply here, no ability to take slow-motion video.
This is all the more galling as these are two features I'd actually want on a camera like this. The larger view finder is good for setting up a slow motion video, and the filters look nicer on a device like this.
But the output isn't terrible. The focus might not be too snappy, but colors are well-reproduced and the lower-light snaps come out better than expected.
You can set the exposure now with a slide of the finger up and down, so if you don't fancy locking the focus or exposure with a long press on one part of the screen there are plenty more options to improve the shot.
HDR mode is present and correct too, meaning you can improve the snaps further this way - but let's not forget that taking an iPad to a wedding is never acceptable.
Never. And if it ever becomes acceptable, I'm quitting this job to go and live on a tablet-less desert island.
Click here for the full res picture
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Click here for the full res picture
Click here for the full res picture
The essentials
What's the iPad mini 3 good at? The basics. And that now includes calling."WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT? ARE YOU MAD?" I can hear you thinking. But it's true. If you own an iPhone running iOS 8, and an iPad mini 3 linked to the same iCloud account, you can easily make and receive calls from the tablet thanks to the new Handoff feature baked into Apple's new operating systems.
It's a really nice system actually - in that it's so simple. iPhone in bag and tablet on the desk with you? Get a call and it will show on all your iCloud connected devices, and you can answer using the iPad mini 3's inbuilt speaker and microphones.
You can even dial out through the contacts app - this is a really nice touch, although the contacts app is still woefully underpowered. Linking a contact to a social network is a nightmare - even the automatic linking seems to be confused.
Sometimes a tap will take you to the right Twitter account. Sometimes a linked Facebook account will appear, only to just open the app and nothing else.
Either way, there's no dialler, so you'd better hope that you've got the name in your contacts book. Or just stop being lazy and get your iPhone out.
Messaging and emails
The best thing about iMessage is that it's pervasive across your Apple devices. Receive an Apple-powered message from your phone, see it on your tablet. The same, sadly, isn't true for the humble text message, so it's a bit of a disjointed system, but good when you get up and running.As iOS 8 now allows you to use other keyboards as well, it's the quality of the inbuilt one is less of an issue, but it's actually now got to the point where I'd use the default option over a third party choice. Apart from GIF keyboard, but mostly because that's funny.
The keys are accurate and expansive, and in landscape mode work really well. It's especially good for Mail, as you can rattle through a few emails on your lap without worry, and the unified inboxes are useful for power-mailing.
The only downside is that searching through archived messages on Gmail is a nightmare, but then again the official Gmail app isn't bad and easily available.
The last thing to talk about is Facetime, with the new and improved... wait, no, exactly the same camera as last year. This means a 1.2MP camera, but it's HD and does more than well enough when showing other people what you look like in a hotel room in another part of the world.
The quality is high and works well - even Facetime Audio is loud and clear and a good way to get past tricky roaming charges.
Verdict
I'm going to get this out of the way now: the big issue here isn't that Apple is using old technology. It's that it's offering a very slightly upgraded tablet while keeping last year's model on sale right next to it on the shelves.
Apple is going to cannibalize its own sales - but then again, if the money is coming in somehow, what does it matter which version you go for? It just means it's impossible to recommend this iPad while the predecessor lives, but an improved range is a great thing.
We liked
Let's get a positive hat on now though - there are some good parts. The gold coloring is going to entice a lot of people into the iPad fold, as it's a sought-after color.That said, I prefer space gray, but at least Apple is offering it.
The 128GB storage size is ample for iPads, if not a little expensive, but having it there is good for those who can afford it.
Touch ID is a good feature with a lot of promise. If Apple Pay goes big, this is a simple way to use it. If you're into security, then it's the best way to secure an iPad without needing to faff around with codes.
And if app developers really come up with clever ways to integrate the fingerprint reader, then the iPad mini 3 becomes a lot more attractive.
We disliked
Look above and you'll see a lot of "ifs." The whole selling point of the iPad mini 3 is Touch ID, and I don't feel it really adds a lot right now. It's future-proofing at best.If Apple Pay doesn't proliferate and you don't see any apps that use the fingerprint scanner, then you've just wasted a lot of money on a feature that merely saves you pecking out a code to open your tablet.
Everything good about this tablet - and that's diminishing, given it's last year's tech - is on the iPad mini 2, which is much cheaper and will likely do 99.3% of anything you want from the mini 3.
Unless you like gold, of course. If that's you, you've got no other choice.
Verdict
The iPad mini 3 isn't a bad tablet. It's got a great OS, new features and is still attractively designed. It's just that all these features are available on the mini 2 for a lot less money.Touch ID is a nice feature, but it's not enough to recommend this tablet. I can't see Apple Pay taking off in the next year to the point where you HAVE to have Touch ID in your life, and apps that really take advantage aren't here yet.
I just can't work out how Apple can justify launching this tablet at the price point. Last year, it was all the power of the Air in a smaller frame.
This year, it hasn't matched the Air 2 in tech spec, yet the price hasn't dropped. And you can get nearly all the good features cheaper on the iPad mini 2.
So while it might seem that the score here is harsh for what is a half-decent tablet with a good screen and access to a brilliant app store (albeit a tablet still based on last year's technology), it's the score it deserves because there's a better option to its left.
Buy the iPad mini 2, or wait a few months and see if Apple Pay and Touch ID-enabled apps start to roar in popularity. If not, there's no point in the iPad mini 3.
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Interview: Open source software is poised to oust proprietary solutions
Business continuity, quality and control eclipse cost savings as the top reasons IT professionals prefer open source to proprietary software. According to a new study by the Ponemon Institute and Zimbra, more than 75% of IT professionals agree that code transparency increases the trustworthiness of a software application. And two-thirds believe it improves security and reduces privacy risks.
For "The Open Source Collaboration Study: Viewpoints on Security & Privacy in the US & EMEA", the Ponemon Institute interviewed IT and IT security practitioners about their companies' usage and perceptions of open source messaging and collaboration solutions.
We caught up with Larry Ponemon, the founder and chairman of the Ponemon Institute, to find out more about the study's contents.
TechRadar Pro: The average percentage of commercial open source used in EMEA is 25% and the US it's 30%. What factors are contributing to the slow adoption of open source?
Larry Ponemon: The report didn't explore the reason behind the slow adoption. But we did learn that Zimbra, whose messaging and collaboration solution is open source, was deployed in 40% of US and 30% of EMEA organisations.
Control over the software and ensuring business continuity are the most beneficial aspects of open source, according to the report. Security and privacy were also found to greatly benefit from open source's transparency.
Overall, the perceptions of open source were more positive than those of proprietary software, and more than half of the EMEA and US organisations surveyed are planning to replace their existing solutions with open source ones over the next two years.
TRP: EMEA organisations are more concerned with the privacy consequences of messaging and collaboration while US organisations focus more on security. Why are EMEA organisations more likely to enforce security and data privacy policies than their US counterparts?
LP: The regulatory regimes across EMEA and the US are very different. This is largely a function of the regulatory compliance landscape in the regions, and what the legislation and mandates of each prioritise.
EMEA legislation leads to strict data protection/privacy compliance, regardless of the industry vertical, and encompasses the entire citizenry.
The US has a patchwork of legislation and Executive Orders, which specify industry verticals and largely ignore the implications on citizens' private information.
TRP: What file sharing technologies pose the greatest risk and how are employees putting their organisations at risk?
LP: The report shows that both EMEA and US respondents agree that unencrypted email and cloud file sharing are the riskiest. EMEA respondents also consider home-grown file sharing tools as very risky – more so than unencrypted email.
Given the perception of risk in cloud file sharing, the usage of these solutions is very high. More than 72% and 57% of EMEA and US respondents, respectively, said public cloud file sharing applications are used in their organisation. Additionally, 66% and 37% of US and EMEA respondents, respectively, said free versions of file sharing applications are used.
TRP: Despite the fact that many organisations believe that email is risky for file sharing, it is still the number one way users share files. Why are organisations not changing this behaviour?
LP: Given the percentage (more than 50%) of organisations planning to replace their messaging and collaboration solutions within two years, this could change.
TRP: Although this survey notes a higher awareness of the need for information security in EMEA, US respondents saw the support for encryption of data at rest and the ability to set mobile security policies as critical. What influences this gap in perception?
LP: Largely the BYOD revolution has been led out of the US, as have many of the mobile security solutions. Also, there are some curious privacy implications with those solutions, i.e. if your IT wiped an entire device, including the personal information.
For anything related to cryptography, the preference is likely to off-load cryptography to dedicated systems that can perform encryption and decryption, apply and verify digital signatures, and provide full life cycle management of the associated keys.
TRP: What factors affect the use of messaging and collaboration technologies?
LP: Both regions consider vendor support, open source, improved security and the ability to host or manage a solution in the cloud important. The US respondents also said ease of use was important, whereas the EMEA respondents consider vendor reputation as their most important factor.
Interestingly, a factor just outside the top five factors for EMEA was improved privacy, which was four times more important for EMEA than the US.
TRP: What are the most important features for messaging and collaboration technologies?
LP: Both regions want support for third-party antispam, antivirus and two-factor authentication. Both the US and EMEA respondents consider tightly integrated file sharing and email important or very important – particularly private attachments and fine-grained access control, and permissioning of file attachments and sharing.
TRP: What does the future look like for messaging and collaboration technologies?
LP: Support for mobile and cloud-flexibility were important or very important to both regions, and an integrated file sharing and email solution was high on the list as well. Not to project, but those will heavily influence the direction of messaging and collaboration solutions.
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Apple didn't announce it, but the iPhone 6 can play 4K videos
While Apple isn't always super forthcoming about the specs of its handsets, it does at least tend to fill you in on their features, but with the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus it neglected to mention one- the fact that it can play 4K videos.
Tuaw.com reports that the developers of the WALTR video upload app made the discovery while testing their app. Unfortunately you can't transfer 4K files using iTunes, so you'll have to use an alternative service to get them on your phone, but once there they seemingly play without a hitch.
Of course the quality will be limited by the resolution of the screen, so the larger and higher resolution iPhone 6 Plus is a better bet for viewing them than the iPhone 6.
4K future
Given the hoops you have to jump through and the fact that the iPhone 6 can't shoot 4K video this obviously isn't a big feature for Apple, or not yet anyway, but we've heard reports that the iPhone 7 will be getting a huge camera boost, which may allow it to shoot 4K video.Then of course there's the iMac with Retina 5K which recently arrived, so it's clear that Apple has its eye on higher resolutions. Plus since the A8 clearly supports 4K video it's always possible that Apple will add the feature to a new version of Apple TV.
We're not optimistic that Apple will bring official 4K support to the iPhone 6 though, or not until an iPhone which can also shoot 4K arrives anyway, but it's nice to know the feature is there in some capacity.
- Prefer to use a TV for 4K? These are 12 of the best options.
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Sony Pictures investigating alleged computer hack
Sony Pictures has launched an investigation following an alleged hack on its computers in the last 24 hours.
In a statement to the Register, a Sony spokeswoman said that it was "investigating an IT matter" but could not confirm the hack.
Reports of a hack surfaced on Monday following an anonymous Reddit post by somebody who claimed to be an ex-Sony employee. According to that person, a current Sony employee has leaked an image that is preventing Sony Pictures staff from logging into their PCs. The image, which claims to be from a hacker group calling itself #GOP, claims to know Sony secrets and threatens to hold the division to ransom if unspecified demands are not met.
It read: "Hacked by #GOP. Warning: We've already warned you, and this is just the beginning… We have obtained all your internal data including secrets and top secrets. If you don't obey us, we'll release data shown below to the world. Determine what will you do till November the 24th, 11:00 PM (GMT)."
According to a Sony insider who contacted Variety, the issue could take between anything from one day to three weeks to resolve, and Sony's IT department has instructed employees to turn off computers and disable Wi-Fi on their mobile devices.
Real deal?
A source within Sony Pictures contacted The Next Web to verify that the hack and images that appeared inside Sony Pictures are real, and were the result of a single server being compromised.Sony was involved in a separate incident on Monday which saw hacking group DerpTrolling claim to have stolen 7m PlayStation Network (PSN) accounts and leaked more than 5,500 usernames, Windows Live and 2K Games.
However, the claim was found to be false following statements sent to the Guardian by Sony and Microsoft, which said that there was no evidence that the companies respective networks had been compromised.
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Honor 6 Plus could be the cheap Note 4 rival we've been after
The Honor 6 Plus is a potential lower-cost Smasung Galaxy Note 4 rival and it is to get an official unveil on December 16 according to Chinese certification agency TENAA.
There's just one downside: this will be an announcement for a Chinese launch that probably won't include the US, UK or Australia just yet.
The documents give us an idea of what to look forward too, telling us plenty of the Honor 6 Plus's core specs including a 5.5-inch 1080p screen.
That's larger than the 5-inch Honor 6, which recently caused a stir because of its Nexus 5-beating £250 price.
Inside the Honor system
You also get a 1.8GHz eight-core processor, most likely a Kirin model, 3GB of RAM and dual rear cameras.We've seen a similar camera setup in the HTC One M8, where it's used to take photos with depth of field information, letting you blur out the background in images, but not the foreground, or vice versa.
Huawei actually owns the Honor brand, and the two are intertwined in China. We're awaiting the Honor 6 Plus price with anticipation because, judging by the Honor 6, it could end up being a bit of a bargain.
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Samsung Galaxy A5 goes on sale in China
Samsung's latest mid-range smartphone, the Samsung Galaxy A5 has gone on sale in China for 2,600 yuan, which translates to about £270 ($420, AU$495), or a OnePlus One.
Currently the handset is only available in China, although Samsung has confirmed it will begin rolling out to international markets over the next few weeks. The prices listed above are just indicators and don't take into account tax or additional pricing from retailers in different countries so it may come in a little higher.
The Galaxy A5 comes in two flavours: single or dual SIM. While the dual SIM is currently on sale in China, Samsung has indicated the single SIM is the version that will ship to international markets.
The phone itself is one of the thinnest Samsung has yet produced at 6.7mm and boasts a 64-bit quad-core Snapdragon 410 processor, clocked at 1.2GHz. It packs 16GB of storage space, 2GB of RAM and has a 5-inch Super AMOLED 720p display.
Stayin' A5ive
The Galaxy A5 follows the Samsung Galaxy Alpha's approach of a more premium, metallic chassis as the South Korean manufacturer moves away from the plastic casing of the Galaxy S5.The phone ships with Android 4.4 KitKat initially, but expect an Android 5.0 Lollipop update in the near future. Rounding out the specs are the 13MP rear-facing camera and a non-removable 2,300mAh battery. Bluetooth 4.0 and NFC are also both supported.
- Read our full Samsung Galaxy Note 4 review here.
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Oculus VR is working with Samsung on new virtual reality gear
Oculus VR worked with Samsung to produce the Gear VR headset for Note 4 phones, but it's still planning on hammering away at future projects, the company's CEO has confirmed.
Talking at Startup Nations Summit in Seoul, Oculus CEO Brendan Iribe said, "we'll work closely with Samsung to develop more products." It's not the golden confirmation some may be after, but the partnership is not done yet.
It suggests there may be products already in the works beyond the Gear VR, announced in September 2013 as a partner to the Note 4 and its super high-res QHD screen. Products don't come from nowhere, and any 2015 plans are likely to be afoot already.
Iribe was careful not to mention anything too specific, though. And this is no confirmation that anything further will be actually released.
"We successfully launched the Gear VR with Samsung this year and I'm sure we will continue close relation with Samsung, as always," said Iribe.
The Samsung Gear VR is not yet available to buy in the UK or US, but is expected on shelves before the end of 2014.
An obvious future use for the partnership of Oculus VR and Samsung would be to create a second-gen version of the Gear VR for the Samsung Galaxy S6, expected in 2015.
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