Logitech K811 Bluetooth Easy Switch Keyboard Review

What is the Logitech K811 Bluetooth Easy Switch Keyboard?

The Logitech K811 Bluetooth Easy Switch Keyboard is a more advanced alternative to the official Apple Wireless Keyboard. Three dedicated 'switching' buttons let you toggle instantly between three different devices (e.g. a MacBook, Mac and iPad) without fiddling around pairing and unpairing each as you go.

It's also backlit and has a built-in battery that charges via USB. But at £89, is it worth the extra £30 over Apple's official keyboard?

Once paired with a device, all you have to do one of the three 'easy switch' buttons to connect.

We Like

There are an awful lot of good things about the Logitech K811 Bluetooth Easy Switch Keyboard. Let's start with its key feature, the three 'easy switch' buttons. Great as the Apple Wireless Keyboard is, and it is a very good keyboard, using one with more than one device is a pain. Every time you want to use it on your iPad instead of a Mac you have to un-pair one and then pair with the other, and vice versa.

With the Logitech K811 you still have to pair with each device, but only once. From then on you can switch between each one at the press of a button. It's great if you use two or more Apple products at your desk, such as a Mac as your main screen and then an iPad as a 'second screen'. It has most of the shortcut keys for Macs and iPads, too, including a home button, brightness controls and volume controls.

It's a great keyboard to type on, too - just as good, if not better, than Apple's own. Each key has a smooth, precise action that's quiet enough to not irritate. Each key has a slightly concave shape that adds to the comfort and refinement.

Another improvement on Apple's standard keyboard is the inbuilt battery. The Logitech K811 Bluetooth Easy Switch Keyboard doesn't need AA batteries, and when's it's charging via the supplied USB cable you can carry on using it as normal.

The basic design is attractive - we like the contrast between the black strip at the top and silver metal body. It's also very compact and light, so pops into a bag easily enough.

The battery lasts months rather than days or weeks, so you shouldn't get caught short even if you use the backlight from time to time.

We Don't Like

Most of the Logitech K811 Bluetooth Easy Switch Keyboard's problems are trivial.

Adding three dedicated switching buttons and two to adjust the keyboard's backlit keys means there are no play/next controls. There's still a Play/Pause button, but we wonder if the backlight controls could have been located elsewhere to accommodate playback controls.

Though not mandatory, it's useful to install Logitech's SetPoint software on any Macs you use the K811 Bluetooth Easy Switch Keyboard on. It's inoffensive but rather limited, with no useful customisation options. SetPoint is also the only way to find out how much battery life is remaining, but the little battery icon is a vague gauge with no 'percentage remaining' figure.

Should I buy the Logitech K811 Easy Switch Keyboard?

If you need and want to switch between several Apple products, it's a no brainer. The Logitech K811 Bluetooth Easy Switch Keyboard is an innovative, quality keyboard that does what it sets out to do with aplomb.

That doesn't, however, mean everyone should walk out and buy one. At £89, it's damn expensive - £30 more than the Apple Wireless Keyboard, which isn’t ‘cheap’ itself.

That's fine if you really need what it does, but if not then the Logitech K811 Bluetooth Easy Switch Keyboard is overkill. Its built-in battery and backlit keys are a nice extra and the K811 is great to type on, but they're not enough to justify the extra £30 alone. Only the nifty switch system does that.

Verdict

The Logitech K811 Bluetooth Easy Switich Keyboard is an innovative and highly recommended wireless keyboard. It's on the pricey side, though, so it's only worth it if you think you'll use its nifty 'easy switch' feature often.

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Microsoft takes the fight to Apple with new 'iPad vs Windows' website

Microsoft taking the fight to Apple in tablet war

Thinking of buying an iPad? Well Microsoft wants you to see its new website first, which attempts to explain why you'd be much better off opting for a Windows 8 or Windows RT slate.

The new iPad vs Windows page, which went live this week, allows visitors to compare the Apple tablet's vital stats with a range of alternatives running Microsoft's touch-friendly operating system.

Natually, there's the Microsoft Surface RT, as well as devices from partners like the Asus VivoTab Smart, Dell XPS 10 and HP Envy x2.

The profiles place variables like battery life, weight, thinness, display size, connectivity, compatibility with printers and cloud storage side by side in the hope of convincing potential buyers that the grass is really greener on Microsoft's side.

Beyond those stats, the page also points out that only Windows slates run Microsoft Office, that the iPad cannot handle multiple accounts or displaying more than one app at a time. Windows RT, of course, gives both of these boxes a giant tick.

Lastly there's the price comparison, which also goes in favour of Microsoft-based offering.

Of course, the site doesn't mention that minor little thing called The App Store, and the barely insignificant hundreds of thousands of app discrepancy between it and the Windows Store.

The launch of the site follows a recently-outed TV commercial (see below), which makes fun of the iPad mini by attempting to highlight the things it can't do compared with Windows tablets.

The new campaign brings back memories of the old Mac Vs PC wars which attempted to place the plucky Apple underdog against the dominant Microsoft powerhouse. This time the boot is on the other foot, as Microsoft plays the little guy.

Take a look at the site for yourself. Would it make you think twice about buying an iPad in favour of a Windows-based machine or is Microsoft reaching here? Let us know in the comments below.

Via TheNextWeb

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The UK’s fastest ever wireless hub in the UK launched by Virgin Media

Virgin Media has announced its new Super Hub, a wireless modem and router provided to Virgin Media broadband subscribers in the UK, which outclasses all other modems and routers provided by other UK ISPs.

Independent research conducted by the University of Bristol and Farncombe found that Virgin Media new Super Hub outperformed the wireless hubs, provided by TalkTalk, Sky and BT, typically by about 6-9%.

Virgin Media’s new Super Hub uses dual band technology that enables it to provide concurrent access to both the 5GHz wireless channel, but also the 2.4GHz channel.

Both the 5GHz and 2.4GHz wireless channels have been around for years but the 2.4GHz channel is more well-known and is used in many more products. Just because 5GHz is a bigger number than 2.4GHz this does not mean it’s better. In fact under certain conditions it does not perform as well 2.4GHz, for example its range is generally shorter, particularly if it has to go through walls in the home.

By providing both channels Super Hub users will get the best of both worlds.

The new Virgin Media Super Hub will be available for free to all new customers on broadband speeds of 60Mb or more but existing customers on those speeds will need to request an upgrade to the new Super Hub, which carries an installation fee of £49.95.

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Full-size HTC Windows 8 tablet reportedly scrapped due to low demand

HTC’s plans for a roughly 12-inch screen Windows RT tablet have reportedly been scrapped after being considered too much of a commercial risk.

Following a poor response to the first wave of Windows RT tablets, HTC has decided not to release a rival to Windows 8 tablets like the Windows RT-based Surface.

Bloomberg talked to an unnamed source “familiar with the matter”, who claimed that the tablet has been binned “because it cost too much and demand for RT machines has been weak.”

However, the same source also claims that a 7-inch Windows RT tablet is still on the cards.

If this smaller tablet arrives later this year, it will be among the first ‘small’ Windows 8 tablets, alongside the 8.1-inch Acer W3 – due for an official unveiling at the Computex show in Taiwan next week.

HTC Tablets

To date HTC has produced only one tablet that was released in the UK. 2011’s Android-based HTC Flyer was a 7-inch screen tablet that met with little public interest and poor sales.

The company’s second attempt will reportedly land in September or October, which is around the expected launch of the iPad 5 and iPad mini 2.

Windows RT

To date, the ‘official’ Windows RT tablet, the Surface RT, is estimated to have sold around 900,000 units, having launched in October 2012.

However, that the full Windows 8 Surface Pro has shifted 400,000 in under a month demonstrates how little demand there is for Windows RT tablets – validating HTC’s concerns.

Windows RT has been roundly criticised for being both severely limited and confusing. The OS looks just like full Windows 8, but does not let you freely install non-Marketplace Windows apps.

The State of HTC

The release of the HTC One Android phone has been interpreted by many as a return to form for HTC, whose position as a top Android phone maker has waned in recent years.

However, this is not clearly reflected in the company’s share price, which is roughly a quarter of what it was during the company’s all-time high point of April 2011.

Next read our full HTC One review

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Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic hits iPad

One of the best Star Wars video games of all time, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, has been ported to the Apple iPad.

Developed by esteemed RPG developer BioWare, which is responsible for the Mass Effect, Dragon Age, and Baldur's Gate series, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic gained massive critical and popular acclaim when it launched on PC and Xbox 10 years ago.

It's set a thousand years before the events of the films when the Old Republic of the title was in its pomp. You play a Jedi-Knight-in-training, and in true BioWare style you can truly mould your character as you see fit.

That means choosing to adopt the dark or light side of the force - or some sludgy grey mixture of the two, depending on the unique powers you fancy adopting.

Expect dozens of hours of gameplay filled with strange (and familiar) planets, duplicitous characters, and plenty of increasingly tactical battles. You even get to make your own lightsaber, for heaven's sake.

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic is available now on the App Store for £6.99. It's only playable on iPad (iPad 2 minimum required), and the game file weighs just shy of 2GB. The monthly download allowance needs to be strong with this one.

The port was handled by Aspyr Media, which is best known for its work porting and publishing Mac games. Here's hoping it's managed to nail those converted touchscreen controls, as this could potentially be one of the best iOS RPGs ever.



Next, find out about the next generation of console gaming in our Xbox One round-up.

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GRID 2 Game Review

GRID 2: The Second Coming?

Available on Xbox 360, PS3, PC (Xbox 360 and PS3 versions tested)

Race Driver: GRID was one of the two great under-appreciated racers of this console generation, the other being EA and Slightly Mad Studio’s Shift 2: Unleashed. Both games were built in the UK, sat in a sweet spot between proper racing sims and arcade racers and had a similar approach to racing; one that pushes the player to take risks and drive gutsy rather than hang back, race tactically and let your upgrades do the talking. To some extent, GRID 2 is the next step on in the same line, but where we’d hoped for a masterpiece, we’re left with a flawed gem. GRID 2 sparkles like a diamond once you’ve spent some real time on it, but for the first few hours all you’ll see will be the flaws.

GRID 2: No cockpit cam?

We’ll push past some of the more subjective grievances. Casual racers will lament that GRID 2 doesn’t offer any driving aids, and that the muscle cars that dominate the early stages aren’t exactly the easiest to drive without them. Serious racers will note the lack of any cockpit view, leaving you with just a low-slung bonnet-cam and bumper-cam. Everyone British will note that the series has adopted the US-focused tone that’s characterised recent entries in the DIRT series, with American voices for everything, early stages consisting entirely of US tracks and a tie-in with ESPN. Meanwhile, fans of European motorsports will note that the old real-world Motorsports focus of the original TOCA Race Driver series has shifted entirely to the kind of events you’d see in a Burnout or Need for Speed.

GRID 2: The global racing league

All of these complainants would be right, but let’s take GRID 2 on its own merits. The premise is that you’re a hot young racer on the US urban racing scene, who gets recruited by a rich motorsports tycoon who wants to get the world racing together in a new global motorsports league. Don’t worry: bar comments after each race and post-season analysis on ESPN, there’s no real storyline to follow. It’s all really a transparent justification for a developing structure of events, starting off with point-to-point and circuit races in Chicago, Miami and along the Californian coast, and growing to take in elimination events, drift events, time trials, endurance races and more across America, Europe and Asia.

GRID 2 is almost as notable for what it doesn’t have as what it does. There is no car upgrading, and you can’t even buy cars. Instead you earn fans through your racing, these unlock more events, and your gracious employer rewards you with a choice of new vehicles. One of these you can pick immediately, while the other can be won later on through vehicle challenges. GRID 2 is all about what happens on the track, not off it. It’s about wringing ever last drop of performance from the car you have, not transforming it into a surefire winner.

GRID 2: Getting off to a poor start

The problem is that, for the first couple of hours, GRID 2 just doesn’t seem to be much fun. You’re very limited in terms of tracks to race on, the cars all suffer from fiendishly skittish handling, and – at normal difficulty mode – your CPU-controlled rivals are so mindlessly aggressive that you’ll struggle to make much headway. You’ll be glad that GRID’s signature ‘flashback’ rewind feature has returned, because you’ll be using it as much to avoid the goon who keeps rear-ending you as you will to erase your own mistakes.

We’re also getting used to arcade racers that treat you to a smorgasbord. Here’s a whopping huge area in which to race, here’s a vast selection of desirable motors, here’s a wealth of interesting events, now just enjoy. In its early stages – and sometimes later on – GRID 2 feels like its holding back on all the good stuff. For the first few hours it’s less the next GRID and more the next GRIND.

GRID 2: Perseverance pays off

Yet it’s worth persisting. Finish off the first few events, open up the first World Racing Series season, and you’re on your way. Make it to Europe, and things really start to build, with new and more varied events in Paris, Barcelona and the Code d’Azur. More enjoyable and satisfying to drive cars arrive, and before you know it you’re having fun. GRID 2 still has periods where you’ll feel like you’re grinding away at the same old tracks in the same old cars, but once you’re past that first hump it feels more like a true successor to the original GRID. Make it to the terrifying downhill courses of Japan and it’s a hugely entertaining ride.

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HTC might update existing HTC One with stock Android

Hot on the heels of revealing the HTC One Google Edition, HTC has confirmed that it's looking into the possibility granting existing HTC One owners the ability to strip away the Sense UI and go pure Android.

An HTC representative has confirmed to The Verge that they are "examining the best way to support early adopters of the One."

The company had something similar to say to Pocket-lint, revealing that they were "taking a look at what, if anything, makes sense for early adopters of the One who want a stock Android experience."

Of course, this is far from confirmation that a switch to pure Android will be an option at some point for HTC One owners, but mentioning the very possibility is a big first step.

Precise details of how this might be facilitated weren't forthcoming, but as the HTC One's Sense UI is built on top of a reasonably current version of the Android OS, we'd have to imagine that it wouldn't be a major undertaking for HTC to flip the off switch.

The HTC One Google Edition will launch on June 26 at a price of $599 (£395) through the Google Play Store. It'll be the same stylish HTC One that we know and love, but with the likes of BlinkFeed and HTC Zoe peeled away in favour of a Google Nexus 4-like stock Android experience.

With a 1.7GHz quad-core CPU, 2GB of RAM, and a 4.7-inch 1080p display, it should be one of the most capable Android devices around. It'll certainly be a match for the recently revealed Samsung Galaxy S4 Google Edition, which does a similar thing with Samsung's flagship smartphone.

Next, check out where the HTC One figures on our Best Mobile Phones 2013 list.

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Google Play Music All Access coming to iOS devices in 'couple of weeks'

Google Music All Access was unveiled by Android engineer Chris Yerga

Google's recently-launched Play Music All Access service will land on Apple's iOS devices very soon, a top company executive has revealed.

Sundar Pichai, Google's head of Chrome and Android, says the application will be arriving on the iPhone , iPod touch and iPad "in a couple of weeks."

He told an audience at the D11 conference that "the teams are working like crazy" to complete work on the app in time for the summer launch

The All Access app for web and Android devices arrived at Google I/O earlier this month.

It combines Google Play's current MP3 store and cloud storage locker with a subscription streaming service, offering all tunes within the same library.

The app, which also has a powerful radio feature is available for $9.99 a month, but for those who sign up for the 30-day trial before June 30, the rate will be just $7.99 a month.

Sadly, if Google does release the iOS app within a couple of weeks, it's unlikely to benefit users in the UK, as the service is US-only at present.

The service is aimed at Spotify and other music streaming services and also has an eye on Apple's rumoured iRadio application.

Are you preparing to ditch your Spotify subscription if and when Google Play Music All Access hits British shores or do you think its another unexciting Google music experiment? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.

Via CNET

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HTC T6 leaked as 5.9-inch phablet to challenge Samsung Galaxy Note series

HTC One may be joined by a larger sibling

It has been the subject of speculation for months anymore evidence appeared today, suggesting that HTC is indeed working on a smartphone/tablet hybrid device.

According to a Twitter post from prominent leak artist @evleaks, the so-called HTC T6 will feature a 5.9-inch 1080p HD display.

The spec sheet shows that under the bonnet will be a 2.3GHz Snapdragon 800 processor, 16GB of storage, 2GB of RAM and a massive 3300mAh battery.

It is also claimed that the Ultrapixel camera introduced on the HTC One will also be present as well as a 2.1-megapixel camera with a wide-angle lens.

Even more interesting is that the as-yet-unanounced Android Key Lime Pie is listed as the operating system on board. This does, however, hint that the device will not arrive until later on in the year.

The Unlockr report also claims that HTC will look to challenge the popular Samsung Galaxy Note range by including a stylus of its own.

"Great care is apparently being put into making the pen usage here a premium experience, so expect a nicely crafted stylus with an ultra-thin tip capable of a full suite of content creation and manipulation capabilities," the report claimed.

It also suggested that the T6 will have a biometric fingerprint reader, which will recognise the users as they grip the back of the phone, as they would normally. Interesting.

According to the report, the company will look to boost that already-impressive 3300mAh battery by launching a "power jacket" that'll act as a case and a battery supplement.

There's plenty to salivate over here as it appears that, if the leak turns out to be correct, that the T6 will be a larger, more impressive version of the corking HTC One smartphone launched earlier this year.

The fingerprint sensor element of the report sounds slightly fanciful, but we wouldn't rule it out.

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HTC One Google Edition confirmed for June 26

Google has confirmed that it will launch the HTC One Google Edition handset with vanilla Android on June 26.

The search engine giant has officially confirmed it will release the vanilla Android version of the HTC One flagship on Google Play next month.

Android boss, Sundar Pichai revealed the news during the D11 conference today, stating the HTC One Google Edition will be priced at $599 (£395).

The Google Edition HTC One will run the vanilla version of Android featured on Google’s own Nexus line products like the Google Nexus 7 and Google Nexus 4.

Recent rumours have suggested that the HTC One Google Edition will only have limited availability come its June 26 release date.

Samsung has confirmed that it will be launching a Samsung Galaxy S4 Google Edition, announcing the vanilla Android version during the Google I/O keynote earlier this month. However, it may only be available in the US at first, with no mention of a UK release date for the device.

HTC One Features

A Google Edition of the HTC One will strip back the HTC Sense UI that introduces the BlinkFeed and HTC Zoe features, replacing it with the au-natural Nexus Android, meaning developers can work with the powerful HTC One without the limitations of HTC’s own interface.

Without its distinctive HTC Sense UI, the HTC One still packs a 1.7GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon quad-core processor with 2GB of RAM.

Powered by a 2,300mAh Lithium-Polymer battery, the smartphone runs Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean and has an UltraPixel camera with f/2.0 and Full 1080p HD video recording capabilities.

It has a 4.7-inch screen with 1080 x 1920p resolutions and a 469ppi image density protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 2.

The HTC One features Bluetooth, NFC and IR LED connectivity as well.

Next, read our HTC One vs Samsung Galaxy S4 comparison.

Via: AndroidCentral

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iPod Touch reaches 100m sales milestone

Apple has revealed that it has sold 100 million iPod Touch units since its launch in 2007.

The Cupertino company confirmed that it reached the iPod Touch sales milestone hours after launching an entry-level 16GB version of the device.

Apple has confirmed to The Loop that since its launch in 2007, the iPod Touch has now sold over 100 million units.

In July 2012, Apple recorded that it had sold 82 million iPod Touch units, meaning that the company has sold over 18 million of the devices in just under a year, despite increasing pressure from smartphones offering the same functionalities.

This morning, Apple released its new entry-level model of the iPod Touch. The device features updated components and a new £199 price tag.

Packing 16GB of internal storage, the new iPod Touch features a 4-inch Retina display with an A5 CPU.

It may pack a 6.1mm slim body, the same as the iPod Touch 5th generation released in October, but lacks the 5-megapixel iSight camera found in those 32GB and 64GB models.

The 16GB iPod Touch also lacks the lanyard ring and is only available in metallic silver rather than the full range of black, silver, pink, yellow, blue and Product Red offered in the 5th generation models.

However, the 16GB version does slash £50 off the price of the 32GB version, while also introducing a spec upgrade.

The UK Apple store is still yet to make the 16GB iPod Touch available to buy but it can be purchased from the US Store. We expect it to arrive on the British store soon though.

Next read our iPhone 5 review ahead of Apple’s annual WWDC.



Via: SlashGear

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Huawei Ascend W2 picture leaks online

A new Huawei Ascend W2 picture has emerged online, this time resembling a press shot for the reportedly upcoming Windows Phone 8 handset.

The Windows Phone 8 Huawei Ascend W2 has cropped up online again in the guise of an official-looking PR shot.

Coming courtesy of notorious tipster EVLeaks, the picture shows a fairly slim Ascend W2 handset running Windows Phone 8.

More curved and thinner than the current Huawei Ascend W1 handset that was released in the UK a couple of months ago, the Huawei Ascend W2 picture was leaked with no accompanying price or specs list.

The handset was rumoured to go on sale for under £200, which fits with the current price for the Huawei Ascend P1 in the UK - £180.

It could be launched at Huawei’s June event, which already promises the launch of the Huawei Ascend P6 flagship.



Huawei Ascend W2 Rumours

Huawei Ascend W2 specs leaked online earlier this year, revealing the handset may play host to a 4.3-inch 720p HD IPS display.

Packing a 1.5GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 processor with 1GB of RAM, the Huawei Ascend W2 could be powered by a 2,000mAh battery.

It could have an 8-megapixel camera in the rear, and with all those specs combined it certainly fits the description of an entry-level Windows Phone 8 handset, similar to the Nokia Lumia 620.

The Huawei Ascend W2 will build upon the specs sheet of the Huawei Ascend W1, which we gave a glowing nine out of ten score in our review.

Offering a 4-inch screen, 5-megapixel camera, the Huawei Ascend W2 has a dual-core 1.2GHz processor and Adreno 305 graphics.



Next, read our pick of the best mobile phones of 2013.

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Samsung PS51F8500 TV Review

What is the Samsung PS51F8500?

A 51-inch plasma TV taken from the top tier of Samsung’s current TV range. This means it’s equipped with Samsung’s latest, remarkably sophisticated smart TV platform and interface, supports 3D playback and is built around Samsung’s latest – much improved – premium plasma panel design.

Sizes Available: 51-inch (reviewed) and 64-inch (£3,000)

Samsung PS51F8500 - Design

It also has quite a startling design, courtesy of its deep grey metallic finish and a unique open-frame elliptical table stand the TV slots right down onto, leaving no neck between the screen and its stand. Also catching your eye is a pop up camera that curves out and forward so that it seems to be sitting on top of the TV’s upper edge.

The PS51F8500’s rather chunky design is hardly in keeping with Samsung’s recent ultra-slim, ultra-shiny top-end LCD TVs. But then the majority of people considering buying a plasma TV over an LCD one are likely to be more interested in picture quality than size zero ‘catwalk’ designs.

Samsung PS51F8500 - Connections

The Samsung PS51F8500 has four HDMIs - a welcome return after Samsung’s ill-judged dalliance with three on its 2012 TVs. They’re joined by three USBs, plus built-in Wi-Fi and LAN network options. Also worth noting is the provision of inputs for both Freeview and Freesat HD tuners.

The USB ports support playback of a wide array of video, photo and music file formats from USB ‘sticks’, or else you can record from the TV’s tuners to USB HDDs.

Samsung PS51F8500 - Smart TV

When it comes to networking the set, you can stream files from networked PCs, or else you can unleash the huge realm of content stored on Samsung’s latest Smart TV online media platform. This content includes LoveFilm, Netflix, Blinkbox, and all the key UK TV channel catch up services – something no other smart TV platform can currently claim.

The interface for accessing the massive array of content supported by the Samsung PS51F8500 is a big change from anything Samsung has delivered before. The biggest development is the shift to five separate ‘hub’ screens - each with a different type of content as its focus - that you can scroll easily between.

Also important and impressive, though, is Samsung’s introduction of a ‘learning’ mechanism, where the TV can track your viewing habits and make recommendations based on your viewing history.

The Samsung PS51F8500 also continues Samsung’s love affair with voice and gesture control. We still feel there are big issues here with persuading people to overcome what’s often an innate resistance to waving at and talking to their TV.

However, if you do actually take the time to give the systems a chance and learn the way they work, the voice recognition system in particular does have its uses in providing shortcuts for getting to content.

Even the once-ridiculed gesture control system has been improved via recent Samsung software updates, reacting much more accurately to your hand movements, detecting your hands more readily, and requiring much smaller arm movements, so that the system is much less tiring.

There’s still a way to go before we start to consider using hand gestures ahead of a good remote. But as an optional control system for when you can’t readily find your remote, Samsung’s gesture system is no longer something you need to studiously avoid!

Samsung’s attempts to streamline content access arguably go too far at times, making the new interface a bit inscrutable in places. But overall Samsung’s latest Smart TV system nonetheless feels like a startling glimpse of the future of TV.

For a more in-depth look at everything Samsung’s Smart TV interface and service has to offer, read our 2013 Samsung Smart TV review. To see how the PS51F8500 pictures hold up, however, head to the next page.

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Microsoft offers first look at Windows 8.1, Start button returns

Microsoft has released a first look at the Windows 8.1 features via the official Windows blog, revealing the Start button will be returning.

Antoine Leblond, Corporate Vice President for Windows Program Management at Microsoft, has written a post on the official Microsoft blog outlining the new features contained within Windows 8.1.

The new operating system update will bring back the Start button featured in the Windows OS editions since Windows 95, which was removed for Windows 8.

“We’ve improved the way you navigate to Start with the mouse by changing the Start ‘tip’ to be the familiar Windows logo”, said Leblond in the post. “The new tip appears anytime you move the mouse to the bottom left corner of the screen, and is always visible on the taskbar when on the desktop.”

Windows 8 has been heavily criticised for removing the Start button, with Microsoft being accused of making the OS less user-friendly. The OS would only show the Start ‘tip’ when users hovered the mouse pointer over the lower-left corner of the screen.

“Windows 8.1 will deliver improvements and enhancements in key areas like personalisation, search, the built-in apps, Windows Store experience, and cloud connectivity. Windows 8.1 will also include big bets for business in areas such as management and security.”

The OS upgrade will introduce further customisation options, including a photo slideshow feature for the Lock Screen, more colours and motion backgrounds for the Start Screen.

Similar to the Windows Phone 8 OS, Windows 8.1 will allow users to customise the size of the start screen tiles.

The Search function has been improved as well, with any query now including Bing search results and other content sources like apps, files, SkyDrive and available actions to provide a more accurate answer. This will make the Windows 8.1 Search function more akin to the Spotlight search offered by Mac OS X.

The inbuilt Windows 8 apps will be updated too, and snap view will offer more viewing options for multiple apps displayed simultaneously on screen.

All files can now be saved to the SkyDrive cloud, and Microsoft will also be including Internet Explorer 11 with Windows 8.1.

A Windows 8.1 Beta will be released in June, with the full version offered for free by the end of this year.



Next, read our Microsoft Surface Pro review for a look at the Windows 8 tablet.

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EE confirmed UK LTE support for Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini

Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini and Galaxy S4

The Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini will be supported on the 4G LTE network in the UK, confirms EE.

Although it has yet to release any pricing or availability details, EE has confirmed it will offer the Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini on its 4GEE network.

Currently the only 4G LTE provider in the UK, EE has reassured British consumers that the recently announced Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini will be compatible with 4G.

“We can confirm we plan to stock the Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini from launch,” said an EE spokesperson. “It will be available on our superfast 4GEE service as well as on our Orange and T-Mobile UK brands. Further details on pricing and availability will be announced in due course.”

Before any official pricing is announced, we can predict the Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini to retail at a lower cost than the flagship Samsung Galaxy S4 price tag. Seeing as the handset has a spec and screen size reduction, initial estimates suggest the Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini price will lie somewhere between £350 - £400.

Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini Features

Officially announced by Samsung earlier today after a wealth of online rumours, the Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini features a 4.3-inch qHD Super AMOLED display running Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean.

It packs a 1.7GHz dual-core processor with 1.5GB of RAM and 8GB of internal storage. An additional 64GB can be added via the microSD card slot included within the device.

The Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini has an 8-megapixel camera in the rear and 1.9-megapixels in the front, making use of the new photography features introduced by the new TouchWiz Nature UX in the Samsung Galaxy S4.

Powered by a 1,900mAh battery, the Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini has Wi-Fi, GPS, Bluetooth 4.0 and IR LED connectivity within its 8.94mm thick body.

Next, read our pick of the best mobile phones of 2013 .

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Mirror’s Edge 2 Help Centre appears on EA website

Mirror's Edge 2 help centre

A Mirror’s Edge 2 help centre page has popped up on the official EA website, providing further evidence that the game could be seen at E3 in June.

The unannounced sequel to the 2008 Mirror’s Edge release was briefly listed on the official EA website help centre hub before the page was removed.

In July 2011, EA Senior Vice President Patrick Soderlund confirmed the developer was working on a sequel, but declined to add any more details.

“I loved Mirror’s Edge,” said Soderlund in an interview. “We have not abandoned the franchise. And we are working on something, but I’m not willing to talk more about that.”

However, in the last couple of weeks, several Mirror’s Edge 2 listings have appeared on retailer websites.

A Mirror’s Edge 2 listing was seen on the German Amazon site with placeholder box art and no release date early last week.

Another listing appeared on the Italian Amazon site too, this time offering an Xbox One Mirror’s Edge 2 title. The Italian Amazon listing has since been removed, as has the German one, but what is most interesting is that the Xbox One edition was the only version available from the site.

Microsoft has already revealed that the Xbox One will be home to 15 exclusive titles, so Mirror’s Edge 2 could be one of these and utilise the new Xbox One Kinect features to enhance the free-running experience.

Last year, it was rumoured that the game would appear on next-generation consoles and would be compatible with Kinect, meaning an Xbox One release would fit with this theory.

Former executive producer of the Battlefield franchise at DICE, Ben Cousins, claimed in November last year that the game was in production at DICE’s Swedish studio.

“It is general knowledge in the Stockhold dev scene that Mirror’s Edge 2 is in production at DICE,” said Cousins in a tweet.

EA will be showcasing a number of titles at the E3 Expo in June, including Battlefield 4, Need for Speed: Rivals and a selection of EA Sports titles. It could also confirm the existence of Mirror’s Edge 2 officially.



Next, read our lists of the Xbox One games.

Via: CVG

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iPhone 5 vs Samsung Galaxy S3

Samsung Galaxy S3 or iPhone 5? It's a tough question, and there are vocal advocates and detractors on both sides of the Apple/Android divide.

The Galaxy S3 and iPhone 5 were the two most successful phones of 2012 and are still the some of the hottest mobiles in the world, but which should you buy?

2013 May Update

The Samsung Galaxy S3 is now a 'previous generation' phone. Its successor, the Galaxy S4 is available to buy, and improves upon the S3 in almost every way.

For more, read our Galaxy S4 vs Galaxy S3 feature.

However, the iPhone 5 is still the latest Apple phone. It's not likely to be nudged into the past until September, when the iPhone 5S is expected to launch.

We've now spent several months with both these phones and understand what it's like living with them and using them day to day. We’ve also compared their specs, screens, software, apps and media skills to give you an expert and impartial assessment and help you decide whether the iPhone 5 or Samsung Galaxy S3 is right for you.

There's even more to choice now. Make sure you also read our Samsung Galaxy S4 vs iPhone 5 comparison.

iPhone 5 vs Samsung Galaxy S3 - Price and Deals

The positive side of being an 'old' phone is that some great Galaxy S3 deals are available - you can get hold of one for a good deal less than you have to pay for an iPhone 5.

Shop around and you'll find the Galaxy S3 for free on contracts of £20 a month. From Carphone Warehouse, you can buy the S3 with a decent T-Mobile contract that costs £21 a month, which includes 1GB mobile internet, 500 texts and 100 minutes. The cheapest robust iPhone 5 contracts that get you a free phone cost £33 a month.

SIM-free there are similar price disparities. The 16GB iPhone 5 costs £529.99 direct from Apple, and the Galaxy S3 is currently a mere £349.99 on Pay As You Go from Three at the moment.

iPhone 5 vs Samsung Galaxy S3 - Video Comparison

If you want a detailed analysis of the Samsung Galaxy S3 and iPhone 5, you should read on below but you can also see the both phones in action and next to each other in our video review.

iPhone 5 vs Samsung Galaxy S3 - Design

iPhone 5 - 7.6mm thick, metal casing, non-removable battery

Samsung Galaxy S3 - 8.6mm thick, plastic casing, removable battery

A case of metal versus plastic, and hard lines against smoother curves, the iPhone 5 and Samsung Galaxy S3 have quite different approaches to handset design. The two iPhone models released prior to the iPhone 5 featured glass panels on the front and rear, which gave the phone’s a hard, solid feel. However, rear glass plate has now been replaced with metal - aluminium.



This marks an even greater shift in design than a simple switch of glass for metal, as the previous iPhone 4S used steel for its metallic parts, rather than aluminium. Steel is harder, but also heavier. The use of aluminium is what lets the iPhone 5 slim down to 112g and 7.6 thick. It’s a very slim and light phone.

The Samsung Galaxy S3 has slightly less of an obsession with being small and thin, and it’s structurally closer to its forebears than the iPhone 5 is. It’s a plastic-bodied phone – another design choice that help keeps weight down – with a removable rear battery cover.



Much of the criticism the Samsung Galaxy S3 has received since its launch in May 2012 is down to this plastic battery cover. It’s perilously thin, which becomes especially noticeable when you take the thing off to access the phone’s battery or microSD memory card slot.

Real-world testing of the ruggedness shows that there’s nothing wrong with the Samsung Galaxy S3’s construction, though.

A few months ago, Android Authority produced a neat little video showing the torture of these two phones. You can see the results below.

The iPhone 5 survives a little better, but it’s the glass screen covering of the Samsung Galaxy S3 that takes more of a pounding than the plastic frame. Both phones use toughened glass as their front armour. The Samsung Galaxy S3 uses Corning Gorilla Glass II, the iPhone 5 a comparable form of toughened glass.

Both phones are tough, despite feeling lightweight (iPhone 5) and a touch plasticky (Samsung Galaxy S3) in-hand.

The shapes of the phones are quite different, though. With a more widescreen-aspect display, the iPhone 5 is a good deal less wide - 58.6mm against the Samsung Galaxy S3’s 70.6mm. This is one of the most compelling design reasons to choose a Galaxy S3 over the iPhone 5 for people with smaller hands.

Sheer size means that most people will have to stretch to reach from one side of the Galaxy S3 screen to the other, one-handed. And it gets surprisingly annoying.

The Samsung Galaxy S3 wins a point back for its fairly wide choice of finishes. The iPhone 5 is only available in two colours, black and white. The Galaxy S3 comes in white, black, blue, red, grey and brown.

iPhone 5 vs Galaxy S3 - Audio

iPhone 5 – 38S1077 Cirrus audio codec, No Apt-X, mono speaker

Samsung Galaxy S3 – Wolfson DAC, Apt-X Bluetooth, mono speaker

Like your music? The audio internals of phones aren’t talked about much, compared to – say – their cameras. But search hard enough and you can find out exactly what bits and bobs they use.

The Samsung Galaxy S3 has a particularly impressive DAC, which converts your digital music files into the analogue signal that comes out of the headphone jack. The iPhone 5 has a custom DAC using the Cirrus Logic 38S1077 class-D headphone amp.

The Samsung Galaxy S3 is the clear audio winner. Not only is its DAC superior, it also supports Apt-X. This is a high-quality Bluetooth codec, for use with higher-end Bluetooth headphones like the Sennheiser MM 550.

When using the standard SBC Bluetooth codec to stream audio, as the iPhone 5 has to do, there’s a noticeable loss of fidelity, much like listening to a lower-quality MP3 file. Apt-X is near-lossless. If you’ve spent a lot of cash on a Bluetooth speaker or Bluetooth headphones, this is something to consider.

Back to the core hardware, both phones have mono internal speakers. On an iPhone 5, you’ll find the speaker grilles on the bottom edge – two of them. On a Samsung Galaxy S3, the speaker is up by the camera lens.

iPhone 5 vs Samsung Galaxy S3 - Price and Deals

iPhone 5 – From £529 SIM-free, or £36 a month on contract

Samsung Galaxy S3 – From £391 SIM-free, or £30 a month on contract

Now that both the Samsung Galaxy S3 and iPhone 5 are at least a few months old, the benefits of not buying Apple have become very clear. The price of the Samsung Galaxy S3 has steadily dropped since May, but in most places the iPhone 5 has maintained its initial high cost.

SIM-free the 16GB iPhone 5 costs £529, while the 16GB Samsung Galaxy S3 sells at around £390-400. Slightly better deals are commonly available online if you search around too, letting you save a few quid extra with a bit of effort.

The price difference continues in contract deals. One of our favourite deals available at present for the Samsung galaxy S3 is the Tesco £30-a-month contract. It gets you the phone for free, 500 minutes, 5000 texts and 1GB of data a month. Comparable deals are available from the other main carriers too.

Similar deals on the iPhone 5 tend to cost around £5 more a month. It’s not a wallet-sucking extra expense, but do consider how much this might add up to over a two-year contract - £120. That’s almost exactly the price difference between the SIM-free cost of the phones.

iPhone 5 vs Samsung Galaxy S3 - Screen

iPhone 5 - 4in IPS, 1,136 x 640 resolution

Samsung Galaxy S3 - 4.8in Super AMOLED, 1,280 x 720 resolution

Cards on the table time – both the iPhone 5 and Samsung Galaxy S3 have excellent screens. However, they’re about as different as top-end smartphone screens get.

The iPhone 5’s is more widescreen, letting the display expand without making the phone any wider than the iPhone 4S. Less concerned with keeping the phone palm-friendly, the 720p 4.8-inch monster screen of the Samsung Galaxy S3 does not compromise on size.



What’s more important from a comparison perspective is the screen technology working underneath. The iPhone 5 uses an IPS (in-plane switching) screen, the Samsung Galaxy S3 a Super AMOLED panel.

Each excels at different things. The Samsung Galaxy S3 is the king of contrast. In a dark room, the black areas on the phone’s screen will look much more convincing than the iPhone 5’s, which will take on a slightly grey-ish hue. Rich colours and deep blacks are what characterise the Samsung Galaxy S3’s screen.

However, the IPS screen of the iPhone 5’s maximum brightness is more dazzling, which is handy if you want to use the phone outdoors. Its surface is a little less reflective to boot and colours appear more natural, as Super AMOLED displays often oversaturate colours to show off what they’re capable of.

Sharpness is slightly better in the iPhone 5 too. Although the pixel densities of the displays are comparable, 306dpi for the Samsung Galaxy S3 and 326dpi for the iPhone 5, the Samsung Galaxy S3 uses a PenTile pixel construction. This is an uneven subpixel array that makes text look slightly fuzzy.

Samsung claims that a PenTile-style display increases the lifespan of screens, but as it ironed-out the problem in the Samsung Galaxy Note 2, it clearly sees there is an issue here. The Note 2 has a full-RGB subpixel structure, avoiding the PenTile sharpness problem.

iPhone 5 vs Samsung Galaxy S3 - Software

iPhone 5 - iOS 6

Samsung Galaxy S3 – Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, w/ TouchWiz

Whether or not you want iOS or Android is just as important as the picking between the hardware of the Samsung Galaxy S3 and iPhone 5. The cleanest distillation of their differences is that iOS is simple but a little restricted, Android is harder to get to grips with, but more flexible and feature-packed.

The iPhone 5 runs iOS version 6. Although the system is known for its streamlined, largely bug-free nature, Apple's iOS 6 was a fraught launch. It saw Apple replace Google Maps with its own mapping solution, single-handedly making the iPhone 5 a bit useless as a navigation tool. Apple’s maps are not good, packed full of out-of-date and plain wrong information. However, now that Google Maps has been released as a separate app for iPhones, iOS is back on track.



Other than its simple, app icon based home screens, iOS doesn’t offer quite as many features as the Samsung Galaxy S3’s Android, though. The Samsung phone has more bells and whistles than a fleet of old-timey steam trains, including gesture navigation, face unlock, gesture typing, an FM tuner, AllShare video streaming, NFC sharing, video multitasking and more.

Some of these are added through TouchWiz, the interface Samsung has laid upon basic Android in the Galaxy S3. For the full run-down of neat features, check out our list of the top 50 Galaxy S3 tips and tricks.

The iPhone 5’s list of extra features is much shorter, and they’re mirrored in the Galaxy S3 anyway. Siri is the voice assistant that lets you search the internet, check movie times and run apps without touching the screen. However, the Samsung Galaxy S3’s S Voice can perform similar feats.

iOS 6 also offers Passbook, which is a repository for things like online vouchers, virtual cinema tickets and so on, but it’s virtually useless in the UK at present and NFC-enabled apps for the Samsung Galaxy S3 have a great deal more potential.

Things aren’t looking too hot for iOS. However, for simple day-to-day use it remains an excellent, easy and quick system. And many of the Samsung Galaxy S3’s extra frills can feel unnecessary. For those relatively new to technology, we recommend iOS over Android.

iPhone 5 vs Samsung Galaxy S3 - Apps and Games

iPhone 5 – App Store, 700,000 apps

Samsung Galaxy S3 – Google Play, 700,000 apps

The Google Play store is rapidly catching up with the Apple App Store in terms of sheer volume of apps and games. In late 2012, both stores revealed that the number of apps available had hit the 700,000 mark. However, quality is much more important than quality in this field, and here the Apple App Store still has a clear lead.

The wealth of creativity apps available on the Apple App Store in particular is worth a mention. Music creation tools like the official Korg iKaossilator and Apple’s own Garageband do not have worth alternatives on Android, and it’s unlikely a top dev will fork out to fill this gap any time soon.

Games trail behind on Android too. Developers tend to use iPhone editions as their lead SKUs – the version that is developed first – because the iPhone gaming market is simply much more valuable commercially than Android’s. Android games are often effectively copies, known as ports, of iPhone originals.

There is an app advantage to using an Android device, though. You can manually install apps using their respective APK installer files – this is called side-loading. Download them with a computer, pop them on a microSD card, put it in the Samsung Galaxy S3 and you can load them from the phone's file explorer app. With an iPhone 5, you can only install apps from the official App Store unless you hack the phone.

Side-loading of apps lets you circumvent the restrictions applied on official app stores, each of which has a set of guidelines that often means apps are pulled or not allowed on the store’s shelves in the first place. However, this also circumvents the light security checks that go on at the Google Play store (apps with dodgy malware are quickly removed, in theory) and you could easily end up with an Android virus.

iPhone 5 vs Samsung Galaxy S3 - Power

iPhone 5 – Apple A6 1.2GHz dual-core CPU, triple-core PowerVR SGX 543MP3 GPU, 1GB RAM

Samsung Galaxy S3 – Exynos 4412 1.4GHz Quad-core CPU, Mali-400MP GPU, 1GB RAM

When thinking about processing power, there are two sides to consider. You can assess raw power through benchmarks, and how well developers have put the power to good use.

Starting with raw power, in the Geekbench benchmarking tool, the Exynos 4412 processor of the Samsung Galaxy S3 beats the iPhone 5. It scores 1720 points against the iPhone 5’s 1660. Geekbench is designed to comprehensively test a device’s processing power.



Galaxy S3 wins the Geekbench CPU test battle

The Galaxy S3 doesn’t win every benchmark challenge, though. In the Sunspider Java benchmark, which roughly judges web browsing speed, the iPhone 5 is significantly faster, completing the test in 915ms against the Samsung Galaxy S3’s 1143ms. Predictably, then, the iPhone 5 also beats the Samsung Galaxy S3 in the similar Browsermark test. It scored roughly 190,000 points, against the Galaxy S3’s 172,000.

Testing the GPUs of the phones, the iPhone 5 wins once more. In the GLBenchmark 2.5 fill test, the iPhone 5 trotted out an impressive 1797 MTexels/sec to the Galaxy S3's 781 MTexels/sec - not that much more than an iPhone 4S.



...but GLBenchmark's GPU tool is a solid win for iPhone 5 (M/texels/sec)

This power is put to better use in an iPhone too, because of a situation we already mentioned when discussing apps and games. As the iPhone gaming market is more lucrative than Android, games are often made for iPhones first, rather than Androids, and if a device’s full potential is to be realised, it’ll be the iPhone 5’s.

Of course, there’s an extent to which developers have to keep in mind the “limited” power reserves of the millions of iPhone 4s and iPhone 4Ss out there too. The iPhone 5 dev scene isn’t perfect, but it is healthy.

iPhone 5 vs Samsung Galaxy S3 - Connectivity

iPhone 5 – Lightning port, 3.5mm headphone jack, Wi-Fi, 3G/4G,

Samsung Galaxy S3 – microUSB port, MHL w/adapter, Wi-Fi, 3G (4G option available), Wi-FI Direct, NFC

Connectivity in these phones sums-up the differing approaches of Samsung and Apple. Apple’s connectivity is almost all proprietary. The new Apple Lightning port, the main connector of the iPhone 5, is used across most of Apple’s mobile devices these days, but you won’t find it elsewhere. The iPhone 5 has 3G and 4G connectivity, but while it has a form of Wi-Fi Direct, it’s not the standard type that’ll work with other devices.



But, hey, at least it has a 3.5mm headphone jack.

The Samsung Galaxy S3 has much better, more open connections. It uses the industry-standard microUSB port, with MHL compatibility. This lets you output video and audio from the phone to a TV, letting it function as a dinky little lounge media player.

Wireless connectivity is great too. AllShare lets you fire over music and video to Samsung TVs and Blu-ray players using your home Wi-Fi, Wi-Fi Direct makes transferring files with other up-to-date devices quick and easy, and it has NFC too.



NFC is the latest darling of the wireless connectivity world. It stands for Near-Field Communication and can already be used to pay for some small items on the high street, without the use of a credit card or cash. We are talking about paying for cups of coffee at present, though.

This is an easy win for the “everything including the kitchen sink” Samsung Galaxy S3.

iPhone 5 vs Samsung Galaxy S3 - Storage

iPhone 5 – 16/32/64GB non-expandable

Samsung Galaxy S3 – 16/32GB (64GB exists but not widely available), expandable via microSD

Again, the Samsung Galaxy S3 wins on storage. The iPhone 5 offers a good range of options, 16GB, 32GB and 64GB of internal storage, but those extra gigabytes cost you a lot of extra cash. Want a 64GB iPhone? That’ll be £699.

There’s no way to increase the internal storage of an iPhone 5, either, so you’ll have to rely on cloud storage if you need more.

The Samsung Galaxy S3 comes in fewer storage flavours in the UK than elsewhere. Most retailers sell the 16GB edition, although a 32GB has also been available from Vodafone (it’s not available to buy at the time of writing). A 64GB edition of the Samsung Galaxy S3 has been produced, but there just isn’t the demand for one in the UK and consequently they are near-impossible to buy.

Why? It’s because expanding the memory with a microSD memory card is a good deal cheaper. Underneath the plastic battery cover of the phone is a microSD slot that’ll take cards up to 64GB. A class 10 64GB microSD card can be bought for around £40 these days – giving you an 80GB phone for less than the cost of a 16GB iPhone 5.

iPhone 5 vs Samsung Galaxy S3 - Cameras

iPhone 5 – 8MP, LED flash, user-facing camera

Samsung Galaxy S3 – 8MP, LED flash, user-facing camera

Specs-wise, the iPhone 5 and Galaxy S3 cameras are near-identical. Both have 8-megapixel sensors with an LED flash a piece. However, the approaches of their camera apps are completely different.

The iPhone 5 camera interface is stripped-back and simple. Your only control is over whether HDR mode is enabled, whether you want to take a panorama photo or not, and if the screen grid is enabled or not.



HDR melds two exposures to reveal more detail in photos taken in difficult lighting situations, panorama takes a full-resolution 240-degree view of your surroundings and grid is a preview overlay that lets you line-up your shot with the horizon.

The Samsung Galaxy S3 offers many, many more options – along with the panorama and HDR modes the iPhone 5 supplies. Many of these options are things that the iPhone does behind-the-scenes anyway, such as stabilisation and face detection. But not all are.

Useful extra features include burst mode and resolution settings.

In practice, the iPhone 5 wins out for pure photo quality. It grabs that bit more detail, has slightly more natural-looking colour and less invasive upping of contrast. The Samsung Galaxy S3 LED flash is more powerful, however.

Both phones offer a good-quality user-facing camera for video chat over Skype/FaceTime.

iPhone 5 vs Samsung Galaxy S3 - Media Skills

iPhone 5 – Limited codec support, restricted file transfers

Samsung Galaxy S3 – Excellent codec support, free file transfers

One of the clearest wins for the Samsung Galaxy S3 is media support. It can play a wide array of audio and video formats, including lossless FLAC tracks and MKV videos. Media fiends will be in heaven.

The iPhone 5 only handles a severely limited range of formats. Most videos downloaded from the net will need to be transcoded before the native video app will be able to play them.

Any limitations in video skills can usually be plugged-in with third-party apps, though, for both of these phones.

No matter which media app you use, transferring files is simpler with a Samsung Galaxy S3. Plug the phone into a computer and its internal memory will show up as a disk drive, letting you drag and drop files. With an iPhone, you need to hook up to iTunes.

iPhone 5 vs Samsung Galaxy S3 - Battery

iPhone 5 – 1440mAh, non-removable

Samsung Galaxy S3 – 2100mAh, removable

Battery stamina is a hard thing to measure in phones, because we use them for such a wide array of tasks. However, the pure numbers show that the Samsung Galaxy S3 undeniably has a much larger main unit than the iPhone 5, 2100mAh against the iPhone’s 1440mAh

Set to constant tasks, such as web browsing, the Samsung Galaxy S3 wins. Consumer advocate Which? Set the phones to web browse the web constantly until their batteries gave up. The Galaxy S3 lasted for 359 minutes, while the iPhone 5 conked out after a mere 200. Ouch.

In general use, the difference is less marked. With 3G engaged, you’ll need to charge the devices every other day, or every day with intense use.



An additional benefit of the Samsung Galaxy S3 is that you can carry around a charged spare if you’re going to be away from a power socket for a while. Official batteries are available for around £15, or third-party knock-offs can be bought from eBay for just a few pounds.

iPhone 5 vs Samsung Galaxy S3 - Accessories

iPhone 5 – Lightning connector, charger plug, EarPod headphones

Samsung Galaxy S3 – microUSB cable, charger plug, Samsung earphones

What else do you get in the box? The iPhone 5 and the Samsung Galaxy S3 offer almost identical accessories. They offer their respective cables, a plug to jam them into for charging, and a pair of earphones a piece.

The Samsung Galaxy S3 offers reasonable-quality IEM-style earphones – these use rubber tips to give you some degree of noise isolation from the outside world. Apple’s EarPods are a bit more interesting. They replace the earbuds Apple has offered with its phones and players for years, using a design that’s in-between an earbud and an IEM pair.



Apple EarPods

EarPods have hard plastic outer shells that roughly plug your ear canal, although not enough to isolate like Samsung’s IEM pair. They offer significantly improved audio quality over Apple’s previous models, though. For more on EarPods, check out our full Apple EarPods review.

Verdict

Choosing between an iPhone 5 and Samsung Galaxy S3 is a tough decision and – unlike some of the comparisons we do – there’s no clear overall winner. For those less interested in the tech, the iPhone 5 is much easier to use, easier to hold and is more robust. However, tech fans may well find the Samsung Galaxy S3 easier, thanks to its relative open-ness, micro-SD card slot and lack of restrictions.

For games, the iPhone 5 wins, as it does for its camera, by a whisker. However, the Samsung Galaxy S3 is a much better media player, with much greater codec support and more flexibility as to how it can bung video over to a television.

If money is an issue, though, the Samsung Galaxy S3 takes the lead, with at least £120 savings to be made.

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