WIN!
AN ASUS LTE TABLET WORTH R5 000 FR E E MAG!
M A D E
E A S Y
VERSUS Which is the best mirrorless camera?
Lens swapping compacts tested inside.
REVIEWED Vodacom’s amazing R999 tablet
It’s a 3G Android tablet for just R999 – but is it any good?
HOW TO Master WhatsApp
What do those blue ticks mean, and how do you turn them off? ISSUE 10 | DECEMBER 2014 | HTXT.CO.ZA
are of 2014, w rd a h t s e b e th ll A panel. rt e p x e r u o y b d te as selec
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storage ability limited toWireless, access content elsewhere. Withand the their MediaShare you built-in cansaved access Tablets andcapacity smartphones are often by their elsewhere. With the MediaShare Wireless, you can access and enjoy your files without wires or an internet connection. storage capacity and their ability to access content saved and enjoyWith yourthe filesMediaShare without wires or an internet connection. elsewhere. Wireless, you can access STREAM and enjoy your files without wires or an internet connection. STREAM • Connect up to 5 devices to the MediaShare and share video, music, STREAM • Connect up to 5 devices to the MediaShare and share video, music, photos and data. photos and data. • Connect up to 5 devices to the MediaShare and share video, music, USB/SD CONNECTION photos and data. USB/SD CONNECTION • Built-in USB port and SD Memory slot allows easy access to content from a USB USB/SD CONNECTION • Built-in USB porthard anddrive SD Memory slot allows easy access to content from a USB drive, portable or SD memory card*. drive, portable or SD memory card*. • Built-in USB porthard and drive SD Memory slot allows easy access to content from a USB WIRELESS drive, BRIDGE portable hard drive or SD memory card*. WIRELESS BRIDGE • Upload and download content wirelessly to and from your tablet or smartphone. WIRELESS • UploadBRIDGE and download content wirelessly to and from your tablet or smartphone. RECHARGING SMARTPHONES • Upload andFOR download content wirelessly to and from your tablet or smartphone. RECHARGING FOR SMARTPHONES • The integrated 3000mAh battery can be used as a powerpack for your smartphone. RECHARGING FOR SMARTPHONES • The integrated 3000mAh battery can be used as a powerpack for your smartphone. •
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Contents
www.htxt.co.za December 2014
ISSUE #10
NEED TO KNOW: NEWS
2014. PRETTY GOOD, WASN’T IT?
S
o that’s it for 2014. As I write this, Christmas music is playing in the shops, people in the office are planning their holidays and we’re looking forward to winding down for year end sometime during the middle of this month. And what a year it’s been. There’s been some amazing new tech, great new games and inspiring news from around the world, and most especially here in sunny South Africa. We’re taking the opportunity to recap this month, with a look back at the best games (page 14) and gear (page 8) that we’ve seen over the last 12 months. If you’re looking for some last minute present ideas, your search is over. And it’s not just our opinions that count either – we’re also canvassing your views on your picks too. Of course, the best event – in our minds – of 2014 was the launch of this very magazine. And as we approach our first birthday in February you should look out for some special competitions and activity to celebrate the fact and thank you for your support. Operator’s asub-R500 Steppa is firs In the meantime, enjoy what’s left of the year, have t of its kind. great Christmas and try not to spend too much. obile operator MTN has We’ll see you in 2015, but if you can’t wait that important for South Africa. launc hed long, South Africa’s first Sadly, MTN has confir med that there join us at our daily news site htxt.africa. Android-powered smartphone ’s
MTN launches supercheap smartphone
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that’s available on pre-pay for less than R500. It certainly an African first, and may even a world one: as far as we know, there’s no other smartphone in this class PUBLISHER: Brett Haggard – brett@htxt.co.za available for less than $50 anywhere. EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: Adam Oxford – adam@htxt.co.za That makes it quite a milestone in MANAGING EDITOR: Tiana Cline - tiana@htxt.co.za putting high-tech handsets within the HARDWARE: David Greenway – david@htxt.co.za reach of everyone. Which is awesome. GAMES: Deon du Plessis – deon@htxt.co.zaThe phone itself isn’t, of course, hugely PHOTOGRAPHIC WRITER: Charlie Fripp powe – charlie@htxt.co.za rful. It’s based on a Qualcomm WRITER: Lungelo Shezi – lungelo@htxt.co.za reference design, so it has a 1GHz single core Snapdragon processor, a 3.5in ch SENIOR DESIGNER: Quinton Hoffmann –screen quinton@htxt.co.za and a mere 2MP camera on board. More limiting is the fact that there’s ADVERTISING: Dorothy Haggard – dorothy@hypertext.co.za only 512MB of memory and 1GB of storag Sengezo Jubane – sengezo@hypertext.co.za e on-bo ard. Bino de Gouveia – bino@hypertext.co.za The screen is a decent enough multitouch affair, which takes up most
tech handsets within the reach of everyone…
of the front of the device. There’s no physical keyboard. It also runs a positively ancient versio n of Google’s Android OS, Gingerbre ad. Still, that does still mean it’s able to access BlackBerry Messenger, which is hugel y
no plans to upgrade the Steppa to a more recent version of Android, although local hackers are investigating the possib ility of unlocking the phone and flashing a custom firmware. There’s an FM radio though, along with a microSD port for upgrading the storag e. What you don’t get, however, is a fast HSPA radio for high speed internet access – you’ll have to settle for plain old 3G. All in all, though, it’s a heck of a phone for the price. Not even Nokia can come close with its Asha range of semismartphones, which start at about R799 and don’t have access to half the numb er of apps and services the Steppa has. Like the sound of this super budget smartphone? See our full review at
WANT TO KNOW MORE? USE Bit.ly
htxt.africa’s Tech Made Easy is At the bottom of almost every produced by: Hypertext Media, 102 on 11th, article in Tech Easy CLIMATE CHA NGE WILLMade CAUSE MORE Highlands North, 2192, Johannesburg STORM DAM AGEsee you’ll IN one SA of these strange More news at Contact Us: sts from short codes.Two It’sscienti a Bit.ly adress Wits have published a paper which says Email: info@hypertext.co.za shortening link, which means that that South Africa may be at when you type it into web go to htxt.co.za Tel: (011) 023-8001/4 increas ed riskyour of tropical storm damag browser it will take e. you to a longer Fax: 08654 83304 Our content is licensed under a Creative 6 | TECH MADE EASY | MARCH 2014 Commons Attribution-NonCommercialShareAlike 3.0 Unported Licence. Other rights may apply for non-original materials.
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FACEBOOK BUYS WHATSAPP FOR R200BN Facebook has just dived into its war chest again to make another big purchase, this time it’s buying the popular messaging service WhatsApp. Bit.ly/1nPD8wj
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Contents ISSUE #10
27
Need to know
www.htxt.co.za December 2014
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End of year specials all round.
7 8 12 14 21
Camera news and buyers’ advice.
39 41 47
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28 30 33 35
Apple iPhone 6 Is the new fruity flagship worth the price of an upgrade. Sony Xperia Z3 Hot on the heels of the Z2, more improvements to Sony’s Android phone. Samsung Galaxy Note 4 and Sony Xperia Z3 Compact Big or small? Two top new handsets to choose from. Vodacom Smart Tab 3G What sort of tablet deal can you expect for R999? Call of Duty: AW Soldiering on to its next mighty sequel. Sid Meier’s Civilization: Beyond Earth It’s Civ, in space. But is it any good? Sunset Overdrive Silly shooter from the future with fizzy pop.
Nikon hits milestone And Samsung has a great new camera out. Mirrorless compact systems It’s the SLR of the future. Which should you buy? Going wild Heading to the bush this Christmas? Make the most of your snaps.
How to...
Top tips for your tech
What’s new this month?
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Photos Made Easy
The best reviews
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A night with Umuzi The photo club that’s changing the world. Gear of the Year Our picks from the best hardware of 2014. Tech news SAPS new car & modular phones Games of the Year The essential videogames of the last 12 months. 5 best gift ideas Last minute tech stocking filler ideas for Christmas.
Mobile games roundup Monument Valley, Fieldrunners 2, Zen Pinball HD, Surgeon Simulator, Sonic Racing
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51 52
Connect a tablet to your TV SA has new video on demand apps. Here’s how to put them on the big screen. What’s new in WhatsApp? Secret settings for the messaging monster. How to create a USB bootdrive It’s the best way to fix Windows without resorting to a compact disc.
The stuff at the back Rounding off another awesome issue.
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Win an ASUS tablet! R5 000 of 3G tab up for grabs. This month in stats The facts and figures about South Africa this month. WWW.HTXT.CO.ZA | 5
NEED TO KNOW: NEWS
A night with Umuzi Photo Club An evening out at the creative agency with a difference.
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nusually, we’re hanging out on a weekday evening in Jeppestown. Specifically, at Bjala Square, one of the most fascinating urban development projects in the Joburg metro. We’re here for Ke Nna Mang – Zulu for Who Am I? – hosted by the Umuzi Photo Club. Ke Nna Mang is the culmination of Umuzi’s annual Power of 50 internship program through which it places 50 young South Africans from eKasi backgrounds into learning positions at creative agencies like Jo Public, Ogilvy, BBDO and so on. It’s backed by Investec’s money and has been running for six years. “Our brief for this campaign was ‘Be Weird’,” explains 24-year-old Tshwanelo Modise, pointing to posters and a video produced for one of FCB’s clients, “Our inspiration was a guy we found who was an accountant by day and in a rock band at night. We turned that into a concept about people with different lives.” Modise originally trained in film making, but found herself making graphics for a popular sports TV channel for a living – and soon bored. “We would work on a single graphic for eight months at a time,” she says, “I wanted to work on lots of things.” Fortunately for Modise, she found Umuzi before the routine blandness of her job killed any passion for it. Through Umuzi she attended training courses from the likes of Vega and Da Vinci, and interned
at FCB – picking up a wide variety of skills along the way. “The beginning of the year was skills training,” she says, “Copywriting, photography and so on. Now I know that I want to be an art director.” “We desperately need transformation in the creative sector,” says Umuzi board member Gilbert Pooley, “There simply isn’t enough young, black talent coming through.” To rectify this, Umuzi offers both professional services such as corporate and event photography and works with agencies to place interns to work directly on commissioned projects for clients. And a place for its interns to access the gear and facilities they need to learn. “There’s a strong emphasis on real world
“We desperately need transformation in the creative sector, there simply isn’t enough young, black talent coming through.” work experience,” Pooley explains. Pooley moved Umuzi to its permanent home, and the space for this exhibition, earlier this year. It now occupies a large studio space in the ground floor of Bjala
Square. “Maboneng is about creating a precinct and bringing people from outside the area, we’re about working with the existing community,” says Bjala’s Chantal Mann. “Property developers are about the bottom line and profit, they have to be. We’re about putting the community first.” The building itself is currently being renovated into apartments with modern fittings and open plan spaces which wouldn’t look out of place in the centre of Sandton – except for the fact that they’re offered for affordable rents of between R2 100 a month for a studio to R4 300 for a three bedroom apartment, and a mix of studios for local artists and other retail downstairs. Unlike Maboneng’s fancy restaurants, the corner unit is currently occupied by a genial lady who sells hearty pap and vleis for R10-15 a plate. Bjala has also brought fibre internet to the area and is planning to start a free WiFi project from the block. Back to the Ke Nna Mang exhibition and the audience is large and varied. Some are the families of the student’s whose work is on display, others are wine quaffing agency execs celebrating the success of their interns and scouting for new talent. It’s certainly an unusual crowd for one of Johannesburg’s often forgotten and deeply troubled suburbs. But if the likes of Bjala and Umuzi are successful, it may not be rare in the future. Bit.ly/1wueCbQ WWW.HTXT.CO.ZA | 7
It’s December, which can mean only one thing. It’s time to look back over 2014 and decide kit made the cut for Gear of the Year.
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here’s been no shortage of new kit released in 2014, and htxt.africa has seen a steady stream of couriers pass through its magnificent marbled arches with phones, laptops and other bits and pieces over the course of the last 12 months. But which did we genuinely love? Which is worthy of further attention? Our team of crack review specialists award their favourites the meritorious title of Gear of the Year here.
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t was the year of the cheap smartphone, and the democratisation of tech. My three picks are all about making the internet cheaper and available anywhere.
ASUS TRANSFORMER TF303CL The ultimate Android tablet workhorse. Price: R5 000 Original review: Bit.ly/1v8Gvrg
BRCK Price: approx R2 000 Link: brck.com What is it? Developed by the Kenyan team behind iHub and Ushahidi, BRCK is a ruggedised modem router that can create a wireless mesh network with internet access anywhere you go. Why it's ace… BRCK is built for Africa, by Africans and is impossible not to love. The chosen tool for adventurers and NGOs alike for taking net access into the most extreme areas. VODACOM SMART TAB 3G
What is it? ASUS’ latest Transformer tablet uses an Intel Atom processor to turn the Android mobile operating system into something more akin to desktop performance. It’s fast, furious, lightweight and comes with an excellent keyboard dock and a high res screen.
8 | TECH MADE EASY | DECEMBER 2014
Why it's ace… I’d almost abandoned Android for anything more heavyweight than phone calls and emails, but the Transformer TF303cl is now my constant travel companion and is equally at home editing photos and sound as it is as a writing machine. Plus, it has built-in LTE at a ridiculously low cost.
Price: R999 Original review: Bit.ly/1EJtXYC It’s not the world’s best tablet, but at a silly low price with three months of data included it’s something that truly deserves the title “game changer”.
GEAR OF THE YEAR
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ach year tries to trump the previous in terms of innovation, and 2014 has been no different. From watches to smartphones, we have made great progress, and here’s the kit which I think outshone the rest.
IPHONE 6 Apple really cranked up the technology for its latest flagship. Price: approx. R 12 000 Original review: Bit.ly/10UK7io
What is it? The most recent iPhone is a departure for Apple in terms of design. It’s thinner and lighter than the competition and is more delicately crafted with soft, round edges and a big, big screen. Why it’s ace Apple’s iPhone 6 is my Gear of the Year for a number of reasons. I have been a loyal Android user for the past four years and decided that it was time for a change. Which meant switching to Apple’s iOS – and so far I have no regrets. Besides the smooth operation of the operating system, the biggest and most exciting feature for me was the newly-implemented TouchID system of fingerprint recognition. I really enjoy the way the smartphone handles operations, its sleek design and as a first time iOS user, it is indeed a breath of fresh mobile air. XBOX ONE Price: R8 000 Original review: Bit.ly/114DIS5 What is it? It has almost been nine years since Microsoft launched the Xbox 360, so it was high-time that the company updated its entertainment machine with a gaming console that was truly 21st Century. And while the Xbox One has been slow to come to South Africa, it was worth waiting for. Why it’s ace… Having the capacity to produce stunning graphics, the gaming console firmly places it as one of the must-have gadgets of the year. Better graphics, an updated controller and built-in Blu-ray player is only a small amount of the tech included. PENTAX K-50 Price: R8 000 Original review: Bit.ly/1ECPJLA Pentax might not be the most popular camera brand, but the K-50 does its best to make an impression. It has a 16MP APS-C CMOS sensor, SAFOX IXi+ Auto Focus module and a solid weather-resistant body.
CANON POWERSHOT D30
DJI PHANTOM II Price: approx. R9 000 Original review: Bit.ly/1y9A6tm Who doesn’t want a drone? The Phantom II is in the top tier when it comes to manned aerial toys and will provide for hours of flying fun.
Price: R3 300 Original review: Bit.ly/1rrG6vW Underwater cameras are amazing and incredibly fun to play with. Canon is top notch here, as the D30 packs a 12.1-megapixel High-Sensitivity CMOS sensor, has a 5x optical zoom with 28mm wide angle and a 10x digital zoom, and is waterproof up to 25 meters.
WWW.HTXT.CO.ZA | 9
GEAR OF THE YEAR
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ou might think I’m overstating the case, but I don’t think gaming has had a better year for a long time, thanks to next-gen consoles becoming current-gen and ever-evolving PC hardware.
SONY PLAYSTATION 4 One year later the PS4 has proved its worth. Price: From R6 299 Original review: Bit.ly/1eVJIfh
What is it? The PlayStation 4 is a dedicated games machine, with some multimedia functionality thrown in that includes Blu-ray playback and the ability to play music files stored on USB drives. Sony has given the PS4 a fast x86 processor, 8GB of shared (and really fast) GDDR5 memory and a 500GB hard drive for game data installs. The PlayStation Store is an integral part of its appeal, as that’s where gamers can buy digital games and PS Plus subscriptions with the touch of only a few buttons.
Why it’s ace… Sony’s latest games console is a monster of a machine, with better hardware than the competition and games with graphics that continually surprise and delight. A stream of updates have kept improving its performance and interface, and the volume of games available has exploded in the past 12 months. The platform has excellent exclusives like The Last of Us, inFAMOUS: Second Son and Resogun. Sony also updated the controller (finally!) so that it’s actually comfortable to use, and added a useful touchpad that lets you do things in-game with the slide of a finger. The overall experience is just brilliant.
XBOX ONE CONTROLLER Price: R799 Original review: Engt.co/1xDKoU5 What is it? A controller for the Xbox One Why it’s ace… It’s even more comfortable and responsive than the 360’s truly excellent controller and a joy to hold in your hands for hours on end.
GIGABYTE AUROS X3 GAMING NOTEBOOK Price: R29 999 Original review: Bit.ly/1yEuRBJ The X3 runs most PC games beautifully with its powerful GeForce GTX870M GPU, has some seriously sexy looks and boots up in seconds.
SAPPHIRE AMD RADEON R9 290 4GB TRI-X OC R5 799 Original review: Bit.ly/1mVab4A Its Tri-X fan design keeps things very quiet, it runs almost all games at 1080p/60fps and above and can even game at 4K.
SONY XPERIA Z3 SMARTPHONE Price: R9 999 Original review: Bit.ly/1taD244 It’s not just a good phone, it also lets you play PS4 games on the go with Sony’s Remote Play feature.
P
hones, phones, phones... this year saw so many new and excellent smartphones that it’s hard to remember anything else. But it was also the year videostreaming came to South Africa – and that’s going to be big.
SAMSUNG GALAXY NOTE 4 Samsung’s best Note yet. Price: R11 499 Original review: Bit.ly/1sMRZcP
10 | TECH MADE EASY | DECEMBER 2014
What is it?: The 5.7inch Samsung Galaxy Note 4 is the latest version of the company’s range of Note phablets. The original giant screened phone and still the best, the Note 4 gets you through your daily work tasks with slick software for handling projects and to-do lists, then kicks back and helps with simple household errands too. The Samsung Galaxy Note 4 wouldn’t be a Note without the nowfamous Samsung S Pen Stylus created for jotting down notes and creating drawing in your own handwriting as well as performing other navigational tasks on the phone.
Why it’s ace The Samsung Galaxy Note 4 is ideal for those who have hectic work schedules and tasks on their plate and are looking for something to cover both their social and professional life. It’s 16MP rear-facing camera delivers excellent picture cquality for both photo and video and the added extra shooting modes and features make for a great shot everytime. It’s also pretty easy on the eyes with a sleek, elegant metal-framed design. Plus you get 2GB a month free WiFi for a year from AlwaysOn.
GEAR OF THE YEAR
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his was undoubtedly the year in which Android smartphones matured and became truly competitive with the iPhone in terms of design, giving us all more options at upgrade time.
SONY XPERIA Z3
What is it? A top of the range smartphone from one of the world’s largest electronics manufacturers with almost every high end specification available packed into a well crafted, beautifully designed body that beats out every other smartphone we’ve played with this year (and there have been quite a few of those). The Z3 forms part of Sony’s new way of thinking about high end smartphones and tablets mirroring the successful recipe driven by Apple: tablets and smartphones with similar hardware just in different sized packages.
The best smartphone on the market right now. Price: From R8 000 Original review: Bit.ly/1taD244
HTC ONE (M8) Price: R7 500 Original review: Bit.ly/1BnRcJq What is it? HTC was the company behind the first ever Android smartphone but until the HTC One and its successor the (M8) it’s not had a clear lead over the competition. Why it’s ace It’s the most beautiful Android smartphone on the market with a premium aluminium shell that matches Apple’s industrial design mastery.
Why its ace… Sony is on a twice yearly mission to get back into the smartphone limelight and the Xperia Z3 is the fruit of that mission for the latter half of 2014. It replaces the barely six month old Xperia Z2 but makes enough changes to the design and performance that it truly stands head and shoulders above its predecessor. While other smartphones have made clear strides towards becoming the best in the game Sony has taken a giant leap forward becoming the one to beat. It ticks my two main smartphone boxes of display quality and epic battery life making it my top pick for the year by a country mile.
JAWBONE UP24 Price: R1 599 Original review: Bit.ly/1zoBitF Tracking sleep, food and fitness is becoming a big deal and the UP24 does them better than anyone else.
APPLE IPAD MINI WITH RETINA DISPLAY Price: R4 999 Original review: Bit.ly/14m2mQ8 Apple’s iPad’s are simply the best tablets in the game and the singlehand-usability makes the Mini the pick of the lot.
HUAWEI ASCEND P7 Price: R4 500 Original review: Bit.ly/1qHYQ7w The best smartphone for your buck by a mile, and one of the sexiest looking to boot.
SAMSUNG S32D850T PC MONITOR Price: R15 500 Original review: Bit.ly/11nAxWL
SONY XPERIA T3 Price: R5 639 Original review: Bit.ly/1v919aJ What is it? The Sony Xperia T3 didn’t win the headlines of its siblings the Z-series, but as a mid-ranger it’s almost impossible to beat. Why it’s ace… Although the Xperia T3 is not the best Sony has to offer, if you’re looking for an affordable option that doesn’t skimp on quality it’s hard to fault.
It isn’t cheap, but whether you’re doing work, gaming or relaxing with some entertainment, this 32inch PC monitor is huge and has a beautiful display.
ALTECH NODE Price: R3 499 once-off Original review: Bit.ly/1sN3W1Y One box covers your home’s entertainment needs with 700 hours of movies, TV series and sports content available on the Node. It also doubles up as a smarthome controller.
WITHINGS PULSE FITNESS TRACKER Price: R 1 599 Original review: Bit.ly/1pdJJFG The Withings Pulse is ideal for those who aren’t familiar with fitness trackers and how they work. It’s easy to use and produces great results.
WWW.HTXT.CO.ZA | 11
NEED TO KNOW: NEWS
Google’s modular phone is looking amazing
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SAPS gets a high-tech, connected police car
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hrough services and connectivity provided by mobile operator Vodacom and tech provided by Samsung, the South African Police Service will soon be receiving its first police car equipped with a host of networked sensors and a full time internet connection. While it’s great that some lucky officers could be equipped with this seriously sophisticated crime-fighting tech, it is a little scary from a Big Brother perspective. These Police cars will for example have the ability to recognise number plates through the use of specialised cameras and notify officers to pull suspicious vehicles over. It’s not only number plates can be researched, however. The tech built into these futuristic cop cars will also be able to check up on drivers’ ID numbers, licences, outstanding fines and other information - and even print notices for lawbreakers on the spot. Bit.ly/1upYKIq
oogle’s Project Ara modular smartphone works on the premise of users being able to change individual components of their phones for newer, faster and better ones as needed, as if they were LEGO blocks. Appropriately, then, it was the website PHONEBLOKS which went to the ARA lab to see the latest version of the prototype and make a video of the project’s first functional phones. Footage shows a working prototype that boots into Android and goes into a few of the menus, albeit rather slowly. The featured prototype, called ‘Spiral 1’ only has about 50% of the space in each module available to developers to work with because the other half is taken up by the parts that allow the modular chips to integrate into the ARA platform. ‘Spiral 2’, which will be shown at the first Project ARA developer conference in January next year will however have a new set of customised modularity chips built by Toshiba and in doing so, allow for most of the module to be freed up for developers to tinker with. Bit.ly/1Efmb8C
The Microsoft Band is a fitness wearable with Kinect tech
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icrosoft has just outed its latest creation, the Microsoft Band, which, like the Jawbone UP24, is a fitness racker made to be worn 24/7. To make this possible, Microsoft says, the Band and has battery designed to last for several days (something that other wearables have been struggling with of late). Additionally, it has integrated GPS for tracking distance and pace for runners and cyclists and has a built in, always-on heart rate sensor to keep constant track of teh user’s ticker. Along with heart rate, the Band also monitors and transmits steps taken, calories burned, the quality
and duration of sleep, and a personal UV index for good measure. It can also guide you through an exercise program with on screen prompts to begin the next exercise and how long your rest between sets is. It also handles other smart watch type functions, like telling the time and notifying you of incoming tweets, emails and the like on its inward facing display (which Microsoft has said is perfectly readable in the bright outdoors). The Band also connects to the Microsoft Health apps for Windows Phone, iOS and Android, and has a sync app for Mac. Bit.ly/10pAZT4
women htxt africa SOUTH AFRICA’S MOST IMPORTANT SITE FOR WOMEN IN IT 12 | TECH MADE EASY | DECEMBER 2014
HEAD TO WOMEN.HTXT.CO.ZA
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For the game changers who push boundaries of realism
Built by gamers, for gamers, Xbox One brings the new generation of games and entertainment. The cinematic gameplay rivals Hollywood, making games look and feel incredibly real. With Xbox Live Gold, Smart Match uses advanced algorithms to pair users with the right players, giving them more control over who they play with. And when gamers want to play, only to find that their friends are offline? It’s still game on because Xbox One games learn! Games can learn to play like their users and their friends, so there is always a worthy opponent, anytime. To seal the ultimate gaming experience, is the Xbox One Wireless Controller with new impulse triggers that deliver fingertip vibration feedback and over 40 other innovations.
world with dynamic day, night and spectacular weather effects in stunning 1080p. Over 200 cars can be driven in epic road trips and gamers can instantly connect with friends online with no lobbies and no waiting. The action-packed driving gameplay rewards gamers for showing off style as well as skill. For the best games, biggest blockbusters and best multiplayer games, gamers can experience stunning realism with these games and more on Xbox One: • •
Built for the multitaskers, Xbox One lets gamers quickly jump from TV to a game - and can snap them side-by-side to enjoy both simultaneously. One of Xbox One’s premier games is the Forza Horizon 2, launched in late 2014. Gamers can explore a beautiful open
11302 Xbox Tech Made Easy Advertorial layout_v4_dw.indd 1
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Project Spark, an open-world canvas for creating, playing and sharing games Killer Instinct, with next-generation visuals, over-the-top action and a wild cast of combatants Sunset Overdrive, a high-velocity open-world shooter Halo: The Master Chief Collection, the Master Chief’s entire story on one console Minecraft Xbox One Edition, where gamers can create and explore their own worlds
2014/11/25 3:37 PM
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NEED TO KNOW: GAMES
BEST GAMES OF 2014
This year’s biggest PC, console and handheld video games are some of the most best we’ve seen. Here are our team’s top picks.
Adam gets lost in space ELITE: DANGEROUS Publisher: Frontier Full preview: Bit.ly/1v8Ddo6
Technically speaking, Elite: Dangerous isn’t out yet as the official release date is right at the end of December. But I’ve been playing the various betas for long enough that I know this is my top pick - even if there is no online mode. It’s an awesome multiplayer space opera that’s unlike anything since pretty much the original.
Tiana loved these. CIVILISATION 5
SUPER SMASH BROS.
MARIO KART 8
Charlie is a Diabloholic DIABLO III ULTIMATE EVIL EDITION (XBOX ONE) Publisher: Activision Full review: Bit. ly/1tQ3wIo I have always been a massive Diablo fan ever since it first launched on PC. But the Xbox One version works really well, and is tons of long-hour fun.
Charlie also loved… DESTINY
Bit.ly/1xtvBwo
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DEAD RISING 3 Bit.ly/1sJqVRV
FORZA HORIZON 2 Bit.ly/11nlNXN
NEED TO KNOW: GAMES
Dave is a cyberwarrior
WATCH_DOGS
Publisher: Ubisoft Full review: Bit.ly/1x0AQm1 Chicago’s new pervasive Central Operating System (CtOS) controls everything from traffic lights to banking. Use your smartphone to hack into and bend CtOS to your will. Many fun. So explosion. Much Hack. Amaze.
Dave also loved… CALL OF DUTY: ADVANCED WARFARE Bit.ly/1tQk6rF
RESOGUN
THREES!
Deon is Lord of the Ring s MIDDLE-EARTH: SHADOW OF MORDOR Publisher: Warner Bros. Interactive Full review: Bit.ly/1x88Fit Shadow of Mordor’s unflinching ultra-violence, the clever Nemesis system and an array of gorgeously ugly Orcs that I loved to hate kept me playing long after the review was done.
Deon also loved… SNIPER ELITE III Bit.ly/1lTojHh
WOLFENSTEIN
Bit.ly/1inNEsA
RISEN 3: TITAN LORDS
Bit.ly/1rwNitd
What about your favourites? Loads of great games have come out this year, so what did we miss? Tell us about your favourites at htxt.co.za/ gamesof2014 and win superb prizes!
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W E N G N I H T E M O S
EVERY DAY!
Stay up-to-date with South African tech-related news, features and reviews at our website, htxt.africa! If you’re enjoying this month’s Tech Made Easy magazine, you’ll love our daily website. It covers all the same news, reviews and info-heavy how-tos, but in even more depth and in even greater quantity. htxt.africa is South Africa’s newest and fastest growing tech website. Come, join our community and find out why.
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htxt africa www.htxt.co.za Live from South Africa.. Tech, Culture, Games, Geeks, more
NEED TO KNOW: GAMES
Now you can play PS4 games on Xperia Z3 phones and tablets
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ou can now use any one of Sony’s Xperia Z3 smartphones or tablets to stream games from your PlayStation 4 using the same Remote Play feature that is built into the PS Vita portable console. Basically, the console runs the game but the video and controls are handed over to your phone. Setting up Remote Play is simple enough with a quick download of the app from the Google Play Store and pairing of a DualShock 4 controller over Bluetooth, which you of course will have since you own a PS4, to your phone or tablet or that’s required. The app connects your Xperia Z3 smartphone or tablet to your PS4
over WiFi and acts as the display for your games letting you play anywhere over the local network. Things are (of course) made easier if you buy something like the GCM10 Game Control Mount accessory which slides over your DualShock controller and adds a suction cup for your phone or tablet to be mounted on [A fool and their money... - Stingy Ed].The PS4 Remote Play feature is currently only available for the Xperia Z3, Xperia Z3 Compact and the Xperia Tablet Z3 Compact, however Sony are busy working on bringing the functionality to the Xperia Z2 and Xperia Tablet Z2 in the coming weeks as well. Bit.ly/1A9SVl9
Open world games are better than linear ones, says Ubisoft
O Play Street Fighter II and 900 of its closest friends for free in your browser
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he Internet Arcade is a non-profit organisation that works hard to archive movies, music books, websites and games, and it has just added over 900 classic arcade games to their collection. All 900+ games are entirely playable in a modern browser, they support gamepads and can be played for free. Included in the line-up are classics like Out Run, Street Fighter II, Bionic Command and Qbert. All games can be played within your favourite browser or downloaded separately and run within an emulator, but honestly doing it all from a browser is far easier as it does all of the hard work for you. Games can be played in a tiny window, or full screen for that proper pixelated experience. If you’re bored at work and want to give something new (or old) a try, head over there now. Bit.ly/1x2YME1
More stories at go to htxt.co.za
ne of the developers working on Far Cry 4 has said that he believes linear games that tell a set story in a set way will “suffer” in the current gaming market, and that open world games are the future. Far Cry 4 developer Alex Hutchinson says the reason he feels open world is the future is because of the emergent gameplay that they make possible, where players have different experiences of the same game which they then share with one another over popular video-streaming services like Twitch, image-sharing services like Flickr and Twitter. “I think linear story games are really going to suffer in the modern marketplace. They’re already super high-quality, and we’re already seeing their audiences migrate to the big open world games. “If I open my friends list and see everybody on the same mission, doing the same thing... I think that’s nowhere near as strong a sales pitch as opening your friends list and seeing 40 people doing completely different things.” Bit.ly/1t7TAJR
YOU CAN NOW PLAY THE NEW ALONE IN THE DARK CO-OP The idea behind it is that you play as one of four character classes – Hunter, Witch, Priest or Engineer –as you investigate the fictional town of Lorwich. Bit.ly/1tvV58h
THIS YEAR’S CALL OF DUTY MAY HAVE THE BEST MULTIPLAYER YET CoD is a full-on, balls-to-the-wall fantastic thanks to powered suits that give your soldier superhuman abilities and let you move in new ways. Bit.ly/13CKct9
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NEED TO KNOW: GAMES
The Gear VR virtual reality headset is coming to South Africa at last
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Learn to make games at the Friends of Design Academy of Digital Arts
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ant to amake games for a living? ’Course you do. And now there’s a course for you too: the Game Graphics and Multimedia Education (G.a.M.E.) course at the Friends of Design Academy of Digital Arts is is the only one of its kind in South Africa that’s accredited by the Council on Higher Education, and it will equip graduates with a working knowledge of several critical game-creation skills. You’ll need to be in Cape Town or Johannesburg to attend the course, and there is no word on how much the course costs. But if this sounds like something you’d like to get involved in, or you know anyone who wants to learn how to make games, head over to the course’s official web page and check it out. Bit.ly/1rXiX0E
few weeks ago, at the launch event for the new Galaxy Note 4 phablet, Samsung called John Carmack on to stage. The father of the first-person-shooter and current CTO of the Facebook owned Oculus VR, introduced a companion device for the Note 4: the Gear VR headset. It’s a headset that allows you to mount your Note 4 in the front of it to transform it into a full VR headset complete with root access to the hardware that allowed Oculus to reduce the lag that often cripples similar projects. It has a 90 degree viewing angle which translates into a viewing experience that’s akin to looking at a 175 inch screen from 2 meters away. While we don’t have a confirmed price or date of availability yet we have had it confirmed that the Gear VR will be coming to South Africa some time in the near future which could put it in line to hit our shores at the same time as the Oculus Rift proper. Bit.ly/1phzbHG
Vine’s looping videos come to Xbox One
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s if there aren’t enough things on the Xbox One to distract gamers from their everyday lives, Microsoft will now be entertaining console players in six second bursts with the launch of the Vine app on the next-gen console. Vine is a social media service that allows users to create six second videos, some of which are rather clever and highly creative, and post them to the service for others to view. Traditionally the social platform has only been available for smartphones, but this is the first time that it has been developed for TV. “Available to Xbox Live members, Vine on Xbox One brings one of the world’s most used video apps
NINTENDO MAY DROP REGIONLOCKING Satoru Iwata is considering dropping the “region-locking” that prevents gamers from buying 3DS and Wii U games from other countries Bit.ly/1t7U9n1
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MSI’S GT80 TITAN NOTEBOOK HAS A MECHANICAL KEYBOARD What makes this gaming notebook special is that it’s apparently the world’s first to feature a mechanical keyboard (apparently better for gaming). Bit.ly/13CKJex
alongside your favourite games and entertainment,” Microsoft said in a media statement. As with most apps on the Xbox One, you will be able to control it using the Kinect’s voice and gesture controls. You can also search for Vines by category. You can watch popular Vines, explore channels like Art, Music & Dance, and Comedy, view playlists, and more. In addition, the app can be snapped next to your games, TV or other entertainment apps, making it possible to watch Vines alongside your favourite games or whatever you’re watching. The app is available for download in the Store through the Xbox One dashboard. Bit.ly/1tDal4S
FAR CRY 4 ART TELLS THE STORY OF THE GAME’S DESIGN Each image is accompanied by a detailed explanation of what the development team was trying to achieve with that specific scenario. Bit.ly/10onaV9
BRING THE SKYLANDERS TO LIFE!®
TRAP AND PLAY AS VILLAINS!
©2014 Activision Publishing, Inc. SKYLANDERS TRAP TEAM is a trademark and ACTIVISION is a registered trademark of Activision Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved. ‘2’ , ‘PlayStation’, ‘Ã’ and ‘À’ are trademarks or registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. ‘Ø’ is a trademark of the same company. All Rights Reserved. Wii U, Wii, Nintendo 3DS and Nintendo 2DS are trademarks of Nintendo. © 2013 Nintendo. All other trademarks and trade names are the properties of their respective owners. All rights reserved. USE OF THIS PRODUCT IS SUBJECT TO THE TERMS OF SERVICE AND PRIVACY POLICY AT SKYLANDERS.COM/SUPPORT. IF YOU DO NOT WISH TO ACCEPT THE TERMS OF SERVICE AND PRIVACY POLICY PLEASE DO NOT PURCHASE THIS PRODUCT. ONLINE PLAY REQUIRES BROADBAND INTERNET CONNECTION.
festive tech gifts If you haven’t drawn up a gift list yet or need a bit of help deciding what to get your loved ones, we’ve rounded up five tech treats and stocking fillers that are sure to put a smile on your family and friend’s faces.
PHONESOAP The PhoneSoap is more than your average portable charger. Not only can you juice your iPhone up with it, but you can also clean and sanitise it at the same time (in just four minutes) using the PhoneSoap’s UV-C lights that sit at the bottom and top covers. The best part is that the PhoneSoap’s acoustic outlets will notify you whenever any alarm, reminder or message comes through.
Price: R799 Bit.ly/1rnbuJj
ZEPP GOLF SENSOR Every golfer knows the key to a good shot is all in the swing and while you may not be as good as Ernie Els, you can certainly try. The Zepp Golf Sensor is small 3D motion sensor that comes with its own app designed to help analyse and improve your golf swing. Just snap it onto your glove and the Zepp sensor will send data to the app via Bluetooth after every swing.
Price: R1 699 Bit.ly/1lxgWv0
CRAYOLA DIGITOOLS DELUXE The Crayola DigiTools Deluxe pack is the definition of old school crayons and colouring books turned high tech. Now instead of a big pack of crayons, kids get to use just three colouring wands to colour-in existing pictures, draw their own and make 3D images, sparkling paintings and graffiti.
Price: R699 Bit.ly/1tnkVIT
ROMO ROBOT This cool accessory not only keeps kids busy and entertained, it also teaches them how to code by allowing them to adopt a Romo and then letting it learn it to respond in various situations by playing with it. The Romo Robot looks like a cell phone stand and connects to an iPhone by simply clipping it on. Download the Romo Robot companion app from iTunes and get started on the mission to send Romo Robot to space.
Price: R1 499 Bit.ly/YWnwSh
Q-PIC SELFIE SHOOTER If you’re selfie obsessed and are always looking for the best way to take the perfect shot, the Q-PIC Selfie Shooter is what you need. The Selfie Shooter links to your cell phone via Bluetooth, so it’s the selfie come full circle really - a portrait of the owner without their phone. The Selfie Shooter comes in five different colours: orange, green, pink, blue and black.
Price: R349 Bit.ly/YbIgF3
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REVIEWS
DETAILS
Apple iPhone 6
• Display: 4.7 inch 750×1 334 resolution IPS LCD display (326ppi) • Operating System: iOS 8.1 • Processor: 1.4GHz dual core Apple A8 • Memory: 1GB RAM • Storage: 16GB/64GB/128GB non expandable storage • Battery: 1 810mAh • Camera: 8 megapixel camera • Networking: dual band 802.11ac WiFi, Bluetooth 4.0, LTE • Dimensions: 138.1mmx67mmx6.9mm • Weight: 129g • Other: TouchID fingerprint sensor From R9 899
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The iPhone is all grown up. But is that enough to make it the best?
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his is the iPhone 6, the next step in Apple’s smartphone plan and the first to feature a display that’s larger than 4inches in size. It represents a change in the look and feel that we had all become comfortable with over the last four generations of its predecessors, and brings with it all of the expertise in both hardware and software that Apple can muster into one seamless package. The aluminium casing of the iPhone’s past has never been the hardiest of any smartphone material, but we were particularly disappointed with how easily normal wear and tear left their mark on the back of the phone here. It meant that a case became an immediate necessity; negating a lot of the sexiness of that trim, slim 6.9mm thick body. The iPhone 6 is powered by a dual core 1.4GHz processor with 1GB of RAM which on paper puts it miles behind the 2GHz and higher quad core processors and 3GB of RAM that its Android competitors have going for them. The new storage tiers are baffling. A 16GB iPhone is too small for most users, who will get annoyed after prolonged use without a microSD card slot to hoard some of the more data heavy media. It’s time that 32GB became standard, frankly.
22 | TECH MADE EASY | DECEMBER 2014
The TouchID fingerprint sensor continues to be one of the best features of the iPhone and with the update to iOS 8 now giving other apps the ability to sign in using fingerprint authentication there are far more uses for the sensor than ever before. On every other device with a fingerprint reader, a bar-type sensor that requires you sliding your finger across the surface to unlock it is used. In Apple’s TouchID sensor a far more elegant approach is used, implementing the sensor into the sapphire crystal home button. No sliding of fingers, and consequent dropping of phones. The camera module on the iPhone 6 protrudes from the back of the phone and while the incredibly tough sapphire glass lens covering isn’t likely to get scratched it detracts from the design of the iPhone on the whole. The camera resolution has remained at the same 8 megapixels that iPhones have been at since the 2011 iPhone 4s. While the individual pixels themselves have grown to 1.5µm in size in the years since, that change only happened last year in the iPhone 5s. Once the undisputed leader of the smartphone pack Apple has lost a lot of ground to its competitors who have copied innovated their way to much better
hardware and software over the last few years. All of that aside, the iPhone 6 is indeed the best iPhone that Apple has ever made and there isn’t a fanboi out there who would not be thrilled with receiving an iPhone 6 upgrade. In typical iPhone fashion, it does everything exceptionally well and while it still suffers from some of the same bugbears that we have had with previous generations of its forbears, we cannot deny that it’s one of the best smartphones we’ve ever reviewed.
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Bit.ly/10UK7io
SCORES Design
9
Performance
10
Battery life
6
Value for money
8
Display
9
Interface
10
Overall
9
S
S
Z
MOUSE MOUSE
WIRELESS MOUSE
WIRELESS MOUSE
M90
M185
M187
WIRELESS COMBO’S
WIRELESS KEYBOARD & MOUSE
WIRELESS KEYBOARD & MOUSE
MK270
MK330
SPEAKERS
SURROUND SOUND SPEAKERS Z506
REVIEWS
DETAILS
Sony Xperia Z3
• Display: 5.2inch, 1 080×1 920 resolution IPS LCD display (441ppi) • Operating System: Android 4.4.4 • Processor: 2.5GHz quad core Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 processor • Memory: 3GB of RAM • Storage: 16GB expandable by up to 128GB with a microSD card • Battery: 3 100mAh nonreplaceable battery • Camera: 20.7 megapixel camera • Networking: 802.11ac WiFi, Bluetooth 4.0, LTE • Dimensions: 146mmx72mmx7.3mm • Weight: 152g • Other: IP68 certified dust proof and water-resistant at depths over 1 meter for 30 minutes R8 055
Is this the best Android smartphone available right now?
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his is the Sony Xperia Z3, the second flagship smartphone from Sony in 2014 which has replaced the barely half-year-old Sony Xperia Z2. And despite the rapid iteration, Sony has outdone itself with the Xperia Z3’s new design. From the moment you first pick the Z3 up there’s a feeling that it’s something special in the world of cheap, plastic smartphones that have flooded the market. It’s once again an all glass affair with large tempered panels both front and back. Sony has thrown almost every piece of high end hardware it can into the Xperia Z3. Its quad core 2.5GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 processor and 3GB of RAM combine for blisteringly fast performance on everything from web browsing to gaming. The 16GB of storage in our review unit could easily be filled with 4k video and high resolution pictures from the 20.7 megapixel camera but because of the microSD card slot now accepting 128GB cards there were never really any worries about space. Wireless data is handled by the trifecta of 802.11ac WiFi, Bluetooth 4.0 and LTE while a 3 100mAh battery, which is slightly smaller than that of the Xperia Z2, keeps the Z3 running for longer. The latest version 4.4.4 of Android is loaded onto the Sony Xperia Z3 when
24 | TECH MADE EASY | DECEMBER 2014
you get it but the company has already committed to upgrading the Xperia Z3 the new version 5.0 otherwise known as Lollipop sometime early next year. Owners of a PlayStation 4 console will also have a handy treat with PS4 Remote Play, formerly just a feature for the PlayStation Vita portable console, now a part of the Xperia experience. The IPS LCD display of the Xperia Z2 has been again upgraded for use in the Xperia Z3 boasting drastically improved brightness levels which made reading anything in bright light, even outdoors under the full ferocity of a South African summer’s day a pleasure. Sony has resisted the urge to go to a QHD 1 440×2 560 resolutions like Samsung has with its Galaxy Note 4 and LG has with the G3. Instead the Z3 sticks with the 424 pixel per inch, 5.2 inch full HD display which ensure that Sony hasn’t lost much in the way of functionality while still managing to preserve the Xperia Z3’s battery life. The 20.7 megapixel camera is the same size sensor as the last two Xperia Z flagships but Sony tells us that it’s done some work to the lenses and the light sensitivity allowing it to go up to an incredible 12 800 ISO which helps make low light photography even better. The Superior Auto mode works fantastically
well at setting things up for the average photographer with the manual mode giving a host of settings to tinker with for the more advanced user out there. While the battery capacity has shrunk from 3 200mAh in the Xperia Z2 down to 3 100mAh in the Xperia Z3, it manages to eke out some of the most impressive battery life we’ve ever had the joy of experiencing in a smartphone. Simply put, the Xperia Z3 is the best smartphone Sony have made in years and it represents enough of an enhancement over the Xperia Z2 in aesthetics along to justify its existence. Bit.ly/1taD244
SCORES Design
9
Performance
9
Battery life
10
Value for money
9
Display
9
Interface
9
Overall
9
There is nothing quite like and then finding it again. TABLET LOCATED
PHONE LOCATED
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REVIEWS
More reviews at DETAILS
Samsung Galaxy Note 4 All hail the perfect phablet.
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amsung invented the “phablet” with the original Galaxy Note back in 2011 and over the years the company has consistently been at the top of the list when it came to selling a smartphone with an overly large display. The Galaxy Note 4 is Samsung’s latest and greatest version of the phablet. It brings with it the best technology available and everything it learnt from its previous phones and tablets. The newly designed Galaxy Note 4 sits in an all-aluminium frame with
a faux-leather back cover that lets the overall premium feel of the phone down a bit. It’s equipped with a beautiful Quad HD Super AMOLED display with a monstrous 1 440x2 560 resolution that has to be seen to be believed. The new 16 megapixel camera features optical image stabilisation and produces some fantastic pictures no matter the light. The iconic S Pen stylus has been improved with better pressure sensitivity and enhanced features that make it more useful than ever before
• Display: 5.7” Quad HD Super AMOLED (2560 x1440) • Storage: 3GB RAM + 32GB Internal memory • Extra: S Pen stylus R11 759
MSI GT72 Dominator Pro Gaming Laptop This is what happens when a world-class maker of computer components – MSI – gets the freedom to make a killer gaming notebook. Bit.ly/1uRgI5f
for those with a focus on productivity. Bit.ly/1FiyiQP
SCORES Design
8
Performance
8
Battery life
7
Camera
7
Overall
8
DETAILS • Display: 4.6 inch, 720×1 280 resolution IPS LCD display • Storage: 16GB expandable by up to 128GB with a microSD card R6 800
Sony Xperia Z3 Compact Small Android done right.
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ony has thrown all but the kitchen sink into the Xperia Z3 family and the Compact is no different. Specs-wise it’s the same as its big brother, with a quad core 2.5GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 processor paired to 2GB of RAM and 16GB of expandable storage. Sony’s excellent 20.7 megapixel camera with its 4k recording capability give serious cred to the imaging capability of the Xperia Z3 Compact but the disappointingly low resolution720p display lets down the look of the pictures on the Z3 Compact itself. A much larger than expected 2
600mAh battery is included along with the holy trinity of wireless communication in LTE, Bluetooth 4.0 and dual band 802.11ac WiFi. At 4.6 inches the display in the Sony Xperia Z3 Compact falls just one decimal point shy of the size of the iPhone 6’s new, largerthan-ever display. While it’s not as premium a smartphone as the full size Xperia Z3 is and the relatively small display size makes for some problems but its battery life, camera performance and price all make for one incredibly good smartphone So, if you’re in the market for a small Android smartphone that doesn’t skimp on the specs
then there is simply no question that the Xperia Z3 Compact is the only choice in that category that you should even consider. Bit.ly/1y4hlbn.
Hands-on with Huawei’s Ascend Mate 7 It’s big, but very slim with a metal back and a rounded profile that’s not all that indistinguishable from Apple’s iPhone 6S. Bit.ly/1C40RoJ
MTN Steppa Tablet 2014 has been the year of the budget tablet, and after being beaten to the line by rival Vodacom, MTN is getting in on the budget tablet act with its Steppa tablet. Bit.ly/1qZitgZ
SCORES Design
7
Performance
9
Battery life
9
Camera
9
Overall
8
WD My Passport Wireless Hard Drive Hate cables? Love portable hard drives? Freedom from wires and excellent performance all wrapped up in a decidedly pretty exterior. Well worth it. Bit.ly/11PIzHY
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REVIEWS
DETAILS • Display: 7inch, 540×960 TN display (160ppi) • Operating System: Android 4.4.2 • Processor: Dual core Mediatek MT8312, 1.3GHz • Memory: 512MB of RAM • Storage: 2GB, expandable to 32GB • Battery: 4 060mAh • Camera: 1.9MP rear, 0.3MP front • Networking: 802.11n WiFI, Bluetooth 4.0 and 3G/HSDPA+ • Graphics: Mali-400MP • Dimensions: 188mmx104mmx8mm • Weight: 259g R999 prepaid (with 100MB data/month for three months) From R59/month x 24 on contract
Vodacom Smart Tab 3G The R999 budget tablet that’s more than just a budget tablet.
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e can talk about infrastructure and we can talk about connectivity, but the only thing that’s going to get more people online in South Africa is simple: price. Meet the Vodacom Smart Tab 3G. Not only is the tablet itself cheap – R999 to buy out right – the data bundles available with it are some of the best value the operator has launched so far. Buy it outright, and it includes a SIM card and three months of data at 100MB a month. Buy it on a 24 month contract and for R59 a month you get the tablet and 500MB of anytime data and 500MB of nighttime data. Which leaves us just one question, doesn’t it? Is the tablet itself any good? The Smart Tab 3G is longer and thinner than most 7inchers, thanks to its extreme 16:10 widescreen resolution of 540×960. But it feels well put together and at 259g it’s lighter than most too. There’s a micro USB port at the top and on the left hand side a covered set of ports for the SIM card and optional microSD storage. The screen of the Vodacom Smart Tab 3G isn’t exactly ‘retina’ sharp, but with a respecatable 160dpi it’s not overly ugly either. It’s functional too, arriving with an unencumbered installation of Android 4.4.2 installed: the only customisation made is the addition of a ‘Vodacom’ 28 | TECH MADE EASY | DECEMBER 2014
folder on the first home screen which has the firm’s own app store and account management app in. In our standard run down test, the Vodacom Smart Tab 3G put in an impressive 13 and half hours of web browsing and mixed use activity. In the real world we think you’ll get slightly less – our initial impressions are that the 4060mAh cell is good for around nine to ten hours of general web browsing and info apps – and that’s based on current rundown performance of just over 10% an hour. (Some battery saving measures – like a light sensor for adjusting the backlight dynamically – are missing from the hardware.) The only real downside of the Smart Tab 3G is the storage. There’s a paltry 2GB built-in, so you’re going to need a microSD card early on. Inside the Vodacom Smart Tab 3G there’s a Mediatek MT8312 processor which trundles along at 1.3GHz over both of its cores. That’s paired with a very meagre 512MB of RAM, which really should mean that this tablet is a bust before it begins. Games-wise, the four core Mali-400MP graphics processor is a few years old now so it’s not going to compete with an iPhone 6. But there’s nothing we found
that won’t run on it. Yet. The Vodacom Smart Tab 3G is certainly not the first sub-R1 000 tablet we’ve reviewed, and other firms do have decent tabs at even lower prices. But the kicker is that none of them come with a 3G modem built in. And the fact that the data options are so cheap is more than icing on the cake – it makes a truly democratic device for taking connectivity to the masses. First impressions are very promising indeed – the tablet itself may be merely average, and another R1 000 will get you something much nicer but still lacking a 3G modem. So the overall package looks perfectly pitched. Bit.ly/10U3aur
SCORES Performance
6
Battery life
8
Display
5
Features
8
Value for money
9
Overall
7
Ul
288
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REVIEWS
Call of Advan A fine new addition to the COD franchise, and by far the best game since Modern Warfare.
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DETAILS • Publisher: Ubisoft • Platforms: PC, Xbox 360, Xbox One, PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4 • The good: The best Call of Duty since 2007’s Modern Warfare dragged the series into the 21st century. • The bad: It’s still Call of Duty. Not a fan? Give it a skip. From R599 for PC and R799 for consoles
Awesome reviews at
THE FIVE BEST ADVENTURE GAMES FOR YOUR MOBILE PHONE
go to htxt.co.za
30 | TECH MADE EASY | DECEMBER 2014
If you remember the good ol’ days of Sierra and LucasArts gaming, here are some awesome point-and-click titles to play. Bit.ly/1ETMGAC
ledgehammer Games’ Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare is a fantastic game that over-delivers everything fans expect of a Call of Duty, while also adding enough new things to see, do and shoot so that it doesn’t feel like it’s the same game as last year, just dressed in new clothes. Advanced Warfare has it all: great single-player campaign, fast-paced multiplayer with enough innovation to keep things feeling fresh and excellent co-op multiplayer by way of its Exo Survival mode that pits you and up to three friends against waves of increasingly-powerful enemies. It’s a blast no matter which mode you play. Is it similar to previous Call of Duties? Of course. Does it have frantic set-pieces that move you breathlessly from location to location around the world? You bet it does. Is there the usual geo-political guff that draws you, a military grunt, into a greater conflict? Most assuredly. But it’s also set in the distant future and you get to be a much more advanced soldier than the series has seen so far. And that’s pretty cool because it means crazy gadgets, double-jumps and other cool new hardware that you’ve never seen before, and which make the game play differently enough that the mechanics feel at least somewhat fresh. And on top of all that, the story’s actually pretty solid this time around. Nobody’s going to win any prizes for character depth or storytelling genius, but it’s good even if it’s a bit predictable. The six to eight hour campaign sees you playing as Jack Mitchell, a career soldier fighting the good fight in the year 2054. Mitchell starts off as a US
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REVIEWS
of Duty: anced Warfare Marine, but after an awful accident in the game’s first mission, he ends up signing up with the Atlus private military corporation, run by Kevin Spacey’s character, Jonathan Irons, and whisked around the world to fight in battles paid for by the highest bidder. It’s a clever premise for the game’s varied levels and settings. The action starts off just like you’d expect a Call of Duty to: with plenty of explosions, shooting and spectacular futuremilitary manoeuvres as the US Marines tear up Seoul, South Korea in a bid to repel the North Korean forces intent on invading, and the frantic action doesn’t let up until the credits roll. Atlus takes on varied work: a Nigerian rescue here, a technician extraction there, all pulled off using the most incredible – yet plausible – military hardware yet seen in a game. Not even Tom Clancy’s Future Soldier had anything resembling Advanced Warfare’s Mute Bombs – bombs that encapsulate an area in a blanket of quiet for 30 seconds so the soldiers can do some silent wet work – or Smart Grenades that choose a target and fly over to them when thrown, or Threat Grenades that light concealed enemies up for greater tactical awareness on the battlefield. The tech that’s on show here is truly imaginative. But the star of the show is undoubtedly the new “Exos”, exoskeletal suits that augment Mitchell’s physical abilities that can be upgraded between missions to make them even better. They’re the reason he can double jump, put on a burst of speed in mid-air and strafe sideways mid-jump, and also how he
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is able to grab doors to use for cover, send enemies flying with a single punch and other feats of strength. Double-jumping to outof-reach locations makes exploring fun, and
“Ultimately, Advanced Warfare’s multiplayer feels like it mixes Titanfall‘s soldier movement, Destiny‘s weapon handling and Crysis’s suit abilities together with Call of Duty’s famed fast-paced shooting…” gives the levels a sense of verticality that really opens up the tactical options. Even when all you’re doing is playing shooting gallery, Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare is, more than anything else, a whole lot of fun, and when that shooting is accompanied by spectacular scenarios, the game goes from pretty good shooter to wow-this-is-amazing. While the single player campaign has its share of limitations, the game’s multiplayer portion offers freedom itself. Everything is bigger, better, faster this year, from the weapons to the rewards to the kill streaks to the levels themselves, and the
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incredibly fast-paced action and tight gunplay lends the multiplayer a sense of familiarity while the exoskeleton-powered jumps and punches add something new. Ultimately, Advanced Warfare’s multiplayer feels like it mixes Titanfall‘s soldier movement, Destiny‘s weapon handling and Crysis’s suit abilities together with Call of Duty’s famed fast-paced shooting, and that makes it play differently to previous Call of Duties. Not so much that it feels like a whole new game – or to deter people who hate it from hating it – but enough that fans get something new out of 2014’s Call of Duty. With so much going for it, Advanced Warfare is a fine game. The single player campaign is highly enjoyable, the addition of exo-suits and futuristic gadgets has a meaningful impact on how the multiplayer aspect works, and its set-pieces are nothing short of spectacular. It’s the best Call of Duty since 2007’s Modern Warfare without a doubt. Bit.ly/11nboLL
SCORES Presentation
9
Single-player Campaign
8
Multiplayer
8
Story
7
Exo-suits
9
Overall
8
DEAD RISING 3 FOR PC – DON’T RUN, PICK UP ANYTHING AND HIT With a bit more polish Dead Rising 3’s jump to the PC could have been much better, but it’s still a blast to play. Zombies included. Bit.ly/1sJqVRV
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REVIEWS
DETAILS • Publisher: 2K Games • Platforms: PC • The good: A brilliant sim without enough new stuff to make it feel fresh. • The bad: It doesn’t live up to the promise of its predecessors. R599
CIVILIZATION: BEYOND EARTH
For all the improvements, Sid’s new game is still the standard Civilization formula, just with some changes and extra features.
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here are two ways to look at Civilization: Beyond Earth. When considered as a standalone expansion for Civilization V, the game is a great leap forward. It offers enough of the old and familiar, but still throws enough new elements to keep gameplay fresh. As the spiritual successor to Sid Meier’s Alpha Centauri however, it falls flat. It simply fails to live up to a lot of what its predecessor offered. Beyond Earth is best considered as an epilogue to Civ V. Humanity finally manages to mess up the planet and so turns to the stars. Where Civ V has historical nations as the meta-unit of play, Civ: BE has eight ‘sponsors’. They all offer their own varied bonuses, and are for all intents and purposes simply pseudonations. Pity that like most aspects of Civ: BE they’re given very little life or colour. Their interactions with you throughout the game are limited to the diplomacy screen and other than faction badges there is nothing to differentiate one side from the other. Tying each faction to cultural identity feels like it forced Firaxis to create opponents that were totally neutral so as to not offend anyone. Strangely enough there are hints that leaders and their respective factions have more than just lifeless greetings and platitudes going on.
Each technology and ‘Wonder’ comes with a quote, in most cases from a leader. Why Firaxis decided to have the same narrator for each single quote is beyond me. This is a far cry from the variety and interesting narration of Alpha Centauri. Once you’ve picked your sponsor nation you need to decide on what kind of colonists you’re going to be taking to your new home, how you load up your ship as well as the primary cargo you’ll take with you. Like all the choices you make pre-game they offer a bonus and help to add some replay value to the game. Sadly though they’re all fairly minor bonuses, and really only affect your early game. Now that you’re all kitted out it’s time to select your planet type, and place your base. Once you’ve made planetfall, the rest of the game proceeds how you would expect from a Civilization title: research tech; build units and expand. There are enough differences though that the game feels new even to veteran players of the series. Where Civ: BE does succeed is the renovation of its technology tree. Gone is the railroaded single path to each technology; instead we’re given a web, with major branches connected with multiple paths. Each branch offers two or three leaf technologies, which are more focused areas of research. It’s possible to go through a game
and not touch a fairly large number of areas of research, which adds to its replay value. Is Beyond Earth a good game? Yes. In many ways it’s brilliant. It takes a lot of what was good about previous Civilization games and improves on them, and is thus well worth the time you’re going to end up spending on it. The temptation of “Just one more turn” is still there, but it feels lacking in certain areas. Should you get it? Yes, if you’re a fan of Civilization games then you should, and even if you’re new to the series it’s a great starting point since it is, for all intents and purposes a re-imagined game. Bit.ly/1x170z1
SCORES Graphics
6
Sound
8
Replay Value
9
Fun Factor
9
Innovation
7
Overall
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REVIEWS
DETAILS • Publisher: Microsoft • Platforms: Xbox One • The good: Colourful, creative and sometimes pretty funny. • The bad: Long and monotonous. R799
SUNSET OVERDRIVE Great guns and beautiful scenes, but boy does it does get boring.
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unset Overdrive is an utterly insane, over-the-top action romp through an apocalypse brought on by people drinking too much soda pop – that’s not a metaphor – in which you jump, slide and zipline your way through colourful levels taking on ever-crazier mutant enemies. Confused? Quite. This is a game that’s hard to explain. Best to think of it as Crackdown meets Tony Hawk meets Grand Theft Auto with some really quirky guns. It’s a unique concept, to be sure, and an Xbox One exclusive Microsoft has long been punting. But does it live up to its potential? We’re not so sure… The premise for the game is rather simple: in an alternate universe, softdrink company FizzCo developed a rather tasty beverage called OverCharge Delirium XT. But it was too good: people drank so much of it that they mutated into disgusting homicidal monsters. Their mutations gifted them with a range of offensive skills to go along with their new pustules, out-of-control muscle growths and weeping open sores. And they all want you dead. Playing as the un-mutated hero, you have to kill as many mutants as possible with the help of other non-infected survivors, while trying to figure out how to stop the mutations for good. Starting the game, you will be asked to create a character. Here you can really let your imagination loose as the game totally lets you
do anything you want. Want to put a full beard on a pretty lady? No problem. Want your burly muscle man to wear a cheerleader skirt? Sure thing (as long as you’ve unlocked it, of course). Happily, you’re not committed to your initial appearance choices for the entire game – you can always go back and tweak how you look whenever you want to. Something that was one of the biggest selling points of the game, at least according to Microsoft’s marketing department, was the entirely non-traditional way the designers decreed that you must get around the open world. Straight-forward running is apparently boring, so you have to grind, dash, swing and bounce your way around the map towards one of the four main hideouts, the various missions, or a ‘skills challenge’ location. It’s fun at first, but once you realise that there is no sprint button for when you just want to travel by foot, the jumping/grinding routine becomes a bit of a chore. The multiplayer in the game is accessed by going to the various Chaos Squad stations peppered throughout the game’s world, and all that you have to do is step into one and activate it. This will take you to a lobby where you can meet up with fellow players who are just as eager as you to destroy some OD – the average monster who overdosed on soda. To keep things ticking along, Overdrive features four factions that drive the game’s story: the highly-intelligent (although
somewhat socially awkward) geeks, the Live Action Role Players (LARPers), the Day of the Dead girls and Samurai scouts. Each faction has a distinct personality that adds a bit of flavour to the game, as well as a set of missions for you to complete, culminating in the game’s final showdown. While Sunset Overdrive isn’t a bad game it’s by no means a reason to rush out and get an Xbox One if you don’t already have one. The graphics are pretty good, the humour has its moments and the self-awareness can be quite cute, but what you’ll actually be doing for the fifteen or so hours it takes to complete, the game does become a bit monotonous. Bit.ly/1ohAJR4
SCORES Humour and in-jokes
9
Pretty graphics
8
Fast-paced action
8
Gun creativity and variation
9
Will you play it again?
6
Overall
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REVIEWS
5 finger-tapping Android games to keep you busy these holidays Here are some Android games that are guaranteed to keep kids of all ages occupied as the slow, lazy summer days pass by. ZEN PINBALL HD inball fans are going to love Zen Pinball HD’s gorgeous tables and the challenge of beating high scores put on by other players. Tables are highly detailed with plenty of combos to unlock and score streaks to hit, and its ball physics are hyper-realistic, making Zen Pinball HD one of the very best pinball games available for Android today. Free
P MONUMENT VALLEY his charmingly brilliant game challenges players to help the silent princess Ida through incredible levels that will give your brain a lot to chew on with clever perspective tricks and optical illusions. Levels can shift and change, opening up new paths to victory that your brain will recognise eventually, but which will violate everything you think you know about geometry. R43.99
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FIELDRUNNERS 2 his tower defense game challenges players to use an arsenal of over the top weapons to create massive mazes with which to defend the world from invading “fieldrunners”. You’ll get to set traps, call in airstrikes and use your ingenuity to keep the hordes of fieldrunners from getting through, and succeeding requires a combination of good reflexes, strategic thinking and the ability to adapt your tactics on the fly. R32.40
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SURGEON SIMULATOR urgeon Simulator is the funniest game about surgery you’ll ever play. You’ll get to operate on hapless patient “Bob”, performing heart surgery, dental work and even eye surgery using an assortment of surgical tools, all while battling a physics engine gone mad. Try not to laugh as you cause Bob all kinds of discomfort as you bumble your way through each operation. Highly recommended for those with a dark sense of humour. R72.06
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SONIC RACING TRANSFORMED oin Sonic the Hedgehog and many of SEGA’s All Stars as they race around crazy tracks with cars that transform into boats and planes to deal with the ever-changing scenery. Race to the finish line and pick up powerups that can keep the order shuffling right up to the very end, avoiding obstacles and using boosts to your advantage. The core game gives you ten All Stars and their vehicles to race with, and others are available via in-app purchases. Free
J
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PHOTOGRAPHY
Nikon celebrates 90 millionth Nikkor lenses production
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he camera company, Nikon has been in an upbeat mood this month. It’s just shipped its 90 millionth Nikkor lenses for interchangeable lens cameras, which is a feat of some note. What’s more, the company announced that it has also 50 million of those that are equipped with the company’s Silent Wave Motor (SWM) technology. Adding up the numbers, Nikon has produced five million lenses since January this year alone. “To date, a total of 72 zoom lenses, fixed focal length (prime) lenses, and Micro lenses
covering a broad range of focal lengths from ultra-wide-angle to super telephoto, equipped with the SWM have been released for FX- and DX-format digital SLR cameras. The SWM-adopted series also includes one fast, medium-telephoto, fixed focal length (prime) lens for Nikon’s range of Advanced Cameras with Interchangeable Lenses,” Nikon said in a statement. To top it off, the camera company has also just announced the release of its D750 lens, a model which was much-rumoured before the start of the annual photography
conference Photokina, but never confirmed. “The Nikon D750 is the camera many have been waiting for; never before has this level of functionality and vast feature set been offered in a full frame D-SLR, at such an attractive price,” said Masahiro Horie, director of marketing and planning, Nikon. Together with the launch of the D750, it added the ultra-wide-angle AF-S NIKKOR 20mm f/1.8G ED to its repertoire. Bit.ly/1y24nd8
Samsung’s NX1 takes aim at photography’s big names
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eet Samsung’s NX1 – a rather smart looking compact system camera that aims to become the flagship camera in Samsung’s growing NX range. In terms of technical specifications, the NX1 makes use of Samsung’s new NX AF System III which has 205 Phase Detection AF points. It can also shoot photos at 15 frames per second when put in the continuous shooting mode. But the business end of the camera is in the sensor, which is a 28MP APS-C CMOS Sensor with a Back Side Illumination (BSI) structure with a micro lens array. The unit has a native ISO of ISO 100-25600 and can be extended
to ISO 51200. For video recording, the camera is capable of recording in 4K and Ultra HD (UHD), and the mode also makes use of the same Auto Focus feature built into the still camera. That is something that traditional DSLR cameras can’t do. But the model has a number of other tricks up its sleeve, as it is also the first Samsung camera that is dust and water resistant - it’s also the first Samsung camera that has built-in WiFi. The camera will retail for R15 999 for the body and R18 000 with the 50-150mm Premium S Lens included. Bit.ly/1x2V6Vr
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SUPERTEST
WHICH IS THE BEST‌
small but powerful mirrorless camera?
We take a look at two of the top mirrorless snappers on the market.
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here will always be a debate in the photography world over which camera system is the best, whether digital SLR cameras provide more freedom, or if mirrorless models are the cheaper, lighter and just as capable option. For a brief introduction, a mirrorless camera is a digital camera that doesn’t have a mirror reflex optical viewfinder,
which is what makes manufacturers able to squeeze a rather large sensor into some of the tiniest camera bodies imaginable. Like traditional SLRs, mirrorless cameras also feature an interchangeable lens mount, meaning that different lenses can be swapped out onto different models from the same brand. This gives them the flexibility and image
quality of SLRs. For this grouptest, we take a look at two different mirrorless models from two of the leading camera manufacturers, and stack them up against each other for your viewing pleasure.
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SUPERTEST
SAMSUNG NX300
MORE EXPENSIVE, BUT POWERFUL
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amsung might be better known for its smartphones, TVs and gaming console, but any big company that dabbles in a variety of technologies like it does has enough confidence to push out great photographic equipment too. The NX300, part of Samsung’s hugely successful NX range, draws on the Korean giant’s experience from previous camera models to deliver a solid option for those that want to go mirrorless. HANDLING The body is incredibly light, around 284g without the lens attached, but that all shifts once it is attached. Because there isn’t much in terms of bulk to counter the weight of the lens, it does tend to feel a bit lob-sided in operation – requiring a bit more effort to keep it balanced. In terms of operation, Samsung generally sticks to the same button layout for most of its cameras, and this one is no different. On the back you can find all the operation buttons and controls, while the video record button is at a slight angle upwards. On the top of the camera rest you’ll find the mode selection wheel, the On/Off shifter, the WiFi Direct Link button and the wheel for zooming into preview images. It’s a sturdy design with everything where it is supposed to be.
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IMAGE QUALITY It’s astonishing what camera manufacturer can squeeze into tiny bodies these days, and packed in the 122x63.7x40.7mm body is a 20.3MP APS-C sensor which is up to the same standard as many full size SLRs. To complete the package, the camera makes use of Samsung’s DRIMe V image processor technology which has been incorporated into most of its newer cameras. Going at full tilt, images will be 5472x3648, but the model does have a number of other options to reduce the size. The lenses do have the option to swap to manual but if you want to use the automatic option, the NX300 will make sure it gets as much as possible in focus with the 105 points Phase Detection or the 247points Contrast Auto Focus. As one would expect, images are crisp and clear, and a wide range of different built-in filters can be added to give pictures a bit of emotion. PERFORMANCE Since the camera doesn’t have a traditional viewfinder (which is what mirrorless cameras are all about), all the action is displayed on the 3.3-inch Super AMOLED tilt display. The screen has touch functionality as well, so you don’t have to navigate the menus with silly buttons. For those of you that want to shoot super-fast action, the camera is capable of a
fast 8.6 frames per second, making sure that you capture the tiniest of movements. The NX300 also has built-in WiFi connectivity with Direct Link, so you can back up your images on the fly, as well as geo-tag them on your smartphone. To add other lenses, it naturally supports Samsung’s NX range of glass.
KEY FEATURES • 20.3MP APS-C sensor • 3.3-inch Super AMOLED tilt display • Shoot at 8.6 frames per second • DRIMe V image processor • Shoot video in full HD approx. R7 000
SCORES Handling
6
Image Quality
9
Performance
9
Value
8
Overall
9
SUPERTEST
OLYMPUS OM-D E-M5 LIGHTWEIGHT AND EASY TO USE
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t first glance, you could be excused of thinking that the Olympus M5 is an old camera. Well, you would be partially correct – the current model is a technology and stylistic upgrade from the 1973 model. The magnesium body makes the camera lightweight but it’s also dustproof, splashproof and had a timeless design. HANDLING If you have ever handled an Olympus camera, you will know that it doesn’t conform to the usual placement of buttons and switches. And an example, generally the power button is situated on the top of the body, next to the shutter button. On the E-M5 and related models, the power button is located way down on the bottom edge of the backplate. It also does things a bit differently for the mode selection wheel, placing it on the left-hand side of the body. While it’s not a huge problem, placing it there does make it a bit difficult to quickly swap between modes. The area where the selection wheel should have been is occupied by a generous manual
wheel and the shutter button – which is a bit bigger than most. For general operation and everyday handling, the E-M5 provides an uncomplicated experience, and you should be able to comfortably navigate yourself around the camera in no time. The only drawback is that some of the controls are a little bit small. The biggest surprise is just how small the E-M5 feels in the hand. If you’re used to a modern SLR it’s a very ephemeral-feeling camera – but don’t let that fool you into thinking it’s underpowered. IMAGE QUALITY Thanks to the M5’s 4/3’’ Live MOS sensor and JPEG engine, it produces really good quality images. Olympus has been doing mirrorless longer than anyone, and it shows in the final pics. It even performs rather well in even low light and is capable of pushing the ISO to 25 600 and staying usable to 1 600 and beyond. To capture fast-moving objects, it can shoot up to 9 frames per second, or 4.2 frames per second if the continuous focus is engaged.
PERFORMANCE For those with shaky fingers, Olympus throws in a 5-axis stabilisation system to compensate for when things get a bit bumpy. That is a very good feature to have on any digital camera, and luckily most have an image stabilisation feature of some kind. But the E-M5’s is kind of special – it compensates for pitch, yaw, roll, and horizontal and vertical translational movements. Not content with stopping there, Olympus added what it calls the “World’s Fastest Autofocus Speed”. The model makes use of Olympus’ FAST-AF technology, which has 35 autofocus points and 3D autofocus tracking. To you and me, the information being sent from the imaging sensor to the TruePic VI processor is delivered at a rate of 240fps.
KEY FEATURES • Integrated 1.44 megapixel Digital Viewfinder • 4/3’’ Live MOS sensor • 16.1 Megapixels • Magnesium alloy body • 3.0-inch Tiltable OLED monitor approx. R6 000
SCORES
THE WINNER
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t is always tough to pick a winner for our supertests, as all the cameras are great in their own right. But if we had to single out one model that we would be more than happy with to use for the rest of our lives, it would be the Samsung NX300. Besides the fact that it feels a bit wonky with a big lens strapped to the front, it’s easy to use and takes really great images. The body might be tiny, but it has been well designed and has one of the biggest brand names in the world behind it.
The fact that it has a 20.3MP APS-C sensor also helps to produce some great visuals, coupled with Samsung’s DRIMe V image processor technology – and at the end of the day it is one of the most important factors to consider when selecting a digital camera. It might be the most expensive camera on the list, but you do get extra features. Selecting the right camera for the job is very important, and the Samsung NX300 delivers a better overall experience. Bit.ly/1FmBpJu
Handling
6
Image Quality
8
Performance
6
Value
8
Overall
8
EDITOR’S CHOICE
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REVIEW
KEY FEATURES • 65x Optical Zoom • 16.1 Megapixel High-Sensitivity CMOS Sensor • DIGIC 6 Image Processor • 1080p Full HD video recorded at 60p • NFC-enabled approx. R5 500
Canon PowerShot SX60 Great optical zoom for far away things
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he SX60 is one of Canon’s best mirrorless cameras packed in a fairly tiny body, as it sports an incredible 65-times Optical Zoom. The camera manufacturer, who has been in the industry for many years, has transferred some of the knowledge it gained from its popular DSLR product range, and squeezed that it to SX60. HANDLING The great thing about Canon’s cameras is that they fit comfortably in your hands. We are not saying that other manufacturer’s models aren’t comfortable; it is just that the SX60’s buttons are all reachable even with one-handed operation. The big thing about cameras is that they should be a joy to use, as no one wants to navigate their way around a clumsy button layout when speed is the key. To make things easier, the SX60 borrows the shutter button layout from Canon’s SLR range, but tilts it slightly forward. This creates a more natural action when capturing your subjects. The 3.0inch Vari-angle LCD monitor easily flips out to the side, giving you the opportunity to create and explore different angles when shooting.
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IMAGE QUALITY The 16.1 megapixel High Sensitivity CMOS Sensor might not be as powerful as Samsung’s model, but it will do its best to provide you with the best quality images as possible. Virtually all of Canon’s digital cameras, and especially its compact models, make use of the proprietary DiGiC 6 Image Processor, which not only improve image quality but helps to brighten low-light situations. While the SX60 takes pretty good images in low-light conditions, there will definitely be situations where a flash can be used. Here, the SX60 does a good job of illuminating whatever has been placed in front of the lens, and with a range of about three meters it powerful enough to stun a deer in the forest. Speaking of low light, the camera can go up to ISO 3200 – its sufficient for the purpose, but do expect some quality loss. PERFORMANCE It terms of performance, Canon generally has a reputation of delivering some of the best user interfaces and experiences, and this model is no different. The SX30 features a rather impressive 65-times Optical Zoom to really bring far-away objects just that much closer. And even if you aren’t sure what mode
to select, it comes with Canon’s proprietary Intelligent IS, which automatically selects the best mode from eight pre-defined ones. To make things even easier, the Zoom Framing Assist coupled with the high-speed autofocus will makes sure that everything stays in focus, even if the subject is moving around. To get a better look at what you are doing and to make changes to any settings, the SX60 provides you with a 3.0 inch Vari-angle LCD monitor. Sharing and backing up of photos can be done through WiFi connectivity and built-in NFC.
SCORES Handling
10
Image Quality
8
Performance
8
Value
8
Overall
10
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Image - CC by sa Gaurav Pandit http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Lake_Manyara_Wildlife.jpg
HOW TO: PHOTOS
How to take better wildlife photographs What good is a blurry photo that can either be a rhino, a hippo or just a big rock?
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ho doesn’t love heading to the game park for a bit of R&R? After recharging our batteries in nature, we inevitably head home, eager to show friends and family pictures of the animals we encountered during our game drives (or walks, if lucky). Below are some tips that promise to help you get the best of the bush. TAKE WHAT YOU NEED One of the most common mistakes that amateurs (and some professionals) make is not checking their gear before they venture out. Remember, when you are in the middle of the bush, there is no running back to the tent to get extra batteries. Be sure to pack a spare pair, a 12V charger and while you are at it, grab an extra memory card as well. PATIENCE AND TIME If you are with a tour group it is a different story, but if you decide to venture out on your own the most effective weapon you can have in your arsenal isn’t the camera’s lens: it’s patience. Many photographers are too eager to get as many shots of different animals as possible, which can be detrimental to the overall quality of the shots. Once you have spotted a subject, stay with them for a good amount of time. Eventually the animals will get used to you, giving you the opportunity to observe and
photograph them in their natural habitat. Some of the best wildlife photographers rose to fame by photographing the same group of animals for weeks on end – eventually scoring award-winning pictures. The key here is not to rush it, but to take your time. TIME OF DAY This might sound a bit obvious, but pick your time of day. You will be able to get different shots at different times of the day. In the early morning or late afternoon, for example, you can slowly make your way to a watering hole where many animals congregate at once. The dead heat of the day presents different opportunities, such as a pride of lions resting under a tree. Not much will be happening, but most animals should be at ease with their surroundings as predators aren’t as active then. Many photographers have told stories of lions that crawled under their cars to escape the heat – which would make for some really interesting pictures. LENSES But if you aren’t lucky enough to have a really close encounter with a predator, your next best friend is going to be a variety of lenses. Professional photographers should already have an array of lenses at their disposal, but amateurs mostly have make
do with stock lenses or a few generallength ones. If we could offer some advice, it would be to get a telephoto lens. The length of the lens should be as long as you can afford: in many places you won’t be able to get out of your car to get closer to the animals, and if you’re in a hide you’re stuck. To cover a wide spread, a 400mm or 600mm is ideal, but don’t forget that you can extend a 300mm lens with a teleconvertor, which is likely to be a cheaper option for most. FRAMING So… you have the camera, the lenses and picked a time of day. The next thing you need to pay attention to on your road to taking great wildlife photographs is framing. It’s a technique that is certainly not unique to wildlife photography, but it will increase the impact and emotion of your images. Simply snapping a full-body pic of a buffalo is not going to do. As he is chewing, is the grass sticking out the one side of his mouth? Then frame the image (by zooming in and making use of the rule of thirds) so that the grass is clearly visible and a semi-focal point. Perspective can mean the difference between a great and an average photo, so don’t be afraid to move around slightly to get the right shot. Bit.ly/1EtgNgp
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HOW TO…
How to connect Android phones and tablets to a TV
A handy guide that outlines what you will need, and how to do it.
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e’ve all done it: crowded around an Android phone or tablet screen to see something cool that the device’s owner wants to share. But it’s not fun because those screens are just too small when there’s more than just two people around it. The solution, then, is to find a bigger screen – a TV is a good option – and output the phone or tablet’s video signal there. The question is, how are you going to do that?
TO CABLE, OR NOT TO CABLE?
There are two primary options: a cable from your phone connected up to a TV, or to stream a video signal wirelessly using Google’s Miracast technology. To establish which one is right for you, you’ll need to find out the following: 1. Whether your phone and TV support Miracast. Sony’s Xperia Z family of smartphones does, for example, but these are relatively recent. 2. Whether your phone or tablet has an output port for video, and if so what type it is. 3. Whether you’re happy paying for a Miracast dongle if your TV doesn’t support the technology natively. In all cases, a quick Google is all you’ll need to establish the answers. Manufacturer websites are particularly handy for this. Armed with that information, you can move on to the next phase: Hardware acquisition.
WHAT YOU WILL NEED: For a wired connection, you will need the appropriate cable for your phone. The options are:
1. Micro HDMI to HDMI (HDMI is the most common audio/video cable standard). These are about R160 or so, more if you want longer than 1.5m. A lot of tablets have micro HDMI ports built in. 2. Phones are more likely to use MHL, which plays video out of a standard microUSB port. Cables are anything from R250 and up. You will need to get one that’s specific to your phone model. MHL cables have a microUSB port and a small in-line box on one end that contains the electronics needed to convert your phone’s data signal into video, and the full-sized HDMI plug on the other.
need to connect your Miracost dongle or receiver to your TV if it doesn’t have Miracast support built-in. Next, you must navigate to “Settings” on your phone, then go to Display, then Wireless Mirroring or Cast Screen (it varies by manufacturer). Turn that to On, and in a few seconds you should see the wireless network that the dongle/adapter puts out. Once you press on it, the phone will take a few seconds to establish a connection and boom, you’ll see what’s on your phone screen, on the TV. The best part about streaming video to your TV either wirelessly or via a cable is that it outputs at full 1080p resolution, with surround sound, so you’ll be able to enjoy your movies, video clips and games at their very best.
OTHER OPTIONS FOR WIRELESS, YOU manufacturers have their own screenWILL NEED AN ANDROID Some sharing technologies: SMARTPHONE OR 1. Samsung has AllShare Play that shares TABLET RUNNING screens wirelessly between its phones and ANDROID 4.2 OR LATER compatible TVs. Connecting a smartphone to a TV is as easy as plugging in the cable and switching the TV to the appropriate HDMI channel. You will see whatever is on the phone’s screen on your TV, just oriented so that you don’t have to bend your neck to see what’s going on. Watch a movie, or orient the phone in landscape mode, and the image on the TV will fill the screen – perfect for watching movies. Miracasting is a little trickier. First, you’ll
2. Google has Chromecast wireless receivers that plug into your TV, connect to your home’s WiFi network and let you stream to the TV from any phone, tablet or computer on the network. 3. Intel has Wireless Display, or Wi-Di, that requires a receiver paired up with an Intel notebook that uses its 4th-gen Haswell processors. Bit.ly/1sy8PN9
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Turning amateurs into pro’s
stockist of major photographic brands
Tel: 011 880 2885 Fax: 086 685 8132 KAMERAZ - Shop L12, Rosebank Mews 173 Oxford Road, Rosebank
Web: www.kameraz.co.za Mail: info@kameraz.co.za Find us on facebook: http://goo.gl/3XitwWW
HOW TO…
How to turn off the two blue WhatsApp ticks
The popular messaging client has a new feature to tell you if someone’s read a message you’ve sent. Here’s how to turn it off.
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t’s been one of the most talked about (and hated) app updates since Facebook forced everyone to download Messenger. It’s the new ‘read receipts’ on WhatsApp, which shows two blue ticks when someone has read your message and even goes as far as telling you the time that the message was read. If you, like so many others, are less than pleased about the latest addition to WhatsApp’s feature list then there might just be some hope. The latest build of WhatsApp for Android (version 2.11.444) includes the ability to turn off read receipts – in the same way that you can turn off your ‘last seen’ status – so that your read receipts will no longer be visible to anyone, nor theirs to you.
HERE’S HOW TO TURN OFF THE TWO BLUE TICKS:
1: In WhatsApp go to Settings —> Account —> Privacy 2: Scroll down to ‘Read Receipts’ and uncheck the box If you don’t have this option yet, then you’ll need to download the latest version of WhatsApp either from the Google Play Store or from the official website if it hasn’t been distributed through the Play Store yet.
HERE’S HOW TO MAKE SURE YOU HAVE THE LATEST VERSION OF WHATSAPP:
1: In WhatsApp go to Settings —> Help —> About to see your version number. You need to be on version 2.11.444 or above to be able to turn off the read receipts. 2: Check Google Play for an update to WhatsApp.
3: If there’s no update then go to the official WhatsApp website (whatsapp.com) and download the latest version of the app. 4: To install an app that isn’t from the Google Play Store you need to enable apps from unknown sources to be installed: 1: Go to your phone’s Settings —> Security 2: Find ‘Unknown Sources’ and make sure the box is checked 5: Find the ‘WhatsApp.apk’ file in your downloads folder and click to install. 6: Go back to your settings and disable apps from unknown sources 7: Turn off the two blue ticks using the steps above. And now you can enjoy using WhatsApp without the stress of people knowing when you’ve read their messages. Bit.ly/1qYMrlq
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HOW TO…
How to install Windows XP/7/8 from a USB drive Creating a bootable USB drive is easier than you’d think.
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any modern notebooks don’t come with DVD drives, leading people to wonder just how, exactly, to reinstall Windows XP/7/8 from a DVD. Well, wonder no more, because here’s how: directly from a bootable USB drive that you’ve created yourself. But how to do that? That’s easy. Simply follow these instructions.
YOU WILL NEED:
1: A working PC or notebook with a DVD drive 2: A USB stick that’s at least 4GB in size 3: Your Windows installation DVD 4: An internet connection
PHASE ONE: CREATE AN .ISO IMAGE FILE OF YOUR WINDOWS INSTALLATION CD
Step 1: Download a free program called UltraISO and install it on a computer that has a DVD drive. Once installed, fire it up
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and click Continue to try. Step 2: Insert your Windows DVD into the drive. Step 3: In UltraISO, click Tools, then Make CD/DVD Image. Ensure you’re making an .ISO file, give the file a name and note where you will be saving it to. Click Make, and wait for the process to complete.
PHASE TWO: CREATE A BOOTABLE USB DRIVE CONTAINING YOUR WINDOWS INSTALLATION FILES
Step 1: Download the Windows 7 USB/ DVD Download Tool. Install it. Step 2: Insert your 4GB+ USB drive into an available USB port. Step 3: Run the Windows 7 USB/DVD Download Tool. Step 4: Tell the program where the .ISO you just made is stored. Click Next. Step 5: Specify which USB drive to use. Click Next. Wait for the process to finish.
PHASE THREE: ENSURE THE TARGET PC IS SET TO BOOT FROM A USB DRIVE Step 1: Turn the PC on, and enter the BIOS (usually by pressing F2 or Delete during the boot sequence). Step 2: Search for the PC’s “Boot order” and ensure USB is at the top of the list. Step 3: Save and quit. The PC will restart.
PHASE FOUR: INSTALL WINDOWS ON A PC THAT DOESN’T HAVE AN OPTICAL DRIVE
Step 1: Insert your newly-created bootable Windows USB drive into an available USB port on the PC you want to install Windows on. Step 2: Turn the PC on. Should you have done everything right, the regular Windows installation process will start. Follow the onscreen prompts. Step 3: Enjoy Windows. Bit.ly/1qZqVgi
The explosion of e-Media and popular culture, as well as the revolution in the electronic communications, multi-media and entertainment sectors, has increased job prospects in the fields of Visual Arts (photography, graphic design, multimedia) tremendously. That means that the more multi-disciplined your skills are, the easier it will be to secure a job. VSS Creative College’s qualifications are structured to equip students with the technical, theoretical and practical skills required to enter the job market. These skills are adaptable within the many sub categories in the industry: photography, graphic design and multi-media. VSS offers a three year course which leads to the VSS Diploma: Visual Arts. The course consists of the following qualifications registered on the National Qualifications Framework: National Certificate: Photography National Certificate: Design National Certificate: Multi-Media
You can study full time on campus, or follow the distance education programme. Subjects are: -Photography -Graphic Design -Fine Arts -Professional Practice -Communication -Business Practice -Photography and Art History -Multi-Media VSS limits student numbers to ensure personal attention to all. This creates an informal, close-knit, friendly and supportive environment that encourages hard work, achievement and friendships. The Photography and Design Departments are headed by Hein Waschefort who has 33 years experience as a conceptual artist and photographer in the industry. Registration for 2015 is now open. The 2015 academic year starts on 19 January.
Visual Skills School (Pty) Ltd 2011/005518/07 186 Jack Hindon Str, Pretoria North Tel: 012 565 5204 Fax: 086 611 9252
Website: www. vsscreative.com Email: info@vsscreative.com VSS is an accredited TVET College
PHOTO & DESIGN COLLEGE
w w w. v s s c r e a t i v e . c o m
WIN!
COMPETITION
AN LTE ASUS ANDROID TABLET WORTH R5 000
Get your hands on this awesome little quad core MeMO tablet in our exclusive Christmas competition.
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hat better way to round off the year than by treating yourself to a shiny new tablet? How about getting one delivered to your door for nothing? Yes, that’s what we thought too. This month, we’ve teamed up with Android experts at ASUS to give away one of its excellent MeMO Pad ME302KL tablets. The MeMO Pad is a regular favourite of ours, as it’s a lightweight 10inch tablet that comes with a high definition 1 920x1 080 resolution screen. Colours pop off the surface
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of its IPS display panel, and with wide viewing angles and pin-sharp text it’s one of the best Android tablets out there. Inside the MeMO Pad, there’s a quad core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro processor for powering through applications and games at high speeds, which manages to be both suitably fast and light on battery usage. You’ll get around 10 hours out of a full charge on the MeMO Pad, which is more than adequate for most purposes. It’s got 2GB RAM on board so that Android apps positively fly and multitasking
feels slick and responsive. For getting the best out of music and movies, the speakers are kitted out with ASUS’ own SonicMaster tech for excellent sound, and there’s a microHDMI port for hooking it up to a big screen TV too. Best of all, though, is the fact that there’s a built in LTE modem capable of downloading files at up to 100Mbps over the cell network, as well as Wireless N WiFi. That’s high speed internet access, wherever you happen to be. That’s what makes the MeMO Pad ME302KL worth R5 000.
POINT YOUR BROWSER AT WWW.HTXT.CO.ZA/WINAMEMO PAD TO ENTER!
TO ENTER 95
To stand a chance of winning this tablet simply visit our competition site at www.htxt.co.za/winamemopad and answer the 75 following question.
What does LTE stand for? a) Long Term Evolution b) Lovely Telecommunications Experiment
c) Lasting Technology Enhancement
The closing date is 15th January 2015. Terms & Conditions apply, all details on the website above
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STATS
SA tech
The numbers that sum up the state of the nation
in stats
R999 is apparently the sweet spot for budget tablets. Vodacom and MTN both have slates out with data included at the price. Bit.ly/1AANLxO
Sony’s PlayStation TV has
launched in South Africa, and it’s yours for R1 499. Bit.ly/1AANQBD
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Google’s internet distributing Loon balloons have travelled more than 3 000 0000km in their first 18 months in the air. - Bit.ly/1AANVoE
Forget 4k. LG’s 105inch TV has 5 120x2 160 pixels. That’s 5k to you. Bit.ly/1AANCub
YouTube is in danger of losing access to 20 000 music videos from its library due to licensing issues. Bit.ly/1AAO8Is
Enjoy this free copy of htxt.africa’s Tech Made Easy? There’s loads more like these, plus in depth features, geek culture and business news published daily at our website www.htxt.co.za.
10 000 000 Number of people who still subscribe to World of Warcraft, paying just under R100 a month for access to the 10 year old game. Subscribers have risen by 3 000 000 this year thanks to the launch of a new expansion.
Bit.ly/1AAO6k1 South African born space and solar entrepreneur, Elon Musk, thinks intelligent robots will become a danger to humans in 5-10 years. Bit.ly/1AAOgaV
NEXT MONTH
And if you want even more, keep your eyes peeled for issue 11 from 7 January in all good technology retailers.
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“ I don’t have a 100 years to wait for the technology curve to bend towards my ideals. ...I only have now ”