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South African prices and launch dates inside. PLUS! All the latest from MWC!
Make it happen with Office on your Lumia Assignments, parties, projects. All made easy.
5MP Front facing Camera with wideangle lens Built in Microsoft Office Mobile Latest Windows Phone 8.1 Operating system
Lumia 535
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Contents
www.htxt.co.za April 2015
ISSUE #14
Need To kNow: News
WANT WATCH, WHICH WATCH?
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ell, it’s certainly been a long time coming, hasn’t it? We finally have all the details – including launch date and price – about Apple’s forthcoming swatchwatch which has been imaginatively named Watch. You’ll find everything you need to know about the long-denied, world shaking timepiece on page 12 except for one thing. Should you buy one? We don’t know – but we hope to have one in for review soon. It’s certainly up against a lot of challengers, predominently from Pebble, Sony, Samsung and LG, and even Huawei is getting in on the act with a very nice looking new model it’s just announced too. Speaking of that Huawei watch, it was revealed along with a bunch of new phones at this year’s Mobile World Congress, back at the start of last month. And it looks awesome. You’ll find our full show report starting on page 6. What else have we been up to this month? We’ve got our hands on Microsoft’s awesome and cheap Nextbook, as well as the first Chromebook to hit South Operator Africa. They’re truly affordable computing for the’s sub-r500 Steppa is first of its kind. masses, the pair of them. Check out our reviews ontor MTN obile opera has page 21. important for South Africa. launched South Africa’s first Andr Sadly, MTN has confir med that there oid-powered smartphone And enjoy the rest of the issue. ’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-board. The screen is a decent enough multitouch affair, which takes up most
It’s a milestone which puts hightech 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
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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
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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 4.0 International Licence. Other rights may apply for non-original materials.
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try now!
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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
Typ e into this c you ode r bro web wse r! WWW.HTXT.CO.ZA | 1
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MediaShareWireless Wireless MediaShare MediaShare Portable wirelessWireless streaming for Portable wireless streaming for Portable wireless streaming for your tablet or smartphone your tablet or smartphone your tablet or smartphone
STORE, STREAM & SHARE...Anywhere! STORE, STREAM & SHARE...Anywhere! Tablets and smartphones are often limited by their built-in STORE, STREAM SHARE...Anywhere! Tablets andcapacity smartphones are& often limited by their built-in storage and their ability to access content saved
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. •
The integrated 3000mAh battery can be used as a powerpack for your smartphone.
Scan the QR-Code to watch video. to Scan the the QR-Code watch the video. Scan the * USBQR-Code drive, hard driveto or SD memory card not included. watch the video. * USB drive, hard drive or SD memory card not included. * USB drive, hard drive or SD memory card not included.
Mitsubishi Chemical holdings Group Mitsubishi Chemical holdings Group Mitsubishi Chemical holdings Group
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Contents ISSUE #14
Need to know
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The most important news this month.
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Watch out for roadkill! Why an NGO wants you to log dead animals with your phone. It’s a mobile world All the hottest news from this year’s Mobile World Congress. Galaxy S6 vs iPhone 6 Samsung’s launched two new flagships. How do they compare to Apple? Apple Watch is here It’s launching this month and we’ve got all the deets. Build a catapult in Besieged Tons of fun to be had in this medieval rock-em-up. Gaming news All the latest from the world of games.
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Photos Made Easy
Our crack photography team is at it again.
35 36 39
Hands-on with Nikon Shayne Robinson takes a new budget SLR for a walk. Interview: Tim Moolman Award winning sports and wedding photographer reveals all. Philips Brilliance 272P An awesome screen for editing photos on.
How to…
The best guides for mastering your tech.
The best reviews
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Which budget laptop should you buy? Tablet, Nextbook or Chromebook? We’ve tested the best low-cost computers in SA. Vodacom Smart 4 Turbo The latest wallet friendly phone from Vodacom. Microsoft Lumia 535 With no more Nokia, can Microsoft keep the Lumia alive? The Order: 1886 Is it a game, is it an interactive movie? The Order is definitely different from other shooters. Evolve Monsterous multiplayer fun in which you get to be the bad guys.
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Ultimate buyer’s advice for you.
Mobile games Five awesome iOS and Android wonders to play this month.
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Get files off of an iPhone Struggling to get your data from your phone without using iTunes? Wirelessly charge your phone How to add Qi charging to any handset with a microUSB port. Block calls on Android Tired of nuisance callers? Here’s how to stop ’em ringing. This month in stats South African tech by the numbers, broken down for you.
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MOBILE COMPUTING MOBILE COMPUTING I live each and every day to the fullest. I’m out the door in the morning and don’t stop until I get home at night. I need my electronic devices at my side – protected and accessible – keeping Ime live each and every day tomakes the fullest. I’m by outdesigning the door solutions in the connected. Case Logic it simple morning and don’t stop until I get home at night. I need my that fit my devices and my style. electronic devices at my side – protected and accessible – keeping Case Logic. Life, Simplified. me connected. Case Logic makes it simple by designing solutions that fit my devices and my style. Case Logic. Life, Simplified.
IN STORE | ONLINE | MOBILE
NEED TO KNOW: NEWS
Why does South Africa need a roadkill app?
Endangered Wildlife Trust launches Roadwatch, an Android app for logging dead things on the highway.
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outh Africa has no shortage of wildlife spotting apps. From the ambitious crowdsourcing attempts to catalogue our local reptile populations to the world-renowned Latest Sightings for Kruger Park. You might, then, question why we need one more Android-based fauna identifier. Especially when it’s asking citizens not to hunt down rare species in their glorious habitat, but to identify animal corpses on the side of the road. Roadwatch, created by the Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT), is an app for logging roadkill. Not, you might think the most salubrious of subject matter but, according to EWT it’s essential if we’re going to create a reliable database of what red dot species live where, and what sort of danger they’re in from South African drivers. We caught up with EWT’s Emily Taylor in Diepsloot last week, where the organisation is encouraging people to report sightings of rare animals
More stories at go to htxt.co.za
and working with developmental and environmental NPOs like the Wot-if ? TRUST to gather data. She explained that EWT wants to create a range of apps for sightings, primarily for use in cities and townships.
“Roadwatch, created by the Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT), is an app for logging roadkill.” “We’re trying to develop a database for urban data,” Taylor explains, “To make it easy for residents to identify when they have – say – a genet in the garden.” Existing projects to crowdsource information about South African wildlife tend to be focussed on specific types of animals – like the long-running South
WANT TO SEE UFOS IN SOUTH AFRICA? GO TO KZN There’s a very active UFO community locally which documents suspected sightings. And they’re more common than you’d think. Bit.ly/1uTfCmg
African Bird Atlas Project – or wildlife ingame reserves and remote areas. Little work has been done logging urban populations of, say, rare bullfrogs in Kyalami says Taylor. Hence the initial app for EWT,Roadwatch, which asks people to take photos of animals killed on the side of the road. It’s not the most important work the Trust engages in, but its an area where little – if any – research has been done before. “Roadkill simply hasn’t been studied here,” Taylor says, “The road ecology, and how many endangered species are being killed, is something we need to know more about. We want citizens to report as much as possible.” By identifying where endangered species are most at risk of being hit by cars, Taylor says, the organisation can start to do something about it. Bit.ly/1Ev6FHa
MOST WATCHED YOUTUBE CHANNEL IN SA RACKS UP 100 MILLION VIEWS With a total of 80 million views by the end of August 2014, Ossendryver’s ‘Latest Sightings’ channel managed to add another 20 million views. Bit.ly/1DeQ7ir
WWW.HTXT.CO.ZA | 5
NEED TO KNOW: MOBILE WORLD CONGRESS
It’s a mobile world All the phones and gadgets from Mobile World Congress 2015
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e’ve just touched down back in Johannesburg after visiting Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain. It’s annual event
attended by 85 000 and hundreds of companies, which sets the tone for the mobile industry for the whole year. From phones to cameras to smartwatches and
more, it’s the event where news happens. Here’s our round up of the best from this year’s show.
Sony announces new Z4 tablet
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HTC is making Valve’s Steam VR kit. And it’s called the Vive
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hat square block of plastic above is the first viewing of the Steam Virtual Reality (VR) headset, which has been in development by Valve Software to go with its PC games for some time. Originally, the firm had planned to build its gaming accessories itself, but plans changed and its partnering up. The headset has a name – the Vive, or more precisely the Re Vive – and it’s brought to you by HTC. There’ll be a developer edition available in the next couple of months, with a consumer edition by the end of the year. There’ll be more details from Valve at the Games Developer Conference this week, but right now the Vive is being billed as the first “full room” immersive headset, capable of high resolution motion scanning and a 360 degree field of vision. We’re hoping to have a play with it before the show is over. The developer edition, at least, will have two 1 200×1 080 resolution screens with 90Hz refresh rates. There’s also going to be a couple of wireless handheld controllers shipped with it. No word on prices, but as well as compatibility with Valve’s games, HTC says it has also lined up content partnerships with Google, HBO and Lionsgate films. And what of the phones? Slightly less excitingly, the HTC One (M9) got its first outing tonight too, and the firm has also entered the fitness band business with its first wearable, the HTC Grip. Bit.ly/1CRllAn
More stories at go to htxt.co.za
6 | TECH MADE EASY | APRIL 2015
ony’a new Z4 tablet boasts a high definition display with a resolution of 2560×1600. “This 2K tablet comes with a stunning display that’s 40% brighter than the Xperia Z2 tablet screen. Combined with IPS technology, you’re all set for a brilliant view in any light and at any angle,” the company explained in a media statement. It is powered by a 64-bit octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 processor, and Sony says that gives the tablet 50% more speed than previous models. For connectivity, the LTE version connects through a Cat 6 LTE/4G modem, while also having Wi-Fi MIMO support. Battery life is one of the most important factors for a tablet, and Sony is no stranger to squeezing as much juice out of it as possible. With the Sony STAMINA Mode engaged, the Z4’s 6 000 mAh battery can carry on for around 17 hours. “Building on the success of its predecessor, we wanted to take all of the qualities that consumers loved most in [the] Xperia Z2 Tablet and enhance them for [the] Z4 Tablet,” said Dennis van Schie, SVP of Sales and Marketing at Sony Mobile. And one would think that having a high capacity, 6 000 mAh battery would make the tablet rather bulky, right? Well, you would be wrong, as it’s only 6.1mm thick. That is exactly the same thickness as the iPad Air 2, which was hailed as one of the thinnest tablets when unveiled in 2014. Bit.ly/1aX4C3K
ORANGE LAUNCHING NEW FIREFOX PHONE Mobile operator Orange, which has networks in 21 African countries, has teamed up with Mozilla and Alcatel OneTouch to launch a new Firefox phone. Bit.ly/1aX3xcf
RWANDA TOPS TABLE OF AFFORDABLE INTERNET IN AFRICA And according to the Alliance for Affordable Internet (A4AI), there are at least two billion who still can’t connect to the internet at an affordable price. Bit.ly/1aX40ez
NEED TO KNOW: MOBILE WORLD CONGRESS
Why is Ford is putting bikes in its new cars? Car manufacturer wants to make transport easier for urban city dwellers.
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ear about the new car from Ford? It’s got two wheels and pedals. Sure, there’s an electric motor on the back to help you up hills, but it’s definitely not what you’d expect. The firm’s been showing off an experiment it’s calling “Smart Mobilty”, which kits out cars with all kinds of built-in intelligence for the built-up environment, and puts a custom-made electric bicycle in your boot. We caught up with Ford’s ice president of Ford’s Research and Advanced Engineering, Ken Washington, to find out. htxt.africa: With the growth of cities into megacities, you’ve got to be worrying about people moving to bikes and scooters. Is this the reason for your Smart Mobility bike project [An experiment in bundling electric bikes in cars for getting around after you’ve parked – Ed] playing such a big role at your presence here at MWC 2015? KW Not really. We simply thought that this was the perfect platform for this project to accompany our theme of mobility. Our vision is to bring alternative modes of mobility to the masses, to bring experiences and solutions that they are asking us for. We’re being told that the combination of a bike and a vehicle is the solution. We opened this question to our employees and what you see outside are just two of the over 100 projects that came back to us from them. There are some amazing things that didn’t even make the cut. How are you planning to use the data you’re collecting from bikers?
Well the first step will be to see what comes out of the data. We fit a sensor box on the frame of the bike which is retro-fittable and has an accelerometer, a gyroscope, a humidity, cadence and light sensor. This box gathers data such as wheel speed, acceleration, weather and altitude. From there the goal is to start a conversation with the bike manufacturers who are working within an ecosystem that we see as quite underserved by this sort of data. Neither industry is thinking about the other. This is something we’d like to change. We’re thinking that the actual application of this technology could be in the form of a box or a clip or a Google-like service that could connect to any existing hardware or software. We’re starting with a small group of riders in a city and we’ll use their feedback to develop and build the application. We have no decided date on when this could come to market. What sort of business solutions are you aiming to cater to with your MoDe:Pro? We’re looking at providing solutions to business owners who operate within a very congested, big city environment. For example, we’re thinking of satellite delivery. One solution would be a delivery by van and skill by bike. So an emergency crew show up on the scene and the skilled members of the team who can save lives can cut through the congestion and traffic and get to the scene on time to be effective. Also think about courier companies who can cut on costs dramatically by delivering on bikes.
Owning a car is an expensive business and you’re addressing this with your Global Mobility Projects, particularly your Share-Car project in India. What other projects do you have that address the buyer who can’t afford their own car? At the moment we’re simply seeing what works in India for example and scaling it to places like South Africa from there. Our goal with this project is to learn, which is often seen as a dirty word, but this is something that is helping us improve and adapt. Our Dynamic Shuttle Service running in London is also aimed at reducing emissions and allowing everyone to enjoy transport solutions without owning a car of their own. In fact, in that project, the more people that the shuttle picks up, the cheaper the ride becomes for the riders. So it encourages people to message or tweet their friends and say “hey, I’m getting the shuttle to work today, why don’t you join me?” Along with electric we’re seeing a trend towards smaller engines like your 1litre Ecoboost one. Are the days of the V8 consigned to the dinosaur graveyard? We see a need to improve consumption so we’re focusing on the right combination of feel, performance and fuel efficiency depending on what our consumers require. We know that these are engines that even the enthusiasts will enjoy. We offer a full range of engines for everyone and we’ll continue to produce the performance ranges like the Mustangs and the RS range. Bit.ly/1zI3jdq WWW.HTXT.CO.ZA | 7
NEED TO KNOW: MOBILE WORLD CONGRESS
Microsoft launches two new Lumias
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he Lumia 640 and 640 XL (so named because it sports a bigger screen than its sibling) are the first phones Microsoft has launched that will be guaranteed to run on Windows 10 when it becomes available. In the interim however, they’ll ship with Windows 8.1. They’re also the first two handsets to come with a sweetener – a free one-year license for Office 365 that will cover the user for use on one smartphone, one tablet and one PC.
Hardware specs, while typically sketchy from Microsoft, look adequate for the price point. The 640 features a 5-inch Gorilla Glass 3 screen, a choice of 3G and 4G connectivity, a quad core 1.2GHz processor, an 8MP rear camera and a 0.9MP wide-angle front-facing camera. It also has a 2 500 mAh battery that should keep it running for longer than most other competitive devices in the market. By contrast, the 640 XL gets a 5.7 inch
screen, a 13MP camera and a larger 3 000 mAh battery. Both will be available in April internationally (local availability timeframes have yet to be confirmed) and the prices are good. The 640 will cost 159 euros for LTE and 139 euros for 3G/Dual SIM; and the 640 XL will cost 219 euros for the LTE model and 189 euros for 3G/Dual SIM. Bit.ly/1aX3FIM
Answer calls upside down with Alcatel OneTouch Idol 3
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anufacturers Alcatel has always played second fiddle to big-name players like Apple, Samsung and LG, so it has to constantly come up with new ideas. The Idol 3’s hook is the fact that you will be able to answer the phone even if it’s upside down. Yes, no matter what the phone’s orientation might be, you will still be able to take that super important call. IN case you were wondering, the phone’s interface automatically rotates in order to make that happen. But let’s not forget about the other features: JBL audio with two front-facing speakers and Clari-Fi technology, as well as the ONETOUCH MIX music
More stories at go to htxt.co.za
8 | TECH MADE EASY | APRIL 2015
THE MX4 IS AN AWESOME UBUNTU PHONE The South African-inspired Linux distribution appeared on two separate new handsets at MWC. And it’s shaping up to be great. Bit.ly/1aX46Tl
application. The nuts and bolts of the phone’s symmetrical design is made up by Android Lollipop, and it will be available in two variation: a 4.7-inch, and a 5.5-inch. The 4.7-inch is powered by a quad-core CPU and uses an HD screen, while the 5.5-inch has an octa-core 1500 MHzARM Cortex-A53 CPU, and a full HD screen. Both models are capable of LTE. For the camera, Alcatel has thrown in a 13-megapixel rear camera with a large aperture for low light, while the 8MP front camera has an 84-degree viewing angle. Bit.ly/1aX4r8z
HUAWEI’S HONOR 6 PLUS FOCUSSES PICTURES AFTER YOU’VE TAKEN THEM This new phone from Huawei has a camera which can change the point of focus in an image after you’ve taken the shot. No more blurry faces for you! Bit.ly/1aX5BkD
NEED TO KNOW: MOBILE WORLD CONGRESS
The HTC One (M9): new boss, same as the old one
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o call the HTC One (M9) an incremental update over last year’s stunning (M8) is something of an understatement. It looks almost identical from the outside, but everything has been given a little bit of polish. The CPU has been upgraded to one of Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 810 chips, with its primary four cores running at a col 2.0GHz. It weighs 157g, and measures a mere 144.6×69.7×9.61mm. Android Lolipop is present [as it is in the One (M8)] and there’s a tasty 3GB of RAM inside too. Apparently, now you can also play simple games, too, ZX81 style. The real news, however, is that the firm has
capitulated and accepted that the One (M8)’s camera, at 4MP, wasn’t really up to scratch. The M9’s rear facing snapper is a cool 20MP affair, capable of 4K video recording with an F2.2 lens. It didn’t work, so hopefully the new camera fixes that. And for the final touch, the screen is now gapless to the glass too, so all those leaky backlight issues people liked to complain about should be done with too. The bad news? No wireless charging. Boo. The firm is, however, launching a new range of wearables and Android add-ons under the Under Armour brand, starting with a fitness band called the Grip. Bit.ly/1aX47qw
Qualcomm’s new fingerprint scanners sees with sound
Q Privacy defending Blackphone 2 and Blackphone tablet announced
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ilent Circle, the Swiss manufacturer of the supersecure Blackphone, has announced the second in its line of handsets for the masses along with a seven-inch tablet running its own PrivatOS 1.1 and a suite of new apps for business. PrivatOS uses a highly customised GNU/Linux kernel based on Android to encrypt pretty much everything you do on your handset, and it can make fully encrypted calls to other phones too. The first Blackphone was announced a year ago and launched in July. The new phone (pictured above) is slick, and feels not unlike a Sony Xperia Z with its 5.5-inch HD screen, Snapdragon processor and Gorilla Glass front and back. By the end of the year it will also introduce a seveninch tablet, the Blackphone +, price to be confirmed.
ualcomm has announced Sense ID, a biometric scanner designed for use with its popular chipsets for securing your phone without passwords. Unlike most mobile scanners, which use capacitive technology to read the pattern of your fingerprint’s arches, whorls and loops, Sense ID is based around an ultrasonic transmitter. What that means, says Qualcomm president Derek Aberle, is that it images in 3D and – most excitingly – can see through materials like plastic and even metal. That means manufacturers can be creative in their designs to accommodate a Sense ID reader, and it shouldn’t be confused by grease or dirt either. Your phone is also about to get a lot cleverer, too. also announced a new technology that the firm has been working on called Zeroth. Described as “cognitive computing”, this is basically a software suite that allows your phone to learn from and adapt to your behaviour – a sort of IBM Watson-lite.
Bit.ly/1aX5m98
Bit.ly/1FzMBBY
MEET THE WORLD’S SMALLEST ROUTER WiFi routers are bulky and expensive, but this tiny 25mm cube is a WiFi and ethernet switch in your pocket for less than R600. Bit.ly/1aX5PrG
IS THIS THE BEST SMARTWATCH YET? Huawei’s new TalkBand B1 is a watch, fitness tracker and Bluetooth headset in one. Bit.ly/1aX60TW
INSTAVOICE IS THE MESSAGING SERVICE FOR EVERYTHING African IM combines voicemail and social network in one, and gives you the ability to delete SMS after you’ve taken them. Bit.ly/1aX63zi
WWW.HTXT.CO.ZA | 9
NEED TO KNOW: NEWS
Galaxy S6 vs Galaxy S6 Edge vs iPhone 6
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amsung has just announced two new flagship phones which it wants to use to take on Apple’s mighty iPhone 6 – a handset which broke all previous sales records when it launched last year. The Galaxy S6 is an upgrade to the outgoing S5, and has few new tricks to shout about. But the Galaxy S6 Edge is something else – a phone with a screen wider than its surface which curves around the edges for a deep, immersive view. But is it any good? It’s launching next month, here’s what the stats say... Bit.ly/1B9dzMj
GALAXY S6 • Screen size: 5.1inches • Resolution: 1440x2560 • Screen type: SuperAMOLED • Chipset: Exynos 7420 (ARM V8) • CPU: Eight core 1.9/2.1GHz • GPU: Mail-T769 • Camera (back): 16MP • Camera (front): 5MP
• Video: 2160p@30fps (4K) • NFC: Yes, plus mag stripe • Battery: 2550mAh • RAM: 3GB • Weight: 138g • Dimensions: 143.4x70.5x6.8mm Price: R12 000
GALAXY S6 EDGE • Screen size: 5.1inches • Resolution: 1440x2560 • Screen type: SuperAMOLED • Chipset: Exynos 7420 (ARM V8) • CPU: Eight core 1.9/2.1GHz • GPU: Mail-T769 • Camera (back): 16MP • Camera (front): 5MP
• Video: 2160p@30fps (4K) • NFC: Yes, plus mag stripe • Battery: 2600mAh • RAM: 3GB • Weight: 132g • Dimensions: 142.1x70.1x7mm Price: R16 000
IPHONE 6 • Screen size: 4.7inches • Resolution: 750x1 334 • Screen type: LED-backlit IPS LCD • Chipset: Apple A8 (ARM V8) • CPU: Dual core 1.4GHz Cyclone • GPU: PowerVR GX6450 • Camera (back): 8MP
10 | TECH MADE EASY | APRIL 2015
• Camera (front): 1.2MP • Video: 1080p@60fps • NFC payments: Yes • Battery: 2915mAh • RAM: 1GB • Weight: 129g • Dimensions: 138.1x67x6.9mm Price: From R9 900
Galaxy S6
NEED TO KNOW: NEWS
Galaxy S6 Edge
iPhone 6 WWW.HTXT.CO.ZA | 11
NEED TO KNOW: NEWS
Apple Watch will cost up to R200 000 Solid gold edition of the Apple timepiece is really only for the super-rich.
B
ack in September last year Apple unveiled what was probably the worst-kept secret of all time – it had been working on its very own smartwatch. While the wrappings have been taken off, at the time we knew very little about the time-keeper. But Apple made the whole hoo-ha official this month by revealing the last pieces of details in a very Apple-like announcement in Cupertino. Used in conjunction with the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus as well as the previous generation iPhone, it has a sapphire glass covered Retina touchscreen display, and added what it calls the Digital Crown to make your way around the device. Speaking of iPhones, CEO Tim Cook announced that over 700 million iPhones have been sold so far, and that it has seen a 49% year-on-year growth. “Apple Watch is unlike any device we’ve ever made. But we wanted interacting with it to be just as easy and intuitive as using your iPhone or working on a Mac. So we invented all-new ways to select,
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12 | TECH MADE EASY | APRIL 2015
navigate, and input that are ideally suited to a smaller device worn on the wrist. The result is an experience that’s both unique to Apple Watch and quintessentially Apple,” it explained. Astonishingly, there are 22 variants for potential buyers to choose from: five of the Watch Sport, 12 of the standard Watch and five of the Watch Edition. The 42mm Sport edition has a screen resolution of 390×312, while the normal Watch has a resolution of 340×272. Beside being able to tell the time, there are a host of health and fitness applications available, as well as games. Cook also unveiled Glances, which give you a different way of quickly accessing data like meetings, and quick summaries of information.
HOW MUCH?
The base price for a Watch Sport will be $349 for the 38mm model, as mentioned by Apple on previous occasions, and $399 for the 42mm model. But if you want to go all out and splurge on the most expensive model, its going to set you back
LOVED AUTHOR TERRY PRATCHETT PASSES AWAY Discworld creator and inspiration for a generation of writers and games developers, Pratchett, has passed away at home at the age of 66. Bit.ly/1B9gEMy
from around $10 000 for the Apple Watch Edition. Granted, it is available in limited quantities and is made of solid gold. As for availability, pre-orders will start on 10 April and the retail models will be made available on 24 April in “many countries”. Those countries sadly son’t include South Africa, as the inital launch regions are Australia, Canada, China, France Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, UK and the US. Hopefully we will have more clarity soon as to when it will be made available in South Africa. Another point that people were wondering about was the battery life. Well, that question has also been answered as Cook said that the Watch will last “all day”, which according to the company is about 18 hours, and charges with a magnetic charger. “Since what you wear is an expression of who you are, we’ve designed Apple Watch to appeal to a whole range of preferences. Its the most advanced timepiece ever created,” Cook explained. Bit.ly/1GJDt1t
VAIO TO RELEASE PHONES THROUGH JAPANESE MNVO B-MOBILE Once upon a time, Vaio was Sony;s laptop division. Now an independent company, it’s revealed its first smartphone design. Potentially a solid start for yet another Android maker. Bit.ly/1GJECGj
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NEED TO KNOW: GAMES
Besiege
We play the physics-based building game set in medieval times.
How to build a catapult in Besiege
A
couple weeks back we spotted a post on Kotaku, detailing the hilarious things – well, one hilarious thing anyway – that Besiege players are building, and we laughed so hard that we just had to buy the game for Tech Made Easy’s review
team. Over the last few weeks we’ve tinkered with the game, and a few days ago I finally figured out how to build an actual siege engine that launches a bomb, as opposed to, you know, a bomb that launches siege engines. Those, it turns out, are pretty easy
to make. Actually making a working catapult turned out to be a bit more complicated than we originally thought it so here are our gaming editor’s discoveries in case it helps someone who is as stuck as we were.
1. BUILD A BASIC STRUCTURE All you need to start is a rectangular base and some wheels. First, move the starting block quite a long way forward by clicking Translate Machine, then drag the forward-pointing arrow forward. I like to set the structure on the ground so there’s no jolt when you click the Play button and gravity kicks in. Then bolt on a few blocks of wood and connect your wheels.
2. THE ARM OF THE CATAPULT For the arm, you’ll need a hinge (which you attach to that central post facing towards the back of the structure), six blocks of wood and a way to support it so that it doesn’t fall to the ground. I found the best way to support it is to build a section of wood at the end of the structure, but one block down so the arm rests on it.
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14 | TECH MADE EASY | APRIL 2015
FORZA HORIZON 2 – RACE THROUGH A MASSIVE WIDE-OPEN WORLD One of the most successful racing franchises ever, having sold millions of copies to date, and it’s exclusive to Microsoft’s Xbox platform. Bit.ly/11nlNXN
THE SIMS 4 – ELECTRONIC ARTS LIFE SIMULATION Manipulate, customise and personalise the lives of the tiny virtual people you create who are modelled after friends, family or just plain fantasy. Bit.ly/1uVSyn2
NEED TO KNOW: GAMES
T
here’s nothing quite like being given access to a selection of blocks and told to go and make something to unleash your inner creativity. It’s a principle that has kept LEGO’s bank account full for 40 years, and it’s spilling over into the gaming realm. Besiege is the latest sandbox game that offers something very similar.
It’s an Early Access title on Steam so it’s not finished yet, but even at this early stage there’s a lot to do. You’re given just the briefest of goals – destroy this, pick that up – and it’s up to you to figure out how to build a vehicle out of the parts you’re given that will do just that. The beauty of the game is everything is governed by a physics
engine that makes your creations respond realistically, and it’s your challenge to design them accordingly. Besiege is only $6.99 on Steam right now, and it works on Mac, PC and Linux.
4. STOP THE ARM FROM OVER-SHOOTING Simply place another block of wood just above the hinge. The arm will hit it and stop, but only if it’s been secured to the base structure with braces.
3. FIRING MECHANISM To get the arm to move, I connect two springs to two posts I’ve placed at the front of the vehicle. This is what pulls the arm, launching the projectile.
6. FIRE! Click the Play button, and press L to contract the springs. You’ll need to watch how long you press it for, as too long means the bomb will launch into the catapult and not at the enemy. And voila! Catapult done, and all you need to do is refine the design to your own parameters and you have a siege engine worthy of the name. Bit.ly/1x8e09k
5. ARM YOURSELF Now all there’s left to do is to place a holder at the end of the tail, and drop a bomb or a boulder in there, and the catapult is complete.
DEAD RUN – IT’S ADDICTIVE AND THERE ARE HATS Developed by local studio Twoplus Games, this endless runner will have you fleeing zombies and accidentally killing Megan Fox or William Shatner. Bit.ly/18JxECI
FIFA 15 – IS IT REALLY BETTER THAN PES THIS YEAR. REALLY? FIFA 15, the 22nd iteration of Electronic Arts’ venerable soccer series, is a stable, effective and slick football simulation game. It’s time to get kicking. Bit.ly/1zkitLI
CALL OF DUTY: ADVANCED WARFARE The best Call of Duty since 2007’s Modern Warfare dragged the series into the 21st century. Well done Sledgehammer Games. Bit.ly/11nboLL
WWW.HTXT.CO.ZA | 15
NEED TO KNOW: GAMES
Google’s Agent AI has learned to play retro games all by itself
G
oogle now has an artificial intelligence it calls “Agent” that has learned how to play retro videogames. And not just in basic terms either: Agent has picked up the core concepts of 49 retro games like Space Invaders and Breakout and even developed its own strategies on how best to score big without human intervention. Agent learns through experimentation and feedback, very similarly to how a baby learns anything. The more it experiments, the more it learns and the better it gets at the given task. Thanks to this powerful breakthrough, Agent has not only learned
how to play Breakout, it’s developed its own strategies on how to score the most points. Read that again. An artificial intelligence algorithm has learned enough about a game to come up with a winning strategy, all on its own. Its creators simply set the rules, let it run and watched it evolve from clumsy beginnings into a Breakout master. Agent is the result of Google’s work with artificial intelligence outfit DeepMind, which you may recall the company acquired back in 2014 for $500 million. Bit.ly/1ETvo6j
This 17 year old South African kicks butt at making games
K
R4.4m Dying Light Collector’s Edition includes zombie-proof house
D
ying Light turned out to be a pretty good game, but is it good enough to justify a FOUR POINT FOUR MILLION RAND collector’s edition? Developer Techland appears to think so. Ahead of Dying Light’s retail availability in Europe and South Africa, the Polish studio detailed what it calls the “My Apocalypse” Collector’s Edition of the game for the UK that sells for a whopping £250 000. That said, for your R4.4 million you’ll get a completely zombie-proofed house, a trip to Poland to meet the developers, lessons on how to leap around (and up and over and through) urban obstacles like Kyle Crane and a huge heap of other Dying Light goodies. Including four Steelbook copies of the game, of course, presumably on the platform of your choice. It’s not the first time a studio has offered a completely bananas Collector’s Edition, though. In 2013 Saints’ Row IV offered a $1 million Collector’s Edition that included plastic surgery, a trip on Virgin Galactic, high-end hotel stays and an actual Lamborghini Gallardo among other crazy luxuries.
obus van der Walt is a 17 year old South African, and in his short time on Earth he’s made more games than I have. That is to say, one. It’s a particularly good one, though. His game is called Cluster, it has a rock-solid techno soundtrack and it’s out today for Windows, Mac, Linux and the web, entirely for free. But more importantly, it will hurt you with ridiculously challenging levels. It will bruise your ego, carpal-tunnel your wrist and pain your fingers as you attempt to master its deceptively simple two-button control scheme and smash your way through brightly-coloured blocks to the high score while avoiding the spiky ones and various other obstacles. Complementing the action is a slick techno soundtrack from Finnish musician Jukio Kallio, who had previously worked on high-profile games like Nuclear Throne, LUFTRAUSER and Maverick Bird. Even if you don’t like the game (and shame on you if you don’t!), the download is worth it for the music alone. Bit.ly/1MVL9iz
Bit.ly/1AOJll4
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16 | TECH MADE EASY | APRIL 2015
BATMAN ARKHAM REMASTERS COMING TO PS4, XBOX ONE
YOUTUBE TO TAKE ON TWITCH WITH ITS OWN LIVESTREAMING SERVICE
Rumours abound that Warner Bros’ awesome Batman titles are coming to next-gen consoles. Read all about it at htxt.africa here. Bit.ly/1M3QINV
2015 will see the relaunch of YouTube Live, the video site’s livestreaming service which originally launched in 2010 to broadcast live events. Bit.ly/1Gs8uWA
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ech Made Easy is just a small subsection of what we do on our main website. Every day we carry South Africa’s best news about technology, gadgets, games, business start-ups, geek culture and more. We have the broadest editorial remit of any similar site in the country, and we’re passionate with it. We believe that all across Africa, technology is changing lives - and that the more we write about it and the more you read about it the better the chance is that it will be for the better. So if you want buying advice, gaming tips, web security specials, online activism and the most interesting stories about how technology is being used right here in South Africa and across the continent, join us.
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SUPERTEST
WHAT SHOULD YOU BUY…
Three great low-cost laptops Tech Made Easy rounded up three portable computers which cost more than R6 000, and spent some time with them to see what they’re like to use as work machines.
I
t’s a very good time to be looking at getting yourself a new portable computer. Even with the rand, it’s possible to spend a relatively small amount of cash but still get yourself a PC that does everything you need for work, and even handle your entertainment needs by way of HD movies and the occasional game. Most impressive is the fact that you can
now also get PCs with touchscreens for less than six grand, a feat that just two short years ago was nothing but a pipe dream. Thanks to the need for companies to punt Windows 8’s touch functionality, the proliferation of touch-enabled tablets, the emergence of low-cost Chromebooks and the need for the big-name PC-makers to differentiate themselves with new and
interesting form factors, touchscreens have become the norm rather than the exception. Hurrah for progress!
SEE THE CONTENDERS ON THE NEXT PAGE. WWW.HTXT.CO.ZA | 21
SUPERTEST
ACER SWITCH 10
A WONDERFULLY WELL-SPECCED WINDOWS 8.1 CONVERTIBLE THAT’S LET DOWN BY ITS AWFUL KEYBOARD DOCK.
DETAILS • Processor: Quad-Core Intel Atom Z3735F @ 1.33GHz • Memory: 2GB RAM • Storage: 64GB Internal Storage (microSD expansion possible) • Networking: WiFi • Extra software: Microsoft Office Home & Student 2013 • Screen: 10.1-inch IPS touchscreen @ 1 200×800 with 5 touchpoints • Battery life: Eight hours • Other: MicroHDMI output R5 500
T
he Switch 10 is Acer’s attempt to create a competent Windows 8.1 PC that’s both a tablet and a full-on laptop, and they’ve done a pretty good job. For the most part, that is. It’s nicely-specced for a convertible and as such boots up quickly (less than 15 seconds from cold), and more importantly, Windows responds well to touches as well as keyboard and touchpad input, with smooth browser scrolling no matter the site. You also get Office Home & Student 2013 with it, a really nice extra. I didn’t feel like I waited too long for things to load, surfing the ‘net over WiFi was a pleasure, and while the 11-inch screen is only rated at 1 280×800, everything looked crisp and sharp. Colours, too, look pretty good on the Switch 10’s screen. It proved particularly 22 | TECH MADE EASY | APRIL 2015
well-suited to watching YouTube videos; I took to watching them in the kitchen while I prepared food, and it worked very well. If you’d like, you can hook up an external screen but you’ll need a micro HDMI cable, as that’s the only video output the Switch 10 has to save space. Since it’s a convertible, the Switch 10 can be detached from the dock when you need a tablet, and this mechanism is very solid. The magnets that keep everything in place are powerful and it snaps together with a satisfying click. The only downside here is that the hinge doesn’t keep the screen exactly where you leave it every time; there’s a bit too much give in it. Now for the bad. The keyboard dock Acer has included feels incredibly cheap; I’d go so far as to throw in an “and nasty” as well. The
plastic just feels rubbish, like it’s a low-cost toy made by the lowest bidder. This is mitigated somewhat by fairly nice keys and a lovely typing experience, but it’s hard to get past the awful-feeling plastic when you open and close the unit.
SCORES Looks
7
Performance
8
Value-adds
8
Value for money
7
Overall
8
SUPERTEST
NEXTBOOK
IT MAY ONLY HAVE 1GB OF RAM, BUT AT THIS PRICE IT IS A FORGIVEABLE OFFENCE.
T
he Nextbook is the cheapest Windows 8.1 PC you can buy, but it’s surprisingly robust at the same time. You won’t use it to do any heavy lifting as the Nextbook people skimped a bit on the system RAM (1GB as opposed to the 2GB of the Switch 10), but as a basic Windows convertible that’s great for everyday use for things like email, looking stuff up online and watching videos it’s ideal. On top of that it has a one-year subscription to Office 365 included in the price, which would cost you R750 otherwise, plus it’s a buck short of three grand (even less if you shop around), which is nothing short of spectacular value. And it’s even competent on the physical side. The Nextbook’s build quality is surprisingly good thanks to a very sturdy 1 200×800 touchscreen, a soft-touch finish and a keyboard dock that feels both sturdy and pleasant to touch. The keyboard itself is a bit cramped however, because the unit itself is so small; I highly recommend looking into hooking up a full-sized one. There is only one USB port, though, and it’s a MicroUSB but there’s an adapter in the box that will let you connect a full-sized USB cable to it. The single gigabyte of RAM doesn’t hurt the Nextbook’s performance too badly, as to my surprise Office apps load quickly and I found that using them is almost smooth and responsive as it is on faster, more powerful machines. Creating documents, sending emails on Outlook and doing general office stuff is more than fast enough on the Nextbook; you could even hook it up to an external monitor (via micro HDMI) with a keyboard and mouse set, turning it into a low-level workstation that’s cheaper than a full-blown desktop. There isn’t much to say about the Nextbook that’s bad apart from a slightly weak hinge that also has a bit too much give in it, but for three grand you’re easily getting more than what you’re paying for so you probably won’t mind too much.
SCORES DETAILS • Processor: Quad-Core Intel Atom Z3735F @ 1.33GHz • Memory: 1GB RAM • Storage: 16GB Internal Storage (microSD expansion possible) • Networking: WiFi • Extra software: Microsoft Office Home & Student 2013 • Screen: 10.1-inch IPS touchscreen @ 1 200×800 with 10 touchpoints • Battery life: Eight hours • Other: MicroHDMI output R2 999
Looks
8
Performance
6
Value-adds
8
Value for money
10
Overall
8
WHO IS THE WINNER! WWW.HTXT.CO.ZA | 23
SUPERTEST
ACER CHROMEBOOK C720 THE C720 DELIVERS EVERYTHING A NEW OFFICE COULD NEED FROM A LOW-COST LAPTOP.
DETAILS • Processor: Dual-Core Intel Celeron 2955U @ 1.4GHz • Memory: 2GB RAM • Storage: 16GB Internal Storage (expandable via microSD) • Networking: WiFi • Extra software: All of Google’s Cloud-based Services • Screen: 11.6-inch IPS touchscreen @ 1 366×768 • Battery life: Eight and a half hours • Other: Full-sized HDMI output R4 500
A
cer’s Chromebook C720 is the most traditional-looking laptop of the three, but don’t let that fool you – there is nothing traditional about it. It may look like something you’re used to, but open it up and you’ll find no Windows interface staring back at you – instead the Chromebook runs Google’s Chrome operating system, an OS that has all of Google’s amazing services integrated directly into everything. That means you won’t even need other applications in order to run an office with it as it gives you everything you need for one price. The Chromebook is, essentially, a window into Everything Google – it gives you access to your files via Google Drive, email is handled by Google Mail (also known as Gmail), document creation is done using Google Docs (including spreadsheets and presentations), communication is handled by Hangouts, social media is done with 24 | TECH MADE EASY | APRIL 2015
Hootsuite and any additional functionality you may need can be downloaded from the Chrome Web Store. It really is genius. The only downside is you will feel like you’re doing everything with your browser, because, well, that’s pretty much what you’ll be doing as the Chromebook relies heavily on Google’s Chrome browser for its functionality. You’ll seldom be doing things in dedicated, standalone apps and instead manage everything from within the browser; you also won’t be downloading and installing traditional Windows applications on it, as the underlying software architecture is completely different. An adjustment period may be required as you familiarise yourself with Google’s ways if you’ve been using Windows for the last 20 years, but the upside is a reduced reliance on expensive, licensed software with which to run the basic functions of your business. And boy does it fly – it boots to the desktop
in less than 6 seconds, and opens Gmail/ YouTube/Docs etc. as fast as your internet connection allows. The Chromebook is a very clever concept, and the fact that you get such a good-looking, fast and versatile machine for such a great price is a powerful argument for its adoption.
SCORES Looks
8
Performance
9
Value-adds
10
Value for money
10
Overall
9
CONCLUSION
A
s much as we’re impressed with the fact that you can get a full-blown Windows 8.1 laptop/convertible for less than R6k these days, even that can’t compare to the Chromebook. It’s just so fast, so good-looking and so packed with value that we can’t but award it top honours in this particular roundup. If it’s an inexpensive PC you’re looking for to do the basic things your business demands on a daily basis, you can’t go wrong with the Chromebook. And should you absolutely have to stick with Windows, the Nextbook is a pretty good – and very cheap – alternative. The Switch 10, while we liked how it performed, is pricey compared to the other two and has an awful keyboard dock, which takes it out of the running for anything but third place. Bit.ly/1xrL29N
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REVIEWS
DETAILS • Display: 4.5 inch, 480 × 854 resolution LCD display (218ppi) • Memory: 1GB of RAM • Storage: 4GB, expandable with a microSD card • Camera: 5 megapixel rear camera, VGA front-facing camera • Networking: 802.11n WiFi, Bluetooth, LTE R1 499
Vodafone Smart 4 Turbo The phone that offers 4G for less.
T
op end Samsung Galaxies or Apple iPhones may well be packed to the brim with features, but they also cost more than a month’s average salary in South Africa. Clearly, something must be done. And it is. A swathe of sub-R1 0000 smartphones like the MTN Steppa 2, Vodacom Smart 4 Mini and Microsoft’s budget Lumias are showing exactly how you can more than half as good as a flagship smartphone for a tenth of the price. Meet Vodacom’s R1 499 Smart 4 Turbo. It’s a 4.5inch Android handset much in the vein of its Smart 4 and Kicka phones and Smart Tab 3G tablet, but it comes with a 150Mbps CAT 4 modem inside for superfast internet access (providing you’re in range of one of Vodacom’s 2 000 LTE base stations, of course). To put that in perspective, Vodacom’s own standalone LTE modem costs R3 635 on prepay. You can buy two of these phones and use them as WiFi hotspots for less than the cost of one LTE modem. But, of course, this isn’t designed to be a standalone modem and what’s going to concern most is whether or not it’s a decent enough phone to sacrifice frills for frugality. Weighing in at 155g, this phone feels
26 | TECH MADE EASY | APRIL 2015
comfortable in the hand, being neither too heavy nor too light. The 4.5-inch size makes it small enough for those with small hands to use comfortably yet doesn’t make someone with large hands feel like a visitor to Lilliput. The Smart 4 Turbo is quite a bit more powerful than many other budget smartphones, including MTN’s pokey little Steppa 2. Were you to split the Smart 4 Turbo open you’d find a Qualcomm MSM8926 Snapdragon 400 system-on-achip CPU, which is built around a quadcore 1.2GHz Cortex-A7 processor with an Adreno 305 GPU on the same die. You’d also find the 4G modem on the same chip. Its 1GB of RAM isn’t overly generous, but it is plenty for the chip to shine for one so penuriously priced. The 4.5-inch screen only has a resolution of 480 x 854, but even this also doesn’t feel like a terrible let down. The lack of pixel density can be seen on occasion but overall the experience is a pleasant one; even the viewing angles aren’t that bad. The five megapixel camera means that the Smart 4 Turbo won’t be snapping any Pulitzer prize-winning photos, but it’s certainly good enough for the occasional snap and selfie, and cannot be faulted too much given the price. The fact that it
can also record 720P video scores it a few extra points. The real unspoken hero of the Smart 4 Turbo is the 1 880mAh battery - it can easily last you a full day of pretty intensive use, and longer if you need it to through battery-stretching apps. The Smart 4 Turbo is a truly amazing little phone. No aspects truly disappoint, and even though it’s technically a budget phone, it delivers impressive performance. The price tag is quite a bit higher than other budget phones such as the MTN Steppa 2, the Gobbi IVP and the Vodafone Smart 4 Mini, yet what the Smart 4 Turbo offers over these other devices makes it worth the price premium. Bit.ly/1DX8AE4
SCORES Camera
9
Design
9
Performance
7
Battery Life
9
Overall
9
REVIEWS
DETAILS • Display: 5 inch, 540×960 resolution IPS LCD display (220ppi) • Operating System: Windows Phone 8.1 • Processor: 1.2GHz quad core Qualcomm Snapdragon 200 processor • Memory: 1GB of RAM • Storage: 8GB expandable with a microSD card • Battery: 1 905mAh • Camera: 5 megapixel rear camera, 5 megapixel front-facing camera • Networking: 802.11n WiFi, Bluetooth, LTE R1 800
Microsoft Lumia 535: Not right, but almost The days of Nokia Lumia are over. How does Microsoft compare?
A
budget smartphone is never going to feel as high-quality as a flagship device, and the Lumia 535 doesn’t do anything to change that. The rear cover is made of plastic which likely contributes to the phone’s overall lack of weight, which is very disconcerting given its large, five-inch size.
HARDWARE
Inside Microsoft’s newest addition to its Lumia range is a Qualcomm Snapdragon 200 chipset with a quad core Cortex-A7 CPU running at 1.2GHz. This chipset differs greatly from the Snapdragon 400 that sits inside the Vodafone Smart 4 Turbo that we reviewed last week, putting it at a distinct disadvantage in the performance and feature stakes. There is no LTE and no 1080P playback support in the Snapdragon 200 chipset; furthermore, it only supports resolutions of up to 720P. To put in a better screen, Microsoft would have had to spend a lot more money. The 1GB of memory means the Lumia 535 can handle multiple apps running in the background. Or rather, it should: when using this little phone there is a noticeable lag when opening up and switching between apps, as well as an annoying lack
of responsiveness in the keyboard when typing out messages. The Lumia 535 has 8GB of internal storage, but for those who need a bit more there is a MicroSD card slot that supports cards of up to 128GB in capacity.
BATTERY
DISPLAY
As a budget Windows Phone device the Lumia 535 does a decent job. It ticks a weird collection of boxes and attempts to be the ideal phone for the younger generation who want a large screen and a good front-facing camera. The biggest issue is the price. At R1 800 it is just a little too expensive when compared to other budget smartphones. Should the price drop, then the Lumia 535 will be a very serious contender in this segment. Bit.ly/1NiSaaD
The 5-inch screen has a resolution of 960×540 which means it has a pixel density of 200 ppi that won’t impress anyone who’s seen a smartphone since 2011. The touchscreen itself is overly sensitive, which makes it very frustrating to type on if you’re partial to typing with your thumbs as you’ll often hit more than just the key you were aiming for.
CAMERA
Before Microsoft took over the brand, the Lumia name was synonymous with decent camera phones, but the Lumia 535 possesses a snapper that would be described as “a potato” on certain parts of the internet. As in, this footage/photo is so bad it looks like it was shot with a potato. The rear camera quality is especially disappointing, with noticeable noise in photos and a very low video-shooting limitation of just 480P; at this price range 720P wouldn’t be asking too much.
The 1 905 mAh removable battery is a reasonable size and is able to deliver enough juice to keep this little phone running until it’s time for bed.
CONCLUSION
SCORES Design
6
Performance
7
Camera
6
Value for Money
6
Overall
6 WWW.HTXT.CO.ZA | 27
s
REVIEWS
DETAILS • Publisher: Ready At Dawn • Platform: Playstation 4 • Genre: Single-player third-person shooter • The good: Seriously gorgeous graphics - by far the prettiest PS4 game yet. • The bad: It’s short, but also a bit boring. R899
B o
D
The Order: 1886 Short and bitter-sweet – PlayStation’s prettiest game can be finished in six hours.
F
inally, the PlayStation 4 has an exclusive game that shows off just how powerful it is, and the sort of photo-realistic graphics it’s capable of. Meet The Order: 1886. It’s essentially the videogame equivalent of a truly unique book that can’t be read twice and all of the excitement, appreciation and disappointment that entails. The game’s primary hook is its alternatereality setting of Victorian-era London, where creatures like werewolves are real and weapons like Thermite-launchers, electricity-spewing arc guns and smoke grenades are not only possible, but in active use by modern Knights of the Round Table. You’re one of those Knights, Sir Galahad, a mustachioed, middle-aged badass. As the game gets going, Galahad and his squad head off to deal with a rebel threat emanating from Whitechapel. The action unfolds from a thirdperson perspective, and naturally makes heavy use of the cover system made popular by the Gears of War games. If you’re familiar with the mechanic, you’ll find yourself quickly at home with The Order’s controls: enter cover with O, aim with L2 and the right analogue stick and press R1 and R2 to fire. The gamepad buttons switch between weapons. But it’s not all about shooting: some levels are stealthy, allowing Galahad to sneak about and stab unsuspecting guards from behind as he makes his way between objectives. The
shooting and sneaking is punctuated by fairly regular quick-time events that force you to press the right button in time during closequarters combat sequences. Over the course of sixteen chapters, Galahad makes his way through the squalor of Whitechapel, several London Underground stations, a deserted hospital, a few industrial areas and – most notably – a massive, gorgeously detailed dirigible called the Agamemnon, all of which look utterly, gob-smackingly incredible. Characters, too, look convincingly real, somehow managing to avoid the haunted, empty look of computergenerated characters that usually take the viewer down into the Uncanny Valley and break any sense of immersion. No siree, these characters look as good as any you’d find in a detailed CG movie like Final Fantasy. Everything in The Order: 1886 has a handcrafted, spit-polished look to it, and the overall effect is of astonishing realism. Unfortunately, as good as levels and people look, they don’t feel particularly alive and there’s not much to do in them but pass through and shoot things. As much the developers can be commended for making The Order look as good as it does, in the end we came away feeling like we’d played through a very linear, very serious narrative that was more an interactive movie than a game. Sure, thre’s a few shooting sections, but they feel like work that separates
movie sequences. There are also no moments of levity to ease the weight of the story, or to make the characters feel like anything but caricatures of humour-less policemen. Topping it off is the fact that there is no multiplayer to extend the life of The Order: 1886 beyond your initial playthrough. All that said, The Order: 1886 isn’t a bad game per se, it just doesn’t offer the same kind of thrills or longevity that other games do which, in this age of tight purse-strings (particularly here in South Africa), is enough to encourage gamers to rather spend their money elsewhere. But if you want to see the prettiest game on the PlayStation 4 and pay R799 for it, then The Order: 1886 should be at the top of your must-buy list. Bit.ly/1BEYQ2G
SCORES Graphics
10
Story
7
Length
5
Replayability
4
Overall
6
S
4 Q F 1
A G F
28 | TECH MADE EASY | APRIL 2015
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REVIEWS
DETAILS • Developer: Turtle Rock • Publisher: Take2 • Platforms: Windows, PS4, Xbox One R899
Evolve
Can Turtle Rock’s big “asymmetrical shooter” evolve into something special? Or will it collapse under its own ambition?
E
volve is all about the hunt, a game in which you play online with up to four friends (or bots, or complete strangers), and use your first-person shooting and teamwork skills to bring down a hulking, player-controlled alien monster with massive strength and terrifying offensive capabilities. It’s from the same studio that brought you the Left4Dead games, and comes with four game modes, over a dozen maps, 16 Hunters and four monsters. Well, sort of, and it’s here where Evolve starts messing up. On top of the already-crazy (but by-now-normal) console price of R899, Turtle Rock wants you to pony up for additional content that many feel – myself included – should have shipped with the game. It’s mostly “skins”, new paint jobs for characters, weapons and monsters, so there’s no element of “pay to win” here, but that’s entirely secondary to the annoyance that the developer and/or publisher clearly wants to milk their fans for more moolah. Plus, they’re not exactly cheap. Do you really want to drop R60 on a new colour for your favourite weapon?
THE SETUP
The setup isn’t exactly award-winning sci-fi writing either, or even particularly noticeable (a lot of players I encountered don’t have a clue why they’re even hunting the monster in the first place), but here it is anyway: Humanity has colonised Shear, a planet located in the armpit of the universe, but after many moons of peaceful productivity the
colonies are being attacked by huge, hulking alien monsters, and now the colonists need to be evacuated and the monsters dealt with. Cue the Hunters, made up of various professionals and misfits, brought in to take care of everything. As a Hunter, your goal is to use your chosen class’s abilities, which complement those of the rest of your team, to bring the monster down before it can evolve through three stages into a nigh-unstoppable beast. It’s a thing of beauty to be a part of a team where the Medic makes weak spots on the monster with his or her sniper rifle for the team to exploit, the Assault person takes the brunt of the monster’s attacks with his shield while dishing out good damage of his own with a futuristic minigun, the Trapper stops the monster from escaping with his “mobile arena” doohicky that limits its movement and the Support guy shields team members from damage while staying invisible with his invisibility cloak. The problem is that it takes just one team member to not carry their own weight and fill their designated role effectively, and your four-man team is toast. The monster will tear you apart, whether it’s at level one or level three, and since Evolve’s matchmaking usually pairs you with strangers the chances of that happening are pretty high.
THE MONSTER
Playing as the monster, on the other hand, offers a lot more immediate gratification. Levels are big enough that staying away
from the Hunters is not hard while you work towards evolving by killing and eating the animals you’ll find, and each monster plays quite differently to the others, giving you plenty of variety. At the end of the day, Evolve isn’t a bad game,but at present it feels like a solid foundation for a game that will one day be great, but which isn’t quite there yet. It’s fun while it’s new, and the presentation is top-notch, but the combination of repetitive mechanics, running around while not much happens and the frustration it sometimes inspires may prove to be its downfall in the long run. When everything comes together, Evolve is a brilliant shooter that’s a blast to play. Its thrills just don’t last particularly long before the boredom sets in, and it’s this that ultimately undermines its longevity. Bit.ly/1Bs9dRR
SCORES Graphics
9
Sound
9
Level design
8
Gameplay
10
Longevity
10
Overall
7 WWW.HTXT.CO.ZA | 31
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REVIEWS
Five really fun “freemium” Android games Looking for a bit of relaxing Android gaming and don’t mind shelling out a bit of money to get the most from a mobile game? Try these!
8 BALL POOL eel like a quick game of pool with an internet stranger? 8 Ball Pool offers a selection of tables to play on and a realistic physics engine that accurately simulates the real-world game’s ball-on-ball action, rewarding good aim with potted shots and punishing those with a poor sense of judgement. Controls are intuitive, wins earn you casino chips with which to unlock additional tables and cues (or you could just buy them outright), and you can even take part in tournaments if you have the time.
F DESPICABLE ME MINION RUSH f you’re tired of playing games that look as though their presentation and levels were phoned in by a lazy developer, you’re going to love Minion Rush. It’s based on Despicable Me (of course), and features everyone’s favourite Minions running around, jumping, collecting bananas (of course), running away from villains (created especially for the game) and more.
I
TRIALS FRONTIER he satisfaction to be had from successfully guiding a stunt bike over challenging courses can’t be overstated, and should you have the courage to try Trials Frontier out, that’s exactly what you’ll discover. The game has tons of courses to pit your skills against filled with obstacles, tough jumps and steep inclines. Naturally, it’ll take you more than a couple of tries to successfully navigate around.
T
DUNGEON HUNTER 4 ungeon Hunter 4 recalls the Diablo series as it’s an isometric action RPG in which you explore dungeons, carve through hordes of monsters while picking up loot, and equip your character with better weapons and armour. It’s a little hamstrung by a paywall, though; to get anywhere you’re not-so-subtly encouraged to pay for items with real-world cash in order to progress through the game.
D
THE WITCHER BATTLE ARENA hould you enjoy The Witcher series – and who doesn’t – this is the game for you. Designed specifically with mobile in mind, TWBA is based around fast-paced, touch-friendly battles that last for a few minutes at a time. It also boasts a pretty streamlined RPG-like progression system and some very phat loot. Sure, TWBA is Free To Play which means there are items you can buy with cash, but they’re primarily cosmetic and definitely not a requirement.
S
WWW.HTXT.CO.ZA | 33
PHOTOGRAPHY
Taking the Nikon D5500 for a Joburg photowalk
Award winning press and portrait photographer Shayne Robinson takes a preproduction sample of Nikon’s mid-range SLR for a stroll.
Y
ou know, I love walking around the Johannesburg city centre and today I had a chance to do that with the latest piece of kit from Nikon. Nikon South Africa officially launched its latest DX-format DSLR, the Nikon D5500, by taking members of the media for a photowalk in Jozi. The D5500 replaces the older D5300, which makes it the second cheapest of SLR in the Nikon stable. And it’s a poky little beast too: it boasts a 24.2-megapixel CMOS sensor with no optical low-pass filter (OLPF) and a new 3.2-inch Vari-angle touch operation LCD display. It is aimed at entry-level DSLR adopters who would still like to do a little bit of social media on the fly. The D5500 has built-in WiFi connectivity and worked pretty seamlessly when connected to the Nikon Wireless Mobile Utility app on my iPhone 4. The D5500 is one of the lightest entry level DSLRs that I have played with, but it
does not come across as cheap, the finishing is good and button placement perfect for street scenes.
“The price of this camera may put it out of the reach of some of the ‘entry level’ market...”
18-55mm VRII lens for R15 799.00 or if you have lenses you can purchase just the body for R14 299.00. The price of this camera may put it out of the reach of some of the ‘entry level’ market, but I will reserve my judgment until we have had some more time with the camera. Bit.ly/1NcdhND
The JPEG images straight of out of the camera were good, being able to download them to my phone, edit in Snapseed and send to social media was I was told that it also has the ability to capture HD video with ease, but did not really get a chance to play with this. The camera is available as a kit with the WWW.HTXT.CO.ZA | 35
INTERVIEW: PHOTOS
Wedding marches to running men Photographer Tim Moolman on the importance of versatility.
T
im Moolman is one of those unusual professionals who manage to work across two vastly different areas of photography and do both extraordinarily well. He is both a highly acclaimed action photographer and a wedding photographer, and he balances both with ease to produce images that are always spectacular. “I have always loved art, but I sucked at drawing, so I wanted to study photography when I got out of school but I ended up working with computers instead. Then, about 12 years ago, I bought a small two megapixel point and shoot cameras and whole bunch of photography books. I wanted to get a job as a photographer, so I did,” says Moolman. Moolman is a natural storyteller who understands that a good photograph has narrative. And he understands his subjects implicitly. Most of his younger years were spent on a skateboard, which he says has helped developed his sense of timing when looking for the crucial frame. He says he enjoys the challenge of anticipating a moment and freezing time to convey a story. If sports shooting requires a snake-like patience that’s about staying prepared and knowing the right moment to strike, 36 | TECH MADE EASY | APRIL 2015
wedding photography happens at a very different sort of pace and sense of calm. “I’m a people person and people tend to be at their happiest at weddings. I shoot my
“I always loved art, but I sucked at drawing, so I wanted to study photography when I got out of school... I bought two small point and shoot cameras and a whole bunch of books.” weddings from a documentary angle which is very different to the norm,” he says. “For me it’s about watching people’s reactions and anticipating every moment. I also keep the number of weddings I shoot to less than
ten a year, that keeps me fresh and makes each wedding an enjoyable, unique event.” Moolman says that he draws influence from so many people, but the person who influenced his approach the most was Ian Clarke. He taught him that a good photographer should be able to photograph anything, press, sport, weddings, studio and wildlife, competently. “I try new things every time I have a shoot. I look at other photographers work and try to figure out what their technique or process was, and I read a lot about new techniques online. I don’t want to sound arrogant, but technically I can work most things out. So I really reach out for inspiration, that’s what sometimes runs dry,” he says. Making the images is only half of the job, the real challenge is to ensure that your workflow is good and does not get in the way of your success. Tablet photography “I’ll use a wedding as an example. My workflow begins with downloading and backing all the raw files up. Then I’ll import them into Lightroom and sync this with Lightroom mobile,” says Moolan. After this he can sit back and make his first working selection from his iPad. After the
INTERVIEW: PHOTOS
initial selection he edits almost exclusively in Lightroom and once converted to JPEG will backup twice again before delivering to the client. “For shoots that require a quicker turn around time I’ll skip the Lightroom mobile/iPad part,” he adds. A professional photographer needs to have gear that he can trust and that he knows will work for him every time. In Moolman’s bag you will find; a Canon 1D Mk3, Canon 5D Mk2, Canon G16 and an iPhone 5s. Lenses include Canon 24 f1.4, Canon 17-40 f4, Canon 50 f1.4, Canon 85 f1.8, Canon 70-200 f2.8, Canon fisheye 15 f2.8. A Manfroto tripod, two Canon 580ex flashes and a 550ex flash. Out of all of this is favourite piece of kit is his Canon 24mm f1.4, “It’s fast and wide which suits my shooting style. The large aperture allows me to shoot in low light situations and isolate subjects but still gives me a large field of view,” he says. Getting Moolman to decide on his favourite image was not an easy task, but he did manage to pick two, eventually. “I have
“Through my work I meet new exciting people all the time and push myself mentally and physically to outdo my previous work. It’s never boring, has unlimited potential for travel and discovery and is a creative outlet.” images from skateboarding and weddings and press work where the story behind the image is as important as the image to me,”
he says. “My photograph of Bob Burnquist skateboarding at the Maloof Money Cup, is spot on technically and tells a great story,” he says a little reservedly. As for his favourite wedding image, “I like spontaneity and the image of Ella Bella and Mark kissing at their wedding as the clock strikes 12 for New Years,” he adds. Moolman says that one of the best things about being a professional photographer means that he can work from home and see his young family every day, sometimes they even get to travel with him. “Through my work I meet new, exciting people all the time and push myself mentally and physically to outdo my previous work. It’s never boring, has unlimited potential for travel and discovery and grants me a creative outlet I so desperately need. “Plus it’s just so cool to write down ‘photographer’ as your occupation whenever you get the chance,” he adds with a huge grin on his face. Bit.ly/1Fdd88T
Bob Bunquist flies at Maloof Money Cup.
WWW.HTXT.CO.ZA | 37
REVIEW
DETAILS • Display: PLS LCD with 178°/178° wide viewing angles • Audio: Built-in 2W x 2 stereo speakers with PC audio-in and headphone out ports • Resolution: 2 560x1 440 with 16:9 aspect ratio R11 999
Philips Brilliance 272P A LCD monitor for all seasons.
P
hotographers please pay attention, because this 27inch beast features a pixel resolution of 2560×1440 and it is a great LCD display. The Philips Brilliance 272P isn’t the most elegant accessory you could add to your desktop. In fact, it’s pretty ugly by the standards of – say – Apple’s Cinema Displays or any of the wafer thin LED panels doing the rounds at the moment. The dull grey plastic makes it look a little cheap and when you are dealing with visual people such as photographers it is sometimes wise to appeal to their sense of “pretty”. Just because Philips is targeting this display at professional users doesn’t mean that it has to be drab. But appearances in this case really are skin deep – and that’s a good thing. While the 272p might be chunky, it comes with a fully heightadjustable stand that pivots 90 degrees so you can bend, tilt, swing and work portrait mode if you wish. It has more connections than a cheap trans-Atlantic flight, including a pair of HDMI connectors, a three-port USB 3.0 hub, DVI Dual-Link and DisplayPort with the ability to
“daisy-chain” to a second display without the need for a second cable trailing to your PC. When it comes to picture calibration, Philips’s SmartControl Premium software enables you to configure and adjust the display and its colour settings directly from your Windows desktop without having to use the fiddle on-screen menus comes with the monitor and was really easy to use, I had it sorted to my particular taste within minutes. Again this is a relief, because the invisible touch sensitive controls that are physically on the monitor itself are way too sensitive, and it’s easy to touch the wrong button. This almost led to me ejecting said monitor from my office with no flight clearance. Other features include an integrated 2MP webcam with an integral microphone and cool little feature called the “people sensor”, this detects when you are in fact in front of your monitor and it dims the screen when you are away to save power. Also included are a set of hidden pair of stereo speakers for multimedia use, which were not bad, but if you are serious about sound then get some decent ones. Overall, we’re impressed with the Philips
272P. It really is not the greatest looking display, but it does its job really well. At R11 999 it’s far from the cheapest of its ilk – Dell’s 29inch U291 screen is less than seven grand at the moment, although it has a less impressive stand. Plus it’s not the newest screen available either – for a similar price it’s possible to get a 4K screen these days, albeit one made from inferior TN technology rather than than the glorious PLS of the Philips. What you are getting, though, is a pro screen with pro build quality. And that counts for a lot, in the end. Bit.ly/1BLxORO
SCORES Design
7
Picture quality
8
Value for money
7
Overall
7 WWW.HTXT.CO.ZA | 39
HOW TO…
Get file iPhone Apple’s confusing file system makes it impossible to download photos and videos over USB without installing iTunes. Or does it?
T
o access and transfer your photos, songs and data on your iPhone to a computer, you will need to fire up iTunes on the computer to which your iPhone is linked. Unlike USB keys and Android phones, the file system on an iPhone doesn’t work with Windows Explorer. This makes things a bit more secure, ensuring that not just anyone can pick up your phone and start copying your files. But what if you have more than one PC or you don’t want to install iTunes? You’ll face a bit of a challenge, then, and aside from accessing photos taken through the iPhone’s camera, there’s not much you can do. Unless you know about this, that is: with a small program called iExplorer (www.macroplant.com/iexplorer), you can totally access the files on your iPhone on a PC or Mac without having to go through iTunes.
40 | TECH MADE EASY | APRIL 2015
HOW TO…
files from an ne without iTunes 1. FIRE IT UP Once you have downloaded and installed the program onto the PC in question and fired it up, it will ask you to connect your iDevice.
2. SELECT FILES Once it connects, you will be presented with a number of options. Directly under your phone’s information (see picture), click on the individual tabs to access the media (music and videos) on the phone, data such as call history, calendar information and SMS messages, or you can click on Files to access Apps, documents or the media folder. All options are also available on the left-hand side of the screen, presented as various drop-down options. Apple’s filing system when viewed through File Explorer on a Windows PC can seem a bit jumbled. To make things a lot easier, you can access your whole camera roll through iExplorer. Simply click on Photos & Video under the Media tab and the files will be arranged accordingly.
4. GO FREE OR PAY FOR PRO? The program is available as a free version with limited functionality, or as a paid-for registered version that costs $34 (around R400). While the paid version offers unlimited access to all of the program’s features, you can do everything described above with the free “demo” version. And it’s as simple as that! iExplorer is a really neat program if you want to quickly access important files in a hurry and you’re nowhere near your primary PC or Mac. Bit.ly/1xBtMPG
3. TIME TO TRANSFER From here, you can transfer photos to your desktop, export a bunch of them to a specific folder or make bulk changes. What’s so handy about this, is that your images are grouped together by camera roll, Instagram and Photo Stream for easy sorting. To organise and sort your music files, simply click on the Media Library tab.
WWW.HTXT.CO.ZA | 41
HOW TO…
Convert any phone to wireless charging Getting rid of pesky cables is easier than you would think.
W
ireless charging for phones is amazing. No more fiddling around with USB cables every time you put your phone down, just drop it on your desk and the power starts to flow. The trouble is, a lot of phones still aren’t compatible with Qi-standard wireless charging – even Samsung is only just
starting to introduce it for its flagship range, for example. Don’t despair if your current phone doesn’t have a Qi charger on board. You don’t have to upgrade this year – it’s trivial to add the feature to an older model. What you’ll need for the conversion is a kit containing a desktop charger and
a mobile receiver compatible with the Qi standard. The best place to look is BidOrBuy – no high street stores we’ve seen in South Africa have them. Generics are best and you can get both charger and converter for about R500 – just remember that delivery charges can be steep.
PLUG THE RECEIVER IN
BUY YOUR RECEIVER
Looks foul doesn’t it? Don’t despair! You don’t need direct contact to make wireless charging work. Indeed, back in the 19th century, renowned scientist Nikola Tesla proposed sending electricity over long distances as part of the national grid using very similar principles to the resonance induction chargers that make up the Qi standard.
The receivers are paper-thin stickers, and the best chargers to look for are the disc shaped ones. Some phones with removable backs – notably those from Samsung – have terminals next to the battery for charging. You can get a paper thin charge receiver that attaches to these and sits under the regular phone back. For other phones, like the HTC One you’ll need a receiver that has a microUSB connector. To use this, you’ll need to plug the microUSB adaptor into your phone’s charging port, and stick the receiver on the back.
42 | TECH MADE EASY | APRIL 2015
COVER IT UP For this HTC One (M8), the wireless tag sits neatly under the soft cover that comes with the phone. And it works perfectly.
SET UP THE DOCK All you need to do now is plug the charging disc into a USB cable – it’ll work off a regular USB port – and you’re done. Bear in mind that you won’t benefit from fast charging techniques used to quickly top-up Qualcomm-based phones. To finish off our test, we 3D printed a dock designed to hold a wireless charging disc. Looks great, doesn’t it? Just drop your phone in and go. Bit.ly/1Iyn1z7
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Our photobooks are produced on premium quality archival and photographic papers, ensuring that you will receive a product with a world class finish. Our photobook design process can either be done live online or by downloading the software so that you can continue designing offline. You can upload your completed book online or elect to have the whole process finalised by one of our stores close to you. The software can also be purchased directly from store ensuring a quick installation. Our software is both Mac and PC friendly. Your completed books can be collected from a store or can be delivered directly to your door for a small extra fee.
HOW TO…
How to block a number on Android Stop all unwelcomed calls and messages coming through.
H
aving a cell phone means you will inevitably get called by a wrong number, a telemarketer or some other person you speak to once and never wish to talk to again. Exes, too, tend to make an unwelcome re-appearance on your Incoming Call screen at some point.
1
Open your Phone application, press the Options button and choose Settings.
It’s an aspect of modern living that we just have to get used to, but fortunately as enabling as technology is for the pests, it’s just as good at providing solutions. For instance, did you know that you can create your very own list of blocked numbers on an Android phone? Any time
2
Press Call Reject and choose “Reject Calls From”.
a number on the list calls, you won’t even hear your phone ring. Voila, instant peace of mind. The trick is knowing how to do it, so here’s a quick How To using LG’s G Pro Lite. The process will vary slightly on other phones, so use this as a general guide.
3
Press the plus in the top right corner; here, you can block all private numbers and add numbers of your own to block. Bit.ly/1xBt6df
Who to block? You can choose from your contacts, your call log or enter numbers manually. Some phones will even let you set messages that blocked callers will see when they attempt to get hold of you. As your list of blocked numbers grows, you can expect to be annoyed by unwanted phone calls less and less.
44 | TECH MADE EASY | APRIL 2015
Image - CC by 2.0/Sweetie187 - www.flickr.com/photos/58782395@N03/5518988345/
THIS MONTH IN SCIENCE
What does a star sound like? This blind astronomer listens to the choir of the cosmos
I
t’s impossible to describe the incandescent beauty of the Milky Way on a clear night, especially if you can get away from the city lights. Nor can you deny the role that stargazing has played in the arts and culture and history of humanity. How terrible, then, must it be to be robbed of this universal experience through failing eyesight? This is the story of Dr Wanda Diaz Merced, a Puerto Rican astrophysicist who, in a cruelly ironic twist of fate, lost the use of her eyes while she was studying at university. Most people, when faced with the task of conducting a principally visual science without the use of their eyes, would simply give up. But not Dr Merced. Instead, she embraced the challenge with characteristic pragmatism: she decided to listen to the stars instead. Now, Dr Merced is pioneering the science of sonification – she uses computer software to translate radio or light waves from satellites and telescopes into sounds. Using this software, she can study the fluctuation in radio signals from a star,
or singular astronomical events such as a coronal mass ejection (CME). “I wanted to do science at the same level as my peers,” she says, matter-of-factly. Speaking at this year’s Scifest Africa, she describes her work as the auditory analogue of data visualisation. “Each data set, each star and each instrument has its own voice,” she says. And from the smile on her face, she likes the way the choir sings. Dr Merced would like her work on sonification to have an impact beyond just allowing her to study astrophysics. She thinks this technology can help sighted astrophysicists to study the skies in greater detail. She gives the example of the Square Kilometre Array (SKA), the vast telescope currently under construction in the Karoo. When operational, the SKA will produce gigabytes of data every second, and processing this data will be one of the greatest scientific challenges of our time. She hopes that the sonification software that she and her colleagues are developing might help with this task.
“Technology has evolved so much, but we’re still using the same approach to analyse data, over and over again,” she says. “With such huge streams of data, we need to bring new perspectives to the field.” This article was written by Paul Kennedy, founder of sciencelink.co.za, and was first published on SciBraai.co.za here, reproduced with permission – we’ll be sharing a lot more stories with these awesome guys in the future. Want to know more? You can hear Dr Merced’s presentation to Scifest Africa here: Bit.ly/1DniCyr
THIS MONTH IN SCIENCE We’re kicking off a new regular feature in association with South African science bloggers at SciBraai.co.za! Every month, we’ll bring you the latest in local science news and events from around the country.
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STATS
SA tech
The numbers that sum up the rest of the month
in stats
50 African organisations have signed up to a new movement promoting open access to government data across the continent.
An app designed to help
communities connect and protect each other now has 650 South African suburbs signed up.
Bit.ly/1ILKBbR
A survey by Schnieder Electric found that up to 70% of electrical goods in Africa may be fake. Bit.ly/1ILKexQ Cisco is pouring an extra R60 000 000 into the Square Kilometre Array, the world’s
largest space telescope based in Southern Africa.
Bit.ly/1ILKdtV Enjoy this free copy of htxt.africa’s Tech Made Easy? There’s loads more stories like these, plus in depth features and news published daily at our website www.htxt.co.za.
1 000 Number of young people being inducted into a digital training program in Johannesburg. It’s called JEDI. Bit.ly/1ILKdd8 The next Halo game will be launched on 27th October. Bit.ly/1ILK7lP
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And if you want even more, keep your eyes peeled for issue 15 from 1 May in all good technology retailers.
Connected Home for Your Family
Watch TV, surf the Internet, download music, and share memories across your TRENDnet digital network. TEW-812DRU
AC1750 Dual Band Wireless Router
Designed to produce the ultimate wireless experience in a busy connected home, TRENDnet’s AC1750 Dual Band Wireless Router creates two concurrent wireless networks—a 1.3 Gigabit Wireless AC network and a 450 Mbps Wireless N network to connect common wireless devices.
TN-200 2-Bay NAS Media Server Enclosure
TRENDnet’s 2-Bay NAS Media Server Enclosure is the entertainment and storage hub of a digital network. DLNA® Smart TVs, media players, and game multiple HD simultaneously.
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music