Bucket Tech: The Galaxy A Series, made for the Youth

A study by Adoozy Power* has revealed that young South Africans aged between 18 and 26 years check their mobile phones almost 30 times an hour. It says they spend a quarter of their lives on their phones daily. For anyone to spend that much time on their phone, it is only fair that they, at the very least, enjoy the experience.

 The Adoozy Power study shows that a mobile phone is one of the most important things for an average young person. If you asked any random youth what items they would save first if their house caught fire, many of them would name their mobile phone high up on that list. Being this devoted to their handheld devices means the youth would understandably want only the best devices to be able to get the best experience.

One of the finest Samsung Galaxy innovations, the Galaxy A Series, offers much of what young people need in a phone, from awesome features that allow them to unleash their unfiltered creativity to powerful and reliable tech that’s available every day. The newly-launched Galaxy A54 5G and A34 5G are perfect companions for young people who are taking on their future and both devices deliver awesome experiences that give the youth the freedom to express their creativity and pursue their passions. 

part of the impressive Galaxy A series line up, these two smartphones come loaded with great features and additional flagship elements that support, empower and help you to do Awesome things daily. Firstly, the screens of the A54 5G and A34 5G come with an impeccable 120 Hz display that is slick and provides an immersive viewing experience and eye comfort – making activities like gaming even more fun.  

Capturing cool vibes at a social gathering makes all the difference and the Galaxy A Series’ impressive cameras take photographs, videos, and selfies to the next level. The A54 boasts a 32MP selfie camera, a 50MP (OIS) main camera plus a 12MP ultra-wide and a 5MP macro camera. The A34 does its magic with a 48MP main camera that is supported by an 8MP ultra-wide and a 5MP macro camera. The front, selfie camera has 13MP. These cameras are amazing for any young person who likes to capture their life’s moments for a good memory bank and to share with their friends and/or followers. 

These phones’ great cameras, with enhanced optical image stabilisation (OIS) and video digital image stabilisation (VDIS), offer excellent photographs as well as sharp and stable video, and thanks to Nightography, you will be able to capture clear and vivid detail even at night. No flash, No problem. Even in low light, you can bring your subject to life, so our struggle with having a consistent power supply doesn’t have to dim your desire to capture every last one of your awesome memories with your buddies.

Your next road trip with either of these phones will be even more epic as you’ll be able to capture super-smooth videos in incredible detail. The pro-level of stability of your videos means you’ll get the most amazing shots of all your great adventures and always be ready to upload the best reels on your social media platforms. All the pictures and videos you capture will find a comfortable home in the up to 256 GB internal storage in the A54 5G (128 GB in the A34), which you can ramp up to 1 TB with a microSD card on both devices.

Worried about your battery dying before you collect enough memories? Worry no more because the large 5000 mAh battery will give you more than two days of power on a single chargec1. Should you wake up in the morning to realise that you forgot to charge your phone, take comfort because the 25w fast charging will ensure you’re up and running again as you can get 50% of charge in just 30 minutes2. For your peace of mind, both devices have an IP67 water and dust resistance rating3, meaning they’re durable and safe in shallow water and dusty conditions.

A lot of life is happening all at once and in a very short period of time, so when choosing a smartphone, choose a best friend for the next three years.

https://www.adoozypower.co.za/in-the-media

Bucket Tech: Land Rover Explore Smart Phone

The new Land Rover Explore mobile phone is tough and capable – like the Discovery SUV that inspired it.

Powerful enough for two full days of typical use and durable enough to keep you connected when the going gets tough, it is developed by Land Rover and Bullitt Group and will be revealed at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain.

Designed with cues from the unbeatably capable and desirable Land Rover Discovery, the Explore smartphone is at home in the office and on an outdoor adventure, navigating as you go further and stay out for longer.

A powerful 4,000mAh battery gives a full days hiking, biking or skiing with screen on constantly and GPS navigation mapping activated on the five-inch HD display. Battery life can be doubled by using an Adventure Pack that also boosts the reliability and accuracy of the GPS signal and improves the mapping.

The Land Rover Explore is as adventurous as you are. Drop-tested to 1.8 metres with a factory-fitted screen protector, it can survive underwater – including salt water – and can cope with extreme temperatures, humidity, thermal shock and vibration exposure. This level of protection ensures the device can survive heavy downpours or muddy trails and will continue to work, keeping you connected.

The Android-powered phone’s home screen has a customisable outdoor dashboard for instant access to weather information and data from the device’s sensors. The full HD screen works in bright sunlight and can be controlled with gloves or wet fingers.  It is also fully compatible with all Land Rover in-car apps.

Joe Sinclair, Director of Branded Goods and Licensing, Jaguar Land Rover, said:

“This the smartphone we’d all like to own – a perfect combination of design and functionality that embodies the Land Rover DNA and enables customers to be outdoors for longer, with the confidence to go further.”

Other hardware packs are available for the Land Rover Explore, including a large 4,370mAh additional battery and a universal bike mount.

The Land Rover Explore launches with the Adventure Pack, bringing GPS handheld capabilities to the smartphone straight out of the box. The phone will be available for pre-order in South Africa from April 2018.

Land Rover Explore outdoor phone specifications

• Huge battery (4,000mAh) battery pack
• IP68 splash, water and dust resistance
• Drop-proof to 1.8 metres with factory-fitted screen protector
• Customisable outdoor dashboard to access to the most important weather information, sensor data, and on-device tools for your activity: eg weather, wind, tides, compass, SOS light
• Android Nougat (7.0) OS, with scheduled upgrade to Oreo (8.0)
• 4GB RAM and 64GB storage, expandable via microSD
• Deca-core 2.6GHz 64 bit MTK Helio X27 chipset with dual SIM functionality
• 16MP rear camera, 8MP front camera, 4x digital zoom
• Bright five-inch FHD display, Corning Gorilla Glass 5 protected, optimised for outdoor use
  • Touchscreen can be controlled with gloves on or with wet fingers
  • Night red filter mode reduces screen glare, preserving natural vision in low light and at night
• LTE Cat 6
• Curated apps and content catalogue relevant to outdoor pursuits

Adventure Pack specification

• 3,600mAh additional battery
• 25 x 25mm ceramic patch GPS antenna
• TPU protective case
• Stainless steel carabiner with canvas strap

• IP68 and 1.8-metre drop tested

Bike Pack specification

• Bike mount and case for both stem and handlebar
• Tilt to adjust viewing angle or change device orientation

Battery Pack specification

• Ultimate battery performance, additional 4,370 mAh of battery capacity
• IP68 and 1.8-metre drop tested

Bucket Tech: Hisense C30 Rock Lite

Earlier this year I reviewed the Hisense C30 Rock, which is a mid range smart device which also is pretty rugged with it being  IP68 rating and IK04 shock resistant, my verdict on that particular device was that it was a great all round device for the everyday person, with standard features and it gets the job done. A few weeks ago Hisense sent me another device to review, this time the smaller brother to the C30 Rock, the C30 Rock Lite. With recent times, a lot of smart phone manufactures have been releasing Lite versions of their premium phones, with it offering slightly less in specs than the main device. Most of the times, it uses tech from the older generation devices which was replaced but of recent, the market has gotten more competitive so manufacturers had to up their game. 

STYLING

Like the C30 Rock, the design is very similar, with round edges which are rubberised, a nice metal finish on the side and a rubber back. It's got a decent weight and feels good in hand. Being under the Rock name, this phone is already Shock resistant, IP67 water resistant and dust resistant. So it's a pretty hardy phone, and if you have to look at the current offerings in the market, not many brands have a device such as this available. The phone comes with a 5.0" IPS Display which we'll chat about a little later. It has that old iPhone look to it and it's quite a decent size, not being too bulky and doesn't feel uncomfortable in your pocket. 

DURABILITY

Unlike the C30 Rock which is IP68, the Lite is IP67 rated which is still a good rating for water resistance. I wouldn't necessarily take it swimming but I won't stress over if it does happen to fall into some water. However, I did take this for a swim but unfortunately for me, I didn't save the pictures before formatting the device when I sent it back. Rookie error on the part of us! The device is also shock and dust proof, so if you're the outdoors type of person who loves going running/ hiking, this would be the perfect phone for you. 

PROCESSING

With Lite devices, this is where the main talking point comes in, processing power. While the bigger phones need faster processes to perform the tasks on demands, buyers of these devices aren't going to be using the phone for running multiple apps, editing spreadsheets etc. With the Rock Lite, it comes with still a decent chipset, having the Quad-core 1.3GHz  processor and has 2GB of RAM which is sufficient for a phone of this nature and size. For memory, it has 16GB of on board memory and a memory card slot up to 128GB Micro SD which also doubles as a dual SIM slot. The phone is primarily 4G but the secondary SIM slot is 3G. 

CAMERA

The camera on the light is also slightly downgraded from to the 8MP camera with LED flash. Still capable of taking great quality pictures in proper lighting environments. It records in 1080 @ 30 frames per second and has an auto focus feature. The front facing camera is a 5MP, perfect for all your social media needs and you don't have to worry about your battery running out quickly as the device comes with a 3900mAh battery, which gives you about a day's worth of use. 

VERDICT

When looking at this phone, while it might not win any contest against other smartphones, it boils down to pricing. This phone is available at retailers for under R2,500. That is an absolute steal compared to what you can buy from the bigger name opposition. And with Hisense great product support locally, should you have any issues, best believe it will be resolved without a fuss. Serious value for money with this device and for someone who spends most of his time on a construction site, I wouldn't mind one for myself. 

Bucket Tech: Huawei Mate 10 - First Impressions

Monday afternoon in Munich, Chinese mobile phone giants, Huawei unveiled their latest flagship smart phone, the Mate 10, along with the Mate 10 Pro and Porsche Design Mate 10 to the world's media. With Samsung and LG having gained the markets attention with their new smartphones, namely the Galaxy Note 8 and the V30, Huawei had to pull out something spectacular with the Mate 10 and unsurprisingly, they did. After launching the world's first smartphone SoC chipset, the Kirin 970 at IFA2017, that very same chipset will power the Mate 10. The chipset is essentially an octo-core processing unit which is split into two quad core processors. It has a combined output of 4.2GHz, but it's the AI abilities that shine through in it, with it being able to perform much faster than it's competitors. The AI capabilities don't stop there as it improves the camera and also be able to translate foreign languages without internet connectivity. 

The design of the Huawei Mate 10 has changed compared to the Mate 9 with it being more rectangular and flat, almost like a P10 Plus, the edges seem to have a smooth bevel finish but the main talking point is the screen. Huawei have opted for the long screen trend which enables "FullView Display" which gives the device one of the best screen to body ratio on the market which Huawei was quick to point out at the launch with a direct comparison with the iPhone X. Moving to the rear of the phone, Huawei have continued with their long-term partnership with Leica, with the Mate 10 sticking with dual lens technology but lenses now are vertically aligned as apposed to horizontal like previous models. The lenses remain as 12 MP RGB and 20MP monochrome which fuse the picture to give a true colour output. Leica have also thrown in a dual ISP to the lens to enhance the picture. The Mate 10 is also rated IP67, which makes it dust and waterproof, so you can take that call, whether you're in the middle of the dessert or in a monsoon. 

A strong aspect about the Mate series from Huawei undoubtedly the battery life, the Mate 10 series has a 400 mAh on board and can deliver 48 hours of life with normal use. That in this day and age is pretty impressive, given the chipset and display which we all know loves to kill the battery. The devices also come with fast charge technology, as seen on the P10 as pretty impressive, With this behemoth battery, 30 minutes of charging from 1% will give the the Mate 10 approximately 58% life. So far this phone seems the business and really set to rock the elite business smartphone market. It's due to land in SA later this year and by then hopefully we will have more info on it. It's nice to see Porsche Design come on again to design a special edition version fo the Mate 10, the Mate 9 Porsche Design was quite a hit and I'm personally eyeing the PD Mate 10 for my next phone.