One of the odd omissions on the Microsoft Band, reviewed here, is that there's no media control, unlike on other smartwatches. There's no music or similar tile available, for example. So if you're out running or walking or cycling and you want to pause or change playback, or similar, then you're out of luck, aren't you? Not really.
I reviewed Movie Creator back in November 2014, but the system just got itself a big update to support 4K video, i.e. burst or manually-selected video capture on the Lumia 930/Icon and 1520 - and, no doubt, future devices. In addition, there's now full integration with OneDrive, so the media you include doesn't have to exist on the Windows Phone being used to edit video anymore. Add in a few more enhancements for this new version and the time is right to see what Movie Creator can really do. Here's a tutorial to get you started.
The G4 is the very latest Android flagship and I'm comparing here with all we've got (for the time being) in the Windows Phone world, ye olde Lumia 930, now around a year old. Half the price as well, as a result, you'd expect the Lumia 930 to come off somewhat second best, but there are still things to chat about below, don't worry! With the 930 armed with WP 8.1 Update 2, I gave it my best shot...
I have to confess to spreading a little casual misinformation about smartphone screens. I was making a point at the time, in fact several times on AAWP and on the podcast, pointing out the advantages of 'full RGB' screens over 'pentile' displays. Not that I was entirely wrong, I was just exagerating, but I thought it worth pointing out in print that pentile displays are not as horribly flawed as you might think. It's all about sub-pixel rendering, you see....
One of the side effects of the arrival of Lumia Denim and Lumia Camera 5 to the likes of the Lumia Icon, 930, 1520 and 830 was that a bizarre auto-rotation issue crept in for many users. I've included a video below to show the problem - up to five seconds to switch between portrait and landscape. It wasn't a complete showstopper, but was frustrating on a day to day basis. However, it turns out that this is an artefact of upgrading from Lumia Cyan/Windows Phone 8.1 and that a careful backup/reset/restore cycle fixes the issue for good. If you too are affected, time for a spring clean?
By popular demand, another camera phone head to head using our comparator. With the launch of the Lumia 640 XL with '13MP' ZEISS camera, in a budget phablet frame, quite a few people seem to have been eyeing up the 640 XL as a cheap replacement for their older high end Lumia. The obvious comparison is the mid-tier 830, which also uses ZEISS optics and also eschews oversampling. And then I threw caution to the wind and chucked in the cheaper Lumia 640 as well. Read on for my verdict...
With the main review of the Lumia 640 out of the way, it's time to pitch it against one of its main competitors from the Android world, the Honor Holly, roughly the same price (depending on where you look), almost identical specifications, and yet still plenty of detail to differentiate the two handsets, not least the choice of OS.
After my last batch of camera phone imaging comparisons, there were a few requested in the comments and, with some nice weather in the UK spring, I wanted to tackle a few over the next few weeks. Starting with the classic Lumia 1020 (no compromises but a little old and slow) versus the Lumia 930 (fitted out with the latest Lumia Camera 5, blazingly fast, background processing and 'next gen' algorithms).
Mentioned in passing in all the Windows 10 Insiders fun at the weekend was that for many Windows Phones, the transition to '10' couldn't be achieved without an intermediate update, to Windows Phone 8.1 Update 2. Which is interesting for several reasons, not least because this wasn't scheduled to come to most handsets (outside the USA) at all. And because it provides a unique opportunity for anyone with a Lumia 930. Grab it with both hands.
Yes, yes, don't shout at your screens or blow a gasket, on the face of it this comparison is an almighty mismatch of ambitions and target market, but hold on. Both the Lumia 640 XL and iPhone 6 Plus have 5.5"-5.7" screens, both are the same height and weight, both have great cameras, super contrasty screens, great speakers, plenty of software (yes, yes, coming to that below) and both cost £700. No wait, that's just the iPhone. The Lumia costs just over a quarter of that, making the comparison rather eye opening.
