Where, when, and how to get Windows 10

For the diehard Windows user, Microsoft will be releasing a preview version of Windows 10.

Microsoft

On Tuesday, Microsoft held a small event where the company took the cover off of the latest version of Windows, Windows 10. The new operating system brings back the beloved Start Menu, unifies the experience across a myriad of devices and features a revamped command prompt. Yes, you read that right.

Past the list of new features, the obvious question is: 'When can I get it?'

The full retail release isn't happening anytime soon, with release slated for sometime in mid-2015. But fear not, Microsoft fans, a 'Technical Preview' will be available to download beginning tomorrow, October 1.

The preview build will be available to anyone who signs up for the Windows Insider Program.

Right now, there's not a ton of information available about how the sign-up process for the program works, or what's required. Just that those who are interested can sign up (starting October 1) by visiting preview.windows.com.

The release will be a version of Windows 10 still in early stages of development, sure to be riddled with bugs and issues. In other words, it's not for the faint of heart or for those who aren't willing to spend time troubleshooting and submitting bug reports to Microsoft.

Gadget review: Xperia Z3 Compact

With its new flagship model, the Xperia Z3 Compact, Sony seems to be dabbling with the same idea

After the launch of the Xperia Z2, there another flagship model in the same series. This time, it's a compact version: the Xperia Z3 Compact. It looks great, packs in nice features, but is it worth paying 44K, especially if you picked the Z2 only six months ago?

The Z3 Compact is available in green and red along with the classic white and black colours What we liked Smaller size: It's a welcome relief to see the launch of a compact model in the Z series, especially for those who found the previous Z2 a bit too big for their pockets. The 4.6-inch display with a resolution of 720x1280 and screen density of 320 dpi offers crisp visuals, and the screen is brighter.Improved battery life: We used the phone with either the WiFi or 3G on, for eight hours non-stop in a day. At the end of it, there was plenty left to get us going for another hour. It impressed us with over two days of battery life with its Stamina Mode.Better connectivity and processing: The Z3 Compact is ready for the 4G LTE (whenever it hits Mumbai); is water resistant for 30 minutes up to a depth of 1.5 m of fresh water; offers 2GB RAM; and is powered by a 2.5 GHz quad core processor featuring 330 Adreno GPU. So, in terms of computing power, it can do most of the regular tasks like playing video games, movies, and others with elan. Also, in case somebody else wants to watch TV can do so as you don't have to pause your game on your PS4 anymore. Both the Z2 and Z3 Compact can connect directly with the PS4 controller as an extended screen, for your PS4.Camera and Sound: Though the camera is similar to Z2 at 20.7 megapixel (rear) and 2MP (front), it offers new features like the ability to stream live on YouTube, and connect with the video camera feed of at least three other Xperia Z3 or Z3 Compact phones. However, there's not much improvement in the picture quality since Z2 (though the ISO support has been increased to ISO12800). A positive of Z3 is that it can record videos at 4K (3840 x 2160). It also plays high-resolution audio files, a new addition in terms of features.Positives aside, unfortunately the features have limited real-life applicability. For example, though you can see the feed of three other Z3 phones, in the Multiple Mode, you can't control them from one device, which limits its usage for any real-time multimedia needs. Secondly, a depth limitation of up to 1.6 m in fresh water means you have to be careful while using it underwater.Besides, if you wish to record 4K videos, you may also want to edit it on the phone, which is again what it grapples with. The design is basic and reminiscent of another phone, which is currently making headlines with its bending issues. There's also no support for on-call recording, an expectation from a premium phone. What we didn't like Overall, the Z3 comes across more as an improvement on the Z2, without offering anything outstanding. We would like to believe, that there are major changes in the next model of the series, perhaps, in six months' time. It's a good phone for those looking for a 4G LTE phone with good looks, but if you own the Z2 already, we suggest you play the waiting game.

Price: Rs 44,990 Available: At all retail stores.Rating: 6/10

4.6-inch 720 x 1280 (320 dpi) 2.5 Ghz quad core; 330 Adreno GPU 2 GB RAM, 16 GB storage (non-expandable), 20.7 megapixel camera, GPS, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, 3G, 4G LTE Specifications Size:Resolution:Processor:Ram:Camera:Price: Rs 44,990

Sony Xperia Z3 Review: The Pursuit of Refinement - NDTV

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Should we be surprised that Sony is already refreshing its flagship smartphone? Only six months after the launch of the Xperia Z2 comes its successor, the Xperia Z3. Sony hopes this will help it gain traction in the notoriously fickle Android superphone market, and knows that there are customers who will only buy the latest and greatest model at any given point of time, for whom money is no object.

As Sony sees it, the Xperia Z3 is not so different from its predecessor that anyone who bought an Xperia Z2 ( Review | Pictures) will have regrets. However, those who are in the market for a new high-end phone right now will see a brand new Sony up against the now-common Samsung Galaxy S5 ( Review | Pictures) and HTC One (M8) ( Review | Pictures). Plus, if the company can do something new in this time, why should it wait for an artificial cycle?

The differences between each successive new model in Sony's Xperia Z series have been pretty minor, but you can see a clear improvement over time. Owners of the Z2 might not have any reason to upgrade, but those who bought the Xperia Z or Z1 will be tempted. The strategy is a gamble, but it has worked for the past two years.

Look and feel

The Sony Xperia Z3 is the biggest change for Sony since the first Xperia Z was launched a year and a half ago. The harsh rectangular shape has morphed into a more organic one, with curved sides and corners replacing chiselled edges for the first time. Sony's distinctive purple option has also thankfully reached the end of the line - the new Xperia Z3 is still available in white and black, but the signature colour is now Copper Gold. One of our gripes with the Z2 was that it looked exactly like its predecessors, and Sony has taken the message to heart.

The Z3 is a hair slimmer than the Z2, but more noticeable are the sleek new buttons and inset flaps on either side that hide (and protect) the various slots and ports. The metal trim around the edges is broken up at the corners, and Sony says this design is intended to make the Z3 resistant to damage when dropped - the corners can absorb some impact, reducing the likelihood that the glass front or rear will shatter.

The dust and liquid resistance rating has been upgraded to IP68 which means this phone should be able to survive for up to 30 minutes in fresh water up to 1.5m deep. However, as before, this means you have to deal with a fiddly flap and recessed Micro-USB port each time you need to charge the Z3. The battery is of course sealed in, and all ports and controls are around the edges.

Sony's signature round power button is on the right edge, but it's neither centred nor at thumb height. The volume rocker is right below it, and both are incredibly awkward to reach. Sony is one of the few companies still equipping their phones with dedicated camera buttons, and we found the Z3 easy to hold and use as a camera. The Nano-SIM and microSD card slots are under a flap on the upper right, and the Micro-USB port is under a flap on the left, next to the same magnetic dock connector that we've seen on previous Z-series devices. It still looks as though a patch has been gouged out on one side for the dock connector, but even this is less jarring than it was on the Z2.

As pointed out in a snarky social media post, Sony has managed to make the Z3 thin and improve its camera without resorting to a protruding lens. The rear glass surface is in fact so smooth that we found the Z3 slid around on tables when we tried to use it.

The Xperia Z3 is tall and narrow like its predecessor, making it one of the more comfortable large phones on the market. It's definitely easier to hold than the Z2 was, thanks to the new curves. If this is still too much for you though, there's the very interesting Xperia Z3 Compact to consider, which has most of the same specifications but has a smaller screen and body.

Specifications

There haven't been any great game-changing strides in core smartphone hardware in the past six months, and so the Z3's guts are much the same as those of its predecessor. The quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 SoC is slightly faster at 2.5GHz as opposed to 2.3GHz, but its Adreno 330 graphics processor is the same.

Sony could have chosen to go with a bigger and higher resolution screen, but it claims it consciously chose not to so that battery life would not suffer. 1080x1920 is already pretty crazy for a smartphone, so we don't have any problem with this. If you're the type for whom bragging rights are more important than utility, you might want to look at LG and Samsung's most recent launches.

You get 16GB of storage space and 3GB of RAM. The microSD slot will work with cards up to 128GB in capacity. Sony throws in Wi-Fi b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth 4.0, NFC and GPS. Sony has stated that LTE is supported on Indian bands.

Sony has concentrated on refinements that aren't really spelled out by the sheet of specifications. The screen, camera, battery and audio processing systems have all been tweaked and improved. The company claims it has applied technology from its TV, gaming and audio divisions, and so the screen boasts of features named 'X-reality' and 'Live Colour LED' which enhance sharpness and colour reproduction. Sony claims that the Z3 has the 'world's brightest display of leading premium smartphones' and it definitely is bright.

The Xperia Z3 has another unique feature to boast of - not only does the device claim to 'upsample' MP3 and AAC audio tracks, it can also natively handle High-Resolution Audio files in a variety of formats, which can be purchased online. Digital noise cancelling is built in, but it requires a specific Sony headset to work.

Finally, there's a twist that ties in with Sony's PlayStation 4 console - the Xperia Z3 is the first smartphone to support PS4 Remote Play, which means you can wirelessly stream game video from your PS4 console to the phone using your home Wi-Fi connection. You'll still have to use a PS4 Dualshock controller but you can buy an adapter that lets you snap the Z3 on to it so you can hold it up and play like you're using a handheld console.

Software

You'll either love Sony's Android skin or hate it. We like how easy it is to move around and arrange things as we like them, but it really is a bit too heavy and overdone. We always find ourselves trying to disable all the little animations, such as the colour-changing swirl of the default 'live' wallpaper. It might not feel like bloat thanks to the super-fast hardware, but it's still unnecessary and distracting.

Nothing much has changed in software between the Xperia Z2 and Z3. There's still a massive number of non-removable preloaded apps, many of them related to Sony-branded properties and most of them quite useless. The first homescreen has a giant spammy 'What's New' widget that not only advertises Sony media you might not be interested in, but also consumes quite a bit of data to keep its thumbnails fresh. The icon dock on the homescreens is filled with Google and Sony app shortcuts rather than the more obvious messaging, email or browser, which we think is ridiculous.

Sony hasn't jammed in quite as many features as Samsung and LG tend to do - there's no split-screen functionality (though you can launch tiny 'floating' apps from the app switcher view) and there are very few shortcuts and tweaks that make the big device more manageable. For example, we really missed the ability to wake the Z3 by double-tapping its screen, especially since the power button is so tiny.

Two apps stand out - Sony's Lifelog, and Sketch. Lifelog lets you track health and fitness data such as the amount of exercise you've had in a day, but stands out from other smartphone makers' health apps by also including timestamps for other phone-related activities such as listening to music, taking photos and playing games. Logging happens continuously in the background and works better if you use one (or more) of Sony's wearable products, but we don't really see the appeal of the concept.

Sketch on the other hand is a fun little app that lets you draw with various brushes and put silly stickers or text captions on photos. Some users might find Sony's other apps useful, but they're easy to forget about. PartyShare lets you broadcast photos live and create a music playlist that friends (with compatible Xperia phones) can contribute to. News from Socialife shows assorted third-party feeds including ones from popular news, sports, entertainment and tech websites. You can add your own RSS URLs or browse through the presets by category. Smart Connect, despite its name, lets you create profiles to automate actions when you plug in a charger or headset, or when you just don't want to be disturbed at night.

There's also Line, Kobo, AVG Antivirus, Facebook, Evernote, Kingsoft Office, Bigflix, Google Drive, LinkedIn, and Wisepilot Navigation. Sony's branded apps include Sony Select, What's New, TrackID, Xperia Care Support, Sony Music, Liv Sports, Sony Liv, Xperia Lounge and Xperia Update Center.

Camera

Both hardware and software have been given a refresh. Sony makes the bold claim that the Z3 has 'the world's best camera and camcorder in a smartphone', which is apparently based on actual subjective market research. The camera can go up to ISO 12800 for low-light captures, and there's a 1/2.3-inch sensor with Sony's proprietary processing tech. The lens is a wide-angle 25mm one, for shots that include more subject matter. Video recording goes up to 4K, though 1080p is the default. Even photos are taken at 8-megapixel resolution by default, though you can step up to the full 20.7-megapixels whenever you like.

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Sony's suite of 'camera apps' has grown. In addition to the basic Superior Auto and Manual modes, you now have Sound Photo which lets you take stills annotated with ambient sound; Face In, which lets you superimpose your own face and those others in a scene; Multi Camera, which lets you synchronise and merge streams with split-screen effects using multiple Xperia phones; and AR Fun, which lets you squiggle notes and put stickers into a scene, and then change your position so that the AR bits appear to be floating in the air in 3D.

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We couldn't try Multi Camera, but we did find that AR Fun wasn't half as good as it seemed in Sony's demo videos. The app was very finicky about letting us create annotations, often told us we were moving too fast even when we were perfectly still, and crashed once or twice during testing. When it worked, though, the effect was tremendously fun. The app seemed to be calculating surfaces and distances in real-time, so for example we could throw virtual paint and it would know whether to land on the floor or spatter on a wall. There were even shadows of things we drew floating in the air.

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When it comes to actual image quality, the Xperia Z3 is astonishingly good. It's a little shaky sometimes, especially in Auto mode and at night. For the most part, photos came out with incredible detail and impressive colour reproduction. Textures were generally detailed and clear, though there was a bit of noise in shots with clear subjects against distant backgrounds. We managed to take some decent shots in tricky conditions such as a dimly lit room with small, bright lights.

The front camera also performed well, and photos were usable in most conditions. There was considerably more noise and fuzziness than in photos taken with the rear camera, but we were still quite satisfied.

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Video recorded at 4K was very impressive, but then again so was regular old HD video. We found recordings to be just a bit dark. Be prepared for massive file sizes though - approximately 120MB for 15 seconds.

The main problem we had with the camera was that we kept seeing popup warnings that the device was getting too hot and that the app might shut down. We started seeing the message within a few seconds of opening the camera app outdoors on two different (but very sunny) days - which does not say much for the Z3's ability to be useful in India.

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Performance

With specifications like these, it would have been impossible for the phone to lag or slouch anywhere, and thankfully it didn't. We really had no problem with anything we tried doing. HD videos played perfectly well and so did 3D games. The twin front-firing speakers were quite powerful and rich - distortion was minimal at high volumes and subtle details actually did come through.

Benchmark test scores were at par with those of the Xperia Z2 - the two traded blows between tests, but the difference was always minor and the Z3 was on top more often. The Z3 and Z2 scored 29.9fps and 29.4fps respectively in GFXbench, and the Quadrant scores were 19,210 and 18,392. Interestingly, both phones were bested by the smaller Sony Xperia Z1 Compact ( Review | Pictures), which scored 34.9fps in GFXbench (thanks to its lower resolution screen) and 21,100 overall in Quadrant. We can't wait to see what the new Xperia Z3 Compact has in store for us.

Sony hasn't been silent about battery improvements in the Z3, and we were rewarded with a very impressive 13 hours, 27 minutes in our video loop test - and that's without any of the company's battery-saving features turned on. This easily translates to two full days of reasonably heavy usage on a single charge.

Verdict

The Z3 might be newer than its contemporaries, but the downside of that is that its price hasn't had time to settle. At Rs. 51,990, the Z3 is significantly more expensive than the Samsung Galaxy S5, HTC One (M8) and LG G3. You'll really have to consider whether it's worth the premium over the Z2 which now costs around as much as those phones. In terms of price alone, it will probably be more of a competitor to the iPhone 6, as and when it launches in India.

The Sony Xperia Z3 has many merits, but owners of the Z2 and even Z1 shouldn't be in any hurry to upgrade. These phones are still very competitive. However, if you're in the market for a new premium smartphone right now and only the latest and greatest will do, you'll be very happy with the Z3. There's also the Z3 Compact to consider, which should deliver much the same experience in a smaller package, and at a lower price.

Sony really has managed to improve a phone that was already pretty impressive. We enjoyed using the Z3, but we have a feeling that Sony's pricing and pace will make it easier and more sensible for a lot of people to keep themselves one step behind the curve.

Sony Xperia Z3 in pictures

20

Sitting in his bedroom in Hoboken, N.J., in June, 20-year-old YouTube tech reviewing sensation Marques Brownlee held a secretly leaked iPhone 6 screen up to a camera and began stabbing repeatedly at its supposedly indestructible glass surface.

His outrageous routine and exclusive tidbits about the then-yet-to-be-released iPhone 6 proved to be a potent combo for the highly influential phenom.

Employing a mix of descriptors that come natural to college students - 'super high-quality' - and the hardest-core of tech geeks - 'zero percent opacity' - Brownlee's five-minute review instantly went viral, attracting nearly 8 million video views.

Although it contained what turned out to be inaccurate information - Apple never did opt for the never-bend 'Sapphire' screen for the new phone -- the video was the latest on Brownlee's channel of buzzy posts that have become a must-see among young tech lovers ardently wooed by Madison Avenue.

Brownlee's influence is reflected in his online traffic numbers. He has arguably the most subscribers - 1.8 million - among individual YouTube tech reviewers. As of last week, he was ranked top three in the most influential 'science & tech' channel rankings by YouTube performance measuring firm SocialBlade, which looks at social media referrals, online traffic and interactions with and among subscribers in its metrics. (Unbox Therapy, a tech product channel run by Lewis Hilsenteger, and CrazyRussianHackers, which runs videos on science pranks, ranked higher.)

His 686 videos have been viewed 158 million times. And last year, Vic Gundotra, a former Google exec who headed the development of Google Plus, called him 'the best technology reviewer on the planet right now.' Google 'best tech reviewer' and his name floats to the top quickly.

While tech companies once moved mountains to placate influential newspaper reviewers, tech-savvy Millennials now often get the latest from short clips on YouTube, a trend that helped breed a new generation of home-based YouTubers who churn out review videos cheaply and quickly with a mixed bag of motives.

Brownlee's persona - technical but not condescending; youthful but sophisticated; measured but lively - has resonated deeply among review seekers. Brownlee is also just as eager to reach back and answer questions from his fans, resulting in free-flowing chats on YouTube and Twitter that lend immediacy and incite affinity. With thousands posting gadget videos and 'unboxing' shows on YouTube, Brownlee, still a full-time college senior, has managed to emerge from the crowded competition while also giving legitimacy to the medium.

'Marques is in this sweet spot of being a consumer expert,' says Adrienne Hayes, Motorola Mobility's senior vice president of marketing and communications. 'He's looked at by followers as one of us, and that's very powerful. His fans are following him and listening to him with a specific purpose. This is very hyper targeted.'

His ascendance in the gadget review universe also says a lot about Silicon Valley marketing that is increasingly coming to grips with a customer segment that is earnest about unearthing product data but eschews conventional wisdom and sources. His ability to boost or deflate sales of a product is no less feared than what may be published in The Wall Street Journal. That he's an African-American pontificating on the performance of an industry heavily criticized for lacking diversity adds to his mystique.

Like other YouTubers, he's reluctant to talk about money, but suffice it to say it's no longer just a dorm hobby. Now an incorporated entity, his video operation - run under the channel name MKBHD (his initials plus 'high definition') - brings in enough advertising revenue to pay for his expensive equipment, the devices he reviews, travel and other expenses, he says.

'I don't get a lot of sleep,' Brownlee tells me in the cramped room that he rents from a roommate in a two-bedroom apartment. He flashes a rubber bracelet with hashtag #NoSleepTeam. 'When I sit down and make videos, my No. 1 thought is that I want to make a video that I want to watch,' he says. 'That it's technical, watchable, easily viewable. There is that challenge of meeting experts and people who are just getting into tech. I definitely think about the intersection of these two groups.'

Academic, athletic, artistic

Brownlee's interest in technology wasn't spotted early, but his sense of curiosity and poise have always stood out, say his parents, Jeanieneand Marlon Brownlee, who raised Brownlee and his sister, Simone, in Maplewood, N.J.

From early on, Brownlee's parents stressed the importance of public school education and maintaining 'the three As' (academic, athletic and artistic) to rear well-rounded children.

An honor student throughout high school, Brownlee also played ultimate Frisbee and golf - he has a 9 handicap - as well as the trombone. 'We would bring him around to golf tournaments, and I'd see him talking about loft and the degree of elevation. He's always had a sense of efficacy,' says his father.

Brownlee also excelled at time management, says his mother, who quit her career in financial services to raise kids full time and is his business manager. While appearing regularly on the Dean's List at Stevens Institute of Technology, where he is majoring in business and technology, Brownlee also plays professional ultimate Frisbee for several clubs, including the New York Rumble of Major League Ultimate.

'He's made me proud by thinking really long and hard about how he spends his time. He's not wasting any of it, though I'm not seeing him as much as I'd like,' says Jeaniene Brownlee, who began watching his videos only after her son left home for college. 'I'm not a tech person. But I missed him. I'd look at the videos and (say) 'Oh, he sounds nasal. He must have a cold.'

While engaging and direct in the videos on his channel, Brownlee is still something of an introvert, says his roommate, Austin Chung. 'He's a quiet guy.'

Mark Watson, a competitor of sorts who has his own tech review YouTube channel, SoldierKnowsBest, recalls a Samsung-sponsored at which he, Brownlee and other tech reviewers were about to go out for a night on the town. 'He just disappeared and went (back to the hotel),' Watson says. 'He was all about work. He's a little shy. He's 20 years old, and I couldn't imagine the type of exposure he has.'

Marques Brownlee with his parents Jeaniene and Marlon Brownlee of Maplewood, N.J.(Photo: Eileen Blass, USA TODAY)

Finding his stride

Brownlee's father was an information technology consultant, so he has had early exposure to the industry. But the idea of making a YouTube video didn't hit until late 2008, when the 14-year combed through YouTube reviews for a laptop he wanted to buy.

With his new laptop, HP Pavilion DV7, Brownlee tried a 'screencast' of his own review - a video showing just the laptop screen, with his voiceover - about the software that came with the computer. He didn't appear on camera until several shows later, offering his opinion on the laptop's remote control.

It was all low-tech stuff then, using the laptop's webcam and microphone. And the self-conscious Brownlee in that video seems more like a middle-schooler in the midst of a summer school project - ditching his glasses quickly as the camera starts to roll, apologizing for the bright window behind him and still sporting the thin voice of a 14-year old. The video drew about a dozen views at the time, though his fans have since gone back and it now has about 65,000 views.

'In my 100th video, I gave a shout-out to the 78 subscribers I had at that point. And I was stoked at that point just to have that many who cared about what I had to say,' he says. 'I didn't tell my parents I was making them. I just put it out there. Their only reaction was to (remind me) to keep doing well in school.'

The growth in his subscriber base has been steady, His uncanny timing of posting videos to match the hot stories circulating online pulls in viewers. Reacting to a viral video by LG touting its G Flex phone's 'self-healing' capability, he tested the claims and uploaded it in November, drawing more than 4 million hits.

Brownlee's 40-minute Google Plus hangout with then-CEO of Motorola Mobility Dennis Woodside in December was a testament to his arrival in the eyes of the industry. It was likely the first interview Woodside conducted with a journalist whose bed was visible in the background. 'I've got two kids, a 13-year-old and an 11-year-old, who are fans of your reviews,' Woodside told Brownlee.

The chronological sequence of Brownlee's videos on his channel in the last six years seems like a photo carousel of a boy physically filling out and maturing, but the evolution of his delivery and production quality is just as conspicuous.

'He's really good,' Watson says. 'He has a really good rhythm in his videos. He satisfies both geeks and people who don't follow every little piece of technology. And he's bringing a spotlight on all of us YouTube tech reviewers.'

He's found his own style by avoiding scripts and instead using bullet points to sidestep the common YouTuber pitfall of droning delivery. His segments are tightly edited to cut out umms and aahhs and maintain the relaxed but clipped pacing that has become his hallmark. '(My style) is somewhere between news broadcast and talking to a friend about what phone they like,' he says. 'In class, someone will say, 'Hey, have you played with iPhone 5 and what do you think of it?' And I can give them three sentences on it, and that's the kind of language that I'd want to give to anyone who wants to see it.'

The attention he pays to delivery style and persona could well be contributing his popularity, says Jenna Arnold, who handles public relations for SocialBlade. 'YouTube has done studies that personality beats content every time,' she says. 'It takes skill, luck and patience. It's not like the (Hollywood) idol thing anymore. Fans feel like (YouTube stars) are knowable. These guys are so much more down to earth when they talk to you, and they're pushing out so much more content. It's not like seeing movies stars every two years. You're seeing it updated every few minutes.'

With advertising income flowing in, he's spent tens of thousands of dollars for professional-grade digital video tools, using the cameras from Red Digital Cinema for the '4K HD' look that is largely limited to serious YouTubers. His first videos took less than 15 minutes to make and an hour to turn around. But with more editing involved and his audience now expecting high production quality, he's slowed down the pace and makes only about two or three videos a week.

Reviews from Brownlee and a select few other reviewers can move the needle. Brownlee was merciless in panning Motorola's camera in the Moto X phone. Motorola e-mailed him and a few others to seek direct feedback on the changes it should make, Motorola's Hayes says.

Brownlee and Motorola exchanged numerous photos and documents to update the camera's software. 'I legitimately spent a lot of time trying to fix the camera,' Brownlee says. 'One of the (Motorola) people who sent that e-mail later said, 'Make sure you try the camera.''

Hayes says Motorola has no financial relationship with Brownlee but says it's open to a deeper level of commercial connection. 'We really like his style. It reflects the brand personality we want to be - open access, down-to-earth and genuine,' she says. I don't think we'd hesitate to have a transparent and open working relationship with him.'

Business that runs on its own

Brownlee is mindful of the commercial opportunities - like the one Motorola hints at -- that are around the corner.

But for now, his business is lucrative enough. Brownlee's income from advertising shown on his videos - Google does all the back-end work on placing them but takes a big cut -- could range anywhere from $117,000 a year to $934,000, depending on the amount paid per thousand clicks, according to SocialBlade, which estimates YouTubers' incomes using online traffic.

Given that the ads on his videos are generally for tech devices, his rates likely run on the higher end of the range, SocialBlade's Arnold says.

His popularity has opened doors, and dealing with the gatekeepers of the industry is much easier now. 'Now the companies are very open to working with me,' he says.

Until this year, he had to find an affiliation with a written blog to get press credentials for the annual CES show, the tech industry's biggest event of the year. Next year, he's going as himself. 'YouTubers are not taken as seriously as the written press, which is strange,' he says. 'If you have 1,000 views as a blog, you can go in. But if you have 10 million views as a YouTuber, they didn't talk to you. But it's changing.'

Not surprisingly, media companies have reached out, hoping to recruit him or be affiliated with his brand or turn him into a TV broadcaster. He's done several videos with tech news site The Verge, owned by Vox Media. But for now, he prefers to remain a one-man band, enhancing his video skills. 'I've gotten offers like that left and right, but I love being independent,' he says. 'Broadcasting is more scripted, so it's different. There's a lot of other skills that wouldn't be used if I were to hop directly into a broadcasting position.'

His mother hints at expanded career options to come soon. 'Wait 'til he graduates,' she says.

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Flex 2, Yoga 2 Pro Receive New Lowest Prices from Lenovo

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Gadget Review: Alcatel One

Economic Times - : Alcatel One-Touch IdolX+Economic TimesAlcatel says that the new spin finish design on the back panel is a result of in-mould labelling technology — but the glossy surface will start to look old quickly. It is fairly small and light despite the 5-inch screen. The back panel is not ...

Gadget Review: Sony Xperia Z3 Compact proves small is beautiful

Software

Xperia Z3 Compact runs the latest Android 4.4 with Sony's custom user interface on top. There are various proprietary apps preloaded on the phone such as Sociallife, Smart connect, WisePilot navigation, backup & restore, Sony Live sports, Sony LIV and Xperia Lounge. Using the built-in PlayStation app you can even move your PS4 game on to the phone screen and continue playing it anywhere in your house over WiFi.

In addition, there are a few third party apps also present including Kobo, Evernote AVG antivirus, OfficeSuite, Bigflix, LinkedIn and File commander. All this delivers a good out of the box experience to the user as it covers almost all genres of apps except games.

The interface itself works butter smooth and has no visible lag or sluggishness even with multiple apps running in the background. Switching between running apps is almost instant and the phone comes with built-in support for playback of major audio and video formats. Sony has also built-in an option to use NFC for making wireless payments once compatible service is available.

Display

Compared to Xperia Z1 compact and even Xperia Z2, the display on the Xperia Z3 compact is much improved. The 4.6-inch IPS display with a resolution of 1280 x 720 pixels that gives it a pixel density of 319 ppi.

It uses shatterproof glass for sturdiness and has slim bezels on the sides to keep the phone's overall dimensions compact. The phone uses Sony's proprietary Triluminos display with X-Reality engine delivering excellent viewing angles, superb brightness levels with rich colour output.

A smart backlight control option keeps the screen while the user is looking at it - there is an option to enable/disable it in the settings. Along with this, there is also a glove mode that can be enabled in case you want to use it with gloves. There is also the option to enable double tap to wake up the screen in case you don't want to use the power button every time.

The primary camera on the Z3 compact uses a 20.7MP sensor (1/2.3' sensor size) and has a LED flash for low light conditions. In our usage, the camera too superb images in daylight as well as indoors. However, at times we did notice light purple fringing on the corners in low light.

The autofocus is quick and you can choose to capture an image using the volume keys, dedicated shutter button or via the touchscreen. Low light images are also excellent, even though there is visible noise they are good enough to be shared on social media.

(This image was clicked using a Sony Xperia Z3 compact)

The phone also does video recording in 4K resolution and the video quality is fantastic - no visible artifacts, good colours and clear audio. However, the phone warns that if the device temperature rises, the app may close - an issue we saw on the Xperia Z2 also.

The front camera took blurry images as its fixed focus. Also, for no clear reason, it too over a second to save photos taken with the front camera while the rear camera saved images in an instant.

(This image was clicked using a Sony Xperia Z3 compact)

The user interface keeps basic elements on screen and offers a plethora of shooting modes such as manual controls, multi-camera, TimeShift, background defocus and sweep panorama - similar as the one on most of the recent Sony Xperia phones. Sony has also added the option to download new camera modes from within the camera app, however at the time of review this feature was not working.

(This image was clicked using a Sony Xperia Z3 compact)

Carmichael Dave: My iPhone 6+ review

I'm not one of those I NEED THE PHONE NOW guys.

About two months ago, I dropped my phone while on vacation, and got the famous spiderweb effect, which isn't a good thing. Now, I'm on my phone more than anyone I know. Anyone. I live on this thing. I'm probably going to die of some phone-related disease in a few years that we just don't know about.

I was caught in phone no mans land. I didn't want to pay the money to get the glass fixed (yes it was an iPhone), not with knowing that a new phone would be coming out in a few short weeks. So I waited. And waited. Got through all the nerd froth leading up, and sat through the dumb Apple reveal video that didn't stream properly and had a female Asian translator talking over Tim Cook as he was presenting the newest innovation in phone. Didn't super-excite me, but then I saw the Watch, which comes out next year and I'm sure will have a review forthcoming.

Let me make one other note. I waited a couple paragraphs to make sure those I'm about to talk to were all lathered up, so hopefully the words will sink in and have full effect.

My last phone was an iPhone. My new phone is an iPhone. Yes, you have an Android. Congratulations. Here's a nifty guide for you to navigate the rest of this article:

1. I am aware of Android phones.

2. I understand them, I've used them, I'm not tech challenged.

3. I'm not an Apple disciple, I don't have a Steve Jobs poster on my ceiling.

4. You explaining how awesome your phone is, and how behind the times I am, only makes you look stupid. I'm not going to break into your home, and yell at you for having a different TV or stereo system than I. So save your sage advice.

I've never understood the phone wars amongst people. I like them in a sense, all I have to do is go on Facebook and find the Android vs iPhone threads to narrow down the people I don't like. Its a phone.

You have your phone, I have mine. Shut your face.

You aren't enlightening me. You aren't saving me. So please shut up.

The iPhone 6 Plus is a house. Its not a phablet, its a 4×4. I decided to get the bigger model, well, because it was bigger. The idea of being able to watch things slightly larger and have 1×321 more gigawatts on my pixel stream was attractive. Little did I know I was buying a TV tray with a speaker.

Don't get me wrong, I've had it 24 hours and am still getting used to it. One other issue I have? Awesome that the new phone came out, but can you go ahead and work with some manufacturers on the side to get some cases ready to go out of the chute? Walking around with this phone without a case is like taking a stroll with a thousand dollar bill stuck to your back with a post-it. Scary.

The redeeming thing for me is I have go-go gadget fingers, so I can actually spider my digits across the face of the phone and get away with it. But if you don't possess rubber hands, maybe the smaller model is for you.

To be continued.

24 hour score: 3 out of 4 emo-glasses

The WIRED iPhone 6 Plus Review: Too Big to Fail, But Not to Bend

Here's the best way to start an iPhone review: Goddamn do I love Android. I love its flexibility and efficiency. I love the way it bends to my will. And I've spent the past couple years loving that I can get a phone that isn't made for someone with doll hands. So when I first saw the iPhone 6 Plus, bursting with extra inches-and iOS 8, finally sporting modern mobile features-I thought to myself, this might be the phone that brings me back to Apple.

For years, we talked about iPhone killers, but after taking on all comers, it really does seem like Google snuck in a massive reversal: Apple 2014 needs an Android killer. Which in my mind means it needed to abandon the idea that there is One True Screen Size and One True Way To Get Things Done. So I've really been looking forward to this big phone, and the interactive notifications, cross-application sharing and widgets of iOS 8. Because while Android may have the slickest OS, nobody can touch the application ecosystem on iOS. It's the one thing I miss, and this new phone seemed like the device that would find a middle ground.

And guess what: The iPhone 6 Plus is the best, most exciting phone Apple has released in many years. I love this phone. The hardware is unparalleled, the app ecosystem is unparalleled, and the operating system has really matured. In fact, from a hardware perspective at least, this is the most compelling smartphone I've ever used. Mostly.

It's not just high quality, it's positively refreshing. In recent years iPhones have felt like clone phones-the tyranny of Apple's uniformity may be great for making apps, but it means that if you have big fingers or bad eyesight or just want your video a little more blown up on the train you had to leave the fold. The 6 Plus breaks away from that, which is fantastic. Its size is a statement, an admission that everything shouldn't be the same for everyone. It's going after market segments. It's fragmenting the iOS experience.

One of those segments? Dads. I've been looking forward to trying the 6 Plus because it seemed like the perfect dadphone, and I'm a father with two kids under the age of four. It has a fast camera, amazing battery life, and a big gorgeous screen-perfect for shooting videos of quick-moving, photo-resistant children and watching marathon sessions of Daniel Tiger on road trips. Plus, SquareTrade claims the new class of iPhones are the least breakable ever. Dadcore. A Brooklyn beardo in super tight jeans may not care about any of those things, but I do. Maybe you care about something completely different. That's what's great about Apple rolling out different-sized devices. People are different. Phones should be different. Think different.

It's a great sign for Apple that it doesn't revere Steve Jobs' public statements as immutable truths anymore.

You can see just how much of a breakaway this phone is when you take it out in public for a few days. I've been toting around iPhones since the day the original one came out-when I stood in line to buy two (one for myself and one for a friend overseas, which he then sold for a profit). I've carried lots of other handsets in the intervening years, too: Androids. Windows Phones. Even Palms.

But not since that first iPhone have I carried something that other people were as unabashedly curious about. Co-workers have asked me about it. People I'm interviewing for other stories have derailed conversations to quiz me about it. A guy on the bus asked me about it. A guy in line at the coffee shop asked me about it. A waiter asked me about it. My wife, who long ago became immune to gadget fascination, asked me about it. Everyone wants to see my phone; everyone wants to hold it.

It's hard to blame the people who want to touch my phone. I mean, it's so big. Now, I'm a big-ish phone guy. For a couple of years now, I've listened to iPhone people laugh at my big-ish, 5-inch Android phones. But once you go get used to holding a big unit in your hand, it's impossible to feel satisfied by something smaller. When I use a 5 or 5s now, the screen (and especially the keyboard) feels cramped. Even the iPhone 6 feels a little small to me now.

It's a Big World

There's a truism that people in the developing world embraced big phones because the smartphone is often their only computer. That single screen is the desktop, the laptop, the tablet and the smartphone all in one. Sometimes, it's even the television.

I'd argue that the only reason we haven't seen a similar movement stateside is because the iPhone is so firmly entrenched, and Apple has until now been unrelenting in its insistence that 4 inches was all anyone needed. Yet once you get used to a large screen, it's really hard to use a smaller one. And clearly there's a demand for large phones-the Galaxy Note has been a huge hit for Samsung.

With the 6 Plus, you get all the advantages of a big screen phone-reading, watching videos, playing games, and looking at images-and you also get the superb iPhone UI and application ecosystem.

Those big screen tasks are wonderful on this phone. Apps are roomy enough for your fat fingers to feel nimble again. Reading big chunks of text is a delight. You can see so many tweets! The display is brilliantly bright and detailed, at 401 pixels per inch (ppi). You feel like you can dive into its pictures and videos. Meanwhile you get more out of apps; the mere fact of being able to view more things on screen makes them more useful.

Apple has also built some software tools into the 6 Plus that give it a boost over other big phones I've used. Take Touch ID: It's a saving throw. Not only can you use it to log into the phone or make purchases in the Apple Store, but by extending its API to play nice with apps like 1Password and Dashlane, you can use the little scanner to log into all kinds of websites in just a few taps. That means you don't have to move your fingers all around the device to get to a password field; you can log in one-handed. You can also double tap that same Touch ID button-the home button-to bring the top section of an application down to the bottom of the screen. That makes entering a new URL or performing other tasks at the top of the screen one-handed possibilities.

And that's good because I cannot wrap my fingers all the way around this thing. It's just too wide.

It's Still Alive

There is another advantage of going big: battery life. I am hard on phones. I use them all day, every day. I start my morning on the bus, reading news, watching videos and listening to streaming music, all over LTE. Because I'm very active on Twitter, get a lot of email, and have something like three to four bajillion apps installed, my phone is constantly vibrating with notifications. I also take a lot of pictures and videos (hey, I have kids). This means I have to charge my nearly year-old Nexus 5 by 2 or 3 pm most days. Even brand-new phones, right out of the box, will rarely make it all the way through the day for me. Yet I've gone to bed every night, and put my 6 Plus to its charger with some battery life to spare. I've never had to charge it up mid-day. I've never had to worry it's going to fail on me.

No matter what Steve Jobs may have said, big phones are better. It's a great sign for Apple that it doesn't revere his public statements as immutable truths.

Focus on size alone, however, and you won't see the full picture. It has an amazing camera too. Other than the Lumia 1020, I've never managed to take such great photos and videos with a phone. Even when I've tried to shoot lousy footage by moving my phone around while shooting to try to lose focus, I've failed. That's because Apple's phase-detection autofocus (or: Focus Pixels) makes sure your shots refocus quickly, even when you or your subject is in motion. My low-light photos have exhibited almost zero graininess. There's this thing where you walk into a room, look at your children sleeping, and want to capture the moment. But you can't, because your phone doesn't perform well in low light and its flash will wake them up. For the first time, the 6 Plus let me capture those bedtime pictures of sweet slumbering children that I'd always wanted to take. Dadcore.

There is nothing bad to say about this camera. The camera hardware and software represents a new gold standard. Everything about this phone is, at first blush, a new gold standard. It even bends faster than other phones. Yeah, so, about that...

Like a lot of people, I have a bent iPhone 6 Plus. It's almost imperceptible, but it's there: a slight warp right at the buttons on the side. Put the phone screen down on a table, and it wobbles. I haven't purposefully bent it and I don't recall sitting on it (but I probably have). So why is this one bending? I have a theory: It might have something to do with it being both very thin and very big and made of aluminum. The Samsung Galaxy Note3 is big, but it's also 4 mm thicker than the iPhone 6 Plus and doesn't have an aluminum back that, when bent, stays bent. You don't hear about big Android phones bending because they are either too thick, or made out of plastic. That's my theory, anyway.

That's not the only physical defect. My screen is also scratched. There are three small but distinct scratches, and I've no idea how any of them got there. I haven't carried my keys in my pocket with it. I haven't done anything unusual with it. But there they are.

So after four days, I have a slightly bent, slightly scratched phone. Which means that, while this is the best hardware I've ever used-from the processor to the camera to the display-I'm worried about durability.

And look, for me this isn't such a big deal, because I didn't pay for the phone. It's a loaner, sent over by Apple. But if I had paid $1,000 for this phone off contract-or even $300 for the smallest version with a new two year contract-I would be pretty irritated. I certainly would be in line for a replacement.

This is a luxury phone. This is the status symbol phone, the one you high-roll into a Macau casino holding. Bending, or warping, or whatever you want to call it after a few days is unacceptable.

But this is what's so nuts: Even with the bends, I'm still extremely into the hardware. Even with the bends, I still love this phone. I can't say if the phone is going to keep bending, or if it's going to get really bad with normal use, because that hasn't happened to me. I love the hardware, but if you're thinking of buying this phone, you need to know that it's delicate like a tea cup.

There are some other minor quirks. The camera doesn't always open from the lock screen, which makes catching those kid pics frustrating. The apps crash too frequently-even Apple's own apps. But the biggest downside to me is that iOS 8 just isn't as productive or customizable an operating system as Android is. You may be able to bend this phone, but you can't bend it to your will.

I miss having my email right on my homescreen. Why should I have to launch an app or go to notifications to see all my latest messages? And then there's Google Now, which is basically the smartest software I've ever used. When I fly, it surfaces my plane tickets. When I want to go out and get lunch, it tells me what's around me, without having to ask. Sure, you can use Google Now on iOS, but it isn't just resident throughout, which is exactly the point of Google Now.

And so where do we land here? This is the best smartphone hardware I've ever used. It's gorgeous and luxurious and seems almost decadent. I adore the display. I'm even more smitten with the camera. The battery life is a triumph. The applications are so much better and more varied than what you'll find on Android or Windows Phone that those other two platforms seem almost untenable by comparison. (Which, of course, they aren't. Both have their own strengths.)

This device is hard to sum up. Everything about it is wonderful, and if the bending doesn't get any worse, and the scratches remain minor, I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to anyone. It's a truly wonderful phone, the best from a purely hardware perspective I've ever used.

It's clear evidence that Apple is embracing the entire world and starting to offer a wider variety of devices for a wider world of individuals with varying needs and desires. And that's a great thing.

At the end of my time with it, however, I popped my SIM card back into my Nexus 5, with its busted-ass screen, because I just want to answer my email and get the hell back to my life again. iOS 8 is wonderfully improved, but it's still not for me. It takes too many taps, lacks too many options, and honestly the way it organizes your apps is just a mess. It turns out, the most important dadcore feature in a phone isn't a great camera or a big screen, it's the ability to put it away quickly and get on with your life.

iPhone 6 review

Reviewing an iPhone is a curious endeavor. One might think it's just like reviewing any other device, and the processes are indeed roughly the same. The difference, and it is a vast difference, is the purpose.

When reviewing a smartphone, a pair of shoes, a computer, a car, a movie or even a toaster, the purpose is generally to use experience and expertise to assist readers, or viewers, in making a buying decision. Even small gadget blogs can influence thousands or tens of thousands of people. A site like BGR influences millions and a large media organization can influence tens of millions of people.

But with iPhones, this simply is not the case.

When it comes to the iPhone 6 or any other iPhone, you're either with Apple or you're not. There are only a handful of choices - until this year, your only choices were 'newest iPhone,' 'slightly older iPhone' or 'oldest iPhone' - and many people know even before new iPhones are announced whether or not they plan to buy one.

iPhone owners are regularly found to be the most loyal cell phone owners by a wide margin, with retention rates that always seem to hover around 90%. For them, cost and upgrade eligibility are the only factors to consider.

New business comes to Apple thanks to a few main factors. One is word of mouth, or influence from friends and family; if everyone you know owns an iPhone, you'll likely want an iPhone as well. Another is marketing and advertising; Apple spends billions to ensure that its products are perceived as the best and coolest options available.

But you would be hard-pressed to find a person who claims a product review on a website was the determining factor in his or her decision to buy an iPhone.

iPhone reviews must serve a different purpose, then.

Different writers surely have different purposes in mind when reviewing an iPhone. Some consider only page views and others have probably never even stopped to consider how little their iPhone reviews influence potential buyers.

For the purposes of this review, I decided to keep things simple.

More than 10 million people took possession of a new iPhone 6 or iPhone 6 Plus between Friday and Sunday, but tens of millions more will be purchasing new iPhones over the coming months. For them, this review will let them know what to expect.

And if you've planted your flag with another ecosystem and have no intention of even considering a new iPhone, this review will give you a good idea of what you're missing out on, as well as the various benefits other platforms and devices have over iOS.

We won't cover every little thing here because, well, it's an iPhone. Instead, we'll hit all the big points and see if Apple's new flagship phone really lived up to the hype.

The Size

There is simply no reason to beat around the bush here, so we'll start with the most obvious and hotly anticipated change between older iPhones and the new iPhone 6: The size.

Apple's iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus mark the first time that Apple is sitting squarely in the follower's seat. Whereas the company has been a smartphone leader in the past, Apple failed to respond as the industry shifted toward larger displays.

Now, Apple thinks larger displays have become so important that it didn't even introduce a new iPhone model with a smaller screen sized in line with its earlier iPhones.

The iPhone 6 is sized in line with much of the competition, though the display is smaller than most leading Android phones. For example, the Galaxy S5's screen measures 5.1 inches diagonally and the new Motorola Moto X has a 5.2-inch display, and both phones are about the same size as the new iPhone, which features a 4.7-inch screen.

There is a relatively simple explanation for the discrepancy, however. Apple's comparatively large, round home button design is currently a necessity since it houses the Touch ID fingerprint scanner, and it takes up a lot of room. Meanwhile, a device like the new Moto X has no home button, so the display can occupy more of the device's face.

The difference in screen size between Apple's iPhone 6 and rival phones is very noticeable when the phones are side by side, but I have found that the iPhone's display is a very nice size. And users upgrading from an older iPhone model will instantly be impressed by the extra real estate.

Also of note, the iPhone 6's screen is positively gorgeous.

To look at the device's display specs on paper, one would think the iPhone is at a serious disadvantage where display quality is concerned. Look at this big comparison between the iPhone 6, Galaxy S5, LG G3 and HTC One (M8).

To this, I say try it.

It is true that Apple's iPhone 6 features resolution roughly in line with 720p and a pixel density of 'just' 326 pixels per inch while the rival phones noted above feature pixel densities of 432, 538 and 441 ppi, respectively. But hold an iPhone 6 in one hand and any aforementioned rival smartphone in the other, and you will be impressed by the clarity, vividness and color reproduction on the iPhone.

As I predicted shortly after Apple unveiled its first Retina display, rival smartphone makers have gone completely overboard with cell phone displays.

We've now entered 2K 'quad HD' territory, meaning that some smartphones like the LG G3 and Galaxy Note 4 pack more pixels than the high-definition TV currently hanging on your wall. They look great, but is there a significant improvement in clarity between the Galaxy S5's full HD screen and the G3's quad HD display, and is that difference apparent to the user's naked eye?

The answer, simply, is no.

If you have 20/20 vision or if you hold the iPhone 6 a few inches from your face while also holding a Galaxy S5 at the same distance, you may indeed notice some difference in clarity. But in reality, while using the iPhone 6 in a normal fashion, you will be impressed by this display. Period.

The Design

Anyone who has read my reviews in the past knows how important design and build quality are to me, and no smartphone I have ever tested has me as conflicted as Apple's new iPhone 6.

Overall, the new iPhone 6 is likely the most gorgeous smartphone I have ever used. The full glass and aluminum construction is phenomenal, the fluid look of the rounded edges is masterful, and the handset is impossibly thin. It's amazing to look at and it feels terrific in the hand.

But there are two fairly substantial issues that I haven't yet been able to work my way past. Some might call them design flaws, while others might call them design compromises. Whatever you want to call them, they may very well spoil an otherwise impeccable design.

It is quite clear to me that, with both the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, Apple valued a thin profile above aesthetics in the case of the plastic lines covering the antennas on the back of the phone, and above durability in the case of the camera lens.

Because Apple wanted to make these new aluminum phones so thin - the iPhone 6 is just 6.9mm thick and the iPhone 6 Plus is 7.1mm thick - it had to incorporate and an unorthodox antenna design. The new camera assembly also seemingly couldn't fit in such a thin housing, so Apple opted for a protruding camera lens on each model.

In my opinion, these are both awful compromises.

The plastic lines are at least forgivable. Maybe Apple's design team thinks they look good. Maybe some users think they look good. I personally believe they look quite bad, but were likely necessary in order to keep the housing so thin. A more visually pleasing antenna design would likely have been technically and economically possible only in a slightly thicker phone.

Apple's protruding camera lens on the back of the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, however, is not forgivable.

I, like many other smartphone users who are careful and who appreciate the work that goes into designing these devices, do not use a protective case on my phones. I have yet to shatter a screen or crack a housing, but the simple act of putting a phone down and picking it up repeatedly ended up scratching the sapphire lens cover on my iPhone 5s. And that crystal sat flush with the phone's housing.

The protruding lens on the iPhone 6 is just begging to be scratched. It will be scratched, eventually, and it will compromise the quality of photos taken with the phone.

It's a shame, too, because the camera on the iPhone 6 is absolutely phenomenal. Well-lit photos captured by the handset are simply breathtaking, and low-light performance is dramatically improved. But don't take my word for it, take the word of a professional photographer.

Also of note, the protruding camera also causes the iPhone 6 to rock back and forth when the left side is touched while the phone is sitting face up on a flat surface.

Even with these two issues (and I'll concede that antenna lines don't look as bad on the space gray model as they do on the silver and gold iPhones), the iPhone 6 is still one of the most gorgeous smartphones you'll ever come across. The overall design is unmistakably Apple, and the feel, fit and finish are unmatched.

One final note for those who, like me, can get hung up on the tiniest details: For the first time ever on an iPhone, the SIM card tray color and material actually match the rest of the aluminum housing exactly.

The Software and Performance

I have already written at length about iOS 8 on a few occasions, so I won't spend too much time on the iPhone 6's software. I will, however, cover some big changes and key issues.

First, you can expect some growing pains when upgrading to the iPhone 6 from an older iPhone. Yes, Apple fans, welcome to the wild world of fragmentation.

Apple's new iPhones feature new display resolutions and most apps simply aren't ready for them. What happens when you run an app that isn't optimized for larger screens on a new iPhone? It zooms automatically to fill the screen, resulting in a look that is blurry and unattractive.

The problem is much worse on the iPhone 6 Plus than it is on the iPhone 6, since the Plus' display resolution is 1080p while the iPhone 6 is about 720p.

In nearly all cases, this is a temporary issue that will be resolved as developers update their apps to support the new resolutions. In the meantime, it's quite annoying when several of your most commonly used apps are blurry.

Of course, the quality of the apps themselves is still vastly superior to apps on any other mobile ecosystem, for the most part, so this issue is merely a small speed bump that users will ultimately forget about entirely.

iOS 8 includes a number of terrific new features that we have detailed in the past, and they're even more impressive on the iPhone 6 thanks to performance improvements afforded by the new A8 processor and various optimizations.

The difference is not huge, but it is noticeable and appreciated; iPhone 5s users will instantly see how much faster and more responsive Touch ID fingerprint scans are now, for example.

And the iPhone 6 is no slouch overall, of course, offering performance that crushes every rival smartphone in a number of key areas.

Some of iOS 8's biggest consumer-facing additions are unfortunately not yet ready for primetime, such as Apple Pay, Health features and Continuity. It's a shame, of course, but hopefully we can look forward to clean launches that were worth the wait.

Among iPhone 6-specific tidbits in iOS 8, I will once again draw attention to one important feature in particular: Reachability.

For previous iPhone owners upgrading to a new iPhone, Reachability is hugely important despite its curious name. By double-touching touching the home button (don't press the button; just double-touch as you would on the display) any screen you're on will slide down the display so you can easily reach objects near the top.

You can see how it works in the photo above.

Since many users will no longer be able to reach the entire display on the new iPhones, the new Reachability feature is a must-have.

The Bottom Line

If you thought Apple's iPhone line represented the best smartphones in the world before, hold onto your hat.

As was expected, and as is expected each and every year, Apple's newest flagship iPhone is better than its predecessors in nearly every conceivable way. It's thinner, it's faster and it's is more sleek than any iPhone before it.

The larger 4.7-inch display on the iPhone 6 is gorgeous and I will appreciate it even more when all of my most commonly used apps are updated to support the new resolution. I have been seeing several apps updated each day since iOS 8 was first released, so the wait shouldn't be terribly long.

Apple's new larger display options do a great job addressing one of the two biggest pain points iPhone users constantly gripe about, but the second hasn't been addressed quite as well; I'm hesitant to jump to any conclusions regarding battery life at this point since I have only been testing the iPhone 6 for a few days, but I will share my observations thus far.

While the iPhone 6's battery life has been much better than my year-old iPhone 5s, it's still not a class leader. Not even close. It has effortlessly carried me through a full day of usage while connected to Wi-Fi for most of the day, but heavier usage while pumping data over LTE definitely still eats through the battery quite quickly.

I'm also disappointed that Apple hasn't added functionality similar to HTC's ' extreme power saving mode' or Samsung's ' ultra power saving mode.' With these great features, users with critically low batteries can gain several hours of extended usage time by putting their phones into a special limited mode where all unnecessary functions are disabled. This feature can be a life-saver, but Apple offers nothing like it.

Behind all of the crazy hype and beautiful hardware lies iOS, with the best ecosystem and best mobile apps in the world to support it. As has been the case for years, third-party software is the true hero of the iPhone experience, and Apple deserves much of the credit for reinventing the mobile app and creating a developer program that facilitates the creation of all this wonderful software.

Apps were, are, and will continue to be the star of the show when it comes to Apple's iPhone. Of course, it doesn't hurt that Apple also offers users the most gorgeous and capable smartphones in the world to run all those great apps, and the iPhone 6 definitely carries that tradition forward.

Review: 2015 Cadillac Escalade

We're accustomed to product placements in movies, so when I took my 4-year-old son to see the animated 'Planes: Fire and Rescue,' I wasn't surprised to see a Cadillac Escalade on the screen. The character's name, just to drive home the point, is Cad Spinner.

But I was surprised that Cad Spinner is the movie's most reprehensible character, a narcissistic blowhard whose vanity drives him to make terrible decisions. As a taciturn helicopter comments, 'He waxes himself - daily.' I'm pretty sure General Motors didn't pay to be in 'Planes,' but maybe it should have.

Cad Spinner is a pop-culture reflection of the Escalade's real-world dilemma, which is that the big S.U.V. doesn't enjoy the same adulation that it did in its prime years of 2004-7. Back then, before TARP and Lehman Brothers and synthetic collateralized debt obligations, G.M. consistently sold around 60,000 Escalades a year. For each of the last two years, G.M. moved about 12,000 of its Caddy trucks.

The redesigned 2015 model is helping, with sales of the regular-wheelbase version up 43 percent through August. That's a healthy gain, but nothing like the glory days. Which is why I understand G.M.'s decision to leave the truck pretty much alone.

There were many paths they could've taken to improve it: unibody construction, independent rear suspension, turbocharging or supercharging. But ultimately, I'm not sure any of that matters. They could make the Escalade out of synthetic diamond and include a robot chauffeur, and they wouldn't sell 60,000 again. So why not just polish it up a little for the crowd that has to have one? Give them something new to show the neighbors and book the profits. I get it.

By which I mean, I get it from G.M.'s perspective. From the customer side, I'll admit that I'm a little perplexed.

Cadillac tinkered around the margins, adding direct fuel injection and variable valve timing to the 6.2-liter V8, and finagling a fold-flat third row of seats, but the newest Escalade looks and drives much like its predecessor. Even with the magnetic-ride-control suspension, you're always aware that you're clomping around in a stiffly sprung truck - solid rear axle and all. And those fold-flat seats create a load floor that's about waist-high to LeBron James, since the engineers needed to leave room for the undulations of the solid axle beneath.

There are some worthy additions to the Escalade's tech portfolio. Automatic braking, which works in both forward and reverse, is a nice feature that should mitigate a few dings to the hull of the good ship Escalade. The truck can see trouble even if you can't, and hit the brakes accordingly. The 4G LTE data connection and cordless inductive gadget-charger are nice features, too.

On the hardware side, the 420-horsepower V8 manages an E.P.A. rating of 21 miles per gallon on the highway, but the city rating of 14 m.p.g. demonstrates the challenges of galumphing around in nearly 6,000 pounds of steel. That is exactly the same rating earned by the GMC Sierra Denali pickup truck, a vehicle that shares the Escalade's V8 and isn't too far away on the G.M. evolutionary tree.

In an unusual move, Cadillac has already made a significant revision to its recently introduced redesign, adding an 8-speed transmission midstream in the 2015 model year. The new gearbox will presumably improve acceleration and possibly nudge fuel economy a tick in the right direction. It also brings an across-the-board price increase of $1,275, with a 2-wheel-drive Escalade starting at $73,965. The top-of-the line Platinum version, bedecked with nappa leather and three rear video screens, starts at a heady $90,270.

So there's some overlap in price for the Escalade and the Range Rover, which starts at $84,225. A diesel-powered Mercedes-Benz GL350 BlueTec costs about $15,000 less than the Escalade, and it gets 26 m.p.g. on the highway.

But a BlueTec won't pin you back in the seat with 0-to-60 accleration in less than six seconds, nor does it emit a bass-heavy V8 rumble. So I guess there are rational arguments in favor of the Escalade.

Another is towing prowess, since the Cadillac's 8,300-pound maximum is a bit more than the European S.U.V.s are rated to handle. (Their tow ratings are calculated in kilograms, translating to strangely specific ratings like 7,716 pounds for the Range Rover.)

And have I mentioned the redesigned Cadillac crest? It's sleeker and upholds the longstanding banishment of ducks from the logo.

I liked the ducks.

The Escalade doesn't make much rational sense when held up against a Mercedes GL, Range Rover or even a Dodge Durango, but then it never has. It's the sole surviving example of a type of vehicle that used to be Cadillac's mainstay: big rear-drive barges laden with pomp and pretention, cars with real names instead of benign alphanumeric monikers like CTS and ELR. It's a truck that's playing out of position, fulfilling the psychic need for an American S-Class, a flagship product built on American soil, in Arlington, Tex. That's a lot to ask of a reworked pickup.

The solution is to build a serious big-league sedan that would challenge those offered by other luxury brands, and Cadillac has steadfastly avoided doing that. Granted, the division has had its hands full as it prioritized development of the excellent compact ATS and midsize CTS lines.

But eventually G.M. will need something above the CTS, a new machine that takes the pressure off the Escalade and lets it retreat to the nostalgia S.U.V. niche occupied by the likes of the Lexus LX 570 (née Toyota Land Cruiser) and Mercedes G550. There's a dignity in those trucks, an outdated-and-proud-of-it vibe that the Escalade and its full-LED headlights aren't quite ready to embrace.

This Escalade is fine for what it is, but one hopes that Cadillac has some more ambitious long-term vision for where this thing fits in the world. When you're lampooned by Disney cartoons, perhaps that should be a signal that a change of tactics is in order. But for now, Cad Spinner keeps rolling, brash as ever.