Samsung F8000 Smart LED TV review

For this review we tested the 55in model of the Samsung F8000 Smart LED TV (UE55F8000), but it's also available in 40in (UE40F8000) and 46in (UE46F8000) sizes here in the UK. 60in (UE60F8000) and 75in (UE75F8000) models are available in other regions, but aren't yet confirmed as coming to the UK. As each model has identical specifications, excluding dimensions and power usage, we're confident that image quality will be practically identical across the range.

If January’s CES show taught us anything, it’s that 2013 will be the year of the smart TV. The Samsung F8000 Smart LED TV is the company's flagship Full HD model and one of the first released, with more features squeezed inside than ever before - including a redesigned interface that puts catch-up services, on-demand movies and web shortcuts on the same screen as your broadcast TV.

This in-depth review covers all the features you'll find in the UE55F8000, but if you just want to know what we thought about picture quality, be sure to check out page four.

SAMSUNG F8000 SMART TV FEATURES
When you turn on the set, the first thing you see is the new five-screen Smart Hub interface. It has a large, icon-based layout that’s easy to navigate, with plenty of information in easy reach thanks to the redesigned touchpad remote control. The main screen displays the currently playing TV channel, along with upcoming shows and recommended programs based on what you regularly watch. Samsung’s S-Recommend algorithms work quickly to discover your viewing habits, and after a week’s worth of viewing should have built up a fairly accurate idea of what you like to watch.

The Movies & TV Shows tab combines all the installed on-demand video services in one place, letting you search by film title, genre or actors. AceTrax, PictureBox and Samsung’s own Video Hub are all included, with subscription-based services LoveFilm and NetFlix built into the set as well.

The Friends tab collects recommendations from your Twitter and Facebook friends, letting you jump straight into YouTube videos or view pictures right on the TV. It also stores your Skype contacts, so you can use the the pop-up webcam to make video calls while sat on your sofa. It uses a higher resolution sensor than last year’s model, and adjusts gamma dynamically based on ambient light in the room. This means you can always be seen by the person you’re talking to, even when there’s no light in the room. We extinguished the lights in our test room and could still see ourselves.

Finally, the Apps tab contains miscellaneous apps, including catch-up TV. Samsung’s 2013 TV range is the first we’ve seen to come with ITV player, the catch-up service for the UK’s third TV channel. It also has BBC iPlayer preinstalled, with promises of 4oD and Demand 5 coming in the summer. There’s also a web browser, Spotify music streaming, Facebook and Twitter clients and a store from which you can download more. With so many on-demand, catch-up services and apps, you’ll never be stuck for something to do or watch.

SAMSUNG F8000 CONNECTIVITY

The F8000 is equally pretty when switched off. The set has an incredibly slim stand that’s finished in silver. The stand’s curved design arcs backwards, which gives you the impression the screen is floating above it.

The F8000 has all the connections you’d want, including four HDMI inputs, component and composite video via adaptors, twin satellite and Freeview HD inputs, digital optical and 3.5mm audio outputs, three USB ports, an Ethernet port, integrated Wi-Fi and a Common Interface slot. There’s also an IR blaster output and a hole for the Samsung Evolution Kit upgrade, which will let you upgrade your TV in years to come, so you can keep up with the latest features.

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Panasonic Viera TX-P50VT50 review

For this review we tested the 50in model in the VT50 range, but it's also available in in 55in (TX-P55VT50) and 65in (TX-P65VT50) screen sizes. All models have identical specifications except for their dimensions and power usage. We're confident that image quality will be practically identical across the range.

As soon as we lifted the monolithic VT50 out of its box, it was clear that the company has gone out of its way to impress. Its minimalist black bezel with contrasting silver trim is a huge upgrade from previous models and gives the TV a stunning yet simple appearance. The panel itself is covered by anti-reflective treated glass that Panasonic calls Infinite Black Ultra. It does a fantastic job of reducing light reflections, even in a brightly lit room. We looked at the 50in VT50, but you have the option of a 55in (TX-P55VT50, £3094) or 65in (TX-P65VT50, £4000) model if you prefer a larger display.

We immediately noticed the difference it made during our image quality tests. Standard definition footage looked reasonable thanks to some effective noise reduction, but high definition content was where it really shined. Colour detail was incredibly vibrant, even during darker scenes where we could always pick out minor details. Even when the rest of the scene was completely black, there was never any loss of definition. Brightness is still a little behind the brightest LCD displays, so you’ll want to watch in subdued lighting to get the absolute best picture, that said the VT50 is a noticeable improvement over last year’s model in normal lighting conditions.

3D pictures were unsurprisingly dimmer than 2D pictures, but this is to be expected when using active shutter glasses. Panasonic includes two in the box, with each extra pair costing £51. Motion was smooth and there were very few signs of crosstalk, with depth effects really jumping out of the screen.

Its I/O connectivity is also excellent. It has four HDMI ports, proprietary SCART, component and composite adaptors, digital and analogue audio outputs, Ethernet, three USB ports and both Freeview HD and Freesat tuners.

It also has built-in Wi-Fi, and you can stream content from a networked PC or NAS using DLNA. We had no trouble playing all our test files, including MKV and DivX files. You can also play media from connected USB drives and you also can turn it into a PVR to record programs.

VIERA Connect is the other reason to get your TV online, because it provides a huge range of internet-connected services, ranging from BBC iPlayer, YouTube, on-demand films and social networking tools such as Twitter and Facebook. It also has a web browser. Browsing the web with a remote control can be rather difficult, so Panasonic has bundled a second touchpad remote along with the traditional controller. It’s much simpler, with only a few buttons, but makes moving a cursor around the screen much more intuitive than using a directional keypad.

The VT50 is a phenomenal TV whether you stick with the out-of-box presets or take the time to properly calibrate the image. Its main competition comes from its own stable because the less expensive ST50 range - the Panasonic Viera TX-P42ST50B is simply much better value. Both sets have near identical features and connectivity, with only minor design flourishes and a few advanced picture modes separating the two. If money is no object, any sized VT50 is a fantastic buy, but an ST50 set is better value overall.

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Pioneer BDP-450 review

The BDP-450-K is Pioneer's top-end player for 2013, so it naturally comes with 3D support, smart TV features, a whole host of image quality settings and DLNA multimedia playback. That’s a healthy set of features, but is it better than the mainstream sub-£100 players available from other manufacturers?

Initial impressions are positive, thanks to the retro styling, brushed metal front panel and single-line LCD display. The disc tray extends from the centre of the deck, and its front panel has chunky Power, Play, Stop and Eject buttons. The front panel also has a USB port for playing multimedia files from a flash drive or portable hard disk.

Around the back, Pioneer has sensibly fitted two HDMI video outputs. This lets you send video to a projector and audio to an amplifier, or connect it to two displays at once without having to rearrange the cables every time you want to use one instead of the other. Apparently, Pioneer’s precision quartz lock system (PQLS) ensures jitterless transmission of HDMI audio, but only to a compatible Pioneer A/V amplifier.

There are no legacy video outputs, so you need a TV with a HDMI input, but there is a digital coaxial optical output should you want to output audio via this method. You also get a single USB port, as well as a Fast Ethernet port. Sadly, the BDP-450-K one of only a few players in this price range where wireless networking doesn't come as standard. To connect via Wi-Fi, you must buy the AS-WL300 external dongle (£50, from www.superfi.co.uk). Awkwardly, it requires its own power supply.

If you have a PC or NAS device on the same network, you can stream multimedia content to the player. File format support was above average. Although all our image and audio files played correctly, and we were able to play MPEG4, MOV, WMVHD, XVID and DivX HD files, we couldn’t play MKV videos. It can also play DVD-audio and super audio compact discs.

Unfortunately, there’s not a lot of choice when it comes to online content, although we were happy to see that Pioneer has secured on-demand film and TV provider Netflix. It's one of the best web streaming services available, providing a huge amount of content for a relatively small monthly fee. It has practically the same interface as other Netflix-compatible TVs, Blu-ray players and the PlayStation 3, so existing subscribers should feel instantly familiar. The BDP-450-K also provides access to YouTube and Picasa so that you can watch web video and browse photos, but the lack of catch-up TV services such as BBC iPlayer lessens its appeal.

The onscreen interface, which has beautiful high-resolution icons and text that look fantastic on a Full HD display, is straightforward and easy to navigate using the remote control. It’s an incredibly comprehensive tool, and typical of Pioneer’s Blu-ray line-up, with almost every setting and control being within a finger’s reach. It can be a little overwhelming at first, and it doesn’t help that there’s no backlight and the labels are written in a tiny font. If you prefer to use your smartphone or tablet, you can download and use Pioneer’s iControlAV2012 app instead.

For more advanced settings, you must navigate the menu system, which includes LCD, PDP, projector and professional presets, along with a fifth custom mode that gives you control over picture brightness, contrast, and hue. A PureCinema setting optimizes 24p content playback, noise-reduction toggles remove Gaussian, block and mosquito noise, and a Stream Smoother applies noise reduction to web content. PureCinema should be disabled to replicate that cinema experience, but we didn’t feel the need to make any changes to the other settings, and simply opted for the LCD preset to match our reference TV.

Compared to other players we’ve reviewed recently, the BDP-450-K held up well during 2D Blu-ray playback. It loads discs in around 25 seconds, and resumes even faster using a Quick Start option. Picture quality was excellent, with slightly lighter tones than our reference player, and it emphasises colour vibrancy over shadow detail. You can, however, tweak this in the settings menu if you prefer darker tones. Shadow detail in general was still well defined, while motion was true to the source when watching 24p content. DVD upscaling loses some minor detail compared to other players, but colours remained accurate.

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How to install iOS 7 on your Apple iPhone 4S

Apple's much awaited latest iOS iteration, iOS 7 is available as a developer beta. If you don't mind jumping through some loops, you can get the iOS 7 for your iPhone 4S today.

DIY technique includes you to be willing to participate, be ready to shell $99 (roughly Rs 5,400) a year and be ready to take some risks. Just like any other beta product, the iOS 7 beta preview has its share of risks which includes crashes, bugs, the chance of losing data or even having your device bricked.

If you have checked all the boxes above, then you are set to dive in.  

1. First most importantly, back up your device.

2. Now head to the Apple Developer Program and sign up. As you would expect the site is in demand and can be really slow at times, so be patient while it loads or better still head back after 2-3 days.

3. As we mentioned above the iOS 7 beta is not free and signing up for the Apple Developer Program will cost you $99 for a year. Once you are in, head to the iOS Developer section and look for the iOS 7 section.

4. Make sure you have your device's UDID registered in the Developer Center before you start installing the iOS 7 beta.

5. The next step is to download the right version of the iOS 7 beta for the iPhone 4S you have.

6. Now you need to download the latest version of iTunes  which you can get from here:http://www.apple.com/itunes/download/

7. Now you need to open the .dmg file and extract the iOS beta file. Just look for the file which ends with '.ipsw.'

8. Once the download is complete, connect your device to a computer and fire up iTunes.

9. Now simply tap on the 'iPhone' button in iTunes, which brings up your device's stats.  Make sure that you have your device backed up here - that's very important.

10. Now you need to hold the 'Option' button and then hit the 'Restore iPhone' button.

11. You will see that you are provided with a file chooser window. At this point you need to make a selection. Pick the iOS 7 beta file you just downloaded.

12. Within 10 odd minutes you should be looking at the latest iOS 7 version on your iPhone 4S.

Well if you follow through the steps, do share your experience of the new iOS 7 with us below.

If you want to read more about the latest Apple iOS and how it stacks up with its predecessors and the rival platforms like Android key lime pie, Windows Phone and BlackBerry 10 you can check out the links below:

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Whatsapp manages a record 27 billion messages in a day

Whatsapp is having a dream run in the mobile sector. It has been a dominating force in the mobile messaging space for some time now. And now it has numbers to back it up. Today, Whatsapp announced its record for total messages in a day. The new record stands at a staggering 10 billion+ sent messages and 17 billion+ received messages amounting to a total of 27 billion messages in just a day.

The discrepancy in the sent and received messages arises due to the group chat feature on Whatsapp. A message sent by one person can be received by multiple people belonging to a group.

Whatsapp has shown tremendous growth since its launch and there is no indication that it will lose any momentum in the foreseeable future. Whatsapp currently has more than 200 million active monthly users.

The messaging app allows users to send free text and multimedia messages over their data connection do an individual or a group. It is available for download on iOS, Android, Symbian, Windows Phone, Blackberry and Asha.

Whatsapp CEO Jan Koum said at a conference recently that the messaging app has now become larger than Twitter. He didn’t divulge the exact number of registered users but hinted that the number is above the 200 million mark.

Blackberry, once the dominant force in the messaging space with its Blackberry messenger is averaging around 10 billion messages each day.

Whatsapp is working hard to capturing market share, partnering with operators and handset manufacturers across the globe. The Nokia Asha 210 even has a physical Whatsapp button for dedicated messaging through the app.

But  it is facing competition from some of the newer players in the field. WeChat and Line are two major threats to Whatsapp. Both of them are pushing their own service with aggressive marketing. Whatsapp might also face a ban in Saudi Arabia as their Communications and Information Technology Commission claim that it does not comply with local rules and regulations. But these seem to be minor obstacles in the amazing growth Whatsapp has witnessed since its inception.

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Nokia EOS aluminum shell leaks with PureView stamping

The rumors mills are constantly churning new information about the unannounced Nokia EOS smartphone, which is supposed to come with a 41-megapixel PureView camera and Windows Phone 8 platform.

Only recently, an alleged photo of the smartphone leaked alongside the Lumia 920, thereby showing the similarities between the two Nokia smartphones.

Now, an engineering prototype of the Nokia EOS has leaked, and this one appears to be crafted out of aluminum, instead of the polycarbonate body witnessed in the previously leaked photo. However, the aluminum clad body of EOS is not new to the tech gossipers as the handset was earlier reported to come with the same a few months back.

The metal shell of the unannounced Nokia handset seems to have been made using aluminum and clearly shows the camera lens and LED flash at the back and the SIM slot and USB port on the top. Also, a pronounced hump on the back is noticeable hinting at the presence of a large sensor.

Moreover, the other intriguing part of the leak is that, on one of the images, there is a 41-megapixel and PureView stamped on the aluminum mold, further proving that we are about to see a beast of a cameraphone soon.

Latest rumours suggest that the camera-centric smartphone will pack a 1280x768 pixel resolution OLED screen of unknown size, 32GB internal storage and a 41-megapixel camera sensor with Xenon flash.

The amazing Nokia EOS with PureView camera technology is all set to launch on Zoom Redefined event on July 11. As tech companies often make numerous prototypes of their flagship devices, we are sure Nokia has considered various chassis options to make it stand out further. Apparently, which one will land in July remains unknown.

Stay tuned to KYMI for more details about the Nokia EOS smartphone.

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LG Optimus G review

Flaunting a great chassis, sultry styling, raw power and a couple of unique add-ons, LG's latest offering Optimus G may not set new benchmarks in performance, but it makes sure that it won't disappoint either.

Fitted with a 4.7-inch ‘True HD’ IPS touch display with Zerograph Touch in-cell technology, which embeds the touch sensors into the glass, LG Optimus G brings on board a 1280x768 pixels resolution with a pixel density of 320 pixels-per-inch (ppi). The end result is a display that looks pretty sensational with pure whites and impressive brightness.

The device tends to resemble the first-generation Samsung Galaxy Note, minus the stylus and runs on the Android Jelly Bean 4.1 with LG’s Optimus UI overlaid on top, so you shouldn't expect to be getting pure Google here.

Harbored deep within its beautifully crafted body is a Qualcomm S4 Snapdragon Pro chipset, clocked at 1.5GHz, 2GB of dual-channel RAM along with Adreno 320 graphics processor.

Other specs include a 13-megapixel camera with a back-illuminated sensor (BSI) and LED flash along with a 1.3-megapixel secondary front camera.

To enable Optimus G users to take full advantage of the 13-megapixel camera, LG has tailored apps to enhance the experience. For example, there is a Smartshutter that senses movement and automatically adjusts the shutter speed to capture crisp and blur-free images. Similarly the Cheeseshutter, has voice recognition capabilities and automatically clicks a picture when you say, 'Cheese'.

The device also offers a slew of unique applications like Quickslide, which allows consumers to simultaneously run into two apps and multitask with ease.

It also houses a quicktranslator, which comes in handy while translating international language into english and vice versa.

In addition to this, there is also a quick memo app that assists you in jotting down notes, numbers and more on the go or even while on a active call.

Not to mention the Dual screen Dual play that allows mirroring between the smartphone and a TV and even activates different content on each screen.

There's a  2100 mAh battery sitting inside the device which gives you more than sufficient juice enough to power up the device for some uninterrupted rounds of gaming and multimedia.

The device also contains a onboard capacity of 32GB, unfortunately there is no memory card slot for further expansion via MicroSD.

The Korean manufacturer has played its cards right with the LG Optimus pricing as well, which stands at Rs 34,500 ( Online retailing price Rs 30,999). At this price, the quad-core powered device not only appeals to the phablet lovers but also Android consumers looking to get all the 'firework' goodies below Rs 35,000 price range.

The LG Optimus G definitely hits the sweet spot, but is it good enough to revive LG's fortunes and spot in the high-end smartphone market?  KYMI will explore in its full length review of the Optimus G soon.

Also peep into the following:

Smartphone Showdown: Nexus 4 vs Optimus G Sibling Squabble: LG Optimus G vs LG Optimus G ProAndroid Flagships at Battle: HTC One vs LG Optimus GFlagship Faceoff: BB Z10 vs LG Optimus G

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