Oppo Find 5: first ads, camera samples, comparison shots and hands-on videos appear

Absolutely gorgeous design, probably the best I've seen in a long time.

It has the ultimate pack too, top-end HW, next-gen screen and camera, and based on the videos, a clean and gorgeous UI based on JB. Add the 2500mAh battery and still rather slim design actually looking smaller than the S3 due to thinner bezel (it is not though), it is the best thing you can get below the phablet category. What's to hate? Lack of SD card unfortunately (should have shipped with 32GB, not that expensive upgrade), but I'm sure it'll handle USB storages well.

This is what happens when one of the premiere BR gadget makers decide to release a high-end phone.

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Google Maps vs Apple Maps comparison

Google Maps for iOS is finally here! You can grab it for free on the App Store right now and end the struggle with Apple Maps, and good news is that the new Google Maps application comes with turn-by-turn navigation, and a completely reworked design.

It’s been months since Apple released iOS 6 killing Google Maps in favor of its own Apple Maps. Apple CEO Tim Cook’s official explanation was that the company wanted to add things like turn-by-turn navigation, voice integration and flyover, but while those are worthy reasons it seems like Apple just did not have good enough data for the back end. Google in contrast has spent tons of money and has a huge team working on Maps for years, and it is hard to expect Apple to work out miracles in the short time they’ve had.

Interface and design

But it is not just the back-end (we’ll speak more on this later), let’s start with the design of the brand new Google Maps for iOS. The application has been completely remade with a clean, gesture-based, intuitive interface. No useless buttons, almost all of the screen estate is used by Google Maps.

A swipe from right to the left in the bottom part of the screen, or just a two-finger swipe to the left brings up four toggles. There you can switch between maps and satellite view, turn on or off traffic and public transit indications.

When you select a particular place a swipe up from the bottom brings up the address along with contacts and user reviews, all very elegant, very intuitive and simple.

Compare this with Apple Maps, and its interface with no gesture support seems outdated (however still functional).

The maps themselves are vector-based in both Google’s and Apple’s case, and load very quickly. Google however seems to have managed to somehow optimize its app so it seems like the new Maps load even quicker than Apple Maps.

Overall, interface is a clear win for Google Maps, which shows us how Google is now more often leading the way in terms of mobile software design while Apple has to catch up.

Search, points of interest

What’s more important, though is search, and there Google Maps fares noticeably better than Apple Maps. Trying to lookup one of our favorite lunch spots in New York, we typed in ‘Silo cafe’ in both maps applications. Google Maps identified it and pointed us to the place without a hitch. Apple Maps? Could not even find it.

The place is on Apple Maps, though, so what happened? Two important things. First, you just have to be way more specific - Apple’s search algorithms work differently. We managed to find it only after changing the search query to ‘Silo, NY.’

Interestingly enough, search on Apple Maps is also much more context dependent. While in Google Maps you can be looking at a map of, say, Berlin (the one in Germany, not on the South Pole!) and out of the blue search for your favorite NYC lunch place, you’d get results. Apple’s app works differently.

If you are viewing that same map of Berlin on Apple Maps, the search just won’t find that New York lunch spot. However, if you are viewing a map of New York on Apple Maps, and then look up that same NY cafe, it would actually show up.

And then come less known points of interest, and challenges like locations outside the United States. We tried looking up a popular restaurant chain in Europe and Google was spot on bringing us all of the restaurants in a particular city. Apple? Could not find a single one.

The more we searched for things, the more it became apparent what a huge gap there is between Google and Apple when it comes to actual places.

Even when it does find places, Apple Maps needs more context in searches, but most often it just would not find them. All of this is a huge frustrating for users, and that’s why searching is definitely an area we see Google as a clear winner.

User reviews

Getting your search results isn’t always enough, though. Sometimes you lookup a place, but you still need to get a second opinion. User reviews could tell you things pictures won’t, and with Apple Maps integrating Yelp reviews, Google has a hard time competing with Apple Maps in the United States.

The accent here is on United States. Yelp is simply a great platform for the U.S., and in most cases it gives you a better user review of a place than Google Maps user comments can. However, you still need to download the Yelp app to be able to read the full reviews, and that somewhat breaks the integrity of the experience. Google Maps on the other hand has everything in one place, but everything means less opinions and less insightful opinions.

Outside the U.S., though, Yelp becomes largely irrelevant. Things change drastically in Google’s favor. If you happen to travel a lot, you’d be much better off with Google Maps’ user reviews.

Ultimately, we feel this one is a draw. Apple Maps integration with Yelp makes it the better platform for the United States, but for all other places on our beautiful planet Google is far ahead.

Google Maps 0.5 vs 0.5 Apple Maps

Directions and Navigation

When it comes to navigation, voice guidance is the raison d’etre for Apple Maps. With the new Google Maps application this justification for the existence Apple Maps becomes obsolete as the search giant has built in turn-by-turn voice navigation in its app as well. Voice driving navigation works flawlessly on both apps, you get directions even if you lock your phone or exit the app in both Apple and Google Maps.

Directions differ slightly in the interface, but both apps do a decent job at them. However, the backend of more accurate maps and tons of more points of interest on Google definitely puts it in a much more favorable position.

Not just that, Apple’s solution does not have public transit information. Ironically, when you tap on the public transit option in Apple Maps it suggests you to open Google Maps for that.  Cycling directions are missing on both apps.

If we try to overlook that, though, it’d be a draw.

Other features

Those four things round up what we think is essential to a maps application. However both Google and Apple have not stopped there and are adding more information to make the experience better.

First, Apple Maps. The company takes pride in its Flyover feature and we love it. It shows a 3D-like (isometric) view of major cities, as if you are looking at them from a helicopter up in the sky. You can fly around buildings, take a look from all sides, and it looks gorgeous. On the downside, the feature is only available for only the central areas of a few large cities like New York. Siri integration is also a benefit you get with using Apple Maps.

Google Maps lacks those particular features, but it brings its famous street view which seems far more useful. Street View is available in a ton of locations across the globe, and in some areas you even get inside view of restaurants and other points of interest. You also have the indoor view for around 100,000 businesses, which is an awesome addition in case you want to actually look inside say a restaurant before you go there.

When it comes to offline maps, they are a no-go on Google Maps, but once you select a route, it is pre-cached so you needn't worry about your connection dropping halfway.

Google Maps 0.5 vs 0.5 Apple MapsConclusion

With a brilliant gesture-based interface, no distracting ads, full on public transit information that Apple Maps lacks, and voice turn-by-turn guidance, Google Maps is the best maps application we have seen up to date, hands down.

Compared to Apple Maps, it is a no brainer - Google Maps is better in virtually every aspect, especially looking from a global perspective. If you live in the United States, though, the disparity between the two narrows. It is still there, but with Yelp reviews integration, better documented locations, Flyover for many cities, the U.S. is one place where Apple Maps could be used.

Weirdly enough, we like Google Maps for iPhone more than Google’s own Android Maps application.

It is not perfect though. It does not have full offline maps support, an area that Nokia still claims its own on Windows Phone. It is also not designed to work with the iPad. We really hope Google changes the latter soon.

If you own an iPhone, though, you should definitely take a look at Google Maps. This could one day save your life, you know.

View the original article here

Oppo Find 5: first ads, camera samples, comparison shots and hands-on videos appear

Absolutely gorgeous design, probably the best I've seen in a long time.

It has the ultimate pack too, top-end HW, next-gen screen and camera, and based on the videos, a clean and gorgeous UI based on JB. Add the 2500mAh battery and still rather slim design actually looking smaller than the S3 due to thinner bezel (it is not though), it is the best thing you can get below the phablet category. What's to hate? Lack of SD card unfortunately (should have shipped with 32GB, not that expensive upgrade), but I'm sure it'll handle USB storages well.

This is what happens when one of the premiere BR gadget makers decide to release a high-end phone.

View the original article here

LG Optimus G vs Samsung Galaxy S III: screen comparison

This story is sponsored by LG. PhoneArena's opinions in this article have not been affected in any way!

One of the things that can make or break the experience of using a smartphone nowadays is the screen, and these tend to come in many different kinds and implementations, as manufacturers try to come up with something new and unique for their handsets. Interestingly, screen technology also happens to be one of the major differentiating factors between two of the very best Android handsets right now - the LG Optimus G and the Samsung Galaxy S III. With the former using an advanced kind of LCD technology called True HD IPS Plus, and the latter - the so-called Super AMOLED, it is clear that what we're dealing with here are two exceptionally potent screens. With that in mind, we think it's completely possible to discover which one is the better of the two if we take the time to examine them closely. Let's do so right now!

Outdoor visibility

Let's start by checking how these guys fare when taken outdoors, where most handsets usually struggle to offer an easily viewable image. Taking advantage of its True HD IPS Plus display technology, the LG Optimus G is capable of producing some very high brightness levels, which don't seem to be within the reach of the GS III's Super AMOLED panel.

That doesn't mean that the Galaxy S III is hard to read when you're out and about. It actually performs well in this department, but when directly compared to LG's offering, it's visibly more washed out.

Colors

AMOLED displays, like the one of the Galaxy S III, are known for their very saturated and unrealistic colors. They happen to be far from natural for two reasons. The first is their already mentioned tendency to appear oversaturated, and the second is the AMOLED screens' cold color temperature - something they have been unable to escape from to this day. The Galaxy S III is not an exception. When you put it next to a quality IPS screen like the one of the Optimus G, you immediately notice that the white on the GS III's screen is actually bluish, while the Optimus G display is much closer to the real thing.

Of course, the same observations are valid for all colors, not just for the "whites". This is one area where IPS LCD screens have remained unbeatable. Sure, if you're only staring at the Super AMOLED panel of a Galaxy S III, you may even fail to notice the inaccurate temperature of the colors, and you might even like it this way, but it'll quickly become obvious that the Optimus G's IPS display produces the more accurate picture once you take a look at it.

Resolution

On paper, both handsets are almost equal in terms of resolution, or pixel density. However, there is an important difference, which makes the display of the LG Optimus G the better one in this category. While the GS III uses a PenTile pixel arrangement, the Optimus G sticks to a traditional RGB matrix. In short, equally sized displays of the same resolution would look better with an RGB matrix, because they'll have more subpixels. The result of this is that RGB displays appear finer and smoother, with less fuzziness. Both the LG Optimus G and Samsung Galaxy S III perform very well here, due to their high resolutions, but the Optimus G does have the upper hand, as its RGB matrix helps it achieve some cleaner-looking details compared to the GS III.

The main activities that benefit from this have to do with reading text. If you're working with documents, reading ebooks, or simply web browsing, you'll surely appreciate the more detailed display of the Optimus G. Other things, like watching video or viewing pics, don't suffer that much from the PenTile display.

Viewing angles

Traditionally strong in the viewing angles department, AMOLED screens have recently been losing their lead to the highest-quality IPS screens. Such is the case with the Galaxy S III and Optimus G. Although the GS III manages to retain relatively good contrast levels as you start tilting the screen to various sides, we don't like how quickly the panel starts shifting its colors, becoming quite bluish in the process. Meanwhile, the True HD IPS Plus display of the Optimus G loses some of its contrast, but the image stays pretty much the same, without any serious alterations.

All in all, LG has proven that it's a serious innovator when it comes to display technology. The Optimus G is up there with the very best in this respect, boasting a high-definition screen with nicely saturated (but not too much) and realistic colors, along with reliable outdoor visibility and viewing angles. As good as the Super AMOLED technology of the Galaxy S III is, Samsung will have to think of something better than that if it wants to compete with LG's True HD IPS Plus tech.

View the original article here