Hands-on review: Moto 360

Motorola's Moto 360 smartwatch proves that wearables can be as fashionable as Android Wear is functional, making it the first Google-powered watch worth owning.

Its circular watch face takes cues from stylish designer wristwatches with analog tickers, not square-shaped smartwatches. The very computerized-looking Samsung Gear Live and LG G Watch are no match for what Motorola has up its sleeve.

Moto 360 is appropriately just in time too. While the company originally scheduled to have it ready for a summer release date, this ambitious watch is launching a little later than expected: today in the US and early October in the UK.

Google Now knows someone has been searching the Chicago Cubs' Wrigley Field

That's less than a week before Apple is expected to preview the iWatch along with the iPhone 6, and the same week that LG is expected to put is round LG G Watch R into production.

Wearable early adopters, however, can hardly say no to the long-awaited Moto 360, especially for the asking price. It's $249 in the US and £199 in the UK (about AU$267). That's only a little more expensive than Android Wear's extremely limited smartwatch pickings, all of which can't compare to Moto 360's stylish design.

One of many custom Moto 360 watch faces

From day one of Android Wear, Moto 360 has been all about its unique circular display, an enterprising move by the reborn Motorola. Now we finally know the official specs that go along with the once-mysterious round screen.

It clocks in with a 1.56-inch LCD protected by Gorilla Glass 3. That's not the fancy OLED screen or sapphire glass that some people were hoping for, but it's a better trade-off given the on-point price. And the backlit LCD technology looks solid nonetheless.

It works well even in sunlight. Just don't wear sunglasses at the same time

Filling that circle is 205 pixels per inch with a 320 x 290 resolution. That's roughly the same resolution as the smaller Gear Live but fewer pixels vs the Samsung watch's 278ppi. The difference is noticeable in any side-by-side comparison, but for once it's not about what's inside the watch face that counts as much as it is about what's gives it its outer beauty.

The Moto 360 watch frame is stainless steel, eschewing earlier rumors that is might go the cheaper route of substituting in plastic to reduce the price. Matching that quality is genuine leather straps by the Chicago-based tanner Horween, known for making NFL footballs. It really contrasts with the tacky plastic housing and rubber straps found on the Gear Live and G Watch.

Which would you rather wear? The battery-sipping Pebble Steel or stylish Moto 360?

Motorola is making the leather straps available with its smartwatch today in the US and at launch in the UK. The first colors being introduced are gray leather and black leather. That doesn't mean you won't be able to upgrade to the metal bands or different colors when Motorola launches those, for a slightly higher price and at a later date.

Even with the premium materials on-board, the Moto 360 weighs 49g (1.7 oz). That's actually lighter than both the Samsung Gear Live 59g (2.1oz) and LG G Watch 64g (2.2oz). Motorola still packs in comparable specs on the inside too.

There's a Texas Instruments OMAP 3 processor making this digital smartwatch tick, 512MB of RAM and 4GB of internal storage. It connects to Android smartphones running Android 4.3, Android 4.4 and the Android L beta through the Android Wear app and Bluetooth 4.0.

A heart-rate monitor joins the wireless Qi charging plate on back

Moto 360 has one physical button unlike the buttonless LG G Watch, and it turns the display on and off. It's an alternative method of doing the same by tapping the screen to turn it on and palming the entire display to quickly turn it off.

It crosses over from smartwatch to fitness band with health-motivating features like a pedometer inside and an optical heart-rate monitor on back. It can be worn all day, even in wet conditions thanks to its IP67 water resistance rating. It's not completely waterproof, but it can go a depth of 1 meter for about 30 minutes before you run into trouble.

Just say 'Okay Google' to issue commands

The Moto 360 battery life gets about a day per charge thanks to a 320mAh battery. It's slightly bigger than the Samsung Gear Live battery of 300mAh, but smaller than the LG G Watch 400mAh battery, but it gets the job done as long as you charge it nightly. Pebble Steel and the original Pebble remain the smartwatch kings of longevity.

Here's the subtle, but effective wireless charging dock. Works great on a nightstand

At least there's a novel way to recharge the Moto 360. It comes with a Qi charging dock that is perfect for resting on a nightstand. It dims the display so that you can get to sleep, but also see the time as you sleep away into a dream.

It doesn't have the more practical micro USB port that the newly announced Sony Smartwatch 3 is going to have, but the Moto 360 charging method is much more futuristic and cool. That better fits the stylishing theme that Motorola is going for with its watch.

Even the box is circular!

We've had about 12 hours time with the final Moto 360 smartwatch and haven't taken it off yet for two reasons. The battery that we wish as longer hasn't fully depleted after using multiple Android Wear apps on it and, more importantly, we fancy the circular design.

The cut-off horizon line at the bottom of the smartwatch, which houses the screen tech, doesn't bother us either as much as we thought. It actually pushes the pixels out to the edges of the smartwatch screen with a nice effect. If you've been holding out on Google new smartwatches, Moto 360 has finally started ticking and the Apple iWatch has some serious competition before its expected unveiling next week.

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Hands-on review: HTC Desire 510

The HTC Desire 510 is the Taiwanese company's latest addition to its Desire line up, a range of budget and midrange smartphones that feature some of the latest mobile technology that you'd normally find in more expensive handsets. Previous entries in this series include the HTC Desire 610 and the HTC Desire 816, which are both good – if rather unremarkable – smartphones.

The hook with the HTC Desire 510, according to its manufacturer, is that it is the cheapest LTE-capable smartphone it has made. At £149 (US$248, AU$265) the HTC Desire 510 isn't the cheapest 4G handset on the market, with the EE Kestrel coming in at just £99 (US$165, AU$176). It's pretty much the same price as the Motorola MOTO G 4G, which can be had for around £155 (US$256, AU$276), and quite a bit cheaper than the OnePlus One's price tag of around £250 (US$414, AU$445).

The promise of a blisteringly fast 4G data connection wrapped in an affordable handset is certainly a tempting offer…

The 4G connectivity of the HTC Desire 510 is the headline feature of this budget handset. It's not alone in the market, however, with the EE Kestrel and Motorola MOTO G 4G also offering 4G on a budget.

I tested the HTC Desire 510's 4G capabilities on the EE network, and was very impressed with the results – the internet and streamed media I tried all displayed incredibly quickly. Due to a rather interesting turn of events, my landline broadband connection went down at the same time I was testing the HTC Desire 510, which gave me the opportunity to test the USB tethering capabilities of the smartphone. It worked brilliantly – and the speeds didn't seem too different from when I use the standard broadband.

4.7 inches fits in the hand nicely

With the much vaunted speeds of the HTC Desire 510 proving to live up to its promise, I then turned my attention to the other aspects of the handset. The HTC Desire 510 sports a 4.7 inch display, putting it in the same league as the HTC Desire 610, Moto X and soon, if the rumours are correct (and they probably are), the iPhone 6.

While 4.7 inches might be the magic number, the screen itself is only capable of a resolution of 854 x 480, a rather disappointingly low resolution, and the first clear evidence of the HTC Desire 510's budget roots. In contrast the Moto X may have the same screen size, but it boasts a much higher resolution of 720 x 1280 (also known as 720p), which makes its AMOLED screen look incredibly bright and vibrant.

The HTC Desire 510's screen, on the other hand, can't compete with this, though it does the job. The operating system installed on the HTC Desire 510 is Android 4.4.4, and comes with HTC's own software HTC Sense and HTC BlinkFeed preinstalled.

As with other HTC handsets such as the HTC One Mini 2and the HTC One M8, the Android KitKat operating system has been overlaid with the HTC Sense interface. It's an attractive and intuitive design, though it may take a little getting used to if you're used to using the standard Android interface.

Icons and apps are laid out well and easy to find, and in certain applications the tile-like design is certainly eye catching, but also reminiscent of Microsoft's Windows Phone 8 mobile operating system, and it looks particularly nice in the Gallery app. Meanwhile, configuring the Home screen through HTC Sense is quick and easy, allowing you to add or hide widgets.

The HTC Blinkfeed app that comes preinstalled is a handy tool that collates news from a large number of sources on the internet and presents them in an attractive tiled layout that fits in well with the HTC Sense aesthetics. Mixing breaking news from reputable websites such as The Guardian, ESPN, MTV and Vice and news feeds from your social media networks such as Facebook and Twitter gives you a handy overview of what's happening on the internet, and can be quickly viewed by swiping left from the home screen.

While it does a good job of providing you news from around the internet, it isn't immediately obvious how to configure HTC Blinkfeed to only show you news from the sources you want it to.

By using Android 4.4.4, coupled with its impressive processing power, the HTC Desire 510 feels quick and responsive as you're moving through the interface, and the HTC Sense overlay remains a good looking interface.

The 4.7-inch display leads to the HTC Desire 510 having body dimensions of 139.9 X 69.8 X 9.99mm, but it sits in the hands comfortably enough. The body itself has rounded edges and looks similar to the HTC Desire 610's body – though the front-facing camera is located on the upper-left hand corner of the body, rather than the upper-right.

Thankfully the bezel around the screen has been reduced since the HTC Desire 610, which results in the HTC Desire 510 looking sleeker, and not feeling quite so bulky. I found it quite easy to hold the phone whilst using my thumb to scroll over much of the screen, and as with the HTC Desire 610, the power button remains on the top, with the volume controls on the right hand side of the case.

The polycarbonate back feels a bit cheap

The back of the case is slightly curved, and it is made of polycarbonate material, which unfortunately gives the HTC 510 a bit of a cheap feel to it – but then, to be fair, this is a cheap phone. At first glance, however, the HTC 510 looks great, and is available in two colours, 'Terra' white and 'Meridian' grey.

At 158g the HTC 510 is light enough to comfortably hold in one hand as well. One thing that the HTC 510 case lacks which is present in the HTC Desire 610's case – and in a number of other Android smartphones – is that there is no microSD card port along the side of the case for easy access. Instead you have to take the back of the case off and remove the battery to insert the memory card. It's not a huge problem, but it is inconvenient and a bit of a shame to see that port removed from being easily accessed on the side.

Fitting a microSD means removing the battery

You'll want use a microSD card to expand the storage of the HTC Desire 510 as it only comes with a rather paltry 8GB built-in. While this won't sound like much room, especially if you like taking photos, listening to music, watching videos and installing apps on your smartphone, the reality is even worse. On turning on the HTC Desire 510 for the first time with just the operating system and preinstalled apps there was only 4.25GB left of the internal storage. At least you can expand the storage up to 128GB, so you're not stuck with internal storage like some manufacturers' phones – I'm looking at you Apple.

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Hands-on review: IFA 2014: Nokia Lumia 735

The selfie. A shameless phenomenon that we're all supposed to be getting in on. Somehow, by redefining the humble self-portrait we've legitimised a heinous trend of vanity that's allegedly rocketing.

But let's be honest, this isn't anything new. American photography pioneer Robert Cornelius 'did a selfie' in 1839. Russian Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna sent a mirror selfie to her friend in 1914. I took one with my Game Boy Camera in 1998. Unlike twerking and hashtags, the selfie is old news.

But try telling Nokia that. The formally Finnish brand has just jumped aboard the fad-wagon with its first 'selfie smartphone' and a desire to give us the mug shots we deserve.

The Nokia Lumia 735 (it also comes in a dual-SIM Lumia 730 variety, with all other specs the same) is a handset that's all about its 5MP front-facing camera. According to Microsoft the world has been suffering from sub-par selfies and - well - apparently that's just not good enough.

It's obvious that the 735 has taken its design cues from the Nokia 800. However here the plasticky build feels a bit cheap, though not overly tacky, while it's both lighter and thinner than its inspiration.

It also comes in a selection of typical Nokia colours: green, orange grey and black. The design certainly isn't terrible, but it feels a lot less nice than the Lumia 830, which was also announced at IFA 2014.

Oddly, despite the camera being the 735's USP, there's no dedicated shutter button. In fact, the only physical buttons at all are the power button and volume rocker.

The 735 has a 720p display, while on the inside you'll get a 1.2GHz Snapdragon 400 processor, 1GB of RAM, 8GB of storage and a 2220mAh battery. But Windows Phone is not a demanding operating system, and the experience reflects that. There was some lag but it was very, very minimal.

On the back is a 6.7MP camera, and like the 830, the 735 also comes with the new Windows Phone update, Lumia Denim, which feels right at home on this handset with all of its snapper enhancements.

You also get the new selfie app, which lets you enhance your mug shots with some effects and enhancements. It even lets you use the rear camera, providing a countdown beeper to help you time your shot.

There are some welcome non-camera improvements with Denim too, including support for Live Folders on your homescreen.

Microsoft has announced that the 735 will sell for €219 but it hasn't announced global prices yet. But assuming the price converts as you'd expect, you're looking at a pretty solid, affordable phone.

The question is: does anyone really care that much about the quality of their selfies?

Microsoft's not the only one with a 'selfie phone' now on the market, but this is a solid enough handset with a reasonable price.

It all depends on what you want out of your smartphone; if you're not so face-focused, you're probably better off coughing up a bit more for Microsoft's other 'affordable' phone of IFA, the Lumia 830.

But camera aside, this is a decent blower for the price, and could attract the cool kids away from other affordable options.

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Hands-on review: IFA 2014: Panasonic TX-85X940

It's lunchtime and the sun is out. How do we know? An 85-inch telly told us so at IFA 2014. Walk by the TX-85X940 even when it's in standby and an Info Bar pops-up automatically to display the time and the weather. All that can be tailored to an individual – or, rather, an individual face. Info Bar is powered by an integrated camera, a proximity sensor and face recognition algorithms, but there's a lot more to this flagship ultra-bigscreen telly.

Some fine looking TVs, and 4K too

We won't lie to you; the TX-85X940 looks like a plasma. Perhaps it's the particularly heavy duty desktop stand that comes from underneath it to act as a support for this massive product that gives it away, though it's certainly true that Panasonic's AX900 Series of LED TVs – to which the TX-85X940 is a very close relation – was produced by the same engineers that were responsible for the last batch of world-beating (but not well-selling) Reference plasmas from Panasonic. That desktop stand stretches almost all the way along the front.

The TX-85X940 doesn't have a particularly slim screen surround, with at least an inch of bezel all around, but at least the pop-up camera is completely invisible when it's not being used.

All flagship TVs at IFA 2014 – and perhaps all TVs above 50 inches by the time of the annual TV refresh next spring – have 4K Ultra HD panels, and the TX-85X940 is no different. What is different, for Panasonic at least, is that its new flagship TV for 2014 isn't a plasma.

Instead it uses an LED-backlit LCD panel that boasts some new tech; 2,000Hz Back Light Scanning (BLS) is an algorithm rather than a slab of hardware, but it should help dampen any motion blur by blinking the TX-85X940's backlight imperceptibly on and off. Its refresh rate tech actually puts the TX-85X940 just behind Panasonic's AX900 Series in the pecking order, with the latter claiming 3,000 BLS as well as Local Dimming Ultra.

It may not be a plasma, but the bezel sure makes it look like one

The TX-85X940 has only Local Dimming Pro, which analyses video in real-time to add more detail to both dark and bright areas of images. However, with step-down tech inside it, this is clearly a telly more about maximum size than an effort to make the best-ever post-plasma TV image.

4K-wise, the TX-85X940 is ready for any frame rate you can throw at it. It supports 4K at 60p via its HDMI 2.0 slots, while it's also compatible with the High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection (HDCP) 2.2 protocol. On a side-panel we spotted three USB slots, three HDMI 2.0 inputs and an optical digital audio output, while the rear adds a fourth HDMI 2.0 slot and a DisplayPort 1.2a terminal for PC 4k gamers.

Inputs? We got 'em

Though it's had many critics and tirades against the video-like look it can give to 24p films on Blu-ray discs, the TX-85X940's motion compensation circuitry – called 4K Intelligent Frame Creation – should help cancel-out judder.

The TX-85X940 also comes with 4K Studio Master Drive for more accurate, finely graded colour, and more shadow detail at any brightness (critical for any LED-backlit TV). For the populariser of plasma, that's important to Panasonic. Studio Master Colour is also included.

In terms of usability, perhaps the highlight of the TX-85X940 – and many of Panasonic's newer smart TVs – is the TV Anywhere feature, which essentially lets the user make recordings to a HDD from the Freeview HD tuner to watch anywhere in the world via an app.

All of these chips are working with four times the pixel density of a Full HD TV, remember, so the processing power needs a leg-up. That comes in the form of a Quad Core Pro5 super-high-speed processor, which should mean powerful noise reduction to clean up images as well as giving fuel to the 4K Intelligent Frame Creation feature.

The TX-85X940's 3840x2160 pixel resolution means it's all about 4K, and the images we watched – sequences from a Barcelona footie match, with Neymar and Messi ripping through a hapless defence – looked clinically excellent.

Though we couldn't be sure if 4K Intelligent Frame Creation was switched on, the 4K footage looked clean and without any blur, which helped create a heady sense of realism. The domination of the green pitch didn't appear to cause the TX-85X940 many problems, with colours vibrant, natural and well judged, with heaps of shadow detail in black areas.

Put simply, the TX-85X940 produces an eye-popping picture performance that's ultra-smooth as well as ultra-big.

No 85-inch TV is going to become a best seller at your local electronics shop, so it could be argued that the TX-85X940 is more a headline-grabber than a bona fide product for the shops. However, such is the cutting-edge nature of this ultra-large Ultra HD 4Kk TV that we couldn't stay away from it at IFA 2014. With its pristine images with surprisingly good shadow detail, we're impressed by this future-proof monster screen despite its rather industrial look.

The TX-85X940 is out in October, though no pricing info has yet been made available.

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Hands-on review: Samsung Galaxy Note Edge

Now this is interesting. There were a trickle of rumours that Samsung was going to release a unique product into the smartphone market - something that would take advantage of the company's bendable OLED displays. And it has delivered with the Samsung Galaxy Note Edge.

The Note Edge is a beautiful looking device that has a screen that folds over one side of the handset, offering up myriad possibilities with what to do with this extra bit or real estate.

Well, I say extra - this is the same 5.7-inch screen that's seen on the Note but an inch of it drapes over the side, ready to take care of notifications so they don't get in the way of watching full-screen video and the like.

When I first picked up the Note Edge, I did notice a slight issue. The folded part of the screen was on the wrong side for me, because I am left handed.

This meant that this extra bit of screen was in the way of my palm. But Samsung has remedied this with making the screen completely flippable. So as long as you don't mind the home button being on the top of the screen, then this is a handset for south paws as much as right-handed folk.

The Samsung Galaxy Note Edge is fantastic in the hand. The added screen dimension makes it look and feel a lot more premium than its Note 4 bedfellow. It's definitely a handset that has wow factor, even if the added screen lip may be slightly lacking in uses at the moment.

Samsung has tried its best to make this section of the phone useable, by creating a host of OS strips that you can add to the lip of the screen. These include things like weather, Twitter, and news updates.

One great move Samsung has done is make the lip of the display work independent of the main screen.

So if the main screen is completely off, one swipe of the lip and you can see your notifications and updates. This would be a great thing in a meeting where you don't want to use your full device but want access to small updates,

The new screen design in my hands on simply meant that it was easier for me to access applications. Samsung also informed me that the panel will evolve, once more software partners are on board.

Another test I did to try out the innovative screen was watch a clip of a movie. As all of the controls went to the lip of the screen, the main part was completely free - the movie went completely to the edge and looked great.

The new screen is a great addition to the Note range. By this I mean that everything else bar the screen is identical to the Samsung Galaxy Note 4 in specs.

The screen does mean you get a 16:10 aspect ratio and Samsung did explain that the battery was a tad smaller (at 3,000) but everything else that is on the Note 4 is present and correct with the Samsung Galaxy Note Edge.

While you can read a little more in-depth about the new features in our hands on Samsung Galaxy S4 review, here's a number of things that I thought were standout.

The chassis now has a heartrate monitor, that was originally found on the Samsung Galaxy S5. This also acts as a trigger button for the camera when you want to do selfies.

The S Pen has also vastly improved with two extra pen styles: fountain and highlighter. You can do so much more with the S Pen too. One of the most interesting aspects is that you can now use it mouse like to take grabs from websites and set up your own clippings service.

You can also use the pen to shrink applications as you would a widget. This gives you better access to the homescreen and means you don't have to wade through a number of tabs.

Multi-tasking on the Note Edge has also been improved - with a multi window of tabs much easier to access.

The Samsung Galaxy Note edge is stunning-looking device that really tries to do something different. I worry that Samsung will keep the Edge strictly limited edition. I hope not because this is a handset that is great to use and looks fantastic. It really does give the Note line-up the edge over its rivals.

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Hands-on review: IFA 2014: Samsung Galaxy Note 4

Back in 2011, Samsung decided that bigger was better and launched the Samsung Galaxy Note range which came with a 5.3-inch screen. At the time, this screen was a massive talking point: many thought it was too large to be a phone, others thought it was too compact to be a tablet.

Skip three years and that 5.3-inch screen no longer looks out of place in the phone market. Given that the Samsung Galaxy S5 comes with a 5.1-inch screen, it's clear to see the line between what was once classed as a phablet and what is now expected as a phone has well and truly blurred.

While this hasn't stopped Samsung pushing out the size boat - the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 came equipped with a 5.7-inch screen - it seems Samsung has finally put on hold the size creep.

The Samsung Galaxy Note 4 comes with the same-sized 5.7-inch screen as the Note 3, with Samsung instead deciding to improve on the quality of the screen rather than its size.

The screen now boasts Quad HD Super AMOLED (2,560 x 1,440 resolution) technology that stretches to 500 pixels per inch. Couple this with what Samsung is calling an adaptive display - one that changes depending on the light of the place you are viewing the screen - and on paper you have the optimum viewing no matter what situation you are in.

To test the quality of the screen I watched a video that was shot in UHD on the device and it was stunning. Colours were vivid and detail popped out with the clarity you would expect from a 500ppi screen. Even zooming in there were no jagged edges and playback was smooth - no judder from the demo I viewed.

But the screen isn't the first thing that hits you when you get the Samsung Galaxy S4 in your hands, it's the build quality.

Samsung has definitely listened about its latest line-up feeling plastic-y in the hand and has decided to give the Note 4 more of a premium finish, with a metal rim surrounding the handset, shielding the rest of the chassis like a velvet rope protecting celebs from real people in a club.

I loved the way the Note 4 felt in the hand and being a regular user of the Note 3, it definitely felt different enough and lighter too, although exact weight specifications were not offered at the time of the hands on.

It's obvious but the Samsung Galaxy Note 4 does come equipped with some of the features that we saw on the S5.

The most notable is the heartrate monitor on the back (which also has a neat camera functionality I will explain shortly) and the back has been improved somewhat too, but is still a little too faux leather for my liking.

There is a lot of similarity between the Note 3 and its successor. In my hands-on session with the device I wasn't informed of the exact size specs but any difference between the two chassis is definitely negligible - although there did seem to be a little shaved off the height of the Note 4.

It's clear Samsung hasn't re-invented the Note range but refined it with clever software updates and slight tweaks here and there.

One of the most impressive is to do with the S Pen. It surprised me that the stylus (sorry Samsung, I know you hate that word) made a comeback with the Note range but four devices in and the S Pen finally makes a lot more sense.

For a start there are two new pen options: fountain and highlighter. Of these, fountain is the most interesting as it shows off how far the S Pen has come in terms of usability. Until now, using the S Pen has felt a lot like gliding a piece of plastic over a glass screen.

The "feel" of writing on paper just hasn't been there. With the Samsung Galaxy Note 4 this has changed.

The fountain pen works best when you sweep the S Pen across the screen as you would ink on paper and because of extra sensitivity (which has doubled) it is now a joy to write on the Note 4's screen. Signatures look like signatures and your handwriting actually really looks like your true handwriting.

I'm left handed and the S Pen was still a joy to use. Considering I have never been able to use a fountain pen in real life, because of smudging, it was great fun.

And the innovations don't end there. Now you can use the S Pen much like you would use a mouse. Click the button on the side of S Pen and you are in Smart Select mode, where you can highlight whole passages of text from a website, or even clip out sections of a site and put it into your own clippings archive.

Instead of being an added extra, the S Pen finally feels like a necessary part of the Note 4, rather than a "this is fun but I have no use for it" accessory.

Snap mode has also been improved on the Note 4. While you used to just be able to snap two separate services to the top and the bottom of the screen, you can now "resize" an app much like you would a widget.

So, if you are using the camera and want to send an image via text but stay in camera mode, a quick diagonal down swipe from the top right of the screen will shrink the camera function and show the rest of the phone screen for you. It's a nice feature that could replace using the left multi-tab hot key for many.

One other big improvement is with the camera. When it comes to megapixels it's gone from 13MP to 16MP but the innovations don't lie in the meaningless megapixel chase but also in the camera's f stop, which now clocks in at f1.9. In old money that means that the camera now lets in 60% more light and makes for better quality images.

You can also use the camera in unison with the S Pen. A new feature called Snap Note allows you to take a picture of a piece of paper (or whiteboard) and change what's in the picture.

Although I didn't try this out myself, the demo I was shown consisted of a piece of paper with a number of images and text on it.

A picture was taken of this, put through Snap Note and then the colour and size of the images could be changed, text could be deleted and the size of objects could be increased. It's a niche new feature but one that could come in useful in a creative environment.

The way you can take pictures has changed too. With the whole world going selfie mad, it was inevitable that Samsung (and plenty more manufacturers) would want to cash in on this. It has done it twofold with the Samsung Galaxy Note 4.

First there is a selfie panorama mode. Much like the panorama mode seen on the Note 3, where a picture is stitched from images taken from a pan of a scene, the same things happens in this mode - except it is in portrait and uses the front-facing camera.

Samsung is quoting 120 degrees spatial awareness and after having a go with it I am not going to argue about such a figure.

Samsung has also recognised that if you want to take a selfie, then it is a little difficult to get your thumb around to the front of the device to take the picture. So it has utilised its heartrate monitor functionality as a back trigger button.

One tap on this and your selfie is preserved. It's not a feature I will be using much but given the sudden popularity of taking pictures of your own face in different places it will be a feature that is used a lot.

Samsung's improved the Note 4's mic performance too. Voice recording is something that won't be used for all but the Note is a device built for business and this feature will be welcomed.

There are now three mics on the handset (two at the bottom and one on the top), these are used well when recording voices.

In a crowded room you can zoom into one voice and cut the rest out. This journalist is already salivating at the prospect of interviewing someone and playing back the interview without hearing his own voice. It's a clever feature but one that may be overlooked by many.

As for the speed of the device, it was fast. I managed to zip between apps and internet with no lag at all and it didn't break a sweat when loading up a movie. Again no specific processor was mentioned by Samsung, though the device we used had a category 6 LTE chip inside.

The Samsung Galaxy Note 4 is a premium-looking device that will be familiar to anyone who has used a Note. Don't expect huge changes here - you still get a ribbed plastic back, although it's more in keeping with the S5's style.

That was the phone that propelled Samsung into the AAA league of smartphone manufacturers and the Note 4 on first hands on feels like it will be a worth addition to the Note range.

When it comes to the all-important battery. Samsung has given the Note 4 the same battery as the Note 3 (3200mAh) but it has improved charging times. You can now charge 50% of the battery in just 30 minutes and it has the same ultra-power saving technology that was built into the S5.

It is big and it is clever: the Galaxy Note 4 looks to be Samsung's best Note yet, toning down the gimmick and adding real innovation to what is becoming one of the best phone ranges around.

The biggest relief is that the software changes are innovations rather than annoying bloatware. Samsung does have a habit of adding gimmickry to its handsets but the big changes here are actually beneficial to how you use the Note.

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Hands-on review: IFA 2014: Samsung Gear S

There's no doubting Samsung's intent to conquer the wearable market. In a very short time, the manufacturer has released more smartwatches than can safely fit on one wrist.

This scattershot approach to the market is no bad thing. It seems that Samsung is using its throwing its R&D weight around, testing all shapes and sizes to see which fit best with the general public. And that is where the Samsung Gear S comes in.

The Samsung Gear S is Samsung's effort at making a smartwatch that isn't a companion device to your mobile phone but one that stands alone.

It comes complete with its own SIM slot and also has GPS in built. It's essentially a phone on your wrist. But is that really what the public wants?

If it is what you want then you are going to have to put up with a fair amount of chunk. The design of the Samsung Gear S is certainly smart - the OLED screen slopes with the curvature of the wrist - but you have something that definitely doesn't sit flush on your wrist.

The Gear S is bulbous; wearing this device is a statement that you have joined the smartwatch revolution - it is a device that will definitely get you noticed. I wasn't enamoured with the strap, though. It felt that it was too thick for my wrist.

When it comes to software, Samsung has excelled itself in making things easy to use. As a current Gear Fit user, I usually find myself lost in myriad swipes but Samsung has used its Tizen OS to great effect here.

Swiping left will now bring you any notifications you may have, while a swipe from the homescreen to the right lets you see all the apps you are using.

The screen used on the Gear S is a thing of beauty. It's a 2-inch curved AMOLED display that has more than enough real estate for a smartwatch. The bigger screen does mean that Samsung's software partners can be a little more inventive with their apps.

We tried out one which was an RSS reader. We read news articles (complete with images) from a number of sites on the watch and there wasn't much squinting to see the words.

Each app has been given a better visual look as well. For example, when you head to contacts you get a small image of the face of the contact you are getting in touch with. It's these design flourishes that make you happy for the bigger screen.

When it comes to the homescreen, you have a choice of 'watch' themes which is all very normal but these themes have hotspots on them. One of the themes showed the weather, so I clicked on this icon was transported to more weather information.

From the homescreen I swiped up and also got a list of apps that were on the phone in one handy list.
Two of these apps that stood out were new Samsung partnerships and both make good use of the in-built GPS. The first was Nike+. This app is a perfect fitness match for the Gear S - although I wasn't able to try it out fully in my hands on.

The second is Samsung's link up with Nokia Here maps. This offers turn by turn navigations straight from the smartwatch. Every time you need to make a direction change the watch will buzz for you.

All of this should add up to a battery drain. Samsung does believe this isn't the case, however. I asked about battery and was quotes at least two days' charge. This really must depend on how much time you spend with the GPS on, though.

When it comes to the actual phone functionality on the watch, it didn't particularly standout. You can dial anyone from your contacts list and speak to them through the watch and you can also text them. This part will get easier with partnerships but trying to text on the device was very fiddly. Samsung's default keyboard looked tiny on the screen.

S Voice does work for texts as well though, so if you are clear enough you can send a text by speaking into the watch.

The Samsung Gear S feels like a device that yet again is something of a Litmus test for Samsung. No one really knows what people want from a smartwatch yet so Samsung has seemingly decided to add everything into this watch.

Because of this it is a chunky device, albeit one that certainly has a next-gen look about it. In short: if you are looking for a smartwatch that looks like a watch then the Gear S isn't for.

If you are one for making statements, then this is definitely one device to strap to your wrists.

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Hands-on review: IFA 2014: Samsung GearVR

VR hasn't quite hit the mainstream but with Facebook now owning Oculus and Sony busy refining Morpheus, the foundations are being set to make virtual reality a reality for all.

There were rumours that Samsung wanted to create its own headset and I must admit I was skeptical. With no real history in this area, creating something from scratch would bound to have caused problems.
Thankfully Samsung hasn't gone down this route.

Instead it has enlisted the help of Oculus (now part of the Facebook family) to create the Samsung GearVR.

The Samsung GearVR is not a standalone device. It does not come with its own screen, but is a headset shell that is packed with the stereoscopic lens goodness needed to make the VR work.

The key ingredient in unleashing the VR is the Samsung Galaxy Note 4. There is a compartment at the front of the device where the handset slips into.

It was pretty simple to connect the Note 4. I had to unclip the clear plastic 'goggle' on the front, then clip the Note 4 into place. In all it took around 30 seconds and was sturdy too. I didn't feel like the Note 4 would fall out of its little compartment, even with a little shake to make sure.

Once in, I clipped the clear screen over the Galaxy Note 4 and the device was ready for action.
There is a stretch clasp over the top of the device to hold the Gear VR into place and the whole thing is cushioned for comfort.

I did find it a little tight but you can slacken it slightly if you need to. You do want it to be strapped firmly to your head though. The joy of VR means you can look completely around yourself so it needs to take that sort of face movement.

Once on, it was very simple to use. The right hand side of GearVR is where the magic happens. There is a touch-sensitive panel that you use to control the VR. If you want to control volume, then that is on the left-hand side. The only other control was on the top.

There is a rocker that will increase or decrease the focus of the lenses. This is for people who wear glasses. Take the glasses off, fiddle with the rocker and you should get the right 'look'.

I was take through two demos with the GearVR and was on the whole impressed with what I saw. The first was a clip from Cirque De Soleil. Here I watched a scene packed with acrobats come to life.

I looked to my life and some of the cast were sitting watching the scene with me. It was filmed as if being on stage and you could really immerse yourself in the action.

A quick look behind and I saw an empty auditorium, a look back in front and acrobats were doing their thing. The action was clear, thanks to the clarity of the Note 4's QuadHD screen.

Next up things got a little more muddled. I played a game where I was in space and had to shoot a bunch of spaceships. To shoot you tapped the touch panel on the right-hand side of the screen. It was fun but forgettable. The game had a 'built for mobile' feel, so don't expect this powered by Oculus device to match Morpheus in terms of processing grunt.

But that's also a plus point for the GearVR. It is a VR device that is only tethered to a phone and not a console or PC. While this will inevitably mean the games won't be the greatest out there, it does have portability potential to its advantage.

The Samsung GearVR is better than I had expected it to be. We have used phone-based VR in the past but this feels superior and built better. This isn't a gimmick like Google Cardboard, it's a fun add on for the Note 4.

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