iPHONE 6 AND 6 PLUS CONTINUE TO GET CEXD UP SYNAPSE CIRCUIT

SYNAPSE CIRCUIT
iPHONE 6 & 6 PLUS CONTINUE TO GET CEX’D UP!

Goodhour, Synapse Circuit Readers! I hope you are well and dandy! I also hope that all is going well with your tech! Thank you so much for reading the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge review! It’s a happening handset to say the least!

It seems like more and more iPhone users are trading in their 6 and 6 Plus handsets at rapid rate since the Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge were released in the UK market 11 days ago! Coincidence? I think not!

#iPhone6Trade-in #iphone6PlusTrade-in #Samsung #GalaxyS6Edge #TheNextGalaxy #UnpackedEpisodeOne2015 #GalaxyS6 #GalaxySEdge #GalaxyS6Accessories #GalaxyS6EdgeAccessories #GalaxyS6BatteryPack #GalaxyS6EdgeBatteryPack

THE MEDICINE SHOW
That’s what any Apple product launch reminds me of... ...the old fashioned American Medicine travelling show! “Roll up! Roll up! Come and get your health elixir!” the Ringmaster takes a fist full of money from the crowd and he hands out bottles containing a mixture of children’s cough medicine and homemade cola! But the audience won’t have figured it out until they’ve gotten home. That’s a great analogy for many Apple products: iPod, iPhone, iPad, Macbook Air (with one single port) and the $1 million dollar Apple Watch!

Apple had a lot of people fooled with the way it looked down at the competition and talking up a good fight! It seems like the hypnosis is wearing off...

iPHENOMENON
I am continuing to observe the phenomenon of the latest iPhone 6 and 6 Plus handsets turning up into computer exchange shops across London. I’ve also noticed a whole load of iPhone 5C handsets all of a sudden! It’s quite startling! And to think that Apple has an Android trade-in offer to anyone crossgrading to an iPhone....

TRENDY CAMDEN TOWN & CENTRAL LONDON,
18 APRIL 2015
You may or may not know that I like to unwind at the weekends by jumping on a bus and walking around Central London. I also love to take photos with my handsets. And I also love shopping around in computer exchange shops for all manner of things: DVDs, Blurays, musical equipment and so on. Last year, shortly after the iPhone 6 / 6 Plus came out I noticed that many were on sale in these shops and I started to document it in pictures.

On the 18 April I took some pictures in the computer exchange shops in Camden Town and Central London.









Thank you so much for reading Synapse Circuit!

Expect more reviews, news, opinions, competitions and more from Synapse Circuit! 

GALAXY S6 EDGE REVIEW PART TWO SYNAPSE CIRCUIT

SYNAPSE CIRCUIT
GALAXY S6 EDGE REVIEW
PART TWO

Goodhour, Synapse Circuit Readers! It’s great to see you as always! I hope that you are well and enjoying the wonderful spring weather! How are your tech projects coming along? Let me know! I am knocking around on G+ and you can let me know what you are doing!

I am going to continue with the Synapse Circuit penultimate definitive Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge review! Synapse Circuit tells it like it is! Get comfortable... Get a hot or cold beverage and a healthy snack... Okay, get an unhealthy one if you like! Lol!

#Samsung #GalaxyS6Edge #TheNextGalaxy #UnpackedEpisodeOne2015 #GalaxyS6 #GalaxySEdge #GalaxyS6Accessories #GalaxyS6EdgeAccessories #GalaxyS6BatteryPack #GalaxyS6EdgeBatteryPack

PART ONE: AFTERTHOUGHT


I have decided to uninstall the Nova launcher and give TouchWiz on the Galaxy S6 Edge a chance... I feel that I may be too dismissive even though the source of frustration is the immovable Flipboard homepage, not being able to add apps to a folder from within the folder and that there is no infinite scrolling of the homepages. I want to test S Voice as a way of interfacing with the handset. I still don’t like the TouchWiz keyboard! I forgot to mention that the folders can be assigned five different colours: green, orange, lime green and grey; it would have been even better if we could add our own through tapping the palette icon which hides the colour choices.

My wish for TouchWiz on the Galaxy S6 Edge / S6 is that it gets updated to be the same as what is currently on the Galaxy Note 4!

GALAXY APP STORE


Above: The mobile DAW with great potential, Soundcamp. It's available on the Galaxy S6 Edge / S6.

As well as being able to download applications that you may have missed from previous TouchWiz versions such as S Translate, S Note and camera modes you will find apps for the edge screen that can let you know who’s calling, RSS feeds and a specific news feed for a German newspaper / magazine. You will be pleased to know – if you are musically inclined – that you can download the Soundcamp digital audio workstation to compose music! You can also download the Samsung Video Editor application along with some themes for Party, Action, Family and others. Although the Galaxy App store has specific Galaxy based apps the store is populated with general apps that can be had in the Google Play Store. Again, I would prefer the Galaxy App store to just feature apps developed by Samsung or in conjunction with to avoid unnecessary app duplication. I’d rather have 100 new apps from the Galaxy App Store than all these duplicates. It makes me wonder what is happening with Tizen as I would have thought that Samsung would be busy with the Tizen operating system and building up the applications that can either be compatible with Galaxy handsets or made available on the Google Play Store. Hmmmm...

SNAPPY
Personally I would never associate the world “slow” with a Samsung flagship and the 64-bit Exynos system on a chip is extremely fast! It didn’t come as a surprise that Samsung used its own processor over the Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 chip; if anything I wondered why it took them so long considering Samsung makes chips for a number of manufacturers including Apple. It is said that Samsung will manufacture the Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 chip!

For those who aren't into tech, the advantage of the Samsung 64-bit Exynos chip over the Snapdragon 810 is that it is 6 nanometers (nm); the Snapdragon 810 manufactured in 20nm to the Exynos 7420 14nm. The smaller the nanometer number the more battery efficient and faster the chip is. Apparently! This is what I have understood as the reason why Samsung has bypassed the Snapdragon 810 chip. I have been reading that handsets using the Snapdragon 810 tend to overheat. I want to get my hands on one of those handsets asap! Also Samsung has obviously perfected the art of the SoC (system on a chip) for mobile device beyond its competitors. This is why I pick Samsung above anything else for myself but I would happily tell you about other handsets – good, bad and in-between!

I did find that the Galaxy S6 Edge got quite warm when downloading Google app updates and YouTube videos. But I will have to write up the test with everyday usage and then some! I prefer to take my time and do the review in what I feel is the right way to go about it.

ON EDGE
To be honest the dual edge screen does seem more cosmetic than useful – at least in my reckoning. Sure, I can assign 5 contacts to 5 different colours on either side of the edges so that when the handset is faced down I can see who’s calling me as the screen lights up in the colour associated with a contact. There’s also a simple 7 hour clock that can be activated by rubbing the edge of the screen, plus you can get weather information too. And as mentioned earlier you can download specific edge screen apps to see who is calling and to receive new feeds. Yet the protective case defeats the purpose – unless you purposely leave the flip open! Well, what are the chances of an object dropping on the Gorilla Glass 4 screen on the bedside cabinet? If you are like me you’d get the Galaxy S6 Edge because it looks different – futuristic. I am sure that developers will make more use of the edges. I am actually quite happy with what the edge part of the display can do. It would have been a boon if the Samsung cases had cut outs for the edges. Hmmmm... That’s a bit of a design headache... But that’s what 3D printers are for!

I do feel that the dual edge screen is an innovation; it fulfils the purpose of quick information when you need it without having to unlock the handset.

BATTERY OBSERVATIONS
I have yet to give the battery a good testing but while I have been testing the user interface / functionality the battery goes a long, long way before showing signs of depletion. In fact at the end of test period I would have over 50% battery left after a couple of days so I am really looking forward to taking the Galaxy S6 Edge out on the road and push usage beyond how I would typically use a main driver.

STANDBY FOR PART THREE – THE FINAL PART OF THE DEFINITIVE PENULTIMATE SYNAPSE CIRCUIT SAMSUNG GALAXY S6 EDGE REVIEW

In the third and final instalment I will be looking at media consumption and the camera. I figure it would make more sense to break up the review in parts than to give you the whole review at once! I would like to think that I am thorough (as I can be)!

SAMSUNG HAS THE EDGE
My observations thus so far with regards to the smartphone marketplace is that the Galaxy S6 Edge / S6 have really captured the market in an unprecedented fashion. I can see that many former iPhone users have traded in the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus models and continue to do so at a never before seen rapid rate. Earlier on today a friend from Denmark informs me that she has the upgraded to the Galaxy S6 instead of going for her usual “premium” iPhone. I was taken aback as she was a staunch iPhone user! Wow!




Above: The iPhone 6 and 6 Plus trade-ins continues to rise. Former iPhone users are trading in their iPhones for the Samsung Galaxy S6, S6 Edge and other flagship Android handsets. The pictures were taken at various computer exchange shops around Central London over the weekend. 

As I stated in part one of this review: Samsung have created a new standard of “premium” that makes these new Galaxy S models very, very desirable.

Previous Galaxy S handsets had everything but this “premium” look and feel. Unlike HTC, Samsung have always managed to combine a decent build, design, powerful components inside and a decent camera! While HTC got all heavy metal with the One M7 – 9 there are still issues with the camera. Can Samsung keep its crown for the best camera on a premium handset with the Galaxy S6 Edge? You will find out in the next  and final instalment...

Thank you so much for reading Synapse Circuit!

Expect more reviews, news, opinions, competitions and more from Synapse Circuit!

Please check out the Synapse Circuit site here: SynapseCircuit.com

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GALAXY S6 EDGE REVIEW PART ONE SYNAPSE CIRCUIT

SYNAPSE CIRCUIT
GALAXY S6 EDGE REVIEW
PART ONE

Goodhour, Synapse Circuit Readers! It is wonderful to see you as always! I hope you had a great weekend! I sure did! I also hope that you’re making the most of your tech! Just the other day I showed someone that she is able to dictate a text message or perform word processing in the Microsoft Word equivalent, Google Docs. I just love it when people can be amazed in this day and age!

Yes, at last I am ready to give you the penultimate Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge review! Synapse Circuit tells it like it is! Get comfortable... Get a hot or cold beverage and a healthy snack... Okay, get an unhealthy one if you like! Lol!

#Samsung #GalaxyS6Edge #TheNextGalaxy #UnpackedEpisodeOne2015 #GalaxyS6 #GalaxySEdge #GalaxyS6Accessories #GalaxyS6EdgeAccessories #GalaxyS6BatteryPack #GalaxyS6EdgeBatteryPack

FUTURISTIC
What can Synapse Circuit say about the Galaxy S6 Edge that hasn’t been said already? Even I struggle to not repeat myself! Out of the Galaxy S6 and the S6 Edge I chose the latter as the aesthetics is very, very pleasing over and above anything else on the market (at this time). As a huge science fiction fan I can’t help but be infatuated with the forward thinking design; the dual edged QHD screen resemble a jewel set in an otherworldly looking Gold / Platinum compound. The Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge is the future today!



DESIGN
While I cannot see the resemblance between the Galaxy S6 and the iPhone 6 that some are claiming – apart from the speaker and headphone jack placement – nobody can claim that the Galaxy S6 Edge looks like an iPhone when placed side by side. The Galaxy S6 Edge is perfection! Samsung did a tremendous job to bring the Galaxy S line in from the brink... I always had faith! Almost this time last year the rather bland but wonderfully featured Galaxy S5 didn’t please everyone with the dimpled removable battery cover. Typically the Apple biased media, as well as some Android based sources, criticized Samsung heavily for the use of plastic on a premium phone. This time around Samsung has decided to offload...

Again, I am probably one of the few who appreciates a premium handset wrapped up in a durable plastic as these things have a habit of slipping when you least suspect them to. I’ve been lucky with my handsets that still look like they did when they came out of the box; other folk haven’t been so lucky... I’ve seen terrible looking iPhones with cracked glass, scratched and dented metal. And I’ve seen an array of different Samsung handsets with a cracked screen. I am amazed that these things can still function in those states. For all my epic online battles with iPhone fanatics regarding a sense of “premium” I can understand in some way why these people wax maniacal about the iPhone looking like a luxury item to justify the expense.



Well, Samsung have managed to make the Galaxy S6 Edge (and the Galaxy S6) look and feel premium to the point where the iPhone just looks like a toy! The engineering is so precise that you will find yourself marvelling at it for hours... I couldn’t find any imperfections at all! The Galaxy S6 Edge simply looks amazing! It looks like it was created by beings far in advance than us!

The 5.1” Super AMOLED QHD 1440 x 2560, 577 ppi screen is truly stunning! The colours displayed are rich and vibrant. The default setting is the ‘Adaptive Display’ which works very well thus so far. In addition there is AMOLED Cinema, Photo and Basic.

Because the handset is so remarkably thin, 7.1mm, that the headphone jack and speaker had to be placed at the bottom edge. I can’t say that I have a problem with that. It’s no big deal to place the Galaxy S6 Edge upside down to make use of headphones as the wire could bend and crack over time.

The dual colour scheme (in this case Gold Platinum) looks stunning! Usually I would avoid anything gold as it looks wrong... Too ostentatious! Here the gold / platinum combination looks out of this world!

I am not bothered about the 2600 mAh battery being non-removable or that I can’t stick a microSD card in it. Well, to be absolutely honest with you (that’s always the way of Synapse Circuit) I think if a dual SIM Galaxy S6 Edge (and Galaxy S6) can exist then there is room for a microSD card. That said, having no external storage by the way of a microSD is not a deal breaker. In case you are reading my work for the first time here are my solutions to the non-removable battery and no microSD: GalaxyS6 Edge / Galaxy S6 Solutions

CAN YOU HANDLE IT?
Because of the dual edged screen the fact that the aluminium frame is sandwiched by Gorilla Glass 4 I found the Galaxy S6 Edge a very slippery customer indeed... In addition the 16MP camera lens juts out a little so that you feel wary about placing it on flat surface in case you scratch the protective glass over the lens. You may also feel uncomfortable placing the Galaxy S6 Edge face down for the fear of scratching the sumptuous screen. I am sure by now that you have seen that the Galaxy S6 Edge can withstand a tremendous amount of punishment i.e. water resistance and a serious amount of bashing but we know all too well that a screen can crack from an impact resulting from a drop at random. You or I could be the unlucky one should a drop occur. Therefore a protective case is inevitable. The simple Samsung flip case that retails at £24.99 is a very good solution and it takes care of the 16MP camera lens protrusion. You could probably get away with not having a protective case for the Galaxy S6 but I don’t think you can with the Galaxy S6 Edge – it’s too slippery! The obvious downside is that the flip case obscures the beauty of the handset. Many iPhone users do not want a protective case for that very same reason; iPhone owners feel that they have to show the phone off. I don’t know about you but I don’t get a handset for the purpose of showing off; the flip case adds great stability when taking photos for example. I would rather have the protection than to walk around with a badly damaged handset. Perhaps Samsung could have made the protective case transparent... Still, there is a debatable better looking case with a window that might suit you better. It will cost you £39.99. The windowed flip case enables you to accept a call without opening it. I have a similar case for the Galaxy Note 4.

Usually Samsung handsets are so minimalist that a protective case goes hand in glove so to speak; you don’t feel that you’re taking away from the aesthetics. However, where the Galaxy S6 Edge is concerned you might feel that hiding its beauty defeats the purpose. As the case adds real protection to the 16MP camera and something to hold on to – again, while taking photos / videos – you will almost certainly have to get a case. Me? I have big hands and the case gives me something that I can hold on to without obscuring the screen and speaker grille at the bottom. I can hold it easier with one hand and therefore it can’t be knocked out of my hands when a passerby accidentally bumps into me. Just in case you didn’t get the underlying message: If you are clumsy and you intend on getting the Galaxy S6 Edge you should invest in a protective case.

DESIGN CRITIQUE
There isn’t really that much to criticize Samsung for with regards to the Galaxy S6 Edge design... For my large hands the handset could have done with being thicker. Perhaps a thicker handset could allow for a bigger battery (not that longevity is an issue so far) and certainly a microSD card slot. Us Androids love our microSD card slot whether we make the most of it or not it’s good to know it’s there should we need it. So far storage is not an issue as there is over 51GB of storage left on the 64GB model. I will no doubt use Google Drive, DropBox and Microsoft OneDrive for cloud storage in addition to USB On-The-Go sticks in due course.

It would have been nice to have had stereo speakers at the bottom to push air when making music for example. But stereo speakers aren’t everything if you have a decent Bluetooth speaker set-up or are intent on getting one.

DESIGN SCORE
Samsung has definitely pulled out all the stops with the Galaxy S6 Edge especially! This is the handset that we were more or less expecting last year and it didn't happen. From the Consumer Electronics Show in 2013 we were expecting the single or dual edge Galaxy S5; for reasons best known to Samsung they decided to go “back to basics”. I could hazard a guess as to why but why look back when we’ve got the superlative Galaxy S6 Edge?

Yes, I have to say it again: Apple cannot bring such great designs and execution to the market. If you happen to be an iPhone fan I would not advise you to handle the Galaxy S6 Edge or Galaxy S6 as you’d want to ditch your iPhone 6 as it doesn’t even have a full 1080p screen! You might also want to ditch your iPhone 6 Plus because it doesn’t make sense to pay over the odds for such a “phablet” that gives you so little... “Hey, look! Landscape mode,” says Apple’s Peter Schiller with great enthusiasm regarding the 6 Plus. Android has had that from how long ago???

Honestly, when you look at the Galaxy S6 Edge and the iPhone you will realize that Jony Ive isn’t the designer he and Apple make out to be. The Galaxy S6 Edge should have come from Ive! The latest iPhone models just look bland in comparison. If you as a iPhone user bleat on about “premium” then I can say that Samsung has created a higher standard of premium for both the Galaxy S6 Edge and Galaxy S6.

The Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge scores a Synapse Circuit Platinum for the design


EMPOWERING?
Apart from feeling great about the exquisite dual edged screen design, the dazzling Gold Platinum glow and, of course, the awe inspiring 577 ppi quad HD screen, what’s it like upon booting up?

FEELING TOUCHY
No sooner had I boot up the Galaxy S6 Edge and set-up my Samsung and Google accounts I get a notification to say that an upgrade is available. I downloaded the upgrade which takes Android 5 Lollipop to 5.0.2; this is supposed to add more stability. As I didn’t take the time to try the handset without the update I can say that the overall usability is solid. Then later on there was a Samsung Push Service update and this is said to increase battery longevity. So far so good where the battery is concerned at this point in the review... Don’t worry, I will push it!

Once the Galaxy S6 Edge settled in terms of its updates I could then get to grips with the “streamlined” TouchWiz interface... Here’s what I think...

TouchWiz as it stands on the Galaxy S6 Edge and I presume Galaxy S6 is a bit of a disappointment to me. Why? I am so glad you asked! For a start it is not the same as it is on the Galaxy Note 4; by now I would have installed the Nova launcher on it if not for the fact that can scroll the homescreens indefinitely. For example, I have the Google Play Store widget on the homescreen and to get to it is a matter of scrolling to the right and it is there. On the Galaxy S6 Edge I can’t scroll infinitely. I presume that the reason why I can’t scroll infinitely is because of the Flipboard news feed. On the Galaxy Note 4 I could get rid of that homescreen containing the Flipboard feed but here on the Galaxy S6 Edge I cannot! That makes me angry as I believe that I should have the ability to set-up my phone as a want it. The Flipboard application has a widget and if I want to get the latest news it’s a click away! And it is the same with the Pulse app regarding news feeds. I would imagine that Samsung have borrowed from the HTC Sense Blinkfeed idea and it would have been great if it was left to the user to keep the Flipboard homescreen or to get rid of it.



Above: The Flipboard homescreen. Samsung, if you are reading, can you please allow users to remove the Flipboard news feed. 

At last the TouchWiz overlay can create folders by dragging the icon of an application onto another however once a folder is created you can’t populate it with apps from within the folder. Therefore organizing your apps can be a laborious chore. App widgets can be resized to an extent; it’s not 100% brilliant as the resizing is limited.

Another source of frustration is that the default apps can’t be uninstalled but disabled. Let’s say I didn’t want anything to do with Microsoft for whatever reason and I wanted to uninstall the default apps OneDrive, OneNote and Skype, I would have to root the handset to remove them completely. When the free 100GB storage with OneDrive expires how much is it going to cost me to keep it?

What I consider to be the good stuff of TouchWiz has been removed – the Air Gestures! I don’t blame Samsung for this... Uh-uh! I blame it on some of these so called central Android authorities that do not seem to understand that things like Air Gestures and Smart Gestures can be turned off when they are not needed; I had to say this again as I am left wondering as to what these Android review sources are on about of late (you may understand why further down the line)...

I don’t think that Air and Smart Gestures were responsible for causing the interface to lag. To be honest I can’t pinpoint where the lag on TouchWiz is coming from (in previous iterations). I have Air and Smart Gestures on my Galaxy S4 and there is no lag to speak of. But of course I use the Nova launcher instead of TouchWiz; it could be that I have ruled out the Air & Smart Gestures as the cause of lag. There must be another reason why TouchWiz has proven to be “laggy” in the past. So far the TouchWiz interface runs very, very smoothly and without any lag thus so far!

There are some Samsung apps that you can download if you feel the need to such as the S Note and S Translate; you have them already in the form of Google Keep and Translate. It’s good that Samsung has given the user to download these applications. It’s a bit of a shame that many of the default apps can’t be uninstalled.

S Voice is a default so you can control the Galaxy S6 Edge like you do with Google Now as an alternative. I would be so useful if Google, Samsung or any other developer could allow the user to trigger Google Now with anything other than “OK, Google” as it is a pain in the ass if you have more than one Android phone. I am curious about Cortana from Microsoft. Samsung should be developing its own virtual assistant for the future. What I like about S Voice is that I can trigger it with my own voice command to wake it. It works very well with short phrase like “Hi Galaxy” but you have to use TouchWiz in order to use it! It doesn’t with any other launcher as far as I am aware! What a shame! There again you could issue commands to S Voice rather than scroll homescreens... Hmmm...

I think I have covered just about everything in the software section... Ah! The fingerprint scanner! I guess it’s a combination of software and hardware but the fingerprint scanner works very, very well. The one small difference between the new Galaxy S6 Edge / S6 fingerprint scanner in comparison to the iPhone is that the iPhone home button is round and concave in the middle thus allowing for the fingerprint to fit into it. I found that the fingerprint scanner on the Galaxy S6 Edge takes a bit of getting to know how to place your finger / thumb to get an instant read to unlock. You can also set the fingerprint scanner to sign into web pages and to verify your Samsung account. I like that! You can add more fingerprints in case you want to set someone else up to have access to the Galaxy S6 Edge / S6. I wouldn't want to do that! Uh-uh! Lol!

Ah! Another thing! I found that there weren't many wallpapers to be had and I assume that this is because of the TouchWiz ability to download themes to change icons, etc.

Finally... The two rapid tap of the “Home” button launches the camera in an instant! Yay!

False alarm! Finally, I found the default keyboard to be OK but not as good as the Google Keyboard.

TOUCHWIZ SCORE
TouchWiz could have been so much more this time around... I have to wonder if Samsung ever looks at the various launchers out there. I can tell you that many users don’t even know what a launcher is as they tend not to venture outside the social networking and free voice / video calling and messaging apps to go to town with customization. I think before Samsung goes to creating themes for TouchWiz it should take a closer look at the popular launchers.

I’ve had to download Nova already as I have found this TouchWiz to be frustrating.

TouchWiz Galaxy S6 Edge scores a Synapse Circuit Silver


UNBOXING THE SAMSUNG
GALAXY S6 EDGE...
For those of you that get off on unboxings... There you go!



THE PENULTIMATE SYNAPSE CIRCUIT SAMSUNG GALAXY S6 EDGE REVIEW PART TWO IS COMING SOON...

I will cover the edge screen in part two as well as many other items! Stay tuned...

Thank you so much for reading Synapse Circuit!

Expect more reviews, news, opinions, competitions and more from Synapse Circuit! 

EE PROS and CONS SYNAPSE CIRCUIT

 

Above: The Hammersmith Broadway Shopping Centre where you will find EE and an assortment of other carriers / networks offering various deals. Buyer beware...

SYNAPSE CIRCUIT
FREE POWEER STICK
vs.
UNWANTED HARD SELL STINK
Goodhour, Synapse Circuit Readers. How’s it going? I hope you have been enjoying the first real signs of spring! It has been gorgeous these last few days! I am back from a short break and feeling much, much better for it! I also hope that your tech projects are going well and that your tech is behaving as it should!

Welcome to Synapse Circuit Consumer Care! In the doghouse is... EE!

#EE #FreePowerStick #Upgrade #Upgrading #HardSell

AND NOW FOR SOME GOOD NEWS...

FREE POWEER STICK FOR EE CUSTOMEERS: YAY!
Earlier, on the 16^th April 2015, my Lovely Friend (she shall remain nameless) and I went to an EE store based in Hammersmith in Central London purely by chance. As always I was curious to find out what’s new in the mobile device retail outlets. My Lovely Friend (as I call her because she is lovely) also happens to be an EE customer as far back when it was known as Orange. Anyway, she is due an upgrade this month and we took the opportunity to find out what deals were available to a long term customer that my Lovely Friend is! She’s a very loyal customer! But before we get to the upgrade...

Did you know that EE are giving away free Power Bars (okay, you got me... I renamed it “stick” for a catchy title...) to EE customers! Fortunately, my Lovely Friend qualified for this wonderful 2600 mAh battery charging power bar! Wunderbar! It was remarkably easy to get this EE Power Bar! Apparently, when it becomes defunct EE will give its customers a new one! Cool! Gee... I wonder if this will catch on to other UK carriers / networks... We live in hope!



From there my Lovely Friend enquired about her upgrade and things started to go askew... Read on!

HARD CELL:
THE STENCH OF DESPERATION...
Despite what this coalition government here in the UK says we are still in a recession of sorts... The situation is that UK families are relying upon food banks or face not being able to eat! Gosh! Golly! So, when you enter most shops these days you can cut the stench of desperation with a knife! The shop assistants – depending on the time of day – can look at you as though you are food; these people are hungry for a sale commission and they will pounce!

“Orange was 3G and EE is 4G and therefore you have a faster Internet connection...”

The shop assistant that sorted the Power Bar had the personality of a cardboard cut out. Oh, she was faking it! But she couldn’t fool me! The immaculately made-up “Essex Girl” type perked up when she heard “upgrade”! She was off (like a rocket)!

“Oh, I can see that you are paying a lot for your phone and I can reduce that cost for you today!” Wow! What’s on offer??? I was very enthusiastic to see what kind of deal my Lovely Friend could get – especially as a long term customer!

“What kind of handset are you after?”

“The Samsung Galaxy Note 4.”

“Okay... We do the Galaxy Note 4 for £48.49 and this includes:-

4 GB data
Unlimited text messages
Unlimited minutes
24 month plan

There’s an upfront cost of £69.99 but you don’t have to pay that today as it comes off in your next bill...”

“Ummm... Is that the best you can do? I was hoping for more Internet for that kind of monthly cost...”

“Oh, alright... How about the Samsung Galaxy A5? It’s just come out recently!”

“Ummm... I don’t know...”

I have to say that my Lovely Friend is not clued up about the market and had I not been there she would have probably gone for the Galaxy A5 because the sales assistant (sic) was really a confidence trickster. She was a smooth operator, I give her that, but she was bloody awful! She didn’t find out why my Lovely Friend was very specific about the Samsung Galaxy Note 4 and to offer the Galaxy A5 was a dumb move... But anything to make that cash register go “cher-ching” albeit virtual. My Lovely Friend has Parkinson’s and she finds that having a large screen on the Galaxy Note 2 very useful for composing and receiving text messages, viewing websites, videos, etc. The 5” Galaxy A5 would literally cramp her style. I was really angry with the sales assistant and held myself back from giving her a piece of my mind. She continued...

“Orange was 3G and EE is 4G and therefore you have a faster Internet connection...”

Can you believe that nonsense above??? Jesus wept! That is disgusting! My Lovely Friend has the 4G LTE version of the Galaxy Note 2 and when Orange switched to EE and the 4G transmitter my Lovely Friend would have reaped the benefits automatically. I know the sales assistant was desperate but how she went about her business was diabolical and disgustingly offensive! There was no attempt at ascertaining her needs whatsoever just as long as she (my Lovely Friend) made a commitment then and there to renew her contract with EE.

It’s because of such appalling sales assistants that one day we will be dealing with androids (a humanoid robot not to be confused with the Android operating system for mobile devices) – if the brick and mortar retail outlets aren’t superseded by virtual ones. I have to confess to enjoying being able to look at and play around with the demonstration models when it comes to gear! I do think that an android could replace these crap sales people quite easily!

RESEARCH
I can’t impress upon you more than to encourage you to do your research! Before I wax on you should realize that I am talking to those who feel intimidated by these pushy barely out of diapers sales people. They turn on the charm and try to make it look as though they are doing you a massive favour... Oooh, that little intake of breath to let you know that you could be making a mistake you might come to regret further down the line... Take home that new toy today! The EE assistant tried to offer yet another handset that comes with a “free” tablet which meant 2GB on the phone and 2GB on the tablet thus completely ignoring the request for more Internet data. Super-stupid!

For some reason many women of varying ages and mature men con themselves into thinking that all this tech-stuff is beyond their understanding and it is not! Forgive my well intentioned sexism here but if a woman can discern the best washing machine then she can do the same for mobile handsets and packages (monthly costs). I have women friends who are loyal to a particular brand of washing machine through trial / error and research; it's the same process! And it is the same with mature men... It’s like figuring out what kind of barbeque or garden shed to buy - whatever mature men are into these days.

ADVICE
First of all understand that you can, with a bit of patience, figure stuff out for yourself. Take your time!

1. When you want a new handset through upgrading or purchasing outright don’t be afraid of these shop assistants – for the want of a better word... In fact you should see them as confidence tricksters. I know... It is rather sad but that’s what many retail outlets have boiled down to. NEVER let a shop assistant push you around. Push them around! Make them earn their wages! If you are not sure don’t commit until you are sure that you are getting the best deal.

2. When your contract is up, for example, don’t feel intimidated to ask for good deal for your loyalty. Don’t go into a retail outlet with a view to renew your contract; instead you should go to try out handsets on display to get a feel for them. It is important to call customer services of your network to find out what they are willing to do for your continual custom. It is rare but possible that you might get deal through management discretion – it may not happen! At least you tried.

3. Don’t feel you have to stay with the carrier / network. If you can’t get the deal you want then cancel the contract! From your research you will have discerned much better deals! When you cancel the contract make sure that you do this on the phone with customer services. In my salad days I went into a Virgin Mobile store to get a new phone and to cancel the previous contract as I upped the data, voice minutes and texts. The assistant told me that he had cancelled but I learned that this was not the case! Cancel over the phone with customer services and do so before you get money removed from your account!

4. Beware of “free gifts” that come with cheap handsets. You may be offered a “free tablet” for taking out a low budget phone. Very, very rarely does the consumer get good freebies with high-end handsets such as the Samsung Galaxy Note 4, the latest Galaxy S6 & S6 Edge, and the latest HTC One M9 and so on.

Many sales assistants think that you are stupid and will offer you something like the Galaxy Ace 4 with a 2GB data plan for about £26 (on average per month) and sweeten it with a cheap Android tablet for around £10 - £15 (2GB data plan) to make it sound like you’re getting the tablet for free. Essentially what the sales assistant has done is the “Two for the price of One” trick. The Galaxy Ace 4 won’t be anywhere near as powerful as the Galaxy Note 4 and the other high-end handsets mentioned above. Sales assistants will try to bamboozle you to think that you’re getting a bargain when you are not! You think, “Oh, great! I get a tablet too!” Once you get used to using your phone you will notice that it doesn’t store many apps, it’s not as fast like your friends Galaxy S6 or LG Flex 2 for example, the picture quality is crap (in comparison to other handsets) and that the microSD card (if you purchased one) isn’t meant to store and run apps on. Be careful!

5. When in doubt ask! Yes, even the sales assistants! Push them! Ask them what the differences are between the handsets you are offered. Read the Synapse Circuit reviews as I don’t mess around; I am not beholden to any sponsor that I have to misinform you. I will tell it to you straight! Send me an email and I will do my best to answer your query.

6. Think about your needs and be prepared to go a step or two further as the technology becomes even faster and more powerful. Do you want a strong camera? Do you want to be productive on the go i.e. do some word processing, spreadsheets, slide presentations, etc? A good sales assistant should give you the information you need to help you decide. I have noticed that when consumers come into a retail outlet without much of a clue the sales assistant will push just about anything your way. I did point out that the sales assistant at EE went from a high-end premium handset that is the Samsung Galaxy Note 4 to a mid-high Galaxy A5 without attempting to find out what my Lovely Friend needs are. My Lovely Friend loves photography and I am quite sure that she would have preferred the 16MP camera with optical image stabilization for sharper pictures – especially in low lighting conditions.

ENDGAME
It is a great shame that such sales assistants exist but they are there to assist money coming into the tills at the end of the day by hook or by crook (“crook” being the operative word). It’s only when you show that you have some knowledge will they attempt to be attentive to your needs. But there again, when you know what you want through conducting your own research then it’s a matter of them taking your money.

You would be surprised at how little the sales assistants know about the products. When I upgrade I tend to do so over the phone as I know what I want and I always push for the best deal possible. As you know I love to do some mystery shopping occasionally in order to let you know the pitfalls if you aren’t very experienced. I do like to test the knowledge of the staff. Sometimes it is amusing and sometimes I am left exasperated.

TIP
If you are going to pay over £40 for a contract you should be getting unlimited Internet data as part of the plan as well as unlimited voice minutes! I find that EE prices are crap! £48.49 for 4GB of data???? C’mon, they’ve gotta be kiddin’ right?! So far I think that Three offer the best deals on premium top handsets for roughly the same price or less – dependent on the handset! When you have a 4G connection you want to make the most of it whether you’re watching video, making calls via those free video, voice and messaging apps (WhatsApp, Viber and LINE to name a few), surf the Net and so on. You don’t want to worry about going over your data plan and sometimes resulting in a higher bill. What’s the point? What’s the point in having one of the best phones that money can buy and you can’t use it to the max???

That’s something to think about! Hey, you should have seen that sales assistant's face when I told her, "It's okay... We'll think about it..." She knows we're never going to upgrade through EE but in desperation she gave us her name and number just in case... I dunno... <shakes head and laughs>

Shop wisely! We are still Queen and King!

THANKS FOR READING...

Please check out the Synapse Circuit site here: Synapse Circuit.com

STANDBY FOR REVIEWS & COMPETITIONS... COMING SOON...

SAMSUNG GALAXY S6 EDGE NEWS SYNAPSE CIRCUIT

You don't want to see another unboxing, do you?

SYNAPSE CIRCUIT
NEWS

CUTTING S6 EDGE
#Samsung #GalaxyS6Edge #GalaxyS6

Goodhour, Synapse Circuit Readers! It's great to see you as always! It's a wonderful sunny afternoon in London, UK! I wish I could treat you to homemade lemonade on the rocks!

Have you made your choice? I certainly have - just like I said I would!

NO CONTEST
Yes, I pretty much knew what my next upgrade would be. That's right, I've got my Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge today on the official launch date, 10 April 2015. You might want to make a note of that date as it is history in the making!

Samsung has put out a peach of a handset that is unashamedly futuristic with the Galaxy S6 Edge!

OUTSTANDING
Samsung has, with the Galaxy S6 Edge, secured its legacy and continues to sit on the King of Android throne without too much of a challenge.

So far we've seen great efforts from HTC and LG but Samsung has certainly the distinct Galaxy S6 Edge above the rest.

PENULTIMATE
Standby for the Synapse Circuit penultimate review! If you're in doubt I suggest you wait for the Synapse Circuit definitive review that should answer all your questions!

Thank you for reading Synapse Circuit!

SORENSON SQUEEZE PRO 9 REVIEW SYNAPSE CIRCUIT

 SYNAPSE CIRCUIT

SORENSON SQUEEZE
PRO 9 REVIEW

PRICE: CHECK ONLINE FOR BEST PRICES. VERSION 10 (PRO) COSTS $749!

Goodhour, Synapse Circuit Readers! How are you? I hope that all is well and your tech is functioning as it should! I also hope that your tech projects are coming on a treat!

Last night MAGIX Video Pro X9 was brought to your attention (review coming up very, very soon)... If you are serious about video then you need to take a look at multifaceted Squeeze Pro 9 by Sorenson. Yes, I am well aware that the version 10 is out but you can still get an idea of how powerful and versatile Squeeze Pro is through this review.

#Sorenson #Squeeze #SqueezePro9 #SqueezePro10 #VideoEncoding #VideoStreaming #VideoFormatting #HTML5Video

SORENSON SQUEEZE:
SWISS ARMY KNIFE OF VIDEO

Above: The Sorenson Squeeze video tutorial that pops up when you first launch the program. 

Let me take you back a bit to 1997 when video on the web was in its infancy... When I worked for a web design company in Holland, Amsterdam I was charged with the task of finding out the best and cost effective solution for video streaming (on the web). Video is something that my former company wanted to offer to prospective clients as the goal was to transfer the CD ROM (remember that) to the web browser. After sitting through various options that offered a tiny resolution, 320 x 240, in comparison to YouTube’s full HD 1080p and 4K that we enjoy today. At the time I thought that RealPlayer and the RealVideo plugin was a good option; my former company agreed and soon enough we were streaming video, albeit small and pixelated, for clients. Unimpressed, many clients would ask me to re-imagine their PowerPoint presentations into a multimedia format for CD ROM distribution.

One of the main problems that many PowerPoint / multimedia producers faced was getting the right video format for various PC set-ups! No two PCs are alike as users tend to install various video players such as QuickTime (I think QuickTime is extinct now), MPEG (1 & 2), Windows Media and so on... And not to mention that some PCs were underpowered and while the video format was supported the processor wasn’t powerful enough to play it... Oh, the amount of times a CD ROM player would whizz around threatening to shatter the disc inside... We’ve come a long way from 1997! Sorenson Squeeze was one of the tools that I used back then to encode videos that would guarantee that the videos would be played back on virtually any PC powerful enough to play them! I thought that Sorenson Squeeze was a Godsend to multimedia producers way back then (for CD ROM).

VIDEO TODAY: BROADBAND
It never ceases to amaze me at just how far we’ve come in terms of video streaming; YouTube has revolutionized not only the Internet but TV as well! Let’s not forget that Adobe’s Flash video format had a great part to play in it as well. Now we can watch high quality video from our smartphones without thinking! However, there are times where you might not want to upload your video to the likes of YouTube...

 

Above: The many presets broken down into purpose i.e. broadcast, devices (Android, iOS and other mobile devices), Web and more. 

Let’s say that you run a very successful music – for argument’s sake – website that gets over 1 million views per day... Would you want to upload videos to YouTube and split the ad revenue when you have a possibility of hosting your own videos? I thought not! Dare I say it; your video content might not fit the YouTube criteria? Therefore the solution is to bypass the likes of YouTube and self-broadcast. One of the most annoying things about YouTube is those irritating banner ads that obscure the frame and subtitles. Enter Sorenson Squeeze Pro 9!

Sorenson Squeeze Pro takes all the guess work out of video encoding thus making light of converting video into the appropriate streaming format such as WebM or MP4. All you would need then is a HTML5 based player such as the one found on: http://www.jplayer.org

These days Flash video is dying and will be totally obsolete like QuickTime is and it’s not worthwhile using the Flash FLV or SWF formats for video content.

IN USE
Just as it is with earlier Squeeze versions I found no problems with finding the appropriate video format(s); it is a matter of adding the desired formats to the job and then clicking on “Squeeze it”. It is possible to encode many video formats at once i.e. the original video, WMV, can be encoded to MP4, WebM, FLV, MP3 (yes, it’ll output just the audio in a variety of formats), QuickTime and more. The process does take a short while but it gets done!

Below: You can see the encoding process.







Squeeze Pro (9) can capture video from any DV source such as a camcorder for example. But these days you’d be more likely to import video off a (micro) SD card.

The process is as follows:-

1. Import a video file.
2. Add the desired video format or formats to the job list.
3. Click on “Squeeze it” and wait for the video(s) to encode.

It doesn’t get more complicated than that. The interface is very intuitive and you don’t really need to look at the tutorial video when you first launch the program as the interface does speak clearly to you. Well, it spoke and still speaks clearly to me! All the video formats that you are likely to need are there in the form of templates so you don’t have to worry about resolution, formatting, etc. I told you, Squeeze Pro (9) takes all the guess work out of the equation. And if you happen to be an expert at video encoding you can create your own presets for recall.

CONCLUSION
Sorenson Squeeze Pro is indispensible for serious video producers / broadcasters. If the price seems steep then you are not a professional. Don’t misunderstand me... I am not trying to guilt trip you into purchasing the Pro version of the Desktop edition as there are two other versions that may suit your budget: Squeeze Lite ($199) and Standard ($549).

As a professional you’ll know that the pro version will pay for itself. Fortunately you can decide which version is right for you as you can download trial versions of the software. The pro version gives you practically every video / audio format under the Sun to your disposal; you can’t go wrong! Depending on what format / resolution is chosen Squeeze Pro can cut the file size down to the lowest without sacrificing the quality (implied by “Squeeze”).

SCORE
5 / 5

A solid Synapse Circuit Double Platinum!


You just can’t go wrong with Squeeze Pro (9). It is solid! It certainly allows you to move away from YouTube and similar video online facilities. If you do your business right you could charge businesses ad rates to appear on your video broadcasts! Check it out! http://www.sorensonmedia.com

RECOMMENDED!

Thank you so much for reading Synapse Circuit!

Expect more reviews, news, opinions, competitions and more from Synapse Circuit!

Please check out the Synapse Circuit site here: Synapse Circuit.com

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