Camera360 (for Windows Phone)

• Pros

  Clever interface. Historic photo effects. Double exposure. Good one-shot HDR effect. Can apply filters to existing photos. Easy manual shooting controls. Organizes photos by date.

• Cons No basic photo adjustments for existing images. Lacks tilt-shift effect.
• Bottom Line

  With a cool interface and some unique shooting capabilities, Camera360 for Windows Phone belongs in any photo enthusiast's app collection.

By Michael Muchmore

Windows Phones are known for their outstanding onboard cameras, so it shouldn't come as a big surprise that there's a healthy selection of camera and photo apps to choose from. I've tested several of them, including BrilliantVision OneShot, i4software Fast Camera, PicsArt Photo Studio, and Instagram. The free Camera360 joins their ranks as one of the highest rated in the app store, with a 4.5 score from nearly 19,000 reviews. The praise is well deserved, but the app isn't quite as complete as its name might suggest. Still, Camera360 adds photo effects and editing abilities to powerful shooting tools like manual focus and live "Time Camera." And a very clever interface and good organizing and sharing tools don't hurt, either.

The Camera360 Setup Experience
The app, available in the Windows Store, is a moderate 16MB download, and works on smartphones running both Windows 8 and 8.1. I tested it on the Lumia Icon, which sports a 20-megapixel f/2.4 camera with 6-element optics. 

On first run, Camera360 plays a slideshow, complete with emotional music. After you tap Start, the photo-shooting interface appears with explanatory overlays showing the functions of interface elements. Notice I didn't precede this with anything about signing up for or into an account: Camera360 just starts working without all that—something I applaud.

Interface: Shooting with Camera360
The app takes a novel and clever approach to shooting photos on a smartphone. Yes, many apps have filters that emulate photography characteristics of bygone years, but Camera360 takes this a step further, with its Time Camera wheel. You can rotate its setting from 1837 to 1980, with several stops in between. There's also a frame setting button at the bottom right; options include 120 (square), Polaroid, and pinhole (heavy on vignette).

Slide the camera wheel up, and it transforms into a line with options for Effects and Double Exposure. Choosing either of these presents another wheel control, with choices such as HDR, Portrait, Macro, Night, Food, and Auto. The modes work well, and even have multiple effect choices within them. HDR is a particular standout, creating a dramatic skies in a cityscape shots.

Perhaps less practical but even more fun is Double Exposure mode. You take one shot, which remains burned onto your viewfinder while you take the second, for a superimposed, often surreal result.

Manual shooting is made easier in Camera360 than in most apps I've tried, including Nokia Camera and OneShot. When you tap a circled M button, it changes into a slider line control letting you alternately adjust exposure and focus.

Photo Edits and Effects
You don't have to shoot inside in the app to use its image effects. You can apply them to any existing photo on your phone. These effects are even adjustable from 0 to 100 percent strength, by sliding a finger across the image. It would be nice, however, to have basic photo adjustments such as exposure and white balance in addition to filter effects.

You can also use the app's crop and rotate tools, or apply a frame. A couple of popular effects, however, are missing, like tilt-shift and bokeh. These are even found in the mass-market Instagram app.

Sharing
Whenever you snap a pic, it's saved to Camera360's own timeline organizer, which displays photos by date that can be viewed by weekday tabs or a monthly grid of photos. And not only photos shot in the app show up here; everything in the camera does. Tapping on one photo thumbnail here lets you view it, edit it, or share it. A couple of buttons are dedicated to WeChat sharing, but there's also a social button that posts your pics to Facebook, Flickr, and Twitter, and topic hashtags, locations, and captions can be added.

The Complete Camera Phone App?
Camera360 is without a doubt one of the more innovative camera apps I've encountered. Its interface is clear, clever, and easy to use. You may still want an app like Adobe Photoshop Express for lighting and color adjustments, or PicsArt Studio to really jazz up your images. But for its unique era-switching, double exposure, ample effect filters, easy manual shooting adjustments, and respectable organizing and sharing capabilities, Camera 360 deserves a place in any Windows Phone user's photo app arsenal.

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Flutter review

Anyone who grew up watching the Star Wars movies knows how cool it looked to be a Jedi and control things with a simple movement of the hand. For a long time, it seemed as if this would remain firmly in the realm of science fiction along with lightsabers. Now a new app that relies on hand gestures is available for controlling your music. Called Flutter, this free Windows software lets you start and stop your music simply by showing the flat palm of your hand to your webcam. See all software downloads.

You need to use either iTunes, Spotify, Winamp, or Windows Media Player for your music playing. Anything else, such as Miro or Zune, is not currently supported.

Starting and stopping the music is at present the only thing Flutter can do, so look upon this as simply proof that the concept works. Apparently, according to the company website, next up in the pipeline is a beta version (currently for Mac OS X only) that allows you to change music tracks, simply by swiping your hand in front of the webcam. I'm sure they are also working on a version that increases and decreases the volume (at least, I hope so).

The pros to Flutter are ones that will appeal to efficiency freaks. If you're sitting in front of your computer typing away, and you want to change the track on iTunes, then you would have to stop typing, look for the mouse, find iTunes, then the track…that all takes time. But with Flutter, when you want to change tracks, you just stop typing, hold up a hand in front of the webcam, then go back to typing as the Rolling Stones track flips from not getting any satisfaction to singing about Angie. There's no need to click the mouse or to search for tracks. Your webcam and Flutter do it all for you.

Flutter has cons, though. Throughout the few weeks I tested this app, sudden hand movements at times started my Spotify desktop app. Supposedly Flutter should start Spotify only when I show my flat palm to the webcam, but I've had Spotify starting when I scratched my ear or swatted a fly away from my head. In subsequent tests, I failed to recreate this problem, so maybe it was just a temporary glitch. Nevertheless, when you have Flutter on, you should be cautious with your movements in front of the webcam. Plus, until the next version comes out, Flutter has only one function.

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Bad Piggies review

Bad Piggies is the latest hit mobile game from Rovio, developer of the hugely successful Angry Birds franchise. It's not a carbon copy of Rovio's original blueprint, but we expect it to be every bit as successful. Here's our Bad Piggies for Android review, also available for iOS, PC, Mac and, soon, Windows 8 and Windows Phone. 

First released for iOS in December 2009, Angry Birds remains one of the most popular mobile games of all time, with millions of downloads from Apple's App Store and Google Play. Rovio has been milking its cash cow ever since, with Seasons, Rio and Space sequels, and an online store that offers a range of merchandise from plush toys, clothing and iPhone and iPad cases to bedding, books and stationery. See Best Android Apps.

We've all bought into Rovio's loveable characters. There's Yellow Bird the dive-bomber, Black Bird who explodes on impact, Big Brother Bird who demolishes everything in his way, and White Bird who drops bombs, for example. And then there are the macaws, bulldogs, toucans, parrots, marmosets and more, introduced in later episodes. But arguably the most important character is the one who features in every level: the egg-stealing Bad Piggy, without whom the Angry Birds would have no purpose; they'd be weapons with no target. It's high time the evil green swines swapped stealing eggs for their own spin-off series.

Unlike Angry Birds, in which you must fire avian missiles to take out Bad Piggies, there is no such violence in this sequel. A cute showreel of the type we've come to expect from Rovio aids your understanding of this new mission. It appears that having found a map telling them exactly where to find the Angry Birds' eggs, the Bad Piggies have managed to lose said map in Piggy Island. King Pig has ordered his minions to recover the map, and you will collect a single scrap of this vital information with each level you complete. 

Bad Piggies is more of a cross with Rovio's Amazing Alex than it is a carbon copy of Angry Birds. In the former, you must interact with various toys and other items to create a chain reaction that allows a football to land in a basket, or pop a balloon let off in the direction of a pair of scissors. In Bad Piggies, a hand-made contraption comprised of propellant devices, wheels, springs, TNT, balloons, umbrellas, engines, sand bags, fizzy pop and more enables you to manoeuvre obstacles, getting your Bad Piggy to the finishing line and a step closer to victory in Rovio's mobile war.

Bad Piggies operates on the same three-star rating system that's become synonymous with Angry Birds, and which has since been incorporated into a plethora of games by developers hoping to build on Rovio's success (read our Bunny Shooter for Android review for an example of just one). There is no baffling scoring system here, though; zoom out of a level to see exactly what is required of you to achieve full-marks, whether that's to complete a level within a certain amount of time, collect all the stars, build a contraption without using a specific part or get to the finishing line unscathed.  

 

You can choose to play in either Ground Hog Day or When Pigs Fly chapters, both of which include 36 free levels, plus nine bonus levels. You'll need to complete a level to move on to the next, and a bonus level is accessible only after you score a given number of stars in the four levels preceding it. Extremely challenging but very fun Sandbox levels can also be unlocked, in essence the equivalent of boss levels, in which you can select any of the tools available throughout the chapter to build a vehicle capable of enduring one mega-challenge. A fourth chapter is simply labelled Coming Soon, welcome evidence of Rovio's promise to continually add free updates. 

There is no single right way to build your cart: several combinations might get you to the end of a level, although not all will allow you to do so with no damage and within a certain amount of time. The game is made more difficult in the sense that you need not only create a winning vehicle, but you must monitor it throughout the level, toggling on and off the engine, opening an umbrella or popping a balloon with precise timing. Even with the correct combination of parts, it can take several goes to win all three stars.

A hint book can be useful in helping you to build a workable contraption for each level, without you needing to visit YouTube for a walkthrough (of which there are many). Alternatively, if you're stuck, you can hire a mechanic to build your vehicle. You get three free mechanic tokens for liking the game on Facebook; thereafter, it costs $1.99 for 10, $5.99 for 35 and $9.99 for 65.

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Acer Aspire V 13 review: classic budget laptop offers better wireless, faster storage and solid performance with good battery life

Most laptops that cost under £400 tend to be quite large and clunky. Not so the Acer Aspire V 13, a lightweight cheapie of an ultrabook. Confusingly Acer names this laptop both as the V 13 and V3-371. (For more, see: Best budget laptops 2014.)

Whatever you'd like to call this budget laptop, it's not much thicker than 20 mm and weighs just over 1.5 kg. And as a new model from the budget brand, it ought to be in circulation for a while too.

The chassis is made from a not-unattractive matt plastic, and our sample was issued in a snowy white colour, lending it more than a flavour of Apple design. On the back of the display lid there's a hard textured finish, rather like wood grain but which catches the light to give a kind of pearlescent effect. Meanwhile the sculpted bottom that tapers the body edges is reminiscent of the original MacBook Air, but finished in similarly tough-feeling matt white plastic.

In the tradition of modern ultraportables, the battery is not accessible from the underside, nor is the storage drive or memory reachable through separate doors. Ambitious upgraders that wish to expand the 4 GB of memory or 500 GB hard drive will benefit from experience of tearing down a laptop's chassis. Also see: How to choose a budget laptop.

Acer Aspire V 13 review: memory and performance

While 4 GB memory may look stingy, it should be enough for the kind of lightweight tasks run by a typical user of this ultraportable. And while hard-disk based storage is often the slowest link in the budget notebook chain, Acer has juiced this component by selecting a Seagate SSHD – a 2.5in 500 GB laptop hard disk with an added 8 GB of fast flash, which helps accelerate performance. It's far from the level of performance of a real SSD, but a strong step in the right direction that did make programs launch faster, for example.

?On the left thin edge of the V 13 is an SD card slot and headphone jack. To the right are two USB ports – one each version 2.0 and 3.0 – and HDMI for connecting to a screen or projector. We were most impressed to find that Acer has also found a way to include a proper gigabit ethernet port on the narrow edge here too, with a spring-loaded flap that prises open to accommodate the RJ45 plug of a network cable.

Lifting the lid reveals the relatively clean deck around the keyboard (once you've peeled off all the POS stickers). The trackpad is a decent size at 105 x 65 mm, a buttonless design that pivots to allow left and right clicks. Unfortunately this hardware, perhaps abetted by the software that drives it, are of mediocre quality and control of the mouse cursor is not as precise as we'd hope. We also found the trackpad surface stopped responding to our fingers on more than one occasion, requiring us to plug in a mouse to continue operation.

The Qwerty keyboard is quite serviceable though, a minimal-travel Scrabble type with an easy action. Crucially there's precious little bending in the centre when pressing here, allowing heavy-fingered typing without disconcerting flex. It's a full-size keyboard that fills the deck without the need for a numberpad to fill the space, as we see on 15.6-inch Windows laptops. If you do need to tap out numbers with one hand, pressing Fn and F11 engages the number lock, with many keys on the right side (illustrated in light blue) doubling up as number keys.

A single fan draws air in from vents on the underside, and exhales through a grille behind the screen hinge. In use the Acer remained usefully cool and quiet.

Another feather in the Acer's cap is the best Wi-Fi adaptor in this group. It's still limited to 11n performance but while most cheap laptops sneak in the most basic of wireless cards, the V 13 is fitted with a dual antennae and dual-band capability.

Acer Aspire V 13 review: Lab report

At 2.0 GHz the Aspire V 13 may not look the fastest but in lab tests it proved to have the quickest overall performance, and the longest battery life.

The Geekbench 3 score of 1988 points was the least worst on test, which means it trails the benchmark's reference PC by only 26 percent in single-core mode; and 22 percent behind in multi-core mode.

In both PCMark 7 and PCMark 8 tests, the Aspire V3-371 also got top marks in this class, helped here not just by the relatively quick Intel chip but the additional flash in the main drive.

And so to the less welcome news. Like most budget laptops Acer has elected to fit a low-grade display, which here returned the joint worst results among a uniformly bad bunch. With only 55 percent coverage of the least demanding sRGB standard, and a contrast ratio of just 80:1, this is not a display that gives a close resemblance of reality. And like its budget brethren, viewing angles are very limited.

Gaming is also tricky in spite of the Intel Iris Graphics. This graphics solution is a step-up from older Intel chips but should not be confused with Iris Pro, which is a match for many dedicated discrete processors. Here the Acer could manage 34 fps in Tomb Raider 2013, but only at very low resolution and detail settings. Move up to Normal though, and the game averaged a stuttering 19 fps.

Battery life was found to be more respectable than any other here, at 6 hour 35 mins, making this laptop the best choice for portable use. Also see: Best laptops 2014 and Best gaming laptops 2014.

Acer Aspire V 13 review: Test scores

Runtime    6 hr 35 min
Contrast ratio    80:1
Colour gamut sRGB    55 %
Geekbench single    1988
Geekbench multi    4188
PC Mark 7    3420
PCMark 8 Home    2358
PCMark 8 Work    3396
Batman: Arkham City 1280 x 720, Low    29
Batman: Arkham City 1366 x 768, Med    24
Tomb Raider 2013 1280 x 720, Low    34
Tomb Raider 2013 1366 x 768, Normal    19

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join.me for Windows 8 review

You may already be aware of join.me - a simple tool from the makers of LogMeIn that allows you to share your desktop in real-time with other connected PC or laptop users. join.me for Windows 8 brings to Windows 8 PC, laptop and tablet the functionality of viewing join.me sessions via a Metro-style Windows 8 app. See all: Windows app reviews.

You can read more about join.me's great functionality in our Join.me review, but in essence the meeting instigator has to download and install a tiny software program. They then browse to join.me, and click 'Share'. This generates a nine-digit code, which they send to any intended viewers of their screen. They in turn simply browse to join.me/xxx-xxx-xxx, and can immediately see the host's PC desktop in their browser Window. Screen sharers can then IM or chat. With the pro version of join.me the host can even give control of their PC to the viewer. (See also: Windows 8: the complete guide.)

It's a really useful tool for when you want to explain how to do something by showing it rather than trying to explain. You can even use join.me show photos to a relative. Best of all it is free, in its simplest form.

join.me is fantastically simple to use, and it works well. With the join.me viewer for Windows 8 you can join real-time online meetings wherever you can get online witha Windows 8 device. The person who instigates the meeting generates a nine-digit code as normal, and you simply pop it into the Metro-style app and away you go.

The app is simplicity itself, but in our tests over Wi-Fi join.me for Windows 8 worked beautifully. It is nicely zippy and stable: as we typed on our host desktop PC, we could watch the copy appear in real time on our Windows 8 Samsung Series 7 Slate PC. There was only minimal lag.

The join.me viewer for Windows 8 is a free Metro-style app available from the Windows Store.

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Quick Note for Windows 8 review

Quick Note covers one of the app gaps that Windows 8 is going to have to fill in order to become a proper portable OS for PC, laptop and tablet - that of lightweight note taker and clipboard. You can use it as a simple notepad, to record your to-do lists, and as a place in which to clip interesting web tidbits. See all: Windows app reviews.

The ability to jot down simple notes is one of the principle benefits of tablet PCs. The ability to organise and search such notes can be a killer app - it certainly beats paper and pen. Even on a static desktop PC, a digital to-do list is a lot more useful (and less ugly) than a scrap of paper. Windows 8 has no native note-taker, and although Word 2013 can be used for this task, that's very much in sledgehammer and nut territory. Made by Diigo Quick Note is a simple, free app that fulfils an important purpose, you can find it in the Windows Store. (See also: Windows 8: the complete guide.)

Open up Quick Note and it looks exactly like the native Notes app for iOS - like a brown and yellow jotting pad. You can create and edit notes from within the app, or take advantage of Windows 8's universal navigatory 'contract' and right-click to take notes.

Quick Note lets you attach notes to your home screen, which will be useful. A single click could take you from booting to to-do list, for example. And bearing in mind that Windows ultraportable laptops and tablets are designed to remain always on and in sleep mode, this could be a quick action.

You can also simply click to add web content to notes. And if your device allows it, you can jot down notes with a stylus or pen, and the Quick Note app will recognise them. To an extent (editing your notes is at least straightforward).

As with all Windows 8 apps, there is a Share menu in the Charms. This allows you to mail notes or 'share' them via Quick Note (in essence, this simply duplicates the note). We can't imagine too many occasions wherein you would need to share a note via social media, but it would be nice to have the option.

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Firefox for Windows 8 review

Firefox for Windows 8 is in effect two web browsers: the desktop version that looks and feels much the same as your current Firefox, and a new Modern UI Windows app designed for Windows 8's tablet-friendly interface. They are of course the same program, but separated by the somewhat schizophrenic nature of Windows 8 (on PCs and laptops at least).

We tested a late beta of Firefox for Windows 8 on our desktop PC and an Intel tablet: the full product should be available by the time Windows 8 launches on October 26.

Firefox for Windows 8: performance

In terms of speed, within the desktop mode Firefox for Windows 8 recorded exactly the same scores in our Sunspider test as did Firefox 16 - completing the test in around 200ms every time. But the Modern UI app didn't fair so well, recording scores of around 260ms. We saw something similar when using our less well specified Windows 8 tablet. In desktop mode Firefox completed the test in around 420ms (the same as Firefox 16), but within the Modern UI environment the scores slipped to around 460ms. In general browsing we didn't notice the difference, but it is there. It'll be interesting to see if similar issues affect other programs that span the divide between old and new Windows.

Using Firefox for Windows 8 across all four instances was stable, and we saw none of the memory-hogging behaviour of which Firefox is sometimes accused.

Firefox for Windows 8: UI changes

There are some interesting UI changes consistent to both versions of Firefox in this iteration. New tabs offer a three-column view of your bookmarks, recent history, and downloads, presented as rectangular icons that follow a similar style to the rest of the Windows 8 interface. On top of the Windows you'll find a unified bar for URLs and searches.

When you're on a web page, Firefox switches to a full-screen view without URL bar or any options - it's not dissimilar to IE 10's approach in Windows 8. You have to right-click to bring up the address bar, and right-click again to show all open tabs. Testing Firefox on our Windows 8 tablet we had to swipe down from the top of the screen for the address bar, and once again to see the tabs.

You can configure the browser to show the address bar and all tabs at all times, but it's worth perservering - sites look great without what Microsoft refers to as the 'chrome' that clutters up modern browsers.

Right-clicking/swiping down also brings up a few other options in a menu bar at the bottom of the screen. Here you can jump to the downloads list, find a word on the page, open a page on the desktop, zoom in or out, create a bookmark, or pin the page to the Start screen.

Firefox for Windows 8 supports sharing via the Charms bar. Find a page you like and you can share it with the world through your Twitter or Facebook app of choice. Of the other Charms Windows 8's universal search function is not yet supported, but should be by the time Windows 8 launches.

You can download Firefox Metro UI Preview here.

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Viber for Windows

With Viber for Windows you can call, chat, and send SMS for free to friends who have the mobile app installed on their smartphone. It also supports video calls and it's really easy to use.

Phone free from your PC

Phone calls for free? With Viber it's no problem. The app works easily via VoIP from your computer.

First of all, you must already have Viber installed on your smartphone (available for iPhone, Android, BlackBerry, Symbian and Windows Phone). After that, install the client on your PC: you'll find all the contacts in your address book have automatically been synchronized. 

The convenience of Viber for PC is that there's nothing to configure; from the moment you install it you can immediately begin calling at zero cost (via VoIP) all your friends who use the app for smartphones. Not only that, but by using the function Viber Out you can also even call landlines and mobiles. 

Viber for Windows also supports video calls, even group ones with up to 100 participants. 

The application also allows you to send and receive text messages from your friends (with stickers and emoticons included!) and it supports group conversations. The chat is synchronized between your device and your PC.

All just a click away

The Viber interface is really easy to use. You can view the list of contacts, call log and chat history with no trouble. 

From the options menu you can configure the app so that it shows real-time notifications of new messages in the Windows system tray. 

In addition, you can set the program to start automatically with Windows.

Viber & VoIP: a winning combo

If you already use Viber for smartphones, you really must install this version for Windows on your computer. And if you've never used Viber then maybe now's the time to start!

Call quality is excellent, but much depends on the quality of the connection used. During our test from PC to smartphone, however, we found no problems whatsoever. 

Thanks to this app that resets the cost of calls, you can chat with your friends (and the messages are synchronized between PC and phone) and see them in video conferencing. Without spending a dime and without moving from your PC. Fantastic!

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How to Sleep like a Baby

It’s 3:00 a.m. where are you? Most people would probably be asleep. However, for a large majority of people, it is near impossible for them to get a good nights rest. Without it, they are unable to focus well, they have low energy, and let’s face it, they are usually in a not so good mood. Is there anything that the sleep deprived can do in order to help give their body the much needed sleep it needs? Aside from counting sheep, which rarely works, try some of the suggestions below.

First, start out by examining your bedroom for sleep distractions. Sleep distractions would be such things as clutter, the color of the paint, the noise level, etc. If your room is painted in bright, electrifying colors, you may want to consider painting it a soothing cool color. A pale green or a soothing blue would be good choices. You can’t expect to be able to sleep if the paint in your bedroom is so bright that it looks like an airport runway.

If your room is cluttered, consider scheduling a spring cleaning day and get rid of all those unwanted sleep thieves. If a room is cluttered, it gives our mind more things to focus on and think about during the night instead of sleep. Your bedroom is supposed to be your sanctuary, and let’s face it, who wants piles of bills or junk mail in their sanctuary? Not too many people.

As far as the noise level goes, this is different for each person. Some people enjoy some form of noise while they sleep and may even purchase a noise machine, while others have to have quiet. If you fall into the latter category, try purchasing some heavy drapes to see if they block out any of the unwanted noise. While the drapes probably won’t get rid of every unwanted noise, you will notice a big difference.

Next, try not to exercise before going to bed. I’m not saying don’t exercise at all, because exercise is good for us, but we all know that exercise releases endorphins which amp us up. You can’t expect to be able to go to sleep if you feel like you could run a marathon. Try to keep exercise to either early in the mornings or to around four hours before bedtime. This will give your body time to calm down and will help you to drift off to sleep much easier.

Another suggestion to help you get a good nights sleep would be to take a nice warm bath just before you are ready to go to bed. The warm bath will not only help you to relax physically, but it will also give your brain some time to unwind as well. It doesn’t have to be a long bath, just 10 or 15 minutes should do the trick. As you are letting the water out of the tub, picture your troubles and cares being washed down the drain. A mind that is not burdened with troubles is a mind that can easily drift off to sleep.

Lighting is another issue that effects sleep. If your bedroom window lets the light of a nearby street light into your bedroom, you might want to try some of those room darkening curtains to eliminate that problem. If you can’t find any or can’t afford them, try putting a quilt up instead. If your curtain rods are sturdy, they will usually hold up the extra weight of the quilt. Either of these two things will help darken your bedroom and help you drift off to what could be the best nights sleep you’ve had in a while.

Of course, don’t forget to flip your mattress every so often to keep it from getting worn. However, if your mattress is not in good shape and you can’t afford to buy a new one (because we know they don’t come cheap), consider buying a mattress topper. This will give you the sense of a new mattress, but will cost you a fraction of the price. Toppers come in a variety of styles, and it is up to you to find the one that suits your needs.

The last tip, try and keep the temperature in your bedroom at a comfortable level. You don’t want the temperature too hot or too cold. You want it just right. Again, it is up to you, as an individual, to decide what your perfect temperature is. Try these few tips out and see if they help you get the peaceful nights slumber your body has been missing. Pleasant dreams sleep deprived.

Baby's First Christmas - Celebrity Edition

The year of 2014 brought big changes in the lives of some of our favorite celebrities. New records, new releases, and new awards are always exciting, but nothing can measure up to the beauty and amazement of the birth of a baby. Meet all the new mini-celebrities that will be celebrating their very first Christmas this year.

Baby Schuyler
Parents: Rodger Berman and Rachel Zoe
Rodger Berman and Rachel Zoe (celebrity stylist) welcomed their very first baby this year, Schuyler Harris. Judging from his custom made shoes and his Missoni stroller, I think it's very safe to make the assumption that Schuyler's first Christmas will be filled with Gucci, Prada and Chanel.

Baby Flynn
Parents: Orlando Bloom and Miranda Kerr
Actor Orlando Bloom (Pirates of the Caribbean, Lord of the Rings) and model Miranda Kerr may have given birth to the cutest baby alive. With brown hair and big blue eyes, he has been making headlines since day one. This is an extra exciting time of year for Baby Flynn; he will be celebrating his first birthday on January 6th.

Baby Haven
Parents: Cash Warren and Jessica Alba
Producer Cash Warren and actress Jessica Alba (Fantastic Four, Sin City) welcomed their second daughter, baby Haven Garner in August, much to the delight of big sister Honor Marie. Jessica recently took both three year old Honor and four month old Haven to meet Santa Claus in their local mall. How sweet is that!

Baby Morocco and Baby Monroe
Parents: Nick Cannon and Mariah Carey
Nick Cannon (America's Got Talent) and singer/actress Mariah Carey welcomed their twins on April 30th of this year. This adorable duo made one of their first public appearances last Christmas when Mariah was visibly showing during her Christmas Special. Morocco was named after the Moroccan inspired room in which Nick proposed to Mariah, and Monroe was named after one of Mariah's longtime role models, Marilyn Monroe.

Baby Harper
Parents: David & Victoria Beckham
World renowned power couple David (English soccer star) & Victoria Beckham (designer) welcomed their very first daughter this year. Baby Harper Seven joined older brothers Brooklyn, Romeo and Cruz.

Baby Bingham
Parents: Matt Bellamy and Kate Hudson
Matt Bellamy (front-man of Muse) and actress Kate Hudson (Bride Wars, How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days) welcomed their first baby, Bingham Hawn in August. Baby Bingham joins Kate's older son Ryder, who affectionately calls him Bing.

Baby Arabella
Parents: Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump
Jared Kushner and entrepreneur and daughter of Donald Trump, Ivanka Trump, married in October 2009, welcomed their very first baby, Arabella Rose on July 17th of this year.

Baby Aleph
Parents: Benjamin Millepied and Natalie Portman
Producer Benjamin Millepied and actress Natalie Portman (V for Vendetta, Black Swan) welcomed their first baby, Aleph this year. Aleph is the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet, a sweet tribute to the Hebrew background of the couple.

And there, my friends, are the newest celebrities of 2011. Merry Christmas to all the baby celebs and their parents! I can't help but wonder which celebrities will make this list next year...

The 26 best role playing games ever

There's no doubt that role-playing games (RPGs) are some of the best video games around, but with so much choice, which ones should you be playing? We’ve rounded up the 26 best RPG games. (Also check out our new piece: The 39 best ever first-person shooter games.) See also: The 18 best role-playing games for iPhone and iPad

Now read our controversial: 18 Worst Video games ever

26: Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning

Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning has two primary playable factions with character customisation, quests full of Warhammer lore, characters of various races who are comprised of a number of archetypes, and career paths to specialise in a craft of some sort. See also Fifa 13 release date, features and screenshots

With an already established fan-base of the Games Workshop's tabletop game, Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning provides its players with a dark and humorous experience that penalises unfair advantages between higher and lower level players in Realm vs Realm combat. Visit PS4 release date, specs and rumour round-up.

We especially enjoy capturing Victory Points in the Player vs Player gameplay which involves random PvP encounters, objective-based encounters, and other campaigns and scenarios. See also GTA 5 release date, features, maps and rumours.

25: Kingdom Hearts II

Square and Disney did more than merely prove that they could pump out a decent RPG. They gave life to a grand, genre-changing experience featuring classic tales, heroes and villains from our childhood.

Kingdom Hearts had a lot to live up to in its second act, and Kingdom Hearts II completely blew us away. Only a year had passed for Sora, Donald, and Goofy, but the worlds were bigger, the Keyblades were badder, and the entire scope of the battle between the Heartless, the Nobodys, and Organization XIII had grown to epic proportions.

All we can do now is wait for the magic to return in Kingdom Hearts III, but at the very least, we'll get to revisit the series in the PS2 remake of Kingdom Hearts Re:Chain of Memories this winter.

24: Grandia

The story of a young adventurer named Justin featured incredible music, an epic story, unique characters brought to life with superb voice acting, and a combat system unlike any other before it.

This game's name was Grandia.

The world of Grandia was unlike anything gamers had seen before on the PlayStation, with large and colourful 3D cities and dungeons, filled with treasure, people, and monsters alike. While some RPGs had combat systems that would let you lazily hammer on a single button, Grandia refreshed the entire concept of turn-based battles by having every character and enemy attack each other at the same time.

What really drove the game was how you timed your magic and melee moves - in the best cases, you could pre-empt your foes entirely with nary a scratch on your party. When you made your way to so-called 'End of the World', Grandia's story reached a new height, and more surprise still laid in wait for eager adventurers.

NEXT PAGE: Skies of Arcadia and Planetscape Torment

1. The must-have games for any role play fan
2. Skies of Arcadia and Planetscape Torment
3. Disgaea: Afternoon of Darkness and Baldur's Gate 2: Shadows of Amn
4. Pokemon Diamond and Pearl
5. Final Fantasy XII and Earthbound
6. The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past and Xenogears
7. Diablo II: Lord of Destruction and Fallout 3
8. Our top three role playing games

Related articles:

PlayStation 3 review

Xbox 360 review

Get free games downloads. Visit PC Advisor's dedicated Games website to download hundreds of the latest titles, to read gaming news and reviews and to pick up tips and discuss your favourite games in the popular PC Advisor Games forum

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How to transfer photos from computer to iPhone the easy way: use iCloud Control Panel and My Photo Stream

It's possible to upload photos from your PC to your iPhone or iPad - or iPod touch - and the easiest way to do this is to use iCloud. Here we'll explain how to do it.

The typical way to use iCloud is to let it automatically sync photos from your iPhone or iPad to your computer, using what Apple calls Photo Stream. Photo Stream holds the last 1,000 photos, but once photos are in the Photo Stream folder within My Pictures on your PC or laptop they aren't deleted, so it's a great way to automatically back up photos from your iOS device without connecting it via a cable to your computer.

However, you can also use the Photo Stream folder along with iCloud Control Panel to send photos from your PC to your iOS device.

In order to use iCloud on Windows, you'll need a piece of software from Apple. Here's how to install and configure iCloud Control Panel for Windows

Confusingly, there are two different versions of iCloud Control Panel. If you're running Windows Vista with Service Pack 2, download this version of iCloud Control Panel. If you have Windows 7 or 8, you need the latest version of iCloud Control Panel.

When set up, every time you take a photo on your iPhone or iPad, it will be saved to your Photo Stream and uploaded to iCloud, then downloaded to your computer the next time you turn it on.

How to upload photos from your PC to your iPhone

There are various ways to put photos on an iPhone or iPad  but here we're going to do it using iCloud Control Panel and the Uploads folder within the Photo Stream folder.

Note that if you merely want to import photos from your digital camera without using a computer, you can buy Apple's Camera Connection Kit if your device has the older 30-pin connector, or the Lightning to SD Camera Reader if it has the new dock connector.

(This tutorial assumes you've already installed and configured iCloud Control Panel for Windows as mentioned above)

Step 1. On your computer, open an Explorer window and navigate to the folder in which the pictures you want are stored. Select those you want, right-click on them and choose Copy.

Step 2. Navigate to the Pictures folder (My Pictures in Windows Vista). Find the Photo Stream folder which is created when you install the iCloud Control Panel, and double-click to view its contents. (Don't click on the Photo Stream shortcut in the Windows Explorer Favourites list as you can't get to the Uploads folder this way.)

Step 3. Open the Uploads folder within Photo Stream, right-click and Paste your copied photos into this folder.

Step 4. Your photos will appear in your Photo Stream (within the Photos app) on your iPhone shortly. The Photo Stream is ordered by the date on which the photos were taken, so they may not be easy to find if you already have the maximum of 1,000 pictures in your stream. However, you may find that Windows gives the pasted files today's date, in which case the photos will be at the end of your Photo Stream.

The images below show iOS 6 on the left and iOS 7 on the right. In iOS 7, Photo Stream is called My Photo Stream and is within the Albums section at the bottom.

Photos you upload this way can be JPEG, TIFF, PNG and most RAW camera formats.

A common source of confusion is that Photo Stream does not support videos, so you can't upload videos to your iPhone or iPad this way. To add videos to your Camera Roll, use iTunes and sync them using the Photos tab (be sure to tick the Include videos box), or install an app which allows you to add files via File Sharing in iTunes.

Follow Jim Martin and @PCAdvisor on Twitter. Add Jim Martin to your Google+ circles

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LG G3 review: Still the best smartphone of 2014

The LG G3 is the follow-up to our favourite smartphone of last year, the LG G2. The new flagship Android smartphone has now been on sale for six months. Here's our full LG G3 review explaining why it's still the best smartphone of 2014. Updated on 04/11/14. See also: The best phone you can buy in 2014. 

LG G3 review: Six months on - price and more

It's been six months since the LG G3 launched and despite challenges from various smartphones like the iPhone 6, Motorola Moto X (2014), Sony Xperia Z3 and Galaxy Note 4, it remains the best around.

It led the way with its amazing Quad HD screen which although at a large 5.5in, the tiny bezels make it surprisingly compact. No other phone has outdone this standout feature although we are interested to see whether the Galaxy Note Edge launches in the UK. Other specs remain top-notch with LG addressing the lack of a microSD card slot compared to the G2.

Importantly, the G3 has dropped in price significantly since its arrival so even though it was a great price at under £500, it's now available for a frankly amazing £319 from Mobile Phones Direct. This mid-range price tag makes it superb value for money. Read: LG G3 vs G3 S comparison review.

Read our original review below...

LG G3 review: Design and build

The LG G3 is just 8.9mm which means it's thinner than the G2 going by LG's 9.1mm or our own 9.4mm measurement. Either way it's impressive considering the extra tech that is squeezed in. At 75 x 146mm in size, the G3 is a large phone due to its bigger screen size compared to its predecessor and other flagship devices. Read: LG G3 release date, price, specs and new features and LG G3 launch: as it happened

That's unsurprising but what is a surprise is how LG has managed to keep the overall size of the device down – it's really no bigger than its rivals. Due to the screen, the G3 is marginally wider but isn't as tall as the Sony Xperia Z2 or HTC One M8. It's all down to those tiny bezels which were one element which made the G2 so impressive - screen size isn't everything.

Even though the phone is a similar size to rivals, that 5.5in screen is a large area to interact with – it's difficult to reach to the top third of the display. This combined with the width of the device does make it a little unwieldy but we're getting used to it. LG has thought about the size of the screen and implemented software features to help out – see software section.

It's no surprise that the LG G3 has gained some weight considering its overall size but not much at all, 149g up from 143g. Also see: LG G2 vs LG G3: Can the LG G3 live up to the example set by the LG G2? and New features in LG G3

A major design change is the introduction of metal. For starters, there's a brushed metal frame running around the edge which separates the front from the back. The rear cover is removable and made of plastic but has a 'metallic skin' which has a brushed finish and is scratch-resistance (not self-healing like the G Flex). It's what you'd get if you crossed the back of the Galaxy S5 and that of the HTC One M8.

We're not a big fan of the rear cover on the white model but it looks and feels nice on the other colours – black, gold, violet and red. It doesn't feel as premium as the M8 but is a step up from its predecessor and other plastic rivals. You get the best of both worlds, with access to the battery and a decent finish.

As you can see, LG has stuck with its choice of placing the phone's physical buttons on the back next to the camera. We weren't sure about this when it was introduced on the G2 but it's actually very comfortable and makes a lot of sense. The new buttons don't stick out so much and have a textured finish.

While some devices on the market are dust- and waterproof, the G3 is not. LG says it didn't want to make the device bigger and heavier to gain this feature.

LG G3 review: Hardware and specs

Screen

We're going to lead off with the screen on the G3 because it's the most important piece of hardware on the device. The reason is that the device is the first to offer a Quad HD resolution – so far Full HD has been the standard.

So where the Samsung Galaxy S5, Sony Xperia Z2, HTC One M8 and other top-end smartphones max out at 1080 x 1920, the LG G3 cranks things up to a whopping 1440 x 2560. It's named Quad HD because it's four times the resolution of 720p.

The LG G3 has a 5.5in display (a little larger than the G2's 5.2in) and so the handset has a massively high pixel density of 534ppi (538ppi according to LG). The previous record holder was the original HTC One with 469ppi.

The big question is 'do we need or want Quad HD on a phone?', and having used it our answer is 'yes'. The LG G3's screen looks absolutely stunning – and yes we've compared it to Full HD devices such as the Xperia Z2. LG says the display is comparable to a high-quality photo book. Everything on the screen is super crisp; no matter how hard you try, you just cannot see an individual pixel.

As you would expect from an IPS LCD panel, viewing angles are great. LG has struck a great balance with the colour too; it's not in your face like Samsung's displays tend to be but not overly soft either.

The other question is whether this has a negative impact on battery life. See the battery life section below to see what LG claims and our findings.

Processor and RAM

There were rumours of an Octa-core processor but LG has gone for a Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 processor instead which means the G3 matches rivals on this front. However, the chip is clocked at 2.5GHz which is the highest we've seen. It's unsurprising that performance is smooth and nippy the vast majority of the time.

See also: What's the fastest smartphone of 2014: processor, web and graphics performance comparison.

We are seeing occasional lag but we're putting this down to not having the final software and we'll update this along with benchmarks when we get the our UK review sample.

Living up to its name, the G3 has 3GB of RAM but only if you buy the 32GB, the 16GB model has 2GB. The software is designed for 2GB so the extra on the 32GB device simply gives headroom.

Storage

As with the LG G2, the G3 is available with 16- or 32GB of internal storage. It seems more and more smartphone vendors are ditching higher capacity 64GB models (apart from Apple that is).

A drawback of LG's last flagship smartphone was a lack of expandable storage, but the firm has corrected this problem with the G3. To this end, it has a microSDXC card slot which can accept up to 128GB cards. It's easily accessible underneath the rear cover without needing to remove the battery.

Connectivity

The connectivity on the G2 was strong with dual-band Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0 LE, NFC and an Infrared transmitter. It also supported 4G LTE networks but the G3 supports LTE-Advanced for faster speeds plus is has wireless charging (see battery life below).

LG sticks with USB 2.0 because a 3.0 port is bigger and uglier, plus the firm says consumers don't use it much anyway.

Audio

The LG G2 was the first smartphone to come with 24bit/192kHz audio playback, pleasing audiophiles. Well now the G3 includes a 1Watt speaker with a 'boost amp' to improve sound quality when headphones aren't plugged in. It's impressively loud but the down side is that the speaker is rear facing and mono, not stereo.

Fingerprint scanner

There were rumours of the G3 getting a fingerprint scanner to compete with the Samsung Galaxy S5 and iPhone 5s but this is one rumour which turns out not to be true. LG says it will not put this feature in a phone until it is easy to use – a dig at Samsung?

Next page: LG G3 review cameras, software and battery life >

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StumbleUpon for Windows 8 review

The StumbleUpon app embraces the Windows 8 Modern UI presenting its content is a neat manor which is easy on the eye. The idea of the app is to give you a personalised internet experience based on your individual taste.

See also: Best Windows apps: Windows 8 app group test.

It's important to remember that StumbleUpon will work better the more you use it. Once you've selected your areas of interest, the app will effectively get to you better when you like or dislike content which is suggested for you.

It's not really complicated enough to need it but the app gives you a quick tour to get you acquainted with the interface before you can start using it. You'll have to log in, either with a StumbleUpon account or via Facebook.

Navigation is extremely simple, and we like it that way. The home screen provides you with a wall of content tailored to your likes and interests. Click on one or more tile and you'll be shown that image, video or the article.

Scroll to the right and you'll see sections for trending content, friends' activity and things you've liked. The only oddity is that we could find no way of refreshing the content displayed on the home screen.

Apart from clicking on tiles which take your fancy navigation will be mostly done via a drop down menu which is always accessible. From here you can go to the home screen, the three sections mentioned previously plus specific areas of interest which you have flagged up. At any point you can bring up the options menu and hit the Stumble button to load a random piece of content.

If you want to share something you've stumbled upon you can do this simply via Windows 8 Charms bar rather than the app itself. While using the app a large back button at the top left will navigate you backwards just like a web browser.

Your user name, icon and number of likes are all displayed in the top right hand corner of the screen but you can't interact with it in any way which seems strange. Instead, you can edit your interests by bringing up the options menu and hitting the button.

Follow Chris Martin and @PCAdvisor on Twitter.

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Rip DVDs to iPhone 6, iPad Air 2 or Android Phone using WinX DVD Ripper Platinum

Here's how to rip DVDs to iPhone, iPad or Android using WinX DVD Ripper Platinum.

Getting your favourite movies from DVD to your iPad, iPhone or Android device doesn’t have to be difficult. True, it hasn’t always been easy, as anyone who’s ever had to decrypt the disc with one app then rip and convert it with another will attest, but there is now a better way. Best of all, it’s free.

That’s because Digiarty, the leading multimedia software provider and a specialist in DVD and Video conversion and backup, is giving away its best-selling WinX DVD Ripper Platinum, free of charge. You can download the whole package at http://www.winxdvd.com/giveaway/rip-dvd-free.htm without paying a penny, and the only limitations are that this version isn’t upgradable, and that the free unlock code provided needs to be used by the specified date.

Why is it so good? Partly it comes down to sheer ease of use. WinX DVD Ripper Platinum removes encryption, automatically selects the main title and outputs it smoothly in the right order, with next to no work from the user. With ready-made configurations for the most commonly-used video formats and every major make and model of tablet and smartphone, from the iPhone 6 to the Google Nexus 7 and the Samsung Galaxy S5, you can be sure that you’ll get a great result, first time and with minimal fuss.

WinX DVD Ripper Platinum also handles DVD discs protected by the most challenging encryption systems, including the particularly prickly schemes used by Sony and Disney. Discs that make other DVD rippers crash or splutter don’t pose any problems, and Digiarty continually upgrades the program to support and rip the latest DVDs.

WinX DVD Ripper Platinum also boasts more advanced features than its rivals, with tools for editing, modifying the aspect ratio and cropping the video. It can de-interlace interlaced DVD video for maximum quality, or use a High Quality Engine to extract every speck of detail from every frame. It also features four DVD copy modes, enabling you to clone the DVD to an ISO, ready for burning as a backup disc, make a 1:1 copy straight to a folder on your hard disk, and either back-up the DVD main title or copy it to a fully multi-track MPEG-2 file, complete with all video, audio and subtitles.

Most of all, WinX DVD Ripper Platinum is fast. With support for multi-core processors, hyper-threading and GPU acceleration, it can rip a DVD at lightning speeds. Run it on a 64-bit Windows 7 PC with a Core i7 4790K processor and 16GB of RAM, and it can convert a DVD to the popular H.264 format at speeds of up to 260 frames per second. That’s three to five times faster than many rival programs running under the same conditions, on the same hardware at the same settings.

Rip a DVD for iPhone 6 in three easy steps

With WinX DVD Ripper Platinum, ripping DVDs is easy. Simply go to http://www.winxdvd.com/giveaway/rip-dvd-free.htm then follow three simple steps:

 1. First, launch WinX DVD Ripper Platinum. Insert the DVD into your PC’s DVD drive, then click the Disc button at the top-left.

 2. WinX DVD Ripper Platinum will read the disc and prepare to rip it. When the Outlook Profile window pops up, scroll down on the left-hand side until you see the device you want to rip for. You’ll find most major smartphones and tablets covered, including recent launches like the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus and the iPad Air 2. Pick your model, then adjust the slider from LQ  (faster rips, lower quality) to HQ (slower rips, higher quality). Now click OK.

 3. WinX DVD Ripper Platinum now gives you a choice of which titles – the main feature, bonus features – you want to rip, and which audio tracks. Title1 will be the main feature.Make any selections, then click Run. WinX DVD Ripper Platinum will go to work and rip you DVD, and you can check the results once it’s finished.

Rip a DVD for iPhone 6: more options

There’s no end to the tweaking you can do with WinX DVD Ripper Platinum. To add subtitles or edit the video, click the Subtitles pull-down in step 3 and select the language you need. You can also maximise your rip for quality by moving the quality slider all the way to the right in step 2, then selecting the Use High Quality Engine and Deinterlacing options above the Run button in step 4. The process will be slower, but you’ll get the absolute best quality.

If your needs focus more on converting files from other sources for use on your iPad Air, iPhone 6 or any of a vast range of tablets and smartphones, take a look at WinX HD Video Converter Deluxe. It converts 1080p full HD and 4K Ultra HD videoto whichever format you need for your PC, smartphone or tablet in a flash, with in over 320 different video and 40 different audio formats supported.

To get your free copy of WinX DVD Ripper Platinum visit: http://www.winxdvd.com/giveaway/rip-dvd-free.htm 

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Samsung Galaxy S6 'Project Zero' release date, features and specs rumours: Metal frame pictures leak

The flagship Samsung Galaxy S5 has been on sale for a while now and the firm has seen disappointing sales so it's time to look forward to the Galaxy S6 which is codenamed Project Zero. Here's everything we can tell you about the Galaxy S6 release date and specs based on rumours and speculation. Also see: Best smartphones 2014 and Best Android phones 2014.

Every major flagship smartphones for 2014 has now launched including the iPhone 6, Google Nexus 6 and Samsung Galaxy Note 4. Many of you will be interested in when Samsung will launch a follow-up smartphone to the Galaxy S5 and you've come to the right place.

Read: HTC One M9 release date, price, specs rumours.

Samsung Galaxy S6: Release date

Although there is nothing official from Samsung yet (don't expect anything for a while), there is plenty to say about the release date of the Galaxy S6. For starters it's extremely unlikely to arrive this year. Read: iPhone 6 release date, price, specs and new features.

Samsung, like other hardware manufacturers has got into a rhythm of launching a new flagship smartphone once per year. Just as the Galaxy Note 4 and iPhone 6 were expected to launch in September and did so, we (along with many others) expect the Galaxy S6 to launch close to MWC.

The Korean tech giant has launched previous Galaxy S phones near to the Barcelona show; in fact, the Galaxy S5 was announced in the Spanish city earlier this year. MWC 2015 is scheduled for 2 March so we fully expect the Galaxy S6 to be unveiled close to this date at an Unpacked event.

There is the odd murmur that Samsung will bring it forward due to disappointing Galaxy S5 sales. If we hear more, we'll let you know.

Samsung Galaxy S6: Specs

Plenty of whispers are circulating the rumour mill on what specs and features the Samsung Galaxy S6 will offer. Some sound farfetched; others are more likely. Now a detailed leak by SamMobile reveals what Samsung is planning for the Galaxy S6 so read on. The specs revealed by the site are backed up by a screenshot from the AnTuTu benchmark app. Read: LG G4 release date, price and specs rumours.

Screen

It seems perfectly plausible that the Galaxy S6 will use a SuperAMOLED screen, Samsung's favoured display technology. As for size, the trend is for new models to have bigger displays so with the Galaxy S5 at 5.1in, the Galaxy S6 could be as large as 5.5in, matching the LG G3 or somewhere in-between.

Speaking of the LG G3, there are two main contenders for the Galaxy S6 screen resolution: Quad HD (1440 x 2560) matching LG's flagship smartphone or 4K (2160 x 3840). The former seems more likely to us, now that Samsung has introduced it in the Galaxy Note 4 but it's certainly not out of the question. SamMobile touts it will be Quad HD but doesn't know what size.

There are rumours of a flexible or curved display which Samsung has been developing and we've seen on the Galaxy Round. Whether the firm utilises this on the flagship Galaxy S6 is unclear. It's possible but from our point of view, unlikely.

Design and build

The Samsung Galaxy S5 got slammed in reviews (including ours) for its plastic build quality and this is something which should be improved when it comes to the Galaxy S6. Rumours suggest the firm could be using graphene as a material. More likely, however, is that Samsung will continue the metal design used by its Galaxy Alpha in the Galaxy S6.

The following images alleged to be a metal Samsung Galaxy S6 frame have been leaked by NoWhereElse.

3G.co.uk has released the concept image at the top of this page, plus the following Samsung Galaxy S6 teaser video:

A new concept image comes from vouchercodespro.co.uk, shown below:

Software

Samsung is making Tizen products but it's almost certain that the Galaxy S6 will stick with Android. Google has announced Android 5.0 Lollipop so Samsung has plenty of time to get this version pre-installed and we expect a new version of Samsung's TouchWiz interface.

Processor, memory and storage

Under the bonnet we think the Galaxy S6 will be powered by one of Qualcomm's 64-bit processors (Android Lollipop will support 64-bit) which have already been announced and scheduled to arrive inside devices in the first half of 2015 – how convenient. Android L vs Android 4.4 KitKat comparison review: What's the difference?

The Snapdragon 808 and Snapdragon 810 are the two options here and Samsung could launch each in different markets. The former supports up to 1600 x 2560 displays and the latter allows for full 4K.

SamMobile claims the Galaxy S6 will come with its own new Exynos 7420, a 64-bit chip with four Cortex-A53 and four Cortex-A57 cores. However, there will also be a Snapdragon 810 version which is the one we could end up getting in the UK.

On the storage front, the phone is rumoured to come in 32-, 64- and 128 GB models to choose from. Samsung is likely to equip the Galaxy S6 with 3 GB of RAM.

Cameras

There's no word on the Galaxy S6 camera yet but we expect it to either be the same 16Mp resolution with some improvements or an even higher resolution, perhaps 20Mp. SamMobile says the firm is currently deciding between the two but says it is likely the firm will stick with 16Mp with optical image stabilisation like the Note 4.

Front cameras are increasingly important and the Galaxy S6 looks set to get a 5Mp shooter to match the freshly announced Galaxy A3 and Galaxy A5.

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Best smartphones of 2014/2015: The 50 best phones you can buy in the UK - Best Android phones, best iPhones, best Windows Phones - best phones reviews

The 50 best smartphones available to buy in the UK right now. The best phones you can buy in the UK - Best Android phones, best iPhones, best Windows Phones - best phones reviews. Keep reading to find out what is the best phone of 2014 and which upcoming devices to look out for in 2015.

Smartphones are an important and personal tech purchase so at PC Advisor we review all the major handsets available to buy in the UK. Here we rank them into the 48 best smartphones of 2014/2015. When you've found the phone you like, compare mobile phone deals to get the best tariff. See also: What's the fastest smartphone of 2014: processor, web and graphics performance comparison

We test and review smartphones in-depth and here are the best of the best from all the operating systems including iOS, Android and Windows Phone. We update this story all the time as we review the latest smartphones. See also: Best Android smartphones in UK: What's the best Android phone you can buy in 2014?  

New entry: UMI Zero - find out where it ranks below.

Best phones list: Smartphones and features to look out for in 2015 UK

Although we've ranked the best smartphones which we've reviewed, there are some upcoming handsets to be aware of. Once we've had them in, tested them fully, and reviewed them, they are likely to make this chart. This means it might be worth holding off your purchase for a little while. Take a look at: The best tablets of 2014: What's the best tablet in the UK right now?

The five big phone makers are each already planning their 2015 smartphones. Keep an eye out for the Samsung Galaxy S6, HTC One M9 and Sony Xperia Z4 in March, the LG G4 in the summer, and the iPhone 7 in September 2015.

Best Smartphones of 2014/2015: best phones reviews

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HP Stream 11/13 is the Best Tech Deal of 2014

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For all the ways you could spend—and waste—money on technology this year, the best value to be had was a pair of affordable and value-packed laptops, the HP Stream 11 and HP Stream 13. Announced by Microsoft in July and greeted by stunned disbelief, these HP Stream laptops deliver on the promise that a Windows device can be affordable without being cheap. They aren't just good enough. They're great.

Admittedly, this year's selection was a bit more contentious than last year, when the Nokia Lumia 520 ran away with the crown. But that's good news: Unlike in 2013, we now have a tremendous range of high-quality, low-cost Windows devices from which to choose. So the HP Stream laptops are winners in a much more competitive market.

And check this out: The runner-up to this selection was another HP device, the HP Stream 7, which is currently $125 at Amazon.com. And the only reason I didn't just make this a general HP Stream pick—including both tablets and laptops—is not HP's fault: It's just that the ecosystem for mobile apps in Windows 8.x is still struggling. Put simply, a Windows laptop is a better buy right now than a Windows tablet.

It's also a better buy than any Chromebook. I've come to understand the popularity of these devices, but they're still far too limited when compared to Windows laptops; heck, even Chrome itself is more full-featured on Windows than it is on a Chromebook. But with the HP Stream 11 and 13, we see Windows laptops that aren't just better than Chromebooks, but also cheaper than comparable Chromebooks. So picking one over a Chromebook is a no-brainer for most people.

HP Stream has proven so popular with my family that we now have three of them. My wife uses an HP Stream 11 at her standing desk and has declared it a far superior PC to the Microsoft Surface 2 she was previously using, mostly because the performance is so much better. My daughter has switched from an older, hand-me-down Macbook Air 11 (relax, it was running Windows 7) to another HP Stream 11. And I've been using an HP Stream 13 around the house for review purposes.

I personally prefer the Stream 13's bigger screen, and while I don't think buyers in this price segment are super-concerned about the specifics of port availability, I will point out that the Stream 13 has three USB ports to the Stream 11's two. Likewise, the Stream 13 has a microSD port, which I prefer to the Stream 11's (non-micro) SD port. Why? Because a full-sized SD card still sticks out more from the port when inserted, and could be inadvertently ejected more easily. But whatever. Both laptops offer the right level of expansion for this market, and I'd point out that either one of these Streams has more USB expandability than any Surface device, including the expensive Surface Pro 3. Shame, Microsoft, shame.

The HP Stream 11 and 13 are not powerhouses, but then they're not meant to be. More important, I think, they are also not netbooks. They offer high-quality HD screens, full-sized keyboards that I find quite comfortable—and you know how picky I am about those two components—and a gorgeous gradient paint job that has no business being on a device in this price class. Unlike a netbook, you don't have to be embarrassed to use an HP Stream, and indeed, the beauty of these devices will draw accolades from others. They're just really nice looking laptops.

They're also real PCs. No, an Atom processor and 2 GB of RAM won't give you a great experience multitasking between Photoshop, multiple Office applications, and a web browser. But you can run all of those applications if you want, and that's the point. Apple iTunes is available, as are all other PC applications, including desktop apps, Modern (Metro) apps and of course web apps (including, cough, Chrome web apps, some of which—seriously—don't even run on Chromebooks). This is the sweet spot for app compatibility.

HP Stream isn't perfect, of course. Power users will need more horsepower, and the RAM is not upgradeable. A fairly low 32 GB of eMMC internal storage means you'll be turning to microSD/SD expansion at some point. And of course you don't get touch at these prices: You will need to step up to the HP Pavilion X2 10.1-inch Detachable 2 in 1 Laptop, which starts at $270 at Amazon.com for that capability. And maybe that's something you should consider, though I haven't tested that particular device.

HP Stream 11

Ultimately, what we come back to here is value. The HP Stream 11 costs $200 at Amazon.com and just $180 at the Microsoft Store currently. And the HP Stream 13 costs $300 at Amazon.com, or just $200 (!) at the Microsoft Store right now. (I think the Amazon prices are skewed because of demand. Normal pricing is $199 for the Stream 11 and $229 for the Stream 13.) Are you kidding me?

But wait, there's more. Both come in a choice of very vibrant colors, including the Horizon Blue I prefer and Orchid Magenta, which is currently hard to find. Both come with a one-year subscription to Office 365 Personal, which as you may know is a $69.99 value. Both include a $25 virtual gift card to the Windows Store, so you can stock up on paid apps, music, or TV shows and movies, your choice. That's $95 in freebies that you will use. You're paying just $105 to $135 for the hardware.

And someone told you Chromebook was a good deal. Pfft.

My advice here is to grab one of these Stream laptops at the Microsoft Store if possible, so you can get what's called a Signature Edition version of the device that comes sans crapware. You'll also save some money, though given the vagaries of Amazon.com pricing that could change over time. Get one for a child, or get one for yourself. But do get one if you have the need.

The HP Stream 11 and 13 pass a very important and rare test for me: These are devices I can recommend wholeheartedly without any reservations, and I don't get to do that a lot. These laptops are the real deal. Welcome back, HP.

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