GADGET GIZMO REVIEW Galaxy S6 Edge +

GADGET GIZMO REVIEW Galaxy S6 Edge +   So what's the best way to make an already great phone better? Make it bigger of course. We're talking about the Galaxy S6 edge and its bigger brother, the S6 edge +. The S6 and S6 edge proved that Samsung can make some really beautiful, powerful and desirable phones. This larger `plus' version increases the screen size from 5.1 to 5.7-inches (while keeping the same resolution) and adds an extra 1GB of RAM to further improve multitasking abilities and performance. CLASSY DESIGN The design closely follows that of the S6 edge: it has the same strong aluminium frame sandwiched between Gorilla Glass 4 in front and back. Around the back, you'll see that the camera module is still raised and it's flanked by the LED flash-heart rate sensor module. It has thin but tactile buttons for volume and power, with the USB 2.0, 3.5mm and single speaker at the bottom. And the home button still has the excellent fingerprint scanner. The only odd thing is that the IR emitter (to use the phone as a universal remote control) is missing. It's included in the smaller S6 and S6 edge, so it's baffling why Samsung chose to remove this useful piece of hardware in a larger and more expensive phone. Despite the phone's large size, it never feels awkward or unwieldy -thanks to the perfect balance and low weight. THE BEST DISPLAY OF ANY SMARTPHONE Apart from the design, the display is the highlight of this phone for sure. It's a stunning display by any standards and outclasses most other phones. The dual edge adds to the immersive nature of the screen and the amoled pops with colour and offers staggering contrast and viewing angles. The edge screen has some nice features too: people edge can have your most important contacts (each with an assigned colour). You can view missed notifications from them or instantly contact them. Apps edge can have some of your most used apps that you can launch -to access these, you need to swipe in from the edge. With the screen off, you can view your notifications or tickers (without powering on the entire screen). It can show you a dim night clock and if you place the phone face down, edge lighting will glow in the colour of your assigned contact. THE SAME GREAT CAMERA FROM THE S6 Most of the best parts of the S6 edge are carried over too -like that awesome camera. A quick double tap on the home button and the camera launches from anywhere. It's really fast and captures great results with zero effort. That's what an ideal smartphone camera should be like: ready to go in an instant and able to capture a fleeting moment before it's gone. Because it has a lens with f1.9 aperture, it captures great results in low light too, with the optical image stabilisation kicking in to keep things steady . It can shoot high quality QHD (2560 x 1440) and UHD (3840 x 2160) video too: although image stabilisation works till 1080p. INTERFACE AND SOFTWARE As for software, it's Touchwiz based on 5.1.-­ and it's lean, fast, very customisable and includes loads of accessibility features, gestures and little interface tricks. It's available in either gold or silver but 32GB is the only available option as of now.Like the others (S6, S6 edge), you don't get expandable memory , so this might be a deal breaker for some. That being said, there are still ways to get around limited on-board storage (such as with the inexpensive dual USB drives and wireless drives like Sandisk's Wireless Connect Stick). That brings us to the price. BATTERY LIFE The downside to the sleek and lightweight design is that Samsung has only managed a 3,000mAh battery into the S6 edge +. So if you were expecting better battery life because of the larger form factor, you might be disappointed. With normal us age, the phone will likely last you from 8am to 8pm without a fuss (about 4 hours of screen on time). But if you use it more, it might just run out on you by 3pm. At least fast charging and wireless charging are built in. IN CONCLUSION Owing to difficulties with manufacturing the dual edge screen, the edge + is more expensive than the Note 5. It's is still one of a kind and demands a premium. If you're a fan of the new devices, it's going to a hard decision to make: whether to go for the cheaper (but more focused and functional) Note 5 or for the more gorgeous (but also in some ways pointless) edge +. But the edge + is our pick for the most beautiful and desirable smartphone out there. If you desire form over function, nothing else comes close. SIDESYNC Built into the TouchWiz interface is an unassuming app called SideSync. This app allows you to connect your phone to a computer over WiFi or USB  cable -for screen mirroring and data exchange. This is a powerful feature that many users will find useful.To start using it, you need to download the SideSync server application from http:www.samsung.comsidesync. It's Windows only for now, but a version for MACs is promised soon. Once you set it up, you can mirror your phone's screen on your PC, receive all notifications and drag-and-drop imagesfiles from the phone to the PC. You can see and respond to text messages from your PC and what's more, you can also take phone calls using your PC's micspeakers (if equipped). Note that if you are connecting the phone to the PC over WiFi, both of them need to be on the same WiFi network. It requires at least Windows XP (SP3) or later and works with both 32 and 64-bit versions. The MAC version will be supported on MAX OS X 10.6 or later.

hitesh bhagat

ET30SEP15