Perspec-Tech Returns with the Hunt for the King of Flagships!

The Hunt for the King of Flagships (2015)

The market at the moment is full of exciting and interesting new devices. We have seen the release of an incredible 4K smartphone, in the Sony Xperia Z5, a smartphone with curved edges in the Galaxy S6 Edge and even a smartphone with a USB-C port in the OnePlus 2. But this only makes everything more confusing. If you are looking to buy a flagship device, you are not looking to buy second best, correct?

The Galaxy S6 Edge with it's sexy curves...

That is why we at Perspec-Tech have set our new goal - to make sure you are getting the most for your money. We plan to find the best smartphone of 2015, the best budget smartphone of 2015 and a list of honourable mentions for 2015. 

The True Flagship killer? We'll See!

So, what now? CTRL+D this Blog! Follow our RSS feed! Follow our Facebook page! Follow our Twitter! Support our quest, and along the way, maybe we'll get to know each other! 

We hope you enjoy your time with us at Perspec-Tech!

Das Keyboard 4 Professional Review

The Das Keyboard 4 Professional is a mechanical high quality keyboard made by the experienced folks over at Das, and they were kind enough to send us one out for a couple of weeks so we could review it. I have to say i'm incredibly impressed by it.

You're probably wondering why this keyboard is so special compared to a keyboard you could pick up at Walmart for $20. The Das Keyboard 4 Professional is a mechanical keyboard and mechanical keyboards were the original keyboards, the infamous IBM model M is essentially what this keyboard is designed to be like; but its not, its way better. For those of you who don't know or who aren't familiar with what exactly mechanical keyboards are, they have mechanical switches which are very tactile and also give crazily satisfying audio feedback when you press each key; basically, they click a lot, and its great.

There are really 3 main areas of the Das keyboard that I want to discuss and that is Function, Style and ergonomics.

Starting with Function, this keyboard is loud, and it's actually going to be too loud for some people. The mechanical key switches that give great audio feedback come at the cost of being so loud that its enough to wake people up if you type vigorously enough! However, this is only the case if you buy the model with the MX Blue switches which are the sort of super clicky and loud switches, the alternative is the Das keyboard 4 professional with MX Brown switches which are essentially the same except much much quieter. For me personally, I really love the exaggerated clickyness of the blue switches; it really makes you feel like you're getting work done and being productive. It's really well built being made up of plastic as well as aluminum which gives it this really high quality feel, it just destroys all the competition in comparable mechanical keyboards and its also made by a highly respected company, Das Keyboards. The keyboard is also equipped with full N key rollover, meaning for all you gamers out there you can press as many keys simultaneously and they will all be registered, perfect for gamers who need that kind of responsiveness and reliability. In terms of how it affects your typing speeds, I improved my words per minute by about 30 words per minute which is just insane. The mechanical cherry MX Blue switches are just a pleasure to type on and the sturdiness of the keyboard all contribute to a much nicer, pleasurable and efficient typing experience.

Let's talk about style. As far as I can see, the keys are not laser edged meaning they're painted off and can therefore be scratched off if you handle it the wrong way. This is probably one of the biggest downfalls of the keyboard in my opinion. The switches in the keyboard can each be pressed over 5 million times individually before showing any signs of wear giving a great life to the keyboard, however this is kind of ruined by the fact that over time the paint marking the keys may wear off. One thing I really like that Das did was give the keyboard a matt black finish. This is great because it means that unlike some keyboards which have glossy finishes, dust and degree won't be nearly as noticeable and most of all those pesky fingerprints won't show up. This keeps the keyboard looking really nice and clean.

On to ergonomics. I've been lucky enough not to have problems with my wrists as a result of typing at a funny angle. The Das Keyboard 4 Professional allows me to type at a very flat angle so that my hands are almost hanging just above the keys meaning they're not at that 45 degree angle they usually are when typing on keyboards with an inclination. This is great because it means that I can type more comfortably and in additional to that I get to keep my wrists healthy! For those of you who really don't care about the wrist issue like I do, Das does include a very unique way of propping the keyboard up at an inclined angle. Usually with most keyboards there are little flaps along the bottom that you flip about that serve as feet, however with the Das Keyboard 4 Professional there's a 40cm ruler. Yes, you heard me right, a ruler. It's really quite awesome actually. The ruler attaches to the bottom of they keyboard magnetically so it gives a secure base for the keyboard to incline on, and of course it also serves as an actual ruler! Way to innovate Das!

Plugging in the keyboard to your computer takes up 1 USB port however Das included a 2 port USB 3.0 hub at the front of the keyboard so you can plug any USB devices you want in there which is super awesome. One thing I wish they included was backlighting for they keys. I usually stay up late gaming and or finishing homework assignments and so having a backlight would be an awesome feature, so I hope Das includes that on their next generation of keyboard.

The Das Keyboard 4 Professional is truly in my opinion one of the best on the market currently and has honestly changed the way I type. I've become so much more productive and its simply a joy to type on. The only problem is that I have to send it back! I'll probably end up buying one and i'd encourage you to do the same, it's simply an excellent high quality keyboard from Das.

Sony Xperia Z4 - Will it be better?

It seems the Z4 will be arriving sooner than some might imagine due to the six month gap between phones that Sony has decided to adapt. Leaks have been around since January, and there has been more and more data around.

Sony have been rumoured to be focussing on the Xperia Z4’s screen. Many say it will come with a 5.4/5.5 inch display with a QHD 2560 x 1440 resolution and the same Triluminos wide colour gamut technology that’s been around with the previous Xperia Z models. Some claim that the Z4 will have 2 editions, one that has a 1080p display, and another with a 2K QHD. The 2K will likely be common in the UK and US while the other may be more widely available in developing markets in other countries.

The Z4 is looking to have 4GB of RAM and a battery of 3420mAh like that of the long lasting Z3 model before it which nobody will turn their nose up at. The phone is confirmed to have the Snapdragon 810 processor as Gen Tsuchikawa (Sony Mobile VP) stated in a Qualcomm press release. The phone is set to run Android 5.0 (Lollipop) supporting the 4GB of RAM with its 64-bit kernel. Internal storage is not confirmed but tipped at 32GB.

Sony’s Xperia range has always offered a strong phone design. The Z4 is a phone that looks a lot like the previous Xperia models available. That means we can already predict a superb build quality, resistance to dust and water, and a metal case with strong glass. There are to be some changes of course, the corners of the phone are to be more rounded and as common with new phone models, the bezels at the top and bottom of the phone are to be thinner than its predecessors. The Z4 is also rumoured to have improved waterproof capabilities than that of the Z3 and will not need a cover for the USB port to do so. Lastly, the phone is also tipped to have a glossy finish on the metal frame on the phones edge.

The word on the web is that the Sony Xperia Z4 will have a 20.7MP rear-facing camera and a 4.8MP front facing camera with a wide angle lens. This is the same number of megapixels as the current Z3’s (excellent) rear camera, but Sony are improving the camera by possibly implementing their new IMX230 Exmor RS sensor. This offers a speedy 192-point autofocus and real-time HDR. It also contains 2 extra lens elements for consuming more light, which would be a fantastic upgrade.
There may also be a Z4 Ultra released alongside the regular model with gives a more phabletty side to the phone. It is tipped to have the same chipset and RAM but a larger 5.9in screen and a slightly lower resolution camera (16MP, with dual LED flash), as well as a 5.7mm frame.

What do you think about the phone? Will you be buying one? As always let us know in the comments if you have something to add or leave us a message through the contact tab of our website.

LG G Flex 2 - This one's supposed to bend

The LG G Flex 2 is yet another new and innovative phone from the company but unlike the IPhone 6, this one’s supposed to bend.  Sticking with the idea from the first G Flex, the device is based heavily on engineering aptitude rather than implementing hardware for an ideal phone. This makes it almost a big mash up of parts making a brand new phone. The G Flex 2 has improved greatly over the first, being more refined and sleeker in most ways.

What makes this phone stand out? It’s curved. Most people seem more interested in external innovation when it comes to phones rather than internal processors. This is not always the case but the public has spoken. You have to have something that another phone doesn’t in order to be noticed. The main reason people might want this phone is simply because it’s different. But the buyers will likely only have satisfaction in rubbing this phones curve in their friend’s faces.

The 5.5 inch screen (like that of the OnePlus One) makes it large for a smartphone, and the basic bold red colour makes it stand out even more. This phone is a pure extrovert, yet is a perfectly decent smartphone to boot. Its glossy finish gives it a resistance to fingerprint smudges and its cover is ‘Self-healing’ which I suppose is a neat little trick that will keep the phone looking new for longer, but having the ability to recover from surface scratches in less than 10 seconds has its limits.

The phone has a great 3GB of RAM and uses a 3000mAh battery for long lasting usage with rapid charging technology. It uses the Snapdragon 810 processor and also provides support for the new tri-band LTE. The OLED front screen has been upgraded to 1080p from 720p on the original G Flex and the 13 MP camera allows for sleek images and also carries the ability to record 4K video.
So this phone’s got the looks, the specs, and very small bezels around the display. Is there anything else? The curve is more subtle than that of the original G Flex but as for how it feels in hand I cannot say as we do not have this device for review. It seems the curve would be comfortable when making calls too as it curves with your face, potentially improving your call quality rather than slapping a brick to your ear to call someone.

So should you buy this phone? I’m not saying no. It has decent specs for a 2015 smartphone, and the curve makes it stand out from many smartphones. The curve is obviously an external addition but it allows those of you who make a phone a fashion accessory to show off, and those who want a phone for a phone can have a high end model, as long as you’re willing to pay £500 for it.
As per usual, if you’ve got any comments to make, leave us one down below or send us an email through the contact tab of our website. I hope I’ve enlightened you on the curved phone.

Sony Xperia Z3 - Low impact review

As a (not so) proud owner of an old school Sony Xperia mini pro so it was pleasing to see how far Sony smartphones have advanced in the past few years.
The first thing I noticed about the Z3 was the excellent camera quality, 20.7 MP makes an impressive phone camera by anyone’s standard and the camera captures excellent footage at a variety of light intensities and distances.

As far as visuals go I personally thing the Z3 is a stunning piece of work, its slender and sleek, shiny and sophisticated and basically just one sexy looking smartphone. The screen is bright and attention grabbing just as you would expect from a 1080 x 1920 IPS LCD capacitive screen.
However one major design flaw in the fact that the back of the phone is glass which is potentially the start to an unfortunate series of events. Firstly this leads to the back of the phone getting very hot after prolonged use of the phone (roughly 30 minutes), which makes that hands sweat and the phone uncomfortable to hold. Now as the glass back of the phone is already virtually frictionless this then often lead to the pone slipping out of your hand and although both the screen and back glass are shatter-resistant this doesn’t mean repeated drops won’t cause some sizeable damage.
UI lag on the Z3 is virtually non-existent thanks to the Quad-core 2.5 GHz Krait 400 central processing unit and the phone is more than capable with running countless apps and performing many tasks.
As an added bonus the Z3 comes with android version 4.4.4 (kitkat) however it can be easily upgraded to version 5.0 (lollipop) showing that sony are really pushing to keep up with its smart phone competitors.
Finally the sound quality on the Z3 is very pleasing, allowing for strong smooth audio and no irritating background crackling, of ever-present hum if you try and turn it up so the sounds are actually audible.
It's a wonder why Sony is failing to be a strong member of the smartphone market share with such excellent phones at competitive prices!
What do you think? Is the Z3 right for you? Is Sony doing the right thing in potentially closing their smartphone manufacture down? Let us know in the comments below!

LG G Flex 2 at a Glance

Phone designers are changing their techniques. Recently LG have released the new G FLEX 2, with a new fresh look on phones. As suggested by the name “FLEX,” the G FLEX is very curved. The new innovative design makes this phone not just pleasing to the eye. But to the palm of your hand, the whole phone is one long curve, so it rest easily in your hand. LG has made a very brave move in handset design. Another curved phone is the Samsung S6 Edge which I believe will be in close competition.

Display:

• A slightly smaller screen size of 5.5 Inches
• Type of Display - Curved P-OLED capacitive touchscreen with 16M colours
• 1080 x 1920p Full HD Display with 403 ppi
• Curved screen allows for better usage in bright sunlight

Memory, Storage and Processing:

• Internal phone storage – 16GB
• Optional External Memory – MicroSD Port (Up To 128GB)
• 2GB of RAM (Random Access Memory)
• CPU Name - Qualcomm MSM8994 Snapdragon 810
• Number of Cores – Quad Core

Network & Connectivity:

• SIM Type – Micro Sim
• Headphones - 3.5 mm audio connector
• Charging port - Micro-USB
• Bluetooth – Blue tooth 4.1
• NFC – Sharing and Pairing
• WiFi - 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band, Wi-Fi Direct, DLNA, hotspot

Camera (Rear)

• 13 MP
• 4128 x 3096 pixels
• Laser autofocus
• Optical image stabilization
• Dual-LED flash

Camera (Front)

• 2.1 MP
• 1080p at 30fps

Camera (Recording)

• 2160p@30fps
• 1080p@60fp
• HDR
• Stereo Sound

There are few extra features that are not as common in phones that you might actually want. LG have made a self-healing scratch case for the FLEX 2. It can recover from light scratches in roughly 10 seconds, due to its high density molecular shell. Also LG have removed any buttons from the frame of the FLEX 2, so there is no chance of accidently changing the volume or locking the screen whilst you hold the phone. This is good, but it can take a while to get used to the buttons not being there.

LG have created the G FLEX 2 as a trend-setter to change the way all mobile phones are created. It may inspire other manufacturers to make curved and slanted phones. Although I believe that this will take some time, as to actually make a curved phone, requires lots of time and money; screen glass will need to be freshly made to be curved, the components inside will be very hard to fit in (If it’s curved there isn’t as much space!) another factor that may slow down the “Curved Revolution” is the fact that people might not even like it. Some may prefer a flat phone to be honest!

But for me, I would not be afraid to try something new. And buy more phones and technology that have more intricate designs. I love the fact that LG are pursuing this new breed of phone, because despite its overall difficulty to produce, LG have still made another fantastic smartphone with moderately high-end specs and a very high-end design.

Innovations - What I want to see in 2015

2014 showed the tech world that there is a problem with smartphones. That problem is that Apple is so popular, that all smartphone manufacturers do their best to grab some ex-iPhone users by offering basically the same as Apple with an android skin on top. Yes, the devices have nifty extra stuff, but the Samsung Galaxy S5 and the iPhone 6 are so similar in usability and general handling, you'd have to be blind to not notice any similarities.

The best phones of 2014, in my eyes, are the ones which did something different. Some maybe ever pre-2014 phones are still better than iPhone clones. Here are a few examples.

-The Samsung Galaxy K Zoom. 

With a 20 Megapixel camera and 30x OPTICAL zoom, the Galaxy K Zoom was the strangest looking Galaxy released in recent years. It's weight and bulk put most people off the device, but for those who needed a true camera and didn't want to splash out on a Canon or Nikon, this was exactly the right idea. I just wish Samsung would focus on making the zoom module thinner, so the system can fit into more phones - Samsung Galaxy S6 Zoom anybody?

-LG G Flex 2.

Yes, the device is laggy, buggy and gets too hot. However, that doesn't take away from the fact that LG have at least tried to create a new form factor. The flexible phone is exactly what you need if you're prone to sitting on your phone, or leaving it face-down on tables - the self-healing back is renowned to fail, however, it was an interesting attempt to make a new material work in a very experimental phone which has done relatively well. Especially if LG plan to release a G Flex 3 late this year! Hell, if they can just make the G4 with a flexible body, I'll take it,

-Moto Maker.

This isn't a phone, or a wearable. It's an online store. However, it allows potential customers to choose from colours, materials and extras to be added to their Moto X or Moto 360 before buying for a little bit more than the basic phone would cost. The back of the Moto X is non-removable, so it's a good thing that they let you choose a decent-looking back panel online! I hope to see more technology manufacturers allow you to buy your phone custom made for your liking - I'd also like to option to remove the logos from phones, for a cost. Hell, if I could have bought my G3 without the ugly LG logos on the front and back, I'd have paid £100 more for it!

-Materials.

Phones cost a lot of money. They need to feel expensive. I'm not paying £500 for a plastic toy phone. I'm paying £500 for a PREMIUM device. Take a leaf out of Samsung's book - use better materials. Glass, Metal, Leather, all of the above - I don't care! Just no plastic! It's cheap, it looks tacky and you simply cannot make plastic look premium. The HTC One M series has shown us recently that a premium unibody aluminium design is very sought after and highly popular. HTC don't even need to have the best internal processors, people will still love the One M9 because it looks so stunning.

So what would you like to see in 2015 in terms of innovations? Are you happy with everybody playing catch-up with Apple? Do you own an Apple and don't know what we're talking about? Let us know, in the comments below.

The New MacBook just got an early unboxing.

Apple's latest addition to the MacBook lineup has just received an unboxing over a week before it's scheduled release. The 12 inch Retina MacBook, announced earlier this month, is Apple's thinnest MacBook ever. A Vietnamese site Tinhte.vn has somehow managed to get hold of a brand-new silver MacBook and recorded the first unboxing.

For obvious reasons, the entirety of the video is in Vietnamese, however never the less it still gives you an early look at all the awesome features the new MacBook offers like the brand new USB-C type port, edge to edge keyboard and super thin profile.

Tinhte.vn has also included additional photos on their official website & a full video on their Youtube channel as seen above.

Apple is yet to officially release the new MacBook with its official release date being April 10th, with Apple yet to announce whether or not it will be offering pre-orders ahead of that date.

How do you think they got their hands on the new MacBook early? Is Apple not cracking down on leaks hard enough? Let us know in the comments below!

Oculus Rift - Look into my eyes....

The Oculus Rift. The piece of technology that caused ‘Kickstarter’ to explode. The virtual reality headset developed by 'Oculus VR' is perhaps the most advanced piece of virtual gaming gear available today. Despite its delayed release for consumer purchase, the 'Rift' still stands as the best at what it does, if they stall the release much longer though, they may have to innovate quicker, as other companies are fast approaching with other new ideas for the future of VR technology. The second SDK (Software developer kit) is available for purchase now at £400 but the official launch of a non-developer version is set to be mid-2015, but there has still been no official release date as of yet, but 'Oculus VR' have said they’d be “Disappointed” if the release was pushed back to 2016.

The 'Rift' uses an OLED screen within the goggles to project the images in front of you. This was changed from a regular LCD screen in the first model and is now much better for image projection in the supported games. The screen itself is a size of 5.7 inches within the headset with a 24-bit colour depth which allows a resolution of 1080p for each eye, making the games look as crisp as next gen console graphics. Despite this, the current developer kit of the 'Rift' weighs a mighty 379g, which is expected to be lowered for consumer purchase because it seems like it could form a problem with prolonged periods of that weight on the front of your face.

How does it work? The 'Rift' uses 3 axis gyros, magnetometers, and accelerometers along with its infrared motion tracking system to make the VR experience as enjoyable as possible. In the past there have been some lag issues with the motion tracking that have been worked on by the company. This may lead to an adjacent reality tracker being used in the future, if the problems are continuous, in order to minimalise the tracking lag and improve the overall experience.

As for a first-hand review of the product, we can’t give you one yet unfortunately, although, we hope to be able to get our hands on the product one day and return to the topic for all our perspectives. If you want to learn more about the rift then visit www.oculus.com or watch one of many Youtube videos for reviews or examples of the amazing games and features this equipment has to offer.

As always, if you have anything you want to share with us about this topic feel free to leave a comment below or send us a private message through the contact feature of our website!

Samsung Galaxy S5 - A low-impact User's review

When reviewing the S5 obviously the property that stood out the most was the waterproofing, a trait becoming more and more common amongst current smartphones, the manufacturers say that the S5 I waterproof up to 1M depth for 30 minutes, and although we didn't quite push it to its limits, I discovered that the phone is in fact relatively waterproof. The only downside to this is that the phones touchscreen cannot be used whilst the phone is submerged or even just wet.

Another thing I obviously picked up on whilst using the S5 was the technicolor wonderland of the Super AMOLED, 5.1”, 1080 x 1920 HD screen, which in cooperation with the 16MP back camera of the S5 means stunning photographs can both be captured and viewed in the palm of your hand.

As well as this the S5 has a more than capable internal processing unit, the phones quad-core processor allows for next to no stalling or delays whether you’re browsing the many corners of the internet using Vodafone’s super-fast 4G, just flicking about the home screen or even tapping away on crossy road.

The S5 has the very intuitive idea of a built in heart rate monitor located on the back of the phone next to the camera which while it is a very original and unique idea, it is unfortunately rather faulty with only 1 in every 5 attempts succeeding in giving you a heart rate, and by this time it is through the roof anyway because you’re stressing about why your phone isn't working properly.

The battery life on the S5 is claimed by the manufacturers to be 21 hours of talk time and although this is excellent for a modern smart phone this does result in the battery taking forever to fully charge.

One major benefit to the S5, particularly for myself was that it has an internal storage capacity of 16GB, now as a person that mainly uses their phone for music this meant that I could fit near enough every track in my music library onto the S5 as well as having a few vital apps (Facebook, messenger, candy crush saga etc…) meaning that this storage capacity partnered with the more than impressive battery life meant that no a spare moment passed in my time with the phone when I could plug in my headphones and block out the world.

Finally one slight drawback to the S5 I reviewed was its appearance, although the phone shape is nice and thin and effectively everything a smartphone should be, the colour (‘copper gold’) reminded me of more some 2 carat Argos jewelry than a gleaming 24 carat gold ingot. This plastic gold is not quite Apple Watch gold. This however this isn't an issue with the other colours.

So those are my opinions on the Samsung Galaxy S5 but what are yours? Let us know in the comments bellow or email us through this website. Thank you for reading and I hope this helps you decide if the S5 is right for you.

Samsung Galaxy S5 - Moderate User's Review

I was really looking forward to getting a hands on experience with the Samsung Galaxy S5 as I haven’t used a Galaxy model since three personal phones back with my Samsung Galaxy Young.

 

First thing I noticed was the vibrant Super AMOLED screen which looks absolutely stunning on the 5.1” 1080p screen which makes the lock screen alone just fantastic to look at. If you’re looking for a phone that not only runs well, but looks good too, then this is the phone for you. For those who don’t want a phone to be a fashion statement, the Quad-core 2.5GHz processor allows for fast browsing through both the internet, as well as the user interface. Also, not to mention the 16MP camera that is positioned on the back of the S5 which produces stunning pictures as expected from a camera of that quality.

As an avid user of games, the S5 is perfect for gaming and the screen makes even low performance demanding games like ‘94%’ look great and it can definitely do high performance demanding apps like ‘FIFA 15 Ultimate Team’ justice with occasional to no lag during gameplay experience. As for the social media enthusiasts, all of your regular Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, etc. work as you’d expect on any android device.

No lie, the S5 is one of the most enjoyable phones I’ve had the pleasure of using because it is well balanced in every way. The Android (5.0) is easy to use and but ‘Touchwiz’ seems a little pointless. So you get a few pre-downloaded apps and the interface is okay but it’s not really the best thing we’ve seen from an android device. Other than this, the phone is easy to use by (In my opinion) everyone who knows the basics of a touchscreen.

Something else worth mentioning is that in my past I’ve had phones that, while on vibrate, can barely be felt when a new message, e-mail, etc. is received. This is NOT a problem with the S5 as it provides an adequate earthquake for you when a notification is received. Rest assured you will not miss a notification if this phone is on vibrate in your pocket.

But the big point is the price. Is this phone worth £400 (Argos) or not? Quite honestly, I’d say yes but you shouldn’t buy one right now. I suggest you wait until the release of the Samsung Galaxy S6 and see the prices and specs of that before deciding whether or not you should splash cash on the new model, or stick with its predecessor.

Have any thoughts on the phone? Whether you own one or are just thinking about it, be sure to weigh in on the topic by commenting below, or sending us an e-mail via the site! Thanks for your time and I hope this has helped you medium impact users on how the S5 can work for you.

The Perfect Smartphone for 2015

This is going to be a compilation of features I would want in the phone I would buy no questions asked this year. This device won't be produced by and manufacturer and probably couldn't be for logical reasons I don't understand as a consumer, However it's fun to share what I think, and it'll be interesting to see what you think.

The Screen.
I currently use an LG G3, which has a 5.5" display, which is absolutely stunning. After experiencing this, I really don't think I could go back to a 5" screen or even less. 5.5" would scare off a lot of potential users, but I have big hands, so it's perfect for me. It would have to be AMOLED, as the 5.5" would otherwise consume a hell of a lot of power. I also gotta have that QHD. Some people say they can't tell the difference, but you certainly can, especially after suing a QHD phone, every other device looks like a potato.

The Camera.
A huge issue I have with phones nowadays is their focus on cameras. I rarely use my phone's camera, and when I do it's never for photographing things like mountains or macro shots of insects. I don't need a 20 megapixel sensor, especially if it will cause the camera lens to poke out of the back shell of my phone. I require a camera to be flat with the back of my phone because I refuse to put the thing face-down. If the camera sticks out, the camera gets scratched - period. No matter how gentle you are with it, it will get scratched. If you can't put a camera above 13 megapixels in there without making it protrude, don't. I'm happy at 13, so long as you can lie flat.

The Speaker(s).
HTC have recently been slapping their patented Boomsound on everything they produce, which does sound fantastic, but makes the device a lot taller than I'd like. In fact, I'd have rather had the HTC One M8 have no Boomsound Speakers, but still perform how it did than be as tall as it is. This being said, I like dual front facing speakers. The speakers I have in mind are those from the Nexus 9 tablet, which build the speakers in-between the bezel and the edge of the device, providing stereo sound, but not requiring quite so much space. This would allow me to enjoy my 5..5" screen even more because the audio would be as beautiful as the screen. YouTube here I come.

The body.
The device would definitely favour metal as a design aspect. There would have to be metal around the screen from top to bottom - this would give it a great feel in the hand and make it feel sturdy and give it that expensive feel to it. The back of the device would be glass, which would maintain the expensive feel. The bezels would be as thin as possible and the device would have a small chin on the bottom and top of the screen to allow for the speakers and extra battery size. There would have to be rear-facing buttons, as it's something I've fallen in love with since using the G series of LG phones.

Inside.
I'd expect there to be 8 cores, running at about 2.7GHz at least. I'd be happy with a snapdragon 810 chipset, even with the potential overheating issues and I'd want to have at least an Adreno 330 GPU.

The software.
The device would, preferably use Android 5.1, with fairly stock android, however I'd prefer if there were some Motorola bonuses, such as Moto's notification screen each time you approach the device and motorola's voice command customization. I also really like LG's enlarged software buttons and would like to see these return.

Extra Features.
The device would need to have at least 3500 mAh of battery, anything less wouldn't make it through a day of normal usage. Water proofing is not really of any interest to me, as I like to have charging ports easily accessible. The device should have NFC built in and QI wireless charging, as I have a charging pad that I currently use, which is highly convenient. The device should have Gorilla Glass 4 at least. Fingerprint scanner and heart rate sensors are also missable.

Overall this is the device I believe that I would love to use as my daily driver throughout 2015.
So, what are your thoughts? What do you think of my ideal phone? What would be your ideal Phone? Let us know in the comments below!

The Nokia Lumia 1520 at a Glance

We all know about Nokia’s Lumia model, loaded with the latest windows OS. Recently, Nokia has released their new flagship Lumia, the 1520. The Lumia 1520 comes with the latest patch update: Lumia Cyan. The Lumia Cyan update brings to life some of the great Windows Phone 8.1 features like a more personal Start screen, Action Centre and the Word Flow keyboard. Nokia have also improved some of the previous features of windows phone and re-made it for the 1520:  Nokia Camera, Nokia Storyteller and Creative Studio. They have all been updated. The Lumia 1520 should have the best experience yet on Windows Phones.

Display:

• A large screen size of 6 inches
• Full HD display (1920x1080)
• Display Features - Brightness control, Orientation sensor, Refresh rate at  60 Hz, Sunlight readability enhancements, Easy to clean, High brightness mode, Lumia Colour profile, Wide viewing angle
• “Super sensitive”  Touch screen technology

Memory, Storage and Processing:

• Overall phone storage - 32 Gigabytes
• Optional external storage  - Micro SD reader  (up to 64 Gigabytes)
• Free 15 Gigabytes of online storage – Onedrive/Skydrive
• 2 Gigabytes of RAM (Random Access Memory)
• CPU Name - Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ 800
• Number Of Cores – Quad Core
• Clock Rate – 2200 MHz

Network & Connectivity:

• SIM card type - Nano SIM 
• Headphones - 3.5 mm audio connector 
• Charging port - Micro-USB 
• Bluetooth: Bluetooth 4.0 
• NFC: Pairing, Secure NFC for payment, Sharing, Tagging
• Wi-Fi: WLAN IEEE 802.11
• Wi-Fi hotspot (Up to 8 Wi-Fi-enabled devices) 
• Other wireless connectivity - Screen projection

Camera (Main):

• Main Camera – 20 MP
• Image stabilisation
• Camera features: Backside-illuminated image sensor, High resolution zoom 2x, PureView
• Camera minimum focus range: 10 cm

Camera (Front):

• Front camera: HD 1.2 MP wide angle 
• Front camera f-number/aperture: f/2.4 
• Front camera features: Still image capture, Video call, Video recording
• Front camera video resolution: 720p (HD, 1280 x 720)

Camera (Recording):

• Main camera video resolution - 1080p (Full HD, 1920 x 1080) 
• Camera video frame rate - 30 fps
• Camera video zoom - 3x
• Video recording features - Video zoom, Optical image stabilization, Continuous autofocus, Stereo Audio Recording, Video light, Lumia Rich Recording with Surround Sound, Lumia Rich Recording with four microphones, Lumia Video Trimmer app
• Video recording formats: MP4/H.264

The 1520 is definitely a key point in the history of Windows Phone. Windows Phone has finally matched the previous gen, mainstream phones; Iphone 5s and the Nexus 5. Nokia’s Full HD Display and Snapdragon 800 Processor and 2GB of RAM have become the expected starting grounds for flagship phones. The 1520 has become the largest phone Windows Phone ever manufactured, But that doesn’t mean only the most ardent windows fan should consider buying one.

The Nokia Lumia 1520 is huge, that much is obvious, but the 1520's design is remarkably similar to the Nokia Lumia 925. In width it is not exceedingly large but undoubtedly tall. But the sheer amounts of components in the “Lanky Design” makes it quite heavy, but this is justified by the quality of the casing and what the phone can do as a result of the components.

The screen on the 1520 is magnificent, due to the IPS-based LCD display; the screen is beautiful to look at because of its sharpness, vibrant colour schemes, responsiveness and brightness. It is also a. A 1920 x 1080, 6 Inch screen amounts to about 370 ppi (Pixels per inch) which makes the text plenty sharp enough. The large screen and Microsoft office also makes this phone ideal for the business man looking at documents, even ones with graphs and charts. The black level and contrast isn't quite as deep and clear as the best AMOLED displays, but the Lumia 1520 is still very good. It's excellent when viewed outdoors, too. This is a big help when lining up shots with the camera, somewhere where the size also helps a great deal.

Overall I think that this phone is a fantastic development from previous Windows Phones. It has brilliant features and specs for the high impact users that want a “beast” of a phone. However I do not think that this this phone is appropriate for people that just want a nice phone, to perform more basic tasks (E-mail, Bluetooth, Video Streaming.) The price of this is also a drawback for moderate impact users, coming in at £390. Unless you are a user that can operate a high-spec phone such as this, it may be a waste of money. But I still believe that if it’s a Windows Phone, you’re looking for, you should definitely put this phone high in your potential phones list!