Tech Buyer's Guide 2015

'Nerds are people who recommend products to people who aren't nerds.'

"Haha, that's me!" I thought to myself upon reading that beauty of a line in an article by Android Central. Subsequently, it has inspired to write this post to wrap up the year that is 2015.

Whenever I do recommendations, I always base it on the mantra of whether I would buy the product myself. So here are my recommendations across smartphones, tablets and digital cameras which are broken down into specific needs/criteria.

Apple, Stop Insulting Your Customers.

I would like to think of myself as quite a calm, level-headed and non-confrontational person but every so often I feel the need to have a rant. Today, Apple is the victim of my (probably insignificant) diatribe. I'm sure I'm going to annoy and alienate a number of Apple owners, but bear with me as I detail a number of their decisions in 2015 which have left me believing that Apple doesn't hold its loyal customers in high regards, certainly when it comes to intelligence and common sense.

Weekly Tech Wrap: iPad Pro, Best Camera & Tech Awards and MKBHD Explains Smartphone Cameras

Apple launches its newest iPad, DPReview publishes their list of the best interchangeable lens cameras for $500-$800 (£330-£550≈), TrustedReviews hosts their annual best tech of the year event and YouTube's most recognisable tech reviewer breaks down today's smartphone cameras.

Best Value Android Smartphones 2015

If you're in the market for a good, serviceable smartphone and don't want to spend heaps of cash on the most expensive flagship phone, then you're in luck. With the likes of Motorola, OnePlus and Huawei driving down prices, never before has the burgeoning value/budget smartphone market been better with many devices now sporting more high-end builds and features which were only previously found on their more pricey brethen. I've compiled a list of the best Android smartphones for under £200, £300, £400 and £500; read on to see what I think is worthy of your consideration.

The Autumn Zara Jacket

With autumn already in the air and temperatures slowly starting to fall, I've retired my blazers and replaced them with a jacket more suited for colder climes. It took me quite some time to find something comfortable, warm enough and suitable in complementing a plenitude of different outfits but I'm happy I finally came across this autumn jacket from Zara. Here's what I pair it with on the weekend for that ever-popular 'smart-casual' look.

3 Tips to Improve Your Photography and Get Better Photos

I've loved taking photos ever since I was about 12 with all that I've learnt a result of experimenting or watching YouTube. Over the years, I've (thankfully) refined my photography craft and become prouder of the photos I've captured, finding a noticeable difference in the quality of my work. Here are the 3 tips that I focus on most when taking and sharing photos (with lots of example photos thrown in).

3 Shoes On My Trainers Wishlist

If you read my shoe collection blog post, you'll know that I've got a thing for footwear. Despite the space underneath my bed dwindling due to the ever-increasing number of shoeboxes rapidly appearing beneath it, my quench for more shoes has not been satiated. Here are the 3 that I've got a very close eye on.

About to Buy an iPhone 6s/6s Plus? Don't Get the 16GB Model

As I'm sure you've already heard, Apple announced their two newest smartphones on Wednesday (9th Sept), the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus. New upgrades to their latest phones include faster processors, a 12MP rear-facing camera with the ability to shoot 4K video and of course 3D Touch (known as Force Touch on the Apple Watch), whereby the display is able to sense different levels of pressure to allow for a number of new interactions.

If you're liking what you're seeing in these new devices and are looking to get them at launch, I don't blame you, they are very enticing and appealing. Just don't go for the base model of 16GB.

7 Clothing and Style Tips

When someone gets me a present that causes me to break out into a hearty guffaw, that's when I know (or its reaffirmed) that they know me well! This was the case when I received this book, Debrett's Guide for the Modern Gentleman, from my sister a couple of years back. It's not something that'd you read from cover to cover, more of a dip in and out type when the situation arises. This has certainly been the case with me on numerous occasions where it has helped address huge misconceptions I had as well as provide snippets of rather interesting trivia. I thought I'd share with you, paraphrased, some of the biggest takeways from my clothing and style bible. 

Suiting Up: Men's Formalwear by T.M. Lewin

I recently went suit shopping for my sister's wedding, looking for something which is flattening for my frame and suitable for a summer wedding. Here's what I bought.

Snowdonia Showcase: A Short Video

This past week I had the pleasure of holidaying in Snowdonia National Park and the Gower Peninsula, both in Wales, both mesmorising, both stunning. For this post, I created a short video of Snowdonia and Gower from the footage I recorded, showcasing a tiny snippet of its awesome natural beauty.

Weekend Summer Style: Men's Fashion Lookbook

4 Upcoming Smartphones To Look Forward To

Nearly Samsung, nearly, but not just from you guys.

Due an upgrade on your phone contract? Looking to purchase a new high-end smartphone? Just pause for a moment. The second half of 2015 looks pretty busy when it comes to smartphone releases so before you go off and get yourself a lovely new device, take a look at what's coming in autumn and winter of 2015 before burning a smartphone shaped hole in your bank account.

3 Useful Free Apps for iOS/Android Smartphone Users

According to my phone, I have 51 downloaded apps which confuses me. I am very careful when it comes to downloading apps, picking ones I know I'll actually use and ones that don't take up too much space. I'm sure you'll probably have LOADS more apps than me but 51 is quite a lot for my smartphone. Despite this, I would say that I would use/need every single one of those apps to either ensure a smooth running of my day-to-day work or something to kick back with and relax to. But here are the top three apps that I would recommend you get installed on your smartphone.

My Shoe Collection: Men's Footwear 2015 Edition

I've been a bit obsessed with shoes the past couple of years. My shoe collection is an ever-evolving entity as I continue on this never-ending quest to find the 'perfect' complementary pair of shoes for almost every attire in my wardrobe. Here is the 2015 'edition', my current crop of shoes that have been partnering my every outfit.

LG G4 Review: New King of the Hill?

What is the first smartphone manufacturer that comes to mind? Apple? Samsung? Maybe even HTC? Whatever it was I bet LG wasn't it. In the past, LG had been producing budget to middle tier devices at affordable prices, nothing that would blow up your wallet but nothing that would blow your mind either. It wasn't until after LG's collaboration with Google on the Nexus 4 and 5 (again, well priced but nothing spectacular) that their brand awareness started to grow and their marketing managers started to get cheerier. Following these successes, LG has been aiming more towards the premium, top-end of the smartphone spectrum, beginning with the G2 and now culminating to this point with their newest flagship, the LG G4. Is LG now hitting its stride and worthy of our 'I need to blow up my wallet on this' attention? Read on to find out.

Men's Watches: Affordable Brands to Build Up Your Collection

A watch finalises an outfit, the final piece in a carefully selected ensemble. It's the complementary accessory, the pièce de résistance, the finishing touch. One watch can try to serve and be the master for many outfits, but it can never faithfully serve them all. And so I am building and creating a collection befitting for every outfit in my wardrobe. As much as I would love to own an Omega or a Rolex, instead, I prefer to choose more watches at more affordable prices but which still possess quality looks and build. Here's what I have thus far as well as what I've got my eye on.

LG Tone Infinim HBS-900 Bluetooth Headset Review

I love me some good music (yes, 'good' is certainly subjective). Coldplay, Killers, OneRepublic, something to hum, tap, sing or dance to and I'm one of those people who like to fake drum on buses, trains, tubes, whatever. So I take my choice of headphones quite seriously. I want to hear that hi-hat zinging crisply, that bass guitar providing a strong, melodic background; I want to hear every last beat, every last note. I've gone through many a pair of headphones, searching for that perfect balance of design, comfort and sound quality but each pair has its weakness or two. Now it's LG's turn with this awkwardly long title, the LG Tone Infinim HBS-900 Bluetooth Headset.

LG G4: Camera Samples

As my full review of the LG G4 is approximately a couple of weeks away (I want to test it for a good length of time) here are some camera samples taken with the G4's camera to whet your appetite and give you an early indicator of how the phone's camera performs.

LG G4: First Impressions

I'm one of those people who goes onto www.hotukdeals.com entering every competition under the sun even if I have absolutely no interest in the prize in question (win a £200 voucher to spend on women's shoes at Aldo, sure, why not?).  As the cliche goes, 'You've got to be in it to win it.'  And yet only once have I ever actually won something when back in 2012, I won a pair of mi Adidas trainers whilst 'taking part' in their interactive zone at Hyde Park in the run up to the London Olympics.  You might agree that that was a pretty decent prize (I'm still getting good usage out of those trainers).  You might also agree that the prize for entering and winning LG's Insider's campaign is pretty decent as well: the LG G4.

Buying a Good SD Card

They're all the same, right? Photo property of uk.hardware.info.

There are some technology items where it doesn't really matter which brand you're choosing or how much you're paying for it, you'll still end up with basically the same result. Take Monster HDMI cables for example: a 1m HDMI cable costs £18.99 on Amazon whereas the same, basic cable produced by IBRA costs only £5.45. Monster will try to sway you with their marketing talk of faster transfer speeds and rugged cable housing for added durability but if all you want to do is connect your Xbox One to the TV, every one of those cables will do the exact same, no difference in quality. SD cards though are a different story: it does matter how much you're spending.

The Cravat: Wearing a Men's Classic in 2015

Christmas Day. 2012. After unwrapping the small present from my youngest sister and unravelling this stubby item of silky material, I couldn't help but think, 'It kinda looks like a tie, but it's too short and thick. Where do I wear it? How do I wear it?...What is it?' Seeing the puzzled expression on my face, she hastily explained a) its name and b) how one fashions such an item. I'll admit, it took a good few months from that opening day before I had the confidence to attempt to pull it off. Now I feel determined in helping to rekindle this long, lost classic: the cravat.

Moto X 2014 Review: 6 Months with Motorola's Flagship

If you’re anything like me, owning a flagship smartphone whilst continually feeding your insatiable appetite for more holy-grail type devices is a true test of self-control. If money were no object, I’d be very inclined to purchase the newest flagship from every manufacturer every two months. Even when money is an object, my resolve in maintaining a relationship with my current phone for at least a year is pushed to its limits, let alone the standard two-year contract cycle most networks employ (hence my pre-emptive action in purchasing new phones off-contract and unlocked). With the impending arrivals of the Samsung Galaxy S6/S6 Edge and HTC One M9, is my Moto X 2014 nearly resigned to its inevitable fate or does Motorola’s current flagship still prove its worth six months after its initial release? Read on for my review of Motorola's Moto X 2014 edition, six months on.

3 Technology Reviewers to Follow

By the time I get home from work (and completed any additional tasks that needed completing), there are very few precious waking hours left to indulge on numerous breaking news, reviews and other tech goodness. So here are the first three virtual stops I always make to satisfy my technological hunger, especially when time is quickly fading.

Self-Confessed Phone Spotter

Phone-spotting. Verb. a visual attempt to identify the make and model of mobile phones.
''Stop phone-spotting and eat your lunch already.'

What have we here? (Photo copyright and ownership of www.pocket-lint.com)

iPhone 6. iPhone 5 or 5S, oh wait, Touch ID, 5S. Dimpled back, S5. iPhone 4. Larger screen, Moto G 2014. Galaxy...Ace...Fame...not sure, Samsung make too many mid-tiers. Xperia Z2, maybe Z3. Lumia 1020, don't see many of those.

It only takes one trigger for me to begin phone-spotting: to physically see it in someone's hands. Then it's game-time, a race, a continual competition with myself to get it right each time.