Table of contents for Issue 22 in Android Advisor

Following a recall of a batch of its Power Bars back in August, EE has now issued a recall for all of its EE Power Bars because there have been a number of further incidents of severe overheating that could cause a fire safety risk or burns. What to do with your EE Power Bar On 5 August 2015, EE published a web page that explained that was is recalling some of its Power Bars after it was discovered that they aren’t safe. The recall was originally limited to a particular batch of Power Bars but since the recall there have been several further incidents that have led EE to recall every single one of the Power Bars it gave its customers for free earlier this year. “We’re recalling all…

Fujifilm Instax Share Smartphone Printer SP-1 Fujifilm’s Instax Share Smartphone Printer SP-1 is one of the better-known instant printers that let you bypass a PC and print Polaroid-style images directly from your smartphone. You simply connect to it using Wi-Fi as if it were a wireless router. The Instax Share is available from Amazon UK for £108.99, or you can buy it in a bundle with 10-(£124.99) or 20 shots (£144.95). When the photo paper runs out, current Amazon UK pricing is 10 ‘Mini sheets for £12.89 and 10 ‘Wide’ sheets for £9.95, or twin bundles for £14.49 and £13.99 respectively. You can choose from a variety of templates, from standard White to Candy Pop, Comic, Dalmatian, Rainbow, Shiny Star, Stained Glass and Wedding. As with the original Polaroid cameras…

£289 inc VAT • huawei.com Huawei’s Watch may not have the most inspiring name, but when it looks this good, it doesn’t matter. Our review model (priced £289) came with leather straps, while a watch with metal straps (pictured above) will set you back £329. That’s more expensive than an Apple Watch Sport, which comes with a rubber band, but more importantly, the Huawei Watch is the most expensive Android Wear smartwatch around. This is a bit of a problem because although it’s arguably the best looking, it doesn’t offer anything which rivals don’t when it comes to hardware or software. Design Our review sample had a silver body, though the company’s black and gold designs look just as good. There are also two straps to choose from: leather or…

£30 inc VAT • google.co.uk Google has updated its media streaming device, with the introduction of the Chromecast 2. With improved Wi-Fi and costing just £30, we look at what the updated model offers and ask whether there is a compelling reason to upgrade. Price Google has kept the price at £30, which is good value for a media streamer, with most fully-fledged boxes costing £50 and upwards. Newly launched rivals such as the Apple TV cost £130, so going with Google represents a huge saving. The Chromecast 2 is a bit of a bargain, but there is competition around this price point. The Amazon Fire TV Stick is £34, while the Roku Streaming Stick is £39, so price alone doesn’t make it a winner. At the time of writing…

Google Nexus 6 It’s very early days for new Nexus 6 rumours, but we’ve already heard a tip-off that the smartphone will once again be made by Huawei, and that it will feature a Snapdragon 820 chip, which is more powerful and energy efficient, and builds in support for Qualcomm Quick Charge 3.0. Some other stuff we ‘know’ includes the fact it will be the launch vehicle for the new Android operating system, Android N, and it will most likely arrive in October. This will be a large-screen phablet (the clue is in the ‘6’) and with support for USB-C now built into Android it will use that format for data transfer and charging. HTC One M10 Now that we know the phone unveiled by HTC in October was an…

Usually you can install an Android app on an Amazon Fire tablet simply by downloading its .apk file from the web (a Google search will bring up several sources, or we’ll explain how to ensure you have the latest version below), enabling the ability to install apps from unknown sources in the Settings/Security menu (Settings/Applications on older Fire tablets), and then tapping on the downloaded file to install it (if you have parental controls set up you’ll need to enter your password before you can enable app installation from unknown sources). However, it’s not nearly as simple with Plants vs Zombies 2 and other such games, which tie into Google Play Games to save game data and make it available to all your Android devices. In the following walkthrough we’ll…

£629 inc VAT • sonymobile.com/global-en One of the surprise announcements of IFA 2015, back in September, was Sony’s Xperia Z5 Premium which is the first 4K smartphone to make the light of day. After some proper time with the new phone, here’s our full and in-depth Sony Xperia Z5 Premium review. Also announced at IFA 2015 by Sony was the Sony Xperia Z5 and the Sony Xperia Z5 Compact. Sony faces tough competition in the smartphone market and the unique selling point of the Premium is something which it helps will differentiate it from rivals such as Apple and Samsung. Price As you might expect from the world’s first 4K phone, the price of the Xperia Z5 Premium lives up to its name. Sony’s official price for the handset is…

£249 inc VAT • samsung.com/uk During IFA 2015 in Berlin, Samsung unveiled its latest smartwatch, the Samsung Gear S2. The circular smartwatch is the first of its kind from Samsung, and is following in the steps of other circular smartwatches like the Moto 360 and, more recently, the Huawei Watch. During its announcement, Samsung promised exciting things regarding the Gear S2, but did the company deliver? Design The Samsung Gear S2 comes in two editions, the standard Gear S2, and one for those of us that love the classic wrist watch look, the Gear S2 Classic. Samsung says the smartwatch is designed for those who prefer a more timeless design, and we think they’ve hit the mark. We got our hands on the standard Gear S2, which comes in both…

£22 inc VAT • mi.com/en When we reviewed the original Xiaomi Mi Band we gave the following verdict: “At £28.99, the Xiaomi Mi Band is an excellent-value, lightweight fitness band with outstanding battery life. It’s as accurate as any other fitness band, and we particularly like its sleep monitoring, vibration alarm and phone call notifications. The Mi Band companion app is very easy to use, but falls down only in its integration with other fitness and social apps.” The new Mi Band Pulse is still all of those things, plus more. There are two key changes for the new Mi Band Pulse, with the addition of an optical heart-rate scanner that can be used on-demand, while running or to better monitor your sleep patterns, and an improved polycarbonate band. Xiaomi…

Windows 10 Mobile has barely launched, and Microsoft’s former chief executive is already burying it, though in doing so, he may be pointing toward a better way forward for the firm. At Microsoft’s recent shareholder conference, Bloomberg reporter Dina Bass was in the right place at the right time. She picked up former chief executive – and still shareholder – Steve Ballmer criticising chief executive Satya Nadella and other Microsoft management. One of Microsoft’s faults, according to Ballmer? Ignoring Android apps. There really isn’t much news here, just a fraction of a quote: “Ballmer also criticised Nadella’s answer to an audience member questioning the lack of key apps, like one for Starbucks, on the company’s Windows Phone. Nadella responded by citing the company’s plan to appeal to Windows developers by…

WhatsApp is a tremendously useful way to keep in touch with people all over the world, pretty much for free. There is a rather large problem that users can encounter though, and that is when moving on to a new phone their conversations don’t come with them. This is due to the way that the app stores content locally rather than on web servers. If you still have your old phone to hand, and haven’t switched from Android to iOS or vice versa, then it’s still possible to salvage those chats and move them safely to a new home. In this guide, we’ll take you through the short process of copying and restoring your digital missives. Using an SD card If you have an Android phone with an SD card,…

£118 inc VAT • mi.com/en Xiaomi’s phones aren’t officially sold in the UK, but while the brand may not be well known to us Brits it’s bigger than Apple and Samsung in China. Redmi is the company’s budget smartphone line-up, and the Note 3 sits at the top of the series as an all-metal Android phablet with a fantastic design and decent performance. We review the Xiaomi Redmi Note 3. The user experience we received with the Xiaomi Note 3 is what we were hoping for with the Xiaomi Mi 4C. Unlike that phone, the software hadn’t been altered before the Note 3 was shipped to us, and so we got exactly the experience Xiaomi intended. That’s not to say it is a great experience out of the box for…

£229 inc VAT • motorola.co.uk Motorola has launched a new version of its Moto 360 smartwatch. Our expectations were high as the original model is third in our best smartwatches chart. Price Prices start at £229 and the most expensive option will set you back £349 – this is the men’s 46mm model, with gold case, micro knurl bezel and metal strap. For comparison, prices for the Apple Watch starts at £299, while the entry-level LG Urbane is £219 (seventh and fifth in our charts). Design We loved the original Moto 360 when it launched early in 2014. It was one of the first Android Wear smartwatches and had a circular display, which helped it look more like a traditional watch rather than a lump of tech strapped to your…

£289 inc VAT • nvidia.co.uk NVidia is the latest company to enter the media streamer market, with its Shield TV. It’s aimed at a different market to its competitors, though, and comes with a gaming controller alongside the standard remote. Indeed, it’s been designed to allow you to stream your gaming collection from your PC to your TV, and even stream games via GeForce Now for instant gaming. Design Visually, the Shield is one of the best-looking media streamers you can buy, and it’s not hard to notice the hat-tilt to the gaming community with its design, which resembles a mini gaming PC. It’s in your face, with its green LED lights and protruding angles. Much like Sony’s PlayStation 4, the Shield can be laid on its side or stood…