Health Benefits Of Exercise And Dietary Supplements

The benefits of maintaining healthy eating habits, physical activity and optimal levels of vitamins and minerals are clear: actively managing your fitness contributes to long-term health and longevity and increased livelihood in the interim. Shockingly, many people, children and adults alike, do not engage in enough physical activity; the National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion reports that only nineteen percent of high school students are active for twenty minutes per day, five days per week in physical education classes.

Taking the time to develop a workout routine that fits your individual schedule and physical needs reduces the risk of high blood pressure, heart disease and premature death. Eating healthy foods combined with dietary supplements ensures your body receives the appropriate amount of nutrients for optimal performance.

At Health-Tips.com, we are going to be bringing you what we believe to be the best supplements, the best workouts, and the best diets; all of which will give you the best chance of living a healthy life.

The Benefits of Maintaining Optimal Health

Numerous scientific reports reveal that maintaining physical health delivers long-term results. Despite the reports, most people understand the benefits of caring for their bodies; they generally feel better when they work out and eat a well-balanced diet, although establishing a positive and healthy routine presents a challenge for many people. One supplement that we highly recommend is Shakeology by Beachbody.

Healthy habits contribute to a number of positive benefits, and unhealthy habits cause a range of physical complications. In adolescents, a regular workout helps develop healthy joints, bones and muscles. It also reduces fat and helps control weight.

In adults, a regular workout reduces the risks associated with heart disease, diabetes, colon cancer and a host of other detrimental conditions. In the elderly, physical activity lessens the chance of falls and fractured bones, reduces depression and contributes to independent living.

Sticking to a regular work out schedule that does not overwork or harm the body delivers multiple benefits. For example, studies show that regular exercise can reduce the risk of colon cancer by fifty percent. In addition, workouts reduce anxiety, stress and depression, a benefit that offers many people immediate results.

A great way for busy people to stick to working out is trying home workout programs such as P90x and Insanity, both workouts made by the Beachbody company.

Using Dietary Supplements to Enhance Overall Health

Dietary supplements fill a gap in the body’s nutrient intake. For example, people who are unable to access a well-balanced diet regularly might take potassium and magnesium to correct a deficiency.

Many supplements are available, including vitamins, minerals, herbs and amino acids. These substances provide a number of physical benefits, although in the United States, the Food and Drug Administration does not analyze supplements as thoroughly as other drugs.

More Benefits of Supplements

People take supplements for a variety of reasons. In addition to improving nutrient intake, many people take advantage of supplements that improve well-being. For example, St. John’s Wort, an herbal supplement, might improve the mood in people with depression.

Women who take folic acid during pregnancy might reduce the risk of a child being born with spina bifida. Niacin can raise good cholesterol and omega-3 fatty acids can reduce levels of triglycerides.

The history of herbal supplements reaches far into antiquity; ancient people identified a number of plants that delivered a range of physical and mental benefits. Scientists and researchers analyze supplements and herbs for their effects on the human body.

They try to understand the interaction of supplements with the human body and identify treatments for conditions and diseases. For example, hundreds of years ago, people consumed willow bark tea to manage fevers. Today, drug manufacturers use the active ingredient in willow bark to make aspirin.

To illustrate further, the National Institutes of Health’s Office of Dietary Supplements maintains supplement fact sheets. Several of the supplements on the list are purported to help control specific human diseases. For example, some people suggest that chromium might help control Type 2 diabetes. Current research on the matter is inconclusive.

Ultimately, incorporating supplements into the daily routine might improve certain conditions. In addition, people who cannot consume a well-balanced diet can take advantage of supplements that deliver the nutrients required by the body. Furthermore, some supplements improve overall well-being by improving mood.

How Working Out and Supplements Can Improve Overall Well-Being

The benefits of exercise and proper nutrition reach beyond a person’s external appearance: Nutrition and physical activity influence mental health. A growing body of literature and evidence support the connection between physical activity, functional capacity and improved mood.

People diagnosed with clinical depression have experienced an improvement in overall mental health when they work out regularly. However, finding the appropriate exercises, or combination of physical activities, prevents many people from taking advantage of these benefits.

Multiple types of exercises exist and they fall under several categories:

• Strength training builds the size of an individual’s muscles.
• Resistance training – a type of strength training – uses resistance techniques to build strength.
• Agility training - improves a person’s coordination.

Several additional training categories exist, although ultimately, a combination of exercises improves a person’s overall well-being.

In general, children and adolescents should get a minimum of one hour of exercise daily. Adults should exercise moderately for one hour and thirty minutes each day.

The amount and type of exercise a person engages in depends on his physical goals and there are multiple ways to achieve the daily minimum.

For example, gardening and walking can provide moderate daily exercise. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services issued an active health guide that suggests adults need at least two hours of strength activities each week.

Many people do not enjoy the idea of moderate or intense physical activity; it can actually hurt. One of the most effective ways to begin an exercise routine is to start slow and build up.

For example, incorporating a ten-minute walk into your daily routine delivers a good start. After a few weeks, you can increase the amount of time you walk to fifteen minutes and continue to build up from there.

In addition to a slow start, selecting activities you enjoy, such as gardening, can help you ease moderate physical activity into your schedule. Some examples include slow biking, team tennis, dancing or raking leaves.

Ultimately, remaining inactive can lead to stroke, Type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure and breast cancer. Selecting an appropriate workout routine will improve well-being by improving a person’s body image, sleep patterns, muscle tone and mental state. Exercise combined with the appropriate supplements will increase the chances a person lives longer and avoids specific diseases.

In addition to physical activities, seeking the appropriate supplements for your diet can improve your well-being. Consulting with a doctor to ensure the right number of nutrients are in your system is a good starting point.

Keeping vitamin C on hand can help fight off colds and helps people regain their health faster. Supplements that boost the immune system, including Echinacea, might improve the body’s response to viruses.

Ultimately, a well-rounded diet that offers sufficient nutrition will boost overall well-being when combined with supplements and a moderate work out.

Optimal health relies significantly on a number of important factors. Physical activity has a profound effect on children, adolescents, adults and the elderly.

Maintaining a regular schedule of moderate exercise proves difficult for many people, although inactivity contributes to the development of multiple diseases, physical conditions and premature death. Hundreds of studies have shown the correlation between a well-balanced, nutrient rich diet and improved mood and health.

Children and adolescents should also receive a solid diet and supplements that support vitamin intake. Consequently, combining an appropriate work out with dietary supplements contributes to improved health.

Source: healthy-tips.com

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Sony Xperia Z

Once you get to look at the phone in person, all Xperias that came before it pale in comparison. The phone feels solid and you'd be hard-pressed to describe any part of it as plasticky. Between those mirrored sides, you'll find Sony's first 1080p phone display, measuring five inches and benefiting from the company's new Bravia Mobile Engine 2. Improvements to the Xperia line aren't merely cosmetic, though: Sony's added a 13-megapixel camera (featuring the HDR video-capable Exmor RS sensor) and a 1.5GHz quad-core Snapdragon S4 Pro -- Qualcomm's most potent mobile processor currently available.The Xperia Z is one of the main pillars of Sony's new plan to focus on mobile, gaming and imaging. In fact, it's a device that addresses all three of those areas, while also pressing reset on Sony's smartphone past. The handset ushers in a new design language, one Sony's decided to bring to its new tablet too. It's called omnibalance design, but it's best described as a combination of 90-degree angles, even weight distribution and flat glossy sides.

Meanwhile, those precious electronics are protected by a shell that's water- (IPX5/7) and dust-resistant (IP5X). It's rare to see such protection on a phone that's not being marketed as a rugged device, let alone a company's new flagship. Sony is looking to succeed in mobile and, with just a week away from the world's premier phone tradeshow, has the company created something that can stand up against current Android champions and win?

Sony Xperia Z review

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HARDWARE

Where to start with the hardware? How about here: this is Sony's best-looking smartphone ever. Lacking any removable panel to access the battery meant that the Xperia Z's components could be squeezed together into a slender profile measuring a mere 7.9mm (0.31 inch) and weighing in at 146g (5.15 ounces). Thanks in part to the hidden ports, light is able to bounce off the phone's white sides. In short, it's a real beauty. It's worth noting that alongside the increasingly safe choice of black and white, there's also a purple edition -- one that our Spanish team got to play with.

Where to start with the hardware? How about here: this is Sony's best-looking smartphone ever.

But while it's certainly a looker, the expanse of that 5-inch screen and accompanying bezel mean that it isn't the most comfortable smartphone we've handled. Compared with the substantial Lumia 920, the Xperia Z is slightly taller, but it's easier to grip, thanks to that slimmer shape. Put differently, it feels more like the Droid DNA than, say, the Galaxy Note II. As we noted before, reaching the phone's upper edge is a bit of a stretch if you're using it one-handed -- we're hoping Sony's incoming Xperia ZL (with its smaller dimensions) will prove a little more manageable. Thanks to one very geometric silhouette, the phone is a little uncomfortable to hold after extended use, what with those sharp corners pressing into your palms. However, we had no problems sliding it into our pockets -- something we can't say of other phones with 5-inch screens.

That glass-coated backing brings the Xperia Z into such esteemed company as theNexus 4 and iPhone 4S, although Sony has differentiated its design by extending these glass panels to the sides too. Both the back and front include a shatter-resistant layer (not Gorilla Glass), while a glass-fiber polyamide skeleton connects all those panels together. This skeleton rounds out the corners between the panels, which helps smooth those angles at least to some extent.

Two other notable features are the Xperia Z's IPX5/7 and IP5X ratings. In real terms, Sony says the phone can handle water up to a depth of one meter, and is resistant to guided water jets. It's also designed to steer away dust from the phone's more delicate parts. To access the micro-SIM and microSD slots, as well as the micro-USB and headphone sockets, you'll need to flip out the sealed covers. There's a rubber lining behind each one, ensuring the water's kept out. We tested it in bowls of water, the shower and even gave it a quick hose down, but none of this resulted in a panicked call to Sony requesting another review unit. The flaps also feel substantial -- we have no concerns about them breaking off after extended use. Heck, you could even lift the phone up with them (not that we suggest you do that). At the same time, opening these flaps is less laborious than pulling off a battery cover or battery to access a micro-SIM slot or SD reader.

While you won't have to open those flaps very often, you'll be accessing that micro-USB port pretty frequently. (Not to spoil our battery performance section, but the runtime isn't great.) With all those mechanical openings covered, it would have been nice to see some form of wireless charging, given that it's already out there on rival phones like the Lumia 920, Droid DNA and Nexus 4.

Thanks to those port covers, however, the phone's streamlined perimeter is interrupted only by the power button, which will look familiar to anyone that's turned on a PlayStation Vita. Just off-center along the length of the right edge, it's made of machined aluminum (like the volume rocker just below it) although you won't get a camera button this time around. This is apparently a sacrifice that had to be made to ensure the phone would be water-resistant, but it feels like a glaring omission just the same. The micro-SIM slot is on the same side, while a single loudspeaker sits on the bottom of the right side. Unfortunately, the speaker is tinny and, even on full blast, lacks punch during video playback.

On the left edge, you'll find the covers for microSD and micro-USB, plus contacts for an as-yet-unseen dock. Flip the phone over to the glossy (but fingerprint-prone) back, and you'll note the main 13-megapixel camera, flash and secondary mic. The lens is fortunately slightly recessed, which should defend it from scratches. When we pulled the phone out of its packaging, there was a removable NFC sticker, but otherwise there are only some Xperia branding and a few serial numbers at the bottom interrupting that white surface.

On the front, there's no white paneling (aside from a sliver of the side), with a black border instead framing the 5-inch screen. Up top, you'll find the front-facing 2-megapixel camera with Sony's Exmor R sensor -- and it also supports HDR! Below the screen, there's nothing beyond the phone's mic. The Xperia Z has on-screen buttons rather than any capacitive keys.

DISPLAY

While quite a few companies have announced phones with 5-inch, 1080p displays, the Xperia Z is still one of the first to arrive for review, if not the first. The phone beams out a resolution substantially higher than the Xperia T, and as dimensions have increased only slightly (4.6 to five inches), it offers a higher screen density of 443 pixels per inch. As we said during our Droid DNA review, while there's less of a leap from 720p to 1080p compared to qHD to 720p, that's not to say you won't notice sharper fonts, richer images and a crisper view of your photos.

Comparing the Xperia Z against the only other 1080p phone we've reviewed, the Droid DNA, Sony unfortunately comes in second place

Comparing the Xperia Z against the only other 1080p phone we've reviewed, the Droid DNA, Sony unfortunately comes in second place. Sony is calling its new, thinner display the OptiContrast panel, but its performance doesn't offer the same viewing angles, or outdoor performance, of HTC's Super LCD 3 screen. In fact, turn the screen away from straight-on viewing, and you'll see a grayish discoloring that starts to obscure what's going on -- especially under bright light. While Sony says the new display construction should reduce reflection, sunshine and certain lighting conditions often made it difficult for us to read even the home screen.

As we've also seen on Sony's mobile displays in the past, black backgrounds and detail often appeared more like a dark gray. If anything, the phone is often too bright -- the Xperia Z's brightness setting could do with a wider range of contrasts and a lower base setting. Not that we'd want to lose the brightest option, as while you won't have anything to fear from rain with the water-resistant Z model, we needed one of the top brightness settings to see what we were doing on the touchscreen when the sun came out.

This is the first phone to feature Sony's improved Mobile Bravia Engine 2, which is responsible for a host of contrast and sharpness enhancements to your photos and videos (whether they were recorded on the phone or downloaded from some other source). The software will tweak darker regions to be even blacker, while distortion from lower-quality videos from the likes of YouTube is also reduced -- videos did look marginally smoother. Conversely, there's also a sharpness filter for images, which boosts edges and contrast -- apparently without adding noise, either. The additions seem a bit more aggressive than on preceding Sony phones, and when we looked at our freshly captured photos we noticed an excessive bluish tinge on some of them, regardless of white balance selections. This doesn't appear to be tied to the Bravia tweaks (which can be turned off if you don't like your photos extra-saturated) and appeared substantially reduced when we viewed them on other device, like a PC.

CAMERA

It's the debut for Sony's new Exmor RS sensor. Promising improved signal processing, while matching the image size of the Xperia T (up to 12 megapixels); it's a whole new sensor. The standout improvement here is HDR video, offering a bigger dynamic range of lighting in your video capture. In practice, it works well. We test a lot of cameras, and the Xperia Z's new feature generally offered better light composition during our tests. Sometimes it overcooks colors, with a bit too much noise, but we'll definitely take that in exchange for the better light balance. Check out our sample video, taken in a dimly light underground tunnel.

Sony Xperia Z sample shots

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Naturally, HDR stills are also possible, although during our time with the camera we found the new "auto i+" setting generally offered up results that were as good (if not better) than what we got with the HDR option or manual settings tweaks. The new auto setting mostly does an excellent job adjusting ISO, white balance and toggling HDR. After we were done taking our comparison shots, we ended up leaving the phone on auto for the majority of our photos.

Most of our shots were taken on the preset 9-megapixel setting and though the phone does output images at 12 megapixels, they arrive in an awkward 4:3 ratio that doesn't really do the high-resolution screen justice.

However, when comparing both sizes to 8-megapixel images on rivals, we found those larger images offer scope for a little more detail. The 9MP images appeared almost identical in quality to the full 12MP samples, although the subject appears closer. Color reproduction was good, with HDR offering a boost to our low-light images. We did notice that HDR mode on stills was pretty gentle -- probably due to that Exmor RS sensor tweaking we heard about late last year. Compared to our photos on normal mode, there's some slight highlighting of darker areas. So it's bad news if you were hoping for the same sci-fi-esque effects you get on other HDR cameras, but it's at least more realistic.

Sony has also made adjustments to the camera interface, which at least started in a good place, with access to ISO and white balance, not to mention the ability to create shortcuts for these right on the surface camera UI. There's now a burst mode, capable of 10 frames-per-second at 9-megapixel resolution. You can now grab shots while taking video, but better still, there's no need to flip between camera and video camera modes -- just choose the appropriate record button. Also, if you've used one of Sony's point-and-shoots (or even NEX cameras) you'll find navigation and icons have been transported across. Like the button detail from the Vita, it's great to see Sony's many electronics lines finally start to converge towards each other.

SOFTWARE

The Xperia Z arrives just behind the latest Android iteration. It's still Android Jelly Bean, but it's version 4.1.2. Admittedly, the additions since then are relatively minor, but Sony has the unfortunate knack for launching its best phones without the very brightest software. Since last year's Xperia models, we can now welcomeGoogle Now to the fold, while Spotify and other apps are now accessible from the lock screen. Take a closer look at Sony's distinct take on Android and you'll find some likable additions, like the Rolodex-style gallery widget or the expandable power management widget pre-installed alongside some slightly more unnecessary space hogs, like a Walkman audio player widget or Sony's Entertainment Network.

Yep, you'll be hard-pressed to avoid Sony's media libraries when you first boot up the phone. We resisted the urge to delete these from the outset and gave them a try, regardless. Sony Select offers a gentle introduction to Google Play wares, as well as Xperia-centric music and movies. We can't fault it for offering a spot-on selection of beginner apps, but you'll find there's a lot of crossover from Google's own recommended section. The gaming options here are a little more tiresome, although you'll get some of Gameloft's better (and licensed) titles here. Again, we're not sure if anyone already versed in buying their apps and games direct from Google will need the Select service -- the icons even redirect to Google Play.

It's a shame to see so relatively little 1080p content, something to showcase that full-HD display

Sony's thrown your video collection into its new movies icon. It's also a more subtle way to usher you towards its Video Unlimited catalogue of movies and TV shows. We tried the service out, downloading a 90-minute (1GB) movie quickly enough. Prices are a little steep: we bought Mass Effect for £11.99 (it's just £8 on the UK's Google Play), while renting costs £3.49 -- the same as on Android's stock movie service. The payment process is all relatively painless once you've got your Sony Entertainment Network account up and running -- you can even use the same username from your PlayStation. Still, it's a shame to see so relatively little 1080p content, something to showcase that full-HD display. Almost everything we browsed (even Sony movies like The Amazing Spiderman) had a standard-definition option and nothing else. The player itself was at least capable; it plays back DivX videos and uses Gracenote to grab extra details, like cast lists.

Walkman, its musical counterpart, contains your own music catalog, a few free tracks from artists like Tom Odell and -- no surprises here -- Music Unlimited. Signing up for a premium subscription will net you offline playback across your compatible Sony hardware, the iPhone and other Android devices. In the UK, this rings up at £10 and there's a good amount of music on offer -- thanks to Sony's own music industry clout. The service has also recently upgraded its streaming quality to 320Kbps on Android, PS3 and PCs. But if you've already got a Spotify subscription going, we can't find much here to pull you away.

Sony Xperia Z screenshots

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There are also a few extra apps that also land on the phone right out of the box -- some good, some less so. They include Dropbox, File Commander, Sony's WiFi-connected Media Remote for compatible TVs, OfficeSuite, Sony car (think big icons for use on the move) and Socialife. That last one is Sony's latest effort to combine your favorite RSS feeds with Twitter and Facebook updates. It's less intrusive (and resource-hungry) than the widget we remember from previous Xperia phones, but there's nothing that compelled us to use it beyond some cursory testing. For now, we'll stick to Flipboard and Pulse.

A more notable addition is Sony's new Stamina battery saver mode. Located under power management in settings, the focus here is to stop rogue apps from accessing data through your phone signal (or WiFi) when the screen is turned off. We're sure you're thinking, "Makes sense, but what about your email?" Not to worry, as your mail and the likes of Whatsapp, Twitter and Facebook can all be added to a whitelist, so that they can ping for updates whenever they please. The power management section also gives you a rosy estimate of how many hours left on standby you're likely to get. Flip the stamina mode off, and you'll see that slashed, sometimes halved. It took us a while to figure out how to give apps permission to access data (hint: you need to tap on the Stamina mode bar) but once you have, adding apps that just need data is no hassle.

However, perhaps due to the fact that we need to prod and poke the device during the review process, we didn't find any miraculous expansion of battery life through the new stamina mode. The screen was on a lot, meaning not only did the battery have to power that rich 5-inch display, but all apps were free to dip into data as needed. If you're a more casual phone user, the service could add a few extra hours of use, but we'd treat the phone's estimates of standby time with a pinch of salt.

We already touched on the improvements made to the Xperia Z's camera app, but highlights include HDR video capture, seamless camera and video modes, burst capture and an enhanced auto mode that made taking decent stills much easier. For this editor, Sony has a more usable interface than that found on the stock Android camera, which can sometimes feel a little too stripped down.

PERFORMANCE AND BATTERY LIFE

	Sony Xperia Z	LG Optimus G	HTC Droid DNA
Quadrant (v2)	8,019	7,628	8,028
Vellamo (v2.0 HTML5)	2,198	1,710	1,752
AnTuTu	19,876	11,284	14,474
SunSpider 0.9.1 (ms)	1,900	1,284	1,150
GLBenchmark 2.5 Egypt 1080p Offscreen (fps)	29	31	31
CF-Bench	16,079	14,398	18,386
Battery life (rundown test)	5:35	8:43	6:38
SunSpider: lower scores are better

Qualcomm's quad-core 1.5GHz Snapdragon S4 Pro powers the lush 1080p screen, and is paired with 2GB of RAM, 16GB of flash memory and expansion through microSD up to 32GB. Does it sound a bit familiar? It should, as this is nearly identical to the HTC Droid DNA and (barring that microSD option and resolution boost) LG's Optimus G and Nexus 4, which at least makes for some interesting comparisons.

Curiously, the benchmark results are a mixed bag. While the Xperia Z took the lead in AnTuTu and Vellamo, it offered us a surprisingly poor score in SunSpider, a test for browser performance, and one where you'd expect a top-drawer handset to score closer to 1000ms (remember: lower numbers are better in this case). Meanwhile, CF-Bench, which tests subsystem goings-on and JavaScript performance, placed the Sony phone squarely between LG's Optimus G and HTC's Droid DNA.

However, numbers are just numbers and we found the Xperia Z to be impressively swift in most use cases. If anything, it handled processor-intensive tasks better than simple ones. We had a few issues with the phone stuttering while trying to open the task manager widget -- there's a substantial lag between your tap and the widget expanding to offer access to various wireless and brightness toggles. Similarly, when launching the camera app from a freshly booted device, it took a mind-numbing three seconds on average -- something that could be a dealbreaker for shutterbugs, especially considering the lack of a physical camera key. At least once it's running, it then launches within a more bearable timeframe. Alas, even then, launching the camera from the lock-screen still took around two seconds -- not good enough.

When launching the camera app from a freshly booted device, it took a mind-numbing three seconds on average

What concerned us more, though, was that the Xperia Z didn't go beyond six hours on our battery rundown test. Looping video at 50 percent brightness, with WiFi on (but not connected), the phone managed a little over five and a half hours on our first test. That's actually longer than the Nexus 4 which also had issues going the distance at 5:18, but less than both the Droid DNA and the 720p Optimus G. Oddly, the Z model packs a 2,330mAh power cell, versus the 2,020mAh battery found on HTC's 5-incher. So what's going on here? We repeated our test twice, as it'd be a shame for an erroneous benchmark to sully the Xperia Z's name. However, the second round added only 10 minutes. It could be that Sony's screen tech is less power-efficient than HTC's IPS Super LCD 3. That's our best guess, as there's really not much else to separate the pair -- we even ran the video clip from the flash storage, not the microSD slot.

Update: We've just re-run our battery test with the Bravia Mobile Engine 2 switched off -- just in case it was running behind our third-party app. (We've been told that the Mobile Engine is attuned to the album app's video player, YouTube and the gallery viewer.) Sadly, the results are about the same, with the Xperia Z lasting 5:10.

Our UK-bound review model arrived with plenty of radio bands to share. There's quad-band GSM/EDGE (850/900/1800/1900) plus tri-band HSPA (850/900/2100) and a healthy dose of LTE on Bands 1, 3, 5, 7, 8 and 20. Unfortunately, we were unable to test the phone with an EE SIM, but across Three, EE and O2's HSPA services, we saw download speeds on HSPA+ around 4 Mbps, while uploads hovered around 1.5 Mbps. AT&T customers, with their compatible HSPA bands, are the ones most likely to benefit from importing the device early -- we've still heard no word about US pricing and availability for either the Xperia Z or the Xperia ZL.

WRAP-UP

It's been five months since Sony's last phone, Xperia T, was released. During that review, we noted that while Sony had perfected the art of the press shot, the hardware really didn't live up to the fantasy. Particularly in comparison to an iPhone, Lumia or HTC's One series, it did the Sony brand a disservice. So, it's a relief to see the company now making a concerted effort to make a premium phone -- and that's what this is. If you weren't sold on the older polycarbonate look, perhaps Sony's new beauty will be more to your tastes. Exactly how much rough and tumble the Xperia Z's glossy sides will stomach remains a mystery, but after our testing period the phone is still free of scratches. We also applaud Sony for bringing water resistance to its new phone. Protection from an early watery grave often meant settling for less when it came to design or performance, but that's certainly not the case with the Xperia Z.

It's a relief to see Sony now making a concerted effort to make a premium phone -- and that's what this is

We can expect to see many, many more 1080p phones through 2013, and while the Xperia Z might not best the overall quality of HTC's 5-inch panel, the phone itself has a far more distinctive look than its competitors. While the Snapdragon S4 Pro was the best of the 2012 processor bunch, we already know what to expect from phones later this year -- maybe Sony should have waited a little longer?

Perhaps the bigger question is how to square the £300 difference (off-contract) between the Xperia Z and the Nexus 4. Both are powered by the same high-performance S4 Pro, with 2GB of RAM, but Sony's option has expandable storage, a 13-megapixel camera capable of HDR video and that 1080p display -- even if the Google phone's screen performs better outside of a pure pixel count. If the Xperia Z had trounced the Nexus in battery life, we'd have happily recommended the omnibalance smartphone, but a disappointing showing there makes it a much tougher call, and one your wallet might have to make for you.

Sources: engadget.com

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LG Optimus G Pro review: a phone that lives up to Note-sized expectations

The large-phone craze is rocking the world like a hurricane, and LG is no stranger to this trend: within the last year, the Korean manufacturer has launched two big-screened smartphones as Optimus Vus (three if you count the LG Intuition on Verizon) to mediocre fanfare worldwide. Given the growing competition in the category -- most notably from its rival Samsung with the Galaxy Note series -- it was inevitable that a stronger campaign, as well as a leader to drive it, was necessary.

This is where the LG Optimus G Pro comes in, taking advantage of a 5.5-inch, 1080p True HD-IPS + LCD panel while pulling in several design and feature cues from its smaller (yet elder) siblings, the Optimus G and Nexus 4. As if the display wasn't enough, LG tops it off with one of the world's first Snapdragon 600 quad-core processors, 2GB RAM and a 13MP rear camera with all the trimmings. It may not be LG's current flagship, per se, but the laundry list of features indicates to us that it's sure acting the part, at the very least. Should its reputation be as large as its screen, or is the Optimus G Pro using that extra size to compensate for something? Follow along as we explore the inner and outer beauty of LG's large-on-life smartphone.

LG Optimus G Pro review

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HARDWARE

Even though it bears the name of the Optimus G, LG actually considers the Optimus G Pro to be part of a different design lineup. Whereas the former is focused on premium design (with buzzwords like precision, delicacy and sophistication), the latter puts a greater emphasis on high-performance design; you'll be hard-pressed to find fancier componentry in a smartphone. Ergonomics -- not style -- is the name of the design game this time around, as the handset features a comfortable and friendly shape, with round corners and soft edges.

We're going to play the role of mind reader for a minute and predict that, on first blush, you're not actually looking at the ergonomics of the phone. It's much more likely that you're instead thinking that you've seen this device before. It's inevitable that any 5.5-inch device that LG puts out would automatically draw comparisons between it and the Samsung Galaxy Note II. If you quickly glance at both side by side, the two smartphones look pretty similar to each other on the front and back, but they're actually quite different in plenty of other areas. At 150.2 x 76.1 x 9.4mm (5.91 x 3 x 0.37 inches), the G Pro is shorter and narrower than its Samsungian rival, which measures 151.1 x 80.5 x 9.4mm (5.95 x 3.16 x 0.37 inches). This is mainly because the bezel is much smaller all the way around the device. LG's model is also lighter at 6.06 ounces (172g) versus the Note II's 6.35 ounces (180g).

Even though both phones are 9.4mm thick, they achieve that mark with different designs. The Note II offers a sloped edge and slightly curved back to match its pebble-like, "inspired by nature" design, which means there isn't much room to rest your fingers; the G Pro's back, on the other hand, is flat almost all the way to the sides with rounded corners that meet up with the phone's edges more abruptly. This makes the sides of the phone straighter than the Note II, and it's much more comfortable to hold because our stretched-out fingers have a solid place to grip onto the phone. We doubt it will be much of a difference if you have small hands and a general aversion to holding large phones, but one-handed use is at least easier on the G Pro than it is on the Note II.

The Optimus G Pro is narrower and easier to hold than the Note II

Though it boasts a better fit and feel than the Note II, the G Pro isn't perfect: its back is too slippery for our liking, which means we had to rely solely on those edges to ensure that we had a tight grip on the phone. Aside from that, however, we have no qualms with the device's build quality or durability; sure, the G Pro doesn't have the same premium feel as the Optimus G, but the frame and back cover are comprised of solid plastics that don't give an aura of cheapness. There's no flexing or creaks on any part of the chassis, and we don't get quite as nervous about dropping it as we would with the Optimus G or Nexus 4.

The back is just as beautiful to behold as the Optimus G and Nexus 4, and that's mostly because the G Pro utilizes the same checkerboard-like design cues from the two previous phones. One major improvement over those two, however, is the fact that the back is not made of glass. It may not offer the same kind of premium feel for this reason, but it's much more likely to withstand a drop or two. An external speaker grille, LED flash and 13MP camera surrounded with brushed metal line the top end of the back, with U+ LTE and LG logos sitting beneath. Remove the back cover and you'll come face to face with a 3,140mAh removable battery, micro-SIM slot and a place to rest your microSD card. Additionally, this is also where you'll find contacts for NFC.

Turning the phone around to the front, you'll see the earpiece nestled along the top edge next to the sensors and a 2.1MP front-facing camera. However, the most interesting part is on the opposite end of the display: the LED notification light cleverly sits under the home button, its soft glow surrounding the button itself. (For a little bit of enjoyment, pay close attention to the light when booting up the phone -- nearly every color of the rainbow will show up as you wait for the G Pro to start.) Unfortunately, this was the only part of the home button we loved, since it was a too skinny and flush with the frame, which made it a little more difficult to press. The back and menu soft keys flank the home button on the left and right, respectively.

The LED notification light glows underneath the home button, which is a clever touch

We like what LG has done on the sides of the G Pro. It's designed the phone to offer all of the buttons, ports and customizable bits that we use on a regular basis, and it did so without making the outside of the G Pro look like a scattered mess. A chrome stripe races down the left and right edges until it widens at the top and bottom to cover the entire depth of the phone. The top of the phone features a 3.5mm headphone jack, an IR blaster, mic and retractable T-DMB antenna (which is used for Korea's live TV services). The left side is home to the volume rocker and the QButton, which is a handy shortcut key that we'll discuss later in the review. Over to the right side is the power button. On the bottom, you'll find the micro-USB charging port that's also used for SlimPort.

	LG Optimus G Pro
Dimensions	150.2 x 76.1 x 9.4mm (5.91 x 3.0 x 0.37 in)
Weight	6.06 oz. (172g)
Screen size	5.5 inches (5.46 inches usable space)
Screen resolution	1,920 x 1,080 (401 ppi)
Screen type	True HD-IPS + LCD, RGB
Battery	Li-Po 3,140mAh (comes with spare)
Internal storage	32GB (29GB available)
External storage	microSDXC, up to 64GB
Rear camera	13.2MP, AF, LED
Front-facing cam	2.1MP
Video capture	1080p, 30 fps (front and back)
NFC	Yes
Radios	LTE: 850 / 2100 (bands 1 and 5) HSPA/UMTS: 900 / 1800 / 1900 GSM / GPRS: 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 CDMA1800
Bluetooth	v4.0
SoC	Qualcomm Snapdragon 600
CPU	1.7GHz quad-core
GPU	Adreno 320
RAM	2GB
Entertainment	T-DMB, DLNA, Miracast, SlimPort
WiFi	Dual-band, 802.11a/ac/b/g/n, WiFi Direct
Wireless Charging	No
Operating system	Android 4.1.2, Optimus UI

DISPLAY

In the space of just three months, 1080p displays have evolved from a non-existent smartphone feature to the primary indicator of a phone's flagship status. Luckily, the Optimus G Pro offers such a screen, which LG bills as True HD-IPS + LCD. Frankly, we've never seen a 1080p smartphone panel we didn't like, and the G Pro's non-PenTile, 5.46-inch rendition is no exception -- especially when viewed next to the Note II's 5.55-inch, 720p display. (As an aside, both phones use the same panel size, but LG packs more unused pixels around the border to make the viewable screen space slightly smaller.) Crunching the numbers, the phone's pixel density (401 ppi) is lower than that of the HTC One (468 ppi) and the Droid DNA(440 ppi), but the difference between the two is not quite so cut-and-dry as the number would indicate.

Viewing angles? The G Pro's got them... a lot of them. IPS panels are known for excelling in this arena, and the Pro is now the official poster child for that screen tech. If watching movies or reading books from extreme angles is your thing (or you just like it when friends or strangers start peeking at what you're watching), it definitely won't disappoint. The only display with superior angles is the S-LCD3 on the Droid DNA, and it only beats out the Pro by an extremely slight margin. The screen takes a hit in direct sunlight, however, as we had to bump the brightness up to at least 80 percent in order to see anything clearly.

The G Pro display features incredibly natural colors and great viewing angles, but it's a bit difficult to see in sunlight

Moving on to color saturation. We viewed the Pro side by side with the Note II and Droid DNA, and the Pro easily featured the most natural colors of the trio; the DNA was typically undersaturated, while the AMOLED panel on the Note II unsurprisingly was on the opposite end of the spectrum.

Now that 1080p is becoming commonplace in the high-end smartphone market, is there really any wow factor involved with the G Pro's display? Absolutely. Seeing such rich, crisp text and smooth lines on this large of a screen is pretty close to awe-striking. It may not be packing as many pixels per inch as the DNA, but it sure comes close enough to make very little difference for our eyes -- you're not going to see a single pixel on either screen, after all. They're both gorgeous, and this one just happens to take advantage of a larger display.

CAMERA

As HTC noted recently, megapixel count isn't everything -- it is, however, a very welcome feature as long as you have solid enough firmware and components to back it up. We believe that LG has accomplished this very thing with the 13-megapixel rear camera found on the G Pro, which has an f/2.4 aperture, a 1/3.06-inch BSI sensor, EIS, 3.92mm focal length, AF and LED flash. As for the front, you can expect a 2.1MP module with 4.6mm focal length.

Before we dive into performance, it's worth mentioning that the G Pro has most of the tweakable settings and features we love to play with when grabbing good shots. From the customizable left sidebar you can fiddle with intelligent auto (which detects 27 modes), HDR, panorama, white balance, voice shutter mode, ISO, scenes and focus modes. A dedicated macro mode was nowhere to be found, but most close-ups turn out totally fine on normal mode, so we won't dwell too much on the absence of this feature.

Even though the G Pro doesn't come with a built-in shutter key, there are three alternative options happy to take its place: the QButton and each end of the volume rocker. The only bummer about this is that you can't partially press any of the keys to lock in focus, a feature that LG has added into the Pro's virtual shutter button. (Locking in exposure still appears to be absent.)

LG Optimus G Pro sample images

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If we were to do a teardown of the G Pro, we'd say it's entirely likely that we would find the same camera module as the original Optimus G. By looking at the results, however, it's clear that LG's been working hard at the software side over the past few months. Most shots benefited from a crisp focus and were extremely detailed; we were impressed by how far we were able to zoom in on objects without much degradation of quality or an increase in noise. However, if we may be a little nitpicky (and let's face it; we're nitpicky a lot), many of the pictures we took appeared a little too cold primarily because the default auto white balance is on the blue side.

The camera delivers amazing detail, though white balance is a bit on the cold side

We were also impressed by how much light the G Pro was able to capture in dark rooms and outside in dimly lit neighborhoods -- and not just that; we were pleasantly surprised that our images were accompanied by relatively little noise. The LED flash works well, providing our subjects with plenty of light, yet it's not so bright that it washes out everything in sight.

In addition to the regular panorama mode, the G Pro has something called VR Panorama. Think Photo Sphere for Android 4.2: you can take a series of pictures in any direction (and a full 360 degrees, if you'd like) and VR will stitch them together to form a 3D-like picture that lets you see much more than just one simple shot can capture. With the finished product, it can either pan around the entire panorama for you, or you can move the phone around and the picture will move accordingly. When this reviewer attempted to take images of La Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, it quickly became evident that no standard image would be able to get the entire thing in just one take; stitch several together, however, and it becomes a completely different story. It's a great feature in theory, but unfortunately it all too often failed at its mission -- stitching was blatantly obvious in nearly every single attempt we made.

The Optimus G Pro's dual-camera recording capability is a lot of fun and works surprisingly well, even if most people don't find much need for it

Along with new generations of processors come all sorts of new features and ideas to take advantage of the extra horsepower, and the G Pro's camera offers a clever one: dual-camera recording. It gives you the power to produce videos from the rear-facing and front-facing camerassimultaneously, with the selfie cam displayed as a pop-up screen. You can move and resize the window, and even switch views so that the rear-facing viewpoint is in the foreground instead. This could come in handy if you want to interview someone and you want to record your reactions and follow-up questions on video (think CNN-style). Even though this was the feature's first implementation, we couldn't find any bugs, lag or frame skips throughout the entire process. Everything was just as smooth as any of our videos that are recorded normally, though it's important to note that max resolution is 720p.

Speaking of nice software touches that enhance your overall experience, the G Pro allows you to zoom in on videos as they're being played back. This applies to all kinds of videos, whether or not they were actually taken on the device itself.

SOFTWARE

Goodbye, UI 3.0. Hello, Optimus UI. The name change in LG's signature user interface accompanies an upgrade to Jelly Bean (Android 4.1.2) and a heavy dose of bloatware that's specific to LG's U+ network in South Korea, the carrier on which our review unit is being sold. Not counting the standard suite of Android apps, there are no less than 35 apps pre-loaded on the phone, a few of which can't be disabled or uninstalled.

LG's multi-screen feature brings unique functionality but no third-party support

Outside of the carrier-specific programs, LG is also placing a heavy emphasis on its Q-branded services. For instance, QSlide is LG's take on Multi Window, one of our favorite Note II features. To begin, it's all about multi-tasking. QSlide gives you the opportunity to have two windows open at the same time, while a third app (or the front page, depending on your preference) is allowed to linger in the background. Each window can be resized and even made transparent, giving you the ability to see the app while making changes to the one below it at the same time. QSlide also takes up space in the notification bar, which is different from the Note II's use of a special sidebar on the main screen.

The concern we have with QSlide so far is the glaring lack of app support. This may change as the G Pro (and the Optimus G, which also includes the feature) gains popularity, but seven available apps simply won't cut it -- especially now that Samsung is quickly adding more third-party support to Multi Window. We'd also love to be able to open more than two apps at the same time. We have a hard time believing the Snapdragon 600 isn't powerful enough to support it.

QRemote makes use of the built-in IR sensor, turning your phone into a remote control for your home theater system. And we were happy with the results; the app lists support for nearly every major and minor manufacturer we could think of, and within a matter of a few seconds we had it calibrated to work on our Hitachi HDTV and LG Blu-ray player, each interface separated only by tabs on the top of the app. It's not a perfect replacement to their dedicated remotes, but most of the necessary navigation buttons and menus are there, and it's pretty convenient when you're lying down and that darn remote is just barely out of reach.

If you were a fan of BlackBerry's old convenience key, QButton will be of particular interest to you. While the purpose of the QButton is to give you fast access to any of LG's Q services, you can actually use it as a shortcut to any app you choose -- and it even doubles as a camera shutter key, if you prefer. We love it, but there's always room for improvement: we'd really like to see both a short-press and long-press option to give you two shortcuts on the same key.

LG Optimus G Pro screenshots

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There are plenty of other apps at your disposal, such as QTranslator, SmartTag (NFC tags), Video Editor and Video Wiz, AhnLab V3 Mobile 2.0 (antivirus), SmartWorld (LG's app store) and SmartShare (DLNA). Lastly, LG has thrown in a service called Safety Care, which takes the concept of Find my Phone and expands it. The service can send messages to a pre-determined emergency contact when the phone hasn't been used in a given amount of time, when you're making an emergency call or when you make a call (again, to predetermined contacts). Each of these messages shows your location, so your friends and family can find you as soon as possible if you're in a bad situation.

PERFORMANCE AND BATTERY LIFE

Just four months ago LG launched the Optimus G, which was the first device featuring Qualcomm's Fusion 3 chipset. The company didn't waste any time following it up with another first: the Optimus G Pro is the inaugural device to launch with Snapdragon's next-gen 600 chipset on board, which features a 1.7GHz quad-core CPU, Adreno 320 GPU and 2GB RAM to keep everything moving along speedily. Any time a new generation of wafers comes out, we naturally expect to see a hefty increase in our device's performance as a result. Before we go into more detail, let's get some metrics out of the way. Find our usual suite of benchmarks below.

	LG Optimus G Pro	LG Optimus G	Samsung Galaxy Note II
Quadrant 2.0	12,435	7,628	6,819
Vellamo 2.0	2,254	1,710	1,814
AnTuTu 3.1	19,300	N/A	17,874
SunSpider 0.9.1 (ms)	904	1,312	1,075
GLBenchmark Egypt 2.5 HD Offscreen (fps)	27	31	17
CF-Bench	20,019	14,398	15,244
SunSpider: lower scores are better

Looking back at the S4 Pro's debut last fall, it was difficult for us to comprehend how anything could be faster or better than what we already had. We knew it was inevitable that Moore's law would continue along in its usual fashion this year, and we're a witness to its effect mere months after the APQ8064's introduction. The G Pro is the fastest smartphone we've ever used, though we have a feeling that it won't hold that title for very long -- 2013 will also be the year of Snapdragon 800, Exynos octo-core and Tegra 4 (our first benchmarks blow away anything we've seen so far), after all, so the war is just beginning. Since we're talking about the here and now, however, let's give the phone the credit it's due -- we threw plenty of processor-intensive tasks at the G Pro, but it remained unfazed. Websites loaded flawlessly, with no lag or tiling effects. Games also made good use of the Adreno 320 GPU inside, as we saw a lot of details in popular titles that we'd never seen on a smartphone before.

The Optimus G Pro comes with a second battery in the box, but one still gets you through a full day

The G Pro's battery life is predictable, but that's a good thing – a 3,140mAh cell is supposed to be good, and it is. And that's not the best part; our sample unit came with a second battery of equal size. This alone may be enough to win the hearts of power users and international travelers. But how well does a single battery do on one charge? If you judge by our battery endurance test, which consists of running a high-def video on endless loop, it's rather average, at just over seven and a half hours. Real-life use, though, was much more solid: we took a day to tour Barcelona, taking hundreds of pictures, doing a respectable amount of emailing and other work-related activities, getting involved in social media and battling dead zones as we walked around the city. The G Pro got through 14 hours before it died. This means that between the two batteries, you theoretically should only have to charge up once every other day, if not less frequently.

Phone calls? Yeah, we made our fair share of those on Vodafone Spain's 3G network, and our experience was great. The voice on the other end of the line was always loud and clear, and the noise cancellation filtered out the busy Mobile World Congress convention center so our friends couldn't even tell we were around other people. The external speakerphone was amazingly loud for calls, which was a pretty sharp contrast to the quieter speaker used for music and videos (this is an area in which the Note II beats out the G Pro soundly). With a decent pair of headphones, however, it's the opposite result: plenty of custom EQ settings and a surprisingly solid Dolby Mobile mode, with the help of a powerful audio driver, ensure that you have the best possible sound for multimedia playback.

We also conducted speed tests on 3G and averaged around 8 Mbps down and 3 Mbps up; of course, since our unit (the F240L) is optimized for use on LG's U+ network in South Korea, we have no doubt that we're not getting the best speeds possible in Europe. While we're on the subject of compatible radios, let's go into more detail: this particular unit has dual-band Korean LTE (850 / 2100), CDMA1800, HSPA / UMTS 900 / 1800 / 1900 and quad-band GSM / GPRS (850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900). Even though Americans will want to wait for a variant that comes with the appropriate LTE radios, the G Pro at least includes support for 1900MHz 3G in case you're really interested in becoming an early adopter. With an AT&T SIM inserted, we received anywhere between one and four bars of signal (although the signal changed erratically), and our speed topped out at around 3.5Mbps down / 2Mbps up.

The G Pro offers both aGPS and GLONASS support, and in our navigation tests the positioning was always accurate within just a few feet and we were able to find our way around Barcelona pretty easily. Connectivity-wise, the phone also features Bluetooth 4.0, NFC, dual-band 802.11a/ac/b/g/n, SlimPort and WiFi Direct.

WRAP-UP

LG has been on a roll. In the last four months we've been treated to the Optimus G and Nexus 4, both flagship devices that have left us quite impressed. Fortunately the momentum continues to build for the Korean manufacturer as it launches the Optimus G Pro. With a higher-res screen, stronger performance and a solid design, the handset might be even more desirable than the Galaxy Note II. It'd be nice to see some stylus support, and we'll also have to wait a while for non-Korean variants to encircle the globe, but otherwise the G Pro succeeds as a compelling device for anyone interested in getting a phone larger than five inches

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