Category: review

AutoCAD LT, 2 Months Review

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I have been using AutoCAD since version 2007.
From 2007 I moved up to 2011. From 2011, I moved up to 2013. From 2013 I moved to 2014. Where i have been sitting. Until January 2018,
In January my work partner got fed up with his 2011 version of AutoCAD and decided to move to the subscription 2018 AutoCAD lt.
We tested AutoCAD LT by opening all of the past files we had worked on and saw no problem. In fact, the files opened much faster and smoother.
Took me a couple weeks of having to get my work partner to convert files down to my version, me taking almost 3 minutes to open files on my Ryzen 1800x liquid cooled machine while his Pentium 4 was opening the same files in under 30 seconds. So I had to give in. The cost was low and the installation went quick and tech support was there for all of my questions before I made the actual purchase. So far I haven’t had to ask anything. Googled a couple times but that’s about it.

This Pros and cons will be between using an older full version of cad, and a new full support LT subscription version. Yes I understand how that is not a fair comparison but it is what I have.
If you are looking to change from a full version older version to the new subscription version and just want to do the LT plan to save a buck each year, here’s what I have found
Pros
Opens much faster.
Uses video card to speed up use- Acceleration far better than previous versions of full AutoCAD
Drawings look better Lines no longer have the odd zigzag that we have all come to accept.

Cons
Bcount is gone in LT
Multiline or MLINE is gone. You can no longer draw 2 inch or 8 inch walls without drawing each layer of Sheetrock separately.
EATTEXT – gone
Lisp – Gone

I find myself searching the internet trying to find alternative methods of doing my everyday stuff.
There is nothing that wont break the agreement with AutoCAD and getting my account canceled.

It looks as though I will have to give BricsCad, ProgeCAD and NanoCAD another run through to see what is missing where and how can I fix it.
Looks like AutoCAD LT turned out to be too little of of what I need for it to be of any use to me. Let’s see how the return policy (I was told about over the phone) about holds up.
I have to have all functions that full version AutoCAD 2013 had. I design fire alarm systems for fire alarm companies all around Texas. There is plenty of importance in me being able to draw everything I need to draw, use function of all attributes and block functions I have created over the years. I have a large collection of fire alarm tools, blocks, and symbols.

Windows 10 vs upgrade to 10

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I like many people jumped on the windows 10 upgrade from windows 7,8, and 8.1.
One month before the free upgrade to windows 10 ended, I drove to the store and bought myself parts and built me a new computer.
Since I had an extra windows 7 disk laying around that hadn’t been used or registered, I felt I should go ahead and save myself the money of buying an operating system since I already have one.
One month after the windows 10 free upgrade period ended, I ordered me a brand new windows 10 pro 64 bit disk.

Now comes the cool comparison.

I will be comparing windows 10 pro 64 bit full fresh install (not an upgrade) against my windows 10 pro 64 bit upgrade from windows 7.
For the sake of sanity I will just call  one computer the “upgrade” and the other the “full install”.

Upgrade to windows 10 computer
The upgrade came with a  clunky new browser that sort of looked like explorer, only dark blue. Found that explorer had been hidden in the programs folder with no shortcut. So I had to make a shortcut. Took forever to realize you can just click the start menu to get to control panel. Other than those discomforts, the computer was just as fast as it was before the upgrade. In some ways the upgrade computer ran faster and smoother. Until I started messing with new programs. Like the store or the new browser (edge). I installed my default browser, Opera. and wow that moves so much faster. For a little while. After a short while all browsers on the upgrade to windows 10 computer stopped playing videos. All videos just suddenly shut closed after about 10 seconds.
Everything just loads really fast on the upgrade computer

 

Full install of Windows 10 computer
On the full install computer, Edge runs faster but that’s it. Everything is sluggish and slow loading and running. It feels as if this computer is woking extra hard. Even edge after a while seems to get mucky and slow. Sometimes even locking up entirely.

On both versions of ten, My media players seems to cut out after a few seconds of watching video. Typically on facebook and some news website. Never on Youtube.

Heatsink Upgrade to Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus on AM3+ Review

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The Girlfriend does a lot of video recording and editing internet companies. She runs an i7 processor and an Nvidia 970 video card with 16 gigs ram. She uses Camtasia software for a lot of her work. During the phase of compiling, we noticed sometimes her pc would crash, or lock up. After we installed speedfan we realized that she was hitting 180+ degrees so her intel was peaking high.
Until we could find her a new heatsink for her work horse, we tried to get by with my Athlon II X3 445 (Tri-core cpu) and my AM2 6 core which I bought for $5 at Epic A resell store.

This was a hard fact to face. The i7 is flat out a beast, and my AMD machines were completely useless for her. Except maybe recording. Rendering a video that she just compiled normally would have taken 10-17 minutes on her machine (when working right) ended up saying it would take 45 minutes on the AM2 and approximately 3 hours on the tri core.

So we took a trip to the computer store and bought the best heatsink they could advise, and what has the best/most reviews on line. We bought her computer a Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO. Her temperature now stays in the 110s while compiling. Oddly there is no noticeable damage to the cpu or motherboard.

PcCooler Heatsink

PcCooler Heatsink

IMG_1218 My AMDs that I was proud to have had running for so little investment, were crushed in the dirt and now useless for every function in the house. Between her video work and my autoCAD work, it was time for an upgrade. So I (being the true AMD Fan I am) took a trip to the local computer store and brought home an AM3+ 8320 processor, 16 gigs of pny Anarchy 1866 ram, and an MSI 970A-G46 motherboard. of course a new case. Dropped my Geforce GTX460 Video card in and slapped on the factory heatsink, installed a spare power supply we had. Installed windows 7 and pushed the computer to her and said “well, try it out”.

We head back up to the computer parts store and buy a $21 heatsink.  Give it one test and find that it was time to take another trip to the computer store to buy the exact same heatsink we bought for her intel cpu. Within 1-2 minutes of rendering, the temperature of the processor jumped from the cool 98 degrees up  near 140 degrees and was climbing faster every second. The PCcooler heatsink is great for dissipating heat, at idle. but it was as if there was a threshold of like 115 degrees before it’s method of absorbing and dissipating heat become utterly useless. I will not throw it away. I will be installing it on another pc, but I’ll have to add an extra fan or something experimental.

Since I remember the instructions for the girlfriend’s computer came with instructions and spare parts for an AM3+ processor, I decided to search for the same heatsink.

I found the Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus sounded like and looked like the same heatsink. Chased down the reviews and found everyone complaining about the install instructions but praising the cooling. Bought it for $35 and got free shipping.

DSC_0002It took all of about 10 minutes to install the new heatsink. I admit I cheated and watch this guy’s video though. I had to remove one side case fan for clearance, the processor heatsink was just too tall for my ENERMAX case.
Right away I went to rendering a video I compiled last night . When I tried to render the video last night, though the new computer made light work of the task, my cpu temperatures got to 145 degrees.
but now with the Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus heatsink, re-rendering the same video took less than half the time it did last night and temperatures never exceeded 116 degrees.

The build is finally a success. and total cost under $600. and so far nothing runs slow, nothing hangs so far and it seems my autocad is flying. even using the knock off brands of cad design like bricsCAD, nanoCAD or ProgeCAD. They all run smooth with no pausing, no “thinking”.

Temperatures while in autocad never exceed 113 degrees.

I even ran a windows benchmark.
tempsidle
Sorry about the screenshot with in a screenshot. Only way I could think to get both scores up at once.

Review score for the Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus
Ease of installation: 10/10
visible appeal: 10/10
effectiveness: 10/10
noise factor: 9/10

Final score: 10/10

Extra score = Instructions booklet usefulness: 1/10

Office Items Crash After Windows 10 Upgrade

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After first trying 5 other computers on the windows 10 upgrade and all going successfully, until 6th computer.
after upgrading the 6th computer to Windows 10, no Microsoft office programs want to work. Excel crashes imediatly after opening, outlook was the first crash. We tried to send an email and clicked the outlook icon, outlook opened for a breif moment. Maybe 2 seconds, then closed. No errors.

We then tried word and excel and got the same thing. We then tried to use the safe mode command “excel.exe /safe”. This did not and gave us a crash notice.

As of right now we find no solution to why outlook is crashing when we launch it or any office program.

How To Set up EnGenius ENH500

Posted onAuthorTruXter8 Comments

Tried for over a week to get two ENH500 devices to to connect with each other so I could test out their capabilities and put them in tough positions for upcoming projects with the company I work for.
Found a few videos on youtube that showed me how to set up static I.p. addresses on my pc. Which is exactly what’s in the pdf and brochure from the manufacture.
I had to turn to the tech support and see if they can get me the information I need for Setting up my ENH500 devices.

Device #1

Step 1: Log into device #1 (192.168.1.1, both user name and password are admin). You will need
to set your computer to a static IP address in the same subnet like 192.168.1.10

Step 2: Go to “Operation Mode” and change mode to “WDS Bridge” and also select Country code and Accept change.

Step 3: In “WDS Link Settings” set security type and key (we recommend AES). Then below on the same page, enable
ID field 1 and enter the Wireless MAC address of device #2 (the other device). The Wireless MAC address can be found
by looking at the serial label on the back of the unit. It will be the one on the top. After you’re done, hit “Accept”.
Note: You can also find the Wireless MAC address of a unit on the “Main” page when logged into the unit.

Step 4: Go to “Wireless Network” and change channel to 149, 153, 157, or 161 (USA) and Accept change.

Step 5: In “Administration” change the default user name and password (if desired).

Sept 7: In “IP Settings” change the IP address to a new, unused, static IP address on the same subnet and also
enter the default gateway (example 192.168.1.5 if router is 192.168.1.1).

Step 8: Apply all changes by selecting “Save/Reload” (IP address, user name and password and all other changes will
now actually take effect).

Step 9: Leave this unit powered on and move to device #2 (see next page).

Device #2 (Do this while device #1 is on and next to you, not installed at the remote location yet).

Step 1: Log into device #2 (192.168.1.1, both user name and password are admin). You will need
to set your computer to a static IP address in the same subnet like 192.168.1.10

Step 2: Go to “Operation Mode” and change mode to “WDS Bridge” and also select Country code and Accept change.

Step 3: In “WDS Link Settings” set security type and key (we recommend AES). Then below on the same page, enable
ID field 1 and enter the Wireless MAC address of device #1 (the other device). The Wireless MAC address can be found
by looking at the serial label on the back of the unit. It will be the one on the top. After you’re done, hit “Accept”.
Note: You can also find the Wireless MAC address of a unit on the “Main” page when logged into the unit.

Step 4: Go to “Wireless Network” and change channel to the same channel as device #1 and Accept change.

Step 5: In “Administration” change the default user name and password (if desired).

Sept 7: In “IP Settings” change the IP address to a new, unused, static IP address on the same subnet and also
enter the default gateway (example 192.168.1.5 if router is 192.168.1.1). Do not use the same IP address as device #1.

Step 8: Apply all changes by selecting “Save/Reload”. All changes will now actually take effect.

Step 9: Go to “WDS Link List” and verify link is UP.

Step 10: Install unit at remote location. Go to “WDS Link List” again and verify link is UP and RSSI signal.
-59dBm or better = excellent, -60dBm to -69dBm = good, -70dBm to -79dBm = good, -80dBm or worse = fair to poor.
Verify speed and connectivity etc. If everything tests good, you are done (connect the camera now).

Note: Output power should be the same as device #1. Default power is 20dBm. Turn it up only if RSSI is low
(in “Wireless Advanced Settings”). Add a network switch to connect multiple Ethernet devices at the remote
bridge (if desired). The secondary Ethernet port is “pass through” only, no POE power is available.

Here’s the video from EnGenius
In the test portion of this article I will number the devices by how far from the network they are up to my pc which will be plugged into device #3. So Device 1 is feeding network connection to device #2. Device #2 will be feeding network connection from device #1 to device #3 which my pc is plugged into.

The tests performed
Close Range – Two ENH500 devices sitting less than a foot apart. Signal level was at -3. Which i would have guessed would have been at 0 since there was nothing to interfere.
Line of site – Separated by about 20 feet. Used three EnGenius devices. One connected to the switch next to me to connect to the network, one across the room to receive signal from the first device and one connected to my computer to to connect to the second device. signal strength was -16 and -23.

lineofsite
Obstructed view – Turn all three devices away from each other. No two faced each other. Signal strength -26 and -28.

obstructedsignal
Very Obstructed view – Took the second ENH500 downstairs and placed it behind a small refrigerator and faced it away from the other devices then the faced the other devices away from that one.Distance about 30 feet. Signal strength -34 -40
Daisy chain around obstruction – Placed device 1 at the office modem down stairs. Device 2 in the storage warehouse area, device three still at my pc. Distance from enh500 #1 to #2 approximately 60 feet, Distance to device #3 from device #2 Approximately 45 feet. Signal strength -47 -52.

LAYOUT
Mesh – Turned on all three devices and allowed them all to see and communicate with each other. Had fail to connect. This test is on pause until I figure out where I went wrong.
Worst case Scenario– Took device #2 across the lot into another unit, and plugged in and set it on top of their refrigerator behind a tv. Failed to connect. Distance roughly 120 feet from Device #1 to device #2. Distance from device #2 to Device #3 Roughly 135 feet.
OBSTRUCTEDVIEW

On the final test (worst case scenario) I could not detect device #2. I had to unplug from device #3 and connect myself back into the office network and then log into device #1 to see what the signal was reading. Signal -88. This was through 3 offices,a metal building with brick face and tinted glass, through company vehicles parked in front, across the driveway through more vehicles,brick,tinted glass, an office, a cross path hallway, kitchen wall, to a device laying on a refrigerator behind a tv.

Line of site on a pole, with no obstruction, doesn’t seem like it’s going to be too strict.

Autocad Alternatives Test

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Decided to try a few alternatives to AutoCAD and see if I can cut my next upgrade costs.
Here’s the list of programs I found that seemed like the best options for replacing AutoCAD
I tried a few but these are the only ones that made the list.

Specs for the test computer
Windows 7 Ultimate 64
16 gigs DDR3
AMD 6300 six-Core Processor 3.5 GHz

For test reasons I used one of my Fire Alarm templates. Since it is full of my most common blocks and xrefs. This allows me to see if I can operate normally (or better) without any slowdowns to my daily tasks at work. My template is in DWT format and 1=1 scale.The template has 4 layout views that have viewports set to 1/8 scale on print.
I design in 2d only. My job is for permitting process, so no need in 3d design software. So this is a 2d drafting and design test only.

ProgeCAD

ProgeCAD

ProgeCAD

Progecad’s website
Alternative to AutoCAD at a price range of just under $500
I installed the trial version so I can see if ProgeCAD has what I need for the drafting work I do
So far ProgeCAD does everything that autoCAD.

blocks inserted fine
Commands ran as they do in autocad

LibreCAD

AutoCAD vs LibreCAD

AutoCAD vs LibreCAD

LibreCaD’s Website
Free Drafting software alternative to AutoCAD
This is a much slower program and seemed to only work (kinda worked) with DXF files.
LibreCAD opened very slow and zero of my commands worked.
No idea why anyone would work with DXF, since DXF files load so poorly it makes you feel like you are in the middle of a memory dump.
LibreCAD wouldn’t load my blocks and would not load the DWT template file.
Lines were very hard to draw between hesitations and jumps in the program.

FreeCAD

FreeCAD

FreeCAD

Would not load a DWG file right away but would see one in folder.
Would not load DXF files and a message popped up saying to run some sort of importer, the first time I tried.
Import function in menu did nothing. Was not able to click that option.
I did however get a DXF file to open. Which opened very slowly.
The scroll function by use of the mouse wheel, worked smooth and fast. not hesitation whatsoever.
Weird thing is room labels and doors did not show up in the DXF file I used, though they are all there in other AutoCAD alternatives.
Could not copy symbols from autoCAD and paste them into FreeCAD.
No sign of layout tabs.

NanoCAD
nanocadvsautocad
Another Cad alternative that is on a “buy” only service.
I am currently using the trial version for testing and I have to say this one seems to run well and quite strong,
All commands and functions work.
If I want to insert a dynamic block, it inserts and the all of the options work as I designed them to.
NanoCAD looks like it has the best price range. From what I see the price starts at less than $200 and I see no higher prices so. NanoCAD seems to be the winner here.
Works with DWG and DWT template files. Good enough for me to like.
NanoCAD website.

Sketchup
Did not open dwg,dwt or dxf files
Sketchup is not able to be tested for my needs.
Inconclusive.

Fact is, for what I need, the free versions of AutoCAD alternatives just were not worth the download nor the install.

If I had to select one and someone else was buying, I would get the Progecad. The price is just a fraction of AutoCAD and every function I normally need is right there in ProgeCAD.
but if I was buying it for myself, I would pick nanoCAD. Everything just works flawlessly and the price is currently half the price of ProgeCAD.

Windows 10 Upgrade – How it Went

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(Give a like and share with a friend who needs this info please, I don’t have $100000 pr team, it’s just me here)
First I had a friend send me a link to Microsoft’s site where they explain how to install.
So no.. I never got the notification that the update/upgrade said
Here’s the link to the Windows 10 download. Be sure to read everything and make sure you have every piece of requested and required information and meet all requirements before moving on.
I have the end user license agreement available in pdf form.
I followed the instructions on that page, got my serial key ready and plugged in a dvd and a usb (belt and suspenders) and downloaded the media creation tool for my system, and just installed and hit the “next” button maybe three times. If that.

after about 35 minutes of downloading and 20 minutes of finalizing

For your Nvidia video cards, let windows update your drivers, it may take a few minutes but just let windows handle it.

Cool thing is I have been running dual monitors for a little while, so when the computer booted up, I had not one but two start menus and it is not a cloned desktop. Desktop icons right where I left them before the upgrade.
I did my run through of tests.
Run:
GIMP
AutoCAD
Photoshop
Adobe CS3

Nothing had a hang up.
Next will be a few more tests (to be added later) and then I will try and uninstall/roll back my operating system back to Windows 7.

The Cons:
windows 10 okay, nothing spectacular other than dual start menus when you have two monitors. after that…. bleh..
Taskbar looks a bit like the fake taskbars we’d put on windows 3.1
Redmond ? Whirling dervish? or Caldera skin? what was it called?
Start menu is a bit lacking. and please let’s not change the word “program” to “App” even if you are trying to force us to buy cloud space for the “apps” that we already paid for, for our 2 tb store bought personal hard drives.

Microsoft Internet Explorer seems to still be there.
and windows 10 still calls for it


Now this could just be because I am on an upgrade instead of a full install of windows 10. Uncertain as of yet. Wait for a few more updates.

Finally found Control Panel type stuff
startcontrolpanel
Just right click the start menu and you will see many of the control panel functions.

Settings for EDGE

Edge Settings

Edge Settings

Mostly the same as Firefox, top right of teh browser. You can also change the color of your browser there.

 

Why was windows 10 free?

Hands On Galaxy S6 Edge

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Samsung Galaxy S6

Samsung Galaxy S6

If the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge really does have Gorilla glass as I have been told, that did not feel like I expected.
The S6 Edge was very thin and light weight. The screen was wide yet narrow.
What I felt while holding that phone was in no way similar to the reviews I have been seeing. The Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge, though it felt smooth to the touch and nearly seamless, it felt kind cheap. Not inexpensive but felt poorly made. Almost like a doll house wide screen tv. as if it would just crumble the first time you set anything on it. Reminded me on the Sanyo Zio but much more costly. With the curved edges and the plastic feeling screen.

No idea how you put a screen cover on that phone. Or even a case that would be effective and still allow you to use that silly edge area.
Sure that gives you more tools to add but what if the screen was flat, that stuff would still work and a case would serve an actual purpose.
The menu system didn’t feel like anything innovative has been created either. and yes I am quite used to feeling teh sides of the phone while I navigate.
The battery Specs online say 2,600mAh in the system settings, while the comparable budget phone ZTE Grand™ X Max+ has a 3200mAh battery.  the battery could be better.

Not interested in the Galaxy 6 Edge.

Review scoring:
Feel– 5/10
Look– 9/10
Navigation– 7/10
Durability– 4/10
Battery life– 8/10

Total review score = 5/10

Custom Lollipop Rom Testing – Videos

Posted onAuthorCharles Wilborn3 Comments

***Note from site owner*** Be kind, this is a new writer for the site. He tests gadgets but doesn’t write much so this is kind of hard to follow***

lolipoprom
Motorola moto g. I believe the original android version was Kitkat 4.3,
We will be testing 2 different versions of the same rom. Lolipop 5.0.2

1. Testing done on unlocked Motorola Moto G First Generation XT1031 from Boost Mobile Moto G quad core Qualcomm Snapdragon 400
2. Similar performance to Kitkat.
3. Game play nice and fluid.
4. Bandwidth test same speeds as kitkat
5. the interface of Lollipop is different. a little nicer.
First test with this rom different version. believed to be Asian retail soak test Google play edition for a dual sim.
(Android 5.0.2)
More Information found on XDA Dev
The boot screens are black and say Google, and is from XDA Developers
First Attempt with Lolipop 5.02

The way the rom had to be flashed, I had to have a custom recover and put the zip file on the phone the boot into recover and flash the zip file through recovery
300MB

Second Attempt with Lolipop 5.02
BUILD REQUEST INFO:
SW Version: falcon_retbr-user 5.0.2 LXB22.46-28 28 release-keysMSM8626BP_1032.3105.93.00R
MBM Version: 41.18
Modem Version: MSM8626BP_1032.3105.93.00R
FSG Version: MSM8626BP_FSG_01.94.00R
Build Fingerprint: motorola/falcon_retbr/falcon_umts:5.0.2/LXB22.46-28/28:user/release-keys
VERSION INFO FOUND UNDER ‘ABOUT PHONE’ SCREEN:
System Version: 220.21.28.falcon_umts.Brasil.en.BR
Model number: Moto G
Android Version: 5.0.2
Baseband Version: MSM8626BP_1032.3105.93.00R
Build Number: LXB22.46-28
Build Date: Wed Jan 7 00:31:42 CST 2015
OTHER MISC VERSION INFO:
Subsidy Lock Config: None
Blur Version: Blur_Version.220.21.28.falcon_umts.Brasil.en.BR
Version when read from CPV: falcon_retbr-user 5.0.2 LXB22.46-28 28 release-keys
500MB

This version I had to find in Google and got the fourth link from the top on FileFactory

The performance of both of them seemed pretty much the same as kitkat 4.4.4 the interface was more fluid like or smoother it seems. Downloading apps was faster but installing apps was different, slower for some reason but that could be due to I wasn’t using a rom build for the exact model I have.

Phone is now bricked.

ZTE Z740G Camera VS Iphone 4S Camera

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Decided to do a test between the ZTE Z740G Camera and the iPhone 4S Camera.
My test was to set both cameras at their full setting and full resolution and take one long distance photograph of the Houston downtown skyline and one close up photo within downtown Houston. To see how the cameras handle the lighting and what would be in focus and out of focus. and to go head to head between two phones in total different budgets. The iPhone 4s was quite expensive when it was released, while the ZTE Z740G was very cheap. Less than 1/4 the price of the iPhone.
To be as fair as I could, I also picked the exact same point as the focus point, and rested the cameras on the same objects.
The photos came out at very similar angles.

 

From what I see, the iPhone pictures came out darker and more grainy looking, while the Android pictures came out brighter but slightly blurrier.

The distance Skyline photos I have to give to the Android ZTE Z740G. Though they aren’t much better, they aren’t dark and weirdly gloomy. yet the iPhone image allows a tad more zoom and a clearer focus.

The close up photos I have to give to the iPhone 4. Especially when you look at the windows of the building to the left. You see the details in the curtains and the depth of the window area between the glass and the curtains.

After some time, I realize there are a few more types of photographs i could have taken to better test the two phones. Issue with that is the review would get long and bloated with pictures. So i decided to take just two photos of some coins up close with each phone. and not use flash
Android ZTE Z740G

iPhone 4S

again one image comes out blurrier and brighter while the other comes in dark and slightly more focus yet grainy.

Truth is, neither has a good camera. and this whole test is only good if you are trying to pick between the ZTE or the iPhone 4. Other than that, it would be in your best interest to find something else to compare these two phones by.