Telecom 4G tuff phone launch just another excuse to fool around with iPhone 5s slo mo (VIDEOS!)

With its 4G network just hours from commercial launch, Telecom staged a preview event at its Auckland HQ this morning. 

Read more about that (and Vodafone's response) here.

Telecom had a bunch of 4G gadgets on display, from data dongles to the usual handset suspects (including the latest iPhones, Samsung's Galaxy S4 and Note 3, Sony's Xperia Z1 and assorted Nokia Lumias).

There was also the Telecom R83, a house-brand tough phone (made by China's ZTE). It'll launch tomorrow for $499.

Tech specs include a 4-inch display, Android 4.1, 1.2GHz dual core processor, 2GB of onboard memory, accelerometer, magnetometer, and a case, attached by metal screws, that is IP67-compliant - meaning it's dust-proof and waterproof to 1m.

It's not as smart-looking or feature-capable as Sony's Xperia Z1, but it's half the price and can stand more chucking around. 

To wit, I got the chap demo'ing it to biff it around a bit, and give it a dunking, the better to show off the iPhone 5s new slo-mo video feature at the same time.

Turn up your audio for the satisfying thwack as the handset hits the tiles (and if you don't see the video first time and you're on a PC, hit F5 to refresh):

A footnote: I was initially a broken man as I exported my kids trampolining, Guy Fawkes, tuff phone etc slo mo videos from my iPhone 5s to my Windows laptop, only to find they played back at normal speed in QuickTime (Apple achieves that smooth, professional slow-mo look by having the Phone 5s shooting at 120 frames per second, then playing back the footage at 30 frames per second, or around the speed you normally see video - but Apple's video play for Windows can read the frame rate tags).

But two solutions were immediately at hand, thanks to Mr Twitter. Luckily I have a MacBook Air as well, so I could export them to iMovie, where they behaved.

And you can also upload from your iPhone 5s directly to Facebook, YouTube or (as above, via embeds) Vimeo.

As ever, mind the cap - the top clip is all of 9 seconds long but was an 18MB  HD upload to Vimeo (you can also upload lower resolution versions).

ckeall@nbr.co.nz

Follow @ChrisKeall

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