The e-reader market is mostly dominated by Amazon’s Kindles, with upstart alternatives from Barnes & Noble and Kobo rarely providing enough difference to make a big dent. Kobo’s Aura One ($229.99) looks to turn heads with its larger-than-average 7.8-inch display and IPX8-rated water resistance, which could make it a big deal at the beach. And while its laggy keyboard and high price may not look great versus the competition, its excellent light sensors and ability to take a splash make it worth considering.
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Read full post here: https://www.tomsguide.com/us/kobo-aura-one,review-3850.html
With mice like the G900 Chaos Spectrum, Logitech is making a pretty substantial push toward the pro-gamer market. Suppose, though, that a $150 wireless mouse really isn’t your thing; can you still get something suited to the tournament scene?
The $70 Logitech G Pro Gaming Mouse answers that with a resounding, “yes.” With a tried-and-true design and Logitech’s hallmark software, the G Pro presents a respectable choice for competitive masterminds and more casual players alike.
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Read full post here: https://www.tomsguide.com/us/logitech-g-pro-gaming-mouse,review-3849.html
Adventure-bike fans who also like Japanese motorcycles have had it a little tough over the past decade. While there have been some very fine offerings in the form of the well-balanced but more street-oriented Yamaha Super Ténéré, street-focused Suzuki V-Stroms, and bullet-proof-but-basic Kawasaki KLR650, Japan has lacked a hard-core, liter-class, go-anywhere adventure bike.
During that time, the adventure-touring class exploded, matured, and joined the electronic revolution, and the Europeans were the ones kicking butt and taking names…and market share.
Point the Africa Twin toward the horizon and go. Any horizon
The CRF1000L Africa Twin is Honda’s long-awaited entry into the class. It enters an ADV market that has largely evolved into big-bore touring machines that are surprisingly good off the asphalt but which are also undeniably large and heavy. The flagship bikes from BMW, Ducati, KTM, Triumph, and Yamaha all displace right around 1,200cc, and most have claimed weights closer to 600 pounds (except for the 500-pound-dry KTM), while Honda has opted for a 999cc twin and hit a CW-measured dry weight of 485 pounds. On paper, that implies that the Africa Twin might be a pretty good dance partner.
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Read full post here: https://www.cycleworld.com/2016-honda-crf1000l-africa-twin-adventure-bike-road-test-motorcycle-review
Sony Planar T* FE 50mm f/1.4 ZA review – Introduction
Back in 2006, Sony took over Konica Minolta’s troubled camera business in a bid to become a major player in the market. Ten years on and its relentless experimentation and innovation have paid dividends, with the Alpha 7 full-frame mirrorless system rapidly establishing itself as a serious alternative to high-end DSLRs.
There’s no point having hugely ambitious cameras like the 42.4-million-pixel Alpha 7R II, though, without lenses to match. To this end, Sony has also been rapidly building up its full-frame FE range, which, from a standing start in 2013, now numbers 17 lenses as well as various converters. Its latest is the premium Zeiss-branded Planar T* FE 50mm f/1.4 ZA.
We thought we’d seen the last of Sony’s TVs for 2016. But then the company launched a premium ZD9 series of 4K TVs.
The Sony KD-65ZD9BU is the baby of the range at £4000/$6000, but it boasts an Ultra HD 4K and HDR (high dynamic range), with all the streaming features you could want.
ZD9 series
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The Sony ZD9 has improved technology that promises better detail, contrast and colour, especially for Ultra HD 4K and HDR video.
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Read full post here: https://www.whathifi.com/sony/kd-65zd9bu/review
Samsung’s Galaxy Note 7 is finally here, and it’s skipped a number. It borrows a lot of design cues from the Galaxy S7 Edge, but it’s still got the incredible S Pen stylus in addition to the Edge panel. It seems like a long time ago, but the Note 7 arrives almost exactly a year after the Galaxy S6 Edge Plus and the Note 5. These three phones have a lot in common, but they have their share of differences. Which Galaxy will win this shootout? Read on to find out.
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Read full post here: https://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/galaxy-note-7-vs-galaxy-note-5-vs-galaxy-s6-edge-plus/
Nikon has announced the D3400, an entry-level DX format DSLR with SnapBridge technology built in.
A successor to the Nikon D3300, it’s the first entry level Nikon camera to feature SnapBridge, the camera uses Bluetooth low energy technology to keep it connected to your smartphone or tablet and automatically sync photos as users shoot.
The camera features a 24.2 megapixel sensor and is capable of recording Full HD video footage at 50p/60p.
Introduced at Baselworld 2016, the Frédérique Constant Slimline Perpetual Calendar Manufacture was one of the highlights of the convention, with enthusiasts fawning over its good looks, slim design, in-house perpetual calendar movement, and most amazingly, an estimated price of around 8,000 CHF.
aBlogtoWatch recently got hold of this watch, and with it on the wrist, the reality of what the watch represents really struck home. That a Swiss in-house perpetual calendar movement can be had for comparatively so little is quite the testament to R&D director Manuel Da Silva Matos and technical director Pim Koeslag, the creators of the movement, and it highlights all that is wonderful about modern watch making. Though still quite expensive from a general perspective, a watch that would normally be reserved for only the most wealthy is now available to a much wider audience.
One of the first gaming laptops to use Nvidia’s new Pascal GPUs, the MSI GT62 Dominator Pro (priced at $1,999; starting at $1,599) is VR ready, willing and able. And when you’re done scaling mountaintops or exploring haunted houses in virtual reality, the laptop can throw down some insanely smooth frame rates for your regular titles. Thanks to the machine’s Intel Core i7 processor and PCIe solid-state drive, you can expect great performance and scorching transfer speeds. Throw in a beautiful Nvidia G-Sync display, and you’re ready to enter the future of gaming with digital guns a-blazin’.
Design
MSI’s notebooks are usually either sleek or imposing. However, the GT62 straddles the fence to great effect for a laptop that exudes both power and sexiness. At first glance at the GT62, my eyes were drawn to the pair of glossy black and red strips embedded into the black brushed-aluminum lid. Each strip is flanked by a dart of metal, which only helps to attract your eyes to the middle of the lid, where the chrome MSI logo and the backlit dragon sigil reside.
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Read full post here: https://www.laptopmag.com/reviews/laptops/msi-gt62vr-6re
The HW-K950 is the latest soundbar from Samsung and represents a quantum leap from the manufacturer in terms of design, features and performance. The HW-K950 not only boasts a wireless active subwoofer and wireless active surrounds, but it also supports Dolby Atmos, using upward-firing speakers to deliver a 5.1.4 multi-dimensional audio experience. If that wasn’t enough the soundbar includes support for Samsung’s Multiroom platform as well as Ultra HD 4K with High Dynamic Range (HDR) and HDCP 2.2. So you can combine the HW-K950 with an Ultra HD TV and Ultra HD Blu-ray playerfor the ultimate in home entertainment whilst minimising the impact on your living space. Naturally all this innovation doesn’t come cheap and the HW-K950 will set you back £1,300/$1,950 but when you consider what you’re getting it starts to make sense.
The Sony a6300 and Canon EOS 80D are visually very different cameras. One looks like Canon DSLRs always have, the other looks a lot like Sony’s original NEX line of mirrorless cameras.
Yet, despite their clearly distinct roots, dig a little deeper and you find hints of convergent evolution. The on-sensor phase detection of the a6300 helps it offer autofocus that can compete with DSLRs, while the dual-pixel design of the EOS 80D helps it offer better live view operation and focus than any previous Canon DSLR.
What’s true of both is that they’re their maker’s offering for the stills enthusiast who might want to try their hand at video. In many respects they’re still as different as they are similar, but their relative strengths and weaknesses aren’t necessarily quite as you’d expect. All of which can make it hard to know which one to choose…
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Read full post here: https://www.dpreview.com/articles/6947059532/sony-alpha-6300-vs-canon-eos-80d
While it might not be a household name, Huawei is a brand people should know. As the third largest smartphone maker in the world, Huawei has put out some pretty potent handsets including the Nexus 6P, the Huawei P9, and our current favorite budget phone, the Honor 5X.
Now, the company is back at it with the Honor 8, a 5.2-inch smartphone sporting dual 12-megapixel rear cameras, a fingerprint reader, USB-C and a decidedly upscale design. What’s not upscale is the price tag. The 32GB version of Honor’s new phone will cost $399. A 64GB version of the Honor 8 costs only slightly more at $449.
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Read full post here:
https://www.tomsguide.com/us/huawei-honor-8,review-3848.html
Powered by a new generation of mobile graphics starring Nvidia’s brand-new GTX 1070 graphics card, Asus’ ROG G752VS OC’s offers record-breaking gaming performance for hundreds less than older notebooks featuring Nvidia 900-series GPUs. And despite the savings, Asus hasn’t skimped on other features, as the G752VS features a massive 32GB of RAM and a bright, 17.3-inch full-HD display in a refreshingly sleek gray-and-copper body. And while there’s a number of other 1070-powered systems yet to come, for $2,499, Asus’ ROG G752VS OC has set a new standard for high-powered gaming rigs.
Design — A welcome deviation from black and red
Clad in gunmetal gray and copper, the ROG G752VS OC sets itself apart from all the red-and-black gaming laptops we’ve seen from Acer, Lenovo and MSI. Asus even pulled off a futuristic spaceship vibe without treading on Alienware’s territory, although I must admit I’m still not a fan of the overly edgy ROG logo. It kind of looks like the logo for Bad Boy clothing, which isn’t a good thing.
Puro Sound Labs BT5200 wireless headphones are broccoli for your ears.
That’s not really “rock ‘n’ roll,” but the BT5200s are made to save you from yourself and keep your hearing healthy. Inside of the aluminum earcups with their 40mm custom dynamic drivers is a microprocessor that monitors their decibel level and alerts you via an LED when your volume is safe or unsafe.
Basically, to keep your hearing healthy, it’s recommended that you keep volume at or below 85 dB. When you’re in this range with the BT5200s, the tiny LED on the left cup glows green. When you’re between 85 and 95 — a level you should limit to 2 hours or less — the LED glows yellow. Keep raising the volume till you’re over 95 decibels and the LED turns red, letting you know you’re on your way to hearing damage.
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Read full post here: https://www.cnet.com/reviews/puro-sound-labs-bt5200-bluetooth-headphones-review/2/
Automakers ignore the aspirations of global giant Hyundai at their own peril. Cresting a 10-year renaissance that has seen the Korean automaker carve up its Japanese and American rivals in everything from the entry-level compact segment to the hot-selling SUV market, the enormous and unblinking eye of Hyundai’s product planning team has now turned its full attention to the world of luxury. Successful, and lengthy flirtation with the viability of the Genesis nameplate under the auspices of its current hierarchy has lead to the Genesis G90 full-size sedan exploding onto the scene for 2017 as the herald of an all-new, and entirely separate premium brand.
Thanks to Lenovo, getting VR-ready doesn’t have to mean giving up all of your precious desk space. The company just unveiled two new PCs that cram a ton of gaming performance into a small package: the box-shaped $1,299 IdeaCentre Y710 Cube, and the $1,799 AIO Y910 all-in-one.
The Y710 Cube is actually more of a small rectangle, with a compact but very aggressive design that looks like a smaller version of Lenovo’s Y900 series. The PC should be pretty easy on your desk space at 16 inches tall and weighing 16 pounds, and it’s built in handle makes it easy to lug from room to room.
Lenovo’s small machine packs a 6th-gen Intel Core i7 processor and Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080 graphics card inside, making it perfectly ready for 4K and VR gaming. It seems like a good fit for the living room, especially since you can choose to bundle it with an Xbox One controller and its wireless receiver.
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Read full post here: https://www.tomsguide.com/us/lenovo-ideacentre-y710-cube-aio0-y910,news-23190.html
It’s the rare gadget these days that gets my 8-year-old interested enough to come see what daddy is reviewing. But there he was putting his arm around me as I used the Galaxy Note 7’s improved S Pen to sketch a landscape, blending colors and drawing a tiny frog in a pond. “This is a cool app,” my son said. “It’s a pretty cool phone,” I replied.
And then I let slip how much it cost. “$850?!”
Yeah, that’s a lot of money for a big-screen handset, but the Galaxy Note 7 has a lot to recommend it. It boasts the same best-in-class camera as the Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge, a water-resistant design, a bigger 5.7-inch display (complete with HDR video support), and even the ability to unlock the phone with your eyes. Still, the main reason to get the Note 7 versus other phablets remains the S Pen, and Samsung has added some features to make that pen appealing to more users.
With plenty of Award-winning headphones in the bag, AKG is on a roll, so it shouldn’t be a surprise that its new line of affordable over-ear cans is pretty darn good.
But thankfully AKG still has the capacity to surprise us. The baby of the three-strong line up, the AKG K52s, performed admirably for just £30/$45.
We might have been tempted to call them the best value headphones we’ve heard this year – but that was before we listened to the K92s.
Sitting at the top of the range, the AKG K92s cost £50/$75 – still affordable, but the jump up in sound quality is more than enough to justify spending the extra few quid.
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Read full post here: https://www.whathifi.com/akg/k92/review
Samsung’s next Galaxy Note device has been revealed at an event in New York, adding another smartphone to the company’s 2016 flagship portfolio.
By default, the next Note should be called the Note 6 but Samsung skipped a digit and headed straight for 7 in order for the new device to fall in line with theGalaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge and minimise confusion.
The Note 7 might take its design cues from the S7 edge, but it still has Note features at its heart. Here is how the Galaxy Note 7 compares to the Note 5 and the Note 4.
Aside from perhaps a moon phase, few complications seem better suited to a De Bethunethan those showing multiple time zones. With the De Bethune DB25 World Traveller (debuted here), you get not only world time indication but also a true GMT display, time, and date. Despite the high level of complication, De Bethune has managed to preserve the the clean lines and marine chronometer aesthetic of the DB25 family. If you’re looking to out jet set the most frequent of flyers, the De Bethune DB25 World Traveller will have you time zoning with the best of them.
The 45mm-wide 18k white gold case stands tall, with its low lugs offering unobstructed access to the crown and world time pusher. The case shape is can-like, with a certain old-world charm that makes the watch feel like a vintage compass or deck instrument. The face of this DB25 is almost entirely dial, ringed by a thin circle of highly polished white gold.
The mobile workstation market has evolved significantly over the last decade as computer parts have become more commoditised and consumer components turned out to be as powerful and feature-laden as their professional counterparts.
This explains why the likes of SGI, DEC and Sun Microsystems faltered and eventually disappeared completely. It also explains recent developments in this market: unless you are Lenovo, Dell or HP, there’s next-to-no-chance that you can develop a true mobile workstation from scratch.
Instead, what is becoming increasingly common is that one base unit (commonly known as the chassis) is given a dual personality. A gaming laptop can transform into a workstation simply by swapping the graphics subsystem and beefing up the support and aftersales.
This is what MSI has successfully done; others such as Schenker, Overclockers, Novatech, Scan and PC Specialist have used products from a massive Taiwanese laptop vendor called Clevo. In the US, Sager, AVADirect and Cyberpower are some of the better known companies that use Clevo’s kit.
Fun fact: It takes approximately 30 minutes to climb to the summit of Mt. Everest — at least in VR it does. Solfar Studios and RVX’s simulation of climbing to the top of the world is finally complete and available on SteamVR, for $24.99. Combining excellent graphics, well-written narration and fairly realistic movements, it provides the thrill of conquering the legendary peak with none of the inherent danger. However, there’s not a ton of replay value here.
Away We Go
Before I could begin my ascent, I had to get acquainted with the basics, such as attaching carabiners to ropes and sliding along ropes using ascenders. Once completed, the simulation got fully underway, taking me to Base Camp.
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Read full post here: https://www.tomsguide.com/us/everest-vr,review-3843.html
Thanks to its lightweight chassis, gorgeous screen and epic battery life, the Dell XPS 13 has been our favorite laptop overall for more than 18 months now. Though it’s not targeted directly at business users, the laptop’s industry-leading design and strong performance make it a great choice for workers, especially coders. The XPS 13 Developer Edition ($1,049 to start, $1,550 as tested) is a version of the notebook running Ubuntu Linux 14.04 that is primed for, you guessed it, developers.
Most people who want Linux on a laptop install it themselves (it’s free, after all), but the XPS 13 Developer Edition comes with it working out of the box. It’s less work to set up, but you have fewer configuration options. It’s probably not a worthwhile buy for an individual developer, but companies shopping for a fleet of employees can save some time with a computer that runs Linux right out of the box.
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Read full post here: https://www.laptopmag.com/articles/dell-xps-13-developer-hands-on
The Canon T6 keeps the best of its popular predecessor, 2014’s Canon T5, including its extremely affordable pricetag and approachable, comfortable design, and then adds some important features. These include in-camera Wi-Fi — both for image sharing and remote control — as well as a higher-resolution display and some other tweaks besides.
But does the Canon T6, which is essentially built on the design of a two-year-old camera, have what it takes to compete in today’s entry-level DSLR market?
Along with the Philippine launch of the Zenfone 3, and new Zenbook and Transformer series, ASUS has also revealed new products to compliment the recently launched mobile devices. One of them is the ASUS Audio Pod.
The ASUS Audio Pod is a Bluetooth-powered wireless speaker. As the name suggests, looks like a pod. It’s rounded, aerodynamic, and slim. The top side, where the speaker is located, is covered with a cloth mesh while printed above it are the labels for the buttons – Play/Pause, Bluetooth, Power, Volume Down, Volume Up.
It’s been a year since Apple Music launched with a massive marketing campaign and several celebrities lined up, including Taylor Swift, touting how amazing it is to use, especially when compared to Spotify, another music-streaming service that was getting flak for not paying artists enough.
Now that time has passed, and the hype has died down, it’s worth asking yourself: should you really subscribe to Apple Music over Spotify, which currently leads the space in terms of paid subscribers? In order to help you answer that question, Pocket-lint has taken a deep dive and compared the two services by price, availability, features, and more. Here’s everything you kneed to know about Apple Music vs Spotify.
Apple Music vs Spotify: What’s the price difference?
It’s not often a Bluetooth speaker has its designer’s name tucked away within its specification. But then the Bang & Olufsen BeoPlay A1 is no ordinary Bluetoothspeaker; an example of the kind of sound quality that can be achieved at this small scale.
Thing is, its price point is far from ordinary too: at £199 it’s a considerable chunk of cash to be chucking at a portable speaker. The obvious question, then, is whether it’s worth the investment?
B&O A1 BeoPlay review: Design
Bang & Olufsen is well known for its design. The Danish company walks the line between understated and outlandish, falling into the former camp for the A1 (it is designed by Cecilie Manz – a well-known industrial designer).
If you are in the market for a high-end sports watch, you certainly have no shortage of options in terms of both design and price point. Easily the most exciting area of wrist watch design “innovation” is in the realm of sport watches, where materials, aesthetic designs, functionality, and inspirations are routinely played with and added to. If you are into bold, macho timepieces, then prepare yourself (if you haven’t already) for an often odd and always interesting world of the good, the bad, the weird, and the wonderful. Today, I’d like to look at two versions of the SnyperOne – the original model which now comes in a slew of variants from this Swiss watch companyfirst debuted in around 2010.
When it comes to buying a performance sedan, there is an unreasonably large number of choices on the Australian market.
Most are also backed up by a coupe variant that, despite having fewer doors – and fewer complications – tend to cost more. So, if you have about $150,000 to spend on a four-door luxury performance sedan, what would you buy?
There are, of course, the local heroes from the HSV range and, while they serve their purpose in the greater market, our focus here is on the more upscale offerings from Germany and Japan.
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