Monthly Archives: October 2018

LensRentals Nikon Z7 Teardown: “The best built mirrorless full-frame camera we’ve taken apart”

“The best built mirrorless full-frame camera we’ve taken apart.” This is how Lensrentals describes the Nikon Z7 in their newly-published teardown. These are very strong words and speak to the level of engineering-level precision which has gone into the design and construction of Nikon’s new flagship full-frame mirrorless camera.

After tearing down the Canon EOS R and finding quite a bit of weather resistance via tightly-sealed components rather than true weather sealing components, in contrast the Z7 features weather-resisting gaskets “everywhere.” According to Roger Cicala of Lensrentals, there is more sealing than was found in either the EOS R or the Sony A7R III.

Read full post here:
https://www.imaging-resource.com/news/2018/10/30/lensrentals-nikon-z7-teardown

Buddyphones Wave review: Fun design, safe sound

Kids listen freely while parents control the volume.

As a parent, all you want is to keep your kids safe—or so I’ve been told—and the Buddyphones Wave kids headphones are an easy way to protect your child’s hearing without having to helicopter parent over him. The Wave comes in a variety of kid-friendly designs and includes a slew of safety features, leaving you worry-free while your kid enjoys the latest Kidz Bop iteration.

Read full post here:
https://www.soundguys.com/buddyphones-wave-review-20513/

 

OnePlus 6T vs Galaxy S9+: What You Need to Know

When it comes to choosing your next smartphone there are plenty of choices in 2018. And with the new OnePlus 6T here your decision is even more difficult. Here’s how the latest OnePlus 6T compares to the Galaxy S9+ for potential buyers.

If you’re hunting for your next phone the Galaxy S9+ or Pixel 3 are likely near the top of your list. They’re also really expensive. That’s why the OnePlus 6T is such an exciting alternative.

Coming with a big 6.4-inch display, in-display fingerprint sensor and the latest Android 9 Pie all for $549 is a big deal. Instantly making this a great option for potential buyers, especially now that its available from T-Mobile and works on Verizon. If you’re debating the two, you’ve come to the right place.

Read full post here:
https://www.gottabemobile.com/oneplus-6t-vs-galaxy-s9-what-you-need-to-know/

3 Reasons Not to Install watchOS 5.1 & 8 Reasons You Should

Apple’s watchOS 5 update is a major breath of fresh air for the Apple Watch and watchOS 5.1 is a welcome upgrade in October. It might be enough to convince you that you don’t need to upgrade to the Apple Watch 4, but it’s an update many users will want to install. Installing this update is a major decision, and unlike the iOS 12 update, you cannot go back to watchOS 4 or watchOS 5 if you don’t like it.

The watchOS 5.1 update is available today for all users after weeks of testing. This upgrade is available on the Apple Watch Series 1 and newer. It is not coming to the original Apple Watch..

Read full post here:
https://www.gottabemobile.com/reasons-not-to-install-watchos-5-reasons-you-should/

iPad Pro 2018 vs Surface Pro 6: Does Microsoft have Apple beat?

2018 iPad Pro vs Surface Pro 6: This year’s biggest tablet battle?

Apple’s October 30th Special Event has just wrapped, giving us a wealth of yet more delicious hardware from the company in 2018, including two new iPad Pros.

With the recent return of Microsoft’s Surface line, we wanted to see how the fresh Microsoft Surface Pro 6 stood up against Apple’s newest tablets.

Read full post here:
https://www.trustedreviews.com/news/ipad-pro-2018-vs-surface-pro-6-3612699

iPad Pro vs MacBook Air: Time to pick up the tab?

With a refreshed range of the MacBook Air announced, those who fancy an ultra-portable Apple powerhouse should be furiously scribbling it down on their Christmas list right now.

But this year things are a little more complicated, with Apple having also announced a new iPad Pro  with laptop-rivalling specs alongside the new MacBook Air.

A few years back it would have been near-insane to suggest a tablet could fulfill the job of a laptop, yet here we are. Whether Apple’s iPad Pro boasts are as authentic as they claim remains to be seen, but the spec sheet certainly seems convincing.

Read full post here:
https://www.trustedreviews.com/news/ipad-pro-vs-macbook-air-3613187

Spire Health Tag review

The invisible stress and activity tracking wearable with some visible problems

The Spire Health Tag is a wearable that sticks onto your clothes and aims to help you sleep better, de-stress during the day and track your activity.

It’s made by the same company that wanted to keep us calm with the clip-on Spire Stone. With its sensor-packed Health Tags though, Spire’s CEO Jonathan Palley told us that it wanted to solve “the user experience problem we’ve always believed existed for health monitoring wearables”. That problem was to do tracking discreetly, and you can certainly do that with this device.

Read full post here:
https://www.wareable.com/wearable-tech/spire-health-tag-review-6541

2018 Lexus RX L & Volkswagen Touareg vs Audi Q7 Comparison

Not much can beat a luxury SUV for versatility. But can anything beat the class-leading Audi Q7? Newcomers from Lexus and Volkswagen are here to help us find out…

New Lexus RX L & Volkswagen Touareg vs Audi Q7

What’s the perfect car? Before you start shouting out the names of two-seat supercars, giant extended-wheelbase luxury limos or 4x4s that could cross the Arctic with consummate ease, we’ll expand on that question.

Read full post here:
https://www.whatcar.com/news/new-lexus-rx-l-and-volkswagen-touareg-vs-audi-q7/n17792

Sigma 40mm f/1.4 DG HSM Art and 56mm f/1.4 DC DN lenses to be released on November 22nd

Sigma 40mm f/1.4 DG HSM Art and 56mm f/1.4 DC DN lenses to be released on November 22nd.

Sigma 40mm F1.4 DG HSM | Art lens will be available for Canon, Nikon DSLR cameras. The compact 40mm Art lens will also be available for the Sony E mounts.

Sigma 56mm F1.4 DC DN is an APS-c mirrorless lens and will be available for Micro Four Thirds and Sony E mounts. The compact 56mm lens becomes the sixth DN lens after the Sigma 30mm F1.4 DC DN ($339), and the second 16mm F1.4 DC DN | Contemporary lenses.

Read full post here:
https://www.dailycameranews.com/2018/10/sigma-40mm-f-1-4-dg-hsm-art-and-56mm-f-1-4-dc-dn-lenses-to-be-released-on-november-22nd/

MacBook Air 2018 hands-on: Apple knows what you’ll pay for

What explains the perennial popularity of the MacBook Air? That might seem like a pointless question, given the 2018 MacBook Air has just been revealed to us, but if Apple’s newest ultraportable is to be a success then it can’t just count on branding to buoy sales.

Portability, certainly, hasn’t been compromised upon. Indeed the new MacBook Air takes the slender dimensions of its predecessor and narrows them even further. Just 0.16-inches at its thinnest, and 0.61-inches at its thickest, and a mere 2.75 pounds, we’re talking one serious diet.

Read full post here:
https://www.slashgear.com/macbook-air-2018-hands-on-apple-knows-what-youll-pay-for-30552012/

Sony KD-75ZF9 4K LCD TV review

The recently launched Master Series represents the new pinnacle of Sony’s TV line-up. It is designed to produce a picture closer to the director’s intention than any commercially available television has done before.

Those two models are the AF9 OLED, which we gave a glowing, five-star review, and the ZF9 here, in the form of the Sony KD-75ZF9. The key difference is that the ZF9 is not an OLED – it’s an LCD model with a direct LED backlight, and is essentially the successor to the ZD9 from 2016.

Read full post here:
https://www.whathifi.com/reviews/sony-kd-75zf9

The winning iPhone strategy is shifting to Mac and iPad

Apple tested its strategy out on the iPhone, took a risk, and it paid off: now, it’s the turn of the Mac – and specifically the new MacBook Air – to go next. For long-time MacBook Air fans, the late-2018 update to the ultraportable addressed a lot of complaints. Faster processors, more storage, and a Retina display all checked off boxes long-overdue. However there was one change we were hoping not to see.

The previous-generation MacBook Air was the last of Apple’s notebooks to slip in under $1,000. Today’s replacement, slimmed down in size and beefed up in power, makes no such concession to your wallet. Price of entry to Retina MacBook Air ownership is now $1,199.

Read full post here:
https://www.slashgear.com/apple-macbook-air-ipad-pro-iphone-sales-strategy-asp-30552052/

5 Reasons to Wait for the 2019 iPhone & 6 Reasons Not To

Apple’s new iPhones are excellent, but some of you might want to skip the iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, and iPhone XR in favor of next year’s models.

In September Apple launched two new iPhones. One is a 5.8-inch successor to the iPhone X dubbed iPhone XS. The other is a larger 6.5-inch iPhone X Plus dubbed iPhone Xs Max.

Apple’s third phone is a cheaper 6.1-inch LCD model called iPhone XR. The iPhone XR comes in a variety of colors and features a cheaper price point.

Read full post here:
https://www.gottabemobile.com/5-reasons-to-wait-for-the-2019-iphone-4-reasons-not-to/

Mac mini 2018 hands on: Big charm in small package

We feared the Mac mini was dead. Left for years without the merest glimpse of an update, Apple’s smallest computer had somehow shrunk even further, eclipsed by the iMac Pro and promises of a bold new Mac Pro still to come. Now, though, it’s time for the 2018 Mac mini to have its moment in the spotlight, and it’s hard to argue with what Apple has done.

At first glance you’d be forgiven for thinking this was the same computer. The darker Space Gray finish is the first giveaway that this is 2018’s machine, though. Still no optical drive, but the same flexible form-factor that’s both at home on a desktop – or in a drawer, for that matter – or stacked together into a mini server array.

Read full post here:
https://www.slashgear.com/mac-mini-2018-hands-on-big-charm-in-small-package-30552019/

iPad Pro 2018 hands-on: Better than your laptop

What a difference skinnier bezels make. Still, to boil the new iPad Pro down to just a larger proportion of screen to tablet misses much of what makes it special. Apple has always pitched the iPad Pro as a replacement for your notebook: now, for even more people, that might well come true.

The design is a stark change from the iPad Pro of old – and, indeed, from the current aesthetic of the iPhone XS. No smoothly curved sides and carefully chamfered bezels. Instead, you get flat edges and crisp corners.

Read full post here:
https://www.slashgear.com/ipad-pro-2018-hands-on-better-than-your-laptop-30551986/

2019 Subaru Legacy Review

It’s hard to be an underdog in an unappreciated market. Just ask the 2019 Subaru Legacy, the mid-size sedan that does almost everything right yet barely registers a spot on most shoppers’ lists.

The 2019 Legacy is worth a lengthy look, we say, and it rightfully earns its 6.3 out of 10 rating

With the 2019 Legacy, Subaru has made its four-door sedan even more desirable by making automatic emergency braking, active lane control, and adaptive cruise control standard fare across a lineup that includes base, Premium, Sport, and Limited trim levels.

Read full post here:
https://www.thecarconnection.com/overview/subaru_legacy_2019

Acer Predator Orion 9000 Review

The Predator Orion 9000 is Acer’s flagship desktop gaming PC. Available in a range of configurations, this monster of a machine can house multiple graphics cards and the very highest-end CPUs available, along with plenty of storage options too.

With its enormous case, replete with handles on the top, wheels at the back and a plethora of RGB lighting, this is far from the last word in subtlely. However, if all out performance and a bold design statement is what you’re after, the Orion 9000 may be right up your street.

Read full post here:
https://www.trustedreviews.com/reviews/acer-predator-orion-9000

2019 Audi A8 L review

Audi is a brand that defines luxury through technology and engineering, so we expect the Ingolstadt set to bring its absolute A-game with its freshly redesigned flagship, the 2019 Audi A8 L.

This long-wheelbase, full-size luxury sedan is loaded with the first application of Audi’s 48-volt mild hybrid powertrain and the very best driver aid, infotainment and performance technology in the automaker’s playbook, much of which I was able to experience earlier this year in a European-spec model.

Read full post here:
https://www.cnet.com/roadshow/reviews/2019-audi-a8-l-review/

Panasonic DP-UB420 review

The Panasonic DP-UB420 isn’t going to win any beauty pageants – it has the cosmetic appeal of a biscuit tin, with a level of finish that doesn’t inspire confidence – but it could be the best value 4K Blu-ray player on the market.

In fact, if value and performance are your only two criteria, the Panasonic DP-UB420 offers magnificent video performance at a reasonable price.

Read full post here:
https://www.techradar.com/reviews/panasonic-dp-ub420

2019 Volvo XC60 T6 review

The Volvo XC60 isn’t the first vehicle that comes to mind when people start shopping for a compact luxury SUV. So far this year, the Audi Q5 and BMW X3 have sold 49,694 and 41,825 units, respectively. In the same time, Volvo has only moved 23,511 XC60s. After a week with the XC60 in T6 R-Design trim, I think many US car shoppers have gotten it wrong.

Read full post here:
https://www.cnet.com/roadshow/reviews/2019-volvo-xc60-review/

AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2970WX review

AMD has been blazing a trail in the high-end desktop (HEDT) processor world, delivering some of the highest-core counts and greatest multi-core performance we’ve ever seen. The 24-core and 48-thread AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2970WX continues this trend by topping Intel’s more expensive Skylake-X processors that still only feature up to 18-cores.

However, AMD’s runaway hit may have finally met its match with the Intel Core i9-9900K, an 8-core, 16-thread mainstream processor of all things. Then, with newer Intel Core-X series Basin Falls Refresh processors on the horizon, it’s tough to recommend anyone should buy an AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2970WX right now.

Read full post here:
https://www.techradar.com/reviews/amd-ryzen-threadripper-2970wx

2019 Jaguar XJR575 review

Few cars have aged as gracefully as the Jaguar XJ. With its flowing body lines and stylish face, Jaguar’s big sedan looks as fresh now as it did when it first hit the scene in 2009. That’s a good thing, since the aging XJ needs to contend with the much newer Audi A8, BMW 7 Series and Mercedes-Benz S-Class.

What’s an automaker to do if they have the senior citizen in one of the most hotly contested segments? If you’re Jag, you send it to the gym. Meet the new range-topping XJ: the XJR575.

Read full post here:
https://www.cnet.com/roadshow/reviews/2019-jaguar-xj-review/

Blackview BV9500 Pro rugged smartphone review

Blackview has a range of rugged IP68 certified Android phones available and they tend to be both tough and affordable, if a little light on features. This latest model, however, comes in at a considerably higher price point and it has all the bells and whistles including PTT (push-to-talk) for walkie-talkie style communication.

It’s also the largest rugged handset we have yet tested because it’s packing a huge 10,000mAh battery. With it’s solid aluminium sidebars and chunky polycarbonate casing, this brute of a smartphone looks hard enough to hammer in nails. Blackview calls it tri-proof because it is resistant to water, dust and knocks and claims it is the ‘most indestructible smartphone on the market’.

Read full post here:
https://www.techradar.com/reviews/blackview-bv9500-pro

2019 Subaru Ascent Review

Don’t call the 2019 Subaru Ascent just an Outback with a dad bod.

The three-row crossover is the largest vehicle ever produced by Subaru and it is sold only in North America.

When it goes on sale in the summer from about $33,000 to start, the Ascent will appeal to families unfazed by sheer vertical mountain walls but inexplicably terrified of owning a minivan. The Ascent is offered in base, Premium, Limited, and Touring trim levels.

Read full post here:
https://www.thecarconnection.com/overview/subaru_ascent_2019

Apeman M4 Mini Projector Review

Dom is our resident projector expert but I got the opportunity to test out a mini projector from a brand most people may have never even heard of. Apeman’s M4 Digital Projector is about the same size as a wallet so it’s almost pocket-sized.

The projector comes in some premium packaging with black and orange being the 2 primary colours used around the box. It almost seems as though you are opening a watch.

Read full post here:
https://mobiletechtalk.co.uk/apeman-m4-mini-projector-review/

2019 Subaru Forester Review

The 2019 Subaru Forester sweats the small stuff. A redesign for 2019 keeps the plucky crossover SUV’s virtues such as a spacious interior, good fuel economy, and plentiful safety tech intact, but improves the experience in countless ways. The 2019 Forester’s interior has an upscale feel with pockets and storage bins for just about everything; new underpinnings give it a silent, smooth ride; and it has even more ability to haul whatever its active owners might throw in or on it.

Read full post here:
https://www.thecarconnection.com/overview/subaru_forester_2019

How to Reboot a Frozen Pixel 3 or Pixel 3 XL

In this guide we’ll quickly explain how to reboot a frozen Pixel 3 or Pixel 3 XL. If your phone is unresponsive or acting funny, this is the quickest and easiest way to fix it. Google’s new Pixel has a lot to like, but it’s not Pixel perfect.

You can easily fix most minor problems with a simple reboot. However, that isn’t always an option, especially if the phone is frozen or completely unresponsive. Plus, there’s no removable battery. So, if you’re facing problems, our instructions below will help you fix it in a matter of seconds.

Rad full post here:
https://www.gottabemobile.com/how-to-reboot-frozen-pixel-3-or-pixel-3-xl/

Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Extreme Review

Lenovo’s premium X-series has produced some of our favorite laptops, and the newest addition to the lineup is no exception. The 15.6-inch ThinkPad X1 Extreme (reviewed at $2,955) lives up to its name with a jaw-dropping 4K HDR display and excellent overall performance offered by a Core i7 processor and an Nvidia GTX 1050 Ti GPU.

Starting at $1,580, this powerful business laptop also has a sleek chassis and an exceptionally comfortable keyboard. Battery life on the 4K version is shorter than we’d like, but the ThinkPad X1 is still one of the best 15-inch laptops on the market, and a compelling alternative to the Dell XPS 15 and 15-inch Apple MacBook Pro.

Read full post here:
https://www.laptopmag.com/reviews/laptops/lenovo-thinkpad-x1-extreme

6 Reasons to Buy the OnePlus 6T & 3 Reasons Not To

The new OnePlus 6T could be one of the best phones of 2018, but it isn’t perfect. If you’re a potential buyer here we’ll go over multiple reasons why it’s worth buying, and a few reasons why you should wait for something else.

Alternatives like the Galaxy S9 or LG G7 offer a great experience and in some cases, better performance and extra features. However, most phones can’t offer everything OnePlus does at its low price.

In fact, the OnePlus 6T is hard to beat for $549. You’re getting a huge 6.4-inch display, dual cameras, an in-display fingerprint scanner and the latest Android 9 Pie software.

Read full post here:
https://www.gottabemobile.com/reasons-to-buy-the-oneplus-6t-3-reasons-not-to/

Review: Philips 278E8QJAB – An Almost Perfect Curve

Another week, another monitor review! This time from a different category in the display ecosystem: thick, voluptuous, curves. Curved monitors are a somewhat new technology, with the first one being announced back in 2014 with primary efforts being presented by display powerhouses LG and Samsung, ensuring a little bit of competition right out of the gate.

Read full post here:
https://mobiletechtalk.co.uk/review-philips-278e8qjab-an-almost-perfect-curve/