Category: Editorials

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Setting a Safe Volume for Your Headphones (Can Be Tricky)

You set the volume to “half” on your phone and it’s WAY too loud. You “cranked” the volume to the max, but it’s still too quiet. There might not be anything wrong with your ears!

Setting a safe volume for your headphones is a really good habit to get into.

There’s just one SMALL issue.

There is no universal agreement on how “loud” headphones get when plugged into different devices. Laptops, Desktops, Phones, Tablets, DAPs, if you “set the volume to half”, you still might be listening too loud.

Here’s a quick break down on what influences the volume on your headphones! Continue reading “Setting a Safe Volume for Your Headphones (Can Be Tricky)”

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Blackberry leaves the smartphone market (again): Some rambling thoughts on how we review gadgets…

Blackberry is ending their partnership with TCL.

No new Blackberry devices will produced or licensed. I took this news harder that I was expecting. My main goal in any tech conversation is to find better competition.

Our gadgets are only fun and exciting when we have good options. The smartphone market got a little smaller today. I felt this was a good time to share some thoughts on tech reviewing and gadget fandom. Continue reading “Blackberry leaves the smartphone market (again): Some rambling thoughts on how we review gadgets…”

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Your phone is faster than a laptop.

Well, your phone is PROBABLY faster than a laptop. I don’t know exactly what phone YOU own. The line between pocket computer, and portable computer is getting really blurry. Chances are pretty good that your phone is powerful enough to meet most (or all) of your computing needs. More than just “covering the basics”, let’s see what a smartphone can REALLY do… Continue reading “Your phone is faster than a laptop.”

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Choosing the Right Headphones for You! #2020Hearing

To begin at the beginning.

Before we tackle more advanced topics, I think it’s important to start with some of the basics. When we talk about different types of audio solutions, it’s handy to have a chat about the strengths and weaknesses of those different solutions.

For headphones, there’s quite a bit of variety, so let’s take a quick stroll through the options you might want to buy! Continue reading “Choosing the Right Headphones for You! #2020Hearing”

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Cheap Phones Won Christmas 2019 -or- Consumer Don’t Listen to Tech Reviewers

We’re looking at an analyst report, so it goes without saying that these numbers should be taken with a fairly large rock of salt. That said, this report reinforces a handful of other sales reports and anecdotal examinations of the mobile market. Manufacturers go to great lengths to hide actual sales data these days. Shareholders don’t seem much interested in facts, as much as they are the perception of the brand, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t dig a little deeper.

Flurry Analytics published a report on device activations in North America over the month of December, focusing on the lead up to Christmas day, and how those activations changed from Christmas to New Years.

Out of all the individual brands sold in this region, it’s not too surprising that Apple topped the charts. Overall, Android outsold iOS, but only one company makes iPhones. Apple significantly outsold every other phone manufacturer this year.

What is surprising is the breakdown on the most popular iPhones activated over the holidays. Continue reading “Cheap Phones Won Christmas 2019 -or- Consumer Don’t Listen to Tech Reviewers”

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Christmas on the Sony A7iii: A full frame miracle!

Test driving the Sony A7iii!

I’m so used to shooting on phones, it was refreshing to take a Sony mirror-less out for a spin. Our holiday memories this year are looking REALLY good. After a couple weeks, I’ve got some thoughts to share on this monster camera body, which completely deserves all the praise it’s been receiving.

Is it good enough to convince me to switch? Let’s take a look!

Continue reading “Christmas on the Sony A7iii: A full frame miracle!”

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OnePlus 6 on Android 10: A High Water Mark

The OnePlus 6 is one of my favorite phones from 2018 to revisit. The last offering from OnePlus with a rear fingerprint sensor and a headphone jack, this phone STRONGLY tested my theory on waiting for the “T” version.

The OnePlus 6T was an exciting phone. It came in a gorgeous purple shell. It got a carrier deal with T-Mobile. However, the farther we get from 2018, the OnePlus 6 is the phone I hold closer for its practicality.

Over a year from its initial launch, how well is OnePlus keeping up with support for the 6? Pretty stinking well…

Continue reading “OnePlus 6 on Android 10: A High Water Mark”

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Apple: Premium e-Waste and Normalizing Disposability

Let’s be frank. If I hadn’t put “Apple” in the post title, would you have clicked on it?

The reason this article is going to focus on Apple, they are the highest profile company pushing these kinds of manufacturing decisions. If you’re a fan of Apple hardware, I’m sure there will be an inclination towards defending your brand.

“Other companies are doing things like this too.”

Other companies should be criticized too.

Though, we should acknowledge that many of these companies wouldn’t be following this path without Apple. AirPods show how profitable it is to make expensive headphones as disposable as possible. Apple stands to take the lion share of the profits with this tactic. It’s my belief we should start with the largest companies, and THEN work down to smaller players copying Apple.

We should “punch up” with our criticisms. Apple is currently the king of this e-waste hill. We’ll start with them. Continue reading “Apple: Premium e-Waste and Normalizing Disposability”

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