Let's Talk Tech
1More has a solid reputation for consumer audio gear. I really enjoy their options for multi-driver and noise cancelling ear buds. Turning their sights on a more cost friendly option, the ComfoBuds are a familiar solution for easy fit and communicator functions.
Let’s take a look! Continue reading “1More ComfoBuds Review: Comfy Communicator Earbuds!”
It’s time for a showdown! FIGHT FOR BLOOD! Psh! Psh! Psh!
(Those were supposed to be the punching sounds from my old showdown videos.)
Budget hardware is brutally competitive these days. The daily driver experience found near $400 is formidable, and we’re getting more options for different features. Adding 5G to the mix, these are the phones that will help move 5G forward in the Android space. More reasonably priced, but not compromising too much from the upper mid-range tier.
OnePlus has represented the idea of low price and high performance since the brand started. 2020 was a strong year for TCL coming out of the shadows with their own label on phones.
These two phones are primed for a battle!
Let’s see how some subtle differences effect performance! Continue reading “By the Benchmarks Budget Showdown! OnePlus Nord N10 vs TCL 10 5G UW!”
I have a nice Samsung QLED TV. I was really excited to buy it. After using it for a couple years, I hate the smart features on this TV.
Let me backtrack for a second.
I want control.
Camera, computer, or TV, I want to control how I operate that item. I want to know what media I can use with it. I want to know what features will interact with my other networked hardware.
There can be NO gatekeepers between me, the hardware I use, and the media I pay for. Continue reading “Chromecast with Google TV: The cure for dumb smart TV’s”
A gadget’s name is important. Branding takes time to establish, and it serves as a shortcut for consumers. A potential customer doesn’t need to analyze every aspect of the gadget. If they liked SmartyPhone5, when it’s time to upgrade, they’ll probably like SmartyPhone7.
When a company changes their naming, or pivots from that strategy, it can cause confusion. Confusion in this market is often bad for sales. We should always be concerned about how a company presents a product.
At the same time, tech enthusiasts should also be a bit savvier than the “average consumers” we’re all so interested in protecting. Continue reading “What’s in a name? The Pixel 5 is NOT an upgrade over the Pixel 4?”
This is an interesting position for me to be in. As an overall brand, I’m not the biggest fan of Samsung these days.
I feel they buy their market position more than they earn it. They pour advertising dollars into media to sway consumer behavior and manipulate search engine popularity algorithms. They set a toxic tone of mocking rivals in their ads, but quickly copy those same rivals when it benefits their profits. They were one of the higher profile phone manufacturers caught cheating benchmarks back in the day, and likely copied Apple’s update policy of slowing down older phones. As a corporation, they’ve abused their market position to inflate prices on components. Their PR has been the most punitive I’ve ever worked with (and failed to work with), over several media publications.
While I appreciate individual products, I don’t like Samsung as a company.
Which is why it feels funny writing a defense for one of their most expensive phones. I’m not the guy for this job, but I’ll try my best.
The Note 20 Ultra is a great phone at a very good price. Continue reading “Galaxy Note 20 Ultra: The case for SPECIALTY Hardware”
The Galaxy Note 20 Ultra is a beast of a phone.
For 2020, we can call this slab “Peak Samsung”. A prime example of a company pushing its current manufacturing to the limits, and delivering the absolute best “standard” form factor smartphone it can. The Note has a rich history of being the crown jewel enthusiast and productivity device.
We can’t overlook however, the Note 20 Ultra also starts at $1299.99 for 128GB of storage. For that price we should expect the bleeding edge of technology, and a spec sheet packed full of premium-tier exotic options.
Samsung doesn’t disappoint for spec sheet junkies in the United States. Including a Snapdragon 865+ chipset, UFS3.0 storage, and 12GB of RAM, the Note should be leading most of our performance testing.
And it does. But it doesn’t always win…
Performance testing is more involved than running a synthetic bench and comparing who’s number is bigger. Let’s dig a little deeper than that. Here’s the Note 20 Ultra: By The Benchmarks! Continue reading “Galaxy Note 20 Ultra By The Benchmarks: Samsung’s Fastest is PRETTY Good for the Price…”
How powerful is your phone?
If you are a gadget fan, you can probably tell me what’s on the spec sheet. You probably know what processor is inside and how much RAM you have. You might be able to tell me what GPU is in there. If you’re REALLY techie, maybe you can rattle off some synthetic benchmark scores.
Knowing your phone has a Qualcomm Snapdragon, Samsung Exynos, or an Apple A Bionic doesn’t tell you much about what your phone can REALLY do. Synthetic benchmarks are easy to manipulate, and gimmicky app “speed runs” are poor indicators of overall performance.
The only proper solution is to test devices using real apps that any consumer can install, and compare the results of consistent testing over several generations of gadgets. While I’ve produced benchmarking videos, I felt it was worth explaining my testing protocol in one handy blog post, for any folks who might be interested.
I’ve been running my phones like this for years now. Here’s how I do it! Continue reading “How SomeGadgetGuy Tests Phones with Real-World Apps for Benchmarks and Reviews”
Google claims the Pixel 5 is the “ultimate 5G Google Phone”, but what exactly is it?
This is the top of the line offering from Google, but is it a true “flagship” product? Is it a price disrupting phone? Is it the Google iPhone?
It’s an interesting year for the Pixel, so let’s dig in a bit.
Just who is this thing for? Continue reading “Google Pixel 5: Who is this phone for? Is it a flagship?”