Let's Talk Tech
Redmi Note 11S review!
Does Xiaomi make TOO many phones? This is another GREAT wallet friendly smartphone. What’s interesting is seeing how Xiaomi is picking and choosing different parts to arrive at a sub $300 price. It’s a bit overwhelming at times, but good competition is always exciting! Continue reading “Redmi Note 11S: Quick Take from an American Reviewer…”
This is a little ugly. For those who want a TLDR, the video above should help explain.
I’m trying to run some newer phones through my slate of tests to grade performance. The results don’t compare favorably to similar tier phones I’ve tested in the past.
Everything has gotten more complicated to test AND scores are lower. I think I’ve found the main culprit.
Android used to have a fairly open file system. It was blissfully easy to access most files on your phone. It was a huge power user advantage over iOS. Continue reading “Android 12 Broke ALL My Benchmarks: Scoped Storage Rant”
It’s one of the most exciting aspects of mobile production. The pro-sumer audio market is rapidly improving, the tech is getting better, and prices are falling. As we get better microphones though, we also want to see better growth for accessories. It seems silly to mention, but it matters if we have good options for cases and chargers. A good wireless mic system all on its own might be more challenging to use if we don’t have gear to support those products.
The RODE Wireless Go II are making enough of an impact however, it’s encouraging to see solutions like this third part charge case from ZGCine.
RODE’s solution is excellent, and these little mics have largely taken over most of my YouTube and podcast production. The included pouch in the box though doesn’t deliver much peace of mind for protecting these mics. This is doubly troublesome if you use RODE’s magnetic mounts. The magnets snap together aggressively enough they can crack the magnets.
Soon after the Go II launch, I invested in a hard case to better store the mics and keep them from snapping together. It also gave me a slightly larger sleeve for cables and accessories.
The RODE mics and receiver have solid battery life, and it’s not difficult running for hours when out in the field. One reason why professional gear uses swappable batteries though, if you do start to run low, you can quickly pop out some AA’s and get back into shooting fast. If you run the battery low on a rechargeable transmitter, it’s a little harder to charge it back up WHILE you’re shooting.
The Go II are really fun for field work, but you do have that little gremlin in the back of your head when it comes to power. If I need to charge them up in the field, I’ve got to charge three discrete gadgets, and most of my portable batteries only have two USB ports.
Enter ZGCINE… Continue reading “Support Your RODE Wireless Go II in the Field: ZGCINE ZG-R30 Charge Case”
How do YOU play games on the go?
We’re gearing up for an exciting fight. Different options and solutions for taking our games on the road. The Steam Deck is delayed, Qualcomm announced a partnership with Razer, the Nintendo Switch is still going strong, and our phones are crazy powerful..
But what about the games? Continue reading “Snapdragon G3X, Steam Deck Delays, and some thoughts on Mobile Gaming…”
WE HAD A TIE!
In early voting Huawei, LG, and Alcatel were neck and neck,but later voting JUST BARELY edged out LG and Alcatel! Huawei lives another day!
Setting up a new bracket, and the vote starts again!
Hit the link below to cast a NEW vote! Remember, you’re voting for who you would “kick OFF the island”. You are NOT voting for who should stay.
If there’s a tie in the vote, then ALL brands that tied will get eliminated. We really need those votes, upvotes, and some sharing to get the whole GlowingRectangles community involved!
Happy voting! May your favorite brands survive!
DAY THREE ELIMINATION CHALLENGE IS GO!
I’m always going to be excited by better competition.
In 2019, the mobile landscape was dominated by Qualcomm and Apple SOCs at the premium tier of phones and tablets. HiSilicon’s Kirin was facing issues due to political pressures placed on Huawei. MediaTek maintained a respectable reputation as a mid-range and entry-level chip provider.
We didn’t have much choice in what powered more expensive gadgets.
Flash forward two years, we’re starting to get some insight on what will power devices in 2022, and this market is a LOT more exciting.
MediaTek took the wraps off a premium tier competitor. We’re about to hear more from Qualcomm’s Snapdragon team. Apple’s A15 is solidly refined over the A14. Google launched their first custom chip with the Pixel 6.
A stale landscape has exploded, and more companies are rumored to be designing their own solutions over the next several years.
When it comes to pocketable portable performance, we just have one small issue…
Power. Continue reading “Snapdragon 8 Gen 1, Dimensity 9000, and the Problems with POWER”
What IS a Surface Duo? Who is a Duo for? What can you DO with a Duo 2?
I’m a week into using the Surface Duo 2, and I REALLY like it, but it’s crazy difficult to predict if YOU will like it. This is a SUPER niche product, with a LOT of crossover appeal.
This is gonna be a LONGER conversation… Continue reading “Surface Duo 2 One Week Later: My Favorite Tablet of 2021?”
EXCITING MORNING! We can FINALLY start sharing more in depth info on the Pixel 6 Pro! I’ve been rocking THREE screens for the last week! Surface Duo 2 has also been in the GadgetLab! There’s a LOT of tech to dig into, and I’m SURE we’ll have some audience questions to tackle.
FUN DAY!
Let’s get our tech week started right!