Category: Video

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Lenovo shows off FLEX and Yoga 2 multi-mode touchscreen laptops

lenovo flex multimode laptop somegagetguyLenovo is waging an all out war on Windows 8 touchscreen laptops. Yogas and Twists for more portable, tablet style laptop computing, now they’re introducing a new line of bendy notebooks for people wanting larger screens.

The Flex will come in 14″ and 15.6″ flavors, and comes with the neat hinge trick of swiveling 300 degrees around to prop the screen up in “Stand Mode” to focus on touch apps. It’s a set up I use a lot with my Twist, especially when I’m eating to prevent junk landing on my keyboard. Maybe I Reddit too much, and should take more breaks. Who knows. Prices start at $629 for Flex Laptops.

Also, the Yoga is getting a refresh! Yoga 2 will now be sporting a QHD+ screen. At 3200×1800, it’s four times the resolution of the original Yoga in a 16:9 aspect ratio. It’s disturbingly close to a 4K screen, shocking at only 13.3″. It still retains the keyboard flip, where the base folds behind the screen to offer a tablet mode. All new tech, and it’s also thinner than the previous Yoga.

Lastly, a new version of Yoga will sport the ThinkPad moniker. For business folks looking for an ultra mobile touchscreen solution, a 12.5″ 1080p version of Yoga clad in classic Lenovo black will also be available. Along with Lenovo’s business grade tools like the fantastic Thinkpad keyboard, it’ll also have NFC on board for better connectivity with phones and other accessories. Expect to see Yoga 2 start at $1099 and ThinkPad Yoga around $949.

All of this new Lenovo gear is expected to be available Later this month.

Full PR after the jump.

Continue reading “Lenovo shows off FLEX and Yoga 2 multi-mode touchscreen laptops”

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Video samples from the Nokia Lumia 1020 – The best camera on a phone today.

nokia lumia 1020 pureview camera test video samples somegadgetguyNo joke. Nokia nailed it.

The Lumia 1020’s monster 41 megapixel PureView sensor is an absolute beast. Even when the output is scaled down to 1080p video, you just wont find a phone camera as capable of delivering the kinds of photographic output you’ll receive from this Lumia. Plus it has the first digital zoom which is actually worth using! It’s a whole new tier above what we would normally consider “premier” smartphone optics.

Yet with all of the accolades I can throw at this phone, no camera is perfect. Let’s go hands on with some video samples!

Watch my first impressions of the Lumia 1020.

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HTC profits down 45% from a year ago. What does recovery look like?

Man. HTC just can’t catch a break here.

Last week, shares fell almost 5% on the news that HTC only pulled in $443 million this August, which is down 45% from a year ago. It seems that the critically acclaimed One and One Mini handsets aren’t quite motivating consumers to part with their cash. Investor confidence is also a little shaken by news of high level executives leaving the company. Some of those execs under investigation for allegedly leaking company secrets. In all, not a great position for the phone maker to be in given how competitive the phone landscape is.

The one resource HTC most likely needs to turn around its market image is likely the one most difficult to come by: Time. HTC’s recent moves have largely been celebrated by tech pundits. The HTC One marks the first handset by the company which isn’t hamstrung by carrier branding. Even the older One X was billed as the “Evo 4G LTE” on Sprint, diluting HTC’s presence. Future HTC phones will likely not be plagued by this consumer confusion.

HTC heres to changeAlso, we recently saw the first fruits from HTC’s $1 billion ad campaign featuring Robert Downey Jr. and “Hipster Troll Carwashes”. This is a long term brand identity move, which should net positive results, but HTC is also in need of some short term sales to help boost confidence internally and with potential customers. They need evangelists and fans who will tout the company line, and be a grassroots first line of attack when new handsets are released.

Recent moves have been smart, HTC is trying to build a presence on sites like Reddit, and they’ve been more active on social media sites. It’s a tough road to build that kind of loyalty however. Their 716,000 Twitter followers are nothing to sneeze at, but pale in comparison to Samsung’s 4.4 million, and comparing recent tweets, actual engagement with likes and retweet action mirrors those follower numbers.

So while their long term strategies look sound, this isn’t a market known for patience, and that magical recipe for pairing good products and actual sales has been eluding numerous companies of late.

See my hands on reviews for the HTC One and the HTC One Mini.

(via WSJ)

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Just for fun: Mike Tyson plays Punch Out for the first time.

How meta is it watching Mike Tyson play Punch Out? One of my all time favorite NES games, though I was never able to beat it. It does make me feel a little better about myself that one of the most ferocious boxers in history, who was the subject of this very game, was unable to get past the very first opponent. Come on Mike! It’s Glass Joe!

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Acapella ‘Abbey Road’ is kind of incredible. 16 minute Beatles medley on Youtube.

beatles abbey road alternateIt never ceases to amaze me what people can create. You’d think by now we’d have exhausted Beatles media, remixes, and mash ups. You would be wrong.

Industrious Youtuber JOSIV5 has created something kind of awesome in it’s simplicity. By slicing into the Beatles tracks on Rockband, he was able to pull the vocals out of the mix. What remains is a quiet reduction of some of the most recognizable songs in pop music history. Altogether familiar, yet an entirely new way to experience music we know so well. “Pure” Beatles if you will. Enjoy!

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Synthetic Benchmarks: HTC One Mini

htc one mini synthetic benchmarks somegadgetguy video reviewBenchmarks really can’t tell you how a phone will perform in real world situations, but they can show relative performance between devices. Android seems to be entering a phase of “efficiency”, with mid-range phones utilizing dual-core processors. Even the Moto X, which stands as a premier handset for Motorola, only uses two cores to get the job done.

Let’s take a look at how the HTC’s Mini performs in a number of synthetic benchmarks against its big brother One and an older handset running similar internals.

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Friday Retro Fun: Walter Cronkite shows us the home office of 2001 (from 1967)

It’s always kinda cool to see how much futurists of the past got correct. It’s also kind of crazy to think that today a phone which fits in our pocket replicates all of the functionality on display here (and more).

Happy Friday!

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Review: The AfterShokz Sportz M2 Bone Conduction Headphones with Microphone (video)

Aftershockz spotz m2 bone conduction headphones with mic somegadgetguy reviewIt’s like listening to the future.

Bone conduction is a fascinating tech which is starting to work its way into the consumer space. The ability to interact with audio without blocking or covering your natural sense of hearing is like having a super power. Plus this tech should encourage safer behavior from people who use headphones while jogging or (cringe) operating a motor vehicle.

Plus they’re even cheaper on Amazon than when I originally shot this video: http://goo.gl/6PgjVU

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