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Galaxy Note 20 Ultra: The case for SPECIALTY Hardware

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”

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OnePlus 8T: One small change makes me SO happy!

OnePlus is back at it with the 8T!

A refresh from the phones released earlier in 2020, how does the 8T stack up against the 8?

This ONE design change makes me REALLY happy!

(Spoiler: It’s the screen!) Continue reading “OnePlus 8T: One small change makes me SO happy!”

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LG Wing vs LG V60: Fold or Swivel? Which phone is for you?

It’s fun playing with experiments!

Over the course of a year, LG has blazed a trail for folding dual screen cases, and the Wing is another radical step for expanding on phone features. Which might be the right fit for you?

Let’s twist these phones up for a showdown! Continue reading “LG Wing vs LG V60: Fold or Swivel? Which phone is for you?”

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Galaxy Note 20 Ultra By The Benchmarks: Samsung’s Fastest is PRETTY Good for the Price…

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…”

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#SGGQA 177: Pajama Podcast! Chill chat about the Pixel 5, LG Wing, and unboxing the OnePlus 8T!

TECHTOBER IS IN FULL SWING!

In the Gadget Lab, I’m scrambling to review the Pixel 5, the LG Wing, and I have this BEAUTIFUL red box from OnePlus! It’s time for a chill chat about a BUNCH of different phones!

Let’s get our tech week started right!
Continue reading “#SGGQA 177: Pajama Podcast! Chill chat about the Pixel 5, LG Wing, and unboxing the OnePlus 8T!”

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Sony XPERIA 1ii and 5ii Camera Conclusion! A PROPER Camera in Your Pocket!

We can FINALLY wrap up the Sony XPERIA camera reviews!

Because the 5ii is so similar to the 1ii, we can also combine TWO reviews in ONE! Here’s the final word on Sony’s hardware this year, as I see it.

NOTHING shoots like a Sony, but does that mean it’ll be the right fit for your photo needs? Let’s dig in! Continue reading “Sony XPERIA 1ii and 5ii Camera Conclusion! A PROPER Camera in Your Pocket!”

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How SomeGadgetGuy Tests Phones with Real-World Apps for Benchmarks and Reviews

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.

But what does that mean?

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”

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Google Pixel 5: Who is this phone for? Is it a flagship?

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?”

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