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Review: Dash.by App Trains You to Become a Better Driver

It’s rare that I find an app which instantly becomes a “must download” service for my phone. Providing a one-stop shop for all of my vehicle mileage and maintenance tracking, Dash became a mandatory service for me after about two days of use.

Connecting to your car’s computer via a Bluetooth OBDII adapter, and utilizing the sensors in your phone, Dash provides Fitbit style tracking and alerts. It aims to make you a better driver, and hopefully that will save you money in fuel and maintenance costs.

Let’s check out all the features on tap in this free app!

The OBDII Bluetooth car computer adapter I used in this video.

More info on the Dash app and service at: https://dash.by/
Dash in the Google Play App store.
Dash in the iTunes App Store.

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Samsung Partners With Oculus for Gear VR Headset

Samsung is betting on VR becoming a popular service. Thankfully, instead of reinventing the wheel and releasing a standalone proprietary headset, they’re partnering with Oculus to bring the Gear VR to market.

Utilizing the same AMOLED screen found on the Note 4, the Gear VR brings an even higher resolution than the most current Oculus Rift Developer Kit, effectively 1280 x 1440 per eye.

samsung gear vr headset front viewThe Gear VR will also feature a MicroUSB connector allowing to hook up to a Galaxy Note 4 to display content. Wearable headsets like this can be used to either create an immersive 3D world around the viewer, or provide for a more passive “I Got a Movie Theater All To Myself” effect. The headset will come with a MicroSD card which will include a handful of movies and demos from Marvel, IMAX, Dreamworks, and more.

While there’s no hard launch date or pricing info, Samsung says the Gear VR will be available this year. Oculus got a shot in the arm after Facebook acquired it, but Samsung has the resources to push new technologies into the mainstream.

You can read Samsung’s full PR below.

Continue reading “Samsung Partners With Oculus for Gear VR Headset”

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Samsung Galaxy Note 4 Edge Brings a Different Bend to the Curved Screen

galaxy note 4 edge front and backSamsung’s Unpacked event at IFA this year saw a couple of exciting announcements. Of course most were on tap to see the release of the newest member to the Galaxy Note series. Rumors were flying about a curved AMOLED display. We’d seen previous attempts from Samsung with the Galaxy Round, and LG released a banana curved G Flex, but toying with the popular Note could have been a risky proposition.

For the Note 4 Edge, Samsung has done something a bit asymmetrical. The right hand side of the screen tapers off giving the device a screen which wraps around that corner. It’s a dramatic effect, and Sammy is using it for a variety of functions. It can act like a dock for app shortcuts, it can display time and notifications. It handily houses settings for the camera app (keeping the viewfinder free). Scrolling widgets can be housed on the edge, and while the main screen area is off, the side can still display time allowing it to act like a bedside clock.

What’s a little curious is that Samsung hasn’t made both sides taper off. It could have been our first side bezel-less phone. Hopefully this doesn’t affect the usage for left handed folks. Otherwise, the Edge very much resembles the Note 3 in terms of general design, but thankfully the guts of this phone are getting an upgrade. Continue reading “Samsung Galaxy Note 4 Edge Brings a Different Bend to the Curved Screen”

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Lenovo Offers Up New Android Tablet and Windows Gaming PC’s

Lenovo TAB S8_1Lenovo has led the PC market in sales for five consecutive quarters, while also making substantial gains with their tablet offerings.

At IFA in Berlin, Lenovo took the wraps off of their first Intel powered Android tablet and some new gear for gamers.

The Tab S8 has an 8″ full HD screen (1920×1200) powered by an Intel Atom quad-core processor. The screen is bordered by tiny bezels with front facing stereo speakers, there’s an 8MP rear shooter, and features 2GB of RAM with 16GB of storage.

Base model will be available in September for $199, and there will be an LTE enabled model released later.

Also announced were a pair of gaming PC’s.

Continue reading “Lenovo Offers Up New Android Tablet and Windows Gaming PC’s”

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What lessons can we learn from the iCloud celebrity nude photo leaks?

After an event like this, where hundreds of cloud backed up photos of celebrities have leaked online, what lessons can we take away in regards to our data security and privacy?

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Friday Fun: The Voice of Mario & Luigi Posts Funny Videos on Instagram!

Chances are pretty good you’ve heard the work of Charles Martinet. He voices the popular Nintendo characters Mario and Luigi, a childhood staple of mine.

Well apparently he’s on the instagrams, and he travels around with little Mario and Luigi action figures, voicing their adventures I.R.L!

For example here’s Luigi discovering a tree covered in leaf cutter ants.

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Pro Tips: How I would fix the cameras on Nokia Smartphones (Post Cyan Update)

The cameras found on Nokia flagship phones are certainly formidable, but no gadget is perfect, and there’s ALWAYS room for improvement.

Here’s how I (and others who have commented on this blog) would tinker with Nokia’s camera software.

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Samsung Gear S Smartwatch to Feature Curved Screen and 3G Cell Radio

Samsung_Gear_S_02_640We’re still waiting on the Moto360 and whatever watch Apple might eventually bring to the table, but the market isn’t standing still. Now Samsung has taken the wraps off of the newest entry to their Gear line of smartwatches.

samsung gear 2 hero profileThe Gear S is another Tizen offering, which will not use Android Wear like the Gear Live, but features a curved AMOLED display. It looks like it should wrap around the wrist in a slightly more comfortable way than some of the other rectangular screened watches available.

It wont be packing the camera or IR blaster found in the Gear 2, but it will add in a 3G cell radio and WiFi, making it more of a standalone data enabled device, similar to what Timex recently announced with their rugged watch. Using an almost comically small on screen keyboard or S-Voice will allow users to reply to incoming message, and the 3G connectivity will provide voice calling features as well. It could prove to be a decent stand alone experience for folks who want basic communication and media streaming while working out and don’t want to pack a bulky smartphone.

Gear S should be available in October, with pricing info to follow soon. Full PR below.

Continue reading “Samsung Gear S Smartwatch to Feature Curved Screen and 3G Cell Radio”

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