Halo: Spartan Assault released for XBox One on December 24th

halo spartan assault video game somegadgetguy screenshotOne of the best games for Windows Phone and Windows 8 is now making its way to the XBox One this Christmas Eve.

Spartan Assault is a top down arcade style dual stick shooter set in the Halo universe with all of your favorite weapons and power ups. Over 30 missions will be on tap, and 343 Industries has polished up the game to be displayed in glorious 1080p at 60fps. Console gamers will also have access to a new online co-op mode to plow through missions with their bestest pals on Live. You lucky dogs.

This new take on Halo will launch at $15, but if you’ve already purchased the game for Windows Phone or Windows 8 (or purchase it before Dec. 15) you can get it for $5. If you’ve been looking forward to Halo: Spartan Assault, you should really jump on buying it now as you can schnag it for Windows 8 and XBox for$12, instead of $15 for the XBox standalone version.

Check the teaser trailer below.

Ask Juan: Now that I own an RT tablet, will Windows RT disappear?

lumia 2520 20Just got this question from a reader. Jim asks:

As a recent purchaser of a Nokia Lumia 2520 tablet I am starting to get a little concerned about Windows RT folding or at least developers not making apps. Is this real and if so what does that mean for my tabby?

Hey Jim! First of all congrats on the Lumia! It was my Windows Tablet pick of the year!

So here’s the deal.

Windows RT as we know it today probably wont stick around long, and as the owner of a 2520 this is a good thing for you…  Continue reading “Ask Juan: Now that I own an RT tablet, will Windows RT disappear?”

Watch our Experts Q&A LIVE here! BWOne, Mobile Burn, Boored At Work, & SomeGadgetGuy answer YOUR Microsoft Questions!

windows 8 live tiles experts Q&AHere it is folks! The first of a new series where we bring experts, bloggers, and journalists to you!

To kick things off we’re talking all things Live Tiles! Have you been thinking about trying out a Windows Phone? Are you curious about tablets and hybrids? Are you looking at software solutions for your small business? Are you thinking about buying an Xbox?

We’re here to help! We’ll be answering your questions on the air from 8-9pm Pacific on the Youtubes!

If you’d like to skip to specific question there are links below the video!

Continue reading “Watch our Experts Q&A LIVE here! BWOne, Mobile Burn, Boored At Work, & SomeGadgetGuy answer YOUR Microsoft Questions!”

Using the Surface RT 2 for Podcasting and Voice Over Recording (RT not Pro)

surface 2 audio recording mobile home sound USB microphone Zoom h4n somegadgetguyIf you’re into mobile audio, field recording, voice over, or podcasting, it’s been the dream for a while. The ability to use our consumer tablets as recording solutions.

It still hasn’t come to Android. Plug a USB mic into an Android tablet, and it’ll likely power up, but Android wont know what to do with it. Microsoft might have the hardware to offer up a solution for us mobile audio junkies. Let’s take a look at how recording works on a Surface 2, and what happens to the files you create after you’re done editing.

Experts Q&A: Answering your Microsoft Questions LIVE! – Nov. 26, 8pm

windows 8 live tiles experts Q&AWe’re starting a series of round table discussions, bringing the experts to YOU! The first in our lineup will focus on Microsoft. All things Windows: phones, tablets, laptops. Watch live, and send in your questions. We’ll answer them on the air!

This will be a Hangout on Air Q&A. Link will be provided here before the broadcast goes live.

Microsoft is making big changes to the Windows ecosystem. Phones, tablets, laptops, desktops, Live Tiles are the future! If you’ve had questions about Windows gear, or were thinking of shopping something Windows 8 this holiday season, we’ll have Windows Phones, Windows RT, and Windows 8 devices on hand to answer all of your Microsoft questions! Get the full scoop from the people who know!

Tune In – Tuesday November 26 at 8pm Pacific!

And be on the lookout for future Expert Q&A’s! We”re planning them now for Android, Photography, video, audio, and many more subjects! Help us spread the word by sharing this event!

For more info:
Google Plus Event Page for Experts Q&A: Microsoft!

Top 5 for the week starting November 18 – Instagram, Expensive Phones, and Dopey Tech Support

WP_20131120_17_53_09_ProThese were the top read and shared stories from SomeGadgetGuy last week! Kind of an eclectic round up. I love it!

Let’s jump in!

5 – Microsoft Support: If your Surface wont turn on, just tap on “”Settings”…

So much fun finding these little gems. Bad tech support advice direct from a major tech company. Microsoft is usually pretty good about this too, but this one slipped through. It seems like reasonable advice. Until you use your brain and think about it…

LootCrate Whats in the box4 – Friday Fun – November Loot Crate Un-Boxing! CELEBRATE!

My second Loot Crate! I had to share what was inside! Each month a box of cool geeky gear is dropped off at your door. If you’d like to shop a Crate, you can save 10% by using promo code “SGLOOT” at check out!

3 – The argument for buying the most expensive phone you can…

The conventional logic would assume that if you’re not very tech savvy, then maybe you don’t need all the “bells and whistles” of more expensive gear. Here however, we take a look at what benefits there might be for shopping premier phones, with a few tips for saving cash while doing buying high end.

WP_20131120_12_10_56_Pro2 – Hands on Dreamwork’s ‘Dragons Adventure’ for the Lumia 2520

We’re entering another services and software era. Our phones and tablets are crazy powerful and come chock full of movement and location sensors collecting data. Now we’ll see more apps taking advantage of that raw power. We take a look at Dreamworks newest family game which uses geolocation tracking on a tablet and ties into a parents phone for participation.

1 – Instragram BETA for Windows Phone vs 6Tag and Instagram on Android

instagram vs 6tag app comparison somegadgetguyNothing like a good old fashioned showdown, and this was the most shared story of the week! Instagram is finally on Windows Phone, so let’s see how the BETA app compares to the established 3rd party app 6Tag!

We’re nothing without you readers, and we certainly can’t compete against the big blogs by ourselves. We always greatly appreciate not only the likes, but the sharing on social sites like Google Plus, Twitter, Facebook, and Reddit. The more we get to talk with other tech fans, the better we get, and soon we’ll be able to reward that participation with some fun contests coming up soon!

Thanks for reading, and if you feel we missed a big story this week, or you have a hot tip, please drop us a line on our Contact Page!

Weekend listening: Our Surface 2 Speaker Quality Test

WP_20131120_17_53_09_ProOur first Windows tablet to hit the SomeGadgetGuy Test Bench!

We never did get our hands on the first Surface, but Surface 2 is ready to go! We’ll playback some movie and music samples to see how it stacks up to phones and bluetooth speakers! The audio level for our tablet tests is normalized to compare directly with the HTC One, so listen back to that test and you’ll be able to hear how the Surface 2 stacks up!

Previous speaker tests:
HTC One
Lumia 920
JawBone JAMBOX
LG G2
Lumia 1020
HMDX Jam Classic
Galaxy S4 Active
Nokia Play 360
HTC One Mini
LG Optimus G Pro
iPhone 5S
Pantech Discover

Review: Waze arrives on Windows Phone

waze windows phone app review somegadgetguy (2)In all the Instagram hub-bub there was another huge service which released a Windows Phone app. Navigation sweetheart Waze is now available for those of us using Live Tiles!

Using the service, it feels very much like Waze on Android, which is a good thing. Those making the switch wont have to re-learn much. The major changes involve incorporating tile-like options in the menu settings. Also, unlike Instagram, it doesn’t appear that there’s anything missing from the Waze port on WP8.

Waze is a user generated GPS service. Waze uses your location data to keep maps up to date, and people using Waze can report things like accidents, closures, and police activity. Those reports show up on your map. Because Waze is reading your GPS data, it also happens to be one of the most accurate services I’ve seen for estimating your time of arrival. It has moment to moment readings on how fast traffic is moving where ever Waze users are. In a large market like LA, it’s super accurate. Continue reading “Review: Waze arrives on Windows Phone”