Cyber Monday PSA: Moto X is on sale for $350 off contract!

moto x cyber monday sale motorolaMotorola’s fresh spin on Android can now be yours for a very nice price!

If you’re shopping Cyber Monday deals, this is a pretty good one. How about $150 off a Moto X?

This brings Moto’s top handset in line with Nexus phones, and Moto is already rolling out KitKat. For the 16GB model, you can schnag one today only for $350. No contract, no financing. $350 and you own it outright.

Quantities will be limited, and the sale runs through today only, but for those lucky folks who can buy one at this price, you can pick one up for Sprint, Verizon, T-Mo, or AT&T. No carrier or color/customization restrictions. Go nuts! Sale starts at 8am Central time!

You folks buying phones this holiday season, will this price point tempt you to open your wallet? Are you considering a Motorola this year? Drop us a comment below!

Moto X Cyber Monday Online Specials.

Review: Using a Ballistic Hydra Rugged case for iPhone 5 on an iPhone 5S

ballistic hydra waterproof case iphone 5s test review somegadgetguy

There still aren’t a lot of rugged and water-proof cases built specifically for the iPhone 5S. Thankfully, the changes between the 5 and 5S aren’t so severe that you couldn’t use a 5 case on a 5S, but there will be a few compromises.

The Ballistic Hydra is ready to go! Let’s take a look at how someone might better protect their shiny, pretty iPhone from drop and water damage!

Shop for the Ballistic Hydra rugged case on Amazon.

More info on Ballistic cases at: http://www.goballisticcase.com/

PSA: Moto G available in the USA ahead of schedule for $179 unlocked!

moto g purchase siteWelcome to the party Moto G! You’re early and I like that!

We honestly weren’t expecting Moto’s entry level handset here in the states until next year. It was clear they had designs of offering up a world phone to raise the game for consumers in developing areas.

The specs for the price are kind of ridiculous. For $179 you’ll get a Qualcomm 400 quad-core, a 4.5″ 720p screen, and 8GB of storage. Market-busting specs, and it’s clear Moto is trying to shake up the low end.

There are two versions available from the site one optimized for the USA and one for “World” networks. Here in the states that means you’ll be able to jump on either AT&T or T-Mobile HSPA+, as the G doesn’t include LTE.

If you’ve been shopping a low-cost Android smartphone option, this would be at the top of my list. Phones should be shipping out early next month.

Moto G Product Page

 

SomeGadgetGuy’s 2013 Smartphone Awards! The Best of the Best!

SGG Smartphone awards 2013 smallIt’s that time!

Wrapping up the year, we’re going to take a look back at the year in smartphones. Unlike our Tablet Buying Guide, there are many aspects to shopping a phone. Instead of declaring a one-size-fits-all winner, we’re going to run down a list of individual features. We’ll hand out awards to the best of the best in categories like Camera, Speakers, and Battery Life.

If you’re shopping a phone this Holiday Season, we hope this will help you make a buying decision on those features which are most important to you!

Let’s get to it!

Continue reading “SomeGadgetGuy’s 2013 Smartphone Awards! The Best of the Best!”

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

It’s Funny Because It’s Sad, Sad Because It’s True – “I Forgot My Phone” on Youtube

i lost my phoneOver 30 million views on Youtube. CharstarleneTV has certainly tapped into a fear many of us tech-heads have contemplated.

We’re already living in a dystopian future.

At once tongue in cheek and instantly maudlin, because it’s completely recognizable.

Friday fun: Will.i.am tries to explain his iPhone case…

It’s not like he built his career on trying to be a wordsmith or anything…