Hands-on review: SteelSeries Stratus

Although SteelSeries already has an iOS controller out on the market called the SteelSeries Free it does not quite jive with iOS 7, so now the gaming peripheral company is out to improve and iterate on the design with a new controller called the Stratus.Like its predecessor, the Stratus is an incredible small controller compared to the other mobile controllers like the Samsung GamePad. Labeled as the first wireless controller for iOS 7 (sorry Android users) the Sratus is roughly the size of an iPhone 4S.Just right for GoldilocksEven with its diminutive size, the controller still feels beefy enough in our hands. The back is contoured with lines for our fingers to slip in and its overall shape is designed for grasping.Users with slightly larger hands will also be able to attach the plastic guard cover, normally on the front during travel, onto the back to make the controller feel more substantial. The version we played with was still preproduction and a SteelSeries representative told us the final model could have a textured pattern on the back to make the extra shell more grippy. At first glance the controller is pretty much a mash up of Xbox buttons with a Sony DualShock inspired stick layout and design. The D-Pad feels a bit flat for our tastes with virtually 1mm of space for it to depress. The analog sticks, however, have a nice bit of travel and enough resistance to automatically center on their own.NES players will be glad to know the face buttons feel like the classic controller and are just as responsive. On the top of the Stratus, we also found a set of four bumpers in an overlapping arrangement that were easy to […]

By |January 11th, 2014|News, Phone Reviews|0 Comments
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Hands-on review: Alienware Steam Machine review

Alienware went through eight revisions over two years in collaboration with Valve before the gaming PC vendor came to its final Steam Machine. That’s how serious Alienware claims to be about Valve’s hardware initiative, and it shows in the design.This Steam box is more subdued than most of Alienware rigs, with the only lighting on the all-black box being on its glossy face. Naturally, the Alienware logo glows, but so does Valve’s logo, which appears in a triangular cut into the bottom-left corner of the device. At the moment, the Alienware logo is a hard button that changes the lighting from blue to green to red and so on.Up front, the unit houses two standard USB ports. Around back, Alienware kept the I/O simple, with just two USB 3.0 ports, Ethernet and HDMI-out below two large vent outputs. (Intake lines the bottom edges of the unit.) Up top, the unit is coated in a soft touch finish.Honestly, after eight revisions, I would expect something more radical, but Alienware’s Steam Machine is right up there with the PS4 in terms of size and style. The company doesn’t dance around that it borrowed heavily from its X51 mini gaming PC design in crafting its version. Smart move.How will it play?While the company brought just a mockup to CES 2014, I’m told that the design is final. If the show were a month later, Alienware would have a working model to show, a Dell (Alienware’s parent company) representative told me. Instead, Alienware had an X51 running Steam OS to give an idea of how the final Steam Machine would operate.I played a few incredibly clumsy minutes of Metro: Last Light in 1080p with the latest version of Valve’s […]

By |January 11th, 2014|News, Phone Reviews|0 Comments
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Hands-on review: CES 2014: Neptune Pine Smartwatch

Just like there are big screen phablets, there are also big screen smartphones. Neptune’s Pine Smartwatch is by far the largest wearable device we’ve ever slapped onto our wrists. Featuring a 2.4-inch screen, Pine has no reservations to replace smartphones.It’s big. Let’s just get that out of the way. To put that in perspective, the Pine’s screen is about just shy of being half the size of the iPhone 5S’ screen size. It’s definitely a step up from other wearable devices we’ve seen like the 1.63-inch screened Samsung Galaxy Gear and Pebble with a 1.26-inch screen. The Pine smartwatch’s face is about 2-inches wide on its own and the device sticks out about an inch and a half. Even the band on the back of the smartwatch gets to be about one and half inches wide.The bulk was enough to scrunch up our sleeves and make the arm ends of our jackets look odd. But, if you’re okay with all the inevitable odd looks directed to your wrist, the Pine has one of the best looking screens out of all the smartwatches. The complete smartphone replacementSporting a 320 x 240 QVGA resolution screen, the Pine runs a full build of Android 4.1 Jelly Bean with a slightly reduced six icon home screen. Just as we’d expect of a miniature Android device, we could use the touchscreen to tap open applications and swipe through the Jelly Bean interface. Swiping down from the top of the screen also pulls down the settings and notifications tray.Aside from the familiar Android OS, we were even able to type with two thumbs despite each key being a little over three-millimeters wide. Using the Android Pine really is like popping […]

By |January 11th, 2014|News, Phone Reviews|0 Comments
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Review: Asus Transformer Pad

IntroductionAnyone who is familiar with Asus’ products will be familiar with the Transformer concept. The new Asus Transfomer Pad is here to challenge the dominance of the iPad Air, as well as the Sony Xperia Tablet Z and Google Nexus 10.The key to the popularity of the Asus Transformer Pad series has been the keyboard docking station, and that’s present here too – allowing it to double up as a mini-netbook.Microsoft has taken massive strides in this area with the Surface 2 coming with an extra keyboard case, so Asus really needs to up its game if it wants to keep up with the big boys.Taking a look at the new Transformer Pad you’d struggle to see anything different between it and its brethren. At 263 x 180.8 x 8.9mm it is only 0.4mm deeper than the Transformer Pad Infinity.It is 13g lighter, however, weighing in at only 585g. Adding the keyboard dock takes the Transformer Pad to 1155g, although it doesn’t feel significantly heavy when popped into a bag.Asus’ device is significantly larger than the iPad, although the Transformer Pad comes with a 10.1-inch screen, making it 0.4 inches bigger. A 2560 x 1600 WXVGA screen is higher resolution than both the Transformer Pad Infinity and the iPad Air, even dwarfing the Retina Display’s 264ppi at 299ppi.Behind that screen sits a 1.9GHz quad-core NVIDIA Tegra 4 processor (the Tegra 3 is in the Infinity) backed up with 2GB of RAM, as well as 32 or 64GB of internal storage. Asus also offers 5GB of cloud storage for life.Asus has also equipped the Transformer Pad with the same impressive battery that has come with all Transformer Pads. The 31Wh power pack in the tablet provides […]

By |January 10th, 2014|News, Phone Reviews|0 Comments
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Hands-on review: CES 2014: Canon PowerShot N100

The Canon PowerShot N is a fun camera that is designed to work in harmony with a smartphone. It is designed to be easy to use, but take higher quality images than the average phone. The 12.1-million-pixel PowerShot N100 builds on this, but adds a unique feature, a second lens on the back that allows you take a selfie at the same time as photographing something else.When the rear camera (equivalent focal length 25mm) is in use the scene framed by the lens is displayed as a picture-in-picture on the LCD screen, thus allowing both images to be previewed at the same time.The N100 is a little larger than the N having a slightly more conventional shape and omitting the control ring around the lens. Instead there’s a shutter release button on the top-plate, which has zoom control around it. The main lens has a focal length equivalent to 24-120mm on a 35mm film camera.Casual observers may mistake the rear lens of the N100 for a viewfinder as it is positioned exactly where you would expect a viewfinder to be and has a similar surrounding. However, images may only be composed on the rear touch-sensitive screen.As with the N, the N100 can connect to a smartphone for image transfer and sharing. There’s also the Creative Shot mode that generates a random selection of six images from just one press of the shutter release. The camera automatically produces images with different crops and treatments. It’s fun and mildly addictive.There are relatively few controls on the N100, but the 3-inch 922,000-dot screen is touch-sensitive and responsive. The interface is also easy to use. Oddly, the N100’s screen can be flipped up for easier viewing from above, but […]

By |January 10th, 2014|News, Phone Reviews|0 Comments
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Hands-on review: CES 2014: Pebble Steel

The Pebble Smartwatch is something most of you will have at least heard of, if not seen. Its presence on the wrist of a fellow commuter is usually a sign of an early adopter, someone willing to wear a plastic-based watch in order to be one of the first on board with the next generation of smartphone notifications.The problem is that badge of honour is as much curse as it is blessing – certainly most of the people who don’t really care about technology that I’ve met while wearing the Pebble ask questions such as ‘is that a child’s watch?’. A little unfair to the progressive tech, but not a point without a valid basis.So with that in mind, Pebble has brought out the Steel, a watch that removes the plastic and puts metal in its place. It also comes in two ‘grown up’ straps, leather and metal links (the latter in silver or black), meaning depending on the kind of watch face you’ve got on your device, it can pass as a ‘normal’ watch while still giving you reams of useful information from your smartphone.The design is definitely a big step towards enticing a new wave of customers – it looks a lot slicker and straight away has a much more premium feel in the hand. It’s still rather light, which many will find a little disconcerting at first. It almost feels like a dummy watch from the store – but that’s a minimal problem and actually makes it more comfortable to wear.The matte black steel, with its darker design and cool feel, was my favorite version of the three, closely followed by the leather. The buttons have been beefed up too – one […]

By |January 10th, 2014|News, Phone Reviews|0 Comments
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Hands-on review: CES 2014: LG 105-inch curved Ultra HD TV

LG and Samsung don’t like to be outdone by one another, so it wasn’t only Samsung that debuted a 105-inch curved Ultra HD 4K TV at CES 2014 this week. LG always have the first official press conference of the show on the Monday morning and so it was quick to claim the “world’s first” 105-inch tag, which it took full of advantage of in the hours before Samsung made its announcement. So what are these 4K curved displays actually like? And do we really need curved TVs? The first thing is that this screen – model number 105UB9 – is massive and as such is somewhat impractical. There will be those buying 105-inch TVs of course, but LG knows it is a tiny percentage of even early adopters – not least because . As it turns out, it has made a 65-inch version, too, which you can see here: The advantage of curved is in the viewing angle, though we remain to be totally convinced. One thing is clear though, the viewing angles are as wide as you like – the picture is extremely clear from virtually any perspective. The middle screen here is the 105-inch, the two flanking it are 65-inchers. The 21:9 CinemaScope screen enables you to enjoy movies as they were meant to be experienced, while the screen is obviously wide enough for you to display other content on the side of the screen as you watch TV. The TV can also change from a full 21:9 display to a screen divided in to 16:9 and 5:9 ratios, while sound comes courtesy of the 150W, 7.2ch speaker system which we weren’t able to hear properly in our demo unfortunately.It also incorporates […]

By |January 10th, 2014|News, Phone Reviews|0 Comments
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Hands-on review: CES 2014: Garmin Vivofit review

Garmin Vivofit is rerouting the incredible short battery life of wearable gadgets by launching an always-on fitness tracker that lasts more than a year on a single charge.We were able to wear the Vivofit fitness band without wearing down the battery at CES 2014 and quickly discovered that its secret is eschewing a backlight on its curved LCD screen and using some low-power efficiency tricks.That’s pretty amazing given the fact that leading fitness trackers, like the Fitbit Force and Nike FuelBand SE, require recharging every seven days if you’re lucky. They also require pushing a tiny button in order to read the time, daily step count, distance and calories. Vivofit displays all of this information without the need to press anything at all. Its single button is just used to cycle through the data. Even better, the Garmin Vivofit specs indicate that the battery is actually two user-replaceable CR1632 coin cells. Going down to the drugstore to buy these new batteries once a year would be an easier routine than constantly having to charge the device.Of course, the obvious downside to having an always-on display with no backlight is that it’s impossible to read the time and fitness metrics in the dark. So while it’s convenient to see the time and steps you’ve taken in a day just by simply looking down at your wrist, that’s only possible in lit environments.Metrics, inactivity barThe waterproof Vivofit calculates steps, goal countdown, distance traveled, calories burned and sleep quality and it displays the time of day. It’s also compatible with Garmin’s heart rate monitor to determine your heart rate and heart rate zone. The company plans on bundling the two for quantified self enthusiasts who want the full […]

By |January 9th, 2014|News, Phone Reviews|2 Comments
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Hands-on review: CES 2014: Panasonic Toughpad FZ-M1

The 7-inch Panasonic Toughpad FZ-M1 is a rugged Windows 8.1 Pro tablet that slots into the ever-increasing Toughpad range alongside the FZ-G1 and under the new Toughpad 4K. Announced at CES 2014, it also comes in a Windows 7 version should you decide that you don’t want to migrate to Microsoft’s latest OS. Aside from the ruggedization, the most interesting thing is that it is features a powerful Core i5-level processor, yet is completely fanless – though, as you’ll hear, all this power and protection comes at a cost (a financial one). That’s because it uses a new low power variant of the latest generation (Haswell) Core i5 processors, known as the 1.6GHz Core i5-4302Y vPro. It has a power consumption of just 4.5 Watts, removing the need to reduce heat. Another advantage is that it’s always quiet. Don’t expect super thin design with the FZ-M1 – this is a corporate tablet that’s designed for use on the move and in difficult conditions. However, it’s around the same thickness as many thin and light laptops at 18mm. The weight is cited at 540g – decent considering all the rugged elements incorporated here. Here you can see just how thick it is – this is the top of the device so you can see the volume and rotation lock controls as well as the power button. The Toughpad FZ-M1 comes with 4GB RAM (8GB is optional) and 128 SSD (256GB is optional), while there’s a 2 megapixel front web camera with stereo mic for video conferencing as well as a 5 megapixel rear camera. We were looking at an 8GB model on the CES floor. Another version featuring a Celeron low power processor will be available […]

By |January 9th, 2014|News, Phone Reviews|0 Comments
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Hands-on review: CES 2014: Sony Bravia X9 4K TV

While everyone is going curved, Sony has decided to throw a wedge in the mix. The tapered design of the company’s 2014 Bravia X9 4K line serves a distinct purpose, and not one that has to do with visuals. Instead Sony has used the extra real estate that fatter bottoms afford to stick in a better set of speakers. In press pics the result is a Swiss-cheesy wedge look, but in person the triangular sets are sleeker than they’d seem. We checked out the X9B line – comprised of the 55-inch XBR-55X900B, the 65-inch XBR-65X900B and the 79-inch XBR-79X900B – here on the CES show floor. Wedge it inAs Sony reps explained, the new wedge shape of the Bravia X9 line aren’t just for show. The wedge fits larger speaker cabinets, meaning much more oomph. The result is a sound-explosion while also giving the TVs a distinct look. From straight on the wedge shape is hardly noticeable, but once you start to move to the side, wedged-ness appears. It’s by no means obstructive – these are flat 4K screens and the viewing angle is the same as it would be on any such screen. Sony has made the sides from a mirrored material, so you can see slivers of reflections. This appears to give the TV more breathing room as it lacks a hard-lined border. With our eyes glued to the 3840 x 2160 screen, we didn’t find movements caught on the sides distracting. It may be problematic in a well-lit room, however, with the potential for living room lights glinting into the eyes of those sitting to the side. We were told that although a tapered look would lead one to think the TV […]

By |January 9th, 2014|News, Phone Reviews|0 Comments
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