Hasta La Gadget!

Artificial intelligence has exploded onto the art scene over the past few years, with everybody from artists to tech giants experimenting with the new tools that technology provides. While the generative adversarial networks (GANs) that power the lik…

French startup Devialet has done it again. The new Phantom Reactor is a smaller, more effective speaker that packs everything that made Devialet speakers good in the first place.

Devialet’s first speaker, the Phantom, attracted rave reviews a few years ago. The egg-shaped speaker promised no background noise, no saturation and no distortion in a relatively small package.

To be clear, it wasn’t that small when you compared it with an average bookshelf speaker. But when you turned it on, it would feel like a much larger speaker — something that you’d find in a concert hall.

But that speaker wasn’t for everyone. If you live in a tiny apartment, spending $1,700 to $3,500 for a speaker capable of generating up to 4,500 Watts of power was overkill.

Hence the Phantom Reactor, a smaller version of the Phantom with the same promises — no background noise, no saturation and no distortion. It still features the iconic egg-shaped design.

The company let me borrow a Phantom Reactor for a few weeks to play with it at home. And I’ve been impressed by the speaker. It’s a tiny beast that makes any all-in-one Bluetooth speaker sound like a joke.

In many ways, this speaker reminds me of the iPod lineup. When Apple first introduced the iPod, it was the perfect device for music enthusiasts. For the first time, you could take all of your music with you, even if you had a large music library.

But that device was heavy, expensive and thick — stack three iPhone XS and you get the thickness of the original iPod. Everything was great on paper, but it was impractical if you’re not that much into music.

With the iPod mini, Apple created a device that was not only cheaper than the original iPod but also more effective. Music devices, from portable players to connected speakers, are supposed to disappear and integrate perfectly in your daily routine.

The Phantom Reactor is a damn good speaker. Music fills up my living room in a way that none of my many other speakers do. When I compare it with another speaker, I can hear that it’s the same song. But, with Devialet’s speaker, it feels like I’m experiencing the song instead of just listening to the song.

The 900W model that I’m using is still too powerful for my apartment — I can’t play music at 60 percent of the volume for too long without thinking about my neighbors. If you live in a crowded city with small living rooms, the cheaper 600W model is probably enough. If you have a house in the suburbs, that’s probably a different story.

The Phantom Reactor isn’t portable per se. It doesn’t have a battery and it still weighs 9.5lbs/4.3kg. You’ll be able to unplug it and carry it to another room every now and then, but you won’t take it with you to your friend’s house.

You can currently play music using AirPlay, Bluetooth, Spotify Connect, UPnP as well as analog and optical input. You can connect it to your network using Wi-Fi or Ethernet.

The mobile app is quite minimal. It guides you through the setup process and lets you select the source input at any time. You’re supposed to control music from your usual music players. There are also touch buttons on the top of the speaker for basic playback and pairing controls.

I’ve been mostly using Spotify Connect, which lets you stream music on the speaker directly. If you’re not familiar with the protocol, you play a song or playlist in the Spotify app just like you would normally do — you just have to select the Phantom Reactor as the output speaker. Nothing actually happens on your phone or computer, the Spotify app acts as a remote.

As you may have noticed, AirPlay 2 isn’t supported just yet and you can’t pair multiple speakers. The company says that those features will come later with a software update. Devialet also says that it isn’t in the business of voice assistants — there’s no microphone on board.

But if you’re looking for a business that sounds good and you have enough money for the Phantom Reactor, the speaker is available now for for $999/€990/£990 for the 600W model and $1,299/€1,290/£1,290 for the 900W model.

Samsung’s next Unpacked event is set for February 20th, and while the Korean electronics giant hasn’t outright said that’s when it will announce the new Galaxy S10, past history and a lot of not-so-subtle clues all but guarantee we’ll officially see the company’s shiny new flagship smartphone next week.

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Cheaters are not really liked by game publishers and some of them will go to extreme lengths to put them in their place. Publishers will normally use lawsuits to take them down and the latest result in such a lawsuit sets a new precedent that’s good for the publishers. A GTA Online cheat creator has been ordered to pay $150,000 in damages after the lawsuit was decided against him.

A court has ordered that Florida resident Jhonny Perez has to pay $150,000 in damages in addition to $66,869 in attorney fees. He created and shared Elusive, a paid cheating tool for GTA Online which allowed players to have neverending money and other cheats.

This meant an alleged violation of Take-Two Interactive’s copyright and harmed its gameplay balancing. The cheating tool also impacted the company’s in-game purchase model and also made the overall experience bad for other players who were not using cheating tools. This penalty is a default judgment.

Perez already took down Elusive last year after Take-Two reached out to them. He also promised the company that the proceeds made from this tool would be donated to charity. Take-Two asked him for financial records which showed how much money the tool had earned him and after he didn’t respond, the company decided to file for the judgment.

GTA Online Cheat Creator Has To Pay $150,000 In Damages

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Unboxing a brand new device is always something that is worth looking forward to. From there, it is always an adventure, making sure that no harm comes to said smartphone, smartwatch or tablet through accidental knocks and drops. However, accidents happen without any prior warning, which is why it is always better to be safe than sorry. Caseology has long offered accessories for mobile devices that help keep them protected, and this time around there are non-toxic cases that are safe for you and your family, babies included, with the introduction of the Abel Series Smartwatch Case for Apple Watch 4 and the Nero Pro Case for iPhone XR.

The Nero Pro iPhone XR case is truly a wonder, with Caseology proudly laying claim that it is capable of surviving a 20 foot drop without any issues at all. This is a limited edition case that will work in tandem with the included tempered glass screen protector, making this case ‘invincible’ to a certain degree. iPhone XR owners who would want something tough and practical, while still being able to make a fashion statement, the Nero Pro iPhone XR case that arrives in red fits the bill perfectly.

As for Apple Watch series 4 owners, you might have scuffed your timepiece by accident in the past and would not want to repeat the same mistake again in the future. This is where the Abel Case for Apple Watch Series 4 comes in. Paying homage to the legacy iPod design, this particular prototype is currently being worked on in order to enter full production eventually, and is tipped to roll out some time in 2019 in colors, black and pink.

Then there is the Nero Slim Case for Apple Watch Series 4 for those who would want something that is more discrete in nature without compromising the Apple Watch 4 experience. The slim and modern design does not detract it from taking down your heart rate, blood pressure, keeping track of your steps or number of calories burned. Do take note that at best, it offers protection from daily wear and tear, and will arrive in black and pink for sizes 40mm and 44mm.

Press Release
[ Caseology releases brand new protective cases copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]