You can’t just do something dangerous and insane these days without filming it for posterity. And while action cameras let us relieve these life-highlights over and over, they aren’t all created equal. We decided to see for ourselves which one could handle your extreme adventures best.
If you can say one thing about Samsung’s Galaxy S line of smartphones, it’s that they consistently pair some of the best hardware with inexplicable software. The S5 scales back Samsung’s bells and whistles, which helps make it easily the best Galaxy phone yet. If only they’d gone even further.
Last year, the original HTC One
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Sony finally got one mostly right
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LG played up its push into wearable tech earlier this morning, and now it looks like Sony’s turn to do the same. Sony Mobile president and CEO Kuni Suzuki took the stage at the tail end of Sony’s CES press conference to show off what he called “the tiniest gadget Sony has ever made” — the life-tracking Sony Core.
Yes, life-tracking. A considerable chunk of the wearable gizmos currently floating around on the market are centered solely on tracking user activity in a bid to make them more health-conscious. That’s nothing if not a noble goal (not to mention an awfully lucrative one) but Sony’s approach is meant to also fold into your social and entertainment into the mix as well. The Core is indeed capable of tracking your motion in addition how long you sleep, and the ability to keep tabs on the photos you’ve taken, the music you’re listening to, and how often you interact with particular friends. All of that data gets folded into a (presumably non-final) grid-centric app view for easy perusal, though at this point it’s not clear if Sony means to make that companion app available solely for its own devices.
And how does the Core connect to your phone? Bluetooth, naturally. It seems that the Core will occasionally send sensor data updates to the phone at which point it gets mashed together with all that social and entertainment information to complete Sony’s complete lifelogging package. In the event that the connection between the two is lost, the Core will continue to record that data and it’ll vibrate on your wrist as long as you’re within a certain range.
If this all sounds a little vague, know that it’s by design. Suzuki himself admitted that the Core’s time on stage today was little more than a teaser designed to whet wearable nerds’ appetites. And, as if he couldn’t resist the urge to paint a picture of an ambitious wearable future, Suzuki noted that Sony was engaging in talks with other hardware manufacturers so Core adopters will have a sizable array of accessories (like Sony’s own color wristbands) to pair with their tiny trackers.
You’ll have to forgive me for being just a little skeptical, as Sony hasn’t exactly had the best track record with its recent wearable forays. Its original SmartWatch was either ahead of its time or fundamentally flawed depending on who you ask, and the the jury is still out on whether or not that device’s successor will have any real staying power in a market that will soon be flooded with wrist-mounted displays. The Core is perhaps one of the more thoughtful takes on wearable tracker formula I’ve seen in recent months, but we’ll soon see if Sony’s clout and resources will be enough to convince the masses of Core’s value.
This is a developing story, please refresh for updates.
In what is certainly the most enticing phone we’ve seen at CES thus far, Sony’s Xperia Z1S is heading to the U.S. as a T-Mobile exclusive, and it looks like an absolute powerhouse (as does its little buddy, for those who like smaller phones). Where to begin?
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Samsung’s tablet family is about get a few new professional members. The new Android tablets, dubbed the Galaxy NotePRO and Galaxy TabPRO (which includes three sizes) are definitely aimed at the business sector, but they certainly look like flagship products that anybody would want to get their hands on.
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Your pure-Android tablet options at present are a decidedly mixed bag; you’ve got the terrific seven-inch Nexus 7 2013 edition
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Cheap smartphones—we mean really cheap, off-contract smartphones—are terrible. They’re tormented by horrid, pixilated screens, they’re slower than your grandma, and they feel like they’re held together by Scotch tape. The $180 (off-contract!) Moto G is none of those things. It definitely has significant shortcomings, but put simply, you can’t get a better cheap phone.
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This year, after having 