Picture this sexy cyborg future: Bored of headphones and hungry for bass, people roam the city with speakers strapped to their bodies. You don’t listen to music any more; you feel it. Well, thanks to a partnership between musicians and engineers, this is all already possible.
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The market is packed full of thin, low-powered, lightweight laptops and tablet hybrids that offer up all the perks that come with primarily playing mobile games and surfing the Web. Some of us require a bit more oomph from our machine’s hardware, however, and that is where workstations like the HP ZBook 15 come in. […]
Netgear revealed its ambitious network storage plans early this year, rolling out the red carpet for an eventual launch of a handful of ReadyNAS units that would complement the ReadyNAS Duo v2 that we reviewed in 2011. We got our hands on one of these new units, the ReadyNAS RN102, a 2-bay connected device that […]
After months of rumblings about a standalone slate, Wacom finally unveiled not one, but two tablets back in September. On paper, the Cintiq Companion may be the more compelling mobile workstation, just because it runs Windows, but first, we’re taking a long, hard look at the Cintiq Companion Hybrid. Whereas the other runs Windows, this one is powered by Android and packs a top-of-the-line Tegra 4 chip to help you get work done on the go. Of course, when tethered to a laptop or desktop machine back in the studio, the unit also serves as a traditional pen display like the Cintiq 13HD — but with multitouch gestures.
Creative types are already familiar with Wacom’s prices, but the real question is whether the ability to use it as a mobile device is worth an even higher premium. With a stablemate that’s capable of running a full version of Photoshop, is the Hybrid worth the added investment over the similarly sized 13HD pen tablet? Or are you better off paying more for the Cintiq Companion with Windows instead? %Gallery-slideshow122586%
Filed under: Peripherals
Nike’s new FuelBand is now out, and following a few weeks of running in parks, walking around exhibition halls and the occasional all-out exercise session, well, I’m pretty tired. Fortunately, I only needed to charge Nike’s new wearable once in my first eight days of use. Indeed, that’s the main benefit to Nike’s Second Edition (SE) FuelBand: thanks to an energy-efficient Bluetooth Low Energy (LE) radio, it promises much-improved battery life over its predecessor. When it comes to the physical hardware, however, its appearance has barely changed since 2012, save for three new color options (and a highfalutin’ Rose Gold one). Its fitness-tracking capabilities haven’t changed either, although Nike has promised improvements in accuracy and a better ability to sense when you’re attempting to game the FuelBand.
Beneath the matte black surface, however, there’s been more progress: Nike+, the FuelBand’s companion app, is friendlier than ever, with the ability to group your buddies into separate categories. There are also new hourly reminders to stay active throughout the day and a Sessions feature to monitor activity in a set timeframe. More than ever, though, Nike’s finding itself in a crowded wearables market. Though it was one of the early victors, has it done enough to maintain its lead? Grab your water bottle and we’ll walk you through it.%Gallery-slideshow122860%
Filed under: Wearables
Motorola has done its best to deliver a premium experience with an affordable price tag with the Moto G, the little sibling to the higher priced Moto X. Both phones have Google’s stamp all over them, and share a surprising amount in common besides that, too. Best of all, the Moto G is a phone that mostly delivers on its marketing premise, offering an experience that’ll have many doing a double take at that price tag.
Pros
Cons
Motorola’s Moto G is a little on the pudgy side, but it feels at once comfortable and familiar. The matte finish back cases are great for grip, (though terrible for showing wear, as you can see from the photos), and it almost reminds me of the design of the iPhone 3G and 3GS. It also feels heavier than most modern superphones, but only just, and the weight isn’t necessarily a problem, as it adds a feeling of resilience to the Moto G. In many ways, the Moto G’s design harkens back to an era where phones were phones and meant business, and I found myself enjoying that impression.
The one big problem with the design is the mechanism for removing the “removable” back case. You essentially dig in at the spot where the case breaks for the micro USB port, and then pull. Hard. Too hard. My fingers are tender from switching the device between case types, and I really felt I had to go beyond the point of what you could reasonably expect an average consumer to be comfortable with. Still, I honestly don’t think most people will care about switching the backplates beyond maybe doing it once.
The Moto G has a number of unique features, though most of the development of the phone was based on stripping out the inessential and making a phone that just performs well despite a lower cost to build. There’s Moto Care, for instance, which offers instant access to tech support from Motorola staff via instant message or phone; Assist, which offers special modes for Driving, Meeting and Sleeping that change your phone’s behavior with one tap to suit different contexts; and Motorola Migrate, for bringing your old settings, text messages, call history, media and more with you when switching devices.
These features are excellent compared to most glommed on by Android OEMs, if only for the fact that you wouldn’t even know they were there unless you were actively seeking them out. The service app is a genius move considering the audience is likely to be people new to smartphones or advanced mobile devices, and the Assist function is a very handy shortcut for what’s often an arduous series of steps. Migrate isn’t something I got the chance to try out, but it definitely sounds like a value-add for people jumping on the Android bandwagon for the first time.
The Moto G isn’t a $600 superphone, but the times you’re aware of that while using it are surprisingly rare. It moves around the OS smoothly and quickly, for instance. Likewise, it quickly calls up Google Now and delivers speech recognition with the same accuracy and speed as its more expensive cousins. The only place I noticed some lag and slowdown was in the browser, where image-heavy content can cause some stuttering, but only in extreme cases: even photo heavy tumblrs, which are otherwise pretty sleek, behaved well.
The camera on the Moto G isn’t wonderful, but it’s fine for general use, and much better than you’ll find on most other budget smartphones. In a device like this, what I’m expecting from a camera is a workmanlike charm, and that’s what Motorola delivers. It’s a phone where you have to continually call to mind that absurdly low price tag – and when you do that, the photos the Moto G takes look plenty good.
Motorola has done a terrific job with the Moto G’s screen, which is saying a lot coming from me. I’ve never liked how Moto tunes their screens – too contrasty, too saturated for my eye. But this time they haven’t gone overboard in that regard, and they’ve even managed to achieve the same high bar for pixel density that Apple does with its iPhone 5s (326ppi for those paying attention). It’s not full HD, the clarion call of the current crop of Android superphones, but it’s a far sight better than anything even in the same ballpark pricewise, and at any rate, text and images are still going to appear stunningly crisp on that screen.
Again, it still goes a little too hard on the color saturation and the excessive contrast, but it’s a big improvement for Motorola devices in general, and a true feat on a device at this price.
The Moto G earns its stripes with the battery, leaving aside its other nice attributes. It’s got “all day” life, according to Motorola, and that can translate to a lot depending on your usage patterns. I found that with light usage, I was getting around three days out of a single charge on average, which, in the age of smartphones, is just crazy.
The battery life on the Moto G makes it a great candidate for a “throw it in a bag, forget about it until you travel” phone, since in low power mode it can stretch its standby life to around a week. Under heavier use it returns to the realm of results achieved by other devices (but still beats most of them) and will definitely get you through the day. But again, in a budget phone, to have this kind of battery power is amazing.
The Moto G is remarkable device. It’s arguably the less talented sibling of the flash-bang Moto X released by the Google-owned smartphone maker earlier this year, but it’s more noteworthy because it offers so much at such a stunning price point. Make no mistake: I’ll still be going back to a top tier device as my everyday phone of choice, but if I didn’t prioritize tech in my personal budget, or if I didn’t have the means, I’d be more than happy to use the Moto G day in and day out as my daily driver.
Since Motorola was acquired by a certain tech giant last year, its new owner hasn’t had a particularly strong impact on the way it does business. Not too long ago, in fact, Motorola dealt another brag-hand of Droids, but there was something distinct about the Moto X that followed them. The first evidence of a change in direction, perhaps. In the same vein, the recently announced Moto G feels very much like a Google phone, and it makes a ton of sense.
If the Nexus 5 is for smartphone aficionados, and the Moto X is for upgraders who can’t resist the offer of a custom handset, then the Moto G is for those who want a functional device at a reasonable price. At $179 or £135 unlocked, the Moto G slots into the low-cost niche Samsung and others have been steadily cashing in on. That price tag, however, includes an unwritten disclaimer: Sacrifices were made. It’s certainly true with the Moto G, but with expectations in check, it’s hard to not be impressed with what Motorola has managed to achieve.%Gallery-slideshow122931%
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Google
We love when we find new ways to bring our toys together. The Automatic Link does just that: it connects your iPhone to your car’s computer, using Bluetooth Low Energy as a bridge to the On-Board Diagnostics (OBD) interface that’s been standard in most cars since 1996. Coupled with a free app, you can log various stats from your road trips, including how aggressively you drove and how much gasoline your car consumed. Basically, it’s sort of like a quantified-self tracker, but for your vehicle. So, does this $100 driver’s assistant deliver? Let’s see.%Gallery-slideshow121856%
Filed under: Peripherals, Transportation
If we’ve crossed paths in the past week, there’s a pretty good chance I’ve scanned you. This extends well beyond the human race, into the realms of animal, vegetable, plush toy and fruit bowl. Some subjects were too small to be scanned, some too fidgety and, in the case of my attempted 3D selfie, not nearly flexible enough. Such issues were mere roadblocks in my strange one-man journey to 3D-scan the world. I may have a problem. I admit it. For starters, I’m not completely sure what I plan on doing with all these scans, but while such questions are entirely logical, they’ve yet to curb my enthusiasm for the device. Sense is one of those propositions that seems too good to be true: a user-friendly, (relatively) portable 3D scanner capable of capturing objects up to 10 feet by 10 feet, and at a fraction of the price of the competition.
If the product is indeed what 3D Systems claims, it could fill a major hole in the consumer 3D-printing market. In recent years, 3D-printing companies have largely focused on the printers themselves, which have gotten cheaper and easier to use. At the same time, the race to dominate the category has often caused companies to ignore the question of how those without extensive CAD experience can create 3D files in the first place. MakerBot unveiled its solution back at SXSW: the $1,400 Digitizer, a rotating, desktop scanning bed capable of capturing objects up to eight inches by eight inches. 3D Systems’ Sense takes a wholly different approach: This is a $400 handheld scanner that can digitize an entire human being.%Gallery-slideshow123207%
Filed under: Peripherals
Thinksound has launched its first pair of “big” headphones, the wood-centric On1 supra-aural monitors with 40mm drivers and detachable audio cables. The company has enjoyed widespread success with its various earbuds, and as such the On1 have both company history and buyer expectations to live up to. This product has been a long time coming, […]
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