Posts

Showing posts from August, 2018

LG G7 One

Image
It’s easy to see why phone buyers are attracted to Android One, the purest version of Google’s mobile OS. For years, manufacturers have been adding their own layer on to Android, for better or worse, so it’s always refreshing to see it all laid bare on a phone that’s sporting decent specs.  And that’s what we have here with the LG G7 One, a phone that’s very similar to the LG G7 ThinQ but with a much leaner OS.  The phone was revealed at IFA 2018 and is certainly a handset for the UI minimalist crowd. LG G7 One release date and price The LG G7 One release date and price was unfortunately not revealed at IFA 2018, but we will update when we get more information. Here's hoping that the price in the US is a good deal cheaper than what the LG G7 ThinQ was - this was one thing that stopped up from really liking that phone. Design and display Like the LG G7 ThinQ (we may we writing that phrase a lot), the LG G7 One is an all-glass phone, with a polished metal rim disrupting this

AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2950X

Image
It’s not an exaggeration to say that the Ryzen Threadripper was the face that launched a dozen chips. On the heels of AMD introducing its Zen-based high-end desktop (HEDT) processors, Intel reacted in kind with the (now defunct) Kaby Lake-X series and shortly after with even more competitive Core X series chips in the form of Skylake-X . Eventually, these two titans’ HEDT chips would finally meet in the ring with an all-out brawl between the Intel Core i9-7980XE and AMD Ryzen Threadripper 1950X . Although AMD’s flagship 16-core Ryzen Threadripper processor costed half as much, it couldn’t match up to 18-core Intel Skylake X CPU. Fast forward to today, and AMD has introduced a new flagship Ryzen Threadripper 2950X that’s not only cheaper but more powerful in every way. Price and availability The AMD Ryzen Threadripper 1950X was already one of the fairly more affordable high-core-count processors you could buy when it originally launched at $999 (£999, AU$1,439).  Surprisingly, A

D-Link DWR-953 4G LTE Router

Image
How dependent you are on your broadband connection becomes glaringly obvious should you ever have it stop working for an extended period. This is especially true in a business context, where the flow of information in and out of the company is critical, and without that link, even remote diagnostics become impossible. Any decent disaster recovery plan should have an entire section allocated to the loss of internet connection, and it should probably include mention of a device like the new D-Link DWR-953. To confuse matters a little, D-Link already makes another router designated the DWR-953 that was a tabletop design with three antennas and only AC750 Wi-Fi performance. This ‘B’ version of the router has just two antennas and a much better AC1200 spec Wi-Fi. Is this an LTE router that you could learn to love? Design and features  If you are looking for the very best Wi-Fi connectivity, handling numerous simultaneously connected users with MESH functionality, then the D-Link DWR-

Windscribe VPN

Editor's Note: What immediately follows is a rundown of the latest changes and additions since this review was last updated .   Pricing now has three plans. 1-month $9, 1-year $4.08 per month and 2-years $3.70 per month (also includes free 6 month premium subscription to Dashlane password manager). Android app is now available and working properly. (June 2018) Linux app was added. Locations increased to 100. (June 2018). The service added LAN Proxy gateway which you can use to create a secure HTTP or SOCKS5 proxy server on your network for other devices. The company accepts Bitcoin, Ethereum and most major cryptocurrencies. (June 2018) Windscribe introduced Garry, the helpful bot, which works like a live chat. A new version for Linux (1.2) is out. (July 2018) The service added Croatia as a new location. (July 2018) Opting for a free VPN plan usually means some major compromises: data transfer limits, maybe restrictions on speeds, and users often can't use the most

TunnelBear VPN

Editor's Note: What immediately follows is a rundown of the latest changes and additions since this review was last updated .   Apart from the 12-month plan, a 1-month plan for $9.99 is also available. In addition to Chrome VPN extension, a blocker add-on (which blocks various tracking) is also available for Chrome. The service introduced a password manager called RememBear. Improvements to VigilantBear feature (basically a kill switch), mostly for Mac. Improvements to Privacy Policy - first names aren't stored anymore and were deleted from the database. Total lifetime connections (how many times you used the service) were removed. The provider announced the new minimum required OS versions for their clients. Android - 4.1, iOS - 9.3.5, macOS - 10.10.5, Windows - 7 SP1. (July 2018)  US-based security firm McAfee purchased Tunnelbear in March 2018 and confirmed that "TunnelBear will operate as a separate team within McAfee, continuing to develop the bear-filled p

CyberGhost VPN

Image
Editor's Note: What immediately follows is a rundown of the latest changes and additions since this review was last updated . The service now boasts over 2300 servers in 60 countries. (June 2018) There is no free plan anymore. (June 2018) A 7-day free trial is available for iOS and Android. (June 2018) Changes to pricing. There are four plans available: 1 Month- $11.99, 1 Year - $4.99 per month, 2 Years - $3.79 per month and 3 Years - $2.75 per month. (June 2018)  All plans now support up to 7 devices at the same time. (June 2018)  L2TP/IPsec and PPTP protocols are now also available. (June 2018) Additional changes to pricing. Three plans are available: 1-month $11.99, 6-months $4.99 per month, 18-months $2.75 per month. (July 2018) Additional servers were added, over 2600 servers. (July 2018) A new improved version for iOS is now available. (July 2018) New pricing - 1-month $11.99, 1-year $4.99 per month, 2-years $3.79 per month, 3-years $2.75 per month. (August 2018)

Bang & Olufsen Beosound Edge

Image
When it comes to Bang & Olufsen, you never get what could be called a traditional speaker design. From the dish-like Beoplay A9 to the wall-mounted Beosound Shape , it always pushes the boundaries in its aesthetic approach.  At IFA 2018 , the tradition continues with the Beosound Edge, a striking speaker that draws inspiration from the humble British Pound coin. Priced at £2900 (around $3,765 or AU$5,225), it hits stores in November 2018. Here’s what we thought of it from a brief demonstration at the Berlin showcase. Design The Beosound Edge looks quite unlike any speaker you will have seen before. Circular in design and disc-like in shape, it has drivers pumping sound out of either side of the speaker, with an aluminium ring wrapping around its outer edge. It’s designed to be positioned in two ways. Either like a standing coin, resting on its edge (hence the name), or hanging from a wall like a railway clock or bar sign. Measuring 50.2cm across in diameter and 13cm wide it’

RHA CL2 Planar

Image
RHA CL2 Planar are the first wireless earbuds to pack in the kind of cutting-edge planar magnetic drivers usually found in open-backed studio-quality headphones that most of us can only dream of affording.  While the CL2 Planar earbuds cost hundreds rather than thousands, the £800/$900 (about AU$1,250) price tag is a big ask for such small tech – but if you're the 'perfection-seeking' audience RHA is looking for, the promise of customization and compact quality may be just what you ordered. Here's our first impressions from RHA's planar earphones. Design It's immediately hard to critique the design of the RHA CL2 Planar, for the mere fact that there are so many possible combinations of eartips, cables, and wired/wireless hardware. To start, there's a foldable hard case for tying up all your cables and wires, with an additional soft zip pouch depending on your preference. But the CL2 earbuds ask you pretty quickly to know your preference for everything

Emporio Armani Connected 2018

Image
Emporio Armani's debut in the smartwatch space came late in 2017, and the company has now seen fit to upgrade its watches with brand new tech. It comes after Fossil - the brand that makes Emporio Armani smartwatches - has developed new internal tech (something it calls Generation 4) and it's all being rolled out to all its major brands. The design is along similar lines here to the original Connected, but if you want more smart in your watch this looks to be a much better alternative to the original. Emporio Armani Connected 2018 price and release date You can pre-order the Emporio Armani Connected in the US now with prices starting at $295 (about £230, AU$400) and heading up to $395 (about £300, AU$550). Exactly when you'll get it is unclear, and we've yet to learn when it'll be available in the UK or Australia. Design and display The Emporio Armani Connected 2018 comes in a variety of colors including silver, blue, black and rose gold. Each looks similar to

Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless

Image
Sennheiser makes great-sounding headphones. Though conventional wisdom has long put a cap on what can be achieved with headphones' more compact, in-ear counterparts – or over a wireless Bluetooth connection – the Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless look to continue the company's audio heritage within those physical constraints. At £259/$299 (about AU$400) for the pair, they're far from cheap, but our first impression of the earbuds at this year's IFA 2018 may just justify the asking price. Design The Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless are the company's smallest offering yet, doing away with the neck-cable on the Momentum Free and packing in a brand new 7mm driver to boot. They carry the classic silver detailing of other Momentum earphones, with a pleasing pattern of magnetic gold points that connect each earbud into the accompanying carry case, securing them in place with a satisfying click. One of the main concerns with 'true wireless' earphones is how

Huawei Mate 20 Lite

Image
  We haven’t even seen the Mate 20 or the Mate 20 Pro yet, but breaking from tradition, Huawei has decided to skip ahead to the Mate 20 lite, a high mid-range smartphone announced at IFA 2018.  It isn’t the first time we’ve seen this phone - Vodafone announced it would be ranging it a week ago , but this is the first time we’ve had a hands-on opportunity to see if this glass backed Mate with dual front cameras is a promising introduction to the Mate 20 series. Price and availability You can pick up the Mate 20 Lite in September in the UK for £379 (around $500 / AU$665). It will be available at Vodafone and Carphone Warehouse first, with EE ranging it shortly after, although we don't know about other territories just now. With the Honor Play having just launched for £100 less SIM-free, it’s a tough sell given this phone has an inferior processor, but when you consider the Mate 20 Lite’s better in-hand feel and richer, more mature aesthetic, its positioning starts to make sens

Huawei AI Cube

Image
It’s IFA 2018 and one year after Huawei teased a smart speaker alongside its Kirin 970 chipset announcement, the company has finally announced the physical product for us to ogle - the AI Cube. But is it a cube? To our eye, it looks like a cylinder… it’s definitely a cylinder. Announced along with the Kirin 980 chipset, the Mate 20 Lite and the Huawei Locator, the AI Cube is a Google Home look-a-like smart speaker with 4G, WiFi router capabilities and Amazon Alexa built in. Huawei AI Cube price and release date Expected to launch towards the end of this year, the Huawei AI Cube will make its debut in Europe. Huawei clearly hopes that its smart speaker will be able to take on the competition in time for the gift-giving season, but with pricing yet to be confirmed, how competitive it will be remains to be seen. Design Think, Google Home with a bit less air freshener styling, a bigger chassis and some HomePod elements at the top. There are less angles and less playfulness, plus

Garmin Vivosmart 4

Image
The Garmin Vivosmart 4 is a simple, slimline, swimproof fitness tracker that allows you to monitor activities, count your steps, check your heart rate and track your sleep. Launched at IFA 2018 , this isn't a tracker for the fitness fanatics, as it's aimed at a slightly more casual audience. It's not too expensive either, as the Garmin Vivosmart 4 price is $129.99 (£119.99, AU$199), how you can't buy it just yet. Garmin's US site estimates 3-5 weeks, while its UK announcement places the launch sometime in the third quarter of this year. The first thing you'll notice when you pick up the Garmin Vivosmart 4 is its size. It's really small, with a slender strap, and weighs very little. It means the Vivosmart 4 sits comfortably on the wrist, and the strap has a traditional buckle on it, rather than a push-in stud that some cheap fitness trackers have which can easily come undone. There's no need to worry about losing the Vivosmart 4 during an intensive

Hands on: Sony WH-1000XM3 Wireless Headphones review

Image
At IFA 2018 Sony unveiled its new WH-1000XM3 noise-canceling headphones, the follow-up to the award-winning Sony WH-1000XM2 . According to Sony, the headphones are at least four times better than the M2 when it comes to noise-canceling performance. Considering the M2 are one of our favorite pairs of noise-canceling headphones to date, and received a 5-star review when we first tried them out, we were glad to be on the showfloor at IFA 2018 to get a first-hand look at the new over-ears to see if they live up to the M2’s high standards. According to Sony, the WH-1000XM3 headphones price will be approximately $349.99/£300 and the release date will start in September. Performance These headphones have a newly developed HD Noise Canceling Processor Q1 baked-in. Not only is this meant to deliver four times the performance of the M2’s processor when it comes to blocking out ambient sounds, it also offers a number of key differences to your listening experience. For starters, the proces

Fossil Q Explorist HR

Image
There are a plethora of Fossil watches already on the market, but the company has made some serious upgrades to its latest edition for the Q Explorist HR. The Fossil Q Explorist debuted back in 2016, and the tech has quickly aged out of fashion meaning if you wanted a smartwatch with top-end features it would be a touch out of date. Fossil is currently updating its whole line up of devices from a variety of brands with new tech, and below we'll break down whether we think the Q Explorist is worth your money. Fossil Q Explorist HR price and release date You can pre-order the new Q Explorist HR watch directly from the Fossil website now, but you'll be waiting until mid-September for it to arrive on your doorstep in the UK. If you live in the US you should find the watch is ready to buy online and in Fossil stores now. Pricing is £250 for the UK and $275 for the US (about AU$380), which is around a similar price as the last generation watch with those in the US having to sp