Phil’s favorite devices of 2014
To all the things I’ve loved before … Well, in 2014, anyway
I have too much stuff. Too many phones. Too many tablets. Too many little things here and there that do various things. It’s a curse of this job, of course. (To say nothing of my basic packrat mentality.) But things do manage to rise to the top a bit. There are phones I’ve loved and lost. Some better off not remembered. Watches that have made their way from my wrist to the back of a drawer. Tablets I wish I’d kept for myself.
I’ve got a lot of favorite things from 2014. Some more favorite than others, perhaps. But all of these things I list before you here today are gadgets I could not do without. OK, they’re things I don’t want to have to do without. Please let me keep playing with these things. Please send more new things. All the things.
Here, now, are a few of my favorite things from 2014.
Some teens turn to AirDrop instead of Snapchat and Instagram
Sharing photos is a popular pastime for teens with smartphones, and there’s no shortage of services to cater to them — Snapchat and Instagram remain popular options. But there’s another way to share photos and other files that may be picking up steam, especially among young people with iPhones: AirDrop.
AirDrop, built right into iOS, enables iPhone users to exchange files with one another without relying on a separate app or third-party service. The advantage over services like Instagram and Snapchat is that you don’t have to have usernames or set up specific accounts to use it.
Maya Kosoff went home for the holidays and discovered that her teenage relatives are using AirDrop instead of other services for its ease of use and simplicity:
She also said that this is what makes AirDrop better than texting: you don’t need anybody’s phone number. As long as you have AirDrop enabled on your phone, anyone nearby can send you a file. Plus, she told me some schools have blocked Snapchat, so AirDrop is essentially a workaround.
AirDrop is a feature unique to iPhones and Macs, so it doesn’t work for everyone — even in my own immediate family, only one of my three teens has an iPhone (the other two use Windows phones). But in environments where lots of people use iOS devices, AirDrop makes an appealing alternative to potentially insecure third-party services.
Source: Business Insider
LaCie shows both its rugged and fashionable sides with new portable drives
Seagate’s LaCie brand has announced two new portable hard drives, the Rugged RAID and the Mirror. The Rugged RAID features Thunderbolt 1 and USB 3.0 compatibility, and comes with 4TB of storage. It comes with two drives and is preconfigured in RAID 0. It can also keep your data safe if one of your drives fails. According to LaCie:
The LaCie Rugged features RAID 1 (mirrored mode), which is where the data is duplicated across the two drives. So, even if a single drive fails in the field, the data remains accessible from the other drive. This is especially helpful to on–the–go professionals with limited laptop capacity. The LaCie Rugged can serve as the primary safe storage during travel. Even in the case of a single drive failure, data is protected.
The Rugged RAID also comes with a cap that gives it an IP54 water resistance rating when in place, and the drive is also resistant to dust and shock. It will be available later in 2015 for $449.99.
The LaCie Mirror is a portable USB 3.0 drive with a reflective surface. The Mirror is completely wrapped in Corning Gorilla Glass and features 1TB of storage. The drive was designed in collaboration with Pauline Deltour.
“You have to look twice to discover the LaCie Mirror’s true ambition,” said Deltour. “Covered by mirrored glass, it’s first an elegant and functional object, and only on second glance is it revealed to be a slim high–performance hard drive.”
The Mirror comes with an ebony wood stand, letting you prop up the drive and actually use it as a mirror. The drive will launch later in January on LaCie’s website, retailing for $279.99, and will be come widely available later in 2015.
LG G Flex 2 spotted in promotional poster at CES 2015
It’s unofficially official! After almost an entire year of speculation, it now appears that LG’s marvelous Musa has sprouted a successor to the G Flex. A few weeks back we reported on a probable launch, but now, thanks to an image obtained by The Verge, we have the following to feast our appetites on:
At this point absolutely nothing is known about the phone’s specs, however Qualcomm itself hinted at the device featuring a Snapdragon processor. Given that LG has made a promotional point of its Plastic OLED technology, the Flex 2 will probably make use of it, although nothing is set in stone.
Taking a look at the poster, the two most immediately noticeable points are the new logo (complete with the device’s curved shape represented below the word “Flex”) and the front of the device, which seems to resemble the recently released LG L Bello and L Fino smartphones, mostly by the more squared corners.
As far as the curve itself goes, it doesn’t appear to be dramatically more pronounced than the original, however given the rumors of higher specs, perhaps the screen will be of 1080 resolution (or higher). Rumors have also suggested the device will have a smaller screen compared to the 6-inch nature of the original. The thought of a G3 (or G4?) hardware base for this futuristic flagship may go a long way to making mainstream consumers consider it. With CES kicking off in about a day, we will inevitably be learning more soon. And who knows, maybe the rumored LG Vu 4 will also make an appearance!
So, now that the device is all but confirmed and official, who [else] is going to get it? Leave your thoughts in the comments below.
Acer announces the Liquid Z410 smartphone with 4G ahead of CES
Acer has announced the new Liquid Z410 smartphone ahead of the upcoming CES 2015 event in Las Vegas. The device, powered by a 64-bit processor, will offer consumers 4G LTE and a mid-range package at an affordable price. The Liquid Z410 will be available in February at a starting price of €129.
Fugoo announces the Fugoo XL range, including the Style, Sport and Tough at CES 2015
We took a look at Fugoo’s Bluetooth speaker after last year’s CES and we quite liked it: it sounded great and incredibly versatile thanks to its unique ‘jacket’ system. At this year’s CES, Fugoo is announcing an update to that Bluetooth speaker with the Fugoo XL, and you might have guessed from the ‘XL’ that the […]
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Take a trip down memory lane with Sonic CD – free today from Amazon
It may be Sunday and for many of us a day to relax, but that doesn’t mean we can’t hit up some awesome retro gaming on our BlackBerry 10 devices. Amazon have given us another beauty as their free app of the day – this time it’s Sonic CD.
NFL playoff streaming makes it nearly impossible to miss a game
If you’ve got a hankering for some NFL playoff ball but will be away from your TV or out of the country, no problemo! The league wants your eyeballs (and money) anyway. You’ll be able to get all postseason games online, including the Super Bowl and Pro Bowl, via CBS, NBC, FOX and ESPN’s streaming services, assuming you have a cable subscription. Data limits on your mobile plan aren’t an an issue either, provided you’re with Verizon, and have either a More Everything plan or NFL Mobile premium pass at $5/month. You can also catch every playoff game outside North America online in HD via the NFL’s Game Pass service in 230 countries for around $70. You might be eating a croque monsieur instead of a hot dog, but hey, football!
[Image credit: Getty Images]
Filed under: Home Entertainment, Internet, HD, Mobile
Source: NFL
Acer launches projector with Chromecast port inside
In advance of the upcoming CES 2015 in Vegas, Acer unveiled a new projector yesterday that has a hidden compartment for you to connect your Chromecast into. The projector’s designation is H7550ST and it packs some pretty impressive specs, outside of that bit about the Chromecast.
Acer is hoping that besides home use, the business and education sectors check out this projector. Once the Chromecast is connected inside of the device, the projector can be operated via smartphone or tablet, which would allow for easy usage by the corporate world during meetings or by professors during lecture.
The device is capable of projecting 1080p HD, with the added ability to project 3D video. The device comes with two 10W speakers, but if that’s child’s play compared to your audio set-up, it is able to deliver HD audio wirelessly via BlueTooth to your receiver. Also featured is that the projector is NVIDIA 3DTV Play Ready.
Another interesting perk with the H7550ST is its “short-throw” technology. In layman’s terms, if you’re operating the projector in a cramped environment, it’s still able to deliver large images up to 300-inches on your screen or wall.
The H7550ST will be available in March in the US and Europe for $999 USD.
Click here to view the embedded video.
Source: Acer via PR Web
Come comment on this article: Acer launches projector with Chromecast port inside
ARCHOS to strengthen its 4G range during CES 2015
ARCHOS plans to display new 4G devices at CES 2015 at A-C Booth 70437 in the Sands Expo Hall. These offerings include smartphones and tablets, starting at under $80.
The ARCHOS Diamond, announced at the “Paris CES Unveiled,” has a five-inch HD IPS display, an octa-core processor, 16GB of internal storage, 2GB of RAM, and a 16MP camera.
“In 2014, consumers don’t have access to high performance handsets from traditional smartphone vendors below $500,” says Loïc Poirier, General Director of ARCHOS. “With the ARCHOS 50 Diamond, we are pushing forward the same advanced technology but we make it accessible to all consumers.”
On the tablet side, the company has the 80b Helium, which is equipped with a 1.5GHz quad-core processor.
Other products that will be included in the display are the 45b, 50b, and 50c Helium smartphones and the 70 and 101 Helium tablets.
Source: ARCHOS.com
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