Tuesday, November 18, 2014

Oneplus One Invite Giveaway

So, as you may know, I have 3 invites for a 64GB Sandstone Black Oneplus One to give away. Make sure you can actually use the invite and get it shipped to your country, as Oneplus ONLY ships to these countries. If you fail to use your invite in time, it will be returned back to me and I will probably give it away to someone else.


Now, the fun part - to enter the giveaway:
  • Retweet this tweet 
  • +1 my blog and +1 my Nexus 9 review
  • Fill out this form - make sure to enter the correct email address so I can send the invite


That simple! I will randomly choose 3 people and announce the winners on Twitter on Thursday, 20th November at 14:00 GMT so make sure you follow me! Good luck!

Disclaimer: I will not publicize or forward your email address to any third party. I only need it so I can send out the invites instantly, before they expire. I will not be responsible if you fail to use the invite within time, however.



Winners are @Vikta_V, @Schimmer_ and @smakhed. Congratulations and enjoy your Oneplus Ones!

Nexus 9: The Best Android Tablet Yet

Up until now, I always thought Google had no intentions of hitting and being a big player in the mainstream mobile market. I felt that previous Nexus devices were an indication to where Google is headed with Android and to show developers and OEMs how they should format and design their software and hardware. It was true until they introduced the phablet Nexus 6 starting at $649 (I’d guess it’s the usual 1:1 USD to EUR conversion when it arrives to Ireland) and the Nexus 9 starting at $399. There is nothing wrong with the prices themselves as flagship phones and tablets are sold for even higher, but it shows that Google is looking to compete in the true flagship space taking on devices like the Note 4, iPhone 6 Plus (the N6 is still a cheaper) and the iPad line.


When the Nexus 9 was quietly announced in Google’s usual style (a blog post, duh) people were amazed and immediately started to form high expectations. Why shouldn't they? It’s the first 64-bit Android device to run Lollipop (and actually take advantage of the 64-bit architecture) featuring Nvidia’s Tegra K1 CPU, Kepler DX1 GPU, a 1536 x 2048 8.9 inch (281 ppi) display, 2GB RAM, manufactured by a company who, in my opinion, still holds the crown for the best designed smartphone on the market and are known for having one of the best build quality: HTC. Also, at the price tag mentioned above, it should be nothing but fantastic as it competes directly with the tablet market leader, Apple’s iPad.


Unboxing & First Impressions


I preordered my Nexus 9 on the first day of pre orders without any hesitation. It was shipped on Monday, 3rd of November and the nice guys at DHL delivered it to me the next day. First things first: maaan, that box. No, seriously, that box. It’s really pretty, which sounds absurd as the box is very minimalistic. I might be the only one but I had absolutely no problem taking it out of it’s box as it slipped right out. It felt a lot more premium than what certain websites (cough*iTheVerge*cough) said. The box has the usual contents: usb cable, wall adapter and a pretty blue coloured instructions manual.

turn the box upside down: Nexus 6


Design


Yep, this thing is a small bit on the heavy side weighing in at 425g. I might be used to the iPad Mini’s or Nexus 7’s weight, but it certainly feels heavier than what I expected (UPDATE: got used to the weight now, doesn’t feel heavy at all). The tablet is not revolutionary thin, but it’s thin enough at 7.9mm. It’s also not exactly the most comfortable one handed device, however I think it’s almost on par with the iPad Mini due to how slippery the Mini was. Overall, it’s compact enough to be used by one hand but personally I’ll be mostly using it laid down on a table or on my lap. The front of the tablet is very clean and features HTC’s signature BoomSound speakers. Its quality just comes short of the M8’s but they are clearly the best speakers found on any tablet, making media consumption much more enjoyable thanks to this fantastic audio experience. The sides of the tablet feel great due to the material used (brushed aluminium), however the power button and volume rockers are too flush with the body making them hard to find. I often found myself turning the device around looking for the volume buttons. No such problem with the power button as the tablet has the double tap to wake feature. The headphone jack can be found on the top and the microsUSB port is at the bottom (in portrait orientation). In my opinion, the back cover of the tablet looks great. It’s a soft touch plastic, very similar to that of the Nexus 5 and 7 and I love how it curves in towards the edges making it easier to hold. The Nexus logo gives it a clean, elegant look and damn, even the camera looks good. Reportedly, the black model is a fingerprint magnet (no surprise here) so I’m glad I went with the white version. No visible fingerprints. :)


On the negative side, as most of you have probably heard, the back panel flexes and can be pushed in easily. Personally, I don’t find this a big problem as I hardly notice it, but regardless, a tablet at this price should have the build quality nailed and issues similar to this eliminated. Seriously, HTC, sort it out!





Display


The Nexus 9 comes with a 1536 x 2048 8.9 inch IPS LCD panel featuring a pixel dense (281 ppi) display and sporting a 4:3 aspect ratio which is unusual amongst other Android tablets. There is no perfect aspect ratio as some might prefer 16:9 for better video and gaming experience, but I prefer the 4:3 for the extra real estate it affords, which is especially nice for browsing the web and doing some productive work. I found the color reproduction to be VERY accurate and the viewing angles are great. A big surprise to me was how bright the screen can get. I can’t use it on full brightness and the only time I turn it up to maximum is when I’m using it in direct sunlight. Talking of sunlight visibility, this is the only negative aspect of the screen I found as it’s a bit disappointing… not that I use the tablet that much outside or in direct sunlight. Yes, the Irish weather is not great. I yet to see any of the widely reported backlight bleeds on the screen. Mine looks perfect. Well, almost. A display can never be perfect, right?! RIGHT?!





Performance


On paper, the Nexus 9 is a powerhouse. Packing a 64-bit dual-core 2.3 GHz Nvidia Tegra K1 and a 192-core (yes, that’s 192 cores) Kepler DX1 GPU. I feel that at this stage, every mobile device should run smooth and provide an enjoyable user experience so I won’t give you benchmark results and will disregard the specs. Instead, I will give you a real world performance review of normal and heavy use.


The very first thing I did when I set up the device was to go to the Play Store and download a large number of apps. While the tablet was downloading and installing the apps, I was simultaneously browsing 3 websites and watching a couple of YouTube videos (mostly to test the display’s quality). I didn’t experience any stutter or lag, not even when the apps were installing unlike on my M8 which stutters when apps install in the background and I’m doing something. I did, however, notice that the tablet gets very hot around the top right edge when installing apps. Funny enough, it only happens when downloading and installing apps as I never noticed the tablet getting that hot when gaming, browsing, etc.


To me, its feels like Google still has many bug fixes to do and needs to focus on optimizing the software. Many websites mentioned that the tablet seems to occasionally stutter and lag making its performance very inconsistent. From my own experience, unfortunately I have to say that this does exist. And to make things even worst, I have a feeling it’s not the software that is fully responsible for this, but the Nvidia chip. I think it has issues with it’s throttle control making the performance very inconsistent. Let’s just hope I’m wrong and it’s something that can be fixed with future updates. Fingers crossed. (UPDATE: an Nvidia Shield tablet user told me that he has no such issues with his tablet which gives me hope. However, the Shield tablet has the quad-core Tegra K1, whereas the N9 has the dual-core chipset which could be an explanation for the throttle control issues.)
To sum up the tablet’s performance, it’s good enough and better than all other Android tablets but it doesn’t even get close to the iPad Air 2’s performance. Hopefully, this will be ironed out with future software updates.


the N9 is no slouch when it comes to multitasking



Battery Life


After about a 2 weeks' of use, my opinion is that the tablet’s battery life is good enough but nowhere near the quoted 9.5 hours screen on time. I get about 2 days of standby time with approximately 5 hours of screen on time. Not bad, but it’s not great either. Maybe this is just another issue with the software and will hopefully be fixed with a future update resulting in that 9.5 hours screen on time that Google indicated.


Camera


Whenever it comes to tablets and their cameras, I want the front facing camera to be good, but to be honest, I don’t give a sh*t about the rear facing camera. The front facing camera is 1.6 megapixel. with 720p video recording. I found this to be very good for video calls and selfies, so no complaints there. Just for the sake of the review I am going to talk about the rear camera. It’s good! ...for a tablet. Heck, probably on par with my M8’s camera in daylight. It is nowhere near the quality of the Air 2’s camera however, but for the amount of time you will probably use it, it’s very capable.


they look nice together



Software


Android Lollipop. Shall I say more?! I will post a full review of Android 5.0 soon so stay tuned if you want to hear my opinion. Long story short, it's by far the best iteration of Android.


Wrap-Up


You definitely noticed that I have used enough or good enough way too much. This is not a coincidence. I want to love this tablet as much as I loved my first ever tablet, the 3rd gen. Retina iPad. Unfortunately, this is not the case as the tablet seems to be full of compromises. The build quality is good enough, the performance is good enough and the battery is good enough. I only wish these aspects were all great.

Regardless, the Nexus 9 is a good tablet. Probably the best Android tablet overall, especially in the 8-9 inch category. However, if you ask me, should you buy the iPad Air 2 for $499 or the Nexus 9 for $399? Go for the iPad. If you want an Android tablet, buy the Nexus 9 as it seems to be the best overall option but you should also consider the Nexus 7 if you are not desperate for a bigger tablet.

Thursday, November 13, 2014

Gadget Update: Leather Band & dbrand

So I finally managed to swap out the stock Horween leather band on my Moto 360. Nothing personal Horween, I just thought that the black band was a bit too plain and gave my precious watch that "tech nerd watch" look. Now, look at this thing:

this thing keeps screaming "sexy"

I have also ordered a dbrand skin for my HTC. I was really surprised as it got delivered in 5 working days... to Ireland! It's funny how I got a dispatched confirmation email a day before it arrived to my house. The skin just feels great. It's premium and it's very easy to install. I would definitely recommend them, go check out their website: dbrand

white carbon M8

I will be posting my Nexus 9 review shortly and will follow up with an Android Lollipop and Moto 360 review so stay tuned if you are interested!

Peace!

Thursday, November 6, 2014

The Revolutionary Rucksack: Riutbag

I am a bag addict enthusiast. However absurd this may sound, I love looking at schoolbags, travel bags and laptop bags. There are always new and better ones available in the market and what attracts me is how they are designed, their material and practicality. One of my favorite parts about travelling is packing my bag with all my gadgets.

courtesy of TheVerge.com - not my bag
I was browsing on Kickstarter when I came across this Riutbag (pronounce: riot-bag) rucksack with a bragging title. The revolutionary rucksack? Might as well be unapologetically practical. Here's a little video:



It's not too small and it's not so big that you feel bad carrying it around. Looks like the perfect size with a lot of practicality. Up to a 15" laptop, tablet, notebooks. Oh, and that's just the back pocket facing your back. You get the usual front main pocket where you can put everything else. You also get a smaller pocket for your keys, phone and wallet.

bigger than useless, smaller than annoying

MIGHT BE THE SAFEST
AND MOST COMPACT BAG
WITH A SPACIOUS INSIDE


So I went ahead and pledged £55. Now the waiting game begins... #May2015

Wednesday, November 5, 2014

Game of Men

Brace yourselves... winter is coming. No, seriously, it's that time of the year again: November Movember.


Someone gave me a really good idea to do a time lapse video for the month. Challenge Accepted. I will post the video at the end of the month. :)

Please donate here if you feel generous. It's for a good cause. :)

PS.: Haven't been posting for a long-long time, even though I have about 4 unfinished posts on my Google Drive. I promise I will finish them and keep your eyes on the blog as I will soon post a review of the Nexus 9 and Moto 360. :)

Sunday, May 18, 2014

Apple and Beats, Heroes of Brand Recognition

You have probably all heard that Apple is planning to acquire the company known for making not-so
premium sounding premium headphones, Beats. A fashion company that makes technology you wear (like a smartwatch?). Less known is the actual intentions of Apple behind their biggest acquisition yet.

sorry, I couldn't leave this out
 
When I look at Beats, I see marketing geniuses, mainly Jimmy Iovine, who succeeded in creating a new perspective of looking at headphones. Most people nowadays buy headphones as a fashion statement. Imagine if in the near future, Apple announced its much rumored smartwatch. With Apple's technology and Beats' brand strength, it would be an instant hit.


I can see a marketing strategy carried out for Apple's smartwatch, that mimics Beats'. Celebrities wearing these wearables in the right place at the right time.


Also, Beats have a music streaming service which could come in handy for Apple's battle against the ever growing Spotify. Now, as opposed to what most people think I believe this is a secondary focus. (Beats have fewer than 200,000 subscribers, compared to Spotify's millions.)


 
Apple wants to hit the wearables market with something huge and Beats could help them do just that.


Let's wait and see!

Friday, May 16, 2014

Best Device For Media Consumption

     Nowadays, there are a lot of options and choices when it comes to devices. Especially, when you use these gadgets for consuming media. When I say consuming media, I refer to browsing the internet, reading books/comics, watching videos/movies, listening to music and playing games. However, not all of them pack the complete package.

     For me and probably many people it's the iPad. The retina display iPad Mini to be specific. Why? Read on to find out!

Reading TheVerge.com 
   
     For me, when it comes to media, the most essential characteristic is for the device to be portable. This is why the mini version of the iPad is so convenient. It's lightweight and just about the perfect size for one handed use.

Browsing/Reading

     On the iPad, Safari is my favorite. There are a large number of great websites that I visit numerous times daily. When I wake up, during coffee time, before and after work/college and before I go to sleep. It's a great experience with its simplicity and smoothness. It is exactly how web browsing is meant to be.
     I am not a big fan of reading books, but I know that iBooks and Kindle provide users with an impressive experience. However, I am a massive fan of comics and the iPad provides a very fulfilling experience. With apps like "Comics" by comiXology, "Marvel Unlimited" and "DC Comics", reading comics have never been simpler. You don't get the experience of buying physical copies, but comics are one click away from reading. Wherever you are.

"dem comics man"


Video
   
     The speakers are loud enough to watch videos, movies and listen to music, however, I always use headphones. Of course, a lot of you may say that the storage is limited impacting the amount of files you can store on the iPad. Ninety percent of the time, I watch movies either in the cinema or on my TV. For the remaining ten percent, Netflix is perfectly suitable. However, as opposed to movies I watch many TV shows on my iPad and this is what Netflix excels in. (Breaking Bad, Sherlock, House of Cards, The Walking Dead, etc.) I can be travelling, in college or literally anywhere and catch up on my favorites. I also watch numerous YouTubers and we also probably all know how simple YouTube is. For music, I use Spotify which is amazing if you can shell out that monthly $9,99.


Games

     To clear the elephant in the room, for serious gaming I use my PlayStation 4 and my PC. However, that's not to say that I don't play games on my iPad. In fact, I have about 10 games on my iPad that I play daily. Indeed, they are "5 minute" games. I start one, spend a bit of time playing, then close and go onto the next one. Simple. The Apple App Store is full of amazing and quality games that will tie you down no matter what you like or who you are. On the go, they are perfect for entertainment and fun. Yes, I prefer the iPad to my PlayStation Vita.

The games selection in the App Store


     Obviously, some of you may have different opinions and preferences. I came to these conclusions after having owned the 3rd gen iPad, both 1st and 2nd gen Nexus 7, HP Chromebook 11, several laptops and having used the new iPad Air, Nexus 10 and different Samsung tablets.

P.S. This is my first writing, so don't judge too hard and don't be rude please. ;)

Peace!