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Samsung, Google And Apple To Face Competition From Chase Pay

2015-10-29T10:23:00.000-04:00

JP Morgan Chase is set to launch its very own smartphone payment method, according to a recent statement from the company. This move will put JP Morgan Chase in direct competition with rival services from big name companies like Apple, Google, and Samsung.

Known as Chase Pay, this payment method will be based on CurrentC, which is a retailer-led mobile payment system. What's interesting is that the tech minds of the world have largely dismissed CurrentC for its reliance on barcodes as opposed to NFC (near-field communications) technology, which is seen as more sophisticated and which is also the technology that Apple, Google, and Samsung have all adopted.

The app displays a barcode on the customer's smartphone screen that the retailer then scans in order to complete the payment. In addition to that, there is also a version that works online. Sure the barcode method may not be super fancy and cool like the tap payment NFC system though it does mean that Chase Pay will be more compatible with a far larger number of smartphones. Users that have phones that are incompatible with other payment systems could discover that their phones work with Chase Pay just fine.

The Chase Pay platform will debut to Chase Bank's credit, debit, and pre-paid card account holders, which now number 94 million, and will also tie into any of their retailer loyalty cards. This pairing is really good for CurrentC as Chase is one of the largest bank and card issuers in the country. This will also ensure that CurrentC will see a huge boost in the market while also ensuring that Chase Pay is accepted at a large number of major retailers.

CurrentC is currently being developed by Merchant Customer Exchange (MCX), which is a consortium of some of the largest retailers in the United States, including Wal-Mart, Target, Shell, Exxon, CVS, Dunkin Donuts, and Sears. One of the major driving forces behind this development was the desire of retailers to prevent companies like Apple and Google from gaining a look at their businesses and the purchases of their customers. In addition to that, CurrentC also doesn't impose transaction fees.

CurrentC has yet to officially launch, which means that Chase Pay will be unable to launch until CurrentC does. Trials of the technology are currently taking place though that doesn't really offer a solid time frame on when this technology will get in the hands of consumers. The only date we have to go off of is one that JP Morgan Chase announced, which was mid-2016.

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Is An Apple-HTC Lawsuit Battle Headed Our Way?

2015-10-26T11:36:00.002-04:00

I feel like it has been far too long since a major smartphone manufacturer accused another one of stealing or cheating. Thankfully, HTC has given me my fix on smartphone finger pointing. According to Want China Times President of HTC North Asia Jack Tong reacted to suggestions in a lot of reviews that his company's new HTC One A9 bears remarkable similarity to the iPhone 6. In fact, there have actually been reviews on the HTC One A9 calling it an iPhone clone.

Apparently these reviews hurt Tong's feelings as he was quoted saying, "We're not copying. We made a unibody metal-clad phone in 2013." Well, there you have it. HTC made one in 2013 so Apple must be the one copying, right? "It's Apple that copies us in terms of the antenna design on the back," Tong added.

These types of copying battles have been going on for years, the most famous of which was when Apple and Samsung went back and forth in a court accusing the other. Apple was doing rather well, but the whole thing is still going on. So does this mean that another legal battle will be popping up? Will Apple sue HTC or will HTC sue Apple? Neither company has commented on anything yet, though.

Apple and HTC both agreed on a 10-year licensing deal nearly three years ago and both companies decided to stop all patent litigation. However, lawyers can find reasons to break deals if things like emotions or money get in the way.

HTC has made some pretty nice looking smartphones for some time though the marketing that goes along with these phones has been particularly terrible. Sure they have ads that star big-name Hollywood celebrities like Gary Oldman and Robert Downey Jr. though neither of those ads are memorable or captivating. Which is probably why you are just as shocked as I am to hear that both Gary Oldman and Robert Downey Jr. have been in HTC smartphone commercials.

With the recent slew of smartphones that was released, one thing has become evident. They are all pretty much the same in both look and functionality. I mean the only device that offers anything remotely different is the Galaxy S6 Edge+. It is still unclear how this whole process will turn out, though if it is anything like the Apple vs. Samsung case, at least it will be entertaining!

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Asus' New ZenFone 2 Deluxe Has 256GB Of Built-In Storage

2015-08-24T12:46:00.000-04:00

When it comes to the mobile smartphone business, manufacturers are trying everything they can to outdo their competition. One of the big things that manufacturers try to push to consumers is storage space. For people who use their phones a lot and use a lot of applications and things, storage is a critical issue. There is nothing more upsetting than having to go through your phone and pick and choose what you want to keep and what you need to get rid of, especially if pretty much everything in your phone is essential or valuable to you.

Right now there's a pretty standard model for phone storage capacities. The old model used to be 16GB, 32GB, and 64GB. Recent phones have upgraded this to 32GB, 64GB, and 128GB. However, these phones tended to take away the option for users to add external storage, like MicroSD cards, which didn't go over too well with consumers. But it seems like the people over at Asus are aiming to make any concerns about smartphone storage a thing of the past.

CEO of Asus Jerry Shen recently announced the pricing and availability of the ZenFone 2, the ZenFone 2 Deluxe, the ZenFone 2 Laser and the ZenFonr Selfie for users in Brazil. The announcements came by way of the famous Ibirapuera Auditorium in São Paulo, which was designed by world-famous architect Oscar Niemeyer. In addition to that, Shen also announced the upcoming ZenFone 2 Deluxe Special Edition model.

According to Shen, "We are very excited to bring our latest ZenFone models to the Latin American market. They offer Latin American consumers empowering luxury with perfectly-balanced beauty, functionality, and performance, together with a premium user experience that can be tailored to the individual needs of mobile users."

But what does all of that have to do with storage space? Well, that's where the Zenfone 2 Deluxe Special Edition comes into play. This smartphone is a brand new addition to the successful ZenFone lineup and comes with 4GB of RAM and a staggering 256GB of internal storage. You read that right, 256GB of storage. Mind you that's 256GB of internal storage, which means this is what you get when you get the phone.

This phone is nearly identical to the high-end version of the original ZenFone 2 but with a faster Atom Z3580 processor. In addition to that, this phone also comes with a MicroSD slot, meaning that this phone can top out at an incredible 384GB of storage. The phone will be available in 2 colors, one with a diamond-pattern back and the other with black and gray diagonal stripes. Both will have an orange trim around the front screen and navigation panel, as well as around the volume buttons on the rear.

The unfortunate thing is that this phone has only been announced for distribution in Brazil and will most likely be made by the local manufacturing branch of Foxconn specifically for that market. While there have yet to be any indications of a wider release market, I think it is safe to say that Asus is probably going to take a good look at how well the phone does in Brazil and then make a decision on whether or not to expand production.

Regardless, the fact that a phone with the potential for 384GB of storage even exists is fantastic. Hopefully, more smartphone manufacturers take a cue from Asus and start offering bigger storage capacities on their phones (or, at the very least, they stop removing the option for external storage!).

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Rumored Galaxy S5 Neo to Have Mid-Range Specs

2015-06-09T11:35:00.002-04:00

If you have a Samsung Galaxy, then you should be excited for what is coming out later on this year. SamMobile has leaked out details for the new Samsung release, the 5.1-inch Galaxy S5 Neo.

The Galaxy S5 Neo will offer a lot of the same qualities as last years smartphone. It will have a 16-megapixel rear camera, 16GB of internal storage, 2GB RAM and a 2,800mAh battery. In addition to that, it is also said to be the same size and weight of the original model.

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If you're wondering what the difference with the Neo is, there isn't much of one. The S5's Qualcomm processor is now a 1.6GHz 64-bit octa-core Exynos chipset from Samsung. Also it's said that the S5 Neo's front facing camera is now 5-megapixels instead of 2, meaning that the quality of the photos are very close to that of the Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge. The Galaxy S5 could also offer support for LTE-A connectivity, which isn't found in the original model. This will allow your data connections four times the speed of the traditional 4G LTE.

So if you're looking for a new Samsung Galaxy, be patient for the S5 Neo to come out later on this year. It may be sold in single-SIM and dual-SIM versions and could also come to China, India and Russia.

Content originally published here

Make Google Chrome Use Less......Everything

2015-05-11T12:50:00.000-04:00

Chrome, Google's internet browser, was originally designed to stay out of your way and be a minimal browser, but now it's an entire application platform. Chrome manages to burn through a lot of battery life, especially on Macs. Also, if you have a PC with low amounts of RAM, Chrome seems to take up a lot of memory. Even after you close it, Chrome still continues to run in the background. It continues to take your battery life and a lot of your memory, so when you really want to close Chrome fully, you have to right click the Chrome icon and select Exit Chrome. If you installed Chrome apps that continuously need to run in the background, you may just want to disable it. All you need to do is right click the icon for Chrome system and uncheck "Let Google Chrome run in the background." This will shut down Chrome altogether when you close your Chrome browser windows.

If you haven't noticed by now, browser extensions will completely slow down your browser, they take up more of your memory, and drain you system resources. If you are using Chrome, you can what the browser extensions are doing to your system by clicking the menu icon, going to More tools, and clicking Task Manager. The items that appear that begin with "Extension:" are the browser extensions that Chrome is running. Uninstalling an extension that's lets say using over 100 MB of RAM, that's draining your battery power dramatically, and if you don't really need it could help drastically.

Every browser extension doesn't show up in this list, however. Some of them don't run as their own processes and some include scripts that run when you are loading web pages that provide their features. Running these other scripts will take more CPU and help drain more of your battery so make sure you are uninstalling these extensions that seem to be taking up resources in the task manager.

You may see a "Background Page" if you check your Chrome Task Manager. It's different than an extension or app and they consume memory and CPU resources. For example the Google Drive background page appears when you enable offline access to your documents in Google Drive. It causes a background page to continue running even if you close all your Google Drive tabs. This background process syncs your offline cache with Google Drive. If you don't really use the offline documents feature, then you could go to the Google Drive website, go into the Settings screen, and be sure to uncheck the Offline option. You won't have to deal with a background page, but you won't have offline access to your Google Drive documents.

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Another thing to be sure to do, in Chrome, to help save some of your battery is to enable click-to-play plug-ins. All you have to do is open Chrome's Settings page, click "Show Advanced Settings," then click "Content Settings," and finally under Plug-ins click "Let me choose when to run plugin content." It will keep Adobe Flash and other plug-ins from running in the background, because a lot of Flash advertisements popping up will help destroy your battery. By enabling click-to-play plug-ins, it will only allow specific Flash content to run, as well as doing the same with other plug-ins.

Saving memory can become a bit of an issue and running multiple tabs at once can take a lot of that memory. If you want to save memory and some battery power then try not to have a bunch of tabs opened. This can have too many web pages running in the background and use CPU resources, as well as taking up your memory and battery life. Just bookmark or save some web pages in a read-it-later service like Pocket, to prevent some of those pages from constantly running.

Chrome can be a bit of a hassle with all of its browser extensions and features. You could always try running a different browser like the Safari browser. It's way better on your battery life when using Macs. If you're using Windows on a PC with a low amount of RAM, then running Mozilla's Firefox will help take up less of your memory. Also using Internet Explorer on Windows will help your battery last longer. If you're just using a modern PC, then using up a lot of memory shouldn't be an issue if you have enough of it. The major issue of running Chrome is how it effects your battery life. Just be sure to uninstall those unnecessary browser extensions and close those tabs you don't NEED open and you should be just fine.

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Apple Watch Malfunctioning for People with Tattoos

2015-05-01T13:45:00.000-04:00

The Apple Watch could be a great product for you....unless you have tattoos, that is. Apple is officially warning people who have tattoos that their Apple Watch might be having trouble getting reliable heart rate readings due to your ink. The company recently updated its Apple Watch support documents to note potential problems for some people with tattoos after people started complaining about it online.

According to the new document, "Permanent or temporary changes to your skin, such as some tattoos, can also impact heart rate sensor performance. The ink, pattern and saturation of some tattoos can block light from the sensor, making it difficult to get reliable readings."

When people are going through their workout the heart monitor on the Apple Watch uses a method known as photoplethysmography (PPG). This method shines a green light onto the skin and looks for the change in absorption that comes with each pulse. During regular activity the watch measures infrared light reflection. This is supposed to use less power than the green LEDs but if a wrist has too much heavy ink on it then the watch would have trouble shining a light through it.

The good news is that not all tattoos will cause a problem. iMore has tested several tattoos and discovered that solid red and black ink caused the biggest issues, causing extremely inaccurate readings and/or complete failures. Lighter colored ink only produced slight inaccuracies and it was also noted that patterned or variegated ink didn't seem to cause any problems at all.

This is important because fitness tracking is one of the main features of the Apple Watch. In addition to that, a recent report from Consumer Reports noted that the heart rate monitor is just as accurate as the group's highest-rated chest-worn monitor. Sure there are a ton of other reasons to buy the Apple Watch but just know that if you have tattoos you could experience some technical difficulties.

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New Asus Chromebook Flip with Touchscreen

2015-04-14T09:21:00.001-04:00

Google has been putting their OS on a lot more devices lately, like the Asus Chromebook Flip and the Asus Chromebit. This spring, the Chromebook Flip comes out with a touch screen that rotates 360 degrees. The Chromebit comes out this summer, and it will let you use the Chrome OS on your HDTVs.

The Asus Chromebook will have a price tag of $249, and looks a lot like one of the Yoga notebooks. It has a 10.1 inch IPS display and weighs less than 2 pounds even with it's all metal chassis. It will be powered by a Rockchip 3288 processor with 2GB of RAM and 16GB of eMMC flash memory. There will also be a more expensive version that will have 4GB of RAM and 16GB of SSD storage. It will have 802.11ac Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.0, and will be able to last for up to 10 hours on a full charge.

Right now the Chrome OS is not optimized for touch screens yet, so it is a bit unusual that they added one to this notebook. Not only that, but it's pretty odd that they would add a touch screen to a budget system at all. Hopefully it works out great and the added feature really pays off.

As far as what's under the hood, the Chromebit has pretty much the exact same stuff as the Chromebook Flip actually. It is a little bit bigger than a regular thumb drive and will have an HDMI port and a USB 2.0 port that it will be powered by. It will be able to connect to the Internet via 802.11ac Wi-Fi and it also has Bluetooth capabilities.

Asus is not the only company that is coming out with new Chromebooks though. Haier and Hisense have both announced 11 inch Chromebooks that seem to have the same internals as the new Asus coming out this spring. The only major difference is that they will cost about $100 less than the Asus. Of course, it doesn't look like they will have a touch screen, but if the Asus touch screen doesn't go over well because of the operating system, then you might spend $100 dollars less and have something that is less troublesome. I guess we will find out soon enough when we can get our hands on them!

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Samsung's Galaxy S6 Can Do 7 Things Apple's iPhone 6 Can't

2015-04-08T10:19:00.002-04:00

Photo Credit: Kārlis Dambrāns

The Samsung Galaxy S6 is now available and it won't take long before people start throwing out comparisons of the phone to the iPhone 6 (and 6 Plus). People will vehemently defend either their iPhone 6 or their Galaxy S6, saying what each phone can and can't do. Well a neat little video (which can be viewed below) popped up over at Business Insider showing some of the things the new Galaxy S6 can do that the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus definitely can't.

The fist thing that the S6 can do that the iPhone 6 can't is launch the camera app from literally any screen. By simply double-clicking the Home button the Galaxy S6's camera app will instantly launch. You could be on your home screen, in an app, surfing the web and you have instant access to your camera app. What makes this feature even better is that you can even do this from the lock screen meaning you'll never miss another perfect photo opportunity again!

Once your camera app is launched you can then take a picture with the front-facing camera by tapping on the sensor on the back of the phone. We've all experienced the struggle of trying to take a selfie by ourselves or with a group and fumbling around with the picture button on the front of the screen. This new sensor is located in a more natural location for where your finger will most likely be when taking pictures with the front-facing camera. In addition to that, you can also take pictures with the front-facing camera by tapping anywhere on the screen.

One of the coolest new features is the ability to multitask by running multiple apps on the same screen. Placing your finger in the top left corner of your screen when an app is running allows you to drag and resize the app screen, much in the same way you can on a computer screen. When this is happening the app is still running in its own window, allowing you to open up other apps, resize them and multitask to your heat's content.

Health and fitness apps are all the rage these days and a lot of smartphones are starting to come with these apps pre-installed. However, the Galaxy S6 does you one better as it has the technology already built into the phone. By tapping the S Health app you can check your body's heart rate by placing your finger over the back sensor when prompted.

Battery life in smartphones is one of the key things that developers are always trying to have over each other. The longer your smartphone can go without needing to be charged is a huge selling point but most smartphones don't have many options for conserving battery life aside from lowering the screen brightness. The Galaxy S6 comes with a Power Saving Mode and an Ultra Power Saving Mode, allowing you to adjust how much battery your phone is burning through.

Speaking of battery life, another detriment to some smartphones is the duration of the charging period. Well, the Galaxy S6 can charge fast, I mean really fast. According to a video within the video Samsung's Justin Denison can be heard telling a crowd of people that the Galaxy S6 only takes 10 minutes of charging to get up to 4 hours of everyday use. Denison also states that to charge from 0 to 100 takes roughly half the time of the iPhone 6. The Galaxy S6 also supports wireless charging (wireless charging pad sold separately).

When it comes to debates between smartphones, especially the Samsung Galaxy Series and Apple's iPhone Series, everybody claims that their phone can do things the other can't. Well, this video shows you 7 things that the Galaxy S6 can do that the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus is actually incapable of doing. Check out the video below!

Has Your iOS Device Been Hacked By The CIA?

2015-03-24T15:06:00.000-04:00

Let me start this out by stating that we, in no way, can confirm any particular reasoning, whether it be beneficial or malicious, as to the CIA's attacks on Apple's devices and software. That being said, if you own any type of Apple device that has come out since the release of the first iPhone, there are some recent developments that you should definitely be aware of.

While we don't know everything for sure, we do know that the CIA and the NSA have been making attempts to hack into Apple's security networks. This has come as a shock to just about every consumer that has found out about it. Of course when asked about it, the CIA had no comment on the story.

So what exactly has even been happening, you may wonder. Since the first generation iPhone was in development, The CIA have been have been both sponsoring and attending an event call "Jamboree". This event was designed to figure out the latest and best tactics at cracking Apple's security codes and developer tools. One Edward Snowden, a former NSA contractor, has come out and shown some of the slides that were presented at one of the previous Jamboree events. The slides explain multiple efforts to weaken and break through Apple's security within their multiple devices. One of the slide's even talks about creating and infected version of Apple's Xcode.

Xcode is the development code used to design applications on both iOS and OS X devices. The "dummy" code would allow access to all of the applications utilizing a backdoor implanted within the code itself. This particular "whacked" code would be targeted at budding developers who might be unfamiliar with the original, unaltered Xcode. Should these newer developers end up using the tampered Xcode, they would be allowing a backdoor to be created within the program, unknowingly of course. Needless to say, this type of tampering and targeting towards newer developers is violating more than a few laws.

As far as we know, there have not been any successful attempts at cracking into Apple's security encryptions. That being said, this doesn't mean that we as consumers and the developers are safe from the prying CIA. They are still very capable of weakening the security of Apple devices, as well compromising any app developed by the developers that fall prey to the CIA and their infected code.

What type of data was the CIA even planning to take from us? Well apparently they've been looking to ascertain the GID keys used by our devices. A GID key would be used to track a single user on one device. The GID key, however, would be used to gain access to an entire product line as they likely use the same application processor. If the CIA were to get their hands on these GID keys, they'd be able to create their own type of firmware to install on an entire product line that shares the same app processor, thus allowing for mass surveillance.

Again, there is no confirmation as to the reasoning that the CIA has for these malicious attacks on Apple's product security. That being said, this is disturbing to say the least.

Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments below.

Gates & Musk On The Inevitable A.I. Apocalypse

2015-02-04T12:05:00.001-05:00

Bill Gates is arguably one of the smartest men in the world; his passion for technology cannot be understated. In addition to that Gates is also one of the biggest philanthropists in the world, but his outlook isn't positive on all things, namely artificial intelligence.

Image Credit: Simon Davis/DFID

Ask Me Anything - Gates

During a recent Ask Me Anything session on Reddit, Gates answered questions on topics that ranged from his biggest regrets to his favorite foods and outlined his predictions on the future, predictions that are both optimistic and ominous.

About halfway through the Q&A Gates was asked what personal computing will look like in 2045, to which Gates responded by saying that the next 30 years will be a time of rapid progress. Gates wrote, "Even in the next 10 years problems like vision and speech, understanding and translation will be very good. Mechanical robot tasks like picking fruit or moving a hospital patient will be solved. Once computers/robots get to a level of capability where seeing and moving is easy for them then they will be used very extensively."

Personal Agent Project

Gates then went on to talk about Microsoft's "Personal Agent" project, which is being designed to help people manage their memory, attention and focus. According to Gates, "The idea that you have to find applications and puck them and they each are trying to tell you what is new is just not the efficient model - the agent will help solve this. It will work on all your devices."

Responses from the Redditers was mixed, with some users poking fun at Gates and others raising suspicions. "This technology you are developing sounds at its essence like the centralization of knowledge intake," wrote one users. "Ergo, whoever controls this will control what information people make their own. Even today, we see the daily consequences of people who live in an environment that essentially tunnel-visions their knowledge."

Summoning The Demon? - Musk

Naturally, this segued into a discussion about the threat of superintelligent machines to the human race. This question has been at the forefront of a lot of recent discussions among the world's leading futurists, including Stephen Hawking, who stated last month that artificial intelligence "could spell the end of the human race". Back in October at the MIT Aeronautics and Astronautics Department's Centennial Symposium, Tesla head Elon Musk referred to A.I. as "summoning the demon".

Musk wrote, "I think we should be very careful about artificial intelligence. If I were to guess like what our biggest existential threat is, it's probably that. So we need to be very careful with the artificial intelligence. Increasingly scientists think there should be some regulatory oversight, maybe at the national and international level, just to make sure that we don't do something very foolish. With artificial intelligence, we are summoning the demon. in all those stories where there's the guy with the pentagram and the holy water, it's like yeah he's sure he can control the demon. Didn't work out."

British inventor Clive Sinclair stated that he things A.I. will doom mankind. "Once you start to make machines that are rivaling and surpassing humans with intelligence, it's going to be very difficult for us to survive," Sinclair stated. "It's just an inevitability." In his interview, Gates put himself on the side of the alarmed.

Should We Be Concerned?

"I am in the camp that is concerned about super intelligence," Gates wrote. "First the machines will do a lot of jobs for us and not be super intelligent. That should be positive if we manage it well. A few decades after that though the intelligence is strong enough to be a concern. I agree with Elon Musk and some others on this and don't understand why some people are not concerned."

Image Credit: www.HeisenbergMedia.com

Interestingly enough, Gates' comments come just after the managing director of Microsoft Research's Redmond Lab stated that the doomsday declarations about the threat to human life are over exaggerated.

"There have been concerns about the long-term prospect that we lose control of certain kinds of intelligences," said Eric Horvitz. "I fundamentally don't think that's going to happen. I think that we will be very proactive in the terms of how we field AI systems, and that in the end we'll be able to get incredible benefits from machine intelligence in all realms of life, from science to education to economics to daily life." Horivtz also noted that "over a quarter of all attention and resources" at Microsoft Research are focused on artificial intelligence.

The A.I. Apocalypse

Whether or not artificial intelligence is inevitably the end of mankind is still up for debate, but the good news, at least as far as I'm concerned, is that we still have a long time before any of that happens. Hopefully it's enough time for us to realize we're making an army of terminators before Arnold has to come back and fix things for us.

Just For Fun:

Rodent-Sized Computer Is A Mouse AND A Desktop In One!

2015-01-23T12:39:00.000-05:00

In Poland, a guy just created the craziest compact PC that you will probably ever see. His new invention is called "The Mouse Box", and it is literally small enough to fit inside a regular computer mouse says a software engineer from Nokia.

Is It A Mouse Or A Computer? Or Both?

Not only can it fit inside of a mouse, but that is exactly what it is: a computer inside of a mouse. With the Mouse Box, you really don't have to worry about traveling with your computer at all. You could probably fit it inside of your pocket actually. By combining a computer and a mouse into one thing, you literally have the two most important aspects of a desktop PC all in one.

But What Are The Specs?

Under the hood of this little guy, there's: a 1.4GHz processor, 128 GB of flash storage, Wi-Fi connectivity, a micro HDMI port so that you can connect it to just about any monitor or even a TV, two USB 3.0 ports, a gyroscope, and an accelerometer. And keep in mind, this is all inside of a mouse.

Which OS Will It Handle?

So far we don't really know what operating systems are able to run on the Mouse Box. But other than that, it has everything it needs to run a lot of programs and process a lot of data. Of course, you will also be able to greatly increase your productivity by using the cloud to for storage.

MouseBox Could Use Your Help!

Right now, the company plans to hopefully launch the product in a few months. At the moment, they are still building prototypes and working on a wireless charger for the Mouse Box. They are also working on trying to find financial backing to make all of this a lot smoother, easier and faster. With a product like this, I feel like it won't be that hard to find investors; though it appears they are still looking for donations and funding. Perhaps the best thing about the Mouse Box is the fact that it is going to be a relatively inexpensive device, so you'll be able to take one home soon!

Look Out iPad Mini, Nvidia's Shield Tablet Is Coming For You

2014-11-17T23:58:00.004-05:00

Apple, You Have More Competition

While the iPad may be considered to be "THE" tablet to have, Nvidia's new Shield tablet offers an experience so similar, it's almost scary. First off, the actual feel of the tablet mimics that of the iPad. Everything from the curves to the edges takes influence directly from the iPad, and it's pretty plain to detect once it's in your hands. That being said however, the tablet itself is a bit bigger than the iPad Mini 3. The Shield tablet is a bit heavier, thicker, and taller than the Mini 3, but that doesn't REALLY matter in the grand scheme of things. The Shield comes with a full HD 1,920 x 1,200 resolution display and full stereo speakers on the front as well. In terms of consuming content and basic/light tablet use, it just might be better than the Mini 3

The "Not-For-Gaming" Gaming Tablet

Nvidia is known as a gaming company, and they've even released a console (The Shield Portable). It would be easy to assume that the tablet that they've released would be best suited for gaming, simply by association and track record. The tablet itself can, in fact, game on the go much like the Shield Portable. The only drawback is all of the accessories you need to game properly. What accessories? Well a controller for one and a reliable network for the other. Then if you want to get into multiplayer, you can, even on the same tablet! The problem is that you're gaming on a tablet device with a touchscreen between 4 different people. If your network isn't working well enough, then don't expect to play any top level games either. Enjoying gaming streams works well enough, if you plan on indulging in basic gaming app play.

It Could Be The "Perfect" Media Tab

Being marketed as a gaming tablet could have it's drawbacks for the Shield. Reason being, that it is quite an excellent media tablet. One of the biggest reasons for this is the addition of a stylus with the tablet itself. As long as you have a strong enough connection, you can stream all sorts of software directly to your tablet. For example, Photoshop. Any artist that knows the program well enough has the perfect drawing tablet right in their hands, especially since the touch screen is pressure sensitive as well. Of course, streaming outside of your home might take a bit longer because of the lack of strength with the connection.

The Shield tablet comes with an optional magnetic case, which is highly recommended. It also costs only a fraction of the price of a Galaxy Tab or an iPad Mini 3. It gives the overall, same experience as any other top level tablet, and at only $300 starting price. It's definitely worth checking into.

If you're still having second thoughts about the Nvidia Shield, next year's model is said to have a 64-bit processor, making it even faster!

Source.

BlackBerry Is Getting Back To Their Roots With Their New Phone, But They Add The Android App Store

2014-11-17T20:53:00.001-05:00

BlackBerry has decided that after almost going out of business and being the underdog for years, they are going to get back in touch with their roots. There are putting out a brand new phone that is inspired by their classic design, except this time they are going to have an Android app store.

The phone is called the BlackBerry Classic. It is going to be shipping out to retailers some time in the middle of December, and there is going to be an official launch event on December 17th.

The Classic is bringing back what originally made BlackBerry what it is. It is going to have a physical QWERTY keyboard underneath it's screen, which is going to be 3.46 inches. It will also have a small trackpad just like the good old days, along with home, back, and menu buttons.

The keyboard isn't the only option to use though. The screen will actually be a touchscreen with 720p high definition with a pixel density of 291 pixels per inch. It also has a dual core 1.5GHz processor, 2GB of RAM, and 16GB of internal storage which can be expanded with the use of a microSD card. Other features include an 8 megapixel camera in the back and a 2 megapixel camera in the front which is perfect for video calling.

The operating system is BlackBerry 10.3.1, and you can still download all of the BlackBerry apps from their own app store. On top of that, you will be able to get Android apps as well. This was one of the biggest things that made people hate BlackBerry. Their app store sucked and offered almost nothing, and Android was killing it with seemingly millions of super useful and fun apps. Now you get to have that with your BlackBerry.

This is going to be a 4G LTE phone, but it won't work with Verizon, Spring, or US Cellular. If you have anything else and you are interested in giving this phone a shot, you should be able to do so.

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Move Over iPhone 6, Android One Is A More Serious Threat (In The Low-Cost Market)

2014-09-19T17:40:00.000-04:00

When it comes to smartphone operating systems there are really only two big names, Android and iOS (but there is a company that rents them all). I mean, there are others, but they have yet to hit the popularity and esteem of these two. One such operating system is that of Windows Phone. While Windows Phones aren't necessarily bad devices, they simply have had a rough time surpassing Android and iOS devices. Unfortunately for Windows Phone things don't look to be getting any easier. Even though Apple has released the new iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus its Android that Windows Phone should really be fearing.

Google's Android One project could very well be the final nail in the coffin for Windows Phone, making sure that these devices never become a serious threat to the smartphone market. Apple's newest devices are high-end phones with high-end prices, as usual. The iPhone 6 comes in 16GB, 64GB and 128GB varieties that run $199, $299 and $399, respectively. The iPhone 6 Plus comes with the same three versions with $299, $399 and $499 price tags.

These numbers make Microsoft extremely happy as the company as all but given up on high-end smartphones. As a result, Microsoft is starting to target consumers that are a little more careful with their money and ones who aren't necessarily willing to for over that kind of cash for a smartphone. The flagship of this new business model is the company's Lumia 830 Windows Phone which comes with a 1.2GHz quad-core Snapdragon 400 processor, 1GB of RAM, 16GB of storage and a 5" screen.

Corporate Vice President of Mobile Device Sales at Microsoft Chris Weber was quoted recently at the IFA Electronics Show in Berlin stating that the new marketing strategy for Windows Phone would be pricing. "We're going to challenge Apple and Samsung and expose the premium they are charging for a phone," Weber stated.

That's the precise reason Microsoft should be worried about Android One. Android One is a project from Google that is designed to reduce the cost of Android phones. The company's target is the developing world, where Nokia used to have a very large presence and where Microsoft is hoping to use the Nokia name to grab a market share with low-cost Windows Phones.

Google, on the other hand, is making it very easy for phone manufacturers to produce low-cost phones that will run stock Android without any modifications. To make matters worse for Microsoft, Google has already lined up Acer, Alcatel OneTouch, Asus, HTC, Intex, Lava, Lenovo, Panasonic and Xolo along with chipmaker Qualcomm. Android One will launch first in India and then make its way to Indonesia, the Philippines and other South Asian countries by the end of this year.

Google currently owns nearly 80% of the world's smartphone market. The biggest of these new markets are in developing countries, which is where Windows Phone needs to increase its profits. However, with Android One on the prowl it's unlikely that Microsoft will be able to make a dent in the market. While everyone is gawking at the new iPhones from Apple, Microsoft will be sweating bullets over Google's low-cost Android One phones.

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Motorola Goes Crazy, Possibly Launching 8 New Smartphones Within Next 4 Months

2014-08-21T16:28:00.002-04:00

Motorola has been popping up in the news left and right lately, but none of that news has been as exciting as the newest announcement from the mobile phone company. According to a recent report from TKTechNews, Motorola is planning on making up for its relatively quiet first half of the year by prepping as many as eight different smartphones all set to launch in the second half of this year. Yeah, you read that right, EIGHT different smartphones.

Phones like the Moto S and Moto X Play are poised to join the familiar Moto X+1 and Moto G but the real big news is that the company could be reviving the formerly popular Droid line with a potential three new Droid phones. If you are an avid follower of the mobile industry then you have probably already heard that Motorola should be releasing new versions of the Moto X and Moto G sometime around September 4. Outside of these two confirmations, everything else is rumor and hearsay, which is where things get tricky.

One model that recently started circling the rumor mill is code named "Shamu" and was tied to some talk regarding Nexus. However, this device could ultimately come out under the Moto S name when, or if, it ever surfaces for real. This shouldn't deter you from hoping for a Motorola Nexus, as that is always a possibility. In addition to that, the Moto X Play could also come out as a mini version of the Moto S.

Even more interesting is the fact that the Droid series of smartphones may no longer be exclusive to Verizon. An anonymous source has indicated that AT&T could be launching their very own branded versions of the handsets. Regardless of carrier, it is advisable for mobile users be on the lookout for a refreshed Droid and Droid Maxx in addition to a Droid Turbo, all set to come out this year. Side note: If you are a Star Wars fan then you will be pleased to know that one of these devices may be offered in conjunction with an upcoming Star Wars promotion, which is pretty exciting news if you ask me.

This is definitely an interesting report, amplified by the fact that we are already well into the second half of the year, meaning there isn't much time left for these eight new Motorola devices to start coming out for real. The specific eight devices that are rumored to be coming out are the Droid, Droid Maxx, Droid Turbo, Moto X+1, a successor to the Moto G, Moto S, Moto X Play and Motorola Nexus. While all these choices may seem like a good idea and a good way to boost sales for Motorola, this could have the opposite effect. Let me explain with an analogy I got from learning improvisational comedy: If I ask you to pick your favorite ice cream, it may take you a while to choose just one, but if I tell you to pick your favorite out of chocolate, strawberry or vanilla, your choice becomes easier and your response faster. Basically what I'm saying is sometimes less is more.

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One Phone, Two OS choices Android or Windows

2014-08-20T15:39:00.000-04:00

HTC and Microsoft are debuting the HTC One (M8) for Windows, making it the first time a device is offered on multiple operating systems – Android and Windows.

The phone comes with HTC BlinkFeed, HTC BoomSound, Duo Camera with UltraPixel technology, a 5MP wide-angle front-facing camera and support for the HTC Dot View case.
Other specs include Windows Phone 8.1 Update, which incorporates a host of meaningful innovations including Cortana, Action Center, Apps Corner, and Live Tiles.

Cortana is Windows’ personal digital assistant, makes her HTC debut in this phone. Cortana is adept at search and setting calendar appointments. Cortana also offers the ability to warn you when it’s time to leave for your next appointment or remind you to pick up toilet paper and bread on the way home.

The HTC One (M8) for Windows is also covered by HTC Advantage, which provides the industry’s only free cracked screen replacement.

The HTC One (M8) for Windows is available only through Verizon Wireless.

All Windows Devices Will Be Running On The Same Software Soon

2014-07-24T00:51:00.002-04:00

There are so many different versions of the Windows operating system for all the different devices out there, and it is really confusing and sometimes even frustrating. Microsoft realizes that they may have made a 'booboo', so they are planning on fixing it. Pretty soon you won't have to worry about all of the different versions of Windows on all of your devices because they will all be running on the exact same one.

CEO Satya Nadella told analysts this big news during the company's quarterly earnings call this past Tuesday. It seems like a way better idea considering that all of the different versions of Windows out there all use the exact same code. One of the executives even came right out and said that there were too many different versions of Windows out there. All signs have been pointing in this direction for a while, but this is the first time that there was an official statement about it. They are finally going to turn the next version of Windows into a single converged operating system that will work on all platforms and screen sizes.

The CEO also said that all the work will be done in the next year. This puts the big change on schedule with the introduction of Windows 9 which is supposed to come out in sometime in 2015. This means that by the end of next year all of the Windows phones, tablets, laptops, desktops, and even the Xbox will all be running on the same system. All of the huge differences between the regular Windows OS and the ones on Windows phones won't exist anymore. The only difference between each device's operating system is going to be the size of the screen it's running on.

There will, however, still be different ways that the software will be packaged and marketed. There will still be the basic and Pro versions of Windows and there will still be special modifications for company owners and things like that. But either way, all of the software will be able to run the same apps, which is a big deal to Microsoft because they have already tried to do the whole Universal Windows App thing.

There are still a few questions that remain unanswered. We don't know how it will work on the Xbox, and we don't know if Windows Phones will have a desktop. The truth is that they don't even know yet, but there is a huge team of engineers working on figuring all of that out right now.

This will be the first time that a major platform creator has unified its operating system across all of their devices. Exciting stuff!

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How To Maximize Your Battery Life

2014-06-26T00:29:00.000-04:00

So you are in a hurry, rush out the door, and forgot to grab your phone charger, laptop charger or car charger on the way out to a meeting; sadly there is no way to stop battery life from draining, but there is a lot of things you can do to slow it down so you can continue your day stress free.

So what drains your battery the most? In order to maximize your battery life, it's important to first understand what is the source of the major life-sucker of your laptop and/or phone. A lot of the times it is coming straight from your graphics, brightness settings and programs that are still running. Keep in mind that add-on devices on laptops; like flash drives, USB mice and PC cards are known to drain your battery life very quickly.

One tip is to change your power plan settings on your device. Whether it's your cellphone or laptop, turning down the brightness on your screen and closing out of apps and programs that are not in use can save you a ton of battery time. Adjust your devices LCD screen brightness. You already know that the brightness of your screen takes up a lot of power on your battery percentage, so the quickest way to save your battery for a while is to set your screen to the lowest possible setting. Next you want to take it a step further and try to find a section where Advanced Power Plan settings are available to change. Make sure to change anything that may lower battery life. For laptops, use the low power mode, the system cooling policy setting allows you to change whether the laptop will rely on fans for cooling down, or slow the processor down when the temperature gets too hot. Your computers performance might have a slight change in how fast it responds, but your battery will stay with you for a little longer.

For laptops, using hibernate mode instead of sleep mode allows your laptop to completely use zero power. So if you are taking a break, make sure to set your laptop in hibernate mode instead of sleep to reduce the risk of a dead battery when you return. Laptop batteries are always going to slowly lose their ability to charge as the years pass by, but when your laptop is constantly overheating your battery life is decreasing twice as fast. Make sure to never run your laptop in a hot environment for an extended period of time.

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Apple's iWatch Rumored To Have Round Face, But Should You Even Care About Wearables Anymore?

2014-05-29T03:07:00.000-04:00

I'm a firm believer in "Don't knock it until you try it". The way that technology continues to grow and progress is so alarming that it's almost scary. I feel there is a shift happening right now. Some of us are oblivious to it. Others may know exactly what I'm talking about. New technologies are popping up left and right it seems. The biggest "trend", as some may call it right now, has got to be the wearables. There are so many of them popping up that I'm sure many of us have seen them somewhere. Google Glass was one of the main wearables that caught the attention of many people. After the "smart glass", we saw a lot of the smartwatches coming into the spotlight. Just about every large consumer tech company is creating their own wearable. Samsung has advertised their Galaxy Gear well enough that everyone should know about. Then there is Apple.

Apple is, essentially, the top dog in terms of overall consumer popularity and usage. They know this as well. They're far from oblivious. I can't tell if they've made the conscious effort to hold off on releasing their own version of the smartwatch. I suppose it wouldn't be too farfetched to say that Apple's iWatch is just fashionably late, but then again, it may be a business strategy.

Apple has had time to look at the competition. They've been planning and observing. Because of this they've been able to see the crowd response. They've looked at how the customers are reacting to the design of these smartwatches. Most of the smartwatches out there (including the Galaxy Gear) have a square face. This is where Apple's tardiness may have benefited them. Again, their absence in the smartwatch field is up to interpretation from anyone and everyone, so I could be wrong with my assumptions. Having said that, I personally think that this was their plan. The newest rumor spreading over the internet isn't regarding the release date or price. The rumor is actually talking about the design. Instead of the ever-popular square face, Apple's new iWatch is rumored to have a round face design. This could be the entire reasoning behind the whole "year late to the party" thing. Design does play a big role in this type of technology, especially since it can be viewed as a fashion statement.

Even though Apple may be the company to pull the wearable out of the grave, I still feel that the wearable is on its way out. It's not become popular enough to warrant any real purchase. There are usually certain stipulations involving these gadgets. They normally have to be coupled with some other type of mobile device, i.e. your cell phone. The smartwatches out now aren't designed to stand alone. If Apple's design team is able to make something that can stand alone and doesn't need to be tethered to a phone, they may just cause the wearable market to thrive.

If Apple isn't able to keep the wearable market alive with their iWatch, then I feel it's safe to say that the wearable market is a dead end. They've had the time to analyze the reception of the new devices and are able to develop theirs with that reception in mind. Here's hoping that the iWatch can make the change, but if Apple can't do it, then it would be my suggestion to the rest of the consumer tech companies to throw in the towel.

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This Security App Will Email You Pictures Of Who Stole Your Phone

2014-05-29T02:39:00.000-04:00

This past Wednesday, Lookout added some new features to their mobile security app. These are features that you won't find on most other mobile security apps. With Lookout, you can now protect yourself from malware and spyware, and with the newest version of the app you can even protect yourself against theft. Now, the app will send theft alerts just minutes after it detects suspicious activities.

That moment when you realize you haven't checked your phone in a bit and you decide to grab it from your pocket just to find out that it isn't there is one of the most terrifying experiences anyone can have. Especially if your phone is a really expensive one that would cost a lot to replace or if you have a lot of personal information on it. The goal for Lookout with their new features is to help put your mind a little more at ease in those dark times of fear and desperation.

The way it works is pretty awesome. You can set up a custom list of actions that will trigger alerts. For example, you could make it so that your phone triggers an alert when someone removes the SIM card, enables airplane mode, turns the phone off, or if someone enters the wrong passcode.

When one of these things happens, it triggers an alert. When an alert is triggered, your phone will immediately snap a picture with its front facing camera and will record the exact location of the device. Once the picture has been taken and the location has been recorded, it will send you an email with a picture of whoever has your phone and give you its location so that you can go track down your stuff and beat someone up for stealing your phone. Or, you know... just ask nicely to have it back or call the cops. The email it sends will also give you the resources you need to file a police report on the spot if you want.

The app itself is free for either Android or iOS. To get the theft alert feature you'll need a subscription that costs $3 a month or $30 a year. It seems like a very small price to pay for any business travelers out there who find themselves in different places and situations more often than most people. If you already have the app, you can use the theft alert feature for free until September.

Theft and violence have been growing problems that surround smartphones and smartphone users recently. It has become such an issue that some states are even passing new laws to combat those issues. In California manufacturers are even requiredto give customers a way to remotely disable their phones and wipe them clean in order to prevent as much damage as possible.

This isn't the 1950's, and crime seems to be affecting everyone these days. You might as well protect yourself with one of the coolest security apps out right now.

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Skype's Video Calling Is Now Free For Everyone

2014-05-01T00:05:00.002-04:00

The day has come where Skype's group video calling feature is free for everyone to take advantage of. Skype has had video calling since 2010, but in 2011 they made it a feature that you had to pay extra for in order to use.

Currently, group video calls aren't supported on mobile, but the company has said that they are working on making this available across all platforms. This probably means that group video calling will be coming to mobile in the near future at no cost.

Back in 2010 when Skype first came out with group video calls, it was the only service that could offer that type of feature on such a large scale. Around the time that Google+ and Google Hangouts came about, they changed the game by offering the same thing for free. Many people ditched Skype for Google Hangouts, especially when it came to professional group video calling for business related purposes. Why wouldn't they? Google really stuck it to Skype with that one.

However, it quickly became clear that Google Hangouts wasn't quite as reliable as the service that Skype was offering. Google was still the main choice just because it was free, and Google was the first to bring group video chats to its mobile apps, which was a huge convenience. The Google Hangouts service kept getting better, and last year they even started integrating all of the VolP, text, video and chat features into Google Hangouts which made it even more convenient and made Skype less relevant.

Since Skype has decided to make their group video calling feature free, this probably means that they realize they have fallen behind because of services like Google Hangouts. Google isn't the only one either; there is FaceTime, ooVoo, Tango, Line, Viber, Qik, and so many other services doing the same thing, that it is actually amazing that Skype hasn't fallen off the map completely yet.

It doesn't take much for a website or service to be forgotten about these days when something new and better comes out. Maybe making their group video calling feature free will be enough to save them, but they may have waited a little bit too long on this one. The one thing they have going for them is the fact that they are probably one of the most reliable video calling services, and they were the biggest name for a while. They still have the most recognized name in their field, so maybe bouncing back won't be that hard.

The main point here is this: the service is free now, so go ahead and take advantage of it.

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Working On The Go With Only A Smartphone

2014-04-30T01:54:00.000-04:00

Everyone has a smartphone these days. Lots of people have adopted them as one of their main sources of entertainment. But for a lot of us, they are more than that. Sometimes when you are traveling, they can be one of the only tools available to get a job done. You need to be able to stay productive no matter what situation you're in. Today we're going to show you a few different apps that can get you by when you are away from your office and still need to take care of your responsibilities.

Dropbox

Dropbox is one of the biggest providers of cloud storage, and whether you are on your phone or your computer, it is one of the most useful tools for many different business applications. As far as cell phones go, did you know that you can back up your phone completely with Dropbox? If it gets lost, stolen, broken, or damaged to the point where it isn't usable, as long as you have backed up your files and contacts to Dropbox, you are completely fine aside from needing a new phone. You can also set it up to automatically upload photos and contacts every time you add a new one. You can access your files from your smartphone or computer, so it is an awesome storage tool for all of your important documents, even aside from what is on your phone.

CoPilot GPS

Obviously, when you are traveling, you have to know where you are going and how to get there. You may think that Google Maps is the best GPS service for your phone, but what happens when you are in an area that doesn't have very good cell coverage? We've all been there: Stuck in the middle of nowhere, and can't figure out where to go because you have no service and Google Maps won't load. CoPilot downloads your maps and stores them offline so that you will never be stuck without them again. If nothing else, its great as a backup when you are in the middle of nowhere in the middle of the night and scared for your life when you have no service.

WhatsApp

Instant messaging might seem like a thing of the past, but this app is actually one of the most useful things to have when you are communicating with co-workers or any other situation where you have to speak within a group. For those of us who have iPhones, and only talk to other people with iPhones, group messaging isn't a problem. The problem with that is the fact that it never happens, because not everyone has an iPhone. WhatsApp allows you to have super easy group text conversations, no matter what type of phone or service you have. I really don't have to explain why this is necessary, do I? Also, you don't have to come up with a goofy and unprofessional screen name, it just uses your phone number.

These are just a few apps to help you get by in every day life while you are on the go. You can get all of these apps for either iPhone or Android. Have fun staying rich and productive.

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New Mid-Range Galaxy Tablets From Samsung Could Be Perfect For You!

2014-04-05T18:33:00.001-04:00

Let it be known that tablets are taking over completely, if they haven't already. What used to be thought of as a luxury can now be found in almost any home, and to be honest, no one is really complaining. Obviously though, this didn't happen over night. There is a lot that has gone into making these devices more affordable and accessible. The biggest reason is obviously the price range has decreased. With so many other companies following suit from Apple's iPad, almost any tech company offers a multitude of different tablets for customers to choose from. Ever since the release of the iPad and it's many progressions, tablets are no longer a burden to get. Companies like Samsung are even offering tablet options for customers who may want something better than the bottom, but not too many bells and whistles at the same time.

Samsung has actually just released a new line of tablets for those of you who may be looking for a newer mid-range tablet. Perfect for those of us who may want to have our tablets do what we want them to do, as well as do a bit more.

The new Tab4 series could be perfect for that college student in need, or the business exec with the meeting next Friday.

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If we look under the hood to see whats making these mid-range tablets so "mid-range-y", we'll find some decent inner workings. A Quad-core 1.2GHz processing chip along with the Android 4.4 KitKat OS should guarantee that your new mid-level tablet works exactly how you need it to. Again, nothing to flashy, but definitely will get the job done. The tablets come standard with Bluetooth 4.0 and 802.11n Wi-Fi capabilities as well so you'll be able to surf the web properly and have your video conference calls on your Bluetooth headset. For those concerned about the photo taking qualities, the new tablets will come with a 3MP rear camera and a 1.3 MP front facing camera. The screens aren't bad either, coming in at 1280x800 pixel resolution rate.

So far there are only 3 sizes for the Tab4 series as well. Samsung has released a 7 inch model, an 8 inch model, and a 10.1 inch model as well. You're given the choice of either black or white when going with your tablet. Aesthetically they look very clean, as you would expect from Samsung. It does seem a bit weird to have a model that is only 1 inch bigger than another when they all have the same specs. Not sure if that extra inch is really gonna mean anything in the long run other than the slightly larger screen. If you are going for a larger screen though, you may as well cut out the middle man all together and just go for the 10.1 inch model. Either way it's all up to the customer.

If Samsung is able to put the price tag at somewhere around $350, then you can bet that all of the other tablet competitors have something to be nervous about. Half of the time, the name is what raises the price of a device. However, if Samsung can give you a good quality device, with their name, and put it at a reasonable price, then they are showing that they can hang with the big dogs and possibly sway some customers over to their side.

If you aren't sure about the tablet though, it may be the best choice to rent before you buy and commit. At least this way, you can see what you may possibly want to throw you're money at later on.

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Netgear N300 Trek Travel Router Keeps You Connected Like Never Before

2014-04-02T23:45:00.001-04:00

One of the more overlooked devices that debuted at CES was the Netgear N300 Trek wireless router. It's a really small, USB powered device that lets you share a wired or wireless internet connection with several different devices at a time. You can also use it to boost a weak Wi-Fi signal.

Getting started with this little guy is pretty simple. You have to first choose which type of network you are connecting to, either wireless or wired, and then slide up the antenna. It comes configured with an SSID and a randomly generated password. Once you get everything together and open up the default web page for the device you can save a profile for the hotspot you're connecting to, then select the network you are connecting the router to, and then you'll be taken to the network's log in page.

Once you are all hooked up, you can connect as many devices as you'd like without having to log in again. You can connect all of your wireless devices, but you are not limited to wireless connections because it even comes with Ethernet ports for all of your wired devices.

This comes in super handy when staying in hotel rooms while you are traveling. First of all, most hotel rooms have very outdated technology. They aren't meant to handle our current multi-device lifestyle. Also, lots of hotel rooms make you pay for your internet connection per device you have. If you get your password that you paid for, just use this device and connect all your other devices to it. It's kind of cheating the system.

This is the perfect device for any business traveler. On top of it being perfect, it is almost a necessity at this point for anyone who needs to stay connected on the road to keep their life going.

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Azoi Releases Wello iPhone Case That Monitors User's Vitals

2014-03-07T12:19:00.003-05:00

Personal health is (or at least should be) important to most people. Keeping yourself relatively healthy and keeping yourself in check can be difficult, especially if you are constantly on the go. However, thanks to a new case for the iPhone, all that is about to change.

Designed by Azoi this iPhone case, known as Wello, is designed to measure a plethora of vitals including blood pressure, electrocardiography (ECG), heart rate, blood oxygen, temperature and lung function. According to the company, the case will offer a high level of accuracy in an attempt to make users more aware of their health.

The case has multiple built-in sensors that are easy to trigger. All you have to do is simply hold the case near your body for a few moments as key bodily functions are recorded. The gathered information then passes to the Wello app on your smartphone where it will be interpreted, measured and displayed all on your phone. In addition to that, the case can also talk to pedometers, sleep trackers and other fitness devices to incorporate additional data.

As of right now Azoi has only designed the case for the iPhone. The Wello case fits the iPhone 5, 5S and 4S and communicates to the phone via Bluetooth. According to Azoi, Wello is compatible with other iOS devices as well as Android phones running KitKat and equipped with Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE). If you're confused about how a case designed for the iPhone fits an Android device Azoi has an answer. The case can be equipped with a special attachment that would adhere to Wello making it fit.

Devices like the Wello are becoming increasingly popular. Products like the Fitbit Force, Jawbone Up, and Nike+ FuelBand are all wearable gadgets that monitor health and fitness and are capable of syncing with your smartphone. However, the Wello is the only device that doesn't make you buy an extra accessory, though the case is not as convenient as a wearable device and is also more expensive.

The device is currently available for preorder in the US, Canada, Europe, China and other regions with the device set to ship in the Fall of 2014 though the case still needs approval from the FDA before it can be released in the US.

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