First Hands on with the Google Pixel XL

Google Pixel XL 32GB White

The Google Pixels are finally out in Australia. Luckily I got to experience this device before its debut and it has been incredible. I have the Google Pixel XL 32GB in white and I can not find anything about this that I really don't like.

At first that huge chunk of glass at the back was a bit bizarre but now that I have had the device for a while its grown on me and adds a premium feel to the device. The main feature we all spend most of our time looking at is the display and holy smokes it is incredible! I personally went into developer options and turned sRGB on to soften those popping colours. Comparing this display to my Galaxy S7 Edge and iPhone 7 Plus, it wins hands down.

The software experience on this has been a dream I have yet to come across any hiccups. The Pixels layout and fancy wallpapers which ever so slowly move as you unlock your device is just dreamy. When jumping from app to app and playing around on all the new features not once did I see any apps crash or stutter.

Navigating was very simple considering it does not differ much from most other android devices. Having the fingerprint sensor on the back of the device is one of the best positions and something Apple should take note of. There is one gesture you will have to enable straight out of the box which is to allow the finger print sensor to pull down the notification panel. I loved that feature which was on my Huawei P9 and make the device easy to use with out touching the screen.

The camera on the Pixel really does take some stunning pictures. I have a few images below showing of the camera in low light from the Pixel. Coming from some of the best cameras on a smartphone this really does take the cake. Each image is crisp and all were taken on auto with no touching up in post. I will do a comparison shortly with the iPhone 7 Plus and the Galaxy S7 Edge.

In conclusion the Google Pixel is an incredible device and really does out shine the competition with is unique design and polished software experience. if you are in the market to get a new device I would highly recommend.  

Google Pixel XL vs iPhone 7 Plus Back

Google Pixel XL vs iPhone 7 Plus Front

Pixel XL Laneway

Pixel XL Bourke St Melbourne

Pixel XL Bourke and William 

Samsung Galaxy Note 7

Unfortunately, it looks like the Note 7 has come to an end all too early. For me this device was absolutely amazing. I got to spend the first few months playing around on the Samsung galaxy S7 and Edge which were equally as good, but just missing those few design tweaks the Note 7 brings. The design of the Note 7 made the device feel smaller and more comfortable in the hand. The way I see it is that it is a mash up of the Edge and S7. Once I first heard about the exploding issues and the recall I reluctantly handed my device in and went back to my Galaxy S7 edge and iPhone 7 Plus.

After only getting a couple of weeks out of this device I was not able to get an in depth review done. But from the experience I had, I found that the display on the device had just that right amount of edge to keep me happy. One thing I got a bit annoyed at with the S7 edge was the accidental touches on the screen in everyday use. The Note had it in that sweet spot where it wasn’t that much of a curve and just looked sleek. As for performance it handled everything I through at it, sure it didn’t beat the iPhone 7 plus in a few quick multitask tests. But for real world usage it was completely fine and I never really notice any delays in opening multiple applications at once.

Battery life was also an easy not only did it come with quick charge but it also lasted me just as long as the iPhone 7 plus, with average 1.5 days. I personally never let mine charge overnight just in case I did get unlucky and cause some serious damage. Call quality on this device both with VoLTE on/off was amazing, the receiver was clear and loud. With my device running on the Telstra 4GX network I was getting on average Download: 170Mbps Upload: 40Mbps Ping: 20 these speeds for a device were amazing and everything was just so snappy.

In my experience camera’s on Samsung’s have always been good and the Note 7 of course does not let us down, especially since it uses the same Sony IMX260 sensor found in the S7 and Edge. I luckily got to do a comparison between the iPhone 7 Plus and the Note which I will be posting shortly. All in all, I have been happy with the Note 7 and will look forward to what Samsung can bring to the table next year. Below are a few images of I got to take with my time on the device. 

iPhone 7 Plus Review

The iPhone 7 plus is Apple’s main flagship of 2016. The device itself looks very similar to the iPhone 6/S except for a few changes with the antenna bands and, of course, the second camera and the ‘revolutionary’ Jet Black. I personally went for the Matte Black 256GB as I didn’t want to deal with scratches associated with the Jet black model.  After experiencing some hiccups (hissing noise) from day one which still has not been resolved, I have managed to work around that annoying noise that prohibits me from using the Video/Voice recorder until Apple finally replaces my device. So unfortunately I will not have any video comparisons yet. I won’t be focusing on the design as it is played out and to be honest boring.

Battery

The main features to me are usability and network. I am a heavy user and need my devices to be up and running all day. For some time now I have been carrying around an extra battery pack to keep me topped up. With the 7 Plus’s 2900mAh battery, optimisation of iOS 10 and the in house Apple A10 processor, I am getting around 1.5 days worth of usage which is incredible. My usage patterns involve playing games (Hearthstone and Pokemon GO), social media, calls and camera. On the odd day I would even see 2 full days of usage.  My usage roughly starts from 8am in the morning and I have been ending the day on 40-50% battery. This means I do not have to charge it overnight; in the mornings I would only be seeing around 1-2% of battery drain whilst I am sleeping. For me this is absolutely perfect on battery life; this is what I have come to expect from flagship devices. Apple has hit the nail on the head with the iPhone 7 Plus battery life.

Performance

Handling the everyday task was smooth and fluid, this being incredibly noticeable since I am a heavy Android user constantly facing poor optimisation of applications. After diving in to the Apple eco-system it is easy to see why they are so popular. Simplicity is everything in iOS, the way that things just work shows how much control Apple has over its operating system. One of the first things you notice is how fast applications open and load up. RAM management is on point and multitasking through all your open applications is painless and smooth. I find myself jumping back and forth between multiple applications with no sign of lag or stuttering. The new Taptic (haptic) home ‘button’ actually didn’t take as long as I thought to get used to- after about a day I didn’t even notice the difference between the physical button and the new sensor.

Call quality on the other hand, I was expecting to be very clear and crisp, in comparison to the Samsung Galaxy Note 7. I found that the iPhone was lacking a bit in quality as I was constantly having to check the volume of the device to hear who I was speaking to. I obviously went through testing of the two devices on the same carrier and turning VoLTE on/off. One of the interesting things I have been testing out is the speeds I am getting on Telstra’s 4GX network; these results have been amazing. The speeds on average I was getting on the iPhone 7 Plus were Download: 140Mbps Upload: 40Mbps Ping: 20ms. These speeds are insane and definitely help with everyday use.

Camera

The camera for me has been a pleasure to work with. I managed to get out and take some quick comparison photos between the Galaxy Note 7 and iPhone 7 Plus. I will be doing a full comparison after I capture some low light shots. Below are a few images to take a look at and make your mind up about: 

iPhone 7 Plus Cactus

iPhone 7 Plus Reflection

iPhone 7 Plus Vibrant

iPhone 7 Plus Blue Skies

    

AMD “Putting The Finishing Touches” on Radeon 300 Series

AMD has announced via a reply to a fan on Facebook that the company is “putting the finishing touches” on the Radeon 300 series. This coincides with earlier reports which claimed that AMD has allegedly completed the certification process for a new graphics board for the company’s upcoming Fiji XT GPU.

The fact that the new AMD Radeon R 300 series may be coming fairly soon would explain why AMD’s add-in board partners (AIBs) are pinning their hopes on the new graphics cards for a rebound in the upcoming months. It’s been 16 months since the last Radeon R 200 series graphics card were officially introduced at the GPU14 event which took place in Hawaii on September 25th, 2013. A full Radeon series graphics refresh would then make perfect sense to revitalize and reignite competition in this popular market segment for AMD.

AMD “Putting The Finishing Touches” on Radeon 300 Series

Dr. Lisa Su, AMD’s CEO had announced last month that the company is planning to roll-out a graphics refresh in the second quarter of this year. We’re only a month away from the first month of the second quarter and we’re already seeing a lot of reports popping up about the R9 300 series.

Some online retailers went to as far as to actually list R9 390X, 380X and 370X graphics cards on their websites just a week ago. A lot of reports have surfaced of various AMD GPUs which should be featured in the 300 series.

These include AMD’s upcoming Fiji XT GPU which will reportedly feature a cutting edge stacked memory technology co developed by AMD and SK Hynix called HBM. The new memory standard promises to be significantly more power efficient than traditional GDDR5 and up to 9 times faster.  Leaked specifications for the GPU indicate that it will feature 4096 GCN stream processors and a 4096bit wide-IO memory interface. Fiji XT is also rumored to be the first ever single GPU to come with liquid cooling as standard.

In addition to Fiji XT we’ve also heard whispers of AMD working on a faster version of the Hawaii GPU inside AMD’s R9 295X2, 290X and 290 cards. And finally there’s a new GPU code named Trinidad which will reportedly replace AMD’s R9 270 series in the $200 price point which is rumored to be coming within the next couple of months.

The updated GCN 1.2 architecture in the new R 300 series is rumored feature tiled resources. A technology that’s well known and established in the mobile GPU market. The feature enables significant improvements in reducing both power consumption and memory utilization.

Source: http://wccftech.com/amd-putting-finishing-touches-r9-300-series/#ixzz3QufurtQz


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Techwraps Australia Woodgrain Xbox One

Check out how incredible this is!!! www.techwraps.com.au

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GTX 960 is Now Available!!!!!!!

If you are keen to get your hands on the brand new GTX 960 the go right ahead it is avalible now and I must say it is a pretty sweet card to be running. Coming in at around $289-$349au it is not too shabby, but hopefully as time goes on we will see it dramatically drop.




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ASUS, EVGA and ZOTAC GeForce GTX 960 pictured

ASUS STRIX GeForce GTX 960 OC (STRIX-GTX960-DC2OC-2GD5)

ASUS STRIX GTX 960 is an overclocked card equipped with DirectCU II cooler. The GTX 960 will feature 0 dB technology, the same technology that is available in all STRIX graphics cards. The card itself is a rather tiny, probably best fitted for mini-ITX builds. It does look like STRIX GTX 750 Ti, except it has more display connectors.

EVGA GeForce GTX 960 Superclocked

For the fans of ACX 2.0 cooling (there are any here?) EVGA brings new Superclocked GTX 960 (and some other models no one cares about).

The GTX 960 Superclocked is powered with through single 8-pin power connector. It has a full cover base plate, two heat sinks connected to each other with three copper heat pipes.  The ACX 2.0 has two 80mm 11-blade fans. I don’t know how what are the clocks yet, but I will keep you updated.

 

ZOTAC GeForce GTX 960

ZOTAC has four GTX 960 cards in the making. These cards only feature two designs and optional factory-overclocking. The first card is simply called ZOTAC GTX 960. You can actually get the same cooler with GTX 970, but I suppose it’s more suitable for this card anyway. ZOTAC’s GTX 970 features one 6-pin connector. The PCB is actually shorter than the dual-fan cooler itself.

The overclocked model based on this design will ship with 1177 / 1240 MHz clocks.

ZOTAC GeForce GTX 960 AMP!

Here is my favorite model so far. The dual-fan AMP! edition. More powerful cards like 970 and 980 are available with triple-fan edition of the same cooling system. The GTX 960 however, is not as demanding as GM204-powered cards, thus only 2 fans are required.

While it does look nice, it only has one 6-pin power connector, so I’m not sure if it can live up to the expectation of overclockers. It does however have a backplate, so if you’re into those kind of things, this could be the perfect card for you. The AMP! model has GPU clocks of 1266 / 1329 MHz.

Source: http://videocardz.com/54374/asus-evga-and-zotac-geforce-gtx-960-pictured

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G.Skill introduces 3.40GHz DDR4 memory modules

G.Skill, a leading maker of dynamic random access memory (DRAM) modules for enthusiasts, has unveiled its first 3.40GHz DDR4 memory chips. While the company is not the first to announce 3.40GHz DDR4 solutions, it will be the first to actually ship appropriate DDR4 memory modules in volume.

G.Skill’s Ripjaws 4 new DDR4 memory modules are rated to run at 3400MHz with CL16 16-16-36 latency settings and 1.35V voltage. The memory sticks will be available in quad-channel 16GB (4GB*4) memory kits for Intel Core i7 “Haswell-E” high-end desktop platforms (HEDT). The new high-performance memory kits come with awesome Turbulence III memory fans.

Separately, G.Skill introduced a DDR4 3200MHz memory kit with CL15 timings, which should become popular among those, who believe that latency settings play a good role in memory sub-system’s performance nowadays.

According to G.Skill, the new Ripjaws 4 DDR4 3400MHz 16GB (4GBx4) memory kit is made from hand-picked DRAM devices during  a “highly-selective binning process.” The modules have been tested for compatibility on the Asus Rampage V Extreme and Gigabyte X99-SOC Champion motherboards, the manufacturer said.

G.Skill did not reveal the price of the new modules and memory kits, but given their exclusive specifications, do not expect them to be affordable.

Source: http://www.kitguru.net/components/memory/anton-shilov/g-skill-introduces-3-40ghz-ddr4-memory-modules/

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Lian Li Launches O Series Wall-Mountable Chassis

You known, I have been critiquing Lian-Li for a while now as many of their designs are just not '2014' anymore. However credit where credit is due, a while ago some photo's leaked on a new line they are working on, the O series chassis. The new chassis will be released in February, and yeah .. I think they will be a hit as they look incredibly cool. I just received a press release with the latest teasing photo's, check it out.

Lian-Li Industrial Co. Ltd, today launches the O Series open-air, wall-mountable chassis:PC-O5, PC-O5S, PC-O6S and PC-O7S. Previewed to the worldwide technology community in its prototype stage, the O Series chassis final design reflect the feedback of the DIY community, and feature oversized tempered glass windows, a PCI riser cards, and sleek aluminum construction.

Four Open-Air, Wall-Mountable Aluminum ChassisThe new O series includes four chassis: the mini-ITX PC-O5, the mini-ITX PC-O5S, the micro-ATX PC-O6S, and the ATX PC-O7S. These aluminum constructed cases all feature a similar design and aesthetic differing in their hardware compatibility.

Show Off Your Hardware in Slim Profile ChassisThrough the oversized tempered glass window, onlookers can see the entire build unrestricted. Graphics cards are installed parallel to the motherboard, keeping the chassis slim, thanks to the included PCI riser card and extension. A black anodized aluminum shield covers the hard drive cage to keep a super clean look.

Customizable Storage OptionsThe O Series chassis give builders several options for storage installation. Hard drives can be mounted in the hard drive cage, hidden by an anodized aluminum shield, directly mounted on the motherboard tray, or installed on a removable bracket behind the motherboard.

Water Cooling SupportThe PC-O5S, PC-O6S, and PC-O7S support AIO water cooling systems. The “S” suffix in the aforementioned models denotes water cooling compatibility. The PC-O5S supports radiators up to 240mm, while the PC-O6S and PC-O7S supports 360mm radiators.

Versatile PlacementThe O Series cases can be mounted to the wall, placed on a desk in the vertical position using the included aluminum stand with rubber grip, or arranged horizontally on four attachable feet with rubber padding.

       

Source: http://www.guru3d.com/news-story/lian-li-launches-o-series-wall-mountable-chassis.html

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RDT's Hands on Moto 360!!!

Check out my quick hands on and unboxing of the Moto 360 Smart watch by Motorola, I must say I was impressed by its appearance and feel in the hand. Even wearing this watch feels great. I do think Android Wear needs some time to mature.

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The Witcher 3 delayed again until May 2015

CD Projekt Red has made the decision to delay The Witcher 3: The Wild Hunt again, this time by three months. The highly anticipated open-world RPG was originally supposed to come out in October this year but was originally delayed until February in order to ensure the game was up to scratch before release.

The Witcher 3 will now launch on the 19th of May 2015. The delay was announced in an open letter to fans from CD Projekt Red, apologizing for setting a release date too hastily.

“The sheer size and complexity of The Witcher, key features of the title, have had a decisive impact on production. Now, nearing the end of our work, we see many details that need to be corrected. When we release the most important game in our studio’s history, we must be absolutely sure that we did everything we could to limit any bugs to a level that will allow you to enjoy the game thoroughly.”

Ultimately, the team decided that even though they were all working full speed, another three months would be needed:

“With this in mind, we took another look at current workloads and what they mean for the team. Even though everyone is working at full speed, we concluded that we need another 12 weeks, so we are shifting the release date of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt to May 19th, 2015.”

The letter ends with an apology for hastily setting two release dates: “We owe you an apology. We set the release date too hastily. It’s a hard lesson, one to take to heart for the future. We know what we want to do to make Wild Hunt one of the best RPGs you will ever play. And we continue to work hard to achieve just that. So, we apologize and ask for your trust.”

Source: http://www.kitguru.net/gaming/matthew-wilson/the-witcher-3-delayed-again-until-may-2015/

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EB Games' Mad Monday Sales Are, Well, Mad

Looking for an easy Christmas present for the gamer in your life? Today’s the day to pick something up — EB Games is having a massive Mad Monday sale. Deals change every half hour, too, so check back here for all the details.

There’s a bunch of sales for PS4, Xbox One and PC as well as the other consoles and random goodies. EB’s big Christmas bonanza kicked off at midnight and runs for the next 24 hours, with what looks like pretty significant savings on a bunch of console and PC games and accessories.

A PS4 and eight games including Far Cry 4, DRIVECLUB and The Last Of Us is $698, and an equivalentXbox One bundle with seven games is $599.

Last-gen consoles are incredibly cheap; you’ll also grab $50 off a bunch of refurbished black and white iPhone 4 and 4Ss.

As well as that, if you hit the front page every half hour from 8AM there’ll be a new ‘super’ deal — from 9AM to 9:30AM AEDT it’s $55 off Disney Infinity 2.0: Marvel Super Heroes, and in the half hour before it was $70 off a $200 Audio-Technica gaming headset.

8:30-9:00AM: $70 off a $200 Audio-Technica gaming headset.
9:00-9:30AM: $55 off Disney Infinity 2.0: Marvel Super Heroes.
9:30-10:00AM: Pokemon Alpha Sapphire and Omega Ruby for $44.
10:00-10:30AM: 30 per cent off Minecraft loot.

Source: http://www.gizmodo.com.au/2014/12/eb-games-mad-monday-sales-are-well-mad/

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Apple forced to pull Safari OS X update

Apple seems to be making a habit of releasing buggy software this year, first the company ran in to many issues getting iOS 8 off the ground and now it has had to pull a Safari update after users reported that it forced them to re-install the OS X operating system.

The Safari update from the third of December addressed 13 security vulnerabilities, a few of which could have been fairly serious and were discovered by Apple internally. However those trying to update soon started complaining as they found Safari completely removed from their systems, Apple support then instructed those affected to re install OS X in order to recover the browser.

Apple has since withdrew the update without commenting on the problems. Users at Macrumors posted links to the Safari updates on Apple’s distribution network, these links still currently work. Users have reported that after re-installing Safari from the content distribution network link, everything worked as normal again.

Apple has yet to officially acknowledge the problem. If you updated Safari and don’t feel like re-installing OS X, then give the content distribution link a go and see if that helps.

Source: http://www.kitguru.net/apple/matthew-wilson/apple-forced-to-pull-safari-os-x-update/

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Microsoft delays Windows 10 launch to ‘late summer – early fall’ of 2015

Microsoft Corp. this week revealed that the launch timeframe of its next-generation Windows 10 operating system had been delayed to “late summer – early fall” of 2015. Previously it was believed that the OS was due in the first half of next year, but due to some reasons the software giant decided to push the release back. The company is still on-track to show off consumer features of Windows early in 2015.

“The thing I want to tell you about on Windows 10 is in the Windows 10 timeframe, which we plan to talk about the end-user consumer experiences in the early spring, we’ll have a developer preview and be able to talk to that in depth in the early summer timeframe,” said Kevin Turner, chief operating officer of Microsoft at the Credit Suisse 18th Annual Technology Conference. “Then by next late summer and early fall we’ll be able to bring out this particular OS. That’s the current plan of record.”

The first rumours about Microsoft’s operating system code-named “Threshold” emerged in late 2013. In early 2014 it transpired that the world’s largest software designer was hard at work to release the new OS as early as in late 2014 in a bid to boost sales of PCs hampered by low popularity of Windows 8. Eventually different sources pointed to the first half of 2015 as the ship target for the next Windows, but it turns out that Microsoft’s new OS will only hit the market in late summer or early fall of 2015, roughly three years after Windows 8.

Based on unofficial information, Microsoft will publicly preview consumer features of Windows 10 at a special event in late January. According to a report by Mary J. Foley, a well-known Microsoft watcher, the software giant will unveil capabilities of Windows 10 for mobile devices, which will work on smartphones as well as tablets powered by ARM or Intel microprocessors. It is expected that Microsoft will show its new code-named “Continuum” touch-based user interface at the event.

Microsoft Windows 10 will power virtually all types of devices that exist today, including desktop and notebook PCs, hybrid 2-in-1 systems, tablets, smartphones and even certain embedded applications. The OS will intelligently tweak its user interface for every device type. Many of “classic” Windows elements are expected to return to Windows 10 versions for desktops and notebooks. The next Microsoft operating system will ship with cross-platform DirectX 12 application programming interface.

Source: http://www.kitguru.net/gaming/operating-systems/anton-shilov/microsoft-delays-windows-10-launch-to-late-summer-early-fall-of-2015/

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The Moto 360 2 might be coming out early next year

The original Moto 360 smartwatch has only been out for a few months but there is already rumors floating around, suggesting that the next iteration of the product could launch as soon as early next year, presumably during Q1.

According to Lenovo Eastern Europe Vice President, Gleb Mishin, the original Moto 360 will launch in Russia early next year, at the same time as the second generation version. The updated Android Wear smartwatch will feature a “modified design”, the aim is apparently to make the watch look more like a classic watch.

While this Lenovo VP seems to have jumped the gun a bit on Motorola’s future plans, the company probably won’t be announcing anything officially until next year, when we get a bit closer to the potential release window.

The Moto 360 launched back in September alongside the new Moto X and Moto G smartphones. The watch utilizes the Android Wear operating system, which uses a Google Now like interface to show notifications and important information. The watch comes with metal or leather straps and you can customize the watch face in the OS itself.

The closest competitor to the Moto 360 is LG’s G-Watch, which also debuted with Google’s new wearable OS.

Source: http://www.kitguru.net/channel/generaltech/matthew-wilson/the-moto-360-2-might-be-coming-out-early-next-year/

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