Category: Hands-on
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Xiaomi Mi Pad 7.9 hands-on

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The Xiaomi Mi Pad 7.9 is the Chinese company’s first tablet attempt, and we’ve got our hands on the import in our latest hands-on video.

The Mi Pad takes some obvious design cues from the Apple iPad mini 2, but comes in significantly less than the Cupertino offering. But is it worth it? Let’s find out. Read more »

Xiaomi Mi 3 hands-on

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Xiaomi’s Mi 3 has had a long trek westward to our studios, but finally the device has made its way here and we’re ready to give the popular Chinese smartphone our full review treatment.

But before that, we’ll be taking a quick look at the device in front of our camera. The Mi 3 comes in a stylish unibody that houses a robust quad-core 2.3GHz Snapdragon 800 chipset alongside Adreno 330 graphics and 2GB of RAM, all at a price that’s significantly lower than most flagships. Read more »

Hands-on: Windows Phone 8.1 Update 1

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Windows Phone 8.1 has seen its first major update, GDR1, which has just seeded out to developers. Naturally, we can’t let devs have all the fun to themselves so installed it on one of our test devices.

As you can imagine, that gave us access to all the latest on Microsoft’s updated mobile OS. Highlights include folder support, Cortana for additional regions, and the new Apps Corner. Read more »

Tylt Energi 2K travel charger flash review

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The Tylt Energi 2K travel charger is a product of a successful Kickstarter campaign by the young company. The gadget brings together a typical USB charger and 2,200mAh battery in one bright-colored package.

Founded in 2011, Tylt quickly established itself as designer and manufacturer of quality products with characterful design and quality ergonomics. Read on to find out about the company’s latest creation! Read more »

HTC Desire 616 dual sim hands-on

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The HTC Desire 616 dual sim is like a smaller version of the Desire 816 but it has an attention-grabbing octa-core processor. And the processor has eight Cortex-A7 cores instead of big.LITTLE architecture.

The Desire 616 has a large screen for a mid-ranger but with 720p resolution it won’t be fighting flagships any time soon. This fits the style of smartphone popular in East Asia – screen size takes precedence over resolution, dual-SIM is a must and the more cores the better. Read more »

HTC One (E8) hands-on

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Whether you know it as the HTC One Vogue or the HTC One Ace, the One (E8) is here to put an end to HTC’s usage of low-res cameras… and metal unibodies.

The HTC One (E8) is a plastic variant of the HTC One (M8) that retains almost all aspects of the flagship’s premium package but asks significantly lower at retail. The front is still adorned by a 5″ Super LCD3 of 1080p resolution, the chipset is still a Snapdragon 801, the speakers are still stereo BoomSound and the software is still Sense 6 on top of Android 4.4.2 KitKat. Read more »

Seidio Ledger flip case for HTC One (M8) flash review

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The Seidio Ledger flip case for HTC One (M8) is an alternative to the smartphone manufacturer’s popular Dot View cover. The Ledger case aims to entice people away from HTC’s own case by offering a built-in kickstand and a credit card/ID slot.

Based in Houston, Texas, Seidio designs and manufactures cases and covers for smartphones and tablets. The company has a reputation of offering products that combine quality and ergonomics with reasonable pricing. Read more »

LG G Pad 10.1 hands-on

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The LG G Pad 10.1 is the biggest member in this year’s G Pad lineup by LG. Despite having the largest screen (10.1″ vs 8″ and 7″) it carries the same underwhelming resolution of 1280x800px as the rest of the new G Pad pack.

The quad-core Snapdragon 400 chipset is in charge of running everything while the latest Optimus UI on top of Android 4.4.2 KitKat adorns the software side of things. Alongside the midrange chipset and low resolution, LG has included some features that will turn the G Pad 10.1 into a somewhat potent multimedia machine. Read more »

LG G Pad 7.0 hands-on

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Today we have the LG G Pad 7.0 at HQ. This is the latest portable tablet from LG but it’s safe to say we’re expecting a higher-end portable tablet yet as the G Pad 7 sheds the premium specs package in favor of a very affordable price.

The LG G Pad 7.0 base specs may not sound like much with only a 800 x 1280 pixels screen and a Snapdragon 400 processor, but LG has equipped it with several extra features to make up for those – an IR blaster on the top, stereo speakers on the back and an IPS matrix for superior screen viewing angles all for under 200 euro. Read more »

Amazon Fire Phone hands-on

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Recently, we got a chance to spend a tiny bit of quality time with the Amazon Fire Phone at an AT&T press event in New York City. The retail giant’s first ever smartphone is now available in the United States for $199 with a two-year contract or $649 outright.

The Amazon Fire Phone’s specs include Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 SoC, 2GB of RAM, 32GB or 64GB of non-expandable memory, and 4.7” 720p LCD display. Read more »

Nokia Lumia 930 hands-on

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Nokia’s latest Lumia offering has hit our offices, and we’ll be giving you a quick tour of the Nokia Lumia 930 before it gets whisked away for our comprehensive review.

The Lumia 930 is the international variant of the Nokia Lumia Icon released in the US for Verizon earlier this year, and is one of the first devices to sport Microsoft’s new Windows Phone 8.1 update out of box.

The Lumia 930 sports a 5-inch 1080p AMOLED of Nokia’s ClearBlack variety, which we unfortunately found to color shift severely towards red/blue when viewed from different angles – a problem that we’ve also seen in past Nokia AMOLEDs. The chipset is of the MSM8974 Snapdragon 800 variety, with four 2.2GHz Krait 400 cores, and an Adreno 330 GPU. There’s 2GB of RAM on board alongside 32GB of non-expandable storage, all powered by a 2420mAh battery. Read more »

Steelseries Stratus iOS gaming controller flash review

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The Steelseries Stratus is the company’s first dedicated iOS gaming controller. The pocket-friendly Bluetooth 2.1 gadget utilizes the external gamepad support which debuted with Apple iOS 7 last year.

Headquartered in the Valby district of Copenhagen, Steelseries is currently among the premier designers and manufacturers of gaming gear and peripherals. Read on to find out all about its iOS-friendly offering! Read more »

Bayan Audio Soundbook X3 wireless speaker flash review

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The Bayan Audio Soundbook X3 Bluetooth speaker sits on top of the company’s range of wireless speakers. The gadget aims to capture a piece of the increasingly more lucrative market for premium wireless speakers.

Founded in the United Kingdom in 2011, Bayan Audio focuses making products which combine characterful design and premium materials. Read on how the Soundbook X3 stacks up against the heavyweights in its segment! Read more »

OnePlus One hands-on

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The OnePlus One is finally here after some delays that could have potentially ruined the occasion. Thankfully those delays didn’t last as long as we feared so without further ado here goes the One.

Sharing a name with a popular HTC handset we know the OnePlus One has some proving to do but covers the right basics as a start. For one it brings a capable Snapdragon 801 chipset, a 5.5″ 1080p display and a 4K-enabled 13 MP snapper. Adding to a good foundation the One could also be the Nexus fan’s dream come true with a tailor-made CyanogenMod 11 OS for a clean, near-stock Android KitKat 4.4.2 experience. Read more »

Huawei Ascend Mate2 4G unboxing & hands-on

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Huawei Ascend Mate2 4G, as its name suggests, is the successor of the original Ascend Mate which debuted last year. The 6.1” LTE phablet just went up for pre-order in the United States for $299 unlocked and free of contract commitments.

Visually, the Huawei Ascend Mate2 is no different than its predecessor. Read more »