Review of the Dell XPS 15 with the Infiniti display

One the first reviewI did was of the DELL XPS 13. I really liked that device but it wasn't powerful enough for what I wanted in a deadly device. I wanted a quad-core processor and wanted a bigger screen so I've been using a 15 inch Retina MacBook Pro but DELL recently dropped this thing, the DELL XPS 15 and they've updated it with the Infiniti display. It's kind of like the XPS 13 but everything has just been amped up, so hear my thoughts. In this review there will be a sort of a comparison of the DELL XPS 15 and Retina MacBook Pro 15inch. The main question will be, is the Dell xps 15 a MacBook killer?

The top side is aluminium and it's got a really nice furnish to it. The device feels premium, durable and it doesn't show fingerprints. On the bottom we have two rubber strips for grip and they also hope to raise the laptop for air intake through the big grills at the bottom. Just like the 13 inch it has a flap at the bottom which is apparently there to hide the serial numbers and the FCC markings. It can be opened up pretty easily when you remove some screws. On the inside, we have a battery, upgradeable RAM and an upgradeable M2 SATA drive. The whole laptop is just really steady, the screen doesn’t have much flex and the exterior edges are also really nicely machined, I think they did a really good job on the aesthetics and built quality. Going around the sides, on the right we have an SD Card slot, USB 3 port and a light up battery indicator. On the left side we have a power port, another USB 3 port, HDMI 1.4 port, USB 3.1 type C with Thunderbolt port and a combo headphone and mic jack.

 It comes in on a bunch of different configurations starting at $1,000, but I'm reviewing the one with the

 Skylake Quad-core i7-6700HQ

 2.6 GHz Processing Speed

4K (3840*2160) Touchscreen

16GB DDR4 RAM

516GB M.2 NVME SSD

GTX 960M 2GB

This is currently going for around US$2100. It’s roughly the same length as a 15 inch Retina MacBook Pro but it's noticeably shorter from front to back. It's basically like 15 inch laptop in what feels like a 14 inch footprint. It is 4.5 pounds which is the same weight as a 15 inch Retina MacBook Pro and because it's a smaller footprint it just feels like a pretty dense package.

When you open the lid you get that awesome carbon fibre, I'm a sucker for this stuff and I really think that DELL does carbon better than any other laptop company now. The keyboard is decent, the layout is nice and it's actually one of the better lives I’ve seen.  Its strong, it’s subtle and coated with some kind of like soft touch material so it’s comfortable to rest your palms on it. The keyboard is decent and layout is actually one of the best I’ve seen. The three-stage backlighting is good but typing on it feels pretty similar to the XPS 13 with relatively short key travel approximately at 1.3mm. It's still good but it's not great. The trackpad is nice, it’s glass, it's big and it works really well. It's still not as good as a MacBook trackpad but its pretty close and it's probably one of the best Windows trackpad right now. You will probably really like this thing.

The screen as a 15.6 inch IPS touch panel with a resolution of 3840*2160 and its LED backlit and it's fantastic. The screen is super-thin and it really lives up to the whole infinity edge trademark. The contrast is great, viewing angles are great and the touch screen is really responsive. It has a DELL utility to adjust the colour profile of the screen on the Adobe RGB setting, this thing is really colour accurate for both print and web. The screen is really nice, it doesn't have the anti-glare coating that MacBook Pros have but it's such a bright screen that it's still very usable in brightly lit rooms or outdoors.

Just like the XPS 13 the camera is on the bottom again which I think is really unavoidable because of the super thin bezel. It’s not high enough resolution for the Microsoft Hello. The speakers are okay, they are kind of forward-facing but they are underneath the keyboard and I noticed you can feel the vibrations of the sound on the keys whilst playing games. It’s not bad or anything but I haven't experienced anything like that before. The sound is a little off maybe because of the location the speakers but they're not bad and they get pretty loud.  

The thermals are also good, nothing too hot and there's no crazy hot spots on the keyboard or anything. I think DELL did a really good job on thermal and noise management. It has 130watt charger and it that glow thing at the tip so you can find it in the dark and it’s reasonably small for a 130W. When the battery is low, light at the front of the laptop changes to orange and then changes to when it is charging. It takes about two hours for a full charge. The battery life is a little complicated, this unit has a 4K screen and an 85W battery. You can get a 1080p screen with a same size battery and you can also get a 1080p screen with a smaller 56w battery and that's for configurations with a disk drive instead of the SSD. So on my configuration I was getting around 6 hours of regularly use with screen around 75% brightness. Playing games I was getting around two and a half hours. Supposedly on the 1080p model with 84w battery, you can get double the battery life. From my use, the 4K screen is pretty important and the battery life isn't that bad.

A recap XPS 15: Awesome build quality, aluminium exterior, carbon fibre chassis, 4K touch screen is outstanding, it's really bright, colour accurate with super thin bezels. The keyboard is comfortable, not the best but very usable. The trackpad is glass and its one of the best Windows trackpads right now. On the inside we have the Skylake Core i7, GTX 960M that’s really capable for 4K video edits and most games at 1080p. There a pair of upgradeable RAM slots which is pretty rare these days and there's an upgradeable or downgradeable in my case M2 SSD socket. Lastly there's an 84W battery that lasts around six hours on the 4K touch screen. 

There's a lot of good stuff going on inside the XPS 15 but I don’t like that M2 SATA Drive, it's a little bit slower than I'd like it to. Aside from that I think all the hardware choices they went with were really good. The battery life isn't amazing but it's kind of expected when you have a 4K screen in something that has this kind of footprints, I mean you can only put in so many battery cells into a device this size. Is it a MacBook killer? I would consider this a better buy the MacBook unless you need like a really long battery life or unless you need OS 10. I would consider this a better purchase because it's a better performer but aside from that I think there's no other notebook right now that is this calibre. It's really well built, it's a great performer and it looks awesome. I hope you guys like this review. Let me know of your opinions in the comments

The Liquid cooled Acer Switch Alpha 12

Acer just recently introduced its first liquid cool 2in1 coming out this year in May starting at a price of US$599.00. This is Acer’s fan less 2in1 tablet with a detachable keyboard and a built in kickstand.  Although it bears a pretty strong resemblance to the Microsoft Surface and Surface Pro line, Acer is saying that this device has got a few tricks up its sleeves.

Design

First of all it has the brushed metal body on the back. It opens up very much like a Microsoft Surface Pro 4. The Acer Alpha 12 has got a touchscreen and it supports an Acer Active stylus if that’s something you want. It has got a full size keyboard, very nice key response. The keyboard dock is actually held together by magnets and you can do a couple of different angles, you can use it flat or tilted up at the front. The magnets are pretty strong, if you want to join the keyboard all you have to do is to bring the tablet closer to it and it will automatically join.

It comes with a highly responsive wide glass touch pad. At the back it has got an adjustable hinge, more like a kick stand that allows you to place it in a number of positions at a wide variety of angles for better experience for whatever you want to do. It has a rubber edge for better friction.

If you go to the side of the machine you will see a full size USB 3.0 port with A USB C port just below it. There is also a standard power jack and a 3.5mm audio jack. On the other side it has a standard windows home button and some volume rocker and a power button as well. At the back it has a camera and its speakers are located at the top of the screen.

Display is a 2160*1440 IPS display with great viewing angles. There is also a 1080P Full HD camera with 88 degree wide angle lens.

The dimensions of the device are 11.5*7.9*0.4. The tablet weighs about 900 grams and with the keyboard attached, it will be weighing about 1.27kgs.

Performance

At entry level Acer Alpha Switch 12 device will have a 2160*14440 pixels display. It comes with a windows 10 Software and an Intel Core i3 Stylet processor and 4 GB Ram and 128 GB of storage. Models of this 12 inch 2in1 will be available with all the way up to a Core i7 processor, Up to 8 GB of ram and up to 512 GB storage. Clearly it will cost more if you want all of those specifications. The device has a got an eight hour battery life which is impressive for a device with such processing power.

The Acer Alpha 12 liquid cooling system

The problem when using slimmer lighter devices is the cooling and Acer came up with just a great invention and solution for that which is probably their strength point on the 2in1 devices. Acer created the cold loop liquid cooling system, “Liquid loop” as they like to call it. The way it works is, the coolant passes through the loop over the CPU, and the expanding gas pushes the coolant back around the circuit so the process repeats itself thereby cooling the CPU. In other words, the heat generated by the coolant system will become the energy used to circulate the liquid. No matter which model you buy, whether a Core I series as opposed to a Core M, there won’t be any performance issues, thanks to the liquid cooling system design by Acer.

Overall, this is a great device and with its cooling system, it’s spectacular for heavy users (gamers in particular) like myself whilst still maintaining the cool slim and light design. 

Alienware 13 Review: Portable Performer

The Alienware 13 is among the Dell subsidiary’s latest offerings. Dubbed as the king of the streets and master of the house, the latest from Alienware promises to deliver gaming-level performance into a portable chassis.

Configurations

The Alienware 13 comes packed with an Intel Core i5-4210U processor as well as a discrete Nvidia GeForce GTX 860-M graphics. The base model includes a 1366x768 display, 8GB of RAM as well as a 500GB hybrid hard drive. Buyers can upgrade all the way to a Broadwell Core i7-5500U processor, 16GB of RAM, 512GB solid state drive and a QHD display.

Design

With its futuristic look, the Alienware 13 is definitely a head turner. This laptop shares design cues like the gray lid and black soft-touch accents with its bigger stable mates. However, it does so in a compact chassis. At just over an inch thick and weighing in at two kilos, it’s designed for the gamer on the go.

This gaming laptop comes in Epic Silver made from carbon fiber and plastic composites. Two slanted LEDs and the backlit alien head logo make for an elegant design. As is typical with Alienware, eight lighting zones can be customized separately.

Port selection includes three USB 3.0 ports, HDMI and DisplayPort. Also included are microphone and headphone jacks and a Graphics Amplifier port at the back.

Performance

The Core i5 processor and GTX 860M graphics are certainly more than enough to handle daily tasks. The Alienware 13’s true test lies in its gaming performance. Many balk at the processor and graphics card combination, doubting its ability to handle the latest games.

It may not pack as much hardware as its bigger brothers, but it can hold on its own. Games like Batman: Arkham Origins and Borderlands 2 ran at around 45-60 fps maxed out at 1080p. However, more graphically-intense games such as Dragon Age: Inquisition needs to be turned down for playable frame rates.

The Alienware 13 does come with a solution for those graphics-hungry games in the form of Alienware’s own Graphics Amplifier. The optional extra lets users harness the power of any desktop-grade graphics card. In effect, it enables a portable gaming laptop to perform at desktop levels. The solution doesn’t come cheap though, and you’ll have to supply your own graphics card. Still, Alienware should be commended for executing the idea.

Battery life is generally good for this laptop thanks to the low-voltage processor. The battery lasts up to five hours while surfing the web and two hours and fourteen minutes under load at maximum brightness. While abysmal for an ultrabook, the Alienware 13 manages to outperform other gaming laptops.

Verdict

Excellent build quality and a good overall design are some of the strong points of the Alienware 13. The 1080p display is ideal for this size and the keyboard is well suited for gaming.

The Core i5 and GTX 860M combo make the Alienware 13 a mid-range laptop. It gets the job done in most cases, but the Core i7 option might perform better, especially if you want to plug in the optional Graphics Amplifier.

Heat and noise never reach uncomfortable levels even while under load.

While it’s true that other laptops outpace the Alienware 13 in one aspect or another, nothing else comes close with the way it blends portability and performance.

Samsung Galaxy A5 Review

When I first heard of the Samsung Galaxy A5, I was expecting a fairly mediocre mid-range handset from the Korean giant, sort of inline with a lot of their previous efforts in this space, but instead what I actually received was a premium feeling mid-range device with fairly decent hardware inside. To be honest, it was quite a surprise for me. Let us get straight to the review

The first thing to note about the Samsung Galaxy A5 is its excellent built quality it’s fairly similar to the Galaxy Alpha, it is also a fairly slim device with 6.7mm thin. It is slightly larger because it upgrades from a 4.7 to a 5 inch display. Even though this is mid-range device as opposed to a premium flagship like the Galaxy Alpha was, the metal built quality of the A5 is superior to the Galaxy Alpha. I like this phone a little more than I like the Alpha mostly because of the seamless transition between the metal around the edges and the plastic on the back. This is because Samsung has decide not to make a removable back cover for the Galaxy A5 and instead just go with a fixed of shiny plastic on the back which feels quite nice. On the front we also got some smooth and tough Gorilla Glass to protect the 5 inch 720p display.

As the Galaxy A5 is just 6.7 mm thin and under a 130g light, it’s a very portable device despite its 5 inch display size. It’s not the most ergonomic design I have ever seen although including things like the power button on the right hand edge in the perfect position for general use does improve the usability of the device overall. It’s another huge fan of the physical home button that is included below the display with on screen buttons now being the major feature of android, I tend to think that is a better implementation this days, but it’s not too bad on the Galaxy A5 because it’s not a massive device. On the left hand you will find the volume key and on the top, just a microphone. On the bottom edge you will also find a micro USB port and 3.5mm audio jack.

As I mentioned earlier, the back cover of the device is not removable so there are no sim cards slots in under the back panel or a removable battery. Instead on the right hand edge just below the power button you will find two sim card slots or at least two on the Duos model of the Galaxy A5. One of the sim card slots is just a sim card slot that is used for your primary sim, but the other slot is used also for Micro SD card slot. So you have the opportunity to choose between using this as a dual seem device with either two sim cards in each of the slots or a single sim device with expanded storage to that Micro SD card. The device does come with 16 GB of storage out of the box which is not too bad if you decide to use it as a dual sim handset.

As well as fantastic built quality on the device, we also get an excellent AMOLED display. It is 5 inches in size and come with a 720p resolution which is fairly typical for this type of mid-range class device. It is built using the same AMOLED technology as the Galaxy Note 4 and the Galaxy Alpha which makes it look simply fantastic. It offers a fantastic contrast ration and better outdoor visibility than we typically see from AMOLED panels. LCDs are still slightly ahead in this respect but the brightness you get and the viewing angles from this AMOLED panel are quite good and it makes the Galaxy A5’s display one of the best in this class.

Looking on the performance of the Samsung Galaxy A5, it is one of the first devices I have seen to use the Qualcomm Snapdragon 410 SOC which exceeds the Snapdragon 400. It is a 64bit capable of Quad Core cortex A53 CPU clocked at 1.2 GHz as well as the Adreno 306 GPU. We are getting around 20% more CPU usage even in simple 32bit applications however there hasn’t been too much improvement on the GPU side. Generally the performance and the operating system is fantastic, we should see that improved once this device is upgraded to Android 5.0. It is actually one of the downsides of the Galaxy A5; they were not running Android 5.0 out of the box, it’s still Android 4.4 with very similar software addition to the Galaxy Note 4 and the Galaxy Alpha.

It also has a quite good battery life although it’s not excellent because the device only comes with a 2300mAh battery to help it become so slim and you cannot remove the back covers for easy battery replacements.

The device has a fantastic camera. Inside the Galaxy A5 is the 13 Megapixel SONY EXMOR R sensor, the very same sensor that we have seen in flagship device like the LG G3, G2, the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 and also the Galaxy S4. So what we have been set up for is a fantastic sensor coming down to the price port of a mid-range device. Generally speaking, the camera produces excellent results especially in strong lighting and also when you are using HDR mode. It’s not as good in indoor conditions and low light because we are missing things like optical image stabilization but definitely superior to other devices that I have seen in this price range and in its category. It’s actually an excellent thing to see that Samsung has managed to bring a high quality camera down to price range of something like the Galaxy A5. On the front we also get a 5 megapixel selfie camera which is actually good for a selfie since most mid-range devices have something like 2-3 megapixels

Samsung Galaxy A5 Specifications

Screen	5-inch AMOLED display
	720pixels resolution, 294 pixels per inch
Size	139.3mm x 69.7mm x 6.7 mm
Weight	123 grams
Camera	13 MP primary camera
	5 MP secondary camera
Memory	2 GB RAM
Storage	16 GB storage, expandable up to 64 GB
Processor	1.2 GHz quad core
	64bit Qualcomm Snapdragon 410
GPU	Adreno 306
Sensors	Compass, Proximity, Accelerometer, GPS
Network	3G & 4G LTE
Wireless	Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, dual band, hotspot
	Bluetooth 4.0
Ports	micro-USB 2.0
Battery	2,300 mAh
Talk time	15 Hours
Music play	68 Hours
OS	Android 4.4 KitKat

Tips, Tricks and Strategies on how to keep your Cell Phones

There are a lot of different cell phones out there. Each model has some tips and tricks to make them very useful. In this article, I have compiled a list of tricks and strategies that will make your phone last longer and also help you understand how you can make the best out of your mobile.

Ø  In the event you drop your phone in water or some liquid, don't quickly assume that it's ruined beyond repair and throw it away. All you will need to do is to remove the battery from the device and place your cellphone into a bowl with dry rice or on warm slices of bread. These will absorb some moisture from the device and in no time, you will be using your device in no time. NB: Do not dry your phone with direct sun heat

Ø  Don't always rush to update to the latest phone on the block. Sometimes it is not worth it. Many manufactures make a lot of consistent changes but usually they are not major changes. Go for some in-depth mobile reviews from many cell phone review blogs and sites before deciding to buy a new one. Often, an upgrade will not be necessary.

Ø  Be aware that smartphones actually slowdown in performance over time. Downloading updates is very important. The problem with this is that new phones come out that are a lot more faster and great processing power. Therefore, at times it will be eventually necessary to upgrade.

Ø  It is likely that your smartphone is on for most of your waking hours. Make sure to switch it off some of the times. Mobile cell phones, like computers, require a restart or reboot to function flawlessly. When we restart it or switch it off, we free up some memory and this helps to keep the device running smoothly. Try to do a couple of resets a week and that should help boost performance.

Ø  When purchasing a new smartphone, you should decide carefully when considering extended warranty. These are usually just unnecessary additional costs with no much added value. Odds are good that in the case your smartphone will die then it is going to happen whilst the original manufacturer’s warranty is still covering. Also, most people these days upgrade to new cellphones every year, meaning that an extended warranty will be much more worthless.

Ø  Cell phones tend get slower with age. Mostly because as we update our softwares and applications will more and more memory will be consumed and they also take more space as we use them. This means that updates will then become a bit difficult. Usually when this happens, it most advisable that you update to a more advanced cellphone because clearly the current one cannot contain all the apps you need. You will then need to choose whether to keep it as it is or go for the upgrade.

Ø  If your smartphone is not water resistant, avoid going near water with your phone. Accidents and mistakes do happen no matter how alert you are, people drop their phones in water most of the time, which can ruin them. Don’t take it to a swimming pool or near the sink or in the bathroom. Do not put your smartphone on dusty surfaces or putting it out in the open in dusty winds, I would suggest you should get your phone an affordable. For less than $10 you can yourself a cute pouch.

Ø  Before buying a smartphone, you should first consider how you intend to use it. A lot of people have got smartphones, mostly because they use for sending emails, online browsing, some for gaming, for their high quality cameras etc. If you only want to use your phone for making voice calls and sms texting only, then I think buying a smartphone will a bad idea, it will be pricey and it requires costlier monthly plans, which is not an option for folks who just wanna talk.

Ø  You should recharge your phone battery before it completely runs out. Batteries were not designed for that, continuous charge of a dried up battery will lower the capacity of the battery to hold power for long periods. Try always to charge your phone battery whilst it still has got power.

I hope you will take advantage of these free tips on how to keep your smartphone and how to make the best of your cell phones. When shopping for a new cell phone, don't be overwhelmed by the numbers out there, go for deep review of the devices.

The Best Android Racing games 2015

Many racing games are available on the Google Play Store, and more are added on a regular basis, but finding the best android games worth downloading is usually the challenge. Here we are going to highlight some of the best quality android games 2015 that are fun to play, mostly free (some with in-application purchases) and which are also worth spending your funds on, or waiting intended for big downloads of about 1.5GB to finish.

Whether you’re searching for ultra-realistic racing, some casual arcade fun or desire to be ripping through water with some NOS turbo boosts, we have got all of it covered below. Some of them are and the others are for free, but they are all worth trying at least one time

Asphalt 8: Airborne

Our first game is from Gameloft, they have now released 8 versions of the flagship Asphalt car racing games for Android. Asphalt 8: Airborne brings out all the simulator realism and high speeds, NOS boosters, getting airborne while you race through realistic street roads. All of that while having the best quality graphics around.

Asphalt 8 gives life-like crashes and car damages, arcade mode and multiplayer mode, and a there is a carrier mode to be best driver around and then unlock a great deal of new cars. This is one of my favourite games since release; Asphalt 7 was also one of my favourite games. To me, it’s a clear show off on how far cell phone gaming has come. It’s still going to be one of my all-time favourites that will be found on every phone or tablet I own.

Riptide GP2

Stay with me here, I know most people have heard of this game. Riptide GP2 is quite old, but nonetheless it still has a plenty to offer. Even old model devices can still enjoy the Riptide GP2 experience.

It costs $0. 99 which is nothing compared to the fun experience.  You will be racing through the rich waters in this great arcade mode game in order to unlock higher levels, watercrafts and more points. If you haven't played this, that is a must-buy for virtually any mobile gamer.

Beach Buggy Blitz

Here is another one from the very same game developers who made the award winning Ripitide GP2 above. It’s a remarkable game, Beach Buggy Blitz. It offers almost the same experience; you will be cruising all-around beaches, via tunnels as well as under and over bridges in little buggy cruisers.

Drive your little hot-rod beach buggy so far into the uncharted depths of the mysterious tropical island

Swerve and break through a gorgeous and absolutely destructible place packed with Tiki statues, shacks, huge crabs, lava "things"... also yetis! Explore the sun-swept beaches, mysterious caves, fog-shrouded swamps, ruined buildings or temples as well as erupting volcanoes in this particular action-packed pursuit.

Enough said? It is by one of the best game developers all-around. This is one more that will keep you, your mates, the little ones busy for some time.

Slingshot Race

Now to alter things upward a little bit, I bring you an android game which is not known to many of you but will keep you busy, fired up, even feeling discouraged for some hours. The game can be a bit challenging of which "that will be the fun part" It requires, experience, some skill as well as finesse. When you do, you will be the best and fastest racing all-around.

It’s a bit difficult to describe, you will have to engage in order to "slingshot" your vehicle on corners, and it’s about timing, finding a groove as you rush past competition. It's designed for touchscreen displays, so you are unable to start using a controller like in the three stated earlier, however it's incredibly fun, can be addictive too. Customise your race car and get on to the slingshot corners.

Real Racing 3

Here we are at regular racing and i bring you one which is much more of a simulator and intensely realistic (and a bit hard). A third release in the iconic REAL RACING games, and another you definitely need to try if you like simulator racing games.

Real Racing 3 is an award-winning game which sets a new level standard for mobile games. It features a continuously broadening roster of licensed tracks, the 22-car grid, as well as over 100 meticulously in depth cars by different manufacturers as Bugatti, Mercedes Benz, Chevrolet, Ferrari, Audi, Lamborghini, Porsche and many more. Also Real-Time Multiplayer, Ghost Challenges, Period Trials, Social Leader boards and also the Time Shifted Multiplayer™ (TSM) which allows you to race any person, anywhere and anytime.

The game is free and has much to offer, however as an application produced by EA; expect to come across plenty of in-app purchases in order to speed up progress.

Fast and Furious 6: The game

Instead of racing in realistic as well as arcade mode game, give a try to something different like Fast and Furious 6.It is drag race game which draws attention from the well-known racing movie. Much like Brian O'Connor players need to adjust gears at just the optimal time to get to higher speeds and win. And then rise up your ranks within international boards, multiplayer contests and more.

Fast 6 even offers a mini version drifting game built-in. 1 which is intended for touch screens displays, you will need to tap and hold at the optimal time (just like Slingshot Racing) to get a great drift experience. It takes some getting used to, but all worth it for those hard-core gamers. This is yet another fantastic free game

Shine Runner

The third racing game in this particular listing by Vector Unit is Shine Runner. It takes some concept of Riptide GP 2 and again some Beach Buggy Blitz to bring you to some swaps of the southern for some air-boat race. You will be going through some rich waters in the backwoods bayou as well as breaking through destructible docks, some beach houses and more as you contest for the lead spot.

Fill your air-boat full with some moonshine and fly through the muddy waters in an attempt to beat time for better points and more. This is also another fantastic game, as is actually from VU. It really another you wouldn't want to miss.

Angry Birds Go

Here is one from the developers of the famous Angry Birds, with some Mario Kart nostalgia you are going to enjoy this game. It offers a great game play for iOS and Android smart phones, it's a perfect game for both grownups and kids.

It is about angry birds stuck on the piggy island wanting to race all their way to victory, offering the same looks and experience as that of the regular Angry Birds but this time with classic cart racing. Practically nothing may actually compare to Mario Kart, but Angry Birds Go comes close.

Well it’s about time you visit the app store and enjoy the games.

Factors To Consider When Buying A Computer

As you might guess, there isn't one ultimate answer to the question of factors or things to consider when purchasing a brand new PC. To come up with an ultimate answer, though, you will need to answer some other little questions for yourself before beginning the buying process.

1) How are you going to use this particular computer? Are you going to use it solely online surfing, that is email and browsing the internet and perhaps typing a document or using a spreadsheet once in a period? Are you going to use it for playing music and managing images to and fro your smart phone or camera? Are you using it for business purposes? What of gaming? Are you a real gamer or will you be doing some serious video editing on the computer?

2) There are also some performance questions. Are you that type of person that wants the machine to perform as fast as possible regardless of what you are using it for or are you more satisfied or comfortable with a slower performance?

This may seem to be obvious, but you will only get a computer that meets the needs you have if you stop and take into consideration these and other, questions to ascertain what your general needs are. Those who buy a PC without doing such type of inventory are usually always disappointed simply because they will realize that they have spent lots of money on a PC that is fancy probably much than they actually needed or, conversely, notice that the machine they have really isn't up to the tasks that they are expecting it to perform.

So, practically, what does this mean?

Let's start with people who will use the PC almost exclusively online, occasional letter writing and using spreadsheet. Most basic model PCs, whether it’s a desktop or laptop, fits this bill. The higher RAM the computer offers, the faster it will be, but models with 2 or 4GB RAM will work simply fine. I would identify the actual models that fit this block and then decide basing on price. Also look at various models at your workplace supply store but buy online. You are likely to find great deals, especially from very reputable sites like Newegg.com along with Amazon.com. The All-in-One models will be appropriate to this set of people, though they are expensive in comparison with regular desktop computers.

Two more notes concerning this: 1) Even if you should only get 2-4GB RAM, try to get a model that could hold more RAM in case you would want to upgrade afterwards. 2) If your main use is Internet activities, then the speed of your web connection is influential on your surfing as opposed to the speed of the PC. In the case you have DSL or you have Satellite Internet, check to see if Internet cable is available where you stay. Cable connection is always faster, if not, ensure that you're not at the minimum speed your current service provider offers.

If you are going to use your PC for business purposes or other applications besides the Web, then you will want to have a faster processor than what the basic model computers have. You would also want to get a model with 4GB of RAM or more. At times it will be cheaper to get a model with low amount of RAM and upgrade to a higher RAM on your own. It will all depend on how the manufacturer packaged the computer. You will also want to make certain that you get a large enough hard drive. 500GB used to be much but now, things are different, we have so much to keep on our hard drives and it now seems little. You should get at least a new 1TB drive, it can be internal or you can just buy an external hard drive.

In case you need very high speed rates, consider a model that has a Solid State Drive instead of a traditional hard drive. They are quite high priced though. However, there are Solid State/Hard Computer hybrids, which are not that much expensive and are also faster than regular disk drive. The one I have been using in for three months now has considerably sped it up.

For the real gamers, you would need a fast processor, high RAM & high-end video card with a lot of video and graphics RAM. Most manufacturers sell computers labeled as gaming machines; you may well not need to buy one specifically labeled that, looking at their configuration will give you an idea on the kind and specifics of hardware you may need.

Last and important note; before you buy make sure you carefully understand the return policy and to make certain that the seller will not charge you a restocking payment for returning it back. This in case you would want to return it back if doesn’t meet your needs.

5 Best Applications to hide your media files and protect applications on Android

Many of us love sharing selfies, character snaps and family photos with our own buddies. It’s those private, not-meant-for-public-viewing media that you want to keep private from public access. Fortunately, some fantastic Android applications are available to hide pictures and video clips from public eyes. They offer various features for example decoy app, stealth mode, PIN protection, and military-grade encryption technology to make sure your “treasured” media isn’t readily available to just anybody.

Most of the apps in this list also protect applications and texts. They are all free, but can be upgraded to premium in case you would want to activate additional features. Most free apps boast about features which are on the premium version, so be sure to read each app description carefully before subscribing to the paid application. Let’s find out how these applications can safeguard media and keep them undetectable from intruders (even though I know that the “intruders” are your partners, I will just keep going)

1. Vault

This kind of virtual safe can protect your current pictures, videos and even applications. You can also hide sms, call logs, and contacts far from prying eyes, thanks to its special “private contact” feature that hides your complete private stuff.

Most important, Vault’s password-protection feature ensures that all pictures and videos are kept hidden and locked inside a private place. You can view your pics and video clips only after entering the right pass code. The premium version includes a nifty feature where the app takes benefit of your device’s front-facing camera to look at snaps of an intruder seeking to view hidden photographs. This characteristic can only be activated in devices running Android 2.3 or above.

There are plenty more features inside the Premium version, including a decoy burial container feature, cloud storage, and stealth mode which you could hide your Vault’s icon on the home screen. But I recommend downloading this free version if photo and video protection is your main objective. Besides media defense, there are bonus features just like appllication lock, which allows one to password-protect an Android application, in addition to protection for SMS, call history and Facebook messages.

2. Video Locker

A virtual locker to your video clips, this free application secures your video clips by moving the file to a secret location on your phone. The hidden media is actually then encrypted using advanced 128 AES encryption. This ensures total protection since the video clips can’t be located even if the intruder steals your SD Card. They are locked, kept safely in certain unknown location on your mobile phone.

The application uses a secret PIN method to hide media. You just need to type in the pass code to access your hidden clips. Another great part of Video Locker is that the application could be made completely invisible and will not show inside "recent applications" list. It also offers a special mode in which in turn it auto-locks itself when your device goes to sleep mode before you exit the appliacation. You can save your valuable videos into folders and lock individualy.

Video Locker is optimized for tablets and it has got a great user interface. In the case you forget your PIN, the app will email it to you personally. The premium version removes all adverts and has got a special stealth mode that replaces the app using a simple calculator. You should download the free version if the other features are of no use to you.

3. Hide It Pro

Your sneaky friend is going to try his best to look for photos and video clips on your phone, but won’t locate any. That’s because all mass media is kept hidden behind some sort of harmless-looking (and fully functioning) music player. It’s your secret hide, and nobody will ever locate it unless they long-press within the app. A single tap only reveals virtual volume buttons.

The app allows you to put pics and video clips in different folders. You can then sort files or folders by name and multi-select those files you want to hide. The app also has some sort of slideshow and video player option that lets you view media without having to unhide them and remove them from the app. There are other features such as a lock screen option and an encryption tool to protect and lock applications and files.

Hide It Pro is totally free and its one of the most effective Android applications to hide photos and videos on the device. The application takes the trophy for most cleverly disguised app.

4. Vaulty

Vaulty offers a private gallery which hides media from main gallery. After you transfer your private pics and video clips, simply lock the application utilizing a PIN code or a password. The app is unique in that it uses the front camera of your phone which automatically takes pics anyone trying to snoop inside your secret gallery. This feature is totally free in Vaulty.

The application also lets you create a backup of your hidden video clips and pics (although to use this offer you should subscribe to the cloud storage feature). The online backup is really pretty useful if your mobile phone is lost or broken. You'll be able to retrieve media files to the new device.

Vaulty is a good private image gallery, with a nice user interface. It offers amazing photo and video management capabilities, including image slideshow, image editing, secret camera, filters & image renaming.

5. AppLock

AppLock is normally used to password-protect your TEXT MESSAGE, contacts, apps, call logs and Google mail. But it can also protect images and video clips. Just select pics and key in your PIN code to lock them away. You can access them only after entering the right PIN. You also can hide the application icon, and then easily open the app by typing a password on the dial pad. And if you fear your app might be uninstalled, subsequently just password-protect it via "advanced configurations" A person won’t be capable of uninstalling it unless he or she inputs the correct password.

The free mode offers only application, video and photo protection. It uses little memory, it’s a decent app, but offers only basic features inside free version.

If you are interested in one of the apps just go the Google Play store and search for the names as I have written them.

The Lenovo Yoga 3 Pro Review

If you have been shopping around for a great ultra book in the last couple of weeks you have probably came across the Lenovo Yoga 3 pro. It’s a top end machine powered by the latest Intel Core M chip. It comes with a 13.3inch QHD plus display. It is also magnificently thin and light. Lenovo really weren’t kidding when they said that the Lenovo Yoga 3 Pro will be one of the thinnest and lightest laptops going around. It’s actually lighter and thinner than the new Mac Book Air 13inch, which is a pretty impressive thing considering the Mac Book Air is one of the premier devices for being thin and light. It makes it extremely portable and easier to carry.

One of the main features of the Yoga 3 Pro is the watchband hinge which makes the device more user friendly than ever. Not only can you use it as a laptop, you can also fold it all the way to the back allowing you to use it as a tablet. It allows you to bend it into any position that you want with relative ease.  Well you might think, is this feature actually useful? Well it is really a handy device in the laptop mode, so easy and comfortable to use. When it comes to sharing content with family and friends I find the stand mode to be particularly useful. You can simply put it up on the table, use the touch screen and go through something like a slide show. You can alternatively have it sit next to you whilst you are cooking, you can see your recipe open. If you want to take the laptop around and show people documents throughout the office, the tablet mode is the perfect for that, simply using the touch screen to browse through. There is also the tent mode which comes in handy where you don’t want much of the device surface touching the ground.

The outer shell is made fully of aluminum and on the silver model I think it looks particularly great. It’s pretty similar to the material that Apple uses for their Mac Book Pro. That said, when you flip it around to see the inside that is not made of aluminum, so it’s not a full unit-body, it’s in fact made of rubberized plastic that feels quite comfortable to use when you are using it as a standard laptop.

The screen is protected by Gorilla glass. The bezels around that QHD display can be quite sizeable when you are using it as a standard laptop but it does facilitate the tablet use case. The display specs of the device are really awesome. It’s a 13.3 inch QHD+ or 3200x1800 IPSL LCD display which equates to a pixel density of over 270pixels per inch. Windows does still have issues with display scaling so not every application that you launch on the Yoga 3 Pro will look excellent on this high resolution display. If you do have one of those apps that scale correctly, it will look fantastic on this display. You also get the benefits of high saturation and fantastic viewing angles from the IPS nature of this display.

However with all the high quality specs of the Lenovo Yoga 3 Pro, I was disappointed in the battery life of the device. The Intel Core M processor seems too much for the battery, it drains too much battery ppower. This is fairly disappointing when considering that it’s an ultra book and it wouldn’t be all that portable considering that you will have to carry the charger around.

Specifications of the Lenovo Yoga 3 Pro

Display:                          13.3’ QHD+ 3200*1800 IPS Multi-touch

Graphics:                         Integrated Intel 5300 HD

Operating Sys:                 Windows 8.1 64-bit

Processor:                       1.1GHz Intel Core M-5Y70

RAM:                               8GB

HD Memory                      512 GB (total) SSD

Networking                      Wi-Fi 802.11 b, g, n (2.4, 5GHz)

                                      Bluetooth

Connectivity:                    2 USB 3.0

                                      1 DC-in with USB 2.0

                                      Micro HDMI out

                                      4-in-1 card reader (SD, MMC, SDXC, SDHC)

Input:                             Keyboard

                                      Trackpad

Size:                               11.8*9*0.5 Inches

Weight:                           1.2kg (2.6 pounds)

Best Upcoming Smartphones 2015

2015 is going to be an awesome year with so much coming out in terms of technology. Not only in terms of smartphones, also have things liked games, movies, apple watch, ultra books and a whole bunch of other cool things we are looking forward to see.


Top 7 Best Phones 2015

In this article I'm going to talk about phones which I think it’s going to be a major step forward and there is going to be a ton to choose from. I just want to round up the top 7 smartphones that we are looking forward to in 2015. Do keep in mind that these phones don’t even exist yet so it will be a bit hard to provide much detail therefore I will provide as much as I can. Also I am not going to rank them in any particular order since they are still being worked on; it will be hard to know which one is better than the other. It will be more of what we expect to see in the mobile tech this year.

Iphone 6S

We can expect it to be called the 6S based on the previous Iphone generation. With this new Iphone we expect is to see a bump in speed, camera and battery life as usual. The outer structure will most likely remain the same; there won’t be any major revision in the built quality. However the internals with all the S models is where the major changes are. We can expect to see 2GB of RAM, apple could possibly bring the Ipad 2 air processor over to the Iphone 6S, the camera could see an increase to 10-12 Megapixels and the video and optical image stabilizer will probably be available on all models.

LG G4

Since the display on the G3 was one of the best displays that I have ever seen on any phone, I think the G4 is going to be awesome. The display will now be a 5.3 inch and we are going to see a 20.3 Megapixel sensor on the back. Also we are expecting a better battery life since most people complained about the G3 battery.

Galaxy Note 5

I got to admit, with the Galaxy Note 4 I was just blown away, that thing is incredibly powerful and the screen is amazing. It is indeed on the next level and an amazing phone. With the coming of the Galaxy Note 5, it will have some really big shoes to fill. Rumor has it that it’s going to have a 4k display, the very first one for Samsung on smartphone. That will be 746 pixels per inch and that will be amazing and the Iphone 6+ is sitting at 401, which is almost double the resolution of the Iphone 6+. The s-pen is going to receive some updates as well so it’s going to be the best at multitasking.

Samsung Galaxy S6

This is android’s flagship model; it’s the direct competitor of the Iphone models. Every year Samsung just wants to top Apple. There is rumor that they are going to cover the Galaxy S6 in aluminum like the Note 4. With this higher built quality, it’s going to be a long term device unlike the previous ones. It could see an increase to 3GB RAM and a 64bit processor which will be the first in the Galaxy series and it will launch with Android Lollipop.

Galaxy Note Edge

It has already been announced and there already is a release date therefore there is no much speculation here. It’s basically taking the internals of the Note 4 and putting them on a device which is almost the same size but with a slightly curved display that goes towards the edge of the phone. With that extra screen size, Samsung is adding a way to see notifications better on your phone. It looks like it’s going to be a cool feature and it might end up on all coming devices.

HTC ONE M9

This is an incredibly popular series on HTC and why would they mess with perfection. It’s still going to have that gorgeous aluminum enclosure; the internals is where HTC is going to modify the phone. We can expect to see more battery life and possibly a better display. We do know that HTC is always going to be one of those phones that do very well and the M9 is going to improve hopefully.

Google Project ARA

Now this one here is my favorite. We haven’t seen it yet but the concept is wonderful and I'm happy that it’s being produced by Google. It has been a project from 2014 and there is rumor that it will be released towards the end of 2015. Basically it’s a phone with pieces you can assemble or remove on your own. Like if you want a bigger battery life you can remove it and replace with another or say you want a better camera with higher pixels, you can just remove and put a better one, or say you want a better RAM, just take out the old one and replace it with the desired specs. It will be forever upgradable, you will not just be limited to what you buy in the box and I think that’s pretty awesome. I’m just waiting to see this thing in person, something I can custom built.

Feel free to comment the one that you are looking forward to have this year. There will be detailed reviews on this site as soon as they come out.