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Moto 360 (2nd Gen) unboxing and review [Video]

There’s really not a lot to say about this year’s Moto 360. It’s an Android Wear smartwatch, so there’s really not much different here over similar devices we’re seen over the last year or so as far as software goes. The real discussion with the 2nd gen Moto 360 is the design. What we have now is an evolved and matured version, but with one unfortunate similarity when compared to the first generation: that flat tire.

Like many, I was hoping that Motorola would eliminate this aspect altogether, but that didn’t happen. If you can look past the flat tire, which ultimately adds to some of the functionality here, there’s a lot to love about the Moto 360…


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Review: One month with Samsung’s Galaxy S6 Edge+ [Video]

Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge+ … wow that’s a long name, but what a beautifully designed phone we have here. It’s of the best designs I’ve seen this year without a doubt, but what makes it so special? It’s essentially just a larger S6 Edge, right? Yep.

There are only two main things that make this phone different: a larger display and a larger battery. If you’re unfamiliar with the much smaller S6 Edge, check out our review or top features article, but due to the similarities between these two we’re not going to get too in-depth with this review…


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Review: Huawei’s Mate S is well-built w/ a very fast fingerprint scanner, but falls short in some areas [Video]

I’m fairly new to Huawei’s lineup of smartphones, but since I was such a big fan of Huawei Watch, I had some high hopes and expectations for this new device. As with Huawei Watch, the unboxing experience is excellent. Huawei knows how to do packaging. It’s clean-cut and presented well. Though packaging is only a small part of the battle…


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Review: Huawei Watch sets a new standard for Android Wear smartwatch design [Video]

Huawei Watch is beautiful. I know that’s a rather odd way to start out this review, but this is hands-down one of the best looking smartwatches on the market. I suppose that opinion is somewhat subjective depending on your taste, but every little detail about Huawei Watch’s look and feel is proof that there’s light at the end of the tunnel for beautiful smartwatch design…


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PSA: ASUS now offers a 16 GB ZenFone 2 variant w/ 4 GB of RAM for $229

We got our first look at the ZenFone 2 all the way back at CES 2015 (and we recently gave the ZenFone 2E the review treatment), but now it appears (via Lilliputing), that ASUS is offering yet another model of the phone. While its hefty 4 GB of RAM was previously restricted to the higher-capacity models, ASUS is now offering a 16 GB model with the larger memory option for $229.

If you’re in the market to add a ZenFone to your Android arsenal, but you don’t want to pitch the extra cost for the 64 GB model, this is your handset of choice. Previously, the 16 GB model — which started at just $200 — was offered only with 2 GB of RAM, but now you can double the RAM for $30 more. It’s a no brainer, especially considering 2 GB of RAM is a little on the low side for 2015.

You can grab the new variant — in black, silver, gold, or red — on Amazon for $229 shipped.

 

 

Google OnHub Review: An excellent but expensive router with a lot of potential

While we’re off in Berlin at IFA, our good friend Mike “Detroit Borg” Kukielka got his hands on the $200 Google OnHub router manufactured by TP-Link. We’ve seen a lot of other reviews but this one is an excellent in-depth overview which hits all the right spots.

The TL;DR is that it is about as good a router you can buy but at $200 the differentiating features aren’t quite ready yet. Seems like a go especially if your home networking is currently lacking and you plan on living in Google’s home ecosystem in the future.  Pick up one at Amazon, Best Buy, NewEgg, Walmart, Google, or TP-Link .  Full video below


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Review: Samsung’s Galaxy Note 5 has the beauty, brains and brawn, but not without compromises [Video]

There’s no denying the beauty of Samsung’s latest Note iteration. The Note 5 is simply amazing when it comes to its form, but how does that affect function, if at all? Today, we’re going to find out. The Galaxy Note 5 was unveiled and released within about a week and it seems to be the talk of the town in the mobile tech space, both good and bad.

Samsung’s previous iterations of the Note’s design have been more evolutionary than revolutionary, but this year that all changed. We now have a device that’s built from metal and glass, much like its smaller brother the Galaxy S6. It may prove to be quite fragile if you drop it, but damn it feels good in your hand…


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Review: The OnePlus 2 is an integer away from the perfect flagship killer [Video]

It’s no surprise that the OnePlus One was a huge hit. Flagship specs at a mid-range price wasn’t something normal for the mobile industry. OnePlus made waves with this “flagship killer’s” announcement more than 15 months ago, and now its much-anticipated successor is available for purchase (if you can get your hands on an invite), but does the OnePlus 2 live up to the hype? Let’s go ahead and find out…
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ASUS ZenFone 2E Review: Nothing unexpected from this ZenFone 2 turned GoPhone

I recently reviewed the ASUS ZenFone 2, and — like many others — had mostly great things to say about it. The phone has been a success for ASUS, a company which has previously had trouble getting any respect or recognition for any of its Android entries. That changed with the ZenFone 2 at CES 2015, when the company announced that the higher-end model, the one that I reviewed, would be shipping with 4 GB of RAM. In the real world, having 4 GB of RAM over the typical 3 GB doesn’t make much difference, but it was impressive nonetheless. Now, ASUS is taking a step back. They’ve taken the ZenFone 2 and gone the opposite direction, introducing an AT&T GoPhone variant of their flagship. And it’s pretty much exactly what you’d expect…


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Angry Birds 2 review: How Rovio wrecked a classic [Video]

Once upon a time there was a small Finnish game development company called Rovio. It wasn’t particularly famous, nowhere near the likes of EA Games, but then Angry Birds happened. The original title took the iOS App Store by storm before eventually landing on Android. Since those early days the brand has become one of the most recognizable brands in the world. There’s clothing, toys and even short animated shows as well as numerous movie tie-in games like Angry Birds Rio and Star Wars. What was once the popular darling of the App Store is now a digital behemoth.


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Moto G 2015 36-hour review: This is the perfect $179 smartphone…for my kids

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I’ve long been a fan of what Motorola has been doing with their smartphones and peripherals, and this week’s announcements are no exception. Both of the headphones Moto released, the Moto Surround and especially the Moto Pulse are top notch. I’ve been using the Pulse exclusively since the event and couldn’t be happier. They are so light that you forget they’re even on your head, while at the same time they have a mic for calls, a battery meter on your phone ,and they swivel so they pack flat. Oh and the sound is excellent – comparable to a $200 set of heavy cans from other mid/high tier vendors. At $60, the Pulse headphones are a no-brainer if you need light over-ears for a reasonable price.

But the Moto G 3rd edition is what we’re here to talk about…
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Review: Samsung’s Galaxy S6 Active is capable & rugged, trades fingerprint sensor for better battery

If you’ve been following our thoughts on this year’s flagship smartphones, you know that we think that Samsung’s offerings are some of the best. The Korean company really stepped up their game with the Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge, introducing a much more premium build, a cleaned up version of TouchWiz, and internals that are worthy of 2015. In that vein, the Galaxy S6 Active is pretty much identical. It has a really nice hard plastic body, the same less-horrible TouchWiz, and the exact same internal specifications as its standard S6 brethren. But it’s not perfect, and there are always going to be compromises. Maybe fewer compromises than ever before, but compromises nonetheless…
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Pebble Time now available to pre-order from Best Buy for $200

Pebble has a long-time friendship with Best Buy, and now the smartwatch maker is launching the first widespread availability of its new Pebble Time through the retailer. Available for $200, the standard 22mm non-steel version of the watch is now available for consumers to put their claim on red, black, and white models.

While the Kickstarter Edition just recently began shipping to those who backed the watch, those just now realizing that they would actually like a smartwatch that has a color e-paper display, more than 5 days of battery life, and cross-platform compatibility are in luck:

We recently reviewed the Pebble Time, saying that while it does have its upsides, it still feels stuck in the past compared to the currently-available Android Wear devices and the Apple Watch. Long battery life is nice, but the lack of a touch screen and sketchy compatibility with iOS hold the device back—especially at this price point.

Looking to buy an Android Wear smartwatch? Check out our comparison and buying guide.

Double Review: The G2 & P2 are two great Google Cardboard viewers from DODOcase (Giveaway!)

DODOcase is known for their cases, but you may not have known that they also make a line of Google Cardboard viewers (which I guess could also be considered “cases” using a looser definition of the word). A couple of newly-revised viewers, models G2 and P2, are scheduled to start shipping in the next few weeks, and we thought we would give them a look. And while we can’t say that DODOcase is bringing anything revolutionary or groundbreaking to the VR scene with these pieces of cardboard, they’re definitely good options if you’re wanting to get started with Cardboard-enabled apps…
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ASUS ZenFone 2 Review: One of the best budget Android smartphones despite its build and bloat (Video)

I first took a look at the ZenFone 2 when it was announced back at CES, and I remember standing at the ASUS press conference actually very impressed with what ASUS managed to do here. While many that I talked to immediately discounted the device — because, well, it is another ASUS ZenFone — I stood behind it as someone who had actually tried it out first-hand. The phone packs some great hardware, and while it was assumed that this was just going to be another underwhelming mid-range handset to clutter the 2015 lineup, I thought this one actually deserved a second look.

Four months after the phone’s announcement in January, it finally went up for sale for North American customers on Amazon. There are two variants here, the first being a lower-end model that costs just $200 and sports 16 GB of storage, and the second is the 64 GB model, coming in at $300. We’re going to be taking a look at the higher-end model in this review, and that’s worth noting because storage space isn’t the only differentiator between these two devices. The high-end $300 model also sports a better processor, as well as that record-breaking 4 GB of RAM…


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The new ‘Google Photos’ is a convincing reason to give Google your entire photo library

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Google Photos was just announced this week, and—assuming you’re okay with Google having all of your photos on their servers—it’s a great new way to keep all of your life moments safely stored in one place. This isn’t just a redesigned mobile app. It’s a complete rethinking of how Google approaches its photo storage offerings, and it already has me convinced to just throw every picture I’ve ever taken to their cloud…
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Review: LG’s G4 boasts the best smartphone camera, a beautiful display + other surprises (Video)

LG may be late to the game as far as smartphone releases go, but the G4 is finally here and it’s ready to take on the competition. I’ve been using a T-Mobile variant of the G4 for a little over a week now as my daily driver, and it’s been a very pleasant experience. If you’ve been holding out for a smartphone upgrade, this is definitely one to consider….


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Review: The Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge are the best smartphones Samsung has ever made (Video)

It’s definitely been an exciting time in tech these past few months, but on April 10, 2015 Samsung unleashed its Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge to the world and quickly became a favorite among Android users. The Galaxy S6 takes a radically different approach when compared to its predecessor the Galaxy S5, but this is definitely not a bad thing.

Today we’re going to discuss what makes Samsung’s latest flagship so amazing as well as go over a couple of shortcomings. I’ve been using the Galaxy S6 for a couple of weeks now and this is my review…


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HTC One M9 review: Steps in the right direction, but enough to keep up? (Video)

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Another year has passed and HTC’s latest flagship is here at last, but does it live up to the hype? This year we have a very familiar design and changes that will hopefully alter the future of the One lineup for the better. If you’re looking into upgrading to the One M9, pause that idea and check out our review (video above) to find out if it’s a worthy purchase…


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