January 27, 2014

Review: Razer Kraken Forged Edition




Made of aircraft-grade aluminum and soft pleather materials, the Kraken Forged Edition is by far Razer’s best looking - and most expensive - pair of headphones, but do they match the $300 price tag. Razer claims that the headphones are built by hand and each part is precision milled - and they do feel like they are. The Kraken Forged Edition feels extremely well made and built to last. The only downside of the high quality materials is that it weighs in at a whopping 390g.


The headphones come in extremely high quality packaging, resembling that of the Razer Blade. Taking off the slip cover, you find a black box with a carbon fiber-like texture and nothing else. Inside, we find the standard variety of manuals, ads, and stickers from Razer as well as the headphones and the included carrying case. Since the headphones are already in the carrying case, extra packaging isn’t needed to prevent the heavy headphones from being damaged during shipping. 

 

The hard shell case itself is high quality, although the zipper got caught a few times. The case has a molded interior to fit the headphones and prevent them from moving around, while providing extra cushioning to protect your investment. The top of the shell has a mesh pocket to hold the two included cables and the 3.5 mm to ¼” adapter.


The Kraken Forged Edition come with two cables, one with an inline mic, and one without. The cables are 1.5 m long, so they are long enough to allow movement, but not so long that they just get in the way. On one end, there is a 2.5 mm plug with a twist lock that goes into the headphones themselves and, true to its name, it twists to lock to prevent them from accidentally popping out. On the other, there’s a 3.5 mm jack, which is also threaded for the ¼” adapter so it won’t come off while unplugging it.


The included mic is perfectly fine for phone calls, but due to the 4 contact TRRS connector, they will only work with mobile phones, tablets, and anything that uses one jack for both the mic and headphones. Using that cable with other devices that use a 3 contact TRS connector may cause an electrical short and lead to distorted audio.


Gone is the bright green usually associated with Kraken (and Razer) products and instead, the Kraken Forged has a more polished and refined look. The headband is made of a pleather material and is extremely soft and comfortable with ample padding.



The earcups are made of aircraft-grade aluminium with a matte finish with shiny metallic bands as accents. In the center is the Razer logo milled into the aluminium and is surrounded by a black mesh. While there is a mesh accent on the outside of the cup, it is just that, an accent. These headphones are not open, but rather a closed cup design. The headphones have a metal band that allows the headphones to expand to fit your head and a joint to allow them to fold up and fit in the case. The metal band is etched with markings for visual confirmation of the size of the head band.They do not have rotating joints so it is not possible to tilt the ear cups to either fit your head better or rotate one out of the way if you choose to use only one of the earcups. On the bottom of the left earcup is the 2.5mm jack with a twist lock.


Even though the Krakens won't swivel to fit your head better, the extremely thick and soft padding on the earcups make up for that. The foam cups are a good 2 cm thick, making them quite comfortable.

Performance

The Kraken Forged Editions use 40mm Neodymium drivers which Razer claimed are “custom tuned” for the headphones. They have a frequency response ranging from 20 - 20 000 Hz and a 32 Ω impedance which is low enough for most devices to power. The headphones were left to burn in for 48 hours before they were tested. A Phillips DAC960 DAC and a Kenwood DP-x9010 for audio playback.


I found the Kraken Forged lacking in the mid range but possessing a powerful low end. I wouldn’t call the bass tight enough to be punchy, but instead found it to just be loud. The high frequencies are present but are often covered up by the heavy bass. Songs with lots of bass and highs such as electro and dubstep sound great with these headphones, but once vocals are introduced, the performance suffers. The response from these headphones are far from being audiophile grade, as Razer claims. The Kraken Forged lack the flat response found on most audiophile grade headphones. They may be aimed more towards bassheads and gamers which may appreciate the stronger low end.


Testing the Kraken Forged with video games returned better results. The bass improved the cinematic feel with first person shooters. Explosions sound great with these, with gun shots coming across with intensity. Pairing it with Razer Surround, an application that allows for a virtual 7.1 surround experience, makes them extremely immersive. The Kraken Forged lack a better microphone so they unfortunately can’t be used as a headset - you also can’t plug the mic into the computer unless you get an adapter. Even with an adapter, the Kraken’s inline mic does not allow for easy repositioning like boom mics on other headsets.


Razer is a gaming-oriented company so it is expected that the Kraken Forged perform well with games and have a more bass heavy response, but is the Kraken Forged worth the $299 price tag? These perform slightly better than Beats Studio Pros. If Razer was aiming for the audiophiles, then their choice of a loud low end and a mid range that was significantly lacking was an odd choice.

The Kraken Forged Edition is extremely well built, resulting in attractive headphones, but I wouldn’t see myself shelling out $299 for them. If you are a gamer who enjoys bass heavy music, powerful explosions, and has bushels of money, then by all means, go all out for the beast we call the Kraken Forged. For the rest of us who are looking for a nice pair of music headphones, wait to see what the upcoming Adaro line of headphones, announced by Razer at CES 2014, bring to the table.

January 21, 2014

How to improve the performance** of your Canon 18-55mm kit lens*


Most entry level DSLRs come with a lens that does an alright job for most tasks. They are great starter lenses as they cover a large zoom range and are both light and cheap. After a while, your skills may advance past the level of the Canon EF-S 18-55mm and want a better, faster lens. Canon's professional "L" series of lenses cost upwards of $1000 - excluding the ef 70-200mm f/4 - and are out of the price range of many consumers. Here's how to improve your kit lens to "L" glass quality**.

Here's what you will need:
1. Red paint
2. Masking tape
3. A paint brush
4. Cheap kit lens










Step 1:

Mask off the lens around the sliver ring


Step 2:

Paint the silver ring with red paint

Step 3:

Profit

Here's a comparison of the image quality before and after the mod




*[blank]'s universe and it's affiliates are not liable for any damages caused while performing any of these modifications

**This guide will not increase the performance of the lens in anyway whatsoever

January 11, 2014

Apple Reinvented the Smartphone 7 Years Ago


Although smartphones seem like it was always a part of our everyday lives, we have one company to thank for reinventing the smartphone, Apple. 7 years ago on January 9, 2007, former CEO Steve Jobs took to the stage and within a hour, he changed the world. At the Moscone Center in San Francisco, Steve Jobs claimed “Today, Apple is going to change the world”. They sure did.

Even before the release of the iPhone, Apple was wildly successful with its iPod and Mac lineups. Both products redefined how technology interacted with our everyday lives but Apple choose to revolutionize another device, the mobile phone. In 2007, Apple announced the first iPhone. Jobs stated in the iPhone press release that the "iPhone is a revolutionary and magical product that is literally five years ahead of any other mobile phone." It was truly magical and revolutionary.


The iPhone was also one of the first phones of its kind. It had a 3.5’’ touch display, which was huge at the time, and had only four buttons which includes the ‘home’, volume, silent, and lock buttons. Also, instead of a physical keyboard, the keyboard was displayed on the screen. The iPhone was wildly different in every way from its competitors at the time.

It was a huge gamble for Apple since they have never made a phone before. But it paid off, with Apple selling a total of 150 million iPhones by September 29, 2013, which generated over $90 billion dollars in sales.

The iPhone is still very popular with consumers and with the newly released iPhone 5S and 5C, sales of these phones have been stronger than ever. Even though the company has not been innovating as much as before, the iPhone will remain as one of the most important innovations in technology history.



Source - Apple

January 10, 2014

Rogers Denies Charging for LAN Traffic


Earlier this week, a Reddit post was created, alleging that Rogers' opinion is "that all traffic that goes across your network is internet traffic to count against your usage cap even if it is internal traffic from computer to computer". In short, anything on your network. This includes streaming movies from a computer to a television, for example. The user, "spammeaccount" also said that network traffic is tracked as long as the Rogers gateway is on. They also tested their theory by unplugging the router's coaxial cable (this runs to Rogers) and transferring 4 GB of data to a NAS (Network Attached Storage device) - bumping up their total usage by 4 GB.

This incident is not isolated, as other users commented saying they had the same problem. One user, "MaxxDelusional", elaborated on his case, saying, "This exact same thing happened to me. I was able to prove it and Rogers refunded me all of my overage payments. They said it was a faulty modem. Once they replaced the modem, I stopped getting charged for internal data."


Rogers is working to reassure consumers that they do not charge for internal traffic. They are currently "following up with their front line reps to ensure they have the accurate information", in order to prevent (part of) this from occurring again.

According to "spammeaccount",
"[Rogers] just lowered my monthly fee for 2 years and upped my cap to 500gig [sic] with no contract. It's is easier to agree to that than fight the charge as this wipes out the charge and I can cancel a few months down the road. I will take the savings and slap a switch/router between their modem and my network and throw their modem into bridge mode, after having them replace that modem as possibly defective."
If you have a sudden and suspicious increase in internet usage, it might just be this problem. One preventative solution is to install a switch or router, like "spammeaccount" suggests, between their modem and your other devices for the time being.

Source: Global News

First 4K Tablet Drops In at CES

Like it or not, 4K devices are coming into our lives fast. Although 4K TVs dominated CES 2014, Panasonic stands alone as they just recently showed off their first 4K tablet. The giant 20-inch tablet has an IPS LED-backlit LCD display with a crazy resolution of 3840x 2560 pixels which comes to a pixel density of 230 pixels per inch coming to a grand total of 9.8 million pixels.

The Panasonic Toughpad 4K UT-MB5 prototype that was shown off at CES 2014 had a brushed-metal backing and weighs 5 pounds. It runs on an Intel Core i5-3427U processor with 4GB of memory, and comes with 128 GB of SSD onboard storage. The mega tablet also includes some sort of NVIDIA GeForce graphics. Another model comes with 8 GB of memory with 256 GB of SSD onboard storage. What also sets this tablet apart, other than the fact it has a massive screen, is that instead of running a mobile OS like Android, this 4K tablet runs full Windows 8.1 Pro.


As a comparison, the 15-inch MacBook Pro with Retina Display from Apple has a screen resolution of 2880x1880 pixels at a pixel density of 220 pixels per inch. Although the pixel densities of the two are similar, the Toughpad's screen is 5 inches larger but still more pixel dense than the MacBook. 


The tablet is reportedly to go on sale in the United States sometime in January of 2015. And as reported by Engadget, the Toughpad 4K UT-MB5 starting price would a wallet burning $6000 USD! The price of the higher end 8 GB model is currently unknown. Panasonic has previously announced that the Ultra HD tablet would be available in Europe in November. If you don’t live in Europe, no luck yet.

Source : Engadget

January 9, 2014

Razer Nabu Smartband




Razer announced at CES 2014 their first wearable smartband, the Razer Nabu. It is an open platform device which allows for the development of third-party applications.. The Nabu gives you the option to use iOS or Android which gives the user a lot more flexibility.

"Smart watches in their current form are too bulky and fitness trackers are easily forgotten after the initial novelty wears off—we have fixed all of that," notes Min-Liang Tan, Razer co-founder, CEO and creative director. "The Razer Nabu provides a revolutionary new platform that bridges the divide between so-called smart watches and fitness bands. It delivers only the information you need, collects data that you want, and deepens your social interactions. Most excitingly, with our open platform, developers can utilize data collected by the Nabu to deliver incredible experiences to individuals via mobile or desktop apps—social or otherwise."

The Razer Nabu has three main features

Notifications

The Nabu features two small displays for notifications. The Public Icon screen, a 32 x 32 pixel OLED, notifies you for calls, messages, emails, etc. The Private Message screen, a 128 x 32 pixel OLED, shows more detailed information for emails, messages, etc.

Sensors and Tracking

The Nabu has implemented sensors to track your bio. It learns your distances traveled, sleeping data and all your other preferences to understand you. Gestures can be programed to do many different things for you.

Social Networking

The Nabu can connect to social networking services to keep you updated on notifications and the band will auto detect other people nearby with a Nabu. You can also share social profiles with a handshake or a high-five. With the toggle of an option, you can use these gestures to add contacts to your social media services.

The Razer Nabu is powered by a rechargeable lithium-polymer battery that can last up to 7 days on standby. It is rain and splashproof with an operating temperature of - 20°C to 45°C/ -4°F to 113°F.

The Razer Nabu will launch worldwide at the end of Q1 (retail price not yet announced) but developers can buy it for $49 now.

Source: Razer


Via: NextPowerUp

Yahoo Acquires Aviate


Ever since Marissa Mayer became CEO at Yahoo in July 2012, they have acquired various startups. Their latest addition is Aviate, an Android homescreen replacement that provides a new and refreshing approach to using your apps. Yahoo recently announced the news at CES 2014. If you’re unaware of Aviate, it’s a minimalistic launcher with a clean, modern interface. It takes cues from the time of day or location to present information important to you. For example, based on your location, Aviate will present you with relevant information such as nearby attractions. Aviate is still in private beta, with Yahoo saying they will improve Aviate but didn’t specify their plans. It is possible that Aviate will integrate with Yahoo products and services such as Flickr, Yahoo Mail and Messenger. Yahoo is not the first to try to take a spin around the launcher market. If you can recall, Facebook Home was Facebook's attempt at joining the launcher game. If you want to join the closed beta, try the invite code “YAHOO”. The first 25,000 people will receive access.

Get Aviate on the Google Play Store now!

Source- Aviate Blog PostYahoo Tumblr Post

Razer Unveils Project Christine Concept


Razer has unveiled a concept computer by the name of Project Christine at CES 2014. Project Christine is a idea that tries to open up the full potential of PC hardware to people who have limited or no technical knowledge.

The computer is a modular system that has the many components required for a computer branching out of a central column. All the components can be swapped out and replaced as easily as putting an SD card into the reader. Simply place the module (in the correct orientation, of course) into the slot, and you're all done, no need to know which port to plug it into or if it will work or not. Gamers wanting to build their own PC can now do so without worrying about which parts to buy and if it will fit or not. Terms such as LGA2011, DDR3 1600, and PCIe 3.0 can all be daunting to some one who's building their own PC for the first time. Many experienced PC builders can agree that trying to help someone start off building a computer can be a mission in itself and often results in a lot of confusion and explanations. With Project Christine, all the modular components are compatible with each other, making customization as simple as deciding on how fast you want it, or how much you are willing to spend.


As computer components grow faster and more powerful, interfaces change as well, making component upgrades complicated, and often expensive, sometimes requiring users to replace most of the components in the computer. Project Christine tries to overcome that by having an universal connector that is used throughout all their components. An upgrade is done by taking out the old component and slotting a new one in.

“Modules connected to the PCI-Express backbone can be added in any order or combination, featuring up to quad-SLI graphics, multiple SSD and RAID storage components, I/O and even power supplies, ensuring maximum flexibility,” Razers continues.

The computer is cooled with a built in liquid cooling system that runs through the backbone of the system. The reservoir is located in the same module as the power supply, which ensures that you cant forget the cooling system - it won't turn on if its missing - which eliminates the possibility of users overheating the system due to a lack of cooling, and eliminates fan hum as well by using a coolant to cool all the components.


The modules communicate with each other through the central backbone using the PCI-E interface used by all modern graphics cards. There is a proprietary connector in the centre of the slot, as well as two round quick disconnects at both sides for the coolant to flow through the module, and not out of the backbone when nothing is plugged in.

Razer mentioned that Project Christine will support more than one OS - like most computers - so we may see an option for Steam OS seeing that Razer might not want to be left out.


Seeing that Project Christine uses a proprietary interface, I'm interested in seeing if Razer will allow other companies to use their connector to create modules for Project Christine, or be like certain other companies and sell all the modules themselves.

Project Christine is still a concept, so it may or may not happen, but it will be interesting to see what Razer does with this. For updates, sign up on Razer's website here.

Source: Razer 

Blackberry Files Patent Infringement


Whenever people come up with new products, it could be a whole new and exciting idea or it could be very similar to an existing one. In this case, Typo Products, a company co-founded by Ryan Seacrest, have created an iPhone accessory that allows users to type on a physical keyboard that looks very similar to the keyboards that are found on many of Blackberry’s handsets.

In a press release, Blackberry’s Chief Legal Officer, Steve Zipperstein, called this case a “blatant infringement against BlackBerry’s iconic keyboard” and that Blackberry will continue to “protect” their “unique design”.




As you can see above, it is obvious that the new Typo keyboard case is oddly similar to the keyboard on the Blackberry Q10.

The Typo keyboard case was released at CES 2014 and is available for pre-order from their website for $99 (without shipping) with orders being sent out this month.

January 8, 2014

REVIEW: Nexus 5


The cheapest in its class, the purest of the pure, the best of Google - the Nexus 5. As part of Google’s mission to get an Android in everyone’s hand, the Nexus series was created to bring affordable, high-powered, pure Google devices to the world (once they were in stock). The Nexus 5 is a symbol to Google’s commitment to the Nexus line. The Nexus 5 had some very strong competition from Samsung, HTC, and even LG.

Packaging



The Nexus 5 comes in the ubiquitous colourful sleeve and a cardboard box holding the phone is within. The sleeve is printed with a picture of the phone in the front and in the back, there is a picture of the rear camera and some regulatory information. The inner box is white with the Google logo in gray, barely visible. Two pieces of tape hold the top of the box to the bottom.


Inside the box is the phone itself, a SIM ejection tool, charger and micro USB cable, and a plethora of manuals. Note that headphones are not included with the phone, similar to the Nexus 4.


Taking a look at the phone itself we find the ceramic power button on the right side of the phone and ceramic volume buttons on the left side. The buttons feel well made and they are easy to press, maybe too easy. Whenever the phone is held horizontally, the volume buttons are easlly depressed by your thumbs. The SIM card tray is also located on the right side of the phone, below the power button.

The front of the phone features the front camera, a few sensors, and a uniquely round earpiece speaker. Another unique feature is the notification LED being placed at the bottom bezel, below the screen. On the bottom, a set of speakers are located on either side of the micro USB port.

On the back sits the 5Mp rear facing camera which will be discussed later , as well as an recessed nexus branding.

Power


This underdog is a powerhouse. Using the same CPU, the 2.3 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 800, and GPU, the 450 MHz Adreno 330, as the Note III, this device will pack a punch. The Nexus also features a now obligatory 4.95 in. 1080p Full IPS display with Gorilla Glass 3 and a pixel density of 445 ppi. In the memory department, the Nexus comes with a good 2 GB of RAM with 16GB and 32GB storage options.

Similar to the Nexus 4, the 5 will also have a 2300 mAH (A 200 mAH upgrade from the Nexus 4) non-removable battery good for 17 hours of talk or more importantly 8.5 hours of internet time. The 5 will also feature built-in Qi-compatible wireless charging, NFC, dual-band WiFi with support for ac, LTE support (finally!), Bluetooth 4.0 LE, and Android 4.4 KitKat.

The camera will be similar to the Nexus 4, an 8MP rear camera, but it does have Optical Image Stabilization (OIS) to handle some of the shake. It will also have an HDR+ mode which will expand the dynamic range even more than the standard HDR. The OIS will come in handy when taking HDRs. The Street-View-esque Photo Sphere will also be a great feature on the Nexus 5.


The Nexus 5, like its predecessor, will be SlimPort enabled. If you don’t know what SlimPort is, you are not alone. It is a DisplayPort-compatible video standard that can output a variety of video formats through the microUSB. It is similar to the more popular standard, MHL, which is available on many more devices. Currently, there are SlimPort adapters for VGA and HDMI and both will run you around $30-40.

Price


Coming in at $349 for 16GB and $399 for 32GB , both unlocked, it is very very attractive. Of course, one of the perks of being Canadian, we have a nice chunk of tax and shipping on top of that but it is still far cheaper than its competition. The offerings from LG, HTC, and Samsung are all around the $700 range. You may be wondering how Google can offer this device for so little? The most important specs stack up to the competition but smaller details like the camera was downgraded to save some dough. If you can wait and if Google follows a similar path as it did with the Nexus 4, there will be a price drop around summer time.

Problems


This is a great phone but there are a few things that can be much better. The battery life is not the best but this could probably be fixed with a new update. The audio from the phone was quite quiet and notifications were often missed. This was fixed with the 4.4.2 update. The multitasking window also lacks a clear all button found on Samsung and many other devices and it does come in handy.

The most annoying part of the phone is that you are “forced” to use Hangouts. Using Hangouts, the only part differentiating an SMS and a Hangouts message is a small label stating “SMS”. This became very annoying as many of my intended texts became Hangouts messages. The next day, I had to switch to using Textra, a really nice SMS app that can completely replace Hangouts (unless you actually like using Hangouts).

I also had problems connecting the phone to a Bluetooth car speaker. The volume was extremely low, because the phone thought it was a headset, I believe. The voice dialing was also horrid. It obviously does not use the same voice engine as Google Now as it is much better at recognizing my voice. It is disappointing that such a basic feature does not work well.

Conclusion

If you need a new phone because you lost it, it was stolen, looking for a cheap upgrade, or if you just had your contract run out and are reluctant to signing another one, the Nexus 5 is the way to go. If you do not care about price or do not mind to be locked in with a carrier, there are better choices on the market such as the Samsung Galaxy Note III.

At its price point, we cannot ask for more. For $400, you get a high-end Android device with Android 4.4 KitKat (and the new Android versions in the future without having to wait), unlocked. My current phone is a SIII and I would love an upgrade to the Nexus 5.

Pick one up for yourself at the Play Store.

Apogee Announces MiC 96K


Recently, Apogee announced the successor to its successful condenser MiC (see what I did there?), the MiC 96K. Apogee is known for making products for iOS or OS X, and this is no different. The MiC 96K is very similar to its predecessor, but adds support for sampling rates up to 96 kHz (again, as in its name) at a resolution of 24-bit (this remains unchanged).

Seriously, it's this easy.

The MiCs were designed with ease-of-use and portability in mind and it achieves just that. Both models combine a microphone, preamp, and analog-to-digital converter in one, while producing high-quality audio. All the power is transferred over the USB bus.

As per the original MiC, its newer sibling will include:

  • A USB to 30-pin cable
  • USB cable for Mac
  • Table top stand
  • Quick Start Guide (exciting!)
Now possible with its mic stand adapter.

Aside from its higher sampling rate, the MiC 96K comes with:


  • A USB to Lightning cable (came with MiCs after 30 August 2013)
  • Microphone stand adapter
The Apogee MiC 96K, made in the USA, comes in at $229, $30 more than its 3-year-old younger sibling. You can learn more about it on the Apogee website