Sony Is Hosting Its Own Press Event Next Month

February 24, 2016 By Nancy Young Leave a Comment

It would seem that March is going to be an incredibly eventful month for tech giants all over the world. Apple is organizing a press event that everyone believes will be the moment when the company showcases its next iPad and the fabled iPhone 5se. IBM is staring its very own, personalized trek down the VR path down in Tokyo with its next generation VRMMO alpha testing of Sword Art Online: The Beginning.

It would appear that Sony has a few things to show us as well, as the company just started sending out invites to their exclusive PlayStation VR press event. This event will be taking place during the Game Developer Conference in San Francisco on March 15^th. While in no way a surprise, it seems that Sony is having their own run on the virtual reality highway, and what has been announced so far regarding it seems pretty promising.

Not to mention that Sony originally unveiled their VR project – at that time dubbed Project Morpheus – all the way back in 2014 and has been bringing improvements to their PlayStation VR headset since. Apparently, one of the latest updates to it was the addition of a 120 Hz capable OLED display together with re-projection technology that will allow users to transform their experiences.

However, ever since that moment, the company went rather quiet on what they were preparing with the virtual reality headset, to only speak out now. The PlayStation VR is scheduled to be released in the second half of this year, only a little later than competitors’ own releases (Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, etc.). However, the company is keeping things rather hushed up until the fateful day of the press event that has been planned.

The invitations that have been sent out so far read that this is an invitee-only event that will begin at 2 PM PT and include hands-on demonstrations of what the new PlayStation VR is truly capable of. The event is scheduled to last roughly 4 hours, with the doors opening an hour prior to the presentation.

This will mark the first time in nearly half a year when Sony is willing to talk about their endeavors in the area of virtual reality since their last announcement that was made at Paris Games week in October 2015. Now, the only problem for individuals who are trying to stay up to date and present in the world of technology would be which event to attend, as Apple is holding its own on the very same day.

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Rez Infinite is Coming to PS4, and It will Support VR

December 7, 2015 By Kenneth Scott Leave a Comment

Rez Infinite is coming to PS4, and it will support VR as well.

Rez Infinite is a classic Dreamcast and PS2 video-game. It’s set to launch on Sony’s PlayStation 4 in the following days. Old-timey gamers, please, manage your excitement, as the internet has already gone bonkers. The VR version will have a solid 120 frames per second, and it will also boast fully detailed 3D audio. In its default screen mode, Rez Infinite will manage 60 frames per second at 1080p quality – 7.1. surround sound is all-present.

The remastered version will come with a brand new level.

Sony is trying to promote their VR setup, but, to be frank, this isn’t a new game. It’s just a PlayStation 2 remake, which is a HD remastered as well.

The early version of the game was, admittedly, eye-candy with stunning visuals. Developed by HexaDrive for Dreamcast, the Rez had some audio problems, as it wasn’t that well built-in and players could notice that sounds were not properly synched with attacks.

Unfortunately, the overworked music and visuals ended up hurting the gameplay, and it offered a lackluster experience. The Team Andromeda members worked really hard on the game, but, at the end of the day, big fans of Rez were left with a nasty after taste – which, hopefully, we won’t encounter this time around.

This unending stream of remakes is worrying. Even though these games made the PS2 so popular, nobody wants to be stuck in the past. While video game consoles have evolved, so have game mechanics and the way a game dev tells a story. Think of early day Fallout and The Elder Scrolls games, and compare them to the latest titles in the franchise, as in: Fallout 4 and Skyrim. There’s a huge difference in the way the developer conveys a story and grips the gamer to the edge of the seat.

Remakes are great, nostalgia is needed, but how much is too much?

This year marks PlayStation’s 20th anniversary. The Japanese-based company has officially announced that there will be 8 PS2 games available on PS4 consoles.

These PS2 titles can be purchased directly from the European and the American PlayStation Stores. Games will be up-rendered in 1080p with features you would expect a PS4 game to come with.

Be prepared for the following games: War of the Monsters, Twisted Metal: Black, both for $9.99 each. Grand Theft Auto Sand Andreas, Vice City and III for $14.99 each. Rogue Galaxy, Dark Cloud and Mark of Kri also for $14.99 each.

PaRappa the Rapper 2 and The King of Fighters 2000 will be added in the near future.

All of these PS2 classics will have Trophies enabled.

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Sony Announced a New 1 TB PlayStation 4

June 22, 2015 By Roxanne Briean Leave a Comment

Sony’s just announced a new model for their console – it’s going to be called PlayStation 4 Ultimate Player 1 TB Edition.

Sony acknowledges that the downloadable content market is growing more and more with each passing year, and the company wants to take the bulls by its horns while the bull isn’t all grown up. The Japanese company is going to release their PlayStation 4 1 TB Edition next month – doubling its original capacity.

The PlayStation 4 1 TB Edition is going to be available at the end of this month for those residing in Japan. European, and US gamers will have the possibility of buying the newer model on the 15th of July. At the current moment, nobody knows how much it will cost, nor if it’s going to be bundled with an additional controller, or a Sony exclusive game.

Microsoft announced last week that an Xbox One 1 TB Edition is in the works and it will feature their new Xbox One killer controller. This is Sony’s counter attack to the growing fan-base for Xbox one – reports state that the Xbox One will sell like crazy this X-Mass. Why? Well, because Xbox One will feature backwards compatibility, and a string of AAA titles will also hit Microsoft’s console.

Xbox 360 users will most likely shift towards the next generation consoles, says Microsoft executive Aaron Greenberg – ” A lot of people have been waiting for the next Halo; a lot of people have been waiting for Gears; a lot of people have been waiting for backwards compatibility.”

Sony doesn’t have a thrilling line-up for this holiday – No Man’s Sky is known to be released at the end of 2015, but Sony has lost it’s timed exclusivity deal, and the open-world virtually infinite space exploration game will be released on the PC at the same time.

But Sony’s new model for their PlayStation 4 product line will feature a reduction in power consumption – the Ultimate Player 1 TB Edition will use 8 percent less power than the 500GB version.

Here’s the official video announcement from Sony.

If you didn’t jump on the next gen console bandwagon already, this might be the perfect time to do so. You only have to choose between a Sony PlayStation 4, and a Microsoft Xbox One. Take a look at what exclusive titles stir your curiosity, and decide. You don’t want to miss this period – it’s the best time to be a gamer, and this year’s E3 event is a statement that gaming can only get better.

I’m a happy owner of both the Xbox One, and PlayStation 4. I highly recommend you buy both of them, but if you can’t, I’m more inclined to tell you that Sony has better exclusives, while Microsoft has a better controller.

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A Ton of Games Are Being Developed for Project Morpheus

June 16, 2015 By Deborah Campbell Leave a Comment

Project Morpheus

Wired has somehow gotten Sony to spill the beans about their Project Morpheus virtual reality headset. It’s going to come out sometime next year, and Sony’s focus is to build a huge library of games.

Sony was supposed to showcase their Project Morpheus and talk about their VR device Monday at their E3 keynote, but it didn’t happen like we expected. Sony just stated that it’s going to be a social event. Fortunately for us, Wired managed to get the president of Sony’s Worldwide Studios Shuhei Yoshida to talk.

” We need to convince PS4 owners to spend several hundred dollars to purchase a Morpheus headset, on top of the PS4 they already have, and more gaming content is what will convince them.”, Shuhei Yoshida has said.

Project Morpheus

Can’t say I disapprove with their view on things, and I actually applaud their stance. When the time comes to look for virtual reality headsets I’ll choose the one that offers a huge library of games, and not just a headset that will allow me to watch movies and surf Facebook – I’m looking at you Oculus Rift, which, hopefully, you won’t become a Facebook VR platform.

Yoshida, and Adam Boyes, who is Sony VP of publisher and developer relations, said that the company will showcase during E3 almost 20 demos so users can get a taste of what Project Morpheus is all about. Besides ““small indie teams [and] outfits.” as Boyes puts it, Sony will also support development of Horizon: Zero Dawn, a new IP, for their VR device, and a version of Ubisoft’s Trackmania.

“We have 30 or more games being developed that we are tracking — not all of them will come out at launch, but there are serious efforts being made on all of them,” the two have been reported of telling Wired.

Project Morpheus

More so, the two also point out that porting a virtual reality game from Oculus Rift to Project Morpheus may take only about a couple of days, and that the company is trying its best to fully support developers, and make their lives easier.

But can Project Morpheus go against the really popular Facebook-owned Oculus Rift? The VR company just announced its partnership with Microsoft, and Oculus managed to snag a couple of well-known dev companies to release exclusive titles on their platforms – Square Enix, Insomniac Games, Ready at Dawn, amongst others.

And let’s not forget HTC, and Valve’s alliance – can their SteamVR, also known as Vive, manage to get the needed attention from gamers? Valve has announced that they will feature a huge library of games easily downloadable through their Steam platform.

Project Morpheus

I’m going to wait this battle out, and I’m not going to jump head first. I’m more inclined of buying the SteamVR to be honest – Project Morpheus also seems really great. Don’t know what to say about Oculus Rift – since the news that they have been acquired by Facebook has been publicly announced, I’m feeling a little bit sceptical. The might sway me over – the company has announced that they are supporting developers with over $10 million.

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PlayStation Now Launches on Samsung Smart TVs

June 10, 2015 By Cristopher Hall Leave a Comment

Sony announces that their game streaming service PlayStation Now launches Samsung smart TVs – the service will be available on select devices for those who reside in the US, and Canada.

Even thought you won’t need a Sony console to play certain PlayStation games, you will need a DualShock 4 controller – fair bargain if you ask me.

The company announced last December that non-Sony devices will be able to support PlayStation Now, and that Samsung was their prime candidate – it makes them the first foreigners that support PlayStation Now.

At the current moment, PlayStation Now offers for streaming over 100 PS3 titles. At launch, the game streaming service featured the possibility of players renting certain games from their vast library, but now, gamers can acquire a monthly subscription for $19.99. Think of PlayStation Now as Netflix, but for games.

“Currently there are over 350 PS3 games available for individual rental and over 100 PS3 games available inside the subscription catalog. Games span a variety of genres, from action to RPG and everything in-between, offering something for everyone.” Sony said.

Uncharted 2 is available on PlayStation Now

Uncharted 2 is available to rent on PlayStation Now!

The catch is, if you wish to rent a specific game, you’ll need to cough up $1 a day for those games that aren’t listed in the initial bargain – you can rent them up to 90 days.

OnLive was a pioneer in the industry, and the sole challenger, but they were acquired by Sony earlier this year – rumours have it, that Sony wanted their patents. Read our very own article if you want to know more about Sony’s acquisition.

Samsung TV’s will support standard features like trophies, online multiplayer, and of course, one key piece of the puzzle, cloud-based game saves.

PlayStation Now made its début on Sony’s PS4, and in May it was made available for the PS3 also. If you don’t own a Samsung, or a Sony smart TV, you can use the game streaming services if you own a Vita, a PlayStation TV, or select Sony Blu-Ray players.

Bioshock Infinite is available on PlayStation Now

Bioshock infinite is available to rent on PlayStation Now

At the current moment it is unknown if Sony will add more companies to the list, or if they will form a tight alliance with Samsung.

The news has been well received by gamers, but some ask an interesting question – How about PC’s and Mac’s Sony? When will you show some love for us?

If Sony decides to move forward with their PlayStation Now service, meaning offering support for PC’s and Mac’s, they will most likely dominate the market. There is no challenger to the throne, and Sony can have its way, and that’s not such a good thing. Competition strives innovation.

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The Top Tablets That You Can Buy Right Now!

May 21, 2015 By Michael Turner Leave a Comment

A couple of weeks ago we wrote a quick list of affordable laptops that you can buy in 2015, and I think this is the perfect time for a round-up for the top tablets that are available right now!

Whether you’re on a budget, or you want to throw money at retailers, you’ve come to the right place.

In an era where everyone has to get their information as soon as, possible people tend to buy a device that won’t suit their needs. You don’t just go out and buy a tablet, or a smartphone, you do some research before, read a couple of reviews, and settle on one that you think it’s best for you – don’t impulse-buy devices just because you love how they are designed; sure, it does matter, but in the long run, you want a tablet that won’t need to be recharged 2 times a day.

The Top Tablets #1 Microsoft Surface 3

Is Microsoft’s third iteration of its Surface line good? Well this reviewer thinks so. It seems like Microsoft has learned from past mistakes, and it’s starting to listen more and more to consumers. It’s a hybrid actually, but the team behind the Surface 3 has developed it with tablet specifications in mind – but this doesn’t mean that it won’t work pretty great as a low-end laptop.

The display is its strong point – a beautiful bright, and crisp glossy IPS display will have no problems on a sunny day, and it makes surfing the web outside a pleasure. The Windows tablet is 10.8-inches in size, and at 1920 x 1200 pixel-resolution it allows the user to enjoy movie marathons without a problem – there is no issue with viewing angles, so you don’t need to worry sitting in bed all day and binge watching Netflix series.

The display is incredibly responsive, and offering a full 10-point multi-touch you can rest assured that it’s going to be as easy as pie surfing the web, and playing video-games.

If you’re an avid traveller – whether it is business related, or pleasure, you definitely need a variety of ports. The Surface 3 sports a MiniDisplay port, a micro SD card reader, headset jack, a cover port, and a micro-USB charging port. Unfortunately it doesn’t have a USB Type-C port, and Microsoft has decided to go with a USB 3.0, but maybe they’ll jump on the band wagon with their next installment.

If you’re tired of looking at the small screen, you can also connect your device to a big HD TV using its HDMI port.

The detachable-keyboard is kinda sluggish, and I have had some problems with it, but nothing serious. Although, if you’re not used to typing, you’ll find it a little bit frustrating. The keys are narrowed, and this makes them feel more cramped, but at least the trackpad is decent.

The Microsoft tablet, pardon me, hybrid, will come with a built-in Windows 8.1, go figure, and you’ll have the possibility of upgrading your OS to Windows 10 for free when the time comes.

Specs

– Quad Core Intel Atom x7-78700 processor with 2MB Cache, 1.6GHz turbo boost to 2.4GHz

– Integrated Intel HD Graphics

– 4 GB of RAM

– 128 GB of flash memory

Pretty great considering it’s about $500. You’ll definitely not use it to play GTA V, or the just released Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, but you don’t buy a hybrid for gaming, you buy it because it’s super portable, and because the battery will last you long enough to fulfil your day to day tasks.

This isn’t to say that you can’t play out-dated video-games. I installed Team Fortress 2 to see if I can make it work, and what do you know? It played smooth at 30 fps with all the graphics settings set on low. Sure, it looks kinda ugly, but yet again, you don’t buy a hybrid for gaming – at least, not yet.

Talking about battery life, I managed to squeeze almost 10 hours out of it, meaning that if you use it all day, you will have to recharge it before you go to sleep.

I’m all for super-thin devices, but what about some love for battery longevity?

Anyway, the Surface 3 has two cameras. The rear facing 8-megapixel camera has autofocus, and its quality output is more than enough for Facebook shares. Its front facing camera is set at 3.5-megapixels. It’s okay’ish for Skype and such, but I wouldn’t praise it being the best camera on the market.

The tablet computer has built-in speakers that are loud enough if you plan on watching movies without using headphones.

I’ve seen it in stores for the low price of $500.

Pros

– Top-notch display

– Quality build

– Super-portable

Cons

– Uncomfortable keyboard

– Low storage space

– Mediocre front-facing camera

The Top Tablets #2 Dell Venue 8 700

If you’re looking for cheap tablets, then you should consider looking into the Dell Venue 8 700. It’s $400, and guess what? It’s the titled holder for the World’s Thinnest Tablet, but there is more to it than just its title – beautiful design, and great performance output from a device so cheap.

Even though it’s considered the world’s thinnest tablet you should know that its challenger, the Samsung Galaxy Tab S 8.4, is marginally thicker.

Design-wise Dell deserves some applause – I don’t really know why I love it so much, but something speaks to me when I’m looking at it, or holding it.

The Dell tablet sports a 8.4-inch OLED display that can output a 2560 x 1600 resolution at 361 ppi – seriously not bad, and it overpasses the previous discussed Surface 3 hybrid.

Dell’s edge-to-edge display is quite a marvel on their part, and I seriously can’t understand why the tablet is priced at just $400. There must be something wrong with it. What’s the catch? Fortunately there isn’t really one. Although it sports a 361 ppi, when you try to use it during a sunny day you’ll have some issues with it, but readability is still over the average rankings.

It features Intel’s Sensing Assist, but you may want to turn it off because it can suck your battery dry – Sensing Assist wakes the device from its dormant state when it senses motion, but it isn’t that great. Let’s say you want to move the tablet from point A in your bedroom to point B in the kitchen for whatever reason. You don’t want it to turn on just because you change its place in the house.

It runs a stable version of Android 4.4 KitKat, and you can upgrade its software to 5.0 Lollipop. It will still run smoothly – no problems in this department.

Although the majority of tablets on the market have moved to Qualcomm Snapdragon processors, Dell still uses Intel as its primary chip-maker.

Specs

– Intel Atom Z3580 quad-core 2.3 GHz 64-bit processor

– Imagination PowerVR G6430 graphics chip

– 2 GB of RAM

– 16 GB of storage space

Don’t leave just yet! Yeah, it had 16 GB of storage, and the tablet’s user will most likely have 10 GB available, but you can add up to 512 GB of extra storage through its micro SD slot.

It’s not the best tablet on the market if you take performance into consideration, but for $400 the quad-core 2.3 GHz processor paired with that GPU, and 2 GB of RAM is more than decent. I can give you this, 2 GB of RAM is fairly low considering that the majority of tablets sport 3 GB or more, but it does its job well, and you won’t see any performance issues like lag, or sluggish surfing.

Now its battery life falls a little bit short, and it can only last up to 9 hours, but that’s because Dell sacrifices a couple of things in order to make it super-portable and super-thin.

I have said this countless times over to my friends – stop using your tablet to take pictures, it just looks ridiculous. More so, if you plan on going to a concert, for the love of whatever you think is holy don’t be that guy who takes pictures using his tablet – last time I went to an event, someone from the crowd threw a beer at the doofus with the tablet. He deserved it!

Now, you got 4 cameras, and they take advantage of Intel’s new RealSense Snapshot Depth Camera technology. The rear facing camera stands at 8-megapixels, but it’s surrounded by two other 720p shooters. The front facing camera sports a 2-megapixel output, and I don’t really recomend it for Skyping.

I found myself obstructing the cameras with my big hands, so be warned. If you have clumsy big sausages for fingers like me, you’ll have some issues taking that perfect photo.

I’ve seen it in stores for the low price of $400.

Pros

– Beautiful display, and its ppi is just astounding

– Pretty great camera

– Super-thin

Cons

– A little bit slower than other tablets on the market

– Really low storage space

The Top Tablets #3 Sony Xperia Z3

At first touch the Sony Xperia Z3 looks, and feels like a 2013 device, but that’s just because Sony thinks it should push down our throat their somewhat out-dated design. It costs about $600, and for this price you may be swoon by a certain Samsung Galaxy tablet – the 8.4 S model. But before you make your final decision, you should know that the Xperia Z3 has some aces in its sleeve.

One of the device’s selling points is that you can hold it easily in one hand – it makes the perfect tablet for kids too. Secondly, it’s waterproof, so no need to worry about taking your tablet with you to the local pool, and coming back home heartbroken – it uses rubber seals on all of its ports, except for its headphone jack, which is already specially treated.

I just love how it looks, and because it’s so thin and small – not the smallest though; it can fit easily in your backpack, or purse.

To me, its design inspires high-tech, more than the covered in aluminium iPad Mini 3. Even though it’s entirely made out of plastic it’s the good kind, not the cheap and tacky one. It also feels good to the touch – better than the Nexus 9 if you want a comparison.

There are some little bits of metal here and there, especially on its corners – probably to save it from utter destruction if mister clumsy hands over here drops it. I haven’t performed this test, so please don’t throw your tablet at the wall.

The 8-inch LCD screen stands at 1920 x 1200 resolution, but it’s really not that crisp, and clear like others at the same price range. It suffers from poor viewing angles, and I don’t recommend you using it on a sunny day in the park – readability is really low, and you’ll just annoy the living hell out of yourself trying to find that perfect place with shade.

The Android tablet comes with a built-in 4.4 KitKat, but you can easily upgrade it to 5.0 Lollipop.

Specs

– Qualcomm MSM8974AB Snapdragon 801 Quad-core processor 2.5 GHz Krait 400

– Quad-core 2.5 GHz Krait 400 graphic chipset

– 3 GB of RAM

– 16 GB of storage space

You can add more storage space by adding a micro SD card up to 128 GB.

More RAM, and a better processor than the previously discussed Dell Venue 8 700 doesn’t make it the best tablet, but you surely won’t experience lag, or any performance issues.

The top-shelf processor, paired a quad-core graphic chipset, and 3 GB of RAM makes it a beast when it comes to gaming, and the 1080p screen is stands tall, even though is not the best one.

Before they launched it, Sony was praising themselves that the Xperia Z3 will last about 15 hours. I almost immediately started to ridicule them and send them letters with only Liar, Liar pants on fire written in the body. Gee, can you imagine how humiliated I was after I tested it, and figured that it can last more than what they’ve stated? Almost 16 hours of battery-life time make it one hell of a behemoth.

Its 8-megapixel rear facing camera matches the quality its challengers can output, and it actually shoots pretty great photos come to think of it. I wouldn’t frame any of them, and nor would I go out of my way to show them to my friends, but for Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter is more than enough.

The secondary camera is a measly 2.2-megapixel unit – as I said before, don’t expect high quality Skype video calls.

The actual selling point for this device is the fact that it supports PS4 remote play. A very limited number of Android devices support PS4 Share Play, thus making it one hell of a device for gamers if you have a PS4. You can easily connect a DualShock 4 controller to the tablet, and just stay in bed all day long playing Call of Duty, and telling your enemies, or team-mates about how many sexual relations you’ve had with their mothers.

I’ve seen it in stores for the low price of $600.

Pros

– Superb battery life

– PS4 Share Play

– Super-thin and super-portable

Cons

– Its screen is not that great

– Somewhat out-dated design

– Horrible secondary camera

The Top Tablets #4 Acer Iconia W4

One of the cheapest tablets for sale – and I think I’ve even found it in the Walmart tablets section; the Acer Iconia W4 is set at an astonishing low price of $350!

Sure, there are different models that offer more storage space, but the entry level one is a must-buy.

Last year’s W3 was the first 8-inch device to feature Windows 8.1, but it it didn’t do it good – actually it was kinda’ horrible if you think about it. Grainy low quality display, and a low performance processor managed to offer a poor experience.

The Iconia W4 has polished all of its older brother’s failures, and it made major improvements in key areas where W3 fell short.

Some think of it as highly evolved, but I really don’t applaud it that much. Sure, it learned from past mistakes, but has it seriously improved that much in order to fight in the tablet pits? I don’t think so.

Don’t get me wrong, I think it’s pretty great, and at $350 if you have never experience a high-end tablet before, you should definitely buy it. More so, you should definitely buy it if you’re looking for budget tablets.

The Ace Iconia W4 received mixed to positive tablet reviews mostly because it was launched at the right time, at the right price. It features a 1280 x 800 pixel resolution on the 8-inch device – it didn’t receive the award for best tablet of 2014 that’s for certain. It’s a tried and test resolution that seems to work for Acer. I, for one, don’t really like it that much – maybe because I’m accustomed to high-end devices.

At 186 ppi it falls behind the average tablet, and the display just doesn’t cut it – don’t plan on using your device outside. Readability is inexistent.

Specs

– Intel Atom Z3740 Quad-core processor 1.33 GHz

– Intel HD Graphics

– 2 GB of RAM

– Standard Edition comes with 32 GB of storage

You can’t add any more storage space, but the built-in storage is actually a SSD, and it works pretty fast.

You definitely won’t be using it for HD gaming, but it can run almost anything on the store. You’re going to have some minor performance issues because it only features 2 GB of RAM, and the processor even though it works on 4 cores it doesn’t make up for its speed – 1.33 GHz is really low.

I’ve experienced lag after opening up more than 4 apps – it eventually lead the tablet to freeze, and I had to restart it. Didn’t liked it one bit.

I tried to install a couple of games on it, to see if the device can at least start them. Skyrim was my first choice – I know, I was reaching for the sky, but guess what? At the lowest settings, and resolution it run at 15 fps. It’s unplayable I know, but it surprised me. Afterwards I decided to have a little bit more confidence in the little Iconia so I installed Left4Dead. Pleasantly surprised that it reached a peak of 20 fps, but when multiple zombies flooded the screen it went down to 10. It was an enjoyable experience until the undead horde attacked.

The last one that I tried out was Valve’s Counter-Strike: Source – 20-25 fps on average, but if a flash-bang, or a grenade goes off near you, you’re dead – not from the damage, but from the screen freezing instantly. You could try to play with bots, but no on-line play, unless you want your team to constantly yell at you.

Acer said that the W4 will last up to 10 hours of usage – I proved them wrong. It completely died after almost 8 hours and 30 minutes. Not much, and it ranks on the same level with other average tablets.

Iconia W4’s rear primary camera is actually great – even if it stands at 5-megapixel. It may be sub-par to what you’re used to, but don’t let the low number unit fool you. In the right settings it takes some awesome photos – crisp, and well-saturated images. It does have its issues in low light conditions.

It can also take video footage at 1080p at 30 fps – not bad young one.

The secondary front-facing camera is another story though. Lowering the number to two, the small camera unit can only be used for Skype video calls, and even then it will output low quality.

Why am I even recommending or adding it to our list? Fair and simple. It’s the best entry-level tablet, and at $350 it’s one of the cheapest devices.

I’ve seen it in stores for the low price of $350.

Pros

– Low price

– Windows 8 tablet

Cons

– Performance issues

– Low resolution

– Horrible secondary camera

The Top Tablets #5 Asus Memo Pad HD 7

This Asus tablet has a MSRP of $120, and by partnering with Google, Asus went from unreliable tablet manufacturer to the de-facto leader in the small tablets market. Low price, awesome capabilities, and world-wide availability made the Memo Pad HD 7 one of the best 2014 tablets.

You may think of me as an insane man, but I really do love this so-called Google tablet. What’s to hate?

It weighs just about 302 grams, and the 7-inch IPS LCD screen outputs a 1280 x 800 resolution at 216 ppi – more than the Acer Iconia W4 which is almost three time its price.

The tablet is made out of slippery plastic – it was constantly dropping out of my hand in the first day, or so; luckily I’m quite a bright man, and figured the issues as soon as I put my hands on it. Slippery plastic means cheap plastic, which eventually leads to a horrible slimy feeling. In order to not utterly destroy your device, I highly recommend you grip the tablet with both of your hands.

Moving on to the 7-inch IPS LCD screen – it’s crisp, and sharp, and you can try to use it on a sunny day. Since it has 216 ppi you’ll be able to read off of your device, but at the same time, you’ll be struggling with it. Find a shade covered bench, and you’ll have no problems. The colours seem to favour a yellow-ish tint, but there are no major complaints that I know of.

It has Android 4.2 Jelly Bean built-in, and you can upgrade it to 4.2.2 – don’t expect KitKat or Lollipop because it ain’t gonna happen.

You won’t be able to play the latest things available on the store. Hell, you won’t be able to play the majority of cool things, but there are still plenty of old games and apps for you to enjoy. Facebook will work super slow; Messenger, and WhatsApp will annoy you each time you try to text someone.

Specs

– Mediatek MT8125 Quad-core processor 1.2 GHz Cortex-A7

– PowerVR SGX544 graphics

– 1 GB of RAM

– 16 GB of storage space

You can add more storage space by adding a micro SD card up to 32 GB.

The 1.2 GHz quad-core Mediatek processor is uhm, not that good. Even though Mediatek is known for their ways of revolutionizing the industry, they also build low-end procs. Pair it with only 1 GB of RAM and you’ve signed your own death-wish. Lag will be present all the time, so be patient young grasshopper, because good things may come to those who wait.

Use the Memo Pad with care – not only it can slip out of your hands, but it takes a little while to start apps, games, and surf the web.

Do you know the surprising thing? It didn’t freeze once. Yes, it lagged, and yes, I got really annoyed trying to use Facebook, Reddit, and other apps, but it didn’t once freeze. Sure, it closed the app because it wasn’t responding any more, but I didn’t even have the chance of realizing this, and the error was immediately prompted telling me to close the app.

I’m not saying this is an extraordinary thing, but it ain’t a bad thing either.

It has a small 15Wh capacity battery that will keep your device alive for about 10 hours. It seriously isn’t that bad considering it’s only $120. You can watch about 4 to 5 movies on a long flight, and because it has a standard micro USB port you can recharge it almost anywhere you please.

The Memo Pad’s primary camera is a 5-megapixel unit, but unfortunately it doesn’t take good photos, hell it doesn’t even take mediocre ones. It outputs low quality images, and don’t think for a second that the secondary camera is better. The 1.2-megapixel front-facing camera is a laughable unit – you can’t use it for anything, it’s just there for the sake of existing.

I’ve seen it in stores for the low price of $120.

Pros

– Super-low price

– Sharp screen

– All the things considering, it has a great battery-life

Cons

– Performance issues

– Horrible primary, and secondary camera

– Low storage space

Image Source: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23

Sony Xperia Z3 Tablet Compact Review

January 15, 2015 By Roxanne Briean Leave a Comment

The newest model in the Z series from Sony did not take long to surface as the Xperia Z2 was announced earlier in 2014. Sony has recently launched a series of devices that all go by the name of Z3. There is the Z3 5.2 inch smartphone, the Z3 Compact 4.3 inch and the 8 inch tablet called the Z3 Tablet Compact. This 8 inch device from Sony is a really welcomed addition if you liked the gorgeous 10 inch Z2 Tablet but wish for something more comfortable to use and carry.

The Z3 Tablet Compact, tricky as it may be to pronounce, has a very thin design much like its older brother and is also waterproof. The display has full HD resolution and it runs Android 4.4.4 KitKat. The tablet has a 2.5GHz quad-core CPU and 8MP camera.

So far, it seems like it is a standard Android tablet. However, the Z3 Tablet Compact can also be used as a display for Sony’s PlayStation 4. While the console still does all the work, it will be able to stream the game to the tablet so you could play games such as The Last of Us, Titanfall and Destiny on the Z3 while lying in bed or sitting on the toilet.

Design

The Z3 Tablet Compact looks quite good. The white design looks clean and neat and the device is pretty thin – more specific, it’s 6.4mm thick. The size used by Sony makes the device more pleasant to be looked at in landscape orientation when watching movies because there won’t be any black bars surrounding the video. Its shape also makes it easy to put it in your pocket, even though there is some unused space on the top and on the bottom of the tablet that may make the device a little uncomfortable to hold in your jeans.

Like the previous model, the Z3 Tablet Compact is entirely waterproof. This, above anything else, will keep your tablet safe from any spills while sitting on the coffee table in your living room. This also means that you won’t have to worry when taking the tablet with you when taking a long, relaxing, bubble bath and browse through Netflix or Facebook without having to worry what happens if you drop your tablet in the water.

The tablet has a 3.5mm jack for headphones, a charging port, which is behind a waterproof flap positioned on the bottom of the device and a microSD card, which is also hidden behind a waterproof flap on the side of the tablet. There’s also room for a SIM card next to the micro SD card slot but only if you pay for the 4G capable model.

The Z3 Compact Tablet, as its brothers in the same series, has some rough edges which are only slightly softened on its sides and corners. And while other tablet manufacturers may choose to use their imagination to combine textures and colors, Sony prefers to keep the device looking classy and use steel guards to protect the device rather than make it dazzle. But this doesn’t mean Sony didn’t put any thought into the design.

However, there is a downside for being this light and thin. When you pick up the device you will have the sensation that it’s a little too delicate but the build quality is definitely good. I don’t believe there is someone out there that would rather sacrifice weight and size for it to be sturdier than it already is. Keep in mind the device is waterproof so this mean Sony did not just throw together some pieces of plastic mindlessly.

Display

The tablet’s 8 inch display is full HD, which means it has a resolution of 1,920 x 1,080. This means that Sony’s tablet has a smaller resolution than that of Apple’s retina display found on the iPad Mini or on the Samsung Galaxy Tab S. The full HD resolution is more commonly found on smartphones than on tablets of this size, some smartphones such as the LG G3 having a bigger resolution than full HD with 2,560 x 1,440. You may think the resolution is discouraging but the display looks very good and it’s difficult to see major differences between the Z3’s display and the iPad Mini display.

Text and icons look very crisp and sharp and all high resolution images we’ve tested looked great on the screen. This is partially possible because of the screen’s amazing brightness and the very vivid colors. Viewing angles are pretty good as well, so if you have a few friends around you watching a video on YouTube there will be no problem. The screen also performs amazingly well in direct sunlight.

Overall it is a very good screen and the strong colors make it perfect for watching movies and videos. While we do not consider the screen to be of low resolution, it would have been nice if Sony coughed up a couple of more pixels to compete with other tablet giants.

Audio

We didn’t expect much from the stereo speakers on the tablet. The only evidence that they exist are two missing pieces of plastic below and above the glass of the display and we wouldn’t necessarily say that they look very functional. Given our low expectations, however, it was inevitable that we were pleasantly surprised by the sound quality. The sound is very well defined and the speakers have a lot more volume than you would expect. But at around 75 percent, the audio loses all quality and is replaced by a very annoying distortion while the whole tablet starts to vibrate. The speakers could be a lot better and some bass would have been nice but there are also a lot worse ways in which you could watch a show in the comfort of your bed.

Through headphones, the audio is amazingly crisp and well balanced with great bass. There are a lot of things working in the background to ensure the best possible audio quality such as an audio up scaling engine and the Z3 Tablet Compact also supports numerous high resolution audio formats.

Software

The device uses Android 4.4.4 KitKat, over which the same interface Sony uses for its phones can be found. It’s very simple to use and some tweaks such as a menu sitting right next to the app tray will let the user reorganize all apps. But the interface sort of looks almost too cartoony and colorful for the tablet’s design. Sony also said the device will support Android 5.0 Lollipop in early 2015.

Sony loaded the tablet’s interface with a lot of extras, which, sadly, not all of them are welcome. There are a couple of good choices, such as the PlayStation 4 link, for instance, but most of the extra apps are unnecessary. You will find apps from AVG, Kobo and Garmin that come preinstalled on the device and more than a few Sony apps that seem rather useless.

That and all the widgets on the home screen make the device seem messy even before you’ve started to install your own apps of choice. Thankfully, most of the software that comes with the tablet can be uninstalled as well as the widgets. We suggest you do so before actually starting to use the tablet as they will be very annoying from the very start.

There are some features on the tablet that are pretty awesome. The function that lets the user record the screen is pretty cool even though you probably won’t use it that often. Also, the PlayStation 4 Remote Play is quite awesome. This function lets you use your tablet as a wireless screen for your Sony console if both of them are connected on the same WiFi. The smartphones in the series are also capable of doing this but seeing how the tablet has a bigger screen it feels much more at home on it.

PlayStation 4 Remote Play

The PlayStation 4 still does all the hard work but it streams the video output to the Z3, letting you play games on the screen of the tablet while the TV is free to be used for other things. The main point is that you can continue to play your game if your significant other or anyone else wants to watch TV or when you sit on the toilet.

The feature is quite impressive and easy to set up. The PS4 Link app will search for the console in the same network the tablet is connected to and you will be able to play your games the same as on the TV.

The frame rate dropped a few times while playing The Last of Us and the game did freeze a couple of times. And while in slower parts of the game it is possible to ignore these things, in combat or more action packed segments of the game, these downsides will definitely ruin the game experience. In its defense, the app is still in the early days and Sony didn’t have enough time to polish the product, so there is a possibility the app will work better and be more stable in the future.

We don’t recommend you to purchase the tablet if you’re interested in this function alone, but if you own a PS4 and are searching for a tablet to buy, it’s definitely a reason to consider it over other Android devices.

Camera

The 8MP camera on the rear side of the tablet is quite a step back from the 20.7MP camera available on Z3 smartphones. We understand that tablet manufacturers don’t see the camera as a priority but it’s unacceptable for Sony to allow such a poor camera on its tablet, especially when you have to pay around $500 for the device. There is no flash on the camera, and is only suitable for quick snaps of your cat doing something cute when you don’t have anything else within reach. The 2MP front facing camera is fine, and nothing more, for video calls and really terrible selfies, as long as you stand in good light.

Performance and Battery Life

The Z3 Tablet Compact has a 2.5GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 quad core CPU and 3GB RAM which proved to be more than enough in our tests. It is still easy and fast to navigate despite the numerous unnecessary software preinstalled. Web browsing was fast and all apps worked without any hiccups.

Netflix high definition streaming was handled very well and more demanding games such as Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas and Asphalt 8 ran just fine. In Quadrant benchmark, the Z3 Tablet Compact scored pretty much the same as the Xperia Z3 smartphone with 19,887. The Sony Xperia Z3 smartphone scored a slightly higher 20,425. All in all, the device has enough power to handle anything you want.

Sony put a 4,500mAh battery inside the tablet and it kept going for just under 13 hours on a video-loop test. Even though the iPad Mini 2 achieved lasted for just under 14 hours on the exact same test, it’s still pretty impressive, considering the tablet’s size and power. But for how long the battery lasts is entirely up to you.

If you use it as a replacement for your laptop or play games on it all day long, you will definitely need to recharge it at night. If you use it to casually browse the web and occasionally watch Netflix videos on it – a full charge once every other day will likely be enough.

Wrapping up…

PROS

– The Sony Xperia Z3 Tablet Compact is very powerful for how slim it is

– Good quality display

– Waterproof

– The function that allows the tablet to work as a screen for the PlayStation 4 is a great addition, despite having some flaws

CONS

– The interface is full of bloatware and it looks quite cluttered even before you install the first app

– A higher resolution display would have been nice

Verdict

The Sony Xperia Z3 Tablet Compact’s waterproof body, thickness, screen and power make it worth taking into consideration when looking to purchase an Android tablet. Even though its resolution isn’t above or even on par with other tablets, the ability to play the games on your PlayStation 4 on it makes it unique, even if the function is still far from being perfect.

Images source: sonymobile.com

Sony Smartwatch 3 Review

January 7, 2015 By Karen Jackson Leave a Comment

Sony had previous attempts at making a smartwatch that weren’t very successful. As a matter of fact, its previous smartwatch, the SmartWatch 2 was actually pretty darn awful. However, Sony, which seems to learn from its mistakes, has developed its newest wearable called the SmartWatch 3.

Sony’s SmartWatch 3 has a better design, interchangeable straps and an improved waterproofing. And, probably most important, Sony has decided to get rid of its tedious custom interface.

The device now uses Android Wear, the software developed by Google which provides an integrated platform for companies like Samsung, LG, Motorola and Sony to use in their product and be able to allow people to develop apps that work across all platforms.

The SmartWatch 3 costs $250 and is currently on sale directly from Sony. Here is our Sony SmartWatch 3 review.

Design

Sony did not put a circular face on their smartwatch, like LG did. Sony’s newest smartwatch has a square face. This makes it look more like a fitness device because of its strap and display and Sony’s SmartWatch 3 doesn’t look as luxurious as the LG G Watch R with its leather strap and metal casing.

The device is not unattractive per se, but the rubber strap and square face look a little boring. This is not the kind of watch you would wear on your wrist when being dressed for a party or a social event. The LG’s G Watch R, however, could remain on one’s wrist when being dressed for several occasions without looking like it’s out of place.

Even though Sony’s newest smartwatch is quite on the heavy side and more than a little chunky, the rubber strap makes it quite comfortable to wear. But you will certainly not want to sleep while wearing it on your wrist. One of the reasons the watch is chunky is that it has a micro-USB port built right into it. This port allows the user to charge the device by directly plugging a cable into it, whereas other Android Wear devices need a special charging stand. This is a plus, because the stand used by other Android Wear devices is quite annoying as you need to always keep in mind that you have to take it with you should you not spend the night at home.

SmartWatch 3 can be removed from the strap allowing the user to change the style and color of it. Even though only green and black straps are available at the moment it’s quite certain that Sony will offer different other straps in the near future. Because the screen pops out very easily from its strap, the user will be able to make his or hers watch look more special than the standard version that comes in black (or the available lime-green strap).

The SmartWatch 3 is not just water resistant, it is totally water proof, which means that you don’t have to take the watch off your wrist every time you wash the dishes or go into the shower for fear of damaging it. However, water droplets in contact with the watch’s screen will interact with it.

Display

The SmartWatch 3 has a screen of 1.6 inches and a resolution of 320×320. This is about the same as other smartwatches and thus, the screen is about as good as its other competitors (or is it?). The screen is pretty bright, even though under strong lights it may prove to be difficult to read. The colors on the SmartWatch 3 are pretty weak when compared to the more vivid screen on the LG G Watch R, however, and the viewing angles are not very good either, which means that you have to look at the watch just right to have an ideal view.

But because you won’t be browsing through images and watch videos on the SmartWatch 3, colors aren’t all that important to begin with. The device could be in black and white for all we care. Viewing angles, however, are a different story. Taking into consideration that the watch will move in different positions on the user’s wrist, the viewing angles are quite important for the user won’t be able to always have the optimal angle when viewing the device. Even though the display is readable in every angle, this is definitely a point against the device when compared to the Samsung Gear Live and the LG G Watch R which both have greater viewing angles.

The SmartWatch 3 has several faces the user could choose from but they are very few in number and aren’t all that impressive to begin with. The faces resemble mostly digital watches and even though they match quite well the look of the watch itself, they don’t really make it look more elegant. The G Watch R, however, features a whole bunch of watch faces that really look good on the device and some of them really make the smartwatch look quite luxurious.

Even though there are tons of watch faces available from third-party developers on the Google Play Store, it’s a real shame that Sony has not put a little more effort into bringing more faces on their device right out of the box.

Software and Features

Sony’s SmartWatch 3 runs Android Wear OS for smartwatches. Because the Android Wear operating system isn’t tampered with or skinned by manufacturers, like the Android OS, the interface is the same across numerous watches like the G Watch R and the Gear Live. Android Wear connects to your phone (NOTE: The phone has to be an Android phone as Android Wear devices won’t work on Windows Phones or iPhones) and will show the user information like notifications, calendar appointments and weather which will be displayed as cards on the smartwatch screen.

Swiping the card to the left will give the user more information about it or open the app on their smartphone and swiping it to the right will dismiss the card. You can also use voice commands to ask the smartwatch to set a timer, show your schedule or get information about the weather. You can also make searches on the Web and dictate emails to send to your contacts. Some voice commands such as “What is the time in Los Angeles?” will give the user an immediate answer on the display of the watch, while others, such as “How do you cook a turkey?” will give the user a list of search results from Google.

Even though the SmartWatch 3 can easily recognize voice, certain names in the contacts are often misheard by the device and the user has to start talking at the right moment for the watch to be listening. The information is processed quicker than on the LG G Watch R, which gives a faster, smoother experience with less difficulty.

The user can store music directly on the smartwatch (4GB of space are available on it) and may listen to it by pairing the device to a Bluetooth set of headphones. Because the music is on the watch, the user won’t have to also carry the phone. This is a nifty feature if you want to go out for a jog and don’t wish to bring a clunky smartphone with you. It’s pretty easy to make use of the feature but it works only with tracks that have been bought from the Google Play Music store. So if you wish to have music from some other source on your watch, the feature is pretty much useless.

Another cool feature is that the watch has GPS built right in, unlike other watches that rely on the GPS from your smartphone. Built in GPS means that you can jog with the smartwatch on your wrist and the device will give much more accurate information and can do so without carrying that clunky phablet in your pocket.

However, not all apps can make use of the built in GPS, and surprisingly, not even Sony’s LifeLog app didn’t work with it. But we expect that in the future more apps will support the GPS built into the device.

Even if the music capabilities and GPS features may prove to be enough for someone who jogs very often, the device lacks a very important function: a monitor for heart rate, offered by both the LG G Watch R and the Moto 360. And even though the readings from these two smartwatches aren’t totally reliable, they do give people other information about their progress. It just seems a little ignorant for Sony not to offer something like this in a device intended for fitness.

Battery Life

Sony claims the SmartWatch 3 can last for at least two days, which we really don’t think is quite so. Maybe you would be able to get this kind of life out of the device if you don’t use it for music, use the GPS feature on it and never let the display on the auto-on mode. What’s the use of having a smartwatch on your wrist if you won’t use any of its smart features?

If you do use the smart features, however, you’ll see the battery drain quite quickly. Connecting Bluetooth headphones on the device, using its GPS features and making use of voice control, the user could very easily be able to drain the battery in just one day, a day and a half if you use it less intensely. As most Android Wear devices, the watch will most likely require an overnight charge. However, the USB port built into the watch will make this a lot less tedious.

Conclusion

Because of its square design and built in features, it’s obvious that the SmartWatch 3 is intended for fitness rather than fashion. The watch scores points for the USB port built into it, smooth usability and the fact that you don’t have to carry the charging cradle everywhere you go.

However, the device falls short because of the inferior quality display with pretty bad viewing angles and less vibrant colors than the Gear Live and G Watch R, and the lack of a heart-rate monitor. It’s also less stylish than other devices because of its boring watch faces, rubber strap and square design for which you won’t be able to carry the watch on every occasion.

Wrapping Up…

PROS

– Built-in GPS that tracks your workout.

– Waterproof

– Built-in USB port for charging

– Android Wear runs very smoothly on the device

CONS

– Screen is awful, with bad viewing angles and poor colors

– Less classy than the LG G Watch R because of its design

– No heart-rate monitor

The Verdict

Even though the built-in GPS feature is quite handy, the lack of a heart-rate monitor on a fitness device seems to be quite unacceptable. Also, the poor screen quality and unimpressive design make the Sony SmartWatch 3 look like it’s below the Gear Live and the G Watch R.

Images source: sonymobile.com

The Top Tablets #1 Microsoft Surface 3

The Top Tablets #2 Dell Venue 8 700

The Top Tablets #3 Sony Xperia Z3

The Top Tablets #4 Acer Iconia W4

The Top Tablets #5 Asus Memo Pad HD 7

Design

Display

Audio

Software

PlayStation 4 Remote Play

Camera

Performance and Battery Life

Wrapping up…

PROS

CONS

Verdict

Design

Display

Software and Features

Battery Life

Wrapping Up…

PROS

CONS

The Verdict

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