Just a quick update, YouTube Red will allow you to continue listening to your music while you actually do your own stuff on your mobile phone.
This is finally happening and it also allows for offline viewing - which I have no idea how is it gonna work yet but I might give up my Spotify premium for YouTube Red. Just maybe, nothing is confirmed and since both don't actually cost a lot, it depends on how much YouTube Red can be a source for most media consumption like songs, movies and random videos.
YouTube Red also includes YouTube Music, which is something I haven't touched on yet and this is actually what is previously known to use as Google Play Music. I've also previously mentioned on how YouTube stars would be affected by the introduction of YouTube stars - and since I'm starting to post video reviews and other stuff soon it will be important to me. I've found on the YouTube blog that specially for YouTube Red subscribers - they will get exclusive access to members-only videos and also original shows and movies from the largest YouTubers right now!
This is really pushing me to be so much more tempted to get YouTube Red and it will be available on 28th October 2015, so stay tuned for it and my full review would come shortly!
I just caught a new video on YouTube where a tech vlogger - Erica Griffin actually spotted a FPS drop in the larger variant of the latest iPhone.
Its about 30 FPS on the iPhone 6S Plus and 60 FPS on the iPhone 6S. Same problem as the previous larger iPhone 6 Plus and it seems like the latest update didn't help. Do share if anyone of you iPhone 6S Plus users have this issue as well and if it is a major concern to you! Remember to watch the video in 720 or 1080p on 60 FPS to be able to see the difference.
*Everyone: try Settings, Accessibility, Increase Contrast, select Reduce Transparency and see if that helps!*
Impossible as it may seem, I would like to still think that Glenn is somehow still alive. I don't know how, and I really like him as a character - who has survived for six seasons so far. He has become a staple partner of Rick. It would suck to really see him go.
If you looked in the picture above, it seems like the space was too little for someone to actually be able to crawl and hide under - so this would probably be the last time we actually see Glenn alive. Flashbacks maybe, as it was mentioned that we would see Glenn again.
It is just defying logic for Glenn to survive this while being surrounded by the walkers, however - I did notice one thing. This gave me a minor hint that the body that was first eaten belongs to Nicholas instead of Glenn. This doesn't mean that Glenn will survive and to me that just seems really impossible.
Also, look here carefully - while Glenn was still moving his head left and right while someone's guts were being dugged out. He disappeared after the blink of an eye, that was right around the 34 minute mark into the show.
This happened right after a slight struggle and the walkers started to reach higher assumably for Glenn's body but they seemed to be grabbing nothing. Maybe I'm just paying to much attention to the details here but I would like solid evidence showing he's dead. Glenn is also not on Talking Dead isn't it?
I think the chances are quite slim and rather anti-climatic if Glenn survives. I like him too, but I keep having a bad feeling after he told Rick "Good luck, dumbass." - That was what was similar to what he said when he first met and helped Rick out.
Let me know your theories, sometimes I hate overthinking it but I just can't stop myself too.
Great so well, battery life is about the same - but the battery life by Xiaomi's standard is already very good. I can last through a full day with about 20-30% battery with moderate usage.
Calling, playing games most of the time when free and also a lot of whatsapp usage. Their software is really well done and this is the best thing I've liked so far about the updates.
Xiaomi have also added new features where the font size is nicely adjusted and you can choose from S all the way to XL. Its a good feature for the elderly and people having problems with reading small fonts. There's also the child mode that locks apps based on your settings, but you need to password lock your phone. I usually do not set a password but I did to try this out, and something I found out was that in the child mode the swipe notification and menu button did not work for me. I will have to try further to see if that can be changed.
Another great feature I see myself using is the baby album feature, they use advanced facial detection to group baby photos separately instead of having to search through everything.
I did a test on the ZX100 and was pretty amazed by its sound quality, it is very different from every Sony player ever made. That is a good change I would say and it sounds more dark but slightly veiled. The treble is more subtle and less sibilant/hissing compared to the past models Sony made.
Details are well articulated, I also like the perceived depth and subtle bass. One thing that it lacks currently is the dynamic range that the past Sony players have - but I could still see this being a huge hit.
They do away with touchscreen to let their users enjoy a good 70 hours of battery life - but at different volumes you have to expect different results. It even supports hi-res playback for up to 28 hours, which is the most impressive I've seen so far! It lacks a little power though when trying on certain headphones, but that is a good price to pay since I'm mostly using IEMs outside and would love the extra battery life especially when travelling.
Cases are still pretty limited but the Sony original flip case is a good choice, don't like flip cases personally and I don't mind scratches on my devices.
My Mi Note is currently updating to the latest MIUI 7 which I mentioned on previously! I will do a detailed post later on but here goes a short teaser!
Please keep following and I'm glad I got an early update, teased a friend from Xiaomi and he who is using the same phone haven't gotten the update yet! Also, I've upgraded my computer table and now I have a much better space for my reviews instead of having to do it on the living room glass table previously Here's some pics but more pics are coming up really soon!
This is it, an unexpected news coming up. Xiaomi, who was known to be the largest phone maker in China has been overtaken by Huawei.
I wonder if that is due to their addition into the Nexus family tree, seemingly not as it is from their sales figure from Q3 2015. I'm not really a fan of their phones which I've tested before but the Nexus 6P would be reason enough to see them in a different light. However, the Nexus 6P should allow them to stay seated on the throne for a longer period of time.
Thanks once again to SKM Singapore for helping to send a review unit of the AK Junior and here will be my full thoughts on the AK Junior after spending about a week with it.
I will share first on what I like, and what I like to see improvements on later on.
Firstly, the AK Junior gives a premium finish and a pocket friendly design. The edges are a little sharp, but nothing unbearable so far. It would be much nicer to use the case where you can buy it in Singapore for $59. If I was left-handed, it would be much easier for me to change the volume with my thumb - it just feels a little awkward trying to change the volume with my right hand. It is a great way to change volume though instead of the usual slow plus/minus buttons on most DAPs currently.
Audio quality wise, decent I would say - pretty good clarity and balanced sound while lacking the liquid smooth signature found on the higher end AK players. The bass feels loose and lack control but acceptable at the current price point of $699.
I did encounter an issue about three times over a week of having the player as my daily commuting DAP, it happened to me when I wanted to turn the screen on to see what song I'm listening to but it refuses to bulk. I spammed the power button to no avail but music was still playing with the screen off - volume couldn't be controlled and nothing else for me to do except to hold the power button to reset the player.
How can this be the case for a high end brand like AK? I certainly hope to see it rectified as soon as possible in the coming firmware updates. Another issue is the low end processor being used in this, I understand that they have to cut the cost somewhere but for a touchscreen device in 2015 to lag this badly sometimes - it really brings me back to when I first use an Android phone almost a decade ago on Android version 2.1.
Biggest changes I think the AK Junior needs:
- Less laggy UI
- Screen off issue
As a conclusion, I would get this player if portability was my number one concern. I would still choose this rather than forking out $400-500 for a iPod (any series). Drag and drop is the way to go and definitely being able to use this as a DAC itself is also a plus point by itself - I'm really drawn to Wolfson DAC ever since my iPod Video 5.5G which was sent for iMod by Redwine Audio. I would still treat my iBasso DX100 as my daily driver after this - but the battery life definitely needs some saving. I'm currently hitting around 3-5 hours per charge on my DX100.
A new rumour seem to have surfaced saying that the upcoming Galaxy S7 will be out a month early.
ETNews mentions that the phone will be revealed in January 2016, probably on the 19th.
I wonder how much of a design change will there be this time. The only thing made known so far is that there will be a premium and normal edition, so I suppose we'll see the Edge edition once again.
The new S7 will most likely have a USB type C connection and also a Snapdragon 820 processor, but a Exynos variant is also said to be available. I'm crossing my fingers to see what Synaptics can offer with their ClearTouch technology to match up against Apple's 3D Touch.
I heard from a friend within Xiaomi that the MIUI 7 with great changes to expect!
I'm excited to get a more smooth experience with my Mi Note and also see what changes we will be looking at. I really hope gaming performance improves since its still kinda laggy once in a while.
These are the supported devices for the beta version of the MIUI 7.
MIUI 7 will be based off Android Lollipop of course, I just hope the memory issues on Lollipop would not happen on MIUI 7.
Looking back at October 21 1989, I was still a two year old with no sense on what the world is like.
During that time, Back to the Future 2 sounds us some future technology going into the year 2015 on the same day itself. The question is, how close are we to what was promised about 26 years back?
Well, they did show that cars no longer need roads to travel, but it seems impossible then. Now, we might not be as close - but Terrafugia is the closest we can ever get to flying cars.
Next is the hoverboard, we are many electric scooters and the likes calling them that but there is one small problem - they definitely do not hover.
A real hoverboard is this:
And not this:
Back To The Future wasn't completely off though, just go to any form of public transport now and I dare to safely say that 90% of the people are either looking at their phones or tablets. The tablet has sure come a long way!
You can finally buy the Nexus 5X. Google is officially selling the device through its own online store. It’s also available from other carriers and retailers.
According to Google, they will ship out the Nexus 5X on October 22 in black (Carbon) or white (Quartz), while the minty green Ice
variant won’t leave the warehouse until October 26. For now, the device is
available in US, Canada, the UK, Ireland, India, South Korea and
Japan. Google also plans to expand to Latin America, along with
additional countries in Europe and Asia in the coming weeks.
Question is, will there be stocks for Singapore? I am sick of seeing export sets selling in Singapore and Carousell for very high prices. It was mentioned that Asia will be included but I feel that chances are slim to see it in Singapore.
Just one example over here, if we do the math 429USD is about 595SGD but look at what we are paying over here in Singapore. I'm gonna wait till I fly to Australia or US to get it myself instead. Do note that also they are selling export sets so there will be no warranty locally, and also because of parts limitations in Singapore - repair fees are going to go sky high as well.
Many people have hated on Internet Explorer and made jokes it, I did it before too. However, I believe in giving things a second chance, and you should do it too to Microsoft Edge.
Forget IE, forget using it as a tool to download Firefox or Chrome. You might be surprised at the performance of Microsoft Edge. Amongst the browsers, its one of the top that consumes very little RAM which is good for low performance systems.
One slight rant I have, is that after updating to Windows 10. Almost every functioning system on the PC just broke down. Heck, even Google Chrome isn't working properly now.
This is a very meaningful video from TheMingThing that I would really like to share.
Are we sometimes too caught up with being online in a relationship, and neglecting the mental and physical part of it? The internet should be a tool for closing distances, not bringing us apart. It is really saddening to see the adverse effects and how it tears people apart.
As the title mentions, the Samsung Gear S2 is selling very well in South Korea. It is no surprise as Samsung is really innovative in this aspect. The rotating bezel is really nice to see and I love the Gear S2 Classic. They are selling like 2000 units on a daily basis - which is twice that of their past smartwatches. The Gear S2 Classic has a sleek leather band which makes it that much more presentable for office personnel.
The Gear S2 is now the seventh smartwatch and they seem to have strike gold with it at long last, I would still love to see longer battery life that can at least last five days. However, they have good reviews on their functionality and design, and being able to use it for iOS users is a big plus point as well. This is not confirmed for now but will most likely be the case.
What are your needs for having a smartwatch? The Gear S2 is the 7th smartwatch Samsung has made and the best so far - great design and internals with their own Tizen OS is a good idea comparing to their past models. I love the rotating bezel allowing you to swap screens.
So Google came up with a plan for those who have been using ad blockers for a long time - an ad-free version. The name is called "YouTube Red".
Yes, they have decided to give is an ad-free version at at price of $9.99 USD. What are the chances tech savvy people would pay for this? I would say rarely but for me, I would totally support the idea of paying to get ad-free usage of YouTube. I feel that this is a much better solution than most people using ad-blockers which disable ads totally. In this way, YouTube has to think of a way to make ad-blockers stop working on YouTube.
I just wonder how this would go with the sponsors and companies running tons of ads on YouTube. How would this also affect the income of YouTube stars? I would say that they can do it both ways once they managed to disable ad-blockers on YouTube. Earn from ads and YouTube Red. There, best of both worlds. Let me know what you think, would you ever pay for YouTube to be free from ads?
Here's why you should not treat it a mediocre player despite the name "AK Junior".
1. It supports DAC playback and has pretty decent battery life, but please do not compare it to that of the Sony ZX100. That will be in a separate review later on.
2. It looks real sleek, if you think the iPod Nano looks sleek - you are wrong or you have never seen the AK Junior before.
Next,you might say that there is not much color options. I do agree on that but there's a solution to that.
3. Its still Astell and Kern. I would say it is not the best AK has made but this is targeting the market who wants a really slim and compact player, with decent sound. I will talk more on the sound later on and also some things I've noticed while using the player for the past few days.
I would like to thank SKM for sending the review set and letting me spend some time with it. Will post a more thorough blog on the AK Junior full review really soon!
Die in the game and you die for real. Nah, I'm just kidding - however, this game will lock your Steam account out of the game once you die in the game. That means that you cannot play the game anymore - and the game isn't free. It is going to cost you 10 USD, which to be honest is not a lot. The play button will be greyed out once that happens. However, I foresee this being used on Steam refund policy if bad or unlucky players die in the game within minutes or even seconds of the game itself. You can do a refund in a period of 14 days as long as the game has not been played for over 2 hours. Do read up more over here. “One Life is the first multiplayer survival game with perma-permadeath. If you die, you will leave the game forever. Will you manage to survive in this harsh world full of dangers? Upgrade your battle truck and set off for hot spots with friends. Play with your own rules but remember: your every move can be the last one.” Seeing how tough this game can be for people new to it, I really hope people get to go through some tutorial and toughen the players before literally throwing them out to face death. Here's a look at the gameplay - do take some tips if you are ever gonna play this!
There we go, Pioneer decides to come out with their own audio player - the Pioneer XDP-100R. I'm not sure if it's a good thing to be powered by Android, depends on how the battery performs since having Android means I can play videos with it too.
I am also interested to see how its performs since it is using the ESS Sabre 9018K2M, which is the same as the one found on my Xiaomi Mi Note. I would say that it is not as good compared to my DX100 with the original ESS9018 but it sure comes close.
The transient response and PRaT is better on the DX100, but one thing you have to hand it to the new ESS9018K2M is the more fuller sounding DAC out there. However, at certain songs, the ESS9018K2M tends to sound slightly harsh - which was never problem on the DX100. The DX100 is still one of the most neutral DAP I've ever gotten and would still be in my arsenal for a long time until something is able to change my mind and replace it.
I'm totally into having a player that is not too bulky and yet could support hi-res tracks while being able to play videos. The XDP-100R really seems to resonate with me. I know someone heading to Japan soon and could be asking for a favour in return for some ramen treat. Hopefully she helps out!
Oh, and here's a spec sheet by the way.
Never judge just by specs alone and I believe my ears is the best judge! See you guys soon!
The Chord Mojo actually came early unexpectedly, but its a pleasant surprise. It really is the younger sibling of the Chord Hugo after all given the similar traits.
Comparing to the Chord Hugo, this is so much easier to do the setup and use. I did not have to look at the manual much since the keys are properly labelled and thus making it that much simple even for a novice enthusiast to try it out without much assistance.
Moving on to the connections, they have the following inputs:
1 x Micro USB 768KHz/32-bit capable
1 x 3.5mm jack coaxial 768KHz/32-bit capable
1 X Optical Toslink 192KHz/24-bit capable
The priority of the connections if all of them are connected as as above, so the Micro USB is always top priority if both coaxial and Micro USB is connected.
I would say that I am impressed by the sound, they don't call it the Mini-Hugo for no reason. It is well-focused and have a good grip on the bass and treble. It has great imaging and separates different instruments very well. Soundstaging and depth could be improved.
On the highly detailed and neutral Beyerdynamic DT-48, it sounded pretty flat so its probably a good pairing and you would miss the treble while testing it out on the DT-48. Thanks Mateen for allowing this chance to try it with your legendary DT-48! I would say that even my Sony MDR-7506 couldn't come close as the highs is a little off on the MDR-7506. It sounded much more interesting on the Oppo PM-3 and I believe it would match many other headphones/IEMs well too.
Today was a busy day but more hands on would come on the Chord Mojo which I've enjoyed thus far!
