Archive for category: You Asked For It

I was shocked by the audio quality of the HTC One, and now it’s time to test some tablets!

Apologies in advance, as I don’t have an iPad Mini in-house to run this test; so we had to use the full-sized iPad as the Apple “control.”

That said, Samsung is really pushing the stereo speakers on the Galaxy Note 8.0, so let’s take a listen!

Back in January, we told you about the world’s smallest home gaming console, the GameStick–and  many of you wrote us wanting to learn more about this video-game-system-in-a-controller Kickstarter project. Well, the team behind the project must have been listening, because we’re now pleased to present the official GameStick “explainer” video; and for the record, we can’t wait to get our hands on one.

Enjoy!

Microsoft’s Larry Hyrb (aka Major Nelson) has just announced that the new Xbox will be revealed on May 21st at 10am PDT at a special press event on the Xbox campus. The event will be streamed live on xbox.com and Xbox Live, and will also be broadcast on Spike TV; then at E3 this year, MIcrosoft will detail the game lineup for the new system.

You can find Major Nelson’s post about the announcement on his blog, and we’ll keep you informed as more news become available in the coming weeks.

I’ve spent quite a bit of time with Windows 8, and I’ve really come to like it. After some initial teething pains, improvements to file and app management alone make the update worth it in my opinion. Of course Windows 8 really comes alive when it’s paired with a touchscreen, and those tablet-y enhancements can be really interesting. I’m a fan of Live Tiles, and enjoy using them on both phones and my Ultrabook.

Maybe the biggest criticism of the Windows ecosystem I can bring is that the current hardware offered isn’t exactly inspiring consumers to part with their cash. While Microsoft has done a poor job of educating customers on the changes to (and benefits of) Windows 8, many of the new Windows 8 systems currently available are kind of dull. A few stand out as interesting, but most are some derivative of Intel’s Ultrabook reference design. Not bad, but it’s difficult to muster up anything more than a shrug when you see the same general specs over and over and over again.

It got me thinking. What would make me more excited about buying a Windows 8 system?

Here it is folks!

Hey Juan.

Buying a new computer soon. Was thinking of getting a Mac, but my friend said they were too expensive compared to a Windows machine. I thought Macs had gotten cheaper. Wouldn’t a Mac be a better buy in the long run? Isn’t the software cheaper too?

-AG

Well jeeze… You couldn’t just ask me one of the most nuanced questions in all of tech commentary could you. Get a beverage. Sit down. This is going to take a couple of paragraphs…

This has been a pretty common question from people on our blog.

“Why can’t NFC share pictures with my friend’s phone? Why is NFC broken?”

Let’s take a quick look at what NFC actually is, and also see if we can’t dispel a few of those misconceptions caused by some of  the “creative” advertising surrounding Tap+Share file transfers.

If you’re looking to increase battery life, or if you’re not in an area where AT&T has rolled out LTE, this is how you can disable the LTE radio in the USA Nokia Lumia 920.

Word of caution: This is a bit more technical than some of our other Pro Tips, so please use care when going through these more advanced settings on Windows Phone.

As much as we love what Booq has done in the gadget bag space, they’re also building quite a reputation as an iPad accessory  manufacturer–so it only makes sense that they would take  their excellent design ethic and sense of style, and apply it to Apple’s 7″ tab. So how did they fare with the new Booqpad mini? Read on, and find out how Booq got it right…yet again.

We here at YTR pride ourselves on being fairly well-rounded tech enthusiasts. This is not an Apple blog, a Google blog, or a Microsoft blog. We like tech, and we’re pretty good at using it. Playing with it. Figuring out it’s quirks, and sharing our experiences. Any decent blog, newspaper, magazine lives or dies by the interaction with those who read and watch its content. We’ve always been grateful for those who comment, and even more grateful for those who ask questions. It’s through those questions that we shape our coverage, what news we report on, how we review the gadgets we’re sent.

So keep the comments and questions coming. You can send us tips and comments at Tips@YourTechReport.com–and we always appreciate sharing through FB, Twitter, G+, email, cans and string. The more we grow, the more we can bring you fine folks good content.