Video Reviews, How-Tos, Events And Our Two And A Half Geeks Webcast
In-depth video reviews, news and Tech event coverage of computers, smartphones, tablets, notebooks, PC components, and tech gadgets. Here you'll find supplemental content that you can also find on our YouTube channel, right here.!
The humble SD card has evolved in a number of ways since its introduction two decades ago. While early SD cards could hardly store more photos than a roll of film, modern cards may offer the capacity to contain hours of high-quality HD video. SD cards have also become commonly used as boot drives for lightweight operating systems, powering everything from Raspberry Pi's to server hypervisors. SD Cards, and MicroSD cards in particular, can also be useful for expanding the storage of cell phones and even laptops. Samsung introduced its blazing fast EVO Plus UHS-I MicroSD cards last year, featuring capacities from 64GB to 256GB and write speeds approaching 90 megabytes per second. We were impressed...
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The sound of silence -- there’s nothing like it, especially when it comes to a media PC. The last thing anyone wants while binging on the new season of Game of Thrones is the distracting drone of a fan or whir of a hard drive. Silence is precisely what the Streacom DB-4 chassis we'll be featuring here has to offer. I’ve been wanting to build a Home Theater PC (HTPC) for years now. My current rig actually started life as an HTPC, but was soon upgraded for gaming and workstation tasks and now lives under my desk instead of in my living room. When Streacom reached out to us to review the DB-4, I was eager for the opportunity to give a proper HTPC another go. The DB-4 is not your average computer...
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Take a look at your printer. Give it a good stare. Do you trust it? Probably not, considering it jammed the last time you had to print an important paper right up against a deadline. However, what if we told you that your printer just has to sit there on your network to be a very serious security problem? HP Inc. recently hosted a tech field day for us, and several other security-focused journalists, at their headquarters in Palo Alto. We will speak to some of the panels we listened in on as we go, but the goal for HP at this event was to raise awareness around security - particularly where printers are concerned - and it's an important topic regardless of the brand of printing device you're...
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Overclockers and frequent PC builders alike can appreciate the advantages of having an open air bench or rack for testing. These make component swapping a breeze for comparisons and provide a flexible platform for checking a build before installing it inside a tight case. Few things are more frustrating than learning your motherboard is dead on arrival after you finished meticulously routing every last cable.As nice as open air cases and test benches are, however, they have largely come with their own share of hassles. Many test benches walk a spectrum between structural rigidity and layout flexibility. Some units lack defined mounting points while others wind up just too bulky to be practical...
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Update - 9/2 - 8:40AM EST: Samsung has issued a global recall and replacement of all current Galaxy Note7 devices and will replace all phones. You can read more about it here. We applaud Samsung for stepping up quickly and addressing the potential battery issue for early customers of the Note7. It's an excellent smartphone and this recall does not change our view of Samsung's flagship device. Once early units are purged from the marketplace, we are confident replacement units will meet customer expectations. We did not experience any anomalies with our test unit so please read on for our full review here... The Galaxy Note line of stylus-equipped Android smartphones have carved...
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We talk about self-driving cars and advanced artificial intelligence (AI) on an regular basis here at HotHardware. At this stage in the game, self-driving cars are in fact a reality and currently roaming streets in and around Silicon Valley. These are, of course, prototype vehicles that still have a human driver behind the wheel just in case an unforeseen hazard presents itself that would otherwise stymie the AI that normally drives the vehicle. While the AI present in today’s experimental self-driving cars can navigate city streets, change lanes, avoid accidents and are for the most part fairly competent “drivers”, what happens when it comes to an “us versus them” scenario? What if a self-driving...
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When it comes to technology, especially the fast-paced advancement of mobile technology, design cycles are often based on either innovation or iteration. Sometimes it's a blend of both, but often times, like Intel's tick-tock silicon design process, it makes perfect sense to innovate one design cycle and then iterate and perfect on the next. It's a common practice that Samsung's chief smartphone rival, Apple is well known for as well. The Samsung Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Edge smartphones are definitely iterative product designs, but my how iteration has served Samsung so very well on these two new flagship devices. Last year's Samsung Galaxy S6 And Galaxy S6 Edge, as well as the larger follow-on...
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Samsung has done very well with a couple of key design elements in their previous smartphone offerings, curved displays and the larger format Galaxy Note line. The Galaxy Note series has done especially well for the brand, with a user base that doesn't mind a bit more heft in exchange for more screen real estate, as well as other unique functionality that comes with the Note series. So too have Samsung "Edge" devices like the Galaxy Note Edge and Galaxy S6 Edge, which offer curved glass styling that turns heads and offers some additional differentiating functionality of its own. Samsung is intent on capitalizing further on those successes in both their larger 5.7 inch Super AMOLED displays...
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About a year ago, we were in a similar spot. We had the latest Galaxy smartphone in hand, rand were comparing it to rivals from LG, Motorola, Apple, and Sony (just to name a few). Twelve months have passed, and as fate would have it, we've got yet another pair of Galaxy phones in the labs. This time, however, Samsung's got something that clearly stands out for previous generations. After years of success, Samsung's profits began to lag right around the launch of the Galaxy S5. The press largely criticized it for being too plasticky, not innovative enough, and not fast enough to set it apart or justify its price tag. Many wondered if the company's next flagship Galaxy would get Samsung back on...
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So you've been tempted by Apple's new big, beautiful 5.5-inch computer-in-your-pocket known as the iPhone 6 Plus. I mean if you're going to get a new smartphone, surely anything labeled "Plus" by Apple must be all that and a bag of Fritos, right? And #bendgate? You couldn't care less about what a few clumsy types are squawking about. You take care of your devices and don't plan on sitting on your phone anytime soon. Then again, the iPhone 6 Plus is expensive and it sure is big. There are so many smartphones to choose from these days and when it comes to Android, Google and their multitude of manufacturing and software developer partners, have done a nice job of empowering an ecosystem and...
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In June, Samsung announced a new flagship line of tablets known as the Galaxy Tab S. Available in 8.4- and 10.5-inch versions, the Galaxy Tab S is geared towards media consumption, with hardware specifications that are designed to deliver an outstanding media experience. Not only does the Galaxy Tab S have killer hardware, but Samsung also managed to pack these features into the company’s thinnest and lightest tablet design yet. To deliver the best possible visual experience, the high-resolution Super AMOLED display found in the Galaxy Tab S supports a resolution of 2560x1600 and boasts of a 73% wider color gamut than conventional LCD displays. The display also offers deeper blacks...
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Wearables in general--and smartwatches in particular--are among the hottest tech trends of today. Despite a great deal of hullabaloo over these devices, though, many aren’t quite finding them as compelling as you might think. As a result, there’s a sense that no one has yet figured out the secret sauce that makes a wearable / smartwatch a "much have" device. Samsung is at the forefront of the smartwatch push, looking to develop that perfect swoon-worthy device. The company is already on the second generation of its smartwatch line with its Gear 2, the wearable that we’re looking at today. Samsung makes some fine mobile devices, but the smartwatch is a different beast...
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The Android smartphone wars are heating up here in Q2 with Samsung, HTC and soon LG releasing flagship devices targeted at luring in enthusiasts and mainstream consumers who might be looking to upgrade to the latest technologies and screen sizes. We just gave you a detailed evaluation of HTC's One (M8) for 2014 and today we're here to bring you our view of Samsung's new Galaxy S5 Android superphone. At Samsung's Unpacked event in February, we got some early hands-on time with the Galaxy S5 and what impressed us then is what impresses us now, now that we've had a few weeks to live and work with the device in house. The first thing that stands out is its beautiful 5.1-inch Super...
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Whether you’re a fan of oversized smartphones or not, it’s clear that they are here to stay. When Samsung initially released the first Galaxy Note, many of us in the industry looked at it a little sideways and wondered what the designers at Samsung were thinking. The original Galaxy Note seemed simply gargantuan next to virtually every other device available at the time and it was somewhat comical to see such a large device perched next to someone’s ear when they were making a call. The Note had a transformative effect on the smartphone industry, however. Yes, it was large. But once you've experienced the benefits of a larger screen, it's difficult to turn back, and Samsung...
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