Brad Moon

When it comes to e-readers and tablets, Kobo has grown from an underdog competing against the Kindle to a leading manufacturer that also happens to operate a top notch e-bookstore. The current line-up of Kobo Arc tablets is particularly attractive, offering performance, brilliant high resolution displays, full access to Android apps and combined this with Kobo’s e-book expertise. Kobo has positioned the Arc line as the best tablet choice for readers. But which Kobo Arc is the right choice for you? In this post, I explore the differences between the Kobo Arc 7HD, Kobo Arc 10HD and the Kobo Arc 7.  

One of the cool things about PCs is that nothing ever stands still. Whether it’s new video games that redefine immersion, or the ability to edit photos at full resolution with a 4K monitor, progress often means pushing the limits of a video card. If you’ve hit a wall when it comes to your computer’s graphics capabilities, or maybe you made a New Year’s resolution to upgrade your PC so you can use that big 4K monitor to full advantage, the good news is this doesn’t need to mean shelling out for an all new system. Chances are you can get back to enjoying the best PC technology has to offer by simply upgrading your video card.  

We all want to save money and VoIP (Voice over IP) technology is one of those great ways to cut your spending. It uses the Internet and its cheap data as an alternative to making voice calls using a telephone or cell phone. Great idea. When it comes to VoIP, netTALK is one of leaders in Canada and the company has just announced the launch of a new Android app that’s exclusive to Canadians. This netTALK app features a long list of benefits including a free Canadian number, free international calls between app users and free international radio streaming. Given the popularity of NetTALK’s Duo VOiP telephone hardware, this app is definitely worth checking out.  

Many of us have more data than we know what to do with. Digital photos, digital movies, MP3s and old school stuff like documents and spreadsheets can start to take up a lot of space on your PC. On your smartphone or tablet, it’s even worse —a lot of those photos get snapped on a smartphone and with limited storage, it doesn’t take long to fill them up. Cloud storage is always an option, but then you’re at the mercy of the provider and there may be charges associated with the service. Western Digital offers a compelling alternative —a “personal cloud”— with its My Cloud series of network hard drives. I tested a 3TB My Cloud drive and came away convinced that this is the best thing to happen to hard drives since USB.  

Sony’s Vaio series of PC laptops has always won points for style and design and the company has become a leader in producing Windows 8 hybrid machines —portables that combine Windows 8 PC and tablet capabilities. I’ve spent the past week trying out Sony’s latest take on the hybrid form factor. After putting it through its paces, I can assure you that the Vaio Fit 15A is one of the most useful variations yet on the tablet/notebook convertible hybrid, a real looker (especially in the black finish of the test unit) and an able performer. It’s held back a little by a few details —a loud and persistent fan, so-so keyboard, and not so stellar battery life among them— but offers a solid portable computer experience, along with tablet capability, in a single package that just happens to look pretty smashing.