Review

I started seriously looking at the 25.4 cm (10″) Hipstreet Phoenix when one of the youngest family members cracked the screen on the shared family tablet for the second time. The Phoenix cost less than a repair and turned out to be sturdier as well with some terrific features.

Every Nintendo generation since the Nintendo 64 has had a Smash Bros game, and they’ve all been fan favourites so far. I didn’t play the Wii version, but really enjoyed the N64 and Gamecube games, and of course, the Nintendo 3DS one when it came out last month.  But, through all those, the Nintendo Wii U is the best one yet, and has to be right there for Wii U Game of the Year consideration.  Check it out.

It was one of Nintendo’s most well received ideas of E3 2014 – The amiibo, a series of bite sized figurines for use with your Nintendo systems, and specifically for Super Smash Bros. They’re finally here, and they’re pretty neat to get into, so let’s take a look!

As the mirrorless (or compact system) camera segment has mushroomed over the last few years, one company has stood out from the rest for consistently releasing high-quality, stylish cameras that produce gorgeous images: Fujifilm.   Today I’m reviewing the rugged, durable X-T1, a camera capable of taking gorgeous images in the most demanding of circumstances.  

I’ve spent several weeks now with HTC’s Nexus 9 tablet. That’s a bit longer than a typical reviews, but with all the hype surrounding this device, I wanted to take the time to really run it through its paces. There are also questions surrounding the Nexus 9, primarily whether its unusual size should be considered a plus or a minus. Again, I wanted to spend time with it before coming to any snap decisions. Read my review to get the full scoop but here’s one spoiler: the Nexus 9 did make my best tablets of 2014 list. 

It’s not a branch of gaming tech we’re too accustomed to as tablet gaming is still by and large a fairly new thing. While the Razer Edge Pro blew things out of the water with its debut last year, it just wasn’t affordable for most of us. The NVIDIA Shield, however, and its optional controller are different. They feature the robust and powerful specs needed for you to play and even share your gaming experiences.  Come check out the Nvidia Shield.

It’s Call of Duty, not like I’m talking about some unknown quantity… but that started working against this juggernaut of a franchise by the time the heralds of a new hardware generation started sounding.  We were done with Modern Warfare, and we’d had our share of Black Ops, what’s next?  Well Activision and Sledgehammer Games had an answer, it was ‘advanced’ warfare, Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare.

Last year’s Moto X was a surprise hit, winning praise for its attractive design, nearly pure Android UI and excellent value proposition. This year’s follow-up Moto X is much more than a spec-bumped version 2. The new Moto X is significantly bigger, much more powerful and gains new features, while retaining much of the appeal of the original. I just wrapped up a week with the 2014 Moto X and I’ll be sorry to see it go.

Smartwatches and wearables have been a hot category this year. It seems like everyone is making one, but this early in the game it’s tough to get things just right. Motorola’s Moto 360 has been one of the most hotly anticipated devices of the season because it’s one of the first out of the gate to tackle two challenges head on: it’s round like a traditional wristwatch, and with Android Wear it has an operating system built from the ground up for wearables. I’ve been spending some quality time with a Moto 360 and this is what I think about the latest must-have high tech accessory.

Many people I know have mentioned their fear of break-ins or theft—especially my friends with rental homes. But there’s not much they can do outside of placing a broomstick in the sliding door, or hoping the deadbolts on their doors hold: they’re not allowed to have an alarm installed. Nor would they want to permanently install a device in a place in which they will only be residing temporarily. There’s a great solution to this problem now! The iSmartAlarm is a portable, yet powerful device that acts as a great theft deterrent using nothing more than a couple portable pieces of hardware, your wireless network and your smartphones.  I just had a chance to test it so click below to check out my review