2022

Qualcomm Snapdragon Summit Day One: The Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 Mobile Platform Is Announced

News

Qualcomm Snapdragon Summit Day One: The Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 Mobile Platform Is Announced

Everyone knows Qualcomm means impressive chipsets and other under-the-hood speediness for all your devices. But having a fast engine is only half the battle; you need to make sure the rest of the product is fully using it. And so, before we torture this analogy any further, here’s a rundown of how Qualcomm is bridging their latest top-of-the-line processor, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, with the flagship phones that we’ll be seeing in 2023.

2022 MediaTek Summit

Gear Bits

MediaTek Summit: Pentonic 1000, Kompanio 520, and T800 Chipsets Will Make Your Devices Faster and Smarter

We talk a lot about how important MediaTek is to your smartphone experience. However, they power more than just phones (a LOT more). Today is the first day of the 2022 MediaTek Summit in Sonoma, and they kicked it off by announcing the latest Pentonic 1000, Kompanio 520/528, and MediaTek T800 chipsets to make sure your television, Chromebook, and other devices are almost as smart as you are!

MediaTek Dimensity 9200 Shows They're Ready For the Future

Gear Bits

MediaTek Dimensity 9200 Shows They’re Ready For the Future

I recently explained to my son that once upon a time, phones didn’t fit in our pockets; instead, they were mounted on the wall. He was incredulous and seemed to think I had grown up in the stone age. I don’t blame him since he’s growing up in a world where every phone he encounters has a fair amount of power. We’re at the point where every phone can handle the things only a flagship handled in the past, and we have MediaTek to thank for bringing so many high-end processing features to many phones. But they’re still not resting;…

Marvel's Spider-Man Remastered Review: Visit Manhattan Without Dropping a Fortune!

Game Diary, Reviews

Marvel’s Spider-Man Remastered Review: Visit Manhattan Without Dropping a Fortune!

In my opinion, the recent rash of superhero games has been predominantly pish. All Flash and no substance, more akin to a Beast than beauty; you’d have to be a real Iron Man to stomach some of them. Now that I’ve gotten those superhero puns out of my system, Marvel’s Spider-Man Remastered for the PC (Developed by Insomniac Games/Nixxes Software, Published by Playstation PC LLC) stands out from the pile by being competent…and that’s a huge compliment. I basically 100%-ed the game in 40 hours; here are my thoughts.

Fan speed on the Cielo Breez Plus

Reviews

Cielo Breez Plus Review: A Brilliant Way to Make Just About Any Remote-Controlled AC Unit Smart

A few years ago, I bought a Kenmore window unit air conditioner that touted being smart, app-controlled, and able to connect to Alexa and Google Home. After Kev had securely installed the AC in my office window, I powered it on only to find that the app and smart features were incompatible with my WiFi mesh system. :facepalm: Long story short, for the past three years, I’ve had an otherwise excellent window unit that’s never lived up to its potential. However, that all changed when I received a Cielo Breez Plus review unit; with it, my AC is finally smart!

'Days Gone' Review: Books and Their Covers

Reviews, Game Diary

‘Days Gone’ Review: Books and Their Covers

I’m going to come clean; I bought this game because I thought I’d hate it. Out of the box, Days Gone read as “an open world game with shallow mechanics that tried to be too badass and edgy.” With bikers vs. cultists vs. bandits in a zombie apocalypse as the setting, can you blame me? For the first two hours, the game did nothing to suppress my acid reflux, but the more I engaged with it, the more pleasantly surprised I became.

Lenovo ThinkPad X13s Review: Proof That Powerful Things Can Come In Compact Packages

Reviews

Lenovo ThinkPad X13s Review: Proof That Powerful Things Can Come In Compact Packages

I have a soft spot for small computers. If it’s got a compact footprint and can help me work wherever I go, I probably want it. So when we were offered the chance to check out the slim and light Lenovo ThinkPad X13s, I leaped at the opportunity. On paper, the Lenovo ThinkPad X13s is my ideal laptop. It’s a diminutive 11.76 x 8.13x 0.53 inches but manages to sport a 13.3″ screen thanks to thin bezels. At 2.35 pounds, it’s almost too light — I’m pretty sure I have some books that are heavier than this computer! The touchpad…

The eBike Classification System: What Does it all Mean, and Why Should You Care?

Editorials

The eBike Classification System: What Does it all Mean, and Why Should You Care?

Over the last few years, eBikes have exploded in popularity, and over the past year and a half, I’ve become an eBike and electric scooter enthusiast. Judie has been a fan of the electric mobility solution for years; Kev bought her a Sondors Original eBike with fat tires and an extended battery for Christmas 2017 that’s still going strong. I’ve gotten a fairly rapid education on the ins and outs of eBikes in the last few months, and in this post, I want to share some insights into the eBike classification system.

Stock photo of the MediaTek Dimensity 1080

Gear Bits

MediaTek Dimensity 1080 Chipset Provides Upgraded Cameras and Performance to Next Year’s Mid-Range Android Smartphones

Do you know what processor is powering your smartphone? Chances are that you don’t, and that’s okay, but I find processors fascinating because they control everything from your phone’s responsiveness to how many megapixels the cameras on your phone can be. With the new MediaTek Dimensity 1080 5G chipset, we’re promised upgraded camera features and a performance bump compared to its predecessor, last year’s Dimensity 920.