Speakers are something I’m extremely picky about. I have only bought a couple of sets in my life, and I love every set I get. However, my current setup was a Logitech stereo system with a small subwoofer, and that was 6 years ago. It was pretty good and did the job for the longest time, but it was time to move on.
I’ve never bought anything from Creative Labs, so this is a first-time experience with their products. It was either these or the Razer Leviathan, but there was a $70 difference between the two. Sure, Razer has snazzy features like an LCD display and a giant subwoofer, but it didn’t sound that great for a $200 soundbar. I wanted something wireless, so my only other option in the store, which was sub-$200, was this set from Creative Labs. For $130, I was really hesitant, and they are just satellite speakers. Usually, you need a separate subwoofer for good audio, but when I took them home, I realized I was dead wrong.
Plugging them up wasn’t all that much of a pain, but don’t let “wireless” throw you off. No speakers are truly wireless, as you need a power source. The left speaker also needs to connect to the right, but this could have been avoided with each speaker connecting to each other through Bluetooth and then having their own separate power cables. So two power cables, or one power cable and an RCA connection? Pick one. There’s also an option to use a 3.5mm jack for your PC, which I chose. While the Bluetooth pairing works great and is quick and simple, the sound card audio manager doesn’t detect Bluetooth speakers, so I couldn’t use my sound equalizer. I had to go through a 3.5mm jack, which kind of defeats the purpose of having Bluetooth speakers. I understand it was mainly designed for phones, as it has an NFC function on the right speaker to wake it up.
Outside of this small annoyance, I realized the RCA cable connecting the speakers is rather short. I had to buy an RCA extension cable to run the speakers on either side of my desk. The power cable was longer, which was kind of weird because it was reversed on my old Logitech set.
Once you get them plugged in and on, the sound is fantastic. These are the best stereo speakers I have heard, as the sound is rich, clear, and vibrant, and there are a lot of basses. These bad boys have bass speakers built into each satellite to pack a serious punch. After playing music for 90 minutes and turning it off, I noticed my head was buzzing from the bass. Playing video games also sounds rich and booming and provides a quasi-theater experience.
Outside of the two small issues I had, I have to say this purchase was well worth it. I don’t buy speakers very often (maybe once every 5 years) if they continue to work, so I should be happy with this for a long time. They are a great price, and having Bluetooth and a headphone jack in the front adds to their value. I also love controlling the bass and treble right upfront, like in the good old days, and not to mention the speakers look sleek and beautiful. I think I’ll be looking into more Creative Labs products.
Monitors aren’t something I buy very often; in fact, I’ve only ever bought one type, and that was the Dell S2740L, and that was 3 years ago. It was my first real monitor that didn’t come with a setup and was fantastic, but it was time to upgrade to something more modern and bigger. I’m not going to lie; I’m not very savvy with monitors or TVs. I don’t buy them often enough to do constant research or keep up with trends. I usually go into a store with a budget and research on my phone as needed. I started out by looking for other 27″ monitors that just looked super clear and crisp, had a minimal design, and maybe some fancy settings. I first looked at the Asus MX279H because it had a fantastic-looking screen and was LED. I want to move away from LCD, and it’s a fading technology. I then noticed larger screens that were around the same price, but then there were ultrawide displays that were over $500. There was a $400 29″ LG monitor with AMD Freesync, but the 21:1 ratio was a little off-putting as almost everything is made for 16:9.
That was my major dilemma: do I sacrifice dual monitors for an Ultrawide or just get another 27″ monitor? My next thought was that I just want a 1080p monitor, as most gaming above requires multiple GPUs, and I don’t have the money or setup for that. So here I was looking at 1080p monitors that were bigger than 27″. I never thought in a million years I would ever get a 32″ monitor, as that is the size of most entry-level flat screens. Three years ago, a 32″ monitor was close to $1,000. I was also switching to a new brand; I don’t own anything from LG. So, I settled on the 32MP58, and no, I didn’t know what IPS was at the time, but it’s for the most true-to-life color you can get. Comparing an LED monitor to an LCD is a huge difference, and the size is perfect for gaming.
So, I took my new monitor home, took down one of the 27″ Dells, and plopped it down. It takes up a lot of desk real estate, so be prepared to have a large desk or nothing else on it. I had to slide my other 27″ Dell all the way to the edge of the desk to make them both fit. I can now use the LG for gaming and video and the Dell for tasks like web browsing and file management.
The setup was easy enough, and I’m shocked this monitor is VGA or HDMI—both extremes. Either go fully digital or full analog. I don’t know why, in 2016, anything has VGA anymore, but it’s there. I was surprised to not see DVI-I or DVI-D at all, which I had my Dell monitors set up as. Either way, most new GPUs come with two HDMI ports and two DVI ports. After installing the curved stand (which is minimal and sleek), I plugged it in, and on it went.
The monitor detected the video right away and turned it right on. The OSD button is a four-way switch underneath the power light, which is awkward and weird. There are many settings, and most of these are universal across all of LG’s newest monitors. I chose the gaming preset, and for the most part, this monitor needs very little adjustment. I used Windows Color Calibration, and nothing needed adjusting. I then did a little research on some LG-exclusive settings, like SuperResolution. It sounds awesome on paper, but this is for anything that doesn’t render or display natively in 1080p and needs upscaling. This is great for older game consoles but not necessary for PC games, as it just makes everything overly sharp and ugly. There are so many settings on this monitor, such as adjusting every single color under the sun, not just RGB. There’s a great black stabilizer that keeps everything from getting too dark and washed out, which is a nice feature. I also found this to be an extremely bright monitor, and as the sun went down, I had to change it from the already bright 75 down to around 47. 100 brightness is just not ideal and not needed at all.
There are other features like response time for fast-moving objects (games in 60FPS or 60FPS movies) and some other features, but mostly not many need to be touched, and that’s how it should be. There’s no software involved with this monitor like there is for Dell, which is just fine as most people don’t like that kind of thing. So settings-wise and physical design-wise, there isn’t much to complain about. I wish this was an edge-to-edge display, but the bezel is embossed, which isn’t awful, but the back is bulky. There’s also a headphone jack in the back that allows audio to stream through and can be controlled via the monitor OSD, which is also awkward and bizarre. I also have to mention that this is a very wobbly monitor if your desk isn’t quite stable. I had to push my two monitors together to keep each one balanced. If you have a wobbly monitor issue, you need to buy a stand that has braces for each side.
Overall, the games and video looked amazing on this monitor. Some of the best picture quality I have seen on any monitor to date. With my older Dell and this side-by-side, I can see the difference, and even the size makes a huge difference. Should you go larger than 32″? Maybe 34″, but that might be pushing it. I won’t be purchasing another monitor anytime soon, probably not for a few years, but I am very happy with this purchase, and $300 is quite fair for what you get. With a sharp and crystal-clear display, beautiful colors, and great physical design, you can’t go wrong here.
Mousepads aren’t something that most hardcore PC gamers should overlook. A great gaming mouse is only half the battle, as the surface you move it on affects everything. I used the Razer Vespula for over 2 years and loved it, but I was ready for something bigger, with no wrist pad, and cool-looking.
There are various types of mouse pads, from size to surface type. Most are made for low DPI or high DPI, and some mousepads can fit your entire desk. I was looking for something bigger, a little less smooth, and flashy, and the Firefly was perfect. My initial thoughts were that the chroma effects were a gimmick and that it was a crappy mousepad. After initial testing, I was dead wrong. This is the nicest mousepad I have ever used, and the lighting effects are just icing on the cake. It’s very minimal, with a Razer logo in the top right corner, an LED bar along the bottom and sides, and then a small bar at the top where the power cord goes. Yes, this is probably the only powered mousepad in existence, and while some may naysay this, it’s needed for the LED lights. If you’re on a Mac or gaming laptop, this may be an issue due to the few USB ports. However, my PC has 8 USB ports in the back and 2 in the front, so it doesn’t make a difference for me.
When I first opened the box and felt the slightly rough surface, I was worried it would be too rough and drag my mouse down. I am currently using a Logitech G700S with a 2900 DPI setting. After setting the mouse down, it was actually perfect. It made me realize just how smooth the Vespula was, and I needed that little extra grit. The playing surface is perfect and not too small or big. However, the $60 price tag is for those cool LED lights, right?
They are worth it. Razer’s Chroma SDK doesn’t support much right now, but the effects you can change in Razer Synapse 2.0 are enough for just a light bar, and the ambient glow it gives off when on a surface is fantastic and cool. I currently only have seen Rise of the Tomb Raider and Overwatch support (that I own); the pad with Overwatch only uses an orange glow at startup. Right now, I use the Audio Visualizer app in the Chroma store that flashes the bar with sound, which is just fantastic. Hopefully, over time, the Chroma features will be embraced by developers and not abandoned like their touchpad or Hydra devices.
My only complaint is that the bottom of the mat isn’t sticky enough, and I’m having to reset the position of the mat at least once an hour during heavy gaming. A small gripe and nothing that I feel deters the price point. The USB cable is going to be hated, person by person. I don’t mind it, and the cord is long enough to reach almost anywhere. However, if you don’t care for LED lighting, I can’t recommend this for just a really good mousepad either.
Usually, with the second generation of hardware, most manufacturers get everything right. The first-gen Moto 360 was great, but it had many issues that were addressed this time around. For starters, the first generation had major battery issues that weren’t resolved until the end of its support cycle with the Lollipop update; after that, the battery life was great if you didn’t use the ambient screen. The biggest issue of all was staying connected to your phone, and I had issues with this up until about 2 months ago, when I finally resolved them. With the Marshmallow update, the first-gen Moto 360 was pretty solid, but there were also issues with the hardware. The first generation of smartwatches had very slow hardware, equivalent to phones that came about five years ago. The second-generation Moto 360 is 10 times more powerful than the first. This reduces crashing, overheating, hangs, faster boots, and overall responsiveness. The first generation also had a mediocre body, as over time the glue would loosen up and the screen would come up, and the band was not easily changeable without a jeweler or voiding your warranty. The side button also got stuck a lot and didn’t have very good feedback.
The second generation fixes all of this plus some. Let’s start with the hardware. The body itself is thicker, but the overall design makes it seem sleeker. The hardware button is bigger and located on the top right corner, and it clicks very nicely this time. The watchband is not inside the watch anymore and is now attached to the outer frame with quick-release buttons for easy changing. This is a huge update that I love so much, as I can now collect watch bands with ease. The material feels more sturdy and thicker, and the screen has double the resolution and better glass.
With that said, the watch also fits better. We get a three-way point of wrapping due to the “hinges” of the strap rather than one band that you wrap around your wrist. The watch sits flatter and no longer slides around, which is great. If you want to get under the hood, the Moto 360 second generation has the following hardware for the 46mm version, which I have:.
CPU: Snapdragon 400 Quad-Core @ 1.2Ghz GPU: Adreno 305 Display: Corning Glass 3 LCD at 233 dpi (360×330) Storage: 4GB ROM + 512MB RAM Bluetooth 4.0 Battery: 400 mAh
That’s a huge step up from the last watch. This is a fast beast, and the display is beautiful. The 46mm version is the way to go, and the $50–100 jump in price is well worth it if you factor in the extra day of battery life. I can actually use ambient mode with this watch, and it can last more than a day. I could not do that with the first-gen watch. While the watch is the same software-wise (there are no new features), just having it perfected is worth the price to me. I don’t really have any complaints with this one, as all my issues were resolved on the last watch.
With that said the biggest issue is the price. Starting at $300 this is a premium and high-end watch that is the only one that can beat Apple in terms of style (which the Apple Watch is ugly) and usability. If you hated the first-gen watch I suggest coming back as everything is fixed.
The PSP is a legendary system. There were so many fantastic games on this console that it has been considered the second-best next to the GameBoy Advance. The PSP had a great start and a rough ending, but overall, hundreds of games were released, and a good quarter of them were worthy of being in a collection. Now, I have played and owned the PSP since that wonderful day on March 24, 2005, when I was a teenager and saved up my allowance on pre-order payments for 6 months. However, what ultimately killed the PSP sales-wise was piracy. The PSP was very easy to hack, and many custom firmwares were installed on the system, allowing users to download games. While this is possible on every console in existence, the PSP became a Pirate Station Portable, if you will. Emulators were made for the system, so you can carry around SNES, GBA, Genesis, and even PS1 games on this thing. It’s a very powerful and versatile system, and many things can be done with it.
While I can’t condone piracy, if you own a large collection of classic games, it’s great to have them on the go with you, and this became my main driving point for playing this system to this day. Outside of emulators, the PSP library is like no other. Racing games, action, and RPGs were among the most popular genres on the system. The PSP had one of the greatest handheld launches of all time, with Ridge Racer, Darkstalkers, Lumines, Ape Escape, and many other brands on board. The system was sleek, the most beautiful handheld system ever created, and powerful. I remember booting up Ridge Racer for the first time and being overwhelmed by the graphical fidelity, sound, and large screen. This was also the first handheld with this large of a screen. We had widescreen gaming in our hands with a huge 4.3″ LCD, and that was even bigger than phones back in the day. In 2005, you had BlackBerries with small screens and flip phones. Phone screens didn’t catch up until six years later. The PSP was way ahead of its time.
While many great games took forever to be released, it was a slow trickle, for sure. Huge games were milestones for the system, like God of War, Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy, Gran Turismo, Tactics Ogre, and many others. These games defined the system as fantastic, and there were also many other hidden gems thrown in there. There were also many JRPG ports that were only seen in Japan that were now ported to English for the first time, and this trend continues with the Vita. The PSP was perfect for JRPGs that you could keep in your pocket. Now the PSP had many flaws, like the terrible UMD discs that nearly crippled the system. The system also had many failed services like comics, Skype, UMD movies, and the terrible internet browser. The system remains great for watching movies, listening to music, and playing games, but more so natively than through paid services. They just didn’t work on the PSP at all.
This will be my very last review of the PSP hardware line, as it was the last (outside of the E1000 unit that was in Europe only). The PSP Go is a very difficult system to find these days, as it is the least widely available. The PSP Go was released in 2009 and was discontinued barely two years later. The PSP had two previous models that greatly improved the system, with the 3000 model being the best. Surprisingly, what drove sales was how easy the hardware was to hack and downgrade. The original model was the easiest to hack, as it was mastered by the time the 2000 model came out. The 2000 model had a new motherboard, and several hurdles had to be overcome with various firmware updates. It is the least popular of the three. The 3000 system didn’t take as long as Sony was slowing down on the firmware updates, and the PSP Go was hacked in no time flat.
With that said, the actual system is even sexier than you could imagine. A slide-out PSP? No way! Many mock models were created for the PSP 2, which was said to be announced around the time of the PSP Go release. The system does have drawbacks over the original models, but there are advantages that help iron some of this out. First off, the system fits in your pocket easier. The PSP wasn’t really the best for your pocket, as it was very wide.
The Go eliminates the buttons on the side of the screen by putting the screen on top of the buttons, which is a genius idea. While the chassis is now all plastic, it’s still very sturdy. The system retains the overall shape of the PSP and has rubber feet on the bottom of the system, and the PSP ring logo is now removed. The buttons have been completely rearranged, more dramatically than the PSP 3000’s arrangement. The new PS button introduced on the 3000 is now on the top screen, being the only button there. The Bluetooth and WiFi lamps are at the top of the screen, as are the speakers flanking the screen. It’s very minimal and looks great, and this is my favorite home button so far on the system. On the top of the system are the usual L and R buttons, but they are larger than the previous systems and lay more flat as they don’t make up part of the shape of the system like before. The PSP has a volume rocker for the first time, which is on top of the system, and the screen and note buttons flank that. These are the only bad decisions as to when the screen is up. These buttons are hard to press as you have to blindly feel for them. Your most used buttons are under the screen with the analog nub between the D-pad and face buttons, which is interesting as it was under the D-pad previously. The nub is inset, so your thumb stays inside and feels more like an analog stick, and it sticks up away from the console but doesn’t tilt still. The D-pad is much improved, as it doesn’t rock like previous systems, and the face buttons are the exact same size as the Vita. You can actually see the influence of the Vita in the PSP Go.
With that said, the buttons feel great, and the body is nice. The power slider and wifi switch are very similar to the PSP 3000 on each side of the system, but the worst change of all is a new proprietary memory card called Memory Stick Micro. This was one last stab to combat piracy, but the internal flash actually helped it. The new memory cards are much more expensive than the MS Pro Duo cards that were widely available. So, if you upgraded to a PSP Go, you had to ditch your Pro Duo, which is an awful move on Sony’s part. While the internal storage is a nice 16GB for several games, a larger size would have been nice to eliminate the removable media altogether. 32 or 64GB would have been just fine, and no one would have complained. On the plus side, with this internal storage comes lightning-fast read and write speeds, so load times are greatly reduced in most games. The Go also has Bluetooth 2.0, which no other model has. This was to connect Bluetooth headsets and the DualShock 3. Oh yes, you can play games with the DualShock 3, which is a nice feature; however, there’s no easy way to play as you have to put the Go on a flat surface. USB 2.0 was also removed and now has its own cable, which means your other cables are out the window. If you lose this cable, you’re screwed; however, USB A to B was being phased out as phones were using Mini B cables, which are now standard. Hey, at least it still has a headphone jack and mic.
Most people complain that the Go has a screen that’s almost half an inch smaller than the previous models. After a while, you don’t notice, and the picture is extremely clear due to the better LCD technology inside the Go. The “looking through a screen door” issue is gone here, and the screen is crisp and bright even by today’s standards. Overall, I can consider this the Gameboy Advance Micro of the PSP. Every handheld system usually has a miniature “best of” variation, and this is it.
With that said, the PSP Go is my personal favorite system. I love the larger versions; the PSP 3000 is the best of the three, but something about ultra-compactness and the slide-out screen really sells the entire package. It’s a gorgeous system, and it’s a shame it hasn’t been re-released. The only true way to play this is by buying the UMD versions, downgrading the firmware, and playing the backed-up ISO of your game. You can even downgrade a UMD PSP, and there are plugins that allow you to rip the game from the UMD onto the MS Pro Duo and then transfer it to your Go to completely circumvent piracy. This huge hurdle is probably what killed the Go, and the fact that the PSN store is shutting down on the PSP natively this month is a crying shame. You can still buy and purchase PSP games, but eventually those will go away as well, and this hacking circumvention will be the one and only way to even get games on this system.
It’s also the rarest of the variations, as a new system will run you over $200, which was the original price point, and even just finding one in good shape is a chore on its own. I picked up a beat-up system near me for $80 with the charger, and it was the only one in my entire county. I later tracked down the white model used in perfect condition for just $100, but again, most cheap Go systems are extremely beat up. If you don’t care about that, then $60–80 is your price range, which isn’t bad.
I’m a fanatic about gaming mice and keyboards. I love getting the latest and greatest because I always want something that’s evolving and making gaming more comfortable, accessible, and easier, and I also love state-of-the-art tech. I’ve tried mice from both Mad Catz and mostly Razer, but there’s been one underlying issue from both companies that hasn’t been fixed in years: The drivers stink big time. The mice are unresponsive, freeze up, can’t go from wired to wireless seamlessly, act up when coming out of sleep mode, etc. I love my Razer Ouroboros, but I couldn’t stand the shoddy drivers anymore; the freezes, skips, and bugs were driving me insane. I finally decided to switch to a completely different company, Logitech. Someone I’ve known for years, even before I started PC gaming, is a company that is notorious for high-quality products that last a long time and work well. I went for the gusto and picked up their best mouse available: The G700S
It’s not exactly a flashy mouse like Razer or Mad Catz. It won’t turn heads, and it may not even be noticeable to most people until they touch it. There’s no fancy charging dock or lighting effects, no over-glorified box, just a mouse in cardboard with some neat buttons. I was a little skeptical at first because it didn’t have a charging dock; it has a USB cable, an extension, and a micro USB dongle, which kind of scared me. Those dongles are known to not work well and have poor signal strength, but I trekked on.
The setup was actually so simple that I was confused and thought something was wrong. I literally plugged in the mouse and the dongle, and no drivers were installed. I thought it was odd. I then downloaded the software suite and proceeded to scour the manual for something, thinking I had missed something. It turns out, Logitech is a master at drivers, and a completed in-your-face setup isn’t necessary.
After this, I proceeded with changing some settings; thankfully, the mouse keeps all profiles and settings inside the mouse via onboard memory. There are gaming profiles you can use, but every profile was exactly the same for the mouse; most changes were for Logitech keyboards, so I stuck to the onboard memory. The mouse has eight programmable buttons: three accessible to your left finger, one below the mouse wheel, and a cluster of four on your left thumb. These all felt natural and very easy to get to, unlike some mice, despite their ergonomics. The buttons clicked well and weren’t too difficult to press, even for intense games.
Once I easily programmed the buttons, I realized how nice this mouse felt. It fit so well in my hand and didn’t need fancy adjustments or anything that could come off. It was just a nice-feeling mouse that had a good weight to it. The feet were great and slid better than any other mouse I have used, and there’s an interesting feature unique to this mouse that you won’t see on any others. There’s a “clutch” button that releases the scroll wheel to free spin. It feels like spinning around weights and glides buttery smooth—so smooth, in fact, I can’t even feel it spin. The weight allows you to spin the wheel really fast for quick scrolling, or you can press the clutch again to lock the wheel and make it slower and click.
The performance is also the most flawless I have seen on any mouse. Going from corded to wireless is seamless, with zero hiccups, which are needed when your mouse dies in the middle of a game; it responded when my PC came out of sleep; and there have been no freezes, lag, hitches, or DPI drops like I have in Razer mice (three in total, by the way). The mouse can track up to 8200 DPI with a 1000 polling rate, perfect for people who love high sensitivity. I was able to adjust my DPI on the fly to adjust for different games, and I had no problems with the whole software or hardware.
With that said, the Logitech G700S may not be the flashiest mouse, but it functions the best, and in the end, that’s what counts. With zero lag, no connectivity issues, seamless corded-to-wireless transitions, and a great software suite, there’s not much more you can ask for. The ergonomics are great, and the mouse slides better than any other mouse I’ve touched. This is well worth the $100, even over flashier Razer and Mad Catz mice.
Video game streaming hasn’t really been a big option until the last couple of years, thanks to Steam. In-home streaming was possible for other computers, as this allowed computers or laptops that weren’t all that powerful to stream from a computer that was. This was great for families but didn’t have much practical use for anyone else. Now, thanks to Steam Link, anyone can stream their PC games right to their TV, but it isn’t without issues.
The Steam Link is a little confusing to set up at first. There’s a wired and wireless option, but the quick guide (the only instructions in the box) says that the PC should be connected through Ethernet to the router and then through Ethernet to the Link box. You don’t HAVE to have everything set up wired, but it can all be wireless as well. This requires an extremely fast internet speed, a 5GHz router, and a modern modem/router setup. Even then, you will experience latency issues. The box includes power adapters for different parts of the world, which is, I guess, good if you travel a lot; otherwise, it won’t matter. A 6′ Ethernet and HDMI cable are also included, which is a nice plus. Once I had everything set up, the Steam Link just kind of turned on; there’s no on or off switch. I then realized I needed a controller, so I used a wired Xbox One controller, but I realized I needed a longer USB cable, so I had to use a USB extension cord. Finally, I was ready to play.
The software setup was pretty quick; the Steam Link had a software update, and after about 5 minutes, I was ready to go. I set up the Steam Link through WiFi via a 5 GHz connection and 100 mbit/s. Steam on my computer launched in Big Picture Mode, and I set the streaming quality to “Beautiful.” I then launched Fallout 4 and had my first issue. Unless you have a Bluetooth keyboard and mouse and/or a Steam Controller, there is no mouse emulation. I had to walk over to my computer and press play from the game launcher before it would boot. That was really annoying.
After playing the game for about 10 minutes, I noticed there wasn’t any video latency but only audio latency. There were pops and crackles in the audio, and it would cut in and out a lot. Every so often, the picture would compress a bit, and the whole picture would look pixelated. This wasn’t going to be feasible, so I ran an Ethernet cable from my router, under my rug, and up to the entertainment center, and then the audio cutouts stopped. However, the stream from my PC to the router was still wireless, but that didn’t seem to be an issue. I’m sure a software update could fix the latency for wireless streaming on the actual Link box.
Using Steam itself was a breeze in Big Picture Mode; it felt like a highly streamlined console UI (in fact, better than Sony, Nintendo, and Microsoft have ever come up with), and I could easily access the store, friends chat, and my library without a fuss. Another plus is being able to access your own music and various other Steam features. This is actually the best way to get a Steam machine experience without actually having to buy one.
In the end, the Steam Link is a great buy, but you must have the right setup before bothering. Have a wired setup, or make sure you have a 5 GHz router and at least a 100 Mbit/s connection before even thinking about wireless streaming. A Steam Controller is the best way to go here, as it will connect to the actual Steam Link box directly; otherwise, your only other wireless controller option is the Xbox 360 controller with the wireless adapter. Once the Xbox One wireless adapter releases, it will be much easier, and we need some more stability updates from Valve before this is seen in everyone’s living room. For $50, you don’t really have much to lose here.
It’s been a long time coming, but I have held off for years on larger tablets. This is mainly due to battery life and power, but most importantly, the screen. Sure, the iPads have decent screens, but I wanted something amazing that all my larger content could look sharp on—something akin to a PC monitor. I have had my seven-inch Nexus tablets for a few years now, and they were great for reading comics and books and playing tablet-style games. I have used various other tablets, like the Samsung Galaxy Tab 3, but it was just awful and slow.
After purchasing the Note 5, I took a look at all of Samsung’s newest hardware. The sleek, paper-thin design of the Tab S2 caught my eye, but I was wary that it was weak and had an awful screen. I heard great things about the Tab S and Note Pro 10.1, so I took a further look. To my surprise, the Tab S2 was powerful and sported Samsung’s very popular Super AMOLED screens that I have grown to love over the years, starting with my Galaxy S4.
Some naysayers may gripe about tablets being steamrolled phones (this was said a lot about the original iPad), and honestly, Microsoft is the only company that has put a PC OS onto a tablet. Apple needs to get OSX working on an iPad, and Google needs to seriously think about getting Chrome OS onto tablets, but that’s a debate for a different time. Right now, tablets have been nearly perfected, and it’s okay to have larger versions of their phone counterparts. Think about it: What do we use tablets for? Movies, reading, and the overall enjoyment of a large screen. First, I would like to help people on the fence about tablets and think about these five things when buying one.
1. For the Movie Lover
There are dozens of movie apps on Google Play right now, and anyone who watches Netflix in bed or out of the house should be a tablet owner. This also goes for anyone who uses Hulu or any other streaming app. This is also great for people who love ripping or downloading movies and loading them directly from the device.
2. Productivity
If you’re a busy student or work in a place that requires a lot of note-taking, then a tablet is great for you, but why not a laptop? Tablets are ultra-light, ultra-portable, and do only what you want them to do. There’s no hassle of things going wrong with your laptop, such as crashes, BSODs, or anything like that.
3. Gamer
Of course, most games are fine on phones, but there are so many great tablet games that you are missing out on. This War of Mine, Talisman, The Witcher Adventure Game, Baldur’s Gate II: Enhanced Edition, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, Desktop Dungeons, Bard’s Tale, and many more games are better suited for larger screens. Not to mention that any gamer loves playing on bigger screens.
4. Reader
Tablets became popular due to ebooks. This is what put tablets on the map, thanks to devices like the Amazon Kindle. There are many great book apps, with Amazon’s Kindle being the most popular. With millions of books available, the list is endless. Laying down and reading on a tablet is more convenient, as you can do other things in between reading. Take a break and watch a YouTube video or two, video chat with a friend for a little, and go back at it. Tablets are just great to relax with, thanks to all the things you can do with them. I personally love reading manga and comics.
5. Artist
Most artists naysay digital art, especially on tablets, but they are great for getting ideas out of your head quickly before they are forgotten. There are many great styli out there for tablets, and while you won’t be able to pump out masterpieces like on your Cintiq tablet at your desk, it can save you from frustration for not being able to get a good idea out.
With that said, these are the people that tablets are aimed at. I nay-said tablets a long time ago, thinking I was just fine with my phone, but realized the potential I was missing out on.
The Samsung Galaxy Tab S2’s first feature you will notice when opening the box is the form factor. This is the thinnest tablet I have ever seen, and it just looks so sleek and incredibly gorgeous. The tablet is a perfect rectangle shape with rounded edges but has a face that’s familiar to Samsung phone owners. The recent apps button and back button, with a physical home button sandwiched in between, are iconic. I was also surprised at how light this tablet was, at nearly 10″. The style is borrowed from the current Galaxy series phones, which have solid power and volume keys (not rockers) and a minimal design.
If you have a WiFi tablet, you won’t have to worry about this step, but inserting the SIM card for the 4G version was quite easy thanks to the little tool that was provided. Just pop the pin in and insert the card into its carriage, and off it goes. The SD card slot is also located just below that slot and works the same way. I was actually so grateful that this tablet came with expandable memory (up to 128GB), as I can now load it with movies, music, and comics while the internal space is used for apps and games. With my Nexus 7, it was a constant balancing act of games and apps over comics, with only 32GB to use. The 9.7″ Tab S2 comes with 32GB built-in, but that’s nothing to complain about thanks to the expandable memory.
Once I turned the device on, I was amazed at the screen quality. While it was expected, it just looked so beautiful in this size. Everything is clear and crisp, which is what you would expect from a Samsung display. I will say that the tablet is a typical Samsung Android experience, and that’s not really bad, but there are not many device-specific features. There is a fingerprint scanner, which is really nice, but I noticed the device lacked the themes that are present in the current Galaxy phones. Anyone new to a Samsung device will find everything quite convenient, but coming from using Samsung phones, I could just dive right in and start setting up the device.
The device ships with the latest version of Lollipop (5.1.1), and Marshmallow is currently in development for the device. There are several features I would like to mention that I love on this tablet, regardless of whether they are standard Android or Samsung features.
First off, the tablet has some great power-saving features as well as an ultra-power-saving mode that turns everything black and white and only allows minimal usage. The battery actually lasts quite a while for such a large device and power-hungry screen. I can go on a full charge for about a day before the device dies, which is great. I also like the palm mute feature that allows you to place your hand on the screen to mute whatever is going on. While there aren’t as many features as the phones from Samsung, I felt what was here was just right and didn’t feel too gimmicky or overbearing. The more features are added, the more the battery can drain. Another feature I liked was the private mode. Enable this, and whatever files or folders you select won’t show up but can still be accessed by apps. Hiding private photos and videos has never been easier. The Tab S2 also has a slew of security features for finding a lost or stolen device and encryption options. This is great for people with sensitive information on their devices.
Let’s talk about performance. The Tab S2 is the fastest tablet I have used. While the Nexus 7 2013 was fairly slow during KitKat and Lollipop 5.0–5.2, it did speed up with 5.1.1. However, the Tab S2 is as fast as my Note 5 and hasn’t stuttered at anything I have thrown at it. The tablet has some pretty beefy hardware under the hood for such a slim device. The device sports Samsung’s flagship CPU chip, which is the Exonys 5433, sporting a 1.9 GHz quad-core CPU and another Cortex-A93 chip at 1.3 GHz (quad-core). This provides ultra-fast processing and allows the buttery smooth operation that you experience. The device has 3GB of RAM, not 4 like the Note 5, which was a little bit of a surprise. I noticed no slowdown or chugging when switching and opening up a lot of apps. The tablet comes with the latest Mali GPU, the TMP760, at 700 MHz, to be exact. This will allow you to play the latest and greatest games without any slowdown.
The Tab S2 also has one of the best tablet cameras I have seen in a while. Now, tablet cameras have been notorious for being subpar to phones; mainly, this is due to tablets not being used for pictures quite as often as phones. To reduce production costs, the camera is cut down, usually to half as many megapixels as current phones, which can make the tablets thinner. The Tab S2 has a rear 8MP camera (no flash) and a 5MP front camera. Both take pictures very well, but the rear camera does not take 60 FPS video, which is a disappointment. But we do get Samsung’s newest camera software suite, which we have seen in the Galaxy S6 and Note 5. There are plenty of different ways to take photos, and the suite is quite powerful for a tablet. As a secondary source for a camera, I can say I’m pretty happy with what’s here.
To conclude, the Tab S2 has brought tablets a long way. With super-fast speeds and an experience similar to their flagship phones, Samsung fans and Android fans will have one of the best tablets on the market in their hands. Of course, this isn’t a budget tablet, and the $500–$650 price range will drive most people away compared to sub-8-inch tablet prices. If you want the latest and greatest, a gorgeous display, and extremely fast performance, then look no further than the Samsung Galaxy Tab S2.
Gaming keyboards are just as important as mice; the buttons are probably the most important thing of all, and the gimmicks and extra stuff come last. The second most important thing in a gaming keyboard is ergonomics and how it’s designed physically. Some keyboards have large desktop footprints with giant wristpads, strange key shapes, and proprietary key layouts. I spent over a week shopping around for the right keyboard to replace my Alienware TactX keyboard. Not that it broke or I hated it; I absolutely love the TactX keyboard; I just wanted something new and different. First on my list was the key type. Did I want Cherry MX keys or a membrane? The TactX keyboard is an excellent Cherry MX keyboard, but it’s very loud and “clacky,” and the key height is very high. I loved how far apart each key was, but I was ready for something new.
Havit Lammergeier: My first choice but only available online
Logitech G710: A solid Cherry MX keyboard, but I didn’t like the design of the buttons
Logitech G910: A beast of a keyboard, but I still didn’t quite like the design.
My first pick was the Havit Lammergeier, which had a wonderful design and Cherry MX keys, but it’s only available online. Remember, any decent gaming keyboard is going to start at around $100. I also thought about the Razer Deathstalker Ultimate, but at $250, it was ridiculously expensive, had a laptop-style keyboard setup, and the Razer touchscreen has been abandoned and hasn’t been updated in a while. My next thought was the Corsair Chroma series with its nice LED lighting, simple design, and Cherry MX keys. However, it was just too simple for me. I wanted something a little more flashy, something with a unique layout. I also looked at Logitech keyboards, but they were also very simple in design and seemed overpriced for what they didn’t offer. After this, I looked at Cyborg keyboards, as the S.T.R.I.K.E. 7 was nearly $300 and had a lot of amazing features. After testing it and looking up extensive reviews, I found that the software is shoddy and the hardware is cheap. I personally fiddled around with one, and it didn’t seem like it was made of $300 material.
Razer Deathstalker Ultimate: One of the most expensive keyboards on the market, but has cheap feeling mechanical laptop keys and the touch screen has been abandoned.
Cyborg S.T.R.I.K.E. 7: The most expensive and elaborate keyboard on the market. It feels cheap, the keys aren’t great, and the software is shoddy.
Corsair K70: A great feeling Cherry MX keyboard, but with a very simplistic design and a giant wristpad
With the S.T.R.I.K.E. 7 being the most expensive keyboard on the market right now, I went and looked at some lesser-known brands such as Roccat, Gearhead, Mionix, Thermaltake, Azio, and TTe Sports. While these brands don’t make terrible products, they just aren’t the #1 brand that everyone knows, such as Razer, Logitech, Corsair, or Mad Catz/Cyborg. Several of these brands offered Cherry MX keyboards, but they just didn’t feel right; something about them felt cheap, loose, or just awkward. I then went over to the Roccat Isku keyboards, but they only offer membrane keyboards, and I was hesitant. I tapped away on a few keys and noticed how soft yet responsive they were. I continued tapping away at an Azio Levertron Mech5 keyboard right next to it with Cherry MX keys and realized how much better the Isku keyboard felt. The design was simple yet somehow unique and sleek, but all these Cherry MX keyboards looked crazy, futuristic, and had so many buttons, switches, and gizmos that it could make your head spin. With the $100 price tag, I grabbed the Isku FX keyboard specifically since it was compatible with AlienFX and had customizable LEDs.
Right out of the box, the software was extremely easy to install. No CDs were included (who needs them these days?). So just a quick driver download was needed on the website. The software was installed on Windows 10 64-bit with no hitches at all; after I opened the software, it prompted me to do a firmware update on the keyboard, which went smoothly. This was probably the easiest hardware driver I have ever had to install; even Razer’s software can have problems from time to time. Once the software was opened, it looked overwhelming. The Isku is designed for people who love macros and keyboard shortcuts. There is a dedicated row of shortcuts on the far left, but the Isku has a special Easy Shift+ key function that can double all your shortcuts. On the bottom of the keyboard, there are three “Thumbster” keys that allow you to do whatever you want with them. These are great for reloading in games, crouching, or switching to your favorite weapons. They are located just right, but I feel you will need to have larger hands to reach them.
The Isku FX allows up to five profiles to be switched on the fly; this is for people who may have a lot of shortcuts for different games. Blue LEDs are at the top left to tell you which profile you are on, and no, there is no dedicated profile switch key; that’s what all these macro buttons are for. Next to the profile LEDs is a live recording button. Press the button, and a guy with a gravelly voice will walk you through the macro recording process. This is great and takes away those confusing menu screens to record macros; however, that option is still here. At the very top are your media keys, a browser button, and a button for My Computer, but again, you can change these if you want. Next to these is a button to turn the LED lights on and off, which is a nice feature. The rest of the keyboard is a pretty standard affair.
As for the rest of the software, the macro options are insane, and it even lets you program buttons by milliseconds of when they activate. It’s crazy. Another tab allows you to use the F keys as more macros if the 16 before weren’t enough. Another tab allows you to alter the “Easy Zone” keys, which are around WASD, to completely change what they do normally or add a secondary macro via the Easy Shift+ key. This is great if you are playing an MMO with a mouse and don’t want to use the top number keys or switch to the keypad. This is also useful if you are using a program that has a lot of shortcuts; now you can have them all right next to each other. The Advanced Control tab allows you to change the lighting effects, enable AlienFX, and select various other options. The Roccat software also comes with an achievement system, which is odd, but it’s here. There are 16 achievements in total; I have yet to unlock any, but it’s very interesting and kind of strange.
The keys feel fantastic, and I can’t stress this enough. Membrane keys are usually shoddy, but these click very quietly, have a lot of response, and don’t feel mushy. I felt the keys were a little closer together than most Cherry MX keys, but not by much, and I quickly got used to this and forgot all about it. I also like how I don’t have to press the keys down so far, as people with smaller hands tend to cramp up on Cherry MX keys.
Overall, the Roccat Isku FX keyboard is amazing, and surprisingly so for a membrane keyboard. If you are on the fence about membrane keyboards or are a hardcore Cherry MX fan, I suggest giving this keyboard a shot. Out of several membrane keyboards I tried, this was the only one that felt decent, so I understand the hate behind those kinds of boards. The software is some of the best out there for hardware, and there are so many customization options it will make you dizzy. Even if you don’t use macros, this is a wonderful keyboard, has great lighting effects, and is well worth the price.
As kids, we all dreamed of being like James Bond or our favorite sci-fi character with cool watches that could show videos, talk, and do various other things, let alone surf the internet. Google made this all possible with the Android Wear OS, and many phone companies jumped on board and saw the profit. This isn’t just an over-glorified calculator app in 8-bit black-and-white text that you got out of a cereal box. This is a legit high-tech futuristic piece of hardware that will just keep growing and getting better over time.
While there are many smartwatches out there from LG, Huawei, Samsung, Sony, and Motorola, I personally think watches should be round; why square? While shopping around for smartwatches and watching them over the last year, I noticed that the square watches are rather ugly and cheap-looking. I got my hands on a Samsung Gear S2 and a Sony watch, and they just looked and felt cheap. The Moto 360 made me cautious as they make awful smartphones and have terrible software, but it looked great, and the recent price drop due to the Moto 360 2 coming out today helped. All I can say is that I didn’t expect this thing to be as useful or as good-looking as I originally thought.
However, there were issues right out of the box, and it wasn’t a fun start. I should rate this watch much lower due to the issues I had getting the thing up and running, but it was an easy fix once I figured out how to fix it. Three hours of searching around online and wishful thinking, and maybe some luck, did the trick. See, the Android Wear OS has been updated quite rapidly over the last year, going from 4.4W.1 to 5.1W.1 in less than a year. My Moto 360 shipped with the original buggy Android Wear OS on it, and I couldn’t get it to update. The Google servers no longer recognize the original Android Wear OS, so you get the Google Services have stopped working and various other crash notices on the watch.
Right out of the box, the watch’s battery was dead, so I had to charge the thing. After about 3 minutes, I got the charging symbol on the watch screen, and after about 30 minutes, I booted the watch up. I have to say that it’s really cool to see a watch boot up and show more than just time; it was quite the experience. After booting up, I set up the Android Wear app on my Galaxy Note 5 and linked the two via Bluetooth. The watch’s battery was at about 40%, so I figured I’d play with it. The first thing I did was check for a system update, and there was one, but it would crash when it got about 5% done. I reset the watch back to factory defaults because it was an endless loop of crashes and errors after each restart. This is where the three hours of research came in, as I could not update the watch to 5.1W.1, and it turns out the latest Android Wear app doesn’t work with that older version. I had to install an older version of Android Wear as the watch downloaded the update through the phone via the Android Wear app. The problem was that the watch was stuck, wouldn’t do a factory reset, had endless crashes, and would shut down. I thought I was going to have to call Motorola tech support when, for some unknown reason, it finally reset on its own. Everything seemed to work fine, so it was obvious that the newer Android Wear app was causing issues. I then downloaded the update, which took about an hour, and everything was fine. I updated the Android Wear app, and I was set.
This kind of stuff is what most common users won’t be able to figure out, and Motorola needs to fix this issue by either recalling their first shipments of the watch or getting together with Google to support older versions so they can update. Also, note that during this fiasco, the watch died about three times, as it’s not meant to be used constantly like a phone. The watch also charges wirelessly, so you can’t use it while it’s charging as the battery will drain faster than it can charge. Thankfully, the watch charges fully in about two hours but will last all day if you use it right. The initial fiddling and setting up will drain your battery a couple of times, but after that, I pulled it off the charger at 1 PM, and at around 8 PM, it was at 53% battery. I later spent about 90 minutes adjusting apps on my phone, which would push updates to the watch. I would also go into the watch to make sure the settings went through. It dropped down to 42% after the adjustments, which isn’t too bad for a 320 mAh battery.
Let’s talk about what a smartwatch actually is and does. This is supposed to be “Your life at a glance,” which is Android Wear’s official motto. This isn’t something you sit down and play around with all day like a phone; you just do simple, quick things like reply to texts, read emails, check the time, do weather updates, do fitness tracking, change tracks on your music, use Google Maps navigation, etc. Various apps will support Android Wear and install its app on your phone. Most major and popular apps support Android Wear already, and it all works better than you think. When you get a text, your watch will vibrate and show the text on the face. You can swipe right to ignore, left to reply with Google Now, or open the app on your phone. This is how every app works for the most part: just the essential information without pulling your phone out of your pocket every 2 minutes.
Using the actual watch was a bit confusing, I would say. The watch has a pull-down drawer that allows you to change your notification settings, swipe left for gestures, watch brightness, and even settings. There’s even a theater mode that will keep the screen off until you press the hardware button. I also used a custom mini launcher, which allowed me to swipe right for a custom launcher that put the apps in a circular grid rather than a scrolling list that the default launcher has. Honestly, the default launcher isn’t that great. After this, I can swipe up for my weather and once again for my Google Fit tracking stats. Now, this is the confusing part that most people don’t understand: most of the major settings are controlled by the apps on your phone. There’s no Google Play Store on your watch; everything is downloaded to your phone or tablet. The phone then beams the Android Wear app to your watch, and it installs.
Another, and probably my favorite feature, that makes smartwatches so amazing are the custom watch faces you can use. I personally used the WatchMaker Faces app to download faces that users made that looked incredible. Anywhere from video game and anime faces to digital and analog faces that mimic real-life watches. This app allows each face to use various stats, such as the weather, stopwatch, timer, battery levels, etc. Standard watch faces from the Google Play Store are also just as great, but I’ve found WatchMaker Faces to be the best face app out there. The Moto 360 allows an ambient mode (which is shoddy) to detect when your face is near the watch, or you can use a gesture that will turn the face on when you raise your arm, which I also didn’t prefer as sudden movement kept turning on the screen, killing the battery. Sadly, there’s no way to adjust the sensitivity of the gyroscope, so just touching the screen to see the time worked fine for me.
Now let’s talk about the hardware a little bit. The Moto 360 comes in various colors and styles, such as metal and leather wristbands, and various body colors, from stainless steel to gold. The watch is actually a little thicker than your typical watch, but think of what’s inside this thing. While it looks fine on people with larger hands, it looks a little silly on people with smaller wrists and hands due to the thickness. It’s honestly very stylish and looks like a watch, but you will notice something different about it that makes people ask what it is, mainly wondering why the face is blank. The watch itself has some impressive hardware inside: a 1 GHz Cortex A8 CPU, 512 MB of LPDDR RAM, 4 GB of internal storage, Qi wireless charging, a 9-axis accelerometer, a heart rate sensor, dual microphones, Bluetooth 4.0, 2.4 GHz WiFi, an ambient light sensor, and a capacitive touchscreen. The resolution is 320×290 at 205 PPI, which is pretty standard for a display this size, but it has a great backlight and looks sharp.
When actually using the watch, it feels quite responsive; the touchscreen works like your phone would, is quite sensitive, and doesn’t require stabbing your finger to get things done. I’m not too impressed with the wrist gestures, as the screen wakes up constantly, killing the batter, and using gestures to swipe your cards seems pointless and looks quite silly, but it’s there if you want it. The battery life is also extremely sensitive, and any heavy use will drain it very quickly. If you use the watch as intended, with just a few quick glances, it will last all day.
Overall, the Android Wear suite is quite nice, there are a ton of customization options, and the Android Wear app is a great hub to control what your watch does and get all the information you need from it. The actual Android Wear OS is great, is surprisingly responsive, and does exactly as it’s intended, giving you information about your life at a quick glance. Obviously, going forward, the biggest challenge is battery life and faster hardware; I also would have liked a mic on the watch, but maybe next time.
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Yeah, it's pretty damn awful. Notoriously one of the worst games on the PSP. A 4 was actually being generous.…