The Official Technology Thread

[Rick C.]

I love my S3.  I thought my iPhone 4s was great - but the Samsung leaves it in the dust...

 

[Zee]

I picked up the Samsung Galaxy Note II. Epic is all I have to say. 1.6 ghz Quad core goodness, Micro SD Card slot (up to 80gb storage), 2gb ram, huge screen, multiple apps can run at once on the same screen, fully customizable.  IMO, best phone out there hands down.

Same here.  I previously had the Iphone 4s (still do), and don't get me wrong, IOS6 is excellent but after having used the Note 2, I cannot fathom myself going back to the smallish Iphone screen.

For everything that the Note 2 can do, it is quite incomparable.  Best smartphone I've had so far.  Thank you, Samsung!

For android phones once you go Nexus you won't go back. My wife has the S3 I have the Nexus 4 and I much prefer Google's vanilla android over the customized Samsung touch wiz. Just cleaner look overall and things are more smooth.

I found the battery life to be a problem on my nexus 4.

Maybe because I turned the LTE on.

Battery stopped being an issue when I upgraded to 4.2.2, of course that also kills the LTE trick.

 

[Zee]

This was on sale last week at Best Buy for $99:

http://www.bestbuy.ca/en-CA/product/acoustic-research-acoustic-research-wireless-outdoor-speaker-aw851-single-speaker-aw851/10197151.aspx

Hooked it up to replace the light in my backyard and provide wireless music while I BBQ in the summer. I used to haul out a portable radio all the time, now I can control my iTunes collection through my phone to switch tracks or listen to internet radio. It's decent sound, no worse than a portable radio would sound.  My transmitter is up in the office on the 2nd floor on the other side of the house and the reception is fine to the backyard.  I'm happy.

 

[leafsjunkie]

I picked up the Samsung Galaxy Note II. Epic is all I have to say. 1.6 ghz Quad core goodness, Micro SD Card slot (up to 80gb storage), 2gb ram, huge screen, multiple apps can run at once on the same screen, fully customizable.  IMO, best phone out there hands down.

Same here.  I previously had the Iphone 4s (still do), and don't get me wrong, IOS6 is excellent but after having used the Note 2, I cannot fathom myself going back to the smallish Iphone screen.

For everything that the Note 2 can do, it is quite incomparable.  Best smartphone I've had so far.  Thank you, Samsung!

For android phones once you go Nexus you won't go back. My wife has the S3 I have the Nexus 4 and I much prefer Google's vanilla android over the customized Samsung touch wiz. Just cleaner look overall and things are more smooth.

I found the battery life to be a problem on my nexus 4.

Maybe because I turned the LTE on.

I fully charged my Note II on Thursday before I left work @ 4:30. It was @ 100%. I use the phone all the time, surfing the web, email, video's etc... I just plugged it in this morning @ 9 am when it was @ 5% left... The least the battery has lasted so far has been 48 hours. It's unheard of, my Galaxy s Captivate wouldn't last longer than 12 - 14 hours with normal use... I love that aspect of the phone.

 

[moon111]

Trying to see if I could play movies  off my phone (HTC One X) via an MHL to HDMI adaptor (Rocketfish).  I've had the screen pop up very briefly, but the phone usually ends up crashing.  Anyone with any wisdom on how to fix this issue?

 

[hockeyfan1]

Just when you thought something was sacred...

http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/story/2013/04/24/nl-smartphone-credit-card-skimming-app-424.html

 

[hockeyfan1]

Liquipel making it's foray into the Canadian market, with it's first store opening in the West Edmonton Mall.  More store openings planned (hopefully in other locations across Canada).

What is Liquipel?  Waterproof nano-coating total protection for devices.  Dunk your gadget in a vat of water and voiI?...look Ma, pas de dommage!

0h well, that's what they claim.

Check it out and watch the attached video:
http://mobilesyrup.com/2013/05/29/liquipel-opening-first-canadian-retail-location-this-thursday/

 

[Zee]

Liquipel making it's foray into the Canadian market, with it's first store opening in the West Edmonton Mall.  More store openings planned (hopefully in other locations across Canada).

What is Liquipel?  Waterproof nano-coating total protection for devices.  Dunk your gadget in a vat of water and voiI?...look Ma, pas de dommage!

0h well, that's what they claim.

Check it out and watch the attached video:
http://mobilesyrup.com/2013/05/29/liquipel-opening-first-canadian-retail-location-this-thursday/

How does the usb charging port / headphone plugging port get protected? 

 

[hockeyfan1]

Liquipel making it's foray into the Canadian market, with it's first store opening in the West Edmonton Mall.  More store openings planned (hopefully in other locations across Canada).

What is Liquipel?  Waterproof nano-coating total protection for devices.  Dunk your gadget in a vat of water and voiI?...look Ma, pas de dommage!

0h well, that's what they claim.

Check it out and watch the attached video:
http://mobilesyrup.com/2013/05/29/liquipel-opening-first-canadian-retail-location-this-thursday/

How does the usb charging port / headphone plugging port get protected? 

Good question, Zee.  Been wondering about that too.  They claim the coating is done on the interior of the device(s), as well as the exterior, or something to that extent.

 

[Bullfrog]

Well, a couple of weeks ago I gave my iphone 4s to my wife and got a new Sony Xperia ZL. I have to say I really like it, though my biggest complaint is that it's a touch too big. The iphone is much easier to use one-handed for me. The screen is pretty amazing quality and I like the Sony Walkman app for playing music. The "skin" that Sony puts on the android OS is quite nice. My only other complaint is that I'm fairly disappointed in the camera quality and find this really surprising considering it's a Sony device. For size, I think the ideal for me would be half between the two.

 

[Corn Flake]

This was on sale last week at Best Buy for $99:

http://www.bestbuy.ca/en-CA/product/acoustic-research-acoustic-research-wireless-outdoor-speaker-aw851-single-speaker-aw851/10197151.aspx

Hooked it up to replace the light in my backyard and provide wireless music while I BBQ in the summer. I used to haul out a portable radio all the time, now I can control my iTunes collection through my phone to switch tracks or listen to internet radio. It's decent sound, no worse than a portable radio would sound.  My transmitter is up in the office on the 2nd floor on the other side of the house and the reception is fine to the backyard.  I'm happy.

Hey that's cool.  Do you run the sound in mono or did you get two and go stereo?

I'm going to wade into the outdoor speaker world soon but not sure whether to go with self powered units using wifi or bluetooth or go with outdoor speakers wired to an amp inside somewhere.. and then there's the crazy swing in price/quality.

 

[Zee]

This was on sale last week at Best Buy for $99:

http://www.bestbuy.ca/en-CA/product/acoustic-research-acoustic-research-wireless-outdoor-speaker-aw851-single-speaker-aw851/10197151.aspx

Hooked it up to replace the light in my backyard and provide wireless music while I BBQ in the summer. I used to haul out a portable radio all the time, now I can control my iTunes collection through my phone to switch tracks or listen to internet radio. It's decent sound, no worse than a portable radio would sound.  My transmitter is up in the office on the 2nd floor on the other side of the house and the reception is fine to the backyard.  I'm happy.

Hey that's cool.  Do you run the sound in mono or did you get two and go stereo?

I'm going to wade into the outdoor speaker world soon but not sure whether to go with self powered units using wifi or bluetooth or go with outdoor speakers wired to an amp inside somewhere.. and then there's the crazy swing in price/quality.

I'm mono right now but considering going stereo with a 2nd speaker.  Only problem is my backyard only has the one light fixture already there, I guess I could get just a regular wireless speaker to put outside to make it stereo instead of trying to hook up another light.

 

[Bender]

Well, a couple of weeks ago I gave my iphone 4s to my wife and got a new Sony Xperia ZL. I have to say I really like it, though my biggest complaint is that it's a touch too big. The iphone is much easier to use one-handed for me. The screen is pretty amazing quality and I like the Sony Walkman app for playing music. The "skin" that Sony puts on the android OS is quite nice. My only other complaint is that I'm fairly disappointed in the camera quality and find this really surprising considering it's a Sony device. For size, I think the ideal for me would be half between the two.

Whats the screen size?

 

[Bullfrog]

It's a 5 inch screen.

 

[GhostofPotvin29]

What can I expect to pay for a flatscreen TV these days?  Something around, say, 42" or so?

 

[Deebo]

What can I expect to pay for a flatscreen TV these days?  Something around, say, 42" or so?

$400-$1500

 

[bustaheims]

What can I expect to pay for a flatscreen TV these days?  Something around, say, 42" or so?

As Deebo points out, it's a wide range, depending on quality, type of TV (LCD, LED, plasma), etc. But, if you have a lot of extra money lying around, you could pick up an UltraHD screen for ~$6000.

 

[hockeyfan1]

Eye-Fi Mobi for iPhone & iPad.  SD card inserted in camera will enable the user to transfer pictures directly to any of the mentioned IOS devices.

http://www.iphoneincanada.ca/accessories/eye-fi-mobi-memory-card/

 

[hockeyfan1]

Warning about SIM cards as "security risks"...

http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/story/2013/07/22/tech-sim-hard-hack.html

 

[hockeyfan1]

Pebble, anyone?
https://getpebble.com/

(Best Buy Canada currently taking pre-orders). 
http://www.bestbuy.ca/en-CA/research/pebble/rc9314.aspx