Category: xPick

Xbox One X is a 4k Beast
The Xbox one X is the world’s most powerful gaming console. With 40% more power than any other console, experience immersive true 4K gaming. Games play better on Xbox One X. This is the Xbox One enhanced for true 4k gaming.

The Great
- 4k gaming and content
- 4k native content and High Dynamic Range (HDR)
- Digital 5.1,
  TrueHD with Atmos
- Liquid Cooled
- Plays the best games of the past, present and future
- Stream and record clips in 4K resolution at 60FPS
- Built-in Blu-ray player
The Not
- Xbox Gold subscription required $69
- 1TB HDD fills up fast
The Conclusion

The X Box One X is one of a kind. You will feel fully immersed in the game as you play. With 4K resolution, the colors are brighter, whites appear whiter, blacks appear blacker with great contrast. and you can see differences in detail that truly bring the image and experience to life. The console will revert to a still brilliant 1080p if you don’t have a 4K resolution. If you have a high end HD or 4k TV and are not sure yet if you should get it, just do it, you won’t regret it.

I got very excited watching the Microsoft Xbox E3 2017 press Release, They said the Xbox One X is ‘the most powerful console’ Microsoft ever made, like a monster in the gaming world. I also happened to be needed a new game console, since my day one Xbox One seems to be unexplainably hosing up. As an avid life long casual gamer, I’ve been waiting for the Xbox One X system to be released every since news of its inception. When offered an opportunity to test out the system, I quickly jumped on the opportunity.

Tech Upgrades

I’m really impressed and surprised at how much power Microsoft has managed to squeeze into the Xbox One X’s small case. The Xbox One X boast a new processor bulking up its power out put. They used the Scorpio Engine with 6 Teraflops, 326GB/s of Memory Bandwidth and advanced, custom silico. Unquestionably is the world’s most powerful console gaming processor. That’s nearly two teraflops more than the PS4 Pro, a faster CPU, and 3GB more of overall RAM. The Xbox One X comfortably outperforms the PS4 Pro. On hardware alone, it’s smaller, more powerful, and even includes a 4K Blu-ray player over its PS4 Pro rival.

4k Gaming

The Xbox One X has the power and the peripherals to provide the best gaming experience, but you need the right games. Most games made for the Xbox One are designed for 1080p TVs, which have a quarter of the pixels found on a new 4K TV. The Xbox One X is more than four times faster than the original Xbox One, so it’s capable of 4K gaming.Some games like Forza Motorsport 7 will offer the best of all worlds: 4K, HDR, and 60fps. Its still early and the ultimate content will follow. You can tell by the “games and apps” menu that lets you sort by “Xbox One X Enhanced Games.” Doing this doesn’t tell you exactly how each game you have installed is enhanced, but at least Microsoft leaves players without a doubt that, yes, your game has (or has not) been patched with Xbox One X in mind.

The Final Thought

This isn’t the next gen system we need, its the console we deserve. You’re not just getting the Xbox One version with more pixels and a grimy suite of dated visual niggles, It is the monster promised. The only thing to consider is you need a high end 4k TV to make any difference over the One S.
February 11, 2018
The Fire TV 4K, If Prime Is Right
Amazon Fire TV with ultra 4K let’s watch live TV and sports through your TV with subscriptions to Hulu, Netflix, PlayStation Vue, and Sling TV, or connect an HD antenna to your TV to get free broadcast networks like NBC and PBS. It Simply plugs into an HDTV streams in minutes.

The Good
- High quality vivid 4K Ultra HD up to 60 fps,
- Alexa enabled voice remote
- Free broadcast TV
- Fast performance with solid Wi-Fi streaming.
The Bad
- No support for Dolby Vision.
- Some big streaming services not available
- No phone casting
- Amazon Prime is effectively a must
The Conclusion

The new Amazon Fire TV is the an awesome Ultra HD box for Amazon Prime subscribers without the capabilities built in their 4K TV. For everyone else it’s pretty much just an average streamer. It’s quick and responsive, but the Amazon branding ensures you won’t get the full use without Prime.

Video Quality

The headline feature here is the ability to output video in Ultra HD 4K at 60fps, and in high dynamic range. The previous version could do 4K but only up to 30fps, because it had an HDMI 1.4 connection and that’s all it could do. The new version has HDMI 2.0.HDR support comes in HDR10 flavour. That’s the open standard everyone has adopted. There’s no Dolby Vision, a rival format using dynamic metadata to optimise the picture scene by scene. That’s something the Apple TV 4K has for justifying its higher price tag.Streaming 4K UHD/HDR video via 5GHz band WiFi works flawlessly, and with minimum initial buffering. The picture quality, with this TV’s OLED display, is astonishing.

The Interface

The interface is clear and easy to use, and thanks to the boosted hardware inside the Fire TV it feels smooth when in use as well. I do not like that I have no way to explicitly browse content that streams for free via my Prime membership. Add in that Amazon has intentionally chosen not to include flagging on the thumbnails that identifies which content is Prime and which is not. Fire TV has introduced a regression in this regard by requiring users to click on a thumbnail before they can find out if something is pay-per-view or free.

Alexa in the TV

So I haven’t figured out how to make Alexa clean my house like Cinderella…yet. But I’m working on it. In the meantime, I have figured out that she is much more than a glorified alarm clock or DJ. Although, you should know that alarms are “not currently supported on this device,” like they are on the Echo. This is a more basic version of Alexa. It doesn’t have her full functionality. You can, however, use the new Fire TV for shopping.owever, the best part is definitely Alexa and the voice activated remote. You can say things like, “Alexa, show me comedic movies.” It will take you to a list of comedies. You can access anything on the box, such as games and apps, but it is also a virtual search engine. You can ask, “What is the overnight weather forecast for San Diego, CA?”

Final Thought

Despite the cumbersome interface, the Fire TV with 4K is in my opinion the second best streaming device out in the market especially now that it has Alexa and a payment option.For $70 you get a virtually hands free streaming device (if you have an echo and smart hub), which none of its competitors have,combined with a Prime membership it’s a great entertainment solution.
February 10, 2018
SmartPhone Spotlight: Android Pixel 2
Google has Introduced the new Google Pixel 2 XL Its the latest in Googles flagship line the Pixel. The Pixel XL 2 is the Larger 6 inch model of the Pixel releases. It is being hailed by Google as the worlds premier Android smartphone with the most amazing camera ever seen in a phone. The Pixel 2 features a smart camera that takes beautiful photos in any light, a fast-charging battery and the Google Assistant built-in.The Pixel 2 is available through Verizon, the Google Store, Project Fi and Best Buy. Comes in three colors: Kinda Blue, Just Black and Clearly White.

The Great
- Fast charging
- Water resistant
- Truly amazing camera
- Smart software that will only get better
- Great battery life,
The Not
- Out of date design
- Squeeze feature is a miss
- No QI wireless Charging
- No headphone jack
The Conclusion

Despite some release issues with the display, speaker, and some units shipping without an operating system on-board, there is no liability with the Pixel XL 2. All in all, it’s just another run of the mill Android with barely indistinguishable features. Sure the Pixel 2 is a magnificent phone for Android traditionalists and casual admirers alike and yes the Camera is Cool, the rest is just ehh.

The First 13 Mins

I’ve been looking at the google Pixel 2 for a few months now. I’ve been contemplating making the android jump all the while thinking this is the android phone for me. 13 mins later I’m switching back to my iPhone X. This is the same thing that happens every time I move sim cards from one platform to the next. Now for clarity’s sake 13 mins is not a bad showing. The current record for any android device to holster my sim stands at two hours and twenty one mins. That was the Motorola Backflip. So here is my 13 min review of the Pixel XL 2

Its got some positives on paper that stood out among the field. First the Pixel 2 is water-resistant, shower selfies are a big part of my game. It’s got this Squeeze the phone to open Google Assistant and tell it what to do function that could grow to be a default muscled memory function and further my dependency on the AI bots. You can still launch the Assistant by saying “OK, Google” or long-pressing the home button, and you can also squeeze the Pixel 2’s sides to silence your ringing phone, but that’s it. I didn’t end up using the squeeze feature all that much, and it would really be most useful to squeeze launch the camera.

But The Camera

Ok folks, this camera is nice. Its better then nice, it is fantastic. In a perfect world everyone would have this camera on them at all times. I cant say this enough, it has a remarkably impressive camera that can handle all kinds of problematic conditions like low light, shadows and brightly lit backgrounds, Although Portrait Mode doesn’t work as smoothly as its competitors’ dual camera. Brilliant in low light crisp, clear, and breathtaking, great smooth videos, and cool AR stickers including the exclusive Star Wars set. With the Pixel XL 2 you also get from Google free, unlimited original-quality storage for all of your photos and videos in Google Photos. Yes, top notch camera, take a look for yourself.

The Design

The design is noticeably average, nothing particular or special and defiantly not spectacular. It does allow for front-facing speakers, which makes for an impressive sound quality on the scale of phone speakers. Still, the Pixel 2’s bulky bezels make it look out of tech style almost retro to the era of 2012 in comparison of other top phones.

In the end it is what it is another big android with a good camera, which is only as good as the next android that is coming very soon.
February 10, 2018
Apple HomePod Plays?
Apple HomePod is a Siri enabled smart speaker with Apple-engineered audio technology and advanced software to deliver the highest-fidelity sound throughout the room, anywhere it’s placed. Apple has built the high-excursion woofer with a custom amplifier to play a wide range of deep, rich bass. HomePod is wrapped in a seamless mesh fabric designed for both aesthetic and acoustic performance. Available in white and space gray for $349.

The Great
- Siri is superior to Amazons Alexa and the Google Assistant’s conversation abilities.
- Fantastic bass and tremendous sound quality through out all music genres.
- Apple music play compatible
- Compact, solid and attractive
- Automatically balances its sound position to get the best out of your music
The Not
- Apple-only audio services when using voice commands
- Multi-room audio and stereo pairing, aren’t available yet
- Siri and HomeKit are inferior to Amazons Alexa and the Google Assistant’s compatibility.
Conclusion

Sound is the best of the best, unmatched, elegant and inspiring. With the capabilities of adding multi-speakers that will listen to each other and balance the sound through out an area you’ve got a revolutionary sound system. Voice controlled by Siri gives you all the functionality you will need, if you are in the Apple eco-system this is the speaker you must have.

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Its Here!

On February 9, Apple will launch the HomePod, its first smart speaker. I’ve been looking forward to the home pod since the introduction of Siri at the iPhone 4s’s launch. I thought to myself I could just shout out a song I want to hear and have it play and sound good. This the day I have anticipated and waited for has arrived. So let’s play.

Setup

Amazingly easy to unbox and get going with no set up, you know how I hate set- ups. With its High-excursion woofer and array of seven horn-loaded tweeters, each with its own custom amplifier matched with the 6 microphones, the HomePod balances and radiates sound beautifully. Its like giving your home an amphitheater like plethora of sound. I compared the sound side by side with a single Sonos One speaker and the edge undoubtably goes to the HomePod. Yep its nice.

More than a Speaker

It’s got Siri, yeah, we all know her. She knows us. She does he job as well as any digital assistant, Amazons Alexa and Google home speaks are equally as adequate. My advice to all tech purchasers these days is to pick an assistant and build your devices around her. The boom of the AI assistant isn’t going to slow or plateau anytime soon, and you will want your devices to have the best possible relationship. The dysfunctional familes of this century will be fueled by the clashing of competing tech giants all attempting to control every aspect of your home. They all have their strength and weakness, lets take a look at the top 3 and compare.

I’ve asked each of the digital assistants a variety of 15 questions on basic and general knowledge. All 3 did an adequate-to-impressive job, generally giving viable, quick answers with pertinent information, though they all sometimes gave erroneous answers on Jordan’s’ height and the where abouts of the Hubble space craft, and it only gave Jon Hamm a 8 on a handsomeness scale of 10.

Final Thought

The reality is the HomePod is the best main street smart speaker you can buy, with adequate AI and Siri functionality, impeccably amazing sound integrates as a perfect peripheral device for all apple products… Its exactly what you would expect, I mean really what did you expect. Its Nice, so ask yourself 3 questions, Do you have $349? Do you have an IOS or multiple IOS devices? Have you subscribed to apple music? If you answered yes to all three there is a link at the bottom of the page just for you.. Stay tuned next time I’m going to test the HomePods durability or destructibility.
February 8, 2018
Echo Spot? Tell Me More!
An Amazon Alexa enable smart alarm clock. Echo Spot is small designed to fit anywhere in your home 2nd generation far-field voice recognition to watch video flash briefings, see music lyrics, weather forecasts, to-do and shopping lists, browse and listen to Audible audio books. All hands-free it connects to Alexa, a cloud-based voice service to play music, read the news, answer questions, set music alarms, control smart home.

The Good
- Connects to Alexa
- Video playback capabile
- Can Connect with multi room speaker
- Its kinda adorable
- Can show you the song lyrics as you listen
The Bad
- 2.5 inch screen
- poor sound quality
- Alarm can only be set by voice command
- $130 alarm clock
- No celebrity voice customization
The Bottom Line

a smart alarm clock is fare to unnecessary to even be considered niche, spend the few extra dollars and buy the Eco Show.

The Eco Spot is another in the ever expanding market place of Alexa enabled devices. It looks really cool so for a brief moment I got pretty excited to see what this little guy was all about. So it turns out the Echo Spot is a glorified alarm clock. Lame. The Spot does have Alexa so that’s good, but it’s a $130 alarm clock, that’s bad. Don’t get me wrong, it is definitely more than just a smart alarm clock, but that is its main point – a Sleek Alexa enabled voice-assisted bedside peripheral… with a camera

Whats to like?

Echo Spot’s screen is a useful addition to Alexa. Aesthetic design is great, the sound is decent to nice for such a tiny speaker. I love that I can play video from Amazon Video and youtube. Great Music functions with compatibilities from Amazon Music, Spotify, and Pandora. Add it that you get free audio calls to US, Mexico, and Canada. Plus it’s got all the benefits of Alexa, like buying more shampoo and controlling my thermostat.

Why Bother?

It’s another Alexa device, with a camera pointed at my bed. Do I need or want a camera in my bedroom, another camera in my bedroom? The screen is 2.5 inches, I’m not really going to bother watching anything on that. I just keep thinking, I know, I know but the price is high and the video ecosystem is almost useless.

Final Thoughts

For me this is a pass, but to all the Uncle Daves’ out there that will ask me about picking one up, ask yourself 3 questions. Do you have $130 for an alarm clock but not $180 for the Eco Show? Do you have amazon prime, music and video subscriptions? Do you like the idea of a device always looking at your bed? If all three are a yes, happy purchasing! For me this is a hard pass. Would it be to much to ask to have custom voices enabled with celebrity voices, then have it wake me up with a preset of updated information I require daily. I would buy this right this instance if it could have Anthony Hopkins voice wake me up with the weather, traffic updates, followed by last nights Yankees score and what ever President Trump has tweeted through out the night. Just imagine Jude Law saying COVEFE, there is no snooze button on that, and that I need.
January 24, 2018
A Little Lighter HP Spectre x360 13

The HP Spectre x360 13-w023dx is a high-end convertible- hybrid 2 in 1 touch screen laptop with all-day battery life, more than enough speed for day-to-day and multimedia tasks, and a premium chassis. It features a Windows 10 64 OS, 8th gen Inlet processor, with up to 16gb SDRAM and 13.3inch 4k IPS WLED touch screen. Starting at $999.99 and an all out specs price of $1320.99.

The Great

Really Light And looks fabulous, the HP Spectre x360 13 has a great feel and responsive peripherals, a fantastic display and adequate sound. Add in a the new HP Active Pen, fingerprint reader and better battery life with an upgraded display and it is… great. Its great.

The Not

Nothing revolutionary, the devices itself gets a little warm.

The Conclusion

The HP Spectre x360 13 was a great 2-1 laptop and it just got a little better. It’s not a cheap computer, but you get what you pay for and this is worth every penny.

First impressions

I’ve been using the HP Spectre x360 13t for a little while now. I fell in love with the 2-1 convertible laptop with a touch screen. When I adopted this little guy it has condensed many devices for me. There is a ton of computing power built in to a ergo dynamic, sleek and useable design. Like a 2-1 should be it’s the best of both a powerful laptop and a user friendly tablet. Then it got a late 2017 upgrade. Lets look at the pumped up new guy.

What’s changed?

With the update HP has packed with solid features, latest 8th gen processor and powerful RAM. Face recognition and finger print sensors. We got a processor upgrade to the Intel® Core™ i8. The Display has been enhanced to a 4K IPS micro-edge WLED-backlit touch screen with a micro edge. All of this is going to need a better battery, got that too.

Look, Feel, and Function

Functionally flawless, although I’ve noticed and read others experiencing the temperature of the device getting a little high. This is probably due to the postponed fan activation curvature. Thankfully, the improved cooling for the 8th gen chips is working. I like that the new HP rechargeable pen is included, it adds a nice touch and experience. I’m getting a full heavy use day on the battery, no issues other than the slight heat. Display is brilliant, can brightness can be a little low, and I’ve had to turn it to 100. The fingerprint reader is a very nice feature, though I can get it to work only about half of the time. It is also positioned in a weird place.

Final Thought

Overall, the Spectre x360-13t is a very good computer. It’s quick, reliable, light with great peripherals. When looking for the ultimate 2 in 1 its between this and its main rival the surface Pro. I would strongly recommend that prospective buyers give The Spectre serious consideration. Its worth the price tag if you want quality.

January 23, 2018
The light switch of the future…
The “start up” smart tech company, Brilliant, has emerged out of nowhere and is revolutionizing the home light switch as we know it.

The game changer

In 2017, Brilliant brought their prototype “smart control panel” into production and into our homes. This new revolutionary control panel was quickly recognized as an innovative way to fully integrate all of your home tech. In a sense giving your home a brain. By using the digital touch screen or simple verbal commands, this switch can control your homes lights, air conditioning, intercom system, video surveillance, music and much more.

Brilliant’s Bright Future

Brilliant’s new smart switch made a lot of buzz at the 2018 tech convention CES in Las Vegas. Right from the get go, you see Brilliant has an eye for what the consumer and home owner wants. By adding the ability to access Alexa, Sonos speaker, Nest thermostat, and even take photos, this control panel immediately stands out amongst it’s competitors. Wink and Belkin did beat Brilliant to the home control panels market, but Brilliant has quickly jumped ahead of the with its many features such as a built in camera and even the ability to make video calls. But these additional features do come at a cost. The Wink Relay control panel can be purchased off amazon for $90 per panel, while Brilliant is selling their basic for $200. Their four switch panel is priced at $399.99. Brilliant has offered a $50 discount for pre-ordering their panels directly from their website, by they are expected to be the full $200 once it hits store shelves later in February 2018.

The good
- Fully integrates all of your home’s smart technology into one sleek panel.
- Its many features gives you the ability personalize each room with separate lighting, entertainment, and ambiance.
- With full control of all utilities so handy, you can expect monthly electric bills to be lower when used properly.
The not so good
- With all new technology, there is an expected period of trial and error. It will take some time for Brilliant to work all the kinks out.
- For your entire home to be connected you will need a panel in every room. At up to $400.00 per panel, this can get costly. Granted, once everything in connected, it’s pretty amazing.
My thoughts

Brilliant is clearly onto something big here. It may have initial hiccups like any new production, but once they oil this machine they created, I see it in every single home.
January 22, 2018
HP Sprocket 2-in-1 Review
Immediate Thoughts:
- Lightweight and sleek
- Sub-par camera resolution
- Fun, but costly
What I learned from my life and experiences is that time is precious. Capturing moments of days soon past is what keeps our existence real and tangible. What better way to say “I was here”, but by holding a paper image in your hands as proof. This is what the HP Sprocket 2-in-1 camera/printer offers.

The gist

Released in 2016 by HP, the Sprocket 2-in-1 camera/printer appears to be in response to Fujifilms Instaxx Polaroid camera, which immediately gained attention in 2012 for reviving the once obsolete Polaroid technology. HP decided to take from Fujifilms inspiration and see what they can contribute to the idea. HP was able to create a sharp and attractive camera/printer combo (appx. 4 inches x 3 inches) with a few bright color options which I will admit catch the eye. HP also “upped the ante” and added Bluetooth technology to the Sprocket 2-in-1 which allows users to take photos from there smartphone and instantly print pictures from the Sprocket. This was actually a very smart idea from HP since the Sprockets camera resolution and pixel quality is unfortunately…abysmal. At a starting price point of $159.00 u.s., you would expect the Sprocket would have more than a 5 pixel lens (especially this day and age). But because Hewlett-Packard decided to try and save on some costs, the photos appear as if they were taken from my old Motorola Razor…

But should we buy it?

Despite the setbacks, the Sprocket has kind of a fun and wacky “carnival photo-booth” feel to it. A number people had seen me using in action over New Year’s Eve festivities and wanted jump in the photos. It was definitely a conversation starter and sending a stranger off with a memento is very endearing. But I digress back to some stats…The Sprocket is able to quickly print out the 3-inch x 2-inch photos in less than a minute, and the refillable ZINK paper has an adhesive backside which allows you to stick the photos just about anywhere, which is kinda great! The printer can fit 10 ZINK pieces of paper in the Sprocket at a time, and the paper can be purchased in bundles for either a 20-sheet package ($9.99) or a 50-pack ($24.99). So the simple math breaks down to just about 50 cents per photo. Seems kinda costly. Especially since the seafood joint around the corner from my house has “25 cent Oysters and Pints” on Thursday nights (#Ballinonabudget).

The good, the bad, the bottom line

The positives I take from the Sprocket 2-in-1 is that it’s a sharp looking, pocket-sized Polaroid camera that has the ability to both create a lot of temporary fun and permanent reflections. The drawbacks are the lacking camera lens quality, and the costs of the camera itself and the paper refills. I just didn’t feel it was worth it. Bottom line is this revisiting of the Polaroid camera still needs some tinkering after all this time. Once we can get a high quality camera lens along with larger photos, I would probably be back on board…Until then I’ll probably just rely on watching Rescue Rangers to get my nostalgia fix.
January 20, 2018