Today I review the ASUS VivoTab Smart ME400. It's essentially the most inexpensive and most powerful full windows 8 tablet on the market and it's packed full of features like Bluetooth 4.0, NFC, Light Sensors, Camera sensors on either side and dual stereo speakers to boot.
Somehow all of this fits in a 9.7mm thick body that weighs just 580 grams. The super IPS Panel has superior viewing angles of 178 degrees and excellent colour reproducion within a HD resolution screen (1366 x 768).
The unit retails for 599AUD at various channel and retail dealers throughout Australia and if you have any questions about the unit I'll be more than happy to answer them below.
ASUS ROG ARES II Dual 7970 6GB GPU, it's finally here. ASUS and ROG have produced the worlds fastest graphics card and by some margin, we take a close look at the card and true to it's ARES roots, the design and performance is absolutely second to none.
ARES II is the culmination of highly binned performance 7970 GHZ Edition GPU Cores on a completely custom PCB layout. The VRM's and PWM's on this card have their own cooler separate to the main GPU heatsinks for maximum overclocking ability.
Welcome to my ASUS Taichi 31 Laptop Tablet Review and Unboxing.
My name is Dan K and today we are looking at a really versatile laptop that folds down to become a tablet. An interesting hybrid to say the least, one that works well and is pretty much a non compromise solution who want both. You do feel that this laptop was made with Windows 8 in mind and the gorilla glass on the front oozes quality whilst giving off some assurance that your ASUS Taichi will survive some of what life throws at it.
This particular model was running an i7 processor with a 256GB SSD that pushes the very limits of the SATA 3 interface running an incredible 495MB/s sequential read on our tests. Pixel density is impressive on the 13 inch display with the dual Full HD displays performing well during my review use.
Battery life is surprisingly good with around 3 to 4 hours mixed video play back and internet browsing use. ASUS has gone all out on the sound setup as well with Bang & Olufsen ICEpower speakers on either side of the laptop. A brushed metal finish wraps the entire device and it's about the thickness of a USB plug as you can see which is nothing unexpected from the Intel Ultrabook specifications.
So you decided to either buy a laptop, notebook, tablet or desktop PC with Windows 8 Pro and you are immediately out of your comfort zone, rolling in the deep (Thanks Adele). No worries, mate (straya day just passed), just sit back, relax and enjoy the review of the OS of the future.
Windows 8 Pro isn't nearly as daunting as some may have you believe regardless of the media hype surrounding it. Yes you can use it in a professional setting and yes you can use it on tablets. It does some things well and in other parts, it hasn't changed which is a bit annoying but I vent those points in the video above anyhow.
Think of this video as a review with shortcuts and how to's included. Here's my most used shortcuts:
Windows + D : Brings up Desktop
Windows + C: Brings up Charms Menu
Windows + X: Brings up system shortcuts
Windows + E: Brings up the Explorer
Windows + R: Run Command
Windows + Tab: Cycle through Apps
Here is the link to the Nexus dock: http://www.winstep.net/nexus.asp
The music for the video by Blackmill Music: http://www.youtube.com/user/BlackmillMusic
The Bose SoundLink Bluetooth Mobile speaker II is small and light enough (roughly 13 cm x 24 cm x 4.5cm; less than 1.4 kg) to carry in one hand or fit in a backpack ortravel bag. Control power and volume with buttons on top of the speaker,while your Bluetooth device controls everything else;playlists, streaming music stations, etc. No remote control needed.
The 10m wireless range lets you keep your phone, tablet or other device with you while you place the Bose SoundLink Mobile speaker II wherever you want. The integrated bi-fold cover flips open to become a stand for instant playing anywhere.
Bose wasted no time at all ensuring that this connects quite fast to a host of devices and we've had no problems connecting to anything from Nokia's, Apple Iphones, Macbook Pro and my own personal ASUS G75VW.
Welcome to the ASUS VivoBook S200 Touch Screen Laptop Review!
I was always going to look at something entry level and they don't come more entry level than this HD Touch Screen Notebook which is seeing asking prices of 499AUD on certain SKU versions.
What do you get with your typical purchase? Well you get a full copy of Windows 8, completely aluminium construction and a whole host of connection options from USB 2 and 3, VGA, HDMI, Ethernet and more.
It's an Ultrabook specification so it's not thick or bulky and comes bundled with Intel HD4000 graphics so your videos and some casual games will run without issue. My test unit was nice and responsive and that's in part to Windows 8 making the most out of the hardware within. The battery is a full polymer cell that has up to 3 times the recharge cycles than lithium ion and the instant on feature will have you into the OS in and around 2 seconds from opening the lid.
Really enjoyed the ASUS VivoBook S200, do check it out the various SKU's and price ranges on Static Ice here: http://www.staticice.com.au/cgi-bin/search.cgi?q=asus+s200&spos=3
ASUS has been fairly busy lately in the monitor department and their design ethos from the MX Designo Series is starting to trickle down to some of their entry level models with fairly eye catching results.
The ASUS VX238H is the first case in point with an ultra slim profile coming in at 13.9mm thick and the reminiscent sun dial inspired stand which looks mint and is more importantly, very stable. The screen is a TN panel which essentially means you are sacrificing viewing angles for speed and response time and when you consider that this monitor is entry level at 239AUD and that it houses a panel that can do 1ms Grey to Grey Response times, you wonder why it wasn't marketed directly as a gaming monitor.
Screen
In person the screen is of decent quality and ASUS bundles their typical smart contrast ratios and different colour correction modes based on the content you plan to watch or interact with. There's an alignment grid overlay which is useful when you consider that you have your own choices in regards to image editing software and did we mention that it's a 23 inch panel as well?
As mentioned, 23 inches is seen to be perfect for gaming monitors in terms of size and pixel density when it comes to Full HD screens. It's popular because you can sit relatively close to the panel without seeing individual pixels and that's a big plus in the gaming community. Inject the decent asking price and 1ms response times and you have what is by and large a very positive value proposition for a very niche portion of the market.
Watch the video for the full specifications and don't forget to subscribe to my YouTube Channel!
So you're a soccer or football player and you want a light boot that doesn't suck. Enter, the Adidas F50 Adizero 2013 miCoach 2.
Now you're probably thinking, what do I know about boots or even, what do I know about football in general and the fortunate answer for you is, heaps. I've played in the Brisbane Premier League and currently dwell in the Sydney State League so I go through a few boots and I'm a fast type of player so naturally, I love my speed boots.
But before we get to the review lets clear something up in relation to speed boots. I loved the Vapor 3 boots from Nike and from a technical stand point, they were brilliant. So brilliant in fact that I played them to the ground and by that stage, I couldn't buy my size anymore.
Above: Not even tape can fix that.
Lucky for me, the F50 White Lightnings got released on Kitbag and so my love affair with the Adidas F50 range started. These boots by the way, they have to be the nicest, cleanest looking boot I've ever had the pleasure of wearing.
It just doesn't get better than this F50 White Lightning
So when those F50's finally died two seasons later I made arguably the most expensive mistake I've ever made in football. I bought the Nike Vapor VIII.
These guys savaged my feet
I sold them after 5 months of wear as they never broke in, constantly slipped due to overly retarded stud placement and generally savaged my feet whenever they could. It was as if Nike, a company who made the almost perfect Vapor III boot had gone backwards with every iteration and arrived at a boot that only narrow footed players could ever hope of using.
What I did next though, was brilliant. Kitbag had just released the Adidas Adizero F50's in yellow and I decided after much deliberation to go for it and spent another 260AUD, hopefully this time on a boot that brought back the touch and feel of my original F50 White Lightnings.
So here we are, we can go on with the review now.
Adidas F50 Adizero 2013
For a start, these boots are remarkably in line with the same touch and feel of the previous generation so if you are a bit curious on sizing and you've had F50's before then just stay with the same size you had. If you've never had F50's before then go to your nearest store to try them on and then buy them online because you'll save at least 100AUD I've found and if you save the same amount, feel free to thank me by subscribing to my YouTube Channel .
Adidas has gone a bit crazy with the marketing though and everything is sprint skin this and sprint web that but really, I'm just going to cut through that bullshit and let you know the changes in terms you can understand.
Touch and Toe Box
With speed boots you can generally feel the ball contact your foot a bit better but this is sometimes not the greatest thing especially if it's cold and you need to kick a ball really hard. Same goes for tackles and if you get stood on and generally speed boots coincide with metatarsal injuries, sore heels and black toes. I mention this because I've got the latter two whilst I know a few players who have broken metatarsals whilst wearing ultra light cleats like the F50's.
If you can accept that risk then read on, if not then perhaps the T90's, Adipures or Predator Range are more suited to your style of play. I personally play on the wing so it's a risk I take to get the most out of my game and in my opinion the touch is brilliant with the toe box being tight and well in control when it comes to shooting. The contact isn't too hard on the foot and is a slight but measurable improvement over the previous generation F50's.
Stud placement and Grip
Triangle shaped studs. It's such a good idea that you kind of wonder why noone else had thought of it prior to the mainstream F50 range. The grip this boot provides is in fact, the best I've encountered on any boot, ever. Change of pace, change of direction, wet or dry. The F50's cling and cling well to keep you on the front foot instead of plump on your ass.
Heel Counter
I did have some issues with the heel counter initially and it caused blisters for around 3 weeks when training three times a week. I'm not sure if my skin got tougher or the boot finally changed shape but the heel counter isn't causing any issues any more and I don't experience slip either. It's a minimalistic heel counter that does it job when sprinting or changing directions.
Overall Opinion
These boots are by and large the best you can get at the moment. Adidas has indeed hit a winner whilst Nike continues in some ways to be scoring own goals by segmenting their boot to the narrow footed only. I have wide and flat feet for the record and I can't go back to the Nike range because of it and that's unfortunate because that means less choice for me in the long run.
The fortunate of course is that the Adidas F50 2013's are brilliant, absolutely brilliant and I quite simply have no problem with recommending them over anything else in the market right now. If you have any questions about the boot or my opinions of it then simply ask me below or on the YouTube review video.
This review is all about the Hero 3 Black Edition (yes we can all read the title) although the Hero 3 Black isn't the only Hero 3 that GoPro decided to release.
So what other Hero 3's are lurking out beneath the yonder and what do you need to know about them?
Well for starters, the Hero 3 Black Edition is the only Hero 3 with a physically different lens to the one found in the Hero 2 and quite a few reviews have found that the Hero 3 White and Silver editions are in terms of footage, completely identical in quality to the previous generation and much older GoPro Hero 2.
Price/Performance:
Lets start with price since everyone from Joe Blogs to Negative Nancy seems to think that this camera is expensive for what you are getting. This camera is targeted towards the higher end of the market but the price really suggests otherwise and if you're keen as keno you can pick up a Black Edition in Australia for around 450AUD including postage at the time of writing.
For that small fortune you essentially get a camera that can film up to 4K resolution and can tackle bumps, falls and drownings all in the same sitting. It's got several field of vision settings without needing a lens change and it also comes with a wifi dongle so you can remotely control your cameras with ease.
The Hero 3 Black Edition is professional grade and due to it's size it's being used by large television networks to film content that generally ends up on your big screens at home, such confidence in the footage quality isn't unfounded either if you take a look at the review I did on it on YouTube.
To put it simply, this camera is by all means inexpensive for what you get and lets not forget you can do 4K footage at fairly limiting 15 FPS, something that very few cameras for 10 times the cost can do right now. It's not without its uses though as quite a few inventive creators have used the 4K setting with the time lapse feature with great success. This feature is more for future proofing unless you can afford to pony up the 20,000 to 40,000 Aussie dollars currently required to own a 4K projector or TV.
Forget the 4K for a moment though because 1080p at 60 FPS is where it's at and 720p runs in at an insane 120 FPS. Such high FPS figures allow you to slow down the footage without getting a choppy finished product and this is possible simply because the frames you require are there, ready for you to use. I personally don't do too much awesome flippy stuff to really utilise slow motion but I do use it to make some of my product shots and pans much smoother without having to use a dolly.
Underwater Filming:
One of the things you'll want to try out is the underwater case that each unit comes with. It's rated at 60m depth although due to my diving licence, I'm not allowed below 12m. Here is a video I did diving with sharks at Cook Island, NSW. It's about 30 minutes from the Gold Coast and is really a lovely diving spot. The underwater performance is pretty damn good although I should have used a red filter, the type that Polar Pro Filters stock as a snap on now. These filters allow you to see a wider spectrum of colour underwater because at just 5m depth, the amount of red spectrum penetrating the water lowers significantly giving you much greener, bluer footage. Thankfully, this can be fixed quite easily with the filters linked above.
Battery Life
The battery life on the GoPro is by my own admission, fairly bad and with the internal battery you may see 35 to 45 minutes footage whilst filming at 1080p 60FPS. The battery bacpac almost doubles this figure but certain situations ensure that you cannot replace the battery whilst doing all those extreme things you enjoy doing like frolicking in the rain or more importantly, being 12m under water.
There is a third party battery charging unit called Wasabi Power although I can't speak of it first hand as I don't actually have one. If I was heading to the snow for a day of powder then yes, I will be getting one and stuffing a whole nugget of pre-charged batteries in my pocket for the day out.
Mounts
The GoPro Hero Series has a pretty universal mounting system that has seen many custom mounting solutions crop up for every conceivable circumstance of expected use. GoPro of course have their own proprietary mounts which are pretty well built if I'm honest and in my opinion, still a bit expensive for what they are despite the quality.
Mount to your bike handle bars, helmet, snowboard, kite, goggles, pet...you name it, there's a way to mount this camera. It relies on the power of friction in a 3 by 2 fork set up to hold it in place with a tightening bolt and a hex end cap. If none of that made sense, just watch my video and you'll suddenly understand.
Cineform Studios and Post Processing Cineform Studios allows you to colour correct and process your footage to produce vastly different results than you had initially filmed. It's powerful and incredibly useful and did we mention that it's free?
Well, It's free. It's absolutely 100% free for GoPro users to take advantage of and use.
So what does the infamous Cineform Code 444 do? How can it transform your life and make your wife and kids love you?
Well for starters, you'll need to switch to ProTune mode and select CAMRAW as your white balance and then the rest is all gravy, just follow my tutorial on how to use it above and bobs your uncles sisters nephew.
Should you buy one?
This is always a tough one because I bought one and I love it but lets not get all emotional here. The premise behind any purchase is a perceived need so this question inevitably becomes, well do you need one?
I'd love to get a bit more philosophical than that but I really don't know what you will be using the Hero 3 for so I can't recommend it to you on an activity specific basis. What I can do is encourage you to watch the video at the start of this review and show you the quality of footage this camera spits out and you can make up your mind from there.
