Latest Gear Live Videos
AMD Radeon HD 7970 review
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Accessories, PC / Laptop, Product Reviews, Video Games,
The perpetual war for supremacy between AMD and Nvidia constantly leaves enthusiasts dodging shrapnel: When you want the best video card you can afford, why buy one now instead of waiting for the better one the competing chipset designer will undoubtedly release in a few months? This leaves reviewers in a tough spot, too, as we're constantly proclaiming that nearly every new card is the fastest ever. But because you can only live in the world you live in, we're obliged to go there. So, here goes once again: The just-released AMD Radeon HD 7970 ($549 list) is the latest fastest and most feature-rich single-GPU card ever, surpassing our previous Editors' Choice winner, the Nvidia GeForce GTX 580.
Though we have little doubt that Nvidia will yank back that title with its next generation of cards, the 7970 is an impressive achievement for the moment. (It's rumored to become widely available by early January of 2012.) The inaugural member of the Southern Islands family, it utilizes a fresh architecture AMD refers to as "Graphics Core Next." Based on a new 28nm process technology and utilizing more than 4.3 billion transistors, Graphics Core Next uses a revised instruction set architecture, gives each compute unit the ability to simultaneously execute instructions from multiple kernels, and delivers an increased number of instructions per clock cycle per square millimeter of GPU space. The result, so AMD claims, is "designed for high utilization, high throughput, and multitasking."
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Bleeding Edge TV 407: Canvaspop Review: Turn your Instagram photos into real art
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Full Episodes, Gizmatic, Cameras, Design, Features, Podcasts, Videocasts, Videos,
Did you know that you can turn any photo in your Instagram account into a real life, displayable work of art? CanvasPop is a service that makes this super easy. You create an account and choose which Instagram image(s) you want, and CanvasPop turns it into a beautiful canvas that you can hang on a wall and display proudly. We give you a look at the finished result in this episode.
Instagram is an iOS app social network dedicated to taking and sharing images with filters.
Big thank you to MozyPro and JackThreads for sponsoring the show - be sure to check them out! MozyPro provides simple, automatic, and secure data backup. As for JackThreads, we've got exclusive invite codes that give you $5 to use towards anything you'd like on the site.
Samsung Focus S review: The best Windows Phone in the US
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Smartphones, Handhelds, Microsoft, Product Reviews,
When we first reviewed the Samsung Focus Flash, we felt its smaller form factor and significantly lower price made it a better deal than the Focus S at first glance ($199.99 - $19.99 on Amazon). Now that we've tested the Focus S, we're singing a different tune. True, you're only getting a bigger screen, an improved camera, and a thinner profile, but the Focus S brings Windows Phone 7.5 Mango closer than it has ever been to the high-end. That alone makes this smartphone worth a close look, especially given its slick OS. Click on through to see why in our full Samsung Focus S review.
Click to continue reading Samsung Focus S review: The best Windows Phone in the US
Twelve South MagicWand review
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Accessories, Apple, PC / Laptop, Peripherals, Product Reviews,
The Twelve South MagicWand aims to solve a simple-yet-annoying issue with the Apple Wireless Keyboard and Magic Trackpad. We've used the Wireless Keyboard and Magic Trackpad combo pretty much exclusively here at Gear Live ever since the Magic Trackpad launched back in July 2010, and while we've enjoyed it (heck, we haven't switched away from that setup yet after 16 months,) there's one problem. Despite the fact that the Trackpad and Wireless Keyboard line up perfectly when next to each other, they have a really hard time staying put.
What I mean is, you constantly have to bring the Magic Trackpad back over to its spot next to the keyboard. It's not something you need to do every few minutes or anything like that, but a few times a day we've found that the Trackpad has mysteriously inched its way across the desk and needs to be wrangled up and brought back home. The TwelveSouth MagicWand solves this.
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HP TouchSmart PC 520-1070 review
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: PC / Laptop, Product Reviews,
The HP TouchSmart 520-1070 ($1,399.99 direct, or $1329 on Amazon) is the high-end entry in HP's current TouchSmart line of touch-enabled all-in-one desktop PCs. Equipped with powerful components, like a quad-core processor and 2TB hard drive, it's also packed to the gills with entertainment options, offering a big 1080p display, Beats Audio, a Blu-ray drive, TV-tuner, and a remote control. An HDMI-in port is just icing on the cake, extending the life of this desktop even further for use as a monitor.
Design and Features
The 520-1070 has a glossy black plastic chassis, but it's more than just a monolithic 23-inch screen. Two vertical arms hold the touch screen aloft from the silvery plastic base, with a single immense hinge to adjust the angle. But while the hinge is housed in the base, the components are housed behind the widescreen display, which provides 1,920-by-1,080 resolution as well as a large multitouch surface. Thankfully, HP took the time to get this hinge right, and you'll find that despite your touching and tapping, the 520-1070 stays firm though it all, without the wobble that mars the experience on competitors, like the Samsung Series 7 (DP700A38-01) or Asus ET2410-06. It also has a decent range of motion, sitting at a vertical 90-degree angle that can be adjusted all the way back to a comfortable 60-degrees.
Click to continue reading HP TouchSmart PC 520-1070 review
Bleeding Edge TV 406: Twelve South PlugBug review
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Full Episodes, Gizmatic, Accessories, Apple, Features, Handhelds, PC / Laptop, Podcasts, Videocasts, Videos,
We review the Twelve South PlugBug in this episode. The PlugBug is a clever device that attaches to your MacBook, MacBook Pro, MacBook Air AC adapter, and allows you to charge both your Apple notebook, as well as a USB device (like your iPhone or iPad.) It's a neat little device that we think makes things super convenient, especially during travel, and it's one of those things that we wish we would have thought of first. We give you a look at the device, along with how it works, in this video.
Big thank you to GoToMeeting and JackThreads for sponsoring the show - be sure to check them out! As for JackThreads, we've got exclusive invite codes that give you $5 to use towards anything you'd like.
Nyko Power Grip for Nintendo 3DS review
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Accessories, Product Reviews, Video Games,
A few months ago, we reviewed the Nyko Charge Base for Nintendo 3DS ($29.99, 4 stars). This clever, yet inexpensive, accessory boosts the battery life to the Nintendo 3DS, but requires you to remove the back panel of your 3DS to attach it. The Nyko Power Grip ($29.99 list) clips onto the 3DS and provides all of the battery-boosting of the Charge Base for the same price, without the need for a tiny screwdriver. Is it worth it? Read on for our full review!
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Bleeding Edge TV 404: Crayola ColorStudio HD review
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Full Episodes, Gizmatic, Apple, Design, Features, Podcasts, Product Reviews, Toys, Videocasts, Videos,
In this episode we review the Crayola ColorStudio HD. The ColorStudio HD is a battery-powered Crayola stylus that you use alongside the ColorStudio HD iPad app. The device works with the app, making the iPad into an animated coloring book. As you see in the video, once you get the battery into the ColorStudio HD stylus and turn off Finger mode in the app, it's easy to choose the type of coloring utensil you want to use. You get music, sound effects, and animation on the pages
You can get the ColorStudio HD, which we've fetured in our 2011 Holiday Gift Guide, for $29.99 on Amazon.
Big thank you to GoToMeeting and JackThreads for sponsoring the show - be sure to check them out! As for JackThreads, we've got exclusive invite codes that give you $5 to use towards anything you'd like.
Bleeding Edge TV 403: Amazon Kindle Fire review
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Full Episodes, Gizmatic, Features, Handhelds, Podcasts, Product Reviews, Videocasts, Videos,
In this episode we review the Amazon Kindle Fire tablet e-reader (also see our text version of our Kindle Fire review.) Amazon's looking to disrupt the tablet landscape with the Fire, and is pricing it aggressively at $199. The Kindle Fire weighs 14.6 ounces and packs a 7-inch IPS display, dual-core processor, 512 MB RAM, and 8 GB of on-board storage. It runs a forked version of Android that Amazon has customized in a major way. You also get Wi-Fi built-in as well. Purchasers of the Kindle Fire also get a 30-day trial of Amazon Prime, which'll let you get a nice sampling of what the company's Video on Demand service offers.
The browser, Amazon Silk, will be exclusive to the Kindle Fire for the time being, and it aims to speed up web browsing by a significant margin by offloading some of the heavy lifting to the Amazon EC2 cloud servers.
You can pick up the Kindle Fire for $199.
Big thank you to GoToMeeting and JackThreads for sponsoring the show - be sure to check them out! As for JackThreads, we've got exclusive invite codes that give you $5 to use towards anything you'd like.
Bleeding Edge TV 402: Olympus PEN E-PM1 digital camera
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Full Episodes, Gizmatic, Cameras, Features, Handhelds, Podcasts, Product Reviews, Videocasts, Videos,
In this episode we give you a look at the Olympus PEN E-PM1 Micro Four Thirds digital camera. Here are some of the features of the device, which you can get on Amazon right now:
- Fast Shutter Response. Never miss a shot again with the E-PM1's Fast Shutter Response time of less than 60 milliseconds.
- The TruePic VI feature allows for reduced shot-to-shot time by shortening the black-out time between shots.
- Professional Audio Sound Capture. Take Videos that are able to capture uncompressed CD-quality 16bit/44.1kHz Linear PCM stereo recording or AC3 Dolby Digital audio. 12.3 MP with 3.0" LCD Screen
- Face Detection with Eye Detect Full 1080 HD Video Shoot up to 29 minutes of 1080 60i HD Video and stereo sound in either AVCHD or AVI formats.
- A Direct HD Movie Button switches you from still to movie mode with just the press of a button.
Big thank you to GoToMeeting and JackThreads for sponsoring the show - be sure to check them out! As for JackThreads, we've got exclusive invite codes that give you $5 to use towards anything you'd like.
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