Jump to content

Roundup: Best of TechRadar: this week's best features and hottest reviews


sincity

Recommended Posts

http://cdn.mos.techradar.com/art/techradar/BOT/BOT0-470-75.jpg

http://cdn3.mos.techradar.futurecdn.net//art/other/best_tech_v3-200-100.jpg

The best tech you can buy in 2014

Our ultimate tech buying guide!

It's our mission at TechRadar to help you find the tech products that are best for you. That's why we review the specific products we do, while offering a veritable smorgasbord of helpful buying guides and product round-ups to help you find the perfect play things and workplace wonders. Whether it be an ideal camera phone for your mum or a kick-ass Blu-ray player to pair with your new TV, we've got the experts on hand to offer the very best buying advice on the internet. Here you'll find a comprehensive repository of all that expert knowledge. With buying advice and specific product recommendations, look no further for your best chance of finding all the cool gadgets available today.

Read: Cool Gadgets: the 1000 best products in tech

http://cdn1.mos.techradar.futurecdn.net//art/car%20tech/BMW/i8/review/BMW%20i8%20(4)-200-100.jpg

The incredible high-tech supercar that changes everything

The BMW i8 is astonishing

A near £100,000 / $150,000 supercar tuned for fuel efficiency and sporting a mere three-cylinder engine? The all new BMW i8 is surely proof that the modern obsession with emission has finally driven the car industry round the twist. As it turns out, the BMW i8 is one of the most brilliantly resolved cars we've driven all year – maybe even years when you consider just how complex it is. Read all about the BMW i8

http://cdn3.mos.techradar.futurecdn.net//art/mobile_phones/Nokia/NokiaX/Nokia%20X%20Review/press/NokiaX-200-100.jpg

Why the Nokia X is the best phone you'll never buy

Where's the X-Factor?

While 2014 will likely be remembered for its Samsung, HTC, LG, Sony and Apple flagships, it's a trio of budget Nokia handsets that have been among the most unexpected and surprising releases so far. We're talking of course about the dramatically named Nokia X and its siblings the Nokia X+ and Nokia XL. They're phones which had tongues wagging ever since they were first rumoured for the simple reason that they were Nokia devices running Android. When they were finally revealed there was perhaps a sense of disappointment at just how low end they were, but that hasn't stopped the Nokia X from selling. Continue reading...

http://cdn1.mos.techradar.futurecdn.net//art/features/Inflame/MUSTATTRIBUTE_By-Marius745-(Own-work)-%5BCC-BY-SA-3.0%5D-200-100.jpg

Privacy on a fast-track to nowhere?

Time to bring back carrier pigeons?

The UK government announced something quite unusual last week, in the form of a rushed plan to "fast track" new laws on compulsory data retention into place. The fast track element worried many, as this is a sort of emergency parliamentary process used to force rules into place in a hurry, without the usual debates and votes that we, as a democracy, tend to expect to see. Continue reading...

http://cdn3.mos.techradar.futurecdn.net//art/games_consoles/ps_game_pad_for_James-580-100.png

13 features the PS4 needs to be a kick-ass console

Now Sony, it's not that we're not grateful for the PS4. It's so shiny (well, half shiny), pleasantly shaped and ever so full of games at 60fps. It's still the best selling next-gen console and it's a more capable gaming machine compared to Xbox One. But there are just a few niggles we'd like ironed out sooner rather than later. We're not ungrateful in any way for the intuitive UI, great social features and easy ways to share screenshots and gameplay but we are a bit like eighth generation Oliver and just want a little bit more. Here are the thirteen features that we'd like as soon as possible.

http://cdn0.mos.techradar.futurecdn.net//art/games_consoles/Xbox%20One/xbox_game_pad_for_James-200-100.png

14 features the Xbox One needs to be a kick-ass console

Come on Microsoft, you know you want to add these features

The Xbox One has radically changed since its launch in November last year. Microsoft has, to its credit, listened to fan feedback and rolled out a wealth of system updates almost every single month - refining certain features, adding completely new ones, and even ditching the bundled Kinect, something the company once claimed it would never do. But though the Xbox One is undoubtedly improved from its initial incarnation, there are still a few improvements to be made here and there before we consider Microsoft's work well and truly done. Here are fourteen changes we want to see in future updates

http://cdn1.mos.techradar.futurecdn.net//art/other/Robots/ASIMO/DSCN1830-200-100.JPG

Face to face with the all-new ASIMO

If you want to know what it's like to meet ASIMO in person, we'd recommend checking out Jake Schreier's Robot & Frank. There were moments during our presentation where the similarities between ASIMO and the film's own little white bot were uncanny. Like, scarily uncanny

Jaguar Land Rover reveals 'self-learning intelligent car of the future'

http://cdn2.mos.techradar.futurecdn.net//art/car%20tech/Jaguar%20Land%20Rover%20Self-learning%20car/JLR%20Self%20Learning%20Car%202%20-%20hi-res-200-100.jpg

Forget self-driving cars, this one's self-learning

Jaguar Land Rover has today announced what it's billing as the 'self-learning intelligent car of the future'. Disguised as vaporware but actually comprising real-life technology that definitely works, it's a new in-car intelligence system designed to reduce driver distraction by anticipating your every thought and auto-performing your in-car activities so you don't have to bother. Real tech or too good to be true? You decide...

My Android epiphany: iPhone battery life is killing Apple

http://cdn0.mos.techradar.futurecdn.net//art/mobile_phones/LowBattery-200-100.jpg

FIGHTING TALK

The last week or so, I've been using a different device – a Sony Xperia Z2. Just for fun. As you do. And I've had this major epiphany: I have been battering the device and yet, the battery just won't die. I'm yelling at it: "LET GO, DAMMIT!" but it just won't. I managed 18 hours of standby yesterday with almost four hours of screen on time and it still sat at 36%. That was without power saving mode enabled. I've come to work without a charging cable today and for the first time in a long time, I'm not panicking. Read on to find out why...

http://cdn4.mos.techradar.futurecdn.net//art/cameras/Nikon/D4S/Product%20Shots/Nikon-D4S_hero-580-100.jpg

Yo ISO, how low can you go?

Why do camera manufacturers insist on taking ISO settings upwards instead of down?

It was by a series of great achievements that by the end of the 1800s photographic 'emulsion' was sensitive enough to light that portrait photographers no longer had to use head clamps to ensure their subjects stayed still for the duration of the exposure. Progress in the science of light-sensitive materials had discovered compounds and ways of creating larger crystals that reduced the time required to make a decent photograph. By the end of film's heyday, perhaps sometime in the 1990s, photographers had access to emulsions that had reached the heady heights of ISO 3200. That's quite some dramatic progression from the ISO 1/4, and lower, equivalent ratings of the early days of our craft. Continue reading...

http://cdn2.mos.techradar.futurecdn.net//art/mobile_phones/Nokia/Lumia930/Hands%20on3/Nokia%20Lumia%20930%20review%20(9)-200-100.JPG

Nokia Lumia 930

A colourful handset that battles against Windows Phone

The Nokia Lumia 930 is the best Windows Phone yet – you'll probably read that across the web. But that's like saying it's the best seaplane: you'll really need some elements of it from time to time, and you'll be able to use it, but really you want something that's able to flourish in more scenarios. The build quality is excellent and iconic, and the camera is powerful and results in mostly great snaps. I like that 32GB is on offer as the base model, and wireless charging built in is perfect. The price is pretty good too, and if you're a fan of Windows Phone there is nothing better right now. But Microsoft needs to boost the UI and usability of its OS as soon as possible to make sure it keeps up with pack – and that's the main thing that's troubling the Nokia Lumia 930 right now. Nokia Lumia 930 review

http://cdn1.mos.techradar.futurecdn.net//art/televisions/Samsung/Samsung%20UE55HU8200/Samsunghero1-200-100.jpg

Samsung UE55HU8200

Samsung's cheapest curved screen delivers superb 4K/UHD picture quality

Do you need a curved TV? Of course not. Does it help the picture? Not particularly, but there's no doubting that this 55-inch edge LED-backlit LCD from Samsung is one of the best looking TVs around. Much more important is its 4K resolution, which thankfully doesn't mean the UE55HU8200 is biased towards this virtually non-existent source of video. Treating Blu-ray and Freeview HD very well with high detail, accurate colour and bags of contrast, the app-packed UE55HU8200 is a great all-rounder that only struggles with its smart interaction voice control, and the odd motion blur. Samsung UE55HU8200 review

http://cdn1.mos.techradar.futurecdn.net//art/av_accessories/Eclipse/Eclipse%20TD-M1%20AirPlay%20Speakers/eclipse-tdm1-life-01-200-100.jpg

Eclipse TD-M1

These 2.0 AirPlay speakers look good, and sound even better

The Eclipse TD-M1 AirPlay speakers offer a beautiful sound, but they're not for everyone. In taking a new look at the way speakers operate they will suit the very discerning jazz, classical and easy listening enthusiasts, especially when accurate vocal reproduction is demanded. However, rock or hip-hop fans that demand an intense, thumping bass might not appreciate them quite as much. Make sure you don't waste their talents on over-compressed MP3s, too. Eclipse TD-M1 review

http://cdn3.mos.techradar.futurecdn.net//art/televisions/Samsung/Samsung%2055HU8500/Samsung55HU8500Hero3-200-100.jpg

Samsung UE55HU8500

Samsung's flagship 4K/UHD TV with curved screen and enhanced Smart TV features

The UE55UH8500 is a worthy addition to the 4K/UHD stable, complementing its big brother, the mightily impressive UE65HU8500. There are some unsatisfying aspects to its less important features but for its sheer picture excellence it's a total delight. As for the screen's shape: try the curve, if you've got the nerve. Samsung UE55HU8500 review

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...