Welcome back to another installment of...
Now that 2014 has reached its expected end, it would be fitting for us to take a look back and see what this past year had to offer us, in terms of technological advancement, of course.
Lets start off with the Good stuff, shall we?
The Nexus 6 & 9!
Nexus 6 (above), Nexus 9 (below)
After the release of the nexus 5 (smartphone) and the nexus 7 (tablet) in 2013, the fans of the popular device line had long awaited the arrival of a current model nexus from a different manufacturer. LG and ASUS were in charge of last years models, and they sold an adequate amount of units. But now, HTC and Motorola has taken their turn at making both a smartphone and tablet for the Nexus series. With the nexus 6's 5.96 inch 2560x1440p resolution, 13mp camera and 3220 mAh battery... It would seem that Motorola remembered every detail that a phablet should entail (based on public opinion, and sales from the One M8) , with an added bonus of front facing speakers. I mean who doesn't love those?
The Nexus 9 is basically a larger version of the smartphone variant (naturally), meaning that if you bought both devices, navigating them would be a breeze, plus what makes the nexus name so popular, are the updates, straight from google, and good for at least 2 years. (Currently running lollipop/Android 5.0)
The Nexus 6 and 9 are both on my (Matthew's) christmas list, just in case anyone was wondering.
I kinda figured someone would care.....
moving on.....
The iPhone 6 and 6 Plus
You can call Apple Inc. copycats, hypocrites or just a bunch of plain ol' followers, but you must admit, the iPhone is better now, that it has ever been. I've reviewed the 6 and 6 Plus in a separate blog already but I will say this, the 6 plus (my personal daily driver) has impressed me! and that isn't an easy task to accomplish. The battery life is exquisite, the screen resolution, while not Quad HD, still provides a premium experience, and the build quality ( with an all metal design ), put iPhone 6 and 6 plus, at the top of my list of devices that are a must have for the last quarter of 2014.
The Pebble Smartwatch
Disclaimer : Let me just say that I'm not just putting these devices on my list, solely because I own some of them, But because they are just amazing devices of this year!
The Pebble Smartwatch has been awarded best smartwatch of 2014 in most tech award categories. Yes, that means that the Pebble won over the Moto 360, ASUS Zen Watch, Sony smartwatch, and the Samsung Galaxy gear, all of which are more "technologically advanced" than the pebble. But what makes this device more popular than the rest?
- The Price
- Availability
- Cross-Platform Usage (meaning compatible with Apple Products as well as Android Devices)
- Look and Feel (Build Quality)
- Steel Variant
- Battery Life (up to 7 days between charges)
Of course with a price point of $79-$99 (depending on what sale is going on at the moment), the Pebble suffers some lack of fancy tech that you get on other watches, like a touchscreen for example, or a high resolution, pixel dense multi-color display. However I find that the physical buttons on the device make me feel like more of a spy when I'm using it, and the retro look makes it very easy not to compare it to other devices, its in a class of its own.. So, there's that.
These three devices (well 4 if you count the nexus 9) are, in my opinion..the best tech of 2014!!In spite of everything else that has been released throughout the year, these devices have managed to stir up the most conversation, debate, controversy, and general buzz in the tech world during their respective debuts. Sure other tech could go on my list, like the Galaxy Note 4, great device, or the One+, equally great, the Moto X 2014, or even the HTC One M8, all wonderful pieces of tech, but they pale in comparison, not on a specifications sheet, but in popularity.
And of course you know that's what technology is really about,
popularity.....
In any event
These have been your technological announcements for Wednesday December 10th, 2014
Please govern yourselves accordingly
