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Don’t spend a lot on these great Bluetooth speakers under $100

7 7 月, 2021 Harish Jonnalagadda 0

You don’t need to spend a lot of money to get a great Bluetooth speaker, so we’ve rounded up what we believe are some of the best Bluetooth speakers under $100 to help save you money. So whether you’re looking to pick up a speaker to listen to music or play your favorite podcasts at the pool, or need one for streaming music from your phone, there are plenty of great affordable options available. Our top pick would be the Ultimate Ears Wonderboom 2 for versatility and excellent sound quality.

Best overall Bluetooth speaker under $100: Ultimate Ears Wonderboom 2

The Wonderboom 2 delivers everything you’re looking for in an affordable Bluetooth speaker. It has IP67 water resistance, astonishingly great sound quality, and 13-hour battery life. The speaker also has multi-directional sound, and you can even pair two speakers together to create a stereo effect (although you can only pair it with other Wonderboom speakers).

The versatility here makes the Wonderboom 2 stand out from the …

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Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 Plus is here to make Android flagships even faster

28 6 月, 2021 Harish Jonnalagadda 0

Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 888 Plus gives you a little bit more in terms of performance.

Qualcomm has made a habit of rolling out a mid-cycle refresh of its flagship chipset — we saw that with the Snapdragon 855 Plus and the Snapdragon 865 Plus — and it’s no different with the Snapdragon 888. The chipset is powering the best Android phones, and Qualcomm is now introducing an even faster variant: the Snapdragon 888 Plus.

The key standout feature on the Snapdragon 888 Plus is the clock speed of the Cortex X1 core, which goes up to 2.996GHz, up from 2.84GHz on the standard model. As such, Qualcomm is touting that the chipset can go up to 3GHz in its marketing materials, and while the Snapdragon 865 Plus hit 3.1GHz last year, the inherent performance increase with the X1 core means Qualcomm doesn’t have to push the clocks too much on the Snapdragon 888 Plus.

Other than that, the Snapdragon 888 Plus also has a sixth-gen AI engine that now delivers up to 32 TOPS of performance, a decent …

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Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 vs. Snapdragon 888 Plus: What’s the difference?

28 6 月, 2021 Harish Jonnalagadda 0

The Snapdragon 888 Plus doesn’t differ too much to the Snapdragon 888, and that’s a good thing.

Qualcomm has announced the Snapdragon 888 Plus, with the chipset set to power the best Android phones launching in the latter half of the year. As was the case last year, Qualcomm isn’t changing too many things; after all, the Snapdragon 888 is one of the fastest chipsets in the world, delivering excellent performance figures and global 5G connectivity.

But for manufacturers releasing flagships in the latter half of 2021, Qualcomm is offering an even faster version of the Snapdragon 888. At its core, that’s what the Snapdragon 888 Plus; with the clocks on the Cortex A1 core now going up to 2.996GHz, the chipset will deliver incremental performance gains over the regular Snapdragon 888. The chipset also delivers 20% better performance in AI tasks while using the same Hexagon 780 module.

Other than the increase in AI performance and clock speeds, the Snapdragon 888 Plus is identical to th…

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These are the best OnePlus phones you can buy in 2021

25 6 月, 2021 Harish Jonnalagadda 0

It started as a small enthusiast brand back in 2014, but OnePlus has quickly exploded into a mainstream hit that’s responsible for making some of the best Android phones every year. So if you’re looking for the best OnePlus phone but aren’t sure which model to get, we’ve got a quick list to help you decide which one is right for you.

Ultimate flagship

OnePlus 9 Pro Morning Mist, 5G Unlocked Android Smartphone U.S Version

Staff Pick

The OnePlus 9 Pro sets a new standard for OnePlus, with the phone offering a Hasselblad-tuned camera that holds its own against the best in the industry. You also get a sublime 120Hz AMOLED display, the latest internal hardware with mmWave 5G, 65W wired and 50W wireless charging, a gorgeous new design, and bloat-free software.

$1,070 at Amazon $1,070 at Best Buy $1,070 at OnePlus ₹64,999 at Amazon India

All about the value

OnePlus 9 Astral Black, 5G Unlocked Android Smartphone

If you’re looking for a more affordable option, the OnePlus 9 is a…

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Synology DSM 7.0 is now available — here’s how to download for your NAS

24 6 月, 2021 Harish Jonnalagadda 0

DSM 7.0 is Synology’s biggest update yet, and you can install it on your NAS right now.

Synology is rolling out the next big update to its operating system, DiskStation Manager 7.0. Synology makes the best NAS enclosures for home, and with 8 million active users around the world, it is also the largest manufacturer in this category.

DSM 7.0 started off as a beta build six months ago, and is now available as a release candidate for dozens of NAS enclosures. DSM 7.0 is going live on June 29, following which you will get an update on your NAS. But if you’re like me and don’t want to wait for the update to show up, here’s how you can install DSM 7.0 on your NAS right now. But first, here’s a quick look at all the new stuff that’s in DSM 7.0.

The ideal NAS

Synology DiskStation DS220+

$299 at Amazon
$299 at Newegg
$300 at B&H Photo

All the features you need

The DiskStation DS220+ is an ideal NAS enclosure for home or Plex use. With two Gigabit Ethernet ports, the ability to …

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Google Pixel ‘Fold’: News, Leaks, Release Date, Specs, and Rumors!

23 6 月, 2021 Harish Jonnalagadda 0

Here’s what we know so far about Google’s foldable Pixel phone.

Flagship phone designs haven’t changed all that much in the last two to three years — the Galaxy S21 looks very similar to its predecessor — so if you’re looking for a phone that stands out, you’ll need to pick up a foldable. Samsung, Huawei, and Motorola have pioneered this category, and we’re at a point where the best foldable phones are no longer a tech demo but just as usable as traditional phones for day-to-day use.

More and more brands are set to make their foray into the foldable category as the segment matures, and an interesting entrant is slated to be Google. The latest leaks point to the search giant introducing a foldable option in the Pixel series sometime as early as this year. Here’s what you need to know about Google’s upcoming foldable phone.

Jump to:

Release date
Price
Availability
Design
Specs
Software

Google Pixel Fold Release date

Right now, the most credible information regarding a…

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If you buy one pair of wireless earbuds on Prime Day, it needs to be these

22 6 月, 2021 Harish Jonnalagadda 0

There’s no shortage of wireless earbud deals for Prime Day, but one deal in particular stands out for the sheer value on offer: the Jabra Elite 65t. These earbuds launched nearly three years ago for $170, and for most of 2021, they have been available for $80. Right now, they’re on sale for just $47, a massive 41% discount from their usual price.

The Elite 65t continue to deliver the basics: they sound great, have a comfortable design that doesn’t cause any issues even after several hours of use, and have rock-solid connectivity over Bluetooth 5.0. I’ve looked at hundreds of wireless earbud deals for Prime Day, but there’s nothing that comes close to the value that you’re getting with the Elite 65t.

Jabra Elite 65t | $33 off at Amazon

The Jabra Elite 65t have terrific sound, comfortable design that’s great for all-day use, and last five hours between charges. Honestly, for what you’re paying here, you won’t find another set of earbuds that give you as much value.

$47 at Amazon

E…

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Get better specs than the S21 Ultra with this insane Prime Day phone deal

22 6 月, 2021 Harish Jonnalagadda 0

There are plenty of standout Prime Day phone deals at themoment, and if you’re in the market for a flagship, you’re probably considering the Galaxy S21 series. While there’s nothing wrong with that, if it’s sheer performance you’re after, you should take a look at the Red Magic 6.

The Red Magic 6 has flagship-tier hardware, and it edges out the Galaxy S21 series in a few areas. What’s particularly interesting about the phone is that it is on sale for just $528 right now, $132 off its regular price of $650. This makes the Red Magic 6 the most affordable way to get your hands on a Snapdragon 888-powered phone in the U.S. So if you’re looking to upgrade your phone and want a gaming phone that’s sold officially in the U.S., the Red Magic 6 is the obvious choice.

Red Magic 6 | $132 off at Amazon

The Red Magic 6 has incredible hardware in the form of a 165Hz AMOLED screen, Snapdragon 888 with liquid cooling, 5050mAh battery with 66W fast charging, and 8GB of RAM with 128GB of storage. I…

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Prime Day is the perfect time to buy a bigger NAS hard drive

22 6 月, 2021 Harish Jonnalagadda 0

There are two parts to building a NAS server. First up is the enclosure itself — we’ve already highlighted the best Prime Day NAS deals — and once you have that sorted out, you’ll need to pick up hard drives to slot into the NAS.

Thankfully, Prime Day has a few decent deals for NAS-focused hard drives, so whether you’re buying a NAS for the first time and need storage or are looking to buy additional hard drives to increase the storage of your enclosure, these are the best deals. I have dozens of hard drives from all major manufacturers, and in this post I’m recommending drives that I’ve used in my own NAS enclosures for at least three years or more. Essentially, these are the best hard drives for NAS enclosures.

There’s one point to note here: hard drives that are 6TB or more are still very limited in availability, so you won’t find these drives on sale for Prime Day. However, if you’re looking for drives between 1TB and 6TB, there are plenty of great deals available right now.

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Don’t buy these Amazon Prime Day phone deals — buy these instead

22 6 月, 2021 Harish Jonnalagadda 0

There are plenty of Prime Day phone deals live right now, including exciting discounts on the Galaxy S21 series, Note 20 Ultra, and more. With so many phones to choose from, it can get overwhelming if you’re looking to upgrade.

So in this post, I’ll try to clear up confusion around popular phone deals and offer suggestions on how to spend your money to maximize value. So if you’re looking to buy a value flagship, budget-focused option, or a gaming phone that has the latest hardware innovations, these are the best phones you should actually buy for Prime Day.

Don’t buy the OnePlus 8 — get the Galaxy A71 5G instead

The OnePlus 8 is down to just $350 right now, and that is a stellar deal when you look at the hardware you’re getting. However, it isn’t the best option in this category right now. The Galaxy A71 gets that distinction — I called it the best Samsung mid-ranger last year — and it continues to be a great overall option in 2021.

That’s particularly true for the 5G versio…