Gadgets and Tech in the Philippines

Google has added new features to its Google Photos application .  The new features were announced during the Google I/O developer's conference last May 17.  Google Photos, an already impressive photo storage and organizer application is gaining ground against similar applications, most notably, Apple's Photos App. The first new feature announced is called Suggested Sharing .  With suggested sharing, Google Photos is able to suggest who you could share particular photos with.  Google used machine learning technology for this feature.  Suggested sharing is made possible by gathering your previous photo shares and comes out in a new tab in the app called "New Shares". Another new feature of the Google Photos application is called Shared Libraries .  With Shared Libraries, Google Photos can automatically share photos in particular categories with your friends and family.  The recipient of the shared library will be able to select photos which th...

Amazon has announced the release of it's latest Alexa powered device, now with a screen. The introduction given by Amazon to it's new device is "Now Alexa can show you things", emphasizing the new echo device with a screen called the Echo Show. As the introduction suggests, Alexa will now be able to show you things, from showing YouTube videos to showing photos to making video calls. The Echo Show will also be able to make hands-free video calls to other users of Echo show or the Alexa App and make voice calls to Echo or Echo dot users. Lyrics of songs can also be shown in Echo show if you are subscribed to Amazon music. The Dolby speakers of the Echo Show is advertised to have crisp vocals and extended bass response. The Echo show has eight microphones and is equipped with beam-forming technology, and noise cancellation, so the Echo Show will hear you from any direction, and even while music is playing.  This is a good improvement over the Echo dot wh...

Remember the Nokia 3310 back in 2000? Back then, this was one of the most popular cellphones, it was even one of the first cellphones to have no external antenna.  To refresh your memory, here is how the Nokia 3310 looked when it was first released: The original Nokia 3310 had the following specs: Network technology: GSM Dimensions:  113 x 48 x 22 mm, 97 cc (4.45 x 1.89 x 0.87 in) Weight: 133g Display: Monochrome No camera, no bluetooth and no WLAN The Nokia 3310 has been relaunched, now upgraded to look more modern, and with modern features: The relaunched Nokia 3310 has the following updated specs: Network technology: 2G Dimensions:  115.6 x 51 x 12.8 mm Weight: 133g Display: Monochrome Camera: 2MP with LED flash FM radio and MP3 player  Bluetooth 3.0 No WLAN And if you were a fan of the popular Snake game, the relaunched 3310 has an updated version too: The new Nokia 3310 will cost about P2,500 when rel...

Last Christmas, my wife gave me a 9.7-inch iPad Pro to replace my iPad Air 2.  Here is what I can say so far after using the iPad Pro for a little more than 30 days and after using the iPad Air 2 for almost 2 years. Speed The response time of the iPad Pro in apps and in usage is quite noticeable compared to the iPad Air 2.  This is where you can really feel the power and speed of the A9X chip. Display According to Apple, the iPad Pro is equipped with a Wide Color and True Tone Display, so far, I haven't noticed these new features, the display seems to be the same as the iPad Air 2. Wi-Fi No changes in the Wi-Fi design in the iPad Pro, so browsing and checking email are exactly the same experience as on the iPad Air 2. Battery Life Again, according to Apple, the iPad Pro and iPad Air 2 have up to 10 hours battery life surfing the web.  I agree, I am getting almost the same battery life comparing my current iPad Pro and my previous iPad Air 2. Photos...

Google recently concluded its Pixel Event in San Francisco last October 4.  The Pixel event introduced Google's Pixel phone.   The Pixel phone will be available in 2 sizes, 5 inches and 5.5 inches.  The 5 inch version will simply be called Pixel, while the 5.5 inch version will be Pixel XL.  Both versions will have an AMOLED screen.  The Pixel is said to have a standby time of up to 19 days and a call time of up to 26 hours with its 2,770 mAh battery, while the Pixel XL will have a standby time of up to 23 days and up to 32 hours talk time with its 3,450 mAh battery. The main new feature with regards to the battery of the Google Pixel phone is its fast charging capability, charging the phone for only 15 minutes will give another 7 hours of use. The Pixel is built using an Aerospace-grade aluminum body.  Two colors are available, Quite Black and Very Silver.   Phone memory is 4GB of lightining fast LPDDR (low power double data rate) 4 RAM...

Logitech just released a Create keyboard case for the 9.7 inch iPad Pro.  The Create was first released for the larger iPad Pro 12.9 inch version. Similar to the first release, the Create has a lot of features specifically created for iOS .   There are shortcut keys which let you change volume, language and switch between apps. The Create maximizes the use of the iPad Pro's smart connector, once you switch the keyboard to typing mode, the keyboard and the smart connector on the iPad Pro come into contact.  The Create will get it's power from the iPad Pro.  No need to pair Bluetooth since the smart connector also handles the data between the keyboard and the iPad Pro. A cool feature of the Create is the backlit keyboard with adjustable light levels so you can control how bright the keyboard will be.  The Create also has a power saving mode, after 8 seconds of inactivity, the keyboard will automatically go into sleep mode , saving the power of the i...

Printing from a Windows PC to a printer shared on a Mac is quite easy.   First of all, this article assumes that the Windows PC and Mac are on the same network. Next, you'll need to download Bonjour print services here https://support.apple.com/kb/DL999?locale=en_US.   The Bonjour print services are drivers for Windows that lets Windows detect printers connected to a Mac over the network.  This is a free download from the Apple website.  Once your Bonjour download completes, install it. On your Mac, go to settings,   and the printer connected to a Mac should now be seen in Control Panel as a new printer you can add.