Some Of The Best Tablets To Buy In 2018

For many, the best tablets are all about the most flexible features, a desktop-like experience, and a sleek appearance that won’t go above budget. In short, they offer the most bang for the buck. Here are some top options for 2018.

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iPad Pro 10.5

Opening the list with Apple’s latest flagship tablet – which understandably would cost much more than most other competitors – might be a little off-putting. But come to think of it: it’s a great choice for those looking for a serious upgrade, with standout features that enhance productivity and can even be a suitable laptop replacement for some. It got us sold on the new ProMotion screen, the wonderful speakers, and overall professional-tablet packaging.

Amazon Fire HD 10

Amazons newest and biggest Fire tablet to date competes with its larger Galaxy and Apple counterparts at a fraction of the price. The screen packs a punch at a full 1080p resolution, while the quad-core 1.2 GHs/1.4 GHz processor is nothing to scoff at. Battery life lasts long, and built-in features like the Alexa functionality are just as tempting. We’d love to choose from the black, blue, and red colors, too.

Samsung Galaxy Tab S3

The HDR screen is made for the future, just as the four speakers are cut out for greatness. Enjoy the S Pen stylus and the array of useful offerings on this leading Android tablet that boasts better quality and more potent features.

Image source: BestBuy.com

James P DeVellis is an IT professional consulting for a tech company. Most of his day is spent testing new programs and gadgets while they are being developed for public use. Learn more on this page.

Is now a good time to get a VR headset?

Virtual reality is seeping into our everyday lives, evidenced in various industries from education and medicine to real estate and gaming. Gadgets featuring VR technology are now a lot cheaper. This is manifested in current VR headsets. They’re novel and cool, for sure, but is it time you get one? 

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The experience is definitely amazing. With a VR headset, you can look around and see yourself in a 360-degree, often-interactive world simulating the real one. There’s a great sense of being in the game, especially as you use hand-motion controls to duck, lean, and move forward and back. 

Popular VR headsets like Daydream, HTC Vive, Gear VR, and the Oculus Rift now have a good number of supported VR titles you can play. The great thing about these is that the price is going down, with standalone VR headsets that don’t have to connect to PCs seen to be priced for just $200 when they roll out. 

Right now, VR headsets are cool and fun gadgets good for some games. But they are still just toys with not-so-great graphics. VR tech has yet to give you those 1080DP or 4K resolutions, making the experience a little less real, visually speaking. Still, critiquing VR tech seems pointless given its imminent prevalence and potential to be the next driving force for truly immersive gaming. 

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Hello, my name is James P. DeVellis, and I’m a certified technophile. Since I work for a tech company, I get a lot of questions about tech stuff. So, I decided to blog about it. More tech reviews here.

The rise of the iPhone

You can actually count with the fingers on your right hand how many tech companies in the world are as big as Apple. The company is a world leader in technology and innovation, and its products are known for its superior quality and craftsmanship. Over the past few decades, Apple has come out with iconic products that made their mark on history. In this century, no other Apple product is as well-known as the iPhone. 

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The curious thing though is that when you look at the iPhone’s history, you’ll notice that it isn’t the first incarnation of the product that elevated its status – it was the 3G version. Prior to the 3G, phones were mostly used to make calls and text. The newer ones had the occasional low-res camera and probably a game or two. 

The iPhone 3G though introduced something that would change the smartphone landscape forever – apps. Now, phones weren’t simply limited to surfing the web. Smartphones could do things nobody thought phones could do. From 550 apps initially, over 15,000 popped up in the next months. All kinds of apps attracted people everywhere, catapulting the iPhone even higher above the most popular IT products in the market. 

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Hi, James P. DeVellis here. Since I’m the technophile in our family, I get all the tech questions. Read some of my responses on Twitter.

Practical reasons for passing on the iPhone X

There’s no denying the hype generated by the 10th-anniversary release of the iPhone. Apple and iPhone fans came in droves and even camped out during the worldwide release, and many units have since sold out in many places all over the globe. But is the whopping price of $999 really worth it? 

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The easy answer is an outright no. Aside from the unprecedented, almost snobbish pricing for a smartphone, it comes with an almost-obligatory AppleCare+ extended warranty that would require buyers to shell out another $200 for a two-year coverage. Not getting this warranty will lead up to $549 charges for major repairs on the iPhone X.

Secondly, it’s not as though its Android competitors are lagging behind. The iPhone X has lots of new features not seen on the iPhone before, yes, but the world of the Android has seen its own advances for some time now such as OLED screens, wireless charging, and “all-screen” bezels.

Arguing against any product of the industry giant that is Apple might seem futile as devoted iPhone enthusiasts will still get the phone, anyway. What would be awesome though is if the company manages to match or overtake the rapid growth of its Android competitors. If this happens, maybe more average consumers will understand better why there’s a need to pay such high amounts for a smartphone.

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Hi, James P. DeVellis here. Working for a huge tech company, I get all sorts of questions about gadgets, apps, troubleshooting, etc. For similar reads on innovative technologies and the like, drop by this webpage.

How Honda is pushing the boundaries of automobile technology

Automobile manufacturer Honda has developed the NeuV, a first of its kind. NeuV stands for New Electric Utility Vehicle, and for all intents and purposes the future of the automotive industry. Being internet-ready and able to drive itself are two of its many impressive features.

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However, what sets the NeuV apart is the HANA, or Honda Automated Network Assistant, which is an AI that interacts with the driver of the car. HANA is part of the NeuV’s dashboard and serves as the second passenger of the car whose "brain" is located on the dashboard.

Science fiction has indeed become a reality through the NeuV and HANA. Although cars like KITT from the TV series “Knight Rider” or the Autobots from “Transformers” are still light years away (though Honda has developed the world’s first robot as well), the NeuV and HANA are indeed steps toward the right direction.

The possibilities now seem endless. With the right application and a bit more tweaking, HANA can be of more use to society than you might think. At present, it can monitor a driver’s heart rate and recognize faces. HANA can even start conversations with a driver if she senses the driver dozing off. Maybe future versions of HANA may help serve law enforcement and healthcare, and save lives in the process.

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My name is James P. DeVellis, a certified technophile. Follow me on Twitter for more tech-related discussions.

Why you shouldn’t be worried about iPhone X’s faceID

Apple recently showcased its new flagship phone, the iPhone X, at the newly-constructed Steve Jobs Theater. The latest smartphone comes with complete with edge-to-edge OLED display and a new facial recognition system called the faceID. Apple has removed the touchID saying that faceID will be more secure. The company went as far as saying there’s 1 in a million chance of a passerby on the street gaining access to the iPhone X, compared to 1 in 50,000 with touchID. 

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But even with the iPhone X’s high-end TrueDepth Camera System, some people aren’t convinced that faceID is secure enough to replace touchID, remarking that the feature is already available on many Android devices. To be fair though, the facial recognition in Android devices can be fooled with a picture and can’t be used in the dark, which were both overcame by the faceID. Apple even said that it tried to use a - mask used by Hollywood actors to try to fool faceID, and it didn’t work. 

So how secure is faceID? First, it won’t unlock unless you’re looking at it. Second, the TrueDepth Camera System has some advanced technology housed in the notch. Here are the three main technologies that make the TrueDepth Camera system: 

Dot Projector: More than 30,000 invisible dots are projected onto your face to build your unique facial map. 

Infrared Camera: An infrared camera reads the dot pattern, captures an infrared image, then sends the data to the Secure Enclave in the A11 Bionic chip to confirm a match. 

Flood Illuminator: Invisible infrared light helps identify your face even when it’s dark. 

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Hi, my name’s James P. DeVellis. I’m a self-confessed IT guy, and that means receiving tons of tech-related questions from family and friends. Visit my blog to see some of them.

The best PC tune-up utilities of 2017

It’s 2017 and fast startup times and speedy operations should be a normal occurrence in almost all PCs. Well, at least on the brand-new ones. 

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We all want our PCs to run at peak capacity, regardless of whether it’s a budget laptop or a pro desktop. But inevitably, that out-of-the-box performance fades away. Every PC will eventually slow down; unless you’re properly maintaining it. That’s why there are many tune-up utilities available for PCs. 

So, what’s a tune-up utility? It’s a computer application that digs deep (with your permission, of course) into your computer and fixes trouble areas. It performs several functions from defragmenting your PC’s hard drive to repairing Windows Registry to freeing up disk space by deleting useless duplicate files and caches. 

Here are two of the best PC tune-up utilities of 2017: 

Lolo System Mechanic: At $49.99 the Lolo System mechanic may be one of the most expensive PC utilities out there, but it has all the tools you need to get your PC performing like new again. 

AVG Tune-up: AVG is one of the leading anti-virus companies in the world. So, it’s only fitting that it has one of the best PC Tune-up utilities available. What’s better is it now offers unlimited licenses. Preferable for those with many PCs to maintain. 

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