I know, I know. Flagship phones are sexy. I also know that the A14 from Samsung that has just been announced is NOT their flagship device. I also know that these mainstream devices sell 1000:1 over the flagship products. Here in Canada this "budget" phone is set to launch later this month with an MSRP of $329.99 CAD. This 5G model brings a ton to the table for that price however. In fact, for this money, the A14 is pretty much a 2021 flagship device at a bargain price. 

Key Features:

• A massively upgraded 13-megapixel front camera and a sleek triple-lens rear camera gives greater depth to details, colours and subjects in every scene.
• Responsive and adaptive 90Hz display with an expansive 6.6-inch screen size and upgraded FHD+ resolution.
• Upgraded processor with 5G capabilities enabling apps to render beautifully and run efficiently.
• Enduring performance with a long-lasting battery on a single charge.
• 64GB onboard storage, with the option to expand up to 1TB with a microSD card.
• Newly upgraded Security and Privacy Dashboard – an easy, transparent way to see how apps track data and to quickly disable unwanted tracking.
• Partnership with Google, including Google Meet integration into messaging and video call capabilities for streamlined collaboration.
• Built-in Samsung Health app to track body composition, sleep patterns and exercise regimen, seamlessly synced with other devices such as Galaxy Watch5.

Keep checking Samsung's site for details as this product will be available to purchase here in Canada on January 27.

Lexar is a well-known name in the storage space they are bringing their "A" game to CES and 2023. They've got a shiny new stick of DDR5 that comes lit up with RGB lighting and, cooling solutions and a screaming 6000MHz clock rate. In addition to their memory module, they are still showing off the NM800PRO with heatsink. This is a M.2 2280 PCIe Gen4.4 NVMe SSD that reads up to an insane 7500MB/s and writes at an incredible 6500MB/s. 

Note: The ARES DDR5 RGB 6000MHz, the 512GB Professional CFexpress™ Type B Card DIAMOND Series, and the 1TB-2TB Professional CFexpress™ Type B Card GOLD Series are not yet available in the US. They will be available in the latter part of Q1.

For more info, please visit Lexar.

We don't often think of using a generator indoors as the first thought is a noisy gasoline or diesel powered unit. Geneverse is quite likely a name you've not heard before - but you should get to know them a bit better. They offer electric "generators" that can be charged via solar or plugged in and used in emergencies, construction, backyard projects, camping and more. They have two main models they are showcasing early this year and they include the HomePower ONE PRO (1210Wh capacity, 1200W continuous, 2400W surge) and the HomePower TWO PRO (4838Wh capacity, 4400W continuous, 8800W surge). 

Each of these units come with 3 AC outlet for your 120v needs, 2 USB-C outputs with PD 100W, and 2 USB-A QC3.0. 

The battery can charge in a mere 1.5-2 hours when plugged in, and 2-4 hours via solar. Solar panels geared for the HomePower are available in bundle deals as well. 

Check out more from the press release here and then head on over to Geneverse for more options.

Alienware has long been known for high-performance machines and once they became a part of Dell, their after-sales service and support got a solid +10. They've had some pretty sweet hardware for many years and when we looked at a laptop of theirs (many years ago now), we were very impressed to find that even in their mobile platform, GPUs were upgradable and they were very repairable. At CES 2023, they announced a whole slew of portable gaming machines (calling them laptops would be a stretch) with the largest of them measuring in at 18". There is no word on weight, but as you can pack this beast with a Core i9-13900HX (24-Core 5.4GHz) processor, GeForce RTX 4090 16GB DDR6 GPU, 64GB of DDR5 RAM and a total of FOUR storage devices - it's not going to be light. Plus you'll need an extra bag to pack around the 330W power supply.

That and a lot more Alienware laptop models and info here.

In other Alienware news, they have also released a new Gaming monitor that has a blistering refresh rate of 500Hz. If you have a powerful enough machine, this could be the most beautiful thing you've plugged into it. Not only is it speedy, it has sRBG 99% color coverage, so the colors are true-to-life. With an 0.5ms GtG response time, it will be incredible. There are a lot more details here.

CES is now in full swing down in Las Vegas, NV and Sennheiser is showcasing a few new bits of technology. While they are most famous for high-end headphones and earbuds, they continue to push and expand their technology into areas that enhance quality of life as well. I'm sure that many of us have a hard time hearing in super noisy environments - such as the CES showfloor. A product they've just announced is the Clear Conversation Plus - a smart earbud that does a lot more than just provide great audio playback. 

From the Press Release:

Effortlessly clear conversations in noisy environments

Utilizing sophisticated Sonova chip technology, conversations and calls are enhanced thanks to the Sennheiser Automatic Scene Detection feature, which analyzes the noise level of a user's environment and matches the speech enhancement level to their surroundings.

Integrated into the compact and modern earbuds, Automatic Scene Detection ensures the clearest speech in challenging environments, be it in person or on the phone. In concert with Active Noise Cancellation, Conversation Clear Plus works dynamically to block distracting noises and improve the clarity of conversations for every level of background noise.

Conversation Clear Plus lets you choose how much background noise you want to hear. Active Noise Cancellation blocks out distractions, while the Ambient Awareness mode enables more connection with the outside environment when desired.

More details here.

Today we are looking at a pair of products from Silicon Power - their new A66 series 2TB and 5TB portable HDDs. These are part of their Armor series, and are tough, fast, and packed with features that make them worth checking out. If you are in the need for portable storage that simply will not fit on a flash drive, make sure to check out the super affordable drives in our quick-and-dirty review as we continue.

Keep on reading to find out what these drives offer and get some ideas as how they can integrate into your life.

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I've been a Fenix user for a while now and I've had a fair number of lights come across the bench and many of them I've kept around. I'm an equal opportunity user, however. I've got a few O-Lights in my collection as well as a Surefire. All that being said, Fenix hits the market with a lot of good stuff going on. They have some high-quality products at price points that don't break the bank. They don't sit and bask in their success and just leave things alone. They revisit lights as technology improves and make tweaks to bring us updated versions that have more features - often in the way of lumen output - and at times, battery technology as well.

Today we will be looking at the PD35 V3.0. We looked at V1 back in April of 2020 and we'll do a bit of a comparison as we refer to that review occasionally and let you know what has changed up and what to expect from this 1700 lumen light.

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We're back and bringing you another piece of illumination from Fenix. This is the E12 V2.0 light that is all about your Every Day Carry. It uses a single "AA" battery and while it isn't as blinding as some of their other lights, the size and flexibility ensures that it is ready to go whenever and wherever. If you want a great light that will work day in and day out with a standard power option, make sure you check out the following evaluation as we take this for a spin and share our thoughts.

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Today, we've got a look at the super bright PD36 TAC from Fenix. This light offers a few different modes with a dedicated mode selector switch as well as a rear tail-cap switch and a side button as well. It offers a lot in the way of brightness, run-time, durability and more. Make sure you stay tuned to read and see how it compares to other lights we've looked at recently!

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Summer is here and Olight is kicking off their summer sale today! If you're looking for a few new products to get you exploring with confidence day or night, make sure you check out the following quick article to see their Open 2, Obulb and MR2 Pro Warrior in action. These are great lights that serve different purposes as you'll see below. If you want to check out all the details of the sale and save a bit extra, head on over to their sale here: Olight Store and use coupon code "BenjaminHeide" (no quotes) to save an extra 10%.

Keep reading to check out the specs, details and more of the lights on the following pages.

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