Here a roundup of today's reviews and articles, including Rise Of The Phablet: Is A Bigger Smartphone Better?, Benchmarking Ubuntu Linux On The Google Nexus 7, CeBIT 2013 Coverage with more than 100 pictures on 10 pages, SimCity Video Review with Kaeyi Dream, and Google Reader Alternatives for Android & iOS



Rise Of The Phablet Is A Bigger Smartphone Better? @ ThinkComputers.org

First off, can we all agree that Phablet is a terrible name? A Smartphone with a big screen does not make a tablet. Second, let's examine what exactly a Phablet is. The difference between a large phone and a small tablet is that a small tablet will run (at least in theory) tablet optimized applications, whereas the large phone is stuck with phone apps. The question is how big is too big for a phone?

Read more: Rise Of The Phablet Is A Bigger Smartphone Better? @ ThinkComputers.org

Benchmarking Ubuntu Linux On The Google Nexus 7 @ Phoronix

Last month I delivered extensive benchmarks of Ubuntu Linux on the Google Nexus 10 using the recently released Ubuntu Touch Developer Preview. In that article were benchmarks from the Samsung Exynos 5 Dual (Cortex-A15) tablet against a range of ARM Cortex and Intel/AMD x86 systems. This article builds upon those earlier Ubuntu Linux x86/ARM results by now adding in the results from Ubuntu on the Google Nexus 7 plus more comparison processors have been tossed into the mix as well. This article offers Ubuntu Linux performance results for a dozen different Intel, AMD, and ARM systems. The ARM SoCs represented are from Texas Instruments OMAP, NVIDIA Tegra, and ARM Exynos families.

Be sure to read last month's thorough article for more details on the state of Ubuntu on the Google Nexus tablets, which Canonical's pushing at the moment as their reference platforms for developing Ubuntu "Phablet" -- phones and tablets. Benchmarking Ubuntu on the Google Nexus 7 was less stable than Ubuntu on the Nexus 10 with the high-end Samsung Exynos 5 Dual Cortex-A15 SoC, but still went well overall.

Benchmarking Ubuntu Linux On The Google Nexus 7 @ Phoronix

PQI Tiffany USB 3.0 32 GB @ techPowerUp

If you are looking for a compact flash drive that is robust enough to go on your key chain while still offering the benefit of a USB 3.0 interface, the PQI Tiffany is certainly a good candidate on paper. We take the unit for a spin to see if it can combine the best of both worlds: shape, size and speed.

PQI Tiffany USB 3.0 32 GB @ techPowerUp

CeBIT 2013 Coverage with more than 100 pictures on 10 pages @ OCInside.de

The CeBIT 2013 computer fair in Hanover showed also in this year a lot of new products.
On the following 10 pages of our CeBIT 2013 report you will see approx. 150 pictures with new IT products.
This ocinside.de CeBIT 2013 report is hardware related and contains new Haswell and Mini-ITX motherboards, chassis, cooler, PSUs, SSDs, memory modules, NAS and wireless storage solutions.
It is only available in German language, but it is worth watching the pictures or use a translation tool to discover the latest trends.

CeBIT 2013 Coverage with more than 100 pictures on 10 pages @ OCInside.de

Corsair Vengeance M65 Review @ Vortez

The peripheral market is currently festooned with competitive mice from a wide range of manufacturers, and since Corsair diversified from the core business of memory, PSUs and cases they have been a strong presence never to be underestimated. Early last year we had the pleasure of reviewing the Vengeance M60, a heavily styled gaming mouse with striking looks and performance to match, which deservedly earned our Gold Award; one year on, the Vengeance M65 is an incremental evolution of that mouse.

The M65 joins the Vengeance M95 and K95 as a part of a refresh of their peripheral line-up for 2013, in most cases concentrating on making small changes for a more well-rounded whole. The headline change made in the design of the M65 is the inclusion of the 8200DPI Avago ADNS-9800 LaserStream Gaming Sensor, substantially upgrading from the previous 5200DPI sensor, although the promotional material also boasts access to the second generation Vengeance Configuration software utility. Remaining at centre stage are the stylish exposed aluminium-chassis design, sniper button and configurable weight system seen on the M60.

Read more: Corsair Vengeance M65 Review @ Vortez

WD TV Play Review @ TechReviewSource.com

Western Digital's latest media hub, the WD TV Play, tries to strike a balance for cord-cutters, offering some streaming services along with local file playback for a lower price than its Roku 2 XD and Apple TV competitors. But as a cord-cutter myself, I found that the WD TV Play doesn't offer quite enough of anything, so I'd suggest that you pay a little more for your set-top box.

Read more: WD TV Play Review @ TechReviewSource.com

Sennheiser PC 350 SE Gaming Headset Video Review with Kaeyi Dream @ HardwareHeaven.com

Kaeyi Dream takes a look at the Sennheiser PC 350 Special Edition Noise Blocking Gaming Headset in her latest video review for HardwareHeaven. Check it out!

Read more: Sennheiser PC 350 SE Gaming Headset Video Review with Kaeyi Dream @ HardwareHeaven.com

Team Xtreem LV 2133MHz CL9 8GB Memory Kit Review @ KitGuru

Team Group's Xtreem series of memory modules have held their place in the enthusiast market for many years. Can the company's Xtreem LV 2133MHz CL9 memory kit prove that enthusiast-grade performance is still flowing through the veins of Team Group's flagship series of memory?

Read more: Team Xtreem LV 2133MHz CL9 8GB Memory Kit Review @ KitGuru

Maingear Potenza Super Stock Review: Cool and Quiet @ HotHardware.com

There's a lot to love about a mini-ITX gaming PC. Portability is a big draw, of course: carrying your computer through the parking lot to a LAN party is much easier if it happens to be an SFF system. Reclaiming desk space is another reason to go small. And some of us just take a lot of pleasure in knowing that our tiny, unassuming PC will drop a few jaws when it's game time.

With an Intel Core i7 3770 and an MSI GeForce GTX 660 at its heart, Maingear's mini-ITX Potenza only looks mild-mannered. In fact, Maingear offers the system with up to a Core i7-3770K and a GTX Titan, but Maingear sent us a slightly tamer unit to show what it can do in the $1600 range...

Read more: Maingear Potenza Super Stock Review: Cool and Quiet @ HotHardware.com

SimCity Video Review with Kaeyi Dream @ HardwareHeaven.com

Today Kaeyi Dream takes a look at the brand new SimCity release from Maxis/EA Games. Check it out.

Read more: SimCity Video Review with Kaeyi Dream @ HardwareHeaven.com

ARIA Gladiator Warbird 660 i5-3570K GTX660 SLI OC Review @ KitGuru

Today we are looking at the new sub £1,000 gaming PC from ARIA the Gladiator Warbird 660, which features the Core i5 3570K processor and a pair of GTX660 graphics cards. The company also incorporate 8GB of Corsair memory, a 120GB SSD/1TB HDD configuration and a Corsair HX power supply. The all important question remains to be answered however how does it handle?

Read more: ARIA Gladiator Warbird 660 i5-3570K GTX660 SLI OC Review @ KitGuru

Cooltek Coolcube Black @ techPowerUp

The Cooltek is an extremely light, full aluminum Mini-ITX case. It features a simple but effective design, the ability to hold a full ATX power supply, and keeps overall dimensions as compact as possible.

Read more: Cooltek Coolcube Black @ techPowerUp

Cooler Master CM Storm Power-RX Mouse Pad Review @ Ninjalane

Professional gamers have a skill and that skill is the ability to practice and adapt. You see playing video games isn't all that different from playing golf or driving a race car.

Read more: Cooler Master CM Storm Power-RX Mouse Pad Review @ Ninjalane

Google Reader Alternatives for Android & iOS @ Techgage

With Google’s announced plans to close its Reader service on July 1st, I decided to spend some time seeking out alternatives (a total contrast to my usual move of waiting until the last minute). After spending a little too much time scouring the Web, I settled on four aggregators that I consider to be top-rate – and best of all, each one is free (some do monetize, but all are subtle).

Four may be a modest number for a round-up, but that’s truly all I could settle on. Had I chose more, I would have been suggesting apps that didn’t draw me in and simply didn’t seem to offer as polished an experience as the others. That said, for those that are not happy with any of these choices, I have some Web-only bonus mentions at the end of the article.

Before checking out each reader, let’s first take a quick look at liberating your data from Google Reader, either for archival purposes or to import into another aggregator.

Read more: Google Reader Alternatives for Android & iOS @ Techgage

Mionix Ensis 320 @ PureOverclock

Gaming surfaces (or more commonly known as mousepads) are not nearly as popular, nor offer as wide a selection of models, as the actual mice that operate on them. Truth be told, most people probably have a mousepad as an afterthought. Think about it, how many people do you know that actually call it a “gaming surface” rather than a “mousepad”? Do you game on it? Not really. It’s quite a misnomer in my opinion, but I digress, so back to the real topic at hand.

Having used many different gaming surfaces over the years, I can confidently say that the lowly mouse pad is a much-maligned product that deserved a higher status in the pecking order of gaming accessories. A great gaming surface does make a world of difference, even more so with a premium mouse. A top notch surface will not help a garbage mouse though, so the two products share a symbiotic relationship of sorts.

Read more: Mionix Ensis 320 @ PureOverclock

GELID Icy Vision Rev. 2 VGA Cooler Review @ Hi Tech Legion

I guessed the password one last time and accessed security permissions to allow a secondary admin account. From then on, I would just log on with my secondary account (which had a Venezuelan inspired password of course) so the system admin just thought nobody was logging in using his password anymore. He didn’t realize that the second account was not something he created as well as it had a familiar password. Lesson learned: no matter what you do, there is always a much more efficient way of doing it.

I was impressed with the cooling performance exhibited by Gigabyte’s Windforce 3X OC GTX 670 video card when I reviewed it and wondered if there is a VGA cooler out there that would be worth the challenge of not only outperforming this custom cooling solution in terms of thermal management but fan noise as well. The Gigabyte Windforce 3X was an already efficient cooling system but I wondered if GELID’s Icy Vision VGA cooler Rev. 2 measured up to the task.

Read more: GELID Icy Vision Rev. 2 VGA Cooler Review @ Hi Tech Legion

Genius Gila GX Gaming Mouse @ Benchmark Reviews

It is a very difficult task for designers to develop a gaming mouse that will rise above the competition. The gaming mouse market is saturated, after all. We have established developers that have been building gaming mice for years, such as Logitech, Razor, SteelSeries, and MadCatz, and, we have developers that were later entries into the market, but have been able to make some headway. Now we have Genius, and even though it has been around for years developing PC peripherals, its decision to enter the gaming peripheral market under the GX Gaming brand didn't come to fruition until 2011. Since then, Genius has made a number of solid entries into the marketplace, and it hopes its latest entry, the Genius Gila gaming mouse, can be the one that earns it the proverbial "seat at the table."

Read more: Genius Gila GX Gaming Mouse @ Benchmark Reviews

Noctua NH-L9i Low Profile Intel CPU Cooler Review @ Bigbruin.com

This review is going to take a closer look at Noctua's NH-L9i, where the lower case "i" suffix indicates that this is the Intel variation of the cooler which recently impressed us on an AMD test bed. Before taking a closer look at the sample provided for review, let's take a look at some of the technical data taken from the official product page on the Noctua website...

Read more: Noctua NH-L9i Low Profile Intel CPU Cooler Review @ Bigbruin.com

Corsair Hydro Series H110 Review @ OCC

At idle the Hydro H80 delivered lower temperatures in both stock and overclocked trim on the Core I7 2600K. When it comes to load temperatures, the H110 is hands down the winner in these tests again both stock and overclocked. In stock trim the Hydro H110 delivers temperatures 30 °C cooler than the reference cooling solution and over 50 °C cooler when overclocked. When compared to the H100, the Hydro Series H110 maintains a 5 °C margin under load, stock and overclocked.

Read more: Corsair Hydro Series H110 Review @ OCC

Anidees AI-06W Midi Tower Review @ NikKTech

One of the many things we should all love about the entire computer industry is that regardless of the already very large number of companies/manufacturers present in the market there's always room for the introduction of new ones (let’s not forget that competition is always good for consumers and usually results to better quality products at lower prices). Of course we mostly see new storage and cooling related manufacturers but from time to time there are some who dare enter the PC case market as their sole focus. One such company is Anidees a brand new PC Case manufacturer based in the Netherlands and although I did have the chance to test their quite impressive and high quality AI-06B (Black) midi tower in the past today on our photo bench we have their latest AI-06W (White) midi tower.

The story of Brand name anidees was from English first "an idea" but we play it to plural and it turns to "an ideas" but since the most idea we collected for our product are from Europe thus we change idea to idee (German ,Dutch, France), with plural form it turns to "anidees". Anidees is actually a design company, focus on product design and provide value add items to customers. Our slogan is "Ideas from you". Our aim is to be a brand/Company that listens to users and makes "simple, elegant, with Quality" products to our customers.

We really don’t see many manufacturers take their name from actual every day words and even less ones that originate from ancient Greek (although countless words do) so the two times I received an product manufactured by Anidees I got the strange feeling that they felt right at home. Regardless however of my opinion surrounding their brand name having already reviewed the AI-06B midi tower slightly over a year ago I knew right from the start the level of quality I should expect and I wasn’t disappointed one bit. My only concern is the color which may partially turn to yellow after a while (white tends to do that) but when you get a white device I think you know that’s a very large possibility. Finally the AI-06W just got released so as you will notice from the specifications sheet it’s not yet listed on their website but don't worry since it's already available on quite a few online stores inside the EU.

Read more: Anidees AI-06W Midi Tower Review @ NikKTech

How To Upgrade ownCloud To Version 5.0 @ n00bs On Ubuntu

ownCloud 5.0 has been released with a lot of new features and improvements. And here is a guide to upgrade to version 5.0. ownCloud 5.0 is released. ownCloud gives you universal access to your files through a web interface or WebDAV.

Read more: How To Upgrade ownCloud To Version 5.0 @ n00bs On Ubuntu

Kali Linux 1.0 Review @ LinuxBSDos.com

Kali Linux is the latest incarnation of BackTrack Linux, an Ubuntu-based distribution for penetration testing. It is developed and maintained by Offensive Security, an outfit that provides security training and certification courses for IT professionals. It has been described by its developers as the the most advanced and versatile penetration testing distribution ever created.

Read more: Kali Linux 1.0 Review @ LinuxBSDos.com