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Upcoming Games in 2018: Has the Best Yet to Come?

Neal
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Upcoming Games in 2018: Has the Best Yet to Come?

We’ve already seen some fantastic games this year as our precious gaming allotted hours fade away with Far Cry 5 and God of War topping that list. However, the second half of the year is expected to be blockbuster time, with major studios releasing long awaited games. All of this, of course, is assuming anyone can tear themselves away long enough from the gaming phenomenon’s that are Fortnite’s Battle Royale and PUBG. It will be worth it, so to help you plan ahead and choose where to spend your hard earned money, we have collated the top five games still to come this year.

Shadow of the Tomb Raider

The game publishers are calling this “the end of the beginning” as it’s the third instalment in a reboot trilogy, even though it’s the twelfth game in the tomb raider series.

Anyway, if you ignore the marketing blurb and load the game from the beginning not the end, expect the endless caves, forests and puzzles that we know and love from tomb raider games. Trailers for the game indicate the game has taken a darker turn and our protagonist Lara Croft will be tested in different ways this time around i.e. both physically and metaphysically. Either way, this should be up to the usual triple AAA standard with a cinematic style play through, so stock up on the popcorn and turn the lights way down.

Due September 14, 2018

Platform PC, PS4, Xbox One

Battlefield V

Battlefield FPS shooters are known for their cutting-edge graphics, varied weapon choice, satisfying headshots, building demolishing and most of all, general online multiplayer craziness. All of these ingredients means Battlefield games boast impressive daily gamer counts even years after initial release. The recent Battlefield 1, set in World War 1 is probably the finest to date. For the first time in the series, the developers introduced a single player campaign mode for those who don’t like getting shot within two seconds by some kid called Crazyhorse1996.

Battlefield V (or 5) will be set during World War Two and will also have a single player campaign mode. The online multiplayer mode will, of course, be the main draw for most gamers, offering plenty of maps, different player classes and game modes. New game modes this time include a Battle Royale and Grand Operations modes. Expect to be blown away, figuratively and literally with an immersion knob turned up to eleven.

Due October 11, 2018

Platform PC, PS4, Xbox One

Call of Duty Black Ops 4

Let’s be honest, the ongoing debate between Battlefield & Call of Duty fans over whose game is the best FPS, is frankly boring. All we know is that both games rock, in different ways, thus we gamers get to enjoy the benefits. This latest instalment downplays some of the gameplay features from previous games to a more “gritty, grounded, fluid” multiplayer style. There is no single player campaign this time around, so the developers have gone all in on the multiplayer online mode and added a new Battle Royale mode called Blackout. Trailers released so far look pretty good indeed, with positive YouTube gamer feedback on the first beta release. This game is released the day after Battlefield 5, so a tough choice will likely need to be made.

Due October 12, 2018

Platform PC, PS4, Xbox One

Red Dead Redemption 2

Rockstar Games follow up to the hugely popular original released in 2010 has hardcore fans of the game salivating at the incredible trailers released for the game so far. All the rest of us know this is going to be a brilliant game, period. Originally due to be released earlier this year but delayed to add presumably more spit n’ polish, this will, without doubt, be one of the stand out games of recent years. We get to dust off our cowboy hat, don our finest leather long chaps, and slip into comfy boots one more time as Arthur Morgan, joined by his fellow Van Der Linde gang members in lots of good, bad and very ugly missions in a sprawling wild west open world.

Due October 26, 2018

Platform PS4, Xbox One

Fallout 76

Bethesda do RPG games like no other and the Fallout series is one of their very best. Fallout 76 is a prequel to the previous game Fallout 4 and is set in post-nuclear apocalyptic West Virginia 2102. Along with the usual RPG elements of character progression and open world sandbox, this time the game is an online multiplayer environment. Fans of the series are a little nervous about this but expectations are that this add to the fun and for the first time allow you to team up and play with friends online.

No doubt some online players may not be so friendly, so you will need to get your base built and up to standard quickly. Oh and don’t forget the power armour. Avoiding deadly radiation exposure and death by mutant creatures/fellow players will be more fun than ever.

Due November 14, 2018

Platform PC, PS4, Xbox One

Follow This: The New BuzzFeed Netflix Series

Marty
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Follow This: The New BuzzFeed Netflix Series

Netflix has definitely spotted something. They’ve spotted that the people want documentaries. Typically, these come in two formats. The first is a feature-length documentary like The Bleeding Edge with the second being docu-series like Afflicted. Now a new format is set to emerge as news publisher BuzzFeed, team up with Netflix to create an original mini docu-series; Follow This.

What is BuzzFeed’s Follow This All About?

You may be familiar with BuzzFeed as being the modern take on news outlets. BuzzFeed rose to online infamy through quizzes, ‘listicles’ and that damn dress that no one could decide the colour of. While it all sounds fairly light-hearted, Follow This demonstrates BuzzFeed’s coming of age, or perhaps more accurately their audience’s coming of age.

Follow This goes further than simply bringing viewers behind the scenes of BuzzFeed’s biggest stories over the past few years. The docu-series dives deep into sexuality, race, science, internet subcultures, politics and cultural issues which affect society today. Some episodes, like the first on ASMR, lean towards the lighthearted while others like ‘Intersex’ are heavier hitting.

Rather than being big chunks of information to consume, Follow This is a collection of twenty 15-minute episodes. Perhaps Netflix is trying to target people with a short commute or attention span, but I really enjoyed these short episodes. With just a half an hour of watching, you’ll have plenty of fodder to chat about in work the next day and isn’t this why we watch documentaries?

Follow This: What to Expect

To give you a better idea of what to expect from BuzzFeed’s Follow This Netflix series, I’ve watched a few episodes.

The Internet Whisperers

I discovered ASMR myself earlier this year and it’s a weird phenomenon. It stands for autonomous sensory meridian response and simply put, it’s people on YouTube making weird noises or whispering to stimulate a response from the listener. That response is usually goosebumps and the hair standing up on the back of your neck. Check it out with this lady who appears in the docu-series:

BuzzFeed’s Scaachi Koul looks into this phenomenon in the first Follow This episode and even goes looking for an expert to discuss it. Interestingly, the expert points out that ASMR is one of the first times internet users discovered a phenomenon before scientists. Personally, after watching the episode I struggled to separate the sexual and sensual elements of ASMR but some of those in the episode describe how they find these videos therapeutic. You’ll have to watch it yourself to make up your own mind on it.

Men’s Rights

Another episode with Scaachi Koul, this time looks at the contentious issue of Men’s rights. These are groups of men and, unbelievably, women, who believe the feminist movement is out to destroy the lives of men. There’s an incredible moment where Koul meets a woman who supports men’s rights along who previously called her a see you next Tuesday.

Intersex

In one of the heavier hitting episodes of Follow This, Juliane Löffler from BuzzFeed Germany speaks with the intersex community. These are people born with two sets of reproductive organs but who have had surgery in their youth to make them a single gender. Löffler meets with people affected, doctors who performed these surgeries and those involved in changing the laws relating to intersex people.

Black Survivalist

I loved this episode. I’m a bit obsessed with prepper culture as it is but this provided a new insight into the prepper community far beyond the American redneck stereotype. The Black Survivalist episode is led by Bim Adewunmi and as the name suggests, it focuses on black people with an interest in prepping.

I found this episode enjoyable but also rather upsetting as members of the black community describe how they already feel like they are living in a world which needs them to prep for being alone thanks to a government that’s already forgotten them.

Follow This: The Verdict

Follow This gives you bite-sized chunks of knowledge which are genuinely interesting. This show will make leave you brimming with stuff to talk about next time you’re trying to think of something to chat about over lunch.

Follow This is streaming on Netflix from Thursday.

Follow This: Trailer

 

No More Waiting in Line at the Atm as Electric Picnic Announce Contactless Pay

Jon
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No More Waiting in Line at the Atm as Electric Picnic Announce Contactless Pay

Since taking over a field in Loais way back in 2004, Electric Picnic has grown into possibly the biggest music festival in Ireland. However, the main downside throughout the years has been obvious, the queue for the ATM is painful. These days are finally behind us as the festival has decided to enter the modern era by announcing contactless payment. This makes us very happy.

Image result for electric picnic

It’s not hard to picture the scene because we have all been there. You packed what you thought would be enough moola to get you through the weekend but after a drink too many you end up buying rounds for strangers, having a ball of a time and end up broke. The next step is generally waiting in the 100 people deep queue to use the ATM before you can rejoin the festivities. But no more!

Pics, Pints and Payments!

Image result for electric picnic atm line

The other day Electric Picnic announced that contactless payments will be available at this years festival so you can simply swipe or tap your card at pretty much any of the stalls, bars or food stands. Oh, and that also means that Google and Apple pay will also be supported so you if you’re like me and you have a Secrid wallet you don’t want to bring your phone is available to post all your festival pics and pay for pints.

Electric Picnic Festival’s Melvin Benn added: “We are delighted to be working with AIB and Visa to drive contactless payments across Electric Picnic for the first time.

“We constantly strive to improve the experience and convenience of our festival goers, and we think this is the perfect partnership to encompass that ethos.”

Basically all you need is your contactless card or mobile pay-enabled smartphone, and you can spend less time worrying about cash and more time enjoying the festival. Just be careful you don’t want to do a Dean and spend a months wages one weekend of madness.

AIB bringing the game to life

Image result for aib contactless

AIB are the bank behind the push and they will have a number of different bits and bobs going on in the run up to the event to promote the new era of festival spending. Their campaign #EPonTap campaign will be revealed on AIB’s social channels during the build up to the big weekend.

In the meantime we know that AIB will bring the contactless theme to life via interactive ticket giveaways pre-festival, and Contactless Dating – a unique experience that’ll make finding romance as quick and easy as making a contactless payment… yes find “romance” at a festival, whatever you say AIB.

Anyway, we will be keeping an eye out to see what else AIB and Electric Picnic have in the pipeline so watch this space.

How Real is the “Magic” in Magic for Humans?

Marty
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How Real is the “Magic” in Magic for Humans?

There are two ways to watch TV shows about street magic. You either switch your brain off and enjoy or sit there in a paranoid state trying to work out every single trick. I’m the latter because before I watched David Blaine and Dynamo, I watched Val Valentino revealing magician secrets on RTÉ 2.

So that’s why I watched the new Netflix magician reality show, Magic for Humans, with healthy scepticism.

What is Magic for Humans?

Magic for Humans is a light-hearted magician reality show hosted by Justin Willman, an American magician who was previously better known as the host of Cupcake Wars. Magic for Humans has the tagline ‘real people, real magic, no camera tricks’ and I think that might very well be true. Well, it’s as true as magic can be considered real I guess. What I mean is, I do believe the show has real people and technically uses no camera tricks per se.

How Real is Magic for Humans?

Spoiler alert: Magic isn’t real, so I immediately have a problem with the tagline. The show is built around some pretty impressive illusions and trickery. That means you shouldn’t trust anything.

The Trickery Behind Magic for Humans

I’ll give Justin the benefit of the doubt in that there are no camera tricks after he said “all the illusions in the show were accomplished without any camera tricks and all of the reactions are 100 per cent real”.

all the illusions in the show were accomplished without any camera tricks and all of the reactions are 100 per cent real

That last bit triggered all my suspicions – “all of the reactions are 100 per cent real”. I remember seeing a few years ago that magicians show people a trick which is pretty cool, record the reaction but then use that reaction for a completely different trick filmed separately. I feel like that happens a lot in Magic for Humans and, of course, this means Justin can say the reactions are real without lying.

And All Without Camera Tricks

So, what about there being no camera tricks? Well, like I showed there, the greatest trick of all in Magic for Humans is using the English language in a very clever way to tell the truth without giving the game away. At the end of episode one, Justin and the show editors push their luck just a little bit too much when he makes his wife “appear” from inside a gear bag.

Unfortunately, it’s quite clear, to me anyway, that her appearance has been achieved through CGI editing. There’s something about her face when she appears that just looks fake for a moment and it gives the trick away. Again, it’s not technically a camera trick, it’s an editing trick. See what I mean and language being the biggest trick in the show?

Magic for Humans Goes Too Far

No, he doesn’t kill a pigeon or accidentally slice a woman in half. What I mean by the show going too far is the tricks being too unrealistic. This might be harsh, but knowing where to stop with a trick is what gets people buying in. Just before making his wife appear in a poorly edited trick, I was genuinely impressed by him pulling a blender and coffee machine from a ‘magic bag’. But then he went a step further and that’s what triggered me going off and pulling some of his tricks apart. And he goes too far a few times.

In a tattoo parlour, he meets some body modifiers who have stretched their ear piercings to be 3-inch holes. He gets two of them to stand beside each other before looping their ears together. A neat looking trick, but a trick so insanely impossible that the only conclusion is that they’re stooges (actors). Well actors are real people too aren’t they?

Later in the series, he shows people a VR levitation experience but actually makes them float a couple of feet in the air. Again, it looks like a cool trick and I’ve no idea how it’s done unless the people in the shots are stooges. They also say convenient lines like “it would be better if I actually levitated” which makes me feel the show is going for entertainment above intelligent trickery.

Magic for Humans: The Verdict

It’s a real pity that Magic for Humans goes too far on so many occasions because Justin Willman does land some incredible illusions and tricks. In one episode he convinces two guys they are invisible in a genuinely impressive feat of trickery. Unfortunately, because I’ve seen to show crossover from trickery into deceit too often, it kind of ruins the bit as I’m left wondering if the guys are either actors or genuinely fooled members of the pity. And that’s why not going too far in these shows is really important.

If you’re able to switch off and just enjoy what you see at face value, Magic for Humans is pretty entertaining. If you’re the other kind of viewer, you’ll find the show infuriating.

Magic for Humans Trailer

Secrid Wallet Review: A Beautiful Careslide Wallet

Marty
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Secrid Wallet Review: A Beautiful Careslide Wallet

Tapping your card for small payments has become second nature rather quickly. In fact, it’s become so popular one UK bank is overhauling what we bank cards look like all together. Of course, some of us might not even be using cards any more considering we can use smartphones and wearables to pay for purchases. Typing a pin number gets added to the list of first world problems we’ve finally solved but with added convenience often comes added risk.

Where’s there’s risk there’s opportunity which inspired Dutch gadget makers to create the RFID blocking Secrid cardslide wallet.

Are Contactless Payment Cards Safe?

Tapping your card is generally pretty safe. Not many know this, but using your smartphone is actually safer, which is why you can tap your smartphone for payments over the €30 payment limit. In fact, I’ve tapped my smartphone for payments in excess of €500. But that’s smartphones, cards are a little less secure.

It is great to be able to tap and go when picking up small bits and pieces, I think everyone can agree with that. Such a convenience doesn’t require a pin number or authentication.  There are security measures in place along with some policies that protect you from scammers, but still, there’s a risk when convenience starts to enter the picture.

Thieves have developed a method of exploiting the nature of RFID, the technology which makes fast and convenient contactless payments possible. Imagine you’re on a packed Luas. In theory, a scammer can come alongside you and discreetly tap a device against your wallet without you even noticing. In that moment, they’ll have swiped the maximum €30 from your card. This is why Secrid wallets are a fantastic idea.

What is the Secrid Cardprotector Wallet?

secrid wallet launching cards gifSecrid is a simple and stylish Dutch solution to the problem. I’m in a good position to write the Secrid wallet review given I’ve been using mine for nearly two years now. The Secrid wallet utilises titanium design to protect your cards from would-be thieves with RFID scanners. The wallets also protect your cards from you, encasing them in a hard shell, stopping you bending and breaking them when you sit on them.

Then there’s the cardslide feature of the wallet. One flick of a button on the bottom of the cardslide wallet and all your cards shoot out ready for you to pick what you need. Don’t worry, they stay cascaded in the wallet for you to pick and don’t get ejected across the room.

There is a wide range of Secrid wallets to choose from, with designs that can hold over 10 cards, coins keys and loads more. To be hypercritical, they don’t hold many coins unless you opt for their new Cardslide range. This comes with a much larger compartment for coins and notes.

How much does a Secrid wallet cost?

You are looking at around €60 for a Secrid wallet, but they are gorgeous, premium feeling wallets which you can expect to impress others and last for a very long time.

Disenchantment: Slow Starting Animated Fantasy Gets Better

Marty
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Disenchantment: Slow Starting Animated Fantasy Gets Better

Matt Groening has a pretty respectable track record. He created, The Simpsons is a record-breaking hit, though many argue it’s past its best for quite a few years now. Groening is also the mastermind behind Futurama, a show which I personally believe has even more staying power than The Simpsons. With many years of network TV animation success under his belt, Groening has made the next logical step with his fantasy cartoon, Disenchantment which is now streaming on Netflix.

What is Disenchantment All About?

I guess it’s not that much of a surprise that Disenchantment is an animated medieval fantasy. The Simpsons is a comical take on the average American family of the present while Futurama is based in the distant future. Groening needed to complete his trifecta by travelling back in time to a land of castles and fantasy. The medium of Netflix means this is the most adult series Groening has made to date.
You’ll spot Groening’s trademark overbite and big-eyed animation style, though many characters do have five fingers, an unusual feature for fans of The Simpsons and Futurama. It’s actually the first time he’s animated with five finger characters, perhaps because the animation is outsourced as removing a finger in his previous work was to save on workload.
Disenchantment follows a reluctant princess and her companions in the kingdom of Dreamland. To better understand the show, let’s meet the characters.

The Characters of Disenchantment

Princess Tiabeanie, nicknamed Bean, is the main character of Disenchantment. She’s a trouble-making teenager who begins the series avoiding an unwanted arranged marriage. She enjoys taking the odd drink and defying all those tropes you’d expect from a fairytale princess.

Elfo is working in an elf assembly line where he pops chocolates into boxes. Unhappy in his role, disliking constant happiness as the norm and with his love to Kissy Elf forbidden, he leaves the elf world, Elf Wood. Elfo is the first to do this in centuries and as luck would have it, he crosses path with Bean and becomes her companion while also harbouring a secret crush for the princess.

Luci is Bean’s personal demon, a gift to her from two wizards. He’s dark, both in his physical appearance and in his actions. Luci is regularly mistaken to be a talking cat.

King Zog possibly inspired somewhat by the Albanian King Zog who has countless blood feuds and over fifty assassination attempts on his life, King Zog is Bean’s father. He’s a loud and brash, in fact, many Futurama fans might just be reminded of Bender.
There are several other recurring characters throughout the show and if you’re a fan of The Simpsons, you’ll know how important these guys are. One of my favourites so far is the painfully accurate town crier who has clearly been inspired by Monty Python.

Is Disenchantment Any Good?

The series gets off to a really rocky start. It’s been a while since Groening had to introduce new characters and develop relationships and this really shows. The first episode is hectic and feels really rushed. I was left using a word made famous by Lisa Simpson; meh.
The second episode doesn’t do much to turn a corner but there’s a moment in the third episode involving police donkeys and sirens which made me laugh out loud, the first time this happened while watching Disenchantment. Turns out, you really need one of these moments to start appreciating a show. While I haven’t watched it all, I’ve started to enjoy it a bit more.

Disenchantment: The Verdict

While it starts slow, Disenchantment does pick up the pace with some more regular laughs once we get to know all the characters. Some jokes are hit and miss while others are proper belly laughs. It may pick up but right now it’s like watching that time The Simpsons wasn’t great but also wasn’t terrible. You know, around season fourteen.
Disenchantment has joined a busy calendar of August releases alongside Afflicted, The Package and Insatiable, streaming its first ten episodes on Netflix now with more to come next year.

Disenchantment Trailer

A new ‘flow battery’ could charge electric cars in seconds

Jon
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A new ‘flow battery’ could charge electric cars in seconds
Let be real here for a second, electric cars are great but they are a bitter pain in the hole to charge. Epic motors like the Tesla have meant that the writing is on the wall for petrol and diesel cars for a long time. However the big barrier to electric vehicles really taking off has been around charging and cost. Now thanks to a group of chemists and scientists in the University of Glasgow this could be about to change. 

These brilliant brains have created a flow battery system that will charge the car using a liquid capable of storing huge amounts of electricity and hydrogen. This development has the potential to be a giant leap for electric vehicles as with this system you could be ready to go within seconds. Kinda like a normal petrol car.

Related image

Sciencey Stuff

Before we go on take a deep breath because this is where things get difficult. This ‘flow’ battery is basically a hybrid energy system that will release power to the battery on demand and thus keeping the battery charged as you drive.

According to their study, a concentrated liquid containing nano-molecules can store 10 times more energy than when in a solid state. This presents two clear benefits to a driver. Electric cars would no longer need hours to charge with the material being a pumpable liquid. It means electric car batteries can be charged in the same time it would take to fill up a petrol car.

How it works

Image result for glasgow university flow battery

Think of the battery in the car as a reservoir for fuel like the fuel tank in your standard car. When a car needs to be charged the liquid in the battery can be simply pumped out of the vehicle and exchanges for this charged liquid, meaning that it is a very simple process and similar to how we fuel our cars at the petrol station now. Apart from the giving back dead fuel of course.

As electric cars by their very nature have been created to save the environment it wouldn’t be good enough to waste the old battery fluid I hear you ask. Of course, those clever Scots have the solution. The old battery fluid is basically recharged and made ready for another car. Simples.

Professor Leroy Cronin, the University of Glasgow’s Regius Chair of Chemistry lead the team who made the discovery had this to say “Our approach will provide a new route to do this electrochemically and could even have application in electric cars where batteries can still take hours to recharge and have limited capacity,”.

While it is becoming quicker and easier to charge an electric car the simple truth is that it can still take several hours to fully recharge a vehicle with a range of only a few hundred miles.

Driving into the future

Over the last year or so there has been a big push to install these ultra fast charging stations around the country but the team behind the flow battery believe that their liquid battery could resolve this problem. Oh, and it will massively drive down the cost of the battery cells meaning cheaper electric cars for everyone.

Image result for oprah gif

But that’s not all! Because this is a hybrid system the liquid can be used for both electric cars and hydrogen cars which turn the substance back into electricity.

“For future renewables to be effective, high capacity and flexible energy storage systems are needed to smooth out the peaks and troughs in supply,” said Professor Cronin.

Just don’t forget to pick up the right pump, we can only imagine sticking battery fluid into a diesel engine would be far worse than the commonly heard “I put unleaded into the tank and now the engine is goosed” excuse.

HTC U12 Plus: Is this the end of the road for HTC?

Jon
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HTC U12 Plus: Is this the end of the road for HTC?

Image result for htc u12 irish launch

A few years ago after the release of the brilliant HTC M8 it looked like the Taiwanese company could ride the crest of a wave and become one of the big hitters in the mobile space. Alas this was not to be the case. Over the last couple of years financial trouble rocked the brand so much so that Google ended up purchasing a metric sh*t tonne of HTC’s assets to pump into the Google Pixel project.  With all that going on you would be forgiven for thinking that the HTC ship had sailed and we would’t see another flagship. You would be wrong as the HTC U12 Plus hit the market to try and revive the company fortunes. I guess you could say it’s plus or bust this time around. So how does the HTC U12 stack up?

HTC U12 Plus pricing

At the moment you can pre order the HTC U12 Plus directly from the HTC Ireland website for an eye watering €800.

When we say eye watering you might think that is around the same pricing as other flagship phones such as the Google Pixel, Samsung S9 and our current favorite the Huawei P20 Pro, however the big difference here is they are all unfortunately superior phones. That’s actually hard for me to say as I’ve been a huge HTC fanboy dating back to the days of the old HTC Wildfire. Anyone else remember that one?

Image result for old htc wildfire

 

Style & Design

Gotta hand it to HTC they know how to make a stylish phone and the U12 Plus is no different. Ok, it’s probably not as sexy as some of the other phones on the market but damn look at those colours!

Image result for htc u12 colours

That translucent blue is just nom and getting to see some of the internals is almost a form of porn to us at Goosed…almost. What is really cool here is despite the fact that the body is made from Gorilla Glass 5 it is coated in such a way to minimize fingerprints. A nice touch for people who will spent about an hour a day wiping their phone of their shirt. Yes I’m looking at you Martin.

Other than that the phone is a bit large to hold with one hand, a problem common to the bigger phones on the market like the good ole Samsung Note. It’s worth noting that the U12 is a bit thicker so you might want to abandon wearing skinny jeans if you plan on heading out with this monster. You might think it’s an exaggeration when I say it’s big but with a 6 inch LCD display and a metal rim between the two layers of glass for grip, trust me it’s big.

What is interesting on the U12 Plus is the fact that none of the buttons actually move. Each button is pressure sensitive with a vibration feedback rather than actually moving, this is supposed to help with waterproofing but the reality is it’s just cool.

The Features

Admittedly the design is quite cool but it’s under the hood where the U12 Plus starts to disappoint so let’s get into it.

Battery

On paper this looks good with a 3,500mAh battery with quick charge features again something we now come to expect from these larger phones. Sadly for HTC the battery is rather underpar and we wouldn’t be too confident it would last the day. To put this into context I would take my Samsung out for the day without a charger, do all my normal bits and pieces and I would expect to hit home around 8pm with some juice left in the tank. The U12 Plus you would probably need to have a powerbank just incase.

Cameras

This is good, very good in fact. The camera is probably the biggest redeeming factor for the HTC U12 Plus. With dual cameras on both the front and back of the phone HTC have really doubled down using both a 12 and 16mp camera on the rear. Couple this with an impressive zoom function and boom you are onto a winner. HTC have also been keen to highlight the video capabilities of the U12 Plus with features like zoom tracking that will zoom in or out automatically on a subject, and even hone in on the audio of a selected subject. You can also record in 4K and there is also a slo-mo function with no limitation on the recording time so you can have plenty of fun here.

Screen Quality

The HTC U12 Plus is rocking a rather large 6in Quad HD LCD screen and while it looks impressive with excellent touch response and beautiful colours it suffers the same fate as most LCD displays. It’s next to impossible to see anything in sunlight, so probably not a big deal in Ireland.

It’s a completely flat display unlike the curved surfaces and rounded screen corners we’ve seen on other flagships this year. If you want a standard, rectangular display on a high-end phone, then the U12 Plus is appealing. Oh and it’s got an always on display, but on an LCD screen you might want to avoid using it or watch your battery drain before your eyes.

Edge Sense

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In the U11 we rather liked the Edge Sense and once again it’s probably the most intriguing feature in this years model. Like the U11 before it the U12 Plus has put pressure sensors into the sides of the phone to create Edge Sense 2. You can set up the different gestures to do what you want, so a short squeeze to open the camera or a longer one to bring you to Google or whatever. You can also do things like a double tap to shrink the screen to a one handed size. It’s really interesting and it’s so so close to being perfect but amazingly Edge Sense 2 is less reliable than the previous rendition. It’s only small things but imagine picking up the phone and the edges think you want to open the camera..after a couple frustrating moments you will end up firing the phone across the room or the less nuclear option and simply switch off Edge Sense.

When you begin to squeeze the phone, a blue squeeze and dot graphic starts on the screen. It’s way too sensitive and even simply holding the phone can trigger it, covering your screen in blue when you aren’t about to use Edge Sense. It was enough for us to turn it off.

The best feature here is in fact the least obvious. There’s a smart rotate option that senses you’re holding the phone in a certain way and doesn’t auto rotate the screen. It’s basically for if you are lying in bed with your phone – but it works well because it is a subtle feature that improves the user experience. It’s the only time here that Edge Sense is successful.

So is the HTC worth the €?

Mmmm honestly….probably not unfortunately and this is coming from a self proffesed HTC man. The camera is fine but the competition is better, the design is nice but the competition is better, I could continue but you probably see the trend here.

The Edge Sense from the U11 was the big innovation and credit where it’s due to HTC they have always been willing to try something new but miraculously even the Edge Sense is worse on the U12 Plus. It’s actually disappointing because you know this had some much potential to be a hit and it’s not. To see what the HTC U12 plus should have been we only need to look as far as Google’s new Pixel XL model. Sorry HTC is looks like the jig is up this time.

Google Pixel 3 in Ireland: Rumours, Specs and Possible Release Date

Goosed.ie Team
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Google Pixel 3 in Ireland: Rumours, Specs and Possible Release Date

The Google Pixel set of smartphones are some of the most anticipated flagships every year and for good reason. Boasting cutting-edge technology to provide the smoothest Android experience to date, it’s no wonder that enthusiasts and regular consumers alike get excited for what Google has to bring to the table. Thanks to leaks from @OnLeaks, MySmartPrice and XDA-Developers, we’re now getting a complete look at what the new Google Pixel 3 and the Google Pixel 3 XL are going to look like when launched this Autumn.

The Google Pixel 3 XL has a display notch

First and foremost, many actually caught this when Google first began beta testing the newly released Android Pie. A mysterious setting was discovered which mentioned a “double display notch” which elongated the status bar. Wait until you see why.

Yeah, it’s not quite the prettiest. That thing is huge. It’s not really unexpected though, given that nearly every Android manufacturer thus far is including a display cutout also. While I don’t personally have anything against the notch when done right, the Google Pixel 3 XL in my eyes is an absolute abomination.

The Google Pixel 3 looks alright though

These renders come courtesy of @OnLeaks and MySmartPrice. The regular Google Pixel 3 looks about what you’d expect from a normal, no notch smartphone released in 2018.

Google Pixel 3

See! Doesn’t that look alright? Lovely dual front speakers, a nice back design and no unsightly display cutout. Pure bliss altogether.

The Google Pixel 3 and the Google Pixel 3 XL’s specifications

In terms of specifications, the Google Pixel 3 will likely follow the same philosophy that’s already carried it so far. We expect nothing less than the greatest smartphone camera in the business with this release, along with the best performance from any Android phone to date. Google puts a lot of care into the user experience on these phones, and it certainly shows. You’ll get a Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 processor, and around 4GB of RAM, plenty for all of your daily Snapchat, Facebook and Instagram needs. It’s going to be the fastest Android phone around hands down. The processor and RAM combination is enough to play all of the latest games on your smartphone as well, including Fortnite Mobile and PUBG.

But on that camera note, it’s really unsurprising to see Google sticking with a single camera sensor for this device. The reason is simple, and that’s because Google loves artificial intelligence and data processing algorithms. Rather than making use of dual cameras for depth perception, they’d prefer to do all of that via software. It’s pretty neat and helps keeps costs down, though admittedly these phones were already extremely expensive to begin with. Google had the best smartphone camera last year that remains competitive to this day with only a single camera lens.

For the display sizes, initial reports put the Google Pixel 3 display at 5.4-inches and the Google Pixel 3 XL’s display at 6.2-inches. About average of flagships being released today as well.

The Google Pixel 3’s availability in Ireland

Now, in terms of getting this phone on Irish soil… good luck to you. You’re gonna have a hard time if previous models are an indicator of where this phone will be available. Google used to sell smartphones to Ireland back in the day, but mysteriously stopped some years ago. A friend of mine in the industry spoke to some Google engineers who cited “legal reasons”, but the engineers didn’t really want to budge and give any more information. That’s why you’ll find that Google sells very little on their store in Ireland, though they did bring the Google Home to Ireland only recently. Ireland wasn’t the only country to get it either, so it’s possible that Google may have realised that there are a lot more countries than just the US and the UK.

Speaking of the UK, that’s likely how you’ll have to pick up a Google Pixel 3 if it’s not launched in Ireland. You can set up either an AddressPal box in the UK via AnPost or make use of the more conventional Parcel Motel. It’s pretty annoying, but it’s the only way to do it usually.

Is the Google Pixel 3 your next phone?

Pretty much everything there is to know about the Google Pixel 3 has been leaked, definitely enough for many to make an educated guess about it anyway. Let us know what you think about it in the comments!

The Package: A Terrible Idea That Makes a Semi-Decent Movie

Marty
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The Package: A Terrible Idea That Makes a Semi-Decent Movie

A Netflix Original movie all about the journey to save a man’s penis after a terrible accident on a hiking trip. That’s the premise of The Package, although to be honest, I’m making it sound quite serious there. A group of teens go hiking and drinking when one of the guys lops his lad off with a knife. Yup, that’s more like it. Everything about the plot of The Package means I should hate it, but I don’t.

What is The Package All About?

Mild spoiler alert – although most of this movie is pretty predictable.

The Package is s surprisingly fresh take on the teenage coming of age movie. Sean has been living in Germany and comes home for a weekend drinking in the hills with his mates. Of course, they’re joined by some girls to make it the complete teen weekend away. After having too much to drink, going for a pee and playing with a knife, the plot of the movie starts to become fairly apparent.

Sure enough, Jeremy loses his penis. While a medical helicopter takes him to the hospital, wouldn’t you know it, his friends give the medics a cooler with two beers cans and not Jeremy’s penis. And so a movie is born as his friends are in a race against time to get Jeremy’s penis to the hospital in time.

Is The Package a Terrible Film?

The Package is not a terrible film and I really don’t know how to feel about that. Every joke is immature and pretty much predictable. If you’re familiar with Road Trip and American Pie, The Package is Netflix’s attempt to bring all the best bits from these movies onto the screen for the streaming generation.

The Package ran a real danger of being an Adam Sandler style movie but maybe its saving grace is the fact it was produced by Ben Stiller. Ok, so Zoolander 2 was a complete sin to cinema, but a lot of his stuff is funny and it’s all funnier than Adam Sandler’s stuff.

The Package: The Verdict

This is most certainly not a movie you’ll watch with your mother in the same room. However, it’s a movie that if you watch with friends, you’re bound to have a few laugh out loud moments. It’s nothing short of amazing how much mileage this movie gets out of a limited plot too. I think the movie also holds the record for most amount of penis-on-screen in a mainstream movie, an important distinction.

Believe it or not, you’re unlikely to regret watching this.

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