LG G Watch Unboxing and Review
December 5, 2014
The LG G Watch has arrived and it is time I give Android Wear a test drive:
Author: thelostdigit
Custom Robot Build Using A Laser Cutter (Preview)
November 24, 2014
I have always wanted to design a robot from scratch using some sort of rapid prototyping. This way it would be affordable to make, yet completely designed by me. I had access to a laser cutter so I designed a simple creepy robot that I thought would be great to help me learn about programming robotic arm movement. Once the robot is complete and the programming is sound, I will share the Design files and the code behind it. 
Android 5.0 Lollipop Safe Mode
November 15, 2014
Safe mode in Android 5.0 is easy to reach. Hold down the power button to open the power menu, then hold the power off contextual button until the menu in the lower image below opens. After reading the disclaimer, press okay to boot into safe mode.
OnePlus One Android 5.0 Lollipop First Boot and UI Test (CM 12)
November 15, 2014
I loaded up a fresh build of Lollipop from XDA for the OnePlus One. It is running well overall but I do miss some of the CM options that were on CM 11S. Android 5.0 feels so light and so smooth and switching between applications feels great. Watch the video below for an idea of how setting it up looks and the general UI afterwards.
Messenger (SMS/MMS in Material Design)
November 13, 2014
A while back Google integrated text messaging with Hangouts, and then tried to make the application smooth but only made it worse. This in turn made it incredibly horrible for sending quick text messages and switching between multiple conversations was a slow process. Sometimes I would even miss text messages only due to the transition lag when switching between conversations.
Alas, Messenger is born.
A smooth, quick, and good looking SMS/MMS application with material design was just released by Google. This is the stock messaging application on Lollipop, but it is also available for download on any device with Android 4.1 or above. The search feature as shown below is very smooth and animated very well. Switching between conversations is very smooth and quick. Sending text messages is a light breeze and no longer feels like a heavy chore. MMS messages now notify when their download process begins and they are displayed in a much nicer format. Overall this app was well needed and finally I cant text without being disgusted.
Available here on the Play Store
OnePlus One Update 44S Addresses Several Bugs (OTA/Manual)
November 8, 2014
OnePlus has been doing a great job with CyanogenMod, updating it frequently to address the bugs in the system. The downside is that their software was far from perfect when the phone was released, but every update brings the phone closer to greatness. You can wait for the OTA or manually update using an incremental update zip from the recovery. Be careful though as this is only incremental and should only be installed over 38R.
Here are the list of changes according to OnePlus:
Fixed issues with memory causing screen artifacts
Fixed issues with random reboots and instability
Fixed issues with WiFi and modem crashes
Fixed issues with Filesystem
Fixed issues with “black bar”
Fixed issues with persist partition corruption
Fixed issues with AT&T VoLTE
https://forums.oneplus.net/threads/cm-11s-44s-ota-is-out.173057/
The update zip can be found here.
iPad Air iOS 8.1 Battery Drain
November 5, 2014
It may not drain as bad as other tablets but it is draining at a rate of roughly 5-10% per day with no use. It used to drain a maximum of 2% per day and always be ready for me when I needed it. The last few times I went to use it, it would already be drained and that is sometimes quite inconvenient. Performance has been drastically improved with this update, and using it is quite a joy, if only the battery didn’t drain when in standby like it used to.
Another issue with 8.1 is that sometimes the multitask gestures just do not work. It used to happen much more frequently before on iOS 8 but it did happen to me once on 8.1.
The issue of battery drain seems to be from Skype according to the battery usage info, but I had Skype before and never had any drain issues. Hopefully it is just a compatibility issue and will be fixed soon.
iPad Air iOS 8.1 Update
October 22, 2014
The update was released yesterday and thankfully it was a small incremental update around 100mb therefore it didn’t need much space to install like iOS 8 did. Over the past 24 hours I have noticed that it is much snappier and smoother than iOS 8. Specifically the bug concerning multitouch app switching seems to be gone as it is always working now and not hanging up. On iOS 8 the gestures would frequently not work and many apps even the settings would crash without warrant. So far so good…
Nokia Lumia 635 vs. Moto G (2014) Speaker Test
October 15, 2014
The Nokia Lumia 635 is a great budget device, but how does its speaker compare to that of the Moto G (2014)? I have an impartial video below showing the two in the same testing scenarios. My personal opinion is that while the Nokia Lumia 635 is much louder than the Moto G (2014), it is not more enjoyable. The Moto G (2014) has a much wider range and overall sounds better. It also has stereo speakers which make it much more immersive as compared to the Lumia which is rear firing. The Lumia does not sound bad, and it is actually surprisingly good, it is just a bit lacking in terms of being able to reach the deep end. Their audio output quality and power meanwhile are roughly the same with the Moto G (2014) being slightly warmer when played on my speakers. Overall they are both decent but the Moto G (2014) isn’t loud enough and the Nokia Lumia 635 isn’t full enough.
Here is the video comparison:
HI-FI Stereo Amplifier 60 Watt DX0809
October 12, 2014
I found this amplifier for $Cheap as a temporary placeholder to run my Polk Audio Monitor 30 Series II speakers. It does carry a much better punch in terms of bass reproduction than the Lepai 2020A+ but it fails in almost every other aspect. The highs are not crisp and there is a noticeable hiss at high volumes. Most of the vocals were muffled and vibrated in a very weird way. The Lepai 2020A+ does a much better job at running both the lows and highs clearly even when at high volumes. Stay away from this amp and just get a Lepai 2020A+ if you want something cheap.
The Lost Digit 