Tag: #techreviews

Did you know these 16 Interesting Facts about Twitter?

  1. The iconic bird logo of the social media platform Twitter is named Larry as a tribute to NBA player Larry Bird, who played for the Boston Celtics, Twitter co-founder Biz Stone’s home-state team.

  2. In 2009, Evan Williams and Biz Stone were listed in Time’s 100 most influential people in the world, even before Jack Dorsey.

  3. As of January 2022, the most-liked tweet has over 7.2 million likes, and it was tweeted from the late American actor Chadwick Boseman’s account by his family, informing the world about his demise.

  4. Only the South Korean band BTS has more than three most-liked tweets in the top 30. The band has 21 tweets in the list of top 30 most-liked tweets.

  5. Twitter is blocked in China because Chinese authorities prefer their homegrown social networks as they can have complete control over them, which Twitter doesn’t permit. 

  6. Justin Bieber is the most followed celebrity on Twitter with over 114m followers, only behind former United States President Barack Obama.

  7. Twitter has enough money in the bank to survive approximately 412 years.

  8. The official Twitter account of @Sweden is given to a random Swedish citizen every week to manage with the expressed goal to manifest Swedish diversity and progressiveness.

  9. Twitter first made a profit in the fourth quarter of 2017, earning $91m (£65m).

  10. Out of 1.3 billion Twitter accounts, over 391 million accounts have no followers at all.

  11. Taylor Swift is the most influential person on Twitter, followed by India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Katy Perry.

  12. The Face with Tears of Joy emoji “😂” is the most popular emoji on Twitter.

  13. The hashtag was first brought to Twitter on 23rd August 2007. Chris Messina introduced it in order to filter the tweets and help the existing users connect with a particular theme.

  14. The Twitter logo consists of overlaying 15 different symmetrical circles, which signifies giving everyone a voice.

  15. Out of all the Americans on Twitter, 71% use the platform only to read the news, and 42% use the platform to discuss politics.

  16. The statistical data shows over 75% of emojis tweeted on Twitter are positive, and the number increases by about 2% during Friday and Saturday.

What is Active Noise Cancellation & Do You Really Need it?

Truly wireless earbuds and neckbands have taken over the decade-old style of wired earphones and headphones, which are way cheaper than these newbies, but the newbies are making headlines in the rising world of the audio industry because of one freshly risen feature, ANC or Active Noise Cancellation. The hyped feature was once limited to high-end audio products but is now making its way to the budget section.

You may have heard some of your friends or colleagues discussing the benefits and advantages of active noise-cancelling headphones, and due to fear of moving out, you might have added a pair of active noise-cancelling headphones to your wish list, but have you ever considered spending a few minutes to check what are they actually? Are they worth a shot? And whether you genuinely need them or not?

What is Active Noise Cancellation & How it Works?

The ANC or Active Noise Cancellation concept was first developed in late 1930s, and after a couple of decades, it eventually landed in commercial airline headsets. Active Noise Cancellation is a technology that combines hardware and firmware to reduce unwanted ambient sounds by using active noise control as part of the listening experience.

In short, it keeps ambient noise away by adding a second sound specifically designed to cancel the first. The term Noise Cancellation does not commit to removing the sound altogether, it only diminishes the surrounding noise significantly, giving the illusion that the noise is cancelled, but when you add Active before the Noise cancellation, it works differently and actively looks for the noise to counterpoise it.

A number of earbuds or headphones features an inbuilt noise cancelling technique that works through ear tips or ear cuffs and reduce the outside noise by some amount, but ANC loaded devices have specific earbuds that help them make a significant difference in your listening experience and the technology used to create them is far more complex than the usual passive noise cancellation.

ANC uses electronics to prevent undesirable or excessive volume, such as the hum of jet engines on aeroplanes and traffic, from reaching someone’s eardrums. Sound travels in waves through the air, and when two identical waves with the same frequency but the opposite amplitude meet each other, they are called out of phase as they cancel each other out, and this method helps you hear absolute pure music, which comes from your headphones.

The ANC technology works best when you’re around a massive noise source, such as the hums of aeroplanes, which is easier to recognize than people talking or regular day-to-day noises. In some cases, listeners have reported dizziness and headaches while using noise-cancelling headphones, which may be prompted due to extremely low-frequency vibrations towards our hearing hair cells, but this can be solved by decreasing the ANC intensity. The solution is right there, but are they worth taking a risk?

Do You Really Need ANC Support on Your Earbuds?

Clarifying certain things always benefits us in the long run, and when it comes to active noise cancellation, it does provide quality music and podcasts by removing distractions, but it doesn’t improve the sound quality of your headphones. The ANC technology blocks or filters high-frequency sound waves using passive or active responses, respectively, and now it’s time to know about the benefits of Active Noise Cancellation technology.

It helps you to block annoying noises

Active Noise Cancellation earbuds or headphones are handy for commuters who travel long-distance, mainly via planes or trains or even buses, as it aids you to get some quality sleep, even when you’re not listening to the music. The ANC technology reduces the impact of annoying loud sounds such as constant honking, people chattering, disturbing construction noises and audio distractions to help you stay focused.

It allows you to have better conversations

Apart from listening to music in a chaotic environment, the ANC technology helps you avoid “excuse me” or “I’m sorry, could you please repeat that?” during the calls. The noise-cancellation system blocks virtually all of the background noise you hear around you and allows you to have the smoothest conversations of your life.

It cares for you and protects your ears

Anything above 75 decibels is counted as unsafe noise, and when you continuously deal with the audio above 80-85 decibels, you risk losing your hearing ability. You can avoid such risks by wearing proper fit, active noise cancellation headphones as these devices can reduce sound levels by up to 80 dB, almost defeating the massive sound of aeroplane engines which hits 130 decibels regularly.

It helps you reduce stress

When you’re constantly exposed to noise above 80-85 decibels, it automatically creates concerns. After a while, repeated exposures can create annoyance in your brain and lead you to a stressful and hectic life, but if you’re having a good pair of noise-cancelling headphones, you can have peace of mind, which leads to a healthier life.

It helps you in increasing concentration

How does someone lose concentration? Of course, due to surrounding noise inputs, which leads to less productivity and dissatisfaction. The pandemic days makes us realise how a little bit of annoying noise can distract us from our work or study. So, it’s better to have some device that will kill all the distractive sound and help you concentrate fully, and what’s better than ANC backed headphones? The ANC technology not only allows you to block the outside noise but also sends a text to your colleagues that you’re trying to concentrate.

When it comes to the disadvantages of ANC-backed headphones, we would like to highlight a few things. First of all, they are expensive, they make you unaware of your surroundings, they can be a medium of ear infections and last but not least, they have short battery life. So, the answer to the question “do you really need ANC backed headphones or not?” lies within your lifestyle.

Asus Zenbook Duo 14 (2021) Review – A Stand Apart Ultrabook

Two-screen or dual-screen gadgets are becoming a trivial trend, but keeping aside the audience’s interests, several top-notch companies are investing in the idea and developing two-screen devices. We have witnessed the launch of two-screen products such as Galaxy Fold 3, Galaxy Flip 3, Asus ZenBook Duo 14, and Lenovo ThinkBook Plus in the past few months.

Amongst all of these gadgets, we’ve reviewed some and sent them back to the places. However, to our luck, we got a chance to keep the Asus ZenBook Duo 14 for a bit longer, and that’s why we decided to come up with a long-term review where we can assist you to understand the complete details of the 14-inch Asus ZenBook Duo 14.

Design & Build Quality

Asus is known for offering the world’s best motherboards and innovative gadgets such as high-quality personal computers, graphics cards, and other technology solutions. The company’s latest addition, the uniquely designed Asus ZenBook Duo 14, is an update to last year’s Zenbook Duo 14, and it arrives with a massive slab of a second screen.

On the outside, the ZenBook Duo 14 features a concentric circle pattern etched on top, and it looks elegant. The glossy silver Asus logo stands apart and strikes a laptop with a classy look. On the inside, it features two screens, as mentioned in the name, and it is as wide as the main screen, but it makes the laptop sacrifice its ergonomics.

Along with a head-turning design, the Asus ZenBook Duo 14 endures a well-built form. The full-HD laptop features sturdy and robust screens, tough enough to take a hard punch. The Duo 14 is not a lap-friendly laptop, and most of the credit goes to its raised bottom panel and the second screen, as it doesn’t sit flush and changes the conventional wrist-rest space.

Display

The ZenBook Duo 14 features two stylish, seamless and steady displays, which are unquestionably beneficial if you prefer working on a laptop while commuting in a car. The laptop features a primary display of 14-inch FHD (1920 x 1080) and an additional compact display of 12.65-inch (1920 x 515), dubbed as the ScreenPad Plus. The Zenbook Duo 14 offers an immersive viewing experience with a four-sided frameless NanoEdge display and its second screen automatically tilts up to an angle of 7° which reduces glare and reflections for improved readability. 

The dual display is best for journalists, writers or students who like to open/switch various windows/tabs at a time. They can use the ScreenPad Plus to track the latest news/articles and use the primary one to write their own. The Duo 14 is the best option for users who want more than one display. The laptop also features a handy button above the touchpad that immediately swaps the contents of your primary and secondary screen. The ScreenPad Plus is beneficial for gaming, especially when you like to play games and run video references side by side.

Ergonomics & Ports

One of the flaws of the Zenbook Duo 14 is its keyboard and mousepad. The company has done a decent job adjusting both of these essential aspects in a tiny space, but somewhere deep down, we all know we’re not satisfied with it. The secondary screen, ScreenPad Plus, leaves extremely little room for the touchpad, which forces Asus to create a vertical mousepad.

Also, as mentioned earlier, one can not rest their palms while typing; it’s a bit of a task in itself and a hard one to follow. Along with the mousepad, the keyboard also looks cramped and compromised for the second screen. Centre-aligned mousepads and empty keyboard decks are comfortable for every individual, whether right-handed or left-handed. 

One aspect that doesn’t suffer due to the secondary screen is the ports. The Zenbook Duo 14 features a range of ports, including USB-A 3.2 Gen 1, two USB-C with Thunderbolt 4, a full-size HDMI 1.4, an HDMI connection, a microSD card slot and a 3.5mm audio port. The dynamic laptop also emphasises support for Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth.

Performance

Performance and endurance are two departments that one should not worry about if you’re planning to buy the Asus Zenbook Duo 14. The performance is in line with the competition, and with an 11th gen Core i7 processor lying inside, paired with 2GB Nvidia MX450 GPU, 16GB DDR4x RAM, and a 1TB NVMe SSD, the ZenBook Duo 14 is assuredly more than enough to handle a number of heavy tasks.

The Duo 14 is equipped with the new ScreenXpert 2 software and offers a plethora of built-in apps, including a new Control Panel app, which comes with customisable commands and shortcuts for Adobe Photoshop, Lightroom Classic, Premiere Pro and After Effects. The base model arrives with an Intel Core i5-1135G7 processor, 8GB of memory, and a 512GB SSD. The 1.6 kg laptop scores 5,330 points on n Geekbench 5.3.

Battery Life

The Asus Zenbook Duo’s battery life is surprisingly decent, and it can pull enough juice from its 70Whr battery to provide you with a solid six hours of working time. Naturally, laptops in this category tend to last a long time but in the case of Zenbook Duo, the second display is a vital culprit on battery drain. The bundled USB-C charger takes about an hour and 20 minutes to fully charge the Duo 14. After fully recharging the laptop and putting it in power saver mode, it offers over 10 hours of standby time. The fans only fired up during gaming, but you can turn them down by visiting Asus’ control centre. Overall, throughout the use, the Zenbook Duo 14 stays cool and provides wholesome enjoyment.

Verdict

Finally, we’ve arrived at the question, is the Asus ZenBook Duo really worth your time and money? Well, Yes. The Asus ZenBook Duo 14 is a pretty unique ultrabook that provides a number of innovative features, including audio equipment certified by Harman Kardon but surrenders ergonomics for a big second screen. With the price starting from ₹99,990 and going up to ₹1,34,990, it’s a decent choice and durable enough even with its dubious hinge. The Asus ZenBook Duo 14 continues to redefine what a laptop should build like, but at the end of the day, it ultimately depends on the user’s preference and whether it adds value to the user’s life or not?

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