Do We Know Microphones?

Most consumers think that there is just one type of microphone that everyone uses, but that is far from the truth. There are many different types of microphones that are used in a variety of situations. So what are they? There are four main types which are dynamic, condenser, boundary and ribbon. 

Fun fact: Did you know that a microphone is a speaker reversed?

Dynamic microphones are the most common that are used in live performances, in a recording studio and the same technology is used video camera microphones. They work using magnets and a copper coil which create an electrical current which then turns into an audio signal. A small diaphragm inside the microphone moves when air is passed through causing the magnet to move back and forward through the copper coil creating the electrical current. These microphones are well known to have a solid build quality, which is why they are used for live performances. The most well known and most used by musicians is the Shure SM58, this microphone was developed in the 60s for rock and roll but others soon learnt about its clear and crisp sound quality and now use it for professional sound recordings.

The most common type used in a studio situation is a condenser microphones and typically needs an electrical current to operate. These microphones are mostly used in a studio situation and not in live performance as they are too sensitive. They work with two plates, one being the diaphragm. These move when current audio waves pass through changing how much signal goes through the microphone. They can be used in all sort of situations in a music studio, to capture vocals, room ambience, drum mic ups and guitars. They offer a flatter frequency when compared to the dynamic variety but come at a heavier price.

The next two microphones are well less known and used within the music industry, but they are still used in some places. A boundary is a small microphone which is can be used in a recording studio environment but it is mainly used in meeting rooms so the meeting can be recorded. It works with a boundary plate and a dynamic microphone. Sound bounces of the boundary plate and into the microphone capsule. For best results it has to be flat or mounted on a wall.

A ribbon microphone is very special, this type was used in the early days of radio, giving broadcasts that amazing warm sound. These microphones are mainly used in studios for the clear crisp sound, which is caused by a ribbon of metal in the microphone. This minute piece of delicate metal is suspended between a magnet when the pressure changes it sends the signal to the microphone. Ribbon microphones are extremely delicate and very expensive, they can easily be damaged by loud noise.

I hope this give you some insight into the four main types of microphone available.

Author: Jake George

Motorola Moto E - Smartphonebargainoftheyear

Motorola, a company many have come to love just made news again. If you thought that the Moto G was an amazing device, with an even better price tag and that it couldn't be topped, well think again. Meet the Moto E, let's dig in and see if this is the device that you and your wallet will love forever.

Motorola, a company in transition after being purchased by Lenovo, and with a reputation of making very affordable devices that show specs the back seat in favour of quality, may have just done it again. Yesterday Motorola gave us the Moto E. This device is actually fairly decent for the price. 

But before we begin, this is something worth mentioning. Motorola also came out with a new Moto G that now sports LTE, which was a big complaint with the previous Moto G. It will cost about $225 and will definitely add sales to the best selling phone in Motorola’s history. Over 6.5 million units were shipped worldwide, they won't tell how many were sold, but this update can only help their cause

Right off the bat Motorola gives us some decent internals. We get a Qualcomm Snapdragon 200 processor with a 1.2GHz dual core A7 CPU and an Adreno 302 400 MHz single core GPU, which is pretty good for the $130 and below Android category. Not to mention how the latest version of Android 4.4.3 KitKat is included and should get timely updates.

5MP for a camera is a little on the low side for me, not to mention how it doesn’t even have a front facing camera, but who knows, it might surprise us. It only ships with 4GB of storage; luckily it has microSD support for up to an extra 32GB which is plenty of storage. Motorola promises “all day battery life” with its 1980mAh battery, I think that this will be a very hard feat, but again who knows, they might surprise us.

The 4.3 inch screen is not the biggest, but does get the job done. With a 256ppi and not even 720p, there’s nothing special, but again it's not a flagship phone. However there is a very nice bonus feature with the screen, it comes with Gorilla Glass 3, which basically means that the screen will be okay if it runs into a little frazzle dazzle with the keys in your pocket.  

 It would appear as though it will fit great in your hand, at just 142g it will feel like it’s barely there. Not to mention that Motorola doesn't like to make phones with bad build quality, so you get very similar materials used in the Moto X and G.


The Moto E looks like a very worthwhile device for the price. One of the biggest things that cheaper Android phones have lacked is a good all around experience. You always have to sacrifice things. The Moto E is looking to change that. “Built to last, priced for all” the slogan that Motorola is using and we hope that its true. As they try so hard to give people the temptation to leave there old flip phone and get a new Moto E.

So what do you think? Would you consider purchasing this device? As always leave a comment and tell us what you think. Check the YouTube page and the Geekanoids website regularly, so you don’t miss anything, including our review of this phone. Thanks for reading and keep on enjoying tech!  

Just a reminder that this is just an overview, but do stay tuned for our full review.

Author: Ben Smith - Twitter

Is Apple Purchasing Beats by Dre a Good Move?

Its been in the news that Apple has recently bought Beats audio. Before we get to what we think, lets go back to the very start of digital music, and what many say started it all; Apple …

Specifically the iPod was the very first true way of having your music go where ever you did. It changed the way people listened to music, and literally changed the music industry. Some would argue that the Ipod was one of the most important inventions Apple ever made. Boy did it sell, at the start nearly 400 million sold, not to mention  the millions if not billions that have been sold ever since. Then the iPod touch came out, the true start of capacitive touchscreens and what gave way to perhaps the most well known and most talked about phone ever; the iPhone

Beats isn't a company to mess with either. A privately owned company that never releases results or revenue earnings and who is known for the color red does very well for themselves. The high priced and amazing quality and portable speakers are where their main revenue comes from. Beats Music does okay, just okay with an estimated paid subscription group of just 200 000 people, but the streaming service does have some great options in terms of songs. Lets face it, Beats is one of the best known audio brands in North America and Europe where Apple dominates in not only profit but also market shares

So why now? Well with Apple getting set to launch their new iPhones very soon I'm sure they wouldn't mind having Beats Music to add to their iTunes collection, Beats has some very big contacts and experts in the music industry as well. Apple might also want some help in the headphones department, when Beats was working with HTC the made some awesome earphones that shipped with the HTC One. Now does that mean the Apple will stop including their well known while earpods? Probably not, but Beats could of course help improve them. But the biggest reason they probably would have bought Beats is to improve sound. When Beats was working with HTC they produced such amazing sound that we just couldn't get enough of it. I still personally use an HTC One as my daily driver and one of the biggest reasons is because it still has Beats. Apple already has amazing sound and having Beats on board will only help that cause.

Now nothings been officially announced but what do you think? Do you think that this will help Apple, as always leave a comment down below and follow us on social media, subscribe on Youtube and keep checking the website. Thanks for reading!

Author: Ben Smith - Twitter

Android Silver- Perhaps the future of Android

Strange and intriguing news and rumors about Google in the past few weeks. Apparently Google is preparing to come out with it's new Android Silver. This could potentially change the smartphone industry as we know it, not to mention it could just help Androids cause of totally taking over the smartphone market. But just as a disclaimer; there is no guarantee that this is going to be the final product, but I'm pretty confident it will be something like what I'm about to describe, so read along and let’s seen what this lineup would be all about.

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About a week and a bit ago Android Police reported that Google is apparently getting ready to launch Android Silver sometime in 2015. It would apparently revolutionize the way we use Android and the way we buy it, so here is what Android Silver would entail: apparently that Android Silver would be a collection of up to 5 Android devices at one time, kind of a " best of the best secret club". I believe that the 5 devices would change when better devices come out and also I believe that OEM devices could also be considered for this club.

Android Silver would be sold in stores and have a special section in the store just for Silver devices. They would all be put on a special table with special branding. The in store employees would require special training on how to sell Silver devices and it would be a very special experience for Silver customers.

In terms of software and hardware, well like I said OEM'S would probably be considered for the club. It would likely be running the latest versions of Android, but apparently they would have little to know comistation. There are even rumors that say that Google will be ditching the Nexus lineup in 2015 in favour of Silver.

Boy oh boy would there be a special loyalty club for Silver users. Not only would they get the special experience in the store but also out of the store. They would have a 24\7 emergency hotline if the device is having issues. Basically think of it as the Amazon maday button but for Google. The user could use Hangouts where a Google representative would be waiting to help them out and fix their issues.

All in all I find this very intriguing, it would make a lot of sense and would be perfect time for Google. It might even reshape the way we think of Google and Android. Even if it is not exactly like what I just described when it comes out, it will still be a fantastic addition to the Android lineup. I hope Google pursues this idea. So what do you think, would you consider buying Silver? As always leave a comment and tell us what you think. Thanks for reading!

Author: Ben Smith - Twitter

The Samsung Galaxy K zoom

Okay so what’s the difference between a camera-phone and a phone that’s a camera? Well Samsung seems to think they found the answer to that question. Yes the Galaxy K zoom, Samsung seems to think that putting an actual camera on a phone is “proactive” I guess you could say. So is it really? Well read along and we’ll find out together.

Announced April 29th 2014 and expected to be released Q2 of 2014, this phone quite literally brand new. Last year’s Galaxy S4 Zoom wasn’t the most popular due to its awkward build and just not needed at the time. But here we find ourselves in 2014 with the likes of the Lumia 1020 and other phones with amazing cameras it comes as no surprise Samsung decided to keep the Zoom lineup. So how do the specs look?
Samsung made this phone to hold its own and it certainly does. An Exynos 5 Hexa system chip is pretty good. Along with a 6-core, 1700 MHz, ARM Cortex-A15 & ARM Cortex-17 processor ( geek talk for pretty fast). Not the fastest phone on the market but again this isn’t meant to be flagship internals. The 8GB built in storage isn’t much; thankfully it does have support for a microSD card slot. The 2430 mAh battery will get you through the day. Plus we have the newest version of Android KitKat 4.4.2 on top of Samsung’s TouchWhiz OS.
 
The display looks to be great. At 4.8 inches it can compete with the best of them. A resolution of 720p and 306ppi isn’t the greatest, but does get the job done. Plus it’s a Super AMOLED which is always looks great on any phone. It feels great in the hand at 7.05 oz (200 g) and it looks like they finally figured put a camera on the back without making it uncomfortable for the user. This brings me to my next point: The camera
At 20.7 megapixels this thing packs a punch. An LED flash does the trick and has all the features in the world, such as; ISO control, face detection, smiles detection, Optical image Stabilization just to name a few. It has a focal length of 24-240mm, now I’m not a camera expert by any means (we’ll leave that for Dave) but I’m thinking that’s pretty good. It also can capture 1080p video recordings and has front facing camera of 2 megapixels, which isn’t that much.
 
So all in all what do I think of this phone? Intriguing is the word I would use. I like the idea; especially in the age of social media cameras are important. It will be interesting to see how this phone sells. I think that even without the best specs, this phone seems to be a viable companion in your pocket for the next two years. Stay tuned to our full review coming soon and as always, be sure to leave a comment and tell us what you think.
 
By: Ben Smith - Twitter

The OnePlus One

OnePlus, a company we haven't heard much about just made a big splash. This past week they announced the One, not to be confused with HTC, but it was impressing. It is often perceived that in order to make a good phone you must be an established brand. Well they might have proven that wrong too.

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We will have a full review coming later on so stay tuned so you don't miss out, this is to provide a overview of the product. So let's begin, right off the bat OnePlus gives us flagship quality especially for a new company. We get the new Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 processor along with 3GB of RAM. The 5.5-inch screen is eye popping with a resolution of 1080p. The phone is running an OS called CyanogenMod, that has been known as a popular option for rooters but now it's a solid part of the phones OS. It provides a modified version of Android and gives the user plenty of helpful and easy tweeks and plenty of features too.

OnePlus also started a campaign that was rather impressive. It is called "The smash the past campaign". It is basically a ticket to get this phone early, but does come at a cost; you must smash your current phone. OnePlus recommends using a hammer,screwdriver,lighter, somthing of that nature. OnePlus will be contacting the 100 winners and give you your phone. That is sure to be an interesting contest.

This is just a short story but like I said stay tuned for our full review. If you have a phone you don't use anymore, I'd recommend participating in the contest, you never know; you might win. This is a very high quality phone by the looks of it and will be interesting to see how this goes for OnePlus. So far OnePlus has broken all the rules on "new phone companies" and hopefully the continue.

Author: Ben Smith - Twitter

The .1 that just made Windows a whole lot better

Throughout the history of the phone a thought that has plagued many people's mind is that there are only two phone platforms: Android and Apple. This couldn't be farther from the truth, there are many more but probably the most recognizable is Windows. Microsoft's title of "#3" or "the third choice" hasn't stopped them from making a great product that is Windows phone. So when this past week we saw Microsoft announce Windows 8.1, I couldn't help but asking myself; is this really the answer to our players. Is this really the update we've been waiting for. Well read along and we'll find out together.

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Ahh yes, Windows phone. Windows phone is really a love hate story depending on who you are. That being said most people who buy one know what they're getting themselves into. They want the easy to access live tiles that go up and down on a vertical axis and really give the user everything they need right in front of them. Well it just got better. We won’t go through every change, rather just the major ones that will affect your day to day use. Microsoft has added an extra row of tile at the bottom, a idea we first saw on the Lumia 1520 is now available on all devices, which is a welcomed change. They have also made some new animations which give the interface a new level of “zippiness”. There is sense everything; battery sense, data sense, wifi sense, it really helps the user to track how much of what they are using and how to better their device which is always a good thing.

Something that has always been a personal annoyance with Windows is that on the start screen there isn’t any feature where I can add a wallpaper. It’s just plain and dark, well that also just got changed. Microsoft has brought onboard new custom graphics. That means that instead of your  graphic just being on the tile is floats behind the tile. This essentially makes your tiles transparent giving a new way to have a wallpaper.

Finally! They have also added a notifications center that I can actually use. It’s being called “Action Center” and that name isn’t an understatement. Like on Android and Apple a quick pull-down shade is offered to see all notifications. The unfortunate part is that you have to dismiss the entire thread of notifications rather than just one. For example lets say I get a friend request on Facebook and I also get a Facebook message, but I only want to dismiss the friend request. Well nope, I have to dismiss all of them which is a bit of a pain, but I can live with it.

Perhaps the biggest change is the new voice assistant. Cortana is fast and snappy, she brings a new level of interaction that just wasn’t there in previous versions of the OS. I would make the argument if Google Now and Siri had a kid, Cortana would be it. She brings the level of “friendly” interaction that Siri does, along with the knowledge and information that Google Now does. Now she does have her growing pains but thats expected from such an undertaking like this for it’s first time. Some features that Cortana brings, well she can text someone voice commanded, tell you where the nearest bus stop or restaurant is, remind you to text someone something next time you text them. Not to mention the usual calendar reminders, alarm clock wake-ups and much much more.

I personally am a fan of Windows 8.1. It’s not windows 9 so don’t expect revolutionary, even though some would argue this is. Everyone that buys a Windows phone knows what they want and what they’re getting themselves into, there isn’t much opportunity to change what you don’t like like on Android. But that’s ok, most people with Windows phones right now are happy for a bunch of reasons, but the biggest one is: that it is reliable. Never have i seen or even heard of a Windows device being slow or underperforming and 8.1 will only help that cause. I would recommend 8.1 to anyone.

 In closing Windows has tried to earn our respect from the day they started and many have not given it to them simply because they think Android and Apple are the only two platforms. But I think that Windows has made a new and fresh ecosystem, they have made something that is different and thats what tech is all about isn’t it?  Microsoft has given us something that puts the consumer first, go get it if you have a chance and you’ll be glad you did.

Author - Ben Smith