Welcome to the JaredBodine.com tech podcast for the first week of February 2016.

(Download tech podcast here: 2016-Feb-01)

I’m super excited this week’s tech podcast because I recently won a promotion from AfterShokz, a premier maker of bone conduction headphones. I won a free pair of their new TrekzTitanium headphones, as well as my choice of an iPad, Apple Watch, Xbox One, PS4 or WiiU. Seeing as how I have an iPad and apple watch, it was down to the next gen consoles.

This win has led me to do some in-depth research of the three choices to help me make my decision. Which would you choose, the Xbox One, PlayStation 4 or Nintendo Wii U?

Later In today’s Down Deep segment, we will take a look at the Next Gen consoles available now.

But first, a couple headlines.

Headlines

Many morn the loss of TigerDirect.com. The computer and electronic giant has gone seemingly over night. January saw store closeout prices with the site ceasing any sales by January 26. The shell of the site is still up, but there isn’t much to see. Most of the US and still rely on NewEgg.com, Best Buy and the other usual suspects. I just moved to Arizona from Guam where TigerDirect is one of the very few sites that would ship to Guam. I would be quite despondent if I were still there.

I have to warn all other drone owners out there. The war on Drones is heating up. Radio jammers and interceptor drones used to take you down are just the beginning. Now, Dutch police are training eagles to take out drones! The birds of prey are large and strong enough to take out most any recreational drone. Remember, If you have a drone that’s over .55 lbs you must register with the FAA.  

Here’s a quick look at the changes to Netflix and Amazon Prime offerings:

Netflix Feb 2016

Classic movies:

• Armageddon
• Johnny English
• Full Metal Jacket
• Star Trek V: The Final Frontier

New TV shows

• Lizzie Borden Chronicles S1
• Better Call Saul S1
• Mad Men S7 Part 2

Leaving: 

• Doctor Who
• The Terminator
• Rain Man
• The Firm
• and comedy gold The Naked Gun

Amazon prime Feb 2016:

• Batman (1989)
• Men in Black
• The Fifth Element
• The Karate Kid
• Chi-Raq

Start Me Up

Let’s move on to “Start Me Up” our look at some of the great new startups available now.

On Indegogo, I found a great new product called the ASAP Dash. This device is a portable charger for your iPhone or other USB charged device. What makes this one different is the speed. I have a few such portable battery chargers, but they take as long as an hour to get all the juice they have into my device. The ASAP Dash claims it can charge an iPhone to 100% capacity in just 5 minutes. It can charge up to three iPhones before it needs to be replenished, so, that’s 3 iPhone charges in just 15 minutes. That’s a heck of a claim.

Those numbers reflect the iPhone 5, the iPhone 6 will only get charged 2 1/4 times, but still, that’s impressive. Any USB chargeable device can be used, but your speed will vary based on the limitations of the device. For example, the Samsung 6S gets 1 1/2 charges in 15 minutes. 

The product comes with both micro USB and Lightning connectors to cover most type of products.

The device itself can be charged to full capacity in only 15 minutes from the wall. A car charges is also supplied, but I am unsure how long it will take to store up all that juice using the car’s power.

Early birds can get theirs for $69 for now. Once all of the available purchases at that bracket go away, the price will be $79 and then $89. Once the product goes public, the sale price is expected to be about $120.

If you are interested, head over to JaredBodine.com and I’ll have a link available for you. 

Remember your are backing a product in production, so it will take a few months for the product to be in your hands.

Down Deep

At the beginning of this podcast I mentioned that I won a contest and get to pick from some prizes, which includes the big three next-gem gaming consoles.

In today’s Down Deep segment, we will take a look at the Next Gen consoles available now.

If you want the system that is the most kid friendly, the Wii U is probably your best bet. There’s no other way to enjoy the Mario games and a bevy of other exclusive kid classics. Don’t expect the most amazing graphics or gritty first person shooter games. It has apps like Netflix and Amazon prime for limited media consumption.

For the hard-core gamers, it has to be either the Xbox or PlayStation. 

Both came out about the same time and have similar specs. Both come with 8GB of RAM and either 500Gb or 1TB of storage. The storage is expandable the Xbox One via a USB port in the back, the PS4 requires you replace the hard drive internally.

The graphics will be slightly better on the PlayStation 4, but that is only noticeable when compared side by side. You won’t see a difference if you move from one system to another, especially if you don’t play the same game on both.

The controller on the Xbox One is a minor tweak from the already great Xbox 360 controller. And a new Ultimate controller was recently introduced and hailed as the mother of all gaming controllers. However, the extra $150 is hardly worth it for the average player.

PlayStation really upped the ante on their PS4 controller, making it far more comfortable for adult sized hands, and adding a unique touchpad base on the top center of the controller. Handy sharing and social buttons on the controller is a nice addition, if you care about those features.

With the specs being on very close ground, the extra features and exclusive games will help you make your decision. 

The iconic Halo games are designed for Xbox, and the new Halo 5 is only available on Xbox. Rise of Tomb Raider and the racing franchise Forza add some more clout. 

The PS4 has less show-stoppers as exclusive, but  more overall, thanks to it’s reach into the indie game market. Franchises like Final Fantasy and Street Fighter are some of the big names. 

Plenty of top-tier games will work on both, such as the Call of Duty games, Star Wars Battlefield, Metal Gear Solid, and Assassin’s Creed, just to name a few. 

Both can replace your DVD player and with recent updates, can now be used as 3D blu-ray players, a feature that is required for me. 

Although both the Xbox One and PS4 have apps, like Netflix and Amazon Prime video, Xbox has more, such as Skype and HBO Go. 

I also have to tip my hat to Xbox for the amazing Kinect controller which allows voice and gesture control of the system and many games. It’s a product that is under utilized in my opinion, but still worth it. The PS4 does have its own copycat, but lacks the same umph and functionality. 

Being made by Microsoft, The Xbox One also interfaces with Windows 10 computers in a way that no other console can compete. Games purchased on the Xbox One can be played on your PC and vice versa. 

A big boon for Xbox is the partnership with Oculus Rift, the virtual reality headset I played with at CES 2016 in Vegas earlier this year. Oculus will ship with an Xbox One controller in the box.

Other Xbox advantages include the ability to be used as a DVR for live tv, the ability to control your tv or cable box, and much better compatibility with your old Xbox 360 games.

My now you can probably guess that I am going with the Xbox One. It is more media friendly than the PS4, and I’m more concerned with total functionality in my home theater than a few extra pixels. 

Do you think I picked the right one? Would you have picked a different one? If so, why? Comments on my site are always welcome.

That’s all for this weeks tech podcast on JaredBodine.com – The Tech You Need To Know.