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giz explains

Giz Explains: Illustrated Guide to Smartphone OSes

You're more likely than ever to buy a smartphone, not just because they do so much more than dumb feature phones, with real email, decent web browsing and downloadable applications, but because they're cheaper than ever. With the exception of some expensive ass unlocked-but-unsubsidized European models, you generally don't have to pay more than $300 for a balls-to-the-wall smartphone—though the voice plan plus data fees can easily run you $80 or more per month. Here's a rudimentary overview of your choices (more now than ever before), why you might pick them, and why they might suck for you.

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2:00 PM on Thu Oct 9 2008
By matt buchanan
67,502 views, 107 comments

Latest by Jamfetto: Try looking at forum.nokia.com it's been open source for a long time. Oh, and the Android Operating system was placed more »

giz explains

Giz Explains: An Illustrated Guide to Every Stupid Memory Card You Need

High on the list of gadget annoyances that make me want to scab my eyes out with a spork—just below cables and batteries—is the unfettered proliferation of memory cards. Even though they all fundamentally do the same thing—store data for handheld devices—they come in a million different sizes and shapes from almost as many companies, giving birth to retarded but necessary accessories. Anyone looking for proof of this can stop at the 80-in-1 card reader. Unfortunately, many of these dumb pieces of silicon and plastic aren't going extinct. As a consolation prize, here's an illustrated guide to all the ones you actually need to know.

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2:00 PM on Wed Oct 1 2008
By matt buchanan
21,619 views, 59 comments

giz explains

Giz Explains: Ups And Downs Of Developing for Android and iPhone

Whether or not such a two-sided conflict will actually play out in the larger mobile-phone industry, today Android vs. iPhone is the battle raging in the mind of every fanboy, gadget geek—and software developer. Since it has all the right themes for a Tolkien-esque epic whose outcome largely rests with small, furry-footed but pure-hearted creatures—developers—we asked the developers of popular mobile apps such as Pandora, TuneWiki and Instinctiv Shuffle, mostly people working on both platforms, to tell us whether it's better to write for the no-strings-attached open Android or the more popular but catch-prone iPhone. Android may not be an overnight success, but iPhone had better watch its back. More »

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2:00 PM on Wed Sep 24 2008
By matt buchanan
22,863 views, 60 comments

Latest by Craysh: You forget about the wonderful HDSD 16GB cards coming out :) more »

giz explains

Giz Explains: Why DSLRs Are Finally Shooting Video

It's been a good few weeks for DSLRs. Just after Nikon's D90 became the first ever to jump into the sweet, sweet waters of the HD video pool, Canon did a gigantic cannonball today with the EOS 5D Mk II, upping the game to full 1080p captures at 30fps. The question that all of this good news brings up is: Why now? Why haven't the DSLRs we've been using for years ever been able to grab video clips like their cheaper pocket-cam brethren? Let's take a look at the roadblocks that have stood in the way of the DSLR video revolution, and why Canon, Nikon and others are only just now starting to Bigfoot right over them.

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4:00 PM on Wed Sep 17 2008
By John Mahoney
28,213 views, 66 comments

Latest by Max.N: @gloveofpower: The Sony Camcorder that I bought back in 2001 allows you to switch to manual modes for focus and more »

giz explains

Giz Explains: Why HD Video Downloads Aren't Very High Def

Yesterday Apple introduced HD TV downloads to the iTunes store, meaning you can watch Peter be super emo on Heroes at a crispy 720p resolution. That's a higher resolution than DVD, and technically, yup, that's HD. There's a catch though. Like every other video download service touting HD videos, it's all actually lower quality than DVD. More »

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2:20 PM on Wed Sep 10 2008
By matt buchanan
38,770 views, 109 comments

Latest by doctorSpoc: @Mr.SithNinja: "A quality codec is important to play the file but if the file has a low bit rate then it more »

giz explains

Giz Explains: Batteries, Tech's Choke Point

The biggest chokepoint in technology is a single roadblock: batteries. Amidst all of the amazing advances in the last 50 years, battery tech has remained fundamentally unchanged, engineers incrementally squeezing out a few extra drops of power from old tech each year. With better batteries, you wouldn't just be able to make it through the day with your iPhone 3G on a single charge, but laptops and phones could run faster, electric cars would rule the highways—it'd be like a brand new world. There are like a million different kinds, but here's a rundown of the most common ones we're stuck with in gadgets for now, and their strengths and weaknesses.
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2:00 PM on Wed Aug 27 2008
By matt buchanan
21,134 views, 78 comments

Latest by LuigiCachaa: Whata bout the Capacitors that the Tesla Roadster is supposed to be powered by? more »

giz explains

What Do You Want Giz to Explain?

Hey guys, we've got a couple of Giz Explains we think you'll dig(g) planned out for the next couple of weeks, but it's been a while since we've asked, so we thought we'd throw the floor to you again: What would you like explained on Giz Explains? More than that, what would you like out of Giz Explains? More illustrated guides, deeper probings, simpler dirty talk? Let us know, since the series is for you guys. [Giz Explains]

2:00 PM on Wed Aug 20 2008
By matt buchanan
2,507 views, 140 comments

Latest by detach: Explain this: My girlfriend is on VZW and I'm on AT&T. When txting there is sometimes a 10-15 minute delay more »

giz explains

Giz Explains: The Magic Behind Touchscreens

Touchscreens. They're everywhere, as if electronics makers aren't cool unless their phones or media players have them, and soon that will be true for laptops as well. Touchscreens aren't going to completely replace the mouse and keyboard in the next year or two, but we're hurtling toward a future where they're the dominant way we interact with devices. The catch is that "touchscreen" can describe a few very different technologies that all perform a similar function. Here's a breakdown of the most popular techniques for making touchscreen magic happen—and the crazy new techniques that will succumb to your caresses in years to come. More »

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2:00 PM on Wed Aug 13 2008
By matt buchanan
22,146 views, 67 comments

Latest by crackle: @undefined: WRONG more »

giz explains

Giz Explains: How Broadband Usage Caps Will Kill Internet Video

NBC's scheduled coverage of the 2008 Olympics is absolutely breathtaking in its scope: It's broadcasting over 3,600 hours of the world's greatest athletes performing feats that reveal how shapeless and amoebic the rest of humanity is—that's 1,000 more hours than the last 12 Summer Olympics combined. The internet is a huge component of their nearly omniscient coverage. You can even download and watch full-length events. But NBC has a fat red warning on the page: If you've got metered or capped broadband, you might want to think twice before downloading. It's the first shot by major media in the next great battle for the internet's future. Here's why you—and most media companies—should be worried about the new wave of internet pricing. More »

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3:00 PM on Wed Aug 6 2008
By matt buchanan
22,911 views, 144 comments

Latest by shugo: @undefined: Right! BUT, when you try to raid on dial up don't even try the 40 man raids. (I know more »

giz explains

Giz Explains: An Illustrated Guide to Every Stupid Cable You Need

We put up with too many cables. There are at least four different kinds of USB plugs, two kinds of FireWire and like a million different ways to connect something to TV or monitor. Modern gadget life can be kind of retarded in this way. Why not one kind of cable, or just a couple? I don't know. But until everyone gets on the same appendage-to-hole scheme, in the meantime, you can use this: an illustrated guide to pretty much every kind of cable you will see in current gadgets and what it's used for (unless, you know, Sony springs a new one on us overnight, which is honestly possible). More »

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3:00 PM on Wed Jul 30 2008
By matt buchanan
135,482 views, 107 comments

Latest by bjacobel: 802.11N FTW! It's only like $25 more for a N card than an a/b/g card if you're configuring a mid-range more »