Marcie Taylor

Tag: droid

  • TECH REVIEW: HTC ONE Harman/Kardon Edition

    TECH REVIEW: HTC ONE Harman/Kardon Edition

    I received the HTC One Harman/Kardon edition from my provider, Sprint, for review and let me tell you, she is a beaut. It’s got this brushed metal design which is pretty to look at but even cooler, the wrap-around frame is curved to fit your hand. It’s big but not too big.

    HTC_One_M8_metal_3V

    I was told that the best thing about the Harman Kardon edition was its audio capabilities. The HTC One’s speakers are front-facing and it optimizes music, videos and games. The Harman/Kardon technology Clari-Fi restores all types of compressed digital music and provides a more life-like headphone listening experience using something called LiveStage technology. The sound is clear and crisp and does not sound like it’s coming from a tin-can unlike other handheld devices. Personally, I do not listen to music a lot via my phone but when I did for purposes of this review, the Spotify and Pandora apps sounded great. I also took the phone to the gym and enjoyed listening to a podcast while on a treadmill.

    But if you want to know what truly sold me on this phone, it was the camera! UFocus brings blurry objects into focus before or after shooting. There are built in photo filters and manual controls such as ISO etc that you can manipulate to get just the right shot!

    Here are some shots I took with the HTC One phone from Sprint.

    HTC One | ice cream | marcie taylor
    Food shots taken with HTC One are clearer and vibrant.
    Cranberries close-up using HTC One
    Cranberries close-up using HTC One

    And it had fun effects like Split Capture, Pan 360, HDR, and Zoe Camera.

    Take a selfie and a photo of what you're looking at... split capture magic.
    Take a selfie and a photo of what you’re looking at… split capture magic.

    I’ll tell you this, if there’s one phone that’s made me okay with switching from an iPhone to a Droid, it’s an HTC. This HTC One is something worth considering, especially if you find the iPhone 6 Plus a tad overwhelming.

  • Music Monday: Tapioca and The Flea

    New music excites me. New music performed live excites me even more. Unfortunately, my forays into live concert venues are few and far between so that I have to content myself to the usual online sources – blip.fm, myspace, bandcamp, soundcloud, npr music, kcrw, college radio, sirius xmu.

    Last month though I was lucky enough to catch an indie experimental pop-rock group called “Tapioca and the Flea”  at the Yelp All Hopped Up event at The Observatory in Santa Ana. According to what I’ve read, Tapioca and the Flea is really the stage name of recording artist Samuel Jacob from Los Angeles, who performs with his friends Ronnie Knott, (guitarist) and Frank Alva (Bass).

    Samuel is a charismatic lead singer and master-tinkerer of things ranging from vintage keyborads, synths, guitars and pedals. Someone told me that Tapioca reminded him of the Flaming Lips. To be sure, Samuel evokes Wayne Coyne, not only in his singing and songwriting style but in his skill at musical experimentation.

    Personally, I am not in love with the name Tapioca and The Flea but the music, ah, the music — with its infectious, beat-driven grooves now that’s something else.

    Give ’em a listen:

    http://youtu.be/zrnZUliN0lc

    Here are 2 videos I took at the Yelp event. You’ll have to forgive the quality. I shot them on my Droid.

    http://youtu.be/bWebvYIuSMg

     

    http://youtu.be/szN-tMCWoP8