The alaTest Blog

Blu-Ray players are, most definitely, the future of the modern home theatre systems. If you are looking for high picture quality on your HDTV, you simply have to switch to a Blu-Ray player. However, if you thought that a Blu-Ray player was just about state-of-the-art picture quality, you were highly mistaken. Even the most average of the current Blu-Ray players come with a surprisingly fresh range of services right from offering 3D to supporting stream content from the web. Read the rest of this entry »

Recently reaching a 51% market share, Android is undoubtedly the most popular smartphone platform. Its latest versions always offer innovative and compelling features, but unlike Apple’s iPhone, there is a disconnect between those who develop the Android OS and the manufacturers who build the devices.

Google develops Android such that anyone can build a device that runs it, but it’s up to the manufacturer to modify it and tailor it to run on the hardware they’re using. This process can take months, and it means that most Android devices out there are generally one or two versions behind. To get the most out of a new Android device, it’s important to know which are the most likely to be updated quickly. Read the rest of this entry »

Current HDTV technology has just about peeked. LCD TVs are about as affordable as they’re going to get before slowly disappearing from the market completely, and LED sets are nearly out of room for any more “value-added features.” High-end plasmas are still the top choice for anyone who wants the upmost image quality, no matter the cost, but they’re about to see some heavy competition. Read the rest of this entry »

If you’re in the market for a new digital compact camera (and since summer vacation is in full-bore, why wouldn’t you be?), we’ve put together a quick list of the top 5 compact cameras currently rated on alaTest. Things seem to be trending towards slightly larger which feature bigger image sensors and more manual controls, but there are a few smaller compacts in the mix as well. Read the rest of this entry »

Heading off to college is always a major step in one’s life, and one of the most common gifts for a soon-to-be college student is a new laptop. It’s one of those gifts than can stun and surprise, and it’s always met with excitement –it’s practical, too. With all of the choices out there, it can be tough to find the right one, but alaTest has some great recommendations for you. Read the rest of this entry »

E3 2012 is coming to a close, and while we’re sad to see it wrap up so quickly, it has left behind a lot of exciting news for gamers everywhere. This year’s expo was sprinkled with a little bit of everything, from new games and services to electrifying hardware demos. Read the rest of this entry »

We’ve gone over last month’s data, and once again, the numbers are in! We don’t always do a “Trends” post every month simply because a month generally isn’t enough time for the trends to change, but that’s not the case this time. Digital cameras and smartphones are still popular; however, the top devices in each category have seen some major changes. It also seems that notebooks are starting to overtake HDTVs in popularity. Read the rest of this entry »

Over the past few months, the tablet market has gotten a few new contenders, specifically the third generation iPad and the Asus Transformer Prime. These new models have caused some interesting changes among our top tablet charts. Read the rest of this entry »