Turtle Beach has revealed plans for expanding the company’s portfolio of high-quality, award-winning gaming headsets with a focus on the PC market.

Designed in collaboration with leading esports teams, including Astralis, OpTic Gaming, and the Houston Outlaws, Turtle Beach’s Atlas line is built for PC gamers and features three different models – the Elite Atlas Pro Performance Gaming Headset, the powerful Atlas Three Amplified PC Gaming Headset, and the Atlas One PC Gaming Headset. Furthering Turtle Beach’s commitment to designing headsets for all gamers, each Atlas product offers PC players an innovative set of features and functionality. All three Atlas gaming headsets are available for pre-order at participating retailers starting today and are planned to launch October 2018.

“Turtle Beach is a leading gaming audio brand because we constantly innovate to design high-quality headsets with features that gamers want, so we’re clearly excited to extend our portfolio with the Atlas products for PC gamers,” said Juergen Stark, CEO, Turtle Beach Corporation. “This expansion is a great move for us because in addition to our already strong performance in console gaming headsets, we’ll now have the ability to attract both dedicated and cross-platform PC gamers through our new Atlaslineup.”

Turtle Beach has been a consistent market leader in console gaming headsets, currently with 45.5% revenue share year-to-date through June 2018 (per NPD’s latest U.S. and Canada console gaming headset update), and has held over 40% market share for the past nine consecutive years, current year-to-date included. However, Turtle Beach is no stranger to the PC market, as the company was a pioneering force through the early days of PC audio, with products including the first midi synthesizers and a variety of PC sound cards in the 1980s and 90s. Since then, the company has evolved with the times, and in 2005 Turtle Beach launched the first ever console gaming headset, setting out to become the leading gaming audio brand it is today, thanks to its continued efforts in innovation, broad product catalog, and strong retail partnerships and distribution channels. During that time, Turtle Beach has created a handful of well-received PC gaming headsets, but the company’s core focus has primarily been on the console business, until now.

“As a player and as a team, it’s a privilege to have worked with Turtle Beach in the making of the Elite Atlas and the rest of their new Atlas line,” said Nicolai “dev1ce” Reedtz of Astralis. “We tested and provided a lot of feedback and suggestions during the development process in an effort to ensure the Elite Atlas is the best possible headset for PC esports pros, but also for any PC gamers. We’re excited to be a part of the whole process and can’t wait until gamers can get Turtle Beach’s Atlas headsets.”

“The continued rise of esports has put tremendous pressure on organizations to deliver exceptionally high audio quality,” said Ryan Musselman, SVP of Global Partnerships, Infinite Esports & Entertainment. “Turtle Beach continues to deliver pro-level audio for the competitive gamer, and the Atlas PC headsets provide a reliable lineup of top-tier audio performance for the aspiring, established, and experienced esports athlete.”

Additionally, fans attending PAX West and Dreamhack Montreal will have the opportunity to be some of the first gamers in the world to try out the Elite Atlas before it hits retail shelves.

Elite Atlas Pro Performance Gaming Headset

The Turtle Beach Elite Atlas sets a new benchmark for esports audio on PC. For pro-players and hardcore PC gamers alike, the Elite Atlas is built to win with a durable yet sleek metal headband with a suspended pad, ProSpecs glasses friendly design, and upgraded magnetic memory foam ear cushions featuring athletic fabric and synthetic leather working together to block out external noise. Audio performance centres around the Elite Atlas’ pro-tuned 50mm Nanoclear speakers that deliver immersive Windows Sonic for Headphones surround sound, and the removable high-sensitivity mic with TruSpeak technology for flawless communication with teammates. Finally, the Elite Atlas goes wherever gaming takes you with included 3.5mm and PC-splitter cables that connect to any PC setup.

Full Atlas Three Amplified Gaming Headset

The Turtle Beach Atlas Three PC gaming headset delivers powerful amplified Windows Sonic for Headphones surround sound to immerse you in your games, movies, and music. The Atlas Three features large 50mm speakers for game audio and Turtle Beach’s high-sensitivity flip-to-mute mic for crystal-clear chat. For added durability and comfort, the Atlas Three dawns a metal-reinforced frame with Turtle Beach’s unique ProSpecs glasses friendly design, along with a breathable fabric-wrapped headband and memory foam ear cushions. Additionally, the Atlas Three offers Variable Mic Monitoring so you can hear and adjust the volume of your voice inside the headset to avoid shouting at other players, plus audio presets including Vocal Boost, and a rechargeable battery that delivers over 40-hours of gaming per use.

Full Atlas One Gaming Headset

The Turtle Beach Atlas One gaming headset is built for battle, delivering immersive Windows Sonic for Headphones surround sound and crystal-clear chat through its high-quality 40mm speakers and high-sensitivity flip-to-mute mic. The Atlas One also features a lightweight design with a metal-reinforced headband and ProSpecs glasses friendly synthetic leather-wrapped memory foam ear cushions to provide added durability and unmatched comfort for those all-nighters.

Turtle Beach has been transforming console multiplayer gaming since the very beginning with its wide selection of industry-leading, award-winning gaming headsets. Whether you’re a professional esports athlete, hardcore gamer, casual player, or just starting out, Turtle Beach has the gaming headset to help you truly master your skills. Innovative and advanced technology, amazing high-quality gaming audio, clear communication, lightweight and comfortable designs, and ease-of-use are just a few features that have made Turtle Beach a fan-favourite brand for gamers the world over. Made for Xbox, PlayStation, and Nintendo consoles as well as for PC, Mac, and mobile / tablet devices, having a Turtle Beach gaming headset in your arsenal gives you the competitive advantage.

The post TURTLE BEACH UNVEILS PLANS FOR PC GAMING EXPANSION appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

When does a smartphone become a superphone? When it’s a P20 Pro.

The Chinese based tech company who are also responsible for 4.5G and the upcoming 5G technology solutions, Huawei, have launched their newest flagship device, the P20.

But it’s not just one smartphone, there’s four flavours to cater for all users; P20, P20 Light, P20 Pro and P20 Plus.

I was supplied with a P20 Pr0 one week before the P20 release date and immediately threw my simcard in to the dual sim phone and began to play.

The P20 Pr0, which releases here in New Zealand early May (2018) boasts 6GB of onboard RAM for the super multi-taskers out there and 128 GB ROM (storage).

There is no microSD slot to expand the devices storage, but at 128GB you’re probably not going to need to need that extra digital room. You can use a USB-C external drive though.

Releasing in a metallic, liquid looking glass blue, rose gold,  or black finish, the P20 Pro also does not have a headphone jack. No 3.5mm socket means that your personal audio needs to connect via a USB-C headphone adapter, which is supplied in the box.

Of course, you can just go wireless with bluetooth.

As I’m finicky about my audio, I’ll start with the sound quality.

The P20 and P20 Pro come with Dolby Atmos enhancement built in.

Within the Sounds Menu there are differing options where you can tailor the experience for music, Music, Film and Smart, which utilises an A.I. (Artificial Intellegence) of sorts to tweak the audio that is produced according to what you may be listening to. Up until now, HTC had ben the front runner forHQ audio in an Android device. That crown now goes to Huawei and their P20.

Loud enough, deep enough and intricately detailed audio will be pumped in to your ears like never experienced on an Android based phone. Via Bluetooth – the HQ remains aswell. This will depend on the set of earphones or earplugs (or Bluetooth device) that you use.

So I recommend a top shelf set or as close to. Unfortunately, in the box, Huawei have packed standard ear plugs that do not do the sound quality justice.

I connected up the Sennheiser Momentum Free Bluetooth earplugs first and was blown away by the rumbling bass and sheer detail within audio tracks. This made me excited to connect up my aging but still unbeatable wired UE Triple Fi earplugs. I was in audio nirvana.

Impressed is an understatement and how the Dolby Atmos uses the Smart function was also impressive – tweaking audio on the fly as tracks changed. As media changed from music to movie, from spoken word (audio book) to gaming. An intuitive A.I.

Speaking of… The Camera A.I. that we experienced in the Mate 10 has returned, this time dressed up to the nines.

The P20 is essentially a high end digital camera, that doubles as a phone.

With the P20 Pro, I happily went out snapping. The A.I. builtin to the phone will accurately predict what you are taking a pic of. A person, a pet, text or scenery. You name it, the AI knows what it is and will adjust and recalibrate it’s focus or focal points accordingly, on the fly. Instantly.

As your photo is being saved, the A.I. doesn’t stop. It will process the picture as it is being saved, ensuring that you’re getting the best snap you possibly could.

With three lenses to rule them all, the P20 Pro has three lenses at the rear. The Leica Tri-lens camera has an astounding 40 MP (RGB, f/1.8 aperture) + 20 MP (Monochrome, f/1.6 aperture) + 8 MP (Telephoto, f/2.4 aperture). That’s the highest MP in ANY smartdevice and almost in any top digital camera.

The Front selfie camera has not been forgotten. Take those glamorous shots of yourself with the 24 MP. Again, it’s the highest MP on any smartdevice… but I probably didn’t need to repeat that line, I’m sure you already knew that.

With phone photography becoming a more seriously considered profession, the P20’s Leica Tri-lens is a must have.

There’s a wealth of picture taking Modes. The light painting that was introduced a couple of P Series generations back is still there.  You have Night Shot, which fares better than anyother I have tried over the years of reviewing.

Monochrome and Panorama are staples, then there’s Pro Mode, where you can take over the wheel and fine tune your lenses to your liking. Portrait and Aperture offer Up a 3D option aswell.

Of course you have the usuals of 4K recording, but wait, there’s also Slow Mo.

My advice on owning a P20 is to get a phone case as soon as you can. The lenses on the P20 are raised, which means if you’re not careful they could get scratched on any type of surface when laying the phone flat on its back. Being that the P20 is all about it’s camera – it’s an investment that you’ll want to care of.

Moving on to the screen. The P20 Pro sits in at 6.1 inches. The FHD OLED boasts 16.7 M colours and is a hair’s width of being totally full screen.

There’s a thing called the Notch. This makes the P20‘s screen appear similar to Apple’s iPhone X. The Notch can be toggled on or off. When turned off you do lose millimeters of the top screen.

I believe that most people like me will leave it turned on.

The P20 and P20 Pro are powered by Huawei’s Kirin 970 chip, and man this phone responds fast.

Huawei have added facial recognition as a Security feature. Within less than an 8th of a second or thereabouts the P20 will unlock.

But if facial recognition isn’t for you, the finger print sensor on the P20 and P20 Pro is at the lower slim ‘Home’ indent on the front screen. On the P20 Lite the finger print sensor is on the back.

Running Android 8.1 (Oreo) the P20‘s interface is Huawei’s proprietary  EMUI, updated to 8.1.

While no one has quite managed to create an everlasting mobile phone battery, Huawei are getting damn close to it.

I am a heavy user and for the most part a phone will survive a day, needing a full charge after around 10 to 12 hours use.

Not with the P20. At the time of writing this, I last charged (full charge) the P20 Pro that I have two days ago. I haven’t minimized my usage and over 48 hours later, I am sitting on just above a 30 per cent charge.

During the last two days I have made and received countless calls, hammered the 4G and Wifi connectivity with emailing and browsing. I’ve used Bluetooth in the car for handsfree and music. I even watched around an hour of Netflix and played a couple of usually battery chomping games for a few hours.

The P20 Pro is mightier than the Energizer Bunny. And then some.

A quick charge of around 10 to 15 minutes will get you to approximately 60 or 70% from totally flat in my test and this can get you through a couple of days with moderate use.

The P20 Pro is also water resistant up to 1 meter for 30 minutes. Dust resistant also.

Over the years that I have been testing and reviewing smartphones, I had always hope that one phone manufacturer would take all of the goodness from differing devices and pack jam them in to one. Huawei have done exactly that. The P20 is perfection.

You will most certainly do and see mooore with the P20 series. It’s not a smartphone, it’s a superphone.

Photos Taken with the P20 Pro.

The post Huawei P20 Pro Review appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

As the years whizz by in the STG office we have had quite alot of smartphones come our way for review.

During this time, there have only been a few memorable ones. One of those was the Mate 7 which released back in 2015.

Time travel to today (7th of November, 2017) – and Chinese tech giant Huawei have released the mighty impressive Mate 10 in New Zealand.

Releasing in two varieties (actually there’s three if you include the Mate 10 Porsche Design); Mate 10 (Standard) and Mate 10 Pro, it is smartphone that is, well, ‘smart’.

This is due to the Huawei’s inclusion of their Neural Network Processing Unit – the A.I. Kirin 970 chipset which the phone utilises for it’s photography.

Huawei’s Kirin 970 is the first of its kind and an industry first for a smartphone.

The 23MP dual Leica Lens rear camera will learn over 100 Million images, breaking those down in to thirteen various categories such as people, food, flowers, animals, text, scene and more.

When the camera instantly recognises what it is looking at it will adjust itself accordingly and do this immediately for the best snap possible.

You have not experienced anything like this before and Huawei are paving the future of professional grade mobile photography with artificial intelligence.

The image quality, as you can imagine is astounding. Simply the best I’ve ever experienced on any handset. Ever.

Taken on Mate 10 (Standard).

The front 8MP camera also utilises the A.I. and will know it is looking at you, a human, and optimise the selfie accordingly.

But, the beauty feature that is synonymous with the Huawei selfie camera tends to be too smoothed-out. Sure, it gets rid of any wrinkles and flaws on your face – but it can also in certain light make it look as though you have had a bit of cosmetic surgery.

Nonetheless, with the Mate 10’s selfie camera you no longer have a bad side that’s for sure.

Of the varying camera modes, the one that stood out for me was the new 3D Panorama option. Light Painting is also a favourite. In all there’s 14 Modes including Video, which records from the rear camera in 4K HDR.

Mate 10 (Standard) – LEFT and Mate 10 Pro – RIGHT.

Moving on from the camera, the A.I. is also utilised by way of text translation – handy if you are a traveller. There is infact a Translation App that is preinstalled which will generally use the camera in order to convert signs and so forth in to your native language. The Mate 10 is equipped with over 50 languages.

Speaking of language, Huawei are the only smart device manufacturer that go out of their way to really know their customers.

Since the P10 released earlier this year (2017) in New Zealand, the native language of Te Reo Maori has been included in their devices as a standard language option. This language pack will be available as a free download shortly after the device’s release date.

Spec wise, the standard version of the Mate 10 (Standard) sees 4Gb of RAM and a 64GB ROM (storage). Naturally upgradeable via a microSD, but I felt the RAM on the Standard handset a little too middle road.

The Pro version sees 6GB RAM and 128GB Rom.

The Mate 10 (Standard) boldly displays an almost bezel-less 5.9 inch screen (Mate 10 Pro 6.0 inch). Huawei smartphones are known for their astounding end to end screens.

The phone is super fast however, and the Standard handset that we were given had zero lags or hang ups when gaming, watching Netflix or browsing the net with a zillion tabs open.

The audio on the Mate 10 has taken an interesting turn.

Previously Huawei handsets came with DTS enhancements. This worked exceedingly well, especially through inner ear headsets.

DTS has now been replaced with Huawei Histen.

This sees the usual Equaliser options also with the ability to adjust listening distant to your audio, Front, Near and Wide variations. 3D Audio can also be toggled on or off. You are more than likely to toggle this off however as with music it just didn’t sound right.

I missed the DTS enhancement. It really packed a powerful audio punch.

Like DTS on prior Huawei devices, the audio filters will only work when a headset is connected via the 3,5MM socket or via Bluetooth.

The Mate 10 pulls alot of industry firsts.

What most Android fans will notice immediately is that the Mate 10 (Standard) and Pro comes with Google’s newly released Android 8.0 (Oreo). Overlayed on top is the signature and very elegant looking Emotion UI or EMU.

Now to be fair, if you have never owned a Huawei smartphone before the EMU may take a bit of getting used to. There is no separate App button, the Emotion interface is all a series of swipes. From left to right to get to your Apps, through to your Homescreen and so on.

Another change that has been implemented is the swiping feature on the non-tactile Home Button.

There is no onscreen HUD at the lower portion of the screen to go back to Home screen or reverse out of an App. It’s all swipes on the Home button and a long press will always revert you back to Home.

On the Mate 10 (Standard) the finger print sensor is on the Front Home Button and works 100% of the time. On the Mate 10 Pro it is on the rear of the handset – which is my preference.

Both the Standard and Pro versions are Dual SIM with a world first 4G capability for each and both are equipped and ready for 4.5 to 5G capable mobile data networks. Huawei fully understands mobile data – they not only make smart devices, they have also been in the Telco commercial industry for decades.

Battery performance on the Mate 10 (Standard) was not too bad. As a heavy user I was able to get a full days charge out of the device without the need to recharge until the following morning.

A moderate user should be able to get up to two days before needing a charge – and for charging, this is adaptive where the device will learn your charging habits. Whatsmore there is also Quick Charge – 30 minutes or so will see you right at around 60% from almost 0%.

Either of the Mate 10 versions do not feel too large in the hand in the wider birth of the OLED screen optimises your media viewing and photo taking experience.

Huawei’s Mate 10 is the logical choice for any serious mobile photographer and separating the two editions, the Standard one will suit most general users, for those that like to push their devices to the extreme, you’d be better to go for the Pro.

I had been eagerly waiting for the Mate 10’s release since it was first announced months ago – and I have no complaints.

Elegance in a handset, the Mate 10 looks like a million dollars and retails cheaper than it’s lesser spec’d competitors.

A superb Android phone that will see an average pic snapper producing images like a professional.

Gallery of Photo’s taken with the Mate 10

The post Huawei Mate 10 Review appeared first on Shane the Gamer.