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Pokde.net Top Picks: Best Gadgets in 2017
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Pokde.net Top Picks: Best Gadgets in 2017

by Vyncent ChanDecember 29, 2017
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2017 has been an exciting year where we saw amazing gadgets introduced. Here are some of the best gadgets as picked by the Pokde.net crew.

Pokde.net Top Picks: Best Gadget of 2017

We look back at 2017 and see what every brand has done. Everyone of us look for different things in gadgets, and the uniqueness in each of us is what drives each brand to try and seek out an unfulfilled niche. Each of us has picked what we think is the best gadget this year. May be too late for Santa’s list, but hey, maybe some new devices to start the new year with?

Vyncent Chan, Mobile Evangelist of Pokde.net

Razer Officially Unveils the Razer Phone

For me, the biggest winner this year has got to be the Razer Phone. It’s a stark departure from all the other smartphones in the market. Gaming on mobile has been always considered a given: when you have a flagship SoC under the hood, you are bound to have great gaming performance. However Razer went that step further and threw in a 2K 120 Hz UltraMotion IGZO display, dual front-facing speakers and a big 4000 mAh battery. We disregard the fact that maybe no one will ever need the ultra-fluid display and also that gaming on loudspeakers can get obnoxious rather quickly, but this is a true blue gaming smartphone, something which few have tried and given up on years ago.

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Worth a mention would be the ASUS ZenFone 4 (ZE554KL) which rather unfortunately shares its name with its predecessor. The smartphone does not tout the fastest chipset, nor the smallest bezels, but it does carry quite a bit of courage in it. Instead of the more popular zoom or monochrome second camera, the ZenFone 4 offers a wide angle camera which is infinitely more fun than a zoom lens or monochrome sensor. Most manufacturers prefer to go with a zoom lens for the secondary camera, but the Huawei Mate 10 has proven that digital zooming usually suffice for a mere 2x zoom. In fact most of ASUS’ ZenFone 4 family feature a wide angle camera, including the very affordable ASUS ZenFone 4 Max, but the ASUS ZenFone 4 takes the cake with the much nimbler chipset and pretty glass-sandwich design. The pricing of this device is really a bit too courageous for my liking, but it doesn’t take away from the fact that ASUS has made an amazing step forward with the ASUS ZenFone 4 series.

Raja Idris, Kingky Writer of Pokde.net

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Personally, the honor for this award goes to Nokia 8. Now where do I start? First of all… its Nokia for god sake! You’ve got to have a special moment stored inside of you pertaining the brand. With the launch of the Nokia 8, it was finally a giant awoken, with it being their flagship device since coming back to the scene.

Featuring ZEISS optics for both rear and front cameras, it introduced #bothie to the world, which I thought was a cool way to showcase your story to friends and family. Packing 4GB RAM (there’s also a 6GB variant) and running on a Snapdragon 835, it is certainly priced well at RM2299.

These specifications also aren’t only for showing. You can check out our extensive Nokia 8 review here and find out what it’s all about.

Maybe I’m just a sucker for brands that is synonym to my history and Nokia has definitely been a part of it. Guess it’s too late to ask anyone to buy me one for Christmas. sobs

Aiman Maulana, Gaming Wizard of Pokde.net

ASUS Zenfone 3 Zoom

Without a doubt in my mind, the best device for me that pretty much anyone and everyone will have a good time with and brought back a feature that I thought was impossible from the old days, the ASUS Zenfone 3 Zoom. Using it felt like I was given a breath of fresh air.

Powered by a Snapdragon 625 chipset, the ASUS Zenfone 3 Zoom aimed to take the base Zenfone 3 smartphone, a solid offering to begin with, and make it even better. The dual camera setup featuring the SuperPixel camera and Zoom camera allows you to take good pictures, perform decently in low-light situations, and gives you optical zoom capabilities. Sure, it’s not the best camera around especially in recent times, but it’s definitely more than enough for you take a good snap or two.

Then we have the monstrous 5,000 mAh battery capacity which, when you combine it with the efficient chipset and FinFET technology, gave it a battery life that we don’t see in most other smartphones. That feeling of being able to go through 2 to 3 days of moderate to heavy use without the need charge your smartphone is a freedom that I’ve yearned for since the old days of mobile phones.

Sure, I’ve now started using the Apple iPhone 8 Plus myself but here’s the thing; I will always be tempted to switch back to the ASUS Zenfone 3 Zoom because of the killer battery life, and it’s generally problem-free for me. Despite ASUS now moving to the Zenfone 4 lineup, believe me when I say that if you opted for the Zenfone 3 Zoom instead, you will not regret it. It is the closest to a “perfect” smartphone in my book.

If you wanna see how good the Zenfone 3 Zoom actually is, check out our full review of the device by clicking right here. Spoiler alert, we gave it our coveted Gold Pokdeward.

Super Daddy, Founder & Editor-in-Chief at Pokde.net

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While the rest have been eyeing more on smartphones, my gadget of the year is much different. This year, I was much impressed with Sony’s α7R III mirrorless camera that was recently launched in Singapore. It only wins when it’s also paired with Sony FE24-105mm F4 G OSS full-frame lens.

You see, I was never a mirrorless camera person. It just never impressed me for all the same reasons DSLR purists have. I’ve tried plenty of them and never got the satisfaction my Canon 60D has given all these years. This year, things just took a big 360° turn. Put aside the α9 which is totally out of my pocket’s range, the Sony’s α7R III has delivered some serious mind boggling images without much effort.

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The one thing we can always appreciate in Sony’s interchangeable lens cameras is the fact that the stabilizer is built inside the camera rather than the lens – which makes all the sense in the first place, rather than having to buy countless lenses and thinking about whether you should get the ones with stabilizers or not. The Sony α7R III takes shots on its Exmor R CMOS image sensor and hones a super wide ISO range of 100 – 32000 which is expandable to ISO 50 – 102400 for still images.

I can go on and on about the features and awesomeness of this beast, but I would be repeating myself. Why not have a read if you haven’t?

Syed Hassan Algadrie, Social Media Evangelist at Pokde.net

It’s tough to single out just one gadget for the “best gadget of 2017” moniker as there are so many great gadgets out there. Case in point, the ones listed by my colleagues above. However if there is one gadget that came out this year that I’d say won me over has to be the Nintendo Switch. Early on I was naturally very skeptical of the Nintendo Switch when it was first announced considering how bad the Wii U did but the overall quality of the console was surprisingly good.

nintendo switch wi-fi issue connectivity authentication

Granted the power the Nintendo Switch packs is far below the likes of its competitors, the PS4 and Xbox One but where it lacks in that department the console makes up for it with its amazing design, user friendliness and the games it cranks out. Besides, Nintendo has always been the king of handheld video game consoles and with the Nintendo Switch, they’ve managed to successfully pull off the ability to switch (pun intended) between handheld and home console, kinda like a Transformer.

While I don’t personally own the console (that honour goes to our very own Super Daddy), I have played it enough to know that the Nintendo Switch is a very special device and one of the best consoles put by Nintendo or any company for that matter. It’s proven popular enough with the gaming community to amass sales of 10 million units. For a console that just came out last March, that’s a huge testament on how good and popular the Nintendo Switch really is.

About The Author
Vyncent Chan
Technology enthusiast, casual gamer, pharmacy graduate. Strongly opposes proprietary standards and always on the look out for incredible bang-for-buck.
1 Comments
  • dog
    December 30, 2017 at 2:41 pm

    the switch is awesome, seriously.
    that’s how i kill time with my abang when we got stuck at the airport for like 30 hours++

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