Accessories

Spider-Man Drive: A nice-to-have for webheads

Is this the ultimate hard drive for Spidey fans?

Published

December 13, 2022

Spider-Man enthusiasts have another item to add to their collection. The Seagate Spider-Man Special Edition Firecuda External Hard Drive (Spider-Man Drive for brevity) is one of the few pop-culture licensed products that are actually useful. It’s not just a collector’s item to display on shelves, but one you can benefit from.

For fans of the entire Spider-Verse, this particular collaboration even comes in three variants: Spider-Man featuring the original, classic Spidey, Miles Morales featuring, well, Miles, and Ghost-Spider featuring Gwen Stacy.

Each comes with their own unique look and feel. But unlike their comic book counterparts, these hard drives have the exact same features — the same power set, if you will.

On paper, that’s 2TB of storage capacity, works with PC, Mac, PlayStation, and Xbox, uses USB 3.2 Gen 1, and has RGB. Yay. Something to keep in mind, by default, it’s in the exFAT format system. That makes sure it’s compatible across the devices mentioned. If you ever have to reformat for whatever reason, make sure to keep it on exFAT.

The Classic Suit

Nothing beats the classic, and that is true for yours truly. Especially when it comes to Spider-Man suits. Something about the webbed-red-and-blue is just undeniably Spider-Man and that’s what you get with the Spider-Man Drive.

Front and center is the hero himself.

There’s also a Firecuda and Seagate branding but they’re almost unnoticeable.

Here’s a closer look at the Seagate branding.

On the bottom edge, the name of the drive is written.

Spider-Man. With a hyphen. As it should always be written.

Flip the thing to show the dominant blue with a Spider-Man logo.

Fun-fact: That’s the original back logo from the first comic book run. Many fans prefer it to the one in the Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield films. That’s because the back logos in the films look sharper and edgier, unlike the original which gives off “friendly neighborhood” Spidey vibes.

Bonus for size comparison, next to an iPhone 11 Pro.

We forgot to take snaps but the packaging also comes with some Spidey and Seagate stickers.

Overall, it’s a great look. Spidey is in a stylish pose and the hard drive itself embodies the classic suit. Peter Parker stans should look to grab this one.

Fast but no super speed

Probably unintentional, but fun to highlight is that the Spider-Man drive still uses USB 3.2 Gen connectors. That means the file transfer speeds, while fast enough, aren’t exactly blazing fast. Which is technically fine. Super speed, after all, isn’t part of Spidey’s power set.

But how fast is it exactly? It takes about 30-40 minutes to move around 35GB of files. Decent. But not exactly efficient. For instance, we’ve been able to transfer nearly the same amount of files in a third of the time from a memory card connected to a dongle that supports faster file transfers.

That means this isn’t exactly built for a truly speedy on-the-go workflow. If you’re taking this outside, make sure to keep the file transfers to 10GB and below so you can stay agile like Spider-Man.

RGB for fun?

No thematic connection again, but hey, some people really think RGB is cool. This one’s generally easy to set-up. Upon plugging in the Spider-Man Drive, you’ll gain access to its contents. There you’ll find a Toolkit installer both for Windows and Mac. Although, for Mac, you’ll need to install another driver to make it work.

Everything is pretty straightforward no matter which operating system you’re working with. I had zero trouble hooking it up to Windows. Although, MacOS Ventura is a little challenging as Privacy and Security dialog box has changed. As of writing, we’re still trying to figure out the right permissions so we can install the required driver to make RGB work with Mac.

It’s a fun and cool addition and should fit most desk aesthetics. By default, the LED light is set to white. But it’ll appear bluish on the Spider-Man Drive because of the blue back panel.

Price and availability

The Spider-Man Drive and the rest of its variants retail for PhP 6,190/ US$ 139.99.

In the Philippines, The devices are available on Seagate’s official Shopee and Lazada stores, as well as select partners.

You can also visit the official product page: Spider-Man | Miles Morales | Ghost-Spider

Is the Spider-Man Drive your GadgetMatch?

Officially licensed products are usually nothing more than money-grabs. Take a pop-culture icon, slap a kick-ass art on your product, and voila: cha-ching, cha-ching, cha-ching. Now, there’s nothing inherently wrong with that. However, it would be nice if a little more thought is put into the collaboration.

It would have been nice to keep things in theme by adding more Spidey-related things to the final product. I’m no expert but wouldn’t it have been more fun if the cable was longer and looked more like Spidey’s webs? Or perhaps add or make available some protective cases that feature Spidey’s other suits. I don’t think that’s too much to ask, especially if you’re paying extra for a product that essentially already exists.

At its core, the Spider-Man Drive is just a pricier re-skin of the generally okay Firecuda Gaming External Hard Drive. It’s not bad, but it’s not amazing nor superior.

That said, Spider-Man fans (like this writer), will likely think this piece of tech is still pretty darn cool. Because it is. And sometimes, that’s really all it takes.

Accessories

Anker announces new Prime power bank, earbuds, stick vacuum

Redefining how people use gadgets

Published

December 2, 2023

GadgetMatch

Anker has announced its latest line of accessories that shall help people redefine the way they use their gadgets, particularly the iPhone 15.

In an exclusive event in Bonifacio Global City, new Anker, Soundcore, and Eufy products have been introduced.

The lineup includes the Anker Prime 12K mAh power bank that retails for just PhP 6,995, making it a perfect complement to the iPhone 15.

The power bank comes with a travel-friendly design and a high-speed charging capacity for those who are always on the go and need extra power for their devices.

Meanwhile, the Soundcore Aerofit Pro earbuds that costs PhP 8,495 ensures that users can fully enjoy listening to music while still being connected to what is happening around, with its open-ear design, waterproof rating, and long-lasting batteries.

Lastly, the Eufy MACH V1 Ultra simplifies household chores as the world’s first all-in-one cordless stick vacuum with a steam mop.

The general availability for these products shall be made known on Anker Philippines’ official pages soon.

Watch our Anker Prime unboxing.

@gadgetmatch

Top-up your gadgets with these new Anker Prime devices! #anker #ankerprime #powerbank #gancharger #ganprime #powerbankwithdisplay #techaccessories #techmusthaves

♬ original sound – GadgetMatch – GadgetMatch

Accessories

The GameSir G8 Galileo is great for PS Remote Play

While we wait for the PlayStation Portal

Published

November 30, 2023

Rodneil Quiteles

We happen to be in a region where the PlayStation Portal has yet to be released. Good thing, PS Remote Play is available and GameSir has a controller you can hook up to your smartphone that’s readily compatible. Enter the GameSir G8 Galileo.

You might not see it right away, but the biggest difference with the G8 Galileo compared to other smartphone controllers (even the ones GameSir made themselves) is it’s actually full size.

Watch our unboxing.

@gadgetmatch

Unboxing the Gamesir G8 Galileo. Best smartphone controllers right now? #gaming #mobilegaming #remoteplay #RemotePlay #remoteplayps5 #mobilecontroller #controller #controllers

♬ original sound – GadgetMatch – GadgetMatch

Most smartphone controllers prioritize portability. Thus, they’re more compact. That means smaller face buttons, smaller thumbsticks, and generally smaller overall profile.

Usable, sure. But not exactly ideal for people with chubby hands like yours truly.

BackBone One | GameSir G8 Galileo

This is also one of the primary reasons why, despite owning a Backbone One, I’ve rarely used it for its intended purpose. And the reason why the PlayStation Portal is appealing to me.

The GameSir G8 Galileo changes all of that because of its size. It’s also not just larger. Its ergonomics are great too. Your hands will sit nicely on the nice, curved handles for a more comfortable, more enjoyable handheld gaming session.

PS Remote Play

Another big area of convenience is you don’t necessarily have to have the GameSir app to make it work. Simply download the PS Remote Play app, register, and fire it up.

To make sure it’s on PS Remote Play compatible mode, just press the Share and Options buttons simultaneously. Those are the tiny buttons on the left and right hand side of the controllers right above the left thumb stick and the face buttons.

Upon pressing simultaneously, make sure the color on the GameSir logo on the lower right part of the controller is white. That’s how you know it’s on PS Remote Play mode.

Currently green so you have to press the buttons for Remote Play.

Once done, just easily plug-in your smartphone with a USB-C port on GameSir’s signature flexible USB-C plug and off you go.

Actual play time

Here’s a quick Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 gameplay using the GameSir G8 Galileo along with the HONOR Magic5 Pro with Remote Play:

Playing #SpiderMan2PS5 via Remote Play using an HONOR Magic5 Pro and the new @mygamesir G8 Galileo. pic.twitter.com/q6eDBYAq1E

— rodneil (@rodneilquiteles) November 30, 2023

This under a minute clip, naturally, isn’t representative of the entire Remote Play experience. Anyone who has tried it before knows that with extended play time, you’ll likely experience a few hiccups here and there. That’s just the nature of the beast.

That said, this whole set-up has been generally great. Other than Spider-Man 2, I’ve managed to play a handful of quick NBA 2K24 games like this. I still racked up a handful of wins despite suffering from occasional latency trouble.

The feel of the controller is fantastic and is easily the most enjoyable out of every other smartphone controller that I’ve tried before. And I’ve tried a few other than the Backbone One. There’s the GameSir X3, GameSir X2 Pro-Xbox, and the Razer Kishi V2.

Compatible games, mapping

Depending on the platform you’re on, the GameSir G8 Galileo will work on multiple other games. If you’re an iPhone 15 Series user, Remote Play, select Apple Arcade games, and even the AAA games set to release for that iPhone will work with this controller.

For Android users, it’s the usual handful of controller supported games that will work with this. For everything else, you’ll have to resort to mapping — a task for those with patience.

If you need more tutorials on how to get it working, just follow GameSir on Facebook or YouTube. They constantly post tutorials.

You can buy the GameSir G8 Galileo here: https://bit.ly/gsg8galileo

Use G8Creator on the Coupon Code for 10% off.

Accessories

iPhone 15 series will get the first Qi2 wireless chargers

More chargers are coming by Christmas

Published

November 17, 2023

Luigi Leonardo

While wireless chargers are already viable charging solutions today, the technology is still clawing its way to upending wired charging as a universally accepted solution. The technology is constantly growing, though. After announcing the new standard at the start of the year, the Wireless Power Consortium (WPC) has confirmed that Qi2 wireless chargers will start appearing in time for the holidays.

Today, the WPC announced a lineup of brands which will rock Qi2 first. Coming by Christmastime, the first chargers will come from Belkin, Mophie, Anker, and Aircharge. Additionally, over a hundred devices are already in the process of getting certification for the standard.

Besides the usual suspects of charger manufacturers, the WPC has also confirmed that the iPhone 15 series will start the train of Qi2 chargers for the holidays. That doesn’t come as a surprise, though. According to the WPC’s announcement months ago, Apple lent its MagSafe technology to help develop the Qi2 charging standard.

Naturally, the promise is faster charging than the current generation. By how much is still a question that will also depend on manufacturers. Additionally, the standard will have a better magnetic system. Like in Apple’s MagSafe chargers, devices will automatically snap into the optimal position when connected with Qi2 chargers.