torture test

Which phone cracks up in iPhone 5 vs. Galaxy S3 torture test?

Smartphone sadism continues in this face-off video between the iPhone 5 and the Samsung Galaxy S3 from gadget warranty outfit SquareTrade.

After being dropped, drowned, and pounded with various household objects, the lightweight, metal-backed iPhone 5 seems to hold up much better overall than its Android arch-nemesis, but the demonstration is far from scientific. The Galaxy S3 took a serious face shot to its glass screen in the drop test, whereas the iPhone 5 lucked out and bounced off its side edge. … Read more

Episode 14: HTC One X vs iPhone in a midair Road Test

This week, you finally get to see the results of my high-flying Road Test of the HTC One X! I actually jumped out of a helicopter because we were so sure that this HTC One X commercial, touting its camera features to such an extent that it could be used in a midair fashion shoot, was a ridiculous put-on. You'll see in the segment whether I managed to get the shot, and whether the phone's camera and features performed as advertised.

Special thanks to the folks at GoPro, who helped us set up this shoot and loaned us … Read more

Win an iPad in CNET's Always On/Torture Test Giveaway

We know, we've seen your e-mails. There's something that doesn't feel quite right about buying a beautiful, brand-new piece of technology and then deliberately attempting to destroy it. Granted, it's all in the name of science and helping you make better buying decisions -- and feel more confident that your device can survive the occasional drop, ding, or dunk. But still. We're not sleeping at night.

Enter the Torture Test Giveaway. We're going to give away these "lightly used" devices in whatever condition they happen to have ended up in -- so … Read more

CNET's Always On / Torture Test Giveaway

Official Rules

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. A PURCHASE WILL NOT INCREASE YOUR CHANCES OF WINNING. YOU HAVE NOT YET WON. MUST BE LEGAL RESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, AT LEAST 18 YEARS OLD OR AGE OF MAJORITY, WHICHEVER IS OLDER IN YOUR STATE OF RESIDENCE AT DATE OF ENTRY INTO SWEEPSTAKES. VOID IN PUERTO RICO, ALL U.S. TERRITORIES AND POSSESSIONS AND WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW.

Sponsor, Administrator and Prize Provider: CNET, a Division of CBS Interactive, Inc. 235 Second Street, San Francisco, California 94105.

Prize Provider: CNET, Always On … Read more

Episode 6: The most extreme torture test yet

This is the week that the torture test really comes into its own, I think. We decided to toughen up and test the brand-new 11-inch Apple MacBook Air. Yeah, I know. Yikes. But I really want to test portable devices, and the Air is the epitome of portable, is it not?

We're down to a good rhythm with heat, cold, dropping, and water, and we're really trying to figure out how to make the wild card tests true to life. So, when three or four viewers tweeted me and told me they had put their MacBook Airs on … Read more

Episode 4: Torture-testing the Samsung Galaxy S3

I think we're starting to get better at this torture-test thing, which is bad news for gadgets.

In preparing to test the Samsung Galaxy S3, I decided the oven we used for the iPad test didn't seem quite right. So I set about trying to devise a new heat contraption that would simulate the baking hot interior of a car parked in the sun, or the heat of the sun on a phone sitting out on the beach, or a similar real-life heat test.

At first, I was on the hunt for some kind of a heat-proof box … Read more

Torture-testing the new iPad

Spoiler alert: the new iPad is one tough device.

I'll leave a little mystery for you: I won't tell you exactly what we did to the iPad in our first-ever Always On torture test, but generally speaking, we tried to simulate some of the toughest tests that real life throws at our devices, like say, when we leave them in cars in inclement weather, or they fall, or ... well, darnit, now I'm verging on spoiling the tests.

What I'm trying to say, though, is that we weren't just stunt joyriding by shoving the iPad in … Read more

Introducing Always On, coming June 19 on CNET

Welcome to Always On (almost)!

This is the home of my new show, Always On, which premieres right here on CNET on Tuesday, June 19, at 11 a.m. Pacific/1 p.m. Eastern (and I could not be more excited). Every episode will air with a live chat, hosted by me, so make sure to tune in at "showtime" to get a behind-the-scenes pre-show and so that I can get your thoughts on the episodes in real-time!

Oh, right, what's the show about. Think of it as "the CNET show," on steroids. Each weekly, … Read more