torture

Most of you are probably just gearing up for your summer vacations, but we here at Always On have already had ours. It's all for you, dear viewers; it's all for you. On this week's episode, we visited Hawaii's Big Island to road-test gadgets meant for sun and water fun. And not to be all lowest-common-denominator, but that last sentence basically translates to an entire episode filmed in swimsuits. Just saying.

First up, we went snorkeling with three underwater cases for the iPhone: the $20 Proporta BeachBuoy, the $89 Hitcase, and the $329 iGills SE-35, to … Read more

Summer's here, almost officially, which means the road trip season is upon us. We set out to try to find out which gadgets could entertain you on a long drive, or at least keep the kids out of your hair, and whether the phone that's arguably the hottest of the season could handle some road trip mishaps.

But here at Always On, we road trip in style. No cramped back seats for us ... we were rolling in The Woody, a massive high-tech RV that's the custom showcase creation of OCRV Paint and Service. Thanks for the ride, … Read more

"Real life is hard on gadgets," and so is the team at Always On. To evaluate the durability of devices, Molly Wood and her team use a series of torture tests that simulate real-life situations with the intention of damaging and destroying.

The torture tests include extreme temperatures, the unavoidable dances with gravity in the form of dropping and spilling, and wild-card tests based on viewer feedback. The variety of conditions each gadget goes through makes every torture test equally entertaining and cringe-worthy.

We've rounded up all of the tablets that got the Always On treatment and … Read more

Over the years, it seems the iPhone has made the use of iPods a tad redundant. However, iPods keep stealing the spotlight at Always On because they're just so darn tough! Every time we put an iPod through the usual measures, it comes through with flying colors. After our children, Cheeto, and fruit-punch induced torture test for the iPod Touch last season, we had extremely high expectations for these two at Mt. Shasta Ski Park. Those expectations were greatly exceeded, to say the least.

But now it's your turn to put an iPod through its paces. Maybe you'… Read more

Well, folks, it's about that time again. That time when we head out into the world to get our hands on today's hottest gadgets and to explore the promising technologies of the future. And, of course, we'll keep an eye out for some clever ways to destroy those hottest gadgets, too. But, in the meantime, we've mustered up our favorite segments of Season 3 to make the wait for Season 4 less grueling.

First up, we head back to Mount Shasta Ski Park to watch Molly rev a snowmobile over the poor Kindle Fire, Nokia Lumia 920, … Read more

We're happy to announce the return of our Always On tortured gadget sweepstakes! This time 'round, our severely beaten (but not entirely broken!) MacBook Pro 13-inch with Retina Display is up for grabs.

While it's not exactly "usable" as it stands now, the thing is a champion. After trying our absolute hardest to destroy it (i.e. dropping it out of a bulldozer, giving it a nice fountain shower, and smothering it with a 1,400-pound boulder), the fact that it even turns on makes it deserving of a new home. Preferably somewhere that's nowhere … Read more

It's safe to say that upon our arrival at American Soil and Stone, we thought the MacBook Pro 13-inch with Retina Display's fate was pretty much sealed. With so much equipment capable of tearing down a house around, the MacBook's chances of survival were slim to none. However, after an epic onslaught of perhaps the heaviest artillery we've ever thrown at a gadget, we were shocked at the computer's toughness.

While it's currently in the ICU, you guys will have the chance to give it some TLC, and hopefully nurse it back to health. … Read more

Straight out of the box, the LG Optimus G Pro looks like it's going to be a crowd pleaser. With its 13-megapixel camera, spare battery, and charger, "quad-beat" earbuds, and cute Korean comic book manual, Jeff can't help but hear "Dream Weaver" in his head when gazing into its gorgeous display. It's even big enough to live up to Molly's phablet standards. Plus, the LG Optimus G Pro sports a sparkly back that, once again, prompts our hosts to reference "The Matrix."

The Sony Xperia Z, which made a surprise … Read more

I feel like I might be the only person in the world who loves the poor Chromebook Pixel. It's just so misunderstood, with its ridiculously high price, its tiny 32GB hard drive, and its odd 3:2 screen resolution. But the design is just so gorgeous (drink), and the touch screen is so exciting, and the Chrome OS is so simple and Web-based! Perhaps you'll fall in love like I did ... or be wildly skeptical like Jeff Cannata. Check out this week's Unboxing, and find out.

On the other hand, Jeff is delighted by the idea of … Read more