Canadian Reviewer Weekly Roundup 10/26-11/01

Review: Sony Xperia Z1

Review: Apple iPad Air

Dell introduces loyalty program in Canada

Nokia Lumia sales on upswing, 8.8 million units sold in Q3 2013

Instagram coming to Nokia Lumia in the coming weeks

ICYMI: Corey Herscu shows off some smartphones on Global TV this morning

Review: HTC One mini

Rogers announces rugged Android-powered CatB15 smartphone, coming next month

More information on Android 4.4 KitKat revealed in new video

FAA now allows certain electronics to be used during takeoff and landing

First look at the Google Nexus 5

First look at the HP Chromebook 11

Video: Apple's iPad Air launch in downtown Toronto

Sony Canada previews the PS4 at pop-up locations in Toronto, Calgary and Montreal

Sony has just opened three pop up locations serving to demo their anticipated PlayStation 4 console. Interested parties can try out the new console as well as the DualShock controllers and play some of the launch titles before hand. A good way to stoke desire for the PS4, which comes to stores on November 15 the stores are located at Scarborough Town Centre, Calgary’s Southcentre Mall, and Montreal’s Complexe Les Ailes. Each of these locations will be outfitted with state of the art displays and sound, comfortable seating, and of course dozens of PS4′s primed and ready to go.

First look at the Google Nexus 5

Text and photos by Gadjo Cardenas Sevilla

The Nexus 5 is the latest, gretest Pure Google device and the vessel that brings the updated Android 4.4 KitKat OS to mobile devices. I had a chance to check out the device at Google's Toronto headquarters earlier today and compare it briefly to its predecessor the Nexus 4. The Nexus 5 went on sale yesterday starting at $349 for the 16GB (unlocked version) but was sold out in less than an hour. They're back on sale now, but hurry since they leave the warehouse in 3-4 weeks.

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First look at the HP Chromebook 11

Text and photos by Gadjo Cardenas Sevilla

The Chromebook is a bona fide product category. The inexpensive (relatively) browser-based and cloud-powered notebooks have all but replaced netbooks as the lower-end option for users. The evolution of the Chromebook and Chrome OS has been steady but consistent. Create an affordable notebook that requires an always-on connection to the Internet and let the cloud servers do the heavy lifting. 

The latest Chromebook 11 is made by HP and it is a marked improvement over the Samsung made Chromebook Series 3 we checked out a year ago. With a shiny, white polycarbonate casing (supported by a magnesium frame) the new Chromebook 11 look and feels like a polished product even if the CPU is similar to last year's model

Canada will be getting the Chromebook 11 on November 8 for $299 (plus tax) and we will be getting white with blue accents version from the Google Play Store, HP Online and Best Buy. Things that stand out about the Chromebook 11 is the weight (2.30 pounds), it uses microUSB port for charging and while it comes with a stingy 16GB of onboard storage, Google will give 100GB of cloud storage for two years.

That said, while there's a definite market for such a device and HP has done an outstanding job with this particular version. The Chromebook is still a device I wouldn't personally buy nor is it something I can recommend to anyone but the most avid Chrome OS user. It features last year's hardware on a newer body and still has the same limitations in terms of storage and processing power. Any tablet plus keyboard combination would be a better use of $299.