Shadow - Cloud Gaming PC

Shadow is a high end PC in the cloud accessible from anywhere. It allows you to gain access to an incredibly powerful PC equivalent to £1,500 in cost so long as you have an internet connection. It’s equipped with a high end GPU equivalent to a GTX 1080, 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage as well as an Intel Xeon processor. These are some serious specs that enable you to play games, do intensive work such as video edit and anything else a physical computer can do but remotely using your internet connection. They work on a monthly subscription model costing £26.95/mo.

Downloading and installing shadow was a pretty simple and easy process. We decided to test it on a MacBook pro initially to see if we really could play intensive and demanding games on a Mac using Shadow. Connection and setup was super fast and we had our remote high end PC setup it a matter of minutes. One thing that is particularly awesome about Shadow is the download speeds you have access to. A 1Gbps network speed meant that we were able to download our entire steam game library consisting of Garry’s Mod, CS:GO, Left for Dead 2 and loads of other games insanely fast. There’s no waiting around for downloads to complete with shadow, if you find a game you like it’ll be downloaded and ready to play in minutes.

We connected to shadow using both a wireless 5G connection as well as a hard wired ethernet cable. Unsurprisingly, we had a far better experience using ethernet than we did over wireless. It’s not to say that you can’t use shadow over wifi, it’s just you won’t be able to max out settings unless your connection is extremely fast and reliable. Ethernet was far more stable and allowed us to fully experience everything shadow had to offer including high definition, high FPS and latency free gaming on a MacBook Pro. There was virtually no lag whatsoever. Gaming was an awesome experience with inputs being detected almost instantaneously meaning when you press R to reload in Fortnite or left click to shoot, it’ll respond instantly.

Shadow is a full fledged Windows 10 PC that you can use for virtually anything. It’s able to handle whatever you throw at it thanks to its super high specs and ultra fast performance. We were really impressed with Shadow and very glad that the input lag was negligible thereby allowing for competitive gaming and other CPU/GPU intensive workloads. Shadow is a service that removes all boundaries of productivity and fun. It has so many different uses that appeal to the gamer and workaholic in all of us. We would certainly recommend it.

Phillips OneBlade

The OneBlade is Phillips latest electric shaver marketed as an all in one blade perfect for trimming, styling and shaving. It’s suitable for men who have beards, mustaches, stubble or sideburns and pretty much any other kind of facial hair styles. We’re going to be talking about key areas of the OneBlade, ranging from design to performance, battery life to longevity and build quality to effectiveness.

Let’s start with the design. The OneBlade is definitely one of the most aesthetically pleasing designs i’ve encountered. It’s not trying to be anything it’s not; no fancy overcomplicated handle design, no cryptic blade patterns, no overcomplicated button placements. What you see is what you get. It comes in a  nice sort of lime green color and only comes with two buttons: a power toggle button and an eject button for the interchangeable blade, which Phillips claims will last you up to 4 months (based upon one full shave per week). In terms of accessories, Phillips includes 3 comb inserts for the OneBlade. On my particular model there was a 1mm, 3mm and 5mm comb included which easily click into place and work surprisingly well. You also get a small plastic blade protector to clip on over the top when you’re storing it.

Now this is a rechargeable wireless trimmer, and can be used wet or dry. It’s been designed with a long lasting battery that will take about 8 hours to charge entirely, afterwards giving you a full 45 minutes of shaving time. I found this to be largely accurate with charging times ranging between 7-9 hours and I managed to squeeze out just about the 45 minutes of shaving time they claimed. In terms of performance, the OneBlade does an excellent job not only as a trimmer, but also as a shaver. 

The included combs allow for very accurate and even trimming to the desired length and the OneBlade doesn’t slow down at all when trimming the hairs - it keeps full throttle throughout, providing an excellent trimming experience. It’s also fantastic for shaving clean, as I found it glides perfectly and gets a super close shave without causing, in my case at least, any skin irritation whatsoever. The cutter is able to move 200 times per second, which is why you’re able to get such smooth feeling shaving and trimming without any resistance or slow down. It’s designed to protect from tugs and pulls if you’re shaving off longer hairs so there won’t be any painful unexpected shaves.

As I mentioned previously, the OneBlade has a replaceable blade designed to last for up to 4 months. This is super convenient and allows for you to get maximum value for money from your shaver. It comes included with 2 blades which means you should be set for 8 months after buying the OneBlade, and when you require a replacement blade you can just jump on Amazon and order one next day. 

Now the longevity of the blade will vary from person to person according to usage, but I find that after just over a month using it it’s holding up very well and I fully expect it to last the stated 4 months without any issue. In terms of build quality the OneBlade is really well designed and built. It’s got a nice weight to it without being overly heavy and uncomfortable to hold. It’s very ergonomic and feels like a premium product that’ll get the job done without a hassle.

Overall I find the OneBlade to be one of the best shavers i’ve ever used. It’s fairly priced and you get incredible value for money. With 2 blades included for 8 months of shaving right out of the box, it’s a no brainer. The premium feel, excellent performance and overall pleasant shaving experience means the OneBlade is one of the best shavers you can buy if you’re looking for a no nonsense, effective and reliable shaver and trimmer. Great job Phillips!