In my never-ending search to turn my house into as much of a lounging zone as I can manage, the addition of products from Sumo Lounge has been a boon to my end goal. I’ve been a fan of the products for ages, but it wasn’t until I reviewed the Gigantor from the company that I was truly sold. This time around, I have the newest version of the company’s single-seat chair called the Sway 2.0 and I have to say, I’m loving it.
The Sway 2.0 takes the original Sway and simply makes it better. It is, as I said, a one-butt chair but it’s plenty wide enough to curl up in comfortably. Unlike the Gigantor , which is a bit more free-form in its shape, the Sway 2.0 is stitched with a dedicated seating area and an elevated portion to act as a backrest. On the side of the Sway 2.0 you’ll find a pocket that’s just big enough to stash a remote control or two, and so it fits in well with your living room or media room. For me, it’s my Xbox chair of choice.
The other addition to the 2.0 version of the Sway is a built-in pillow. On the Gigantor, I often found that I’d need a pillow behind my head in order to sit up comfortably for TV viewing or gaming. The Sway totally solves that issue, and it’s infinitely more portable, since it’s about 1/3rd of the size of the Gigantor (which truly lives up to its name).
What’s interesting to me about the Sway is that Sumo decided to fill it with polyester fiber, rather than the foam that the company uses in the Gigantor and other bags. What you end up with is a considerably more firm seating surface that actually holds its shape rather well, and it feels like it can put up with ages of wear.
My wife, kids and I all use the Gigantor so much that it’s time for us to invest a few bucks into some of Sumo’s replacement “beads” to give it a puff-up once again. With the Sway, that doesn’t feel like it will ever be a concern and I have to admit that I like that idea even if it leads to a considerably firmer seating surface.
In short, Sumo Lounge has managed to create what might just be the very best gaming and media chair on the planet. Big, comfortable and portable, it’s been a welcome addition to my house and has once again sold me on the fact that Sumo is making the best stuff in the business.
➤ Sway 2.0 from Sumo Lounge
Amazon’s tablet strategy could see 2012 launch for 10-inch model
Amazon’s rumoured venture into the tablet market will reportedly see it launch two models – a 7-inch Android tablet due to start shipping in October and a larger 10-inch model which is expected to go into mass-production in the first quarter of next year, Digitimes reports .
The chinese trade publication, citing sources from component suppliers, says that Foxconn Electronics – manufacturer of Apple’s iPad and other rival tablets – will handle the orders. The company is also said to be taking on Amazon’s Kindle production:
Quanta Computer, the company handling production of Amazon’s 7-inch tablet, reportedly began production earlier in the year, with an expected 2 million units to be made available at launch.
Amazon has yet to confirm its tablet plans but has begun to roll out a new redesigned version of its website , making it more tablet friendly with larger buttons and a more prominent search bar.
comScore: Apple starts 2014 with 41.6% US smartphone share, Samsung at 26.7%; BlackBerry falls below Windows Phone
Apple’s dominance as the top smartphone OEM in the US has started off strong in the first month of this year: 41.6 percent share. Samsung is once again gaining share faster than its main competitor, however, hitting a new high at 26.7 percent. Rounding out the top five were LG, Motorola, and HTC.
In the platform wars, Google was still first with Android, and Apple took second with iOS. Yet Google’s mobile platform slipped at the start of the year, while Apple’s continued to plow forward. Rounding out the top five were Microsoft (which managed to sneak into third place), BlackBerry, and Symbian.
The latest data comes from comScore , which regularly surveys over 30,000 mobile subscribers in the US. The market research firm says 159.8 million Americans owned smartphones (66.8 percent mobile market penetration) in January, up 7 percent since October.
During the quarter, here is how the top five smartphones OEMs fared:
As you can see, Apple gained 1.0 percentage points in terms of smartphone subscribers (from 40.6 percent to 41.6 percent) while Samsung grabbed 1.3 percentage points (from 25.4 percent to 26.7 percent). LG gained 0.3 points (to 6.9 percent), Motorola slipped 0.6 points (to 6.4 percent), and HTC dropped 1.3 points (to 5.4 percent). As of late, this trio has been swapping places on the regulars as each tries to gain a foothold for third place.
Samsung outgained Apple in more months during 2013, and it looks like the South Korean company is off to a good start to do it again. With the Galaxy S5 on the way, it’s likely the iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c won’t be able to hold it back; we’ll have to wait for the iPhone 6.
HTC’s woes continue, and it’s doubtful the successor to its One smartphone can save the day. Motorola dropped into fourth place, as it tries hard to win consumers back with regular discounts . LG has managed to stop its own bleeding, but the Nexus 5 could be doing better.
On the software side, Google is still dominating, even with Apple’s steady gains. Android lost share most months in 2013, and 2014 isn’t off to a good start:
Google’s mobile operating system lost 0.5 percentage points (from 52.2 percent to 51.7 percent). Apple meanwhile increased its share by 1.0 percentage points (from 40.6 percent to 41.6 percent, just like for its smartphone share).
BlackBerry was down 0.5 points (from 3.6 percent to 3.1 percent), Microsoft stayed flat at 3.2 percent, and Symbian stayed at 0.2 percent. Windows Phone may have taken third away from BlackBerry OS, but not because the former gained share. The Android-iOS duopoly in the US stayed at the high it ended at in 2013 (93.3 percent market share).
Top Image Credit: Jung Yeon-Je /Getty Images