– 112,000,000 content views increase in 2020.

– Became an HBO Documentary Filmmaker in 2020 as a result of shooting, editing and producing video for I’ll Be Gone In The Dark, a 6-part documentary series.

– These online views compliment his millions of broadcasted views earned between 2018 and 2019, as a result of a content licensing deal with NIPPON TV in Japan.

Chris Rauschnot Photo: Mark Singerman

Las Vegas, Nevada, January 1st, 2021 /24kMedia/ — Christopher Rauschnot, Principal of 24kMedia, achieved over 234,000,000 views for his content online. Designated by Google as a Master Photographer, this milestone was reached in record time at three and a half years. In 2020, Christopher’s content has been broadcast to millions as a result of becoming a Documentary Filmmaker with credit for video in the 6-part documentary, I’ll Be Gone In The Dark.

Christopher has used his deep knowledge of search engine optimization, honed over the past eighteen years, to reach a new moonshot goal of an additional 112+ million new views during a global pandemic, stay at home orders and regional lockdowns. This once again proves his ability to plan, launch, create viral content, goal set, and execute strategies that result in content views that fortune 100 companies and many online influencers can only dream about.

Planning and creating compelling content, such as photos and videos, for the technology, hospitality, travel, automotive, aerospace, space, wireless, consumer electronics and enterprise industries are a passion and focus for Christopher. The documentary film work in 2020 extends his Internet based and small screen broadcast credits.

He has worked with, been sponsored by, and collaborated with companies such as AT&T, Gogo In-flight Wi-Fi, Ford Motor Company, Nissan, Norwegian Cruise Line, TCL, NETGEAR, Nokia, Microsoft, Adobe, Ritz-Carlton, Huawei, and Disney.

“Reaching 234,000,000 online views for content created shows top worldwide brands that working with a top Ambassador and Influencer like me that I continue to move the needle for them, even during a global pandemic,” says Christopher Rauschnot, Principal of 24kMedia. He continued by staying, “I nearly doubled my content views in a year, on top of a time when traveling by commercial aviation has been reduced by 95%. Many brands don’t know who to go to inside of their organization or at their hired agency to produce compelling content or manage a strategy to reach these moonshot goals. By working with someone like me, I have proven again and again that search marketing grows audiences. The creation of compelling videos drives consumers in an online landscape that has drastically changed and matured since March of 2020.”

In addition to the 234+ million online views from Google, Christopher has amassed over 8,200,000+ views on YouTube, and has received over 1,100,000+ views on shared Instagram video content in the last 30 days. He continues to grow partnerships on YouTube and Instagram with millions of subscribers that share his content every month.

Bill Cody, Principal at CodyCom said, “Christopher has taken steps beyond the typical user of Google and social media services such as Instagram, YouTube, Twitter by incorporating a/b testing, capturing special event trending topics, and search optimization. The pandemic has required a pivot to the way that online campaigns are planned and executed. He has reached an incredible new moonshot goal of 112+ million additional views over the last year. He has done this by planning and executing a strategy for the creation and discovery of digital media for a global audience that is still collectively living in a pandemic. Congratulations to him on becoming a Documentary Filmmaker in 2020 too. These impressive achievements show that he can help businesses around the world connect with their audiences.”

About Christopher Rauschnot, he has been named Top Social Media and PR Influencer by PR Newswire, Cision, DIGIMIND, Synthesio, Vegas Seven Magazine, and Fit Small Business. He has been featured by TheNextWeb.com, Mashable, HuffPost, Good Morning America multiple times, 20/20, HBO, HBO Max, CNN International Backstory, NBC, Fox, CBS, ABC – National and Local Affiliates, The Weather Channel, AccuWeather and NIPPON TV. He is a Documentary Filmmaker and has been credited for content in the 6-part documentary, I’ll Be Gone In The Dark. He has licensed video content that has been broadcast on NIPPON TV via terrestrial and satellite, to the nation of Japan.

Contact Christopher Rauschnot of 24kMedia at:
Email: chris@24kmedia.net
Phone: 702-505-5988
Social Twitter:
http://twitter.com/24k
http://twitter.com/24kMedia
Social Instagram:
http://instagram.com/24k
http://instagram.com/24kMedia
Social YouTube:
http://youtube.com/seomarketing
Social Google:
https://goo.gl/maps/2Bt9mveF2oVPF7gx5

Samsung S20 Fan Edition 5G AT&T Review (Photo Courtesy AT&T)

Almost a year after the first US lockdown from the pandemic, many of us were wondering if we should save our money or buy the latest and greatest Android smartphone. First came Samsung’s S20 line, then the Note 20s, and now the S20 FE 5G midrange option. Midrange is hard to say for the S20 FE 5G, because in many respects, it is the Android flagship we should seriously consider this year.

Disclosure: I was loaned a Samsung S20 FE 5G at no cost for review from AT&T Wireless. I was not compensated for this smartphone and service review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

AT&T is currently rolling out its 5G and 5G+ wireless services across the US. Their 5G wireless coverage map shows that the faster signal is broadly available in most of the US. Luckily for me in the part of Las Vegas that I live in, I saw the 5G-connection logo the majority of the time. For about a month and a half, I tested AT&T’s 5G signal in and around Sacramento, in many areas of Las Vegas, including the Las Vegas Strip. There were a few hiccups, which I will get into a little later.

As turbulent as 2020 continues to be, Samsung’s latest flagships and midrange smartphones cannot be ignored. Those of us on the bleeding edge of technology need and want the best. This year that can mean being on a much tighter budget. But that is ok!

AT&T’s model of the Samsung Galaxy S20 FE 5G 128GB can be purchased in several ways. They offer a 30-mo installment plan, full retail, and trade in and save options. With three ways to purchase, there is probably one that will fit your budget.

The Smartphone

As you can see, the S20 FE 5G comes in unique colors, including my Cloud Lavender test device. The other two colors offered from AT&T are Cloud Mint and Cloud Navy. The bezels are ultra thin on the sides and top, with a slightly more visible chin or bottom bezel.

The specs of the S20 FE 5G are very similar to the S20 with some tech from the S20+. It has the same processor, the Qualcomm Snapdragon 865, IP68 water resistance, 15W Qi wireless fast charging, 4.5W reverse wireless charging, and a 4500 mAh battery. Reverse wireless charging is a good way to power up a wireless earbud case.

Going further into the specs, this Android smartphone sports a 6.5” Dynamic AMOLED 2X Infinity-O display with HDR10+ at a resolution of 1080 x 2400 FHD+ with a 20:9 ratio and a 407 ppi pixel density.

The model I tested came with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of ROM storage. It comes preinstalled with multiple apps from Samsung, AT&T, Google and games if you want, so that 128GB will fill up sooner than later with all of the media you will capture too.

One of the features from the S20 line that did not carry over into the S20 FE 5G is the ability to record 8K video. This is not a big loss. 8K TVs have not yet been released in any great quantity or at affordable prices. The 4K video resoultion that this phone can capture should provide plenty of quality for uploads to YouTube.

This smartphone is a wireless powerhouse with the ability to connect to 5G cellular and WiFi 6 or 802.11ax. The newest wireless routers are only now including WiFi 6 technology, so this is perfect timing to be ready to connect at Gigabit fast WiFi speeds.

Samsung has done away with the dewdrop forward facing camera and instead replaced it with a single 32MP hole punch camera, which takes up less screen area. I like that Samsung has moved the receiver speaker up and into the surrounding frame.

The audio from the speaker up top pairs nicely with the speaker in the base of the S20 FE 5G. Stereo audio out of it sounds pretty good for everyday music and podcast listening. I like how these speakers sound more than what my older iPhone produces.

Most of us are upgrading our phones to get better camera technology. The S20 FE 5G has three cameras on the back and one up front. I like the way Samsung has laid out the cameras vertically on the left side.

The newer cameras are more than ready to take clear photos and stable video even in low light situations. One of the ways I tested the ultra wide camera in low light was the midnight opening of the Circa Resort & Casino Las Vegas.

The clarity of photos and videos from the three rear cameras was eye opening during low light shooting. I could clearly see individual lights on buildings when touring around the Las Vegas Strip. During one test shooting the new ginormous video wall attached to the Resorts World Las Vegas, it picked up a moving face that spanned multiple stories at night.

It also picked up words on the screen and immediately offered to convert it into editable text. The camera understood at 2x optical zoom that the screen was not flat and offered to adjust the photo from an irregular trapezoid to a flat square. These two automatic modes of recognition are very helpful during a presentation. Taking photos of slides with text will be many times easier with this phone.

As one of the first 50 people in line to get into the hotel, I captured almost an entire walkthrough of the casino, multi-level sports book, the longest bar in Nevada, and the outside pool deck, which is setup stadium style. All of it was recorded in low light on the S20 FE 5G.

I found the clarity of what the ultra wide camera produced to be better than good, approaching great. The video was stable and the pause button in the camera app was helpful. I was able to pause between my video recordings through areas of the hotel. At the end of my tour I tapped the stop button, which stitched all of the scenes together.

That one pause button feature saved me a fair amount of editing time later. Normally, I would have to download all of the video files and stitch them together manually. The pause video recording feature is something that I also like about Huawei’s camera app.

One of the biggest reasons why I liked using the S20 FE 5G during my time with the device is its 120Hz screen refresh rate. The technology is truly next level and certainly not iterative innovation like with what some brands engineer for their flagship smartphones. The 120Hz provides buttery smooth scrolling on the web and while reviewing attached documents in email. The iPhone 12 line, including the iPhone 12 Pro Max 5G does not offer a 120Hz screen refresh rate.

This phone is also powerful enough to work well with Microsoft’s Your Phone Companion app. If you have ever used an iPhone with iCloud connected to a MacBook Air or an iPad, the device that you are using can ring and you can answer a call. This does that with the S20 FE 5G and Microsoft Windows 10.

A recent update to the Companion app enables the ability to make and receive calls on your PC, along with transfers between them. This opens up using a laptop’s microphone and speaker for a better calling experience. And like using the Photos app on a Mac with iCloud, this app gives you access to view the most recent 2,000 photos from the Samsung phone, on the PC, up from 25. iCloud only shows you the latest 1,000 photos between your connected devices.

This model S20 also gets Samsung DeX wireless support, along with a promise of three generations of Android and One UI software updates. Three generations of Android updates means that Google security updates will continue to arrive for more than two years. I experienced two S20 FE 5G firmware updates from AT&T. The updates seemed to have improved how quickly the cameras react when recording in low light.

One important distinction to note about Android updates is that they come from the wireless carrier. For example, when Google makes a security update, they will send it to AT&T for compatibility testing. Once they certify it, they send the firmware update out in batches to their customers. This process can take several months in some instances.

The Service

Calls were loud and clear over AT&T’s 5G. I did not experience any dropped calls. Getting back to the data side of the test. One of the ways I use my smartphone is as a WiFi hotspot. I will connect to it throughout the day on different devices depending on what I need to do.

Sometimes I will stream videos from my tablet or play Internet connected games that require a continuous connection. Then, there are the video calls and social media uploads I will do each day.

Doing these everyday tasks with the Samsung S20 FE 5G as my hotspot yielded interesting results. When the smartphone switched to 5Ge from 5G, the hotspot service from the phone became unnecessarily slow to respond. I have tested 5Ge AT&T service in my area before on the LG G8x ThinQ, and it was always speedy.

I had heard a few months ago that 5G+ was available in small pockets of Las Vegas. So I found out where to go on the Las Vegas Strip to try it out, which was near Caesars Palace. Unfortunately, the S20 FE 5G cannot connect to 5G+ cell sites. The 5G chip in this phone is not compatible with 5G+ signal.

What was the fastest 5G that I experienced during the test? While connected to 5G, my fastest test speed according to the SpeedTest.net app was 174Mbps. The slowest 5G speed test yielded about 12Mbps. This means that while AT&T may have the fastest overall 5G wireless speeds in the country, they have work yet to do.

5G is new and there are billions of dollars yet for the cell companies to spend on upgrading towers and their backend fiber connections. The promise of extremely fast 5G is there and I know that speeds will increase as the upgrades continue.

As these 5G upgrades continue, the Samsung S20 FE 5G will feel speedier. Zoom video calls, downloading game and system updates, uploading photos and videos, will all happen at a faster rate on this smartphone.

For an overall value to the technology that you get, Samsung’s S20 Fan Edition 5G from AT&T, in either the 128GB or 256GB models, is my top choice (4.5/5 stars) for a midrange flagship smartphone right now. The cameras produce sharp photos with excellent detail, even in low light. Recording 4K video with the ultra wide camera was fun and easy. Spend about half of what you would on an iPhone 12 Pro Max and get some features that are better than Apple’s top flagship.

New Apple iMac 27″ for 2020 Photo by Apple

Apple released a big upgrade to the iMac 27”, maybe the last with Intel CPUs to the product line. The new iMac features 10th-gen Intel CPUs with up to an incredible 10 cores, double the memory capacity (up to 128GB RAM), SSD storage across the lineup, a new True Tone Retina display, 1080p FaceTime camera, and a lot more.

New iMac 27” Features and Specs

– 10th-gen Intel Core processors that provide up to 65% faster CPU performance (according to Apple). Processors can include up to a 10-cores with a 3.6GHz base clock speed and Turbo Boost up to 5.0GHz.
– AMD Radeon Pro 5000 series graphics options with up to 55% faster performance than the previous generation (according to Apple).
– Up to 128GB of RAM, compared with up to 64GB with the previous iMac lineup
– Up to 8TB of SSD storage, compared with up to 2TB with the previous generation.
– True Tone technology that automatically adjusts the white balance of the iMac display to match the color temperature of the light around the user.
– Nano-Texture glass is available as a $500 upgrade. Apple says this finish “maintains contrast while scattering light to reduce glare to the barest minimum.”
– 1080p front-facing FaceTime camera, up from 720p in the previous lineup.
– Apple’s custom-designed T2 Security chip for encryption.
– The T2 Security Chip also works with the speakers to enable variable EQ for better balance, higher fidelity, and deeper bass.
– A new studio-quality microphone array for higher-quality audio.

Updates to the iMac Pro and iMac 21.5”

Apple also announced that its base iMac 21.5” come with SSDs for all models, for the first time. Customers can also select their iMac 21.5” to be installed with a Fusion Drive. Those combine a large HDD and SSD into one logical unit.

The iMac Pro now comes with a standard 10-core Intel Xeon processor. Designed for pro users who require even greater performance, the iMac Pro features Xeon CPUs up to an incredible 18-cores, graphics performance up to 22 teraflops, up to 256GB of quad-channel ECC memory, and a brilliant 27” Retina 5K display. It is like having a Mac Pro in an iMac form factor.

Pricing and Availability

Starting at $1,799 in the US, the new iMac 27” is available to order today on Apple’s website and in the Apple Store app. It will begin arriving to customers and will be in select Apple Store locations and Apple Authorized Resellers starting this week. Starting at $1,099 in the US, and $4,999 in the US, respectively, the updated models of the iMac 21.5” and iMac Pro will be available to order today on Apple’s website and in the Apple Store app and will be in select Apple Store locations and Apple Authorized Resellers beginning next week. Additional configuration options, accessories and more can be found on Apple’s website under the Mac section.

CES 2021 Convention Goes All Digital

CTA or the Consumer Technology Association has announced that the CES 2021 convention for next year will now be an “all-digital experience.” Amid the pandemic, it is not a good idea to have an in person event with more than 50 people, much less 170,000.

A virtual show will now be what is offered to exhibitors, buyers, sellers, media, analysts, and industry associates. It is currently scheduled to take place from January 6 – 9, 2021. The new event will showcase new products, inventions, services and prototypes via live streaming video feeds. It will be different, but hopefully the connections with exhibitors can still be made.

“Amid the pandemic and growing global health concerns about the spread of COVID-19, it’s just not possible to safely convene tens of thousands of people in Las Vegas, in early January 2021 to meet and do business in person,” said Gary Shapiro, president and CEO, CTA. “Technology helps us all work, learn, and connect during the pandemic – and that innovation will also help us reimagine CES 2021 and bring together the tech community in a meaningful way. By shifting to an all-digital platform for 2021, we can deliver a unique experience that helps our exhibitors connect with existing and new audiences.”

More information regarding details to how all of this will work should be revealed by the CTA in the coming months. At this point in years past, I would have already registered for CES. Registration is going to be different and those attending will also.

Millions of people are out of work around the globe, which means many that had attended CES this year will not make it next year for various reasons. The people in public relations for the companies who will be exhibiting digitally will have their work cut out for them.

I have been attending CES for decades, and I will be sure to sign up for the one in 2021. I am hoping that the ever-important “collisions,” those serendipitous meetings, will still occur at future events. For the exhibitors to have a successful virtual CES 2021, they will need to heavily rely on their past relationships with the media.

Ultimate Dads and Grads Gear Guide 2020 Preview

My awesome Dads and Grads Gear Guide for this year is due out tomorrow. You will see a preview of a few gadgets here, but for the most excellent devices that I found for you, be sure to visit this link to my article on MacTrast.

Celebrate your Dad and Grad during these interesting times, they will enjoy your thoughtfulness in 2020 and beyond.

Enclave CineHome II 5.1 True Wireless Surround Sound – $999

Setting up a complete home surround sound system should not take earning a degree in audio engineering. Enclave knows how to make an easy to setup system. Each of the satellite speakers are wireless and is preprogrammed to connect to a single hub device, called the CineHub. This hub then plugs into the TV via an HDMI cable. Get yours now and set it up in less time than it takes for an Uber Eats delivery to arrive.

EcoReco L5+ Electric Scooter – $999

Zipping around the neighborhood and to the local park is so much easier on wheels with an efficient electric motor. EcoReco’s latest L5+ has all of the above, with a battery that lasts for quite a long time. I have put on over 50 miles so far on the scooter, which makes playing Pokemon Go somewhat easier.

Anker PowerCore Slim 10000 mAh PD Backup Battery – $29.99

Extending the life of a smartphone, drone, e-Reader, tablet, and action cameras are more than necessary in these tough times. We all want our tech to last as long as we can stay awake for. This battery can do that and charge PowerDelivery devices at 18W. Anker is synonymous with a quality built products and good prices. Need more power? Get two batteries.

These are a preview to the most incredible Dads and Grads gifts for 2020. I have found one in particular that will have you seeing the stars.

Apple MacBook Pro 13 2020 Photo by Apple

Apple officially announced an updated MacBook Pro 13” today. Some rumors had the new MacBook Pro at 14”, which would have been a replacement for the 13” model. Moving towards a 14” screen is what I have seen various Windows manufacturers do with theirs. Most Windows laptop builders want a 4:3 aspect ratio to fit multiple full sized pages on a screen at one time.

The new models offer the updated 10th gen CPUs, for up to 80% faster graphics performance and makes 16GB of faster 3733MHz RAM memory standard on a few configurations. The new MacBook Pro 13” is available today, starting at $1,200, and $100 less for education customers.

The new MacBook Pro finally has the new Magic Keyboard, as has been seen in the new MacBook Air 2020 and MacBook Pro 16”. The Magic Keyboard has a redesigned scissor mechanism with 1mm of key travel, which fixes so many of the issues that users of the “butterfly” keyboard faced in the previous MBP 13” models. The Magic Keyboard also features a physical Escape key, along with Touch Bar and Touch ID, for a keyboard that delivers the best typing experience ever on a Mac laptop. The Touch ID feature means that the T2 chip is included in these new models as well.

Apple’s Senior director of Mac ad iPad Product Marketing said, “Whether you’re a college student, a developer, or a creative pro, the 13-inch MacBook Pro delivers powerful performance, a stunning Retina display, and all-day battery life in our most portable pro notebook. Today we’re adding the new Magic Keyboard, doubling the standard storage, and boosting performance, making the 13-inch MacBook Pro an even better value for our customers.” “With these updates, our entire notebook lineup features the Magic Keyboard for the best typing experience ever on a Mac notebook, offers twice the standard storage than before, and delivers even more performance.”

The MacBook Pro 13” now comes with twice the storage of the previous gen, with standard storage starting at 256GB all of the way up to 1TB. Pro users can take advantage of the MBP 13” now offering up to a 4TB SSD.

Up to 10th-gen quad-core Intel Core processors with Turbo Boost speeds of up to 4.1GHz are now available. Customers who are upgrading from a MacBook Pro 13” with a dual-core processor will see up to 2.8 times faster performance.

The integrated Intel Iris Plus Graphics delivers up to 80% faster performance over the previous generation MBP 13” for 4K video editing, faster rendering, and smoother gameplay. The new graphics also enable users to connect to Apple’s ridiculously priced, Pro Display XDR at its full 6K resolution.

16GB of faster 3733MHz RAM memory is now offered as a standard config on select models, and for the first time on a Mac notebook at 13”, a 32GB RAM memory option is also offered. This is good news as some Android smartphones carry 12GB of RAM.

Pricing and Availability

Starting at $1,299 in the US, and $100 less for US education pricing, the new MacBook Pro 13” is available to order today on Apple’s website and in the Apple Store app. It will begin arriving to customers and will be in select Apple Stores and Apple Authorized Resellers later this week. Other pertinent details relating to this line of MacBook Pros can be found on Apple’s website under the Mac section.