Month: January 2018

Urbanista – Announces “New York” headphones two new colours with ANC and more. #Headphones

Need some new cans?? Urbansita have announced two new colours to its “NEW YORK” range which are wireless,  Dark Clown (black) and the new smashing color Moon Walk (silver). These also come in a wired edition too.  We have reviewed multiple prodcuts form this company whom names its tech after cities and we have many more reviews coming your way soon and so far their goods have proven they are good prodcuts and lasting..

New York Bluetooth headphones featuring active noise cancellation (ANC) means you can wear them at the office or in the bustling streets and enjoy your music undisturbed. With the ANC feature on, you get 16 hours of noise-free, pure musical enjoyment on one single charge. With the ANC feature off, you get 25 hours of wireless music and calls. Should you ever run out of power, you can connect them to your device with the complimentary cable.

FEATURES
  • Bluetooth: 4.1
  • Speaker size: φ40mm
  • Sensitivity: 94dB±3dB At 1KHz
  • Impedance: 32Ω15﹪
  • Frequency range: 2.4GHz-2.48GHz
  • Hands-free with microphone and volume control
  • Stand-by time: 700h
  • Play time: 16h with ANC, 25h without anc
  • Charging: Micro USB, <2.5hrs charging time
  • Compatible with Android, iOS and Windows
  • Weight: 234g (without packaging)
  • Weight including packaging: 634g
  • Package size: 200x200x85mm

BUY HERE 

Also announced is the fashionablefit range 

 

 

Finally – Alexa and Amazon Echo devices now available in Ireland. #Alexa #Amazon #IoT

Launched back in 2014 and could previously ship them in via virtual adressess but now its got easier,this also opens the door for Irish developers, There also has been a battle between this and Google Home and Amazon is winning you can read more on this HERE ,This also means better IoT  intergration for all at home and the likes has been heavily seen at CES this year with many prodcuts having the same embedded into new tech launching soon..

Amazon Alexa and Amazon Echo are now available in Ireland. Customers in Ireland can get the Alexa experience available in the United Kingdom on the all-new Amazon Echo, Echo Dot and Echo Plus, with skills from local developers including RTÉ News, Ryanair, Irish Radioplayer, Dublin’s FM104, and more. Customers can order from www.amazon.co.uk/echo and pay in Euro at checkout.

Additionally, Amazon has also expanded the Alexa Skills Kit (ASK) and the Alexa Voice Service (AVS) to enable developers around the world to build voice experiences for Alexa customers in Ireland.

“The customer response to Alexa and Echo across the world has been incredibly positive, and we’re excited to make them available to customers in Ireland,” said Jorrit Van Der Meulen, Vice President, Amazon Devices International. “Customers can just ask Alexa to provide information, play music, make calls, send messages, and use thousands of skills—including locally-developed skills from developers including RTÉ, Irish Radioplayer, Ryanair and more.”

Amazon Echo—Hands-Free, Always Ready, and Fast

Echo is designed around your voice, and is hands-free and always ready. Just ask for information, music, news, weather, and more from across the room and get results instantly. Echo uses far-field voice recognition with an array of seven microphones to clearly hear you from across the room, while advanced beam-forming technology combines the signals from the individual microphones to suppress noise, reverberation, and even competing speech.

The all-new Amazon Echo features 2nd generation far-field voice technology, and its audio design includes a dedicated tweeter, a 2.5” down-firing woofer, and Dolby processing to deliver crisp vocals and dynamic bass. Echo is designed to disappear into your home, with a variety of shell colours and finishes to fit into your home’s décor—choices include Charcoal, Sandstone, and Heather Grey. Echo Plus includes all the features of Echo, including room-filling sound powered by Dolby and a far-field microphone array, and adds a built-in smart home hub to help customers start their smart home. To help customers get started with their smart home, a Philips Hue smart lightbulb is included with the purchase of an Echo Plus while supplies last.

Echo Dot uses the same far-field voice recognition as Echo, and is designed so you can put an Echo Dot into every room. Use the built-in speaker to talk to Alexa and listen to music, or connect to speakers through Bluetooth or a 3.5mm stereo cable.

 

 Alexa—The Brain Behind Amazon Echo

Alexa—the brain behind Echo—is built in the cloud, so she’s always getting smarter. Just ask and she’ll answer questions, play music, read the news, set timers and alarms, check your calendar, and much more. Customers in Ireland will be able to access the majority of features currently available in the UK on Amazon Echo, Echo Dot and Echo Plus—including the ability to make calls and send messages from Echo to Echo, or to and from the Alexa app for iOS and Android.

Amazon Music Unlimited—now in Ireland, and streaming on Alexa

Alexa offers a seamless, hands-free music experience with premier music services including the all-new Amazon Music Unlimited service—also available in Ireland. Customers in Ireland can stream Amazon Music Unlimited to hear a catalogue of more than 40 million songs, including a wide-selection of hand-curated playlists and personalised stations. Using just their voice, customers can search for music by artist, album, track or genre, and control volume and playback by saying “Alexa, turn it up”, or “Alexa, skip this song” If you aren’t sure who an artist is, just say “Alexa, which song is this?”

Amazon Music Unlimited is €9.99 per month for an individual plan, or €14.99 per month for a family plan covering up to six family members. Customers can also get an exclusive Echo subscription plan available for only €3.99 per month for a single Amazon Echo device, with full access to Amazon Music Unlimited.

Alexa Skills Kit—Developers Can Create New Skills for Alexa

Amazon has made the Alexa Skills Kit (ASK) available to developers interested in building skills for customers in Ireland. ASK is a collection of self-service APIs and tools that make it fast and easy for developers to create new voice-driven capabilities for Alexa. No experience with speech recognition or natural language understanding is required—Amazon does all the work to hear, understand, and process the customer’s spoken request so a developer doesn’t have to. In addition to offering skills from Spotify, Philips Hue, IKEA, Hive and more, Alexa also has skills from Irish developers including RTÉ, Ryanair, Irish Radioplayer and more.

Alexa Voice Service—Device Makers Can Integrate Alexa into Their Devices

The Alexa Voice Service (AVS) enables developers to integrate Alexa directly into their products, bringing the convenience of voice control to any connected device. Through AVS, hardware manufacturers can build Alexa-enabled products and offer customers in Ireland access to a growing number of Alexa features, smart home integrations, and skills. AVS provides developers with access to a suite of resources to quickly and easily build Alexa-enabled products, including APIs, hardware development kits, software development kits, and documentation.

Developers can learn more about the Alexa Skills Kit and the Alexa Voice Service here: https://developer.amazon.com/alexa.

Pricing and Availability – Customers in Ireland can order Amazon Echo from just £89.99, Echo Plus for just £139.99, and Echo Dot for just £49.99 from Amazon.co.uk, with the option to pay in Euro at checkout, with Irish credit cards, and ship directly to addresses in Ireland. For more information on Echo devices, visit www.amazon.co.uk/echo.

Argos also have some prodcuts listed right now so check them out HERE 

 

 

Verizon Telematics Continues European Expansion with its Acquisition of Movildata Internacional

The parent company of Irish fleet and mobile workforce management solution provider Fleetmatics has continued its European expansion with the acquisition of Movildata Internacional, a Murcia, Spain-based provider of commercial fleet management solutions.

Verizon Communications Inc. has today announced the acquisition of Movildata Internacional, a Murcia, Spain-based provider of commercial fleet management solutions. Terms of the transaction, which closed on Jan. 19, 2018, have not been disclosed.

Verizon Telematics is an established leader across Europe with a strong presence in the United Kingdom, Ireland, the Netherlands, Germany, France and Poland. Movildata, an established industry leader in Spain, complements Verizon Telematics’ expanding operations in southern Europe, specifically Portugal and Italy.

“We see Movildata as a natural fit and highly synergistic with our European business,” said Andrés Irlando, CEO of Verizon Telematics. “This strategic acquisition strengthens Verizon Telematics’ market position, accelerates growth and allows us to expand the footprint of our market-leading solutions and services.”

With more than five million commercial vehicles, Spain represents the second largest market for commercial vehicles in Western Europe according to leading industry analyst firm Berg Insight. Furthermore, the market for fleet management solutions is significantly underpenetrated compared to other major markets in Europe, creating opportunities for growth.

Movildata employees have joined the Verizon Telematics team and will continue to drive sales and support for its current fleet management products. In addition, Verizon Telematics plans to add Fleetmatics’ REVEAL™ to the portfolio of software solutions available to Spanish fleet operators. Verizon Telematics provides world-class vehicle tracking and business intelligence solutions designed to help generate cost savings, improve productivity and help monitor driver safety for virtually any mobile workforce.

“We are proud of what the company has accomplished in this market, and we know that with this transaction our success will continue,” said Luis Enrique Rodrigo, CEO of Movildata. “Verizon Telematics’ expansive global reach and robust portfolio of technologies and solutions will allow us to grow the business in Spain and expand our customer service to the next level.”

#Freda – The new organic period care range using #AI to drag #Femcare into the 21st Century @fredaspeaks

For the ladies to take note.. Freda is the first truly organic, 100% cotton, eco-friendly period care range that is using tech and artificial intelligence to reboot femcare for the 21st Century, and is on a mission to de-stigmatise periods and end period poverty which affects over 130m women and girls worldwide.

Using artificial intelligence to predict your start date its online period tracker allows you to sync the delivery of your products to ensure they arrive a few days before your cycle. The tracker combines an advanced algorithm and insight from specialist consultant gynaecologists. As you input your personal data, the algorithm gets to know your period cycles over time which makes even irregular periods more predictable and the Freda delivery timelier.

Named after Freyja who, in Norse mythology, is a goddess associated with love, sex, beauty and fertility, Freda believes that having honest conversations is key to creating a generational change towards bringing periods to the forefront of awareness which will help to bust myths, break taboos and normalise the conversation. A Freda subscription costs around £6.99 a month.

Aimed at modern, health and socially conscious women, its tampons are made of 100% certified organic cotton that are biodegradable, hypoallergenic – and free from chemicals and synthetic fibres commonly found in some big brand tampons – whilst their pads contain 100%eco-friendly, biodegradable materials. Freda is on a mission to break down taboos and stigma by normalising conversation around periods. The company has been created for women by women – and they give back to women as a portion of every Freda purchase is donated to initiatives worldwide tackling period poverty.

“From transparency to responsibility to access, the whole femcare space needs rebooting. And Freda is here to reboot it”, says Freda founder Affi Parvizi-Wayne who started the company after seeing refugees stuck at European border crossings on the news and wondering how they managed their periods. “We want to talk openly about the subject without patronising women or telling them how to live their periods. We want to embrace how we experience periods and start recognising them as a sign of a healthy woman”, Affi adds.

Freda is an online subscription service which understands that every cycle is different, and allows you to select your own combination of products and absorbencies based on your period. Using artificial intelligence to predict your start date its online period tracker allows you to sync the delivery of your products to ensure they arrive a few days before your cycle. The tracker combines an advanced algorithm and insight from specialist consultant gynaecologists. As you input your personal data, the algorithm gets to know your period cycles over time which makes even irregular periods more predictable and the Freda delivery timelier.

A Freda subscription costs around £6.99 a month and can be purchased at www.myfreda.com

Instagram @MyFreda – Facebook @MyFreda – Twitter @fredaspeaks

First look and unboxing. GearVita (KingWear) GV68 IP68 smartwatch. #tech #smartwatch

We will be working with GearVita in the coming year and they have kindly sent over their latest smartwatch to check out which so far looks quite good and has lots of features going on and the price is very competitive considering known brands that contine to make smartwatches keep their prices high and continue to rise which is not something many people who want to splash out on with a companion device especially on their first outing wit wh a new purchase to see what is on offer should they wish to invest in such a product.

Check out the unboxing and walkthrough below and if there is any questions in the meantime during our review period feel free to ask us here or on our social channels placed on the top right of site.

Product Features:

Sleep monitoring

Carefully monitor your sleep quality.

Pedometer

Record the steps you take and count the distance to make you fully control your sports.

Sedentary reminder

Develop scientific habits and effectively resist sub-health.

Anti-lost

When the Bluetooth is disconnected or the phone is out of the Bluetooth distance, the watch will alert.

Remote control phone camera

Effortless realize remote control and record every wonderful moment with any angle.

Heart rate monitor

Considerate monitor contact designed on the behind of the watch, take care of your health anytime and anywhere.

Bluetooth 4.0

Connected with mobile phone App, stable, fast and super low consumption.

1.54 inch TFT screen, 240 x 240 pixels

Best suitable screen size with high definition picture displaying gives you great experience.

BUY HERE

UNBOXING AND WALKTHROUGH

Review – Edifier Luna Eclipse Multimedia Speakers. #Edifier #Multimedia #Speakers

I love my speakers and have a large collection here so I have a nice choice when I want to chop and change setups but for a permanent setup Edifier has been one for example in my house for some time and currently I have the M3280BT set up with my TV and so on and it sounds great, these Luna Eclipse speakers we have checked out have been placed either side of my corner couch and they pack some sound and they look different which is great and a move from the industrial design that’s common, They might look out of place but they are eye catching and look cool.

UNBOXING

Build quality

These are solid and also on the heavy side but that’s not an issue and by saying heavy they are not like impossible to move around they are just heavy compared to similar out there which is not really a problem,these are the kind of speakers that you would leave in a permanent spot and they can be easily moved regardless. They have a piano like finish which comes in three colours, Red,Black or White which all look nice as a whole.

Specs

  • TOTAL POWER OUTPUT:15W x 2 + 22W x 2
  • THD + N:10%
  • SNR:≥85dBA
  • INPUT SENSITIVITY:600mV ± 50mV
  • FREQUENCY RESPONSE:50Hz ~ 20 kHz (± 6dB)
  • TWEETER UNIT:Φ19mm silk dome magnetically shielded, 6Ω
  • SPEAKER UNIT:Tweeter/Mid-range: 19mm, 4Ω / 3 inch (82mm) 6Ω
  • PASSIVE DRIVER:3 inch
  • DIMENSION:122 x 212 x 222mm (W x H x D)
  • WEIGHT:3.6Kg net | 4.15Kg gross
1 / 12

The package comes with two speakers and cables and the ones connecting to each other are proprietary as the main features are on the Left speaker which are the touch controls which again are simple with on/off and volume again the same applies to the remote control that comes with the package its a simple affair with three buttons, On/Off and Volume, It’s really a simple affair all over which keeps thing simple just the way people like it.

 

Dual Base Radiators.

These are cool even to watch them in action and the same applies to the front which you can see below, Each of Luna’s satellites is equipped with a ¾” silk-domed tweeter and a 3″ full-range bass driver, together producing an impressive 74 watts RMS. This Bluetooth speaker also contains two 3″ passive bass radiators, maximising the bass performance. Luna is armed with Digital Signal Processing (DSP) and Dynamic Range Control (DRP) technologies, minimising audio distortion even at the highest volumes

 

 

I have given these a good test on various volume levels and genres of music and it kept pumping out the tunes with no real loss of quality or distortion they pump out really great sound at all volume levels and don’t budge considered the volume level they have and the underside have a rubber foot so to speak to keep them in place as speakers tend to move on high vibration but these stayed in place on my shelf and on my purposely made storage boxes at either end of my couch.

 

 

Setting up is simple and seamless be it to your phone,laptop or TV it takes seconds and you are done which for me is a good thing as at times some take some time to set up this was an effortless sync to all my devices at home as I tried them in different environments but finally decided the corner couch would be their final resting place but that could change I also have my older system set up so with that and these combined I have a really great sound going on in the house especially when watching movies it’s really loud which is the way i like it.

My only issue with these is the connecting cable that comes with the speakers which is proprietary and this would be my only cause for concern should the cable get damaged but if you have this set up in your home and the cables are free from harm you will be fine, you can also plug your pc or phone into them via the audio connecting cable which will be in time a worry for mobile phone users as this 3.5mm socket is now disappearing on phones. Sound connected this way is also great by the way and I could not see any different connected wirelessy.

Overall I was impressed with their unique design and their quality sound and If these where placed all over the house ie having a few sets you would have some set up going on with a different look that sticks out from the norm. If you want to make them shine some more you can get additional stands which attach underneath they can be placed almost anyhwere..

BUY HERE OR AMAZON 

 

Need new earphones/headphones. Check out @sudiosweden ‏and our 15% discount.

If you are huge headphone/earphone fan like me and is in the market for something new check out Sudio Sweden who have some really nice products on offer and we have teamed up with them and they have kindly given our readers a 15% discount on all purchases all you need to do is enter (techbuzzireland15) at the checkout.

Sudio has engineered an ultra-modern range of lifestyle headphones so that you’ll never miss a beat. No matter what you’re up to, bring along crystal clear, studio-quality sound and find your perfect Sudio Moment.

Check out their website HERE and dont forget to use the code techbuzzireland15 at the checkout. We will be speaking some more on their prodcuts in the coming weeks so stay tuned for more..

CHECK OUT THE SUDIO REGENT 

VEGAS Pro 365 subscription now available. #Video #Editing #Software

Focused on the first-time users, this new version offers a complete video and audio editing solution with all the features of VEGAS Pro 15 and SOUND FORGE Audio Studio 12, along with online training courses to learn VEGAS Pro.

VEGAS Creative Software adds a first-of-its-kind video and audio production package to the award-winning VEGAS Pro product line. The subscription-based-offering VEGAS Pro 365 is priced from $16.67/month.

Focused on the first-time users, this new version offers a complete video and audio editing solution with all the features of VEGAS Pro 15 and SOUND FORGE Audio Studio 12, along with online training courses to learn VEGAS Pro.

The existing versions and 30-day trial version of VEGAS Pro continue to exist.

“With VEGAS Pro 365, we want to make it easier for aspiring video creators and enthusiasts to access professional video and audio production software. With flexible terms and additional services, we seek to fulfil a long-standing demand of our VEGAS Pro fan base” says Gary Rebholz, Product Owner.

For video editors, the new software package includes all the latest features of VEGAS Pro with high-end plug-ins and online training courses to learn to use VEGAS Pro. Users now also have full access to the audio editor SOUND FORGE Audio Studio to add high quality sound to their projects. Video projects can be edited offline within the subscription just like with the perpetual license. Projects also remain fully accessible to users even after expiration and can be easily imported and edited by other versions of VEGAS Pro. All components of the package stay up-to-date with the latest feature and product updates.

After taking over the video editing software VEGAS Pro from Sony Creative Software in 2016, MAGIX has since then released two new versions, VEGAS Pro 14 and 15. The additional offer of VEGAS Pro 365 now makes the product even more accessible. “We will continue to offer and update perpetual licenses of VEGAS Pro. What we want is an additional complete package customized to the needs of first-time users” says Rebholz.

More detailed information can be downloaded here:

http://www.vegascreativesoftware.com/gb/vegas-pro-365/

Speech Central – An App to browse the internet on the go with your headphones.#Apps

Tech is proving more popular day by day and now specifically with digitial assistants and after seeing a slew of new products at CES this year they are now getting embedded into many products be it Google or Alexa for example they can make things that be easier for us but this in turn does make us more lazy rather than typing in words with keys be it on the laptop or phone but who am I to say that.I am a fan but not bought into it fully as yet and currently working on turning my home into a full smart equiped environment, More on that another day.. There is this new app called Speech Central we are here to talk about today though so check it out..

Your time is valuable. Don’t spend it in front of the screen addicted to the web. With Speech Central you can take the web on the go.

 

Listen to the headlines from your favorite sites and select their linked articles to be read by using only the headphones or Bluetooth hands-free. For the first time feel the freedom without the need to prepare your text to speech session in advance.

Listening to the news and web articles on the go will save you the time in front of the screen at home. But the saving is double – screen is addictive and while you read you’ll probably waste your time doing useless things on the net. So one hour a day saved for you is certain for most of the users.

The app is tested to be accessible by visually impaired users. It has many features specifically tailored to users with disabilities like support for DAISY books, dyslexia friendly font, keyboard shortcuts for the most of commands available in the app and on the iPhone it can be controlled with headphone or Bluetooth hands-free buttons and functions of those buttons can be customized. Combined with the interactive web feature available in the app the latter may make the web much easier to access on the mobile device for a person with eyesight or related disability.

 

Ivan Icin explains to me why he created this app..

The work on the app started back in 2014. As I was reading a lot on the internet and I thought that I could save a lot of time by fulfilling that activity on the go (and also save myself from addictive browsing on the screen), I’ve decided to make the app for that. At that point it was a fairly simple app but it had necessary convenience that were not available in other apps. Over the time it has turned into one of the most complex text-to-speech apps, available on all platforms with some unique features.

You can download this app from the following stores below… Or check out his site here http://labsii.com/products/speech-central/