Just a quick heads up as this time of year can be tempting for shoppers and competitions are the rage this time of year.. In the early hours I got an email from a bogus account claiming to offer me a tasty €750 euro voucher at Primark or better known as Penneys. As per norm the email was reported and Primark have confirmed it is indeed fake and are now investigating the matter so just be extra vigilant and ignore anything like it that comes by. All the details are listed below and also avoid the website listed as this is not secure nor safe and only out to get you.. Tell your friends and have a great new year folks.
The introductory base inventor kit from LittleBits includes everything creative kids need to turn their ideas into inventions! With relevant parts and gadgets such as sensors, battery’s and light plus much more the inventor kit brings a whole new level of education to kids in the fields of (engineering, science, technology, art, mathematics) this kit will help them improve and learn new skills for these types of subjects/fields it does it using the simple yet very well laid out designs and videos that also make it easier to follow on the app teaching the kids to build and develop their technical skills and also building skills.
There are over 12 inventions in the kit and a free app guide to help the kids through the fun inventions would also be a very good family activity for parents to do with their kids. Building fun inventions, like a voice-activated robotic gripper arm or a room-protecting Intruder alarm. Then kids are challenged to create their own inventions to improve their room, community, Etc. They gain a lifelong skill that will improve their future and they also do it by having fun and taking part in the building activity.
Product features:
Include in-app instructions for over 12 activities.
Tech sensors,
paper templates for each activity,
2 mounting boards,
LED light,
motor,
stickers,
free inventor app
Battery.
Product specifications:
Skill Level Beginner and upwards.
Educational Objective(s) (sensors, lights and templates..
Assembly Required No.
Batteries Required? Yes.
Batteries Included? Yes.
First use & packaging of the inventor kit
The first impression of the boxes is nice packaging but not very well laid out to what the idea is as is a lot going on the front and back of the box but is a nice size for the amount in it.Very easy to open this packaging as in this kit it is only a matter of sliding the main box out and everything inside is nicely organised and placed inside the box with the instructions placed on the top as seen below.
Labelled clearly like in the pictures and the app will show a picture of the template needed they are labelled at the top..
Template #1 – Template #12 – The labelling on all the paper cut-outs listed.
App & App instructions to make an invention
This app is available on any smartphone or smart device.
First look when the app opens:
The Littlebits Inventor kit had an easy layout, simple and quick to follow. This was thought out and designed clear and simple to follow. The bright colours give a very good outlook purple contrasting with the plain white background in an eye-catching way. The colours would keep your attention and interest.
Some Inventions available to make on the app
The steps to making one of the inventions:
The invention made below is invention number 1 which is called stuff protector. The App will show pictures of parts needed to build this invention and guide the user step by step through the building process both by picture and video.
All the paper templates to make the different inventions
Grab Template 5 below
Follow the video the app plays of folding the lines when next is pressed
Once the video is followed the template is done & the circuit can build.
Parts needed for the circuit
Video for building circuit snips
Then the invention can be then put together.
The above shows a completed invention. The downloaded the app is filled with some educational slides of information about the parts that are used in the process. The parts were clearly laid out with a video making the building process a lot easier. The app is a great visual aid, beneficial and useful.
2 DC motors, light sensor, Bluetooth control hub, servo
Great For
New Inventors
Music Lovers
Space Buffs
In – App Instructions
✓
✓
✓
Note: Not suitable for children under 8 years.
Conclusion:
The Littlebits Inventor kit is an educational kit for kids aged 10 and upwards. Younger kids would find a difficulty using the parts and app together. This kit is educational and could help kids develop in many ways and would also be good for a family activity for kids and guardians to bond. It can also work through the phone via the app allowing a group of kids could get together and socialise and work together to invent and create new ideas as the app suggests. The app itself is excellent easy is to follow especially nowadays that most kids use tablets, phones and smart devices. It is educational, encourages kids to think of ideas on their own all while teaching them how to build and create.
The kit itself is very easily laid out simple to attach and nothing too complicated or dangerous to kids. This is an ideal gift to kids 8 and upwards as will guarantee hours of fun and learning as it takes approximately 12 min to 1 hour to build some of the inventions depending on the user.
The kit is expected to last a long time with free instruction on the app used via any smart device. There are 12 different ideas ensuring hours of entertainment and learning fun. This is a great product for those interested in building.
Phone mounts come in all shapes and sizes some are effective and some are not be it long or short term and I have gone through some amount of these over the years with them mostly giving in after a few weeks, In particular those that stick to your window via suction cup and what gives on these is usually the grip that holds the device.
This new one we got in from Mobile Fun is a good one in more ways than one. Its small and can be placed anywhere in the vehicle and has really strong magnets. I have tried several of these types before and the magnet is very strong compared to ones of old and you get two different sizes of magnets in the box. With the Ringke Car mount holder you have 360 degree access to your device and this is also ideal for larger phones too which is now the trend. If you want a small no obtrusive strong magnetic mount this is the one to get.
Sennheiser have been a brand I once exclusively just used years ago before I got into the tech review scene, but I went off on another tangent with others over the years and now I see what I have missed overall when it comes to quality,style and sound.. These in short are top notch but you will be paying a price for them but that is something an audiophile is willing to pay for headphones that give you everything in once package which these do.
The headphones can pair with two devices at once which is great and something that needs to be seen more across the board here. With the Momentum Free you also get magnetised tips so they wont dangle all over the place when sat around your neck and they also come with a cool leather case to store them too which is a welcome package in the box.
There is no battery indicator here on these which is one annoyance,even when connected to an Android smartphone it does not give you the percentage level like most headphones do but if you hit the volume down key you get a robotic voice giving you a status but nothing concrete. For example my last reading was called out as “you have below one hour playtime”. You do have a blue and red LED light flashing here but this is for status and a red flashing light means its time to juice up via micro USB.
When it comes to music these are great across all genres and so on with a nice deep bass and crisp and clear and really enjoyable as a whole and then you have the CapTune app which only enhances the experience overall, The CapTune app is similar to what others have out there and again it works well and its free and you should use this app to get the best experience out of these.The built in in-line remote is one of full functionality here and very tactile with clicky buttons and the outer two being slightly angled for assurance you have hit the right one if using blindly.
These I feel are not for joggers or gym goers due to how they are weighted and will pop out once you start to warm up,.ie sweat but you can get away with light workouts or jogging runs. For the average consumer who commutes will be fine but the battery life is a second downfall here with around 6 hours or playback which for many is sufficient but for those who have long commutes they would need a battery back up as there is no option to plug-in direct here heapdhone jack.
If you are into blogging or vlogging for that matter and want to up your audio game and not having to spend a fortune on audio, equipment this could be the thing for you. I am a raw shooter and just use my smartphone to record and some minor editing but this little kit is simple and effective and easy to use via an app on your smartphone and its great. The set-up process is simple and the app is simple to use too and there some screenshots below in the gallery to see what you have to deal with.
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With the Memory Mic, you can capture amazing sound in broadcast quality, the perfect accompaniment to your video. Memory Mic initially connects via Bluetooth and you don’t have to worry about getting out of range. The microphone continues to record at any distance from your smartphone.
You can also use this in both landscape and portrait mode
You simply pair the device to the phone you are using and follow the simple instructions on the app and clip the device to your shirt or even have it close by and it all just works and again its portable and you get up to 4 hours on one single charge and better again it is USB-C and hats off for that as I am a USB-C guy and there is no need for an extra cable to carry about and also keep in mind how portable this is. Check out the video below and as always if you have any questions feel free to ask and tell us if you feel there is much difference..
The microphone features a high quality condenser capsule and the unique Sennheiser technology secures unlimited recording distance between the Memory Mic and your smartphone. One touch audio and video synchronization gives you smooth and wireless audio recording, with dropout free results. Lightweight and rugged housing and the easy attachable magnetic clip makes the Memory Mic a must have for smartphone video recording.
Our next case in for inspection for the Goggle Pixel 3XL is the Zizo Wireless case from Mobile fun which you can buy here. These are great cases all round and we have tested some in the past and they really are tough quality cases and also look good and come in a range of colours too so there is choice for the consumer. This case also comes with a kickstand so this is ideal for media consumption and no need to remove phone from the case.
Equip your Google Pixel 3 XL with military grade protection and superb functionality with the ultra-rugged Bolt case in red and black from Zizo. Coming complete with a tempered glass screen protector, handy belt clip and integrated kickstand.
While on his honeymoon in Tokyo last year, entrepreneur Ronan Cunningham stumbled across a little-known free-roam virtual reality game called Zero Latency. So impressed by it, Ronan persuaded his wife to cut their honeymoon short and detour to Australia where he convinced the game’s founder to sell him the exclusive rights to Dublin and London. Having already brought FootGolf (footee) to Ireland six years ago, Ronan is now preparing to launch Zero Latency in Dublin in the spring.
Ronan says, “Having experienced Zero Latency first hand while I was in Tokyo on my honeymoon with my wife, I knew instantly that this was a fantastic opportunity to bring a totally new type of business to Ireland and the United Kingdom. Going on your honeymoon and coming back with a business is something that you don’t hear everyday but it certainly adds a special element to the business venture!
I am committed to bringing new experiences to Dublin and feel both privileged and excited to be in a position to do so. In 2013, I introduced FootGolf to Ireland after enrolling in an Innovation and Entrepreneurship course at the UCD Innovation Academy. It’s been amazing seeing FootGolf’s popularity spread throughout Ireland and we cannot wait to see what lies in store for Zero Latency.’
Lenbrook International, maker of high-resolution audio hardware and software solutions, is pleased to announce that a first set of Amazon Alexa Skills for its BluOS Hi-Res Distributed Audio platform, will be available January 15, 2019. Users of BluOS Enabled products from Bluesound, NAD Electronics, and DALI Speakers, will benefit from hands-free control of their music from any Amazon Echo device.
Amazon’s Alexa represents the first platform-wide voice control integration for BluOS in a broader voice control strategy that seeks to offer users a choice in which voice assistant they use. This strategy includes the creation of BluVoice, the voice-control interface that acts as the intermediary between BluOS and a compatible voice assistant. For example, BluOS users can ask their Echo device to deliver music playback commands to their BluOS Enabled device via BluVoice with phrases like, “Alexa, ask BluVoice to play preset 1 in the study,” or “Alexa, ask BluVoice to play new songs on Tidal”.
The strategy also opens up the possibilities of what can be controlled with voice assistants. With the first set of Alexa Skills to be published on January 15, 2019, BluOS users will be able to access popular or user-defined playlists from top music services, favourite radio stations, or adjust volume levels or group players together to sync music throughout the home. Some of these skills, like grouping and ungrouping players, as well as accessing playlists from a local library and not just from a streaming service, are examples of the rich voice control experience that BluOS’s implementation offers over others.
With the addition of voice control, BluOS users now have an even wider array of control options for high-resolution music management and multi-room playback, including from the BluOS Controller app for phones, tablets, and computers, IR remotes, hardware chassis controls, and home control integrations like Crestron, Control 4, and RTI.
Comments Andrew Haines, BluOS Product Manager at Lenbrook International, “Voice control has been on the BluOS roadmap for some time, but we wanted to ensure that we delivered the most flexible approach for all of our customers. Externally integrating an Alexa Skill for BluOS is the first of many collaborations with the major voice platforms, ultimately giving BluOS users unrivalled choice in which voice system they use to control their music.”
The BluOS Alexa Skills deliver a raft of commands through any network-connected Echo device, including play/pause, next/back, shuffle on/off and managing the play queue for most user libraries and music services. Users can use voice commands to switch between inputs on any of their BluOS players, set default music services, preset radio stations or play from their network-connected personal music library. Using the power of the Alexa AI (and depending on the music service being listened to) users can ask what is playing or what track is up next, what album the track is from or the name of the artist. The list of commands will expand as various music services add more voice control functionality.
For more information about voice control in BluOS and enabling Alexa Skills on a BluOS device, visit BluOS.net/BluVoice.
Leading digital agency, AGENT Digital, has created Ireland’s most comprehensive website speed report, surveying the page loading times of more than 1,000 individual Irish websites throughout a wide range of a Ireland’s business sectors.
Ireland’s Website Speed Report—which details Ireland’s fastest & slowest websites by business sector—highlights that the average website loading time in the Irish eCommerce (general) sector was the slowest of all sectors surveyed, with websites taking on average 10.35 seconds to load fully on a mobile device.
AGENT Digital managing director Kevin Meaney declared the research a wake-up call not just for the Irish eCommerce (general) sector but for all Irish businesses online.
“The average load time for Irish websites is more than three times the recommended industry standard of less than 3 seconds. Research shows us 53% of people will leave a mobile page if it takes longer than 3 seconds to load (Google),” Mr Meaney said.
He added: “More than 64% of Irish people are searching and in excess of 16% are purchasing goods and services online through mobile devices every week (Statista). But our data shows that Irish business websites are not fast enough to adequately serve this traffic.”
The AGENT Digital report reveals that the slow page loading time of Ireland’s eCommerce (general) sector is part of a national trend, with the speed across all sectors averaging 7.76 seconds on mobile devices.
Mr Meaney explained that the focus on website speed has been intensifying over the past decade, and urged businesses to act now to align their page loading times to the industry standard of less than 3 seconds. He stated: “Google has for years aimed to load its pages in under a half-second, and regards 2 seconds as the e-commerce threshold. As long ago as 2012, Google was describing loading times of 5 seconds as an eternity in a world where fractions of seconds count (Google). And other research has concluded a delay of just one second can result in 11% fewer page views, a 16% decrease in customer satisfaction and a 7% loss of conversions (Aberdeen Group).”
To bring the issue up to date and into focus for Ireland in 2018, AGENT Digital’s research team created Ireland’s Website Speed Report using Google’s web performance and speed test tools to periodically test the speed of 1,081 individual Irish websites across 29 business sectors over a 12-month period.
Ireland’s Website Speed Report Ireland’s Fastest & Slowest Websites – By Business Sector
The research finds that websites in the Irish Professional Services (Consultancy) sector have the fastest average page-loading time on mobile devices (4.95 seconds), followed by websites in the Energy sector (6.08 seconds), and Financial Services (Insurance), where sites have an average page loading time of 6.45 seconds.
As noted, the research finds Retail eCommerce (General) sites with the slowest average loading time on mobile devices of all sectors, at 10.35 seconds, behind the 9.22 seconds for sites in the Non-Profit sector, and AgriBusiness websites, which have an average loading time on mobile devices of 9.19 seconds.
Just under half (14) of the 29 sectors surveyed have average loading times faster than the national average of 7.76 seconds. Eight of the sectors are in the immediate hinterland of the national average, including Automotive (7.02); Retail-Fashion (7.25); Technology-Sector Total (7.53); Resources (7.58); Food (7.67); Communications (7.73); Media & Marketing (7.85); and Construction 7.88). All sectors have average mobile loading times in excess of the recommended 2-3 seconds threshold.
NEED FOR SPEED: Managing Director AGENT Digital, Kevin Meaney, launched “Ireland’s Website Speed Report” at international race circuit Mondello Park, Co Kildare, with a call for Irish businesses to get their websites on the starting grid for 2019. “The average load time for Irish websites is more than three times the recommended industry standard of less than 3 seconds.” Image Credit: AGENT Digital
In 2018, swift mobile loading times have become critical for two reasons. The first relates to user experience (UX) as it is right now, and how UX and sales are affected by the loading delays. There is a correlation between delays and bounce rate (the percentage of users who leave a website after viewing only one page). Bounce rate increases as page-load times increase, so longer waits are more likely to result in mobile users leaving for other websites (Akamai). In addition, it’s tougher to get mobile users to convert, because their expectations for speed and reliability are higher. While it’s impressive that more than half of overall web traffic is coming from mobile (Google), this is offset by the reality that more than 53% of mobile visitors to a site will abandon a page that takes longer than three seconds to load (Google).
“Based on the industry standard of a 3-second load time, even the quickest sector in Ireland is losing over half of their mobile site visitors. With 3.59-million smartphone users in Ireland this year, and a forecast increase to 4.06-million by 2022 (Statista), this highlights the scale of the issue.” Mr Meaney stated.
He added that the recent rollout of Google’s ‘Speed Update’ had made the issue even more urgent for Irish business website owners. “With the Google ‘Speed Update’ that was rolled out in July this year, page speed is now a ranking factor for mobile searches. Websites that are slow to load will rank lower in Google search results. It is now essentials for Irish businesses to address the problem to ensure their websites are loading as quickly as possible.” (Google)
Ireland’s Website Speed Report found no sector with average loading times of less than the recommended 2-3 seconds. This research is a wake-up call to businesses to face the challenges presented by slow loading times, and their impact on page views and customer satisfaction.
With Retail – eCommerce (General) identified as the sector with the slowest average page loading speed, a glance at the market gives an indication of the potential scale of losses.
In 2018, revenue in the Irish eCommerce market is worth around €3,502m and is expected to grow to €4873m by 2022 (Statista). However, Google and other sources warn that a delay of just 1-second could result in a 7% loss in conversions. Seen in that light, the 7-second delay averaged by Irish websites in the Retail – eCommerce (General) sector becomes a stark signifier of potential losses.
Ireland’s Website Speed Report is part of the AGENT Digital goal of helping 100,000 businesses to grow online by 2030. The report was created to make Irish brands more aware of the importance of website speed, and to help improve their online businesses.
Mr Meaney stated: “It was important for us to create this speed report to highlight the issue to Irish Businesses. Many Irish brands are simply not aware that their websites are too slow. Once the issue is highlighted it can be quickly addressed through effective website speed optimisation techniques.”
As a leading digital agency AGENT Digital specialises in website speed optimisation for leading brands both nationally and internationally. To help Irish businesses, AGENT Digital has 10 pragmatic tips that companies can take to improve their website speed immediately.
