Pearl Abyss is today soft launching Black Desert Mobile for Android via the Google Play Store in seven countries after more than two million users pre-registered for the game just within 2 weeks. Now available to download in Canada, Chile, Sweden, Malaysia, Turkey, Ireland and Australia, the open-world action MMORPG will be launching on iOS and Android across the world later this year.
Black Desert Mobile offers fast-paced action combat and deep character customization that differentiate from other mobile MMORPGs. Experience an open-world filled with relaxing life skills and more, including:
Combat – Explore a deep combat system that allows players to experience the same core action of Black Desert on their mobile phone.
Customization – Discover your potential through a detailed character creation system. Design a unique adventurer by choosing from five classes and distinct skill sets to reflect your personal playstyle.
Life Skills – Hone your skills by fishing, gathering, trading, horse breeding, and camp managing your way to riches.
Leveling – Grow your character’s strength with different attributes including Equipment Enhancement, Accessories, the Black Spirit, and various Pets.
In-Depth Gameplay – In-game systems offer an immersive gameplay experience, such as social Guilds, weather changes, Black Spirit Mode, and a real-time marketplace environment.
Players can begin their new adventures by choosing from five character classes: Warrior, Ranger, Giant, Witch, or Valkyrie. Pick from masters of melee combat to those who attack from afar with range, or select a magic-based class for offensive and defensive skills.
By Liam Burke. Thanks to the nice people in Tp-link I got their Deco M4 Whole Home Mesh WiFi sytem (3 pack) to try out. It offers a single Mesh WiFi Network to cover an area of “up to 4000 sq ft” and will get rid of those nasty wifi blackspots in your home.
The system works by plugging in a base WiFi station into your existing router (using a supplied ethernet cable) and then adding the other satellite units around the house to blanket your home in lovely wifi and if you want more wifi i.e. down to a shed in the bottom of the garden you would just need to add an extra unit. Another advantage of using the Deco Mesh WiFi system is if your internet service provider is using a mobile network usually the best place to get the best LTE connection is upstairs or in a higher location, so by placing their router in the best signal location you get the most internet speed you can get and then using the Deco the best wifi over your home.
Each unit is finished in a stylish white cylinder approximately 91mm x 91mm x 190 mm with a power port, reset button and 2 ethernet ports at the rear, it would be nice if there was more ethernet ports on the Decos. The top of each Deco has a ridged effect and has a TP-Link notification light which will alert the user to issues with the unit this is configurable on/off at certain times via the app which is handy if one is located in a bedroom where you may not wish to have extra lights.
The Deco system can handle up to 100 devices, so enough for the busiest of homes.
The setup was super easy thanks to the Deco app available from the Google Play Store or via the Apple App Store
Once the app is installed it guides you through the setup process, you will need to create a Tp-Link account first then register with it.
So for each of the Deco units you just need to plug it in and open the Deco app and add another Deco to setup the whole network, you will be up and running in no time. During the setup the app will check if there is an update to the Deco unit and prompt you to install it.
The great thing with mesh networks is that your devices just see one network as opposed to a using a wifi extender where you will have to add that network to each device individually. Also as the Deco support IEEE 802.11e and k/v your device will switch seamlessly to the fastest Deco in your network whereas if you use a wifi extender your device will have to negotiate a connection to it so that will take sometime if your moving around . Another trick the Deco units has is adapative Path selection which means the Deco’s will chose the best route and band for your data.
The Deco units support self healing, so that if one of the deco units develop a fault, the system will re-configure itself.
To get even better results with the Deco units its best to connect them via Powerline plugs, as if you use wireless mode and say your connected to the last Deco, your signal has to travel to the intermediate Deco units first before going to your router.
My set up
There are plenty of options in the Deco app i.e. enabling only a 2.4 or 5Ghz network or
Setting up a Separate Guest network.
Blacklist to stop a device accessing the network.
Option to Update and also a virtual WPS button for each Deco unit.
The Deco can be configured in either an Access Point or Router mode.
A great feature is the parental controls will allows you to assign each device to a profile and then restrict that profile to general websites or specific ones and also restrict their time online.
Some other extras allow you to define A Quality of Service (QoS) so you can ensure specific devices always get the best internet and a Monthly Report so you can see how your network is behaving for the last month, what websites are most accessed etc. It would have been nice if there was more advanced features on the web based interface to allow for even more tweaks.
Its also compatible with Alexa which worked quiet well when I added the TPLink Router skill on my Amazon Echo Show 5 , for a list of Alexa keywords see
From the above table you can see the Decos gave increased speed to the locations that were furthest away from main router (Bedroom 3 and 4) where before I had very low speed or no internet at all and the signal strength was 100% in all of the house.
When I ran a speedtest in my back garden approximately 8 metres (25 feet) away from the kitchen I got 160 MBs and 4/5 Signal Strength, and I had no signal on either the 5ghz or 2.4ghz router, so if you use your wifi outside the Deco is a good solution for you.
For the advanced users, there are options like
Overall it’s a great piece of kit which spreads Wi-Fi all over your house and gives a lot more user options than the basic modem you would get from your service provider, and if you switch service providers you just need to plug the deco into the router that they supply to you and your up and running with no need to enter wifi passwords into all your devices.
Blink, one of the world’s fastest growing Travel Insurance InsurTechs has made it onto the INSURTECH100 for 2019. The INSURTECH100 is an annual list of the world’s most innovative InsurTech companies, that are solving significant industry problems, generating cost savings and/ or improving efficiency within insurance, as selected by a panel of analysts and industry experts.
This is just the latest highlight in Blink’s 3-year growth story, which, since its inception in 2016, has seen it grow from a 2-man start up to a trailblazing InsurTech, which was bought by the AIM listed CPP Group just 6 months after it was set up.
Speaking of today’s announcement by FinTech Global, the specialist data and research provider and the organisation behind INSURTECH100, Blink’s co-founder and serial Irish entrepreneur Paul Prendergast said,
“We are honoured to be named amongst the best and brightest in the global InsurTech industry. Selected from a pool of more than 1,000 companies and being awarded such recognition makes this a very proud day for us. 3 years after we started Blink, we continue to grow at speed, driven by our product innovation, our insurance partnerships and our ambition to provide InsurTech solutions to end users in every corner of the world.”
PICTURE Darragh Kane
Blink is now a world leader in parametric insurance product innovation, transforming its clients’ complex offerings into superior service experiences with simple, intuitive, online products. The company partners globally with insurance and financial services companies, driving innovation in Asia, Europe and North America.
Blink made it onto the prestigious list amidst strong competition in an industry which is growing at breakneck speed and where new players are joining weekly.
According to FinTech Global, the InsurTech industry has seen huge growth in the last 2 years as insurance companies grapple with the challenges of digital transformation and new demands from customers. Nearly $10bn has been invested in InsurTech companies since the beginning of 2017.
Richard Sachar, Director of FinTech Global commented,
“The companies on this list are the ones that every leader in the insurance industry needs to know about as they consider and develop their digital transformation strategies.”
Blink successfully launched Blink Travel in 2016 and have recently complemented their services platform with Energy, IOT and Weather solutions.
Blink Travel offers an innovative real-time data driven travel disruption solution. Once a traveller registers their flight details, Blink monitors that flight in real-time. Any flight disruption that occurs to the registered flight, automatically results in a traveller being notified instantly. Real-time event notification allows for real-time problem resolution. The traveller is immediately offered service choices that can instantly remove the stress and consequences of the disruption ranging from airport lounge access, cash which is immediately deposited into the travellers’ bank account, through to booking and paying for a hotel whilst also booking a new flight.
Mr. Prendergast continued,
“Being able to differentiate ourselves from other businesses in the industry is crucial. What we offer is unique and has a ‘wow’ factor that delivers an extraordinary impact for our partners as they push ahead with their InsurTech transformation objectives. We’ve signed some huge partnerships over the last 24 months, and we have others in the pipeline to be announced this year, so the future is exciting, and this recognition is the perfect acknowledgement and motivator for our team to keep delivering excellence.”
The latest Global Interconnection Index (GXI), an annual market study published by Equinix, predicts private connectivity at the edge will grow by 51% compound annual growth rate (CAGR), and exceed a total bandwidth capacity of more than 13,300 Tbps, equivalent to 53 zettabytes of data exchanged annually. This is enough to support every person on earth simultaneously downloading a complete season of Game of Thrones in ultra-high definition resolution in less than a single day.
The GXI market study finds interconnection bandwidth – the capacity for direct and private traffic exchange between key business partners – is an essential component to digital business and validates that to compete in the digital economy, companies must address growing data volumes and increasing data exchange velocity across a rising number of clouds and business ecosystems. In fact, according to a separate independent survey commissioned by Equinix of more than 2,450 global senior IT professionals, almost half (48%) of global IT decision-makers believe interconnection is a key facilitator of digital transformation. 4 in 10 IT decision-makers in EMEA feel the same, rising to 5 in 10 for Ireland.
“People, software and machines are creating and consuming data faster and in all the places where we work, play, and live,” said Rick Villars, Research Vice President, Datacentre & Cloud, IDC. “The significant increase in data created, aggregated and analysed in these new locations is contributing to a major shift away from deploying IT in traditional corporate data centres. Enterprises need access to robust, modern data centre facilities near the edge locations where businesses want to deploy dedicated infrastructure and interconnect to the increasing number of clouds, customers and partners that are at the core of digital transformation efforts.”
Strong data compliance regulations across EMEA are unlocking data exchange and growth of interconnection bandwidth in Healthcare & Life Sciences, Government & Education, and Business & Professional Services. This is leading Europe (51% CAGR) to overtake North America (46% CAGR) in the race to digital growth. Latin America is leading the charge with a 63% CAGR, with Asia-Pacific not far behind (56% CAGR). Expansion plans across the world, according to the survey, tell a slightly different story with 55% of EMEA businesses planning to expand in to new metros, versus more aggressive expansion plans in other regions (Americas 69%, Asia-Pacific 65%). 6 out of 10 (62%) IT decision-makers globally are utilising virtual connections to support these growth plans.
Maurice Mortell, Managing Director for Ireland, Equinix
Key Findings:
The GXI Vol. 3 delivers insights by tracking, measuring and forecasting growth in interconnection bandwidth—the total capacity provisioned to privately and directly exchange traffic, with a diverse set of partners and providers, at distributed IT exchange points inside carrier-neutral colocation data centres. The GXI finds:
The ability to exchange large volumes of data through interconnection is essential to compete in the digital economy
In response to rapidly growing volumes of data, enterprise consumption of interconnection bandwidth will grow at a 64% CAGR globally, outpacing other forms of business data exchange. This is due to be even higher for EMEA, with consumption growing at a 67% CAGR, leading enterprises to account for 60% of total interconnection bandwidth in 2022.
The independent survey found that interconnection is playing a central role in Irish businesses’ expansion plans. 57% of Irish respondents said their organisation is expanding into new regions, countries or metros, with 63% of those planning to use virtual connections to support this expansion. Some 41% of IT decision-makers in Ireland say interconnection helps to reduce the cost of connectivity.
To manage increasing volumes of data, enterprises are on average deploying in nine locations, with a total of 340 interconnections to networks, clouds and business partners. The survey shines more light on this – IT decision-makers in Ireland are utilising interconnection to connect to other enterprises (28%), network service providers (32%) and cloud service providers (17%).
The survey also found more than one-third (36%) of Irish IT decision-makers believe interconnection can help their business to gain competitive advantage within the marketplace. Half (50%) believe that interconnection is a key facilitator of digital transformation, while 40% consider it to be central to their business’ survival.
Ireland’s role as a data centre hub is also continuing to attract business. Almost half (47%) of IT decision-makers in Ireland say that due to the flourishing data centre industry, Ireland is the best place in EMEA to interconnect with partners, customers, supply chain and cloud service providers.
Distance is the biggest performance killer for digital business
Deploying direct, private connections at the edge propels both application performance and user experience.
Today’s latency-sensitive workloads require response times ranging from <60 to <20 milliseconds, forcing IT infrastructure closer to the points of consumption (the edge).
According to the survey, 24% of Irish IT decision-makers are using interconnection to increase speed of connectivity.
Leading businesses are gaining competitive advantage using a combination of key interconnection deployment models
Interconnecting to multiple network providers across multiple edge locations is the most prominent use case for interconnection bandwidth and is expected to grow 4x by 2022. According to the survey, optimising the performance of networks is a key priority for 61% of IT decision-makers in Ireland.
Interconnecting to multiple clouds and IT services across multiple edge locations and cloud regions represents the next largest and fastest use of interconnection bandwidth and is predicted to grow 13x by 2022. The move to multi-cloud strategies is cited by respondents to the survey as a priority for 37% of Irish IT decision-makers.
Interconnecting to digital business partners for financial services, content and digital media and supply chain integration makes up the remainder of interconnection bandwidth use cases and is forecasted to grow 5x by 2022.
Customer case study – Smartbox Group, Ireland
Smartbox Group, headquartered in Dublin, is using interconnection to support its rapid growth across Europe. Selling themed experience gifts – from wellness and adventure to gastronomy and holidays – across 11 European countries, it enables recipients of gift ‘boxes’ to redeem experiences from any of the group’s 40,000 partner companies. To ensure seamless customer journeys across Europe, Smartbox is interconnecting with partners and cloud service providers via Equinix.
Paul Cash, Director of IT Operations, Smartbox, said: “Interconnection is a fundamental element in driving digital transformation and enabling the movement of data on a global scale and it allows our technology teams the flexibility to decide the where to deploy data intensive applications.
“Leveraging public and private clouds is a crucial element in the continuous development of our business and new technologies. Given our focus on the user experience, it is vital that there are no latency issues and Platform Equinix gives us that peace of mind by providing secure and direct connections to the cloud. It is the backbone of all of our systems.”
“Europe’s predicted CAGR of 51%, illustrates the fact that enterprises across the continent are increasingly using new and innovative ways of interconnecting with their customers and partners, to stay relevant and gain a competitive advantage. In line with this, results from our independent survey found the EMEA region has the largest proportion of organisations – at 63% – using interconnection to support their expansion into new regions, countries or metros. This shows interconnection is a critical business asset for companies increasingly looking to operate across borders and in doing so, broaden customer bases”.
Maurice Mortell, Managing Director for Ireland, Equinix
“Interconnection has become vital as organisations look to digitally transform and innovate. Companies need to be able to connect to key business partners across the world and meet their digital requirements. Interconnection offers what traditional modes of connectivity cannot, enabling businesses to adapt to a global way of working, stay competitive in a digital economy and take advantage of the data they are producing. Ireland is really thriving in this area because we have the digital ecosystem to support enterprises in their interconnection journey.”
The Nokia 800 tough has dropped in and there has been many people asking about the device via social media and for us to check it out with all its features and option so I decided to do so and not only for the fans but for myself to see what is on offer. This device can take a beating yet offer the consumer lots to keep themselves occupied but also give you a level of detox too with limited access to certain apps and so on, There is also the google assistant present which is really handy to have and it works well.
The camera and video aspect will not win you awards but it is not aimed at photography but you can take a quick snap or video should you feel the need to, This phone is ideal for people who travel,go to camping,picnics and builders would be another customer to think of here due to how tough this phone is yet you can still keep in tough with the online world but it will be a slow experience but that is not a bad thing in my book. The Nokia 800 tough and 2720 just like the 8110 from last year runs KaiOS which is now seen as a third OS and with apps it has now on board feature phones it is one to watch.
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Nokia 800 Tough brings the latest features fans would expect in a modern phone, packing in The Google Assistant, popular apps like WhatsApp and Facebook, 4G connectivity and more so you can stay connected even off the beaten path. The Nokia 800 Tough comes in Black Steel and Desert Sand and is available from late October for €129 SIM free from An Post Mobile, Woodie’s and Carphone Warehouse.
PACUM is the ideal kit for those who travel and again people going on holidays,this portable unit is a must have simple as that. Packing is a pain and so is the inclusion of purchases when we are away and run out of space and this simple device fixes that and better than I expected.
One handed use and minimal buttons you can not go wrong using this. There is several fittings included and one to use on other similar bags out there today. You can also inflate things with PACUM which is an added bonus as an example if you where to bring an inflatable toy on holidays you could pack it up and inflate when away and saving you looking for one to buy there is lots of options here.
The only downside if you will is the noise level but it is not that bad and better than a conventional hoover which most people would use to pack things at home such as I would but other than that this is a must have if you travel. See the video below for more and how it works.
Functions and features
Panel lights indicate the function setting
2 pump modes. “Eco-mode” & “Boost”
Pacum stops automatically
Double packing capacity in just over 1 minute
Height:86mm width:43mm depth:43mm Weight : 145g
Pacum is available now on the Masterspace website for GBP £49/USD $59.99 including shipping.
The Instax Mini Link smartphone printer is a great gadget to have in your arson and takes the idea from the Mini Li Play but just the printing element. The Mini Li Play had the ability to shoot pictures and print them off the machine there and then so in short this is just the printer as a standalone product and it is a great idea.
We can now take great images from out smartphones so why the need for a standalone camera?? In fact the Mini Li Play is my first camera then I got the Polaroid iType. OK they are not your typical DSLR but do the job but for me I have never used a camera and that applies to the majority of people today. Some have said to me why bother with a printer when you can just send the image via one phone to another which is a valid point but here is where I explained to them it is a great idea. So I asked when was the last time you handed in a camera for getting photos developed? Answer – Cant remember.. Same applies to me until recent months…
So this is like the newspaper equivalent of the app you read your new on with your smartphone it is a physical image you can hold and treasure and look at it time and time again and place it somewhere in your home or office and add to it, Again the argument crops up,sure you can add filters and so on with your app and I said “true” but your not holding the image are you. I teased this question out on the night of the launch to see the reaction I would get and it is really a generation thing but people loved the idea that you can get your image there and then.
THE APP
1 / 7
The printer is easy to use and so is the app I go through the whole process in the video review below there is not much to it an no technical knowledge needed at all. You simply pair your phone to the printer and work from the app there. You have several modes and editing tools to choose from, Frame print,Collage Print,Match test,Party Print, Single Print,Video Print and Instax and within these you have settings to adjust things to your liking.
The printer also has motion sensors built in which is cool, You can tilt back and forward to zoom in and out, there is only one button on the printer that changes colour this also allows you to print the last image too but it does more than you think,Leaving the printer upright it allows you to return to home on the app saving you a few taps.
Overall this brings fun to the table given the images are small and the images come out great considering their size, I would say some would like larger images but this does a great job and the machine itself is pocket-able and comes in several colours too, it is also built well and is robust and simple to use and and ideal gift idea or just something to have yourself for special occasions and for the money you cant go wrong.
INSTAX Mini Link is available now in FUJIFIILM outlets nationwide, RRP €120.00 prices may vary by retailer. Or see https://www.fujifilm.eu/ie/
Having used and still use my Pixel 3a I was excited to see the new pixel devices launched this time around and was a keen fan waiting to see what new ideas google have to offer this time around despite seeing and trying to ignore leaks and also something we never talk about here as I find it annoying and clickbait. The Pixel 4 does come with plenty on offer but the main issue I see here and what people talk about is the new camera set-up. Google has done well with just one lens over the last of their devices and now they have introduced a dual set up and people continue to moan about missing the third lens. Google has fantastic AI features and nightsight being one of them the ultrawide lens omission is not a deal breaker for me as the camera takes fantastic photos and I can live without the ultrawide lens and fair play to google for not following the narrative out there with the great lens race.
I have been using the Pixel 4 now almost a week and just like my trusty Pixel 3a it is my main device so this means very heavy usage compared to the average user out there and so far I love it, I have the Black version which has a gloss finish compared to the matt finish on the other two options though the orange one looks really well and I might just get a dbrand skin for it but we have also a stack of cases coming in for the pixel 4 so stay tuned for the usual case round ups this week sometime.
The device feels much more premium than the pixel 3a which is welcome and given I prefer the bigger screen the Pixel 3a as mentioned has been my daily driver and now the pixel 4 will replace it and I have got use to using the smaller screen although typing can be a pain sometime with big hands but I can live with it as the device works perfectly fine in any other way I would use a smartphone.
IMAGE GALLERY COMPARED TO THE PIXEL 3a
2 / 12
The Pixel 4 has no notch this time around and many will like that but it does have a big forehead and a small chin but there is good reason for that forehead with all the new technology Google has put in there and one being Motion Sense.
Pixel 4 will be the first device with Soli, powering the new Motion Sense features to allow you to skip songs, snooze alarms, and silence phone calls, just by waving your hand. These capabilities are just the start, and just as Pixels get better over time, Motion Sense will evolve as well. Some will see this as a gimmick and LG tried a similar idea by waving the hand over their device and it did not work out well given they had a visual indicator on offer for now it works occasionally but I feel it is something when improved it will be something I will use more and it is great to have options to pick your phone up less.
Google Assistant has now got deeper integration which means less taps on the phone and again this is a good move,One thing with voice assistants is how deep this works and now Google have stepped things up in this department and it is welcome I like it.
Another new built in app which I really like is the built in recorder which will be handy for journalists or bloggers on the go. Pixel 4’s new Recorder app records meetings, lectures, jam sessions—anything you want to save and listen to later—and simultaneously transcribes speech and identifies sounds like music and applause. You can easily search within your recordings to quickly find a specific word or sound. All of this happens on-device. We’re starting with English for transcription and search, with more languages coming soon.
We wont bore you with the specs details as we all know them now but we do go into things some more in our video review and you can also check out the images samples and videos we have taken over the last few days and it is clear and simple the camera is once again something special on this device even from a point and shoot perspective. Full details on the pixel 4 here
Bass is a thing many of crave for in headphones or earphone and lacks being honest overall in the true wireless sector. Some manufacturers have an app to get around the EQ settings and this particular set of earbuds is one that has no app to mess about with the settings but that is OK on the bass side of things .
Looks – These are on par with is whats out there true wireless are hugely popular today and there is many different design types and they fit in with them all have a nice ergonomic design they sit well in the ears.
Controls – Split between both sides again this a similar situation with many but easy to use, On the left you have your skip and reverse tracks and on the right you have play and pause music and you also have your assistant button on deck I favour this set up mind you as it takes one press to skip and double to reverse some earbuds make you use up to three taps. The controls are easy to find blind,soft and effective.
Sound – The sound is balanced but more central depending on what you listen too with instruments and voice central it is pretty clear and overall a good experience, As these are bass targeted they do shine on that aspect giving nice thumps and sounding much preferable over your standard listening experience. Calls are quite good and clear and have an element bass from my experience.
Build quality – Is on par with the rest however being a bright colour with a glossy type finish I hope they do not discolour over time like a similar colour case I have did, the case closure is strong with a strong magnet and the earbuds will not fall out as you will see in the video.
Battery life – 16 hours in total with a fully charged case and around 4 hours on their own which is mid ranged in this department..
Two things I dont like is they are Micro USB and No app but this is a common trend and should improve over time and become a norm..
For the money if you want a pair of true wireless that is affordable and deliver on bass these are the ones to take a look at.
