Author: Jim O Brien/CEO

CEO and expert in transport and Mobile tech. A fan 20 years, mobile consultant, Nokia Mobile expert, Former Nokia/Microsoft VIP,Multiple forum tech supporter with worldwide top ranking,Working in the background on mobile technology, Weekly radio show, Featured on the RTE consumer show, Cavan TV and on TRT WORLD. Award winning Technology reviewer and blogger. Security and logisitcs Professional.

Design your own #AugmentedReality or #VirtualReality experience.

Innovation studio launches free AR/VR framework and workshop for businesses 

 

Is your company ready to explore the potential that Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) can bring to business? Connector, the studio that created the world’s first VR Instagram Gallery, is officially launching an open source canvas tomorrow (11.05.17) at the Innovate Reality conference at the RDS in Dublin.

 

Connector’s one-page canvas makes it easy for marketers, business owners and creatives to brainstorm, plan and design an innovative and special AR/VR experience in under thirty minutes. Globally the total number of active Virtual Reality users is forecast to reach 171 million by 2018, so it’s now set to become a major tool for marketers. In Ireland alone, forty per cent of people stated that they are interested in using AR or VR. (Global Web Index)

 

Launching the canvas, Head of Digital for Connector, Ivan Adriel said:  “Virtual Reality is nothing new. The concept was conceived in the 1960’s, but it wasn’t until just recently, with Facebook’s acquisition of Oculus in 2012, that the supporting technology around AR/VR has finally caught up to the concept.

 

“Marketers and creatives now have a new immersive and portable medium, which they can use to tell stories and engage with audiences in unexplored and unseen ways. At Connector, we’ve provided the framework for anyone who wants to create a great AR/VR experience, making their audience feel truly immersed in their experiences!

 

“Using this canvas, anyone can start their immersive marketing efforts and join the thirty per cent of consumer-facing companies in the Forbes Global 2000, who are planning on experimenting with AR/VR as part of their marketing efforts in 2017.”

 

 

 

Attendees at the Innovate Reality conference can pick up their own A0 canvas at the event tomorrow (11.05.17) and the framework is available for download now on the Connector website:  http://connector.ie/canvas/

 

AR/VR Experience Workshop

To compliment that launch of the canvas, the innovation studio will host a free workshop on 6th June 2017, at 7pm at The Chelsea Drugstore, 25 South Great George’s Street, Dublin 2.

 

CEO of Connector, Conor Lynch and Connector’s Head of Digital, Ivan Adriel will help attendees create a unique AR/VR experience and give them the blueprint to bring AR and VR to their business.

 

Anyone wishing to attend the workshop should register here: – https://www.eventbrite.com/e/arvr-experience-design-workshop-tickets-34499074661

Irish App @Tow_Now_App helps those that are stuck on the road. #Motoring #Breakdowns #Towing

Tow Now app, a revolutionary new app that will be a ground breaking industry first in Ireland. Tow Now app will now offer the largest tow truck network in Ireland and its aim is to help rescue people who are stranded when their cars have broken down. This app will revolutionise the Towing Industry in Ireland. Currently it can be difficult to locate a car that is broken down.

Now with the use of the apps GPS the car owner can simply open the Tow Now app and request the next available tow truck. With this application of technology the goal of Tow Now is to help reduce the wait time for the stranded driver. This new tow truck hailing system will negate the sometimes difficult location of a nearby tow truck by calling around to each individual company.

 

 

 

 

Just tap the app and tow. Whether you need your car towed to a local garage for repairs or your car needs to be nct’d it’s no problem for Tow Now. Tow Now app will allow you to track your tow truck in real time as it comes to pick you up in minutes. Tow Now uses open and transparent billing so that you know anytime you need help it won’t come with a surprise at the end of the rescue!

 

“The intention of the Tow Now app development was to help people who are stuck in a very vulnerable situations on the side of the road when their car lets them down. I have often seen whole families stranded on motor ways or even broken down in very dangerous positions on bridges. Some of the car owners themselves don’t realise how dangerous it is to be stopped on the roadside with passing traffic.” James O’Flynn Tow Now Founder and Tow Truck Owner.

 

 

 

Features

 

Tow Truck help choices:
Whether you need a Tow to get your car to a local garage for repairs or your car needs to be nct’d it’s no problem for TowNow our drivers will accommodate any situation.

 

• Breakdown Rescue
• Flat Tire
• Flat Battery
• Tow to Your own Garage, Home
• Tow to NCT
• Classic Car Towing

To learn more on the towing revolution please visit or join them on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

 

 

Temperature Alarm Start-Up @FiremoleLTD Wins Most Innovative Product Award #StartUp #Firemole

There is lots of chargers in people’s homes today. Problem is we often buy cheap ones and won’t fork out that bit more for the OEM. It’s a problem. This is one device that can help you out here. 

A company which has developed an electronics gadget to monitor the temperature of electronic devices, such as phone chargers, has won the Most Innovative Product Award from Enterprise Ireland (EI) at the New Frontiers Entrepreneur Development Programme Showcase & Awards on Tuesday, April 25th. Firemole Limited was selected for the 6 month intensive entrepreneurship incubator based in the Rubicon Centre, Cork Institute of Technology (CIT).

 

 

Firemole’s founder, Seán Ó Tuama who is a qualified electrician, saw first-hand many homes and buildings destroyed by electrical fires. “There has been a 35% increase in residential fires caused by electrical faults and children have on average ten electronic devices in their bedroom, including phone chargers and tablets,” according to Seán “With increased use of electronic and electrical devices in the home over the last number of years, there has not been a similar growth in safety devices to protect families and their homes from faulty, ageing or counterfeit equipment.”

 

Firemole is an electronics gadget with a difference, it can be attached to any electronic device and sounds an in-built alarm if a dangerous temperature is detected (over 54°C).

 

 

“Fires caused by electronic devices over-heating, in particular phone chargers, are becoming more common in the news and media,” Seán says. “For parents, it is a real worry if their children have a number of electronic devices in their rooms. That’s why we set the alarm at 54°C, which is the temperature at which skin can be damaged.”

 

The product is for the most part manufactured in Ireland (Ballincollig, Cork) and keeping Firemole’s production in Ireland is important to the company.

 

 

 

 

The company have had a number of achievements to date. They’ve received €15,000 in funding from Cork City Local Enterprise Office and a €5,000 Enterprise Ireland Innovation Voucher which they will be using with the Nimbus Centre in CIT for further research and development. The company has been earmarked by Enterprise Ireland for its High Potential Start-Up (HPSU) portfolio and is currently raising funding. After starting development only nine months ago, the start-up is aiming to launch in Ireland and the UK in July 2017.

www.firemole.com

sean@firemole.com

www.facebook.com/firemole

www.twitter.com/FiremoleLTD

The Freelancer Business Productivity App @PlutioHQ Shortlisted in Top Ten For User Experience in International Xawards

Plutio.com the all-in-one business productivity App specifically for Freelancers has been shortlisted as one of the ten finalists for the International Xawards.

The Xawards, ‘the Oscars for digital’, sponsored by Hotjar, have been established to recognise “the best web and native digital experiences” amongst digital products and Apps created by early stage start-up companies.

Until Plutio, there were no single-system business operations and management systems suitable for freelancers. Corporate solutions are far too expensive and inflexible.

 

 

Freelancers each had to create their own ‘string and sellotape’ solution using spreadsheets, calendars, email, slack, WhatsApp and many other Apps – in as un-integrated a business solution as you could imagine.

And with this maze of different Apps, information gets out of sync and is never fully up to date. Important facts and dates get missed, leading to problems and unhappy clients – the last thing any freelancer needs.

This was exactly the problem that young entrepreneur Leo Bassam faced as a student running a web design agency to earn money to pay his University fees.

Leo was convinced that he could design a system to do all the things every freelancer needs to run his or her business in a simple and affordable App.

And so Plutio was born – to integrate all the functions that freelancers require to organise their daily working life of projects, tasks and communication with clients, co-workers and collaborators.

Plutio integrates communication channels, sharing of project information and project resources plus invoicing. It lets the client or the freelancer set tasks for each other and gives each person up-to-date task lists and deadlines so nothing can get missed.

As Leo, now Founder and CEO of Plutio says, “Plutio is designed to be everything all-in-one-place for freelancers; whatever their trade, profession or business specialism. New features and integrations with other software systems that corporate clients use are being added monthly”.

Freelancers can access every aspect of their business operations wherever they are in the world and whatever they are doing – because Plutio can be used on iPhone and Android Apps, special desktop Apps for Windows and Apple PC’s and on any computer through a web interface. And corporate clients can access their freelancer’s Plutio system through their existing corporate software systems.

 

 

It was this ease of access, and the intuitive UX (user experience) that brought Plutio to the attention of the Xawards judges and which ultimately got Plutio into the shortlist of the Top Ten Apps internationally.

At the Xawards ceremony, sponsored by Hotjar, in Malta later this month, Plutio is in the running to win Best Mobile App Experience 2017, Best Tech Achievement 2017 or Best Overall Experience 2017.

With a price-tag of just GBP10/USD13 per month, Plutio is highly affordable for freelancers. To celebrate the Xawards nomination, Plutio is offering Four Months Free subscription at the advanced ‘Guru’ level throughout May and June at plutio.com/signup.

Coming to Tesco Mobile – The Motorola C Plus and Sony Xperia L1 #Motorola #Sony

Two new devices to be soon avaialble at Tesco Mobile which seem to be expanding their portfilio of phones which will keep their cusotmers happy…

 

The Motorola Moto C Plus is the first one on the list and like past handsets from Motorola they are good devices at good prices perhaps something to consider when it drops in..

 

 

 

  • 8MP Camera
  • 5” HD Display
  • 4000 mAh Battery
  • 16GB Internal Memory
  • Up to 32GB External Memory

 

 

 

 

 

 

Next up is the Sony Xperia L1 which was annouced in March. There is no prices listed yet nor a specific date but for tesco mobile users keep an eye out for further updates as they come in…..

 

 

  • 13MP Camera
  • 5.5” HD Display
  • 2620 mAh Battery
  • 16GB Internal Memory
  • Up to 256GB External Memory

 

 

 

 

 

See tesco mobile for more

The Search is on for Ireland’s ‘Science Hero’. #GIhero #GuaranteedIrish

Business membership organisation, Guaranteed Irish is calling on individuals and businesses across Ireland to nominate their ‘Science Hero’ as part of the Guaranteed Irish ‘Hero’ Awards, which recognise the work of people who have been ambassadors for Ireland both at home and abroad. 

Members of the public are invited to nominate their science hero by using #GIhero on Twitter or emailing info@guaranteedirish.ie before the deadline of Friday, 9th June 2017. Artist, Maser and Captain of Irish Women’s Rugby team, Niamh Briggs were the first awardees for the contributions to art and sport, respectively.

 

Announcing the call for the Guaranteed Irish Science Hero, Brid O’Connell said: “Ireland is ranked tenth globally for our scientific research quality. Here at Guaranteed Irish we believe it is time to champion Irish contributions to science – and what better way to do that than to nominate a Guaranteed Irish Science Hero?

 

“Following last month’s March for Science, where thousands of scientists and science supporters took to the streets in over 600 cities across the world, this award is a terrific way to commend someone who you consider to be Ireland’s Science Hero.” continued Brid O’Connell. 

 

“We want all businesses and individuals to get involved and put forward names of anyone who has demonstrated a real commitment to creating a better Ireland with science through: jobs, community and provenance. If you know someone who fits that bill, then we want to hear from you.” concluded Brid O’Connell.  

 

The remaining Guaranteed Irish Heroes for: music, technology and food will be awarded throughout 2017, following the public nominations process. An outside panel of experts in each field review a shortlist and decide the Guaranteed Irish Hero for that category.

 

To get involved and to nominate your Guaranteed Irish Hero, simply email info@guaranteedirish.ie  with your nomination or you can nominate and follow the campaign across social media with the dedicated hashtag: #GIhero.

Review – @PoeticCases Revolution case for the Samsung Galaxy S8 Plus..

The revolution cases is one of the most protecting cases in the poetic range with a two piece case offering much more protection than the standard cases, Also this case has flaps which seal up the headphone jack and charging port to give it more protection and on the screen there is full protection of the edges. Check out the image gallery and video review and where to buy below…

 

IMAGE GALLERY

  • Made of premium polycarbonate and TPU materials. Rugged styling with seamless Poetic Design DNA.
  • Flaps to cover all open ports to prevent dust and lint. Side texture for enhanced grip.
  • Unique corner protection with raised TPU support to protect from extreme shock and impact.
  • Intelligently placed Raised TPU buttons for anti-scratch and anti-slip protection.
  • All of these packed into a thin and ultra protective design engineered for maximum protection for your device.

 

BUY HERE 

Review – @PoeticCases Affinity Slim case for the Samsung Galaxy S8 Plus.

This is our final outing with Poetic cases and we finish off with one of my favourite cases in their range the Affinity Slim case.  Check out our image gallery and video review for all the details also see the specs and where to purchase..

 

IMAGE GALLERY

 

 

  • Made of Clear Polycarbonate molded with Soft Shock proof TPU. Modern styling with the protective X-FORM Poetic Design DNA.
  • Full clarity to showcase the best that your device has to offer. Drop protection with engineered corner design part of the X-Form architecture.
  • Side grip pattern to prevent your device sliding out of your grip. Raised TPU back material to prevent scratching while maintaining full clarity of your device.
  • Inner ridged TPU surface to enable effective shock dissipation while keeping a thin form factor.
  • Raised bezel for front face protection. Extremely thin with the maximum protection in its class.

BUY HERE   

 

Review – Speck (@speckproducts) Presidio GRIP case Marine Blue for the Samsung Galaxy S8 Plus.

A newcomer case manufacturer to techbuzz called Speck Products and we have two cases from them to check out and this first one is really nice in a Marine Blue colour with excellent grip and it looks great too.. Check out the image gallery and video below and where to buy…

 

 

Protection

  • 10-Foot Drop Tested. Presidio™ Samsung Galaxy S8+ cases have been dropped from a height of 10 feet multiple times by third-party laboratories to ensure they offer superior protection.
  • IMPACTIUM™ Shock Barrier. IMPACTIUM is an innovative dynamic shock-absorbing material that lines Presidio cases. Ridges of IMPACTIUM on the inside perimeter compress on impact to absorb and disperse shock.
  • Patented raised-bezel screen protection. IMPACTIUM raised bezel guards screen from direct drops onto phone face and prevents damage when lying flat.
  • Responsive button protection. IMPACTIUM protects volume and power buttons while maintaining true button responsiveness.
  • Perimeter port and camera protection. IMPACTIUM protects ports, microphone, and speakers from drops without compromising acoustics or interfering with port accessibility, camera lenses, or the camera flash.

Design

  • Slimmest and most protective case yet. Optimized the design to create the slimmest dual-layer case Speck has ever made, while improving protection.
  • Precision-engineered fit. Presidio GRIP is precision-engineered to fit your Samsung Galaxy S8+ perfectly.
  • No-slip grip. Raised rubber ridges provide a no-slip grip.

Quality

  • Scratch-resistant. New matte finish resists scratches and offers a modern style with a range of elegant and vibrant colors.
  • Lab-tested durability. All Speck cases are independently lab tested for multiple real-life situations to ensure your device is always protected. We test to protect against extreme drops, extreme temperatures, chemicals, antenna interference, cracks and abrasions, device bending, and more.
  • Lifetime warranty. All Presidio cases come with a lifetime limited warranty. For full terms visit: speckproducts.com/warranty

 

BUY HERE  

 

Video Review