Leading real hands on tech review site in Ireland with technology, business news and more. Jim O Brien Tech.
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.
This time of year can be pretty strenuous for some and some folk may just forget about things rushing about getting things done and the scammers are out in force too with their stupid emails and so on and some folk may fall victim to these as we have heard on Radio in the recent days, Here is an email from my personal account that just arrived from a supposed PayPal help centre given I have no PayPal account…
The email itself though looks so ropey off the bat…. just check out the rest, An English lesson wouldn’t go astray………….
Its not been a particularly good year for Samsung after the Galaxy Note 7 debacle but the S7 and S7Edge are still popular and arguably the best smartphones to date from the company.As an owner of both devices they have served me well and I am now seeking something new and tend to move on with the latest,Would a new colour tempt me,probably not but now the S7 edge can be got in Black Pearl. Preferably the Blue coral would be my pick but I dont justify the cost right now for a new colourway and getting the same device again.. That was something I did back in the Nokia days when we had a Silver model,then a Black one would appear months later.
The glossy new colorway, which radiates quality and luxury, will be exclusive to 128GB versions of the device and debut in select markets on December 9.
The new Black Pearl Galaxy S7 edge follows the Blue Coral and Pink Gold editions released earlier this year. While those were largely inspired by calming, natural hues, Black Pearl was designed to be modern and striking. The sleek black finish blankets the entire device – edges and all – and adds depth to its glass design. The result is a stylish all-black aesthetic that captures the essence of the color in its purest form.
In addition to Black Pearl and the other aforementioned editions, the Galaxy S7 edge is also available in White Pearl, Black Onyx, Gold Platinum and Silver Titanium.
The ExoLens PRO Wide-Angle, Macro-Zoom and Telephoto lenses for iPhone 7 are all available along with an updated bracket for iPhone 7. The Wide-Angle and Telephoto lenses bring the aspherical lens technology previously reserved for high-end DSLR lenses, straight to your iPhone as a compact mobile accessory lens.
The ExoLens PRO Wide-Angle, Macro-Zoom and Telephoto lenses for iPhone 7 are all available along with an updated bracket for iPhone 7. The Wide-Angle and Telephoto lenses bring the aspherical lens technology previously reserved for high-end DSLR lenses, straight to your iPhone as a compact mobile accessory lens.
The ExoLens PRO Wide-Angle lens with Optics by ZEISS features a ZEISS Mutar™ 0.6x Asph T* Wide-Angle lens, which provides virtually no distortion and exceptional edge-to-edge contrast, resulting in an image quality that is unmatched by any other iPhone accessory lens. This lens helps professionals capture expansive scenery and immerse viewers with frame filling detail, while expanding the frame of the iPhone to see the world in a beautiful new perspective.
The ExoLens PRO Telephoto lens with Optics by ZEISS features a ZEISS Mutar™ 2.0x Asph T* Telephoto lens. The lens offers photographers a narrow shallow depth of field to add a beautiful bokeh to the background while focusing attention on the subject. The telephoto allows the contours of the face to appear more natural and closer to real life, and is ideal for portraits, street photography, or capturing events.
ExoLens PRO Macro-Zoom lens with Optics by ZEISS features the ZEISS Vario-Proxar 40-80 T* macro-zoom lens. The ZEISS Vario-Proxar 40-80 T* macro-zoom lens has a variable focal length of 40 to 80 millimeters. “In combination with the optics of the smartphone camera, turning the ring does not result in an increase or reduction of the field of view,” Optical Designer Dr. Vladan Blahnik from ZEISS explains. “Instead, the ring functions much like a manual focus with which different planes can be set. If photographers want to shoot objects that are three to five centimetres away, they turn the ring to the right as far as it will go, and to the left for objects that are five to eight centimetres away.” This allows users to capture objects measuring three to twelve centimetres filling the complete field of view and capture astonishing details beyond what is visible to the human eye to put you impossibly close to the subject.
The lenses are attached to the device-specific ExoLens® machined aluminium bracket using a screw thread. The bracket features a standard tripod mount (1/4”-20) as well as a cold shoe for mounting accessories such as microphones and lighting systems. Following the launch, ExoLens® PRO with Optics by ZEISS are now compatible with iPhone® 7, with the goal of adding more devices in the future.
Further technical information and pricing can be found on the website of ExoLens®:
When it comes to buying something or perhaps looking for something getting the right thing can be an issue, However when it comes to dropping hints I tend to take a photograph of the desired product and of course I would get the same treatment too in a more traditional way via Private Messaging or apps such as Viber or WhatsApp which is handy,the same can be applied to even dropping a link to something you want and again your other half or whoever it maybe can also just do the same with the myriad of already available options there today..The thing here though not everyone does this or perhaps it just too much effort, Again people would use social media to share something they like and of course followers can pick up on it. This new app though makes it personal and its called PressieMe…
PressieMe is a simple solution for a an age old problem. What is the best gift that I can get for someone special? Well the answer is to let them tell you. This app was built to let people send gift suggestions to each other with a picture, message and location so that the sender can let the buyer know where to get it. Simple…
The app is simple to use and its an easy registration process via email or Facebook although it did not seem to allow me use Facebook so I just used my email and all was good to go. You will be presented with a profile page,settings options,Send Gift ideas and Gift ideas received.
When you you want to send a gift idea you can add a photo then select category and occasion,both have dropdwon menus to pick from. You then enter email and write a comment and if you like you can then share on social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook…
App description
PressieMe is a photo gifting app for sending wishlists with your wanted gifts with images, suggested occasion and a location map to family, friends or a loved one. It comes with category and suggested occasion so that receiver will know exactly what you want and when. It even has a location map enabled so when you send the photo the receiver will know where to buy it for you. It also comes with social share buttons so you can share your wishlist online or just keep private if you want. The wishlist stays on the receivers app so they will always have it handy whenever they want to buy you something special. Pressieme is the only gifting app you will ever need. This app contains featured and Google ads.
Today Circle has announced is the introduction of Spark, a new blockchain-based protocol to facilitate trusted, compliant money transfers between participating individuals and institutions over the Bitcoin network. As part of this launch, we are also eliminating the ability for customers to buy and sell bitcoin directly on Circle, and introducing a new preferred bitcoin exchange partnership with Coinbase. We actually had a chat with them this morning on the phone about this and the guys are pretty excited… Jeremy and Sean have said the following below
Today we’re announcing the launch of full messaging features in Circle’s apps and higher deposit limits for customers, forthcoming support for sending and receiving money between Circle and The Philippines and Korea, and the introduction of Spark, a new blockchain-based protocol to facilitate trusted, compliant money transfers between participating individuals and institutions over the Bitcoin network. As part of this launch, we are also eliminating the ability for customers to buy and sell bitcoin directly on Circle, and introducing a new preferred bitcoin exchange partnership with Coinbase.
Circle Messaging Features
We’ve rolled out new messaging capabilities to all Circle customers across all of our apps on Web, iOS and Android. We’ve long argued that social payments are best experienced in the context of the conversations and interactions we have with friends, colleagues, family members and individual sellers. Messaging provides context for a payment, whether that be with a funny image, a photo of a meal shared, a moment from a night out, or a picture of the product someone is selling.
The Circle Pay apps are now organized around people instead of solely by transactions. All payments to and from an individual exist in an ongoing conversation with that person, similar to popular messaging apps such as WeChat, Messenger and WhatsApp. This mirrors our support for Circle social payments natively inside of Apple iMessage on iOS 10.
There are no limits on spending and receiving money through Circle, but to help keep Circle safe for everyone, there is a limit on how much new customers can deposit into their Circle accounts within a seven-day period. Responding to one of the requests we hear most frequently, we have raised that initial deposit limit across all our supported currencies as part of these latest app updates, and now offer the highest initial deposit limits of any social payments service. As before, that initial deposit limit can increase the more you use Circle, and there are still no limits on payments or withdrawals.
Give our money messaging experience a try; it’s a significant improvement in the p2p payment experience.
Spark
When we founded Circle, we had a vision and belief that it was finally becoming possible for money to work the way the internet works. A big part of that was a long-term bet on blockchain and digital currency technology, which we thought held the potential to provide the missing layer of protocols needed for open value exchange.
We have never been focused on convincing consumers to replace their familiar native currencies with bitcoin, but instead wanted to bring the benefits of public blockchains and digital assets to consumers without requiring them to know the technical details. We made progress on that over the past year as we launched our social payment app in the US, UK, and parts of Europe, enabling direct payments across currencies, and also allowing people to send local currency to other digital wallets over the Bitcoin blockchain. This ‘hybrid digital money’ model has been in our sights for a long time.
We’re taking another major step forward today with the introduction of Spark, a set of protocol additions that provides a way for digital wallets to exchange value using blockchains, including Bitcoin, as settlement layers. There are many use cases for the technology, but the initial focus is on connecting digital wallets around the world while ensuring that full KYC/AML and compliance requirements can be met, and presenting a seamless experience that reflects local currency exchange rates and conversion rule contracts.
We plan to release Spark as an open source project that anyone in the world can use and implement, and intend to work closely with similarly-minded ecosystem participants to advance the technology and integrate it with additional public and private blockchains.
New Markets and Currencies
The first implementation of Spark comes via two new markets and currencies: We’re excited to announce partnerships with Korea’s Korbit and the Philippines’ Coins.ph. These two early market leaders in digital currency technology will connect to Circle through partnership and implementation of the Spark APIs.
This will allow Circle customers in the US, UK and Europe to send and receive value with customers in Korea and The Philippines seamlessly, with the speed, security and cost efficiency of distributed ledgers, but with a pure fiat-to-fiat consumer experience, and one that is compliant with international standards for KYC & AML. For customers using Circle, Korbit, or Coins, this makes sending international payments as easy as sending a message to a phone number or email address.
Bitcoin Changes and Exchange Partnership
With the introduction of these new features, Circle is now more than ever not a consumer bitcoin exchange, and we will continue to focus resources on global social payments and future next-generation blockchain technology rather than devoting those resources to supporting the buying and selling of bitcoins directly.
Circle customers who currently hold bitcoin instead of US dollars, pound sterling, or euros may convert instantly to any of those currencies (depending upon availability in the customer’s area). Customers who previously bought and sold bitcoin in the Circle apps may still sell, if they choose, by converting their bitcoin to dollars, euros, or sterling and then withdrawing the balance to their linked card or bank account. Once converted, the account will remain in dollars, euros, or sterling.
Consumers who seek to buy and sell bitcoin in the future may now leverage our new preferred partnership with Coinbase. Customers may still send their bitcoin to any wallet or exchange of their choosing, but Coinbase is our recommended consumer bitcoin exchange.
Circle customers holding bitcoin balances may also simply continue to hold their bitcoin with Circle and receive Circle’s full bitcoin insurance. All Circle customers can leverage Spark-enabled markets and currencies without needing to buy or hold bitcoin directly.
Our continued use of bitcoin as a settlement token and network behind the scenes means that Circle will continue to be a leading participant in the digital currency markets and ecosystem, with our focus on getting more digital wallets to adopt public blockchains as open transaction settlement networks.
Over the past three years, Circle’s treasury operation has evolved into a major liquidity provider and trading counterparty in both the exchange-traded and OTC digital currency markets. We will continue to promote the growth and maturation of such markets as we empower consumers to use digital assets and public blockchains seamlessly as payment rails and not merely as speculative trading instruments.
More info on Spark will be forthcoming. Meanwhile these new partnerships, additions and changes are effective immediately.
This is now our 4th pair of Wraps wristband headphones and you can see all the other reviews right HERE
These have been launched for the festive season and are more or less similar to Wraps of old with some aesthetic changes with colours and design so we will leave you with an image gallery and unboxing and show you a comparison of what they have to offer, When fashion and tech combine these have it all offering you a piece of tech you can wear and also blending in with fashion to boot. Plus another benefit here that is a caveat for many is knots,these are anti-tangle so there is nothing to worry about here and after trying out several pairs they do what they say on the tin for that department…
The Wraps Limited Edition Berry feature a built-in headset microphone and 3.5mm gold plated jack and a light, spherical ABS housing helps control the sound. With a choice of small, medium and large silicon tips it provides a comfortable and secure fit whilst worn in the ear or on a wrist. A large 10MM dynamic speaker, tuned by world-renowned British Audio sound engineers, delivers exceptional sound quality.
Using Wraps earphones has fast become as much about how good you look wearing them as it is how good they sound. Not only do the earphones look and sound great, they also solve the daily frustration of those that are easily broken, tangled or lost. Wraps solve 3 inherent problems all earphones have: storage, anti- tangle and style simply by enabling you to wear them on your wrist whilst you’re not using them. #WearYourSound with pride and bring your outfit to life while also having your favourite music ‘on hand’ whenever you want it.
We have a couple of pairs of headphones from the iT7 Audio range and to date myself and my daughter still use them and enjoy them thoroughly and they still work perfectly fine and look like new after months of heavy usage from both of use which is good to see that they are a durable product.. Also look and sound good…
Bluetooth speakers are popular and owning some amount of them now and more on the way today we are going to look at the mini Bluetooth speaker from iT7 Audio.
Presentation is good and its something I like to see,Presented in a nice box and packed well given the speaker is on the small side its well protected in its packing and looks good with plenty of information and visuals on the outside to give you a good idea of what the product does. Inside you then are presented with the speaker ,cable and some info and a warranty card..
The speaker itself feels solid as a block and its really square and looks great, The first thing you will notice is the handle atop which is a good idea,this can be removed but for me it would be a pointless action and I think it looks well and its rubber texture feels good and also its robust. The speaker has a nice design with a front firing speaker that has metal housing with a design that flows right around the unit and looks nice.
Top
On top of the speaker is where all the controls are place with easy to read icons and text and a light touch is all you need to use all of the functions they do not require a “hard press” so to speak… From the top we have NFC -PAIRING – INPUT – PLAY/PAUSE/SKIP – VOLUME UP AND DOWN – CALLS and a MIC, Yes you can take calls on the speaker which is great and no need to touch your phone..Also on the front is a small LED light to the right and iT7 branding on the left which are subtle.
On the back of the unit is where the ports are housed and here we even got a Micro SD slot, The regulars we tend to find on such a speaker are also present, We have a power on/off switch,3.5mm aux Micro USB port and an LED to let us know about the charge status..
On the underside of the speaker if 4 rubber feet which keep it in place and even with trying high volumes it did not budge but the weight of the speaker is a contributing factor here and its not a bad thing being heavy which makes it more robust…
Overall the speaker performed well though on max volumes you can get some distortion like any other and this all depends on what your are listening too,there is also good bass here and overall with low,mids and highs it performed good for me,even phone calls took on the unit whilst testing where clear both ends.. It can be prone to fingerprints which is not really uncommon given its colour and material but this is not something that would put me off they can be easily cleaned with a cloth. I like the blocky design however some might find the corners a tad sharp,this is something we have seen with smartphones before and again its not a major concern as its got a handle to carry it and once placed down you presumably would have no need to be constantly picking it up anyway unless you where showing it off.
If you fancy checking out the White House from the comfort of your own home you can now do so with an app and a dollar bill with a new app called the 1600 on Android and iOS.. Augmented Reality is pretty cool and we are going to see some pretty cool apps coming on stream soon and we are currently working with a dev team on a new upcoming app which looks great.
Augmented Reality brings things to life on your smartphone if you have not tried and recently we reviewed a new kids book which works on the same premise you can check that out HERE
Description.
The White House’s “1600” is a new way for kids and playful Americans of all ages to learn about what happens at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. All you need to do is tap “Start” and point your camera at George Washington (on the one dollar bill).
Built through a collaboration with the White House Historical Association and Nexus Studios, the app’s aim is to educate and inspire the youngest Americans to learn more about the White House’s role in our democracy. Our hope is that whether it is experienced on a teacher’s desk or dining room table, kids walk away from “1600” with a better sense of the institution and its purpose. Not to mention, a smile.
Skullcandy headphones/earphones is something I remember well from my teenage years and they where popular too but never interested me for some reason, From my memory it was seeing big colours and big plastic packaging and back then it was a brand to be considered. I never though actually had or bought a pair and still looked at them every week,Back then I was a Sennheiser fan and today still sport a few pairs and actually are in mint condition. I did try other brands over time and have a large collection of cans today and I like to option to chop and change for my needs which is nice and again to compare to what is out there now. Recent earphones and headphones such as Jabra, Motorolla and the iT7 X1/X2 are my daily drivers and i like to keep up with the time and this new instalment from Skullcandy is a piece of kit that has literally blown my mind, I am by no means a professional audiophile but I do know good sound and the difference from owning countless pairs or cans and earbuds. These are mind blowing and its not a statement just because they have been sent for me to review they actually surprised me on how good they are and how things have changed from the Skullcandy I remember..I have seemed to skipped a few years..
The packaging..
The packaging is premium not the plastic moulds I remember and presented in a nice box with some information on the back. Inside you are presented with the kit and this included the headphones,instructions and some cables which is all we need and a nice carry bag to keep them safe and sound when not in use or when travelling..When you open the box you will see BASS YOU CAN FEEL” facing you and let me tell you,You can feel it,Bass lovers these are the headphones you need to test out now…..
Build quality
Build quality is good as a whole, with Plastic cups in Black Matte they are solid only to be topped off with metal and leather elsewhere. The Cups given the colour they are are not super fingerprint magnets but with greasy fingers prints will show,I only found this happen though after I had my paws in a greasy bag of chips, but any other time in my usage I have hardly had to clean them at all and they are not like what you would see on smartphones today for example and require regular cleaning thus having to carry a cloth with you..There is a good level of comfort here too on the cups with a soft leather surrounding the outside and then soft cushioning on the inside which makes way for long periods of use with no discomfort and no sweaty ears. The headband itself is very comfortable finished off on the outer side with leather and feels quite nice,overall the experience was great and for using for long periods over the last few days which consisted of 30/60/120 and longer sessions I was well impressed. The band does not apply much pressure on the ears but yet its firm and solid blocking out external noise quite well.. Also on the underside of the band which has a soft rubber layer has a groove cut out and this is for VR HMD users so any that have a strap this leaves way again for a smooth felling which is a clever idea.
Cup
Band,underside
Cup
Band from top
There is a bit of play all round on the headset with a slight swivel on the extension arm and some play (Inward/Outward) on the cup itself and a sturdy extension too which is not too loose nor tight and remain at the desired setting you set it too,There is though an exposed wire both sides which I would be careful with and some care would be some advice on how you store these and where you drop them in your house and to avoid catching it in anything but this is the only caveat overall..
Pairing the headphones is a simple process,just like any other item you would pair your device with such as a bluetooth speaker or smartwatch for example you will see the name appear in your list and jsut pair,it takes no time at all..
Controls and ports
The headphones though wireless does allow you to use a wired connection should you run out of juice but with up to 40 hrs of battery life you will not be reaching for that cable as quick as you any think,with a micro USB port and headphone socket all you need is here when it comes to charging and connectivity, You also get audible notifications when connected wirelessly and there is an LED to show you when you are connected and disconnecting and again audible. The buttons are easy to navigate,even blind with a big enough size though not excessive they are tactile and allow you to adjust volume, and skips tracks and so on and of course power the headset on and off. The magic though is in the slider which lets you control the haptic bass,this is unbelievable and akin to the sub-woofer in your house full blast with the vibration coming through your couch,this is exactly what it feels like on your ears,but do not overdo it some tracks I played over did it and again with high volume killed it all but you can control both and overall worked great and the sound without the haptic bass was perfectly fine too playing all highs and mids with great clarity.
HAPTIC BASS
Overall I was quite pleased as a whole with these headphones and to really get the full experience you would need to try them yourself,Some stores in Ireland do have headphones on display and testing purposes but these are far and few between so hopefully when launched here you can go and try them yourself, With a massive battery life and good build quality these are a must have for the BASS lover and the only niggle as mentioned is the cable on both sides coming from the band into the earcups and its not a deal breaker either, I would like to see other colours later on down the road but not bright standout ones,These will cost you just €149.99 which is quite good considered what you get. You can purchase them right HERE. Check out the video below and if you have any questions fire away..
