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.
Apple Watch details will most likely be the talk of the show,We may also hear about how much gold its going to use for its Gold version which is said to be a third of the world’s stockpile.Also we may hear about if its splash proof or a reported 100k apps will be available.Another thing which is quite important is the battery life,with many reports or if not being so good this is something people will be closely watching and if Apple actually make comment on it.
Also a New MacBook may be on the cards too.But what about the iCar ??? Could they tease us with this one has to ask and it would give us plenty of time to start saving,Will Bono give us more free music,or will there be something on Apple TV.. Well its anyones guess now and we all have to wait until then to find out.. You can tune in HERE
If you are the musical type this is for you,A new kickstarter that has reached its target in hours,Strum a guitar, bow a violin, tap a piano, loop a beat – on a single instrument. An intuitive way to create music and play any sound.
Play any instrument, style, and sound with a single device that connects directly to your smartphone, tablet, or computer.
Our patented multi-instrument technology transforms the INSTRUMENT 1 into a guitar, violin, bass, piano, drum machine… it’s any instrument you want it to be.
Plug in and play 100’s of apps like GarageBand with universal musical gestures: strumming, tapping, bowing, sliding, and more.
Digital string-like interface works with any MIDI-compatible software.
The unique ergonomic design can be held in multiple positions, and is fully ambidextrous.
Design new instruments and custom tunings via the Artiphon companion app.
It’s compact, portable, durable, self-powered, and simple.
A guitar is designed to be strummed; piano keys are pressed; drum pads are tapped; violins are bowed. But what if a single instrument could be played with any of these techniques? That’s exactly what we’re creating – one instrument that lets you be the whole band.
Patented technology enables a new type of musical experience focused on exploration and creativity rather than skill sets and signal chains. It’s an entirely new approach to what a musical instrument can do.
If you are not a musician ?
You’ve got this. Our goal is to create the most effortless music-making experience at any skill level. Music isn’t about gear; it’s about self-expression. Every aspect of the INSTRUMENT 1 can be customized to behave the way you want it to. Tune it all to E-major if you like, adjust the sensitivity, or forget strumming altogether and let it auto-play the notes you press.
The INSTRUMENT 1 grows with you as you explore new styles of playing. You can increase complexity as you go, allowing for greater control over every aspect of your performance with its feather-touch playing surface. It’s always in tune, and you’ll never break a string!
Connect the INSTRUMENT 1 to hundreds of apps on mobile devices and computers, and it can literally make any sound imaginable. No really, we’re serious.
For instance, you can plug it into Apple’s Garageband and start strumming. If you’re set to a guitar sound, it will sound like a guitar. Then switch to piano, and start matching your technique to new sounds. Or open a synth app like Moog’s Animoog and explore sounds you’ve never heard before.
Because the INSTRUMENT 1 is fully MIDI-compatible, it works with 100’s of MIDI apps and software like Ableton Live, ProTools, Logic, and many more on your computer. The ArtiphonINSTRUMENT 1 connects directly to iPhones, iPads, Macs, and PCs via Lightning or USB.
It works with any music creation software that uses the MIDI standard, which is the universal language of digital music. MIDI has been around for over 30 years, and lets electronic instruments tell each other what notes to play and how they should sound. But don’t worry: we’ve made it easier than ever to get started making digital music; no acronyms required.
Artiphon is creating a companion app so you can customize your INSTRUMENT 1. Basically, you can easily create new instrument presets and play them immediately. Want to strum a piano? Bow a banjo? Pluck a drum? Done.
Artiphon’s patented technology also enables entirely new musical techniques, letting you play in ways that no stringed instrument ever could:
1) Turn the frets on and off. This is the first digital string-like instrument to support fretless playability, which is revolutionary for violinists, bassists, and anyone interested in sliding between notes.
2) Use vibrato to naturally add real nuance to your performance.
3) The entire interface is continuously pressure-sensitive, allowing for unprecedented control over software instruments via polyphonic aftertouch.
4) Instantly change to any tuning (guitar, bass, banjo, dobro, uke, violin… koto anyone?), with capo buttons at your fingertips.
5) Assign a different instrument to each string. For example, play a bass on the bottom and a guitar on the top.
6) Pressure-sensitive effect control, tap and auto-strum modes, multiple notes per string…
For more info and if you want to back this head over HERE .
Google has launched a standalone PDF Viewer on Android which has had people ask questions when we already have Google Drive.
This is no doubt aimed for people that are on the go with their Android devices.PDF Viewer is primarily meant for use in the context of the Android for Work Program (http://android.com/work).
PDF Viewing is now available directly in Google Drive. For environments where this cannot be deployed, Google PDF Viewer offers the same capabilities in a standalone app. View, print, search and copy text from pdf documents while you’re on the go.
The Nokia 130 which was announced last year is now on sale in bricks and mortar finally. Back then on announcement Nokia Ireland stated it would not hit stores here,however it did land on online stores and it could be imported from the UK or further afield but it was double the price almost.
The 130 can keep you entertained for hours thanks to its MP3 player and FM Radio..
It has an inbuilt video player and a MicroSD card slot for up to 32GB of extra storage for all your media files.
The 130 also has an amazing standby time of up to 36 days and 13 hours of talk-time.
It has a 1.8 inch colour screen, built-in flashlight, 3.5mm audio connector and hands-free loudspeaker.
The 130 is €29.99 to buy from Meteor on Pre-Pay and free on Billpay.
Check out how the phone looks and see what its all about in our unboxing.
Subscription services are still pretty much alive and today with all the regulations in place there is still issues,people are getting shafted and people are not fully aware of what signing up to these services entail. Often is the case these questions still today pop up on forums where people have been shafted and all we can do is report,then its up to others to act Comreg being one of them.
€390,000 has been refunded to 12,000 customers which is great news and hopefully will send a clear message to such services.
Press Release
The Commission for Communications Regulation (ComReg) has secured refunds totalling €390,000 for 12,000 customers of Dragonfly Mobile Ltd., a provider of Premium Rate Services (PRS) following non-compliance with the PRS Code of Conduct and breaches of its licence. When complaints about Dragonfly’s “Prize Club” service first came to light, ComReg required Mobile Network Operators and other intermediaries to block access to the shortcodes involved and to withhold all interconnection payments and other revenues related to these associated short code numbers. In May 2014, ComReg found that Dragonfly was not in compliance with various provisions of the PRS Code of Practice and therefore in breach of its PRS Licence. As a result, Dragonfly was required to make a commitment to ComReg to remedy the non-compliance and make refunds to affected end users. Dragonfly failed to make this commitment in the specified time frame and so ComReg has revoked the Dragonfly PRS licences and has also withdrawn the allocated 57741 and 57575 short codes. In order to protect consumers, ComReg agreed with all the mobile network operators and intermediaries that the withheld interconnection payments would be used to refund all charges incurred on the Prize Club PRS to all affected subscribers. Following this, a total of €390,000 has been refunded to more than 12,000 end users. Jeremy Godfrey, ComReg Commissioner said: “In this case, ComReg worked with the industry to ensure the interests of consumers were protected. ComReg was able to use the laws available to it in order to stop consumers’ money reaching the PRS provider who was in breach of its obligations. Due to the significant efforts of the mobile operators and other intermediaries money was refunded to consumers. ComReg has a statutory role to protect consumers and we will continue to ensure that all licensed PRS operators comply with the PRS Code of Conduct.”
Most people know me for been a Nokia fan or now what’s called a WinPhan due to been a Windows Phone user but i use all operating systems,but of late i have not dabbled with Blackberry i do have one or two stashed away but with the increasing decline in market share this is why i lost interest in using Blackberry Devices,but then came along the Passport,something new,fresh,different,it stood out and it made people talk and i said hmmm,initially i did slate it but over time it grew on me and said maybe this is the one for me to try out and see whats new. I have to say im very impressed.The presentation of the packaging too is also premium and looks well..
Design
First thing to note is the design,it stands out its different its bold,its odd but it works,on first use it will seem odd due to the devices shape and where the physical keys are placed.If you are use to big devices this difference does fade away over time,most people who change their devices on a regular basis would find the transition quite simple i would think,after a few minutes i got easily comfortable with the layout especially the keys and in no time you will be flying along typing away with no issues.The device squares in at 4.5 inches and 128 x 90.3 x 9.3 mm (5.04 x 3.56 x 0.37 in) its not too thick either,the back of the device is also quite grippy so slipping from hand is near impossible and thankfully i have not had once dropped it yet.
With the keys positioned on the top right and the power key on top it was no issue as to reachability the device was comfortable in hand and i had no problems navigating the keys even though its quite square,those with bigger hands would find this easy to use and perhaps people with smaller hands might use it with both this would vary by individual,for me personally it was not a problem either one or two handed.The QWERTY keypad is easy to use even though its placed at the very end some may find it awkward but as mentioned it takes getting use to if you have not even used a QWERTY keypad after a long time.
Under the hood
The Passport comes with decent specs to say the least,The CPU is a Quad-core 2.26 GHz Krait 400, Adreno 300 GPU,and a Qualcomm MSM8974AA Snapdragon 801,ours arrived with the previous software Blackberry 10.3 but soon after the 10.3.1 update arrived which gave the device lots of extra which was welcome you can read all about that HERE
Battery
On board we have a 3,450 mAh battery which is non removeable this may be a setback for some but most devices today are unibodied so its something fans of phones with a removeable battery is going to have to come to terms with at some stage and recently we have seem samsung take this approach with the new S6 models.The battery will see you through the day no problem if you are an average to heavy user or power user.
Camera
The camera is quite good to be fair though its target market would not be mainly looking for a decent snapper this has all it requires and more and i found it quite good and up there with other devices in the market there is plenty of settings on the passport to suits ones taste,it does seem odd talking photos due to the shape of the device but you will overcome this after some usage and adjust with ease.There is more than enough here settings wise to to play with and become creative if this is your thing.
The camera does the job and on a recent trip it was a murky day and photos where quite good,with a 13MP camera with OIS,auto focus and an LED flash pictures turned out well i must say,i was pleasantly surprised by the results. I am not a camera fanatic as most know but when i want to take a decent photo i want a device that will do it and the passport provided me with that and exceeded my expectations.
Apps
Well there is plenty out of the box we have Blackberry World and the Amazon store this should suit most users needs,but the option to add the Play store (at your own risk) changes it all with most apps (personal apps i would use) working fine from the play store this is a huge bonus to users who want that bit more so on the App front you are well covered some apps will not work though.
Browsing the web.
The browsing experience was fine,at times though i did find it sluggish when several tabs was open this could have been my Wi-Fi or data but i did in general see it happen often on either but overall browsing was a pleasure although you might at first find it odd looking at pages on the screen due to its design,again this quickly fades away after some usage of the phone.You can also pick browsers we have Bing,Google and Yahoo.Pages rendered quite well and looked crisp and clear so i was happy enough overall.Another bonus is the previous pages you viewed are remembered so you can hop through pages and quickly swap through sites should be surfing for something in particular.
Maps
Maps worked a treat too,again we can download other apps for maps and now we also have the inclusion of HERE maps too which gives users an ample choice of mapping solutions which is also good to have there is also a nice compass built in on the device which looks rather neat.
Gaming
Gaming was fine being honest i am not mad into games on mobile as i once was years ago but i tried a few games i generally like to play such as snooker or pool,the games i tried worked fine,nice screen display and sound from speakers to so it passed the test here if you happened to be bored you are sorted.
Music and video
Music video and audio all played well and i found it a pleasurable experience the speakers are quite loud and crisp also to point out using several of my own headphones the sound was also quite good and had great audio pleasure,i do tend to listen to lots of music or watch you tube and the results for me where good and up to standard.
Overview.
They UI is actually quite nice and smooth image galleries and music galleries are the same but its easy to navigate these and its a smooth procedure,Swiping on the home screen from left to right will guide you through all thats on the device swiping down will bring up shortcuts and swiping up will leave you with your recent apps etc,its a simple UI to navigate and using simple gestures is all thats needed this is also implemented in the physical keys which is quite useful and its quite a nice experience once you get the hang of it.
The Passport is certainly a niche device aimed at a niche market but it stands up to the crowd,its more to offer than you might think some say this device is too late to the market but opinions always are divided,this is my first time to use a Blackberry in two years and i have been taken back somewhat on how things have changed,i did scoff it at first which i was open about but until you have tried it your opinion might change,this like any other niche device has its own genre but its got more to offer,shape aside,keypad location aside for some it might not be aesthetically pleasing but until you actually pick one up and use it,the keyboard is quite easy to use,it feels solid in hand and it only take hours to get a real feel for it you will be surprised.
We would like to thank Blackberry for sending us this device and its been quite an uplifting experience and has taken me by surprise after using it for two weeks,its not your regular looking device but underneath its got what it takes.Once you overcome the variables you will be impressed overall.
This year rates were supposed to change and it meant consumers would enjoy better deals,but that has now been postponed until at least 2018 but they slightly try gentle the blow by saying we will get a better deal,this of course remains to be seen but time will tell no doubt,i will believe it when i see it.
Roaming charges of course vary for everyone but in 2015 you would think this would be a topic that should be fast tracked but no,its easily to see why not,its a great revenue stream and competition is heating up.
However the European Council has decided to send the package back to Parliament for further discussions, arguing that a new pricing mechanism should in the meantime mean lower costs.
“Within certain limits to be determined, consumers could make and receive calls, send SMSs and use data services without paying anything extra on top of the domestic fee,” it said in a statement.
“Once this basic roaming allowance is used up, the operator may charge a fee but this fee will be much lower than current charges,” it said.
“As the next step, the (European) Commission will be asked to assess by mid-2018 what further measures may be needed with a view to phasing out roaming charges.”
Guy Verhofstadt, President of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe group in Parliament, condemned the decision as favouring the telecoms companies over consumers.
“This is extremely disappointing … the only winners from it are national telecoms operators themselves. Member States should hang their heads in shame.”
If you like to have extra power on the go there is multiple choices of chargers,they can be wireless or connected via micro USB cables,Wireless charging is still being pushed hard but the uptake seems to be quite slow still so it maybe a few years yet before it becomes the norm.
Who is Jackery.
Jackery are a leading technology company specializing in innovative and high quality products for smartphones and tablets.
Located in the heart of Silicon Valley, Jackery are fully committed to providing exceptional products and affordable prices to all of their customers. With Jackery’s advanced battery solutions, your smartphones and tablets will work and play longer than ever.
We have been speaking to Jackery and they have kindly sent us over some units for us to talk about and they are quite a nice design and there is multiple choices for all users be it a novice or a professional and they all look well too and the design of Battery Packs have now also changed from the ugly big block of a slab into more streamlined looks and of course they have reduced in size too.
Lets take a tour of the devices first,we look at all units here and give you a look at how they range in size and what they look like.
First up is the Jackery Mini. £19.99 Approx
The Jackery Mini is like a lipstick design,nice to hold in hand and is a 3200 mAh power bank,this will easily see anyone through a day its size and shape makes it nice and compact and also quite handy to carry around in any pocket too.It comes in Silver,Gold,Black and Orange.
Specs.
High-capacity portable phone charger with 3200mAh rechargeable battery power capacity with 1A output. Adds 10 extra hours of talk time or 1 full charge to your iPhones. This portable battery charger (external battery charger) adds 100% extra battery life.
The world’s smallest external battery charger; Fits easily into any bag or pocket; Compact, portable & stylish design; Easily fits into your bag to provide instant power; Perfect for long flights, road trips, or whenever you need to charge your mobile devices; often used as a substitute for a car charger, such as an iPhone car charger, dual USB car charger and iPad car charger.
Package includes: Jackery Mini External Battery, premium Micro USB to USB 2.0 cable.
Grade A Li-ion polymer cell and premium microchips create high-quality portable charger; Premium aluminum case; Secured battery safety with 4 layers of smart safety protection circuit; Advanced power lock technology with standby time up to 6 months after fully charged. 500+ recharge cycles over the life of the battery.
4-color LED indicator to indicate the charging status; Jackery Mini can be used for Samsung Galaxy S5 charger, Samsung Galaxy S4 car charger, Samsung Galaxy, S3 extended battery, Samsung Galaxy S2 battery, iPhone 6 portable charger, iPhone 5s portable charger, iPhone 5c charger, iPhone 5 charger, iPhone 4s portable charger, iPad external battery, HTC battery bar, and much more.
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Second up is the Jackery Bar. £19.99 Approx
The Jackery Bar is a 6000 mAh power bank and offers up to 130 hrs extra operating time which is super it weighs 5.5 oz and is slightly bigger than the Jackery Mini .
Specs
High-capacity portable phone charger with 6000mAh rechargeable battery power capacity with 2.1A output. Add 22 extra hours of talk time or 2-3 full charges to your iPhone 5S / 5C / 5 / 4S / 4 ; 1-2 full charges to Samsung Galaxy S4, S3, 200+ hours of audio playback. This external battery charger adds 200% -300% extra battery life.
The world’s thinnest external battery charger; Fits easily into any bag or pocket; Compact, portable & stylish design; Easily fits into your bag to provide instant power; Perfect for long flights, road trips, or whenever you need to charge your mobile devices; often used as a substitute for a car charger, such as an iPhone car charger, dual USB car charger and iPad car charger.
Package includes: Jackery Bar External Battery, premium Micro USB to USB 2.0 cable; compatible with USB charger, USB battery, USB battery pack, USB charging station, and USB power adapter.
Samsung grade A Li-ion polymer cell and premium microchips create high-quality portable charger; Premium aluminum case; Secured battery safety with 4 layers of smart safety protection circuit; Advanced power lock technology with standby time up to 6 months after fully charged. 500+ recharge cycles over the life of the battery.
Jackery Bar can be used for Samsung Galaxy S5 charger, Samsung Galaxy S4 car charger, Samsung Galaxy, S3 extended battery, Samsung Galaxy S2 battery, iPhone 5s portable charger, iPhone 5c charger, iPhone 5 charger, iPhone 4s portable charger, iPad external battery, HTC battery bar, and much more.
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Up next is the Jackery Fit £23.99 Approx
The Jackery Fit offers 130 hrs of battery life powered with 9000 mAh this is again slightly bigger than the Jackery Bar and a tad heavier.This comes in Orange and Silver.
Specs.
High-capacity power bank and portable phone charger with 9000mAh rechargeable battery power capacity with both 2.1A output and 2.1A input. This portable battery will add 30 extra hours of talk time or 3-4 full charges to your iPhone 6 / 5S / 5C / 5 / 4S / 4 ; 1-2 full charges to Samsung Galaxy S5, S4, S3, 300+ hours of audio playback. This external battery charger adds 300% -500% extra battery life.
The world’s most fit external battery charger; Fits easily into any bag or pocket; Compact, portable & stylish design; Easily fits into your bag to provide instant power; Perfect for long flights, road trips, or whenever you need to charge your mobile devices; often used as a substitute for a car charger, such as an iPhone car charger, dual USB car charger and iPad car charger.
Portable charger package includes: Jackery Fit External Battery, premium Micro USB to USB 2.0 cable.
Samsung grade A Li-ion polymer cell and premium microchips create high-quality portable charger; Premium aluminum case; Secured battery safety with 4 layers of smart safety protection circuit; Advanced power lock technology with standby time up to 6 months after fully charged. 500+ recharge cycles over the life of the battery for iPhone, iPad, and other devices.
External battery 3 LED indicators to show the charging and discharging status equipped with flashlight. Jackery Fit can be used for Samsung Galaxy S5 charger, Samsung Galaxy S4 car charger, Samsung Galaxy, S3 extended battery, Samsung Galaxy S2 battery, iPhone 6 portable charger, iPhone 5s portable charger, iPhone 5c charger, iPhone 5 charger, iPhone 4s portable charger, iPad external battery, HTC battery bar, and much more.
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And Finally up is the Big one,its the Jackery Giant + £29.99 Approx
This boy can charge both a tablet and phone at the same time so this can be quite handy for trips,concerts or the tourist,with 12000 mAh its a powerhouse.offering up to 260 hrs of extra life,it weighs 10.4 oz so its not heavy.It comes in Black ,Gold, Silver and Orange.
Specs
Ultra high-capacity portable charger and iPhone battery with dual USB port with 12000mAh rechargeable battery power capacity. Super-fast charge output (5V/3A) though dual USB ports (5V/2.1A and 5V/1A) allow for simultaneous charging of your iPad, iPhone, Android, and more at high speed. This power pack and external battery charger adds 500% – 600% extra battery life.
The world’s largest capacity external battery pack and portable charger; Fits easily into any bag or pocket; Compact, portable & stylish design; Easily fits into your bag to provide instant power; Perfect for long flights, road trips, or whenever you need to charge your mobile devices; often used as a substitute for a car charger, such as an iPhone car charger, dual USB car charger and iPad car charger.
External battery package includes: Jackery Giant+ External Battery, premium Micro USB to USB 2.0 cable.
Panasonic grade A Li-ion polymer cell and premium microchips create high-quality portable charger; Premium aluminum case; Secured battery safety with 4 layers of smart safety protection circuit; Advanced power lock technology with standby time up to 6 months after fully charged. 500+ recharge cycles over the life of the battery.
Portable battery charger 3 LED indicators to show the charging and discharging status equipped with flashlight. Jackery Giant+ can be used for Samsung Galaxy S5 charger, Samsung Galaxy S4 car charger, Samsung Galaxy, S3 extended battery, Samsung Galaxy S2 battery, iPhone 6 portable charger, iPhone 5s portable charger, iPhone 5c charger, iPhone 5 charger, iPhone 4s portable charger, iPad external battery, HTC battery bar, and much more.
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Jackery also have an application for your iPhone too for battery management.
Upon launching the app, you’re immediately greeted with the Monitor screen. It shows you the remaining percentage of energy stored in your battery, the remaining time estimated before your device runs out of charge, and when the battery level will drop below 50 percent and 20 percent. It will also give you an estimate of what time to charge your iPhone again. You can download the App HERE
Size comparison. Just to give you an idea here is the 4 units standing side by side at several angles all in all they are no big compared to some on offer today,nor are the in any way heavy so they will not be intrusive in bag or pocket.
You can buy these products directly from Jackery Store or Amazon Canada UK or Australia.
Earlier in the year we were the first in Ireland to bring you a new product from Echo Products which was the Echo Key and people seemed to like it very much its quite a handy key to have and it replaces cables,once you have access to a PC or laptop all you need to charge,transfer data or power your device is the Echo Key which we reviewed here
Now Echo Products have a new product on Indiegogo and here it is.
Power Sound by Echo is the evolution of the portable speaker
With over 32 hours of music playback, from two high quality speakers, the Power Sound provides the best quality sound wherever you are.
The integrated 5200 mAh power bank battery means that it will also charge any of your electronic devices (iPhones, Androids, tablets, cameras, etc). With a 2.1amp USB output, the Power Sound will charge your phone up to twice as fast as a normal charger! (wall charge USB output is typically 1amp, and laptop USB output is 0.5amp)
With all this in mind, The Power Sound is the perfect accompaniment for your festival season. You can now charge and re-group at the camp site whilst listening to your favourite tunes.
Connecting to the Power Sound is easy:
TO PLAY – connect via bluetooth
TO CHARGE – connect via USB out
A 32hr playback high-quality bluetooth speaker, with 5200mAh USB power bank.
Break it down in more detail:
32 hour continual music playback
5,200 mAh power bank (charge an iPhone 5 more than THREE times over!)
Bluetooth connectivity
Hands-free speakerphone
We rely on our phones for our music, which drains the battery with limited sound quality, so…..
Give your music & your phone life!
High-capacity smartphone charger
High Capacity 5200mAH lithium polymer battery
Digital display
Power In: 5Vdc, 1000mA fast charging
Power out: 5Vdc, 1000mA fast discharging
Hi-Fi Stereo Speaker
Power: 2 Watt x 2 speakers
S/N ratio >75dB
Frequency response: 100Hz~20,000Hz
Play time: 32 hours at 60% volume
Volume control
Hands Free conferencing
Built-in high gain, noise cancellation microphone
Range: 33 ft (10 meter typical)
CE, FCC, UN38.3, WEEE, RoHS, and Bluetooth certified
High quality aluminum casing
Weight: 7.16 Oz
Dimensions: 4.65×1.54×1.54 in (118 x 39 x39 mm)
If you want to support the guys you can do so over HERE and we wish them well and look forward to seeing this in the near future.
