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.
AVer Europe has announced its bestselling CAM520 professional plug-n-play camera has received certification for Google Hangouts Meet hardware, providing automatic updates, syncing and flexibility for users.
The CAM520 has received the certification following testing of its quality, reliability and interoperability in Google’s partner lab. Creating a seamless communications experience, this partnership between Google and AVer Europe enables users to start chat conversations or video calls, make phone calls using Wi-Fi or data, send text messages with Google Voice or Project Fi, and automatically sync devices across their network.
Support for Google Hangouts Meet hardware begins with Chrome 70 update and offers more flexibility to a conference room and ensures that the CAM520 is always up to date with the latest software from Google, reducing any delays or potential barriers within video conferencing.
The AVer CAM520 is a professional grade yet user-friendly PTZ camera that is perfect for mid to large conference rooms. With 12X optical zoom, fast auto-focus functions, HD 1080p and smooth pan, tilt, zoom capabilities, the CAM520 results in uninterrupted sharp images for an outstanding video communication experience. It can capture the smallest details with absolute clarity. The built-in USB interface is compatible with any desktop or laptop and can be used with various meeting and video apps, making video conferencing as simple as plugging in a single cable.
Rene Buhay, AVer Europe Vice President of Sales & Marketing, comments: “We are proud to partner with Google to enhance the Hangout experience with the AVer CAM520. It makes communicating even easier!”
Mark Grady, Head of Meeting Room Channel & Sales – EMEA at Google, comments: “We’re delighted to work with AVer to continue to make the Google video conferencing experience around Hangouts Meet Hardware a great one for our users.”
The AVer CAM520 comes in a silver casing, with a three-year warranty and a two-year extension automatically upon successful completion of registration.
The League, Dublin’s newest mobile dating app, officially launches today, providing isolated singles new ways to make connections from the safety of their own home.
The League, which operates a freemium model, is offering Dublin users two weeks of free Member status to give everyone access to its unique video features including League Live. Simply message #isoDate to the in-app Concierge to activate the free membership. The offer will run until social distancing measures are redacted.
League Live allows singles to connect through three live video speed dates, two minutes each, in just six minutes total. The twice weekly League Live sessions take place on Wednesdays and Sundays at 9pm local time. The app also features a video chat function that enables users call each other without exchanging numbers; and supports 10-second video profile images to help improve match rates.
Created in 2015, The League is known for its high-achieving community of users. Using data from both Facebook and LinkedIn to fuel its algorithm, it offers users complete privacy from friends and colleagues, more context about potential matches, and a curated community of professional singles seeking an ambitious and driven partner.
“The world is changing underneath us and in today’s climate, being able to connect safely and responsibly is more important than ever.” says Amanda Bradford, Founder & CEO of The League “We made the decision to support more global cities and accelerate the roll-out of our video features to encourage singles to continue dating – with no need to leave your home, or even exchange numbers.”
The League currently operates in 76 cities worldwide, including 12 additional cities launching today: Manchester, Oxford, Edinburgh, and Birmingham (United Kingdom); Edmonton, Calgary, Ottawa and Kingston (Canada); Lyon and Marseille (France); and Brisbane and Perth (Australia).
The League is available to download on iOS and Android.
With the majority of us now working remotely here is some ideas rounded up to make the home office more bearable. Whether it’s creating the optimal desk set up to help with productivity or suggestions of things to do during regular breaks to help keep you energised and focused, these tools should be considered.
Many people suffer from neck pain caused by poor posture and too many hours spent looking down at a screen. Having a good laptop stand like the Twelve South Curve will make working instantly more comfortable and healthier. Stylish with an improved ergonomic design, the Curve means users no longer have to hunch over and tilt their heads downwards towards a screen. They can elevate their MacBook to a more comfortable height, relieving neck and shoulder strain in the process. Whether you want to use your MacBook as a second screen or add a keyboard and mouse and use if more like a desktop, the Curve is the perfect option.
Having the right lighting when working can make all the difference. Not only can it reduce eye strain but it can boost productivity levels and invigorate you. The Groov-e Apollo is a stylish desk lamp packed with all the latest features to make work life easier. Not only is it a flexible lamp with three LED light modes, it also features wireless charging which means no more hunting around for chargers as users can simply place their mobile device on the base to charge instantly. What’s more users can connect to the Apollo via Bluetooth to hear their favourite tunes around the room using its 3W speaker. USB powered, users can take the Apollo and plug in wherever they are working.
The Groov-e Zen Active Noise Cancelling headphones are perfect for those working from home and wanting to block out some of the ambient sound in order to concentrate. Whether it’s a partner working in the same space or kids playing in the next room, the Zen headphones will make it easier to work. With over 10-hours of wireless playback the Zen headphones are ideal for taking calls or listening to music when connected to a Bluetooth device.
If you’re looking for a desktop charger to stay fully powered while working in the home office then the Twelve South HiRise Wireless is the perfect choice. Not only is it an upright desktop stand for mobile phones, keeping your device charged while holding it in position for Skype and FaceTime calls, messages and calendar alerts, it’s also a wireless charging pad for AirPods and a USB-C portable wireless charger for travel. All this in one stylish chrome and leather package.
Evernote allows you to work from home easily offering users a number of packages to either work solo or collaborate with teams. Evernote lets users save notes, ideas, lists and reminders which can be accessed via app when needed. Evernote Business offers Spaces which allows for teams to manage projects, deadline, clients and meetings with ease.
It’s not all about work when working from home, it’s also important to focus on mind and body health and take breaks throughout the day. Studies show that physical activity not only improves your physical health but your mental health and productivity as well. You could get outside and go for a walk or run, do a free online exercise or even use a device such as the Activ5 which can be used for five minutes in the morning, afternoon and evening for an effective workout.
Dubbed ‘a tiny gym in your pocket’ Activ5 is a portable fitness device that enables anyone with a smartphone to exercise anywhere, anytime. Activ5 helps to:
-Tone and strengthen muscles with results showing that users can increase strength by 30% in just 6 weeks
-Personalise 100+ exercises to your fitness level, track progress and exercise while playing games
-Do full body isometric exercises and workouts – 5 minutes of isometric exercise can be the equivalent of 25-minutes of gym machine exercises
-Track results on the companion Activ5 app, available on iOS and Android
There’s plenty of research that says we work better by taking short breaks in between bursts of activity. Rather than just grabbing a cup of tea and watching You Tube for 10 minutes why not play a musical instrument – it’s the perfect way to unwind. Senstroke is the first connected solution that allows you to play drums anywhere. Perfect for seasoned drummers or even those who’ve never played before, simply attach the Senstroke Bluetooth sensors to the included drumsticks and begin playing on any surface – a desk, cushion or even on your knees.
The Senstroke app features a new learning mode that is perfect for beginners allowing them to have in-app lessons as they play with a drum track that scrolls across the screen to aid learning. Quick and easy to use, drummers can choose between a pre-configured drum layout to get going straight away or customise it to suit their needs.
The convergence of enterprise technology trends will continue to profoundly transform all businesses and unlock potential for innovation, Deloitte’s 2020 Tech Trends report reveals.
The 11th annual report on technology trends captures the intersection of digital technologies, human experiences, and increasingly sophisticated analytics and artificial intelligence technologies in the modern enterprise. The report explores digital twins, the new role technology architects play in business outcomes, and affective computing-driven “human experience platforms” that are redefining the way humans and machines interact. Tech Trends 2020 also shares key insights and prescriptive advice for business and technology leaders so they can better understand what technologies will disrupt their businesses during the next 18 – 24 months.
“Technology is the number-one differentiator for businesses today and that will only accelerate in the years to come as even more powerful innovations take hold,” said Simon Murphy, Business Operations Partner Lead for Deloitte Ireland and Deloitte North South Europe. “The most successful businesses today are combining cutting-edge technologies like machine learning and IoT with disruptive IT architecture and supercharged talent to create entirely new ways of working – and they already see the benefits.”
And with organisations needing to adapt and respond quickly to ongoing technology disruption, Deloitte expects to see more IT and finance leaders working together to develop new flexible approaches for funding innovation in a way that allows the organisation to be agile.
The report’s five trends of focus for 2020 include:
Digital Twins – Bridging the physical and digital: As digital twin technology allows businesses to create increasingly sophisticated virtual models to optimise processes, products, and services, organisations will integrate IoT, machine learning, advanced computing infrastructure, and more to unlock entirely new business models.
Architecture Awakens: Systems architecture will become a strategic priority as organisations redefine the architect role to be more nimble, responsive, and collaborative. Architects will work across the business and work creatively with non-technical project teams – forming a competitive differentiator in the digital economy.
Ethical Technology and Trust: Organisations in every geography are realising that their embrace of technology is an opportunity to gain – or lose – trust, and with it, customers’ business and brand loyalty. CIOs will emphasise ethical tech in the coming years – and create processes to help solve ethical dilemmas related to disruptive technologies.
Human Experience Platforms: To address the lack of connection humans often experience with daily digital interactions, a growing number of organisations are injecting emotional intelligence into their systems. These include AI capabilities such as machine learning and voice and facial recognition, which can better detect and appropriately respond to human emotions. The net result is emotionally intelligent human experiences that leverage connections between people, systems, data, and products.
Finance and the Future of IT: As enterprises become more agile, financial operations will need to support new modes of working. That means CIOs and CFOs will need to explore how a new, flexible approach to enterprise finance¾across budgeting, contracting, capital planning, and more¾can redefine the future of tech innovation.
The report also provides a view of 11 years of tracking the trends with insight into how trends evolve into table stakes over time, an update on the symbiotic benefits derived from the macro technology forces that serve as the foundation for business transformation, and a look at “what’s next” beyond the near term.
“Technology is constantly in motion. Executives should take tomorrow’s cues from today’s trends. ‘Horizon next’ technologies are evolving out of today’s core trends, sometimes in unexpected ways, giving rise to new opportunities,” said Murphy.
“The trends of 2020 will disrupt entire industries and redefine business as we know it in the next decade, even as digital innovation becomes the norm for organisations of all sizes,” added Murphy. “Some of these trends may not come to fruition exactly as envisioned, but the technologies underpinning them will fundamentally change the way we work.”
A unique 30-day ‘try before you buy’ electric vehicle loan scheme piloted by the Nottingham ULEV Experience project and financed through Nottingham City Council’s Go Ultra Low funding has the potential to act as a blueprint for other UK cities that are considering Clean Air Zones.
The Ultra-Low Emission Vehicle loans have been delivered by DriveElectric, one of the UK’s leading EV leasing companies, for the Nottingham ULEV Experience project for the last two years, offering businesses and public sector organisations the opportunity of a fully-funded trial of electric cars and vans for 30 days.
Research carried out in March 2020 has shown that the Nottingham ULEV Experience project has been the only solution for businesses to try out an EV for this period of time. A total of 16 vehicle dealerships were contacted to arrange an EV trial and not one could offer a similar 30-day loan.
DriveElectric has managed the EV trials for the Nottingham ULEV Experience including providing the vehicles, booking the 30-day loans, providing a handover about the vehicles and charging, being available throughout the trial to answer any queries, and even arranging insurance if required.
The vehicle fleet included some of the very latest EVs such as the Hyundai Kona Electric and Kia e-Niro, which are long-range EVs, capable of between 250-300 miles per charge, and these vehicles proved to be the cars that were most in demand. A total of 52 organisations in Nottingham have enjoyed 72 EV loans over the last 18 months, with 20 EVs being adopted as a result so far.
As well as businesses, public sector organisations can be successful ULEV early adopters for a range of reasons, including due to the driving cycles of their fleets often being ideally suited to electric vehicles. Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust is one example of such an organisation, which trialled EV loans from the ULEV Experience. The project provided Renault Kangoo and Nissan e-NV200 electric vans for a month to allow the Transport and Logistics team to assess the suitability of the vehicles.
Following the trial, positive feedback was received about the larger Nissan e-NV200 van in particular. As well as the electric vans having zero emissions, lower whole-life costs, and being suitable for the required duties, employees preferred the driving experience of the EVs. The Trust now operates two Nissan e-NV200s and based on running these vehicles to date, 40 vans could be swapped to EVs.
Mike Potter, Managing Director of DriveElectric, comments: “Most organisations need to experience electric vehicles before making a decision to purchase. Fully-funded month-long EV loans are not readily available through dealerships, manufacturers or any other source. Therefore the ‘Try before you buy’ EV loans provided by the ULEV Experience have been extremely valuable in filling a gap in the market not offered elsewhere.”
The ULEV Experience has been a programme dedicated to supporting Nottingham businesses to understand, trial and implement Ultra-Low Emission Vehicles, and has been funded by Nottingham City Council’s Go Ultra Low City project. The programme has been delivered by a consortium led by Cenex, with partners from DriveElectric, the Energy Saving Trust, RideWise, CleanTech Business and Automotive Comms.
Similar EV loan schemes could be adopted by other cities around the UK that are implementing measures such as Clean Air Zones to improve air quality. Interest in electric vehicles has risen further since the government announced that the proposed ban on sales of new petrol and diesel vehicles – including plug-in hybrids – may be brought forward from 2040 to 2035 – or possibly even as soon as 2032.
Businesses looking to adopt EVs have been incentivised by measures in the March 2020 Budget. Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak confirmed that motorists buying electric cars would continue to benefit from the Plug-In Car Grant (until 2022-2023), although it would reduce from £3,500 to £3,000, and cars costing £50,000 or more would be excluded.
The Plug-In Van Grant also continues, providing up to a maximum of £8,000 off the price of a plug-in van, and there’s up to £20,000 off the price of large vans and trucks.
Company car benefit-in-kind (BIK) tax rates already announced for the three years 2020-2021, 2021-2022 and 2022-2023 were confirmed in the Budget. However the Chancellor also said that rates would then be frozen for the following two financial years, 2023-2024 and 2024-2025. This means that a pure EV will have 0% BIK in 2020-2021, 1% BIK in 2021-2022, and 2% BIK in 2022-2023 – and in 2023-2024 and 2024-2025 – which could save thousands of pounds per year for company car drivers.
There was more good news for EV buyers in relation to Vehicle Excise Duty (VED). From 1 April 2020 until 31 March 2025 all zero emission vehicles will be exempt from the VED ‘expensive car supplement’. Currently all cars with a list price above £40,000 pay a £320 supplement, which increases to £325 from 1 April 2020, for five years from the second time a vehicle is taxed.
DriveElectric is an electric vehicle leasing company that has been helping organisations and individuals to adopt EVs to save money, lower emissions and transition to low carbon energy since 2008. DriveElectric aims to make the switch to electric cars and vans simple for business fleets.
I love this kind of tech as I have personally worked on several instances of maps over the years and like to see how this technology is progressing over time and it is a fight and with sat nav and mapping companies now with who gets into your car too but we have our native mapping apps such as Google and Apple in our devices people often ask do we really need standalone options like this and personally I think we do.
Being feature rich is what people like to see by that I mean not only a map to get your from A to B there is other things to consider here like POIs, garages,roads, speed limits, EV charge points in which today is vital and much more and this has you covered for the most but it does also give turn by turn navigation which is great should you fear getting lost.. I found though turn by turn can work better on motorways or by using the unit itself typing in an address it sometimes did not come through for some reason when I sent the directions from my phone but worked fine apart from that.
On the screen you have your map and from here options galore in the settings and it is fully customizable too with a sidebar giving you snippets of info like points of interest,current time,distance and time of arrival and if any delays it will be highlighted in red under the current time it will also re route you with faster routes as you go and I found this feature working quite well and akin to Google Maps too as I have tested this side by side with Google maps on my smartphone, However sometimes you get different route options but this is common and who is to say who is right and who is wrong.
For instance I have been doing a project with google maps and it has in some cases sent me the opposite direction and roads have been missing also some roads that leave your straight to the door on your route are ignored as if not there for some odd reason and I have reported this to google as some are really quite odd indeed. On some instances you might find the speed limit different to what shows on the sat nav but you can edit this in the settings which is useful but here is where it keeps your speed in check which is great and helpful.
This is where I find TomTom oddly better than Google and it hurts to say it but its true but in fairness it can be said for all map apps but Google seem to have dropped their game with updates, I have not seen one of their cars around in along time yet see Apple and I have seen a TomTom Car go around recently too. I was offered a job with Apple maps recently and declined which I now regret as I wanted to more on how they approach this and see their way of thinking with the competition. See how this company works HERE
I find here searching on the device is quite useless depending on what you want, If it is a business forget it its much better with an address but if you use the my drive app you will be fine though how the list is populated needs much work as it throws up random distances and names not organised like googles search is for example but over time that can be fixed I guess and the great thing is you can send direct to the unit from your phone which is great.
You can also use the unit with voice assistants although shady so I just type in via the app for my directions, You can also use the unit for calls which is cool you can choose between this ,your car your phone or its speaker and calls are loud as well as the directions coming from the speaker on the unit itself.
Overall it is quite good once you get the hang of it and have the app, sometime it is laggy on even touch response keying in information and when driving it can be behind but I take that as a signal problem but overall it will get you there and has a nice big screen which is fully interactive with much more on offer than some rivals when it comes to extras. Finally is it worth the price? Personally I dont think any standalone sat nav is worth more than an entry level smartphone because we have maps on our phones for free built in and a few to chose from but this offers more and you have lifetime updates free.
We will be covering a range of motoring and home tech from Aukey in the coming weeks and today we take a look at their DRO1 budget dashcam which is affordable and simple to use with an easy set up which we go through in the video below. You get all the cables and fixtures provided in the box so no need to go shopping elsewhere bar a memory card which I think all manufacturers should included which I always say on any dashcam product.
Today we unbox and go through the setup menu and show you what is involved and what you get for your money and in a few weeks time we will have a full review alongside some other products for the motorist Aukey have sent us over giving us good value to kit out your vehicle which will not break the bank, Also check out their other products and reviews on our site which include headphones and true wireless earbuds and stay tuned for more.
【Clear Video Capture】: The DR01 backs you up in any road incident. Sony Exmor Sensor captures super-sharp 1080p video (and optional in-car audio) with 170° field of view and also performs well for nighttime driving
【Emergency Recording & Loop Recording】: Emergency Recording automatically captures unexpected driving incidents and protects the recordings. Loop Recording allows continuous use by writing over old, unneeded footage.
【Extreme Temperature Operation】: Powered by the included dual-port USB car charger and internal supercapacitor. The supercapacitor has greater heat & cold endurance and longer lifetime than standard battery technology
【Easy Mounting】: Easily and securely mount to your windshield in seconds with the included suction cup or double-sided 3M pad
【Package Contents】: AUKEY DR01 Dashboard Camera, Dual-Port USB Car Charger, USB Mini-B Power Cable (4m/4.37yd), Sticker Mount, Three 3M Stickers, Six Cable Clips, User Manual, 45-Day Money Back Guarantee and 24-Month Warranty Card
We are living in surreal times. As we move into spring we see the start of suffering caused from a variety of seasonal allergies, and the added risk of the airborne transmission of viruses.
Chris Michael, Director of Meaco, a leading UK air purifier manufacturer, advises the use of an air purifier to help reduce the misery caused from allergies, and to help support overall wellness as families spend more time indoors and in close proximity
There is a lot of talk about why people should use a HEPA air purifier for health benefits. Air pollution caused by a range of pollutants can be detrimental to health. The very young and elderly are particularly vulnerable. Pollution is most obvious in large cities, along busy roads and in industrial areas but there are also many sources of pollutants that we bring into our own home. Smoking, faulty boilers, chemicals given off by new furniture, perfumes, air fresheners and candles, paints and cleaning products, all commonly known as VOCs (Volatile organic compounds), dust mites that live in our beds, mould spores, and dander from family pets can all trigger allergic reactions. At this time of year there is also pollen from a range of plants that can trigger asthma and cause discomfort. On top of this we also have to contend with airborne viruses.
The Government is urging people to work from home where possible, and with uncertainty about future directives, it is likely that more of us will be confined to the home.
So why should you use an air purifier with a HEPA (high-efficiency particulate air) filter? An air purifier works by removing allergens from the air. A True HEPA filter has been made to strict international regulations, and traps most bacteria, pathogens, microbial spores, pollens, and some virus particles. Capturing harmful particles and circulating clean air throughout a room, will help in keeping people healthy so their immune system is a tiny bit stronger to fight off any viruses. People should not rely on an air purifier to protect them from the coronavirus, as air purifiers have not been designed or tested to that level. Instead, they should follow the latest government guidelines to protect themselves. But if families are going to spend more time indoors and in close proximity then using an air purifier will help the family’s general health and will provide protection from VOCs that are common in the home and airborne pollutants from outside.
One filter removes dust, another deals with particles such as dust mites and pollen. A charcoal filter eliminates smells, and an ultraviolet system (UVC) will destroy bacteria. Finally, an ioniser is said to encourage dust particles to stick together and fall to the ground or into the air purifier. Air filters are an important part in managing airborne allergens, and for serious sufferers, can make life a lot more bearable, particularly if used in the bedroom.
Meaco’s research has shown that air purifier selection often goes wrong as people do not match the allergy to the filter required, or they buy an air purifier that is too small for their room and it cannot clean the air efficiently. The only way to reliably remove pollutants from the air is by circulating the entire volume of air in a room several times an hour, ensuring particles will enter the airflow of a filter, and the air will become cleaner. To select the correct one, you need to know what you’re allergic to and the cubic air volume of the room you want to clean. This would be calculated from the height, width and depth of the room in metres.
Make sure that the air purifier can actually remove what you are allergic to from the air and make sure that it can clean your air volume three times an hour for a mild allergy, five times an hour if you are on medication and eight times an hour if your allergy is serious. Let the air purifier run 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Put it on high fan speed when you are not in the room and turn it down to one of the quieter fan speeds when you are in the room.
Meaco has developed a next generation air purification range that includes the MeacoClean CA-HEPA 119×5 and MeacoCleanCA-HEPA 47×5),both ‘state of the art,’ offering a bespoke air purification experience to suit the allergy and room size. Both have an Allergy UK seal of approval.
The MeacoClean range is a more advanced than many standard air purifiers. Meaco uses True HEPA filters, to provide a high standard of air cleaning, as part of a multistage filtration package, along with activated charcoal which helps to remove odours and VOCs from the air. It has a PCO (Photocatalytic Oxidation) system which is the most advanced ant-bacterial/virus system to date. PCO technology speeds up the reaction time to help kill bacteria and viruses. Another advantage of the MeacoClean is that the multiple filters cover the vast majority of allergens.
The larger MeacoClean CA-HEPA 119×5 has one of the highest CADR (Clean Air Delivery Rate) scores in Europe and is suitable for rooms from 74 to 198m³ depending on how severe the allergy is, while the smaller MeacoClean CA-HEPA 47X5 works in rooms between 29 and 78m³.
Here are some other ways to help stay healthy
See your doctor before the season starts so that you have your medication right before the allergies start.
Get used to checking the pollen count on a daily basis so that you can plan your day.
Avoid drying clothes outside when the count is high as the pollen with stick to the clothes.
Plan outdoor activities after any rain as the pollen count is lower after a shower.
When you come home change your clothes so that you are not wearing clothes with pollen indoors and allowing the pollen to spread around the house.
Spring clean the house so you are not sneezing and suffering whilst disturbing dust.
Clean mould in the bathroom regularly to avoid the spread of mould spores.
Ensure you have good ventilation in the bathroom and kitchen to remove excess moisture to avoid damp.
Lower damp levels mean less mould spores and dust mites, if necessary look to buy a dehumidifier to reduce moisture levels.
Make your bedroom an allergy free haven where you can rest and get a good night’s sleep. Air purifiers provide a solution that can provide relief from these allergens.
Nokia today announced it is adding a new Wi-Fi 6 Beacon to its whole-home WiFi portfolio, helping operators to deliver a powerful user experience. Providing a high-capacity, high-performance in-home solution, the new Beacon 6 uses Wi-Fi 6 to deliver 40 percent faster speeds than previous Wi-Fi generations.
To further enhance the in-home experience, Nokia is also adding low-latency technology built on Nokia Bell Labs innovations to its Wi-Fi portfolio. Drastically improving residential Wi-Fi networks, the Nokia Beacon 6 provides operators with an easy to install solution that can support low-latency applications such as gaming and gigabit speeds essential for creating a seamless end-to-end 5G experience.
Ben Wood, chief of research at CCS Insight said: “The benefits of 5G are going to change user experiences and customers’ expectations. The blend of the latest Wi-Fi 6 technology, low latency performance and in-home Wi-Fi mesh solutions linked to 5G will allow operators to deliver a seamless communications platform for next generation applications and solutions.”
Currently more than 25 percent of homes globally are connected to a Wi-Fi network and there are about 5 billion Wi-Fi-connected devices in the home including home computing, smart TVs and smart home devices. To cope with this growth, operators and end-users are investing in devices that support Wi-Fi 6, a new Wi-Fi standard that improves speed by at least four times in dense areas and reduces latency by 75 percent.
The Beacon 6 is the first Nokia WiFi device to showcase several new technologies working seamlessly together. This includes:
Support for Wi-Fi 6 which improves the overall speed, performance and latency of a Wi-Fi network with OFDMA, a modulation scheme used in 5G that allows the access point to talk to more devices at once.
The Beacon 6 introduces Wi-Fi Certified EasyMesh3 and is fully interoperable with 3rd party Wi-Fi Certified EasyMesh products for easy install. Nokia’s new mesh controller capabilities ensure the best Wi-Fi performance is achieved in the home by managing channel selection and adding advanced interference capabilities that are unique in the market.
Nokia Bell Labs low-latency innovations including PI24 algorithm (available 2H20) that consistently improves latency even in congested environments. With PI2, latency is reduced from hundreds of milliseconds to 20 milliseconds which can be further reduced to <5 milliseconds when paired with L4S in the core network. L4S is currently being standardized by the IETF5 and builds on Bell Labs innovations that eliminate jitters and delays that can impact the user experience in low-latency applications like gaming and virtual reality.
The introduction of Nokia’s Beacon 6 and new low-latency innovations will play an important role in helping operators deliver a powerful 5G user experience at home. With Nokia’s Beacon 6, operators can leverage the speed and performance of Wi-Fi 6 to seamlessly off-load 5G mobile traffic to the Wi-Fi network, allowing end users connected to a 5G wireless network to go from the car into the home without any disruptions. This is critical for operators looking to free up expensive 5G spectrum for higher ARPU use cases like Industry 4.0 and IoT.
“Nokia’s new Beacon 6 will play a fundamental role in helping operators significantly enhance residential Wi-Fi and for the first time, deliver a true 5G experience across the network,” said Sandra Motley, President of Fixed Networks at Nokia. “By leveraging the power of Wi-Fi 6, Nokia’s new Beacon 6 can help establish a significantly faster and more powerful Wi-Fi network in the home that will forever change the game for operators and end users alike. Whether it’s a home, work or public environment, the ability to seamlessly offload from mobile 5G to Wi-Fi 6 will enable operators to accelerate 5G rollouts, reduce costs and ultimately ensure a consistent, premium 5G end-users experience is achieved.”
“New Zealand already has some of the fastest internet connectivity in the world thanks to the strong customer uptake of the FTTH Ultra-Fast Broadband (UFB) program,” said JB Rousselot, Chorus New Zealand’s Chief Executive Officer. “We are building on this fantastic progress with the launch of our 10G GPON services under the product banner of HyperFibre and are excited about the role that WiFi6 will play in enhancing the customers experience. Lab testing of the Beacon 6 on our fibre network has demonstrated that we can take wireless speeds beyond a gig. This new technology provides a way for our fantastic fibre asset to play a meaningful part in New Zealanders 5G wireless experiences.”
