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.
Lenco, the Hi-Fi and consumer electronics company famed for its Swiss design and high quality product ranges over the last seventy years, is pleased to announce the availability of its DIR-200 Internet/DAB+ radio and BTL-450 Bluetooth tower speaker via Amazon in the UK market.
Tune in all over the world with the Lenco DIR-200 DAB+ Internet Radio with PLL FM Radio. When connected to the internet, the DIR-200 can receive radio stations and Podcasts from all over the world making it effortless to tune into something new, or simply tune into a favourite FM station with the PLL FM Radio. It is also compatible with a UPnP multimedia server.
With 34W RMS speakers, complete with Bluetooth connectivity, USB playback and AUX input, the DIR-200 can connect and playback music from smartphones or other devices.
The DIR-200 can also be used as an alarm clock, with dual alarm function and sleep timer. The DIR-200 also has an in-built USB charging port for your smartphone or other device, as well as a 3.2” TFT LCD Colour Display. Buy on Amazon HERE
The Lenco BTL-450 is a premium Bluetooth speaker tower, backed by the award winning & best-selling heritage of previous generations. This latest innovation still features impressive room-filling Hi-Fi audio performance but now also boasts integrated lighting technology.
The BTL-450 can be connected easily via Bluetooth, USB, 3.5mm aux-in or SD card playback. Once connected, users can listen to any of their music or any other content from the likes of; Apple Music, Amazon Music, Deezer, iTunes, Spotify, Tune In or any other services. There is also a handy built-in FM radio with auto-scan and a USB port to charge mobile devices.
The BTL-450 is an audio powerhouse featuring rich room-filling sound performance. The 2.1 Channel speaker tower delivers a total output of 60 Watts which is loud enough for even the most raucous party. The sheer quality of sound this tower delivers is further enhanced with the built-in subwoofer to provide deep and powerful bass. The front speaker grille of the tower features integrated LED Lights which offer 8 colour modes and 3 lighting effects to change the mood of a room to suit or energise a house party. All light modes are easily and innovatively managed via the remote control.
On first getting these in and unboxing I was impressed off the bat which is something I don’t say too often but do they live up to my initial impressions???
I am a huge headphone fan and own some 50 pairs or so which is a bit of a hoarding problem ( try nearly 300 mobile phones) but when it comes to my cans I like choice and I like quality to go with it. Headphones/earphones or earbuds are something I use heavily daily and I like to have whats good and can deliver a good listening experience.
UNBOXING
The features are enough to get you going!!
Wireless amplified, tri-mode, closed back design
Bluetooth HD wireless connection with aptX and NFC (automatic connection)
Active Noise Cancelling Mode with RoomFeel
Active Mode with RoomFeel
Passive Mode (batteries not required)
One tangle-free cord for wired connection
One tangle-free micro USB cable
1/4” stereo and dual input flight adaptors
Unique dual input connections (left or right)
Runs on included rechargeable battery power
Gyro-suspended ear pads (extra set supplied)
Easy folding for travel and storage
Semi-hard travel case
Build Quality. Is robust I would expect these to last though if it is your only pair that might be different this depends on the person and how they look after their goods but these come with a good travel case so there is no excuse. With leather padding on the headband it makes these really comfortable for long term use and the cups also offer same. With good joints thrown in they overall are solid.
Controls. Now I love these, Moving away from the typical raised tiny buttons we mostly see they are toggles and work a treat and are east to navigate blindly and there is some odd pleasure of been able to interact with a switch like feature and they work flawlessy each time.OK we have an ANC/Power Button and Bluetooth button which brings us to the norm but the balance here works well and I think this looks good, People who came to my house and seen them said “what the fcuk are them switches for” which gives the attention alone which brings me onto the sound experince next.
Sound. Exellent is all I can say as I type this review I have these on listening to my music. Even for the audiophiles out there they will be impressed. I have tested tried and own enough heapdhones to give a valid opinion but you will get the pedantic views perhaps from others having said that they might be marching on comparing to more expenisve headphones such a beats which I actaully own and they are still sitting in a box because they are just overpriced rubbish and you are just paying for a name and these incidently come in around the same price.
Listening to all genres of music higs,lows and mids they deliver every time and have great bass and when you avail of the ANC you can immerse yourself to your hearts content in quality sound. Call quality was also fine on the few calls I took when using them.
RoomFeel it works..
Created to deliver the clear, natural sound of a live performance, PSB’s exclusive RoomFeel™ technology adds layers of lush realism to all your favourite recordings. Carefully developed to produce ‘Room Gain’ – the energy and clarity that a room adds when listening to high-quality loudspeakers. RoomFeel places the music seemingly around the listener, resulting in a truly stunning musical experience. Designed to go wherever you and your music go, RoomFeel brings the most accurate sound directly to your headphones.
Powered by AAA bateries which come supplied in a rechargeable format you can replace these on the go if you like but you do get a 3.5mm cable with the package just in case. You will get around the 15 hours life as claimed by manufacturer from my testing period that was pretty much constant. Paring the headphones was also effortless just like most are today..
Anything bad?? Well three things not dealbreakers by any means. One is colour they only come in Black it is nice to offer a variety which might change and move away from the standard issue, Secondly they are a tad heavy at first compared to others but its not really a problem these are the type of headphones I would wear at home or in office and not something I would wear on the street they isolate the noise well even without the ANC and they are quite loud in volume which is personally something I like,not ideal for cylclists or waklking you need to have your wits about you. They sometimes sweat but this is for really long periods of use this will though vary per person and again room temp etc, If you are to wear these on a bus or train for example and you have a passenger beside you on full volume you might piss them off but hey …
It is now that time of year when we will start seeing Christmas lines of tech either been announced or listed with manufacturers. It is early but this is how things are these days and yes we will see lots more between now and the big day from everyone. Jabra are the first in with us on the tech scene with what they have to offer its customers and here is a look at the range available today..
Cosy winter nights in, family gatherings by the fireplace, and copious amounts of delicious food – everyone’s favourite time of the year is back again. Are you looking to be ‘nice’ this holiday season and pick out the perfect gift for your beloved partner? Or maybe you’re tapping into the ‘naughty’ by using Christmas as an opportunity to treat yourself this year? Whatever the case may be, ‘tis the season to get festive with Jabra!
Jabra Elite 65t
The Jabra Elite 65t’s 4-microphone technology promises a superior sound quality, with conversations as great as music. The true wireless stability helps reduce call and music dropouts, so you never have to worry about getting disconnected as you go about your day.
With up to five hours of battery life, which extends to 15 hours with the charging case, the Jabra Elite 65t provides power to last the day.It comes in a stunningly luxurious Gold Beige colour, making it a perfect gift for those that like the prettier things in life. In the mood for something more classic? Something a bit more eye-catching? The Elite 65t also comes in Titanium Black and Copper Black. See our review HERE
Jabra Elite 65e
The Jabra Elite 65e is engineered to take you through your day as you switch between calls and music on-the-move, making it the perfect gift for the corporate superstar in your family!
By combining active noise cancellation from four microphones with passive noise cancellation from the oval-shaped earbuds and snug-fitting Jabra EarGels™, the Elite 65e is powerful enough to make even the busiest of cafés sound as quiet as a library.The Elite 65e comes in two exciting colours – Titanium Black and Copper Black – that can be the newest, most stylish addition to your arsenal as you go about your daily life shuttling to and from work. See our review HERE
Jabra Elite Active 65t
These look hot..
Nothing says holiday season more than the Jabra Elite Active 65t in a fiery red, copper tone that’s sure to turn heads. The Elite Active 65t is the perfect gift for active lifestyles. The secure fitting earbuds promise a snug fit and a dependable in-ear stability, so you’ll never have to compromise on your active lifestyle while enjoying quality music and call experience.
With a 2-year warranty against sweat and dust, the Jabra Elite Active 65t provides up to 5 hours of battery life from a single charge, and up to 15 hours in total with the pocket-friendly charging case, taking you from start to finish as you go through your day.
Jabra Elite 45e
The Jabra Elite 45e is a crowd-favourite, engineered for the best wireless calls and music experience.
Gift your loved ones the ability to hear music the way they want to – the Elite 45e comes with an adjustable equaliser, which allows you customise your music settings to suit your preferences. The advanced 2-microphone technology promises to deliver superior wireless call performance, removing noise from calls to ensure your conversations are always clear. Be it in the festive Gold Beige, or in the timeless Titanium Black, the Jabra Elite 45e makes the perfect gift as you celebrate the most wonderful time of the year!
The Jabra Elite 65t RRP £149.99, Jabra Elite Active 65t RRP £169.99 and Jabra Elite 45e RRP £89.99 are available in selected retailers.
With a kilometre of exhibition space, presentation halls and meeting rooms under one roof, The Convention Centre Dublin (The CCD) is an enormous space to monitor. The venue can host events ranging from 5 to 5,500 delegates and keeping visitors connected during an event is no easy task.
Thanks to Paessler’s unified monitoring solution, PRTG Network Monitor, The CCD is not only able to ensure that those visiting an event have the best possible experience, but also that their network equipment, IoT devices and laptops are in perfect working order. Providing event organisers with a predictive analysis of their connectivity needs and giving visitors the best possible conferencing experience.
Giving visitors a complete brand experience
Visitors to The CCD rely on the venue’s information screens for event details. A failure of any of the 84 screen panels or media players can cause confusion, as well as appear highly unprofessional to visitors. Monitoring the entire floor space in person would be costly and impractical, but their PRTG system allows the team at The CCD to easily monitor the performance of the information displays, and other IoT devices, centrally and in real time. A frequent user of the convention centre is Reward Catering in Dublin, who often use The CCD to host international food truck events and meetings. Staging for events at the Convention centre is often provided by Stage and Lighting in Dublin.
Optimising employee expertise
Walking the total space of The CCD would be the equivalent of crossing ten football pitches. There is a more effective use of time than checking in on each of the venue’s 22 rooms to make sure laptops, video monitors and other equipment are all operating correctly. PRTG provides the conference centre with a complete monitoring solution, which alerts support staff to issues with critical hardware and software failures before they occur.
All the conference centre’s essential systems are monitored 24/7, including multiple VMware hosts and a NetApp storage area network (SAN). Every PRTG license includes pre-defined sensors for all these devices, and many more, without needing to buy any add-ons or plugins.
CCD DUBLIN VIA JIM O BRIEN
Embracing IoT allows The CCD to provide an unmatched offering
The CCD recently upgraded their PRTG licence to add more sensors, allowing the monitoring of every “Thing” else in the building. Our ideal scenario would be that all IoT devices added to the network can be accurately monitored, including security cameras, smart lighting in the exhibition halls, laptop performance and even the ink levels in the business centre printers. As a result, The CCD teams are warned well in advance of any potential issues to ensure they provide seamless service to conference organisers at all times.
Uptime is vital to the visitor experience and monitoring is the only way to ensure any potential issues can be properly managed and corrected before a client becomes aware of a problem.
Predictive usage data provides a competitive edge
Event organisers often complain that conference venues provide their visitors with unsatisfactory or unstable Wi-Fi connections during an event. This is usually due to venues being underprepared for the amount of network traffic generated during a conference or exhibition. They often also lack data to backup their bandwidth requirement recommendations to event organisers.
The CCD uses PRTG to provide accurate usage statistics, giving clients a clear, upfront picture of exactly what their Wi-Fi requirements will look like. Drawing on previous anonymised client usage from PRTG’s historical data, they can match any new client’s profile with predictive data and tailor quotes specifically to the type of visitor that each event will attract. This includes the likely download and upload usage patterns; as well as providing on-the-day, real time analysis of usage, allowing limits to be adjusted, when necessary.
Since connectivity is aligned to the revenue generation of a convention centre it is vital that they get this right. Providing too low an estimate could result in poor Wi-Fi performance for visitors. Conversely, providing expensive connectivity quotes, without accurate data usage analysis could immediately scare away conference organisers.
Having the data to back up the connection experience that The CCD offers provides complete transparency to clients before, during, and after an event resulting in stronger client relationships and true transparency.
CCD DUBLIN VIA JIM O BRIEN
Safeguarding hardware and eliminating replacement costs
The CCD’s 10 communications rooms are closely monitored at all times. Using a combination of PRTG’s Cisco specific, and generic SNMP sensors, the team can be assured that all their switches, routers, firewalls and telephony systems are always available, and performing optimally. PRTG is also used to monitor the underlying infrastructure on which the IT systems depend. In one instance, the cooling fan in one of the communications rooms failed. This might have taken several days to notice if it wasn’t for PRTG’s early warning system.
Growing Dublin’s reputation as the leading technology capital of Europe
Maintaining a world class conference venue is no easy feat and with many European destinations vying for the attention of global conference organisers, maintaining a competitive edge is vital. Add to this the fact that Dublin is fast becoming a world-renowned technology hub, it is essential that it has a convention centre to match.
Paessler’s monitoring solution is key to ensuring that The CCD’s reputation and success as a leading conference centre is upheld.
[Quote]
“Our greatest consideration at The CCD is up-time. I have experience with PRTG for close on 10 years now. This is the third place I’ve installed it and it’s always the first new software I install. It’s simple to understand and easy to use. Like all monitoring software it needs to be tuned on an ongoing basis, but it can be tuned so well. And because it’s programmable, whatever box you have, whatever information you have, you can tell it to take that information and create a complete picture.”
Craig Colley, Head of ICT at The Convention Centre Dublin
As the excitement and nerves surrounding the first day of school are now settling for families across the country, FUJIFILM Imagine photo printing app, together with MummyPages, has conducted research and compiled some interesting facts on how today’s modern parents capture this all-important milestone.
There is however a fact at the percentage that actually print their images compared to whats posted online which is the trend these days.. This is actually worrying and perhaps a warning just how far social media has gone and how much it takes up our day, Is it time to stop posting online and actually print out images like we once did before????
94% Of Parents Take A Photo of Their Child’s First Day at School to Post on Social Media, but Only 27% Print the Photo as a Keepsake
The first day of school is a major milestone for parents and their child, and a recent study by FUJIFILM and Mummy Pages revealed that 100% of parents capture this momentous occasion with a picture. However, while 94% of parents will take a photo of their child on their first day of school and post it on social media for their friends and family to see, now only 27% of parents print the photo to have and hold forever!
Insights:
73% of parents are anxious for their children on their first day of school
88% of parents report their children are both excited and nervous about their first day of school
100% of parents will take a photo of their child on their first day of school to mark the important milestone
94% of parents will take a photo of their child on their first day of school and post it on social media for their friends and family to see
27% of parents say they will print the photo of their child’s first day of school
19% of parents will take a photo of their child’s first day of school and last day of school to show how much they’ve grown up
FUJIFILM and Mummy Pages are encouraging more parents to print their smartphone photos instead of just uploading them to social media. Fujifilm don’t want any parent to have regrets over not having the picture printed, and have made it even easier than ever with theFUJIFILM Imagine App,. The Fujifilm Imagine App offers parents a convenient way to do this, so that they can easily order prints of these special moments, from the palm of their hand, at home or on the go, meaning there’s no need to spend hours searching shop to shop.
It’s time to celebrate photos offline and not just on our social media feeds! What a magical moment to have on display on the mantelpiece or on the kitchen fridge door, or even to look back on and bring out at an 18th or 21st birthday! FUJIFILM Imagine makes creating and celebrating memories fun.
FUJIFILM Imagine printing services and gifts are available nationwide. Prices start from as little as €9.99 and may vary from retailer to retailer. Gift availability varies instore – call instore, visit www.fujifilmimagine.ie or download the FUJIFILM Imagine App.
For the selfie lovers out there which is plenty now Art Selfie is available globally on Android and iOS, More than 78 million Art Selfies were taken in the Google Arts & Culture app since its inception and there is no sign of it slowing down..
Art Selfie is powered by computer vision technology based on machine learning. When you take a selfie, your photo is compared with faces in artworks our museum partners have provided. After a short moment, you will see your results along with a percentage to estimate the visual similarity of each match and your face.
Your selfie becomes a doorway into art—tap on your lookalike to discover more information about it or an artist that perhaps you’ve never heard of before.
Key stats:
Art Selfie has been incredibly popular – over 78 Million matches have been made to date.
We have collaborated closely with over 650 partner institutions from around the word to make the experiment available globally
Together we more than doubled the number of possible matches, to tens of thousands of artworks
Art Selfie is a feature within the Google Arts & Culture app on Android and iOS (App version 6.4 +) and available worldwide from 10.00am Tuesday 4th September
App download link for all countries, on both iOS and Android, is: g.co/ArtSelfie
What is Google Arts & Culture?
Google Arts & Culture puts over a 1,500 museums at your fingertips. It’s an immersive way to explore art, history and wonders of the world from Van Gogh’s bedroom paintings to Mandela’s prison cell. The Google Arts & Culture app is free and available on the web, on iOS and Android. Our team has been an innovation partner for cultural institutions since 2011. We work on technologies that help preserve and share culture and allow curators to create engaging exhibitions online and offline, inside museums. You can read about our latest projects on the official Google Keyword blog.
The Nokia 1 has been on sale some weeks now and its a great phone for the money if you are not into heavy multitasking or expecting superb photos as you would expect for the higher end models from Nokia like the 6.1 and 7 plus etc. Again there is price variances around some just over €100 which I would ignore and some good deals from €74.99 and up unlocked. Vodafone now have the device at a great price which a phone like this could be a first smartphone for some or just a spare device to have about for going out or to concerts and festivals etc.
With a quad-core processor, front and rear cameras, 4G connectivity and dual SIM, the Nokia 1 elevates everything you love about feature phones in an accessible smartphone package. Combining a removable 2150 mAh battery and power-efficient IPS display, its hardware works with the optimised apps so you can make the most out of each charge.
The re-launched Kickstarter crowd-funding campaign for a new orchestral CD recording featuring music from “Suikoden II” had reached its funding goal. The campaign, was hosted by VGM Classics (NM, USA), a classical record company specializing in video game music. The campaign now aims for stretch goals for more music by September 20, 2018.
“Suikoden II” is a role-playing video published by Konami for the PlayStation system in 1998. The original music was based on orchestral and ethnic sounds that reflected the many cultures and feelings that permeated the story.
The funding goal of the campaign was US$15,000 in an all-or-nothing format, and the campaign sets two stretch goals at $27,500, and at $40,000 for more music by September 20, 2018.
VGM Classics has invited the award-wining composer/conductor Kentaro Sato to be its music director to oversee and direct the recording. Mr. Sato is the orchestral and choral mastermind behind such video game titles as the “DISSIDIA Final Fantasy” series. The prospective orchestra for the project is the Budapest Symphony Orchestra (Budapest, Hungary).
VGM Classics expects that its projects not only will fulfill the wishes of game music lovers, but also will contribute to the advancement of musical art and culture at large.
Today we are going to check out the Sudio Vasa.. A really nice looking pair of earphones which comes in several colours so you wont be stuck for choice. We have the Vasa in Blue which really look nice and as always with Sudio the presentation is excellent. You can also grab a free set of cosaters which I have done a quick video on HERE and you can get yourself a 15% discount HERE.
If you have any questions as always in the interim feel free to ask below or on social which is all linked on the top and bottom right of site.
