Category: #Reviews

Review – The Jabra Elite 85h and Jabra Sound+ App. #Jabra #JabraElite85h #Headphones

I am a long time user and fan of Jabra products and when they announced the 85h I was eagerly waiting to see what was on offer here to see if there is any competition to the Bose QC 35s and Sony WH1000MX3s which are the rave these days and having tried them both Jabra are giving them a good run for their money and something else for the consumer to think about when they are looking for their next set of noise cancelling headphones.

First up if you missed it check out the unboxing experience below and the great presentation on offer from Jabra.

Before I go any further YOU NEED TO USE THE SOUND PLUS APP. This app is excellent and I have been using it some time now and this underpins the excellence with your Jabra experience as a whole and I have said it many times all manufacturers need their own EQ app at least to enhance the experience and you can see more on the app in the review below.

The colour I have may not be the best for some as it easily gets dirty but the materials used makes them easy to clean which has water resistance then again you have a protective case to keep them out of harms way when not in use which as always is a bonus and something all manufacturers need to consider as part of the package.

Build quality is great and I do expect a few years of life out of these once they are treated right ,Ok they are plastic but so are most headphones at this price point and this also keeps the weight down. Comfort is great and can be worn for hours I would wear mine easily two hours a day and no issues here with discomfort or sweat I actually use my cans for watching You Tube and listening to music for long periods in the evening or during the day when wandering around the house and put them to the test and this goes for and earbuds or headphones I use its not your typical 30/60 mins try em out situation and give a score.

The cups are really soft and sink onto your ears and block put much of the outside world without ANC turned on and the soft underside of the headband adds to the comfort levels and after a while you would almost forget they are on your head this is a win win.  I also like the slider mechanism to lengthen the arms this is cool and does not have that clicky sound you get on many headphones.

The fabric material is nice and complements the leather and looks well and almost has a two tone effect.

The cups as I said cover the ears nicely and the headphones do not clamp on your head and the controls are easy to use and kept simple compared to what you find on earbuds these days. On the left side is the ANC button if you will which turns ANC on/off gives you the hear through option this can also be done in the soundplus app..

On the right we have a bit more action with the Assistant button be it siri or Google this works every time and we also have our USB-C charge port,3.5 mm jack and an indicator LED for status, On the outside of the cup we have controls for volume,call answer/reject play/pause and these also have on ear detection which is great and a feature again needs to be seen more often. Another great feature is how they power on/off which is a simple twist of the cups.. You can also skip tracks and restart but no skip back to previous track.

You now also get plenty of voice commands here with a better sounding voice than older models this I like as it’s not robotic and kind of easy on the ears.. YKWIM..

Battery life is on par with what Jabra claim (36 hours) which is pretty good and call quality is again excellent which is always a feature of Jabra products I have used these extensively over the last while and more so than other headphones putting in some 60 hours before I came to my conclusion and call shine on this a I did take quite a few and another thing to note there is no lag latency( for those that do not know, the lips do not fall behind the visual) on calls or consuming media such as you tube or netflix

The sound, I guess this is the vital bit. Lets just say this…. Its top notch and plenty aloud and as I said with the soundplus app you can make it your own, When listening to all genres,highs,lows and mids they excel and with the bass and treble you are in for a treat end of story Bose and Sony have met their match here with the audio experience and then with SmartSound which uses AI to get your surroundings this is also a great feature and has worked all the time for me and you also get the voice command to let you know you have changed environment.

All in all the Jabra 85h are a win coming in at a good price and cheaper than its main competitors. I am huge headphone and earphone fan but don’t claim to be an audiophile expert but I can honestly say from testing countless pairs of both now over the years and owning a huge collection these will not disappoint you if you can shell out the price, You have to pay to play as they say and these will play music to your ears in one the best audio experiences out there. With the ANC turned on they shine..

Key features of the Jabra Elite 85h

  • SmartSound: Audio that automatically adapts to your surroundings
  • One-click access: Voice Assistant access at the push of a button
  • Four colour variations: Black, Titanium Black, Gold Beige and Navy
  • Battery: Up to 36-hour battery with ANC activated and 41 hours without ANC
  • Microphones: 8 microphones in total. 6 dedicated for calls, 4 for ANC and 2 hybrid mics for both calls and ANC.
  • Speakers: 40 mm custom-engineered speakers
  • Durability: Unique IP52 dust and rain resistance, backed by a 2-year warranty against water and dust

VIDEO AND APP REVIEW

Review – The Urbanista Stockholm True Wireless Earphones. #Earphones #Urbanista #TrueWireless

As many know I have been testing Urbanista some time now and they always deliver, The best however to date was the Tokyo True wireless and this is the scene now with earphones and once I was not too fond of such earphones but now love them.

Many folk consider the pencil design silly looking and I agree to a point which depends on how they look and the shape and these are quite nice and most importantly comfortable to wear and will not fall out like Apples overrated overpriced Airpods. Best again these come in much cheaper offering great sound.

The Urbanista True Wireless did not disappoint either when it comes to sound quality and features which for me is great and they are plenty aloud too. A well balanced music profile across the board would best describe and they even have a decent punch of bass which many folk like however you will never get the same as a pair of over ears or enjoy the same experience but overall these deliver on highs,lows and mids and no distortion on max volume.

Build quality is great and I love the case they come in which is where you get extra battery life when on the go should you need it. Pairing up is simple,once removed from their case they are in pairing mode and you just select them from your phones bluetooth menu and you also get voice commands to let you know the status.

Calls work on both sides and calls are crystal clear which is welcome as some only offer one side to use, You can use them independently but only the right side.ie you can take the left one out and place it in the box and the right side will stay alive but funnily enough not the left side so if you take the right side out it will disconnect the left. This is only info for those who chose to use them in such a manner ie a bluetooth headset.. The touch controls also work well despite being small and as for your voice assistant if you use it thats present and works fine too. There is no lag latency either here which is great when watching You Tube or Netflix for example.

CLICK TO ENLARGE IMAGES

Also note there is dual mics on the right side which cancels outside noise they are not ANC earbuds but they do block out a good bit of the outside world and sound great when in use. Would I recommend them?? An easy yes from me compared to others out there at their price point which is just €89 and free shipping and come in nice colours. My only gripes…. Micro USB…No EQ App.

Total Playtime: 14 hours
3.5 hours per charge
Slim charging case with 3 charges
Dual microphones on the right earbud
which cancels the surrounding noise
Stereo phone calls
Bluetooth 5.0
Touch control
Volume and music controls
Voice control (Siri, Google Now)
Compatible with Android and iOS

BUY HERE 

Review – The Sudio TOLV True wireless earbuds & 15% discount. #sudio #sudiosweden #truewireless

This is the second pair of true wireless from Sudio Sweden and have they improved of the Sudio Niva from last year??

Looking almost the same as before they have and for the better. With a super presentation as always the TOLV come in a smaller package inside and out but well presented and delivering on performance.

The new TOLV come in a variety of colours to start with which gives the customer choice and not left stuck with the typical Black and White versions we tend to see at launch but we went with White this time as I thought they looked nice and fit the bill for me this time around as I have several colours now and wanted to change the scene.

The TOLV come in a really nice shaped case which gives you the ability to charge your device and gives you up to 35 hours of playback which is average, The case is a real nice touch with its rubber texture and shape and it fits nicely in the hand or pocket and by no means bulky its literally a similar size to an egg but flattened on two sides and to top it off it comes with a nice leather strap.

Inside we get all the extras we expect but I would like to see sudio partner up with Comply foam as their tips are now widely used and a better fit for all, There is nothing wrong with the earbuds you get extra sizes but having comply foam on board would sweeten the deal for me.

Pairing is a simple process,once out they are in pairing mode you just find Sudio Tolv on your device and you are good to go. On two occasions I lost connection the left ear which was odd but this can happen anytime to any earbud,dropouts are not uncommon.

The controls are easy to use and to navigate blindly after a few minutes use you will have no issues to control the earbuds as both sides have functions. You also get your virtual assistant here too and this works all time with no issues.

When it comes to sound is where it matters for most but another thing I would like Sudio to do is build their own EQ app and these earbuds do not have apt-x but overall the sound is good and better than their first set of earbuds with bass in particular and mids.lows and highs came through crisp and clear and overall a great balance in sound but an app with an EQ option would really make them shine even more, You can use a third party app or if your device has an EQ on it but like I say for many their own app would seal the deal even more with support like that.Phone calls are also great and you get sound in both sides,not just one which is a great advantage. Also no lag latency seen here with my usual tests.

Specs

– Features a graphene driver for enhanced sound clarity
– Automatic pairing between earbuds and device
– Features a microphone on both earbuds
– Features a single, multipurpose button on each earbud to control music/phone calls
– Weighs 4.5 grams per earbud

GET AT 15% DISCOUNT USING THE CODE ( techbuzzirelandsudio)

BUY HERE

VIDEO REVIEW

 

 

 

Review – The Google Pixel 3a. The disruptor. #TeamPixel #Pixel3a #Tech #Google

The Google Pixel 3a is what i will call the disruptor device with what’s on offer for its pricepoint which is mainly the camera, The camera is what people tend to look out for but its not all about the camera either as a whole, Given its chomped down some internals its a phone worth its money with a smashing camera and one to let others take note and gives it the best contender spot in the mid-range section.

OK.. I have a gripe with the build quality that’s because I am more suited to better built phones but you can let go of some of that with a case as most people will buy and not only that you will add some weight to the phone as it is very light but get the right case you are sorted and you are protected as the polycarbonate shell will only take so much.

Most of us folk today seek a great camera and google uses computational photography and it is simply the best. OK we have a race now to has the most cameras on board when we just want to point and shoot and get a result the 3a does this and its night sight again is unbeatable. So for all the people saying it has only ONE camera lens…. Give it a rest.

You can argue the competition has more cameras but look at the price the time has come for 1000 euro plus phones to die there is simply no need for it anymore. The P30 pro for example and the Nokia 9 pureview are two examples here which annoys me greatly. We want to take a photo and share it,not sit around with settings and fiddling afterwards with post processing look at the price difference between those two devices and see what gives the better results, Ok the P30 pro is a good phone and not a one trick pony but the price you pay is ridiculous and the same applies to iPhones which for me and always will be an overpriced locked down device lacking customisation.

Battery life for the 3a is pretty good however with me being a power user and I mean a power user not like some claim they are I live on my phone night and day for work and personal use and sometimes use two phones to keep work and personal use seperate so for the testing period I threw it all at the Pixel3a and I might get to 5pm in the evening from 8am in the morning and then I need to charge up again, On weekends easily two days as I stay away from most things I do during the week for downtime and family time so for the average user two days is possible here.

Multitasking is no problem on this device,, Again being a poweruser with some 30 apps on board,my wordpress etc it jogged on no problem for my personal use and media consumption is pleasant given its a smaller screen, The 3a actually is the perfect sized device given I have come custom to using bigger devices I have trimmed down and like it mainly for one handed use I am quite happy to use smaller phones so this and my blackberry key 2 which has the smallest screen I have used are enough even for watching youtube or Netflix.

OK it is better on bigger phones I cant argue there but its a trade off I can accept especially when carrying such in your pocket but I will get the Pixel 3a XL and see due to its polycarbonate build it will be lighter and at times I thought I had left my phone at home the Pixel 3a is that light, that can be a bad or good thing with some. On a side note one thing I noticed I was able to get a better signal with the Pixel 3a than other phones I own and this is a good thing for those on the go who rely on their smartphone for work or business.

The 3a looks boring I will just get that up front it has bezels which many manufacturers are shying away from but you don’t judge a book by its cover what it offers underneath the hood for its price point is what matters if you can live with bezels and a boring design it follows on from its older siblings but delivers pretty much else on everything else and its got great speakers which is something I am a fan of but they could have been front firing.

The OS is pure and I have been using the 3a on Android 10 beta 3 and it has been fine, You can customise your device to your hearts content with a pretty easy to follow menu system and no skin on top nor operator rubbish which thankfully seems to be a thing of the past aside their own apps if you buy it from a provider.

1 / 12

Another gripe some might find is the storage element with just 64GB on board and no option to expand but you do get cloud storage but for those shooting in 4K is where they might run into trouble later down the road it might leave you limited but not a huge deal for most I think.

Overall I have grown to like the Pixel 3a despite the few shortcomings and where Google has traded off here they have disrupted the norm in that department where corners are cut to get the price down and it certainly opens the door to cheaper better phones which is a trend these days but when it comes to the camera nothing under 500 lids comes near it yet, The performance is also good overall and if you are in the market for a new smartphone not laced with junk and want a good point and shoot camera this is one you need to check out..

BUY ON GOOGLE STORE

BUY ON VODAFONE

BUY ON ARGOS 

 

 

Review – The Jam “Hang Around” Bluetooth speaker #Tech #Jam #Bluetooth

Just like earbuds and headphones there is no shortage of bluetooth speakers here and today we are going to check out the Jam “Hang Around” bluetooth speaker. The main question is as always how good does it sound well you can find out that below in the video review.

The speaker is trendy looking and on the bright side which is nice, I prefer this stand outish look over the industrial design which has become all to common with such and this one will certainly stand out.

On the base there is 4 rubber stoppers to keep it still although when full max the speaker began to move this though shows how powerful it is when at max volume and it will certainly fill a room.

This compact speaker has up to 20 hours of playtime with its 30-metre Bluetooth range. Rugged and waterproof, the Hang Around is perfect to kick back, relax and listen to your favourite tunes, even in the bathroom. The amazing dual drivers and bespoke dual passive bass radiators pack an awesome punch for its size. Better still, pair it with another Hang Around for a fuller stereo sound.

With easy to use controls and ease of use this is a must have for your picnic or trip to the beach,Build quality here is also excellent and this will take a few knocks too.. Check out the video review below for more..

Available from: uk.jamaudio.com, Argos, Amazon

Review – The Jam Audio “Live True” wireless earbuds. #truewireless #earbuds #Audio

The Jam Audio “Live True” Wireless earbuds are a set of earbuds that are on the cheap and look trendy given they have a different take on the current trend with fabric coated buds housed in plastic rather that the total plastic or metal housed in ears. They also offer some more than some other offerings at this price range which is now 50 euros at the time of press but fall short on some aspects but overall they are quite good and can be easily considered if it is your first pair or true wireless earbuds.

These look different as mentioned and are not the type that look silly in your ears but stick out a small bit but this is not an issue for me. They come in a really cool carry case and not only that you can charge your mobile phone up on the go should you run low on juice which is an excellent idea and the case is not that big either compared to many others out there and this I like.

These are also IPX3 rated which is sufficient for many average users yet some come with no rating at all so there are on the mark there giving these a rating You can expect 3 hours of play from a single charge and get an extra 10 charges from the case which is ideal for those on long commutes and as mentioned you also get the benefit to charge your smartphone on the go which lets be honest is still a thing these days.

Functionality here is great and they are easy to use, Once removed from the box these sync together unlike others that require a seperate sync for each side which is annoying and here is where some folk run into problems but this will not be one here. Once you turn on your bluetooth on your device just find the Live True and pair and you are good to go you will also hear a tone when connected and when you power off…

You can connect one at a time if you wish for a mono experience if you will this is ideal for people that want to hear their surroundings whilst listening to tunes or the radio and for those who perhaps might be out walking or cycling where you do need your wits about you.

Where they fall short is you cant skip a track you can just play and pause and when you take a call they only work on one side being the left this might be a caveat for some but the price point here is what you look at, You can listen to music on either side alone and you can only hear calls on one side being the left so it does not take calls with both plugged in. To activate your voice assistants be it Alexa or Google for example you just double tap either side. Calls on these where fine and clear both ends for my time of use so this is another good point to considering it was just one side that takes them.

Overall they are not a bad pair of true wireless for the money with their different look and they sound quite good with all music genres and it was a pleasant experince and even a bit louder than some I have tested which I like they however are not bass deep but if you have an EQ on your device you can modify the sound, There is no app here either which many others have not implemented and perhaps should look into going forward but at this price point I would not be too concerned there is third party apps out there if your phone does not come equipped with one.

Available from: uk.jamaudio.com, Argos

BUY HERE

Review – Ringke Card slot holder for mobiles. #Ringke #Cards #Accessories

Card holders are a thing now with mobile phone cases and they are widely available for any device, Despite my anti card holder opinion due to safety some cases come with key holders too and you often see people sporting both and its their life in their hands for opportunists or you could lose or misplace your device at any time but that’s just my take them. However they do make life simple and some look good and trendy and there is a wide variety on offer.

You can also purchase just the card slot alone which is what we have here today and these are an easy add-on accessory for your phone should you wish not to carry a wallet but you are limited to two cards but as we turn digital now we can use NFC capabilities to keep the card count low on your person. The Ringke card slot is one idea you can check out if you are in need of such an accessory for your smartphone, Check it out below.

Buy

Review – The Ringke Fusion clear case for the Blackberry Key 2 #BlackberryKey2 #Ringke

It is hard to get cases for the Blackberry Key 2 however like many of their devices you can go without especially if it has that rubberised back which is great but as I always say its best to case up just in case even if you are just going out for the day or night.

This case is simple to install and clear which means you can see the device in all its glory given there is now a red version available it would look really well on the red one more so than the Black in my opinion.

The case has a hard shell on the rear and has military grade drop protection and TPU throughout the rest of the case. The keys are raised perfectly and ideal to use and very tactile with no issues at all to report. The four corners have slight raised edges which keeps it safe and the corners have nice little bumpers there to give additional protection in one of the most vulnerable parts of any smartphone.

RINGKE CAR MOUNT REVIEW

There is a lip going around the front of the device which is also a great addition to the case as the screen is also another vulnerable piece and the most expensive in most instances and when it comes to the camera that is well protected too below the surface level and all ports are easily accessible too. Check out the video below for a more detailed look.

BUY HERE

Guest Review. The Sony Xperia L3 by Liam Burke. #Sony #Xperia #L3

Liam is back with his Sony L3 Review.  Sony has gone back to a more standard smartphone design for the Xperia L3 with its rounder finish. For the money its excellent value for an entry level device. It feels very comfortable in the hand even though the rear is a shiny polycarbonate surface it does offer some grip.

On the top of the phone there’s a headphone jack and its good to see that there are two microphones on the phone to help with call quality, as now standard on Sony phones there is the USB-C connection at the bottom of the phone along with the single speaker.The card tray is a combined Microsd (up to 512GB) and nano sim which is easily accessed from the side cover.

Sony has re-introduced the side-mounted fingerprint sensor and having used it for a while I found it a better alternative to the rear mounted fingerprint sensors on the side is also the power and volume rocker.

Screen.

On the front the screen has Corning Gorilla Glass 5 so that should prevent scratches and screen breakages the Xperia L3 has a large 5.7’’ HD+ screen with a 18:9 format so you do get a good lot of viewing area which is always a good thing to have.

Watching videos on Netflix and YouTube the screen was sharp and it gave decent detail when viewing but colours were a little bit washed out. In bright daylight conditions I found the screen not as bright as it could have been but for the money it did a good job.

The notification LED next to the front camera is quite handy so you don’t miss notifications

Audio

As there’s a headphone jack on the phone you can use your own wired headphones and if they have in-line controls that worked for me without any problem. Also included is an FM Radio but it will need headphones plugged into the phone as it uses them as the FM antenna.The Xperia L3 has only one main music speaker it performed well considering.

Camera

The camera setup is a dual 13 Mega Pixel (1/3.0 sensor size, Pixel Pitch 1.12 μm, F2.2 Lens) and a 2 Mega Pixel (1/5.0 sensor size, Pixel Pitch 1.75 μm, F2.4 Lens)

The updated camera app is very quick to launch and the layout of the settings is clear and easy to understand.In daylight conditions it took decent shots and while zooming the pictures didn’t introduce too much noise also included are modes Bokeh, Portrait Selfie which is an artistic selfie with Bokeh with other face effects and Panorama.

Lowlight and flash samples

In indoor conditions with less light I did find some detail is lost.

Video records in Full HD and while outside videos shot in daylight recorded in good quality I found indoor videos with less light to be a little grainy the coloring to be slightly off the actual colors and zooming does introduce some lost of detail. The front camera in outside light took good quality pictures while inside in dark conditions it took adequate selfies as it uses a screen flash.

Zoom samples.

Battery:-

The battery capacity in the Xperia L3 is good sized 3300mAh .There is also a feature that Sony call Xperia Adaptive Charging which checks your battery’s health when plugged in and adjusts the charge level to make sure battery isn’t overworked this increases the lifespan of the battery and there’s also USB power Delivery fast charging.

I found the battery able to handle at a day of heavy use no problem and there is a Battery saver mode which lets you squeeze more out of the battery as it reduces device performance and disables most background syncing.

Performance

The Xperia L3 runs Android Oreo 8.1 out of the box and will be upgraded to Pie soon, Sony has uses it own lightly skinned version of Android and the Homescreen app is nice and light.

As the phones runs the Mediatek MT6762 processor with 3GB RAM its not blazing fast, but it performed tasks adequately and overall the phone was quiet responsive. Internal memory is only 32GB so you will definitely need a memory card as installed apps (of which there isn’t too many) took up 12GB leaving you with only around 20GB.

Full Specs:- https://www.sonymobile.com/ie/products/phones/xperia-l3/specifications/

Available to buy.

From Eir:-

Eir Billpay from Free (with Free Sony MDR-XB550AP EXTRA BASS Headphones worth €59.99)

https://www.eir.ie/store/mobile/phones/bill-pay/sony-xperia-l3

Eir Prepay from €129.99

https://www.eir.ie/store/mobile/phones/prepay/sony-xperia-l3

From Sony Direct https://estore.sonymobile.com/ie/sony-xperia-l3-single-sim-black-uk-ie-315318/