Candel – A music inspired phone case that lights up with built in charging. #Kickstarter

There has been an array of new case ideas showcased at CES this year and here is one that we have had our eye on and it has now officially launched on Kickstarter… This idea is somewhat different than what we could call the norm when it comes to cases and those that have the ability to charge too,If you are a music or festival lover this will be for you.We have been speaking with the team over the last few weeks and they have asked us to show you their product.

 

Inspired by the energy and music embodied in Burning Man, chemist-turned-inventor Matt Sikora is launching a Kickstarter campaign to put Candel, an interactive phone case, into the hands of music lovers.

Candel cases give owners a new medium of expression, while offering protection for Apple, Samsung, and other mobile phones. Sikora was inspired to create the product after his first experience on the playa at the annual Burning Man festival.

“I began attending more festivals, and developing a personal sense of individuality,” Sikora said. “There was this unique commonality for everyone who attended. We bonded over our love for the music experience. Burning Man awakened a new sense of energy and purpose — an urge to build, create and invent. I became more confident and ready to start this project.”

 

 

The cases are powered by a small, intelligent microprocessor designed to react to various levels of sound – from the soft cadence of a voice to the booming bass of a festival speaker. As amplitude climbs and falls, the cases respond accordingly, illuminating personalized and branded images with multicolored lights that brighten and recede with the beat.

 

Candel cases are made out of durable material. A rechargeable battery inside of the case offers 100 percent more battery life to phones, making Candel cases a must-have to light up crowds for hours.

 

Candel’s light up phone cases are designed for music lovers. Beautiful and functional, this portable light show also works as a charging phone case to keep you charged and flashing all night long. Candel is the world’s first phone case that lights up and features extra battery to power your phone. The case lights up to the sound of music, voice and ringtone. They are the coolest, most unique and fun phone cases to date. Choose a light up image from our selection or select the special tier and we will make a custom light up case just for you!

The Inner Workings of the Candel Case

Candel case inner workings are more technologically advanced than other cases. Our goal was to design a case slimmer than our competitors as well as house all of the components needed to support innovative smart functions.

We developed proprietary hardware and software to accomplish the design within our constraints. The electronics pick up sound from the surrounding environment. This input is then sent to a processor where the amplitude is measured and constant gain is adjusted. This allows the case to light up perfectly no matter how close or far away you are from the sound source.

The case has an internal battery that performs two functions.

1. Provides enough juice to light up for 12 – 28 hours

2. Enough power to fully recharge your phone (however, this does depend on how long you use the light up feature)

The Candel phone case has been under development for over two years and the technology is ready to go mainstream. We need your support to move from prototype to production so we can deliver Candel cases directly to you, the consumer.

Like the idea? Head over to Kickstarter now and back the guys right away and see some more on this new idea.

Samsung Gear VR consumer edition unboxing. #Samsung #VirtualReality #Ireland

We have just received some nice kit in today which is the new consumer version of the Innovator GR VR which is available now for the Samsung S6 range and the Galaxy Note 5,we are using our Note 5 in the demo and the Note 5 is one of my main daily drivers now..

The packaging is minimal compared to last years offering with much missing and cheaper,this is to make the unit affordable to consumers which is excellent and compared to what is upcoming like Oculus which will cost a small fortune and you then need a super laptop behind you the price of the Gear VR is really a worthy investment,Going forward I might just mention by looking at the spamfest thoughts regarding the Galaxy S7  I would say it is possible it will work with it f you have been thinking of holding off,before we move onto more detail check out the Innovator package from last year..

THE PACKAGE AND CONTENTS 

1 / 17

The set up is quite simple and takes a few minutes,once you insert the device you will be prompted to get the app and download the app from there,then sign in create account and you can add bank details for purchases,you dont need to add the bank details to use the free content and view the store and what is there..

Keys and Parts

The right sight houses the navi keys,back key and volume toggle whilst the left just has some branding,the keys will take a few minutes to adjust to and you will be fine after a few minutes usage. The top of the unit has a zoom toggle which allows you to set to your own needs or perhaps someone else who might be using it..

Installation

Inserting the device is simple and take 2 seconds I would take it easy as i feel if using it much you may eventually mark your device over time so just to keep this in mind,be easy when inserting and removing device…You can use the unit wit or without the cover plate on too but I would suggest you put it on for safety sake..

Experience.

If you are new to VR this will be a huge treat,you really feel immersed in the content and there is some really nice options to check out in the store,content is not abundant like the play store but there is enough there and you can also view whatever is on your device with the gallery app so there is no shortage of things to do.

You probably will feel a bit funny and disorientated at first and probably best sit down until you ge the feel for it,Since we have had the last innovator package there is more on offer and it will be an experience you and the family can enjoy,First timers will love it who have not tried any VR machines and for the price of the unit this is well worth the money and will keep you and the family entertained..

Any questions get us on Twitter or pop a question below and we will talk to you soon again check out the unboxing below.

 

Word Flow keyboard is coming to iPhone By @VicenteA_George #Windows #iPhone #Keyboard

Windows fans all over the world has always been proud of the built-in keyboard of W8 and W8.1 as it broke a Guinness World Record for the fastest typing when it was launched.

But ever since Microsoft took over the Nokia Cell phone Division some of those key features of WP are starting to be ported to other platforms, one of the “most infamous moves” was when Cortana became available in other platforms even before being completely available on the WP ecosystem.

Well, this time is the same famous keyboard the one being ported, as accordingly to an e-mail sent to some Windows insiders, they want to have the app available on iOS and possibly on Android.

What does this mean to the WP ecosystem?

Well, it depends on you and if you see the glass half full or half empty.

The Word Flow keyboard resembles what third party apps like Swipe or SwiftKey can do on both operative systems, which is not a warm welcome.

The app is apparently being developed for iPhone 5s and above, although the real question is:

Would you use the WP Keyboard on your device if you already have some of the aforementioned apps?

What’s you opinion on Microsoft and multiple apps going outside of their “home”? Let us know in the comment section or tweet us using #techbuzzireland

Source

 

Is this the worlds fastest battery charger? Meet #Cindr #Charging #Kickstarter

There seems to be plenty of new arrivals to the charging market and all are unique in their own respect and of course welcome,battery anxiety is still a problem and will be for some time as mentioned in similar articles,a few people at CES have been in touch with us and want us to share what they have to offer,so we will give a few samples over the coming days of what we find worthy….

Fully charge the compact Cindr pack in 3 minutes and get enough juice to fully recharge most cell phones + lifespan of 5,000 cycles sounds good???

The Cindr battery pack is a rechargeable cell phone battery pack you charge from an AC wall outlet. It works like most conventional cell phone battery packs except it charges VERY FAST.

Cindr differs from fast charge battery packs that use very large batteries in order to achieve fast charge capability. The magic is in the cell technology of the battery itself. A special titanium based chemistry that was developed for super-fast charging and discharging applications. The electrode in the Cindr battery is based on titanium oxide, a type of ceramic, engineered to handle fast charging that would damage and pose extreme danger if applied normal lithium batteries.

See how it works..

 

From a single 3 minute charge, Cindr can charge most iPhone products to 100%, and can bring most other smartphones to a relatively high state of charge. Cindr is fast, portable, and will last forever, but the cost for these features is capacity. We have made Cindr to a size we feel is an optimal balance of size, weight, cost, with features to meet the needs of many customers. The following chart shows how much Cindr can charge some of the most popular smartphones on the market today.

 

 

In around 5 minutes Cindr is fully charged for even more available energy.   If your smartphone or other device is not listed, and you are interested in knowing how much charge Cindr can render, you can use the iPhone 6 as a standard unit of measurement.  With just a little math, you can compare the capacity of your device with that of the iPhone 6, which is 1810mAh, and multiply the ratio as: (your phone mAh/1810mAh)*103% = % charge for your device.

Think its a good idea or something you would require?  Head over and support the team at Kickstarter. 

Meet Yu Yutopia the new king of budget By @VicenteA_George #Android #Cyanogen

This has been the year of budget but powerful devices, like the One Plus X or the Moto X 2015

But, what is a truly “bang for buck”? For me is that device that offers the best specs possible within the smaller price tag, and this time that gadget seems to have come from India

Meet the Yu Yutopia

The Yutopia was officially unveiled  last week and right now is exclusive to Amazon India, offering and really attractive price and outstanding specs

But don’t take my word, look for yourself

Display Size:  5.2 inch
Resolution:  QHD (2560×1440 pixels)
Dimensions:  146.6 x 72.66 x 7.22mm (Camera bump thickness 9.07mm)
Operating System:  Cyanogen OS 12.1 on top Android 5.1.1 Lollipop
CPU:  64- Bit Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 Octa-core CPU  (2.0GHz x 4 / 1.GHZ x 4)
GPU:  Adreno 430
RAM:  4GB
Storage:  32 GB
Sensors:  Fingerprint, Gravity Sensor, Proximity Sensor, Light Sensor, Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Barometer.
Battery:  3000mAh Li-Polymer battery with Quick Charge
Speakers:  Rear facing speakers
Microphones:  Dual-microphone with noise cancellation
Ports for Data & charging: USB 2.0
Audio:  3.5mm
Buttons:  Power Button, Volume Rockers, On-Screen Buttons
SIM: DUAL:  Micro & Nano
Camera
Sensor:  21 Megapixel
Lenses:  6 lenses
OIS:  Yes
Flash:  Dual
Front Camera:  8 Megapixel
Video:  4K resolution Video
Connectivity
GSM:  850/900/1800/1900MHz
WCDMA:  B1/B8
FDD-LTE:  B3/B5/B7/B20
TDD-LTE:  B40
Wi-Fi:  802.11a/b/g/n/ac(2.4G and 5G), 1×1 stream
Bluetooth:  Bluetooth 4.1

 

As you can see there is an impressive device, specially if you consider the full metal body surrounding all of that, have an eye to the full video is really well made:

Price at ₹24,999 or $376 USD (which is just a tip over the OnePlus 2) is incredible what you can get for under $400
And although it looks like the Nokia Lumia 830 especially from the back, the fingerprint sensor and the brilliant 2K display will immediately change your mind.
Plus the Cyanogen base guarantee  you’ll get Android 6.0 with all the goodies only the guys a Cyanogen can deliver.
Something worth noticing is the fact this is the first Indian phone to come with a Snapdragon chipset instead of the MediaTek one they always use to reduce costs moreover we-ll see how they handle the heat problem.
The device can be Pre-order right now here: Amazon.in and is going to star shipping on December 26th
 If you want to take another look you can go here: Yutopia
What do you think of this new trend of budget but awesome phones? Will you get the Yutopia if you have the chance?

 

 

 

The #GalaxyA 2016 to be available in Europe on Jan. 8th By @VicenteA_George #Samsung #Android #A5 #A7 #A3

Last year Samsung gave us a glimpse of what a premium looking phone could be with their Galaxy A line up, the A3, A5 and A7

All with the beautiful and stylish look we wanted to our Galaxy S5, on a smaller form factor, price and specs.

This year though they decided to join the “budget club” delivering some really good phone with a good price, with that in mind they recently launched an updated and upgraded version on the “A” series with the Galaxy A3, A5 and A7 of 2016

Unlike they predecessors, these variants follow the design language of the Galaxy S6 with a metal and glass construction.

These devices were set to launch in China this month but now we know they’re coming to our shores as soon as January 8th

But let’s take a look under the hood of the new Galaxy A line

Galaxy A3 (2016)

Network: LTE Cat.4 * May differ by markets and mobile operators
Display: 4.7-inch HD (1280×720) Super AMOLED
Core: 1.5 GHz Quad Core
OS: Android 5.1 (Lollipop)
Camera: Rear : 13MP (F1.9), Front : 5MP (F1.9)
Video:MP4,M4V,3GP,3G2,WMV,ASF,AVI,FLV,MKV,WEBM
Additional features: Samsung KNOX, S-Voice, Dual SIM option
Connectivity: Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth® v 4.1, ANT+, USB 2.0, NFC (UICC)
Sensor: Accelerometer, Proximity, Geomagnetic, RGB Light, Hall
Memory: 1.5GB RAM + 16GB Storage with Micro SD slot (up to 128GB)
Dimension: 134.5 x 65.2 x 7.3mm, 132g
Battery: 2,300mAh

Galaxy A5 (2016)

Network: LTE Cat.6 * May differ by markets and mobile operators
Display: 5.2-inchFHD (1920×1080) Super AMOLED
Core: 1.6GHz Octa Core
OS: Android 5.1 (Lollipop)
Camera: Rear : 13MP (F1.9), Front : 5MP (F1.9)
Video:MP4,M4V,3GP,3G2,WMV,ASF,AVI,FLV,MKV,WEBM
Additional features: MST technology(Samsung Pay), Samsung KNOX, S-Voice, Dual SIM option
Connectivity: Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth® v 4.1, ANT+, USB 2.0, NFC (UICC)
Sensor: Accelerometer, Proximity, Geomagnetic, RGB Light, Hall Fingerprint scanner
Memory: 2GB RAM + 16GB Storage with Micro SD slot (up to 128GB)
Dimension: 144.8 x 71.0 x 7.3mm , 155g
Battery: 2,900mAh, Fast Charging

Galaxy A7 (2016)

Network: LTE Cat.6 * May differ by markets and mobile operators
Display: 5.5-inch FHD (1920×1080) Super AMOLED
Core: 1.6GHz Octa Core
OS: Android 5.1 (Lollipop)
Camera: Rear : 13MP (F1.9), Front : 5MP (F1.9)
Video:MP4,M4V,3GP,3G2,WMV,ASF,AVI,FLV,MKV,WEBM
Additional features: MST technology(Samsung Pay), Samsung KNOX, S-Voice, Dual SIM option
Connectivity: Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth® v 4.1, ANT+, USB 2.0, NFC (UICC)
Sensor: Accelerometer, Proximity, Geomagnetic, RGB Light, Hall Fingerprint scanner
Memory: 3GB RAM + 16GB Storage with Micro SD slot (up to 128GB)
Dimension: 151.5 x 74.1 x 7.3mm, 172g
Battery: 3,300mAh, Fast Charging

As you can see the A5 and A7 are the Big brothers packing even a Fingerprint reader while the A3 is what’s now consider “the compact version” allowing you to have almost everything you could ask in conservative color options like Black, White and Rose Gold.

These 2016 A series has as you could see a significant downside, they come with Android 5.1 instead of coming directly with 6.0  but this probably change really soon.

Now what really matters is the performance and that is something that we’ll see when they get here. The new Galaxy A line up is schedule to release on January, although we only have the price of two of these devices:

The Galaxy A3 will costs €329, while the Galaxy A5 will be €429 we have no info about the A7 but seeing the difference between the other two, this one will probably come at €529 (or maybe less)
This is at least what the only European retailer (in Nederland) is asking for them.
What do you think about these new boys? Will you take one home with you if they hit your local retailer?  Let us know in the comment section bellow or Tweet us using #TechBuzzIreland
Stay tuned for more

 

 

 

 

Nabi Compete – Fitness tracking for kids. #Fitness #Kids #Wearables

Fitness tracking is popular everywhere and fitness trackers outdo smart-watches in popularity although they have now morphed into one with the latest smart-watches that are now available today,But fitness tracking for kids? Typically this area would be more towards older folk from late teens and upward,so is getting kids into this realm at young age a good idea,perhaps not but this means access to an app too and again kids with smartphones is another problem, there is many this age with mobiles but then the parents can also monitor from their own device. Nabi also have other tech on the market for kids such as tablets,headphones and jukeboxes..Given you can lockdown phones and tablets and assuming most parents are aware it can be done this could be a great idea..

Jim Mitchell, CEO of Fuhu, said, “As we enter the wearables market, we wanted to find a way that would really utilize technology to help parents encourage their kids to get active in a fun way, not in a way that would be perceived as being a task. To that end, in designing nabi Compete we looked closely at what keeps kids engaged with gaming, social interaction, friendly competition and performance rising to the top of our list. With the launch of nabi Compete, we believe we have developed a product and platform that will excite kids, get them active at an early age and fuel their interest and awareness of the importance of a healthy lifestyle and personal fitness.”

 

 

nabi Compete comes packaged with two kid-friendly bands that can be linked by downloading the nabi Compete app to open a first-of-its-kind, fun-filled competitive gamified approach to activity tracking. nabi Compete keeps kids motivated to encourage activity at an early age by competing against friends or family members in achievable real-world inspired challenges and garnering appealing rewards for completing tasks. nabi Compete is now available at Target and Best Buy for a suggested retail price of $39.99 for the 2-band packs.

Check nabi.com for more

Source

 

Motorola has announced the Moto G Turbo for Mexico By @VicenteA_George #MotoGTurbo #Moto #Android

If you ever believe that Latin America tend to miss some products, you may be right most of the times, but in this particular case, Motorola has a different strategy with it Moto G line

Meet the Moto G Turbo

As you can imagine this model is an upgraded version of the original Moto G, but keeping what made it famous, the affordable price.

What do we have under the hood?
• Stock Android 5.1.1 Lollipop
• Dual Micro SIM slot
• 5-inch (1280 x 720 pixels) HD display + Corning Gorilla Glass 3
• 64-bit Octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 (Same as Moto X Play)
• Adreno 405 GPU
• 2GB LPDDR3 RAM
• 16GB internal storage + microSD slot
• Rear 13MP f/2.0 camera
• Front 5MP f/2.2 camera
• Connectivity – Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n (2.4GHz), Bluetooth 4.0 LE, 4G LTE/3G HSPA+
• 2470mAh battery + Motorola TurboCharge technology

The Moto G Turbo also packs IP67 Certification, this means that you can submerge the phone in up to 3 feet of water, for as long as 30 minutes, without any damage to the handset.

Headed to the Mexican market and available starting November 13th for a price equivalent to $283 (4699 pesos)

Motorola has confirmed that the device will be available in European Markets but dates are yet to be confirmed.

What do you think of this reincarnation of our beloved budget friendly phone?

 

Latest Pebble Time Round to be Fully available on November 8th By @VicenteA_George #Smartwatch #Pebble

If you’re one of those smartwatch fans now you’ll have the latest iteration of the Pebble Time, We already told you about this beauty before HERE

The Time Round was announced now is going to be Fully available since this November 8th in the US

To recap a little

The Time Round is said to be the world’s lightest and thinnest smartwatch, with 7.5 mm thin and just 28 grams of weight is hard to argue.

The new Pebble will carry a rounded screen, an always on “E-paper” display with LED back light and battery life up to 2 days with quick charging.

The device feature a Splash resistant body which means it can handle some rain but that’s all, activity tracker, access to Pebble app store and more.

With this model you will be able to choose from a wide range of band sizes from 20mm to 14mm that fits you best. Also in a variety of colors: Black, Silver, or a special-edition “Rose Gold” exclusively for the 14mm band size.

You can really make it your own with watchfaces and a selection of quick-change bands in genuine leather or stainless steel.

The watch is simple beautiful, but don’t take my word, take a look yourself:

The Time Round will be available Best Buy and Target stores in the US (If you’re there you can see it personally) an online at Amazon.com, BestBuy.com, Target.com and Pebble.com.

The new kid on the block is compatible with Android devices running 4.3 or later and iPhone running iOS 8 or later.

With a price tag of $249.99 you can Pre-order yours if you want HERE

Are you a “Pebbler”? Let us know in the comments below.