Category: Tech

Jameson launches Limited Edition #NFC technology enabled bottle. #Jameson #Ireland

Jameson is pleased to share its first NFC enabled bottle in Ireland – by tapping the crest on the limited edition design label with an NFC enabled Android device, users will be led to exclusive content and competitions.

To date I find NFC technology underused and for the length of time its been actually here we are a bit behind like cast your mind back to 2014 when the Nokia Lumia 730 came out,this has NFC and it kicked off really from there but even before this in 2006 we had an NFC capable device called the Nokia 6131, This technology can make life simple and in recent times with the introduction of Android Pay we now see it in some banks but not all and hopefully in the coming year this will grow across the board with the banks and we will see more ideas come to life taking advantage of this technology..

Every year Jameson celebrates St. Patrick’s Day by commissioning an artist to create a piece of original art for its Limited Edition Bottle, and this year Jameson has taken this creativity a step forward by introducing the brand’s first ‘connected’ bottle. When the Jameson family crest on Steve McCarthy’s limited edition label is tapped with an NFC-enabled Android device, the user will get access to exclusive competitions and content.

Jameson is leading the way in the Irish market by incorporating this playful technology which, until now, many consumers would only be familiar with as a payment method built in to phones. By bringing this technology out of hiding and capitalising on the development of the Internet of Things, Jameson is engaging with customers in a new way, reflecting a customer-led desire for experiences from brands and products. The campaign has been developed with an ongoing partnership between Irish Distillers Pernod Ricard and SharpEnd – the UK’s first Internet of Things agency – and follows research done at the Absolut Company’s innovation lab in Stockholm. The Limited Edition Bottle is Jameson’s first NFC enabled product in Ireland. There is an ease of use with NFC technology when compared to other methods of product interaction such as QR codes; there are no scanning apps to download and launch to gain access to the content.

This should serve to increase completions of the user journey which will allow consumers to receive valuable content from the interaction, for example, the opportunity to win instant prizes. Engaging with the NFC enabled bottle will allow users to enter competitions and win prizes in two ways:

Instant Win – Complete the simple user journey for the chance to instantly win a pair tickets for a tour of the soon to be reopened Jameson Distillery Bow St.

Ultimate Jameson Experience – Complete the simple user journey to be in with the chance to win the Ultimate Jameson Experience in Dublin for St Patrick’s Day. The prize includes tickets to Bow St Sessions on March 16th as well as overnight accommodation and transfers.

Photo: Eoin Holland – http://www.eoinholland.com
Photo: Eoin Holland – http://www.eoinholland.com

The Limited Edition Bottle 2017 will be available worldwide, but the NFC technology will only be enabled for Irish users. With this local targeting, Jameson can connect with its customers in a meaningful way by tapping in to consumer behavior and trends and work towards the goal of celebrating St Patrick’s Day – the Jameson way.

Catherine Casserly, Jameson Marketing Director for Ireland, comments:

“We are thrilled as a brand to be leading the way in using NFC enabled products as a marketing tool in Ireland. Jameson continues to grow all over the world and we are always looking for new ways to engage consumers in a meaningful way. This Limited Edition Bottle is the first Jameson ‘connected’ bottle and we are delighted to be able to debut this innovative technology in our home market.”

Cameron Worth, founder of SharpEnd  comments:

“Bottles are now able to drive localised content, providing an entirely new way to communicate with consumers and bringing the brand directly in front of their target audience, presenting the opportunity to drive brand loyalty through service delivery. The Jameson connected bottle is another step in the right direction for the Pernod Ricar

The Jameson Limited Edition Bottle is available now at €29.99 RRP.

Unboxing and review – Thinkware F50 dashcam. #tech #motoring #dashcams

A new dashcam has arrived to check out,this time around its the Thinkware F50 dashcam. Priced in the budget range of around €80 its got just enough to provide drivers with information should it be required,particularly for accidents and on the move instant recording.

This model is also discreet, its small and has a cylinder shape and can be place anywhere and not be so noticeable like some dashcams can be. Another good feature here is parking surveillance mode and impact detection which triggers the unit to record 20 second clips.

Specs

Camera Sony Exmor CMOS 2.12M
Resolution 1080p Full HD (1920 x 1080)
Capacity Micro SD Card 8GB(class 10), 16GB/32GB/64GB(UHS-I)
Recording Modes Continuous Recording, Incident Recording, Manual Recording, Audio Recording, Parking Surveillance Recording
Sensor 3-Axis Accelerometer G-Sensor (3D, ±3G)
GPS External GPS Antenna (Optional)
Power Input Power: DC 12/24V
ETC Operation Status LED

 

 

UNBOXING

 

 

 

Setting up this kit is simple and thats what we all like,there is no hard-wiring required but its a simple as plug and play however you will have to navigate the wiring in your vehicle yourself which will of course vary per manufacturer if you are trying to hide wire you can of course get it hardwired into your car but this is your own choice.. There is cable clips provided in the package to at least mount the cable in a tidy fashion around the front  or whichever route you can take..

It is discreet which is what I like about it you could easily place it on your windscreen (See their tips on placement here) and nobody would notice it in fact if you where clever enough about it. The unit is small and compact its Black and looking face on it can be placed very secretly out of harms way and indeed those folk who do the smash and grab thing which still happens so for a little tip do leave in the vehicle overnight..

 

 

 

 

Included in the packaging is a micro sd card and converter to your PC/Laptop where you will then upload your files to do whatever it is you need to do you will simple see the location down on the left side of your screen and then select the folders and you can either upload or drag them to the desired location.

You can then access the admin panel which has an array of settings a which you decide best for you too assign and you can also format the card when done should you need space but ensure you move over all the required files first…

 

 

If you are tech savvy the set up is fine as is out of the box but you can change some features as listed above we just stuck with the out of the box settings to begin with which are perfectly fine. Once you have all this set up you are good to go. On the unit there is one button which allows you to manually record on the go this is if something should crop up and you have not activated the unit.If you just leave it sat there it will give you continuous audio alerts which annoyed me but my testing ground was the reason. You can buy at an option an external GPS unit if you want some more tech added but for the average user this is not really required ,this give speed camera alerts and speed by way  audio again, They could have let you use your mobile phones GPS via Bluetooth imo.. Parking mode and motion detection also requires the additional pack to enable those features so there is quite alot more on offer if you take advantage of the GPS module..

 

 

Reviewing the basic package I got there is enough here to make it worth the punt in fairness given the alternatives out there , A fine example is the now growing sight of 20 euro dashcams we see in petrol stations and bargain stores such as Euro 2 and Dealz,they are not worth the money full stop..

One caveat for me but in saying that is not being able to see what your dashcam sees on your side as I am use to trying out those types but the unit is easy to adjust and has a wide angle viewing so you can almost place it where you want it to face just by judgement and even if this does not work out for the best do a quick test run and then adjust accordingly next time round.

 

 

 

The audio is clear and  loud which is good as with traffic levels here,noise pollution or dare I say in car noise pollution by means of a loud radio playing you will hear it no problem at all…. Overall I think its a nice little kit and its very discreet which I really like,even asking others here I said check out my new camera and they could not find it immediately and they said “that is very hidden you would not see it there” For me that is welcome news to hear as i mentioned above, the opportunist window smashers… Plus peace of mind should you run into an accident or whatever I would not scream out like I have seen some do  ” I HAVE A DASH CAM” Big mistake that ,jut say nothing at all….

You can buy this model right HERE check it out.. And thanks again to thinkware for  letting us check this out. Also available on Amazon and Bestbuy. 

Verdict…. I like it!!

 

 

 

End of mobile roaming charges in 2017, Its been a long process. #roaming #charges #EU

This has been a long long tiresome battle and will eventually see out those nasty charges we face but this have been a major revenue generator for telecos for years so what will replace this huge loss? Yet to see how we will fair out here here is what has been outlined given wholesale caps have been agreed.. As is we have seen free calls and so on within the EU region also we have seen data ad ons being introduced some time ago which allowed data to be used but this has been mostly capped and little on offer too.. Data hungry customers often come home to bill shock after a trip and the main usage now on mobile is in fact data and our traditional SMS is dying year on year thanks to messaging apps and the likes of Facebook messenger..

 

Wholesale price caps define how much telecoms operators can charge each other for using their networks to carry cross-border “roaming” calls.

Miapetra Kumpula-Natri (S&D, FI), who is steering the legislation through Parliament, said:

“People all over the EU have waited for us to drop roaming charges in June 2017. Now all the negotiations are ready and we can deliver what was promised. Like consumer organizations all over Europe, we, too, see this as a great victory for the European consumers.”

“The agreed caps ensure cost coverage for efficient operators throughout Europe but are low enough to sustain competition on the European telecom markets”, she added.

“Consumers will continue to benefit from competition and will be able to use more data when roaming than with the original proposal from the Commission. I’d like to thank political groups and the member states for constructive co-operation and flexibility”, she concluded.

 

Parliament and council have agreed on the following caps outlined below…

 

  • €0.03 for voice call, instead of the proposed €0.04,
  • a gradually decreasing cap, from €7.7 (15/06/2017) to €6 (01/01/2018),  €4.5 (01/01/2019), €3.5 (01/01/2020), €3 (01/01/2021), €2.5 (01/01/2022) per gigabyte instead of €0.0085 per megabyte (or €8.5 per gigabyte), and
  • €0.01 for text messages….
  • Read more at the source link below..

Source 

The HP Elite x3 now costs €958 Have they lost the plot? #HP #Windows10 #EliteX3

The HP Elite x3 launched here some months ago but only online. No network will touch this device for multiple reasons being A the price and B its running on a dying OS. You could probably included the demographic here too considered the devices intended market. We all knew that the Windows Phone platform has had it rough and even with Windows 10 things are not improving even with universal apps. Market share also is basically a handful of users compared to its rival operating systems. As a Windows Phone user I say this with regret but lets face it who in their right mind would pay that for such a phone..You can of course if you decide to buy it check out UK pricing which is not much better and still way overpriced  

 

 

 

The Device is nice in fairness with a sturdy build but thats probably all it has going for it and you can if you want to drag out the excuse you can claim your VAT back will cost you €799 but this price still is just making an already hard sell even harder. We are talking iPhone prices here again something that is typically overpriced Disagree?? Tell us why…

Update.26/01/2017. It’s gone up again.. 

Source

 

 

There might be a bit of a Nintendo NES buzz, but @Cex takes this piss with its prices. #NES

Over the last few weeks we have seen folk hunting down the latest retro machine which cost just about 70 euros give or take the few quid taken off from several retailers it even went down to 64.99 if I recall at Argos. Not only that we have seen prices on local selling sites with whom we are all familiar with here in Ireland.. Many folk took to the comments section to tell these vultures where to go my self included. There is simply no justification for this price and I even have to laugh at what they offer people so they can capitalise on their sale which in general is how they operate, Understandably they have to make money but when you check out some of their prices in general it leaves alot to be desired and one thing is for sure I will never set foot inside one of their shops..

Lets take a look at what CEX have on offer and just leave it right there,tell us what you think.. For me,they are greedy you know what. In fact these have been trickling in to some stores such as smyths toys over the last few weeks and will continue to do so, So dont even attempt to pay these people this much for it and wait a bit. Having said that Nintendo themselves are partly to blame trying to keep the name alive until their Switch console comes out. The NES actually went LIVE today on their UK site and sold out quick so just keep checking for availability folks..

 

 

Source 

HMD Global announces two Nokia feature phones: 150 and 150 Dual SIM. #TheHomeOfNokiaPhones

Well here is a surprise albeit it entry level devices it is welcome news and a new beginning.. The Nokia 150 and 150 Dual Sim has been dropped…

These two new devices follow suit of what we are use to seeing in this department and are a good seller even when Nokia feature phones where under Microsoft ownership, Its good to see that they have kept the same footprint and they do look really nice..

 

 

Beautifully designed with a polycarbonate shell that keeps its colour even when scratched, the Nokia 150 stays looking great whatever life throws at you. With an impressive 2.4” screen and incredible battery life, you can now enjoy all your favourite features for longer.

On their press release…..

 

HMD global Oy (“HMD”) has announced the launch of its Nokia 150 and Nokia 150 Dual SIM phones. The launch comes just weeks after HMD entered the market as the new home of Nokia phones. HMD, a start-up headquartered in Finland, will bring a new generation of mobile phones to consumers through an existing feature phone business and new smartphone range. With the launch of Nokia 150, HMD Global will further strengthen the Nokia feature phones portfolio comprising of best-sellers like Nokia 105, Nokia 216 and Nokia 230.

 

 

The phones come pre-loaded with games including classic Snake Xenzia and try and buy Nitro Racing by Gameloft. The camera with LED flash allows users to capture their special moments and share them with friends and family through Bluetooth.

Nokia 150 and Nokia 150 Dual SIM come in black and white at only $26 before local taxes and subsidies. The phones will become available globally in select markets – rolling out first in APAC, IMEA and Europe – in Q1’17.

 

 

 Specs
Device Nokia 150 and Nokia 150 Dual SIM
Operating system Nokia Series 30+
Display 2,4” QVGA (240*320)
Battery BL-5C ,1020 mAh
Talk time & Standby time Talk time: up to 22 hours,Standby time: up to 31 days for Single SIM, and up to 25 days for Dual SIM
Camera VGA with LED flash
Connectivity 900/1800 MHz, micro USB, 3.5mm AV connector, Bluetooth 3.0 with SLAM
Memory MicroSD card support up to 32GB

See the full press release 

ExoLens PRO with Optics by ZEISS for iPhone 7, NOW AVAILABLE. #iPhone

The ExoLens PRO Wide-Angle, Macro-Zoom and Telephoto lenses for iPhone 7 are all available along with an updated bracket for iPhone 7. The Wide-Angle and Telephoto lenses bring the aspherical lens technology previously reserved for high-end DSLR lenses, straight to your iPhone as a compact mobile accessory lens.

 

 

The ExoLens PRO Wide-Angle, Macro-Zoom and Telephoto lenses for iPhone 7 are all available along with an updated bracket for iPhone 7. The Wide-Angle and Telephoto lenses bring the aspherical lens technology previously reserved for high-end DSLR lenses, straight to your iPhone as a compact mobile accessory lens.

 

The ExoLens PRO Wide-Angle lens with Optics by ZEISS features a ZEISS Mutar™ 0.6x Asph T* Wide-Angle lens, which provides virtually no distortion and exceptional edge-to-edge contrast, resulting in an image quality that is unmatched by any other iPhone accessory lens. This lens helps professionals capture expansive scenery and immerse viewers with frame filling detail, while expanding the frame of the iPhone to see the world in a beautiful new perspective.

 

The ExoLens PRO Telephoto lens with Optics by ZEISS features a ZEISS Mutar™ 2.0x Asph T* Telephoto lens. The lens offers photographers a narrow shallow depth of field to add a beautiful bokeh to the background while focusing attention on the subject. The telephoto allows the contours of the face to appear more natural and closer to real life, and is ideal for portraits, street photography, or capturing events.

 

 

ExoLens PRO Macro-Zoom lens with Optics by ZEISS features the ZEISS Vario-Proxar 40-80 T* macro-zoom lens. The ZEISS Vario-Proxar 40-80 T* macro-zoom lens has a variable focal length of 40 to 80 millimeters. “In combination with the optics of the smartphone camera, turning the ring does not result in an increase or reduction of the field of view,” Optical Designer Dr. Vladan Blahnik from ZEISS explains. “Instead, the ring functions much like a manual focus with which different planes can be set. If photographers want to shoot objects that are three to five centimetres away, they turn the ring to the right as far as it will go, and to the left for objects that are five to eight centimetres away.” This allows users to capture objects measuring three to twelve centimetres filling the complete field of view and capture astonishing details beyond what is visible to the human eye to put you impossibly close to the subject.

 

The lenses are attached to the device-specific ExoLens® machined aluminium bracket using a screw thread. The bracket features a standard tripod mount (1/4”-20) as well as a cold shoe for mounting accessories such as microphones and lighting systems. Following the launch, ExoLens® PRO with Optics by ZEISS are now compatible with iPhone® 7, with the goal of adding more devices in the future.

 

Further technical information and pricing can be found on the website of ExoLens®:

www.exolens.com

 

#Circle Payment App – Spark, New Markets, App Messaging, and Bitcoin Changes.

Today Circle has announced is the introduction of Spark, a new blockchain-based protocol to facilitate trusted, compliant money transfers between participating individuals and institutions over the Bitcoin network. As part of this launch, we are also eliminating the ability for customers to buy and sell bitcoin directly on Circle, and introducing a new preferred bitcoin exchange partnership with Coinbase. We actually had a chat with them this morning on the phone about this and the guys are pretty excited… Jeremy and Sean have said the following below

 

 

Today we’re announcing the launch of full messaging features in Circle’s apps and higher deposit limits for customers, forthcoming support for sending and receiving money between Circle and The Philippines and Korea, and the introduction of Spark, a new blockchain-based protocol to facilitate trusted, compliant money transfers between participating individuals and institutions over the Bitcoin network. As part of this launch, we are also eliminating the ability for customers to buy and sell bitcoin directly on Circle, and introducing a new preferred bitcoin exchange partnership with Coinbase.

 

Circle Messaging Features

We’ve rolled out new messaging capabilities to all Circle customers across all of our apps on Web, iOS and Android. We’ve long argued that social payments are best experienced in the context of the conversations and interactions we have with friends, colleagues, family members and individual sellers. Messaging provides context for a payment, whether that be with a funny image, a photo of a meal shared, a moment from a night out, or a picture of the product someone is selling.

The Circle Pay apps are now organized around people instead of solely by transactions. All payments to and from an individual exist in an ongoing conversation with that person, similar to popular messaging apps such as WeChat, Messenger and WhatsApp. This mirrors our support for Circle social payments natively inside of Apple iMessage on iOS 10.

There are no limits on spending and receiving money through Circle, but to help keep Circle safe for everyone, there is a limit on how much new customers can deposit into their Circle accounts within a seven-day period. Responding to one of the requests we hear most frequently, we have raised that initial deposit limit across all our supported currencies as part of these latest app updates, and now offer the highest initial deposit limits of any social payments service. As before, that initial deposit limit can increase the more you use Circle, and there are still no limits on payments or withdrawals.

Give our money messaging experience a try; it’s a significant improvement in the p2p payment experience.

Spark

When we founded Circle, we had a vision and belief that it was finally becoming possible for money to work the way the internet works. A big part of that was a long-term bet on blockchain and digital currency technology, which we thought held the potential to provide the missing layer of protocols needed for open value exchange.

We have never been focused on convincing consumers to replace their familiar native currencies with bitcoin, but instead wanted to bring the benefits of public blockchains and digital assets to consumers without requiring them to know the technical details. We made progress on that over the past year as we launched our social payment app in the US, UK, and parts of Europe, enabling direct payments across currencies, and also allowing people to send local currency to other digital wallets over the Bitcoin blockchain. This ‘hybrid digital money’ model has been in our sights for a long time.

We’re taking another major step forward today with the introduction of Spark, a set of protocol additions that provides a way for digital wallets to exchange value using blockchains, including Bitcoin, as settlement layers. There are many use cases for the technology, but the initial focus is on connecting digital wallets around the world while ensuring that full KYC/AML and compliance requirements can be met, and presenting a seamless experience that reflects local currency exchange rates and conversion rule contracts.

We plan to release Spark as an open source project that anyone in the world can use and implement, and intend to work closely with similarly-minded ecosystem participants to advance the technology and integrate it with additional public and private blockchains.

New Markets and Currencies

The first implementation of Spark comes via two new markets and currencies: We’re excited to announce partnerships with Korea’s Korbit and the Philippines’ Coins.ph. These two early market leaders in digital currency technology will connect to Circle through partnership and implementation of the Spark APIs.

This will allow Circle customers in the US, UK and Europe to send and receive value with customers in Korea and The Philippines seamlessly, with the speed, security and cost efficiency of distributed ledgers, but with a pure fiat-to-fiat consumer experience, and one that is compliant with international standards for KYC & AML. For customers using Circle, Korbit, or Coins, this makes sending international payments as easy as sending a message to a phone number or email address.

Bitcoin Changes and Exchange Partnership

With the introduction of these new features, Circle is now more than ever not a consumer bitcoin exchange, and we will continue to focus resources on global social payments and future next-generation blockchain technology rather than devoting those resources to supporting the buying and selling of bitcoins directly.

Circle customers who currently hold bitcoin instead of US dollars, pound sterling, or euros may convert instantly to any of those currencies (depending upon availability in the customer’s area). Customers who previously bought and sold bitcoin in the Circle apps may still sell, if they choose, by converting their bitcoin to dollars, euros, or sterling and then withdrawing the balance to their linked card or bank account. Once converted, the account will remain in dollars, euros, or sterling.

Consumers who seek to buy and sell bitcoin in the future may now leverage our new preferred partnership with Coinbase. Customers may still send their bitcoin to any wallet or exchange of their choosing, but Coinbase is our recommended consumer bitcoin exchange.

Circle customers holding bitcoin balances may also simply continue to hold their bitcoin with Circle and receive Circle’s full bitcoin insurance. All Circle customers can leverage Spark-enabled markets and currencies without needing to buy or hold bitcoin directly.

Our continued use of bitcoin as a settlement token and network behind the scenes means that Circle will continue to be a leading participant in the digital currency markets and ecosystem, with our focus on getting more digital wallets to adopt public blockchains as open transaction settlement networks.

Over the past three years, Circle’s treasury operation has evolved into a major liquidity provider and trading counterparty in both the exchange-traded and OTC digital currency markets. We will continue to promote the growth and maturation of such markets as we empower consumers to use digital assets and public blockchains seamlessly as payment rails and not merely as speculative trading instruments.

More info on Spark will be forthcoming. Meanwhile these new partnerships, additions and changes are effective immediately.

 

Downloads Make It Even Easier to Watch Netflix on the Go #Netflix #Downloads

Netflix members worldwide can now download in addition to stream great series and films at no extra cost.

While many members enjoy watching Netflix at home, we’ve often heard they also want to continue their Stranger Things binge while on airplanes and other places where Internet is expensive or limited. Just click the download button on the details page for a film or TV series and you can watch it later without an internet connection.

 

 

Many of your favourite streaming series and movies are already available for download, with more on the way, so there is plenty of content available for those times when you are offline. For example, Orange is The New Black, Narcos and The Crown are available for download today.

The new feature is included in all plans and available for phones and tablets on Android and iOS.

To start downloading today, you will need to update your Netflix app to the most recent version and take it with you to enjoy Netflix everywhere you go. If you have any questions, please visit their  Help Center.

 

DOWNLOAD GUIDE