Category: Tech News

THINKWARE has been awarded #CES2017 innovation award for its new F800 Air Connected #DashCam #IoT

THINKWARE’s CEO, Heung Bok Lee, announces today that global dash cam brand “THINKWARE DASH CAM” has received the “2017 Innovation Award” in the car audio/video category for the “DASH CAM 5800 Air”, from the world-renowned Consumer Electronics Show (CES). This has been the second consecutive year that THINKWARE has received the prestigious CES innovation award; reserved for only the best products in each category.

 

 

The THINKWARE DASH CAM F800 Air is the first model to feature a design compatible with IOT (Internet of things) technology for the realisation of a completely ‘Connected Car.’ The F800 Air model’s IOT connection gives drivers complete peace of mind with the ‘Emergency Alert’ feature. It sends location and status information via text message to your pre-selected emergency contacts when the system detects a crash, rollover or the SOS button is activated. It also has the ‘Parking Incident Notifications’ function, which, in real time, sends alerts if your vehicle is hit while parked, even subtle impacts such as door dings or a door closing. Furthermore, with THINKWARE’s patented LBS (Location Base Service) technology, all drivers will soon benefit from ‘Geo Fencing’, an alert system which informs you if your vehicle enters or leaves a designated area along with the ‘Driving Report Service’ a feature that analyses driving patterns of its drivers to support safe driving.

 

 

In addition to the innovative technologies, the aesthetics of the F800 Air has been designed with an attractive and modern look with a slim frame design, aluminum materials for the round camera module, and an overall ‘U’ shaped body that integrates the entire design.

The F800 Air’s breakthrough innovations and bold designs certainly helped it achieve the CES 2017 innovation award.  The dash cam is currently in its final stage of development and is scheduled for a global launch next year.

 

THINKWARE stated, “With the innovative “connected car” technologies, the dash cam will take on an important role in providing both driver convenience and safety and the continued evolution of the capabilities of the dash cam seem boundless with IOT.” 

 

 

This year will be THINKWARE’s 6th consecutive presence at CES 2017, reinforcing their global position as the world’s top dash cam company in global sales and market influence.  Last September, THINKWARE established their Chinese branch along with a ‘premium offline store’ in the city of Simchun to expand their B2B market in China.  Also, in Singapore, THINKWARE has been offered sales partnership programmes at Toyota dealerships and at branches of car accessory brand, Autobac. Additionally, with the success of their partnership with BEST BUY distribution channels in the United States, THINKWARE plans to continue their sales expansion into Europe, South America, and other Asian countries and is expecting to more than double 2016 sales figures.

The CES 2017 Innovation award is awarded for outstanding design and technology through evaluation by the CEA (Consumer Electronics Association) and IDSA at CES (Consumer Electronics Show), one of the world’s top 3 recognized technology exhibitions.

 

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

 

Make Safe & Sensible Use of Your Satnav – Infographic. #Satnav #Motoring #GPS

Neil Tohill is the Director of an Irish company called Southside Motor Factors. He regularly writes about the motoring industry and has created this infographic about best practice for using a satnav/GPS navigation device while driving. We have some more satnav reviews to come and another thing to keep in mind is dashcams as we have said before,we have some of them to come too very soon, Check out the infographic below and tell us what you think…

 

 

 

 

Satnavs can undoubtedly be massively helpful driving aids, especially for those who spend a lot of time on the road and frequently drive in unfamiliar territories. However, many drivers have a tendency to trust in their satnav too much. More than 1 in 10 drivers under the age of 24 have narrowly avoided a crash because of a distraction from their satnav, for example, while there have been horror stories of drivers being drastically misrouted because they failed to check that the destination they typed into their satnav was the correct one.

Need to find out more ?  Head to soutshidemotorfactors

 

 

Are VPN connections only useful to bypass geo-blocks? By @IPAddressGuide #VPN

Guest Post by Thomas Stein.   Are VPN connections only useful to bypass geo-blocks??

I first heard about VPN services and VPN connections back in 2012. It was Summer Olympics in London and I wanted to watch the Hungarians win their gold medals on Hungarian TV online.

Unfortunately I lived outside Hungary at that moment and could not access the Hungarian TV station to watch their live streams from the Summer Olympics. It wasn’t an error with the feed, it was simply a so called geo-block (geographical block) causing the problem. As I visited the website of the Hungarian TV station they checked my IP address. Discovering that I was located outside Hungary they gave me an error message telling me that this stream was unavailable for me.

Luckily my brain quickly understood that there was a way to bypass this geo-block, by getting myself an IP address in Hungary. I quickly found out that a VPN connection was the solution for me, and thus I got myself a VPN subscription and got myself a Hungarian IP address. A few minutes later I was watching Hungarian TV online from outside Hungary.

That was four years ago and I still have my VPN subscription. But, is a VPN only useful for those in need of bypassing geo-blocks?

Is a VPN only useful for those in need of bypassing geo-blocks?

There is little doubt about the fact that a high percentage of the users signing up for VPN services do it for this purpose. But, there are those who actually use their VPN subscription for much more than just streaming content online (which would normally be unavailable). Here I will give you some of the main reasons for using a VPN besides bypassing geo-blocks.

 

 

 

 

 

Some of the most important arguments used by VPN users for using a VPN

  • A VPN connection will encrypt your online activity. There are different levels of encryption used depending on which VPN protocol you use, but any VPN encryption method is way better than no encryption. This will make it way harder for any intruder to get hold of your confidential information.
  • If your VPN provider has a no-log policy any movement you do online will be untraceable back to you. People who check your IP address to do you any harm will not get your actual IP address, but only see the IP address provided to you by your VPN provider.
  • With a VPN subscription you can get access to cheaper flight tickets and similar products. Lots of airlines give users different prices depending on their location. Use your VPN to get an IP address in another nation and do a search on the airfares again. If you are lucky you can save lots of dollars on airfares and lots of similar services.
  • Almost all Torrent sites advise their users to use a VPN. As more and more Torrent sites are observed and downloads discovered by local ISP’s (and reported), using a VPN can keep your tracks covered and let you download content safely online.
  • It is crucial to encrypt your movements online in this world packed with free WiFi Hotspots using unencrypted networks.
  • VPN applications often come with extra functions such as DDoS protection and built-in firewalls to keep you safe online.
  • Some ISP’s set a limit to your streaming speeds. When you visit certain domains they limit your download speed. Using a VPN will let you bypass such streaming speed regulations.

As you will see from this list a VPN is about much more than only bypassing geo-blocks. Do you have any other reason for using a VPN? I would love to have you write even more reasons to use a VPN.

 

This article is written by Thomas Stein, the creator of  http://www.ipaddressguide.org/  On his website he writes about geo-blocks, streaming services like Netflix and NOW TV, tech news and about Internet security.

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Bargain Alert. #Withings Activite Steel with free strap and postage for €99.95

This is a really nice deal and would actually make an ideal Christmas gift, The Withings Activite Steel is now going for just €99.95 with a free strap and free shipping to boot. These currently go for around €150 with none of the extras so it is something to consider plus the bonus free strap..

 

 

 

These are not smartwatches as such but activity trackers and they do look really nice too,there is a good selection of colours to pick from too. To get the deal you will need to enter the code HELLOSTEEL

 

  • Activity tracking: steps, distance, swim (Water resistant 50ATM), running and calories burned
  • Sleep monitoring: sleep cycle analysis (light and deep sleep) silent alarm
  • Automatic synchronisation – Follow your data on your smartphone
  • Stainless Steel case with silicone strap.
  • No charging – battery lasts up to 8 months.
  • Available on iOS and Android

BUY HERE 

First look, image gallery and unboxing. The Kobo Aura One. #ereader #kobo #tech

This is a first for me..However I am familiar with such. An e-reader!! Never had interest in them due to having alternative options available on my phones/tablets in-house here so this is new territory for me and we have this interesting device to check out for a few weeks and its called the Kobo Aura One.. We will unbox it and check it out first and drop some images and leave you with some specs to chew on and in the interim if you have any questions do not hesitate to ask….

 

Features: Waterproof from the inside out with HZO Protection™ IPX8 – up to 60 mins in 2 metres of water
Screen: 7.8” HD Carta E Ink touchscreen, 1872 x 1404 resolution 300 dpi
Weight: 230 g
Size: 195.1 x 138.5 x 6.9 mm
Storage: 8 GB on-board memory, holds up to 6,000 eBooks
Front-light: ComfortLight PRO – Reduces blue-light exposure and protects your eyes for the best nighttime reading experience.
Customizability: TypeGenius: 11 different fonts and over 50 font styles
Exclusive font weight and sharpness settings
Supported formats: 14 file formats supported natively (EPUB, EPUB3, PDF, MOBI, JPEG, GIF, PNG, BMP, TIFF, TXT, HTML, RTF, CBZ, CBR)
Read eBooks borrowed from Public Library
Connectivity: Wi Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Micro USB
Battery Life: Up to 1 month*
Languages: English, French, German, Spanish, Dutch, Italian, Brazilian, Portuguese, Japanese, Turkish
Other: No advertising, no interruptions

 

UNBOXING

 

Thats a wrap on this for now while we spend some time with it and you can ask any questions below or on social and you can check out the KOBO AURA ONE right here for more in the meantime.

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#Microsoft announces new Surface Studio PC and updated Surface Book i7. #Surface #Windows

During an event yesterday, Microsoft unveiled their two new offerings in the computer department.

Aiming not only to consumers that need portability but also the ones that need a powerhouse at home, we now see the company focusing once again in hardware…Well except mobile phones anyway..

Surface Book I7

 

 

There’s no big news on the portable side as what we have is a revindication of what I should have been the first offering.

The Surface Book is a great device, but for the more demanding professionals is was aimed, Not having the greatest battery life and some compatibility issues was a let down. But those flaws were attacked and now we have a new offer with the latest I7 processor (hence the name).

Also, they improved the graphics performance and increased the battery by 30%, everything else remains the same as previous models.

They even made a video just to say that, take a look:

The new model will be available starting in November and will start at $2,399 with pre-orders already open.

Surface Studio

This was the main attraction during the event, dubbed as “Surface Studio” this All-in-one PC is aimed to professional photographers, designers as well as Illustrators.

With a huge 28″ LCD PixelSense Display and a resolution of 4,500 x 3,000 (3:2 aspect), the Studio is Microsoft take on Apple’s iMac series.

Only one big difference though, the panel is completely tactile, which offer a whole new world of possibilities.

The spec sheet is quite impressive:

Display

Screen: 28″ PixelSense Display
Resolution: 4500 x 3000 (192 DPI)
Color settings: Adobe sRGB, DCI-P3 and Vivid Color Profiles, Individually color calibrated
Touch: 10-point multi-touch
Aspect Ratio: 3:2
Surface Pen
Zero Gravity Hinge

Processor

Quad-core 6th Gen Intel Core i5 or i7

Graphics

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 965M 2GB GPU GDDR5 memory or NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980M 4GB GPU GDDR5 memory

Storage

Rapid hybrid drive options: 1TB or 2TB

Memory

8GB, 16GB, or 32GB RAM

Wireless

Wi-Fi: 802.11ac Wi-Fi wireless networking, IEEE 802.11 a/b/g/n compatible
Bluetooth: Bluetooth 4.0 wireless technology
Xbox Wireless built-in3

Dimensions and weight

Display: 25.09 x 17.27 x 0.44 in (637.35 x 438.90 x 11.4 mm)
Base: 9.84 x 8.66 x 1.26 in (250.00 x 220.00 x 32.20 mm)
Weight: 21.07 lbs max (9.56 kg)

Connections and expansions

4 USB 3.0
Full-size SD card reader (SDXC compatible)
Mini Displayport
3.5mm headset jack
Compatible with Surface Dial onscreen interaction1

Cameras

Windows Hello2 face sign-in camera 5.0MP front-facing camera with 1080p HD video

Audio

Dual microphones
Stereo 2.1 speakers with Dolby Audio Premium
3.5mm headset jack

Buttons and keyboard

Physical buttons: Volume and power
Surface Pen
Surface Keyboard
Surface Mouse

In the box

Surface Studio
Surface Pen
Surface Keyboard
Surface Mouse
Power cord with grip-release cable

The Surface Studio will be available in December with some pre-orders being available for the holiday season, the next batch will have to wait till next year.

The price tag of the base model will be $2,999.00 going all the way up to $4,199.00 for the high-end model.

Capable of Pen input as you’d expect from a Surface product, that’s not the only trick under the sleeve.

Pair with the “Zero Gravity Hinge” that allows it to go from monitor to drawing desk, the addition we are really impressed is the Surface Dial.

As You can see from the video above, the Dial is not just an extra tool to have around, Its what will complement the experience when your primary work is on the designing or editing process.

With haptic feedback to let you know you’re changing option without seeing using the radial input, add free location on the screen and you ready to work whenever you want.

As extra, the little gadget with not only be compatible with the new Studio Pc, but also with the Surface Book and the Surface Pro 4.

The can get a standalone Dial once available for $99 with just one color option (looks fine to me), but if you pre-order the Surface Studio before next month you’ll one for free.

But tell us, Do you think Microsoft is offering a solid option against the iMac or the MacBook that are currently on the market? Will be good enough to compete with today’s announcements from Apple?

Let us know in the comment section or join the conversation on Twitter

Pre-order #XperiaEar and get €50 off the next phone you buy from the Xperia Store.

If you have missed it the Xperia Ear is a new earbud if you will that was recently launched and its now up for pre-order and due to dispatch sometime in November.. Take note though this is not a PAIR of earbuds but just ONE which is set to rival the likes of the Apples air-pods or the Jabra Sports Elite both of which come in pairs.. Xperia Ear which is a personal assistant you can send and receive messages, check your schedule, search, navigate, and more. All without picking up your phone which is handy to say the least.

 

 

However the price might not favour some coming in at €199 but if you are a Sony fan you can claw back €50 if you intend to purchase a new smartphone.. The offer ends on November 13th so if it is something you had in mind and want a new phone later on head over and check out the offer HERE

 

 

 

Key product features:

  • Voice commands* for hands-free phone use
  • Get personalised info straight into your ear
  • Intuitive motion and gesture control
  • Charging case included