BLOCKS – The worlds first modular smartwatch. #Blocks #Smartwatch #Kickstarter

We have seen plenty of modular phones announced over the last few months which some dislike greatly and then we have some that do like them,these are designed to make the consumer decide what they want rather than you buy the standard product ready made for you and away you go,choice is something that does lack in the business to some extend but to be able to build your own device from the ground up could be the way forward and maybe even a standard in years to come,this is however is the first attempt to see a smartwatch step into this territory and looks promising..whats  more attractive here they claim its also future-proof which will certainly make it appealing..

Check out the video below as it tells us how this will go forward..

https://d2pq0u4uni88oo.cloudfront.net/projects/2123439/video-596115-h264_high.mp4?_=1

It’s time that our smartwatches reflect our individuality. BLOCKS allows you to build a smartwatch that suits your lifestyle, with features that are customized to your needs.

 

The biggest benefit of BLOCKS over other smartwatches is that it is future-proof. We are forced to upgrade our phones every other year for incremental improvements. This short product cycle has been one of the major criticisms of smartwatches, because watches were always “meant to last”.

633a0c3953e23519c89be79aaeb73f1d_original (1)

 

It’s simple: Why buy a whole new smartwatch when you can simply snap in a new feature? As technology evolves, so does BLOCKS. New Modules will be released continually, ensuring that you are connected with the latest tech as soon as it comes out. The future is modular.

 

 

This will be an open source project which means its not restricted which is  brilliant,take the Apple watch for example or an Android watch,there is limitations,here with BLOCKS there is no limitations and the parts are hot swappable to which again is not seen on any current smartwatch,one super example we seen in the video is there is an option to swap out the battery,in the smartwatch world this is great as typically battery life stinks on your smatwatch and this is an easy simple task to do here with BLOCKS..

Grabbed your attention yet ? If so head over HERE for more and check it out..

 

 

 

 

The NoPhone we unbox it and take a look.. #NoPhone #nomophobia

This is something different and the No Phone has no specs no function AT ALL,you might be asking WFT am I doing with it then,The NoPhone came from a Kickstarter late last year and its designed to help people with nomophobia ie if you cant stop picking up your device hundreds of times a day,or feel the need to, yes i do this and its probably more of a habit than my liking for mobile phones but as I use and test many devices my love for mobiles has taken me into the habit of constantly picking my device up countless times a day and checking notifications,even though I wear smart-watches this is supposed to reduce the pick up count of my mobile but its not enough of a distraction to keep me away from my mobile devices..

 

Off the cuff we see that there is no expense spared here ANYWHERE from the packing right through and one thing the NO PHONE has going for it its indestructible,so you can drop it as many times as you like,hop it off a wall if someone annoys you and it will return as is with nothing damaged,also good for stress then….You can also nibble on the corners if you wish and you don’t need a case or screen protector,you see it has much going for it,more than you would think..For $10 and $15 for the selfie model its an inexpensive idea to aide you from bad habits and indestructible.
Look at this product like you would e- cigarettes for smokers if you will, it’s aimed at reducing your need constantly pick up your device but physically holding one, this gives you the feeling of a phone but does nothing and over a period of time hopefully reduce your need to constantly check your mobile.

Check out our walk-around of the No Phone and then see more over at The Official NoPhone store

 

 

 

 

Say hello to Cuckuu – The social alarm clock. #Alarms #Cuckuu #Apps

This is a neat idea if you are into reminders or have many to take care of on a weekly basis,we do have calender apps etc on our mobiles to help us along but this is neat and once more its social too and its called Cuckuu,the Social Alarm clock on Android and iOS..This is different than your typical alarm as you can create unique messages with images,pictures words or videos and you can earn points by beating snooze alarms.

 

Share alarms (cuckuus) with your buddies and make sure no one misses anything important;

– Add pictures and videos to your cuckuus;
– Comment and get pumped for upcoming events;
– Chat in real time;
– Beat your friends in this game of time – the faster you shut off alarms, the more points you win.
– Follow your idols’ next moves.

 

[ Download on Android]  [ Download on iOS ] [ Web ]

Chromecast 2 now available at Currys and PC World. #Chromecast #Ireland

Chromecast 2 is now available to buy at Currys/PcWorld for the same price as you would find it on the Google Play store which is €39,99,what’s good here is that its not went up on price from its predecessor which is a welcome move.Chromecast is great for casting content from your Android device and is very popular and its an ideal way to mirror your mobile phones screen to a bigger screen… Chromecast comes in Three colours too which is Black,Lemonade and Coral.

Currys Store  PC World

 

HUDWAY Glass watches the road whilst you drive with an App. #Maps #Travel #Kickstarter

Driver safety is always something that’s spoken of here in Ireland and in any other country to be honest and there is only so much the driver themselves can do to ensure of their safety and the safety of others,other than normal rules that apply to keep your car in check there is limits as to how far we can personally go much further to be safe.

Ok so we have already sat navs,mobile phones with apps and on screen displays and some cars have a projection of info which would display on your cars interior windscreen,this kind of technology is often expensive and its not a standard feature on cars but comes option or as standard vehicle dependent and costly.

 

HUDWAY GLASS is based on similar but reduces distraction because when we do use current sat navs or want to look at our dashboards this takes our eyes off the road and here is how this idea changes this.

https://d2pq0u4uni88oo.cloudfront.net/projects/1773882/video-592755-h264_high.mp4?_=2

HUDWAY  have made a universal vehicle accessory that turns your smartphone into a Head-Up Display (HUD) bringing comfort and safety to drivers all over the world. We did it because we’re tired of waiting for others. Because we believe that automotive HUDs are safer than an instrument-panel display or a smartphone.

https://d2pq0u4uni88oo.cloudfront.net/assets/004/628/982/84be934355605a1beccef6bc558f50d0_h264_high.mp4?_=3

Its simple to use this too with simple set up nothing complicated at all..

  • Step 1: Use any smartphone to start any app that supports HUD mode
  • Step 2: Place your smartphone on a cradle with its display up
  • Step 3: You are all set to go!

If this interests you head over to the official Kickstarter page for more,this is a really neat idea and doing quite well as it is on kickstarter

Taking the “Personal Assistant” to a new level, meet Sharp’s RoboHon By @VienteA_George #Robot #PA

Have you seen those futuristic movies where the characters have a small robot for companion? Well Sharp has created a new kind of smartphone with human-like shape and in some curious way similar to a tiny version of the “Bicentennial Man”

Meet RoBoHon the “Heart moving phone”

Sharp‘s attemp to create something different rests in our “heartless cold” smartphones.

RoBoHon is capable of basic movements such as walking (a few steps), dancing, and waving his hands around to greet you. All that with the intencion of a more “human-like interaction”.

Imagine having Siri, Cortana or Google voice asistants in their own bodies, that what RoBoHon can be, aimed with an always on microphone, he’s ready at any time to help you to do lots of things such a set alarms or place phone calls, also with the integrated speaker you’ll hear your new mails and completely hands free send a response.

Also set Schedule Reminders and ask for directions, pretty much what you’d do with your phone.

Apart from everything that already have, this little fella also acts as “camera man” with sensors within the eyes capable of facial recognition, he takes pictures, record videos and even will tell you if you need to move.

And if this wasn’t enough, it also packs a small projector , so you can watch your photos or videos on any surface.

Thinking of everyday situations, when sometimes voice is not our best option to control this friend, Sharp include a tiny 2 inch QVGA screen on the back where you can type your commands

Take a look at the promo video (is entirely in Japanese, but we get the message)

Powered with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 SoC, with 3G, LTE and WI-Fi capabilities and everything else you’ve seen here, we’re looking at something really interesting.

Unfortunately RoboHon is still in development stage, and will hit Japan shelves as soon as early 2016 but with no information about price or if is going to be available globally.

 

Source: Youtube, Sharp

Swiftkey Neural Alpha keyboard,its pretty good. #Swiftkey #Keyboard #Apps

Swiftkey is one of the most if not popular keyboards on Android and the first thing I do on any new Android device is download this keyboard,its a must and if you have not tried it give it a go,They have just announced a new keyboard called Swiftkey Neural Alpha which is  world’s first smartphone keyboard software that uses artificial neural networks to predict and correct your typing..If you are not familiar with Swiftkey it learns your typing style and you can allow it to have access to emails and some social media,this is also can be stored in the cloud too and if you change devices you do not loose any saved predictions etc..

So far the feedback has been very positive on this and reviews from consumers are good and so far I think its pretty good considered its an early release hence the name Alpha..The keyboard only supports US english for now but this is not a huge deal to be honest..

BETTER PREDICTIONS & CORRECTION

• Understands word similarity
• Analyses longer sentence context
• Understands complex word relationships
NEURAL NETWORKS INNOVATION

• Employs next-generation language models
• Uses deep learning techniques
• Graphics Processing Unit-accelerated (where possible)
• Optimized for Android 4.4+

 

Download 

 

 

#Visor – A low vision magnifier for your mobile phone. #Apps #Vision

Ok this app is pretty useful and can help those with poor vision or perhaps if you are in a situation where light is not so good,its simple  to use and will be a great benefit for those who have eye sight issues and for those who will not admit it,perhaps I often wonder myself if i fall into the latter at times but I think im fine..This app can read anything you point it at so its handy also Visor supports VoiceOver with TalkBack in German and English.There is three magnification levels and 5 colour modes.

This is ideal for especially reading articles with small letters or restaurant menus for example or leaflets that come in your door those with tiny letters and a little rant from me “those terms and conditions that are done in small tiny print at the end of such leaflets or contracts” Rant over,but yeah it works,there is even a light on it too so if its dark just tap the screen icon for the torch and it uses your camera flash and the light comes on and that is it,its a breeze to use and free so check it out.

Download on Android   Download on iOS

Twitter launches Twitter Moments on Android,iOS and Desktop. #TwitterMoments

Twitter have announced another new feature today called Twitter Moments this comes shortly after they announced you could place larger emojis in DMS – Direct Messages which has no interest to me at all..This reminds me of how Viber works by adding large stickers etc into your conversation but some will like that feature,Twitter is working on many new features as it competes with social media giant Facebook..The update is now rolling out on Android,iOS and Read more about the Moments feature and how the desktop version works. Basically its to attract disengaged users with the latest news and top stories..

When you open moment you will get some balloons floating upwards on your screen which looks rather dandy..

Twitter says on their blog..

How it works
Tapping on the new lightning bolt tab on your phone opens a list of Moments that matter now. As new stories emerge throughout the day, we continue to update this list. Looking for more? You can also swipe through to topics including “Entertainment” and “Sports” to find more stories from the past few days.

Engaging with a Moment

  • When you click into a Moment, you’re taken to an introduction with a title and description.
  • Start swiping to dive right into the story, with immersive full-bleed images and autoplaying videos, Vines, and GIFs.
  • A single tap gives you a fuller view of the Tweet, which you can favorite, Retweet, and more. A double tap lets you instantly favorite the Tweet.
  • The progress bar at the bottom indicates how much more each Moment has to offer.
  • Swiping up or down dismisses the Moment and takes you back to the guide.
  • At the end of a Moment, click the share button to Tweet your thoughts, and send it out to your followers

Read more if this interests you HERE