Tech Review – Realme 8i

The Realme 8i is as budget phone offering a 6.6 inch 120 hz refresh rate screen which seems to be all the hype today however once you have tried this refresh rate for yourself you will find it hard to look back, I myself had had to demonstrate here to people what it actually means and putting a 60 hz refresh rate beside the 120 hz device people then seen what it means the same applies for 90 hz devices but some still find it hard to notice and it might take time for others to get the whole idea of what it is all about.

This device also sports a huge battery too a 5000 mAh which for most will see an all day battery life which today still seems an issue for most manufacturers but to be fair power users like me spend most of my day doing my work from my mobile phone.

Unboxing and walkthrough of the Realme 8i

 

Design and build

The phone does however look premium being made with plastic and the back of the phone looks really cool and changes colour when it moves in the light and it stands out, the camera hump also on the rear is much smaller than any of its rivals and not a huge chunk popping out which has got really annoying now with the same design over and over again but this time it is a much smaller affair and looks well, the phone does look well and feel solid in the hand overall.

Performance

The Realme 8i was fine for me and my daily tasks which include multitasking and the same would apply to anyone else given I am a power user my phones get much more used and abused you could say but overall this did not fail at all for me and was good to see at this level, I did some gaming on the phone just to test it and high rated games is where it did get sluggish at times but it is not a phone that is intended for gaming anyway but for the most it is fine.

Processor

The device is equipped with realme’s first G96 chip. It’s manufactured using a 12 nm process and has two large A75 cores and 6 small A55 cores. Its main frequency reaches up to 2.05GHz. It’s really a powerful processor. Compared to realme 7i, the performance of 8i has improved 65%. The GPU has been improved by 91%, and the CPU by 51%. 

This G96 is also a processor that realme and MediaTek jointly oversaw and launched. For this processor, realme assigned 7 senior engineers to guide the whole process. Over the course of 106 days, they had technically optimized 3 major performance features. Firstly, Helio G96 is the only G9 series chip that can power 120Hz displays. Secondly, it supports realme’s first screen whose brightness can reach as low as 1 nit. Lastly, its gaming performance that completely surpasses that of realme 7i, providing a smoother gaming experience.

Realme launched the technology –Vitual RAM, upgraded from computers to smartphones. Virtual RAM actually uses the phone’s internal storage as makeshift RAM and increases the total amount of RAM on your smartphone. For realme 8i,realme launces 5GB Virtual RAM on 6GB+128GB version and this can improve the phone’s overall smoothness. ( realme 8i 4GB+64GB does not support Virtual RAM.)

 

Camera

50MP Primary Camera

realme 8i’s main camera features 50MP sensor. With f/1.8  large aperture, and 5P lens that secures enough light and makes your pictures more clear and brighter. In addition, the product also supports PDAF that makes the focus more rapid and precise.  You can judge yourself from the video and image samples we took below both in the day and night time.

 

B&W Lens

The B&W lens provide special artistic effect for portrait, which reproduce portraits in black and white, providing higher exposure and enhancing the contrast between light and dark of images. In the Portrait mode, exposure, color temperature, hue, and other parameters are repeatedly fine adjusted. In conjunction with the simulation of master portrait works, photos are tuned to retro film style with wide applicability, adding texture to the final portrait-style photos.

Macro Lens

The ultra macro lens enables users get closer and discover the beauty of the micro world with the 4cm shooting distance. It will empower consumers with the possible to shot amazing macro photography with details, enjoy explore the charm of the micro world.

16MP Selfie Camera

On the front, 16MP selfie camera can take crystal clear selfie. The camera also supports AI beautification function, HDR mode, portrait mode and a Panoselfie feature that can help you take wider selfies. Overall giving you the best camera experience in the segment.

Key features, Helio G96 Processor, 120Hz Ultra Smooth Display , Up to 5GB Virtual RAM 5000mAh Mega Battery

50MP AI Triple Camera 18W Fast Charge Ultra-Fast Side Fingerprint 16MP Selfie Camera 3-Card Slots realme UI 2.0

Conclusion

This is my first Realme device so can’t compare it to its other models but for me it did quite well overall if you want good battery life and a good display it has all this and more, the cameras are fine in the daytime but in low light levels not the best but this is to be expected anyway and even more expensive devices fail miserably here, it is a good looking device that is capable.

 

 

Tech Review – Benks Grand Pro Headphone Stand with Wireless Charging

Need a really nice treat for yourself or another gadget fan in your life well here is something just launched to have a look at that can serve as several things, it can charge your phone and more and also be a headphone stand and for someone like me this fits the bill nicely and most people do have phones headphones and earbuds..

This is a quality made product and is weighted at the base and it is also hard to knock over it must be added, similar products which i have are not weighed down on the base and occasionally have been knocked over but not this product. This is built with quality materials and looks really well in either Black or White and in fact sat on my bedside locker it just looks really nice and it also saves some space by not having items cluttered on the surface and to top it off it offers wireless charging up to 15W so for those with phones, earbuds and more it is a must have product if you want to save space and have that space looking good too.

benks headphone stand with wireless charging techbuzzireland

Features

  • [Lightning Fast & Productive] Efficiently power your digital devices wirelessly with 15W fast charging.
  • Structure Integrity and Patented Design, your most stable companion
  • Embark on Your Wireless Charging Journey, Get rid of messy cables and get more productive
  • White is available to ship, black stand next batch will be send out from 15th Nov

BUY HERE 

Video LINK

 

 

Tech Review – Urbanista Lisbon True Wireless earbuds

The Urbanista Lisbon is the latest on offer from the company and these are small earbuds in comparison to other out there and being so small I thought they might be an issue in my ears but there is a wing built in on these that make them a secure comfortable fit, they will feel a bit niggly to begin with and fitting them but once in the ears you are good to go and masy as well forget they are there because that is how it feels wearing them.

Fit and Comfort

Ok so yes these fit really well you might struggle if you are use to having bigger earbuds at the start but you will quickly adjust they are comfortable will not fall out and are easy to control given their size. These are the smallest earbuds I have used in a while and probably for me they felt a bit more awkward to begin with due to having big hands.

Controls

Controls are easy to use as mentioned and we have all you might expect from a pair of earbuds at this price point the tap area works well considered its size though and those with smaller fingers would find it easier overall but you will get the hang of it. The controls are simple and we go through this and how they work in the video review below.

Sound

When it comes to sound these deliver for the price, Urbanista have always had a good sound signature and this continues here, they are punchy with some base and overall with my usual test look did great, no lag latency and great on calls, highs lows and mids on point and a general good listening experience for the price you pay here, you cant really complain.

 

TRUE WIRELESS – Experience 9 hours of full freedom with our smallest true wireless earbuds yet.

COMPACT SIZE – With a portable case and earbuds weighing only 4g each, Lisbon is the perfect audio companion to carry with you wherever you go.

27 HOURS PLAYTIME Keep on going in style with up to 27 hrs of total playtime.

CASE CHARGE (2X) Small and compact charging case holding up to 2 extra charges.

Buy here 

 

 

Tech Review – Datalocker Sentry k350

At techbuzz over the years we have reviewed a variety of encrypted storage devices. This one ups the game in terms of the physical size with storage of 256 Gb with the Hardware Encryption security for a usb flash drive.  The kit looks like a cigarette lighter, slightly bigger with a keypad and display on the front for entering digits. The packaging while simplistic in design had all the usual specifications and compatibility listed. The material is strongly made of an epoxy coating for the chip and flash protects it from physical intrusion from water (IP67 rating) with an excellent transfer rate of data.

 

 

 

Install & setup

It is important to read the quick start guide, instructions which consist of plug in, change the password and use, but caution on using an overly complex password as like the old phones, having to press a few times to get a letter to pop up. This is displayed on the actual lcd display which is a positive. Passwords must contain a minimum of 8 characters. This should consist of a combination of letters, numbers, and special characters for your password. Some examples of invalid passwords are: ‘78901234’, ‘43210987’, ’12345678’, ‘1111111.

Installation took less than a minute to set up a new password. Due to the physical length of the flash drive it is recommended to keep the laptop stationary to ensure it is not damaged if moving around.

Advanced user or group admin can use a Safe Console,

This has a group policy which can control all the relevant memory sticks as the administration to include a SilentKill code which would allow the unit to be configured to Self-Destruct if triggered.

 

Control panel

 

Datalocker have provided various support options should it be required

  • support.datalocker.com: Information, knowledgebase articles, and video tutorials
  • support@datalocker.com: Feedback and feature requests
  • datalocker.com: General information
  • datalocker.com/warranty: Warranty information

See techbuzz video link for speed transfer rates which are in line with the manufacturers transfer speeds (Speed USB 3.2: – 150MB/S Read, 100MB/s Write)

 

Conclusion

Most students in the first year of college will be advised on the importance of having a backup while the hybrid model of working increases the risks of taking data off site.

GDPR will have made most of the IT networks aware of the consequences of a lost data in terms of travelling with data and taking work home, companies are constantly at risk from unprotected data on an unsecured USB flash drive.  Many millions of unprotected USB drives are lost / stolen every year

The implications can be immense: lost reputation, lost jobs, lost profits, customer data, financial information, business plans, confidential information are only some examples of the data that are usually stored and transported.  The question then becomes not if to use an encrypted pen drive, rather what type of model and size or to use an alternative method in the cloud. The K350 has an easily navigated keyboard which is password protected, FIPS 140-2 Level 3 certified, encrypted USB drive with a display screen that makes setup and operation for the non-technical people while providing all the advanced features which may be expected to be set up by a security team.

Datalocker Sentry k350 connected to pc techbuzzireland

The advanced feature would suit those of an enterprise nature but can also be used as an individual.  Datalocker is separated from many other encrypted devices via the option to remotely manage a fleet of devices via safe control. Many people may consider speed, copy, and write as a major factor for a usb key, this should not be the primary consideration, rather looking at an overview People Process and Technology.  Typically, people are the weak link which means the easier for a person to use the product the better chance it will be used as required. The 3-year warranty is also a major factor to ensure quality, reliability to ensure if a problem the data is backed up and can be restored. Datalocker has a variety of secure encrypted devices up to 7.6TB capacity in some of their models which we hope to get our hands on for future reviews.

Overall excellent quality build, 3-year warranty, ticks the encryption standards, easy to use which the option to expand as required, and excellent decision should a device go missing

“This could be the best choice made this year if a device goes missing “

 BUY HERE 

Check the video below for more

 

 

Tech review – ITSKINS Spectrum clear case for the iPhone 13 Pro

Recently covered on techbuzz is the ITSKINS case for the Samsung Galaxy Z flip 3 and that case is holding up well to date and has been a life saver numerous times and you should really check them cases out for the Flip 3 if you own or plan to buy one, now we have the iPhone 13 Pro case in and today we check it out and see what it is like on the device and see what else it offers check out the video below for a close up look at the case and yes it does work with wireless chargers including magsafe.

This slim, crystal-clear case lets you show off your phone’s premium design. A custom anti-yellowing TPU polymer ensures your case stays clear longer. Made from 100% recyclable materials, SPECTRUM // CLEAR offers premium drop protection to your device.

Our signature HEXOTEK impact absorption technology has been integrated into the interior perimeter of the case, making it drop safe from up to 3M/ 10 Feet. The slim, lightweight design won’t add extra bulk to your phone. Raised edges shield the screen and camera against everyday bumps and scratches.

Our custom high-performance antimicrobial polymer helps keep your phone microbe and germ-free. SPECTRUM // CLEAR has been Eco-Designed, using 100% recyclable materials and produced with sustainable methods wherever possible.

See the entire range for iPhone 13 Pro

Video Link 

Tech Review – Instax Link WIDE mobile photo printer

Instax always bring out nice products it has to be said and their newest product is quite nice and really cool which delivers great photos and not only that they look good and you can get really creative with their photos via their app which is also great I must say.

OK but the product is a bit cumbersome people have said and that is true like some of their cameras however it is the nostalgia and the instant print pictures that makes them a win, look at it like this, when was the last time you send a camera or even sent off for prints on your phone, shall I stop here? Yes….  I have your attention now and this is why a cumbersome product wins and why more people like them and are willing to give up a bit of space over a drawer full of make up and the kitchen sink in their bag for instant memories that the entire group can share and have a copy of it in their hands there and then.

The build quality on this printer is also great and like with any instax camera or printer I have tried nothing has changed in that department they are solid products it has to be said and built to last.

The app is great, we go through this in detail in the video review so you don’t have to learn what it is all about, it is simple to use and it has great features I like it alot and you can get creative here if you feel the need to or simply just print snaps from your mobile phone on the go.. Check out the unboxing video below to get started and see what you get.

 

 

 

Lightweight design built for portability and speed 

Surpassing the functionality offered by other smartphone printers in its class, the lightweight, handheld Link WIDE transfers an image and starts the print in about 12 seconds, supports continuous printing, and is capable of generating about 100 instax instant prints per battery charge. Link WIDE provides two printing modes; instax Rich, accentuating deep, warm colors, and instax Natural, which emphasizes the inherent tones of the image.

The App

The Link WIDE App has been designed for ease-of-use with a variety of useful image printing options. The App features editing tools including cropping, approximately 30 filters, collage capabilities, adding text to the printed image, as well as in-app stickers and frame templates. Additional App features include:

  • Sketch, Edit & Print – import sketches and handwritten text, add them to photos, add sticker icons, and print.
  • Printing photos from videos – select a frame within a video and print it.
  • QR Print Mode: add a QR code to scan with a Smartphone to your photo, with the ability to:
    • Record sound
    • Link to a website
    • Tag your location on the print
  • Record a hidden message

Conclusion

This is a really fun printer and I had fun testing it out and seeing my pictures develop there and then, the picture quality is good and then what you can add to it, it is an easy recommendation for purchase for your own use or an excellent idea for a gift this Christmas

BUY 

VIDEO LINK

 

 

Tech Review – Poetic case line up for the iPhone 13 Pro

Poetic cases recently sent us some cases to check out for the Google PIxel 5 and there is more to come for some other devices we have here with us. The iPhone 13 pro is the phone that many are talking about today and we have their range of cases here to check out for this expensive phone. There is a wide variety of cases from the company available to pick from.

The company value their customers and we have been using their cases some years now and the iPhone 13 Pro range of cases is excellent and are cases that will stand out and offer you a bit more than some case manufacturers and you will see what i mean in our video review below..

Poetics core values

SELF EXPRESSION

Self-expression is a display of individuality whether it’s through words, clothing, hairstyle, or art forms such as writing and drawing. Being self-expressed means that people will see your spirit and true character; they will see the totality of who you are. And sharing of one’s “self” fully is the ultimate in generosity and is vital for peace, happiness and fulfillment.

AUTHENTIC

By being “ Who we are ” as a brand we give a sense of trust and fulfillment to our consumers. Our consumers also get to know us on an intimate level and this creates loyalty. We hope to attract like minded individuals to join us to create a flow of openness and honesty. We are upfront about our failures and success.!!

QUALITY

Quality in life and in our daily tasks is something that we are extremely passionate about. To pursue this value we are committed and unwavering in our pursuit for great experiences, products and content.

DIVERSITY

By understanding various views, values and cultures around the globe, we are truly global. Just like the founders of the company, we aim to be respectful of all perspectives and points of view to truly innovate and coexist.

See the entire range HERE 

Video link

 

Tech Review – Haylou W1-T true wireless earbuds

Next up for review is a new brand to the site and we have plenty more where that comes from too and these are a new pair of earbuds which I have been testing some time now and they again are a new product that have shined for me and not only that look well and deliver good sound for the user.

The brand name is taken from the homonym of the English word “hello”. We believe that we can resonate with the sea through conch and listen to the voice of the ocean together, and we can also listen to the voice of users through haylou and share the beauty of the voice together. Haylou is the messenger of sound and the medium through which we resonate with our users.

Build and design

These earbuds are build really well and look great and fit nicely in the ears too, the controls are simple to use and they do hot hurt like some earbuds can when making a selection on them, the design stands out and I love the colour of these earbuds too which moves away from the traditional Black and White..

Features

Knowles balanced armature & dynamic drivers Qualcomm 3040/ aptX Adaptive / 20h battery, Made with biological composite diaphragm, the dynamic driver keeps the bass and mid tones mellow, pumping out sounds with fuller and richer details. aptX Adaptive codec can automatically adjust performance according to different scenes, bringing more vivid music and smoother gaming.

Sound

This is where these took me buy surprise as they sound great the controls also work great to and most of the features required are present, these are also great for gamers too and they can be also used individually., for calls they are fine and for music they are really good and have nice bass to, there is no EQ or app but these are the kind of earbuds that are great out of the box. Doing my usual test loop they did quite well with highs lows and mids and great for watching Netflix and You Tube and so in, the user here will not be disappointed overall.

Check the video below for more and learn how to use these new earbuds from Haylou.

 

Video link 

Tech Review – Garmin campervan Sat-Nav review

I have been testing this piece of kit out for a few weeks now and one thing people say is this not redundant and I do get their point with our mobile phones doing everything from weather to music calls and traffic but this is on a smaller scale and phones are not specifically designed for the aforementioned.

Garmin are well known in the industry and also have dash cams and smartwatches too some of which we have reviewed in the past but today we take a closer look at the Campervan Sat-Nav, we also have a real hands on look at the unit in our video review below so you get some context over stock image reviews. We show you the features, the unit in operation and more so you get to get a better idea of what exactly you get from the product.

Build and set up

Basically it is a big tablet and it is a well built one at that however it can be placed nicely in your window or where suits you best and it is a simply suction cup and cable to get things going and you are good to go, you might be better off walking through the menu first to change any settings that suit your need though. You should also download the Garmin Drivesmart app to get extra features, I did once snub the app but it has much improved and now includes really cool weather features too, live traffic and much more

The display is bright and clear and one thing I love is the voice navigation it is pleasing which some might find odd but I love it it is clear loud and not really robotic like some systems are. You can also make calls on this and again clear and concise.

Who is this for

It is aimed at those who like camping which has seen a huge rise in recent times but anyone can use it including van drivers that want that bit more and you can see yourself what is on offer via the menu and if like me you like hotels, food and the likes there is a tripdavisor suggestion tool along with many others which you can select from to suit your own personal requirements. Having said all that this can be used by anyone in fairness and it is a nice piece of kit to have.

Features

The Campervan Sat-Nav has many features on board which basically covers you all round, you have Bluetooth, WiFi big clear screen loud clear navigation prompts, warnings for your speed which is vital for how things work today with the fish in a barrel approach by the speed detection vans and pop up windows for turns where applicable to give you a better view of the lanes you might be approaching, again all this is seen in the video review..

Price

This might put some off for a standalone kit, even for me I was kind of leaning the same direction but the pros outweigh the cons as you keep your phone to yourself and you have everything else at your fingertips here on a big screen and the feature I love most asides the navigation is the weather feature which is really cool.. The price of this unit will set you back 299 euros

BUY HERE

Video link