Tag: #tech

5 Valentine’s Day ITSKINS Accessories That Will Make Your Partner Fall In Love With You All Over Again

Falling can sometimes be great, Valentine’s Day is meant for falling in love, what no one wants is for that fall to apply to your phone and other precious tech gadgets. This Valentine’s Day show the person you love how much you’ve fallen for them with the help of these three products from ITSKINS, a leading global band in protective mobile and accessories cases that puts people and the planet at the heart of its activities.

Protect the other most important thing in their life with the help of ITSKINS new iPhone 13 cases. Available in several stylish case ranges ITSKINS have designs to fit every need and personality. With two enhanced layers of protection and premium drop protection from up to 4.5m/15 Feet these cases are perfect for the sports enthusiast in your life.

What’s the number one rule when it comes to a Valentine’s Day gift? “Good things come in small packages!” ITSKINS new Apple Watch 7 covers offer stylish but functional protection with anti-microbial and shock-resistant coverage great for any Valentine with a fast-paced and active lifestyle.

They already have the keys to your heart, so why not help them protect their keys too with the help of ITSKINS sleek anti-microbial, shock-resistant Airtag covers. ITSKINS is currently offering a 60% discount on all AirTag 4-packs so that the tech lover in your life can protect their belongings in style, without breaking the bank.

 

First look at the Jabra Elite 4 Active

It has been a busy few weeks for Jabra with all their new products hitting the market and now their latest Elite 4 Active has just landed and it is now their 4th new pair in their portfolio which now gives something for everyone to pick from at multiple price tiers which is great. We will just get straight into this as we are already stacking up our tech reviews this month which is a good sign so if you have any questions feel free to ask as usual.

We have also got the Elite 7 Pro Elite 7 Active and the Elite 3 so if you want to see more of those do check out the review section or type Jabra Review in the search box.

Elite 4 Active Key features:

  • Secure active fit with ergonomic, wing-free design
  • IP57-rated water and sweat proof durability
  • Active Noise Cancellation (ANC)
  • 6mm speakers and customisable equaliser
  • HearThrough technology for added awareness
  • 4-microphone call technology
  • Up to 7-hours playtime (up to 28 hours with charging case)
  • Use either earbud with mono mode
  • Alexa Built-in or Spotify Tap playback, and Google Fast Pair

Video LInk

Fairphone 4 now available with /e/OS software

Fairphone, the Dutch social enterprise building a market for ethical phones and motivating the industry to act more responsibly and /e/OS, the privacy by design operating system that focuses on protecting user data, have announced /e/OS for Fairphone 4.

/e/OS and Fairphone have partnered to provide Fairphone users with a privacy by design operating system since Fairphone 3. Fairphone has always valued open source software as a way of reaching its goal of bringing more fairness to software. The collaboration between Fairphone and /e/OS is the first of its kind, providing users with the first 5G privacy conscious and sustainable smartphone. With /e/OS, Fairphone continues to provide its users with options when it comes to privacy, allowing them to choose from the standard Android OS and /e/OS, for those who value the protection of their personal data.

Similar to previous Fairphones, Fairphone 4 is built to last. Thanks to the modular construction and spare parts, anyone can make repairs with a standard screwdriver. Fairphone has also introduced a 5-year warranty, ensuring that the phones keep running smoothly (and securely) for years to come and lowering their environmental footprint. The device was given the highest iFixit score on the market – 10/10 – and has received a 9.3 in the French Repairability Index. Fairphone 4 is also the first modular phone with an IP rating. It has a rating of IP54, meaning that the device is protected from dust-ingress and protected from rain.

Fairphone 4 offers a step up in tech specifications. It has up-to-date specs such as three high-quality cameras, a future-proof 5G with dual SIM, a powerful processor, and a fast-charging battery. The camera comes with a pair of premium lenses — a 48MP main camera for all the details and a 48MP ultrawide camera for the bigger picture — and to top it off, a 25MP selfie camera. The device is also the only smartphone on the market with the Blue Angel certificate and the first smartphone certified according to TCO Certified, a third-party sustainability certification for IT products.

Eva Gouwens, Fairphone’s CEO comments: “We’re happy to be able to provide the users of our latest device, Fairphone 4, with the option of using privacy by design software like /e/OS. At Fairphone, we work to provide our users with alternative options for not only sustainability but also privacy conscious software.”

Gaël Duval, /e/OS founder states: “We are extremely happy to take our partnership with Fairphone one step further towards a more sustainable smartphone that cares about your data and is built to last. This combination of a modular design and built-in data privacy makes this phone a unique proposition on the market”.

The Murena Fairphone 4 is available to purchase on the Murena online shop for RRP 629,90€ across Europe.

Tech Review – HP Deskjet 2720e wireless printer

Printers are in no short supply and for me it has been something I tend to skip to have at my disposal bringing my business to local print shops which is a bit time consuming as I work from home and it seems to be always at a bad time when something needs doing, that however has changed despite my local printing shop wondering where I have been of late and I told him that I was sent a printer to review and we also have more coming in which is a but of a double whammy for said print shop.

Ok as far a printers go it copies prints and scans documents it is an average sized printer but not too bulky and it can be transported in a car if you travel, not as small as one we recently reviewed but it is portable if you need it to be. For me now it sits at home beside my office set-up and remains there but this one for me has a trick up its sleeve and comes with and app too which makes things so much easier for those that work from their mobile phone printing documents and so on and for me signing NDA agreements and product loans etc and if I am out when these documents need attention I can do this on the go and print it so it is ready when I get in or it is in the cloud.

You can also assign other people to use the printer or just keep it for yourself so like an open office nobody can just go up and use it, ink is not cheap you know and for me that works and the funny thing is when this came into my house it was amazing how many said “oh I need to print stuff” well I just laughed and said nothing and went on with my day letting them all look at it and figure out how it works.

 

 

Speaking off how it works it is simple with the control panel on the left with a small LCD display but it does not stop there, The HP smart app is where it is all at for me, I rarely have to copy anything, it is normally documents that need to be signed and this is what suits me best. Other than that it works fine as a typical printer that copies multiple pages,scans docs and so on.

The HP smart app is where it is at and we go through this in the video below on what it is all about and how it works and it is pretty simple to use in fairness and the app works really well, you will need to set up your printer to your Wi-Fi and connect up with the app and once this done you are good to go, it is not hard to set up either and by no means slow when printing however there is a delay between devices talking to each other as expected it is not the same as just printing off documents on the tray that come out immediately.

HP Deskjet 2720e techbuzzireland

Another feature or addition if you will is the option to get instant in for 6 months as a trial basis and get more with HP+

 

Features

  • BEST FOR BASIC PRINTING – Print basic colour documents like recipes, forms and travel documents
  • KEY FEATURES – Print, copy and scan in colour, plus mobile and wireless printing
  • HP+ SMART PRINTING SYSTEM – The optional HP+ system enables your printer to think ahead so it’s more secure, more productive and ready when you are. Requires an HP account, internet connection and use of only Original HP Ink for the life of the printer
  • 6 MONTHS OF INSTANT INK INCLUDED & AN EXTRA YEAR OF HP WARRANTY – when you activate optional HP+ and Instant Ink when setting up your printer. Only with HP+
  • EASY SETUP – Get started fast on any device with the HP Smart app that guides you step by step
  • HP SMART APP – Print, scan and copy from your phone—whenever, wherever. Get advanced features for 24 months with HP+
  • WORRY-FREE WIRELESS – Get better range and more reliable connections using dual-band Wi-Fi with self-reset
  • INK DELIVERED BEFORE YOU RUN OUT – Never run out of ink with an optional Instant Ink subscription. Try for 6 months with HP+. Credit card required; change or cancel anytime

See more on the printer HERE 

Video link 

Tech Review – Poly Sync 20 conference speaker

The Poly Sync 20 is slim and portable, IP64 dust and water resistant,conference speaker  with up to 20 hours of battery life  This has clear buttons on the outside and a  programmable button which can be set to a favorite function. The box is bland in terms of the brown basics with limited information on the packaging.

Battery:

  • Battery Type: Lithium-ion
  • Battery Capacity: 3200 mAH
  • Talk time: up to 20 hours
  • Charge Time: 4 hours

Controls and lights 

Setup:

The setup can be used similar to a swiss army knife with  multiple options.  This can be used as 3 options of bluetooth , dongle, or cable connection. The setup is made easier as included with a non removable  USB cable to be plugged into a USB charger to charge or connect as required. Alternative used via bluetooth to a phone or Laptop. Or via the supplied usb dongle. Each option connection to a phone or windows laptop seamlessly worked as expected.  The setup works with voice control for Siri, Google Assistant, Cortana Press 

 

Compatibility

Slight niggle:

The kit comes with a USB dongle with a pouch inside the carry case, the dongle could fall out over time and would prefer to see a zip / fastener to prevent the loss on the USB dongle. 

Audio:

When used as a Loudspeaker, for your day to day music  the  frequency  response of the Poly Sync 20 is  80 Hz to 20 kHz, the low end on the frequency spectrum between 20Hz to 80Hz is ideal for music  but lacking  on this  unit . 

To give a comparison Amazon Alexa has  a frequency range of 30Hz to 24kHz while it does not have the features on this  multi unit kit . Overall the lower frequency is only observed by an avid music fan, but not pronounced on its primary use of a conference speaker / mic kit . 

Overall

The unit is a multipurpose speaker, conference unit which as expected from the Poly brand ( Previously Plantronics) has great audio and ease of use in connection. This unit came with minimum fuss in terms of accessories , carry case, USB dongle , carry strap with a hardwired USB cable resulting in a universal kit option for hybrid use in any environment . The features in terms of MS teams approved, various  colours, red on mute , green in use or light bar to view the volume level is practical in any meeting. The kit has been used in noisy environments with industrial machinery in the background and again the background was suppressed ensuring the conversations and accents were heard no matter where sitting in the room. The portable option to fit into a Laptop bag and carrier around gave  additional convenience in the use of this speaker. This is a kit which is highly recommended in terms of ease of use,  portability , multipurpose options , from a known quality brand, hard to fault this kit. 

BUY HERE  

VIDEO LINK

 

Tech Review – The Edifier X3 TO-U TWS earbuds

Edifier have been another one of my favorite brands here and they deliver a range of audio products at affordable prices which is great for all, they have all ends of the market covered and even with entry level products they do not skimp on quality especially with their earbuds as these come in at the under 50 euro range and it is not their first either and once again they execute this.

Build Design and fit

These are a simplistic pair of earbuds that look clean and fit well and robust and comes in two colours, the charge case is small and compact too and will fit in any pocket and they are stylish

Controls and features

OK so here is where you are missing some bits however remember the cost, they have no volume control auto play and pause and do not work individually, skip and reverse tracks is here your voice assistant and call control and these all work fine with the large area to tap to make the command you wish and they work both sides too and overall a great experience.

Sound

They sound good being honest and anyone who picks them up will be happy, there is some bass present here and loud volume too and overall a genuine great audio experience with highs lows and mids fine too and no distortion at max volume either, no lag latency noticed either from my ususal test loop.

Edifier X3 TO-U series techbuzzireland

Conclusion

These are an easy recommendation here for anyone even for a gift this christmas, they sound good and look good and execute what is real value for money for what they cost and the audio experience is great.

Main Features:

Qualcomm aptX audio decoding delivers highly defined sound tuned by a professional acoustic team.

Bluetooth V5.0 provides a better signal transmission for minimal interruptions.

Lower power consumption for 6 hours playback time and extra 18 hours with charge case.

Easy operation by touch control.

Ergonomic, compact design with IPX5 rating for comfort and long periods of wear.

One-Step Pairing for a faster connection.

The X3 To-U is available from Amazon at £39.99 in Pink or Blue 

Video Link 

Tech Review – Haylou GT7 TWS review

Recently here we reviewed the companies other earbuds the W1 true wireless which are a really nice affordable pair of earbuds which also look well but the latest on offer the GT7 came in for testing so how did they do over the last while is the question people want answered..

Design Build and Fit

These are a familiar shaped pair of earbuds with a small enough stem and have that airpod look for those who want it, they are light finished in matt white and fit really well and they will not fall out of the ears, as always the right tips matter when using earbuds to get the best seal and these have no problems there.

Controls

The controls work really well here as you will see in the video review below, there is some features missing here but it is not a huge deal, we have no volume control no auto play/pause and no reverse track but the rest is there, voice assistant, play and pause, skip tracks and call control.

Haylou GT7 earbuds techbuzzireland

 

Sound

These are for the bass lover, there is no app or EQ here however out of the box they are quite good and again better than I had anticipated they are loud and punchy well balanced and do not have any distortion at max volume there is no lag latency either,highs lows and mids are good and overall a really good listening experience we also have got AI noise cancelling for calls here and to top things off we have got low latency mode for gaming.

Conclusion

These are a really nice pair of earbuds that deliver on sound with some extra bass they are a clean looking pair of earbuds too and look well and not stansoutish looking and overall you cant complain even if some features have been omitted..

BUY 
VIDEO LINK

 

Tech Review – Tronsmart Apollo Q10 ANC headphones

The Apollo Q10 are the latest headphones on offer from Tronsmart and come in at an affordable price, these cans are over ears and very comfortable to wear even long term and are light in comparison to other offerings out there. Tronsmart have been delivering great value tech for the consumer and this is no different here.

Build and design.

They are mostly plastic like most headphones to be fair but they are robust all round and they have a simple clean look not trying to be bigger than they are the headband is comfortable and overall a lightweight pair of cans that will be ideal for any listening experience the cups are soft and nestle nicely on the ears.

Controls

This is the good thing with the headphones as it is gestures rather than buttons and they work really well, on the right cup you have the Tronsmart logo and behind this is the gesture area for making your commands with simple swipes up/down left and right etc, we go through this in the video review below. There is an MFB button on the headset which one might confuse it for a power on/off but this gives you access to your voice assistant only. The power on/off button and USB-C port are hidden underneath the arm of the headphones which is a strange placement but they are there but even for me it took me a minute to find them.

Sound

Sound is great and better than one might expect also you have access to the Tronsmart app which gives you additional options with an EQ that is notably different in their standard setup you can also customise your own EQ setting highs lows and mids are clear and there is good bass here especially with the EQ and loud volume too, for music gaming films and more they pass the test for a really great experience for anyone who invests in them.

Tronsmart Apollo Q10 techbuzzireland

ANC and Mics

ANC works well here and will block out most if not all the outside world I recently seen the dumbest tech quote from a “tech journalist” who likes to also lash out stock image reviews with little context saying bloggers waffle on about ANC and who would use it then goes on to say who would use it, ANC is a feature most people want to block the outside world and be immersed in their music or whatever they might be doing with their headphones or earbuds and it is a feature that I would not live without and on these headphones it works well,there is 5 mics on this headset and two mic ports on top of the headphones.

Battery

Battery life is great with a max of 100 hours you will get less with ANC and high volume use which is the standard for me but overall a good battery life with a 10 minute charge giving you three hours of use which is nice.

Conclusion

Overall these are a worthy pair of headphones for their price and deliver on the audio experince if you are on a budget and need new headphones you perhaps should check these out.

Features

  • 5 Mics for 35dB Hybrid Active Noise Cancelling.
  • 40mm Dynamic Neodymium Speaker.
  • Patented Power-saving Technology.
  • Up to 100-hour of Playtime.
  • Three Modes Switchable for Different Scenarios.
  • Convenient Multifunctional Touch Control.
  • 360° Foldable Design for Comfortable Wearing.
  • Supports APP Function.

Buy on Amazon

Buy on Tronsmart 

VIDEO LINK

 

 

Tech Review – Soundcore Liberty 3 Pro

When you test as many earbuds as I do it is not often something comes along that just blow your mind and it is not often I would say that but fir the Soundcore Liberty 3 Pro these without doubt are my number one earbuds moving into 2022 having said that there is still a going through the review process and up to where we are now these most likely fill the number one spot which is hard to fill and from their Liberty Air 2 Pro  we checked out earlier which have been in my top 5 all year the LIberty 3 Pro will be hard to beat I think.

Design,build and fit.

This is a new fresh design compared to their older model and one that is welcome with a really cool case to go with it that is like a large pebble it feels good to hold looks cool too in the colour we have in for review and will fit in any pocket. The earbuds themselves are a new design braking away from the common looks we see like stems etc are they stand out, the fit might not be for everyone but with the right tips you have a solid fit giving great isolation.

Soundcore Liberty 3 pro techbuzzireland

Sound

When it comes to sound these are simply great and with their own app you have some toying around with to get that perfect tuning you need and they also support LDAC ( download required for this) which is something you do not see much these days, they sound fantastic to put it simple and with the app features you are on a win here no matter what way you look at it, ANC works well and as mentioned before we have had tech reviewers bang on about who needs ANC most people do that’s why we have it present in many earbuds today and not forgetting you do also have transparency mode to should you wish to hear your surroundings. Great base to be found too loud, punchy highs lows and mids fine and in short no matter what you listen you are going to be impressed.

Battery Life

Battery Life is quite good here plus we have wireless charging thrown in for good measure which for me works, 15 mins of  charge will give you up to three hours up to 8 hours on the buds and the case in total gives you 32 with using ANC on and high volumes those numbers decrease and will vary per person and their personal settings.

Conclusion

Overall these are a win and for us here and now take the number one spot right now which is hard to declare considering we test the most range of earbuds here in Ireland with more to come from other known brands it will be interesting to see can they keep that spot and remember their Liberty Pro 2 are also up high on the list.. People can argue and which they are right to do so on an opinion as everyone’s ears differ but from testing so many earbuds for me these are top dog and for those who sniff ant ANC which is excellent hear are better off staying quite and post reviews with context rather than two paragraph reviews with stock images. People like to see that you actually have reviewed them and not just comment.

Features

 

  • ACAA 2.0 with Knowles Balanced Armature driver and 10.6mm dynamic driver.
  • HearID ANC for customizable usage scenarios
  • LDAC, AAC and SBC codec for best sounding music
  • Two transparency modes enhance the outside noises without removing earbuds.
  • Upto 8-hour battery in earbuds with ANC off / 6-hour battery with ANC on (at 60% vol.)
  • Wireless charging compatible case with 32-hour battery (with ANC off) and 24-hour battery (with ANC on) as well as USB-C charging.
  • Anker Fast Charging technology – 15 minutes charging earbuds = 3 hours of playtime
  • 6-mic AI uplink noise reduction helps minimize background noise during calls
  • Customizable user touch controls for play/pause, track advance, volume, etc.
  • Bluetooth version – 5.2
  • Waterproof rating – IPX4
  • Available in Four Colors: Midnight Black, Frost White, Fog Gray and Dusk Purple
  • Earbud size // Case size – 0.69″ x 1.11″ x 1.05″ // 2.79″ x 2.18″ x 1.10″
  • Earbud weight / Case weight – 0.21 oz // 1.55 oz

Check the video for more and what is on offer with their companion app.

BUY 

Video Link