About.me has officially revealed the contacts sharing app Info for WindowsPhone and Windows today.
Intro by about.me is available to download for free from the Windows and Windows Phone Stores today. This app offers a modern, easy way to stay in touch with new contacts by sending your about.me page as a digital business card.
With Intro by about.me, your about.me page becomes a digital business card you can send to an email address, phone number or another about.me page. You are always are in control of which personal details you share, you can share any combination of your page, phone number and email. You can also keep track of the people you’ve shared your card with and cards you’ve received, Intro by About.me is a simple, efficient, modern way to network.
Download the app free for Windows and WindowsPhone today and start sharing your information.
Microsoft has been busy lately unifying it’s core apps to gel with the soon to be available Windows 10, that’s why today it announced to withdraw support from the modern Skype simplifying your PC experience down to one app that you can use either with your mouse and keyboard or with touch. Starting on July 7, Skype is updating PC users of the Windows modern application to the Windows desktop application, and retiring the modern application.
With the upcoming release of Windows 10 for PCs, it makes sense to use the Skype application optimized for mouse and keyboards use, capable of doing touch as well rather than 2 separate applications performing the same function. This is result of the feedback taken by the Skype team through its users.
Anyone trying to access the modern application on PCs starting from July 7 forward will be automatically directed to download the desktop application. If you already have Skype for Windows desktop you don’t need to do anything. Also, if you’re on a Windows RT tablet device, there is no change for you.
When it comes to low prices and great quality is hard argue with Microsoft, and now they’re offering the HP Stream 7 Signature Tablet for the low price of 79$ in the US or £75 in the UK with lots of goodies to look for.
The Stream 7 Signature Edition is a great tablet for the price, it comes with a 7 inch screen (800 x 1280), a quad-core Intel Atom Z3735G processor with 1Gb of ram, a 32GB of internal storage with SD card slot, a 2mp back camera and 3mp front camera and 3000mAh battery.
Xbox SmartGlassGreat battery for Stream Videos and Play
What makes this a real bargain is the fact that you not only recieve the tablet, you’ll also get a free Office 365 one year subscription (which normally cost around 70$), 1TB of OneDrive storage and 60 min. of free Skype calls per month.
And what’s more! If you buy it from the US online Windows Store you’ll also get a $25 Windows Store gift card.
This deal is only available if you order the HP Stream 7 through the online Store.
If you’re in the States you can order yours HERE.
And for the UK residents you can order HERE.
Do you have one or planning to have? Let us know in the comments section bellow ot Tweet us using #techbuzzireland
Ok so we are all pretty use to seeing plenty of Android tablets on the market and to be honest most of them if not all that fall under the €109 mark are piles of trash,the specs look good and that is as far as it goes,i have tried many budget tablets running one or another kind of version of Android but below that price is only going to be a headache.
Now we are beginning to see some new Windows tablets coming onto the market and thankfully they are not running on RT which is kind of annoying and basically has no real place in the market now.
So lets look at the outside then we will check out what’s inside and how it performs.
Build quality is quite good its solid and does not feel cheap even though its completely housed in a plastic it has some kind of premium feel to it so we are happy there with this.
The top of the device is i must say somewhat pleasing to look at all the action seems to be in one place so its no fumbling around looking for buttons etc.
On the top we have our camera,home key,headphone socket,USB port,SD card slot and HDMI and down to the right we have our power on/off key and volume toggles.I like how all is place together and it does not look cluttered either.
Specifications.
Windows 8.1 OS,1GB RAM,7 INCH IPS TFT LCD DISPLAY,2 MP FRONT CAMERA,2MP REAR CAMERA,HDMI OUTPUT,43 GB INTERNAL STORAGE,MICRO SD SUPPORT,3,500 MAH BATTERY,BLUETOOTH,WIFI.
Ok lets begin with the camera its a 2MP camera and to be honest its poor,it will not be taking any wonderful photos at all,i am by no means any camera expert but the sample below was the best i could get and trying different exposure settings but then again a tablet is not for taking photos and when i see people in the public doing so i can only just laugh but hey people do it but with this tablet no,do not attempt it.
There is no point at all in going into video,i did not bother to be honest with the results from trying to use the camera,another downfall is that you can’t share images once captured which is probably just as well in this case.however the camera is there should you perhaps come across something urgent and do not have a phone at hand.
MUSIC
For music we use Mix Radio,its not pre installed but you can get it in the app store and it works a treat,no lag,no problems at all we have to say,the speaker is the problem though,placed at the bottom it does from time to time sound a bit tinny,the tablet could of had one on top too to be honest but again its a budget tablet so dont expect top end performance,also you can add your own speaker to it too via the headphone socket to enhance the sound,Mix Radio is free to download from the store and unlocking the features is £4.99 per month,preloading Mix Radio on every Windows Tablet sub 9 inch would be a fantastic idea in my opinion as its a superb service to have..
1 / 7
Gaming
Well i was impressed with how it handled games,i am not a huge gamer no more but from time to time i like to check out what’s out there and see how they run same as i do with my Lumia devices,the tablet did not let down here which was good to see.For example we tried FIFA 15 and it worked a treat it did not lag at any stage..
Apps
Having such good performance with gaming we expected no issues with apps,this was true all our apps worked fine from social media,Netflix,Office and One Note for example,Browsing the web was also fine using IE,All the preinstalled apps worked like clockwork plus what we have downloaded app wise to our personal taste i was happy with this overall..
Maps.
We are a fan of HERE maps which is also not preinstalled on the device HERE maps is also free to use and download and the benefit of HERE maps is you can use them offline which is a great bonus and proves and much better overall than Google Maps.HERE worked flawlessly we are delighted to say..
Under the hood.
Intel Atom QUAD CORE, Processor Speed IS 1.83 ghz
Windows 8.1 OS.
16/GB 32GB storage we used the 32GB version in our review this is expandable via SD to 64GB
1GB RAM ,this is not so great but it performed well to be fair with what we threw at it.
Front and rear camera is just 2MP which was its biggest letdown for me..Video res 720p @ 30FPS.
Video files supported H.264, WMV, MP4, AVI, ASF , and Audio files AAC, WMA, MP3, PCM, M4A, WAV, ASF.
Display – Was quite fine to be fair and sporting IPS (1280 X 800) TFT LCD it does the job.
Battery – 3,500 mAh it will see you a good 3 to 4HRS use if you are heavy on it.
Good points to keep in mind.
HDMI output,this is not something you see on most tablets today even on Android.
One Year of Microsoft Office 365 FREE this is quite handy to have…
Overall my opinion is this is a great tablet for the price which is around €99 you can’t really go wrong,the only big issue with it is its camera and video capabilities ,having said that you don’t buy tablets to take photos but some do,IF you are one of these people stay away from it apart from that it excels many Android tablets in the same price bracket in many ways,again an issue would be apps especially local apps this is another area to consider should you be requiring apps but for the majority the apps are there be it third party or not..Its also a fingerprint magnet too.
Any questions on the Linx 7 Feel free to ask below or we can also assist on Twitter @jimboireland.
There is plenty of Android tablets on the market and as disgussed before most sub 100 euro tabs just dont do it,they are just a waste of money and more hassle than they are worth and for me a steer clear buy even though they are cheap and cheerful they will quite honestly irritate you in the end.
Windows tablets are now catching up on with several types available but for the money again they fall into the same issue with Android tablets again you could say its you get what you pay for but there is some both in the Android world and Windows.
The Linx series tablets are newish enough but seem to be getting popular due to the build quality and options available on them such as HDMI,something you do not see on many tablets today..
4 / 8
The Linx tablet line have decent specs all round and a good quality build which give them a good headstart over other tablets in the sub €120 price range.
On the Linx 7 which we will look at today we have the following.
12 month subscription to Office 365,Windows 8.1 OS,1GB RAM,7 INCH IPS TFT LCD DISPLAY,2 MP FRONT CAMERA,2MP REAR CAMERA,HDMI OUTPUT,43 GB INTERNAL STORAGE,MICRO SD SUPPORT,3,500 MAH BATTERY,BLUETOOTH,WIFI.
Firstly the 2 MP camera is poor but tablets are not really for taking pictures either but you have a camera there just in case,also the 1GB RAM is not impressive but plenty for running tasks,Battery is quite good but again the persons usage will again yeild different results,overall its battery life is quite good..So far the tablet seems to run quite smooth and fast with only the wifi causing issues with connection it seems to loose connection quite often so hopefully this will be sorted out soon enough with an update,others have reported the same issue..
Check out the video below and if you have any questions just ask.
One of our fans Ronan Coughlan aged 19 is a new blogger in ireland which i helped him get started and likes all things tech and has reviewed the NOKIA LUMIA 520 he sent it in to us to have a look.
You can read the review here and tell us what you think yourself.
So about two weeks ago the Nokia Lumia 520 turned up at my doorstep for me to give my thoughts and review on this small but punchy smartphone. Earlier in the week I did a piece on the Lumia 520: Unboxed which you can find here. This is my thoughts and views on the Lumia 520 in a full review now!
Design:
A great feature on this device is the changeable back covers which are available in a range a colors including yellow, red, cyan, white and black. My device was yellow and its was very vibrant and colorful. With this added bonus you could change the back cover to suit your style, mood or day which brings great value for money and if you scratch the back of your 520 just replace it with a shiny new one and your good to go! On the device the design is nice and clean, it sports three buttons on the right side with a volume rocker, home button and a very handy dedicated camera button. The top of the phone has a headphone jack and at the bottom we see a usb port. The 5mp camera, mic and centered Nokia logo at the back that complete the Lumia’s design features on-board.
Display:
This device does indeed pack a punch with a fantastic resolution of 800 x 480 which turned a few heads when out and about with this device! With a 4 inch screen its not the biggest smartphone screen but for its value and great display its brilliant! The contrast and colour are rich and very sharp so no problems there.
Operating system:
The Lumia 520 runs Windows phone 8 software in its main form of live tiles (below). If you want something different than your friends S3 or iPhone than this is for you! Swiping to the left will bring you to all your apps, and with the colourful tiles you can chop and change, re size and minimize to suit your needs! The Windows store is still let down by big, official apps but its growing each day and hopefully will get to compete with android and iOS very soon but its very nice colourful and customizable!
The Lumia 520 running Windows phone 8 software (above)
Processor:
The Lumia’s powered by a dual-core 1GHz processor with 512MB of RAM. That’s the same processor you’ll find inside the Lumia 720 so, as with the screen resolution, you’re getting much better value for money at the lower end of the range than at the top. It’s a much lesser engine than the quad-core superphones of today but it being Windows Phone the processor is well able to handle and does not need such big power. With so many other budget phones they can lag through gameplay but the 520 betters all of them with flaw free gameplay with such games as Temple Run and Pac-Man which I played both an perfectly.
Camera:
The 520 packs a 5mp camera with no flash and no Carl Zeiss features we would see on the 820 or 920 but still it takes basic shots very well. Nokia chucks in a bunch of camera software too, all of which you’ll find on the 520. There’s a panorama function, built-in editing tools, a Cinemagraph app and a best-shot tool that combines multiple shots of people into one, letting you pick the best faces from each image. Overall for the price I an content with the camera functions for this budget device. (see camera test below).
In both photos the colours are captured well but you don’t get the sharpness of a high end cameraphone, but its still looks alright..
Conclusion;
The 520 packs many of the same specs as the Lumia 720/820 etc, making it excellent value and a fantastic smart phone to consider on a budget. Its bold display is one of the best I’ve seen in the low-end market and Nokia’s software additions of HERE Maps and the Drive app are brilliant! Unless you want a better camera this is the device for you! You can buy one from O2 Ireland for a bargain price of 109 euros here
Pros:
Affordable price
Excellent display
Decent bundled apps, especially sat-nav
Colourful changeable covers
Expandable storage and swappable battery
Cons:
Laclustire camera function
Poor front facing camera
Windows app store still trial a bit behind IOS and Android app stores as of now
So that’s my review of the Lumia 520! I hope you like it! I’d like to thank Nokia Connects and especially Laura from the team for giving me the opportunity to trial this device for two weeks. It was brilliant! Remember you can now follow the blog on twitter here @TechInfoIRL and get tweeting! : v)
