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Amazon Echo Plus (2nd gen) review: The Silky Sounding Smart Speaker

Jon
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Amazon Echo Plus (2nd gen) review: The Silky Sounding Smart Speaker

Recently Amazon launched a whole host of new Alexa powered devices just in time for Christmas 2018. In a previous article we looked at the full suite of next gen gear and we even had a closer look at the brand new Echo Show. Now it’s time to get a closer look at the latest Echo Plus, a voice assistant that is the pinnacle of the Alexa offering.

The latest model is probably one of the only times I will say that the “Plus” moniker is not only worth the extra money but is well and truly deserved. With an all new design, meatier sound quality and some extra features, if you’re in the market for an Alexa smart speaker that will be the focal point of a smart home – this could be the one for you.

Now that we have whetted your appetite a bit, let’s see how it stacks up. Here’s everything you need to know about the new Amazon Echo Plus 2nd Generation:

Pricing

It’s not bad, not bad at all. Coming in at €160, which is about the same as the older models it’s pretty decent value for money given the improvements made and the pricing of competition.

When you look at the likes of the Apple HomePod or the Sonos One which would be considered the main competition, the Echo Plus is vastly cheaper. Some might say the Sonos One is the leader when it comes to audio quality and that’s kind of fair but with about €100 of a price difference you can just buy a secondary speaker, still spend less money and have audio that will blow your mind.

Simple Setup

Setting up the Echo Plus is an absolute breeze. Literally plug in the device, download the Alexa app and that’s pretty much it in terms of set up.

Once you’ve plugged in you will see this orange swirling light across the LED ring at the top of the device and Alexa will tell you she is ready to be setup. All you do then is open the app, select the WI-FI network and enter the password. After all this tough hard work is done you get a quick video tutorial on the app to give you the low down to get you started.

If you have any other smart home devices you can push the button on the bottom right off the app and it will scan and attach to each of them, again this is fair handy as in just a couple clicks your full smart home system is up and running. As with anything though, if this is your first device you will need to connect your music streaming accounts but that takes a couple of seconds. Oh and before I forget at this point you can change the device wake word from Alexa if that’s something that tickles your fancy.

Design

Image result for amazon echo plus 2 sound

I mean just look at it, the Echo Plus is a gorgeous looking bit of kit that. I tried it in the kitchen, bedroom and my living room and genuinely within an hour or two it just becomes part of the furniture. The previous model of the Echo Plus was a tall industrial looking product with visible speaker grilles. Not anymore. This year Amazon completed a full redesign of their full Alexa range and the Echo Plus got in on the action. Now the first thing you notice is the attractive fabric mesh that helps the Plus to blend into any room in the house.

Interestingly the Amazon Echo Plus is shorter and fatter than its previous model, the new model stands at 148 x 99 x 99mm compared to the previous 235 x 84 x 84 mm. This size change, coupled with the modifications to the facade leaves you with this really pretty looking speaker and with it being available in Charcoal, Gray and Sandstone it means that no matter how your home is styled, there is an Echo Plus to suit.

As with the rest of the range you, the Echo Plus has dropped the physical volume dial and replaced it with a number of buttons on the top of the speaker. Two for volume control, one for mute and another “action button” to get Alexa’s attention.

I really like the new styling, my personal favourite touch is the little LED ring that flashes blue when Alexa talks or when you make a command. I know it’s only a small thing but it’s really nice to know you are being listened too.
It’s the small things that make the biggest differences, the upper and bottom rims moulding into the main body, the fabric meshing and the colour choices mean this years Echo Plus is a much friendlier looking device.

Connecting The Home

Image result for alexa smart home enabled devices

In the first generation of the Echo Plus the biggest selling point was most definitely the ZigBee integration. ZigBee is the smart home interface that connects the speaker to the range of smart home devices that would otherwise be capable of pairing with an Alexa powered device.

So why is the Echo Plus’ Zigbee hub such a big deal??? Well, Zigbee is a protocol that talks to smart home devices – connecting and controlling them. A common language if you like. It means that you don’t need hubs plugged into the back of your router, the speaker is doing all the heavy lifting.

Let’s us the Phillips Hue light as an example, once the bulb is plugged in the ZigBee hub will discover it and you can add it into the Alexa app. No need to download the Hue app or any other dedicated software for each individual smart home device. ZigBee is all you need. Cue shopping for smart switches, cameras, thermostats and bulbs galore. To help you get started creating your smart home I would recommend getting the bundle that comes with a Phillips Hue Bulb.

As Alexa is now the Voice Assistant of choice for most people more and more manufacturers are choosing to just build Alexa functionality as standard. This means that any Echo device in the range will work, not just those with ZigBee.

Sound Quality

Image result for amazon echo plus 2 sound

The main reason someone went for the Echo Plus over the rest of the range was simply down to the improved audio in comparison to the rest of the range. Now to be fair to Amazon all of their devices this year have vastly improved audio so smaller devices like the Dot will probably do a job, but premium is premium for a reason.

The Echo Plus 2nd Gen is an absolute monster, put it like this don’t ask Alexa to go to full volume unless you are fully prepared (trust me on this one).So the Plus kept the omnidirectional Dolby Audio and 0.8-inch tweeter,with a lightly bigger 3″ subwoofer. This means there’s a proper kick to the a bass and the audio is always clean, crisp and generally just very impressive. This was most apparent when listening to podcasts and audiobooks, this new boosted audio made voices seem more clear and natural, almost like they were in the room with you.

If you want top quality audio and you are looking at an Alexa powered device go for this over the standard Echo, the difference in the audio alone is worth the difference in the price.

The Goosed Verdict

Simply put, if you want a proper smart home experience without any headaches, the Echo Plus is exactly what you need to get started. Pretty much all smart home accessories are Alexa enabled, so pick up a couple smart plugs, some smart bulbs and let Alexa take care of the heavy lifting.

(yes the Gif is actually me – created by Morphin)

The Echo Plus 2nd Gen is a beautiful bit of kit that is designed to be a lifestyle product rather than a big speaker, thanks to Amazon’s design overhaul. To be fair it means there is very little to choose between the Echo and Echo Plus so we may see the former vanish over the next few years. That’s not really a problem. With the ZigBee smart home hub, quality speakers and all the new little tricks the Echo Plus has up it’s sleeve, I reckon this has well and truly set the standard for voice assistants going forward.

Personally, I think if you want to get up and running with a smart home, go for the Echo Plus but if size is a consideration and you want something a bit smaller then the Dot will do ya just fine.

Summary:

Pros

  • Great Audio
  • Nice volume buttons
  • Simple setup
  • Temperature sensor
  • Stereo pairing and multi-room features
  • Price vs the competition

Cons

  • Weird looking mute button
  • Could do better with audio depth on mid tones
  • Lighting animations aren’t as visible as the previous model

The final season of Game of Thrones is airing in April 2019

Dean
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0
The final season of Game of Thrones is airing in April 2019

After over a year of speculation, we finally have a definitive date for when the final season of Game of Thrones. HBO have finally confirmed with a teaser trailer titled “#ForTheThrone” that it will begin in April 2019.

“With a 90 minute run time per episode, this is set to be the biggest season yet.”

Since season 7 ended last year, dozens of fan theories have hit the web speculating on who will be sitting on the throne when the final season concludes. Game of Thrones has been arguably one of the greatest series of all time to hit the big screen. With a budget of $15 million per episode and a 90 minute run time per episode, this is set to be the biggest season yet. The previous budget per episode was about $10 million and a run time of about an hour. But with 7 seasons all leading up to this, HBO are putting everything they have into the final season.

“An epic battle which will likely be the climax of the entire series will dwarf the Battle of the Bastards.”

Although we have read dozens of fan theories online, HBO has been very tight-lipped on what to expect. However show runners have said that an epic battle which will likely be the climax of the entire series will dwarf the Battle of the Bastards. We also no that absolutely no one will be safe, so try not to get attached to any characters because they could end up with their heads rolling across a great hall or battle field at any point. And of course there is the uprising of the dreaded White Walkers to be concerned about. To be honest, I wouldn’t be surprised if the Night King was sitting on the throne at this point.

Although seeing Game of Thrones end will be devastating for… well, the entire population of the world, we still have the spin-off series ‘The Long Night’ to look forward to. The spin-off is set to be filmed 8000 years before the events of Game of Thrones and will essentially focus on the origins of the White Walkers. However it’s not set to start filming until 2019 or 2020.

But until then we have season 7 of Game of Thrones to look forward to and we only have five an a half months to wait. Have a look at the trailer and let us know who you think will be sitting on the throne the. it all ends.

 

Huawei Mate 20 Pro: Reviewing My New Daily Rider

Marty
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0
Huawei Mate 20 Pro: Reviewing My New Daily Rider

It’s been a month since I went along to Huawei’s briefing event in London to check out the Mate 20 Pro. A short while after I got my hands on the phone and I’ve been using it ever since. Around the same time, I got the Google Pixel 3XL, so it made sense to me to compare the two. However, this is not that comparison. Instead, this is what I think of Huawei’s latest smartphone; the Mate 20 Pro.

Design of the Mate 20 Pro

Jesus Marty. You’re not going to buy us dinner first? Straight in with the design! It’s been a very long time since I’ve felt a smartphone which feels as premium as the Mate 20 Pro. Wait, actually I tell a lie. I’ve never felt a smartphone feel this premium because it reminds me of the Nokia E63. It’s a solid block of aluminium and, as mad as it might sound, you can literally feel that every millimetre of space within the phone’s casing had been jam packed with tech and innovation.

huawei mate 20 pro NYC

The Mate 20 Pro’s screen flows over the edge of the handset and, thanks to some clever innovations, you’re given a ridiculous amount of screen. These innovations include an in-screen fingerprint sensor, which allows the phone to run right to the end. Typically, you also have a notch, containing Huawei’s AI-powered facial recognition – recognition which can spot it’s me trying to access my phone, even if wearing glasses and a hat!

this is the sexist looking handset on the market right now

To look at, the Mate 20 Pro brings together the best from Samsung’s world and Apple’s world, while remaining typically Huawei at the core. All in all, this is the sexist looking handset on the market right now so don’t worry about your notches.

Making the Mate 20 Pro Incredible

Ok, so the design of the Mate 20 Pro is especially noteworthy, but what makes this so much better than other phones on the market right now? Some call it x-factor, others refer to va va voom while I’d argue its what make Austin Powers’ mojo so valuable. Whatever it is, the Mate 20 Pro has in buckets.

I’m not sure there’s a single feature that makes me giddy with excitement. Instead, Huawei seems to have rounded every corner of every feature to transpose one of the best phones on paper into reality.

4200 mAh of Power

Until now, two-day phones have been a myth. I’ve managed to make the Mate 20 Pro survive for over 38 hours in one run. Is that truly two full days? No, but when I remember that I’m quite a heavy user with wireless headphones and a wearable constantly connected, I can only assume the 4200 mAh battery, combined with AI-assisted power management and the latest Kirin 980 processor, means the Mate 20 Pro could hit a full two days for many.

And then things get a little bit wild.

Charging Innovations

Huawei developed the Mate 20 Pro to utilise wireless charging; hardly too innovative there. Then they went further. Safe in the knowledge that Mate 20 Pro users will have oodles of excess battery power when they’re out and about, Huawei also built in Reverse Wireless charging. Once activated, you simply place a phone on the back of the Mate 20 Pro that supports wireless charging and it’ll be able to piggyback on that 4200 mAh battery.

Huawei, you are audacious.

Finally, Huawei lobbed a Supercharger in the box too. That’s a 45-watt charger that, when plugged in, you can literally see the power filling up the Mate. Remember, when Apple ships their latest range of smartphones to you, high-wattage fast chargers are an optional extra.

Unlocking Potential

I think the first thing most tech nerds want to do when they get a phone like the Mate 20 Pro is to play with the techiest feature its got. For the Mate 20 Pro, that’s just got to be the in-screen fingerprint sensor. While the sensor is a little bit on the small side, I’ve had no trouble using it at all. My first reaction to seeing the Mate 20 Pro adopt both AI-powered facial recognition and in-screen biometrics was “this is total overkill”. However, since using this phone for a while, I do see the benefits of both unlock methods.

Usually, when I pick the phone up, it’s already unlocked by the time my finger makes it to the sensor location. Some of the apps I use most regularly, notably LastPass, doesn’t recognise the face unlock built into the Mate 20 Pro, so I genuinely need both biometric options.

While on the topic of LastPass; this is something I’ll be writing a review and guide on very soon. I don’t know many of my passwords anymore. Seriously, I’ve no idea what my Facebook password is or what I should be using to log into Twitter. LastPass manages all of those for me, which is more secure. The really cool thing is that Huawei actually built in a password manager into the Mate 20 Pro.

So please do consider starting to do this. Leaks, hacks and misuse of data has become more common. Protect yourself.

A Camera of Epic Proportions

Huawei’s P20 Pro blew the camera smartphone market apart. Samsung launched the Galaxy S9, leaning heavily on their camera, completely unaware that Huawei was barreling towards them from the shadows with the best smartphone camera on the market. The Chinese phone maker didn’t just claim this and hoped it stuck though. The P20 Pro still sits atop the DxOMark scoreboard with a rating of 109, five points ahead of the Apple iPhone XS Max.

Unfortunately, the Mate 20 Pro has yet to receive its DxOMark score, but I just can’t see it not surpassing the P20 Pro. As impressive as that camera is, the Mate 20 Pro is just stunning.

The unique four-quadrant triple lens array on the back contains a 40MP wide angle lens, a 20MP ultrawide-angle lens and an 8MP telephoto lens with five-time optical zoom. Remember when the world lost its collective mind for the Nokia Lumia 1020 with a 41MP camera? This thing replaces that as king of the bonkers.

What blew me away was how dramtic the ultrawide angle lens really is. At the press briefing, it just didn’t come to life for me. However, taking it out onto the streets of New York City changed my opinion on that:

I’m not looking forward to leaving #NYC. When I was younger, I fawned over the States. Couple of months J1ing on the West Coast and seeing the political sitch here coloured what I thought of the place. After spending the week here, safe to say I’ve fallen in love with the #BigApple – even a few drops of rain couldn’t take away from this city. In fact, they made have led to my shot of the trip. The place was so chill throughout that shocking bomb scenario too. I’ve heard people mention the NYC calm, but witnessing it first hand is something else. Still a few things to do on my to do list, so I’ll have to come back for sure. ….. Shot on the @huaweimobileie #mate20pro Also thanks to @anker_official for a cracking night at #ankeronboard And of course, to @neuberlaura for putting up with me all week. My fellow foodie bandit.

A post shared by Martin Meany (@peameany) on Oct 27, 2018 at 9:26pm PDT

On top of the ultrawide angle lens, the Mate 20 Pro has moved on from the AI-assisted photo and video capturing, leveraging every last drop of the Kirin 980 chip to help you take smarter shots.

the Mate 20 Pro just leaves me reeling

I really don’t want to get into a comparison war here, but the Google Pixel 2 was considered one of the best smartphone cameras by top tech reviewers; unfortunately, I never got my hands on it. I did, however, have the Pixel 3XL in New York and here’s how they compared:

Fair enough, the Google Pixel 3XL is working off of one camera lens and lots of software, but Huawei combines hardware and AI to deliver obviously better video. Don’t get me wrong, the Pixel 3XL is damn impressive, but the Mate 20 Pro just leaves me reeling; literally. See what I did there.

A Few Annoyances

When you go all in and switch over to a phone as your daily rider, it’s impossible to not pick up on some minor annoyances. The Mate 20 Pro, for all its glory and practical perfection, does drop the ball in one or two areas.

Why No Expansion?

I’m getting a little bit greedy here as it’s not that long ago that standard iPhone memory capacity was 16GB with no hope of expanding. The Mate 20 Pro comes with 128GB memory build in. That’s grand, plenty in fact. However, I find it a bit odd that there’s no option for memory expansion.

Now, did I run out of space yet? No, but this thing takes such great photos and video that I shoot more. It’s going to fall victim to its own greatness and fill up quicker than most phones would.

Perhaps Huawei, in an effort to cram in all this innovation and quality did have to make some compromises after all…

Not Quite So Sound

Well rounded and as incredible as the Huawei Mate 20 Pro might be, there’s one element I just wasn’t a fan of. The speaker.

Huawei opted to squeeze the speaker into the charge port of the Mate 20 Pro. As I mentioned earlier, you can feel how solid the phone is and as a result also get a fair idea just how crammed with tech this phone really is. As a result, I feel Huawei may have had a gathered around the design table at some stage to admit defeat and accept a compromise on the speaker in return for a fuller screen.

On a personal level, this doesn’t bother me too much. I listen to RTÉ in the mornings while showering and I’m afraid with the Mate 20 Pro I’m going to have to look at a speaker or something. But if you’re hoping to have a phone you can drop in the corner and have it blaze ambient tunes throughout the room, and for you this is a massive feature, you’re better off looking at something like the Google Pixel 3XL. I can’t, however, imagine many people but that much weight in speakers.

Huawei Mate 20 Pro: The Verdict

This is the phone of 2018. Did I say that about the P20 Pro too? I can’t remember – if I did, I’ll have to take it back. While Huawei is going for a dual-flagship approach and they don’t want the P20 Pro and Mate 20 Pro competing with each other, I’m not sure, with money aside, why you wouldn’t pick the Mate 20 Pro. It’s the Ferrari of smartphones. Luxury design and incredible functionality combined to deliver almost, oh so very close it was, perfection.

Do I feel disappointed in how close Huawei came to perfection? Not really. The Mate 20 Pro might actually be perfect. I’m just not sure I’m ready to accept we’ve reached that point just yet.

Bonus: It’s Pronounced Wah Way

Everyone, come on in. Gather around. We’ve got to cover this. I’ve been waiting for this for years. Samsung and Apple started to bore the hole off me, all the while I could see Chinese brands doing mad things, mad things we were allowed join in with. But now they’re here.

Xiaomi recently launched their range in Ireland and that night I learned it’s pronounced “shower me” without the “r” in shower. So it’s kinda like shau me…get it?

Well, for everyone who’s been around these phones for a while, you’ll have heard a range of pronounciations for Huawei too. Even as you read that there, you may have struggled a bit right? Believe it or not, we’re off to a fellow Kilkenny man to learn how to pronounce a bit of Chinese. What a time to be alive – take it away Senan…

Yep, it’s pronounced wah way. Simples.

Buy the Huawei Mate 20 Pro

In years gone by, I’m not sure the likes of the Huawei Mate 20 Pro would have reached our shores. This year has seen Huawei launched category best smartphones along with Xiaomi and Google officially entering the market too. It’s an exciting time to be shopping for smartphones so whether your contract is up or not, here’s how to pick yourself up a Huawei Mate 20 Pro:

Harvey Norman

Get the Huawei Mate 20 Pro from Harvey Norman stores for €1049, on sale 16 November. It’s worth noting that this is not only SIM-free but also a dual-SIM smartphone.

Three Ireland

The Mate 20 Pro is now on sale with Three Ireland, online and in-store. The phone starts at €389 up-front and €60 per month.

Vodafone Ireland

You can also pick up the Mate 20 Pro for €199 up-front on Vodafone’s €80 per month plan, of for €399 up-front on €60 per month.

Extra Bonus

Here’s what you get inside the box of the Huawei Mate 20 Pro:

Samsung Galaxy X: Samsung Foldable Phone Revealed

Marty
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0
Samsung Galaxy X: Samsung Foldable Phone Revealed

Next year, Samsung will reveal the much-anticipated Galaxy X; a handset to celebrate the South Korean company’s tenth year making Galaxy phones. Today, at a developer conference in San Francisco, Samsung revealed a first look at some of the tech we can look forward to. It looks like they’ll finally be going all out and introducing a foldable screen for the Samsung Galaxy X.

The Recent Frustration of Samsung

I’m going to be painfully honest. Samsung hasn’t impressed me since they announced the Note 7. This is where many would launch into jokes about the unfortunate end of that phone but I won’t because I was devasted to never own it. I did, however, get to own a Note 8 and that was a great phone, taking the brilliance of the Note 7 and adding a few other bits and bobs.

Since then, Samsung has been an incredibly frustrating company to follow. The S9 and S9 Plus were lacklustre smartphones in the series. That statement comes even before you compare them to the likes of Google’s Pixel 3XL and the simply incredible Huawei P20 Pro which saw the Chinese manufacturer release the best smartphone camera on the market just as Samsung’s marketing campaign heavily leaned on their own camera.

When Apple launched their tenth-anniversary smartphone, the iPhone X, last year, they did introduce notches which became quite popular, but the phone didn’t shake up the market like they’d hoped. In fact, I think the iPhone X may have been one of Apple’s quickest phones to reach “end of life” status.

While Apple’s attempt to celebrate ten years was “meh” and frankly Samsung’s phones so far this year bring me to make the same unimpressed sound, 2019 could see a genuinely exciting Galaxy smartphone enter the market.

Samsung Reveals a Foldable Screen in a Smartphone

There are a few things that have been doing the rounds in the smartphone world for the last years. In-screen fingerprint sensors were one such thing, with Huawei, One Plus and Oppo introducing smartphones this year with that tech built in. Another futuristic trend we’ve all been waiting patiently for is a folding smartphone, a trend Samsung looks destined to deliver in the Galaxy X.

I can’t be too surprised we’ve finally reached this point in smartphone tech though. At IFA in Berlin this year I saw a folding screen technology up close thanks to Royole:

Samsung is taking this a step further and rather than just being a display, the Galaxy X flagship could be a foldable phone. Here’s what an early prototype looks like:

Rumoured Foldable Galaxy X Specifications

So what will the specs look like if this foldable smartphone is, in fact, the Galaxy X?

Some screen stats were released at the event which shows the form of the Galaxy X along with some screen spec. Fully opened, the phone will have a 7.3-inch screen with reasonably wide bezels by modern standards. To be fair, that’s expected given this is both an early prototype and the first foldable screened smartphone on the market.

When closed, the phone has a secondary screen but this isn’t just a display. Closed, the 4.58-inch screen reminds me of one of the old Nokia phones; you know, this one – the Nokia 7380:

Joking aside though, Samsung is trying something genuinely brave if this phone hits the shelves in 2019. Do I really thing this will be the Samsung Galaxy X? No. This is going to be the super expensive jewel in the crown of Samsung that celebrates ten years of smartphones, but I don’t think this is the flagship they expect everyone to buy. An underwhelming screen when closed and a huge, but very cool, screen when open, maketh a fantastic flagship not. But it does make a very cool smartphone – one I personally can’t wait to play with.

 

 

Facebook Messenger: 10 minutes to unsend a message

Dean
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Facebook Messenger: 10 minutes to unsend a message

We’ve all been there. Whether its to an ex, someone you’re seeing, or someone you don’t like. We’ve all sent messages that we instantly regret or after a few minutes of thinking about, wish we could take it back. Well Facebook messenger is now going to allow you 10 minutes to unsend a message.

“If you accidentally send the wrong photo, incorrect information or wrong message to the wrong thread, you can easily correct it by removing the message within 10 minutes of sending it” – official Facebook Statement.

you can easily [remove] the message within 10 minutes of sending it

So basically if you end up sending your nudes to the wrong person, and hopefully the recipient hasn’t seen it yet, you can take it back. Facebook already released this feature on their other messaging application, WhatsApp. However, you have 1 hour to unsound messages on it. Users currently have the option to delete their own inbox and have secret conversations for privacy, but this update will be more useful when sending something you didn’t want to.

Facebook announced the upcoming feature in the “coming soon” section of its latest rundown detailing what’s new in the version 191.0 release of Facebook Messenger on the App Store.

Facebook are rumoured to also release a dark mode and re-skinned interface that cuts down on the glare from phones in the near future. A lot of phones have dark mode as an option on their phones which gives the screen a yellow tinge and is easier to look at. However this will give the option to users with phones that don’t have dark more. Now if only they could get to work on a drunk texting feature…we would all be very happy.

UberEats to launch in Ireland this Thursday and here’s a promo code for it

Dean
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0
UberEats to launch in Ireland this Thursday and here’s a promo code for it

That’s it now time to bust out the biggest, loosest pair of tracksuit bottoms you have because UberEats is coming to Ireland! Thousands of people have already downloaded the brand new app as Uber readies itself to launch it’s new food delivery service in Limerick, Cork, Galway and Dublin this Thursday.

Image result for uber eats

What’s an UberEats?

Well if you have ever ordered food from JustEat, Deliveroo or Bamboo then you kind of already know the score. UberEats is a food delivery service launched by tech giant Uber in 2009. Since then the brand has launched in 785 cities worldwide and four more will be added to that list this coming Thursday November 8th. Ireland being one of them of course!

Not only will UberEats offer a new delivery platform for food lovers across the country, but it will also create thousands of jobs. UberEats allows people to sign up for their application and allow them to make money by collecting food from restaurants and delivering it to consumers. Delivery partners will then take a percentage of the food order, but also pay a service fee to Uber for use of the application. And the great thing is you can go online and offline whenever you want and accept whatever delivery job you want. The service has been particularly popular with students in the US and UK.

How to Sign up

You can sign up for the food delivery service here.

1.    Download the free app or go to ubereats.com to see all the restaurants available in your area. You can sign in using your existing Uber account or create a new one.

2.    Tell us your location – you can select your home, office or any other address.

3.    Find the perfect meal – browse local restaurants or search by cuisine type or dietary requirements to find exactly what your taste buds are asking for.

4.    Place your order – pick the items you want right now or schedule your order to the arrive whenever is most convenient for you.

5.    Track the progress of the delivery – get updates as your order is prepared and delivered to your destination. Enjoy

You will also be able to use the app everyday from 8am to midnight so no fears if you are a morning muncher or a late night nibbler.

Want a Free Tenner to give it a go? Ya we thought so!

Get a €10 off your first order by following the steps below:

Download the free app or go to ubereats.com to see all the restaurants available in your area. You can sign in using your existing Uber account or create a new one.

Select promotions and enter this code: EATSIRELAND

And then you will see the €10 credit in your account. Don’t say Goosed doesn’t have your back! Oh, and if you’re the type that Insta’s your dinners we wanna see what you got with your free Tenner, tag us in your story.

Anker Accessories: One of the Biggest Companies You’ve Never Heard Of

Marty
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0
Anker Accessories: One of the Biggest Companies You’ve Never Heard Of

Anker is a huge company, yet there’s a fair chance you haven’t heard of them. In fairness, they primarily focus on the American and Chinese market, but you can buy them on Amazon.co.uk really easily. I’ve been recommending Anker for years as the best alternative for iPhone cables which have a tendency to break…all the time. That’s why I was really excited to go to their first Anker On Board event recently in New York City and see what latest gadgets Anker will be offering on Amazon in the coming months.

Who is Anker?

For years, Irish consumers have been rather limited when it came to tech shopping. You could have any smartphone, once it was Apple or Samsung and when the cable breaks, you can either buy cheap dangerous cheap knockoffs or expensive official replacements made by the manufacturer. Over the past twelve months, the Irish market has been shaken up as tech shoppers like me and you now have more choice, whether it be from the likes of Huawei or Xiaomi.

I’m really hoping that Anker officially joins the market in the near future too, but even though you have to order them from Amazon.co.uk, I can’t recommend this company and their accessories enough.

Founded in 2011, the Chinese company made a name for itself and one of the world’s best power bank manufacturers. I’ll agree that isn’t the sexiest area in tech to specialise in, but in the seven years since, Anker as spawned some incredible tech including some very exciting sub-brands, namely:

  • Anker
  • Eufy
  • Nebula
  • Soundcore
  • Zolo
  • Roav

I’ll go through some more of these in a bit as I list off the cool products I got to play with at Anker On Board, hosted by Anker in New York’s Meatpacking District.

Anker: Power

My one fear of attending an Anker event was that they’d show off a few chargers and that would be it. Ironically, not only did they show off loads of incredible tech, but they also showed off some charging innovations which blew me away; innovations which were arguably the highlight of the night.

There are over 4 billion chargers shipped every year, with 95% of them bundled with a new device. We all know that we need to make some changes to how we behave to protect the planet, and Anker believes they can make a massive contribution. Speaking at Anker’s launch event, Steven Yang, CEO of Anker, predicted a BYOC future where you Bring Your Own Charger. In this world, Yang wants Anker to rule the roost and as such, they’ve created a suite of massively impressive phone chargers.

 

The Atom PowerPort range of chargers combines USB Power Delivery technology with Gallium Nitrate in a departure from traditional silicon-based chargers. As a result, Anker’s Atom chargers can charge both smartphones and MacBooks, with several of the range boasting enough ports to charge many devices at once. Thanks to the tech deployed by Anker, the Atom PowerPort range of chargers are not only capable of charging several devices, but can also charge them up to 2.5 times faster. That’s despite the Atom PowerPort PD 1 being 40% smaller than the average MacBook charger.

this outlined Anker’s ambition and got me really excited about what they are capable of

The long story short here is that on a night with smart cameras, home projectors and Google Assistant-powered speakers, I was most excited by the Atom charging range. Not only because of the tech being able to power my smartphone and MacBook but also because this outlined Anker’s ambition and got me really excited about what they are capable of.

Pricing to be confirmed later.

Soundcore: Model Zero+

Charging gadgets aside, Anker’s OnBoard event got one with what I would usually consider the more exciting tech announcements. The Model Zero+ is a slightly handbag-esque speaker, but while the insides of handbags remain a mystery to me, this speaker I can shine some light on.

The Model Zero+ combines the two most popular audio connectivity options on the market; Bluetooth and WiFi, meaning you can connect either way from a range of devices.

This speaker packs in a range of features, including a five-hour battery and Google Assistant, but most importantly, the sound quality from the Model Zero+ is fantastic.

Pricing to be confirmed later.

Eufy: A Modern Take on Home Security

Would you believe that even before I started a life selling phones which led to me starting Goosed.ie, I was a door-to-door monitored alarm salesman. They were dark days, but I did learn there were a lot of people in Ireland who were willing to buy expensive systems, pay ongoing fees and have complicated systems installed, all in the search of peace of mind.

Back in April, 2018, Anker launched their home security offering under their Eufy brand. They went through Kickstarter, not to drum up cash, but to drum up excitement and boy did they achieve that. Their campaign is still the most funded smart home product in Kickstarter history. Here’s why people love it so much.

The team behind the Eufy camera system did some research into what people hate most about existing home security; the costs and the complications. Then they built their Eufy camera system to avoid all of that. The Eufy system is completely wireless, powered by a battery which will last for a year. The camera is fixed to the wall with a strong magnet, which also means you can easily point the camera and move it around as required.

You also get some smarts built into the cameras as they learn the faces of regular visitors to your house, only identifying unknown faces as intruders. There’s also storage space built into each camera which stores footage locally, footage which you can view from anywhere in the world, all of which comes with no additional cost.

There’s also no monthly fee and the upfront installation costs are fair. In the States, you’re looking at about $500 for the kit to get you started. I remember most people didn’t like the idea of monitored house alarms because they didn’t trust monitoring companies to actually keep an eye on things, so with the Eufy security system you can just look after things yourself.

Pricing to be confirmed later.

Nebula Capsule II: Exciting Home Entertainment

Do you remember a few years ago when MTV started showing Cribs? All I wanted in my gaff was a projector. Last year I picked up a €100 projector from Amazon and recently plugged a Now TV stick into it to get Sky Movies, Sky Sports and Netflix at the flick of a switch. The projector itself can be quite loud so I need to use an external speaker, but the moral of this store is really to show you buying a projector is no longer reserved for the rich and famous.

Nebula is another Anker company out to make sure that message hits home with people. The Nebula Capsule II has just launched on Kickstarter and it looks like it might very well raise $1 million despite only targeting $50,000. This projector has actually been designed based on a can of Coke, so right away you can imagine just how small it is. Don’t let the size deceive you because in this small can sized projector, you get a three-hour battery and Android TV. This all contributes to a projector capable of delivering 720p video quality and a screen size of up to 100-inches big. The expected price for this in the States will be $500.

Now, I’ve told you about the €100 projector, so why pay five times that? Well, the Nebula Capsule II is at least five times better than the projector I have. For example, the Nebula Capsule II runs almost silently – I had to put my ear right up against to ear any sort of fan noise. When I saw the Capsule II working, it wasn’t in complete darkness, something required for my own projector, but still, the picture quality was really impressive and clear.

Nebula has also teamed up with Google to include Android TV. This means you can watch videos from Netflix and YouTube and thousands of other apps straight away on the Capsule II, right out of the box. I’m not sure if this means you’ll also get RTÉ Player on the projector, but I hope to test that out in the near future. With Google on board, you also get Google Assistant so you press a button on the remote and simply ask for what you want to watch. I’m been impressed with how my Google Home connects to Chromecast and expect similar integration here so this is definitely a feature I’d be looking forward to playing with some more.

Pricing to be confirmed later.

When Can You Buy All This Stuff?

We’re still waiting for UK launch dates for Anker’s range, but as soon as they launch in the UK you’ll be able to grab them on Amazon and ship them to Ireland direct or using Parcel Motel. Keep an eye on Goosed’s social accounts as we’ll be watching out for these launches ourselves. In the meantime, check out Anker’s existing range on Amazon safe in the knowledge they are a top class brand. I’ll also be testing out a few other bits and pieces from Anker and their sub-brands over the next few months, so do follow Goosed on Twitter and Instagram along with Facebook if you’re still into that kind of thing.

Build your own smartphone with new Kickstarter – Kite

Jon
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Build your own smartphone with new Kickstarter – Kite

Think about this… on your smartphone is there a bunch of features you basically never use. Whether that’s the camera or the headphone jack, wouldn’t it be cool to have the ability to create a custom phone with just the features you wanted? If the answer is yes then a simple DIY kit such as iSquare Mobility’s Kite could lets you assemble your own Android-based smartphone.

Build your own smartphone

Ok, so Kite is basically a cross over between Lego and Ikea for phones. The kit lets you build your own phone by selecting all the bits and pieces such as camera, battery, display and all the other usual features and then assemble them all in a 3D printed case.

Sure you will find hundreds of phones with better spec sheets that are much better looking than a Kite, but there is something nerdgasmic about building your own smartphone. Imagine whipping that bad boy out in a bar.

Here’s the kicker, you will need about €300 and some level of tech know-how to actually complete your own build. This is because when building your own phone you will need to connect up a bunch of electronics, you won’t need a soldering iron unless you want to add extras but still electronics can be fiddly. Another aspect that wouldn’t make the Kite phone accesible to all is this – you need to 3D print your own case. You can download the designs and work away but I think it says enough about the target market that the makers presume the people who will buy the kit will already own a 3D printer.

OS Android 7.1.1
Model V2
Processor Qualcomm Snapdragon 625
Adreno 306 GPU
Display 5″ QHD  (1280×720)
Cameras Rear: 12MP
Front: 8MP
Memory unknown
Battery 3000mAh
Network Connectivity UMTS/HSPA+: 1, 2, 4, 5 6, 8
GSM: 850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz
CDMA EV-DO Rev. A: 0, 1, 10
FDD-LTE: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 11, 12, 13, 17, 20, 21, 25, 26, 28, 29, 30, 66
TDD-LTE: 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43
TD-SCDMA: 34, 39
Other Connectivity WiFi 802.11a/b/h/n/ac
Bluetooth 5.0
GPS
Ports USB Type-C, Power Pins, Nano SIM

Customise as you want

If you are a bit of a gadget head and reckon the challenge of building your own phone is something you would be up for then you’re in luck. Every aspect of the Kite phone is customisable. Want your phone to run off AA batteries? Fine, modify the case design to suit. Want better wireless performance? Hook up and external antenna and off you go. If you want to go completely mad you can even hook up a secondary display because why not. These are just the mods we can see from the demo videos – personally I would love the Goosed team to get hold of a couple of kits, just to see what we can come up with.

Thanks to the open hardware and software designs and support for off-the-shelf hardware components, you could theoretically alter just about any feature… assuming you’re willing to take the time to find compatible components and hack your phone to support them.

What’s the big push for a modular phone about?

So why do modular phones keep popping up? is it because they sound like something we should have? are they nifty little ideas for investors?  or is it the fact that with electronic waste growing we need something different? Most likely it is a nice niche where the general consumer could save a fortune by not having to fork out for a new handset each year.

Basically the idea is that upgrading your phone can be like upgrading your home Pc. Rather than forking out hundreds on a new device, just buy exactly what you need to bring your phone up to date. A new battery,  better camera or a new display, if you want it you can have it.

The modular phone sounds like something you or I or any other customer would want to have, right?. Well time and time again we have seen the humble idea fall flat on its face like a toddler trying to make it’s first steps.

We ourselves loved the concept of Google’s Project Ara and it is still the most high profile failure of them all. The Lego inspired phone started out with the idea that all components both internal and external could be swapped. Yet later this transitioned to focusing on external, attachable accessories. This was the beginning of the end as less the a year later the Google Pixel was released and the Ara was shutdown.

Others have tried to make the modular phone

Image result for project ara

This isn’t the first time I’ve got a little excited by a modular phone, it’s also not the only time I’ve been let down by a modular phone. Project Ara or Phoneblox, another modular phone start up that was picked up by Google offered so much promise for a long time. We had a lot of hope for the Google backed phone but unfortunately it got scrapped.

LG also had a crack with a semi modular phone, using a slot that could accept a single module add on at a time… again this was given the boot when the G6 was announced.

There was also the Essential PH-1 (another fail) while the most successful “modular” phone was the Motorola Moto Z but this only supported one of Motorola’s own mod accessories at a time. So the general train of thought is, many have tried, all have failed and while I think the Kite is a cool product they have nailed themselves into a small niche market. Without changes to the design that makes customisation and accessibility easier to all, Kite will fail too. That’s unfortunate because for the longest time I’ve wanted to see a successful modular phone just for the environmental benefits alone.

The Goosed Verdict

To be fair if you have the skillset, patience and a complete lack of style then Kite is a winner. The Kite smartphone is actually one of the most complete solutions I have seen to date and it’s a real cut above many of the other DIY kits. Having said that the problems are obvious. You will need a decent level of technical know-how to make a phone that while customisable, is downright ugly and far less powerful than most phones on the market.

Maybe I’m wrong, if Raspberry Pi is anything to go by there is a market for low-power, highly customisable hardware. Unfortunately the Kite might be just too niche right now.

Xiaomi Launches in Ireland With Three Phones and Eco Accessory Range

Marty
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Xiaomi Launches in Ireland With Three Phones and Eco Accessory Range

When I think back to the mobile landscape when I worked in a phone shop a few years back, boy has it changed. After years of waiting and hoping, Xiaomi has entered the Irish market at an exciting Dublin launch event co-hosted by Three Ireland. I went along to take a look at what was on offer. Spoiler alert, Xiaomi has some pretty cool stuff.

How to Pronounce Xiaomi

Right. Let’s kick things off with how to pronounce a word that starts with “x” because that’s not going to go down to well in Ireland, right? Director of Marketing, Wilkin Lee nailed teaching the crowd how to say Xiaomi:

The Xiaomi Smartphone Range in Ireland

Xiaomi is a simply massive company. Behind Samsung, Apple and Huawei, they are the fourth biggest smartphone manufacturer in the world. Xiaomi is also a unique company in how they value their customers:

Xiaomi Redmi 6

Dual cameras are fast becoming the standard on flagship smartphones. Apple adopts this setup for their uber-flagship phones with Huawei going one step further and slapping triple lenses into the P20 Pro and Mate 20 Pro. While all of these phones are brilliant and the nonchalant use of lenses means you get great shots, you’re left with very little cash in your pocket. The Xiaomi Redmi 6 is going for just €149.99 but even at that price, you get a dual camera setup. I need to do a little more digging, but from the phones I’ve seen so far, that’s the cheapest dual camera smartphone money can buy.

xiaomi redmi 6

That’s not the only impressive spec Xiaomi pack into the Redmi 6, with the octa-core processor also sticking out to me as being mind-blowing for this price range.

Xiaomi Redmi Note 5

One of the bigger Xiaomi handsets, the Redmi Note 5 is clearly on the way to being a flagship smartphone without the flagship price. Despite costing just €199.99, the Redmi Note 5 is powered by a massive 4000 mAh battery. With all that power you can take even more great shots for longer thanks to the primary dual camera setup. Also, expect stunning selfies as the front-facing camera on the Redmi Note 5 is a ridiculous 20MP.

Xiaomi Mi Mix 2s

The Xiaomi Mi Mix 2s is genuinely silly impressive when it comes to the spec it packs in and the receptions its already been getting. The phone is made from ceramic, not aluminium which has become the new norm. Ceramic can apparently improve the phone’s coverage while still remaining quite tough. Sorry, I wasn’t allowed do a drop test.

The Xiaomi Mi Mix 2s is genuinely silly impressive

The design of the Mi Mix 2s had literally lead to it being installed in galleries like The International Design Museum in Munich. But physical design aside, this is a really clever phone from Xiaomi.

xiaomi mi mix 2s

The front-facing camera is in a bizarre position as it sits on the bottom right side of the phone, not the more traditional spot on the top. This means you get a beautiful, unhampered view at the top of the phone without any notches – just in case that’s not your thing. Xiaomi has even adopted an ultrasound-based proximity sensor. This is how a phone knows it’s beside your ear when making a call and in turn, switches off the touchscreen. By adopting ultrasound technology, Xiaomi was able to reduce the wasted space at the top of the phone.

You might be thinking that selfie camera is positioned terribly then, ready to capture all those extra chins you don’t need the world seeing. Well, this is how clever Xiaomi is. The idea here is that you simply spin the phone upside down to take the selfie and then it’s just like any other phone.

You can pick up the Mi Mix 2s for €459.99 on prepay or €79 on Three’s €45 per month plan.

It really is a design masterclass from Xiaomi, but they’re not happy with JUST smartphones.

Xiaomi Eco Range

The Xiaomi Eco range is rather impressive in its diversity. Adding to their portfolio of impressive smartphones, Xiaomi has a range of products in audio, fitness and even transport. Yup, one of the things that really stood out at the Xiaomi Ireland launch was the massive electric scooter track, which naturally came with a scooter for people to try out.

The Xiaomi M365 Scooter

My Santa was really easy in 2018. All I wanted was the Xiaomi M365 scooter – and I got it! Walking to the office every morning, it’s clear how popular these things have become. Electric scooters are a fantastic way to cut some time off your morning walk to work or, for some, an electric scooter might mean no sitting in traffic or waiting for a bus to stop.

The Xiaomi M365 is a foldable scooter, which means it will also appeal to those who get a bus to near work but still have a wee walk on the final leg of the journey. Despite its convenience, the M365 can still manage to get you flying along up to 25 kmph for a range of 29.9km. There are various power settings that can lead to these figures varying, but that’s plenty for most people. Some have shown concern about the legality of these scooters, but I’ve been in touch with the Gardai myself and can confirm they are road legal, the same as a bicycle.

You can buy this scooter from select Three stores around the country for €449.

Learn more about what’s on offer from Three Ireland.

Apple and Samsung Fined for Practice of Planned Obsolescence

Jon
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0
Apple and Samsung Fined for Practice of Planned Obsolescence

The worst kept secret in the tech world is finally out, Apple and Samsung intentionally slow their phones down over time to entice you to buy their latest model. Shock, Horror, Gasp!!!

Well Apple and Samsung have been fined €10m and €5m respectively by an Italian court for what’s called “planned obsolescence’. AKA building phones with the intention of slowing them over time – yano make the phone you spend a fortune on slower over a couple of years so you buy a new one. Not cool.

Really they do that?

Image result for apple and samsung

Yup, so there was an investigation launched back in January by the Special Antitrust Unit of the Guardia di Finanza and the Italian Competition and Market Authority. These parties are responsible for monitoring competition between parties and they found that both companies were running software updates that has a detrimental effect on performance.

Right now this is the first time a ruling has been made either company for these actions even if it had been suspected for a long time. The Italian watchdogs went as far as to claim that ‘Apple and Samsung implemented dishonest commercial practices’ and that certain updates ’caused serious malfunctions and significantly reduced performance, thus accelerating phones’ substitution’.

The watchdog has fined Apple €5 million fine for not giving customers information about their devices’ batteries, like how to get them replaced and expected life span. The other  €5 million fine comes from problems that occurred when iPhone 6 users installed iOS 10. The software designed for the iPhone 7  had greater energy demands which caused the phone to shut down randomly. The company did release a fix in the 10.2.1 update but they failed to let customers know that it would throttle CPUs on older devices with aging batteries in order to prevent the occurrences of these random shutdowns.

Samsung got their €5 million fine when Samsung released Android Marshmallow on the Note 4, which was meant for the Note 7. The firmware was too demanding for the older note and caused malfunctions resulting in customers paying high repair charges for a phone who at that point in time would just be outside of its two year warranty.

History

This shouldn’t come as a shock to anyone, around this time last year Apple actually admitted that it slowed down older phones through software updates. The claim was that they did this to prevent their older phones from shutting down or becoming a hazard due to the degradation of their lithium batteries. After this latest scandal it’s hard to believe this is the case, intentionally planned obsolescence is not done to make your phone last longer no matter what a company wants us to believe. Unfortunately this is sheer greed on behalf of the two biggest phone manufacturers in the world, but it’s not surprising.

Image result for apple battery replacement

Last year after the scandal Apple did apologize and they even made replacement batteries cheaper, they even offered the option to stop the processor slowing down as well as monitoring battery life. Guilty conscience or getting people back on side? I know what I believe anyway.

Going Forward

Samsung have publicly stated that they plan to appeal the decision (Apple are staying quiet this time). In the words of Samsung:

“Samsung did not issue any software update that reduced the Galaxy Note 4’s performance. In contrast, Samsung has always released software updates enabling our customers to have the best experience possible.”

I guess we will have to wait for the appeal to see if Samsung are telling the truth on this one but this first prosecution could just be the start of bigger things to come. In France, organisations are conducting an investigation very similar to the Italian case, while there is a class action lawsuits against both companies in California for the similar issues. Now is not the best time for these kind of suits for either company, over the last couple of months we have seen some cracking phones from Google, Sony and Huawei hit the market and if Apple and Samsung don’t cut the bs then we might see more people jumping ship.

How many fines and court cases will it take to see the back of this planned obsolescence is any one’s guess but damn I would love to see how long my trusty Samsung Galaxy S8 would last without dodgy software.

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