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Black Friday 2020: The Ultimate Guide To Shopping On Amazon.co.uk In Ireland

Marty
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Black Friday 2020: The Ultimate Guide To Shopping On Amazon.co.uk In Ireland

Update: Due to Brexit, from January 1st additional fees for customers and returns on Amazon UK purchases come into place. Also, virtual UK delivery addresses will be impacted by Brexit. Learn more about Brexit and shopping in the UK.

Just a few years ago, ordering from Amazon.co.uk to Ireland was a bit of a pain. Today, there’s still not official Amazon Ireland store online. However, that doesn’t stand in the way of Irish shoppers spending their money on Amazon.co.uk instead. In a survey, we carried out, 34% of respondents said they had made a purchase with the online retailer in the past twelve months. The online shopping giant has renewed focus on Ireland ahead of Brexit and recently opened a permanent Irish delivery centre which now allows you to live to track your packages en-route to your home.

With this in mind and with Black Friday 2020 around the corner I wanted to pull together the ultimate Amazon.co.uk shopping guide for Irish shoppers. This guide will give you some pointers on how to qualify for free delivery, make use of an Amazon Prime free trial, what might happen with Brexit and get items shipped to Ireland which Amazon may say are unavailable for delivery to Ireland.

Amazon Prime

Amazon is a very smart business set up which knows how to squeeze everything from potential customers. Amazon Prime is one of these clever tricks. I say trick, but Amazon Prime really is just a premium and optional service for customers to enjoy. Amazon Prime unlocks a range of exclusive special offers on eligible items and speedier delivery, including unlimited one day delivery on certain items.

Amazon Prime costs just under €90 for the year or €9 per month, but if you’ve never used the service before, there is a free trial.

The Beauty Of An Amazon Prime Trial

I think most of Ireland has probably already used a free Amazon Prime Trial already. So powerful is the free trial to get people shopping, Amazon will, from time to time, offer people who’ve already had their free trial a second bite of the cherry.

The free trial lets you live like a premium Amazon customer for thirty days. That means you get:

  • Free one day delivery on selected items
  • Access to Prime Video, Amazon’s answer to Netflix which has great TV shows like The Boys
  • Free reads on eligible books from the Kindle book store
  • Access to over two million songs on Prime Music, Amazon’s answer to Spotify

Amazon knows that their trial could see you replace a few services and save quite a bit of money, so I always tell people it’s worth giving it a try for 30 days anyway.

With your trial setup, you’re ready to start shopping on Amazon.co.uk; even if you’re in Ireland.

Shopping On Amazon.co.uk While In Ireland

Now that you’re an Amazon Prime member, there are a few more things you need to know before you start shopping.

Amazon Delivery To Ireland

For the vast majority of products, getting Amazon to Ireland delivery isn’t a problem. Getting’s Amazon’s free delivery might prove tricky on some products while other products may not ship to the Republic of Ireland at all. First thing’s first. How to qualify for free delivery to Ireland.

How To Qualify For Free Amazon Delivery To Ireland

While a lot of Amazon’s marketplace sellers will ship to Ireland and ship to Ireland for free, you’ll come across quite a few who’ll either refuse to include shipping to Ireland or free shipping as a delivery option. Often this is because free shipping is an option reserved for UK addresses. That’s where you need to make us of a virtual UK address.

What Is A Virtual UK Address?

Virtual UK addresses are services provided by quite a few delivery companies in Ireland. The two best-known providers are Nightline’s Parcel Motel and An Post’s AddressPal. These services will give you a UK address to use for your shipping and then reroute your package to a collection point.

Parcel Motel by Nightline

My preferred provider of a virtual UK address is Parcel Motel. Parcel Motel has 175 lockers around the country, usually located on a petrol station forecourt. Once you get a notification that Amazon has your items dispatched, they aren’t actually on the way to you. Instead, they are en route to a Nightline depot in Northern Ireland.

Because Northern Ireland is within the UK, your order qualifies for free UK delivery. Nightline then drives your order into the Republic of Ireland and drop it into a locker of your choice.

All of these will cost you just €3.95 per night your package stays in the Parcel Motel. Sure enough, this means you’re not really getting free delivery, but it’s much cheaper than many delivery options to Ireland Amazon sellers offer themselves.

Because of how the system works, Amazon’s next day delivery will always be two days and during peak shipping times like Christmas, it can take longer.

I use Parcel Motel for 80% of my orders, but the option isn’t always available. Some sellers will not ship certain items beyond the Mainland United Kingdom. Often, this comes down to restrictions on Lithium-Ion batteries in gadgets. Straight away, that rules out Northern Ireland and Parcel Motel.

But there’s another option.

AddressPal by An Post

AddressPal is extremely similar to Parcel Motel and it also costs €3.95 per package. The key difference is that instead of lockers, AddressPal will reroute your package from the UK to your local Post Office. For me, the even bigger difference is that AddressPal routes your packages through an address in Manchester.

This is significant if you have added your virtual UK address from Parcel Motel to Amazon.co.uk and it still says delivery is not an option. Pop in your AddressPal virtual UK address and you should once again be able to avail of free UK delivery to Ireland for just €3.95.

It’s worth noting, of course, you won’t have 24/7 pickup options with AddressPal. Instead, you’ll have to visit the post office during opening hours and pay when you’re in there.

Parcel Wizard by DPD

Parcel Wizard, is like the two other services. The big difference is that you can get items delivered through a virtual UK address but then routed to your real address for no extra cost. The service costs €3.85. Because of Covid-19, I’m working from home. I’ve found this service is great because I can get items delivered to my front door. 

Get The Best Price On Amazon.co.uk When Shopping In Ireland

Pardon the pun, but now you’re in a prime position to start shopping on Amazon.co.uk while living in Ireland. There are still some tricks left in my arsenal that will save you some more of your hard-earned money.

Shop In Local Currency With Revolut

A little later, I’ll be looking at Brexit and the impact this might have on Irish shoppers seeking a bargain over on Amazon.co.uk. Right now, Brexit is having the impact of “good lord why aren’t you already shopping on Amazon UK?”.

The arse has effectively fallen out of the Pound which means now is the time to shop on Amazon.co.uk. pound weak against the euro

When you shop on Amazon UK, by default you’ll be paying with Amazon’s own conversion rates.

Let’s look at an example. The brand new Samsung Tab S6 WiFi 128GB.

To buy this version of the Samsung Tab S6 from Samsung Ireland online, would set me back €719. After doing some digging, I can see Amazon.co.uk is the cheapest place to buy.

When I click through and go to Amazon, I can see it’s still showing prices in Pound Sterling and it’s £619. If I continue to check out using my regular Irish card, I’ll pay using Amazon’s own currency converter. The result is me paying €711.83 for the Samsung Tab S6.

If I swap over to Revolut, I can use live exchange rates and pay the Sterling amount from my Euro balance. Suddenly, I’m paying £619 with Euro at a live exchange rate of £1 = €1.10 and the Samsung Tab S6 now costs me just €681.12. That’s a saving of almost €30 by just using a smarter payment method in Revolut.

Using Revolut, not only are you saving money, but you’re also protecting your card details for your primary bank. Sign up to Revolut now and I can almost guarantee you won’t regret it. Last year, I used it constantly in New York where I didn’t once worry about foreign exchange or carrying cash because I always had access to the best rates for Dollars on my card thanks to Revolut. It’ll be the same for me in South Korea later this year.

Brexit And The Future Of Shopping On Amazon UK From Ireland

That’s it for the ultimate guide to shopping on Amazon UK from Ireland, or at least that’s all for what I know right now. Brexit has brought some great short-term opportunities to bag a bargain with the UK e-commerce giant. Longterm, Brexit brings massive problems, especially if there’s a no-deal Brexit.

Increased Prices And Delivery Times Because Of Brexit

European Affairs Minister Helen McEntee recently warned that in the event of a no-deal Brexit, online purchases from the UK may be subject to VAT and import duties depending on their value. Delivery times may also increase due to more checks being required.

However, Head of Parcel Services with An Post, Garret Bridgeman, doesn’t believe there’s anything to be concerned about. “We’ve put the operational arrangements in place. We’ve worked very closely with our colleagues in customs who are on-site in all our facilities and also with our colleagues and friends in Royal Mail and large customers, the likes of Amazon”, Bridgeman said.

Reduced Consumer Protections For UK Purchases In Ireland

With a no-deal Brexit also comes a potential reduction in consumer rights should something go wrong with a product purchased online from the UK. Speaking to the Irish Times, Feargal O’Leary, from the consumer watchdog the Consumer and Competition Protection Commission, depicted what shopping online with UK retailers will look like in the very near future.

According to O’Leary, over the past number of decades, consumer rights within the European Union have grown massively and as a result, consumers are heavily protected when they shop both online and offline. Consumer rights in the EU have been built up over the last number of decades and they’re very strong for consumers.

Consumer rights in the EU have been built up over the last number of decades and they’re very strong for consumers

However, he also went on to say, “if the UK is not part of the EU in the next six-seven-eight weeks, that means that consumers will be relying on terms and conditions as opposed to statutory instruments. So if people are buying from the UK, just take that extra bit of time to check the website – what is the location, and what terms and conditions are you signing up to before you buy? And in that case, you’ll protect yourself no matter where you’re buying from”.

Should You Shop On Amazon.co.uk From Ireland?

All in all, after all of what I’ve written here, Brexit may very well leave you on the fence. I’d say, for smaller purchases make hay while the sun shines. There are some real bargains to bag if you shop right now. Then again, if I take the example of the Samsung tablet I used earlier, even if you purchase that from Amazon, Samsung themselves do have a certain duty of care to enforce their usual 24-month warranty.

There is a new ethical challenge too. Should we all be shopping on Amazon during COVID-19 instead of supporting local businesses. I personally still do shop on Amazon but also shop locally when possible and when it makes sense. 2020 saw a massive jump in interest for Amazon Prime Day in Ireland partially due to Amazon running TV ads with Irish voiceovers, again showing the companies increased focus on the Irish market.

You shouldn’t feel like you’re doing wrong by buying things on Amazon but if you do have the chance to spend locally, your local businesses would appreciate it I’m sure!

With Brexit comes uncertainty and as a result, I guess, shopping online needs to be a calculated risk. Here’s hoping the UK sorts out a deal and we can all get back to shopping online sooner rather than later.

FAQs: Shopping On Amazon UK From Ireland

Can people in Ireland shop on Amazon.co.uk? 

The short answer is yes. It might not always be straight forward and some returns processes might be tricky, but there’s nearly always a way.

Will Amazon deliver to Ireland?

Generally speaking, yes. Items bought on Amazon.co.uk will be delivered to Ireland. Some sellers on Amazon will only ship to UK addresses. Others will online ship to mainland UK addresses. For these sellers, you may need to use Virtual UK addresses or An Post’s Virtual UK address. An Post uses a mainland UK address. This might be handy if you need something with a battery in it.

Can people in Ireland join Amazon Prime?

Yes. If you’re living in Ireland you can still join Amazon Prime.

Are there benefits to being a Prime member if you live in Ireland?

Yes. If you are an Amazon Prime member, you can avail of many of the benefits that UK Prime members get. This includes faster delivery along with access to Prime Video and some two million songs on Prime Music.

Is there Amazon Ireland customer service?

Irish customers can contact UK customer service teams. They can often even resolve Ireland-specific issues such as issues with orders and returns going through virtual address services.

Can Irish customers get next day delivery?

Given the logistics involved, it’s unlikely you’ll get next day delivery, but you do get faster delivery when you’re a Prime member. When completing your purchase, you’ll see a fairly good estimate of when your package will arrive.

Who delivers for Amazon Ireland?

This is often determined by the seller. Previously Amazon primarily used An Post and DPD but they’ve since opened their Irish distribution centre and now have Zeus delivering “as Amazon”.

Will Ireland lose access to Amazon.co.uk after Brexit?

Since Brexit has happened, nothing seems to have changed for people in Ireland shopping on Amazon.co.uk.

Is there an Irish Amazon Shopping App?

There is no specific app for shopping with Amazon UK in Ireland. You can use the regular Amazon Shopping app, available from the Google Play Store, Apple App Store and Huawei AppGallery.

What’s the best Irish comedy on Amazon Prime?

When you get Prime you also have access to Prime Video. This includes the entire back catalogue of RTÉ’s Bridget and Eamon, Dylan Moran in Black Books, classic Waking Ned and The War of the Buttons. That last one might not be a comedy but it is brilliant.

Can I buy garden furniture on Amazon UK?

Some items can be shipped to Ireland. Mostly, these are flat-packs that you’ll need to assemble yourself.

Can I buy a hair clippers on Amazon UK and get it delivered to Ireland?

You can indeed and in isolation, this has become a massive seller on Amazon.co.uk. Amazon stocks a huge range of hair clippers for you to choose from. Just make sure they deliver to Ireland or you’ll need to use a virtual shipping address.

Can I pay in Euro on Amazon.co.uk?

Yes, but we don’t recommend it. Amazon has a currency converter which offers pretty poor rates. If you have a Revolut card, you can pay in Sterling using Revolut’s Interbank Exchange Rate. This usually saves you a tidy sum.

F1 2020 Game Review: Strap In For One Hell Of A Ride

Marty
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F1 2020 Game Review: Strap In For One Hell Of A Ride

I’ve always been a fan of Formula One games. From the original racers to EA’s F1 Manager game, there’s a scratch that comes with being an F1 fan that these games scratch. The F1 2020 game is out and the latest instalment from Codemasters is by far the most comprehensive F1 game to date. If you want to see Ferarri make a good start to the 2020 season, this game might be the only way you’ll do it.

F1 2020: What’s New?

A good question to ask when it comes to reviewing an F1 game is “how much better can you make driving in circles every year?”. I think, in the past at least, it’s a very valid question. Sure enough, you’ll get updated liveries for the cars and driver rosters, but what else can a game like this actually do?

Remembering It’s A Game

Back in 2010, Codemasters picked up the rights to create F1 games and ever since they’ve been on a mission to create F1 simulators. That comes as a bit of a double-edged sword. One the one hand, F1-simming has led to esports being serious business in the motorsport world.

F1 2020 is all about being fun rather than being a sim

Realism is what makes all of that happen, but for me it led to me buying a game I played for a few minutes and them didn’t go back to. F1 2020 is very much aimed at making the sport fun to play on a console again. Now, the settings to do this were always there but F1 2020 is just more geared towards fun instead of being a simulator and that’s what makes this more appealing to casual gamers.

This matches the brief of F1 as an organisation too who have been trying to be more inclusive for fans with things like Fan Zones at tracks for race weekends.

For me, this game was summed up in Bahrain. I’m fuming I left the game without saving the video but I zig zagged my car, threading the needle and narrowly avoiding a crash. All the while, I wasn’t worried about too many penalties or breaking points. I was just here to have fun. I did still clip the wing and ended up nearly crying later. More on that in a bit.

The Many Modes Of F1 2020

I bought the Michael Schumacher Special Edition version of F1 2020. Why? Well, first of all, I adore Michael Schumacher. While I fell out of love with F1 for a few years, I was a die hard fan a few years back. You know, back when Eddie Jordan, Eddie Irvine and Michael Schumacher were giants in the world. The other reason I bought it was because it game me a few days to get a review done before the regular edition launched. So much for that plan. The game is so jam-packed with features I just couldn’t get it all reviewed in time. Anyway, here’s what you get.

Build Your Own Team

I don’t think I’ll have my mind changed that the ease of play is the biggest change to come to F1 2020. That’s mainly because the main mode people play in a game is very personal. If you want to simulate real-life, adding the 11th team to the grid isn’t going to look very appealing. I’m a big child, so say hello to Goosed Racing.

build your own team in F1 2020

You get to build your own F1 racing team from the ground up. At the start, your team is in startup mode. Instead of big expensive wind tunnels, you have a lad with smoke coming out of a pipe in front of a fan. As you develop and earn more money you not only invest in your car and your drivers but you also invest in the factory. F1 fans know that a good factory is the big driving force behind a successful team.

Now, when it comes to building a team, most owners do it from the outside in. You get to live the Jack Brabham life of owning the team and the car you drive in. You’ll need to pick your teammate. For me, being all sentimental, I went for Michael Schumacher’s son, Mick. After that, you’ll need to pick sponsors and plot how your engineers will develop parts on the car to outpace the competition.

The hack of the Goosed Racing MK1

Theres a certain sense of ownership that comes with this mode that gets you super invested. For example, on race weekends, you have the choice of simulating any of the sessions. A typical weekend has Free Practice 1, Free Practice 2, Free Practice 3 and Qualification before the race on Sunday. I didn’t want to simulate any of them, purely because by completely sessions and achieving goals, I was unlocking more resource points to fast track part development of the car.

I was left nearly in tears at the end of one 14 lap race because my tyres wore out and earlier I had clipped my wing. Together, I was left with no downforce, no grip and a car trundling along while slipping through the field. But I learned from that and understood that a new team is aiming for the places further down the table and to manage the car better.

What I hope you take away from that is just how much fun owning every aspect of the team can really be. It’s also a bit of craic working on your car’s look. Even more so to make it look good as I learned from public reaction the Goosed Racing Mk 1.

Career Mode

The regular career mode hasn’t been replaced and will still appeal to those looking for an experience closer to the real thing. The beauty of career mode is that you can choose where you kick off your life as a racing driver. Build yourself up with a full F2 season, dip your toe is or, take the Lance Stroll approach and inexplicably get a seat in an F1 team from the get-go.

F1 2020 career modes. Battle it out in F2 or Lance Stroll into an F1 seat.

It’s important to note one massive feature that’s not new to F1 2020 but might get you interested. A season and even a race weekend is an investment of your time. One of my favourite features is that you can save mid-weekend, mid-session and even mid-race. So if someone calls you for dinner you can call a halt to the whole game and come back tomorrow.

You hear that? You can pause the horror and walk away. Or run….Seb…

Online

Online also feels like more fun. Because I was testing during the early launch days, getting a game was taking quite some time. Codemasters has also had to upgrade their online service already because demand is greater than usual. I can understand that. Being locked up at home with F1 being delayed has left the F1-itch more in need of scratching than ever.

I’m actually going to reserve judgement for the time being when it comes to online mode. I want to play it over the next month or so and see what it’s like with a bigger population of gamers on better servers.

F1 2020: The Verdict

Earlier I said F1 2020 is all about being fun rather than being a sim. I’m not sure there’s a better summary I can give the game. The graphics are stunning. I’ve gone the extra mile with the Thrustmaster F1 Wheel and EKSA E900 gaming headset and can confirm this to be the icing on the cake in terms of immersion, but it’s not a requirement. Simply put, this game isn’t about Lando Norris dominating laps on Twitch without assists turned on. This game is about you being able to turn on your console and having a bit of craic.

Unless you’re Sebastian Vettel, in which case we recommend Ozarks on Netflix. It’s a good show.

If like me, you’ve taken some time out from F1 games, it’s time to play it Sam.

F1 2020 Trial Now Available

Before you buy, you can now test drive F1 2020 for yourself. Starting today, players on Xbox One and PlayStation 4 can download a free trial of F1 2020. Get a taster for the game yourself whether you’re a race weekend fan or hardcore sim racer.

Updated 23/11/2020: Article updated to include information on the F1 2020 free trial.

PSD2 And Shopping Online From January: What You Need To Know

Marty
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PSD2 And Shopping Online From January: What You Need To Know

You might have seen an ad on TV lately talking about PSD2. I took a step back when I saw it because it feels like years we’ve been talking about PSD2. The Second Payment Services Directive was devised back in 2015 and a year later I was actually working in the online team of a bank. That made this bunch of letters something I had to kind of understand. But five years later and it’s only really dribbled into our lives. Here’s what it’s all about and what that ad on the telly is about along with some plain English talk about PSD2.

What Is PSD2?

PSD2 was devised to benefit consumers. Yep, people like you. The idea was to remove the mysteries and dangers of using payment cards and bank details in modern ways. Basically, online and with online services. One recent development was Revolut announcing you could manage other bank accounts within their app. A nice development considering many banking apps are muck.

The future of PSD2 should mean additional services like budging apps will let you plug your banking details in. For example, if there is a mortgage comparison website, you should be able to link your details and have the website notify you of better rates and when you should swap banks.

However, the TV right now is about something else. Something rather important in the world of COVID-19. It’s about shopping online.

Shopping Online From January 1st 2021

While PSD2 was to make boring banking easier, it’s also designed to make your money safer online. This is for shopping in Ireland and also when shopping cross-border in Europe. With Brexit and all that jazz, this is another nod towards a seismic shift in where Irish money gets spent. Naturally, Irish e-commerce will continue to grow but the EU expects to see the Digital Single Market develop too. This is the reason data roaming has become genuinely quite good and why you can stream SkyGo and RTÉ Player when you travel. Well, that’s if RTÉ Player works in general.

From January 1st 2021 there will be additional security when checking out online. This is called Strong Customer Authentication (SCA).

What Is Strong Customer Authentication?

SCA has a simple goal. Increase the security of online shopping by requiring an additional layer of verification. This is also known as two-factor authentication. When checking out after January 2021, you will need to verify yourself in two ways to confirm you are authorised to use the payment details. SCA will be required when you want to access online payment accounts or when buying something online.

You’ll be able to verify your ownership of the account with:

  • something you know: for example a pin number
  • something you have: a card reader or mobile phone
  • something you are: a fingerprint

You might not recognise these but for “something you have”, many banks are already using “One Time Passwords”. This is when you receive a text message while checking out. Revolut has a really nice way of doing this where you open their app to confirm you are the one making the payment.

Other banks will be setting up ways of verifying you another way too. For example, KBC will need you to set up an ecommerce pin and without this paying online from January 2021 might not be possible.

So whoever your bank is, look into what you need to do. With online shopping more important than ever, you want to make sure you stay connected in 2021.

Electric Scooters To Be Legalised In Ireland Before Christmas

Marty
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Electric Scooters To Be Legalised In Ireland Before Christmas

I’m so reluctant to write that title. There have been a silly number of false dawns when it comes to the legalisation of electric scooters in Ireland. However, speaking to the Sunday Times today, the Green Minister for Transport has outlined plans to legalise the use of electric scooters on public roads before Christmas.

Electric Scooters And The Law In Ireland

I’m not sure quite how many times I’ve run through this, but just in case this is your first time digging into it, let me give you an overview of the problematic history between electric scooters and the law in Ireland. If you already know everything you can skip to today’s news.

The RSA And The Website Of An Garda Siochana

For quite some time, electric scooters operated in a legal grey area in Ireland. Many models on the market require some human power to push them forward before the motor will kick in. For this reason, many deemed electric scooters to fall outside the category of “mechanically propelled vehicle” (MPV). Even the website of An Garda Siochana published a document stating the same from the RSA. However, under a Freedom of Information request I submitted to the RSA, I found communication between the two organisations stating this would need to be updated.

xiaomi m365 electric scooter

COVID-19 And Increased Demand For Public Transport Alternatives

The damage had already been done and Irish roads had been flooded by electric scooters. Fast forward a few months and COVID-19 left members of the public looking for public transport alternatives with bikes, e-bikes and electric scooters proving popular. I live in Dublin and work facing out onto a busy street. There’s a massive number of electric scooters I see every day despite their illegality on public roads.

Riders Go To Court

Because electric scooters are deemed MPVs, to use on a public road they require insurance, tax and a driver’s license. It’s impossible to get insurance or tax for an electric scooter. Trust me, I’ve tried.

This means all those electric scooters we see on the roads every day are breaking the law and some Gardaí are applying that law vigorously.

I’ve spoken with several electric scooter riders who have been stopped by Garda Traffic while getting from A to B on a scooter and was actually stopped myself too. While I was sent on my way, other riders were not so lucky. One rider has their scooter taken leading to them paying a €125 fine to get it back. A few months later they received a court summons where a day in court would eventually lead to five penalty points and a €300 fine. This rider was not alone with one owner telling me when they had their day in court, a member of Garda Traffic had another 13 electric scooters in court that day. This certainly tallies with increased seizure numbers released last month in the Dail.

The Scooter Trap

All of this was happening while most electric scooter owners and regular users had no idea they were breaking the law. I’ve been receiving more press releases than ever about electric scooters to which I always have the same response: “What are you doing to inform consumers about the illegality of electric scooters being used in public spaces?”.

Halfords was claiming the title of “Ireland’s biggest electric scooter retailer” but after a quick phone call as an interested commuter, I was never informed about the fact this would be illegal.

As we head into Christmas, electric scooters were absolutely expected to be one of the top gifts despite their illegality to be used in public spaces. I’ve used the term “shooting fish in a barrel” when it came to how Gardaí were viewing electric scooters and January would have simply been shooting season. It’s important to highlight that Gardaí are not in the wrong here as they’re just applying the national law and that’s been very slow to accommodate what is an obviously popular mode of transport, despite a Green Minister for Transport coming into play a few months ago.

So that’s the history of “scooter gate” to date. I don’t think I missed anything but now I can line up the hopeful future of electric scooters.

Eamon Ryan Set To Legalise Electric Scooters

Initially, as Minister for Transport, Eamon Ryan was having a slow impact on how we, as a nation, get around. Even on the topic of scooters which was in the programme for government, progress was slow. Initially, 2021 was touted as the timeframe we could expect legalisation but now it’s expected to be a done deal prior to Christmas. This is a welcome development given the likelihood there will be thousands more on the road in January.

Minister Ryan has said that laws to permit the legal use of electric scooters on Irish roads should be passed by the Oireachtas before Christmas. This will take a logical approach of first clarifying the legal status of scooters, removing the risk of being pulled over for existing users. The use of scooters on footpaths will be prohibited and a logical enough speed limit of 25kmph will be imposed. It’s expected that helmets will not be mandatory but instead be recommended. Personally, I recommend the Livall smart helmet.

Effectively this will become a trial period for electric scooters and next year progress will be reviewed and regulations on speed limits and lighting requirements agreed.

This is the approach outlined in the report commissioned by the RSA and Government which stated sensible legislation should not be overly-prohibitive for the adoption of this modern mode of transport.

Electric Scooter Share Systems

I’m actually, for once, optimistic that may actually happen and my scooter can go back on the road in the near future. We’re having a particularly mild winter with plenty of sun and I’d only love to go for a spin within my 5km limit. My situation is an example of private scooter ownership however there remains some massive questions lingering over shared scooter systems similar to Dublin Bikes of Bleeper Bikes.

Whether or not Minister Ryan plans to allow shared systems remains unknown and I’ve reached out to the Minister for clarity.

The issues posed by shared systems are manifold but the greatest of all is how they’re parked when not in use. Vunerable pedestrians and disabled pedestrians could, and likely will, have issues getting around should shared scooters ends up strewn around our nation’s footpaths.

Technology Has An Answer

First of all, private scooter ownership does not bring this problem. I either lock my scooter up or have it charging in the apartment. A shared system must somehow ensure the public use the scooters responsibly and leave them back where there is space and where they don’t impede pedestrians.

Irish micro-mobility startup Luna has developed technology currently being tested with Voi electric scooters which can govern electric scooter usage with incredible accuracy. With this tech built-in, Voi scooters can “sense” pedestrians, recognise when the scooter is being driven on footpaths and take actions to correct behaviour. The technology can also detect, to within one centimetre, the location of the scooter. This means Dublin City Council could pre-determine shared parking spots for scooters and fine riders who do not park in designated areas.

Race To Share Scooters

This technology is crucial because once the legal question marks are lifted, we’re going to see a lot more of these vehicles on our roads and should share systems be permitted, they will likely flood into position overnight. Here’s a few of them.

Bolt

Bolt is a European mobility platform that’s focused on making urban travel more affordable, convenient and responsible. With over 30 million users in over 35 counties across Europe and Africa, you may well be wondering how you’ve not heard of them. Bolt has just recently started to build their presence in Ireland and they truly do have the potential to change how we get around our big cities whether it be with ride-hailing alternatives or electric scooters. In fact the company plans to deploy 130,000 electric scooters and e-bikes across Europe in 2021.

I caught up with Irish country manager, Luke Mackey, recently and he also informed me that Bolt would be launching their Irish taxi-hailing service soon to take on the likes of Free Now and Uber while also working with the Irish Government to pass electric scooter legislation.

Zipp Mobility

Backed by investors including Brian O’Driscoll, Zipp Mobility is an exciting Irish startup looking to claim their piece of the micro-mobility pie. With the legality questions over scooters in Ireland, Zipp Mobility turned their attention to the UK who had already fast-tracked trials during the summer to take the pressure off public transport during COVID-19. To date, they’ve already have had over 1,000 journeys during these trials. The trials also include the use of anti-viral handlebar wraps that kill 99.98% of viruses and can help eliminate COVID-19 transmission.

Voi

Like Zipp Mobility, Voi is trialling their shared scooters in the UK. The Swedish startup is already in other EU countries like Germany and has told me they are “are eagerly looking forward to commencing operations in Ireland but will only do so when the legal and regulatory framework is clear.

Along with these companies, there are long-standing almost house-hold names like Bird and Lime Scooters, the latter of which I’ve flown around Germany on and had plenty of craic with. The important thing is that these shared schemes are introduced responsibly while not impacting vulnerable pedestrians or road users while also not impacting the public perception of privately owned scooters.

It feels like we’re on the cusp of this new way of getting around being legalised and we can finally move into the next phase of learning how to live with them.

R̶e̶v̶e̶n̶g̶e̶ ̶P̶o̶r̶n̶ Image Sharing Abuse: More Than You Think It Is

Marty
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R̶e̶v̶e̶n̶g̶e̶ ̶P̶o̶r̶n̶ Image Sharing Abuse: More Than You Think It Is

There’s no denying that our phones connected to services like WhatsApp have made us all super connected. But it’s also opened up a world of problems that we struggle to keep up with. “Revenge porn” is one such symptom of a society that doesn’t truly grasp the sheer power of this technology. You might feel my wording is soft here for someone who films a sexual act and shares it without permission and you’re right. But that’s because I’m talking about a lot more than what might come to mind when you hear the term “revenge porn”.

What Is “Revenge Porn”?

The term “revenge porn” is a commonly used term to refer to sexual abuse carried out through the sharing of videos and images. It’s an extremely problematic terminology to use because it gives a completely different sense of the issue at hand. The assumed first impression is that of a consensually filmed intimate act which, generally due to a breakdown in a relationship, was shared by one of those involved in the act.

What this assumed definition omits is media shared between people who are “sexting” being passed onto another person not involved in the act. If you’re unfamiliar, “sexting” is people messaging each other erotic messages and possibly media too. In this case, it’s very difficult to see how anything created here was “porn” or how the sharing was “revenge”.

Lord Mayor of Dublin, Hazel Chu, has called on a change of language around the topic.

Is Image Sharing Abuse A Real Problem?

Image sharing abuse is a very real problem and it’s a massive problem here in Ireland too. Forwarding on apps like WhatsApp have made such media spreading like wildfire easier than ever. While this, of course, is not gender or sexual orientation-specific, it does have a specifically large impact on the female population of Ireland.

Linda Hayden, a co-founder of The Victims Alliance, has brought to light that the fact there are hundreds of thousands of sexual images of women in Ireland online without their consent. Hayden believes the likelihood is that women in Ireland are being targeted in a systemic way, not just through casual leaks because there is no law in Ireland.

In April 2017, Dara Quigley had what her mother described as a “psychotic episode”. She was found naked, walking down Harcourt Street in Dublin. Gardaí detained her after spotting her on street-level CCTV. Afterwards, a Garda rewound the footage, recorded it on their smartphone and shared it to a WhatsApp group with other Gardaí. The video ended up being shared outside of this group and was eventually found on a website, viewed over 120,000 times by members of the public. Dara Quigley learned of the leak and on April 12th 2017 she killed herself. Because of Irish law, or lack thereof, the Garda in question faced no criminal penalties and to this day the Quigley family is in an ongoing battle with Garda HQ and the state.

Petition To Criminalise Image Sharing Abuse In Ireland

The conditions in Ireland have brought us to this position. Technology has left both the survivors of image sharing abuse and, in some circumstances, the perpetrators of the abuse, with no idea of how quickly an image or video can spread like wild fire. School curriculums need to teach people from a young age more advanced media studies classes.

But all the education in the world won’t stop a perpetrator who knows exactly what they are doing and don’t care. That’s why there have been calls on the government to criminalise image sharing abuse.

You, your mother, your brother, your sister or your children could end up devastated by image sharing abuse, also known as “revenge porn”. It takes just two seconds for an image to be shared without consent, ruining someone’s life. It also just takes two seconds to sign the petition calling for this to be made illegal. It takes just two seconds to delete an incoming WhatsApp in your friends group and call people out on the sharing of such images. Challenge yourself and others on what image sharing abuse is because it’s a lot more common than you think.

If you have been affected by this article or have has images shared without your consent you can contact the Women’s Aid helpline on 1800 341 900.

Why Is Bebo Trending On Twitter?

Marty
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Why Is Bebo Trending On Twitter?

If you’ve found this article in 2021, it’s probably because Bebo is relaunching.

What a blast from the past this is! I was just on Twitter and saw Bebo was trending. My mind raced by to sharing “the luv” to a handful of people per day and being “married” to be heterosexual mates. Ah the good old days, but why is Bebo trending on Twitter today? Is the original social media platform making a comeback? I’m afraid not.

What Is Bebo?

For me, Bebo was the original social network, even before Facebook had a “the” in the name. Your Bebo homepage was this bizarre mix of hand-drawn art, comments photos and posts. It was a place where friends came to have fun and make fun.

It was, to the people of Ireland, effectively what MySpace was to the rest of the world and for some reason it really took off here. Scrolling through Twitter I saw that Bebo was trending and people posting images galore brought quite a bit of nostalgia down on top of me. Like just look at this craic.

It also reminds me how a young mind can think something so stupid as your “Luv” counter or profile views can equate to some sort of real life self worth and that today social media is no different for people young and old.

You used to be able to fill in loads of details about yourself. People would spend hours crafting the perfect interest page spread across things like:

  • Music
  • Films
  • Sports
  • Things your scared of
  • List of things your happiest doing
  • What your favourite slang is

Anyway, why is Bebo trending on Twitter? Is there a big comeback on?

Does Bebo Still Exist Or Is Bebo Making A Comeback?

Back in 2014 Bebo did make a short-lived comeback as a messenger app. Yet again it’s a story of wrong place wrong time for the social media innovator. Bebo’s comeback was something akin to what Bitmoji was, giving you a kind of personal avatar. People were also give the opportunity to download old images back in 2013 which really sent people down memory lane.

In 2017, Bebo had begun to offer streaming software which could be plugged into the gaming giant Twitch. After Amazon bought Twitch they shifted focus towards this new purpose Bebo and bought that too for a cool $25 million.

Do whether or not Bebo still exists is debatable. One thing for sure is that the social media platform that you remember and maybe even loved, is gone forever.

Sorry.

I can only conclude that Bebo is trending on Twitter because people love a bit of nostalgia in this weird Coronavirus world we find ourselves in. It’s been shown that retro is a big thing for gifting this Christmas. With the world falling apart around us some nice memories bring us back to happier times. Nothing wrong with that.

Explore Old Bebo

You can, however, in a limited extent explore old Bebo the way you used to remember it. This is made possible through the Way Back Machine. There’s plenty of things missing and broken images everywhere, but you can still stumble around old pages and see the featured Bebo pages of some users throughout history.

Permanent TSB Launch Apple Pay: Still No Google Pay

Marty
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Permanent TSB Launch Apple Pay: Still No Google Pay

Today, Permanent TSB announced that they now support Apple Pay. Paying with your phone has grown in popularity during COVID-19 as you can use your phone to pay with contactless for transactions over €50 and up to your daily limit.

Using Apple Pay With Permanent TSB

To use this, set up Apple Pay and then just hold your iPhone or Apple Watch near a payment terminal to make a contactless payment. Every Apple Pay purchase is secure because it is authenticated with Face ID, Touch ID, or device passcode, as well as a one-time unique dynamic security code.

Still No Google Pay

Last month, Bank of Ireland announced they had launched Apply Pay and Google Pay. This means Permanent TSB was the last Irish bank to launch Apple Pay and they have yet to launch Google Pay. I’ve reached out to Permanent TSB to ask if there is a timeline for Google Pay.

Update: Permanent TSB has confirmed that Google Pay will be launched with them in the first half of 2021.

The Best Headphones Of 2020 Reviewed: Ranked

Marty
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The Best Headphones Of 2020 Reviewed: Ranked

The 2020 market has been absolutely swarmed with incredible audio accessories. From high quality noise cancelling headphones to earbuds to help you work. There really has been something released into the market for everyone this year so now it’s time to reveal the best headphones and earbuds of 2020. These will be ranked by quality and, where possible, include a best possible and value option.

Headphone Buying Guide

When it comes to buying a pair of headphones or earphones, there are a few things to consider. I’ve already touched on one there.

Headphones or Earphones?

Do you want headphones or earphones? Believe it or not, there is a difference. Headphones are the big ones that fit over your head. Earphones are the buds you pop into your ears.

Sound Quality

Sound quality is naturally quite important but it will also vary in importance versus some of the other features you need to weigh up. For example, if you’re chasing the ultimate in sound quality you might be ruling out most earbuds. But if you want earbuds first and foremost, you’ll need to, generally, let sound quality drop down your list of priorities.

Active Noise Cancelling (ANC)

Active Noise Cancelling (ANC) headphones use small microphones to detect sounds from the world around you. They then do their best to intercept and neutralise this noise. The most constant the noise, the better ANC headphones will work. For example, ANC headphones are great at blocking out the monotonous drone of a jet engine while you fly but not so good at blocking out a crying child.

Needing ANC headphones is far from a foregone conclusion. You may want awareness of your surroundings for running or even opt for noise cancelling ear buds instead.

Listener or Talker?

In recent years one thing that’s shocked me is how important call quality is for

Wired or Wireless: Does Your Phone Have A 3.5mm Jack?

Seems like so long ago that having a place to plug in headphones on a phone was just assumed. Not any more I’m afraid. Now, to be honest, it was time we killed the headphone jack and iPhone might even release a portless phone next year.

I digress. Most headphones in this guide are bluetooth with an option of a 3.5mm cable. Some people will really want 3.5mm connections and others will just rather keeping it wireless.

Battery Life

There are some great earbuds on the market. However, many of them don’t have great battery life. Buying some audio equipment for long-haul business trips? A 3-hour ear bud is no use to you.

Apple Or Not To Apple?

When it comes to headphones there are no Apple-made options. There are, however, some products built with Apple in mind. Of course, there are Apple ear buds but that doesn’t always mean your have to buy them versus other manufacturers.

Best Active Noise Cancelling Headphones

Active Noise Cancelling (ANC) headphones used to be a popular choice for people who regularly take to the skies, flying from A to B for business or pleasure. 2020 wasn’t a great year for travel but interest in ANC headphones soared. There are a few factors driving increased interest in ANC headphones:

  • people are seeking focus while working from home
  • work places are offering people budget to buy headphones for home working
  • some people have disposable income and are looking to buy headphones previously too pricey

Indeed, ANC headphones are usually amongst some of the most pricey headphones on the market but if you know you need them they are money well spent.

The Best Active Noise Cancelling Headphones: Sony WH-1000XM4

Year after year, Sony rolls out their flagship ANC headphones and year after year they are jaw-droppingly good. This year’s model is no different in either quality or their silly name. The Sony WH-1000XM4 provide the best ANC experience and arguably one of the best audio experiences in general. However, it comes with a pretty hefty price-tag of nearly €400 which usually leaves me recommending you go back a year. The Sony WH-1000XM3 headphones are last year’s model but, even more so than usual, Sony added very little to the WH-1000XM4 headphones to justify spending the extra cash over going for the older model.

The Best Value Active Noise Cancelling Headphones: Soundcore Life Q20 Hybrid ANC Headphones

Looking for value in the ANC space is a very risky game to play. This recommendation comes with a ginormous caveat. If you’re gifting to someone who asked for ANC headphones don’t go with these. They’re brilliant but people who say they want ANC headphones will be fuming if they don’t get something like Bose or Sony.

The Soundcore Life Q20 Hybrid ANC headphones are great but they do make sacrifices versus headphones which cost four to five times more. The obvious benefit is that these will set you back just €60 and still deliver quality far beyond that price-tag suggests.

If you are gifting, the best thing to do is go back and get an older model from a really well-known brand. The difference here is that value takes on a new meaning along with a heavier price tag. While the WH-1000XM3 are still a bit spicey to be called value, the Bose QC35 II at about €250 are a great price. I bought these myself a few years back and they’re still my headphone of choice, although the Huawei Freebuds Studio do come close.

Best Headphones For Commuting

Plenty of people still commute for their jobs these days. If that’s not you, there’ll come a time when you commute again. Having a great pair of headphones can make all the difference during a commute, turning that extra hour of your day from stressful to a place of zen.

The Best Headphones For Commuting: Huawei Freebuds Studio

Huawei has frantically been scrambling to fill the smartphone-sized gap in their tech offering following the lack of Google support for the P40 Pro Series. Audio has been one area the Chinese tech giant has focused on and some of the products have been incredible. The Huawei Freebuds Studio are the top-rated product I’ve ever reviewed on Goosed.ie, bringing together a range of key features to make a great pair of headphones.

FreeBuds studio design

From surprisingly good ANC to great battery life and featherlight weight, these are a near no-brainer choice for people seeking zen on their morning or evening commute whether that be death metal or podcasts.

The Best Value Headphones For Commuting: Huawei Freebuds 3 or Apple AirPods

This comes down to which phone you have really. If you’ve got Android, the Huawei Freebuds 3 are a little older now but for in or around €99 it’s impossible to go wrong. I still use these regularly though mainly for calls given their crystal clear mic quality. However, a slim design and being the world’s first shell ANC earbuds makes these a great value choice for commuting.

If you’re an iPhone user, those Huawei Freebuds 3 will still work perfectly fine but they won’t have all the functionality that you get to enjoy with a pair of buds designed for your device. You’ll pay a little bit more but the second generation AirPods are the Apple alternative.

Best Headphones For Gaming

Another big space this year is gaming. Even before the confirmation of new next-gen consoles from Microsoft and Sony, gaming was on the up because so many people were sat at home with nothing to do. Headphones make a massive difference when your gaming too and this is largely down to things like the sound stage. The sound stage determines how clearly you hear the world around you and is essential when it comes to figuring out where a sniper is firing from.

The Best Headphones For Gaming

I’m currently working on the full review for the JBL Quantum One gaming headphones but they are a damn impressive pair of gaming headphones. There are some bells and whistles which are overkill but the critical features from sound stage to chat mic are nothing short of perfect. You pay for the privilege unfortunately, but that’s why I’ll give you a value option too.

The Best Value Headphones For Gaming

I remember the EKSA E900 Pro gaming headset landing on my desk and thinking they look pretty neat. I plugged them in, wasn’t madly impressed by them or anything but enjoyed using them. I like their look and feel and along with delivering fairly good audio I was fairly impressed by them. When left me shook was the price. At under €50 you will not do better than the E900 Pro for gaming.

Best Wireless Earbuds

This is one of the biggest minefields out there because there’s just so much personal preference involved. For that reason I’m going to break it up a bit.

Best Noise Cancelling Earbuds

This is one of the few categories that’s no challenge whatsoever. The Huawei Freebuds Pro offer incredible ANC in general, not just for a pair of earbuds. This follows the Freebuds 3 saying they have ANC but really only offering some kind of ANC-lite. They also offer great call quality too.

huawei freebuds pro review

Right now, if you buy these from Carphone Warehouse you can get a free fitness band too.

Best Value Earbuds

This is another win for Huawei and the older Huawei Freebuds 3. Already talked about them but their price now versus what they give you is just amazing. Some clever design means they are amazing for calls too. If they are just a little too hot in terms of price, check out their little sister the Huawei Freebuds 3i.

Best Earbud Battery Life

Here is another easy selection. I couldn’t believe how much the Creative Outlier earbuds. These earbuds have a whopping ten hours battery per charge and a case that lets you enjoy thirty hours of charge in total. They are some of the few earbuds on the market that you could use for an entire long-haul flight or even a marathon.

Best Headphones For Sound Quality

Why didn’t I just start here you might ask? Well, truth be told it’s because I still don’t consider myself to be an audiophile and prefer to judge my headphones and earbuds on everything else before the actual sound itself. For sound quality, there is only one pair of headphones I’ve tested which truly stood out for sound quality. The Audio-Technica ATH-M50xBT don’t have ANC but they are designed to give artists true monitor-quality feedback and sound. This means no false bass like what Beats give you. Just crisp audio sans frequency bleed. These come in two models, the newer of which offers Bluetooth so pick the one you want and be sure to buy the one you need.

Best Headphones For Battery

The JBL Club One were a surprise package of 2020. They offer great build quality, awesome sound and immersive ANC. However, they’ve been unlucky not to really top any of the categories thus far. And that makes sense. Given their pricetag, they needed to be really special somewhere and they never really did that. One slightly non-sexy feature they do excel at is the battery life.

JBL club one review

The JBL Club One headphones give you 23 hours of ANC battery life and that’s not just advertised. In my review, I outlined that it’s tough to test this spec but it does feel like that number is on the money. While it’s tough for me to say these are the best headphones in any other category, the Club One headphones dominate when it comes to battery.

And so concludes our best of 2020 headphone buying guide. Feel like we’ve not answered your questions? Disagree with something? Let us know on Twitter and we’ll research or discuss!

Fitbit Sense Review: A Good Fitness Tracker And Great Gift Idea

Marty
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Fitbit Sense Review: A Good Fitness Tracker And Great Gift Idea

Coming into the Christmas season means people are on the lookout for the perfect gift for loved ones. Straight off the bat, I can tell you that the Fitbit Sense is going to be right up there near the top of the list. For this review of the Sense, I’ve worn it for a month and have come to the conclusion that it’s a good fitness tracker, but it’s not great. However, it is a great Christmas gift idea if you’re willing to pay a premium for it.

What Is The Fitbit Sense?

The Fitbit Sense is an ambitious wearable from the world’s best-known fitness wearable company. In fact, it’s not even fair to call this a fitness wearable given his medically-approved health tracking abilities. When the Sense launched I already gave an in-depth overview of what Fitbit promised but this article is setting out to judge whether or not they delivered.

The Modern Health Monitor.

The Sense was to signal a dramatic shift from pure fitness wearables towards a complete health and wellness wearable. How did Fitbit do?

Fitness

The Sense shines through as an incredible fitness wearable. You can tell that this is Fitbit’s brown bread and low-fat butter. When it comes to your workouts, the Sense provides fantastic tracking. You’ll be able to track daily steps, distance travelled, flights of stairs or floors climbed, calories burned and your heart rate. Open up the fitness section and you can track specific workouts from running to circuit training and everything in between. When working out, you’ll also be able to access the Active Zone which gives you additional insight into your heart rate zone, whether it be fat burn or cardio for example.

What might come as a concern to some is that this doesn’t all sound very revolutionary. In fact, it all sounds like the very basic features you’d expect from a fitness wearable. You’d be right in say that too and that’s why the Sense is different. Fitbit Sense aims to deliver the expected and introduce a wide range of new health and wellbeing analytics into your life.

Health

As someone who’s had a small health scare in the past, a total false alarm with my heart, I like the idea of a device with built-in electrocardiogram (ECG) constantly monitoring my heart rhythm. Fitbit was rather surprisingly caught napping by Apple who released this on the Apple Watch quite some ago. What both companies failed to do is achieve a user-friendly way of delivering a constantly running ECG.

Using the ECG feature on the Fitbit Sense

I’m sure some engineer will read this and say “the man wants the impossible” but I have a real problem with the ECG on the Sense. You have to remember to use it. When you do use it, the ECG feature is super simple and fast, taking just thirty seconds of pinching your Sense to deliver you an answer on your heart rhythm. But as much of an impressive technological feat as this is, if you’re buying the Sense for this feature there’s a real chance you’ll forget to use it.

Wellness

The Sense was also Fitbit’s biggest step into the wellness market and it brings the world’s first electrodermal activity (EDA) sensor on a smartwatch to the market. This sensor is designed to help you understand and manage your own stress levels. The Sense does this by asking you about your mood and measuring your conductivity and sweat levels in your skin. Like the ECG it’s a fairly simple process to get a measurement. Just place the palm of your hand over the face of the watch for two minutes.

Like the ECG this does rely on your remembering to take a measurement and I constantly forgot to do this. Also, with my hand over the screen for two minutes, there’s very little feedback to let you know the measurement is still going well. It’s an uncomfortable two minutes of hoping it’s working.

Sense As A Smartwatch

The great thing about choosing a Fitbit smartwatch is that you get all of those fitness and wellbeing features layered on top of what is a pretty decent watch.

Design

The Sense is a sleekly designed watch. The glass on the rounded square watch face is rugged, surrounded by a stainless steel bezel. It’s super light which means you tend to forget you’re wearing it, which may actually cause some of the “remembering to capture metrics” issues I had. The “button” on the left side of the watch is easy to miss and does take a little getting used to. Rest assured that after a few days it becomes second nature.

In the box you’ll find two straps; one regular and one really long one. I would say I have an average wrist and I just use the last notch. Take some time to pick the right notch too. I had picked the wrong one first and felt some irritation which was resolved by going a little looser. Most importantly this didn’t impact heart rate measurement.

The Fitbit Sense is comfortable while working out, working or sleeping. Totally non-intrusive.

The only snag with the design, and this is a somewhat personal preference, is that the Sense doesn’t look like a traditional watch. I prefer my wearables to look like a regular watch with a rounded face and actually like them to be a bit bigger than the rather small Sense.

Battery

As is so often the case, I have problems with testing batteries because I’m used to Huawei products. Both the Huawei P40 Pro and Huawei Watch GT Series have remarkable batteries capable of two days and two weeks respectively. The Fitbit Sense can’t challege for two weeks but you’ll comfortably get five to six days between charges.

One frustrating feature of the Sense is the fact it uses a proprietary charger and doesn’t support wireless charging. With so many smartphones supporting reverse wireless charging these days, it seems a shame that if you were to head away for two weeks and you forget your charger, you’re stuck.

No Storage For Music

I was delighted to see native support for Spotify thinking I could sync my favourite music and leave my phone at home. Unfortunately not. You still need to carry your phone. Apparently, Deezer can sync music but I wasn’t able to get this to work and there are a lot fewer people out there with Deezer too. There’s no option to copy your own music files onto the watch either so I’m afraid you’ll still be bringing a phone with you if you were hoping to ditch it.

Alexa Only, For Now

The Sense does offer Alexa support as your smart assistant. I didn’t find myself impulsively using this feature very often as you can’t use voice-wake. Google Assistant support is will land soon but it’s baffling that this wasn’t the first assistant to ship with the Sense given Google’s parent company Alphabet bought Fitbit late last year.

Fitbit Pay

Not a Sense-specific feature at all but this watch does support Fitbit Pay. You can link up your bank card, if they support it, to your wrist for contactless payments. We’re all trying to use cash less if we can and this is a handy way to use contactless above the €50 limit. If you use Google Pay, Apple Pay or Fitbit Pay you can pay up to your daily bank limit which is usually €2000 or more.

Fitbit Premium

As part of this review I also got to test out Fitbit Premium. While I’m on the fence about the Sense’s value, I’m completely decided on Fitbit Premium. You can avoid it. Fitbit Premium offers some additional insights into some of the stats, like sleeping for example, while also offering a range of workout and generally wellness videos. After trying one or two workouts, I ended up on YouTube looking at much better workout videos which weren’t costing me a penny.

I found the disconnect between these workouts and my Sense to be rather unusual too. It felt as if the two systems were completely unlinked. At €8.99 Fitbit has overpriced what they’re delivering. Companies have realised that the real money is in subscriptions and not hardware but this Sense and Premium combination feels a bit rich twice.

Fitbit Sense: The Verdict

There’s no question that the Fitbit Sense is a fantastic wearable. However, the price is why this review might generally sound like I’m a little disappointed in the Sense. At €330 the Fitbit Sense sets an impossibly high expectation and I’m not even sure what Fitbit would have had to have done to deliver satisfaction for that price.

This is why the Fitbit Sense is probably going to be such an excellent Christmas present this year. If your shopping for someone who is big into their fitness and well being and that price is in your budget for a loved one’s “big present” then they’ll be eternally grateful that you got them the Sense.

If that’s a bit rich or you’re shopping for yourself, the Fitbit Versa is €230. It removes some of the fancy sensors that didn’t really impress me all that much and retains the excellent fitness tracking core you’d expect from Fitbit.

Apple Launches Big Sur Amid Serious Privacy Concerns

Marty
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Apple Launches Big Sur Amid Serious Privacy Concerns

There are times in tech where I need to eat humble pie. Macbook is one of those things. I used to give out about people calling their Apple laptops “Macbooks”. They’re just laptops like, what makes them so special? Then I bought one and I fell in love. I suddenly got it, I got the appeal. I’m no closer to understanding why anyone buys iPhone but I got Macbook and today my trusty 15-inch Mac is probably my favourite gadget. I’ve just updated the the latest MacOS known as Big Sur but on the operating system’s launch day something unusual happened. As a result a wide range of security issues with the new Apple operating system has surfaced and Apple’s near pristine approach to security has taken a hit.

What Is Big Sur?

Apple has a history of naming its operating systems along with giving them release numbers. The most recent release is MacOS 11, also known as Big Sur. Before it became an OS name, Big Sur referred only to an unmapped wilderness area in California. It was called El Sur Grande, The Big South or Big Sur.

What Happened On Big Sur Launch Day?

Apple’s launch of Big Sur was accompanied by lots of fun for the Californian company. Apple experienced server outages which meant users were unable to download or install the new OS. Worse was the fact iMessage and Apple Pay also went down. Most surprisingly of the lot was performance issues for users running older operating systems on their Macbooks. In fact everything from MacOS Catalina and before saw performance issues, my own included. At the time I was worried my Macbook was finally coughing and spluttering but no. It was a centralised issue affecting all Apple laptops. Seems odd right?

Well, it seems odd only because I’ve been reading about how a security researcher dug deep into the release and has flagged some pretty frightening issues for a company heavily reliant on security as a brand cornerstone.

Apple’s Ethos

Apple is a bit like Trump. Wait now and hear me out. Apple perpetuates an image and keeps saying things so that we all believe it. “It just works” was their old battle cry, but like Trump’s “I won big”. If you say things enough, enough people will believe it without scratching the surface. Yep, people believe Trump won and people do believe Mac “just works”. Apple has also pushed the privacy side of their operating systems. “We at Apple believe that privacy is a fundamental human right” said Apple CEO Tim Cook.

The Big Sur release heavily undermined two of Apple’s pillars; functionality and privacy. Here’s how bad it is.

Big Sur Privacy Issues

Security researcher Jeffry Paul has published the innards of what’s going on. He outlines how the days of simply powering on your Macbook to do a task are gone. Instead, the simplest boot to undertake a simple task means a log of your activity gets sent to Apple. Paul has found evidence that Apple’s OS sends the company a unique identifer containing every program you run as you’re running it. You’d never notice it because it runs quietly in the background but it surfaced with the Big Sur release when things slowed and crashed, the two incidents being directly linked.

This isn’t a small privacy issue either. You might even be asking yourself “so what?”. Well, here are the things Apple is harvesting:

  • Date
  • Time
  • Computer
  • ISP
  • City
  • State
  • Application Hash

Apple can determine quite a lot here. They can tell what you’re doing, when you’re doing it and why. Apple also has access to your IP address which can be considered personal data. Paul also highlights that since October 2012, Apple has signed up to PRISM, a program which allowed the US federal police and military access to all of this data freely, access they made use of over 30,000 times in 2019 alone.

Paul spells out the simple truth that “this data amounts to a tremendous trove of data about your life and habits, and allows someone possessing all of it to identify your movement and activity patterns. For some people, this can even pose a physical danger to them”.

Un-privacy By Design

Now, as is often the case, things like this emerge and through a simple installation, the problem is solved. Like online ads. They’re annoying so we install ad blockers. Until Big Sur, a program called Little Snitch. This allowed you to block all communication between your laptop and Apple. Nice, right? Well, Big Sur prevented Big Sur from working properly. To me, it sounds like Apple really wants that data.

I’m no stranger to GDPR and am a little concerned about what Apple might be gathering all this data for. Sure, I’ve got nothing to hide but that doesn’t change the fact it’s my data and my decision what to share, not Apple’s.

For now, there’s not really much you can do about it all. However, if you think Apple is really security focused it might be time to recalibrate your thinking. I know I have.

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