A couple of years back, I interviewed for a job in a tech company. One of “their things” was Patagonia fleeces. It was a funny little pull factor at the time because the fleeces were really nice but pricey. At that time I was just glad my employer paid me, let alone gave me a €100 fleece. A couple of years later and I have a fresh perspective on Patagonia. I’m more aware of the environment and perhaps most importantly the impact where I spend my money has on the world. Patagonia is a brand I gladly spend a few bob on for many reasons, one of which is the stand they’ve taken against Facebook.
Patagonia Boycotting Facebook Advertising
This isn’t even news, but it does come with renewed commitment this week from the Patagonia clothing brand. As Facebook rebranded as Meta in their journey towards creating a virtual metaverse for us all to live in, Patagonia reminded us that they care about the real world we live in. At the end of the day, hard as Mark Zuckerberg might want to create Ready Player Two in real life, we’ll always need air to breathe.
On Thursday, Patagonia CEO Ryan Gellert said “we believe Facebook has a responsibility to make sure its products do no harm, and until they do, Patagonia will continue to withhold our advertising” before going on to ask other companies to join Patagonia’s movement. Basically, that movement is to stop spending money on Facebook advertising until Facebook or Meta starts to ensure their platforms stop projecting harm and hate into the world.
This isn’t a first and back in 2020, over one thousand companies joined a boycott on investing in advertising on the various Facebook platforms.
Today, Patagonia is one of the few companies to publically renew that boycott, with Gellert stating that “Patagonia stopped all paid advertising on Facebook platforms in June 2020 because they spread hate speech and misinformation about climate change and our democracy. We continue to stand by that boycott 16 months later”.
Power Of Patagonia. Power Of Spend.
This isn’t the first time Patagonia has taken a stance like this either. The company previously refused to work with several banks and oil companies that were seeking co-branded fleeces for their workforce. That’s the nice fleece I would have got if I joined that tech company all those years ago.
Taking stances like this is why I like investing in Patagonia clothing. It’s the ultimate example of buying what they do, not what they sell. When you buy Patagonia stuff, they’ll even repair it if it’s damaged or recycle it when you’re done with it. More and more, I aware of where I spend my money and what companies get access to my pocket. That can be difficult as a tech reviewer, but I do try and find balance in recommending the best of the best but also the least evil of all companies.
Given I’ve deleted Facebook and Facebook’s WhatsApp this year, it’s no wonder I quite like Patagonia now, is it? Do you care about what companies stand for or do you only want value?
In a first for the Irish market, Eir is giving all customers free access to their 5G network. That means that if you’re an Eir customer, with a 5G phone in a 5G area, you can now get superfast mobile downloads at no extra cost. The network states this is a first for Ireland. Eir has stated that this is for all “in-market plans”, which means you need to be on a plan they are currently selling across both prepay and bill pay.
There’s some additional good news too if you’re getting back out and about and going abroad. You’ll be able to access 5G where available in 22 EU countries, Asia, Canada and the Middle East. Again, I believe that’s a first for the Irish market.
5G has seen a stumbling start in Ireland but with a growing selection of handsets on the market at affordable prices, 5G is fast becoming the norm. This is another sign that 5G will quickly become expected, instead of being a “nice-to-have”.
Will Gomo Customers Get 5G?
It’s highly unlikely that Eir’s value network, Gomo, will offer 5G anytime soon. Joining Gomo is much cheaper and 5G is one of the key differentiators that Eir will use to encourage people to upgrade onto the Eir network. For now, if you’re on Gomo you’ll still only get 4G speeds.
How Will Eir Customers Get 5G?
You don’t have to do anything from today’s announcement if you have a plan that Eir currently sells. You’ll just need to have:
It feels remarkable that scam phone calls have been such a big problem in Ireland for the past year, or even more. Whether it has come as a direct result of the HSE cyber-attack or not isn’t the big takeaway either. I find it far more interesting that Irish network providers seem helpless to stop the calls. Google has released the new Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro, both of which I’m currently testing. Would you believe, Google has included the solution to our scam call problems and all.
Google Call Screening
Google has gone big with promoting their new homemade Tensor chip in the new suite of Pixel smartphones. It’s designed to improve language processing, voice recognition and more. Google Assistant is expected to benefit greatly from the Tensor chip and it appears that is the case. The other night, my better half called me. As the screen lit up I spotted a new button that said “Screen Call”
The option to use Google Call Screening in Ireland on the Pixel 6 Pro
I was a bit surprised. During the Google launch event, I saw a wee footnote that suggested this functionality would only appear in the US market. Apparently, this must have referred to Google Assistant’s ability to look after your position in a hold queue when calling someone like a bank.
How Does Google Call Screening Work?
Generally speaking, the idea here is that when you get a call from a number you don’t know or are somewhere you’re can’t answer the call, you tap that “Screen Call” button. From that point on, Google Assistant takes control of your call like a full-on personal assistant.
Google Assistant talking to someone who called me.
A very polite Google Assistant informs the called that I’m using a screening service from Google and that I’ll get a transcript of the call. The Google Assistant then prompts the caller to say their name and why they’re calling.
The caller’s responses are then transcribed in realtime so you can read who they are and what they need. At any time, you can choose to accept the call or hang up. When the caller has finished answering a question, you can manually prompt for additional information. You can gather more and more of the callers details before making your decision to take the call or hang up.
Don’t worry. I had called myself from another phone. I didn’t keep a driver waiting while testing this.
How Can Google Assistant Stop Scam Calls?
So, in truth, Google Assistant can’t stop scam calls. What it can do, is give you a set of tools to better avoid scam calls and protect yourself. If everyone had these tools, scam calls would likely dry up as they wouldn’t be as effective. Right now, scammers are using Irish mobile numbers to run their scams. People in Ireland are quite likely to answer unknown numbers. For me, it’s often a delivery driver or someone I know who’s just not in my phone book.
But a large proportion of the calls are also scammers. Now, when I get a call from an unknown number, I can simply tap that “Screen Call” button and verify that I know the person trying to get in touch.
The functionality does indeed go beyond stopping scam calls from reaching you though. I plan to use this feature when in situations I simply can’t answer the phone. Whether I’m in a meeting or chatting with a friend and weighing up whether or not the caller can wait, whether I know them or not. Given my time with the iPhone 12 and Focus Mode recently, this is yet another tool that lets you take back control in terms of how reachable you are.
Will Google’s Call Screening Work In Ireland?
This is a double-barreled question. First of all, having chatted to some fellow tech reviewers, not all Pixel 6 phones in Ireland have this feature yet. I’ve reached out to Google for clarification that this feature is confirmed in Ireland. But there’s another potential issue here; culture. I’m not quite sure how many people will be comfortable letting Google Assistant handle my calls for me. One call, which I’m fairly certain was a delivery driver, just hung up. My partner simply said “huh?” and hung up. The logic of “if it’s important enough they’ll call back” applies, and I’m happy to live by that.
What this may mark is the start of Google Duplex functionality rolling out to wider markets. For now, while I continue to test out the smarts of the Google Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro, I’ll be trying this out more and more to see how it’s received.
I’m not going to grill you over “why” you want to use a VPN. Whether it’s unblocking international streaming content or just genuinely for privacy reasons, having access to a VPN is highly recommended these days. Typically speaking, Ireland lags behind a little in technology adoption, yet internet users in Ireland are amongst the highest proportion of ad block users in the world. We’re also very interested in VPNs for many reasons, not least of which is getting access to BBC’s iPlayer to watch the Rubber Bandits and other content.
With all that said, here are the five best VPN providers you can use in Ireland. It’s worth remembering that when a service is free, you are actually the product. That’s why we recommend paid VPNs. When they are free, the provider is nearly always making money from your browsing data.
This isn’t going to be an article that goes into painful detail on each VPN either. Instead, these are just the best ones so you can narrow your choice a little bit.
Ivacy
Note: Goosed.ie may receive a payment from Ivacy if you purchase a membership after clicking one of our links. It doesn’t cost you anything extra, but is a great way to keep the lights on for us!
Ivacy is one of the top VPNs in the business. It doesn’t hide that one of the biggest benefits of their service is unlocking international streaming services. Whether it’s Netflix, Amazon Prime Video or HULU, Ivacy should be able to unlock access and give you a reliable stream.
A general tip for all VPNs is “do not pay full price”. Shop around or wait for a sale. Ivacy will nearly always have some sort of an offer running. Right now, there’s a Halloween sale that’ll save you 75% on a two-year subscription. Just use promo code Halloween20.
If you’re a Mac user, it might be best to pick a different option as the Mac app isn’t as good as some of the others on the market.
NordVPN
This is the one you most likely heard of. NordVPN goes heavy on advertising and sponsoring various tech creators online. I’m not one of them, but I’ve used NordVPN and it’s pretty slick.
NordVPN lets you connect up to six devices at a time on one subscription. It’ll also give you access to streaming services internationally. If you need it, you can also grab a static IP address, but that’s an extra monthly cost. You’ll know yourself if this is something you’ll need or not. Never heard of it, well then you can forget about it.
Right now, NordVPN has their Black Friday sale which means massive savings. Indeed, a VPN should be top of your list of things to be on the lookout for during the sale season.
Windscribe
Windscribe is the VPN I have the most personal experience with because I use it myself. Generally speaking, Windscribe has done everything I could expect from a VPN. I’ve been able to watch some stuff in Germany that’s geo-blocked and, of course, tapped into BBC’s iPlayer too. The app is pretty easy to use and works across all devices. I even managed to get it installed onto an Amazon Fire Stick.
I can have no complaints with Windscribe. There doesn’t seem to be any special offers right now, but do keep an eye out.
The Google Pixel has been one of my favourite phones for a few years now. The sheer power of Google’s smart software with ever improving hardware has made Pixel one of the best phones on the market. Last year’s Pixel 5 was simply incredible with one of the best, yet simple, iterations of Android I’ve ever seen. Today, Google launched the next generation; the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro. I’ve only had a brief time with these phones, so the reviews are coming soon. But if you want to know the basics, here you go.
Two Phones
Google has toyed with two phones before. Whether it’s the bigger screens or two phones released months apart, it’s always felt a bit frantic. Now, Google has gone the tried and tested route of Pro. Yep, Google launched a Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro. Both phones are rocking a lot of similar specs and power but the Pro just packs more punch, mainly in the camera hardware.
The biggest difference is the addition of a 4x optical zoom camera and dynamic refresh rate ensuring smooth scrolling when you need it or power saving when you don’t.
Whether you buy Pixel 6 or Pixel 6 Pro, you’ll be able to enjoy the benefits Google is offering with their homegrown Tensor processer.
Google Tensor: Google’s Biggest Hardware Leap
Everyone is talking about chips these days, amid a global shortage. Many companies, like Google, are pivtoing to gain more control over the supply chain. The solution is simple. Just make your own processors. This is exciting because true magic happens when companies create both the hardware and software to work in unison. Just look at how incredible the Apple eco-system is.
Speaking at the launch, Google’s Rick Osterloh describes the line up as “quite a bit different” and that Google has “state-of-the-art hardware, which means Pixel can deliver even more impressive real-world performance, as well as new AI-driven experiences that have never been possible before”.
Highlights of Google Tensor
Google’s biggest strength is its bordering on creepy levels of machine learning and AI-processing power. Tensor promises to not only be nearly 80% more efficient than previous Pixel smartphones, but also to deliver next level processing power in a smartphone.
Tensor will power better image processing and voice recognition. This is great because, while Google’s photography hardware is good, it needs incredible software to add some finesse. Until now, mobile processors have held Google back, but Tensor fixes that. They also promise better Assistant speech recognition and Transation, all powered by Tensor.
The Camera Bar
The primary camera setup on the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro makes this one of the most unique looking phones on the market. Take a look here at the Pixel 6 Pro.
Pixel 6 Pro camera array
Speaking at the launch, Brian Rakowski said the “Pixel 6 is leagues ahead of our previous Pixel Cameras, from the hardware, to the software, to the computational photography”.
Indeed, while the hardware is great, it’s Google’s software and processing power that’s really exciting. For example, Magic Eraser lets you remove people or things from the background of your photos that’s ruining your vibe.
Also, for BIPOC, Google’s camera smarts promise to deliver more true reflections of people how they really look, making Pixel 6 the most inclusive camera on the market.
Camera highlights
There are a wealth of other features on the new Google Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro. Not all are coming to Ireland, at least not yet. The most needed is smart call screening so fingers crossed Google expands that beyond the US.
Some cool features on the #Pixel6 and #Pixel6Pro that we're not getting in Ireland (or outside the US at all, for now at least).
Google Tensor allows for screening calls from unknown numbers (ie spot scammers) and will jot down the numbers you need to tap when calling banks. pic.twitter.com/0fYmnaoDfC
— Marty Meany | Tech And Stuff | Goosed.ie (@martinmeany) October 19, 2021
This is just the quick overview of the launch. Check back in next week when I’ll be publishing the full review.
It may seem like a somewhat insignificant footnote on Budget Day 2022, but the Irish Data Protection Commission has today secured an additional €4.1 million in funding from the Irish government. This funding brings DPC’s allocation of budget to €23.2 million for 2022. This increased funding comes amid staunch criticism leveled at the DPC from commentators and the EU alike.
DPC Secures Additional Budget 2022 Funding
As part of Budget 2022, the Irish government has recognised the importance of data protection in Ireland by allocating an additional €4.1 million to the DPC. This marks a rather astonishing 1121% increase in budget allocation to the DPC since 2014 and 21% since last year alone. Heavy investment is understandable given Ireland’s unique position. As the EU home to companies like Facebook, the DPC is responsible for regulating many large companies from a data protection point of view.
Irish government investment in Data Protection Commission since 2014
On the additional funding, the Commissioner for Data Protection, Helen Dixon, stated that “as the DPC embarks on the delivery of its ambitious Strategy for 2022-2027, we very much welcome the ongoing recognition of the we very much welcome the ongoing recognition of the Government of the need to adequately resource an independent data protection authority. As societies, government and business become ever more data-driven, careful oversight by the DPC is necessary to ensure the personal-data rights of individuals are factored in and protected. Over the last 12 months, the DPC has significantly increased its enforcement activity as larger investigations have reached conclusion and this work must continue and increase alongside the DPC’s role in guiding organisations on compliance”.
But the question remains, just how good an investment this is by the government?
Is The DPC A Worthwhile Investment?
A couple of years ago, in an old job, I was assigned the job of Data Protection Officer. It was a new requirement for this particular company ahead of GDPR. Little did I know it would be the start of my keen interest in data protection. A couple of months ago, I watched a meeting of the Joint Committee on Justice to discuss the performance of the DPC, at which data protection activist Max Shrems was in attendance. I was shocked at what emerged.
The DPC uses the term “handle” quite a lot and with it comes a massive grey area and questions around just how valuable the DPC as a service. To the DPC, there is no obligation to produce a decision where a complaint has been made. In fact, of the 10,000 complaints reported by the DPC in 2020, the organisation planned to deliver just six or seven decisions this year.
Indeed, I myself am left scratching my head at how remarkable it is that the DPC has been given another large chunk of change given I’ve had a complaint open against the church since mid-2018. Under GDPR, members of the public are entitled to have their data protection rights enforced by national bodies, free of charge and in a reasonable time. Over three years is hardly reasonable.
There are often winners and losers on Budget Day. Considering a press release that went out from the DPC suggests they feel they’ve won today. Unfortunately, it would appear that the taxpayers have lost. The DPC has been held to a minimal level of accountability since GDPR brought increased investment and little has changed since that Joint Committee meeting.
Max Schrems, Chair of noyb put it best when he said, “if you were to tell your boss that you interpreted ‘to handle’ as letting you dump work in the trash, you would probably get fired”. Commenting on the investment, Shrems described the investment as “throwing more cash at a broken organization”.
Throwing more cash at a broken organization seems to be more of a PR exercise than any real help. Usually not really how you incentivize reform… 🤨#GDPR#DSGVOhttps://t.co/giEj24o77e
It’s been a turbulent time for Huawei in Europe over the past few years. It’s been a while since the brilliant but problematic Huawei P40 Pro launched, but it does look like the P50 Series is about to launch this month. The P40 Pro is a hardware marvel, but it’s the first Huawei flagship to launch since parting from Google following the US ban. With it went Google Pay and the ability to tap your phone in-store to pay for stuff. Contactless payments are a crucial part of smartphones these days and Huawei has finally arranged a solution for Huawei HMS phone owners.
Curve Payments
I’ve been using a service called Curve for a few years now. It’s one of those funny apps that I have, but literally never even think about anymore. Curve lets me manage all my bank cards from a central app and card. As silly as it might sound, I have a card for Bank of Ireland, two for KBC, two for Revolut and another for N26. I have my reasons and none of them are dodgy before you ask.
Keeping track of all these cards is a nuisance and from time to time I might be found trying to pay for something with a card I don’t have on me. This is why I use Curve.
I can add all my cards to Curve which in turn gets linked to my final card; my Curve card. I can use this like any other bank card but it pretends to be from Bank of Ireland of KBC. The bad news is that, while it pretends, it’s spending your money.
Huawei has announced that Curve is now available in the AppGallery.
Huawei Pay Alternative: Huawei Contactless With Curve
Back before the world fell apart, I attended a Huawei launch event in Barcelona and asked the company’s CEO, Richard Yu, what plans were in place to overcome the issue of mobile payments. It’s not the solution Yu suggested it would be. I had assumed that Huawei Pay, the company’s own digital wallet, would be expanded to new markets. Instead, the partnership with Curve means that’s almost negated.
Now, you can install Curve on your Huawei HMS device, like the P40 Pro, and set up your payment cards. For example, you can add your Revolut card to the Curve app. Once set up, you just have to unlock your phone and tap to pay where ever you normally pay with a card.
Curve is also available for Android and iOS.
If you shop in the Huawei online store for something like the FreeBuds 4 (which are brill) you can get 5% back when you pay with Curve.
Down Detector is a really useful tool for confirming it’s not just you and everyone else’s phone isn’t working either. Today, Facebook platforms including Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram and even Facebook’s new app for RayBan Stories, all went down. It is the worst outage for the company since 2008 and at the time of writing is still ongoing. Not that I’m feeling it much given I’ve quit Facebook and deleted WhatsApp. But a look at Down Detector suggests it’s not just Facebook and that internet service provider (ISPs) are also having a global issue. What gives?
How Does Down Detector Work?
Down Detector is a really simple concept. The people behind the service have built a platform that monitors several places people turn to when something on the internet breaks. For example, amongst many other factors, they monitor Twitter for mentions of outages or mentions of things like “is Facebook down”. Combining these many sources of information and validating as much as possible, Down Detector then provides a graph that shows spikes in likely outages.
Just one event, like a tweet, can’t cause a spike. It’s all relative and as a result, usually pretty accurate.
But tonight’s outage has shown some weakness in this approach.
Down Detector Suggests Issues With ISPs, Carriers And Mobile Networks
A look at the Down Detector status screen suggests this isn’t just a Facebook issue. On top of the Facebook estate, mobile networks and home ISPs all show similar spikes in reported errors. Why is that?
Down Detector dashboard incorrectly suggesting ISP and network issues
Well, it’s very human to be honest. When your Instagram feed stops refreshing, you’re more likely to flick airplane mode on and back off again, or reset your modem. After all, Facebook spends massive money to make sure they continue making money through even the heaviest of traffic spikes. Facebook doesn’t fail.
So when Facebook does fail, people are far more likely yo blame their phone, carrier, mobile network or home ISP. That’s what you’re seeing in the screenshot from Down Detector. And that’s the one flaw in their reporting system.
A quick trip to Google Trends validates this. Looking at queries driving Down Detector in Google Search over the past four hours, “vodafone outage” and “vodafone broadband down” are Breakout rising terms. This means people are jumping the gun and blaming Vodafone for Zuckerberg tripping over a cable in the office.
Don’t let this take away from how useful Down Detector is. It’s still the first place I go when something like this massive outage happens. It’s just important you know where to direct your anger, if you’re all that bothered about watching some telly or chatting to your housemates!
Update: So, Vodafone is actually experiencing a real outage too though they do state it’s related to the Facebook estate outage. My theory is that people are rebooting, retrying and attempting to reconnect so much that Vodafone simply can’t handle the volume of network requests. Just a theory. What an interesting night.
There is currently a global outage across several social media platforms. This is impacting our data network performance. We will continue to post updates as they become available.
There’s a really obvious way to open this article. Most kids growing up have heard “get off that computer and do your homework”. Or maybe it was housework. The fundamental idea is simple though. Some parents (me actually excluded) never believed people could make a living sitting at a keyboard or playing games. The rising popularity of Esports has utterly shattered that misconception. Even today’s top F1 drivers like Max Verstappen and Lando Norris participate in Esports. And now, there’s a new competition specifically targeting collegiate Esports in Ireland.
The Irish Esports College Series
Legion Esports, an Irish Esports company, has launched a new competition open to just Irish college students. This is the only third-level Esports competition in the country, welcoming gamers from over twenty Irish universities and colleges. Legion Esports founder, Stuart Dempsey, says “Legion Collegiate is a hugely exciting opportunity for us. The popularity of esports amongst third-level students has been obvious for a number of years now, and we’re looking forward to providing them a platform to showcase their skills and go head to head with other college teams in Ireland and beyond”.
Legion Collegiate – Participating Colleges
University College Dublin
Dublin Business School
University College Cork
Dublin City University
Trinity College Dublin
Dundalk Institute of Technology
University of Limerick
Institute of Technology Carlow
University of Ulster
Institute of Technology Sligo
Letterkenny Institute of Technology
Queen’s University Belfast
Maynooth University
RCSI Dublin
Munster Technical University
Technological University Dublin
National College of Ireland
Waterford Institute of Technology
National University of Ireland Galway
Athlone Institute of Technology
Gamers will be able to enter the competition across a wide range of games, including League of Legends, Valorant, Rocket League, Smash Bros. and CS:GO.
The initial Legion Collegiate Winter Series running from October 11th and wrapping in January. This will be followed by the Legion Collegiate Spring Series, kicking off in February 2022 and conclude in May 2022.
I’m a big fan of sparkling water. I’m also a big fan of the idea that my children and grandchildren will have a decent planet to grow up on. So here’s the problem. Sparkling water typically comes in plastic bottles. Simply put, plastic bottles suck. The solution is my beloved Sodastream which injects CO2 into tap water to create sparkling water. Living in Dublin brings another problem to the fore. The water in Dublin tastes horrendous. I’ve found a solution to this problem too. I bought an eco-friendly water jug called Phox and here’s why I love it.
What Is Phox?
Phox is, quite simply, is a water jug. If it were to do nothing else, it would achieve holding and pouring 2.2 litres of water. Now, if it was just that I wouldn’t be talking about it. There’s a bit of eco-friendly science about this water jug that sets it aside from the competition.
If you have a water filtration jug in your home, there’s a massive chance it’s been designed and built by Brita. Brita is a world leader in the production of water filtration jugs. While they’ve made strides to be more eco-friendly, these traditional-style water filters lead to more than 100 million plastic cartridges ending up in landfills every year. Phox estimates that their eco-friendly water jug has a carbon footprint 70% smaller than the Brita style water jugs.
The Phox water jug has been designed with the reduction of waste in mind. Instead of replacing the filter after every usage cycle is complete, you change the contents of the filter.
How Does The Phox Jug Work?
Parts of the Phox jug
Phox, in essence, works the same as all water filtration jugs. You fill the jug from a tap and the tap water passes through minerals. This process removes contaminants from the water making it taste and smell less unpleasant. Phox is different because unlikely many water jugs, you empty the minerals required to filter your water into a reusable container inside the jug from a small package. This process dramatically reduces the waste that ends up in a landfill.
Phox offers two different filtration packs:
Clean Pack
Alkaline Pack
I’ve only tested the clean pack so far. Given the water in Dublin is so horrible straight from the tap, I just wanted to make our tap water taste nicer. The ultimate goal was to make my own sparkling water and stop buying bottled water. The clean pack can also softens water and makes for a better cup of tea or coffee.
I’m going to try out the alkaline pack too. This pack removes the stink from water but also helps with heartburn.
Is Phox Really An Eco-Friendly Water Jug?
Throughout my review, and I will review this in a minute, I struggled with one element of Phox. A lot of the calculations on carbon footprint and manufacturing are based on the product being used in the UK. It’s not great knowing I have to get my filter packs shipped from the UK. Now that I’ve tested the jug out, I’m going to order at least a year’s supply of filtration packs to reduce on shipping.
Still, even though the jug had to be shipped to Ireland, its manufacturing doesn’t change. To reduce their carbon footprint, Phox found UK companies to supply as many raw materials as possible. All of this second generation Phox jug’s manufacturing, packaging, design and distribution are completed within an 80-kilometre radius of Phox HQ in Glasgow.
At the end of the day, I’m confident that this approach is better than relying on store-bought water in plastic bottles.
I’m just about to replace my second filter. Each filter lasts for 45 days so I’ve been using the Phox for nearly three months. The first glass of water left me shocked at how effective the Phox is at making Dublin water completely drinkable. I don’t think twice about drinking it. We no longer buy bottled water and are keeping the Sodastream busy.
One massive positive of the jug is just how fast it filters a full reservoir of water. In just 5 minutes you’ll have lovely clean tap water to drink. The Phox team have cleverly created an app that reminds you to change your filter contents. They even send you an email to remind you too. I need things like this in my life.
When it came to ordering my replacement filtration packs, there was some snag with customs. Now that I think of it, the jug itself was slow to arrive because it was coming from the UK, but it did arrive. I’ve since spotted that Amazon stocks the Phox filtration packs. Considering Amazon is about to open a fulfilment centre in Ireland next year, this should make this whole process a lot easier than buying directly from Phox.
I, again, have to call the people of Phox very clever. Once your filtration pack does land, it’ll arrive in a letterbox friendly package. This means your postie is a lot less likely to have a failed delivery, further reducing carbon footprints.
Flaws Of The Phox Jug
While ordering from the UK isn’t ideal, the jug itself isn’t perfect either. Perhaps the biggest flaw of the design is the large circumference of the glass container. It’s so large that it doesn’t fit in my fridge door, something Brita has always been sure to think of. If you overfill the reservoir it won’t filter down into the glass container. I’ve had many occasions where this happens and then when pouring water, unfiltered water leaks from the reservoir.
It’s also a very tall jug. This means anything at all in the sink can make the jug tough to refill. Typically, I use a small kitchen jug to refill it. An easy solution really.
Despite these little snags, I have nothing but positive recommendations if you’re thinking of buying yourself a Phox.
Phox Eco-friendly Water Jug: The Verdict
Let’s recap. I bought this jug from the UK, had various delays in getting it through customs and hit further snags getting my refils. There are some little annoyances about its design too, so how do I feel about the Phox in general? Well, to be honest, I love it. I can’t quite put my finger on why I love it but despite the flaws, it’s a great solution to the problems I was having. Also, during the buying process when I hit snags, their customer care was great.
The Phox nails the two most important things I was after in a water jug. I wanted an eco-friendly alternative to a Brita water jug and I wanted tastier water. Is it the perfect solution? Maybe not, but it solved my problems perfectly.
