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Archive for May, 2017

By Gareth May 12, 2017 Read More →

Bonibol 30L Hiking Daypack

Bonibol 30L Hiking Daypack is a water-resistant, ultralight, camping Backpack or Travel Daypack or perhaps a Casual Backpack capable of holding your gear for a day on the mountains, on the trail, in the office/school, or checking out the sights.

The Uhaul Camper, manufactured by Equity Helicopters is a new and innovative small camper that converts into a hot tub. It has all the comforts of a luxurious cabin with the mobility of a truck camper. With the Uhaul you can easily roll it up, set it up in the back of your pickup truck, mount the propane or natural gas heater, and enjoy a relaxing soak in the tub while the propane is charged for use in the Uhaul camper. The smallish, but versatile camper also folds up to be super compact when not in use and can be carried along without having to haul anything.

Multiple Pockets: To keep your gear organised, it comes with a main compartment with a laptop sleeve, a front pocket with three additional pockets and two side mesh pockets.

Comfortable: The solid daypack comes with soft padded shoulder straps and a well-ventilated back panel to ensure a cool and comfortable carrying experience.

Durable & Water-resistant: Crafted from durable nylon with water-resistant coating, it is capable of fending off light moisture and offering abrasion and tear resistance.

Comes with an 18-month warranty and can be purchased from here.

Posted in: Featured, Videos/Unboxings, Wearables

By Gareth May 11, 2017 Read More →

Foobot Launches its Leading Smart Indoor Air Quality Monitor

Luxembourg based company, Airboxlab, today announces that its connected indoor air quality monitor, Foobot, is now available in the UK. Foobot is the brainchild of CEO, Jacques Touillon, who wanted to help his eldest child in his fight against asthma and after looking without success for a device to fight this invisible enemy was determined to improve his son’s health and to develop a solution himself. Foobot was born.

Foobot is the most advanced data processing smart monitor in the market, helping you take control of your indoor air quality, either by working with other home automation devices or simply by giving you detailed knowledge of something which is effectively invisible. By scanning your environment day and night and learning from your habits, Foobot will provide you warnings and actionable advice to keep your air in the home fresh and pollution free. It constantly measures VOCs, PM2.5s, CO2, temperature and humidity, and logs them in five minute intervals to find the best solution for air quality needs.

Poor air quality can impair our health, leading to symptoms such as fatigue, headaches, eye, nose and throat infections and can aggravate allergies and asthma. To protect our health and preserve our quality of life, indoor air quality is fundamental. Improving air quality in an office setting by using a Commercial Air Purifier is also important for countless reasons. In addition to keeping employees healthy, safe air quality improves productivity and performance. Foobot turns invisible indoor pollution into a tangible, visible thing thanks to its soft coloured LED light, meaning air quality can be easily viewed and assessed and appropriate action can be taken if required to improve it.

Most consumers who purchase Foobot use it as a source of knowledge, empowering them to make better choices and decisions. Foobot provides the right information at the right time to take care of existing problems and prevent the creation of new ones. This could be as simple as opening a window but with Foobot you’ll know exactly when it’s required and for how long – very useful if it’s freezing cold outside or you live on a main road! The Foobot app gives you access to real time information, so over a longer period of time, helps you understand which household products, carpets or even furniture are releasing a frequent dose of pollutant. With this knowledge, you can amend your behaviour and habits to avoid pollution production. It also creates a more comfortable living space for the whole family by ensuring it is at the right temperature and humidity. Temperature can also affect the release of pollutants in your house, such as when temperatures rise, the glue present in everyday furniture emits more formaldehyde, a well-known carcinogenic VOC.

Foobot can also work closely with other smart home devices with a connected thermostat such as Google Nest to control your home’s temperature or can communicate directly with Amazon Echo. When any pollutants exceed healthy levels, Foobot will relay this information allowing Alexa to talk about the problem to you via voice and suggest possible solutions. Foobot can essentially be an active part of the smart home ecosystem helping trigger the ventilation, filtration, purification system or appliances. With the help of IFTTT, Foobot can also connect to 120+ home appliances, including HIVE, the connected thermostat from British Gas.

Foobot uses internal sensors to check for pollution in the form of chemicals and particulate matter, which are up to five times more common indoors as a result of confinement and alerts you via its companion app and the LEDs on the device itself. The device is sensitive to:

• PM2.5s – Particulate matter smaller than 2.5 micrometres, like dust, pollen and pet dander

• VOCs – Volatile organic compounds, toxic gases like formaldehyde and ammonia. This sensor is also sensitive to carbon monoxide, a potentially dangerous gas.

• Carbon dioxide – Exhaled naturally from humans. Not itself harmful, but indicative of poor circulation. This is measured via data from other sensors.

• Humidity – Low humidity can cause irritation. Excessive humidity let mould and dust mites grow.

• Temperature – Mostly for comfort, but still important to optimise

Indoor air pollution isn’t just a threat at home. We spend an average of 90% of our lives indoors, whether in a school, office, hotel, hospital or at the shopping centre. Aside from long-term health benefits, breathing clean air keeps people awake and productive, so they can work, study and play.

Clean air is even more critical for people suffering or recovering from health issues. At hospitals, well-circulated air can minimise the spread of airborne diseases. Since children are particularly susceptible to asthma, clean air at schools is perhaps more important than at home given their high occupancies. In the UK, around 5.4 million people suffer from asthma that pollution can exacerbate. For those affected, air pollution reduces life expectancy by an average of over eleven years. This is nearly 5% of all annual UK deaths but amazingly, there is very little awareness of the problem, making air pollution an invisible public health crisis that affects much of the UK.

For more information on the subject in the form of a white paper on the growing need for data in managing indoor air quality, click here

Posted in: News, Science & Technology

By Gareth May 10, 2017 Read More →

Glovax Pro review

Glovax is an interesting Indiegogo campaign I have managed to get ahold of ahead of time. These striking gloves brag they can tolerate more abuse than any other adventure glove including, cut resistance, anti-skidding, abrasion-resistance, water & oil resistance, flexibility, and comfort!

As a gardener, I put them to the test and spent a couple of weekends tackling my jungle with little concern as to the gloves welfare, and they held up pretty well.

In the description, we are told the yarn of the gloves is made with special technology contributing to its durability and resistance. In the hand they gloves feel similar to what you might expect from mountain biking gloves, however, this messes into a rubbery underside with a notable grip.

The variant I have been sent are the Glovax Pro in a rather striking orange colour. Don’t let that fool you, you will be able to find them if you drop them. On closer inspection you notice that the mountain bike-like material is in fact much stiffer and tightly woven, there is only a little give or sketchiness to the material.

Inside the glove is a silky soft underside of the material, all around. This feels good on the hand, allowing the skin to breath and keep cool. On the hand, the gloves feel snug but not restrictive. They are light weight and after a few minutes, you will forget you are wearing them as they are mightily comfortable.

It took me a little while before I was happy to push on push on with the Glovax as I believed I would damage them, however that soon gave way to the carefree attitude as I dug into the bottom of the lawnmower to give it a clean and the glove were tight enough to my hands I that I was to act like I was using my naked finger instead of cumbersome gloves. The only thing that was missing were my nails to get to those hard to reach places.

Cutting hedges, moving lawns, lifting grass and hedge cuttings were much easier as thorns could not jab me and I really felt quite protected. Turning my attention to fixing a broken fence, the glove provided good grip for screws, ripping up broken wood and attaching new lumps of wood together.

The one thing that really bothers me was the claim that the gloves are waterproof. Not to the degree I was expecting. Plunging the gloves into the drain to remove leaves, stones and other foreign matter the gloves let water in. They do not perform like a pair of marigolds by the kitchen sink. Perhaps the rubbery underside keeps the water out if rock climbing as depicted on the campaign page and I am mistaken.

After this, I decided to test another bold claim, the cut resistance. I took the sharpest knife in my kitchen drawer and skid it across the rubber a few times. Each time I tried harder and harder and the gloves withstood it. Certainly, this isn’t revolutionary, however when you consider the gloves weigh around 50 grammes you have to admit, that’s a lot of protection for something so slight.

Glovax are pretty impressive and diverse. There is a lot you can do with them and they would be welcome in most homes and still be used for multiple different things. At a price of $24 for the basic backing on their Indiegogo, they are a better investment than a few pairs of a cheaper alternative.

Posted in: Reviews
Tags: Featured

By Gareth May 9, 2017 Read More →

Silent and antibacterial – the new SPEEDLINK AXON

Speedlink is proud to present an updated version of its successful ergonomic desktop mouse, the AXON. The upgraded version packs two fresh new features: with its silenced buttons, it produces virtually no noise, plus its special antibacterial coating kills up to 99% of bacteria.

At a time when flu germs are lurking everywhere, good personal hygiene habits are all the more important – hands are only shaken when absolutely necessary, and when you take public transport it smells more like a cross between a hygiene wipe and a hot tub filled with cold remedy products. And it isn’t just public transport, toilets and doctors’ surgeries that harbour bacteria – these pathogens can be found virtually everywhere, with frequently used objects and devices in particular, such as smartphones, TV remotes and even computer mice, being afflicted.

Now protection is at hand against bacterial infection at the desktop thanks to SPEEDLINK’s updated version of the AXON. The mouse features a special antibacterial rubber coating based on the antibacterial properties of silver, which kills up to 99% of bacteria. And the AXON can do a lot more besides: thanks to its silent main buttons the mouse stops generating its own sound effects and you get to enjoy quiet clicks.

“We have upgraded the AXON, one of our most popular office mice, so it’s even better adapted to meet workplace demands. Whether you use it at home or in the office, this ergonomic mouse lets you work without your hand feeling strained, plus you won’t get disturbed by clicking noises – it also makes your workplace a more relaxing and hygienic environment. We’re already working on bringing these great features to our other mice”, said Henner Schröder, Head of Product Management at Jöllenbeck GmbH.

The mouse will be available from online and high-street stores from the start of March 2017 for an RRP of €29.99.

Features:

5-button USB mouse
Antibacterial coating – kills up to 99% of bacteria
Silenced main buttons for quiet clicks
Non-slip rubberised side panels
Ergonomic, full-size design with easy access thumb buttons
Optical sensor with an adjustable resolution of up to 2400dpi
Fast, driverless installation
Cable length: 1.5m

Posted in: Desktop Computing, News

By Gareth May 9, 2017 Read More →

Kickstarter Initiative for Pico Model C

PicoBrew, manufacturer of the world’s first line of automatic, craft beer brewing appliances, has expanded its business into Europe. Its consumer Pico appliances for home brewing (previously only available at retail in the U.S.) will be available to European customers, making brewing at home easier and even more affordable for craft beer enthusiasts with over 150 beers to choose.

Kickstarter Initiative for Pico Model C – 5 days left

Available until May 12, 2017, Pico Model C—the newest model from PicoBrew recently launched on Kickstarter to help fund initial production—is available to European backers. The Pico Model C already ranks in the top 5 most successful Food Kickstarter projects of all time. The project was fully funded reaching $350K USD within just seven hours, and has now passed the $1.5M USD.

Pico Model C is the new, easiest-to-use countertop Pico model that uses the same innovative technology as the earlier stainless steel Pico to brew fresh craft beer automatically in about two hours. It has a sleek, black powder-coated exterior and high-contrast two-line OLED display. It also includes the new Pico C Brew Keg, which features a simplified hose connection and is dishwasher-safe for easy cleanup.

- Pico Model C will retail for €799 MSRP when it hits European stores in Autumn of 2017 and will include the brewing appliance, Pico C Brewing Keg and 5L serving keg.
- PicoPaks and the CO2 carbonation kit will be sold separately.
- The Pico Model C Kickstarter campaign offers early backers a chance to purchase the new model starting at just $329 USD (€302*) plus shipping.

Additional incentives will be announced throughout the campaign. PicoBrew products will be available in the UK in Autumn 2017 via Amazon and other leading retailers.

For more information, visit www.picobrew.com or follow PicoBrew on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.

Posted in: News

By Gareth May 8, 2017 Read More →

The best ideas for Father’s Day

If you are stuck for ideas for some tech toys to keep your father hip and trendy this Father’s Day then here are a few items to consider.

The Braven 405

Is your dad addicted to the gym? This stylish waterproof speaker is equipped with a kickstand that permits freestanding use either in the gym of on the field and has an impressive 24hr ply time! The Braven 405 is easy to fold away and even has a built-in power bank that lets you charge you phone on the go – perfect for somebody who is always on the move.

The Incase Icon Pack

Is you Dad organised? This handy backpack lets him protect and carry his MacBook and other essentials. Perfectly padded with dedicated sleeves to keep all his tech bits protected.

Griffin Survivor Extreme for iPad Mini 4

The water resistant Griffin Survivor Extreme Case is perfect for protecting your father’s tablet. It has been designed to survive a 10th drop onto concrete, making it one of the most drop protective tablet cases available!

Incase City Duffel

This grab-and-go duffel bag is perfect for you Dad’s everyday commute. with an integrated, padded laptop sleeve and large main compartment, it’s perfect for carrying all his everyday essentials.

Griffin Survivor Strong

Tech obsessed Dad? then he’ll definitely be needing an additional drop protection case for his brand new Galaxy S8/s8+. Built without the bulk, this ultra-slim case is able to out-live a 2m concrete drop.

Posted in: Editorial, Gadgets, Promotion

By Gareth May 7, 2017 Read More →

SpeedLink DECUS RESPEC Gaming Mouse Review

There is no shortage of gaming mice out there, however, the is no one mouse that would suit all hands. Some like smaller mice, lighter, to the point, configurable. Putting a list together of all the things you want from a mouse is actually quite difficult, and you might find the almost perfect combination however it lacks that one little feature that is could well be a deal breaker. The Speedlink Decus Respec has a number of possibilities you might want to consider when on the hunt.

Over the last couple of weeks, I have been looking at a number of Speedlink products, primarily a keyboard and a gamepad. These combined features and a low price particularly well I found it quite difficult to find fault. Aside from some disappointing software Speedlink seemed to be on the money.

Working around the mouse, we can see the Decus Respec is designed with the right-handed gamer in mind there does not appear to be a left handed variant available in this particular model. The whole device has been moulded to the contours of the hand and the body fits easily under the hand, including the pinky and ring finger, more on this later.

The thumb has access to a forward and back button, now a staple in mouse standards, from a resting position. The back button takes no effort to press, however, the forward does require a little stretch from the thumb to tap, useful to ensure you do not hit the wrong button and the forward never gets as much action as the back in daily usage.

The index finger sits on the Left Mouse Button (LMB) however it is surrounded by controls. First of all is the larger button next to the LMB, the Double Tap button. This button has a configurable double click for the left button, to save you the effort of double clicking yourself. The instance between the clicks can be set using the software provided.

Behind the scroll wheel is a DPI button, enables the user to adjust the mouse’s sensitivity to a faster or slower pointer speed. The Scroll wheel has a rubber tire style tread around it allowing for extreme grip, the wheel is clickable also. Using the same sensitivity from game to game will keep your aim trained, so it’s important to get it right before playing a competitive first person shooter like Valorant. If you’re coming from CS:GO just like me, then you might also want to check out this csgo to valorant sens converter.

On the right of the mouse as two extra grooves for the ring and pinky fingers. These are exceptionally comfortable, even to those who wield larger hands, like me. Whilst they are an interesting addition, they increase the size of the mouse considerably to a little over 90mm. Some might be happier to forgo this addition for a smaller mouse, however once used for an extended gaming session, the benefits are obvious.

The underside of the mouse has four smooth plastic plates around the edge to maximise smoothness, especially when under on a gaming surface. The optics are in the centre.

Large size does not always make something heavier. The Decus Respec is a heavy mouse out of the box, however, it is a weighted mouse. Underneath the house is a cavity holding four 4.5g weights. For those who find the mouse heavy, this can be adjusted or perhaps a lighter mouse may suit a particular game, the user can adjust on the fly.

A lengthy, hardwearing, braided cord connects the mouse to the computer. At the end of this is a custom designed USB connection that stands out from the rest. You will not make any mistakes pulling this out instead of another peripheral.

LEDs seem to be all the rage and Speedlink seem to love them. The Decus Respec is a slave to the popular culture here. The mouse emits a breathing glow of colour cycling through the spectrum when the computer is on. The slits look somewhat like shark gills on the sides. Only the Decus glows on the top with the Respec sitting in black ink.

Overall, the makings of this gaming mouse are superb. Whilst they are not for everyone, it’s getting close.

The speedlink software is in keeping with their other software, unfortunately, this means the task bar icon is identical to the Gaming software.

The software is easy to use and has some fairly useful features. To the top is the main profile editor allowing for 5 profiles and button configuration. To the right of this allows the use to play around with the lighting effects, there isn’t an extensive range of customisation, however, some is better that none.

Below this is a selection of menus for Performance, speed, system and buttons, alongside settings.

Under Speed, you can adjust the mouse DPI, alongside the X/Y, USB polling rate or rapid fire.

Under System Windows mouse settings like pointer speed and scrolling speed can be adjusted.

Finally under Settings are … no settings. Driver updates and reset defaults is all you find here.

To play a game makes for a top notch experience. I primarily game on a Logitech MX Master, a non-gaming mouse, and find it to be almost perfect for everything I need. The Speedlink Decus Repec keeps up with the Logitech’s precision and performance and adds a few extra buttons that I now look for and perhaps even rely on in certain games.

The Decus Respec sits around £50 on Amazon right now and it’s bargain at that price. The build quality is that of a higher price mouse and the comfort is unparalleled. Combined with the fact that it does exactly what you want it to do in the games you are using it with means this is a brilliant buy for the casual and hardcore gamer. Certainly, a few more settings in the software might push the boat out here, but for now, the Decus Respec is staying hooked up to my computer for now and it will take something incredible to make me want to swap it out. Top marks to Speedlink!

The Speedlink Decus Pespec is available from Amazon here.

Posted in: Desktop Computing, gaming, Reviews

By Gareth May 5, 2017 Read More →

OAXIS WatchPhone The smartest way to protect your child

Award winning global company, Oaxis, today announces the launch of its new children’s hybrid wrist phone, the WatchPhone. The WatchPhone is the first of its kind in the market, allowing children to keep in touch using the 3G network whilst keeping parents reassured of their child’s location with the built-in GPS location tracker. As well as giving parents piece of mind with the one-touch SOS Send a distress signal, the WatchPhone is great fun for children and with a built-in pedometer, emoji’s, text messaging and calls now at their fingertips. It’s sure to be an instant hit with kids and adults alike.

The WatchPhone is designed for an interactive touch experience, making it enjoyable in any setting. Children can easily navigate on the 1.54″ high-resolution colour touch screen with precise accuracy and can enjoy a truly immersive experience on the high-resolution 320 x 320-pixel screen. The WatchPhone displays images which children love and which are incredibly life like.

The WatchPhone is fully compatible with all pay as you go and pay monthly UK networks using a micro sim. With 3G data, voice memos or calls can be sent and received to any iOS or Android smartphone with a single push. It offers two-way communication anytime, anywhere and parents can be confident all location data is protected and accessible only to you and other authorised devices with a 128-bit encryption algorithm.

In a fun, non-invasive way, parents can keep track of their children’s movements with the real-time GPS location tracking. It’s highly accurate GPS positioning system is fully integrated into the WatchPhone and reports the child’s position via the iOS or Android app. Parents have the additional comfort of Geo-Fenced safety zones and can highlight geo-locations on the map so when a child moves outside of this area, the nominated smartphone will be alerted. Children have also the reassurance of a one-touch SOS Send distress signal which can be activated via an integrated SOS button. Once activated, the nominated smartphone will receive information on the child’s location and a 30-second voice memo automatically recorded on the WatchPhone and children can be sure help is on its way.

The WatchPhone is not just about safety, it is fun too! Kids love the cool, colourful designs and enjoy being able to call, voice message and send cute emoji’s to their parents, just like they see adults doing. Children will be sure to be challenged by the steps & calories tracking pedometer helping to infuse fun and ﬁtness to their everyday activities whilst also allowing parents to understand their child’s ﬁtness level and gently encourage further improvements.

The WatchPhone is now available on Oaxis.com for a limited period at the special launch price of only £79.99 with free worldwide shipping.

WatchPhone Specification:

First 3G Children’s WatchPhone – The first 3G network of its kind. Communicate with children anytime, anywhere. Voice calls, text messages, and emoticons can be sent between Watchphone and any iOS or Android smartphone. Compatible with all UK networks using a micro sim.

Full-colour Touch Screen – The Smart WatchPhone is designed for an interactive touch experience for children, making it enjoyable in any environment. Navigate easily on the 1.5″ high-resolution colour touch screen with precise accuracy.

One-touch SOS, GPS & Geo Fencing – With real-time tracking, parents can set safety zones for children by highlighting GEO-locations on the map. For any danger situation, children simply press SOS button to get help.

60 hours long stay time – With 600mAh battery capacity, the WatchPhone battery will last around 60 hours.

Classroom mode & Fitness tracking – The WatchPhone can be silenced during lessons at school, drowning out all notifications except for the SOS function. Full day pedometre tracking helps to infuse fun and fitness a child’s everyday activities.

For more information about Oaxis, please visit www.oaxis.com, www.facebook.com/oaxis, and www.twitter.com/_oaxis.

Posted in: News, Wearables

By Gareth May 5, 2017 Read More →

Attempting Four Wingsuit World Records

British Wingsuit jumper, Fraser Corsan, is travelling to the USA and Canada to attempt to break four world records in Wingsuit flying. In what has been named ‘Project Cirrus’, Fraser aims to break the distance record of 19 miles, speed record of more than 234 mph and the flight duration record of 9.06 minutes, whilst also breaking the current altitude record of 37,256ft over 2 high altitude jumps.

The challenge in perspective

The average forward speed of a typical wingsuit flyer is around 80 – 120mph
The normal altitude a wingsuit flyer jumps from is typically 13,000ft
To start wingsuit flying you need to have completed at least 500 skydives

Fraser’s attempts will be supported by Fujitsu, his current employer, and despite his years of experience in a wingsuit, this is a challenge that is only made possible through the support of innovative and revolutionary technology, developed by a dedicated team of specialists across a number of industries. His challenge exemplifies what Fujitsu is about – technology and humans working together to achieve breakthrough results, safely and securely, innovating through technology to achieve more.

Alongside a specially designed high-performance wingsuit by Phoenix-Fly, Fraser will be using a small piece of GPS receiver tech called FlySight, also designed specifically for wingsuit flying. It provides real-time audible indication of glide ratio and horizontal or vertical speed. Turned on a few minutes before the jump, audible feedback begins immediately after exit allowing Fraser to adjust body position accordingly during each record attempt. Fraser receives his feedback through two small headphones in his High Altitude helmet which offers thermal, audio and impact protection.

In addition to the FlySight GPS device, Fraser will be using an audible altimeter called the Visio and a visual Altimeter called the Military Altitrack from Larsen and Brusgaard. These will enable him to track his attitude at all times and monitor how close he is to breaking his world records. He will also have a GPS tracking device that will transmit his position to the ground team so they can meet him at his landing position.

Sixteen years ago, Fraser Corsan was one of only 15 wingsuit pilots globally. Since then, he has completed 1,300 flights, but this year’s extreme challenge is one of the biggest tests of his career. The jump will entail exiting an aircraft at over 40,000ft, whilst battling temperatures of minus 65 degrees Celsius and winds of up to 200 mph.

In the run up to the jump, Fraser will be embarking on endurance training with focus on intense muscle and cardio training sessions, in addition to a practising a set of specific safety drills in the event of Oxygen system, parachute or wingsuit failure. Multiple training flights over UK airfields are taking place when the weather permits, and Fraser also intends to do 100 further endurance flights to fine polish the technology and his flying style to ensure he reaches his goal.

Fraser’s incredible World Record attempts are supported by Fujitsu and all donations will go directly to SSAFA, the Armed Forces charity. For more info visit http://projectcirrus.com/ or Text Suit79 (with the amount £1/2/3/4/5/10) to 70070.