Archive for July, 2017

By July 30, 2017 Read More →

Foobot Unboxing – Check your air is the best it can be!

vlcsnap-00013Airboxlad has sent over the Foobot for a little assessment. This box of tricks analyses the air in a p[particular room and gives you an outlook on how is it. Interacting with an app on your phone you can keep up to date with the air quality in that room wherever you happen to be. Alerts can be sent to you if there is a change.

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

You can grab one off Amazon when they can keep them in stock!

By July 21, 2017 Read More →

F-Secure Sense Review – The best online security?

IMG_20170623_211739-001Is your smart home safe? Let SENSE take over!

Trojans, Malicious spyware, Botnets are just some of the potential threats to your home network.  Many people are unaware that these threats can infiltrate your home network by a simple click on a website that like a cyber landmine could have a catastrophic effect on your digital self.  Credit card details, access to your personal documents, photographs anything that you have online that is of value can be taken remotely in seconds. This is truly frightening and the attitude this will never happen to me will not protect you. Prevention is better than the cure!

Thankfully F-Secure a Finnish cyber security and privacy company established since 1988 have been working on SENSE a device designed to create a secure home network and protect you and your family’s digital identities. As a beginner in crypto trading, quantum ai trading bots are valuable.

SENSE is a smart security router that is being heavily advertised as ‘The missing piece of your connected home’ Being a family man I want to protect my home and family from any threats so what can SENSE do?

SENSE can connect to all devices in the home from tablets and smartphones to games consoles and baby monitors.

In the age of IoT software it is important that all items within your home are under your control and not left open for an unknown presence to use at their will.  Listening to F-Secure’s Mikko Hypponen at this years TNW 2017 conference in Amsterdam, made me stand up and take notice that the possibility for a hacker to infiltrate my home through a games console is a reality. With the WannaCry ransomware attack happening in May 2017 F-secures timing to launch SENSE could not have happened at a better time. Everyone needs to be more security savvy and with SENSE F-secure has made this easy to do.

You can check out the unboxing of SENSE here with Gareth.

Out of the box, you have to appreciate the commendable design of the SENSE router, a strikingly bright white triangular shape with the router panel hidden away at the back, definitely different from past routers I have had which have been typically black/grey and boring.

f-secure, sense, review, firewall, security, IoT, antivirus, home security,

Inside the box, there is a rather striking cardboard panel welcoming you as a smart person for purchasing SENSE. I guess in the world of smart technologies we also need to adapt and become smarter people. Under this you have a few leaflets; Product safety information and a Quick guide setup for SENSE.

Below the leaflets, you have the angelic white SENSE router, the power cord and plug and an ethernet cable.

The instructions on the cardboard panel instruct you to download the SENSE app from either the Google Play Store or App store. There are a number of ways to connect SENSE to your home network. They are clearly outlined in the instructions. Setup took about ten minutes which was surprisingly quick. I downloaded the SENSE app from the play store and followed the on screen setup. Below you can follow the screenshots of the setup.

My current broadband provider is with Sky.

f-secure, sense, review, firewall, security, IoT, antivirus, home security,

SENSE connected effortlessly to the internet and boom it was ready to serve and protect.

f-secure, sense, review, firewall, security, IoT, antivirus, home security,

SENSE creates a secure WiFi network within your home network. It splits the frequency between 2.4ghz and 5ghz which is useful. Your original WiFi network will still be available to connect to but there will be two further options to consider F-SECURE SENSE 2.4 and 5ghz.

I’m not sure what I was expecting with this newfound technology. SENSE requires minimal effort and works tirelessly to protect all my devices connected to it.  SENSE so far has blocked 386 threats on the 8 devices I have connected to the network. As you can see from the screenshot these threats are generally websites blocked that SENSE realises there is a potential threat. We all have clicked on a ‘where are they now?’ link to be faced with a barrage of advertising and pop ups. Even though you could just look ‘them’ up on a search engine you still proceed to click here for the next page allowing your vital information being collected by a website like this. SENSE recognises the potential threat and blocks the website from being viewed. Unless you don’t mind having your data shared by a website like this SENSE will allow you to continue against its better judgement.

f-secure, sense, review, firewall, security, IoT, antivirus, home security,

My wife and kids are also becoming smarter with SENSE. They are now learning where to access the information they need safely as SENSE has blocked a few of their usual news feed websites are deemed unsafe.

f-secure, sense, review, firewall, security, IoT, antivirus, home security,

The SENSE app also gives a breakdown of each device on browsing protection and tracking protection. The beauty about SENSE is that it will evolve with time, more updates and patches will be created all included with your one off fee of £169.

f-secure, sense, review, firewall, security, IoT, antivirus, home security,

One thing I found surprising is that my phone which I leave on all night was trying to access websites as I slept. This may be an application that has not closed down properly but with SENSE to the rescue it has discovered something sinister and blocked the action.

Should you invest in SENSE? The price tag of £169 for SENSE with 12 months membership followed by £8.50 a month subscription may put a lot of consumers off, why pay for internet security when you can get it for free? As you will know nothing is free nowadays and that free software is making you pay for it with your privacy.

SENSE does not track your internet history as explained here.

With SENSE now running in my house for three weeks, I have discovered WiFi signal to be stronger. Previous to SENSE we had suffered drop offs and had to restart the router in order to connect to the internet again. SENSE boosting WiFi signal is an added bonus to the job it was designed for.

SENSE has proven a welcome addition to my now smarter home. The digital clock displayed on the front has become more useful than I originally thought. We have absolutely no luck with analogue clocks in our house no clock has the right display, knowing that the SENSE router has the right time my wife and kids just pop into the hall if they need to know the time.

I have peace of mind that my family and my IoT devices are not going to be attacked as SENSE acts as my cyber Guardian. F-Secure has not rushed the production of SENSE as they wanted to get the product just right. Their patience and endurance have truly paid off as SENSE really is the missing piece of your connected home.

A mobile device to run the F-Secure SENSE app is required to operate:

  • iOS 9 or higher (iPad 2 not supported)
  • Android 4.4 or higher
  • Bluetooth 4.0 (BLE)
  • Support for WPA2 WLAN encryption
  • Extra security functions are available on Windows 7 (SP1) and later (32 and 64 bit) and Android.

    Hardware Specifications
  • WLAN
  • IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n/ac 2.4GHz, 5GHz, AC 1750
  • Antenna 4 × internal
  • USB – 1 × USB 3.0
  • WAN – 1 × RJ45 Ethernet 10/100/1000 Mbps
  • LAN – 3 × RJ45 Ethernet 10/100/1000 Mbps
  • Bluetooth 4.0 & Bluetooth LE
  • CPU – 1 GHz Dual-core 
  • RAM – 512 MB DDR3
  • ROM – 1 GB
  • Power DC: 12V 2A, AC: 110-240V, 50/60Hz 0.8A max.
  • Dimensions – 217 × 125 × 90 mm (8.54 × 4.88 × 3.54 in)
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By July 19, 2017 Read More →

A third of Brits choose LED lights to save energy: new research from reichelt elektroniks

brits

LED lights have become a viable option for UK households wanting to make energy and cost savings, reveals a new survey by reichelt elektronik. Lasting significantly longer than conventional lamps, a third of respondents say energy savings are the biggest influencer when it comes to buying online led strip lights the upfront costs have become more available for all.

Spotlight on efficiency and design

The survey revealed that the benefit of these energy savings is of greater concern than luminosity (21 per cent) and colour (9 per cent).

The findings also show that energy efficiency is the most important factor for a quarter of Brits when buying from an LED Supplier, as consumers seek the long-term cost savings on offer versus conventional bulbs. Efficiency is of particular concern to over 35s, with 37% of over 55s saying it influences their choice of lighting. Design with a wide range of lighting options (23 per cent) is the second most important factor for Brits.

Price only ranked the third most important purchasing factor overall. This shows consumers are becoming more concerned with qualitative aspects such as energy savings and design when choosing lamps. Consumer needs have shifted as they look for ways to become as energy efficient as possible instead of being primarily influenced by upfront pricing.

brits

UK households making the switch

73 per cent of UK consumers are already reaping the benefits of using LED lamps in their home, with 17 per cent of respondents having already switched to LED industrial parking lot lights completely.  Over a quarter of Brits (28 percent) already use LED lighting in more than half of their household and 29 percent have converted a few lamps (less than half) to LEDs. You can read about the benefits of LED lights here if you’re also considering the switch.

Posted in: Editorial, News
By July 19, 2017 Read More →

Mio MiVue C330 Unboxing – a great dashcam?

vlcsnap-00006The Mio MiVue C330 is a cheap but impressive dashcam for a little more than £100. Giving you piece of mind that any incidents on the road will be captured and ready to be presented is needed. Occupying a small amount of space on your windscreen, the Mio MiVue C330 features:

  • 1080P Full HD recording
  • Auto record when starting car
  • 5 axis g-sensor
  • 2.0″ Screen
  • MiVue manager desktop application

You can grab one from Amazon for £105 currently.

 

By July 12, 2017 Read More →

Tech Addicts UK Podcast – 12th July 2017 – Prime deals and are Flagships overrated?

With Gareth Myles, Ricky West and Gavin Fabiani-Laymond

RSS Link: http://mobiletechaddicts.libsyn.com/rss

Direct Download.

iTunes

Stitcher

Tunein

Show Notes

Play Test:

Gareth

Gavin

Ricky

Bargain Basement:

Main Show URL: http://www.techaddicts.uk

Email: [email protected]

Twitter: @techaddictsuk ; @garethmyles ; @gavinfabiani  ; @GadgetyNewsCom ; @JayGarrett ; @swanny ; @girlsngadgets ; @wildlime ; @TechTalkUK1

Facebook: Tech Addicts

Web: http://gavinsgadgets.com ; http://GadgetyNews.com ; http://swanny.me/

Google Plus: +Techaddicts; +garethmyles ; +gavinfabiani-laymond; +JayGarrett

 

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By July 11, 2017 Read More →

Vodafone Smart V8 Review

P1030864Picking up great value for money seems to be getting more and more common these days. Vodafone has really put together a very nice combination of high-end features combined with quality materials and a cheap price tag. The Vodafone Smart V8 is pretty amazing value for money and worth checking out.

Vodafone, Smart V8, Android, Google, business, qualcomm, snapdragon, 3gb, 435

Looking around the device on the top we have a small microphone hole plus a 3.5 mm headphone jack. There are also two incisions for the antenna array.

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To the right of the screen is the simple volume rocker, changed from the previous Smart Platinum and Smart Ultra design, this is now has a beautifully milled bevelled edge to the rocker as opposed to the textured approach last year.

Vodafone, Smart V8, Android, Google, business, qualcomm, snapdragon, 3gb, 435

At the bottom are two grills for the mono speaker, the one to the right has a speaker behind it. Plus a microUSB connection, again there are two incisions for the antenna array.

Vodafone, Smart V8, Android, Google, business, qualcomm, snapdragon, 3gb, 435

To the left of the screen is the SIM card tray which also doubles as a microSD card reader. Below this is the power button with similarly bevelled edges. It’s worth noting from last year to this year they have relocated the power button to the left-hand side of the device which may take some getting used to, however, it’s hardly a cause for concern.

Vodafone, Smart V8, Android, Google, business, qualcomm, snapdragon, 3gb, 435

To the rear is a slightly pronounced 16-megapixel autofocus camera with a LED flash to it right. The camera is capable of capturing video at 1080p, 30 frames per second and we’ll get the results later on. Below this is a fingerprint reader. Further on down the shiny brushed Steel rear is the Vodafone emblem. To the top and the bottom are pieces of textured plastic again to help with the antenna array.

Vodafone, Smart V8, Android, Google, business, qualcomm, snapdragon, 3gb, 435

The front of the device has a 5.5 inch LTPS IPS LED LCD capacitive touchscreen with a resolution of 1080 by 1920 working out at a PPI of 401. Whilst there is no Gorilla Glass on here Asahi Dragontrail has been employed instead.

Inside the device is a Qualcomm Snapdragon 435 backed by 3gb of RAM and an Adreno 505 GPU. This octa-core 1.4 gigahertz processor is hardly the speediest on the block however it certainly does manage to make easy work of most day-to-day tasks. Flipping through various social media applications I never noticed any slow down and gaming proved to be quite successful especially with some high end games like Grand Theft Auto.

A 3000mAh battery sits inside, and coupled with the low powered Snapdragon 435 processor is more battery than you would need for a full day of heavy use. Whilst the smart V8 does not manage two full days on one charge it gets very close.

Vodafone have kept the device almost stock save for a few Vodafone-branded applications to assist with calling, messaging or just general assistance on the go there are a few extra applications that have been thrown in that may assist in day-to-day business, for example the private space application that allows you to lock down various portions of the phone or applications to avoid information being compromised if the phone is lost. Interestingly enough, Google cardboard applications are installed as default which we tend not to see terribly often.  

One thing that really surprised me for £150 is the camera. It really is very good, examining some of the photographs taken in broad daylight shows little degrade or pixelation and the colour representation is quite faithful. Even in low-level light the camera and LED flash function very well and proved to be fast and responsive.

The digital zoom works quite well, there isn’t a huge amount of loss in the image once zoomed in.

Vodafone, Smart V8, Android, Google, business, qualcomm, snapdragon, 3gb, 435

There isn’t a tremendous amount of toys built into the camera save for some filters, a Panoramic function and some HDR settings anti-shake have been included, you can adjust the function of the volume keys during picture taking, set up camera quick launch using the volume keys and adding watermarks.

Video footage is passable, not the hottest quality in town, but far from horrible. The footage is uploaded directly to Youtube from the phone and the only compression to the video is that which Youtube applies. The microphone is incredibly sensitive, picking up some heavy breathing from me, distant grumbles from the dogs and managing to filter out a some of the wind noise.

Here is a selection of images from the camera. Colours are well represented and manage a depth we would expect from a higher end phone.

To the front of the device is an 8 megapixel camera that is perfect for selfies and works rather well in low-level light without the assistance of a flash. I expected this to be fairly rubbish however it works out very well and Vodafone has even taken the time to add a few extra features, for example, being able to add smoothing to the skin in the beauty function.

If there was a missed opportunity I was to complain about it would be the fingerprint sensor as, of this time of the review, I was unable to find any way of adding any extra features to the fingerprint sensor other than unlocking the phone as with other phones on the market we have seen some clever additions added to the fingerprint sensor.

Vodafone, Smart V8, Android, Google, business, qualcomm, snapdragon, 3gb, 435

The phone is originally built by ZTE, who have really upped their game in the last five years to become one of the major competitors on the market. Interweaving this with Vodafone’s business minded network put together a pretty lethal combination in a very competitive world and bringing an excellent option for business users everywhere with an exceptionally competitive price. Coupled with Vodafone’s recently upgraded 4G network this will provide terrific communications for a small and growing business.

With the Vodafone Smart V8, it’s hard to believe their flagship is a budget phone. However, it really shows how budget phones are closing the gap and catching up on the overpriced flagships being produced by companies for four or five times the price. Right now I would consider using the smart V8 as my main driver if I was on the Vodafone network as this phone easily handled everything I have thrown at it, and getting me through the day with plenty of juice to spare.

Posted in: Phones, Reviews
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By July 5, 2017 Read More →

Tech Addicts UK Podcast – July 5th 2017 – OnePlus, Honor 9 and Vodafone Smart V8

Slink Podcast Logo 1400 x 1400With Gareth Myles, Gavin Fabiani-Laymond, Jay Garrett and Ricky West

RSS Link: http://mobiletechaddicts.libsyn.com/rss

Direct Download.

iTunes

Stitcher

Tunein

Show Notes

News:

Play Test:

Gareth

Jay

Gavin

Bargain Basement:

Main Show URL: http://www.techaddicts.uk

Email: [email protected]

Twitter: @techaddictsuk ; @garethmyles ; @gavinfabiani  ; @GadgetyNewsCom ; @JayGarrett ; @swanny ; @girlsngadgets ; @wildlime ; @TechTalkUK1

Facebook: Tech Addicts

Web: http://gavinsgadgets.com ; http://GadgetyNews.com ; http://swanny.me/

Google Plus: +Techaddicts; +garethmyles ; +gavinfabiani-laymond; +JayGarrett

 

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