Author Archive: Gareth

Seasoned tech blogger. Host of the Tech Addicts podcast.

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By September 5, 2016 Read More →

Sengled announces Snap and Element smart bulbs

snap-3Sengled, a leading manufacturer of innovative smart lighting solutions for the smart home, is announcing the sales launch of Sengled Snap and Sengled Element at the IFA International Consumer Electronics Show. In addition, the smart lighting specialist will be unveiling new designs to complement its LED music lights: The Sengled Cradle Tablelight and Sengled Cradle Floorlight.

Sengled Snap – perfect peace of mind when on holiday

 

The Sengled Snap combines an energy-efficient LED with a wireless HD camera. This innovative combination lights up the garden, garage or hallway and also provides a feeling of reassurance thanks to its security function. The ultra-wide-angle lens of the HD camera guarantees a wide field of vision. This does mean movements are either observed in real time or the data is optimally stored in the associated cloud where it is then available to be viewed at a later date.

Surveillance zones can be defined and alerts set up using the free app (iOS® or Android™) meaning you can relax and enjoy your holidays with a quick glance at your smartphone. This is all you need to check that everything runs smoothly at home. If visibility is poor, the infrared LEDs which are integrated in the Sengled Snap ensure a clear image.

The security LED also features an integrated microphone which allows noises to be picked up and is therefore also suitable for use as a baby videophone. As a security solution for the modern smart home, the Sengled Snap is also protected against external influences such as water and dirt.

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Sengled Element – energy efficiency in action with ZigBee

The Sengled Element combines all the requirements needed for easy management of all the lighting in a smart home. Remotely controllable using the ZigBee standard, the LED lights can be integrated into the WLAN network of the modern home: Simply connect, log in via the app and you have full control of the lighting, from home or when you are on the move via cloud control.

The light can be switched on or off via the light switch, central smart home management or remotely using the app. Within the app it is also possible to adjust the brightness and colour temperature and is very easy to create programmable lighting scenarios which can also be saved. In addition to the control modes, the app also provides a series of energy statistics. This means that you can access an overview of all consumption data and savings at any time. The Sengled Element starter set includes the Sengled Element Hub, which serves as the gateway.

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From an LED specialist to a manufacturer of complete system designs

With its expanded range, Sengled is remaining faithful to its concept of developing innovative and smart lighting for the modern household whilst also embracing the latest designs and expanding its range of LEDs to include elegant complete systems. With the Sengled Onion and Sengled Horn lampshades recently having complemented the musical LEDs of the Sengled Pulse and Flex range as ceiling solutions, the company is now presenting two new models. The Cradle Tablelight and the Cradle Floorlight enable the luminaires mentioned above to be used in even more versatile ways and be integrated subtly into any living or working environment. The two new lampshades will also be unveiled for the first time at the IFA show.

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Prices and availability

The Sengled Snap as a basic package and including a 90-days free trial version for the cloud (streamed videos from the last 24 hours) will be available from September 2016 for 199.00 EUR. Furthermore, a Sengled Snap Basic Plus package will be available and, depending on the level of the monthly fee, will enable phased access to the streamed videos in the cloud (3.50/month: the last 24 hours of video; 6.50 EUR/month: the last 7 days; 18.50/month: the last 30 days). Just like the Sengled Element, whose recommended retail price is 24.90 EUR. A Sengled Element set, consisting of two Sengled Element Lamps and the Element Hub, will also be available at the same time for an RRP of 89.90 EUR.

Posted in: Accessories, News, Press Releases
By September 5, 2016 Read More →

Alcatel POP 4 (10) LTE Tablet Debuts

b278888TCL Communication is proud to announce a new addition to the Alcatel POP 4 series: the Alcatel POP 4 (10) LTE tablet, a lightweight, sturdy and stylish device, with a powerful processor offering ultra-fast 4G LTE connectivity and advanced audio enhancements to create an immersive audio-visual entertainment experience for music and movie lovers.

 

“The new Alcatel POP 4 tablet offers both style and substance, with a sleek profile and premium metallic design details,” says Vittorio Di Mauro, Vice President & General Manager of Smart Connectivity Division. “It doesn’t skimp on performance either, with a powerful chipset and 4G connectivity”.

 

A Powerful Processor to Enable Super-Fast Connectivity

Network connectivity is essential for the connected generation to enjoy the latest entertainment. Powered by the new generation of LTE processors, the tablet is great for streaming movies in hi-definition, playing the hottest games and enjoying super-fast download speeds.

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Immersive Audio-Visual Experience

The POP 4 tablet integrates a gorgeous IPS full lamination display in Full HD. In addition to the wafer-thin display, the company also teamed up with Waves to add MaxxAudio® to optimize the tablet’s audio quality. The dual front speakers by Waves MaxxAudio® deliver the best performance for your multimedia experience in music, movies, gaming and more. “Auto select” technology automatically detects content type or music genres and reacts with the right optimization setup with pro studio-level processors imagined by mastering audio engineers.

 

“Waves is at the forefront of providing innovative intelligent audio technology, which has become an essential feature in gadgets. We are committed to developing advanced audio enhancement tools to make the most out of latest content and devices. With MaxxAudio® on Alcatel POP 4, users are able to enjoy a superior and elevated sonic experience that goes beyond their expectation,” says Jack Joseph Puig, a multi-platinum GRAMMY® Award-winning record producer/mixer and Head of Global Marketing, Waves Consumer Division.

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The Alcatel POP 4 tablet is the perfect portable companion for the connected generation to enjoy the ultimate entertainment experience. The device will be available in Europe from October onwards.

Posted in: News, Press Releases, Tablets
By September 5, 2016 Read More →

Toshiba Canvio Connect II Unboxing and Review

vlcsnap-00038A little big external drive that promises some goodies on the box proves to be something of a mixed bag. A functional hard drive with a £45 price tag for 1tb mixes average USB 3.0 speed with a host of rubbishy third party additions to extend the appeal.

Posted in: Accessories, Storage Devices, Videos/Unboxings
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By September 2, 2016 Read More →

Lumsing Smart Body Analyser Digital Scale review

P1030110Scales can be something of a fad.  I would imagine this is one of those pieces of equipment that will see a flurry of sales on in January and then gradually tail off by the end of the month.  However whenever you have a look at the price of some sets of scales you realise that it is an expensive mistake to make if you’re not going to be using it.

Enter the Lumsing Smart Body Analyser Digital Scale. This is a Bluetooth body scale that connects to an app on your iOS or Android device to keep a diary of your weigh-ins. In addition to measuring your body weight, it can also tell through a special layer of blue, tempered glass your body water, body fat, BMI, BMR, muscle mass, bone mass, and visceral fat. Once measured the application plots this in a graph and outputs a simple chart to show you how well you are doing. 

As a non-fitness expert most of these measurements are Greek to me. However, my wife is finding it increasingly interesting as she is a marathon runner who finds great benefit in knowing the ups and downs of this intricate data. Me? Last week I weighed a little more than the week before and this week I wear a little less than I did last week. And that’s handy to know, it’s handy to keep track of and I’m glad I didn’t spend the ridiculous money that some other companies are asking for in order to be able to make such a statement.

So what justifies the high price tag of other brands? First up, the brand name. You may not have heard of Lumsing,  they appear to be much like many other Asian manufacturers,  pushing their wares through Amazon at rather attractive prices. There’s nothing wrong with that. What you get is a rather well put together unit that I am reliably informed is very accurate, very informative and very nice to look at.

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The tempered glass on top is a bit of the dust magnet, shows up spills, drips and other marks quite noticeably. Yet it is certainly eye-catching for those visiting the bathroom and impresses those who are curious enough to ask about it.

If I was the point out one drawback it would have to be the app. It really isn’t as polished or as well put together as some of the other alternatives on the market. In fact searching for it on the app store ends up being a little confusing if you’ve done some research into the device, as an example, check my unboxing video.

Once set up using the device couldn’t be easier to use. Simply bringing the application on your phone and then stepping onto the scale activates the wireless connection to transfer the measurements across. You receive a notification from the application to ask you if you were sure you want this information to be added to the application. Once agreed it’s added to the chart and is almost instantly viewable.

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The scales used four AA batteries which are provided in the box, I have yet to find out exactly how long these last however given the length of time that this is on for on a daily basis I would like to think they would last quite a long while. The connection is by Low power Bluetooth and there is only one small LED panel that really only stays lit for, at most, 30 seconds.

Recently my wife noticed a problem with the application as moving to a new phone can cause you to have to start your tracking all over again. You can output the data to a TXT file, however, there is no function to import. Additionally, there is no way to integrate this information with Google fit, Samsung Health or one of the Garmin suites.

Ultimately, the Lumsing Smart Body Analyser Digital Scale might lack the refinement found in the much more expensive scales on the market, however, this is a perfect jumping off point for anyone interested in fitness or just tracking the physical well-being. It’s not a lot of money to lay out, the build quality is solid, it looks lovely and does what it says. A fine product.

You can save 20% off the price of the Lumsing Smart Scale by using the product code below.

Product link: http://amzn.to/2aMSHKh

Discount: 20% off

Code: Q7XY6FX6

Expiry date: 15/09 23:59 BST

Posted in: Reviews, Science & Technology
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By September 1, 2016 Read More →

Huawei debuts the Nova, Nova Plus and MediaPad M3 tablet

gsmarena_015Huawei unveiled the Nova and Nova Plus at IFA today alongside a 8.4-inch MediaPad M3 tablet. Rather than throwing all their wares into another couple of devices Huawei have wisely settled the  Nova and Nova Plus in the mid-range arena, offering an 8MP front camera and a 12MP rear shooter (16MP on the Nova Plus) with large 1.25 μm pixel size.

 

The Nova takes some design flourishes from the Nexus 6P, looking like a little brother. A 5-inch Full HD IPS LCD display covers a Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 with 3GB of RAM, 32GB of expandable storage, a 12MP camera, 8MP front facer, USB-C conneciton and a handsome 3025mAh battery. The larger Nova Plus mirrors much of the Nova save for a larger 5.5-inch Full HD display, a 16MP rear camera and even handsomer 3340mAh battery. Huawei’s impressive fingerprint sensors rule the day, and EMUI 4.1 atop of Android 6.0 Marshmallow keeps things moving.

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The MediaPad M3 tablet offers generous 8.4-inch display with a resolution of 2560 x 1600 powered by the HiSilicon Kirin 950 SoC that we recently saw in the Honor 8, 8MP front and rear cameras, 4GB of RAM and either 32GB or 64GB or storage and a 5100mAh battery. Again EMUI 4.1 covers Android 6.0 Marshmallow.

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The Nova will be priced at €399. The Nova Plus sits at €429 and the MediaPad M3 ranges from €349 to €449 depending on storage and LTE options

Posted in: News, Phones
By September 1, 2016 Read More →

Smart lighting for the smart home

c01-a66-pulse-solo-20141113.960_0Sengled, a leading manufacturer of innovative smart lighting solutions for the smart home, is announcing another new product at the IFA International Consumer Electronics Show. The Sengled Everbright combines an energy-efficient LED lamp with an integrated emergency light. In the event of a power outage or defective fuses, the new LED provides up to three and a half hours of light. This is possible thanks to the integrated rechargeable battery which is constantly charged during regular use.

It lights when others fail. The Sengled Everbright comes up trumps when conventional bulbs stop working and only a search for a torch, candles or a lighter can light up the dark. Equipped with an integrated rechargeable battery (capacity: 900 mAh), the innovative bulb will provide light for up to three and a half hours when the power supply has been cut. The Sengled Everbright can help to find the problematic fuse box, serve as a back-up on construction sites or guide you out into a safe open space in an emergency.

The Sengled Everbright is based on a very simple principle: The rechargeable battery is integrated into the housing of the LED light and is charged via a conventional E27 socket. With a regular power supply, the bulb provides light with a brightness of 500 lumens. In the event of a power outage, the Sengled Everbright automatically reduces its brightness to 300 lumens. This enables the lamp to save precious energy and delivers more than three hours of self-sufficient lighting.

The Sengled Everbright is incredibly easy to install and use: The LED is inserted into a standard socket just like a normal light bulb and can be used to replace obsolete light bulbs. The smart bulb can now be operated as usual via the light switch with no need to control it via an app. The LED can also independently distinguish between the power being turned off via the light switch and an actual power outage. Lighting, such as the LED Stripe Lamp can be easily installed along various surfaces, allowing for creative and personalized lighting solutions.

In addition to the extra security and comfort it offers, the Sengled Everbright also enhances users’ energy footprint: It has a lifespan of around 25,000 hours and when compared to a 40-watt light bulb of similar brightness, it consumes just 9 watts of power.

Price and availability

The Sengled Everbright will celebrate its premiere at IFA 2016 and is expected to be commercially available from November 2016. The recommended retail price is 19.90 EUR.

Posted in: Accessories, News, Press Releases
By September 1, 2016 Read More →

Archos Drone launches

drone_liftoff.0.0Archos has unveiled the ARCHOS Drone. Demonstrated later this week at IFA 2016, available in October 2016, this ready-to-fly little machine has an altitude of up to 50 meters at a speed that can reach 7.7 m/s during at least 7 minutes, for pure fun or exciting HD footage that isn’t possible any other way. Thanks to its dedicated Controller or the Remote App, available on the Google Play Store and Apple iTunes Store, the ARCHOS Drone will satisfy beginners willing to gawk at the world’s beauty, for £79.99 (UK).

The ARCHOS Drone is light (135 g) and robust, with its eight propellers (four spares), two landing gears, and four protection guards. It offers great maneuverability and its propellers are even replaceable in case of damages, which is particularly suitable to newbies.

With its 6 axis gyroscope and its accelerometer, it features all functions for a nice flight, inside or outside: take off, landing, altitude hold, 360° flip, speed selection and headless mode. It has a number of automated flying procedures as well as an emergency button in case something goes wrong, making the device less intimidating. In addition, its bunch of LED lights allows night sessions.

The ARCHOS Drone achieves burst speeds of 7.7 m/s horizontally and 1.6 m/s vertically. It reaches its maximum speed in a few seconds and raises an altitude of up to 50 meters very fast.

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Its 1 MP built-in camera is a real attraction. It takes all kinds of aerial videos, coming in an HD resolution of 1280 x 720 pixels that can be stored in its 4 GB’s Micro SD card (included) and, even better, broadcasts in real time on a smartphone.

It flies during a session from 7 to 9 minutes, making it the ideal companion for beginners. Spare batteries will also be available for purchase for the ones who wish to become drones enthusiasts.

The ARCHOS Drone comes with its own Controller, enabling a dedicated WiFi liaison and ensuring a perfectly stable connection. It can also be easily conducted with the ARCHOS Drone Remote app preloaded on a smartphone running Google Android 2.2 and later or Apple iOS 5.1.1 and later.

The ARCHOS Drone will be exhibited on ARCHOS’s booth at IFA 2016 (Hall 25, Booth 206). It will be available for purchase in October 2016 on www.archos.com and through its distribution’s channel worldwide for £79.99 (UK).

Posted in: News, Press Releases
By September 1, 2016 Read More →

Honor 8 Unboxing

Honor-8Honor have updated their flagship for another year and are pretty pleased with themselves. They should be. The Honor line has been a cut-price flagship with some decent specifications if not standing out from the competition. This year it’s all change, the design has an interesting construction that added a unique look thanks to some tempered glass.

In a world where the race to have the best handset has changed manufacturers are having to try daring new concepts to appeal to their customers as the specifications are all fairly similar.

In addition to the looks the Honor 8 has a lot going for it, well specs kit under the hood, a unique user interface, a large number of inbuilt tweaks to improve the Android experience, versatile camera features and a low price tag – for what you get.

With pricing of just £369.99, including an anniversary package worth £69.99 and a selection of eye-catching, Honor has really made good this year and has become a phone to consider.

Commenting on the European launch of Huawei’s Honor 8 smartphone, Ernest Doku, telecoms expert at uSwitch.com, says: “Everyone knows that if you design a phone for millennials, a front-facing selfie camera is compulsory.

“Huawei has ticked that box and silenced the competition by offering a photo mode that promises to make selfies ‘perfect’. They’ve coupled that with another which makes food look good enough to eat, playing to our insatiable appetite for parading dinners across social media.

“Specs like these – teamed with features such as the fingerprint sensor doubling as a multi-purpose button to start apps like WhatsApp or Pokémon Go – are likely to be a honeytrap for millennials living vicariously through Instagram and Snapchat; especially when wrapped up in a sleek glass handset that actually looks good.

“The Honor 8 joins the club that already counts the iPhone SE and Samsung Galaxy A as members – all are handsets targeted towards techy Generation Y who crave tons of features but refuse to pay flagship smartphone prices.

“But the Honor 8 comes in at just £10 less than a 16GB iPhone SE which, for some, will still be a little steep for a challenger device. Even though the Honor 8 is a comparable phone, Apple is still the brand kids aspire to own – for now at least.”

Posted in: Phones, Videos/Unboxings
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By August 31, 2016 Read More →

Tech Addicts UK Podcast – 31th August 2016 – Notes, IFAs and Honors

Podcast logoGareth Myles, Gavin Fabiani-Laymond and Jay Garrett

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

Direct Download.

iTunes

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Show Notes

What have you been playing with?

Gareth:

Jay:

Gavin:

Discussion: IFA Highlights
Main Show URL: www.techaddicts.uk

Join the Discussion: https://goo.gl/spaces/6FF6jraF9KHiPUyA6

Email: [email protected]

Twitter: @garethmyles ; @gavinfabiani ; @samjpullen ; @GadgetyNewsCom ; @JayGarrett

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

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

Posted in: Podcast
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By August 31, 2016 Read More →

New USB-C and MacBook adapters from ADAM elements

1500xR_RG128_02The new exquisitely designed USB-C flash drive ROMA and the premium USB adapter and cable series CASA, which ADAM elements showcased at CES at the beginning of the year, are now all available. Users of the latest MacBook will be excited to hear that the elegantly designed ROMA has not only got an additional colour to choose from with the all-new rose gold – its capacity has also doubled with the 128 GB model.

With the rapidly growing number of hardware manufacturers including USB-C ports in their new devices there is no further proof needed to safely say that USB-C is a major connector standard of the future. ADAM elements has sensed this trend early and is offering two USB-C series of uniquely designed and high-performance premium accessories, especially targeted at MacBook users.

ROMA – high-speed dual USB-C/USB 3.1 flash drive
ROMA comes with both a USB-C connector and a standard USB-A plug, which can be easily swivelled around. Users can store data from e.g. their latest USB-C-only MacBook and share them with other USB-C devices, such as the Chromebook Pixel or, thanks to the standard USB-A connector, with older USB devices. On both ends, ROMA boasts high-end USB 3.1 transfer speeds of up to 130 MB/s. Besides the already available gold and space grey colour options, ROMA now also sports an all-new rose gold casing. The premium flash drive is available now with capacities of 64 GB or 128 GB as well as three different colour options. It can be ordered directly from the worldwide ADAM Store (www.adamelements.com/store) or purchased from selected European retailers. The MSRP are as follows:

ROMA 64 GB: £ 39
ROMA 128 GB: £ 79

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CASA – premium adapters for every occasion
The CASA line adds a whole new level of comfort and functionality to MacBooks. USB-A-to-USB-C adapters, for example, allow users to hook up a mouse, keyboard, printer or any other peripheral with a standard USB-A connector. HDMI and VGA adapters for USB-C, on the other hand, are perfect for connecting computer monitors, TVs or projectors. The HDMI adapter even supports audio output and 3840 × 2160 video resolutions – that’s 4K UHD. The 2-metre long USB-C-to-USB-C cable hooks up the MacBook to its power adapter or to any other USB-C devices, such as external hard drives. Even selected smartphones become part of the act, with battery charging and data transfers of up to 480 Mbps. CASA cables come in gold, space grey and an eye-catching flaming red.

The CASA display output adapters and USB-C-to-USB-C cables are available as of now, directly from the worldwide Adam Store (www.adamelements.com/store) and selected European retailers.
The MSRP are as follows:

USB-C to VGA adapter       (CASA V01, space grey/gold):                   £ 32.99
USB C to HDMI adapter     (CASA H01, space grey/gold):                  £ 34.99
USB-C to USB-A adapter   (CASA F13, space grey/gold):                   £ 14.99
USB-C to USB-C cable       (CASA B200, space grey/gold/red):         £ 18.99
USB-C to USB-A cable       (CASA M100, space grey/gold/red):         £ 17.99

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Posted in: Accessories, Gadgets, News, Press Releases
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