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ARCHOS today announces the forthcoming availability of thousands of the GranitePhone by SIKUR, allowing both companies to enter the global market of private communications smartphones, where the need for voice and data protection is a growing concern.
The GranitePhone, unveiled at MWC, has immediately attracted the attention of government, defense agencies as well as private companies and individual users concerned by their privacy, generating huge quantities of pre-sales on the Granitephone website.
With a 5 inch screen Full HD, Granite OS, 4G and a 16MP camera the phone has all the latest hardware specs along with an unrivaled focus on security, eliminating loopholes which could allow data theft and spying.
The security architecture has been carefully designed with multiple layers of protection to mitigate security issues whilst still delivering the best in mobile technology today.
For additional flexibility, the device’s data storage is also kept in an encrypted form in the cloud so that GranitePhone’s users can access safely to their data from anywhere, using SIKUR applications.
They can do so from a computer and from other mobile devices, either Android and even iOS, which ensures great flexibility without compromising privacy.
“ARCHOS, through its subsidiary Logic Instrument is pleased to have been selected as industrial and development partner for this project as the demand for secured mobile solutions is increasing” says Loïc POIRIER CEO of ARCHOS.
“With GranitePhone, you can create a corporate digital environment, secure for the exchange of strategic information, without compromising productivity and speed offered by mobile devices,” says Frederico D’Avila, CEO of Sikur.
The GranitePhone, the first smartphone entirely focused on user privacy can be ordered through the website www.granitephone.com
The Kitsound Boombar 2 is a gorgeous lump of speaker that comprises of three main pros, is priced nicely, it looks great and it delivers decent sound.
We are seeing an influx of affordable portable speakers that manage to a great sound however none look as impressive as this and whilst it does not carry water resistance a price tag of £70 makes this a device worth looking at.
An upgraded version of our already impressive BoomBar, this portable wireless speaker also features a passive bass radiator but is twice as powerful.
Powerful, Detailed Sound
Despite being just a little bit bigger than our original BoomBar, this wireless speaker, with its passive radiator, is twice as powerful and twice as detailed, especially when positioned on the floor, as its angular design throws sound upwards.
Ultra Portable
We think our BoomBar 2 – with its carry case, built-in rechargeable battery for up to 10 hours of music play time and wireless connectivity – is the perfect modern equivalent of the boombox. You can easily pop the BoomBar 2 in its carry case into your bag for a long weekend away, or a spontaneous trip to the park.
Bluetooth Connectivity
The BoomBar 2’s simple pairing process makes it extremely easy to wirelessly connect to your smartphone, tablet, MP3 player or other Bluetooth device, but there’s also a 3.5 mm aux-in port to let you connect other devices too.
Make and Receive Calls
The perfect all-round wireless speaker, the BoomBar 2 also acts as a speakerphone, with a built-in mic and hands-free function allowing you to easily take calls using the simple control buttons.
The KitSound BoomBar 2
According to hip-hop pioneer Fab 5 Freddy, the genre owes much of its success to boomboxes. Welcome to the natural heir of the boombox: the KitSound BoomBar 2.
About KitSound
We are craftspeople. We are musicians. We are KitSound™ and we all commit ourselves to achieving one shared goal: Bringing people closer to their music. By understanding music we stay true to its craft. Pure, rich, incredible sound. We settle for nothing less.
Specifications:
S/N: 65 dB
Bluetooth range: up to 10 m
Frequency response: 60 Hz – 20 kHz
Drivers: 2 x 50 mm
Output RMS: 2 x 5 W @ 2 ohm
PicoWAN’s aim is to be the first LP-WAN (Low Power – Wide Area Network) RF network for connected objects, which will be collaborative, global, cross-border and available at a very low price. It will be launched in Europe from June 2016.
“PicoWAN is a project close to my heart. I have been deeply involved in the development and have even filed 3 patents,” announces Henri CROHAS, President of ARCHOS. “The potential is huge.”
A revolution in the Internet of Things
The key to this innovation is a unique wireless communications network protocol based on the use of pico-gateways, as opposed to rooftop concentrators and antennas, which come in the form of smart plugs connected to the internet via WiFi or Ethernet. Embedding a LoRa™ IC, the range of pico-gateways is potentially as long as the sophisticated antenna gears installed on rooftops by telcos. As a result of its low-cost and its easy installation inside buildings, the network can be densified at will and made fail–safe, penetrate very deep indoor resulting in a much higher QoS (Quality of Service).
A collaborative network at a very low price
The cost of a pico-gateway is some 100 times less than the cost of a rooftop installation. Instead of investing tens of million euros in infrastructure, PicoWAN will create a highly competitive LP-WAN thanks to the viral diffusion of very low-cost pico-gateways.
To ensure the deployment of a global network throughout Europe, PicoWAN plans to distribute up to 200,000 free pico-gateways by the end of 2016.
PicoWAN will offer a subscription plan starting at £0.50 pence per year, per connected object. Those who will deploy pico-gateway networks locally will receive up to 50% of the income resulting from the connections passing through their pico-gateways.
Optimal compatibility with connected objects
The software embedded in connected objects will be freely available to all developers and integrators developing on vertical or consumer markets, who can then set up their own IoT networks. This technology will facilitate the launch of multiple connected objects in all domains (health, agriculture, home automation, industry, and more), instantly supported by the PicoWAN network anywhere.
All LoRaWANTM objects can be made compatible with ease.
Join us at the Mobile Word Congress in Barcelona in February 2016 for a demonstration of PicoWAN network.
Are you a gamer and into Heroes of the Storm? Gigabyte are currently running a bit of a competition. Buy a particular 100 series motherboard and you could be entered into a draw to win some goodies and the BlizzCon 2015 Grand Prize, a trip to Anaheim, California to attend BlizzCon itself. A pretty tidy prize. Here is the press release below:
GIGABYTE, a leading manufacturer of motherboards and graphics cards is proud to announce that the first round of winners has been chosen for its ongoing GIGABYTE Heroes of the Storm Sweepstakes.
On top of the thousands of instant winners of the Kerrigan Hero and Succubus Skin for Heroes of the Storm™, 10 lucky new GIGABYTE users registered their eligible 100 series motherboards at the event page and are now walking away with one of the following; a Z170X-Gaming 3 motherboard, a Aivia Krypton mouse or a Force H3 headset. The entire list of winners is available on our site. Congratulations to all!
“GIGABYTE is very excited to be this year’s official motherboard sponsor of BlizzCon 2015,” commented Henry Kao, Vice President of GIGABYTE Motherboard Business Unit. “We love gaming, and we will continue to provide new technologies and features to support the gaming community to make the gaming experience even more enjoyable.”
GIGABYTE would like to remind everyone that they still have a chance to join the GIGABYTE Heroes of the Storm Sweepstakes, to be eligible to win the grand prize that includes; one roundtrip flight to Anaheim, CA to attend BlizzCon® 2015, hotel accommodations for three nights and one exclusive BlizzCon® badge. Hurry up, you have only until October 4th 2015 to register, as the winner will be picked the next day!
How to participate
To get your chance at some great hardware, in-game skins and the Blizzcon® 2015 Grand Prize, you must buy a select GIGABYTE 100 series motherboard and register on our event page. It is as simple as that! All participants who register their eligible motherboard will be instantly notified if they win Heroes of the Storm™ Kerrigan Hero and Succubus skin and will be automatically entered into the monthly lucky draw, prizes include motherboards, mice, and headsets. Monthly Draws will be held on October 5th, November 5th, December 7th, 2015 and January 5th, 2016. Winners will be announced shortly after.
Good luck to all!
For more information about the GIGABYTE Heroes of the Storm Sweepstakes event, go to:
http://event.gigabyte.com/HEROES/
For more information about GIGABYTE, please visit:
HTC has a little marshmallow secret up it’s sleeve as an event it being teased in the latter half of October. There have been several leaks recently of a device known as the HTC Aero or some might know it as the One A9, a device rumoured to have a deca-core (ten-core) MediaTek Helio X20 SoC processor clocked at 1.96GHz. Then again other have the idea that it might contain a Qualcomm Snapdragon 620 chipset with 3GB of RAM. Perhaps there will be two devices and both of these rumours might be correct. Stranger things have happened.
There has been a lot of speculation about the Pixel C over the last day or so and now we know whats what. The Pixel C is to have a 10.2-inch, with a 308 PPI touch display. The under the hood is NVIDIA’s Tegra X1 processor with Maxwell GPU and will come with either 32 or 64 GB storage options. With 3GB of RAM onboard this is likely to be the fast tablet running Android. Yes, the Pixel C runs Android over ChromeOS, a staple of the Pixel name in the past. In keeping with the Pixel Chromebooks the C has a the lightbar.
Pixel C’s keyboard is a interesting feature. It attaches to the tablet magnetically, and connects via Bluetooth. The tablet has proximity sensors for the keyboard, it is aware of when it’s tucked away behind the device and when it is out and ready for use. The tablet will also inductively charge the keyboard when closed.
So what is with the OS switch under the Pixel name? Are Google bring ChromeOS to an end? Not likely, ChromeOS is a very big player in the education industry. Chromebooks have rolled out by the bucket load in schools all across the world. They are a success, you and your friends might not have one however there is a dedicated and loyal following. Like it or not, Cloud operating systems are the future and Google will not be letting go of their just yet.
My theory with the Pixel name is manufacturing. Google publicly announces partnerships for the manufacturing of its Nexus phones and tablets however Google has not disclosed its manufacturing sub-contractor for the Chromebook Pixel. Mirroring this with the Pixel C Google have been silent about the manufacturer. Had this been a collaboration with Asus or Huawei the tablet might have been a Nexus instead.
The Pixel C will be available in the coming months, and will cost $499 for the 32GB and $599 for 64GB, with the keyboard accessory costing $150.
Now we have the Nexus 5X and Nexus 6P. The market just got a whole lot tastier, but which one is for you? Here we have a direct and to the point look at the two new phones from Google. If Wireless charging, Expandable storage or optical image stabilization are high on your list then need to be looking elsewhere. Google have unfortunately omitted these from the new line. So whats in then then?
| LG Nexus 5X | Huawei Nexus 6P | |
|---|---|---|
| Screen | 5.2-inch, 1920 x 1080, 424 ppi, Full HD | 5.7-inch, 2560 x 1440, 515 ppi, AMOLED |
| Processor | 1.8 GHz Hexa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 808 | 2.0 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 v2.1 |
| RAM | 2GB | 3GB |
| Storage options | 16GB 32GB | 32GB 64GB 128GB |
| Camera | 12.3MP Rear, 5MP front | 12.3MP Rear, 8MP front |
| Networks | CDMA: BC0/1/10 GSM/EDGE: 850/900/1800/1900 LTE CA DL: B2-B2, B2-B4, B2-B5, B2-B12, B2-B13, B2-B17, B2-B29, B4-B4, B4-B5, B4-B7, B4-B12, B4-B13, B4-B17, B4-B29, B41-B41 LTE (FDD): B1/2/3/4/5/7/12/13/17/20/25/26/29 LTE (TDD): B41 UMTS/WCDMA: B1/2/4/5/8 | CA DL: B2-B2, B2-B4, B2-B5, B2-B12, B2-B13, B2-B17, B2-B29, B4-B4, B4-B5, B4-B13, B4-B17, B4-B29, B41-B41 CDMA: BC0/1/10 GSM/EDGE: 850/900/1800/1900 LTE (FDD): B2/3/4/5/7/12/13/17/25/26/29/30 LTE (TDD): B41 UMTS/WCDMA: B1/2/4/5/8 |
| Wi-Fi | 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac (2.4 & 5 GHz) | 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac (2.4 & 5 GHz) |
| Bluetooth | Bluetooth 4.2 | Bluetooth 4.2 |
| Connections | 3.5mm Headphone jack USB Type-C, NFC | 3.5mm Headphone jack USB Type-C, NFC |
| Battery | 2700mAh | 3450mAh |
| Length | 147 mm (5.79 inches) | 159.4 mm (6.28 inches) |
| Width | 72.6 mm (2.86 inches) | 77.8 mm (3.06 inches) |
| Depth | 7.9 mm (0.31 inches) | 7.3 mm (0.29 inches) |
| Weight | 136 g (4.80 oz) | 178 g (6.28 oz) |
| Available colours | Carbon, Ice, Quartz | Aluminium, Frost, Graphite |
| Anything else | Accelerometer Ambient ight Barometer Fingerprint Gyroscope Hall Proximity Digital compass GLONASS GPS | Accelerometer Ambient light Barometer Fingerprint Gyroscope Hall Proximity Digital Compass GLONASS GPS |
It’s true, neither device is perfect hopwever there is enough of a difference to make any Nexus fan sit and think which they will be wanting.
Rumours are afoot that Google is to launch a new Pixel device in the coming months, not running Chrome OS. It will be a 10.2-inch Android tablet with detachable keyboard and marketed as the ‘Pixel C’. A new Pixel tablet is said to be designed by Google, made from high-grade parts and might be arriving in the next couple of months.
The Pixel C, code named Ryu, will have a 10.2-inch display with 308ppi and a super-bright back light capable of 500 nits. Inside there’s an NVIDIA X1 quad-core processor and Maxwell GPU. This is supplemented by 3GB of LPDDR4 RAM.
The build quality will continue to feel like a Pixel, which have all offered metal designs and gorgeous screens. The tablet will look like the existing laptops, just minus the keyboard.
A little bit of brand confusion to shake things up. Google has a line of Android tablets called Nexus, the Pixel name has always been synonymous with Chrome, why meddle with that… unless is dual boots ChromeOS and Android 6.0?
GoPro has unveiled the Hero+, their new action camera that featuring Full HD video capture alongside Wi-Fi connectivity for £169.99, including free P&P this bring the Hero+ into budget camera territory and will no doubt become a market leader.
The Hero+ is shoots in 1080p at 60, 50, 30, 25 and 720p at 60 or 50 frames per second, as well as 8-megapixel photos and time lapse videos. GoPro now provide an app for playbale and monitoring the shots you are setting up. A Smart Remote over Bluetooth and Wi-Fi is also available for £64.99. The integrated housing, which is not an optional extra, allows the camera to be waterproof down to a depth of 40m.
The Hero+ doesn’t have 4K support, a touchscreen or dual mics like other models in the line but at a budget price, there certainly will be a depend for the camera to capture some of the users crazy antics at 60fps without breaking the bank.
The Hero+ will go on sale on GoPro’s site as well as retailers across the globe on October 4.
Here is a look at what debuted on both Netflix and Amazon Prime over the last week. Short simple and to the point, just the way we like it.
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