Unboxing the Bose SoundLink Micro Bluetooth speaker

Just bought the SoundLink Micro Bluetooth® speaker. We were looking for something light and portable and also waterproof and tough. My son loves to experiment with speakers and for that matter with other gadgets as well. His favourite is to put them inside a bucket of water and that's how my old JBL speakers died.

The new Bose speakers ticks all the boxes and the sound is amazing. This was not really surprising - it is a Bose.

My only complaint is the cable. When I first tried it out, it would not go in fully into the speakers and I was worried about force it in. I played around with the springs and the speaker end of the cable and after a bit of force, it finally went it. No problems after that.

The speakers lasts up to 6 hours on a full charge. It also comes with a really handy flexible rubber band that allows you to attach the speaker to your belt, bag, etc.

Anyway, here is the unboxing video:

Casio G-Shock GA - 100MC - 1 AER dive test

I recently went on a long overdue week long holiday with my family and decided to get myself certified as a PADI open water diver as well. I took only my Casio G-Shock GA - 100MC - 1 AER watch and decided that it would be great to actually test out whether it was really water resistant to 200M. I only found out later that 200M water resistance means that I can use it during swimming, snorkeling, jet-skiing but not while scuba diving. For scuba diving (with air tanks), you are supposed to wear watches with the words "DIVER'S WATCH 200M".

The maximum depth I went down to was around 17 meters and the watch survived the dive. Legibility was good but I realised that the lights were not very useful when using the digital timer.

The only Casio watches which are certified "DIVER'S WATCH 200M" are those in the Frogman series. The latest model is the GF-1000-1 which is now on my wish list. A few older models are available on Amazon UK.

Unlike other G-shock models which are held by 4 screws, the GF-1000-1 features a Screw Lock Back. The back and bezel are made of diamond-like carbon that resists scratching and wear.

Other features include Moon Phase Graph, Moon Age Indicator, Tide Graph (very useful), World Time and 5 alarms. It is solar powered (Tough Solar). Specifically for divers, useful functions include Dive time and surface interval measurement function. It records one set of data (dive time, dive start time, dive date) in it's memory. This watch is not meant to replace the Dive computer but as a backup.

Casio G-Shock GA - 100MC - 1 AER review

I was looking for a G-Shock with an analogue dial and came across this model on Lazada. What makes this watch unique from other G-Shocks is the military stripped nylon webbing. There are a few other models in the GA100MC Military Cloth series with unique colour combinations but I prefer the understated colours of the GA - 100MC - 1AER.

In keeping with the military theme, the watch features reverse LCD display on a black face. It looks nice but makes it a bit hard to read in bad light and 12/24 hour formats.

Like other G-Shocks, the watch is shock resistant and water resistant to 200m. Other unique features include magnetic resistance, 48-city World Time, 1/1000th sec. stopwatch with speed indicator (not sure whether I would ever require that type of accuracy) and auto LED lights.

Thought it would be heavy but it is not too bad at 75gms. I was also a bit worried that the watch would look too big on my wrist (dimensions of the watch: 55 × 51.2 × 16.9 mm) but it doesn't look too bad. I like the big oversized buttons which is easier to use as compared to the tiny ones on my old Casio G-Shock DW-5600EG-9.

I really like this watch and it has become my daily wear - I even wear it to office.

New Sony Xperia Z4

Sony has released information about it's latest mobile phone, the Xperia Z4 on their Japanese website.

The Xperia Z4 has a 5.2-inch screen (similar to the Z3) and is 6.9mm thick. It is powered by a eight-core, 64-bit Snapdragon 810 processor. It also has a massive 3GB of RAM and runs on Android 5.0 Lollipop OS. Unique features includes the 20.7MP front and rear cameras, so be prepared for some ultra detailed selfies.

Like it's predecessors, the Xperia Z4 is also water and dust resistant. Something that both the iPhone 6 and the Samsung S6 don't have.

No news yet on prices and launch date. As far as I know, the Z3 sales were not that good despite all the positive reviews. I guess it has something to do with the price and the fact that Sony is no where near Apple in terms of brand desirability.

I really like the Xperia Z3 compact. However, no news on a compact version of the Z4 yet.

Xperia Z3 Compact: The perfect mobile phone for me

After shopping around a bit, I think I have finally found the mobile phone perfect for me. And you probably have guessed it from the title of this post.

Why the Xperia Z3 Compact and not the Xperia Z3? 

Well, I am not a fan of big phablets and a 4.6" HD (1280x720 pixels) display is good enough for me. The dimensions of the Xperia Z3 Compact are 127 x 64.9 x 8.6 mm as compared to 146 x 72 x 7.3 mm for the Xperia Z3.

Plus, it also has the same camera specs with its bigger brother - 20.7 MP main camera with auto focus and 2.2 MP front-facing camera. However, what I am really excited about is one unique feature - it is waterproof and dust tight (is that two features?). Compling with IP65 and IP68 - supposed to be the highest waterproof rating. However, remember to keep all the ports and covers firmly closed.

I also learnt that the phone's battery lasts for 2 whole days before the next charge.

The phone is powered by a Snapdragon 2.5 GHz Qualcomm Quad-core and runs on Google Android 4.4 (KitKat). It is available in four colours (white, black, orange and green) but personally I prefer white.

Read more about it here.

Sony Xperia Z Ultra

Said to be the world's slimmest smartphone, the Sony Xperia Z Ultra has a  6.4'' Full HD TRILUMINOS™ Display.

It is powered by the Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ 800 quad-core processor for ultra-fast performance.

You don't have to worry if the rain is pouring down and someone calls you - the Xperia Z Ultra is fully waterproof. You can even take it swimming in the pool.

If you are the creative type, you will appreciate the fact that you can write or draw straight onto the screen using your finger, pencil or metal pen - does not need dedicated stylus.

Tough phones from JCB

One of our friends recently got a new phone - an iPhone 4. She was really excited and spent hours downloading apps, listenign to music, taking pictures - you get the idea. Well, one day, like a lot of us, she was in the toilet doing her business when the phone suddenly rang and you might have guessed what is coming - it slipped and dropped into the toilet.

This is not a unique scenario - in fact, according to an article on the Phones 4 U website, "Majority Of Water Damaged Mobiles Dropped In The Loo".

Anyway, after a few moments of hesitation, she promptly rescued the phone from the loo, turned it off (it was still working), wrapped it in loads of toilet paper and prayed. She did not take insurance and it was a costly monthly contract.

She was fortunate, after a thorough cleaning and drying, the phone was working perfectly. Hopefully, she has learnt from this mistake and would not be taking further calls in the toilet in the future.

I have never dropped phone in the toilet but old Sony Ericsson K770i lost it's camera function after my wife dropped it.

I once had a really tough which was waterproof as well (the Siemens M35i) and though I am not into adventure sports or working in construction or any occupation that involves a lot of rough work, it would be great to have a phone you would not have to worry about constantly.

Yesterday, I noticed a billboard advertising JCB mobile phones -called the Toughphone range. I never knew that JCB made mobile phones as well and was intrigued. Going through their website, I found out that they have 7 phones ranging from the basic Tradesman,which is waterproof and dustproof and is said to be the World's first floating phone to the Pro-Smart, which is an Android powered handset with 800MHz processor and expandable memory up to 32GB.  With a 3.2 inch HVGA touchscreen, the phone also has a 5MP Camera plus front facing camera.

The Pro-Smart is water resistant and dust resistant (tested to IP67). It has a talk time of 550 mins and standby time of up to 360 hours. I am wondering how much the phone weighs as they have not provided the info on the site. It does look a bit bulky and not for everyone. But it would be great to stand out from the crowd of sleek iPhones and the like. The phone sells for £334.99 with free delivery.