Upgraded Knitted Touchscreen Gloves from Mujjo

Now that winter is almost here, it is time to think about to remain connected with your smart phones in the cold. Mujjo has introduced single layered and double layered touchscreen Gloves.

They feature an updated design including a leather wrist strap, leather cuff boards and a magnetic snap closure ensuring strong holding power while reducing tension on the strap during opening / closing. The material has also been upgraded for increased durability and maximized grip.

Read the news release here.

Apple TV: Everything You Need to Know

Guest post by Maria Ramos

Apple TV, released in 2007, has hitherto been a minor player in Apple's product lineup, accounting for less than five percent of the cellphone and computer maker's sales. An update to Apple TV was announced on September 9th in San Francisco, perhaps signaling a new emphasis on the product by Apple. This is the first change in three years for Apple's attempt to conquer the living room. The new model is expected to go on sale in late October.

Perhaps the most important upgrade is the remote control that ships with the television. The previous version used a design with two buttons and a four-way directional pad, but the new Apple TV remote comes with a touch-screen surface and voice recognition capabilities. The user can speak into the built-in microphone to search for programming, rewind the action and request other information. The Apple TV now incorporates Siri, the virtual assistant that has been standard for a while on iPhones, so it will be easy for users to operate the television using natural language commands.

Apple TV. From the Apple Website. Available for $69.

Apps are a new area of emphasis for AppleTV. CEO Tim Cook has even stated, “We believe the future of television is apps. In fact this transition has already begun - we are spending more time watching TV on our iPhones and iPads via apps.” The old version of the hardware had apps too, but these were pre-selected pieces of software that shipped already installed with the TV. There's now a new app store specifically for Apple TV users, which will enable them to customize the performance of their units according to personal preference.

There are indications that Apple will release what it calls “universal apps”: applications that will interoperate across iPads, iPhones and Apple TVs. This will allow consumers to access their favorite apps seamlessly from whatever interface they want without having to download, install and sync several different instances of the same app. In order to spur on development of apps for Apple TV, there's a new operating system, tvOS, which will have development tools in line with what has been released for other Apple devices.

While Cupertino is trying to push game development for its new television solution, there's a distinct lack of new gaming features. The games that were demonstrated by Apple personnel included Guitar Hero and Crossy Road, but there's no game controller either standard with the TV or available as an add-on. Players can use their remotes to play games, or they can use third-party controller units.

While the recent improvements come as a welcome enhancement to a product that has been languishing for a few years, there's still more work to be done. Apple TV still lacks apps for Amazon Instant Video, Spotify and other popular streaming services. What makes this omission all the more notable is the fact that such apps are readily available on Apple's mobile platforms. Apple's planned streaming TV service seems like it would be a no-brainer addition to the Apple TV, but alas it isn't quite ready for prime-time yet.

One little-discussed area in which the Apple TV may be very useful is as a central hub for home automation devices. Current smarthome solutions mostly employ a dedicated control unit, often pricey and only compatible with a narrow selection of devices. Through the Apple HomeKit interface, users of the TV will be able to manage a wider range of automated home systems, such as lights, security systems, and thermostats, right from the comfort of their living room couches.

While the new AppleTV undoubtedly offers greater ease-of-use and functionality than the previous model, there are still a few key features missing. The price has jumped from $69 to $149 for a unit with 32GB of storage and $199 for 64GB. It's likely that customers will balk at these higher prices until the new apps store and other features are able to deliver on their potential.

About the author:

Maria is a freelance writer currently living in Chicago. She has a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from the University of Illinois at Chicago with a minor in Communication. She blogs about environmentally friendly tips, technological advancements, and healthy active lifestyles. You can follow her in Twitter @MariaRamos1889

Remote controlled helicopter with camera

A couple of years ago I blogged about my radio controlled mini helicopter. I still have it and take it out for a spin once in a while with the kids. However, I am a bit bored with it and was on the lookout for a replacement - something bigger and more fun this time.

I think I might have found the perfect replacement - a remote control helicopter with camera. It just costs $44.99 in the US and best of all, FREE shipping.

The i-helicopter from ThinkGizmos can be controlled using an iPhone / iPod / iPad / or Compatible Android device by downloading their app on the device.

The helicopter has a camera which comes with a 2GB SD card which can record over 1 hours flight time. The videos are recorded at resolutions of 680 x 480 at 25 frames per second.

Fully charged, the helicopter gives you fun filled flying time of about 6-7 minutes. The charging time is about 45 minutes using the included USB cable.

If you live in Europe, you can buy this amazing toy from Amazon.de for EUR 52.99.

Computer speakers for all budgets

Here is my selection of three different computer speakers to suit different budgets. Space or the lack of was my main concern when considering the speakers and so out of my list were all the huge surround sound systems. So here are the three speakers starting with the least expensive.

A. Budget Option: Vinnfier VS200

They are not the cheapest or the smallest in the market but the sound quality was acceptable. All other cheaper speakers I tried were simply not up to the mark.  The two speakers delivers a total of 6W with frequency response between 90Hz – 20KHz and impedance: 4 ohms. Power supply is via a USB cable (5V).

Price: Approx. RM30 (Malaysia)

 B. Mid-range Option: JBL Pebbles

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When you want quality sound, small profile and not break the bank, you have to go for the JBL Pebbles. Mine is the white-orange combination. Despite its small dimensions (13 cm high x 15 cm deep x 7.7 cm wide), the speakers deliver amazing sound - amazing clarity and deep bass.

Not sure about the wattage (no information was provided with the packaging) but the frequency response is between 70Hz – 20kHz with maximum SPL / signal to noise ratio at 89dB@1m. I love the simple integrated rotating volume control on the side of the main speaker. You can connect other devices via the 3.5mm Aux-in Port.

Price: $49.95 (US)/ RM 299.00 (Malaysia)

 B. High-end Option: Harman Kardon NOVA 

If you are an audiophile and have money to spend, this is the option to go for. For it's size, this high-performance stereo speaker system delivers really amazing sound - excellent clarity and rich lows. You can also press the bass button for improved deeper bass.

The transparent futuristic looking speakers include Performance-tuned 2.5” drivers, 1.25” tweeters and passive radiators. Moreover, the speakers allow Bluetooth wireless streaming with NFC compatibility with any device via analog 3.5mm connector and optical inputs.

One of the cool features is the touch sensitive volume control slider on the top of the main speaker. Unfortunately the kids love playing with it.

Specs for the technically minded:
Frequency Response between 70 Hz - 20,00kHz
Impedance: 8 ohms;
Crossover Description: 3.5kHz;
RMS Power Range - Amplifiers: 40 watts

Unlike the two previous speakers, the NOVA requires a connection to a power outlet.

For a change, this is a PC speaker which looks nice and it sounds nice as well.

Price: $299.95 (US)/ RM1199 (Malaysia, best price on Lazada)

Remote controlled robot

I have always loved robots. Maybe growing up reading Asimov and sci-fi movies may have something to do with it and ended up with a collection of several robot - battery operated flashing robots that made noises and moved around or even toys that looked like robots - including the popular Playskool Major Morgan, which was not actually a robot but a musical toy. I am not sure where they all went but I have not stopped collecting and still into robot, only thing is that they are a bit more sophisticated now.

My daughter's birthday is coming up soon and no I am not going to give her a Frozen toy - she's just not into them. I think I might have found the perfect gift: A robot or more precisely a remote controlled robot. The RC robot from Thinkgizmos.com is available on Amazon.com for just $39.99 with free shipping (down from the original price of $69.99). The robot walks and talks - lines like "Freeze!" "Identify yourself or I will shoot" and "Surrender now!". You can also fire small plastic discs from it's chest when you press 'fire' on the remote and and it even dances. You can even programme the robot to do stuff on its own.

Made in China, the robot is about 30cm tall and requires 6 AA Batteries (not included). It is suitable for ages 3 and above - so great fun for everyone.

If you are in Europe you can order the robot from Amazon.de.

Looks like I am going to end up buying two - one for my daughter and one for myself.

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.

Tesla’s Home Battery Could Change the Energy Market Forever

Guest post by Maria Ramos

You probably have never heard of Michael Stanley Whittingham but certainly you have heard of Elon Musk, the billionaire entrepreneur who, besides creating plans for colonizing Mars and providing accessible satellite internet virtually anywhere in the world, is doing his level best to feed a renewable energy revolution on Earth.

Back in the 1970’s, while working for Exxon, Dr. Whittingham was the principal proponent for a new type of battery technology: Lithium-ion. As of April 8th 2015, Elon Musk’s company Tesla announced their plans to utilize Li-ion technology for large-scale, distributed electricity storage one house and business at a time.

Tesla's Powerwall

Energy Storage is Critical to the Green Revolution?

The ability to efficiently store excess energy from intermittent renewable sources such as wind or solar has been a challenge for power producers for decades. Hydroelectric power has a natural, on-demand storage mechanism built-in but other energy sources only have the reserve of unconsumed fuel itself.

Power utility companies spend enormous resources managing power loads between high and low demand cycles. Solar, which only produces during daylight hours and wind, which cannot be coerced to blow only during peak demand periods, complicate their balancing act. Without an efficient means to store excess power, much of it goes to waste.

This situation explains why utility companies would much rather subsidize home-based storage systems in order to reduce complexity and avoid building capital-intensive peak generation capacity—according to Ohiogascompanies.com, the infrastructure needed to distribute energy is the most difficult expense for utilities to mitigate, and as Renewableenergyworld.com points out, the industry has been unable to develop a cost-effective storage solution thus far.

Enter Elon Musk, Tesla and SolarCity

You could think of electric power storage as Tesla’s raison d’etre. Tesla is now re-purposing their technology and expertise derived from their all-electric cars to manufacture economically feasible on-site electricity storage. Tesla’s upcoming $5 billion gigafactory in Nevada will be completely dedicated to lowering Li-ion battery production costs and improving battery storage efficiency.

Their new Powerwall battery storage system, in 7 kilowatt-hour and 10 kilowatt-hour versions, is already in pre-production out of their Fremont plant in California. Tesla is teaming up with another Elon Musk company, SolarCity, to provide complete solutions to homeowners for electricity backup, storage, and grid-sharing. Currently, hundreds of U.S. households are already happily utilizing Tesla electricity storage systems.

The complete systems for which SolarCity is taking orders now include the power pack, inverters, and grid-sharing services. Complete system cost is estimated at $500 per kilowatt-hour.

Overcoming Battery Storage Drawbacks

Besides high initial cost, batteries have some disadvantages, which both Tesla and SolarCity are mitigating:

• Batteries being charged via the utility grid require an AC to DC inverter.
• To use a battery pack’s DC power for AC appliances, a DC to AC inverter is needed.
• Converting between AC and DC loses up to 30 percent of the energy in transfer.
• Properly maintained Li-ion batteries require replacement every several years.

The Future of Green Energy

Despite isolated fears about “grid disruption” when large numbers of small-scale solar and wind power installations come online, the number of installations continues growing. Increasingly efficient, low-cost solar panels and the advent of innovative battery storage solutions, such as Tesla’s, are driving the trend.

SolarCity’s online micro-grid, battery and inverter control plus revenue-sharing plans are creating new business models that merge customer and utility energy assets. All of this means less reliance on fossil fuels and more efficient use of all fuels as the highs and lows of energy demand gradually smooth out.

Future Improvements 

Fortunately, visionaries such as Elon Musk and the hard work and innovations of scientists like M. S. Whittingham mean more energy storage advances are yet to come. These will benefit everyone from homeowners to utility companies and Mother Earth.

About the author:

Maria is a freelance writer currently living in Chicago. She has a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from the University of Illinois at Chicago with a minor in Communication. She blogs about environmentally friendly tips, technological advancements, and healthy active lifestyles. You can follow her in Twitter @MariaRamos1889

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.

The LG G4 - Leather clad beauty

With the attention has focused on the Apple iPhone 6 and the Samsung S6, a lot of people did not notice the launch of the LG G4. The phone is powered by a Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ 808 Processor with X10 LTE and comes with 3GB RAM and unlike the iPhone 6 and Samsung S6, the storage can be expanded up to 2TB via Micro-SD card. Moreover, the 3,000mAh battery is removable. Comes with optional wireless charging with the Quick Circle™ Case.

The phone has a 5.5" Size IPS quantum display and comes with 16MP rear camera with f/1.8 aperture and a 8MP front camera, ideal for taking selfies.

One interesting feature of the phone is the Gesture Shot and Gesture View features which allows you to take pictures by using certain gestures.

The phone comes with a choice of various premium back cover, namely, metallic gray, ceramic white, gold, and genuine leather (in brown, black and red).

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.

Samsung Galaxy S6: Is this the Samsung phone we have been waiting for

When it comes to mobile phones, I have been a loyal Samsung fan. I was converted after I bought a Samsung Galaxy S2 several years back. It was an impressive mobile phone and I am still using it. Since then, I have owned the Galaxy S3 and the Galaxy Note 1. However, my loyalty has kind of slowly faded. Even my wife who used to be a loyal Samung fan has moved on to Lenovo. Samsung keeps on bringing out unimpressive mobile phone models, one after the one,  which are not attractive nor innovative and yet, not cheap either. I can understand why hundreds (if not thousands) of people can wait in queue whenever a new Apple iPhone comes out.

I was seriously tempted to jump ship and get myself a new iPhone after trying out my sister's iPhone 6. However, the ridiculous price of the phone kept me check. The phone I was seriously considering was the Sony Xperia Z3. Two factors convinced me - the picture quality and the fact that it is waterproof.

A few days back I learnt that Samsung was launching their new phone which has been covered by a few tech blogs. There was none of the anticipation or excitement that accompanies an iPhone launch. However, Samsung may have finally done something right.

They unveiled the Galaxy S6 at MWC 2015 at Barcelona. Learnt that there are infact two models - the Galaxy 6 and the Galaxy 6 edge.

I guess Samsung has finally listed and there is no trace of plastic (at least not on the surface) on the phones. They are aluminium and Gorilla glass wrapped. The only difference between the two models is that the S6 Edge's screen extens along the edges on both sides which can be turned into informations strips similar to last year’s Galaxy Note Edge. The phones have 5.1 inch, 2560x1440 displays and is powered by Samsung Exynos processor (2.5GHz quad + 2.1GHz quad) with 3GB of RAM. The phone runs on the latest Android 5.0 Lollipop OS.

It has a 16-megapixel camera with the lens protuding from the back which somewhat spoils the design but I guess it is one of the technical issues you face when you want to place a high pixel camera in a thin phone (just 6.8mm thick). It also has a 5MP front camera with real-time high definition recording.

On the negative side, some features have been lost. This includes lack of a MicroSD card slot and the 2550mAh batteries which can't be replaced.

Not sure I am convinced though. Have to try it out hands on and look at the prices. Then I can finally decide.

View their launch here.