Sound Kick Bluetooth Speaker Costs Half of its Original Price

June 4, 2015 By Roxanne Briean Leave a Comment

Sound Kick Bluetooth speaker

We love listening to music, and sometimes we get super frustrated because we can’t show our buddy that cool new song because the in-built speakers are just plain horrible. The Sound Kick Bluetooth Speaker is an award winning little sound blaster that changed how I listen to music, watch movies, and even game on my laptop.

It’s now half of its original price, and that puts it at $50 – this includes shipping!

An award winning speaker for 50 bucks? What are you waiting for? Buy it! I’m happy with my purchase – I bought the Sound Kick Bluetooth Speaker a few of months ago. Darn it. I always buy stuff right before they get a major discount.

It’s 1.6 inches thick making it the best sound blaster if you’re constantly on the go – it can fit in your purse without problems.

Sound Kick Bluetooth Speaker

Let’s say you’re visiting a friend of yours in another city, and you guys want to watch a couple of movies, but you foolishly forgot its charger back home. In this situation, a normal person would despair, but not you, the new owner of the Sound Kick Bluetooth Speaker – its battery can last up to 7 hours on one charge!

And that’s not even the best thing about it – the sound quality is amazing!

Seriously, the Sound Kick Bluetooth Speaker outputs some top-notch sounds without the usual distortion that you find in the $50 range. The rich detailed audio is due to the 2.3 inch dual drivers, and the UQ3 spatial enhancement technology that it uses – it provides a greater audio depth.

You can stream music wireless via Bluetooth, and you can also connect your device to the Sound Kick Bluetooth Speaker via a line-in port. It pairs with ease to Pandora, Spotify, and Google Play Music – and other music streaming apps.

Ow, did I forget to mention that you can even charge your phone at it? It has an USB power socket.

Sound Kick Bluetooth Speaker

It weighs about 1.6 lb, that is 0.7 kg for you metric users. It isn’t heavy at all. It also comes packed with a 3.5mm cable.

Beautiful design, and quality material encompasses the compact and loud sound blaster. I recommend youturn on the unit and expand the Xkick chamber that will not only enhance your bass experience, but it will offer a rubberised stand – it actually looks like one little monolith from Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey.

Most of its buttons are touch sensitive, and they don’t feel all blocky when pushing them – also, I didn’t encounter issues while pressing said buttons.

Take a look at this unboxing video – it also has a little sound demo.

In short, I highly recommend this little soundblaster – the Sound Kick Bluetooth speaker is my preferred device to use when I’m travelling.

Image Source: 1, 2, 3

Windows 10 Got a Release Date!

June 2, 2015 By Roxanne Briean Leave a Comment

July the 29th is the date that Windows 10 will start to roll out!

Some of you may have noticed a notification in the Notification Area – it’s in your Taskbar, you can’t miss it!

If you don’t see the Windows 10 free upgrade in your Taskbar, don’t worry, this doesn’t mean that you won’t get the new sweet FREE OS from Microsoft. It just means that they haven’t managed to send the memo to your PC – notifications seem to roll out totally random.

The really great thing with Windows 10 is that we don’t have to wait in line to buy the product, it comes digitally, and if you choose to install the free OS in the first year of its release, it will offer free security upgrades for the entirety of its life.

Pretty cool to be honest. Here are some feature highlights.

Microsoft store is going to be a huge thing in the future – or at least, that’s what the big M wishes. In all fairness, having a in-built store in Windows 10 doesn’t seem that bad, and I fully applaud the idea – giving your credit card, and personal info to various websites on the internet doesn’t bode well with me; having one store from where I can shop securely puts my mind at peace.

Is Windows 10 any different from Windows 8?

When Windows 8 was released, Microsoft was drunk on Windows 7 glory, and thought they could get away with everything – like changing the UI layout. God, I absolutely hated Windows 8 when I first started using it. Everything seemed to be made with tablets in mind.

If you’ve missed out on 8, and will be jumping to Windows 10 from 7 you won’t have to go through the first week of How do I even shutdown my computer? horror.

If you got all lovey dovey with Windows 8, I got some bad news for you – you’ll need to get accustomed to the UI layout again.

Besides changing Control Panel to App Settings – which I don’t really think is that of a good idea – Windows 10 will feature Windows Edge. It was known as Project Spartan until Microsoft’s 2015 Build Event, and it’s basically Internet Explorer remodelled – deeply, to the core remodelled.

We were presented a browser that was still in its alpha stage, and we really didn’t see much of it in action, but here’s hoping that Edge will have all of it’s chromosomes – not unlike hi’s older, uhm, more special sibling Internet Explorer.

Anyone can upgrade to Windows 10 for FREE – including those who have pirated copies – but if you’re planning on giving your device a new face-lift, you kinda need to take a look at Windows 10’s system requirements.

1 GHz or faster
1 GB of RAM for the 32-bit version
2 GB of RAM for the 64-bit version
16 GB of free storage space
Microsoft DirectX 9 graphics device with WDDM driver
Microsoft Account
Internet Access

Image Source: 1, 2, 3

The Most Important Announcements from Google I/O 2015

May 29, 2015 By Roxanne Briean Leave a Comment

Google I/O 2015 started yesterday, on the 28th of May, and the big G decided to focus on Android.

We’ll most likely see more news today regarding their self-driving cars, and Project Fi, which wants to be Google’s wireless carrier. We’ll update this article as soon as we get the news, so check on us periodically if you want to stay up to date with Google’s plans.

Google I/O 2015 Android Everywhere!

I’m not that surprised that I/O 2015’s first day focused on Android – it’s a really big project. We discussed some of the Android M rumours in a recent article, and I’m happy to say that we hit it right on its head! Remember, this isn’t an revolutionary piece of software, it’s just the next logical evolutionary step.

You’ll notice how it looks like its previous iteration Lollipop, but with improvements in power optimization, new services, and how apps interact.

App permissions

Android M won’t annoy you with a wall of permission requests, like previous updates are currently doing – it’s a little bit frustrating to say the least; whenever you install an app, you have to go through its permissions and accept, or deny them. Now, everything is going to change.

You won’t be needed to look at them after you installed an app. Permissions will be prompted when the developers calls them up, and you can look at what a specific app can access, and deny its clearance – I’m a little bit paranoid when it comes to apps taking a look at my photo gallery, or calendar.

Chrome is your new in-app browser overlord

I was expecting this. Now, when you click on a link within an app it moves your view to the browser, or an in-app website – which is poorly made, and suffers from optimization issues. At Google I/O 2015, the company announced that there’s going to be a new feature that will involve custom Chrome tabs in-app – it will load web pages faster by pre-loading certain elements like passwords, and user-names.

Also, Google has decided to make it easier for other apps you use. If you spot a tweet, and click on it, the Twitter app will open, instead of a webpage.

Improvements to battery life and USB-C

This is what I was hoping to hear at Google I/O 2015. Android M will feature Doze. A new feature that will put your smartphone into a deep sleep – it uses motion detection, and if it senses that your device is inactive for a long time it will trigger the feature. It sacrifices app freshness, as Google likes to call it, for better battery life.

I seriously don’t have one problem with this, and I fully applaud their initiative. While Doze is active, the user can still receive messages, and notifications – alarms also have a priority.

When compared with a Nexus 9 running Lollipop, the Android M device lasted twice as longer – this makes me all giddy!

USB Type-C will be fully supported by Android M.

Google Now on Tap

Google Now will become your personal assistant. It’s going to get a ton of new improvements, and it doesn’t seem to be stopping here.

The new addition to the already present feature will be called Google Now on Tap. It’s really simple. Let’s say that you get a message from a friend asking you if you want to go to the new Mad Max movie. Now on Tap displays a couple of cards once you hold the home button – they will prompt you to the trailer of the movie, information about it, reviews, and so on.

Those cards can let you set up a to-do list if you receive texts about dinner, or laundry. Also, it gives you map routes, restaurants near you, and Yelp listings.

Even better. When tested, in the demo, by asking ” What’s his real name?”, Google Now searched on spotify the artist that was currently playing, and brought up Skrillex’s real name – without needing to specify what’s Skrillex’s real name.

Free online storage for Google Photos app

The cloud war started a couple of days ago, and Google seems to be winning battle after battle. They just announced that the Google Photos app will get a revamp, and it will also feature free unlimited online storage – photos up to 16-megapixels, and videos up to 1080p.

And you know what? It’s available right now for Android, iOS, and the web. You can also better organize your memories by pinpointing them on a timeline, or by certain locations – this is me on the beach, this is me near the beach, this is me taking my fifth selfie on the beach.

Offline Google Maps and Chrome

In an attempt to optimize their apps for poor developing countries, Google now let’s you save maps to use in offline modes, and also webpages through Chrome.

In a strategy to let people who have poor connectivity get their desired information, Google has built a new algorithm that will display fewer images on a webpage, or in a search, for those who lag.

In offline mode, Google Maps will be able to give proper turn-by-turn indications, show reviews, and list information.

Android Wear gets a needed polish

Google has reported that since its Android Wear début more than 4,000 apps have been developed for the smartwatch OS. The library of apps is constantly growing, and it has just received a couple of new needed apps like – Uber, Forsquare and Citymapper amongst others.

Google knows that the smartwatch screen is always-on, and apps should be always-on too. Your chosen apps will be feature on the screen in a white, and black low power usage icons.

When navigating Google Maps, directions will be constantly available on your screen, so you can glance at them easily.

Project Brillo to take care of your home

Project Brillo is Google’s attempt to automatize meaningless tasks like setting your thermostat, locking your doors, or lighting up the room.

It’s going to be available for developers sometimes in Q3 of this year. What we do know is that it’s derived from Android, and it only takes its most basic features – like Wi-Fi and Bluetooth support, so it can offer low energy usage, but still maintain a weave of communications.

This Weave of communications will let Brillo devices talk to each other.

More info will be announced in Q4 of this year!

Android Pay

Let’s see if the next iteration of Google Wallet will actually work – hopefully, it won’t prove to be a failed next step. Android Pay is Google’s counter to Apple’s Pay, and the company promises that more than 700,000 stores will feature Android Pay – Dunkin’ Donuts, and Chipotle to name just a few.

More so, the feature will come pre-installed if you purchase your device from Verizon, T-Mobile or AT&T.

Android Pay will only run on KitKat or higher, so those of you who still have a device that features JellyBean should consider moving up.

HBO Now

We were hoping that Google would announce something about their Android TV, but this would have to do. No more Apple exclusivity, HBO Now is coming to Android – the streaming-only service will let you watch your favourite HBO shows like Game of Thrones, and Game of Thrones, and of course Game of Thrones. Let’s not forget True Detective, but especially Game of Thrones.

Google I/O 2015 Virtual Reality

Yup, Google is going to massively tackle virtual reality now – it’s already a big trend, and every day I hear new companies announcing their plans regarding virtual reality development, whether they are cameras, and lenses, software, and apps, or just simply VR gear!

Google Cardboard gets remodelled!

Last year Google released their Cardboard, and now, the remodelled version will be able to sport six inch devices – it’s also iPhone compatible!

In order to garner fans from the enemy, Google will be releasing its SDK for Android, and iOS – a dedicated app was just launched on Apple’s App store.

Expeditions is Google’s new virtual reality education tool. It will permit teachers, and students to perform trips using the VR Cardboard – teachers will be able to control the experience with a tablet.

VR camera rig for everyone

GoPro just announced at the Re/Code conference that they are planning on building a new spherical camera rig for virtual reality. Now, Google has announced that they are teaming with them in order to build a vr camera rig that will be available for wide usage.

It’s going to be a circular 16-camera rig, that will be like a kick-start to the VR era, and it will offer everyone the possibility of filming VR-compatible video.

For more info regarding today’s schedule check out Google’s I/O 2015 official website.

We’ll be updating this list as soon as more info is announced.

Image Source: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13

Android M Release Date and Rumours

May 25, 2015 By Roxanne Briean Leave a Comment

Android 5 Lollipop is a thing of the past for Google. Android M on the other hand is the next big update!

On the 28th of May, that is less than 3 days from now, Google will host its annual I/O developer conference at San Francisco’s Moscone Center. Nerds from different plateaus of coding will fill the room, but if you’re one of the geeks that will, unfortunately, not be attending the conference, don’t fret. Articles regarding key updates, and features will be posted by the AFP team as soon as they are announced.

Most likely Google is going to unveil their new Android M update, Android Wear, Android TV, and Android Auto – who knows, maybe even Android panties!

Until we know for sure, let’s speculate and talk amongst ourselves!

Android M – does it stand for Marshmallow?

We all know how Google likes to name its software updates something based on pastry goods, or candy – Cupcake, Donut, Eclair, Froyo, JellyBean, KitKat, and Lollipop; but what does the new M stand for? Muffin? Marshmallow? Madeleine? Mars isn’t out of discussion here either. Google formed an alliance with KitKat in order to use their name.

But what about the number? The logical thing would be Android M 5.2, but Google may wish to skip directly to Android M 6 – it’s not been unheard of.

By the way, have you noticed that Google likes to name its software in alphabetical order?

Android M Material Design

It’s unlikely that it’s going to change, and Android M is expected to build on top of Lollipop’s UI – it’s going to be an evolutionary update, like we’ve seen it happen a couple of times now, not a revolutionary one.

Expect to see new flat icons, shadows under objects, and sliding transitions – focus is shifting towards a minimalist design that will still keep the essence of Android. Google’s new update will focus more on enhancing existing features, rather than implementing new ones.

Security

Some time ago, the fingerprint scanner was released with a popular flagship phone, from a popular brand – it was really easy to use, and it didn’t pose as a frustrating problem like its earlier iterations did. We loved it – even my grandma loved how easy it was to unlock her phone.

It’s common sense that Android M will most likely release its own native version of a fingerprint scanner – this will allow developers to integrate in their apps the fingerprint scanners, without looking for a third-party, or building a new one themselves.

Fingerprint scanning is growing in popularity, and it’s the wisest of choices to support it – more so, people tend to love the fact that they can connect to every device they have using a universal fingerprint scanner.

Rumours have it that Android M will focus a little bit more on businesses, enterprises – this isn’t to say that Google will completely forget the average Joe.

Also, Google will add a feature that will allow the device’s owner to edit app permissions. Let’s say that you don’t want a certain app to look at your Google account info, or your photo gallery – just edit out its permission and the feeling of dread that the NSA, or whoever, watches over your personal info will be no more.

Android Pay

This isn’t a new mobile payment system; it’s going to be focused more on alleviating the stress that developers have. Android M Pay will give the ability that developers need – I’m talking about a safe, and easy integration of payment methods into their apps.

NFC will be its main communication medium, and support for biometrics will most likely come in future updates.

Support for Android Wear on iOS

Google’s software platform, Android Wear for wearables, has been improving constantly since its release. There’s a rumour, a huge one to be more specific, about Android Wear coming to iOS. It’s a little bit hard to believe, but we might see Google offering support for iPhones, and iPads at Google I/O. Come to think of it, we have seen Android Wear smartwatches paired with iOS devices – without any hacks involved whatsoever.

Google has been reported of saying that they are – ” close to finishing the final technical details”, that involves iOS support.

See, we will see two of the industry’s giants work together for the greater good of the consumer? Or is this a clever rouse to make money? I’ll go with option B.

Android M Release Date – When should we expect it?

I think it’s safe to say that we don’t need to hold our breaths for a release date being announced at the conference in 3 days. Sure, it will probably be available for download after the conference is over, but don’t expect a stable version – that’s going to take a couple of months of intensive tests.

Android 5.0 Lollipop was announced in June of 2014, and it rolled almost 5 months later. This isn’t to say that Android M will suffer from the same fate. Nexus and Google Play Edition devices will surely receive the software update first, then flagship smartphones and tablets from Samsung, LG, HTC, Motorola, and Sony will be the next ones.

We predict that Android M, a stable version, will be available for the public some time this Autumn, even Winter – probably to pair it with the Nexus 2015 release.

Source: Image 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7

PS4 and Xbox One Games that are Coming Out in June!

May 25, 2015 By Roxanne Briean 2 Comments

May, and June are always going to be filled with the best game releases for PS4 and Xbox One. Why so? Because the end of Spring brings the rise of Summer which is the perfect time to waste countless hours in front of your favourite console. E3 is just around the corner, but before you jump on the hype-train, let’s see what our Summer is going to be filled with – PS4 and Xbox One games of course!

PS4 and Xbox One Games Galore!

The Escapists

Quickly, count how many paces there are from your cell to the entrance to the kitchen, now check out at what intervals do patrols come, and who they are – some are more unaware of their surroundings than others. Got all of it? Okay then, now focus on stealthily stealing keys, and materials so you can finally escape and hear the chirping noise of birds once again.

The Escapists has made its début on PC earlier this year, and we have long awaited a console version. You’re a convict, and your only goal is to escape this filthy horrible jail. Plot, and execute your plan, but be careful, because one tiny little mistake, one miscalculated thing will throw you back in your cold cage.

It received mixed to positive reviews – fans on gaming forums call it highly addictive, but with a couple of annoying bugs; hopefully, they have fixed them for the console version.

Available on PS4 and Xbox One!
Release date: June 2

Deception IV: The Nightmare Princess

The strategy puzzle-action video-game follows up the 2014 release of Blood Ties. The new iteration introduces a new character named Valgyrie, with whom you can set up traps, and bash your enemies with swift, and powerful kicks. You will take control of the Nightmare Princess Valgyrie who has only one objective – to save her father from from the Devil’s imprisonment.

The last one, Blood Ties, was positively received by critics, and fans alike – Famitsu even ranked the game at 34/40.

Available only on the PS4
Release date: June 14

The Elder Scrolls Online: Tamriel Unlimited

I’m a big geek when it comes down to The Elder Scrolls – especially when you put it in an MMO setting. It was about time we gamers received this beautiful gem for our consoles.

You can be an Argonian, Dunmer, Nord, Altmer, Bosmer, Khajiit, Breton, Orc, Redguard and even an Imperial – regardless of what you choose, your adventure will be your own. Mold your quest carefully, it’s not wise to upset other adventures, or factions.

Tamriel Unlimited adds to the 100+ hours that consist of the main story with more to do once you pop level 50, and more boss fights.

Available on PS4 and Xbox One!
Release date: June 9

Lego Jurassic World

We all knew that this was coming since a new Jurassic Park movie was announced. I have complete confidence in the team behind Lego video-games – they will make a really fun, and funny game. It’s designed for children, but that doesn’t mean an adult can have the time of his life playing it. Although, I was really hoping for a dark, and gritty Jurassic World game – a fps with RPG elements; something on the lines of Fallout.

The video-game will encompass the story lines of all the Jurassic Park movies – and also the upcoming one.

Available on PS4 and Xbox One!
Release date: June 12

PayDay 2: Crimewave Edition

Really digging the trend that PayDay, and GTA V are making popular – heists!

GTA V did an awesome job with heists – if you’ve got a proper team you’ll get a ton of rewards, and have an excellent gaming experience on the long run. Use random people, and expect only ragers, and leavers.

PayDay2: Crimewave Edition takes everything good from the heist trend, and bundles it up in one game. You, and three other players carry out heists in the Washington D.C. area. Practice with little convenience stores, and then gradually move towards big banks – don’t bite more than you can chew, or you’ll get your head blown off.

Better graphics, more content, and all the DLC’s from PayDay 2 will be available with the Crimewave Edition!

Available on PS4 and Xbox One!
Release date: June 16

Ride

Motorcycle fans haven’t received that much love in the past years, but Ride wants to set this right. With over 100 bikes to choose from the best manufacturers on the planet, Ride provides an excellent motorcycle simulator. Superbikes, Supersports, Naked, and Historical bikes – you name it, and the video-game has it.

Fully customize your motorcycle, and rider while you prepare for the race.

By the way, Ride has some superb circuits that will drop your jaw, so take care not to lose track of the race, and end up last.

Available on PS4 and Xbox One!
Release date: June 23

Batman: Arkham Knight

I’ve been waiting for this since I finished Origins. It’s the last installment in the series – no, I’m not crying, I’m just chopping some onions over here.

Battle ScareCrow and his posse which includes Two-Face, Penguin, and Harley Quinn – and other villains that we don’t know about. I can’t wait to bash Penguin’s face – I seriously hate that little smug man; he always thinks he can out-rich, and outwit Bruce Man, ah, Bat Wayne, ah damn it.

For the first time in the franchise, players will take control of the Batmobile. Expect only the best gameplay, and story from the critically acclaimed Arkham series.

Available on PS4 and Xbox One!
Release date: June 23

Devil May Cry 4: Special Edition

I’m quite a big fan of the series, and I’m still hoping that they will bring back the anime – God, I loved it to death; still can’t manage to understand why they cancelled it.

The Special Edition will be a blast from the past by adding three bonus playable characters like Vergil of Devil May Cry 3, Trish from Devil May Cry 2, and Lady who will be making her début.

The story revolves around Nero, a demon-hunter, and Dante, the reason we’re in love with the franchise, as they fight through hordes of demons in the game’s iconic stylish combat that involves guns, swords, demon powers, and more guns. Did I mention guns?

Available on PS4 and Xbox One!
Release date: June 23

Image Source: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9

Remember the Drum Pants? They’re Now Open Source!

May 22, 2015 By Roxanne Briean Leave a Comment

Back in 2007, Tyler Freeman, the man behind the Drum Pants, released a video on YouTube demonstrating what his pants can do. The internet went crazy of course – it was the perfect timing, because the internet was already awed by the functional guitar t-shirt.

Here’s Tyler way back in 2007.

Flash forward to 2014. Tyler appeared on the TV Show Shark Tank – you know, the one where someone pitches ideas to rich guys, and if the pitchers prove that they can make money off of them they get the funding. Now the TV appearance didn’t go as planned so the Drum Pants creators turned to Kickstarter to fund their project. It raised almost $75,000 – it’s more than double of their initial goal of $35,000.

They added a loop pedal that you can activate using your left foot, while the right one can be used as a kick drum. Toms, hi-hats, snares, and cymbals can all be performed slapping your legs – rhythmically of course.

The developers weren’t too happy with just $75,000 so they started an Indiegogo campaign to fund the mass production of the Drum Pants version 2.0!

Here’s a new clip featuring what the new pants can do. Warning – they are awesome!

So, you’re telling me that for $159 I can get my very own Drum Pants? Shut up and take my money!

Even better, if their campaign reaches the goal of $35,000, the Arduino-compatible device can be used for anything, and everything – it will be open source, and the developers are promising to release every piece of designs, schematics and firmware if and when that happens.

The Drum Pants 2.0 is faster, and more stable than its predecessor – it consists of pads and foot pedals, and you can wear them above, or under your clothes. Definitely under, just take a look at this guy.

You can wireless connect your pants to its app on your iPhone, iPad and Mac – we’ll hopefully see an Android version in the near future; and to a MIDI controller via Bluetooth.

It can also connect to virtual reality gear. Think that’s cool? The Drum Pants 2.0 can help people who suffer from certain disabilities to communicate.

Image Source: 1, 2

You Can Buy Robots from Amazon!

May 19, 2015 By Roxanne Briean Leave a Comment

When I was a wee child I was reading a ton of science fiction books, and robots felt like something human kind would be capable of creating sometime in the future – I was thinking more of 2050, or 2100, not 2015!

Did you know that you can buy robots from Amazon? I didn’t know until today, and it kinda shocked me. I just realized that we live in the future I was reading when I was a child. I’m all giddy now – what will 2020, or 2030 be like?

Technology is growing, some say exponentially, and with this growth more and more people seem to make it a part of their lives. Robots can make daily tasks a thing of the past.

Let’s see how down below!

Floor Mopping Robots iRobot Braava 320

When I call my friends over to my place they always leave the kitchen a complete mess. I swear, there are people that haven’t learned how to eat without dropping half of the food on the floor – and they are almost 30 years old *sigh*. I’m fed up with cleaning every time after them so the floor mopping robot Braava 320 comes in at the perfect time.

It can run on a single charge for about three hours and you can fit it with either a damp cloth, or a dry one – Braava has its own designed cloth with microfiber, but to be honest, anything will do. It can clean all hardwood surfaces including vinyl, hardwood and laminate.

Braava’s iRobot line has seen some tough places. Their military products are used by the US army in combat, and to protect themselves from danger. You won’t need to worry about enemies taking your house in a blitz play, because the Braava 320 will give its cogs and plastic for you! No, seriously, it won’t help you from house invaders, so get an alarm or a dog.

Anyway, it’s built with NorthStar Navigation System – an indoor GPS mechanism that tracks everything it has already cleaned, and it organizes itself where to go next. It marks walls, obstacles, and other things so each time it learns to clean the place faster, and better – I don’t like robots that are learning by themselves they scare me!

You can buy it on Amazon for $200!

Vacuum Cleaning Robots iRobot Roomba 880 for Pets and Allergies

An ex-roommate of mine had a serious problems with pets. He loved them with all his heart, but Jimmy had some nasty allergies to their fur or something like that. At one point he started sneezing and scratching himself while we were watching Rick and Morty on TV. I thought it was a gag he was trying to make, but he was in distress.

Now, if we had the Roomba 880 maybe he didn’t have to move out and take his sweet PS4 with him – that was his only redeeming quality.

Anyway, the Roomba 880 can be your cleaning buddy. It uses AeroForce Performance Cleaning. Big words, I know. Their system cleans, and traps allergens, and it’s highly efficient doing this too – it features HEPA filters.

HEPA filters, or high-efficiency particulate arrestance, is a type of air filter. I’m not going to get into the science that stands behind them. What you need to know is that they are really top notch, and those who suffer from random allergies should try to look into them and see how one can incorporate them in their day to day life.

Its navigation system, the Virtual Wall Lighthouse ensures that the Roomba 880 stays in one room, and cleans it until you can even eat off the floor.

You can buy it on Amazon for $700!

Self Cleaning Litter Box Robots Litter Robot LRII

I have a sweet little kitty cat that I take care of every day – mostly because my new cat overlord forces me to, but that’s a story for another time.

Sometimes I have to work late at the office, go grab a quick bite to eat, and get home only to shower, and sleep. There’s not much free time in my life any more. I still feed Bruno – I’m not a monster. I make time for that regardless of how busy my schedule is. But I really can’t make time to clean his litter box every time it starts to stink – last time I thought a sewage pipe erupted in the building, but no, it was from the bathroom.

This is were the Litter Robot LRII swoops in and saves the day – and my nose. It automatically cleans the litter box and it deposits the mess in its built-in large capacity drawer – you can set it up with a trash bag.

It doesn’t have any wires, or cables so you don’t need to worry about your cat chewing on them.

How much do you love your cat? Enough to pay $370? Yup, that’s how much it costs.

Robot Kits WowWee RoboMe

This one doesn’t do anything fancy – it won’t help you with anything in your house. It’s just an iPhone-powered robot that its owner can control it using voice commands. You can customize WowWee to track your face, and follow you around the house.

It can be used only with an iPhone, or an iPod Touch.

WowWee RoboMe costs about $130!

Robot Kits WowWee MiP Robot RC

It can interact with you using sounds, motion and its RGB LED eyes. It’s really intriguing, and the MiP Robot is really responsive.

It’s so fun when you see it follow your hand gestures. WowWee’s product can follow you around the house using his, oups, its unique two wheels balancing system.

WowWee MiP Robot costs about $100!

We’ve got one more robot for you to discover. It may be out of your price range. I know it’s out of mine’s.

The Kuratas Robot

I thought of adding this one just for giggles. It’s available only on Amazon Japan and it costs about, oh well, $1 million!

Yup, a million dollar robot. It’s fully functional, and it’s pretty darn huge – it’s actually a rideable mech robot! It stands at 3.8 meters tall, that is 12.5 feet, and it weighs 5 tons. This is Kogoro Kuratas baby – a Japanese blacksmith that developed this ender of lives for several years.

Why ender of lives? Well, it has a BB gun incorporated that can fire 6,000 rounds per minute.

If you plan on buying it don’t expect any Amazon Prime discounts, and you should know that it doesn’t come paired with arms – they are being sold separately. You actually don’t even need them. Even without Kuratas’ arms you’ll still be able to inspire fear and dread in your neighbours.

Image Source: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7,

Rumoured Features for the iPhone 6s

May 18, 2015 By Roxanne Briean Leave a Comment

The iPhone 6 was an incredible success that propelled Apple to greater heights – who would’ve guessed that this was even possible?!

The iPhone 6s is just around the corner – hopefully! If we take a look at Apple’s release schedule, most of their smartphones were released during Autumn, so we should be expecting their new device to hit sometime between September and November.

It’s also rumoured that because Apple is adding so many new features to their smartphone they’ll call it iPhone 7, not 6s, but who knows for sure?

What we can do is talk about the rumours, and speculate amongst ourselves.

Force Touch

This is just pure speculation over here, but Force Touch would be a great addition to Apple’s smartphone. Their new MacBook line has already adopted the Force and it was positively received by users, and critics alike. What you may not know is that Force is completely useless – you’ll use it for its novelty sake a couple of times, then you’ll revert back to your old ways. I’m not saying it’s bad, I’m just saying that you shouldn’t fix something that ain’t broken.

What I do love about the Force Touch is that Apple will let third-party developers create apps for their new feature. Can’t wait to see what crazy things innovative minds will come up!

12 Megapixel Camera

We all know that the iPhone 6 has one of the best cameras on the market. But Apple’s 8 MP camera hasn’t change in a while – I’m not dissing them, and I’m not a hypocrite, I know what I’ve just wrote, but they have the capabilities to add more megapixels. It’s not like they will be reinventing the camera, or how it works – although, we’re talking about Apple here.

We see smartphones with great image quality, and our display is outputting greater, and better, resolutions year in, and year out, so why not better photo resolutions too?

It’s most likely that the company will try to add more power to their camera.

A9 Processor

This isn’t speculation, and we’re going by pure logic here. With every new iteration, Apple has upgraded the smartphone’s processor. What Apple isn’t going to change is how much RAM their device will hold – rumours state that the company won’t add more GB to the one it already has.

A New Colour

The Rose Gold colour option will most likely be available with the new iPhone – in a strategy to keep in line with Apple’s Watch. Previous iterations hold Silver, Gold and Space Gray colours. I don’t know if I’ve ever told you, but I really really really hate the colour Gold – every single device that I saw that had that colour felt tacky and cheap to me. I can’t stand it, and it makes me think that you picked it just for attention.

A Much Improved Fingerprint Scanner

An improved fingerprint scanner will most likely lead to an early adoption of Apple Pay’s service – but, let’s not get ahead of ourselves, and let’s first see if it’s working properly.

The iPhone 6s, or 7, or Omega, or whatever else you want to call it, will most likely be a huge success exactly like the iPhone 6.

I bet that those who said that the company will decline after Steve Job’s death are eating their shoes now.

Image Source: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

Firefox OS Smart TV’s Have Been Launched in Europe

May 18, 2015 By Roxanne Briean Leave a Comment

The alliance formed between Mozilla and Panasonic seems to be really fruitful – their smart TV’s have just been launched in Europe, and in the upcoming months they will also ship to the United States. Fingers are crossed for shipping availability to shift towards globally.

The stock is limited, and it really depends from each European country to another.

The collaboration was announced in January of this year, and 6 smart TV models from Panasonic will feature Mozilla’s Firefox OS:

CR850
CR730
CX800
CX750
CX700
CX680

Models may vary by country.

Mashiro Shinada, the Director of the TV Business Division stated that – “Through our partnership with Mozilla and the openness and flexibility of Firefox OS, we have been able to create a more user friendly and customizable TV UI. This allows us to provide a better user experience for our consumers providing a differentiator in the Smart TV market.”

The Linux-based OS will be featured on some of the top notch smart TV’s available. Let’s take the Viera TX-50CX700B – a 50-inch, 4k Ultra HD TV with 3D capability. As you might wonder, it is indeed really expensive, and it has been seen at the price of $1570.

Firefox OS has first seen the light of day on tablets and smartphones – read more about their partnership with Orange on African soil in our very own article.

It’s going to be tough for Mozilla to break-in the smartphone marketplace which is dominated by Google’s Android, and Apple’s iOS, but when it comes down to smart TV’s there is no king of the hill, no knight in shining armour. Firefox OS has a really great chance on garnering customer loyalty, but it seriously depends on the quality they are offering along with Panasonic – and most importantly what kind of apps will the Linux-based OS run.

It does lack apps, but luckily, even though Mozilla has just breached smart TV domain, Netflix, and YouTube have already developed their official apps.

Mozilla states that it made it easy, and it’s continuing to make it easier, for developers that wish to port their creations to their OS.

You can read more about Mozilla’s partnership with Panasonic on Mozilla’s official blog.

Image Source: 1, 2

Self Driving Cars Will be a Thing Soon – Thanks Google

May 15, 2015 By Roxanne Briean Leave a Comment

Remember watching that Will Smith movie I, Robot – that is also based on a story by Asimov; and thinking Huh, wouldn’t it be great if self driving cars were a thing?

Well, they’ve been in tests for a while now thanks to Google, and this Summer self driving cars will make their début on the streets of California, more exactly Mountain View, where the company is based.

In a recent blog post, Google has stated that the car’s maximum speed will be capped at 25 miles, that is 40 kilometers per hour, and they will also be accompanied by safety drivers – just in case they become sentient and destroy the world, right Google?

Project director Chris Urmson says that the prototypes will run the same software as their Lexus RX450h fleet – which logged over a million miles, that is ” about 75 years of typical American adult driving experience.” says Urmson.

“We’re looking forward to learning how the community perceives and interacts with the vehicles, and to uncovering challenges that are unique to a fully self-driving vehicle — e.g. where it should stop if it can’t stop at its exact destination due to construction or congestion. In the coming years, we’d like to run small pilot programs with our prototypes to learn what people would like to do with vehicles like this.” Chris Urmson has been reported saying.

I love the idea of self driving cars – the best way to combat drunk driving, teens, and adults alike, that can’t take their noses out of their smartphones, sudden seizures, falling asleep while driving; basically it will solve a ton of problems for us.

But are they really that safe? A recent report has found that since September Google’s self driving cars have been in 11 accidents.

Google has announced that the accidents were minor incidents, and their cars weren’t at fault. Seven vehicles were rear-ended, two of them were involved in sideswipes, and one car was involved in driving through a red light. How is the last one not your fault Google? Okay, I do understand that people were to blame for rear-ending, and sideswiping your vehicles, but passing a red light?

Pure PR Gold for Google here, because they emphasized two strong points

a) its sensors, and algorithms are far more efficient than a human driver, who is prone to error;

and

b) because the vehicles are surrounded by error prone humans, they are learning, and are far more efficient, and safe on the road. We basically feed their cars with our faults and they somehow make it better.

If we assume that what are they saying is correct, then, sheesh, that’s fantastic. A machine that learns from our errors and fixes our problems for us? Wait, no, that sounds like an introduction to the A.I. Revolution. Shut it down Google, right this minute!

But let’s put our fears and irrational paranoia aside for a moment. If what they are saying is true, then seriously Google deserves a Nobel Prize – make a category up and give it to the whole company.

One thing that the company has stated they are kinda struggling with is if, and when, the car reaches its designated stop location, and that location is blocked by either another car, congestion, or a sudden construction site that meddles with re-routing its path.

Image Source: 1, 2, 3

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The Kuratas Robot

Force Touch

12 Megapixel Camera

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A New Colour

A Much Improved Fingerprint Scanner

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