Over, on or in... the choice in ear-wear has never been so overwhelming.
Who could have predicted the explosion in earbud options alone? Is there a reason to upgrade from the pair that came in the box with your phone? And if so, how far should you go?...
Samsung's Galaxy Buds are a pleasure.
Often cutting edge technology throws up almost as much frustration as satisfaction, but Samsung's follow-up to its Gear IconX buds gives me almost no cause for complaint.
The first pleasurable feature is how tiny the Galaxy Buds are. I've tried quite a few bluetooth buds and till now most of them stick out of your ears rather absurdly - a bit like that thing Lieutenant Uhura used in the original Star Trek TV show. This can make them both uncomfortable to wear and prone to flopping out. Oh, and looking stupid. Not the Galaxy Buds. They're extremely subtle to look at and come with a nice selection of wings and tips to fit any ear canal. Not that I've tried any of the other options. For the first time ever, I wore these buds as they came, straight out of the box, ran seven k's and never had to adjust them once.
The single most comfortable earbuds I've ever used. Period.
If you pre-ordered a Galaxy S10, you may well have received a pair of Galaxy Buds as part of the package. If so, you'll already know how idiot-proof the pairing process is. In fact, I did it almost without realising it - the second you open the case a pairing request automatically appears on your phone's screen. Accept and you're done, just like that.
Some bluetooth earbuds are connected together by a behind-the-neck lead but I've always preferred the freedom of cable-free or "True Wireless" buds like these. Unfortunately in the past this has meant a serious compromise in battery life due to the buds having to connect to each other as well as the device you're playing from. While the idea of a charging case certainly makes it easy and convenient to top them up again, it'd be nice to get more than an hour or two out of your buds before you have to bung them back in the case. Well you get way more than that with the Galaxy Buds. While I haven't had a chance to test the "Up to Six Hours" claim on the Samsung website, I've certainly watched whole feature films with no difficulty whatsoever.
Like the buds themselves, the charging case is also small, with cleverly moulded compartments that will only let you position each bud exactly the right way for charging. The case holds enough juice for a couple of full charges, which is a bit disappointing... or it would be except for its greatest trick. The case charges wirelessly too. You can pop it down on any Qi charger or of course, the Galaxy S10 phones have a Wireless PowerShare function that means you can charge up from the handset itself. No disappointment there. Only coolness.
Although there is no Active Noise Cancelling (ANC), the Galaxy Buds fit so snugly I've found they do an amazing job of cutting out most ambient sound... sometimes too good a job. I'm sitting in a public library while I write this and I just took a call. While the guy I was talking to could hear me fine, I have no idea if I was whispering or shouting - I couldn't hear myself at all. Nobody asked me to leave, so I can't have been yelling too much.
This super tight fit doesn't just keep out the noise, it means you get great bass response and extremely clear audio without having to crank the volume. At first I felt as though I just couldn't run the Galaxy Buds as loud as I wanted to - but I've come to realise I don't actually need to squeeze my music and podcasts past the point of distortion anymore as I can hear every note or word at a more comfortable level. For example, I've been wearing the Galaxy Buds while vacuuming, using power tools and even mowing the lawn. I've had no trouble enjoying whatever I'm listening to with virtually no intrusion from outside racket.
Using Samsung's Galaxy Wearable app, you can choose to let in the ambient noise (if for example your wife has grown tired of trying to get your attention with no response). You can also assign that function to a long press of either earbud.
In fact, the app is very useful indeed - the long press can be set to summon your voice assistant or perhaps most usefully, you can set one side to turn the volume down and the other to turn it up.
Single taps play and pause while double taps skip tracks or answer calls.
This is a fair amount of operational functionality for a device that doesn't actually have any physical buttons.
You can customise your EQ preferences to a degree, choosing from a selection of five presets. Right now I'm listening to the acoustic folk/R&B genius of the Wood Brothers and the double bass is so clean and true it's giving me goosebumps. There's excellent separation with the stereo effects... it's an audio party in my head.
The Wearble app even lets you decide which notifications you receive from any apps installed on your phone - these manifest with about the most subtle alert tone I've ever heard. Even the tones you hear when you insert the Galaxy buds are more musical than intrusive - soft sounds to let you know they're paired up and ready to go.
The only question that remains... is $299 too much to pay for a couple of tiny bits of plastic you might lose between the couch covers? ($299 is the RRP - you can find them cheaper in some places) It's a tricky one. They are easily the best earbuds I've used, so I suppose they're worth saving up for. And they're not even the most expensive option out there - several other manufacturers offer similar products with less functionality and charge more for them.
They say good things come in small packages. The Samsung Galaxy Buds are very good things indeed.
Click here for more information on the Samsung Galaxy Buds.
As a record-breaking kiwi Summer finally comes to an end, I know it seems crazy, but it's time to consider your home-heating options again.
The good news is, if you thought Dyson was all about fans and vacuum cleaners, they've added another string to their bow...
If you're thinking, "Wait, I've seen this before," that's because the Dyson Pure Hot+Cool looks a lot like the Dyson Pure Cool.
Even when you just write it down...
Not sure who's in charge of naming things at Dyson, but as I always say, when it comes to design, nobody else comes close.
When I reviewed the Pure Cool, I loved it - even though I really only had Dyson's own app to prove if the air was more pure after using it.
On closer inspection, the Pure Hot+Cool actually has a lot more to offer.
For starters, the colour scheme is so much cooler (cooler figuratively, not literally). Black and nickel seems a lot more modern and ties in with more furnishings than the stark white of the Pure Cool - not to mention the bright, bright, BRIGHT purple associated with other Dyson products like fans and vacuums.
The Pure Hot+Cool is significantly shorter than the Pure Cool - so initially I wondered if it would be as effective in a large space like my living/dining/kitchen area. I soon learned this was no cause for concern, as I accidentally discovered the new tilt feature. This lets you angle the device upwards so the signature bladeless fan can blow up as well as out. There's no special lever, button or catch to make this happen - you just tilt it to your preference. As I say, it's so easy I did it by mistake when I was installing the filters - another operation that is so well designed, you don't think you've done it properly because it's just so easy to do.
Often, it's a collection of small improvements that add up to a major step forward. One of these little tweaks is the power plug, which is now a more standard size and shape, compared to Dyson's previous oversized, rectangular boxes that hogged far too much space on a typical double wall outlet.
Obviously, the big difference between the Pure Cool and the Pure Hot+Cool is the "Hot" part. This device brings the very best of Dyson's purifying, fan and heating technology together in one compact unit. I'm surprised they haven't come up with a way for it to clean your floors as well - maybe that's next year's model.
Funnily enough, I always thought the "Cool" side of the Pure Cool was slightly overstated, as of course at the end of the day, it's just a fan - not an air conditioner - albeit an extremely groovy fan. What I mean by this is fans don't really reduce the air temperature, they just make it more comfortable by creating a nice breeze.
In this case, there's no question the "Hot" part of the equation does the business. The Pure Hot+Cool is capable of raising the temperature, even in a large room, by several degrees in mere minutes - all thermostatically controlled, either with the accompanying remote, which you can leave conveniently magnetised to the top of the device itself, or you can run everything from the Dyson Link app.
The advantage of doing it with the app is you can activate the Pure Hot+Cool from anywhere - switch it on when you leave work and have everything toasty-warm by the time you get home.
The fan has 10 speed settings which you can select yourself or simply set to auto. While the low settings are extremely quiet, (even a night-time mode that turns down the display and the sound) you'll certainly be aware of the noise by the time you get up to 9 or 10. In saying that, at least it's a steady whoosh - not the rattle and clatter more commonly associated with conventional fans and fan heaters.
The unit also has variable oscillation settings - right up to 350 degrees, even when fully tilted. This means unlike conventional fan heaters which only point in one direction, you can effectively place the Pure Hot+Cool in the middle of the room and it'll blast cosyness into every corner.
Best of all, what other heater removes 99.5 percent of any nasties out of the air as well?
The Pure Hot+Cool is easy to operate and offers plenty of customisations, especially via the app - which even let's you program when you want the unit to turn on and off automatically.
It's a high-tech fan you don't have to store away in Winter and an efficient, intelligent heater you don't have to store away in Summer. When you add the ability to monitor and improve the air quality in your home, the $999 price tag starts to sound pretty reasonable. Many heaters outprice the Pure Hot+Cool significantly - and all they do is heat.
Certainly if anyone in your household suffers from asthma, allergies or other similar complaints, this is a very well-designed no-brainer this Winter.
Click here for more information and pricing for the Dyson Pure Hot+Cool purifier fan heater.
If there's one thing I love even more than great tech, it's great design. So when the two combine, I couldn't be happier...
D-Link has been nailing its range of WiFi security cameras for a while now. From standalone units to multi-camera options - indoor, outdoor - all accessible from apps and web interfaces that have been getting more and more user-friendly month by month.
The OMNA system is a whole new generation. At last D-Link has created a genuinely wireless camera that virtually installs itself.
In terms of how you use the D-Link OMNA Wire-Free kit, it's really just a continuation of the previous D-Link security camera technology I've reviewed before. You get excellent, high definition video footage which you can access live via the mydlink app. The functionality of this app has really gone from strength to strength - I'll cover off the set-up process shortly, but it's more simple than ever to create automated recording and notification rules, not just for the whole system but for each camera connected to it. Your recordings can be saved locally to microSD, external USB storage or directly to the cloud. (There's a 12 month Premium mydlink subscription included with the kit)
That's all great. In fact, it's really great. If you've read my previous reviews you'll know I've become quite a fan of mydlink systems now they've got the app working so beautifully.
But it's the "Wire-Free" part of the OMNA equation that makes this system such a game changer.
The basic 2802KT kit includes a WiFi hub and two cameras. Unlike other WiFi cameras that are still limited by their need to be connected to a power supply, the OMNA cams have rechargeable lithium batteries built in. A microUSB charger is included, but it's no different to a phone or speaker charger. This means you can position the cameras pretty much anywhere at all, as long as they're within the 100 metre range of the WiFi hub. The cameras are rated IP65, so they'll be just fine out in the weather. They're extremely compact, so they're barely noticeable from any distance at all, yet they also feel very sturdy and well constructed.
My favourite thing about these truly wireless cameras is each has a strong magnet at the back. This is designed to fit onto the included ball-mountings which can be installed with just a single screw. The ball configuration means the cameras can be set at almost any angle and because it's all just magnets, it's the easiest thing in the world to grab the camera off the bracket when it comes time to charge it.
Of course, I have absolutely no idea when that time is as I have only been using the system for a couple of weeks and the battery indicator on both cameras is still showing full. That seems impressive to me, given I spend half my life putting things on to charge. According to the D-Link website, the cameras' 6700mHa batteries will last for "months" on a single charge. That's kind of vague, but I haven't seen anything to suggest otherwise yet.
Turns out, the magnets in the cameras aren't just restricted to the supplied mounting brackets, they'll latch onto anything metal, so you have the option of slapping a camera on your fence, on sheds and perhaps most usefully of all, directly onto spouting.
It really is one of the easiest things I've ever installed - they even pair themselves with the WiFi hub. You can literally have a whole home security system set up in under ten minutes.
Although the OMNA kit comes with two cameras, it will support as many as four - and you can monitor them all simultaneously on your phone, from anywhere. Each camera is equipped with two-way audio, so you can ask that courier to leave the package at the door or freak your kids out when they get home late!
There's even a 100dB siren built into the WiFi hub that you can automate to go off if any or all of the cameras detect anything dodgy, or you can set it off manually from the app itself - again, this is quite entertaining if the kids are home alone. What's wrong with me? Am I a bad dad?
My only real issue with the OMNA cameras is due to my white house. The camera I have directed at my front door is positioned against a wall. A white wall. Unfortunately this means an over exposed image at night due to the proximity of a lot of whiteness before you get to the darkness of the entranceway itself. This really just means I need to find a better place to put it. Or maybe I should use the extended mounting bracket that came in the box? What an idiot.
At $899.99, the OMNA system is not the cheapest around, but you're paying for one of the best pieces of home security design I've ever come across, with all the hardware you need to install it - or rather for it to install itself. If you're not technically-minded and you don't love breaking out a screwdriver and drill, this is the surveillance solution for you. It just works.
Click here for more information and pricing on the OMNA 2802KT Wire-Free Indoor/Outdoor Camera Kit.
