“Pokemon Go launches in the UK, is now the biggest mobile game in US history.
The Pokemon Go deployment rolls on with the game appearing in the U.K. App Store overnight on Thursday, one day after the title went live in Germany.”
Finally Pokemon Go is live in the UK. And I had to download it and give it a go. It’s a fun game but it’s popularity is unbelievable considering its fairly easy to play.
Welcome to my first impressions of the Withings Activite Steel watch. The key features are –
– Automatic activity tracking – Steps, runs, swims (water resistant – 50m) and calories burned
– Sleep monitoring – Sleep cycle analysis (light and deep sleep) plus silent vibrating alarm
– Automatic synchronisation – Visualise trends and data on your smartphone with the free Health Mate app available on iOS and android
– Premium materials – Stainless steel, chrome hands, silicon sport strap
– No charging – Up to 8-month battery life
The Withings Activite Steel smartwatch arrived yesterday. Photo above shows watch on my wrist. Settings up is a breeze. You download the Health Mate app, and follow the simple instructions. I was all setup within 5 mins. Syncing is done periodically during the day using Bluetooth Low Energy. This is an analogue, swiss style watch. The watch strap is easily removable with a built in slide pin. Withings sell leather straps made from quality Barenia leather from Haas Tanneries, the supplier of the finest French Haute Couture houses. Choice of black or tawny brown colours. A single leather strap is £100. The silcone strap is also replaceable with other colour straps. Withings sell a 3 pack of coloured silicone straps for £25. The colours are orange, plum and teal.
The watch has a dial for the hands and minute hands. The other dial moves from 0 to 100% of step target. On the app you set how many steps is you goal. The Health Mate app displays a whole range of data, more of which I will cover off in my review.
The first thing I noticed is the comfort of the strap. Next the watch size is smaller than expected. I think changing the strap for orange or black leather would be a better choice. I cannot believe this doesn’t need charging and lasts 8 months. This takes all the pain out of charging a tracker. My main issue is the watch costs around £139 but just doesn’t look expensive enough.
However, seeing the analogue dial move round felt far less stressful than having an actual number of steps travelled on the screen. Opening the health app does reveal step count and more.
More soon.
Amazon says Prime Day orders jump 60 percent over last year
(Reuters) – Amazon.com Inc said customers placed 60 percent more orders worldwide on “Prime Day” shopping event on Tuesday, compared with a year earlier.
Only Amazon can create its own Shopping Day Event. Whilst a lot of old stock gets sold, I did find a large number of deals worth purchasing this year. What about you?
“Black Onyx Galaxy Note 7 leaks in all its glory!
A new batch of photos has been leaked from China and it shows us the Galaxy Note 7 in Black Onyx. The handset is completely black, even the metal frame is black. Samsung has confirmed that it’s going to formally announce the Galaxy Note 7 at an event in New York City on August 2nd, pricing and availability information will be confirmed after the event. There is also a rumour that it will be available immediately to order.”
Not long now for the big reveal. I must admit I am excited to see what Samsung include with the new Note 7.
“As has been widely reported, it is all but confirmed that the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus will not feature a 3.5mm headphone jack. This means buyers of the new iPhone will have to search for alternative types of headphones, whether that be via wireless Bluetooth or Apple’s Lightning cable. What’s apparently shown in these photos (via Weibo) is a new version of Apple’s EarPods that can connect to an iPhone via the 9-pin Lightning port.”
Whilst the removal of the headphone jack may seem annoying, the audio quality via the lightning connector is far superior. Now if Apple introduced wireless charging that would be the icing on the cake.
How much mobile data does Pokémon Go use?
“Unfortunately the Pokémon Go app itself can’t really limit data usage much. Due to the free-roaming nature of the game and everything you can do with it, it’s hard to put a specific number on the amount of data Pokémon Go is going to use when you play.
How often you’re hitting PokéStops, going to gyms and battling will make a difference in your data usage. Walking around for about an hour actively playing Pokémon Go, we saw less than 20MB of mobile data usage. Tips for saving data when playing Pokémon Go Though the Pokémon Go app isn’t really using all that much data, there are a few things you can keep in mind to both potentially reduce the app’s data usage and also cut down on your overall data usage when you’re out playing. Keep your Wi-Fi on This one’s pretty basic, but is worth remembering if you’re in a city with lots of open Wi-Fi access points: leave your Wi-Fi on and hop on open networks to save some data while you’re out. If you’re going to be stationary for a few minutes, there’s little reason not to hop on that nearby Starbucks or McDonald’s free Wi-Fi. It’ll take a minute, but you’ll save a few megabytes”
At 20mb an hour, the data usage is fairly low from playing Pokemon Go. But if you become addicted to the game which many people are, playing for 2 hours per day, 7 days a week equates to 280mb. This in turn over a month becomes over 1gb. Just something to be wary of if your life gets possessed by Pokemon Go.
“NVIDIA SHIELD Tablet meets Android 6.0 Professional Audio requirements following Software Upgrade 4.2
The NVIDIA SHIELD Tablet provides one of the best Android gaming experiences you can currently have, and right now an update is rolling out to the device. Following this latest release, the slate now meets Android 6.0 Professional Audio requirements. This means low latency audio, MIDI support over USB and Bluetooth, 24-bit@192kHz Stereo and 7.1 HDMI output, and other audio improvements. In-game audio should sound more responsive, and the same is true when listening to music or watching video.”
The Nvidia Shield Tablet is one of the best android tablet available. This update makes it even better. From a gaming perspective, the games specifically designed to work with this tablet are way better than the typical games found on other phones.
“Asus’ Zenfone 3 Deluxe will be the first phone with the new Snapdragon 821.
Asus introduced its new Zenfone 3 Deluxe at Computex earlier this year. It disclosed that the phone would come with a 5.7-inch 1080p display, a 23-megapixel front-facing camera, 3,000mAh battery, USB-C 3.0, and up to 6GB of RAM. We also knew it would have a Snapdragon 820 series processor, but now we have confirmation that it’ll be the first phone to feature the Snapdragon 821. Qualcomm only introduced the chip yesterday. Asus didn’t wait long to share its news. The 821 follows the 820, which was included in most every top-end Android phone this past year, including the Galaxy S7, the HTC 10, and Xiaomi’s Mi 5. The new chip comes with a 10 percent increase in performance”.
The new Asus Zenfone 3 range is full to the brim with value, and the Deluxe model takes this one step further.
“New leak shows ‘iPhone 7 Plus’ with Smart Connector, no mute switch.
One day after a fairly clear photo purporting to show the 4.7-inch iPhone 7 emerged, new photos have leaked, showing what could be the larger 5.5-inch model, with a dual-lens camera, Smart Connector on the back, and the notable absence of a mute switch.”
All these iPhone 7 leaks but what nothing is guaranteed until Apple officially announce the new handset. However, I do hope all the camera improvements materialise.
Honor 8 now official with dual-camera setup, up to 4GB of RAM.
“Huawei sub-brand Honor has announced its latest phone, the Honor 8. The phone comes with a fingerprint sensor and a dual-lens rear camera setup. The Honor 8 runs Android 6.0 Marshmallow under the EMUI 4.1 custom software layer. The Honor 8 features a 5.2-inch 1080p display, and is powered by a Kirin 950 processor, with 3GB or 4GB of RAM. It comes with either 32GB or 64GB of internal storage, which can be upgraded with a microSD card. The dual lenses on the back are both 12-megapixel shooters, while the front-facing camera is 8-megapixels. The Honor 8 also has a fingerprint sensor on the back, allowing for easy authentication. The phone has a 3000mAh battery, which can be charged over a USB-C connection. The Honor 8 is currently available for pre-order from a number of Chinese retailers, with the 32GB option with 3GB of RAM running ¥1,999 (around $300), while the 64GB version with 4GB of RAM costs ¥2,499 (around $375). You can get the Honor 8 in Sunrise Gold, Pearl White, Midnight Black, Sakura Pink, or Sapphire Blue.”
It seems to me that the Huawei and Honor brands and becoming confusing. With the sheer number of phones with slightly varying specs or software additions and or omissions, it is becoming all too complicated. And the price points charged for each brand also seem mis matched versus the specs and what is being offered?
Gavin's Gadgets & Photography 