Kinivo URBN: A premium Bluetooth headset
If any of you read my review of the Kinivo BTX450, you know that Kinivo has completely blown me away with the quality of their audio equipment.
To give a quick recap on that review, what the BTX450 lacked in sound quality, it made up in power. It sounded good enough, but the volume was ridiculously loud. Great small outdoor get-togethers or to pump music throughout the entire house.
Well, Kinivo gave me the pleasure of test driving their new Kinivo URBN premium headset. They really wanted you to know that these things were premium with it being written clearly on the bottom of the packaging.
Kinivo has promised a premium product; they haven’t disappointed. Enough of the background flub, let’s get into the review.
The Good
Why should I consider the Kinivo URBN?
Style
They look great. Some claim that this isn’t a big part of audio equipment, but we are all influenced by visual stimulus. The URBN are aesthetically pleasing and don’t look goofy on someone’s head.
The Moto Surrounds that I have been playing with are great in their own way too, but they lack in the visual department. Their design seems a little silly in practice. Not going to lie, they make me feel a little self-conscious when I am using them in public.
With the URBN, there is no such feelings. I love the way they look, and despite them being louder in design, I am perfectly fine with someone noticing me while wearing them.
Actually, I was sent the Candy Apple Red version which is very loud, and there is no way that someone wouldn’t notice me wearing them.
Sound Quality
Looks aside, how do they sound? The URBN blew me away with their sound. The first song that appeared on my Spotify playlist was Bang Bang from Jessie J, Ariana Grande, and Nicki Minaj. Okay, maybe I selected that as my first song. You aren’t allowed to judge; you know you turn up the radio whenever it hits the airwaves.
Everything was crisp and loud. At max volume, the sound gets blown out, but that is to be expected from any speaker or headset. At a low to moderate volume, everything sounds amazing. It is clear that Kinivo spent a lot of work into creating the best Bluetooth headset that they could.
Controls
One of my complaints with the BTX450 was the lack of controls over media playback. Well, that is no longer an issue with the URBN! On the right side of them, you will find volume controls as well as playback controls. While they don’t always work depending on the media player you are using, they work very well with major apps like Google Play Music and Spotify.
There is about a second delay between pressing the button and action taking place, but it is better than nothing and the same issue is apparent on every Bluetooth headset I have ever tried.
One thing worth mentioning is that the URBN’s volume control is separate from the playback device’s volume control. Each device can have its own volume level, so if you think your music is a bit quiet, but the headphones won’t let you raise the volume, check your phone to make sure that the volume there is at an appropriate level.
The Okay
Where does the URBN fall between good and bad?
Build Quality
While they look great, Kinivo’s URBN doesn’t particularly feel great. They are made out of plastic and creak when adjusted. Now, this is completely normal, but I really wish that they didn’t creak with head movement interrupting the amazing sound quality.
I don’t feel like they are going to break on me, but that is always a thought that comes when you hear creaking. They feel sturdy enough, and I have fallen asleep in them multiple times now with no issues. They still look brand new and function just as they should.
Comfort
As I will mention later, the on-ear design isn’t the best for my personal use. I can’t wear them for too long. About two episodes of Arrested Development is my limit with these headphones. That is actually pretty good since I can usually only last 30 minutes with on-ear headphones, so these are rather comfortable and exceeded my expectations there.
The reason that this isn’t a good thing is because they still aren’t great for long usage. Despite the 20-hour battery life they can get with these headphones, I can only wear them for about one to two hours before needing to take them off for a breather.
The Bad
What should I be aware of before making my purchase?
The Fit
Now, this will vary by head size, but these things will NOT stay on my head. If I don’t keep my head upright, they will just slip right off my head. When I bend over to pick something off the floor, I always have to pick up my headphones too if I forget to grab a hold of it before I bend down.
Once again, this may be due to my smaller head size, but it is something to note before dropping $99 on a headphone. The good news is that they are adjustable as most headphones are and will accommodate larger heads just fine. Just, these may not be the best for a child with a small head.
On-Ear Design
This one is 100% opinion based, but I hate on-ear headphones. I find that I can only get half an hour of comfortable wear out of them before my ears need to breath. However, there is a good amount of people who like on-ear headphones, and that is why they keep making them.
A good thing to note is that sound doesn’t leak out of these as badly as they do with my JLab Bombora headphones. In fact, at a moderately loud volume, someone sitting next to me could only faintly hear my music in a quiet environment.
The Noteworthy
What else does Kinivo offer with their URBN headphones?
Features
- NFC pairing
- Hands-free calling (built in mic)
- Stereo playback
- 20-hour battery
- Wired and Bluetooth connection
In the Box
- URBN Premium Bluetooth Stereo Headphones
- Micro USB charging cable
- Quick reference guide
- 3.5m cable
- Carrying case
The Conclusion
Buy buy buy! These headphones are by far my favorite right now in my arsenal of audio equipment. They would be great as a gift, Christmas is coming up you know, and they would be even better for your own personal usage.
If $99 is just a bit out of your price range, you can get a $30 discount thanks to Kinivo with the code URBN2015. Just apply it at checkout at either Kinivo’s website or Amazon.com.
Amazon Links
The post Kinivo URBN: A premium Bluetooth headset appeared first on AndroidGuys.
[Deal] Build your Android collection with this Collectible Bundle
Alright all of you Android lovers out there. Open up your wallets, and get some awesome goodies with today’s AndroidGuys deal. Today, we are bring you some Android collectibles at a great price, so you won’t want to miss out.
For those that aren’t aware, there are some Android figurines that are out in the wild, and some of which are pretty awesome collectors items. This deal is for three different Android character figures, as well as a collectible Android Plush.
The three different Android figures will be randomly selected, and will come in a collection box so you can still show off whichever figures you receive. Even if you aren’t one who likes collectibles, this is a great gift for that person in your life that is.
- Display your new 3″ tall bots inside or outside their boxes
- Show off your collection boxed w/ attractive open window packaging
- Get excited for these character possibilities: Green, Business Man, Taxi Bot, Yeti, Pinkey, Bear Tag, or Ruby Red
- Receive 3 random figures, then collect them all!
With seven different options for figures, the roulette will spin when you place the order. Additionally, the Ganndroid Plush is another great way to show off your love for Android.
For both of these, you would normally be paying close to $40, but with this deal from AndroidGuys and StackCommerce, you can grab the three Android figures and the Ganndroid Plush, for only $19.99. At a savings of over 40%, this is really a great deal for any of those Android enthusiasts out there.
You can find this, and many other great tech bargains through our Deals page. Backed by StackCommerce, there are daily promos, giveaways, freebies, and much more!
AndroidGuys Deals: Android Bot Collectible Bundle
The post [Deal] Build your Android collection with this Collectible Bundle appeared first on AndroidGuys.
Huawei Watch has 2 years of warranty when purchased from the OEM
Due to the sheer amount of tech packed inside each one, smartwatches are a bit more sensitive than a standard timepiece. Indeed my LG Urbane LTE refused to power on after just two months of use. Huawei, eager to expand its presence in the USA, is aware of the importance of good customer service, and is now giving owners of its new Huawei Watch an extra year of manufacturer’s warranty coverage.
In order to qualify, customers must:
- Purchase the watch directly from gethuawei.com
- Register the purchase here within 45 days of purchase.
If both conditions are met, you will receive a full 2 years of service and repairs. Unfortunately for those who purchase the watch elsewhere, or who fail to register within the 45-day time period will only be eligible for the standard 12 months of service originally specified.
In our official review, the Huawei Watch scored a very respectable 7.7, and we praised it for a very high-end, classic design, easily replaceable straps, a fantastic display, a long lasting battery, and numerous custom watch faces included out of the box. The main criticism was the high cost of the watch ($349.799) thus with an extra year of warranty coverage possible, it’s definitely a more comforting bonus with this investment.
Is Google working on its own processors?
Historically, Google hasn’t been much of a hardware company, having relied on partnerships with OEMs to bring products like its Chromebooks and Nexus smartphones to market. That changed with the Chromebook Pixel and more recently with the Pixel C tablet, which was designed and manufactured by Google. That is, apart from one major part, the Tegra X1 processor, which was designed by Nvidia.
A new Google job listing for a “multimedia chip architect” suggests that Google may be planning to go all the way and design its own processors for future products as well. Interestingly, the listing was apparently posted by the Pixel division.
There are a number of reasons why Google might want to make a move into chip design. For starters, it would give the company greater control over the capacities and performance of its future products. Something which companies like Samsung and particularly Apple are quite keen on. While the Tegra X1 in the Pixel C packs in some serious graphics hardware and a popular big.LITTLE CPU design, perhaps Google may want more control over the CPU configuration or supported peripherals such as high resolution image sensors.
The Pixel C is designed by Google itself, but features an Nvidia Tegra X1 processor.
Furthermore, moving towards true end-to-end product design might help give Google’s brand a bit of a boost. There’s no denying that Apple’s work on every part of its product design works wonders for creating a premium brand image, and Google may be looking at a similar approach if it wants to make inroads into premium product segments. Especially given that Nexus products don’t always end up with the finest build quality.
“With the trend towards vertical integration, especially at Microsoft and Apple, it wouldn’t surprise me if Google developed their own chips, especially for Android productivity tablets to compete with the Surface Pro and iPad Pro.” – chip analyst Jim McGregor
Before we get too ahead of ourselves through, the key wording in the listing is a “multimedia chip”, which could mean a number of things. While Google may fancy joining the mobile SoC game, this would be a long and hugely expensive undertaking, which probably isn’t worth the limited number of products and sales. Instead, the tech giant may be looking into designing its own co-processors that sit alongside a main SoC designed by someone else, to gives its products an advantage over the competition.
The job listing specifically mentions “image processing, video processing, stabilization.” Given that higher-quality camera processing and high resolution video recording/playback are now major features in a range of mobile products, Google could be looking at using its own image or video processors rather than relying on third party chips.
Google stays out of hardware with the Nexus range, but could that change eventually?
Image and video processing is also a hugely important part of Google’s Project Tango tablet, and a hardware refresh might require some dedicated and more specialized hardware to realize Google’s vision. Alternatively, a low power, low cost, specialized multimedia processor for products like Google’s Chromecast could also make sense. Unfortunately, Google declined to comment on the job listing or any processor plans, leaving us in the dark.
All of that being said, product development often requires advanced knowledge of chip design anyway, in order to test and optimize products. The job posting alone does not mean that Google is planning to build its own chips, but there are some pretty good reasons why the company may want to do so.
Nanoleaf Debuts New HomeKit-Enabled Smarter Kit With Two Light Bulbs and a Hub
Nanoleaf, the company behind a line of designer energy-efficient light bulbs, today announced its latest product, the Nanoleaf Smarter Kit. The Nanoleaf Smarter Kit, which is debuting today on Indiegogo, is the first Nanoleaf product to include HomeKit support.
Through HomeKit, iPhone users with the Nanoleaf Smarter Kit will be able to control their lightbulbs with voice commands, turning them on and off and incorporating them into scenes with other HomeKit-enabled products through the accompanying Nanoleaf Smarter iOS app. The kit is also compatible with other connected smart bulbs such as the Philips Hue line.
The Nanoleaf Smarter Kit ships with one Nanoleaf hub and two energy efficient Nanoleaf Ivy light bulbs. The Nanoleaf Hub connects to a router to provide a way for an iPhone to connect wirelessly to the Nanoleaf bulbs. Each of the 3000K warm white bulbs measures in at 800 lumens, drawing 7 watts of power and putting out an amount of light equivalent to a 60 watt bulb.
These bulbs also have a unique design that lets them be used sans lampshade and with a range of decorative open-faced lamps. They’re made from printed circuit boards embedded with LED chips and and folded into a dodecahedron shape.
The Nanoleaf Smarter Kit can be purchased via Indiegogo or the Nanoleaf website for $99. The kit will ship out to customers beginning on November 26.
Apple Adds Carrier Billing to iTunes, Starting With O2 in Germany
For the first time since the iTunes Store launched in 2003, Apple has added a way for customers to pay for purchases without using a credit, debit or iTunes gift card. Starting with German carrier O2, customers can now link a phone number to their iTunes account and use carrier billing for purchases, per TechCrunch.
Apple’s new mobile phone bill option for iTunes accounts (Image: Carsten Knobloch)
The new payment method enables customers to pay for apps, songs, TV shows, movies, iBooks and other iTunes content without needing a credit or debit card, or even a bank account. Customers without a carrier contract will have iTunes purchases debited from a prepaid amount applied to the iPhone.
O2 parent company Telefonica confirmed it is working on carrier billing with Apple:
“Telefónica Germany is working with Apple related to carrier billing,” a spokesperson told us in an email. “Payment via the O2 phone bill is now available for Apple Music, iTunes, App Store and iBooks Store Purchases. The service is gradually being rolled out and will be available for all O2 customers (prepaid and postpaid) in Germany by the beginning of November 2015.”
Apple may be working with carrier billing provider Bango, used by rivals like Amazon:
We have heard on the grapevine, however, that Apple has been talking for a while with Bango, a carrier billing provider, to roll out carrier billing functionality on iTunes. […]
TechCrunch believes Apple will expand carrier billing to additional markets in the future.
Google increases price limits for apps in the Play Store
For the past three years, the maximum amount a developer could charge for applications or in-app purchases on the Play Store has equated to a total of $200 (USD). However, last night Google updated its official Developer Support page with a new ceiling price limit, which now enables developers to charge as much as $400 (USD) for their offerings.
Here is a list of the new prices:
- United States – previous limit $200, current limit $400
- Canada – previous limit $210, current limit $500
- United Kingdom – previous limit £150, current limit £300
- Most Euro currency countries – previous limit €199, current limit €350
- Mexico – previous limit MXN 2,500, current limit MXN 7,500
- Australia – previous limit $200, current limit $550
- India – previous limit INR 16,000, current limit INR 26,000
- Indonesia – previous limit IDR 2,200,000, current limit 5,500,500
- Brazil – previous limit BRL 500, current limit BRL 1,500
While it’s pretty unlikely that you’ll open up the Play Store tomorrow and find an app retailing for $400, it’s possible that developers will update their applications with new in-app purchases that reach the extended limits.
Source: Google Developer Support
Via: Android Police
Come comment on this article: Google increases price limits for apps in the Play Store
Huawei making it easier to buy its Android Wear watch by offering an extended warranty
Huawei is amping up its efforts to try and get you to buy its first Android Wear smartwatch, the Huawei Watch. It comes with a one-year warrant straight out of the box, but if you register it on Huawei’s website, you can get an additional year out of that warranty.
At $399, the price for the smartwatch is a hard one to swallow. However, it’s easily one of the most premium Android Wear watches available today. Huawei and Google are hoping this new incentive will help consumers make the move to purchase the watch.
There are two minor requirements to getting this extra year added to your warranty, though. Not only must you register the watch at Huawei’s registration page within 45 days of purchase, but the Huawi Watch must also have been bought from www.gethuawei.com, the company’s own online store. It’s hoped that Huawei will eventually open that up to other retailers, as Huawei probably isn’t getting a lot of orders via its own online store, but the Google Store and other avenues.
The importance of warranties
Extended warranties like this are very important. Technology can go bad quickly, which we’ve seen notoriously with smartphones. Phones historically have begun dying or showing signs of hardware failure around the time a two-year contract is up, which almost force you to jump into another two-year contract for a new phone. After all, who really has $900 to drop on a new smartphone? That’s why that two-year contract is so appealing, the upfront costs a minimal.
That said, it’d be nice to see a two-year warranty like Huawei is offering applied to smartphones in the future as well. Of course, the likelihood of that happening is slim, as sales would no doubt drop from the crowd that isn’t looking to get the next best thing.
Either way, having such a long warranty on our phones would be a nice thing to have. It would not only make the smartphone more valuable when trading in or selling it and using the funds towards a new handset, but it would also be able to have an extended life with those that aren’t interesting in running out and buying that next best phone.
But, that’s just a pipedream since it’d require companies to truly look out for consumers instead of their own pockets.
source: Huawei Community
via: Android Police
Come comment on this article: Huawei making it easier to buy its Android Wear watch by offering an extended warranty
Reminder: Motorola and Verizon announcing new DROIDs today in New York City
Motorola and Verizon are announcing their new lineup of Droids today at 11am Eastern time in New York City. We’ve seen plenty of leaks ahead of the event, amping up the excitement around the latest coming to the DROID series. We’ll certainly see the Droid Turbo 2 and Maxx 2, and both companies could have something else up their sleeves as well.
Earlier this year, Motorola announced the Moto X Play, a smartphone with a massive battery said to last up to a good day and a half, sometimes more. It was interestingly not coming to the United States, but now, it seems like it will be in the form of the Droid Turbo 2. We’ll have to wait and see just what happens.
The event starts in just a couple of hours, so be sure to keep your browsers pointed at Talk Android, as we’re going to bringing you all the great coverage from Motorola and Verizon’s event.
Come comment on this article: Reminder: Motorola and Verizon announcing new DROIDs today in New York City
Xiaomi Redmi 2 Pro makes a pitstop at the FCC
Just a few days after a report surfaced online claiming that Xiaomi is gearing up to enter the US smartphone market, a shiny new, unannounced handset, dubbed the Redmi 2 Pro, made a quick pit stop at the FCC.
The word on the street in China suggests that the Redmi 2 Pro will be an impressive low-to-mid range device, packing a 4.7-inch display with a resolution of 1280 x 720 pixels, a Snapdragon 410 chipset, 2GB of RAM and a 2,200mAh removable battery.
As far as connectivity goes, the handset is set to bundle support for Bluetooth Class 1 (Version 4.0, LE+EDR), dual-band WiFi (802.11b/802.11g/802.11n), NFC and 4G LTE.
If you wish to view the full FCC filing – hit the source link below.
Source: FCC
Come comment on this article: Xiaomi Redmi 2 Pro makes a pitstop at the FCC
AIVAnet 