Sound Guys Monthly – December 2015 – JBL Xtreme Giveaway
While there are actually a whole bunch of days in November that aren’t Thanksgiving, Black Friday, or Cyber Monday, it’s still thought of by many as a month of turkey and deals, stuffing and long lines. Here at Sound Guys, it means rounding up our picks for the best gear of the year, but it also saw a bunch of awesome new product announcements.
Before we move on, congratulations to Dacota B. from the United States, winner of the Jaybird X2s from last month’s giveaway. For the rest of you who didn’t win, we’re giving away a the fan-favorite JBL Xtreme this month. You’ll find instructions on how to enter at the bottom of the article.
Blue announces their new Lola headphones
Last year, we reviewed the Blue Mo-Fi headphones. The company is better known for microphones, but the Mo-Fi sounded very nice — the only problem was the weight. The Lola drop the built-in headphone amp, dropping both the weight and the price.
The Urbanears Sumpan earbuds are the company’s first new product since 2013
Urbanears is a favorite of many of our readers and viewers, and that means we see constant requests to review the company’s products. Now we might have a better reason to, with the Sumpan not only being the company’s first release in two years, but also very wallet-friendly.
Lumoid Listen lets you try audio gear at home without commitment
Audio gear isn’t cheap, which is part of the reason we exist — to help making purchasing decisions easier. Still, nothing beats actually listening to a new piece of gear before deciding on a purchase, which is now easier than it has ever been.
Pocket partying with LEDs at a small form factor
Bluetooth speakers continue to increase in popularity as the main source of a party’s music, but you might not always want to lug a heavy speaker around with you. The Pocket Party speaker from 7×24 Technologies is little, but it uses any surface it can to act as a subwoofer. Did we mention it also provides its own light show?
Audio-Technica announces 5 new wireless headphones
Audio-Technica has its roots in pro and “pro-sumer” audio gear, but with the runaway popularity of its ATH-M50 line, the company is focusing more and more on consumer electronics. Doubling down on that focus, the company recently announced three new pairs of in-ears alongside a pair of over-ears.
Coolest of the month: Master & Dynamic ME05
We still might not be sold on how much a brass build can do to the acoutic properties of such a small chamber, but that doesn’t mean the Master & Dynamic ME05s don’t sound great. The brass also gives them a bold appearance, and they’re well worth the $199 price tag.
Best bang for the buck: Jabra Sport Pace Wireless
Offering the same form factor of the Beats Powerbeats 2 for half the price, the Sport Pace Wireless are the cheapest set of in-ears we’ve reviewed from Jabra to date. Luckily, that didn’t mean a drop in audio quality. For $99, this is one of the best affordable pairs of sport-focused earphones we’ve seen.
Giveaway: JBL Xtreme
![Xtreme[1]](https://i1.wp.com/www.soundguys.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/Xtreme1-1024x576.jpg?resize=640%2C360)
Take the best parts of the JBL Flip 3 and the UE Megaboom, throw them in a blender, and what do you get? The JBL Xtreme, and we’re giving one away, just because we’re cool like that. It’s so easy to enter, you might have entered already without even trying, but sust in case, hit up the widget below to make sure you’re in. For a closer look at the JBL Xtreme see our review.
Sky Go finally comes to Amazon Fire tablets
For more than three years, Brits have been able to enjoy the Sky Go app on their Android device. Sky’s been quite clear that as long as you own a smartphone or tablet running Android 4.0 (and you have an active Sky subscription), you can get involved — as long as you aren’t trying to download it on an Amazon device. Sky’s aversion to the world’s biggest online retailer has persisted, but as it gets ready to unleash Sky Q on the world, the company has finally relented and decided now is the time to slot in the missing piece of the Android puzzle.
Via: Sky
Source: Sky Go (Amazon Appstore)
Sit in the orchestra pit with Google’s 360-degree video
To get a good view of an orchestra in New York’s Carnegie Hall, you would normally have to buy an expensive front row seat. With a little help from Google, however, you can now sit on the stage for free. The company is launching a “virtual exhibition” today called Performing Arts which includes four performances recorded with multiple 360-degree camera rigs. Alongside Carnegie Hall, you can experience the Berliner Philharmoniker, London’s Royal Shakespeare Company and the Theatro Municipal in São Paulo.
Via: Google (Blog Post)
Source: Performing Arts
Chrome for Android slims down the internet when speeds are slow
If you’ve ever been stuck with slow mobile internet and just wanted to read an article, Google has some mighty good news. It’s about to release a new feature to its Chrome for Android Data Saver mode that will only display text when it senses a slow network. Once a page loads, you can then show all images (above) or specific ones by tapping on them. Google says that the new trick will use up to 70 percent less mobile data on Android devices.
Source: Google
OnePlus now making an iPhone case, comes with a OnePlus X invite inside
OnePlus has begun making its very own sandstone-textured clip-on cases for the iPhone 6/6S. It’s probably one of the best marketing tactics OnePlus has come up with yet, having the message “Get a grip. #NeverSettle” placed on the inside of the case.
This case OnePlus is selling is very special, though. You don’t need an invite to buy one, but when it comes in the mail, it does come with an invite to buy your very own OnePlus X. Some of the invite codes sent out will even let you purchase the limited edition ceramic OnePlus X. Other invite codes are giving away a OnePlus X for free, though your chances on receiving one of these is pretty slim.
The new sandstone iPhone 6S case is identical to the back plate on the OnePlus One and Two. With that in mind, putting this clip-on case makes your iPhone look like one of those aforementioned devices. It’d be nearly unrecognizable from the back if it weren’t for the camera placement on Apple’s devices.
Click here to view the embedded video.
OnePlus is selling the case for $19.99 at their online store. It goes without saying, this is a very nice and sleek case, but it’s difficult to determine how many OnePlus will actually sell to iPhone owners.
OnePlus is doing one thing right: trying to get their name into every corner of the world.
source: OnePlus
Come comment on this article: OnePlus now making an iPhone case, comes with a OnePlus X invite inside
Apple Expands Personal Pickup to Six More European Countries
Apple today expanded its Personal Pickup in-store pickup service to France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Spain and Sweden. The launch of Personal Pickup in Germany was first noted by Macerkopf, and MacRumors subsequently confirmed the wider European expansion of the service.
Personal Pickup allows customers to place an order on the Apple Online Store or Apple Store app and pick it up at a nearby Apple Retail Store, generally within an hour. The service is offered for several Apple products, including Macs, iPhones, iPads, Apple TVs and the Apple Watch.
Apple notifies customers via email or text message when an order is available for in-store pickup with a valid photo ID.
Personal Pickup launched in the U.S. in 2011, but was unavailable elsewhere until last month. The service first expanded to Australia and Canada on November 17 before going live in the United Kingdom three days later.
Personal Pickup has yet to launch in other countries and regions with an Apple retail store presence, including Belgium, Brazil, China, Hong Kong, Japan, Switzerland, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates.
MacRumors broke the news in early November that Apple was planning an international expansion of Personal Pickup in Australia, France, United Kingdom and other countries, and the service is now live in all of those countries.
(Thanks, Andre!)
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Google Hangouts finally supports Apple watch
The latest update for Hangouts on iOS won’t tell you this, but Google’s instant messaging app will play nicely with your Apple Watch now. What the change log does say, however, is that you can now reply to notifications in-line — but that means following up via Apple’s wearable is an option. You can pick from a handful of pre-written responses, but those don’t include canned messages for telling your coworker to bring funky-flavored KitKat bars from Japan to CES. No, that’s where using voice dictation comes in, silly. If your iOS gizmo hasn’t updated yet, we’ve got you covered at the source link below.
Source: iTunes
Future PS4 games will have more power to play with
It seems the PlayStation 4 is now just a little more powerful than before. At least for game developers, anyway. None of the console’s components have changed — instead it’s being reported that a seventh core has been “unlocked” in the CPU. Until now, six of the PlayStation 4’s eight-core CPU have been dedicated to games, while the remaining two handle the operating system. In all likelihood, this was a conservative setup to ensure consoles ran smoothly at launch. It also gave Sony some wiggle-room if they needed to make any system changes or optimizations. Now, however, it seems the company is happy with the console’s performance and willing to give developers a tad extra power.
Via: Eurogamer
Source: FMOD Studio
Samsung replaces its head of mobile operations
Today Samsung has announced that its head of mobile communications, Shin Jong-Kyun, and another co-chief executive officer, B.K. Yoon, will be stepping back from day-to-day operations. Kyun, a nine year veteran at the company, will be replaced by Koh Dong-Jin, who was involved with the launch of the Galaxy S6 and Note 5.
Shin Jong-Kyun was involved with a lot of the early success of the Galaxy smartphone line and his time at Samsung isn’t over. Kyun will remain as president and co-CEO of the main Samsung electronics mobile division, working on longer term strategies rather than day-to-day operations. Former head of Samsung’s consumer electronics division, Koh Dong-Jin, is making a similar move and will also stay on as a co-CEO of Samsung’s main electronics business.
Galaxy smartphones:
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The announcement comes after another questionable year for Samsung’s mobile division. Although well received by critics and consumers, this year’s Galaxy S6 series has not set a new record for mobile shipments as Shin had expected. In fact, Samsung saw a 38 percent drop in its mobile profits for the launch quarter of the Galaxy S6, as more expensive components and excess unsold stock drove up the division’s costs.
Read more: Samsung’s Q3 2015 guidance report: big money maker
Coupling this misjudge demand with a shrinking global market share and increasing competition from lower cost Chinese rivals, Samsung’s mobile revenue has missed the mark repeatedly in 2015. Although, the company still managed to post a notable boost in overall revenue in Q3, mostly due to its booming semiconductor business.
Samsung’s latest management reconfiguration is the latest in a string of shake-ups in the past twelve months, which also saw three marketing executives resign last year. Perhaps these changes will lead to better fortunes next year.
Xiaomi to release Windows 10 for its Mi 4 later this week
Xiaomi has quickly risen to success on the back of its low cost hardware and heavily customized Android-based operating system but the company is looking to try something new with software. Xiaomi has announced that it will begin offering Windows 10 as an option to Chinese owners of its Mi 4 smartphone starting on December 3rd.
Around nine months ago, Xiaomi and Microsoft announced a development partnership and began working with a small selection of beta testers to trial run Windows 10 on its Mi 4 smartphone. Xiaomi is now ready to offer this software as a public release.
The Mi 4 will not be the first Xiaomi device to offer Microsoft’s mobile operating system. The newly announced Xiaomi Mi Pad 2 also has a version that supports Windows 10 out of the box and a boosted 64GB of internal memory, implying that Xiaomi is looking to support the OS on new devices too.
How it began: Xiaomi testing waters with Microsoft, will let users try out Windows 10
While additional choice is always welcome, it’s not exactly clear what Xiaomi has to gain by offering two operating systems, as the extra support is sure to be resource consuming. Perhaps the company is looking to better cater for the business market, an area that Android could arguable use some improvement in. Additional information may will come to light once the public release goes live. For Microsoft, which has a miniscule share of the smartphone market, a custom ROM for a popular handset is a cost effective way to put its software into a number of consumer’s hands. Especially as the company has minimal manufacturing capabilities after relinquishing control of Nokia.
The public release of Windows 10 for the Mi 4 is going to be interesting to observe and might signify the start of a longer running partnership between the two companies.
AIVAnet 