HomeAway & Owners Direct (review)

Overview

HomeAway & Owners Direct app provides you with everything you need to plan, book and manage your perfect holiday rental.

Impressions

The HomeAway & Owners Direct app for Android has only been available for a year or so, but it is now well established and has surpassed many leading accommodation apps on the market, offering better accommodation than many of them. The app is also free to download for iOS so even if you don’t end up booking on it, you’ve wasted no money.

You are able to search various destinations around the world, with the search bar being the main home screen. Once you’ve typed in your destination, the app comes up with however many results there is, you tap in your preferred dates and narrow the results down with; price per night, number of guests, number of bedrooms and number of bathrooms.

Then you are presented with a list of all of the accommodation fitting your criteria. One of the most pleasing things about the search, is that it the results are complete with price per night and their star rating, so you are able to simple scroll past them if they don’t interest you. Upon clicking on a result, it gives you more information, such as facilities; TV, WiFi, kitchen etc, its location on a map and reviews from previous customers.

The convenience of the app is also pleasing, as your search is remembered for next time, so you don’t need to trawl through all of the results again. You are also able to share your favored results via number of options, including message, mail, WhatsApp, Facebook and Twitter, if your fellow holiday-goers wish to see.

There is also a favorite option, which stores all of your favorite rentals, the practicality of the app again coming up trumps.

The managers of the rentals are also on the app, as well as how long they have been a member, the languages they speak, their response rate and the last time they updated their calendar, so you are able to see their reliability.

You can inquire about a rental without actual booking through the message feature. The app is one of the easiest on the market when it comes to making an account, and in short, is a fast and simple process.

The option to be able to message an owner is a great addition and whilst other features on the app are easy to use, the message between renters and owners is somewhat clumsy and it can be difficult to pick up a conversation, however, that’s the only criticism of the app.

Once your trip is booked, the app stores all of your details, so if you happen to need them for any reason or wish to check something, you can simply open the app and tap My Trips.

Conclusion

HomeAway & Owners Direct is definitely better than its rival apps, with its ease of use, convenient features and plethora of results proving very impressive.

The detail in the search results helps potential renters find exactly what they’re looking for without looking for hours. The only criticism of the app is the gawkiness of the messaging option but with a little patience, it’s easy to put up with.

The NIMA Sports Bluetooth Speaker Helmet is the ultimate tech accessory for NCAA football fans

College football is one of the most popular sports in the United States. It is so popular that even the NFL owes much of its success as it laid the foundation for the talent and rules in place today. Students and graduates can develop an almost unhealthy fanaticism for their school’s team and show it in crazy ways.

I’ve come across one of the coolest wireless accessories I have reviewed in a long time, and college football fans will love it. The NIMA Sports Bluetooth Speaker Helmet.

Design

The NIMA Sports Bluetooth Speaker Helmet is a very unique accessory. The unit I am reviewing is a full sized helmet that looks and feels like the real thing I used when I played football. Except this one has a massive woofer built into the bottom of the helmet, with two large speakers built into the earpieces. The speakers in the ears are covered by mesh metal grilles that don’t distract from the look of the helmet.

Controls are similar to what you would find on other large wireless speakers; there are buttons on the back of the helmet for power, Bluetooth, track and volume control. Where this speaker is more advanced is with the EQ button that changes the sound based on seven different preset settings.

On the back is where you will also find a 3.5mm audio input jack, a full sized USB A outlet for charging your smartphone, and the power input.

There’s an eye guard behind the face mask which reminds me of former San Diego Charger, Ladanian Tomlinson, and gives the helmet a finished look. It’s a true wireless speaker with a large built-in battery that gives the helmet a good bit of heft at 14 pounds.

The helmet speaker is an officially licensed product of the NCAA and fans of Nebraska, USC, Alabama, Michigan State, UCLA, LSU, University of Florida, Auburn, Florida State, Arkansas and the University of Texas. More schools are in the works for future helmets, but are currently limited. I would guess that would have to do something with the high licensing fees these schools charge.

Specs

• Bluetooth 4.2 EDR
• Microphone for taking calls
• Dimensions: 15.0in x 13.6in x 11.2in
• Weight: 14lbs
• Full stereo sound with dual speakers and a large subwoofer

Sound, App and Looks

First off, the look of this helmet speaker is awesome. It’s the same logo and color of the USC Trojans’ helmet, and I can imagine that other schools look spot on too. The face mask not only looks like the real deal, but it feels like it is made from real steel that is covered in plastic. It makes for a great carrying mechanism.

The sound is where the speaker excels. With a speaker on each side of the helmet and the inclusion of the down-firing subwoofer, the sound is designed to impress those even at tailgate parties. It gets very loud and can play over crowds, or in my case, really anger my neighbors.

The sound quality is helped that by the ability to change the EQ settings to any preference your ears desire. Changing the EQ is simple to do with the seven presets through the TWS button on the back of the helmet, or you can connect through the free iOS or Android app to access the controls of the Nima helmet speaker.

With the ability to control the EQ, the user is free to adjust the sound for ultra bass using the large subwoofer, or they can dial it back for a more balanced tone. Regardless of the EQ setting, the speaker sound fantastic sitting right up against it or even up to 20 feet away.

Summary

The NIMA Sports Bluetooth Speaker Helmet is one of the coolest products I have reviewed all year. It doesn’t come cheap with a price tag of $399 for the large version, but you can get the medium for $249, and the small for $149. For the ultimate college football fans, there might not be a better accessory to add to your collection of foam fingers and jerseys. It offers eight hour battery life, is extremely loud and offers customizable sound that would impress at a tailgate party, or simply look awesome in your home. This would also make for a fantastic gift for the 2016 holiday season.

Head on over to http://www.nimausa.com to learn more.

Daydream VR review

The Daydream VR is Google’s latest foray into the world of wearable virtual reality devices. Falling somewhere between its $35 Google Cardboard and the more pricey Oculus or Vive, the Daydream’s closest competitor might be the Samsung VR.

Introduced on October 4 alongside the Pixel and Pixel XL, the Daydream VR (now available) promises a more immerse take on virtual reality. There are rather steep hardware requirements for phone makers looking to get their handsets certified for the platform. Google expects high-resolution screens, strong processors, and a host of sensors in phones if they hope to get the Daydream-ready classification. As such, it will likely be limited to flagship phones in the first year or so.

As of today, only the Pixel and Pixel XL are considered certified for the Daydream VR platform. We’ve had a Pixel XL for a few weeks now and spent the better part of the last week with a Daydream VR. Google has provided us with demo units of both devices.

While this is considered a review of the experience, it’s obviously not going to be fully fleshed out just yet. For starters, we can only review what’s currently available; there’s no way to give a reaction to a promise. There’s plenty of potential ahead for the platform, but as of today, not all of the apps and games are ready to roll. We can only speak to what we spent time with.

Design

Taking the Daydream VR out of the box we find a neatly packed headset with little wasted space. The various components are tucked in nicely but are easy to pull out. As someone who is often quick to skip over instructions and jump right in, the Daydream VR was right up my alley. There’s nothing here that signals you need to walk slowly into getting set up.

The unit we received from Google is the Slate color, which comes across as a heather print you might find in a t-shirt. Soft to the touch, the Daydream VR is rather lightweight. The overall aesthetics are inviting.

In putting the Daydream VR on, the strap on the back lets wearers slide to adjust tightness. There’s plenty of space for your nose, perhaps a smidge more than what may be necessary. Along those lines, there’s also enough room inside to wear eyeglasses with the headset. This isn’t necessarily a blanket statement, but you should be able to get it on over top most glasses.

The bungee cord strap for holding your phone in place is strong and secure; it doesn’t feel like it’s going to break or get tired anytime soon. Moreover, there’s a strap tucked inside for where you place the remote control. It’s more forgiving and loose but, it too, feels built for the long haul.

The remote control that comes with the Daydream VR is small and pocketable and runs about the length of your thumb to the base of your palm. It’s comfortable to hold and has a design that makes sense. Even when your vision is obstructed by the headset you can tell which button does what and where it’s located.

Usage

Getting started with the Daydream VR is pretty straightforward. As this was an early look at the experience, we logged into a specific account that ultimately pushed the Daydream VR app to our phone.

Placing the phone into the Daydream VR is about as easy as it gets. Simply put on the foldout plank and line the center of the screen up with the black rubber nubs. Fold it up and secure it with the bungee strap.

Opening the Daydream app for the first time, users are given a walk through that is easy to understand. It’s here where you learn how to center orientation, get the feel for the remote, and see where things are headed.

It’s a fun virtual environment that’s relaxing and moves at your own pace. We appreciate being spoon-fed at times but we also like to jump ahead at others. This allows for both. Should you need a refresher, or wish to hand the Daydream VR off to another user, the tutorial is readily available.

One demo we were particularly fond of in the initial usage was looking around a forest at night time. The remote control operated as a flashlight; we were tasked with searching the area for wildlife. There’s something really cool and immersive about being there and having an instrument in your hand that made sense.

Immediately we pictured cooking apps, golf, and other titles that take advantage of the remote. Whereas we were so-so on the idea of the Harry Potter (Fantastic Beasts) game at the Daydream VR’s unveiling, we now cannot wait to cast spells and use the remote as a magic wand.

The main interface of the Daydream app lets wearers look around in a 360 degree space, with titles floating out in front of them. It’s here where you can launch into other apps and games or download others. The Google Play Store is a vetted selection of titles that only work with the headset. You won’t be able to install something here that doesn’t take advantage of the technology.

General Impressions

Wearing the Daydream VR is as comfortable as we might have hoped, even for more than just a few minutes. Nearly everything we looked at or played was immerse and felt more real than what we’ve experienced in Google Cardboard. Given that we didn’t have to use our hands to hold the unit, we felt like we were actually in the various environments – even the cartoon-like ones, too.

We noticed on multiple occasions that the Pixel XL we were using would get hot to the touch. Not just warm, but actually hot. In fact, there was one instance where the Daydream app prompted us to let it cool down. How long had we been using the Daydream VR? Roughly 20-30 minutes one time and 30-40 the other.

Whenever the phone would get this hot we simply opened it up and took the device out to cool down on its own. We also took the opportunity to charge the remote control up via its USB Type-C plug.

We know that Google expects to do some big things with Daydream VR, some of which could find users wearing it for much longer periods of time. Watching a full-length movie at this stage seems out of the question. We’re not certain whether it’s related to the content we were using, or if it’s a software update waiting in the wings, but it’s hard to imaging going 90 minutes or longer with this on.

With that said, we simply loved playing games for 10-15 minutes at a time. The same for Google Maps Street View and the occasional trip to a museum. Thanks to the high-resolution (2560 x 1400 pixels) of the Pixel XL, the pictures were sharp. We had to manually ask ourselves to look for the tiny dots that make up each pixel and even that was a challenge at times.

Hands and Eyes on Games and Apps

We played with the default apps and games that came with the Daydream VR experience. Moreover, we were provided with credits ($25) to install additional titles. Thus far we have used less than $10 of it to install two apps: StarChart VR and Mekorama VR.

StarChart VR former takes you into space where you can look at all of the planets, major stars, constellations, and more. It’s really breathtaking stuff that is also educational. We learned more in a few minutes with some of the planets than we remembered from school. Also, there’s something really cool about looking at the sky and seeing what the actual constellations are and how they are comprised.

Mekorama VR is a very friendly puzzle game that tasks players with navigating a robot to a particular destination. It’s possible to click and drag the floating environment to all sides and additional angles. If you’ve played Monument Valley, then you know what you’re in for with this one. You’ll get through the first levels in no time at all. And, while it’s somewhat flat and minimal in graphics, the Daydream experience makes for an experience that feels like you’re actually there.

Wonderglade is a fun game that takes players into a virtual world that’s full of mini-games. It reminded us of what you might get out of the Nintendo Wii and using the remote. Graphics were more rich here, though, and things felt more real, thanks to the 360 degree views. Players get to tilt, spray, putt miniature golf, and other things with easy-to-learn mechanics. Is it childish? It certainly appeals to younger ages but that doesn’t mean adults won’t be impressed.

Suffice it to say, we enjoyed the other, non-paid apps, too. Pulling up Google Maps Street View is brand new when you’re to walk down any road and look at neighborhoods. It’s a breeze to put yourself in front of a major landmark and see what it’s like.

YouTube VR was a mixed bag of results but only because it relies on the source for video. Some clips work better than others but, generally speaking, we are excited to see content unfold over time. With that said, some of the stuff that’s trending today was not quite as immerse or clear as we would have liked.

Conclusion

The games and content we’ve played with so far are quality and we’re optimistic that Google takes a tighter, vetted approach to apps. If it has certain expectations on hardware partners, we hope it does for developers, too. The last thing VR needs is a bunch of junk that gets out before the quality stuff and spoils the experience.

We’re concerned about the fact that the phone does get hot after only 30-40 minutes. In looking around, we found we’re not the only one who experienced this. Let’s hope that Google is able to identify the root causes and can fix it. We’d love to watch a full length film on a plane ride, especially if it feels like there’s a massive screen floating in front of us.

The Daydream VR is not all that much more expensive than a Cardboard unit. We’re not saying to skip over a Cardboard and go straight for this, but, should the right circumstances present itself, we recommend doing so. The hands-free aspect is good; the remote control functionality makes it great.

For only $80 we think the Daydream VR is a no-brainer. If you already have a Pixel or Pixel XL, you’ll definitely want to get one of these. The apps and games available at launch are fun; the future is wide open for developers to leverage the tech. And, thanks to affordable cameras capable of capturing 360 degree pictures and video, that content will grow at a rapid pace. Watching someone else’s vacation videos might not suck when viewed through a Daydream VR.

Availability

• United States: Google Store, Verizon, Best Buy; $79 (USD)
• Canada: Google Store, Bell, Rogers, Telus, Best Buy; $99 (CAD)
• United Kingdom: Google Store, EE, Carphone Warehouse; £69 (GBP)
• Germany: Google Store, Deutsche Telekom; €69 (EUR)
• Australia: Google Store, JB Hi-Fi; $119 (AUD); Coming to Telstra on Nov 22nd