Bose SoundLink Mini review

I love audio devices. I own several dozen headphones, amps, speakers and audio players. I have a music collection in tones of formats from MP3 128-bit all the way to lossless ALAC and FLAC.

I love testing speakers and particularly Bluetooth speakers I can take on business trips. 

I recently had a chance to test he Bose soundLink mini and was pleasantly surprised. It fast became my favorite mid-level Bluetooth speaker (more than the UE Boom or Jawbone Jambox).

The Looks

A review of any Bose design has to start with the way it is built. Bose has the ability to modernize "older" looks and the SoundLink mini is no exception. It evoques images of old school 1950 style radios but is clearly a modern and stylish device. Like  car manufacturers, Bose has a beautiful front metal grill that makes this device look oh so modern.

You can protect and uglify the device by using an option rubber skin.

It is smaller than most of its competitors weights in at a nice 1.5 pounds. It is an aluminium body that feels well built and solid. Definitely something that will last.

Look as you may, you won't find where the microphone is hidden. Wait.. where is it... oh it doesn't offer speakerphone capabilities.

The device is controlled with soft touch rubber buttons on the top (volume, input, mute, etc). LED lights above each button show which function is on.

On the side you'll find a power input connector and a 3.5mm standard audio input (for non Bluetooth devices). The next con on this one is that it doesn't charge via standard USB like most other devices in this space. The negative is that you have one more charger to travel with but it does charge faster than other devices using USB charging. It also comes with a charging cradle which means home based charging is as simple as dropping it into the cradle.

There is a USB port on the device but that is used for firmware updates.

Battery 

Bose says the battery lasts 7 hours and they are almost on the mark with standard use. 

Going from empty to full takes 3-4 hours. 

Sound Quality

Unlike other reviewers, I am not enamored with the Bose name and love some of their products sound quality and hate others.

When compared to other mid-sized competitors, the Bose SoundLink mini produces a decent amount of room filling sound. It actually is louder than most of its similarly sized competitors. It fills a standard room with loud enough sound for a get together but doesn't match the loudness of its bigger SoundLink or the bigger competitors. Also the smaller you get, the flatter the bass. The bass is respectable but not "club quality".

I thew a slew of different types of songs at it and it performed very well for a Bluetooth speaker (Bluetooth having a narrower less bit intensive capability). Where possible, I always prefer a straight digital out signal or a wires connection but sometimes Bluetooth is the only option and this device provides good sound reproduction. Only a handful of aggressive soundtracks played at maximum volume showed some distortion. Most of the time music played without any distortion even at maximum volume.

Bass is medium quality but overall separate and sound-stage was fairly good. High were particularly clean and vivid. It definitely merits the Bose badge for sound quality.

Pairing

The device was easy to pair (and paired reliably) to an iPhone, iPad, Samsung Galaxy S4, Nexus 7 and Nexus 10.

Verdict

If you need a mid-level portable Bluetooth speaker than this is my current best pick at round $199.

The device comes with the AC adapter and the charging base.  The protection skin can be purchased separately in various colors.

Google published a video this week that showed the unveiling of the Android Kit Kat statue in front of the Googleplex. The above snapshot shows a new unannounced Nexus phone, which may be why Google quickly pulled the video.

Site S4Guru discovered an FCC filling for a new LG device whose shape seems to match that of the mystery phone shown above. Could this be the next Nexus (Nexus 5)?

The FCC filling shows that the device will support these bands:

• GSM 850/1900
• W-CDMA 1900/2100+1700/850 (band 2, 4, 5)
• CDMA1X/EV-DO 850/1900/800 (band class 0, 1, 10)
• LTE 2100+1700/850/700/1900/800 (band 4, 5, 17, 25, 26)
• TD-LTE 2600 (band 41)

S4Guru

FCC 

Fitbit is one of the early pioneers in mass market self measurement devices. to stay current and hip, they released the Fitbit Flex bracelet style tracker and I went hands on.

In the bracelet style health monitors, the 3 main players are Jawbone UP, Nike Fuelband and the Fitbit Flex. The Fitbit Flex is cheaper than its competitors but seems to offer more value for the money.

The design

The design a a clean bracelet style tracker that is easy to wear but that loses the instant feedback the other Fitbit devices offer with their screens. for this simple reason, some consumers may prefer the Fitbit one instead (which is a great device in its own right).

The Flex has handful of blinking lights that show how close you are to achieving your self-set target.

It is a comfortable plastic design that is easy to wear all day every day. It comes in sizes small and large and should fit most consumers fairly well. 

Some call it stylish others call all similar trackers ugly so you'll have to decide this one. I think its discreet and nice.

You have a choice of 5 stylish colors including black, slate, teal, tangerine and navy.

The device

The fitbit flex is designed for all day tracking including movement during the day and sleep at night. 

Paired with the IOS or Android app, it gains the ability to track other activities (besides steps) and calories from food intake. all useful when trying to leave a healthier lifestyle.

Similar to the one it offers a vibration based alarm (so as not to wake up your partner in the morning). The flex adds a new metric which represents the number of active minutes in a day.

You get a couple of days of use out of each charge.

The kit

The kit comes with the bracelet itself, a USB charger and a USB dongle for your computer (for wireless synchronization of data back to the Fitbit cloud).

It also comes with Bluetooth so you can sync the data on the run via your smartphone.

Start-up 

Start-up is a breeze. You download the small PC and/or smartphone app, create a Ftibit account or log in to an existing one, provide some information (such as age, sex,height, weight, etc)

Verdict

Fitbit is a trusted tracker who is financially solid (which means they will be around). The Flex is a stylish, easy to use and wear device that will gamify fitness and maybe help you lose a couple of pounds.

The Fitbit One is still my preferred fitness tracker but the Flex is a nice option for people looking for a bracelet style model (the One is a clip on).

With all the glitzy showmanship at the Samsung event at IFA (In Berlin), you would be forgiven for missing one of the coolest new smartphone features launching on the Samsung Galaxy Note 3. It is support for the new and upcoming LTE-Advanced standard.

Even though no carriers currently offer LTE advanced support, this means your phone investment dollars will go much further. The LTE Advanced support comes from the Qualcomm 

MDM9x25 baseband which also supports 6 LTE bands. This means your phone will support more carriers.

Review of the New 2013 Nexus 7

The 2013 Nexus 7 is the best mini tablet you can buy today. Why is it the best? It is the best combination of price, screen, speed, and battery life.

The original Nexus 7 was the first Android device that made me want an Android device. Its newer brother is a little easier to hold. 

Ports

The 2013 Nexus 7 has the same number of ports as the older version:

• a micro USB
• an earphone port

Screen

The new screen is a [better than than iPad mini] 1920x1200 IPS LCD panel which is a huge improvement from the original 12080x800.

the Screen is bright enough to be clearly visiblein almost all situations (except direct sunlight). Colors are clean and reliably reproduced. The Viewing angles are fairly wide so 2 people can easily watch a clip.

The 7-inch screen makes the device easier to carry but it also helps the device push out longer battery life.

Battery

The 2012 Nexus 7 typically gives me about 10 hours of video playback.

The 2013 Nexus 7 seems to deliver  7-9 hours of video playback. Not too shabby for a device with such a beautiful dense screen.

Models

All models come with GPS (take that Apple), bluetooth 4.0 Low Energy and NFC.

You have to decide whether you want a 16 or 32 GB device and if you want WIFI only or LTE.

Overall

The device comes with a quad-core Qualcomm 1.5GHZ processor which means it is a top tier performer (when it relates to the CPU). It is almost twice as fast as the old Tegra-3 based device.

There were many instances where the the old Nexus 7 was a bit sluggish to respond, the new version doesn't really experience that. 

Since it launched with Android 4.3 out fo the box, I experienced some OS caused app hiccups:

• some apps on Google Play not showing as compatible with my device (even though they work on 4.2)
• Some apps seem to crash very often at startup
• Some apps seem more sluggish when compared to 4.2

But all of the above issues are normal for a new OS and I guarantee they will all be fixed soon by Google.

The built in apps work wonderfully and commonly used content consumption apps like Netflix, Kindle, Chrome Browser all performed beautifully.

As much as I love Android and its ecosystem, I still hold on to my iPhone (as my main driver) because the apps seem to be written a little better and there seems to be a better selection of quality apps. I get the same feeling for the tablet market. Althogh the iPad mini is inferior to the Nexus 7 in almost every way (it is slower, has a terrible screen, is too expensive, etc), it has a better selection of apps and apps seem to be written better for the tablet form factor. This isn't a criticism of the Nexus 7 itself but one of Android overall. I feel this strain a lot more on the new Nexus 7 because it is such a well built device.

Android 4.3 brings with it a restricted profile mode which allows you to create an account with locked apps and capabilities making this a fantastic (and affordable) kids tablet.

Storage

Like all other Nexus devices, the Nexus 7 does not have removable storage support which means you are stuck with whatever storage limit the device comes with. 

That is why I recommend buying the 32GB unit which leaves about 25GB of free space.

Camera

The new Nexus 7 comes with both a front facing and a rear facing camera. I don't think I'll use this to take pictures (since it isn't a good camera) but it is a nice to have. I still wish they reduced the price a coupleof dollars and kept the rear camera out. It works but isn't something I find terribly useful on a tablet.

If the area is well lit (not too dark and not too bright), the pictures are OK. If there is too much light the pictures seem washed out. If there is too little light the image is pixelated and grainy. 

Sound

My first complaint (for most tablets) is that the damn speakers should be facing the user like the HTC one. Thenew  Nexus 7, like 98% of all other smart devices, has the speakers facing away from the user.

The speakers on the new Nexus 7 are louder than those on the older version. They claim the sound tech was developed with the Fraunhofer institute but how much sound and separation can you get from tiny speakers?

To get really good sound, you will need an external bluetooth speaker or headphones.

Video output

I didn't get my wish of hdmi output support. There is no way to plug a TV of monitor into this device to watch content. The only way to stream video out is via the Google Chromecast which is sold out in the US and not available in my country (Canada).

Conclusion

I didn't mention that this version also support wireless charging with any pad that supports the Qi standard.  wonderful addition to a tablet. 

This is currently THE TABLET to buy. The price is competitive, the quality is good, the speed and responsiveness are good. This is a fantastic little 7 inch tablet whose value is though to beat. If you need a tablet, this is the one you should get.

There are a couple of situations every week where I have to convert files from one format to another. So far my go to site has been ZamZar but I recently learned about another player called CloudConvert. Like Zamzar, CloudConvert is web based which means no installation, constant updating and worries about configuration. 

CloudConvert supports the conversion of 140 different filetypes. and using it is wonderfully simple. You visit the site (which is responsive so it works on your smartphone too), select the file, choose the format to convert to and allow it to send your converted file to Dropbox / GoogleDrive.or be emailed when the conversion is completed.

https://cloudconvert.org/

Everyone is exciting about the new iPhone 5s that will be announced September 10th. I'm here to remind you that Apple will likely release an updated Apple TV. Unfortunately we haven't heard too many rumors about what will be updated, it is safe to assume it will get a faster processor and better graphics processing unit.

Panjiva is reporting that a large shipment of set-top boxes (for Apple) has landed in the US. 

• On August 25th, Apple received a shipment described as “Set Top Box with Communication Function” from BYD Precision Manufacture in Shenzhen, China.
• On August 18th, Apple received another shipment, again from BYD, described as “Set Top Boxes.”
• And on August 11th, Apple received its first shipment from BYD of “Set Top Box with Communication Function.”

This may be a shipment of the existing models but the fact that it is so close to the iPhone announcement, the fact that Apple has been adding content to its Apple TV lineup and the fact that it hasn't been updated in a while suggests this is something new.

Contrary to long running rumors, the next version of Android won't be called Key Lime Pie but rather Android Kitkat. The goal of KitKat will be

"It's our goal with Android KitKat to make an amazing Android experience available for everybody."

It's fun to see all the desert names Google has used in the past: 

• Cupcake
• Donut
• Eclair
• Froyo
• Gingerbread,
• Honeycomb
• Ice Cream Sandwich
• Jelly Bean

No word yet on how Android 4.4 will improve the user experience but I'm sure rumors will start swirling as we get closer to the (maybe) launch of the next Nexus phone.

Years ago, Amazon launched their AutoRip program which gives customers free digital versions of CDs they had already bought. Now Amazon has extended this idea to book through its new Kindle Matchbook program (launching October).

If you have bought an eligible book, you will be able to download a digital Kindle version for $2.99 or less. 

Check out Amazon's Kindle Matchbook here 

I was one of the first Canadian blogs to write about Google's hugely discounted Nexus 4 promo on the Google Play store. The 8GB Nexus 4 was $309 and all of a sudden was reduced to the very affordable price of $199 (16GB went from $349 to $249).

Some of you may have been frustrated to see such a price drop, if you had recently bought a Nexus 4 but rest easy, Google has you covered with its price protection policy.

Google will issue the $110 refund with this condition

"Nexus 4 (8GB and 16GB) purchases from Devices on Google Play are currently eligible for price protection if the purchase was made on or after August 12, 2013. If your purchase is eligible, we'll refund the difference in price within a reasonable time."

Link to Google Support page for refund. 

The Nexus 4 is a great device and a fantastic choice for those not looking for the best camera, longest battery life or LTE. You can buy this unlocked device now and if you are with one of the major carriers take advantage of their $20 per month discount when you bring your own device.

• Rogers' BYOD page here.  - $20 off per month
• Telus' BYOD page here. - 10% discount on an individual plan
• Bell gives you 10 % off.
• Fido offers 10% off but not all customer service agents are aware of the program

• Cut the Rope- Free today - Normally  $0.99- Click here
• SwiftKey- Free today - Normally  $3.99 - Click here
• Angry Birds- Free today - Normally  $0.99 - Click here
• Shazam Encore- Free today - Normally  $4.99 - Click here
• World of Goo- Free today - Normally  $2.99 - Click here
• Jamie Oliver’s 20-Minute Meals- Free today - Normally  $7.69 - Click here
  
• Paper Camera- Free today - Normally  $1.99 - Click here
• Drawing Pad- Free today - Normally  $1.99 - Click here
  

Everyone knows what the world wide web (web for short) is and we all know it is incredibly massive containing most of our human knowledge.

There is a part of the internet that we call the Dark web which is not indexed by search engines. This is a part of the web you can only get to if you know exactly where it is. Search engines (like Google) collect their information using a tool called spiders and crawlers. These crawlers read web pages and follow links in the pages to index the known web. There are parts of the web these crawlers can't access or are specifically blocked from accessing (because they are part of restricted or private networks). Some of these un-indexable hidden web pages (in the Dark Web) are normal access controlled sites and other times they belong to organized crime, illegal groups or simply "bad people".

Wikipedia estimates that the web is about 167 terabytes un size whereas it is estimated that the dark web is over 91,000 terabytes. 

As in information security professional,  I am constantly looking for ways to search and analyse content on the dark web to protect my company and often have to rely on specialized companies that perform this type of specialized analysis.

What kind of bad things  can you find on the dark web?

You can find an entire of illegal economy on the dark web such as drug retailers (Silk Road), child pornography (police conducted a major bust recently), guns, explosives, terrorists, sale of personal info for identify thieves, sale of company secrets, etc. 

Above you see a sample price list for drug related material from Silk Road. 

Above you see a Dark Web classified site for assassinations. 

In addition to operating in the shadows, these organizations use hiding technologies like TOR which makes locating these people very difficult.

The issue is that hiding behind the TOR technology is often used by criminals but it is also used by political activists, journalists and other whose lives may be on the line if their location or identity is discovered.  

Tor isn't good or bad. It is a tool that can be used for either. 

Read about TOR here. 

Conclusion

Most of the Dark Web is simply a bunch of boring webpages not indexed by search engines and that can only be accessed by knowing exactly where these sites are and using the proper access mechanism.

But other parts of the Dark Web are more nefarious and a cause for concern for law enforcement, intelligence agencies and large companies. 

I'm naturally pessismistic when I hear the term smartwatch because of my horrible experience with the Pebble smartwatch. The Pebble was a cool concept but I found the execution bad and the product not very useful in my everyday life.

Rumors have been swhirling about a Samsung branded smartwatch nicknamed "Gear". The company's Lee Young-hee confirmed a September reveal for the smartwatch (at IFA in Berlin). Now everyone's favorite leaker, EVLeaks, shared the enclosed screenshot of the devices companion app. 

The above screenshots confirm that the Gear SmartWatch will pair with your smartphone using Bluetooth.We can also deduce that the watch will come with inductive charging (aka wireless charging) which makes a lot of sense for a watch.

Previous rumors had mentioned a 1.6 to 2.5 inch color screen, a dual-core processor, a bunch of sensors (accelerometer, altimeter, compass, etc), NFC for pairing.

It seems everyone is racing to release a smartwatch before Apple (even though Apple hasn't confirmed it is working on a smartwatch). I really hope the samsung device is more than a second screen for your smartphone and that it supports most Android devices and not just Samsung products.

If I told you I am using BitTorrent, you would probably assume I am downloading pirated illegal content but your would be wrong. I have been testing BitTorrent Sync as an alternative to Dropbox and am really liking it. 

BitTorrent sync leverages all the power of its world renown bittorrent protocol to quickly sync files of any size between your devices without first uploading them to a central cloud service making this very attractive to security conscious IT users. 

You install a small app for your device (Windows, Mac, Android or IOS) and then choose a folder you would like to sync. The app then gives you a secret key (2 actually: one for read/write and the other is read only).

You can also create a one time secret key (good for 24 hours). 

You then install BitTorrent Sync on the second device (anywhere as long as it is internet connected), you enter the secret key, Choose the destination folder and the rest is automatic.

Synchronization is done device to device over a secure and protected channel. Because the transfer is done over the robust and tested BitTorrent protocol, it can handle insanely large files quickly and reliably.

"All the traffic between devices is encrypted with AES cypher and a 256-bit key created on the base of the secret—a random string (20 bytes or more) that is unique for every folder." - BitTorrent

The use of the BitTorrent protocol also means that it will work through most security devices automatically.

Mobile to Mobile Sync

I can also share files from a mobile device to another mobile device very easily. I open the mobile app, and go to the Send Files  tab, Choose the files and it generates a QR code. You can the QR code with the other device and voila, the files transfer like magic. No bumping, shacking or emailing.

The limitations:

• The one major limitation right now (keep in mind it is beta) is that it does not support corporate proxy servers but the company assures me this is coming
• If you choose a 2 ways sync, any change on either side syncs to the other device. If both people change the same file at the same time, the last one to save takes precedent and overwrites the other devices file (not a collaboration tool where multiple people can work on the same file).It is important to note that BitTorrent sync supports versioning and keeps all file changes for 30 days in a hidden folder). 

Is BitTorrent Sync worth it?

BitTorrent Sync is a product I would pay money for but is free. BitTorrent says they will launch a premium version later with additional value add options for companies (leaving the current version free for consumers).

So far it has successfully worked every time (even when I threw a 800GB folder at it with a 500MB file). 

Comparing BitTorrent Sync to Dropbox

BitTorrent Sync is better and worse than Dropbox.

It is better than Dropbox because

• your files are never stores on someone else's servers (more secure and no transfer limits)
• files of any size can be synchronized
• files are synchronized quickly and easily
• it's free

It is worse than Dropbox because

• every computer needs the BitTorrent client installed (Dropbox offers a web interface)

BitTorrent Sync

It's like only yesterday we saw 802.11ac and now here I am writing about something called 802.11ad. 802.11ac is the next of kin in the long line of wireless WiFi standards and offers some clear advantages over is older brother (802.11n).

Where ac is the natural evolution of improved WiFi technologies, 801.11ad may be revolutionary technology that truly disrupt what we can do wirelessly. 802.11ac uses the same 5GHz frequency popularized by high end 802.11n routers, 802.11ad kicks it up a notch on the 60GHz frequency which will lead to multi-gigabit wireless connections. This incredible level of performance will allow brand new uses of wireless technologies like wireless docking stations, wireless screens, streaming of uncompressed full-HD content, etc.

Why the 60 GHz frequency? 

Data capacity is a factor of modulation bandwidth. Multi-gigabit applications therefore require a large spectrum allocation but manufacturing simplicity requires that the spectrum bandwisth be a small percentage of the transmittion frequency.

The 60GHz frequency is practical, meets these needs and is unlicensed in most countries.

Using 60GHz does have its downsides and the 2 most common limitations are the fact that its signal is very directional and that it works only for very short distances. Directional means you have to be facing the antenna and short distances will likely be measured in single digit feet. 

This means that we may see new devices in 2014-15 that support both 802.11ac and 802.11ad. 802.11ac could be used for traditional longer range wireless networking while the shorter distance but much more powerful 802.11ad is used for very specific close range applications.

This is the kind of cool development that makes technology truly wonderful. Imagine wireless everything on your desk working at extremely high speeds (even a 4K monitor). 

TheQ Camera is a brand new creation with built in 3G so it can automatically upload your masterpieces directly to your chosen social media sites for safe storage and easy sharing.

In addition to built in 3G, it also has a ring flash (for softer portraits), an f2.4 aperture wide angle lens and is waterproof.

TheQ Tech Specifications

TheQ tech specs aren't revolutionary but the purpose of this camera isn't super sharp poster quality images but rather easy to shoot/easy to share pics. 

How to order TheQ Camera

If you pre-order now, you will receive your device in about a month. The only available (single) model is $US199.

TheQ Camera  

Although Apple hasn't publicly announced the iPhone 5s announcement event, we all expect it to take place at the Apple campus on September 10th. The next question is when will Apple make is available in the market and now we think it is September 20th.

We now learn that T-Mobile has implemented a vacation blackout for its retail employees September 20th to September 22nd. Typically these blackouts are implemented when the company expects a flood  customer demand for the launch of hot new product. Although this isn't restricted only to Apple launches, there aren't any other product launches that we believe could generate that kind of traffic.

Typically Apple holds its events early one week and makes it available to the market the friday of the following week.

Rumor summary 

We expect the iPhone5S to include a faster processor, faster graphics chip, a slightly improved camera, a fingerprint sensor and a new gold coloured device. The iPhone 5C is expected to be a plastic backed device with more limited performance destined for the lower cost market.