Edward Kiledjian

The media has been vehemently against piracy claiming it is the biggest evil to afflict humanity in the last 100 years. Imagine my surprise when industry heavyweight HBO comes out and says that piracy isn’t as bad as others are making it out.

HBO’s biggest money maker is Game of Thrones and estimates peg that each show is downloaded (illegally) 4 million times. Michael Lombardo, HBO’s programming president, says piracy “compliments” the show. Season 2 was a record setting release selling 241,000 units (44% more than season 1).

“I probably shouldn’t be saying this, but it is a compliment of sorts,” Lombardo said to Entertainment Weekly.

What does it mean when the most pirated show on the internet is also the biggest money maker for a network?

Michael Lombardo makes it clear that HBO is against piracy. Although HBO has an official anti-piracy policy, they seem to understand the "benefit of piracy" and take a much more relaxed stand with pirates.

Whether you’re a business traveler or love to listen to music around the house, a good Bluetooth wireless speaker is the way to go and the Ultimate Ears Boombox is a wonderful option.

Why wireless and why bluetooth

Over the last 5 years, we have been deluged by speakers with docking connectors in all shapes and sizes but the era of dock based speakers is dead. Why is it dead you ask? Apple killed it when it switched from its traditional 30 pin dock connector to the new Lightning connector. Millions of iPhone owners cringed when they realized their investment in iPhone gear just became useless and obsolete. Most of these “burned” users don’t want to make the same mistake again.

There are other wireless options (aka Airplay) but these are typically vendor specific and cost considerably more than Bluetooth devices. Sure Bluetooth doesn’t provide high fidelity sound reproduction but I’m pretty sure your 50 Cent and Jay-Z will sound just fine. Remember that most of your music is in compressed MP3 format which is already a down-sampled version of the original.

What was I looking for?

Before I out to find the best affordable portable speaker for the masses, I wanted to create a list of characteristics I would be looking for:

• Since we are talking portable, I wanted something with a decent battery 
• I wanted something relatively small and lightweight
• I wanted something that would offer decent sound quality
• I wanted something well-built and reliable
• I wanted something affordable

The contenders

It wouldn’t have been much of a showdown if I didn’t have at least a couple of models competing for my attention. Search Google for “bluetooth speaker” and you’ll see that there are thousands and thousands of devices vying for your attention. In order to narrow down the testing to a handful of devices, I read hundreds of reviews from users on sites like Amazon, I read shootouts from professional reviewers (on renown tech sites) and then I looked for newer model products that looked promising but didn’t have a lot of reviews yet. 

This allowed me to narrow the list down to the top 12.

The test

As mentioned in previous sound equipment reviews, sound quality is very subjective and personal. So your own views may be different but most readers typically agree with my findings. I tested the speakers in different rooms (containing different types of furniture) and in locations with different sound profiles (quiet room, noisy cafeteria, on a busy street corner, etc).

I didn’t think it would make much of a difference but I tested each speaker using different types of music (classic, rock, pop, opera), in different formats (lossless, mp3 in sample rates from 96-320) and using locally stored songs and streamed music.

All the devices were tested one after the other (for each location) using similar placement and configuration. I wanted to test simplicity to every device was used with its default configuration and I didn’t use any proprietary control or configuration apps. I wanted to test the vanilla out of the box experience most consumers would live.

I was testing each unit for the criteria mentioned above

The Verdict

When all my testing was completed, I was surprised and pleased with the winner. And the winner is…….. Logitech’s Ultimate Ears (UE) Mobile Boombox. I own a pair of UE Triple-Fi 10 headphones and absolutely love them but Bluetooth speakers are a late addition to the finally that happened after Logitech bought UE.

Why I liked it: 

• The device was small and portable.  It is about the size of a medium soup can which means it is pocketable, light (298grams) and easy to carry.
• It offered 8-10 hours of wireless play
• It was extremely well built. The device has a nice rubber covering which holds it in place on the table, helps it when dropped and feels solid in your hand. Overall the build quality is very good (aka it doesn’t creek or crack like most cheap electronics we are used to).
• It was affordable for the masses. It’s under $US!00 on Amazon so it definitely falls into the affordable category for the general public.
• Sound quality was good. It pushes out 78db of sound which is as loud as a washing machine. No Bluetooth speaker (available today) will provide a high fidelity experience so don’t expect it. What I was looking for was clear sound reproduction without distortion. The Mobile Boombox delivers a nice clean sound profile that is well suited for general listening.
• It doubles as a speaker phone. I tested the speakerphone functionality by placing it in the middle of a round table in a typical corporate conference room and the party on the other side said It sounded exactly the same as the high priced corporate speakerphones in most meeting rooms. 

Pairing Bluetooth devices with a smartphone can sometimes be problematic but not with this little speaker. I paired it about 2 dozen times with different devices and it worked flawlessly every time. I tested how far I could do before I started to experience streaming issues and found that it worked well until about 25 feet (with clean line of sight between the device and my smartphone). It sometimes worked ok up to 30 feet but I would get more sound artifacts.

The UE Mobile Boombox charges via micro-USB which means you won’t have to carry another charging brick. Most of us already carry a micro-USB to charge our kindles, smartphones (non-iPhone of course) or Nexus tablets.

The Issues

Those who read my reviews know that I try to take a balanced approach and present both the positives and negatives of each product I review. 

• Some of the limitations are to be expected since we are talking about small speakers, crammed in a small package. The device seems to offer the best sound reproduction when music is played 70-80% of its maximum. 
• Although there are 2 speakers in the device, they are very close to each other so you won’t really get a stereo experience but who cares.
• The device is small so bass is weak but that seemed to be an issue all of these portable Bluetooth speakers had.
• The device has 3 buttons so music control will have to be done from your device (smartphone, tablet or PC).

Buy It 

My final advice is Buy IT. It is a great little device that is affordable, reliable and fun. You'll get years of use out of this little guy and I know you'll be a very happy customer.

The team at Digiarty is giving away free copies of their popular video converter app called MacXVideo Converter Pro. It converts videos into Mac and Apple product compatible formats easily, quickly and while maintaining the highest quality.

It currently supports these formats for input : MKV, M2TS, AVCHD, H.264/MPEG-4 AVC, AVI, MPEG, MP4, H.264, MOV, FLV, F4V, RM, RMVB, WebM, Google TV.

I receive a lot of questions about counterfeit products and 80% of them are related to headphones. I recently read an interesting press release from Otterbox about their fight to keep counterfeit smartphone cases off the street.

Otterbox is the grand poobah of smartphone case manufacturers. They are number one in most countries and are struggling under the tidal wave of cheap Asian knock-offs.  In 2012 alone, the US Customs and Border protection teams seized over 118000 counterfeit Otterbox items.

These cases look exactly like the real thing but can often be purchased for 50-80% less than the originals (from sites like eBay, Aliexpress and others). Counterfeiters are interested in making their products look authentic  but don’t care about actual performance.

If you have a normal slim type case then the difference may be negligible. If you are using one of their more heavy duty products, you may be upset when you realize that after a drop, the counterfeit didn’t protect your device and now you’re stuck with a cracked screen or dead phone.

This is a case of buyer beware. You get what you pay for.

Related articles:

• How To Detect Counterfeit Headphones
• Counterfeit Electronics Being Sold On EBay
• Counterfeit USB Chargers On EBay May Be Dangerous

Registration Name: EaseUS Users

Registration Code: 3788-61679-58234-2362

With all the new shiny gadgets we have seen in the last month, the Nexus 4 seems less and less interesting. A user on a Korean website, who claims to be in the know, now says LG and Google are working together on the Nexus 5.

He claims it will have a 5 inch full HD screen, a quad-core tegra 4 processor, 8/16GB storage, 2GM of RAM, a 13 megapixel camera and the next version of Android (Key Lime Pie).

The use claims the Nexus 5 will be announced at Google I/O in May and launch shortly after for $299.

In December, I wrote about how much I liked the Monoprice 8320 headphones. It doesn’t replace my Etymotic or UE Triple-Fi 10 but for $7 you get something that feels well-built and performs extremely well. 

I received requests from readers to review the new Monoprice 9927 headphones. This are newer than the 8320 and comes in black (9927), pink (9960), and white (9963). I had a chance to test the 9927 and wanted to share my opinion.

The first change is the look of these headphones. They are more matt but the rest of the design is the same as the 8320. The other major difference is that these come with different sized eartips. Everything else is a carbon copy of the 8320.

I compared both products (8320 vs 9927) and the sound profile is exactly the same (which is a good thing). If you like the look of the Monoprice 8320 and the tip fits then you can comfortably stick to that model. If you want one of the new colors or want different tip sizes, pick up one of these new headphones.

Monoprice recommends that you break-in the headphones for 24 hours using pink noise to get the best performance.

Apple and Samsung have a strange relationship where they constantly fight regarding patents but Apple uses Samsung for many of its components. Digitimes is now reporting that Apple will switch production of its next generation A7 processor to TSMC. The rumor has it that TSMC will start producing the new 20nm processor in May and it will find its way into products in 2014.

When the Blackberry Z10 launched, it was priced at $149 (Canadian dollar) with a 3 year contract. Many thought that the device wasn’t worth that much and the Canadian carriers have now responded by lowering the price to $99 on a 3-year contract.  

Bell, Rogers, Virgin Mobile. 

• Link to Rogers
• Link to Bell 

Fido sells it for $250 with a 2-year agreement.

Telus sells it for $149 with a 3-year agreement.

Koodo sells it for $400 (using the max $150 tab value)

As wonderful as Blackberry messenger is, none of my contacts seem to be using it so it is pretty useless to me. Now Blackberry lovers can finally join the rest of the instant messaging world because WhatsApp messenger was finally released for Blackberry 10 (BB10).

WhatsApp messenger on Blackberry integrates into the new Blackberry Hub and is Flow enabled.

 You can download it from Blackberry World now.

The Samsung Galaxy SIV seems like a solid well designed smartphone but most pundits were underwhelmed and expected much more innovation. Now that the Galaxy SIV is out of the way, we can concentrate on other rumored upcoming devices like the Nexus 5.

Phonearena is now reporting that the Google Nexus 5 will come with a “triple camera sensor thing” designed (and branded) by Nikon. The same source told Phonearena that this camera will be the major selling point of the next version of the Nexus device.

We know that Google VP Vic Gundotra has said many times that the next versions of the Google device will have an “insanely great camera”. Could they be bringing tech from Nikon point and shoot cameras to the Nexus 5?

The tipster claims the device will have Android version 5 (aka Key Lime Pie), a 5 inch 1080p screen, snapdragon 600 processor, 2GB of RAM, 8/16GB local storage and a 3140 mAh battery.

Another rumor we have heard is that the product will be sold for $250-300. Most rumors point to a Google IO may launch so everything should be revealed shortly.

The minute last week’s Samsung Galaxy SIV announcement finished, Canadians started asking carriers when it would come to the great white Canadian north.  Unofficial discussions with reps from Samsung, Rogers, Fido and Telus indicate that it will hit the streets of Toronto (and Montreal, Calgary, Vancouver, etc) by the end of Q2. It seems the phone will come to Rogers, Bell, Telus and their sub-brands (Fido, Koodo, Virgin Mobile).

Now that the Samsung Galaxy SIV launch is behind us, many are wondering which version (processor) will come to North America. If you were hoping to bathe in the warmth of the Samsung Exynos 5 octa then you will be really disappointed.

The quad-core processor that will power the North American Samsung Galaxy SIV is fast but many are disappointed. There are many reasons why Samsung may have chosen to use the Qualcomm  Snapdragon 600 which may include North American LTE built the chip, good battery usage, good thermal design, etc.

AnTutu benchmarks show the that the new Samsung Galaxy SIV is about 30% faster than the older Samsung Galaxy SIII. The quad-core will run at 1.9Ghz which is 200Mhz faster than the HTC One and 300Mhz faster than the Exynos 5 octa (powering the offshore versions).