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Archos 80b Helium 4G Tablet Review



Archos LogoTablets have become ubiquitous over the past five years to the point that Android devices are almost a commodity item in the smaller screen sizes. Regrettably favourites such as the Nexus 7 and Tesco Hudl have been discontinued and the Amazon Fire tablets are tied to their own ecosystem. What’s a geek to do for a secondary tablet or younger family member?

Fortunately there are other models and suppliers. Here we have the Archos 80b Helium 4G tablet for under £100 online. On paper it seems like a great deal – 8″ HD screen, quad core processor, 4G connectivity, 16 GB RAM, microSD slot and dual cameras. Let’s take a look and see whether it lives up to expectations.

Archos 80b Helium Tablet Box

Opening the box reveals the 80b Helium tablet plus a USB travel charger with UK and continental adapters. The charger manual does mention a US adapter but there wasn’t one in the box I received. There are two booklets, though one is only warranty and legal information. The other is a Quick Start Guide in a dozen languages.

Archos 80b Helium Tablet Front

The 80b tablet has a white screen surround on the front and a silvered back panel on the rear. The top above the camera on the back pops off to reveal the slots for the microSD card and not just one, but two SIM cards. The part that comes off is a little flimsy, so I wouldn’t expect to be switching memory cards or SIMs on a regular basis. (The dirty smudges in the picture below are where I’ve blurred out IMEIs).

Archos 80b Helium Card Slots

The 80b Helium feels good with slight texture to the metal back: it’s easily held in one hand. There’s a small ridge round the edge of the screen and a microphone and camera at the top. There’s a single speaker on the rear, plus power button and volume rocker on the upper right hand side. Finally the top side has the micro USB port and 3.5 mm audio socket. The top micro USB port may not be to everyone’s taste and the slight downside of a single speaker on the rear is that it can be easily muffled when the tablet is on a soft surface.

Archos 80b Helium Tablet Rear

Turning the 80b on, the tablet runs largely stock Android 5.1 Lollipop and you have to look fairly hard to find the Archos customisations. As a bonus, Archos has pre-installed a selection of software including Angry Birds, Asphalt O, Green Farm 3, Little Big City, News Republic, Jamendo and MobiSystems’ OfficeSuite, to name a few. There’s also Archos Video player and FM Radio. As the 80b has a SIM slot, there’s a phone app too, and the tablet can be used as a giant phone. Probably best used with a headset as aside from not looking like an idiot, there’s no proximity sensor and ears press the screen.
(Note: some of the online specs say that the 80b runs KitKat but the version sent for review had Lollipop both installed on the tablet and printed on the box).

In addition to making phone calls, having mobile connectivity on-board was handy and meant that I wasn’t always having to look for a wi-fi hotspot to download my latest email or news feed. Obviously there’s the cost of the extra SIM plan though I found that having the extra screen real estate over my phone meant that I was more inclined to get a little real work done on email.

The screen is an 8″ 1280 x 800 IPS display with a plastic surface and this gives screen a slight soft or diffuse appearance at times and benefits from having the backlight turned up. There’s no ambient light sensor in the 80b Helium so it’s a manual adjustment. Depending on the expected use of the tablet, having a plastic screen may be a benefit as perhaps it’s more robust than a glass one. In terms of resolution, 1280 x 800 is the same as the original Nexus 7, though the 2013 model upped it to 1920 x 1200 in a 7″ screen. I like that extra inch in screen size and it’s just enough to make reading magazines a bit more comfortable.

Performance-wise, the 80b is not the fastest tablet in the world. Running Geekbench 3 benchmarks shows that the 1 GHz quad-core MediaTek ARM CPU runs somewhere between the original Nexus 7 and the 2013 revision. Having said that, I felt that Archos tablet responded well and played games like Alto’s Adventure well enough. What I did notice was that loading times were a little slow and switching between apps wasn’t that nippy. The solitary 1 GB of main RAM probably has good deal to do with this.

Archos 80b Helium Single Core Archos 80b Helium Multi Core

Although I didn’t do a full battery test, in normal use the tablet seemed to get through the power source at the expected rate. It neither lasted ages or burned up quickly, though playing any high powered game reduced the charge fast.

The cameras are specced at 2 megapixels (1600 x 1200) for the rear one and 0.3 (640 x 480) for the front facing camera. The camera app has a couple of interesting features. First, a picture can be taken using the “V for victory” sign which is handy for group shots where everyone needs to be in the frame. I found it worked best in well-lit situations and it was a little hit-or-miss where the light levels were low. Second, there’s a “live photo” feature, which is a 5 second video with an inset, perfect for uploading to social media sites. In the live photo mode, the camera is constantly recording, so the clip is the 5 seconds before the shutter button is pressed. Other than that, there are a few controls for white balance, exposure, scenes and effects. Below is an untouched picture (click through for the full image) taken with the 80b’s rear camera on high sharpness.

Archos 80b Tree

Way before Android 6 Marshmallow introduced adoptable storage, Archos had Fusion, a clever OS mod which melded internal storage with a semi-permanently installled SD card. Inserting a 32 GB microSD card and formatting it for Fusion gives the 80b an effective internal memory of 48 GB and the Fusion system is completely transparent to installed apps. It’s neat idea, especially for pre-Marshmallow tablets.

I think we’ve covered all the main bases and it’s time to review the findings. In summary, the Archos 80b Helium is not a flagship device by a long way but as it only costs £92 it would be unfair to expect it to be. This is a budget tablet with 4G mobile connectivity which makes the 80b a bit of a rarity and a useful one too.

For example, I would see the 80b Helium being good for travel where undemanding usage as an ereader and media player along with the bigger 8″ screen make it a suitable choice for entertainment on the go. It’s robust enough to be thrown in a bag and paired with a suitable data plan (such as Three’s Feel at Home), there’s no need to pay for expensive hotel wifi. And at less than a hundred quid, it’s not a disaster if it’s damaged or stolen.

To hit that price point, the Archos 80b Helium is all about compromise. On the downside, it’s slow, the screen quality’s not great and the camera’s poor. On the other hand, the screen’s bigger at 8″, there’s expandable memory with Archos Fusion and 4G mobile connectivity for information on the go. Ultimately, I liked the 80b and it migrated to my bedside, but it’s not going to be replacing my Nexus 9 anytime soon.

The Archos 80b Helium 4G tablet is available from Ballicom and other online retailers.

Thanks to Archos for providing the 80b Helium for review.


Dell XPS 12 2-in-1 (Laptop or Tablet) Review



xps124Last year I reviewed an Dell XPS 13 and absolutely fell in love with the Laptop, so when given a chance to review the Dell XPS 12 2-in-1 (Laptop or Tablet) and a bunch of accessories I jumped at the chance. With any device that I review they get a real world test, in this case I have been using the Dell XPS 12 2-in-1 now for three weeks which included a two week road trip as my only Laptop / Tablet.

I have never had a Laptop with a detachable screen so my main concern was not so much it being detachable, my concern was more based on performance. Would the XPS 12 act more like a Tablet or a Laptop. My typical travel does not require me to edit video, but on this trip beyond normal work stuff, I had 4 videos that I needed to edit for a client and the XPS 12 handled them like a champ. I was actually taken back a little bit, encoding video is typically the true test on a computers performance and the XPS 12 performed remarkably well with the Intel 6th Generation M5 Processor.

The Dell XPS line has set the bar in workmanship, just like other XPS models this one utilizes premium materials such as Carbon Fiber, Machined Aluminum and screen hardened with Corning Gorilla Glass. Weighing in at 2.8lbs with the keyboard base of 1.75lbs with just the tablet. The build of the Dell XPS 12 2-in-1 is solid and elegant. While XPS Laptops are thin to begin with this one has already garnered a lot of attention by the folks I have exposed it to.

The screen docking utilizes magnets to snap it into place to establish a solid link between the keyboard and the screen. The 12.5 inch 4k Ultra HD display using the XPS 12 in tablet mode is simply incredible bright and vibrant. When you detach the screen from the keyboard you are asked if you want to stay in PC mode or switch to Tablet. Either choice is fine with Windows 10 the experience is pretty much seamless. The screen features a 352 DPI and has 8 million pixels resulting in an incredible screen experience. I cannot say it enough the screens of the XPS line is really what sets Dell apart from the competition.

The XPS comes with 2 cameras a 5MP user facing camera an 8MP world facing camera. Perfect for high res photos or web-chatting. Thunderbolt 3 has arrived in a big way the XPS 12 has two Thunderbolt 3 ports with the new Type-C connector for blazing fast file transfers.

xps123Let’s talk about the keyboard’s, when you order your XPS 12 you will be able to choose between two keyboard’s. When I tested the XPS 13 last year, I felt that the keyboard on that laptop, was the best keyboard ever designed for a laptop. When I received the XPS 12 with it came their Premier Keyboard with Premier Magnetic Folio which has a 1.9mm travel, when I expressed to the Dell team that I really loved the XPS 13 keyboard they surprised me by sending me the XPS Slim 12 Keyboard – with 1.3mm travel and adjustable viewing angles up to 150 degrees. xps122This blew me away, in that I could have “my” choice of keyboards. Do not get me wrong the premier keyboard is a great keyboard, if you like a little deeper keyboard action the premier is for you.

The XPS fits into a business environment with all the management and security features of a Latitude. The new Dell Thunderbolt dock, a story in itself connects to the XPS 12 with a single cable. I will be talking in detail in a later article about dock and other key peripherals.

For travel the Dell Adapter – USB Type C to HDMI/ VGA / Ethernet / USB 3.0 allows you to quickly connect for presentations and or hard wired networks. The Dell Active Pen allows you to interact with the XPS 12 with a stylus.

During my last trip, I was late in preparing a report for my company, which required about 4 hours of work. So while on the plane ride home, in coach I was able to knock out the report in laptop mode and then watch a 4k movie with plenty of battery life left comfortably on the tray table. It’s a sweet time to have this much power and versatility.

No longer do you have to travel with a massive laptop to get the performance and screen real-estate to get work done. Whether I am crunching multiple spreadsheets one moment in laptop mode, or watching a video in bed in tablet mode the Dell XPS 12 2-in-1 (Laptop or Tablet) is the perfect business or travel device. In a world where versatility in being able to get multiple functions out of one device the XPS 12 has allowed me to lighten my travel load while at the same time provide the power I need to do what I do whether at the office, home or travel.

Bit of a side note if you’re looking at other options. I used a Microsoft Surface Pro 4 recently for a few hours so it’s not a full comparison here. But if I was asked to choose between one or the other the choice is very easy, my pick is the Dell XPS 12 2-in-1.

Disclaimer: I have been provided the Dell XPS 12 2-in-1 (Laptop or Tablet) to review from Dell. The views and commentary are my own and represent my experience with the product line.

xps125


Azoi Kito+ Health Tracker Review



Kito+ logoAfter interviewing Azoi at Gadget Show Live, the team there sent me a Kito+ to review. I’ve been using it to check my vital signs over the past few weeks. If you didn’t read or listen to the original interview, the Kito+ is a credit-card sized health tracker that measures heart rate (pulse), respiration rate (breathing), blood oxygen, skin temperature and ECG.

Kito+ Box

The Kito+ sends all the data via Bluetooth to a nearby smartphone or tablet which displays the readings in real-time.  It’s even more impressive when you consider the Kito+ costs GB£100 (around US$140). The Kito+ can work as a standalone device with both Android and iOS smartphones and tablets, or it can be embedded into a case for the iPhone 6 series of phones from Apple. Let’s take a look.

Kito+ In Box

The box opens up to show the Kito+ on the left with the iPhone cases and charging adapter on the right. Beneath the lids are instructions and a USB cable. There are two sizes of iPhone 6 case included, one for the standard iPhone 6 and one for the Plus versions. The magnetic charging adapter snaps into place and the micro-USB cable powers it up. Fully charged, the Kito+ is good for a whole month of tests.

Kito+

Turning to the Kito+ itself, it’s flat on one side with the sensors and buttons on the other. There are four sensors, an “on” button and two contacts for the charging adapter. The Kito+ is easy to use – simply hold in two hands with thumbs on the flat side, forefingers on the big shiny metal sensors and index fingers on the lower two smaller sensors.

As mentioned earlier, the Kito+ sends data to an app for processing, display and recording. It’s a straightforward app without too many bells and whistles, but it does have some good touches, such as being able to email your data to a doctor or physician.

When starting the app, you can either login to track your stats over time or you can go without a login, which is handy if you want a friend to try the Kito+. Once in, the next step is to press a small button on the Kito+ to prep the link between it and the smartphone. I found that occasionally this step didn’t always work but turning Bluetooth off and on again usually resolved it.

When successfully connected up, the smartphone shows how to hold the Kito+ and then moves into the measuring mode. This shows a real-time ECG graph and other figures as they are acquired over around 30 seconds. When the measuring phase is done, you can review your vital statistics.

Azoi Kito+ ReadingsAzoi Kito+ ECG

I can’t comment on the accuracy of the figures or the ECG but they seemed to be in the ballpark when I tried to measure my own heart and respiration rate. The blood oxygen measurement didn’t always succeed and it seemed very dependent on correct positioning of fingers and no movement during the test period. However, all the other measurements recorded correctly every time and I never had any figures that were so outlandish as to be unbelievable.

If you are logged into the app as an individual , the data is saved against the date and you can review your historical measurements if desired.

Azoi Kito+

Overall, I think the Azoi Kito+ is a great little device, especially considering the price (GB£100). I can see a number of potential users, from athletes and sportsman, or people who have a heart condition that can use the Kito+ under the guidance of a physician. I’m not medically trained so any docs who read GNC should chip in with comments on their view of the Kito+ and its potential.

For a full unboxing and demo run, there’s a video below. Thanks to Azoi for supplying the Kito+ for review.

 


iClever Outdoor Wireless Speaker Review



iClever LogoOn review here is the iClever Outdoor Wireless Speaker IC-BTS03. It’s an IP65 water resistant Bluetooth speaker with a 10 hour playtime. Perfect for outdoor tunes! Let’s take a look.

The iClever Speaker is a orange and black cuboid with speaker grilles on two sides, controls on the top, inputs on one side and a camera mount on the bottom with a rubber carrying strap on one corner. Roughly, 10 x 9 x 5 cm, there’s a bit of a ruggedness to the speaker too with a rubberised exterior and informal drop tests show that it’ll stand up to the odd accident. IP65 specifies that the speaker is totally protected against dust (6) and it’s sealed against low pressure water (5). Basically, it means that it’s ok to get splashed or dropped in shallow water.

iClever Wireless Outdoor Speaker

In the cardboard box, there’s the speaker, a USB-to-microUSB cable, a 3.5mm-to-3.5mm jack cable and instructions. The USB cable is used for charging only and can’t be used to play music from a PC or laptop. Both the microUSB charging port and the aux in socket are under a rubber flap that needs to be peeled away to get access. iClever Wireless Outdoor SpeakerWhen charging, the sole LED on the front will light up red and it’s green when the aux socket is in use.

Across the top, the controls are straightforward – power, volume down, play/pause/answer, volume up. When turned on, the BTS03 is straight into pairing mode with the LED flashing blue. A voice helpfully intones, “Power on. Pairing”. You can then connect to the speaker in the normal way, receiving “Connected” when done and the LED goes a solid blue. As a bonus, the iClever can work as a speakerphone too – it’s kind of fun (or bonkers) if you are with a group of friends.

On the bottom, there’s a standard camera screw fitting which makes it compatible with a wide range of mounting accessories.

iClever Wireless Outdoor SpeakerThat’s the physical out of the way. What does it sound like? Well, if you are expecting this to sound like a $500 Sonos, then you are going to be disappointed. If you expect it to be a $30 5W portable speaker weighing less than 300g that you can throw into a bag for a day at the beach, you’re going to be happy enough. The sound is clear, with vocals coming across well. As you’d expect, the bass is under-represented but crank up the volume and there’s a fair beat. It’s not massively loud but it fills a room well enough.

Overall the iClever Outlook Wireless Speaker ticks all the boxes for an outdoor speaker. Semi-rugged, long battery life, splashproof and reasonably loud. It’s available now from Amazon.com (US$30) and Amazon.co.uk for GB£17.

Thanks to iClever for the review unit. Unboxing below.


iClever Tri-Folding Bluetooth Keyboard Review



iClever LogoI’ve always had a soft spot for folding keyboards, starting with the Palm Portable Keyboard from over fifteen years ago. On review here is the iClever Tri-folding Bluetooth Keyboard (IC-BK05), which brings the folding keyboard up-to-date with wireless connectivity and funky LED backlights. Let’s take a look.

iClever Folding Keyboard Folded

The keyboard comes in a small cardboard box with the iClever keyboard itself, a USB to microUSB cable, a cloth carrying bag and instructions. The keyboard’s dimensions unfolded are 29.1 x 11.7 x 0.8 cm and 16.6 x 12.0 x 1.5 cm when folded. The back or outer shell of the keyboard is metal, so it’s well protected when all closed up, and there are some magnetic catches to keep the keyboard close up. Unfolded, the keyboard feels a little flimsy in the hand, but once it’s on a firm surface with the two outer rests flipped down, the keyboard is solid enough. The iClever Folding Keyboard’s hinge mechanism is on display and looks neat, while also being part of the support for the keyboard.

iClever Folding Keyboard Unfolded

The IC-BK05 has a couple of notable features. First, it works with Android, iOS and Windows. Second, it connects both with Bluetooth and USB. Finally, it has coloured LED key backlights which can be cycled through red, green and blue. The keys are chiclet style with five rows of full size keys and a small sixth set of function keys across the top.

iClever Folding Keyboard HingeThe function keys provide a range of additional functions such as Home, Search, Cut, Copy, Paste, Play/Pause and so on. There’s some variation depending on what OS is in use but I found it handy to have a Home key with Android tablets.

The keyboard can be connected to two devices at the same time, though one has to wired via USB and the other wirelessly via Bluetooth. I’m typing this via a wired connection to a Windows 10 laptop but can switch back to my Nexus 9 with a quick function key.

The IC-BK05 turns on automatically when the keyboard is unfolded. Battery-life is a claimed 300 hours without backlight, but reduces to only 5 hours when the lights are on. The lights have two levels of brightness but I never typed long enough to find out if the estimate is correct. As expected, the keyboard is charged via the USB port.

iClever Folding KeyboardI used the iClever Folding Keyboard wirelessly with my Nexus 9 over a couple days to write a few articles for Geek News Central and found it very productive. I can touch-type and didn’t have any difficulty getting used to the spacing for the vast majority of the keys and everything was where it should have been on the keyboard. It’s worth noting that this is US (not UK keyboard) layout, so there’s no £ sign and @ is where ” normally is. Obviously the lettering on the keys can be overridden in the layout settings but it’s worth pointing out.

I only had one minor problem with the keyboard and that was with a couple of plastic covers on the hinges which had a tendency to pop off when pulling the keyboard out of the drawstring bag. The covers were easily popped back in and I suspect a drop of glue would keep them in place.

Overall, I liked iClever Tri-folding Bluetooth Keyboard and its definitely worth getting this or a similar keyboard if you are going to be doing lots of typing on a tablet. Priced at around GB£35 or US$55, it’s also worth considering non-backlight version (IC-BK03) which will save £10 / $20. The keyboard is available from Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk. Unboxing video below.

Thanks to iClever for the review unit.

 


iTENS Wearable Electrotherapy Review



itensAs many of you know in 2004 I had a very serious back injury which resulted in steel rods,  screws and assorted hardware supporting my L1 Vertebrae, which essentially got smashed like a pancake during a swimming pool accident. I suffer today from chronic back pain, and I refuse to medicate. Through monthly Shiatsu treatments I am able to keep most of my symptoms at bay. For day to day relief though, I have for many years now had via prescription a “wired” Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation (TENS) device, that I keep in my bedroom that connects via clumsy wires. While it does a great job it’s kinda pain to use due to the wires.

So when I got the opportunity to review the highly portable wearable iTENS controlled via an App, which does the same exact thing as my wired device without the wires I could not wait to give it a try. During the week I was at NAB I was spending a lot of time on my feet 8-10hrs a day resulting in a very very stiff and sore lower back. Each evening back at the hotel I attached the iTENS Wearable Electrotherapy device and from my iPhone was able to command the iTENS in several modes from muscle massage and muscle relaxation to get some needed relief.  I suppose I could have worn it during the show, but I think that would have been a little weird.

For those of you that have used a (TENS) before you know their value. For me my (TENS) has always been about pain relief, and its benefit of not having to ask or maintain a muscle relaxer prescription.  Overall the iTENS treatment I performed on myself convinced me that the folks at iTENS have put together a product that I can stand behind and give my full endorsement!  I do not do this lightly and for someone that has used a wired (TENS) device for years these folks have a winner!

Priced @ $99.00 this is a great investment. You will have to purchase replacement gel pads from time to time, but if you follow the instructions  you will get 10+ uses out of one set.  Every once in a while a product comes to market that can be used by millions and this is it.

 


LG GPad X 10.1 Review



lgpadThe LG GPad X 10.1 is probably the largest Android Tablet I have reviewed. I used this one over the course of two weeks in ways most people use tablets today, playing games, watching videos, responding to email, and interacting on social media. It was a true pleasure to lay in bed with this tablet and kick on a movie. For its size it is very lite for the size and was comfortable holding. The screen brightness is not as bright as some Samsung tablets I have reviewed, but I personally like really bright screens much to the annoyance of my wife.

Specifications of the LG G Pad X 10.1 include:

10.1 inch 1920 x 1200 pixels resolution IPS LCD screen
Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 2.26 GHz quad-core processor with 2GB of RAM
32GB of internal storage with microSD expansion card slot
Android 5.1.1
7400 mAh battery
802.11 a/b/g/n/ac WiFi, Bluetooth 4.1, GPS
Rear 8 megapixel camera and 2 megapixel front facing camera

I was able to use it on two very long flights without the device running out of power. LG says 10 hours, and I probably got a little more than that out of it. The finish of the table is nice with beveled edges, with the Micro CD card stashed along the edge with the std on/off, volume controls on the side as well. Headphone jack was at the bottom of the screen.. The camera was nice and created images that I would expect for a device in this price range. Priced @ AT&T for $249 with a qualified service plan or $17.50 for 20 months the price is really a bargain for what you get.

Powered by AT&T network performance is what you would expect from AT&T and I had no issues with signal quality even in some pretty dense buildings and environments from my travel.