Nest HELLO Doorbell Now in Europe

Nest Labs, architect of the thoughtful home, today announced the Nest Hello video doorbell is now available to buy in Europe. 

With an award-winning design, Nest Hello customers will be notified when a guest is at the door even when they are not home via their mobile phone, and can choose to have a natural conversation with HD Talk and Listen. If they’re not available, a list of pre-recorded responses makes it easy to quickly and effortlessly answer visitors with one tap from the app. And just in case the baby is sleeping or you don’t want to set off the dog, Quiet Time lets you turn off your chime, right from the app, while still receiving notifications.

Nest Hello can even let you know there’s someone at your door on your Google Assistant-enabled speaker. And with a Nest Aware subscription, you can get personalised alerts based on who is at the door, such as whether it’s a family member or the next-door neighbour. 

“Your front door is where home begins. It’s the entryway to special moments with family and friends – but also the most common way burglars enter your home,” said Lionel Guicherd-Callin, head of EMEA Product Marketing for Nest Labs. “So we’ve designed a doorbell experience that makes your front door more safe and secure, yet still feels friendly. You can truly connect with your guests at the door from anywhere. Never miss a package. And have added security and peace of mind when it’s needed.” 

Nest Hello combines the familiar experience of a doorbell with all of the technology our customers love about Nest Cam:

● An HD camera designed for your front door. With a 2K image sensor at a 4:3 aspect ratio, a 160° field of view and HD video, you can see your visitors head to toe when they ring the bell. High-dynamic-range (HDR) imaging lets you see key details, even in uneven light, while night vision powered by IR LEDs lets you see when it’s dark.

● Say hello even when you can’t. Have a natural conversation using HD Talk + Listen. Echo and ambient noise cancellation make sure you hear your guests clearly, even on noisy streets. And if you are not available to talk, choose from a list of pre-recorded responses, such as “Just a moment, we’ll be right there!” or "You can leave it, thanks!", to quickly and effortlessly answer visitors from the Nest app.

● Smart and thoughtful. A light ring will show your guests the button. And Quiet Time lets you turn off your chime from the Nest app, while still receiving notifications on the Nest app. So you don’t wake up the baby or set off the dogs.

● Never miss a moment. With 24/7 video streaming, you can check what’s happening at the front door anytime from your smartphone, tablet or even your TV, or check the free 3-hour history using Sightline in the Nest app to quickly find snapshots of important moments. And with Person Alerts built-in, you’ll get a specific alert and snapshot when someone is at your door.

Makes other doorbells seem like dumbbells

When customers add a Nest Aware subscription to their Nest Hello video doorbell they get an extra layer of intelligence, and continuous cloud video storage, delivering even more precise, actionable, and effortless video monitoring.

For example, with Familiar Face alert’s powerful face recognition technology, teach Nest Hello to know if it’s a friend or stranger at your door, so you’ll know when it’s someone important.

And with Nest Aware, customers will also benefit from existing features, including 5-, 10- or 30-day video history that you can browse and share in seconds using features like Sightline, clip and timelapse creation.

Pricing, availability and installation

Nest Hello is available to order today for £229 including VAT from www.nest.com/uk. Nest Hello will be available from UK partners including John Lewis, Argos, Currys PC World, 50five, YESSS and City Electrical Factors starting mid-June.

Before you purchase or install Nest Hello, we recommend you check the compatibility of your home using the online widget. Nest will be able to provide a recommendation on whether it’s a simple installation, where you can follow the in-app step-by-step instructions, or whether it’s time to call in a Nest Pro.  You can also read these guidelines before installing your camera. Nest Hello plus installation is available on Nest.com for £329 including VAT.

Top Five Online Services to make your 2018 a Business Success

Having worked for myself for many many years, I welcome good services and tools that can make my job easier. Not only does it allow you to smile more at the end of the day, it also gives you some time back and I am sure everyone would admit to liking more time on their hands. I check out new online services regularly and would like to share my top five picks with you today.

I always need to send videos and other files to my clients, more or less on a daily basis. If you need to send files quickly and easily, to someone in the same workplace or to the other side of the world, Send Anywhere could be right up your street. Not only is this a free service, it allows you to send files with no maximum file size. Imagine being able to move files between your own devices when you get a new smartphone or laptop. Or perhaps you need to get that finished video over to a teammate for approval. This is no problem, using the simple web-driven interface. There’s even a WiFi Direct feature that allows you to send files without using data or the internet.

Another really cool use-case scenario relates to emails. Many email providers limit the maximum file size you can attach. With Send Anywhere that problem no longer exists, your file is presented to the recipient as a link which they simply click to download the attachment. Imagine that … email attachments with no limits. 

Also worth noting is that you don’t even need to register to use this service. A simple six-digit key is all you need to get started. Did I mention that all file transfer from Send Anywhere are safely encrypted to ensure maximum security as well as privacy? With just six digits, you are ready to send your files anywhere, across mobile devices, desktop and the web.  

Intuit Quickbooks Self Employed is a real time saver for small business and especially sole traders. As a content creator myself, I used to spend hours doing my accounts and really hated it. Now my bank account is linked to Quickbooks, with all my transactions syncing across automatically. Nowadays, I just spend one hour per month reconciling my invoices and receipts. It even allows you to track mileage (another great saving on your tax bill) and invoice your customers too. When tax time comes around, help is at hand here with reports that help you file your tax return. It’s super easy to use and a real time saver.

Google Keep is relatively new to my collections of useful services. This allows you to make quick notes, checklists, audio memos, photos, screenshots and reminders. These are then saved to the cloud and accessible across multiple platforms, for example your Android or iOS smartphone and Windows and MacOS via your web browser.

MailChimp for keeping your customers informed is super powerful and it’s free at certain levels. The most simple explanation of this is an email subscription list service. You get your customers to subscribe to your list, then on a weekly, monthly, quarterly basis (you decide), you can send them an email newsletter. This is very powerful, as you can update them on new services, special offers etc and it keeps you connected to your customer-base. On the free service you can have up to 2,000 subscribers and send a maximum 12,000 emails per month. You can even check how many of your customers actually opened your email newsletter too. 

My wildcard service is indeed one you should definitely have heard of, but often overlooked as a business tool. Making your Instagram a business account, allows you to access very useful analytics about the photos you are sharing. A top tip here is to share photos that are not just trying to sell to your customers every single time. Sharing inspirational photographs, that have some relevance to what you do is important. Of equal importance is adding extra value to your followers (and potential customers). Making them smile once per day will make your company more personable and with clever planning can open many new doors for you.

You can download Send Anywhere here.

*Sponsored post. Opinions remain writer's own.

Bigger or Smaller? The Great Mobile Gaming Debate #AD

The tech world can't seem to make up its mind when it comes to size. Is bigger better or smaller slicker?

The last decade has seen iOS and Android phones grow, but tablets gradually get less bulky. Then when you add to that the advent of wearable tech such as the Smartwatch, you start to see why size is apparently an unresolved issue in the world of mobile technology.

Of course, as end consumers we don't really care which side wins the battle; we just want the best products at the best prices. However, with one side of the industry getting bigger and the other getting smaller, we thought it would be a good idea to weigh up some of the pros and cons on either side using one of the most popular mobile pastimes: gaming.

According to Statista, mobile gaming is raking in $2.6 billion (£1.8 billion) annually thanks to 165 million mobile gamers playing via their smart device for at least seven hours each week. Here in the UK the stats are just as impressive with the mobile gaming market experiencing 21% growth between 2013 and 2015 to achieve a current annual yield of more than £500 million.

With the mobile gaming industry on the up and more people playing games on the go than ever, it makes sense to size up the size debate using this medium.

A Lack of Control

One of the major downsides to Smartwatch gaming is the lack of space for controls. In many circumstances this doesn't matter. Games such as Tennis Racketeering make use of your Android phone's Bluetooth function and the manoeuvrability of a Smartwatch to replicate tennis strokes.

Another area of the gaming world that could benefit from the portability of Smartwatches (and the simple tap and play system) is the casino world. For example, when you look at the roster of games at Pokies.com you'll see that you can play slots such as Starburst Touch "anytime, anywhere".

Playing this game online allows you to spin the reels for a few pence and win cash prizes worth upwards of five-figures; however, thanks to the overall set-up, it means you could just as easily do this on your Smartwatch.

So, while it's true that Smartwatches aren't fantastic for controlling complex games, they do have a place in the gaming world. In fact, if you could spin a slot machine and win thousands of pounds via your Smartwatch we doubt anyone would be complaining about the "lack of control" options.

A Graphical Difference

While controlling certain games might not be an issue for Smartwatch wearers, the graphical interface will be. When you compare Apple's iPhone 6S with the Apple Watch, the screen dimensions and resolutions are markedly different.

The Apple Watch comes in two display sizes (38mm and 42mm) which means you can choose between 340x272 pixels (290 ppi) and 390x312 (302 ppi). Although impressive for such as small device, these stats pale in comparison to the two options you get for the iPhone 6S: 1334x750 (326 ppi) and 1920x1080 (401 ppi).

The difference in size and quality is a major issue for gamers who are constantly demanding more realism. Asphalt 8: Airborne by Gameloft is extremely detailed and playing this game on a Smartwatch just wouldn't work.

In fact, it's this issue that will probably mean the Smartwatch will remain fairly limited in the games it can offer. Simple tap and play apps like slot games, puzzles and shooting games will all work perfectly well on a Smartwatch; however, add a layer or two of complexity and they become virtually useless.

Fortunately, we live in a mobile world of options and gamers won't have to make hard choices anytime soon. If you like more in-depth games then join the action via your phone or tablet. If you want something a little less taxing and a lot more efficient, then try out the latest range of Smartwatch games. Either way there's a size to suit everyone out there.

Written by James Woodhall.  
James is originally from Wales but moved to Manchester a few years ago. There, he studied literature but soon started to develop his interest in technology and gadgets and became a freelance writer. His other hobbies include cricket and house music.

Heartbleed and the different OS Whose Heart Bleeds?

How heartbleed affects the main OS on the market.

Apple

The Open SSL has been deprecated in 2011 by Apple so it is not affected by Heartbleed but they had their own security problem, petnamed "gotoFail“ just weeks before the OpenSSL flaw was made public.

"OpenSSL does not provide a stable API from version to version. For this reason, although OS X provides OpenSSL libraries, the OpenSSL libraries in OS X are deprecated“. [Source]

Android

"Strictly speaking, versions of the Android platform — with the exception of Jelly Bean 4.1 and 4.1.1 — are not themselves vulnerable to Heartbleed because most of them don’t use OpenSSL or do so in a way that the flawed features are disabled by default. But individual apps often use OpenSSL, leaving them open to attack.“ [Source]

Still according to the same source, most of the application does not include usefull data so there is no real threat, except if you log into the app with your social media account (facebook twitter, etc.) or if you login with a password that you use on other account.

To check which Android version is running on your device and take the appropriate action check out this article.

Windows and Windows Server

Microsoft reassured the developer community in a post on technet and states that there OS are not affected by the breach. A blow on Linux server which dominate the market mainly for the security they offer.

"Microsoft Account and Microsoft Azure, along with most Microsoft Services, were not impacted by the OpenSSL vulnerability. Windows’ implementation of SSL/TLS was also not impacted. 

We also want to assure our customers that default configurations of Windows do not include OpenSSL, and are not impacted by this vulnerability.   Windows comes with its own encryption component called Secure Channel (a.k.a. SChannel), which is not susceptible to the Heartbleed vulnerability " [source].

Linux

Linux server representing statistically 67% of the web servers accessible through the internet are the main victim of the OpenSSL breach. An article dated from the 8th of April relates the early moment of the crisis at Red Hat and other Lnux vendors. The article available here gives also recommandation to ensure that the encryption of the data are not compromised. If you are running a linux server and have not taken action yet, this article is a must read.

How did IT department handled the crisis?

IT department were informed and got the corrected version of OpenSSL well before the news was made public as Leon Telander, CTO of BetIT group, explains in this interview. Once the encryption was safe they perform a thorough check of the activities on the server to detect potential breach but were able to determine that the security was not compromised.

What the users should do?

End user shall update as soon as possible their web browsers, as well as their mail client (outlook, thunderbird, etc.). Check with your different services provider if things are patched up. Don’t forget to change your password.

Aftermath

The heartbleed crisis acted as an eye opener and drew attention to lack of funding of the open source project. Tech giants such as Facebook, Google or Amazon, decided to finance a branch of the Linux foundation, the Core Infrastructure Initiative, to fund open source project in need. The first project is off course OpenSSL [source]. It’s good to see competitors collaborate to improve widely used open source tools, acknowledging the efficiency and usefulness of the open source community but recognizing also the needs for support to insure the quality and security of the code.

Android Silver- Perhaps the future of Android

Strange and intriguing news and rumors about Google in the past few weeks. Apparently Google is preparing to come out with it's new Android Silver. This could potentially change the smartphone industry as we know it, not to mention it could just help Androids cause of totally taking over the smartphone market. But just as a disclaimer; there is no guarantee that this is going to be the final product, but I'm pretty confident it will be something like what I'm about to describe, so read along and let’s seen what this lineup would be all about.

About a week and a bit ago Android Police reported that Google is apparently getting ready to launch Android Silver sometime in 2015. It would apparently revolutionize the way we use Android and the way we buy it, so here is what Android Silver would entail: apparently that Android Silver would be a collection of up to 5 Android devices at one time, kind of a " best of the best secret club". I believe that the 5 devices would change when better devices come out and also I believe that OEM devices could also be considered for this club.

Android Silver would be sold in stores and have a special section in the store just for Silver devices. They would all be put on a special table with special branding. The in store employees would require special training on how to sell Silver devices and it would be a very special experience for Silver customers.

In terms of software and hardware, well like I said OEM'S would probably be considered for the club. It would likely be running the latest versions of Android, but apparently they would have little to know comistation. There are even rumors that say that Google will be ditching the Nexus lineup in 2015 in favour of Silver.

Boy oh boy would there be a special loyalty club for Silver users. Not only would they get the special experience in the store but also out of the store. They would have a 24\7 emergency hotline if the device is having issues. Basically think of it as the Amazon maday button but for Google. The user could use Hangouts where a Google representative would be waiting to help them out and fix their issues.

All in all I find this very intriguing, it would make a lot of sense and would be perfect time for Google. It might even reshape the way we think of Google and Android. Even if it is not exactly like what I just described when it comes out, it will still be a fantastic addition to the Android lineup. I hope Google pursues this idea. So what do you think, would you consider buying Silver? As always leave a comment and tell us what you think. Thanks for reading!

Author: Ben Smith - Twitter

The Samsung Galaxy K zoom

Okay so what’s the difference between a camera-phone and a phone that’s a camera? Well Samsung seems to think they found the answer to that question. Yes the Galaxy K zoom, Samsung seems to think that putting an actual camera on a phone is “proactive” I guess you could say. So is it really? Well read along and we’ll find out together.

Announced April 29th 2014 and expected to be released Q2 of 2014, this phone quite literally brand new. Last year’s Galaxy S4 Zoom wasn’t the most popular due to its awkward build and just not needed at the time. But here we find ourselves in 2014 with the likes of the Lumia 1020 and other phones with amazing cameras it comes as no surprise Samsung decided to keep the Zoom lineup. So how do the specs look?
Samsung made this phone to hold its own and it certainly does. An Exynos 5 Hexa system chip is pretty good. Along with a 6-core, 1700 MHz, ARM Cortex-A15 & ARM Cortex-17 processor ( geek talk for pretty fast). Not the fastest phone on the market but again this isn’t meant to be flagship internals. The 8GB built in storage isn’t much; thankfully it does have support for a microSD card slot. The 2430 mAh battery will get you through the day. Plus we have the newest version of Android KitKat 4.4.2 on top of Samsung’s TouchWhiz OS.
 
The display looks to be great. At 4.8 inches it can compete with the best of them. A resolution of 720p and 306ppi isn’t the greatest, but does get the job done. Plus it’s a Super AMOLED which is always looks great on any phone. It feels great in the hand at 7.05 oz (200 g) and it looks like they finally figured put a camera on the back without making it uncomfortable for the user. This brings me to my next point: The camera
At 20.7 megapixels this thing packs a punch. An LED flash does the trick and has all the features in the world, such as; ISO control, face detection, smiles detection, Optical image Stabilization just to name a few. It has a focal length of 24-240mm, now I’m not a camera expert by any means (we’ll leave that for Dave) but I’m thinking that’s pretty good. It also can capture 1080p video recordings and has front facing camera of 2 megapixels, which isn’t that much.
 
So all in all what do I think of this phone? Intriguing is the word I would use. I like the idea; especially in the age of social media cameras are important. It will be interesting to see how this phone sells. I think that even without the best specs, this phone seems to be a viable companion in your pocket for the next two years. Stay tuned to our full review coming soon and as always, be sure to leave a comment and tell us what you think.
 
By: Ben Smith - Twitter

Android 4.1.1 vulnerable to HeartBleed bug

Over the last week we have heard a lot about the HeartBleed bug and for good reason, it’s a serious problem with far reaching potential if not patched in a timely manner. Most of the coverage has been surrounding servers and routers however the problem is more widespread than this and even Android Handsets are vulnerable to the HeartBleed bug. Google announced on Wednesday a full disclosure of how Heartbleed affects it’s services. Google noted that Android version 4.1.1 (Jelly Bean) is in fact vulnerable. Manufacturers should hopefully start releasing updates as Google is distributing a patch to fix the issue.

The problem with HeartBleed on Android 4.1.1 is the sheer number of people that are running this version of the Android Operating system. Although released back in 2012 many users are still using handsets that are incapable of upgrading to the latest Android KitKat and therefore are running the outdated but still functional Jelly Bean version of Android. It’s estimated that over 34% of all Android users are still running Jelly Bean but whether this is 4.1.1 or 4.1.2 is unknown. However a Google spokesperson said that there are currently ‘millions’ of devices at risk and running Android 4.1.1.

If you're worried about your tablet or smartphone the first thing to do is establish which version of Android you are currently running. To find this out simply go to settings > about phone > software information. If you see Android 4.1.1 then you are vulnerable and you should keep an eye out for software updates on your device and also your manufacturers website for more information.

iTunes on Android?

We often say that certain things will never happen such as Apple releasing Android versions of it’s applications, but every now and then we are taken by surprise. One such surprise is the prospect of iTunes being released for Android. iTunes has long been an Apple only product with the exception of the iTunes version for Windows. However that could soon be about to change if recent reports are to be believed.

Currently Apple has iTunes radio which is a free ad-supported service that allows users to listen to music and create stations based on artists, song and genre. It doesn’t however have a streaming service. Apple is reportedly in talks regarding a streaming service like Spotify though it has been stated that talks are in very early stages.

If Apple were to release iTunes for Android it would certainly shake things up. Although Google does have a music service on Android it’s music collection is quite sparse when compared to iTunes due to licensing restrictions in certain countries. Extending the reach of iTunes would give other services such as spotify a run for their money.

Steve Jobs was dead against bringing iTunes to Windows originally and felt the same about Android. However with Tim Cook at the helm it seems anything is possible as he publicly revealed that he has "no religious issues" porting its software over.

I would personally just like to be able to get iTunes radio in the United Kingdom before worrying about on-demand streaming services. What do you think of the idea of iTunes being available on Android handsets? Is this a bold move by Apple or a terrible idea? Let us know what you think in the comments section below.

Flappy Bird to return?

It's now been a month since developer Dong Nguyen took the decision to remove flappy bird from both the App Store and Google Play Store. The move was met with a wave of speculation about the reasons behind the decision ranging from things such as a lawsuit threat from Nintendo and death threats from angry gamers. However the developer continued to stick to his original story about his reasons and stated that it was due to people overusing the game and the amount of criticism and attention he had received as a result of creating flappy bird. Dong was hounded by the media after creating flappy bird and was apparently overwhelmed with the amount of requests from press organizations.

Not long after flappy bird was taken down a plethora of copycat apps flooded the App Store and Google Play with developers trying to cash in on the success of flappy bird including myself, though mine was more for fun and I didn’t try to monetize it either. Apple and Google have since taken action and are removing some of these apps that are either too similar or use the word ‘flappy’ in the title, that being said there are still a large number of these available to download in each store.

Just as we were all beginning to move on and forget about flappy bird and the news coverage had all but died a death, Flappy Bird is again back in the limelight after the magazine Rolling Stone managed to bag an interview with the 28 year old Vietnam developer. The interview is very interesting and talks about the reasons for creating flappy bird and the inspirations behind the app as well as revealing that Dong is considering re-releasing the app again but this time it would include a warning about safety and not over playing the game and the importance of taking regular breaks (sounds more like long distance driving advice) whether or not this comes to fruition remains to be seen and we have to question whether anybody really cares whether or not the app makes a return. The world of technology and apps moves very quickly and what is hot one week may not necessarily be hot the next. Personally I think flappy bird has flown the nest and that’s where it should be left, if Dong Nguyen decided to release a new game though that would be a different matter.

“Aggressively priced” Nexus TV to launch in the first half of next year, report says

A new report says that Google will launch an Android-running Nexus TV set-top box at some point in the first half of 2014, with the device expected to be “aggressively priced.”

According to The Information, The Google Nexus TV would stream video from various sources including Netflix, Hulu and YouTube and sort-of act as a video games console as well. The Nexus TV could also come with a touchpad remote, although we would imagine that it would work with Android devices as well. At this time it’s not clear how everything would work, but it looks like the company has been showing the set-top box to developers as recently as this fall...

Read the full story here... Source: Android Authority

Moto X Cyber Monday deal on hold as MotoMaker website goes down

One of the most interesting Cyber Monday deals out there was the $349 off-contract Moto X offer announced by Motorola a few days ago, but interested customers were not able to complete their purchases as the company’s MotoMaker website caved under traffic pressure...

Read the full story here... Source: Android Authority 

Android Cyber Monday 2013 deals roundup

Today is Cyber Monday, the day when Americans return to their jobs after a few days of family time, overeating, football, and, of course, deals-fueled shopping.

And what better way to get back into working shape than with some more deals? That’s the gist of Cyber Monday, and we’re here to fuel your gadget deals addiction with some handpicked Android deals. We have tablets, smartphones, and apps...

Read the full story here... Source: Android Authority