Shokz, recently rebranded from AfterShokz, has long been known to produce some of the best sports headphones. It’s unfair to put these in the same category as the AirPods Pro or Bose headphones simply because there are two very different categories of headphones that each provide unique and different benefits.

The OpenRun Pro Bone Conduction headphones use vibrations on your cheekbones rather than traditional speakers to conduct sound to you. This means your ears are still completely open for normal conversation: Hearing your surroundings during a bike ride, or playing a pickup match of basketball. This new model has improved bass and a quick charge feature to make them better than the previous AfterShokz Aeroxex model.

The upgraded model looks nearly identical to the old Aeropex, which may or may not be good depending on your taste. Personally, I would have preferred a new, thinner redesign to make the new models feel more premium and robust. Lets take a deeper look at the pair.

Why Care About Bone Conduction?

After a month with the headset, we can say they are a permanent addition to our workouts. I always disliked the way AirPods Pro felt after a workout and the mild discomfort any on-ear pair provided while on a bicycle ride. Bone conduction headphones allow me to listen to music while also keeping an ear on the baby monitor or having a conversation with my wife. It allows me to be at the gym with a friend and have a full conversation while also listening to some great bass-filled music.

The headphones’ purity of sound lacks true highs and the bass often felt too “weird” for me to max it out, however. 50% bass felt much better and did not have a weird sensation to it anymore. I would have preferred more voice and sound quality over bass. It may be my own thoughts, but when I had my wife try them she also complained that the bass needed to be lowered as the conduction felt strange for her as well. It takes some getting used to, and at max volume you can hear the music others are listening to so noise bleed is also an issue. Couple this together and you’ll likely never be using these at max volume unless you are riding a bike on a path and you need to beat the wind noise.

With Bluetooth 5.1 and a 9-hour battery life in our testing, the headphones are incredible for travel and for anytime you walk out the door. I wish they were easier to fold into a more compact state of my choosing, however, they only fold into one shape that fits perfectly in its carrying case.

Comfort and Reliability

The case itself feels very sturdy and protective. It doesn’t fit as well in your pockets like a pair of AirPods Pro or Raycons, but they fit in any gym bag or purse rather well. Included in the packaging is a single magnetic charger which I do not like. Thankfully, there is a spot for the cable in the carrying case, but if you lose the cable you need to buy a spare from Shokz when it could have just been USB-C for this price point. There is no reason for this proprietary cable as it doesn’t affect waterproofing or charge times.

Typical neckband earphones are identical to the OpenRun Pros in feel without the weird ear plugs and earbud shapes we all love to hate. They just work every time without the need to clean them or do much hassling.

They snug up against your head in seconds – and boom – you are off listening to your favorite podcast (I recommend Armchair Expert). I used them for an average of two hours when working out and had zero complaints for how they felt. They are light and you barely notice them, the band feels strong, and it always returns to its original shape. Their feel could be described as wearing a very light pair of sunglasses.

How They Sound?

Bone conduction headphones will not reproduce studio quality sound with every single nuance – it is not the point. The human ear just has to be used to experience what this technology feels like, and it was a very interesting first experience for me. At first, it felt uncomfortable and unnatural. I did not like the way the bass pounding felt. After some tweaking, the sweet spot for me is around 50% volume with half the bass.

TurboPitch Technology in the OpenRun Pros add two bass enhances which leads to its “punchy” feeling some may want from every pair they own. I could personally do without it but its nice to know it’s there. Hip Hop with extreme bass wasn’t the play for these; I had more fun with Indie and other genres that focus on vocals and instrumentals.

Surprisingly so, mid-range music is extremely well-balanced. I was finally sold me on the bone conduction tech when I first played M.Ward’s Chinese Translation using the OpenRun Pros while out for an afternoon walk. The vocals and lead instruments sound clear and accurate. Bass and treble were highly inconsistent when I tried listening to Drake’s Passionfruit as the nuance and treble delivery weren’t top notch. That’s not to say the music didn’t sound good – it does – it just does not “hit” the same as a full bass, noise canceled, thumping bop can on another headphones pair designed for that purpose. Previously, I always needed to use one earpiece in at a time to talk to someone or hear my surroundings, but don’t need to worry about this with the OpenRun Pro.

Controlling the device is very easy with its Bluetooth 5.1 connectivity. There is a multi-function device on the left that helps you control your playback. The right side has a + and – button for volume controls. There are clear-to-understand voice prompts for when the device is on, paired, and needs a charge. The multi-function button is extremely easy to use and a nice addition. A single press plays and pauses audio, double skips to the next track, triple skips back a track, and pressing and holding the button opens your voice assistant.

The device itself has multi-device pairing in the app. Quick charging is great and in testing I got easily an hour worth of charge in less than 5 minutes.

As mentioned, noise leaking does occur. So others can and will hear your audio anywhere above 50%, and the isolation is quite poor since they aren’t in your ears. This is the biggest concern for potential buyers in our eyes. If audio leakage and isolation are your thing, look elsewhere.

Final Thoughts

I highly recommend the Shokz OpenRun headphones above all others in the sports category for multiple reasons. They are very secure and cause no issues with helmets or hats. Quality, battery life with quick charge, comfort, and ease of use make the OpenRun Pro easy to recommend. It’s likely you already have another pair of headphones you use to drown out the world and enjoy music. Everything has its purpose. I always seek out a high quality audio experience and I listen to an eclectic range of music and the OpenRun Pro does really well for their small package.

Think about your listening habits when biking around a trail or when doing physical activities such as sports or being at the gym with friends. If you are like me, you typically don’t like anything big and bulky or uncomfortable once the sweat comes on, and you dislike only having half the audio with one earpiece off.

Safety and hearing your surroundings aside, the OpenRun Pros shocked me in a good way. I would have never considered bone conduction headphones prior to this review and when I am asked about them, people are often very surprised at how good the technology is. While it has its obvious downsides, I do not hesitate recommending these to anyone looking for their permanent workout headphones at a reasonable price.

Using bone conduction, the OpenRun Pro Headphones are the best long-lasting sports headphones available even if they don’t offer much flair and the audiophiles won’t be satisfied.

Yet, as gaming has matured, Goosebumps entries have continued to disappoint. Cosmic Forces has released Goosebumps: Dead of Night with Jack Black reprising his role from recent movies. The horror game has a similar premise to some of the movies where R.L. Stines’s creations have come to life to terrorize you. Let’s take a look at how this game capitalizes on reimagining this great series.

A Goosebumps game? The story is an easy win

Categorized as a “family-friendly” horror game, Goosebumps: Dead of Night is sadly geared to a very young crowd. That should be fine in most cases as the series has sold more than 400 million copies, spawned a television series, and several successful movies that I enjoyed. Just like those movie entries with Jack Black as a lead, I prepared myself to go in not expecting award-winning horror, but instead a nice Goosebumps-flavored experience that utilizes recognizable and iconic characters in unique and interesting gameplay.

Goosebumps: Dead of Night features Slappy the Dummy unleashing Stines’ nightmares into the world. Your job, with the help of Stine (Jack Black), is to fight through Slappy’s nefarious designs and put the monsters back where they belong. Reimagined from the mobile/VR game, Goosebumps: Night of Scares, ‘Dead of Night’, it comes with some added features and expanded content.

I expected to be spooked a bit! This is Goosebumps after all, where the click of a camera could lead to death or a cuckoo clock can turn the hands of time. Sadly, some terrible design choices and a lack of quality we expect from the series that made Dead of Night failed to hit the mark for me. The game quickly feels cumbersome, repetitive, and underdeveloped. However, there were some great cinematics throughout and memorable moments. The best part of the game comes from the narration by Jack Black as his usual eccentric and engrossing personality comes out nicely as the game progresses. Slappy and the monsters he brings to life are nefarious and great to interact with – or really better to try to avoid interacting with them or you risk a game over screen.

Narration and story progression quickly became the main motivation for continuing the game when it should have been the gameplay. There is an obvious lack of depth by catering toward a young audience, but at the same time, some elements may be hard to recommend to parents with young children.

Gameplay

Twist, your playable character, gets occasional help from characters like Dr. Brewer, Stine himself, and Nikola Tesla through three levels, and it has a very basic gameplay formula that feels like it is stuck on mobile. Jumpscares occur frequently and some terrible controls often force you to crouch walk to even progress as there are often roaming creatures that force you to hide – under a bed, in a closet, in a bathtub – over-and-over again. Patience begins to wear thin as you will just want to progress the semi-interesting plot but are often forced to wade through these repetitive sections.

Nostalgia is very strong and I was looking forward to this entry. We were offered a review key for Nintendo Switch from Cosmic Forces, and the game performs well enough with only one severe drop in frames at one section of the game. However, Dead of Night fails to scare or engage. Fans of the series will be able to recognize all of the characters and have fun if they are very young. Even so, I find it hard to discern what age group is appropriate for this game. I think anyone over 10-11 should probably be OK, however, there are some scary scenes that may end with you being stalked by a clown called Murder or stung to death by bees.

Anyone older than 10-11 should surely be expecting interesting scares like this – at least I was at that age. The narrative is fantastic throughout, but half-baked visuals, a lack of interesting collectibles, and easy puzzles make this entry hard to recommend for an older crowd. The game is simply too easy, not scary enough, and hard to recommend other than to a specific age group.

There are many puzzles throughout the game, and after the 1st level, it becomes much more puzzle-solving than horror. The third level is the best where you shoot giant gummy bears inside a giant factory from Nikola Tesla. The game lasts maybe 2-4 hours maximum, and for $40 dollars this is a very hard sell unless your children absolutely love the series. We think it is highly overpriced.

Sound, Music, and Voice

Like like with the Goosebumps movies, we would highly recommend entering this game with limited expectations. Some cutscenes are high-quality and Jack Black keeps things interesting if you can slog through some other very cumbersome sections.

The music and the voice acting is great throughout. The atmosphere is perfect and the developers successfully set the right tone throughout the game. R.L Stines’ writing is captivating because of its tone set and because of the characters that eventually became visualized through the media it has spawned. With more budget and a much more modern take on how a horror game should be built, a Goosebumps game could easily be a smash hit.

Buy, Pass, or wait for a Sale?

Simply put, developer Cosmic Forces captures the essence of the Goosebumps series but fails to develop a compelling game for most age groups. At 2-3 hours, the game needed more love if so little content is going to be made – especially at the $40 dollar price tag. I see the passion that developers put into this game, especially with the narrative progression, music, and use of source material. Fans will enjoy most moments as long as they do not mind part of the journey to get there.

Some of the classic monsters from the best-selling Goosebumps series have been unleashed, and they are hungry. Avoid them at all costs, or they may scare you to death. Isn’t that a great premise!? However, I must warn you to avoid Goosebumps: Dead of Night for $40 and wait for a sale.

It is a great experience especially with family members who are not gamers. The most fun I had was letting my wife and sister play, and since the controls are simple enough, they enjoyed the game. Critical eyes will come away disappointed but fans may love being able to interact in this world. We recommend waiting for a deep discount on sale, then this game will be easily recommendable especially with Jack Black attached.

Goosebumps: Dead of Night is available now on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation, Xbox One, and Steam for $39.99.

Kingston sent BTR six of their Canvas Plus cards to use and test a month ago, and this is the review. Since then, we have taken more pictures and shot more 4K video in the past 2 weeks than we have captured during the past two years. Besides comparing and benchmarking these cards, we explored additional uses for these Kingston SD cards including for storage; comparing their speeds against regular USB 3.1 flash drives and SSDs, and their storage uses in smartphones and in Shield TV (2019).

We do not pretend to be a photographer, and we purchased a Nikon B700 Coolpix camera specifically because it can focus down to 1 cm, perfect for capturing images through the lens of a VR headset.

Our Nikon B700 is capable of capturing 4K/30 FPS Ultra HD (3440×2160) MP4 video, Full HD video at 1920×1080 at 60 FPS, or 120 FPS at 640P, and it can capture continuously capture up to 5 images at 5 FPS even at its top 5184×3888 resolution in the jpeg format (~10MB) or even RAW (NRW 32MB) images. However, we never gave much thought to using it other than as a point and shoot camera, and we never really considered which SD cards to use other than Class 10.

Over the past weeks in isolation due to COVID-19, and especially since we received the Kingston Canvas Plus cards, we have been taking extended walks bringing our camera with us. We live in a very rural area of the Southern California high desert where all of our neighbors live on 3 or 5 acre plots, and social distancing is naturally built in. Nature surrounds us and we enjoy capturing and sharing our pictures.

Until now, we never realized the importance of an SD card’s speed, and early Class 10 SD cards (~45MB/s) would cause our camera to slow to a painful crawl when shooting continuously in burst mode after the camera’s buffer filled completely after about 3 to 5 shots. When we upgraded to a Team Group SDcard (80MB/s), we noticed that burst mode became more efficient although we still would drop some frames when shooting 4K/30 FPS video.

We will share our experiences with all three Kingston classes of Canvas Plus microSD/SD cards, from the budget Select Plus, to the faster Go Plus UHS-I, to the top of the line blazing-fast React Plus UHS-II cards for pros. And in each case, we are going to compare and benchmark the SD cards with their comparable microSD cards. On top of this, we are going to use our SDcards as storage, and will compare with a 240GB Team Group PD400 external USB 3.1 SSD, and versus a 64MB SanDisk Extreme Go as well as against NVIDIA’s GeForce GTX limited edition 32GB USB 3.1 flash drives.

A Closer Look at the Kingston Canvas SD and microSD cards

In this time of economic uncertainty, it’s very important to choose the right card for your needs. There is no need to always buy the fastest cards as they are usually significantly more expensive. Although there is no disadvantage to using a faster card than what your camera can take advantage of, there’s no need to spend more money on a 300MB/s Canvas React Plus SD card if you are just capturing 1080P video, for example. Here is Kingston’s Canvas Plus Lineup compared:

• React Plus The SD and microSD are UHS-II and are for the newest and fastest cameras that were created for industry pros shooting in 4K and 8K video with speeds around 300MB/s Read and 260MB/s Write. The microSD React Plus is slower than the SD React Plus, but it supports A1 app performance for smartphones and tablets. We tried these cards with our Nikon B700 but mostly benchmarked them.
• Go Plus These SD and microSD cards are great for 4K and burst photography with speeds of 170MB/s Read and 90MB Write, and they support UHS-I speed class video 30. The microSD card supports A2 app performance. The Go Plus is the SD card that we mostly use in our Nikon B700, and it’s the microSD card that we installed in our SHIELD TV to expand its storage from 8GB to 128GB.
• Select Plus These SD and microSD cards are excellent for 1080P and 4K photography with speeds up to 100MB/s Read speeds. We also tested them in our Nikon B700.

The Kingston USB 3.1 readers that are included with the React Plus SD and microSD cards are UHS-II and very fast – with data transfer rates up to 312MB/s – and these are what we use to benchmark all of our SD and microSD cards. We’ll start with the basic Canvas Select Plus cards and work our way to the top cards. All of the Kingston Canvas Plus cards come in blister packs, and each card is covered by Kingston’s lifetime warranty and superb customer support.

Canvas Select Plus

These Canvas Select Plus SD cards and microSD cards are excellent for recording 1080P HD video and for capturing 4K images. With speeds up to 100MB/s Read speeds, the SD card can be found in 32GB/64GB/128GB/256GB/512GB sizes that range in cost from $7.99 to $119.99. We tested them in our Nikon B700 and found them perfect for burst shots as well as for full HD 1080P video recording.

The microSD Canvas Select Plus share the same specs and come in 16GB/32GB/64GB/128GB/256GB/512GB sizes, and they range in cost from $4.99 to $110.99, depending on capacity. They can often be found on sale at Amazon, B&H Photo, Walmart and at other retailers or online.

An advantage to using a Select Plus microSD card is that it may be used in a SD card slot with its included adapter with no performance penalty. Both cards worked fine in our Nikon B700 and we found them perfect for burst shots as well as for full HD 1080P video recording and even for 4K/30 FPS, although for 4K/60 FPS we would pick the Canvas Go Plus cards.

Canvas Go Plus

These Canvas Select Go SD cards and microSD cards are excellent for Ultra HD burst shots and for capturing 4K/60 FPS video. With speeds up to 170MB/s Read speeds and 70MB/s Write, the SD cards can be found in 64GB/128GB/256GB/512GB sizes that range in cost from $15.60 to $169.00. We tested them in our Nikon B700 and found them perfect for everything we did, and we suspect that they are faster than anything that our camera can use.

The microSD Canvas Go cards share exactly the same specs and the same 64GB/128GB/256GB/512GB sizes as the Go plus SD cards, and they are priced the same and also range in cost from $15.60 to $169.00, depending on capacity. You can buy them from the Kingston store or sometimes on sale at Amazon, B&H Photo, Walmart and at other retailers or online.

Now we are going to take a look at what proved to be total overkill for our needs and for our Nikon B700, the top of the line Canvas React Plus.

Canvas React Plus

The Canvas React Plus SD and microSD cards are UHS-II, and are for the newest and fastest cameras that were created for industry pros shooting in 4K and 8K video with speeds around 300MB/s. The React Plus SD card comes in 32GB/64GB/128GB/256GB sizes which range from $37.70 to $266.50. Its Read speed is 300MB/s and Write is 260MB/s.

The Canvas React Plus microSD is slower (285MB Read/165MB/s Write) than the React Plus SD card (300/260MB/s), but it supports A1 app performance for smartphones and tablets. It does not come in the 32MB capacity like the SD card, but is available in 64GB/128GB/256GB capacities that range from $62.40 for the 6GMB card to $221.00 for the 256GB card. Both of these cards may occasionally be found at a discount at the best retailers and from online stores.

We tried both of these cards with our Nikon B700 but found them to be totally overkill, and we did not find any practical differences using the Canvas React Plus over the Canvas Go Plus.

Our camera is too slow to take advantage of the faster React Plus speeds. So we resorted to synthetic benchmarking to verify Kingston’s speed claims. The Kingston USB 3.1 readers that are included with both the React Plus SD and microSD cards meet the fastest UHS-II specifications with data transfer rates up to 312MB/s.

Benchmarking Kingston’s Canvas Select Plus Lineup

To test Kingston’s speeds we used three disk benchmarking tools: Crystal Disk Mark, Sisoft’s Sandra 2020, and AIDA64.

Again, we have confirmation of Kingston’s claims with a lot more details, and we can see where each card differs from the other.

Next we are going to look at storage uses for SD and microSD cards, including using them as a flash drive, versus a SSD, and also as additional storage for Shield TV (2019).

Shield TV (2019) Storage Expansion

The 2019 basic version of Shield TV differs from earlier versions in that it comes with only 8GB of internal storage which is quite limited. However, it is very easy to add additional storage by using a microSD card with up to 512GB capacity. In our case, we use the Canvas Go Plus 128GB card.

Simply unplug the HDMI connector and insert the microSD card as shown in the image above. Make sure it is fully inserted until it clicks and then reconnect to the TV and turn it on. When you see the on screen notification about new storage, follow the prompts to format the card for use as additional storage. If you don’t see the prompts, go into Shield’s settings and then notifications, and tap to set up storage.

If the Shield prompts ask you to move content from the internal memory to the card, do so. We expanded the internal memory from 8GB to 128GB, and the total time it took us was about 2 to 3 minutes from start to finish.

Next, we are going to compare the performance of using Kingston’s microSD and SD Canvas Plus cards as USB 3.1 flash storage to traditional fast USB 3.1 flash drives and also versus Team Group’s 256GB external PD400 USB 3.1 SSD.

Using Canvas Select Plus Cards as Flash Drive Storage

It is possible to use the Canvas Plus microSD and SD cards as flash drives using USB adapters. We use the UHS-II Kingston USB 3.1 readers that are included with the React Plus SD and microSD kits, with data transfer rates up to 312MB/s – and these adapters are what we use to benchmark all of our SD and microSD cards.

We are going to repeat our synthetic benchmark charts from earlier with the addition of NVIDIA’s very fast limited edition of their 32GB GeForce USB 3.1 flash drive, a 64GB SanDisk Extreme Go USB 3.1 flash drive, and also compared with the performance of Team Group’s 256GB PD400 external USB 3.1 SSD.

It is possible to use a SD/microSD card with a USB 3.1 adapter for storage, and their speeds will rival fast flash drives although they will not be able to approach overall external USB 3.1 SSD speeds. SD and microSD cards are ideally suited for use in cameras, smartphones, and as additional internal storage for devices like Shield TV. Let’s head to our conclusion.

Conclusion

We really enjoyed our two weeks spent evaluating all six Kingston Canvas Plus SD and microSD cards, and we are now using the Canvas Go Plus SD card in our Nikon B700 for all of our image and video captures. We have also expanded the storage of our Shield TV from 8GB to 128GB using the Canvas Go Plus microSD card which bring us a lot more enjoyment now. The other 4 cards have found uses as large capacity and fast flash drives for quickly moving files between our 3 PCs.

Best of all, we have gained a new appreciation of taking pictures of the nature that surrounds us, and our previously short 20 minute walks now take up to an hour as we look for new flowers and watch for the animals that we were previously unaware of. Using the Canvas Go Plus SD card allows us to take an almost unlimited number of burst shots that we could only dream of before, and we can capture action sequence shots now.

The important thing to remember when choosing a microSD or SD card is to match its speed to your use needs. The highest speed 300MB/s cards are quite expensive and they can be a waste of money for only capturing 4K images and HD 1080P video.

We give Kingston’s entire Canvas Plus SD/microSD lineup BTR’s “Highly Recommended” Award for their excellent cards which are quite price competitive, and also in view of their lifetime warranty and superb support.

I hope our readers enjoy the following images that we captured over the past two weeks in our local high desert area. Next up, Pixel Ripped 1995, an upcoming VR game that will be reviewed and posted on Wednesday.

We received a Nuclelum 7-in-1 USB Type-C hub from Kingston for review and we found it to be an innovative product that gives any power-user more flexibility although it is primarily aimed at newer MacBooks and at notebooks with few ports. The Latin definition of nūcleum is the “accusative singular of nūcleus“, which implies that this device will become the center of your life as it gives anyone with a USB Type-C port far more flexibility and productivity by providing 7 additional ports that may be used simultaneously.

We first previewed the Nucleum at Kingston’s off CES private exhibit. We loved the idea of using our desktop’s unused Type-C USB port to add two additional USB 3.0 ports although it appeared to us that Kingston may have considered our idea to be unusual. The reason we have so few open USB ports is because our 3-sensor Oculus Rift set-up alone requires 4 USB ports! And using a USB mouse and a USB keyboard means that we have only one extra available USB port from our EVGA Z370 FTW motherboard’s panel. We regularly use a USB racing wheel, a USB adapter for our SD cards, and a USB 3.0 SSD/HDD dock, which means that even the two ‘extra’ ports on our EVGA DG-77 case are used.

Ejecting a device to use another is an intolerable situation for a desktop user and it is often far worse for notebooks that have less ports available. Nucleum is an ideal hub for newer MacBooks as it provides extra USB-C and USB-A ports as well as HDMI and SD/microSD card slots.

Kingston’s Nucleum handles the usual accessories users have such as mice, keyboards, SD cards, Type-A charging ports, and even a second monitor if the PC supports it. Best of all, all seven ports can be engaged at the same time over Type-C USB as it offers plenty of bandwidth. And a feature that we did not try is that Nucleum users can power a MacBook while simultaneously running an external drive and charging an iPhone.

We tried to run an external display from HDMI through the Nucleum, but Windows doesn’t have generic drivers for a desktop PC to set it up, and the additional display was not detected. Most Type-C equipped notebooks and MacBooks should have no issue detecting an external HDMI display which would make the Nucleum ideal for video editing on the go.

A Nucleum-equipped traveler can easily plug in an SD card and use a USB mouse to edit photos and video. Best of all, the images can be viewed on a hotel room’s big TV screen using an HDMI cable. In addition, a traveler can charge his iPhone and MacBook. We are looking forward to taking the Nucleum with us when we travel next month!

Kingston’s Nucleum works with PC and Mac computers equipped with USB Type-C ports. It is supported in Windows 7, 8/8.1, 10, Mac OSX 10.9 and later, Linux 2.6.x and later, and Chrome OS. In addition, it supports a power pass-through to charge a MacBook battery and some other smartphones, while utilizing all its ports by attaching a power adapter to the Nucleum’s USB Type-C power port (AC plug symbol – image above). Its separate Type-C port (USB trident symbol – image below) is used for data transfers only.

Of course, there are other USB Type-C hubs on the market, so Kingston distinguishes the Nucleum by offering a 2-year warranty, and by guarding against electromagnetic interference (EMF). EMI sometimes occurs between USB 3.0 ports and Wi-Fi devices which means wireless mice and keyboards may be negatively impacted, exhibiting stutter and lag.

EMI on the Nucleum is mitigated due to its shielding and unique port placement and we never noticed any interference while using our wireless devices. Shielding was placed on the Nucleum’s USB ports, and the layout for both USB Type A and C are opposite of each other instead of side-by-side. This placement reduces the potential for EMI, and also allows greater space between the ports to help account for plugs and power adapters of different sizes. We appreciate this because our 64 GB NVIDIA flash drive is too wide for normal USB port spacing.

The Nucleum Features & Specifications

Here are the features and specifications from Kingston’s site:

Nucleum Features and Specifications :

• More pixels: Need to work on something larger? We’ve added 4K HDMI output to your new notebook.
• Power pass through: Get more juice for your iPhone^®, Bluetooth headphones, and other devices
• Fill it up: Want to use all your connected devices at once? No problem, plug everything in and get creating!
• Portable: The convenient size means you can bring the USB-C hub wherever you need it.
• Creation station: Shoot, ingest and edit your footage wherever you are using the SD and microSD slots.
• Made to match: Nucleum is designed to complement your new MacBook.
• Multiport adapter: No need to carry around multiple dongles to connect your devices.
• Product Dimensions (without cable): 127mm x 45mm x 14.2mm (5″ x 1.77″ x .56″)
• Product Dimensions (with cable): 276.4mm x 45mm x 14.2mm (10.88″ x 1.77″ x .56″)
• Weight: 92.4g (3.2 oz.)

Unboxing the Kingston Nucleum

The Kingston Nucleum arrives in a small box with everything you need.

The other side of the box explains its purpose and here are the inside packaging and contents.

There are no instructions included in the package but the user is directed to Kingston’s website.

Installation is easy and there are no drivers to install – just plug it into a Type-C USB port on your PC. The Nucleum is a small 3.2 ounce device in black and silver which is obviously designed to match MacBook design, but it looks great attached to any PC.

Installing the Nucleum

Just plug it into a Type-C USB port. Two of the Oculus Rift’s sensors are plugged into the Nucleum freeing up two USB ports on our motherboard. Mission accomplished!

We wish that we could say that it was a completely issue-free installation. The Oculus Rift is notoriously finicky with USB ports – they cannot all be on the same channel and two of the devices must be USB 2.0. So we had to use 1 USB 2.0 Sensor and 1 USB 3.0 Sensor on the Nucleum to get it to work, and it was trial and error to see which 2 sensors could be plugged into the device simultaneously while not causing hardware errors. In the end, we now have flawless tracking with our Oculus Rift’s 3-sensor setup and we have freed up two USB ports for other devices by using the Nucleum.

Bandwidth over Type-C USB is incredible and it allows all 7 ports to be used simultaneously. Any compatible device that is plugged in is recognized immediately by Windows and simultaneous transfers are simple and easy.

In addition, we find the Nucleum to be extremely useful for transferring images and data from our SD and microSD cards. We haven’t yet used it for travel or for charging, but we will definitely take it with us when we attend NVIDIA’s GTC next month. We haven’t had any issues with EMI or stuttering with any of our wireless devices and we appreciate the extra engineering that Kingston has put into this product.

Conclusion

The Kingston Nucleum is available for $79.95. Although it is clearly aimed at MacBook owners with its sleek silver and black design, we found a real practical use for it as a desktop device in freeing up two USB ports and making it easy to transfer images and data from our SD and micro-SD cards. And we are looking forward to traveling with the Nucleum as notebooks never seem to have enough ports available for using multiple devices.

Although there are other Type-C hubs available, Kingston has engineered it to work without EMI issues, and they give their Nucleum customers a 2-year warranty. In addition, Kingston offers a customer telephone hotline staffed with incredibly helpful tech support people.

We like this innovative product so much that we gave the Kingston Nucleum, BTR’s Innovation Award. Recommended!

Stay tuned, next up we are going to evaluate the $99 Team Group 480 GB SSD and we’ll post a full review later this week.

Happy Gaming!

]]> https://babeltechreviews.com/nvidias-mobile-pascal-line-matches-desktop-counterparts-performance/ Tue, 16 Aug 2016 03:59:33 +0000 /?p=4184 Read more]]> In a first for what Nvidia considers the most important platform, Nvidia’s mobile Pascal lineup no longer carries the “M” or mobile designation as their new GTX 1080, GTX 1070 and GTX 1060 GPUs for the notebook market are just as fast as their desktop counterparts.

Nvidia points to the sales growth of both the XBox One and the PS 4 with their approximately 4% annual sales growth, and points out that gaming notebooks are growing at a 30% rate with an installed base of 20 million currently. They also point to the gaming superiority of the PC platform over the consoles especially for virtual reality (VR).

So Nvidia has introduced their new Pascal lineup of notebooks with a claimed up to 75% improvement over Maxwell notebooks. Best of all, the Pascal notebooks are all “VR ready” – just plug in the headset, and the display lights up. The Pascal gaming notebooks will start at $1300 for a GTX 1060 and go up from there, with even SLI as an option for GTX 1080 and GTX 1070-equipped notebooks.

Besides an up to 75% improvement in performance, Nvidia points to up to three times higher overclocks with Pascal notebooks over Maxwell notebooks. This overclocking will be enabled by the notebook OEMs, some of whom will overclock the GPUs similarly to the way Nvidia’s partners offer pre-overclocked desktop video cards.

Nvidia says that the new GPUs and their corresponding supporting platforms have had their electrical systems completely reworked to provide cleaner power with improved analog circuit design for higher performance. In a first for notebooks, they now offer Dual FET power supplies with increased efficiency.

Long an irritation because of relatively short battery life for gaming, Pascal notebooks now offer up to 30% overall improvement to battery life. This means that the Pascal GPU is far more power efficient than Maxwell with considerably lower power requirements than desktop chips which are partly accomplished by careful binning.

The Battery Boost is an application found in a notebook’s GeForce Experience (GFE) that can be custom configured to give maximum battery life, partly by setting the max frame rate for battery-powered gaming (from 30 to 60 fps) so that any extra frame rates will translate to longer battery life. And settings can also be custom configured similarly to conserve the battery reserve.

SPECIFICATIONS

The Pascal GPUs found within these notebooks are said to give within 10% of the performance of their desktop equivalent, to actually being slightly faster. The specifications are impressive.

Taking the GTX 1070 for notebooks as an example, Nvidia has increased the CUDA core amount slightly and also increased the GPU Boost 3.0 to match the desktop 1070, and all with lower power usage and greater efficiency. The amount and configuration of the memory remains the same for the notebook and the desktop platforms.

FEATURES

The new Pascal notebooks support the same features as the Pascal desktop GPUs. They are all part of the GeForce “10” family. Nvidia sums up Pascal’s features as being “the Perfect 10”; this being the GeForce ten series beginning with the release of the GTX 1080, and now, culminating with the release for the notebook platform.

Nvidia has engineered the Pascal architecture to handle the demanding computing and gaming needs of technologies like VR. It incorporates several new technologies:

• Next-Gen GPU Architecture. Pascal is optimized for performance per watt. The GTX 10 series notebook GPUs as well as the desktop GTX 1080/1070/1060/TITAN X are about 3x more power efficient than the Maxwell Architecture.
• 16nm FinFET Process. The 10 series notebooks, the TITAN X, the GTX 1080, the GTX 1070, and the GTX 1060 are designed for the 16nm FinFET process, which uses smaller, faster transistors that are packed together more densely to deliver a significant increase in performance and efficiency.
• Advanced Memory. The GTX 1080 notebook uses the fastest available GDDR5X memory at 10000MHz while the GTX 1070 uses 8GB of GDDR5 memory and the GTX 1060 is equipped with 6GB.
• Superb Craftsmanship. Increases in bandwidth and power efficiency allow the GeForce 10 notebooks to run at really high clock speeds. New to Pascal is asynchronous compute. And new GPU Boost 3 technology supports advanced overclocking functions.
• Groundbreaking Gaming Technology. New VRWorks software features let game developers bring more immersion to VR gaming environments. And Nvidia’s Ansel technology lets gamers share their gaming experiences and explore gaming worlds in new ways.
• All Pascal GPUs feature an all-new SMP Engine which is located within the PolyMorph Engine. With this feature, the GPU can simultaneously map a single primitive on up to sixteen different projections from the same viewpoint. It allows Pascal GPUs to accurately match the curved projection required for VR displays and other emerging display use cases. In extreme cases, the SMP Engine can reduce the amount of required geometry work by up to 32x!

The next generation of games will not only look better but run faster on the GeForce 10 Pascal notebooks than on previous generations. Nvidia has developed a number of advancements for virtual reality – reducing latency, improving image quality, and bringing a whole range of new content to Virtual Reality all of which are available to GeForce 10 mobile gamers.

G-SYNC and Ansel

G-SYNC is an important technology that BTR will be covering in a future article as we finally have our own G-SYNC-equipped WQHD 34″ ACER Predator display that we have recently received from Nvidia. It allows the display to be synchronized with the GPU to produce smooth and tear-free frame rates, and once you use it, you cannot go back easily to a non-G-SYNC display. These new Pascal notebooks support G-SYNC and they will be available on more models. In fact, 120Hz G-SYNC notebooks are being offered for the first time, and 2560×1440 notebook displays will be an option also.

Nvidia also announced Ansel, a powerful game capture tool that allows notebook gamers to explore, capture, and share the artistry of gaming in radical new ways.

With Ansel, gamers can compose the gameplay shots by pointing the camera in any direction and from any vantage point within a gaming world allowed by the devs. They can capture screenshots at up to 32x screen resolution, and then zoom into a chosen location without losing fidelity. With photo-filters, they can add many different effects in real time before taking their shot, or process them afterward. They can even capture 360-degree stereo photospheres for viewing with a VR headset or with Google Cardboard.

Ansel will be available in upcoming releases and by game patches such as Tom Clancy’s The Division, The Witness, Lawbreakers, The Witcher 3, Paragon, No Man’s Sky, Obduction, Fortnite and Unreal Tournament. And these features are available to Pascal notebook gamers!

Availability

Nvidia says this is the biggest launch of mobile gaming notebooks in their history. Look for many of their partners and for most of the notebook OEMs to be launching these Pascal notebooks immediately and over the coming weeks.

Here is just one example from EVGA:

The EVGA SC17 1070 Gaming Laptop is a 4K ready, high performance notebook. It starts with an in-house EVGA designed power supply with a new unique form factor which helps deliver up to 240 watts of power as needed. It features an Intel Core i7 6820HK CPU that is unlocked and capable of being overclocked to 3800MHz and beyond, combined with a overclockable GeForce GTX 1070.

EVGA overclocking features a GUI BIOS with full mouse control with complete control over all aspects of performance, voltage and advanced settings. Best of all there is a Clear CMOS button accessible on the chassis.

EVGA SC 17 1070 Features

• Gaming Unleashed – The new GeForce GTX 1070 turns a mobile notebook into a high-performance gaming PC powered by Pascal architecture.
• Unibody Design – A aluminum unibody design only 1.07 in thickness.
• 4K UHD Display – A Sharp IPS display capable of delivering up to 4K resolution for crystal clear graphics.
• Incredible Hardware – An Intel Core i7 6820HK Unlocked processor is combined with a GeForce GTX 1070 graphics card to give outstanding performance in the latest games.
• Built to Overclock – A full GUI BIOS with full control over CPU Multipliers, Voltage, Memory Timings, Frequency; even GPU overclocking inside of the BIOS
• EOC – Overclock on the fly with up/down arrow keys allowing Superclocked performance, or downclock mode to improve battery life.

Learn more.

We think this is great news for mobile gamers. They are no longer second class citizens of the gaming world but can now depend on their notebooks to give them the same excellent experience that desktop gamers enjoy.

Happy (mobile) Gaming!

THE ZUS

The Zus certainly looks and feels like a premium device and it is no ordinary car charger. Here are the main features of Zus according to Nonda:

• Fast charge with a max 4.8A output, fully charges 2 iPads in 3.75 hours
• LED lights from both USB ports
• Smart car finder: Zus has a free iOS/android app to locate your car in crowded parking lots
• German design that matches the elegance of most modern devices
• Top quality: US military mil-std-810g grade, with German Bayer pc + titanium
• 2X lifespan: lasts twice as long as a normal USB car charger

The Zus is light and elegant with two LEDs on the USB ports, so it immediately fits in with the other premium devices we carry around. At the retail price of around $35 dollars the Zus is more expensive than other car chargers. Originally, we were skeptical of how fast the Zus would actually charge a device, let alone allow us to locate our car after leaving our vehicle.

Fast Charge

Zus promises to charge devices twice as fast as other car chargers. As mentioned before, the two bright LED lights are a nice touch at night when it becomes difficult to find your USB ports. In this regard, Zus just beats everything else and it is simple to use.

We were able to charge a dead iPhone 6s Plus to nearly max charge in a little less than 1 hour and 45 minutes! Our iPad Air charged to 56% from 5% in nearly 2 hours. Two devices that normally take many hours to charge were at full charge in less than 3 hours. In contrast, our generic car charger charged our iPhone from nearly dead at 3% to barely 20% in about 40 minutes.

Zus simply beat our other chargers by a mile. Nonda claims that Zus determines charge rates quickly by using its internal smart chip, and this was the case with every device we tried.

On another note, while driving we can be using a lot of features or apps that kill a phone rather quickly. We tested both our generic car charger and Zus while using GPS navigation, a music application, LTE, and with full brightness on our iPhone 6s Plus.

In contrast to using the Zus, while attempting to charge our phone with a regular generic car charger, the phone actually lost some percentage of charge every couple of minutes instead of gaining battery life.

Zus is the only charger we have ever tried that outputs enough power to charge our device while it was being heavily used. We would be hard pressed to settle for generic charging speeds any longer, and this feature alone makes Zus worth it’s premium price tag.

Car locator

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The other major feature of Nonda’s Zus is the car locator feature. Zus has both Android and iOS apps available for download to utilize this locator feature. The Zus connects your phone in-app via Bluetooth and is very easy to use.

Zus works automatically once paired. The app notifies you as soon you park if you would like to save your car’s location and whether or not you would like a timer to be set. The app’s timer is a nice touch for parking spots with time limits or meters.

The automatic parking tracker triggered about a minute after we stopped. It automatically saved our location a minute after we parked and began working off of its internal battery. When you need to find your car again, you just launch the app and it will bring you to within 50 feet of your car. Once you are near your car, the app asks you to look around and find your vehicle, which shouldn’t be too hard at that point.

Are there any issues?

The real problem with Zus comes when there are multiple-story garages or weird locations that trigger the “within 50 feet” message. You will need to remember which story you parked on, and then the Zus will help you get to within visual range.

The locator does not act as an anti-theft device. Zus will not find your car unless you actually tell it to remember the location, so if someone steals your car do not expect it to lead you back to it.

The Zus will also require GPS and Bluetooth to stay functional which can be an issue in rural areas or while traveling. Bluetooth and GPS tend to drain battery life so there might come a time when you will need to turn it off. The Zus can fortunately work around not having GPS, and it will then require you to take a picture of your location. The Zus app will, however, constantly remind you when Bluetooth or GPS is off and it can become annoying.

Final thoughts

Zus is clearly the best choice if you want to get your devices charged quickly. We do like that the device saved our location automatically and it can be a very useful locator tool.

Overall, we had no real negative experiences with Zus other than the app required both GPS and Bluetooth to be active. The car locator feature worked great, but we do wish Zus wasn’t limited to just getting us to within 50 feet of our car.

The Zus is available at Amazon for around $29 as of today. The bottom line is the elegantly designed Zus is well worth its premium price tag for its fast charging features alone. We highly recommend the Zus.

Mario Vasquez

BabelTechReviews Mobile Editor

The Wolf Among Us:

• Mad Max comes to NVIDIA SHIELD today with a deep introductory saving of 66% from the GeForce Now Store.
• The Wolf Among Us also comes to NVIDIA SHIELD and is 50% off.
• Day of the Tentacle Remastered is also available for a 10% discount.

I am going to pick up Mad Max and will give a short game review for BTR’s readers in the near future.

The GeForce NOW streaming service streams great PC games from Nvidia data centers exclusively to any SHIELD device. Membership is free for the first three months, and then $7.99/month thereafter.

Related links:

• NVIDIA SHIELD:
• GeForce Now:
• Mad Max
• Wolf Among Us
• Day of the Tentacle Remastered

Happy Mobile Gaming!

Square Enix is the latest publisher to bring their franchises to the SHIELD platform. More publishers are using the SHIELD platform to transform the way many gamers enjoy their games. This editor loves both his SHIELD tablet and SHIELD handheld for portable gaming, and one of them is a constant companion when away from home.

Unfortunately, Satellite Internet’s 800ms ping precludes streaming from GeForce Now at home, but it works very well with no real lag over a proper Internet connection. SHIELD also works superbly to stream games over the home Wi-Fi network from a GeForce powered PC to every room of the house. In this editor’s experience. SHIELD streaming functions better than Steam’s Big Picture does, and even first person shooters can be played without noticeable lag on the little (or big) screen) without dropping any frames.

You can do what this editor cannot do over Satellite Internet and try GeForce NOW free for 3 months. If you like it, after your free 3 month trial ends, it costs $7.99 per month and there are always great games and new releases. Check out the links to get started.

Related links:

• NVIDIA blog / Square Enix announcement:
• SHIELD blog / Tomb Raider
• GeForce Now:
• NVIDIA SHIELD

It took 14 years for color TV to have 10 percent penetration in U.S. homes. It took cellphones nine years to achieve 10 percent penetration. It took smartphones five years to achieve 10 percent penetration.

It has taken two years for wearables (primarily personalized watches, fitness bands) to achieve eight percent U.S. Internet household penetration, according to Altimeter Group. And, according to recent corporate earnings reports and analyst dissection, most are Apple Watches.

But watches and fitness bands are only a part of the silver lining future industry analysts and fortune tellers are projecting for us … just one piece of the puzzle.

Most of those folks who got their watches (75 percent Apple Watches, according to Ben Bajarin, of Creative Strategies), think of themselves as advanced techies or tech-obsessed. Heck, a lot of them probably have Google Glasses gathering dust in their treasure drawers.

O.K., probably not, because most users in one camp (Apple or Android) think the folks in the other camp are freakin’ idiots.

Problem One

Therein lies the problem. There are only two major camps (iOS, Android) and two less major camps (WIN and open source).

Businesses and normal people don’t really care what’s under the hood. They just want their wearables to do the things they want them to do, the way they want them done.

But decisions and choices are made before either one has a chance to vote at the implementation or cash register level.

Bought an Apple Watch? Better have an iPhone because your Watch won’t talk to a Samsung smartphone.

And so it will be with the complete wearables market – fitness/wellness, infotainment, healthcare/medical, industrial/military … hardware, software, apps and horizontal/vertical systems/solutions.

Sales are being made but only to the folks who want something new on their wrist, their neck, their finger, their head.

Key Markets Potential – While we tend to think of wearables as a glamour consumer product, the real potential and market opportunities fall in smaller market categories. These are the areas where the real growth potential lies for hardware, software and service firms.

That’s the wearables global market today; but then, there are divisions and subdivisions.

Fitness, Wellness

Fitness and activity bands kicked off the category back in 2011 because they could measure what you were doing to help you regain the body you had whenever you looked your best. Units from Fitbit, Jawbone, Nike and a marathon of others have done well by introducing new styles, new minor features and … lowering unit costs.

Of course, other than for bling, the usage rate for the devices drop off about as quickly as the commitment to hit the gym as often as you should to exercise the band.

Hope springs eternal, so a new one might be the one that whips you into shape or at least it looks neater and does more things.

Highest Visibility – Fitness trackers and smartwatches garner most of the general news and stockbroker excitement because they’re things that ordinary folks can understand and will hopefully buy. Consumer sales and adoption have been slow and will remain minor compared to the sale/use of smartphones and even tablets, according to most experts.

The introduction of the second generation smartwatches from LG, Moto, Asus, Sony, Samsung and finally, Apple; delivered the health/wellness information (with the right apps).

Then they added all of the infotainment things you needed such as your basic smartphone capabilities and a platform for infotainment, social media access as well as horizontal and vertical third-party apps.

Apps Galore – Applications will ultimately define the use and success of wearable technology– not just for on-the-go games and social media, but for horizontal, vertical and niche usage that will change the way businesses function.

More importantly, the OS delivered a building platform that would enable the device to become a key part of tomorrow’s healthcare plans and business activities/operations.

Of course, all of that won’t grab the headlines or turn analysts’ heads like newer, better, bright shiny objects; but it is where the money is for businesses, industries.

According to Robert Half Technology, company IT (information technology) executives are already looking ahead. They found that 81 percent of these folks felt wearables would become standard tools in the organization in the next five years for record keeping, scanning docs, navigation, documenting activities/efforts and tapping into information any time, any place.

The software folks at Salesforce must have been able to see over the horizon because they put out a developer’s kit that would let folks build apps that people could use in their software environment (naturally).

Companies are already delivering apps from Salesforce’s Service Cloud to enable employees to get JIT (just in time) info on inventory, customer status, documentation, ERP (enterprise resource planning) databases and just about everything that would improve productivity.

Wearables will be great time savers for field and service personnel to fill out worksheets, handle scheduling and access installation/service info while their bosses use them to improve the team’s and individual’s performance.

Glasses Fit

Fashionless Statement – While Googlidites had visions of everyone wearing connected/smart glasses to stay instantly in touch with everyone, they failed in spectacular fashion. However, there are many applications where they are a benefit to the user and those around them. Second- generation glasses are showing their value.

Although folks got punched out for wearing Google Glass the first time around or were told they looked like a total ***, smart glasses do have a real application (and market) in the enterprise and healthcare environment.

Well under the glamour radar, they will become commonplace in the healthcare environment to access patient records, monitor vitals, follow/document procedures and niche applications that in a few years professionals will wonder how they ever took care of patients without them before.

In spite of Googlidites missteps, business and enterprise service providers saw the benefits of smart glasses for people on the production floor, in research facilities and in the field.

Why use a paper or tablet/computer-based manual, two-way radio or smartphone for information/assistance or a second set of eyes when folks need both hands free to quickly, accurately, safely get the job done, right?

These are applications that will reshape business processes as well as the way people work and interact with their environments.

Market of Markets

Growth Segments – Engineers and designers are rushing wearable computing solutions to the market as rapidly as possible, despite minor issues like battery life and lack of privacy/security. Many industry players simply mumble that’s a software issue.

Yes, the wearables market is going to be big – huge even, but functions and applications will drive it first … then style.

There will be a ton of head, wrist, finger, eye and other wearables introduced (and bought) over the next few years that will be used for a while and quietly retired to the Google Glass drawer, only to be replaced by the next cool, shiny object.

This will make it almost impossible for analysts to guess (project) the market for wearable technology because so many things will be dropped into the “wearable” category.

Folks will be rapidly jumping in with new products, swearing to gawd that they’ve just come up with the next insanely in-demand wearable thing … and more than a few lemmings will grab them up.

So pick a number you like and you’ll probably be as right as the guy/gal next to you. Last year, there was a spread of 10M units sold between the conservative/aggressive projections.

This year, forecasts range from Technalysis’ 40M to IDC’s 45.7M units to CCS Insight’s 75M to Yano Research Institute’s 104.8M.

With a little bit of creative thinking, there are an almost limitless number of places good engineers can design in MEMS (microelectromechanical systems) … and they will.

Of course, most people won’t pay much attention to them until Apple introduces its whatever and legitimizes the segment as real so folks have something to cheer and complain about.

Plenty of Work Ahead

With just the few bands and watches we currently have to choose from, there’s already a laundry list of minor improvements that have to be made.

Little things like:

• Battery life – we already have all of the household Power2U wall outlets filled to charge the family computers, tablets, phones; and a watch/glass battery that only lasts 24-48 hours doesn’t hack it
• Onboard memory – there’s so little flash memory in there right now you’d think remembering stuff was an afterthought, especially with the number of apps the kids want to add
• Style – face it, people still like to look good/great when they’re monitoring/tracking everything. Glasses and watches still have a ways to go before they are chic … even for work. Of course, real wearables (clothes) are a little easier, but that’s a whole new wardrobe
• Meaningful apps – for our kids, that means all their social media stuff and fun things. For adults, it’s health/wellness; business apps and yes, their social media connections. These killer apps come as the numbers grow.

The Killer to Overcome

Danger Signals – The biggest concern the industry has right now is that the new technology gathers a constant stream of personal information without adequate privacy and security guidelines and technology in place.

As long as you don’t think too hard about it, you’ll snap up as many wearables as you can to show how cool you are.

But get past the bragging rights and you’re going to have to face the cold, hard facts that:

• The damn things are getting way more information about you than even you know about you and is sharing it with “someone”
• That they’re about as safe/secure as your government’s employee database
• They’re sending all that stuff unencrypted or using outdated encryption over very open lines to holey clouds

The web-based interface makes it easy for hackers to do brute force searches of your device/apps for active user names, and most of them have firmware update protection issues.

Of course, they suffer – right along with your computer, tablet, smartphone – with stupidly weak password; but after all, you do need something you can remember like 123456 or ABCDEF or your spouse’s/kids’/pet’s name.

And, if you don’t read those really personal info wearable apps carefully, you probably won’t think twice about what’s being collected and all the things they can do with your data. The app developer and unseen data brokers gather and parse out great info to interested parties – identity, demographics, travel, purchasing habits, health info and habits/personal patterns.

In simple terms, everything that marketers, government folks, hackers and the boss want to know.

Or, as Bishop Fox’s security analyst Conan Dooley, said, “People are so willing to give up privacy for functionality because functionality is a tangible benefit and privacy is an immaterial one.”

Looking at the 2020 analysts’ projections, there’s something to be said for the fact that the move from geek to chic will be driven by improved user experience.

Guess memory loss won’t be a problem in the future.

Leonard Shelby liked that observation when he said, “That’s good advice. I’ll have to write that down.”

# # #

You know Google Wallet, PayPal, bitcoin and the other digital forms have been working for years to convince you to abandon plastic with very little success. The digital solution for the cash-less society just hasn’t gotten much traction in North America and the U.K.

Of course, Apple introduces Apple Pay (renamed Apple Wallet at WWDC – Worldwide Developers Conference) and BAM! in no time at all, the entire world will be mobile payment-enabled.

Slow down folks, it takes time for miracles to happen!

Quick Look Back

Credit cards started in 1887 when Edward Bellamy, Looking Backward, talked about a way for you to spend your government refund (refund?) instead of borrowing.

Before we got to the almighty plastic companies and organizations tried charge coins, medals; but there was fraud taking place until the 1930s’ Charga-Plate.

That went well in Canada, the US and UK; but most cultures of the world have stuck with the old idea of, “what you’ve got in your pocket or under the mattress was what you spend;” or you bartered for goods.

Still, there are over 16B credit, debit and prepaid cards in circulation in the world, with about 775M in use in the U.S.

Most were (are) pretty anemic—having your basic information on a magnetic strip. All people need are the numbers and they can buy anything they want … even if it isn’t their card.

Up, Down – While the volume of unauthorized transactions has gone down over the past few years, the value of the loss to retailers and financial institutions has risen.

Europe and other countries switched to chip-based cards (credit and debit) that make fraud more difficult long ago.

Not the Americas.

In spite of all of the news about large-scale breaches, identity fraud was down last year.

According to a study released by Javelin Strategy & Research, roughly 12.7 million Americans were hit with identity fraud in 2014, a 3 percent drop from a year earlier.

Data breaches and identity fraud have become commonplace but credit cards are such an integral part of our lives that 95 percent of the Target customers who were affected simply replaced their cards.

But that hasn’t slowed the connected generation from firmly embracing the “credit card-killer.”

Apple introduced Apple Pay/Wallet and every bank, card company and retailer announced they were going to be onboard immediately.

In just days, there was a raft of headlines saying thieves were using stolen credit numbers on Apple Pay and there were security issues.

Of course it was Apple’s fault, even though the financial community was using an ancient, bloated processing infrastructure.

It’s Complicated – Some things are difficult to explain; others are impossible. The transaction processing for credit/debit card purchases is a virtual maze. Everyone wants to be different and everyone wants their finger in the pie.

Apple Wallet should slash fraud because each time you do a transaction, the equivalent of a new credit card number is created and the merchant never actually sees your information.

The banks didn’t ask for (and didn’t have) the usual information like full phone number, address, and the stuff that is included in your 16-digit card swipe that they ask for from anyone … anyone but Apple.

Okay, live and learn.

As Thorsen pointed out, it was a lot better than ordinary credit cards when he said, “I can prove it. Give me your card.”

Mobile payments are more widely used elsewhere; but in the Americas, it is barely crawling and the ecosystem is still a work-in-progress.

Ecosystem(s) – While it might be nice for the consumer (and retailer) if there was just one mobile wallet ecosystem, we all know that isn’t going to happen. The most we can hope for is that they all efficiently, effectively and securely talk with each other.

Despite the stumbling start, Catapult found that 44 percent of millennials would rather use their phone to pay than cash and 62 percent were okay using an app for purchases.

And of course the digitally connected generation (70 percent) said that within five years, mobile payments will be used for almost everything, noting that it is more convenient, it’s faster and will be safer/more secure than a physical wallet. It will also show others they are more technically advanced.

A number of industry analysts believe that the fraud stigma will slow growth in the near-term, but in the longer view it will come to pass.

Apple Pay – While other firms can introduce a product and people say, “that’s nice,” when Apple does it, it’s a real market. That’s the way it was until the company introduced Apple Pay.

Tap-and-pay should be safer than the normal credit card transaction because two unique safeguards are used.

When you enter credit card information into the Apple Pay/Wallet or Google Wallet (now Android Pay), the platform obscures your data behind an added level of security such as Apple’s fingerprint scan or Google’s PIN (personal identification number).

And as Thad Peterson, payments analyst Aite Group LLC noted, it’s as safe, if not safer than handing your card to a waiter at the restaurant.

Digital payment is already in widespread use in China where Alibaba showed the power of mobile devices and eCommerce on Singles’ Day when they racked up over $10B in sales in 24 hours using Alipay.

They, and their local competitors, are working rapidly to handle more of people’s mobile wallet payments like water/gas/electricity/TV bills, tuition, traffic/lottery tickets, school fees and more.

Beyond eCommerce, they’re promoting mobile wallet solutions for retail stores.

They launched an O2O (online to offline) last year with more than 20,000 stores in about 100 retail chains with deep mobile discounts.

Alibaba and the retailers reported thousands of post-60/70 people who had never shopped online shopped using their iPhones for payment.

While there’s a clear love affair for Apple and Alibaba, the company sees a great potential for mobile online/retail sales on all platforms.

British-based Tesco stores and E-Mart have taken the next step in making O2O seamless.

In South Korea, they have both physical and virtual store locations that are being closely watched by retailers around the globe.

Pop-Up Store – Tesco, in South Korea, is testing a program of pop-up/virtual stores in locations around the major cities. Simply shop the shelves, make your selection, point/click and your order will usually be home by the time you arrive.

They have installed pop-up shops in subway stations, building lobbies and other locations.

Rather than drag yourself out to shop after getting home or tying up your busy weekend, you simply shop, click-and-buy without missing a beat.

If you have a coupon or discount … done!

Deliveries are made in minutes or hours.

Just think, your smart refrigerator can ping your phone to tell you you’re out of milk and you can stand in front of the virtual store, switch to a six-pack of your beverage and it will be waiting for you when you arrive.

Not sure if your refrigerator will be happy, but do you really care?

Mobile wallets will certainly help eCommerce because you won’t have to punch in all of your credit card information on the infant keyboard. The mobile-optimized buy buttons will let you effortlessly complete the transaction.

We know you expect Apple to save, shape, lead the entire mobile wallet industry but there are other players like Google and Samsung.

There will be a big rush for all parties to post who has the largest number of apps installed, but the real key will be how many people use them on a regular basis.

If the volume of mobile search, music, viewing etc. is any indication, Android may claim the title of the most users; but Apple will be the one that handles the most purchases and for e/retailers, that’s really what counts.

Of course, the real key is how many folks are going to activate (and use) their mobile wallet app.

That’s where the real money is as Eugene pointed out, “It’s not a State secret.”

Most of the research is only mildly optimistic about how rapidly people will make the transition to the cashless or credit card-killer solution.

Yes, But – Mobile payments, mobile wallet are technologies that are still works-in-progress. The infrastructure has to change, retailers have to install new point-of-sale solutions and consumers have to feel the solution is safe–even safer than physical plastic cards.

Many folks were pretty happy with payment status quo but they obviously aren’t tech savvy teens. But according to BI Intelligence, mobile in-store payments will be about $100B this year and will have a steady 172 percent compound annual growth rate (CAGR) over the next five years, which ain’t all that bad.

Face it; anything has to be more secure, more reliable than the credit/debit card systems being used in the U.S. today. Mobile payments can solve the security issues we have. Then, when your store or healthcare provider gets hacked; you can breathe a little easier.

Retailers will have to enable mobile wallet payments at the cash register and that’s going to cost a little, so don’t expect to use your mobile wallet everywhere you go next week or next month.

Then you help others and pass it along.

As Jerry noted, good news travels as fast as bad news, “Somebody comes along like your son, and gives me a leg up, I’ll take it. Even from a kid, I’ll take it.”

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Une Bobine is a dock/tripod for Android devices, devices with an Apple Lightning connector (6, 6 plus, 5s, 5c, 5), as well as iPod Touch 5th Generation; there is also a 30 pin connector version for Apple devices. Une Bobine features an approximately 24 inch long metal cable using military-grade, nickel-plated steel. After using it for several weeks, we feel that Une Bobine is well worth the price of admission at only $35.

The Une Bobine is at its core, a charging cable for your device. It does its basic job well, but what sets the product high on our list of must have accessories is its design. Jon Fawcett, of Fuse Chicken, designed the Bobine to allow users to prop their devices up to more accessible and better places. While it allows a user to create a dock in almost any location, it is not perfect. When we first received this product we tried bending and shaping the dock to fit different areas and some didn’t hold their shape.

Une Bobine’s cable is only 24 inches long and it often left us wanting much more to play with on a large surface area such as a desk. Une Bobine works well with any case that has an open design on the bottom to access the ports, but a case such as the Otterbox Defender series doesn’t work well.

Une Bobine requires that it be coiled as a “base” to hold the phone in the user’s desired location. A user must create a loop with the cable in order for the Une Bobine to hold the docked device’s weight. The structure of Une Bobine becomes top-heavy when a smartphone is docked incorrectly; it begins to sag immediately if there is no base for the Une Bobine to rely on.

This limits the product and the user’s flexibility to be creative with Une Bobine. While this isn’t a deal breaker for us, the Bobine can only realistically be placed in a set number of shapes and thus limits its placement because of its design.

Une Bobine does what it does extremely well. It is fun to experiment with, and for a mere $35, we love it. Une Bobine allows us to dock our phone next to our monitor, high on a kitchen counter to read a recipe, on the side of our laptop, in our car for navigation (with an additional “car-kit” fee of $5), or anywhere you can create a small loop base with the Une Bobine.

Once we experimented with it and found the correct way to use Une Bobine, it was fun and satisfying to use. Une Bobine has its flaws, but we can forgive them for its ultimately unique and innovative design. We look forward to seeing the next iterations of the flexible charger cable/dock that is Une Bobine.

I’ll bet when you were growing up someone told you:

• Too much of a good thing is bad for you.
• There’s a sucker born every minute.
• There’s no such thing as a free lunch.

Someone had to!

So…what the **** happened?

Yeah, I know; the Internet, Web and the Cloud happened.

Suddenly, you had the power to talk/chew out/tell off people you’ve never met and were able to tell people how awesome you are by showing them what you’re doing and telling your followers how great/bad things are going for you.

If that’s not bad enough, your company is busy putting itself up there too because hey, it’s cheap, it’s easy, it’s cheap.

As Jason’s brother commented, “You eat it and eat as much of it as you can and you KEEP eating it!”

It’s irresistible, which is certainly why cloud services hold over a quarter of the world’s business data – personal medical, social media content; financial/corporate documents; business/government data.

The numbers are mind-boggling!

According to IDC, public cloud spending will hit $127B by 2018, growing six times faster than conventional tech over the period.

Gigaom Research reports that 53 percent of large enterprises are either already leveraging public cloud resources for enterprise big data or are planning to.

Only 13 percent of respondents say they would only use private data centers.

The numbers for cloud services and big data are staggering.

Cloud people love talking about all of the super fantastic productivity savings:

• $300 billion a year for the US healthcare industry
• $250 billion for the European public sector
• A 60 percent potential increase in retailers’ operating margins
• $600 billion in economic surplus for services enabled by personal-location data
• Savings under every rock, behind every tree

Half of the world’s 7.7B people will be online looking for places to store their stuff–more than 8.6ZB worth. That’s equal to streaming all the movies (about 500,000) and TV shows (3M) ever made over a streaming service like UltraFlix in UHD (ultra-high def) 250,000 times.

And by 2020 the volume of stuff will almost double.

Heavy Clouds – Nothing sounds more pure and clean as the Cloud when it comes to storing everyone’s content – company, government, individual. With selfies, personal/private videos, event action and movies, storage and streaming will strain clouds and our infrastructure. And naturally they are watching as well. And you want to put all of your stuff there?

To meet the demand, IDC Senior VP Frank Gens suggests the number of new cloud-based solutions will increase 10x, even though all of those offering the solutions will also be running hell-bent to be the best/cheapest one around.

But Mo Rutherford said, “I run a high-tech operation. I don’t go in for things like that.”

Battle to the Bottom

The folks who can best afford to play the cheaper card are Amazon, Google, Apple, Microsoft, Facebook and Alibaba.

They’re not only the biggest clouds around but they have the most personal/company data they can recycle, reprocess, sell/resell.

Of course, there are only a couple of problems with this rosy picture:

• The services (iNet and Web) can’t handle that workload 24×7
• Certain people can’t resist all of that data that’s up there
• Hackers are always two steps ahead of security folks

Mobile Storage – Storage in the cloud is the best way to share information, presentations, materials and documents. Of course, when the cloud data center goes offline for a few hours or days, you’re wishing you had your own file copy.

Last year, Akamai and Cisco estimated that 109 countries met the single advanced application criteria for a fixed network and 52 met the intermediate single application readiness criteria for mobile networks.

The leading countries with fixed network performance are Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Romania, Singapore, Sweden, Switzerland and Taiwan.

Countries with the leading mobile network performance in 2014 are Australia, Belgium, China, Denmark, Korea, Luxembourg, New Zealand, Oman, Qatar and Uruguay.

The rest?

New Excitement – First, we have wild promises, wild coverage, wild hope with new technologies; and all of the media/early adopters know it will conquer the world. Then warts start to show up and it loses its luster. Individuals and businesses may find out that maybe cloud storage isn’t the answer to all their needs.

You have to wonder if clouds ever look down and say, “Hey, that person, that company is shaped like an idiot!”

A BT study covering 11 countries reported that more than three-quarters of IT decision-makers are “extremely anxious” about security using cloud-based services.
Yes But…

Still, 70 percent of enterprise executives are adopting cloud storage/web apps.

Ordinary folks (you and I) are just as hot for storing our stuff in the cloud.

Harris Interactive found that 39 percent of U.S. iNet users use the cloud, saying it “improved the lives of Americans who work.” They said it was easier to share files, they didn’t have to worry about backing up data and made their lives more “fun.”

You know, sharing photos, ready access to music/videos.

It was so good, so much fun that Juniper Research estimated that 3.6 B folks would be using it by 2018.

But there’s one little problem. You have to watch where you step in the cloud.

Squish – You may want to watch where you step when you entrust all of your family/personal photos, videos, important documents and private/privileged information to the Cloud. If you read the Cloud storage agreement, it may not be as safe, secure and available as you think.

It is oh so tempting to hackers, whackers and cyberthieves; and there isn’t a privacy, security expert around that says they can keep up with the creatively sneaky little SOBs!

Freebies

It’s hard to keep up–especially when we ordinary folks are so gullible, naive, lazy. (O.K., not you but the guys/gals over there? Yeah!).

As Mo Rutherford said, “No one is as dumb as I appear to be.”

The Ponemon Institute found that cybercrime was up this year by 10.4 percent which included:

• Stealing intellectual property
• Confiscating online bank accounts
• Creating and distributing viruses on other computers
• Posting confidential/private personal business information on the internet
• Disrupting a country’s critical national infrastructure

The problem is the iNet was never built for security but for information exchange. Then people found out they could do other neat stuff like shopping, sharing, posting, tweeting and selfiing.

Our family does some of that but all the really good, important, private stuff is on personal clouds (drives we carry with us) and the home cloud (a big 20TB drive behind a couple of firewalls on our server).

Smaller Target – Rather than entrust my information, content, data to someone’s big cloud that includes material put there by 10s of thousands of folks, I prefer compact portable personal storage and backup as well as home storage that is encrypted and behind firewalls. It’s just a smaller target and a lot more work for minimal return for hackers/cyberthieves.

And everyone in the family knows safe/sane iNet practices.

That’s important because as the Center for Strategic and International Studies reported, global cybercrime will rack up $575B this year; and with our income, we just can’t afford to feed them.

Way Too Good

If you can’t or don’t want to either, here are a few hints:

• Don’t let individuals or sites con you into giving up private/personal information such as confirming the last four digits of your social security number.
• Don’t believe that even legitimate companies you trust will send you an email requesting financial information. Don’t worry if it’s real they’ll get back to you.
• If you receive an announcement or visit a site that has poor spelling and grammar (in your native tongue) forget it. Legitimate businesses you want to deal with are more professional.
• If they tell you to pay by wire transfer or the person needs to get money out of the country or is dying of an incurable disease and wants to unload guilt money forget it.
• If Dr Oz wants to give you a hint on how to lose weight effortlessly or someone wants to help you empty your intestines, they only want to empty your wallet.
• Change your “rugged” password more often than on New Year’s Day.
• Constantly check for OS/app updates (patches) and keep your security/malware software up-to-date and use it.

Of course, you don’t have to do all this. You can simply keep surfing, viewing, posting, eating all you can but sure as hell it won’t be long and you’ll understand what ‘Chocolate Chip’ Charlie W. Hobbs meant when he said, “ What you gonna find out, man, in a town that has just dried up and blown away, man? Must be a side effect of eatin’ too much dessert. An urge to migrate.”

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