Looking for a budget smartphone this Christmas, check out the éPris HD
Smartphones can be expensive devices, and if you have kids in the house looking for their own smartphone then you know only too well it can be a struggle to save up the cash to get them one.
Well the good news for you is that Three Ireland have their own line of branded smartphones that won’t break the bank. The 3Prism HD is the ideal device for a child’s first foray into the smartphone world. The 3Prism HD is currently on sale for €89.99 over here.
Specs wise the 3Prism HD is not going to win any awards, it features:
4G
Quad-Core 1.1Ghz processor
1GB of RAM
8GB of storage
8MP rear ad 5MP front camers
2,200mAh battery
But then this is a phone that costs €89.99, it is also pretty sturdy so any minor falls should not break it, an again even if they did, it’s not like this is a €500 smartphone.
The 3Prism HD runs Android 7.0 out of the box and I was very pleasently surprised to see virtually no carrier bloatware. Sure with only 1GB of RAM to play with, response time to open apps and navigate is not instant but at this price range it is more than acceptable.
In terms of design, the phone is not bad, the back plate which is removable as is the battery, is gripy and has a slight finger print style pattern. On the right hand side is the volume and power buttons while on the top and bottom is the 3.5mm headphone jack and microUSB port respectively.
The battery is small but given the resolution of the display which is 720P and the clock speed of the processor then you should get most of the day with moderate usage before having to charge.
The 8MP and 5MP camera which Three note are interpolated to 13MP and 8MP are respectable, again no awards but more than good enough to take the occasional shot. Colours can seem a little washed out when the sun is in the background but otherwise images are reasonably crisp.
To summarize the 3Prism HD, it’s a cheap cost effective phone that performs well considering the price and is an ideal first phone for a child or an ideal backup phone for someone. The key points here are that it will do pretty much everything a much more expensive phone will do, just slower and not as well, but if that doesn’t bother you, then I highly recommend it
These days we often hear of data leaks and computer hacks and privacy is becoming more and more of a priority for people. Irish company InvivBox have brought to the market, the InvizBox Go, with the aim of making it easier to protect your online privacy.
About Invizbox Go
The InvizBox Go is a discreet, portable VPN router that allows you to secure all your Internet traffic when using WiFi. It works everywhere to secure your browsing privacy and security. You can use it at home, abroad or on public WiFi anywhere in the world.
“Our mission is to be a world leader in highly configurable, yet easy-to-use devices for cyber security and privacy protection.”
What’s Included?
Box includes InvizBox Go, 1 Micro usb cable, quick start user manual
Secure Shipping with tamper evident stickers.
Individually flashed and verified in Dublin to ensure quality and security.
Unique secure password per device.
The simplest and easy to use UI.
Pluggable Transports in the form of obfs2/obfs3/scramblesuit to mask your Tor traffic.
GeoIP Configuration. Choose which countries you allow as exit nodes. Block the “Five Eyes”.
Prevent exploit of WebRTC IP disclosure vulnerability on Firefox and Chrome.
Real-time stats and graphs.
Using The InvizBox Go
The set up is very straightforward, connect your device to the InvizBox Go over WiFi and that’s it. Your Internet traffic is now encrypted, ensuring your privacy and security. The InvizBox Go updates itself with regular security and feature updates and you don’t need to worry about installing any software.
What Features Does The Invizbox Go Have?
Protect all of your devices — Using the InvizBox Go at home is great as it allows you to connect multiple devices at once. It offers 24/7 protection to all of your devices. You can basically connect any WiFi capable device i.e. Your smart TV’s, laptops, phones tablets etc.
Fast, secure and reliable VPN — InvizBox Go uses a VPN (Virtual Private Network) connection and each InvizBox Go has access to a fast and secure VPN which consists of over 500 servers in 20 countries to keep your traffic safe. InvizBox Go have partnered with IP Vanish, one of the most well known VPN “no log” providers in the world to fully protect your local network.
InvizBox Go also connects to the Tor network. Tor is a service that helps you to protect your anonymity while online and can conceal a user’s location and usage from anyone conducting network surveillance or traffic analysis.
Recharge your portable devices — The InvizBox Go also doubles as a handy Powerbank that allows you to charge your device when you are running low on battery when on the move. Simply plug into the USB port on the InvizBox Go and charge away.
Access blocked content — It’s always a nuisance when you’re unable to access your usual content because of your geographical location. The InvizBox Go eliminates this frustration allowing you to access your normal Netflix content, the RTÉ Player and your Sky Go content wherever you may be. Believe it or not these services are blocked or severely restricted depending on where you are.
Extend your Wifi — Is your WiFi network weak in certain parts of your home or when you’re away and the hotel WiFi only shows one bar of strength on the WiFi network. Simply put the InvizBox Go into “extender mode” and connect your devices to the InvizBox Go. This will extend ans strengthen the network coverage, enabling you to access your content.
Block Ads — Online adverts can be a nuisance and can detract hugely from your online experience, particularly when they play video’s or pop-up unexpectedly. The InvizBox Go has a list of known ad providers and can optionally block those domains for all of your devices, removing unwanted ads.
Open Source Code — The software used is open source and as a result provides two major benefits:
1) It allows other security experts to examine the code, ensuring the best security. 2) It gives you that extra confidence that we’re not hiding anything malicious.
My Thoughts
As someone who would regularly travel for business I am on-board with the benefits offered with the Invizbox Go. The set-up is straightforward and for those not familiar with how to set-up and use a VPN it removes this difficulty completely.
Online security should not be taken lightly and it’s something that everyone should treat as a priority. In addition to the online security, the WiFi extending feature, the multiple device support and the added bonus of doubling up as a Powerbank makes the Invizbox Go a great product you should really aim to get your hands on.
Availability
If you would like to get your hands on an InvizBox Go you can do so HERE. The starting price is €119.00, which includes 2 months free premium VPN service and free shipping. InvizBox also offer the InvizBox 2 & The InvizBox 2 Pro with both available from their online store.
Thank you for reading! Get in touch if you would like me to write content for your website or publication!
If you have any questions, please feel free to leave a comment.
I have been using the Samsung Chromebook Plus exclusively now for a few months to really get to grips with it as it is different to a Windows based laptop and some things which I will go into take a little bit of getting used to.
Firstly let me just say that it has completely replaced the need for me to carry around a Windows Laptop. If you had a fear previously that Chromebooks needed internet all the time then fear not as that need is now gone. You can happily work away without any internet and when it does eventually connect up things will sync to the cloud. The great thing is though that it has 32GB of onboard storage so you can have thousands of files locally with out having to worry, or you can also augment this with a micoSD card.
Design wise the Chromebook Plus is so versatile and clever with the screen able to flip right around which is perfect for watching movies or playing games. I especially like the way Samsung added two USB-C ports, one on each side, you might not think this important but when power supply is on the opposite side to you port in a coffee shop for example, it matters. On the right hand side there is the volume, power, USB-C and the S-Pen and on the left the USB-C, a 3.5mm headphone jack and the microSD port.
The screen is a beautiful 12.3" QHD with 3:2 aspect ratio which really lets you see more on screen at once. Brightness is excellent especially outdoors with 400 nit brightness and a PPI of 234.
The keyboard I will admit took the longest for me to get used to, it can at times feel a little cramped especially true if working with it on your lap. However working on it on a table the keyboard operates much like any laptop keyboard, just don’t forget some keys don’t exist on Chromebooks such as the ‘delete’ key or ‘home’ or ‘end’, you will quickly adjust.
For those who want to get a little bit more productivity done, there is also an S-Pen included which will let you snap screenshots, annotation and otherwise take notes. I find it useful for when I need to take certain parts of a screen capture, saves the need to then further process in Paint for example. So while the S-Pen is not powered in this case like on a Galaxy Note 8 for example it is still going to prove useful for those that need one.
The Samsung Chromebook Plus is Google certified which mean Android apps and the Google Play store work out of the box and for the most part at least with the games and apps I use they work perfectly. Games like Motor Sport Manager and Football management games are very good examples as they really do lend well to the larger screen.
Finally to sum up my experience of the Chromebook Plus, pretty flawless it must be said. And yes there is a more powerful version available, the Chromebook Pro, there really is no need to shell out the extra 200 bucks for it. The Plus has plenty of power to keep things running smoothly.
Come January we all tend to take a look at ourselves and decide to start the new year being healthy and working out. With that, I’ve recently been testing out Urbanista’s Boston wireless earphones. Urbanista offer a great range of earphones at relatively inexpensive prices, but are they worth parting with your money for? Here’s what we thought.
Unboxing
The earphones come neatly packed and include:
1 x Urbanista Boston Wireless Water Resistant In-Ear Headphones 3 x Ergonomically-shaped Go-Fit earbuds for the perfect fit 1 x Carry case 1 x Charging cable
Once you have activated the pairing mode on the headphones, simply search through your Bluetooth devices on your smartphone and click to pair.
Features and Specs
The headphones do boast some great features, although the battery life and volume control fell below my expectations. Some of the main features include:
Bluetooth: 4.0
Speaker size: φ14.2mm
Frequency range: 20Hz~20KHz
Hands-free with microphone and volume control
Stand-by time: 15 days
Play time: around 6h
Charging: Micro USB, about 1h charging time
Compatible with Android, iOS and Windows
Weight: 23g (without packaging)
Pros & Cons
The good points about the headphones are firstly; they are wireless. This is great for when you want to go for a walk or run and can connect to your phone without the earphones being pulled from your ear. With three sets of earbuds, you can find the right size for a perfect fit.I also found the sound quality, while not amazing, quite good for the price of the headphones. Another nice feature is that when you are not using the headphones, they can be joined together magnetically so that you may safely wear them around the neck when not in use.
On the down side, I didn’t really get any benefit from the built in volume control, particularly while running or walking, and just resorted to taking my phone out to adjust the volume. There is also no indication how much battery life is left at any time and you are probably better off charging before you leave the house.The 6 hours talk time advertised is also a bit of an exaggeration. I found the battery life closer to 4 hours.
Conclusion
As I mentioned Urbanista have a large range of earphones, both wired and wireless. The Urbanista Boston are a mid-range earphone with decent sound quality, a snug fit and conveniently connect to your phone through Bluetooth. If you want an inexpensive set of wireless headphones with adequate sound quality then you can’t go far wrong with the Urbanista Boston.
