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  • The Matrix is Calling from the Nokia 8110 Reboot

    The Matrix is Calling from the Nokia 8110 Reboot

    Nokia has debuted a wide range of promising Android phones across a full pricing spectrum, from the slick Nokia 8 Sirocco at the top to the ultrabudget Nokia 1, which runs the stripped-down Android Go operating system. The most exciting news from Nokia is that they are bringing back the Nokia 8110.

    Morpheus?

    The original Nokia 8110 popularised the slider phone. You know the one we all wanted from the Matrix. We got our first look at the rebooted classic alongside a slew of new phones from Nokia at the annual phone fiesta MWC in Barcelona.

     

    Looks like a Banana

    The classic model’s curved case also earned the nickname the banana which Nokia alludes to in the bright yellow colour of the new model. I’m personally going to go full Keanu and get the black. However it is not spring loaded. When asked Nokia’s Raun Forsyth explained: ‘We looked into it but it was a matter of the complexity and the cost and space it took up. So, the width grew, the thickness grew, there were difficulties of making it reliable and risk-free. In the end we had so many concepts on how to do it: one guy wanted an eject button, then we needed something to dampen the eject and so on. In the end, it came down to that conversation of the sweet spot of being reliable, essential, not over-complicated. The phone’s dimensions are very important. Keeping this to what we consider the perfect size is a real challenge.’

     

    It’s a blast from the past with a tiny, non-touch screen and a 0-9 keypad. Navigating it is just as hard as you’d expect until you remember you actually owned Nokia devices 15 years ago. Fortunately that unsightly top antenna from the original phone is nowhere to be seen.

     

     

    Quick Spec Look

    • Smart Feature OS
    • Dual-core 1.1GHz Qualcomm 205 processor
    • 512MB RAM
    • 4GB internal storage
    •  2.4-inch, 320×240-pixel display
    •  Micro-USB charging port
    • Micro SIM
    • 3.5mm headphone jack
    • 1,500 mAh battery

     

    The Final Thought

    I’m getting one, for $60 it will be a nice back up and it’s makes me feel like I can still walk in to a blockbuster video or call Trinity. I know shouldn’t even care about this phone’s specs because it isn’t a smartphone, so specs don’t really matter. It’s just at a 2.4-inch display, Snapdragon 205 processor, 512MB of RAM, 4GB of built-in storage, 2-megapixel camera, and 1,500 mAh battery that is removable. Remember removable batteries…. I remembers.

     

  • Ausu Z5 It Looks like iPhone Acts Like Cheap Android

    Ausu Z5 It Looks like iPhone Acts Like Cheap Android

    It was Taiwanese tech company Asus’ turn on Tuesday to unveil its latest flagship phone at Mobile World Congress. While better known for its various PCs and gaming products, Asus has been making smartphones for quite some time. Asus is taking on the iPhone X with a cheap android knock off. The Zenfone 5 is a slim, sleek, attractive device, but the first thought many people had was … this looks like the a cheap iPhone X..

     

    Available in three different models: The $500 “premium” Zenfone 5Z, the standard Zenfone 5, and the entry-level Zenfone 5 Q  , Asus’ new phones boast specs that read much like those of industry leaders, including dual rear cameras with a 2x zoom, powerful stereo speakers, face unlock, and a bunch of regular features with “AI” tacked in front, like “AI” charging, and an “AI” display with a 90-percent screen-to-body ratio. The Zenfone 5 even has a notch at the top of its screen similar to the new top product from Steve Job’s old company.

    CEO Says its not Fruit Company?

    Asus CEO Jerry Shen sees the Zenfone as a totally different proposition next to Apple’s luxury piece of kit.”Our price will be very affordable and attractive and for everyone to enjoy compared to the fruit company,” Shen said. The company didn’t say how much the Zenfone 5 will cost, but its top-end 5Z phone will be around $590.

    When Asked about the similar Apple notch at the top Shen Stated that Asus needed to include a light sensor and forward-facing camera on the front of the phone. But if it removed the top bezel, these would have to be squeezed in at the bottom of the screen. Shen explained that this would leave the front camera pointing squarely at his chin, demonstrating his selfie pose for us. “From the beauty decision, from the user experience decision, the team decided to use it this way and I agree,” said Shen about the notch. “We do not want to copy, and actually they told me we are thinner, we are nano.”

     

    Asus has made a major leap forward in design. The Zenfone 5 fits a 6.2-inch display within the same physical footprint as the 5.5-inch Zenfone 4. That’s thanks to a thin-bezel design that results in a 90 percent screen-to-body ratio. In its effort to appear more advanced, Asus accompanies the screen with some spurious AI claims. The company has an automatic adjustment for color temperature — much like Apple’s True Tone on the iPhone X — and a sensor to keep the screen on while you’re looking at it, which it collectively calls AI Display. They use the word AI loosely at Asus.

    Quick Spec Look

    • Processor Qualcomm Snapdragon 636
    • OSAndroid 8.0 (Oreo)
    • Memory 64 GB, 4/6 GB RAM
    • Camera Dual: 12 MP (f/1.8, 24 mm, 1.4 µm)
    • Size 6.2 inches IPS LCD

    The Final Thought

    They Can deny this all they want, this was made to look like the iPhone X, only that is no iPhone. Cheap, Androidy, and nothing special. Down to the lackluster Zenimojis… yeah they went there. They did miss one big feature of all the other androids and the iphones which is water proofing. Asus will release the Zenfone Lite in March, followed by the Zenfone 5 in April and then the Zenfone 5Z in June.

     

  • Its a Deal with MoviePass

    Its a Deal with MoviePass

    MoviePass is an American subscription-based movie ticketing service. Founded in 2011 and headquartered in New York City, the service allows subscribers to purchase a single movie ticket per day for a flat subscription fee per month

     

    The Great

    • Terrific value
    • great interface and useabilty
    • Very Convenient
    • Unlimited Movies

    The Not

    • No New Releases
    • 2d standard movies only
    • You have to pay the full year up front

    The Conclusion

    I wish they had this when I was growing up, It would have been my wildest dream to have an unlimited movie ticket to the theater around the corner. Today, its def the worth the $8 a month.  I no longer need to pirate new movies and the headaches that come with that are long gone.

    The Movie Pass Experience

    Once you sign up, right now they are offering $7.95 a month rates, they will send you a credit card. You simply use your phones app to find the movie you want and reserve your ticket. Then head to the movies, when you get close to the theater you will get an alert your card is active. You then use the card to purchase your reserved ticket. Easy peasy.

    I don’t get to the movies as much as I used to and I’ve never been one to go to a theater alone. This made me a little apprehensive of the deal, but I decided to sign up after seeing how beneficial Moviepass can be.  After using it for the last month I have enjoyed the experience so much I thought I would give you my own thoughts. Moviepass is kind of like the Netflix of movie theater going.  You pay a flat fee and then you can see as many 2D movies as you want during the month.  The catch is you can only see 1 movie every 24 hours.  You could still easily see 25-30 movies a month if you so choose.

     

    Loop Holes

    So I thought I would look for weaknesses in the Movie Pass logistics. First up was using the card to purchase concessions, it worked with no issues but then declined when I bought my ticket. So I decided to reserve my ticket for the day before and pick it up, then book another ticket for the day Im going to the movies but use the previous days ticket. Thus making my card valid for concession purchases. So far its a lot of leg work but it works.

    I also thought it would be good to get a second pass so I could take who ever else with me to the theater, but apparently this is frowned upon and they will disable your account. I don’t know how they would every figure it out though. Again so far so good.

    Some have also reported that you can only see a movie one time with Moviepass.  This is not the case you can go to the same movie multiple times, at least that is my personal experience.

    The Final Thought

    It hasn’t quite been 30 days for me yet but I have gone to 4 movies.  The first 3 cost $5.99 per ticket and the 4th one was $9.99.  So I have gotten $27.96 in value out of my $7.99 monthly fee. I find Im going to the movies more because I can and seeing movies I would otherwise skip entirely. All in all its been a good experience its a must have for any movie buff, and a great investment for the casual movie goer. Im hoping this becomes adoptive and saves the movie theater platform. Being a catalyst for Studios to produce more movies for us to go to the theaters for.

  • Easy Smarthome Devices to Increase Your Homes Value

    Easy Smarthome Devices to Increase Your Homes Value

    From smart thermostats to automated lighting and everything in between, there’s no question that innovative, Internet-enabled technology can make a home more fun, convenient and safe. What you may not know, however, is that it also represents a potentially valuable investment. Im going to take a$7000 investment to smart home upgrade to increase my homes value by $25000. Lets look at how I spent it and what value it brings.

    Appliances

    I started with replacing the refrigerator and stove, with smart appliances.

    for a combined $4300 I installed the Samsung Family Hub 2.0 wifi enabled fridge and  the Self-Cleaning Slide-In Gas Convection Range both in stainless steel of course. considering I was going to have to spend $2000 anyway on these appliance the extra money to purchase the smart appliance is well worth it for the wow factor alone.  

    Samsung Family Hub 2.0 Refrigerator

    The Samsung Smart Fridge is really cool, looks great, creates shopping lists and lets me see inside from anywhere with 3 built-in cameras. It  also set expiration notifications to make sure everything is fresh. Plus it has Bixby built in for a digital voice assistant right in the kitchen, I’ve always wanted to talk to my refrigerator.

     

     

    Samsung Self-Cleaning Slide-In Gas Convection Range

    The stove looks like something you would see in a professionals kitchen, its no joke.  There are cooking options with the intuitive guiding light controls. This lets you program your favorite recipes, plus easily control temperature and  time settings. Wi-Fi connection gives you real-time alerts and control the cooktop and oven remotely. You just have to  download the app for iOS or Android devices.

     

    I was able to get both devices with a bundle package at best buy, factoring the money I was going to spend anyways im only out ($2130)

    Lighting

    Next step set the mood, for 3 main light switched I installed the Brilliant Smart Panel. With the digital touch screen or simple verbal commands, this switch can control your homes lights, air conditioning, intercom system, video surveillance, music and has a built in camera and even the ability to make video calls.

    I replaced all light bulbs with Phillips Hue Smart Lighting, this will allow the lights to be controlled from the 3 smart-panels, with the color bulbs setting different lighting and the colored light strips in the kitchen.

    This has added a great wow factor, adding in the Sonos speakers already through out the house. I can set music and lighting with just a shout. ($1000)

    Little Things

    The Smart Panel for Brilliant can control a lot of smart devices, so I upgrade my thermostat to the Nest, a Smart lock from August, Skydrop 8-Zone Smart Sprinkler Controller, Smart Security Video system from Nest with a video doorbell and an Amazon Eco Show for Alexa integration with all the new devices. ($1500)

    Bathrooms

    This home has 2 bathrooms so I’ve updated both toilets to the Smart 1 Piece by OVE. Little expensive, but a heated seat, warm bidet water, and air drying features are a big sell for small price. This looks great and comes with a remote control. You can adjust the power and temperature right from your remote.

     

     

    I also updated the 2 shower-heads and added the Moen U Shower Smart Home Connected Bathroom Controller. The Moen U integrates smart temperature control, timers and also an app. You can even pre-time your morning shower, walk yourself to the bathroom and it turns on automatically as soon as it senses your presence!

    I have effectively updated my home and prepped it for sale. With these little upgrade I have moved my home from the bottom end of its appraisal to the top by making it a cutting edge smart-home and increasing my value and netting me an extra $18, 000 after the sale.

  • SmartPhone Spotlight: BLU R2 PLUS

    SmartPhone Spotlight: BLU R2 PLUS

    BLU R2 Plus is a mid-level smartphone that has a good design and build quality. It ships with Android 7.0 and is not for the camera phone junkies. It takes ads to another level by presenting them in the Lock screen.

    The Great

    • Fingerprint sensor
    • Good display
    • Low price
    • Decent cameras for a budget phone

    The Not

    • The Ads
    • Odd design
    • Poor battery life
    • Laggy performance
    • Outdated software

     

    The Conclusion

    While the budget line gets a timely and worthwhile refresh its still crappy. The phone’s price wows, but that’s about it

    But It Sells

    At $129 unlocked on Amazon, the Blu R2 Plus is one of the least expensive Android phones out there. It supports GSM networks including AT&T, T-Mobile, MetroPCS and Cricket, meaning you can easily take it to one of those carriers, pop in the appropriate SIM card, and enjoy service immediately.

    The display in Blu’s big budget offering notched a peak full-screen brightness of 481 nits, represented 119.2 percent of the sRGB color space, and delivered a Delta-E color accuracy score of 0.38 when we put it through our round of tests. Those are among the best numbers in the budget class, and even more impressive considering how little the R2 Plus costs

    The camera hits and misses, not worthy of any real explanation. Its just cheap and terrible

    Quick Spec Look

    • Unlocked Dual SIM smartphone; Android 7.0 nougat
    • 5.5” Full HD 1080p curved glass display, metal housing design with finger Print scanner
    • 13 MP Main Camera with flash + 13 MP selfie Camera with flash
    • 32GB Internal memory 3GB RAM Micro SD up to 64GB; Mediatek 1.3 GHz Octa core processor with MALI T720 GPU
    • 4G LTE (1/2/3/4/7/12/17/28) 3G(850/900/1700/1900/2100):

    The Final Thought

    Blu is back with a successor, the appropriately named the R2 Plus, which sports a new processor, improved cameras, a fingerprint sensor and a slightly refreshed design. It’s even a bit cheaper, going for just $129 this time around. However, Blu made some sacrifices to hit that more attractive price, which leaves the R2 Plus feeling like a step backward

  • SmartPhone Spotlight: Essential’s Essential Phone

    SmartPhone Spotlight: Essential’s Essential Phone

    Essential was founded by Andy Rubin, one of the creators of Android. Essential Phone works on all major carriers incl. Verizon, AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile and features a beautiful edge-to-edge full display, titanium enclosure and a scratch-resistant ceramic back.

     

    The Great

    • No logo
    • No pre installed bloatware
    • Stunning design
    • Decent specs

    The Not

    • Accessory port needs to prove itself
    • Missing many features
    • A total fingerprint magnet
    • No headphone jack
    • Battery life is merely OK
    • No photo or video stabilization

    The Conclusion

    This is a decently powered Android with out all the stuff that makes us roll our eyes at Android. With no logos or identifying markings and a bevels less screen it looks unique. At half the price of most other premium Androids this is a steal at $499

     

    Andy Rubin, co-founder of Android, made waves earlier this year when he released the $500 Essential Phone. According to Rubin, the purpose of creating the Essential Phone was to address some of the problems people have with smartphones such as getting rid of “planned obsolescence”, having an open ecosystem, and premium build quality without the premium price.

    Its Hipster Cool Design

    The titanium body and ceramic back, coupled with this unique all-display front design really do make for an attractive phone. I’m sure some of you still hate that front camera notch at the top, but it has never really bothered me. While there is a solid black block of bezel at the bottom of the phone, the way the display carries all of the way up to the top front curved corners offers a uniqueness that no other phone really does. This is one of those phones that just looks cooler than everyone else’s. With no logo, company or identifiable markings it is the ultimate hipster design and it works.

    The Screen

    Of course, the display is the star of the device. Despite the Essential Phone’s small size, the display is an impressive 5.71-inches in a 19:10 form factor. It has a resolution of 2,560 x 1,312, making it very sharp. It’s a beautiful panel, though it could use a little more brightness. You can’t see individual pixels whatsoever and the colors are vibrant and accurate.The only down note is it has an LCD instead of an OLED display, meaning you’re not getting the same black levels and bright colors as you’re getting with the iPhone X or Galaxy Note8.

    What the Camera Mod

    There is a camera addition you can buy. it lets you capture you world in complete surround with the world’s smallest 4K 360 degree Camera that is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 . There is also no need for any dongles or chargers. Connects to Essential phone’s magnetic connector. The modular camera is neat, and magnetically clicks to the phone perfectly, but you have to keep track of it and keep it on you at all times to use it. And chances are you won’t. Also, 360-degree cameras haven’t caught on yet. The biggest thing is that the camera isn’t quite as good as other high-end smartphones. Even if the specs dual 13MP system sounds exciting, it wasn’t that impressive and  there was no setting that resembled a portrait mode, either.

    The Quick Specs

    •  5.71-inch 2,560 x 1,312 19:10 with rounded corners
    • Snapdragon 835
    • 4GB Ram
    • Camera: Dual 13MP rear (RGB + monochrome), f/1.85 lens rear, 8MP front
    • Battery: 3,040mAh, 27W fast charging
    • Operating system: Android 7.1.1 Nougat

    The Final Thought

    The Essential Phone legitimately feels different from any other smartphone I’ve tested in 2017. It’s heavy, in a good way, and has a beautiful edge-to-edge display that’s bigger the iPhone 8 Plus’s. The phone is fast, built with the latest Snapdragon 835 processor, and runs like a top-tier smartphone. Its Android OS is bloatware-free, which, as a lover of the original Google Pixel, I found refreshing.

     

     

     

  • Top Five Cable Tv Providers

    Top Five Cable Tv Providers

    As hard as we try to cut the cord, go to a entertainment on demand premise we still need that live cable goodness. Streaming CNN or ESPN makes you fell like your behind the actual breaking updates. Not to mention the constant and consistent back round noise that cable TV can provide. I just want to watch something I can ignore. The final and one of the biggest necessities of cables is it give you the option to watch something when you don’t know what you want to watch.  I know, I know even as I am writing this I just keep thinking ooooh shut up with your first world problems, and since these are my concerns my only conclusion is its a wonderful time to be alive in America.  Lets take a look at the Top Cable options, some of these are location based and you may not be lucky enough to be in their footprint… uhg again with the first world problems. These are the best for cable TV options.

    1.At&t Uverse

    While this can be one of the more pricer options and only available to a limited footprint in limited areas, if you are lucky enough to fall in the Uverse green zone you have the best option available. With four TV packages to choose from with a selection of 200–550 channels. It uses a fiber optic network, which makes the service more reliable than satellite or cable TV. U-verse’s pricing is more competitive if you bundle it with Internet and/or phone service, but on its own, it’s priced higher than competing packages. Big benefits of Uverse is the standard whole home DVR, advanced interface, and no degradation on bandwidth. At&t has since decided it has more lucrative options for its Fiber network so it has begun aggressively switching all its uverse users to Directv.

     

     

     

     

    2.Spectrum

    This one was quite a surprise to jump to number 2 and take the silver. With the Charter/Time Warner merger the T-1000 of internet cable providers have Spectrum offering an affordable 100 Mbps internet options, with quality cable for a reasonable price. They offer all the latest features like whole home DVR and VOIP telephone options with on screen caller ID. While its great they do not make you sign a long term contract, there are installation fees and the price does jump from time to time.

     

     

     

     

     

    3.Verizon Fios

    This is a great service that has dropped to bronze due to Verizon cutting off expansion plans for Fios and their fiber game.Verizon’s Fios internet service is one of the best money can buy. It’s lightning fast, and thanks to its fiber infrastructure, it’s also reliable. Add in customer service that exceeds the expectations you have a top tier cable option, if you are lucky to be in the footprint. The company has established areas,  but it’s mostly major cities with no further plans to expand.  They have an array of customizable  plans to fit your needs and budgets. They have the speed, channel lineup, on-demand and features and functions that you could want. Did I mention they offer Gbps? a gigabit!!!

     

     

     

     

    4.Optimum

    This was another surprise from a traditional cable provider. One of the smaller guys offers the best bang for you buck. Optimum has the 100Mbps, full channel lineups, great interface all the basics are there. Where they stand out is there whole home DVR allows you to record 15 shows at once. This is nice for the prime-time Sunday nights. They are even offering up to 400Mbps in some areas and at a great price.

     

     

     

    5. DriecTV

    You cant count Directv out, and being the focus of At&t’s cable service they are adding more and more features and functions you see in the Uverse system constantly. The Sunday NFL package is legendary and a necessity for all die hard football fans. The downsides are still the contract, the hardware and the outages when it rains, additionally you still have to bring your own internet connection.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    The Worst: Comcast Xfinity

    Billing its self as a premium provider but sorely missing on features function and execution Comcast Xfinity is by leaps and bound the worst dollar spent in the cable business. With constant freezes, reboots, outages and interface lock downs it is a frustrating mess. Just this morning I was forced to watch the Talented Mr Ripply when the menu on Infinity froze forbidding me to change the channel until it has performed its 5 min interface reboot sequence. Nope, just nope.

     

     

     

  • New Apple AirPods 2

    New Apple AirPods 2

    In another update release for March 2018 is that we will see an update to the Airpods. There are 3 main updates to the Airpods, lets take a look at each of them

    New Chip

    The AirPods 2 will get a chipset upgrade from the W1 to the W2. The updated wireless 2 chip is already in place on the new versions of the apple watch and in the AirPods will make the connection between phone and headphones can be a little more time-consuming than you’d like. This was the main complaint with AirPod users is the connection was too slow when trying to answer a phone call. This new chip should make a significant difference in that overall AirPod experience.

     

    Water Resistant

    This is a biggie, as big a deal as the Watch 2 being water resistant. I’m not looking to go snorkeling with these, that would be cool, but I do need sweat and water proofing. It will be nice not to have to disconnect my AirPods just because its raining. This was a need and big upgrade.

    Hey Siri

    There will be a wireless addition to Siri for connecting with out hitting the button. Just the HomePods the Hey Siri function in to the AirPods will now launch the digital assistant. I mean why not? It is everywhere else, this just seems logical and convenient. While this will be a welcomed function I don’t think this will be a big reason to trade up for the Airpods 2.

     

     

    Bonus

    We know there will be an upgrade to the battery case. The Airpods 2 will have a wireless charging battery case. This will be another bonus and probly the deciding factor for anyone looking to update their Airpods. Considering Apple is releasing its multi device Charging mat very soon, this will be other big feature boost to the 2.

     

    In Black?

    Nope. while there are rumors we will see a black colored Airpods 2 it is highly unlikely. Henry Ford use to place a purple light in the brake lights of the Model T just so he could see who was driving his cars on the road. Steve Jobs has a similar thought on the iPod earbuds, he wanted an identifiable white earphones so everyone would know it was an iPod. This has stuck through apples earphone to EarPod to AirPod lines and there is no indication that it is changing.

  • New iPads this March!

    New iPads this March!

    Good News Everybody, the highly top secret Apple company has leaked a little bit of news. IT looks like we will be seeing two new iPads in march. While the details are still fuzzy here is what we know and what we can gather.

    A  product filing from app was discovered this week that received approval from the Eurasian Economic Commission on two devices codenamed A1954 and A1893, The product description in the filing was labeled as ‘tablet computers’. The codes are in line with Apples current product ID’s. Apple is working on new iPads that it could announce in March. Those reports say that the design will be slimmer and have less bevel on the screen, similar to that of the iPhone X. Additionally, Apple could be planning to deliver the Face ID options we have in the iPhone X in the iPads.

    In the past we have seen a release event or announcement on the iPhones and recently AirPods two weeks after a similar EEC approvals. My guess is we will see the event March 6th, with it featuring two new iPads, but not the iPad Pros. Replacement for the current, consumer-level 9.7-inch iPad seems likely, and judging from the product numbers I would guess they are both the same device with one of them being a cellular model.

    Probably nothing earth shattering here but its always cool to get new toys from Apple, but maybe just maybe it will be. iPad X?

     

  • Bose SoundSport Free are Spot On

    Bose SoundSport Free are Spot On

    The Bose SoundSport Free are the the companies first exclusively wireless earbuds. They have a lightweight body with an IPX4 rating for water resistance, a seamless fit, and up to a rather impressive five hours of battery life. The bundled battery case provides an additional 10 hours of wireless tunes. Users can also connect the SoundSport Wireless to a mobile app and tweak their sonic experience. 

     

    The Great

    • Noise canceling
    • Wireless
    • Water resistant
    • Quality Bose Sound
    • Charging carrying case
    • 15 total hours use with case

     

     

    The Not

    • electronic interference
    • left bud drops connectivity

    The Conclusion

    These headphones have an unmatched combination of comfort and stability. They sound great, stay in place in all activities. The volume-optimized EQ and Bose digital signal processing make music sound full and balanced at any volume. They are great Wireless headphone, if that is what you need.

     

    The Bose  SoundSport Free have a compact and comfortable design. They fit nice in the ear and Im not insecure they will fall out while exercising. The sound in fantastic, its Bose, you cant go wrong with Bose and they never disappoint with sound quality. Set up is easy and they have a very nice charging/carrying case that add to an overall pleasant usability.  Lets take a look at some of the little things if you want to nit pick.

    Battery

    I gave it a full charge out of the box before pairing. It has since been a few weeks since I first started the test.  while generally the batterlife is good, I found that occasionally even though you leave both not-fully-charged-earbuds in the case that supposedly charges your Bose earbuds, it actually does not. Even after sufficient time, the earbuds do not fully charged.

    Noise Cancelling

    As far as I am aware there are not any true noise cancelling bluetooth earbuds. To do proper noise cancelling you need a signal processing module that in the QC20’s is in the external controller and in the QC 25’s is in the ear cans. There are bluetooth noise cancelling cans but I haven’t found any that both have good noise cancelling and excellent music quality. For example, the Bose bluetooth QC35 music quality is inferior to the wired QC25’s and the Sennheiser Momentum’s have good music quality but inferior noise cancelling.

    Connectivity

    This is the most significant issue Ive come across. It occasionally drops the connectivity between the left and right earbuds without apparent reason. This is massively irritating.  I have had quite a few instances where, for no apparent reason, the left has gotten disconnected from the right. At that point the only way to reconnect them is to put them both into the case, which essentially means that they have to go thru the bluetooth disconnected/connected.

    The Final Thought

    These are easily the most comfortable, best-sounding truly wireless earbuds to date. In the wireless earbud landscape the little things are non issues and the buds will do exactly what you need and do it well.