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Videos by Andy Slye

Category: Accessories (Page 5 of 11)

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Bose SoundLink Color Review: Best Portable Bluetooth Speaker?

August 10, 2016 / / 1,564 Comments

Bose SoundLink Color Bluetooth Speaker Review
Buy on Amazon: http://amzn.to/2aPy8fh

Bose was kind enough to sponsor this video, and today I’ll be reviewing the Bose SoundLink Color Bluetooth speaker. If you’re looking for a high quality Bluetooth speaker that is extremely portable, keep watching.The Bose SoundLink Color Bluetooth speaker comes in 5 different colors: blue, mint, red, white, and black. In the box you have the speaker with a built-in rechargeable lithium ion battery, a wall charger, and USB cable. So not only can you charge using a power outlet, but you can also charge it via a USB port which is pretty convenient. The majority of the casing is made of a strong plastic, while the top has a soft rubberized finish, making it both durable and simple. The speaker itself is approximately 5 inches tall by 5 inches wide and about 2 inches in depth so it’s fairly compact. On the back there is the power connector and an AUX port in case your device does not have Bluetooth or you just prefer a wired connection.

But let’s be real, one of the big reasons you’re probably interested in this speaker is its Bluetooth capability. This plays a huge part in the speaker’s best quality: its portability. Bluetooth pairing is super easy, when you first power it on the voice prompts will walk you through the pairing process. Once it’s paired you can start wirelessly playing music to the speaker. You can also pair the speaker to 2 Bluetooth devices simultaneously so for instance if you have an iPad and an iPhone they can both be connected at the same time which makes it easy to switch between the two. The speaker will also remember the last 8 devices paired with it so when you power the speaker off and back on again, your device will automatically pair with it. And let me tell you, the Bose SoundLink Color has the fastest pairing out of all the Bluetooth devices I’ve used. Seriously, it’s Lightning quick.

The Bluetooth range is listed at around 30 feet. I live in a 950 square foot apartment and it works from anywhere inside even passing through the walls. The portability also comes from how lightweight it is, weighing only 1.25 lbs it can easily be taken on the go, whether you’re taking it for a walk in the park or going for a bike ride. It easily fit into my girlfriend’s purse, which is kind of dangerous because we might take it everywhere we go now.

I haven’t owned this speaker for a very long time so it’s hard to judge how the battery will hold up as time goes by, but since I’ve used it the battery life has been fantastic. Bose claims it can get up to 8 hours of play time during a single charge, but I was able to reach 12 hours on a single charge. Of course I wasn’t listening to it on full blast, but even at a consistent 40-50% volume level 12 hours of playtime is awesome. I can see this speaker being great for people who work out at the gym and need music with them at all times because not only is it portable, but the sound quality is good for its small size. It’s definitely the clearest and loudest speaker in its size class that I’ve ever heard. I mean, this thing is loud. It has a deep bass for how small it is, maybe even too much of a bass for some people’s taste. But I like it. I was a bit surprised by the loudness and clarity when I first listed to music on it. It was Chance The Rapper by the way. It’s best to have the speaker in a relatively open space though because if it’s backed up to a wall then the audio, mainly the bass, will sound a bit muffled.

Some of you may be wondering how this compares to the Bose SoundLink Mini Bluetooth speaker. Well I’ve never used one of those, but I can say that this Bose SoundLink Color Bluetooth speaker has at least one advantage and that’s the Play/Pause button. Along with the other standard buttons, the play/pause button is very convenient to have if you want to quickly play and pause music without handling your device, which is something the SoundLink Mini does not currently have. One thing I wish the SoundLink Color had was a USB port to charge your smartphone especially for a speaker that costs over $100. Other than that, I love everything about this speaker so far. In fact, I’m actually going to install this speaker on my car’s dashboard with a little help from some velcro. My car doesn’t have a way to play my phone through the speakers, but the Bose SoundLink Color Bluetooth speaker is good enough for me to use it as my audio source when I’m driving. A small thing I noticed was if a deep voice is talking, like on talk radio or a podcast, the speaker has a slight vibration noise during the voice’s deepest tones, but it’s kind of a rare occurrence and not a huge deal for me. So with its clear and loud audio quality, compact size, and long battery life I would highly recommend this speaker to anyone looking for their next portable Bluetooth speaker.

By Andy Slye

bose-wave-soundtouch-iv

Bose Wave SoundTouch Music System IV Review

August 9, 2016 / / 1,592 Comments

Bose Wave SoundTouch Music System IV Review
Click here to buy on Amazon

Bose was kind enough to sponsor this video, and in this video I’ll be reviewing the Bose Wave SoundTouch Music System IV. This is a room-filling wireless speaker but with some other convenient elements built-in to it. So stick around and find out if this is right for you.

The Wave SoundTouch Music System IV is a feature-packed speaker that is looking to be an all-in-one solution for music lovers. It currently comes in 2 colors, espresso black and platinum silver. The system is about 5.5” tall,14.5” wide, and 8.5” deep and it weighs just under 10 pounds. You can wirelessly stream music to the speaker via Bluetooth or WiFi using a compatible device such as a smartphone, tablet, or computer. It also has a built-in radio which I was able to tune into my favorite radio stations just fine with no need for an external antenna. It has dual alarms which come in handy if you and your partner need to get up at separate times, and it also has a CD player just in case you can’t seem to give up those mixed CD’s that you burned in 2007. You know who you are.

First thing you may notice is that the design is really attractive. It’s very sleek and will most likely look good just about anywhere in your home. There is no physical power switch because to turn it on and off all you need to do is tap the top of the speaker which is cool and all but could be a potential nuisance if you accidentally touch the top and music starts playing at full blast when you’re not expecting it. Other than the fact that it’s an all-in-one system, the sound that it produces from a fairly compact speaker is one of its best selling points. It’s able to produce a clean, rich and room-filling sound by utilizing Bose WaveGuide technology. This is essentially a series of passages from the speaker driver to the speaker grill that guides air through two 26” folded wave guides. It makes it possible for a compact system like this one to replicate a larger system’s stereo sound. And it works from what I could tell. I was able to play music from the corner of my living room and you couldn’t really pinpoint exactly where the sound was coming from. So it has crisp loud sound quality for sure, but as with most Bose products it has very strong bass. Luckily if you don’t like strong bass it’s easy to reduce the bass through the system settings.

Even though it does have an AUX port, this speaker’s most notable feature is its wireless capability. With built-in Bluetooth you can easily pair it with your smartphone, tablet, or computer and start playing audio immediately. But with the free SoundTouch app you can easily connect the Wave SoundTouch Music System to your WiFi network and play music from popular music services such as Pandora, Spotify, Amazon Prime music, thousands of Internet radio stations and even your own music library. Once your music sources are connected you can play them through the speaker via the SoundTouch app. I pretty much exclusively use Spotify and Pandora on mine, and it seems to work great with both of those. One drawback of playing music through the SoundTouch app is you can’t use your phone’s volume buttons when your phone is locked to adjust the volume. You have to unlock your device to do that or you have to use the included infrared remote.

Now I love this speaker’s ability to set presets with the SoundTouch app. You can set any of your connected songs, albums, playlists, artists or stations to any of the 6 presets and you can then use the SoundTouch app or the remote to press any of those presets and the speaker will automatically start playing that music even if it was turned off. I also love the informational display that shows the title of what’s currently playing.

Since this music system is part of the Bose SoundTouch family, you can easily add more SoundTouch speakers to your home and use the free app to play music across all your speakers at the same time or play different music on different speakers. It’s not cheap, but if you’re looking for an all-in-one music system that has built in alarms, AM/FM radio, and a CD player but mainly excels in sound quality and wireless playback then the Wave SoundTouch Music System IV may be a good investment for you. I would definitely recommend it to people who want a high quality speaker combo.

By Andy Slye

 

DJI Phantom 4 Review + Test Footage (4K)

April 19, 2016 / / 2,404 Comments

This is the DJI Phantom 4, and it’s the best drone out right now especially for beginners. It’s not cheap but I think it’s worth every single penny. Why, you ask? Well simply put this thing is sleek, it’s high quality, it’s intelligent, it takes amazing videos and photos, and most importantly it’s so much fun. If you stick around to the end of the video you’ll get to see some of its best features in action and when you see the footage it can take you’ll most certainly want one for yourself.
When you first unbox the Phantom 4 you’ll see that it comes with a foam carrying case that has a built-in latch which is really convenient. In the case you’ll find the Phantom 4 itself, the remote controller, 8 propeller blades, the battery, the battery charger, quick start guides and some various cables. It also comes with a 16GB micro SD card to get you started.
You’ll first notice the simple design when installing the propeller blades which are very easy to put on, you just push and twist. It’s also nice that the battery charger can charge the remote controller and the drone battery at the same time. At 100% charge the new Phantom 4 can fly for almost 28 minutes which is 25% longer than the Phantom 3. Now, just to be safe I only fly mine for about 20-25 minutes each time, but the Phantom 4 is a “smart” drone so it will warn you when the battery is low and it can land itself if the battery reaches a critical low level.
The build quality of the Phantom 4 is pretty stunning. It feels solid but looks carefully polished. It’s not too heavy, and I was glad to find out I was able to carry it easily by gripping the top with just one hand.
Of course the most important physical feature of the Phantom 4 is the high performance camera. It has a newly designed lens and can capture 4K ultra HD videos at 30fps and 1080p full HD videos at 120fps for slow motion shots. It can also capture 12MP raw photos. So if the camera is Batman, that means the gimbal is Robin. The 3-axis gimbal has a specially designed u-frame structure that stabilizes the camera at all times giving you smooth cinematic video footage even in strong winds which you’ll see during the 2nd half of this video. Now when you get your Phantom 4 I highly recommend getting these ND filters for the camera. These allow you to record at a slower shutter speed in bright conditions which will be necessary if you’re trying to get a more cinematic film look. The Amazon link for these filters will be in the description below.
The Phantom 4 body is only half of the main package. The other half is the remote controller which is very easy to get used to if you’ve ever played video games. Basically the left stick moves the drone up, down, or turns it. The right stick moves the drone forward, backward, left, or right. The back of the controller allows you to switch between the multiple flight modes and do other things like control the camera tilt. The two antennas allow you to control the drone up to 3.1 miles away while still seeing the live preview on your smartphone or tablet.
The controller has an adjustable clasp that holds your tablet or smartphone in place. The required device can be any of the supported Android devices or any Apple device with iOS 8 or later. My only complaint is that I wish it did not require a cable going from the device to the controller. I was hoping it would connect via Bluetooth. Other than that the free DJI Go app is the only thing left to get you up and flying.
With the dual satellite positioning system and enhanced Vision Positioning System, flying the Phantom 4 is super easy. It will automatically avoid obstacles using its new sensors and GPS technology so beginners can start flying quickly with the new Intelligent Flight modes. But if you’re an experienced flyer on the other hand, the incredibly fast Sport Mode will get you excited.
best-ergonomic-mouse-logitech-m570-review

Best Ergonomic Mouse? Logitech M570 Review

February 1, 2016 / / 1,590 Comments

Logitech M570 Wireless Trackball Review: Best ergonomic mouse?

If you’re like me then you are constantly using a computer. These days it’s hard not to. One of the biggest consequences of this, however, is wrist pain and even carpal tunnel syndrome caused by doing the same wrist movements over and over. I was concerned about this because I edit a lot of videos and the process of video editing can take hours and even days. So I decided to do some research and I went out and got the best ergonomic mouse I could find. This is my Logitech M570 Wireless Trackball review.

The Logitech M570 is currently less than $30 and has an almost perfect 4.5/5 star rating on Amazon. It’s not just for people who are specifically looking for an ergonomic mouse, but in my opinion everyone who uses a computer on a daily basis should own this mouse. Here’s why. It’s actually not labeled as a “mouse”. Instead, Logitech calls it a wireless trackball because instead of moving your arm like with a traditional mouse, with the M570 you are rolling this ball around with your thumb to move your mouse across your screen. Having said that, I will still refer to this as a mouse and trackball throughout this video.

Right out of the box, the Logitech M570 works with Windows and Mac. Just connect the unifying receiver to a USB port, turn on the trackball, and you’re ready to start using it. The wireless capability is one of its best features. It can work upwards of 30 feet away from the computer. Also since the tracking sensor is built inside the mouse, it can literally be used on nearly any surface. Or no surface at all. I also love how lightweight it is and the long battery life. It comes with a Duracell AA battery and Logitech claims that one battery can last up to 18 months. I’ve owned this mouse for a few months and I still haven’t needed to replace the battery yet, but I usually turn the mouse off when I’m not using it anyway. The ergonomics is also one of its best features. The way its designed lets your hand rest at a more natural position which should help relieve any wrist pain when using it for long periods of time.

For me, the trackball was very smooth right out of the box. However if it’s not as smooth as you’d like you can pop the ball out and wipe it down with a cotton cloth to make it even smoother. The rubber grips on the bottom give it a sturdy placement on the surface it’s on so the mouse itself doesn’t accidentally move when your hand is resting on it at an angle. The mouse feels great in the hand. On the top it has standard left and right click buttons and a scroll wheel. It also has quick access to forward and back buttons which can be programmed as custom triggers using the free Logitech software. There’s also a battery light indicator as well. The bottom where the battery goes has a slot for the unifying receiver in case you are traveling and don’t want to lose the USB dongle. Pretty convenient.

Really, the only downside is that this trackball is only designed for right-handers, like most mouses. Having said that, for right-handers this is one of the best purchases you’ll make. The Logitech M570 is my go-to mouse when I need a break from my trackpad or my Logitech MX Performance. It is a smooth, long lasting, and comfortable wireless mouse that works great. I highly recommend it because for less than $30 you could potentially avoid long-term pain or damage to your wrists. If you have any questions leave a comment below and give this video a thumbs up if it helped you out. Thanks for watching and I’ll talk to you in the next video.

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