The Tribit AquaEase Shower Bluetooth Speaker is a compact and waterproof speaker designed to be used in the shower or any other wet environment. It uses Bluetooth 5.0 technology to wirelessly connect to your smartphone or other Bluetooth-enabled device, allowing you to stream music or take phone calls hands-free while you’re in the shower or bath.
Waterproof and portable design: The speaker is fully waterproof and has a compact size, making it perfect for use in the shower or other wet environments.
Bluetooth connectivity: The speaker has Bluetooth connectivity, which enables you to wirelessly connect your smartphone or tablet to the speaker from up to 33 feet away.
Suction cup attachment: The speaker has a suction cup on the back, making it easy to attach to smooth surfaces, such as bathroom tiles or mirrors.
Long battery life: The speaker has a powerful battery that provides up to 10 hours of continuous playtime on a single charge, and it can be easily recharged using the included USB cable.
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Thoughts and Conclusion
The Tribit AquaEase Shower Bluetooth Speaker is a portable speaker designed specifically for use in the shower or other wet environments. With its compact size and waterproof design, the speaker allows you to enjoy your favorite music, podcasts, or audiobooks while you shower or bathe.
The speaker features Bluetooth connectivity, which enables you to wirelessly connect your smartphone or tablet to the speaker from up to 33 feet away. It also has easy-to-use controls that allow you to adjust the volume, skip tracks, and take calls without having to reach for your device.
The AquaEase Shower Bluetooth Speaker is IPX7 rated, which means it is fully waterproof and can be submerged in water up to 3 feet deep for up to 30 minutes. It also has a suction cup on the back, making it easy to attach to smooth surfaces, such as bathroom tiles or mirrors.
With its powerful battery, the AquaEase Shower Bluetooth Speaker can provide up to 10 hours of continuous playtime on a single charge. When the battery does run low, it can be easily recharged using the USB cable (included).
The Tribit AquaEase Shower Bluetooth Speaker is a convenient and portable speaker that allows you to enjoy your favorite music and other audio content while you shower or bathe. Or, take it poolside and feel free to splash around. Its waterproof design, Bluetooth connectivity, and long battery life make it an ideal companion for anyone who loves to sing in the shower or wants to catch up on their favorite podcasts while getting ready for the day.
On April 13, 2023, Asus announced its latest additions to its gaming phone lineup, the ROG Phone 7 Ultimate and ROG Phone 7. Both Android phones come with upgrades over the previous ROG Phone 6 models, most notably, the use of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 SoC. Additionally, the handsets will include up to 16GB of LPDDR5X RAM running at 8533Hz and up to 512GB of UFS 4.0 storage.
The latest Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 is 15% more powerful while using 15% less power. It also supports hardware-accelerated ray tracing in real-time for realistic reflections. Of course, the best way to unlock all of the power of the Snapdragon chip is by keeping it cool for the best performance.
That’s why the ROG Phone 7 and ROG Phone 7 Ultimate make use of three innovative ways to keep everything cool. During light gaming sessions, the Boron Nitride thermal compound is said to reduce throttling. While more intense gaming will take advantage of the larger vapor chamber with graphite sheets. Finally, for most extreme cases, the AeroActive Cooler 7 can be used which places a fan directly over the CPU module.
One way the ROG Phone 7 Ultimate outshines the standard version is with a special air inlet which is automatically activated when the AeroActive Cooler 7 is attached. This provides even greater cooling for the best performance possible, as shown in Asus lab testing.
The AeroActive Cooler 7 does more than keep your mobile from frying your fingers. It also includes a powerful subwoofer for true 2.1 sound when combined with the ROG Phone 7’s updated speakers with 50% more volume. Not to be outshined by the new sound system, the upgraded 165Hz 6.8-inch 2448 x 1080 Samsung AMOLED panel now reaches a peak brightness of 1,500 nits for gaming outside along with a 720Hz touch-sampling rate.
The camera system remains unchanged on the ROG Phone 7 and ROG Phone 7 Ultimate with a 50MP main camera, 13MP ultra-wide shooter, and 5MP macro lens. For selfies, there’s a 32 MP (8MP binned) front-facing camera.
The selection of ports also goes unchanged, with a side-mounted USB Type C port and a USB Type C port on the bottom alongside the 3.5mm audio jack. Gamers will also be happy to know the shoulder triggers haven’t gone anywhere, and there’s still a large 6,000mAh battery on the inside featuring 65W charging.
The Asus ROG Phone 7 comes in Phantom Black or Storm White and has a starting price of €999, while the ROG Phone 7 Ultimate only comes in Storm White with a price of €1,399. It’s worth noting that the ROG Phone 7 Ultimate also includes the AeroActive Cooler—a €110 value—and the ROG Vision display on the back which equates for some of the price increase over the vanilla ROG Phone 7. Both phones are available now for pre-order in Europe and Taiwan.
Mecool is an interesting brand that specializes in Android TV devices. You may not know the company by name, but its lineup is pretty solid. You can snag a decent Android TV machine for under $100 to compete with the likes of Amazon’s Fire TV series and any Roku device. I’ve been testing the KM7 Plus edition for a few weeks and Mecool has another good option with this Google TV set-top box.
Design
All this Android fun is crammed into a completely square plastic case that’s about the size of two decks of playing cards set side-by-side. I’m a sucker for a panda color scheme and the black and white combo really sets the Mecool KM7 Plus apart from other Android TV options.
The front is flanked by an LED array showing the power and connectivity statuses. The left houses expansion slots for two full USB-A ports and an SD slot. The right side is void of options and the rest of the ports are found on the back. Here you’ll find the Ethernet, power, HDMI, 3.5mm audio, and optical audio jacks.
Another positive is the Mecool remote included with the KM7 Plus. It follows the new Google reference remote design and is one of the better remotes you’ll use on any streaming modern box. The keys are intuitive and options add to the experience well. It also includes IRC capabilities for adding full power and volume support to most TVs and soundbars.
Performance
The internals of 2GB RAM and 16GB of EMMC storage paired with an Amlogic S905Y4 Quad-Core A35 CPU. This combination isn’t cutting-edge, but it makes for more than workable hardware for Android TV performance. Add in the multiple ways to expand the storage and you have one of the better hardware combinations you can find for Google’s big-screen operating system.
Software
Speaking of… the Mecool KM7 Plus runs Google TV. I love to see this updated 2023 model carrying Google TV instead of settling on Android TV. There’s not much difference cosmetically between the two software stacks but providing the newer version of Google’s streaming system comes with better performance and longer updates.
One key point to make note is that Mecool has had all your major streaming apps certified. Netflix and Amazon Prime in particular are notorious for limiting certain machines from having these services available. Thankfully, the KM7 has both onboard with full 4K playback enabled if installed.
Conclusion
Mecool has quite an array of Android TV products for users to choose from and the new KM7 Plus slide into the lineup as one of the top options. The Android TV experience and ample expansion options for storage and peripherals make it more than compelling. Add in Google TV instead of the older Android TV 11, and you may want to add this box to your living room.
The final selling point of any device is price. The Mecool KM7 Plus will set you back $79. While that’s $30 more than the Chromecast with Google TV, I can personally tell you that you will immediately hate the lack of expansion that another option has. With the USB and SD card support of the KM7 Plus, you can future-proof your storage and possibly avoid the Chromecast’s biggest shortcoming.
Check out episode 400 of the AndroidGuys Podcast where we discuss the Hako Mini Android TV Box.
About the Hako Mini Android TV Box
The Hako Mini Android TV Box is a smart TV box that runs on the Android operating system. It has a quad-core processor, 2GB of RAM, and 8GB of storage. It also has a built-in Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity. The box can stream 4K video and supports HDR10. It also comes with a remote control that has voice control capabilities.
Samsung has officially unveiled the Samsung Galaxy M14 5G smartphone in the Indian market. The smartphone already made its debut in the Global market in March 2023. The Galaxy M14 5G Indian version comes with a charging speed upgrade as compared to the global version. Let’s take a look at the specifications and pricing of the Samsung Galaxy M14 5G smartphone.
Samsung Galaxy M14 5G smartphone is powered by Samsung’s in-house Exynos 1330 processor paired with up to 6GB of RAM and up to 128GB of internal storage which is further expandable via Micro-SD card. Software-wise, the device boots Android 13 based on Samsung’s latest OneUI 5.1 out of the box.
For optics, the smartphone features a triple rear camera setup with a 50MP main camera coupled with a 2MP depth sensor and 2P macro sensor. There’s a 13MP snapper at the front for selfies and video chats. Samsung used Galaxy S23’s camera module design for the Galaxy M14 which looks more premium and attractive.
You’ll get a 6.6-inch FHD+ LCD V-shaped display with 90Hz refresh rate support. Samsung packs a big 6,000mAh battery in the Galaxy M14 5G with a 25W fast charging tech which is up from 15W on the Global variant. But there’s a catch, Samsung hasn’t provided the charger in the box, so you need to buy a fast charger separately.
Samsung Galaxy M14 5G comes in two variant options- the 4GB + 128GB variant starts at ₹13,490 (~$164) and the 6GB + 128GB variant is priced at ₹14,990 (~$182). Samsung offered three beautiful color options for the Galaxy M14 5G- Berry Blue, Icy Silver, and Smoke Teal. The smartphone will be available for purchase starting from April 21 via Samsung’s online store and Amazon India.
Affordable wireless service provider Mint Mobile announced it is increasing the amount of data in all its plans free of charge. The new rate plans are already in effect.
According to a release by Mint, this is the third time the company will improve on its mission “to provide affordable wireless to new and existing customers by offering more data, without increasing prices.”
Wireless carriers will have a big challenge contending against Mint as they often increase prices when they offer more data. This move will definitely attract new customers to Mint Mobile.
What’s in it for you?
You may check out this video in which Mint Mobile’s founder, Ryan Reynolds promises that all new and existing Mint customers will have their data upgraded. This, he added, will be done without charge.
Reynolds also clarified that 4GB data will be upgraded to 5GB, while 10GB will be upgraded to 15GB. 15GB will be upgraded to 20GB, and so on and so forth. All these are coming with more gigabytes.
As from April 14, all customers of Mint Mobile will enjoy the following data boost at the low prices shown below.
$15 per month for 5GB of 5G (formerly 4GB)
$20 per month for 15 GB of 5G (previously 10 GB)
$25 per month for 20 GB of 5G (previously 15 GB)
$30 per month for 40 GB of 5G (previously 35 GB)
Most of these plans were previously 4G LTE data.
Existing Mint subscribers will be excited as they see the new plans in higher data amounts as their monthly data refreshes. They will enjoy Mint’s flexible plans which means 25-50 percent more data than previously given.
What’s more? Mint keeps the process simple for subscribers so they don’t have to register again, or take any other action to benefit from the new plan.
Android users and Windows PC users can now share files easily between their devices with Nearby Share Beta for Windows.
The app, launched by Google in 2020 was designed to help users share files across their own devices without hassles. Friends who are close could make use of the file-sharing app.
About three billion active users have enjoyed making use of the app from 2020 to 2023. The number is sure to rise as the need for it grows. At this time, Nearby Share allows content sharing across Android phones, tablets and Chromebooks.
Now that the app has come to Windows as a beta project, users in some regions can add more devices and share files with more friends.
How to use Nearby Share with Windows PC
Simply download the app and install it on your PC. After the installation, you should be able to send files to nearby Android devices, or send files to your PC. That works if your region is included in the Nearby Share beta program.
Nearby Share app works with your Windows PC when open on the desktop or when running in the background. To use it, just drag and drop the photo, video, or document you want to send into the app.
Another way is to select “send with Nearby Share” found in the right-click menu. A list of Android devices will pop up, and you can select the one you want to send files to.
You can also send files from your Android device to your Windows PC. To do that, ensure the app is running on your PC. Next, tap “Share” on the content you want to send, select the PC from the list of the available devices and send.
The manufacturer appreciates your generous contributions that you drop as feedback. This will help them to keep fine-tuning the Nearby Share experience. Nearby Share Beta is available in the U.S and some other regions of the world.
Motorola may be gearing up for the launch of Razr Pro and Razr Lite two new foldable phones later this year. Earlier reports suggest that the Razr Pro 2023 was tipped to launch as Razr Plus 2023. The Motorola Razr 40 Ultra was recently spotted on the Geekbench listing and also other listing sites such as the TDRA certification website, Chinese CQC website, and Canadian REL certification website.
Motorola’s new Razr 40 Ultra foldable smartphone will be launching soon in every market though the brand hasn’t revealed any details about the upcoming foldable smartphone. The Geekbench listing suggests the Razr 40 Ultra has a Motorola XT2321-1 model number. The smartphone will run on Android 13 based on MyUX 5.
Furthermore, the Razr 40 Ultra will be powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 chipset paired with up to 12GB of RAM, under the hood. The phone scored 1285 and 3810 points in Geekbench’s Single core and multi-core tests.
Leaks suggest that the upcoming Razr Pro foldable phone will feature a large cover display which will be bigger than the recently launched OPPO Find N2 Flip which sports a 3.26-inch cover display. The main screen is expected to feature a 6.7-inch OLED foldable display with a 144Hz refresh rate.
For optics, you’ll get to see a Dual rear camera setup at the back just like another flip smartphone on the market. And for selfies, the device is likely to feature an under-display selfie camera. The smartphone is likely to house a 3640mAh battery with 33W fast charging support. Currently, the Find N2 Flip is the only foldable smartphone that has a 4300mAh maximum battery capacity.
TableTopics is a conversation starter game that contains a collection of thought-provoking questions designed to stimulate discussion and encourage people to share their perspectives and experiences. The game consists of a set of 135 question cards, each of which contains a different prompt. Players take turns drawing a card from the deck and answering the question on the card. The questions are designed to be fun and lighthearted, and they can be enjoyed by people of all ages and backgrounds.
Plenty of fun and interesting genres for a variety of scenarios
Open-ended questions get people talking; no wrong answer
Perfect icebreaker for meeting friends, work gatherings, and more
135 cards in a hard plastic box
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One of the most difficult aspects of meeting new people or gathering in groups is figuring out the right topics. Which people are interested in sports, or movies, or a particular hobby? Tabletopics makes things simple with open-ended questions that will get people chatting in no time.
The best part is that there’s no wrong answer. Jump in wherever you feel comfortable, or add on to someone else’s discussion with your own anecdotes or answer.
An easy way to get things going in a meeting or group setting, we can imagine a topic or two being used to introduce yourself to others. Or, open things up and let people break out into smaller chats.
With quite a selection of topics to consider, pack is better than the next. These are perfect to put on a coffee table for when guest stop over and you’re looking for a lively conversation.
The toughest decision you’ll make is figuring out which box you want.
Wireless earbuds are improved and evolved more over the years, not only in terms of hardware-wise but also design-wise too. Brands are offering more attractive looks and great sound hardware inside the earbuds which is way better than the typical black and white earbuds.
Acefast is an emerging brand in the TWS market and its newly launched Acefast Crystal (2) T8 wireless earbuds are simply awesome, come with an eye-catchy transparent design, and six luminous color options which catch our attention. Acefast sent us Crystal (2) T8 earbuds for review, let’s see how it performs in our test.
I have been using the Acefast Crystal (2) earbuds for about one week now. The earbuds look good and sound even better but some must-have features aren’t there such as ANC.
Acefast Crystal (2) T8 Earbuds Specs
The Acefast Crystal (2) T8 offers crystal clear sound with high-definition bass.
Battery Life – 7 hours (earbuds only), 30 hours (earbuds with case)
Brand – ACEFAST
Weight – Earbuds – 11g, Case – 47g
Noise Cancellation – No
Connectivity – Bluetooth 5.3 + EDR
IP rating – IPX4 (Earbuds and charging case)
Charging – USB-C
Pros
Beautiful light effects
Fast and reliable Bluetooth connectivity
Average audio performance
ENC for call noise reduction
30+ hours of long-lasting battery
Cons
No ANC
No Multi-Point and Fast Pair support
Touch controls are not very responsive
Acefast Crystal (2) T8 earbuds: Price and Availability
Acefast Crystal (2) T8 earbuds retail at $99 but are currently available for $69.99. The earbuds are available for purchase via Acefast’s official website.
Design and Build Quality: Flashy and sleek
The Acefast Crystal (2) T8 earbuds have a very unique design, unlike other earbuds in the market. The earbuds have an eye-grabber transparent design, you can see the circuits present inside the case and earbuds, which look great. Acefast may be inspired by Nothing’s Ear 1 (see our review) which also offers a transparent design but in comparison to Nothing, the Crystal T8’s charging case is more transparent.
Acefast Crystal (2) T8 earbuds have a digital battery indicator with mesmerizing breathing light on top of the case which shows the battery percentage of the case and just above it, there are separate battery bars for each bud that show the battery status of the buds.
The charging case shows the battery percentages in digits from 99 onwards and the “OK” word means the battery is fully charged (100%). In the market, you can see most of the earbuds come with a flip design which is quite a hassle to take out the earbuds from the case but the Acefast Crystal T8 earbuds are attached via magnets to the sides of the case which is fast accessible, and more convenient. It has a Type-C port at the bottom for charging.
Speaking about the build quality, the case is made of hard plastic material which is sturdy and offers a good feel in hand. The earbuds have a solid build, during the unboxing time the earbud fell from my hand accidentally but there were no scratches or damages. The buds offer great in-ear fits thanks to the curved ergonomic design which offers a tight grip enough to not fall out during a workout, walking, or other activities.
In my case, I haven’t experienced the bud fall-out problem. Just use a proper silicone tip size, as per your ears and you never face this fallout problem. The weight of each earbud is 11g though it doesn’t feel heavy in the ear while using even after continuous 3 to 4 hours of use.
The case is compact, weighs just 47 grams and easily slides into your jeans pocket. Though there are no physical buttons on the case; it offers touch controls via earbuds.
Acefast offered six attractive color options for the Crystal (2) T8 earbuds- Purple, Black, Pink, Blue, Green, and White. All six options come with the same transparent design and a small LED light with their respective colors.
Talking about my unboxing experience which is pretty good, the design of the box is quite flashy. You can see the texts all around the box. Acefast offers a bunch of accessories with Crystal (2) T8 earbuds, usually most manufacturers don’t provide even the big players in the TWS market such as Sony, Apple, OnePlus, and many more.
Here’s everything you’ll get in the box
The Acefast Crystal (2) T8 earbuds
Type C charging cable
Ear tips (Extra small, small, medium, and large)
Silicon Protective case with a rubber string
User Manual
Hardware: Some must-have features are missing
Acefast Crystal (2) T8 earbuds lack some must-have features which at least you expect in $99 earbuds. Talking about the features, each earbud packs in a 10mm driver with an aluminum moving coil and a 6mm dome tweeter which helps to deliver an immersive sound experience.
The earbuds use the latest Bluetooth v5.3 + Enhance Data Rate (EDR) with support for AAC and SBC audio codecs though you wouldn’t get Hi-Res audio support.
Dual microphones are embedded with each earbud, so call quality was great for me at least in my testing and there is ENC support that ensures noise reduction during calls. Unfortunately, the earbuds don’t support Active Noise Cancellation.
You get an IPX4 waterproof grade for both earbuds and the case. This means the case and earbuds can withstand splashes of water for a short period of time. The earbuds boast a Laser Direct Structuring (LDS) antenna design that offers stable signals and strong anti-interference.
Acefast doesn’t offer any smartphone app for creating custom audio profiles or managing equalizers or receiving firmware updates. There is no Fast pair (for faster connectivity on Android devices) and multi-point paring (for connecting two devices simultaneously) support in the Acefast Crystal (2) T8 earbuds.
Perhaps ironically, the earbuds don’t have in-ear or wear detection (which resumes and pauses the media playback) that feature usually found in any budget earbuds today.
There are no physical buttons on the case itself, so you can’t check the battery status of the case or earbuds whenever you want, at least you need to put the earbuds in the case every time.
The earbuds have touch control options that are easy to use, a single tap for volume up/down, a double tap to pause the media playback, and a triple tap to change the track. Sadly, you can’t customize the controls, which is a bummer, and they are not very responsive at least for me, and take a bit of time to register touches. (Yes, I do agree the touch controls are easy and more convenient to use but I’m not a fan of touch controls because it never works perfectly for me, may it’s just my problem).
Performance and Sound Quality: Good Sound and minor lags
Activating the earbuds is very easy just put out the earbuds from the case, and they turn on automatically and connects even faster thanks to the Bluetooth v5.3 connectivity.
In my testing, the Acefast Crystal (2) T8 earbud’s performance is good providing crystal clear and loud audio but there’s a catch, the earbud sounds too bassy which I usually like in most scenarios but in some cases, I don’t. The mids and lows are just average while the highs are decent. The bass doesn’t overpower the vocals, it’s well separated from it.
The earbuds lack Active Noise Cancellation which affects the overall music-listening experience but the quality of sound did come out pretty decent. The T8 performed well during an hour-long call with my friend, providing crystal-clear audio and no connectivity issues. For those who love rocking music, pop tracks, and Full of base songs these earbuds will be a good choice because Acefast focused on lower bass frequencies which offer a deep and powerful listening experience.
During my testing, I haven’t faced any connectivity issues. There were no lags or dropouts when testing on an Android, tablet, iPhone, or laptop. Yes, it has one drawback- the earbuds can only connect to a sole device at a time because of the lack of a multi-point feature but thanks to its fastest connectivity options, the buds are automatically in the pairing mode as soon as you removed it from the charging case.
Apart from the music, I also did some gaming with these earbuds. Though it’s not pure gaming earbuds, so you can’t expect a top-notch performance. While playing PUBG Mobile, observed a very noticeable lag which definitely ruined my gaming experience. The earbuds do have a luxurious look and attractive breathing light which gives truly gamer vibes. These earbuds are not built for competitive gaming but it is good enough for casual games.
Battery Life: Lasts up to 30 Hours
Battery life is one of the important factors in any earbuds, the better the battery backup, the better the experience. Acefast Crystal (2) T8 earbuds are claimed to offer up to 7 hours of battery life at 70% volume on a single charge while the case lasts up to 30 hours. The charging case houses a 480mAh battery (which can charge the earbuds 4 times) while there is a 45mAH battery in each earbud. The earbuds have fast charging support with just 10 mins of charge it offers up to 2 hours of playback time.
During my testing period, I found the earbuds offered me 6.5 hours of playback time on a single charge which is great and nearly equal to what Acefast claims it. But one thing that impresses me a lot which is, I was playing with these earbuds for around a week, and I didn’t even charge the case once. The earbuds don’t have wireless charging support and they can be charged via USB Type C, and The case takes up to 90 minutes to fully charge.
Verdict
Acefast Crystal (2) T8 wireless earbuds are indeed good for music and casual gaming and offer deep, crystal-clear sound quality with extra bass. The earbuds have a unique transparent design which makes it one of the best-looking earbuds on the market and mesmerizing breathing LED light embossed in them which also shows how much juice is remaining on the charging case (In the form of digits) as well as the left and right earbuds too.
The overall sound quality is just average and you wouldn’t get Active Noise Cancellation and any high-bitrate codec support, only the AAC and SBC codecs. Battery performance is great, the earbuds deliver a long 30 hours of playback time on a single charge. If you are a casual user, then these earbuds definitely offer up to 2 weeks of playback time for sure.
That said, there are many brands out there (Samsung’s Galaxy Buds 2, Sony’s WF-C500) which offer the basic features such as ANC, better codec support, wear detection, and Fast Pair support. The Crystal T8 lacks these and is priced too high at $100.
If you are getting around 30 to 40% discount during purchasing the T8 then and only then we can recommend it. Otherwise there are a bunch of options in the market you can go with it which offer far superior features.
