Bose SoundLink Mini Bluetooth Speaker Ii - Special Edition Review

Crisp clear solid sound, this arrived in a bose branded box with the USB-C to USB charge lead, a large multi lingual safety instructions booklet along with a very basic user guide in the top section, the guide is adequate to set the speaker up and play music but does not give any details on features or functions. You can get a very comprehensive manual from the bose website linked on the back of the safety instructions manual and I would suggest this should be the first thing you do.

The top section lifted off to reveal the speaker with a plastic sleeve round it packed into a moulded insert, all very well packed and protected, I put the speaker on charge and went to their website to get the manual and have a good read through. I linked the speaker up to my Android phone all very straight forward and once connected was able to play music; I have a few non brand Bluetooth speakers and the difference with this is instant once you unpack it, the speaker is very heavy for its small size, the finishing and quality is flawless and you can instantly tell the difference in sound quality with a very solid and crisp with a deep base sound.

I tested out the voice assistant which worked a lot better than I expected being able to hear clearly and be heard when talking on the phone also using Google assistant and Siri on my iphone all working flawlessly, the volume is enough to fill a room but if you are looking for something to blast the house down then it won’t do that.

• Bose technology delivers big sound and deep bass
• Sleek, durable and lightweight design with a low profile
• Wireless with up to 12 hours of play time per charge
• Built-in microphone for speakerphone or access to your phone’s voice assistant
• Voice prompts for easy Bluetooth pairing, remembering up to devices at a time. Usb-c charging port and aux input

Overall this is a top quality Bluetooth speaker, it’s not all singing and dancing with a multitude of complicated features and functions but it fills its purpose perfectly giving fantastic sound quality, allowing you to talk on the phone and use your devices phone’s voice assistant, the battery lasts for a massive 12 hours of play time per charge so it gets top marks from me.

Price: £169.00
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Umi. Essentials Digital Alarm Clock Review

A simple basic alarm clock, this arrived in a plain brown box protected in a bubble wrap sleeve along with the instructions, my daughter normally uses her phone as an alarm in the mornings to get up for school but more than a few times she has forgotten to put it on charge or left it in her coat so I thought this would be an ideal replacement.

The instructions are good clear print and are easy enough to follow so as you understand and are able to set up the clock along with alarm either setting it to a 12 or 24 hour display, enable or disable the snooze function, dim the display or even stop the flashing of the dots on the display.

I set it up to give it a full test, it takes four AA batteries (not supplied) which are easy enough to fit with a slide off cover, the setting of the time and alarm are also very simple and you can move the digit rapidly by holding down the button or slowly with single presses along with enabling or disabling the snooze function.

The snooze function works well repeating up to three times every seven minutes, the alarm has an increasing volume around every twenty seconds but the alarm stops automatically after one minute if not turned off or set to snooze which may be an issue for a very heavy sleeper.

My daughter really likes the clock and the alarm is loud enough to wake her up without problem, the display is good and clear and has a switch on the back to lower the brightness although it is only a minimal adjustment and would have been better with an adjustment wheel in my opinion.

Overall this is a very simple battery operated alarm clock that is easy to set up, has a good clear display, ideal for waking you in the mornings, I would have liked to see a more adjustable option for dimming the display and as the alarm only lasts for one minute increasing in volume then shuts off even if not stopped I would not think it suitable for a very heavy sleeper.

Price: £15.99
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Motorola Focus 89 Wireless Indoor Camera Review

This arrived in a branded Motorola box with the camera and micro USB power cable packed securely into foam, included in the box there is a quick start guide, this is adequate to get started but I was a little disappointed not to get a glossy manual listing and describing all details and adjustments in detail.

After unpacking and plugging the camera in I went through the setup, all very simple with prompts and onscreen help tutorials along the way, it gives the option of signing up for a trial of free cloud storage which is not an option I will be taking up, I put a 32gig micro SD card in the camera which records movement and sound, also depending on your settings will give you an alert on your mobile device regardless of your location as long as it is connected online overwriting old footage when full so as never to run out of space, this will also allow you to record footage or images to your mobile device. I didn’t like the regular screen popup offering the free trial which would then turn into a regular subscription after I had already declined and would have appreciated an option to disable this message.

The camera recording quality is superb and very simple to adjust and move the camera to different angles remotely along with pinch to zoom; the sound quality is adequate both ways. Night vision and low light recording is very clear and quite impressive. The camera has a multitude of settings easily navigated along with help and assistance within the Hubble application to assist with setting these.

The alert system works very well and gives you the option to go straight to a live feed of the camera to check out what’s going on, I had to search for the Hubble application on the app store as the QR code supplied on the quick start guide was too small to scan and once installed you have to register as you would expect for security reasons.

• Full HD 1080p resolution with remote pan and digital tilt/zoom
• Works with compatible smartphone or tablet and Wi-Fi connectivity for on-the-go viewing
• Two-way talk, night vision, 90-degree angle review and true colour filter for colour correction in low light
• Secure and private connection with local & cloud storage options
• Box contents include Wi-Fi indoor camera, power adapter and quick start guide

Overall I found the camera quality very good, the Hubble application is very polished giving a multitude of different options and settings, the ‘quick start’ guide supplied really should have been much better quality and been an addition to a full manual rather than a stand alone in my opinion, I found the popup free trial a bit intrusive once I had refused it but the bottom line for me is this is a very good security camera with high quality recording backed up with a very easy to navigate application for your mobile device and instant notification.

Price: £69.99
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