Tuesday, 23 July 2019
Google Pixel Stand review: One Of The best accessory of Google
Google Wireless Charger for Pixel 3, Pixel 3XL - White
What is a Google Home, really?
If you think about it, the Google Home is just a way for Google’s virtual assistant to express itself. Assistant can live in speakers and headphones, smart displays and smartwatches, but the core function of the Google Assistant is to always be there when you need it. That’s why the Google Home was made to blend into your home decor and that’s also why it looks like an air freshener.
A few days ago, Google introduced the Pixel Stand. While it might look like any other wireless charging stand from the outside, Google has cooked up some fresh ideas that lets its Assistant exist in a new way, on a device it already inhabited.
So how does it work, and what’s so special about it, anyway? Read our full Google Pixel Stand review to find out.
A quick note: As Kris already mentioned, we are holding off on our Pixel 3 review for a few days. Stay tuned for the full review in a few days!
The basics, but better
The Pixel Stand uses Google’s new fast wireless charging tech. That’s 10 watts of power being pumped into your Pixel through the air, and it also works with cases — even the relatively thick Moment case I’ve been rocking since launch. While it isn’t quite as fast as USB Type-C quick charging through its included 18-watt fast charger, Google has pulled some compelling tricks to keep your Pixel on its stand longer than usual. More on that later.
Charge whatever you like, but the Pixel 3 will charge smarter.
This Stand uses the Qi charging standard, so any device with Qi wireless charging capabilities will work just fine with the charger, but the special features are reserved for the Pixel 3. Because the Pixel Stand has two separate charging coils, you’re able to set your device on it in either a portrait or landscape orientation and still get a jump. Pretty nifty.
More than just charging
Google is charging $71 for the Pixel stand, and that’s kind of a lot of money. You can get hundreds of wireless chargers for far cheaper than this first-party option, so Google had to add something that made the Pixel Stand in particular worth your money. In the end, Google did exactly what it did for image processing on the Pixel 2 XL — it shifted some smarts onto a separate microprocessor.Obviously, this microprocessor isn’t as complex as the Pixel Visual Core. Instead of performing image recognition through machine learning, the Pixel Stand’s microprocessor checks to see that your phone is actually a Pixel 3, then stores a unique ID to pair it so it can recognize it again later. It does this because the Stand can host multiple Pixels and perform different actions based on how the user set it up to work on that particular Stand. This is useful if you have multiple Pixel Stands, like one at your bedside you use like a digital photo frame in Do Not Disturb mode and one at your work desk you use as a clock. Unique identifiers for each phone-stand combination are also useful if other people in your home own a Pixel 3 as well.
The actions your phone can trigger could be as simple as putting your phone into Do Not Disturb mode while on the Pixel stand, or even telling your device to turn the screen off if it detects darkness.
Many of the actions the Pixel Stand enables play into Google’s Digital Wellbeing initiative, and I think it’s a brilliant use of a wireless charger. The Stand encourages you to leave your phone on the Stand while still remaining useful.
In its default state, the Pixel Stand will show the time alongside your notifications and a new interface for Google Assistant. You can press the Assistant button to trigger voice actions, but Google would prefer that you use the “Hey Google” hotword to start talking instead. There’s a reason the Pixel 3 has front-facing speakers — it transforms into a Google Home.
You can ask the Assistant to tell you about your day, which will do things like read the news and let you know when you should leave for work. You can also take advantage of the Assistant’s Routines feature to trigger other aspects of your smart home like starting up a smart coffee maker or turning on your lights. Routines is an extremely powerful feature, and it’s nice being able to automate things from the comfort of your bed.
Another action Google has introduced with the Pixel Stand is Photo
Frame. This action uses your Pixel 3 as a digital frame of sorts,
parsing through your Google Photos albums much like the Chromecast
can do. It can also use some AI smarts to automatically select the best
images from your library, and it works shockingly well. I don’t have my
Photos library sorted at all, and it’s filled with random device photos
and screenshots from benchmarking phones. To my surprise, Photo Frame
mostly picked the photos I shot with my actual mirrorless camera, as
well as the best images I’ve shot with phones, and primarily showed me
images of people smiling.
Google is also introducing a new feature called Sunrise Alarm. This uses the OLED
display on your Pixel 3 to slowly raise the brightness of the screen
with a solid color, ambiently waking your body even if it doesn’t jolt
you awake. The process starts 15 minutes before your actual alarm is set
to go off, and if you’re lucky, it might help you wake up without the
need for a loud and annoying alarm clock. If you do reach the point
where your actual alarm goes off, you should be more prepared to wake up
and feel better during the morning — at least in theory. This feature
hasn’t launched yet, but we’re excited to test it out as soon as it hits
devices later this month.
Why it’s amazing
From the outside, the Pixel Stand looks like a wireless charger with a few extra features. When you combine those features with the power of Google’s Assistant, you start to see where this accessory brings a massive amount of value.Google doesn’t care about its hardware as much as it cares about making the Assistant a part of your life. The more vessels the Assistant can live in the better, and Google is developing more innovative ways to get the Assistant into the products we use on a daily basis.
The whole point of the Assistant is to exist all around you. Whether that’s through a Google Home, Google Assistant-enabled headphones, a Smart Display, or even your phone, Google wants you to have access to the Assistant wherever you are. Why are Google Home Mini and Google Home Hub so affordable? Google wants the Assistant to be in every room of your home.
For better or worse, your phone is now a Google Home.
In this vein, the Pixel Stand transforms your phone into a Google Home. Sure, you can technically call on the Assistant from your phone wherever you are, but Google wants to encourage you to use the Assistant instead of your screen. It does this with the promise of rapid charging your phone for when you need to leave the house, and the extra functionalities like Photo Frame encourage you to leave your phone on your stand and rely on your voice to make searches. Google is pushing us into a voice-first world.
The Pixel Stand is also an enormous push in Google’s Digital Wellbeing feature. With the functionality the Pixel Stand promises, users are encouraged to dock their device on the stand when they get home and leave it there until it helps them wake up more naturally in the morning. Instead of stressful messages and notifications, you’re greeted by memories which are automatically chosen from your messy Google Photos library. Google wants us to live in a world where we don’t use our phone at all while we’re at home, and that’s a reality I would be incredibly excited to live in. Of course, in this idealistic worldview it’s only Google services that deserve a pass.
In the end, it comes down to thinking of our phones as utilities. Sure, they can be sources of entertainment when we’re not doing much else, but apps have shifted from mindless games to being primarily used for work. Slack alone is installed on over 10 million devices worldwide, and hearing that hair-raising ping just as you’re settling down to relax is something we could all live without.
Google’s best accessory ever… if you’re willing to pay for it
The Pixel Stand may not seem like much, but I think it’s the best accessory Google has ever made (I consider the Chromecast a full product, not so much an accessory). In classic Google fashion, its core purpose is a symbiotic relationship, drastically increasing the number of voice queries while at the same time helping you remove yourself from the screen you’re glued to 50 percent of the day. Google knows ad revenue won’t last forever, and it has been rapidly trying to get users onboarded to using voice as their primary method of interacting with computers.$79 is a bit of a hefty price to pay, and I am honestly a little surprised that Google didn’t price this more aggressively. There’s no way the hardware costs anywhere close to $79 to produce, and the value of onboarding a customer onto Google Assistant is a big win for Google. I’d like to see Google sell bundle deals that reduce the price of the Pixel Stand when ordering a Pixel 3, but we’ve yet to see any such bundle hit the Google store. Carriers do bundles like this fairly regularly though, and it’s possible we’ll see something concrete as we approach the holiday season.
If you don’t mind the $71 price tag, the Pixel Stand is one of the
coolest accessories you can buy for your new Google Pixel 3. I want one
for the sole reason that it removes me from my phone while I’m at home,
and I think anyone could benefit from that in 2018.
| Specs | |
| Power output | 10w |
| Standard | Qi |
| Dimensions (phone size maximum) | 3.6″ x 4.1″ |
| Weight | 160g (5.6oz) |
| Cable included? | Yes |
| AC adapter included? | Yes |
Review Moshi Otto Q Wireless Charging Pad
Moshi Otto Q Wireless Charger Pad, Qi Certified Wireless Charging Pad, Supports 10W Fast-Charging, Anti-Slip Rubber Base and top,no Wall Charger Include
"We like the style of this wireless charging pad from Moshi. It has a practical, gray fabric finish with a silicone ring in the middle that ensures your phone won’t slip off the sweet spot. Functionally it can put out up to 10W, so it will fast charge a Samsung Galaxy or an Apple iPhone at their top speeds of 9W and 7.5W, respectively. It comes with a 3-foot, gray, plastic USB-C to USB-A cable, but sadly there’s no wall charger in the box, so you’ll need to pair it with one rated at 12W for best performance."
"Although small and light, the bottom of the charging pad is silicone and it grips well on most surfaces. The finish on the top is ideal if you don’t like to cover the glass back of your phone with a case, as it both pads and grips the back of your phone. It can also charge through most cases without issue. There is a small, white LED on the front which pulses gently when charging and stays lit when your phone is fully charged. It’s not too bright compared to some others, but you might want to make sure it faces away from you if you’re placing it on your nightstand."
| Specs | |
| Power output | 10w |
| Standard | Qi |
| Dimensions (phone size maximum) | 4″ x 4″ x 0.5″ |
| Weight | 103g (3.6oz) |
| Cable included? | Yes |
| AC adapter included? | No |
Ted Baker Connected Geeve Wireless Charger
Ted Baker Luxury Real Leather Wireless Charger, Connected Wireless Charger with Fast Charge Capability USB-C Braided Cable Included (1M)
Popular designer brand Ted Baker’s latest range of iPhone accessories are beautifully made, and as you would expect, very stylish, too. Take a look at the $80 wireless charger, particularly the delectable, “brushed chocolate aluminum,” finish in our pictures. It’s not only on-point fashion-wise, but it goes with most home decor. The top of the charger is covered in Italian suede leather, ensuring it doesn’t scratch your phone if it’s not in a case, and there is a rubber ring under the charger to keep it secure on a desk or table.
The charger supports the Qi standard and operates with the iPhone and with many compatible Android phones. We tested it with the iPhone XS Max, the Huawei P30 Pro, and the Nokia 9 PureView without any problems. It comes with a Ted Baker braided USB Type-C cable, but no mains plug. You can see the iPhone XS Max is wrapped in a matching $35 Ted Baker case — for the ultimate in accessory coordination — which is highly protective, but doesn’t interrupt the flow of power from the wireless charger.
| Specs | |
| Power output | 10w |
| Standard | Qi |
| Dimensions (phone size maximum) | 3.75″ x 0.5″ |
| Weight | 141g (4.9oz) |
| Cable included? | Yes |
| AC adapter included? | No |
Read Amazon Fire TV Stick with Alexa voice remote Review And Buy
The GHI's Tried & Tested review of the Amazon Fire TV Stick with Alexa voice remote
Tested January 2019
Simple
to use, the Amazon Fire TV Stick with Alexa remote is an affordable way
of watching a great choice of online movie and TV services on a TV that
isn't smart. The addition of the Alexa remote means you can use your
voice to control playback of TV shows and films, as well as controlling
your smart home devices and even giving you a daily briefing.
Available from: amazon.com
Price when tested:
GHI Expert Verdict
If
you're looking for an affordable TV streaming device that lets you watch
everything from Netflix to BBC iPlayer on your TV and gives you all the
benefits of a voice assistant, the Amazon Fire TV Stick is the perfect
buy. For under £40, you can watch your favourite shows in HD on your TV
even if its not smart.
And, for the first time,
this handy gadget also comes with an Alexa voice remote (previously
Alexa was only available through the Fire TV stick itself) so you can
press the microphone button on the remote and ask Alexa to do everything
from finding TV shows for you to turning on your smart lights and even
setting timers. You'll need the more expensive model if you want to
watch shows in 4K, but for anyone else this is great value for money.
Ratings
- Ease of use: 3.5/5
- Design: 3.5/5
- Instructions: 4/5
- Performance: 4.2/5
We Liked
- Photos or videos taken on your phone/tablet can be uploaded for free to Amazon Cloud Drive and then can be viewed on your TV through the Fire TV stick
- The device comes with built-in parental controls that allow you to set a password or PIN number for purchasing videos
- Compact and discreet design
- It gives you instant access to any music or movies you've already purchased through Amazon
We Didn't Like
- There's no MicroSD card slot to store items on
- Showing photos and video stored on your smartphone on the Fire TV is a fiddly process
- You can't watch Now TV though the Fire TV Stick
Review Anker PowerWave 7.5 Qi Wireless Charging Pad
Anker PowerWave 7.5 Fast Wireless Charging Pad with Internal Cooling Fan, Qi-Certified, 7.5W Compatible iPhone XR/XS Max/XS/X/8/8 Plus, 10W Charges Galaxy S9/S9+/S8/S8+ (with Quick Charge Adapter)
"Anker debuted a couple of new wireless chargers at Mobile World Congress, the PowerWave Pad and PowerWave Stand. We've been using the PowerWave Pad for a few weeks now, on various wireless charging smartphones, and it actually works really well. It's actually one of Anker's more expensive Qi-enabled wireless chargers on the market. So that begs the question of whether it's worth it, so let's find out."
"The PowerWave Pad is a pretty small charging pad from Anker. It's a little larger than a hockey puck, but large enough to charge a smartphone or even a tablet - though many tablets don't sport wireless charging anyways. It's white with a light gray finish on the top. The top of the pad is actually soft-touch, which is going to keep your phone from sliding off the pad at night, that is definitely a good thing. Seeing as smartphones have slid off of other charging pads overnight before. So keeping it in one place is definitely appreciated. There's an Anker logo on the top and then a LED light to the left of the logo, which appears when its charging your smartphone. There is a fan inside, along with a micro USB port on the back. It's unfortunate that Anker is sticking with micro USB still, but micro USB is still very, very popular these days. So it likely saved on costs, to keep this a bit cheaper."
"One of the main selling points on this wireless charger is the fact that it does 7.5W. That is for fast charging the iPhone 8, 8 Plus and X. But Anker has Android users covered as well, since it does also support 10W for fast charging on Samsung's smartphones. So if you have a new Galaxy S9, Galaxy S8, Galaxy Note 8, or really any flagship newer than the Galaxy Note 5, you can take advantage of faster wireless charging with the PowerWave Pad. We did test this with the Galaxy S9 and it turned out to work really well. It's still a bit slower than plugging it into an Adaptive Fast Charging wall charger, but definitely faster than a regular 5W wireless charger."
"The two main smartphones that we used with this wireless charger was the Galaxy S9 and the Xiaomi Mi MIX 2S. Both of which support fast wireless charging, and both of which worked really well with this wireless charger. Now this will work with any Qi-enabled device, since it is using the Qi standard. So whether you have a LG G6, LG V30, or any other wireless charging smartphone, it'll work perfectly fine. It'll fully charge your device in around two hours, depending on the battery capacity. Sure that's still kind of slow, but it's perfectly fine for charging overnight."
"With the PowerWave Pad, Anker includes a Quick Charge 3.0 wall charger, and that is a great thing here. Many wireless chargers don't come with a wall charger anymore, to make it cheaper. But with the PowerWave Pad needing more power, it needs something that can give it that power, which is a Quick Charge 3.0 charger. And by doing it this way, users are able to use that wall charger for the wireless charger, but also to quickly charge up their smartphone if they do need it fully charged faster than a wireless charger can provide. Now, we did try plugging this into a regular wall charger, or even a USB hub that doesn't support Quick Charge 3.0, and the PowerWave Pad won't even work. Not too surprising, but worth taking note."
"The Anker PowerWave Pad is priced at $45.99, normally. That is pretty expensive compared to its other wireless chargers, not to mention others on Amazon. So is it worth the price? Well if you have an iPhone or a Samsung smartphone, then this is the charger you'll want, and others with "fast" wireless charging at either 7.5W or 10W are also in this price range, with Samsung's own being quite a bit more cash. So it's definitely worth the price. The build quality is also much better on this model than some of Anker's other wireless chargers out there. You can find it on Amazon by hitting the link below."
Charger
Charging Port
Tuesday, 16 July 2019
Apple iPhone Moshi Cable
 |
| Moshi Apple Certified Lightning Cable to USB - 10 feet (3 Meters) - White |
- MFi-certified: Yes
- Length: 10 feet
- Warranty: 12 months
Apple iPhone Zus Kevlar Cable
 |
| nonda ZUS Super Duty USB A to USB C Cable with Aramid Fiber, 4ft/1.2m, Right Angle, Charger and Data Sync for MacBook 2016/2015,MacBook Pro,Nintendo Switch, Google Pixel and Nexus 6P/5X (Black) |
- MFi-certified: Yes
- Length: 4 feet
- Warranty: Limited
Apple iPhone Fuse Chicken Titan Plus Cable
 |
| Fuse Chicken Titan+ Lightning Cable 1.5M Compatible with iPhone (MFI Certified) (Black) |
- MFi-certified: Yes
- Length: 4.9 feet/1.5 meters
- Warranty: Limited lifetime
Apple iPhone Nomad Ultra Rugged Cable
 |
| Nomad Lightning Cable - 3 Meter (Apple Mfi Certified) Braided Rugged Lightning to USB Charging Cable |
- MFi-certified: Yes
- Length: 9.8 feet (3 meters)
- Warranty: 2 years
Apple iPhone Anker PowerLine II Cable
 |
| Anker Powerline II Lightning Cable (6ft), Probably The World's Most Durable Cable, MFi Certified for iPhone Xs/XS Max/XR/X / 8/8 Plus / 7/7 Plus / 6/6 Plus (White) |
- MFi-certified: Yes
- Length: 6 feet
- Warranty: 18 months
| $13 From | | |||||
Apple Iphone Native Union Cable Collection
 |
| Native Union Belt Cable - 4ft Ultra-Strong Reinforced [Apple MFi Certified] Durable Lightning to USB Charging Cable with Leather Strap for iPhone/iPad (Zebra) |
- MFi-certified: Yes
- Length: Belt Cable 1.2 meters, Night Cable 3.0 meters, Key Cable 16.5 centimeters
- Warranty: Lifetime
Apple iPhone Unbreakcable Lightning Cable
 |
| UNBREAKcable iPhone Charger Lightning Cable - [Apple MFi Certified] Ultra-High Lifespan 2.4A iPhone Cord Compatible with iPhone Xs XS Max XR X 8 8 Plus 7 7 Plus/iPad/iPod - 6.6FT 2M White Upgrade |
- MFi-certified: Yes
- Length: 3.3 feet/1 meter
- Warranty: 36 months
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