Home 2017 October

FrontRow camera review

If you feel compelled to take your phone out of your pocket to snap pictures and record videos throughout your day, a device like the FrontRow camera might save you a lot of time because this camera automatically records your adventures so you can leave your phone in your pocket. 

What is it?

FrontRow is a camera that you wear around your neck that can capture snapshots and video either manually or automatically throughout your day to create condensed time-lapse videos called stories. The camera can also be used to live stream to Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube.

Hardware specs

Main camera: 8MP, f2.2, 1080P, 30fps, optical image stabilization
Back camera: 5MP, f2.0, 1080P, 30fps, optical image stabilization
Display: color touch screen, 640 x 572 resolution
Memory: RAM 2GB, Storage 32GB
Battery: Standby 50hrs, live streaming 1hr 45min – 1hr 55min, recording 1hr 50min – 2hr, fast charging via USB TYPE-C
Connectivity: Bluetooth and Wifi

What’s in the box?

FrontRow camera
Magnetic clip
USB cable with adapter
Adjustable lanyard
Microfiber cloth
Quick start guide
FrontRow logo sticker

Design and features

The FrontRow camera looks like a stopwatch that a coach might wear around their neck.

It comes in black and will also soon be available in white with rose gold. The camera has a premium look and feel due to the metal casing and a glass touchscreen display. The display faces against your body when it’s being worn. Above the display is a 5MP reverse camera which has an 85-degree viewing angle and below the display is the home button.

The front of the FrontRow camera has the FrontRow logo and the main 8MP camera which has a 147.5-degree wide-angle lens.

On one side of the camera is a small media button and a longer power button. On the opposite side (not shown), is a speaker and a tiny status LED that blinks in blue while charging, is solid blue when fully charged, and blinks red while video is being recorded.

On the bottom edge of the FrontRow camera is a USB Type-C port and to the left of the charging port is a microphone.

The top of the FrontRow is designed with a detachable clip. The camera comes with a lanyard clip and a magnetic stand clip.

The clips are made of metal with hooks that latch securely into the top of the FrontRow camera.


The magnetic clip can be used to attach the FrontRow to a metal surface. Be aware that the magnet isn’t very strong, so I would be wary of using it to hold the camera high above the ground.

Other mounting options in the future may include a car mount so you can use the FrontRow camera as a dash cam.

Setting up the FrontRow

The first thing you will need to do before you can start using the FrontRow camera is to charge it using the included USB Type-C cable. While the camera is charging, you can install the iOS or Android FrontRow app on your mobile device.



The app and the camera itself have an easy to use interface that provides access to images, video, and stories that have been captured with the camera as well as an interface to change settings and initiate recordings and live streaming events.

Almost everything that you can do through the app, you can also do right from the camera. This includes manually capturing video from either the main or reverse cameras.

You can also view images and watch videos right on the FrontRow’s color touchscreen display which by the way is crisp, clear, and vibrant. It’s also surprisingly fingerprint resistant.

In addition to taking snapshots with the FrontRow camera, capturing video, making time-lapse videos, and live streaming to social sites like Facebook, the FrontRow camera has a few other interesting features like a stopwatch, language translator, and a Spotify player.

Using the FrontRow as a camera

To take a snapshot with the FrontRow, you just click the media button once. If the FrontRow’s display is on and the camera is not in story mode, you’ll hear a shutter sound to let you know that an image was just captured.

If the screen is off and the camera is not in story mode, you’ll feel three vibrations with the last vibration signifying that the image was just captured.

If the FrontRow camera is in story mode, you can still snap images by pressing the media button and you will feel one vibration to let you know that the image was just captured.




Click the example images above to see the image quality. You’ll notice that the first three images are a little blurred and that part of my jacket was in the way of the lens for one of the shots. Only the selfie was sharp and clear. I noticed the blurring issue with most of the images that I manually captured. Due to the problem with blurring, I wouldn’t want to use the FrontRow as my only camera. As a live streaming camera, video camera, and time-lapse camera, it does a good job, but as a stand-alone snapshot camera, I prefer my phone.

Using the FrontRow camera to capture video and create live streaming sessions

The FrontRow camera has both optical (OIS) and electrical (EIS) image stabilization which is supposed to keep your action videos looking smooth instead of choppy. But these stabilization features won’t help if you’re wearing the camera around your neck and are walking or running around while you’re trying to capture video. Here’s a quick example of me wearing the camera around my neck while walking normally around my house.

Not very smooth is it? It’s not the fault of the FrontRow though. I don’t think any amount of OIS or EIS can help smooth out video when the camera is swinging from your neck as it’s recording. FYI: The video sample was saved in SD (720p) quality and the weird audio is due to it being a really breezy day.

Live streaming video quality works very well as long as you have a WiFi or good connection to the net through your phone. The first time I tried to do a live stream was in my car and it would not work. It kept asking me to connect to WiFi. When I asked FrontRow about this issue, they responded with:

The Facebook livestream API requires speeds greater than 50kbps. If speeds do not meet this requirement Facebook will end the stream (or not allow a stream to begin until speeds meet the required level). FrontRow suggesting to connect to a wi-fi networks is a result of needing to satisfy these speed requirements.

Here’s an example of a live stream to Facebook while my phone was connected to my home WiFi.

https://www.facebook.com/julie.strietelmeier/videos/10154856065261437/

Note that copies of your live-streamed videos are NOT saved on the FrontRow camera or on your phone.

Using the FrontRow to capture time-lapse “stories”

Live streaming is cool, but my favorite feature of the FrontRow camera is the story feature. Stories are a group of clips that are condensed and turned into time-lapse video recordings of your day or special events. By default, stories don’t include audio, but you can add background music using the FrontRow app.

Stories are a fun way to relive your day without having to manually record a video yourself. Just put the FrontRow around your neck turn on story mode and it will do the rest.

You can customise the video clip capture length from fast to slow. The exreme left side of the slider = 3sec/clip, bicycle symbol = 5sec/clip, walking symbol = 8sec/clip, cloud symbol = 10sec/clip, extreme right side of the slider = 20sec/clip.

I decided that using the FrontRow to capture a day at Turkey Run State Park would be a worthy test. I set the camera to the walking symbol, put it around my neck, started the story mode, and we went about our day at the park. You can check out the 14-minute video below.

As you can see from the video, sometimes the clips are a bit blurry. The idea isn’t to have a perfect video of your whole day but to be able to relive the memories of the day and I think FrontRow does that quite nicely.

It’s also important to keep in mind that the FrontRow is automatically capturing video snippets all the time and that after a short while, you’ll forget that you’re wearing it. That means that the camera might capture scenes that you might not want to see or have others see like when you’re in the restroom. 🙂 That’s why you can pause the story anytime you like by double clicking the media button. When you’re ready to start capturing the story again, you just double-click the button again.

Your stories will also probably include a lot of boring parts that you can cut out using the editing features in the FrontRow app. You can also add background music to your stories using the included instrumental tracks from the app.

Stories use a LOT of storage. The 14-minute video above used more than 2.5GB of space on the camera which does not have expandable storage.

Battery life

The camera has good battery life but the recording time will depend on the resolution and the speed that you choose. The video sample I included above was set to the middle speed and was able to capture a time-lapse from 9:30 am – 5 pm which is pretty impressive.

The camera also has a fast charging feature, so you can semi-quickly charge it up for your next adventure and you can live stream while charging.

Final thoughts

The FrontRow camera is the type of product that most people won’t use every day and that makes the $400 price a bit steep. That said, it is a fun gadget to have for vacations, trips, and special events because you can wear it around your neck, start the story mode and enjoy the day or event without feeling like you have to take out your phone every few minutes to snap a picture or record a video.

Source: The sample for this review was provided by FrontRow. Please visit their site for more info and Amazon to order.

 

Product Information

Price: $399.00
Manufacturer: FrontRow
Retailer: Amazon
Pros:
  • Multi-use camera
  • Quality hardware
  • Auto timelapse "stories"
  • Makes live streaming easy
Cons:
  • Expensive
  • Live streaming requires a WiFi connection if phone connection to the internet is slow

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FrontRow camera review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on October 16, 2017 at 11:00 am.

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Memobottle is a slim way to stay hydrated

I’ve been trying to get better about staying hydrated throughout the day. In addition to the fitness and health benefits, I just feel better when I’m hydrated. To that end, I’ve been on the lookout for unique containers to carry water, and I stumbled on Memobottle. Its unique shape is what caught my eye. Memobottle has a rectangular footprint with a relatively flat aspect ratio, about the size of a medium-sized textbook. What I like about this is that it is slim and can slide right in with your notebooks, laptop, and other ECD items into your backpack, purse or gear bag and its aspect ratio means that it won’t be bulky like most water bottles, which are cylindrical. It’s also made from reusable, washable, BPA-free plastic. Available in two sizes, the more petite 375mL A6 ($28) and the larger 750mL A5 ($36). Visit memobottle.com for more info and Amazon to order.

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Memobottle is a slim way to stay hydrated originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on October 16, 2017 at 10:00 am.

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Don’t call them smart, Huawei’s Mate 10 series are the most intelligent phones ever made (Hands-on)

Thanks to artificial intelligence, the Mate 10 is able to recognize the object that the camera is looking at and it automatically switches the camera into “flower” scene mode.

Huawei’s flagship phone has landed in the form of the Mate 10 and Mate 10 PRO. The new Mate 10 series not only brings an all new glass body to the series, but it’s also the first of Huawei’s phones to come with the AI powered NPU (Neural Processing Unit) that Huawei announced at IFA last month. What does that mean exactly? It means that the Mate 10 and Mate 10 Pro are a lot more intelligent than your average smartphone because they are able to learn about your behavior and adjust to it. But more on that later. 

On the design front, the Mate 10 and Mate 10 PRO sport an all new glass body that is curved on all four sides. That means that there are no sharp edges, so they are comfortable to hold. But there are significant differences between the Mate 10 and the even more premium Mate 10 PRO. For starters, the Mate 10 packs in a 5.9” FullView display with a 16:9 aspect ratio and a barely-there-bezel, while the Mate 10 Pro packs in a 6” OLED FullView Display with an 18:9 aspect ratio and a high screen-to-body ratio. The 6” display on the PRO is packed into the body of a 5.5” device, and its 18:9 aspect ratio allows for a neat smart split screen multi-tasking mode on the PRO. Both phones are also powered by a Kirin 970 processor that offers 20% better performance over the 960.

Both devices pack in a large 4,000 mAh battery, but neither of the phones come with wireless charging. Huawei explained to us that between the large capacity battery and SuperCharge, there isn’t much need for it. To that effect, SuperCharge provides a full day’s charge in just 20 minutes, and it’s also 4x faster than wireless charging. Huawei is also proud to show off that the Mate 10 series phones are the first phones to meet qualifications for the TÜV Safety certification, so you can be sure the phone won’t explode on you. And for those who are still paying attention to headphone jacks, the Mate 10 has a 3.5mm jack on top, while the PRO has a type c jack only, but it does come with a 3.5mm adapter.

Aside from sporting the larger display of the two, the Mate 10 PRO is IP67 certified for water and dust resistance, which is something the Mate 10 lacks. Another significant difference between the two models is that the Mate 10 PRO houses its fingerprint reader on its back side, while the Mate 10’s fingerprint sensor is located on its front side.

Both Mate 10s’ dual-lens cameras were co-engineered with Leica to produce 12-megapixel RGB + 20-megapixel monochrome sensors, optical image stabilization, an aperture of f/1.6, an AI-powered bokeh effect and AI-powered digital zoom.

The Mate 10 will be available in several colors including mocha brown, champagne gold, pink gold, and black, while the PRO will be available in midnight blue, gray, pink and mocha brown, and there will also be a Porsche Design version of the Mate 10 PRO.

Mate 10 PRO

But enough about the hardware – the Mate 10 series also represents a major leap forward for phones thanks to its NPU. This starts with EMUI 8.0 (Huawei jumped from EMUI 5.1 to EMUI 8.0 so they could align better with Android 8.0). EMUI 8.0 unlocks machine learning and artificial intelligence from the NPU. This brings everything to the table from better performance to improved battery optimization. You know how most Android phones slow down with age? Even a year old phone can get quite sluggish. Fortunately, when it comes to performance, EMU 8.0 helps make sure that your phone is “born fast, stays fast”. The NPU helps make that possible through its performance engine. Battery life is also improved thanks to the AI which learns about how you’re using your phone and optimizes for the best possible battery life.

A Food scene is automatically recognized thanks to the NPU

The AI even helps improve the experience of taking photos. To that effect, the phone understands what the camera is looking at, and does real time scene and object detection all powered by AI. Essentially, the phone processes what it’s looking at – as if it were a human brain, and it will set the best camera parameters based on what it recognizes. For example, the Mate 10 recognizes when it’s taking a photo of a sunset vs a plate of food, and it will automatically optimize the camera settings for the object it’s taking a photo of in that scene. It can even recognize when you’re taking cat photos and optimize accordingly! We briefly got to try this feature and were impressed with how quickly the Mate 10 recognized flowers in a scene and automatically optimized the camera for the flowers to create a beautiful photo. In addition to cats and flowers, there are scenes for food, stages (if you’re watching a show), outdoor landscapes, snow, water, low-light, sunsets, plants, portraits, and dogs, and Huawei says that future updates will bring additional scenes.

Mate 10 (Left) and Mate 10 PRO (right)

But this is just the beginning. Huawei has built out a 3rd party app engine with APIs so that app developers can further take advantage of the NPU. With the Mate 10 series, Huawei has become a pioneer in the AI space, and we expect other phone manufacturers to try and play catch up soon.

Last but not least, the Mate 10 has the ability to transform into a mobile PC. That might not sound so unique right off bat, but it actually is. That is because unlike the competition which offers similar functionality, Huawei doesn’t require you to invest in a pricey dock. Instead, you can use just about any inexpensive USB-C to HDMI or USB-C to DisplayPort cable to connect your Mate 10 to a monitor and keyboard for a full desktop-like experience.

Pricing and availability for the Huawei Mate 10 and Mate 10 PRO are not available yet, but we’ll update this story once we have it.

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Don’t call them smart, Huawei’s Mate 10 series are the most intelligent phones ever made (Hands-on) originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on October 16, 2017 at 9:00 am.

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Bellroy introduces a sharp looking set of cases for Google Pixel products

I’m a big fan of the refined & sophisticated style that Bellroy brings to their carry designs. I’m currently testing one of their new bag designs for an upcoming review, and it’s fantastic. If you’re a user of Pixel products, their new collaboration with Google is well worth a look. The Pixel 2 case is leather, and available in 4 colors. There’s also the Pixelbook sleeve that uses a unique sustainable fabric with leather accents, and doubles as a stand for your device.  They also have a leather-wrapped sleeve and clip for your Pixelbook pen in the works. Check them out at the Bellroy Web Site!

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Bellroy introduces a sharp looking set of cases for Google Pixel products originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on October 16, 2017 at 8:00 am.

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Bucardo makes covers that turn your Apple Watch into a pocket watch

I love watches, but I hate wearing them. And now that I carry a smartphone in my pocket almost 24/7, I don’t really need to wear a watch on my wrist. But if for some reason I did need to carry a dedicated watch, I would consider a pocket watch because like I already said, I hate wearing a watch. If you feel the same way about wearing watches but are very tempted by the Apple Watch, you might want to consider turning it into a pocket watch with a cover from Bucardo.

Bucardo makes high-end covers for Apple Watch series 1 through 3 that are made of stainless steel and gold-plated stainless steel.

The covers attach to the Apple Watch where the bands attach. The cover protects the watch’s display while it’s in your pocket.

Bucardo pocket watch covers are available in a couple different styles and are priced from $119.40 to $219.00 depending on the style. Visit www.bucardo.com and Amazon for more info.

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Bucardo makes covers that turn your Apple Watch into a pocket watch originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on October 15, 2017 at 3:16 pm.

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