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2016

Matt’s Favourite Device of 2016 – Apple iPhone SE

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iPhone SE all colors

Mobile phones are everywhere and are used for many different tasks. Reading email, searching for recipes, chatting with friends from all around the world, and oh yes, actually making phone calls!
When Apple announced their new iPhone SE at their event I was overjoyed. There was going to be another phone on the market that was the same screen size as the 5S. Those of us who weren’t comfortable upgrading to a larger sized phone are still able to enjoy apple’s iOS operating system, have a faster processor, and the most important part for me, being able to afford a larger capacity phone for a decent price.
I had never been able to purchase an iPhone on release day. All of my phones have been purchased under carrier contract and not unlocked from Apple.
When I started on my iPhone journey, I had the iPhone 4, which by that time was a year old. then I had the iPhone 5 in 2014 and the iPhone 5s in that same year after apple was kind enough to give it to me after they were unable to get a replacement battery for my 5.

On March 31 I sold my iPhone 5s, unlocked from my phone carrier and went to the store and got an iPhone SE 64GB (I could not deal with a 16 gb phone) as that has been the storage capacity I had since the iPhone 4.
The iPhone SE has an excellent 12.2 megapixel camera for use with apps like TapTapSee and KNFBReader. It may look like the iPhone 5 and 5S externally, but it has the internals of the iPhone 6s, apart from the Touch ID censor which is the first generation model found in the 5S. It also lacks the 3D Touch function found in the newer model phones. To be honest, I was just happy to purchase a new phone, 64 gigs, on release day and certain little bells and whistles didn’t bother me.
I have been very satisfied with the iPhone SE! I definitely will not be upgrading to a new phone any time soon. This is my favourite device of 2016.

iAccessibility’s top devices of 2016

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iAccessibility Logo

Many of our staff members wrote articles about their favorite device of 2016. In this post we are going to give you a link to each of them.

  • Michael Doise’s post about AirPods.
    The first post was from Michael Doise. He talked about Apples brand new
    AirPods.
  • My Favorite Device Of 2016 Bose QC35’s
    Rich posted the next post, talking about some cool new headphones from Bose.
  • My Pick For Best Tech of 2016? Beats Solo 3
    Next up, Jason wrote a post about the Beats Solo 3 headphones. The first thing Jason focuses on right off the bat is the battery life of the Beats Solo 3’s. Check out the article for more information.
  • Jessica’s Favorite Device of 2016!
    Jessica wrote this really interesting post about the Ring Video Doorbell Pro If you’re looking for a security camera for your home or apartment, you might be interested in this post.
  • Ashley’s fav device of 2016
    I, Ashley, wrote about the Amazon Echo Dot. I received my Dot at the end of 2016 so I had a short time to explore the Dots capabilities before I published my post. I suggested some great Alexa skills in my post.
  • Carlos’s Favorite Device of 2016
    Carlos wrote about the Smart Battery Case from Apple that originally came out for the iPhone 6s in 2015, but was then updated in 2016 to work with the iPhone 7
  • Matt’s favorite Device of 2016 iPhone SE
    Matt decided that the iPhone SE was his favorite device for 2016. Read his article to find out more and why he picked this phone as his favorite.

Witch of these devices is your top pick? Let us know in the comments.

Carlos’s favorite device of 2016

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Apple Smart Battery Case for iPhone

I’ve always been interested in battery cases for the iPhone, I’ve even owned one of them. But until recently I owned a 6s plus. I only got one for the battery life and didn’t really care for how big it felt in my hands. So, I downgraded in physical size and upgraded in battery life by getting an iPhone 7 smart battery case.

Here’s why I think that for me, the iPhone 7 smart battery case is my best device of 2016 choice.

  1. It obviously doubles or mite even triple the battery life of the iPhone itself. I can go from 7 in the morning to about 10 at night and my iPhone still isn’t dead.
  2. You can set it and forget it. Install your iPhone and then you’re done. No need to flick a switch or press a button, it’ll just work.
  3. One thing the other cases do when you use them is activate all the backup and other services your iPhone uses when its charging draining the battery of the case even more than its supposed to. To me, it’s supposed to keep your iPhone battery topped off and not use any other services until you plug it into a charger.
  4. I like the design. A lot of people complain about the hump being there, I don’t mind that at all, it makes it easier to grip the phone.
  5. You can use one lightning cable to charge both. Need I say more on that one?

Those are my reasons why to me; the iPhone 7 smart battery case is the best device of 2016.

What do you think? Leave your comments below. I’d love to read them.

Take care all.

Ashley’s fav device of 2016

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Echo Dot Second Generation White

2016 was a great year for technology. One of the things I am excited about is the Amazon Echo Dot. I received the Dot at the end of the year and have come to love the Dot as soon as I started explore some of its capabilities.

Design

The Amazon Echo Dot is a smaller version of the Amazon Echo. The Dot is its own speaker. It can hear you from a good distance away with the seven microphones places in the Dot. You can use the Dot as a Bluetooth speaker for your phone or tablet. You can also connect powerful speakers to the Dot via Bluetooth or the 3.5 MM jack.

Skills

With the Dot, you have access to many skills. To find skills that you are interested in, check out the skills section of the Alexa app.

Some of my favorite skills in no particular order are:

  • Ocean Sounds: This skill will play ocean sounds for a limited period of time. There are two similar skills that are a big favorite, thunder sounds and rain sounds.
  • Bed Time Story: Ask Alexa to open Bed Time story and tell her your name and be put to sleep, or not!
  • Dominos: Yes, go ahead and order up some pizza. Dominos has a skill for Alexa.

I hope with this short post you have learned a little about the Amazon Echo Dot . The Dot is a great buy if you want a portable device that is able to control devices in your home; for example, lights, switches and more.

My Pick For Best Tech of 2016? Beats Solo 3

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Beats Solo 3 White

When Apple announced the iPhone 7 at it’s keynote last year, they also announced several knew headphones as well. The AirPods that are much loved by the iAccessibility staff that have them, the Powerbeats 3, the BeatsX wireless earphones (not yet available as of this writing,) and the Beats Solo 3 headphones, which I will be focusing on. For more on paring a bluetooth device with W1 chip, we have a great article that does a wonderful job explaining the set up process, and how to connect them to multiple devices.

Battery Life

The Beats Solo 3s will last you up to forty hours on a single charge. I haven’t heard of that kind of battery life from any other bluetooth headphone. Beyond that, these headphones have what Apple calls “Fast Fuel.” This means that with just a five minute charge, the headphones can deliver up to three hours of use.

Can You Hear Me Now?

Okay, so this isn’t a cellphone commercial, but discovering just how far they would reach compared to a pare of headphones without the W1 chip almost felt like one. On my iPhone 6s Plus, I was able, with my phone charging up stairs, talk to a friend of mine outside, and even past the point my other headphones would disconnect. While I haven’t measured that distance, I probably could have walked all the way to the street, but didn’t fancy getting hit by a car.

Sound

Others have said that these headphones aren’t “audiophile grade headphones,” while others say they sound great. To me, they do sound really good for the most part. Music can sound a bit thin through them, depending on what you’re listening to. Wideband audio calls such as HD voice, FaceTime and Skype calls can sound a bit… I can only describe it as metallic, but it’s not something that is a big problem for me. Remember that sound is subjective, so something that might sound thin or metallic to me, might sound fine to you.

Conclusion

While I’ve not been one-hundred percent positive about these headphones, the things I’ve mentioned aren’t showstoppers to me. I think that the battery life and range improvements made possible by the W1 chip definitely give them a place in our best tech of 2016 series.

My Favorite Device Of 2016 Bose QC35’s

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Bose QC35 Headphones

My Favorite Device Of 2016

As we start 2017, we are at the start of a year where I know we will see new developments in all types of technologies. From smart phones to tablets to audio and more. But in this post, I want to look back at 2016. We saw lots of cool devices introduced including new watches, phones and even a low-cost Braille display being announced. If however I had to choose one device that I use every day that I bought in 2016, it would have to be my Bose Quiet Comfort (QC) 35’s active noise canceling Bluetooth headphones.

First Impressions

The first time I tried these on at a Best Buy I was very impressed. From the build quality to the sound, I was like “wow.” Even with active noise canceling turned off, in wired mode, the headphones had great bass and highs. I also liked in Bluetooth mode, you had controls on the side for play/pause, using Siri, volume and the ability to skip tracks.

ANC-Active Noise Canceling

When turning on the ANC, it was just me and music. This is great for when you are in planes or cars and have a lot of engine noise in the background and you want all of that to just disappear. In my opinion, Bose truly has the best ANC technology.

Unboxing

When I did get a pair of these in October 2016, taking them out of the box, Bose includes everything you need. You get the headphones, a micro USB cable for charging, a detachable cable to use them in wired mode and a very sturdy case to put them in when transporting them.

How to Operate the Headphones

All the controls are on the right earcup. You have a micro USB port to charge the battery. You have three physical buttons on the side. They are volume down, a multifunction button, which acts as play/pause and skipping tracks, as well as using Siri and a third button, which is volume up. A single tap of the multifunction button will pause the music. A double tap will skip forward, while a triple tap will go back to the previous track. You can also hold down these buttons to rewind and fast forward within a track. Hold the button in until you hear a beep to engage Siri.

On the top of the right earcup is a slide switch. A sound indicates when the headphones are turned on while another sound indicates when the headphones are turned off. The headphones also feature text to speech. It can pair with two devices at a time. When using them in Bluetooth mode,

And you turn them on, you get the battery level announced as well as what device or devices it is going to auto connect to.

The Case

The case has a pocket for holding all cables. The earcups of the qc35’s which are made out of a very soft comfortable material, , fold down into the case and lie flat.

ANC

As stated above, I love this feature. I fly a lot as well as travel in cars. I love being able to not have to hear the sounds of engines in the background and just focus on the music. These headphones I feel really have to be worn and listened to to get the full appreciation of there sound.

Cons

Two cons I would have to say at this point because afterall no product is perfect, is that I wish you could use the headphones with ANC turned offf sometimes. For there are times where your working and don’t want to have ANC turned on while using them in Bluetooth mode. The only way around this is to use a wire mode and turn power off. I hope Bose can address this in the future. Battery life is 20 hours using Bluetooth and ANC and 40 hours using ANC with a wire. I charge these at least once a week over the past few months. It is also worth noting that when the battery dies, you can use these in wired mode with no Bluetooth or ANC.

Calling

You can make calls from the headset. You can hold down the multifunction button to engage Siri and make calls. In my tests, callers said I sounded clear to them.

Price

The headphones cost $350-pricy but worth every $. With great sound, great ANC and battery life, your getting great value and performance for the price.

For more information, check out the Bose website at

www.bose.com

Best Device of 2016 – Michael Doise

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Apple AirPods in charging case

The year of 2016 has given us several new and exciting devices, and our authors here at iAccessibility will be writing about what they feel is their favorites, but I will start everything off with my favorite, which is…

The Apple AirPods!!!

When Apple released their new phone in September, they promised the release in October for their wireless earbuds, but they had to delay the launch due to issues with the device. In December, Apple released the AirPods, and they did not disappoint in what they promised.

I managed to pick up the AirPods from Best Buy while they were available online, and they were delivered two days later. Until this point, I have typically used EarPods and other bluetooth headphones like the Aftershokz Trekz and for a short time, the Beats PowerBeats3, but I have since retired and returned each of these as the AirPods have changed the way I listen to audio on a daily basis. I even use the AirPods on the Mac to record podcasts. I use the AirPods for output and my regular mic for audio input

Conclusion

While the AirPods may not be perfect and for everyone, they are my favorite device for 2016, and I recommend them to all that want a wireless audio solution that is clear and that allows for listening to audio while traveling in a noisy city where you have to know where you are going.

First Look: 13 Inch 2016 MacBook Pro without Touch Bar

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image of MacBook Pro 2016 from iMore.com

Last week I had the chance to check out the 2016 MacBook Pro that is 13 inch without the new Touch Bar, and my thoughts on this machine are mixed. Here is what I observed.

Chasis

The 2016 MacBook Pros come in what feels like a new type of anodized aluminum unibody case. This case does feel stronger and more smooth than other models, and the Space Gray does look nice for a MacBook Pro.

Display

The new display on the MacBook Pro  is noticeably brighter, and thinner. It is so think that they removed the backlit Apple Logo to make the display thinner, which is not my favorite decision as the light up Apple logo is iconic to Apple’s product line.

Trackpad

The new trackpad on the 2016 MacBook Pro is considerably bigger than previous models. This allows for the user to have more working area to use for the ouse. One thing I noticed is that this makes there be less of a hand rest for proper typing, so one could not easily rest their hands on the MacBook without accidentally moving the mouse if a finger or palm hit the trackpad.

Keyboard

Apple has changed their laptop lines to use a new keyboard that uses better key design and prevents typical keys from breaking. These keys are flatter, and do not have as much key travel as previous keyboards. If you are familiar with the 12 inch MacBook then you will be familiar with this keyboard. I personally do not like the amount of travel the keys have, so I find it difficult to type on this keyboard. The keys do have slightly more travel then the MacBook, but they still do not have the amount of travel that comes on the 2015 MacBook Pro, which can be an issue for some. Many are able to adapt to these keys but many including myself prefer the previous keyboard style.

Ports

The 13 inch MacBook Pro without the Touch Bar comes with 2 USB-C/Thunderbolt 3 ports on the left side, and a headphone jack on the right. These ports are incredibly fast and powerful, but they are actually difficult to feel on the side of the machine to line up the device you are plugging in. This allows the machine to be thinner, but this may be an issue for users with low feeling in the fingers. With this model of the Pro, we also see the removal of the MagSafe charging port. On this model of the computer, one charges the machine by plugging the charger into any of the new USB-C ports. This now adds the risk of tripping over cables and pulling your computer off of whatever surface it is resting on.

Conclusion

The 2016 MacBook Pro strives to take us into the future with new display, keyboard, and connectivity technologies, but to do so, Apple has had to make sacrifices that remove features that users are used to having like standard USB ports, and a keyboard with more travel. In a few years we will not notice these changes and we will just accept them as standards, but until then it will be a rocky transition with a lot of cables hanging off of our MacBooks.

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