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iPad

What is the best Apple iPad or Tablet for kids

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What is the best iPad or Tablet for kids?

Apple iPads and other tablets are a great learning as well as entertainment tool for kids. A good iPad or tablet for kids should have a safe browser, kid friendly apps, and long battery life. It should be sturdy enough to weather some rough handling. Some good tablets are offered by, Amazon, Leapfrogs and Apple.

Leapfrogs tablets are age specific. Amazon tablets though are not categorized by age, have some good safety and security features. Apple has not made any kid specific tablets but its mini iPad would suffice the requirements of children for a tablet.  Apple’s iPad has the added advantage of having some very good apps for kids. Here are some tablets that would not only be great value for money but would also prove excellent educational device for kids.

1. Apple iPad mini

iPad mini is the most expensive in the list here, but we think it’s worth the extra cost. Since apple products are known for their durability, this tablet should last a long time. The iPad mini has good camera and a high resolution screen. Known as a high performing tablet. The parental controls are not as detailed as on Amazon tablet. They restrict a kid’s internet usage, apps download and online purchases. This tablet will suit kids of all ages. Some great children’s apps can be downloaded from apple store.
iPad Mini

2. Amazon Fire Kids Edition

Two top most features of this tab are its cost and parental controls. The parental controls not only include what content the kids can browse but also the usage limits. There are educational targets and restricted internet access. The tab comes with 2year guarantee. It has a 7inch display suitable enough for your kid’s small hands. It has 16GB of internal storage and 256 GB of expandable storage. It comes in various colors in a kid proof case. Though the apps in the tablet are limited than those found on regular android devices, the kids can avail a year’s subscription to thousands of apps from nickelodeon, Disney, PBS kids.
Amazon Fire Kids Edition


3. Leapfrog Epic Tablet

It is the first android tablet from leapfrog. It has a range of apps from Leapfrog as well as popular android apps for kids. It has unique customization home screen feature that allows kids to customize their home screen the way they want. This tablet is designed for kids in the age range of 3 and 9 years. It also boasts of an auto-leveling feature in games that adjusts the level of the game as per the kid’s age. It has safe web browser and kids appropriate apps. The parental controls are satisfactory. It is a good buy for younger kids.
Leapfrog Epic

4. Vtech Innotab Max

This 7 inch tablet is again for kids in the age range 3-9 years. The tablet is based on android but has kid friendly interface. Though it comes with a stylus, it has touch screen feature too. It has 8 GB of space, with 32 GB expandable memory. It has its own messaging tool that helps to connect kids to parent’s mobiles through apps. The tablet has its own apps plus kids can download many android apps too. It is a good choice for a kid’s first tablet.
Vtech Innotab Max

For parents on a budget, Amazon’s tablet is the most cost effective tablet for kids of all ages.

Check out our article about the Best iPod for Kids Here

Apple HomePod, News

HomePod delay. Apple to miss out on smart speakers sales this Christmas?

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HomePod delay.  Apple to miss out on smart speakers sales this Christmas?

We’ve been pretty keen to see the full force of Apple’s new HomePod smart speakers since the reveal mid-year, but it looks like we are going to be waiting until the new year to experience them.

An Apple spokewoman said “We need a little more time before it’s ready for our customers”.

HomePod delay, are Google & Amazon to benefit?

This of course means that Apple will miss out on a huge amount of Christmas sales that would have come from the availability of the HomePod in their stated release date of December.

It looks like Google and Amazon get to reap the rewards in this category financially for this year.

 

 

We have seen mixed emotions about Apple’s new smart speakers. Here’s our first glimpse.  Sure, the 360-degree sound, Siri integration and clean aesthetics make it “sound” and look good, but the price of the HomePod has been a huge talking point when compared to Amazon Alexa and Google Home.



We found that the price could possibly be justified because of the sound quality, and that the HomePod was designed as a new music centre for your home. The price we’re talking about, is of course $350USD (500AUD, 250GBP) – Which is clearly not cheap, but then again, have we ever considered any Apple product cheap? We’re already too deep in love with Apple to even care about the price!

The fact that Apple have pushed back their release date for the HomePod means that Google and Amazon are free to indulge in the huge amount of sales they will experience over this holiday season. As voice, as a technology is becoming more and more popular, and will surely be the go-to search method (and many other things) in the years to come.   Apple might be hurt quite bad from missing out on these Christmas sales.  Although we will not know any figures until we’ve all indulged in so much food, drank plenty of bubbles and celebrated time with family and move into the new year.

HomePod delay, will Apple recoup?

One thing that may help Apple recoup some possible losses in missing out on Christmas sales would be the HomePod’s functions with additional HomePod’s in the home.  We all know there are many of Apple fanatics who will buy multiple HomePod’s.

At the end of the day, if an Apple enthusiasts, or even just a smart speaker enthusiasts really has their heart set out on an Apple.

Apple TV, Watch

Controlling Apple TV with Your Apple Watch

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Controlling your Apple TV with your Apple Smart Watch. Chances are, if you clicked on this article purposely, you already have both of these items, but if you happened to accidentally click this article, but became intrigued, feel free to stay and;

You can buy Apple TV here

You can buy Apple Watch here

I’m going to make this as simple as I possibly can for you readers, and give you a step by step instruction on how to control your Apple TV with your Apple Watch.

So, the Apple Watch has a Remote app to control your Apple TV (After it has been linked).

Once you have linked your Apple Watch to your Apple TV, following the prompts, use your Apple Watch to turn on your Apple TV. You can even choose to watch Netflix through your Apple Watch. As well as other features such as pause/resume music and content, as well as head to your Menu. Don’t forget your Apple Music libraries are there for you as well.

Let’s Get Started

First things first, grab your Apple Watch.

  1. Press the Digital Crown to pull up your Home screen.
  2. Tap the Remote app.
  3. Tap Add Device, and you’ll see that you’ll have to note a password. Remember it.
  4. Grab your Apple Siri Remote.

Now, let’s move to the Apple TV.

  1. If you’re not already on the Apple TV Home screen, use the Siri Remote to press and depress the Menu button.
  2. Select Settings – General – Remotes.
  3. Click on Select to Add, which should now bring up your Apple Watches name.
  4. Remember that password I told you to note? Grab that password and enter it on the Apple TV.



Now, BACK to the Apple Watch (We’re almost done)

Click Done – An Apple TV icon should appear on your remote app on your Apple Watch. (If this doesn’t occur, try rebooting your Apple Watch) – If that doesn’t work, force restart your Apple TV.

Alright, we’re pretty much done. But you’re probably wondering where to go from here? How does this work? So, in a nutshell;

  • To access the Remote app, press the Digital Crown.
  • All of your apps will be right here.
  • Tap the Remote app, then you should see an Apple TV icon
  • Tap on that icon to access Apple TV
  • DONE – You can now control your Apple TV with your Apple Watch. Happy swiping and tapping!

Removing Apple TV From Your Apple Watch

If you every need to remove Apple TV from your Apple Watch, like other apps, press and hold on the Remote app icon, tap Edit, then hit the X button.

To remove the Apple Watch from your Apple TV, hit Settings > General > Remotes, click the name of your Apple Watch and finally, hit Remove.

Apple HomePod, News

Apple HomePod – Sound & Music Quality Better Than Google Home, Amazon Alexa?

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Now, we can’t give you a good review on the sound and music quality of Apple’s answer to Google and Amazon – The Apple HomePod. That is still to come, be rest assured!

But, for now, we will cover what we can with the information we have gathered thus far.

We have to presume that the HomePod will have fantastic music and sound quality, because in all fairness, the price for the HomePod certainly doesn’t add up just yet.

Apple HomePod Spatial Awareness

The first thing we’ll go through is the smart technology that allows the Apple HomePod to “sense where in the room it’s playing” – Apple have said that the HomePod senses where it has been placed in any given room, and automatically analyses the acoustics, adjusts sounds based on the location and “steers the music in the optimal direction”



Apparently, if you’re placing this Apple HomePod in a corner of a room, you won’t get that ugly tinny sound bouncing off two walls – It will instead adjust the several tweeters to adapt to its surroundings and play the best acoustics it possibly can.

Apple’s HomePod is able to detect the centre vocals and use beam forming to direct them. It uses the information it’s given by the A8 chip inside to precisely detect how to play music with the most optimal settings. It can detect something called direct energy to best make instrumentation as good as it can. The direct energy also helps with ambient audio (backing vocals and reverb), giving a fantastic boost that provides a rich mix to fill any room.

Two Are Better Than One

If you are excited to hear the Apple HomePod play your favourite tracks with its smart ability to adjust the acoustics to suit where it has been placed in any room, you should be excited to hear two of them (we don’t expect the average consumer to do this, as it will set you back a cool $700USD or $1000AUD)

But, if you wish to add another HomePod to your collection, and place it in the same room as your other one, you’re bound to hear a far greater music experience.

Not to forget, that with AirPlay 2, when you add multiple HomePod’s to different rooms of the house/office, the speakers can communicate with each other so you can play your favorite tunes throughout the whole house (or office, to liven it up a bit)

Now for the original question?

If you remember the title of this article asked, “Is the Apple HomePod’s music/sound quality better than Amazon Alexa/Google Home?” – The short answer to this is yes.

As both Alexa and Home are fantastic (and likely better home assistants than Siri), they are not purpose built for music and sound quality. Of course they both play a decent quality, but not the quality you’d expect after spending a few hundred dollars on a sound system type quality. This is where you see the price difference for these with Amazon’s Alexa fetching for about $229AUD and Google Home for $199AUD.

We hope that Apple’s promises of a superior music quality that will “blow us away”, as CEO Tim Cook said, are true, but we will wait, like the many other millions of Apple fans waiting to listen.

Apple HomePod, News

Apple HomePod – Is this Apple’s Answer to Google and Amazon?

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With the latest release of the Apple iPhone x, the spotlight has been on Apple.  It’s a huge step forward for Apple, as well as a huge step forward in the home music, and at last, the home assistant category. The Apple HomePod, released in December will be priced at $350USD.

Although the HomePod has not been released to us just yet, it looks pretty great if we go by the keynote speech in June of this year. I, for one, am very excited for this release!

It’s About The MUSIC

Apple have promised a “powerful speaker that sounds amazing and adapts to wherever it’s playing” – And we have been waiting for an all-in-one powerful speaker, assistant and home control device for a little while now. Of course we’ve seen the Amazon Alexa/Echo, as well as Google Home, but this interaction is all through the familiar Siri voice interaction.



But what’s a speaker if it doesn’t have good bass? (Apparently) we have nothing to fear with this 4-inch high-excursion woofer. We haven’t heard the quality in person just yet, but we will be straight on it as soon as we get our chance. Apple CEO Tim Cook has been quoted saying that the Apple HomePod audio quality will “blow people away” – So that’s something to look forward to.

The Apple HomePod – Aesthetically Beautiful

Apple have designed the HomePod very well on first appearance. It’s very compact, and just under 7 inches tall, and 2.5kg. The HomePod boasts a seven-tweeter array towards the bottom of the device for superior mids, highs and sound control (no matter the placement of the HomePod).

To make sure Siri can hear you, even with loud music playing, Apple have designed the HomePod with a six-microphone array, which for your security purposes, is encrypted and only activated after the “Hey Siri” command.

This is all inside a beautiful mesh fabric designed for the best aesthetics and acoustic performance. Available in two colours: White, and Space Grey.

Apple Intelligence

What looks to set this apart from competitors might be its brain – The Apple designed A8 chip, which controls how the woofer works in conjunction with its surroundings, including the ability to “beamform” so the microphone can hear you over the music. Of course we can’t forget all the features this chip allows Siri to control – These will be discussed in future articles.

Apple’s HomePod – Full of Features

There is much to discuss on the features of the new Apple HomePod including:

  • Spatial awareness
  • Multiple room functions (including AirPlay 2)
  • Music Intelligence
  • Siri commands (inc. timers, clocks, measurements, news, weather, etc) and,
  • Smart Home commands
    See the official info here from Apple

We are excited to follow this article with many detailing the above features of Apple’s HomePod. Consider this article, much like Apple’s keynote in June a bit of a teaser for what’s to come.

Let us know your initial thoughts on Apple’s HomePod.  Will you be ordering this December?