I think it is safe to say that most of us now accept the dominant role AI is going to have on our lives in the future. In fact, artificial intelligence already underpins many of our day to day online and offline activities. We might not want to think about it but our modern lives are reliant on early forms and systems of machine learning and AI. From banking to entertainment our work, financial and personal lives are already strongly influenced by AI. Taking control of what AI does for us and how that power can be harnessed to grow your new businesses faster is what this book is all about.

“AI is changing the rules of growth: those who can adapt will thrive, those who fail to ride the AI wave will perish. This book provides a blueprint of how to apply AI to growth in your business.” Jessica Osorio Lead, Mobile Growth, Mozilla

Our modern lives are reliant on early forms and systems of machine learning and AI. From banking to entertainment our work, financial and personal lives are already strongly influenced by AI
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Author Lomit Patel knows a thing or two about boosting growth in successful early-stage startups having worked with Roku (IPO), TrustedID (acquired by Equifax), Texture (acquired. by Apple) and Earthlink. He is now Vice President of Growth at IMVU and responsible for user acquisition, retention, and monetization. He is also a respected public speaker, author, advisor, and has been recognized as a Mobile Hero by Liftoff.

“Lomit Patel has adopted and championed the power of autonomous marketing from the very earliest of days, and his practical, no-nonsense approach to outperforming against your growth goals will be indispensable reading for anyone looking to make their mark in the world of digital marketing.” Sal Aurora Chief Data Scientist, Nectar9

Lean AI is the next in a series of best-selling books for innovators and business people which is part of Eric Ries’ “The Lean Startup” series published by O’Reilly. While previous books in the series have addressed how companies can be more innovative and nimble while being less wasteful, how to to be more socially impactful and world-changing and how to structure a modern successful company, this book provides practical advice on how innovative startups should use artificial intelligence and machine learning with automation to scale up their growth.

Lean AI provides practical advice on how innovative startups should use artificial intelligence and machine learning with automation to scale up their growth
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“Companies are spending millions of dollars without understanding the true ROI of their marketing investments. With the advent of machine learning and artificial intelligence, marketers will be able to deepen their understanding of the customer journey and serve them in new, exciting ways. The Lean AI provides a solid foundation for the next generation of marketing automation in the age of intelligent machines.” Shamanth Rao CEO and Founder, RocketShip HQ

The Lean Startup series is a methodology for developing businesses and products that aim to shorten product development cycles and rapidly discover if a proposed business model is viable. The books along with associated online resources and worldwide events teach how this can be achieved by adopting a combination of business-hypothesis-driven experimentation, iterative product releases, and validated learning. The Lean Startup method teaches you how to drive a startup—how to steer, when to turn, and when to persevere—and grow a business with maximum acceleration. It is a principled approach to get a desired product into customers’ hands faster.

The Lean Startup method teaches you how to drive a startup—how to steer, when to turn, and when to persevere—and grow a business with maximum speed. It is a principled approach to get a product into customers’ hands faster
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Lean AI is broken up into six sections to help us tackle the complex and powerful features of AI and how it can be harnessed to take our businesses to the next level.

Part 1: AI + Growth Marketing = Smart Marketing focuses on Growth Marketing with an overview of the current startup landscape and the biggest challenges currently facing new companies around customer acquisition. It provides an overview of the main components of Lean AI and takes a look at industry trends for leveraging AI for smart marketing.

Part 2: Customer Acquisition 3.0 looks at the world of Customer Acquisition 3.0, which provides you with an overview to learn how to effectively leverage your customer data using “intelligent machines” powered by Artificial Intelligence. This includes reviewing how to identify tasks to automate, provides an overview of the “intelligent machine” framework, and explores whether to build it or buy it based on your resource constraints.

Part 3: What Metrics Matter to you? Moves you into the world of selecting the right metrics for success that align on driving long-term growth. It explores the importance of creative assets and the area of cross-channel attribution to help optimize your “intelligent machine”.

Part 4: Picking the Right Approach to User Acquisition looks at five proven keys to user acquisition strategies and how to pick the right one for your business. It also dives deep into the “growth stack” — a set of tools that all work together to help you get the specific results you’re looking for, given your situation.

Part 5: Managing Increased Complexity and Risk moves you into the world of managing increased complexity and risk with the data needed for artificial intelligence to work. It also explores how the future growth team which would coexist with humans and machines working together in ways that take advantage of the intelligent machine framework we share in the book.

Part 6: The Next Frontier moves into how humans and machines can work symbiotically to produce the best work — and that “next frontier,” as well as its potential for triumphs and its challenges to turbocharge your growth efforts.

“Lean AI reinforces the critical marriage between developing great creative and actionable data-insights. This has a profound impact to influence our creative ideas – something that until now, we thought would just be a dream.” Victor Zaud Sr. Director, Product Design, Disney+

Lean AI reinforces the critical marriage between developing great creative and actionable data insights. This has a profound impact to influence our creative ideas - something that until now, we thought would just be a dream
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Summing up the wealth of important info in this book is tough but for me, the core message of Lean AI is that modern companies now have the tools and technology at their disposal to vastly speed up the previously slow and expensive processes for determining if your product and market are aligned and to test and measure experimental iterations of your core marketing strategy. We can now turn over a lot of the time-consuming work of running a successful business to AI, acquire customers faster and more efficiently and see our business grow as a result.

We can now turn over a lot of the time-consuming work of running a successful business to AI, acquire customers faster and more efficiently and see our business grow as a result
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The language is pretty dense and getting up to speed with the technical jargon is essential but this book is bursting with valuable ideas and information for any business entrepreneur, leader, executive and investor who wants the competitive technical edge to scale up their customer acquisition growth better, smarter and faster than the incumbents. The startups with the best ideas don’t always win; it’s the startup teams that can execute well and leverage the right resources for optimal efficiency to get the job done well. Startups have a very low probability of success, so anything you can do to increase your chances of success or decrease your rate of failure is huge. We are moving into a golden age of AI and new companies simply must take advantage of it in order to be competitive. For those with little or no understanding of how to implement AI into their growth strategy, this book is a great resource, a must-read.

“Every now and then there is a new super-hyped technology. Most of the hype ends up in the graveyard, right next to companies that used them as their main line of business. AI isn’t just hype. AI is defining software, processes, work environments and decision-making in every aspect of our lives. I have no doubt that AI will continue to drive tremendous transformation in digital marketing. ‘Lean AI’ enables companies to view these dramatic changes as real opportunities.“ Oren Kaniel CEO, Appsflyer

Lean AI is scheduled for publication around mid-March but is available for preorder at Amazon today.

Tom Atkinson is Reviews & Dep. Editor at Tech Trends. Follow him on Twitter @techtrends_tech

The post Book Review: Lean AI appeared first on Tech Trends.

From environmentally friendly, bright green meal replacement drinks to accessories for your new Oculus Quest, our July 2019 reviews post has it all!

Ambronite Real Food Meal Shakes

These guys from Ambronite have some big goals!

Ambronite’s mission is to transform humans and our planet from surviving to thriving, through a sustainable plant-based lifestyle. We are helping urban professionals to live their life to the fullest by creating delicious, plant-based foods designed for a modern lifestyle. People who dare to transform stay at the heart of our tribe who we want to serve. These are the movers and shakers — leaders, creative professionals and athletes who set new boundaries in human capability.

Ambronite's mission is to transform humans and our planet from surviving to thriving, through a sustainable plant-based lifestyle
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Launched in 2014 Finnish company Ambronite began disrupting the nutrition market and has been getting a lot of media and industry attention
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As a ‘mover and shaker’ myself I thought I had better give these meal replacements a try and do my bit to save the planet if that is possible. Launched in 2014 Finnish company Ambronite began disrupting the nutrition market and has been getting a lot of media and industry attention.

The meal replacement market is, however, still in its infancy and while legacy shake products have fallen out of fashion – nutritionally complete, natural, plant-based and sustainable alternatives are gaining traction. This summer Ambronite is releasing three new products – a bar, a balanced shake, and a green juice, the last two of which Tech Trends has dutifully quaffed. From its inception, Ambronite vowed to never use artificial or synthetic ingredients, or GMOs, unlike the vast majority of competitors.

“Our relationship with food has been dangerously distorted by corporations and many of us are living a life that is unsustainable, for the individual and the planet. Our vision is to provide access to clean, plant-based, sustainable nutrition options 24/7”. Commented co-founder Simo Suoheimo

This summer Ambronite is releasing three new products - a bar, a balanced shake, and a green juice, the last two of which Tech Trends has dutifully quaffed
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There’s a myriad of super greens already on the market but Ambronite’s research found that the majority don’t taste great and as a result consumption is low. To truly change daily nutritional habits Ambronite created a blend of greens that tastes great and contains key superfoods like cranberry, spinach, spirulina, bilberry, and sea buckthorn.

There’s a myriad of super greens already on the market but Ambronite’s research found that the majority don’t taste great and as a result consumption is low
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Juicing and hand-made smoothies are great, but when you add up finding the good stuff, shopping, spinning your blender, cleaning the machines… honestly, most people simply have more important (and fun) things to do in everyday life. With AmbroGreens, you should cover all your bases in just 1 minute every morning! And most importantly, it’s the healthy habit you can enjoy while saving your valuable time from shopping, prepping and cleaning up. Simply scoop one tablespoon of AmbroGreens and enjoy with water or add it to your favourite smoothie.

With AmbroGreens, you should cover all your bases in just 1 minute every morning! And most importantly, it's the healthy habit you can enjoy while saving your valuable time from shopping, prepping and cleaning up
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I found AmbroGreens to be really excellent. It was easy to prepare, not gummy and lumpy, very tasty and not too sweet (as these things often are). I would say it is naturally sweet tasting and a pleasant drink. I did feel that I got my greens boost every morning. Take a look at the video for a bit more info.

I found AmbroGreens to be really excellent. It was easy to prepare, not gummy and lumpy, very tasty and not too sweet
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Each meal is designed to quench hunger for four hours. I had the Ambronite shake for breakfast today and I added a bit more water than stated because it initially felt too thick
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Ambronite Balanced Meal Shake delivers a real food meal that is more affordable, gentle on the stomach and provides 20 grams of protein, plenty of fibre, and food-based vitamins and minerals. Each meal is designed to quench hunger for four hours. I had the Ambronite shake for breakfast today and I added a bit more water than stated because it initially felt too thick.

My first impression was that there was not any one outstanding taste, just a thorough blend of the ingredient tastes. Not too sweet, not too salty (even though there’s a lot of sodium and potassium in it), not too ‘berry-y’, not too ‘other’. Which on a whole made it not unpleasant, but maybe not something I would look forward to every day. It was filling, but not in a heavy way and I can say that I didn’t feel hungry until about 4 hours after I drank the shake.

It was filling, but not in a heavy way and I can say that I didn't feel hungry until about 4 hours after I drank the shake
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Truthfully, I don't know that I felt any more 'focused' than I usually do but am sure the effects would be more obvious with repeated or regular use
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As to the claims of optimized nutrition, it seems they’ve done a good job. I like that it’s high-protein without the use of soy. As to the ‘power-kick that keeps you focused’. Truthfully, I don’t know that I felt any more ‘focused’ than I usually do but am sure the effects would be more obvious with repeated or regular use.

“Most of us succumb to the stresses of modern life and compromise our nutrition as a result. We’re a solution for professionals and health-conscious consumers who demand optimal nutrition in any circumstance”. Concludes Suoheimo

Not bad all around and these were definitely the tastiest and least gunky food in a glass products we have tried here at Tech Trends so check out their products here and see if Ambronite works for you and your gut!

Book: Blockchain Babel

Igor Pejic provides a handy guide to understanding what the flip the Blockchain is about, and what it will really mean for us all. If you ever wondered how a cryptocurrency wallet worked (it functions more like a key than a wallet) or what “hashing” means (it’s where original information is transformed into a code via mathematical scrambling with one-way cryptography) this book explains all of that, alongside the basic principles and workings of the Blockchain and the cryptos that run off it. Read the full review here.

Skross – US Adapters for World Travellers

We have tested and loved the sturdy and almost endlessly flexible power adapters from Skross before so when my summer 2019 schedule shaped up to be an epic American road trip of conferences, tech company visits and tours as well as the usual tech journo shenanigans I thought I’d try out their best solutions for overseas US travellers.

With a satchel creaking under the weight of two MacBooks, five phones (yes five) and various power banks and electronic gadgets I knew I’d put the Skross products through their paces and indeed they were worked hard and even saved my bacon a couple of times.

With a satchel creaking under the weight of two MacBooks, five phones (yes five) and various power banks and electronic gadgets I knew I’d put the Skross products through their paces
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To keep my gadgets juiced up while in the US Skross kindly sent me their Combo World to US a 2 in 1 solution for the USA and Europe combined in a single adapter.

Specs

– Designed in Switzerland
– Suitable for equipment with earthed & unearthed plugs (2- & 3-pole)
– Input plugs: Switzerland, Italy, Brazil, UK, USA/Japan,
– Europe (Schuko & 2-pole Euro), Australia/China
– Output plugs: USA, Europe (Schuko)
– Input voltage: 100 V – 250 V
– Max. load: 15 A
– Power rating: e.g. 100 V – 1500 W / 250 V – 3750 W
– Does not convert voltage
– Adapter: 94 g
– Adapter: W 58 mm H 60 mm D 71 mm

This adapter ensures getting connected is super easy, not just in the USA but also in all other countries with Schuko standard sockets (as predominantly found in Europe). This adapter provides global travellers with a safe, reliable and easy connection in all countries with the US and Schuko standard, making it an ideal solution for business and leisure travellers or, in fact, journos like myself. It lacks a USB-B but does just about everything else.

This Skross adapter provides global travellers with a safe, reliable and easy connection in all countries with the US and Schuko standard, making it an ideal solution for business and leisure travellers or, in fact, journos
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I also tested their Skross Steel Line USB-C Cable which proved very strong and powered up everything from my MacBook Pro to three of my phones and my two power banks
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I also tested their Steel Line USB-C Cable which proved very strong (if a little inflexible, Duh… it is a Steel Line cable) and powered up everything from my MacBook Pro to three of my phones and my two power banks. I have nothing bad to say about this cable, it took everything I threw at it and laughed!

Specs

– Designed in Switzerland
– Input voltage: 5 V
– Output voltage: 5 V
– Output current: max. 3 A
– USB standard: 3.0
– Charges and synchronises all devices with USB Type-C
– Robust aluminium housing is made-to-last
– No more tangled wires
– Cable length: 1 m (3.3 ft)
– Reinforced jacket on Type-C and USB Connector

The Skross US USB-C Charger is perfect if you live in or travel to a country with the US or Japanese socket standard. The two USB ports (Type-C and Type-A) enable a traveller to charge two USB devices at the same time in over 50 countries around the world. This is very slim and probably got the most use during my trip, staying in my bag all the time due to its size while the other adapters mostly stayed in my hotel room for overnight use.

The Skross US USB-C Charger is perfect if you live in or travel to a country with the US or Japanese socket standard
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Specs

– Designed in Switzerland
– Suitable in all countries with US socket standard (more than 50 countries worldwide)
– Input: 100 V – 240 V ~ 50/60 Hz 700 mA (max.)
– Output A: DC 5 V, 2.4 A
– Output C: DC 5 V, 3 A
– Output max.: DC 5 V, 5.4 A total
– The two USB ports (Type-C and Type-A) enable to charge two USB devices at the same time
– Charges smartphones, tablets or any other USB devices in over 50 countries around the world.
– Not only for USB Type-C devices: the Type-A USB port can charge any USB device!

The World to USA USB is perfect whether you’re planning to see the sights of New York, visit Vancouver, trek in US national parks (which I did!) or experience the wonder of Niagara Falls (also did), this country adapter is the ideal charging companion with the added bonus of a USB port.

Specs

– Designed in Switzerland
– Suitable for equipment with earthed & unearthed plugs (2- & 3-pole) and USB devices
– Input plugs: Euro, Australia/China, UK, USA/Japan, Switzerland, Italy, Brazil
– Output plugs: USA
– Input voltage: 100 V – 250 V
– Max. load: 15 A
– Power rating: e.g. 100 V – 1500 W / 250 V – 3750 W
– USB output: 5 V / 2.4 A
– Does not convert voltage
– Suitable even for powerful devices such as laptops and travel hairdryers
– Applicable in many destinations: USA, Canada, Bahamas, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Mexico and many more.
– The 1 x USB port easily charges smartphone, tablet or other USB devices

It’s small and very lightweight. It is also well constructed, unlike the shoddy cheap products found on Amazon for a few bucks, only the best Swiss manufacturing here!
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The best thing about this adapter (apart from its flexibility) is its size. It’s small and very lightweight. It is also well constructed, unlike the shoddy cheap products found on Amazon for a few bucks, only the best Swiss manufacturing here! All round, the Skross products I have used here and over the last couple of years have been excellent investments. They are not cheap but boy are they reliable and well built, these adapters will last years of international travel and are well worth the outlay.

Check out the huge range of product this excellent Swiss company makes here and trust me, you won’t be disappointed.

Airfree Tulip 1000

Clean the air in your home with the Airfree Tulip 1000 silent air purifier. More and more of us are paying attention to the air we breathe, both in and out of the home. While the UK Government are letting us all down by failing to comply with EU laws on air pollution in our towns and cities, inside our own homes we can at least try to control things. Airfree sent us their elegant Tulip 1000 to test so we read the very simple instructions, chose the fuggiest room in our house and plugged it in. After a day or two, I started to wonder how I could know if it is working as the cleaning supposedly takes place on a microscopic level and apart from giving off faint heat and an array of pretty colours the Tulip 1000 is completely silent and requires no maintenance, not even the occasional replacement of parts. Read the full review here.

VR Covers for your new Oculus Quest

If your HMD is shared around with family or colleagues it’s probably worth getting some changeable and hygienic pads or covers, as no matter how much you love your nearest and dearest or your workmates nobody likes sharing grease! The guys at VR Cover have been making affordable and comfortable solutions for a variety of headsets for a while now and they have quickly produced a few products for the shiny new Oculus Quest.

The guys at VRCover.com have been making affordable and comfortable solutions for a variety of headsets for a while now and they have quickly produced a few products for the shiny new Oculus Quest
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For only $29 they offer an Oculus Quest Foam & Interface Basic Set containing two easy-clean leather-like foam pads – one more padded than the other – to ensure you get the fit you want with your Quest. Both foam paddings prevent light leakage and you can simply switch between them to find the best fit and immersion. I found the comfort version with its thicker, broader pad helped to distribute the weight of the device better.

Effective at reducing pressure and red marks on the face, these ultra-soft foam replacements will make long VR sessions much more comfortable. Cleaning the accessories is easy. Simply use a cloth or anti-bacterial wipes to remove sweat and grime and you will have a fresh and hygienic headset again in no time.

Effective at reducing pressure and red marks on the face, these ultra-soft foam replacements will make long VR sessions much more comfortable
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Get your order in now as this basic set is expected to ship at the end of August 2019 & includes:
1 x Facial Interface (black)
1 x Oculus Quest PU Leather Foam Replacement (standard)
1 x Oculus Quest PU Leather Foam Replacement (comfort)

Make your Quest basic set even more comfortable and add one of their $19 Oculus Quest Cotton VR Covers comprising two, soft, washable cotton covers in one set. Made of quick-absorbing 100% cotton, the covers wick away moisture, so your VR experience feels comfortable and your headset stays protected.

To make your Quest basic set even more comfortable, add one of their $19 Oculus Quest Cotton VR Covers comprising two, soft, washable cotton covers in one set
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Installation is straightforward, thanks to a unique hook and strap system. The in-built elastic straps and hooks fasten onto the back of the interface, assuring a secure fit even during active gaming. This set is expected to ship around the 15 July 2019 so order soon. Each set contains 2 machine-washable covers so just swap one out for the other and get a clean headset every time.

Designed to optimise hygiene and comfort, these VR Covers are perfect whether you are sharing headsets or flying solo. Check out more of their products here.

Tech Energi USB Charger and LED USB Cables

Each USB port intelligently identifies your device to deliver the fastest possible charge at maximum speed (up to 3.1A) or will share the charge when 3 devices are connected simultaneously
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Tom Atkinson is Reviews & Dep. Editor at Tech Trends.

The post July 2019 Product Reviews appeared first on Tech Trends.

Spring finally arrived but Tech Trends has been closeted indoors testing and reviewing all sorts of cool gadgets and thingamabobs for you lucky readers!

Sphero Mini

The Sphero Mini follows in the line of the original Sphero, Sprk+ and the popular Sphero BB-8. The new Mini takes much of what its previous models so successful and shrinks it down to a smaller – and more economical – package.

Sphero Mini packs tons of fun into a tiny, app-enabled robotic ball. drive, play games, learn to code, and more.

The new Mini takes much of what its previous models so successful and shrinks it down to a smaller - and more economical - package
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Now the size of a snooker ball the Sphero Mini comes in a range of robust-coloured shells which open to reveal its components within (a gyroscope and accelerator). A few fun accessories are also enclosed in the package – including half a dozen colourful mini skittles and some cones so you can layout your own course and steer your Mini through it.

Initially, a little slow to charge -especially if you have children eager to play – the app intel is easy to download and boot up and once launched is quick to get going with a colourful simple interface which is very child-friendly and easy to navigate.

Packed with teeny tiny tech such as a gyroscope, accelerometer, and LED lights and almost an hour of play time, Sphero Mini is the next big thing.

The app intel is easy to download and boot up and once launched is quick to get going with a colourful simple interface which is very child-friendly and easy to navigate
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In the app you can choose between a variety of control methods: standard joystick, tilt control, slingshot and face driving – which although may prove fun for younger players is actually quite a frustrating experience. Apart from the standard tech toy drive modes, there are also a few arcade style games tucked within the app wherein you can use the Sphero as a controller. They’re a fun little distraction but compared to what kids can play on their phones nowadays they won’t amuse them for long.

Drive Mini using different modes with the Sphero Mini app, or just by using your lovely mug. This Ball is also a Video Game controller! Use Mini as a controller to shoot your way through space, race through a tunnel, or to destroy a polygon of bricks.

The app is a great introduction to the basics of programming and with a simple drag and drop approach even younger players can make their own programs or adapt provided templates
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But it’s the Sphero Edu coding app that raises this tech toy above that of your average remote control car. The app is a great introduction to the basics of programming and with a simple drag and drop approach even younger players can make their own programs or adapt provided templates. Once you’ve become familiar with the paths and blocks that represent code you can then write your own JavaScript text programs.

Program the Mini with Javascript. If you’re feeling extra clever, download the Sphero Edu app and program your robot using JavaScript. The SPRK+ robot was built for programming. What’s the difference?

Overall the Sphero Mini is a solid reasonably priced tech toy
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Overall the Sphero Mini is a solid reasonably priced tech toy. In some ways, it suffers from the general failure of many of the interactive educational bots in that you really have to encourage the child to explore its capabilities or they will just become an expensive remote control car and have a very limited replay value. Given proper guidance, however – if you have the patience – they are a great way to encourage a basic grasp of coding.

RRP: $49.00

Review by Ashley Thorpe, Animator & Filmmaker at Carrion Films and Film & Games Correspondent at Tech Trends. Follow him on Twitter @CarrionScreamin

Dell Visor Windows MR Headset

The first thing that hit me when I popped on the Dell Visor was its weightless comfort. It is similar in design to the PS4 VR headset and puts the weight of the device on the top of your head but is just a bit easier to get used to wearing and less front-heavy.

The first thing that hit me when I popped on the Dell Visor was its weightless comfort
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After trying some VR headsets that clamp the screen onto the front of your face with straps I have been left in physical pain (especially around the nose and ears) and so have become a connoisseur of VR comfort (or lack thereof) and the Dell design gets top marks.  Read the full review here.

Carlton AR Children’s Books

Carlton Books are at the forefront of early stage, educational AR books and I can’t think of a better use for mobile AR tech. Visually exciting and interactive technology paired with real-world play and learning should draw kids into new subjects and areas of study in a new and exciting way. It is important to note how early stage this technology is but Carlton have thrown themselves behind AR with exciting results.

Carlton Books are at the forefront of early stage, educational AR books and I can’t think of a better use for mobile AR tech
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It is important to note how early stage this technology is but Carlton have thrown themselves behind AR with exciting results
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Last year I was very impressed with their more adult-focused Alien: Augmented Reality Survival Manual, it had some very engaging AR content and is still my benchmark for this hybrid publishing format, so I was keen to try out this new series of educational AR books Tech Trends picked up at the 2018 London Book Fair. I was particularly keen to see how easy they made the process of linking the technology, the AR content and the physical books as the interaction between paper and digital needs to be seamless, immersing the reader (or user?) in the content with minimal UI friction.

First up was iExplore Bugs, off the bat this should be good as who doesn’t love creepy crawlies! The first page had clear instructions showing you how to download the app and use it. The App icon and the printed AR activation symbols were the same, making it really clear how it worked but there was no printed QR code to take you straight to the app in the iOS or Android app stores, why not? I had to open the app store and search for the app, luckily the printed instruction had the correct app name so this was not too hard but it should have been much easier.

Flying the Dragons around the room was serious fun and the quality or the AR was excellent
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After activating the AR there was a clear prompt on what to do next, look through the phone's camera and point it at the app symbol on each page to bring the bug to life
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The app is pretty large and took a while to download and install but when opened offered a taste of what was to come with a friendly animated cricket, instructions and links to other apps in the publisher series. After activating the AR there was a clear prompt on what to do next, look through the phone’s camera and point it at the app symbol on each page to bring the bug to life. My Galaxy S8 would not focus the camera inside the app and so detecting the symbol was a bit tricky, everything was permanently out of focus so the camera was not quick to activate the AR. However when it popped up the AR quality was great and the in-app bug controller, information and mini test were well designed and fun to use. The only niggle was the juddery bugs, when they were standing on the page they juddered constantly as the app calculated the ground level. This was a bit distracting but when the bugs took off and flew around the room under my control it improved a lot. This was serious fun and the quality or the AR Dragons was excellent.

The flying creatures got even better in Dragons Come to Life (so cool) where the Dragons from Dreamworks’ How to Train Your Dragon leap off the page and let you fly them around the room. The book’s instructions and app were just as clear and the AR dragons and little human characters were really very cool. You could also swat up on the Dragon’s special powers and its Top Trumps style, abilities followed by a little knowledge test. Again the S8 camera would not focus in the app so it failed completely to activate some of the dragons, even in very bright light, quite annoying.

Carlton Books have done a really good job here and the books and apps are fun to use and very reasonably priced considering the background work this AR tech requires
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All in all Carlton Books have done a really good job here and the books and apps are fun to use and very reasonably priced considering the background work this AR tech requires. The books absolutely must have printed QR codes to take you to the right app or Carlton need to issue one app that works across all their books in a series. The friction of looking for the right app to go with the right book is simply unnecessary and easily fixed. The in-app camera failing to focus was a big issue but an app update should fix this and my only other minor niggle is the visuals and text in the books, particularly the covers. They are overselling the concept with too many images and too many mixed up fonts and bold graphics, it all looks too busy and hectic on the page. However, with publishers like Carlton pushing the Print & AR format I can see other publishers getting onboard but for now, none match the quality on show here from Carlton.

RRP: Individual books £9.99 and the Carlton AR range is here.

Aukey Wireless Bluetooth Speaker

If asked to sum up Aukey’s products I would have to say ‘best bang for your buck’ is the phrase that comes to mind. They are invariably much better quality than the price suggests, solidly built, practical and reliable. In the case of this 16W, SK-S1 wireless Bluetooth speaker I can also add, attractive.

The SK-S1 is surprisingly solid for its size. When you first pick it up gives off a feeling of quality and confidence, and the sound is very good
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There are some wacky and expensive looking portable speakers out there but this one just looks smart and modern, blending into my office, kitchen and garden. It is also surprisingly solid for its small size and when you first pick it up gives off a feeling of quality and confidence. The curved metal grills and the brushed steel top ooze a stylish simplicity and the silicone base promises to keep it clinging to any surface. Read the full review here.

ZeroWater Filter and TDS Meter

This 12-cup water filter jug from ZeroWater looks much like every other water filter out there but what makes it a more high-tech drinking solution is its patented, 5-stage Ion Exchange Filtration system, which removes virtually all dissolved solids from your water. These solids may include minerals, salts, metals, chemicals and runoff. Mmmm runoff, my favourite non-specific dissolved solid!

It removes virtually all dissolved solids from your water. These solids may include minerals, salts, metals, chemicals and runoff. Mmmm runoff, my favourite non-specific dissolved solid!
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The ZeroWater filter is also the first in its class to benefit from a sealed lid and reservoir, which allows filtered water to be poured while water, which hasn’t yet been, filtered remains in the reservoir. This adds a further 2 cups of capacity to the 10 cups of filtered water in the jug. It also features a very cool one-handed, pull and pour button spout for easy pouring from the fridge or for filling bottles. Four additional stages of water filtration ensure larger particles and other impurities are removed.

Well, I used the laboratory-grade Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) meter provided on our unfiltered tap water and got a reading of 078. I then filled up the jug and measured the filtered water and… dum dum duuuum! Got a reading of 000. So this seems to do a fine job of removing those unpleasant impurities from your water, and that can only be a good thing. Our water normally tastes fine if a little chloriney and after filtering through the ZeroWater tasted very different. It’s difficult to describe the taste but it is not unpleasant and definitely better than straight out of the tap.

I used the laboratory-grade Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) meter provided on our unfiltered tap water and got a reading of 078. I then filled up the jug and measured the filtered water and got a reading of 000
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• Certified* to reduce Lead, Chromium, & Mercury
• Premium 5-Stage Dual-Ion Exchange filtration system
• Ion-Exchange system that removes virtually all dissolved solids in your water
• The FDA requires the TDS level in PURIFIED bottled water to reach 000-010ppm. ZeroWater is the only filter in its class to achieve this level.

RRP: £39.99

Dell Precision 7720 VR-Ready Mobile Workstation

It was love at first sight when I unpacked the top spec Dell Precision 7720 VR-Ready Mobile Workstation last week. Cupid’s bow twanged and his poison arrow thudded deep into the meat of my heart, I was a gonna. She was over £7k of laptop and I was a drooling geek, palms sweaty at the prospect of an Intel Xeon E3-1535M v6 server processor, Nvidia Quadro P5000 and a Samsung SM961 M.2 SSD. My shaking hands slowly peeled off her cardboard clothes, plugged her straight into the mains and turned myself on So how was it? Well, it was sweet while it lasted but she soon left me and drove away with the same cheeky UPS driver! Read the full review here.

Aukey Powered USB 3.0 Hub

Like Apple, PC motherboard makers seem to be on a crusade to limit external connections. I suspect this might be due to the variety of new superspeed connections users expect every board to have pushing out the more practical and proven connections such as USB 3. I have never had the need for an expansion card or hub like this one from Aukey before but with only six USB 3 ports on my PC (four on the rear and two on the front) and a wealth of USB dongles and devices I was struggling. Sure I tried a few small two or three port extenders that did the job but a mains powered, six-port hub like this provided a much-needed connectivity boost.

I have never had the need for an expansion card or hub like this one from Aukey before but with only six USB 3 ports on my PC and a wealth of USB dongles and devices I was struggling
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The hub adds six SuperSpeed USB 3.0 ports to your laptop or desktop computer, plus Aukey threw in one Smart Quick-Charging Aipower port and a Gigabit Ethernet port capable of accessing superfast network speeds of up to 1000Mbps. With the palm-size and lightweight design the CB-H17 Powered USB hub retains high-speed access to all of your devices without overloading your pocket or desktop. With USB data transfer rates of up to 5Gbps, you’ll be able to sync files and interact with your Mac or PC more efficiently than ever.

This hub adds six SuperSpeed USB 3.0 ports to your computer, plus one Smart Quick-Charging Aipower port and a Gigabit Ethernet port capable of accessing superfast network speeds
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This is a very robust little hub from Aukey and is a worthy addition to your home computer, you won't know how you survived without one
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Powered by a 12V/3A mains adapter you can use your all external USB hard drives and even charge your smartphone or tablet when your computer is turned off (except for the iOS system), that could come in pretty handy! This is a very robust little hub and is a worthy addition to your home computer, you won’t know how you survived without one.

• Compact and slim design effectively saves your desk space and expands your connectivity
• One 2.4A output smart charging port provides full-speed and sufficient powers to charge all Apple and Android Smartphone, tablets and other USB charged devices
• The Ethernet port supports 10/100/1000 Gigabit Ethernet. Support WinXP/ 7/ 8/ 10, Linux, Mac OS
• Package Contents: AUKEY CB-H17 Powered USB Hub, 3.3ft USB Cable, 12V/3A Power Adapter, User Manual, 24 Month Warranty Card

RRP: £19.99 reduced from £24.99 on Amazon UK

Tom Atkinson is a Digital Producer & Photographer at R3Digital and Reviews & Dept. Editor at Tech Trends. Connect on LinkedIn and follow him on Twitter @R3Digital

The post April 2018 Tech Trends Product Reviews appeared first on Tech Trends.

After getting hands-on with Microsoft’s latest shiny thing, we definitely wants one, precious…  

Sure, upon receiving the Surface Book to test, Tech Trends put it diligently through its paces, and below you’ll find our honest impressions of what was good as well as the niggles and shortcomings that came up. But overall the greatest downside is that we’re having to return it, and – given the fact that my MacBook Pro is currently fully functional – I can’t quite justify spending the 2K to upgrade my setup just now.

My MacBook Pro is still working, so I can't quite justify the upgrade to the Surface yet
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I bought my current machine – to quote the merchant in Resident Evil – “at a very high price” about four years ago. At the time it was really the only portable laptop that could keep up with the demands of Avid & Adobe video editing and heavy Lightroom use, and apart from the tendency to overheat and melt my thighs, plus the interminable niggles with OSX updates, it did the job.

Last year Microsoft released an upgraded Surface Book with a Performance Base
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But over the years I have watched with increased interest and building excitement as Microsoft brought out products like the Surface Pro 3. The signs were definitely encouraging, but it didn’t have the grunt I needed. Then out came the first version of the Surface Book, which did pack the required grunt and frankly looked the bollox. Plus – at a time when Apple was randomly removing things like USB ports from its new MacBooks – it had all the connections I needed, plus a lovely removable touchscreen. Yet the graphics were not great and the battery looked a bit underwhelming, so I stayed put.

Then in October last year Microsoft released an upgraded Surface Book with a Performance Base featuring a new, more powerful Nvidia GeForce GTX 965M with 2GB of VRAM and a larger battery. They had not bumped the Intel i7 up from 6th generation to 7th but that was not a deal breaker and promises of a faster internal SSD and the upcoming Windows 10 Creators Update hooked me in. Unfortunately these things do take time to arrive here in the UK, but as I unpacked it last week I couldn’t help but think it had been worth the wait.

Featuring a new, more powerful Nvidia GeForce GTX 965M with 2GB of VRAM and a larger battery
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Now, this won’t be a hugely technical review, there are plenty of those out there if that’s your thing, but more of a candid test drive from someone who’s used to demanding quite a bit from their kit with a photo & video intensive workflow.

I'm used to pushing these machines with intensive video and photo workflow
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First impression was that it’s definitely fast! It is fleet of foot and start ups and shut downs are just a joy to behold. The i7 eats through day-to-day tasks and the SSD (tested with Blackmagic Disk Speed Test) reads and writes at over 1GB/s.

Start ups and shut downs are just a joy to behold
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The first thing I tested was what I had been waiting most keenly for, the touch screen in laptop mode. I know other machines got here first but on a true power laptop this was my first experience and oh boy it is liberating; pinching, swiping and scrolling on my work laptop just as I would on my phone felt so good I found myself grinning at that lovely high-res screen. And on that beauty:

It’s a 13.5 “PixelSense display with a resolution of 3000 x 2000 (267 PPI) and an slightly unusual aspect ratio of 3:2. It is gorgeous with solid blacks, great detail and a very impressive maximum brightness of 355 lux and outstanding contrast level of 1,440:1, these are all vitally important for anyone like me who deals in imagery.

The Surface lets you interact with the machine in any way that makes sense to you
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My wife always comments on how filthy my MacBook screen always looks because I’m always touching it as I point out things, etc. It’s the intuitive way in which visual and creative professionals work, so not having the touchscreen functionality always felt like something of a handicap with Macs. The surface just feels like what it has meant to be all along, allowing you to interact with the machine in whatever way makes sense for you at the time – be it keyboard, trackpad, pen, or even those filthy fingers.

The screen has great detail and very impressive maximum brightness and outstanding contrast
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Being used to the very solid aluminium hunk that is my MacBook Pro, the magnesium Surface Book felt light and I didn’t mind the unusual-looking hinge as its unique design enables the tablet mode, more on that later. A minor gripe would be the keyboard which is a bit “clicky clacky” and the keys feel a bit light for my taste, as I prefer them firmer, but the travel on them is nice.

The surface book has an SDXC reader and two fast USB 3 ports meaning I can edit video and photos stored on external SSD drives and enjoy the speeds they offer. In another win over Apple the power connection is magnetic! Why Apple removed the legendary MagSafe connection on their newest laptops is a mystery and will result in thousands more smashed laptops as people and pets trip over trailing cables (with 3 boisterous Staffies with very active whipping tails in the house, I can tell you that’s a very real problem). Admittedly the Microsoft solution is not as elegant but it is reversible and does the job well. After my minor complaint about the keyboard I have nothing but praise for the trackpad. I barely noticed the difference between my Mac and the Surface Book and that is a big compliment. The trackpad is precise, tactile and lovely to use, plus performs a host of common multi-finger functions and is a good size too.

As a laptop the Surface Book’s only oddity is that the hinge is a bit wobbly and getting the screen at the right angle and balancing it on your lap takes some getting used to. Remember that the CPU and a second battery live in the tablet section, so the screen is heavier that on most laptops and the hinge has to be stronger to account for that. The annoyance this creates, however, is soon outweighed by the possibility of taking that wonderful screen off and having a HUGE tablet on your hands! Simply push and hold the tablet release button and a second later there is a satisfying click and the screen pulls easily off. Wow it is light! Much lighter than you expect and also big, very big, but in a GOOD way.

The tablet is comfortable to hold and the screen looks even more impressive when off the base
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The tablet is comfortable to hold and the screen looks even more impressive when off the base. It does get warm as you browse the web and noticeably so when watching videos but never hot, and the tablet sports a very quiet fan and ventilation holes all around the edge so it cools back down quickly.

I did run into a few software glitches in Tablet mode
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I did run into a few software glitches in Tablet mode, while browsing the web in Chrome the screen froze for 40 seconds or so before suddenly working again and twice I tried to open Windows 10 settings and this would not work at all, a quick restart fixed it but this did happen a couple of times within an hour of use. These issues were not a huge problem though, and I am sure future Windows 10 updates will continue to improve on the software functions when using the Tablet.

You can’t try out the tablet without using the Surface Pen, a simple tube of matt silver metal with a flat magnetic side so you can secure it to the Tablet on any side surface. I have used a lot of tablets and pens and this one is functional, i.e. does exactly what it says on the tin. The Surface Pen has 1024 levels of pressure sensitivity and an eraser on the other end, so handwritten notes on your screen are just like pen on paper, and writing is really comfortable. Writing and drawing in Paint 3D is great fun and the ink pen is particularly satisfying to use, creating lovely elegant lines. The quality of the screen really comes across when drawing and painting, the colours are bright and rich and the six million pixels mean the lines and shapes look truly fluid.

Writing and drawing in Paint 3D is great fun and the ink pen is particularly satisfying
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I honestly love the Tablet and just reading the newspapers is such a pleasure as the text looks so crisp and clear. You do however notice the lower powered GPU when in Tablet mode and scrolling web pages could be a little smoother and switching apps is also a little slow but this is nothing unusual on other tablets. Fitting the Tablet back onto the base is a sinch, just line it up and it gently clicks back with a faint magnetic thunk and once it is back on the connection is so strong I had no fears about the base dropping off when picking up the whole thing by the screen, it is very secure.

Fitting the Tablet back onto the base is a sinch, just line it up and it gently clicks back
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OK now onto performance. As a video producer and photographer I need a light, portable machine with a great screen, good battery, lots of processing power, fast USB ports and an SDXC reader.  I installed Blackmagic DaVinci Resolve 14, Adobe CC and a range of apps including Premier Pro, After Effects and Lightroom, loaded up some HD and 4K video as well as 40GB of RAW photos and went to work. I won’t go into too much detail but summing up my experience I have to say I am impressed. The Surface Book performed at least as well as my MacBook Pro in HD & 4K video editing and playback and was very capable of building and rendering out video graphics and tiles in After Effects.

The Surface Book performed at least as well as my MacBook Pro in HD & 4K video editing
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It did struggle when grading 4K video in DaVinci Resolve but that is no surprise, as even my workstation PC finds this a challenge. What was very pleasing was editing photos in Lightroom, although not a huge improvement, working with a large catalogue of high res photos was quicker than on my Mac. The super-fast SSD and a newer generation processor no doubt helped out here, making browsing the catalogue quick and pleasurable. Again the screen made a huge difference here, the colours really pop and the incredible contrast it offers makes manipulating images a real joy. I have inserted a gallery below with a few examples of images from my recent trip to Cannes Film Festival and edited on the Surface Book in Lightroom.

The super-fast SSD and newer generation processor made for quick browsing
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Sound is the next thing I looked at and the Surface Book had its work cut out here as Macs famously deliver great sound, at least through headphones. Either side of the detachable screen are two forward-facing speakers that look tiny but don’t sound it. They pump out a very loud and impressive sound, easily enough to fill a room with good bass and mids. Did I mention it was loud? Playing the trailer for Thor: Ragnarok I was blown away and had to quickly turn the audio down to 60% to avoid disturbing the neighbours, which was unexpected. You could easily sit a group of people around the laptop and share a pretty good movie experience. I next connected up my Skullcandy Crusher Bluetooth headphones and ran the same trailer. As you would expect the audio was much better through cans with a really well-balanced sound that I could listen to for quite a while without getting bored, all round a good performance!

To sum up, I think Microsoft have finally produced a contender in the power laptop category, but really they have done much more than that. The combination of the detachable and impressive tablet screen, a capable pen tool, and all the standard connections that Apple have tossed aside means they’ve built a very compelling package for creative professionals.

When you look at the direct competition from Apple the benefits of the Surface Book over the 2017 MacBook Pros become very obvious. The version I tested directly compares to the 13inch MacBook Pro with an Intel i7, 500GB and 16GB RAM and Touch Bar which retails at £2399 but has no Tablet mode or Pen support, both of which are key for the modern creative and design professionals Macs are marketed at. When you consider the Surface Book costs exactly the same (RRP: $2,799 / £2,399), I think I have just seen the future.

Tom Atkinson is a Digital Producer & Photographer at R3Digital and Reviews & Dept. Editor at Tech Trends. Connect on LinkedIn and follow him on Twitter @R3Digital

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The post Product Review: Microsoft Surface Book appeared first on Tech Trends.