The GoPro Max is the company’s latest 360 camera. It came after the Fusion, the company’s first attempt at 360 photography and videography.
However, the Max is better in the sense that it only uses one microSD card to record your photos and videos versus the two in the Fusion, one for each lens. And of course, there are other newer features also.
Build quality of the Max is great! It is not meant to be dropped (the lenses are bulbous, therefore are exposed. These kinds of lenses are needed so they can do 360 captures) but it can withstand water dunking up to 5m. As I don’t do much water activities, the water resistance of the gadget is still a welcome feature as I can sometimes be caught in the rain while jogging and biking.
Another new feature for GoPro’s 2019 releases - the mount is now built into the device itself. Personally, I still would have preferred that the mount is on a cage like in the GoPro Heroes 7 or older. Those mounts are more stable than the built-in ones.
The camera has a hypersmooth feature so you won’t need a gimbal to ensure that your video captures are smooth as butter. It can also make timewarps (the so-called time lapse in other cameras) which is a fun feature when you want to speed things up.
But, as primarily a photographer, one of my favorite features is the powerpano where the Max makes, as named, a panoramic photograph. This is a great feature because, instead of “panning” your camera from one point to another, the Max employs both cameras to take one shot of the scene. This prevents ghosting as can be seen in panoramic photos produced by cameras and smartphones.
Compare the photo above to the pano I shot using an iPhone. The cars got squished!
There is also a feature where you can use only one lens making the Max similar to a traditional GoPro. This feature is available in both photo and video captures.
Video and photo quality produced by the Max is great in well-lit situations but they can take a hit once the lighting condition deteriorates.
But, all-in-all, the GoPro Max is a fun camera to have. Even is you are not a hyper sports person who go to extreme adventures, the Max is a nice, a very nice, camera to have in your bag.
Highly Recommended!
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The Fitbit Charge HR is the best selling fitness tracker of 2015. So, it is only apropos that Fitbit discontinued that line by replacing it with something so much better:
The Charge 2 seems like the offspring of the aforementioned HR and the Fitbit Alta. The Charge 2 combines the width, the heart rate sensor and the band style of the Charge HR with the OLED display of the Alta and its jewelry-like appearance.
Just like the Alta, the Charge 2 is being sold not only as a fitness band but as a jewelry accessory also. It has removable bands, so you are not stuck to the band that came with the unit. Fitbit also offers bands that are made up of leather, though I don't think it is a good idea to use the leather band when you are working out... The leather is supposed to go with your dress or your tux.
And for me, the Fitbit Charge 2 succeeds in doing that - to be a fashion accessory rather than an obvious fitness tracker. For me, the glossy appearance of the display makes it feel like its a jewelry-like accessory. I just wish that all Charge 2 came in the all-black, gun-metal look. For me, the silver metal on the side of the display causes a distraction to the over-all look and feel of the device. However, despite this, and because of its form factor, I consider the Charge 2 as a bracelet, rather than a watch or a fitness tracker. So, I don't mind pairing it with my G-Shock watch, if ever I had a desire to wear that proper watch.
As I have said, the band of the Charge 2 is user-replaceable. So that means, you can wash the band after so many sweaty work-out sessions. Note though that if you decided to wash the band, you should detach it from the Charge 2 body as it is not water-proof. The Charge 2 is only sweat, splash and rain-proof. It's a pity that Fitbit did not make the Charge 2 waterproof. I don't swim for fitness reasons, but I have sometimes been caught in the rain while jogging and, every time, I feel that the Charge 2 is gonna die on me. But thank goodness it has not happened. Yet, I hope that the Charge 3, or whatever Fitbit will call the next version is already waterproof.
The Charge 2 is a complete fitness tracker and can give most fitness trackers a run for the money, including the more expensive ones. It tracks exercises automatically: if you spend 15 minutes or more of continuous activity, Fitbit will be able to properly guess what you are doing for you. As an example, I had forgotten to set my treadmill run several times already, but when I sync my Charge 2 to my iPhone, the Fitbit app already said that what I did was run on a “treadmill“. If you are not happy with the app's classification, you can change it after the fact. You have several choices on the type of activity, like biking, interval workout, yoga, pilates, basketball, etc.
And speaking of interval training, you can set the Charge 2 to give you cues when you want to change paces between fast phase and rest phase. Say you set your interval workout to be a sequence of 3 minutes of sprint and 5 minutes of slow jog. Once the 3 minute sprint is up, the Charge 2 will vibrate and you can then slow down to a moderate pace. Then, the Charge 2 will vibrate again once the 5 minute rest period is over.
The Charge 2 doesn't have a built-in GPS antenna, but it can piggy-back on the GPS antenna of your mobile phone. I tried walking with this feature on and my pace and distance travelled were fairly precise. However, by looking at the map, it seems I was able to jump over buildings in a single bound... However, that is the phone's GPS's fault, and not that of the Charge 2.
The heart rate sensor of the Charge 2 is heaven sent. With it, I can tell at what heart rate zone my heart is. From normal, to fat burn, to cardio and to peak. Peak is what all of us should attain. This is the heart rate zone that will really improve your fitness level. If you constantly reach this zone, then you will have a healthier heart in general. And comparing the heart rate measurement of the Charge 2 with that of the heart rate sensor on the machines in the gym, my iPhone and a dedicated BP monitor, I can say that the heart rate measurement of the Charge 2 is really precise.
The Fitbit Charge 2 can also determine your VO2 Max number. With this number, you will be able to find out your fitness level compared to other people of the same age group. I am happy to say that my fitness level is between very good and excellent...
I love my Fitbit Charge 2! :)
The Charge 2 can also measure the quality of your sleep and you don't have to set it before going to sleep. Based on your lesser movements and lowered heart rate, Fitbit will know that you are already sleeping. [On a side note, my other Fitbit tracker, the Surge, thought I was asleep when I watched Batman Vs Superman... Just saying…] When you sync the tracker to the app when you wake up, you will be able to determine the quality of your sleep and your resting heart rate. For almost a year now, I am happy to say that, since I first wore a Fitbit wrist tracker with a heart rate sensor, my resting heart rate has gone down by 5 points. However, I have a friend in the Philippine Navy whose heart rate is 17 points lower than mine! I don't know if I will be able to catch that...
The Charge 2 can also measure your floors climbed, something that the Apple Watch Series 2 can't even do. That fact, that the Apple Watch can't measure floors climbed is really baffling for me. Even my very first Fitbit, the One, which I had in 2014, can measure floors climbed! The Charge 2 can also remind you to stand and walk for three minutes (or 250 steps) per hour if you have been sedimentary. This is a very nice reminder though I think I have only achieved getting 10-three minute hourly activity for one day…
I have heard this somewhere: sitting is the new smoking... So the Charge 2 can, in principle, prevent us from being stuck in our desks and couches.
There is also a new "Relax" app within the Charge 2. With this, the tracker can tell you to breathe, hold your breath and breathe out. It's a new mindfulness activity that seems to be in vogue at the moment. The watchOS 3 in the Apple Watch also has this. I don't, however, use this much because I feel I am not "chill" enough... The wife, who actually practices Zen meditations, will actually benefit more from this.
And of course, all of these stats are combined beautifully in the Fitbit app. Actually, your data from the tracker is essentially useless if you don't use the app. With the app, you can see your progress and your past achievements. Fitbit has one of the best, if not the best, and most comprehensive app among fitness tracker makers and the stats captured by the Charge 2 is beautifully displayed, stored and summarized in its fitness app.
The Charge 2, when paired with your smart phone, can alert you to incoming calls, text messages and calendar events. However, the display is not big enough to make the notifications meaningful, so I just turn the thing off. It can do in a pinch though you should not expect much from the 1.5-inch display.
The battery life of the Charge 2, according to Fitbit is five days. I can almost get that value though by the end of the fifth day, the Charge 2 is practically begging me to put it in the charger. And speaking of chargers, this is one thing that I am absolutely not thrilled with Fitbit. Each tracker has its own proprietary charger. I love the iPhone and the iPad but I hate the fact that the charging cable that I have to use for them is not a common standard, like USB 3.0. Well, Fitbit is worse... The chargers used for the One, the Surge, and the Charge 2 are all different! Even the charger for the Charge 2 and the Charge HR are not the same! So, if you are upgrading from an HR to the 2 and you thought that you can use the same charger... Well, no... At least for the iPhone and the iPad, I only need to use the one charging cable.
All-in-all, the Fitbit Charge 2 is a winner and is what most people will need if they want to enter the world of fitness trackers. It is more capable than a lot of trackers in the same line and it can even give more advanced, more expensive trackers a run for their money. If you want to start using a fitness tracker, get the Charge 2. If you're Charge HR is already failing - its battery, its band - then get the Charge 2. If you want to complement your Apple Watch, which cannot really measure the quality of your sleep, get a Charge 2.
The Fitbit Charge 2 is Highly Recommended!
Photos shot with an iPhone 6+ using the iOS app Hipstamatic
You see I am old enough to know about the existence of those large boom boxes, the thing that John Cusack carried above his head in the movie Say Anything. But, I am also young enough to know of the existence of small bluetooth speakers that can rival, or even best, those boom boxes of yore.
When I received the JBL Charge 3, I was immediately impressed by the device. And it endeared itself more to me when I saw that the accessories that came with the Charge 3 were colored orange. The build quality of the speaker was really good and it really felt good in the hand. There were no squeaking sounds and all the ports were sealed under a rubber door.
There are are 6 buttons on the Charge 3: the power button, the play/pause button, the two volume controls, the bluetooth pairing button and JBL Connect button. Setting up the speaker to pair with your device is really easy: just press that Bluetooth button so that your smartphone, tablet or any device that has a Bluetooth antenna can find it. Then, once found by your device, just select it and you’re all set.
The rubber door that I mentioned above is absolutely important. This device is actually rated as a waterproof speaker and that rubber door completes the water proofing! Yes, you can swim with it, surf with it, run in the rain with it (huh?). Anyway, my point is, you can take this speaker places and you won’t have to worry about it.
Now, I did not dunk this speaker under water for I cannot imagine anyone listening to anything when they go, say, scuba diving. But, to test out the waterproofing of this device, when it rained really hard in our place, I placed the speaker under torrential rain. I had a big umbrella, went to the pool area of the apartment complex, and placed the Charge 3 under the rain. And yes, I got some weird looks from some of the residents. :)
The speaker continued playing even when it got completely soaked. I even stood it on one end and one of the radiators actually accumulated water! And it was so nice to see the accumulated water bouncing up and down as the sound continued to play.
But of course, before I did this water-related experiment, I made sure that the rubber door is tightly sealed. And also, I also made sure that I rinsed the speaker under running tap water so that any salt in the rain, or whatever impurities that came with it, was washed off.
And to round off the capabilities of this speaker, the reason why this speaker is called the Charge 3 is because the speaker itself can serve as a power bank for your many other electronic devices. So, with this speaker, you can charge an iPhone 6s+ almost twice from a completely depleted state. So, if you are expecting a power interruption, like when there’s a typhoon coming, you can charge this device (no pun intended) the night before, and have it ready for the possible brown out.
The JBL Charge 3 is rated to last for 20 hours of continuous use and I was able to get about 15 to 18 hours of playtime. But of course, the battery life of the speaker will be reduced if you use it to charge your smartphone, say. There are 5 LCDs that can tell you the charge level of the battery.
But of course, the main purpose of the Charge 3’s existence is to be a speaker! And in this regard, the speaker performed really, really well.
The sound produced by this speaker is really good and really loud! The sound easily filled our apartment and it even leaked to the hallway of our floor even if the door was closed. I tested the speaker with different kinds of music, like Iron Man by Black Sabbath, Around the Bend by The Asteroids Galaxy Tour, Bad Blood by Taylor Swift, Skyfall by Adele, and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 in D Minor, Op. 125 "Choral", among others. No matter the type of music I played, the Charge 3 performed admirably! From the highs to the mids to the lows, the details in the music sounded really clear.
However, the one thing where I wasn’t so impressed was when I used the speaker to watch some movies. The dialogues in the movie sounded soft, so I increased the volume of the speaker. However, when the action came in, like when the good guys and the bad guys started shooting each other, the volume of all those mayhem got so loud that I was forced to significantly reduce the volume of the speaker. And when there was a dialogue within the action, you essentially can’t hear the dialogue anymore because, at that point, the voices are way, way muted compared to the rest of the sound in the movie.
Note however, that this is true for all speakers of the same structure. If you really want a more immersive movie watching experience sound-wise, then you would have to invest in some 3.1 or 5.1-surround sound system. The JBL Charge 3, as in all bluetooth speakers of the same clout, is good for music but passable for movie watching.
However, for all its capabilities, the JBL Charge 3 is still something worth considering. Compared to the boombox I alluded to above, the Charge 3 is much, much better!
With the boombox, you need to have about a hundred size-D batteries for it. And the batteries will only last about two hours. Despite the smaller size, I believe that the Charge 3 is still louder and sounds much better than a boombox. And when you are outdoors, you and your friends need not worry about people spilling their drinks on the Charge 3. And you have to be really physically fit to lift a boombox above your head!
Although, lifting the Charge 3 above your head won’t be as cool… :)
The first time I owned a pair of bluetooth earphones, the device was big, battery life was nothing to shout about (I think it was 3 hours at best), and connection to my device kept disconnecting. My device back then was an iPod 5.5Gen, the first one that can play video, and the bluetooth earphone came with a dongle that you can plug into the stereo port of the iPod.
I think that was a 1.1 version of bluetooth...
But times have changed. So much miniaturization has happened and people can put more and more electronics into smaller and smaller devices.
The Jaybird X2 is the third pair of bluetooth earphones I have owned. (I still have to write about the second one...) This is an in-ear style that has great noise isolation and is designed for sporty activities. Though this wireless earphone will be primarily used for day-to-day listening and not when I'm in the gym, I decided to get this pair anyway for several reasons.
First, the original Jaybird, the Bluebuds X Sports, got really great reviews and people said that the X2 is a great improvement to the first one. Some even suggested that, since the X2 is now out, the original X Sports will be a great, great bargain!
Second, I like that this pair has great noise isolation. Again, I will not be using this for athletic activities, but the noise isolation is a great boon for those times when I want to mute the sounds of my surroundings.
I love the construction of this pair of wireless earphones. The wires are flat, so they will surely not tangle, the control buttons are on the small side but this isn't a big issue for me since I don't wear winter gloves anymore, and the earphones come fully-packed with everything you will need:
the earphones
silicone tips (small, medium and large)
foam tips (small, medium and large; I haven't tried these yet though)
earfins
cord management clips
charging cable (which is on the short end; as in it's just about 8 inches long)
the silicone case (oh man! this is a great-looking case!)
Jaybird rate the battery life at 8 hours and I get more or less that long. The battery charges quickly and charging the unit for 2 and a half hours will get you back in the game. So to speak.
Jaybird says that you can pair the unit to up to 8 Bluetooth-enabled devices. However, changing from one bluetooth source to another can be a pain - the source doesn't change automatically, say, when you pause your music from your iPad then start playing music on your iPhone... You have to go to the "Settings menu" in your iPhone and select the X2 manually as the output.
Speaking of controls, you can use the in-line control buttons to answer and end calls, play/pause music, increase and decrease volume, and go to the previous or next track. You also use the Play/Pause button to switch the earphones on and off.
Listening to the X2 is a very comfortable experience. Once you have determined the size of the tips you will be using, plus attach the right-sized earfins, you can go on listening with the earphones for as long as the battery lasts and you won't feel any discomfort. And since X2 is built like a tank, you can take it to any activity that you like and expect that the earphones will be able to survive them.
I am not an audiophile and I don't aspire to be, but what I can say is that I love how this pair of earphone sounds. Base is deep, vocals are clearly heard, though the lows are on the, ahem, low side... This is not designed for listening to classical music.
And voice calls sound really, really good also!
People might say that wired earphones are still best, and I won't argue with that. But Bluetooth has come a long way and the X2 earphone has proven that great music can be heard over a wireless connection.
And as long as Nina Simone's Sinnerman sounds good, the earphone is good in my book.
Living in the Metro Manila presents a lot of challenges. You have over-population, vehicular traffic congestion, just to name a few. But there is another problem that one has to contend with because of the fact that we live in the tropics: it can rain anytime. And since this is Metro Manila we are talking about, a slight amount of rain can mean ankle-deep street flooding... At the least.
While living in the US, a pair of insulated boots became a very important piece of clothing accessory. When winter hits, you'll be screwed if you don't have a decent pair of warm pair of shoes. And thick socks, of course. In the Philippines however, where it rains a lot in any given year, you definitely need a pair of water resistant shoes.
Enter the Merrell Chameleon Storm II GTX.
This pair of shoes is very nice, design wise. It has a seamless construction and it feels as if there is no part that has no value. It has an aerodynamic feel and I feel that running water will just run around the shoes. Traction of the sole is good, especially while I walk the streets of the Metro. I feel that this pair of shoes will also hold itself up if used on rough roads and unpaved paths. I've used it for driving and, despite the odd two hour congestion on the nasty streets of Metro Manila, the shoes still felt comfortable.
The wife warned me that I might be weirded out by the Vibram undersole. Well, I was, at least at the start. But now I actually kind of dig it. I don't feel my feet getting strained by the shoes even if I wear it for, say, the whole day. It's comfortable to wear and I don't mind wearing it from morning til night.
Now, the only thing that is slightly not good is the fact that the shoes can make your feet hot if you do a lot of outdoor walking. Well, this is to be expected because of the water resistance offered by the shoes. Your feet can't breathe as much when you wear this pair.
Well, that is something that I can live with. I will not take the shoes jogging anyway, so I'd rather have dry feet than spend the whole day out-and-about with wet feet and shoes...
The Merrell Chameleon Storm II GTX is Highly Recommended!
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