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Showing posts with the label Sharmishta Sarkar

Philips Hue Go 2

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One-minute review The Philips Hue Go 2 is a portable, Bluetooth-enabled smart light that can be fun to use. Now in its second generation, it’s not a light to convince anyone to move to a smart lighting system, but it does add a little versatility to your home’s decor. Jump to (Image credit: TechRadar) Price and availability Design and features Setup Performance Should you buy it? The first Philips Hue Go was introduced in 2015, but without Bluetooth connectivity and a very limited battery life, it was hard to justify the cost. Thankfully Signify – the company that makes the Philips Hue lights – has added some much-needed improvements to the portable lamp, making the Hue Go 2 a far better product than its predecessor. It’s still not quite perfect yet, but it’s remarkably easy to set up and use. Unlike a lot of the other Philips Hue products, you don’t need the Hue Bridge to use the Hue Go 2. You just need to download the Philips Hue Bluetooth app and you’re ready t...

Nanoleaf Essentials A19 E27 smart bulb

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Nanoleaf is better known for its beautiful lights panels, but the brand has gone back to basics to give us a smart light bulb for the first time. The Nanoleaf Essentials A19 smart bulb, however, isn’t your typical smart bulb. Not only does it step away from the usual smooth dome diffuser, it also supports an incredible 16 million colors, with a white color temperature range of 2,700-6,500 Kelvin. It surpasses some of its competitors by being able to hit 1,100 lumens, making it one of the brightest available today. Its looks and brightness aren’t the only features that make the Nanoleaf Essentials A19 smart light bulb stand apart from the crowd. This smart bulb is the first of its kind to come with both Thread and Bluetooth connectivity. That means the Essentials light bulb can be used alongside any other Thread-enabled smart device without a hub and, if you aren't using one of those, the bulbs will work via Bluetooth, giving them a wider and more future-proof appeal. What is Th...

Nanoleaf Essentials Lightstrip

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30-second review UPDATE: The Nanoleaf Essentials Lightstrip had a few missing features at launch, namely music and screen syncing. Those have now been rolled out and we've updated our original review below to reflect that change. Stepping away from its light panels, Nanoleaf has gone back to basics with its Essentials A19 smart bulb and Essentials Lightstrip. What makes them both exciting offerings in the smart lighting market is their affordability without compromising on features. Like its bulb brother, the Nanoleaf Essentials Lightstrip is also compatible with Apple’s HomeKit and Google Assistant, it’s remarkably easy to set up and has its own little controller that can be wall-mounted to be used like a regular switchboard.  It can definitely give Philips Hue’s Lightstrip Plus a run for its money, especially now (almost a year since its original launch in late 2020) that there's features like monitor syncing which was missing until the last round of firmware updates. ...

Fujifilm GFX50S II

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Two-minute review The Fujifilm GFX50S II might look very different from its predecessor, but it inherits that same large sensor that made us fall in love with the original GFX 50S . Like the older model, the GFX50S II hasn’t been designed for speed junkies or video, instead it harnesses the power of a medium format sensor, combines it with some very steady in-body image stabilization (IBIS), to then produce some stupendous stills. That IBIS, for the first time in a GFX body, is rated for a very impressive 6.5 stops of compensation for camera shake. That’s a half stop more than the GFX100S that was announced only in March 2021. It’s a very beneficial upgrade for anyone shooting handheld, particularly in low-light situations with a camera that can get heavy with some GF lenses. Admittedly a full-frame mirrorless camera like the 65MP Sony A7R IV can offer similar results to the GFX50S II with far more features (like video, speed and accuracy) and at a lower price point, but sometime...