LG G4 QuickCircle Qi Case and LG Wireless Qi Charger Review

I decided to upgrade from my old iPhone 5 to the LG G4 and one thing that excited me most was the Qi Wireless Charging feature. I'm totally new to the world of Android devices with these fancy features that are totally alien to iPhone users.

First off the case design. It actually requires you to remove the original back for the G4 to allow the contacts for wireless charging and NFC to make connection to the ones on the phone. I love this because not only does it mean you have a spare back but also it doesn't add that much bulk to the phone which is great for me. I like using my phones without cases so anything adding too much bulk without much functionality.

It covers the screen apart from a approximate 1 inch circle and this is where this case comes in to its own. A small magnet when the cover is shut activates QuickCircle mode. These show little apps that work in this small circle along with time and weather. Apps like Messages, LG Health even Camera. This is really convenient for quickly reading texts but I mostly used it while docked on the Qi Charger on my bed stand to check the time.

The protection this case provides is great, I know this first hand because the day I put it on by phone fell about 5ft on to stone slabs, hardly a mark on it. Small dent on the case corner but at least the case covers the majority of the phone.

The actual LG Qi Charger is a fantastically simple, you can have it flat on your desk but the best part is when it's stood up like a dock, this is perfect for the side of your bed or desk. Just get in to bed and lay the phone on, it's charging without having to fiddle with the pesky micro USB cable. Somehow even now I end up trying 3 times to put one in.

Overall this case is brilliant, it opens up a completely new UI on the phone that is really convenient for quick glances at information. The apps are pretty limited at the moment though, there's not many to download but I can see more coming to the market. It offers pretty good protextion to the phone all around. If you would like to unlock 2 pretty convenient features with the LG G4 this case is perfect and will probably be my everyday case.

LG G4 QuickCircle Qi Case

LG Qi Wireless Charger

LG G4 Cases

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Best Apps To Manage Your Pension

There aren’t a lot of people terribly excited about workplace pension schemes. Giving up something today to save for tomorrow seems to go against instinct for many people.

Under new laws from 2012, auto-enrolment became the requirement for the largest companies, which is good news. But simply enrolling in a pension scheme isn’t enough.

People have to set goals, watch how their workplace pension contributions are growing, and see whether they’re hitting the target amount before retirement.

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The Best Summer Toys Of 2015

With a seemingly never ending world of options for toys for your children, it can be difficult to know the right way to go. Everyone wants to be the cool parent who keeps up with trends and buys the best presents for their kids, but what way to go?

Toys for the garden

As summer reaches its peak, there’s no better way to spend a weekend than watching your children play in the sunshine. Outdoor toys are a great way to encourage your children to exercise while enjoying nature and discovering the world around them.

One of the best items for your child’s outdoor adventures is a tent. Tents come in many shapes, sizes, colours and designs so you and your child can find the perfect one for them, including teepee style tents for the house and garden. You’ll be surprised how many hours your child can lose enjoying the secrecy and exciting experience of playing in a tent.

For those with a patio, washable chalks are an excellent way to let your child explore their artistic size without ruining your tiling. Washable chalks come in many different colours and styles meaning your budding Picasso can spend a summer’s afternoon creating masterpieces in the garden. Then when they’re done, you can both clean the patio so they can start again.

Of course, you can never go wrong with games, from badminton sets to more modern incarnations of ball games there are many different choices. Outdoor games aren’t only great for exercise, you may even find that your child has a talent for a certain sport. Every successful athlete was once a child playing in their garden.

For outside the house

The garden is fun for a while, but all of our finest memories are of playing in the street or in the local park. There are an abundance of toys available to create new memories with your children.

Old favourites can’t go wrong, and water pistols are a brilliant way for your child to keep cool while exercising and socialising with their friends or siblings. A range of options are available from the tiny to the surprisingly enormous. In an evolution of water pistols, water pistol based games are becoming very popular and are a way to guarantee your child will be happy with their present this year.

Scooters are currently enjoying a huge resurgence amongst young people. A scooter has been the ultimate must have for kids for the past few years. With a variety of designs and even the option to create your own, a scooter will be a greatly appreciated gift.

If scooters are not your child’s cup of tea, there are bikes for all ages available. We all remember learning to ride a bike, and experiencing this with your child can be a rewarding experience. For the younger children, cars and even low riders are available in a variety of styles.

For the swimming pool

The local swimming pool is a great place to take the kids. The pool has enough to offer, children can find their own fun in water, but there are ways to enhance it.

Floats have been around for generations, but the modern interpretations are truly impressive. Inflatable vehicles such as cars and space shuttles, animals and anything else you could possibly imagine are all widely available.

Whatever way you choose to go, and whatever purpose it needs to serve, the choice of toys has never been more intimidating. But you know your child, you know what they like, and with this knowledge you can find them the best toy they could ever possibly imagine.

John Bellusci is a writer for Cottage Toys, one of the leading online boutiques for traditional wooden toys and baby gifts.

Fitbit Charge Wireless Activity Wristband Review

If you're in the market for an activity wristband, you may have looked at Fitbit's range. I have been looking at bands for a while now and the Fitbit Charge took my interest. When I put the band on for the first time the rubber was comfortable to the skin, didn't cause me to sweat or feel uncomfortable. The form factor is slim and it really doesn't weigh very much. The band comes in 3 sizes, small (14-16.5cm) large (16.5-20cm) and x-large (20-23cm).

There's a small OLED display which displays white text, using the one button on the device you can cycle through the time, steps, distance travelled, floors, calories burned and your next alarm. Holding down the button will start and stop a stopwatch. The display is crisp and bright, perfect in the sun.

Smart alarms are fantastic, I started sleeping through my phone alarms when I got used to the sound they made. The Charge actually vibrates on your wrist which in an interesting way to wake up but works every time. I use them to wake up and to remind me to do things during the day.

One feature that I love about the band, that made me really excited was caller ID, I don't know if many other activity bands have this feature but when you get a phone call, providing you're in Bluetooth range the activity band will vibrate and show you who is calling you. I thought it was a feature that made this wristband better than the rest at this price point.

The accuracy of the steps taken seem to be one of the most accurate I've seen, my only complaint is when driving the bumps sometimes count as steps, this is to be expected though. I take it off when playing guitar because every time I change chords it seems to register as a step, typing now I've taken it off to reduce any false readings. It does track steps perfectly though.

Another very accurate function is the sleep tracking, I'm the worst sleeper and being able to see when I woke up during the night and I could figure out what was causing it, for example sunrise at 5am I would always wake up. It has genuinely helped me sleep better by stopping things what would wake me up.
The biggest downside is that the band isn't waterproof, it's sweat and rain proof but any water submersion isn't advised. Well, it will probably break it. I take it off when showering and washing my hands, just as a precaution. I usually take this time to clean the wristband with a disinfectant wipe, it does get dirty if you don't. I'm a bit of a clean freak so I naturally do it.

Fitbit's app is really feature rich, allowing you to see all your stats and go in to more detail with your sleep. There's many options that are self explanatory and helpful preset goals which are all changeable. There's different clock faces to choose from and weight goals. A feature I haven't looked in to is food diaries, I've used MyFitnessPal before for that and it appears to work the same way. All day sync drains the phone battery but is easily disabled, syncing every morning when I wake up is better for me. Goals, goals are awesome, you receive a nice little motivational notification when you're close to one and a friendly well done when completing. It does spur me on to complete them, get up and move.

Battery life is fantastic! I get 7-9 days on a single charge and it take 2 hours to charge it back up. Again with notifications you get a reminder to charge the wristband when the battery is low and even a little email at the same time. It means you'll never forget to charge it.

I'm seriously impressed with this accessory, I usually find watches uncomfortable but I've never actually noticed wearing it. I would recommend it to anyone looking for an activity band and sleep tracker. It's priced well in the current pool of similar activity bands. Check out MobileFun for fitness accessories.

Fitness Accessories

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Windows 10 Overview & Thoughts

On Wednesday July 29th Microsoft has finally released Windows 10 taking it out of the Beta form and giving it a full release to the public. If you were a Windows 7 or Windows 8 user, you were given the chance to get a free upgrade by reserving it or pay the $120+ for a copy of the program. If you had a reserved copy you were notified that your upgrade was available, or letting you know that a copy will be available for your computer soon. Most of the delays are due to computer manufacturers preparing drivers for the operating system, or minor bugs being fixed. There is a way to get past the wait, but it requires you deleting some files and forcing the update to your computer. For more of that click the link below. 

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