Tag: nixplay seed wave

2019 Black Friday Tech Deals You Can’t Miss - Nixplay blog

The Black Friday deals are rolling out thick and fast, so there’s no better time to start thinking about what you can pick up during the bargain-fuelled weekend!

It’s no surprise that the tech industry is the MVP in the race for Black Friday 2019 dominance. With new gadgets being released every week and the popularity of tech devices growing every year, it’s no wonder that people are waiting (im)patiently for Black Friday to save some serious dollar on the latest products.

But which Black Friday tech deals are the most worthwhile? Whether you’re buying holiday gifts for family and friends or treating yourself to something new, you’ll need to know where you can get the best bang for your buck.

What products are being offered? Where can you get them? And most importantly, will there be enough in stock? The last thing you want is to get excited about your new gadget and sit in a virtual queue for hours to get to the checkout, only to find that the website crashes or someone else has beaten you to it.

But there’s no need to worry, because we’ve done the work for you! Find out more below about the best Black Friday tech deals for 2019 and where you can get them.

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Enhance Your Home With A Google Smart TV Kit

This tempting little bundle is made up of a Google Home Mini and a Google Chromecast, and it’ll give your home the edge in hands-free technology. Together, they will let you control your TV without picking up a remote or leaving the comfort of your sofa. You can switch the TV on and off, stream movies and shows, browse for shows on Netflix and YouTube, and play, pause or skip chapters and episodes—all with the power of your voice. You can even use your Google Home Mini to control your Nixplay Frame. Simply say it to play it!

Turning your house into a smart home can be a real life-changer, and this is just the start. Pick up your Google Smart TV Kit over Black Friday weekend for just $45 at Walmart.

Make Memories Last On A Fujifilm Instax Mini

We live in a world where everything flies by too quickly, and even the biggest moments in life can be unintentionally overlooked. With the Fujifilm Instax Mini 9 Camera, you’ll never miss out on safekeeping your memories.

The polaroid style gives you the vintage look while the advanced tech features promise vibrant, high-quality snaps that any budding photographer would be proud of. With this bundle, you’ll get the camera, a film twin pack, a camera case and four color filters all for $95. Pick yours up from Walmart and save yourself a whopping $110!

Another option is to print your favorite photos with Nixplay Fuji Prints, the latest feature on the Nixplay App. We offer several high-quality print product options, from customized mugs to large-scall wall art, at affordable prices. Try it now to avail of our special discounted rates!

Connect Your Home With Amazon Echo

Time for a real scoop: Getting your hands on the Amazon Echo Show 8 puts you at the forefront of fresh tech—because it hasn’t even been released yet! That’s right: It’s still poised in the stockrooms, eagerly awaiting the Black Friday sales. But with this handy device, you can watch movies and TV shows, tune in to the radio, listen to podcasts and audiobooks, connect with friends and family via video calls and messages, or update your to-do lists and calendars.

But it doesn’t stop there. It’s made to simplify other aspects of your life. You can Ask Alexa to help you cook with easy step-by-step recipes in the kitchen, show you your security cameras, or adjust the thermostat. In fact, you can use the Amazon Echo to control every smart device in your home, including your Nixplay digital photo frame! The possibilities are endless. Get yours at Amazon on Black Friday for just $99.99.

Get Amped Up With Noise Cancelling Headphones

For many of us, the music never stops. Whether we’re in our car, in the shower, at the gym, on a run, or at the grocery, it’s all made more exciting when we’ve got our favorite tunes to keep us company.

But unwanted noise, pesky wires, uncomfortable ear pods, or bad signal can easily dampen these life-affirming experiences. This Black Friday, you can invest in a pair of high-spec, noise-canceling headphones with up to 24 hours of battery life. They’ve also got Bluetooth and they’re wireless, so there’s a lot to brag about.

Change the way you enjoy music by getting your hands on a pair of top-rated Sennheiser headphones from Amazon. The current price will set you back $199.95 but over Black Friday weekend, you can snap them up for $80!

Share Moments On A Digital Photo Frame

You can’t put a price on keeping memories alive, but a Nixplay Seed Wave frame will let you do it for 30% less over Black Friday weekend!

Go beyond the basics with digital photo frame features that include Spotify streaming, light and activity sensors, HD video playback, customized photo album playlists, and connection capabilities that let you create your very own private family network. Looking to add another dynamic element to your smart home hub? Nixplay can make that happen too, because our frames work with both Amazon Alexa and Google Home !

This is the ultimate Black Friday digital photo frame deal: from our Smart Frame and Seed Wave collection to our cutting-edge NIX digital photo frame range, find yours online now.

What Is The Best Digital Photo Frame?

What makes Nixplay so unique? With such a variety of features, it can be difficult to choose one! Discover which digital photo frame works best for you and your family below.

Everyone knows there’s no better time to shop than Black Friday weekend. Grab a bargain while you can with our guide to the best Black Friday tech deals!

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8 Cool Things You Can Listen To On Spotify (Aside From Music)

By Mars Salazar

On June 27, 2019

In Lifestyle

If you don’t have Spotify on your mobile device, or are just using the free version, then you’re missing a lot. It’s one of the best (if not the best) streaming services ever, with a neverending treasure trove of material for your listening pleasure. And while there’s certainly tons of great music on Spotify, there’s way more to the app than songs from your favorite artists. Here are some things you should check out ASAP:

The News

It’s always good to be in the know about the latest news around the world. Spotify has some podcasts about current events, perfect for tuning in during your daily commute. We like the BBC Global News Podcast, where you can hear reports from around the world, and Anderson Cooper 360, which delivers news with a dash of Mr. Cooper’s commentary.

Language Lessons

If you want to learn a new language from scratch, we’ll point you in the direction of Duolingo. But if you want to get more accustomed to hearing the language you’re learning, or learn new phrases or pronunciation tips, several Spotify podcasts have got your back. Tune in to Learn Japanese w/ Manga Sensei to brush up on your Japanese, Learn French by Podcast for a French refresher, and the Duolingo Spanish Podcast to hear stories in Spanish.

Stand-up Comedy

Spotify probably isn’t the first place you’d turn to for a bellyaching laugh, but surprisingly, they’ve got recordings from the best personalities in comedy. Kevin Hart, Ali Wong, Jo Koy, and Russell Peters are some of the comedic greats you can find on Spotify. Perfect for a long drive with your friends!

Advice From Global Leaders

How would you like to receive advice from some of the most remarkable people on earth? If your answer is a resounding yes, you should look at Tim Ferriss’ podcasts on Spotify, Tribe of Mentors and The Tim Ferriss Show. In these podcasts, he interviews people like Bear Grylls, James Cameron, and Neil Gaiman—all luminaries in their fields—and picks their brains to learn the secrets behind their successes. Have a pen and paper on hand while listening—you’re going to want to take down a lot of notes!

Mythology

If you’ve always been fascinated by ancient mythology, you’ll find a lot of kindred spirits on Spotify. Whatever your poison is–Greek or Roman mythology, Egyptian legends, even Tolkien lore–you’ll find something about it on Spotify. We highly recommend Mythology by the Parcast Network—it’s got a great selection of stories from several parts of the world, told in an engaging manner.

Literary Classics

If your literary tastes lean towards the classics—think Jane Austen, H.G. Wells, or Arthur Conan Doyle—you’ll be pleased to know that there are some great audiobooks on Spotify. Bookstream audiobooks and DBS Audiobooks have a great selection of classic literary works. Some audiobooks are even divided into chapters for easier listening. You probably won’t fall asleep while listening to these!

Modern Love

The New York Times’ Modern Love column is one of the best things in its corner of the web. Its podcast counterpart is just as remarkable. Your favorite love stories, narrated by Hollywood personalities like Kate Winslet, Zoe Saldana, and Willem Dafoe. Make yourself a warm cup of tea, prop your feet up, play an episode, and get ready for a relaxing day in.

TED Talks

In case you haven’t opened YouTube in a while, TED Talks are bite-sized, transformative videos from experts from various fields, from business to literature to science. And now, they’re on Spotify. If you want a quick break from the hustle or bustle of your everyday life, pick an interesting topic from the dozens of uploaded recordings. Who knows, it might just change your life.

With Spotify Connect, you can now listen to all these, plus your favorite songs, on the Nixplay Seed Wave! Stream your favorite playlists using your frame, and use the Spotify app on your mobile, tablet or computer to control the music. The best part? The songs won’t stop even if you make a call, watch a video, or go out of range. There’s never been a better way to listen at home.

Mars Salazar

Marianne is Nixplay’s Web Content Editor. Her hobbies include exploring new places, playing table tennis, and cuddling puppies. Send her a message at marianne.salazar@nixplay.com.

Review: Nixplay Seed Wave Wi-Fi Digital Photo Frame

By Brad Moon

On April 25, 2019

In Customer Testimonials

Digital photo frames are a great way to display all your favorite photos in limited space. The latest generation of Wi-Fi connected frames add the ability to wirelessly upload photos from virtually anywhere — no USB thumb drive or SD card required — and add the ability to give friends and family access so they can also upload photos to share. That sharing feature, in particular, makes Wi-Fi frames great gifts. I just wrapped up testing on a pair of Wi-Fi digital photo frames from Nixplay: the Iris and the Seed Wave.

The Iris and Seed Wave (more on that power adapter/cable later).
*H/T BRAD MOON*

Nixplay Features

Before breaking out some specifics about the two frames, I wanted to talk about the features they share.

Both use IPS displays that offer good color reproduction, plenty of brightness and wide viewing angles. A good display panel is critical to a good digital photo frame, and these do the job nicely. Nixplay also offers advanced features like the ability to tweak the color settings, and manually set brightness levels (or use the built-in ambient light sensor to adjust brightness based on room lighting conditions).

These Nixplay frames let you manually fine-tune the color levels.
*H/T BRAD MOON*

Local storage for the frames is 8GB, and Nixplay includes 10GB of free cloud storage. There’s no USB port or SD slot for side-loading, but once you’ve uploaded photos to these frames they are stored locally so you still see them even if the Wi-Fi network goes down.

Besides displaying photos, both can play videos up to 15 seconds in length.
Both frames use Nixplay’s woven cable-stand design. This is a very thick, woven power cable that connects to a very thick, bendable cable connector attached to the back of the frame. The result is a stand that keeps the frame securely at whatever angle you want, and in whatever orientation — landscape or portrait — you wish. It works well, and the woven power cable has a premium look, but it’s also very noticeable if you aren’t able to hide it.

Nixplay’s mobile app is full-featured and easy to use.
*SCREEN CAPTURE BY BRAD MOON*

Nixplay’s app for sharing and uploading photos is available for Android and iOS. Recently updated, it’s pretty easy to use. The expected functions are there — primarily the ability to select photos and share them with a frame. You can also do this with a computer and Nixplay’s website, and can choose to upload photos from your social media accounts like Facebook. The one thing you won’t find is photo editing capabilities.

The app doubles as an easy way to edit settings on the frame, but you can also do so locally. The frame displays aren’t touch-enabled (fine in my books, that just means fewer fingerprint smudges), but Nixplay includes a wireless remote for navigating settings and also has controls to skip forward or back in a photo playlist.

Nixplay Seed Wave

While the Iris does the job of sharing and displaying photos just fine — and looks like a traditional photo frame while doing it — Nixplay’s Seed Wave is a little more interesting.

The Seed Wave is a big, high resolution frame that looks a lot like a tablet.
*H/T BARD MOON*

It’s considerably larger, with a 13-inch widescreen display that has Full HD (1920 x 18080 resolution). The frame portion is black plastic, so it resembles a tablet more than a traditional photo frame. And the Seed Wave has an extra feature: hidden behind the display are a pair of drivers, each with 5W of amplification. That’s right, this digital photo frame does double-duty as a Bluetooth speaker. It actually sounds pretty decent as well, and Nixplay includes a rubber strip in the box that will help prevent the Seed Wave from jumping around on a smooth surface if you crank up the tunes.

The Seed Wave’s back hides this capable Bluetooth speaker.
*H/T BRAD MOON*

I’m not sure who asked for a combo digital photo frame/Bluetooth speaker, but it could be useful in situations where space is limited. Don’t get the idea that you could load up a movie on the Seed Wave and watch it in Full HD with booming stereo sound, though — like the Iris, Nixplay limits the length of videos you can upload to 15 seconds.

The downside(s) of going big? First, while that widescreen looks great with many photos, with others it’s more of a mixed bag. Most cameras don’t natively shoot photos in that aspect ratio. Some of my photos ended up with black bars on the side (even when Pan & Zoom are enabled), although you can choose to replace the black with a blurred background based on the photo being displayed that’s less noticeable. You can see that effect in my photo of the Seed Wave displaying a shot of the Chateau Frontenac.

The second issue is the power adapter. It’s big. Larger than some laptop chargers, but the brick plugs directly into an electrical outlet, so it takes up a lot of space. You can see that in several of my photos — there is 3-inches between the bottom of the power bar and the top of my test bench, but that’s too little space for the Seed Wave power adapter and it had to be rotated so the power cord sticks out the top.

Seed Wave Key Specs:

13-inch widescreen Full HD (1920 x 1080) IPS display
8GB local storage, 10GB free cloud storage
Ambient light sensor, activity sensor
Cable-stand display
2 x 5W drivers Bluetooth audio
802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0
Includes remote control
MSRP $249.99

Recommendation

Connected digital photo frames make great gifts, especially for friends and family who may live far apart. Nixplay has the most comprehensive collection of frames I know of, with tons of options including a range of panel sizes and resolutions, and different colors and materials for the frame itself. Both the Iris and Seed Wave are good frames, although I suspect most people would end up preferring the Iris — it’s smaller with a more traditional aspect ratio, has a much more compact power adapter and costs less.
Something to keep in mind with Mother’s Day approaching!

Read the whole article at Forbes.com.

5 Great Smart Home Additions For 2019

By Nixplay Team

On January 16, 2019

In Lifestyle

Our home appliances and gadgets are becoming more and more high-tech. While there’s no harm in doing your household chores manually, being able to reallocate the time you’ll spend doing these tasks into more meaningful pursuits make the purchase of smart appliances worth it. These gadgets and gizmos will make an excellent addition to your smart home.

Lutron Serena Smart Shades (starts at $350)

Window shades aren’t really something you pay a lot of attention to, but when your bedroom is outfitted with blinds that listen to Siri and automatically roll up or down, you’ll be very grateful for this simple luxury. That’s the promise of Serena Shades, which you can integrate with other smart home gadgets like lights and thermostats for an overall experience. It’s especially useful for windows in tricky, hard-to-reach places, as well as homes with elderly or disabled residents. Setup can be a little tricky, but worth enduring for the comfort you’ll get.

Husqvarna Automower 315X ($1999.95)

Remember when you’d mow your neighbor’s lawn as a kid to augment your allowance? Well, we’re sorry to say that your former job can now be done by a robot. The Husqvarna Automower 315X is perfect for folks with medium to large lawns. It features GPS navigation, a patented weather timer, LED headlights, theft tracking, and Amazon Alexa connectivity, and it has no problem mowing in the rain. If you hate your noisy old lawnmower and have an extra $2000 lying around, this would make a nice addition to your home.

Nixplay Seed Wave 13 inch Widescreen Digital Smart Frame ($249.99)

The Nixplay Seed Wave takes your usual digital frame to a newer, smarter level. Its high-definition screen is paired with two powerful five-watt speakers for a unique auditory experience. Just link the Seed Wave to your phone, tablet, or laptop via Bluetooth, and start streaming music on your smart frame. Your favorite memories will now be accompanied by the soundtrack of your life.

Toto Aquia IV Washlet ($2154)

Much has been said about Japanese smart toilets: They’re not just perfunctory objects intended for the relief of your excretory system. Boasting multitudes of buttons for heated seats, built-in bidets, air-purifying functions, and noisemakers to cover up the squelchy sound of your pooping, they’re definitely worthy of the moniker “porcelain throne” (they do a splendid job of flushing, too). And while America still has a long way to go before welcoming smart toilets into their homes as easily as they embraced the invention of automatic litter boxes, Japanese toilet company Toto aims to change this with their Washlets: Water-efficient, high-tech toilets you can have installed in your house. If you’re thinking of investing in one of these, consider the Aquia IV Washlet, a remote-controlled toilet guaranteed to revolutionize your bathroom breaks. Trust us, you’ll never want to use an ordinary toilet again.

SimpliSafe Home Security System (starts at around $230)

One of the worst things about going on a vacation with your family is that niggling fear of your subsequently empty house getting broken into. SimpliSafe’s revolutionary home security system should help assuage your fears, giving homeowners the chance to monitor their homes remotely in an easy and affordable way. Their range of proprietary wireless equipment includes smoke detectors, sirens, panic buttons, and sensors for everything you can think of—entry sensors, water sensors, glass break sensors. Use the equipment with SimpliSafe’s 24/7 monitoring plans, which will alert the authorities in case of accidents or emergencies.