Gadgets :: April 3, 2019
by Gregg Ellman
(@greggellman)
Not long ago home security cameras were considered a luxury, costly and complicated to set up.
The Soliom Bird S60 wireless outdoor camera throws all that out the window with an easy set up, nice quality and no wired power connection.
Inside is a 4000mAh rechargeable battery, which is recharged with solar panels built into the camera body. Other similar cameras (which also worked very well) had a separate solar panel piece you had to mount close by and connect to the camera power. With the Soliom Bird it’s all in one piece.
The solar panels look like wings mounted on the side of the centered camera, which seems obvious in my mind why it has ‘bird’ in its name. For indoor use, you can remove the panels and make a direct power connection.
The camera records 24/7 with a front-facing 160-degree lens with 1080p resolution video quality in daytime use. In the night vision mode it reaches 30 to 49-feet and automatically switches from day to night mode for continuous use. A built-in motion sensor is positioned next to the lens.
Mounting it is really easy with everything you need included – even a screwdriver. On the camera bottom is a threaded port to attach the mounting bracket. A rubber weatherproof flap covers a micro SD memory card slot (card not included) and a micro USB port, which is for a direct power connection.
Recordings are saved to the memory card or a free cloud service for up to 20 video files for each camera. With an IP66 weatherproof rating, the entire camera and solar panels are protected from water splashing, rain and dust.
Mounting, setting up the free companion Soliom app and using the camera is as easy as any I’ve tried. While setting it up, make sure the camera is charged (use the USB connection for this) and keep the camera and your WiFi router in close range.
The app (iOS and Android) is used for live view, watching record clips, battery power status and the Wi-Fi signal, which helps you set it up within Wi-Fi range. The app lets you configure notification alerts and has two-way audio to speak with someone on camera.
https://soliom.net/products/soliom-outdoor-cam $149.99
Headphones are high on my list to review and like consumers, there are three things I look at right away. The price, appearance and sound quality.
Editier’s W860NB wireless over the head headphones have it all, except for the high price tag.
The sound quality is excellent from the 40mm neodymium drivers. They are built with Active Noise Cancelling to help control and reduce outside environmental noise, letting the high quality music hit your ears.
With ANC, microphones are built into in each side to sample ambient sounds and mix it into the music so it’s reduced and almost eliminated. Airplane noise is the most common use for headphones with ANC and after just few minutes into a recent flight I knew these were a winner.
Bluetooth 4.1 technology sends the sound to your headset from a music source and played through soft leatherette earcups, which sit with great comfort and are connected with a padded and adjustable headband. A 3.5 AUX input for a direct wired connection is built into the left earcup.
One the right side are smart touch controls, which are incredibly responsive for volume, music choices, pause and answering calls. They work perfect with a swipe up and down for volume, sideways for tracks. Answering calls and pausing is done with a double tap. The power can be double tapped to access voice assistants.
You can bend and swivel the headset way more than you would need to, so obviously durability is not an issue.
The headphones come with a hard clamshelll travel/storage case along with a USB and 3.5 auxiliary cable. You’ll get about 25 hours of music with ANC use or 45 hours without the ANC before recharging the internal battery.
NFC pairing and Qualcomm aptXTM audio decoding are supported.
www.edifier.com $169.99
