GADGETS by Gregg Ellman :: August 18, 2021
While doing some advance reading about the Noopl, a hearing enhancement accessory for iPhone, I thought about finding a friend with hearing loss to put this through a proper test. I have good hearing but after using the Noopl, I realized I didn’t need a hearing test to see (or hear) what I’ve been missing.
The goal of the Noopl is for you to never miss a conversation and provide clarity in noisy environments, such as crowded restaurants, airports, malls, stores, or even your own home. It uses Al-based noise reduction technologies to improve the audio in your current noisy environment. Noopl’s creators came up with the concept after they had challenges hearing each other in a noisy restaurant.
It’s built with an iPhone Lightning port, attaches in a second, and is Apple certified. It measures about 2-by-1.2-by-0.27-inches, and stores in the included carrying case. The iPhone requirements are an iPhone 7 or newer with iOS 14.
The setup isn’t difficult, and instructions and website video are very helpful to have it working properly in a short time. This gets you set up to create a two-way communication link to AirPods Pro, and other compatible headphones including PowerBeats Pro and other Made for iPhone (MFi) hearing devices.
The setup, emphasizes starting with the AirPods Pro in the case, not in your ears. After downloading the Noopl Listen app, there are a few short audio clips to show how well the Noopl works in manual or automatic mode. With automatic and the AirPods Pro it tracks your head’s movement. With manual and other headphones, you choose which direction that audio needs to be captured.
The uses are never-ending. The Noopl app gives examples in crowded restaurants and airports, which both displayed the advantages well. But taking it out for a day brought me grocery shopping, a veterinarian, a post office and a few others stops, which were busy with lots of background noise.
The way it works to amplify the sound, described by Noopl is three microphones together create a steerable beamformer that improves the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) in acoustically challenging environments. Combined with the app, which has controls for the area you want to concentrate on for listening, in just milliseconds the audio is transmitted.
With the AirPods Pro and the Noopl, the website states they allow dynamic head tracking to automatically provide precise steering of the directional beam based on where you are looking.
After just a few hours using the pocket-sized Noopl, it’s easy to see the tremendous results. The app’s dashboard is well designed creating a user-friendly experience to control the audio beam’s direction and volume.
An Android version is in the works for early 2022.
https://noopl.com $199
The new Mophie Powerstation Go Rugged with air compressor portable battery does it all. And when I say all, the functionality of this battery has portable power for charging cell phones, jump-starting a car, boat or truck. It even has an air compressor for filling tires, which makes this one of the most versatile portable power devices available.
It’s not pocket sized like most other USB batteries, but the 4.65-by-9.52-by-1.85-inch battery, which weights 2.54-pounds is well worth having within arms length inside a glove compartment for emergencies. Inside is a 55,500mWh (megawatt-hours) internal battery, which holds its charge so its ready for use.
Two USB-A ports are built into the battery under a flap, which can be used for charing most any USB device. They can be used individually or simultaneously and have an 2.4A output.
The air compressor is what got my curiosity, and with bicycle tires needing air, it worked perfect. A display on the side of the battery allows the needs PSI to be dialed in to prevent over inflating. The air compress also did great filling inflatable pool floats.
The powerful powerstation can jump start a full-sized truck and 12V vehicle batteries in seconds. Without having a battery in need of a jump, I couldn’t test that, but if a jump is needed, the mini jumper cables plug into a port, which is covered by a front side flap.
On the side of the Mophie Powerstation Go Rugged battery is a built-in LED floodlight, which also has an emergency alert red flashing light.
Included with the battery is a quick start guide, jumper cables, USB-C charging cable, AC wall plug, air compressor nozzle adjustments, and a carrying pouch.
/www.zagg.com $159.95
by Gregg Ellman
(@greggellman)
