Essential Gadgets and Accessories for Travel

Take a break. Pack your bags and go travel! Leave the stress behind. See new places or just unwind in your favorite place.

Here is a list of gadgets you can bring for added excitement or to save you from boredom during waiting periods:

iPhone and Apple Watch

Mobile Phone: Everyone these days can't leave the house without their mobile phone. It is an essential tool for communication. With the many apps available, it now has a variety of use. The most popular smartphones today are the Apple iPhone 7 and the Samsung Galaxy S8. 

Smartwatch: Use the smartwatch not only to look at the time but to answer and receive calls and messages as well. Some smartwatches like those made by Fitbit also have health and fitness features to help you monitor your body stats. If you own an iPhone, you can pair it up with an Apple Watch.

Tablet

Tablet: Waiting for something or traveling for a long period of time can get boring so bring a tablet if you want to watch a movie or read an e-Book or play games with a big screen. There are lots of tablets available in the market but the two highly recommended tablets are the Samsung Galaxy Tabs and the Apple iPads.

GoPro Hero5

Camera: Use not just the camera on your phone. Get a camera that has more features and flexibility. Bring a selfie stick if you will be traveling alone. Try the GoPro Hero5 camera. It has a rugged design, very compact and easy to use.

DJI Spark Drone

Drone: This is an essential gadget for those heading to an open area with a beautiful view and wanting to shoot all those hard to reach places. It lets you view and record those subjects in almost all angles. DJI just released their latest drone, Spark. It already has a 2-axis gimbal-stabilized camera with sensors. You might want to check it out.

Charger, adapter & cable

Powerbank: Don't miss-out on a call or a game because your gadget needs to be charged. Bring a powerbank to extend your gadget's battery life. There are different brands that carry powerbanks. Michi, Xiaomi and Mophie are worth mentioning.

Chargers, Adapters & Cables: If you will be staying in another place for more than a day, bring power chargers for your gadgets. To be sure that your chargers will work on the power outlets, take a universal adapter as well. You might also need to connect your gadgets to other devices so add the cables in your list.

Beats by Dr. Dre headphones

Earphones or Headphones: You wouldn't want the person next to you be bothered with the loud music or video you are enjoying. Using earphones or headphones usually do the trick. For added ease, it is recommended to use the wireless ones. Good quality headphones and earphones with these brands are worth it: Beats by Dr. Dre, Monster, Bose, Plantronics, Shure, Sennheiser, JBL, Klipsch and Sony.

USB Flash Drive, SD & MicroSD Cards

USB Flash Drive: You'll never know if you'll need to open those precious files while traveling so back it up in a USB drive. There are many brands of USB flash drives but some popular of the popular brands are Lexar, Sony, Transcend, PhotoFast, Samsung, Strontium and Verbatim. You can also find generic brands but you wouldn't be sure of the quality.

Memory Card: Use a memory card to expand your gadgets storage space. Bring a spare just to be sure because you don't want to get that "Storage Full" warning while taking those wonderful videos and photos. Known professional SD and MicroSD card brands are Lexar, Sony, Strontium and Samsung. 

Data SIM Card: If you're going overseas and want to be online most of the time, get a data SIM card to use because mobile data roaming can be expensive. You can buy it in advance and put it inside your phone even before you arrive in another country.

Logitech UE Wonderboom speakers

Wireless Speaker: If suddenly you find yourself in a party, bringing a portable speaker with powerful bass is a must-have. Pairing it up with cool music from your library can liven-up a boring party. Some of the latest wireless speakers with good reviews are Logitech UE Megaboom, Bose SoundLink Revolve, Logitech UE Wonderboom, Sony SRS-XB10, Sony SRS-XB20, Sony SRS-XB40 and JBL Flip 4.

Kids GPS Watch: If you are traveling with a child, it is recommended to have the child use a GPS smartwatch. You can easily find him/her if you suddenly lose her in a crowded place with the GPS tracking. Some models even have SOS signal or call features for emergencies. One of the most popular brand for kids GPS watches is Xiaomi. Read more about Tips When Traveling with Children.

So, there you have it -- a list to help you enjoy that much-needed vacation or that quick getaway.

For other gadgets, visit www.metrosix.com and save up to 60%.  

How to Improve Your Mobile Phone's Performance

There are hundreds of mobile phones in the market, and with different brands carrying them, which one’s do we actually consider the best? Do we really base it from who manufactured it or could we just find ways on how to improve and care for our mobile phones?

Here are a few tips on how to improve the performance of your mobile phone:

1.  Know Your Device – It is very important that you are aware of the capabilities and drawbacks of your phone. Don’t degrade your phone’s performance with resource-hungry apps. It will overburden your phone.

2.  Update Your Firmware – You should update your phone's OS or iOS with the latest version because it brings great improvements to ensure higher performance speed, connectivity and stability. Some apps might not work properly if updates have not been made.

3.  Remove Unwanted Apps – Remember that every app installed on your phone takes up storage space that might slow down your phone's performance. Stop installing apps you don’t use or hardly use. For apps that are pre-installed, you may opt to disable them if you can’t uninstall.

4.  Update Your Apps – For your apps to work better, you can always check from Google Play or iTunes if there are updates. These updates improve how your app works, as well as install new versions or new features.

5.  Use a High Speed Memory Card – The memory card acts as an extension storage space of your phone. Get a boost from high-capacity memory cards to get the most out of storage space. Here’s a list of memory cards that you can choose from: goo.gl/voo6Pp

6.  Avoid Live Wall Papers – Live wallpapers are lovely to look at and there are different varieties depending on the manufacturer. But you should know that live wallpapers that are not properly made can take up a lot of CPU cycles to run, thus causing to drain the battery faster. Remember that when your home screen is activated, it also runs your live wallpaper.

7.  Get a Power Back-Up – There are a lot of powerbanks that you can use as back-up whenever you need to go out. Choosing the mAh of the power back up depends on how heavy your usage is. This prevents overuse of your phone's battery  life while running apps in a low battery mode. It is also great for emergencies when you are in a place where charging stations are not available. For your powerbank needs, here’s a list where you can get one: goo.gl/DisU9z

These are just a few of the things that can help boost the performance of your mobile phone in general. It still depends on how you handle and take care of it so it would last longer. Shop for mobile phones and accessories at www.metrosix.com.

Tips When Traveling with Children

Traveling with family is one of the best ways to create good memories.  Getting together whether to enjoy the beach, another country or an amusement park can help in strengthening the bond of each member. Traveling with children can be both exciting and stressful at the same time. It is exciting especially if it is your first time and the destination you are heading to is a fun place your kids will enjoy and stressful at the same time because of worries about safety and keeping things in order. So here are a few tips from us here at MetroSix on how to travel with your kids.

Book Ahead

Book everything ahead like airport transfers, hotel accommodations, rent-a-car services and everything you’ll need upon arrival. This is to avoid long waiting times especially if you have a toddler with you. It will be hard to manage them when they are tired, hungry and bored in the middle of a hotel lobby attempt as walk-in guests and there’s no available room. 

Be Early

Get there the earlier, the better. It is frustrating to race against time with children in tow. These kids do not understand the time pressure you have to go through to reach the airport and check-in your baggage.  Being early means you can check-in first without the long lines and can take time if the children will make stops for a toilet break or do some sightseeing. It helps in preventing tantrums, too if ever they would want to buy or reach for something along the way.

Prepare for the Climate

When going abroad or any place for that matter, make sure to research and check on the climate for the dates of your stay. You wouldn’t want to bring wrong clothes and end up ruining your budget just to shop for the right ones. Also, don’t forget their vitamins or medications. That might come in handy if ever the need arises. 

Keep toys, food, books, gadget handy and anything to keep them busy

The sound of a tantrum is like having a thunderstorm can be stressful for the parents. Pack a favorite toy or book in a backpack that you can pull out if needed. Bring bite size snacks and juices for them to munch on. You may also want to try and bring new toys or books to excite them when they get bored. You can also let them watch their favorite cartoon or play their favorite games with a tablet or an iPad.

Invest in a child locator

Toddlers are not fans of backpacks with leash, or even the leash to hold their hand. They love the sense of freedom to roam around, run like there’s no tomorrow and even hide from you. With the technology being available to everyone, investing in a child locator will be a big help in tracking your child. Purchase a GPS watch for your little one; they are stylish, colorful and very helpful to keep track on them at airports, train stations and even in crowded areas. You may shop for Kids GPS Watches here >> www.metrosix.com/wearables/gps-watches-for-kids

Traveling should be fun and relaxing. Don’t let stress ruin your family time.

Apple WWDC 2017 Keynote

The recently held Apple WWDC 2017 Keynote was full of new and feature-packed hardware and preview of the latest software from one of the most valuable global companies. The event this year was held in San Jose, California on June 5-9, 2017.

This year's event is one for the books indeed! iOS 11, the world's most advanced mobile operating system has new features and technologies for better user-experience and will be available this fall. Only select iDevices can be upgraded to iOS 11, though.

Apple's CEO, Tim Cook

Here is the rundown of Apple’s 2017 WWDC Keynote:

1. MacOS 10.13 – ‘High Sierra’

The upcoming MacOS is introducing Apple File System to the Mac. This 64bit architecture will beef-up security and aimed for better user experience. HEVC (High Efficiency Video Coding) for video will come in standard in this new OS version. Other new features can be found in the Apple website.

2. Siri

There are major improvements and added features in Siri this year. One notable enhancement is Siri's ability to translate languages on the go. This beta feature currently supports English, Chinese, German, Italian and Spanish, and will expand in the coming months according to Apple. Apple's digital assistant now uses machine learning to better predict its suggestions which you could use across different default apps. Siri also has a new male voice aside from the female one, and according to Apple is more human-sounding.

3. Camera / Photos / Videos

The Camera app is updated to support HEIF (High Efficiency Video Image Format) for 4K videos which takes up less space. For photos, HEIF (High Efficiency Image Format) which translate to better image compression without sacrificing quality. Live Photos app also gets an upgrade. Memories can now be viewed either in Landscape or Portrait mode.

4. Maps

Maps app will soon offer maps of airports and malls. However, the list is limited for now. Added features like better navigation, lane guidance and speed limits are welcome upgrades. Do Not Disturb While Driving is one of the best features of iOS 11. For safety purposes, this will help drivers stay focused on the road.

5. Control Center

iOS 11's Control Center is now redesigned to show controls into a single page, one downside though is that CELLULAR DATA Control is still not included here. 3D Touch will now give access to more settings and features.

6. Redesigned App Store

A completely redesigned App Store somewhat resembles the Music Store. The main screen is not ‘cluttered’ anymore because tabs like Today, Games, Apps, Updates and Search are located at the bottom part of the screen. A new Spotlight tab will show the Best Videos of the Day.

7. Messages

Messages app will now sync your messages across all your iDevices which is handy if you have a lot of Apple devices.

8. Apple Pay

Apple's own mobile payment and digital wallet can now be used directly into Messages. Mobile transactions will be made thru Apple Pay Cash account. Siri will also come in handy just by giving the command.

9. iPad Pro

iPad Pro gets a ton of new features in iOS 11. First is Files app. This smart new feature enables users to browse, edit or transfer files from different folders in the device much like a regular desktop. iCloud and 3^rd party apps like Box, Dropbox, Microsoft OneDrive, Google Drive and Adobe Creative Cloud are also supported.  Drag-and-Drop feature will also make your experience a lot smoother in an iPad. A bigger apps dock, Slide Over, a new App Switcher are also a welcome upgrade.

Aside from the iOS 11 announcement which is currently in Developer Version, new Mac products were also presented to the public.

1. MacBook and MacBook Pro

Apple's 2017 notebook line-up is now getting Intel’s 7^th Gen processor dubbed “Kaby Lake”. The new Macbook will be offered with either 1.3GHz or up to 3.5GHz, while for the MacBook Pro, you can choose to have up to 4.1 GHz Intel Core i7. All notebook models will now sport faster SSDs. Standard connection is still USB-C across all models.

2. iMac Pro

“Power to the Pro”. This is Apple’s latest model is target the Pro users in mind. Users can configure it from an 8-core up to 18-core Intel Xeon chip for processing power. Upgrade the memory to 128GB (standard is 32GB btw). It also comes with 5K Retina Display for better viewing, up to 4TB of storage and Radeon Vega GPU. Standard connections are USB 3, 3.5mm Jack, Ethernet and Thunderbolt.

3.  HomePod

HomePod is Apples answer to home music integration. This new product was designed by Apple in-house and is equipped with an A8 processor. Siri is also available in this new boombox as a music assistant like, find new music based on your music preference. HomePod will be available in White and Black by December. 

Watch the full video of the Apple — WWDC 2017 Keynote here:

3D Printing

In this ever rapidly evolving business world, a 3D Printer can make you and your business ahead of the competition. Who would have thought that 3D printing can come to reality when years before, everyone was completely okay with the usual printing and scanning those printers can offer? Let’s get to know more about 3D printing.

What is 3D printing all about?

3D printing or additive manufacturing is a process of making three dimensional solid objects from a digital file. The creation of a 3D printed object is achieved using additive processes. In an additive process an object is created by laying down successive layers of material until the object is created. Each of these layers can be seen as a thinly sliced horizontal cross-section of the eventual object.

How does 3D printing work?

It all starts with making a virtual design of the object you want to create. This virtual design is for instance a CAD (Computer Aided Design) file. This CAD file is created using a 3D modeling application or with a 3D scanner (to copy an existing object). A 3D scanner can make a 3D digital copy of an object.

With all those 3D printers available, how would you know which one fits your needs?

Here’s something you might want to take a look at, the Wanhao Duplicator 7, the newest resin desktop DLP 3D printer from Wanhao. It has a build area of 120 x 68 x 200mm (LxWxH) and a layer resolution capability of 35 microns. The Duplicator 7 also has a printing accuracy of Z: 0.004mm and can print layers between 0.035~0.5mm which results to quite remarkable prints and the flaws wouldn't be noticeable to the naked eye. This latest model also comes with a selection of new high-quality resins in different colors. You can also use different types of resins for your different projects, since it is compatible with a number of available resins in the market today. It is equipped with a 2560 x 1440 pixels HD LCD screen for better viewing of the models prior to printing. This particular model offers a build speed of 15mm to 35mm/Hour. At 12kg, it is one of the lightest desktop 3D printers available.

One of the biggest improvements from the previous model is that it comes with a HANDLE on the top lid. The printing plate is considerably smaller and sanded compared to the previous version. What’s more exciting is that it is now available and affordable here at MetroSix. Grab the chance to own the incredible Wanhao Duplicator 7 3D printer now!