August Supplement- Additional Reviews - Fascinating Tech Magazine
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August Supplement- Additional Reviews
Older Issues > Spring Summer 2020
WELCOME TO THE AUGUST SUPPLEMENT
We've had a few new items come in for review since the Spring/Summer issue was published and wanted to get our reviews to you as soon as possible.
First the
Melitta Look V Therm Timer
This thermal filter coffee maker has become a staple of the home office. Setting the timer to wake up to freshly brewed filter coffee is a joy.
What has really impressed us is how long the insulated jug in this fifth version of Melitta's filter coffee machine, keeps the coffee hot. We can brew at 9 am and still be drinking hot coffee in the early afternoon and acceptably warm coffee by late aftenoon. We think this is very much helped by the clever seal on the spout.
The timer controls are a little unintuitive and we had to resort to the manual but once learnt are very easy to operate. You can override the timer if you want to brew another batch in the day which you probably will because although a jug will keep warm all day it is highly likely to have been drunk as this machine makes great coffee. The temperature of the water seems just right to make a perfect brew and the innovative aroma setting makes getting your taste in coffee really easy.
The swing out filter holder makes adding filters and ground coffee a breeze. Adding water is equally easy with the pop out water jug which is easy to hold and is a very reasonable capacity. The guage on the side is very clearly visible and makes knowing when to add water very obvious.
All in all we think this is a well built, quality item which with a minor bit of manual study will be a very useful addition to any home or home office.
The Look V5 comes in either black or white and is also available with non-insulated jugs and without a timer which makes for an excellent set of choices.
Highly Recommended.
Haylou Watch LS02
Amazon Affiliate Link (£35 at time of publication) https://amzn.to/3hGOO87
What can £35 buy you. Well normally not a lot in the world of tech but it can definitely buy you a mightilly impressive Smart Watch/Fitness Tracker.
Now this watch, from Haylou part of Xiaomi, isn't going to allow you install apps and it does have a really limited range of watch faces but if you can find one you like it is then going to give the likes of the Fitbit Versa and Amazfit Bip a serious run for their money. Like the Versa it doesn't have an always on screen and the lift to raise to turn on can be a bit laggy but the screen when illuminated is seriously impressive.
It has 4 levels of brightness and level 4 is seriously blinding (perfect for outdoor use) I found myself cranking it back to 1 indoors which definitely helped with the battery life. You can definitely expect between a week and two weeks use. They say 20 days which is definitely possible depending on use. The use of Bluetooth 5 to connect with the phone really helps here.
I get two weeks with heart rate monitoring on and notifications enabled. Yes this can display notifications from your phone and I have to say I prefer the way it handles them to the Amazfit Bip. They are clear to read when they appear and easy to find if you just miss one.
To be fair everything is really clear on the 320 x 320 pixel 1.4 inch very vibrant screen.
As well as heart rate tracking the LS02 seems to really good at sleep tracking which is enabled in the Haylou Fit app (make sure you choose the right app on Android there are a few with similar names you want Haylou Fit)
Also supported are 12 sports modes including outdoor running, walking, cycling, mountain climbing, spinning, yoga, indoor running, free training, Gymnastics, basketball, football, rowing.
Design wise this resembles the aforementioned Amazfit Bip (although with different screen technology.) It is very much a plastic contruction with a rubber-like strap. It is pretty thin and very light making wearing it all day a pleasure. The strap is of the quick release variety and a standard 20m variety so you could have plenty of options to replace it.
There isn't much in the box other than the watch; Just a user manual and a charging cable which is magnetic. I am slightly worried how easy this latetr would be to replace as it is definitely proprietary.
We are pretty sure you will be able to pay less than £35 for this if you hunt around we have seen it as low as £24 which is truly stunning value for money.
For that simple amazing value for money we think the Haylou LS02 deserves a TrulyFascinating award.