November, 2021 - LABFREQ

November 15, 2021April 17, 2023

Withings Scanwatch Review

Withings have finally received FDA clearance to release their hybrid fitness wearable – the Scanwatch, in the U.S. While this wearable isn’t exactly new, features like EKG, 24hr heart rate tracking, and 30-day battery life, make it one of the most advanced watches on the market. Here we take a deep dive to see if the Scanwatch is worth your time and money.

If the photos don’t show the premium finish of this hybrid watch, rest assured the quality is upper echelon. Withings Scanwatch is made of Stainless Steel including the back where the sensors are housed – with Sapphire glass covering the watch face, which comes with a black or white dial. Our review unit, which was provided by Withings – had the white dial.

Specifications

● Clinically validated detection of atrial fibrillation by ECG

● Heart Rate scan every 10 minutes using a PPG sensor

● Clinically validated SpO2

● Automatic activity tracking (walking, running, swimming, distance, and calories burned)

● Training mode with up to 30 activities (measurement of distance, pace, and altitude)

● Fitness level assessment with VO2 Max

● Sleep monitoring (length, quality, sleep phases)

● Smart smartphone notifications

● Altimeter records floors traveled

● Water-resistant up to 5 ATM

● Up to 30 days battery life

Fitness Features

The Scanwatch has a circular OLED screen right below the 12, that shows the time, BPM, steps, distance walked by the mile, floors, EKG, sp02, Workout and Breathe for wellness, providing details which you can view with a press and twist of the watches’ crown. While those quick views contain a ton of info, it’s the Withings Health Mate app that gives you detailed stats on your fitness.

The Health Mate app goes a long way in adding smart health tracking and wellness features to the Scanwatch, complementing its hybrid nature by handling the heavy lifting most other watches handle on the device – at the expense of battery life. Not to mention its awesome UI and deep integration with other platforms like Apple Health, Google Fit, and Samsung Health.

Conclusion

Touting all the fitness tracking features the latest smartwatches on the market have to offer – without the intrusive, geek-Esque appeal – the Scanwatch is easily one of the best fitness wearables on the market. It has impressive 30-day battery life (I got two weeks before the watch drained the battery to 60%), the high-end build of a Swiss timepiece, and enough sensors to stay in the cutting-edge for the next few years. The Scanwatch is the watch for those who like the classic look, but want all the latest health perks a fitness tracker has to offer.

November 4, 2021November 3, 2021

ThinkReality A3 AR Glasses Review

The ThinkReality A3 glasses represent Lenovo’s foray into the Augmented Reality space, bringing enterprise-level abilities and next-gen features to the desktop and mobile. Does the A3 headset have what it takes to compete with the Oculus and Hololens’ of the world?

The ThinkReality A3s are a pair of Augmented Reality smart glasses that come equipped with a Qualcomm XR-1 SmartViewer, a specialized processor for AR/VR devices, 1080p resolution per eye, and an 8MP RGB Camera. 3 noise-suppressing mics and stereo speakers cover the audio, with voice, object, and image recognition. It’s also equipped with head/gaze tracking, a barcode reader, and High-bandwidth digital content protection (HDCP) for digital rights management (DRM).

The A3 smart frames connect to certain Lenovo and Motorola devices, particularly higher-ended Thinkpads and Snapdragon 800 powered Motorola smartphones like the Moto G100. When connected to a desktop or laptop it works as a virtual monitor hub, turning your primary monitor into a wide-view curved virtual display – or extending it by adding two separate monitors of discreet, private viewing or work sessions.

When tethered to the Thinkpad p52 we had available, the ThinkReality A3 ran without a glitch and looked as vivid and clear as an actual physical display monitor despite the slight transparency in the image (think Star Trek or 2Pac Hologram quality).

Rocking the ThinkReality A3s like a boss.

ThinkReality A3 Platform for Android

We may have not had an easy way to stream the desktop monitor view with our readers, but that’s a different story when you connect the A3’s to the Android platform – particularly the Moto G100. Lenovo has built a favorable mobile platform for the ThinkReality A3, and if they decided to go full throttle they may have something mainstream on their hands.

The A3 has three built-in apps for the platform: the A3 Companion app, A3 Model Viewer, and AR Cast- the latter makes screen-recording the A3 in use with the Moto G100 possible.

Granted, Android apps have to be cleared from the Enterprise end using ThinkReality Portal in order to run on the A3 – but basically, any app installed on your device will run in AR as long as you can deal with a head-tracking pointer as the main means of navigating the interface. While there are image-tearing and graphic glitches issues in the screen recording, those artifacts aren’t present in real-time.

I had minimal issues with the ThinkReality A3 frames, they ran flawlessly when connected to supported devices. The only time I ran into any issues was when I attempted to connect them to other devices either not made by Lenovo, or unofficial Lenovo devices. Nevertheless, the VR frames ran fine on the ThinkPad X2 detachable and the ThinkBook P15 Gen 2 – so long as Lenovo’s Virtual Monitor Manager software is installed. At the time of writing this article, the only Android device that the A3 detected was the Moto G100.

Conclusion

The ThinkReality A3 Glasses are an interesting product that would be a must-have if money was no object. Priced at $1,499, these glasses are aimed squarely at the enterprise market. With a light build, slick design, and an ambidextrous ecosystem that’s compatible with both Android and Windows it could be a home-run product – if Lenovo can get the price down to consumer-tier.

One or two more iterations from now, I see the ThinkReality platform competing as a standalone ecosystem for work, Media consumption, and should Lenovo dare develop the platform further – Gaming. The ThinkReality A3 smart frames are definitely one to keep an eye on.

November 3, 2021January 10, 2022

Moto G100 Review

The Moto G100 is the latest addition in Motorola’s mid-range lineup. It’s got the specs, the look, and a vibrant display. Does that give it enough to stand out in a competitive mobile space?

Motorola is marketing the latest Moto G as the most powerful and speediest to date. Equipped with a Snapdragon 870 processor, 8GB of Ram, a 5000 mAh battery with a rear Quad-Camera set-up it certainly appears to meet those standards in the specs department. The Snapdragon 800 series processor is present to power some high-end features – like Motorola’s Ready For platform and even compatibility with the ThinkReality A3 Glasses platform. For the scoop on how it fares in day-to-day use, read more below.

Build Quality

The Moto G has a vibrant 6.7″ LCD display, with a 90Hz refresh rate, HDR10, and DCI-P3 color space. It will satisfy all but the most technical user who is accustomed to the deep blacks and bright contrast of an AMOLED display. The typical causal smartphone owner can’t tell the the difference. The display is more narrow than average, with a 21:9 aspect ratio that Motorola dubbs ‘CinemaVision’. It’s protected by Gorilla Glass 3.

Back view of the Iridescent Ocean Moto G100

The back has a plastic rear housing, which comes in either White or Iridescent Ocean – our review unit came in the latter. It gives off a two-toned look that gradients from sky blue to violet depending on the amount of light shining on the back. The phone also has polycarbonate rails (plastic). It’s not IP-certified, but it does have a splash-resistant coating to protect it from moderate moisture and occasional splashes.

A near-stock version of Android, and a minimal amount of apps come pre-installed on the Moto G100 – no carrier subsidized bloatware – and the usual Moto-favorites like chop for flashlight and twist to launch the camera are still present.

There are a few new additions to the Moto Setup, like Styles which is a part of the Android Skin Motorola calls MyUI – which let’s you customize the look of the User Interface.

The Specs

The G100 is the most powerful Moto yet, touting the rarely seen Snapdragon 870 SoC, which sits right under Qualcomm’s 888 chip. It only comes in the 128GB config, but it has an SD card slot for external storage expansion. With 8GB of RAM finishing off the internals, it runs smooth, with very few stutters or delays.

For photography, the Moto’s Quad Camera set-up has a 64MP main lens, 16MP ultra-wide, a 2MP depth camera, and TOF Advanced Laser Autofocus. The main lens used Quad Pixel technology to merge four high-res 16MP photos out of the 64MP sensor for better overall photo quality. The selfie cam comes in at 16MP.

Operating System	Android™ 11
Storage	128GB (Internal), Up to 1TB expandable with microSD card
Sensors	Accelerometer, Magnetometer (compass), Gyro, Proximity, Ambient Light
Processor	Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ 870 5G Mobile Platform Adreno™ 650 GPU
Memory (RAM)	8GB LPDDR5
Security	Side-mounted fingerprint reader Face unlock ThinkShield for mobile
Rear Cameras	64MP 1/2″ optical format f/1.7 aperture 0.7µm pixel size \| Quad Pixel Technology for 1.4µm \| 16MP Ultra-wide angle (117-degree FOV) Macro Vision f/2.2 aperture 1.0µm pixel size Ring flash \| 2MP Depth camera f/2.4 aperture 1.75µm pixel size \| TOF Advanced Laser Autofocus
Front Camera	16MP f/2.2 aperture 1.0µm pixel size \| Quad Pixel Technology for 2.0µm 8MP Ultra-wide angle (118-degree FOV) f/2.4 aperture 1.12µm pixel size
Audio	3.5 mm headphone jack

The ReadyFor Platform

The Moto G100 comes with a USB-C to HDMI cable ( a whole dock if you’re in the UK), that allows for some big-screen functionality with the Ready For platform. Ready For, allows you to expand your phones experience to TVs and external displays – and there’s an HDMI cord included in the box. With four dedicated modes, the mobile desktop platform gives access to Mobile Desktop, TV, Game, and Video Chat – you can keep your laptop at home or skip the desktop in your home office altogether.

While the Ready For platform does have some resemblances to Samsung’s Dex platform, Motorola does go the extra mile by organizing your device’s apps by use-case in four nice categories – each with its own custom software enhancements. Check out the Mobile Desktop mode below:

Conclusion

The Moto brand of smartphones has gone through quite a bit of transformation over the years. What started as Motorola’s flagship smartphone ended up being outsold by its more budget counterparts, and eventually was delegated two tiers down from the cutting-edge Razr 5G foldable AND the more premium built Edge/Edge + flagship series. That would mean the Moto G100 – while being the most high-end Moto and the 3rd most powerful handset from Motorola in 2021 – is not what you would categorize as a flagship. But when you factor in the specs, features, and compatibility with the ThinkReality A3 Glasses – most would be hard-pressed to tell the difference. The Moto G100 provides a reliable, trouble-free user experience – but it’s the little details that remind you that you’re not using the best that Motorola currently has to offer.