Episode 154: What’s New from Google, New Bose Frames & Stevens Gigantic Head

10/02/20 • 55 min

Special guest Ramya Amuthan joins the Double Tap Canada team this week as we take a look at all the latest & greatest tech news.

If you are one of the many people who loved the Bose AR Frames, then you’ll be happy to learn that Bose has just unveiled a brand new range of their audio eyewear. Now called simply Bose Frames, as the AR (augmented reality) feature has been removed, do they still have enough to offer in order to be worth the price? Steven has a pair and will be letting us know what he thinks. That is, as long as he can fit them onto his massive head...

Next up, it’s time for yet another tech event. This time it’s Google who recently released a new Nest Audio smart speaker, 2 new smart phones in the form of the Pixel 4A5G & Pixel 5 and a new Chromecast with Google TV. Should you be diving for your credit card and just how accessible will Google TV be?

Finally, Ramya will be telling us just why she’s moved from Android to the Apple echo-system, despite previously referring to Apple as a ‘cult’ Also we’ll be answering a listener question regarding recommendations for accessible iOS calendar, notes & email apps.

Special guest Ramya Amuthan joins the Double Tap Canada team this week as we take a look at all the latest & greatest tech news.

Previous Episode

Episode 153: What’s New from Amazon & Your Questions Answered

This week Double Tap Canada returns to dive into the latest tech event of the season, and arguably, the most interesting event so far...

To mis-quote Tom Hanks, the Amazon Echo event is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you’re going to get. With a reputation for embedding their Alexa voice assistant into the strangest of places, there is always a lot of excitement around just what they’ll come up with next.

This year the Echo and Echo Dot get a design change, promising improved audio and, in the case of the Echo, a new machine learning chip that allows it to process more of your voice commands locally, without the need to send recordings to the cloud. There’s also a new Echo Show 10. With its bigger screen and the ability to automatically tilt, pan & swivel itself in order to track your movements as you walk around a room, could this be the perfect device for video conferencing. We also saw updates to the Fire TV Stick and the introduction of a subscription-based gaming service called Luna.

There’s also improvements on the software side with Amazon Guard Plus, improved TTS speech, Amazon Care that can help you make sure someone you care for is safe & well and other features such as Join The Conversation which will hopefully make using Alexa more natural and interactive.

Of course, there was one product unveiled that surprised, and confused, many people. The Ring Always Home Cam is an indoor security camera that will fly around your home when you are out and stream the video to your phone. Genius or creepy? We can’t wait to find out...
Also, in a new segment called Ask Double Tap. Assistive technology trainer, George Quarcoo will be ready to answer any of your tech questions including, is Instagram accessible, Android tablet recommendations and just how accessible are TV’s?

Next Episode

Episode 155: New Microsoft Hardware, Smart Homes & Sheds & Apple Predictions

The DTC team kick off this weeks Double Tap Canada with a discussion on the new Surface Laptop Go & Surface Pro X hardware from Microsoft. There’s no denying that the Surface Laptop range has always been designed & built to a high standard, but this also meant a premium price point. However, could the new Surface Laptop Go, maintain the high standards of other Surface laptops but at a much more affordable price? Steven is not so sure on the tech specs with the entry level model coming with only 4GB of RAM.

The Surface Pro X also has had a spec upgrade with a faster processor and the promise of better software support. Although the amazing battery life & form factor of the Surface Pro X are tempting, does the still rather limited software support/performance that come with using a ARM processor make this a non-starter for most of us, especially when it comes to 3rd party assistive software?

Next up it’s on to the smart home. Just what devices & setups are we all using and, more importantly, do any other members of the family use it? Shaun explains why his smart tech remains in the garden shed & why Marc refuses to turn on a light switch...

We’ll also be hearing from Renee Richie on his predictions of just what we’re likely to see in the upcoming Apple event and, to wrap up the show, we’ll be diving into your voicemails, texts & emails.