The Cycliq Fly 12 bike camera / light

A couple of months ago I saw the price for the original Cycliq Fly 12 (non CE) drop, and thought I got to get me one of those!
As an avid commuter, having reliable footage, which I can access quickly, is great. If for nothing else, to show others some of the weird and wonderful sights I see daily in South London.

It's a bit old unit, but does what it says on the box, records great footage, and allows nice Strava overlays too. Perfect I though, and bought one.

When I first got it, it connected to my phone via the app fine. ONCE !! After that, for two months it has been hit and miss, mainly miss. Until today. Frustrated, I did some playing around, and researching. Seeing people complaining about the connectivity were Android users, I recruited the help of a work colleague with one of those iPhone things. Installed the app, et voila, connected no issue.

OK, so it's an Android app issue then. So lets get thinking and see what I can work out. Resetting everything, I started fresh, still caught in the same eternal "connecting" loop. Nope, that't not going to work.

Now at this point it is worth noting, the device connects via both Bluetooth AND WiFi , depending what you are doing. All settings and status is done via Bluetooth, and footage is reviewed via WiFi.
Deleting all its remembered connections on the phone, I tried again, but this time, for some reason I decided to start from Flight Mode, and let it ask for each connection.

Turning the Fly on and scanning, it asked for Bluetooth connection, so I clicked "allow". Finding the device in record time, it checked the status, then I hit "review footage". This time it asked for WiFi connection....."allow".
To my surprise, but secretly confirming my suspicions, it connected and viewed thumbnails almost immediately.

So, I turned the Fly off again, closed the app and tried again, voila, lightning fast, it connected.
Turning cellular data back on again, re-opening the app, it was a big fat NO! Back to the eternal loop of searching and connecting.

So, my fellow Android using, Cycliq Fly 12 owners, when you want to review footage, turn off your cellular data / GSM network. Quite simply, as the Fly 12 creates a local WiFi hotspot with no internet connection, the handset will NOT drop its GSM connection to connect with the Fly 12. On the off chance your cellular network drops out during the time you are trying to connect, you might be lucky enough to get it to work.


I have to say, with that sorted out, I am now back to being delighted with my Fly 12, and cannot recommend it enough. Great footage, super overlays, and once working, nice app too.

PS, Cycliq, you are welcome :) If you want to send me a Fly 6 as thanks, I would be more than happy to accept it.

Blackberry Q10 audio options

In my brief mini review earlier I mentioned premium headphones and the BlackBerry wireless speaker system, but I just realised I didn't post images of either, so here you are.

First up the very funky, tiny bit fiddly and totally good quality 'premium' headphones.
Main cool think about them is their anti-tangle wires. Previously found on headphones bundled with things like the HTC, any one familiar with anti-tangle will know just how much time they can save when pulling them from your pocket screwed up in a ball.
I have used these before in the form of A-Jays 3's, and have to say I am totally sold on anti tangles forever now.
The concept is simple, as pictured the wires are flat, so don't tie themselves up into a ball of tangled wire like conventional ones do.
Quality wise, they fit the ear beautifully once you have decided which ear bud to use. 3 to choose from, two with different sized loops, designed to squash then expand in the outer part of the ear to ensure a snug fit. Or the third option is no loop, so the bud sits gently inside the ear.
Sound is nice, anyone expecting super sharp tops, or deep bass will be disappointed. But if you grabbed a load of standard bundled headphones from BlackBerry of the past, and other devices, I'm pretty confident these would come out very near the top at worst.

Then we have the previously mentioned BlackBerry wireless bluetooth speaker. First up, a handy light little package, which is charged up using the same micro usb charger as the mainstream phones of the world, Inc the BlackBerry's. It's folded hinge design makes it great to clip on to bag chest straps, sun visors, or other thin layers of material, holding it firmly in place for whichever use you have in mind for it.
Very simple to sync up to, easy to discover via bluetooth settings, and can be up and running literally in one minute from taking it out of the box.
Volume buttons hidden away on the underside allow you to control the volume from the speaker itself, or indeed from the device that is streaming the audio. Also on the side is the power switch. A simple on/off slide back and forth style switch, complete with multi coloured LED.
Using different colours to tell you what's going on. Flashing rather than static LED, green showing on charge, blue connected via bluetooth, and red when powering on and off, or sitting on but idle.
Smartly (but maybe obviously) it will also multi indicate, so blue/green flashes to show its on charge but connected etc.
Sound quality, well it's a free standing small speaker unit, so don't expect ground shaking bass or anything. But the sound that does come out it pleasant, clear and nice to listen to. More for casual poolside or beach use, or just chilling in the park, rather than being the centre of a party.
A second use is to use it in the car as a handsfree speaker. Obviously the lack of a mic means it's not going to do the job all alone. But anyone who has tried using the handsfree on most phones will find that once you turn the volume up enough to hear the person, in a car on the motorway for example, the sound quality is lost, and conversation becomes hard.
With this little gem on your sun visor, you can be sure the conversation would be crystal clear.

And here it is, complete with a hand to demonstrate the size of the unit.