What is VPN?

A VPN (Virtual Private Network) as its name suggests is a virtual bridge that you can use to connect to the internet securely. When you use a service like Hidester, you gain access to one of their many VPN servers around the world, allowing you to securely connect to the Internet outside of the prying eyes of online threats.

VPN's use encryption and tunneling to keep you safe, but a negative of these measures is a slower internet connection. Fortunately, with premium VPN services like Hidester, you won't be dealing with crowded VPN servers and will have a decent experience browsing the web safely.


Why use a VPN service?

There are many uses for a VPN service beyond browsing the internet safely. Since you can pick servers from around the world, your VPN service will make it seem like you are browsing from that particular location. This is a great option for travelers, who may sometimes find themselves unable to access their favorite streaming channels when they are aboard.

Using a service like Hidester VPN is also great if you travel to a country with heavy censorship on websites, allowing you to connect to your favorite social network or streaming website as if you were back home.

A VPN service is also a great way to escape internet throttling from your service provider, as it makes you untraceable.



Hidester is a VPN service provider designed for first time VPN users, with comprehensive features that will even appeal to the power users. You get well designed professional apps on all platforms whether you are on desktop or mobile. Hidester offers three distinct packages to chose from:


Once you pick the plan that best suits your need and create your account you can download and install Hidester on your device to get started. Apps are available for Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, and Linux.


The Hidester app is simple and easy to use. Once you install the app, you will even be presented with a tutorial walking you through the various features of the app. You get a big button right in the center and a large list of servers you can pick from. You get four window sizes you can toggle between - Full, Small, Dock or Tray. You also have a pin function you can use to keep the app above other windows for quick access.

By default, Hidester will select the optimal server for you but you can pick from a list of servers while marking your favorites for later use. Hidester offers up to five concurrent connections per account, allowing you to use the VPN service across all of your devices.


Hidester uses two VPN protocols and one web proxy service for its connections:

• CamoVPN - Hidester's own protocol, which it has designed specifically to let its users get around web censorship and access blocked content in a country. This is the default protocol set on Hidester.
• OpenVPN - The industry standard these days and widely accepted as the VPN protocol which offers the best balance between security and performance
• CamoWeb - A web proxy service which is useful if you want to stream content from geo-restricted sites. Since this is not a VPN service, it doesn’t encrypt your connection and isn’t protecting your data or online privacy as much.

Conclusion

As a newer member to the VPN service market, Hidester has a lot to offer. You get beautifully designed apps, a great selection of servers, strong encryption and a good selection of protocols and web proxy service.

The pricing is reasonable for the services offered and highly competitive against some of the other services we've tested.

It is important for us to point out that while Hidester does not collect log traffic data or browsing activity from Users of the Service, their privacy policy states that they collect your connection country, as well as dates (not times) when connected to the Service, choice of server location, and the total amount of data transferred per day.

Before we get into ExpressVPN, lets first take a look at what a VPN really is and how it can help you in your day to day life

What is VPN?









ExpressVPN has over 2,000 VPN servers in 148 VPN server locations in 94 countries. The service will automatically pick the most optimal 'Smart Location' server based on your location, but you can also browse through the list of VPN locations and pick one that works best for you. While you can pick from city or country, you can't pick specific VPN servers.



Once connected ExpressVPN can be closed and minimized to the Windows system tray (menu bar on Mac). Under settings, you can enable your Internet connection to be switched off automatically if the VPN gets disconnected. ExpressVPN supports OpenVPN over TCP or UPD (UDP can be faster than TCP because it doesn’t do error correction), L2TP, PPTP, and SSTP protocols.



Like the other services, it does not log any of your activity while you are on the VPN to protect your personal information. The service lets you access Access Netflix, Hulu, Spotify, BBC iPlayer and more.


Streaming Hulu

Hulu is a service I've found to be constantly throttled by my service provider. I previously used the free VPN service provided by the Opera browser simply to sign into the Hulu website. Unfortunately this still restricted me from watching Hulu on my TV or mobile devices.



Now with ExpressVPN, this is no longer an issue. I can quickly install the ExpressVPN app on all of my devices, and easily sign into and watch Hulu across my devices without any issue.

Since my ISP was already throttling Hulu, I didn't even notice any performance issues with the stream.

Price




Giveaway

Ting was launched back in February 2012 by Tucows, a company formally known best for its directory of shareware and freeware software downloads. But over the years the company has built a strong and loyal customer base simply by adapting a new approach.

This has made Ting an easy choice for many who are seeking an affordable, yet reliable mobile network. In case you are curious, here are five reasons you should be considering Ting's Mobile Wireless Service yourself.


1) You only pay for what you use

While traditional mobile carriers charge a set among each month on their "plans", Ting has a very unique pricing model. While this may not suite the heavy users, its ideal for customers who want to only pay for what they use.





2) Family Friendly Features built in

Once you have downloaded and installed MobiMover for Windows or Mac, connect your device to get started. iTunes is still required for connectivity, but it works in the background and doesn't interrupt MobiMover.

There are three main sections you can navigate between - Your devices, 1-Click Transfer and Video Downloader

1-Click Transfer

This is the default functionality of MobiMover when you connect your iOS device. From this pane, you can transfer all of your content or select content between your iOS devices or your computer.



If you have multiple devices connected to your computer, you can pick the devices you want to transfer between and quickly send files back and forth between the two devices.



This is an efficient way to backup your iOS device and transfer the content over to another device. As an alternate to the iTunes backup, MobiMover lets you customize your backup, and pick exactly what you want to be backed up from your device.

Individually Managing your files and devices

While the default 1-Click Transfer allows you to perform quick backups of all your content, you can manage files individually by clicking on your device name on the top navigation pane and selecting your device.


From this panel you can navigate through your Audio, Picture,Video, Contacts, Messages, Apps, Voicemail and Others.



Here you will be able to interact with files individually and transfer it between all of their connected devices. If you want to delete a specific file from your device you can do so directly from this section.

Additionally, you can create or edit contacts, read notes, view calendar entries, import ringtones, voice reminders, and other multimedia files, or browse pages you visited with Safari.

Video Downloader

The Video Downloader has to be the most useful feature of MobiMover. With Video Downloader, you can download videos from popular video hosting websites directly to your iOS device or computer. Supported Services include

• Vimeo
• YouTube
• Instagram
• Metacafe
• Break
• BBC
• DailyMotion

Conclusion

For a product that is totally free, EaseUse MobiMover offers a lot. It is the perfect tool for anyone who regularly transfers files between their iPhone, iPad and Desktop. For those who are serious about protecting their data, MobiMover is the best companion to cloud backups, with its customizable backup solution.

Thanks to MobiMover’s affordability and dead simple UI, transfers take almost no time. Even if you are a user with a lot of photos and videos to transfer, you'd be surprised at how quickly MobiMover scans through your content

There is a commercial version of the software, which requires a license purchasable through the EaseUS online store. However, home and personal use are totally free with no paid in-app upgrades for any reason. If this is something you'd like to try out for yourselves, download it today and see what MobiMover can do for you.

The headphones are priced at $22 on Amazon, and we were fortunate to receive a sample to test and review for our readers. First impressions of this unit are very promising, with the design  and feel of the headphones being the main highlight.

ZealSound has been kind enough to package their headphones with some added goodies. You get three sizes soft silicon ear tips to ensure the headphones fit your ears comfortably. You also have a cable clip which ensures the mic is close enough to reach in case you have to take an incoming call.

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Unlike most regular headphones, the ZealSound HDE-300 uses real wood to achieve the type of audio quality you would expect from a headphones that cost five times as much. These headphones have been designed and developed to offer pristine audio quality at an excellent price point. The manufacturer has built these headphones to not only look great, but also made them comfortable to wear throughout the day.

The device itself was twice the size of the existing router, and the four antenna made it feel like I was assembling a drone... I still reminded myself that the end result would be fully worth the extra space this device was about to take. The power supply is pretty big, and was not suitable for my power strip... I did find it fits well with a two port wall socket though...

Switching to this router was extremely easy... The manufacturer has provided a simple document which offers all that you need to plug in your device and get started... The router UI can be accessed from any web browser once you have it up and running. The manufacturer also provides an app to manage your router, or test the speed of your internet connection.

The speed of data transfer, and the range of the device is pretty amazing compared to what I had... Streaming video from my PC to my tablets and smart TV work extremely well... I am also able to reach certain areas of my home which previously struggled to keep a signal...



CONS

Despite being the best router I have used to date, it also had issues I have not faced with any of my previous devices...

1) Connection Drops - This seems to occur more regularly with this unit... Its not consistent, but I have noticed that I randomly loose my connection... While I could blame it on various factors, like time of day and number of users, its not something I faced regularly on my older device.

2) Issues with Android smartphone - One of the devices in my home simply refused to connect to the regular Wi-Fi. This Android smartphone does not support the 5GHz signal, and refused to connect to the regular WiFi connection with the network password... The only way I could get this device to connect was by enabling the guest network... Now I could have blamed this on the smartphone, but given that it has no issues connecting on my old router, or onto other networks, I will say this is something that should be addressed...

3) Media Priority - This feature is meant to enhance media playback on select devices, and is a feature I have never been able to enjoy even on previous devices. The AC2600 was no different, as I still found speeds had reduced after enabling it... Since the router works fine without enabling it, I would leave that setting disabled as it is


In Conclusion, the AC2600 has been good to me, Its a powerful router that for the most part enhanced my experience... Fortunately the smartphone which I had issues connecting to Wi-Fi is not fully dependent on the WiFi connection... Other devices like PCs, Tablets and SmartTVs around the house work seamlessly with this device (with the random kinks now and then). That being said, I would still like to see the manufacturer get rid of the few bugs, and I would be able to better appreciate this device

I received this product for free as part of Belkin's Friends + Family Program

HARDWARE

All in all, the Ulefone Be Touch 2 is a nicely designed smartphone, with a decent set of specifications which can get you through most day to day tasks. However it is a bit bigger than we would have liked it to be.

Specs


Design

The Ulefone Be Touch 2 has quite a decent build made out of metal, plastic and glass. The frame which runs around the device is metal, giving the device a premium feel. The design itself is somewhat similar to Apple's iPhone, but this doesn't necessarily have to be a bad thing. The rounded edges also make daily handling the device easier.

The removable back cover is made of plastic, and and has a matte finish which should keep the device from slipping out of your hand. The front is mostly made up of the 5.5 inch glass display, but another visible iPhone inspiration comes in the form of an inbuilt fingerprint scanner, which also doubles as a home button. Two capacitive navigation buttons on either side assist with basic Android navigation.

The power / lock and volume rocker buttons are placed on the left-hand side of this phone. The speaker is located on the bottom of this device, and both the micro USB power plug and a 3.5mm headphone jack can be found up top. All in all, the Ulefone Be Touch 2 is a nicely designed smartphone which is a bit bigger than it’s supposed to be.

Display

The display on the handset is a 5.5 inch LTPS display with a 1920 x 1080 pixel (1080p) resolution. This display panel is commonly used by Chinese manufacturers including OnePlus, and is known for its saturated colors, and good outdoor visibility.



While some may wonder why the manufacturer hasnt chosen a QHD display for their flagship, you will find the 1080p display on the Ulefone Be Touch 2 is quite good, and you will notice little differences between its display and a QHD display. The 1080p LTPS panel is also very, very bright. This is actually due to Ulefone’s settings, they’ve set it up this way. You can basically put this thing on manual brightness setting and lower the brightness all the way down to 10-20% and the display would still be bright enough to use. This brightness will also be useful under direct sunlight, where you will usually struggle to read your display.



In terms of the responsiveness, the display is quite good, and you should have no problems with day to day use.

Camera

The rear camera on the Ulefone Be Touch 2 is a 13 megapixel fourth generation Sony IMX214 sensor. A 5-megapixel sensor resides in the front of the device, and OmniVision’s OV5648 sensor is in charge of taking selfies.



While we can't attest to the quality of this camera's photos, the Sony sensor is said to provide great output when setup (with the right software). The samples we found prove to be details with saturated colors. Even indoor photos turn out well, though its known to overexpose light. While you dont get features like image stabilization, you will get some decent photos for the price.

Processor, Storage and Memory

The smartphone give you 16GB of storage, which you can expand through microSD. However the real power comes in the form of MediaTek’s MT6752 64-bit octa-core SoC clocked at 1.7GHz along with a Mali T760 MP3 GPU for graphics. You will also find the chip has been bundled with 3GB of LPDDR3 RAM, which is a nice addition for its price.




As far as general performance goes, the phone can handle most tasks without issue. Multitasking is responsive, and most games like  Dead Trigger 2, Asphalt 8: Airborne and Despicable Me run without lag.

Connectivity and other hardware

The Ulefone Be Touch 2 performs quite well in call quality, and doesn't suffer from dropped calls or anything of that sort. The conversations are clear at both ends, and there were no visible issues during prolonged calls.



The loudspeaker on the other hand could have been improved. While its capable, its a small unit, and output can be weak compared to some of its competitors. As far as general sound quality goes when you plug in headphones, well, that part is quite solid, you won’t be disappointed.



The handset ships with a 3050mAh battery, which should be more than enough to get you through a full day, given the rest of its hardware setup.

SOFTWARE

The Ulefone Be Touch 2 runs Android 5.1 Lollipop out of the box. However Ulefone has added some customization to enhance the user experience. For example, you get off-screen gestures which can be quite useful actually, like Double tap, Swipe up, Launch Camera, Launch Calculator and Control Music. These gestures can be turned off as well if you want, but they can be quite useful. The double tap on the screen will turn on the screen, while drawing the letter ‘C’ while the screen is off will launch the camera.



You also get HotKnot here, which is essentially MediaTek’s version of NFC. In the settings menu, you’ll also be able to find the ‘Finger Scanner’ option which will let you set up the fingerprint scanner which is located below the display. You’ll be able to set up to 5 fingerprints here, the ones you choose, of course. The setup is quite straightforward, and it works more or less like the other popular products in the market.

Pricing and Availability

From what we see, the Ulefone Be Touch 2 is a very capable device, for the below $200 asking price. You get a 5.5 inch smartphone, which a decent build and hardware capable of getting you through a day without out any hassle. The speaker could have been louder, and the battery could have fared better, but besides that you will probably be happy with owning this handset.


The handset can be picked up in either black or white, and is available through various online retailers like VolumeBest. VolumeBest is known for offering various discounts on their handsets, so be sure to check out the website for deals.

Bitdefender Antivirus is considered as the best antivirus makers for Android devices and the company has received the Editor’s choice award from PC magazine consecutively for 2 years in a row. Also it has got excellent scores from the AV Test conducted during July 2015. When compared to other Mobile security Apps like McAfee, AVG and Avast, Bitdefender Mobile Security had the highest rating of 6 in AV Test for offering the best protection to your Android smart phones.

PROs	CONs
Offers great value for money Attractive Design Dual SIM Decent Battery Life	Average display Average camera

HARDWARE

Specs


Design

The Doogee Y100 Pro (or Doogee Valencia 2 Y100 Pro) comes with a fairly modern design, and has a metal frame complimented by a plastic body. Despite its rounded edges being comfortable for one handed use, we noticed that the phone is wider than we would have liked it to be.

The front of the Y100 Pro is covered in 2.5D curved glass, which is a common addition by Chinese smartphone manufacturers. The display neatly curves into the frame which adds to the classy look of the device, though we would have preffered to see a slightly thicker frame for easier grasping.



Below the display, the Doogee Y100 Pro has the set of 3 capacitive buttons - Menu, Back and Home. We were disappointed to see a modern smartphone with a menu button, instead of the common recent apps/multi tasking button.

The rest of the phone is pretty smooth and simple, with a curved back and volume/power buttons on the right edge.

Overall we are impressed with Doogee's design choices on their Y100 Pro. The handset is comfortable to handle and easy to use.


Display

The Doogee Y100 Pro features a 5 inch IPS OGS display with a 1280 x 720 pixel resolution and 2.5D Gorilla Glass coating on top. When affordability is a factor, manufacturers are forced to make compromises, and the display on the Y100 Pro is one of them.



Still the handset manages to offer good viewing angles and has adjustable brightness settings to ensure you wont struggle under direct sunlight.

Camera

According to Doogee, the rear camera of the Y100 Pro is a 13 MP Sony sensor with autofocus and an LED flash while the front camera measures 8 MP.

We usually are very critical on cameras when we review smartphones, and we found the output of the Y100 Pro to be average. The photos are decent at most, and capture basic detail, but the indoor and low light outcome was not favorable.



Despite what the specs look like on paper, we wouldn't recommend this phone for someone who finds photography important in their day to day lives, but the handset delivers what you would expect for its cost.

Processor, Storage and Memory

The Doogee Y100 Pro is powered by a 1.0GHz quad-core Mediatek MTK6735 processor coupled with 2GB of RAM. You also get 16GB of internal storage, which can always be expanded through microSD.



The setup is perfect for moderate users, but wont be a good combination for those looking for a gaming device.

Connectivity and other hardware

The CPU comes with a 4G LTE antennae, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and the usual sensors like a proximity sensor and gesture recognition.

The Doogee Y100 Pro is outfitted with a 2200mAh battery. The phone is capable of lasting around 2 days with moderate use, as you would expect from the midrange hardware. You can expect the phone to get you through a work day even with heavy use on the 4G network.

Doogee also promises the Y100 Pro will charge up quickly, allowing you to get from zero to 100% in only 3 hours.

SOFTWARE

On the software side, the Doogee Y100 Pro comes with Android 5.1 Lollipop. The company claims to have greatly optimized the platform, promising lesser memory usage, improved performance and lower power consumption.



The result is a well balanced and smooth experience on the Y100 Pro. Doogee has done a layer of customization on top of Android, which we are not thrilled about, yet its pretty cool to look at, despite being a little cartoonish.


Pricing and Availability

The Doogee Y100 Pro is an excellent choice for a mid-range smartphone. While its display and camera are weaker than some of its competitors, its still a top choice in its price range. The phone is clearly designed at the general user, who needs a smooth performer with decent battery life.


The handset can be purchased for around $100 (USD) from retailers like EverBuying, and you can pick between the gray and silver models.