Beam review: a funny photo belt on your jacket for $ 85

Many of the things we review here in Android Police has a real benefit behind it. Things like phones, chrome books and wearable devices can enhance your life and productivity. The beam will not do anything of these things, but it will allow you to stick to a funny Mim on your chest for $ 85, and I call this victory.

I admit that it took some time to review the package. The company sent it to us earlier this year, but we faced some problems at that time in work reliably, and my attention was subsequently diverted (that is, I forgot to check again and know if things had changed after updates). These problems seem to have been solved, so I will return to enjoying the daily dose of GIF.

At that time, the Beam’s approach to its product has changed, and the company appears to be in the middle of the voltage of renewing the marketing activity. Originally, the package was pushed to activists/protests, and now it has Beam has the company’s focus in the forefront and the center, describing it as a “dynamic screen that can be worn” and “supported by our SAAS platform.” (This is a “service program”, for beginners.) These two markets may be potential, but in my opinion, Beam ignores the silent and collaborative majority: people who want to tie GIF to their chest.

Another thing that I need to get out of the road is many types of hateful beam. Beam is the company, BEAM invites its material product to the beam, calls GIFS and other fixed content symptoms, and is called a transmission or play again. So you can be a beam beam … yes.

Specifications

Goodness

Not very good

Design, devices, what is in the box

The beam is basically just a screen and battery, and this screen is not the highest quality. But for $ 85, it’s okay. It is a 1 3/8 round “400 x 400 OLED screen, with no flat frame, but a lot of frame.

Like some low OLED panels, you will get some changing colors with angles after 45 degrees or so. Sometimes, it looked as if the beam was not able to keep V-Sync on my GIF images, even if it was a lower frame. Grant, on a very small screen, you can only see the rupture if you pay attention closely, and more than just the inconsistency of such invisible contradictions.

The beam has two button. One on the right by the three colored lines cycles “Al -Hazm” while the other shows the current battery level on short pressure, and stops the beam on the long pressure. There is a Micro-Usb port for charging and manual fixing update at the central lower edge.

The shiny glossy plastic front with one black limits/extent. It also comes in white, if this is your preference. The visible light sensor is barely included at approximately 10 pm to prepare automatic brightness.

The back is a bright black plastic ring that often surrounds a flat steel plate, which marries with a two -part magnetic container, in itself a pair of magnets who believes to your coat, jacket, shirt, bag or anything else.

The magnet is stronger than I was counting, as the two pieces managed to stick to each other through the fabric of 7-8 mm. At this stage, it was very easy to separate, so it may not be wise to wear by folding the jacket from the 3/4 winter coat, but it is still working. Anything that reaches, for example, a thickness of a jacket or jacket should not be a problem.

How to use it

The pair of the package and its sending, GIF images used to be a little boring, but subsequent updates made it simpler. Install and create an account in the application, go to your profile tab at the bottom (silhouette of the head and shoulders), click Settings settings, and click the “pair beam button”. If Bluetooth is running, it will find it and provide you with the opportunity to give it a name.

The options increase greatly on this screen.

Once associated, the settings menu themselves change to provide a huge set of options. This is a type of common topic in the Beam app. For such a simple device, it contains a lot of settings facing the user. In fact, the app was more harsh around the edges earlier this year, but now I think most people can learn how to use it without evidence. It still seems to be a engineering project that has become more commercial than just an application facing the consumer.

It takes the beam of the ages to the “beam” of your “beam”, which is a little annoying. To make and send a beam to your beam (sigh), just click on the paint brush icon in the application of the application. From there, you can either take a picture to send it to your beam, select the code options at the bottom of the shutter, which includes solid colors, selecting another content from your device, pulling images from the quick search of photos, or downloading GIFS from GIPHY.

All you choose, the process is very simple. Simply cut the image or GIF in the editor the way you want to display and select an optional background color. Beam will empty you into a little nightmare composition panel of no less than six Tabs to add things such as text overlap, borders, filters, brightness levels, contrast, exposure, etc.

It is a lot to take it, but you do not need to use any of them if you do not want it. Click Save and create GIF or image, and another click of the “beam” icon that sends it to your beam. You can also add a description, mark and address of URL to what you created if you plan to allow other people in Beam, where there is a social tab (virtual application view) that shows you other symptoms that people share.

Once you are loaded on the beams, throw it on your jacket, bag or shirt, then press the side button to move through it.

Should you buy one?

Yes. The beam is not for everyone, but it is very fun in small doses, and I have no problem recommending it for $ 85 given what it is doing.

She is used to peel and send GIF photos or other content to the beam to be more annoying at the beginning of the year, and the package itself often excels during the transmission process, but it is much better now. The app is still it road A very large number of settings, but if you can ignore excessive sizes, there is nothing wrong with that. It seems that the time to send “symptoms” is very long so that it is not only possible to transfer a few MB over the Bluetooth.

Unlimited Beam pushes a kind of meaningless social aspect in the forefront and the center, with a package full of packages like the basic screen in the application. Along with the activity and Saas Business Angle, it seems that beam has no real marketing strategy, just a product that does not know how to sell. As much as I am concerned, the beam is just a funny curiosity and the good of the party, and this is all that should be.

99 % of people will not be interested in the package, and this is completely good. This is likely to be the least necessary to wear at all and nothing more than just the luxury of humor. But if you have a budget to waste $ 85 on GIF photos, the package will surely make you the most hateful man in the party.

It only lasts a day (at best) on one charge, and it has no touch screen or device applications, and it is somewhat boring. However, you can get a funny animated image on your jacket for only $ 85.

Buy if:

• Spend 85 dollars on a magnetic pin that plays GIF images look fun (which is).

Do not buy if:

• You hate fun.

• 85 dollars too much for modernity.

• Your self -perception extends to realizing that you may look a bit ridiculous.

Black and white beam is available from the Beam store front for $ 85.