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Category: Tech

Should You Buy A Garmin Forerunner Right NOW?

There are some better times of the year to buy a Garmin Forerunner that can save you money as well as let you know the best times to get other Garmin watches.

The Lineup

The Forerunner are Garmin’s running line of watches I’ve reviewed in the past, like the 165, 265, and 965. These are the current line at various price points and the other major differences being a few advanced tracking features, battery life, and size options.

When To Buy

Historically Garmin doesn’t have great Black Friday deals on Forerunners – typically around 10%. Now that’s not an insignificant discount, especially on the more expensive 965 (about $50 off the $600 price tag). At other times throughout the year though Garmin tends to run sales on Forerunners with better deals about double the discount of typical Black Friday sales.

Those better deals tend to happen at some key points of the year, February, June, and September to align with marathon and running seasons. That means at the end of the year when many other electronics are released and put on sale, Garmin tends to hold off on the Forerunner line.

New Versions On The Way

The Forerunners tend to have a release cycle around March. Both the 265 and 965 were released in March or 2023 so an update to those versions is expected between March and June of 2025. So, which watch should you buy when? Let’s start with the 165.

garmin forerunner 965

If you have been eyeing the 165 you should wait for Black Friday and see if it goes on sale but other than that, go ahead and buy it. It’s the entry level Forerunner that in my original review I found had pretty much every useful feature for fitness tracking and it’s a great watch. It’s also not expecting to be updated any time soon and chances are if you’re looking at the 165, you don’t already have a recent Forerunner and it will be an upgrade.

For those of you looking at the 265 or 965, right now, here’s my advice.

If you already have a smart or fitness watch you’re happy with that’s tracking your runs, workouts, swims, whatever, then I would hold off until the next version of the Forerunner. It’s likely to be released in March and it’s almost certain there will be key upgrades. The latest Elevate 5 heart rate sensor found in the Venu 3 series, ECG support and hopefully even better battery life. The glass screen might be enhanced to Sapphire for more scratch resistance and almost certainly we’ll get a few new metrics and menu views.

If you don’t have a Forerunner or fitness watch and you want one, the 265 and 965 are great. Even if you buy one now and then the next version comes out in 5 months, there’s probably going to be nothing in those that you’re really going to be missing.

WiFox Automatically Gives You The Best Airport Wifi Passwords Upon Arrival

wifox airport wifi passwords

Imagine you’re taking a trip with a layover in Istanbul but quickly realize upon landing the airport doesn’t have free wifi. So there you are, stuck with no way to pass the time other than staring off into space.

The other scenario is you downloaded WiFox Premium [Android/iOS] before leaving home and as soon as you land your phone shows you the top rated lounge password – all offline. Now you can text your friends, watch YouTube videos, and doom scroll until your flight.

What Is WiFox?

WiFox is the popular mobile app I released for iOS and Android in 2016 that’s been written about in the New York Times, Mashable, and topped the homepage of reddit multiple times. Since then I’ve continued to develop, expand, and enhance the WiFox experience so you can stay online when you travel. WiFox gives you access to 1,350 wireless lounge and airport passwords for nearly every airport in the world.

wifox ios app store     wifox google play android
Updates To Android!

The latest version of WiFox for Android available now for download brings with it WiFox Premium, which gives you automatic notifications of passwords and updates, password ratings for each connection, and 24/7 wifi support. These features are also available for WiFox iOS, in addition to working fully offline, a password copy function, and real-time updates when you’re back online.

Giveaways For Premium

Premium users also get special access to a number of giveaways throughout the year, so keep an eye on your notifications for a chance to win lounge passes, cash, and other prizes you can use toward your next trip.

Available Now For Download

WiFox is available now for download on Android and iOS (for iPhone, iPad, Macs, and Vision Pro) with the special price of FREE for the next two days only! Join hundreds of thousands of travelers and download WiFox so you’ll never be without wifi again!

travel smarter,
-Anil

Insta360 X4 Review: Steps Forward, Backward, And Bigger With Both

Aside from your smartphone the best video camera you can carry with you is one that’s small, versatile, and captures multiple angles. For the last few years, the Insta360 X line of cameras has been all of these things and more. The new X4 improves upon a lot of the X3 but comes with some drawbacks that are perplexing.

You can watch the video above for my full review or read on for the highlights.

Seeing In 360

The Insta360 X4 is an action camera that has two lenses on both sides that allow it to get a 360 degree field of view. This mean in 360 mode, the camera is actually filming everything around it and then, using the Insta360 Studio desktop or mobile app, you can reposition the footage in any way you want.

Adding a larger front facing screen compared to the X3 means framing is a bit easier on the X4 as is scrolling through the various menu options. On both counts though the X4 is mostly a set it and forget it camera since it’s filming everything around at the same time. In this way the X4 acts like multiple cameras since you can re-frame the footage endlessly. Even the microphones will focus on the sound in the direction of the footage you want in frame and those microphones do a very good job of picking up sound, especially speaking.

What’s Changed

The X4 is noticeably bigger and heavier than the X3. It measures 46 x 123.6 x 37.6mm versus the 46.0 x 114.0 x 33.1mm of the X3 and weighs 203 grams, 23 grams heavier than the X3. If you don’t have the X3 nearby, then the X4 doesn’t look that big but next to the X3, the X4 feels a lot less pocket-able – I think this is probably as big as the X line can get before they become too large for an action camera.

insta360 x3 x4

The added size comes with a bigger 2290mAh battery though and that’s need to power the upgraded 5nm AI chip which supports 8k capability. Recording at 5.7k on the X4, the highest resolution of the X3, you get 67% more battery life – about 130 minutes – or 60-70 minutes when filming in 8k.

The added size gives you bigger microphone and speaker vents but also heat dissipation which is even more important on the X4.

Hot Takes

See, the X4 gets noticeably hot shortly after you power it up and when recording in 8k you definitely feel the heat. The X4 even shows a warning when you switch to 8k to use it in windy conditions so it doesn’t overheat. Typically with a 360 camera you’re hitting record a few minutes at a time outdoors which helps mitigate overheating. But in hotter climates and parts of the world overheating is going to be more of an issue if you’re recording in 8k for any duration over 15-20 minutes.

The resulting footage does look better than the X3 with a much improved color science (still terrible at low light) and a level of sharpness that should be reduced in the settings to avoid a grainy look. The X4 is $100 more than the X3 and if you’ve already got one I don’t think this is a must upgrade. It’s a nice to have upgrade but if you film in hot climates often you might just be better off with the X3 and waiting for whatever version comes after this one. The X4 feels a lot like an in between product – the next version might be in this form factor but with a chip that runs cooler with a newer sensor giving you more battery life and improved heat dissipation for longer recording times.

How To Use eSIMs When Traveling

This post was sponsored by BNESIM who provide eSIMs in over 200 countries. [What is this?]

There is a lot of confusion about eSIMs, what they are, how to use them, and whether or not they’re better than physical SIM cards. The short of it is eSIMs are a very convenient way to get mobile Internet when you’re traveling using a provider like BNESIM.

What Is An eSIM?

Let’s start with physical SIM cards – piece of plastic and gold insert into a smart phone to identify it to a particular mobile network. A valid SIM card gives you access to AT&T, or T-Mobile, or whichever network carrier it’s tied to. So even though there are mobile networks and signals all around you, the SIM in your phone is the key to a particular network. Most newer phones though are capable of using electronic SIMs, or eSIMs.

bnesim

With a physical SIM card when you want to switch mobile networks you need to get another physical SIM card for that other network – then you have to swap it out with the one you were using before. eSIM essentially fill the same role as SIM cards, except it’s all digital and done right on your phone.

Using BNESIM To Stay Connected

The most straightforward way to use eSIMs when traveling (and avoid expensive international roaming fees) is to download an eSIM provider app. BNESIM is available on iOS as well as Android and essentially is an online store for eSIMs. Before your next trip you would search for the country you’re heading to, let’s say Ireland, and then purchase one of several plans. You can get a 7 or 30 day mobile data package as a one-time purchase or choose a lifetime plan so any unused data doesn’t expire, good if you know you’ll be visiting a particular country again soon.

BNESIM

There’s also the option of a subscription which gives you a discount of around 35% and is useful for countries where you’re going to be staying for longer periods of time.

eSIM And Go

Once you’ve selected a particular plan and purchased it, the BNESIM app makes installing the eSIM very simple. You just need to tap the install eSIM button and after a few minutes of digital magic, your eSIM is installed. This is basically the digital equivalent of swapping out a physical SIM card except you can load multiple eSIMs and don’t have to worry about losing any of them.

After the eSIM has been installed (you can schedule when it is activated, ideally the day you arrive in the country you’re visiting) simply turn it on from your phone settings, make sure data roaming is activated, and if you’re SIM/eSIM from home isn’t needed, disable that line while you’re abroad.

Installation of an eSIM for a foreign country or activation doesn’t have to be done in that country either. I find it’s easier to have things set up beforehand but so long as you have a wifi connection you can get all the eSIMs you like. And that’s pretty much it. For the most part when traveling eSIMs are a much easier, less expensive way to stay connected. You can get the amount of data you need, add more credit if you run out, and do all of this right on your phone without having to go to a physical shop. A service like BNESIM puts the store in your pocket and can keep you connected in the places you’re headed to next, with a lot less hassle, time, and money.

Best Travel Tech Gifts Under $30

organic beanie

Shopping for people who travel frequently can be difficult as they tend to be minimalist, picky, and seem to have everything they already need. As someone who fits into that category, these are some things that have changed how I travel and become useful gear that doesn’t take up a lot of space across various price points.

For The Carry-On Only Warrior: $12

Going through security at airports means having to take out your sprays, gels, and other containers, even if they’re under the weight limits. The Ogato 3 pack of clear, easy-close pouches is perfect for small toiletries.

Tropical Traveler: $14

Small and powerful, Sun Bum makes a vegan, roll-on SPF 50 sunscreen which happens to be under the limit for most carry-on gels.

Romantic Road Writer: $21

A good notebook is the best tool for writing ideas, sketching, and connecting with your thoughts when traveling. Aside from the creative benefits of writing on paper versus digital jotting, the rugged Moleskin notebooks are perfect places to drop in receipts, postcards, and other small physical media.

Fingerprint Fighter: $25

This is the stuff they use in Apple stores to clean products and an iKlear kit will keep your screens and keyboards looking like showroom new too.

Digital Detection: $29

Airtags are incredibly useful for tracking the location of your things. Don’t believe it? You will after experiencing the power of knowing your luggage was actually packed on your plane before every single flight. Thanks Airtag.

Useful and durable don’t have to mean expensive, like the foXnoMad organic beanie, on sale now. For travelers, small gifts are a compliment and hopefully some of the 5 items above will make you their favorite gift giver this year.

Rosetta Stone Is A Good Supplement But Not Primary Way To Learn A New Language

Rosetta Stone is kind of the lumbering dinosaur of online language learning. It’s been around since 1992 and in a lot of ways hasn’t changed much although the interface is a bit clunky, moving slow when comes to language learning, can be effective.

Back To Basics

Rosetta Stone has been used by the US Army, Air Force, State Department, and several universities to provide intensive 16 week language courses. Rosetta Stone covers a number of popular languages and you can sign up for a single language for a 11.99 monthly subscription which is billed once every 3 months, or get access to all of Rosetta Stone’s languages for one lifetime payment of $299.

rosetta stone mobile

Once you sign up, Rosetta will ask you your current level – whether you’re a novice, intermediate, or advanced user but one feature I wish were available here is a test to gauge your abilities. We all know what a complete beginner is but maybe you know a few words or phrases, or have had previous exposure, a comprehension test to place you exactly where you need to be would be great.

Language lessons are broken down into 6 week courses, with a planned 30 minutes per day, 5 days a week. Each daily class is broken down further into 5 and 10 minute reading, speaking, and comprehension lessons. And if you don’t have time to do a full 30 minutes, you can take things at a slower pace, maybe just getting in one 10 minute lesson when you’re busier.

Language Lesson Crafting

There is a lot of repetition, which slows the pace but personally I find helps me to remember what I’m learning even though I sometimes want to speed though some of the lessons I feel are a bit easier. For example, you’re read a word, you match the picture, then Rosetta Stone repeats back the correct response. Both the frequent repetition and the images are useful in creating associations in your brain.

rosetta stone

Whereas comparing this to Duolingo, those are shorter lessons without visual cues so you really need to maintain a high frequency of lessons to make sure you can remember the vocabulary. With Duolingo you’re exposed to a lot of words in a short time, whereas Rosetta is very focused on making sure you learn the fundamentals before moving on.

Getting Scored

There’s also no offline mode although there are some language companions, like simple stories and vocabulary you can download separately, a fully fledged offline mode would be a great feature for long flights or subway commutes. Now, when you finish a lesson, you’re given a score and can go back for shoot for 100% or continue on to the next day’s lesson. There’s no reminders or notifications, Rosetta Stone is like a college class that doesn’t grade on attendance, how much time you decide to dedicate is up to you.

Although Rosetta Stone is not pretty, and the apps aren’t great, and it won’t reminder you to sign on or give you a streak to beat, if you’re a visual learner, it’s a good tool for vocabulary learning and fundamental grammar. Rosetta Stone uses images to guide you through learning a language without using English – which is a good thing – but it requires a lot of self motivation.

Also, being more of a classroom A then B then C structure might not appeal to everyone. I think though if you’re just starting out with a language and want to learn the basics, then Rosetta Stone lays a very good foundation, one that you’ll retain for longer, and can build upon. You’re also forced to speak and evaluated on pronunciation, giving it an interactive edge. A 3 month subscription will give you just enough time to complete two entire lesson plans, which in theory will get you to some intermediate concepts. There’s no doom-scrolling but rather a set goal post you can aim for in your language lessons.

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About Anil Polat

foxnomad aboutHi, I'm Anil. foXnoMad is where I combine travel and tech to help you travel smarter. I'm on a journey to every country in the world and you're invited to join the adventure! Read More

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