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 Welcome
003
Heating up issue 10 MEET
THE TEAM...
This month’s Gadget celebrates Would you buy a VR
headset this year?
the innovators igniting tech with
exciting new ideas. In our first- Dan Hutchinson
Editor In Chief
ever Hot 100 list, we compile I already have a
the cutting-edge companies, Samsung Gear VR. It
offers Oculus tech and
Do these trailblazing trends and most content for about a
headphones give amazing gear of the year. Featuring everything fifth of the price!

away the iPhone 7’s from phones to drones, coffee makers to

Drew Sleep
big secret? Find out 3D printers, leading tech giants and upstart Production Editor
on page 70 start-ups, find out where your favourite gadgets The only feasible one
for me is PS VR but,
rank and discover new ones. Disagree with our
while I’m a VR zealot,
ranking? Think we’ve forgotten something or – I’m trying before
better still – completely agree with us? Tell us I’m buying.

what you would list at number one on Facebook

Andy Downes
or Twitter, our details are below. Senior Art Editor
After staring into the coalface of new tech, It’s early days for VR
games, but I loved
you might need to cool down. I’d recommend piloting a starship and
checking out Dyson’s new fan (page 72). As well fighting off other players
as offering a bladeless breath of fresh air, it filters in Elite: Dangerous.

out 99.5 per cent of allergens and pollutants – Harriet Knight

ideal for hay fever sufferers at this time of year! Designer
I would love one,
For more summer tech hacks like this, discover
but I think I would
our must-have kit picks to take to the beach, use it far too casually
survive a long flight and get the most out of a to spend that kind
of money.
garden party from page 84. If you head over to
our workshop section, you’ll also find out how
to fit a solar panel to harness the sun’s power
for yourself (page 104) and build a sandcastle
like a pro (page 108).
This summer will also see the return of the
Olympics. If you’re inspired by the likes of Steph
Curry’s shooting form or Usian Bolt’s last dash
for the finishing line, discover fitness gear for
every Olympic sport from page 52.
Jack Parsons
Editor

EDITOR’S PICKS

PAGE PAGE PAGE PAGE

052 084 096 104
GET AN OLYMPIC UPGRADE SUPERCHARGE CALLING TIME ON FIT A SOLAR PANEL TO TAKE
WITH FITNESS TECH YOUR SUMMER SMARTWATCHES YOUR SHED OFF THE GRID

Seen something you like? Let us know online with the hashtag #GetThisGadget
TWITTER FACEBOOK INSTAGRAM VINE PINTEREST
@GADGET_MAGAZINE /GADGETMAGDAILY /GADGET_MAGAZINE /GADGET.MAGAZINE /GADGETDAILY
 WIN
OUR HOT 100’S TOP 5
PICKS WORTH

006 Google’s home

invasion 010 tRNTBL’s BRINGING
VINYL INTO THE
FUTURE
£2,000
PAGE 42
Google’s plans to take on
New record player shares what
Amazon’s Echo
you’re listening to on Spotify

008 KNOCKI TURNS ANY

SURFACE INTO A
TOUCHSCREEN
Don’t knock this controller
until you’ve tried it

009 Enjoy The Journey With

EasyJet’s Sneakerairs
012 KICKSTARTER 10
Budget airline is testing out
smart shoe tour guides The best 3D printers to back

FEATURES
072 Get Google Glass
For Your Car
New Hudway Glass adds a
HUD to your dashboard

074 Turn your Pet Into a

Social MEdia Star
New spy camera allows world
to remotely play with your pet

076 King of the Kebab For a

tasty night in
Enjoy a late night kebab without
bothering with the big night out
GO FOR GOLD WITH
044 VIVE verdict
What to expect from the most
expensive VR headset out there 078 This Egg Is The
Only Remote OLYMPIC FIT KIT
You’ll Ever Need PAGE
get Beach Body Ready
062 Without the Exercise
Electrocute your way to rock
A universal remote worth
shelling out for 054
hard abs with this wearable
080 Crime Can’t Hide From
THis all-seeing 360°
064 HOW ARE YOU FEELING?
New smartwatch claims it can
monitor your emotions
SEcurity Camera
New camera even allows you to
view your home in VR

066 Tech We Love

The most exciting new releases
on our radar this month
082 pocket Projectors
Watch movies anywhere
with these mobile
projectors
068 THE SOUND OF PROGRESS
New lightning cable headphones
hints at iPhone 7 secrets

070 dyson’s New Fan

Measures and Cleans
the air around you 096 Calling Time Smartwatches have
Fan will trap allergens and dirt had their chances, did they
and send reports to your phone live up to it?
 PAGE
014 PROJECTS

104 Take Your Shed Off

THe grid
Install a solar panel to

H T
sup up your tool shed

106 Never see a Pop-up

Ad aGain
Set up ad-blocker to declutter
your web browser

108 BUILD A sandcastle

like A Pro
Top tools to perfect the art of

1OO
sand sculpting

110 THe Simple Way to

Change a Tyre
Tips and tech to get you back
on the road in no time

112 Boost Your Wi-Fi Signal

Combine your Wi-Fi and
phone signal for faster internet

SUPERCHARGE
YOUR SUMMER
TRY 5
ISSUES
FOR £5
Never miss an issue with our special
subscription offer on page 102

What ever
114 happened to…
PalmPilot

PAGE
084
KICKASS KICKSTARTERS • NEAR FUTURE TECH
LATEST LAUNCHES

GOOGLE’S
HOME
Elegant design
There’s only one button on Google
Home, which switches it on and
off. Everything else is controlled
INVASION
ETA WINTER ’16
via voice, which means the device
itself has a simple and clean design

Smart home hub

Google Home will be able to
control your lights, start the oven,
play your music and more – if
Google can get the deals signed
with third-party services, that is

Assistant inside “You have

Google unveiled Assistant at the Gmail”
same time as Home – the Of course, the
powerful software will help with device is going to
responding to your queries and work with other
pulling info from the web Google services,
so expect seamless
integration with Gmail,
Integrated YouTube, Google
microphone Calendar and so on
According to Google, a decade
of voice recognition and natural
language processing has gone into
Home, so it should pick up your
words flawlessly

Customisable case Single speaker Compact size

Google says you’ll be able to customise A single speaker isn’t ideal for pumping Google Home is small enough to hold
the base of the Home device when it out your tunes, but nevertheless Google comfortably in one hand and runs off
goes on sale: a choice of materials and says it’s going to be more than adequate mains power. The idea is that Google fans
colours will be on offer as a music system will have one installed in each room
 Google Home
007
Google is jumping out of your phone (and
your computer) into a new device designed
to sit in your living room. You can talk to
this device and ask it questions – and if you
think that sounds a lot like Amazon’s Echo,
LEDs on the top of Google you’re absolutely right. Google boss Sundar
Home dance around to let
Pichai even gave Amazon a shoutout while
you know its working
launching the new hardware.
It’s called Google Home, and it brings
all of Google’s smarts into a chunky, web-
connected, speaker-and-microphone combo.
You can play songs, activate smart home

GOOGLE: CAN devices, get answers to queries and tap into

everything that Google knows about you
WE ASSIST YOU? and the world, all controlled through spoken
voice commands.
Just like Amazon Echo has Alexa, Home will have Google
Assistant. More than just an etheral voice, Assistant is the A lot of Google Home’s functionality is
next stage of Google, drawing on the search giant’s vast going to rely on partnerships with other
databases to be even more personal than Google Now. It will
hardware and software companies (to control
also follow you around across platforms and devices, from
Google Home to the new Allo messaging app. your home’s smart lights for example), which
Allo is launching on iPhone and Android later this may be one of the reasons why it hasn’t yet
summer. It handles a lot of what Google already does, launched. One of the impressive things about
from booking movie tickets to finding travel directions, the Echo is how quickly Amazon has added
but it’s going to do it all more intelligently and with a more
conversational, ‘human’ interface than ever before. to its capabilities, even if it hasn’t yet gone on
sale outside of the US.
It’s also a hint of a post-smartphone
future: speaking out loud to devices that are
all around us rather than jabbing at a small
screen. Behind the scenes it’s going to be
powered by the newly-launched Google
Assistant, which is essentially Google Now but
with some extra chattiness and ease-of-use
improvements on top.
Sundar Pachai avoided telling us when,
exactly, we’d be able to get our hands on
Home only saying it would be out “later this
year”. No price has been announced.

Inside its oversized air freshener case, Google

Home is essentially a microphone and speaker
 KNOCKI TURNS
SURFACES
INTO A Wi-Fi enabled
The Knocki team says it chose Wi-Fi for the
device’s wireless capabilities because of its

TOUCHSCREEN
greater reliability and greater range when
compared with Bluetooth technology

ETA DEC ’16

In its maker’s own words, Knocki can “make your kitchen table to lower the temperature: get some custom-made 3M tape included) or
any surface smart.” It’s a central controller Knocki says its capable of controlling placed on a table or other surface.
for the growing proliferation of smart home everything from televisions to smart blinds. There’s no doubting the impressiveness
devices out there, and it wants to make You can even configure smart alarms to alert of the demo that Knocki has put together
interacting with them simpler and more you when someone leaves or arrives home. – we are hoping that it matches the reality
intuitive. And it does it by making your walls, The puck-shaped device hooks up to your when the device ships at the end of 2016.
tables and other surfaces touch-sensitive. home’s internal Wi-Fi and can be configured Knocki’s developer, Knocki, raised more
Imagine tapping twice on the wall to turn using its companion app for Android and iOS. than ten times its goal on Kickstarter, so it’s
your lights on, or dragging your finger across It can be screwed or stuck to the wall (you obviously going to be in demand.

Simple operation
The beauty of knocking on surfaces is
that you don’t have to look at displays
or find buttons, and you can even
control your gadgets in the dark
Put it anywhere
You can stick Knocki to any kind of hard
surface around the home – it uses an
accelerometer to detect knock patterns
and the vibrations they cause

Simple setup
Once you’ve picked a place for your
Knocki, you run the Android or iOS app
to decide what types of knock activate
which types of actions in your other

Third-party integrations
Knocki relies heavily on third-party
integrations: WeMo, Nest, Spotify,
Facebook, Philips Hue, Samsung
SmartThings, IFTTT and others are already

Gently does it
Knocki can respond to gentle taps or a
series of knocks, and is tuned to ignore
random vibrations that are naturally
caused by the environment around it
 Sneakairs
009
ENJOY THE JOURNEY SNEAKAIR
GUIDED TOUR
WITH EASYJET’S
SMART SHOES
ETA TBC
If you want a demonstration of how smart your nose stuck in a map, whether a paper
clothing can actually be useful as well one or one on your smartphone – in fact,

01 Connect the app

as innovative, look no further than the you need never look like a tourist again as
Sneakairs. Developed by budget airline you walk around from landmark to landmark. The first step is to connect
EasyJet for what it’s calling “The Barcelona Each shoe uses a miniaturised Arduino-type the app to the Sneakairs themselves.
Street Project”. The smart sneakers in device, a Bluetooth chip and a vibration The app is based on Google Maps and
its integrated turn-by-turn direction
question hook up to your phone and give motor similar to the one packed into most feature for navigation.
you directions around the city with subtle modern smartphones.
vibrations underneath your feet telling you The Sneakairs aren’t the first set of smart
where to go. footwear to use buzzes to help people
The obvious benefit of the trainers is you navigate naturally, but previous efforts have
can tour around a location without having only reached the prototype stage – which

Bluetooth Vibration motor Sneakairs smarts

connectivity The vibration motor is The Sneakairs use a custom-
Bluetooth Low Energy (LE) is used designed to spread the made circuit board similar to

02 One vibration: turn

to connect up the Sneakairs with buzzing out across the soles an Arduino, with one of these
your smartphone, so once you’ve of your feet, letting you know smart panels fitted inside each
set your destination, directions can when you need to take a turn shoe (bright orange EasyJet While wandering around the
be sent to the shoes or retrace your steps branding optional) city of your choice you get a single
buzz in your left or right shoe to tell
you which turn to take, based on your
phone’s current GPS information.

GPS signals
The accompanying app
calculates a route and then
uses the GPS capabilities
of your phone to work out
exactly where you are and
where you need to go next

03 Two vibrations:
go back
Missed your turning because you’re so
distracted by the surrounding beauty?
Two vibrations in both shoes mean
you need to retrace your steps.

04 Three vibrations:
destination reached
Assuming your phone’s GPS is
working, you’ll get three vibrations
in both Sneakairs when you’ve finally
reached your destination.
TRNTBL REINVENTS
THE RECORD PLAYER
ETA SUMMER ’16
Trntbl jumps on the recent vinyl resurgence As the device recognises what you’re playing,
bandwagon but the device also adds some Shazam-style, you can pick up where you left off
distinctly modern touches to the classic record on Spotify, or maybe encourage your friends to
player. It allows you to stream your music listen along even if they don’t have a slick, stylish
to compatible speakers (like Sonos) and the Trntbl of their own. Two colours are available,
integrated ‘scrobbling’ function identifies what LPs ‘creme’ and black, and you can preorder one now
you’re listening to and builds up matching Spotify for about $350 (£245) – after it launches later this
playlists for you. summer, that jumps up to $420 (roughly £290).
Bluetooth and AirPlay support is on the way, Whether you’re already a vinyl fanatic or if
the makers of Trntbl claim, so it’s going to appeal you’re thinking about becoming one ( you won’t
to those with one foot in the digital music camp be alone – vinyl sales jumped 30 percent in 2015),
and the other in the traditional days of physical Trntbl is worth a long contemplation – especially
vinyl records. The turntable has been developed if you already have AirPlay or Sonos kit set up
by the VNYL subscription service, like Netflix for in your home. You don’t have to sign up for the
LPs: you pay $39 (about £25) a month for any VNYL service as well, though that is an option if
three new albums. your local record store closed down years ago.
 Trntbl
011
Wireless audio
There are no physical ports on the
Trntbl forearm
The gold-coloured, s-shaped
Trntbl switches
The two buttons on the unit HIGH-TECH
Trntbl – everything is streamed
wirelessly, via Wi-Fi, Bluetooth or
AirPlay, at a quality up to 1,411 Mbps as
tonearm ends in either an AT95E
or OM5e cartridge, and it’s here
that the Trntbl hides its clever
are used to power it on and
off and to switch between the
two available playback speeds:
TURNTABLES
uncompressed 16-bit/44.1 khz audio song recognition tech as well namely 33 1/3 and 45 RPM

Sony PS-HX500 Turntable With

High-Resolution Audio
The big party trick the PS-HX500 has is the ability to
rip vinyl records to high-resolution digital audio, via
a cable attached to your laptop.
£450 | $600 | sony.com

Trntbl plinth Trntbl player Audio quality

The turntable plinth, available The belt-driven platter for There’s a built-in DAC and,
in ‘creme’ (or white) and black, holding your records is made according to VNYL, the the
is made from MDF, aluminium from acrylic. Playback is cued- Trntbl can generate audio
and plastic, and comes with up manually though there is that’s significantly better Panasonic Technics SL-1200
feet that are designed to integrated support for auto- than MP3s and very close to The audio veteran has revived a classic turntable for
dampen vibrations return when the music finishes being CD-quality the modern era with the Technics SL-1200 player,
adding state-of-the-art components to a legendary
and iconic design. Pricing is yet to be confirmed.
TBC | TBC | panasonic.com

Gramovox Floating Record

Your LPs are held vertically in this kickstarted
device – now on sale – and there are two powerful
stereo speakers integrated into the design, so there
are no extras necessary.
£275 | $400 | gramovox.com

WHAT’S THAT SONG? Teac TN-570

The makers of Trntbl haven’t revealed too much about the technology the device uses to recognise One of the most well-specced and high-quality
tunes, only that it’s detected directly from the needle and is Shazam-like in its operation. While you turntables money can buy, and it also comes with
may well know what you’re listening to, the feature lets you build up Spotify playlists of your LPs and a USB digital audio output for ripping your music to
also enables your friends and followers to listen along via a ‘Tune In’ feature. It’s the beauty of vinyl your computer.
records with some add-ons from the modern era included. £760 | $1,100 | teac.com
04 06

KICKSTARTER

10
3D PRINTING
MUST-HAVES

01

05

10 08 03
 Kickstarter 10
013
01 OLO As the first 3D printer for smartphones, this
portable, battery-powered device uses the white
light of the screen to harden what it calls ‘Daylight
Resins’. It’s ideal for small-form projects.
£55 | $80 | olo3d.net

02 TrinusMade entirely from aluminium and steel,

this robust 3D printer should last for years. Able to
produce quality print at speeds of 70mm a second,
you can also use it for laser engraving.
£210 | $300 | trinus3d.com

03 Retouch3D
Not all 3D printing projects go perfectly well
– trust us, we’ve had our share of mishaps. But if
your object needs a little bit of retouching, then you
can use this device to heat any imperfections out.
£105 | $150 | retouch3d.com

02 04 Slash Designed to work as quickly and precisely

as a large, industrial machine, this home 3D printer
uses cutting-edge LCD technology and comes with
07 its own online software.
£900 | $1,300 | uniz3d.com

05 CowTech Ciclop
This 3D-printed 3D scanner will cast its
lasers over an object to produce a mesh of points
that can be used to produce a printed replica. It’s a
fully open-source project.
£80 | $120 | cowtechengineering.com

06 NEA 3D While you may need a small loan for

the top-end iteration of the machine, these
powerhouses have been built to last. They use
Fused Filament Fabrication technology to print the
plastic layer by layer at 150mm a second.
£1,660 | $2,400 | nea3d.com

07 eroa3D
Fit your iOS or Android device to this 3D
scanner and download the free app and within five
minutes, you’ll have an eight-million-point scan of
an object that can be exported and printed.
£200 | $290 | eora3d.com

08 Skriware 3D Printer
Skriware combines a WiFi-connected 3D
printer with an online platform packed with 3D
models. As well as a 6x6x5-inch print area, it has a
touchscreen and single-click printing.
£555 | $800 | skriware.com

09 3Dsimo mini
The Swiss Army knife of 3D printing, this
combines a solder, burner and cutter with a 3D
printing pen which not only expands your creative
possibilities, but lets you carry out repairs too.
£96 | $140 | 3dsimo.com

10 TIKO Able to print as fine as 50 microns, TIKO

is a gorgeous machine which fully encloses your
creations and keeps all the hot stuff out of reach.
09 Browser-based software completes the package.
£125 | $180 | tiko3d.com
014 H T 1OO

H T 1OO
OO
CUTTING-EDGE COMPANIES, TRAILBLAZING TECH
AND THE MOST AMAZING GEAR OF THE YEAR
 Thermal imaging
015
THERMAL IMAGING 100
IT’S SO HOT RIGHT NOW
Both the military and big businesses have
used thermal imaging for years, but soon £6,000 | $8,510
dji.com
we’ll all be feeling the heat. You might
think wanting to see a thermal signature DJI Zenmuse XT
sounds a bit of a niche interest, but so was
GPS before it tumbled in price. Now it’s
in our cars, smartphones, cameras and so
many other devices. Thermography, as it’s
more properly known, is on the brink of doing
the same thing as sensors have dropped in
price from $3,000 (£2,080) to around $300
per chip. The number of gadgets equipped
with heat-seeking sensors is now expected
to grow from about 500,000 to three million
units in the coming years.
In the here and now, low-cost
thermography tech is being marketed towards
emergency services and professional plumbers £510 | $600
and electricians, but there’s no reason you catphones.com
can’t add a thermal imaging camera to your £200 | $250
CAT S60
toolbox. As well as spotting overheating thermal.com
electricals, leaks and checking your home Seek Thermal
insulation, it’s also a fun way to spot animals Compact
when camping in the woods overnight.

97 96 96

99 98
THE SUPER- TURN YOUR SOFA GET CUSTOM- A REAL LIFE
SUBTLE HEALTH INTO A BUCKING MADE, 3D-KNIT HOVERBOARD…
TRACKER BRONCO SHOES NO, REALLY
The ‘smart ring’ is a wearable You can forget about 3D TVs, Don’t you hate it when you buy Don’t worry Gadget readers, this
idea that has been bounded the next big thing in home a nifty pair of shoes to find out is not one of those exploding
around a few times. Apple entertainment is the ‘4D’ sofa. that someone in the office has two-wheeled scooters or some
patented its own idea for a ring Immersit is, essentially, a series bought the exact same pair as bizarre media stunt done with
device with a built-in touchpad of pads that will work with any you? Well, forget about that magnets – the Arca Board is an
last year, while Visa will be giving existing chair or settee (you now. You can now get loafers honest-to-goodness hoverboard
Olympians a prototype payment can even use it with your bed, woven to your specific design by – it’s actually like the ones you
ring to test in Rio – however, if that’s your kind of thing) automated knitting machines for have seen in Marty McFly use in
the health-tracking Oura Ring and pump them up in down in about the same price. JS Shoes Back To The Future. Built by an
might be a better fit for athletes. sync with the action on your are 3D printed, so they can be aerospace company and powered
Available to buy now, the Oura screen, whether it’s a movie customised online before you by 36 fans, it can hover up to a
Ring pairs with your smartphone or videogame. So next time enter your payment details and foot in the air. Unfortunately, it
and tracks stats such as your you’re watching The Fast And the end result is ultra light as the costs just short of $15,000, so it
heart-rate, body temperature, The Furious, make sure you’re machines make them in one go – is only going to be enjoyed by the
sleep patterns and more. hanging on to your seat! there aren’t even any stitches. super rich elite.
Oura Ring Immersit JS Shoe Arcaboard
£260 | $370 £160 | $230 £60 | $90 arcaspace.com
ouraring.com immersit.com jsshoe.com £10,500 | $14,900
016 H T 1OO

95 94 93
TOMTOM IS CAST THE MOST
TAKING ON NETFLIX ACCURATE
GOPRO ANYWHERE TEMPERATURE TBA
There’s a lot of action Cast is a new way There’s nothing new
92
Lenovo.com
cameras vying for to share what you’re about a digital
watching. Made of a set- Lenovo CPlus
attention out there, thermometer. But the
but one of the most top box – or ‘community Withings Thermos is
innovative devices is the viewing hub’ – and a different: it contains
TomTom Bandit. It’s the companion app, anything
you watch through
16 infrared sensors
that take about 4,000
FLEXIBLE PHONES
only one that removes
the pain of editing with the hub can be viewed
remotely through the
measurements every IT’S TIME FOR THE
its ‘shake to edit’ feature.
The company also app. You can then chat
about what your watching
few seconds to give you
an accurate reading. It ULTIMATE BEND TEST
continues to update the couldn’t be easier to use, Samsung’s first foldable phone is “right around the corner”
Bandit: a recent update through the app, with you don’t even have to according to Gregory Lee, CEO of Samsung in America. Rumours
means it now adjusts your friends’ comments stick it inside your body: last year suggested the flexi-phone, codenamed Project Valley,
colour balance when appearing on your screen. just hold the green tip would arrive in 2016, but its looking likely it will appear in 2017
underwater. Cast: Community against your forehead. as an alternative to the Galaxy S8 – similar to how Samsung
TomTom Bandit Viewing Hub Withings Thermo currently has the Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge. Samsung isn’t the only
£240 | $400 TBA £80 | $100 manufacturer working on bendable devices, though. Lenovo has
castbygenii.com withings.com shown off a prototype phone that wraps around your wrist like a
tomtom.com
smartwatch and LG have been toying with similar tech for years.

88

90 89
ANSWER THE NEVER RUN RULE THE
FRONT DOOR OUT OF FISHING
TBA ANYWHERE STORAGE SCENE
Next time someone rings The Nextbit Robin is a Every fisherman
91
comma.ai
your doorbell, you’ll know revolutionary smartphone famously has a tall tale
Comma.ai about ‘The One That Got
who they are instantly. that solves one of life’s
The Ring Video Doorbell biggest problems: a lack Away’, but that might
sends a live feed to your of storage. Combining be able to change. The
COMMA.AI phone, even if you’re 32GB of onboard memory Deeper Smart Fishfinder
uses sonar to detect
THE TESLA KILLER? not home. Though the
doorbell can’t unlock
the door, it does have a
with a 100GB in the cloud,
the Robin backs up all
your apps and photos to
fish depth and location
info, reporting it back to
Do you like the idea of a self-driving car, but you think Tesla’s
offerings are out of your price range? Then Comma.ai might speaker and microphone an external server and your phone or tablet via
be for you. This start up is developing an autonomous driving so you can talk to the deletes them off your Bluetooth. The Fishfinder
kit that you fit to your existing motor, and it only costs $1,000 person at your door. It phone if you haven’t used works with any rod and
(around £700). YouTube videos of prototypes ‘ghost riding’ also has motion detection them in a while, and they switches on as soon as it
in busy traffic proves the tech works (most of the time), but and night vision. can be instantly restored hits the water.
the cars look more like Doc Brown’s ragtag time-travelling Ring Video in seconds. Deeper Smart
DeLorean than Tesla’s sleek and futuristic Model S. However, Doorbell Nextbit Robin Fishfinder
Comma.ai has only been around for 11 months and has grand £140 | $200 £275 | $400 £160 | $200
plans, including gathering a billion miles of data by 2018, so it’s ring.com nextbit.com buydeeper.com
certainly a manufacturer to watch.
 Project Ara
017
PROJECT ARA BRINGING 87
NEW MEANING TO
‘UPGRADING’ YOUR PHONE
The smartphone is arguably the ultimate
gadget: we all have one and we all use it Core components
in dozens of different ways every day. But Ara was supposed to modular right down
whether it’s surfing the web, taking photos, to a swappable screen and replaceable
tracking our fitness or, you know, actually RAM, but the latest prototype appears to
making a phone call, our phones are not really have gone back on this
the best at what they do.
For instance, for a really great photo you’re
better off with a dedicated camera. For
accurate work out readings, there are more
on-point fitness bands. But what if you could
customise your phone for a specific purpose,
upping the quality of the camera when you’re
about to go on holiday or adding extra health-
tracking sensors when you’re off to the gym?
This is the aim of Project Ara. TBA
One of Google’s so-called ‘moonshot’ projectara.com
projects, the aim is to produce a modular
phone that you can physically upgrade by
Project Ara
mixing and matching sensors as and when you
need to do so.
Originally announced back in 2014, Google
has been beaten to the finish line by the LG G5
this year, which also has modular components.
However, Project Ara’s customisation is
much wider in its scope. Google has recently
confirmed that the first Project Ara phone will Plug and play
You don’t need to waste time fiddling with
arrive next year, with a developer kit arriving
downloads for modules, you just to slot
to third parties this autumn. If its successful,
them in and they will work thanks to new
this could be the biggest thing to happen to Greybus software built into Ara’s OS
phones since apps came along.

New kids on the block

01Samsung
Modular TV 02 Acer Revo
Build PC
In January, Samsung Intended to be simpler
03 AiAiAi TMA-2
headphones 04 Blocks
smartwatch
Danish audio company
05Fairphone 2
Coming this September,
The phone with
a conscious, this modular
showed off a working to upgrade than a AiAiAi allows you to Blocks is doing for smartphone emphasises
concept that is made up of conventional PC, you customise your headphones smartwatches what Ara is how its upgradable parts
screens that can be used simply stack magnetic before you buy them and doing for phones. Mix-and- make it more sustainable
separately or seamlessly blocks onto Acer’s Revo replace any parts when they match modules, including and therefore eco-friendly.
combined into a massive Build to boost your wear out. With 18 modules a heart-rate monitor, a Fairphone also ensures
170-inch screen. Ideal for a graphics card or add extra to choose from, they offer battery, payment sensor, by all components are also
movie night! terabytes of memory. 360 different combinations. swapping out watch links. ethically sourced.
TBA £200 | $180 £115 | $165 £230 | $330 £415 | $600
youtu.be/id-DvZjBSBI acer.com aiaiai.dk chooseblocks.com fairphone.com
018 H T 1OO
TANGO GOOGLE’S AR
TECH IS NOW A REALITY
No, we don’t mean the ballroom dance or fizzy Quad HD Display
orange drink, but Google’s augmented reality £350 | $500 The device has a 6.4-inch screen
platform. Three years in development, the first projectara.com with pin-sharp quad HD
resolution that adjusts for
Tango-enabled phone will be available to buy Lenovo lighting conditions so you
this September. Phab 2 Pro can appreciate the
If you’re not sure what ‘augmented reality’ AR graphics
is, Tango has the same premise as Microsoft’s
HoloLens: it intelligently overlays graphics
onto real-world views using depth-sensing
and motion-tracking cameras. At the launch
of the Lenovo Phab 2 Pro, Tango was used to
measure furniture and play a game of dominos,
where the virtual pieces sat on a real desk.
In the future, Google hopes that Tango’s
3D-mapping will help you navigate on-screen
directions. More than a novelty, this could
make a huge difference for the visually
impaired. NASA has also been testing Tango on
the International Space Station to see if it can
incorporate it into robots.
Lenovo also plans to incorporate Tango into Complex camera array
more devices, possibly including headsets.

86
As well as a 16-megapixel shooter, the Phab 2
But we’re not quite there yet, the demos at Pro has a wide-angle camera and depth-
the Lenovo launch repeatedly failed to work, sensing unit as part of its Tango tech, which
suggesting there’s a few bugs still to work out. captures 250,000 measurements a second

ARROW SMART KART LIKE

REAL-LIFE MARIO KART
It’s not just cars that are getting smarter –
go-karts are too. The electric Arrow Smart Kart Customisable kit Electric motors
from Actev Motors has built-in Wi-Fi so you As well as adding a Formula 1-style The Arrow is powered by
bodywork to your kart, you can also buy two 250W motors and
can control its settings with an app, use GPS
drift rings that reduce friction so you can also includes electronic
to track its location and proximity sensors to
perform donuts and bigger battery packs regenerative braking to help
automatically avoid crashes. The long-term keep the kart fully charged
goal is to use all this connectivity to gamify the
karting experience, so you can play something
like real-life Mario Kart.
If you can’t wait to start throwing shells at
your friends while racing, note that the Arrow
is aimed at pre-teens. Actev Motors is betting
that parents will be won over by the smart
features, which includes being able to lower
the kart’s maximum speed and setting a virtual
boundary that if kids cross, the engines will
automatically cut out.
If this sounds like a novelty product that £810 | $1,150
won’t amount to much, think again. Actev actevmotors.com
Motors is backed by Silicon Valley power player
Tony Fadell, who previously worked on the
iPod and cofounded smart thermostat maker
85 Arrow
Smart Kart
Nest before selling it to Google.
 tag heuer
connected
019

£1,110 | $1,500
tagheuerconnected.com

84 Tag Heuer
Connected 83
TAG HEUER CONNECTED USB TYPE-C SUPER-FAST
THE SMARTEST WATCH FILE TRANSFER
When the Apple Watch was first from your phone and tracks your While a cable might seem a bit amounts of data and power very
announced, it was suggested that health. In short, it’s the best-looking niche, this accessory has been quickly. It’s also interchangeable:
traditional watchmakers should be Android watch, but it costs more one of the biggest tech stories of you only have to use the one cable
worried. Instead the 156-year-old than £500 more than other models. the year. When Apple launched to charge your phone, connect to
Alpine brand TAG Heuer partnered It’s a surprise, then, that the new MacBook last year it only your HDMI screen and back-up
up with Google to make the best of Connected is in demand. TAG Heuer included one port, one for a USB your files to an external drive. Its
both worlds. The Connected is finely had to up production from 1,500 Type-C. Google and other tech not all good news, cheap cables
crafted out of titanium, with IP67 watches a week to 2,000 and it has giants have also got behind the have been known to draw too
water resistance and a rubber strap, confirmed it is developing a wider cable because it can deliver huge much power and fry devices.
but it also displays notifications range of watches for 2017.

82 81
TH
KIN E
HE GS
AD

NO CLUMSY 16 SENSORS
CABLES WITHTHIS ARE BETTER HEA
D

VR BACKPACK THAN ONE THE

KIN
GS
Drinks

Martini
Food

Sausage
& Mash
Pies
Chips

Both the Oculus Rift and HTC DSLR, it’s time to move over:
Margharita
Ale
Gin

Vive VR headsets have to be

tethered directly to your PC by
there is a new type camera on
the block that’s going to win 80
a thick cable that has a notable over pro photographers. The
habit of getting under your Light L16 is as compact and
feet and making you stumble
around. HP’s solution to this
portable as a smartphone,
but it’s covered in 16 different 5G IT’LL BE HERE SOONER
trip hazard is the VR backpack,
which is essentially a laptop
sensors with varying focal
lengths. Every picture you take THAN YOU EXPECT
with straps and a belt containing stitches together photos from While many of us find ourselves year, and Ofcom says it’s likely the
batteries. HP has only shown ten of these sensors, which waving our phones in the air just standard outside of the lab will
off a working prototype so far, Light’s creator claims reduces trying to get signal let alone 4G, be 10 to 50 gigabytes per second.
but MSI and Zotac already have low-light noise and increases the next generation of connectivity This is much faster than 4G, which
similar devices on sale. dynamic range, making for is already in the works. offers 15 megabytes per second.
HP Omen X VR some truly superior results. Researchers at the University 5G connectivity is expected to roll
Backpack PC Light L16 Of Surrey’s 5G Innovation Centre out across the UK in 2020, but
£1,100 | $1,700
achieved staggering speeds of one public tests could begin as early
TBA
terabyte per second earlier this as next year.
hp.com light.co
020 H T 1OO
SMART IN-CAR INFOTAINMENT
MAKING A DASH FOR
YOUR ATTENTION 79
If there’s one thing that has driven us mad
over the years, it’s being stuck in the slow lane
when it comes to in-car gizmos. The industry
isn’t as bad today, but it took a long time for it
to replace cassettes with CDs, CDs with digital
and FM with DAB. Thankfully, things may have
taken a turn for the better with the in-car
infotainment systems by Apple and Android.
It’s a two horse race with Apple Car Play and
Android Auto both making a promising start
and are upgradable. Car Play replicates the iOS
experience, to some degree, displaying eight
of its icons per page and allowing you to prod
them to call up voice-guided maps, Apple
Music, Spotify, Audible, Tune In and Siri. You can
also make calls and dictate messages.
Auto is similar, although its maps contain Wireless support OK Google
traffic information and you can make calls via Up to now, Auto needed you No need to mess about with the
Skype. Android’s system also hooks into Google to have your phone plugged in screen – Android Auto is getting
Now which lets it predict your movements but Google announced that it is support for OK Google which will
based on the information that it gathers. introducing wireless connections work through your phone

75

78 77 76
DON’T LET THAT THE CAMERA FORGET GUARD ENCAPSULATING
STRAY SOCK GO THAT YOU DOGS, USE A DAILY LIFE IN 140
UNWASHED THROW CANARY CAM CHARACTERS
With this innovative clean We may live in a throwaway Eagles are supposed to have Remember the dark days
machine claiming to your other society but when you toss this the best vision of all the birds, before Twitter when you had to,
half or mother that you were ball-shaped snapper, you’ll but you can make do with this like, talk to people? Yeah, we
unable to clean your favourite definitely want it back. It’s fitted amazing Canary instead. This thought not. It’s hard to believe
T-shirt because the laundry with 36 individual cameras that security camera keeps a watch that the social media giant is
was mid-cycle just won’t wash simultaneously take a picture out for burglars. If they do end ten years old this year, and it
anymore. The Samsung Add after you throw it into the air, up raiding your home, the Canary has flown into 332 million lives
Wash has an extra opening in the the resulting image comes in will be recording high-definition to such an extent that many of
upper part of the main door so at a whopping 108 megapixels. video, so it’ll catch the cads us rely on it for breaking news,
that you can chuck in any missed The 36 individual images are in action before piercing their cutting opinion, ridiculous tech
pieces of clothing, and you can stitched together into shareable ears with a 90-decibel siren and rumours and a good old giggle.
even add in some more detergent panoramic shots that sync to sending an alert to your mobile. The 140-character shackles are
without fear the water is going your iOS or Android phone. It even monitors air quality, coming off, Twitter Q&As and
to spill out and drown you in a There’s an anti-theft mode too, in temperature and humidity. polls are hot and even GCHQ is
swamp of boiling-hot suds. case someone tries to nick it. Canary security tuning in.
Samsung Add Wash Panono camera Twitter
£500 | $1,100 £1,150 | $1,650 $160 | $200 Free
samsung.com panono.com canary.is twitter.com
 Oneplus 3
021

74 73 72
MAKE YOUR THE NEXT CREATE A
GOLF SWING RASPBERRY NETWORK
EASY AS 123 PI? OF MUSIC £210 | $300
Michael Jackson made It may be 52mm x When Yamaha decided
71
oneplus.net
a white glove famous 42mm but the Micro Bit to create a network of
but he didn’t have the controller proves size products that could work
One Plus 3
foresight to turn it into a isn’t everything. Packing together wirelessly,
sports training wearable. a 32-bit ARM Cortex MO it was music to an
But then the Zepp Golf 2 microprocessor running
at 16MHz with 16KB of
audiophile’s ears. Music
Cast can network more
ONEPLUS 3 A CHINESE
sensor wasn’t around
back then. Fixed to the RAM, it’s designed to
be part of the Internet
than 30 of its products SMARTPHONE WITH
back of your glove, the
gadget syncs with an Of Things. But key is its
ability to be programmed,
and allow them to be
combined and controlled FEW EQUALS
app and measures your via an iOS or Android app. You could count on one hand the number of people you know
swing, speed and hip with the Beeb giving a It means you can stream who own a OnePlus 2 phone given that it was unveiled on an
rotation in the hope of million of them to kids in the same tune in multiple invite-only basis. But although the handsets are now on sale, the
improving your game. order to help familiarise rooms and enjoy high- start-up behind them has already moved on to the next model.
The verdict? It ain’t bad. them with tech. quality sound formats. The 5.5-inch 1080p HD-screened One Plus 3 comes with a
Zepp Golf 2 Micro Bit Music Cast Snapdragon 830 processor, a 16MP rear camera, up to 6GB of
£30 | $150 £15 | $20 Free RAM and 64GB storage. As before, it doesn’t skimp on features,
microbit.co.uk such as a fingerprint reader, yet it continues to ship at prices that
zepp.com yamaha.com
undercut the top cells by half and come carrier-unlocked.

67

69 68
THE ROBOT SHOOT YOUR E INK MAKES
THAT CUTS WAY TO READING
YOUR LAWN HEALTHINESS BETTER
This robotic mower will Sales of the Nutri Bullet Although bookworms
70 make your neighbours
green with envy. Easily
soared over the past
couple of years due to its
still prefer hard copies,
the introduction of E Ink
adjustable to 15 levels, promise of healthy living screens, which work by
the iMow robot is able and it’s become a staple applying an electric field
3D PRINTING WHY IT’S to cut an average lawn ingredient of many a to particles, was pivotal
in moving people towards
THE HOT END OF TECH to between 20 and
60mm in two hours and
20 minutes using both
kitchen. Instead of juicing
or blending fruit, veg and
nuts, it ‘extracts’ them,
e-readers. The low-power
experience on offer by
With 3D printing having long shifted from the hobby market
to the mainstream, the maker tech scene has boomed. Today sensors under its hood which essentially means the likes of the Kindle
you can buy 3D printers relatively cheaply, so while the Maker to avoid any obstacles in it breaks down their cell not only made the screen
Bot Replicator 5 costs a couple of grand, you could head to its path and a perimeter walls to an absorbable easy on the eye, allowed
Kickstarter to see a raft of inexpensive alternatives ranging from wire to prevent it from state to release copious readers to engage with
the Mini Toy 3D printer for kids to the smart unibody Tiki device. wondering about outside body-enhancing vitamins the most absorbing page-
The future possibilities are wide open. Scientists are already of your garden. and minerals. turner without worrying
printing human cells, chefs are layerig delicious food and an iMow Nutri Bullet the battery would die
entire building was in Dubai was 3D printed over 17 days. You £1,000 | $N/A £70 | $60
before reaching the end.
can start by heading to thingiverse.com, though: the designs viking-imow.co.uk nutribullet.com E Ink screens
being shared by the 3D printing community are truly inspiring.
022 H T 1OO
66

£800 | $1,000 £1,050 | $1,300

beoplay.com apple.com

Beoplay A6 65 MacBook

BEOPLAY A6 MAKE YOUR MACBOOK TEN YEARS OF

MUSIC FEEL AT HOME APPLE’S PREMIER LAPTOP
The Beoplay A6’s stitched fabric tapping to mute and touching to Originally released in May 2006, i7 processor, 16GB of memory, a
exterior looks so good, it not only change tracks. the MacBook has virtually force touch trackpad, 512GB flash
fits seamlessly into any living space, With a couple of 60-watt woofers, disappeared before our very storage and a eyeball-splitting
you’ll want to stroke it day after two 30-watt tweeters and a 60-watt eyes thanks to the release of 15-inch Retina display.
day. But, luckily, this is exactly what full range driver, you’ll want it up ever lighter, thinner models. Yet While there are cheaper Apple
B&O intends you to do. While there loud, though. The A6 will play any at the same time, the laptops alternatives each is connected
is an accompanying app, to turn major file format and stream over have been getting ever more by two things: an incredible build
the volume up and down on this Air Play, Bluetooth or DLNA. It’s powerful: the top-end MacBook quality and the refined and easy-
eye-wateringly expensive wireless also compatible with Spotify, filling Pro has a 2.5GHz quad Intel Core to-use operating system, OS X.
speaker you can swipe right or left, any room with your favourite tunes.

64 63 62 61
THE MOUSE SEND CYCLING IT’S THE THIS DRONE
WITH SWAPPABLE STATS TO YOUR COMPANY THAT IS ALSO YOUR
SENSORS PEEPERS MAKES BB-8 CAMERAMAN
Like a virtual lab mouse, this Designed for hardcore cyclists, You’re most likely to know There have been many firsts in
high-end PC gaming controller the lightweight Varia Vision Sphero from the insanely- flight technology, especially with
from Mad Catz invites user from Garmin provides you with popular BB-8 drone which drones in recent years, but the
experimentation, allowing players a high-tech HUD simply by rolled off the shelves just before innovation that has excited us the
to swap out its sensors, adjust attaching it to your sunglasses. Christmas – just in time for most has been the Solo 3DR’s
the click force of the wheel and It displays performance data and The Force Awakens. But the ability to directly tap into a GoPro
make use of analog control navigation prompts in your line original spherical robot toy from 12MP camera’s settings while
movement. Optimised to work of sight. Helping to keep your 2010 – also called Sphero – is it’s up in the air, allowing for
with Windows 10 and coming focussed as you ride along, it what drove the revolution. Fully stunning, on-the-fly shots. Best
with built-in memory, it’s also works with a compatible mobile programmable and controlled of all, it can stream recordable
surprisingly comfortable with a device and it can also be hooked via a smartphone or tablet, it’s 720 HD images straight to a
variety of positions for your palm up with the Varia Rearview radar a tough polycarbonate cookie mobile. You can choose for its
and pinkies, and it comes with a system, so you’ll be fully aware which can roll at up to 4.5mph. computer to take control of the
phenomenal build quality. of vehicles that are approaching It has inspired a strong love of camera or flight, turning it into
Mad Catz RAT Pro X you from behind. robotics and coding in many. the ultimate wingman.
gaming mouse Garmin Varia Vision Sphero Solo 3DR drone
£170 | $180 £320 | $400 £100 | $130 £785 | $920
madcatz.com garmin.com sphero.com 3dr.com
 Smart home
023
THE SMART HOME 60
AND WE’RE NOT
TALKING DÉCOR HERE
Technology is taking over every room of your
house and we’re betting you’re more than
willing to open your door to it. You’ve probably
lay in bed dreaming about this moment for
years but the ironic thing is, your smart home
has the potential to be so advanced that it could
even gently help you back to sleep.
Although a survey of 2,006 UK households
by PwC found that 72 per cent are not
interested in buying any smart home
technologies, 81 per cent admitted
they could see the benefit of them. But
whatever the findings, there is clamour
from companies wanting to be involved –
such as the classic videogame giant, Atari.
To futureproof your home, you certainly
have to do some research. Nest is one of the
biggest ecosystems in the world right now
and alternatives, such as Hive, are proving
strong in the UK market, but we’ve seen
a fair few companies coming and going.
Let’s see what’s out there.

SOFA SO GOOD
When it’s time to chill, ask Amazon Echo’s Alexa
to dim the lights and play you some top tunes. Use
Nest to adjust the temperature without getting off
the sofa and put your feet up to watch some TV. If
you have Sky Q installed, you’ll be able to watch
record multiple programmes at once and view
your favourite shows on your tablet.

SKY’S THE LIMIT CONNECT SUPERCHARGE

If you’re worried about your plants, use some YOUR COOKING YOUR SLEEP
flower power from Parrot. It measures sunlight Kitchen cupboards have long been filled with Sleepless nights can be banished with smarthome
and temperature as well as soil moisture, sending discarded ‘time-saving’ tech. But with a Quooker tech. The Eight sensored mattress sleep tracker
alerts to your phone. During the dry summer, boiling water tap, you can get the pasta going analyses your snooze patterns and bedroom
you can get Blossom to sprinkle the garden without waiting for the kettle to finish, and with environment to help you nod off. To stir you again,
with water no matter where you are. Indeed, if the built-in temperature sensor of a Pantelligent Beddi is a cool clock with Spotify integration, a
you’re infatuated by the weather, you ought to get frying pan, you can cook to perfection. Make the wake-up light and app-controlled alarm. Once
yourself a Netatmo weather station with real time Samsung Hub Fridge a centre point and know awake, you can use an app to get the Nespresso
information about air quality and temperature too. what’s in your fridge by looking on your phone. Prodigio coffee maker to start your brew.
024 H T 1OO
59

£800 | $900
irobot.com

58 Roomba 980

ROOMBA 980 THE ROBOT

THAT CLEANS AFTER YOU
Taking us a step closer to the It’s possible to get the Roomba
Jetsons’ futuristic robot-led 980 to vacuum an entire level
lifestyle is the 980, Roomba’s of your home and it doesn’t
latest autonomous robotic vacuum particularly matter how large a
£230 | £300 cleaner. Set it down in a room floor space it has to cover. After
impossible-project.com and it’ll use its sensors to map a couple of hours, it’ll head off
its surroundings before scuttling to recharge and then resume its
Impossible around your floor sucking up all monotonous task, even getting
Project I-1 the dirt and dust it comes across. under the edges of rugs.

IMPOSSIBLE
PROJECT I-1
BRINGING
BACK
POLAROID
£45 | $40
nerf.hasbro.com
Nerf N-Strike
Modulus ECS-10 57
Adored by seaside photographers its own camera too. The I-1 is the
and partygoers for being able to first new ‘authentic’ instant cam to
spew out freshly-developed images be produced in two decades and NERF PACK SOME SERIOUS
within seconds, Polaroid cameras
reached their peak in the late
Seventies. They had been invented
replicates the feel of using a Polaroid.
But while it shoots on true
Polaroid-style film and has all of
FOAM FIREPOWER
We know there is a crazy amount have provided safe, but crazy, fun
by Polaroid’s cofounder Edwin Land the quirks of the original right down of Nerf blaster models to select for millions, allowing for battles
who unveiled the first model, the 95 to shaking the printout in the hope from, but when you’re looking to to take place just about anywhere,
Land Camera, in 1948 but the rise of getting it to develop faster, there pop some spongy cellular material even indoors and spawning lots
of digital led to Polaroid ceasing film are some modern twists. It now
at your friend in cold-blooded of different types of ammunition
production exactly 60 years later. works with a smartphone app that
At that time, the newly-founded lends manual controls and a remote foam warfare, you don’t really to mix things up a bit. Nerf wars
Impossible Project snapped up the shutter feature. But you can’t snap have much time to waste. are so popular that there are
machines used to make the film. It digital shots, and that’s where things Ever since the toy guns organised battles taking place in
then begun its own run of film and get a little expensive – the film costs emerged in the late Eighties, they all four corners of the globe.
this year, it has started to make £15/$20 for eight shots.
 Phillips hue
025
PHILIPS HUE SEE THINGS
IN A DIFFERENT LIGHT It was Thomas Edison who patented the first
commercially successful incandescent lightbulb
£60 | $80
in 1879 but it was more than 120 years later
meethue.com
before we began to see solid-state LEDs as a
Philips Hue viable alternative. Better than the ugly energy-
saving bulbs that were extremely slow to light,
LEDs are known for their long life, low power
consumption and instant brightness.
Philips Hue has taken LED technology further,
with a range of lights that can change colour,
be dimmed and, crucially, be scheduled via an
app. As well as working with the likes of Apple’s
Home Kit, Nest, Amazon Echo and Philips
Ambilux televisions, you can turn these lights on
an off manually no matter where you are and
you can create whatever ambience you wish.
But you’re not restricted to familiar-looking
bulbs. The range includes the portable Hue Go,
the flexible Hue Lightstrip Plus and the space-
age-like Hue Phoenix lamp. There are also some

56
sizeable for recessed ceiling spots. For all of
these, you’ll need a Hue ‘bridge’ that plugs into
your Wi-Fi (it can be bought on its own or part of
a starter kit) then, from that point on, you’ll see
bulbs in a whole new light.

STREAMING
WHO NEEDS PHYSICAL
MEDIA ANYWAY? 55
With more than enough broadband bandwidth
at our disposal these days, we can gobble up WHAT CAN YOU STREAM?
streaming media like a panda eats bamboo.
It has already changed the way we watch TV
and listen to music, not only leading to falling
audiences for traditional channels but even
causing a slump in digital song purchases.
The tide has turned to such a degree that
the BBC is considering it’s own Netflix rival and
there has even been speculation that Apple will
Music Television Movies Live Events
Spotify is still a music Despite the furore While it, like Netflix, YouTube carried the
close its music download business in as little as streaming giant with over region-locked has lots of TV shows Champions League
two years. That’s despite some artists including more than 75 million content, Netflix – The Grand Tour final and it is going
Taylor Swift, Prince and Radiohead having at customers and 20 still has more high- and Mr. Robot springs into live streaming
voiced anger at the small royalties on offer. million songs. Listen quality original to mind – Amazon in a big way. It even
But it’s not just TV and music. The trend to tunes on ad-free shows than its rivals Prime is just as strong has a continuous live
hasn’t escaped gaming. In the early days of streams via smart – notably House Of on movies from the Sky News feed and
game streaming – which allows high-end devices, computers Cards and Orange Is likes of Interstellar to launched a game
gaming to be fed to low-end devices – Gaikai and games consoles The New Black. Paddington. streaming service.
competed against OnLive. In the end, Sony Spotify Netflix Amazon Prime YouTube
snapped up the patents and launched PS Now. £10/$10 a month £6/$8 a month £6/$9 a month Free
026 H T 1OO
SONY RX100 IV SHOOT
SUPER SLOW-MO PHOTOS
You could easily make a snap judgement when Handy buttons Capture action images
viewing this camera. It’s a compact with no
touchscreen – what fresh hell is this? But slow
down a second. This is the latest, fourth version
54 The camera puts everything you need to
hand with a flash that pops out, slow motion
accessible through the mode dial and more
The 1/32000-second super-high-speed
anti-distortion shutter allows you to take
advantage of super-slow-motion shooting

of one of Sony’s top-of-the-range cameras,

and there are very few which can beat it.
At 20.1MP with a large one-inch sensor,
2.9x optical zoom and up to 40x super slow
motion, it’s up there with the most professional
cameras. It produces clear images and takes
up to five minutes of 4K video, benefiting from
immense processing power that also allows for Great lens
16fps burst shooting. You’ll get great images
The resulting images are of an incredibly thanks to the 20.1MP,
stacked 1.0 type CMOS
fine quality, bursting with vibrant, true-to-life
image sensor with DRAM
colours. The shots also benefit from lens-based chip and the Zeiss Vario-
image stabilisation that enables you to shoot in Sonnar T*24-70mm lens
the lowest of lights. with f1.8-2.9 aperture
Each picture can be backed up to Sony’s
Play Memories Online cloud – Sony’s answer
to Apple’s iCloud and Photo Stream. Even £850 | $950
better, you don’t even have to worry about the sony.com
battery – the RX100 IV’s battery is good for Sony RX100 IV
approximately 280 shots.

51

53 52
FOUR EARS GETTING A LIFT
ARE BETTER HAS NEVER BEEN
THAN TWO THIS EASY £540 | $650
While sounding like a gadget that The world ‘disrupt’ was pretty apple.com
the Dark Knight himself would much made for Uber given iPhone 6S
be proud to use, the Batband the way it’s driven many of its
is one of many headphones competitors off the road. What
that bypass your lugholes and started off as a luxury brand has
instead let you listen to music become ubiquitous with so many IPHONE 6S THE BEST
through the vibration of your jaw
and cheek bones. By sending
vibrations straight to your inner
of us hailing Uber drivers today –
the six-year-old company is now
worth a staggering $60bn. Using
IPHONE EVER MADE
If Apple wants to keep taking a bite out of the ever-growing Android market,
ear, it leaves your outer ear free an app on your phone to book, it has to make sure that its highest-end handset is at the cutting edge. Right
to listen to whatever is going on track and pay for a ride seems now – until the iPhone 7 is released – the 6S is as good as it gets. It’s good
around you, essentially letting simple enough and, despite news, then, that there’s plenty to text home about.
you hear twice as much as a furious backlash from rival Available in gold, silver, ‘Space Grey’ and ‘Rose Gold’, the 6S has a strong
normal, which is handy for when taxi services, Uber has become aluminium body, the fastest A9 chip, a 4.7-inch 326ppi screen (5.5-inch at
you cross the road. virtually unstoppable. 401ppi on the 6S Plus) and the benefits of ‘3D Touch’ – which lets you press
Batband Uber harder on the screen to bring up extra options and menus.
£130 | $200 Free It also beats the iPhone 6’s 8MP camera with a 12MP version that’s capable
studiobananathings.com uber.com of filming in 4K. But it is iOS and the quality of App Store which helps the 6S
shine the most – but can Apple rely on this for much longer?
 Dyson 360 Eye
027

50 TBA
dyson.co.uk

Dyson 360 Eye

DYSON DISCOVER
THE DIFFERENCE
When James Dyson was frustrated by the poor
£500 | $720
dyson.co.uk

Dyson V8
performance of his Hoover Junior, he designed
his own vacuum cleaner using the kind of
cyclonic suction system he’d seen working
in a sawmill. After countless prototypes, the
world’s first Dyson bagless vacuum cleaner was
launched in 1991. Since then, the company has
grown exponentially, branching out into other
electrical products such as fans and hand-
dryers, using the same innovative approach to
revolutionise its designs.
Most recently, Dyson launched the
Supersonic hair dryer, which measures air
temperature 20 times a second to prevent
extreme heat damage. With the motor housed
in the handle, a high-velocity air flow is £300 | $400
accelerated through its body to dry hair faster. dyson.co.uk
The Dyson Pure Cool Link monitors and
purifies the air, using an incredibly fine 0.9
Dyson Supersonic
micron glass HEPA filter to remove even the
tiniest particles, eliminating 99.95% of allergens.
It can also be remotely controlled via the Dyson
Link phone app.
Back in the realm of vacuum cleaners, the
V8 is the most powerful cordless model yet and
can transform into a handheld. Finally, due to
launch this summer, the 360 Eye is a powerful
robot cleaner that finally does the job properly,
equipped with a camera to find its way around.
028 H T 1OO

49 48 47
A WATCH WINDOWS THE SMART
WORTH WONDER STICKY
WEARING TABLET BUTTON £490 | $700
Unlike most Android While previous Surface A Bluetooth-enabled
46
avegant.com
Wear devices, Huawei’s Pro models have been button you can stick to
own smartwatch is billed as ‘the tablet than any surface, Flic can be
Avegant Glyph
targeting the high-end can replace your laptop’, programmed to trigger
consumer – its circular this could finally be the actions in wirelessly-
face gives it a classic one to actually live up to
that claim. Faster and
connected devices.
You can turn the lights
AVEGANT GLYPH
look. Naturally, it pairs
with an Android phone, thinner than the Pro 3, it
has Windows 10 as its OS
on or off, start music YOUR PERSONAL
but it’s also one of the
first Android Wear and can run all standard
PC applications. An
and alter the heating
thermostat, for instance. MOVIE THEATRE
watches to work with It works as with the IFTTT While it may look like a VR headset, the Avegant Glyph is instead
iOS. It’s an obvious rival optional cover keyboard service, too and, for billed as the world’s first personal cinema. Enabling you to watch
to the Apple Watch and makes it a true hybrid extra versatility, the Flic movies anywhere, it provides the illusion of a giant screen.
it offers a wide range of device, suitable for work has three triggers: click, Amazingly, however, there is no screen: instead, the Glyph uses
cases and strap options. and leisure. double-click and hold. a combination of advanced optics and microscopic mirrors to
Huawei Watch Surface Pro 4 Flic beam images directly into the user’s eyes. The fit is adjustable –
£290 | $350 £750 | $900 £25 | $35 there are magnetic, interchangeable nose pads in four sizes. As
microsoft.com flic.io well as delivering an immersive movie-viewing experience, the
huawei.com
Glyph doubles as a pair of audio headphones.

42

44 43
WAKE UP TO IS IT A ULTRA-LIGHT
A FRESHLY- TABLET OR FIXED-WING
£60 | $100 MADE BREW A LAPTOP? DRONE
Remember the classic Samsung’s rival to the With the drone
45
littlebits.cc
Goblin Teasmade? Well, Surface Pro 4 features a market dominated by
Little Bits quadcopters, it’s nice to
this is somewhat higher- sleek, portable design and
tech: a smart coffee a stunning 12-inch Super see something different.
machine that cooks up AMOLED touchscreen The world’s first fixed-
LITTLE BITS ELECTRONIC a morning brew while protected by Gorilla wing drone, the Disco
is designed to be ultra-
BUILDING BLOCKS you’re still sleeping.
It’s a full bean-to-cup
machine that you can
Glass. Based around
a Windows 10 OS, the
TabPro S can run standard
manoeuvrable. It’s also
smart, offering take-off,
This Lego-like kit offers an easy way to learn about electronics,
while making it more fun for youngsters. The plastic components operate remotely via PC applications – and landing and return home
snap together with magnets to create instant circuits with no a smartphone app. Of stream Xbox Ones games. modes. A 2700mAh
bare wires. The bits are all colour-coded, too – blue for power course, you can adjust Unlike most rivals, it even battery bestows it over
sources, pink for inputs (buttons, sensors etc), green for outputs the strength and it can comes bundled with a 45 minutes of flight, while
(lights, motors), and orange for connectors – so you can focus make 12 cups in one go, keyboard dock, making it a 1080HD camera gives
on being inventive, creating anything from a simple lamp to a poured into its carafe. a nifty mobile office. you a great view.
self-driving vehicle. It’s not just for kids, either, as the range of Smarter Coffee Galaxy TabPro S Parrot Disco
kits includes one to create a smart home. Individual extra bits £180 | $255 £850 | $900 TBA
can also be bought and there seems no limit to what you can smarter.am samsung.com parrot.com
make, even hooking creations up to the internet.
 Xiaomi Mi Drone
029
£265 | $380
mi.com

Xiaomi Mi
Drone

£170 | $TBA

41 40 motorola.co.uk

Moto G4

XIAOMI MI DRONE MOTO G4 A BRILLIANT

AFFORDABLE QUADCOPTER BUDGET SMARTPHONE
Best known for its smartphones, Chinese manufacturer Xiaomi is set to cause Previous Moto G models have offered excellent value for money and this
a stir in the drone market by launching this smart quadcopter at a reasonable is no different. It comes in two main flavours: the standard Moto G4 and
and affordable price: around £265/$380 for the 1080p camera version, and the G4 Plus, which adds a fingerprint sensor, 16MP rear camera (rather
£315/$455 for the 4K model. Sitting underneath the chassis, the Mi Drone’s than 13MP), while offering extra memory and storage options. Other than
camera can move a full 360° and features a 12-megapixel Sony sensor. A live that, they’re similar in design and spec. Protected by Gorilla Glass, the
video feed is beamed to your smartphone, which is, in turn, connected to the 5.5-inch 1080p LED screen is the series’ biggest and sharpest. There’s
drone’s remote controller. Smart piloting features include the ability to fly to a also a faster Snapdragon 617 processor to run everything using Android
certain point, circle an object and follow a road. A 5100mAh battery provides Marshmallow, with no bloatware. Another key addition is Turbo Charging,
a flight time of up to 27 minutes. Both models of the Mi Drone are due to be giving up to six hours of usage from a 15-minute charge.
launched later on this year.

37

39 38 36
THIS IS THE CAR SMALL SPEAKER, APPLE WATCH NEVER HAVE AN
OF THE FUTURE BIG SOUND MAKEOVER EMPTY FRIDGE
A US-based venture, Faraday This diminutive Bluetooth Apple’s smartwatch was touted Ever opened your fridge to
Future is focused on the speaker’s innovative design as the smartwatch to beat when find that you’ve got nothing
development of intelligent electric enables it to deliver the sort of it launched just over a year to cook dinner with? Don’t
vehicles. The firm doesn’t yet audio quality you might expect ago. As well as sending iPhone worry: we’ve all been there,
have a production-ready car, from a unit twice its size. It notifications to your wrist, the and now Samsung can lend a
but it showed off a concept car produces a wide stereo sound touchscreen even features Force hand. The Family Hub takes a
at January’s CES. It has already field with enough power to fill Touch tech, so a harder press photograph of its contents every
built a $1 billion megafactory in the room. This is made possible triggers a different action. But time you shut the door, and you
Nevada and is planning a second by an innovative design featuring while sales have outstriped can use your smartphone to
in California. FF’s innovative, five custom drivers, assembled Google’s Android Wear, the Apple check what you have in stock
modular approach to vehicle in three arrays. While the bass Watch hasn’t been the success no matter where you are. The
design involves using strings response is surprisingly good, an the company was hoping for. Family Hub also has a 21.5-inch
of battery blocks in various optional separate subwoofer can However, this might change with touchscreen built into the front
arrangements, added to a chassis be added. The Core can be used in the WatchOS 3 update, which of it, so you can get weather
that can be modified to create a multi-room setup, too, creating overhauls the device’s interface updates, view your calendar and
different body shapes. its own wireless network. and adds lots of new features. even shop online.
Faraday Future Mass Fidelity Core Apple Watch Samsung Family Hub
TBA £415 | $600 £260 | $300 £4,235 | $ 6,000
ff.com massfidelity.com apple.com samsung.com
 030 H T 1OO
ROBOT BUTLERS
Touchscreen face
When not showing Zenbo’s animated face,
the touchscreen can display information

YOU RANG
or the live view from a remote wireless
camera; Zenbo has its own camera, too
Two-way conversation
Like a standard digital assistant, you

M’LORD?
can give Zenbo voice instructions
and it’ll respond in kind, his mouth
moving with the words

Smart tech
According to most Fifties sci-fi movies, by now Zenbo’s body contains its motor
and other circuitry that enables
we should all have robots to do our housework.
Well, this prediction is starting to become a
reality with the arrival of several robot butlers.
35 him to communicate with smart
devices, plus built-in speakers

They won’t do the ironing, but they can help

us interact with our smart homes, offering a
human-like interface to control devices.
Asus’ Zenbo features a touchscreen head
with a face that shows emotions. When
connected to your wireless network, it can
control all sorts of devices and even let you
unlock the door to visitors shown on its screen.
Blue Frog Robotics’ Buddy is similarly cute
and loves to play with children. As well as
controlling smart devices, it acts as a personal
assistant to remind you of appointments. It can
even work as a security guard when you’re out. TBA
Even Segway is getting in on the act, £515 | $730 segway.com £415 | $600
launching a two-wheeled scooter robot that bluefrogrobotics.com asus.com
can take you for a ride, or just follow you
Segway
Buddy The Robot Robot Asus Zenbo
around and take pictures.
CMYK / .eps Facebook “f ” Logo CMYK / .eps

31

34 33 32

TO VIRTUAL THE MOST ULTRA-THIN THE MODULAR

REALITY AND EXPRESSIVE MIDI CONVERTIBLE FLAGSHIP
BEYOND CONTROLLER LAPTOP PHONE
Facebook has a huge global It may look like a keyboard, Measuring a slimline 10.4mm As well as offering a plethora
audience. More than 1.6 billion but the Rise is a revolutionary when closed, and weighing just of high-end features, LG’s new
people use it at least once a MIDI controller. Its 5D Touch 1.1kg, the Spectre is the MacBook flagship smartphone features a
month. That’s half of all internet system offers five dimensions Air of the Windows laptop world. modular design. This means that
users – and that doesn’t even of touch as you play it: strike, It’s glamorous, too: crafted from you can slot in accessories, called
include Facebook-owned services press (continuous pressure), carbon fibre and aluminium, ‘Friends’, to enhance the phone’s
such as WhatsApp. Facebook glide (portamento), slide (sound it features a stylish two-tone functionality. So far there’s the
is also branching out into new modulation via vertical movement finish. Powered by an Intel i5 or Cam Plus module with physical
areas, most notably virtual on keys) and lift (speed of finger i7 processor, with 8GB RAM, the camera controls, including a
reality. As well as Oculus VR, lift-off). Available in two-octave 2016 model is even faster than zoom wheel, and the B&O Hi-Fi
maker of the Rift headset, it has and four-octave versions, the before. There’s Glass protection Plus for high-quality audio. Two
also acquired Pebbles Interfaces RISE comes bundled with the for the 13.3-inch or 15-inch Full upcoming accessories are the
and Surreal Vision. Facebook Equator software synthesizer, HD touchscreen, which can be 360 VR visor and 360 camera.
also has interests in 360° video, Bitwig 8-Track digital audio bent over backwards to turn the The battery also slots out without
customer service chatbots and workstation and a storage case. Spectre into a tablet. the need to remove the backplate.
payment systems. Roli Seaboard Rise HP Spectre x360 LG G5
Facebook £600 | $800 £900 | $900 £530 | $750
facebook.com roli.com hp.com lg.com
ONE FOR ALL,
WWW.ESET.CO.UK/HOME

ALL FOR ONE!

Protect all family devices for less with

ESET®
Multi-Device
Security Pack
Now with Parental Control
for Android
032 H T 1OO
30

£10/pm | $10/pm £330 | $420

tidal.com aaxatech.com

Tidal 29 AAXA P300

TIDAL MUSIC STREAMING PICO PROJECTORS A

FOR AUDIOPHILES POCKET PROJECTOR
Owned by a coalition of high-profile artists including the likes of Jay Z, Remember the days when a projector was a heavy, unwieldy device
Beyoncé and Madonna, Tidal is a music streaming service with a difference. plonked onto a desktop during presentations? Well, nowadays you can
Its unique selling point is the delivery of high-fidelity sound via the lossless, purchase pocket-sized equivalents, known as Pico projectors. So, if you
uncompressed FLAC audio format – so you get CD-quality music, as it was ever need to show something to a group of people, you can just plug your
meant to be heard. Offering a catalogue of 40 million tracks, along with LED-powered pocket projector into a device and shine it at a wall for a
130,000 HD videos, the service is available in 46 countries. Tidal also features big-screen image. You can even use it for an impromptu movie night with
expertly-curated content and editorial. There are regular big album exclusives, friends! While a host of manufacturers are now producing Pico projectors,
too, from the likes of Kanye West and Rihanna. The main downside is that our recommended buy is the AAXA P300. Although not quite as portable
Tidal’s lossless HiFi subscription is pricey (£20 a month), although a cheaper as some rivals, it boasts more inputs and superior contrast ratios.
standard sound quality version is also available at half the price.

26

28 27
VOICE CONTROL
Formerly the stuff of science
fiction, the concept of humans
EXPANDING
talking to their devices is now ITS GALAXY £120 | $170
a reality. Apple’s Siri digital OF STARS lumobodytech.com

assistant for the iPhone helped The multinational tech giant Lumo Run
popularise the idea of voice- has its finger on the pulse of smart shorts
controlled devices, but since new tech in so many sectors it’s
its inception in October 2011 almost impossible to keep track
things have moved on at a
rapid pace. These days we’re
of everything that it is putting
out. Among this year’s launches WEARABLES GET
voicing commands to all sorts of
technology, from smartwatches
are a new range of sleek smart
SUHD TVs that feature amazing YOURSELF CONNECTED
to home hub devices, like the contrast levels, in sizes up to 89 There’s a lot more to wearable technology than fitness bands and
popular Amazon Echo speaker. inches. There’s also a 4K/UHD smartwatches: the sector is set to explode with an array of new ideas.
Google has also taken note of Blu-ray player, the Samsung For starters, there’s smart clothing, with numerous firms developing new
the burgeoning market and has Galaxy S7 smartphone, the Gear products. Levi’s and Google are collaborating on Project Jacquard to weave
launched its own smart speaker, VR headset, Notebook 9 laptops, tech into clothes. Having acquired Runtastic, Adidas is working on new smart
Google Home. While the AI TabPro S tablet/computer hybrid
side of things hasn’t yet been sports gear containing even more sensors. Also helping you to track your
and Internet-Of-Things-enabled
perfected, the future will surely Family Hub Refrigerator. runs are Lumo Run shorts, Sensoria socks and the OM Bra. It’s not all about
be voice-activated. samsung.com
fitness, either: mind-reading wearables include Thync and Muse. Then there
are ‘invisibles’ such as tech tattoos, wearable toys and even a GPS dog collar!
 Raspberry Pi
033
RASPBERRY PI ZERO What will you
make with yours?

THE TINY $5
COMPUTER
As if the bestselling, credit card-sized Raspberry
Pi computer wasn’t already small enough,
the Zero is its little brother, measuring a mere
tight spaces – even inside an old videogames
controller to create an integrated retro console.
With so many potential uses, and at an
01 Desktop message scroller
Create a mini desktop display to scroll
text messages such as tweets. A Scroll pHAT
LED matrix add-on (£18) is used, along with
65 × 30mm. While featuring a slightly lower incredibly low price, it’s no wonder the
GPIO headers and various adaptors and cables.
spec, it still packs a 900MHz CPU and is plenty Zero sold out within hours of its launch last
powerful enough for most uses. Since the Zero November, and has been difficult to get hold
runs the same system software as a standard of since. Fortunately, production has recently
Pi, you could plug in a mouse, keyboard and been ramped up, while an extra port on the
monitor – via port adaptors – and use it as a latest version enables the connection of the
fully-functioning computer. However, its main Pi Camera Module. This opens up even more
intended use is as an embedded computer for possibilities for user-created projects using the
all sorts of electronics projects. Its miniature Zero. So, instead of simply buying gadgets, why
form factor makes the Zero easy to fit into not have a go at making one of your own?

“The Zero sold 02 Wireless audio station

Using a pHAT DAC add-on (£30) and
a Wi-Fi dongle, you can build a wireless audio
station that can be controlled from your phone

out within hours to stream music through a pair of speakers.

of its launch”
Connect a camera
An extra port on the latest version of

25
the Pi Zero enables the connection
of the official Pi Camera Module

03 Retro games console

using a special adaptor cable
While turning a Raspberry Pi into a retro
games console has always been popular, using
the RetroPie emulation system, the Zero is small
enough to be crammed inside the controller!

04 Miniature wheeled robot

Making Pi-powered robots is another
popular pastime – and with the Zero, it’s
possible to make them much smaller. Mark
Cantrill’s Matchbot has a matchbox for its body!

£4 | $5
raspberrypi.org

Raspberry Pi

System storage
As with other models, the Zero’s
system software, applications
Unpopulated
GPIO header
You’ll need to solder some
Tiny form factor
The Pi Zero is about half the
size of a standard Raspberry Pi,
05 Homemade flying drone
Weighing just 9g, the Pi Zero is ideal
for powering smart DIY drones. The pictured
and data are all stored on a GPIO pins to the Zero to making it even easier to fit into costs $200 and is built using a mini quadcopter
standard microSD memory card connect Pi add-ons tight spaces for projects kit and PXFmini autopilot shield.
034 H T 1OO
HOLOLENS TRANSFORMS
YOUR WORLD WITH
HOLOGRAMS 24
While many rivals are jumping on the VR Integrated computer
Fitted for comfort
The inner, cushioned band wraps around the
user’s head and can be adjusted via a roller
Since the HoloLens has a computer built at the rear for a secure and comfortable fit
bandwagon, Microsoft is taking a different track
in to its outer band, there’s no need for
with its HoloLens headset. Rather than giving
any connecting cables; it also features a
the wearer a view of a completely artificial head motion sensor
scene, it superimposes 3D graphics onto
their real-life surroundings, viewed through
transparent lenses. The concept of augmented
reality has been around for a while, layering
helpful information onto a camera view, but the
HoloLens takes it to a whole new dimension.
You can walk around the ‘holograms’, and
interact with them using gesture control.
Although several games are in development
TBA
for HoloLens, it may ultimately prove more
microsoft.com
useful in the workplace. Product designers
can envisage their creations in 3D, and explore HoloLens
and discuss them with HoloLens-wearing
colleagues. We may to wait a while yet, though: Spatial sound speakers Transparent lenses
although a Development Edition is already As well as viewing virtual objects, you Wraparound, transparent glasses enable
can hear them in 3D thanks to a spatial the wearer to still see the real world,
shipping – for £2,000! – the consumer unit
sound system – an item’s noise gets while two inner lenses display the
could be months or even years away. louder as you approach it superimposed graphics

22 21 20
23

THE GET BACK LOOK AS

ULTIMATE TV INTO THE GOOD AS
£350 | $500 SOLUTION GROOVE THEY SOUND
actonglobal.com Making digital recordings Vinyl is experiencing a If you want to shell
Blink Board of broadcasted TV shows mainstream revival. Many out for some better
is great and convenient, audiophiles say it offers headphones, the
but what if you’re heading a warmer, more natural Momentum 2.0s are an
out and want to take sound than CDs and other excellent choice. As well
RIDEABLES FINDING them with you on your forms of digital music as stylish looks and a
padded fit, they deliver
NEW WAYS TO TRAVEL mobile device? In effect,
Sky Q lets you do just
that by enabling you play
reproduction. In most
record stores, you’ll now
see a section full of old-
impressive audio quality.
Bass is powerful without
When most people think of rideables, the first thing that pops
into their head is a hoverboard. While hoverboards are all the them in its app on your fashioned LPs, whether dominating the rest of
rage in the toy market, however, other rideables are leading the tablet – a phone version reissues or new releases. the music, which features
way for the practical purpose of transport. These small, electric- is coming soon. When at And there’s a wide variety wide stereo imaging for
powered vehicles are useful for carrying riders short distances home, you can also beam of stylish new turntables expansive sound. Noise
to a railway station or bus stop, where they are then portable recordings to Sky boxes to play them on. isolation is good, too.
enough to be carried on board. Options include fold-up scooters in different rooms. Pro-Ject Sennheiser
and self-balancing unicycles, but the electric skateboard is Sky Q Elemental Momentum 2.0
probably the best choice as they’re so lightweight and portable. £45 pm | $N/A £160 | $230 £270 | $350
A wireless remote is used for controlling speed, while the riders sky.com project-audio.com sennheiser.com
leans to steer as per usual.
 iPad pro
035
19

18 17 16
THE BEST THE LITTLE THE ONLY
SMART DRONE THAT AFFORDABLE
£500 | $600 SPEAKER COULD 4K UHD TV
apple.com The redesigned Play 5 As you might of guessed Following HD, the next
speaker features six from its name, the Micro step up for television
iPad Pro speaker drivers powered Drone 3 is tiny – it stands technology is 4K,
by six separate digital at 5cm tall and has a aka Ultra HD – with a
amps. This helps it to 14cm diameter. Don’t let resolution of 3840 ×
iPAD PRO THE DADDY deliver a big sound with its size fool you, though: 2160 pixels, scenes are
rendered in stunning
OF ALL IPADS impressive detail and
deep bass. Using the app
on your phone or tablet,
it has a hell of a lot of
functionality – you can
livestream video from
detail. The downside is
that up to now it’s been
Making the biggest splash at last September’s Apple event –
partly due to a controversial smile-straightening demo – was it’s easy to play music its camera straight to a expensive. So it’s exciting
the announcement of the iPad Pro. The biggest, fastest iPad yet, from streaming services smartphone and view it in to see HiSense launching
it’s a dream machine for creatives. The 12.9-inch screen of the or local network storage, VR. This drone smashed such an affordable model,
original Pro – a 9.7-inch version is also now available – offers and compile multi-source its crowdfunding the M3000, for £300.
a resolution of 2732 × 2048 for stunning detail, while a brand- playlists. It’s also ideal for campaign last year raising It’s also a smart TV with
new A9X 2.26GHz dual-core processor packs plenty of power a multi-room setup. over $3 million. built-in Wi-Fi.
for multitasking with apps. An optional smart stylus, the Pencil Sonos Play 5 Micro Drone 3.0 HiSense M3000
offers unmatched sensitivity and is ideal for using the Pro as a £430 | $500 £150 | £215 From £300 | $430
graphic tablet. You can also add a smart cover with full a qwerty sonos.com microdrone.co.uk hisense.co.uk
keyboard, making the Pro a potential laptop replacement.

15 14 13
CAPTURE IS THIS THE THE MOST-
360° HD YEAR APPLE WANTED
VIDEO RETURNS? SPEAKER
12
With a growing section on While recent iPhone sales The Amazon Echo
YouTube, 360° videos are figures haven’t been quite features a smart Siri-like
all the rage, immersing so stellar, and the phone digital assistant, called
the headset wearer so itself is playing feature Alexa. You can ask her
they feel like they’re catch-up with some to play music from your
actually there. If you want Android rivals, the world’s Amazon Music library
or Spotify. Other options
KICKSTARTER THE
to shoot your own, the
Ricoh Theta S makes
it easy and affordable.
biggest company is still
on the rise. The iPhone 7
is rumoured for later this
include checking your
calendar, searching for
CROWDFUNDING KING
While the concept of crowdfunding has been around for
Capturing hi-res spherical year, along with updated businesses and ordering centuries, the modern web-based version has skyrocketed its
stills or videos in Full versions of other devices. stuff from Amazon. The popularity. And there’s no bigger crowdfunding platform than
HD, it can be triggered Along with various OS Echo also works as part Kickstarter, which has raised more than $2 billion for over
remotely from a updates, there will be an of a home hub, to control 106,000 campaigns. Every week, tens of thousands of backers
smartphone and even overhaul of Apple Music devices such as the Nest pledge money to help kickstart projects in 15 categories. While
offers HD live streaming. streaming service. thermostat. the music, film/video and publishing genres are the most
Ricoh Theta S Apple Music Amazon Echo popular, it’s the games and technology categories that tend to
£300 | $350 £10/pm | $10/pm £TBA | $180 raise the largest sums. You’ll see all manner of ingenious, and
theta360.com apple.com amazon.com wacky, ideas on Kickstarter, so it’s a great place to look for
exciting new products and, if they’re funded, receive them first.
036 H T 1OO

10 9 8
AMAZON’S PLAY THE YOUR
£560 | $695 ANSWER TO BIGGEST TICKET TO
samsung.com CHROMECAST GAMES THE FUTURE
11 Samsung
Galaxy S7
This tiny USB device lets
you stream content to
a TV. Sound familiar?
While it’s been out for
a while now, Sony’s
PlayStation 4 recently
The search engine giant is
pushing new boundaries
in a way that Apple
While clearly inspired by benefited from a price hasn’t done for years.
Google’s Chromecast, drop and it’s the home Its self-driving car and
SAMSUNG GALAXY S7 the Fire TV Stick comes for an ever expanding Daydream VR headset are
just two of many exciting
THE SUPERIOR PHONE with a remote control (or
optional voice remote).
Easy to set up and use,
line-up of top games.
Exclusive titles include
Uncharted 4, Bloodborne
Google projects in the
pipeline. These include
How on earth could Samsung top last year’s superb Galaxy S6?
Well, while the S7 doesn’t look all that different, a host of minor the Stick works with a and Driveclub. Most the Google Home smart
improvements add up to make it the best flagship phone around. good range of services exciting of all, however, hub, Project Ara modular
As before, it comes in standard and super-sized – with curved including Netflix, is the prospect of the PS smartphones and a
screen – Edge varieties, both featuring a quad HD AMOLED YouTube, Spotify and VR headset, providing an new, smarter personal
display for stunning visuals. Great overall performance is iPlayer. It also offers a even more immersive assistant for Android.
assured with an octa-core Exynos processor and 4GB RAM, so few games. gaming experience. Google self-
there’s no lag whatsoever, while built-in liquid cooling prevents Fire TV Stick PS4 driving car
it overheating. The S7’s superb camera is equipped with a Dual £30 | $40 £300 | $350 TBA
Pixel sensor, which lets you take sharp pictures in low light; it amazon.com playstation.com google.com
can do 4K video recording, too.

7 6 5
THE MOST HD AUDIO THE BEST
AFFORDABLE FOR YOUR ACTION
TESLA YET EARS CAMERA £190 | $250
Tesla has forever changed With its 24-bit depth and GoPro pioneered the nest.com
public perception of 96kHz or 192kHz sample wearable camera for Nest 3.0
electric cars as boring, rate, Hi-Res Audio action/sports shooting.
by building vehicles with completely outclasses While many other firms
a winning combination of CD quality, with a sound have launched similar
style, innovation and top that’s 256 times as fine. projects, GoPro is still
the leader. The Hero 4
NEST 3.0 THE EVEN
performance. The only
major downside is the
price. That could change
Both Sony and Panasonic
have embraced 24-bit
sound, launching a range
is its most advanced
camera yet. It captures
SMARTER THERMOSTAT
Debuting in 2011, the Nest is a smart, self-learning thermostat
with the Model 3, an of hi-fi systems and pro-quality video at up that can help reduce heating bills. Subsequent models have
affordable five-seater that headphones, while Chord to 4K/30fps, slow-mo at added extra features and the Nest 3.0 is the smartest yet. With a
goes from 0-60 in under Electronics’ DACs take 240fps and 12MP photos sleeker design, it looks great on your wall and the new ‘Farsight’
six seconds. It also offers the concept of Hi-Res with a 30fps burst mode motion-sensing system displays the set temperature or digital/
a realistic 215-mile range Audio even further: up to – and it’s also waterproof. analogue clock whenever someone walks into the room. Extra
and Autopilot option. 64-bit/768kHz. GoPro Hero 4 temperature sensors make the Nest 3.0 more accurate, enabling
Tesla Model 3 Chord Mojo Black it to better adjust the heating of your home, although you’ll need
£25,000 | $35,000 £400 | $600 £410 | $500 extra Nests to control multiple zones. Unlike previous models,
teslamotors.com chordelectronics.co.uk gopro.com it can also control the hot water. As ever, you can monitor and
adjust the system remotely via a smartphone app.
 DJI Phantom 4
037

Camera gimbal
Push-and-release Made from strong composite
propellers material, the gimbal is closer
A secure mechanism means to the quadcopter’s centre of
that the propellers can gravity. It features three-axis
withstand drastic changes of stabilisation
motor speed, allowing the
aircraft to be more agile and 4K UHD camera
more responsive The Ultra High Definition
camera boasts enhanced
Magnesium core image quality compared to the
Embedded into the aircraft, a Phantom 3 Pro
revolutionary magnesium core
greatly increases rigidity to

3
minimise unwanted vibrations, £1,230 | $1,400
while also helping to keep its dji.com
weight down to 1380g (3lbs) DJI Phantom 4

DJI PHANTOM 4
AN INCREDIBLY
SMART DRONE
The latest smart drone from DJI has the ability Phantom 4 will follow it around and even
HOW DRONES ARE
CHANGING THE WORLD
to sense and avoid obstacles, making it much
harder – though not impossible – to crash.
Linking its remote controller to a smartphone
automate tracking shots to create professional-
looking video footage. Mounted on an
integrated gimbal, the 4K Ultra HD camera
01 Automated agriculture
Drones are being used to monitor
and spray farmland to help improve yields.
adds some very smart features. The intuitive offers enhanced image quality due to lens DJI has launched the Agras, a dustproof
TapFly mode lets you fly with the tap of a improvements, plus the ability to capture drone designed for crop-spraying, which can
finger. Just press anywhere on the live camera 1080p video at 120fps for smooth slow motion. cover up to ten acres per hour.

02 Making movies
view within the DJI Go app and the drone will The Phantom 4 can hit speeds of up to
make a beeline for that point, only deviating to 44mph in the new Sport mode, letting you fly Professional movie-makers are
navigate around any obstacles in its path. faster than ever! Whichever you choose to fly using high-end drones – such as the DJI
Most impressive of all is the new ActiveTrack it, this is one impressive drone that should also Matrice 600 with Ronin MX camera gimbal
feature: just tap a subject – such as a person prove easier for beginners to pilot, potentially – to film action scenes from any angle and
or vehicle – on the camera view and the any avoiding costly crashes. achieve dramatic aerial tracking shots.

03 Search and rescue

Drones are ideal for searching
for missing persons in challenging terrain,
particularly if equipped with thermal sensors.
They can also deliver essential supplies to
stranded victims before they’re rescued.

04 Protecting wildlife
Sadly, poaching is a major problem.
With the ability to get close to animals
without spooking them, drones can be used
to deter poachers.
038 H T 1OO
FITBIT BLAZE THE 2 Smartwatch
functions

ULTIMATE SMART
Basic smartwatch
functionality includes
a variety of analogue/
digital clock face options,

FITNESS WATCH
along with connected
smartphone push
notifications, calendar
alerts and music control
Fitbit has been making fitness tracking devices
since 2008, and the Blaze is by far the smartest Heart-rate
one available today. Fitting onto the wrist, it monitor
combines the functionality of a fitness band An optical sensor on
with that of a smartwatch – including call or the rear of the device
text notifications and calendar alerts from measures the wearer’s
pulse and, therefore,
a paired smartphone. There’s also a range
heart-rate – the Blaze logs
of stylish straps available to buy and, since the resting rate and the
the 31.75mm (1.2-inch) colour OLED display rate during exercise, so
is detachable, it can be slotted into a range you can compare them
different frames.
The small touchscreen is used for navigating Detachable
the watch and fitness features. There are display
stats galore, as the Blaze logs steps, distance, The Fitbit Blaze’s
calories burnt, floors climbed and active 31.75mm touchscreen
minutes. It’ll even measure your heart-rate can be slotted out of
from the wrist – no need for a chest strap. the metal frame and
The Blaze can be used to record various into another if you want
sporting activities– including running, cycling to change your style
throughout the day.
and weightlifting – and, if you fail to select an
activity, its SmartTrack feature will automatically
recognise and log it. Alternatively, start one of Pick your style
the FitStar workouts and you’ll get step-by-step As with most
smartwatches, there’s
instructions and coaching. After exercising, you
a wide array of strap
can see a summary of your workout and how styles to choose from,
you’re progressing towards your fitness goals. including leather and
The only real downside of the Blaze is its metal links, which
lack of built-in GPS, but the device can connect £180 | $200 come in three different
to your smartphone’s to record your running/ fitbit.com sizes to fit wrists from
cycling route, meaning that its not too bad. Fitbit Blaze 14cm to 24cm

The Fitbit Blaze is

designed to both
boost fitness and be
a fashion accessory
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040 H T 1OO

1
VIRTUAL REALITY
ENTERING A BRAVE
NEW WORLD
By strapping on a VR headset and viewing – compatible with PC – but with so many rivals
the 3D graphics displayed on tiny screens in close behind, and more emerging, it’s hard to
front of your eyes, you can be immersed in pick a headset right now. HTC’s Vive works with
an artificial world. Built-in sensors track your high-end PCs, but also employs motion tracking
head movements and adjust the virtual view as you walk around the room. For console
accordingly, along with the sounds played via gamers, the more affordable PlayStation VR is
headphones. For interaction, some VR systems due out in October for £350. For those on a
also feature Kinect-style motion tracking. budget, Samsung’s Gear VR costs just £80, but
While the first commercial VR gaming requires a compatible phone, while Google
systems were launched in the early Nineties, Cardboard headsets can be bought for as little
the bulky headsets were uncomfortable and as £5. So, virtual reality is for everyone.
the 3D visuals primitive. And, while a passable
illusion was produced, some users experienced
headaches. Cue the Oculus Rift, which raised
$2.5 million in a Kickstarter campaign and “Built-in sensors track your
head movements and
got everyone excited again. Further headlines
were made when the company was bought by
Facebook for an astonishing $2 billion.
Following a series of prototypes, the first
consumer Rift headset was launched in March adjust the virtual view”
 VR
041

A Ever since Google

ENTERS THE GAME
launched its low-tech
Cardboard platform a
couple of years ago – to
stimulate interest in, and
the development of, VR
apps on Android – it’s been suspected that
a superior version would follow. Due out
this autumn, the Google Daydream platform
could be a game-changer, set to popularise
VR in the mobile market – although it seems
you’ll need one of a brand-new range of
compatible flagship phones to use it. The
headset itself will feature a high-quality
system-on-chip for rendering visuals
at 60fps on a low-persistence display,
Google’s new
eliminating any ghosting. It will also come Daydream VR will
with a mini handheld controller. debut this autumn
042 Win our top five
hottest gadgets

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Get your hands on a Samsung Gear VR, Fitbit Blaze,
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So you’ve seen our picks of the most exciting tech in the action camera, a Nest Thermostat to manage your
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 FEED YOUR MIND
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044 VIVE VERDICT
 HTC Vive
045

We spent a week fighting space

pilots and swimming with whales
to test out Oculus’ biggest VR rival
You’re a space pirate firing lasers at robots. moves away from your hand. You bend over
You’re under the sea with a whale swimming to pick something up and you actually move
by. You’re playing mini golf on a mountaintop. down to grab it.
You’re rocketing through space at super It sounds simple, but the technology needed
speed. Shooting zombies. Fighting skeletons. to pull off this feat is a lot more complex than
Throwing balls. Catching balloons. Hitting it sounds. With the HTC Vive you’ve got a hell
stuff. You’re having the time of your life. of a lot of computing power funnelled through
This is the true reality of VR. Yes, you’ve a few wires and pumped into your eyeholes in
probably done all of these things hundreds of glorious higher-than-1080p. And you’ve got
times in other videogames, but have you ever two controllers that, when you look down in
actually been the one in the game, doing them the game (or lift your hands) can be anything,
for ‘real’? With the HTC Vive, you are Player from a bow and arrow to a tennis racquet.
One. Not an avatar on the screen, or a camera We’ve had some serious hands and eyes-on
behind a gun – you turn your head and you time with the Vive, and now we’re here to tell
can look around. You poke something and it you whether it’s worth buying.
046 VIVE VERDICT

HOW MUCH ROOM DO YOU NEED?

For starters, the Vive has got stricter While the Vive offers a larger movement As you might expect, this won’t suit
requirements than any videogame, tech demo area than its main competitor, the Oculus everyone, but the required space is actually
or games machine that you’ve ever owned. Rift, you physically need a large play area smaller than you might think. You’ll only
You’ll need a really bloody powerful PC to run if you want to use it properly. The headset need an area of 2m x 1.5m to create a
the headset (we’ll go into more detail on that works in conjunction with two mandatory playing space, with a maximum distance
later), but you’ll also need a good amount of ‘base stations’ that will need to be fixed high of 5m between the two base stations. The
space. This isn’t going to be something you in the corners of your playing area. They toughest part for many will be physically
put in front of your TV and expect it to be fine, point down into the area and, combined attaching the base stations up high on walls
especially if you have bone china or breakable with the cameras and sensors on the (or on poles), because setting up the Vive
family heirlooms sitting on shelves. You will headset itself, create a 3D image of the headset itself is as simple as following some
swing, and sometimes you will have absolutely environment around you. quick and easy instructions.
no idea that you’re about to punch a wall, a
chair, or a beloved family member. Your gaming PC Base Stations
We unpacked the Vive in an empty area You’ll need to have your powerful You’ll need to place these no more
PC close by as the cable from the than 5m apart, but your playing
within Gadget Towers, with a square playing
headset will need to remain plugged area can be as small as 2m x 1.5m
space of around 2.5m x 2.5m. Suspending the into this while you play if necessary
two ‘base stations’ on lighting rigs (stolen from
our photography department – shh, don’t tell
them). This meant we had a good area to work
with, although you only officially need 2m x
1.5m if you want to get set up at home. Our
advice, however, is to use the biggest space
possible – while the Vive will warn you if you’re
close to the edge of the play area, it’s easy to
accidentally swing that little bit beyond the
invisible walls and hit real-life ones. The Vive’s
controllers aren’t cheap, and while they’re built
2
of sturdy stuff, you don’t want to be knocking
Playing space 1.5
Get them high
them around too much – there are a lot of During the set-up process, the Vive For many, the biggest challenge
important sensors hidden inside them. app will have you walk around your will be fixing the base stations
You may also struggle with placement of playing space so it knows exactly high up. You can attach them to
where your boundaries are walls with brackets, or use poles
the base stations. They need to be up high, in
opposite corners of your playing area – and its
fair to say that not everyone has lighting rigs over the top of the headband is kept neatly in you’ve got the sizing right for the head straps
from a photography studio just hanging around place with strapping. Thick padding surrounds it’s very secure. But if you’re playing for more
at home… and you can’t steal ours. Fixing them the lenses, ensuring that no outside light will than 40 minutes or so, you may start to really
to walls will work, but it’s something you need get in while providing a soft surface for your notice the weight the headset. You’ll get the
to think about before you buy. face. It’s just as well, because the Vive headset best results from the lenses inside when the
Once you have your physical space ready is actually fairly heavy, weighing in at a hefty headset is secure on your face, so we ended up
to go, however, the software set-up process 555g. Yes, you’re effectively strapping half a bag tightening the straps a great deal, and the result
is simple enough. All you need to do is follow of sugar to your face and then flailing around. was a pretty embarrassing red mark when we
some straightforward instructions as they are For short periods of play, it’s really not a finished our round of 18 holes in Cloudlands:
beamed through the headset, walk around problem – the padding does it’s job really VR Minigolf. We looked like a superhero that
your playing area and you’re good to go – well, the nose pad is comfortable, and once had a bit of a cry.
that’s it. If it weren’t for the base stations and
the room requirements, this would be a dream
to get started. As it is, there’s a lot of planning
involved, so make sure to think about this
before anything else.

Okay, so you’ve got the space, you’ve strapped

your base stations to a pile of boxes and a
confused sibling, and you’re ready to play. The
next thing to think about is the headset itself,
because you’re probably going to be wearing
it for a while. Adjustable straps on the left, right
and top of the head make it easy enough to The Vive’s library isn’t limited to videogames, there are
fit it to anyone’s noggin, and the cable trailing also plenty of ‘VR experiences’ like The Blu: Encounter
 HTC Vive
047
At the moment, this isn’t really too much In fact, the only time we really experienced
of an issue. Many of the games offered by the
Vive are short-term experiences or minigames,
any nausea was when other people wondered
inside our playing area, between the base THE KIT YOU’LL
which are over in 20 minutes or less. Even
if you do play for a long time, taking a short
stations and the headset. This sometimes
resulted in the Vive losing our own position,
NEED FOR VIVE
break is usually a good idea just to reacquaint and the viewpoint moving up and down just
yourself with the real world and let your eyes a fraction of an inch. When you’re stood still
rest for a while. As games become more and your view starts shaking, you’re bound to
involved, and longer, it may be that the Vive’s feel a little sick. That was the point where we
weight becomes more of a talking point, but raised the headset off of our head, revealing
in reality, during our playtests we didn’t notice our sobby superhero face, and politely told
any major discomfort. the people around us to back the hell up, and
carried right on playing.
This was also the only point during our
extensive playtests when the Vive showed
any signs of inaccuracy; we were absolutely
blown away by how spot-on the hardware was. HTC Vive
One of the oddest – and most quietly brilliant The Vive package doesn’t just include the VR
What surprised us, in fact, was that we didn’t
– moments of our entire time with the Vive headset, which has a front-facing camera and
experience more discomfort from the games 32 sensors to provide full-360° motion tracking.
themselves. We genuinely expected a degree was early on in our experiment. We lowered
You also get two Lighthouse base station
motion sickness to affect us as we played, the headset over and adjusted the straps, and
sensors for greater accuracy and a pair of
even if most of the games saw us standing rather than feeling blindly for the controllers, motion-sensing controllers.
still. Thankfully, the team behind the Vive did we simply looked around for them in the virtual £690 | $800 | htcvive.com
its research, and the result is a smooth, slick world. There they were, floating two feet off
experience that runs consistently at 90Hz the floor in our digital view (in reality, they were
– which basically means there are 90 frames sitting on the desk on the edge of our playing
every second. This is considerably faster than area). We simply walked over to them and
the 30fps or 60fps that many modern games picked them up. We didn’t miss. We didn’t have
consoles manage, and the smooth images help to feel around for them. We just reached down
the eye keep focus and avoid sickness. and picked them up.

The little divots, located on the

front of the headset, are used as
reference points so that the base Chillblast Tristar Gaming PC
stations can track your position This is where the Vive gets expensive. You can
upgrade your existing gaming PC for around
£800 to make it VR-ready, but if you have to
buy one from scratch, try the Chillblast Tristar
with NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980T graphics card
and Intel Core i7-6700K processor.
£2,000 | $2,900 | chillblast.com

SENNHEISER HD 558
The Vive comes with headphones, but they are
basic earbuds, so you might want to upgrade.
3D headphones for VR, like the Ossic X, are
in the works, but in the meantime try these
cans. The offer great sound and are padded for
comfort – ideal for hours spent in the Matrix.
£160 | $180 | sennheiser.com

TOTAL
£2,850/$3,880
048 VIVE VERDICT

Grip it Touchpad
These two small buttons on This touchpad can act like a
the side of the controller may computer trackpad if you need to
escape your attention entirely, scroll, or it can serve as a button if
but they offer more control for the game requires it to
grabbing items in the game by
simply tightening your grip

Pull the trigger

CONTROLLER Probably the most-used
button on the controller,

HANDS-ON
this is usually used to select
things in the game (point
and pull), or as method
Gaming has never been so intuitive
for ‘grabbing’ with your
– look down at your hands and the in-game hands
controllers can literally become
whatever the game requires. And,
thanks to some slick design, they
offer plenty of options, whether
you’re using it as a racquet or a gun.

It sounds stupid, but you have to

remember that we were basically wearing a “As we peered over the
blindfold as we did this. All we could see what
a 3D recreation of the controllers, but it was
all we needed. Whenever we looked down, or
edge of a mountain we
raised our hands, the controllers were exactly
where we expected. After years of playing with
inaccurate Nintendo Wii and PlayStation Move
felt real vertigo”
controllers, it was a revelation. instead features a touch-sensitive disc that is
The two controllers feature 24 individual located where your thumb naturally rests. This
sensors – many of which are on the ‘hoop’ can act like a computer trackpad for scrolling
at the top of the controller. The base stations or movement, but it also clicks, allowing games
in the corners of the room fire invisible rays to divide up the pad into whatever ‘buttons’ It’s at this point in an article like this that we’d
around the play area, and these sensors can are required. In one rudementary demo the start talking about the physical design of the
send information back to the base stations to four directions blew up four different coloured product, and how it looks. The Vive enjoys a
give an accurate reading of exactly where they balloons. In another, it let you choose between rather uncommon status as a device you rarely
are in 3D space. The result is a controller that, six ammunition types for your gun. In another, see from the outside, but that doesn’t mean
no matter how much you twist or swing, is pointing at the ground in front of you and the design hasn’t been thought through. The
always exactly where you expect it to be. pressing anywhere on the pad transported you headset packs in 32 sensors, so, just like with
to that point. The possibilities are endless. the controllers, the base stations always know
We still haven’t tested these pads in any where it is in 3D space.
serious gaming encounters – we’re not sure, On the front of the headset you’ll also find
for example, how good they would be in a a forward-facing camera. This captures data
Call Of Duty-style game, where accurate from the room around you, theoretically
This isn’t the only unique quality of the movement is vital. But they are so adaptable ensuring that you don’t hit anything during a
controllers, however. Unlike most modern that it feels like a natural extension for a particularly intense game of Job Simulator. And,
gamepads, which feature analogue sticks for controller that can literally become anything like the controllers, it’s astonishingly accurate
3D movement and control, a Vive’s controller that a game needs it to be. – we always knew exactly where we were in
 HTC Vive
049

OCULUS HTC
RIFT HEADSET DESIGN
The Rift’s biggest benefit is
not only in its comfortable
(and removable) built-in
The Vive headset is larger and
heavier than the Rift, but features
a forward-facing camera to help
VIVE
headphones, but also in its all- map the world around you, and
round design, which is much adjustable lenses which are great
sleeker than the Vive’s. for players with glasses.

STAY IN CONTROL
While Oculus will be Two controllers come bundled
releasing similarly-tooled with the HTC Vive, and offer
motion controls to the great accuracy. They include
Vive in the next few rumble motors for feedback,
months, right now the triggers, grip buttons and touch-
only controller option is sensitive pads under each
that of an Xbox One. thumb for scrolling.

‹STEM REQIREMENTS
You’ll need a little more power if The Vive needs a fair bit of
you want to meet the minimum power, as it requires a minimum
requirements for the Rift – with of an Intel i5-4590 processor,
a minimum of 8GB of RAM or an AMD FX 8350, as well as a
compared to the Vive’s 4GB. HDMI 1.4 port.

PLAY THE GAME

The Oculus has a small library Most of the Vive’s game lineup
of exclusive games, including isn’t exclusive, meaning you’ll
the fun Lucky’s Tale, whilst be able to enjoy it on Oculus
also enjoys all of the games as well. However, it does have
on Vive, making it the best plenty of options thanks to its
option on game choice alone. Steam integration.

the game; with the headset on, the real world As we peered over the edge of a mountain play, because you’re firing a shotgun at flying
faded away from our mind. we felt real vertigo. As bullets flew at us we plates, balloons and UFOs. When the headset
In fact, this was what blew us away the most flinched and turned away. The Vive creates is on, what you see feels real. And that is
with the Vive (and VR in general). Videogames, a reality that, while obviously fake – yes, we why VR, and the HTC Vive, is something that
movies and books can transport your mind to know we’re not really a space pirate – feels everyone should try.
different worlds, different realities. But nothing so real that it’s easy for the real world to melt
– nothing – can do it like VR. With the headset away. You won’t care that people are laughing
on and the headphones in, we were gone. at your ridiculous flailing as they watch you

Unfortunately, it’s not something that many

people will get the chance to experience
– at least not yet. To get started with the
Vive, which on its own is a cool £690/$800,
you’ll also need a ‘VR Ready’ PC, with a
powerful graphics card and processor.
For a computer with the minimum system
requirements for headset, you’ll probably
spend at least £800/$1000, making the
whole system cost close to £1500/$1800. If
you already have a compatible PC you’re in
a much better position, but those running
the kind of specs you need for a Vive are the
minority. The reality is that you will have to
prepare yourself for few months without food
Job Simulator sounds stupid, but it’s actually a fun sandbox which shows off the Vive’s motion controls if you want a Vive.
050 VIVe VERDICT

Anthony
Godsell, 28
“I thought VR was
very immersive
and intuitive in
the game, the
headset was
rather comfortable
but the wire
completely breaks
Here is the Gadget team’s and friends’ first immersion and is
super annoying.”
reactions to the HTC Vive and its games

Steve Holmes, 25
“As far as responsiveness and
precision go, this is better than
what I’ve seen from Oculus.
However, the price really needs
to come down.”

Poppy-Jay
Palmer, 23
“The rhythm game
was brilliant! I’d
love to try out the
others. But I can’t
really see myself
buying one unless
it costs about £30.”

Clare l’Anson, 33
“The controllers responded
instantly to any movements
I made. I can’t wait for this to
become more affordable and
for multiplayer modes.”
 HTC Vive
051
Harrison Harman, 22
Rebekka “I found the HTC Vive headest to be light
Hearl, 26 and undisturbing during play time. £700
“AudioShield, for such a new-to-the-market device is
the Vive’s virtual inviting, in my opinion.”
reality rhythm
game, is great
fun and a tough
workout! The
rhythm is easier
to follow at higher
difficulties.”

To see
more on this,
head to our
YouTube channel
youtube.com/
gadgetdailyxyz

Jack Parsons, 28
“Right now, the games
remind me of Wii
Sports. They are fun
and family-friendly, but
very short and don’t
justify the Vive’s hefty
price tag.”

Alicea Francis, 26 Harriet Knight, 25

“Loved it! It was strange having “It’s so responsive and intuitive to
to readjust to reality afterwards. use that it felt very strange to rejoin
Can’t wait for an affordable the real world! Considering how
model to become available, or to new it is, the range of games is
try it with a treadmill.” fantastic and will only get better. ”

Kym Winters, 27 Stephen Williams, 38

“Incredibly immersive. The quality “The headset was a bit unwieldy
of the controls varied from game to and stopped me feeling truly
game but at its peak it completely immersed but the controls were
surpassed my expectations, a truly good and a lot more responsive
surreal experience.” than I expected.”
052 VIVE VERDICT

the headset, and power the two 1920 x 1200

The visuals Sensors displays inside at 90 fps. When you consider
The Vive packs in two 1080 x 1200 everywhere that a gaming PC is considered good if it
OLED panels that combine for a There are 37 sensors inside
2160 x 1200 resolution, and the can run a game at 1080p and 60fps with the
the Vive’s headset, along with
screen refreshes at 90Hz for a the forward-facing camera, graphical settings pushed up to the maximum,
smooth visual experience and, combined with the you’ll understand why getting similar graphical
base stations, these produce fidelity in the HTC Vive’s headset is a challenge.
seamless a VR experience
Right now this is the sort of hardware you
buy for an experience, rather than a specific
hardcore game. That’s by no means a bad
thing, as long as you know it going in. Just
don’t expect a dedicated version of Grand
Theft Auto for the Vive any time soon.

The HTC Vive is astonishing. We challenge you

to put it on and play without uttering the word
‘wow’ – we actually did our own test with a
bunch of normal ‘humans’ and the consensus
was that the Vive is a game-changing piece of
kit. There’s no doubt that the Vive is impressive,
Headphone socket but as with many great gadgets, this is only the
In-ear headphones come as standard, and
offer good immersion into the VR world, but
first generation of proper VR. What that means
if you have surround-sound headphones the is you’re looking at a very cool and futuristic
experience will be even better device that is also bulky, lacking in certain
features, and laden with compromises. The

INSIDE THE VIVE games are fun, but are not anything to write
home about, compared to the blockbusters on
There’s no getting around it – the Vive is PC, PS4 and Xbox One. The computer you’ll
pretty hefty. The head straps do a good job need to power it comes at a premium. The
of holding the headset securely, and the headset itself is bulky. All of these issues will
padding is fantastic, but after a long play time start to fall away as the technology advances
it can start to become uncomfortable. and becomes more affordable, but for now it’s
a very expensive toy.
Ultimately, however, it’s thin pickings at the But you know what? We love toys like this.
moment, and there is no truly ‘triple-A’ title Okay, so it’s not the perfect VR headset, but
that defines the hardware. That is bound to what first-generation device was ever perfect?
This is, of course, not counting games. The change as VR becomes more commonplace, Where the Vive succeeds is in its tech. The
Vive comes with three games that are bundled but as with many devices, early adopters might sensors work, the 110° FOV feels natural, the
with the headset – Job Simulator, Fantastic be waiting a while for the blockbusters to start controllers are fantastic. It’s not perfect, but it’s
Contraption and Tilt Brush. These are all landing, and by that point a slim and cheaper a start. A very exciting start.
fantastic in their own ways, and each does version of the Vive will likely be available. Everyone should try the Vive; whether you
a great job of demonstrating just what the Another reason for this lack of triple-A titles should buy it is a very different question, but
Vive can do, but you’ll definitely want to start is the ridiculous amount of graphical power it needs to be seen, felt… experienced, to be
expanding your library when you’ve tried each that is required to push the graphics over to believed and appreciated.
game at least once. Check out our ‘Best Of
The HTC Vive’ boxout overleaf to get a few
recommendations of what to consider, but
remember to factor in game costs when you’re
thinking about the overall price of the Vive
Right now, there aren’t really all that many
VR games and in many cases they’re either
tech demos or just short minigames that you’ll
try a few times before putting down. A few
are deeper, offering a few hours of gameplay
compared to a few minutes on a loop.
Games studio Bethesda recently confirmed
it is adapting one of its most popular games,
Fallout 4, for the Vive. This will be the first big
open-world game for virtual reality (Vive or
otherwise), but isn’t slated to arrive until 2017.
Bethesda also said it is working on a version of
a first-person demon shooter, Doom, but it was
vague about whether this would be a game or Setting up the Vive’s hardware may be a chore, but
just another ‘experience’. the end result is more than worth it
 HTC Vive
053

THE BEST OF
THE HTC VIVE
SPACE PIRATE TRAINER
For many people, VR is all about shooting stuff.
With this brilliant title your controllers become
guns and you must destroy increasingly-tough
robots, or whip out your shield and defend
from their laser attacks. It looks fantastic and it
plays really well.
£11 | $15 | spacepiratetrainer.com

CLOUDLANDS: VR JOB SIMULATOR

MINIGOLF Set in a world where sentient
Crazy golf doesn’t get much robots have undertook all human
crazier than this, with courses jobs, step into the Job Simulator
that span mountain peaks, icy to learn what work used to be
blocks and more. It’s incredibly like. The game’s real strength,
intuitive, and the physics are aside from its sense of humour,
spot-on, so you’ll really get a feel is its ability to surprise you as you
for how hard you need to swing try new things.
your club every time. Free |
£15 | $20 | cloudlandsvr.com jobsimulatorgame.com

THE LAB THEBLU: ENCOUNTER

This series of minigames, This underwater adventure isn’t
inspired by the brilliant Portal really a game as such. Really, it’s
titles, is mostly just a bit of fun, just a great way of demonstrating
but as it was one of the games the kind of experience that VR
used by HTC to demo the Vive, can offer. Explore a coral reef,
it’s well worth downloading – delve in the deeps or have a close
plus, it’s free! encounter with a whale.
Free | £7 | $10 |
store.steampowered.com bit.ly/thebluevr
054 GOFOR GOLD

GO FOR
 Go for Gold
055
This summer sports fans are spoilt for
choice. In addition to the usual staples like
Wimbledon, the Tour De France and the US
PGA Championship golf tournament, the
Invictus Games returned bigger and better
than ever in May, Euro 2016 has prompted
its usual football frenzy, and London is set to
host another athletics spectacular with the
Anniversary Games from 22 July. However, all
of those events will be overshadowed by the
31st Olympic games in Rio, taking place this
August. Athletes from all over the world, all at
the peak of their physical performance, will
compete across 306 events to prove they are
the best at their chosen sport. Meanwhile, the
best the rest of us can do is cheer them on
from the sidelines, or more likely, from in front
of our televisions.
If you’re fed up with being an armchair
athlete, read onto discover the best fitness kit
to give yourself an Olympic upgrade. While
we’ve focused on strength training, agility,
endurance and water sports, whether you’re
into fencing or the canoe slalom, artistic
gymnastics or Greco-Roman wrestling, you’ll
find something here as we’ve picked the best
gear for all 42 Olympic sports.

GOLD
MEDAL-WINNING FITNESS KIT
TO MAKE YOU A CHAMPION
056 GOFORGOLD
COMBINE DIET, TECH
AND
TO GET GAINS!
£70 | $100 Gain a better insight
into your workout!
skulpt.me

Skulpt Chisel
A handheld deep tissue
scanner that can tell you 01 Install
the app
To get started, you will
your body’s muscle quality
need to make sure that
and body fat percentage, so
your app and Chisel are
you can figure out which linked, so download the
muscule groups you need app and sync. Once this
to work out. is complete, you may find
that you will have to update
the firmware on the Chisel
before you begin scanning.

02 Orientate
your stats
Get an understanding
of how the Chisel works
by letting it complete its
assessment of your body,
this will be a measurement
of your stomach legs and
arms, more to get you used
to the device rather than an
Finding and joining a gym can be intimidating. looking for lean muscles or bulk, your workout all-round scan.
Also there’s the risk of ‘doing it wrong’, and diet will need to reflect this as your body
meaning you can damage muscle tissue and will be needing nutrients for muscle growth
bone if you’re going into fitness blind. Of
course, nothing beats a head-start with a
and recovery. To inspire growth, though,
you will need exercise-specific weights such 03 Complete
assessment
Once all three main groups
qualified personal trainer to get your form and as rubber-based kettlebells or radial weight
are scanned, it’s time to get
routine right, but what comes after that? plates to offer you excellent grip for individual
all of your data scanned
First of all, form and positioning is the most lifting. As well weights, routine and diet, a and logged, including your
important thing you will need to pay attention fitness tracker which is designed specifically back and glutes! This is
to, so you’ll need to make sure your footwear for weight training, such as the Push Assist, when you will need to have
and clothing is suitable for lifting weights. is useful for monitoring your progress and your water sprayer as the
Secondly, training for strength is different than routine, and it offer suggestions based on Chisel won’t get a reading
training for massive muscles, so if you are the data generated. off of dry skin.

Be on point!
Accuracy
and
timing
are
crucial in fencing,
so what better way
to train then using
Put the competition Put the mint into your the customisable
in your sights Badminton game Favero EFT, a
Why not beat the competition with, The Victor Jetspeed S10’s frame and shaft target board that
arguably, the most accurate bow sight are comprised of high modulus graphite, spurs you on with
on the market: the Field Logic IQ 5? with the frame fused with Nano Fortify and up to nine different
Featuring adjustments for windage and the shaft spliced with Pyrofil, making it the training modes.
elevation for accuracy as well as a retina lock! lightest racket on the market right now. £325 | $540
£140 | $210 | iqbowsights.com £140 | $215 | victorsport.com favero.com
 Corner
057

WITH YOUR
Keep your footing
With wrestling, the best gadget you could
£50 | $70 have would be one that glues your feet to
athletec.io the floor, and in the grip of Adidas’s Adizero
Corner Varner Wrestling Shoe, you get the next best thing.
£65 | $95 | adidas.com
These lightweight, wireless
trackers designed to record
your punches and monitor
your progress over time will
be available to preorder
this month, on sale in
December.

Get your swing on!

Analyse your swing with the Zepp golf
tracking system; a wearable device that
simply clips onto your glove. It works with
an app that can replay your stroke or putt.
£130 | $150 | zepp.com

Hit your target whatever

Gathering data Bluetooth Lightweight the distance
from all axis’ connectivity by design Using infrared lasers for gauging distances
Within each of the Corner units, The units maintain a Bluetooth The Corner trackers allows for use on between you and your target, the Bushnell
there are three accelerometers that connection to your phone, your gloves or hand wraps, and their Elite 1 Mile Conx has a range of five yards to
are responsible for recording and meaning that your data light weight construction means they over 1,750 yards, helping you hit your mark.
gathering the data necessary to generated from your workout will wont hinder your speed, you won’t
£585 | $700 | bushnell.com
provide you with your stats be transferred in real time. notice that they’re there

We’ve all seen the movies with the fitness eating the floor, this is where Corner comes
montages featuring shadow boxing with wrist in to its own. Simple and lightweight, Corner’s
weights to the tune of Survivor or Kenny design allows it to slip into your hand wraps,
Loggins. It all looks glamorous enough, but leaving you to focus on your technique while
boxing isn’t a picnic. It’s one of the most Corner generates a breakdown of your stats,
visceral sports around. You have to be in real time, to your smartphone. Your trainer
prepared to take a hit, but by using specially will be able see what you are doing, but so
designed training aides, such as Corner, you will the Corner app, building up a picture of
App-based feedback
can learn how to throw better punches and your punch’s speed, last thrown punch style, Rhythmic or trampoline, the Dartfish app
reduce your foe’s hit count. punch-rate as well as total punches, giving you will allow you to slow footage of your
In a sport that is all about split-second more than enough information to know if you gymnastic routine for immediate review
choices, agility and speed, your training regime need to train to hit harder, faster, or if its time and annotation as well as sharing for analysis.
will be the difference between standing tall or to take pity on the competition. £5 a month | $5 a month | dartfish.com
058 GOFOR GOLD

KEEP
WITH A TRACKER
Training for agility is broad arena, and one that
has been occupied with obstacles designed
specifically to train agility for centuries.
The art of hitting a ball Obstacles, such as the ladder, are used to
Improve your Spike technique with the Spike help build tendon strength and a quickness of
Mate, a ball-holding structure designed to the feet, and simple cones on the floor to be
rest on a basketball hoop and let you train slalomed in and around help focus balance,
individually or as a team.
strength and coordination. So with many
£350 | $500 | spikemate.com
devices geared up to help you become faster,
what can be used to train agility?
The real game-changer, in terms of tech,
has been the introduction of more sensors.
The Moov Now, for example, incorporates its
own Omni Motion sensor which generates
data from a gyroscope, accelerometer and
a magnetometer. It combines this data to
generate a 3D landscape of how your impact
and speed are affecting your progress, and
it relays this via a voice coach. This kind of
advancement means that your goals can be £200 | $300
Shoot hoops and nail stats jabra.co.uk
By wearing a tracker on your wrist and tracked and you can be coached in a way that
installing a sensor on the hoop, Shot is unique to you and your movement rather Jabra Sport Pulse
Tracker builds up a comprehensive training than just tracking your speed and footsteps.
pattern to help you improve.
£N/A | $100 | shottracker.com
Use the Polar M400 to track your runs

01 Get in sync
After syncing the
M400 to your phone via
Bluetooth, all you have to is
Kickstarter with horsepower get outside, wait for a GPS
The idea of a device to monitor your signal, then cycle through the
horse’s wellbeing and track your list for the relevant activity
stats is a great way to build a deeper and begin.
understanding or your riding partner’s abilities.

02Connect
£80 | $110 | equisense.com
to
your PC
The Polar M400 relies on
a desktop app to sync its
results, maps and program
data. To upload your info
attach your device via the
USB port and allow it to sync
data.

Meet your high-tech opponent

03 Look back
at stats
Instant isn’t always best; it’s
The Joola Buddy Pro will take on the role £120 | $180 wise to sit back and review
of opponent and blast balls at you from polar.com
data. In the Polar Flow app,
across the table with varying speed and you can review your work
movement, just be ready! Polar M400 with a breakdown of your
£200 | £285 | thorntonstabletennis.co.uk speed, distance and cadence.
 Zepp Tennis
Swing Kit
059
ONE LOVE FOR
Tennis, as a sport, has often seemed to be
the definition of duality. On the one hand
you have the very pleasant aspect of summer Adidas Mi Coach
sports; on the other, you have cutting-edge The tracker is designed to fit
competitiveness, sweat and sheer force in your shoe and map out your
where your ball skill, form, racket handling movement by relaying data to
and aim are what makes you succeed. So in your smartphone.
the information age, how does tennis fare? £55 | $60 | Adidas.com
Very well, it would seem.
With sensors such as the Zepp Tennis Kit
or the Sony Smart Tennis Sensor attached
to your racket, the sheer enormity of data
generated from a single serve will be enough
to help you understand how hard you are
hitting the ball, what your angle or slice is
– and that’s simply the racket talking. With £85 | $100
gadgets like the Adidas Mi Coach you can get zepp.com
an idea of how you are moving on the court, Zepp Tennis
allowing you and your instructor the chance Swing Kit Babolat Pop
to review where you are versus where you A wrist strap-based sensor,
should be. dedicated to tennis which
gauges your swing, power
and backhand, among other serves.
£75 | $90 | en.babolatplay.com

MAKE SURE YOU’RE

ROAD-READY
WHEN HEADING OUT
Cycling is one of the most
Zipp 404 NSW Carbon
Clincher rear wheel
commonplace hobbies and it is a A lightweight, high-end wheel
£450 | $650
favoured means of transport for most set designed for competitive
nordictrack.co.uk
commutes. It’s also a high-speed and very speed. Featuring opposing magnets
competitive sport, whether on the slicked Nordic Track to help you go faster.
race track, or off-road in a forest. So, how do GX5.2 £1,400 | $2,000 | Zipp.com
you gain that competitive edge in a cycling
duel, and is there a shortcut to improvement?
With cycling, it’s a tough blend between
the bike itself and your own physical
attributes as to whether you are going to be
hitting the goals you desire. There are many
factors at play, ranging from maintenance oils
for specific weather, tyre treads for terrain,
right down to the wind drag of your clothes
or helmet. Many people forget that training
your muscles can make all the difference.
Making the most of the cycling machine at
Recon Jet
GPS tracking sunglasses with
the gym or the weighted leg presses can glance detection to bring up
give you the strength you require. So when your speed and distance on an built-
you next set that cycling goal, remember: it’s in HUD. It can takes pictures and
down to you as much as your bike to get that video of your journey, too.
speed down. £370 | $500 | bit.ly/reconinstrmnts
060 GOFOR GOLD

TRAIN TO
£70 | $80
trainingmask.com

Rocking up to a marathon with a week of Training

training and a killer playlist on your phone mask 2.0
is admirable, but destined to fail. Endurance
training is gruelling. Conditioning your body to
overcome continuous strain and exertion isn’t
just about the physical acts involved, but also
your mindset. Simply taking into account the
nutritional element that your body will require
alone will require patience, understanding and
a lot of willpower, so set gradual goals to get
into shape. Coach assistance from a tracker
such as the Moov Now or the Jabra Pulse can
help you get motivated as well as help you
improve with every step simply by informing
you of your heart-rate or, in the instance of the
Moov, provide advice relevant to your progress
based off of the data being sent to your phone.
In terms of clothing and footwear, wear
something lightweight and moisture absorbent:
the last thing you’ll want is to break focus over
a wet T-shirt. Finding the right shoes can be an
absolute minefield, but dedicated long distance Soft on the skin Look badass Adjust your breathing
running shoes are a must. Regardless of brand, Constructed from neoprene, You’re going to look weird in this, so The Training Mask comes with a
it’s a wise idea to get your feet tested to know the Training Mask is designed why not customise it. You could choose selection of air-resistant valves to give
to be as soft and lightweight to be a Star Wars Stormtrooper one day you full customisation of your training
what size arch you have, as this will greatly
as possible, and it won’t slow or the Joker the next. It’s your workout, routine, allowing as little, or as much air
affect your shoe choice. you down or irritate your skin so you make the choices in as you see fit

Trionz Body Fit Garmin

A remarkably ForeRunner 235
lightweight, An all-in-one
antibacterial GPS and
compression top, made heart-rate
from a light copper nylon tracking watch that will
fabric that fits the body allow you to monitor
neatly to give support to your progress on
your muscles, reducing long-distance runs or
fatigue as well as treadmill workouts.
absorbing moisture. £280 | $250
£45 | $80 | trionz.co.uk garmin.com

Take your ball skill further Know what’s below you Cut through water
The Mi Coach smartball is a football and where you’re going by practicing on land
with a difference. Featuring an The new 12-inch eSeries Raymarine Using the Concept 2 Dynamic rowing
integrated sensor and a companion navigation tablet gives you touchscreen machine is the best way to build accurate
app, you will fast learn the power of your kick and navigation of your maps and access to form and strength, as well as burn
learn ball mastery tricks like a pro. sonar, all in a durable tablet. calories while perfecting your rowing skill.
£150 | $200 | adidas.co.uk £3,500 | $4,950 | raymarine.eu £1,190 | $1,720 | concept2.com
 Xmetrics Pro
061
TRAIN LIKE AN
Going underwater with your tracker was a
great divider when it came to gadgets to help Take the hits
you train. With some instances where the and keep moving
owner would be forced to modify their beloved An intelligent body armour
device via a third party for underwater use giving high degrees of motion
(hello, Fitbit) or own more than one tracker, able to stop a kill strike, as well
one for land and one specifically for water use. as generate data for later review? This
Today, it’s no surprise that the advancements is what the folks at UWM are offering
with underwater trackers is several leagues in the form of the Lorica MKII.
£TBC | $TBC | uwm.tv
ahead of what it used to be, with devices
designed to give feedback from your every
movement in real time – and not just in an app
after you sync the device, but also devices that
will tell you if you are off-course via HUD-like
LED’s attached to your goggles.
Devices to help you train for marathon
swimming, or just swimming in general,
needn’t be down to which tracker you wear on £160 | $200
your wrist, more and more devices are taking Xmetrics.it
the route of using your head as basecamp,
Xmetrics Fit Waterproof balls
freeing your attention away from your wrist, are a must
and keeping your eyes focussed on your goal. The Molten IWR Rubber
ball consists of an 18-panel
construction and utilises a
Maxigrip surface for better grip.
£20 | $60 | moltenusa.com

WHITE-KNUCKLE
£89 | $175
RIDES AHEAD
myinflatables.co.uk

Intex K2 Stick it to the competition

The Kabo CC90 is an
Challenger innovation in itself, made
of 90 per cent carbon, it’s
designed to be lightweight and has a
concave profile to aid ball control.
£60 | $85 | kabohockey.co.uk

Getting yourself ready and in shape to even With basic lightweight inflatable kayaks, such
get close to competing in a canoe sprint is one as the Intex K2 Challenger, to get you started,
thing, but you’re also going to require a canoe, you and a friend can have fun practicing
or at the very least a kayak. So it’s good to steering down a river. Alternatively you can opt
know that to get started in canoeing, you don’t for some something a bit more practical such
need to be spending a fortune… just yet. as the Riber One Man Kayak Deluxe – which
Before you even start looking at trailers or has prices starting at just under £300. This
roofing mounts for your vehicle, you should would certainly get you cutting the water, and, Tag, you’re it!
The Optimeye X4 Athlete
consider your skill level first. A canoe sprint at 20kg, it’s a formidable weight in the water,
Monitoring system uses
is something you can compete in individually which will help you gain speed, but, at the accelerometers and GPS to
or as a team, therefore your choice of canoe same time, it’s not so heavy that its going to track and calculate your acceleration,
should reflect this. cause you grief getting it to and from dry land. heart-rate as well as analyse impact.
£TBC | $TBC | performbetter.co.uk
062 Get beach body ready
without exercising

£150 | $455
sixpad.uk

Six Pad Abs Fit

Ideally used in conjunction
with exercise, this wearable
shocks your stomach muscles
with a painless electrical
charge to make them flex
and help you achieve the
elusive six-pack.

GET BEACH BODY READY

WITHOUT EXERCISING
Electrocute yourself for rock-hard abs and muscles
While there’s no substitute for good old- of them comprise either physical boxes of
fashioned exercise to keep you fit and electronics hooked up to wires and electrode
healthy, MTG’s Six Pad – endorsed by pads, or bulky belts to wear around the waist.
Cristiano Ronaldo – offers a way to keep your So the ability to simply affix a slender Six Pad
muscles moving even when you’re sat at your to the skin, via reusable adhesive gel sheets,
desk or lounging in front of the TV. It works is a real boon. Whether using the Ab Fit or
by delivering electrical impulses through pads Body Fit model, its lightweight, soft silicone
affixed to the skin, to repeatedly contract and design enables it to fit to the contours of your
relax the muscles beneath. Used regularly, body and be worn comfortably under most
this can help you to develop a toned body, items of clothing. Powered by a lithium-ion
including that elusive six-pack. battery, the Six Pad delivers a 23-minute
Now, you may well have seen similar training programme with an adjustable level of
products before, based on the concept of stimulation. So it seems it might just disprove
EMS (electrical muscle stimulation). Most the old adage of ‘no pain, no gain’.
 Six Pad
063
£110 | $360
HOW DOES EMS WORK? sixpad.uk
Since your muscles react naturally to Six Pad Body Fit
electrical impulses sent from the brain telling
them whether to contract or relax, they can
be stimulated to do so artificially by applying
a small electrical current directly through
the skin. EMS (electrical muscle stimulation)
technology was first employed in the Sixties
to aid the training of elite athletes in the
then Soviet Union. With the potential for
substantial performance gains, it’s no wonder
that the concept soon became popular
worldwide. EMS also found additional uses in
the field of medicine, ranging from physical
therapy to pain reduction.
Complicating matters slightly is the fact
that muscles comprise thin fibres of two
types: slow-twitch and fast-twitch. It’s the
latter type which need to be developed to
create a well-toned body, although this
normally requires intense physical training.
WORK YOUR ARMS
Fixing to your stomach, the main Abs Fit Six Pad features
Fortunately, EMS can be made to selectively six EMS pads to stimulate your abs to aid development of a
stimulate these fast-twitch fibres. While the well-defined six pack. The smaller Body Fit model, featuring
many EMS systems on the market employ two EMS pads, is more versatile and can be attached to
a variety of frequencies, the Six Pad devices various parts of the body to tone your arms (biceps), legs
focus on 20Hz, found – by leading EMS (thigh muscles) and waist. Note that you’ll need two Body
expert Professor Toshio Moritani – to be Fits if you want to work on both arms or legs simultaneously.
the optimum frequency for higher oxygen Potentially, the Body Fit could stimulate other muscles,
consumption and effective results. although – for safety reasons – you’re advised not to use it
above the neck or anywhere near the heart.
064 How are you
feeling?

HOW ARE YOU

FEELING?
£70 | $100
gowatch.alcatelonetouch.com

Alcatel OneTouch
Go Watch
It’s a smartwatch that claims
it can ‘hack’ your emotions.
The Alcatel One Touch Go
Watch is a customisable
smartwatch at a smart and
affordable price.

This mood ring smartwatch claims it

can monitor your emotions
Designed to be ultra-durable, waterproof, device via Bluetooth, you can also get the
shockproof and dustproof, this new weather forecast, control your music, your
smartwatch from Alcatel OneTouch is phone’s camera shutter and more.
intended to withstand all the bumps on the However, what really sets the Go Watch
road that your adventures might take it on. apart from the rest is the ability to ‘hack’ your
With the Go Watch you can monitor your emotions. That’s right, your smartwatch is also
health and fitness progress without having monitoring how you feel. A long press of the
to worry about your gadget picking up any Go button under the watch’s screen triggers
knocks and bruises. Three features can track the ‘emotion pulse’ feature which analyses
your activity in a simple and fun way: there’s your heart-rate and data from other sensors
the Heart Rate monitor, Daily Activity monitor for ten seconds. It then gives you a read out,
and a Workout Mode. And you can share such as ‘Go Chill’ or ‘Go Scream.’ Surprise,
everything to social media with a few quick surprise, these readings (complete with emoji-
taps. Syncing with your iPhone or Android like icons) can also be shared on social media.

WHAT YOUR GO WATCH READING SAYS ABOUT YOU

GO CRAZY GO DIVE GO JUMP GO SCREAM

Has your life been much too sedate Go for a swim, go snorkelling or heck, You spend too much time with your All those pent up feelings need some
lately? Let loose and allow yourself to even take yourself skydiving. We can feet on the ground. Jump on the spot release. Scream your head off - you’ll
get a little crazy. only guess what this result means. because the Go Watch says so.. feel much better.
 Alcatel OneTouch
Go Watch
065
4 OF THE BEST
Heart-rate monitor
The Go Watch’s heart-rate monitor, which it uses
as part of its fitness tracking and emotion sensing,
works by shining a green LEDs onto your capillary
veins. Built-in optical sensors then detect the
FEATURES
amount of blood flowing through your wrist at
any given moment. When your heart beats, the
blood flow in your wrist — and the green light Forecast the
absorption — is greater weather
With a press and a tap
Green LED
you can get a handy
little weather forecast
Light reflected into on your wrist. You can
photodiodes swipe through a –
surprisingly accurate
– five-day forecast for
your location.

Capillary vein

Control
your music
Tapping on the music
icon lets you see what’s
playing and play, pause
and skip through your
tracks. In our testing
WHAT MAKES THE session it worked very
well with the Google
GO WATCH TICK Play Music app.

How are you feeling? Hungry? Crazy? Like

screaming a the top of your lungs? Chances are
that your Go Watch already knows this.
Press the Go button on the Go Watch to Take a photo
take your emotional pulse. Using a combination The Go Watch can
of three instruments – an accelerometer, a remotely control your
gyroscope and that all-important heart-rate smartphone’s camera.
monitor – Alcatel claims that the Go Watch With a quick tap to your
can tell how you’re feeling. Once the watch has watch, a three-second
collected all this data it present its findings with countdown begins
one of eight colourful graphics that aims to sum before your snap is
up your emotional state and then provides you taken and saved.
with some suggestions, such as ‘Go Love’, ‘Go
Chill’, ‘Go Taste’ and more. You can then select
the related theme and show your friends how
you’re feeling by (over)sharing the little graphic
on social media.
But we’re not convinced that there’s any Bring up

@
‘hacking’ of your emotions going on here. The notifications
Go Watch feels more like a mood ring and Notifications from your
it seems just as vague and inaccurate. Is ‘Go smartphone appear on
Taste’ even an emotion? Do your feelings only the Go Watch almost
ever fall into one of eight ‘types’? This feature instantaneously, from
feels like it’s meant to be a bit of lighthearted, texts to tweets, so it’s
meaningless fun, rather than offering any quick and easy to make
serious analysis of your emotional state. All in all up your mind whether
it’s a fun, but rather trivial, way to share tidbits of to dig out your phone.
yourself online.

GO LOVE GO JAM GO CHILL GO TASTE

Turn off the lights. Light some Put on your favourite dance tune and You’ve obviously been stressed and Even the sensors on your Go Watch
candles. Put on some Barry White. turn it up loud! It’s time for you to get overworked recently. It’s time for you can feel your stomach rumbling. Treat
You know the deal. in to the jam, come on and slam. to relax and get your groove back. yourself to a hearty meal.
066 tech we love
Shoot and share
The TG-Tracker has its own Wi-Fi
connection that works with your

TECH
phone so that you can post your
exploits online faster

WE £280 | $350

LOVE
getolympus.com
Olympus
TG-Tracker
❤
Sense of adventure
The camera has built-in field sensors,
including GPS, a compass, thermometer,
The best gadgets on our accelerometer and barometer to track

radar this month every aspect of your adventure

THIS SWISS ARMY 4K ACTION

CAM IS EVERYTHING-PROOF
If Batman wore a body cam, it would be the TG-Tracker. As well as shooting 4K video,
this camera is packed with helpful tech, including Wi-Fi, a 60-lumen flashlight and a
host of sensors to track your adventure. You might reasonably expect the TG-Tracker to
be quite delicate, then, but Olympus says its pretty much unbreakable: its waterpoof up
to 100 feet, crushproof up to 220 pounds of force, and freezeproof to -10°C.

TURN YOUR iPAD PRO

INTO A MACBOOK
Supercharge your iPad Pro’s productivity with
this Brydge Pro keyboard add-on. Typing
feels as natural as using a proper laptop,
while time-saving shortcut keys make it easy
to exit any app and search files.
Brydge Pro
£130 | $190 | brydgekeyboards.com

£40 | $50
leefco.com

Leef iBridge

BUDGET FITNESS BAND

GOES THE DISTANCE PHONE USB STICK BOOSTS
If you don’t want to drop £100+ on a
Fitbit, try the Withings Go. It’s not much YOUR MEMORY BY UP TO 256GB
to look at, but it can track running, There’s an alert that every selfie snapper dreads seeing on their phone, but inevitably
walking, swimming and sleep patterns. does: ‘Cannot Take Photo’. This happens whenever your phone is running out of storage,
Its low-power E Ink screen means it can so you spend ages staring at your phone deciding which pictures to delete, missing the
last for eight months on a single charge. thing you actually wanted to take a photo of. Help is available, though: Leef iBridge is a
Withings Go simple plug-in for iPhone or Android that allows you to expand your memory. Offering
£50 | $80 | withings.com from 16GB to 256GB extra storage, the iBridge is USB stick-sized for added portability.
 TECH
WE
LOVE ❤
067

VR GOGGLES FOLD UP
FLATTER THAN A PHONE
Google’s Cardboard and Samsung’s Gear VR
headsets both call themselves ‘mobile VR’ as
they work using your phone, but neither are
particularly portable. Speck’s new Pocket-VR
£15 | $N/A headset works with Cardboard VR tech, but it
microbit.co.uk folds up, so you can carry it around with you.
Speck Pocket-VR
Micro Bit £50 | $70 | speckproducts.com

LEARN TO CODE WITH THE

BBC’S POCKET COMPUTER
The first Micro Bit computers were sent out to schools in March, but now they are on
sale to everyone. Each pocket-sized computer has 25 LEDs, two programmable buttons,
two motion detectors, a compass, Bluetooth and five input/output connections.
Through coding simple applications and games, the Micro Bit can teach kids the basics
of programming languages such as Javascript, Python, Microsoft Block Editor and more.

THIS MODEL DEATH

Best of both worlds £500 | $720
STAR ACTUALLY FLOATS
The speaker array is powered by a orbitsound.com
mix of digital amplifiers with hi-fi
Orbitsound Air There has been a raft of floating maglev
analogue crossover, combining the speakers recently and we unashamedly love
best of old and new audio tech Sound Bar A70 them all. But this glowing Death Star is a
particular treat with a six-hour battery.
Hellosy Star Wars Death Star
Levitating Speaker
Touch and glow £160 | $230 | amazon.com
Stroke the front of the A70 and its Lossless sound
buttons will light up softly, so you As well as supporting wired
can quickly control the audio source, inputs, you can enjoy high-
Bluetooth, power and volume quality, quick streaming using
apt-X Bluteooth and NFC

COMPLETE YOUR HOME CINEMA QUIRKY VAX MAKES

CLEANING QUICKER
WITH A SIDE-FIRING SOUNDBAR This 750W-power vacuum cleaner’s cylindrical
The problem with soundbars is that you often have to be facing them head-on to feel shape isn’t just a funky design choice, it also
makes cleaning less of a chore. It offers more
their benefit properly. This is great if you get first pick of where to sit, but rubbish if
manoeuvrability and rather than tugging it
you’re stuck in the corner, out of range of the sonic sweet spot. The Orbitsound A70 around, you can always just flip it and carry on
fixes this by delivering immersive 300W sound wherever you are in the room, thanks hoovering. It also comes with a range of tools.
to extra neodymium drivers fitted on either side. The A70 also includes a wireless Vax Air Revolve Pet
subwoofer for added bass. £150 | $215 | vax.co.uk
068 Have These Headphones
Given Away iPhone 7’s
Big Secret?

HAVE THESE
HEADPHONES GIVEN AWAY
iPHONE 7’S
£450 | $500
audeze.com

Audeze Sine

BIG SECRET?
These headphones are the
world’s first on-ear planar
magnetic headphones,
equipped with a detachable

Meet the first on-ear headphones 24-bit high-resolution

Lightning cable instead of
without a headphone jack a 3.5mm jack.

While the Audeze Sine headphones don’t audio reconstruction as well. Audiophiles can
boast either a Wi-Fi or Bluetooth connection, also be pleased with the embedded amplifier
they lay claim to being the world’s first fully for great bass delivery.
integrated Lightning port headphones. With But perhaps even more impressive is the
it being heavily touted that the iPhone 7 will Sine’s claim at being the world’s smallest
be saying bye-bye to the traditional 3.5mm planar magnetic set of headphones on
audio jack, the Lightning port is likely to be the market. Usually left to overly large
the primary way for users to connect their headphones, this technology uses flat,
headphones to their iDevice. micron-thin magnetic drivers to produce
This new form of connection opens itself low-distortion sound considerably better than
up to some pretty remarkable technology your standard driver.
and in the case of the Audeze Sine, it comes When the world’s biggest tech company
in the form of the Cipher cable. Not only can releases the next must-have smartphone,
this cable boast support for the pass-through will the Audeze Sine be the ultimate audio
of 24-bit audio, there’s an integrated DAC for partner? At £450/$500, we reckon it could be.
 03 Planar technology
The reconstructed 24-bit audio goes
through Audeze’s own planar technology,
Audeze Sine
069
capable of providing punchy and dynamic
sound. The size of the headphones allows for
improved air movement, which means better
bass and treble control for listeners.

Air circulation
To keep music distortion to the absolute
minimum and to improve audio playback, air is
captured within the magnetic space either side
of the headphone and spread out evenly

WHAT ELSE
SHOULD WE
EXPECT FROM
THE iPHONE 7?
As well as the 3.5mm audio jack being
dropped, it’s also likely we’ll see a host
of new changes to be implemented
with the iPhone 7. Leaked photos
have suggested that a dual-camera
system is likely to be added, akin to
what we’ve seen from the Huawei P8
and LG G5. The actual specifications
of these cameras are not yet known,
but improved performance in low-light
conditions is a near certainty.
It’s also likely that Apple will once
again take the lead with producing two
variants of the iPhone 7, with a smaller
Patented Fazor technology 4.7-inch device and enormous 5.5-inch
Audeze’s Fazors are small acoustical elements
positioned within each side of the headphones.
offering the most likely sizes. There’s
Planar magnetic drivers They allow for greater transparency of tracks also some notion that we may see
Each set of planar magnetic drivers are and extended frequency response Apple’s A10 processors, currently being
built from thin modules that offer enough manufactured by TSMC, but there’s no
scope to regulate sound much easier than concrete information on this as yet. But
standard audio drivers just how likely is all of this new tech?
Phil Morris, editor of iCreate, feels like
the iPhone 7 could be a game-changer:
“Everything points to a dual-lens
Lightweight camera setup. Expect a pretty similar
design and a super-powerful A10 chip,
neodymium circuits but no headphone jack or antenna
The Sine headphones boast reduced weight
and thanks to the magnetic flux density of the band on the back.”
high-spec neodymium circuits used within

02 DAC reconstruction
As the music flows through the
Cipher’s DAC, it’s not only converted between
analog and digital, it’s also reconstructed to
help improve audio playback. As it converts,
it’s sent to the over-ear drivers.

01 Enjoy 24-bit beats

While you’re listening to Apple
Music, the Cipher cable bypasses the
iPhone’s internal DAC and instead directly
streams 24-bit audio through the cable’s
own integrated converter. The chip
architecture allows for better pass-through
of music through the Lighting connector.
070 Dyson Pure Cool
Link Purifier

YOUR
SURPRISINGLY
DIRTY HOME
We get fans-on with Dyson’s
new smart air purifier
It may look like another of Dyson’s famous Dyson Pure Cool Link is the next particle size
bladeless fans, but the Cool Link removes down,” says engineer Matt Kelly, “which are
99.95 per cent of indoor allergens and small enough to pass into your bloodstream.”
pollutants. These irritants are too small to These physical pollutants get trapped inside
see with the naked eye and include gases the mesh of the purifier’s dense glass filter,
from cooking and central heating, mould, pet but behind that sits a second filter designed
£450 | $630
dander and pollen. Essentially, it’s a vacuum to absorb the harmful and strong-smelling
Dyson.co.uk
for the air in your home that everyone, from chemicals released by cleaning solvents,
asthma and hay fever sufferers, to just plain deodorants and scented candles. The price Dyson Pure
clean freaks, will benefit from. tag is pretty high, but its running costs are low Cool Link Tower
While most purifiers capture particles that as it has the same power consumption as a Standing tall at just over 40
are 30 times smaller than a human hair and fluorescent light bulb. It purifies all year round, inches, the Cool Link Tower
can enter the lungs, Dyson has gone one and it also doubles up as a fan to cool you has been engineered to purify
better. “What we have focused on with the down in the summer. larger spaces, like an entire
room. It’s also suitable for
placing on the floor.

£350 | $500
Dyson.co.uk

Dyson Pure
Cool Link Desk
This air purifier has been
designed for use on desks
and worktops, tackling smaller
spaces than the Cool Link
Tower. It can be tilted for
more targeted airflow.
 071
purify your
surprisingly
dirty home

MONITORING
AIR QUALITY
The ‘Link’ part of the name refers to the fact you Amplifier loop
can hook up the purifier to your smart device to The two airflow paths travel
control and monitor it remotely. Two sensors, around the hollow insides of
located in the base of the Dyson Pure Cool Link, the loop and out through the
constantly monitor the surrounding air. If they Aperture aperture, providing you with
a smooth stream of air, no
detect a particularly high level of contaminants – After passing through
blades required
when you’ve burnt the toast again or the flowers this slot, which runs
are in full force and hay fever is raging – the around the back of the
machine will ramp up its operation. The information loop, the air travels along
the inside wall and exits
recorded by the sensors is also sent to the app on
out the front
your smart device, allowing you to track the air
quality in real time, as well as keep a record.

Mixed flow air impeller

An internal fan draws air in at the bottom
and forces it up through a diffuser that
separates the airflow into two paths

Filter shroud
A perforated shroud surrounding the
base protects the filters and helps to
channel airflow into the machine. In
auto mode, the purifier will adjust
airflow accordingly

Glass filter
Dense mats of glass
fibres prevent particles
from escaping. There’s
more than a square Brushless motor
metre inside, but it’s The motor driving the air impeller is inside a
pleated to fit into a casing that reduces vibration and therefore
small space noise, providing smooth oscillation as the
Cool Link Purifier sweeps the room

Carbon filter
Carbon granules have a huge
surface area that absorbs
smells and harmful toxins, such
as paint fumes. This layer soaks
them up like a sponge

Heating element
The surrounding air is heated to keep
it circulating past the sensors using
convection so that a small sensor chip
can detect odours and toxins

Optical sensor
This sensor detects ultrafine
pollutant particles – such as pet
dander – when they block light
between an emitter and a receiver
072 Add Google Glass To
Your Windscreen

£35 | $50
hudwayglass.com

Hudway Glass
A power-free satnav display
that sits on your dashboard
and reflects the map from its
companion app, directly onto The Hudway Glass works
your viewpoint. with a variety of apps so you
can try different displays

ADD
TO YOUR WINDSCREEN
This budget-friendly HUD displays
augmented reality satnav and more
A satnav map, displayed right in front of your can turn from useful machines to death- from Brake.org.uk listed that of a broad
windscreen? Sign us up! The Hudway glass is causing distractions very quickly, if used when selection of in-car crash footage, 22 per cent
intended to be just that. By cleverly bridging driving, the Hudway Glass eliminates the user’s was a result of distraction. Further research
the gap between map app and an actual need to interact with the phone at all, and showed drivers handling their mobiles on the
satnav, and initially designed to help rally reduces confusion with directions by having road had a 35 per cent drop in awareness and
drivers keep focused on the road while driving them right in front of you. reduced lane control. All of these facts indicate
at high speeds, it’s a well-crafted cradle for The UK has a ban on phone driving as, in that this hands-free phone cradle could
your phone to lay in with a translucent screen short, it’s a distraction that causes dangerous help pave the way for safety on the roads by
that reflects the phone’s display. As phones driving, and in some cases, death. A survey keeping your eyes on the road.
 Hudway Glass
073
IT’S ALL AN OPTICAL ILLUSION
Suckers for NFC
Flip the lid The Hudway Glass comes with an
The Hudway Glass’ screen is NFC sticker which is programmable
manoeuvrable and coated with to switch the Hudway app into HUD
an reflective coating to give you mode upon contact with the cradle
optimum visibility of the HUD when the phone is placed on it,
as well as the road. Angle it so saving you time, but, again,
that you can get the best view reducing any phone contact while
of the app while seated, making using the device
sure that your view is as close
to the windscreen as possible

Which way up
With the HUD app installed on your
phone, you can preset a destination
to use later with or without internet
connection. For use with the cradle, you
have to select HUD mode from the app,
which will show an inverse image on the
screen, allowing the glass to reflect a
‘correct’ view of the map

FIRST APPS FOR HUDWAY GLASS

Hudway – GPS Speedometer
Navigation HUD As well as displaying
The official app for the your current speed and
Hudway Glass device, this alerting you when
free download has some you’re over the limit,
of the most striking HUD this other official app from Hudway
displays available, in particular its will warn you about nearby speed
snaking 3D road view. cameras and radar.
Free | iPhone/Android Free | iPhone only

Navmii GPS World Sygic Navigation

Navmii includes offline And Map
maps and spoken Like Navmii, you’ll have
directions. HUD features to pay for HUD support,
cost extra, but this does but what you get for your
include a sci-fi speedometer that money is a strong all-
looks like the sort of thing Tony Stark rounder, displaying your speed, travel
would use in an Iron Man suit. directions and camera alerts.
Freemium | iPhone/Android Freemium | iPhone/Android
074 Tease Your Pet With A
Laser And Make Them
Internet Famous

TEASE YOUR PET WITH A

LASER AND MAKE THEM
INTERNET FAMOUS
This camera lets you play with your pet remotely and livestream it
Our pets are valued family members and we through a free companion app for iPhone, video feed, so you can see when your pet
all like to make sure they’re well looked after Android and Apple Watch. The Petcube has wants to make contact. And there’s also a
at all times, even when we can’t be there a 138° wide-angle lens to make sure you can built-in laser that can be used to remotely play
ourselves. The Petcube essentially fills the void always see your pet. with your pet and keep it entertained.
left when you’re not there, adding a virtual Thanks to the built-in microphone and Too busy to keep an eye on your pet
presence that can potentially help reassure speaker, owners can actually talk to their pet because you’re at work? You can also ‘share’
your cat or dog that they are not alone. – if that’s your sort of thing, and if your pet your Labrador and livestream to the world so
Basically a Wi-Fi-connected camera, users is smart enough to hold a conversation. Live other animal-loving app users can watch and
can watch a live feed of their pet on the go audio is transmitted and kept in sync with the play with your pooch remotely.

£200 | $200
petcube.com

Petcube
A wireless camera that
enables you to remotely
watch, play and even talk with
your pets as well as share
them with other animal
lovers online.
Wireless set-up Laser pointer
The Petcube connects to A 5mW 3R-class laser emits from
your home Wi-Fi network, the top of the cube, enabling users
enabling you to remotely connect to remotely play and tease their
to it in seconds. Use the app to pet. Of course, the laser is certified
confirm the connection and completely safe

Two-way audio
If you’re the type of person who likes talking
to their pet, the Petcube’s two-way audio
stream, through its built-in microphone and
speaker, will be perfect for you

Slobber-proof case Secure connection

Its aluminium casing holds Each Petcube unit has
up well to everyday life, but 128-bit encryption, which uses
it also uses an easy-wipe an authentication process to stop
coating to remove hair and unscrupulous people gaining access
slobber left by your pet to your Wi-Fi network

CROWDSOURCE CARING FOR YOUR PET

There are people who out there who absolutely
adore pets – even other peoples’ pets. So the
fact that Petcube makes it easy to tune in to a live
feed of other people’s pets all over the world is
going to be a big plus. Through the companion
app, you can choose to tune in to any live
Petcube feed, or even open up your own secure
connection for others to view your animal. As
well as watching a livestream, users can use the
laser feature to play with other pets and even
take a photo of them with its camera.
The app also has a plethora of social media
features, where you can follow your favourite
celebrity pets, share your own photos and curate
a library of the cutest pets around. What really
warmed our hearts is the connection with certain
dog and cat shelters, where you interact with and
show some love to the pets that currently don’t
have a home. Just don’t blame us if you fall in
love with one and decide to adopt it!
076 King of Kebabs for
a lads night In

£70 | $97
prezzybox.com
FOR A TASTY NIGHT IN
Kebab Rotisserie Grill Make your own DIY doner kebab and more
A versatile machine that Say goodbye to long queues at the in the instructions provided and you’re
allows you to cook an array takeaway on a Saturday night. The ready to go. Like a slow cooker, you can
of meats in a healthy rotisserie 21-litre Kebab Rotisserie tabletop grill has walk away, entertain your guests and
style, filling them with flavour. a multitude of cooking attachments so check in on the food a short while later.
that you can make your own deliciously It’s important to keep in mind, though,
rich meat treat at home. From kebab that the meat may take a while to cook,
skewers, to succulent rotisserie chicken so unless you prep ahead of time you
to shawarma kebabs or even fish and might find it quicker and easier to just go
vegetables, it does it all. It’s a well-known down the local takeaway. The only major
fact that we all love to be king of the downfall of this device is the recipes. The
barbecue, well now that can include booklet only provides a simple selection,
the rotisserie as well. The device’s leaving you short of flavourful and unique
timer ensures that your meat is cooked ideas for your party. The device is easy to
perfectly without you having to worry clean and easy to operate and the sight
about cooking temperatures, simply of your carefully-crafted skewers will
set the dial to the time recommended definitely have that wow factor.
 Kebab Rotisserie Grill
077
BIG NIGHT IN
STARTER PACK
Beer Pump
This tap turns your canned beer,
both 440ml and 500ml, into a tasty
draught-style beer in the comfort of
your own home – perfect for a night
in when you want to avoid the pub.
£35 | $50 | funfoodproducts.co.uk

Italian Stonebake Pizza

Oven – Deep Pan
If kebabs weren’t enough, crack out
the pizza maker for thin, medium,
thick and deep dish crusts, maybe
even top it with some kebab meat.
£50 | $70 | funfoodproducts.co.uk

Smart Stirring Popcorn

Maker And Nut Toaster
Producing approximately 24 batches
of popcorn per serving, this gadget
also has a device that prevents your
popcorn from burning.
£40 | $60 | iwantoneofthose.com

Onion Goggles
In case anyone wants onions with
their kebab and the thought of
chopping them makes you cry before
you even begin slicing, these onion
goggles will alleviate that stress.
£15 | $20 | bit.ly/onionframes

Smartphone Projector
With this projector you can turn any
wall into a big screen and stream epic
fails, cute cat clips, Netflix or music
videos from your smartphone.
£20 | $30 | luckies.co.uk

01 Get ready
Once you’ve prepared
all your ingredients, attach
02 Attach the spit 03 Set the timer
Place the ‘solid’ end
of the spit in the drive socket
Close the glass door
and set the timer, a leg of
one rotisserie fork to the spit, located in the centre of the lamb for a doner kebab will
with the fork facing the centre, drip pan which should be take about an hour, shish
and tighten the screws. For a slotted into the base of the kebabs a little less. Once the
doner kebab, slide the meat interior. Place the grooved end door is closed the inner light
through the centre of spit or on the spit support located at will turn off, the element will
hang skewers off of the fork. the top interior of the grill. turn on and the spit will rotate.
078 This Egg Is The
Only Remote
You’ll Ever Need

IR learning
The Smart Egg can learn the IR code from any
infrared signal that emits from your electrical
devices, automatically uploading the code to
its cloud database for later use
£60 | $90
aico.tech

Smart Egg
An all-in-one remote control
hub system that also boasts
device-learning capabilities to
give you extra control over
your devices. You can even
use it to automate all of
your home gadgets.

THISEGG IS
YOU’LL EVER NEED
Combine the remotes of your electricals
in to one EGGcellent product
As gadget lovers, we’ve got an extortionate certain lighting systems, air-conditioning units
amount of remote controls littered all over and smart appliances also compatible.
the place. Not knowing which remote does But, as well as being a remote control
what is a real pain, so an all-in-one remote hub vault, Smart Egg is remarkably clever. It
system can be particularly handy. uses Bluetooth to track the position of your
The Smart Egg looks to integrate all your smartphone, enabling users to control any
remote controls into one secure cloud-based appliances in the close vicinity, while those out
database, with its accompanying app enabling of reach are disconnected. Perhaps even more
users to enter special functions for each impressive is its learning behaviour, which will
remote. Although each remote’s bindings are look to toggle features of your appliances; for
stored in the cloud, it’s the Smart Egg’s built-in example Smart Egg can set timers on your TV,
IR sensor that enables it to wirelessly connect or even regulate the temperature of your air
to any electrical item you may own. It goes conditioning unit. We’re not yolking around
far past just your TV and audio systems, with with you here, this really is one smart egg.
Smart cloud hub
The Smart Egg’s cloud server contains over
Save money on bills
By enabling Eco mode, the Smart Egg
Smart Egg
079
5,000 remote controllers and just under
can automatically adjust the temperature
120,000 IR codes already available for users to
from your heating systems and set them
download and use on their electricals
to a more eco-friendly temperature

Tracking movements
with beacons
The built-in Bluetooth beacon
continuously tracks your paired
smartphone for its location. It then
sends the controls for the electricals
that are close by

MAKE YOUR ELECTRICALS

WORK AUTOMATICALLY
The smartest thing about the Smart Egg is its ‘indoor positioning
technology’. For this, it uses Bluetooth to track your smartphone’s
position, with devices being activated when your location is tracked in
Intelligent timer Control from anywhere
The Smart Egg can add a timer to any Chances are you’ll have electricals dotted its vicinity. At its limit, Smart Egg can track up to 50 metres away. This
appliance, even if it doesn’t come with one around your home, but thanks to the enables you to use all the pre-existing controls for these appliances, but
as standard. It’s a handy tool to have when Smart Egg’s 20-metre indoor wireless without ever needing to download the controls on to your smartphone.
it comes to powering off devices range, you can stay in control at all times

MORE THAN GET SMARTER

JUST AN APP
The Smart Egg app acts as a hub for the egg. While usually used for
WITH IR LEARNING
The Smart Egg uses IR Learning, a handy tool that enables devices
adding, removing and editing the key bindings of electrical devices, it’s to ‘learn’ the code from an infrared signal emitted from a compatible
also useful for automating features on these machines as well. electrical device. In terms of the Smart Egg, the built-in IR sensor
There’s also a series of premade modes to help explore other areas can ‘clone’ the remotes that you own – bindings and all – if you’re
of your electricals’ capabilities. Its Temperature Monitor mode enables unable to find and download the remote from the Smart Egg’s
you to track your home temperature change, while the Auto Mute library of 125,000 different IR codes. The learning side of things will
option will automatically mute the TV when you receive a call. We’re then look to automatically put the bindings in a logical order for
only scratching the service with what this app can really do! owners to use on their device in the future.
080 Crime Can’t Hide
With This 360-Degree
Security Cam

CRIME CAN’T HIDE WITH THIS

All-seeing 4K camera offers

peace of mind on the go
Okay, so the Allie Camera may look like an
large webcam, but it’s, in fact, one of the most £475 | £500
allie.camera
sophisticated 360° cameras we’ve ever seen.
While its primary use will be to monitor your Allie Camera
home, it can also be used for recording events,
A 360° camera that combines
livestreaming to YouTube.
the abilities to monitor your
The camera consists of two 8-megapixel
home via a livestream, record
sensors that are positioned back-to-back, with
high-quality videos and even
both containing its own fisheye lens and a 188°
produce VR-quality
field of vision. Essentially what this means is
footage thanks to its giant
that the Allie Camera is able to capture a full
field of view.
360° view without any blind spots.
Recording can be done at 4096 x 2048
resolution and at 22fps, which is remarkable
for a security camera of its size. There’s a
built-in microphone as well, and all of this kit
can be controlled via the comfort of a paired
smartphone. But to top it all off, Allie is the
company behind Allie VR headsets and it
capitalises on the camera’s 360° view. Users
can immerse themselves in their recordings, or
live security feeds for that matter, using VR.
The Allie Camera offers a package that
few rival camera systems can offer and
at £500/$500, can you afford not to
invest in one?

Image signal
processing
There’s an array of handy shooting
tools to improve the quality of
your recordings and livestreams,
including auto white balance,
noise reduction and auto gain

Control with
gyroscopic sensors
By pairing your smartphone to
the Allie Camera, it’s possible to
control the feed with your device’s
gyroscopic sensors. Its 360° view
can help pull off some cool shots
 Allie Camera
081
Dual-fisheye lens
The Allie Camera features two fisheye lenses,
which each camera having a 188° field of
KEEP YOUR HOME SECURE
view. It means that the camera boasts to have The main use of the Allie Camera There’s also all the necessary
no blind spots in its recordings will be to keep a close eye on your procedures to follow to prevent
home, whether you’re there or people from accessing your feed.
want to connect remotely. Users While many cameras falter in
can tune in to a direct live feed of the dark, the Allie Camera proves
Connect to Wi-Fi their camera via their phone, and to be a hit. Ten infrared LED bulbs
The Allie Camera connects to your Wi-Fi
use either manual or gyroscopic sit around the circumference of
network, enabling you to monitor live
feeds and record video from your home, or
controls to view a full 360° – so the camera, producing a crystal-
remotely on your smartphone or tablet it remains easy to keep an eye clear video feed in the dark. In
on your kids, or even your pets. total, the camera can record up
The app has a range of tools to to 30 feet in front of it and its
help customises your view, which surroundings in the dark, which
is useful if you want to keep a is comparable to many high-end
recording of the feed as a backup. security systems on the market.

MAKE YOURSELF
YOUTUBE FAMOUS
Livestreaming to YouTube is one of the most prominent features of the
Allie Camera, and it provides an easy way to showcase your footage
to the world. While people may not be interested in watching your
home, it could be used for recording things like concerts, sporting
events, or even a spot of vlogging. Live recordings are sent straight to
the cloud before being uploaded, but users can also choose to save
the recordings locally. This is particularly useful if you wish to perform
some edits to it before sharing with the masses.

Record in the dark

Around the circumference of the Allie
Camera sits ten infrared LED bulbs. These
offer enough power to make recording in
the dark possible and at a decent quality

Stream to YouTube
A built-in direct upload feature enables
users to log in to their YouTube
VIEW 360-DEGREES IN VR
If people choose to use a VR headset, especially if it’s one of Allie’s own
account and start livestreaming the
video feed from the camera VR headsets, to watch your footage, they’ll be able to experience it in
full 360° glory. The smartphone sits snugly in the front of the Allie VR
headset, with the VR app and built-in optics working together to create
immersive streaming that all stems from your camera. They’ll be as close
to attending your event, but from the comfort of their sofa.
082 Pocketsized projectors

12cm
m
12c
m 21cm 10cm
13c c m
10

AAXA M4 iCODIS CB300 Dell M115HD

£420 | $600 | aaxatech.com £400 | $490 | amazon.com £370 | $390 | dell.com

HD HD HD
800 90 300 90 450 AC
lumens 150 inches 1080p minutes lumens 300 inches 720p minutes lumens 80 inches 720p Power

POCKET-SIZED
PROJECTORS
WATCH MOVIES ANYWHERE WITH THESE MOBILE PROJECTORS

Brightness Max Display Battery Standard

definition HD HD ready 3D 3D
enabled

14cm
10cm 8cm
11cm 15c
m

14xcm

ASUS S1 Sony MPCL1 NEO JDX Vista V2 3D

£280 | $305 | asus.com £245 | $350 | sony.com £225 | $320 | neojdx.com

HD 3D
200 32 lumens/ 1,000 70
lumens 41 inches 480p 3 hours Laser light 120 inches 720p 2 hours lumens 100 inches 720p minutes
 Pocketsized projectors
083
cm 16
11 cm

10cm 15cm 30cm

23
cm

Odin AAXA P300 Epson EBS31

£370 | $525 | dosowls.com £330 | $420 | aaxatech.com £325 | $460 | epson.com

HD
115 2hrs 400 3,200 DC
lumens 25 inches 480p 10 mins lumens 120 inches 1080p 1 hour lumens 300 inches 480p Power

11cm 10c
9cm m
m
11c 19cm 19cm

LG PH300 AAXA P5 Philips Picopix PP3414

£320 | $450 | lg.com £300 | $340 | aaxatech.com £280 | $450 | philips.com

HD HD
300 2hrs 300 140 AC
lumens 100 inches 720p 30 mins lumens 100 inches 720p 2 hours lumens 120 inches 480p Power

m 5c
5c m
10cm 10c 15c
m 19cm
m

Odys Picto II RIF6 Cube Tronfy Full Color 130”

£215 | £305 | odys.de £210 | $300 | rif6.com £58 | $68 | tronfy.com

80 2hrs 50 90 800 AC
lumens 60 inches 480p 30 mins lumens 120 inches 480p minutes lumens 130 inches 480p Power
084 Supercharge your
summer

SUPERCHARGE
YOUR

SUMMER TECH CAN MAKE YOUR SUMMER

BETTER THAN EVER BEFORE

Historically, we have tended not to carry you can pay a little extra and cover multiple
much technology with us during the summer tasks in one purchase, and at no stage has
months for a variety of reasons. Gadgets can the quality been lost through miniaturisation
easily get damaged in water or even when or flexible components. We will highlight the
left under the hot sun for a few minutes, for best accessories to take with you for the most
example, but we have now reached the stage popular summer activities and also how to
where the materials and knowledge available make more of each event. Whether you are
lets manufacturers make products that are watching the Olympics or taking a trip to the
able to withstand whatever is thrown at them. beach, there are many products available to
On top of this, they have taken things much minimise hassle and help you concentrate on
further and created a selection of devices what is important: enjoying yourself. Whether
that can multitask. No longer do you need the weather holds up or not, you will have a
a singular device for each activity because much better summer if it is supercharged.

“No longer do you need

a singular device for
each activity”
Supercharge your
summer
085
086 Supercharge
your summer

Keep it steady
Clever touches, like the ability to
keep the Soft Shell steady when
serving, are extremely useful. These
handles don’t affect its movement,
but they steady it well when needed

BEACH
TOYS
The beach was always a dangerous place for any
personal possession, and for obvious reasons.
A fun look
The Soft Shell’s exterior
works with its colour scheme
and materials to create a
Salt water and sand have never worked well with product that will look good
electronics, but you can now rest easy in the in any situation, even in the
knowledge that there are products which will take kitchen when it’s not in use
a trip to the beach in their stride. You can make ice
cream while having fun, some wireless speakers
are fully waterproof and are able to offer musical
accompaniment when you are swimming, and
cooking food and cooling drinks are no longer off £30 | $35
limits when with friends near the sea. With superb industrialrev.com

portability, lightweight components and toughness YayLabs! Soft Shell

that we have not seen before, a trip to the beach Ice Cream Ball
no longer needs to consist of a quick swim and A fun way to make ice cream.
sunbathing. You can now party with friends, cook Ingredients go inside the
a meal and do all of the social networking you like ball and after a few minutes Two easy chambers
without fearing for your expensive toys, and with of throwing it around, you There are two chambers that are
all this comes the potential for a much more social can serve homemade Mr used to make the ice cream. Insert
experience in a setting that is perfectly created for ingredients, such as cream and
Whippys all round. sugar, in one end and ice and rock
enjoyment and relaxation. The beach has always
salt in the other end
been a wonderful place, but it just became more
fun than ever before.

£200 | $230
lotusgrilluk.com

Lotus Grill XL

THE LOTUS GRILL

IS PERFECTLY
PORTABLE
If you can find a friendly beach that
allows barbecues, the Lotus Grill
is be the ideal tool to quickly cook
some piping-hot food on a summer’s
day. It’s light, easy to carry, and
with battery-powered fans and a
reasonable combustion time, you
will be the star of the beach party
whenever you want to be.
 Beach toys
087

01 Freezing at
below zero
Rock salt is added to
AN EXTREMELY TOUGH
reduce the freezing point AND ACCURATE WATCH
of the ice. This stops it The Casio G Shock GW-3000M-4AER offers
melting too early and every possible feature you will need for a day on
causes the ingredients to the beach. It’s waterproof, shock resistant and
freeze more evenly, and, solar-powered, so you can roll in the sand, take
in turn, offers the classic a swim in salt water and do anything else and
ice cream texture we it will still offer satellite-powered accuracy and
know and love. infinite battery performance.
£200 | $290 | casio-europe.com

02 Mix the two

parts
When you move the
ball around, the ice and
salt naturally move in a
random motion and mix
with your ingredients. It
is airtight, so the ice will
capture the ingredients
and form a clean,
sandless mixture.

03 Stir
shake
and
You need to stop after
FILM EVERY SECOND
ten minutes to stir OF YOUR DIVES
the mixture to ensure Dive masks are a required item for many beach
consistency. At this point dwellers, but the Liquid Image Model 305 takes
you roll it for another ten things further by incorporating a five-megapixel
minutes to complete the CMOS camera which can film every moment
mixing process which and also snap 12-megapixel images. Even better,
will ultimately create a it is light enough to feel just like a normal dive
familiar treat. mask when underwater.
£85 | $120 | liquidimageco.com

CARRY THE COOLEST SHARE MUSIC WITH USE THE SAMSUNG

COOLER WITH YOU THE MIGHTY SPEAKER GALAXY S7 ANYWHERE
The Coolest Cooler is perfect for keeping drinks The Mighty Speaker is perfect for the beach. It The Samsung Galaxy S7 can be immersed in 1.5
and food chilled on the hottest of days, but it is works with most mobile devices and it is also metres of water for 30 minutes and still work
the extra features that make it stand out above completely waterproof. One charge gives you perfectly. With included dust resistance and a
the rest. There is an integrated high-quality six hours of use and the dustproofing will add sturdy design throughout, the S7 is the perfect
blender, Bluetooth speaker, USB charger, cutting protection against sand, but perhaps the best communications tool for any beach visit. Indeed,
board and too many other features to mention. feature of all is that it floats! It’s the perfect toy to these tough features will be beneficial in every
It’s one hell of a versatile beach gadget. keep you and your friends entertained by the sea. aspect of your life, whether on the beach or not.
£310 | $450 | coolest.com £25 | $35 | morrisoninnovations.com £570 | $830 | samsung.com
088 Supercharge
your summer

TRAVEL
ESSENTIALS
Few people like travelling, especially long flights,
but there are devices available today that will makes
things a bit easier to manage. You no longer need
even luggage that you can track wherever it is in
the world. Jet lag can be countered by a sleep mask
and all of the rest of your tech can be carefully and
to accept the ‘comfort’ that an airline or hotel securely stored in cleverly-designed kits that ensure
offers you because you now have the ability to give you will never lose anything. Travelling is either
yourself some relaxing moments whenever you about getting to a destination of your choice or
feel the need, and most of what can help is not being an integral part of a trip, so it makes sense to
expensive at all. There are clothes that can carry a cut out all of the menial tasks and make the most
variety of personal and important objects, cameras of every second. With these products your next trip
that will keep a memorable trip alive forever and could be a whole lot easier.

THE CANON EOS 1300D

CAPTURES EVERYTHING
The 1300D is fast gaining a reputation for
photographic prowess and it’s not just the relatively
low cost that makes it stand out. It can capture full
HD movies, 18-megapixel images and these can be
shared instantly using its Wi-Fi and NFC hardware.
In a time when phones are dominating the world
of photography, products like this highlight that
sometimes a ‘real’ camera is just as flexible while
producing superior photos every single time.

£305 | $500
canon.com

Canon EOS 1300D

SAFEGUARD YOUR CHARGE EVERY DEVICE KEEP YOUR TECH

PERSONAL SPACE YOU OWN ORGANISED
The Knee Defender promises to protect your Travelling usually requires the use of a phone, When you carry tech with you, there will be
precious legroom on long flights, but is likely a tablet and potentially a laptop if you need to an inevitable collection of cables and other
to prove controversial with other passengers. get work done, but keeping all of these powered accessories that you need to keep safe. The Grid
Placed at the top of either arm of the tray table, is tricky. With the Anker PowerCore 20100 you It Organizer Pack is the ultimate solution for
the miniature device, about the same height as a can charge a phone seven times over and it is keeping everything in one place and with four
house key, keeps the seat in front of you locked portable enough to keep with you all of the time. different cases in the pack, you will have the right
in place, so they can’t recline backwards. It saves lots of unnecessary hassle. solution available for every trip.
£15 | $20 | gadgetduck.com £25 | $45 | anker.com £40 | $60 | cocooninnovations.com
Enjoy the flight
The integrated neck pillow will prove
to be a life-saver on flights and saves
you having to purchase accessories
that you will likely lose anyway

A disguised surprise
The zipper also works as a bottle-
opener which perhaps, more than
any other feature, highlights how In-hood cushioning
much thought has gone into the This padding ensures a comfortable
Koala Hoodie feeling when relaxing in a taxi, in a
chair or anywhere else. It also helps
to keep you warm

Look after Keep the air flowing

your glasses Air vents ensure that air is circulated,
You can keep your sunglasses or as it needs to be in order to keep you
reading glasses safe in a specially- cool. The Koala Hoodie caters for
designed pocket. The pen pocket almost all weather conditions
and secret pocket only add to the
flexibility available here

Secure your phone

A passport holder A phone pocket is integrated into
the jacket and you can also purchase
Every travel detail has been
an optional charger to make sure
catered for including a crucial
your digital assistant is secure and
passport holder. Lose your
powered at all times
passport and the entire trip
could be ruined in an instant

Handy thumb £95 | $140

holes koalahoodie.com
Thumb holes are built in
which effectively turn the Koala Hoodie
ends of the sleeves into
gloves. This is useful if you
This crowdfunded hoodie
find yourself in unexpectedly is tailor-made for travel
chilly situations with a built-in neck pillow
and eye mask along with
13 other features to make
your trip easier and more
comfortable.

THE SMARTEST THE BEST PERSONAL TAKE CONTROL

LUGGAGE EVER MADE SOUND QUALITY OF JET LAG
It’s likely that the contents of your suitcase when The Sennheiser MM 100 headphones are Don’t waste the first few days of your trip adjust
travelling total much more than you expect, practical because there are no wires to get to the time difference. Re=Timer’s goggles use a
and most of us secure our possessions with a in the way on a long flight, thanks to their soft green light to stimulate the part of the brain
simple lock. The Bluesmart, however, comes Bluetooth connectivity. They include a concealed responsible for regulating the body clock and can
with location tracking, a digital lock, a scale, USB microphone, effectively making the headphones be used at certain times of the day to reprogram
battery chargers and more. When used with its a high-quality headset, and open ear cups to give your brain into sleeping when you actually need
app, this becomes a brilliant and secure solution. you the best possible sound quality. to and beat jet lag.
£420 | $450 | bluesmart.com £130 | $150 | sennheiser.com £150 | $310 | re-timer.com
090 Supercharge
your summer

FESTIVAL FUN
Festivals are unforgettable experiences,
there is no doubt about it, but you are
around. Security is also of great
importance, but it is quite easy to keep
also spending time with a very large your devices safe, as we will show you,
group of strangers and it can be easy and you can even negate the need to
to get lost in the moment and indeed spend hours struggling to put up a
become invisible. We will show you tent. A lot of preparation is usually
how to stand out with a very clever pair required to fully enjoy a festival and
of shades and how to best share your at times even more work is needed
music with friends when the bands have when you get there, but with some
stopped playing. We’ll also demonstrate useful tech the experience can be
how to ensure that all of your tech is smoother than ever. Take the right
powered throughout the entire event gear, spend time with the right group of
without having to carry bulky chargers people and simply enjoy the music.

14 hours of battery life is

cleverly incorporated into each
pair of Drop Shades £35 | $50
getdropshades.com

Drop Shades
A fabulous pair of shutter
shades that light up in time
with the music. If you are out
partying, they are a surefire
way to get yourself noticed
and maybe even and make
some festival friends.

NEVER LET THE

MUSIC STOP
There will be times when you and your
friends want to party while no bands or
artists are entertaining the crowds, and
the UE Boom 2 speaker is the perfect
tool for this. It is a small Bluetooth
speaker that will blow your mind when
you hear the sound that it can produce.
It packs quite the punch for a 7 x 2.5
x 2.5-inch speaker and 15 hours of
battery between charges makes it A SOLAR-POWERED
highly practical as well. BACKPACK? YES REALLY
The BirkSun Boost Classic is a super-cool
backpack that will suit any look and any festival,
£110 | $200 but it has a trick up its sleeve which makes it
ultimateears.com truly stand out. You can keep all of your devices
charged using the backpack’s solar technology,
UE Boom 2 which makes it incredibly useful during long
festivals and camping trips.
£70 | $100 | birksun.com
 Festival fun
091
From wood to food
The Camp Stove creates a smokeless
The effect when wearing campfire by only burning wood
DropShades is sure to make which can be used to cook meals See what’s
you stand out from the crowd and to keep warm. happening
A free LED light is included to
keep an eye on the stove or to
read while camping. Much care
has gone into the practicalities of
the design

£110 | $130
WeSellElectrical.co.uk

BioLite Wood Burning

Camp Stove With USB
The BioLite Camp Stove
can generate electricity for
Charge your gadgets phones and is powered by
You can charge a phone or tablet by
plugging it in to the port on the front. burning wood. It can also
No direct electricity is needed to cook meals and boil water
keep your stuff powered in a few minutes.

CAMPING KIT
THIS KIT COULD
MAKE YOUR OWN SAVE YOUR LIFE
CAVE IN SECONDS The Bear Grylls Basic Kit contains a set of
There are few things in life more annoying that useful tools that could make a camping or
putting up a tent, but if you buy The Cave you will backpacking trips much easier and potentially
be able to inflate your temporary home in just save your in an emergency. The kit includes
under a minute! The quality of the materials is waterproof matches, a cotton ball to use as
superb and the design makes it more stable than tinder, a fold-up knife, snare wire, a pocket
much of the competition. You can now easily guide full of survival tips and much more.
build a makeshift cave anywhere. £20 | $30 | gerber-store.co.uk
£515 | $750 | heimplanet.com

KEEP CLEAN
WHEREVER YOU ARE
We’ve all been there after a few days camping –
sweaty, grubby and just generally unclean. Well,
the Helio Pressure Shower can solve all of that.
You pump it with your foot and you can clean
dishes, your muddy dog and, most importantly,
your own filthy body when you need to. It will
greatly improve any camping trip.
£105 | $100 | nemoequipment.com

KEEP YOUR THE ESSENTIAL

POSSESSIONS SECURE FLASHLIGHT
The Original SPI Belt is designed to let you store A powerful flashlight is a must-have tool for
a phone, headphones, cards and cash in the any camping trip, but with the Eton Scorpion
smallest space possible. This is important at you also get a USB charger and AM/FM/NOAA
festivals, and the fact that it can be worn under weather band digital radio. There’s no need for
clothing means that others will not know what batteries, thanks to its solar panel. All in all,
you have with you. It’s a simple, but essential this is a very impressive and flexible piece of
festival accessory that can work everywhere. kit – it even has a bottle opener.
£20 | $30 | spibelt.com £50 | $45 | etoncorp.com
092 Supercharge
your summer
£400 | $565
campingaz.com

Campingaz 3 Series
LS Plus Barbecue
Perfect for preparing a family
feast, this gas-powered
barbecue has 2,800 square
centimetre cooking area
with cast iron top and a
fold-out side burner.

GARDEN Dishwasher
friendly

PARTY
After a long day of partying
cooking burgers, the last
thing you want to do is clean.
Fortunately, the grill disassembles
into pieces fit into a standard sized
dishwasher

Garden parties are often a gamble because a outside and people can be kept warm when
lot can go wrong. The food must be cooked the sun goes down, and the end result should
well, the drinks need to be cold and the be an event that your guests will remember for
atmosphere is a crucial factor, which can be some time to come. Your preparation time can
difficult to achieve in a garden. There are, be minimised and by being able to take the Cooks more
however, a variety of tools that can make the stress out of making sure everything goes well than burgers Side burner
experience much more pleasurable for your should let you to enjoy the party too. Burnt Part of the cast iron Cause a stir by
guests. Lights that can be programmed to sausages, a poor quality music player and a grill is modular, so you preparing your own
can easily swap it out barbecue sauce. The
pulse in any colour are available, as is a top- cold evening are not the best ingredients for a
for a wok, pizza stone 3 series side burner
of-the-range barbecue that cooks all of your good garden party, but you can now resolve all or even a non-stick is great for preparing
food to perfection. Drinks can be kept cool of these problems before they even occur. paella pan sauces or other sides

ADD SOME
COLOUR TO A
Light when you need it
GARDEN PARTY
The Play Bulb solar lights are
The Playbulbs will automatically light
up when it gets dark and will power
designed to work like normal
themselves for up to 20 hours using garden lights in that they
solar energy from the sun automatically turn on when it gets
dark, but they can do so much
more than that. As well as being
weather-resistant, these solar lights
A very clever app are intelligent and, when paired with
Each Playbulb can be customised their free companion app, you can
using a free app. This gives you customise the colour of the lights,
multiple colour and behaviour add pulsing or rainbow effects and
options plus the ability to make easily add any atmosphere you
changes in an instant
want to a party with a couple of
taps of your device. You can now
create a chic disco feel outside.

Perfect for the garden £30 | $40

They are water resistant and so can be
playbulb.com
placed outside for extended periods.
Installation is very easy and the entire Play Bulb
set-up process only takes minutes
Solar Lights
 Garden party
093
An immersive experience
An extra-wide glow is emitted from all four £1,500 | $2,185
sides of the TV onto the wall behind. The philips.co.uk
end result is an experience that makes the
TV feel much bigger Philips 4K UHD Razor
Slim TV
Light up your room with an
Ambilight TV from Philips. It
comes with every possible
feature you will need to
catch all of the action of
any sporting event.

MAKE THE
LAWN PERFECT

© Paparazzofamily | Dreamstime.com
Pixel-perfect
You will want your lawn to look smart in pictures
preparation for a garden party, but with so much More than 8 million
to organise it can be difficult to find the time pixels and ultra HD
to do everything. Enter the Husqvarna Robotic upscaling technology
Lawn Mower which is silent, can work over most ensure that the picture
terrains and which will ultimately save you a lot you see is as close
to the real thing as
of time and effort.
possible
£1,000 | $1,450 | husqvarna.com

Apps and extra

The Google Play store is available and the TV
comes with 16GB of expandable memory to
ensure that you can work and play as well as watch

CELEBRATE A
SUMMER OF SPORT
KEEP THE DRINKS CATCH THE
FLOWING BIG EVENTS
A garden party shouldn’t be interrupted by A projector has the advantage of offering a
constant visits indoors to get drinks and so the much bigger display space, in the case of the
My Fridge MF-6W will help to keep the drinks BenQ 1080ST+, up to 100 inches, and also
flowing. With space for up to six large bottles being more portable than a TV. With the
and continuously variable temperature cooling 1080ST+ you also get 1080p quality and 3D
to 16°C below ambient, you can be sure that the capabilities so you will be able to see all of the
drinks will be more than cool enough to enjoy. action as if you were really in the crowd.
£110 | $160 | dometic.co.uk £750 | $1,100 | benq.com

HEAR EVERY GOAL

AND EVERY SCREAM
When you are watching sporting events you will
also want to hear every important moment as
realistically as possible. The Sony 2.1-channel
Soundbar lets you immerse yourself in the roar
from the crowd and the satisfying sounds of
when a javelin meets the ground or a ball meets
goal. It will greatly enhance your sport viewing.
£240 | $350 | sony.com

KEEP THE ATMOSPHERE RECORD 3,000

WARM AND FRIENDLY HOURS OF SPORT
If your guests start to get cold, the atmosphere The TiVo Roamio Pro DVR is the ideal
could quickly turn cool as well, but the whole accessory for your summer sporting event
idea of a garden party is to be outside. With binge because it can record up to 3,000
a Cronus III table heater your can help select hours of TV and also record six channels at
people grab some much needed warmth and a time. With unified search, built-in wireless
you can even control the output remotely. This and mobile streaming, there really is nothing
could extend the party time substantially. missing here.
£335 | $490 | chillchaser.co.uk £310 | $450 | tivo.com
094 Don’t turn the
page just yet

DON’T
JUST YET
See which travel e-reader will bookworm its way to your heart

£145 | $210 £110 | $120

bookeen.com amazon.com

Cybook Ocean Kindle Paperwhite

AN E-READER WITH THE AMAZON’S SHARP-

LARGEST OF SCREENS SCREEN READER
Oasis, H2O, Ocean – there’s definitely something in the water While the Kindle Oasis is Amazon’s flagship device, this budget
when it comes to these latest e-readers. With the Ocean, though, beauty undercuts all of its rivals. The third-gen model is still without
you get text flowing beyond the normal screen size, giving 79 per audio features but it uses low-power Carta E Ink technology and
cent more reading space on its eight-inch edge-to-edge display. comes with a built-in light. But at 205g, it’s heavier than the Oasis.

Design Performance Design which lays everything out in the

We would like to say the Ocean The Ocean’s 800MHz chip The Paperwhite takes the familiar same way as you’d expect on a
hasn’t cut any corners in terms makes it the slowest of the Kindle form of a six-inch screen printed page.
of design but it has, right there e-readers featured here and it is surrounded by a reasonably
on the bottom left. But it’s prominent when compared to wide black plastic frame but Performance
missing more than that tiny the other devices. The Ocean it’s symmetry really is nothing This is no slow finger reader. It’s
piece: while it’s solidly built, has a 160ppi paper-like, anti- to write home about. Still, it’s got a 1GHz processor and 512MB
Ocean is uncomfortable to hold glare display, a month’s battery function over form: you simply of RAM together with 4GB of
due to its sharp edges. life with Wi-Fi disabled and it tap the screen to turn the pages storage and access to the Kindle
weighs 300 grams. You can or view the menu. cloud. It zips through page turns
Features expand the 4GB storage space like World Record-holding page-
One of the nicest things about to 32GB via microSD. Features turner Howard Berg.
the Ocean is that the screen The latest Paperwhite introduced
is flush with the bezel and this Verdict an eye-pleasing 300ppi screen Verdict
makes going page-to-page in Spec-for-spec, Ocean is a few and a crisp, readable Bookerly Paperwhite versus Oasis may
a book pleasurable. It also uses years behind in the reading typeface. You almost feel like sound like a new Britpop battle
a font called Caecilia which is class and it is in danger of you’re reading a proper book but this is no cheap imitation:
designed to make reading easier. drowning very fast. thanks to the typesetting engine Paperwhite is top value.
 e-readers
095
“The Oasis comes with a
book-like case that doubles
as a battery booster”
£270 | $310
£140 | $175
amazon.com
kobo.com

Kobo Aura H20 Kindle Oasis

THE E-READER YOU IT’S THIN, LIGHT

CAN DROP IN THE POOL AND VERY EXPENSIVE
Kobo has made a splash in the e-reader market with the dustproof With Oasis, Amazon has given the Kindle an overhaul to produce
and waterproof H20 proving to be the perfect beach-bound summer an e-reader pitched at the luxury end of the market. It comes with
blockbuster. Since it is IP-certified, it can be plunged in up to a metre a book-like case that doubles as a battery booster, enabling it to be
of water for 30 minutes – as long as the port cover is closed, anyway. powered for months on a single charge. It ain’t cheap, though.

Design books although it can be more Design also a lightweight: it comes in

Even though, at 6.8 inches, the expensive than Kindle. You’ll instantly notice how thin at just 131g.
265ppi touchscreen is only a tad the Kindle Oasis is. Although
larger than the six-inch Kindles, Performance the side you comfortably grip is Performance
it looks much bigger. But it feels You can expand the memory up 8.5mm thick, it tapers down to What it lacks in not having any
heavier and heftier too. The to 32GB with a microSD card just 3.4mm. A couple of well- kind of audio facility, it makes up
angular back is more stylish than and you’ll have no problems placed buttons let you flick for in speed. The text flies on to
the front, making it nice to hold. familiarising yourself with its through the pages or you can the page and its performance
interface: the SimpleTurn feature tap the 300ppi six-inch glass- will help you zip through the
Features makes flicking through pages as covered screen instead. thousands of books you can fit
Aside from the built-in front easy as tapping left or right. But, into its 4GB of storage.
light, there are 24 font sizes despite having a 1GHz processor, Features
and 11 different font types. The PDFs prove painfully slow. Since it has 60 per cent more Verdict
H20 works with the Pocket LEDs, the Oasis is brighter than Undoubtedly the most advanced
app and lots of file types Verdict the average Kindle. The light is e-reader. It’s not waterproof but
including ePub, PDF and MOBI. Go elsewhere if you want 3G shone from the side so it doesn’t with crisp text and access to the
The Kobo e-reader store has (this is Wi-Fi-only) but dive in for sear your eyes and you can vast Kindle store, it’s not wet
access to more than 4 million a supportive, well-built reader. adjust it to suit your needs. It’s behind the ears either.
096 Calling time

CALLING
TIME THE SMARTWATCH HAD ITS CHANCE,
DID IT LIVE UP TO IT?
 Calling time
097
SMART-
WATCHES –
THE GLOSSARY
While smartwatches aren’t the
most complicated gadgets
around, you might come across
certain terms that you’re not
100 per cent sure about. Let us
guide you through the jargon
by summarising all the key
terminology that you’re likely to
come across:

ANDROID WEAR – the

smartwatch operating system
based on Android, developed
by Google and compatible
with Android and iOS phones,
How far we’ve come: Pebble was the first smartwatch, if you have an Android Wear
crowdfunded through Kickstarter in 2012 app installed. Supports smart
notifications, Google Now,

T
voice control and more.
here have been key moments in By today’s standards the Pebble isn’t
recent years when it was easy to a game-changing gadget, but in 2012 it ATM – short for ‘atmospheres’,
believe the smartwatch was the promised the future – a customisable you’ll see an ATM specification
‘Next Big Thing’. Take the time the watch that linked-up with your phone to if your smartwatch is
Pebble attracted over $10 million keep you more connected than ever. Smart waterproof. The number in
from Kickstarter backers in May 2012, for notifications! Call screening! Running and front of the ATM indicates how
example; or the event in San Francisco in cycling stats! It quickly caught the imagination many metres underwater you
can go before the watch is
September 2014 where Apple CEO Tim Cook of the early adopters in the tech community
going to start to get damaged.
finally unveiled the long-awaited Apple Watch. and looked destined for mainstream success.
The biggest names in the industry – Then the big names got involved: Google PEBBLE OS – a customised
Google, Apple, Microsoft, Samsung, LG, Sony announced Android Wear in March 2014 smartwatch OS developed by
et al – have jumped on board the bandwagon, with Motorola, Samsung, LG, HTC and Asus Pebble for its own range of
but it seems increasingly likely that this listed as partners. That summer, the Samsung smartwatches, which works
bandwagon has now ground to a halt (or is Gear Live and LG G Watch debuted, closely with connected Android and
slowly going around in circles). These gadgets followed by the circular Moto 360. Again, the iOS devices. Its features include
notification support, activity

“It’s possible to make a powerful tracking and customisable

watch ‘faces’.

computer small enough to wear” STANDALONE – essentially,

able to work without a
phone tethered to it. Most
haven’t swamped the market as much as their excitement was palpable, and Android Wear smartwatches offer some level
makers might have hoped. Is the smartwatch had the advantage of a huge ecosystem of of standalone functionality,
fad over already, or is there life in it yet? apps behind it right from the off. such as GPS tracking, Wi-Fi
With smartphones now reaching something “We’re right at the beginning in a new connectivity or the option to
cache music tracks on the
of a plateau in terms of specs, features and phase in the miniaturisation of technology,
device and listen on the go.
sales, and virtual reality still too expensive which means that it’s finally possible to make
for the casual consumer for the time being, a powerful computer small enough to wear TIZEN – the operating system
there’s a gadget power vacuum ready to be comfortably on your body all day long,” said you get on your smartwatch
filled. The question is whether smartwatches David Singleton, director of engineering if you buy a recent Samsung
have already lost their chance to fill it. at Android, on stage at Google I/O 2014. model. It’s fully compatible
“There’s a huge opportunity to bring rich user with Android devices and (to

A BRIEF HISTORY OF experiences to these devices.”

Sensors gathering data around the clock;
a limited extent) iOS devices,
offering notifications, custom
SMARTWATCHES voice control for when your hands are busy;
faces, watch apps and more.
Like VR, the smartwatch era was launched digital identification protocols to pay for items
WATCHOS – The operating
by a plucky independent company looking or breeze through hotel doors with a wave system for the Apple Watch,
for funding on Kickstarter, in this case it was of your wrist; smartwatches promised all this based on iOS and compatible
Pebble. The campaign broke Kickstarter and more, and because everyone already had only with the iPhone. It
records, raking in a total of $10,266,845 from a smartphone with them, wouldn’t everyone supports voice control, smart
68,929 backers wowed by the technology. also want a smartwatch too? notifications, Apple Pay and
one-to-one messaging apps.
098 Calling time

ANDROID WEAR
PEBBLE OS WATCHOS
WATCHOS ANDROID WEAR PEBBLE OS

COUNTING STEPS

HEART-RATE MONITORING

SLEEP TRACKING

BUILT-IN GPS

MOBILE NFC PAYMENTS

DIRECT WI-FI CONNECTIVITY

OFFLINE MUSIC PLAYBACK

VOICE CONTROL

MAKE AND TAKE CALLS

CUSTOMISED WATCH FACES

*Note that this chart lists the capabilities of Android Wear, but in some cases (e.g. heart-rate monitoring, GPS)
you also need an Android Wear watch with the right components.

Samsung was one of the first smartwatch sales at anywhere between 4.8 Young-Hee Lee told the Wall Street Journal
companies out of the door with an Android and 6.8 million for 2014, some way short of in March 2015. “It’s time for us to pause. We
Wear smartwatch, but it soon struck out on the one billion smartphones shifted over the want a more perfect product.”
its own with new models based around its same 12-month period. Was it possible that The scene was set for Apple to ride in and
proprietary Tizen software. The South Korean despite the hype, there were just not that save the market, doing for the smartwatch
firm got into smartwatches faster and harder many people who wanted a smartwatch? what it had done for the MP3 player and the
than anyone else, and already has seven Even trailblazer Samsung was pausing smartphone, bringing clarity to a struggling,
different models to its name in two years. for thought, putting a hold on smartwatch fledgling product – or at least, that was the
But the warning signs started to show. production. “We’ve been introducing more theory. The Apple Watch was unveiled in
Sales estimates drawn up by analysts pegged devices than anybody else,” Samsung’s September 2014 and eventually went on sale
in April the following year.
“Apple is poised to captivate the world
with a revolutionary product that can enrich
people’s lives,” Apple chief Tim Cook said
at the time. “It’s the most personal product
we’ve ever made.” Apple’s design guru Jony
Ive weighed in to speak about blurring
boundaries between physical object and UI,
and creating “unparalleled personalisation”
for users. So what went wrong?

WHAT IS A
SMARTWATCH FOR,
ANYWAY?
The cascade of reviews of the Apple Watch –
Like Android for smartphones, Google’s Android Wear OS works
many of which went into eye-watering detail
on lots of smartwatches made by different manufacturers
– are a helpful litmus test for the state of
 Calling time
099

Fitness tracking has proven to be one of the

most popular features of the Apple Watch

“Smartwatches want to usher

problem if you’re trying to shift millions of
high-tech wearables out of your factory.
It seems smartwatches want to usher in a

in a change in our behaviour change in our behaviour that we just aren’t

ready for: checking updates from our wrists

that we just aren’t ready for”

instead of unlocking our phones. Rather
than freeing us from the addiction of the
smartphone screen, these watches make
matters worse – the screen might be smaller,
the smartwatch market in the spring of 2015. the new wearable, saying it ultimately felt like but it’s there all the time, so notifications and
Journalists and users alike struggled to work an extension of his body. Even Manjoo had distraction are just a flick of the wrist away.
out exactly what the purpose of the Apple his reservations, though, particularly around Many Apple Watch owners have reported
Watch or indeed any smartwatch actually is. the intuitiveness of the interface and the hit- ditching their wrist-based computers after
To tell the time, obviously. But a regular and-miss voice control. the novelty wears off, in the same way
watch can do that, and so far smartwatches “The Apple Watch is the most capable that someone might strap on a FitBit for
haven’t been compelling enough to get all smartwatch available today,” mused The three months and then rather quickly lose
that many seasoned watch-wearers to make Verge’s Nilay Patel. “It wants to do and interest in it. “It doesn’t really do anything
the switch, or to tempt masses of non- change so much about how we interact that anyone needs, and even when it does,
watch-wearers to begin slapping a gadget on with technology. But that ambition robs it it doesn’t always work like it’s supposed to,”
their wrists. It’s not yet a must-have bit of kit. of focus: it can do tiny bits of everything, wrote one such user, Gizmodo’s Casey Chan,
The Apple Watch reviews praised its build instead of a few things extraordinarily well. in April 2016 (a year after the watch’s debut).
quality and design but none of the reviewers For all of its technological marvel, the Apple We’re focusing on the Apple Watch
sounded like they would be using one in the Watch is still a smartwatch, and it’s not because it’s the highest-profile and
long term. CNET’s Scott Stein described it clear that anyone’s yet figured out what bestselling smartwatch out there, but the
as a “phone accessory”, calling it “beautiful smartwatches are actually for.” reservations people have about Apple’s
and promising” before concluding that: “You In other words, where’s the ‘killer app’ for wearable can be applied to the rest of the
don’t need an Apple Watch.” this device? Where’s the app or feature that market as well. In real life, these devices have
“In the end the Apple Watch is, above all, makes the majority of the general public few advantages over a smartphone (“Most
a satisfying indulgence,” wrote Yahoo Tech’s think, ‘I absolutely need one of those?’ The Watch apps just end up being a shell of the
David Pogue. “It’s a luxury.” Over at the New truth is that almost everything a smartwatch iPhone app” wrote Casey Chan), and the
York Times, meanwhile, Farhad Manjoo does can be done more easily and more tasks they do excel at often take too long to
offered up one of the most positive takes on conveniently on a smartphone, and that’s a complete due to memory issues.
100 Calling time

THE WEARABLE FUTURE James Moar. “What the devices now need is
a price drop to be seen as more accessible,
Perhaps the smartwatch is destined to always and to be less ‘additional’... Smartwatch-
be a niche product. But even if that’s the case, specific or smartwatch-optimised features,
and even if the reaction to smartwatches has such as payments, authentication and more
been lukewarm so far, there is hope for its standalone capability, will make them seem
future. We’ve said that smartwatch sales don’t less like an [add-on] for a smartphone.”
compare favourably to smartphone sales, but Recent announcements suggest Google
they’re not a disaster – one market research and Apple may have come to similar
firm puts smartwatch sales at 4.2 million for conclusions. Last month Apple unveiled
January to March 2016, obviously a big jump WatchOS 3, the next software update for its
on the 2014 figures. wearable. Launching in the autumn, this will Kevin Lynch, Apple’s VP of Technology, unveils
Apple hasn’t reveal sales figures for the completely overhaul the interface, ditching the simplifed WatchOS 3 at WWDC 2016
Apple Watch, but Tim Cook has confirmed the idea of app ‘glances’ in favour of a more
that it has sold more units in its first year familiar app dock and a mini control centre syncing. Crucially, the ability to install apps
than the original iPhone did back in 2007. Of for toggling key functions on and off. Smart directly onto your smartwatch will also
course the landscape was a lot different back replies will make messaging easier and there make Android Wear more friendly to iPhone
then, but it’s still an interesting perspective, will be a greater emphasis on fitness tracking. users as it will no longer matter that their
and suggests at least 6 million of us have Google has announced its doing much smartphone uses a different app store.
forked out for an Apple Watch. the same for Android Wear 2.0, but will Time will tell if these new features plus
George Jijiashvili of industry analyst CCS also be making its smartwatches more the improved hardware that’s in the pipeline,
Insight thinks smartwatches still have a bright autonomous. You won’t need your phone will be enough to get a smartwatch on
future. “Now that we’ve gone past the phase nearby to use apps on your Android Wear every wrist. Certainly as the smartphones
of experimentation, dominant form factors, device. Rather, it will be able to communicate innovation tap starts to run dry, wearables
features and operating systems are emerging,” through Bluetooth, Wi-Fi or cellular instead of some form or another are still in the best
he tells us. “There are now clear use cases of depending on a tethered phone or cloud position to fill the gap.
beyond notifications, including emphasis
on wellness and contactless payments.”
The growing choice of styles and increasing “Smartwatches certainly
haven’t changed the
number of apps are signs that the smartwatch
ecosystem is healthy, he concludes.
“Smartwatches certainly haven’t changed
the technology landscape, but they are not
in terminal decline,” says Juniper Research’s technology landscape”
SMARTWATCH APPS YOU SHOULD TRY

EVERNOTE GOOGLE MAPS RUNTASTIC SHAZAM UBER

This organisation No one does One of the Identify a song One of the best
app is probably street mapping best uses for a without having to and biggest
already familiar quite as accurately smartwatch is yank your phone apps on all three
to you, but it comes into or as intuitively as Google giving you running stats out of your pocket thanks smartwatch platforms,
its own on a smartwatch, does, and it has apps for and info on the move, to the magic of Shazam Uber lets you hail a taxi
where you can set up Android Wear (of course) and Runtastic leads the for smartwatches. Oh, and from your wrist in a
reminders, tick off items and the Apple Watch, pack as far as this type of you can get the lyrics to growing number of
on a to do list, and search though the latter one is a app goes. It’s packed with the tune up as well so you cities in the world, quickly
through your notes. little more limited. features and options. can sing along. and easily.
Free | Works on both Apple Free | Works on both Apple Free | Works on both Apple Free | Works on both Apple Free | Works on Apple Watch,
Watch and Android Wear Watch and Android Wear Watch and Android Wear Watch and Android Wear Android Wear and Pebble OS
 Calling time
101
6
DEVICES TO MAKE YOU GIVE
SMARTWATCHES A SECOND CHANCE

APPLE WATCH HUAWEI WATCH MOTO 360 V2

Perhaps not the smash hit Apple was hoping The Huawei Watch is functional, stylish and This is the second-generation of the Moto
for, but it’s selling equally as good or even one of the first Android Wear watches that has 360 and one of the best Android Wear devices
better than the first iPhone did. It is the obvious the ability work with iOS too. The price is a bit around – it looks the part, can be customised
choice if you own an iPhone and want a smart steep but you’re unlikely to be disappointed in a variety of ways and it makes the most of
wearable to go with it. with your purchase. the improving Google watch OS.
£260 | $300 | apple.com £290 | $350 | huawei.com £230 | $300 | motorola.com

PEBBLE TIME STEEL WITHINGS ACTIVITÉ SAMSUNG GEAR S2

The plucky independent company has some If you prefer a more traditional, normal-looking If you can overlook the fact this runs Tizen
great smartwatches on the market, but which is watch with just a dash of smartness, the rather than watchOS or Android Wear, it’s
the best? The Time Steel for our money, both Activité has you covered – the small dial on actually a very competent, useful smartwatch,
in terms of looks and functionality, though a the front shows you how close you are to your and Samsung has nailed the design style along
Time Steel 2 is also on Kickstarter right now. daily steps goal. the way as well.
£200 | $250 | pebble.com £320 | $450 | withings.com £240 | $300 | samsung.com
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 The humble shed, once just a small shed, which is fine until you run over
repository for garden tools, broken the lead with a lawnmower or the kids
PROJECT furniture and spiders, has now become trip over it and bring the whole lighting

01
a worthwhile addition to your home. system crashing to the ground, but just
People turn them into pubs, meeting think how much cooler it would be to
rooms cinemas or even retro gaming have your own electricity rig set up in

HOW TO
caves, but if you’re thinking of bringing your shed and have it solar-powered?
your shed kicking and screaming into This workshop will guide you through

TAKE YOUR
the 21st century then we’ve got just the the equipment to buy and the (relatively)
project for you. simple set-up needed to have solar-
Sure, you can run an extension cable powered lights, plugs and, in fact,

SHED OFF
out from the house for electricity in your anything you like in your shed.

Solar panels are easier to

THE GRID install than you’d think

Install a solar panel to

power up your tool shed

12-volt battery
Picking the right battery for the job
shouldn’t be that tricky, but one that
was recommended to us was the
Genesis NP 100. Obviously it’s a 12V
battery and, therefore, perfect for our
needs, and its 100Ah (amp-hour)
capacity means that you’ll be able
to store up plenty of juice for those Charge controller
darker days. You’ll also need a charge controller, which takes the
£40 | $57 | enersys-emea.com electricity from the solar panel and transfers it to the
battery. There’s a wide variety of shapes and sizes to
choose from, but EP’s Solar View Star range is perfect
for the job, as the LCD display lets you monitor the
SPS lighting kit state of the whole system with ease – and it also
One of the main purposes of a solar comes with a range of safety features, too.
panel linked to your shed would be to £60 | $70 | epsolarpv.com
provide light, and this all-in-one kit is
just what you’ll need. It comes with
two bulbs and holders, ten metres of
cable, a switch and a fuse. Because
the bulbs are energy-saving ones,
they manage to kick out 60 watts and
not too use much power.
£40 | $57 | maplin.co.uk

PLAY IT SAFE
There are no restrictions when it comes Solar panel
to installing a solar panel system on Obviously, the main piece of kit you’ll need
your shed, but common sense has is the solar panel itself. To keep things nice
to play an important part, though. and simple, we recommend you get a
Research everything thoroughly, speak small panel to start with – which will
to a professional technician to make be easily enough to run lights and a
sure your doing everything correctly and few sockets in your shed. For this
include the right circuit breakers to cut example, we’re plumping for a
the power in the event of an accident 10w model, but feel free to go a
or power surge. Finally, if the shed is little higher if you’d prefer.
going to be accessible to youngsters, £20 | $50 | sunstore.co.uk
ensure that everything is tucked away in
a safe place, away from the kids. As with
everything electrical, it’s much better to
be safe than sorry.
 How to Take Your
Shed off the Grid
105

01 Catching those rays

The first thing to do is attach your solar panel to the roof of your shed.
Some panels, like the one pictured above, come with their own brackets to help
02 Controlling that charge
The next piece of kit you’ll need is the charge controller, which will need to
be attached to the wall of your shed. The controller takes the electricity from your
with attaching them. Make sure that you attach the panel to a south-facing roof panels and stores it in the batteries you have connected to it. It’s important that you
if possible, and ensure that the panel isn’t ever in the shade – trim any trees or follow the controller’s instructions when connecting everything up. It’s marked on
overhanging bushes if needs be. The solar panel isn’t going to be useful if direct the controller where you need to insert the positive and negative connections and
sunlight is being blocked. where to attach the wires out to the battery.

03 Wiring it all up
The wires coming in from the solar panel will be standard cables with
positive and negative wires, so you can use a standard 13-amp cable to connect
04 Blowing a fuse
When you are connecting up the wires for both the battery and the main
feed out, it’s important to add a small fuse into the loop for added protection
everything up. The next connection is from the charge controller to the battery, against surges and the like. You want to look out for blade fuses for this one. If you
so (using the 13 amp cable) run the positive from the controller to the positive on don’t know what they look like, you likely have them installed your car connected to
the battery and vice versa with the negatives. As it’s a 12-volt system, you need to the live wires using spade connectors. We would recommend a 15-amp fuse for the
make sure that the batteries match the same voltage as the panel. battery and a 20-amp fuse for the main feed

05 Connecting everything up
Run the two wires (positive and negative) out to a standard wire
distribution block and then connect them to the first two points. You can run off
06 Let there be light!
If you want to add any light switches, then we suggest that you run the
negative feed straight through from the distribution block through to the actual
cable from the other side to various plugs and devices that you want to run from light itself, but put the break on the live feed. Then, when you press down the light
the panel. Just make sure that when you add something on the top connections of switch it’ll turn on the light (hopefully, anyway). Just make sure that you buy a 12V
the block that you also run a short positive and negative line to the next two blocks lighting kit – and make sure that you use energy efficient bulbs, which could use
to continue the live connection – as shown in the image here. just 22W per hour.
 We should start by stating for the record system. These work by being small
that we’ve not nothing against adverts pieces of code, called extensions, that
PROJECT appearing on websites. After all, why are added to the main browser software

02
shouldn’t the people that supply the to enhance its capabilities. They’re often
content for you get something back in very small pieces of code, so they can be
return, but we are becoming increasingly added in seconds and really add useful

NEVER SEE A less tolerant of the sites where two or

three autoplay videos load up when you
functionality to your software.
Best of all, you can tailor them to

POP-UP AD
arrive on it, which are then joined by your needs, which means you can allow
several animated banners. adverts on less-intrusive websites and
Thankfully, help is at hand through the only block the adverts from the ones that

AGAIN
Install an ad blocker to get
numerous ad-blocking programs that are
available for any browser or operating
are slowing your browsing down. Here’s
how you do it in just six easy steps…

rid of annoying adverts

and auto-play videos

“They can
be added
in seconds
and can
add useful
functionality
to your
software”

SELECTIVE ADVERTISING
The chances are that there are probably is allowed and, therefore, not blocked
only a handful of sites that you really through your ad blocker.
want to cut down the advertising on, and Using AdBlock as an example, if you go
so are happy to browse others where through to the options for it then, under
the adverts are less intrusive. What you ‘Customize’, you can either just add URLs
can do for these is something called to the sites you want blocked, or head
‘whitelisting’, which is where you build up through to a tutorial to help you write
a list of trusted websites where advertising scripts for whitelist filters.
 Never SEE A
Pop-Up Ad Again
107
REMOVE ADS
FROM EVERY
SCREEN
AdBlock
If you are running a
Chrome or Safari browser,
then the only choice you
really need to consider is the brilliant
AdBlock. It’s relatively easy to install and
it will speed up your Internet experience
considerably, making browsing the web

01 Not so user-friendly
Websites like this one pictured above are
becoming all too common. You click on the link
02 Getting an extension
Most browsers now have extensions, which
are small pieces of software that can be downloaded
fun and easy once more.
Available for: Chrome, Safari
Free | getadblock.com
and, depending on the speed of your computer, and added to the browser. For this example, we’re
have to then wait until all the autoplay adverts, using Chrome so a quick search reveals AdBlock 1Blocker
animated banners and additional adverts load. to be the most popular one – different browsers Mobile devices are just
Thankfully, though, help is on the way thanks to your and operating systems prefer different software, but as prone to the horrors of
friendly neighbourhood Gadget team. we’ve made a list of them on the right for you. intrusive advertising as any
other operating system – in fact, more
so, as they can block your entire screen.
It’s arguable that with data prices what
they are, there’s even more need for an
ad blocker on your phone. iPhone and
iPad users won’t find a better one for
Safari than Salavat Khanov’s 1Blocker.
Available for: iOS
Free | 1blocker.com

Adblock Browser
Although you can limit
the amount of pop-ups on
mobile devices by going
through to the browser setting and
disabling pop-ups, nothing quite beats
a dedicated browser that’s created

03 Very easy to install

Because you’re only adding the extension to
Chrome rather than downloading a whole program,
04 Time to pay up
You then get the honour window, which
is AdBlock’s developers way of asking you to
specifically to make mobile internet quick
simple and less intrusive on your data
package. For that purpose, Adblock is
it’s very easy to install – you don’t even have to quit contribute to the costs of running the software. one of the best.
and restart the browser. Just click on the ‘Add To If you use it and find it useful then we obviously Available for: Android
Chrome’ button in the top right-hand corner of the recommend that you bung a few dollars their Free | adblockbrowser.org
window, and then, on the next window that pops up, way, as apparently the extension has five full-time
just click on ‘Add extension’. developers working on it. Adblock Plus
Those people who prefer to
use Mozilla’s Firefox over
Chrome or Safari would do
well to download Adblock Plus for their
favourite browser. It works similar to
the other software featured on this list
and, like most of the other more popular
extensions, Adblock Plus also blocks all
known malware domains, too.
Available for: Firefox
Free | adblockplus.org

AdGuard AdBlocker
After the problems with
Internet Explorer and
the copious amounts of
extensions that used to slow the software
05 Tweaking the options
Now the extension has been installed. If
you look up to the top-right-hand corner of your
06 Nice and quick
Go back to the original page with the
extension activated and you’ll see a difference in
down to a crawl, Microsoft has been
cautious with its new browser, Edge. You
can get this ad-blocker for it though, and
window then you’ll see the icon for AdBlock with a the amount of ads displayed, speeding up the time it appears to work pretty well.
number next to it – which is the amount of adverts the page takes to load and also the amount of time Available for: Microsoft Edge
the extension has blocked on that particular page. taken to navigate around the site. If you’re on a site Free | edgeadblock.com
Click on the icon to bring up options – including the that’s not that intrusive, though, then you might want
choice to ignore ads on the page. to stop AdBlock to help support the site’s owners.
 PROJECT

03
BUILD A
SANDCASTLE
LIKE A PRO
Liven up that day on
the beach by creating
your own sand-sculpted
masterpiece

Crudely depositing a bucket of sand on the

beach and calling it a ‘castle,’ just doesn’t
cut it anymore. The bar has been raised by
professional sand architects – with names
like ‘The Sand Guys’ or ‘Archisand’ – that
create enormous and fantastical tableaus
out of sand and water. What’s more, they are
making money doing so. Competitions, such
as the U.S. Sandcastle Open in San Diego,
offer over $21,000 in prizes each summer.
While a certain degree of artistic ability is
required to make something that will get you
recognised in the world of sand sculpturing,
creating something for yourself that looks
half-decent is still within the grasp of many of
us. You will need tools, though, and the more
thought you put into the ones you get, the
easier the job will be. And while you might
not like the attention you’ll draw to yourself
by starting up a petrol-powered rammer on
the beach (or the £1,800 price tag), you can
get started with the bare necessities and just
a few pounds of investment.

01 Picking the perfect spot

The first job is to find the perfect spot
on the beach to build your sculpture. You
02 It’s all about the base
When you’ve built up your base you’re
then ready to start forming your structure. In
obviously want to do it where there’s enough our list of tools we’ve recommended bringing
space, and close enough to the waves so that a couple of buckets with you, and if you cut
getting up and down the beach with water isn’t the bottom out of one of them then it makes
a massive pain. Also, you’ll need to make sure the perfect tool for building towers. You can fill
that the sand is the right consistency to build up the bucket (making sure the sand is damp
on, try and aim for a spot that’s close to where enough to keep the structure’s shape, and then
the harder, wetter sand meets the finer stuff. simply lift the bucket off of it.
 Build a Sandcastle
Like a Pro
109
TOOLS OF
THE TRADE
No sand artist’s tool kit would be complete
without these essentials. Usually they paint their
tools all in bright colours, too. Why? So that
they can easily find them if you drop them in
the sand, obviously.

Aqua2Go Water Sprayer

If you want your sandcastle to last
more than a few minutes then
you’re going to have to keep it wet.
So you can use this sprayer to
lightly douse your masterpiece and
‘glue’ it together.
£110 | $160 | aqua2go.eu/en

Belle RTX Rammer

If you have oodles of money and
are determined to become a pro
then you might want to invest in a
rammer, as the more compact you
make the damp sand, the more
likely it’ll all stay in one place.
£1,800 | $2,600 | bellegroup.com

Three gallon bucket

If you invest in a sprayer, you’re
still going to need a lot of water, so
make sure you’ve got a supply of
high-quality buckets to hand. You
want heavy-duty builders’ buckets
at 14 litres (three gallons) each.
£15 | $20 | screwfix.com

Palette knives
When you want to add some detail
to your work then that’s when a
palette knife will come in handy.
m

If you’ve often pondered on how

.co

sculptors make such intricate

me
sti

designs, well, it’s by using these.

am
re

| D £5 | $10 | anself.com
er
ch
oncat
t
© Pho One-inch paintbrush
If you make a (small) mistake then
the easiest way to cover it up is with
a standard paint brush, like you do
with painting. Lightly dust the area
you want to cover up and your error
will disappear before your eyes.
£5 | $10 | farrow-ball.com

Melon baller
You can scoop out circles from
your sculpture with a small spoon,
sure, but a much neater, easier and
mess-free way of doing it is with a
humble, yet surprisingly accurate,
melon baller.
£3 | $5 | amazon.com

03 Adding the detail

Once you’re happy with the shape then
it’s time to add detail, and that’s when your
04 Neat and tidy
As you’re cutting into the sand you’ll
notice that a lot will be falling out, collecting at
Surgical tubing
Straws work fine too, but all the
tools will come in handy. You can use the wider the edges and making everything a little messy, pros use surgical tubing to gently
ones for shaping and smoothing the edges (and and that’s where the tubing comes in. The sand blow away any loose sand from
making pathways) and then the smaller ones should be light enough to be blown out of the their designs. The extra length lets
are ideal for adding brickwork, patterns and way with ease. If you need anything for more you get into hard-to-reach areas.
doorways. Don’t worry if you make a mistake, stubborn removals, though, or just need to £6 | $8 | amazon.com
you can use sand to retouch imperfections or smarten up some of the edges, then the brush
use the brush to sweep the error away. is perfect for that.
 PROJECT

04
THE SIMPLE
WAY TO
CHANGE A
CAR TYRE
It’s the stuff of driving
nightmares, but our
workshop is heaven sent…

There’s nothing worse for car owners than

hearing that awful repetitive thud coming from
one of your wheels that signifies that you’ve got
a puncture. And, for some unexplainable reason,
it usually seems to happen when you’re in the
middle of nowhere, your phone battery is flat
and it’s chucking it down with rain in the middle
of the night.
The reality, though, is that changing a car tyre
isn’t quite the nightmare you might think it is.
Sure, there are definite things you need to do – as
well as a whole long list of things to avoid doing
– but if you’re careful and follow our instructions,
then you’ll be back on the road in no time at all. “Changing a car tyre isn’t
quite the nightmare you
We’ve also got a round-up of the kit that’s sure
to make it even easier for you, from a cordless
impact wrench to remove stubborn nuts to an
inflatable jack that’s powered from your car’s
exhaust. If you want to repair your puncture in
style, then you’ve come to the right place.
might think it is”

01 Get yourself level

If possible, make sure that the car is on a level part of the road
before changing the tyre. If you’re on a main road, put on your hazard
02 Jack it up
Now get the jack ready and look underneath the car to find the
jacking point for that corner of the vehicle – they’re usually close to the
lights and make sure that the car is switched off and the handbrake is on. corresponding wheel arch. If you can’t find one then look for the best
Now, if possible, remove the wheel’s hubcap and use a wheel brace to spot along the car’s sill for the jack to go. Lift the car slowly and carefully,
loosen the nuts on the wheel (but don’t remove them). If the wheel has a and if the jack is lifting at an angle, then lower it and position it in a better
locking nut, then make sure you know where the key for it is. location until you’re sure it’s lifting up straight.
 The Simple Way to
Change a Car Tyre
111
WHEELY GOOD GEAR
Westfalia Car Jack
This is genius. 60 quid buys you an
inflatable cushion that can lift over
two tons up in the air. The advantage
of this car jack over traditional ones is
that it can lift two wheels at once, it’s
perfect for uneven and soft surfaces,
and it connects straight to the car’s
exhaust to inflate it. Brilliant.
£60 | $85| westfalia.net

Ring 12V Air Compressor

An essential piece of kit, a battery-
powered air compressor can inflate
a tyre in just under three minutes.
All you have to do is set the pressure
gauge, attach the nozzle and that’s
pretty much it. You can also use
a compressor for bike tyres and
inflating camping gear, too.
£25 | $30 | bit.ly/ringauto

Holts Tyreweld
So you’ve got a puncture and you
then remember that your spare is flat.
What do you do? If you’re prepared for
anything then you’ll have a can of this
in the back of your car. Attach the can
to your tyre’s valve, fill up the tyre with
the temporary solution and it seals
the puncture – it’s easy as that.
£10 | $14 | holtsauto.com

Clarke Impact Wrench

Surely one of the most irritating and
embarrassing scenarios is that, after
a puncture, you’re unable to remove
the nuts with a brace. The solution
is costly but guaranteed to make the
job a lot easier. This impact wrench
whizzes round at up to 2000 RPM and
has a maximum torque of 200Nm.
£70 | $100 | bit.ly/clarketools

03 Swapping the wheels

When you’re sure that the wheel is completely off the ground,
remove the nuts and lift the wheel off of the axle. Now slide on the spare
04 Get back on the road
Using the wheel brace, continue tightening the nuts (still using
the star pattern) until you’ve tightened them as much as possible – try not
tyre and securely attach it with the wheel nuts. You should tighten them to use too much force as this can unsettle the jack if you’re not careful.
all gradually by hand and in a star pattern – so always putting the next Now, lower the car to the ground and remove the jack from underneath
nut in across from the last one, doing a full clockwise turn before moving the car. Before you put the hub cap back on, though, go around the nuts
over to the next nut. one last time tightening them as much as possible.
 Despite the fact that broadband has contract, or you can’t get fibre optic
now been around for years, it’s still broadband in your area yet, then
PROJECT sadly the case that many people are there’s now a new solution that might

05
struggling with a poor connection. As be able to help you.
the demands of the internet increase, Boosty is a small device that
and more and more people use it to plugs into your router and is able to

BOOST
stream TV, films, music and online boost your home’s internet signal
gaming, there’s a number of users that by up to three times by pairing your

YOUR
are being left behind simply because the home connection with that of your
area they live in doesn’t have a strong smartphone. It spots when your
enough internet signal. connection is lagging a bit and helps it

BROADBAND
One solution is to have your internet out by stealing a bit of your phone’s data
upgraded with fibre optic broadband, allowance. It’s a smart idea, but how

SPEED
which will improve things dramatically, does it work? And will it end up costing
but if you’ve got a smartphone in the you a fortune? Luckily for you, we have
house that’s not using anywhere near the answers to these and many more
the amount of data given to it on your questions in the following workshop.
An iffy name but brilliant
kit, Boosty is perfect for
turbocharging your Wi-Fi
£70 | $100
boosty.com

Boosty
Crave faster broadband?
Help is at hand with Boosty,
the simple-to-use device
that uses the data from your
smartphone to boost the
strength of your home
Sucks power
The power for the Boosty comes broadband signal.
from the device (PC, laptop or
tablet) that you’re connecting it
to for the Wi-Fi boost. Attach the
USB cable here, and then plug the
other end into the main device

Reset button Ethernet connector

Using the Ethernet cable that
Should anything go wrong, then
comes with your router,
you don’t need to panic. Just
connect up the Boosty by inserting
press this button to reset the
the cable into the device and then
Boosty box and try again
into the back of your router

ALTERNATIVE TECH TO GET YOU ONLINE

Brck TP-Link M5350 BT 600 USB Linksys Range Extender

The Brck is basically a portable Wi-Fi If you need to set up a Wi-Fi hotspot, Wireless Adapter If you’re trying to use a single router
device that has been designed to be then the TP-Link is the device for you. Stick it in a computer without a Wi-Fi in a large area, then the RE6500 from
used in the most remote locations, All you have to do is insert a SIM card card and it’ll connect it up to your Linksys will ensure that you don’t get
where it’s practically impossible to get into the Link and it can then be shared network. It’s also dual band, too, so any dead spots, as it’s one of the best
a phone signal. with up to nine users simultaneously. you can use it with other devices. Wi-Fi range extenders on the market.
£175 | $250 | brck.com £40 | $90 | tp-link.dk £20 | $30 | shop.bt.com £80 | $80 | linksys.com
 Boost Your
Broadband Speed
113
Good 3G/4G
HOW IT WORKS coverage

As we’ve already mentioned, Boosty works by combining

the signal from your Broadband connection with that
of your smartphone. But how exactly does it do it? And
does that mean you’ll get clobbered for additional data
fees when you get your next phone bill? 01
For Boosty to work, you’ll need a ADSL connection
with a speed of up to 12 megabits per second (Mbps) and Your
an Android or an iPhone with a decent reception (at least smartphone
connects to
two bars) and 3G or 4G, too. Connect everything up and
your home
then, when you browse the Internet, you should notice a
Wi-Fi network
marked improvement on your browsing speeds.
Boosty works by ‘topping up’ your broadband
connection only at the times when it’s really needed –
UP TO
therefore saving your data allowance. For example, if you
wanted to watch a 3Mbps video stream but you’ve only 3X
got a 2Mbps connection, Boosty will only add the extra
1Mbps that’s needed. If you have a powerful enough
mobile signal, then Boosty can increase the speed of
your home Broadband by up to three times. 02 03
You do have to be careful if you have a limit on your
phone’s data, though, but the Boosty Link app is perfect Boosty combines the ...giving you
for this, as it allows you to control exactly how much connection speeds... faster internet!
data Boosty can use each month.

Slow

SET UP BOOSTY broadband

01 What’s in the box?

Setting up the Boosty really couldn’t be easier. In the box you get
the Boosty itself (which is surprisingly small), a short Ethernet cable and
02 Finding the app
Now you need to find the Boosty companion app, Boosty Link,
on your smartphone. This is the app that will allow your phone’s 3G or
a USB power supply. Make sure to carefully read through the instruction 4G connection to be combined with that of your home broadband’s
leaflet that comes with it – it starts by giving you an overview of the connection. The app is available for both Android and iOS, so go to the
device and exactly what it can do. relevant store and download it.

03 Setting a cap
If you’re worried that you might use too much of your data then
there’s an easy way to get around that, as the first screen you come to
04 Time for a Boost!
With the app up and running, now is the time to connect the
Boosty to your device and then use the Ethernet cable to attach it to your
when you open the Boosty Link app allows you to set both the day of the router. Go back to the app on your phone and test the connection to see
month that you reset the data and also a cap the data you use. Obviously if its working. When everything’s running okay (which is should do without
you don’t need to worry about this if you’ve got unlimited data. any trouble) you’re good to go.
 114 Whatever happened to...

Built for pockets A stylish stylus

At 12cm x 8cm x 1.7cm, the Stored in a socket moulded
Imagine Publishing Ltd
plastic-cased PalmPilot was into the right-hand side of
small and light – it weighed the device, the stylus could
Richmond House, 33 Richmond Hill,
only 5.7 ounces, or 161 grams be used to tap and make Bournemouth, Dorset, BH2 6EZ
strokes on the screen ☎ +44 (0) 1202 586200
Web: www.imagine-publishing.co.uk
www.greatdigitalmags.com
www.gadgetdaily.xyz
Magazine team
Editor Jack Parsons
☎ 01202 586213
Production Editor Drew Sleep
Photographer James Sheppard
Senior Art Editor Andy Downes
Designer Harriet Knight
Editor In Chief Dan Hutchinson
Publishing Director Aaron Asadi
Handwriting Head of Design Ross Andrews
recognition Contributors
By using strokes of Stephen Ashby, David Crookes, Ed Crooks, Nicholas Forder, Oliver Hill,
the stylus in this area Phil King, David Nield, Tanita Matthews, Shaun McGill, Dean Mortlock,
of the screen, it was Neo Phoenix, Jodie Tyley, Hannah Westlake

possible to enter text. Advertising

The strokes had to be Digital or printed media packs are available on request.
© Rama, Cc-by-sa-2.0-fr

learned by the device Head of Sales Hang Deretz ☎ 01202 586442

[email protected]
Account Manager Anthony Godsell ☎ 01202 586420
[email protected]
International
Gadget is available for licensing. Contact the International
department to discuss partnership opportunities.
Head of International Licensing Cathy Blackman
☎ +44 (0) 1202 586401 [email protected]
Subscriptions
Touch-sensitive Lots of apps For subscription enquiries email:
screen Each of these reassignable buttons [email protected]
The PalmPilots offered a pixel LCD took you to various apps. Third-party ☎ UK 0844 249 0270
screen as standard. The PalmPilot apps were also available and the ☎ Overseas +44 (0) 1795 418676
www.imaginesubs.co.uk
Pro added a backlit screen, perfect PalmPilot could sync with software
Head of Subscriptions Sharon Todd
for after-hours working from the likes of Lotus and Microsoft
Circulation
Circulation Director Darren Pearce ☎ 01202 586200

Whatever happened to… Production

Production Director Jane Hawkins ☎ 01202 586200

PalmPilot
Finance
Finance Director Marco Peroni
Founder
Group Managing Director Damian Butt

High-fives for the first successful stylus-input PDA

Printing & Distribution
Credited with popularising the Fact file… Printed by William Gibbons, 26 Planetary Road, Willenhall,
West Midlands, WV13 3XT
Personal Digital Assistant, the Distributed in the UK, Eire & the Rest of the World by
Year of launch: 1996 Marketforce, 5 Churchill Place, Canary Wharf, London, E14 5HU
PalmPilot was an upgradeable
☎ 0203 787 9060
pocket-friendly organiser which • Will Smith stars in Independence Day www.marketforce.co.uk
Distributed in Australia by Gordon & Gotch Australia Pty Ltd.
became a natural extension to a PC • Deep Blue computer beats a chess champ 26 Rodborough Road, Frenchs Forest NSW 2086 Australia
for millions of people. ☎ +61 2 9972 8800
• Germany won the Euro 1996 championship
The sleekly-designed device Disclaimer
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© Imagine Publishing Ltd 2016 ISSN 2396-7315

going for up to three months on the memory. Ensure it comes with a cradle for data syncing and
same pair of batteries. don’t worry if the manual is missing – they’re available online.

Issue 11 is on sale from 28 July