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59 Articles

Welcome to the future Greetings from the year 2017! One of the quirks of being a tech journalist is that you’re always living a few months ahead of everyone else. While the rest of you were outside basking in the mid-August sun, we were testing out early samples of next season’s ski gear or hunched over in a darkened room compiling our Christmas gift guide, a ‘Now, That’s What I Call Festive’ playlist on repeat and a plate of old mince pies handy to set the mood. Now that you’re at the point of decking the halls and getting merrily on high, we’ve already moved on to next year’s trends. So what can we report back from the front line of the future? Drones are smaller and less expensive than ever, but…

MEET THE TEAM...

Dave Harfield Editor In Chief Self-driving cars are only going to get smarter with old names like Ford and BMW taking on Tesla’s dominance. Drew Sleep Production Editor Retro-inspired tech is my jam, so I want to see more innovations with a flair for old-school cool. Aiden Dalby Staff Writer As a lifelong Nintendo fan, I am excited to see what it’s next-gen Switch console can do. Stephen Williams Senior Art Editor The end of Apple. I’m more excited for Microsoft’s touchscreen Surface Studio than a new Mac.…

MEET THE TEAM...

DJI GOES PRO WITH THE INSPIRE 2

Quick climber As well as being able to reach new heights for aerial shots, the Inspire 2 can reach them quickly, climbing 20 feet per second and descending at almost 30 feet per second New cameras DJI launched the Inspire 2 along with two new cameras: the Zenmuse X4S has a one-inch 20-megapixel sensor and the larger Zenmuse X5S, which has a 20.8-megapixel sensor and supports eight lenses from wide angles to zoom Dual-battery system As well as extending its flight time, the Inspire 2’s two batteries ensure that if one fails during a flight, it will still have enough power to be able to return to the pilot Subzero shooting The Inspire 2’s battery system is also self-heating so it can film in even the coldest conditions – minus 20 Celsius, to be exact Super-fast filming The Inspire…

DJI GOES PRO WITH THE INSPIRE 2

BEST SCENES SHOT WITH A DRONE

01 Skyfall (2012) The opening sequence of this James Bond movie, which sees 007 chasing an unnamed terrorist across the rooftop of Istanbul’s famous bazaar – on motorbikes no less – wouldn’t have been half as panoramic if it wasn’t filmed using drones. Watch it here: youtu.be/tHRLX8jRjq8 02 The Wolf of Wall Street (2013) The iconic pool party scene in Martin Scorsese’s The Wolf Of Wall Street was shot with octocopters, beginning with a bird’s-eye shot off the coast of the Hamptons, before moving in to capture an aerial view of Jordan Belfort’s rowdy bash. Watch it here: youtu.be/JLR__P1MyNQ 03 Chappie (2015) Appropriately for a film about a self-aware robot, Chappie was shot extensively with drones. As well as being used as a reference point for actors to look at while talking to CGI characters that would…

BEST SCENES SHOT WITH A DRONE

HTC VIVE IS GOING WIRELESS

Approved by HTC The TPCAST comes straight out of the Vive X Accelerator project, intended to get accessory makers working closely with HTC itself to develop some cool add-ons for the Vive Low latency The developers of the TPCAST say it has a very low latency of two milliseconds, and those who’ve tried it say there’s no noticeable lag in the gaming experience Start saving Based on a rough currency conversion, the TPCAST is going to set you back around £175/$220 – getting involved in the early adopter VR scene does get expensive quickly Order priority Initial supplies could be limited, HTC says, with priority given to those who can provide a valid HTC Vive serial number; preorders are open now, with shipping in the first quarter of 2017 A wireless experience The HTC Vive’s usual cabling is used…

HTC VIVE IS GOING WIRELESS

EVERYONE WANTS CABLE-FREE VR...

MSI VR One One alternative to ditching the wires is to carry your gaming PC around with you. Enter the MSI VR One, available to preorder now from a starting price of around $2,000 (about £1,610), and offering around three hours of game time per charge. Zoltac VR GO Also taking the backpack route is PC-maker Zoltac. The VR GO backpack is packed with top-end components and can still be used as a desktop PC. We don’t have pricing or availability details yet but expect to see it at CES 2017. Intel Project Alloy Intel is working on a prototype called Project Alloy that takes a different approach: packing everything you need into the headset itself. As yet there’s no firm launch date but this is likely to be the future of VR technology. Oculus Santa Cruz Oculus…

EVERYONE WANTS CABLE-FREE VR...

PLAY AGAINST SQUARE OFF’S SELF-MOVING CHESS PIECES

Magic magnetic moves White, black or both can be controlled automatically by the board, thanks to its integrated magnetic magic – and the system is designed so the pieces cleverly avoid hitting each other Controlled via app To keep the board sleek and button-free, the team behind Square Off put all the controls and settings in an app for iOS and Android, which communicates with the board via Bluetooth Classic chess experience If you want something tactile that online chess can’t give you then this could be it – the pieces for the Square Off set have been handcrafted from rosewood and maple wood Live chess streaming We’re not sure exactly how this part works, but apparently you can ‘tune in’ to matches from across the world, presumably via the app, and have them play out on…

PLAY AGAINST SQUARE OFF’S SELF-MOVING CHESS PIECES

FORD’S NEW HOVERBOARD GOES THE EXTRA MILE

Weights and balances The Carr-E comes fitted with a four-wheel chassis (the front and back wheels are hidden) plus a weight sensor. It can take loads of up to 120 kilograms (about 19 stone) Follow my leader If you don’t want to step on the Carr-E, you can load it with your suitcase and have it automatically follow you; there’s an obstacle avoidance system built in as well Integrated lighting system The lights on the front of the Carr-E show the way in the dark and – perhaps more importantly – let passers-by know the strange-looking contraption is heading their way Location, location, location There’s GPS on board too, so the device can find its way to a destination without your assistance (we’d expect some kind of app remote control to be involved too) Electric and clean The Carr-E…

FORD’S NEW HOVERBOARD GOES THE EXTRA MILE

KICKSTARTER 10 UPGRADE YOUR EXISTING TECH

01 GeoOrbital Wheel With a built-in motor, this wheel can turn any bike motor-powered for an easier commute. The GeoOrbital Wheel only takes a minute to install and can reach speeds of 20mph. £655 | $800 | geoo.com 02 CamBuddy Pro Compatible with a number of Canon and Nikon cameras, the CamBuddy Pro turns your DSLR into a smart device that can remotely take sound, lightning and even laser-triggered photos. £125 | $150 | buddy.camera 03 FlipFlic Fitting easily onto blinds, the FlipFlic has sensors that respond to light or temperature. Open or close the blinds with the press of a button or automate them to open at a specific time. £50 | $60 | flipflic.com 04 Unlimited Eon Supercharge up your skateboard and reach speeds of 22mph with the Eon electric motor. Controlled via wireless remote, it can be…

KICKSTARTER 10 UPGRADE YOUR EXISTING TECH

WIN A YAMAHA MUSICCAST CHORUS STARTER SET

Once upon a time, if you wanted your music to follow you around the house, you’re options were limited. Most of us just used our smartphones, which are tinny compared to having a dedicated speaker. But Yamaha has done away with that notion with its MusicCast wireless music system. MusicCast uses your existing Wi-Fi network to transmit audio all over the house to different devices, it could be a home cinema amplifier, micro hi-fi system, stereo amp, wireless speaker or a soundbar. Almost everything Yamaha makes is part of MusicCast so you can choose the right product for your lifestyle and situation. Using a single app you can play music to all of these devices, as well as control the volume, EQ and specific settings of each room. Customise your…

WIN A YAMAHA MUSICCAST CHORUS STARTER SET

40 NEXT BIG THINGS 2017

The tech world never stands still. So whether you’re looking forward to the latest phones, enhanced experiences or better health, you can be certain that there will be manufacturers working their socks off to separate you from your money over the next year with the most advanced kit ever. But before you gaze into the crystal ball, let’s pause for reflection. When a new year dawns, there is always a temptation to write off the products of the past year in the hope that gadgets will become even better in the future. Yet some of the cutting-edge kit of the year just gone were so amazing, they will see us happy for a good while longer. With that in mind, we present the gear we think you should be saving your pennies for,…

40 NEXT BIG THINGS 2017

FUTURE TECH WINTER ‘17

TESLA’S NEXT ELECTRIC CAR WILL GO THE DISTANCE When you fill up your car with petrol or diesel and go for a spin, you’re actually giving the environment a good old punch in the chops. Yet we persist in driving these vehicles because the alternative – a fully-electric vehicle – will only take you so far on a single charge. In a best case scenario, you’re likely to manage an average of 80 miles before it conks out, so it’s little wonder that they only generate one per cent of new car sales. Drive into the future a bit and you’ll the Tesla 3, which could inject interest into the market. Manufactured by the company cofounded by Elon Musk, it has attracted more than 400,000 preorders and while it’s likely to motor…

FUTURE TECH WINTER ‘17

FUTURE TECH MARCH ‘17

NINTENDO’S NEXT CONSOLE IS ALSO A HANDHELD When the Nintendo Wii was launched just over a decade ago, it caused a fair few eyebrows to be raised. After all, its graphics were distinctly last-gen and it packed less brawn than a powered-up mushroom in Mario. But it also had the remarkable motion-sensing, granny-friendly Wii Remote which brought a new way of playing to the mass market. As history attests, this ensured the console was a major success. Nintendo will be hoping its forthcoming cartridge-based console will have a similar impact, especially after the follow-up Wii U failed. Only this time around, it’s firmly going after the more hardened gamer rather than encouraging your mum to wave her arms around in the hope of getting a hole-in-one. Called Switch, the new machine looks like…

FUTURE TECH MARCH ‘17

FUTURE TECH JANUARY ‘17

WHY NOT DITCH YOUR PHONE? Look, you’re never going to actually chuck your smartphone in the bin. They are, we would hazard a guess, here to stay forever. What you may want to do, though, is leave it at home from time-to-time, such as when you’re pounding the streets to keep fit. Lucky for you, the Pebble Core will let you do just that. This teeny-tiny device can connect to your keys or slip into your pocket and it doesn’t need to be connected to a phone in order to work. It hooks into the 3G network and it has built-in GPS. It means you can go on a run and have it figure where you are, how far you’ve travelled and the pace at which you’re going. This information is then…

FUTURE TECH JANUARY ‘17

FUTURE TECH EARLY 2017

MICROSOFT’S TRANSFORMING TOUCHSCREEN PC Though Apple Macs have long been the creative choice for professionals, you won’t have to dig deep for an alternative any more. You see, Microsoft has finally got around to creating its very first desktop computer which its calling the Surface Studio and it certainly looks set to steal march on the iMac – which, you should note, failed to get an update in 2016 and instead gained an eye-watering price rise! Set to run a Creators Update of Windows 10, the machine looks similar to Apple’s all-in-one computer. Yet the 4.5k Ultra HD 28-inch display is mega slim – Microsoft reckons it’s the thinnest every made at 12.5mm – and it not only serves up a cool 192 pixels per inch but a contrast ratio of 1100:1.…

FUTURE TECH EARLY 2017

FUTURE TECH OCTOBER ‘17

“the iPhone can’t rely on a better camera this time” iPHONE 8 GETS AN ANNIVERSARY UPGRADE As soon as Apple releases a new iPhone, the rumour mill swiftly turns its attention to what the Californian giant is likely to come up with next. Some of those ideas are simply outlandish – there has been persistent talk of illuminating the Apple logo to alert to incoming calls and messages – while others get dismissed at the time but come true later on – removing the headphone jack was laughed at a good while ago but, ta da, there it is (or isn’t, actually) today. You could go as far as saying there’s a cottage industry in second-guessing Apple’s intention for its most important and innovative product to date. But those rumours are in overdrive…

FUTURE TECH OCTOBER ‘17

10 YEARS OF THE iPHONE

2007 Effectively kickstarting the smartphone revolution, the first iPhone introduced a capacitive touchscreen 2008 Apple’s second phone was actually called the iPhone 3G, due to its improved connectivity 2009 Along with a speedier processor and a 3MP camera, the 3GS included push notification and MMS 2010 A redesign made for a less comfortable feel but the iPhone 4 was a thing of beauty 2011 The 4S brought an 8MP camera, iOS 5 as well as the Notification Centre, Siri, iMessage and over-the-air updates 2012 Ther iPhone 5 turned heads. Apple Maps arrived and Facebook was integrated 2013 Apple added new colours for the 5S but it was the Touch ID fingerprint sensor which added that ‘wow factor’ 2013 The iPhone 5C added lots of bold body colours. Both it and the 5S were launched alongside the completely refreshed iOS 7 2014 Up went the size again and…

10 YEARS OF THE iPHONE

FUTURE TECH WINTER ‘17

MICROSOFT’S LIFTED THE LID ON A NEW XBOX You’ve heard of the Xbox One S, right? Well, that’s just a repackaged, smaller-sized Xbox One, albeit one with 4K upscaling capabilities, better connectivity, the power supply built in and an ever-so-slight increase in performance. It’s got an Ultra HD Blu-ray player, of course, but in the race against the PlayStation Pro it’s sadly lagging. But Microsoft isn’t worried because it’s working on Project Scorpio, a forthcoming Xbox which Microsoft is dubbing “the most powerful console ever”. As well as sparking a new console war, it is set to catch up with its rival. With eight CPU cores and six teraflops of power it certainly won’t be a slouch. The console may offer an optional Virtual Reality headset – perhaps made by Oculus – alongside…

FUTURE TECH WINTER ‘17

HOW TO BUILD A SMART HOME

The world of tomorrow, the one we’ve seen countless times in films, where someone comes home and talks to a computer, the TV automatically turns on and a vacuum has cleaned the house by itself, is no longer mere science fiction. This is all stuff that we can buy now. After the stress of a day at work, you don’t want to have to go through the motions of having to turn everything on and wait for things like the heating to get going, and with smart devices your lights, heating, TV and more can all be ready when you get home without having to press a button. Today, companies are making their products compatible with one another so you are not limited to buying specific brands in order to have…

HOW TO BUILD A SMART HOME

SET UP... SMART THERMOSTAT

1 Check compatibility It’s possible the Nest isn’t compatible with your heating. To check, remove the cover of your thermostat and note what wires you see. Go to nest.com/widget/compatibility to check. If they’re not right, speak to a professional heating installer about changing the system. 2 High voltage ? Also, if the thermostat is labelled 100, 120 or 240 volts then the Nest will not be compatible with your system. If you get all these things sorted, however, you are good to go. Switch off the power to your house (or just to the central heating system, if you can navigate your fuse box) and remove the cover to your thermostat. 3 Take a photo A good tip here is to take a photo of the wires coming into the old thermostat. That way you’ll…

SET UP... SMART THERMOSTAT

SET UP... A SMART PLUG

The WeMo allows you to turn on any device from your smart device. Why buy a whole new smart home gadget to be able to turn something on and off remotely when you can buy a smart plug for a fraction of the price that can turn your upgrade your existing device? The set-up process is pretty simple, all you need is the WeMo switch, a smartphone and a wireless router. 1 Plug it in Plug the WeMo device into the electrical outlet you are going to use and turn the power on the wall. The WeMo’s LED will light up to indicate that there is power being supplied through it. Once that is done, it’s time to download the WeMo app through Google Play or iOS store. 2 App, app and away Open…

SET UP... A SMART PLUG

SET UP... SMART LIGHTS

Smart lightbulbs are one of the most common features of a connected home. As well as allowing you to remotely turn your lights on and off (as well as check they are definitely off once you’ve left the house and have a nagging worry they’re not), every lightbulb we’ve ever tested have use LEDs. This means they use less energy, produce less heat, and last much longer. While Philips Hue colour-changing bulbs are one of the best-known brands, there are lots to choose from, including LIFX, Elgato Avea and Belkin Wemo. For our set-up guide we opted for Hive Active Lights (available from just £19), but most smart bulb installation follows similar steps, including setting up a bridge or a hub to connect to your home wi-fi. 1 Connect the hub To…

SET UP... SMART LIGHTS

HIGH-SPEC, LOW-COST HEROES

“No matter your budget, you can now reasonably expect a modern processor” For phone manufacturers, building a sub-flagship device has always been about compromise. When designing a top-of-the-range phone, the spec sheet virtually writes itself: the latest processor, best camera, highest-quality screen, finest materials available etc., but when it comes to devices that sit below the best handsets on the market, getting the balancing act between price and performance right is difficult. While the very highest spec phones now see only incremental improvements with each release, what we have seen in recent times is huge advances in the quality and performance of cheaper devices –which is particularly reflected in the overall experience of using one. Crucially, using a mid-range or even relatively low-end device no longer means having to tolerate poor performance…

HIGH-SPEC, LOW-COST HEROES

6 THE BEST SUB-£150 BUDGET SMARTPHONES

BARGAIN CYANOGEN OS Cyanogen OS is as close as you’ll get to ‘stock Android’ without buying a Nexus, and the Swift is all the better for it. With a great screen, capable processor, expandable storage and a OnePlus-like sandstone finish, it’s impressive. Wileyfox Swift £100 | $125 | wileyfox.com THE OPERATOR OPTION Vodafone’s Smart Ultra 6 gained a cult following amongst Android fans with its 5.5-inch screen, speedy CPU, ample RAM and storage at a small price. The Ultra 7 is more of the same, with improved specs, build and feel. Vodafone Smart Ultra 7 £135 | $170 | shop.vodafone.co.uk SURPRISINGLY CAPABLE KIRIN The Honor 5C is Honor’s entry-level device, but has a surprisingly capable Kirin 650 processor and a great camera. The UK model loses the Chinese variant’s fingerprint sensor, but it’s still an decent device at the…

6 THE BEST SUB-£150 BUDGET SMARTPHONES

Compact control At the heart of your DJ experience is your DDJ-WEGO4, a sophisticated controlling unit that’s got everything you need in one compact little package Tweak that tune It’s not just about fading in and mixing your tracks either – why not show off your newly-adopted hobby/career with an in-built set of jog wheels for scratching? Mix like a pro Reduced in size it may be, but the DDJ-WEGO4 has all the faders, tempo sliders, EQ knobs and crossfader you need to mix tunes Sultry surround sound Along with a front-loaded bass feature, each DM-40 has a soft dome tweeter fitted with DECO convex diffusers that enables the speaker to project sound in all directions Double the trouble The Pioneer DJ Starter Pack doesn’t come with one, but two DM-40 speakers to bring your monster mega mix to…

Turbosound Milan M10 The best loudspeakers bring the best audio that can make your bones rattle, but they are often clunky beasts that take a serious amount of muscle to just load them off a van. The Milan M10 changes all that, creating a powerful ten-inch loudspeaker that packs a switchable 100Hz high-pass filter, 600-Watt power and two-way range. £335 | $340 | music-group.com Sony PS-HX500 These days, DJ mixers and controllers are designed and built with digital media in mind, but once upon a time vinyl was the musical platform of choice. So with vinyl receiving something of a revival at the moment, why not invest in a sleek, slick turntable that enables you to play records and capture audio in super high quality? £450 | $600 | sony.com Pioneer Pro DJ HDJ-2000MK2-K DJ Headphones While…

LIGHTS & DECORATIONS

MUSIC WITH COLOUR Sure, it’s great to be able to hear your tunes pumping away, but surely you’d want to see them as well? Well, you’re in luck because few speakers come as party-ready as the JBL Pulse 2. With two 40mm drivers you get serious punch in the audio department, while its in-built multi-LEDs, Bluetooth connectivity and splashproof design make it perfect for parties. JBL Pulse 2 Speaker £130 | $200 | jbl.com LIGHT UP THE PARTY Are you taking your shindig into the great outdoors? Well, you’re going to need to keep things illuminated when night descends, so why not add a little sparkle to proceedings with the Solar String Lights from Panpany? For a start all 50 bulbs are waterproof, so a little drizzle isn’t going to dampen your party parade, and…

LIGHTS & DECORATIONS

PLAY JENGA - BUT WITH ANIMALS Combining a regular stacking board game with a videogame, Beasts Of Balance aims to create a true cross-media experience that’s both innovative and extremely satisfying to play. The game comes with a smart base, with each piece carrying an NFC chip that’s read before it’s stacked. Said piece, be it an animal or an artefact, suddenly appears on your tablet, with new pieces helping them evolve or breed with one another as you add more pieces. Beasts of Balance £70 | $100 | Beastsofbalance.com ‘KEEP TALKING AND NOBODY EXPLODES’ Easily one of the most innovative games to come to the new frontier of virtual reality, Keep Talking And Nobody Explodes has a simple concept: one player wears a PSVR headset, through which they can see an elaborate bomb that…

NINTENDO’S NOSTALGIA TRIP IN HD

Visual filters The console can display games in three styles – CRT and 4:3 for authenticity or ‘Pixel Perfect’ to make the games look as good as you remember them A relic from a bygone age Although the console has shrunk, the NES controller has remained the same size and feels authentically jagged, the cable is a too short for a home console, though 8-bit heaven 30 of the best games from the NES’s library are built into the console: including the likes of Super Mario Bros., The Legend Of Zelda, Castlevania and Final Fantasy Not really a Reset button To bring up the menu screen you just need to press the ‘Reset’ button. From there, you can select a new game, save the one you’re playing or change visual filter Playing with power The Nintendo Classic Mini: NES…

NINTENDO’S NOSTALGIA TRIP IN HD

THE RETRO REVOLUTION

01 Sega Mega Drive Retro Console This comes with 80 built-in games including Sonic and Mortal Kombat, as well as the ability to use your own cartridges, however the overall sound quality is not great. £60 | $75 | atgames.net 02 Retron 5 With five cartridge slots you can play games from nine different consoles including NES, SNES Mega Drive, Game Boy and they’re all region-free and upscaled to 720p. £160 | $200 | hyperkin.com 03 GPD XD Retro Gaming Pad Able to emulate a wide array of consoles from the ZX Spectrum to the Dreamcast and Playstation, the GPD comes with either 32GB or 64GB of memory and the battery lasts up to ten hours. £190 | $200 | gpdxd.com 04 Atari Flashback 7 Frogger, Space Invaders, Centipede, Pong are all classics made by Atari, the king of videogames…

THE RETRO REVOLUTION

NEVER KILL A PLANT AGAIN

Walking on sunshine The pot has inbuilt sunlight and temperature sensors so the app can alert you when you need to move your plant to face the Sun or when it needs more shade Plant food The soil moisture and fertiliser sensors let you see when your plant needs more water or fertiliser and will send you an alert to let you know Tanks very much The water tank can hold 2.2 litres of water, which can last for about 30 days. The pot also holds 2.4 litres of soil Flower power The Flower Power app is easy to download and allows you to monitor your plant’s health. With a database of more than 8,000 plants, it is also a great resource for gardeners Instant irrigation The Parrot Pot waters your plant for you, providing it with the right…

NEVER KILL A PLANT AGAIN

MEET THE WORLD’S SMALLEST FOLDING STROLLER

No swivels The wheels can be locked to stop them from swivelling Easy to fold To fold the stroller, press the handle buttons and push down Weight limit The Pockit weighs only 4.3kg but it can carry a maximum of 17kg Self-standing Once folded up, the portable pram’s unique design means it will also stand up on its own GB Pockit With its exceptional design innovation, the lightweight GB Pockit is the world’s smallest folding stroller. It also packs up into a hand luggage shape for added portability. £150 | $195 gb-online.com A pram that can fit into plane or train overhead storage sounds ideal for family holidays. The GB Pockit stroller has an innovative design that allows it to shrink down to around 30cm long, actually setting the Guinness World Record for the world’s smallest folding stroller. As well as…

MEET THE WORLD’S SMALLEST FOLDING STROLLER

THE SMART SPEAKER TACKLING SONOS AND CO HEAD ON

Booming bass What separates the M10 from its little brother? That’ll be the pumping built-in subwoofer that gives off a serious thump and helps to easily fill any listening environment Compatible with the lot You can play any of your stored music libraries, whether they’re on a Windows laptop, Mac, PC, UPnP/DLNA server or NAS drive. It’s an audiophile’s dream Wireless wonders The M10 is built to work over Wi-Fi. This offers better sound quality and the ability to stream all over your home. There is also Bluetooth and Auxiliary outputs for maximum exposure Music at your fingertips Pair your favourite streaming service with your Musaic M10 through the free app and you get a world of music at your fingertips. The app even holds podcasts and internet radio stations Home control The world’s only purpose-built wireless Hi-Fi system…

THE SMART SPEAKER TACKLING SONOS AND CO HEAD ON

A GENUINE RIVAL TO AMAZON ECHO?

The Musaic speakers are truly smart home devices, opening up a world of intuitive control and time-saving automation. First and foremost, the M10 speaker we’ve tested is just that, a speaker – and a seriously good sounding one. It’s built by a team with 20 years of audiophile experience and it shows the minute you listen to your first track. The smart home compatibility is more of a bonus, and does lack the digital assistance that the ever-improving Alexa gives the Amazon Echo. On the other hand, the Echo can’t offer anything like the M10’s high-res audio.…

A GENUINE RIVAL TO AMAZON ECHO?

AUTOMATE YOUR MUSIC COLLECTION WITH IFTTT

If we were to list the most influential apps of all time, IFTTT would rank highly. The service enables you to chain together simple commands called ‘Applets’ (they’ve just been name changed from ‘Recipes’ in a recent update) based on the ‘if this then that’ premise. Compatibility is almost universal among the most commonly-used apps (or ‘services’ as IFTTT calls them). So, at an advanced level, marketing companies could track mentions of companies in real-time in RSS feeds. The opportunities are endless. No wonder Musaic was quick to get involved. Here’s how to set up a Musaic-related Applet. 01 Set up Musaic account If you don’t do this part then you’ll come a cropper later on in the tutorial. From the Musaic app, tap More in the bottom-right, then Settings and register…

AUTOMATE YOUR MUSIC COLLECTION WITH IFTTT

When action cameras hit the market, extreme sports fans and handheld moviemakers were frothing at the mouth at the potential of creating fantastic POV videos. Now, one new innovation has changed the game: the ability to capture a 360-degree view of everything around you, including yourself, in one click. As VR continues to make waves, a surge in interest for 360-degree content is rising, it’s with spherical photos and videos that you can explore on Facebook and YouTube, as well as view through a Google Cardboard headset. When capturing your footage, though, it’s all about the lenses and the body build: one lens will give you 360-degree horizontal panning, whereas the ‘two-or-more’ lens design will give you a spherical view, allowing you a full-360-degree panoramic rotation, as well as a…

ARE TWO LENSES BETTER THAN ONE?

Convex and concave, two words that always get confused but, in this instance, can’t. Theta’s use of massively convex lenses and clever processing takes warped imagery and ‘folds’ it over into a spherical format. There are two distinct styles of camera, the singular-lens body, or the dual lens. The single-lens approach will allow you to capture a vast array of imagery that will be sent for processing, whereas the duel-lens system will take both sets of data and stitch the two files into one. As the actual image created will look like a massively distorted and bulbous version of what you are seeing, the real beauty comes when the image is converted by software or a platform like Facebook which will recognise within the file’s metadata that it is a…

ARE TWO LENSES BETTER THAN ONE?

A SHOCKPROOF EXTREME CAMERA

With more than a passing likeness for some kind of technological fondant fancy/camera hybrid, the 12MP Kodak PixPro SP360 4K is the kind of 360-degree camera that you will achieve a rotational 360-degree surround image with. But due to the single lens build, you won’t achieve the full orb 360-degree image created by the likes of the Theta. There are accessories aplenty to help you attach the PixPro to bikes, helmets and tripods, though. As well as snazzy-looking GoPro-inspired housings, there is the curious full-360 attachment, which is basically an accessory that allows you to attach two cameras together using a bracket. That is one way to get around your 360 camera not allowing you to achieve full-360 viewing in all directions. The PixPro is compact, versatile and durable, boasting…

A SHOCKPROOF EXTREME CAMERA

POINT-AND-SHOOT SIMPLICITY

The double-lensed Richo Theta SC is quite possibly the least imposing, most user-friendly camera in the group. This pocket pal the latest model in the range, and is designed specifically to be a lighter, mid-class model that utilises the same technology, body design and lens built as the original Theta S. And, like the S, the SC sits proudly in the compact, pocket-sized and simple-to-operate band, while delivering full orb, 360-degree photos an videos thanks to its duel-lens system. The camera also has a built in Wi-Fi module that you can connect your smartphone or tablet to and, in conjunction with the Theta companion app, you can view and shoot still imagery as well as remotely-control your 360-degree filming (there’s no in-app preview for filming, though, sadly). The Theta isn’t…

POINT-AND-SHOOT SIMPLICITY

FLY360 KNOW WHAT’S UP

The all-seeing-eye approach works brilliantly with the 360Fly’s intriguingly-designed spherical camera. This device is built for rugged use – it’s waterproof up to one meter, not to mention dust and shockproof as well. This 16MP action cam is certainly the cyclist’s choice. Utilising an upward-facing lens to give you a fully-rotating 360-degree surround view and a 240-degree vertical view, all in crisp 4K, the one thing you will need to be conscious of is the camera’s positioning. With the single-lens iterations of 360-degree cameras, any off-kilter placement can and will result in a rather skewed position and a dizzying result when used in video mode, especially when filming cycling, or any other movement based activities, for that matter. To get a more immersive experience, the 360Fly also features dual microphones…

FLY360 KNOW WHAT’S UP

FILMING IN ACTUAL VR WILL COST YOU...

SPHERICAM 2 Six eyes are certainly better than two. Flash the cash on the Sphericam, and you needn’t be ‘there’. With raw capture and seemless stitching for VR playback, it would be as if you were amidst the action all along. £2,000 | $2,500 | sphericam.com GOPRO OMNI Add six GoPro cameras, a reinforced shell for tough environments and the software powerful enough to stitch it all together near-perfectly and you get the Omni, the VR-ready face of extreme sports of tomorrow. £4,200 | $5,000 | gopro.com GOOGLE JUMP ODYESSEY Google is jumping into the market big with 16 GoPros gathered in a spool to give you seamless 360 stereo vision helping you experience depth as well as 360 vision. £10,000 | $15,000 | gopro.com FACEBOOK SURROUND 360 Open source with 17 cameras, capturing 3D 360-degree stereo imagery – this…

FILMING IN ACTUAL VR WILL COST YOU...

CUT OUT THE MIDDLEMAN

Somewhere between the PixPro and the Theta SC, the KeyMission 360 is a compact double-lens unit that will fit in the pocket easily, attach to a bike helmet or tripod just the same, as well as shooting 4K video. Designed with exploration and extreme sports in mind, the KeyMission is waterproof up to 30 meters, freezeproof down to -10 Celsius, as well as shockproof up two metres. It accepts microSD so you aren’t limited by its internal memory. You have the option of one-touch recording for stills or video on the unit itself, or via smartphone control using the KeyMission’s inbuilt Wi-Fi module. This said, connecting to the SnapBridge companion app wasn’t as smooth as we would have liked and there were a few problems in establishing a link, so,…

CUT OUT THE MIDDLEMAN

TURN YOUR PHONE INTO A 360 CAMERA

Purchasing and using a dedicated 360-degree camera can be quite a commitment – especially when you consider its housings, attachments and, in many instances, its overall cost – however, you don’t need worry as the Insta360 Nano will turn your own iPhone into a fully-working 360-degree camera. Drawing vast similarities to the Theta camera, this lightweight, duel-fish-eye-lensed stick simply attaches to your phone via its lightening connector or microUSB, and, with the help of the Insta360 Nano companion app, you can use your phone to start shooting full-360 images straight away. Yes, the Insta360 Nano is basically a peripheral device, but it delivers 30fps at 3K resolution. The camera can work independently of your phone, just not remotely, but with the app and the headset the unit comes with, you…

TURN YOUR PHONE INTO A 360 CAMERA

SHARE 360 VIDEOS ON FACEBOOK

How to give your selfie feed an upgrade So you have gone out and taken your films and your photos, now you want to share it with the world, where can you upload this content? Facebook is perhaps the biggest user of 360 content, YouTube is also a good option as they support 360 spherical videos and you can use Google Cardboard for a more immersive experience. Uploading 360 media to these websites is nearly as simple as adding any other content, but there are a couple of extra hurdles to jump through and boxes to tick before these images can be shared. Be aware as well that a 360 image or video file is going to take longer to upload than a standard post as the file size is greater. Is…

SHARE 360 VIDEOS ON FACEBOOK

BEST CASE SCENARIO

Self-heating skin If you picked an iPhone for its colour you don’t want to then buy a case that will cover it – and with the new jet-black iPhone, it looks cool but scratches easily. TENC (an abbrevation for The Emperor’s New Clothes) is clear, scratch resistant and has a tight fit over the phone so you’ll barely notice it. It has an AutioHeal coating that repairs itself when scratched, you can rub a key against it a few times and then watch the marks disappear. Just Mobile TENC | £20 | $25 Leave your wallet at home If The Mujjo Wallet Case has an incredibly simple design with one feature on the back: a slot with enough space to fit two or maybe three essential cards, such as your driving licence. Designed to…

BEST CASE SCENARIO

ENHANCE YOUR PHONE

Add extra memory iPhones never have enough memory, and the leef is here to help. It’s a hard drive that you can directly save images, apps or movies to. It is also password protected in case it gets lost. Leef iBridge 3 | £40 | $50 | leefco.com Supercharge your battery For those of you who like to go on outdoor adventures, this outdoor charger is shock and splash resistant thanks to its rubberised case. It also has a powerful LED flashlight. PNY Outdoor Charger | £30 | $40 | pny.com Upgrade your camera This wireless 18MP lens from Sony can be attached to the phone or it can be placed anywhere and controlled using your smartphone so you can take great group photos or selfies. Sony DSC-QX10 | £170 | $190 | sony.com Play games the proper way Compatible…

ENHANCE YOUR PHONE

CUSTOMISE YOUR CASE

Create your own case for Google Pixel or Nexus phones. All cases have a NFC chip that customises the phone’s wallpaper as well as a programmable button that can be customised with shortcuts. To order one you must go to Google’s website, select the model you want and it creates the case for you. There are currently three types of Live Cases: Artwork, Photo and Places. The Artwork cases have images from designers and the NFC chip customises the wallpaper so you can choose a piece of artwork from the artist’s collection. Photo Live Cases as the name suggest let you upload your own images when ordering. The Places Live Cases lets you find a location on Google Maps, choose a style as well as colours and your homescreen shows…

CUSTOMISE YOUR CASE

TURN AN iPAD INTO A MACBOOK

The backlit keyboard comes built into this iPad case, and there is also a holder for the Apple Pencil. The level of the backlighting can be adjusted and can be set to turn itself of if it isn’t used for a short while in order yo to save battery life. The Create is connected via the iPad Pro’s smart connector, this is what also powers the device meaning there are no power cables and no Bluetooth connection is needed. What makes the iPad feel like a Mac is the row of iOS shortcut keys that enables you to adjust volume and brightness settings without having to touch the screen. The auto-wake feature turns on the iPad when the case is opened so you can get straight to work. £110 | $130…

TURN AN iPAD INTO A MACBOOK

REENACT THE BATTLE OF ENDOR WITH STAR WARS LASER DRONES ‘This is a rebellion isn’t it? I propel.’ This is what Jyn Erso, the hero of new Star Wars film Rogue One, might have said if she’d had access to the new Battle Quad drones. Available in iconic designs, including X-wing, TIE Fighter, and speeder bike, these quadrocopters whizz around at speeds of over 35mph and you can enjoy epic laser tag dogfights with up to 24 players. A Millennium Falcon model will launch in 2017. Laser accuracy The Battle Quads use Li-Fi technology that allows it to share data through each laser blast, ensuring the score and positioning is accurate and up to date. As well as tracking how many lives you have left, your smart controllers understand the battle and prompt…

CALL FOR BACKUP

We all own devices that include certain files that we really don’t want to lose. No matter if it’s an important work document, a movie you’re dying to watch, or perhaps a photo close to your heart, we’ll want to make sure these files remain safe and sound. It’s therefore surprising that more people aren’t taking the necessary precautions against unexpectedly losing their files. Accidents can happen, so if your device ever broke down, you could be left scratching your head with how to retrieve its contents It doesn’t need to be like that, though, and users should look to the world of file backups. We admit it doesn’t sound the most exciting of tasks, but backing up your files is one of the easiest, but most overlooked, ways of…

CALL FOR BACKUP

BACKUPS THAT FIT IN YOUR POCKET

SanDisk Extreme PRO Flash Drive Boasting 128GB of storage space, the Sandisk Pro is a traditional USBbased flash drive that is capable of transferring around one thousand photos in less than 40 seconds. £70 | $65 | sandisk.co.uk Verbatim PinStripe USB 3.0 While also being one of the cheapest flash drives on the market, the PinStripe also offers a unique push-protection feature to help keep the USB connection safe. £5 | $10 | verbatim-europe.co.uk Samsung T3 SSD (1TB model) Samsung’s T3 SSD is one of the world’s smallest portable storage drives, which also manages to achieve transfer speeds of up to 450 megabits per second – that’s fast! £300 | $495 | samsung.com…

BACKUPS THAT FIT IN YOUR POCKET

THE SMART WAY TO STACK DISHES

“Some items are best on the top shelf and not the bottom” 01 The pressure is on There are two areas: the inside where the pressure of the water will do the cleaning – this is best for carbohydrate-based stains, such as potato. The outside area allows cleaning agents longer to soak, so this is where dishes with protein-based stains should be 02 Mix things up a bit If you have different sized plates, mix them up on the rack – if you have a row of the same, uniform size, then they are likely to stack against each other and water won’t reach in between them 03 Safety first In the cutlery basket, knifes should be resting in a facedown position in order to avoid injury. Forks and spoons should be mixed as, similarly to…

THE SMART WAY TO STACK DISHES

5 THINGS YOU DIDN’T KNOW WHERE DISHWASHER SAFE

01 Baseball hats Check the labels on the hat before doing this, but they are safe as long as they are on the top rack of the dishwasher. Just don’t put them in the same load as the dirty dishes. 02 Toys Just put on a cycle with no detergent and they’ll be germ-free. There is always a slight risk of damage so be sure avoid this method for any sentimental items. Obviously, do not do this with battery-powered toys. 03 Makeup and hair brushes This only applies to plastic brushes, ones with wooden handles should be hand cleaned. Remember to remove as much hair as possible to avoid any clogging of the drains. 04 Cleaning Supplies Even cleaning tools needs cleaning themselves once in a while. Dustpans, dusters, sponges vacuum accessories and plastic brushes can all…

5 THINGS YOU DIDN’T KNOW WHERE DISHWASHER SAFE

“Google Allo has an uphill battle ahead but it may be worth switching to” Google’s Allo may seem like the latest in what feels like an endless sea of messaging apps but the inclusion of Google Assistant make it stand out amongst its stablemates. Messaging on Allo is a bit easier than other apps and, in some cases, it can even make replying quicker. The app can be downloaded to Android and iOS devices or if you have the Google Pixel phone then it comes preinstalled. Photos can be doodled on before sending but if that isn’t your thing then Allo has a variety of stickers, for when an emoji doesn’t say enough. There are some other helpful features: for example, at the home screen is a search icon, so if you…

USE IFTTT TO AUTOMATE YOUR LIFE

IFTTT is a very clever app that is designed to let you connect services you use often. You will find that you perform certain activities every day and this is where IFTTT can help because it automates a lot of these tasks in the background. The app has undergone significant changes over time, and improvements include the addition of Applets, which are designed to take away all of the complexity, and it is also visually more obvious than ever before. Setting up complex rules can, at times, feel like computer programming, but in IFTTT you can use its natural interface and simplistic buttons to create complexity in the simplest of ways. We will show you how to use IFTTT and how to make the most of the service, but the…

USE IFTTT TO AUTOMATE YOUR LIFE

AUTOMATION ACCESSORIES

01. Track your weight Using IFTTT with the Withings Body Cardio scales, you can automatically sync your weight with Fitbit when you weigh yourself or save your weight to a dedicated spreadsheet or on Google Calendar, so you can track your fitness over time. £120 | $180 | withings.com 02. Wake up well Automating your LIFX Color 1000 smart bulbs with IFTTT means that you can set them to flash when you door bell rings, or make it turn on slowly at the time of your choosing for a more gentle morning wake up. £36| $45 | lifx.com 03. Use the Force The Force Band is designed to control the Sphero BB-8. But the wearable has recently been integrated with IFTTT, so with a Jedi-like wave of your hand you can mind-control any compatible smart device, such…

AUTOMATION ACCESSORIES

CHOP WOOD LIKE A CHAMP

Maybe we’ve watched too many horror movies, by the whirring blades of a chainsaw can be pretty intimidating. Looking to chop fire wood for this winter without losing a limb, we spoke with Spike Milton, Britain’s most experienced timbersport competitor Milton has been in the foresting industry his whole life and has taken part in several STIHL Timbersports World Championships. This year’s competition took place in Stuttgart, Germany, and around 6,000 people attended to see 22 teams from around the world compete. Milton’s first rule for any aspiring lumberjack is, “You must get the proper training, even if you’re doing it just as a hobby. Each model chainsaw is different, so before you use a new one read the manual. And make sure you have the proper protective equipment, even…

CHOP WOOD LIKE A CHAMP

WHAT ARE ‘TIMBERSPORTS’?

01 Underhand chop Competitors stand on top of a trunk and have to cut through it by chopping at both sides with an axe. Wood chopped: 13-inch thick White Pine 02 Stock saw All woodcutters use a STIHL MS661. They must cut two disks of wood, one downwards and one upwards, each within a four inch mark. Wood chopped: 16-inch thick white pine 03 Standing clock chop Using an axe, contestants must cut through a vertical block of wood by chopping at both sides. Wood chopped: 12-inch thick white pine 04 Single buck One person must cut through a piece of wood using a two-person, six-foot long cross-cutting buck saw, all on their own. Wood chopped: 19-inch thick white pine 05 Springboard chop Contestants climb a nine-foot high pole by cutting gaps and inserting boards to reach the top and cut down the…

WHAT ARE ‘TIMBERSPORTS’?

Pocket size At two-and-a-half inches wide, five inches long and half an inch thick it was incredibly portable Plug and play The TV didn’t have built-in speakers, you had to use the earphones packed with the Casio as they also acted as the antenna Two-inch display As you can imagine from a two-inch screen made in the mid-Eighties, the picture quality wasn’t great Solar projection The screen was lit by the light source going through the back of the screen and then reflected off a mirror Tune in The TV had automatic tuning and there was no manual option To tune you only had the two buttons on the front Casio marketed its portable TVs in the Eighties as being wallet-sized, something you would take with you wherever you went. The Casio TV-70 was two-and-a-half inches wide, five inches long, and…

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