Nokia HERE iOS maps app review
There’s never been a better time to publish a mapping app for iOS. Apple’s own Maps app is a laughing stock and Google is apparently dithering over whether to bother submitting an app version of its mapping solution for Apple’s approval, or lack thereof. So Nokia has stepped into the breach with HERE, a re-branded version of its …
Ultrabook makers take the Ivy Bridge path
Intel launched quad-core versions of its Ivy Bridge processor in April but held back on dual-core versions, apparently to sell out its Sandy Bridge dual-core chips. With the dual-core Ivy Bridge CPUs out this month, PC makers are already starting to announce notebooks based on the new architecture.
Intel Ivy Bridge chip
First …
DDR 4 sets the pace for fast memory
Reducing the size of chips has benefits beyond those seen in CPUs and GPUs. One other key component to gain an advantage is memory.
The specification of the next generation of memory module, DDR 4 (DDR stands for 'double data rate'), is currently being finalised ahead of its anticipated launch later this year. It will use less …
Screen idols: higher resolution means better laptops
Intel’s latest Ivy Bridge chipset, currently being deployed by every laptop manufacturer on new machines, is capable of supporting resolutions of up to 4096 pixels horizontally, using integrated graphics.
Known as 4K, these ultra-high resolutions are gaining support in professional video cameras. So why do Samsung, Sony, Lenovo …
Kensington Virtuoso Mini collapsible stylus
Dabbing away at a smartphone touchscreen is all very well if all you’re doing is checking email, searching Google, or replying to a text message. But if you want to paint - using the excellent Brushes, say - sketch, or take handwritten notes, it’s far from ideal.
Kensington Virtuoso Mini stylus
But who wants to carry around a …
IK Multimedia iRig Mix
The iRig Mix is the latest IK Multimedia accessory aimed at iPhone and iPad-toting musicians and DJs. It’s a three-channel mixer that can be used to combine input from two iOS devices and either a microphone or guitar.
Alternatively, using a DJ app like Algoriddm’s dJay or IK Multimedia’s own DJ Rig, you can split the output …
Hauppauge MyTV 2Go
There’s no shortage of TV tuners for either Macs or PCs. But Hauppauge’s MyTV 2Go is different in that it allows you to connect to it over Wi-Fi from an iPhone or an iPad, as well as a computer.
Hauppauge MyTV 2 Go
In addition to freeing you from having an extra device plugged into the iPad, it also means you have much more …
iLuv Vibro Classic II
ILuv’s Vibro II is notable for two things. The first is its size. It’s tiny for a speaker dock, around the width of a traditional bedside radio alarm clock and not much taller.
iLuv Vibro Classic II
The second notable feature attaches to the back of the speaker dock by means of a 2m cable. It’s about 5cm square and slides …
Jabra Clipper
Jabra’s Clipper is a two-piece Bluetooth headset designed to be attached to clothing or a bag.
Jabra Clipper
The clip part houses the Bluetooth circuitry, controls, a micro USB socket for charging, and a 3.5mm audio jack. The other part is a standard set of stereo earbuds, though you’ll probably want to use your own.
The …
Belkin YourType Folio
There’s no shortage of iPad keyboard cases to choose from, but this one from Belkin, designed for the new iPad, has a neat trick up its sleeve: the keyboard is detachable, held in place by Velcro.
Belkin YourType Folio
That might not sound like a big deal, but it allows you to vary both the angle of the iPad’s screen and the …
IK Multimedia iRig Mic Cast
IK Multimedia’s newest microphone is aimed squarely at podcasters. The package comes with a plastic stand which props up an iPhone at just the right angle for talking into the mic. You can use it with an iPod Touch too, though you’ll have to turn it upside down in order to plug the Mic Cast into its headphone jack.
IK …
Freecom Hard Drive Sq 2TB
Freecom’s Hard Drive Sq is a SuperSpeed USB 3.0 hard drive which is clearly pitched at the growing number of us who have smart TVs and want to be able to record programmes without investing in a Freeview or Freesat DVR.
Designed by Berlin-based Iranian designer Armam Emami, the aluminium enclosure looks strikingly like Apple’s …
WD My Book Thunderbolt Duo
The My Book Thunderbolt Duo contains two Western Digital 2TB or 3TB Caviar Green drives in its now familiar hardback-style silver chassis.
There are only two interface ports on the back, and they're both Thunderbolt so while you can include the My Book as a link in a chain of Thunderbolt devices, it’s not for you if you don’t …
Teufel Audio iTeufel Air
As AirPlay speakers go, the iTeufel Air is big. Placed next to, say Audyssey’s Audio Dock Air, it dwarfs its rival — though it’s marginally less wide than B&W’s Zeppelin Air.
The glossy white wedge houses two 80mm mid-range drivers, a 25mm tweeter, and a 130mm woofer, and pumps out a total of 100W.
Teufel Audio iTeufel Air
On …
Griffin Helo TC Assault
Griffin’s Helo TC Assault helicopter is the latest version of its app-powered chopper.
Griffin Helo TC Assault
Like the Battling Gyro helicopters I reviewed here a few weeks ago, the new Griffin offering spices up your aerial activities by adding the ability to enter combat.
When the red mist descends, the Assault allows you …
Adonit Jot Flip precision tablet stylus
"If you see a stylus, they blew it," Steve Jobs famously said. He was referring to the fact that the iPad’s multi-touch display and UI is designed to be used with fingers rather than an input device and that, in his view, a stylus is superfluous.
That may be true for the bulk of tablet apps, but there’s no doubt that for those …
iKlip Studio
The hackneyed old cliché about the iPad being a consumption device was long blown out of the water. The Apple tablet is used by creative professionals for a variety of tasks, but one group who who have been drawn to it more than most are musicians.
iKlip Studio
There’s a huge number of apps that allow the iPad to act, if not …
Mobee Magic Numpad
Mobee has built a niche for itself building accessories for Apple’s Magic line of input devices. This one might just be the cleverest of the lot. The package consists of three film overlays, each printed with a different arrangement of buttons, which allow you to use the Magic Trackpad for tapping in digits.
Mobee Magic Numpad …
Ten... Bedroom Gadget Treats
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Sleep deprivation: a tactic for special ops assignments and a gift of nature to parents with newborns. Either way, not enough kip can feel like torture and likewise failing to get a chance to unwind of an evening will take its toll.
Given current property prices, the bedroom often doubles …
Pasce Minirig micro speaker
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British audio engineering firm Pasce has made such a big splash with its Minirig speakers that it had to stop taking orders for a while to replenish its stocks. It tells me that they’re available to buy again now, so I took a pair for a spin.
The speakers are sold individually, intended to …
Ten... Kitchen Gadget Treats
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Most of us actually have more gadgets in the kitchen than anywhere else in the house. And looking at the list here, it’s easy to see why. There are gizmos for every conceivable task, from opening a tin of beans to knocking up a homemade Scotch broth. Most of the gizmos here are genuinely …
Ten... Living Room Gadget Treats
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Once, living rooms were the places kept solely for entertaining guests. Now they’re games rooms, home cinemas – and places to crash when you’re just too exhausted from all the fun to do anything else.
But kitting out your living room isn't just a matter of picking a TV and a console. There' …
Battling remote-control helicopters
If flying a remote control helicopter is no longer enough of a challenge, it’s time to move to the next level and add a little spice to the mix. The Battling Gyro helicopter allows you to do just that by including an ‘attack’ button on the remote control.
Battling Helicopters
That button activates an infra-red beam on your …
Griffin Reserve Battery Case
If you’re anything like me and use your smartphone for everything from arguing on Twitter to watching the latest episode of Homeland on the train to work, you’ll find yourself re-charging its battery daily.
Griffin Reserve battery case for iPhone
Forget to do it, and you’ll run out of steam, just when you need to make that …
Elgato Thunderbolt SSD
This Elgato drive combines a solid-state drive with Intel’s lightning-fast (sorry) Thunderbolt connector. Inside its charcoal metal enclosure is a 3Gbps Sata SSD, 120GB in this case, made by SanDisk.
Elgato Thunderbolt SSD
There’s a single Thunderbolt connection on the back. Bus-powered Thunderbolt drives like this one must …
Belkin Dual-Band Travel Router
The premise behind Belkin’s dual-band travel router is simple: you arrive at a hotel with multiple devices capable of connecting to the internet over Wi-Fi, but there’s only one connection in the room and it’s Ethernet-shaped.
The solution: this boy, which allows you to set-up a 2.4GHz and/or 5GHz wireless network in the room. …
TDK BA100 earphones
While these boys from TDK may look like a typical pair of in-ear 'phones, they actually take a different approach to most earphones in the way they deliver sound. They used balanced armature technology rather than dynamic drivers.
These micro drivers fit a woofer, mid-range driver and a tweeter into each earpiece. The result is …
Kogeto Dot 360° video lens
If you’ve ever dabbled in the world of panoramic photography and tried to stitch images together so that they form a virtual reality movie, you’ll know, frankly, what a pain in the backside it can be.
There’s the lining up of the shots, the careful positioning of camera and tripod, and, of course, there’s always some stray …
Scosche MyTrek health monitor
If you’re the kind of person who breaks out in a cold sweat at the thought of going to the gym, or if you’d rather stick pins in your eyeballs than go out for a run, look away now.
Scosche’s MyTrek is one of a relatively new breed of fitness accessory for smartphones. It connects to an iDevice using Bluetooth and, when strapped …
Belkin Power Pack 4000
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We’ve all been there. You leave the house in the morning, whip your smartphone out of your pocket to send a text and the dreaded red indicator is displaying on its battery level indicator. You won’t be near a computer or power socket for hours. What to do?
Belkin’s Power Pack 4000 may be the answer. …
Jabra Halo 2 Bluetooth headset
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Jabra’s Halo 2 is a lightweight, easy-on-the-eye Bluetooth headset that won’t attract the kind of disparaging looks that the typical cyborg-style Bluetooth phone attachment will get you.
Jabra Halo 2 Bluetooth headset
The Halo 2’s design is about function as much as form. The headset is comfortable …
Belkin Keyboard Folio case for iPad
The myth that the iPad is only for content consumption was debunked many moons ago. And this Belkin Keyboard Folio is as good an example as any of how the iPad, with a little help, can in some circumstances be a replacement for a laptop.
The soft case folds up to make carrying keyboard and iPad together easy. Pairing it with the …
Inside Apple
While Walter Isaacson’s biography of Steve Jobs was notable for the contribution, by way of hours of interviews, of the man himself, it could hardly be described as revelatory. The darker side of the way Apple was run by Jobs, for example, was glossed over. By contrast, Adam Lashinsky’s Inside Apple aims to get under the skin of …
Freecom Mobile Drive Sq 500GB external HDD
This stylish mobile hard drive from Freecom is described by its manufacturer as "almost square", which is another way of saying it’s rectangular.
Regardless, the rounded corners, "almost square" form-factor and sandblasted stainless steel finish give an aesthetic attractiveness that’s lacking in many an external hard drive. …
TDK ST-700 High Fidelity headphones
These headphones from TDK owe something of their design to Beats' Solo cans. The black TDKs aren’t as stylish as the Solos but they exude class.
Pick them up and it’s clear they’re solid and robust. Even the hinges which allow them to fold slide elegantly rather than snap. And I like the rubberised finish on the headband.
TDK …
Five... great network games for iOS
If the thought of multi-player games in iOS conjures up images of two people huddled over an iPad, fingers battling for screen space, think again. Sure, there are multi-player games like that, but there are many more which don’t involve invading each other’s personal space.
You can hook up two devices using Bluetooth, connect …
Five... great iPhone racers
If there was any doubt about the suitability of the iPhone or iPad as a platform for racing games, the sheer variety, number and quality of those now available on the App Store has surely killed it stone dead.
So many, in fact, that picking a decent one can seem daunting. Here's a helping hand: what I think are the five best …
Marshall Major over-ear headphones
Marshall, a name most widely associated with the kind of huge stacked guitar amplifier cabinets seen at stadium rock gigs, has launched two sets of headphones. The Marshall Minor is an in-ear set designed for mobile phones, and includes a mic on the inline remote control.
Marshall Major Marshall's Major: definitely more Tom …
Griffin PowerDock Dual
Griffin’s latest iPad and iPhone accessory is recognition that, far from being hidden out of view in home offices and studies, owners of Apple gadgets like to show them off. You see, the Griffin PowerDock Dual has two Dock connectors, designed to charge an iPad and an iPhone or iPod simultaneously and the two objects of iEnvy …
