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tech

The PlayStation 4 is here NEW GADGET

February 21, 2013 By steve In Gaming

The first PlayStation in seven years and it gets a head start on Microsoft’s new Xbox, it’ll be on shelves towards the end of the year. Not only is this product vitally important to the Japanese companies survival, it’s also “a moment of truth and a bold step forward for PlayStation and the company.” Bit rich?

The hardware
The only info that was released ITO hardware was that the PS4 will run on an X86 8-core CPU and have 8GB of memory.

In fact, they didn’t even bother to show off the new device, only the new Dual-Shock controller. Leaves a lot of questions in consumers’ minds, primary of which: did you forget it at home?

New development
Sony are pinning the PlayStation 4’s success on its ease of use for new developers to develop new games for the title. Their thinking is that the value of having a powerful computer on a single chip has grown less important, and instead the new PlayStation is going to be built on a traditional PCs architecture. This, they say, will make it incredibly easy for developers to create games for it.

Getting social
The PlayStation 3 suffered in the wake of the Xbox 360 for one simple, but very important reason: social gaming. The Xbox Live environment had it, the PS3 didn’t. That’s all going to change.

More than that, PS4 players will be able to explore and trial any game in the PS Store for free before buying. And you’ll be able to participate in some virtual spectating, watching your friends in-game action. That’s nifty.

And like the Wii U offered mobile gaming, with the PS4 you can likewise send your game to your mobile PS Vita device and carry on playing mobile-ly.

They also say the console “will get to know you”, incorporate in-game chat and include instant restart between sessions. Downloading games will be playable before the game finishes downloading. A big deal in SA broadband.

What else can it do
Finally Sony has realised that gamers do more than just game, they also watch movies and listen to music. The PS4 has become an entertainment hub with access to movies, music and pictures and services like Amazon, Netflix and Hulu.

Access to social networks like Facebook is also possible, keeping the PS4 relevant in this era of tablets and smartphones.

Good times ahead.

For more info: www.ign.com

Ultra-Standard…it’s the Acer Aspire S3 Ultrabook GADGET REVIEW

February 7, 2013 By steve In Technology

REVIEW BY NIR APTER
(PLEASE GIVE THIS NEW, YOUNG REVIEWER SOME FEEDBACK IN THE COMMENTS)

Acer is one of the first companies to have jumped on the Ultrabook bandwagon to release their rendition conforming to Intel’s specifications, and although not completely on par with the design and build quality of its competitors, or say, Apple, and only slightly cheaper, Acer have taken a radical shift in the right direction with their Aspire range. Here’s the breakdown.

The Acer Aspire S3 is actually a copy of the MacBook Air, only slightly larger, but maybe, just maybe we can ignore that for the time being.

Perhaps you’ve experienced the Acer Aspires of old. I always like to imagine a stack of VHS tapes stuck together with wood glue and bound with string. No, not some high-tech spider web string made of steel, just normal every day string. It’s reminiscent of uneven plastic moldings, and the alarming nature of failing audio jacks. A laptop you could never lift with one hand, with some serious flexing the Acers of old almost felt like they could break in half like an over-dipped rusk. Things like that. It’s about time Acer proved that they in fact can build something different, and they did so in quite a hurry, despite the spate of Ultrabooks coming from every direction.

With a weight of 1.35kg and thickness of 18mm, Acer has done very well with an aluminium/magnesium casing, which is extremely rigid in comparison to plastic. As a result, the unit runs truly cool and quiet. The S3 I was reviewing included an Intel Core i5 Mobile Quad-Core CPU (Sandy Bridge, but more configurations are/will be available, no less), clocked at an ultra-low 1.6ghz and capable of a Turbo Boost of up to 2.3ghz, with 4 gigs of memory standard.

A slim 320GB mechanical hard-drive ships as the default storage device. Among other features, the always useful 2-in-1 card reader is still around; Bluetooth 4.0 and 300MB b/g/n wireless are included, and in fact stand as the only options for network connectivity. Also featured is the “Professionally tuned” Dolby Home Theater sound system – quite a bang for such a small device at 43W. An oddly placed 3.5mm audio jack is situated on the left side of the unit, toward the back. Two (unfortunately, only two) USB 2.0 ports and one HDMI port are located at the back of the machine, along with the power jack.

The S3 has an embedded lithium-polymer battery integrated perfectly into the frame. I managed to achieve an average battery time of 4 hours under heavy load. More can definitely be achieved on a normal user basis, and fiddling with the power profiles. Acer claims standby time of up to 50-80 days, realistically though, it’s not close, but excellent regardless, due to the dedicated hardware. Standby time really is phenomenal, attributed to the extra 20GB solid state drive shipped solely for use in hibernation, which allows this device to shut down and power up extremely quickly (Green Instant On), along with saving the current workspace to near-off/deep-sleep state. Hibernation has seemingly replaced sleep mode.

There are drawbacks – the optical CD/DVD bay has been nixed, not that it will bother too many people out there. There’s no wired network port, and this could present a big problem in some situations, as one has to rely on a good Wi-Fi signal, but hey, welcome to the future. The USB and HDMI ports being placed at the back can be slightly awkward if, for example, a USB stick or HDMI cable is plugged in and you try to pick the laptop up, one could damage the ports, but this is a minor detail.

Acer’s CineCrystal 13.3″ HD backlit-LED LCD, sporting a resolution of 1366×768 at a 16:9 widescreen aspect ratio isn’t the best, with what could be described as only mediocre viewing angles, colour vibrancy, and brightness levels. Above the screen there is an Acer Crystal Eye 1.3MP HD webcam, which works as well as you’d expect. All of this is powered through Intel’s integrated HD3000 graphics and, although not intended for gaming, playable results can be achieved by using the lowest settings in games.

The Chiclet keyboard will take a bit of getting used to as it is very slim, but on a brighter note, it is very comfortable considering the compact layout. The keyboard has an extremely pleasant tactile feedback compared with most laptop keyboards, if not any keyboard. The arrow keys are a bit small, but it’s hard to imagine how else to place them. The multi-touch track pad is oversized and impressively responsive, and again shows signs of improvement from Acer.

It is said that less is more, but in this case less really is just less. It’s not a monster at performance, but it makes up for it in general usability, portability and most of all, sturdiness.

Performance orientated users will want the higher-spec i7 model, and/or a 256GB SSD, but for everyone else this is the poor man’s MacBook Air. This just makes me feel like more and more companies should copy each other, for the greater good.

Ekocycle, recycled materials in to new gadgets NEW GADGET

January 29, 2013 By steve In Technology

In another desperate attempt to educate Americans on the importance of recycling, and let’s not fool ourselves, also in an attempt to make an obscene amount of money, Coca-Cola and Will-i-am have teamed up to make these fully recycled headphones.

The headphones will join smartphone cases and clothing that are made up of 100% plastic and aluminium waste as the material.

These Beats By Dre headphones have 31% recycled material, and Levi’s are also jumping on-board, making the “501 Waist-less Jeans”

NVIDIA Project Shield handheld gamer NEW GADGET

January 9, 2013 By steve In Gaming

You wouldn’t go pick up a US Marine’s gun and start waving it around like you know what you’re doing with it. Probably best to adopt the same attitude with this menacing piece of gaming machinery.

NVIDIA aren’t messing around with their “Project Shield” handheld gaming device. It runs the world’s fastest mobile processor, the Tegra 4 chip and it’ll let you play with it for 38 hours before tuning your it needs to be plugged in. For those in the know, that’s about long enough for the first leg of a Counter Strike frag-fest.

Obviously it’s a full-HD touch-screen display and it runs everything off Android OS, so it’ll support all your favourite apps. Those with the know-how will have it streaming games from their NVIDIA spec PCs in no time.

Does look a bit bulky though, and gaming nerds aren’t known for their strength.

Protect your Smartphone from water damage on a molecular level NEW GADGET

January 9, 2013 By steve In Technology

Smartphone manufacturers spend millions in R and D developing and creating amazing looking devices with touchy curves and smooth surfaces only for us consumers to then buy them and stick a crappy plastic casing over them as protection.

Well no more. Liquipel is a Smartphone protecting coating that bonds to your device (looks like they can even do laptops and cameras) on a molecular level, giving it protection from accidental water damage for many years afterwards.

Worth finding out how they do it.

Canon Powershot N NEW GADGET

January 9, 2013 By steve In Technology

With CES being the only thing being spoken about in the tech world, brands are taking the chance to launch their biggest and best.

This new “story telling tool” from Canon is a great example.

The Powershot N features a 12.1-megapixel high sensitivity CMOS sensor and DIGIC 5 image processor with full HD recording abilities and a 2.8-inch tilt-touch panel LCD that lets you capture pics at ridiculous angles.

But that’s not the true brilliance.

The Powershot N is also equipped with a new imaging mode that analyzes an image and automatically creates a series of artistic Instagram-like photos of the original with varying compositions, lighting and color.

Instant share and commenting is then enabled thanks to a Wi-Fi connection.

Nokia Lumia 820 GADGET REVIEW

January 7, 2013 By steve In Technology

Windows 8 is here. And the resulting barrage of brands stocking up the shelves with available devices sporting it is steadily trickling in. It’s Android all over again (almost). Hundreds of phones, identical in OS ability, sporting the same features and the same app stores.

The only way to tell most of these devices apart is to compare the few things that vary. Things like design, battery life and onboard camera. There’s also native developer apps that add a bit of flavour, and Nokia’s well known for these.

In the design department, the Nokia Lumia devices are really tops. Smooth, thin and accessible buttons all score high for the new 820. It takes a bit of getting used to holding it in your hand, and you’ve got to train yourself to stop pushing the screen lock button on the side, but once you do, you’re on your way.

The onboard Nokia apps are a big selling point of the new Lumia 820. Two in particular quickly transform from “nice to haves” in to “essentials”. Nokia City Lens is an augmented reality app that guides you around your surroundings by holding the phone up and telling you what’s near to you. Transport, shops, restaurants and more. When I first played with this sort of app it was years ago on something called Layar, and the South African landscape had not been adequately populated to say the least. Now there’s more than you can imagine on City Lens. A nice add on.

Nokia Drive is no more than Nokia’s navigation app, but it’s good and takes as much advantage of the magnificent 4.3-inch screen as it can. It’s idiot-proof and makes it easy to find locations and POIs. Much easier than the iPhone native app.

Here comes the but…

All is well in the world of the Lumia 820, until about lunch time when you realise that you charged your phone all night, have used it moderately in the morning and you now have half if not less of the battery left to get you through the day. Not a problem if you’re constantly in the office or driving in the car where you can charge, but what if you’re not. They do have a “battery save” setting, but it does little to save you the hassle. The Lumia 820′s battery is rubbish, and that’s a biggie.

And a pity, because the rest of the phone will have you shirking off meetings and ordering that extra coffee while you discover what each live tile does and how to lock your kids out of your phone using the brilliant phone lo-jacking app Kids Corner. The music experience on the Lumia 820 is untouchable and once you find a game worth playing your day is done.

Once you’re over the apps, there’s the extremely capable 8MP camera to keep you busy and drain what’s left of the battery. Coupled with the awesome large screen, and you have your mobile camera solution sorted.

I’ve had a long relationship with Nokia in the past, and one of my favorite elements of the Nokia brand are their accessories and partnerships which bring us great accessories. Case in point, the JBL X PowerUp which I got a play with while reviewing the Lumia 820. The brilliance of this accessory lies in it’s ability to take advantage of two technologies that the Lumia 820 affords you, technologies it’s worth mentioning, that you won’t find on the new iPhone.

Near Field Communication you already know about. Tap the phone to the top of the JBL Powerup, and instantly your music is streaming wirelessly through the portable, and brightly colored, speakers. But now what do you do with your device while it streams. Well you put it on top of the speakers in the charging pad to wirelessly charge and forget about.

The brilliance of wireless charging is here, and while it still has a long way to go before it solves all the practical issues we consumers live with in our real lives, the first step has been taken. Sure you can’t take the speaker with you everywhere you go or charge at a normal outlet, but it’s wireless charging for god’s sakes. Remember the days of the Nokia bricks? Now say thank you!

The biggest problem Microsoft and Windows 8 have to solve is their skint app store. There just aren’t any. At launch late last year Microsoft proudly told us they had 46 of the most used 50 apps in their store. Skype, Whatsapp, Angry Birds and the like are all there. But common apps like Hootsuite, Fifa Soccer and other quite popular apps are nowhere to be found. At least not yet.

This isn’t enough for me to say “don’t get a Windows Phone”. The apps will come, in time, and when they do this OS will be a serious competitor. No, scratch that. It already is!

Get it: R6 000
From: www.nokia.co.za

Samsung Galaxy camera. Camera meets Smartphone…in that order NEW GADGET

December 4, 2012 By steve In Technology

Remember how 5 years ago everyone was talking about laptops and phones converging in to one device to become what we know today as a tablet? Well the same thing is starting to happen in the handheld digital camera world. First (noticeable) move: Samsung Galaxy camera.

They say it’s the last camera you’ll ever need, but we all know they’ll be saying that again in about a year or two at the launch of version two.

It’s a 16MP handheld compact camera that has a 4.8-inch LCD screen on the back. The smart part? It runs Android Jelly Bean and incorporates in to it numerous Smartphone functions except one: the ability to make calls.

It’s got 3G and Wi-Fi connectivity, access to the Android app store and voice control like the Galaxy III smartphone. And on the camera side it’s got a 21x zoom, something no other cellphone has.

A decent camera, and almost a decent phone. What’s next?

Get it: R7 000
From: The overseas

Beardski: wearable snow beard NEW GADGET

December 4, 2012 By steve In Technology

Regular readers will know that the new gadget section does have the occasional visitor from the fashion world, but usually it’s a sarcastic post with no real place in the world of “cool”. I’m glad to say that Beardski has grown on me. HAHA, see what I did there?

Beardski is an adjustable, thermal fleece lined, water resistant, neoprene face shielding, skin saver in the shape of a beard, and it’s made for people who ski in really cold climates. So if you’re heading north this winter, take one with you.

The only downside I can think of is the danger of being spotted by a passing conspiracy theorist who mistakes you for a Yeti and fills you full of shotgun pellets.

Get it: R1 100
From: www.amazon.com

Parrot Zik headphones GADGET/HEADPHONE REVIEW

December 3, 2012 By steve In Technology

Since I first laid eyes on these awesome headphones, I instantly put them on my “must review” list and waited patiently for SMAC to bring them to South Africa. Here they are, and here’s the headphone review.

I don’t need to point out how well designed these headhones are, do I? They’re the result of another collaboration between Philip Starck and the design influence shows. Now I’m not one to wax lyrical about the design merits of a gadget, but when the work has been done, it’s worth mentioning.

The headphones sit on your head comfortably thanks to an artificial leather band which runs down in to curved connections to the noise cancelling ear pieces. This is one of the best features of the Zik by Starck, they’re true noise cancelling headphones. When you put these cones on your ears, the world quite literally drowns out, and it’s you VS the music.

But that’s where the looks end. Because the cups do a lot more than just look good. On the plastic surrounding, Parrot have included a capacitive touch panel for swiping through volume and tracks. This is a very cool, if not the coolest, way to interact with your music.

The cups also house 5 microphones, two of which analyze the sound around you for noise cancellation, another two work to find any residual noise and the last one handles voice calls.

Connect via Bluetooth and you’re rocking in no time. Run out of battery and you’ve got a micro-USB port to plug in to and continue listening.

The Zik by Starck is also jam packed full of insane and cutting edge technology. Just to name a few: Near Field Communication, Bluetooth connectivity, active noise cancellation, head detection which pauses and plays as you take the headphones off or on and a jawbone sensor for speech clarity.

My two bones to pick in this gadget review are small but important.

Firstly, there’s no external charger for the onboard lithium-ion battery which they say will give you between 5 and 20 hours of use depending on what features you use (I got about 7 hours). That means you’ll need an extra battery which costs a couple of hundred rand and you’ll have to keep track of what’s charged and what’s not. That’s annoying.

The other issue I take with the Zik by Starck headphones is that they aren’t terribly portable. You get a good quality suede bag to transport the headphones in, but even when folded flat as they’re intended to be transported, they’re still quite bulky, far more bulky than a set of Beats by Dre which is what I travel with regularly. If you’re on a trip, even for a weekend, the last thing you want is valuable luggage space taken up by huge ear cups and a leather head boom.

Zik by Starck headphones are made for the music fan who has discerning taste and sips a brandy while listening to the latest Rolling Stones album before deciding it’s crap and they should have just been happy to live off royalties. This kind of listener doesn’t even know who Kesha is and Psy is just an abbreviation for Psychology.

At R4 000, the Parrot Zik by Starck headphones are not what I’d call cheap. In fact, they’re not what I’d call reasonable. They’re bleedin’ expensive, but on the other hand they’re also tremendously advanced, deliver outstanding sound quality and do the job of a few gadgets in one. A decent buy, but they’re not easy to travel with.

Get it: R4 000
From: www.dionwired.co.za