T3 Magazine - July 2014 UK

a m a z o n f i r e t v t e s t p120

c o r t a n a : s i r i b u t s e r i o u s p20

superphone showdown ■

Samsung galaxy s5 ■ Sony xperia z2 ■ Nokia Lumia 930 don’t upgrade without it

The Gadget Magazine July 2014 / £4.50

the tech connoisseur’s

watch guide

timelords from rolex to iWATCHES

style-tech wrist wear The sporty one

The exclusive one

heads up!

RISE OF THE HUD

camera special

when google glass goes professional

The retro one

Shoot to thrill

plane truths

The smart one

master your snaps from selfies to slrs

how safe is your next flight? behind the tech aiding our airlines

sound investment

stream machines

Whatever your style, we’ve got it clocked

wireless speakers set to topple sonos

Contents

July 2014 / Issue 230

On the cover Time Lords

55

The hour’s arrived for you to overhaul your wrist, with timepieces for every occasion, from black tie to black ops, winding up with a full review of the hottest new smartwatches

Superphone showdown

101

Need to find a new mobile soulmate? T3 takes an in-depth look at the Samsung Galaxy S5 and Sony Xperia Z2, plus the best of the rest

Snap chat: T3 camera special

67

Arm yourself for a summer of photography, with cams and tips from pro to “enthusiastic novice”

Rise of the HUD

24

Wearable tech is going professional, with Google Glass-alikes heading where other gadgets fear to tread

How safe is your next flight?

95

T3 investigates the tech advancements keeping the birds in the sky

Amazon Fire TV test

120

Should you save telly space for the US set-top?

Cortana: Siri but serious

20

Windows Phone 8.1 is here! We speak to its PA

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Contents July 2014 / Issue 230

Editor’s letter

9

Opinion

Start the space tourism countdown

51

Insight by George T Whitesides

Radar

Why tech’s energy needs an alternative

Most Wanted: Lytro Illum

13

Light-field technology’s focus-switching tricks get a brand new DSLR-shaped bag Need list

16

Innovation: Gravity tablet 

Goodbye FuelBand. Hello iWatch?

53

Group test: in-ear headphones

53

The best new audio buds for every kind of music fan, from sports to style

Finally… by Jeff Parsons

Supertest: smartwatches

News: Windows 8.1

20

The new OS pulls on to Nokia’s Lumia 930, with Cortana firmly in the driver’s seat

Features

55

Invisibility is just one of its super powers News: Rise of the HUD

T3 camera special

24

111

Review: Samsung Gear Fit

The tech connoisseur’s watch guide

Handsome timepieces for absolutely every occasion, whether at a wedding or up a mountain, plus horology tips from the experts

Concept: Land Rover Discovery Vision 22

108

With the second wave of tech timepieces arriving, is it time to clock on to the trend?

18

Strap on an AR headset and doodle in 3D

101

52

Truth by Duncan Bell

The month’s tech that must be manhandled

360 review: Your next phone here

Samsung’s Galaxy S5 and Sony’s Xperia Z2 reviewed against the current mobile elite from Android, iOS and Windows Phone 8

Stateside by Chris Smith The end is nigh… and nobody cares

Rated

67

118

What do you get when you mix a fitness band and a smartwatch? Wearable tech gold Review: Monster DNA Pro

119

Futuristic cans with a foldable fit Review: Beats Studio Wireless

119

In the fire station, on the battlefield and on the road, the heads-up displays are coming

Whatever your photography skill level, we have the tech, tips and tricks to up your game

Less bass than before, but heaps more class

News: Future of the smartwatch

26

Gaming’s World Cup warm-up

28

It’s the ultimate footie sim four-four-two, from Kick Off 2 to Nintendo Pocket Football

Not content with taking on Netflix, Bezo’s set-top box has rocked up in the States

Classic timepiece or barmy arm candy? Trend: Wireless speakers

The big noises in multi-room music

Plane facts: how safe are the skies?

92

T3 investigates innovative airline tech in flight and on land (and how it can go wrong)

Stuff

Shutdown

30 32

Impulse purchases for you to peruse

Inbox

36

Stats and updates on the big tech stories Incoming

Tech life Gadget of the month

38

Your tech calendar for the next year sorted

75

Stax’s OTT electrostatic earspeakers How to

76

Remove yourself from the web; snap wildlife

Play

The Essential: Monument Valley

Obsession: wine quaffing

Games

43

Tech Dad Test: juicers

44

Upgrade 46

Films

Home

124 125 126 127 128 129 130 132 133 134

79 80 81

App-linked shorts and ship-shape gadgetry

RoboCop, Dallas Buyers Club, Llewyn Davis

Statement speaker; pukka kitchen tech

Apps, websites and ebooks

Drive

48

Smartphones Tablets Laptops Gaming Cameras Home audio Headphones Televisions Home entertainment Accessories

Cycling kit for the fashion conscious Pulse

46

New pro fitness tracker raising heart rates

Condensing your six-a-day into one large gulp

Squarepusher’s robot bandmates play live, plus Gruff Rhys and Michael Jackson

Second-screen TV gets a Beamly update

78

The GPS smartwatch that tracks your kids

Murdered: Soul Suspect and much more Music

77

Vino-related tech and tasting tips

T3 chats to Ustwo about how social is at the heart of the puzzle app’s success

Review: TomTom Multi-Sport Cardio 121

The guide

34

From bagless vacs to blade-less fans

121

Where will it sit in the Android slate stack?

138

Ten reasons why tech isn’t football’s friend

Icon: Sir James Dyson

120

Review: Sony Xperia Z2 Tablet 95

Luxe smartphone with watchmaker heritage

Spend: Tag Heuer Meridiist Infinite

Review: Amazon Fire TV

Alfa Romeo 4C and a octocore Audi TT

85 88

On the cover

Chloe Lloyd @ storm Photographed by Richard grassie styling by Dean Hau hair and makeup by ANTONELLA BORDONE retouching by james wootton

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Editor’s letter July 2014 / Issue 230

In a time where so many are clamouring to shout about what’s best, there’s something quietly satisfying about uncovering your next watch. It’s less about a thirst for new for new’s sake, more a primal, personal reaction to a piece that follows or subverts a simple set of tech rules the way you like. With wearable tech grabbing the world’s gaze, the watch is the original and best. Welcome to the first ever T3 Watch Special, in which we take a look at where the timepiece is at in 2014. Despite the phone in your pocket being technically capable of doing most things your average timepiece can, we continue to strap them on, their heady combination of function, aesthetics and a geek-hewn attention to detail, like vinyl, lending them an untouchable air. There are 61 pieces in our new collection, taking in the biggest launches from Baselworld and beyond, from Roger Dubuis statements to Uniform Wares minimalism via Aquastar sailing essentials and TomTom triathlon sidekicks. As well as a sea of stylish faces to choose from, we also dig into the tech, clear up the jargon and help you sidestep the fakes. Our 2014 buyer’s guide starts on p55.

The smartwatch, meanwhile, has somewhat stuttered on to the tech scene, not stylish enough so far to grab admiring glances and not useful enough yet to nab wallets. “Even a stopped clock tells the right time twice a day,” the wellworn Withnail & I line goes, but alas, not so smartwatches, whose app-littered second screens are rendered impotent when their still-small energy reserves are exhausted. But while many expect Apple to turn up eventually and show everyone how it’s done, especially now Nike has fallen voluntarily on its FuelBand (p53), a second generation has emerged in the void to have another bite of the tech-time cherry. Samsung, Sony, Pebble, Metawatch and Martian all have their own solutions for success, from wrist-mounted cameras to secondary analogue watch faces that bring their own batteries. See how far they’ve come on p111, and how far they’re prepared to go on p26. The rise of the wearable also continues unabated off of our wrists, from the Google Glass-style heads-up displays already powering private industries (p24) to gym shorts that measure your muscle power (p81). This app-fuelled lifestyle revolution is providing us with a procession of “products+”, shifting our performance expectations ever upwards, and redefining how, and why, we buy. Which all makes owning the right phone at the end of this life-sync chain all the more vital. Your personal tech infrastructure is only as strong as its weakest link, after all. We’ve got our mitts on all this year’s major players, from Z2 to S5, for a comprehensive handset showdown starting on p101. Don’t take your next upgrade without reading, your tech life depends on it. If a watch is the ultimate tech luxury, the smartphone is your unashamed essential. Matt Hill, Editor Twitter: @gethill / Email: [email protected]

{Contributors}

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The ex-NASA man had his Virgin Galactic ticket booked before he became its CEO. He talks to T3 about the birth of space tourism, the company’s British heart, and why he’s so confident of lift-off. P51.

The fashion director of men’s style bible 7th Man joined T3 this month to style the tech connoisseur’s watch guide. From evening wear to street style and jazzy jumpers, he has it covered. P55.

Tokyo-based illustrator Jun illustrates the very real threats you face when you fly, plus the airport tech aiming to keep you safe. It’s scary stuff, but his comic book style should steady your nerves. P95.

george t. whitesides

dean hau

jun oson

To subscribe to T3, point your browser at myfavouritemagazines.co.uk, or flick to p72. The next T3 is on sale June 19… J U LY 2 0 1 4 T 3 9

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{ ed i t o r i al }

{ P UB L IS H IN G }

Editor-in-chief Kieran Alger Editor, T3 Magazine & Digital Editions Matt Hill Editor, T3.com Mark Mayne Managing Editor Duncan Bell

Head of T3 Ian Robson Head of Digital Keith Walker Group Marketing Manager Philippa Newman Trade Marketing Manager Colin Hornby Directing Marketing Executive Chris Day Production Manager Mark Constance Production Co-ordinator Roberta Lealand Image Manipulation and Repro James Wootton Creative Director Bob Abbott Editorial Director Jim Douglas Managing Director UK Nial Ferguson Chief Executive Officer Zillah Byng-Maddick

Features Editor James Stables News Editor Jeff Parsons Reviews Editor Libby Plummer Multimedia Reporter Rhiain Morgan Digital Designer Amber Sinclair Website Designer Jane Wan

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Contributors, Words Derek Adams, Guy Cocker, Amy Davies, Mark Harris, Chris Haslam, Jim Hill, Jeremy Laird, Nick Odantzis, Joe Svetlik, Rob Temple

{ c o n t e n t & p r o j ec t del i v e r y }

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Radar

{ A l s o m a k i n g wav e s }

The AR tablet for 3D doodles p18 Windows 8.1 starring Cortana p20 Land Rover masters invisibility p22 When Google Glass goes pro p24 Smartwatches: fashion or futuristic? p26 Wireless multi-room sonic boom p28 Edited by Jeff Parsons

E ssent i a l news f r om te c h ’ s f r ont l i ne

M OST WA N T E D

{ ly t r o i l l u m }

Hocus focus The clever light-field tech that lets you refocus photos after they’re shot has grown up, with a full DSLR-like camera to call its own. You’ll never take a bad photo again

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M OST WA N T E D

The original Lytro camera MAY have looked like a toy kaleidoscope, but the iconic 2012 creation of Ren Ng, a PHD student at Stanford University, was nothing short of a technological marvel, letting you shift the focus of a photograph quick-smart after you’d taken it. Now, with both Samsung and HTC integrating similar tech into their latest flagship phones (see p101), the second generation has arrived. But with the Illum, Lytro puts away childish things, sporting a DSLR-like build training its sight on the camera mainstream. Inside is a 40-megaray “light-field” sensor that records not just the colour and intensity of the 40 million rays of light hitting it, but also their direction, mapping the whole picture of what your eye can see, ready for manipulation (see Focus box, right, for full rundown). Once the sensor’s received all of the info, you’re then able to tweak the focus, tilt the image, add a perspective shift or change the depth of field. Fluffed a shot? Not to worry, you can now fix it entirely in “post” using the four-inch tilting LCD touchscreen. In the not-too-distant past you would have required a supercomputer and a few hundred cameras to gather this level of info, but Lytro has shrunk that process down to a futuristic-looking slanted magnesium body and aluminium zoom lens, all weighing just 960g. The adoption of serious camera chops doesn’t end at Illum’s chassis, either. The US startup firm has packed it with an 8x optical zoom, constant f/2.0 aperture for beckoning in plenty of light, and a high speed shutter that lets you capture action shots with the same accuracy. Atop the camera is a hotshoe that works with standard flashes, as well as two adjustable dials for tweaking exposure and ISO settings. There’s built-in Wi-Fi for sending pics straight to Facebook, Twitter and the like, but no video capture; the Illum is purely about the stills. The camera’s raw snaps are compatible with most photo-editing programs, such as Adobe Photoshop, Lightroom and Aperture, and there’s also a free companion Lytro app for iOS. The latter uses your iPad or iPhone’s gyroscope to produce a parallax, 3D-like effect, a tilt of your device shifting the perspective. It’s a gimmick, sure, but the best way to show off tech visually on your phone since downing a glass of iPint. Whether the Illum can claim a stake in a field dominated by titans like Canon and Nikon remains to be seen. With a £950 price tag and no video mode, we certainly doubt it in the short term. Lytro is yet to comment on whether it will licence its tech to other camera makers in the future, but with the One M8 and Galaxy S5 phones already mimicking its effects, focus-shifting clearly has a bright future. $1,599 (£950), lytro.com, out July

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2

{Deta ils} 1. a little perspective

The Lytro button next to the shutter activates a depth-assist histogram on the LCD screen that codes objects by colour according to how far away they are

1

2. Touch it

The four-inch touchscreen employs a smartphone-like, app-based interface that makes navigating through shooting modes intuitive 3. Shutter island

A mechanical shutter speed of 1/4,000th of a second means you can pick up plenty of detail in fast-moving action shots 4. Body basics

The Illum is constructed from a unibody magnesium chassis with an anodized aluminium lens barrel. The grip and focus rings have a non-slip silicone finish

Specification Sensor 40-Megaray CMOS Lens 30-250mm zoom 8x optical max shutter speed 1/4,000 second aperture f/2.0 constant Video None Screen 4-inch, 800x480 LCD touchscreen Connectivity N Wi-Fi, USB 3.0, SD Dimensions 86x145x166mm/960g

4

Radar

News blip john lewis to release its own brand of smart tvs sporting lg’s webos

{Speak}

Light-field photography: ready for the masses?

3

Yes: Libby Plummer, reviews editor

No: Jeff Parsons, news editor

Top-tier smartphones, including the HTC One M8 and Samsung Galaxy S5 are already adding light-field-like elements to their cameras, broadening the tech’s appeal. It’s not just about artfully blurred snaps of your latest burger, though. Light-field tech offers other benefits, such as the ability to use smaller lenses that are able to capture equally large amounts of data for editing. Compact cameras are sure to want a piece of that.

Lytro is still the only company with a consumer-ready light-field camera on the market. While the Illum is certainly a vast improvement over the first-gen offering, it’s still something of a novelty, with limited features and no video capture. Until big camera brands start to get involved, the tech is going to remain niche and, most importantly, expensive. Light-field could be the future, but it will be an enthusiasts’ toy for the forseeable.

{Focus}

Lens flair: how Lytro’s light-field cams work

Lytro cameras don’t capture multiple images, but data about where light is travelling from. They have an extra microlens at the focal plane of the main lens, situated slightly in front of the sensor, which scatters all incoming light, recording the direction from which each ray comes, its intensity and colour. The light-field tech then uses this info and

some tough maths to calculate where the light would have been if you were focusing on a different object, so you can then refocus after the photo’s been taken. While this new technology certainly gives you more options in post-editing, it doesn’t take the skill out of photography entirely. Basic settings, such as ISO and shutter speed, still have a bearing on snaps, as does ambient light and the movement of what you’re shooting. So the Illum may be able to buff your pics nicely, but it can’t superimpose David Bailey behind the controls just yet.

looking for your next camera? head over to p67

WWW For more NEWS go to T3.COM

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M o s t wa n t e d pa r t 2

Need list

{3}

surround sounds Spaced 360

Top incoming tech we’re watching like electronic hawks…

Portable Bluetooth speakers mean you can blast your tunes wherever you go, but their onedirectional sound can be a real buzz kill. The Spaced 360 speaker is different, with its “airSOUND” configuration of three separate two-inch drivers, one situated on each corner of its design triangle, each connected by a curved amplifier that works to create an enveloping 360-degree soundscape. NFC wireless pairing and up to 14 hours of playback keep the party going.

{1}

motoring upgraded Pioneer NEX with Apple CarPlay

Want iPhone functionality and Siri’s plummy tones ringing through your car, but can’t afford to splash out on a brand new £30,000 Jag? Pioneer is offering a free Apple CarPlay firmware update for anyone with one of its five NEX in-dash receivers. The LCD-based systems can be installed in most modern motors – not just the manufacturers signed up to CarPlay – and the entry-level AVH-400NEX can be yours for a little over £400. pioneerelectronics.com, out summer

£250, spaced360.com, out now

{2}

loud and proud Dynaudio Evidence Platinum

What do you get if you spend £58,000 on a loudspeaker? Well, a towering cabinet that’s taller than most professional basketball players, incredibly natural sound produced by Dynaudio Directivity Control tech that places symmetrically arranged dual woofers, mid-range drivers and tweeters with extreme precision to reduce sound reflections, plus a beautiful piano-lacquer finish. Basically, you get a sound system built to intimidate and impress. Advise guests with small children to bring ear protectors, though, because things get noisy. £58,000, dynaudio.com, out now

{4}

Top Gun

BMW Vision Concept We feel the need… the need… for cars to take design influence from fighter plane cockpits. BMW’s new Vision concept is, indeed, a maverick, adding a full-windscreen heads-up display that highlights hazards and even paints directions on to the road, minimising junction confusion. It’s not just the driver that gets an upgrade, either – front and rear passengers all get Command Tablets for controlling Spotify or checking directions. It’s a concept, but some of this tech should be included in the upcoming BMW 9 Series. bmwgroup.com

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Radar

News blip google’s ara modular smartphone due january 2015

{5}

{8}

Bugatti Noun

Gramofon

better than sliced bread

Next-gen Jukebox

Behold, the transparent toaster! Two see-through ceramic plates conduct heat, cooking whatever comes into contact with them, while ensuring full visibility. The Noun doesn’t settle for toasting bread and bagels, though – place a steak or sliced veg in one of its heat-proof bags and it will grill that to perfection, too. Your smartphone can control the heat and even search its plentiful recipe banks. $1,000 (£600), casabugatti.com, out Summer

{7}

xtreme tablet Xplore XC6

{6}

connect the dot Leica T-System

In the market for a camera? Well, our snap happy special is on p67, but how about this, carved from a single slab of aluminium, and the first Leica to include Wi-Fi and GPS for tagging locations? Away from the new-fangled its 16-meg CMOS sensor delivers the quality, while the case selection is suitably flash. £1,350 (body only), leica.com, out now

US-based Xplore Technologies Corp has created the Jack Reacher of tablets, ultra-tough and ready for anything. It can survive a death-defying drop of up to two metres and chuckles in the face of water and dust. Beneath its rugged case sits a Core i5 processor, 4G connectivity, a 128GB solid-state drive and the latest version of Windows, fronted by a 10.4-inch 1024x768 touchscreen that’s visible in bright sunlight and works even when you’re wearing gloves.

The brainchild of the folk behind Fon, the crowdsourced Wi-Fi network, this tiny music streamer is also an internet router, allowing anyone connected to your Wi-Fi network to play tunes from Spotify or their own playlists. Unlike with a Bluetooth connection, songs don’t cut out when you get a call, either. Hook it up to any speakers and you’re ready to rock and roll. £30, fon.com, out July

$5,299, xploretech.com, out now

{9}

boss cans Samsung Level Over

The Galaxy king steps into audio with a line of headphones to gun for Beats and co. This top model has Bluetooth, S Voice for taking calls and controlling your Android phone, plus seriously slick sound quality. Their 50mm dynamic driver and vibration-damping structure produces a deep sound with no reverb. £TBc, Samsung.com/uk, out now

{10}

future-ready telly Sony XBR-X950B 4K TV

Thinking of upgrading to 4K this summer? If you’re taking the plunge you may as well go large or go home, so check this 65-inch LED-backlit flagship telly with independently dimmable zones that produce Sony’s best colour contrast and brightness to date. Worried about what there is to actually watch? With support for Netflix’s upcoming 4K Ultra HD streams, you won’t be for long. £TBC, sony.com, out JULY

WWW For more NEWS go to T3.COM

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Radar

News blip the bbc sport app now includes live goal alerts

i n n o vat i o n

THE iCAD AIR

Augmented reality Gravity tablet helps you doodle in three dimensions LIKE a 3D Etch-a-sketch, THE gridDED GLASS surface of this prototype slate acts as a set of simplified building blocks to form three-dimensional sketches. Put on a pair of supported augmented reality glasses, or even an Oculus Rift VR headset, and you can doodle using the stylus in virtual space, your layered, computer-aided design (CAD) drawings popping out to be rotated, enlarged and edited as you go.

Created by four innovation design engineering students at London’s Royal College of Art, the patent-pending concept utilises the same state-of-the-art Unity engine used to create iOS hit Monument Valley’s stunning architectural levels (see p43). But once your creation is ready, just hook the Gravity up to a 3D printer and your virtual masterpiece becomes a reality. £TBC, Gravitysketch.com, release tbc

{extr a}

feel the music in your fingers Grammy-nominated musician Imogen Heap and her programmer army want to haul electro bands out from behind their laptops and make digital music more of a performance. The result is the Mi.Mu

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gloves, left, which let you conduct your own electronic orchestra using gesture controls. These musical mitts contain haptic sensors, an accelerometer and a gyroscope, recognising arm waving, circular

gestures, finger points and even air drumming. Each gesture is then sent wirelessly to third-party musical software, such as Ableton Live or Logic Pro, the wide range of mappable movements handing you more

options than a MIDI controller plus freedom to take centre stage. Heap’s Me The Machine album was performed using the prototype Mega Glove, but now the project is seeking a crowdfunded

commercial future. A streamlined version should soon be up for grabs for anyone in possession of musical aspirations and suitably dramatic hand gestures. £1,200 (per glove), mimu.org.uk, out August

WWW F o r m o r e NEWS g o t o T 3.C OM

Radar

News blip tim cook promises apple stores will now recycle your old idevices

news

The Master Chief

The Nokia Lumia 930 shows off Windows Phone’s fancy 8.1 upgrade COLOURFULLY TILED Windows PhoneS always ELICIT lustful looks from design fans, but a lack of apps and an out-of-step operating system have meant many iPhone and Android users have been reluctant to make the jump. It may be time to reassess, though. Windows Phone 8.1 is here, debuting on the Nokia Lumia 930’s five-inch screen. The main event is Microsoft’s own Siri- and Google Now-alike, the Halo-inspired Cortana. Like Scarlett Johansson’s

virtual PA in Her, hand Cortana access to texts, emails and calendars and, powered by Bing, she optimises your phone for your schedule. The software update also adds a drop-down Action Centre (read: Notifications) and background wallpapers at long last. Add plentiful photo apps – a real bonus when paired with the 930’s 20-megapixel, feature-laden camera – and you can colour us interested. £tbc, Windowsphone.com, out June

{focus}

in conversation with cortana Windows Phone 8.1’s voice assistant is still in beta, but we downloaded her for a quick interview anyway. But just how does Cortana stack up so far in the help stakes? Well, she’s certainly very thorough. Cortana

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wants to know everything about you, from Facebook details to contacts, calendar activities and even your average nap time. Once you trust her with these details – don’t worry, Cortana may be powered by Bing, but she

doesn’t share your details with its servers – you’ll realise just how disorganised you were before. Cortana is incredibly good at keeping you on track, reminding you of events and finding contextual

info, from traffic jams that may make you late for a meeting to potential restaurants for dinner. You will have to speak up, though: no mumbling on Cortana’s watch, she wants you to speak clearly and loudly as she

learns your accent. Persevere, though, and there will rarely be any minsunderstandings. More intuitive than Siri, more personal than Google Now, Cortana is WP8.1’s secret weapon. Consider her hired.

WWW F o r m o r e NEWS g o t o T 3.C OM

Radar

News blip microsoft to air ‘xbox originals’ tv productions from june

concept

see-thru suv

Land Rover’s Discovery Vision dons a cloak of invisibility to spy on terrain BOASTING AN INNOVATION FIRST SEEN IN BROSNAN Bond blowout Tomorrow Never Dies, off-road expert Land Rover has created an invisible bonnet by placing tiny cameras underneath it. Trained at the ground beneath, they project what they see on to the windscreen’s advanced heads-up display, giving the illusion of gazing straight through the hood, helping you navigate round potholes and rough terrain.

Laser headlights track incoming traffic, ensuring you don’t blind anyone with your high beams, and everything down to the tint of the windows is controlled by gestures. You can even park the car remotely using your smartphone – very OO7. And while this may be a concept for now, its tech will dripfeed into new Discovery Sports from next year. landrover.com, out 2015

{extr a}

this park is a dump New York City produces more than 14 million tonnes of rubbish – “trash”, if you must – every year. It’s a big, dirty problem, but one with a possibly very green solution in the form of the Green Loop project. Created by NY-based design firm Present Architecture, this ambitious proposal aims to dot giant, floating compost centres around Manhattan’s waterways. The huge, high-tech silos would collect recyclable organic waste from surrounding boroughs to fertilise allotments

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and park land situated on their roofs. For nature-starved big city types this could add an extra 125 acres of green space, while cutting down on the pollution caused by the current refuse run to landfill sites outside of the city. With New York mayor Bill de Blasio aiming to transform the city’s waterfronts by 2020, could this be the future of recycling in the Big Apple? Most likely not, but the idea’s certainly ripe for being used elsewhere. Presentarchitecture.com

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NEWS

RISE OF THE HUDS

As the world gets itself in a tizz over Google Glass’s impending arrival, professional heads-up displays are booming. We’d buy these for a dollar…

THE FAHRENHEIT 451: C-Thru Fireman Helmet

Turkish designer Omer Haciomeroglu’s evocative concept aims to help firefighters spot victims through dense smoke; looking like a Liverpoolsupporting stormtrooper is just a bonus. A thermal imaging camera up front sends data over Wi-Fi to a handheld device controlled by a colleague outside of the blaze. This generates a 3D outline of the scene and projects it on to the visor of the firefighter – or “smoke diver” as its creator prefers. Heat protection and breathing apparatus are also, unsurprisingly, built-in. omerh.com

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Radar

News blip sky go and now tv coming to ps4 this summer

THE ghost recoN: BAE Systems Q Warrior

THE street hawK: Skully ar-1

Currently “exceeding expectations” in the field, according to military hardware specialist BAE, this military-grade HUD layers a 3D battlefield over soldiers’ real-time view. It provides territory waypoints, helps identify hostile and friendly forces, and even displays live video feeds from drones in the air (we’re guessing not Amazon’s). The smart eyepiece is chunkier than Glass, but switches to night-vision mode automatically when the sun goes down.

This connected, augmented-reality crash-hat is still in beta testing but is well and truly on our wish list. In suitably Glass style, it overlays the corner of your vision with a display showing directions, calls and text alerts fed from your phone via Bluetooth, and connects to the helmet’s 180-degreevision rearview cam to give you a peek at your blind spot. There are built-in speakers, too, just in case motorcyle couriers weren’t distracted enough.

baesystems.com

skullyhelmets.com

{focus}

HEADS UP! CONNECTED Displays for the everyday Garmin HUD

Sygic

Afterguard

Make your car just that bit more like a jet fighter with this little black box. It pulls info from the StreetPilot phone app and beams it on to your windscreen.

This Android and iOS app uses your phone’s screen as a DIY version of Garmin’s gizmo. The high-contrast display is most effective at night, obviously.

These sailor-aimed specs pull info on knot speed and GPS position from your boat’s instruments. Best worn below deck, as they’re oddly only splashproof.

£130, buy.garmin.com, out now

£18, sygic.com, out now

£1,485, afterguard.co, out autumn

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Radar

News blip you can now group video call on skype without a premium account

News

which watch? Old-school timepiece with added apps or crazy wrist-mounted future tech – it’s time to decide the future of the smartwatch

LG G Watch

This understated, Sony SmartWatchesque, timepiece is part of the first wave of Google’s connected Android Wear wristpieces. The new operating system is specially designed for wearable tech, with Google Now voice control and an always-on screen that aims to be unobtrusive yet ever-present. Paired with LG’s slim watchface and attractively un-fussy design, it’s the smartwatch for people that don’t really want anyone to know they’re wearing a smartwatch. £180, lg.com, out July

Rufus Cuff

Or, alternatively, if you want the whole world to know just how bloody smart your watch is, bolt this three-inch touchscreen beast to your arm like a Pip-Boy 3000 in Fallout 3. Calling itself a “wrist communicator”, the widescreen 400x240 display is backed by an A8 processor and 16GB storage. It’s aiming to provide everything a smartphone does, and with full-fat Android KitKat on board with unfettered access to Google Play apps, GPS, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0 and a mic for calls, it’s almost there, too. $229, rufuslabs.com, out September

{extr a}

geek tv wars: New tech show fisticuffs Silicon Valley From the mind of Mike Judge (Office Space), this new HBO series is like a tech The Thick of It. The details of life as a seed fund-chasing dev-nerd all feel right, while Thomas Middleditch, as the dev

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who may just have hit on a game-changing algorithm, and TJ Miller, as the sinister tool he works for, are perfect. Only problem? It’s not in the UK yet. Sky Atlantic: rectify this, please. hbo.com/silicon-valley

Betas Now this is out in the UK, on Amazon Instant Video, so if you can get past the fact that it’s as funny as hard drive failure, then dive in. There’s the germ of a good show here, but nothing rings true, least

of all the app that Betas’ band of lovable misfits are supposedly working on. The actors are left to struggle gamely with thin characterisation, lazy scripts and weird pacing, but LOLZ are AWOL. Amazon.co.uk/prime

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Radar

Trend

News blip virtuix bags $3 million funding for omni virtual reality treadmill

wireless for sound

Make some noise for the next big things in multi-room music streaming Panasonic SC-ALL series

Simple Audio Roomplayer+

Musaic Wireless Hi-Fi System

A three-pronged, Sonos-esque wireless attack consisting of the wall-mountable SC-ALL8 speaker (pictured), a smaller SC-ALL3 and the SH-ALL 1C, which upgrades existing stereos to receive tracks from the Music Streaming app. Plays friendly with both iOS and Android devices, supports Napster and Spotify, plus pipes in tracks stored on PC or NAS drives, too.

Get the Simple Audio app on your smartphone, PC or NAS drive and this powerful but understated set-top creates a library of music to play via Bluetooth or AirPlay, with separate accounts for each family member. Deezer support tries to make up for the lack of Spotify, but uncompressed tracks pumped through the 50W amp are strong – once you’ve outlayed for speakers.

This UK-developed, Kickstarter-funded system has 36W and 60W of power respectively in its MP5 and MP10 (pictured) speakers. Both pump out MP3s and FLAC lossless audio, scattering sound across your connected home from any device and some streaming apps (not Spotify yet). Interestingly, it promises to link your smart lighting and security systems, too.

£TBC, panasonic.com, out June

£599, simpleaudio.com, out now

£tbc, musaic.com, out september

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WWW F o r m o r e NEWS g o t o T 3.C OM

Radar

News blip microsoft and nokia are now officially one company, PEOPLE!

SPE N D

we’re calling time Tag Heuer’s Meridiist Infinite is a luxe phone with a design based on wrist watches past. But with a concierge on call and solar panels in the screen, it’s dialling the future 2

£POA, Tagheuer.com, out Late 2014

Le mans, the myth

metal armour

all in the detail

Pocket Watch

Jet-Setter

The phone’s styling is inspired by the iconic Tag Heuer Monaco watch worn by Steve McQueen.

That chassis is crafted entirely of Grade 5 titanium, so although it’s precious, it’s dead tough, too.

The Infinite is made up of over 400 mechanical components, all of which are hand-assembled.

The top-facing mini OLED display means you can check the time while your phone’s in your trousers.

A dual SIM slot makes it ideal for travellers looking to avoid roaming charges and/or philanderers.

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8

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10

perpetual power

Marathon man

ask it anything

Hard as nails

limited edition

Invisible photovoltaic cells are built into the display, using natural or artificial light to charge the phone.

Low power requirements mean you’ll get a massive 28 days’ standby and seven hours’ nattering time.

The Tag badge button links to your personal concierge. It’s free for 12 months, then €1,500 a year after.

A sapphire crystal keypad and display protect against scratches and dents from pocket detritus.

There are only 1911 Infinitys, honouring the year of Tag’s first dash chronograph.

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€8,900, tagheuer.co.uk, out july

WWW For more NEWS go tO T3.COM

Radar

Under the radar

News blip Quantenna Communications promises 10-gigabit wi-fi by 2015

Stuff

Go for a wander in the tech outer limits, where mini DACs and security bracelets lurk…

Creative Muvo 10 speaker with one-tap connection via NFC, up to eight hours of heavy-bass playback and a handle for carrying the party with you. £50, creative.com, out now Happy Plugs in-ears simple but bright earphones in 16 colours. pop a pair in the pocket of every outfit. £40, happyplugs.com, out now Nymi Security Bracelet your heart rhythm is unique. so This band uses it as a biometric Password to unlock your phone, tablet, or authorise payments. £53, getnymi.com, out tbc Motherboard Chopping board unlike raspberry pi you can’t program anything with this, but its scratch-proof glass is ideal for processing food prep. £12, sciencemuseum.org, out now Geek Out DAC Ultra-compact digital-to-analogue music converter adds oomph to your tracks. £146, mustgeekout.com, out tbc Pressy Android Button Plug this into your headphone jack and assign it as a shortcut for any smartphone function – camera shutter button, maybe? £19, get.pressybutton.com, out tbc Lexon Flip Alarm Clock No more flapping around for the snooze button, just flip this over to shut it up. £26, johnlewis.com, out now

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WWW For more NEWS go tO T3.COM

Radar

icon

News blip david attenborough’s conquest of the skies doc is being filmed for oculus rift

#4

d   esign d   ons SIR James Dyson

The problem-solving British inventor that made vacs manly IT’S TIME AGAIN TO HAIL TECH’S BRIGHTEST SPARKS, those whose exciting new ideas and back-of-a-napkin sketches have not just tickled our aesthetic fancy but shaped the way we consider and consume our playthings. And there are few more instantly recognisable tech reinventors than Sir James Dyson. For a man whose first design was a wheelbarrow (he replaced the wheel with a far more useful ball – sound familiar?), Dyson has gone on to laser-focus his designs on the domestic, turning his innovative eye to vacuums, hand-dryers, washing machines, fans and taps, with each invention boasting a space-age aesthetic that hints temptingly at the smartness of the tech at work inside.

{Speak}

Design Museum’s Ria Hawthorn sucks up to Dyson

Dyson DC41 2012 The pinnacle of DYSON’S problem-solving powers. Radial Root Cyclones deliver this vacuum cleaner’s consistEnt suction, with The ball-housed motor keeping weight low for easy movement. the head raises and lowers depending on surface, too. Dyson Airblade dB 2013 valiantly trying to make public toilets more hygienic, this hand-dryer blasts 35 litres of air at a quite silly 430mph on to your hands (bet you still wipe them on your jeans after, though).

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Dyson Cool 2014 Removing the blades from a fan wasn’t revolutionary enough for dyson; this year he’s managed to reduce noise by 75 per cent, too, with a Helmholtz cavity cancelling out excess sound. Dyson CR1 2000 this washing machine was a revelation, with a contra-rotating drum that mimicked hand-washing. the £1,000+ price tag limited its appeal somewhat, though. Dyson DC58 Handheld 2013 how to make any household chore appeal to simple men

101: Make the tool look like a ray gun. The DC58 mini-vac squeezes in Dyson’s Cylone tech, a powerful 350W digital motor that spins the fans 110,000 times per minute and dual-layered cyclones into One lethal cleaning machine. Dyson AirBlade Tap 2013 taking the opposite approach to dyson’s vacuums, this is all about what’s hidden. infrared sensors control the tap, dispensing the exact water you need, before drying you off with a blast from the 1,600w built-in motor.

Sir James spent ten whole years developing his first bagless vacuum cleaner, producing thousands of prototypes before presenting his idea to all the major vac brands. When Dyson’s idea was dismissed unequivocally, which some say was because it would damage the manufacturers’ profits from selling bags, he decided to produce it himself. Dyson’s belief in innovation, combined with his determination and entrepreneurial spirit have led him to revolutionising even more everyday household objects, turning the company’s attention to consumer products that others have ignored for decades. The design of the humble fan, hand-dryer and washing machine have been transformed by Dyson’s exacting eye and his 1,000-strong team of dedicated engineers.

WWW For more NEWS go tO T3.COM

i nb o x

THE BUZZ

Exploring the tech butcher’s for juicy cuts, mystery meat and outrageous offal

what we’ve learned this month the danish government has time on its hands

pono music

Denmark has been completely recreated in Minecraft, with government officials urging Danes to take field trips within the virtual country.

Neil Young’s audiophile-grade media player is the fourth most successful Kickstarter project ever, raising $6.2m (right) peek

The phone app that enables eye examinations in remote locations has been named the London Design Museum’s Digital Design of the Year US!

T3 has been shortlisted for Consumer Media Brand of the Year at the “publishing Oscars”, the PPA Awards. Black ties and humble faces at the ready {winning}

THE T3 WINDEX

What’s going up and down in Techsville

WHAT HAPPENED NEXT?

new warhol artwork found on amiga disks

Updates on the silicon stories that do not go gently {ga ming}

{security}

{online}

Then: The myth goes that Atari buried copies of the ultimate movie tie-in failure, E.T, oft blamed for the gaming industry crash of 1983, in the New Mexico desert. Now: Turns out they actually did – and an upcoming documentary by Zak Penn will show the excavation secrets.

Then: The security bug in the internet’s OpenSSL left 17 per cent of the web’s secure server open to password and cookie theft. Now: A group set up by the Linux Foundation has raised £1.7m from Google, Facebook, Microsoft, etc, to fund OpenSSL maintenance.

Then: Plans were announced in 2011 to open up domain names, allowing variations on the .com, .co.uk and .org staples. Now: The very first .London websites are live, with West Ham United, Fortnam & Mason and TechHub already signed up.

Atari’s E.T. failure comes home

Avoiding a future Heartbleed

London gets its own web domain

Commissioned by Commodore in 1985, the pop art was buried in the Warhol Museum’s archive. mark Zuckerberg is a dummy

The Facebook boss now has a waxwork clone, complete with disturbingly bare feet, created for the opening of the new Madame Tussauds in San Francisco.

{fa i l i ng} essex and wales

According to USwitch, Wheatley Road in Stanford-Le-Hope and Erw Fawr in Henryd have the slowest web speeds in the UK, with 0.60mbps downloads

Your mails, tweets and posts

the sports torrent network

File-sharing site that offered links to top football games has been taken down after threats from the City of London Police Intellectual Property Crime Unit google+

Following the exit of the head of social networking services, rumours abound that its set to undergo serious changes

Star letter Wristy business I hope Apple don’t release an iWatch. If one does arrive it’ll cost about £250, with a new variant arriving every year. How much will the original be worth in four years’ time? Invest in a regular watch and it would actually hold its value. david hopson via facebook

Nike’s abandoning of the FuelBand points to Apple’s watch actually being more of a fitness 3 6 T 3 J U LY 2 0 1 4

tracker, David, like the Gear Fit reviewed on p118 However, if it’s pricey watches you’re looking for, we have plenty, starting on p55.

Nokia is no more

My thoughts on smartwatches: if you still need a mobile phone in your pocket, it’s a dumb idea.

andrew hoffman via facebook

Don believeinthem via facebook

Last month, in our pre-World Cup excitement, we listed the product number of Sony’s 4K projector on p68 incorrectly. It is, in fact, a VPL-VW500ES, costing £8,799.

Tech gender politics Can Samsung’s Wi-Fi connected, app-controlled washing machine [featured on p86 ] also nag my husband to take laundry downstairs to the utility room where our washer-dryer is? jessica wilde via facebook

Sort of. It sends a notification when it’s done. Bit sexist.

The Finnish company will lose its individuality when it comes under the Microsoft umbrella. That said, it might well make better products.

Clarification

Send mail, win this

A Gioteck EX-06 Wired headset with excellent sound quality and removable mic boom. Foldable and fantastic. £34.99, gioteck.com

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Radar

Email [email protected] Tweet @t3dotcom Facebook /T3mag Letters T3, Future Publishing, 2 Balcombe St, London, NW1 6NW

XXXX w

$41,000,000 – Star Citizen game $2,437, 429 – Oculus Rift headset $8,596,474 – Ouya games console $10,266,840 – Pebble Smartwatch $6,225,354 – pono music player

One in three Brits say they would now buy a 3D Printer (Robox)

WTF

WhatsApp by the numbers

19years time gamers have so far spent streaming Titanfall on Xbox One’s Twitch service (microsoft)

448 million

64

billion

$19

billion

$40

kickstarter’s big guns

number of active users worldwide

number of messages sent, on average, every 24 hours the price Facebook paid for the messaging service the value facebook’s deal places on each whatsapp user

55

total Number of Whatsapp employees

32

number of Whatsapp staff that are engineers

1/3 of all brits have no idea how to back up their smartphone, yet value its contents, on average, at

(kickstarter)

number of iOS devices sold since June 2012

500,000,000 That’s almost eight times the population of the uk

1 117

(APPLE)

£ ,

number of homes powered by world’s largest solar power field in the california desert

(three)

13,200,000,000 light years

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million

ratio of developers to active whatsapp users (WhatsApp)

how long ago the hubble-spotted abbell2744, the farthest galaxy from earth, was created (nasa)

(Popular science)

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Radar

INCOMIN G

news blip apple’s os x mavericks update beta is open for everyone to test

what’s on your radar? We’ve synthesised the antidote to boredom…

3 6 9 Months away

Months away

Months away

Tech

tech

tech

Sony Digital Paper

Google Nexus 8.9

Razer Project Christine

It’s time to practice your penmanship, as Sony’s e-ink-esque scribing arrives this summer. You’ll be able to scribble on PDFs and share them via Wi-Fi, with 4GB holding up to 2,800 docs in a device the size of 30 actual sheets.

Flushed with One M8 success, HTC is rumoured to be working on a new 8.9-inch Nexus tablet for Google (while Asus sobs in a corner, presumably). Reports hint at a screen res that outstrips iPad Retina Displays. Good old “reports”.

This user-friendly, modular PC with slot-in upgrades made us coo at CES, but we assumed it would end up in the great concept graveyard in the sky. Yet Razer CEO Min-Liang Tan’s has confirmed it’s still “definitely in the works”.

FILM

FILM

FILM

Robert Downey Jr. ditches his Iron Man suit and puts down the HTC ad contract to grab a briefcase and serious face for this drama that has him lawyering up to defend his senile, murdercharged father. Court adjourned until October.

Penned by the Coen brothers, and produced and directed by Angelina Jolie, this is the biopic of Olympic-runner turned WW2 prisoner-of-war Louis Zamperini. First trailed during the Winter Olympics, it hits the UK on Boxing Day.

Seatbelts fastened? A new bout of high-octane Vin Diesel car OTT-ness is en route, with the late Paul Walker in a rather poignant last role. Sure, the plot and physics are always silly, but we’ll still be parked in cinema seats next spring.

GAME

GAME

Oddworld: Abe’s Oddysee New ’n’ Tasty

Call Of Duty: Advanced Warfare

GAME

Sharp HD remake of this classic side-scroller once again has you saving Mudokon slaves from a meat-processing plant, but with new puzzles to ponder. On PC, Wii U and PSN formats this spring.

The first proper next-gen entry in the silly-selling shooter series drops this autumn, with developer Sledgehammer at the helm while Infinity Ward and Treyarch on holiday, and Kevin Spacey starring.

An intriguing Dark Soulsesque (read: bit tricky) take on the horror shooter by Polish studio The Farm 51, mixing photo-realistic visuals with both campaign and multiplayer. Truly new next-gen IPs have been rare, so colour us excited.

EVENT

EVENT

EVENT

Spartan Race London

Taste of Christmas 2014

Super Bowl 2015

Make like the Krypton Factor and stick August 30 in your training diary for the world’s leading obstaclecourse race. Split into sprint, super and “beast” categories, its “primitive craziness” is sure to push you beyond your limits.

London’s Tobacco Dock is home to this year’s festival of festive gorging, offering a sledge full of culinary innovation, with demos by world-class chefs and lots of seasonal grub. First mince pie of the year booked in for November 20.

The American football season’s big day is the most-watched event on world telly – and the half-time tech adverts are just as extravagant. Tune in during the wee hours of February 1 on BBC and Sky Sports to get your ’iron on.

The Judge

Unbroken

Fast & Furious 7

Get Even

{The highs a nd lows of t3’s coming month}

yeah!

Meh!

June’s first and last weeks bring the annual new revelations from Team Apple and the Android Army. With Tim Cook and co’s WWDC expo from June 2, then T3 Hot 100-topping Google’s I/O event on June 25, most of our month will be spent on San Fran time…

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Make that “West Coast time”, as June 10’s gaming super-show E3 also has a lot to live up to after the double PS4/X1 assault of last year’s doozy. We’ll be there in force, hoping for another dose of VR and some proper next-gen titles. Head to T3.com for the latest…

The T3 team tries to maintain its relentless productivity as the World Cup takes over all screens large and small. If we aren’t watching England missing penalties, you’ll find us scoring them on the best footie games ever. Head to p92 for kick-off… WWW For more NEWS go tO T3.COM

It’s time to Vote for the tech you love

And maybe win an iPad Air

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T   he T3 Awards 2014 are here.  N   ow is the time to have your say…

The awards

The longlist The biggest tech awards of the year are back. We need your vote to sort the winners from the rest Gadget of the Year HTC One (M8) Samsung Galaxy S5 Samsung Galaxy   Note 3 Apple iPhone 5S Sony RX100 II GoPro HERO3+   Black Edition Google Nexus 7 Amazon Kindle   Fire HDX Apple iPad Mini   with Retina display TomTom Runner Cardio Apple MacBook Pro with Retina display Sky+ HD with Wi-Fi Virgin Media TiVo Microsoft Xbox One Sony PlayStation 4 Brand of the Year Apple Sony Microsoft LG Samsung Valve HTC Amazon Google Netflix Audi Facebook Adidas Nike Lenovo Phone of the Year HTC One (M8) Samsung Galaxy S5 Samsung Galaxy   Note 3 Apple iPhone 5S Apple iPhone 5C Nokia Lumia 1020 Huawei Ascend P6 LG G2 Motorola Moto G Sony Xperia Z2 TV of the Year Sony W829 Sony X9005 Samsung HU8500 Panasonic DT65 Panasonic WT600 LG LA740 Philips PFL9708 Loewe Connect ID 46 Toshiba L9363 Sony W905

Car of the Year BMW i3 Tesla Model S McLaren P1 Porsche 918 Spyder VW e-up! Mercedes-Benz S-Class MINI Cooper S Audi TT Vauxhall ADAM Ford Focus Camera of the Year Canon EOS 700D Nikon Df Olympus OM-D E-M1 Fujifilm X-T1 Samsung NX30 Panasonic Lumix DMC-GX7 Nokia Lumia 1020 Sony Cyber-shot RX100 II Canon IXUS 255HS GoPro HERO3+   Black Edition Laptop or Tablet of the Year Toshiba KIRAbook Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga Sony Vaio Duo Apple MacBook Pro with Retina display Apple iPad Mini   with Retina display Sony Xperia Z2 Tablet Google Nexus 7 Kindle Fire HDX Apple iPad Air Samsung Galaxy   Tab Pro Fitness Wearable of the Year Monster iSport Strive Bose SIE2i Sports Samsung Gear Fit Nike+ FuelBand SE Jawbone UP24 Polar Loop Garmin Vivofit Garmin   Forerunner 620 TomTom   Runner Cardio Wahoo Fitness TICKR

The Design Innovation Award Apple Mac Pro Gravity tablet Steam Controller Fujitsu Haptic Sensory Tablet Sony Project Morpheus PonoPlayer Razer Project Christine Audi Virtual Cockpit Jarre AeroBull Avegant Glyph The Entertainment Award Sky+ HD Netflix Google Play Apple iTunes Amazon Prime   Instant Video Spotify Sony PlayStation Network Microsoft   Xbox Live Gold Virgin Media YouView The Gaming Award Microsoft Xbox One Sony PlayStation 4 Nintendo 2DS Nvidia Shield Sony PS Vita   Series 2000 Apple iPad Mini with Retina display Oculus Rift Moga Pro Controller Razer Blade Chillblast Defiant Mini Headphones of the Year Bose   QuietComfort 20i Shure SE425 Nocs NS900 Live Sennheiser Momentum PSB M4U 2 B&W P7 Monster DNA Pro Philips Fidelio S2 Denon AH-D340 Beats by Dre Beats Studio Wireless

The Sound Award Jawbone Mini Jambox Loewe Speaker 2Go Sonos Play:1 Marshall Stanmore Pure Jongo T6 Cambridge Audio Minx Xi Denon Cocoon Stream Maxell MXSP-SB3000 Orbitsound Soundbase SB60 Libratone Loop The TechLife Home Award Sage by Heston Blumenthal   the Dual Boiler Dyson DC59 Animal Philips Hue Oral-B Pro Smart Series Hive by British Gas Optimum 400 The Peloton Bike Braun Cooltec Philips Beardtrimmer Series 9000 D-Link EyeOn Baby

All votes will be entered for the chance to win an iPad Air. Share the T3 Awards love with your social followers and you might scoop another prize, too…

T   3.com/ awards

j u ly 2 0 1 4 T 3 41

Play Edited by nick cowen

This month… Murdered: Soul Suspect haunts / Squarepusher goes robotic / RoboCop returns / Beamly socialises your telly

Th e content for you r K IT

T H E E SS E N T IAL

IN the Valley of the Apps

How London’s digital studio Ustwo cracked iTunes with Monument Valley

G

uiding a silent figure around a New Age rendering of an Escher painting isn’t exactly a textbook blueprint for an app phenomenon. Yet Monument Valley’s beautiful interactive mazes, which we manipulate to open new pathways and routes through parallax errors, are miniature masterpieces of digital design that have, in turn, topped Apple’s App Stores the world over. Most surprising of all for a modern-day app success? There are no in-app purchases or adverts whatsoever,

with players handing over a one-off, three-quid payment before being left to get lost in the world. Brit developer Ustwo’s hit serves as a timely reminder that the freemium business model isn’t essential to guarantee success. “We’ve spent the last 12 months with people calling us absolutely crazy,” says the game’s producer Dan Gray. “They’d see Monument Valley and say, ‘Oh, this is brilliant. It’s a free game, isn’t it?’ And we’d say, ‘No…’ The amount of raised eyebrows we received was unnerving.”

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Play

GAMES

“I see dead people. Loads of the buggers”

Latest blueprints for Battersea Power Station’s revamp: a bit “out there”

Monument Valley isn’t the first attempt Ustwo has made to crack the App Store, mind. It’s built commercial apps for Barclays, Channel 4 and Sony, the intriguing Rado photo experiment and scored a hit with the game Whale Trail, which racked up five million downloads although struggled to shift that into a freemium money-spinner. None of these achieved the instant recognition of their latest. “In all honesty, we never thought it would blow up the way it did,” says Gray. “We knew we’d made a good game, but we thought it’d be slightly niche, but the opposite has happened. I think people have been so attracted to the visuals that even those that don’t consider themselves gamers have been drawn to it.”

➜

“even people that don’t consider themselves gamers are drawn to it” Monument Valley was dripfed to the public in a long lead publicity campaign accompanied by meticulous beta testing, with the game passed between players as young as five and as old as 83. Ustwo’s thirst for buzz involved getting the game on as many radars as possible, from design magazines to games blogs – which meant being completely open with publishers and players from the get-go. “We wanted to focus on something we hadn’t done previously: reaching out to people early,” says Gray. “We tried not to be precious about what we showed people, getting super-early versions of the game to Apple and the media. We wanted a more personal relationship with our audience instead of just releasing an app and wishing for the best.” It’s hard to argue with Ustwo’s methods, cultivating a hit rather than just craving one. The personal touch has seen its niche title, a labour of love and intricate graphic design, top the charts and reach a massive fanbase that’s, reassuringly, more than willing to pay to play. £2.49, monumentvalleygame.com, out now on ios 6.0+

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M   urdered: Soul Suspect Randall & Hopkirk (Deceased) is given the Silent Hill treatment in one thoroughly chilly detective yarn

m

ost games start by empowering players: super abilities, weapons, a quest to save humanity. In Murdered: Soul Suspect, you get thrown out of second-storey window by a shadowy assailant, who then proceeds to empty a semi-automatic into you to finish the job. You’re dead before you even begin. Yet it’s now up to you to solve your own murder in the somewhat hammily picked city of Salem. As a ghost, you can wander through walls, skin-ride other characters – essentially taking over both their bodies and minds – and even engage in the odd

bit of classic Poltergeist-style item-tossing tomfoolery. As you try to get to the bottom of your untimely demise, you’ll also meet other murder victims whose cases you can opt to take on, side-mission style, helping them cross over to the other side. Why not help out? You have an eternity of purgatory to fill. Like Silent Hill by way of Randall & Hopkirk (Deceased), Murdered: Soul Suspect is a welcome anomaly: a horror adventure that puts a premium on puzzle solving rather than action, enveloping the player in its own web of intrigue. Don’t fear the reaper. From £21.85, murdered.com, out June 6 on PC, PS4, X1, PS3, X360

{Focus}

Dusk World, the living-meets-dead realm which you now call home, is populated by deceased humans and lethal soul-devouring demons. Welcome to the neighbourhood…

{Best of the r est}

Fast cars, fairy tales and firing squads

GRID: AutoSport

Child Of Light

Tomodachi Life

Sniper Elite 3

PC, X360, PS3

PC, PS4, X1, Wii U

3DS

Sublime-looking platfomer meets RPG fairy tale based on Rayman Legends’ art. With intuitive controls and a compelling story, it’s one of the year’s best.

Closet Animal Crossing, fan? How’s about taking control of a virtual island and populating it with your Miis and oddballs instead of critters? Exactly.

PC, PS4, X1, PS3, X360

More dream machines, more world-famous circuits and a streetracing mode that offers ample chances to turn your car into scrap metal.

The most violent of violent shooters snipes back with new kill animations and stealth. Big fan Charlie Brooker pops up to be shot at, too.

£44, codemasters.com/uk, out June 27

From £12, childoflight. ubi.com, Out now

£35, tomodachi.nintendo.com, out June 6

From £25, rebellion.co.uk, out June 27

Play

M U SIC

music for robots

Squarepusher’s new EP sees him jamming with a three-piece robo-band who can really shred

A

s session musicians go, Z-Machines are in a class of their own. Forget that they’re not impaired by egos or “musical differences”, this robotic trio consists of a 78-fingered guitarist, a keyboardist that shoots lasers and a drummer with 22 arms. But while they possess the stage presence of RoboCop armed with an axe, they still need a good tune – which is where Tom Jenkinson, aka electro master Squarepusher, comes in. Approached by Z-Machines’ head roboticist Kenjiro Matsuo to create a piece for live shows, Jenkinson found the process so enjoyable he persuaded Matsuo to let him record a whole EP, Music For Robots. T3 explores the mechs behind the music… T3: Is composing for robots a challenge? Squarepusher: “I needed to establish what the specifications of the robots were. So, with the Z-Machine that plays two guitars at the same time, I had to establish the total range of notes, how fast it could play them and how many it could play simultaneously. They’re the same sort of considerations you’d have approaching any combination of instruments and performers – what can they do?” T3: Did you find yourself pushing the limits, testing what Z-Machines are capable of? SP: “Of course, you’ve got to concede to the 4 6 T 3 J U LY 2 0 1 4

{focus}

Meet the Z-Machines

12-year-old boy inside you at some point and say, ‘Okay, let’s see how fast this can go, because why the hell not?’ But for me it’s about trying to explore some of the tech’s less obvious assets. For example, being able to play chords over massive distances. “The guitar robot [March] could play six separate melodies at the same time; no human could do that. So there are abilities that, to some degree, shape the compositions. Part of what attracts people to this project is the novelty, they’re music boxes with attitude, but I don’t think I’d be happy if these tracks were just ways of demoing the robots.” T3: Do people’s perception of the EP change when they learn it’s played by robots? SP: “This is one of the things that makes the project so interesting, because it demonstrates how much context affects people’s response to music. In a way, I’m envious of people who are able to listen to this album, not knowing anything about it.

the z-machines’ guitarist can play chords no human would ever attempt

Name: March
 Instrument: Guitar • 78 fingers
and 3 arms • officially the fastest guitarist in the world Name: Ashura Instrument: Drums • 22 arms • 3 kickdrums • Produces the same racket as four human drummers Name: Cosmo Instrument: Keyboard • triggers notes remotely • shoots lasers from eyes • shaped like a fish

“What people hear initially is supreme musical athleticism, but for some people, once you tell them it’s played by robots, that somehow disqualifies the whole thing. Instead of a guitar player, you have engineers which are working equally hard applying different skills. I don’t see why a piece of music should lose merit because it’s not being played by humans. It’s anachronistic. “Music is often described in terms of human behaviour and attributes; you’ll hear a track as being played with ‘sensitivity’, or another as being ‘aggressive’. All of this terminology is based on human behaviour. If you remove any trace of humanity from the music, does that mean the appreciation drops away? I hope not. I hope people will look past the robots and actually listen to the tracks.” Music For Robots from £4.49 on download, CD or vinyl, squarepusher.net, out now

Films

Gruff rhys

Sterling multimedia celebration of Welshness from the ex-Super Furry

F

eaturing a DVD, album, book, app and concert tour with a mid-gig PowerPoint presentation, American Interior tells the tale of long-lost Welsh explorer John Evans. Its folky, Americana sound is a long way from the former Super Furry Animals man’s last project – an album and theatrical presentation about the publisher of Dr Zhivago done under his Neon Neon alias – but is similar in the way it blends weighty concepts with irresistible tunes.

£9 vinyl with CD, £9 MP3, out now

{Best of the r est}

New sounds old! Old sounds new! Matt Berry

Music for Insomniacs Wonderful, proggy, synthy, ’70s “vibes” from the boomy-voiced funny man. There’s no comedy here, unless you count the Jarre homage at the end. £11 CD, £2 MP3 (!), out now

Hercules and Love affair

The Feast of the Broken Heart With cover art not a million miles from Jimmy Rizzi’s work for TomTom Club’s debut, this works a similar vein of boho New York loft funk. It’s great.

“Why are you standing in a trench?”

Robocop

Liked the original but disliked its humour and memorable characters? Here’s your dream remake

S

o this reboot. Would we buy it for a dollar? Yes, just about. Its problem is that Paul Verhoeven, who helmed the 1987 version, is a playful genius, whereas 2014 director José Padilha (Elite Squad) is merely a very competent maker of violent, macho movies. So, all the humour is stripped out (apart from, weirdly, an endless stream of winks back to the original), Samuel L Jackson’s Glenn Beckstyle ranter ousts inane, ’80s-style news chimps Casey Wong and Jesse Perkins, and the demented villains of the first Robo are replaced by a Michael Keaton performance so restrained he’s barely there and a comically tiny Jackie Earle Haley (pictured). However, the central questions – “What makes us human?” and, “Just how do you take down a 3m-tall robot with rocket launcher arms?” – remain eternal, and compelling enough to make this perfectly serviceable.

{HD moment}

Where the original’s Robo/ED209 battle was played as stop-motion comedy, here it’s all steely CGI precision

£13 BD, £14 DL, out now

{Best of the r est}

War, murder, AIDS, folk music: the four great evils

£10 CD, £8 MP3, Out May 26

LEd Zeppelin

III Led Zep’s most diverse album is re-released with alternate takes of classics like Immigrant Song plus a couple of unreleased curios. Rock.

Dallas buyers club blu-ray, HD Download

Inside Llewyn Davis blu-ray, HD Download

Lone Survivor blu-ray

True Detective blu-ray

Xscape That noise you can hear is not one of the late Jacko’s famed squeaks. It’s the sound of barrels being scraped. Bad, rather than Bad. Ow! Chamone!

Vividly recalling the deranged reaction of America to the ’80s AIDS crisis, this is yet another cracking showcase for Matthew McConaughey, who is duly superb.

Not, in fact, a slice of Welsh erotica, this follows a typically flawed Coen bros protagonist, this time a ’60s folky with a big chip on his shoulder. Not much happens, entertainingly.

So count the number of soldiers in this pic. Then consider the film’s title. Guess what happens to three of them? Never mind, they have plenty of gung-ho thrills along the way.

This tangled, Deep South ’tec drama keeps TV in front of cinema in the cool stakes. McConaughey (again) and Woody Harrelson lend muscle to a brilliantly twisted story.

£12 CD, £11 MP3, out now

£13 BD, £14 DL, out JUne 2

£13 BD, £14 DL, out now

£13 BD, out June 9

£36 BD, out June 9

£13 CD, £8 MP3, out June 2

Michael Jackson

J U LY 2 0 1 4 T 3 47

A P P S & O NLINE

{Ios}

Apple’s little crop of crackers Shapematic iOS 7.0+: iPad, iPhone, Touch

Snap an object from every angle and this app can extrapolate a 3D image from your photographs. Early days, but a very clever idea indeed. £0.69, shapematic.floaty.it

Microsoft Office for iPad iOS 7.0+: iPad only

The holy grail of full Word and Excel functionality comes to iPad. Plays nicely with OneDrive, letting you share documents and track changes. Free, office.microsoft.com

Flight iOS 7.0+: iPad, iPhone, Touch

Give the app a flight number and it’ll show you where the plane is en-route, providing you with estimated arrival times and even what gate to wait at. £2.40, innovationbox.com

NFB StopMo Studio iOS 5.1+: iPad only

Great stop-motion video fun with deep tutorial and a vast selection of tools to help you create your own Aardman-style masterpieces.

App of the month

Beamly

£0.69, nfb.ca

Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft

The telly lovers’ companion formerly known as Zeebox gets a fresh look and a new social network

W

ith the amount everyone tweets Game of Thrones spoilers nowadays you’d think socialising telly would be a no-brainer. Yet only Zeebox, created by ex-BBC tech chief and iPlayer founder Anthony Rose, has so far managed to make any in-roads into wrestling attention away from existing social networks, landing Sky investment as well as our App of the Year award two years ago for its troubles. Rose’s second-screen app, which marries live TV listings with telly-related chatter, is now reborn as Beamly (those with Zeebox just need to do an update). Open an account

iOS 5.0+: iPad only

Ignore the geek police, get in a flagon of mead and hit the fantasy Top Trumps in this Magic: The Gathering-style offshoot of Blizzard’s RPG. Essential.

and it prompts you to follow the things that interest you, from genres to specific shows and actors. It then fills your homepage with relevant news stories, tweets and popular opinion from other Beamly users. The key change is that where Zeebox ported in Twitter, Beamly’s built its own social network, adding “TV Rooms”, where users can create channels and invite others to subscribe to their opinions. It’s nicely designed, although yet another network to sign up to will jar with some. We’ll be watching developments with interest.

Free, eu.battle.net

Yummly iOS 7.0+: iPad only

Like having Ready Steady Cook chefs in your larder, this trawls the web for suitable recipes to match to what you bought randomly at the shops. Free, yummly.com

Stream Web iOS 7.0+: iPad, iPhone, Touch

Nicely minimalist web browser that lets you split-screen web pages for simultaneous browsing and share finds with social networks.

Free, uk.beamly.com, Out now on iOS & Android

Free, streamapp.com

{U pdate}

Amazon Instant Video scores HBO shows The most compelling reason yet to sign up to Amazon’s on-demand video service for those not scoring it free with their Prime account is here: classic HBO shows. So that’sThe Sopranos, Six Feet Under and The Wire, all available to watch any time free of charge. Newer HBO series,

4 8 T 3 J U LY 2 0 1 4

such as Girls, Veep and The Newsroom, are also promised, but you’ll have to wait for three years (which is, erm, far from instant). Amazon has also confirmed that it will add the HBO Go app to its Fire TV set-top (full review on p120), but that’s US-only for now. £79 a year, amazon.co.uk

three websites reinventing the news

Vox.com

Narrative.ly

Htekidsnews.com

for the back story

for the personal

for the kids

It’s all well and good being first with the news, but this Verge sister site is more interested in giving you the full story. It splits the key issues into flashcards that help break down complex stories into digestible facts.

This news site actively avoids the headlines, instead picking a theme to explore each week, posting just one story every day, on anything from life on the run to unsolved mysteries and redemption.

Here There and Everywhere is the Newsround of the web, crediting children with having an interest in current affairs and never speaking down to them. Easy to grasp, age-appropriate reporting for the young ’uns.

WWW For more NEWS go tO T3.COM

Play

{Android}

Google’s great and good

{W indows Phone}

App in-depth

DollarBird Android 4.0+

Most accountancy apps, like the subject matter and a fair few of its practitioners, are dull. DollarBird, however, has a bright, breezy interface that makes it more appealing to knock your money matters into shape. No spreadsheets or ledgers, just a simple calendar to enter your spending into. Just took out some cash? Swipe down, enter the amount and the app logs it, setting up reminders for bills, too. Keep updating regularly and it will even be able to crunch the numbers and predict your future financial success or ruin. Free (Pro £3 a month), dollarbird.co

Tribesports Training Android 4.0+

A true training all-rounder, tracking runs and rides via GPS, as well as in-depth gym routines. Chart the birth of the “new you” using graphs.

BB kings and queens

Photo Editor

Body Buddy

Windows Phone 8+

Blackberry 10.0.0+

A powerful, user-friendly suite of picture editing tools with over a thousand combinations. The absence of ads is always a nice bonus, too.

Fitness hub that plays nicely with Withings trackers and Nike+ for all your workouts. Also lets you upload your own calorie information.

Free, tapplex.com

Free, bodybuddy.ca

Soundcloud+

Walkband

Windows Phone 8+

Blackberry 10.0.0+

In the absence of an official app of the social music king, this third-party option reigns. Share and comment on audio, plus take tracks offline.

Turn your smartphone into a keyboard, guitar or drums, record multiple tracks and layer them to create, erm, interesting results.

Free, easternpencil.com

Free, appworld.blackberry.com

Recipe Keeper

MP3 Cut Pro

Windows Phone 8+

Blackberry 10.0.0+

Create and organise your own cookbook with snaps attached to recipes, dish categories and even a searchable database of specialities.

Trim your MP3s professionally, then save them to your local memory as ringtones. Handy, though SD card support would improve it muchly.

Free, windowsphone.com

£1.50, appworld.blackberry.com

Hexic

Writer

Windows Phone 8+

Blackberry 10.0.0+

The Xbox Live Arcade puzzler finally makes the jump to phones. Create clusters of matching hexagons to clear the Blockbusters-like board.

Perfect for writing on the go, this iA Writer-esque, clutter-free typing interface provides word counts, file sharing and not much more. Lovely.

Free, microsoft.com/games

£0.75, glamdevelopment.com

Facebook Messenger

JobGuru

Windows Phone 8+

Blackberry 10.0.0+

This official app takes a decidedly, and unsurprisingly, WhatsApp-ish approach, letting you send free texts and photos using 3G/4G or Wi-Fi.

Pulls results from big employment sites, letting you share the listing, email relevant contacts, or save while you consider your future.

Free, facebook.com

Free, appworld.blackberry.com

PolyScreen,

UNESCO World Heritage Street View

Windows Phone 8+

Generate your own completely randomised polygonal images and wallpapers and style up that rather square WP8 dashboard.

Free, tribesports.com

Link Bubble Android 4.1+ games: nick cowen. Music & Movies: Duncan Bell. books & websites: Clare Sartin. apps: pete dreyer

{Bl ack ber ry}

Feeling the live tile love

Hit a link in an app and this will load it in the background, alerting you when it’s ready and letting you share it via email, text or social network. Free, linkbubble.com

Recordense

Blackberry 10.0.0+

Become a smartphone tourist and visit the world’s most beautiful sights without paying for travel.

Free, windowsphone.com

£0.75, appworld.blackberry.com

Music+

Doomdark’s Revenge

Windows Phone 8+

Blackberry 10.0.0+

Unlimited streaming for a decent selection of popular music and top 40 tunes. You can download as much as you like for offline listening, too.

The 1985 Amstrad and Commodore 64 classic reimagined. If fantasy adventure and pixelated graphics be the food of love, play on!

Free, musicpl.us

£0.75, thelordsofmidnight.com

Android 3.2+

Clean and simple dictaphone app. Hit one button to record, hit another to tag important moments, hit another to share. Bish, bash, bosh.

Mr Mercedes

Elizabeth is Missing

Free, recordense.com

stephen king

emma healey

Newsbeat Android 2.3.3

Choose the topics that interest you and this will grab stories and condense them into one-minute podcasts for a personalised news hit. Free, newsbeat.me

Infinite Warrior

Hot on the heels of a Shining sequel, King’s latest novel follows an ex-cop and his rag-tag band of friends trying to solve one last case.

four ebooks to read

1 3 2 4

£7.47, out june 3

Glow

A mystery with a protagonist that has to overcome personal obstacles to solve it? Yes, it’s The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime, with Alzheimer’s replacing Asperger’s. £8.64, out june 5

ned beauman

Boy21

Despite the name, this is more Punch Quest than Infinity Blade. Good 2D level-upper with barbarian cleaving and brutal, mo-capped executions.

A global conspiracy with a local feel, as tense events in Pakistan, New Jersey and the Burmese jungle all reach boiling point in a dentist’s office in Camberwell.

£1.80, emptyflaskgames.com

£5.69, out may 8

£4.99, out june 19

Android 2.3+

matthew quick

New kid in class claims he’s an alien in this tale of school friendship by the Silver Linings Playbook writer.

J U LY 2 0 1 4 T 3 4 9

Opinion

{This month}

George T. Whitesides is ready for lift-off No fracking please, Chris Smith is British Duncan Bell is getting his Web fix Jeff Parsons sees iBands not iWatches Edited by Duncan Bell

t ech steel f ro m the an vil of t3’s comme n t-mon ge rs

George T. Whitesides

{Insight}

Galactic gets going Ground control to Major Branson: comb your beard and put your helmet on. Virgin Galactic’s chief is commencing your countdown…

E

veryone wants to know when Virgin Galactic will take its maiden passenger flight. Well, we think we’ve got a very good shot of flying Sir Richard by the end of this year, and I’m as excited about that as anyone – before I joined the company as CEO, I was actually a customer. Yep, I bought a couple of tickets early on. So is Virgin Galactic a US company or a UK one then? It’s both. Sure, the tech is primarily US-based – centred in Mojave, with operations to be down in New Mexico – but the UK is where the company was incubated, where our first employees were based, and where our commercial office is. We also hired our designer from Virgin Atlantic; he did the Upper Class suite and we’re trying to bring that design language into our vehicle, both in the spaceship interiors and the Space Port. While Virgin may be ahead in the “space tourism” race, what we’ve discovered is that – guess what? – putting someone in space is really hard. There are rival companies trying to roll out new vehicles, but I would hope it will take them a few years before they feel comfortable putting somebody on one. It’s so important for the industry that we get off on the right foot and start safely. We’ve been ➜

Illustration Andrew Gibbs

J u ly 2 0 1 4 T 3 5 1

Chris S mith

➜ test flying for five years now and we’re not going to feel comfortable taking people on board until every single piece of this thing is functioning as expected. Of course, there will still always be risk – there’s dangers with flying planes and that industry is 100 years old. However, the fact is that in some respects what we’re doing is relatively modest. We’re not going into orbit, so the amount of energy going into the vehicle is dramatically less, compared to something like the Space Shuttle. This means we can use more limited thermal protection systems and lighter materials. On the Shuttle they had to use ceramics on the bottom for re-entry because temperatures were up in the thousands of degrees. But on Virgin Galactic we can use painted-on heat retardants, and materials that were used more on the top portion of the shuttle, where the heat was much less. We think that this is the right way to start but as we progress to future vehicles – from SpaceShipTwo to Three, Four and Five – we may move to different tech that can take higher speeds. It’s funny to be talking about Mach 3 and Mach 4 as “modest” because you could go across the US in about an hour at those speeds, but in this context it is.

people will not be let on board till every piece of this thing functions Re-entry has historically been one of the riskier aspects of space flight, which is where our patented “feathering” technology provides an edge over everybody else. The wings are normally down, but we “feather” them up once we get to space, which allows the vehicle to take on a shuttlecock-like configuration. The bottom of the craft then always points down, meaning the pilot doesn’t need to do anything during re-entry, making it as safe as that phase can be. Then there’s reusability. Old shuttles weren’t really reusable, they were rebuildable; you literally took that whole thing apart, checked every last part, and put it back together again. It wasn’t like sticking fuel in a 737, spinning the engines and being ready to go. We’ll be somewhere in between a shuttle and a 737 when we start, but the goal is to move towards the latter – it’s what the whole space tourism business model centres on. Bottom line: these are exciting times. George T. Whitesides is CEO of Virgin Galactic and was previously chief of staff at NASA 5 2 T 3 J u ly 2 0 1 4

{State side}

 Don’t frack with us! Tech needs electricity – there’s no getting past it – but our resident hippy doesn’t want the planet to die so his smartphone can live

W  

hen President Obama took office, he identified clean, renewable energy as a key to restoring America’s post credit-crunch prosperity. David Cameron did something similar in the UK – remember “Vote blue, go green”? It seemed like a perfect plan. The new earth-defence force would create millions of jobs and reignite the innovative spirit that dragged the US out of the depression of the 1920s. The new tech could be exported to the rest of the globe for great profit, tackle rampant climate change and – perhaps most importantly for Americans – curtail the United States’ reliance on foreign oil. Progress, as is often the case with Obama’s initiatives, has been slow. Slower than an Elbow ballad. Slower, even, than an English

centre back – and investment is now actually falling. The US threw $36 billion at the cause in 2013, but global leader China, hardly noted as an eco-paradise, spent $54 billion. Certainly, it’s not all bad news. The States is well on the way to hitting the target of ten per cent of energy output from renewable sources by 2015. Solar power may still account for less than one per cent of energy generated, but the cost of installing panels has dropped by 60 per cent and, as a result, 4.3 gigawatts of solar capacity was installed across the country in 2013 (a record). Wind power is also on the rise here. Texas, a state renowned for its oil and gas production, drew a record 10,296 megawatts into the state’s electricity grid from wind farms earlier this year – almost a third of power consumed at the time. Apple and Google, founded as they were on utopian ideals, are enjoying the smell of their own renewable farts amidst all this. Tim Cook and co launched a “We are really green” PR offensive, while all four of the Cupertino crew’s American data centres are fuelled 100 per cent by renewables, with its 20MW solar installation in California the largest privately owned renewable energy source in the nation. Others have biofuel farms, cooling systems with water chilled by the night air and plenty of wind power. “There are some ideas we want every company to copy,” Apple says, wryly. Google, too, is doing its bit, investing $250 million in an initiative to lease solar panels to home owners. However, the really big news in making the energy that powers our tech is not wind, sun or unicorn-pulled rainbow generators. It’s fracking. This is the controversial process of using hydraulic pressure to fracture rock to release gas and oil, and is where the real money is going. Little wonder – fracking promises to give the US the energy independence it has sought desperately throughout its existence. By 2020, it will help the US overtake Saudi Arabia and Russia as the world’s top oil producer and be in a position to export energy, not import it. Fracking provides the same well-paying jobs and economic benefits as green energy, but far greater returns in terms of actual, y’know, energy. Of course, we’ll have to despoil the planet a little more to extract and use it. Most of us would probably rather that than have the lights go out on our laptops, phones and homes. But let’s hope we don’t come to regret the missed opportunities to really expand renewables use during the Obama years. Because this new source of fossil fuels will also run out, eventually. Chris is a Limey journalist lost in Yank-land

Du nca n b el l

je ff parson s

{Truth}

Opinion

{ F i n a l ly… }

The web is dead

Bands on the run

But nobody seems to care. Just what would it take to knock us out of our complacency over security, privacy and freedom online?

Nike seemed to be a trendsetter in the burgeoning wearables biz, but it’s pulling out. Maybe tech is best left to the experts… Apple, maybe?

T

I

he World Wide Web: born 1991, died 2014. That’s a headline you won’t have read elsewhere but you have to wonder why. Last year, we discovered that various security services might well have been merrily monitoring all our online communications, so that we can be safe and free. Then, in April, it turned out that thanks to something dubbed “Heartbleed”, online security as we thought we’d known it up to that point basically didn’t work. The public reaction? I wouldn’t say there was none, but it was on about the level of the mild peeved-ness expressed over BBC’s Jamaica Inn being hard to hear. But surely this is insane f**kery of the first order, which should leave everyone gibbering with rage? It’s like discovering your front door has actually not been locking properly when you closed it behind you every day, because the people who made the door forgot to include a lock. It’s like finding out your bank has been storing your cash in a skip on a bypass rather than, as you’d assumed, in a vault with a door on it made of metal the width of a shot-putter. Heartbleed wasn’t a virus. It wasn’t designed by cunning master-crims of the type sketched two-dimensionally in a particularly dull episode of Sherlock. It was a failing in SSL encryption, a bug or exploit. We know this because the first we heard of it was when a fix was announced. Now, I’m sorry to keep spelling this out to those of you already well aware, but what Heartbleed meant was that every time you thought you were doing something secure online – buying teacups from Amazon or communicating with your Al-Qaeda handlers over instant messager – you quite possibly weren’t secure. Passwords, keys and session cookies were all up for grabs.

This is catastrophic. But did we care? Nope. Have you changed all your passwords since Heartbleed was revealed? Nope. Have I changed mine? Of course not. Can’t be bovved, mate. After all, there’s been no report of a sudden increase in online crime off the back of the Heartbleed revelations, has there? As humans, we tend to react to what we can see more than what we’re told. We stop drinking when the doctor explains he’ll be removing our liver shortly, not when killjoys tell us drinking Jägerbombs for breakfast is not a good lifestyle choice. That analogy leads me to a good way to think of the web: it’s a drug. We ignore anything ruinously bad about it because we love how it makes us feel so very, very much. But that doesn’t mean we won’t one day wake up to find our money’s all gone and we’ve willingly given away all our darkest secrets, just for one more fix. Duncan is T3’s managing editor

{G e t i n vo lv e d}

Have your say… To read more of our views on tech, the web, life and more, head to the regularly updated thought-hub that is T3.com/opinion. You want to add your voice to the debate? Look no further than: Facebook.com/t3mag or Twitter.com/t3dotcom

t may be the best-known fitness tracker around, but the Nike FuelBand is no more. Sure, the current stock on the shelves of giant sportswear superstores around the world will continue to be flogged, but the US sports giant is winding down its wearable operations to focus on its NikeFuel software and supporting the Nike+ fitness community. Shocking, right? Well, perhaps not. Tech, after all, is not Nike’s day job and arguably it made a mistake positioning the FuelBand as a primarily blokey product. The market leader, Fitbit, has a 67 per cent share, according to analyst NPD Group. It not only got in before Nike in the important US market, it sold its early products with a bra clip. So who can really wow with wearables? Enter Apple, stage right, because all the signs of a Nike tie-up are there. Not only has Nike+ been on iPods and iPhones for years, but Apple CEO Tim Cook currently sits on Nike’s board of directors. Oh, and last year, Apple hired its design director and FuelBand driving force Ben Shaffer. Many may have been anticipating an Apple iWatch, but at T3 we’ve long thought an iBand is more likely. An iBand wouldn’t simply take on the likes of the Fitbit Force, Gear Fit et al, though. You suspect it would be an allencompassing lifestyle product with echoes of Sony’s SmartBand “life logger”, packing contactless payment and more location-based services than you can shake your, er, wrist at. Whether it’s a watch or band, though, it seems nailed on that the fitness elements will be taken care of by Nike. In the long run, we’ll see that makes more sense than a sportswear company trying to get into gadgets. Nike knows fitness, Apple knows electronics and how to sell ’em, and if you want to succeed in tech, it’s best to call in a specialist. Jeff is T3’s news editor J u ly 2 0 1 4 T 3 5 3

w a t c h

s p e c i a l

the time lords

he wears: Shirt, Viktor & Rolf Monsieur

she wears: Top, Manitic

w ho watches the watch men? T3 does, with the year’s most stylish and techiest timepieces to r egener ate any look pho to gr aphy R i chard G rassi e Styling dean hau m ak e -u p an d hai r A n t o n e l l a Bo rd o n e words jam e s stab l e s, pe t e d reye r an d t o m tamb lyn

she wears: Dress, Julien MacDonald

he wears: White shirt, Viktor & Rolf Monsieur

OMEGA Constellation Pluma

Rolex Cellini time

Sapphire crystal protects its mother of pearl face with eleven inset diamonds, while the transparent back shows off the self-winding movement. £4,330, omegawatches.com

Pared-back elegance, with a smaller face that sits well under the cuff. Made of Rolex’s Everose gold, mixed with 2 per cent platinum to prevent fading. £10,100, rolex.com

the watch guide e v e n i n g w e a r

sharpen UP Never overdo the bling – the quickest way to exude James Bond-like levels of suave is with one of these understated classics

Or is A rtelier A larm

Drey fuss & Co R eserv e de M arche

Oris started out making alarm clocks way back in 1940, but this 19K rose gold dress piece with an automatic movement is all style, no snooze function. £5,200, oris.ch/en

To run like clockwork a watch needs to be at least 30 per cent wound. The power reserve dial on this stainless steel beaut keeps check. £1,725, dreyfussandco.com

daniel w ellington Classic Oxfor d

Christopher Ward C9 HARRISON BIG DAY-DATE AUTO

A slim rose gold bezel, old-school tie-style strap and efficient Japanese movement make for a ladies watch with yacht club appeal. £129, selfridges.com

Clinical elegance, with surgical-grade stainless steel and an intricate movement that creates a deceptively simple calendar. £650, christopherward.co.uk

Orolog OC1 Chronograph

Uniform Wares 351 ser ies edition

Want to sidestep the classic watch brands? Wear new Spanish designer Jaime Hayon’s limited-edition creation. Using leather from Hermés and a Swiss movement, it’s a Euro hit. £725, dezeenwatchstore.com

The London-based style duo’s tough but sleek latest has a PVD-coated ceramic bezel and a Germanmade, chainmail-like stainless steel strap. £720, uniformwares.com

La nge & Sohne Perpetua l Ca lendar Terra luna

Ideal for lycanthropes, the reverse displays the current phase of the moon alongside the movement. £136,700, alange-soehne.com

how to choose the right watch Style consultant Daniel Johnson hands you a thorough wrist assessment

1/ It pays to go vintage Older watches were made by hand, before machines replaced craftsmen, so every one is guaranteed to be one of a kind. That’s better than limited edition, any day.

2/ Bigger is very rarely better There’s nothing more uncouth than a chunky chronograph worn with a good suit. A watch should complement your look, not shout about your pay packet.

3/ Don’t buy into fads Much like shorts with suits, oversized hats and the Hoxton fin, these things all have a shelf life. That’s okay if you’re thinking budget, but if you’re splashing the cash it’s best to stay classic.

4/ Money really does buy quality Spend big and you’ll see the difference in the quality of the movement, complications and timekeeping. Ignore the number of diamonds and concentrate on details.

5/ Know your metals Rose gold, yellow gold, or white gold? Rose gold’s had a brief resurgence recently, while yellow gold is considered “too much” by some. White gold is less likely to go out of fashion.

6/ Be occasion appropriate Remember the basic rules: black leather strap for formal wear, metal strap with a black face for the office and a chronograph for weekend escapades.

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street style You don’t need to empty your wallet to look fashion forward. Rock one of these bold and very reasonable daywear pieces instead

nava Ora Latea

TOY watch MR HYDE

Like a lemon meringue pie on MasterChef this watch has been artfully deconstructed, with the hands replaced by a large black dot marking the hour and a smaller one the minutes. £108, navadesignscom

Do you favour “too jazzy” linings on your jackets? Time for this Swarovski-encrusted watch. Its strap is red on the outside and leopard print inside. £255, toy-watch.com

LACOSTE GOA SILICONE STR A P WATCH

Swatch Sistem51

A simplified automatic movement with just 51 parts helps this boast a 90-hour power reserve, meaning it will hold its accuracy for longer than most. £111, swatch.com

Pair this brightly coloured, quartz movement ticker with a crisp, white polo shirt for serious tennis court-ready freshness. £60, lacoste.com

A didas Sa nti ago  

Nixon The Lodow n II  

A version in almost every colour to match all those trainer colourways in your wardrobe and a price that means you can collect ’em all. It’s waterproof to 50m, too. £75, adidas.co.uk

Square Street Minutema n Two Ha nd

The glistening black, hand-made Italian acetate bezel and blood-orange strap make a striking combo, even at up to 30 metres underwater. £100, squarestreet.se

One for dudes, this digital watch is loaded with optimum surf times on 270 major beaches worldwide. Handily, it’s also waterproof to 100m. £110, nixon.com

Watch jargon: a bluffer’s guide Don’t know your horological arm from your elbow? Master the basics first

1/ Mechanical movements These come in two varieties: self-winding and automatic. Auto ones sport a weighted rotor that spins when you move, keeping the watch permanently wound.

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2/ Electronic movements These have very few moving parts. Instead, an electric pulse is passed through a small quartz crystal inside to drive the hands or digital display.

3/ Escapement This is what creates the ticking sound. Unique to mechanical watches, it comprises a toothed “escape” wheel and an anchor or lever that permits the gradual release of stored energy.

4/ Jewel bearings Smooth jewels, such as rubies, garnets and diamonds, provide ideal non-friction surfaces for a watch’s many moving parts. Since 1902 it’s more usual to find synthetic jewels used.

5/ Tourbillon This attempts to counter the effects of gravity by placing the escapement and balance wheel inside a rotating cage. With today’s watch accuracy it’s no longer necessary, but does look fancy.

6/ Complication Refers to any watch movement beyond the simple tracking of hours, minutes and seconds. The more complications, the more parts. It takes up to 250 parts to display the date and time.

the watch guide

he wears: Denim shirt, 7 For All Mankind

she wears: Denim shirt, 7 For All Mankind

pebble by k ibisi

Mr jones Cyclops

Not to be confused with the pioneering smartwatch, this Danish-designed batterypowered piece promises to run for a decade. £290, dezeenwatchstore.com 

The Cyclops’ eye passes sleekly over the many coloured dots that represent hours. A “relaxed” approach to time-keeping for your off days. £135, mrjoneswatches.com   

she wears: Black and gold jacket, Zaldig & Voltaire

he wears: leather jacket, acne studios; T-shirt, Zaldig & Voltaire

Void V02

Tudor Fastr ider Black Shield

This speedometer-esque piece compresses the whole day into half a watch face, its red and white colour scheme helping decipher the time. £90, voidwatches.com

A badass chronograph made from a single slab of injected ceramic that’s waterproof to 150 metres and has a Ducati motorbike to match. £2,000, tudorwatch.com

the watch guide a c tion

stations

to the extreme These adventurous timepieces run on 100% pure adrenaline. OK, that’s a lie, they have very complex mechanisms, but you catch our drift

Bell & Ross BR01

Suunto Elementum Ter r a Negativ e A mber Watch

Designed to look like an aeroplane’s instrument panel, the super-macho BR01 is as comfortable in the air as it is in the sea, with a reinforced steel case letting it dive to 100m. £3,200, bellross.com

Tough chronograph with a barometer, an altimeter that updates every ten seconds and a 3D compass. £575, suunto.com

R a do H y perChrome

Tissot T-Touch Expert Sola r

This Andy Murrayendorsed ceramic chronograph is more resistant to scratches than the Scot tennis champ’s face is to cracking a smile. £3,000, rado.com

An hour in the sun is enough to keep this piece ticking for a year in darkness, also powering a compass, altitude reader, timer and barometer. £675, tissot.ch

Tag Heuer MONACO V4 TOUR BILLON

H a milton X-W ind Auto Chrono

With a complex face based on a Formula 1 engine, this hand-assembled V4 is driven by precision ball bearings and four belts the thickness of a human hair. No wonder Tag puts all those workings on display. £60,000, tagheuer.co.uk

The first chronograph to add a drift calculator, for working out the effects of crosswinds during flight. It’s also waterproof to 100 metres, just in case you have to bail out. £1,000, hamiltonwatch.com

sporting assists

Enduring features to look for if you want to get your arm active

1/ Chronograph

Defines any watch, mechanical or quartz, that serves as a stopwatch. Simple chronographs have an independent sweeping hand that can be started and stopped by pressing a pair of buttons on either side of the winder. 2/ Tachymeter

Br eitling Nav itimer GMT

Luminox SXC Steel GMT

One for the home sick traveller, this complex chronograph has two sets of hands for telling the time in dual zones and a whopping 70-hour power reserve. £5,000, breitling.com

Booked a ticket on Virgin Galactic’s space flights? Better get one of these. Its patented gas tubes offer unrivalled luminosity, even in the darkness of space. £620, luminox.com

These markers around the edge of some chronographs can be used to measure speed or distance. For speed, start the stopwatch and where the second hand is pointing after a mile indicates your pace. 3/ Monobloc

This is a watch case made from one piece of ceramic or stainless steel. Hint: they’re more resistant to knocks and drops.

JULY 2 0 1 4 T 3 6 1

c u tting

edge

get technical Not all smartwatches are cosying up to your phone like the ones on p111. This lot use technology to a variety of life-enhancing ends

Citizen ECO-Dr iv e Satellite Wav e

Quiksilv er A ddictiv

A solar-powered watch that receives messages from space, with satellites orbiting 20,000km above Earth keep you bang on time. £1,299, citizenwatch.com

Tech hits the beach with a timepiece that contains a database of 15 years’ worth of tide data for over 200 surfing hotspots around the world. Gnarly. £120, quicksilver.co.uk

Br aun BN10

Ga r min D2 Pilot

The legacy of Sir Jony Ive influencer Dieter Rams is clear here, with minimalist design and motion sensors that only wake the display when you’re looking at it to prolong battery. £399, braun-clocks.com

Wearable flight computer that calculates the nearest airport and the one with the most direct route. Can also activate a Garmin Virb HD cam remotely if you have one. £290, buy.garmin.com

Seiko Astron GPS Sola r

V entur a SPARC Sigm a MGS

Built-in GPS allows the Astron to correct itself to all time zones automatically. Its perpetual calendar is correct until 2100 and its dial converts sunlight to pure power. £1,595, seiko.co.uk

This 2006 concept is now made reality by designer Paolo Fancelli, using movement to power a flywheel that runs the display, with alarms and calendar. £1,558, ventura.ch

Misfit Shine

Okay, this last one does require an iPhone and an app. The fitness tracker’s circle of LEDs mark the progress of your day’s activity goal; tap twice and it’ll also tell you the time. £75, misfitwearables.com

pocke t watch for sir? Pair with a monocle and an eccentric British sense of style

MMT Calendar

Backed in walnut wood with a rose gold bezel, this is gentlemanly style as envisaged by hip Hong Kong designers. £165, mmtwatches.com 6 2 T 3 JULY 2 0 1 4

EER Patent Solar Powered Turbine Fob Watch        

Jean Pierre Gold-Plated Half Hunter

Crafted by Orcs, this steampunk fob watch is made of English pewter and powered by the sun. £55, alchemygothic.com

Designed to last “several lifetimes” this is as reliable as it is ornate. £3,420, jeanpierrewatches.co.uk

the watch guide

she wears: Top, J. JS Lee

he wears: Jumper, Jonathan Saunders

 Samsung Gear Fit Fitness-focused band with a built-in heart-rate monitor. Its curved, AMOLED touchscreen is more stylish than some watch faces (review p120). £200, samsung.com/uk

casio G -SHOCK Bluetooth

The much-loved digital thoroughbred now pairs with your phone through Bluetooth 4.0 to skip music tracks and receive calls and text alerts. £135, gshock.com   

for even smarter watches, head to T3’s big test, p111

he wears: T-shirt, Kent and Curwen

she wears: Top, House of Holland

Roger Dubuis Sk eleton Flying Tour billon

This hefty hero has mesmerising hand-wound mechanics that are always in action, a floating movement and sapphire crystal in the bezel. £117,500, rogerdubuis.com

Stor m Duex

A unique cut-out design hewn from polished stainless steel with a raised acrylic glass face devoid of markings. It’s part bangle, part watch, 100 per cent style statement. £110, stormwatches.com

the watch guide off

the

wall

the outer limits From the crazily expensive to the just plain crazy, these watches make a statement – even if we’re not always sure what that is

H a r ry W inston Opus XIII

MB&F HM5 on the roa d again RT

Fifty-nine pivoting minute hands and eleven rotating triangles marking the hours vanish and reappear to give you a vague sense time passing. £225,900, harrywinston.com

Inspired by the look of 1970s American sports cars, this uses sapphire prisms to magnify and project the time on to its side-mounted dash. £62,000, mbandf.com

Hublot MP- 05 La Fer r a r i

A r nold & Son Time Py r a mid

The movement has a definite racing feel, with swivelling anodised cylinders displaying the hours minutes and seconds. Only 50 will ever be made. £179,000, hublot.com

The pyramid-shaped mechanism is handfinished by British watchmakers and hand-wound, with 27 inset jewels ensuring smooth running. £24,000, arnoldandson.

Gr eubel Forsey Platinum GMT

HYT H1 Black DLC a nd Pink Gold

A GMT watch displays the hour in dual time zones, but this beast goes further, with a globe that spins in 24-hour cycles, not only lighting up the hour as it moves, but also moving a black scale to indicate night fall. £354,000, greubelforsey.com

A piston and bellows are operated by the mechanical movement that pumps glowing yellow fluid around the bezel, highlighting the current hour. £115,000, hytwatches.com

Louis V uitton Esca le Wor ldtime

Of a limited edition of 20, this hand-painted face features 24 world locations, with the time picked out by three rotating dials. £40,000, louisvuitton.co.uk

How to spot a fake David Hogan of David Duggan Watches helps spare your eBay blushes

1/ Inspect the strap Give the leather a little sniff – it should smell like the inside of a luxury sportscar. Metallic strap? Have a play with it and if there’s any give between the links then it’s time to get suspicious.

2/ Watch the second hand very closely If there’s even a slightly jerky motion you can stake money on it being a fake. The best watch brand’s mechanics are engineered to remove all hints of judder.

3/ Check your text Turn it over and examine the text detail on the dial with a magnifying glass. A quality watch will have pin-sharp text with no smudgy edges and, of course, no spelling mistakes.

4/ Gen up on the market rate Reasonably priced Rolex? That should set off alarm bells. Rolex is the most faked watch brand in the world, too, with its Submariner the most copied.

5/ Research details Rolex movements have many differently coloured parts, whereas fakes generally don’t. The letters ETA (makers of internal watch parts) stamped on the rear is a sure sign of a dud, too.

6/ Know your materials Omega is another popular brand for counterfeiters, so check how well the face and hands glow in the dark. Omega uses a substance called LumiNova that easily outshines any fake.

JULY 2 0 1 4 T 3 6 5

t h e g r e a t b r i t i s h t e c h l i s t

n e

x t

m o n t h rule britannia we give a t3 knighthood to the creatives, apps and gadgets putting the uk on the tech map

festival survival it’s not all about the music. it’s also about the kit that’ll keep you dry, loud & charged

tech saves cycling t3 investigates how two-wheel innovation rescued the tour from a post-lance crash

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snap happy

the t3 camera special

gentlemen , choose your weaponS Words: Amy Davies

With 350 million photos uploaded to Facebook a day and more image-fillter apps on iTunes than “free to play” cash-grabbers, your shots need to be better than ever for anyone to care. It’s time to up your photographic game. Luckily, we have everything you need, with the ideal camera pairing for all types of

shutter bug, from travelling snappy-snapper to serious pro, running the gamut from compacts to DSLRs, retro novelties to smartphones that pack serious megapixels. Once you’ve chosen your shooter, we have accessories and killer tips to help you perfect much more than just your selfie skills, too. Now, flash! Aa-aaah… J U LY 2 0 1 4 T 3 6 7

Small enough to slip into hand luggage, yet boasting a handily longrange 30x optical zoom, Sony’s HX60 is the ideal holiday helper. There’s plenty of manual control, the Bionz X processor gives great low-light performance for soiree snapping, while Wi-Fi uploads sun-drenched snaps straight to social networks.

travel COMPACT

Sony HX60

£329, sony.co.uk

focus

how to pick a ne w le ns First get to grips with aperture, which controls how much light reaches the sensor (represented by the f/ number: the smaller it is, the more light’s let in). This affects depth of field, with wide apertures able to create out-of-focus results. For landscapes, plump for a wide-angle lens (the lower the measurement, the more is in shot). For APS-C cams, go 10-20mm, with 16mm for full-frame. Micro Four Thirds owner? A 7-14mm for you. For portaits, prime lens optics are of a higher quality than a zoom; 50 and 85mm are classics, while 35mm is a good all-rounder. Telephoto lenses are the way to go for wildlife and sport (from 100mm to 300mm), while a macro lens is great for snapping fine detail (we like 105mm).

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the CASE

the extra

tHE Technique

so n y LCJ - HN Jacke t

So n y FDA- E V 1 MK OLE D vie wfin d e r

cap t u re g re at n i g ht sh ots

No point investing in a camera as brilliantly scaled-down as the HX60 to then add bulk back on with a cumbersome case. This leather number’s moulded to the contours of the snapper, meaning it grants a layer of protection from bumps and scratches, without any extra weight.

With 100% frame coverage and a 2.359k-dot resolution, this viewfinder ensures that what you see is what you shoot. It tilts through 90 degrees to help with awkward angle shots, while the sensor judges when you’ve taken your eye away, switching straight back to using the LCD screen.

£34, sony.co.uk

£379, sony.co.uk

Avoid flash where you can, as using ambient light will give a more natural and realistic look. Invest in a lens with a wide aperture (from f/1.4 to f/2.0) to get the maximum amount of light on to the sensor, or widen the aperture settings and crank up the ISO sensitivity; keep it below ISO 1600 to retain enough detail, though.

snap happy

A camera powerhouse for ambitious photographers looking to stretch their skills and wallets, Nikon’s D4S boasts fast autofocusing and an 11 frames per second burst mode that’s great for nature and sport shots. In fact, with a huge maximum sensitivity of ISO 409,600, it can make the most of almost any condition.

PRO shooter

NIKON D4 S

£5,200, nikon.co.uk

the case

the extra

tHE Technique

j ill- e Jack M e s se n g e r

i OSh u tte rSLR co ntro lle r

take in s t u n n in g l an dscape s

Sporting a camera this impressive, it’s a fair bet you’ll also have a decent lens collection. Carry it all around in this weatherresistant leather satchel with customisable dividers to protect all manner of kit. There’s even room for a laptop or tablet in the back pocket for picture editing.

Great for group portraits, long exposures and time-lapses, this remote wire and iPhone/ iPad app lets you control your D4S remotely. Tweak shutter and autofocus settings, then either “shake to take” or “clap to snap”. Upgrade to the Pro version of the app (£6.99) and timelapses will run for days.

£372, jill-e.com

£60, apple.com/uk

Invest in a sturdy tripod and look for wide-angle lenses that use a narrow aperture (from f/11 to f/18) to get the maximum depth of field possible. Don’t be afraid to convert to black and white to make the most of dramatic skies and be prepared to put in the leg work/early hours/late nights to get the best shot.

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New age fun with a vintage feel, this compact system cam delivers superb image quality, a wide range of compatible lenses and pro-aping manual controls, as well as a selection of instant art filters. Built-in Wi-Fi and a 16-meg sensor lurk behind the classic, film-star good looks.

hipster HYBRID

Olympus OM - D E- M 10

£1,000, olympus.co.uk

focus

photo - re ady smartphone s Nokia Lumia 1020 Winning the mobile megapixel war, the 41-meg sensor here gives you the option to zoom into shots and adapt the crop after the picture’s taken. £400, nokia.com/uk

Sony Xperia Z2 This 20.2-meg sensor would be at home on a compact cam and, with features such as Background Defocus, it can ape DSLR-style effects. £599, sonymobile.com/gb

HTC One M8

The new depth sensor, twinned with the regular camera, allows you to adjust focus after shooting in some smart Lytro cam-like tech. The Zoe app adds even more editing suite extras. £530, htc.com/uk

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the case

the extra

tHE Technique

Billin g ham Had le y

Ve lbo n Sh e rpa

sh o otin g at s tre e t le ve l

Making the most of compact system cams’ key strengths, this canvas bag is small enough to go unnoticed, but you can still squeeze the E-M10 plus an extra lens in there, all perfectly padded and protected. Bonus: its aesthetic is more travelling documentary photographer than wandering city hipster.

A tripod with a three-way panhead and quick release platform system that enables you to set up and pack up again in a flash. You can lock pan and tilt movements with just one twist and the handle’s on the left, leaving your right hand free to adjust camera settings. When you need a little stability, this is a fine choice.

£144, billingham.co.uk

From £79, velbon.co.uk

Discretion is the name of the game when snapping hustle and bustle, so avoid huge cameras with massive telephoto lenses. Stick to classic focal lengths like 35 and 50mm. Stay in one place and let the action come to you – if someone spots you taking their photo, a non-leery smile goes a long way to avoid a scene.

snap happy

The small, red dot of a Leica camera marks you out as a photographer of fine taste with deep pockets, but it’s not purely a status symbol. The M-240’s 24-megapixel sensor, A-grade optics and powerful processor deliver consistently classy shots. Add the Leica R Adapter M (£215) and you can attach any vintage Leica lens to its compact body, too.

MONEY NO OBJECT

Leica M -24 0

£4,799, uk.leica-camera.com

the CASE

the extra

THE technique

ONA Be rlin

Le i ca SF5 8 fl ash

ACE YOUR fo o dIE PHOTOS

This hand-crafted leather satchel has been designed to fit the Leica M240 perfectly, plus up to three lenses. Created as a collaboration with Leica to celebrate 100 years of the brand, its padded red interior and small red rivets pay a subtle homage to the iconic Leica red dot.

Getting lighting right is almost as important as a decent lens. Add this pro-style flashgun to the M240 and it will shed just the right amount of light automatically on any subject and, as it’s able to tilt, it can also create indirect lighting for more interesting effects. Its LCD screen keeps you abreast of your current settings, too.

$369, onabags.com

£525, uk.leica-camera.com

Fill the frame with your latest culinary delight and shoot from the same level as your grub for the most appetising results, checking the white balance for the most accurate colours. If you can invest in a macro lens for mouth-watering detail, great, but a tasty composition is the most important ingredient.

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Edited by James Stables

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alfa romeo 4c; audi’s smart octocore TT P88

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sonic youth: where stax sits in the history of headphones

world service sound Stax’s headphones may look archaic but their quality is timeless The new Stax SRS-4170 electrostatic earspeakers are expensive and eccentric, but if you can get past the stigma/awesomeness of looking as if you have two wartime mics strapped to your head, they also deliver class-leading audio. Plug them into the SRM-006TS words tom tamblyn Photography rob monk

amp – they won’t work unless connected – and the electric current passes through a membrane in their cups, creating sound waves without the disruption of moving parts. The result? Limitless frequencies and an empty wallet. £1,659, adairacoustic.co.uk

1910 – utah’s Nathaniel baldwin produces the first cans that resemble those we know today. He maKES them in his kitchen and flogS them to the us navy. 1958 – John C Koss inventS the world’s first consumer stereo headphoneS, the koss sp-3. 1959 – stax unveils the first ever pair of electrostatic ’phones, the sr-1s, minimising interference and improving sound. 1979 – sony releases the walkman, moving music out of the home and on to the streets, with portability becoming more of a priority than audio quality.

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HOW TO HACK YO UR

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Ta k e profesSiona l wildlife sna ps

Thomas Harris of Wildlifecameraaction.co.uk gives you the tips to work some animal magic

1/ High shutter speed – this is essential to freezing fast movement, but working in this way means good light is essential, so set your gear up appropriately. You can up the ISO on your camera – I use a Canon 600D (£460, canon.co.uk) – although this will reduce the sharpness, and set your snapper to focus continuously to catch those fast-moving critters. 2/ Flexible lenses – animals like to keep their distance so it’s good to be able to zoom out if you need to. My Sigma 150-500mm lens (£699, sigma-imaging-uk.com) does the trick, though it’s usually stuck at 500. 3/ Patience – you need to spend a lot of time sitting and waiting to get good images of wildlife. The best images are often from just by being in the right place at the right time. 4/ Framing – remain calm when your subject wanders into shot. Get down to the animal’s eye level for the best perspective if you can. Choosing the right moment to press the shutter release is also crucial, as the best images are ones where you can see a glint of sun in the animal’s eye.

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sous vide it yourself Without all that costly equipment

1/ Vacuum seal your meat and veg – fill your sink with water and slowly submerge the food in a zip-lock freezer bag, pushing absolutely all of the air out, then zip it up. Alternatively, you can pick up a proper vacuum sealer like the Automated Food Saver (£149, lakeland.com). 2/ Buy yourself a rice cooker – something like the Russell Hobbs 19750 (£25, russellhobbs.co.uk) is considerably cheaper than a dedicated sous vide machine. Fill it with water, heat it up and use the “keep warm” function to regulate the temperature, then drop in your sealed food parcel. 3/ Get out of food jail free – if you’re struggling with the DIY approach, splash the cash on the SousVide SVS-10LS Supreme Water Oven (£372, sousvidesupreme.com) to get the food out on time.

Tool of the month

Worx WX675 Sonicr after Hyperlock

This versatile, multitasking fella can cut, saw, scrape and sand its way through just about any household material, oscillating 20,000 times per minute. It’s compact design means it’s perfect when you’re in a tight spot. £100, worx.com

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THE Techquation

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Remove yourself from the internet Not even the NSA will be able to find you

1/ Social suicide – begin by deleting yourself from social networks. Facebook only allows you to deactivate, not remove, your account; to erase it you’ll have to contact them directly. Yes, we know. 2/ Delete all accounts – head to Justdelete.me to see which of your regular stop-offs are easiest to wipe (Google is a cinch, Evernote is almost impossible). If you can’t delete the account, simply falsify your details – name, date of birth, etc. 3/ Mass unsubscribe – Use Theswizzle.com to get out of every newsletter you’ve signed up to. 4/ Delete your email account – this has to be the last thing you do, as you’ll need your email address active in order to stop all your other accounts. 5/ Browse incognito – Head to Duckduckgo.com, a search engine that doesn’t track your activities, to make sure you remain invisible online.

Salomon Cosmic 4D 2 GTX Total cushioning for advanced blister protection. £170, salomon.com/uk

Gaia GPS Offline maps and syncing to keep everyone on the right path. £13.99, iOS

Leki Carbon Titanium Poles An anti-shock system that reduces joint pain. £140, leki.com

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POw er-up of the month SmartWeave shirt

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I tried this!

James Stables, features editor

Formal wear + heat = embarassing sweat marks. However, British shirt designer SmartWeave aims to change the outcome of that equation with its water-repellent shirts refusing to let sweat seep into the 100% cotton fabric. The special weave encourages moisture to spread over a larger surface area – not localised at your pits – which allows it to dry faster, before it ever has a chance to show. £65, smartweavestore.com

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Hiking hero You’re now ready to climb any mountain and ford every stream

Lack of aircon and a hectic schedule made the tradeshow floor of Baselworld 2014 the perfect testing ground for SmartWeave. Despite early misgivings about the waterrepellent cotton having a boil-in-a-bag effect on my torso, the cotton was exceedingly breathable. It worked, but currently the cut of the shirt is almost as socially awkward as the threat of sweat marks.

Words max parker illustrations mark mitchell

Life lessons; drinking sessions

ioOn esE s ObOs G F... IN K ME TH

VINO 101

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#34 wine quaffing

You don’t need an affected French accent and air of aloofness to be a sommelier. Sure, it helps, but with the right tech and expert tips you can still pour the perfect glass every time

What you’ll need…

Vinopolis wine expert Tom Forrest reveals the basics of plonk and food pairing

1/ Acidity – All wines contain acid, it’s what gives them that mouth-watering effect, but those with high acidity taste better with seafood, having a similar effect to lemon juice. 2/ Bitterness – Red wines all contain bittertasting tannins. Depending on your tolerance, combining reds with tart or unsweetened dishes may prove too much, so be wary. 3/ Saltiness – It’s the salt in cheese that makes cheese-and-wine parties go with a bang, and it’s a generally wine-friendly ingredient. A robust red wine with high levels of tannins also tastes great combined with salty foods. 4/ Umami – Typically associated with oriental dishes, this is a complex savoury flavour in food and can make wine seem bitter, lacking in fruit and sweetness. The perception of alcohol might also be increased, leaving a burning sensation. Dry, acidic and fruity wines will fare better, so best to stick to them. 5/ Sweetness – Dessert wines should be sweeter than the pud you’re eating; one with a lower sugar level will taste thin and bitter.

f 1/ Menu Wine Thermometer Even the finest vintage can taste like vinegar with accents of urine when served at the wrong temperature. Attach this to the bottle and always get it right. £22, store.menudesign.com 2/ Samsung RW33EBSS Large-scale solution to the problem above, this cooler fits up to 33 bottles. £280, samsung.com/uk 3/ Le Creuset LM-150 The patented “up and over” motion extracts the

Words max parker

Techlife

most stubborn of corks with professional ease. £75, lecreuset.co.uk 4/ Dartington Crystal Wine Decanter Handmade in Devon, its specially designed shape lets the wine breath and strengthens flavour. £110, dartington.co.uk 5/ Vivino Wine Scanner Pro Snap a photo of your bottle and log it into your cellar by app, providing info to help you fake your way to Oz Clarke-like chat. £2.99, iOS and Android

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patriotic plonk: blighty’s finest wines to stock up on Red: The Bolney Estate Lychgate Red Medium body for easy drinking, with a fruity flavour and a slightly leathery finish. £11, bolneywineestate.com White: Denbies Pinot Gris Award-winning, full-bodied tipple from a small vineyard in dorking; has a great acid kick. £14, denbies.co.uk Sparkling: Hattingley Valley Classic Cuvee Dominated by Chardonnay flavours, with a hint of zesty acidity and well-balanced finish. £30, hattingleyvalley.co.uk

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Techlife

gps tag your tot

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Smartwatch-cum-Peckham Rolex alerts you when kids go walkies This bright digital timepiece may be made to appeal to little people, but with a tiny built-in GPS tracker inside that links to an iOS and Android app, it’s definitely you it’s aimed at. The crowdfunded HereO is water resistant with a battery-saving e-ink screen, a tamper alert and, if your child makes “the signal” – five brisk shakes of the arm – the accelerometer will even send a panic alert to your handset. You might want to impress upon them what counts as an emergency, though. $129, hereofamily.com, out July

The tech Holding out for a HereO

1/ Track ’em, Danno Sync the watch with the free HereO Family app on your mobile device and a map pops up displaying your child’s precise location. You don’t even need the tracker to be traced, so get older kids to download the app to their phones to keep big brother-like, Find My Friends-style tabs on where your brood is. 2/ In the zone Use the app to set a geo-fenced safe zone, so that when precious nippers cross the boundary your phone will beep itself silly. 3/ Charging up Cashing in on parental fears, the HereO requires a subscription. You get six months’ free, then you’ll need to pay a $4.95 monthly charge.

Tech dad selects

I’ll only tell you once!

Rise of the toddler trackers

With years of gadgeteering know-how, Tech Dad has the answers to all your parental dilemmas

Dear Tech Dad, I have enough pre-school artwork stuck to the fridge to fill the National Gallery. Trouble is, I can’t bring myself to throw any of it away. Any solutions? I’m Tracer This won’t tell the time, but the built-in GPS alerts you to your spawn’s whereabouts in style. ¤160, mtracer.com

Loc8tor Plus Star Trek Tricorder-like handset that can locate tagged kids/pets from up to 180 metres away. £99, loc8tor.com/uk

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him out on a local rink before you invest. Definitely not a fad? Hop on to the Bizkarts website and nab him a Dolphin Bambino, the perfect first-step machine to a career in Formula One. £1,380, bizkarts.com

MARY/BRIGHTON

Download the ArtKive app, then take photos of their masterpieces, name and date them, then save. Now you just need the courage to bin the originals. Free, iOS and Android Dear Tech Dad, I took my son go-karting the other day and he’s desperate to start racing his own. GEORGE/SEVENOAKS

Well, karting is a very expensive sport, so try

Dear Tech Dad, It’s not fair: while my three-year-old daughter sits cosy under her stroller’s rain hood, I’m getting drenched. Are there any umbrellas that clip on to a pushchair? CHARLOTTE/TRURO

Buggy Brolly sells a height-adjustable umbrella that clamps on to any handlebar, thereby leaving both hands free to push. £27.50, buggybrolly.com Words derek adams

JUICERS

Aghast that scientists have raised the five portions of fruit and veg a day you weren’t eating to a recommended seven? Snap out of it! Pack them all into one morning pick-me-up

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Nutritionist and author Jason Vale of Juice Master has the blitzing knowhow to make you a smoothie operator 1. the masters masticate also known as slow or cold-press, masticating juicers chew through fruit and veg at between just 60rpm and 160rpm. This leisurely pace helps reduce the oxidation of the juice, making for a high-quality drink that can last for up to 48 hours. 2. time poor? go centrifugal this type of action uses much faster spinning blades to produce your juice, so is speedy and efficient. however, it’s noisier, not very good at juicing leafy veg and grasses, and the heat and air it generates reduces your juice’s drinking span dramatically (seven hours max).

Sage by Heston Blumenthal Nutri Juicer A high-end centrifugal juicer that’s almost hassle-free. Just chuck fruit straight in – no chopping round these parts – and receive a smooth juice with little foam. The remaining pulp is bone dry; the sign of an effective juicer. 4/5 £150, sageappliances.co.uk

Philips Viva Collection This cheaper option uses a fine, serrated blade and around 12,000rpm of centrifugal force to obliterate foodstuffs. It produces less juice than its more sedentary rivals, and is fiddly to clean, but you’re paying half the price. 3/5 £80, philips.co.uk

3. always store your juice well if you want to save it for later, fill a flask to the brim with your creation to reduce oxidisation then Add ice to keep enzyme activity alive. 4. know your ingredients such as wheatgrass, the ultimate superfood – just one shot has the same nutritional value as 1kg of other green vegetables.

LET’s get physical Reduce fruit to a pulp with your bare hands, no electricity required

OrangeX Jupiter Citrus Juicer This press will squeeze the maximum amount of juice out of soft fruit. £109, ukjuicers.com Test Winner

Magimix Le Duo XL This sleek and powerful fruit blitzer needs a fair bit of cleaning, but is incredibly versatile. It comes with a spinning mesh extractor for hard fruits and veg, a citrus press for oranges and lemons, and can even make baby food. 4/5 £150, magimix.uk.com Words derek adams

Optimum 400 Slow Juicer Cold-press juicers like this run more slowly, extracting more juice while retaining more nutrients. The 400 comes with three mesh screens (for veg, fruit and nuts), is quiet, easy to clean and packs a 10-year warranty. Sold. 5/5 £199, froothie.co.uk

Lexen Healthy Juicer Clamp this wheatgrass juicer to a surface and crank the arm for an instant shot of guaranteed goodness. £30, ukjuicers.com

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DE UPGRuA p, Fix t Look smar

cycle chic Don’t be a MAMIL – middle-aged man in Lycra, that is. Ride out in style with bike-ready threads 1/ Rapha Randonnee Shorts The addition of six per cent Spandex to these gentlemanly knee-grazers means you can pedal all day without feeling restricted. Glowin-the-dark belt loops and a hi-vis material gracing back pocket and inside leg also add to the reflective properties of any overly-lilywhite legs. £90, rapha.cc

4/ Howies Etape Shirt Want to be the smartest thing on two wheels? Slip on this work shirt with articulated arms stitched from pleasingly stretchy cotton fabric. It gives great freedom of movement, while embroidered eyelets in the armpits prevent unsightly sweat marks on your office attire. £55, howies.co.uk

2/ Water off a Duck’s Back Cycle Blazer As the name suggests, this smart Tefloncoated top is brilliantly water-repellant. It’s also flexible, with reflective panels under the collar, on the lapel and on the buttons at the cuff. £180, wateroffaducksback.co.uk

5/ Giro Insulated Vest This handy extra layer of Primaloft insulation weighs just 25g and can be stashed in a pocket, yet will still protect you against the biting winds of a morning commute. A hidden pocket at the rear is the perfect, outof-the-way place to stow a wallet or phone, too. £130, giro.com

3/ Levi’s 511 Commuter jeans These slim-fit denims are perfect on or off the bike. Their two per cent elastane allows them to stretch, a NanoSphere finish makes them water-, dirtand oil-repellant, and Scotchlite tape on the inside of the cuff makes for instant reflective turnups for late-night rides. From £80, levi.com/gb

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6/ Vulpine Alpine Merino Jersey A cyclist essential is given a luxe twist, with Lycra swapped out for breathable Merino wool. This short-sleeved shirt has natural odour resistance and comes in dark grey, green or blue. What, no yellow edition? £85, vulpine.cc

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Chapeau Hide Leather Messenger Bag sling this soft satchel over your shoulder as you jump aboard and the grippy nylon lining on the strap ensures it stays firmly in place. There’s a padded sleeve for a 13-inch laptop and zipped pockets to stop your usb cables and loose change being tossed unceremoniously across the cycle superhighway. £250, chapeau.cc

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words nick odantzis

Cyclist threads; smart shorts

get shorty Myontec’s smart shorts can

Techlife

Knowing how many steps you’ve taken when walking the dog is all well and good, but what actual workout is it giving your quads? Well, now you can find out with Myontec’s advanced wearable Mbody system. These MShorts contain a sensor web woven into the material that monitors the electrical activity of your muscles – their electromyography, if you will – and flings the data to the attached MCell module for analysis, before beaming it in real-time to the Mbody Live Android app. Who wears smart shorts? Currently Red Bull daredevils, the NHL’s Pittsburgh Penguins for training and rehabilitation, oh, and now you, Sir… £734, myontec.com

measure your muscle-power

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Myontec CEO Pekka Tolvanen on three ways Mbody helps you train 1. preparation – A proper warm-up reduces injury risk and enhances neuromuscular control. the mbody live app will help you judge just how much you need. 2. work distribution – the quads/ hams work ratio for a top athlete is 40/60% when running and 50/50% when cycling. compare yours and use it to improve, whether changing bike setupS or altering your running style. 3. balance – 75% of lower body injuries are caused by imbalance. Mbody measures the breakdown of your muscle usage, identifying the potential for harm in advance.

compr ession fashion When it comes to sportswear, the tighter the better if you want to avoid injury. Squeeze yourself into these…

1/ Orca Compression Sock Accupressure 3D dots stimulate blood flow for quicker recovery. £37, orca.com

words Pete Dreyer photography Pixeleyes

2/ Sugoi Piston 200 Tri Pocket Short Zone compression wraps hamstrings and quads separately for full support. £55, sugoi.com

3/ 2XU Elite Compression Tights Tight panels stabilise major muscles, reducing micro-tissue damage. £110, 2xushop.co.uk

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hello, sailor!

The ocean is a vast and fickle mistress. Tame her, with the latest waterproof technology and attire

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Keith Swinton, Team Alpari FX sailing captain, has some salty seafaring advice for wannabe wave racers 1/ build your mental energy concentration is key when sailing for eight hours a day. you must be alert to constant changes in wind, tide and course. 2/ WORK ON YOUR STRENGTH You must be able to hold your own to fit as part of a crew. I like to do other sports to cross train and work out at the gym. 3/ PERSEVERANCE IS A VIRTUE SAILING can be SO unpredictablE, due to many factors. you can turn A TERRIBLE START INTO A WIN SOMETIMES JUST by not giving uP.

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1/ Zhik Ash Aroshell Coastal Salopettes These deep sea dungarees are made from incredibly hardy Aroshell fabric. In land lovers’ terms that’s a windproof and water-repellant top coat of polyester, layered with a breathable, waterproof membrane and a final inner modesty mesh to prevent chaffage. £265, zhik.com 2/ Henri Lloyd Ocean Pro JKT Capable of rebuffing the foulest offshore weather, this jacket sneers in the face of storms and taunts tempests. Waterproof, quick-drying and reinforced in the necessary areas to limit wear and tear, it’s also bright

yellow, to ensure you’re clearly visible amidst the rolling, crashing waves. £650, henrilloyd.com 3/ Musto HPX Race Boot Forget deck shoes. Where we’re going you’ll need something waterproof, with enough grip to keep you on deck when things get choppy. Musto’s OutDry membrane is permeable to water vapour, so your feet will be able to breathe without becoming sodden. £190, musto.com 4/ Aquastar Regatta Timer This striking sailing watch is a sturdy, old deckhand with a scratch-proof sapphire crystal display that is water-

resistant to 100m and also dapper enough to be worn at the clubhouse under your DJ cuff. Considering embarking on some competitive sailing? The Regatta’s race timers are reliably accurate, with clear markings. £838, aquastar.ch 5/ Delorme InReach Don’t want your voyage to go too “Robert Redford in All Is Lost”? This satellite phone ensures you’re never off the grid. Send 160-character messages to your family, or an SOS, with 100 per cent global coverage plus delivery confirmations, and real-time contact with emergency services. £180, inreachdelorme.com

Words Pete dreyer

Sail away

Techlife

the t3 yacht club Who lives on a floating mansion like this?

1/ Eclipse The Blofeld-inspired cruiser of Chelsea boss Roman Abramovich hides a sub and anti-paparazzi laser. £500 million, blohmvossyachts.com

2/ Adastra Designed for shipping magnate Anto Marden, this can be controlled via iPad from up to 50m away. £15 million, john-shuttleworth.com

3/ Tûranor Property of PlanetSolar, the world’s largest solar-powered yacht runs for three days when fully charged. £12 million, planetsolar.org

6/ Gill Marine Tool No self-respecting seafarer should be without an emergency marine knife, whether for freeing yourself from rigging or whales’ innards. This blade’s cut from marine-grade stainless steel, with an extra titanium coating that protects against corrosion. £18, gillna.com

8/ Line 7 Waterproof Backpack This bag’s every seam is welded shut against the waves. In fact, it’s so watertight, you can throw it, fully loaded, overboard and it’s guaranteed to float. It has a 20-litre capacity and separate pockets for dividing your wet gear from your phones and cameras. £78, line7marine.com

7/ Crewfit 275N Lifejacket You never know when a rogue wave could ruin your fun. The 275N is the most powerful flotation jacket around, with enough buoyancy to keep your head firmly above water until a rather cross-looking coastguard arrives. £150, crewsaver.co.uk

9/ Steiner Navigator Pro Whether scoping for land or fellow regatta-racing skippers, these binoculars have a special coating on the lenses and prisms that gifts you a phenomenally high-contrast view, picking out distant details even in poor light. The nitrogen-pressure system

alleviates the danger of foggy lenses, while a back-lit compass on top is a nifty Boy’s Own-style bonus. £330, steiner.de 10/ Neil Pryde Elite Harness When you’re needing extra weight to get your sail into the wind, a trapeze harness lets you lean far outside of the boat for leverage. Adjustable lumbar straps keep you comfy, and a steel spreading bar aids pushing power. £95, neilprydesailing.com 11/ Velocitek Shift Rocks-avoiding gizmo that uses accelerometers, gyroscopes and magnetometers to track the orientation

of your boat, keeping headings visible even in poor light. A solar panel along the top provides the juice, so no need to carry spare batteries, either. £560, velocitek.com 12/ Suunto KB-14 The compass of choice for professional adventurers down a mine, up a mountain or, in this case, stranded in the middle of the ocean. Built to rock solid standards and accurate to one third of a degree, it’s more reliable than navigating by the North star. £135, suunto.com

J U LY 2 0 1 4 T 3 8 3

Win an iPad Air by championing the tech you love…

Vote in the world’s top tech awards

For a chance to win an iPad Air, make your vote count at… T3.com/awards

Techlife

Speakers corner

The Aero takes off

Loudspeaker stalwart Mission goes all ‘lifestyle’ on us with one very classy designer speaker

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The first pair of speakers we ever bought were Missions, from Richer Sounds, with our student loan. They lasted over 20 years, annoyed many a neighbour and were eventually sold to a gypsy at a car-boot. True story. What we’re saying is: this is a speaker firm with heritage. With the Mission Aero, though, it’s putting tanks on the lawn of the B&W Zeppelin, another mainstream speaker dock made by a much-respected audio veteran, with curved industrial aluminium modernity and, we’re promised, ace sound. Because it’s Mission, we’re willing to believe that’s the case – but just so we’re sure, we’ll be reviewing it next month. £599, mission.co.uk, out June

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mission aero: under the speaker’s skin power? six amps drive a full-range BMR speaker each, totalling 300W. A further amp powers a 120mm sub. BMR, you say? “Balanced mode radiators” give a full frequency range from a single unit plus a wider sound field. Connectivity? Bluetooth and AirPlay, since you ask

High-tone audio The Aero isn’t this month’s only beautifully designed sonic box. Check out these slightly more eccentric takes on audio chic

1/ Clique Editions Echo by Claudio Larcher £TBC, clique-editions.com, out June 1

Words Duncan Bell Photography Pixeleyes

2/ Sonus Faber Ex3ma £30,000, absolutesounds.com

3/ Ruark Handmade by Alex Mulligan £POA, ruarkaudio.com

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Live and let dine

Do up your kitchen in austere tones with occasional bursts of colour and a soupçon of very smart tech 1/ John Lewis Continental Collection Lucia In graphite and charcoal, this is about as masculine as kitchens that don’t have Marco Pierre White in them get. A large selection of finishes, colours and handles are available, and it comes with a ten-year furniture-only guarantee. From £9,000, johnlewis.com 2/ Sage by Heston Blumenthal Who could resist a multi-preset waffle maker built like a Sherman tank, or a multi-temperature kettle in cranberry red – the first Sage gizmo in a colour finish? Not us, that’s for sure. Smart Waffle Maker £170, Smart Kettle £100, sageappliances.co.uk

5/ Dualit Origins A special edition for John Lewis’s 150-year anniversary, this toaster takes design cues from Dualit’s past, from the chassis grooves found on its first ever model in 1946 to ProHeat elements from the 1990s. £200, johnlewis.com 6/ AEG ProClean This dishwasher takes a market-topping 15 place settings and helps claret hounds relax, with special grips and a dedicated program for fine crystal. It’s so quiet you may not be able to tell it’s on, too, so the time till cleaning completes is projected on the floor, via the miracle of “TimeBeam”. £800, aeg.co.uk

3/ Beko Cast by Patricia Urquiola hob Is that the most attractive Beko product you’ve ever seen, or what? From the desk of multi award-winning Spanish designer Ms Urquiola, this three-ring hob is much too good to cook on – which could be a problem. £429, beko.co.uk

7/ Samsung WW9000 Controlled by its own touchscreen or your phone, this washing machine offers smart analysis of how filthy your pants are, a detergent drawer you need only fill once a month and the quietest operation around. £1,700, samsung.com/uk

4/ Bob Kramer by Zwilling 20cm chef’s knife Continuing the “too nice to use” theme, this Harrod’sexclusive blade would be slumming it if actually used to hack at anything. The distinctive pattern is unique to each knife. £629, zwilling.co.uk

8/ John Lewis Aston, Panasonic SC-ALL3 Let’s not forget the kitchen listening. But should you go for a DAB in commemorative teal or the little bro of the Sonos rival on p28? Something to chew over. £40, johnlewis.com, £TBC, panasonic.co.uk

the festival collection Dining al fresco this summer? Flame up in style with these portable grills, as enticing as a medium-rare steak and as easily passed around as E. Coli. Cook sensibly, y’hear?

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1/ Lotus Grill with Turbo Fan £129 (hood £49), cuckooland.com

2/ Mon Oncle RS Barcelona €280, rs-btarcelona.com/en

3/ Fuego Element Portable £215, fuegoliving.com

Kitchen sync

Techlife

send in the heav y w eights Seeking a little more permanence in your outside entertaining? Check out these mammoth cooking stations designed to show off you pro skills where the sun does shine

1/ Weber Summit Grill Centre £6,000, weberbbq.co.uk

2/ Byron G450 £449, diy.com

3/ Big Green Egg XL £1,250 (various other sizes available), biggreenegg.co.uk

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E DRIV

super, redefined Do supercars need massive, muscular, planet-ruining engines to achieve

h to Tec YO U E TAK ACE S PL

“superness”? No. As Alfa Romeo has found, if you cut the weight with artfully placed carbon fibre, you get all the thrills with a fraction of the horsepower

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Price of test car £54,000 Top speed 160MPH 0-62MPH 4.5 SECONDS Engine 1,742CC FOUR-CYLINDER, TURBO Gearbox SIX-SPEED DUAL-CLUTCH PADDLE-SHIFT Power 237BHP Torque 258LB/FT Fuel consumption 41.5MPG Carbon Emissions 157G/KM Weight 895KG

ROUTE M aster

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A famous race track that doubles as a public highway and happens to have no speed limits? That’ll be the TT race course on the Isle of Man, where we tested the 4C. Even without speed limits there’s a only so much you can do on public roads, so Alfa laid on some private track action to really show off handling.

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2/ Ramsey

Alfa Romeo 4C

We often find ourselves musing, “What does it mean to be a supercar?” A massive, sneering V8 engine? A massive, sneering twat behind the wheel? Not so, Sir! The new Alfa Romeo 4C breaks all the old-school rules. It’s a metrosexual supercar, delivering the goods with a relatively puny 1.7-litre engine, high cheek bones and a red-hot paint job. Fierce! Said engine is a tweaked version of the four-cylinder job in Alfa’s Giulietta hatchback, this time bolted behind the seats in midengine configuration. With a new aluminium block and the turbo turned up to 11, it cranks out just shy of 240bhp. Impressive for such a small engine, but less than half what you’d get from the eight-, 12- or 16-cylinder monsters that normally qualify for supercardom. So, how does the 4C manage to keep pace with its rivals? By watching its weight. The entire chassis of this thing is hewn from carbon fibre, which is pretty much unheard of at this price. The result is a paltry 895kg kerb weight – a wiry, agile Bruce Lee to your standard, Tyson-esque supercar bruisers. Sure, straight-line performance is nothing special on paper. Zero to 62mph in 4.5 seconds is plenty quick, but it’s hardly blistering. The 4C isn’t trying to compete on flat-out speed, though, it’s a supercar for people who favour

Techlife

The tech Inside 1/ Cutting a dash Although much about the 4C is analogue – there’s no assisted steering, for a start – the instruments are cutting-edge virtual items rendered in crisp, hi-def colour LCD. 2/ Racing genes The DNA switch gives instant access to four drive modes – Dynamic, Natural, All-Weather and the 4C-exclusive, more extreme Race mode. 3/ Now we’re motoring The 4C doesn’t rely on a massive engine to power it to supercar status. Here, 1.7 litres, four cylinders and 240bhp deliver the goods.

the 4C is a wiry, agile Bruce Lee to the usual Tysonesque supercars great handling, the latest dual-clutch paddleshift technology and sleek styling to die for. The 4C feels great to drive. Much of that is thanks to the featherweight carbon-fibre construction, which doesn’t just make the whole car more dynamic, but also means you can get away with unassisted steering, adding to the sense of involvement and connectivity with the car. Certainly, the 4C feels much more alive than the likes of Porsche’s Cayman. Whisper it, but analogue still beats digital when it comes to car steering. The digital hasn’t been completely ignored, however. Analogue dials on the dash are replaced with an LCD screen and virtual rev counter, plus there’s Parrot’s Asteroid system onboard for linking your smartphone’s calls and music selections via Bluetooth. Last but not least, that hot hatch-derived engine and super-light weight mean that real-world fuel consumption above 40mpg is a realistic ambition. In short, if this is the future of supercars, sign us up. From £45,000, alfaromeo.co.uk

Words Jeremy Laird

Thr ee to test drive Out on the highway, looking for adventure

1/ McLaren 650S McLaren is on fire. First the P1 rebooted the hypercar market, now the new 650S looks set to sock it to Ferrari’s 458.

2/ BMW 235i This new 2 Series funster delivers traditional BMW virtues, but chucks in 322bhp and a 0-62mph time of 4.8 seconds.

3/ Jaguar F-Type Coupe S Jag’s resurgence continues with this sportier hard-top sibling to the F-Type roadster.

£215,000, maserati.co.uk

£34,250, bmw.co.uk

£60,235, jaguar.co.uk

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Techlife E DRIV h to Tec YO U E K TA ACE S PL

tech up your tt The new Audi coupé’s exterior

may look conventional, but it’s a full-on smart-fest on the inside

Tech highlights 1/ Accelerated graphics The TT uses a pair of Nvidia Tegra quadcore chips to power its new hi-res virtual cockpit display. Enough rendering grunt is mustered up to guarantee a silky 60 frames per second on the 12.3-inch, 1440x540 display. Shame you can’t play Call of Duty on it, really. 2/ Bright ideas Headlights that bend their beam around corners are nothing new, but the Audi TT’s clever LED matrix lamps do that and much more. They have an intelligent masking feature that allows you to run full high beams without blinding oncoming cars or cyclists. 3/ Connect on the go Audi’s MMI multimedia system was already one of the best, but it just got better in the new TT. There’s 4G data connectivity, a touchpad atop the control wheel and even a smartphonelike search function with voice control that works from almost any part of the interface.

{Concept}

Hyundai Intr ado Mean, green driving machine

1/ Hydrogen hybrid Powered by hydrogen fuel cells and a lithium battery, the Intrado promises a 375-mile range and zero emissions. 2/ Winging it Named after the underside of an aircraft wing, it combines aeronautical styling cues with super-light steel build. 3/ The future’s green Hyundai says the Intrado concept hints at the heightened eco-friendliness of upcoming production models.

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The new Audi TT is one of the techiest cars ever made, with a spec list like a next-gen smartphone’s: dual quadcore CPUs, hi-res LCD screen, 4G connectivity, touch controls, computer-controlled LEDs in the headlights and even a search engine, as well as an actual engine. It’s the best driving TT yet, too, thanks to a steel and aluminium hybrid construction, an active four-wheel drive system that can vector torque individually to each wheel and 0-60mph in under six seconds. £25,000, audi.co.uk

world cup gaming

T3’s Classic XI the greatest footie show on earth kicks off on june 16, so time to get your joypads into the spirit. shun pricey tie-ins and boot up gaming’s ultimate kickball line-up instead…

4 2

International Superstar Soccer released 1998, on nintendo 64

Konami’s pre-Pro Evo franchise is a favourite, but the ’98 season owned our uni days, upping the realism with smoothed-out graphics aided by motion capture. Defenders back off from attackers when shooting and an ultra-sensitive power gauge sees you tap the ball two feet or launch it over the crossbar depending on mastery. Hours well spent getting it right, then.

WORDS: MICHAEL SAWH and matt hill

Kevin Keegan’s Player Manager released 1993, on super nes

1

Long before he was “loving” having a managerial meltdown in front of Sky cameras, the former Liverpool legend lent his perm to this manager sim, with the player-controlled matches based on Kick Off 2’s game engine. Starting at a non-league team, tinkering with stadiums and reading about your performances in the papers are all great, original touches.

kick off 2

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released 1990, on All formats The FIFA of its day – as in available on practically every system going – the second in Brit developer Dino Dini’s series was quicker and brings in pitch conditions and a World Cup tournie. Crucially, unlike others of the time, the ball is no longer glued to your feet, adding realism, and a fair bit of difficulty, to the bird’s-eye-view action.

Championship Manager: 01/02 released 2001, on pc and mac

Sensible World of Soccer released 1994, on amiga and pc

Still the master for many, as shown by its Xbox Live Arcade revival, this 2D classic has simple gameplay, just eight directions, one fire button and intense speed, but the control combos within make for some majestic team goals. Its 1,500 teams and 27,000 players were huge for the time and its all-singing Career mode was a pioneer.

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The all-conquering Football Manager’s grandaddy – now available as freeware to boot – has the perfect balance of involved tasks and easy controls before it became for stat-addicts only. This entry introduced “Fog of War”, a new focus on scouting upcoming talent, and also introduced the world to Cherno Samba before he vanished from football’s radar entirely.  

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football games

Flick Kick Football

Football Volley Challenge

released 2011, on iOS, Android

The game that dragged footie into the smartphone era with the most simple of premises: swipe the ball into the back of the net. Penalties and free kicks are never that easy, though, and the pressure ramps up as you control power, curve and direction to score from increasingly impossible angles.

released 2003, on pc

Simple, browser-based Flash game that hands you five attempts to leather the ball on the volley, using the keyboard’s arrow keys to move yourself into position and a well-timed tap of the space bar to connect. Unsubstantiated reports suggest that upon its release global office productivity reached an all-time low.

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Pro Evolution Soccer 4

New Star Soccer

released 2004, on ps2, xbox, pc

Part Football Manager, part Sensible Soccer, part FIFA’s “Be A Pro”, part WarioWare: this insanely addictive touchscreen romp wraps up the very best of footie games past with a brilliantly acerbic bow. RPG elements – training to attend, European campaigns to mastermind, yachts to buy – line up against immensely varied quick-fire action.

released 2012, on iOS, Android

The footballing yin to FIFA’s yang, this pinnacle brings in the Master League that gives you the chance to nurture your own Theo Walcott from a junior, using the player development option. Gameplay is also improved, with dribbling like Robben down the wing no longer such a doddle and through balls, the key to unlocking defences, more refined than ever before.

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fifa 10 released 2009, on all formats

Picking the best FIFA is like choosing a religion: everyone thinks their favourite’s the one. How do you not go for the newest, shiniest one, or the original? Well, this update is where EA introduced game-changers like 360-degree dribbling, referee carding and Manager mode; even Andy Gray’s iffy commentary can’t change that.

Nintendo Pocket Football Club RELEASED 2014, ON 3DS

Our latest obsession merges manager sim with cutesie Miis and a helping of card gaming. Start at the bottom, train your fledgling team and earn Top Trump power-ups, to be combined to level up individual players. In the modern, faux-badge-kissing era, it’s the most attached you’re likely to get to a player ever again.

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Get more from your Mac Try the new issue of MacFormat free* in the award-winning app! macformat.com/ipad Packed with practical tutorials and independent advice – discover why MacFormat has been the UK’s best-selling Apple magazine for seven years! * New app subscribers only

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How safe are the skies?

PLANE TRUTHS

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(AF L143) 6267 RA 96008 IL96 FL359 417kts Russian Airlines

“Goodnight Malaysian Three Seven Zero” were the last words heard from the now infamous Boeing twin-engine airliner as it dropped off the world’s radar screens this spring. One of the most highprofile searches for high technology in history, Flight MH370’s still-missing black box has renewed flyer fears of technical failures and terrorist hijackings. But don’t cancel the long-haul trip just yet – T3 investigates the innovative tech in place , and incoming, to ensure you have a pleasant flight…

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As you sit on the tarmac with seat and tray table in an upright and locked position, you could be forgiven for thinking that the risks involved in getting 300 tonnes of metal up to 35,000 feet were innumerable. Not so. In fact, according to the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), there are just seven deadly threats to worry about. These, since you’re now wondering, include a runwayrelated accident, a controlled flight into terrain, fire, turbulence, system failure and “unknowns” – okay, that one’s quite open ended. Yet, while rare, the most common cause of fatalities is actually loss of control in-flight. “This can include stalls, icing, flight control system failures or structural failures,” explains Todd Curtis, an aviation safety specialist who now runs the AirSafe.com Foundation. “There are cockpit warning systems in place to guard against this, though, like stall warnings for pilots.” There is little use in warning systems if nobody’s awake to spot them, of course. According to the British Airline Pilots Association (BALPA), half the pilots interviewed in their 2013 safety survey believed tiredness was the biggest threat to flight safety. Incredibly, the survey of 500 pilots revealed that over half had fallen asleep in flight and, more worryingly, 29 per cent had opened their eyes to find their co-pilot asleep beside them. This is where the third pilot, “George”, comes in handy – aka the autopilot. “If a crew becomes incapacitated, the plane will continue to fly on its pre-programmed course,” confirms David Ison, who has worked as a flight instructor with major airlines and is now assistant professor at EmbryRiddle Aeronautical University in Florida. “In the case of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, the plane should have continued towards Beijing. Once it arrived there it would have flown straight ahead until it reached its last flight plan waypoint, or until it ran out of fuel.” But even if you put two fully rested pilots in a serviced plane, you are still unable to legislate against sabotage. Of the 46 western-built jet airliners that have crashed in the en-route phase, as flight MH370 is believed to have at time of press, 18 were caused by acts of sabotage. And, in a disturbing twist, it’s been proven recently that terrorists no longer need to even be on a plane to bring it down. “It’s possible to cyber-hijack a plane,” reveals security consultant and former pilot Hugo Teso, who last year demonstrated how to hack straight into a Boeing’s Flight Management System (FMS) using an Android phone and an app, PlaneSploit, that’s been three years in development. “There’s a system on the majority of wide-bodied jets that, at present, has no security, so you can upload data and the plane assumes the messages are valid. You can use these to trigger vulnerabilities ranging from taking over the autopilot to making oxygen masks drop down. “The only positive is that these abilities are still in the hands of ‘white hat’ hackers, who are sharing the information with manufacturers and running on-board system audits to come up with next-gen security.” There is currently no sure-fire way to protect against these remote threats, but flying remains the least risky way to travel thanks to a host of security measures already in place, dedicated to keeping the birds in the sky. Let us calm your nerves, with a pre-flight tech check… 9 6 T 3 J U LY 2 0 1 4

NOT-SO-PLANE SAILING: flying’s primary perils 1/ Runway-related accident

Taxiing can be dangerous, too

2/ Fire Especially bad at 35,000 feet 3/ Turbulence A danger as well as an

inconvenience during in-flight meals

4/ System failure Whether a genuine technical fault or hack attack

5/ Loss of control in-flight Often

the consequence of one of the above

6/ Controlled flight into terrain

Emergency landings are an option at low altitudes if problems occur

7/ Unknowns From hijack to act of god (Source: ICAO)

Cleared for take-off

Statistically you’re safest in the air. Boeing states that only nine per cent of fatal accidents occur at the cruising altitude of 35,000 feet, the height flight MH370 was at when its transponder was disabled.

A whole lot can go wrong at 35,000 feet: T3 helpfully maps out the potential threats

“Air traffic control relies on two systems to detect planes,” explains Ison. “Primary radar is the actual radar beam that is sent out and bounces off the aircraft. Secondary radar, in turn, uses the transponder to ‘light up’ the target, making it easier to see and tag with information such as the flight number and destination.” There are two transponders aboard a 777, but disabling them, says Ison, “is as simple as flicking a switch”. Civilian air-traffic controls handover to one another as a plane flies out of the air space of one and into another. MH370’s transponders were deactivated in the South China Sea between Malaysian and Vietnamese airspace, which is when the plane went dark on civilian radar, and is where theories that the plane had been stolen arose. “Crews can set the transponder to a specific code that indicates the aircraft is in a hijack situation,” says Curtis, “or they can use ACARS, the Aircraft Comms Addressing and Reporting System, to warn of an emergency.” There were no attempts by the flight crew of the Malaysian airliner to alert the ground. A plane’s location

Illu

is still picked up by military radar, as was the case with MH370, but radar has its limitations when tracking an object over water or below a certain altitude. “The fact is, MH370 should have been picked up by radar when it made a severe turn west off its original flight path towards Beijing and came back into Malaysian airspace,” reckons Ison. “A country with modern military radar defences should be able to detect unidentified aircraft 200 miles from its borders.” So for MH370 to have been stolen, it would have to have dipped below radar, which is limited to line of sight. “If the pilot knew where the radar sites were and some limitations to those sites, they could avoid them,” adds Ison. Of course, mysteries like the MH370 disappearance could be solved much quicker if manufacturers actually updated the black box tech, which houses all flight data. “If this info was sent in real-time, we wouldn’t have to go through the mammoth underwater recovery missions that take huge amounts of time and money,” says Curtis. “The tech is there and capable of uplinking data about location, direction, equipment status and around 30 other parameters. But it would mean manufacturers modifying hundreds of planes, with the cost considered to be too high to justify in comparison to ocean searches, which are deemed rare.” In context, the search for MH370 will likely be the most expensive ever, expected to far exceed the $40m it took to recover Air France Flight 447 in 2011. ➜

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PLANE TRUTHS

how tech helped the hunt for flight MH370 When Malaysia Airlines Flight 370’s transponders were disabled on the flight deck and the plane failed to be positioned by either civilian or military radar there was still one piece of tech tracking the plane’s position: ACARS. The Aircraft Comms Addressing and Reporting System, fitted in 90 per cent of commercial jets, is similar to SMS in that it’s used by pilots to send messages and receive weather reports. When a plane powers up, ACARS establishes a satellite link, but MH370’s was switched off. That’s not unusual for flights to China, as it is Malaysia Airlines proceedure to power down the system because the

service provider doesn’t cover China. However, pilots can’t disable their ACARS entirely. Every aircraft has a unique code with the satellite and as long as the plane is powered up, that network connection remains. Any aircraft fitted with the system and still in powered flight will “ping” the satellite network of the operator every hour – in this case the UK-based Inmarsat. It only stops this “electronic handshake” if the plane loses power completely. Inmarsat recorded eight of these pings from Flight MH370 via its 3F1 satellite, which was in geostationary orbit over Asia. It then used these

pings to plot the plane’s likely course after it had disappeared from everyone else’s grid. After four days of data crunching Inmarsat established that the plane had travelled along one of two arcs, either heading north across southern and central Asia or south across the Indian Ocean, about 1,500 miles south west of Australia. Further analysis of the Doppler effect of the pings, a phenomenon that alters the pitch according to whether the target is approaching or leaving an area, led Inmasat to deduce that the plane had taken the south-bound arc, reducing the search area by 97 per cent.

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I am a passenger

Before you even make it to the airport, though, wheels are already in motion to keep you safe. A Boeing “Triple Seven” can carry up to 451 people – and to the border controls and governments of the world each one is a potential terrorist. Airlines are required to provide info about everyone on their manifest, via a secure network, up to 72 hours before arrival. Called “Advanced Passenger Information”, or “Secure Flight”, the system determines an individual’s risk based on full name, date of birth, gender, nationality and travel documents. This data is compared with domestic “watch” lists and an Interpol database that lists lost or stolen travel papers, accessed by 190 countries. Passports and documents are then flagged ahead of time – along with those who have a one-way reservation, have paid cash, or who book on the day of their flight – and agents at the departure gate are prompted to stop the passenger or stamp a code on their boarding pass that will lead to a more stringent secondary check, usually at the security gates. In the case of the US, if the letters SSSS (secondary security screening selection) appear on your pass, you should brace yourself for a rubber glove handshake as you travel towards the departure lounge. However, surveillance standards do differ from country to country. Indeed, when the passengers of MH370 were checked in detail after the flight went missing, it was discovered that two Iranian nationals were flying on stolen documents. “It’s likely the stolen passports went unnoticed because the tickets were for continuing travel to Amsterdam,”

upgrade: the future of plane tracking tech 1/ Smarter black boxes

The common question during the search for Flight MH370: why don’t black boxes constantly stream flight info to the ground? The answer is a lack of affordable bandwidth. There is a potential solution, though. Triggered transmissions would send a report automatically if a plane starts rolling or issues a stall warning. This potentially could pinpoint a flight’s last known position to within 11 kilometres and give hints as to the events leading to a crash. The idea is being discussed by the International Civil Aviation Organisation this October.

2/ Longer voice recordings

from the cockpit A Boeing 777’s recorder can pick up just two hours of audio, pointless for long-haul flights. The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) proposes extending this to 15 hours.

black-box pingers can be hard to hear under miles of water. For that reason, the EASA has suggested a long-range, low-frequency 8.8 kilohertz ping, like a whale song, be attached to planes that travel ocean routes regularly. It would extend the range from 1,500m to 10.7km.

3/ More effective

4/ Tracking over oceans

underwater pings All black boxes emit an ultrasonic pulse once a second for up to 30 days after a flight goes down in the sea. A decision has already been made to up that time to 90 days, giving search teams a longer window. However, those

Sending location data over existing pings would help with tracking flights through GPS black spots, such as oceans. The Iridium satellite network will offer aircraft location data service Aireon from 2017, which requires no upgrade to existing planes.

reveals Professor Brian Havel, director of the International Aviation Law Institute. “If China had been required to issue visas, they probably would have been red flagged in Kuala Lumpur or Beijing. However, it’s possible that border control assumed they would be checked in China, who in turn passed responsibility to the Netherlands, by which time it was too late.” This is not a one-off occurence, either. According to Interpol, few of its member nations actually access its stolen passport database and an estimated one billion passengers flew without having their passports screened last year alone. This is why further checks are essential.

Detect and serve

Even if your name doesn’t ring alarm bells with Interpol, you will still be subjected to ever more advanced searches to make sure that there’s nothing potentially lifethreatening stashed in your hand luggage.

Full body scanners will soon be joined by tech that maps the unique pattern of your veins

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Archway metal detectors (AMDs) have been standard tech at airports for decades, but their sophistication is now such that they can “detect the foil in a packet of cigarettes”, according to Rafi Sela, head of security at Tel Aviv’s Ben Guiron, dubbed “the world’s safest airport”. AMDs will also now be able to detect guns or knives made from a range of ferrous, non-ferrous metals and alloys. Nothing is completely fool-proof, though, and there are still ways to trick the technology. “If you take a piece of wire through in a closed circle it will be detected,” says Sela, “but if you straighten it out, it’s unlikely to be. Also, if that closed loop of wire was parallel to the ground, for example threaded through a

PLANE TRUTHS

closed shirt collar, it would probably pass through undetected, too.” It’s because of these flaws that an x-ray team is required, screening around 180 people every single hour at international airports. Working in teams of seven, including a couple of “screeners”, who rotate on 20-minute shifts and analyse what’s seen on screen, flagging up bags that need to be checked. “The x-ray image interprets the contents of each bag into different colours,” explains former screener turned airport security consultant Richard Ellis. “Orange is for organic material like explosives, liquids and gels; dark blue is for inorganic materials, such as gun metal, sharps, box cutters and IED (improvised explosive device) parts like wires; green represents mixed materials, from plastics to alloys.” A screener also has to identify the outline of an object, which “includes when they’re placed in a manner to confuse,” continues Ellis, “such as a gun stood on its end to mask its profile.” Images have to be deciphered in less than ten seconds during peak periods and even the x-ray machine itself will test the team of screeners randomly to ensure they’re paying attention. Supervisors can superimpose the image of a banned item – a Threat Image Projection (TIP) – on to any bag in the system to see if it’s picked up. Security researcher and good-guy hacker Billy Rios warns that even safety measures like these, in the wrong hands, could be potentially dangerous. “TIPs could, theoretically, be used to project the image of a legal item over a gun, knife or bomb part,” he explains, “using a basic hacker tactic called an SQL injection attack. This involves entering a string of letters in the software to bypass the supervisor’s login and gain control of the airport’s baggage system.” The only way to guard against this, claims Rios, is to stop unauthorised use of the terminal and have a high turnover of new software. The x-ray isn’t the last line of defence, though. Bag searchers also have the option of cotton swabbing any carry-on items. They do this with a portable machine that is basically a low-level spectrum analyzer, able to identify the chemical signature of bomb-making materials and explosives in seconds. Unfortunately, the machine raises false positives when it detects fertilizers and heart medicines, so if you’re a farmer with a heart condition you may need to leave for the airport a little early.

Happy landings

Even when you touch down and the threat of a flaming plunge from the heavens is over, there’s still an army of innovative tech working to keep international borders safe, most notoriously in the US of A. Any international flight bound for American borders requires airlines to confirm a visa, visa waiver authorisation or US passport for every passenger. Airlines are also required to check travel documents against America’s “no fly list” of high-risk passengers. In fact, the US and China are the first countries to give their airports a fully biometric upgrade, with the new tech due to be in place by the end of 2014. Whereas, previously,

From passport checks whilst you’re still in the air, to fingerprints of all ten digits, security’s being stepped up

two fingerprints were taken at US Customs and Border protection, they have now introduced United States Visitor and Immigration Status Indicator Technology (US-VISIT), where all ten fingerprints are scanned. “This system means you can compare fingerprints of passengers with criminal and terrorist databases compiled by the FBI, the Defence Department, ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) and ATF (Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives),” says Ellis. And the new fingerprint scanners are now being further refined to scan below the skin after it was revealed that the technology could be bypassed by that age-old Hollywood trick: wearing fake latex fingerprints. “Every piece of security equipment at a major US airport is linked to a central network called TSANet,” continues Ellis, “so that all airports are connected to one another and central servers. This means that security threats detected by agency databases can be issued instantaneously to almost 500 airports.” China, which has employed contentious body measurement technology at Beijing Airport since the 2008 Olympics, has this year even introduced security vein readers. This fledgling tech scans the vein patterns of the palm and finger and is said to be more accurate than fingerprints, which change after childhood. Of course, cutting-edge creations like this may seem infuriating in practice, extending the time it takes between leaving the house and landing on a sun lounger. But as the skies increasingly become busier than the M25 on a bank holiday, they’re ever more essential. “Incidents like MH370 are unfortunately part of this evolution,” says Ellis. “The most crucial thing is that we learn from them and keep pushing the technological boundaries from the terminal to touchdown.” j u LY 2 0 1 4 T 3 9 9

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REs!E* 2F ssue i

Interactive pages • Full screen trailers Exclusive extra content Search for ‘Total Film’ in the App Store www.totalfilm.com/newsstand * Download two free issues with a no obligation subscription. Offer applies to new subscribers only. iPad is a trademark of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries. App Store is a service mark of Apple Inc.

Edited by Libby Plummer

Rated The latest tech from the t3 test lab

{Also reviewed This month}

Earphones group test p108 Smartwatch supertest p111 Samsung Gear Fit p118 Monster vs Beats cans p119 Amazon Fire TV p120 Sony Xperia Z2 Tablet p121

Your   n   ew p   hone?

{Ratings}

must buy

samsung’s galaxy s5 and sony’s xperia z2 wage upgrade war on the cream of the superphone crop…

Very good

decent

below average

oh dear

➜ Words tom tamblyn and rhiain morgan Photography pixeleyes

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After Samsung’s success with the Galaxy S4, its successor has a lot to live up to. But just how has the S5 coped with that pressure? By adding a feast of innovative features, from fingerprint scanning to a heart-rate monitor.

1

First, though, let’s concentrate on the basics. Much like the Sony Xperia Z2, this is not a small phone. At 8.1mm thick it’s just a slither thinner, but with its rounded edges it manages to feel more ergonomic. We could do without the leatherette back and the blue and gold colour options, but opt for the charcoal version (pictured) and it still looks classy enough. It’s water- and dust-resistant, too. The 5.1-inch AMOLED screen is dazzling, with icons appearing pin-sharp. Technically it has fewer pixels-per-inch than the S4, but it manages to appear just as sharp and crisp. That massive, bright display is a big drain of battery, but Samsung has ways to cope with that, which we’ll come to later. Packing a new 2.5GHz quadcore processor, it’s lightning fast with no lag, whizzing around Android KitKat 4.4.2 without any delay at all. That could be partially thanks to Samsung’s decision to do away with the bloatware that slowed the S4, though: Samsung Hub has been removed, as have most of the previously pre-loaded apps. The interface has been {Specification} given the spit and shine Processor/RAM 2.5GHz quadcore/2GB treatment, too. The whole OS Android 4.4 experience is cleaner and Screen 5.1-inch, more pared back. You will 1920x1080 super AMOLED Storage 16 or 32GB notice subtle updates to rear Cam 16-meg/4K the notification pull-down, front cam 2-meg/1080p which now includes S Finder Connectivity Bluetooth 4.0, NFC, Wi-Fi, 4G (Samsung’s answer to quoted Battery Apple’s Spotlight search) Up to 21 hours talk time and Quick Connect, its AirDrop-alike. Some of the gimmicks from the S4 still lurking, though, such as Smart Stay, Air Wake Up and {Dimensions} Smart Pause, but these are easily switched off. New additions include Kids mode, Private mode and, our personal favourite, Geo News, an app that tells you if you’re in the vicinity of a natural disaster. We haven’t tested its accuracy yet, thankfully: ours is still showing the smiley face icon Height 142mm that tells us we’re a-okay. Width 72.5mm Now, enough of the Depth 8.1mm Weight 145g bread and butter stuff. Of the Galaxy S5’s more adventurous features, there’s

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WWW For more reviews go to T3.COM

Samsung Galaxy S5 R A T E D

{Details} 1 tv master

An Infrared blaster on the top means you can use the Galaxy S5 as a remote control without the need for a Wi-Fi connection 2 improved camera

The megapixel count has been upped from 13 to 16 and there’s a new low-light HDR feature for better snaps out on the town

3

3

2

PRINTS CHARMING

A fingerprint scanner is built into the Home button, but you need to swipe your finger down for it to read. Accuracy isn’t up to Apple’s standards 4 the pulse

Place your finger over the red LED sensor and it will watch your veins for a pulse. Again, accuracy isn’t great, so we’d advise a dedicated sports tracker

4

3

a fingerprint sensor, located within the Home button, exactly like the iPhone 5S. It’s not as accurate as Apple’s, with you having to swipe rather than hover over it, but promises to offer more payment support, thanks to a deal with PayPal. We’re not yet sure exactly where you’ll be able to pay using this method, but it’s likely to stretch beyond the confines of Google Play. Not content with a sensor on the front, the S5 also adds an IR sensor on the top of the phone, allowing it to double as a universal remote control for any TV setup, and a heartrate sensor on the rear. The latter’s accuracy is also debatable – place your finger over the LED and it will attempt to track your pulse, often failing to pick one up at all – but it links well with Samsung’s S-Health app, essentially Endomondo mixed in with MyFitnessPal. The camera’s megapixel count has been boosted to 16. That’s short of Sony’s 20-megapixel sensor, but with a new superfast autofocus and a selective focus feature it produces good results (unlike the HTC One M8, you select the focal point before taking the picture, with three options to choose from). Video-wise, Samsung ticks the 4K box, with the ability to capture 3840x2160 ultraHD clips. It’s really only future-proofing at this stage, but does at least keep the S5 up to date with the Xperia Z2. Earlier we promised that Samsung is offering a solution to depleting battery lives, too, and its Ultra Power Saving Mode changes the colour of the screen to black and white, restricting applications to nothing but the bare bones. Samsung claims it can keep your phone going for an extra 24 hours on just 10 per cent of battery. It works, but we’d only use it in emergencies as it automatically switches off mobile data, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. By adding just about every gimmick going, plus a few more for good luck, the Galaxy S5 was in danger of becoming a bit of a showboat. However, even though not everything comes off, there’s more here than just a show-off. The AMOLED screen looks better than ever before, the interface is less cluttered and much improved, and new apps like S-Health add genuinely useful features. It might not be as attractive as the HTC One M8, but with so many features the Galaxy S5 still ends up neck and neck as the best Android phone on the market right now. Close your eyes, count to ten and pick one… £570, Samsung.com/uk

Love Incredibly bright screen. Nicely updated interface. Good features. Battery-saving mode Hate Faux-leather back. The sensors are a nice addition, but the accuracy isn’t there yet T3 Says The S5 throws everything at its bid for Android supremacy and it just about pays off

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r A T E d The verdict {the rivals}

Superphone showdown: the pick of your upgrade options

Samsung Galaxy S5

Sony Xperia Z2

HTC One M8

Nokia Lumia 925

Apple iphone 5s

£570, samsung.com/uk

£599,

£530,

From £354

sony.co.uk

htc.com/uk

Nokia.co.uk

from £549, apple.com/uk

display

The S5’s 5.1-inch, 432ppi, full-HD Super AMOLED display is special; crisp and incredibly vibrant.

The biggest display at 5.2 inches. Sony’s TV tech adds class, but the interface fails to show it off to its full.

A five-inch screen with more pixels per inch than its rivals, and the viewing angles are rather excellent, too.

The 4.5-inch screen isn’t full-HD, but it is bright enough to do justice to WP8’s tile interface.

The four-inch Retina Display still looks pin-sharp, but it is starting to appear a little small compared to rivals.

Processor

The best processor you’ll find on an Android phone. That 2.5GHz quadcore’s speed takes some beating.

A 2.3GHz quadcore is certainly no slouch. This will run almost everything without a single complaint.

The specs directly match the Sony Xperia Z2. A smoother interface means it will feel a tad slicker, though.

Dualcore processor running at 1.5GHz handles Windows Phone without any lag, but does fall behind rivals.

The combination of the A7 chip and M7 co-processor give a speedy and potentially power-saving performance.

Battery

Great battery, plus added bonus of a power-saving mode that can extend to a whole extra day’s use.

A massive battery and a Samsung-like power-saving mode. Results don’t quite match the S5’s, though.

The smallest battery of the new Androids, but performs surprisingly well and doesn’t overheat when under stress.

A good day’s use, helped by a feature that powers down areas of the screen you’re not using. Smart.

Okay in standby, but drains fast when web browsing. Hopefully the next iPhone will look to Android’s latest.

Camera

An improved 16-meg sensor and HDR mode for improved night shots. A solid effort.

Wins the numbers race with a 20.7-meg Exmor RS sensor. Handles 4K video, too.

The four-ultrapixel camera is the best on Android and you can refocus like Lytro.

A 8.7-megapixel PureView camera is up to Nokia’s usual high standards.

A bigger sensor, improved aperture and flash mean the best iPhone pictures yet.

Storage

Choose between 16GB or 32GB storage options, with up to 128GB microSD.

Restricted to 16GB, but with just 64GB of microSD storage it might get tight.

16GB is a bit lightweight, but there is the option to add up to 128GB via microSD.

Limited to 16GB of internal storage. No microSD, but 7GB of free cloud storage.

16, 32 or 64GB options are available. Choose wisely as there’s no microSD slot.

t3 says

The Galaxy S5 boasts unbridled power and the latest innovative features, but lacks the looks of its rivals. Still a winner, though.

Takes the bronze on the Android podium, but still a very impressive phone. Waterproofing and a top camera will win fans.

The most stylish Android option by far. Lacks some of the headline features of others, but what’s there works and looks top notch

Nokia’s best Windows Phone to date – until the Lumia 930 lands soon, that is. A few more apps and this would be a real contender.

The iPhone 5S has been overtaken by the latest crop of Android phones, but with a new model surely on the way, that might not last long.

3

design cups your butt cheeks better when in your back pocket, we’ll have to pass for now.

make and model price, url

rating

{focus}

Smartphone trends we could live without

1

Gold colourway – Unless you’re a Bond villain, we suggest you stay clear of the blinged-up versions of the One M8, Galaxy S5 and iPhone 5S. Less the ultimate luxury statement, more the quickest way to display your lack of taste. The same goes for leathereffect backs. Just say no.

2

Innovative security features – Tech can now recognise you by your fingerprint, your retinas or by scanning the vein patterns in your hand. It’s all very futuristic, but until the tech’s been totally perfected, we’ll stick to using a pin number to protect our more high-risk data.

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Bigger screens – The latest Android devices have upped their display sizes again; there’s even talk that Apple might be going large. Enough is enough, we’re taking a stand: a phone needs to be able to fit comfortably in your pocket and be used with one hand.

4

Curved screens – We’re sincerely hoping that the LG G Flex and Samsung Galaxy Round are entertaining anomalies rather than the future of smartphones. Curved TVs make some sense, providing better viewing angles, but the same argument doesn’t hold true for phones. If the only plus point is that the

5

Selfie modes – With phone cameras now producing snaps that most compact cams would be happy with, it’s all about the features. Some are helpful – HDR and auto modes – but any that encourage the recent selfie craze can, frankly, jog on.

6

People that like phones too much – Your choice of phone does not define you as a human being. Anyone that does not agree with your choice of handset is neither an “iDiot” nor are they swallowing “SamSh*t”.

{The final word}

Libby plummer, reviews editor

Following the recent influx of flagship Android phones, it’s time to reflect and take stock. There is rarely such a thing as a bad smartphone anymore, with the gap between iOS and Android finally being closed and Windows Phone approaching brazenly in the rear-view mirror. Every manufacturer has pretty much nailed the fast processor/crisp screen/great camera combination, so it’s tough for a phone to stand out in such a sea of success. But a choice does have to be made. Map out the pros and cons of the latest Android phones, though, and there’s still very little to divide the Galaxy S5 and One M8. The former is packed full of cutting-edge features, the latter is beautiful and highly capable; as an office we’re divided. The Xperia Z2 certainly picks up bronze, though. Apple and Nokia, meanwhile, hold strong, if ageing, hands, with the promise of even stronger ones to come later this year.

WWW For more reviews go to T3.COM

SEE GAMES DIFFERENTLY

ORIGINAL REPORTING

GAME CULTURE

HUMOUR

WWW.KOTAKU.CO.UK @Kotaku_UK

Facebook.com/KotakuUK

Best buds plug in and tune out, whatever your surroundings, with in-ear headphones to suit every music fan 02 for bitchin’ bass

If you listened to your Doctor you’d never put anything smaller than your elbow in your ear, but the medical professionals clearly don’t have a 10k to run, a hateful commute to endure or a long-haul trip to tolerate. In-ears might not draw as much attention as big, showy cans, but with exceptional sound quality, innovative design and take-anywhere practicality, there’s a perfect fit for everyone. 01 for audiophiles

Shure SE425 £239, ShURE.CO.UK

Sound purists are used to paying through the nose, so the price here is no surprise. These offer amazing sound isolation, blocking a claimed 90% of outside noise, without the need for a battery, and have accurate sound reproduction capable of reinvigorating even the most overplayed tracks – previously unheard amp vibrations and fret board squeaks all over

Led Zeppelin’s first album left a lasting grin. The design is unassuming but classy and the cables are replaceable, ensuring the music will continue for years to come. In-ear buds are usually throwaway, but these are a real investment. T3 Says Understated looks, very flash sound

01 for audiophiles

02 for bitchin’ bass

Pioneer SE-CX8-T £170, PIONEER.CO.UK

Aimed at those people who love to stand too close to the PA system, these deliver bombastic sound using dynamic drivers. A built-in “Bass Exciter” even gives you the feel of having a subwoofer stuffed into your ear canal; it vibrates along with your tunes so that you feel the vibrations in your skull. If you’re a 24-hour party person you’ll love

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them – LTJ Buckem blew our ears off – but take things down a few notches and the audio starts to sound disappointingly thin. Available in copper, silver or black, they look slick. The fit isn’t snug enough for sports, but they’re commute-ready. T3 Says Bass-heavy party buds on patrol

Words CHRIS HASLAM Photography pixeleyes

Earphones R A T E D 03 for everyday beats

Sol Republic Relays £60, SOLREPUBLIC.COM

Winner of this year’s Red Dot award for innovative design, these are, well, a bit different. They sit flat in your ear, with the patent-pending FreeFlex bud expanding to perfectly fit your shell-like. They stay put for sport and look street smart in bright colours, but the material isn’t especially soft and they can feel invasive, hugging your inner ear tightly.

04 for the gym

Test Winner

Sonically, they perform admirably without ever giving us goosebumps. Sound is reasonably well isolated thanks to the tight fit and there’s a healthy dose of bass. For budget buds they’re decent, but can’t match the sound quality of more pricey options. T3 Says Affordable, stylish everyday option

04 for the gym

Monster iSport Strive £59, MONSTERPRODUCTS.COM

The most important element of sports in-ears is the fit. The Strive nails this using its SportsClip design to clamp on to your lugs, hanging on no matter how vigorous your workout gets. The sound quality is quite open, keeping you well aware of your surroundings as you jog, but performance is still big, bold and impressive. Plus, there’s a built-in

mic for answering calls on the run. The cable refuses to tangle and the look is sporty without being garish. They’re also fully water- and sweat-resistant, with antimicrobial tips that prevent germ build up. The ideal addition to any stylish gym bag. T3 Says Sports in-ears designed for winners

05 for noise cancelling

Bose Quiet Comfort 20i £249, BOSE.CO.UK

05 for noise cancelling

03 for everyday beats

Costing more than some high-end cans, these in-ears boast brilliant active noise cancellation, the tech blocking out ambient noise without requiring you to pump up the volume. The slim battery pack that powers the silence offers 16 hours of use per charge. It’s a bit bulky, but sits close enough to the jack that it doesn’t weigh down the

cable. A choice of rubber tips provides a secure fit. Sound quality is enjoyable, but nothing to excite audiophiles. These are all about the cocoon of calm they create, though, rather than the racket. Just don’t blame us when you miss your stop in the morning. T3 Says It’s all about what you don’t hear

{focus}

listen up! top music appS alert!

1/ Pace DJ Lite Fitness sidekick that measures your pace and chooses songs with a similar beat per minute to keep you moving. FREE, iOS

2/ Cross DJ At last: a decent deck app for Android. Offers accurate beat-matching and EQ tweaking for amateur Oakenfolds. £5.99, Android

3/ SoundFocus Tests your hearing and tweaks your music library to suit your ears’ sensibilities, from volume to frequencies. FREE, iOS

WWW For more headphone reviews go to T3.COm

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N AT U R E + T E C H N O L O G Y + S PA C E + H U M A N S + E N G I N E E R I N G

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Smartwatches r A T e d

W   risty b   usiness It’s time for the second generation of connected watches. But Which one ticks all the boxes? Hour test reveals all (Sorry)

Illustration luke o’neill

The Dick Tracy-style connected watch is up there with video phones in the annals of tech; as in: everyone said they wanted them for years, then they arrived and we all went, “Meh, whatevs.” Fickle creatures, us tech fans. However, though the first wave left most of us cold, Sony, Samsung, Pebble and others aren’t disheartened, and have since released their second-gen watches. With fresh, new designs and an even more cutting-edge range of smart features, they’re ready to do battle for your wrist real estate. So, time to upgrade? ➜

{Contenders}

Smartwatches to, erm, watch…

Metawatch Frame $230 (£137)

Words guy cocker photography neil godwin, pixeleyes

Sony SmartWatch 2 £149

Martian Passport $299 (£179)

Samsung Gear 2 £299

Pebble Steel $249 (£150)

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Metawatch Frame $230 (£137), METAWATCH.COM

2 {Specification} screen 96x96p LCD connectivity Bluetooth 4.0 Compatibility Android and iOS Water Resistance 50m Buttons 6 Vibration Yes built-in mic No Camera No Battery life 7 days

3

1 4

{Dimensions}

Height 42mm Width 38mm Depth 11mm Weight 77g

{Details} 1 screen

The mirrored screen isn’t ideal for outdoor use 2 Controls

Six buttons is excessive, especially given the minimal functionality 3 Strap

Black or white leather; dull but comfortable 4 Connections

The proprietary charging port is rather awkward

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Smartwatch delivers “watch” element, fails on other bit This generation of smartwatches is typified by a move away from the overly plasticky look of the original breed. Indeed, if it wasn’t for the info-packed 96x96 pixel LCD screen on the face, this just would look like a normal wristwatch. Not very stylish, granted, but normal. Actually, the Frame is the ugliest device on test (which, you’ll find out, is saying something). It’s also festooned with an excess of all-too-easy-to-accidentally-press buttons and a screen with a reflective mirror effect that makes it hard to read in sunshine. Textbook. The Frame works with both iOS and Android devices, connecting via Bluetooth 4.0. The Metawatch Manager app controls the grid-like display on the screen, letting you choose which notifications appear on an app-by-app basis. That’s great in theory, and a smart way to display a lot of info at a glance, but the current reality is a near complete lack of apps. You can receive texts, emails (iPhone only) and calendar notifications, control music and screen calls, but everything else, from Facebook and Twitter integration to fitness apps, is “coming soon”. Oh, and it won’t let you set an alarm – the watch we had at age six did that! It will, however, alert you if you stray too far

{killer app} from your phone, reducing the risk of leaving it in bars. Stock Widget Feeds stock prices to It charges using standard the default watch face micro USB but, stupidly, automatically. The info is requires a proprietary clip to well presented enough, though hardly connect to the watch via a earth-shattering. small C-shaped connector free, pre-loaded on the back. This inelegant solution makes it a pain to connect properly and renders the watch useless while charging by covering most of the watchface. Once fully juiced up you can use it for up to a week, though. Despite arriving at the smartwatch market in time for the second generation, this feels more like a first-gen product. It fails to impress when it comes to style, functionality and, at this point, availability of apps. We doubt we’ll bother going back to it even if the latter situation changes.

Love Info-packed display. Decent battery life Hate Mirrored LCD display difficult to see in direct sunlight. Uninspired design. Current lack of apps T3 Says This watch’s face may be packed with info, but with so few apps, little of it feels essential

WWW For more smartwatch reviews go to T3.COM

Smartwatches r A T e d

Sony SmartWatch 2 £149, SONYMOBILE.COM

2 {Specification} screen 1.6-inch, 220x176p LCD connectivity Bluetooth 3.0, NFC Compatibility Android 4.0+ Water Resistance 1m Buttons 1 Vibration Yes built-in mic No Camera No Battery life 4 days

3

1

4

{Dimensions}

Height 42mm Width 41mm Depth 9mm Weight 122.5g

{Details} 1 screen

Displays images on its colour display, albeit at only middling resolution 2 Controls

On/off button; everything else is touchscreen 3 setup

Touch the back against an NFC-enabled phone for speedy pairing 4 Connections

Micro USB for charging, plus NFC and Bluetooth

Sony’s second-gen piece ups its game, but still not a winner Let’s be honest, Sony’s first SmartWatch was pretty poor, so the fact that this retains the washed-out colour touchscreen and unskinned Android OS of its predecessor is not promising. Icons are too closely packed on the 220x176 pixel touchscreen and the large of finger will struggle to use it accurately. It does now include a choice of lo-res watch faces, though, so you can go for a more classic look. Setup is simple, however, especially if you’ve got an NFC-enabled Android device – just download Sony’s Smart Connect app and touch your phone against the back of the watch to pair. Not got NFC? No worries, you can also connect easily via Bluetooth, though having that switched on will drain your smartphone’s battery. Not got an Android phone? Then trot on. At least, unlike Samsung’s Gear 2, it works with any smartphone sporting Android 4.0 or above. Only the clock faces, timers and stopwatches are built in, but there’s a decent selection of apps for the SmartWatch 2 available at Google Play and all your basics, such as caller ID, text alerts, Gmail, Facebook and Twitter, can be installed through Smart Connect. It’s fiddly, but at least Sony can’t

{Content} be accused of loading its device with bloatware. WalkMate Counts your steps more Other notable apps accurately than some apps include Walkmate (right) we’ve tried and works with and Runtastic, both of which the Polar Wearlink+ Transmitter to monitor use the accelerometer to your heart rate. track your activity. free, google play Much like the Metawatch, this “smartwatch” is really just a conduit for info from your phone. That means no voice control, no answering calls and no replying to texts, unless you can get away with one of the preset templates. The upside of that is passable battery life – around two and a half days, with re-juicing via micro USB. There’s actually more functionality than in most connected watches here, but its usefulness is still very limited.

Love Colour screen displays images as well as text. Wide range of colour straps. Good app selection Hate Screen is lo-res and washed out. No apps preloaded, not even basics. Only works on Android T3 Says Sony’s second SmartWatch looks nice and is decent value, though far from perfect

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Martian Passport $299 (£179), MARTIANWATCHES.COM

2

3

{Specification} screen Analogue, with a 96x16p OLED strip connectivity Bluetooth 4.0 Compatibility Android and iOS Water Resistance No Buttons 2, plus analogue watch pin Vibration Yes built-in mic No Camera No Battery life 7 days (watch battery lasts two years)

4

1

{Dimensions}

Height 39mm Width 37mm Depth 13mm Weight 71g

{Details} 1 screen

The OLED display, though tiny, is bright enough to be viewed in direct sunlight 2 clock face

The analogue watch works off its own battery 3 Controls

Two buttons control the limited smarts 4 Speaker

Noise-cancelling mic for voice commands on the go

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Part traditional watch, part smartwatch, all mediocre Despite its out-of-this-world name, the Martian Passport is, in fact, the most traditional-looking timepiece on test, confining its smart features to a small OLED strip, packing just 96x16 pixels, at the bottom of the face. The rest of the display is taken up by an actual watch, though not a particularly nice-looking one. Despite the discreetness of the “smart” elements, the Martian isn’t lacking in features. It’s one of only two watches on test with its own speaker and noise-cancelling mic, meaning you can take calls and use voice commands to dictate texts without having to remove your phone from your pocket or use a hands-free set. However, it’s unlikely you’ll actually want to take calls as it doesn’t offer anywhere near the clarity, let alone privacy, of a smartphone. You can interact with Apple’s Siri or Android’s Voice Search, though, by pressing the top button, as the Martian is compatible with iOS and Android, connecting via Bluetooth 4.0. Being able to ask a question of your watch is quite cool, even if in most cases the results aren’t read back to you but displayed on your phone’s screen. Alerts come via the Martian app only – you can choose which ones to receive – but it

{Content} only covers the basics, with Martian App notifications for texts, emails, The only available app calendar appointments controls what info you and reminders. There’s no send to the watch, from weather updates to emails, Facebook notifications (just Facebook messages and direct messages) or general Twitter mentions. free, ios, android Tweets (only @mentions) and third-party apps are a no-no. Sure, there’s limited space available to display them, but it feels restrictive. The phone charges over micro USB and Martian quotes seven days of use on standby, though clearly that’s not much use. Longevity drops to just two hours if you use voice controls, but if the smart features die, the clock is handily on a separate battery that’ll keep ticking for up to two years. For a smartwatch, though, the smart elements feel tagged on.

Love Voice control. Separate battery to keep analogue watch ticking Hate Pretty damn ugly. Limited display only offers basic info. No support for third-party apps T3 Says A fairly unattractive watch that doesn’t quite live up to its smart billing

WWW For more smartwatch reviews go to T3.COM

Smartwatches r A T e d

Samsung Gear 2 £249, SAMSUNG.COm/uk

2

{Specification} screen 1.63-inch, 320x320, Super AMOLED Connectivity Bluetooth 4.0 Compatibility Selected Samsung Galaxy phones and tablets Water Resistance 1m Buttons One Vibration Yes Built-in mic Yes Camera 2-megapixel 720p at 30fps Battery life 6 days

3 3

4 1

{Dimensions}

Height 58.4mm Width 36.9mm Depth 10mm Weight 68g

{Details} 1 screen

Same 1.63-inch screen, but now Super AMOLED 2 time check

Shake your wrist to make the time appear on screen 3 operating system

Tizen, Samsung’s new OS, replaces Android but looks much the same 4 Speaker

Picks up your voice without requiring a raised arm

Samsung’s latest bit of Gear is more worthy of your time The Gear 2 is a cross between the all-metal look of the Pebble Steel and the plastic of the Sony SmartWatch 2. With the bulbous camera that disfigured the first Galaxy Gear (note “Galaxy” be gone) scaled down and built into the watch frame, it’s a pretty wearable thing. Samsung’s also shifted the home button from the side to the front, smartphone-style. It’s 5g lighter than the original Gear and 1mm thinner, but the screen is still 1.63 inches with an improved super AMOLED resolution. It’s waterproof to 1m now, too. Setup has been simplified, and NFC is no longer a prerequisite – with our good friend, and battery-sapping, Bluetooth you’re good to go – with instant connection and a range that we managed to stretch to 150 metres. Once synced you will receive message and call notifications, though texts take a whopping 10 minutes to appear on your wrist after arriving on your phone, so don’t use it for emergencies. The device also lets you answer calls without getting your phone out and the mic delivers your voice reasonably clearly without having to speak into your wrist. There aren’t a lot of apps available for the Gear 2, but the essentials are covered,

{Content} giving email, text and social network notifications, and S Health Lets you track your we’re promised more are calories, movement and, if on the way soon. Before you hook up a heart-rate you can download any new monitor, your dangerously racing pulse. Syncs in apps, though, you’ll need mere seconds, too. to download Gear Manager free, android to your phone. But not just any Android device will do, as only 18 Samsung devices are supported, including the Galaxy S5 and a fistful of Notes. The Gear 2’s one unique feature is that built-in, two-meg camera. It’s tough to frame pics with and the quality isn’t great, so as USPs go it’s not exactly amazing. It certainly improves on its predecessor and feels slick, but the price and limited compatibility mean its still got a way to go.

Love New streamlined look. S Voice for answering calls and dictating texts. Features aplenty Hate Compatible with only a handful of Samsung phones. Few apps currently available. Pricey T3 Says While not a must-have by any means, it’s a slick, handy add-on for Samsung fans

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Pebble Steel $249 (£150), GETPEBBLE.COM

2 {Specification} screen 1.26-inch, 144x 168p e-ink connectivity Bluetooth 4.0 Compatibility Android and iOS Water Resistance 50m Buttons 4 Vibration Yes built-in mic No Camera No Battery life 7 days

test winner

3

1

4

{Dimensions}

Height 46mm Width 34mm Depth 10.5mm Weight 99g

{Details} 1 screen

E-ink display looks great and lengthens battery life 2 buttons

Three on the right for controlling smart features; light switch on the left 3 Strap

A choice of metal or leather, both tasty enough 4 Connections

Magnetic charging cable is good in theory, but fiddly to connect in practice

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The original smartwatch gets heavily into metal One of the first out of the blocks in the smartwatch race, with a very successful crowdfunding campaign, the Pebble was an ugly duckling, all brightly coloured plastic. The Pebble Steel, if not a swan, is at least reasonably chic, in an ’80s-retro, stainless-steel kind of way, with waterproof, Gorilla Glass screen protection and a leather or metal strap. The finest feature from the original Pebble is still present: a 1.26-inch e-ink display, which is easy to read in direct sunlight and uses less power than the LCD and OLED displays on the other watches on test, so you get up to a week of full use of all the Steel’s features. It connects to Android and iOS devices via Bluetooth 4.0, automatically relaying caller ID, texts and notifications from your phone, as well as controlling whatever audio is playing. There’s no new interface, voice-control mic or even a touchscreen, though, so navigating menus by buttons can still feel cumbersome. Apps and watch faces are installed via the Pebble app on your phone and there are more than ever to choose from – over 3,000 and counting – thanks to an open platform that’s now paying off. Big names on board include Runkeeper, Foursquare and Evernote, as

{Content} well as plucky bedroom-dev efforts such as Flappy Bird PebbGPS Puts a mini map on the “homage”, Tiny Bird. Quality e-ink display and vibrates is far from A-grade across to tell you what direction the board, but there’s more to take when you near a turning – short pulse for to keep you amused here left, double pulse for right. than on any other watch. £0.69, ios and android The main problem is that the Pebble holds a maximum of just eight apps at a time, and a lot of the most popular ones also require companion smartphone apps, some of which you have to pay for. Putting aside that and the fact this is not so much an upgrade as a reskinning, this is an attractive smartwatch in more ways than one. Again, it’s far from perfect, but it is the best you can get right now, especially for owners of smartphones that aren’t made by Samsung.

Love Huge array of apps. Stylish watch and strap. E-ink display is easy to read, even in sunlight Hate Only space for eight apps at a time. Buttons are awkward. No touchscreen or voice control T3 Says The best smartwatch around with hordes of open-source apps but needs refining

WWW For more smartwatch reviews go to T3.COM

Smartwatches r A T e d

Spec Shot

Metawatch Frame

Sony SmartWatch 2 Martian Passport

Samsung Gear 2

Pebble Steel

Price, url

$230 (£137), METAWATCH.COM

£149, SONYMOBILE.COM

$299 (£179), MARTIANWATCHES.COM

£299, SAMSUNG.Com/uk

$249 (£150), GETPEBBLE.COM

screen

96x96 LCD

1.6-inch, 220x176 LCD

Analogue face, with a 96x16 OLED strip

1.63-inch, 320x320, Super AMOLED

1.26-inch, 144x168 e-ink

connectivity

Bluetooth 4.0

Bluetooth 3.0, NFC

Bluetooth 4.0

Bluetooth 4.0

Bluetooth 4.0

Compatibility

Android and iOS

Android 4.0+

Android and iOS

Selected Samsung phones

Android and iOS

Water Resistance

50m

1m

No

1m

50m

Buttons

6

1

2, plus analogue watch pin

1

4

Vibration

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

built-in mic

No

No

No

Yes

No

Camera

No

No

No

2-meg/720p at 30fps

No

Battery life

7 days

4 days

7 days Watch battery two years

6 days

7 days

love

Plenty of info packed into the display. Impressively long battery life

Colour screen displays images. Wide range of straps. Plenty of apps

Voice control. Separate battery to keep analogue watch ticking

Newly streamlined look. S Voice for calls and dictation. Features aplenty

Loads of apps. Stylish. E-ink easy to read, even in sunlight. Long battery life

hate

Mirrored screen is hard to see in sunlight. Uninspired design. Distinct lack of apps

Screen is low-res and washed out. No apps preloaded. Android only

Ugly. Limited display strip only offers basic info. No support for third-party apps

Compatibility limited to 18 Samsung phones and tablets. Few apps available

Only space for eight apps. Buttons are awkward. No touchscreen or mic

t3 says

A watch face that’s packed with info, but with so few apps little of it is relevant

Sony’s second SmartWatch looks nice and is decent value, but is far from perfect

A fairly unattractive watch that doesn’t quite live up to its “smart” billing

Not a must-have by any means, it’s a slick, handy add-on for Samsung fans

The pick of the smartwatch bunch, with hordes of apps, but still needs refining

rating

{Reasons}

Why the Pebble is a prime piece

1

E-ink screen – the 1.26-inch, 144x168p display is easy to read and doesn’t sap battery life like LCD or AMOLED.

2

Easy setup – Bluetooth pairing is both reliable and quick.

3

Waterproof – unlike many smartwatches, this is good to a full, 50-metre-deep soaking.

4

Apps galore – with over 3,000 to choose from, the only problem is choosing which eight to store on your device.

5

Multi-platform – the Pebble works with both Android and iOS plus, albeit unofficially, Windows Phone 8.

6

Open source – both big names (Evernote and

Foursquare) and bedroom developers can get involved with expanding that app store even further.

7

Improved aesthetics – it’s the first smartwatch that most in our office would willingly wear.

8

Choose your watch face – don’t like the default? Download from a wide choice or make your own.

{focus}

Android Wear: the future of smartwatches? While there’s a lot of hype for Apple’s much-expected entry into the wrist-tech market, Google’s already moving the goalposts with its new Android Wear operating system, designed specifically for wearable tech. It makes good use of context-sensitive information via Google Now and the big G even suggests that the technology will help alleviate our addiction to smartphones by predicting

the information we most need to see, making checking your phone constantly unnecessary (yeah, we’ll see). Motorola’s circular Moto 360 concept and LG’s square G Watch are the first devices to sport the colourful, simplified OS, but Samsung, HTC, Asus and Fossil have all confirmed that they’re working on devices. Expect more info at the Google I/O 2014 conference in June.

{The Final word}

WATCH and LEARN? When the first wave of smartwatches hit in 2012 we were intrigued, excited, but ultimately not convinced that we really needed one. Now we’re looking at the second generation, and while the designs are more classy and lessons have been learnt, but ultimately the same question remains: do you really need one? If the answer to that is yes, your best option is the Pebble Steel. It has its flaws, but works with both iOS and Android, has surprisingly stylish metallic look and an open-source app store with far more on offer than its rivals. If you’re a confirmed Samsung fan, the Gear 2 is a good alternative. The streamlined design and long feature-list – voice control, camera, shake-to-wake – make it a winner for the Galaxy-owning faithful, though pricey. After that, options get more limited. The Sony SmartWatch 2 looks pretty good, but no voice control means you’ll still need to get your phone out of your pocket to actually do anything. For shame! The Martian Passport, meanwhile, is a curious hybrid, with a token OLED strip of smart info beneath a fairly ugly normal watch. Finally, the Metawatch Frame is barely worth your time until more of its promised apps arrive. Roll on the third-gen, then…

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F  it and you k  now it

head over to t3.com for an extended review

2

samsung’s gear fit is part smartwatch, part fitness tracker, with a healthy dose of competitive spirit

Sporty and smart, Samsung’s Gear Fit is aiming to appeal to all by combining smartwatch features with fitness tracking and a heart-rate monitor to boot. But is this wrist hybrid a hero?

1

3

{details} 1

2

3

face

Monitor

Strap

The 1.84-inch curved Super AMOLED touchscreen looks slick whether counting your steps or just telling the time

The green LED on the rear of the screen illuminates and tracks your pulse, although not continuously

The simple rubber wrist band is removable for easy swapping, with six colour options to rock

{samsung gear fit}

points of interest {Size/weight}

Dimensions 23x57x12mm Weight 27g

1 1 8 T 3 J U LY 2 0 1 4

{specifications}

screen 1.84-inch 3128x432 Super AMOLED Connectivity Bluetooth 4.0 Compatibility Android (currently Samsung only) Water Resistance Up to 1m Buttons One Vibration Yes Battery life 3-4 days

{Focus}

Endomondo is Gearing up The proprietary S-Health app means the Gear Fit can count your calories and steps, but those looking for more usably in-depth fitness tracking will be pleased to learn of Samsung’s recent deal with fitness network Endomondo, which offers more accurate, community-based and sport-specific data. Everyone that buys a Galaxy S5 handset is eligible for a year’s free Endomondo Premium access (worth £17.49), although this is currently phone-only and won’t sync to your wristband of choice yet. However, as part of the deal Endomondo has promised to make real-time stat apps for the Gear Fit, Gear 2 and Gear Neo smartwatches in the near future.

Well, the 1.84-inch curved AMOLED screen is certainly striking, with a selection of watch faces available and a home button that can be assigned to take you straight to your favourite apps. It’s arguably better looking and more functional than its pure smartwatch cousin, the Samsung Gear 2 (review on p115). As well as the heart-rate tracker on the screen’s rear, which measures your pulse pretty accurately using LEDs trained at your veins, the Fit also sports a pedometer, sleep tracker and accelerometer for total movement analysis. Without built-in GPS, though, the latter’s uses are limited to the basic S-Health app – want to use fitness apps like Endomondo (right) and you’ll need to keep your phone close by for now. There is useful, if basic, smartwatch functionality, such as SMS, calls and email alerts, plus music controls, although they only work with Samsung’s own software, so forget controlling Spotify playlists. The Gear Fit battery lasts a solid four days and Bluetooth 4.0 syncing is oh-so simple, but it currently only pairs with Samsung phones, which gives you a choice of 18 Android devices but is far from comprehensive. Is this the perfect mix of sport and smarts? Not quite, but it’s a strong option in the wake of FuelBand’s farewell, and a personal best for Samsung. £180, Samsung.com/uk

Love AMOLED screen. Heart-rate tracking. Battery life Hate Only works with Samsung devices. No GPS T3 Says Slick-looking smartwatch with solid fitness features. A thoroughly modern timepiece

Words mark mayne

Reviews r A T e d

B  eats Studio Wireless £330, Uk.beatsbydre.com

Monster DNA Pro £250, monsterproducts.com

They may not be wireless, but these cans still offer a taste of the modern, from their futuristic, triangular ear cups to the dual audio outs that let you share music with pals.

{Specifications} Noise cancelling No Bluetooth range Not applicable Battery life Not quoted

The Monster DNA Pro feels premium. They’re properly sturdy, capable of withstanding many a knock and fold up to be stashed easily in a man bag. The folding mechanism takes a bit of getting used to, though, requiring a hefty yank that feels tantamount to abuse. Sound quality is ace, delivering all-round performance. The mid-range has plenty of kick, treble is clear and the bass packs oomph, although arguably not as much as we’d expect, given how chunky and pricey they are. That chunky design is put to good use when it comes to noise isolating, though. It’s not as effective as dedicated noise-cancelling tech, blocking out low-level background chatter but allowing the sound of sirens and train announcements to creep into your music. However, they don’t require batteries, so playback is uninterrupted. Want to share your playlist with someone else? There are dual audio outs for adding another pair of headphones in a daisy chain of sound. It’s rare you’ll ever use this, but if it means fewer people sharing their music out loud on public transport, we’re 100 per cent behind it. love Sturdy build. Excellent sound quality. Can daisy chain another pair of headphones for shared listening hate No noise-cancelling tech. Quite a tight fit T3 says Chunky and reliable on-ear cans, but you can get better sound quality elsewhere for a similar price

Words Joe svetlik and tom tamblyn

for the extended review head to T3.COM

For the second iteration of Beats’ wireless cans there has been a complete redesign both inside and out. The results are uncharacteristically understated.

{Specifications} Noise cancelling Yes Bluetooth range 30m Battery life 12 hours (Bluetooth), 20 hours (wired)

The new look is lighter and the build more sturdy. Sure, it’s not as eye-catching as before, but we prefer the more subtle styling, especially on the matte black version. The redesigned ear cups are more comfortable for long listening sessions, too. A similar approach has been taken with sound quality. The Studios sound very good indeed, with bass actually feeling reduced since last year’s version, which will come as a relief for some. Instead, the mid-range has been boosted, resulting in a more overall balanced sound. But don’t fear, Beats hasn’t totally grown up. The price is still in the territory of “How much?!” for a start, and in much the same way that the harder you push a racing car the more it grips the road, the louder you pump up the volume, the better they sound. Commuters, brace yourself. In reverse, the noise-cancelling works well, managing to block out most noise for up to 12 hours, but at low volumes it does produce an audible hiss. Bluetooth, meanwhile, is seamless. Arguably Beats’ best cans yet, we reckon. love More sophisticated design. Comfortable fit. Well-rounded sound quality. Good noise cancelling hate Pricey. Noise cancelling audible at low volumes T3 says The best Beats yet, though its niggles make that price tag a bit hard to swallow

for the extended review head to T3.COM

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S   et Fire to your telly

head over to t3.com for an extended review

amazon is turning american tvs into conduits for its content. But do we all need another set-top streamer?

1

3

2

{details} 1

2

3

content

Connections

control

Like the Kindle Fire tablets, Fire TV’s simple menu pulls media from Amazon’s video and gaming cloud stores

The small matte-black box packs HDMI, optical audio and Ethernet ports, plus dual-band N Wi-Fi

This Bluetooth wand has an iPod-esque circular four-way nav pad for when you’re not voice searching

{amazon fire tv}

points of interest {Size/weight}

{specifications}

height 115mm width 115mm depth 17.5mm weight 281g

Processor/ram 1.7GHz quadcore/2GB maximum resolution 1080p at up to 60fps Storage 8GB, unlimited cloud for Amazon content Connectivity Dual-band, N Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0, HDMI, optical audio, Ethernet, USB Audio Dolby Digital Plus, 5.1 surround sound, 2-channel stereo and HDMI audio pass through up to 7.1

1 2 0 T 3 J U LY 2 0 1 4

Words mark harris

{Focus}

So, what’s on the box? Amazon Instant Video is unsurprisingly the star attraction, boasting a few exclusives, such as politicomedy Alpha House, but the other big-hitters are represented, too, with Netflix, Hulu Plus, Showtime and YouTube. The selection of new release movies for rental is strong, although you’ll need to pay fees on top of your £79 annual Prime sub for many. Around 100 games are available, with “thousands more” promised; some are free, others cost Amazon coins (100 coins = $1), and you get 500 free with the box. There’s no Spotify yet, but Amazon’s Cloud Player lands in May. The addition of iPlayer if and when Fire TV hits the UK seems a given, too.

Amazon’s new Fire TV media box may be hot property right now, with us Brits not even given a sniff of a release yet, but it’s arriving late to the streaming party. With Google Chromecast, Apple TV, Sky’s Now TV and Roku already on the scene, is it worth getting jealous about? Well, Fire TV’s small, unassuming set-top box and magic controller wand will certainly smarten your telly setup. As well as a choice of video – Amazon Instant, the recently rebuffed Lovefilm, naturally takes pride of place – there are audio apps, a photo viewer that grabs images from Facebook and a decent roster of Android games, including the Halo-esque FPS Sev Zero, although yet another walledgardened store isn’t high on our want list. A 1.7GHz quadcore chip keeps 1080p footage running without a hitch, although picture quality isn’t the crispest we’ve seen. 3D games are rendered well, though, and there’s a decent separate games controller with dual joysticks and pad available for $40. Everything is accessed via the carousel-like Fire OS, a heavily skinned version of Android. Manual browsing is slow, but Amazon’s voice search function works like a charm and is far more intuitive than Kinect. We’d like a way to sort Amazon Instant content that comes free with a Prime subscription from the pay-to-view stuff, but with most major on-demand services on-board, we’re still setting anticipation for a UK launch to a slow simmer. $99 (us only), amazon.com, uk release tbc

Love Fast and genuinely functional voice search. Zippy operation and streaming. Decent game choice Hate Average video quality T3 Says A very easy-to-navigate streaming box with lots of content but even more competition

Reviews r A T e d

TomTom Multi-Sport Cardio £280, tomtom.com

Sony Xperia Z2 Tablet from £400 (4g version from £500), sony.co.uk

The tablet twin of the Z2 blower, reviewed on p102, is thinner, lighter and more powerful than any previous slate. It’s lost the sharp edges but still looks cutting edge.

{Specifications} OS Android 4.4 Processor 2.3GHz quadcore/3GB Storage 16 or 32GB Screen 10.1-inch, 1920x1200 Connectivity Bluetooth 4.0, NFC, Wi-Fi, DLNA Rear cam 8.1-meg/1080p Front cam 2.2-meg/1080p quoted Battery 5 hours Dimensions 266x6.4x172mm/426g

In fact, the Xperia Z2’s 1200x1920 touchscreen is about the only element of Sony’s tablet that hasn’t been updated. That’s no problem, as packed with Triluminos, X-Reality and Live Colour HD tech from Sony’s telly division, it is one of the best looking tablet screens around. Just like the Z2 phone, Sony’s own user interface sits on top of Android’s KitKat operating system. While we’re not big fans of this UI on its little brother – we find it intrusive, taking up too much screen space – spread across the tablet’s 10.1-inch display it’s far more palatable, allowing you to set your own themes. Navigation is slick, too, powered by a 2.3GHz quadcore chip. Other features include an IR blaster, which enables it to be used as a telly remote, and Stamina Mode, which switches off all non-essential applications and stretches the battery life to two full days of use. The Z2 smartphone might have slipped behind Samsung’s Galaxy S5 and the HTC One M8, but Sony’s managed to make the best 10.1-inch Android tablet on the market, which is a fair feat. love Slim, waterproof build with newly rounded edges. Fantastic screen. Great battery life, extended by Stamina Mode hate Lots of bloatware. Sizeable bezel around screen T3 says In the category of best ten-inch Android slate, Sony’s Xperia Z2 Tablet is king

Words tom tamblyn and kieran alger

for the extended review head to T3.COM

Unfasten that heart-rate monitor from your chest, you, TomTom’s new fitness watch has one built right into the back. That’s not all it can do, either.

{Specifications} screen 146x168 LCD Connectivity Bluetooth compatibility iOS waterproof Up to 50m Battery life 8 hours GPS + HR, 10 hours GPS-only dimensions 22x25x13.8mm/63g

The Cardio uses the same optical heart-rate sensor seen in the Samsung Gear Fit, which uses an LED to track your blood flow. Whether you want to burn fat or hit a new personal best, the accurate real-time BPM data – we tested it against a medical-grade ECG scanner – informs training features and vibrates when you’re working too hard or not hard enough. Ideal for triathletes, interval training can be set up for swimming and running, while cycling accessories, such as cadence and speed sensors, can be paired via Bluetooth to add further stats. To keep track of all that data and compare results you can link via Bluetooth to the free iOS app – no Android or WP8 version yet – or upload via USB to TomTom’s somewhat limited web tools. This is a vastly improved piece of kit, but there are irritations. Finding a GPS signal takes longer than we’d like, battery life has been reduced and the USB charging dock means you can’t charge on the go. It’s still the best sportswatch of its kind on the market, though, easily outrunning the similar Adidas MiCoach Smart Run. love Built-in heart monitor with trustworthy results. Simple interface. Accurate data for many sports hate Can’t track pulse in the pool. No Android app T3 says One for serious sporty types, this offers the most comprehensive fitness data around

for the extended review head to T3.COM

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TheGuide {the best of everything}

Smartphones p124 Tablets p125 Laptops p126 Gaming p127 Cameras p128 Home audio p129 Headphones p130 Televisions p132 Home entertainment p133 Accessories p134

Top tens THE place to start researching your next gadget-buying jaunt. For an even more up-to-the-minute snapshot of our latest wish lists, check out t3.com/best-gadgets. Scores The products featured in The Guide are reassessed regularly against what’s new, hip and happening. As a result, we will re-rate older products to reflect the current market. Prices We scour the web for the best prices we can find at trusted retailers. Even so, check the most up-to-date deals before getting out your Solo, Access or Diner’s Club card. available online @ t3.com the ultimate buyer’s guide

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S   martphones

{buying tips}

Phablets that punch their weight 3

1 SAmsung Galaxy note 3

An array of clever, stylusfocused extras give this 5.7-incher the edge. £402, samsung.com/uk

2 A stellar 6.4-inch screen, a mighty fine camera and impressive slimness. £449, sonymobile.com

SAMSUNG GALAXY S5

£570, samsung.com/uk, tested JUly 2014

02

ry

PROCESSOR 2.5GHz quadcore Screen 5.1-inch, 1920x1080 CAMERA 16-megapixel/4K STORAGE 16GB or 32GB

£530, HTC.com/uk, tested JUNE 2014

New

07

lg g2

£305, lg.com/uk, tested christmas 2013

PROCESSOR 2.3GHz quadcore Screen 5-inch, 1920x1080 CAMERA 4-ultrapixel/1080p STORAGE 16GB

PROCESSOR 2.26GHz quadcore Screen 5.2-inch, 1920x1080 CAMERA 13-meg/1080p STORAGE 16GB or 32GB

Apple iPhone 5S

From £549, apple.com/uk, tested December 2013

specifications

08

Apple iPhone 5C

From £469, apple.com/uk, tested december 2013

Love Powerful processor. Slick iOS 7. Looks premium, even in gold. Touch ID. One of the best smartphone cameras around Hate Pricing on higher-storage models is crazy t3 says The innovations here really wow, but it can’t hold back an attack from its newest Android rival

Love Improved camera and 4G capability. iOS 7 looks good, works well and continues to improve. Cute colours Hate Not “cheap”, as anticipated t3 says It’s the iPhone 5 with a coloured back, at a very slightly lower price – and there’s not a lot wrong with that

PROCESSOR A7 Screen 4-inch, 1136x640 CAMERA 8-meg/1080p STORAGE 16GB, 32GB or 64GB

PROCESSOR A6 Screen 4-inch, 1136x640 CAMERA 8-meg/1080p STORAGE 16GB or 32GB

GOOGLE NEXUS 5

from £299, google.co.uk, tested january 2014

specifications

09

motorola moto g

from £129, motorola.co.uk, tested february 2014

Love Incredible 1080p display. Android KitKat operating system. Staggeringly affordable price tag Hate Average camera. No 64GB option t3 says The best ever Nexus phone is a top Android blower, offering a heck of a lot for not much dosh

Love Brilliant 4.5-inch HD display. Google app suite is excellent. Stylish, sturdy build quality Hate No 4G. Lacks storage, with no micro SD slot t3 says Proof that innovation needn’t mean a high price, this is comfortably the best budget smartphone

PROCESSOR 2.3GHz quadcore Screen 4.95-inch, 1920x1080 CAMERA 8-meg/1080p STORAGE 16GB or 32GB

PROCESSOR 1.2GHz quadcore Screen 4.5-inch, 1280x720 CAMERA 5-meg/1080p STORAGE 8GB or 16GB

specifications

05

PROCESSOR 2.3GHz quadcore Screen 5.2-inch, 1920x1080 CAMERA 20-meg/4K STORAGE 16GB

Love Bright, detailed screen. Quadcore power Hate Power/volume button on the back has dubious usefulness. Android isn’t as slick on this LG phone t3 says Offers a quadcore processor and top camera at a lower-than-average price

specifications

04

e

specifications

Love Stunning metallic build. Great camera upgrades. Quadcore processor runs like a dream. Inspired Dot Matrix case Hate Fewer flashy headline features t3 says The most stylish Android. Lacks headline features of others, but what’s there works and looks top specifications

03

£374, nokia.co.uk

£550, soNymobile.com, tested july 2014

specifications

HTC ONE M8

Hulking yet sexy slab carries the Windows Phone flag in its enlarged fist. Fast, apart from the camera.

Love Big display with brilliant image quality. Powerful processor. Excellent camera. Waterproof Hate Too little built-in storage. Sony’s interface needs work t3 says A full-featured and rugged Android smartphone. Not quite as slick as some of its rivals, though nt

ry

nt New

4

SONY XPERIA Z2

06

Love Updated interface. Incredibly bright screen. Innovative features and battery-saving mode Hate Sensors are great, but the accuracy isn’t there yet t3 says The S5 throws everything at its bid for Android supremacy and it just about pays off e

£537, LG.com/uk

Nokia 1520

Sony Xperia Z Ultra

01

LG G Flex

A slightly curved variant on the phablet theme, with six inches of screen girth.

sony xperia z1 compact

From £401, sonymobile.com, tested april 2014

Love Premium waterproof design, just like its big brother. Brilliant 4.3-inch display. Powerful processor Hate Lack of Android 4.4. Sony’s own interface feels dated t3 says The scaled-down version of the Xperia Z1 loses very little of the original’s appeal

specifications

PROCESSOR 2.2GHz quadcore Screen 4.3-inch, 1280x720 CAMERA 20.7-meg/1080p STORAGE 16GB, microSD

specifications

10

nokia lumia 925

£354, nokia.com, tested september 2013

Love A pared down, cool, stylish phone with a pared down, cool, stylish OS. Excellent camera Hate WP8 still lacks apps. Battery could be better t3 says Nokia’s best Windows Phone to date. A few more apps and this would be a real contender specifications

PROCESSOR 1.5GHz dualcore Screen 4.5-inch, 1280x720 CAMERA 8.7-meg/1080p STORAGE 16GB available online @ t3.com the ultimate buyer’s guide

1 24 T 3 J ULY 2 0 1 4

TheGuide

{The best of everything}

Tablets

{buying tips}

E-readers deserving attention 1 amazon kindle paperwhite

The best e-reader screen around, now backlit for late-night edification. from £109, amazon.co.uk

2

Apple iPad mini WITH RETINA from £319, apple.com/uk, tested january 2014

06

kobo aura

Great, backlit screen. Book store rivals Amazon’s. £49, barnesandnoble.com

£119, whsmith.co.uk

os Windows 8.1 processor 2.2GHz quadcore SCREEN 10.1-inch, 1920x1080 STORAGE 32GB

07

os iOS7 processor A7 SCREEN 9.7-inch, 2048x1536 STORAGE 16GB, 32GB, 64GB or 128GB

os Android 4.0, by Amazon processor 2.2GHz quadcore SCREEN 7-inch, 1920x1200 STORAGE 16GB, 32GB or 64GB

specifications

08

from £329, apple.com/uk, tested christmas 2011

Love Decent battery, power and graphical oomph for its slightly reduced price, with apps galore available. Thin, too Hate Rear camera is poor. Surpassed by powerful alternatives t3 says Still hanging in there and still appealing, this is now the cheapest way to get a full-sized iPad

os Android 4.3 processor 1.5GHz quadcore SCREEN 7.2-inch, 1920x1200 STORAGE 16GB or 32GB

os iOS 7 processor 1GHz dualcore SCREEN 9.7-inch, 1024x768 STORAGE 16GB, 32GB or 64GB

Apple iPad mini

from £249, apple.com/uk, tested january 2013

specifications

09

amazon kindle HDx 8.9

from £329, amazon.co.uk, tested april 2014

Love The pocket-friendly, 7.9-inch screen with ultra-slim bezel looks fantastic and works great. 4G LTE. Very good value now Hate No Retina Display. Now only in 16GB version t3 says Apple’s first miniature tablet can still turn heads, but it’s been beaten on specs of late

Love Larger, but still incredibly sharp screen. Quadcore processor and Amazon’s skinned Android fly. 4G option Hate Limited app selection as ever t3 says It’s big, nippy and incredibly simple to use, although not quite as portable as its smaller sibling

os iOS 7 processor 1GHz dualcore SCREEN 7.9-inch, 1024x768 STORAGE 16GB

os Android 4.0, customised by Amazon processor 2.2GHz quadcore SCREEN 8.9-inch, 2560x1600 STORAGE 16/32/64GB

specifications

SONY XPERIA Z2 TABLET

from £400, SONYMOBILE.COM, tested jULY 2014

ry

Apple iPad 2

Love Beautiful, high-res screen. Processing power boosted to 1.5GHz. Lightweight, compact build. Very affordable Hate Lack of tablet-optimised apps t3 says The hardware is excellent, but there are too few tablet-specific Android apps to topple Apple yet

specifications

nt

from £199, amazon.co.uk, tested january 2014

Love Simple operating system. Seven-inch display has very high pixel density for crisp images. Mayday is on hand to help Hate Only approved apps (not many). No rear camera t3 says Amazon’s closed-system tablet is smarter than ever, but still incredibly simple. A good family all-rounder

From £199, google.co.uk, tested november 2013

New

KINDLE FIRE HDX

Love Stunning design. Blazing performance from the new A7 processor. Incredibly thin and lightweight Hate No fingerprint sensor. Camera remains unchanged t3 says That big Retina screen. Those sleek, slimline looks. This is Apple’s best full-sized iPad yet

google nexus 7

e

£399, nokia.co.uk, tested january 2014

specifications

specifications

05

NOKIA LUMIA 2520

os iOS 7 processor A7 SCREEN 7.9-inch, 2048x1536 STORAGE 16GB, 32GB, 64GB or 128GB

from £399, apple.com/uk, tested january 2014

04

4

Love Tactile, attractive design. Speedy performance. Nokia’s own-brand apps add to Windows 8.1 Hate Runs watered-down version of Windows 8.1 t3 says This is not the most powerful Windows tablet on the market, but it is the nicest to use

aPPLE IPAD AIR

03

£59, amazon.co.uk

Love Retina screen. Speedy and sleek. More LTE bands and 128GB option. Best app store going. Perfect size for everyday use Hate Touch ID would have been nice, but not essential t3 says Apple’s smallest iPad is still its best, for us, now with specs that match the larger iPad Air specifications

02

amazon kindle

The cheaper, lighter Kindle with an improved screen is a nailed-on bargain.

A top-quality e-ink screen with added touch control and backlighting. Easy Facebook/Twitter sharing.

barnes and noble nook glowlight

01

3

specifications

10

google nexus 10

from £319, google.com/nexus, tested january 2013

Love Slim, waterproof build with newly rounded edges. Fantastic screen. Great battery life, extended by Stamina Mode Hate Lots of bloatware. Sizeable bezel around screen t3 says In the category of best ten-inch Android slate, Sony’s Xperia Z2 Tablet is king

Love Outstanding, super-HD display. Jelly Bean OS is excellent. Smooth operation. Solid build Hate Lack of dedicated tablet apps. No 3G option yet t3 says Like the Nexus 7 this gives power on the cheap, but lack of tablet-specific apps makes it less desirable

os Android 4.4 processor 2.3GHz quadcore SCREEN 10.1-inch, 1920x1200 STORAGE 16GB or 32GB

os Android 4.2 processor 1.7GHz quadcore SCREEN 10.1-inch, 2560x1600 STORAGE16GB or 32GB

specifications

specifications

available online @ t3.com the ultimate buyer’s guide

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L  aptops

{buying tips}

Desktop PCs of plenty 1 apple imac

Optimum combo of style and spec. A 2.7GHz i5 and 1TB HDD come as standard. from £1,099, apple.com/uk

sony vaio tap 20

A touchscreen Windows 8 all-in-one whose screen detaches to become a hulking, 20-inch tablet. £1,000, sony.co.uk

Apple MacBook Air

from £849, apple.com/uk, tested september 2013

06

specifications

£1,279, dell.co.uk, tested october 2012

07

08

£218, google.co.uk, tested april 2014

Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga 11s £549, shop.lenovo.com, tested april 2014

Love New Retina Display is stunning. Thinner and lighter. More storage space packed inside, too Hate Can get hot. Battery life’s not brilliant. No physical drives t3 says If you’re after power, Apple’s new Pro laptop is lighter, better and cheaper than ever

Love Tactile finish and good looks. More well thought through than most hybrid laptop/tablet devices Hate Weaker spec than proper laptops on test t3 says A smart Windows 8 contortionist that offers more than most hybrid devices

Screen 13-inch, 2560x1600 processor/ram Core i5 2.4GHz/8GB storage 256GB SSD quoted battery 9hrs

Screen 11.6-inch, 1366x768 processor/RAM 1.4GHz Core i3/4GB storage 128GB SSD quoted battery 6hrs

specifications

hp spectre xt

£949, hp.com/uk, tested march 2013

09

Toshiba Satellite NB10T A-102 £348, toshiba.co.uk, tested april 2014

Love Attractive and sturdy all-metal design. Seriously thin and portable. Great battery life. Beats Audio. Reasonably priced Hate Tricky touchpad. Screen could be better t3 says The smartest ultrabook – what it lacks in power it makes up for in style and portability

Love Bargain price for an ultra-portable with a touchscreen. Plenty of ports provide optimum connectivity Hate Non-descript styling. Washed-out screen t3 says Not exciting, but a sensible option with an added touchscreen for not very much dosh

Screen 13.3-inch, 1366x768 processor/ram Core i5 1.7GHz/4GB storage 128GB SSD quoted battery 7.5hrs

Screen 11.6-inch, 1366x768 processor/RAM 2GHz Intel Pentium/4GB storage 500GB HDD quoted battery 3.5hrs

specifications

05

hp chromebook 11

Screen 11.6-inch, 1366x768 processor/RAM 1.7GHz dualcore/2GB storage 16GB SSD quoted battery 6hrs

specifications

04

£1,299, sony.co.uk, tested december 2013

specifications

Screen 15.3-inch, 1920x1080 processor/ram Core i7 2.1GHz/8GB storage 1TB HDD quoted battery 8hrs

£1,249, apple.com/uk, tested january 2014

sony vaio duo 13

Love Elegant styling. Very light, yet sturdy. Reduced spec is still up to most day-to-day tasks Hate Reliance on a web connection t3 says It’s no power player, but this budget, web-dependent laptop is a steal for the spec

specifications

Apple macbook pro 13-inch

£759, toshiba.co.uk

Screen 13.3-inch, 1920x1080 processor/RAM 1.6GHz i5/4GB storage 128GB SSD quoted battery 10hrs

Love Amazing screen. Excellent build quality. Top performer thanks to powerful processor and graphics card. Good VFM Hate Weighty. No solid state drive t3 says An incredibly powerful laptop for the price and still gives most MacBooks a run for their money

03

toshiba lx830-11d

Solid all-in-one that moonlights as a Freeview recorder and DVD player.

specifications

Screen 11.6-inch, 1366x768/13.3-inch, 1440x900 processor/ram Core i5 1.3GHz/4GB storage 128GB or 256GB SSD quoted battery 9hrs

Dell XPS 15

4

Love Slimline Windows 8 laptop/tablet hybrid. Stylishly designed. Fantastic touchscreen. Battery lasts all day Hate Lack of storage for that crazy price tag t3 says Got money to burn on an overpriced Windows 8 hybrid? You could do a lot worse than this

Love Slimline looks, great battery life, cheaper than last year’s model, comes in 11- and 13-inch sizes. Now with Mavericks OS Hate No Retina Display t3 says The world’s best, ultra-portable laptop

02

dell xps one 27

Windows 8 looks great on the 27-inch touchscreen, with an Apple-rivalling spec and Blu-ray drive thrown in. from £1,479, dell.co.uk

2

01

3

acer c7 chromebook

£199, acer.co.uk, tested march 2013

Love Incredible price tag. Decent screen and acceptable processor. 100GB of cloud storage Hate Chrome OS lacks support. Requires web connection t3 says The sheer cheapness makes this a very good second machine, or one for undemanding users specifications

Screen 11.6-inch, 1366x768 processor/ram 1.1GHz Intel dualcore/2GB storage 320GB HDD quoted battery 3hrs

specifications

10

asus vivobook s200

£330, asus.co.uk, tested january 2013

Love Responsive touchscreen. Compact design Hate Overly heavy, underpowered and the screen looks dull. Battery manages just three hours of heavy use t3 says An affordable Windows 8 laptop, but corners have been cut here

specifications

Screen 11.6-inch, 1366x768 processor/RAM 1.8GHz i3/2GB storage 500GB HDD quoted battery Not quoted Available online @ t3.com the ultimate buyer’s guide

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TheGuide

{The best of everything}

Gaming

{Buying tips}

Gaming PC laptops with skills 1

3

Alienware 14

Gigabyte P27K

Powerful, high-performing, military-styled slab of portable-ish gaming.

Hulking 17-incher offers full-HD, big-screen gaming, with a Blu-ray drive. Not elegant, but effective.

2

£1,300, gigabyte.com

£1,099, alienware.co.uk

CHillblast defiant mini

A considerable quantity of gaming oomph, topped with a bright screen, and no remortgaging necessary. £899, chillblast.co.uk

01

Microsoft Xbox 360 250GB £160, xbox.co.uk, tested november 2011

06

sony playstation vita

£146, uk.playstation.com, tested april 2014

SCREEN 5-inch, 960x544 LCD touchscreen CONNECTIVITY N Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 2.1, USB, SD, NFC BATTERY 4-6 hours

Sony PS3 super slim

£168, uk.playstation.com, tested January 2013

specifications

07

nintendo 3ds xl

£150, nintendo.co.uk, tested october 2012

from £199, apple.com/uk, tested christmas 2012

specifications

SCREEN 4-inch, 1136x640 touchscreen CONNECTIVITY N Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0 BATTERY 8hrs (video), 40 hrs (audio)

08

Love Genuinely innovative platform. Full-HD graphics at last for Mario and co. Some very good, unique games from Nintendo Hate Pricey. Touch screen an afterthought. Game options slim t3 says Nintendo again reinvented the way we play, yet unfortunately few developers fancy joining in the fun

specifications

specifications

SCREEN 4.88-inch 800x240 3D/4.18-inch 320x240 touch CONNECTIVITY G Wi-Fi, 3.5mm audio BATTERY 4 hours

£350, uk.playstation.com, tested January 2014

Storage 32GB CONNECTIvity N Wi-Fi, 4x USB, HDMI, NFC Gamepad Touchcreen 6.2-inch, 854x480 Battery 3-5 hours

09

Love Most powerful next-gen console. Ergonomic new controller. Stylish design. Remote Play with PS Vita is ace. Decent price Hate Light on games and media. Interface basic. Camera extra t3 says Very powerful and stylishly built. The PS4’s potential is there, even if it’s light on must-buy games

£85, NINTENDO.CO.UK, tested December 2013

specifications

STORAGE 500GB BLU-RAY/DVD Yes/Yes CONNECTIVITY 2x USB 3.0, N Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 2.1, HDMI, optical audio, ethernet

£379, xbox.com, tested January 2014

Nintendo 2DS

Love Nintendo’s vast catalogue of AAA-quality games, now available for you at special price Hate Possibly the ugliest gaming gadget ever t3 says If you’re a gamer or parent who doesn’t own a DS platform, this is a very smart purchase

specifications

microsoft xbox one

nintendo wii u

£220, nintendo.co.uk, tested christmas 2012

Love Bigger screens look great. Ergonomic curved design. Boosted battery life. Increasingly impressive game selection Hate Looks a bit cheap. No AC adaptor. 3D is a gimmick t3 says Look past the kiddie graphics and you’ll find an ace handheld with arguably the best game line-up of 2013

sony playstation 4

Apple IPod Touch

Love Beautifully designed and now packing iOS 7. Bigger, bolder Retina Display. A5 processor. Tonnes of cheap games Hate Pricey. Lacks physical controls. Closed system t3 says A modern portable that’s spawned a new gen of gamers who don’t consider themselves gamers

STORAGE 12GB BLU-RAY/DVD Yes/Yes CONNECTIVITY HDMI, 2x USB, ethernet, G Wi-Fi, AV out

05

£870, 3XS.SCAN.COM

STORAGE 4GB BLU-RAY/DVD No/Yes CONNECTIVITY HDMI, 5x USB, ethernet, N Wi-Fi, AV out

specifications

04

A high-spec, cool-running machine at a great price.

Love New model is lighter and thinner with more storage. Improved battery. Growing game library. Remote Play with PS4 Hate OLED screen replaced by LCD. Less premium build t3 says Great portable game console is made slightly more enticing. Coupled with PS+ service, it’s a real player

Love A Blu-ray player and media server that’s 3D-ready and supports the Move controller (£24). Oh, and you can play games on it, too, with some very good exclusives like Last of Us Hate Horrid plasticky quality to latest model t3 says A top gaming option if you can bear the new build

03

SCAN 3XS GRAPHITE LG155

Love Affordable but powerful games machine. Feast of big series like Gears of War and indie gems. Sky support. Ace online service Hate No Blu-ray. About 97 in gadget years. Ad-laden interface t3 says A slick and powerful games and media machine. Outgunned but hanging on with a quality back catalogue specifications

02

4

SCREEN 4-inch, 1136x640 touchscreen CONNECTIVITY N Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0 BATTERY 8hrs (video), 40 hrs (audio)

10

nvidia shield

£257, nvidia.com, tested november 2013

Love Powerful spec. Vastly improved functionality. Kinect 2.0 impresses. Gameplay sharing easy. Now cheaper/with Titanfall Hate Brutish design. Lack of games. Fiddly interface t3 says Completely outguns the Xbox 360 in power and the potential is there, but lagging behind the PS4 still

Love Excellent screen and Tegra 4-powered graphics. Streams high-end PC games to a portable device Hate Bulky design. Technical restrictions. Kerr-azy UK pricing t3 says Real graphical punch, even if bulk, price tag and a lack of game support dampen spirits somewhat

STORAGE 500GB BLU-RAY/DVD Yes/Yes CONNECTIVITY 3x USB 3.0, N Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 2.1, HDMI, ethernet, optical

SCREEN 5-inch 1280x720 CONNECTIVITY N Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 3.0, GPS, HDMI, USB 2.0, MicroSD, 3.5mm BATTERY 5 hours

specifications

specifications

available online @ t3.com the ultimate buyer’s guide

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Cameras

01

{buying tips}

Budget compact cameras

Canon EOS 700D

£520, canon.co.uk, tested october 2013

06

£113, canon.co.uk

£105, sony.co.uk

2

4

samsung wb250f

nikon coolpix s02

Heftier than the Canon, but with 1080p video and an 18x zoom, we see why.

No fripperies, but does the basics well, with a 13.2-meg CMOS and 1080p video.

£109, samsung.com/uk

£90, nikon.co.uk

sony a5000

£419, sony.co.uk, tested june 2014

specifications

SENSOR 20.1-megapixel/1080p KIT LENS 16-50mm SCREEN 3-inch WEIGHT 269g

sony SLT-A58

£339, sony.co.uk, tested october 2013

07

Olympus Stylus SP-820UZ £139, olympus.co.uk, tested september 2013

Love Great value for money. Translucent mirror allows you to film video in a flash. Decent lens choice Hate Smaller LCD screen, but a fairly bulky look t3 says Sony’s not-a-DSLR is feature-packed with great performance and a low price

Love Massive 40x zoom, detailed snaps and excellent video at a more-than-reasonable price Hate Plasticky. Too chunky to truly be stylish t3 says A bargain, powerhouse camera with a show-stealing zoom, but it’s no looker

SENSOR 20.1-megapixel/1080p KIT LENS 18-55mm SCREEN 2.7-inch WEIGHT 492g

SENSOR 14-megapixel/1080p KIT LENS 22.4-896mm SCREEN 3-inch WEIGHT 485g

Canon EOS 650D

£499, canon.co.uk, tested october 2012

specifications

08

sony rx100 II

£510, sony.CO.UK, tested march 2014

Love Superb image quality and great low-light shooting thanks to fine high ISO performance Hate No longer Canon’s top dog t3 says Still an impressive DSLR with great image quality and swift, touchscreen control

Love Rock solid construction. Tilting LCD and hotshoe (a rarity on a compact). Carl Zeiss lens Hate Tiny buttons. No handgrip. Expensive for a compact t3 says An A-grade combination of optics and features crammed cleverly into a pocket snapper

SENSOR 18-megapixel/1080p KIT LENS 18-55mm SCREEN 3-inch touchscreen WEIGHT 575g

SENSOR 20.2-megapixel/1080p LENS 28-200mm in 35mm terms SCREEN 3-inch WEIGHT 281g

samsung nx300

£379, samsung.com/uk, tested june 2013

specifications

09

Panasonic Lumix DMC-GX7 £687, PANASONIC.CO.UK, tested December 2013

Love Great, hi-res viewfinder and tiltable screen. Takes excellent photos and HD video. Reliable Wi-Fi for instant sharing Hate On the premium end of “mid-priced” t3 says Panasonic’s best CSC yet performs to a very high level, then ticks connectivity boxes just to show off

Love DSLR-quality photos. Tiltable AMOLED touchscreen. Manual controls aplenty. Built-in Wi-Fi Hate No viewfinder or built-in flash t3 says Cutting-edge camera features in an attractive, compact package; a winner

05

16.2-meg CMOS, 8x zoom and easy 1080p shooting. Small, but well-formed.

SENSOR 18.5-megapixel/1080p KIT LENS 18-55mm SCREEN 3-inch touchscreen WEIGHT 580g

specifications

04

sony cyber-shot dsc-wx60

Credit card-sized snapper with a 16-meg sensor, 8x zoom and Wi-Fi. Video is 720p rather than full-HD.

specifications

specifications

03

3

canon ixus 140

Love Compact size. Tilting screen. High-resolution APS-C sensor. Wi-Fi connectivity and selfie-ready tilting screen Hate No hotshoe. No touchscreen t3 says A great upgrade if you crave better shots than your smartphone or compact can handle

Love APS-C CMOS sensor delivers cracking images. Jack-of-all-trades zoom kit lens. Touchscreen LCD Hate Relatively bulky and pricey t3 says An excellent beginner’s DSLR that takes semi-pro shots with reliable quality

02

1

specifications

specifications

SENSOR 21.6-megapixel/1080p KIT LENS 18-55mm SCREEN 3.31-inch touchscreen WEIGHT 284g

SENSOR 16-megapixel/1080p KIT LENS 14-42mm SCREEN 3-inch WEIGHT 490g

Canon Ixus 255HS

£179, canon.co.uk, tested september 2013

Love Detailed, noise-free shots and built-in Wi-Fi mean this properly compact cam, with a 10x zoom, is a real winner Hate Rather boring, “classic” design t3 says Modern, feature-packed point-and-shoot delivers top-quality pictures for not too much dosh

10

Olympus Stylus 1

£549, olympus.CO.UK, tested march 2014

Love Longer lens reach. Constant fast f/2.8 aperture throughout the zoom range. Classy, DSLR-like design Hate Largest compact cam on test. High price tag t3 says Not the smallest or cheapest compact around, but it is a proper grown-up option

specifications

specifications

SENSOR 12.1-megapixel/1080p KIT LENS 24-240mm SCREEN 3-inch WEIGHT 144g

SENSOR 12-megapixel/1080p LENS 28-300mm in 35mm terms SCREEN 3-inch touchscreen WEIGHT 240g available online @ t3.com the ultimate buyer’s guide

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TheGuide

{The best of everything}

Home audio

{buying tips}

Portable speakers with punch 3

1 Jawbone Jambox and Jambox mini

Small, brightly hued, great audio, easy Bluetooth pairing. Winners, both.

2

4

£90, £120 mini, jawbone.com

Denon Cocoon stream £219, denon.co.uk, tested march 2014

06

Damson Oyster

Incredible sound quality with size-defying bass and top clarity. Pricey, though.

A 3D speaker that pushes the bass to the fore. Ideal for rave dads on the Costa.

power 4x 20W Connectivity Wi-Fi, auxiliary analogue, ethernet, AirPlay, 3.5mm out Size 300x180x120mm

cambridge audio minx air 100 £250, cambridgeaudio.com, tested may 2013

Specifications

07

Philips AW9000

£418, PHILIPS.co.uk, tested FEBRUARY 2013

Love Powerful, detailed sound quality. AirPlay and Bluetooth connectivity. Rugged, sleek design. Handy web radio buttons Hate Multi-room is less straightforward than on Sonos t3 says Sounds great and packs more features than any other wireless speaker systems on the market

Love Six high-class drivers deliver outstanding sound quality, while the wood veneer speakers look classy Hate DLNA set-up needs to be made simpler t3 says Buxom chunks of wireless sonic bliss. A fine alternative to the one-box streaming norm

Power 100W connectivity Wi-Fi, AirPlay, Bluetooth, RCA, 3.5mm Size 354x182x118mm

power 100W Connectivity N Wi-Fi, analogue, digital coaxial, digital optical, 3.5mm in Size 300x210x350mm

Denon Ceol Piccolo

£225 without speakers, £287 with, DENON.CO.UK, tested february 2013

Specifications

08

sonos play:1

£169, sonos.com, tested christmas 2013

Love The original all-in-one Ceol has ditched the CD player but kept AirPlay, an iPod dock, 24-bit support and web radio Hate Slightly dull looks t3 says Multi-format mini marvel at a decent price

Love Great design and decent sound. A very affordable way to begin your fledgling Sonos multi-room setup Hate It’s mono. Adding more “zones” is inevitable (and pricey) t3 says The cheapest way to get Sonos sounds good, but you will want more than one for better-than-good audio

Power 2x 65W connectivity Wi-Fi, USB, optical in, audio in, AirPlay, 3.5mm out Size 180x90x234mm

power Not quoted Connectivity Ethernet, SonosNet 2.0 wireless, power Size 120x120x161mm

Philips Fidelio soundsphere £597, philips.co.uk, tested january 2012

Specifications

09

pure jongo t4

£199, pure.com, tested march 2014

Love Powerful and articulate 100W sound, a classy design and a strong wireless connection for AirPlay streaming. Add the free Fidelio app and you get internet radio, too Hate No LCD display means awkward setup. Not cheap t3 says Quality speakers with added AirPlay? Love ’em

Love Multi-room wireless streaming on a relative budget. Link two and you can achieve proper stereo sound, too Hate Connectivity can be glitchy t3 says The slightly more affordable way to play digital DJ for the whole house, with good results

Power 2x 50W Connectivity Line in, AirPlay Size 265x410mm

power 50W Connectivity Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, ethernet, 3.5mm in Size 305x146x165mm

Specifications

05

£399, bowers-wilkins.co.uk, tested february 2013

Power 4x 25W connectivity Wi-Fi, USB, AirPlay, DLNA, 3.5mm out Size 451x236x170mm

Specifications

04

bowers & wilkins a5

Love Unfussy design and highly impressive sound. New app makes iTunes syncing easy Hate Bass wobbles at higher volumes t3 says Elegant audio executed excellently, the A5 is the little black dress of speakers

Specifications

03

£42, DAMSONAUDIO.COM

Love AirPlay-enabled streaming speaker that also plays nicely with NAS storage and DLNA for Android devices via smart app Hate Jelly bean-style design not to all tastes t3 says A crowd-pleasing streaming speaker that, sonically speaking, punches well above its price point Specifications

02

£88, jabra.com

loewe speaker 2go

£185, loewe.tv/uk

01

Jabra Solemate

Trainer-like design won’t suit all tastes but this sure is a loud, brash, room-filling speaker-cum-shoe.

Sonos Play:5

£349 each, sonos.com, tested march 2010

Love Superb, multi-room sound. Spotify and Last.FM support. Control it all using the recently upgraded app Hate Go properly multi-room and the costs pile up t3 says A simple, effective but pricey way to pump well-rounded audio into every room Specifications

Power N/A Connectivity Wireless, ethernet (Sonos proprietary streaming), line in Size 217x365x123mm

Specifications

10

libratone loop

£399, libratone.com, tested march 2014

Love Fuzzy, circular deisgn appeal. The choice of an iDock and AirPlay connectivity, plus PlayDirect and DLNA for Android Hate Pricey for what it is. Bass sounds stodgy at high volumes t3 says A design classic-cum-quirk of a dock, but the sound quality doesn’t totally justify that price tag

Specifications

Power 120W Connectivity Wi-Fi, AirPlay, USB, DLNA, PlayDirect, 3.5mm in Size 333mm circumference Available online @ t3.com the ultimate buyer’s guide

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Headphones

b&w p3

01

£169, bowers-wilkins.co.uk, tested september 2012

love Compact and lightweight, but undeniably premium. Clear and deep audio.Any colour you wants as long as it’s black or white hate Head grippage could be overly firm for some t3 says highly refined headphones with stunning sound quality. the sign of a true audio gent speciFications

impedance 34 Ohms FreQuency ranGe 10-20,000Hz cord lenGth 1.2m

Kef m500

02

£249, keF.com, tested auGust 2013

love Detailed sound quality. Memory foam increases comfort and minimises sound leakage. Classic look hate Pricey. Occasional headband slippage t3 says accomplished audio + high-end materials + restrained design = cans worthy of a £250 price tag speciFications

impedance 32 Ohms FreQuency ranGe 20-20,000Hz cord lenGth 1.3m

monster isport strive

03

ry

£59, monsterproducts.com, tested july 2014

Nt

P3 Bowers & Wilkins have been established as masters of sound engineering for almost 50 years. We are now able to bring that same expertise to the world of headphones; the same precision, the same care, the same extraordinary range and depth of detail is now available from an ultra-light, highly portable set of headphones superbly designed to fit into your life.

New

04

e

love Brilliant fit that holds tight during vigorous workouts. Sweat- and water-resistant, with a tangle-free cable hate More open sound (good for staying alert, though) t3 says stylish sporty in-ears with an unmovable fit and great sound quality, designed for winners speciFications

impedance Not quoted FreQuency ranGe Not quoted cord lenGth 1.2m

philips fidelio s2

£84, philips.co.uk, tested january 2014

love Tight in-ear buds, impressive bass and superb sound isolation. Comfortable fit. Stylish design. Newly affordable hate After the price cut, we’re really struggling here… t3 says top styling, sound, comfort and price tag make these in-ears well worth splashing out on speciFications

impedance 22 Ohms FreQuency ranGe 15-24,000Hz cord lenGth 1.2m

05

sennheiser momentum

£260, sennheiser.com, tested october 2013

love Great sound. Excellent build quality. Very comfortable indeed with minimal sound leakage hate Monster carry case. Hefty size and price t3 says robust build, lightweight design and comfy earcups make these great for music lovers on the move speciFications

impedance 18 Ohms FreQuency ranGe 16-22,000KHz cord lenGth 1.4m

TheGuide

{The besT of everyThing} {buying Tips}

Portable media-playing pals 1 3 Apple ipod Touch

a quality combo of music, apps and games. latest version is better than ever, and more colourful. From £199, apple.com/uk

2

Apple ipod NANo

new, larger 2.5-inch touchscreen. now only available as 16Gb model. £129, apple.com/uk

AsTell ANd KerN AK100

audiophile option for lossless lovers. sound impresses; price distresses. £700, amp3.co.uk

4

soNy WAlKmAN NWZ-e474

clear audio and 36 hours playback. just 8Gb storage and a dated look, though. £109, sony.co.uk

b&w p7

06

£329, bowers-wilkins.co.uk, tested christmas 2013

love Superb sound reproduction modelled on high-end hi-fi speakers. Comfortable, premium build hate Bit big for regular commuting t3 says b&w’s over-ears are luxurious in both sound and build quality, but a touch too pricey speciFications

impedance 22 Ohms FreQuency ranGe 10Hz-20KHz cord lenGth 1.2m

beAts studio wireless

07

£330, uk.beatsbydre.com, tested july 2014

Nt

ry

love Beats’ most sophisticated design. Comfortable fit. Well-rounded sound quality. Good noise cancelling hate Pricey. Noise cancelling audible at low volumes t3 says the best beats yet, though its niggles make that price tag a bit hard to swallow e

New

speciFications

impedance Not quoted FreQuency ranGe Not quoted cord lenGth Not applicable

bose Quiet Comfort 20i

08

£249, bose.co.uk, tested july 2014

Nt

ry

love Excellent active noise cancellation with a 16-hour battery life. Create a cocoon of calm hate Sound quality is safe, but unexciting. Expensive t3 says top quality in-ears for commuters, these will block out announcements and fellow passengers New

e

speciFications

impedance Not quoted FreQuency ranGe Not quoted cord lenGth 1.3m

monster dnA pro

09

£250, monsterproducts.com, tested july 2014

Nt

ry

love Sturdy build. Excellent sound quality. Can daisy chain another pair of headphones for shared listening hate No noise-cancelling tech. Quite a tight fit t3 says chunky and reliable on-ear cans, but you can get better sound quality elsewhere for a similar price New

e

speciFications

impedance Not quoted FreQuency ranGe Not quoted cord lenGth Not quoted

shure se425

10

£239, shure.co.uk, tested july 2014

love Total sound isolation. Audiophile-grade sound quality that lets you hear previously ignored track details hate This kind of quality does cost t3 says Flash sound and understated looks combine to create these gentleman’s in-ear buds Nt

ry

speciFications

New

e

impedance 22 Ohms FreQuency ranGe 20Hz-19KHz cord lenGth 1.6m available online @ t3.com the ultimate buyer’s guide

Hear the full spectrum

Televisions

{buying tips}

Top projectors in the spotlight 1

3

optoma hd30

BenQ W1300

Breathtaking 1080p with nuanced blacks and impressive 3D playback. Very good value for money.

Dynamic images and 2,200 Lumens brightness make this a punchy choice for big-screen sports fans.

2

4

£999, optoma.co.uk

Sony vpl-hw55es

vivitek h1185hd

Awesome full-HD projector for screen sizes up to 300 inches. Pricey, but worth it.

A single-chip DLP projector that’s sharp and vibrant for business and pleasure.

£2,800, sony.co.uk

01

Samsung ue55HU8500

£3,499, samsung.com/uk, tested june 2014

06

Screen 46-inch, 1920x1080 connections 4x HDMI, Wi-Fi, Ethernet, DLAN, 3x USB, component

Sony KD-55X9005

£2,999, sony.co.uk, tested june 2014

Specifications

07

panasonic viera TX-P60ZT65 £2,600, panasonic.co.uk, tested july 2013

Love Top-quality upscaled images and 60Hz sporting action. Forward-facing speakers add real oomph to audio Hate Limited catch-up – no ITV Player or 40D t3 says Killer motion handling and outstanding 4K images. A sports fan’s dream telly

Love Beautiful 1080p images from the plasma screen. Equally peachy design. My Home Screen interface Hate Expensive. Some fan noise t3 says It’s big, brash and expensive, but this plasma telly delivers a tip-top HD performance

Screen 55-inch, 3840x2160 connections 4x HDMI, Wi-Fi, Scart, 3x USB, component, composite, Ethernet

Screen 60-inch, 1920x1080 connections 3x HDMI, WLAN, DLNA, Bluetooth, USB, digital audio, RCA, SD

sony kdl-50w829

£900, sony.co.uk, tested may 2014

Specifications

08

£1,182, lg.com, tested february 2014

£2,229, toshiba.co.uk, tested june 2014

Specifications

Screen 50-inch, 1920x1080 connections 4x HDMI, Wi-Fi, Scart, 2x USB, digital optical, digital audio, Ethernet

LG 55la740

Toshiba 58L9363

Love Massive screen size. Excellent image clarity and colour reproduction. Great upscaling, too Hate Motion resolution in 4K currently limited to 30Hz t3 says The price alone makes this one of the more attractive 4K TVs on the market

Specifications

Screen 58-inch, 3840x2160 connections 4x HDMI, Wi-Fi, Scart, 3x USB, Ethernet

09

panasonic viera tx-55dt65 £1,199, panasonic.co.uk, tested february 2014

Love Strong on-demand and catch-up offering. Strong high-def performance. Top value for money Hate Slightly muted blacks. Only one tuner t3 says The perfect balance between killer tech, abundant content and affordability

Love Customisable smart TV interface. Twin tuners for viewing and use as a PVR. Looks highly stylish Hate Lacklustre blacks. Limited catch-up TV selection t3 says On-demand TV organised the way you want it. Now we just need more content…

Screen 55-inch, 1920x1080 connections 3x HDMI, Wi-Fi, Scart, 3x USB, digital optical, digital audio, Ethernet

Screen 55-inch, 1920x1080 connections 3x HDMI, Wi-Fi, 3x USB, digital optical/audio, Ethernet, component via adaptor

Specifications

Specifications

05

£1,199, samsung.com/uk, tested july 2013

Screen 55-inch, 3840x2160 connections 4x HDMI, Wi-Fi, 3x USB, 2x composite, component, Ethernet

Love Superb HD image quality. Fabulous motion handling. Top discovery engine for online content Hate Limited catch-up – no ITV Player or 40D t3 says Polished 1080p pictures and smarter features, all for a very reasonable price

04

samsung ue46f8000

Love Great picture. Apps, twin tuners and the new Smart Portal 2.0 mean immediate content is abound Hate Design is striking but also a little impractical t3 says Samsung’s slickest smart TV yet; fantastic picture quality and plenty to watch, any time

Specifications

03

£850, vivitek.eu

Love Slightly curved screen for a more absorbing picture. Excellent 4K image quality. Ready for 4K Netflix Hate Curved footprint won’t suit every space t3 says Futuristic looking and future-proof, this is the curvy 4K TV that can Specifications

02

£900, benq.co.uk

Sony bravia KDL-55W905A £1,639, sony.co.uk, tested february 2014

Love Excellent picture performance. Distinctive design. Well connected. Top file support Hate Limited catch-up TV. Single tuner t3 says A great-looking screen with outstanding image quality and few flashy extras

Specifications

Screen 55-inch, 1920x1080 connections 4x HDMI, Wi-Fi, 3x USB, Ethernet, NFC, Scart, component

10

Philips 55PFL8008S

£1,916, philips.co.uk, tested february 2014

Love Three-sided Ambilight. Simple, minimalist design. Good audio performance Hate Complicated picture modes challenge your patience t3 says A fantastic light show and a pretty good smart TV if you can get past the overly complex setup Specifications

Screen 55-inch, 1920x1080 connections 4x HDMI, Wi-Fi, 3x USB, Scart, digital optical/audio, Ethernet available online @ t3.com the ultimate buyer’s guide

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TheGuide

{The best of everything}

Home entertainment

{content}

Scorching new shows to series link 1 hannibal (season 2)

The most brutally gory show on telly is back, with Mads Mikkelsen’s Lecter continuing to appear sane in comparison to FBI investigator Will Graham. on sky living now

2 orange is the new black (season 2)

A departure from other

01

Sky+ HD 2TB wi-fi

price varies, sky.com, tested christmas 2013

06

air date tbc on bbc two

Panasonic DMP-BDT330 £200, PANASONIC.CO.UK, tested May 2014

connections Wi-Fi, ethernet, 2x HDMI, optical digital out, 2x USB, SD card, ethernet size 430x183x41mm

Virgin Media Tivo

price varies, virginmedia.com, tested JUNE 2014

specifications

07

sony bdv-n590

£399, sony.co.uk, tested december 2012

power 130W per channel Connections 8x HDMI, 2x USB, 5x composite, 4x digital audio, 5x analogue audio. Wi-Fi via dongle

08

type Freeview HD hd channels 5 tuners 2 storage 500GB/125hrs HD recording

09

Love Easy-to-use Freetime platform, blends catch-up and live TV. Integrated on-demand services. Cheap and sub-free Hate No built-in storage. Only a single tuner t3 says Inexpensive and slick way to get your satellite telly fix without a subscription

specifications

power 2x 30W + 100W sub channels 2.1 connections 3x HDMI, Bluetooth, Optical, Coaxial, RCA, 3.5mm

£140, sony.co.UK, tested May 2014

specifications

type Satellite hd channels 11 tuners 1 storage None, compatible with USB drives

Love Robust and well-balanced sound from a good-looking soundbar and meaty 100W wireless sub Hate No Dolby Digital decoder t3 says Maxell’s first soundbar is a corker, delivering on performance and value for money

Sony BDP-S5100

Love Appealing and compact design. Vivid Blu-ray images and smooth upscaling from DVD. Useful apps and features Hate Just one HDMI. Iffy 2D-to-3D conversion t3 says “Distinctive” design houses high-class Blu-rayness. Striking 3D visuals and cinematic sound guaranteed

Specifications

£179, uk.maxell.eu, tested january 2014

£229, youview.com, tested november 2012

specifications

Power 1,000W channels 5.1 connections 2x HDMI, Wi-Fi, 2x USB, optical, audio, composite, ethernet

Maxell MXSP-SB3000

YouView Humax DTR-T1000 Love Retrospective EPG mixes catch-up and live telly. Excellent image quality and ease of use. All the big UK channels on board Hate No integrated Wi-Fi. Noisy running. Pricey t3 says Making this much content available without a subscription is a winner, though lack of Wi-Fi frustrates

Specifications

£99, humaxdigital.co.uk, tested april 2014

£290, uk.onkyo.com, tested april 2013

Specifications

Love Five satellite speakers, a sub and net-connected, 3D Blu-ray player with great performance, at a groovy price Hate Satellites are a touch on the small side t3 says A full 5.1 cinema system and Blu-ray deck for £400? That’s a bargain in anyone’s book

Humax HB-1000S Freesat HD

onkyo TX-NR515

Love Bombastic, 130W-per-channel oomph. Slick interface. Eight HDMI inputs. Can upscale images to 4K resolution Hate No AirPlay, unlike some rival receivers t3 says A polished multichannel AV receiver with all the modern trimmings, at an affordable price

type Cable hd channels 56 tuners 3 storage 1TB/100hrs HD recording

05

wolf hall

Über-lovey Mark Rylance stars as Thomas Cromwell in this series based on the Booker-winning novel.

type Satellite hd channels 67 tuners 2 storage 2TB/350hrs HD recording

specifications

04

3

Love Vibrant colours and striking detail. 4K upscaling on hand for proper encouragement to buy a 4K telly, too Hate Rather convoluted interface t3 says Future-proof Blu-ray player with cracking image quality, 4K upscaling and decent smart TV trimmings

Love Triple tuner recording. Excellent image quality. Extensive on-demand content that’s easy to search. Built-in Netflix Hate The user interface is long overdue a revamp t3 says Now with a massive selection of catch-up and on-demand services, TiVo’s upped its game

03

from june 6 on netflix

Love Seamless Wi-Fi integration. Rapidly expanding on-demand content. Excellent all-round performance Hate Only 250GB usable hard drive. Still only two tuners t3 says Our Entertainment Gadget of the Year is also the best PVR set-top choice, now with added Wi-Fi specifications

02

Netflix exclusive House of Cards, this is like Bad Girls, but with less unnecessary comedy, more lesbianism and toothbrush stabbings.

connections Wi-Fi, ethernet, HDMI, 2x USB, coaxial digital audio out size 360x199x43mm

10

Samsung BD-F7500

£220, samsung.com/uk, tested May 2014

Love Set-top packed with apps providing catch-up TV services. Comprehensive connectivity. Speedy menus. 4K upscaling Hate Occasional video noise and judder t3 says The actual Blu-ray playback is good rather than great, but the apps and additional features rock specifications

connections Wi-Fi, ethernet, 2x HDMI, USB, optical digital audio out, analogue audio out size 430x201x46mm available online @ t3.com the ultimate buyer’s guide

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TheGuide

{The best of everything}

Accessories

{buying tips}

The current smartwatch crop 3

1 pebble steel

sony smartwatch 2

Same e-ink screen, with a new metal design and a massive selection of open-source apps.

This smartwatch sequel has a natty colour screen and a better design, but a lack of space for apps.

$249 (£150), getpebble.com

£149, sony.co.uk

2

4

samsung gear 2

The most feature-packed smartwatch you can buy, but not quite the best. £299, samsung.com/uk

TomTom Go 6000

01

£238, tomtom.com/uk, tested May 2014

06

SYNCING Bluetooth/USB WATER RESISTANCE Shower only BATTERY 3 days SIZEs 147mm (small) to 197mm (extra-large)

ry

nt

specifications

07

SYNCING Bluetooth and ANT+ wATER RESISTANCE 50m BATTERY 8 hours SIZe 22x25x13.8mm/63g

Screen 5 inches connectivity Bluetooth Size 138x77x13mm

specifications

specifications

08

SYNCING Bluetooth and ANT+ wATER RESISTANCE 50m BATTERY 1 year SIZEs 120-175 mm (small), 152-210 mm (large)

SYNCING Bluetooth/USB WATER RESISTANCE 20m BATTERY 6 days SIZE Custom fit from 145-240mm

nt

ry

£30, google.com/chromecast, tested june 2014

specifications

ry

nt

£125, jawbone.com, tested june 2014

connectivity N Wi-Fi, HDMI, USB supports BBC iPlayer, Netflix, YouTube, Vevo, Rdio SIZEs 72x35x12mm/34g

SYNCING Bluetooth WATER RESISTANCE Shower only BATTERY 7 days SIZE Small, medium and large

specifications

specifications

Love Smartwatch and fitness tracking features combined. That curved AMOLED screen. Heart-rate tracking Hate Limited compatibility and accuracy t3 says Great-looking smartwatch with built-in fitness features. A thoroughly modern timepiece New

jawbone up24

Love Detailed, well-designed app. Syncs with other fitness tracking apps for a complete bill of health Hate No screen. No heart-rate monitor pairing t3 says Gives the best complete picture of your wellbeing, but the uncomfortable fit keeps it off poll position

£180, samsung.com/uk, tested july 2014

e

09

Love Easy to get smart video on TV. Supported services play in HD. Accesses not-so-supported sites, too Hate Limited official app selection at present t3 says This dongle instantly makes almost any TV web-enabled and costs just thirty quid

samsung gear fit

05

£79.50, polar.com, tested june 2014

Love Pairs with heart-rate chest strap for accurate data. Can be worn for swimming. Impressive battery life, rapid charging Hate Cheap feeling design t3 says Comprehensive fitness tracker for under £100. If you can compromise on build, it’s a bit of a bargain

google chromecast

e

polar loop

Love Simple, sporty design. Will survive the swimming pool and pairs with heart-rate monitor. One-year battery life Hate No automatic syncing. Garmin Connect app’s not the best t3 says Sporty and practical, with a marathon battery. Not the best-looking, but it’s still our top pick specifications

New

£280, garmin.com/uk, tested october 2013

Love Real-time traffic updates without a data connection (uses your car’s DAB radio). Free map updates for life Hate It’s accurate, but also a tad costly t3 says Expensive, but reliable, attractive and smart. Have you reached your satnav destination of choice?

£100, garmin.com, tested june 2014

04

Garmin nüvi 3598 LMT-D

Love Built-in heart monitor with trustworthy results. Simple interface. Accurate data for most sporting disciplines Hate Can’t track pulse in the pool. No Android app t3 says One for serious sporty types, this offers the most comprehensive fitness data around

garmin vivofit

03

£129, nike.com, tested june 2014

Screen 6 inches connectivity Bluetooth Size 169x105x20mm

£280, tomtom.com, tested july 2014

New

nike fuelband se

Love The best-looking band around. Strong motivational pairing of Win the Hour and the in-app social competitiveness Hate Not for swimming. Not for Android t3 says The most social band on test, the Fuelband SE is a great motivational tool if not the most accurate tracker

tomtom multi-sport cardio

e

$230 (£137), metawatch.com

Love Clean, quick interface. HD traffic info, with no additional charges for service or data connectivity throughout Europe Hate Speed cam tips-offs cost £20 per year. Pricey t3 says Slightly better than the Garmin satnav, for our money. Breathes new life into bespoke mapping tech specifications

02

metawatch frame

A watch face that’s packed full of info, but none of it personal. Needs more apps.

specifications

SYNCING Bluetooth 4.0 WATER RESISTANCE Up to 1m BATTERY 5 days SIZE 23x57x12mm

10

Turtle Beach ear force XP510

£205, turtlebeach.com, tested christmas 2013

Love Full, 360-degree pseudo surround sound without the wires. Sound quality worthy of music as well as games Hate Slightly light, plasticky build t3 says Top-quality wireless gaming headset specifications

connectivity Wi-Fi, USB, Bluetooth, 3.5mm available online @ t3.com the ultimate buyer’s guide

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NEW!

Discover how to make your best images even better with this complete course to Adobe Photoshop Lightroom – available in book, interactive DVD and app versions!

50

easy-to-follow lessons!

Get the book and DVD versions today from our secure online store:

myfavouritemagazines.co.uk/photo

Shutdown

no.66

The 10 reasons… Tech isn’t football’s friend 1/ Live pause

this from former Man City striker Mario Balotelli in May last year, who panic-tweeted: “How do I change the egg profile pic??” Worth every one of the 9,600 RTs. It’s always him…

What is incredibly convenient for most telly is ruined entirely for football, as frequent fridge trips mean you’re always at least five minutes behind. What was that huge cheer? Oh, only England winning the World Cup with a last-minute penalty, don’t worry, you’ll catch up in a sec. So you keep watching, with the faint hope that it wasn’t for a goal after all, but just Charlie Adam dissolving spontaneously.

8/ Fan-fuelled commentary

Sure, Sky killed Fan Zone, but it lives on in club forums and social networks to the point that it’s sometimes best not to venture online at all during a match. Unless, of course, you really enjoy thousands upon thousands of unfit, remarkably angry “pundits” telling you they could have scored the 25-yard volley with which Danny Welbeck just grazed the crossbar. Don’t you sometimes miss the days when that task was the sole responsibility of your dad?

2/ YouTube

So you missed Match of the Day, again, and despite knowing better, the first place you go goal hunting is YouTube. Alas, all the “HD top quality” videos seem to be recorded on a shaky phone cam from Row Z or, more often, are just stills of Ronaldo with neon Comic Sans text over the top reading “SUPER GOALIO SUBSCRIBE, SUBSCRIBE, SUBSCRIBE!” Rude not to hang around for the charming happy hardcore soundtrack, though.

9/ Ground envy

3/ The red button

“Time for a quick look at this new tunnel cam, then, simply click the red button… Oh good, that’s the screen frozen until the second half.”

4/ Ball upgrades

No footballer alive seems to have a problem with the posh pigskins used in league matches, but every four years, just for the World Cup, we’re introduced to the “most hi-tech football ever”, made with an everdecreasing number of panels, constructed from PolyMegatheneTM, which

1 3 8 T 3 J U LY 2 0 1 4

goalies then complain flies through the air like an escaped carrier bag on a blustery day. Progress.

5/ Big tablets

With touchscreens as temperamental as that of a train ticket machine when you’re in a rush, the influx of oversized but under-specced slates for TV tactical analysis continues unabated.

Ex-footballers in tight three-piece suits huddle around, circling players randomly, before claiming “it’s broken”, and calling IT or Gary Neville to come fix it.

6/ Rubbish illegal streams

Not that we use them, of course – though the sooner we can buy a TV season ticket to our team,

the better – but we’ve heard whispers that people who don’t subscribe to Sky Sports, BT Sport and ESPN sometimes resort to the internet’s dark arts. The results? Slow, jerky, grainy footage that your bandwidth can’t handle, and a mysterious lack of commentary. “They’ve scored! Oh no, wait, that’s just a shot of a jumping dog. Actually, is this even the right channel?”

7/ Footballers on Twitter

They used to be heroes, role models, who you wanted to be when you grew up. Now, pop to their page and you’ll see the same boring stuff all of us tweet, from workplace griping to amateur philosophy. If we had to pick our favourite footballer tweet ever, though, it would be

Check Facebook during the biggest matches of the season and there will always be one friend who’s posted a photo inside the ground, just before kick-off, bang on the halfway line, with the status: “Not a bad view!” Our tip for the best reply: “ITV just showed you on the telly and Roy Keane said you looked like a prick.”

10/ Lower league highlights

“Oh, you support Rochdale? Then I’m afraid I’m going to make you wait until 1am before you get to watch your team’s goals, meaning that you’ll fall asleep and wake up on the sofa at 5am with all the lights on. Enjoy” – Yours, The Telly.

Words rob t e m pl e illustration Chri s K i ng @ Il lust rat i o n we b.com

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