Category Archives: Review

The Gadget Man – Episode 69 – Star Wars BB8 Sphero App Enabled Droid, plus we live taste Brew Barrel

The gadgets are coming in thick and fast at the moment, but one gadget I was really looking forward to reviewing is none other than the Star Wars BB8 Droid from Sphero, not only was it featured on the show but I also spent some time in the green room demonstrating it to none other than magician Paul Daniels and singer Andy Abrahams. I also had the duty of cracking open our fully brewed keg of Brew Barrel which featured last week, it was very tasty!!!

Listen in to the stream above and watch out for a full review on BB8 in the next few days

The Gadget Man – Episode 68 – Brew Barrel – Home Brewing made easy

Home brewing kits have come on leaps and bounds in the last few years and the amazing startup from Germany called ‘Brew Barrel’ have certainly been at the forefront of developments in this area.

This morning I chatted to Mark about a Brew Barrel, so listen in to the stream to find out more and afterwards watch the video of me making a batch up at home for testing next week! So don’t forget to tune in to BBC Radio Suffolk or check back here!!

The Gadget Man – Episode 67 – Fitbit Charge HR

This morning I talked to Mark Matthews about the Fitbit Charge HR. Fitbit are a well known player in the fitness band marketplace and the continuous heart rate monitoring is a great feature.

Fitbit Android App
Fitbit Android App

Listen in the the stream to find out what I think of the Charge HR and keep an eye on the site as I spent the next few weeks monitoring my progress wearing the Fitbit Charge HR.

Thanks to Rachel Taylorat Kaizo for organising the Fitbit at such short notice.

Kodak PixPro SP360 4K Unveiled at IFA

Earlier in the year, we reviewed the Kodak PixPro SP360, we thought it was a superb camera capable of recording YouTube compatible 360 movies, so we’re really pleased that Kodak have announced an upgraded SP360 which is now capable of recording in 4K.

The original SP360 was capable of capturing video in up to 1440×1440 HD, this video was then unwrapped to product scrollable 360 video which could be uploaded to YouTube and viewed interactively.

There has been a great deal of excitement concerning the KODAK PIXPRO SP360 Action Camera and it’s been popular in the tech press and TV, this has placed Kodak at the forefront of this technology.

Kodak SP360-4K
Kodak SP360-4K

The SP360 4k Camera captures 360-degree field of view in multiple directions via its dome shaped lens design and can be panned not only 360-degrees horizontally, but also up and down with a host of different vantage points and views for playback post capture.

At the official press launch, Mariame Cisse, Marketing Manager of JK Imaging Ltd said “The KODAK PIXPRO SP360-4K revolutionize video recording and how you see and experience the World All Around You. This is the next step to Evolution for 360 degrees Cameras. You can now create the most pristine videos and photos in 4K and Direct and Act your own Virtual Reality movie”.

SP 360 4K – Features

  • 12 megapixels, BSICMOS sensor
  • Fixed focus lens (F.2.8) that takes 360° spherical images
  • Viewing options: Dome (235°), Front, Global (360°), Ring, Segment (180° front and 180°rear) or Panorama mode
  • High speed videos 1280 x 720 (120fps); plays back with normal 50fps speed.
  • 4K HD videos in 2028 x 2028 (50fps)
  • Dimensions/weight: 46.5 x 50 x 53 mm/121 g

The KODAK PIXPRO SP360-4K will be sold with varying accessory bundles depending on geographical region. It will be available in October this year in Europe. For more information, please visit: kodakpixpro.com/SP360

Hopefully we will have a chance to try out the new features soon including the live broadcast features.

The Gadget Man – Episode 65 – Transcend WiFi 32GB SD Card

People who know me will know that it isn’t easy to render me speechless, but after trying out my gadget this week, I can honestly say I was! I’m talking about the Transcend WiFi SD Card, a very impressive exercise in both miniaturisation and usefulness.

Transcend Wifi SD Card
Transcend Wifi SD Card

Most of us will be aware of SD Cards, we use them everyday in our cameras and they are an established way of transferring photos and videos from these devices to our computers, which is kind of where the main problem lies. SD Cards can be very fiddly, more so if you are an active photographer. There is definitely going to be an occasion when you drop or worse still lose your card during handling.

It seems as though Transcend have come up with a very elegant solution to this problem by embedding WiFi technology into the card itself! This is an astounding feat of engineering and works very nicely. Users are able to browse their photos using either an iPhone or Android handset via a downloadable app or if using a computer can connect directly to the card and download the photos using a web browser.

The only stipulation is that your digital camera is supported (click here to view the list) and that the camera is kept powered up during the process.

During the recording of this weeks episode I took a photo of presenter Mark Murphy live on air using the card and shared it on Facebook.

At around £35, the card is in my mind a bargain and I would heartedly recommend it to budding photographers who want to share their memories both quickly and smoothly.

Thank you very much again to Mickaela Noone from Transcend for her assistance.

The Gadget Man – Episode 64 – LG G4 from Three

This week those very kind people at Three have again supplied us with a gorgeous LG G4 Smart Phone.

The G4’s stand out feature is it’s screen. It improves the QuadHD screen from it’s predecessor, the G3 but brings improvement in colour and brightness. It has a nice loud speaker and the phone controls are on the back of the phone under the camera lens which makes controlling it surprisingly easy.

Both cameras are excellent on the phone, with the rear facing main camera sporting a F1.8 sensor which makes low light photos really clear at it’s 16 megapixels. Coupled with LG’s clever ‘Laser focus’, this is a seriously cool phone.

Find out more about it by listening to the stream, more detailed review is coming soon!!!

Thanks again to Jocelyn Medhurst at COW PR who is super helpful indeed!!

The Gadget Man – Episode 62 – Batribike Storm Electric Bike

With the summer suddenly returning last week, it was lovely to have another electric bike to review. I’ve reviewed the Granite Pro from Batribike last year, so it was really exciting to get to check out their newest addition to the ‘stable’ in the shape of the MTB style Storm.

Listen in to the stream to find out all about this amazing e-bike and keep an eye on the website for a full review coming soon.

Thanks to Sue from Batribike for personally delivering the bike to me!!

The Gadget Man – Episode 60 – HTC One M9 from Three

This week it’s back to smaller gadgets which brings us to Smart Phones. HTC has been a big player of since the birth of the device category years back. HTC are well known for their high quality aluminium designs with bright screens and fast processors. They have also been one of the leaders in innovation with camera technology with their F2.0 ultra pixel sensors.

Today I chat to Mark about the HTC One M9 which takes the HTC One design and brings further improvements. Listen in to the stream and find out all about the device. A full review will be published here soon.

I would like to thank Three, who supplied the phone for review, It was pleasing to see the 4G icon displayed on the screen and network performance was excellent both using the handset and streaming audio to the Volvo V60 D6 and Audi A3 Sportback etron the phone worked a treat #makeitright

The Gadget man Episode 58 Volvo V60 D6 Twin Engine Plugin Hybrid

This week we move back to hybrid cars with the Volvo V60 D6 Twin Engine Plug in Hybrid vehicle. The D6 is unique as it is a Diesel – Electric Hybrid rather than the standard Petrol Electric that we are used to.

This is a very powerful snappy car, at full ‘Power’ mode it is outputting a combined 280bhp and you certainly feel it. Along with beautiful ride, upholstery and fuel efficiency, I can see this being very popular in the company car sector.

We will be reviewing it in greater detail soon online, but in the meantime, listen in the the stream from Monday 13th July.

 

The Gadget Man – Episode 57 – KTM eStreet P electric bike

KTM eStreet P Electric Bike
KTM eStreet P Electric Bike

Great fun was had this week as I was out on about testing one of my favourite forms of transport! Yes, I was testing an super electric bike from those clever people at KTM.

I even brought the bike into the studio to show everyone and nearly managed to run over a musician in the green room.

IMAG0009 KTM eStreet P Electric BikeThe KTM eStreet P is a really nice electric bike which makes great use of pedal assistance with the 250w motor giving you up to 400% assistance. I’m really impressed with the bike and I will be reviewing it in full later this week. For now listen in to the stream and find out about this very nice eBike.

Massive thanks to Louise Johnson at KTM Industries UK for all her help in getting the bike to me.