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
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.
This week, I talk to Mark about the Slow Jo 09 24 hour watch. To hear what I had to say, listen to the audio above and read on!
I am sometimes asked ‘What is a Gadget’, I guess my definition is an object that improves our way of life. This doesn’t necessarily need to be a mobile phone, it can be cars, bikes or any number of different things. When we think about watches, it’s easy to think about the high technology smart watches which integrated GPS and compass pushing information to us in what seems like urgent abundance. Continue reading The Gadget Man – Episode 66 – Slow Watch, Life is short, be slow→
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
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.
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
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.
When you wear something every day, you want to be sure it really works for you. That’s why Android Wear offers countless design choices, so you can find the watch that fits your style. Want a round watch with a more classic look? Feel like a new watch band? How about changing things up every day with watch faces from artists and designers? With Android Wear you can do all of that. And now, Android Wear watches work with iPhones.
Android Wear for iOS is rolling out today. Just pair your iPhone (iPhone 5, 5c, 5s, 6, or 6 Plus running iOS 8.2+) with an Android Wear watch to bring simple and helpful information right to your wrist:
Get your info at a glance: Check important info like phone calls, messages, and notifications from your favorite apps. Android Wear features always-on displays, so you’ll never have to move your wrist to wake up your watch.
Follow your fitness: Set fitness goals, and get daily and weekly views of your progress. Your watch automatically tracks walking and running, and even measures your heart rate.
Save time with smart help: Receive timely tips like when to leave for appointments, current traffic info, and flight status. Just say “Ok Google” to ask questions like “Is it going to rain in London tomorrow?” or create to-dos with “Remind me to pack an umbrella.”
Today, Android Wear for iOS works with the LG Watch Urbane. All future Android Wear watches, including those from Huawei (pictured above), Asus, and Motorola will also support iOS, so stay tuned for more.
Dr. Seuss once said: “Today you are You, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is Youer than You.” We agree. So whoever You are, and whatever You like—Android Wear lets you wear what you want.
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!!
Cameras are one of my favourite areas of technology. It’s marvellous to be given the opportunity to review the latest and greatest of these devices. Today I chat to Mark about the Fujifilm XQ2, a simple beautiful compact digital camera with a staggering number of high end features.
Listen in to the stream and keep an eye out for a full review soon.
Thank you again to the amazing Jeannie at Fuji for being so very helpful as ever!
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!!
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
This week we stay with hybrid cars, but this time we look at the Audi A3 etron. First things first, this car looks spectacular! I have never seen such a bright red in my entire life and the big alloy wheels enhance the look even more. It’s certainly a head turner.
The A3 etron comes with a 1.4 litre turbo charged engine outputting 150 bhp, however yet again it sits alongside an electric motor which when combined in ‘Sports Mode’ increases the performance to just of 200 bhp and will get you to 60 is 7.6 seconds. When you are feeling less ‘eager’ to get around town, you can elect for pure electric which is the default mode at start up or 3 forms of hybrid mode, normal, battery save and battery charge.
The battery can be charged from a very cleverly hidden port on the front grill and on electric alone will take you around 30 miles per charge. You aren’t going to want to be taking long journeys on electric alone as the car is designed for hybrid use, it’s probably better to let it decide which forms of power it uses as it will drop to electric in slow traffic and moderate speed.
If you are feeling excitable, then pulling the gear stick backwards enables Sports Mode, the gear information changes from D1,D2,D3 etc on the dashboard to S1,S2,S3 to indicate sports use. Be very careful in this mode at it transforms the car to very high performance. The car is however very good at governing acceleration I I didn’t notice any wheel spin in sport mode, although we did notice some in pure electric (this is possibly down to the higher torque of the electric motor).
A full review of the A3 etron will be coming soon, in the meantime grab a listen to the attached audio from Mondays show.
Audi A3 etron
Audi A3 etron
Audi A3 etron
Audi A3 etron
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