Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Email | TuneIn | RSS | More
For our first official slot of the year, I talk to Mark about the HTC One Mini 2. Bringing the premium aluminium build quality to a smaller form factor. Listen in to find out more!
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Email | TuneIn | RSS | More
I was delighted to be invited to the BBC Radio Suffolk Studios to provide gadget and technology advice for callers on Rachael Sloane’s show.
I answered some very interesting questions about iMessage, Crochet Hooks with inbuilt lights, which is the best Wordprocessor and lots of other bits by text and email.
I also took a New Year selfie with Rachael, it was great fun!!
The audio recorded on the day is attached as ever at the top of the page.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Email | TuneIn | RSS | More
It’s been a great year reviewing such a wide range of gadgets from smart watches to high end sports cars. It’s been quite a ride, I’ve really enjoyed the whole experience, so thank you to all involved from BBC Radio Suffolk to the PR agencies and companies that have been so generous allowing me to try out all the wonderful tech!
This morning I spoke to Mark Murphy about my favourite gadgets of the year and the Gadget which won the gadget of the Year.
We have a lot of fun reviewing some smart wear. We reviewed the Samsung Gear 2, Sony Smartwatch 2 and Sony Smartband. My favourite was the Gear 2, purely for James Bond features. However we have been asking to review other watches, but none have been sent out. Let’s hope this improves next year.
Samsung Galaxy Gear 2 – Wearable of the Year 2014
Sony Smartwatch 2
Sony Smartband
We were never short of phones and tablets which is not surprising given the size of the marketplace. HTC, Samsung, LG, Asus, Nokia and Motorola all supplied us with review units. HTC phones exhibited the best built quality and screen sharpness. LG had the best screen of the two Quad HD displays (the other being the Galaxy Note 4). Motorola was the best value for money with it’s Moto G.
Overall, our favourite handset started and remained the Nokia Lumia 1520. A six inch incredibly vibrant screen, superb battery life and exquisite camera. Although very large, it was by far the nicest of the all the handsets we reviewed
We also reviewed three tables, the Samungs Galaxy Tab Pro 12.2, the Nokia Lumia 2520 and the Asus Transformer. The Tab Pro 12.2 was our favourite with massive 12.2 inch screen with better than HD quality, the Nokia 2520 with Windows 8.1RT on board was close behind.
HTC One M8
HTC One Mini 2
Nokia Lumia 1520 – Smart Device of the Year 2014
Sony Xperia Z2
Moto G
Samsung Galaxy Tab Pro 12.2
Nokia Lumia 2520 Tablet
Nokia Lumia 630
Asus Zenfone 6
Asus Transformer
LG G3
Asus Zenfone 5
Samsung Galaxy S5
Samsung Galaxy Alpha
Samsung Galaxy Note 4
We reviewed a number of cameras this year, as expected the GoPro models come ahead of most others for their durability and quality of movies and photos. The Samsung Galaxy Camera 2 was excellent and was a fully functional Android device to boot. The Sony Actioncam was good, but kept fogging up which spoilt most of it’s footage. The Autographer was…. weird.
GoPro Hero 3+ Black Edition – Camera of the Year 2014
Samsung Galaxy Camera 2
Sony Actioncam
Autographer
BT Homecam
GoPro Hero
Selfie Stick
I loved reviewing the electric bikes this year. I started out with the mindset that electric bikes would be a welcome relief from simply reviewing mobile phones for a year, but I ended up extending my ‘E’ vehicle reviews to cars. It was thoroughly interesting and liberating to get out in the Suffolk countryside and off the beaten track to test out these bikes. The Sparta is not really designed for off-road, but was capable and fast used for travelling to work. The Smart Ebike was fabulous and I loved every minute of using it, especially off-road. The Batribike was excellent in every area, I only marked if down for off-road use, but this was a little unfair as it had road tyres.
Sparta Ion/RX+
Smart Ebike – Ebike of the Year 2014 – Joint Winner
Batribike Granite Pro – Ebike of the Year 2014 – Joint Winner
This was an amazing experience from the beginning. The Renault Twizy was small and exciting to drive, but really only designed to replace moped type use. The Renault Zoe was an excellent car, out of all, this was the one car which could truly offer and alternative to fossil fuelled cars both in size and price. The BMW i3 was interesting and very fast. Design wise it hardly resembled an standard BMW but it was high spec and beautiful to drive. The BMW i8 was outstanding to look at and drive. It was like sitting in Red 5 at the end of Star Wars Episode IV, and the most exhilarating drive so far (electric car wise). I didn’t get to test the Tesla Model S this year, but in a week or so, I am looking forward to reviewing it.
I also got to experience 3 AMG ‘normally’ aspirated vehicles. I say normal, there was nothing normal about these vehicles. I experienced the G63 (G Wagon), the S63 and the C63 Edition 507. The C63 was simply mind shattering. When a manufacturer electronically limits to the top speed to 171mph, you know something is afoot.
Renault Twizy
Renault Zoe
BMW i3
BMW i8 – Car of the Year 2014
I got to test out other gadgets and gizmos, ranging from domestic gadgets to toys and drones. The drones were fun, but in some cases difficult to control. The Ankidrive was fun and the Samsung Smart TV with Soundbar was very cool indeed. However, by far the best gadget we tried out was the iRobot Roomba 880. This is a fantastic vacuum cleaner and has remained in use at least three times a day since July this year. It does a brilliant job of vacuuming up just about any type of debris on any surface. It was fantastic!!
iRobot Roomba 880 – Winner
Samsung Smart TV and Soundbar
Ankidrive
Parrot AR.Drone 2.0
Parrot Jumping Sumo
We’ve certainly tried and tested many gadgets this year. Some were disappointments, some were surprising successes. But at the end of the year, you simply have to hand the Gadget of the Year award to a recipient that deserves it for providing above and beyond expectation. With this in mind, we simply have to award the Gadget of the Year Award 2014 to iRobot Roomba 880. It’s a fantastic piece of equipment which has genuinely helped us around the house.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Email | TuneIn | RSS | More
In the last gadget slot before Christmas, I talk with Mark Murphy about the GoPro Hero, GoPro’s entry level action camera.
We discuss the merits of such cameras over using a mobile phone and likely uses.
The GoPro Hero is lower end in performance and functionality compared to the GoPro Hero 4, but coming in at a quarter of the cost, it’s certainly worth looking at, it’s waterproof to 40 meters and has excellent optics as you would expect from GoPro.
Don’t expect bluetooth or Wifi though, but it has amazing functionality and build quality for the price.
If you are looking to buy one for yourself or a loved one, they are currently stocked by Currys and Argos or from Amazon
in the UK for approx £99.99 (click on the company link to be passed to their website).
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Email | TuneIn | RSS | More
This morning we very briefly discussed securing your mobile device, so in the event of it getting into the hands of a thief, the information stored on the device is safe and it is sufficiently locked down to make it nearly valueless.
Listen in to the stream above and below you will find some useful tips to help you keep your phone and data safe.
The most important points raised were:-
If you are unlucky enough to have your phone stolen, you should immediately:-
Useful links to help you ‘lock down’ your device.
10 tips to make your phone more secure
10 ways to secure your smartphone
What to do if your phone is stolen (via Apple)
If you have any tips for making your phone more secure, let us know!!
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Email | TuneIn | RSS | More
This morning’s gadget slot was probably the most fun we’ve had so far!! Today I featured the Anki Drive a physical car racing game which effortlessly merges the real world with arcade racing and adds buckets of artificial intelligence.
You can buy Ankidrive online direct from Amazon by clicking the image below….
Thanks to the wonderful Lauren Armour at Hotwire PR for getting this over to me at such short notice!!!
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Email | TuneIn | RSS | More
This week we have lots of fun in the studio with the Parrot Jumping Sumo Mini Drone.
Packed FULL of sensors and technology including a spring which can be fired on demand to propel the Sumo into the air, this is a really cool Christmas gift for your over 14 year old.
You can control the Jumping Sumo using a smartphone app for iPhone, Android and Windows Phone. This allows for full control over the Jumping Sumo similar to a remote control vehicle.
You can also build a road map within the map so the bot can perform a pre-programmed display.
It’s all great fun and can be bought for just over £100.
Thanks to Steve Puddle for his help organising the loan of the Jumping Sumo
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Email | TuneIn | RSS | More
This week we discussed the availability of mobile phone devices for vision impaired people.
Matt specifically discussed the assistance provided by phone manufacturers in the form of ‘Easy Mode’ and ‘Accessibility’ options. We also discussed addons such as ‘Georgiephone’ and screen readers.
There was also some discussion on the development of active screens that actually change shape to provide haptic feedback.
The Samsung Galaxy Alpha was specifically mentioned as it provides Easy Mode and Accessibility features such as Magnify Glass, Torch and easy to read buttons.
Listen to the stream to find out more and I have attached a photo of the Alpha in Easy Mode.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Email | TuneIn | RSS | More
They’re all the rage at the moment and it looks like they could be the gadget gift choice for this Christmas….
Yes, I’m talking about the Selfie Stick, GoPole, Monopole or Monopod.
These are telescopic poles that allow for the fitting of a camera at the end. Some include inbuilt shutter buttons, others are sold separately.
Listen to the recording of the show to find out whether selfies can replace autographs.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Email | TuneIn | RSS | More
Podcast (podcast2): Play in new window | Download
There’s been lots in the news this morning about the the Russian website providing a directory of ‘open’ cameras on the web.
To be clear, this website is showing camera’s that DO NOT have any security applied to them. Lists of such camera’s have been widely available on the internet for a couple of years now. If you connect such a web based camera to the internet with no password, you are simply producing a public web page that display video to the world.
I have looked myself and found that most of the cameras are set up to either monitor pets, property, businesses or in some cases children’s bedrooms. I suggest the monitoring of your childrens bedrooms should be taken very seriously indeed. If you are currently using a camera to monitor your child, you should ALWAYS ensure that there are very strong passwords applied to the camera (Strong passwords can be found here).
If you are in any doubt at all that your camera is not secure, switch it off and contact the supplier for information on how to do this.
As the site says, if you want to be removed from the site, just set your password!
I discuss this with Mark Murphy on BBC Radio Suffolk on 20th November 2014.
