Recently in Gadgets Category

By Jay Garrett

It was time for some new headphones to plug into my iPhone. I’ve already tried the current favourite on the streets, the Beats by Dre Solo’s but they’re very expensive and not the cleanest sounding to my ears as they seemed to favour the bass-end too much. I also didn’t fancy wearing the ‘mug me now!’ sign that these would probably give out to certain people in certain areas of London.

I originally planned to go down the Bluetooth route but as my headphones would be used when ‘silent’ rehearsing bass guitar, mixing music ideas as well as blocking out chatter on the commute I decided a wired set would have to be the way.

I then thought that this would mean heading to the expensive premium sets because they’re the ones with a removable chord which can be replaced when damaged. I knew that Bose and Shure did cans like that – but I also knew that they were well into triple figures.

After rummaging around the interwebs I found some that looked as light (or almost) as my old Koss Porta Pro’s and as comfy as my Audio Technica’s. The headphones in question are the AKG K450. I am no stranger to the Austrian brand as I’ve used their mics a number of times in studios and so knew that they were quality.

By Jay Garrett

The Samsung Galaxy Ace is a restrained, classic beauty and features a 3.5-inch screen set into a body with a smooth front and a tactile rear. You even get a smooth white case back in the box if you’d rather sport that. The Galaxy Ace looks a little like the iPhone 4 but where there’s metal on the Apple phone you’ll find mostly plastic on the Ace – but that does make it lighter.

The Ace does not feel cheap, however, but weighing in at only 113g you’d hardly feel it in your pocket.

The 320×480 LCD screen is quick and responsive but that resolution may be a bit of a disappointment when compared with other, admittedly more expensive, mobiles out there. You may find yourself having to zoom in on small text on websites more often than on other phones but, thankfully, the multi-touch on the Ace is… well… ace!

The bonus of a slightly smaller screen is that the Galaxy Ace just sips at the battery. I’ve used the Ace over a weekend with GPS and Wi-Fi activated and it stayed with me, without a charge top-up for almost the entire time. Try getting two days out of your iPhone.

By Jay Garrett

I was invited to a swanky Covent Garden venue in order to be introduced to the new range of SE Android handsets. The incredibly thin Xperia arc was there. Its screen blew me away as much as its size 0 waist. The one gripe I had with the arc was the plastic finish on its back – everything else is gorgeous.

Whilst the arc, Neo and Pro all shared the basement the obvious star had a room (and crowd) all to itself. Its name is Xperia Play.

The Xperia Play has arrived along with Sony Computer Entertainment’s announcement of the PlayStation Suite which brings PlayStation-branded games, including PSone classics, to Android phones.  The gaming phone will be available in both white and black – the white version being an O2 exclusive.

By Jay Garrett

Hello there!  It’s that time again and I’m back with another hands-on gadgety review.  This time I’ve spent a fortnight with HP’s Envy 14 Beats Edition laptop.  It’s funky, portable and has the blessing of Dr Dre himself – he has even thrown in a pair of his signature Solo headphones!

The Envy 14 is quite the looker - The matte-black finish to the main machine, attractive dark nickel-plated finish trim around the chassis, the subtle design touches such as the Beats ‘B’ on the keyboard, red accent colours and keyboard backlighting almost makes it an accessory rather than a laptop – even the large Beats symbol on the lid and the lit HP logo don’t seem intrusive - but that matte finish does have a tendency to attract fingerprints and smudges.