Opinion | newslite.tv

Weird Week: A moody moggie and the world's biggest burger

Sun, 10 Jul 2011 18:00:06 +0000

The latest odd news from newslite.tv - How to turn your baby into gym equipment, the world's biggest burger and a very moody moggie.

Also, the record made from chocolate, the curry scented perfumes and a bar selling shots of horse semen.

Gadgets: Best sub £80 iPhone Headphones

Sun, 26 Jun 2011 15:15:56 +0000

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.

Weird Week: Black eyed pea art and a hoverbike

Sun, 19 Jun 2011 11:10:30 +0000

In the latest Weird Week from Newslite - will.i.am made out of black eyed peas, the hoverbike becomes real and what happens if you stick to cycle lanes in New York. There's also the sailing ice cream van, the nose stylus for your phone, the new world's smallest man, surfing dogs and a giant penis.

Gadgets: Samsung Galaxy Ace Review

Sun, 12 Jun 2011 17:00:34 +0000

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.

Weird Week: Thieving monkeys and underwear shopping

Sun, 17 Apr 2011 11:10:02 +0000

Weird Week: Supermarket Scrabble and Mr Elastic

Sun, 10 Apr 2011 17:55:58 +0000

Gadgets: Hands on with the HTC Desire HD

Sun, 20 Mar 2011 19:00:30 +0000

By Jay Garrett

When HTC released the Desire people were very happy with the 3.7-inch screen. Then HTC released the Desire HD and supersized that baby to 4.3 but the larger screen retains the same WVGA resolution, 480×800 pixels. Fear not though - the larger screen doesn’t look blurry or low-res.

On the side are the dedicated volume controls and on top is where you’ll find the power button. The 3.5mm jack sits in the base next to the Micro USB slot. There’s 1.5GB on-board storage and a MicroSD slot – you need to feed that gap in order to shoot video.

The machined aluminium case feels wonderfully solid and there’s the comforting feeling that, since the aluminium case wraps around the edge of the screen, the Desire HD should survive an accident or two. That metal case does add some weight as does the huge screen – this tally’s up to it tipping the scales at 164g.

Weird Week: Knitted breasts and floating houses

Sun, 13 Mar 2011 12:49:59 +0000

Weird Week: Crab Kong and Royal Gnomes

Mon, 28 Feb 2011 11:02:26 +0000

Gadgets: Jay goes hands on with the SE Xperia Play

Wed, 23 Feb 2011 19:37:49 +0000

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.

Weird Week: Let's go swimming with polar bears

Sun, 13 Feb 2011 20:33:44 +0000

Gadgets: Jay fondles the HP Envy 14 Beats Edition laptop

Sun, 13 Feb 2011 14:00:46 +0000

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.

Weird Week: Heavy Breathes, Leaves and Sheaves

Sun, 06 Feb 2011 20:50:32 +0000

Weird Week Video: Cuddle it,Trash it, Muppet

Sun, 30 Jan 2011 09:49:25 +0000

Jay the gadget-man goes hands on with the Nokia N8

Sat, 29 Jan 2011 17:00:33 +0000

By Jay Garrett

Hello Gadgety faithful – fancy a hands-on review of Nokias N8? Read on my friends.

The N8 appeared in stores in October 2010 and the Symbian^3 phone is quite a looker as well as being loaded with goodies.

The anodised scratch-proof paint covered aluminium chassis feels good to hold but it’s not going to win any slimmer of the year titles though with vital statistics of 113.5 x 59 x 12.9 mm – thanks mainly to its 12MP camera. You can’t remove the battery or get in the case without special ninja tools so Nokia has put two hinged flaps on the side of the N8 so you can get to the microSD card slot and the SIM card port. Internal memory is 16GB worth but that hot-swappable microSD card slot can handle up to 32GB of extra space.