Reviews of the latest gadgets and cars - AskSteve.co.za » Technology

New iPad Mini and FREE Apple software

steve — Wed, 23 Oct 2013 08:43:07 +0000

Apple has made a big surprise announcement, and it’s got nothing to do with their new tablet offering. It is in fact, the announcement that they’ll be giving away Mac operating and work software free to its users. That’s um…how can I put this…NOT WHAT MICROSOFT OFFERS ITS USERS.

What this means for you and me is that Apple’s Mac OS and iWork software suite, which compete with Microsoft’s Excel, Word and other applications, will now be offered free to all users. Amazing. And they say that it’s simply because they want their users to have their latest software and has nothing to do with fear that their stock price is dropping or that rival tablets on the market like the Kindle Fire and the Google Nexus are chomping away at it’s market share. Right. Call me a cynic, but I think that when the iPhone 5 came out with that ridiculous new charging port, forcing iFans to buy adapters for all their expensive docking stations and accessories, Apple made it quite clear that it’s users’ needs are not top priority at the company. But like I said, I’m a cynic who is looking forward to burning in cynic hell.

Either way, it’s good news.

And there’s more, they also announced a new iPad called the iPad Air which is 20% thinner than it’s predecessor, has a 9.7-inch Retina Display and an A7 chip with 64-bit architecture and M7 motion coprocessor. Looks like a lightweight (500g or so) beast.

iFans, hit the streets and start telling everyone about how you can’t wait to get your hands on the new device.

Get it: Anywhere from R6000 – R10 000
From: www.zastore.co.za

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Libratone Loop speakers NEW GADGET

steve — Sat, 19 Oct 2013 08:19:17 +0000

I truly love it anytime companies like Libratone, who focus as much on design as tech, bring out a new product and the new Loop is no different.

The Loop are completely portable while also capable of being wall mounted and although it’s a small thing, it’s important, they can play wirelessly without having to connect to a Wi-Fi network thanks to their “PlayDirect” technology.

The Loop are controllable remotely via your iDevice or Android and they’ll stream music from your radio service of choice.
Now sit back and enjoy.

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Simfy launches “Playlists” website

steve — Tue, 15 Oct 2013 09:23:02 +0000

One of my favourite local music services (purely for all the good they do for SA music) has gone to the next step of service by offering their Playlists website, a site offering easy access to its many playlists, essentially doing all the heavy lifting for you.

It sounds a bit childish, but many of us really have become too busy to create our own playlists, so it’s nice to just let someone else do it for you (the 120 000 already created on Simfy in 2013), click play, and listen.

Let the good times roll.

Get it: http://www.simfyplaylists.co.za/

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GoPro HERO 3 promo vid

steve — Fri, 11 Oct 2013 09:32:43 +0000

Almost 5 minutes of absolute visual awesomeness promoting the new GoPro HERO3. They said it best with: “smaller, lighter, mightier still”.

Enjoy

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First official play with the Galaxy Note 3 and the Gear

steve — Thu, 10 Oct 2013 11:30:02 +0000

A vid released by Samsung showing a pretty in depth look into the new Galaxy Note 3 and the Gear watch. Kind of like their first play date.

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Split audio earphones NEW GADGET

steve — Thu, 10 Oct 2013 09:20:40 +0000

The age-old portable audio question of how to stop your wires getting tangled has been answered by creators of the Split audio, hands free music player. The small coin-sized devices fit unnoticeably into your ears and autonomously stream the sounds without having to sync up to each other (thanks to two high-precision crystal clocks).

Each earbud has it’s own a small circuit board, button cell battery, 256mb memory chip and a 32 bit ARM processor and sound is delivered courtesy of a pair of 6mm neodymium dynamic drivers.

Now here comes the really cool bit: changing tracks is done by chomping down on your teeth and the vibration is picked up by an accelerometer. Obviously they’ll need to connect via cable to charge and transfer songs, and they do this via USB.

Kickstart them here: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/701992503/the-worlds-only-earbuds-with-no-strings-attached

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LG Image Stabilisation commercial is a #WIN

steve — Thu, 10 Oct 2013 07:58:34 +0000

Here’s an ad courtesy of LG (who we don’t hear much from lately) showing off the concept behind their new Image Stabilisation technology. Or is it a belated April Fool’s joke? Perhaps it’s a Gallus-Scam, not a Galluscam.

Either way. Very funny.

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Thermobooth creates lo-fi pics on skin contact NEW GADGET

steve — Wed, 02 Oct 2013 11:56:02 +0000

Simple enough tech: skin contact causes the shutter release on these lo-fi (but hi-tech) OLED mirrors and flashes. The point? To explore human emotional interactions in electronics. It’s a photobooth that works only with human input.

Great piece of art meets tech from Talia and Jonas Bohatsch

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Microsoft announces Surface 2 and Surface Pro 2 tablet NEW GADGET

steve — Wed, 02 Oct 2013 09:35:33 +0000

Laptop meets tablet meets tablet meets portability again. The race to become the world’s best laptop replacement continues, this time with MS pushing out their new Surface 2. This is one device I really love. Love the design, love the colors and the spec isn’t terrible either.

The Surface 2 and Surface Pro 2 tablet are upgrades of the previous devices, display, camera etc get a new fix. And more noticably, there’s a new take on their kickstand, dual angles, many viewing positions.

As mentioned they really intend for you to cash in your laptop and replace it outright with one of these so they’ve made sure the spec can stack up. A Core i5 processor, all the storage options with 4GB or 8GB of RAM and most importantly, up to 75% increased battery life.

Get it: Announced soon
From: www.microsoft.com

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Brewbot: Smart brewing pot NEW GADGET

steve — Tue, 01 Oct 2013 08:34:26 +0000

Cargo, a team of product designers living and working in Ireland (go figure) have designed a brewing pot, operable from your Smartphone.

You read that right: the BrewBot connects to a Smartphone via Bluetooth and allows the user to tweek, change or update their recipe from the comfort of their couch.

The device itself has temperature sensors, load sensors and other clever stuff to keep the user updated on how their batch is doing, how much longer it needs to ferment and when their brew will be ready. Makes 20-litres at a time.

Now I have a very good friend who likes to brew his own beer and I know what he’s going to say about this product: “its bullshit bru. It takes all the soul out of making beer. I’ll just do it myself, thanks”.

Granted, he is a functioning (barely) alcoholic, so what does he know. Bring on the future.

Help them: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/cargo/brewbot-the-smart-brewing-appliance

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