Innholdsfortegnelse for May 2015 i T3

{1}A HUGE ICON Anglepoise Type 75 Maxi A classic piece of British design, Anglepoise lamps date back over 80 years and have become a staple of any designer-cum-private detective’s smoky office. Brilliantly adjustable with smooth movement and stability, the Type 75 Maxi enlarges the iconic desk lamp into an object which will stand on the floor, so you can invite people around and pretend you’ve been shrunk in a terrible Innerspaceesque accident. Available in Graphite Grey, Jet Black and Alpine White, if you can afford one, they’ll be a guaranteed talking point. Not least because of how much you just spent on a lamp. £750, ANGLEPOISE.COM, OUT NOW {2}DRAMA OUT OF A CRYSIS Nvidia Shield Console The console follow-up to the Shield tablet plugs into your 4K TV for media…

ELECTRIC VEHICLES ARE CLEARLY THE FUTURE OF personal transportation, but their biggest drawback is that they’re car-shaped. This means that despite doing your bit for the environment you’ll still get stuck in traffic while cyclists sail by. Ford thinks it has the answer to this frustrating modern problem. As well as launching a pair of innovative electric bicycles – the MoDe: Me and the MoDe: Pro – the US car manufacturer has created the Ford Smart Mobility Plan. This multi-modal system analyses traffic levels and recommends the quickest way from A to B via car, bike or public transport. It’s currently tied to Ford vehicles, but if the company opens it up for access to all it has the potential to be the congestion-killer we’ve all been praying for. {DETAILS}…

YOUNG LOVE 28 YEAROLDS Will pay more for love. Sexpal app Tinder Plus’ premium service will cost £3.99/month for under 28s, £14.99 for us oldies. TINDER* DUST COM 30 YEARS AGO Symbolics.com, the first dot com domain, was registered. It still exists. BUSINESS INSIDER* FULMINATING FELINES $8.78 MILLION Has been raised by Exploding Kittens’ Kickstarter campaign. A card game from the creators of popular webcomic The Oatmeal. KICKSTARTER* SNAP HAPPY $1.5 BILLION EACH Exploding Kittens founders Evan Spiegel (24) and Bobby Murphy (25) are estimated to be worth $1.5 billion each. FORBES* SAVE AND SECURE $1,000 The not insignificant amount of moolah the TeslaCrypt virus asked PC gamers to cough up in return for their precious save game files. BROMIUM LABS* ELECTRIC AVENUE 33% Of Nissan-Renault’s US electric car sales…

When The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt comes out in May, the fifth Game Of Thrones season will be half done. So the GOT faithful have five or six episodes to enjoy before a long wait till the next series. But The Witcher 3 could help scratch that itch. The Witcher series of games has always been pure adult fantasy fare. Based on the novels of Polish swordand sorcery author Andrzej Sapkowski, the games follow the fortunes of one Geralt of Rivia, a yellow-eyed, white-haired mutant who is hated and feared by most of the folk he comes across, yet also happens to be a dab hand at hunting down and killing monsters. His ability to dual-wield edged weapons as well as magic not only makes him a fearsome opponent for…

{THIS MONTH} Will.I.Am is from the future Chris Smith is with Team America Duncan Bell knows what time it is Gareth Beavis has Apple on the run WILL.I.AM I’ve been working on my EKOCYCLE concept for a long time. I am fascinated by recycling. By the whole process of taking a plastic bottle, an aluminium can, turning them into flakes, those flakes into pellets, then spooling that into fabric for a base cloth. What’s fascinating to me is that you can take the same bottle and spin it into filament for 3D printers to then allow other creative folks to use something that would once have been in landfill, to materialise their ideas. Imagine it was 1960. Your mom just brought a microwave into the house. Everyone’s saying, “Wooh, a…

If there’s one thing Apple wants to associate its brand with right now, it’s fitness. It paraded Christy Turlington Burns as one of the faces of Watch, showing her completing half marathons whilst wearing one. That’s odd, because right now Watch is really is no more than a gadgety fashion accessory strapped to her wrist. There’s no GPS, it can’t structure training plans to get you fitter, and the battery life is more of a sprint than a marathon. It’s not in the same league as dedicated running watches. The other smartwatches to date are no better. And yet I’m convinced Apple is going to make the biggest running watch of all time. Eventually. It’s no good for running now? Well the first iPhone was no good for photography, but…

01 HEALTHY BEATING Health is Apple Watch’s killer feature. Rather than just checking your steps or heart rate every now and then it monitors you continuously, whether you’re relaxing on the sofa or sweating on the squash court. Where it gets potentially really exciting is with HealthKit, Apple’s platform for tracking the wearer’s health. In the US, doctors see overviews of wearers’ general fitness levels, looking for suspicious ailments. We hope it comes to the UK. 02 PAYING THE PRICE With its embedded NFC chip, the Apple Watch is a perfect platform for Apple Pay. Like contactless payments, the service enables the wearer to pay instantly with a wave of their watch, leaving both their smartphone and wallet in their pockets. The tech is tailored to the user, so it…

Adidas Clim a proof Pure motion jacket The jacket is designed to withstand whatever weather the course throws at you, whilst still giving you the flexibility to swing properly. The fabric helps regulate body heat by allowing perspiration vapour to escape, keeping it comfortable when active and inactive. £185, ADIDAS.CO.UK, OUT NOW Bionic Stable Gripg love A glove is essential for maintaining grip. You’ll be surprised to learn Bionic’s StableGrip glove is packed full of tech – and the only glove designed by an orthopaedic hand surgeon. Bionic says it will last two to three times longer than a traditional leather glove. £16.99, BIONICGLOVES.COM, OUT NOW Nike TW ’ 1 5 Even though Rory McIlroy may be dominating the Tour, Nike’s Tiger Woods range lives on – and in style.…

UPGRADE FIX UP, LOOK SMART OOPSMARK BICYCLE WINE RACK LIKE CYCLING? LIKE WINE? NOT AT THE SAME TIME, OBVIOUSLY – YOU MIGHT SPILL SOME – BUT HOW ABOUT GETTING THIS HAND-MADE, LEATHER WINE RACK FOR YOUR RIDE? ADJUSTABLE ATTACHMENT WILL CLIP ONTO MOST BIKE FRAMES, AND CLAMPS THE BOTTLE SECURELY AS YOU WEAVE YOUR WAY HOME. £22, OOPSMARK.CA…

PULSE TECH PUT THROUGH ITS PACES Fatbikes are the monster trucks of the cycling world, and they’ve raced from niche to must-have in record time, ploughing through snow, sand and mountain bike trails to get there. The Pivot Les Fat is the most versatile big-boned steed yet, able to ride on all four fatbike wheel standards, including the brand new 27.5+ without altering its geometry or handling. Just by switching out your wheels you can get a different ride for every occasion. Built around a super-light frame using carbon-fibre frame technology so cutting edge it’d be right at home on a high-end race bike, this porker is to be taken seriously. £4,500 with X-O1 based groupset, pivotcycles.com WITNESS THE FATNESS CARBON FRAME THERE’S A HECK OF A LOT MORE ‘BIKE’…

HOME BETTER LIVING THROUGH TECH Multi-room is where it’s at in audio circles these days, and that’s a roost Sonos has long ruled. But there are new boys in town, all with their own proprietary streaming systems, shapes, and styles. The spherical (more or less) Devialet Phantom, the (almost) conical Aether Cone and (approximately) rectangular Raumfeld One M. They all look beautiful in their own ways, and all deliver music throughout your home, whether that be your standard-issue house, dome, pyramid or wigwam. £1,390, devialet.com; £350, raumfeld.com; £350, aether.com DEVIALET PHANTOM Just 253 x 255 x 343mm, this space-orb of a speaker puts out 99dB, with an almost shocking amount of bass and presence. The woofers thrum violently, yet the speaker as a whole remains totally stable. It is awesome.…

DRIVE TECH TO TAKE YOU PLACES Wheel spinning in first and then into second, plus torque steering which continually pulls you to the right under “energetic” acceleration? In the case of the 2015 Ford Focus ST hot hatch, thanks to the chassis, retuned suspension and new “enhanced transitional stability system” both these things are so easily controlled, they deliver grins rather than grimaces. With a 0-62mph of 6.5 seconds and top end of 154mph in a package even your dad might describe as “reasonable”, this is a cracker. From £22,195, ford.co.uk E-CAR IS FOR EVERYONE…

{ALSO REVIEWED THIS MONTH} Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark II p110 Dyson Cinetic Big Ball p111 Soundbars for your TV p112 Robotic mowers p115 Onkyo TX-NR838 p122 Casio G Shock GBA-400 p123 Parrot Zik headphones p123 Fitness band showdown p124 Nest Learning Thermostat p126 {RATINGS} MUST BUY VERY GOOD DECENT BELOW AVERAGE OH DEAR The HTC One M9 embodies the ‘If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’ mantra. Taking all the best bits from last year’s all-conquering One M8, HTC clearly reckons what people want is the same thing again… only better. It’s given it a darn good go: packing the industry’s new chipset du jour in the ultrapowerful, octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 810, slipping in 3GB of RAM, tossing away the misunderstood UltraPixel camera and even increasing the battery size. On…

£240, PARROT.COM {SPECIFICATIONS} CONNECTIONS Bluetooth 3.0, NFC SPEAKERS 40mm neodymium DAC Built-in 192kHz – 24 bit DIMENSIONS 175 x 202 x 39.3mm WEIGHT 270g BATTERY LIFE 18 hours Thanks to designer Philippe Starck, Parrot has whipped up an attractive set of headphones. A touch-sensitive panel takes up the entire surface area of the right earcup’s outer shell. A small offering of physical features are found around its perimeter: a micro-USB port, a 3.5mm input for wired listening and a power button. A sensor on the right earcup’s padding detects whether the Zik 2.0 are on your head, pausing the music when they’re removed and resuming again once they’re back on. Each cup is sprinkled with striking, metal-rimmed accents that house external microphones to boost the effectiveness of the active noise…

Top tens The place to start researching your next gadget-buying jaunt. For an even more up-to-the-minute snapshot of our latest wish-lists, check out t3.com/best-gadgets. Scores The products featured in The Guide are reassessed regularly against what’s new, hip and happening. As a result, we will re-rate older products to reflect the current market. Prices We scour the web for the best prices we can find at trusted retailers. Even so, check the most up-to-date deals before getting out your Solo, Access or Diner’s Club card. AVAILABLE ONLINE @ T3.COM THE ULTIMATE BUYER’S GUIDE…

01 PIONEER SE-MX9-T £250, PIONEE R.EU , TESTED SUMMER 2014 LOVE Based on the acclaimed HDJ-2000 DJ cans. Suitably luxe looks and superior sound quality HATE Could be comfier, if we’re griping. Pricey T3 SAYS Grown-up, luxury headphones for serious clubbers and fans of DJ-quality audio SPECIFICATIONS IMP EDANC E 32 Ohms FREQUENCY RANGE 6-40,000Hz CORD LENGTH 1.2m 02 B&W P3 £169, BOWERS-WILKINS.CO.UK , TESTED SEPTEMBER 2012 LOVE Compact and lightweight, but undeniably premium. Clear and deep audio.Any colour you want, as long as it’s black or white HATE Head grippage could be overly firm for some T3 SAYS Highly refined headphones with stunning sound quality. The sign of a true audio gent SPECIFICATIONS IMP EDANC E 34 Ohms FREQUENCY RANGE 10-20,000Hz CORD LENGTH 1.2m 03 KEF M500 £250, KEF.com,…

1 WILL.I.AM The Black Eyed Peas frontman and judge of BBC talent show The Voice waxes lyrical about recycling for the future, 3D printers and the beauty of eating watermelons in winter, on page 47. 2 Peter J Comeau Whether your musical vice is Waylon Jennings or One Direction, you’ll want an audio set-up that maximises your enjoyment. The director of acoustic design at IAG offers his tips on page 85. 3 HENRY WINCHESTER Who said you can’t get much for £250 these days? Mr Winchester runs down our choice of the best gizmos and gadgets you can buy for that price or under, starting on page 63. You may be surprised! To subscribe to T3, go on the world wide web: myfavouritemagazines.co.uk, or flick to p78. The next T3…

FAILING The Titanic It may have gone down over 100 years ago, but that hasn’t stopped the team behind Titanic: Honor and Glory recreating the ship’s untimely demise as a PC game. Jamie Oliver The cockney chef’s surprisingly decent recipe site has been compromised twice in two months by hackers who injected malware into its code. Valve The Seattle-based gaming company may be on the verge of changing the face of gaming forever, but its customer service is notoriously terrible – so much so that the Better Business Bureau awarded it a great big “F”.…

London’s Tech City continues to rise in stature. Reports suggest that London is now the most fertile ground for investors looking to cash in to tech start-ups. Within east London’s Silicon Roundabout scene there are three viable companies for every potential sugar daddy (1,306 investors and 3,828 start-ups), according to Simple Business’ figures, and a whopping £1 billion was thrown at London tech companies in 2014, up more than a third on 2013. So is the long-held vision of London as The New Silicon Valley now coming to fruition? I excitedly raised this to a member of the London start-up community, who has been seeking serious investors for the last couple of years. He suggested a different reality. Despite more venture capital sharks looking for lunch on the Thames, they’re…

WATCH £479 – £949 In typical Apple fashion, even the bog-standard Watch is high-end by everyday standards. The Sapphire Crystal screen is only behind diamond in terms of hardness, and it’s backed up with a ceramic rear, which ninja-rocks fans will confirm is also damn tough. A steel case with a hardened finish contains all the important bits, while leather and steel bands cleverly help make it as aesthetically acceptable on the factory floor as it is in the boardroom. The cheapest Apple Watch doesn’t skimp on components, and it’s primarily designed for lightness. It’s the only Watch that doesn’t feature Sapphire glass, instead opting for Apple’s proprietary Ion-X tech, which is strengthened at a molecular level. When combined with the aluminium case this contributes to a watch that’s 30…

IF YOU GET A £250 WORK BONUS YOU WON’T BUY A YACHT BUT YOU WILL BE PRETTY CHUFFED. A £250 SCRATCHCARD WIN ISN’T ENOUGH TO CRACK OPEN CHAMPAGNE, BUT IT PUTS A SMILE ON YOUR FACE. BUT WHAT’S THE BEST TECH FOR £250? There’s a surprising amount of cool things. Some items on our list – Audio-Technica’s headphones, Sonos’ streaming speaker – have a premium feel. Some – Romo’s robot, Hubsan’s personal drone – are just fun. Some are useful internet-of-things – a Wi-Fi activated crock-pot, an automated thermostat. They’re gadgets on the cusp between affordable and expensive… 1 PANASONIC SHAVER Shaving is never less than – literally if you’re shaving your arse. You might as well make it as easy as possible with a decent electric razor, such as…

MATCH WINE TO FOOD Madeleine Puckette of Winefolly.com explains exactly what to look for when you’re matching plonk to nosh 1/ Bitter + bitter = bad Our taste buds are very sensitive to bitterness, so don’t pair high tannin wine with bitter food. Instead look to foods with fat, umami and salt, to give the wine a sweet cherry taste. 2/ Wine should be sweeter Make sure the wine is sweeter than the food, otherwise it’ll tend to taste bitter and tart. This is why port wine is perfect with dessert. 3/ Wine should be more tart A wine should have higher acidity than the food it’s matched with, otherwise it will taste flabby. For example, a salad with vinaigrette is better with an extra brut Champagne than a buttery…

TEST LIFE GEAR ON TECH TRIAL TEST WINNER GRIME TIME Ligita Konceviciene of London’s Konce Cleaning offers sage steam advice STEAM CLEANERS ARE SO HOT RIGHT NOW. IF YOU WANT TO AVOID ENGULFING YOUR HOME, CHILDREN AND PETS IN A FUG OF CHEMICALS, THEY’RE GREAT: A GOOD SHOT OF STEAM WILL KILL BACTERIA WHILE LEAVING NO TOXIC RESIDUES BEHIND. THEY’RE ESPECIALLY USEFUL FOR SPRUCING UP TILE AND FLAGSTONE FLOORS AND RESTORING GROUT. THEY’LL ALSO BLAST GRIME AND LIMESCALE FROM HOBS, TAPS AND BATHS. WANT A MORE ESOTERIC USE? THEY CAN REFRESH MATTRESSES, KILLING DUST MITES, FRESHEN UP FABRICS AND HUMIDIFY INDOOR PLANTS (MAYBE USE A LOWER SETTING FOR THIS THOUGH, EH?). WAFT ’EM AROUND THE ROOM AND THEY’LL TRAP FLOATING DUST PARTICLES, TOO. BEWARE, THOUGH: MOST DOMESTIC STEAMERS PRODUCE MORE…

PULSE TECH PUT THROUGH ITS PACES THE BIKES THE BIKE TECH ESSENTIALS BRITAIN’S BEST SPORTIVES: ROAD CYCLING WITHOUT THE ROAD RAGE PRUDENTIAL RIDELONDON-SURREY MORE THAN 20,000 RIDERS, 100 MILES, THE CAPITAL CLOSED TO CARS AND SURREY’S NOTORIOUSLY ANTICYCLING MOTORISTS KEPT OFF THE ROADS, TOO. WHAT’S NOT TO LIKE? PRUDENTIALRIDELONDON.CO.UK VELOTHON WALES A POTENTIAL WELSH RIVAL TO THE ABOVE, THIS DEBUTS IN JUNE AND WILL SEE 15,000 RIDERS HEAD OUT FROM CARDIFF INTO THE TOUGH HILLS OF THE BRECON BEACONS. VELOTHON-WALES.CO.UK THE TOUR OF CAMBRIDGESHIRE ALSO NEW FOR 2015, THIS 120KM RIDE STARTS IN PETERBOROUGH – RECENTLY NAMED BRITAIN’S LEASTBIKE FRIENDLY CITY. UNLIKE ALL OTHER UK SPORTIVES, YOU CAN ACTUALLY RACE THIS ONE. TOUROFCAMBRIDGESHIRE.COM BE SAFE OUT THERE SERIOUS CLOBBER A selection of gear for proper Lycra warriors…

HOME BETTER LIVING THROUGH TECH PIMP YOUR BBQ Essential accessories for outdoor diners, from the all-important thermostat to a pie and toasted sandwich maker on a big stick to a thing you shove up a chicken…

{DETAILS} 1 BIG BUT SMALL The OM-D has a smart High Res option, enabling you to upscale regular 16.1MP images into 40 or 64MP – perfect for printing 2 MOVIE POTENTIAL It’s a camera first and foremost, but can capture fantastic video, with 1080p resolution up to 60fps, plus image stabilisation 3 SUPER SCREEN Gone is the old tilting screen, replaced with a vari-angle one, ideal for multi-angle landscape or portrait images {OLYMPUS OM-D E-M5 MARK II} POINTS OF INTEREST {SPECIFICATIONS} MEGAPIXELS 16.1 (40/64 in High Res mode) LENS MOUNT Micro Four Thirds BODY Magnesium alloy VIEWFINDER Electronic SCREEN LCD 285dpi MAGNIFICATION 1.48 X VIDEO 1080p, up to 60fps WI-FI Yes {SIZE/WEIGHT} DIMENSIONS 123.7 x 85 x 44.5mm WEIGHT 417g (body) {FOCUS} The OM-D’s video abilities are not to be…

{DETAILS} 1 VIDEO ON VIAGRA Four HDMI 2.0 ports are able to pass 3D, 4K and HDCP2.2 video together with uncompressed multichannel audio. 2 AUDIOMEISTER Play DSD music via SACD and files such as FLAC and ALAC via the USB input, and Dolby TrueHD to DTS-HD are covered. 3 CONNECTION HEAVEN There are two extra HDMI 1.4 inputs and two outputs, five digital audio inputs, inputs for video, even a phono input for a turntable. {ONKYO TX-NR838} POINTS OF INTEREST {SPECIFICATIONS} SUPPORTS New Dolby Atmos CINEMA THX Select2 Plus certified for Cinema Reference Sound HD 4K/60 Hz-capable HDMI terminals for Ultra HD CONNECTIVITY Built-in Wi-Fi and Bluetooth MULTI-ROOM Zone 2 HDMI for video in a second room HDCP Supports HDCP 2.2*2 copy protection {SIZE/WEIGHT} DIMENSIONS 435mm x 198.5mm x 400mm…

{SPECIFICATION} SIZES One size DISPLAY Capacitive 1.4-inch TFT full colour display BATTERY LIFE 48 hours of normal use CHARGE TIME 1.5 hours MEMORY 64MB internal SYNCING Bluetooth 4.0 OTHER FEATURES 3-axis accelerometer, skin temperature sensor, haptic vibration motor LOVE The Microsoft Band is comfortable, cross-platform, not too bulky and is sensor-rich. It also has a lovely display HATE We wish the Microsoft Health app is as good as it’s claimed to be. A variety of apps are also conspicuously missing from the band T3 SAYS The Microsoft Band has the potential to be great in the world of fitness trackers – but isn’t quite there yet {SPECIFICATION} SIZES Small, 5.5-inches to 6.5-inches; large, 6.3-inches to 7.6-inches DISPLAY OLED BATTERY LIFE Up to 5 days CHARGE TIME 1-2 hours MEMORY 7…

01 APPLE iPHONE 6 £539, APPLE.COM/UK, TESTED JANUARY 2015 LOVE Much-improved battery life. More useful and accurate keyboard. All-new, great-looking chassis HATE Disappointing 750p screen. Price T3 SAYS Apple has now caught up with, and mostly beaten, the pack with the rebooted iPhone 6 range SPECIFICATIONS PROCESSOR 64-bit, A8 SCREEN 4.7-inch, 1,334x750 CAMERA 8MP STORAGE 16GB, 64GB or 128GB 02 SAMSUNG GALAXY S5 £489, SAMSUNG.COM/UK, TESTED JULY 2014 LOVE Updated interface. Incredibly bright screen. Plethora of innovative features and excellent battery-saving mode HATE Sensors are great, but the accuracy isn’t there yet T3 SAYS The S5 throws everything at its bid for Android supremacy, and it just about pays off SPECIFICATIONS PROCESSOR 2.5GHz quadcore SCREEN 5.1-inch, 1,920x1,080 CAMERA 16MP/4K STORAGE 16GB or 32GB 03 HTC ONE M8 £550, HTC.COM/UK, TESTED…

EDITOR’S CHOICE 1. Denon AH-MM400 Did you know that the MM in this over-ear headphone’s product name stands for Music Maniac? Well, any product with the word maniac in the title is good by us. Hand-carved natural American walnut housing and a faux leather headband make these the choice of the distinguished maniac, and as you’d expect from Denon, they sound pretty fantastic, too. They fold away neatly as well making them extremely portable. What’s not to love? £349, DENON.CO.UK 2. Sennheiser Momentum Wireless A set of retro cans for at home or on the move, the Momentums have always impressed us. And now Sennheiser has taken things a step further, adding Bluetooth to the audio mix, so you don’t need to worry about those pesky tangly wires being all…

THERE ARE FEW DESIGNERS MORE SUITED TO THE pages of T3 magazine than Paul Cocksedge. The Royal College of Art graduate has carved out a niche for himself in reusing found objects to create playful new sculptures. He’s adept at working with large-scale installations – such as an enormous canopy of lights in Milan which reacts when people kiss beneath it. But it’s Cocksedge’s smaller-scale projects which have really caught our eye – and ear. Repurposed records become booming cones for Change the Record, while The Vamp brings Bluetooth connectivity to junk store speakers. “For me, reusing perfectly good technology makes sense,” says Paul. CHANGE THE RECORD 2011 CHANGE THE RECORD HEATS AND MOULDS VINYL INTO A FUNNEL SHAPE WHICH GIVES YOUR SMARTPHONE’S SPEAKER A NICE BIG SOUND. DOUBLE O…

3 Months away TECH Noke Bike Lock Noke’s leather-clad U-lock looks a lot nicer than the others and an app lets you know where the lock was last activated so you won’t lose your bike, while Bluetooth pairing means unlocking is a simple one-button affair. FILM Hitman: Agent 47 British actor Rupert Friend takes the assassin’s role, and he’s on the hunt for the daughter of the man who founded the Agent Program. Hopefully director Aleksander Bach will get the game adaptation right this time. GAME Mad Max Avalanche Studios – the developer behind the bonkers Just Cause series – is the perfect match for this virtual take on George Miller’s anarchic, dystopic vehicular warfare. Expect high-octane explosions and high-speed chases. EVENT Gamescom The world’s largest gaming event takes place…

Say what you like about the Swiss but they know how to throw an event. I just got back from Baselworld, the galaxy’s biggest watch show, and it made every tech event I’ve attended look like a village fete on a rainy Sunday. The main hall at Baselworld, where your Rolexes and Patek Philippes and Breitlings live, is a horological Valhalla set in a meticulously constructed future city. The big brands clearly pay millions for their beautiful, multi-storey pavilions, all filled with men in £2,000 suits and, seemingly, the women from the Addicted to Love video. As far as I can tell, everyone is quietly sozzled by lunchtime, or perhaps they’re just intoxicated by the rich, strong smell of money. They’re mellow-drunk on opulence. And Champagne. And £2,500 bottles of…

There’s loads of tech in golf clubs nowadays. Nike’s Vapor range of drivers makes it easy for you – or your club pro – to make large or small adjustments to get that ball hurtling down the fairway. There are three clubs in the range: the Vapor Speed, Vapor flex and Vapor Pro. The most interesting is the Vapor Flex – a futuristic, stealth, neon greenhighlighted (or ‘Volt’) monster. It has a FlexFlight module, to fine-tune the CG of the club (see FlexFlight tech, below); a FlyBeam structure and Compression Channel for maximum ball speed (a hot face); and a Covert Cavity Back design, all of which means you have a driver to die for. Getting fitted by a professional is key and we were fitted for a Vapor Flex…

OptiShot 2 If you’ve got enough room in your house, OptiShot 2 is the perfect golf simulator – without breaking the bank. Fire up your Mac or PC, download the software, plug it in and hit the foam ball. The sensors on the device track your ball. So, within the comfort of your own home you can play some of the world’s best golf courses, and compete against friends. What’s more, if you don’t improve after 30 days, OptiShot will give you your money back. £399, OPTISHOTGOLF.COM, OUT NOW Game Golf Game Golf is literally a game-changer. First, screw the tags into the top of your clubs, then pair them with your clubs online. Fix the main device on your belt and before you take a shot, tap the top…

OBSESSION BECOME THE KING OF... ABSOLUTE BEGINNERS’ HI-FI THE CLASSIC ‘STUDENT LOAN’ SYSTEM OF THE 80S AND 90S, REBOOTED FOR 2015… REGA RP-1 TONEARM AND LOWVIBRATION MOTOR HELP ENSURE PRISTINE SONICS. £230, REGA.CO.UK DIAMOND 220 SPEAKERS YOU’LL GET NOWT BETTER SOUTH OF 200 QUID. £199, WHARFEDALE.CO.UK QUAD VENA HI-FI LEGENDS’ AMP WITH BLUETOOTH AND DAC. £600, QUAD-HIFI.CO.UK SOUND ADVICE Let Peter J Comeau, director of acoustic design at IAG, guide you to audio bliss 1/ SPEND WISELY AS A RULE OF THUMB, APPORTION ABOUT TWO THIRDS OF YOUR SPEND ON THE ELECTRONICS (DAC, AMPLIFIER AND SO ON) AND ONE THIRD ON SPEAKERS. 2/ USE YOUR SPACE SPEAKERS NEED TO BE ABOUT 1.5M TO 2M APART AND, USUALLY, AWAY FROM THE WALLS AND CORNERS. EXPERIMENT WITH THEIR POSITION FOR THE BEST…

TECH DAD IT’S FOR THE KIDS, HONEST If you’re a competitive dad who wants junior outpacing the peloton by the time he’s 20, the Frog Road, built in association with Team Sky, is the ultimate hot-housing tool. With proper gears (from nine to 18, depending on the model) and drop handlebars, this isn’t so much a kids’ bike as a shrunken adult one. We gave a review model of the smallest one to a six-yearold. His verdict: “This must be the best bike in the world!” Imagine how distraught he was when it had to go back to the manufacturers. From £400, teamsky.frogbikes.com THE TECH This steed is no mere child’s play… 1/ Frame! I’m gonna live forever! The all-aluminium frame comes in three models: 58, 67 and 70 ,…

TECH LIVES STARS AND THEIR GADGETS! T3 Do you wear prescription glasses to ride? MC No. I have an astigmatism, but I’m alright – I can see when I ride. I could wear prescription but… Imagine you’re riding along and you get a bit of shit flick up in your glasses – you’d need to take them off, and then it takes a bit of time for your eyes to adjust. That’s what I want to avoid. T3 Are you interested in technology? MC Yeah, I subscribe to T3! I’ve actually got it in my bag. T3 Oh, do we give you a free subscription? MC No. T3 Ah. Well, we need the money. What’s the piece of technology that’s changed pro cycling the most in recent years? MC It’s…

DRIVE TECH TO TAKE YOU PLACES TOP SPEED 186MPH 0-62MPH 4.8 SECONDS ENGINE 5,000CC SUPERCHARGED V8 PETROL GEARBOX EIGHT-SPEED, AUTOMATIC POWER / TORQUE 542HP/501LB/FT FUEL EFFICIENCY 22.2MPG CARBON EMISSIONS 297G/KM WEIGHT 1,967KG PRICE AS TESTED £82,495 ROUTE MASTER Once opened up on the A338 from Bournemouth towards Ringwood, the V8 really came into its own. A detour off the A31 to skirt the twisting roads of the New Forest showed this Jag could handle even the tightest corners. But it truly became a mile-devouring monster once on the M3 to Heathrow Airport. You used to be a player, a speed-freak. Now, you’re a family guy and your needs have changed. That’s okay, though, because with Jaguar’s XFR-S Sportbrake, you can have your sensible cake, and eat it – with a…

{DETAILS} 1 DYSON CINETIC The Big Ball has efficient dust filtration. Vibrating tips shake particles through and into the bin – no need for a conventional filter. 2 SELF-ADJUSTING CLEANER HEAD No need for adjustments as the floor type changes – it’ll do it automatically, for maximum suction. 3 BALL TECHNOLOGY The Big Ball – as you would expect – moves around on a ball, rather than wheels, making it easier to control around objects. {DYSON CINETIC BIG BALL} POINTS OF INTEREST {SPECIFICATIONS} CYCLONE TECHNOLOGY— Dyson Cinetic science SUCTION POWER 120 AW MOVEMENT TYPE Ball tech FILTER Non-washable lifetime filter CLEANER HEAD Self-adjusting cleaner head STAIR CLEANING Quick-draw Telescope Reach wand BIN VOLUME 2.18L CORD LENGTH 10.8M {SIZE/WEIGHT} DIMENSIONS 1,100mm x 438mm x 340mm WEIGHT 8.7kg {FOCUS} Dyson’s next-level system…

£2,269, HONDA.CO.UK/GARDEN {SPECIFICATIONS} POWER 21.6 V Li-ion battery CHARGING Automatic CUTTING HEIGHT 20-60mm, adjustable MAXIMUM AREA 3,000 sq m MAXIMUM INCLINE 44 per cent RUN TIME 90 mins CHARGE TIME 60 mins NOISE LEVEL 62dB {DIMENSIONS} LENGTH 64cm WIDTH 55cm HEIGHT 29cm WEIGHT 11.8kg {DETAILS} 1 BUILD The Miimo feels solid thanks to its polymer shell 2 CONTROLS A simple-to-use keypad and screen makes it easy to set the timer 3 SAFETY Rapid lift sensors protect your fingers from the chop 4 BLADES AND WHEELS 25-watt wheel motors and a 56-watt blade motor Stylish, tough, quiet and excellent for large, complex lawns The Honda Miimo 520 is by far the sleekest mower in this test. We’d even go so far as to say it looks fun, almost aping a robot…

£150, G-SHOCK.COM {SPECIFICATIONS} SHOCK RESISTANT Yes WATER RESISTANT 200m CONNECTIONS Bluetooth 4.1 COMPATIBILITY iPhone, Android DIMENSIONS 55 × 51.9 × 18.3mm WEIGHT 66g BATTERY LIFE 2 years G-Shock’s latest Bluetoothenabled watch has fewer features than the outgoing G-Shock GBA-6900, but the new G’Mix music app potentially makes better use of that Bluetooth connection. Now you can control your music without taking your phone from your pocket. The G-Shock+ and G’Mix apps enable you to remotely control music, and, with SoundHound built into the G’Mix app, you can identify tunes Shazam-style. You can even use that rotary dial to adjust the volume within any app. In addition to using your watch to control your phone, the reverse is possible. So within the app you can set the alarm or change your…

{DETAILS} 1 DIAL IT IN Like a regular thermostat, Nest works just fine using the physical unit on the wall 2 ON THE APP No matter where you are, you can control Nest using the app on your phone or tablet, or through a Web browser 3 LEARNING Once Nest starts to figure out your heating preferences, it will automatically adjust the temperature for you {NEST} POINTS OF INTEREST {SPECIFICATIONS} APP iOS, Android SENSORS Activity, temp, humidity, ambient light DISPLAY LCD, 320x320 pixels WIRELESS 801.11b/g/n {SIZE/WEIGHT} DIMENSIONS 83 x 34mm WEIGHT 254g {FOCUS} Installing Nest is (almost) as easy as 1-2-3 The Nest Learning Thermostat works with most heating systems. While you can just buy the thermostat on its own, have it delivered and attempt to wire it to your…

1/SickNote The new Apple Watch has a lot of clever health features, including the ability to send your heartbeat to another user. With this tech it should be easy to develop an app that sends your boss a nonnegotiable notification stating that it’s medically unsafe for you to come in to work, complete with details of your heart beating like a terrified hamster. He’ll be non-the-wiser to the fact you’re drinking an espresso on a treadmill. 2/MicroView Fridges, thermostats and kettles connect to our phones and, therefore, smartwatches these days. But it’s smart microwaves we really want. Imagine popping your soup into the office microwave, then go back to your desk and remotely watch it spinning into bubbly lava, avoiding uncomfortable queue chat and keeping a safe distance for when…