Tag Archives: Technology

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Nikon D3200 review

Nikon D3200 reviewThe Nikon D3200 is an entry-level DSLR with a friendly guide mode – ideal for fledgling shutterbugs that don’t know their aperture from their ISO.

Following on from its predecessor, the Nikon D3100, though not replacing it, the brand new Nikon D3200 has upped the ante for entry-level DSLRs, thanks to its show-stopping 24-megapixel sensor.

Going up against the likes of the Sony Alpha A65 and the Canon EOS 600D, the Nikon D3200 has got its work cut out when it comes to earning a place in ourBest Digital SLRs list.

The D3200′s lightweight chassis, which hasn’t changed much in design terms since the previous model, weighs in at just 505g (with battery and memory card) which means that it never becomes cumbersome, even after carting it around all day.

At 125 x 96 x 76.5 mm, the chassis isn’t too chunky, but still remains reassuringly sturdy and while Nikon makes no claims about waterproofing, the D3200 proved to be reasonably resilient to the elements when we tested it in the pouring rain.

The D3200 is available in conventional black or a shiny red finish, should you be so inclinded.

One of the key selling points on the new snapper is the guide mode. Enhanced since its inclusion on the D3100, this nifty feature is easily accessible via the top-mounted dial and holds your hand through the basics. Teaching you how to set up a variety of shots, it even includes examples of how the pictures should look.

For example, one of the tutorials shows you how to get the best picture of a sunset by tweaking the white balance to capture the red tones. Follow the suggestions, alter the settings and the picture will change to reflect how the finished article will look. There may be a few kinks to iron out (such as the overeager pop-up flash), but it’s a damn good starting point for newbies.

You can read the rest of the article at T3.com (originally published 17 May 2012). 

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Netflix review

Netflix reviewNetflix offers unlimited online streaming of movies and TV for just £5.99 a month, but can it take on main rival Lovefilm? Find out here…

Netflix has been offering online movie streaming in the US since 1999, but it’s taken until now for the service to make its way over the pond to the UK. For £5.99 a month, you’ll get unlimited access to the Netflix library of films and TV programmes, which means that the service will be going head-to-head with the Lovefilm Instant offering, currently priced at £4.99. The gloves are off in the Netflix vs Lovefilm rumble, but how does the new kid on the block fare?

Netflix: Streaming

There’s no denying that just six quid a month will get you a sizable chunk of films and TV to choose from, although it’s worth considering how much strain it could place on your Broadband data cap. If you go above the set limit on your ISP package, you could well end up getting charged for the extra data – an important point to keep in mind if you’re planning on getting the most out of your monthly £5.99

Netflix: Devices

As well as streaming from your computer, Netflix works on pretty much all of the major platforms, including Sony PlayStation 3, Nintendo Wii, Xbox 360,Apple iPhone and Apple iPad. There are also client for various web TVs from the likes of Samsung, along with LG Blu-ray players and LG home theatre systems, along with media streamer boxes from brands like Roku.

The fact that Netflix works on Apple TV as well as across numerous Androiddevices is also a major boon, and something that Lovefilm doesn’t currently offer (there is an Android app where you can manage your list and settings, but no streaming).

However, Lovefilm is aiming to be make its service available on as many devices as possible so it’s a reasonable assumption that we won’t have to wait too long to see streaming capability on Android devices.

The ability to stream Netflix via the iPhone app using 3G is also great news, although it probably depends on what the 3G signal is like where you live, or more likely what it’s like at your gym or on your commuting route, as we’re guessing those are the the places where most people will want to watch Netflix on their phone’s relatively tiny screen.

Buffering on both the iPad and Android tablet apps is surprisingly swift meaning that you get get stuck into watching your chosen title pretty much straight away.

Syncing between devices is a nice touch, which means that you could start watching something on your laptop, and then pick up where you left off at a later time on another device. The UI is simple to use and more or less the same across different platforms, so the whole experience is pretty much uniform, no matter what you’re gadget you’re watching on.

You can read the rest of the article on T3.com (originally published 1 February 2012).

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Kobo Touch review

Kobo TouchCanadian ebook specialist Kobo recently signed a UK exclusive deal with WH Smith to sell its two new models – the Kobo Wi Fi and the Kobo Touch.

While the Wi Fi model comes with a wallet-friendly price tag of £89 that puts it head to head with the new Amazon Kindle, the Kobo Touch adds touchscreen capability along with an extra £20 to the price. We took the touch-control Kobo for a test run to find out how it would fare.

Kobo Touch – Build

Almost identical to the Kindle in size and shape, the Kobo sports a silky brushed rubber finish to add bit of grip for the more ham-fisted among you, while the raised, quilted finish on the back makes it even more comfy to hold – possibly even more so than an actual paper-based book.

Kobo Touch – Screen

Pages render very slightly slower than on the Kindle, although they’re certainly not sluggish enough to stop you from reading at Kobo Touchnormal pace. Text and images are just as clear as they are on the Kindle, but as with Amazon’s gadget, the screen isn’t as good as paper just yet.

Kobo Touch – Controls

Unlike the Kindle, the Kobo has done away with all physical controls – except for a solitary Home button and a power switch – in favour of touchscreen control, giving you more room to grip the gadget without knocking any buttons. Pages can be turned simply by tapping the left or right side of the screen, or by swiping across the display.

You can read the rest of the article on Stuff.tv (originally published Nov 2011).

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How the iPad is changing the face of music

How the iPad is changing the face of musicAndroid may be catching up fast, but it was the iPad that made the tablet a must-have piece of kit for any self-respecting gadget aficionado. For the while, at least, the iPad continues to lead the charge and, though its games, web browsing and playing about on Facebook and Twitter are as popular as ever; it’s also managed to infiltrate the music industry. We’re not just talking about the fact that the tablet can house your entire iTunes music library. It’s also fast becoming a useful tool for musical types, both professional and amateur.

The most high-profile use of Apple’s tablet by a pro musician so far involves the latest album from ex-Blur frontman Damon Albarn’s hip-hop project Gorillaz, which was created largely on his iPad during a 32-day tour of North America. The album uses real instruments and vocals combined with a good helping of synthesizers with Albarn making use of around 20 apps including Korg iELECTRIBE, Moog Filatron and FunkBox Drum Machine. It perfectly illustrates the convenience of being able to lay down tracks on a device, while on the move, with no access to a desktop computer or studio.

Convenience and portability are obviously two great benefits, especially, as with Albarn, plenty of musicians spend a great deal of time on the road; however the bonus of using a tablet goes further than that, as accessory brand Griffin’s PR director, Jackie Ballinger, told us.

“Technology, like the iPad enables musicians to become mobile without losing quality, now people are able to make music anywhere without limitations and without substantial costs.

“With the iPad and relevant apps a less costly alternative to recording studios and instruments, aspiring musicians have the opportunity to produce professional recording using solely these means.”

Money appears to be one of the most important factors – not exactly shocking when you consider the huge cost involved in putting an album together. If an artist can record an album for less, then why not?

The cost of producing a chart album is estimated to be a whopping £250,000, so it’s hardly surprising that musicians are opting for a more affordable route, especially those who don’t have a record deal and are producing the work themselves. Two-piece US indie band The Ultramods managed to produce an entire album (entitled Underwear Party) in just 2 weeks, only using GarageBand for iPad.

You can read the rest of the article here on Pocket-lint.com (originally published 12/09/11).

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7 Days living with…film photography

7 Days living with...film photographyAlmost everyone on Team Pocket-lint is a camera nut of some description but out of all of us with our various bits of high tech snapping kit, I’ve also got quite a strong collection of Lomo cameras. The question is though, is film still relevant beyond retro style photography? Does it still have a place in society and how much of a pain in the bum is to use now that we’re mollycoddled by the happy snapping ways of digital? I decided to find out in 7 days.

The challenge here was to go for an entire week without using any digital cameras whatsoever, including the one on my iPhone. My day-to-day camera, which was housed safely on my bookcase for the entire 7 days, is a Panasonic DMC-LX3 - the brand’s top-of-the-range compact from a couple of years ago which is nice and portable while also offering excellent picture quality, largely thanks to its fancy Leica lens. I also use a lot of film cameras, but they’re all lo-fi models (mostly Lomo) so the first step was to track down a decent film snapper to use for all the Pocket-lint reviews and hands-on work that I do. As it turns out, not an easy task.

After a lot of back and fourth with various brands, Nikon agreed to lend me an alarmingly expensive F6 SLR (around £1,500)  for the duration, along with a rather large AF-S NIKKOR 24-70mm zoom lens worth something like the same again. I was also sent a Kodak Ultra Compact single-use camera, along with some film, while Polaroid loaned me one of its Polaroid 300 instant cameras. The film-based lineup was completed by my Lomography La Sardina.

Obviously, this isn’t a review of any of the cameras involved – it’s an account of life without a digital camera. My 7 days begins on Thursday – simply because the Nikon camera turned up at my door halfway through the week. Read on to find out what happened.

Thursday

Thanks to a week of very late nights staying up to follow the London riots on Sky News and Twitter (and praying that they wouldn’t come any closer to my home or those of my friends), the tail-end of the week was something of a struggle. On the agenda for Thursday was a review of the Philips Fidelio DS7700 iPad dock. Usually I would breeze through my review shots on my digital camera, checking them on the screen as I go, before transferring them to my computer and resizing them – all within about half an hour of setting up the kit. Not this time.

Naturally, all of the pictures needed to be snapped using the Nikon F6 and things took a bit longer when film was brought into the equation. After finally managing to load up a Kodak Gold ISO 200 colour film after several failed attempts and a substantial amount of swearing, I was finally ready to get stuck in. The F6 is a heavy camera at the best of times and even more so when you’re trying to balance an iPad dock in one hand and use the camera one-handed.

Philips DS7700 iPad dock

I’m not really a SLR aficionado, so I was at the mercy of the hastily Googled manual when it came to setting the camera’s controls. The fact that I couldn’t take a couple of test shots and look at them to check that the settings were correct before I got started was a major hassle. Having to finish the film off was also something of a pain. Using a well-practiced review routine, I can usually get the 10-15 shots that I need by taking around 20-25 of them on my digital camera. As this iPad dock was a relatively simple piece of kit with only a couple of buttons, there were only a certain amount of shots that I needed, but I had to keep going after that to finish off the film – taking up precious time and also making by arm ache from holding the F6.

Once finished, instead of just popping an SD card into my computer, I had to make the 10-minute saunter down to the local Boots to put my film in for one-hour processing, at a cost of £7.49 (I initially went into the nearby Snappy Snaps, who said that they’d be able to take care of my photos in an hour, but then backtracked when I presented them with a film and said that it would take three). Then I went back home for lunch before returning to pickup my disc of images, all the time praying that they were ok so that I wouldn’t have to repeat the entire process.

Thankfully, the pictures were mostly usable, although the review lacks a close-up shot of the Bluetooth and volume controls as none of my shots of these were sharp enough and I didn’t think that it was worth the cost of another film and more processing to put right this tiny detail (not to mention the time involved).

Polaroid from the LomoHub

After work, I moseyed on down to the Lomography store in Soho for a largely beer-based “tea party” to celebrate the new B&W Earl Grey & Lady Grey films. Being without a digital camera in the Lomo store is hardly unusual so I didn’t miss not being able to use one, and I took along the La Sardina and a Polaroid 300. I took a few shots, including this Poloroid snap (above) of myself, and fellow journos and Lomo users Kat and Laura.

You can read the rest of the article here on Pocket-lint.com (originally published 29/08/11).

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Lomography La Sardina review

Lomography La SardinaWhen Lomography sent us a tin of sardines in the post with a message attached inviting us along to a sneak preview of its new camera, we were expecting some sort of waterproof model or perhaps even a fisheye snapper. The clue was in fact much more literal – with the Lomography La Sardina turning out to be a camera shaped like a sardine tin. While this may sound ludicrous, the odd shape is actually based on an old 1930s snapper – the Kandor Candid – made by the Irwin Corporation.

Along with the somewhat silly, yet endearing design, La Sardina also boasts a super-wide 22mm f/8 lens, while the flash has three different settings – a first for a Lomo camera. The design may be fun, but is the camera actually any good? We put it through its paces to see whether it would sink or swim.

Design

There are four different designs available – all based on sardine tins. You can choose from the green Marathon or the blue Sea Pride, both of which come with a price tag of £49 and no flashgun. To get the flash capability you’ll need to shell out £89 for the red El Capitan or the blue Fishers Fritze (we had the latter in for review). You can also pick up the Fritz the Blitz flash separately for £55. (For more images of the other designs, check out our hands-onfrom launch day.) While the build quality isn’t quite up to the standards set my the brand’s more expensive cameras, such as the LC-Wide, it’s reassuringly robust compared to the likes of the Diana Mini.

The camera chassis itself is relatively compact, although obviously the detachable flash, which fits on the side of the body, adds a fair bit of bulk. The lens board can be twisted into the body of the camera to make it more compact (simply turn it 45 degrees until it clicks), although you need to make sure that it’s fully extended for shooting. There’s a message on the extension that reads “Only shoot if you can see me!” - and as the shutter release won’t go when the lens is collapsed, this shouldn’t be a problem. Although a useful feature if space is at a premium in your bag (and to stop the camera going off by accident), we found that it was easier just to leave the lens extended all of the time, as it only takes up a few extra mm.

You can read the rest of the article here on Pocket-lint.com (originally published 05/08/11).

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Polaroid – how instant snaps came back

Polaroid - how instant snaps came backHere’s a feature that I wrote for Pocket-lint.com following an interview with Polaroid’s MD, Graeme Chapman.

In musical terms, kooky popstrel Lady Gaga, singer-songwriter and actor Sting and rock duo The Kills haven’t got much in common, but one thing that they all share is a passion for Polaroid. In fact, Gaga is such a big fan of the cult instant-photo brand that the company recently took the unusual step of making her its creative director.

We settled down for a chat with Polaroid MD Graeme Chapman to find out more about how the brand has risen from the ashes after going bankrupt, not once but twice, and just what on earth he was thinking when he offered one of music’s most eccentric stars a seat on the board.

“Lady Gaga has introduced us to a whole new audience who’ve never experienced Polaroid before. For the 18-25 year olds, it’s a completely new thing.”

Seated on the sunny roof-top terrace of a well-known Greek restaurant in central London – a venue that has played host to The Beatles and the 1966 world cup-winning team, among others – Chapman explains that this isn’t merely a case of a celebrity slapping their name on a product – Gaga genuinely does get involved.

“She was using Polaroid cameras at her concerts – taking snaps of her audience and then handing them out to the crowd. She wanted to be involved and had some ideas that she wanted to develop. At first, she was employed as a brand ambassador but very quickly we realised that her ideas were worth pursuing and that she wanted to play an active part in developing the products, so she’s now creative director.”

The Polaroid Grey Label range is the result of the Lady Gaga collaboration and comprises three products, the first of which – the GL10 instant printer - has just been launched. Using Zink inkless printing, the compact printer can be used to print photos from your mobile phone, via USB or Bluetooth. The printer is compatible with most handsets, including Android, BlackBerry and Windows models, but not iOS devices. However, that’s something that’s set to change in the not-too-distant future.

You can read the rest of the article here on Pocket-lint.com (originally published 03/08/11).

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Samsung Tocco Icon review

Samsung Tocco IconThe Samsung Tocco Icon GT-S5260 is an updated version of the brand’s popular Tocco Lite and looks fairly similar, although it does throw a few extras into the mix – with the key update being the step up from a resistive touchscreen to a capacitive display. There is no 3G connectivity, keeping the Tocco Icon firmly in budget feature phone territory, but you do get Wi-Fi and Bluetooth to fill the void.

Design

Measuring a svelte 107.5 x 54 x 12.4mm, the Tocco Icon weighs 94g and sports a neat candy bar design. The shiny fascia is largely dominated by the display while the silver edges and glossy back cover give the handset a premium look. However, the glossiness has a tendency to pick up greasy fingerprints far too easily so keeping a cleaning cloth on hand might be a good plan. The minimalist design allows for just three buttons underneath the screen – dial and end keys and a central menu key for launching the app menu.

On the left-hand edge of the you’ll find the conveniently placed volume up and down controls, while the right-hand edge is home to the power/lock key. The top of the unit is home to a 3.5mm for plugging in a pair of headphones, alongside a port for hooking up the charger. Built-in memory is limited to a paltry 30MB, but you can can boost the memory up to 16GB by making use of the microSD card slot.

The inclusion of a capacitive touchscreen is a neat upgrade. The Tocco Icon’s touchscreen is nice and responsive and although not quite up to the standards that you’d expect from a top-tier smartphone, it’s one of the best we’ve seen on a handset in this price range.

The screen’s mediocre resolution means that that video playback isn’t brilliant, with images taking on a somewhat soft and grainy appearance. The colours are also rather washed out and it’s almost impossible to make out any details on particularly dark areas of the screen while colours, overall, look a little washed out.

You can read the rest of the article here on Pocket-lint.com (originally published 27/07/11).

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Space shuttle: the ultimate gadget – 30 years of service

Space shuttle final launchHere’s a feature that I wrote for Pocket-lint.com on the history of the space shuttle to coincide with the final mission.

Despite lifting off 135 times, making an appearance in a Bond film, and even its immortalisation in Lego, the famous space shuttle is taking early retirement. On 8 July 2011, the Atlantis orbiter will embark on the very last space shuttle mission bringing NASA’s shuttle programme to an end after 30 years. It’s the end of an era, both for space exploration and for technology, so it seems only fitting to look back over the life and times of the space shuttle, the amazing gadgets and gizmos that make her go and find out why the programme is coming to an end and what happens next.

Firstly, let’s deal with the basics. What is the space shuttle? Well, it was the first reusable orbital space craft, unlike the old Saturn V rockets as used in the Apollo missions (including the moon landings) that could only be used once. The concept of a spacecraft returning and landing horizontally, like a plane, was born in the 1950s, although development of the space shuttle didn’t actually begin until the 1970s, after the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) was given the official go-ahead by president Richard Nixon in 1969.

The very first space shuttle orbiter was named Enterprise and was designed to perform test flights in the Earth’s atmosphere, so it was never actually ready for spaceflight. Construction began in 1974 and it first took to the sky in 1977. Supposedly, the shuttle was originally going to be called Constitution but was re-named following a campaign by Star Trek fans who thought that it should be named after the Starship Enterprise. Serving US president Gerald Ford said that he was “partial to the name”, but that may have had more to do with the fact that he spent much of his WWII naval service on aircraft carrier USS Monterey, which served with the famous USS Enterprise, the most decorated warship in the conflict. However, adding some weight to the sci-fi story, or at least making full use of the publicity that it generated, Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry and a fair number of the cast were present at Enterprise’s dedicaton ceremony.

You can read the rest of the article here on Pocket-lint.com (originally published 08/07/11).

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Music moves on

Sony Walkman MP3 playersThe personal audio sector has seen some decline, largely fuelled by the increasing popularity of smartphones, but there are still profits to be made, especially with add-on products and music streaming developments. Libby Plummer reports.

The personal audio market has experienced tough times over the last few years, particularly as the music playing capabilities of smartphones have improved. Simon Foy, senior account manager for CE at data specialist GfK, explains:

“The personal audio market, comprised of sectors such as Portable Media Players, Headphones, Personal and Portable radio devices among others, was worth £836 million in the latest year ending April 2011. This was 11% lower than the previous year, with the decline coming mainly from the fall in Portable Media Players which represents around two thirds of the value. The uptake of smartphones has been key to the decline in Portable Media Player sales”.

However, Foy is keen to point out that this decline should be viewed in relation to the entire consumers electronics market, commenting: “The decline should be put in context with the performance of the total CE market which was also down over the same time period, declining 9% by value.

“Across other sectors, headphones continue to perform well, being the fastest growing category and now reaching 8.5 million unit sales in the last 12 months (y/e April 2011). Elsewhere, increases have also been seen in clock radios, helped by an increase in the iPod docking stations”.

Music streaming

The way in which consumers buy and listen to music has changed dramatically in recent years – moving from traditional formats such as cassettes and CDs to downloads. Improvements in the music playing capabilities on smartphones have also taken a substantial amount of business away from the dedicated personal audio sector. Daniel Fletcher, product manager at audio brand Orbitsound, says: “If you don’t have to carry around an iPod, a phone and a camera and can get three products into one, why wouldn’t you? Some of us may be happy to carry around three or four devices, but most would rather not. It’s about convenience”.

You can read the rest of the article here on IndependentElectricalRetailer.co.uk (originally published 04/07/11).