Camera ready: Hasselblad releases new 4116 collection

Commemorating Swedish camera brand Hasselblad’s 75th birthday, the new 4116 collection features an innovative design and cutting-edge technology. The range includes several new products, now available for purchase, in celebration of the founding of the company in 1941. One of these, the X1D 4116, is something of a world-first, and marks the next stage for compact mirrorless medium format cameras.

Weighing just 725g, it comes with an XCD 45mm lens and leather hand strap. Another model, the V1D 4116, saw Hasselblad’s designers use a modular square format (75MP) to create a truly ground-breaking product.

www.hasselblad.com

This new monitoring system is the cat’s meow

It’s not always easy to say goodbye to that special furry friend when taking off on holiday or heading to the office for another day of toil. For many, pets are an extension of the family – a fact recognised by Petkit, the maker of “smart” gadgets for pets. The company recently unveiled the Mate Remote Monitor, allowing owners to check up on their four-legged companions from afar.

Equipped with a dual microphone and speaker, pet owners can check in at any time. The device rotates in a full circle, allowing the user to see their pets in 720p HD format. They can also take photos or record videos via the accompanying Petkit mobile application. One of the more creative features is a remote-controlled laser point, ensuring that playtime is never more than a click away. As any cat owner knows, chasing that elusive red dot is a favourite pastime among feisty felines.

The Mate Remote Monitor received an international Red Dot Design Award last year, a distinction bestowed upon only the most top-notch of products. The monitor comes in three styles: the Pro version, which has an aluminum alloy body, and two Edition versions in playful, colourful prints featuring cartoon cats or dogs.

www.petkit.com

Focal releases the world’s most extravagant pair of headphones

Music lovers no longer need worry that their plastic headphones might be ruining their aesthetic. From French hi-fi specialist Focal comes the world’s most extravagant pair of headphones – the Utopia by Tournaire.

Easily the priciest pair of ear cans currently on the market, the US$120,000 (HK$930,000) Utopia has been crafted in conjunction with master jewellers Maison Tournaire. The bespoke design, created by the father-son team of Philippe and Mathieu Tournaire, is based on the mark of the Trilogy, symbolising the three stages of life: past, present and future. These uber-cool earpieces feature 18-carat gold mounted with six carats worth of diamonds, all meticulously hand-crafted by the Tournaire jewellers.

While the price tag is nothing to scoff at, discerning listeners will not only be treating themselves to an exquisite pair of headphones but will also be contributing to a good cause. A portion of the profits from the sales of the Utopia earpieces will go to the P’tit Louis Association, dedicated to saving eight-year-old Louis Biscini who suffers from rare spinal muscular dystrophy. The Utopia by Tournaire headphones were released September 2016 along with two other new Focal headphones – the Listen and the high-end Elear.

Give your pet the royal treatment

Hong Kongers in general treat their pets like royalty, whether it’s making the pampered animals wear little coats and shoes to buying the best food available, no matter the cost.

For pet owners who want to spoil their beloved animal even more, we have put together a list of innovative ideas that will take treating your pet like royalty to a whole new level.

Furbo

All loving owners wonder what their precious pets get up to when they are not around. Alas, thanks to the beauty of technology and the Furbo pet monitor, you can keep an eye on your pet, literally. The Furbo also feeds your pet treats to ensure they are well-fed and not in a grumpy mood.

Click here for more information.

Petkit eversweet water dispenser

Concerned about whether your pet has enough water? Well, cast your worries aside as the eversweet water dispenser has your back.

Serving as an intelligent drinking fountain, the water dispenser, created by Petkit, is equipped with a light and level sensor and will filter and refill fresh water automatically. Now that’s the way for pets to drink water in style.

Click here for more information.

Petkit Fresh Metal

In addition to their revolutionary water dispenser, Petkit also take care of your pet’s weight.

Sometimes it’s hard to resist those puppy-dog eyes and we give them treats here and there, but with the smart antibacterial bowl, your pet will still get the food it loves, but stay healthy at the same time.

As a 2016 iF Design Award winner, the feeding bowl weighs exactly how much food your pet needs given their weight, breed and other vital information.

The bowl is also designed to keep unwanted guests like bacteria and bugs away.

Click here for more information.

Hit top Gear with Samsung’s new smartwatch

Last year, trusted tech brands such as Apple and Sony hoped their respective smart watches would woo consumers. Instead, they faced a widespread drop in wearable tech sales and speculation over whether smart watches were merely a passing fad. But with new products on the horizon, will 2017 be the year that buyers finally put their faith in intelligent wrist assistants? That remains to be seen, but Samsung has certainly made a convincing case with its newest release, the Gear S3.

The watch, equipped with a built-in speaker, allows users to make or answer calls even if they’ve left their smart phones at home. Athletes may take interest in another incorporated feature, a GPS system. This provides the navigational guidance that many have come to rely on while rendering it wholly unnecessary to lug around a phone in a backpack or tummy-hugging exercise belt.

To answer calls, read messages and open apps, one merely has to turn the Gear S3’s bezel. The watch also includes an altimeter, barometer and speedometer, as well as a heart rate sensor. Perhaps the most impressive feature, though, is the fact that the battery lasts about four days, or so Samsung says.

For those who still want to keep their phone on hand, especially for lengthy calls that could be cumbersome on a watch, fear not – the device is compatible with smart phones that run on Android 4.4 and higher.

www.samsung.com

Garment steamer takes the hassle out of cleaning clothes

Keeping your clothes in pristine condition can be a real hassle, but Dutch technology company Philips has the answer to your troubles.

Philips has unveiled their brand new Garment Steamer Series, which wards off bacteria, odours and creases.

The steamer also comes equipped with five different steam levels for different types of fabrics. Plus, for those who are not accustomed to using steamers, don’t worry, it’s really simple to use.

Furthermore, the steamer also boasts precision tips, which allows you to clean challenging areas like collars and in between buttons. What more could you want?

Price: $2,498

For more information, visit: www.philips.com.hk/en/

Move your library to the palm of your hand with these 5 e-readers

If you’re an avid reader like me, then you know how frustrating it can be to find a place to store all of your books at home.

You may even find yourself discarding some of your cherished novels due to a lack of space.

But, help is at hand in the form of e-readers. With enough memory to store thousands of your favourite authors, they are the must-have device for book lovers.

There are a variety of e-readers on the market, but fear not because we have compiled a list of the five best.

Kindle Voyage

Amazon, as most people know, is the gold standard when it comes to e-readers. While the Voyage is not their newest Kindle, it stands out due to its battery life, which lasts for weeks.

You are also spoilt for choice when it comes to turning pages as there are sensor pads on the sides or you can simply tap on the screen.

Furthermore, with a 300 ppi display and a built-in light that you can adjust yourself or let your device adjust automatically, you can read at all hours of the day and night. Talk about setting the mood for a horror or thriller novel.

Price: HK$1,552

Rating: 4.5/5

For more information, visit: www.amazon.com

Kobo Aura H2O

Kobo is probably Amazon’s closest competitor and their Aura H2O model has impressed a lot of people. The Aura H20 is waterproof in one metre of water for up to 30 minutes, making it the perfect e-reader for anyone who enjoys kicking back, relaxing and reading at the beach.

The only drawback is its 265 dpi display, which means the words on the screen are not as sharp compared to a Kindle.

Price: HK$1,381

Rating: 3.5/5

For more information, visit: us.kobobooks.com

Kindle Paperwhite

The Paperwhite is the best selling model of the Kindle and it’s easy to see why. At an affordable price, this device is a book enthusiast’s dream.

In addition to having a 300 dpi display and coming in two colours, black or white, the Paperwhite weighs just 213 grams, making it lighter than an iPad mini.

So, it’s a good price, has a battery life of weeks and weighs next to nothing. What’s not to like?

Price: HK$931

Rating: 5/5

For more information, visit: www.amazon.com

Barnes & Noble Nook Glowlight Plus

The Nook Glowlight Plus is Barnes & Noble’s pride and joy when it comes to e-readers. Like the Kobo H2O, it’s waterproof, but this product goes one step further as it is dustproof as well. With a 300 dpi display and a battery that will also last for weeks, Barnes & Noble has produced a solid e-reader.

Price: HK$1,000

Rating: 3.5/5

For more information, visit: www.barnesandnoble.com

Kindle Oasis

The Oasis is the newest Kindle on the market and while Amazon hasn’t changed much of the technical aspects compared to previous models, the Oasis comes with a leather charging cover in black, merlot or walnut.

With a new ergonomic design that nestles the device right in the palm of your hand, reading has never been easier. The Oasis weighs just over 130 grams and with the plethora of advantages Amazon’s newest Kindle boasts, it is their priciest e-reader. But, where luxury and comfort is concerned, splashing the cash for a device that can be a reader’s dream seems worth it.

Price: HK$2,250

Rating: 4.5/5

For more information, visit: www.amazon.com

Written by Bimal Mirwani

Top Brass: Bang & Olufsen releases a Cool Modern sound

Bang & Olufsen’s latest offering – the Cool Modern Collection – updates the brand’s iconic design with a range of new colours and textiles. Inspired by the 1920s’ Art Deco movement, the new brass-toned shades complement the sleek Nordic design and create a stylish ambience. Two new jewel-toned fabric speaker covers, dubbed Parisian Night and Purple Heart, complete the look. Available on selected products – including the BeoVision 14 television, the wireless BeoSound 35 and the BeoSound 1 – the range also comes with new matte black stands and wall mounts. Additionally, BeoLab 18 and BeoVision 12 feature smoked oak lamellas on the speaker covers.

www.bang-olufsen.com

Weird and wonderful gadgets from the Consumer Electronics Show

The world’s biggest technology trade show, the Consumer Electronics Show (CES), was held earlier this month in Las Vegas. CES is known to showcase some of the coolest, weirdest and downright impractical gadgets every year.

Here are 6 standout gadgets from this year’s show.

The Hair Coach

The first ever smart-hairbrush has been launched by Withings, a division of Nokia, and L’Oreal. The brush monitors your hair’s health with sensors that help you keep track and log information to a mobile app.

The Hair Coach features a microphone that detects your brushing techniques and sends this information to the mobile app, which then works out ways to help you keep your hair healthy. The sensors mentioned earlier can also detect if your hair is wet or dry and it has an accelerometer and a gyroscope.

LG Signature OLED W7

LG showed off its new “wallpaper” TV which is 2.57mm thin. LG calls the Signature OLED W7 a “picture on the wall.” The ridiculously thin 65-inch TV comes with 4K resolution, HDR, a Dolby Atmos sound bar, built in WiFi and four HDMI ports.

It also comes with a magnetic mounting system so you can hang it on the wall.

Hypersuit

The Hypersuit is a Virtual Reality simulator that allows you to explore universes and pretty much anywhere else imaginable from the comfort of your home.

Built by a Paris-based startup, Hypersuit is an exoskeleton that fully immerses you into VR. The VR simulator, which is completely controlled by arm movements, lets users fly, dive into the ocean and travel into space.

To make the Hypersuit work, users lie on a movable exoskeleton platform with a virtual reality headset on.

Hover Camera Passport

The easy to operate and small Hover Camera Passport captures 13-megapixel images and 4K video. Users control the Hover Camera through a smartphone app, and it tracks your movements based on the location of your phone, or using facial recognition.

To activate facial recognition, just look at the drone and once it recognises your face it will follow you until you tell it to stop.

And because the drone is so small and shaped like a box, it is easy to fold up and take with you anywhere.

Denso Vacuum Shoes

Made by a Japanese auto parts maker, these platform-type shoes will suck up any small items such as crumbs and dust that litter your apartment floor.

The platform shoe has a small vacuum in the sole and a pedal in the heel which starts the vacuum every time your foot hits the floor.

Kuri robot

Kuri is a small robot armed with a camera, speakers, a microphone and can transmit voice messages.

Developed by Mayfield, which is backed by Bosch, the 50-cm Kuri can carry out surveillance of your home when you’re away, recognise faces, play music and greet family members when they walk in the front door.

Kuri will also map out your home so it can move around freely without bumping into furniture.

Written by Andrew Scott

Echo soundings from Amazon

Apple has Siri, Microsoft has Cortana and now Amazon has Alexa. The latest leading lady in voice assistive technology comes courtesy of Amazon’s release of the Echo, a hands-free device that serves as DJ, personal assistant and housekeeper, all wrapped up in one neat cylindrical package.

With dual downward-firing speakers and a 2.5 inch woofer that really gets the bass pumping, the device can source tunes from Amazon Music, Spotify, Pandora, iHeartRadio and TuneIn, whatever your personal preference. Thanks to its seven microphones, far-field voice recognition and noise-cancelling technology, it can also hear commands shouted from across the room, even while it’s playing the latest from Metallica. Want an Uber, a pizza or an update on the weather? Alexa can handle it. She can even read an audiobook, relay the latest news and tell you the score at the big game. Indeed, the device is said to get smarter and smarter every time you use it.

Around the house, it can control lights, thermostats and any other appliances that are operated via compatible smart home devices, including WeMo, Philips Hue, SmartThings and Insteon. The tech nerds over at CNET call the Echo “the closest thing we are likely to get to a Star Trek style computer at home.” Perhaps the goal is to boldly go where no one has gone before without actually having to boldly get out of bed at all.