P h o n e s
t a b l e t s
w e a r a b l e s
C A M ERAS
B&O wireless headphones page 53
hot tv upgrades
Sub-£100 streaming boxes affordable OLED screens
The Gadget Magazine
BIG March 2015 / £4.99
the next
get 4K today without buying a new tv
sony hi - res walkman page 20
gadgets
Samsung’s super hd tvs Amazon and netflix in 4k Sony’s savvy smart watch LG’s regenerating phone a p p l e watc h wa r + Why wait for apple? we rate the options
B e st n e w c a r t ec h + hybrid hypercars, in-car systems and tesla on
first look
microsoft HOLOLENS hands-on with
the future of VR
Contents March 2015 / Issue 240
This issue’s highlights Curves to die for
13
There’s no escape
93
Flexible screens are a thing, and LG’s G Flex 2 makes a great case to have a bendy smartphone in your life
Get prepared for adverts flying out of your fridge – tech will enable advertising to infiltrate our lives
The next big gadgets
You don’t need 4K
48
101
Get set for a year of exciting, life-redefining tech. These are the gadgets you need to keep an eye on
LG’s super-screen proves that you don’t have to follow the crowd to get a kick-ass TV – OLED rocks!
Start up the Delorean
It’s all in the wrist
60
We’ve gone back to the future, and we’re liking the way the roads are going to look…
109
Can five of the best smartwatches out now keep the Apple Watch at bay? Time to find out
model wears: Headphones: B&o play H8 BY bang & olufsen, bluetooth speaker: B&o PLAY A2, Jacket: topshop, White top: & Other Stories White trousers: Karl Lagerfeld, Shoes: & Other Stories
march 2015 T3 5
Contents March 2015 / Issue 240
Editor’s letter
9
Opinion
Wearables on prescription?
Insight by Bruce Hellman
Radar
Why Apple Pay isn’t my way
Most Wanted
13
Do you need LG’s new bendy phone? Probably not. Do you crave one? Hell yes! Need List
45 46
Stateside by Chris Smith
360 review: LG 55-inch OLED TV
47
These lounge-enhancers will give you guaranteed screen joy 24/7
47
Supertest: smartwatches
Truth by Duncan Bell Android Wear is where it’s at
The best tech money can buy: custom robot vacuum, super specs and a leccy scooter
Finally… by Pete Dreyer
Every one of the latest wrist wearables stacked up against the Apple Watch
Studio sounds in your pocket
I like big…
Burst: Philips Spotify Connect
20
It’s the iPod all over again – portable music players go hi-resolution Trend
22
Beautiful Bluetooth boomboxes that you can carry with you anywhere Small but perfectly formed 24 Ye gads, more small stuff! This time it’s computing power turned tiny Spend
26
It’s just a clock, right? Don’t be mad – this is tech and art beautifully fused together Icon: Naoto Fukasawa
30
Tokyo-born founder of the +0 brand Stuff
32
This month’s essential selection of gadgets The Buzz
48
2015 could be the best year for gadgets-lovers yet, with a pulse-raising assortment of tech incoming, including gargantuan, super-smart TVs and ear-melting audio
mega Drive
The future of the automobile
Remember in Minority Report how getting a lift somewhere is a hop-on, hop-off handsfree affair? Well, autopia has almost landed – with cars that’ll drive themselves, as well as petrol-crushing hypercars fuelled by tech
109
118
A speaker system for Spotify fans to stream their tunes through Burst: X-Mini Clear
118
Or, try the X-Mini Clear If you prefer good old-fashioned Bluetooth
The guide 60
106
Laptops Televisions Cameras Smartphones Headphones Audio
122 123 124 125 126 128
34
Mouse-powered tech and more Incoming
This year’s most epic gadgets
101
It might not be curved, or even 4K, but this is one of the finest TVs money can buy Round-up: smart TV boxes
A retirement home for the Glass 16
Rated
36
Tech happenings we can see on the horizon
Tech life Gadget of the Month
75
The ultimate luxury SUV
Play EA haaaa!
How to... 38
Obsession: action cam expert Tech Dad
40
Test: kettles
Apps, websites and e-books
Upgrade: tech noir
41
78
Hit new heights with the Parrot Bebop Drone
Reclaim the grimy streets in Victorian-era PS4-exclusive title The Order: 1886 A double helping of indie-style Android games to keep your fingertips busy
77
Learn to take better footage on your GoPro
Electronic Arts’ premier first-person shooter Battlefield 4 takes to the streets Games
76
Upgrade Android and your music collection
79
Boil that water better than ever! 80
A wardrobe Batman would be proud of Pulse
81
A smartwatch that’s trendy and affordable Home
85
BEER! Make it! Yourself! If you’re a Heiny fan Drive
88
Check out the Audi e-tron’s clever combo of petrol and electric power
On the cover
annie budgen @ milk Photographed by neil godwin Styling by Dean Hau Hair and Make-up by Ami penfold retouching by simon windsor Model wears: White jumper: Levi’s, Jeans: Hudson Shoes: & Other Stories
march 2015 T3 7
Editor’s letter March 2015 / Issue 240
As one tech giant’s vision of the future is revealed, another’s is mothballed. A mere six days after Google announced the end of prototype Glass production, Microsoft unveiled HoloLens, its augmented reality wireless headset. I am massively excited by HoloLens. Tech journalists possessing decades-forged scepticism of ‘the next big thing’ are massively excited by HoloLens. Even my old man’s excited by HoloLens and he’s 70 this year. Here is a headmounted PC that runs Windows 10 and projects holograms on to the environment that surrounds you. Incredible. Comparing the two as competing products is pointless. But seen as bold new forays into uncharted tech waters, HoloLens has the potential to deliver where Glass didn’t, because – rather fundamentally – it needs an environment to interact with. And that means one crucial thing – you can only use it indoors: in office environments, at home, at schools and universities, and research centres. But not on the street. Not in bars and libraries and at sports events. Not at other people’s birthday parties, or wandering around a 24hr Tesco at 4am in your pyjamas. And that for me was/is/shall forever be Glass’ failing.
Glass made people look stupid in public. It cost a lot of money, and, frankly, didn’t fit into consumers’ lives the way in which we all wanted it to. “OK Glass, take a picture.” All well and good, but effectively shortcutting the muscle memory that gets the same results from a phone. As my accomplished colleague Duncan Bell makes plain in his column on page 47, Glass has the potential to be genuinely life-improving – just not in the ways that Google really wants it to be. HoloLens seems more focused by comparison, yet with more potential. It’s exciting for the right reasons, as our hands-on preview on page 54 attests. Away from the swirl of HoloLens and Windows 10, a little get-together in Las Vegas occurred. The Consumer Electronics Show is always astounding, and this year was little exception with hundreds of announcements, demos, prototypes and pitches taking place. Cutting through the cacophony is T3’s editorial team – who from page 48 present our refined edit of the very best new gadgets and tech. It’s a mouth-watering list of gear. Vegas was awash with car tech this year, with the likes of BMW, Audi and Mercedes all converging at the traffic-lit crossroads of where tech meets motoring. So this month’s tech focus is on the latest and best automotive advancements – from hybrid hypercars to the next-gen family cruisers, including a full review of Tesla’s road-ready Model S. It’s a great read, and it starts on page 60. Before I sign off, let me remind you of what’s in store next month – our annual Hot 100. On sale from March 19, the T3 editorial team, plus the finest tech journalists and commentators, present the year’s ultimate gear and gadgetry catalogue. Make sure you don’t miss it. Tom Dennis, editor Twitter: @tomdennis / Email: tom.dennis@futurenet.com
{Contributors}
1
2
3
Angling Times’ Match Editor serves up some whopper-baiting tips while we appraise the new wave of futuristic fishing gear (seriously). Find the rods of the gods and other fishy gadgetry on page 82.
Bruce is CEO of uMotif, a company bent on improving healthcare through digitallyenabled practices. He shares his opinion on how wearables can benefit doctors and patients alike. Page 45.
As a former online editor of Top Gear, Jamie has driven some of the finest cars on the planet. He assesses the next wave of motoring served up by tech and auto giants alike. See page 60.
Richard Grange
Bruce Hellman
Jamie Hibbard
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