Triggertrap
Price: $4.5 (iOS or Android); dongle and
cable, $42
Supplier: www..com
Triggertrap
There aren’t many DSLR accessories cheap
enough to make the Christmas list aside from bags, cases and mini-tripods.
Don’t give up looking for the perfect snapper’s gift just yet, though: the
Triggertrap smartphone remote release system costs only $48 for the cable,
dongle and app (for iOS or Android), and it opens up a wealth of creative
options. It’s a simple system: connect the dongle and camera cable together,
then plug one end into the smartphone’s headphone connector and the other into
the DSLR’s remote release socket, and you’re ready to shoot. The app provides
all manner of shooting modes, from the ability to fire off a shot with a tap of
the finger and capture time-lapse sequences automatically, to motion, vibration
and audio sensing modes. There’s even a setting that allows you to capture a
series of incrementally different exposures for use in vibrant HDR photographs.
Fitbit Zip
Price: $75
Supplier: www.fitbit.com
Fitbit
Zip
With the festive season fast approaching,
it will soon be wall-to-wall mince pies, roast dinners and after-work
booze-ups. To ensure all these lovely tidbits don’t have a negative impact on
your waistline, a little time with the new Fitbit Zip might be in order. This
alluring gizmo is a pedometer, but it’s unlike any other on the market. Plug
the accompanying USB dongle into your PC and sign up for a Fitbit account, and
the Zip will record your steps, calories burned and distance travelled on the
Fitbit website. You can even track the calories you’ve been consuming with the
accompanying iOS and Android app, although it’s probably best to leave this
until well after the Christmas lunch has gone down you don’t want to give
yourself a heart attack.
BubbleScope
Price: $105
Supplier: www.firebox.com
BubbleScope
Shooting panoramic photos is hip now that
Apple has included the facility in the iPhone’s camera
app, but panoramas take longer than a standard photo to shoot. For instant,
truly 360-degree shots and video, there’s now the BubbleScope. It’s an optical
camera attachment for your iPhone 4 or 4S that attaches to the rear of your
phone via a snap-on case, and it works with the accompanying BubblePix app to
produce true, full-circle photos and videos that can be either exported to your
camera roll or uploaded to the BubblePix website. It’s well made –
we particularly like the way it springs up, ready for action, periscope-style -
and it’s fun to use, especially in video mode, where it’s possible to pan
around a scene while playing it back. We suspect the novelty will wear off
quickly, though, and the image quality it produces is very grainy.
Jabra Halo2
Price: $82.5
Jabra
Halo2
Jabra is most famous for its Bluetooth
hands-free headsets, but as these Halo headphones prove, that expertise extends
to stereo headphones. They’re well-made and slimline, folding neatly so you can
slip them into a small bag or pocket, and look great in a futuristic, Star Trek
kind of way. They have integrated Dual Microphones, so you can answer calls
without pulling your phone from your pocket, and a nifty touch sensitive
sliding volume control on the outside of the right-hand earpiece. They work
well, and although they won’t replace a quality pair of wired headphones, audio
quality is still good, with forceful mids, clear top end and powerful bass. The
only thing we’re not completely convinced of is the call quality from the
built-in mics: voice was still completely understandable in our tests, but
sounded scratchy in quality compared to speaking on the phone itself.
Mikey Digital
Price: $120
Mikey
Digital
If you’ve ever used any of the recent
iPhones to record an impromptu podcast, lecture or interview, you’ll know the
built-in mic is pretty good, but it isn’t a patch on the quality of Blue
Microphones’ Mikey Digital. This clever gizmo sports a 30-pin connector, and
works with any iPad, the iPhone 3GS, 4, and 4S (iPhone 5 owners will need the
adapter). It has three sensitivity settings, an analogue 3.5mm line-in and even
a mini USB port, so you can charge your iPhone while it’s plugged in. The boost
in sound quality compared with the internal mic is vast: recordings made with
the Mikey sound full-bodied and warm, while those captured without it sound
thin and flat, with much more background noise. If you regularly use an idevice
to make audio recordings, this will improve the way they sound –
the price is a tad high, though.
Jabra Solemate
Price: $171
Jabra
Solemate
If you’re used to Bluetooth speakers that
sound tinny, feel lightweight and look ugly, the Jabra Solemate could be for
you. This fantastically good-looking device is designed to resemble a shoe,
complete with ridged rubber sole for a secure footing on a desk, and has a
3.5mm audio cable embedded in the tread that takes on the appearance of a
shoelace. It’s extremely solidly put together: when you hook it up to a
Bluetooth source, the sound it pumps out packs a remarkable punch, with a
powerful mid-range and even a modicum of bass. There’s also an integrated
microphone, so if a call comes in while you’re kicking back enjoying some
tunes, you can answer with the press of a button and put the Solemate into
speakerphone mode. As portable speakers go, this is very good –
but then it ought to be at this price.
Barnes & Noble Nook Simple Touch
with GlowLight
Price: $163.5
Supplier: http://www.nook.com
Barnes
& Noble Nook Simple Touch with GlowLight
If it hadn’t been for the Kobo Glo and the
Amazon Paperwhite, the Nook Simple Touch with GlowLight would have swept all
before it this Christmas. It was first eBook reader, by a couple of weeks, with
an integrated light, making it possible to read in bed in the dark without
disturbing your partner. Battery life is reasonable: with the light on, Barnes &
Noble says it will last a month of 30 minutes’ reading a day, and two months
with the light off. We like the design, with its scooped out, soft-plastic
rear, and optical touchscreen. It’s also good news that books can be loaded
from third-party eBook stores as well as from the integrated book store via
Wi-Fi. Alas, though, both the Kobo Glo and Kindle Paperwhite have better
screens, and brighter, more even lighting.
