Gadgetの No. 19 の目次

In the last four weeks alone, Amazon Echo’s virtual assistant has learnt to lock your doors, schedule appointments in your calendar, order your usual at Starbucks, and even diagnose what’s wrong with you. Better known as Alexa, the system has 7,000 skills at last count, but this is clearly increasing all the time. ‘So what?’ you say – automation tool IFTTT has millions of ways of working with your gadgets and web services. Rather it’s how you interact with Alexa that’s so innovative: you just say what you want aloud and she makes it happen. The Amazon Echo launched in the UK last September, but is set to be everywhere this year. Alexa will be able to control your washing machine, talk to you through your television, travel with you…

01 No talking Hayo is like Amazon Echo for hand gestures. Instead of giving it voice commands, Hayo reacts to movements to control your smart home, for example pointing at your TV to turn it on. 02 Room scanning The Hayo recognises your gestures using a 3D sensors that creates a map of your room and detects when you make movements in set zones, which it knows trigger different commands. 03 Control everything Hayo is compatible with Sonos speakers, Nest thermostat and other devices, Philips Hue and Lifx bulbs as well as Chromecast, but can also be used to answer or reject phone calls. 04 Back chat If you like the sound of Hayo, its available to back now on crowdfunding site Indiegogo. If you donate £175/$219, you will be…

Amazon wasn’t at the CES 2017 gadget showcase in Las Vegas but Alexa certainly was. Thanks to a decision to allow third-party devs and manufacturers to integrate the technology into their own products, the number of gadgets making use of Alexa has exploded. Voice command tech is already the hot trend for this year and everyone seems to want in on the action. Google is certainly putting up a fight with its low-cost Home speaker and there’s talk of an equivalent device using Apple’s Siri. Sony is hoping its cute Xperia Agent will give it the edge too but Amazon is leading the way. Echo sales have reached more than 8 million units to date and the Christmas period has given this burgeoning sub-industry great hope. Nines times as many…

Ask Alexa what a skill is and it’ll answer: “A skill is the learned ability to carry out a task with predetermined results often within a given amount of time, energy or both.” That, in short, means it is an ability possessed by any one person but it’s not far off the mark when it comes to Alexa’s own particular set of ‘Skills’. In Alexa’s case, a Skill is a specialised app controlled by your voice, and when the Echo was launched there were 13 of them. Today, there are more than 8,000, with new Skills being created every week. By installing them, you can widen the scope of Alexa’s interactions to play voice games, plan trips away, order rides, dictate messages, get recipes, hear flash briefings and much more.…

Of course, inviting an internet-connected listening device into your home raises privacy concerns. When you say “Alexa”, your Echo springs into life. So that means it’s always listening, doesn’t it? Well, yes and no. Alexa is indeed constantly keeping its digital ear out for its wake word, but the listening at this stage is only local and it is not being saved. Audio streaming only begins once Alexa is activated, either by uttering its name, pressing the button on top of the Echo or holding the mic button on an Amazon Fire TV remote (that’s right, Alexa lives there, too). You’ll know Echo is recording by looking out for the illuminated blue ring. It stops when the request has been uploaded to the cloud and processed. You can then, if…

“Crucially, you will be able to control your smart home devices” Alexa inside The Mate 9 is available in Europe and Asia but only the US version is getting the benefit for Alexa for now. That will surely change over time Top specs Of course, there’s a phone running Android Nougat here, too. You get a 5.9-inch, 1080 x 1920 pixel screen, a dual 20MP sensors, 64GB of memory and a rear-mounted fingerprint sensor Ideal for small firms We expect to see smaller phone makers adopting Alexa – its open nature makes it ideal for firms lacking the funds to create their own AI assistants Alexa is no friend of Apple’s Siri and Google Assistant. If they were real entities rather than disembodied voices, you could easily imagine them bad…

It’s true what people say, technology moves forward at a frightening pace. Gadgets are being made smaller and more convenient then ever before with earbuds now being completely wireless, fitness trackers condensed into rings and laptops now being able to flip around and become tablets. And while the overall size is getting smaller, the power and amount of features in these devices isn’t suffering. Who knows what new stuff we will see before 2017 is over, but we’re here to talk about the five-star tech that’s out now, these gadgets we’ve picked are the best in their field and should be the ones you should go for when you’re looking to make a purchase. From kitchen to bathroom, high-end to high-savings and cutting edge to retro-inspired, we’ve looked at countless…

Triathlete’s choice All day tracking It’s built for a range of sports, but will keep tabs on your heart-rate, steps and even serve up notifications when you’re not working out Powerful battery life With so much on board you’d be forgiven for thinking this watch taps out quickly, but it’ll last for up to 14 hours of GPS tracking An advanced multi-sport watch built with budding triathletes in mind. It provides highly-accurate heart-rate monitoring from your wrist, which lets you see your heart-rate zone and beats per minute in real-time, as well as smart training metrics, like stride length and ground contact time balance. Garmin Forerunner 735XT £400 | $450 | garmin.com Run free with GPS Over 500 songs One of the few running watches with music streaming built-in, you…

Real-time coaching sunglasses Safe sun smarts These super smart glasses also shield you from the sun by filtering out 100 per cent of all UVA, UVB, UVC and harmful blue light up to 400nm Change your lenses With interchangeable lenses, you can make sure you’re getting the best performance for your environment. Try Prizm Road lens for the sharpest visual acuity Protection against impact In case of accidents, the Radar Pace is protected against high velocity and high mass impacts through durable materials Touch your temples Touchpads allow you to control functions with simple swipes and taps. Like adjusting volume, taking calls from your phone and controlling music The sunglasses and performance specialists at Oakley have teamed up with the tech experts at Intel to bring you a way to…

One of our favourite things about the Honor 6X is the battery life – it just lasts and lasts. This is the result of a multi-pronged approach from Honor, common to many of the company’s devices. First and foremost, the 6X uses a 3340mAh battery, which is larger than most of its peers. Despite this, the device isn’t excessively chunky, at only 8.2mm thick. Of course, a big battery alone isn’t enough – the 6X stamina is also assisted by 16nm chipset, which reduces both power usage and the energy that is lost as heat. The love-it-or-hate-it EMUI software layer includes numerous software tweaks designed to improve battery life, including the ability to warn when applications are consuming excess power in the background. The Android Doze feature is of course…

B&O Beoplay M5 A smart speaker that incorporates a series of unique gesture controls, alongside a patented 360-degree sound system, packed with highly-capable tweeters and woofers alike. £530 | $600 Bioplay.com Daisy chain design Each speaker includes the Beolink Multiroom feature, which allows for multiple M5 units to be instantly connected to one another in different rooms through a stable Wi-Fi-based connection Sound optimisation Through the accompanying Beoplay app, users can set where they’ve placed the M5. This in turn helps the speaker self-configure the sound requirements needed from that location Seamless connections While many will choose to connect via Bluetooth, the M5 also has built-in Chromecast support, Spotify Connect and QPlay 2.0 functionality. Oh, and don’t forget about Apple Airplay, either Touch controls By brushing your finger over the…

Olloclip Core Lens These new clip-on lenses bring a new dynamic to iPhone photography. The Core Lens Set gives you optical zoom, fisheye, super-wide and 15x macro capabilities. £80 | $100 olloclip.com Redesigned optics Olloclip has completely redesigned its lens sets for iPhone 7, and they now feature premium multi-element coated glass optics, which help to deliver superior shots in our testing Universal app compatibility The lenses work with all of your favourite camera apps like Camera+, ProCamera and RAW Camera Shooting, and are great for shooting video, time-lapses, panoramas and 360-degree VR photos Easy to use You don’t need any fancy adapters to get started with Olloclip’s lenses, in fact there isn’t even any extra software to download. The patented systems attach and sign instantly iPhone 7 Plus The…

LOGITECH C922 PRO STREAM 1080P WEBCAM When it comes to livestreaming games on your new laptop, quality is always king. That’s why you will want a camera that can support 1080p recorded and streaming video, you really shouldn’t look much further than this webcam; it has been purpose built for gamers. £85 | $100 | logitech.com RAZER SEIRēN Have you got your eye on invading YouTube and Twitch? Then you’re going to need fantastic audio, and it doesn’t get much better than Razer’s latest offering. Seirēn is a powerful microphone that should suit any of your gaming endeavours; it’s great for podcasting and professional grade audio recording. £160 | $180 | razerzone.com STEELSERIES RIVAL 500 While it isn’t as flashy as the upgraded Rival 700 model, this mouse is actually…

Once upon a time, iTunes was revolutionary. Back in 2003, Steve Jobs proudly unveiled the software with a beaming smile calling it “music downloads done right”. And it was, the iTunes Music Store – as it was then known – changed the way we buy and listen to music. However, in the 14 years since then, the desktop app has become a bloated mess, with an overwhelming number of features – movies, television shows, podcasts, apps and most recently a streaming service – crammed into it. This has turned iTunes in a space-suck with storage requirements that go far beyond the size of the files its hosts, which in turn helps make it slow to use, and – the ultimate crime for an Apple product – ugly to look it…

Android 7.0 is Google’s big refresh of its phone and tablet operating system. Also known as Android Nougat (Google has a sweet tooth – previous updates include Lollipop and Marshmallow), this update is feature packed with multi-screen support, smarter battery management and even virtual reality built-in. However, despite launching last August, many Android users still haven’t had the Nougat update. This is due to delays by manufacturers and even phone carriers, who have to check Google’s complex updates are compatible with their devices. But last month Android 7.0 finally crossed the 1 per cent adoption rate, so let’s celebrate with this guide to its best features. “Despite launching last August, many Android users still haven’t had the update” 01 Direct reply notifications Apps such as Facebook Messenger and the standard…

Dave Harfield Editor In Chief My inner Mod is excited to see Vespa is getting into tech, even if the Gita robot ( page 6 ) doesn’t look half as stylish. Drew Sleep Production I bought a Pi ( page 42 ) this month and it’s easier to get to grips with than Aiden Dalby Staff Writer The Sony Walkman NW-A35 was my personal favourite from our Five-Star 50 guide ( page 35 ). Stephen Williams Senior Art Editor The Dell Canvas ( page 13) works like a Microsoft Studio but is compatible with my Mac - I’m sold!…

HuaweiWatch A Huawei Watch 2 is imminent, but the original already boasts one of the sharpest resolutions going with a PPI equal to an Apple Watch 2. Not just pretty to look at, it also includes a heart-rate monitor making it one of the best all-rounders. £300 | $350 | huawei.com Polar M600 Tricked out with GPS and heart-rate monitor, the M600 is the ideal watch for leaving your phone at home if you plan to hit the gym or pound the pavements. It’s advanced fitness analysis is also way better than Wear 2.0’s Google Fit app. €300 | $330 | polar.com Asus Zenwatch 3 Though it looks like quite a traditional timepiece, Asus was one of the few manufacturers to have the foresight to include…

Also wired for sound Even if the H4’s 19-hour battery dies, you can still use the headphones with a bundled 3.55mm jack. Alternatively, iPhone 7 users only have to wait 2.5 hours for them to charge Plush personalisation As well as wrapping its aluminium-and-stainless-steel skeleton in lambskin coating, the ear cup cushions are filled with memory foam so they mould to fit your unique lugs App integration The BeoPlay app for Android, iPhone and Apple Watch allows you to adjust EQ levels, monitor battery charge and switch between different sound profiles, including dedicated setups for podcasts and working out Just bought yourself a shiny new iPhone 7, but realised there is no where to plug in your headphones? Don’t worry, high-end audio maker Bang & Olufsen has got you covered…

01 Oura Ring This ring records your sleep data as well as daily activity, such as walking, so you will be able to see your overall daily and nightly activity and how you can improve your overall lifestyle. £280 | $340 | ouraring.com 02 +Winter self-heating insoles Heating your feet for up to five hours, these insoles work via Bluetooth and also charge wirelessly – you will barely notice that you are even wearing them. £120 | $145 | plus-t-store.com 03 Aurai eye massager Your eyes work tirelessly during the day and need a rest from time to time. The Aurai massages your peepers with water, relieving any stress you might have from looking at screens all day. £160 | $200 | i-aurai.com 04 Percko Correct your posture with this…

01 TRAIN ALEXA’S HEARING We all speak in different ways but you may find that your speech pattern isn’t being picked up properly by Alexa, leading to some frustrating results. To rectify this, pop over to the Alexa app, go to ‘Settings’ to ‘Voice Training’ and repeat 25 phrases. 02 MAKE YOURSELF KNOWN Alexa will get to understand you better if it knows who it’s talking with. If you have multiple users, go to alexa.amazon.co.uk and select ‘Settings’ to ‘Household Profile’. Once done, simply say: “Alexa, switch to [your name’s] profile”. 03 SWITCH YOUR MUSIC SERVICE By default, Alexa is set to use the Amazon Prime Music library but chances are you don’t subscribe to it. If you are a user of Spotify, Pandora or iHeartRadio instead, you can delve…

AI-powered virtual assistants have come on leaps and bounds in the past 12 months, primarily thanks to the emergence of Amazon Echo as a wallet-friendly option for users. Alexa soon became the virtual assistant that we always wanted, providing seamless support for wireless streaming and enhancing your daily life with your voice. Now while Google’s Home may closely follow the success of what Echo offers, its shining light is its supposed compatibility with a greater number of apps and external products. But can Home seriously outdo everything that Echo has achieved? We’re going voice-on to find out. Amazon Echo A voice-activated speaker that boasts a voice assistant named Alexa at its core. It can be used to stream music, search the web, automate tasks and work with a wide range…

01 Add your details Filling in data about you, your habits and how you’ll use your tracker will serve up the best estimations and results in the long run. 02 Set your goals Many trackers set default goals, but don’t be afraid to go and change them based on your personal preferences and performance. 03 Comfort is key There’s nothing worse than feeling uncomfortable on a run. Test your tech to make sure straps fit and you’re wearing it in the right place. 04 Sync your data Get to know how your gadget syncs up to its accompanying app and whether you need to tap it, prompt it or just leave it to it. 05 Find your tribe Either use the accompanying app or sign up to one like Strava…

Honor 6X The phone’s overall performance belies its price. The specs are impressive, so buying a mid-range device no longer means feeling like a second-class Android citizen. £225 | $250 hihonor.com Blue light filter The Honor 6X includes a comfort mode that filters out blue light, perfect for if you are using your phone just before going to sleep Phase detection auto focus The camera features ‘phase detection auto focus’ which means it can focus in only 0.3 seconds. The main 12-megapixel camera sensor is a cutting edge Sony IMX386 part Vertical dual-lens camera The vertical dual-lens camera on the Honor 6X allows for an aperture range of F/0.95 – F/16 and has 1.25 UM pixels. The aperture range allows for clever visual effects and post-shot focus adjustment Split-screen support…

Pentax KP A high-end DSLR camera with an APS-C sensor capable of shooting at ISO 819200 – the highest native range on the market, making it incredibly sensitive to light. £1,100 | $1,100 ricoh-imaging.com Dials and buttons The control panels, button settings and dial controls give you quick access to all your settings, and are fully customisable depending on exactly how you like to work Shoot the stars An optional GPS unit helps to create stunning astro photographs out of extremely long exposures - where stars appear as single points of light, rather than unrealistic trails All weather camera The rugged exterior of the KP is dustproof and weather-sealed, as well as being able to work in temperatures as low as -10 degrees Celsius Tilt and shoot The screen vertically…

UPGRADE YOUR AUDIO WITH RUARK’S LATEST The new MR1 Mk2 is the latest exquisitely-crafted design from the British audio company. With improved functionality and connectivity – including portability via a battery back pack for the master unit – these compact, active, wireless speakers sound utterly amazing! Ruark MR1 Mk2 £330 | $415 | ruarkaudio.com TAKE CONTROL OF YOUR PS4 If you fancy yourself the next greatest eSports star, check out Nacon’s new Revolution Pro controller for the PlayStation 4, which offers insane level of customisation. Then again, it does cost as much as two standard DualShock 4s. Nacon PlayStation 4 Revolution Pro Controller £85 | $105 | nacongaming.com TOMTOM’S CHEAPER FITNESS BAND STILL PACK THE STATS You might think ‘satnav’ when you hear the name TomTom, but the brand is…

KEYS TO SUCCESS Simple and effective, the Piano Maestro is a set of lights you can spread over your existing keyboard and eliminates the need to be able to read sheet music. It’s considerably cheaper than some of the other alternatives out there. The Piano Maestro £135 | $140 | thepianomaestro.com LEARN TO JAM The jamstik+ helps you get the feel of a real guitar and uses lets you sense where your fingers are, helping you to learn chords. It’s also portable, no need to string it over your back to the chagrin of fellow tube users. jamstik+ £250 | $300 | jamstik.com ALL IN ONE This versatile device lets you do it all. Strum a guitar, bow a violin, tap a piano, or loop a beat on a single…

Enjoy VR on the go Watch 360-degree videos, play games and take virtual tours with the google’s latest foray into the VR market: the Daydream headset. It is made from lightweight and comfortable fabric so its more comfortable than other portable VR headsets available on the market. Daydream View £70 | $80 | google.com/daydream Give your phone a facelift If you’re not a fan of Android’s interface and want to give it a makeover or download a new launcher. Evie removes all clutter from the home screen and introduces a search bar at the top that makes it easy to find all apps and contacts. Evie Launcher Free | evie.com Smart Phone Camera This wireless lens camera has 30x optical zoom, a 20MP sensor and is controlled using your smartphone…

Sky Scanner Got wanderlust, but don’t know where to go? Just type ‘Everywhere’ into the search bar to view low price flights worldwide. skyscanner.com Seat Guru Once you have your flight details, head to Seat Guru to read user reviews and find out which seats have the most legroom or have charging points. seatguru.com FlightTrack 5 FlightTrack 5 colour-codes your flights so you can know at a glance if you need to perform a mad sprint to your gate. mobiata.com Jet Lag Calculator This site does some clever maths to work out a sleep schedule that will help adjust your body clock to a new time zone. bit.ly/2db95Gj…

Zero turning radius Intended to manoeuvre even the busiest city streets, the spherical Gita can turn on the spot as well as use sensors to avoid obstacles Highly mobile The robot is designed to go anywhere a wheelchair can, so it can use ramps, fit down shopping aisles and even take the lift. Alternatively, Gita can be parked outside while shopping Follow the leader Gita will follow the signal given off by a tracking device the operator wears as a belt. Using this method, Gita can also learn routes so it can travel them on its own Biometric lock To keep your precious cargo safe, Gita requires you to scan your fingerprints and enter a code to either open its lid or even start moving Flashy ride As well as…

While Amazon Echo has a 2.5-inch woofer and a two-inch tweeter capable of sending deep bass and high notes to your ears, the sound still won’t reach neighbouring rooms with any great clarity. Pop these Bluetooth speakers into your ceiling, though, and you’ll be able to stream music from an Echo or Echo Dot while using either device to control them. Aside from turning the speakers on and off and figuring what you’d like to play, you can change and even cap the volume – perfect if you want to tone someone’s taste in music down a bit. The speakers also come in two guises: one for use in normal rooms and a waterproof version. In either case, they are fitted without the need for a separate amplifier and they…

Drive with a mobile phone clasped to your ear in the UK and you’ll face a fixed £200 penalty and six points on your licence. Fix your Android phone to the magnetic ZeroTouch car mount, however, and you can make and receive calls, play your music and even text using nothing more than your voice. As the first product to make Alexa available for any car, this uses Bluetooth to automatically open the ZeroTouch app. You can then keep your eyes on the road while you control your home from afar or keep in touch with the wider world, sharing your location with others or using navigation apps to find your way around. There’s a big drive to make use of the voice service, though. BMW’s Connected smartphone app uses…

We know, we know: you can look out of the window if you want to know the weather but staring through glass won’t give you a fraction of the detail that Netatmo’s Weather Station gives. By setting it up and activating the Alexa Skill, you can ask Amazon’s assistant to tell you the current temperature and pressure and get it to divulge the levels of humidity, sound and carbon dioxide. Bag more than one weather station and you can get the lowdown in a specific location. What’s more, all of this can be done without even bothering to open the curtains. Netatmo Weather Station £140 | $150 | netatmo.com…

Siri was the world’s first virtual assistant when it launched six years ago. But the iPhone’s own digital genie has massively fallen behind the new kids on the block, Alexa and Google Assistant. Algorithm improvements have made both of Siri’s primary competitors able to perform more functions, and work in tandem with a greater spectrum of devices. But we shouldn’t discount Siri just yet. Just last autumn, Apple made Siri the marquee feature of its macOS Sierra launch. This brought its virtual assistant to its computer range for the first time. At the same time, on mobile, Apple added its Home app to iOS 10, which allows you to control your smart home gadgets via Siri. You can now also control these so-called HomeKit devices by talking to Siri through…

MOT your running style Before you upgrade your running with the help of tech, it’s important to master your technique. We asked fitness and biomechanics coach Phil Roberton, who works with more than 1,000 London Marathon charity runners every year, to give us his scientifically-proven top tips for ensuring you stay safe, avoid injury and run efficiently... Book a race This will give you a goal and a focus to train to. Create a training plan to get organised and accountable Always stay hydrated Day to day, aim for a water intake of 28ml multiplied by bodyweight in kg. During runs you need to be increasing consumption to 400-600ml per hour Position your elbows Arm swing can help with running technique. Keep your elbows bent at 90 degrees, relax shoulders…

01 Know your feet Get a full gait analysis done to find the right shoes. They need to give you support for your personal running style and address any inward and outward rolling of your foot as it hits the ground. 02 Consider your terrain If you’re running on a trail you’ll need more support and if you prefer to pound the pavement you’ll need more protection against impact but it often depends on your running style. 03 Learn to lace You can then tailor your laces to accommodate your running style, with techniques designed to prevent heel slipping or give more comfort for those with high arches.…

“Following guide lights is an easier and more efficient way to learn a new song” A real piano First and foremost it’s also a piano, complete with weighted keys, a classic wooden look and professional stereo sound A smart connection The songs you play are stored in their thousands on the free app. Just read the sheet music off your compatible smart device Lighting the way Learning to play is as simple as just following the lights. The red lights represent the right hand notes, and the blue lights tell you where to play with your left hand When it comes to unfulfilled ambitions, learning to play an instrument tends to be up there with writing a novel or mastering a foreign language. How many of us have strummed along…

01 Maintain their temperature Avoid attics or anywhere else that the temperature will change constantly. Keep all photos in a cool, dry place as this slows down the rate of decay. 02 Frame them properly If you are going to frame old photos, make sure it has UV conservation glass and keep them away from direct sunlight. 03 Pack them correctly Use a container made from board or an envelope that’s acid free or isn’t buffered. It should also be a similar size so the photos can’t move around whilst inside. 04 Use safe photo albums Avoid over-stuffing your photo albums, and you should use paper or envelopes that are acid-free or with plastic films, such as polyester or polypropylene.…