March 2019 'gadget guru' technology for TRE Talk Radio Europe

Here's a brief reminder of the tech I chatted about in my TRE Talk Radio Europe 'gadget guru' conversation this afternoon:

Samsung Galaxy Fold

Once upon a time, mobile phones that folded in half, with the display on the top part and the keypad on the bottom. Today, folding phones are back on the scene - but we’re now talking about a folding display.

So let’s start with the Samsung Galaxy Fold. This is a slightly chunky affair compared with conventional devices: from the side it looks a bit like two phones stacked on top of each other.

On the outside there’s a 4.6-inch display, which is the sort of sensible size you found on a smartphone a few years ago. But the phone unfolds, with a tablet-sized high-resolution 7.3-inch display inside.

Samsung has gone overboard with the cameras; there’s a selfie camera on one part of the outside and then three on the other: a 12-megapixel wide-angle lens, a 16-megapixel ultra wide-angle lens and a 12-megapixel telephoto lens, which is the same kind of set-up as the new S10 flagship phone. There are also two more cameras available if you need to take pictures when the device is unfolded.

Inside it runs the Android operating system, offering 12GB of RAM, 512GB of storage and 4,380mAh of battery power with the option of wireless charging. There’s even a choice of a 5G model if you want to be future-proof.

The Samsung Galaxy Fold is due to be available from the end of next month with a starting price of US$1,980, which is just over £1500 (€1750).

Huawei Mate X

Let’s move on to the second folding phone - and, surprisingly for the mobile phone industry, it’s a very different device.

The Huawei Mate X doesn’t have a big screen on the inside. Instead, it’s on the outside. So, when the phone’s folded, you get two screens to choose from, one just over 6½ inches from corner to corner and one just under.

Open it up and they become an 8-inch display which, like the Samsung, is better than 2K resolution.

Because there’s effectively only one screen, the Huawei phone is a few millimetres thinner than the Samsung. The other big difference is that Huawei’s phone has an edge containing the cameras, which means the same camera can either be used for selfies or for taking conventional photos, depending on how you’re holding it. You'll find three built-in cameras: a 40-megapixel wide-angle lens, a 16-megapixel ultra wide-angle lens and an 8-megapixel telephoto lens.

Like the Samsung, this also runs Android and can support 5G: it has slightly less RAM but still 512GB of storage, there’s a memory card slot and a slightly bigger battery but no wireless charging. Availability is expected in the summer at a price of around €2,299 (just under £2,000).

Slide smart curtain system

The creators of Slide call it “the world’s first retrofit smart curtain system”.

What does that mean? Well, at a basic level it offers a remote control - but it also connects your curtains to the internet, which means you can program them from your phone.

So instead of an alarm clock- or perhaps at the same time as the alarm on your phone – your curtains can open automatically in the morning. If you’re going on holiday, you can program your curtains to open and close, giving the impression someone’s at home. And you can control them via Google Home or Amazon Alexa.

There’s a little box that attaches to one end of your curtain track - assuming it's horizontal - and pulley that goes on the other end. The control box has a wire that attaches to the edge of the curtains and runs through the pulley. Apparently it should only take a few minutes to fit, it’s all hidden behind the curtain and works with curtain tracks that are up to six metres long.

Slide runs off mains power and connects to your internet via WiFi, with an app on your phone for programming. There’s also an optional remote control you can buy – and none of this stops you from drawing the curtains by hand.

Slide can currently be found on crowd-funding site Indiegogo, where you can pre-order two Slide devices at a discount for $449; that’s around £350/€400 plus shipping, with delivery expected in May.

Teplo connected teapot

Here’s another crowd-funded project: an internet-connected tea pot. Why would you want one? Well, you can ask the teapot to brew tea based on your emotional state. For example, if it senses you’re tired, it can brew your tea at a higher temperature so you get more caffeine out of it. Or if you’re stressed, it’ll produce a more calming cup of tea.

This is a nice-looking piece of kit; not unlike a cross between a water filter, a kettle and a coffee percolator. It stands about eight inches tall, connects to your internet by WiFi and runs off the mains: sadly it’s currently only available for the 110v supply used in the United States and Japan.

You add cold water to the kettle part, you put tea leaves in the tea infuser, you select the type of tea from the Teplo app on your phone at this point - and if you’re after a really personalised brew, you put your finger on the Teplo sensor.

Teplo then adjusts its tea brewing based on your heart rate and body temperature along with the room temperature, noise level and humidity level. It heats the water, swirls the tea leaves in the water for the right time and then takes the leaves out so the tea doesn’t spoil.

You’ll find Teplo on Kickstarter: it’s expected to be available from April next year if everything goes according to plan, with a price of $299 at the moment (around £225 / €265 plus shipping).

TRE Talk Radio Europe 'gadget guru' tech for February 2019

Here's a summary of the technology I talked about in my TRE Talk Radio Europe 'gadget guru' chat this afternoon:

Meizu Zero mobile phone

Chinese manufacturer Meizu has taken a recent design trend to its logical conclusion – or perhaps to its extreme. This is a phone with no sockets and no buttons, hence 'Zero'.

The phone looks like a single piece of shiny ceramic with a 6-inch display embedded in it. There’s no obvious way in except for tiny holes that are needed for the microphone – so, as you might expect, it’s protected against water and dust.

Under the screen is a fingerprint sensor for security. The screen also acts as the loudspeaker or earpiece – and there’s fast wireless charging. You press the side of the phone to adjust the volume but there aren’t any physical buttons there; there’s not even a SIM card slot because it uses an electronic eSIM.

The whole thing runs a custom version of the Android operating system and it is available to order for around a thousand pounds via crowd-funding site indiegogo.com

Moto G7 Plus mobile phone

Motorola is one of the longest-established names in mobile phones. It’s currently owned by Lenovo, the computer company, and it’s built a reputation for making straightforward no-nonsense smartphones.

Ahead of Mobile World Congress it’s announced four new models: the Moto G7 family, which consists of the G7, the G7 Play, the G7 Power and the G7 Plus.

The Moto G7 Plus is at the top of this particular range, although the lower-spec 'Power' has a better battery. Choose the Plus and you'll get an Android smartphone with a 6.2-inch full HD screen, toughened Gorilla Glass, an enhanced 16 megapixel camera on the back with optical image stabilization and a 12-megapixel camera on the front. The stereo speakers have been tuned by Dolby, it’ll recharge incredibly quickly and it’s resistant to being splashed by water.

It’s not some world-record holding top-spec smartphone with a four-figure price ticket: it’s £269 (just over €300) without a contract, which seems like a very good deal to me.

CleanseBot

Cleansebot is, according to the manufacturers, the world’s first bacteria-killing robot. Picture the scene: you turn up at your hotel, the bed’s freshly made… but you really don’t know whether they pay as much care with their laundry as you do. Never mind, you whip the Cleansebot out of your suitcase and put it to work, killing any bacteria that might be lurking below the blankets.

Cleansebot is a circular disc, looking a bit like a fire alarm, but it contains similar technology to a robot vacuum cleaner. So you switch it on, put it on your bed and it drives around for half an hour, shining ultraviolet light to kill bacteria. The light shines underneath it and also comes out the top if the robot drives under the covers. There are 18 sensors built in to make sure it doesn’t get stuck or fall off the bed.


The device runs from rechargeable batteries that’ll give it up to 3 hours of use; each automated cleaning run is either 30 or 60 minutes depending on your preference, so there’s plenty of power.

At the moment the manufacturers are taking orders via crowd-funding site Indiegogo for a special offer price of $99 USD, which is around £77 plus shipping. Delivery is expected in April.

Squegg

Squegg is an egg-shaped squeeze ball, hence the name. It’s the kind of thing you might have on your desk to help you relieve stress. Or perhaps you might want one to help strengthen your grip for sport or for physiotherapy.

What’s missing from a regular squeeze ball is technology. Squegg adds it. On the outside it’s a silicone ball but it contains a rechargeable battery, a Bluetooth transmitter and some sensors to measure your grip. As a result, it can talk to an app on your phone and track your progress. It’ll also play grip-related games with you and will even let you challenge your friends – a bit like arm-wrestling without having to be in the same room.

It’ll run for around 80 hours before it needs recharging – and if you don’t use it, standby time is over five months. US pricing is $39.99 plus shipping (around £36 / €41).

TRE Talk Radio Europe 'gadget guru' technology for January 2019

Here's a quick reminder of the tech I talked about in my TRE Talk Radio Europe 'gadget guru' conversation this afternoon:

LG 'rollable' TV

This was one of the stars of CES 2019, the big electronics show in Las Vegas. Officially called the LG Signature OLED TV R (or the OLED65R9PUA, if you prefer), this has been described as the world’s first rollable OLED TV. The magic is in the OLED (organic LED) screen, which is designed to roll up. All the technology sits in a long box on the floor from which the screen unrolls upwards, as though you were charming a snake.

The LG rollable TV is likely to go on sale in the second half of this year; pricing hasn’t been confirmed.

Sony Bluetooth turntable

The Sony PS-LX310BT turntable is a record player; the kind of thing that would be immediately recognisable to anyone who’s lived through the 1960s, the 70s and the 80s. There’s an automatic tone arm that will find the start of the record for you and picks itself up at the end, there’s an aluminium platter that your records sit on and there’s a dust cover that also provides a bit of extra weight to improve the sound quality.

This turntable plugs into your HiFi system if you have one – but what’s rather neat is that it’ll also connect via Bluetooth to compatible equipment, which means it’ll work wirelessly with your Bluetooth loudspeaker, with your Bluetooth headphones and with the Bluetooth soundbar that sits under your TV. Sony isn’t the first company to do this – but because it’s one of the big names in audio, it’s worth paying attention.

The PS-LX310BT will be available from April this year, it’s likely to sell for around £200 in the UK.

Lovot robot

The Lovot – from ‘love’ and ‘robot’ – has been created by a Japanese company called Groove X. It’s a kind of electronic pet, which makes it a successor to the Tamagotchi and the Sony Aibo.

Lovot looks like a cross between a penguin and a teddy bear. It trundles around the floor, following you and waving its little arms like it wants to be picked up... because that’s exactly what it does want. Lovot has been programmed to behave like a little creature that needs affection. Give it a cuddle and it’ll probably fall asleep, leaving you feeling like a proud parent.

It’s expected to go on sale in around a year’s time; expect to pay somewhere around €5,000 for a pair that'll interact with each other.

Foldimate

Foldimate had a fully working prototype of their laundry-folding machine at CES this year, although exactly what happens inside is a bit of a mystery. The company says a typical washing-machine load of 25 items will take about five minutes in total to fold.

You feed each item in at the top - shirts, t-shirts, blouses, trousers, towels, pillowcases - and a little robot arm will pull them inside. The machine then automatically adjusts the folding method based on the item type, its size and your preferences, which means it can fit the folding to suit your shelf or drawer size. Each item is then dispensed in a neat pile at the bottom.

The company hopes to be producing the real thing by the end of this year for $980, which works out at around €850.

December 2018 'gadget guru' technology for TRE Talk Radio Europe

Here's a quick reminder of the technology I talked about in today's TRE Talk Radio Europe 'gadget guru' conversation with Dave Hodgson:

1. Meater wireless thermometer

Christmas is on the way and, if you’re a meat-eater, there’s a good chance you’ll be cooking a turkey or maybe even a goose for dinner. One of the challenges of roasting anything big is making sure the inside is cooked. What you need is a cooking thermometer – but how about a wireless cooking thermometer that connects to your phone or your tablet?

Meater looks like a regular stainless steel meat thermometer but without a display, It connects via Bluetooth to your phone, which means it has a range of up to 10 metres from your oven, although there’s a boosted version called Meater Plus that’ll work up to 50m away.

First, you install the special Meater app on your phone. Next, you charge up your thermometer and then you link it to your phone. The charger doesn’t plug into the mains; it uses a regular AAA battery that should work for up to 100 charges.

Stick the thermometer into the meat, open up the app and choose the type of meat you're cooking (or, indeed, whether you're cooking poultry or fish). You then select the cut of meat and the associated temperature, so if you like your lamb 'pink'.

The Meater app then gives you an estimated cooking time (and, perhaps obviously, will alert you when the meat is cooked). You can also check progress from the sofa – or the other side of the kitchen. In fact, if you use one of Amazon's Alexa smart home devices, you can link the two together and ask Alexa how your roast dinner is coming along.

Pricing for the regular version is £79 / €89 and for Meater Plus is £99 / €109.

2. PlayStation Classic games console

Here’s a bit of nostalgia. It’s 24 years since Sony launched its original PlayStation games console in Japan. For Christmas this year, Sony is bringing back the PlayStation Classic, with 20 games from the 1990s built in. Except this new PlayStation will be almost half the size of the original.

What you get is the console (it looks like a shrunken version of the original but doesn’t need any software disks), two controllers (again, scaled-down replicas of the originals) and an HDMI cable to plug it into your television. All that’s missing is a USB power adaptor, which seems a bit mean but I’m sure you’ve got one kicking around from an old phone.

And then you’ll be able to play classics like Final Fantasy VII, Tekken 3, Ridge Racer Type 4, Grand Theft Auto and so on. These aren’t updated versions of the original games: they ARE the original games.

PlayStation Classic launched this week in Japan, the US and Europe, with an anticipated UK price of £89.99 and a European price of €99.99.

3. Big Mouth Billy Bass

About 20 years ago, one of the best gifts you could give the person who had almost everything was Big Mouth Billy Bass. He looked like a stuffed fish mounted on a wooden plaque but could sing 'Don't Worry, Be Happy' and, rather disturbingly, would also turn to face you.

Well, Billy Bass is back. The company that made him – Gemmy Industries – has updated Billy with a Bluetooth connection and compatibility with the Amazon Alexa digital assistant.

This means is you can now use him to play all types of music, not just his theme song. But better than that, Billy can now answer any questions you ask Alexa. If you have an Alexa device, you can connect it wirelessly to Billy Bass and Alexa’s voice will come out of him. Billy’s little fishy mouth even moves when Alexa talks. Alexa, what’s the weather? Alexa, what’s the temperature of my turkey?

At the moment 'new Billy' only seem to be available in the USA: I’ve seen him on Amazon for $39.99 plus shipping.

4. Monopoly Fortnite edition

Fortnite is a video game launched last year by a company called Epic Games. In the game, you and 99 other people are dropped onto a cartoonish island. Your aim is pretty simple: survive until the end of the game.

But I’m not here to talk about the online game. What I'd like to introduce is the real-world antidote to Fortnite. It's made by Hasbro, the company behind much-loved board game Monopoly, where you throw dice, move around a board, buy houses and try to make more money than anyone else.

Now they’ve invented the Fortnite Edition of Monopoly. Instead of moving round the streets of London, you move around the Fortnite island. Instead of earning money, you collect Health Points. You build walls, not hotels, and every time you pass Go you unleash the Storm, which can take health Points from your opponents. Ultimately, the person left with Health Points at the end of the game is the winner. If you’re a Monopoly fan and you want to get the rest of your video-playing family into it, this could be just what you’re looking for.

It’s suitable for two to seven players, age 13 and up. Pricing is around £25 (€28).

TRE Talk Radio Europe 'gadget guru' tech for November 2018

Here's the technology I talked about in my November 2018 TRE Talk Radio Europe 'gadget guru' conversation:

Palm smartphone

Remember Palm organisers? Well, the Palm name is back – and this time it’s on a tiny smartphone that saves you from taking your regular smartphone out of your pocket or bag. It weighs 62½ grams, it’s 50mm wide by 97mm tall and it’s 7.4mm thick. On the front is a 3.3-inch touchscreen and inside is a Qualcomm Snapdragon processor running the Android operating system. The front and back are made from Gorilla Glass 3 and the phone is rated for IP68 water and dust protection. It even finds room for a 12 megapixel camera on the back and an 8 megapixel camera on the front.

What’s the point? Well, I suppose it’s a bit like having a smartwatch on your wrist – except this is potentially smarter but not quite so convenient. This 'companion phone' connects to your regular mobile number, so you can leave your big expensive phone at home and just take the little one.

There are two bits of bad news for Palm fans. Firstly, there’s not really any connection with the old company except the name. And the new Palm phone is currently only available from the Verizon network in the United States. So even if you spend $349.99 to get hold of one, you’ll need another phone on a Verizon contract to make it work.

Facebook Portal video screen

Facebook Portal is a smart display screen that offers hands-free video calling. There’s a choice of two devices: one has a 10.1-inch screen and one has a 15.6-inch screen (the bigger one is called the Portal+; it’s better quality and can also be adjusted more, but other than that they’re pretty similar). Both have Amazon's Alexa voice-controlled personal assistant service built in. They also have Facebook Messenger and a 12-megapixel camera, which means you can chat via video, with facial recognition enabling it to automatically zoom in on your face as you move about. So if your friends have got Facebook Messenger on their smartphone or their tablet, you can ask your Facebook Portal to call them. And because it runs on Amazon Alexa, you can also ask for sports results, weather forecasts, listen to music, do your shopping or control smart home devices. It can even be a picture frame when you’re not using it.

At the moment both devices are only available for pre-order in the United States, with the regular Portal costing $199.

Google Home Hub

Facebook has its Portal, Amazon has its Echo Show, now Google has its Home Hub. This is another voice and touch controlled information centre for your house. However, unlike the Portal, there’s no camera – so you might feel happier about having it in the bedroom.

Google already has voice-controlled assistants but this adds a 7-inch screen, so you can ask it for maps, for videos, for photos, for music, for recipes, you can look at your calendar, and so on. Plus it’ll connect with compatible smart home devices to dim your lights, adjust the thermostat or watch security cameras.

Google’s Home Hub is currently only available in the UK (£139), the USA and Australia.

iBubble underwater drone

This is described as “the world’s first intelligent autonomous and fully wireless underwater drone”. It’s from a French company called Notilo Plus, which specialises in underwater exploration, and essentially it’s a remote-control submarine that can drive itself.

You fit your camera inside, strap on your special wristband and the iBubble will follow you underwater for up to an hour and down to 60 metres - almost 200 feet - without bumping into things. You can tell it to follow you, to go ahead of you, to film from the side, to circle around you, to come to you or to stay still. It can also be connected to an optional cable and directly controlled from the surface using an app on your phone or tablet.

The retail price of the iBubble is $4,099 (around €3,600), excluding VAT and the cost of a camera. It’s designed to work with newer models of GoPro and other action cameras that use the same type of mount.

My TRE Talk Radio Europe technology for September 2018

Here's a summary of the tech I mentioned in this afternoon's 'gadget guru' chat on TRE Talk Radio Europe:

Apple Watch 4

This month Apple has announced three new iPhones - the iPhone XS, the iPhone XS Max and the iPhone XR - as well as a new Apple Watch. The smartwatch is particularly notable because it includes a couple of impressive features.

Probably the most significant update from previous models is that the Series 4 Apple Watch can act as an electrocardiogram (ECG). There are electrodes built into the front and there’s a heart rate sensor in the back. If you’re concerned about heart health, these readings could help you - and help your doctor, too.

The other major new feature is a fall detector: if you fall over, the watch can sense this and call for help.

There''s a choice of two sizes and various specifications: pricing starts from £399 / €429.

Vivosmart 4 fitness wristband

The new Garmin Vivosmart 4 is – as the name suggests – the fourth generation of this particular fitness-focussed smart wristband. What’s so special? It includes a pulse oximeter, which can keep track of your blood oxygen level. This helps with tracking your sleep; not just the amount but the quality as well.

It also includes a heart rate monitor that links with your stress level and your sleep quality to work out the best time for you to start a workout.

Pricing is around £120 (€135).

Segway Drift W1 electronic skates

Remember the Segway, which was an incredibly clever two-wheeled platform that you could stand on and ride? There was just one problem: in the UK (and an assortment of other countries) you couldn’t ride it on the road – and you couldn’t ride it on the pavement either.

Since the launch of the Segway PT in 2001, the company has changed ownership a couple of times – but it's not gone away.

And so we're introduced to the Segway Drift W1. These, according to the company, are self-balancing e-Skates. In reality, they have the appearance of a motorised roller skate crossed with platform shoes. Pricing is £359 (just over €400), with delivery expected next month.

When you stand on the skates, you'll find they balance themselves, so all you need to do is lean forwards to go and lean sideways to steer. Your maximum speed is 7½ mph (12km/h), which is two or three times faster than walking, and your rechargeable batteries will keep you moving for up to 45 minutes.


Just one bit of bad news. Unfortunately, it’s not just the technology that’s similar to the original – it’s also the legal situation. Here in the UK, usage is restricted to private property – with the owner’s permission, of course.

Locky smart key

Gnerally speaking, smart locks have one big disadvantage: you need to change the lock in your door. But what if you could keep your lock and turn your key into a smart key? That’s exactly what this particular Kickstarter project is all about.

Locky is a little device that clips onto your key, like a fancy key cover. Inside that fancy cover is a tiny battery that lasts for around a year, some clever sensors and a Bluetooth connection.

Basically, the sensors work out if you’ve turned your key in the lock. The Bluetooth connection then links with an application on your phone to warn you if you’ve left home without locking the house. It’s also capable of warning you if you’ve left your key behind and can even help you find the key if you put it down somewhere. Plus it keeps a record of key use, so if all your family have a Locky on their key, you know if someone’s in and when they returned.

Most importantly, it’s still a mechanical key. It can’t be hacked and it unlocks your door even if the battery goes flat.

The company reckons they’ll start shipping these in March next year for around £60 each but there are currently special offers if you commit early.

TRE Talk Radio Europe 'gadget guru' technology for August 2018

Here is a quick reminder of the technology I mentioned in today's conversation with Dave Hodgson on TRE Talk Radio Europe:

Samsung Galaxy Note9

Is it a giant phone or a small tablet? Either way, the newest member of the Samsung Galaxy Note dynasty looks pretty similar to its predecessors at first glance... but there are some substantial differences when you get closer. What we find is a bigger screen than ever - this one is 6.4 inches from corner to corner, with 2960 by 1440 pixel resolution - and a faster processor than the Note 8.

The stylus on the new Note9 also takes a leap forwards because it has a Bluetooth connection. Inside is a tiny rechargeable battery that means the pen isn't just for drawing on the screen but can be used as a remote control for the camera, to play and pause videos you're watching, even to control an on-screen presentation, And best of all, the battery recharges whenever you pop it back into its storage slot inside the phone.

Will toe 4000mAh battery last all day? That depends what you're doing with the phone but, for most of us, I'd say it will. Equally high capacity is the storage: there are various versions of the Note9 available including one with 512GB of built-in memory.

Plus, of course, it's got a camera - there's a dual-lens 12 megapixel set-up - and built-in stereo speakers that have been tuned by audio specialists AKG. There's even a headphone socket, which is always a good thing as far as I'm concerned.

Pricing depends on the amount of built-in memory you want, starting from £899 contract-free.

Apple MacBooks

Here we have two new laptops from Apple. one with a 13-inch screen and one with a 15-inch screen. Although neither of these are touch-sensitive screens they are impressively high quality and there is a touch-sensitive bar at the top of the keyboard instead of conventional function keys. This was introduced a couple of years ago and changes its appearance depending on what you're doing.

However, the main keyboard is brand new. Apple says it's now quieter - and if you don’t want to type, both devices include voice-control app Siri.

Also inside is a choice of faster processors. The 13-inch model now runs quad-core chips rather than dual-core chips, which means it'll be up to twice as fast, while the 15-inch one has six-core processors, giving you up to 70% more speed. There's more system memory, which is all about running programs more effectively, and up to 4TB of solid state storage.

Pricing is from £1,749 for the base spec 13-inch model up to £6,209 if you want the highest specification of 15-inch MacBook.

Travis Touch translator

This is a translation device that can translate and understand over a hundred languages. Because it’s a separate hand-held device, you don’t need to worry about opening an app on your phone and running the battery flat.

The designers have built in technology from sixteen different translation services, including Google, Microsoft and IBM. Travis Touch then chooses the best service depending on the language you’re using and the language you’re translating to. It’s designed to use WiFi or a mobile connection and has its own SIM card slot, although it can do some basic stuff without being online.

There’s a 2.4-inch touch screen for controlling the device – hence the name – but you can also use voice commands in English, Spanish, Chinese, Korean and Japanese to select the languages you need. You simply speak to it and it’ll speak the translation back to you.

Pricing is expected to be $269 when it arrives in shops, although there’s currently an option to pay less if you order via crowd-funding site Indiegogo.

Nespresso Barista

Nespresso is a company that’s become well-known for making coffee pod machines.

The Nespresso Barista is not one of those machines. It’s more like a companion for those machines. You make an espresso, then the Barista turns it into a cappuccino or a latte or an iced coffee...

The design looks a bit like a Thermos flask crossed with a Bluetooth loudspeaker; it plugs into the mains and stands 21cm high. There's a base with a metal jug that fits on top, a whisk that clips inside and a lid.

On the base is a touch-sensitive display with a choice of coffee options. You select the one you want – let's say a cappuccino – and then put all the ingredients you need into the jug. The device heats the milk, whisks it up and you pour it onto your espresso. It comes with a little recipe book, so if you’re not sure what you should be doing with your iced coffee or your mocha, you can check first.

It can also connect with an app on your phone to get updates for new recipes.

The only real downsides are that it’s pretty much just making one cup at a time and it doesn’t brew the coffee for you. But, as an alternative to an all-in-one machine, this is more affordable – and it’s way more sophisticated than a mere milk frother. Pricing is around £179 (€195).

July 2018 'gadget guru' tech for TRE Talk Radio Europe

Here's a reminder of the technology I talked about in my July 2018 TRE Talk Radio Europe 'gadget guru' chat:

BlackBerry KEY2

A long, long time ago in the world of mobile phones – about ten years, I suppose – if you needed a phone for work, there was really only one brand to consider: BlackBerry. Not least because BlackBerry phones had a physical keyboard for writing your email messages.

BlackBerry is still around – and last month it launched the KEY2 smartphone, which it’s calling ‘the most advanced BlackBerry smartphone yet’. Actually, to be totally correct, it’s TCL Communication that’s making the phone: they’ve licensed the BlackBerry brand.


What do you get? Well, you still have a physical keyboard, now combined with a 4.5-inch touchscreen as well. In fact, this keyboard is improved even from the previous model; the keys are 20% higher is should make them more comfortable and more accurate to use. And when you don’t need a keyboard, it can function as a trackpad for scrolling though web pages.

Pricing is around €649 (£579) without a contract. If you want a smartphone for business – especially if your business involves writing a lot – it’s certainly worth looking at. If you want a phone for watching videos and taking photos, there’s plenty of competition.

Square Off

This looks like a conventional chess board with wooden pieces, although it’s a bit thicker than usual and you’ll spot a charging socket and an on/off switch if you look closely. You set it up as normal - the pieces are magnetic - and then get ready to play. Each square is an inch-and-a-half across, to give you some idea of scale.

The board can connect wirelessly with your phone, turning it into a chess computer with different levels of play. But unlike most other chess computers, you don’t need to move your opponent’s pieces: the board moves them itself, using a magnetic arm that’s hidden underneath.

The manufacturers also say you’ll soon be able to play against millions of other people around the world. That’s where the mobile phone connection really comes into its own. If each of you has a Square Off board, you’ll see your opponent’s pieces move on your board. On the other hand, you’ll be able to play against people who don’t have a board as long as they’ve got the right app on their phone.

There are two versions available: the regular one is currently on sale for $329 (around €280) plus shipping; there’s also an even smarter one for $399. The dearer version includes space on the board for captured pieces and what’s undoubtedly my favourite feature: a reset button that sends all the chess pieces back to their original positions when the game is over.

Nano Cure Tent

The premise behind this is pretty simple: if you snag a regular tent on a fence or on brambles, it lets in the water. This particular tent is made from high-tech fabric that seals little holes if you rub them with your fingers.

What actually happens is that the fabric doesn’t actually break but the fibres are pushed apart when it’s pierced. Rubbing it with your fingers causes those fibres to move back into shape.

Up to four people can sleep in the tent; it's is available for $200 (around €170) via crowd-funding site Kickstarter.com and, if all goes well, they’re expecting to start shipping in December.

FOCI

This is a biometric wearable that's all about focusing on your work and not getting distracted so much. And yes, there’s surely a fair amount of irony that you’re using an electronic device in order to stop being distracted by electronic devices.

Foci clips to your waist, perhaps your belt or whatever else you’re wearing. It claims to track focus, distraction, stress and fatigue, with feedback shown on your phone as a coloured ball. The device itself will vibrate when your focus drops. If this happens, the app can guide you to get you back into 'the zone'.

You’re probably wondering how Foci works. The answer is that the device monitors small differences in your breathing between when you’re focused and when you’re distracted. These readings are sent wirelessly to your mobile phone and processed by the UK-based company behind all this. As well as getting instant feedback you can also see how you’ve performed on previous days.

I’ve not used one but from the reviews I’ve seen it seems to work well although it’s (understandably) not perfect, which in itself could be a distraction.

This is another crowd-funded product: at the moment, you can order via Indiegogo for $73.

June 2018 'gadget guru' technology: TRE Talk Radio Europe

Here's a summary of the technology I talked about in this month's 'gadget guru' chat on TRE Talk Radio Europe:

Apple iOS 12 operating system

Last year Apple used its Worldwide Developer Conference as an opportunity to announce a new intelligent loudspeaker for the home, a new iPad and new desktop computers. This year it’s all about the software: iOS 12, which is a new version of software for iPhones and iPads.

Apple iOS 12 is all about being faster, more secure and more reliable. Apple says applications will generally be quicker to start and the camera will be ready up to 70% faster. You can train Siri, the voice activated assistant on your iPhone, to work with apps. And it’s better at working things out itself, so if you’re running late for a meeting it’ll offer to send apologetic messages and if you’re in the cinema it’ll remind you to turn the ringer off. But the big thing that’s grabbed a lot of attention is the opposite of this: the Do Not Disturb option, which has been improved to make it easier for you to ignore your phone. You can make this time-based or location-based, so it’ll go quiet when you’re visiting the library and will switch the alerts back on when you leave. There’s also a timer to limit access for children and perhaps for yourself, along with reports to see what you’re using your phone for and when you’re using it most.

iOS 12 is available this month as a beta version for people who fancy testing it - and for everyone else it’ll be online in the Autumn as a free download for everything from the iPhone 5s and iPad version 5 onwards.

Sony DPT-CP1 digital paper tablet

While Apple and its many competitors are busy making devices with bright, colourful screens, Sony is one of the few manufacturers that hasn’t given up with what are often called electronic ink or e-ink displays. These look like paper and actually feel a bit like paper, because the screen isn’t glossy but has a slightly rough texture. What’s the point? Well, a screen that isn’t shiny is much easier to see in the sun. Great for reading electronic books, for example. And if you’re relying on ambient light rather than a backlit display, it’s often easier on your eyes, too.

The new Sony CP1 is pretty much the digital equivalent of an A5 piece of paper; with a 10.3 inch screen that has a resolution of 1,404 pixels by 1,872 pixels. The whole thing is less than 6mm thick and, because it doesn't have a colour display, the battery is likely to last for over a week between charges. It’s got 16GB of storage and can share pdf document files with Apple, Android and Windows devices via an app. But it’s not just a reader: you can also write on it with a stylus, either creating new documents or making notes on existing documents. It’s on sale in Japan and America for $599.99 [just over €500].

ASUS ZenBook Pro 15

A new laptop isn’t generally all that exciting. But there’s an innovation on this the new ASUS ZenBook Pro 15 that’s worth talking about. And, indeed, on the ZenBook Pro 14, which is similar but a bit smaller. The Pro 15 model has a 15.6-inch 4K ultraHD display that’s said to be particularly good at rendering colours accurately. On the back is a new type of hinge design that ASUS calls ErgoLift, which slightly raises the laptop keyboard to make typing easier. And inside is an Intel Core i9 processor, a 1TB solid state disc and a copy of Windows. It’s less than 2cm thick, it weighs less than 2kg and it’s expected to sell for around $2,299 [€2000] when it goes on sale next month. So far, so good.

But the interesting part is the touchpad. Usually you’d expect a grey touch-sensitive pad below the keyboard. On here there’s a 5½-inch colour touch screen, so it looks like a mobile phone embedded in your laptop. It works as a mouse substitute – and it can also work as a tiny laptop screen, perhaps for messaging, as a calculator, for playing music or for checking your diary.

 

Ovis suitcase with AI

Whether you’re going on holiday or on a business trip, dragging a suitcase behind you can be – well, a bit of a pain. If only your suitcase had some kind of robot brain to steer itself alongside you as you walked. Believe it or not, that’s exactly what is being offered here. It’s a self-driving hands-free intelligent suitcase created by a Chinese company called ForwardX Robotics.

Unlike a regular suitcase, this one has a camera connected to a Qualcomm processor running an artificial neural network that does its best to understand what it sees. It's the same kind of technology you get in self-driving cars. The case keeps up with you at a speed of 3 metres per second but when you grab the handle it cuts the motor automatically and turns into a conventional suitcase. That’s also good news if you forget to charge it because, as you’d expect, it runs from rechargeable batteries. If you’re worried about security, there’s a wristband you wear that vibrates when your case is more than a couple of metres away from you and also lets you know when the battery is running down. You also have the option of GPS tracking for an extra cost. It’s not perfect: it can only handle a slope of up to 6 degrees and it doesn’t cope well in very crowded places, but that’s no great surprise, really.

Shipping for the first batch is expected by the end of the year: at the moment you can find it on crowd-funding site Indiegogo, where you can pledge $319 [€275] for a single suitcase.

TRE Talk Radio Europe 'gadget guru' technology for May 2018

Here's a summary of the technology I mentioned in this month's TRE Talk Radio Europe 'gadget guru' chat:

Snapchat Spectacles

In simple terms, Snapchat enables you to send photos and videos from your phone to your friends. A couple of years ago, the company behind Snapchat launched some sunglasses with a built-in video camera. A hands-free camera, you might say. And now, as summer 2018 heads towards us, we can now buy version 2 of the Snapchat Spectacles. Are they better? Yes, they are. To start with, the design has been tweaked: still very retro but now less bulky. The new specs can take photos as well as videos. And they’re water resistant, which I’m sure is more about taking them to the beach rather than wearing them in the rain. The sound quality has been improved, picture quality is better and there’s faster wireless transfer when sending everything to your phone. As before, they come with a carrying case that includes a rechargeable battery, so you can recharge up to four times when you’re out and about. Pricing is £149.99.

FinalStraw

This is, quite simply, a personal folding straw. It fits in a little case that attaches to your key ring and it pops into shape when you take it out. What’s rather nice is there’s also room for a little cleaning tool in the case – although it’s also able to go in a dishwasher. Outside, the straw is stainless steel. Inside it’s medical-grade TPE (Thermoplastic Elastomer). The whole thing fits inside a case that’s 7.3cm long but the straw extends to 23cm (9 inches). Shipping is expected by the end of the year; at the moment you can pledge around £15 (€17) plus shipping for one, via crowd-funding site Kickstarter.

Tennibot

If you play tennis, you may well want an autonomous robot that collects tennis balls. This thing looks like a cross between a tiny wheelbarrow and a shopping trolley that’s fallen over: three foot long and 16 inches wide. You could say it works in a similar way to a robot vacuum cleaner, although it also has a separate camera sensor that you clip onto the net post. Overall control is from an app on your phone. It’ll hold up to 80 balls, it travels at up to 1.4mph and it’ll run for up to five hours on a 90 minute battery charge. On Kickstarter you can pledge the equivalent of $700 (about £520 / €590), which is 30% off the expected retail price (excluding shipping and import taxes). Delivery is expected January 2019.

Diveroid Mini

Here's a device for scuba divers that turns an Android or Apple smartphone into a dive computer. What you get is a battery-powered waterproof sensor that’s slightly less than two inches across. This connects wirelessly via Bluetooth to an app on your phone. (You’ll need to put your phone inside a waterproof case before you hit the water; the sensor then clips to the outside of this.) When the Diveroid sensor is connected to your phone, you’ll get an interactive dive computer with an on-screen compass, a logbook you can share with other divers plus automatic colour correction for underwater photos and videos. You’ll get warnings if you’re going too deep or coming to the surface too quickly. Product delivery is due from the end of July; current pricing is $89 (approx. €75) plus shipping via crowd-funded site Indiegogo.

My April 2018 gadget guru conversation with TRE Talk Radio Europe

Here's a quick reminder of the technology I mentioned in my April 2018 TRE Talk Radio Europe 'gadget guru' chat:

New Apple iPad

This is the latest version of the 'standard' iPad with the 9.7-inch screen. Officially it’s the sixth generation, although that’s not counting a couple of other updates since 2010.

What’s changed since the last one? It’s got a faster processor inside; the same one you’ll find in the iPhone 7, in fact. The other notable update is the inclusion of support for the Apple Pencil and some other stylus devices. These let you write on the screen with something that looks like a pen instead of using your finger. You don’t actually get an Apple Pencil with it; you need to buy one separately.

And the Apple Pencil itself isn’t new: that’s been around since the launch of the iPad Pro in 2015.

In summary, what you get is a tablet computer with what Apple calls a ‘retina’ screen because the individual pixels are too small to see, a ten hour battery life on a good day, an eight megapixel camera on the back, a smaller camera on the front, either 32GB or 128GB of storage, a fingerprint reader for security and an overall weight of 450g.

UK prices start at £319 (up to £539, depending on spec), with an Apple Pencil costing you an extra £89.

Vion Bluetooth multimeter

If you do anything electrical around the house, you’ll probably have a multimeter in your toolkit. It’s a multi-purpose tester for anything from fuses to sophisticated electronic components. You plug a couple of probes into the front, touch them on the connections you’re checking and then see the resulting readings on a meter.

Allectrics, Inc. has done away with the meter part completely. You get two probes... and that’s pretty much it. They connect wirelessly to your mobile phone via Bluetooth – and it’s your phone that takes care of the display part. Not only does it remember the measurements, it’ll even speak the essential figures if your phone is in your pocket. The smartphone app can even help with diagnosing electrical problems.

Current pricing via Kickstarter is $50 plus shipping (around £35 / €40) – with delivery expected in June if all goes according to plan.

CloudRain smart garden irrigation

Hot on the footsteps of the smart home we have the smart garden, thanks to a new German company called CloudRain. Their product is designed to water your garden after checking local weather information so it knows what to do.

First, you need some kind of garden watering system. If you’ve got one, great. If not, you’ll need to buy some hosepipes or sprinklers.

You then fit special valves to your hosepipe system. If you’ve already got electrical valves that you can control from switches in your house, great. If not, CloudRain will sell you some that don’t need batteries or mains power because they have tiny solar cells to keep them working.

Next, you fit a control box. This works wirelessly with CloudRain’s solar powered valves and can also be wired into existing electrical watering systems.

Finally, you set up the app and it will then adjust the calculations depending on the weather.

This is another project on Kickstarter: for €259 you’re promised a controller, one special valve and a watering kit for up to 40 plant pots. There are various options available; delivery is expected in June.

ProofVision outdoor TV

If you’re saving time by not watering your garden, you’ll have more time to sit outside and enjoy it. You may even watch to sit outside and watch TV – but that’s not as easy as it sounds, because regular TVs and laptops aren’t designed to be watched in direct sunlight. They can’t really handle the heat, either. What you need is a television that’s been specifically created for this kind of thing – and that isn’t cheap.

That’s where ProofVision comes in. They’ve launched an outdoor television that is way more affordable that these things previously were.

For just under £2000 you can buy a high brightness 43-inch outdoor TV that adjusts itself to handle the glare, is water resistant and also handles any temperature between -20 and 60 Celsius – so you don’t need to bring it indoors in the winter. It has a Full HD screen and is less than 7cm deep. Of course, this isn’t just for houses – it’ll appeal to pubs and shops as well.

March 2018 gadget list for TRE Talk Radio Europe

Here's the technology I mentioned in this month's TRE Talk Radio Europe 'gadget guru' conversation:

Nokia 8110 4G mobile phone

Some people may remember the original Nokia 8110 from its nickname, the banana phone, because it had a slight curve. And some may remember it from its starring role in The Matrix, although the phones in the film had been modified.

What we have here is an update to the original Nokia 8110 phone, now from HMD Global. It still slides open to reveal the keypad and to answer calls – and you can still slam it shut to end your conversation.

Unlike the version from 1996, this new Nokia has some apps, so you can use Facebook, Twitter and Google. It has a 2.4-inch screen, it comes with a version of the classic Snake game, there’s a 2-megapixel camera and it’ll even take care of your contacts, calendar and email. Colour choices are Black or Banana Yellow.

Battery life is up to 25 days of standby time from a single charge. The phone’s expected to go on sale from May, priced at around €79 without a contract.

Samsung Galaxy S9 mobile phone

Last year’s Samsung Galaxy S8 and the bigger S8+ have been replaced by the Galaxy S9 and the S9+.

Physically, they’re still similar sizes with a 5.8-inch screen for the S9 and a 6.2-inch screen for the S9+. One of the big differences for 2018 is in the camera. The S9 has a Dual Aperture lens with a choice of f1.5 or f2.4 apertures, so it can let in more light for clearer photos when it’s dark. The S9+ goes one step further – one step closer, you might say – with the option of a telephoto lens as well. The cameras can also record extra-slow-motion video.

They run the latest version of the Android operating system and should go on sale at the end of next week; expect to pay around £739 / €849 without a contract.

Eyeball security camera

Eyeball cameras are different from most security cameras. To start with, they’re supplied in a pack of three, they’re wireless, they detect movement, they detect noise and each has a rechargeable battery that can run for around 12 hours. They’re very much designed to be taken with you when you travel, perhaps on holiday or on a business trip, and used in conjunction with a smartphone.

So – you go to a hotel. You put one of your cameras on the bedside table. You can connect it to WiFi but even if you don’t, there’s a memory card slot for recording in 4K quality. When someone walks into your room, the motion detector spots them and you can get an alert on your phone. You can then watch a video stream on your phone if you want.

You can use them at home as well. The cameras are smart enough to know when you’re there – it’ll detect your phone using the WiFi – so you’ll only get alerts when an unauthorised person is there.

Eyeball cameras are being offered via the Indiegogo crowd-funding platform. Special offer pricing is currently $229 excluding delivery for a pack of three in the carry case, with availability expected in October.

Google Clips camera

Google Clips is different sort of clever camera. It was announced in October last year and has recently become available, although it’s still not officially on sale in Europe.

The camera itself is just two inches square. You point it at your subject. (If you’re not sure about the direction, you can use a mobile app to check.) Then you turn it on and leave it. That’s when the clever stuff starts. This camera is designed to capture special moments that might otherwise be forgotten. It uses technology – artificial intelligence, you might say – to work out what the interesting moments are and then to show them to you. It saves a collection of short video clips that can be saved a regular photo, as a video or as an animated GIF.

There’s 16GB of built-in storage and a battery that’ll last for about three hours non-stop, although the camera will go into standby mode if nothing seems to be happening. Pricing is $249.

It's all about what you've done...

The podenco is a distinctive-looking dog: tall and slender with a pointed face and oversized ears. Imagine a thin greyhound with 10% bat DNA and you’re almost there. Now imagine four of them in the back of a small car. My car. Their enthusiastic faces and their wagging tails are framed in the rear-view mirror. This wasn’t part of the plan. It’s October 2017. My plan is to meet Suzannah for a cup of coffee and, almost inevitably, cake. But before we do that, her hounds need some exercise. We could walk the dogs around the block… or we could pop them in my car and take them into the fields. They love a run in the fields. Four pairs of doggy eyes gaze hopefully at me. How could I say no?

Our relationship hasn’t always been quite so laid back. Once we were unhappily married to each other. Today we’re neither. To be honest, Suzannah’s career focus has become something of an inspiration to me. I’m not sure if that’s because of everything or despite it. Anyway, the reason we’re meeting is because Dr Suzannah Stacey MRCVS is closing The Sussex Veterinary Acupuncture Referral Centre, which she’s been running for several years, she’s selling her home and she’s moving to Spain. There she’ll be helping to run the new Hope for Podencos Rescue Centre, which will be partially funded with the money from her house.

Podencos are remarkably tolerant creatures, as our cramped car journey proves. Unfortunately this doesn’t always help them. These dogs are sometimes deliberately underfed and neglected in Spain by owners who believe this improves their hunting ability. And if that doesn’t work, they’re likely to be abandoned or killed. With unwanted podencos often seen as unsuitable pets, it seems these elegant hounds need some human advocates.

Hence the rescue work and the associated charity. "When you get to the pearly gates, it’s all about what you’ve done", Suzannah tells me as I finally sit down with a piece of pear and chocolate cake. "It’s ‘have you made a difference?’" She’s definitely making a difference: already working with a small group of people who are rescuing dogs and – thanks to a friendly Spanish airline – transporting some to new homes in the UK.

Suzannah and her own rescued dogs – Ollie, Elsa, Eleanor and Lucy – drive to Spain in November. Her Instagram and Facebook posts show the new centre with dogs scampering around in the sun. I regularly check online, determined to visit before too long and maybe even to write the defining story of podenco rescue in the 21st century. She tells me she has all the background information I need.

A Facebook message informs me about Suzannah’s death just a few weeks after Christmas. Sudden, unexpected, tragic. A potential tragedy for the charity, too: with paperwork incomplete, they won’t receive the money needed to complete the purchase of the Spanish centre.

And then... well, not a miracle but certainly hope. Light in the darkness. An online campaign to save the centre in Suzannah’s memory manages to raise half the money needed in a few weeks. Although it’s still €60,000 short of its target, the deadline for payment has been pushed back. Raising the rest of the money feels achievable. It would be easy for me to look back at my last conversation with Suz as portentous. Maybe it was.

TRE Talk Radio Europe gadgets for March 2016

The gadgets I chose this month for TRE Talk Radio Europe's The Daily all claim to be world exclusives in their way:

New Apple iPhone SE

Yesterday evening Apple announced a new iPad and a new iPhone.

The new iPad is the 9.7-inch iPad Pro – which effectively brings the original size of iPad up to top spec. Six years ago it all started with the 9.7-inch iPad, then came the smaller iPad mini, then came the iPad Air, which was thinner, and then we had the iPad Pro, which was bigger and with better specifications. Now there’s a smarter version in the original size – better display, powerful processor, clip-on keyboard – yours for £499 in the UK (or €679 in Spain).

But it’s the iPhone SE that’s really caught my eye. Apple is calling this “the most powerful phone with a four-inch display” – and that’s the interesting part, because phone screens have generally been getting bigger and bigger. Last September, Apple launched the iPhone 6S with a 4.7-inch display, while the iPhone 6S Plus has a 5½-inch display. In its way, this new handset is turning the clock back to 2013, which is the last time Apple announced a phone this small.

In fact, you could describe it as an updated version of the iPhone 5S, which it’s pretty much replacing. But although it’s the smallest in Apple’s current range of phones, it’s more like an iPhone 6S under the cover. There’s a fingerprint scanner for security, the company’s new 12 megapixel camera, HD video recording and NFC technology for mobile payments – all inside an aluminium body. If you compare it with the iPhone 5S, which was launched around three years ago, you could easily argue it’s more than twice as powerful.

It’ll be available in the shops from 31st March, with the 16GB version costing £359 in the UK or €489 in Spain.

LM Cable

This is being described as “the world's first iOS and Android common connector”. In simple terms, it’s a cable that can connect either an iPhone or an Android phone to your computer – or can be used to charge either an iPhone or an Android phone.

It’s being offered via Kickstarter with prices from 25 Australian dollars including shipping (around £13). Bear in mind that Kickstarter isn't a conventional shop; there are more risks involved if you back a project.

In its way the cable is very simple. On one end is a conventional USB plug. On the other is a 2-in-1 connector that can work on microUSB and Apple Lightning devices. One side of the 2-in-1 connector is for Apple devices; the other for microUSB devices, like Android phones and tablets. It’s just a question of putting the plug into your phone the right way round.

It’s a very neat trick and means if you’re the kind of person who carries a charging cable with you, then you only need one cable... even if you have a mixture of Apple and Android devices. However, if you want to charge more than one device at once, you’ll still need two cables.

LM Cable, the business behind it, say it’ll support fast data transfer and 2.4-amp fast charging. It’s a metre long, it comes with a little loop that wraps round it to keep it tidy and it’s made with tin-plated copper wires, which means it should be tougher than some other cables.

The Kickstarter campaign has about a week to run. They were after 5000 Australian dollars before they went ahead; the last time I checked, they weren’t far off a quarter of a million dollars in pledges.

Twistear

These promise yet another exclusive: they are being called “the world's first tangle-free high performance headsets with a flexible dual self-winding system”.

If you use a hands-free headset on your mobile phone, the wires can often get tangled. Not just tangled with themselves but you can get them caught on your coat buttons, caught on your belt, caught on your bicycle handlebars, caught on a door handle as you walk past – and it’s the same problem whether you’re talking hands-free or listening to music. Worse still is when your phone rings and you try to plug your headset in but it’s turned into a nest of wires.

That’s where twistear.com enters the scene. They’ve put a retractable mechanism in the middle. Now, there are already other companies out there doing this kind of thing, but Twistear claims to be unique.

To start with, you can set the length of the cables of the Twistear headsets independently. What that means is you can pull or retract the plug part and the headphones part separately. That’s particularly useful because there’s a clip on the winder in the middle of the cable, so you can put it on your belt or your pocket.

The earphones are high-quality, which is important if you like your music, and they’ll clip together when they’re not being used. Plus there’s a microphone on the cable for hands-free calls. If you’re interested in the specifications, the frequency response for the earphones is between 20Hz and 20KHz.

Twistear has been in development for three years, they’re due to start shipping in August and they’re also currently being offered via Kickstarter. Pricing is from $24 including shipping (£17; €21). It’s not quite reached its funding goal but seems to be on course at the moment.

TRE Talk Radio Europe gadgets for January 2016

My 'gadget guru' conversation on TRE Talk Radio Europe this month included a few products that had been showcased at CES, the consumer electronics show held in Las Vegas a couple of weeks ago:

As well as providing a good idea of the trends we’ll be seeing in technology, CES also offers an opportunity for manufacturers to grab the headlines with some particularly audacious products. One such company was Ehang, based in China, which has scaled-up the concept of a regular remote-control drone and has made one big enough to carry a person.

Ehang 184 passenger drone

These days, what most people describe as a drone is a remote-control aircraft between 30cm and a metre across, with three or four sets of battery-powered rotor blades that spin horizontally to keep the device in the air. They often have a camera attached and some can be controlled from your mobile phone or tablet.

The Ehang 184 follows a similar principle. It has an aluminium frame with four pairs of propellers, it runs from rechargeable batteries and can carry a person weighing up to 100kg (around 16 stone).

Flight time is around 20 minutes, with the batteries taking two hours to charge. It’s not meant to reach the heights of an aircraft – it’s designed to fly by to 500 metres off the ground, although it can go higher – and has a top speed of 63mph.

During the flight the pilot/passenger sits inside an air-conditioned cockpit that looks a bit like a helicopter. They program the route into a tablet, then tell it when they're ready to take off and when they want to land. After landing, the propellers can be folded upwards so the whole thing fits in a car parking space.

Pricing is expected to be something like £175,000 when it goes on sale this year, according to the company. Of course, the big question is where you’ll legally be allowed to use it – there are already plenty of regulations about smaller drones, never mind one that’s holding a person.

LG HOM-BOT Turbo+ vacuum cleaner

This was also on show at CES: it's being described as the industry's first robotic vacuum cleaner equipped with augmented reality technology.

We’ve had robot vacuum cleaners for a few years now. Generally speaking, they look like a fat Frisbee, they run off rechargeable batteries and drive themselves around your floor; avoiding furniture, going under the sofa and remembering where they’ve been.

LG has been making these for a while... and now they’ve added augmented reality technology (a feature called 'HomeJoy') to their new cleaner, which is the HOM-BOT Turbo+. This lets you use a special app on your phone to tell the vacuum cleaner about parts of the room that need extra cleaning. You take a photo of the room using the camera of your phone and then tap on the appropriate part of the image. When you’ve done that, your HOM-BOT Turbo+ heads over there and begins cleaning. You can also steer it there yourself, using your phone as the controls, depending on your preference.

Like some other robot vacuum cleaners, this LG machine has camera sensors that record the surrounding area to track where it has already cleaned. It also has a camera on the front that you can watch on your smartphone. One of the things you can do remotely is control the vacuum and clean your home from wherever you are – but, perhaps more importantly, you can also use it as a security camera. It can even send you photos when it detects movement in the house.

Availability and price haven’t been confirmed yet but I’d expect it to be upwards of £500 when it goes on sale.

Withings Thermo WiFi-connected thermometer

Withings makes a lot of health-related technology, from watches that monitor your running to bathroom scales that keep an eye on your weight.

They’ve now come up with the Withings Thermo, which they describe as a WiFi-connected temporal artery thermometer. It looks like a slightly flattened cylinder; nothing like a conventional thermometer.

Apparently the temporal artery at the side of head is a particularly good place to measure body temperature. The challenge is doing it accurately.

So the Withings Thermo has 16 infrared sensors to detect heat. When you hold it against your head and press the 'on' button, those sensors take 4,000 measurements in 2 seconds – and it also works out how it’s being affected by the ambient temperature in the room.

It then sends the temperature readings via WiFi or Bluetooth to your smartphone where they can be seen on a special application. This means it’s much easier to keep track of someone’s temperature if they’re ill: you can see if it’s going up or down every time you check, without needing to write it down each time.

There’s also a display on the device in either Celsius or Fahrenheit; it’ll glow green for normal temperature levels and either orange or red if the person's temperature is higher than it should be.

It runs off two AAA-size batteries and should go in sale in the new few weeks for around $99.95 (around £70).

SoundBrake

Away from CES, this is a project that’s on Kickstarter. It’s a tiny little device called SoundBrake – and it’s designed to alert you to outside sounds when you’re wearing headphones.

So, for example, you could be on a train, listening to music through your headphones and you might miss an important announcement. Or you’re wearing headphones in the office and someone calls to you but you don’t hear them. Or you’re at home wearing headphones and you don't notice a knock on the door.

That’s where SoundBrake does its job. It’s a little box that’s about an inch-and-a-half square, with a standard 3.5mm headphone plug on one side. In it is a microphone, some clever electronics and rechargeable battery that’ll last for up to 100 hours.

This tiny box works with almost any audio player to alert you to outside sounds. So you plug it into your music player, your phone or your computer, and then you plug your headphones into it.

You then set a volume alert level that’s higher than the current average background noise level. So if you’re in an office with air conditioning, you can make sure it’ll only respond to noises that are louder than the air conditioning. There’s a button to set the level automatically and there are a couple of buttons to fine-tune the level up or down.

When there’s a loud noise, SoundBrake temporarily turns off your audio to let you know that something’s up.

Pricing is $49 (£35); availability is due in April.

My November gadgets for TRE Talk Radio Europe

I was back on the air this afternoon as TRE Talk Radio Europe's 'gadget guru'. Here's the technology I talked about this month:

BlackBerry Priv

Once upon a time, BlackBerry was virtually the only serious smartphone maker. If you wanted a phone that could receive email, you bought a Blackberry. How times have changed.

The newest BlackBerry phone is called the Priv, which is short for privacy, because taking care of your personal data and messages is one of the things BlackBerry has built its reputation on. But it has another worry these days: downloadable apps. Android is the most popular system out there, so – if you want loads of people to buy your phones – making an Android phone is a sensible choice. That’s what BlackBerry has done. The company has previously enabled Android apps to work on its own operating system but this is the first device that actually runs Android.

Let’s look at the specs: it has a proper, physical QWERTY keyboard that slides away when you don’t need it, a 5.4-inch Quad HD touch screen and an 18-megapixel camera. If you want more figures, it weighs 192g, it measures 147mm x 77.2mm x 9.4mm when closed and it runs a 1.8GHz 64-bit hexa-core processor, with power from a 3,410mAh battery.

SIM-free (i.e. no contract) price is £559, which equates to just under €800.

Tag Heuer smartwatch

Swiss watchmaker Tag Heuer has been making watches for over 150 years – and now they’ve announced their first smartwatch. In fact, they’re pretty much the first of the luxury Swiss watchmakers to produce a proper smartwatch. Unfortunately, despite the company’s heritage, you can’t really call this one a Swiss watch because it’s full of electronics that aren’t made in Switzerland.

Anyway, it’s called the Tag Connected, it’s made of titanium and is available with a choice of seven rubber straps. It runs the Android Wear operating system, which is good news for anyone with an Android phone. It’ll do basic things with an iPhone, like letting you know when messages arrive, but if you want to connect it with other apps, you’ll need an Android phone.

The design is very much classic Tag Heuer and at first glance could easily be mistaken for a sports chronograph. One of the interesting things here is that Tag is offering a guaranteed trade-in after two years if you decide that you’d prefer a mechanical watch instead. You’ll need to make another payment – actually it’s around as much as you’ve already paid for the smartwatch – but arguably it’s a win-win for serious watch buyers.

There’s been a great deal of thought about the display, which looks a lot like an analogue chronograph. But because it’s digital, you can change it, with a choice of exclusive Tag faces that aren’t available to other Android watches. And, unlike some smartwatches, it always shows you the time because the screen never completely switches off (unless the battery runs out). Despite that, it’s expected to run for 25 hours before needing to be recharged. Pricing is £1,100 (around €1,600).

Ion rechargeable belt

If you use your phone a lot – or if the battery is getting old – it won’t always last all day. Some people carry a charger with them. Some people carry a spare battery or a rechargeable battery pack with them. But soon you won’t need to do either – because you’ll be able to wear the battery pack. That’s the idea behind the Ion Belt, which is currently raising funds on Kickstarter.com. It looks pretty much like a standard belt but it includes a 3000mAh battery, which is enough to completely recharge most smartphones. So, before you put the belt on, you charge it up through a socket inside the buckle. When your phone dies, there’s a USB socket on the end of the belt – all you need to do is attach your standard charging cable. It’s even got LED indicators to show how much charge is left. Assuming all goes well, it’ll be available from June next year; if you’re prepared to take the chance of ordering before production starts, you can get it for $99 (£65 plus taxes & shipping) at the moment.

Noke Bluetooth padlock

The product name is pronounced No Key, which is a big clue here. This claims to be the world's first Bluetooth padlock. The theory means there’s nothing to lose: no keys to forget, no combinations to remember. It simply unlocks when your phone – iPhone or Android – is nearby, even if it's in your pocket. You can let friends and family access it but you still stay in control – you can restrict the time they access it, if you want – and you can see a record of who’s been locking and unlocking it. You can even see where it’s been taken.

Noke is powered by a battery that's expected to last for a year. If your smartphone battery dies, you can unlock Noke with a sequence of clicks: a bit like a combination lock but by pressing the hasp. And if the lock’s battery dies – which the app will warn you about, so it shouldn’t – you can attach another battery from the outside to jump-start it. UK pricing is £59.99 (€85).

TRE Talk Radio Europe 'gadget guru' conversation for October 2015

Here's the technology I was talking about in my conversation with Dave Hodgson on TRE Talk Radio Europe this afternoon:

Microsoft Surface Book

This is a curious thing. We're all used to Microsoft making the Windows operating system that's then installed on a computer made by someone else: perhaps a Dell laptop, a Sony laptop, an Acer laptop, a Lenovo laptop...

But then a few years ago Microsoft started producing its own tablet computer - a rival to the iPad, you might say. It's called the Microsoft Surface, it has an optional keyboard and it's attracted quite a following.

Now Microsoft has taken another unexpected step: it's producing its own laptop.

The Surface Book has a touch-sensitive screen - 13.5 inches across - and a proper keyboard as well. It runs on either an Intel Core i5 or i7 processor and manages up to 12 hours of battery life. The screen has a hinge that'll let you adjust it to almost any angle and can even be removed if you want.

It's very much a competitor with Apple’s MacBook Air, their high-spec laptop, and it's priced accordingly. It goes on sale in the USA with pricing from $1499 [around £975 / €1300] for the 128GB version. There's no word of European availability but I imagine it'll be on its way before long.

Google Chromecast Audio

This product promises to 'cast your favourite tunes from your phone straight to your speakers'.

It's a development of Google's video-based Chromecast, which plugs into your TV and lets you watch YouTube videos via your phone.

Chromecast Audio does the same kind of thing for music. It's a little disc-shaped device that connects to the mains and can plug into most Hi-Fi systems, powered loudspeakers and amplifiers. It comes with a 3.5mm connection although it'll also work with RCA connectors and optical inputs if you have the right lead.

And then you can listen to music from your phone. Not just your Android phone but your iPhone as well. And this isn't just music that you've downloaded to your phone: it's streaming services like Google Play Music, Deezer, Spotify and TuneIn.

The whole thing costs £30 and I'd very much like one in my Christmas stocking.

Boogie Dice

These are self-rolling dice. They are programmable and sound activated - so if you clap your hands, click your fingers or tap the table, they will start rolling.

The standard 'Boogie Dice' die can be used in any dice-based game, but the manufacturer has also designed a special card game to take advantage of all the programmable dice features.

The technology is fairly obvious when you think about it. Each Boogie Dice is about an inch across; inside is a microprocessor, a motor to make the die vibrate, a microphone to detect noise, a rechargeable battery and some LEDs to make the die light up. A full battery charge gives you about 30 minutes of non-stop rolling or 500 separate rolls.

To recharge, you put the die on a little charging pad, which takes around 40 minutes. And because they're programmable, you can change things like the rolling time and how long the die waits before it switches itself off.

These are available via Kickstarter; pricing is from $22 for one die with a charger (plus $10 shipping) [around £21 / €28] or from $45 if you want the Bots Battleground game, which is a bit like robot Top Trumps.

Skarp

There's a fair amount of controversy around this laser razor. It was raising money on crowd-funding site Kickstarter, where it was aiming to get $160,000 and ended up attracting pledges of more than $4 million. But Kickstarter suspended the campaign because the company didn't have a decent prototype (and some people have used much stronger words about the company). However, that's not stopped Skarp Technologies from moving their campaign onto rival crowd-funding site Indiegogo, where the rules are slightly different - and where things appear to be running smoothly.

Smoothly is another key word here, because Skarp is powered by a tiny laser that claims to cut through hair without irritating or damaging your skin. So not only is it theoretically safer than a traditional blade, there's also hardly any of the waste involved. You may not even need water.

The company behind it hopes to have products available from March next year, pointing out that the people involved are experienced at working with cosmetic and medical products. Of course, that doesn't guarantee this one will be equally successful... but such is the nature of new products.

If you fancy taking a chance, pre-orders are currently $159 for a limited period, plus another $10 for shipping [around £110 / €150].

We resolve to... learn a language

The January 2014 edition of Viva Lewes sees a number of contributors each trying something different as a New Year's resolution. I fancied learning Spanish.

Do you remember watching John Cleese in A Fish Called Wanda?  He seduced Jamie Lee Curtis with an unlikely combination of Russian and Italian. I reckon the Spanish language would be even more effective. That's my plan for 2014, anyway. You see, every so often I travel to Spain for work. It's only for a few days every year and rarely requires me to say much more than 'gracias' in the local language because I'm heading to an English-speaking trade show. However, in a few weeks I'll probably be ordering tapas, chatting confidently with taxi drivers and maybe I'll find an opportunity to use a few words at home, too. Well, if it worked for John Cleese...