Sony Waterproof Walkman W270s

(again...forgive the screengrab...not my fault!) :)

The very first Sony Walkman was released back in 1979 and took the world by storm. I mean think about it…Portable music! Your own tunes playing in your ears…whether you’re on the plane, bus, train, walking to work and of course the big craze, while you’re exercising!

The evolution of the Walkman to accommodate exercise has been a pretty gradual one and each new leap has seen smaller devices, and longer battery life. But Sony has once again come to the forefront as a possible clear winner with their latest contribution.

It’s called the W270S and has 8 hours of playback time with 4 gigs of space all fitting into a neat little device that wraps around your head. But the greatest feature of all, it’s completely waterproof!

To get started you clip the headphones to a little device which connects to your computer. Your computer will then see it as an external hard drive to which you can add your MP3’s. The controls are fairly easy to use albeit pretty small and you get various sized ear pieces to fit comfortably within your ear. The walkman costs around R1000 (pretty reasonable if you ask me) but if you're looking for something different in the same price range then take a look at this:

It's the Overboard waterproof case. A waterproof housing for your normal MP3 player or even your iPod or iPhone. It has waterproof headphones as well so that you can head on into the surf with no fear of getting any of your equipment wet.

It is particularly handy for surfers, boat trips, fishing and any other watersports, especially if you’d like to keep tweeting while waiting for the next set of waves to come rolling in. It’s not as wearable as the Walkman but you can still strap your device to your arm and away you go. This little guy costs around R1200 and also comes in a variety of sizes that can even fit tablets! Click HERE for their latest specials.
 
For me personally, with it’s big storage space & battery, sleek design & ease of use, the Sony Walkman is the way to go.

Sony Vaio Flip vs Dell XPS 12

They’re not laptops… and they’re not tablets…Say hello to 2 trailblazing flip tablet/laptops.

The Sony Vaio Multiflip 13 & the Dell XPS 12! 

Now many times I’ve been told that size doesn’t count…umm…but  in this case, it most certainly does. In this class of laptops, the Sony boasts a proud 13.3 in touch screen, is 18mm thick and weighs a pretty reasonable 1.2kg whilst the Dell has a 12.5in touch screen, is 15mm thick & weighs a hefty 1.5kg. Although it’s heavier, the Dell  seems to be more portable and feels more rugged.

So how do they perform? 

• Well, the Sony has the Intel core i5 whilst the Dell has the i7. Meaning that it’s quicker! Speaking of which, the Sony only has 4 gigs of onboard ram whilst the Dell has 8!
• They both have 256 gigs of hard drive space, an intel HD 4400 graphics card and a screen resolution of 1920 x 1080. 
• The Dell has 2 USB ports whilst the Sony has 3 as well as an HDMI port and SD reader as well. 
• The battery life of the Dell is around the 12 hour mark whilst the Sony has a battery expectancy of around the 7 hour mark. 

As you can see, they’re pretty similar but the catch for me, is the  actual usability of the device. The Sony is difficult to open and the screen is a little heavy to flip and seems a little fragile. The Dell seems more rugged and the screen is really easy to flip. 

Now, the really important question…how much? Well, price won’t 

make a difference in your decision because both retail for around R20,000.

At the end of the day, the pretty Sony Multiflip looks great for entertainment… but if you’re looking for a productivity pumping workhorse… it has to be the Dell…

LG G-Flex!

This is the brand new G-Flex from LG! Following the same principal of the LG curve screen TV, the flex also boasts a curved screen but unlike the TV, this phone can bend. Within reason, of course, and it’s this flex that will have your mates wince as you show them how it does just that. But this goes beyond a party trick… the G-Flex's flexibility allows the phone to sit quite comfortably on the contours of the human face and it’s got some really innovative features too…

 For starters, the rear of the G-Flex boasts a new material, and one LG claims is self-healing, managing to absorb small scrapes and dents and reforming them to the natural, smooth curve.

At 8.7mm, the G-Flex is slim, albeit pretty wide but if you’re able to wrap your fingers around it, you’ll find the device sitting quite comfortably in your hand.

There are no physical buttons on the front or side of the phone but there are volume & power buttons on the back. Still a little confused by that.

It has a beautiful 6 inch curved screen which is perfect for browsing webpages and looking at photos taken using the integrated 13mp camera.

Even with fairly high usage, the G-Flex's battery can last over 24 hours but if you're conservative it could last you up to 2 days on a single charge! Something most smartphones can only dream of these days.

Let’s now take a look at the G-Flex software:

First up is gesture control which includes LG's Knock-On screen technology. This allows you to double tap the screen to wake up and double tap it to go to sleep. 

You can also elect to have the G-Flex answer a call when you bring the handset to your ear, decreasing your ringtone volume when you pick it up and silence a call by simply turning the phone over.

The G-Flex currently sports the Android 4.2.2 Jellybean operating system and there's been no news whether or not the phone will be able to upgrade to the Android 4.3 Jellybean or to 4.4 Kitkat.

At the end of the day if you're a fan of Android you'll love this phone because it's pretty, it's unique, it's fun to use and it completely integrates itself with other LG smart devices like your smart TV and blu-ray player but at around R10,000...it's a little bit steep.

Evo Mouse & Leap Motion

Think about all the things that you do with your hands on a daily basis. You drive, hold your coffee cup, shake someone’s hand, wash your body, type, eat, the list goes on and on. Well here are 2 more things that you can do with them...

The humble computer mouse was invented way back in 1964 and was called an ‘X position indicator for a display system’. Catchy right? The actual term 'mouse' was coined due to the fact that it resembled the tiny little creature.  It was a one click device that was made out of wood…how far we’ve come.

Say hello to the EVO Mouse where any surface becomes your mouse. There’s no more fear of carpel tunnel syndrome with this little guy because you don’t move it around, click it in fact you don’t even touch it. You sit it down next to your computer and you let your fingers do the walking.

It’s a really clever device that uses sensors on the front of it to track your finger movements and transfers them to actions that a normal mouse would do. So in other words, you move left, the mouse moves left, you double click, the mouse double clicks, you can even zoom in and out.  You’re basically turning any flat surface into a touch pad.

The next device is called the 'Leap Motion Controller' and this will have your hands waving, poking and swaying in mid air as you control various elements on your computer.

Basically the The Leap Motion Controller is a motion-sensor for your computer and tracks your hands in a 3D space. Place it in front of your computer, and the area above it becomes the space that you use to interact with your computer .

It’s compatible with both Mac & Window’s PC and works using a piece of software called ‘Airspace’. Here you can find apps made specifically for the Leap Motion and you’ll find old favourites like Google Maps & Cut The Rope that have been made leap-compatible.

My final thoughts…firstly the Evo Mouse. ts clunky, not as responsive as I'd like it to be and as I'm a mac user, it doesn't support multi-gestures and with it being close onto a thousand bucks you can buy a really nice wireless mouse or track pad. The Leap Motion controller...it's cool but my arms get tired having to hold them up high for ages and for R1299, it's still more of a toy than anything else for now. As more apps get developed for it though, I'm sure that it'll become a force to be reckoned with! 

Look at the end of the day these 2 gadgets are really very clever and who knows where they'll take us and our hands...