on 30th May Sony released more details on their upcoming unveiling event, which is due to take place on June 4th 2020. This was accompanied by a video, splash page etc. and they are promising to show us a lot at a short event they are calling ‘the future of gaming’.

When and where is the PS5 event?

The event will take place on 4th June at 1:00pm (PDT) – that’s 9:00pm in the U.K. You will be able to watch it via Sony’s own website, YouTube or Twitch.

The event itself will be an hour long and promises to share details on the initial game lineup, although the teaser email/splash page does also mention a few other details.

So we have a confirmed date, time will tell if the event will be worth the wait.

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What would you buy instead?

The post 10 Things you could buy instead of the Apple iPhone X first appeared on Gadgets and gizmos.

First thing to mention is that the box is pretty big, so you’ll have to bear that in mind. It comes with a removable outer sleeve to keep up the mystery of what’s inside. It includes 24 windows of Wera tool goodness consisting of a screwdriver, precision driver, an array of bits, sockets and pouch. It looks great and from what I can make out, at £44.99, isn’t too much more than other similar Wera sets. It’s almost better because you can enjoy it for a whopping 24 days.

I’ll be saving the opening until December and plan to update this post daily to share what’s included. To join me in this journey you can check it out at Reichelt and be sure to check back. One thing’s for sure if you are looking for a perfect gift for handy people (my mum and dad would love this), gadget lovers or people on diet this is perfect.

What’s inside?

December 1st 2017 – check back soon

The post Wera Advent-Calender 2017; Tools to turn the biggest grinch around first appeared on Gadgets and gizmos.

Rise and rise of fidget spinners in 2017

You’d be forgiven for thinking fidget spinners are a fad; remember the return of yoyo’s, silly putty and stress balls? All of these things come and go; yet some quick research shows these little handheld gadgets have grown in popularity.

Charting the rise in popularity of fidget spinners worldwide in 2017

A quick search of Google Trends shows how 2017 has been a huge year for fidget spinners in the UK and USA. There is a slight drop-off at the end of the graph, but perhaps that’s because the sun has been out in the UK for once!

They are always in the public eye too. You can’t go a day without some major news outlet covering fidget spinners. Just this week the BBC reported a recent crackdown in Ireland that resulted in 200,000 being confiscated and destroyed by customs over safety fears. It’s not all bad news though, with many stories raving about the benefits and upsides of owning one.

Health Benefits

Fidgeting isn’t new, nor is it going away. People tap their feet, bang pencils on the table, click pens or exhibited other behaviour when feeling anxious, bored or stressed. Many recent articles have suggested fidget spinners can help reduce stress, increase focus and even aid ADHD sufferers. The fact of the matter though is that there isn’t any hard and conclusive studies to support this – yet.

Users themselves will support all the above benefits though. Many fidget spinner converts will rave about them; in fact pop to Amazon and read the reviews to see just that. Yeah you’ll find loads of people saying some are rubbish, but delve into those talking about the benefits and things start to sound interesting. Here’s a couple as an example;

Bad Press – Are Fidget Spinners a menace?

For every positive news piece there seems to be a negative one to match it. Schools have started banning spinning finger toys; mainly because they feel fidget spinners are too distracting as they often need some level of hand-eye coordination to use and master. That presumably means little Johnny won’t be paying attention in class in this scenario. So some schools would have you believe they are a menace.

Parents are also feeling the strain because kids don’t just want one spinner, they want multiple spinners. There’s countless tricks and the best ones involve multiple spinners. Costs can soon mount up; but that’s nothing new.

These finger toys can be bought cheaply, but break easily and that was an issue for Irish authorities just this week (as mentioned above). So this can be an annoyance or dangerous should the bearings come loose or smash into billion bits when dropped (which presumably happens a lot). Does this equate to them being a menace though; i’m not convinced.

Pro-users and YouTube – anyone can learn

A quick YouTube search for ‘fidget spinner tricks’ brings almost 3.4 million results with the top ones showing you how to perform tricks. Some of these verge on the insane, but many are achievable by your average Joe – and there lies the charm of these little finger toys. It seems anyone can pick one up and quickly learn a trick or two – I have to admit the videos have really made me want one – so watch this space for upcoming reviews (and most likely epic fidget spinner fails).

Your Thoughts

I am yet to try a fidget spinner out for myself (so have tried to present a balanced view), but am on the lookout for a good choice to test out. It would be great to hear from the lovers and haters of fidget spinners. Post your comments and thoughts below.

The post Fidget Spinners – stress relief, fad, menace or health magic bullet? first appeared on Gadgets and gizmos.

It’s nearly that time again; that time when Apple dim the lights and unveil their new flagship iPhone. The internet has been buzzing with rumours ranging from mediocre to bat shit crazy and I’ve been pretty slow in gathering these together. But here you are reading a post that aims to do just that.

What we know for sure about the iPhone 8

Let’s face it, nobody really knows what the new iPhone will include on the web (anyone who does is probably telling fibs or braking an NDA) but a few things that are likely;

• Apple will bring out at least one new phone this year based on the fact they’ve done this for the past 9 years (several models came out last year).
• It’s definitely going to have new features, with some predicting groundbreaking specs due to this being the 10th anniversary of the iPhone
• it’ll come in various colours, sizes and have multiple storage options – again based on the tried and tested formula
• People will queue up like crazed bellends to get one – me included, probably.

Release date

It’ll be some time in early September that we first see the iPhone 8 in the shops; judging by past releases. Some rumours have suggested that it might be later in the year, but sticking with the rule of averages you’d be safe to assume for a September release date – just remember that the UK tend to get it a little later than the USA. Others have been a little more brazen in their predictions;

• Trusted Reviews pin their tail on 22nd September
• CNET (via other sources) are less optimistic and are suggesting a late year release, drawing on reports that Apple are facing issues with the manufacturing process.

Specifications

It’ll be faster, have a better camera, better battery, screen and be all-round better than the iPhone 7 before it. But you knew all that already; so just how much better might it be?

OLED is supposedly coming to the iPhone 8, which means it’ll have it’s own light source and will not need to be backlit. This should mean, amongst other things, less battery drain. BGR even reckons the iPhone 7s will have OLED too – which is a big deal because Apple have not used this tech in their phones before. What’s more Apple may offer the iPhone 8 with three different screen size options; 4.7inch, 5.5 inches and 5.8 inches.

Apple tends to adopt the same naming convention for their processors; the current  iPhone 7 has the A10 chip and an educated guess would mean the iPhone 8 will include an A11 chip. Specs are pretty hard to come by, but the chip will likely be quicker and more efficient. 9 to 5 mac supports this theory and suggests the handset might feature the 3GB of ram.

The iPhone 8 will probably maintain dual lenses on the back. Apparently both of these will include optical image stabilisation – an upgrade on the current model.

Other rumoured specs include;

• the possible inclusion of AR. Bloomberg suggest recent hires could mean augmented reality might be coming to the iPhone 8
• the front camera will get a big upgrade; potentially able to capture 3D images and support AR. Hologram iMessages or FaceTime anyone?
• Wireless charging is looking ever more likely. Apple applied and joined the Wireless Power Consortium (WPC); this would suggest they needed the standard for an upcoming project, or projects.
• The lighting port will be removed and replaced with USB-C. This will mean faster charging; but would Apple dump lightning so readily? I think not. More likely they will release a compatible cable with lightning end still in tact. Merch much :-).

Form Factor

This year it’s all about screen to bezel ratio – essentially the bezel of the most popular smartphone’s this year are as thin as 90s supermodels. Naturally it’s expected that the iPhone 8 will follow suit with a iPhone 7 Plus sized screen within a body not much larger than a standard iPhone 7. This might mean the home button will need to go, a rumour supported by Apple Rumours.

Various leaks have suggested that the body will be slightly taller than that of the iPhone 7, that the camera lenses (both of them) will be vertically aligned instead of horizontal and will be waterproof. This time Apple will likely want to match the IP68 according to Trusted reviews.

It may also sport;

• a curved screen (although recent reports contradict this)
• a virtual home button
• touch sensors on the back

Price

It’ll be shit loads, that’s the easiest way of putting it – you heard it here first and can quote me. For the last couple of years their flagship phone has started at £599 – so it should be around this much, or a lot more if you like storing stuff on your phone. One thing that will likely remain is that the UK will pay more than the USA do for their phones, as this is a trend that has always existed and probably always will.

Things I hope the iPhone 8 will do

Please get involved on this one in the comments below;

• Hey Apple, how about functionality to close all apps. Like Android
• That the battery will last a whole day (forget what the specs say on previous generations; they aren’t true)
• Keep the home button – it, well, pushes my buttons and I like it
• A much slicker way to store stuff in the cloud – so i can buy a bog-standard iPhone and avoid a 256GB purchase
• Avoid too much on phone ’10th birthday’ branding – ideally none. IMO it would cheapen the brand.

I’ll update this whenever I find something of substance. The iPhone 8 is coming; what do you want to see from the 10th anniversary edition?

The post Apple iPhone 8 – News on dates, specs, prices and rumours first appeared on Gadgets and gizmos.

Well, they have been described as being a bit like Google Glass, although they are a good deal cheaper and more limited in what they can do. Perhaps a more accurate comparison would be to describe them as being similar to a Go Pro that you perch on your nose.

They are technically known as Snapchat Spectacles. While you wear them they will record short videos that will then be automatically stored in your Snapchat Memories, which is a new feature where all your favourite content is stored.

An interesting point about the new Snapchat sunglasses is that the camera uses a 115 degree lens. The idea is that this works in the same way as human eyes, giving a more natural look.

The latest details all suggest that these spectacles will be very easy to use. It seems that you just need to press a button in the top left hand corner to start recording.

Records 10 Seconds at a Time

The video will automatically stop after ten seconds but you can add up to a couple of extra ten second segments to it by pressing the button again. While video recording is taking place you see a light inside your glasses and other people will see one on the outside as well.

These Snapchat sunglasses work with both iOS and Android mobile devices, with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth options for transferring snaps. You can use the spectacles on their own and store the videos there until you choose to transfer them.

The battery on the glasses is said to last for a day or so, with the outward looking light working as the battery indicator. They come with their own charging case and cable.

Expect to pay about £100 for a pair of Snapchat Spectacles.  Black, teal and coral are the available colours, although only a limited number of them will be sold.

Do you think that you would use sunglasses like these to record Snapchat videos out on the street?

The post What Are the Snapchat Sunglasses All About? first appeared on Gadgets and gizmos.

However, news of a recent patent from Samsung suggests that the Samsung Gear VR headset could be about to move up to the next level. This is because the next model in the range could be the first to include facial and eye tracking.

Of course, this is something that is likely to give users an even more impressive and immersive virtual reality experience. At the moment, the Gear VR equipment lacks the powerful components that allow users of the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive to explore virtual worlds with in-room movement detection.

Currently a Stationary VR Experience

As yet, the Gear is only able to give a stationary VR experience. However, the arrival of the new electrographic and infrared sensors will allow for far greater interaction and a more natural experience.

As this is still just a patent it isn’t clear when this technology will first appear in the shops. The next opportunity to reveal it would appear to be when the Samsung Galaxy S8 is expected to be unveiled at February’s Mobile World Congress.

If this is the case then it would definitely raise the bar for other manufacturers to try and match them.

Have you tried a VR headset yet? If so, did it give you the sort of immersive experience you expected to receive?

The post Samsung Considering Facial Tracking for Gear VR first appeared on Gadgets and gizmos.

Well, provided that you have a healthy bank account then you can now get hold of the Nike Hyperadapt 1.0 trainers. They only cost a mere £575, which some gadget fans might consider to be a relatively small price to pay for such amazing technology.

According the people at Nike, they have been designed to be trainers that you use normally from day to day, rather than gimmicky items that people only buy for collecting.

The secret to these self-tying sneakers is something that is called E.A.R.L., which stands for Electro Adaptive Reactive Lacing. This kicks in when your heel touches the insole and it makes a loud, distinctive noise.

Manually Adjust to Give the Perfect Fit

This should give a snug fit that Marty McFly would proud of but if you need more comfort then there are a couple of buttons that you can use to adjust the fit to your needs.

There is also a coloured block on the bottom of these Nike trainers that shows you how much power they have left. When it is blue they are fully charged, yellow means that they are partly charged and a red light warns that the power is running low.

There is a white puck type object that comes with the Hyperadapts and that you use to charge them. According to Nike sources, a full battery will last for 2 weeks.

They are currently on limited release and a wider release is due later on in December.

Do you think that self-tying sneakers are worth this price or would you prefer to save the money and tie your own laces?

The post Nike Self-Tying Sneakers Now on Sale first appeared on Gadgets and gizmos.

As the name suggests, this is an incredible way of seeing the Earth in all its glory by using a virtual reality headset on Google Earth.

This means that you can walk down streets anywhere on the planet, zoom over mountains and basically explore the Earth in the way that best suits you. Google has packed in all 196.9 square miles of our dear old Blue Planet, so there is a huge amount of variety to choose from.  

Explore Some of the Planet’s Most Amazing Places

If you aren’t sure where to get started then Google has very nicely set up some cool tours and curated destinations to get you going. These include trips to Manhattan, the Grand Canyon and the mighty Amazon River.

Fans of Google Sky will be disappointed that there is no VR version of this amazing app yet, but with Google Earth VR you can still fly out to the very edge of space and then look back at the planet below you.

It has been released on Steam and is now available for free, so anyone with a compatible HTC Vive headset can get going on finding out more about the planet they live on in this way. It will be released on additional platforms in the next year, we have been told.

Would you love to explore the Earth in glorious VR, or is there something else you really want to do with a virtual reality headset?

The post Google Earth VR Will Transport You Anywhere first appeared on Gadgets and gizmos.

Certainly, the list of specs crammed into this handset is pretty impressive. The phone packs in a 2.53 gHZ Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 processor, 6GB of RAM and dual 16MP cameras for a start.

Internal storage options run to 64GB or 128GB while the battery uses Dash Charge to let you top up for the day in just 30 minutes. As for the display, this is 5.5 inches in size and has a resolution of 1920 x 1080.

Uses the Android 7.0 Nougat Operating System

The operating system on board it is Android 7.0 Nougat together with the Oxygen OS skin on top. This will give the model’s new owners a wide range of options for customising the look and feel of the phone.

While the OnePlus 3T is on general release in the US and some parts of Europe from the 22^nd of November of so, it the UK it is exclusive to 02 and has a launch date of the 28^th of November.

The UK tariffs begin at a monthly figure of £31, with deals offering between 500MB and 20GB of data believed to be the order of the day.

Do you think that this is a better option than some of the better known brand phones that have similar specs at a higher price?

The post Impressive OnePlus 3T Phone Now Launched first appeared on Gadgets and gizmos.