Every year something new hits the shelves, whether it be a new smart phone, set of headphones or tablet, there is always something that catches our eye.
Here is a lowdown of our Editor’s picks from our Tech range at Mankind.
Beats By Dr. Dre: Studio Over Ear Headphones
After 25 years, Dr. Dre was tired of spending months on a track only to have his fans hear it on weak, distorting earbuds. Two years and hundreds of prototypes later, Beats Studio headphones are the icons that bring you sound the way it was originally intended.
Features:
Powerful enough to block out a jet engine.
Powered by a pair of AAA batteries, the noise cancellation feature in a pair of Beats Studio headphones amplifies the music as it blocks out noise, giving you consistently powerful and intense sound.
Extra comfortable ear cups.
Super plush and covered with ultra-soft breathable materials, you’ll be cool and comfortable even during marathon listening sessions. The Beats by Dr. Dre logo on the side also acts as a mute button when you press it. No need to take them off to talk.
A flawless and iconic fit.
Designers of Beats Studio headphones conducted a series of ergonomic studies to find the perfect lightweight, foldable headphone that always delivers a comfortable fit. The result is a design now copied by brands around the world.
Remote control.
Take calls, skip songs and adjust volume right from the cord of your Beats Studio headphones. No more searching for your phone or music player just to find the right song.
What’s in the box:
- Beats Studio™ on ear headphones
- Two (2) AAA batteries
- 3.5mm audio cable
- 1/4”audio adaptor
- In-line remote & mic cable (features may vary)
- Hard shell carrying case
- Beats cleaning cloth
Philips Fidelio P9 Bluetooth Wireless Portable Speaker
The Philips Fidelio P9 Wireless Speaker is a compact, portable and high performance way to listen to your favourite music. Offering clear and dynamic sound, the Fidelio Speaker is ideal for use in the home or on the move. Wirelessly stream your music via Bluetooth, with simple connection to any Bluetooth device.
The soft dome tweeters ensure high frequencies are both detailed and accurate. This technology was first pioneered by Philips in the 1960s and has since been used in most high-end loudspeaker boxes. Its very open spatial presentation also enhances the tweeters, which offer low directivity and distortion compared to systems that only use full-range drivers. Sound is wide and natural from any angle in the listening area.
It might feature compact acoustic volume but the bass is deep and powerful, so you can enjoy every genre of music. This is possible thanks to the combined power of the full-range woofer and a large area passive radiator per channel, it’s all in an incredibly rigid enclosure that doesn’t lose bass energy. The large moving mass of the passive radiator means you can tune the system to an incredibly low frequency of 80Hz to prevent air turbulence that would usually be in a ported design. With the Fidelio Wireless Speaker you’ll never miss a beat.
Philips’ acoustic engineers have optimised the crossover filter to ensure sound stays as natural as possible, in a wide variety of acoustic environments. Whether you’re listening to the Fidelio P9 in a small room or open space, at soft listening levels to max volume, voices will remain clear and natural, while the sound isn’t aggressive or tiring even at high volume levels. This means you can keep enjoying your favourite music for hours on end.
High volume levels and dynamic sound amazing, due to the combination of high quality amplifier and 8 high-efficiency transducers. The tweeters and woofers in this device have a high force factor to deliver dynamic sound at every listening level. Music is powerful, dynamic and enjoyable whether your inside or outdoors.
Bluetooth connectivity allows you to easily connect your iPod/iPod/iPad or other Bluetooth devices including smartphones, tablets or laptops. The Fidelio Speaker makes it easy to enjoy all your favourite music, alternatively it can be used for great sound when watching TV series, films or playing games.
The speaker features a USB port for charging your smartphone or other device when you’re at home or on the move. It transfers battery power stored in the speaker to your mobile device, so you don’t have to worry about running out of battery power. To display the battery level, simply touch the speaker lightly. – A.D.
Features:
- Soft dome tweeters for wide and natural sound
- Woofers and wOOx technology for solid, amazingly deep bass
- Optimised crossover filter for a very natural tonal balance
- Premium design in natural wood and aluminium
- Built-in rechargeable Li-ion battery for playback anywhere
- Wireless music streaming via Bluetooth
- USB port to charge any mobile device
- Battery level shows automatically when speaker is touched
- Audio-in for easy connection to almost any electronic device
- Includes UK and EU AC leads
13.3″ @Tab Tablet Jellybean 4.1 Dual Core Rok Chip
The @Tab 13.3″ Tablet features Android 4.1 Jelly Bean and Flash 11 Support. Packed with technology including a Dual Core 1.6GHz processor, 16GB storage and a 5 point multi-touch display, it’s perfect for web browsing, playing the latest games or keeping up to date with work on the go. With its HDMI out port you can connect the tablet to your HDTV for watching films or playing the latest games on the big screen.
@Tab comes preloaded with lots of must-have apps with loads more to download on the Play Store. Bluetooth 2.1 enables you to connect multiple devices wirelessly, or you can connect and charge devices with the USB 2.0 and Mini USB port. Online access is easy thanks to the built-in Wi-Fi connection, and when you’ve located your nearest Wi-Fi hotspot you can stay up to date with your emails and social networking. – A.D.
In the Box:
- @Tab THIRTEEN.3 Tablet
- Power Adaptor
- User Manual
- Quick Start Guide
- USB Cable (for connecting to a PC)
- USB Mini Adapter
Technical Specifications:
- Android 4.1 jelly bean OS
- Adobe Flash 11 support
- Search and download 200,000+ apps
- Recommended apps preloaded
- Dual core 1.6GHz CPU
- 1GB DDR3 RAM
- 16GB Flash NAND – internal memory
- Memory expansion up to 32GB via Micro SD card slot
- LCD display 13.3″ – 1280 x 800 pixels
- Capacitive touchscreen
- Finger or stylus
- Capacitive 5 point multi-touch
- Gyro sensor – auto screen rotation through 360°
- Works in landscape or portrait
- Virtual QWERTY keyboard
- Mic and 3.5mm headphone jack
- Stereo output
- 0.3MP Front and 2MP rear cameras
- Wi-Fi – IEEE 802.11b/g/n
- Bluetooth 2.1
- Lithium polymer re-chargeable battery
- Up to 6 hour battery life, standby, 10500mAh battery
- Ports: Mini HDMI USB 2.0, Mini-USB Port and Micro SD card slot
- Size – 336 x 229 x 12.5mm
- Weight – 1.3kg
Apple 13 Inch Macbook Air
MacBook Air is incredibly thin, light and is still durable for everyday use when your on the move. The design might be lightweight but that doesn’t mean the MacBook Air compromises on processing power or battery life, it’s a joy to use and has a battery life that will last you through the day.
The key to the slimline design is the flash storage, which allows it to measure less than two centimetres thin. Flash is solid state with no moving parts, which makes the MacBook Air reliable, durable and quiet. Taking around 90 per cent less space than a standard notebook hard drive, there’s more space for a bigger battery to keep it running for longer. This all results in an ultra portable notebook that’s lightweight and runs for hours on just a single charge.
High-speed processor, powerful graphics and a memory controller are all integrated into a single chip to deliver amazing performance. With an Intel HD Graphics 4000 processor that’s 60 per cent faster than in previous models, it delivers high performance for your games, films and FaceTime calls. Flash storage gives you faster access to all your data, apps will launch quicky and your start up times will be reduced to just a few seconds. The 64GB of flash storage is up to 4x faster than a traditional 5400-rpm notebook hard drive.
The 13 inch widescreen display measures only 4.86mm thin but the high resolution and vibrant colours will give the impression that you are looking at a much larger screen. With the FaceTime HD camera you can speak to friends and family in crystal clear widescreen HD quality. You can make 720p HD calls from your MacBook Pro to any Mac that has a FaceTime HD camera, and hold video calls with anyone who has an iPad, iPhone 4, iPhone 4S, iPod touch and other Intel-based Mac computers.
MacBook Air’s bigger battery means you can spend longer doing the things you love. When you browse the web, edit photos and watch videos, you can have up to seven hours of battery life on a single charge. If you put MacBook Air to sleep it enters standby mode to conserve battery life for up to 30 days, and it will be on in a flash when you next use it.
Thunderbolt technology offers a single connection which carries both DisplayPort and PCI Express signals. 12 times faster than FireWire 800 and delivering 10 Gbps of throughput in both directions, Thunderbolt gives you ultra-fast transfer speeds and enables you to connect multiple high performance peripherals by daisy chaining up to six devices together. There’s also two USB 3.0 port for transferring data between devices at speeds up to 10 times faster than USB 2.0, and all your USB 2.0 devices are still compatible.
Stay connected with the latest three-stream 802.11n wireless technology and get the best performance at any range. MacBook Pro will find any available networks and you can connect to them with a click. Bluetooth wireless technology enables you to connect to all your wireless accessories.
Jarre Aerosystem One IPod Dock
Jarre Technologies developed the AeroSystem One with the goal to recapture and recreate the sound that has been perfected in cutting edge recording studios. Listening to music in your home shouldn’t mean you should sacrifice the sound created by the musicians in the studio.
AeroSystem One is the outcome of four years of research and development by Jean Michel Jarre and his talented team of sound engineers. Conceptualised and developed in France, this powerful sound system is compatible with all digital formats including MP3, AAC, WMA and many more.
AeroSystem One features a dock that’s compatible with a range of iPod and iPhone models, plus an integrated USB 2.0 port and mini-jack port which enables you to connect the speaker system to a laptop, CD/DVD player, smartphones, hard disk drives or vinyl turntables. The speaker system features an electronic signal circuit, designed to precisely reproduce deep bass lines and high treble notes.
Enjoy precise and room filling sound thanks to the AeroSystem One’s powerful box beam and two directional speakers. The stylish and elegant design of the AeroSystem One will fit perfectly into any interior. Blending aesthetics with premium audio quality, this sound system is perfect for anyone who loves impeccable design and high quality sound.
Apple New Ipad 4th Generation – 16gb
Redefining the tablet, and making everything clearer, the all new Apple iPad with Retina Display. The iPad’s display, processor, wireless connection and cameras all combine to deliver the perfect experience.
Retina Display
Delivering precise, crystal clear colours on the exclusive Retina Display, the new iPad is unmatched in terms of visual quality. Packing in a mind-boggling 2048 x 1536 resolution and 3.1 million pixels, you can enjoy visuals better than those found on even the most expensive HDTVs. Harnessing the power of each pixel, the new iPad brings every game, image and line to life.
Powerful A6X Chip
Powered by an A6X chip, it’s up to twice as fast as the A5X and gives you double the amount of graphics performance, without the battery life suffering. Quad-core graphics makes graphics-intensive games feel fluid and look lifelike on the Retina display. Improved signal processing in the A6X makes the photos and videos you capture look sharper and make the most of the Retina display.
10-Hour Battery Life
The new iPad’s battery life is just as impressive as ever. Capable of delivering up to 10 hours per charge, you can play, read, write and enjoy more, for longer. The ‘Instant Wakeup’ feature gets the iPad ready to go in a second.
iSight Camera
Despite already containing the best tablet technology on the market, Apple has packed the new iPad with a true HD iSight camera. Capture precious family moments in glorious HD, or record the next YouTube hit, and upload them instantly using the integrated social network tools. An improved five-element lens enhances light to deliver crisper, more stunning colours. Autofocus, face detection and automatic image stabilisation all work in sync to product the best quality images and videos around.
Siri
Siri is the intelligent assistant that helps you get things done, just by asking. Talk to Siri as you would to a person: Ask “Do I need an umbrella?” or “Did the Giants win last night?” or “What time is the barbecue on Sunday?” Siri not only understands what you say, it knows what you mean. It figures out the right apps to use to find the right answer. Then, just like a personal assistant, Siri provides you with the information you need.
iOS
Take control of your tablet experience with the world’s most powerful operating system, iOS. Easy to navigate, iOS makes your iPad a wonder to work with. All your favourite apps are stored on the unique home screen.
Less Than 10mm Thin
Even with so much power built into iPad, it’s incredibly thin and light. From the A6X chip to the Retina display, we had to engineer each component to maximise performance while minimising size and weight. So at just 9.4mm thin and less than 670g, iPad isn’t just capable, it’s portable too.
Lightning Connector:
A new way to get connected.
Not only is the Lightning connector 80 per cent smaller than the 30-pin connector, it was designed to be reversible and significantly more durable.
