Gadgets: Gigabyte Aero laptop, Riutbag+, AirPop masks, Dyson Detect and more
Image credit: Kiryl Balbatunou/Dreamstime
From the August 2021 issue of E&T: tech innovations for creativity, gardening, commuting, partygoing and cleaning.
Gigabyte Aero laptop
Image credit: Gigabyte
Read Caramel’s hands-on review and suggestions of alternatives.
This is the laptop to buy if you’re a creative who doesn’t favour Apple. Its Nvidia GeForce RTX 30 supplies state-of-the-art graphics processing. Powerful and slim, the flagship 17-inch HDR model boasts the largest screen, with 4K definition; meanwhile there’s a 15-inch with the world’s first Xrite Pantone colour calibrated OLED display.
From £1,799 gigabyte.com
RiutBag+ backpack
Image credit: Riutbag
Read E&T technology editor Tim Fryer’s hands-on review.
Inspired by a request from a doctor, this has wipe-clean surfaces that are quick and easy to sanitise, plus holders for your own face mask and hand sanitiser. The 20-litre rucksack is also designed to be anti-theft: your laptop (up to 15in), stowed flat against your back, can’t be accessed when the bag is worn. A rucksack for our time.
£129 riut.co.uk
AirPop Active+ Halo face masks
Image credit: AirPop
AirPop’s Active face masks are designed to be extra-breathable for fitness, so your glasses really shouldn’t steam up when you’re racing around the supermarket. This adds the Halo sensor and app to quantify your breathing. It tracks breathing rate, air volume, time worn and particles blocked plus the local Air Quality Index.
£149.99 airpophealth.com
Sony SRS-XG500 smart speaker
Image credit: Sony
This boombox-style smart speaker is designed to deliver a big sound anywhere. It’s weatherproof and boasts a battery life of up to 30 hours. Play music from any device via Bluetooth but there’s also USB, handy for topping up your phone battery. The two ends are home to passive bass radiators and ambient lighting. The ultimate party speaker.
£379 sony.co.uk
Dyson v15 Detect vacuum cleaner
Image credit: Dyson
With a starting price of a monkey, Dyson must innovate to justify each new cordless vacuum cleaner. This has a green laser that illuminates dust so you don’t miss it and a piezo sensor that detects dust particles, counts them and adjusts suction accordingly. You get better cleaning performance and a measure of it.
£499.99 dyson.co.uk
Pico MAX hydroponic planter
Image credit: Pico Max
A hydroponic planter that’s a bit different. The makers have updated the successfully Kickstarted Pico. It now features ten days of self-watering, lighting on a timer and – innovatively – an optional internal battery, so it’s good for four days of cordless use. You can magnetically mount the planters and even daisy-chain them together.
$115 picoplanter.com
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