I think I've reviewed more earbuds and headphones this year than ever before.
For me, there's four main questions any earwear needs to answer...
How do they sound?
How do they fit?
How do they look?
Do they offer any kind of noise cancellation and if so, is it any good?
There are certainly a lot of options out there that answer all those questions pretty positively. Sony took things to a whole new level with its over-ear WH-1000XM3 headset, cementing its reputation as a go-to brand for Active Noise Cancelling, style and comfort.
But can you really squeeze all that into a set of "truly-wireless" earbuds?
Sony certainly seems to think so. In fact, not only are the WF-1000XM3's almost called the same thing, Sony doesn't even call them earbuds, they're "Wireless Noise Cancelling Headphones" apparently.
Sorry, but as far as I'm concerned, if you stick them in your ears, they're buds.
In saying that, as you can see from the image above, the WF-1000XM3's are quite an unusual shape. They're not tiny and subtle like some earbuds I've tried, nor do they stick out or hang down like others. They're definitely a statement, with the Sony logo emblazoned across each bud in bronze. That statement says, "I've paid quite a lot of money for these cool little things, so they'd better do the business."
They do.
So that's basically the "look" question answered; they look different, classy and unmistakably Sony. They also look like they'd be a terrible fit, but I was surprised to find this isn't the case - not for me anyway.
It must be an absolute nightmare for any earbud designer to try and come up with a form factor that even approaches a universal fit. The way most manufacturers get around this is with a variety of tips and indeed, here Sony includes several sizes in both soft and harder materials. I actually found the more firm, rubbery option to be the most secure. The WF-1000MX3's ergonomic "tri-hold" structure, which is supposed to ensure three points of contact and the fact they're actually constructed from a high-friction rubber all combines to a) give the impression these things are practically weightless and b) they simply don't fall out. At all. Ever.
I've worn them around the house, to the gym and on several runs and neither earbud has worked its way loose. Not once. What's more impressive is, you're not really supposed to wear these for exercise as they have no water-resistant IP rating. My loophole is I try not to break a sweat.
This super secure fit may just be a fluke for my particular, weird ear shape. They're the only ears I've got though, so it's all I can offer.
Looks? Tick. Fit? Tick?
So how do these puppies sound? To be honest, this is not some magical reproduction of the full-sized over-ear WH-1000XM3 in a much smaller package. That's simply not physically possible. But damn if they don't come close. Using Sony's companion headphone app, you can choose from a number of preset EQs, or customise one of your own to suit your preferences. Certainly, like most Sony devices, the bass response in particular is actually quite impressive.
There's a lot of tech under the tiny hoods of these earbuds to make them sound as good as they do. The Digital Sound Enhancement Engine HX upscales compressed files like mp3s to make them sound more high-res. This seems to work pretty well on podcasts too, which are notorious for being recorded at low bit rates to keep file sizes down.
Another neat trick is simultaneous bluetooth transmission, which has only recently appeared on a handful of true wireless devices. This means the signal is beamed to both ears at once, instead of to one bud then across to the other. The result is the most stable connection I have ever experienced on a set of wire-free buds. Not a single dropout or phase issue the whole time I've been using them.
That just leaves noise cancelling.
Sony's famous HD noise cancelling processor, the QN1e, is the same chip you'll find on the big headphones and yes it works - to a degree. There are dual noise sensor microphones sampling the world around you and adjusting the level of ANC accordingly. On one hand, this is great, as you obviously don't need as much Active Noise Cancelling in a quiet office as you do on a plane or a train. On the other hand, every time the WF-1000XM3 changes mode, it interrupts your playback with a beep notification to let you know it's done it. I'd prefer if it just shut up and got on with it. Luckily you can deactivate the Adaptive Noise Control completely using the app if it gets too annoying. From the app you can also manually adjust the level of ambient noise you let in too.
In fact, there's a lot you can do to customise the way you use these earbuds.
Now that we've ticked off all my main four requirements, let's look at some of the finer details. I don't totally love the controls and to be fair, I've yet to find the perfect solution to run things from something as small as an earbud. Basically, there's a circular touch pad on each bud, which you can program to perform your choice of a limited number of functions; play, pause, answer calls etc. You can also switch between Noise Cancelling and Ambient mode, or use that left-hand bud to run Google Assistant. This gets complicated fast, as you'll need to remember the right combination of taps, double-taps or holding your finger on the pad to get Google Assistant to do all the things you want her to. She usually reminds you, but ironically, more often than not I found it easier to get my actual phone out to read and answer my messages. Maybe with a bit more training I'll get used to it.
There's no on-board volume option - you have to run all that from the source device which is a bit of a pain. And there's no on/off control either - the buds activate the moment you take them out of the case and your music will pause automatically once either bud is removed from your ear.
It's certainly useful to be able to make phone calls using Google Assistant and although I've seen some reviews questioning the call quality of the WF-1000XM3, in my experiments it worked well, with some callers commenting on how effectively the noise cancelling cut out any background noise when I wasn't talking. Pretty clever.
Like the buds themselves, the charging case is a classy looking affair, although it's certainly one of the larger ones I've come across. On the bright side, you'll get about 24 hours use from a full charge of the case and earbuds combined and the case even provides quick-charge functionality; up to 90 minutes playback from a 10 minute charge. Very handy if you're travelling. There's also a reassuring magnetic clunk when you pop the earbuds back in place making it hard to lose one, even if the lid's open.
These are the truly wireless earbuds that truly tick all the boxes and as such, they also truly tick the premium price tag box. However, if they really are the best, maybe they're worth it.
Click here for more information and pricing on the WF-1000XM3 wireless noise cancelling headphones.
There are certain things almost all offices have in common.
The kitchen is always a mess.
The printer is always jammed.
And the air conditioning is always wrong.
It's an inconvenient fact of life some people are hot and some are cold and you should just never try to make both types of people coexist in a confined space.
But life doesn't work that way.
I've even heard tell of married couples who are thermostatically incompatible.
What to do? What to do?...
Well, you hotties out there could just get yourself a fan - but we all know there's something way better than a fan; a Dyson.
Straight away, you can see there's something different about the Dyson Pure Cool Me personal purifier fan... different even from other Dysons.
Sure, it's still bladeless - but now there's not even a gap in the middle. Instead, Dyson's genius team of techno-boffins have studied the way air currents move over a convex surface and have figured out how to use that to shoot a focused beam of cool, clean air directly at you and nobody else.
If you've seen the almost magical way hair winds itself around Dyson's groundbreaking Airwrap styling tool, you'll know they are the experts when it comes to actual air-bending. This means you can blast a pretty strong gale your way, without disturbing even the papers on your desk, let alone the cold fish in the cubicle next to you.
In fact, using the remote you can adjust the air speed of the Pure Cool Me to ten different levels. What's more, from about levels 1-3, the unit runs so quietly, your office neighbour probably won't even hear it's on. This makes it the ideal summertime sleeping companion too. There's an easy-to-use timer that'll turn the Pure Cool Me off after 30 minutes, 1, 2, 4 or 8 hours.
That's about as technical as the controls get though. You can slide the central dome up or down to adjust the vertical angle of the air flow and you can oscillate the fan through a 90 degree arc with a button on the remote. But that's pretty much it. Unlike other, larger Dyson purifying fans and heaters, there's no WiFi connectivity, so no app and no Alexa control. No automation either, so you can't set it to come on at a certain time or from a another location.
Better make sure you don't lose that remote either, as there aren't any speed, oscillation and timer controls on the unit itself. Luckily, the remote does attach magnetically to the central column, so it shouldn't be too hard to look after. There is a small LCD display on the base too- it dims automatically in a dark bedroom and shows you the speed you've selected as well as the status of the filter, which can be easily removed and replaced.
As usual, Dyson has gone completely over-the-top with its filter technology to ensure 99.95% of ultrafine particles are removed from the air before they get to you. As we hit full swing of hayfever season, this is certainly a breath of fresh air - literally.
Like all Dyson products, the Pure Cool Me is a funky looking appliance, in a crazy, sci-fi way. It comes in Gunmetal and Copper, or the more conventional White and Silver. Don't be fooled by its "personal" moniker though; it's by no means a tiny thing. In fact, if you're planning on sitting it on your desk, you might need to clear away that Employee of the Month award and the 2017 Businesshouse Indoor Netball trophy to make enough space for it. It's pretty solid.
Overall, I'm certainly impressed with what the Pure Cool Me provides; a personalised stream of cool, fresh air, exactly where you want it. However, I have to admit, I was somewhat taken aback by its large size and its lack of smart connectivity. Knowing Dyson, I wouldn't be surprised if next year's model is smaller and is WiFi capable. In the meantime, this is certainly an effective way to solve those inter-office air-con arguments.
Click here for more information and pricing on the Dyson Pure Cool Me personal purifier fan.
When the world's getting on top of you and you've got a lot going on and everything is stressing you out, there's nothing quite like flopping down on the couch and immersing yourself in a bit of mindless television.
Of course, everything is streamed on demand these days, so you can never say, "There's nothing good on." Right?...
Right?...
Vodafone TV has come a long way since it was first launched last year. That is to say, it's finally ready.
The original idea behind Vodafone TV was fairly simple; to provide access to all your favourite televsion services from one, easy-to-use set-top box. Netflix, Sky, network TV both live and on demand, all in one place.
Quite a tidy concept, especially for anyone playing catch-up with trends like smart TV's and streaming devices. Somehow, even now, the process of plugging an actual box into your telly seems more reliable, more trustworthy than playing a programme over Chromecast via an app on your phone.
Trouble is, it didn't really work properly. Not at first, anyway.
The really unique pitch behind Vodafone TV (for me anyway) was the three-day catch-up functionality. This meant you could time-shift your viewing and watch anything from the last 72 hours, whether you'd specifically recorded it or not. Great pitch. I was sold. In fact, I even changed my ISP to Vodafone, just so I could sign up for the service.
So I was a bit disappointed to discover I couldn't access certain shows on certain channels, except to watch them live. Yes, most of the programmes on TVNZ or Three could be accessed by the on-demand apps (pre-installed on the box) but that's not quite the same as flicking back to yesterday's guide and pushing play.
Apparently, this was due to some kind of licensing issue and rest assured, a year or so down the track, 90 percent of shows are now available to at least re-watch using the three-day rewind option, even if you can't actually record them. Most of the exceptions are reality TV shows like Million Dollar Listing and season 23 of the Amazing Race - no great loss.
The other massive change Vodafone's made is you no longer have to be a Vodafone customer to use Vodafone TV. Amazingly, in this brave new world of subscriber-everything, Vodafone has decided to sell you its box for a one-off payment of $179. That's a little bit more expensive than a basic Android TV box, but you can't add Sky TV channels to an Android TV box and you can't watch free-to-air live network TV on one either. (Well, not easily, anyway) Oh, and you certainly can't 3-Day Rewind on an Android TV. Or on anything.
Shall we compare it to Apple TV? No. Because Vodafone's box is so much cheaper and so much more versatile. There's no comparison at all.
There are a few other tweaks on Vodafone TV 2. The big one is it's now WiFi capable, so you no longer need to be within reach of an ethernet port to make it work. I've tried it out and found there was no obvious difference in picture quality or general functionality between the hard-wired or WiFi connections.
Everything else functions in a similar way to the original box from last year - although the new box itself is significantly smaller. I also love that you can now turn the brightness of the power LED way down low, I hate stupid lights. There's a straight-forward on-screen U.I. that gives you quick access to live channels, a full programme guide and all the usual apps like Netflix, Neon, Lightbox and YouTube. The remote is equally easy to use and it's handy to be able to search for programmes by title, no matter what channel they're on. Everything has a much slicker and more modern feel than the sluggish operation of a traditional MySky set-top box.
There's one thing that takes a bit of getting used to; fast-forwarding and rewinding. Unlike MySky, there's no on-screen video display when you cue forwards or backwards, you only see the time. This makes it slightly more challenging to skip an ad break as they're not always the same length. Don't let this put you off though as there are some serious up-sides to the Vodafone TV way of controlling things. For starters, you can fast-forward or rewind huge chunks of time in just a few seconds, much faster on the 2019 box than last year's model. The time display is clearer and more accurate too. Finally, my favourite; the 20 second skip button - jump forwards or backwards in 20 second increments instantly... perfect for skipping injuries, scrums and lineouts in a delayed broadcast of a rugby game.
Yes, there's no doubt Vodafone TV 2 is now one of the most effective ways to bring all your television requirements onto one platform. Well... almost all...
While all the big apps come pre-installed on Vodafone TV, there are, of course, many others out there. Because you can't add extra apps to the box, or stream to it from another device, you'll still need something like a Chromecast dongle plugged into your telly to make those other apps work. Apps like Acorn TV for example...
Acorn TV is one of the latest in the ever-increasing list of subscription streaming services. This one lets you watch the best of (mostly) British telly on your PC, tablet, phone and Apple TV.
While it doesn't always offer the very latest seasons the moment they're released, there's actually a solid library of content available. If you're into dramas and mysteries like Line of Duty and Broadchurch or comedies like Father Ted - this could be the TV app for you. Or your mum or dad maybe?
There are new shows, seasons and movies added every month and Acorn TV does a good job of keeping you informed of all its latest additions. Not only do I receive regular email updates, but since I subscribed, I've been amazed how much Acorn TV news has been popping up in my social media and browsing feeds.
The user interface is pretty standard and pretty simple, although I've found it to be a bit fiddly casting to my TV, usually having to start casting after I've started watching an episode, even though you can cast from the main menu of the app. There's no problem streaming in terms of picture quality and reliability once you do get your programme going though, although these things really need to work straight away given the audience for a show like Doc Martin is likely to tend towards the greyer-haired end of the scale.
As we've recently learned from Spark Sport's Rugby World Cup trials and tribulations, that's an audience pretty reluctant to embrace "new" technology, so if it doesn't work first time, every time, you're going to have issues.
Luckily, Acorn TV only costs $7.99 a month. At that price, I think most people can handle having to push the cast button twice.
Click here for more information on Vodafone TV.
Click here for more information on Acorn TV.
