DEX DEUX

Phones are now pretty much the smartest things on the planet. Not only do we no longer need to lug a laptop around with us wherever we go, we don't even really need a brain of our own anymore. This is why we're starting to see more phone manufacturers producing accessories to help you use your handset as a desktop.

Last year, Samsung introduced the DeX - a dock that enabled a desktop experience as long as you had a screen with an HDMI socket to plug into. Let's find out what they've done to ramp up the 2018 version...

Obviously, the DeX Pad looks completely different to the round, ashtray-style dock from 2017 with the pop-up stand. There were all kinds of drawbacks to that design, not least of which was the complete inability to access the headphone socket at the base of your phone. In fact, getting at any part of your phone while it was docked was problematic. While this isn't a major if you're in Samsung DeX mode (desktop mode), using a peripheral mouse and keyboard - if you're just screen-mirroring, obviously it becomes harder to control things when you're having to poke around for navigation buttons at the base of the screen which is recessed inside the dock itself.

The DeX Pad 2018 has none of these issues because your phone lies flat to plug in, leaving the screen (and the headphone jack) completely accessible. The "Pad" has also been added to the name because when in Samsung DeX mode, you can now use your phone screen as a trackpad controller, just like on a laptop - therefore you might not need to attach a mouse at all.

However, there are two USB ports on the DeX Pad if you do prefer a mouse and keyboard, although obviously these can be used for accessing external storage devices as well - pretty handy for transferring a lot of data quickly.

While the original DeX was the only thing in the box, this year's upgrade includes HDMI and charging cables and most importantly, its own fast charger. This is vital because the whole shebang only works when it's plugged into the right power source. This is actually a positive rather than a drawback because it means you can keep using your phone productively while fast-charging it at the same time.

The DeX Pad 2018 seems to fire up a bit faster than the previous model and I definitely noticed far less lag with the connection, something that bothered me last year - especially when streaming video. Whether this is due to improvements in the device itself, more power from the Galaxy S9+ I'm using with it, some kind of software modifications or a combination of all three, I'm not sure. What I'm trying to tell you is Netflix works brilliantly through this thing - outstanding picture quality.

Sadly, not all apps have been optimised to be used with the DeX Pad - they all work, but many won't maximise to full-screen size, keeping to a phone-screen shaped window on the desktop instead. This can be worked-around to some degree if you mirror the phone rather than using Samsung DeX mode, although even then many apps won't expand out to fill the whole screen.

Another upside to the new lay-down configuration of the DeX Pad is you can flick it (and the phone) sideways to force the screen into landscape - something that just wasn't an option with the 2017 stand-up version. (Again this is only an issue if you're mirroring rather than desktopping)

Perhaps the most useful improvement to the 2018 DeX is simply how much more compact it is. Yes, the original was portable, but it was still too bulky to slide into a briefcase or handbag. Now it really isn't much bigger than your phone itself, making it a far more realistic option when it comes to hot-desking between offices, towns or countries.

Some games have been optimised for DeX and work very well - but of course, most haven't so this may not be your go-to gaming accessory. On the other hand, if you're already using your phone as your primary business tool, the extra functionality you can gain by plugging into a large screen is more than a little useful.

Compatible with Galaxy S8, S8+, Note8, S9 and S9+, the DeX Pad makes the most of these phones' impressive computing muscle and multitasking abilities, empowering you to easily move and modify media files, documents and presentations - or just take it with you when you travel so you can watch your favourite streaming apps on a bigger screen - charging your phone the whole time.

Best of all, it's cheaper. Some stockists are retailing the DeX Pad for as much as $70 less than the old model - when does that ever happen?

At around $179, it seems like there's a lot of productivity and portability to be gained and not much to lose.

Click here for more information and pricing on the DeX Pad 2018

SOME STEPS IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION

So it turns out, smart watches are a guy thing.

According to Fitbit's own stats, males outnumber females about 60/40 when it comes to wearing tech stuff on your wrist.

To be fair, till now Fitbit's smartest devices have looked more like something Captain Kirk would wear rather than Beyonce or Jacinda Ardern.

Chunky. Space-aged. Okay... geeky. Time to introduce some finesse to the equation...

As much as we'd like to believe we've left the days of pink for girls and blue for boys behind us, there are still some gender-based stereotypes we just can't seem to shake.

Guys generally love a gadget whereas ladies would prefer not to wear one that looks too... gadgety.

Annoyingly (because I hate Apple so much) the Apple Watch has gone a long way to breaking down the barriers between the functionality of a really clever smart watch and a stylish accessory most people wouldn't mind wearing in public.

This is of course, simply because Apple is a cult and those poor souls who have become addicted to any product with a lower-case "i" in front of it will buy whatever they're told to.

There were plenty of decent smart watches around before Apple made theirs, unfortunately none with quite the pulling power brand-wise.

While all this was going on, Fitbit was perfecting the art of activity tracking, dominating the market in fitness wearables, primarily because Fitbit devices are easy to use, the app is standout and above all, they work.

Recent products like the Blaze and Ionic went a step further and attempted to bridge the gap between dedicated fitness tracker and all-round smart watch.

The Ionic was easily Fitbit's smartest device to date, introducing their own range of apps and even cutting-edge features like contactless payment.

Waterproof, one of the few watches around capable of tracking swimming as well as all the usual exercises, Ionic was a true competitor against other big name smart watches.

But not for women apparently. Still too big and weird-looking.

Enter the Fitbit Versa. So much smaller. Lighter. Slimmer. And yes, also available in pink.

What woman could resist?

...or at least that's what I thought.

I embarked on a highly scientific survey of all the females I could find in my office and none of them were particularly keen on wearing the Versa.

Still too bulky, strap still too wide apparently. I found this surprising, because compared to the Ionic and the Blaze, the Versa is positively tiny. It's even smaller than the Apple watch, but according to my scientific sample, still not dainty enough. I was showing them the Special Edition version too. Admittedly it was the Graphite one with the Charcoal woven band. Perhaps I would have got a more favourable response with the Rose Gold coloured model with either the Peach band or the Special Edition Lavender woven one.

Maybe, even now in 2018, the superior sex still don't really want a smart watch, no matter how it looks or feels, and believe me, the Versa is so light it's basically weightless - which makes it more comfortable than ever for sleep tracking. This means wearing the watch to bed of course, which is uncomfortable for most people, but the Versa, especially the Special Edition version with the woven band, is barely noticeable. Fitbit also claims a "4+ Day Battery Life," which, in my testing, turned out to be an almost 4 day battery life, but it certainly means you're not having to charge the thing every night like most other smart watches.

In fact, because it's water resistant to 50 metres, (kind of important for swim tracking) there's really no reason to take it off at all. The challenge is finding the opportunity somewhere in that four days to charge it. Because the Versa tracks so many of your everyday activities it's pretty addictive.

Speaking of charging, yes, yet again there's a whole new, unique setup for that. This time it seems to be a combination of every other charger Fitbit has ever made; a clippy bedside cradle thing on the end of a USB lead. While nowhere near as fiddly as some previous arrangements that actually involved taking your Fitbit to pieces to charge it, I don't know what was wrong with the stripped-down magnetic attachment we got with the Ionic. It was elegant and simple.

Once you get past the dramatic cosmetic differences, the Versa works exactly the same way as the Ionic, with one minor exception. The Ionic has its own built-in GPS while the Versa needs to stay paired to your phone in order to know where it is. Given I usually take my phone with me everywhere anyway, personally this makes no difference to me whatsoever.

Fitbit recently completely revamped the Operating System for the Ionic, making shortcuts and notifications easier to get to and replicating the dashboard display from the Fitbit app on the watch itself. This OS runs exactly the same way on the Versa. It works really well, and the improvements Fitbit has made to the reliability of the notification service brings these devices right into the realm of the genuine smart watch market. My only real beefs operationally-wise are the time it takes to download and install apps and watchfaces - although there are heaps more of these than ever before so that's great.

The media controller is still pretty buggy, unfortunately. After the OS update I couldn't get it to work at all, until I found a post on one of Fitbit's support forums that suggested toggling the music source between the watch and the phone. I did this and the media controls magically appeared - I trick I've had to repeat regularly to get it to work. Definitely a quirk Fitbit needs to sort.

One of the new apps available on the Versa and Ionic is the music streaming service, Deezer. You'll need a paid subscription to download your playlists to your watch, but you get three months for free when you purchase a Versa. It's actually my favourite streaming app, so once you try, you may well decide to buy.

But back to the girls. Ladies. Women. In conjunction with the launch of the Versa, Fitbit has also announced its new female health tracking app. While there are other apps around for keeping an eye on menstrual cycles etc, Fitbit promises to provide a more comprehensive picture than ever by integrating all the other health data the Versa already monitors. What's more, Fitbit offers the opportunity to share your experiences via its online forums, which is pretty groundbreaking, especially in countries and cultures where openly discussing womens health is virtually tabu.

Unfortunately, although the release of this service is iminent, it's not out yet so I haven't been able to assign a female to put it through its paces on my behalf. Rest assured, I'll definitely do this as soon as I can and that may result in a whole review all of its own.

So, in spite of my scientific office survey, it's hard to deny Fitbit is making every effort to cater for the female market with the Versa. To be honest, I'm pretty happy with how it works on my wrist too. Only time will tell if this latest smart watch will be able to bridge the gap between geek-wear and style.


Click here for more information and pricing on the Fitbit Versa

SAVING THE BEST FOR LAST

As a bit of a tech nerd, I'm prone to the occasional bout of taking things apart and putting them back together again.

This means I have a reasonably fearless, (if not cavalier) attitude towards performing my own hardware upgrades.

In the past, this has meant replacing RAM modules, installing graphics cards and perhaps most commonly, speccing up my hard drive.

Of course, these days, hard drives are virtually a thing of the past and now even SATA SSD's are giving way to other form factors.

Don't know what I'm on about? Don't worry - I think I can explain it and I have a great SATA SSD for you in the meantime...

First thing you need to know; if your laptop is still running on a traditional spinning hard drive, you need to change that now - and for several reasons.

If you want a quieter, cooler, more energy efficient computer, the MX500 from Crucial is a pretty good starting point. What's more, it almost installs itself, so there's really no reason to be nervous about opening up your laptop and looking inside.

I installed the MX300 in my laptop when it came out a couple of years back and was absolutely gobsmacked at the dramatic speed improvements it made in every way - from start-up time, how quickly programs opened, even multi-tasking improved due to the faster write speeds. Until that point I'd always believed RAM upgrades were the best way to pimp your PC, but I've never seen anything like the transformation swapping out the HDD for the MX300 SSD achieved.

Now the MX500 offers even faster speeds, better reliability and best of all, free software to make changing drives easier than ever.

I've been using Acronis True Image to clone old disk drives onto new ones ever since I upgraded from my tiny 40GB to a more useful 500GB. As a cloning tool I've always found the automatic settings totally reliable and I've never lost anything in the process.

Now you can download Acronis True Image for free from the Crucial website, plug your new MX500 in, either via a SATA dock or a USB HDD enclosure and you can clone your existing drive with a few clicks of your mouse.

Depending on how much information you're copying, this can take an hour or so but then it's simply a matter of swapping your old drive out for the MX500 and you've turned your stale old laptop into a rocketship.

That's the good news.

Unfortunately, my new laptop doesn't even support a SATA form factor anymore and the latest storage modules connect via something called NVMe which allows write speeds up to seven times faster which poses the obvious question...

Why is Crucial still making obsolete technology?

Simple answer; most people are using even more obsolete technology. They want it to be less obsolete. A few hundred bucks for a new drive is a lot cheaper than a thousand or two on a whole new box.

So what did I use the MX500 for?

Now SSD's like this come in large sizes, up to 2GB in this case, they're an ideal backup drive. But I used mine for the best job ever; storing all my movies.

The MX500 is the best drive I've ever used as a media server. The fast write speed means I can save large files to it more efficiently than before, it's virtually silent and the file directory appears instantly on whatever device I access it from on my home network. So far it's been 100% reliable, whereas the HDD I used to use would sometimes disappear from sight and I'd have to reboot to get my movies back up and running again.

This is not the latest in storage drive technology, but your device probably won't run that stuff anyway. The MX500 is likely to be the closest you'll get to making your old computer seem like new - and the bundled software makes the process easy too.


Click here for more information and pricing on the Crucial MX500 SSD

NOT JUST ANOTHER SPEAKER

Here we go again. Of the gazillion bluetooth speakers out there, what makes one stand out over another?

Maybe it's just so classy, you can't resist it...

The Harman/Kardon range of home and portable speakers oozes elegance and sophistication, perhaps none more so than the Onyx Studio 4.

The first thing you'll notice about it is its size. The Onyx Studio 4 is not a speaker you can hide away between books or bottles on a shelf - this'll need a space of its own. At 278mm across, it's about the diameter of a large dinner plate. Although this places it firmly in the upper size scale for portable devices, it's by no means clunky or ungainly. Everything is subtly curved, the few physical control buttons there are have been tucked away just over the top edge. In fact, the up and down volume buttons are so subtle, sometimes I struggled to find them at all, especially in dim lighting. Luckily the plus and minus symbols are slightly raised so you can just go by feel.

The other feature that impressed me with its subtlety was the power and bluetooth connection sounds. I have no idea why we need these stupid noises on any speaker at all, I hate them. If your speaker hasn't turned on, you'll know because it won't work. Why do I need an annoying bleeping noise to tell me? Same goes for the bluetooth connection - if my music plays out of my phone instead of the speaker, probably hasn't connected. Unfortunately, pretty much every bluetooth device I've ever used insists on beeping at me or in extreme cases, talking to me (usually in a funny accent). What's more, these silly bleeps and beeps often blast out at maximum volume. Thankfully, while the Onyx Studio 4 still has the bleeps, they're very toned down and much less irritating than most.

Everything about the Onyx Studio 4 is understated; there are no needless flashing coloured lights, although the power button does change from white to red once the speaker needs charging. Unusually, this is done via a specific AC adapter - not with a USB connection like most other similar devices. This seems a little strange as it doesn't charge particularly quickly. The good news is, you'll get the full 8 hours of playback the Harman/Kardon website promises.

Some reviewers have criticised the Onyx Studio 4 for being a portable speaker that isn't very portable, primarily because of its size. I found this claim utterly unfounded for three reasons; 
1 - it isn't particularly heavy
2 - the handle cavity on the back is perfectly positioned for balance and 
3 - the three points of contact created by the two angled rear feet and the rubberised base provide a very stable setup on a variety of surfaces.

Obviously this is not a speaker you're going to clamp to a bike or take to the beach. It's simply too nice for that kind of abuse.

What the Onyx Studio 4 really excels at is sound quality. It's like pouring warm chocolate into your ears. Or wrapping your brain in soft leather. The rich, powerful but smooth bass is surely the reason the speaker is as big as it is, and it's so worth it. I don't know if a speaker can make music sound luxurious, but if it can, this one definitely does. It's not just about the bass, somehow Harman/Kardon has created a music machine that produces a mix across all frequencies that is mellow without sounding muddy. I especially enjoyed listening to jazz tracks featuring double-bass or more acoustic-based artists like Jack Johnson and George Ezra.

The dome-shaped speaker seems to do a great job of filling a room with music without having to crank up the volume past a level you can comfortably talk over. What's more, there is a Party Mode button which lets you instantly connect to other HK speakers so you can stream your playlist through the whole house if you like. (As a bonus, because they're owned by the same parent company, Party Mode works between Harman/Kardon and JBL speakers too)

There's an app (isn't there always?) called HK Connect. Other than installing any firmware updates that may become available, it's not that useful unless you decide to buy two Onyx Studio 4's - then you can use the app to set them up as left and right speakers. Remember when stereo music was a thing?

While this is not the speaker to splash around with by the pool, if your focus is genuinely great sound quality the Onyx Studio 4 is a touch of elegant design that will be sweet music to your ears. Literally. Clear a space on the mantelpiece.


Click here for more information on the Harman/Kardon Onyx Studio 4 bluetooth speaker

NEVER HEAR YOURSELF VACUUM AGAIN

There are a lot of earbuds and headphones that claim to be "noise cancelling."

What this actually means varies widely from a snug fit, which kind of blocks out noise I suppose, to genuine noise-cancelling technology, sampling the outside world and playing you the inverse so all you hear is what you're playing.

Over the years I've learned that second kind of tech doesn't come cheap. But when it works, it really works...

The WH-1000XM2's from Sony are top-of-the-line, over-ear headphones that cram a lot more than just noise-cancellation into a pretty tidy package.

Normally I wouldn't make too much of an issue of the cost of the device I'm reviewing - not unless I felt it was either way too expensive, or surprisingly reasonably priced. In the case of the WH-1000XM2's, I felt it was important to know you're dealing with a $600 pair of cans, straight out of the blocks.

I wear headphones for hours a day, every day, but I can assure you, nobody paid that much for my ones.

So what is it that $600 buys you? And who could possibly need these things?

In short, are they worth it?

Let's start with the main selling point; noise-cancellation. The best I've never heard. No question. Pop these puppies on, power them up and you're pretty much instantly stone deaf. With no audio playing you'll detect an extremely low-level white noise which disappears completely once you play either music or spoken audio - practically nothing from outside the headphones at all. I like to listen to podcasts while I'm doing the vacuuming, partly to take my mind off the vacuuming but mostly because I hate how noisy vacuum cleaners are. When I'm using the WH-1000XM2's, I can't hear the vacuum cleaner at all. Bliss.

Obviously this is literally music to the ears of regular air-commuters. While I haven't used these headphones in the sky, based on my vacuuming experience, I can confidently predict jet engines and crying babies will be blocked out just as effectively. In fact, by holding down the mode button on the left-hand earcup, the WH-1000XM2's run a "Personalised noise cancelling optimisation," which apparently resamples your surroundings (including cabin pressure, amazingly) to ensure the best noise-blocking experience possible.

If you've ever suffered through a noisy night on a long-haul flight, that's probably $600-worth right there.

You'll easily last that flight too, as the battery-life is off the charts. Sony claims you'll get up to 30 hours of continuous listening, even with noise-cancelling on. While that seems ridiculous, I'm not sure I've been able to disprove it. I don't know if I've gone 30 hours between charges, but I've certainly used them on my radio show (before, during and after) for over a week and they keep on keeping on. Of course, the longer you run them, the longer it takes to charge them, so it's probably worth a top-up via the microUSB port when not in use.

Bluetooth pairing is made easier than ever via NFC. Simply hold your NFC-enabled device up to the left earcup and you're good to go. I found the connection very stable and sound quality pretty much indistinguishable from a hardwire connection using the supplied cable. The cable itself is worth a mention as it's a far more versatile 1.5 metres long, instead of the more common 1.2 metres found on most other earbuds and headphones. This is a godsend for me as I spend my mornings literally plugged into a large mixing desk and I usually have to use an extension lead to give me enough room to move.

While such effective noise-cancellation means I'm able to give my host the undivided attention he deserves, I share my studio with the Executive Producer of the show and sometimes we need to communicate too. The WH-1000XM2's do such a good job of blocking her out, she has to resort to waving at me to get my attention, even though she's sitting right next to me. Luckily, there are couple more functions to help with situations like these. Firstly, you can toggle from full N/C to an Ambient setting that lets through a certain amount of higher frequency sounds like voices and P.A. announcements. The WH-1000XM2's really cool trick is activated by holding your palm over the right-hand earcup. This mutes your audio and lets in outside audio so you can at least pretend you're listening to what your colleagues are saying to you.

The WH-1000XM2's respond to other touch gestures on that right earcup too; swiping up and down for volume, forward and backwards to skip tracks and a double tap will pause or play. Some other reviewers have found these controls a bit indistinct but I had no issues operating via these gestures at all. Ironically, it was the physical buttons on the left side that confused me - the power button is right next to the mode button and I often pushed the wrong one. Why one couldn't be on the front and one on the back I have no idea.

These are not the most compact headphones for travelling, but bear in mind, they are over-ear, not on-ear so they're always going to have a larger profile. In saying that, the design is generally more subtle than some kind of flashy fashion statement and they do fold down flat into their own hard carry-case. The steel headband certainly seems durable enough, as do the hinges. In fact, the whole package is a good balance of lightweight comfort versus a sturdy feel. Everything is luxuriously padded in the right places, although the snug fit means I occasionally feel my ears getting a little hot after prolonged sessions, bordering on claustrophobic. I assume it's hard to achieve good ventilation and a tight, noise-cancelling seal at the same time.

As for sound quality, there's a reason Sony sells a lot of headphones. Certainly, the emphasis seems to be on superior bass response which is all very well, but there were times listening to certain tracks when I felt like I was missing some frequencies at the top end of the scale. I'm being super picky here, but remember, this is a fairly high-priced piece of kit. Making and taking phone calls worked seamlessly though, and everybody could hear everybody else with no issues.

While the WH-1000XM2's would be the best headphones many people have ever tried, at $600, they're not for everyone. But if you're a serious traveller, or you need serious noise-cancelling, they're an obvious investment.


Click here for more information and pricing on the Sony WH-1000XM2 headphones

PARTY IN A BOX

Bluetooth speakers are just so the gadget of the day, aren't they?

Amazing how suddenly we've all agreed things like stereo sound and big bass don't really matter that much anymore. Apparently, what we really want is a speaker we can carry in our pocket so we can blast out tunes from our phone wherever we go.

Some situations require more of a boom...

The GTK-XB60 from Sony is not pretty and it certainly isn't small. In fact it looks more like some piece of industrial sound gear you'd find on tour with a band than your average bluetooth speaker.

For starters, it's about the size of a carry-on suitcase, although it's more of a wedge shape than a box. This means you can lie it on its side or stand it up tall - there are rubber feet on two different sides to cater for either choice.

There's also an unprecedented number of options when it comes connecting your music source to this speaker, not just bluetooth. The input panel includes RCA, USB and Mic inputs. There are also RCA outputs, or you can link to other Sony bluetooth devices with a press of the "Party Chain" button. As a result this device is almost more of a head unit for a P.A. system than a standalone speaker.

In fact, thanks to the RCA out, I was easily able to connect another non-bluetooth but powerful speaker to really annoy my neighbours, especially when I also plugged in a microphone so I could sing along.

The GTK-XB60 is nothing if not versatile.

Of course, another great feature is its portability. The built-in battery recharges whenever the unit is plugged in. I'd like to be able to give you a clear indication of how long a fully charged battery lasts, but there are so many variables; connected via cable or bluetooth, operating in ExtraBass or Stamina mode, using the light show or leaving it dark.

Let's just say, I've been running it off the battery for hours at a time, no worries. Curiously, there's no dust or water resistance listed for this speaker (perhaps a bit challenging for a device this large) but that would certainly have added some peace of mind if you're planning on taking it to the beach or the park. I found it easy to carry around by the way. At 8kgs it's lighter than it looks and the carry handle is comfortable enough.

And yes, you read right - there's a full light show included for your enjoyment, utilising a combination of coloured LEDs and white strobes. This isn't just a random display (although it can be). You can choose from a selection of preset patterns or create your own scheme.

This is where things get unnecessarily complicated.

Sony has designed an app for controlling audio devices like the GTK-XB60 called Music Center. Via the same bluetooth connection your device is already using to stream your playlists, Music Center is basically an all-encompassing remote control. Here you can select different sources, adjust the EQ, even turn the unit off completely.

The different lighting presets are listed here too, but for even more control, you can download another app, sort of an app within an app, called Fiestable.

This gives you fingertouch control over all lighting colours and sequences and also lets you unleash your inner D.J. with effects like flanger, wah and isolator. There are also drum, scratch, voice and crowd sound effects you can play from your phone screen. These are actually pretty fun, although you'll need to anticipate the slight bluetooth delay if you want to drum along in time with any song.

There are all kinds of motion controls that involve waving your phone around in different directions to set off a variety of sound and lighting effects, but that was too gimmicky even for me.

These are perhaps far too many options if you're simply using the GTK-XB60 for its primary objective; getting the party started. Bearing in mind you can just switch this thing on and away you go. In fact, even pairing the bluetooth has been simplified with built-in NFC - just holding your phone against the control panel is all you have to do. You can also pair up to three devices at once so you can take turns playing D.J.

There's only one thing that really bugged me about the GTK-XB60, but it's quite a big issue. I just wasn't that impressed with the sound quality. There is certainly plenty of bass to go around, thanks in part to Sony's ExtraBass technology, but mostly due to the full-sized 13cm twin woofers, something most bluetooth rigs simply aren't big enough to offer. My problem was at the other end of the scale, almost as though Sony has sacrificed higher frequencies to provide more power to the bottom. The result is a bit muddy, and although I was able to tweak this slighlty using the EQ settings on Music Center app, this is probably not the speaker I'd choose to provide a bit of sophisticated background jazz for my dinner party.

What the GTK-XB60 does do, is pump out dance beats bright and loud. Really loud.

So if you live in a remote location, or the neighbours were invited to your party anyway, wind up the volume and this could be just the sound and light machine to fill your dance floor.


Click here for more information and pricing on the Sony GTK-XB60 bluetooth speaker

TAKE ONE TABLET AND CALL ME

Seems like everywhere I look there's a tablet for sale these days.

It's very confusing because they all mostly seem to do the same thing, so is there a reason to choose the Huawei MediaPad T3 over any other?...

As usual, with this kind of device, my first real test is can I write this review with it? This is actually slightly more complicated than it sounds. Not only does the T3's virtual keyboard have to perform, but I need to be able to browse multiple tabs, download and upload images, all the while monitoring my email and social feeds. (That last bit is a total lie obviously. I barely have a social feed)

So straight off, I can tell you the MediaPad T3 passes all those tests with flying colours... Text boxes appear in places where you can actually read what you're typing and with a simple two-finger swipe from the bottom of the display, you can split-screen apps like Chrome and Outlook.

Obviously, by pairing a physical bluetooth keyboard, functionality improves even more but I was pretty impressed by how smoothly these fundamental actions worked.

In fact, the T3 impressed me right out of the box. Its metal body is sleek and modern, the brushed finish and rounded corners make it easy to hold and the thing seems extremely light compared to other similar devices.

Anyone who has used a Huawei phone will find the user experience absolutely familiar as in many ways, the T3 really is just a giant phone with a 9.6inch display. That screen is perhaps slightly underwhelming in terms of definition and brightness. There's no light sensor so the display won't adjust automatically like the screens on most smart phones do. What's more, even when you manually ramp the brightness up to full, you'll still struggle to use it in sunny outdoor situations. Perhaps this compromised screen configuration is a battery saving measure. If so, it's effective, as all-day use is easily achieved.

Weirdly, there's no fast charging option and the T3 will take several hours to get back to 100%. I guess that'll have to be an overnight thing. Another slight oddity is the microUSB slot, instead of the reversible Type-C version the majority of new devices use.

There are a few other design flaws which are to be expected from a tablet in this price range. Camera quality is questionable, with surprisingly low resolution lenses both front and back. While I found I could still take reasonably sharp shots with both cameras, the colours weren't very vibrant and the digital zoom was terrible. Like I say, it's not unusual for tablets to sport under-performing cameras - it's just a bit strange given Huawei phones take such incredible pics.

Given the T3 is a MediaPad, I thought I'd better play some media with it. The results were great. Streaming TV is smooth and high quality. Again, lack of brightness was a daytime issue, but other than that I experienced no stuttering or crashes. Sound quality was also excellent, especially given there is only one speaker on the bottom edge of the device... No stereo or even 4-channel array as you might find on some other tablets. The single speaker is not particularly loud but things sound amazeballs through a half-decent set of headphones.

Sadly, while Huawei manufactures an LTE variant of the T3 that supports a nanoSIM for 3G/4G connectivity, that version isn't currently available in New Zealand, so we're stuck with WiFi-only for the time being. 

There's still a microSD slot though, so at least you can expand the T3's somewhat stingy 16GB of built-in storage. 

All in all, at $299 and $399 for the 8inch and 10inch models respectively, I feel this device is probably fairly priced. There have definitely been compromises made to keep the cost down, especially in terms of graphics and display quality, although this is ultimately balanced out by excellent battery life, good usability and plenty of processing power. 


Click here for more information and pricing on the Huawei MediaPad T3