Samsung Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra - The Overachiever

When it comes to tablets, I'm biased.

Against them.

Personally - and this really is just me - I struggle to come up with a genuine use case for a tablet that isn't something I could do just as well, if not better, on a laptop.

Or even a phone.

Often tablets end up the poor stepchildren in any given range of tech... under-powered, aesthetically anonymous and usually running an operating system that's been half-heartedly ported across from something that was initially designed for a handset.

Well, it's safe to say, Samsung obviously doesn't feel the same way.

The Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra is definitely not just a giant phone with worse specs. 

For starters, it'd be a particularly giant phone, with a display that measures in at an unbelievable 14.6-inches. That's huge. When I got married (a million billion years ago) someone gave us a 14-inch TV for the bedroom. The Tab S11 Ultra is wider than that - especially given its cinematic 16:10 aspect ratio.

The display itself is a magnificent, 120Hz Dynamic AMOLED 2X with an anti-reflective surface - just like you might find on the latest flagship Samsung TVs. The toned-down reflection paired with a searing peak brightness of 1600 nits makes for fantastic viewing, whatever the lighting conditions.

There's a booming, yet accurate, quad speaker setup to match, which really does make this a genuine contender for a second TV in your house, be it in the kitchen, bedroom or study.

The study might be the most useful option because Samsung has now tweaked DEX mode, which essentially transforms the user experience of the Tab S11 Ultra into a PC-like desktop, complete with multiple windows and a taskbar along the bottom. The latest version now allows you to share your DEX mode setup to other external compatible displays to create a genuine multi-screen environment.

This means you now have the ultimate portability of this high-powered tablet complete with the option to display your big presentation in the office boardroom - no bulky laptop or messy cables required.

And I do meant "ultimate" when it comes to portability. The Tab S11 Ultra is a mere 5.1mm thick (or thin). Think about that for a minute. That's a 14.6-inch display on a tablet slimmer than any non-folding phone on the market. Talk about jaw-dropping design. What's more, it feels perfectly rigid and robust in your hands - probably due to its enhanced Armor Aluminium chassis. It's even rated IP68 against water and dust. Only weighs in at 692grams, by the way.

I've called it powerful, so let's talk a few geeky details. The chip is MediaTek's Dimensity 9400+ - a true flagship by anyone's standard, based on TSMC's 3nm process which is pretty much as nano as it gets. This also means high-end graphics for premium gaming performance and speedy rendering of video and 3D animations.

Not to mention Samsung's latest neural processing power to bring you all the cutting-edge tools and tricks from Galaxy AI and Gemini.

The Tab S11 Ultra ships with an S Pen stylus in the box but unfortunately, because I was reviewing a pre-release device, I wasn't sent an S Pen and couldn't fully test some of the cleverest AI features, like Drawing Assist, which literally cleans up your rough sketches and turns them into shareable works of art.

The S Pen makes for a more accurate Circle to Search too - simply circle anything on screen and let Google Gemini find out all about it for you.

In a short time, we've come to expect this kind of enhanced productivity from Samsung's flagship handsets, so it's only natural to find it all enlarged for our convenience on this device.

Even the camera setup out-performs almost any other tablet. The rear shooter is a dual-lens affair comprising a 13MP main lens backed up with a 10MP ultra-wide. Need to capture some UHD 4K footage for your next project? No problem. I don't fully understand why the 12MP selfie-cam is also ultra-wide, although it does tend to mitigate the trap many users often fall into when joining online meetings via a portable device; exposing the other attendees to an extreme closeup of your nostrils. The ultra-wide selfie shot immediately drops you back into context.

So, despite my protests in the introduction, it's starting to sound like the Tab S11 Ultra has won me over, right? 

And here's what unexpectedly, really brought it home. Fitness. Or my lack of.

I've recently been forced to acknowledge I'm overweight, out of shape and have lost almost all my flexibility. So I've been using the Samsung Health app as a catalyst to make some changes. Apart from all the other things it excels at, the Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra is the most comprehensive health tracker I've used to date and I've already made improvements to my sleep routine and found a way to deal with my snoring (much to Domestic Manager's relief).

So what's that got to do with the Tab S11 Ultra? Well, the Samsung Health app can link you to a comprehensive selection of guided workouts, specifically tailored to your unique fitness goals. I've never really paid much attention to this feature before because I've usually come across them on my watch or phone and couldn't quite see the point.

But with the Tab S11 Ultra mounted in a stand, suddenly I was back at the gym, working out with a professional instructor. The 14.6-inch screen is plenty big enough for me to see exactly how to perform each exercise correctly and the quad-speaker sound system pumps out the beats plenty loud enough to push me through those last few sets. At the risk of sounding like an infomercial, I've already lost 2kg in two weeks. Still a way to go though. Wish me luck.

So there you have it; the device that converted me from tablet agnostic to relying on one for my general health and wellbeing. It's flagship fast and the screen is huge while the rest of it is super slim. Even the battery life is great. There's simply no way to mark this tablet down.

    

Click here for more information on the Samsung Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra.

HP OmniBook X Flip 14" - Maximum Versatility. Minimum Compromise

People often ask me how much they should expect to pay for a decent laptop.

Obviously, no two users are the same so there's no right or wrong answer. I usually get them to qualify what they'll be doing most often... Browsing, answering emails and creating presentations? That's a very different set of requirements to someone who likes to edit a lot of video and plays games all night long.

Or maybe it's just another screen you're after? Albeit a portable one that connects to Wi-Fi so you can watch the latest episode of your favourite show.

Generally, if you have between $2.5K and $3,000.00 to spend, you should end up with a decent machine that'll be relatively future-proof too - as much as any piece of tech ever can be.

But right now there's an option in that price range worth considering that caters to almost every situation...

The HP OmniBook X Flip 14" is at least three devices in one. Primarily, it's a 14-inch Copilot+ laptop with an Intel Core Ultra 7 processor, 16GB of RAM and 512GB SSD storage.

However, fold the very impressive touch display right over (or the keyboard right under) and you now have an extremely powerful - and quite large - tablet. Or that's the idea, anyway. I'd love to know how many X Flippers out there ever use the device in tablet mode. Technically, there's nothing but up sides - all that storage and processing power; you'd never get close to that kind of performance on a tablet-only device. In practice though, while 1.3kgs is light for a laptop, it's reasonably substantial for a tablet. Also, with the keyboard folded away, it's a pretty bulky tablet - feels weird to hold too, with all those keys underneath. I mean, I guess you could read your eBook this way but at 14-inches, that's a damn big book to take to bed.

No, the other configuration I prefer is "Tent Mode" - where you perch the partially unfolded device on its edges, effectively using it as a standalone smart screen. This is the position most suited to watching YouTube recipes on the kitchen bench or a bit of late-night Prime Video from the bedside table.

What they never tell you though, is there's a fourth way to use the OmniBook X Flip - very useful when standing at your desk or collaborating with others... Just lie it down flat. Or close to. For me, that's the true bonus of this form-factor; if you've ever wanted to open your laptop lid just that much further, with this one, you can.

But it's not all about the 360° folding lid - the OmniBook Flip X 14" has got a lot else going for it too.

Like all the HP laptops I've reviewed in the last year or so, the keyboard is excellent - nicely spaced out, clicky, decent travel and yes, it has a dedicated Copilot key so you can summon the ever-present AI from any window with a single click.

Also, like other HP devices, there's a fair amount of pre-installed software - although I wouldn't go so far as to write it all off as "bloatware" because some of the utilities are pretty useful. The pick of these might be Poly Camera Pro - a genuine video editing suite that can even connect to external cameras so you create multi-view content, right from the laptop.

Some things are less useful. A Windows search for "HP" under Apps brings up a choice of no fewer than nine different apps and tools, some of which do almost the same thing and one, mysteriously just called, "HP" doesn't seem to do anything at all, other than show you how much battery life you have left over the top of an animated background. Yes, I wasted about three minutes of my precious time logging into that one so you wouldn't have to.

The the IPS touchscreen is bright, clear and although it's quite shiny, I haven't found it overly reflective in most situations.

Battery life is sufficient without setting any records - although it's almost getting to the stage now where all-day battery life should just be a minimum expectation. I think I'm going to stop mentioning it unless it's exceptionally good or woefully disappointing.

I'm not sure the OmniBook X Flip 14" is exactly a gamer's go-to. Generally, I've found using it to be a real pleasure - it's reliable, Windows 11 does all the things it's supposed to, Copilot seems to work quietly and efficiently - but when I tried streaming games from Xbox Cloud Gaming, things took a long time to load and I experienced a few freezes that required restarts. Hard to say if that's a connectivity issue, a processor issue or a graphics issue - but it was an issue that happened more than once.

In fact, overall I've found many apps to be quite slow to launch - although most things seem to work fine once they're up and running - and changing aspects when using the screen in portrait as a tablet or even upside-down in tent-mode, all rotated into place slickly enough.

The deep "Atmospheric Blue" casing looks classy and feels premium. In fact, given its literal flexibility, the device seems super solid and durable.

I'm also impressed by the selection of ports; two USB-A slots, two USB-C and a full-sized HDMI connection which makes linking to an external display so easy. Unfortunately, the two USB-C ports are both on the left-hand side which can be a bit limiting when it comes to plugging in your power cable - but I'm quibbling here.

Another wee feature I wanted to highlight isn't really specific to the OmniBook X Flip as such, although its Bluetooth 5.4 connectivity certainly helps. Microsoft Phone Link has suddenly got really good. This is the pre-installed app that essentially mirrors your connected phone with your laptop. I haven't seriously attempted to use it for a while because it always used to be so limited and unreliable but I've given it another go while testing this device and whaddya know? It started sending me notifications from all my apps in a timely fashion and in a way I could deal with usefully. Productivity upgrade? Tick.

If the OmniBook X Flip 14" was just a "normal" laptop, I'd say its performance doesn't quite live up to its current NZ$2,848.00 asking price. But it isn't normal. It's so much more adaptable and although it may not be as lightning fast as some similarly-priced machines, those can't transform into a tablet or a free-standing smart screen. Besides which, I saw it on special much cheaper earlier in the week so keep your eyes peeled for a hot deal.

    

Click here for more information and pricing on the HP OmniBook X Flip 14".

Trend Micro Security Suite Pro Plus - Almost TOO Secure

If there's one thing I've learned the hard way, it's that you can't take cyber security for granted.

As someone who's seen my entire PC encrypt itself and shut itself down before my very eyes, I can assure you, there's nothing more stressful than discovering all your data - from photos and documents right through to logins, passwords and financial information is now in the hands of someone else.

Whether or not something like that has happened to you or a family member, if you've been putting off securing your devices, I'm imploring you to act immediately.

Somebody once told me alarm systems and security cameras won't necessarily prevent your home being broken into, but if your house is more secure than the one next door, guess which one will be targeted first?

At the very least, we should all be locking our front doors.

Well, I think I've found a product that doesn't just secure the doors, it bars the windows and locks your place down under 24/7 surveillance as well.

Security Suite Pro Plus is Trend Micro's top-of-the-line consumer product and as such, I don't think I've ever come across a set of cyber-safety features this comprehensive.

Confusingly, Trend Micro's entry level package is called Maximum Security and while it certainly has a lot of the same tools included, it's nowhere near as "Maximum" as Security Suite Pro Plus.

There are so many settings, tools and extensions I'm not going to do a deep dive on every single one - but rest assured, when it comes to the latest antivirus, malware, ransomware, spyware and any other-ware protection, Trend Micro has you well and truly covered. As you would expect.

What I also need to point out straight off the bat is an old piece of advice but a good one; don't try and run two different security regimes on the same device simultaneously. Trend Micro does not seem to play well with others and I discovered one or two options wouldn't work at all until I'd fully uninstalled my previous security apps.

This isn't surprising; for me, one of the most important things about running a cyber defence as all-encompassing as this one is how much processing power it's using up in the background. If you've got two opposing apps fighting against each other to carry out the same task, chances are things are going to crash (or at least slow down) pretty quickly.

That bit of prep out of the way and I was able to carry on with my installation and setup - at this point I've installed Security Suite Pro Plus on an iPhone 16, a Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra and a Windows 11 PC. Although there are indeed too many features to list, setup is surprisingly user-friendly. The default settings for most options seemed to work for me without any tweaking at all.

The Android and iOS user interfaces are pretty similar, while the desktop version is laid out slightly differently, dividing the many features into categories and hiding them behind the appropriate, clickable icons. However, all versions of the home screen present you with a big, friendly "Scan" button to press. Not only does a scan filter through all your files for anything suspicious, it also looks for any opportunities to optimise your device - perhaps listing obsolete or duplicate files that can be deleted, right through to OS updates you may have missed.

At any time you can consult your latest security report which lists... well, everything really. Wanna know how many text messages and emails have been scanned for phishing attempts and other security risks? No problem. Security Suite Pro Plus even monitors notifications from your apps, before you actually open them. Shopping online? Trend Micro is keeping an eye on things to make sure you're paying someone real, not a scambot.

You can set up browsing protection, although not for every browser - I use Arc on most of my devices and being a more minor player, it's not covered.

You can also monitor the Wi-Fi network you're connected to in real time - you'll soon be notified if there are any security flaws, things like default passwords being used for example.

And of course, you get access to Trend Micro's excellent VPN, which can be set to activate automatically if you join an unknown network - or perhaps even a regular one you're not feeling totally safe with.

But here's where things get a bit clunky. Although the VPN is included as part of the Security Suite Pro Plus package, you have to download it as a separate app; it integrates with the main program but must be set up independently. This is different to other security suites I've used where the VPN is just another option to click on or off.

I've also found it to be very bossy as VPNs go - especially the Windows version. The PC I've installed it on is the one I use for my Plex media server. This means I want other devices on the same network to be able to access it in order to play my stored files. I'm sure there must be a way to make this work but I haven't figured it out yet.

Scam Check is another Trend Micro app that's included but must be installed separately. What a good app it is though. Like other, similar services, you can copy links, images and screenshots into the app to check if they're legit but (as with everything else) Trend Micro seems to go several steps further. You can set Scam Check as your default SMS app to filter out scam texts in real time. Perhaps most impressively, you can check video calls for deep fakes.

Yup, what a sad indictment on society that technology has now progressed to the point the person we're talking to on a video chat might not be that person at all. Never mind, just let Trend Micro check that for you.

This just goes to show Trend Micro is right on top of all the latest trends in cyber trickery.

I'm definitely in favour of a belt-and-suspenders approach when it comes to cyber-security, and if you've ever been scammed, had your ID stolen or data compromised, I'm sure you feel the same way. With Security Suite Pro Plus, you're not just getting a belt and suspenders, Trend Micro throws in handcuffs, a straightjacket, a padded room and seals it all inside a Faraday cage for good measure.

As stifling as that sounds - and yes, as my experience with the VPN goes, the combination of all these tools may be a little over-the-top - interestingly I haven't found any significant drain on the resources of any of the devices I've been testing this suite with. In fact, thanks to the optimisation options available, one or two of them are now running even better.

This is the kind of set-it-and-forget-it protection I feel like I can trust, absolutely. If you like the sound of it too, I'd act quickly. Trend Micro is now offering customers the opportunity to subscribe to Security Suite Pro Plus for two years for only NZ$238.00 - that works out at less than $10 a month. Not much to pay to keep yourself safe, no matter how sophisticated the scammers become.

    

Click here for more information and pricing on Trend Micro Security Suite Pro Plus.

OPPO Pad SE Matte Display Edition - Easy on the Eye

I've said it before; I've never been much of a tablet guy. It's not because I don't like them, it's more because I own other devices that do what a tablet does.

Why would I read on a tablet when I have an eReader?

Why would I stream my shows on a tablet when I have a 65" TV?

Why would I answer my messages on a tablet when I have a smart phone?

And why would I surf the web and game on a tablet when I have a laptop?

But then, perhaps I'm asking the wrong questions.

Perhaps I should be asking, what if one tablet could do all those things, almost as well?

The OPPO Pad SE is a great looking piece of tech, straight out of the box. The two-tone Twilight Blue rear panel highlights the 5MP rear camera while there's another 5MP selfie-cam around the front. I'll talk about photo and video quality shortly but first I wanted to point out both these cameras are in the right place; in the middle of the top edge.

And by "top" edge, I mean one of the long edges, not one of the short ones. For too long, too many tablets have been designed as though they were merely giant phones, tall and skinny - not wide like any normal person would use them for most tasks, in landscape.

Which brings me to what I think is the OPPO Pad SE's finest feature; its screen. Now, this isn't some shiny, fancy-pancy 144Hz OLED display like you might find on some high-end gaming monitors but it's still got a lot going for it. For starters, it's not shiny at all. Quite the opposite. In fact, OPPO claims this extremely matte screen "cuts up to 97% of light interference" (whatever that could possibly mean) and I love it. If you've ever tried to use a laptop or tablet outdoors or under bright lights, you'll know the more shiny the screen, the harder it is to see.

With the Pad SE, OPPO has done something remarkable and given us about the least-reflective display possible. This means it's actually pleasant to read my eBooks on. It's an interesting aspect ratio too - 19:10 - so not as stubby as a 3:2 screen but more versatile than 19:6.

Actually, at over 11-inches, you get a lot of screen real estate in a fairly compact format.

Combine all that with decent brightness and good, immersive sound from the quad-speaker array, and not only is this a great device for reading books, magazines and papers with, it's an excellent way to stream your favourite shows or to pass the time with a game or two.

I was also impressed to discover the Pad SE is equipped with the latest Bluetooth 5.4 codec - that means excellent range and an almost lag-free connection with compatible earbuds or headphones - again, leading to a more immersive viewing experience.

I can't stress enough how refreshing it is to be able to watch xenomorphs hunt down their human prey in the latest episode of Alien: Earth, even though the action happens in the dark while I'm sitting in glaring daylight.

One of the Pad SE's weaker areas is sheer power. Although ColorOS is up there with my favourite Android-based user interfaces, my ability to use it to its full effect is hampered slightly with just 4GB of RAM and 128GB of internal storage. You're not likely to be editing any blockbuster 3D features with this device, although I found the MediaTek Helio G100 chip to be reliable enough, if a little sluggish when launching certain apps.

You might think at just 5MP, neither camera is going to win any photography awards either. But over the years I've learned not to underestimate OPPO's ability to punch above its weight in the camera department. I found the forward-facing shooter to be more than adequate for online meetings and video uploads while pics from the rear sensor don't look half bad either. Like this one of my accomodating dog model...

Battery life is another standout feature for the Pad SE. The 9,340mAh battery is a large cell by anyone's standard. I've found a full charge lasts all day easily, whatever I'm doing. What's more, you get 33W SuperVOOC fast charging for quick top-ups, although there's no brick in the box - only a cable.

At just NZ$499.00, I think the Pad SE represents excellent value. It performs reliably, if not at breakneck speeds, it goes above and beyond with its battery life and the no-glare screen is one of my new favourite things in tech. If you're the kind of person who likes to curl up in a sunny spot with a book, now you can do that with a tablet too.

    

Click here for more information and pricing on the OPPO Pad SE Matte Display Edition.

JBL Sense Lite - I Never Expected to Love These Like I Do

I'm an ANC guy.

No noise for me, no how, no way.

I want to listen to what I'm listening to and the rest of the world can just carry on without me.

When it comes to earbuds, I need a nice tight seal for effective passive noise cancellation and then I need a chip with an algorithm that samples the background and kills it dead.

Ironically, this obsession with noise reduction isn't even so I can get the most out my favourite playlists. Truth be told, I tend to listen to more podcasts than music. But when you only have two or three people talking, there's a lot of space for unwanted aural distractions to sneak in.

So one thing's for sure, I've never been a fan of so-called "open-fit" earbuds. I get that they might be more comfortable - but at what price? Bad sound? What's the point?

The moment I started listening with the JBL Sense Lite buds, everything I thought I knew about true-wireless headphones went out the window.

Lets start with the comfort thing. These may well be the most comfortable earbuds I've ever worn. There's no twisting or bending required, no need to change out ear tips to find the right size. The cunningly crafted hook design is perfectly balanced so there's no way to not place them in exactly the right position. And that's right where they'll stay, with the speakers close to - but not inside - the ear canal, regardless of how rigorously you may be exercising, running, cycling, gardening... whatever.

The Sense Lite buds are IP54-rated against water and dust - so not submergible but definitely impervious to rain and dirt.

This kind of over-ear, hook form factor often means a large, thick, unwieldy charging case but again, here JBL has paid plenty of attention to designing something slim, light and pocketable. Unfortunately, the case doesn't charge wirelessly, which is usually a red-line requirement for me. The exception to that rule comes if the device in question offers enduring battery life. With JBL Sense Lite you get up to 8 hours continuous playback with another 24 in the case. That means I've been using them for a week and the LED indicator is still only down to two-thirds. I think I can live with plug-in charging for battery performance like that - especially when a mere ten minutes via USB-C will be good for another three hours listening.

With no ANC to worry about, setup is simple. You'll get a Fast-Pair prompt on compatible phones and you can connect simultaneously to two devices at once. As you'd expect, EQ and control customisations can be made through the JBL Headphones app. Bluetooth 5.4 means exceptional range and reliability. It also means a very lag-free experience when using the Sense Lites to watch video or to game with.

But enough of those boring details. Let me try and make it clear to you how unbelievably good these things sound. Because of the open-ear fit, yes, you'll hear most of what's going on around you; traffic, machinery, conversations etc. Despite that, those ambient noises don't intrude like they do when you choose Ambient Aware mode on other noise cancelling earbuds. Instead, the Sense Lites rely on something JBL calls "OpenSound Technology" to beam what you're listening to, directly into your ears with surprisingly little leakage to anyone around you.

Peter Gabriel is one of those artists who's kind of next-level when it comes to production standards. "Digging In the Dirt" is one of my favourite tracks of his - a sleazy, grimy, maybe even psychotic journey through sound, featuring a raft of clever guitar effects, chunky synth and electronic drum riffs that layer up and down throughout the song. The Sense Lite buds absolutely do this track justice, precisely placing each element left, right, up or down just as Gabriel intended.

"Send My Love" by Adele starts small, over a muted acoustic guitar, then swells for the chorus. But even from the first few lines, her uniquely powerful pipes resonate around my head, almost as though I'm listening to her sing from inside my own brain.

Somehow, JBL achieves all this with a couple of 18x11mm drivers that aren't even really in my ears; merely suspended next to them. Whatever "JBL OpenSound Technology" is, it works.

There are also two beamforming mics built into each bud tuned to capture your voice amazingly clearly for calls or video - as I demonstrate in the video below. Just as I thought wind noise would be a major issue when listening to the Sense Lites, I assumed the mics would catch plenty of wind when outside too. However, there's another algorithm to tackle wind noise and the whole physical design is about keeping the mic feed clean and clear. I've certainly had no complaints from anyone on the other end of the line.

No complaints from me either. And I honestly can't believe it. These things are so comfortable, I forget I'm wearing them. I don't have to take them off to have a conversation, I just press pause and can hear the other person perfectly clearly. Battery life is exceptional and the sound quality is right up there.

Who would have thought it?

    

Click here for more information and pricing on the JBL Sense Lite.

360PRO Travel Water Flosser - Boost Your Smile Power on the Go

Don't forget to floss. The classic piece of advice.

Well guess what? We're not forgetting, we're choosing not to. It's a hassle. And let's be honest, it's kind of gross.

But you know what's more gross? Bad breath. Tooth decay. Gum disease.

Enter the gadget; the water flosser.

In much the same way that water blasting your driveway is more fun than scrubbing it by hand, turns out water blasting your teeth is a lot more exciting than running a bit of string between each one.

What's more, unless I use the exact right kind of floss, I'm prone to having it fray between my chompers, meaning I then need to use another bit to get bits of the first bit out.

Worse still - trying to get it to unstick from my fingers and into the rubbish bin. What is it with dental floss that you think you've shaken it off and then there it is, still stuck to your hand?

Not for me.

No wonder I became an instant convert, water flossing at least once a day, like a good boy.

Trouble is, sometimes you want that fresh, food-scrap-free mouth feeling when you're out and about. Or at work. And especially when you're away.

Well wouldn't you just know it? The same people who make my trusty plug-in water flosser have now got a new gadget for me.

The 360PRO Travel Water Flosser takes everything I love about my 360PRO plug-in model and essentially manages to fit it all in my pocket - well... just about.

It really is very compact - the main reason being 360PRO's ingenious extendable design. When not in use, the Travel Water Flosser simply slides down into its own water tank, which essentially means it's about half as long as it would be otherwise.

There's a USB-C charging cable included in the box, with the charging port covered by a watertight cap when not plugged in. I'd like to be able to tell you how long a single charge lasts but it's been two weeks of using it at least once a day and I haven't had to recharge it yet.

Another silicone lid covers the hole used for filling the flosser. The water tank only holds 150ml - as opposed to the 200ml tank on the bulkier 360PRO Cordless and the generous 600ml tank on the 360PRO Plug-In. I've found 150ml is about enough to clean either the inside or outside of my teeth but I need to refill to do the whole job - no biggie; you just flip that cap, fill and go again.

For cleaning purposes, you can unclip the tank off the bottom altogether, giving you full access to inside of the tank and the intake tube.

The controls are simple enough. Unlike the Plug-In, which has a knob for variable pressure selection, the Travel Water Flosser has two buttons - one to cycle between Pulse, Low and High pressure, the other for on and off. Easy.

The whole device is IPX7 rated for use over the sink or in the shower, so you don't have to worry about the buttons getting wet or and its oval shape feels comfortable and secure in the hand.

Wait -  did I mention it's black? That's what has always made 360PRO so cool - why does everything have to be white or brightly coloured just because it lives in the bathroom? Black? Obviously it's black. We're kiwis. We love black.

It also ships with quite a selection of heads; two regular jet tips, one for tongue cleaning, a periodontal brush for problem teeth and an orthodontic head specifically for braces, bridges and other tricky add-ons that can be a real nightmare to keep clean. But my favourite head is the plaque removal tip, a stiff, four-pronged brush that really leaves you with that post-hygienist fresh feeling.

Appropriate, given 360PRO worked in close consultation with real dentists when settling on a design. There's nothing like that just-been-flossed-and-brushed sensation and the Tavel Water Flosser is so compact, you can have that feeling whenever and wherever you like.

There's even a simple, soft travel case to keep everything in. Pop it in your bag, purse, satchel or suitcase and you'll never be caught out, desperately hunting for a toothpick.

Technically, the 360PRO Travel Water Flosser isn't capable of blasting between your teeth with quite as much pressure as the Plug-In can - but I've been using it exclusively for a while now and I haven't noticed any lack of cleaning power. If anything, I've probably ended up with a better result because I've been using it more often.

Ideally, you'd have the Plug-In in your bathroom and the Travel version on the road with you - and to be honest, at just NZ$99.00, adding the Travel Water Flosser to your defence against tooth decay really isn't all that extravagant.

    

Click here for more information and pricing on the 360PRO Tavel Water Flosser.

Thermomix TM7 - A Smarter Way to Cook

I hate, hate, HATE cooking.

Which is unfortunate, because I'm in charge of making dinner weeknights.

To be honest, the actual cooking part doesn't bother me too much - other than fiddly, time-consuming things like grating and standing there stirring - no, the worst part of being in charge of the evening meal is having to decide what that evening meal will be.

As popular as they are, I can't make my famous fresh fish tacos every night, especially at this time of year when my barbecue is essentially underwater.

So I call on you now, great technology gods! Please provide me with a week's worth of dinner inspiration! And if possible, could you prepare it and cook it for me as well?

Turns out, all I needed was the TM7 (the latest Thermomix) and a subscription to Cookidoo.

Now don't be embarrassed if you've never heard of Thermomix and have no idea what it is - I didn't either, until I was invited to celebrate the launch of the TM7 in New Zealand. Not only did I get to eat some Thermomixed creations for dinner, with zero training I was also able to create my own gourmet strawberry dessert in about five minutes flat.

To break it down, the TM7 essentially looks like a big, black blender, sitting on base with a 10-inch touch screen on the front.

It also comes with a Varoma - which looks a bit like a plastic roasting dish - a simmering basket, a butterfly whisk and the coolest spatula I've ever used.

But first things first. Vorwerk, the German company that makes Thermomix, has been coming up with clever ways to cook for over 140 years. In 1971 it decided to try mixing, chopping and cooking in the same device and Thermomix was born.

Today's TM7 is the ultimate refinement of that concept. If you want perfect mushroom risotto every time, this is the device that takes the guesswork out of the equation. When you first enquire about the TM7, you'll be matched with a personal consultant to talk you through the details.

My consultant, Lauren, turned up with the TM7 and a recipe for that very risotto - but it wasn't in a book. You see, not only is Thermomix a shining example of German precision engineering, it's also teamed up with a guided cooking app called Cookidoo. I suppose Cookidoo is a kind of digital cookbook - one with over 100,000 recipes inside.

The great thing about a digital cookbook is you can access it anywhere, anytime on your phone, tablet or PC. Cookidoo lets you search for recipes by ingredients, styles or courses and when you find something you like the look of, you can add it to your own collection of recipes for easy reference. Then you can plan your week's meals, even creating a shopping list of all ingredients required.

All of this is mirrored on the screen of the TM7 of course - when you turn it on (once you've registered and logged in) you'll be met with today's recipe all cued up and ready to begin. From there you'll be guided through every step of the recipe - and I mean every step. Because not only does the TM7 mix, grate, chop, knead, stir, cook, boil and steam - it also acts as a set of scales, weighing every ingredient as you add it, be it solid or liquid.

Now although I'm a fan of risotto, I've never even considered making it myself. Too many variables. Too many steps that have to be done "just right." Lauren the consultant soon showed me there's really no way to get it wrong with the TM7. Precisely measured ingredients mixed and cooked for exactly the right durations means success is virtually guaranteed every time.

If you're anything like me, you really don't like potentially messy (and smelly) tasks like grating parmesan and chopping onions. The TM7 takes care of all this, once you've weighed in the exact amount - all of which is represented on screen with a "digital twin" showing you the current state of where you're at in the recipe.

This makes every step so foolproof - right down to basic instructions like putting the lid on the mixing bowl or resting the Veroma (steaming dish) on top of that. The interactive recipe won't let you carry on until you complete each step - unless you manually decide to skip something, of course.

Cooking times are equally precise - and the mixing bowl will light up red when the contents are hot, although you won't feel that from the outside; it's very well insulated.

I then proceeded to impress my family with Stuffed Jacket Potatoes (two ways) and a delicious prawn curry.

Although I expected every recipe to be a cook-in-the-TM7 only scenario, I was surprised to discover many Cookidoo creations utilise other cooking methods as well. Sometimes the TM7 is only used for the sauce or the dressing for something that can only really be cooked with the barbecue or on the stove.

Or in the case of my Classic Meatloaf (another first for me and another hit with the fam) everything was chopped and mixed in the TM7 but obviously the loaf needed to be cooked in a tin in the oven.

As I've become more confident with how the TM7 works, I've been able to customise recipes - perhaps adjusting the number of servings or swapping out certain ingredients. I've also learned to use the TM7 as an add-on sometimes, not always the main event. For example, last night I wanted to combine some steamed broccolini with my bowl of roast veggies and grilled haloumi. Much easier to steam using the TM7 than faff about boiling a pot of water and getting another steamer pot dirty too.

Of course, there's a pre-clean function once you're finished with the TM7 mixing bowl and almost everything is dishwasher-safe, so cleanup is pretty straightforward.

Let's focus on the Thermomix spatula for a moment, because like the TM7 itself, it's a miracle of ingenious design and is a joy to use. You're not that likely to stir what's in the mixing bowl with the spatula, there'll be specific speed setting for the precision steel blades to take care of that. Instead, the soft but durable edges of the spatula are ideal for scraping off the sides of the bowl and it also has a special hook on the back edge for lifting out the simmering basket. So clever.

Even more clever; you can stand the spatula on its back or on its end to avoid getting a sticky mess all over your bench top.

As idiot-proof as the TM7 appears, some idiots are capable of extreme uselessness and I have had the odd failure. My Chicken and Avocado Risoni salad was supposed to be my Thermomix masterpiece, utilising almost every aspect of the TM7's abilities to serve up a real crowdpleaser. I thought this recipe was particularly clever, creating a tasty broth in the mixing bowl to steam seasoned chicken pieces in the Varoma, then adding the risoni to the broth to cook at the same time. I was firing on all cylinders.

I mean, just check out the result...

Looks amazing, right? Unfortunately, I hadn't taken something very important into account - I'd added extra chicken... but hadn't extended the cooking time accordingly. Alas, this error wasn't discovered until Domestic Manager found an almost raw piece on the end of her fork. Whoops. I'm happy (and relieved) to report, no family members were harmed in the consumption of this meal.

Luckily, I redeemed myself a few days later with the pumpkin and rosemary bread you can watch me make in the video below. And I'm quietly confident about tonight's Beef Rendang.

Oh by the way, Cookidoo features plenty of desserts and cocktails as well. Who doesn't want the perfect frozen margarita every time?

So that's my Thermomix-led culinary journey to date, more or less. It really is ingenious how it takes care of every step of your meal-prep, from cutting, grating, mixing or kneading through to cooking, steaming and boiling. But perhaps the most helpful aspect is the thousands of recipes at my fingertips courtesy of Cookidoo. It's now rare I get to the end of the day without some inspiration on what to cook.

Admittedly, there are plenty of cooking apps out there and I could probably use the other appliances and cookware I already own to achieve similar results but the Thermomix method is so much more streamlined and integrated, from recipe selection to shopping list to cooking up the final product.

It's a luxury though; the TM7 will set you back NZ$2,849.00 and the Cookidoo subscription is only free for the first three months. On the other hand, as I've explained, you are getting a hell of a lot of German precision technology and a Lauren of your own. She just texted me some more meal suggestions last night. I love Lauren. Everybody should have one.

    

Click here for more information and pricing on the Thermomix TM7.