Cases, cables, PCI-E USB-C cards, nifty adapters, Gloo chargers and so much more this month in our reviews roundup!

Catalyst Apple Device cases

Are you one of those die-hard Apple fans? Do you queue up for the latest handset and strut around the streets with AirPods dangling from your ears like leaking brain matter while faux casually checking your Apple Watch, deluded that anyone with any self-respect gives a shit? Good for you, everyone needs something to live for.

Well, today I am not going to lambast the recent failures of a once great and innovative company or further ridicule the morons that follow them like sheep (well maybe just a bit), I am going to look at some seriously impressive Apple device protection from Catalyst.

I’m a fan of a good case, not the yellow tainted, transparent, Hello Kitty branded crap from the street market but a really well designed, attractive case that you don’t mind carrying around. Now most phones look pretty much identical you might as well make a statement with a stylish case that protects your device and your precious data. Catalyst focuses exclusively on Apple products but really look and feel the business and I kind of hope they broaden out to Android devices soon as they are clearly quality products.

I'm a fan of a good case, not the yellow tainted, transparent, Hello Kitty branded crap from the street market but a really well designed, attractive case that you don't mind carrying around
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Costing £999 here in the UK the latest (greatest?) iPhone X is worth protecting, so you should take a look at the two cases Catalyst offers. The $39.99 Impact Protection Case offers a grippy rubber bumper, lanyard attachment, rotating mute switch and clear case back to show off your iPhone. This design has an angular modern form and added impact protection from a nifty truss cushioning system and proprietary rubber polymer blend that provides drop protection up to 3m (9.9ft). Catalyst’s $89.99 Waterproof Case looks almost identical and gives you 33ft (10m) of waterproof protection but a lower impact protection of 6.6ft (2m).

If you love the fruity brand enough to have spent up to £749 on a Series 3 Apple Watch it would be wise to consider Catalyst’s Impact Protection Case that retails at $39.99, it can’t possibly make you look worse than you already do and if you fall over after too many imported lagers your Watch might survive the experience.

Catalyst's Impact Protection Case retails at $39.99, it can't possibly make you look worse than you already do and if you fall over after too many imported largers your Apple Watch might survive the experience
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Augment it further with a $39.99 Sports Band so you look a proper tool jogging round central London while checking out your reflection in passing shop windows.

Augment your Apple Watch further with a $39.99 Sports Band so you look a proper tool jogging round central London while checking out your reflection in passing shop windows
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Now most phones look pretty much identical you might as well make a statement with a stylish case that protects your device and your precious data
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What self-respecting Apple fanboy doesn’t love their AirPods enough to protect them from the spittle of passing critics, salty body fluids or carelessly spilt Chardonnay? So costing a reasonable $24.99 the Waterproof AirPod Case is a must! You can even hang it from your rucksack, satchel strap or belt loop to prompt conversation with your AirHead iFriends! So Useful.

To be honest I didn’t know there was such a thing as an Apple Pencil, I seem to remember Steve Jobs deriding styluses in favour of well-designed touchscreen apps, but rolling in his grave or not, I’m sure Steve would endorse the protection of your Apple products, so if you like to carry your Pencil around, in case you need to work something out with it (Constipated mathematician anyone?), the $21.99 Catalyst Apple Pencil Carry Case should keep it safe.

To be honest I didn't know there was such a thing as an Apple Pencil, I seem to remember Steve Jobs deriding styluses in favour of well-designed touchscreen apps
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If Catalyst made a case for my Samsung Galaxy S9+, I would buy it in a heartbeat
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However, if your fingers slip while working out a particularly sticky problem the Apple Pencil Grip Case will ensure you maintain a firm grasp on your pointless device if not on your pointless life. Apologies for the vitriol leaking through this review but rest assured Catalyst’s well made & attractive range of protective cases are not the target and even if they were, they are sturdy enough to shed said vitriol like water from a fucks dack. If they made a case for my Samsung Galaxy S9+, I would buy it in a heartbeat.

Oculus Go VR Headset

Once I got it up and running on my Wi-Fi the brand new Oculus Go was a real surprise. Every new VR headset from the big companies takes us a small step closer to enjoying the true possibilities of VR but I have become a bit jaded by the slow progress. Each baby step forwards a new device takes feels so small and iterative it leaves me feeling like I am wading through mud to get to the future of VR. The Oculus Go, however, took a solid and pleasing stride ahead of the rest, not a jump or a leap but enough to make a real difference in how we access and consume VR. Read the full review here.

Once I got it up and running on my Wi-Fi the brand new Oculus Go was a real surprise
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Preview – Honor 10

This is just a heads up for a full review of the brand new Honor 10 which I’ll publish later in July but I wanted to give a quick, first impressions look at this very affordable “Flagship Killer”. With the official global launch of this handset held just two days away from the OnePlus 6 launch, it is clear Huawei and Honor are targetting the budget flagship space with the Honor 10 and just like the OnePlus 6 you get top tier components in an attractive yet affordable package. After a week of using it as a daily driver, what do I think?

#Honor are targetting the budget flagship space with the #Honor10 and just like the OnePlus 6 you get top tier components in an attractive yet affordable package
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The way android is designed to mould itself to your usage means that the first few days of using a new phone are crucial while you set it up how you want it to work and Android learns how you use your phone and how to give you the best experience and battery life. This bedding in process means you will experience pretty terrible battery life and a hot handset for the first 4-5 days and that judging the device in any way is foolish until about a week has passed and everything has settled down. By day 7 of my test I think I got the phone I was expecting. It was super fast and a pleasure to use.

By day 7 of my test and after tweaking it to my taste I think I got the phone I was expecting. The #Honor10 was super fast and a pleasure to use
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I was also fortunate as Honor Global wanted to ensure I got the latest Android 8.1 and EMUI 8.1 updates for this review so I am testing the Honor 10 at its absolute best. Honor are pushing the concept of “Beauty in AI” and reveal “two major ground-breaking and industry-leading smartphone technologies to consumers”.

The first is the advanced AI 2.0 technology, applied chiefly to the smartphone’s dual camera. Second is the Honor 10 CMF design, a 3D glass back with a very pleasing nano-scale optical coating composed of 15 layers of glimmering colour. The Honor 10 is now available from € 399.90 for purchase in select markets including UK, France, Germany, Italy and Spain, with other markets follow.

Confident in the new camera’s abilities Honor and Central St Martins recently celebrated the ground-breaking new AI & Photographic capabilities of the Honor 10 with the talented up and coming young designers graduating this year.

@Honorglobal wanted to ensure I got the latest Android 8.1 and EMUI 8.1 updates for this review so I am testing #Honor10 at its absolute best
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Using the impressive new 24 Megapixel camera they celebrated how mobile technology will increasingly be integrated into education and design in the future, whether it be graphic communication, product, architecture, fashion or jewellery, exploring the future of aesthetics and how mobile technology will play a critical role in that development.

The #Honor10 handset itself is beautiful with a very cool layered, refractive glass back that shines and changes colours as it moves
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Battery life is a full day, which is still average but totally usable and not a negative in the current marketplace. EMUI 8.1 is fast, slick and fun to use and importantly the AI camera is very good. The only niggle is it defaults to AI mode every time you open it meaning you only get 16 megapixels of the available 24 and the AI monkeys with your shot whether you want it or not. Even flipping to non-AI mode defaults to 16 megapixels and you have to go into the setting to up it to 24, annoying. However, AI mode is very cool indeed for portraits and dog pics, with the background, subtly blurred for that shallow depth of field look that’s all the rage.

“We believe the recipe of success is simple – give consumers a really good product! That’s what we work hard for everyday at Honor,” said George Zhao, President of Honor. “But we don’t just stop at making a good product. We want to co-create a new lifestyle with young people worldwide. We listen to them, we bounce ideas around with them, and we cheer for them. They are our inspiration, and the reason we created the Honor 10, with its AI photography features and exquisite design.”

EMUI 8.1 on the #Honor10 is fast, slick and fun to use and importantly the AI camera is very good
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The handset itself is beautiful and the unique refractive glass back shines and changes colours as it moves. Another nice note is that a basic clear case is included in the box! Plus the handset came with a preinstalled screen protector, so no frustration and bubbles adding one yourself. Watch out for my full review in a week or two and with a bit of luck, we will have received the huge GPU Turbo update by then which promises to boost the graphical performance by up to 60%. How this will improve the phone’s Camera, AR and VR capabilities I don’t know, but much more on that next time!

If everything seems under control, you’re not going fast enough…
#GPUTurbo Coming soon! pic.twitter.com/PwSQ4TEopK

— Honor UK (@UKHonor) 2 July 2018

Group Test – Aukey USB-C Adapters

Faster, smaller, better, thinner… Those design goals have led us here, to a new standard of connection port that I am still not sure anybody really wants. You probably know all about USB-C and its capabilities and if you own a new Mac of any kind you will be familiar with its drawbacks. USB-C adaptors and cables have made Apple a pretty penny but today Tech Trends is looking at the budget offerings from Chinese company Aukey, a four-port PCI-E card, two basic USB 3 to USB-C adapters and one braided USB-C to USB-C cable.

First off the Express PCI-E card, retailing at £28.99 provides 4 additional USB-C ports to your desktop computer and promises super-speed USB 3.0 data transmission speeds of up to 5 Gbps. Compatible with Windows 2000 / XP / 7 / 8 / 8.1 and Linux Kernel; USB3.0 can be backwards compatible ( USB 2.0 / 1.1 / 1.0 ) it is easy to install and Windows 10 found the driver itself with no problems.

Now the spec-heads out there will confuse you with the various standards and capabilities of USB-C hardware that mean a USB-C connection or cable might or might not give you true USB 3.1 speed, power transfer or even the much vaunted alternate mode, depending on the manufacturer, but basically as a consumer you expect new tech to be better, faster and easier to use. Sadly not the case here. I found the transfer speeds to be slower than USB 3, the power transfer to be less quick than with a dedicated charger and the ports themselves quite shallow, so cables easily dropped out of the connections.

The adapters and cable, on the other hand, were very useful. The well-made £7.69 male to male USB-C cable sports sturdy aluminium heads and a 2m flexible, braided length. It fast-charged a Galaxy S9+ and was blazingly fast (460Mbps) at transferring large files. Now we’re talking!

Of the two adapters on test, my favourite is the £8.49 USB C Male to USB A Female. Small and good looking it effortlessly bridged the gap between old and new USB standards, it was super quick and would easily fit in a pocket or on a keychain if it had a loop. Good simple design. The second £6.99 USB C male to USB A female adapter features a short extension but is less attractive black plastic. This would be more useful on the back of PCs than laptops but it was fast and really cheap. Apart from the disappointing PCI-E card all the USB-C peripherals from Aukey have been excellent, very affordable and are highly recommended.

Gloo Shared Charging Station

After a record-breaking crowdfunding success with $8M raised for the ZeTime hybrid smartwatch, design innovators MyKronoz has just hit Kickstarter again to launch the Deconnect Gloo – a sleek wireless charging station that doubles as an ambient light source. Sounds great but most interestingly Gloo is the first crowdfunding project that enables you to preview exactly how different versions of a new product will look in your own home, via a unique Augmented Reality feature within the companion Deconnect app for iOS. Read the full review here.

Gloo is the first crowdfunding project that enables you to preview exactly how different versions of a new product will look in your own home, via a unique Augmented Reality feature within the companion Deconnect app for iOS
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Tom Atkinson is a Digital Producer & Photographer at R3Digital and Reviews & Dept. Editor at Tech Trends. Connect on LinkedIn and follow him on Twitter @R3Digital

The post June 2018 Tech Trends Product Reviews appeared first on Tech Trends.

Free yourself of cables and smartphones with the new Oculus Go VR headset.

Once I got it up and running on my Wi-Fi the brand new Oculus Go was a real surprise. Every new VR headset from the big companies takes us a small step closer to enjoying the true possibilities of VR but I have become a bit jaded by the slow progress. Each baby step forwards a new device takes feels so small and iterative it leaves me feeling like I am wading through mud to get to the future of VR. The Oculus Go, however, took a solid and pleasing stride ahead of the rest, not a jump or a leap but enough to make a real difference in how we access and consume VR.

Every new VR headset from the big companies takes us a small step closer to enjoying the true possibilities of VR but I have become a bit jaded by the slow progress
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The Oculus go takes a solid and pleasing stride ahead of the rest, not a jump or a leap but enough to make a real difference in how we access and consume VR
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That step is VR that is independent from cables or mobile phones. For a couple of years now we have been waiting for the latest phone with the latest VR tech onboard, paying a fortune then plugging it into unimpressive headsets while it overheats and crashes or tethering ourselves to PC towers or more recently backpack computers. You do need a phone with Bluetooth to set up the Go but after you have created your account and connected it to your Wi-Fi you are free and the Go becomes something we have not seen before, an affordable, standalone device for enjoying VR whenever and wherever you want.

You need a phone with Bluetooth to set up the Oculus Go but after you connect it to your Wi-Fi, you are free and it becomes an affordable, standalone device for enjoying VR whenever and wherever you want
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Don’t get too excited, the Go has a bunch of limitations but the liberation of an independent VR device is the true achievement here. Oculus has basically built a stripped-down mobile phone into the Go and the specs are very last year. The 5.5-inch screen is 2560 x 1440 resolution (1280 by 1440 per eye). It uses a 2016 Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 processor and comes in two flavours, a $199 base model with 32GB of onboard storage and a $249 64GB version. Clearly keeping it affordable was the goal here and considering you don’t need the latest and greatest $1k phone to use it the prices look very good indeed.

The Go has a bunch of limitations but the liberation of an independent VR device is the true achievement here
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In use, the screen is as good as most consumer VR devices out there but good content always helps you forget about the pixels and sucks you into the experience so I try to judge the content, not the screen. Motion is OK, with a refresh rate of 60Hz it is a little juddery but generally fine and I only felt a twinge of nausea when first getting used to the Go. The environments feel nice and solid around you and the simple hand controller was very effective and runs on a single AA battery so is easy to power. Charging the headset battery is also easy via any micro USB cable and is quite quick. To keep the weight down Oculus limited the battery to a stated 3 hours of charge, I got a bit less than that in real-world use but I’m never in VR for more than an hour or two anyway.

To keep the weight down Oculus limited the battery to a stated 3 hours of charge, I got a bit less than that in real-world use but I’m never in VR for more than an hour or two anyway
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Sound is another feature worth discussing, as – a bit like the Microsoft Hololens – the Go has built-in speakers that direct sound into your ears without the need for headphones. Oculus claim you get spatial sound and I did identify some instances where the sounds around me worked very well with the environment, making me turn to find the source but generally the freedom from headphones was the best part of this system. Those around you in quiet rooms will hear a bit of bleed but it is nothing bad and if you want to go old school the Go does have a 3.5mm headphone jack so you can be more private if you wish.

The Oculus Go speakers direct sound into your ears without the need for headphones
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In use I found the Go to be very comfortable if a little heavy. After a couple of hours, my neck did feel it but it is really no worse than something like the Samsung Gear VR with an S9 in it. I used the included glasses spacer and found the new lenses Oculus boast about to be adequate but my field of vision was a bit limited and the grooves in the lenses did become visible to me at points. I found I got a better experience by turning my head to look at things rather than using my peripheral vision.

The lack of friction for the user feels so good after years of faffing and fiddling and popping phones in and out and trailing headphone cables around that it felt like real progress
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I highly recommend you try out the Jurassic World: Blue to experience to see a first-rate, cutting-edge VR demo. It was a stiff test for the Go but the extra detail and quality of the textures and animation is worth it. Another, more interactive test was the Tomb Raider Lara’s Escape VR I found this to be quite compelling and made good use of the handset. The spatial audio here was also effective as you are chased through underground tunnels. However, I spent the longest time in Bait by Resolution, just fishing.

Soothed by gentle music and surrounded by cool lapping water and palm trees I cast my lures and emerged calm and rested
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Soothed by gentle music and surrounded by cool lapping water and palm trees I cast my lures and relaxed, finding myself calm and rested when I emerged. I really think the power of VR to affect us emotionally is best observed through the gentle experiences rather than raging first-person shooters. Overall the Go wasn’t flashy but was comfortable, affordable and easy to use.

All sounding good you say but what exactly got me so excited? It was the fact I could just pick it up, put it on and Go (excuse me, but it is true). The lack of friction for the user feels so good after years of faffing and fiddling and popping phones in and out and trailing headphone cables around that it felt like real progress. The Oculus Go is not breaking any new technical ground but it cuts the cord and shows us the way forward.

Retails at: $199 with 32GB of onboard storage and $249 for 64GB

For companies looking to get into Immersive technologies such as VR/AR/MR/XR our Virtual Reality Consultancy services offer guidance and support on how best to incorporate these into your brand strategy.

Tom Atkinson is a Digital Producer & Photographer at R3Digital and Reviews & Dept. Editor at Tech Trends. Connect on LinkedIn and follow him on Twitter @R3Digital

The post Product Review: Oculus Go appeared first on Tech Trends.

The Visor is Dell’s offering to the stable of Windows Mixed Reality Headsets but is it a thoroughbred or a nag?

The first thing that hit me when I popped on the Dell Visor was its weightless comfort. It is similar in design to the PS4 VR headset and puts the weight of the device on the top of your head but is just a bit easier to get used to wearing and less front-heavy. After trying some VR headsets that clamp the screen onto the front of your face with straps I have been left in physical pain (specially around the nose and ears) and so have become a connoisseur of VR comfort (or lack thereof) and the Dell design gets top marks. I found concerns about light leaks to be irrelevant and not once was it an issue for me.

After an hour I felt no ill effects, and after three more hours can safely say I would wear this all day! And when you take into account the convenient flip-up display, for those moments when you want a slurp of tea or a quick biscuit, Tech Trends can happily give this the comfort stamp of approval.

I would wear this all day and when you take into account the flip-up display, for those moments when you want a slurp of tea or a quick biscuit, Tech Trends can happily give this the comfort stamp of approval
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It is also a good-looking bit of kit and the design puts the focus on the two inside-out tracking cameras built into the sides of the headset. This promising tech tracks the area around you and monitors how it changes as you move rather than tracking the position of the headset in relation to external sensors like most of the HMD competition does.

Inside-out tracking cameras tracks the area around you and monitors how it changes as you move rather than tracking the position of the headset in relation to external sensors like the HMD competition does
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The Visor also contains a set of gyroscopic sensors, an accelerometer and a magnetometer that all help monitor your position in relation to surrounding objects, very clever. The cameras sit a little further apart than your eyes on the front of the HMD and make you look a bit like a confused Pixar robot or a happy manta ray. Importantly the visor has dual 1440 x 1440px screens that run at 90 Hz and with a pixel density of 706ppi are a step up in resolution from the Rift and Vive.

The hand controllers are made of cheap looking plastic and with little contouring for the hands so style-wise they let down the package a bit
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The hand controllers are a bit less attractive, made of cheap looking plastic and with little contouring for the hands. Each boasts a touchpad, thumb joystick, trigger and three other buttons, one of which is a Windows button! Very old school but the Visor is, of course, a Windows Mixed Reality device. More on the hand controllers later but style wise they do let down the package a bit.

Yes, the Visor can be used with a variety of apps and services such as SteamVR but as an official Windows Mixed Reality Headset, we will limit this review to the hardware and its capabilities on that platform. Set up in Windows 10 was a doddle, easily one of the most misery free VR setups I have done yet but please note you do need to ensure your Win10 machine is current with the latest Microsoft MR capable updates or it simply won’t work.

Set up in Windows 10 was a doddle, easily one of the most misery free VR setups I have done yet
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My laptop was up to date but still downloaded and installed some new bits and bobs when I first plugged it in so make sure you are online for the setup. After that, the built-in Windows Mixed Reality program whizzed me through the rest of the process and dumped me into VR with a silky-voiced lady telling me what was happening and running me through a few basic functions before leaving me to mess about on my own.

Standing in the Cliff House (Microsoft’s VR version of a universal desktop) I got used to the tools and functions on offer and was pleasantly surprised that the flimsy-looking hand controllers worked as well as any other I had used. After teleporting around, popping in and out of a few apps and a quick training session to be a Halo Master Chief I couldn’t fault them. They’re not super-comfortable, and getting to all the buttons is a bit of a faff, but that’s a problem all such controllers have, and these had a nice weight and worked perfectly.

Standing in the Cliff House I got used to the tools and functions on offer and was pleasantly surprised that the flimsy looking Dell Visor Hand Controllers worked as well as any other I had used
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The image quality was not really a clear advance over the competition I have tried but was very comfortable to use and I had no eye strain or dizziness after a long session
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The image quality was not really a clear advance over the competition I have tried but was very comfortable to use and I had no eye strain or dizziness after a long session. When the next gen of much higher resolution, fast-refreshing screens become available, immersive experiences will really make an impact on the public who quite rightly have been a little underwhelmed by what is on offer today. No matter how good the game or the environment you are immersed in, poor screen quality holds the user back from buying into the whole thing. The Visor has good screens and among the most comfortable to use for long periods that I have tested so no actual complaints, for once!

The Visor has good screens and among the most comfortable to use for long periods that I have tested so no actual complaints, for once!
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The Visor doesn’t have built-in headphones which is a shame
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The Visor doesn’t have built-in headphones which is a shame as it would make putting it on and off a bit easier but it’s not a huge deal for me, the short cables are annoying though. If you are connected to a laptop on a desk and are seated it works OK but the usable area – the area for you to walk around in while hooked up to the computer – is only about 2.5 meters square and if you are plugged into the back of a PC that gets a bit smaller as the cable goes under the desk and round the back of the PC. I can’t see why they are so short and that is probably the worst thing about this kit. One extra meter of cable wouldn’t have cost much and would have reduced VR friction massively.

I can’t understand why the cables are so short and this is probably the worst thing about this kit
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Expected the hand controllers to talk straight to the headset via Bluetooth but found that they actually need to connect to your computer
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Another oddity that will present a problem for users with less advanced computers is the lack of a Bluetooth adaptor in the headset. I expected the hand controllers to talk straight to the headset via Bluetooth but found that they actually need to connect to your computer and if you don’t have Bluetooth built into your laptop or PC then you will need an adaptor.

Coming in at £100ish cheaper than the Rift and less than half the price of the Vive, Dell is offering a very good product at the right price
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If this is a cost saving issue for Dell then it becomes a cost boosting issue for users who have to shell out for a more advanced computer or a separate Bluetooth adaptor, not great. However, it works perfectly when set up in Win10 but note that the Bluetooth pairing buttons are hidden under the handset’s battery covers so you will only want to pair them once as it is a bit fiddly.

I found the Dell Visor to be simple, comfortable and in terms of functionality, only a few steps behind the big boys Oculus and HTC and then only really in terms of in-game response times, it is a little slower
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All in all, I found the Dell Visor to be simple, comfortable and in terms of functionality, only a few steps behind the big boys Oculus and HTC and then only really in terms of in-game response times, it is a little slower. As a low-cost entry point into the world of Windows Mixed Reality, and VR in general, it is excellent. Coming in at £100ish cheaper than the Rift (here in the UK) and less than half the price of the Vive, Dell is offering a very good product at the right price, I want one.

Tom Atkinson is a Digital Producer & Photographer at R3Digital and Reviews & Dept. Editor at Tech Trends. Connect on LinkedIn and follow him on Twitter @R3Digital

The post Product Review: Dell Visor Windows MR Headset appeared first on Tech Trends.

Augmented Reality can be serious, useful, and educational. But that doesn’t mean it can’t be a lot of FUN!

Augmented Reality Cards & VR Headset

It’s a good job I am a great big man-child as some of the most exciting advances in commercially available VR & AR are coming to market cunningly disguised as books and toys! So today I’m gleefully rummaging in the Tech Trends AR Toy Box for some STEM-based educational stuff as well something much more terrifying… The Educational option comes from ReTrak who are offering three Utopia 360° 4D+ Augmented and Virtual Reality kits for kids of 5+, The Space, Dinosaur and Animal Zoo 4D+ Bundles are literally amazing and I was blown away by the quality of the AR implementation and the educational content.

Now that was pretty enthusiastic,  so let’s look a bit more closely at what impressed me so much. Each bundle includes a VR headset for your mobile phone, a set of AR cards, which activate the experiences. However the magic and, I imagine, the real work is in the Android and iOS apps you download to bring the science to life.

Bundles includes a VR headset for your mobile phone and AR cards to activate the experience
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You are probably familiar with image-activated AR by now, where you open the app on your phone or tablet, point the camera at the image and the augmented elements pop up, overlaid onto the real-world image you can see on your screen. This is the technique used by ReTrak, but it is better implemented than any such tech I have tried previously and the interactivity and content is nothing short of excellent.

The app interface offers several ways to interact with the AR. With the dinosaur, for example, you can make him roar, wave his head around, or walk forward. You can also read pop up fun facts on the creatures and even remove their flesh (not in a gruesome way, we’ll come to that later in our next product) and watch their animated skeleton prance around. You can also look at two dinosaurs side-by-side if you place the cards next to each other.

The app interface offers several ways to interact with the AR
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The coolest function by far, however, is “drive mode,” where you can make your dinosaur walk, swim or fly around the room using a handy little virtual joystick. This lets you point the camera away from the card and really enjoy the environment with your pet AR dinosaur. It is this mode that really makes the most of the screen capture function as you can take in-app photos of the creature standing on your friends lap of perched on their head, and share them on social media.

You can make your dinosaur roar, wave its head or walk around
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It’s all pure childish fun, and there is even a “flip 90 degrees” option so you can make the dinosaur climb the walls! Oh and of course, there is a swap camera mode so you can take a selfie with the monster. The VR headset offers a lot more equally detailed and info-packed content, but expands the AR/VR world to immerse you in a Jurassic environment, or deep space.

You can capture in-app images of your AR friends and share them on social media
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I was a dino nut as a child and these 4D+ Augmented & Virtual Reality Bundles combine the card collecting madness that every child (at least every man-child) goes through with the latest AR tech and solid educational content, so what’s wrong with them? The price? No, at around $30 (or £40 in the UK) the bundles are a real bargain, you just need to make sure your phone or tablet is a 2016/17 model and powerful enough to handle the AR & VR content.

• Animal Zoo (multilingual): Learn the alphabet, animal names, sounds and spelling. Features an interaction mode, allowing you to match food cards with the animals to feed them. 5+
• Space Exploration: Explore planets, space objects and historic missions. Includes a virtual 360° tour of the International Space Station, solar system and the ability to drive rovers with on-screen controls. 7+
• Dinosaur Experience: Bring the extinct dinosaurs back to life while learning about the origins and size of each creature, seeing their skeletons and using the drive-mode to navigate. Includes a virtual 360° tour of prehistoric times. 7+

The 4D+ bundles are already in Barnes and Noble and are launching in Brookstone, Staples and Walmart soon. They are also available on www.utopia360vr.com.

ALIEN: AUGMENTED REALITY SURVIVAL MANUAL

This Alien book was a genuine geeky treat
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Next in my AR Toy Box is an excellent interactive book from Carlton Publishing featuring my favourite film of all time, Alien. Boy this is a treat for a geek like me, an Alien: Augmented Reality Survival Manual. The book was produced in partnership with 20th Century Fox and is full of detailed content on the marines, the tech and the universe of the films, with lots of high quality images and production artwork, But the AR is the USP here, and it doesn’t disappoint.

A book like no other. An experience you’ll never forget. The Alien movie franchise has been shocking audiences for more than 35 years, and the series is set to continue into the future, which is where this book comes from. 
This special interactive edition has been beamed back to us from the future reality witnessed in the movies. Alien: Augmented Reality Survival Manual was written for new recruits of the U.S. Colonial Marines to impart knowledge of identification and combat of Xenomorphs.

There are seven interactive AR experiences, Egg Hatching, Drop-ship Simulator, Face Hugger Autopsy, Chestburster Sim, Alien Queen Encounter, Weapons Training and Xenomorph Tracking. I was also pleased to find that throughout the book are scattered AR-activated film clips. This worked very well, but it would have been nice to fill the screen with the clip then exit out of the player and back into the AR interface, but that really is nit-picking.

I was blown away by the quality of the AR implementation and the educational content
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Now I have done a lot of AR demos, and can confidently say that these are some of the best out there. You get a real mix of experiences, the Chestburster alone is worth the money, social sharing gold, producing a saveable selfie-style video of you, just as the evil worm bursts out of your chest and slithers away. Excellent! The egg hatching is a predictable but fun shocker while the face hugger autopsy features an awesome finger-controlled laser scalpel dissection, and yes I was so involved I forgot why cutting up an Alien is a bad idea… The drop ship is also great and what freak wouldn’t enjoy trying out all the weapons? The Alien Queen and the Xenomorph are fantastically detailed, glistening with slimy menace.

The face hugger autopsy features an awesome finger-controlled laser scalpel dissection
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There are lots of little nice touches throughout the book such as the “Secondary Objective” of each AR experience being ‘Survival’ (Ha Ha). Many franchise books feel rather forced, but bearing in mind the ambition behind this book, browsing through and trying out the AR features feels fresh and genuinely entertaining. If this is the future of books then I can’t wait to see what’s next

Protecting yourself and mankind against this significant and ever-growing threat is the goal. 
Study a Xenomorph autopsy, witness an Alien egg hatch in real-time, and see the deadly attacks of a face-hugger first-hand. For new recruits, you will also get to see what the life of a USCM pilot is like, and witness ‘on the scene’ footage of the marines in action, in the form of movie excerpts. 
Whether it’s the first day of your USCM training, or you’re a hardened marine veteran, Alien: Augmented Reality Survival Manual is vital to shore up your knowledge of the Xenomorph threat, and ensure your prolonged survival as you travel the stars to protect the United Americas Colonies and interests.

 

The book packs in a lot of detail for fans of the franchise and author Owen Williams, a veteran film journalist and Alien fan, makes sure the tone and feel fits the brand. Retailing for a very reasonable £25 here in the UK this book is a statement of intent from Carlton that publishing needs to evolve and embrace technology. Development on a publication and paired app project like this might be a big investment but we need more bold moves such as this from publishers to make sure books and print are not left behind in the new media revolution. Hats off Carlton, a splendid success!

For companies looking to get into VR/AR/MR our Virtual Reality Consultancy services offer guidance on how these technologies can enhance and support your brand strategy.

Tom Atkinson is a Digital Producer & Photographer at R3Digital and Reviews & Dept. Editor at Tech Trends. Connect on LinkedIn and follow him on Twitter @R3Digital

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