The term “Flagship Killer” takes on new meaning with the Honor 10 + GPU Turbo.

After using the brand new Honor 10 for a couple of months I can say with total confidence it really is a “Flagship Killer”. Producing phones that exceed expectations and challenge the stupidly high prices of new class-leading handsets from Apple and Samsung has raised Huawei, the parent company of Honor to be the second largest global smartphone maker. With Samsung still in top spot but Apple languishing in third. Most impressively Huawei has achieved this without access to the huge US market where the government and regulators have restricted their access due to security concerns. Being a Chinese company and China phobia in the US as it is, Huawei has suffered in North America but still excelled globally.

After using the brand new Honor 10 for a couple of months I can say with total confidence it really is a “Flagship Killer”
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“We believe the recipe of success is simple – give consumers a really good product! That’s what we work hard for every day 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.”

The mid-priced but high spec market has grown recently, driven by competitors including OnePlus, Huawei & Honor delivering handsets that demonstrate just how overpriced the flagship phones from Apple and Samsung are. I would also suggest that a lack of innovation at the top of the market has devalued their flagships somewhat. People are right to expect serious advances and groundbreaking new features if they are are shelling out around a grand for a phone. Samsung and more specifically Apple designed and built this market in top-end phones to work this way and only have themselves to blame when they can’t keep up with the demands of their customers.

#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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Anyhoo, on to the £399.99 Honor 10. 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 week 8 I now know that you will never need to spend more than £500 to get an incredible smartphone that 99.9% of users will love.

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, including GPU Turbo, for this review so I’m testing the Honor 10 at its absolute best. The screen is 5.84” with an aspect of 19:9. It’s FHD+ 2280x1080px (432ppi) and for me proves that great screens don’t need to be 4K. FHD saves a chunk of battery over 4K and the visible difference is almost beyond human perception. On this screen the colours are bold, whites are bright and contrast is crisp, no complaints at all.

The screen is 5.84” with an aspect of 19:9. It’s FHD+ 2280x1080px (432ppi) and for me proves that great screens don’t need to be 4K
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The Honor 10 is loaded with the same flagship processor found in the top end Huawei P20 Pro, the Kirin 970 CPU. This octa-core processor (4×2.36GHz + 4×1.8GHz) is really powerful and makes the Honor 10 blazingly fast in daily use. 4GB of RAM is not a lot but the Honor 10 runs very fast and smooth no matter what you are doing. Interestingly the screen features a notch and the fact I don’t hate it still surprises me. To be fair it is hidden in a lot of my apps as the background remains black unless the app’s header colour is replicated to fill the notch sides and this seems to be limited to only a few apps but if you want to hide it permanently just pop into the settings and bingos, job done.

Honor is pushing the concept of “Beauty in AI” and this phone features advanced AI 2.0 technology, applied chiefly to the smartphone’s camera. The dual 24Mp + 16Mp rear facing AI Camera has an F1.8 wide aperture to improve low light photos and uses its AI to analyse and tweak your photographs. Offering Real-time Scene Recognition of 500+ Scenarios in 22 Categories, smart portrait and event gallery categorisation, dynamic bokeh and multi-subject framing. The AI camera produces pleasing results quickly, analysing, categorising the subject of your photo and treating it to your taste through Scene-specific Parameter Applications. The Dynamic Bokeh effect is all the rage right now and as you can see below can make a small panty dog look very pretty indeed!

The #Honor10 Dynamic Bokeh effect is all the rage right now and as you can see making a small dog look very pretty indeed!
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The #Honor10 camera interface is quick and intuitive with plenty of fun options in AI mode and a powerful regular camera for capturing less filtery images
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And I’m sure social media will be flooded with artistically blurry selfie photos from the Honor 10’s front-facing 8MP, F/1.9 unit which also offers four 3D Studio Lighting Portrait options, for professional like headshots. You can opt out of AI mode easily which boosts the resolution of the rear camera to the full 24Mp and gives really very good results. The camera interface is quick and intuitive with plenty of fun options in AI mode and a powerful regular camera for capturing less filtery images. UHD 4k Video quality is likewise excellent and since the GPU Turbo update can take super slow-mo HD footage at 480fps a feature very similar to the latest Samsung Galaxy S9+.

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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The 3400mAh battery will give you a full day, which is average but totally usable and not a negative in the current marketplace. It also features fast charging which will give you a 50% battery boost in only 25mins. I have tested this and it worked well. After a 9am start, I often get to bed in the early hours of the morning with only 5% left (without recharges) but that is still better than a lot of phones, Hem Hem, Apple! The handset itself is beautiful and the CMF or “ Aurora Glass” design is a 3D glass back with a very pleasing nano-scale optical coating composed of 15 bright glimmering layers that shine and shift 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.

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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128GB of internal storage makes up for the lack of a Micro SD card slot and the only niggle I have with this device is the crap Ultrasonic fingerprint sensor, awkwardly located at the bottom front of the screen. I regularly use Google Pay + NFC so need to have the device properly secured and unlocking it with this sensor is a pain in the butt. Both Huawei and Honor phones use a much cheaper fingerprint sensor which works much quicker and being located on the back of the handset meaning no finger contortion to access it. However, this is a minor drawback to an excellent smartphone.

UPDATE: Honor has just released an EMUI update (.146 C432) to address the slow fingerprint reader and indeed it does seem to be a bit quicker now! 

The only niggle I have with this device is the crap Ultrasonic fingerprint sensor, awkwardly located at the bottom front of the screen
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Launched in London within a week of each other the Honor 10 is competing against the new OnePlus 6. Following the release of the OnePlus it has suffered from several serious software issues which have had to be patched and then repatched. The OnePlus 6 boasts a slightly bigger screen and a rear-mounted fingerprint scanner but only has a 16Mp camera and the OxygenOS seems to have issues causing excessive battery drain and other bugs such as dropped calls seem to be common.

GPU Turbo

The Honor 10, on the other hand, has been rock solid for me with the recent GPU Turbo update making things feel even tighter and more fluid in use. Honor claims this update could boost your gaming performance by up to 60% but maybe because this phone is already an excellent and quick device I tested only about a 10% bump in speed and frame rates. After running multiple GPU tests I could only see a small increase in performance on the Honor 10 but have no doubt that older or lower spec devices will see more of a benefit with GPU Turbo. However, there is no doubt that this update made the handset feel smoother in use and generally quicker, no complaints about that!

I also noticed that AR & VR was super smooth and really impressive on the Honor 10. With this update, it definitely has the grunt to manage the GPU heavy processing these new technologies demand and despite being only FHD the screen is detailed with great contrast. Only a 4K screen would do any better when 1.5 Inches from your eyes in a VR headset and frankly I have never tested a 4K screen on a smartphone that could keep up with any decent VR experience, too many pixels to push so an FHD screen definitely delivers a more pleasing and less juddery experience even if it is a little bit more pixelated than 4K.

When compared to the Samsung Galaxy S9+ in my recent review this mid-priced Honor handset blew the £869 S9+ out of the water in UI speed and fluid user experience and matched it for battery life. What more do I need to say? The Honor 10 is the definition of a bargain and is now available for £399.99 for purchase in select markets including UK, France, Germany, Italy and Spain, with other markets follow.

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: Honor 10 + GPU Turbo appeared first on Tech Trends.

At first Tech Trends was excited to get hold of the S9+ but less thrilled once we turned it on.

I used to be a Samsung Galaxy smartphone fan, in fact, my first smartphone was an S2 and I stuck with them for years before stepping out and trying LG and Sony, then back to Samsung with the S7 in 2016, which was an OK phone. So I feel I am qualified to review the enormous S9+. Sadly I’m not impressed, not at all impressed.

It is a subtly curved glass monolith that feels so nice in the hand that only the threat of dropping it forced me to put an excellent Catalyst case on it
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It looks spectacular and I am a huge fan of the design changes through the Galaxy S8 I reviewed last year, to the S9+. It is a subtly curved glass monolith that feels so nice in the hand that only the threat of dropping it forced me to put an excellent Catalyst case on it. The new position of the fingerprint reader is significantly better than the S8 but still leads to smudges on the camera lens which is just lazy design.

Sound quality is amazing and probably the best thing about the phone but as a package, it is not worth £869. Not even close! I’m not going to go into exhaustive depth on the faults with the S9+ because I don’t need to as they are blatant and obvious. I’ll look at the most annoying starting with the worst.

Sound quality is amazing and probably the best thing about the phone but as a package, it is not worth £869. Not even close!
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There are a lot of detailed tests and benchmark results out there that seem to show the S9+ is a speed monster but they don’t mean anything. My only metric is real-world use
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Now there are a lot of detailed test and benchmark results out there that seem to show the S9+ is a speed monster but they don’t mean anything. My only metric is real-world use. If it smokes the GPU & CPU tests it should feel slicker than hot vaseline, right? Well, No. It is slow, mindbogglingly slow, hair-tearing slow, screaming at it slow. This is just not acceptable. To give you some context I tested its startup against an Honor 7X, which I reviewed last Christmas, and the results are stunning. The Honor 7X costs £229.99, less than a third of the price of the S9+ yes… I know, surely not a fair competition.

The S9+ is slow, mindbogglingly slow, hair-tearing slow, screaming at it slow. This is just not acceptable in 2018
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I cloned the phones so they were identical in every possible way, installed all the latest updates, the same launcher and apps, left notifications on for the all the apps, signed it into the same Play account, hooked up to the same superfast broadband and turned them both off for two days. Later that week when I turned them on, I did it with a stopwatch running and the results back up my criticism.

The Honor 7X synched everything, filled my screen with notifications and updated the eleven apps showing updates in the Play store in under seven minutes. The S9+ was still checking notifications after thirteen minutes. Now that is a real world speed test and left the Samsung humbled. To be fair I ran the test again, twice and the results were worse so being a nice guy I am highlighting the best results out of three. The S9+ is pathetic at startup. Unbelievable!

Oh and it’s important to note that both phones were fully charged before I turned them on and during this startup test the S9+ used 6% of battery while the Honor used less than 1%, it didn’t even register. I am speechless.

The Honor 7X was quicker and more fleet of foot at everything while the Samsung was laggy, slow to load apps and generally frustrating to use
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Of course, I paid close attention to speed during use including opening apps, playing games, downloading & playing video, and came to the conclusion that the Honor 7X was quicker and more fleet of foot at everything while the Samsung was laggy, slow to load apps and generally frustrating to use. After years of using and testing Samsung smartphones, I recognise this as a long-term problem with Galaxy phones. They have always been laggy and the interface looks sluggish after using an iPhone for example.

That might have been acceptable five years ago but in the current market Samsung just can’t compete yet are still building and selling phones like the S9+ that are inexcusably expensive and that underperform. Some will say, yes but the S9+ has some advanced features the Honor doesn’t, but really? If it can’t perform the basics who cares if it can make you an AR Emoji or charge wirelessly. This is a chronic problem for Samsung but I just don’t think they see the problem exists!

Samsung just can’t compete at the moment but are still building and selling phones like the S9+ that are inexcusably expensive and that underperform
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A few more negatives spring to mind. The AR Emoji feature is a cringing embarrassment and should never have left the lab. It is heavy, very heavy. At 3500 mAh the battery is not enormous enough to cause this so not sure why it feels like a brick in my back pocket.

The screen is also a delight with rich colours and crisp edges and that AMOLED black that I love
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On to the positives, the cameras on the last couple of top end Samsung smartphones have been excellent and this one is no different but with the extra added camera I am not seeing any real improvement in image quality since the S8’s single camera and the new low light F1.5 aperture mode really doesn’t add anything, images are over processed, blocky and lack detail. However, you can rely on the S9+ to produce excellent images indoors and out in most conditions.

The cameras on the last couple of top end Samsung smartphones have been excellent and this one is no different
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Sound is very good, both wired and via Bluetooth
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Sound is very good, both wired and via Bluetooth. As an audio buff, this has been one of the reasons I stuck with Samsung for several years. The screen is also a delight with rich colours and crisp edges and that deep AMOLED black that I love. However I do question the need for a Quad HD+ screen, even on a phone this size. No human can really tell the difference from HD and the hit the higher resolution takes on the battery is not insignificant so I recommend you scale the screen resolution down in the settings and keep your phone alive for a bit longer every day.

So in summary, there is no sane reason why this handset costs £869, not at all. Would I recommend it? No, I wouldn’t.

However, if you want one they are available here.

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: Samsung Galaxy S9+ appeared first on Tech Trends.

Another batch of cutting-edge gadgets and accessories for your consideration.

Aukey SK-M30 Portable Bluetooth Speaker

After a positive review of their SK-S1 BT Speaker a few months ago I was excited to get my hands on the Aukey SK-M30 model that although less sturdy, looks much more stylish and comes with the more advanced BT 4.2.

After a positive review of their SK-S1 BT Speaker I was excited to get my hands on the Aukey SK-M30 that although less sturdy, looks more stylish and comes with the more advanced BT 4.2
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Like its cheaper brother, the SK-M30 is super simple to use. Charge the 4000mAh battery via the supplied micro USB cable and you’ll get up to 12 hours of portable music. Instantly connect and wirelessly stream music from your device at a range of up to 10m (33ft) via BT 4.2 or use the included 3.5mm audio cable to connect pretty much anything else and you have a lightweight and super-useful speaker with enough grunt to fill a good-sized room.

Charge up the 4000mAh battery via the supplied micro USB cable and you will get up to 12 hours of portable music
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The sound quality is excellent and I couldn’t fault it when testing out talky radio and music of all types. For its small size the dual 10W drivers and subwoofers put out a really nice sound and for the money, the SK-M30 is a steal and highly recommended. Five simple buttons control power, play, track skipping (back/forward), volume, and even calls with the built-in mic.

Retails at: £43.99 on Amazon in the UK

Catalyst Impact Protection cases for Galaxy S9 & S9+

Only last month I gave Catalyst’s Apple device cases deservedly excellent reviews and wished they would make a case for my Samsung Galaxy S9+, well blow me down, now they do! This month Catalyst announced these brand new S9 & S9+ Impact Protection cases and I am very happy to report that my S9+ is now snuggly protected by the bright but pleasing blue and orange version.

This month Catalyst announced these brand new S9 & S9+ Impact Protection cases and I am very happy to report that my S9+ is now snuggly protected by the bright but pleasing blue and orange version
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They also come in black and clear rubber that forms a protective bumper around the phone’s edge but also cushions and protects around the cameras with a sloped rubber seal that provides easy and smooth access to the fingerprint sensor.

The two S9 cases also come in black and clear rubber that forms a protective bumper around the phone’s edge but also cushions and protects around the cameras
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The back is clear plastic to facilitate wireless charging and as a whole, the cases are sturdy and comfortable to hold. Catalyst’s innovative ‘truss cushioning system’ combined with a proprietary rubber polymer blend provides drop protection up to 3m (9.9ft).

Catalyst’s innovative ‘truss cushioning system’ combined with a proprietary rubber polymer blend provides drop protection up to 3m (9.9ft)
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The ports are a generous size that should fit pretty much any size headphone and charging cable and in the hand, it feels grippy and secure. They really are excellent cases and are a pleasure to pick up and hold.

Retail for: $39.99

USB C Multi Adaptor Hubs from Aukey & Inateck

If you have bought an Apple Mac in the last few years you will be living the nightmare that is USB-C. Last month we reviewed a load of cables & adaptors that might make living with USB-C a little less hellish and this month we are looking at Multi Adaptor Hubs, one from Aukey and one from Inateck, two budget accessory specialists.

If you have bought an Apple Mac in the last few years you will be living the nightmare that is USB-C
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How Apple has convinced large parts of the planet’s population that less is more and that you should pay a premium price for a computer without the connections you need then pay more to add those connections with shitty adaptors is a trick on par with the Devil convincing us he doesn’t exist. He does though, and his name is ignorance!

For those of you suffering loss of connectivity on your Mac the best solution is a Multi Adaptor Hub like the Inateck 9-in-1 USB C Hub with PD Type C Ports, 4K HDMI, VGA, RJ45 Gigabit Ethernet Ports, Micro SD/SD Card Reader or the Aukey USB C Hub with HDMI 4k, VGA, SD & Micro SD Card Slots, Ethernet up to 1K Mbps, 2 USB 3 Ports and 60W USB C PD Throughput. Amongst all that jargon you might have spotted that they are almost identical, with the Inatech offering one extra USB C port for data.

The prices are actually identical, both selling for £59.99 on Amazon in the UK. That is £59.99 of connections that anyone with a brain should expect a computer costing multiple thousands of £/$ to include, right? Hint, buy Microsoft, or anyone else. Enough Apple bashing and onto the Hubs.

The prices are actually identical, both selling for £59.99 on Amazon in the UK. That is £59.99 of connections that anyone with a brain should expect a computer costing multiple thousands of £/$ to include, right?
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Both provide USB C PD (Power Delivery) throughput but where Aukey’s single USB C port handles both data and power the Inateck has two ports, one for data and one for power. This is a small but key difference and I think the Inateck is more flexible in this area. 4K via HDMI was excellent with both hubs and I had no issues there. I will admit to not trying the VGA out on either hub because… I don’t have a VGA monitor anymore, but if you regularly walk into conference rooms and need to hook up with legacy (shit) old projection kit then this will be a life saver.

I didn’t find anything wrong with either hub but they both felt more flimsy than I had hoped, rattling if tapped or shaken
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As a photographer, an SD slot is a must for me, and both hubs performed perfectly in my tests, transferring video and images very quickly indeed. Both Ethernet ports worked well when connected directly to my router, no complaints there either. The Type A USB 3.0 ports did exactly what they needed to and were quick at transferring data and great for connecting external mice and keyboards. I didn’t find anything wrong with either hub but would observe that they were both more flimsy feeling than I had hoped for. They both also rattled if tapped or shaken. For the price, I would like a more solidly built device that might last a bit longer, but Hey Ho.

If I had to pick one of the two it would be the Inateck because the cable folds neatly into the hub and for the extra USB C data port. The Aukey looks a bit better I think but for the cash, the Inateck just beats it.

Retail at: Aukey Hub £59.99 on Amazon UK – Inatech Hub £59.99 on Amazon UK

Ragu Z400 Mini Projector

 

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 July 2018 Tech Trends Product Reviews appeared first on Tech Trends.

Another month packed with products to review, March saw a range of practical and affordable gadgets drop into our postbox for evaluation.

Tech21 Phone cases for the Galaxy S9 – Evo Check & Pure Clear

Finding the right case for your bankruptcy-inducing new smartphone is a very personal decision. Some people like strong, hard, utilitarian cases that feel bulletproof and some more tactile rubbery cases that stick to your hand like glue and promise to bounce when dropped. Well, Tech21 have sent me one of each to test here. Tech Trends has yet to get its hands on the new Galaxy S9 (get your act together Samsung!) but our S8 is only millimetres different in size and for testing purposes fitted perfectly into these Tech 21 Galaxy S9 cases.

Tech Trends has yet to get its hands on the new Galaxy S9 - get your act together @SamsungUK - but our S8 is only millimetres different in size and for testing purposes fitted perfectly into these Tech 21 Galaxy S9 cases
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I personally can’t understand anyone who flaunts their expensive phone sans case and naughtily take great pleasure spotting such dottards who have cracked their screens and not been flush enough to replace the handset. A good case is not a cheap thing and I fully expect to pay £30-50 for one. Both these Tech21 cases are pleasingly at the bottom of this price bracket and represent very good value. The Pure Clear model is hard plastic and rated for 10’ drop protection, more than anyone should need, and while the rigid plastic is not to my taste it feels very sturdy and looks good. Tech21 also address the issue of clear plastic ageing ungloriously to a vile, sweaty, yellow colour and promise the Pure Clear is ‘anti-yellowing’ so should stay looking new for longer.

These Tech21 Samsung Galaxy S9 cases are very good value at £29.95
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The Evo Check case has a wonderful sticky feel to it that means it won’t slip out of your hand easily. Our sample has a nice smoked clear finish (other colours are available) and with its more rubbery texture is rated with a mighty 12’ drop protection! The quality is really good and this case would be my choice simply for the fact the rubbery texture means it won’t easily slip off canted surfaces and would stay gripped snuggly in my hand, even in the rain. The back is decorated with a cross pattern and the edges claim three layers of FlexShock material and a patented ridge design for better impact resistance. These are good solid cases at a great price.

RRP: Evo Check £29.95 and the Pure Clear £29.95

TeckNet USB 3.0 and Ethernet hub

You can never have enough USB 3 sockets! This TeckNet hub comes with three USB 3.0 and a Gigabit Ethernet RJ45 LAN connection, which is super useful for connecting a NAS to your PC or Laptop. TeckNet promises up to 5Gbps through each USB port, that is ten times faster than sad old USB 2.0 but is still backwards compatible with both USB 2.0 & 1.1 connections.

TeckNet promises up to 5Gbps through each USB port, that is ten times faster than sad old USB 2.0 but is still backwards compatible with both USB 2.0 & 1.1 connections
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The Ethernet port should provide superfast 10/100/1000 Gigabit speeds and support IPv4/IPv6 protocols, dual channel transfer, auto transfer and data stream reversing regulation. All round it is a simple and practical hub with a useful 30cm connecting cable and the only real drawback is that it won’t work with high power consumption devices such as external hard drives and it won’t charge phones or tablets. This is a bit of a pain and means the USB ports are limited to Keyboards, Mice, Dongles and flash memory keys. Apart from this it is a solid, reliable product and is ready for travel with a sturdy metal shell.

The Ethernet port should provide superfast 10/100/1000 Gigabit speeds and support IPv4/IPv6 protocols, dual channel transfer, auto transfer and data stream reversing regulation
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• Expands your PC with three USB 3.0 ports and one RJ45 Gigabit Ethernet port, an especially flexible solution for Ultrabooks, notebooks and tablets featuring USB interfaces
• Three USB 3.0 Ports: Enjoy data transfer rates of up to 5Gbps, 10 times faster than High-Speed USB 2.0. It also allows you to connect 3 USB devices simultaneously. Backwards compatible with USB 2.0/1.1 devices
• RJ45 10/100/1000 Gigabit Ethernet Adapter: Gigabit port gives access to a superfast network, backward compatible with 1 0/100 Ethernet. Supports IPv4/IPv6 protocols, dual channel transfer mode, auto transfer and data stream reversing regulation
• Supports Hot Swap and Plug & Play on most USB ports. Built-in surge protection keeps your devices and data safe. LED indicates normal operation. Compatible with Flash Drive, External Hard Drive, Mobile Phone, Tablet, Card Reader, MP3, MP4, Mouse, Keyboard, wireless Adapter and any USB Peripherals
• Compact, Lightweight, Portable, Tecknet USB 3.0 hub with Ethernet port ensures a neat and uncluttered arrangement of all connections making sure that plugs and cables do not interfere with each other.

RRP: £12.99 in UK & $19.99 in US

Aukey HDMI switch

If like me you have used up all the HDMI inputs on your TV this neat little Bidirectional HDMI switch from Aukey might solve the problem. You can hook up two sources to one HDMI display or split one device between two displays and toggle between them, with only one monitor displaying the input at a time.

You can hook up two sources to one HDMI display or split one device between two displays and toggle between them, with only one monitor displaying the input at a time
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This is a really valuable little box to have in your home cinema or multi-monitor office setup plus it is small and as with most Aukey products just works! It supports HDMI v1.4 and high res pictures up to 4K @ 30Hz plus 3D video with a high bandwidth of 3.4Gbps data transfer speeds. Good cables are a must but it will be an indispensable asset as new devices pile up under the living room TV.

This is a valuable addition to your home cinema or multi-monitor office setup. It's small and like most Aukey products, just works! It supports HDMI v1.4 and high res pictures up to 4K @ 30Hz plus 3D video
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• Bidirectional HDMI Switch: Connect two HDMI sources to one HDMI display, or connect one HDMI source to toggle between two displays (only one monitor will display)
  High Resolution: HDMI v1.4 (HDCP 1.4 Protocol Compliant)
• Supports high resolution, up to 4k@30Hz, and 3D video
• High bandwidth 3.4Gbps data transmission speed wise
• Compatibility: Compatible with most devices with standard HDMI interface
• Input: computer, set-top boxes, DVD, PS3 / PS4 etc. Output: TV, monitors, projectors etc.
• Convenient to Use: Plug and play, don’t need to install any hard drivers; the device will work as long as it is plugged in; lightweight and compact, you can take it with you anywhere
• Package Contents: AUKEY HA-H04 2-Way HDMI Switch, User Manual, 24-Month Warranty Card

RRP: £12.99 on Amazon.co.uk

Aegis Padlock SSD

The Aegis Padlock SSD’s resilient design makes it perfect for travel, in fact, it has joined me on trips to Dubai, New York, Paris and well… Bristol
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This super tough, ultra-compact SSD is pretty fast. I got 176MBs write and 185MBs read which is more than most people will need for anything except 4K video editing. IP56 certified against water, dust and grit, with a crush-resistant aluminium enclosure and built-in USB 3.0 cable, your data is protected well beyond just encryption. The Aegis Padlock SSD’s resilient design makes it perfect for travel, in fact, it has joined me on trips to Dubai, New York, Paris and well… Bristol, and has served as my main backup drive for media on recent photo and video commisions. Read the full review here.

BakkerElkhuizen SRM Ergonomic Mouse

Be gone Carpal Tunnel syndrome! This funny looking handshake mouse might help the strains and pains of the modern worker. If you are glued to your computer 24/7 then no doubt you enjoy the misery of RSI but this offers a possible solution, at least for your tired hands. This is definitely the strangest mouse I have tried but it is also the best! No doubt it has eased the strain on the back of my wrists. It is always holding up of my fingers above the keys and mouse buttons that causes me the most pain from my wrist up to my elbow and with the handshake design my palm is almost vertical to the desktop so keeping my fingers off the buttons uses different muscles and tendons.

It's holding my fingers above the keys and buttons that causes me the most pain but with the handshake design my palm is almost vertical to the desktop keeping my fingers off the buttons naturally
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“Thanks to the “handshake” position when using a vertical mouse the wrist doesn’t bend sideways too much and the lower arm needs less inward rotation (Schmid et al., 2015). There is less muscle activity in the lower arm than when using a standard mouse.” (Quemelo & Vieira, 2013)

At first it was uncomfortable to use as my hands got used to it but after a couple of days I am seriously thinking this might become my go-to mouse (that’s not a phrase you write every day!) As a tech reviewer I have a plague of mice in my office and can barely get to the door without treading on one so singling out a favorite would enable me to purge the rest. If you suffer like I do I recommend you give it a go and if it works for you like it did for me then you will be a little happier sitting at your desk than before.

If you suffer like I do I recommend you give it a go and if it works for you like it did for me then you will be a little happier sitting at your desk than before
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It has two buttons and a scroll wheel. Using this mouse correctly reduces muscle tension, reducing the symptoms and causes of RSI within the workplace. The SRM Mouse is designed for small and medium-sized hands (hand widths of up to 9 cm, excluding the thumb). The SRM Mouse also has a powerful laser sensor and the option to choose between 400/1600/3200 DPI.

BakkerElkhuzien is a Gold-certified Microsoft partner – Gold certification is the highest accreditation that Microsoft awards. The SRM Mouse is available as wireless or corded. More information can be found at BakkerElkhuizen

Üllo Wine Purifier

Check the label on 95% of wines in your average shop and you will see “Contains Sulfites”. Whilst the addition of sulfites to wine as a preservative is useful during the transportation and storage of wine in order to prevent against oxidation and bacterial spoilage, they are no longer needed once the bottle is opened. It has just become part of the process for most international wine producers and might not be a bad thing if it means the wines stay good for longer, however, if you want to enjoy your wine without these additives Üllo’s Selective Sulfite Capture technology is the answer.

Adding sulfites to wine as a preservative is useful during the transportation and storage of wine in order to prevent against oxidation and bacterial spoilage, they are no longer needed once the bottle is opened
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“Here at Üllo we believe the best things in life are simple and pure, especially when it comes to the things we eat and drink. It is for this reason that we developed Selective Sulfite Capture technology to purify wine and ensure that wine lovers can enjoy wine in its natural state. We understand that the UK is a nation of wine lovers so we hope that our product offering will help Brits enjoy wine in its very best form!”

This Üllo filter is a cool looking, reusable kitchen gadget and as Tech Trends is a very busy place we all like to unwind at the end of the day so we bought a few sulfite packed wines, popped a few corks and gave in to bacchanalian excess. To be perfectly honest I rarely drink the same wine twice so comparing a filtered to an unfiltered vino wasn’t an option but I am keen to put fewer chemicals in my body whenever possible and I do know a good wine from vinegar so can safely say that the Üllo Wine Purifier did not ruin the taste of the red and white wines I tested and I hope it saved my liver the miserable job of absorbing all those nasty sulfites, only my mortician will ever truly know.

It not only purifies any wine by removing sulfites and sediment, it also aerates electively with the on/off aerator switch and rests gently on top of any wine glass or can be handheld
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It not only purifies any wine by removing sulfites and sediment, it also aerates electively with the on/off aerator switch and rests gently on top of any wine glass or can be handheld. It stores beautifully in its display base and includes Ullo Wine Purifier, Travel Bag, (4) Selective Sulfite Capture Single Bottle Filters easily disassembles, Dishwasher Safe, Hand Wash Recommended, Made from Food Grade BPA-free materials! Each filter purifies 1 (750 Milliliter) bottle of wine.

RRP: £69.99

DBPower RD-810 Mini LED Projector

You can pay a packet for a home cinema projector, but what about the other end of the spectrum – cheap and functional?
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You can pay a packet for a home cinema projector. Remember the Sony VPL-VZ1000ES? Admittedly that is one of the finest short throw projectors out there, but it costs circa £20k ($28k), not including the Sony 4K Advanced SXRD screen… Well, what about the other end of the spectrum – cheap and functional? Read the full review here.

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 March 2018 Tech Trends Product Reviews appeared first on Tech Trends.