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GADGETinspect r

Each month we bring you the latest from theworld of gadgets. Our resident Gadget

Inspector, Nick Horner, will take a look at allthings technological and give his view on the

weird and the wonderful gizmos that arebecoming an increasing part of everyday life.

This month – gadgets on the go

Any gadget lover going on their summer holidaysin the coming months will want to make sure

they can power up their devices while abroad.But as soon as you leave British shores, the firstitem you will need to accompany your chargers

is an adapter. And the Skross World Adapter Pro+ USB is the Rolls Royce choice. It has three

parts – a central slider system, which can createsix plug configurations enough to re-juice gad-

gets in 150 countries worldwide and is about halfthe size of a standard drinks can – and twointerchangeable heads, one with a top that

accepts different plugs from dozens of countriesincluding the UK’s and a dual USB attachment.The Swiss-designed adapter has a dual USBattachment enabling simultaneous charging ofphones, cameras, portable games machinesand tablets, including the power-hungry ‘New

iPad’. Usefully the two interchangeable tops con-nect to the main section via a European plugattachment, meaning you can use both inde-

pendently in a socket on the Costas or Algarve.P ro s :• Configurations for more than 150 countries.• Dual USB can charge two devices at once.• Ingenious European plug attachments allow youto charge three gadgets on the continent.Cons:• Some devices were slow to charge.• The adapter is bulky.Verdict: The Skross World AdapterPro + USB provides a multitude ofsolutions for travellers wanting tocharge gadgets abroad. RRP Euro47.95. www.skross.com (availablein UK from September).

GADGET OF THE MONTH – ASUS TRANSFORMER 300

AYEGEAR VEST

Although gadgets are becoming more portable,carrying them safely and securely to sunnierclimes can be a concern for tech-savvy trav-ellers. AyeGear (an “aye” instead of an “i” to

express the company’s Scottish heritage) hascome up with an ingenious sleeveless jacket

capable of carrying a number of devices.The AyeGear Vest is an 18-pocket water res-

istant jacket made from poly-cotton. It can housea laptop (such as a Macbook Air 11”) in a large

pocket at the rear, a tablet (an iPad, with a case),a smartphone, which can be operated within the

jacket on either side, with a clear touch-screen-friendly cover and numerous places for avariety of items including the all important travel

documents. The jacket has five external pockets,six internal ones and seven more spaces for

items like pens, coins and headphones.P ro s :• An easy, safe way of carrying multiple gadgets,neatly hiding them from prying eyes.Cons:• You need to order a size larger than normal toensure a good fit.• It only comes in black.Ve rd i c t : Gadget lovers looking totake their technological hoard onholiday will love the Tardis-likeAyeGear Vest which can carryeverything bar the kitchen sink.RRP £69.99 www.ayegear.com.

With MP3 players, mobile phones and tabletsable to house a fair chunk of your music col-lection, it is handy when on your travels to be

able to share your playlists with others when youreach your destination. Travel speakers thoughcan often prove tinny and also become a tangleof cables en route. But not the Damson CisorBT5, a portable speaker which can be con-

nected wirelessly to Bluetooth-enabled devicesand via a 3.5mm jack to other players.

The Cisor is made from a single piece of alu-minium and feels solid in the hand. Its base is

slightly tacky (but won’t leave a mark) and worksby resonating against a solid surface, a table,

kitchen sideboard or a window (with the help of asuction cup RRP £9) and turning that object into

a giant speaker giving a 360 degree sound.Glass seemed to work best but the more solidand wide the surface the better the sound. The

Cisor charges via USB and offers four hoursplayback with Bluetooth and nine hours if con-

nected via a cable to the source.P ro s :• A pocketable speaker that can create a nearroom-filling five watt sound, surface permitting.• Bluetooth allows remote volume control.Cons:• Without a decent surface to hand, the speaker islimited and the suction cup is a must.• £99.95 RRP isn’t cheap.Ve rd i c t : For music lovers wantingto hear their tunes everywhere, theCisor offers a handy solution to theusual tinny travel speaker but at aprice. www.damsonaudio.com.

DAMSON CISOR

Gadgets are now ever more powerful, able tocarry out a number of tasks with one limit on theireffectiveness; battery life. That's where the Veho

Pebble Mini and Pro provide a boost.Both have a tactile plastic exterior, a useful USBport for charging a number of gizmos and neo-

prene cases to protect the device and holdcables and tips.The Mini has a 3,000Mah

battery, about twice the capacity of the latestiPhone’s. It is the size of a chunky (1.4cm deep)credit card, weighs 84g, charges via USB andhas tips for Apple devices and mini and microUSB adapters. It charged an iPhone 4 almostone and a half times but can not juice an iPad.The Pro takes the concept further, with a huge

13,200Mah battery, albeit it weighs 396g and isabout half the size of a ten-inch tablet. It is mainscharged, has five phone adapter heads, tips fornetbooks and laptops, although not Apple Mac-books. It charged an iPhone almost six times, aniPad more than once but the New iPad just half.

P ro s :• Versatile battery packs charge lots of gizmos.• Mini is an ideal night out or overnight charger.• Pro is great for long haul flights or festivals.Cons:• Both the Mini and Pro take a while to charge (Minitook over five hours, the Pro longer).• Mini review unit was temperamental tocharge but a second unit was OK.Ve rd i c t : The Pebble Pro and Miniprovide a sleek source of poweron-the-go for gadget users. RRP Pro£99.95, Mini £34.95 (both are halfthat online). www.veho-uk.com.

PEBBLE PRO AND MINI

When heading away on holiday these days books,games, CDs, DVDs, a means of getting online andsomewhere to store your precious photos can allbe done with one device. Tablet computers provideall of this in an easily transportable device.

Asus has taken this concept one step further with its Transformerseries, combining a tablet and keyboard dock to create a compellingpackage. The latest incarnation is the Pad TF300T, a budgettablet-come-netbook. It has a 10.1” lightweight tablet (635g) thatdocks with a keyboard (546g), which when combined provides anamazing 15 hours battery life. The keyboard, although not full size, iseasy to use. This review was typed on it with ease, although theGadget Inspector found it flexed a little and the small trackpad was oflimited benefit. It is certainly not a main laptop replacement.As well as extending battery life, the keyboard also protects thescreen. The tablet has a handy 1.2 megapixel front-facing camera forvideo calls and an eight megapixel rear-facing camera, whichrecords 1080p HD video, although the device’s size limits its use.The Transformer runs Google’s latest Android operating system – IceCream Sandwich – and is swift in zipping between different tasks andapplications. A variety of apps are available in the Google Play store

which is catching but not yet matching Apple’s App Store.The Transformer 300’s screen is eminently watchable at 1280 x 800resolution. It does not reach the pin-sharp crispness of the newiPad’s but text and images are clearer than those on an iPad 2. Thesupplied speaker is more than acceptable although the sound doesbecome tinny at higher volumes and won’t satisfy an audiophile.The Transformer 300 has another trick Apple’s iPads cannot matchas the standard storage of 16MBs can be boosted by up to 64MBwith an additional micro-SD card. The Asus also has a USB portwhere storage, cameras or card adapters can be inserted.P ro s :• Excellent tablet that’s easy to use with a ten-hour battery life.• Keyboard dock adds a five-hour battery and screen protection.• The 1.2Ghz quad-core processor speeds through tasks.Cons• Compromises have been made with the keyboard and screen.• The trackpad is a little small hindering use for long periods.Ve rd i c t : The Transformer Pad 300 is a value tablet-turned-netbookstriking a balance between form and function and is a compellingcontender for those willing to make small sacrifices. It comes in blueat launch with red and white to follow. RRP £399. uk.asus.com.

8/10 8/10 9/10 8/10

SKROSS WORLDADAPTER PRO + USB

8/10

GADGETS | Jour nal

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