Indholdsfortegnelse for October 2017 i T3 Australia

DROP TAIL The slightly longer back end keeps the wind out when wearing a backpack out on the trails or on your pushbike. POCKET ROCKET The material fusion means there’s no pockets on the inside of the Apex Flex but there are three (two front and one chest) on the outide. But I already have a rain jacket... Give it to charity. Seriously. You might as well have been wearing a $2 plastic poncho this entire time. The North Face Apex Flex is a jacket designed to cater for all-season weather and look - and wear - better than anything else on the market. Fine, it’s gone. What do I get here, O Ye Of The Fancy Jacket? Good work. Say hello to three layers of material fused together, and…

1 “OK GOOGLE, ASK NETATMO WHAT’S THE TEMPERATURE OUTSIDE?” If you can’t decide whether or not you need a jacket, you can remove all doubt by asking Google Home to access the data from your outdoor Netatmo sensor. This means minimal time-wasting when you only need to know one thing. 2 “OK GOOGLE, ASK NETATMO IS IT NOISY IN THE LIVING ROOM?” Got more than one indoor sensor? Naming them within the Netatmo app enables Google Home to tell them apart. If you’re in the kitchen and the kids are ruling the living room, Home and Netatmo can help you monitor noise levels. 3 “OK GOOGLE, ASK NETATMO TO GET THE RAIN MEASUREMENTS FOR THE GARDEN” Home can also access the data from your additional outdoor modules. Installing the rain…

Should grain intrude all three here have pop-up flashes If you’ve read this far and are seriously considering buying a digital SLR, image quality is going to be your chief concern: ultimately your desire is to be taking pictures that look closer on screen and in print to what the professionals achieve. Happily, none of the cameras featured are slouches. For general photography we’ve always loved the look of the images straight out of Pentax cameras and the K-70 doesn’t disappoint. If your hobby is nature and landscape photography – or you’re travelling to somewhere with arresting colours like Cuba – it’s well suited to delivering lush greens and deep blues, and that weather resistant body is a bonus for outside shooting. The Nikon delivers a more natural look straight…

If it’s good enough for cobbles along Belgian terrain, then it’s good enough for your pot-holed road On 23 July, Chris Froome crossed the finish line in Paris and his Team Sky compadres reaffirmed themselves as reigning champions in the Tour de France after a tough campaign. It certainly claimed the collarbone of Australian Richie Porte. Well done Team Sky - but what about the technology that goes into powering these super cyclists to win races? We at T3, ourselves avid cycling enthusiasts, were given an exclusive invite to the Team Sky Service Course to see what sort of tech goes into turning a great rider into an epic winner. DOES TECH MAKE YOU FASTER? Eddy Merckx famously said, “Don’t buy upgrades, ride up grades,” but things have moved on…

iMAC WITH 5K RETINA DISPLAY The 4K iMac’s big brother comes with a 5120x2880 27-inch screen, and the option of much more powerful graphics, including the VR-capable Radeon Pro 580 8GB. From $2,699, apple.com/au MICROSOFT SURFACE STUDIO Extravagant, but first-class design. This 28-inch beast has a swaggering 4500 x3000 screen, and the base model packs a quad-core Intel Core i5 chip with 8GB of RAM. From $4,699, microsoft.com/en-au HP ENVY 34-B011A A monster 34-inch 3440 x1440 screen with a meaty Core i7 processor, 8GB of RAM, a 1T SSHD bolstered with 8GB flash cache, and AMD Radeon RX 460 graphics, as well as B&O speakers. But it’s pricey. $3,699, hp.com…

SONY KD-65A1 Sony’s first foray into 4K OLED TV technology features a novel twist. Acoustic Surface technology effectively turns the 65-in screen itself into a 2x20W speaker, courtesy of a pair of stereo actuators on the rear panel. $7,499, sony.com.au PANASONIC TH-65EZ1000U OLED This flagship Panasonic OLED is bolstered by an 80W Dynamic Blade Speaker designed by Technics, and uses a 4K Pro Studio Colour HCX2 processor tuned by Hollywood. $8,899, panasonic.com.au SAMSUNG QA55Q7FAMWXXY QLED Not to be confused with OLED, this is an LCD panel using Quantum Dot tech. The blacks approach the depths of OLED, it’s very bright, and all at a more reasonable cost. $4,499, samsung.com.au…

$329,nokia.com Sitting in the middle of the new range, the temptation with the Nokia 5 is to either drop down to the cheaper option, or spend a little more to get something flashier. And just on its looks alone, the 5 makes a strong case that you should drop that extra $70 and opt for the far-more stylish 6. While both handsets benefit from an aluminium unibody frame, the 5’s rounded edges and thick bezel make it a very simple, plain affair. The internals have been built to be lean and, we suspect, to hit that attractive price point. The OS runs smoothly, though it definitely lags when flicking between apps, which we put down to a paltry 2GB of RAM. On the outside and in, the 5 shares a…

Ruark MR1 Mk2 SMALL AND SUAVE, THESE SPEAKERS RETURN WITH EVEN SWEETER SOUNDS AND LOOKS $699, WWW.SYNERGYAUDIO.COM DESIGN Hands down, the MR1s are the best-looking bookshelf speakers out there, boasting an understated elegance. They’re small enough to fit almost anywhere in the home without dominating, and the build quality is brilliant. FEATURES Bluetooth aptX means quality streaming. You get a speaker-mounted control knob and a remote – both with volume and source control. There’s an optical out for plugging into a TV or console. And you can also plug in a subwoofer for more bass. SOUND The MR1s make all kinds of music – but especially instrumental tracks – come to life with their rich, realistic sound. The bass is powerful and goes fairly deep, but you won’t be shaking…

SONIC MANIA The graphics say 1994, but the gameplay has been honed with 20-odd years of hindsight. Sonic, Tails and Knuckles are what you get, and all you need. $29.95; PC, PS4, Xbox One, Switch AGENTS OF MAYHEM Some jolly rascals from Saints Row appear in a futuristic Seoul that’s a pastiche of ‘80s cartoons and modern culture. Stay for the triple-jumping $99.95; PC, PS4, Xbox One INJUSTICE 2 You’ve got Superman and Batman and a platter of DC superheroes mixed in with classics from Mortal Kombat. Probably this generation’s best 2D fighter $99.95; PS4, Xbox One F1 2017 The very pinnacle of motorsport where you establish your legacy across a 10-year career, but with Senna and Schumacher’s rides on offer too $99.95; PC, PS4, Xbox One…

Free, Google Play / Apple Store Cinemagraphs are interesting things. You may not know the name, but it’s likely you’ll have seen them online: they’re animated photos. Not movies, not animated gifs, but still snaps with a subtle animated element, like a waterfall looping while everything else around it is still. They seem mighty complex, but it turns out they’re hugely simple to produce with the help of Loopsie. Make your phone as still as you possibly can, hold the record button, and Loopsie will grab a short slice of the scene around you. Loopsie performs essential stabilisation and then, on the screen that follows, you simply paint over the area you want to animate. The loop should be all-but imperceptible, blended together at its edges. It’s possible, if you…

THE SUPER SIX Smartphones 01 SAMSUNG GALAXY S8/S8 EDGE  samsung.com/au PRICE From $1,148.99 The S8 is a leap forward for phones. It looks amazing, runs like a dream, and is packed with fantastic features. T3 SAYS A stunning design, powerful, gorgeous screen… Samsung nailed it. 02 SONY XPERIA XZ PREMIUM  sonymobile.com/au PRICE $899 An amazing 4K HDR screen, brilliant camera with 960FPS slo-mo recording, and speedy processor make this one advanced phone. T3 SAYS Want the coolest and latest tech in your phone? Sony’s got you covered. 03 APPLE iPHONE 7/7 PLUS  apple.com/au PRICE From $1,079 Water resistance, great haptic feedback and an amazing camera set-up are brilliant features on Apple’s stunning new releases. T3 SAYS If you can get past the lack of a headphone socket, you have a…

Sigma 2.X EX DG Teleconverter A teleconverter is a simple add-on which doubles your focal length, leading to more dynamic shots and giving you more options for image composition. You’ll lose auto-focus functionality, but this accessory for Nikon offers some stunning results when used well. $410, digitalcamerawarehouse.com.au Hoya Pro-1 Reflections are the bane of photographers – and one of the few things you can’t easily clean up later – but you can reduce their effect and get extra contrast and saturation with a polarising filter. Hoya’s Pro-1 is perfect; though the price will depend on the size of the lens you’re using. $49-$106, hoyafilter.com Polaroid 58mm White Balance Lens Cap Set your DSLR to white balance calibration mode and leave this snazzy replacement lens cap attached.…

With that in mind, we created our Ultimate Tech Wishlist feature (p50) with the goal to look at every category we could fit into these pages, and find the best item to match your circumstance. There are three options in each, from the most affordable, to a sweet middle spot, and then a no-limits blow-out that only caters for the very best. Of course, just because something is priced at a lower spec than the ‘splurge’ option doesn’t means it’s not worth considering – everything here is a quality option, holding a delicate balance between price and features. Nor does that mean we’ve neglected the rest of the tech world. Android smartwatches have stepped up, and we look at the most stylish and feature-packed timepieces available (p44). This issue’s State…

1 REGISTER YOUR DEVICE First download the Netatmo app from Google Play or iTunes, or access it from your desktop. From here, create a Netatmo account and start setting up your sensors. The app will guide you through the process. The sensors are pre-paired, so it’s simply a matter of connecting them to your home Wi-Fi. 2 LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION Once it’s set up, name your indoor sensor. We recommend naming it after the room it’s in for convenience. Although they’re weatherproof, keep the sensors out of direct sunlight. It’s also important to keep them relatively close to each other and your router to maintain their connection. 3 GET THE DATA Now you can access the environmental data on the app’s main page. Measurements for outside are on top, there’s…

MATT BOLTON T3’s wireless home fanatic, Matt is obsessed with all things TV and home streaming, as well as home monitoring, from temperature to weather to energy usage. NICK ODANTZIS Paranoia has taken hold of wordsmith Nick, and therefore he’s become a smart home-security expert. He has no fewer than 11 connected cameras dotted around his house. CLAIRE DAVIES Sleep expert Claire knows all about wellbeing tech and keeping yourself healthy around the house. She also knows more than is healthy about kitchen gadgets! DUNCAN BELL Lifestyle editor Duncan is a connected- home – and multi-room- audio – expert, and can advise on everything from setting up your Sonos to getting Amazon Echo to order you a puppy. DAN GRABHAM T3.com’s editor is well on his way to smart home…

Canon’s 77D provides a grip large enough to curl three fingers around Compact yet delivering a very traditional DLR design, Canon’s 77D provides a grip large enough to curl three adult fingers around, whilst our forefinger hovers over the shutter release button located at its topper-most edge; thumb resting on a rear leather effect pad. This makes for a strong, steady hold. While it’s possible to shoot with one hand with eye pressed against the optical viewfinder, it feels more natural for the left hand to rest on the lens barrel – here we were using the 18-55mm image stabilised (‘IS’) zoom – to achieve level horizons. With a blockier design that makes it appear large, until you set it side by side with the in fact similarly sized Canon…

1st Canon EOS 77D Price: From $1,299 URL: canon.com.au T3 RATES: It’s not purely about image quality – although there the Canon acquits itself splendidly – it also comes down to size, weight, functionality, usability and response times, all of which the 77D aces. T3 SLATES: A minor grumble. Our nose still occasionally butted against the left edge of the LCD screen when using the optical viewfinder. T3 SAYS: OK, so we preferred the Pentax’s images, and the Nikon may be fair value and sleeker, but overall the swift Canon was the one we’d comfortably – and so most likely – use every day. 2nd Pentax K-70 Price: From $1,149 URL: pentax.com.au T3 RATES: If you want a DSLR that will deliver sharp, well saturated images…

The mission Can the latest action cameras stand the ultimate test: shooting video in the freezing, airless environment 38km above the Earth? The man Child of the space-aged ’60s and sci-fi space nut, former T3 staffer Steve had the right stuff for the job The tech GoPro Hero 5 $569.95 gopro.com Kaiser Baas X4 Action Camera $299.99 kaiserbaas.com SpyTec GL300 $69.95 spytecinc.com Latex balloon £65-£285 ($106 - $465) sentintospace.com Helium $254.10 for 8.7m3 elgas.com.au This issue’s Man vs Tech is a two-header. First, our UK team wanted to see how easy it is to send an issue of this magazine into space – and while we were at it, we figured we might as well put some action cameras through their paces. So it was one small step to the car,…

$399, nokia.com Apart from its rather stylish design, with its smooth back, satisfyingly sharp edges and metal unibody, the Nokia 6 offers a fairly standard Android phone experience. What does stand out is how sharp, clear and colourful the 5.5-inch 1080p display is, something that few phones can boast within this price range. Don’t expect much in terms of performance, however, with its dated Snapdragon 430 processor and Adreno 505 GPU delivering some middling benchmark scores. A good 3GB of RAM doesn’t do much to assuage those results. Nokia aren’t targeting hardcore owners (that’s what the 8 is for), and the 6 is simply good value. We like that its 32GB of onboard storage can be expanded by an extra 256GB via the phone’s microSD slot, and its front-facing fingerprint…

01 GARAGEBAND Apple’s old staple has a vast array of loops and instruments, and an interface that’s supremely well-designed. Light enough for play, deep enough for work. Free, Apple store 02 FL STUDIO MOBILE It’s on the pricy end, but FL Studio Mobile’s compatibility with desktops is great. Sketch out your tunes on the move and finish them up at home. $21.99, Google Play / Apple Store 03 CAUSTIC 3 Inspired by rack-mount synths, a fact reflected in its unique interface, Caustic’s gritty sound is perfect for electronic experimenters. $14.99, Google Play / App Store 04 REMIXLIVE A collection of loops and samples make this live jamming app a real highlight‚ and it’s easy to work with, with active quantising to ensure you stay in time. Free, Google Play /…

Samsung Internet Browser This browser isn’t just for Samsung phones, though only Samsung and the Google Nexus line are officially supported. A hidden gem, it incorporates content blocking, location-focused features and, critically, uses Samsung’s buttery-smooth web scrolling engine for added enjoyment. Free, Google Play Google Chrome Always improving, although whether its improvements play nice with your phone tends to vary from device to device. Chrome’s integration with its desktop counterpart is its key selling point. If you’re still using your phone’s stock browser, give it a try and you’ll probably never go back. Free, Google Play Flynx This does things in a different way; tap a link anywhere on your phone and you can choose to open it in a Flynx bubble, which sits on the side of your screen…

Beatport Founded as a store for techno, and EDM, Beatport allows you to preview every track, sample packs and stem collections before you buy the 320kHz MP3, WAV or AIFF full versions. DJs will love the BPM and key information that accompany the previews. beatport.com Bandcamp Independent and unsigned musicians have few choices when it comes to distributing their own work, which is why so many choose Bandcamp. It includes track previews, acts as a merchandise store, and artists can offer up their work on a pay-what-you-like basis. bandcamp.com Soundcloud It may be in financial trouble at the moment, so jump on it while you can – Soundcloud is the home of more experimental music and unique remixes than you’ll find anywhere else. There’s a fair amount of dross to…

SUPER SNAPS The rear camera array, comprised of a wide-angle f/1.8 lens and a telephoto f/2.4 lens, shoots 4K video at up to 60fps and 1080p slo-mo at up to 240fps. CHARGE ME UP The iPhone X uses the Qi wireless charging system. A new AirPower mat, out in 2018, will charge this and other Apple products, too. Crikey, that phone’s just a screen! Apart from the speaker grill that houses a front-facing ‘TrueDepth’ 7MP camera, this is all screen. The 2,436 x 1,125 AMOLED, HDR display measures 5.8-inches but the overall size is smaller than a Plus-sized iPhone, and should feel lighter at 174g. Gasp – that means the home button’s gone! Correct, and so has the fingerprint sensor. Now, you swipe up from the bottom of the screen…

Want to avoid stress over summer? If you’re tired of your BBQ plans becoming a washout or you want to know exactly how many layers you should be wearing, then you need Netatmo’s Urban Weather Station. Tracking the weather where you are in real-time as well as giving the forecast for the week ahead is only one small part of what Netatmo’s Weather Station does. Through its two Wi-Fi-connected sensors it actually allows you to monitor and track your environment both inside and out. By environment we mean temperature, air pressure, humidity, air pollution levels, CO2 concentration and noise levels. Having access to this information allows you to easily make your living environment more comfortable and plan outdoor activities accordingly. Rather than waking up in the morning and assuming bright sunlight…

Now that summer is underway, there’s the risk of humidity and the health problems that causes. Air pollutants rise during such time, which can make allergies worse, aggravate already sensitive skin, cause headaches and prolong viruses. The air in your home is susceptible to high humidity, so a dehumidifier could prove a wise investment. These devices draw moisture from the air, making them a godsend for damp houses. There are two main dehumidifiers: a refrigerant (known as a compressor) that works at higher temperatures and higher humidities, and desiccant dehumidifiers, suitable for garages and conservatories. The Cli-Mate 20L Compressor Dehumidifier and Dyson’s Humidifier make excellent choices.…

1 GOPRO HERO5 BLACK GoPro’s latest action camera offers a full-colour LCD touch screen, voice activation, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, plus video stabilisation, all in a sealed unit, waterproof to 33 feet (10m). It shoots 4K video at 30fps, captures 1080p slomo at 120fps, and it takes 12MP stills. $569.95, gopro.com 2 KAISER BAAS X4 The new Kaiser Baas camera offers 4K 30fps video, 1080p 120fps slo-mo and 12MP stills. It also features electronic video stabilisation, plus Wi-Fi connectivity for remote control. The unit includes a separate case, waterproof to 40m. $299.99, kaiserbaas.com 3 SPYTEC STI GL300 This real-time GPS tracker is a quad-band GSM device with a two-week battery life that provides a track of its own location accurate to 4.6m. It operates via the SpyTec…

A BIT OF COLOUR The 4K screen supports a wider ‘P3’ colour gamut than most displays, which means more vibrant and lifelike images – great for working with raw photos BIGGER THAN 4K The iMac’s display is actually higher resolution than Ultra HD 4K, at 4096x2304. It’s one of the highest-density desktop computer screens you can find DO YOU BELIEVE IN MAGIC? The Magic Keyboard uses the same kind of super-low-travel keys as Apple’s MacBooks. Some love it, some hate it, so it’s worth trying it out yourself before buying MOUSE OR TRACKPAD Apple’s Magic Mouse continues to be… not our favourite pointing device. You can order a Magic Trackpad instead for $179, which ain’t cheap, but we much prefer it When the iMac with Retina 4K display first came…

TOTAL PIXEL CONTROL OLED offers pixel dimming which enables the screen to achieve deep black and ensures there’s no haloing or bloom around bright objects TUNER CHOICE The W7 has a FreeviewPlus TV tuner. That means all mainstream catch-up channels can be accessed from a rollback TV guide POP-UP SOUNDBAR SPEAKERS Those funky speakers which rise from the Dolby Atmos soundbar aren’t Dolby-enabled upfirers and don’t deliver any extra height in the sound Says... This is an impossibly cool TV, and the image quality is awesome Behold the wallpaper TV. As flat as day-old Cristal, and just as likely to grace Jay Z’s kitchen, the LG W7 is an OLED panel like no  other that’s come before. Given that LG has been curling OLED panels for years, albeit in the…

$249, nokia.com The most budget of the three new Nokias looks and feels like a phone well outside its price range. The squared silhouette with rounded aluminium edges is striking and even the matte polycarbonate back is surprisingly un-tacky. Unfortunately, most of the praise stops there. Although the Nokia comes with a stock Android 7.0, it runs a little sluggishly from the get-go, even with the simpler Google Suite apps. This doesn’t bode well for having a speedy phone in a few months time. Sadly, despite the weaker processor and 720p display resolution, the battery life doesn’t stack up against other phones in the budget range — this is usually one of the major boons of budget and mid-range devices that don’t need excessive processing power. The camera is serviceable…

Free, Appstore Keeping track of important documents, managing receipts on long trips, or looking after your kids’ burgeoning calendar of birthday parties is hard work. Having a phone with you certainly makes things easier, but add Adobe Scan into your catalogue of productivity apps and you’ll end up more efficient than you imagined. Simply point your phone’s camera at a paper document, and Adobe Scan will make a stab at framing the exact dimensions of the paper then convert that photographic scan into a PDF. You don’t even need to tap anything; flick to the next page in the document, and Scan will add it sequentially into the PDF. When it’s all done, you can perform a bit of cleanup beyond the automatic sharpening and flattening the app does for…

IF YOU’RE LOOKING FOR THE VERY BEST TECH AVAILABLE TODAY, YOU’VE DEFINITELY COME TO THE RIGHT PLACE. T3 Elite is the best gadget-buying guide you’ll ever encounter. To create it, we’ve ruthlessly filtered all the categories that count, to bring you rock-solid recommendations. We’ve selected a Super Six of elite gear for each of the categories listed below. If something’s not included, we don’t rate it – it’s that simple. Each Super Six is ranked in order, so it’ll be easier for you to make an educated purchase. And to ensure your next shopping trip is as straightforward as possible, we’ve also included useful buying advice, so you’ll get exactly what you’re paying for the next time you open your wallet. Stay up to date with the latest gadget news…

Sonos Playbase About as subtle as possible for an audio accessory; the Playbar’s sound is anything but subtle. It’s compatible with Sonos’ streaming architecture, so it’s happy to play your music and amplify your TV. You can add additional Sonos speakers wirelessly for 5.1 surround. $999, sonos.com Canton DM100 A massive TV needs a massive soundbase, and the German loudspeaker experts at Canton have delivered just that with the metre-wide DM100. Four downward firing subs ensure its sound is just as huge as its footprint, and it can handle up to 40KG sat on top. $899, rio.com.au ZVOX Soundbase 555 Clever processing inside ZVOX’s handsome system projects room-filling sound forwards and sideways. Points for usability, as it learns your TV remote control’s IR signal. Downsides? It…

Adidas Kanadia Trail 7 GTX Super lightweight and made for kicking hard on the trail, these Traxion-soled runners use a combination of Gore-Tex and mesh liners to do the double: they’re both breathable and waterproof, so good for any weather. $180, adidas.com.au Salomon Speedcross Vario 2 GTX If you’re running on hard trail surfaces the extra grip offered by Salomon’s Vario variety could be essential. A Gore-Tex upper lets your feet breathe , and the heel-to- toe drop is a conventional 10mm. $219, salomon.com Merrell All Out Crush While these shoes do have a synthetic waterproof upper to protect your feet from rain and splashes, they’re also intended for use in Tough Mudder competition, meaning it’s going to be hard to avoid them getting completely filled…