Indholdsfortegnelse for February 2021 i T3 India

GLOW-ZONE LAYER With a whopping 2,500 dimming zones powered by 30,000 mini LEDs, LG’s 86-inch 8K QNED screen offers stunning and bright HDR images LG 8K QNED MINI LED TV Mini LED tech has rapidly evolved from a futuristic fantasy to a reality, with this year’s Consumer Electronics Show bringing compelling consumer models for the first time. Indeed, the brand new 8K QNED screens from LG will have you completely re-evaluating what LCD screens are capable of. Packed full of 30,000 tiny LEDs backed up with a dream team of quantum dot and NanoCell tech, the new set is searingly bright and offers an absurd contrast ratio of 1,000,000:1. Not only that but a wide gamut and unerringly precise colour accuracy means it offers truly vivid yet natural tones. And…

TAG HEUER, AQUARACER BAMFORD LTD EDITION A limited-edition co-designed with the Bamford Watch Department, the 43mm case is ultra-lightweight, with the unidirectional bezel and bracelet made from super-resilient grade 2 titanium. ₹3,25,000, tagheuer.com NOMOS GLASHÜTTE, TETRA DIVINE SPARK Celebrating the 250th anniversary of Beethoven’s birth, the beautiful copper coloured dial is designed to bring “light and warmth” to the wrist, helping the wearer sparkle, even during the bleakest winter days. ₹1,66,000, nomos-glashuette.com CHRISTOPHER WARD, C65 CHRONOGRAPH Taking design cues from the late-’60s – most prominently a bold use of colour and a regatta-style subdial – the C65 Chronograph’s vibrant aesthetic is a first in a range usually associated with tasteful minimalism. ₹1,80,000, christopherward.com SWATCH, DISNEY MICKEY MOUSE X KEITH HARING Celebrating the iconic 1980’s New York social activist and pop-artist,…

RAMNATH SHINGH Q What gadgets do I need to get my novel written? IF YOU REALLY CAN’T BE TRUSTED TO AVOID DISTRACTIONS, PERHAPS SOMETHING LIKE ASTROHAUS’ FREEWRITE TRAVELER MIGHT WORK A Bearded lollygagger George RR Martin famously spends his time gawping at the walls of his home office, pretending to write the next A Song of Ice and Fire book while sat in front of a DOS computer running 1987’s WordStar 4.0. Guru writes with, depending on his platform, tangentially archaic software that pushes everything but the words out of the way; on Windows it’s WriteMonkey, on Mac he goes for BBEdit. He has heard of novelists writing full books on their phones (try JotterPad, free with IAPs), and technophobes hand-writing every word of their memoirs. The important thing is…

There aren’t many gadget brands that can claim a heritage of nearly a century of iconic design. Yet Bang & Olufsen has had audiophiles drooling over its lush acoustics and timeless style ever since it was founded by Peter Bang and Svend Olufsen way back in 1925. Fresh from celebrating its 95th anniversary last November, the company spoke to T3 about how it makes sure products offer great sound, look at home in your living room and stand the test of time. What’s the starting point when Bang & Olufsen begins designing a new product? KT: There’s a passion for perfection around acoustics, to start with. It’s really about recreating the sound as it was intended from the artist when it was made. That’s why we have our tone masters…

From ₹92,900 apple.com This is the start of something huge for Apple: computers made using its own chips. Ever since the iPad debuted the first Apple-made chip back in 2010, we had to wonder whether this would be the long-term plan. The M1 chip makes that a reality, and it turns out to be a big leap forward for laptops. If you want a computer than can do standard tasks without breaking a sweat, the MacBook Air is pretty much unmatched. It’s simply screamingly fast for a mid-price, lightweight machine. Actually, it’s screamingly fast for almost any laptop. Its Geekbench 5 scores of 1732 in single-core and 7556 in multi-core give you an idea of what to expect: that is as fast for single-core performance as laptops get, and for…

From ₹17,000 thrustmaster.com Let’s cut straight to the chase: this is a seriously good controller and one that offers truly phenomenal customisation and configuration options. Its party piece is its ability to swap out its joysticks, d-pad, triggers and grips at any time and replace or rearrange them as desired. Straight off, the eSwap X Pro’s quality is evident, looking advanced and feeling weighty in the hand. It feels like a more spacious version of the new Xbox Wireless Controller, which makes sense considering it’s officially licensed and made for Xbox and PC gamers. In terms of stock layout, it features all of the buttons and triggers you would expect, plus a pair of trigger locking switches, which allow you to lock trigger travel at your desired angle, and four…

‘Tis the season to cycle indoors! While some cyclists will be happy to pedal away on the stationary bike, people who prefer to ride their own bikes indoors will probably opt to use a turbo trainer. Riding on a turbo can give you a near-identical experience to devouring the miles outdoors, but in the comfort of your own living room. The new Tacx Boost turbo trainer from Garmin (₹30,000, garmin.com) builds on the foundation laid by the Tacx Flow and offers a very flexible yet powerful platform for cyclists to work out indoors. Setting up the Boost is easy; all you have to do is pop the legs open with two clicks, mount the bike and you can start riding. You don’t have to take the rear wheel off or…

CES is one of the biggest dates in the tech calendar and LG is always one of the biggest exhibitors there. This year, of course, the event was purely online and ‘virtual’, but LG still brought the goods, with its 2021 line-up of kitchen appliances. No, sorry, its 2021 line-up of ‘Furniture Concept Appliances’. For those looking to update their kitchens – something we’ve all been thinking about since we’ve been spending rather more time in them than usual – built-in appliances remain a popular option. However, what LG has come up with here is a set of appliances that don’t need to be secreted behind identical doors and panels. As LG puts it, they ‘blur the line between state-of-the-art home appliances and designer furnishings’. Presented in a ‘virtual showroom’…

The NAD D 3045 amplifier is the senior sibling of the D 3020 amp reviewed in T3 earlier. Like the D 3020, the 3045 has been designed in such a way that it can be stacked vertically or horizontally. Again, like the 3020, the 3045 is a Class D Amplifier and therefore will both remain cool and be energy efficient. Build Quality is similar to the 3020 and the finish is good. The 3045 is rated at 60 Watts continuous per channel ; both channels can be driven at 4 ohms or 8 ohms. Total harmonic distortion is rated at less than .03%. Frequency response is +/- .3dB between 20Hz – 20 kHz. The amp has dimensions of 70x235x265mm and weighs just 2.6 kg. We listened to the NAD using…

CES is by far the most influential trade show in the technology industry. Owned and produced by the Consumer Technology Association (CTA), CES features every aspect of the tech sector. This year, like most other events and things, it was different. The trade show adapted seamlessly in its new completely virtual avatar, and it took place from January 11-14, 2021. The first-ever, all-digital CES 2021 made history as the largest digital tech event. CES 2021 featured more than 1900 exhibitors representing the entire tech spectrum and more than 100 conference sessions showcasing of industry leaders in technology space. Digital CES 2021 allowed the entire tech community to safely share ideas and introduce the products that will shape our future. Attendees were able to participate in CES wherever they were in…

From ₹65,500 microsoft.com The Surface Laptop Go marks an attempt by Microsoft to offer a more affordable alternative to its line of premium products – and in this case those premium products are the Surface Laptop 3 and the Surface Book 3. It’s a laptop aimed at school and college students, or indeed anyone who wants an inexpensive laptop that’s going to take care of the basics. Emailing, essay writing, web browsing, movie watching... the Microsoft Surface Laptop Go handles all this very well. What you’re not going to get here is any kind of serious performance for high-end video and image editing projects, or gaming. If you need a laptop that works at top speed for more demanding tasks, then you’re going to have to spend a little bit…

DJI MINI 2 From ₹42,000, dji.com Not that we’re saying you should dodge the requirements of the law, but the folding DJI Mini 2 – the almost physically identical sequel to DJI’s revered Mavic Mini drone – carries one particular key advantage above all others: since it’s just under 250g in weight, you don’t need to take a CAA test before you send it airborne. As long as you’re abiding by the drone safety code, which basically boils down to not sending it up in populated areas or near airports and keeping it below a certain height ceiling, then you’re good to go. And don’t be fooled into thinking small means delicate – level 5 wind resistance means the Mini 2 can hold its own in wind speeds of up…

₹79,500, sonos.com Sonos, a portable Wi-Fi and Bluetooth speaker brand, that sounds great, and now, it’s beyond what one would have ever imagined! I learnt that it’s been for years together, that Sonos has made some of the very best Wi-Fi speakers, even recently adding optional voice assistants from Google and Amazon. However, they have never been truly wireless, needing to be plugged in and on your home Wi-Fi network every time. The Sonos Move essentially changes all that. It’s like taking the excellent Sonos One, and then adding a battery to the bottom! This Move is slightly larger than the One, being taller, even wider, more oval in shape than a squircle. The top head has the neat microphone array and mute button for your chosen voice assistant. The…

₹9,900, apple.com Apple’s tiny new Siri speaker brings the same focus on music quality that the full-size HomePod has, but in a package the size of a bread roll. And not to spoil what’s coming, but the HomePod mini also punches well above its size class for sound – it’s the best sounding smaller speaker by a mile. The HomePod mini is effectively the same size as the Amazon Echo Dot (4th gen), and is similarly round, though the HomePod has a slice off the top for its little ‘screen’ and controls. It’s easily held in one hand, and so finding a spot for it is no problem at all. The really nice touch is that the screen has multicoloured lights underneath that swirl when Siri is listening. When the…

₹9,990, oppo.com/in Oppo’s growth in the Indian market is because of its aggressive smartphone strategy. However, the company has branched into audio accessories, and the latest entrant is Oppo Enco X that promises premium features at a sub-10k price. But is it worth it? Let’s find it out. There are limited ways one can design a TWS earphone and Oppo has gone with the AirPods inspired look with the Enco X. It comes in glossy black or white finish with a short stem and silicone tips designed to fit most ears with no issues. They are lightweight as well, with each bud weighing in at just 4.8g and boasts an IP54 rating that ensures its safety against dust and water. The case is not IP rated, but it matches the…