Top 5 sports kit for summer of sport 2012

 

With the summer of sport in full swing, there isn’t a better time to feel motivated about getting fit. To help kickstart your fitness regime or enhance your existing routine, we’ve picked out five awesome bits of sports kit to help you stay active and keep in shape.

From trainers with performance-tracking sensors built-in to the cleverest pair of dumbbells you’ll ever flex a muscle lifting, here’s our top 5 sports kit to get fit. 


Nike LunarGlide+ 4 Premium

If you purchase a new pair of running shoes this year, make them the Nike LunarGlide+ 4 Premium. The trendy treads pack Nike’s ‘Lunarion’ cushioning for a softer, springier ride, and is made from threads that Nike say cradle the foot as you run. The best bit is the ability to pair the shoe with Nike+ and the Nike+ Training app that when combined, help you to get fit, and stay fit.

Adidas Transformer Dumbbells

Working out from home usually means stacks of dumbbells cluttering up your personal space, but not if the Adidas Transformer Dumbbells can help it. What makes these dumbbells so special is the ability to adjust from 3kg to 18.5 kg in 2.5kg increments to adapt to the increasing intensity of your strength training, helping you up your workouts, and save space. You also get a nice stand. 


Reebok Speed Rope

Skipping might be a playground pastime but it also happens to be one of the most efficient, and underrated methods of cardiovascular exercise and increasing ones agility. The Reebok Speed Rope has a 3 metre adjustable rope length and to aid in strengthening your grip, removable 50 gram steel bar to create added weight.

CamelBak 2012 M.U.L.E

The CamelBak 2012 M.U.L.E backpack is the perfect accessory to accompany you on your post-work jog or cycle back home. It has enough room to carry your work documents, and is designed for comfort and convenience. A drinking tube lets connect to a water source within the bag to keep you hydrated.

Swimovate Poolmate Pro


This waterborne watch tracks swimmers training by recording performance, before tracking it for feedback on a Mac or PC. The Swimovate Poolmate Pro will even recognise the type of stroke being performed to accurately track average strokes per lap, speed, distance, calories and efficiency. It might be too late to try for Team GB at the London 2012 Olympics, but if you want to see how you compare with Britain’s best, the Swimovate Poolmate Pro is just what you need. 
 Seen any other fitness gadgets you’d love to suggest to readers? Let us know.

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Ultimate festival gadgets for Summer 2012

 

While the weather may be unpredictable, we know one thing for sure – the summer calendar will be full of exciting festival fun. To help you enjoy them more, we’ve rounded up some of our favourite festival gadgets, so all you need to think about is having a good time. Read on for our picks. 


From a tent that pitches in less than a couple of minutes, to your very own portable shower. These gadgets should cover you for most of those tricky situations any festival-goer is likely to encounter.

Pocket Shower to wash the mud off

If you’re out in the festival sticks for longer than a day you may need this. The Pocket Shower is a compact shower system that fits in your pocket, ready to be deployed when you need it. Its fabric bag heats up when left out in the sun, heating the water for a warm shower. Just hang it from a tree, and twist the showerhead for a refreshing shower. Its 10 litre capacity should be enough to wash away any festival grime. 


Coleman Instant 4 Tourer tent that pitches in a minute


Let’s face it. Tents are a pain in the unmentionables. Not this one. The Coleman Instant 4 Tourer can be pitched in less than a minute. Pre attached steel poles make getting the four person tent up a doddle. It has a built-in groundsheet, windows, and great weather protection, should the weather gods decide to play havoc with your festival plans.

Boostcase to extend your iPhone’s battery life

Even when you’re tucked away in festival land, there’s still no resisting the lure of your smartphone. How else would you tweet and Facebook your friends about the great time you’re having. If you own an iPhone you can make its battery last longer using the Boostcase. It combines a case and a detachable battery sleeve to bring battery power back to life. The Boostcase comes in a range of snazzy colours, too, to match your festival get-up.

Freeloader Pro Solar Charger

The Freeloader Pro Solar Charger is an essential item in any festival arsenal. It uses its solar panel cells to store energy to charge almost any gadget. The Freeloader Pro Solar Charger will charge almost any camera, smartphone, and batteries using the Freeloader Battery Charger Accessory. An indictor on the front even shows how much power is stored at all times. 



Pure Move 2500: rechargeable personal DAB Digital and FM Radio

For those quiet moments in between music performances when you just want to keep the music flowing, the Pure Move 2500 is a rechargeable DAB and digital FM radio with enough battery life to last the duration of your festival fun. The supplied rechargeable ChargePAK M1 provides up to 15 hours of listening on top of its existing battery life. You also get 20 presets for digital and FM stations and in-ear noise-isolating headphones so you don’t disturb anyone in your tent at night.

The above are just some of our favourite festival gadgets. Got any of your own? Share them with us.

www.tell-me-first.com

Top 5 reasons to own Retina Display Apple MacBook Pro

 

Apple this week unveiled a couple of new MacBook Pro laptops fitted with its own Retina Display technology for higher resolution images with even more detail. An improved display isn’t the only reason to fall in love with the new MacBook Pro. Here are five reasons to get excited about Apple’s latest laptop.

From the new Retina Display to its more powerful Ivy Bridge processors, the new Apple MacBook Pro with Retina Display is definitely one of the most advanced laptops around. Here’s a handful of reasons why it’s worth saving up for one.

That Retina Display

Of course we couldn’t ignore that display. The 5.1 million pixel screen spread over 15.4-inches takes the detail on Apple MacBook Pro’s to new heights. A 2880×1800 resolution delivers more detail, while maintaining excellent picture quality and a better viewing angle to cope with bright conditions. One gaze at it is enough to have any gadget fan sprung.

It’s thinner

Apple has somehow managed to cram in all of its latest laptop tech into a device that is actually thinner, and lighter than even the 13-inch model. So while the new Apple MacBook Pro is pretty big in terms of display size, it’s even less likely to give you shoulder ache than the original 13-inch models.

All-flash storage

The new Retina Display MacBook boasts 768GB all-flash storage for better performance. Startup is quicker, and apps launch faster. You’ll notice the difference when using more power intensive apps such as Final Cut Pro. And because there are no moving parts the new MacBook Pro is more durable from knocks.

Retina Display-ready software

With the Retina Display comes Retina Display-compatible apps, each tweaked to look their best on the MacBook Pro’s Retina Display. Whatever you’re using it for, you’re sure to notice the difference from not having a Retina Display.

Faster performance

The new Apple MacBook Pro is powered by the latest quad-core Intel Core i7 Ivy Bridge processor. Thanks to the latest Ivy Bridge technology, you get faster performance without sacrificing on efficiency. And it shows – battery life lasts a very decent 7-hours.

The new Apple MacBook Pro with Retina Display is on sale now. Have you purchased one? Planning to? Let us know in the comments below.

www.tell-me-first.com

Top 5 high-tech toys of the summer 2012

 

Need something to keep you entertained on the weekend? We thought we’d help out by picking out some of the best gadget toys around. From LEGO toys with robotics to fun underwater gizmos James Bond himself would be proud to own. Here’s a list of five high-tech toys we’d love to own.

Apart from the Parrot A.R. Drone (out next month) each of the gadgets are available to buy from stores right now. So what’re you waiting for, check ‘em out.

Parrot A.R. Drone 2.0

You’ll never have as much fun with a smartphone as you will with the Parrot A.R. Drone 2.0. It’s a quadricopter you can control using an iOS or Android smartphone or tablet over an online connection. Motion detecting sensors in your mobile device and the A.R. Drone 2.0 itself means you can steer simply by moving your hands. And it’s piloted its way right to the top of our most-wanted toys list. The Parrot A.R. Drone doesn’t reach the shops till June, but we got hands-on with it at The Gadget Show Live 2012. See what we thought of it at the link below. 



Personalised Superhero Action Figures

Ever wanted to become an action figure? Get yourself a Personalised Superhero Action Figure with your own face, dressed as Batman, Captain America, Ironman, Powergirl, Thor or Wondergirl by snapping two photos of your face and sending them off to be made in your own image. After a bit 3D printing wizardry your toy will be ready to despatch to you in superhero fashion (delivery van). One to impress your friends with. . 



LEGO Mindstorms NXT 2.0 (8547)

As if regular LEGO wasn’t cool enough, this LEGO Mindstorms model, when put together becomes a robot with intelligent touch sensors and customisable motors. The LEGO Mindstorms NXT 2.0 kit has everything you need to make a command-obeying toy cyborg in just 30 minutes..

Bladefish 5000

This underwater propulsion jet will give you eel-like underwater abilities, letting you glide effortlessly under the sea at depths of up to 35 metres, or your local swimming pool (sure to draw weird looks) without any effort. Just hold on, and the Bladefish 5000 does all the work. If it’s good enough for James Bond….

8MP Digital Underwater Camera Mask

And for something to go with your new underwater propulsion jet, this underwater camera mask will shoot video and take clear 8-megapixel images at depths of up to five metres. It’s great for scuba diving, and stores up to 32GB worth of still shots and video. .

Seen any amazing gadget toys you think should be on our list? Share them below.

www.tell-me-first.com

Google Drive: 5 things you need to know!

 

Gone are the days when Dropbox was the definitive choice for our cloud storage solutions. Since then a host of services have launched. Google Drive is the latest. It offers users up 16 terabytes of storage to rival fellow cloud storage services Dropbox and Microsoft SkyDrive. Is Google Drive really any different? Here are 5 things you need to know.

From how much space is on offer to the latest technology powering its features: here are five things worth knowing about the latest cloud storage service on the block. 



Up to 16 terabytes of storage


 Google Drive will offer users up to 16 terabytes of storage for movies, photos, documents and more. The first 5GB are free. Once users upgrade to a paid account their Gmail storage automatically expand to 25GB. Users can upgrade to 100GB, 1TB or 16TB.

Collaborate on and share documents

Google Drive lets users store documents, spreadsheets, drawings and stay organised, also letting users share and work on items simultaneously. Changes to work are saved in real-time so you’ll never lose any saved work no matter how many others are working on the same project.

Optical Character Recognition tech: Scan in documents and search keywords within them

Using Optical Character Recognition (OCR) technology users can upload an image of a newspaper or magazine clipping to Google Drive and be able to search and filter keywords within the article(s).

Google Drive has already made rivals sit up and take notice

Rival service Dropbox now lets non-members access files via links without having to sign up to the service, letting more users use the service with less hassle.

What about iPhones?

Google Drive can be installed to Mac, PC and Android smartphones and tablets letting users access their files wherever they are. A mobile version for Apple iOS devices is in the works, and should be arriving in the coming weeks.

MWC 2012: Top 5 smartphones we love so far! by

 

MWC 2012: Top 5 smartphones we love so far!

The MWC 2012 mobile convention has brought us some cracking smartphone announcements and a first glimpse of the mobile tech we’ll soon be seeing in stores stores. There was so many great smartphones on show, that we couldn’t decide which excited us the most, so here are five of best.

From Asus to Nokia – we’ve picked out five smartphones from five different phone-makers, each offering something different. Take a look. You’re bound to find something you like.

Nokia 808 PureView

The Nokia 808 PureView is by far the most advanced camera phone we’ve ever seen, outgunning its own Nokia N8 as the company’s best camera phone. It uses Nokia’s own PureView technology to produce stunning photos filled with detail even when zoomed in. The Nokia 808 PureView also shoots full HD video with “CD-quality” sound.

Huawei Ascend D quad

Huawei claims that the Ascend D quad is the “world’s fastest” smartphone. It’s able to produce such blistering feats thanks to Huawei’s own K3V2 processor that runs at at 1.5GHz. The Huawei Ascend D quad can also boast a 4.5-inch display, the latest Android 4.0 operating system and some clever graphics processors. Games will look great on this thing. An 8 megapixel camera with full HD recording and Dolby audio technology round-up just a few of the reasons we love already love the Huawei Ascend D quad. Its name is not one of them.

HTC One X

The HTC One X takes our own title as one of the most gorgeous phones of MWC 2012. Underneath the polycarbonate chassis it’s even more impressive. At launch it will have the latest Android 4.0 operating system, a 4.7-inch screen with a Super LCD 2 display, 1.5GHz Tegra 3 processor and 32GB of storage. We’re also talking an 8-megapixel camera with full HD video shooting, and HD video chats.

Sony Xperia U

The Sony’s Xperia may not be the most powerful phone around, but we love the look of this midrange device that’ll soon be available in a range of colours. The Xperia U features a 3.5-inch display, 5-megapixel camera and recordS HD video. It may not come shipped with the latest Android operating system, but that update will come later this year.

Asus Padfone


There’s a lot more to the Asus Padfone than meets the eye. Sure, it’s a trendy looking bit of kit with a 4.3-inch Super AMOLED qHD display, dual core processor, 8-megapixel camera and up to 64GB of memory – but did you know that it can take on the form of a 10.1-inch tablet. It does this by docking into one of the many tablet attachments that you can purchase separately. Some even have a keyboard – letting you transform the Asus Padfone into a laptop.

Top 5 smartphone launches we're excited about

Is the smartphone in your hand starting to look a little dated, a little slow and frankly a little 2011? Well, there are some pretty amazing smartphones set to launch and here we take a look in the crystal ball and predict when we’ll see them on the high-street.

If 2011 was all about the battle between Android versus Apple (expect to see a repeat some time this year as the Apple iPhone 5 rumours kick start again), 2012 is all about size as three of our favourite smartphones for 2012 all turn up sporting an over-sized jacket. Check out our top 5 smartphone launches for 2012 we’re excited about.

LG Prada 3.0
The LG Prada Phone 3.0 itself has a 4.3-inch display, 1GHz dual-coreprocessor, 1GB of RAM and 8GB of internal storage for photos, videos, apps and more. An 8-megapixel rear camera for photos and 1.3-megapixel camera for video calls, and the aforementioned Android operating system round up the features. Delayed from December, expect the Prada 3.0 to hit in February.


BlackBerry Bold 9790
The BlackBerry Bold 9790 will feature the latest BlackBerry 7 operating system, and have a 1GHz processor, which should make for a fast, yet smooth performance. You’ll be able to make the most of the high-resolution 2.45-inch touchscreen display with BlackBerry’s optical trackpad and QWERTY keyboard. Expected to hit in April


Sony Xperia S
The Sony Xperia S looks like it will be one of the must-have devices of 2012. Rocking up with a 4.3-inch screen, something we’ll see a lot of this year, you’ll also feel all David Bailey with its huge 12.1MP camera that gives perfect photos, while the 1.5GHz dual-core processor means this Android smartphone is as fast as it is lean. No official launch date yet but we’re thinking March would be a good launch time.


Nokia Lumia 900
Nokia is making a great deal of noise with its Windows Phone range and while the Nokia Lumia 900 has only been announced for the US to-date, we’re pretty sure the Finns will be bringing it to the UK too. This 4.3-inch monster has the looks and style of the smaller Lumia 800, but you’ll find a front-facing camera and all the extras we’ve come to expect from Nokia, such as great maps, music and camera. Pundits have put this down as a June launch for the big Windows Phone.