Gimme Five! Wireless speakers

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Selection of five wireless speakers

Christmas must be approaching – some definite present hints have been heard recently! Justin’s mentioned wireless speakers 3 times in the last week. Not exactly shoe-horning it into any random subject, but the moment music or bands are mentioned, up the subject pops.

It would be great actually, to have a premium music streaming service like Spotify working in conjunction with wireless speakers dotted around the house. No more wires or CD cases cluttering up rooms. We’ll keep hold of our vinyl collection, but we’d love to move into the 21st century with a wireless system too. Perhaps his dreams will come true – here are some favourite wireless speakers for various budgets that we’ve identified as possible buys.

  1. Minx Air 200 wireless music system with Airplay, Bluetooth & internet radio (black): £299.95, Amazon
  2. Bose SoundTouch 10 wireless multi-room speaker: £169.95, PC World
  3. Sonos PLAY:1: £169, Sonos
  4. LG Music Flow P7 portable Bluetooth speaker with leather carrying case, oak: £149.95, John Lewis
  5. Spotify multiroom speaker: £129.99, Philips

Gimme Five! Tech fashion accessories

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Selection of five tech fashion accessories

London Fashion Week is upon us again and it got me thinking about tech fashion accessories, or ‘wearable tech’. One of the first episodes of Tomorrow’s World which aired in 1965 included ‘Tomorrow’s Girl’. She can be seen modelling synthetic clothes made of plastic and paper which she accessorised with a pair of earrings that doubled as transistor radios!

  1. UP MOVE™: £39.99, Jawbone
    Get fit, lose weight and have fun doing it. Put it on and wear it anywhere. And with an LED display and Smart Coach to guide you, the UP MOVE™ tracker doesn’t just count your steps and track your sleep – it gets you over the hump and moving on your path to a better you. With Activity Tracking, Sleep Tracking, Food Logging and Smart Coach.
  2. Marylebone Tech tote: £895, Aspinal of London
    The first luxury tote specifically and cleverly designed to carry an integral mobile phone and iPad battery charger pack for use with all your mobile devices. Boasting extra internal pockets with cable paths to carry your phone & tablet devices, the tech charger pack gives you the freedom to recharge your tech gadgets on the go in style.
  3. PEBBLE Steel smart watch: £133.30, PC World
    The Pebble Steel Smart Watch works with both Android and iOS smartphones and gives you instant access to text messages, emails and more, directly on your wrist. You can even control and search for music right from your wrist – perfect for sports or travel. It connects via Bluetooth, so is compatible with most current smartphones and gives you the freedom to leave your phone in your bag or pocket without missing out on important information.
  4. Dive Bar, tourmalated quartz by Ringly: $195, FAB
    Ringly connects to your phone so you can receive subtle notifications about what’s important. Through the Ringly app, you can set custom colour and vibration patterns for different types of notifications. The accompanying ring box also acts as a charging station.
  5. Unpocket: £26, 1984
    The police-grade stealth fabrics on the inside physically block all RFID, GPS, WiFi and Cell signals. UnPocket makes you unhackable and untrackable and allows you to drop off the global surveillance grid and become invisible to Big Brother #GoDark.

Gifts for… Techies

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Selection of Christmas presents for techies

I’m a self-confessed gadget freak. If money was no object, the latest MacBook and iPhone would arrive by courier with each new release. No basic models for me either, I love all the bells & whistles!

Justin is much less of a computer geek, but he does love his hi-fi gear; he’s a vinyl junkie and Spotify addict. A quality music system, wifi speakers and pair of wireless headphones to match would make him a very happy bunny on Christmas Day.

Gifts for techies don’t have to look geeky. I love the USB stick masquerading as a Chanel lipstick (#2) and the ‘rubber duck’ wireless speaker for the bath (#6) tickles me!

The one item I’d be most happy to find under the Christmas tree this year though, is the Xperia™ Z2 Tablet (#1). It’s completely waterproof so I’d be able to use it in the bath to read, surf the net or watch the latest Scandi Noir offering!

  1. Xperia™ Z2 Tablet: from £369, Sony
  2. Chanel lipstick USB / flash drive: £67.13, Etsy
  3. Native Union Pop Phone soft touch retro handset – red: £9.99, Amazon
  4. Beats by Dre portable Bluetooth® Pill speaker, Nicki Minaj pink: £169.99, Selfridges
  5. Beats by Dre Pill speaker stand: £39.99, Selfridges
  6. iDuck wireless speaker: £21.95, Prezzybox
  7. Pebble smartwatch: £99.99, Currys
  8. Lomo’Instant Sanremo + 3 lenses: £129, Lomography
  9. Bose® SoundLink® around-ear Bluetooth® headphones: £199.95, Bose
  10. Slate essential lapdesk: £64.03, Etsy