We're back again with the third iteration of this repeating bounty on Just About Tech, where we want to hear all about your favourite new gadget purchased within the last month.
No matter what type of gadget it is, as long as it falls into the broad category of tech, we want to hear about it. The only requirement is that you must have hands-on experience with it! Tell us why you like it, why you'd recommend it, and what inspired you to buy it. Treat it like a mini review!
Written and video submissions are both accepted, and we'd love it if you included a picture in any written entries. Six entries can earn $3 each.
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I recently decided to take up photography so I decided to get myself a camera I got myself a digital mini bridge camera to start off with a camera with a fixed lens but even though it has been a decent camera so far for my skill level
The canon powershot SX420 has a 42x optical zoom and further 84x zoom with great quality zoom plus, it has been good for taking those close up pictures and one that needed a zoom a good all round camera that's great for beginners I believe. It also has an auto focus which makes things a lot easier to use so you just need to point and shoot to get pictures without changing any settings.
Finally gave in and bought an RTX 4070 last month. Ever since the FFXIV Benchmark came out, I kept running it and I could hear my old GPU's fans go up to max, just by launching the game, so clearly on the graphic settings I need for the nice quality recordings it was struggling. Didn't want to do a full PC upgrade as I definitely don't have that kind of money, so went with what felt like the weak spot and upgraded the GPU. From the many different ones available I went for Asus as their components never disappointed me. And oh boy...
No matter what I run so far, the fans are dead quiet and can't feel that radiating heat from the PC anymore. Finally for the first time since swapping to a 2k monitor I can run my game on max graphic settings without sacrificing performance. I'm tempted to try a stream from my PC just to see how it would cope with my old Ryzen5 3600, but most likely I'll still stick to having the laptop to handle that in the dual PC setup. At least I can have OBS running for quick, unplanned recordings and don't have to pause everything just to get the laptop up to record stuff with the capture card.
Good choice, I had exactly the same decision to make. I felt it would be better to get a GPU that would be able to play anything I threw at it for the next 5 years or so than get a new mobo and CPU but be bottlenecked by the GPU.
I went for the Rog STRIX 4070 Though, it's super quiet like you said.
The Miyoo Mini Plus is a handheld emulator built and manufactured in China. I purchased mine a few months ago to play the old Pokemon games on the move. I wasn't expecting much for the price (£40) but believe me when I say this, it's an amazing little piece of tech. It can play thousands of games over multiple platforms from Atari to PS1 on it's impressive LED screen.
Decent battery life (7 hours)
Small compact size that fits in most pockets
Triggers on the back for PS games
Decent speakers with a 3.5 input for headphones
It comes pre installed with a stock OS on a cheap SD card, it's highly recommended, actually CRUCIAL that you replace this with a new one and an OS called Onion. The stock card and OS are prone to crashing and losing data.
There's a few different colours and a few different models, there's apparently a flip version in the works that looks similar to the Advance SP.
If you're a fan of old retro games and want something to bring on holiday/commutes I would pick one up. They're so good for the price and you aslong as you can find a ROM for it, you can put any game you want on it (provided the mini can play that platform)
If you live in the UK I would order from hereyou can find them on Amazon but for a marked up price.
This is an incredibly recent purchase, just 2 days ago and man has it been a neat piece of accessory.
The watch itself is a perfect "Jack of all trades" where it combines the sleek elegance of it, with the customizability and practicality.
I'm a very "on-the-go" person, and I'm never idling about in one spot, and having another extension of my phone directly accessible 23/7 (1h charging) on my wrist is a lifesaver. The battery on it lasts an 2 days (I don't quite know where the reviews on low battery life is coming from) where a 9% charge lasted me 2 hours whilst sweating it out in a Badminton tournament. Not to mention how it only takes an hour tops to recharge it after an entire day of use
The technology in these little things have far surpassed my old Active 2 as well - an inbuilt ECG scanner, full body analysis for fat and skeletal muscle... it's all in there, in a small compact size.
There are a few shortcomings, such as the horrendous microphone quality on there, which makes using Bixby or typing with voice strenuously hard, or the "readout feature" after a workout where it'll exclaim your workout results out loud (Which did get me into an embarrassing situation in the Badminton bathrooms once)
All in all, it's a great little watch for anyone to get - I got mine for a real low price of only 165 USD, and it came with a 62 USD gift card as well!
The DJI Mini 3 is by far the best gadget I've bought in a long time. It was more a spur of the moment purchase, though I have had a little bit of experience prior with a cheap hotspot based drone. but it didn't have the range and often went awol just a few feet up.
So I decided it was time for an upgrade and after registering, I decided on the DJI Mini 3. On the box, it boasts a 10km range but in terms of practicality it's going to be more like 4-5 if you want to bring it back safely. Which honestly is MORE than enough for most situations anyway.
The only major downside I've found to this drone, is that it it can't record in d-log or d-cinelike, which could be a deal breaker if you're a professional. I think if at the very least, it could record in d-cinelike it would make it far more attractive to professionals on a budget. I'm not sure if this is a hardware limitation or a marketing choice.
Another minor quibble, is that the screen on the controller is not very good in bright lighting conditions and it can be difficult to see, even at max brightness. But it more than makes up for it with the battery life, at 38 minutes!
Even without the capability to record in d-log and d-cinelike, this drone still excels at taking some incredible still pictures, which look even better if you pair it with some good ND filters.
Edited in Lightroom
As for video quality? It can record in 4K at 30fps, which is honestly all you need. Though you can also change things like exposure, shutter speed and other settings to get the most out of the drone's capabilities.
I've uploaded some footage taken with the Mini 3 to a new Youtube channel (literally within the last couple of days) I made so I can share my videos. With some colour grading applied, the videos look stunning from such a relatively affordable drone. So if you'd like to check those out, feel free to have a peek.
I wanted one, but dang, they are now so regulated in the EU! You need a license to operate one if it's over 250g, you can't use it in cities, and some nature parks..., the only way is to DIY one from Chinese illegal parts, so police can't track you down ;)
Actually there's legal loopholes around it. You could for example, join a drone club which has agreements with your aviation authority. That then covers insurance and competency and may offer additional benefits which lets you fly it in more build-up areas with much fewer restrictions with regards to distance to people and flying over properties. It might even include additional licensing at no extra cost, or significantly reduced cost and a streamlined process.
Basic registration is stupid easy though, it's an online test that's basically common sense multiple choice questions.
Generally I prefer flying in remote areas anyway, less chances of drone Karens and drawing unwanted attention to myself. Though I definitely agree, the drone laws are still really strict even if your drone is under 250g like this one.
The main one I have a lot of issue with is VLOS, which is nearly impossible to follow to the letter. You loose sight of them fairly easily and in most cases, it's just not practical. Especially when flying in the wilderness where the risk is negligible. As A general rule of thumb, I just make sure I can see the area above, below and around where I know the drone is and check & listen for hazards and don't put myself into a situation where safety would be a concern. TLDR don't do anything stupid and you're not gonna get knocks at the door.
I recently got an Amazon Kindle paperweight because I love reading books. I had the Amazon Kindle unlimited app already downloaded onto my phone and I was currently reading books just using my phone screen and I didn’t realise how much that was stopping me when it came to sleep at night, so now I’ve upgraded to the Kindle and I am upset today. I love the fact that I don’t have to charge it all the time it stays alive forever, it doesn’t feel like you’re reading an office screen. It genuinely feels like you’re reading a book. I think it’s amazing and everyone needs to invest in one.
This a my new cheap headphone. name Gamen GH 1600 it just 9,83 you got 50mm sound device unit, powerful effects, quality, compherensive and clear sound, clearer game sound like in the game, 360 omnidirectional mic that can be bent freely, smooth communication with team mates.
RGB light effect for a cool appearance, noise reduction control design closed earmuffs can effectively isolate noise. I was like this very recommended for low budget gaming
It's a charger, a light and a Bluetooth speaker for my iPhone 14. The sound quality is actually pretty decent, it's reactive when music is playing and it's a cool nightlight that my 8-month-old loves and makes him feel safe.
It was super cheap as I got it second hand from a friend who didn't want it, I think it's called a EC- something, he did tell me :P
