We are well and truly swimming in the sea of 2016 now, with over two weeks completed already and while some of you may have already had your birthdays (sorry), some are yet to have theirs and if you are into your gadgets, you may be looking out already for the things you want on your list. CES (Consumer Electronics Show) in Vegas is over, we saw some great VR (Virtual Reality) devices, RC (Remote Control) products and some other quirky gadgets released. MWC (Mobile World Congress) is nearly here; scheduled for the end of February, we’ll see some new smartphones, smartwatches, wearable and some cool accessories.
This list is based on the stuff we have seen already, stuff we know about (insider) and the ones we are expecting to see, so if your birthday is coming later on in the year, you are in luck.
Photography:
If you’re into photography, whether just for fun and sharing on social media platforms like Instagram and Facebook or you are embarking on joining the generation of vloggers on YouTube, there are some new tools available to help you change your photography game, and turn it up a notch.
Nikon have their latest flagship Nikon D5 coming in March, and is set to cost around £5,200. Very expensive, but for that price you get a camera with a native ISO ranging between 100 and 102, 400, high-sensitivity between 3200 and 12,800; it’s definitely one for low light photography. It comes with the all-new 153-point AF (Auto Focus) system, capable of shooting 4K UHD videos and a 20.8-megapixel CMOS sensor. It’s definitely a camera to die for.
Don’t worry, if you want something less expensive and professional, perhaps just a compact camera to take on holiday and of course, when not on holiday too, then you can keep an eye out for the Panasonic Lumix TZ100. Set to be available in March also, you can get hold of yours for around £529 which is cheaper than what you’d get from Sony or Canon in comparison. It comes packed with a 1 inch sensor which is of course tried and tested to be a really good thing for capturing light accurately on the RX100 series from Sony and for those lazy moments, you can zoom up to 10X using it’s optical zoom capability.
If you’re all about capturing action footage riding jet skis, jumping our of planes or heading out for a ski trip, you can also look forward to the new Sony HDR-AS50R actioncam. It’s compact, light and will cost around $350 in the US and will be available next month. It features an advanced steady shot for a less jittery footage, Ziess Tessar lens and 11.1 megapixel back-illuminated CMOS sensor, recording FHD videos up to 120fps and 8 megapixel still images. You can expect sharp, crispy images or videos from your adventures.
Drones:
This year is set to be the biggest yet for drone manufacturers and even with all the new laws and concerns in place for their use in public places, it should still be on your list this year. Also check out the things you need to consider before splashing the cash.
Consumer drone pioneer DJI are back this year with the new Phantom 3 4K. This is their first ever drone to be able to capture 4K UHD videos without spending too much. It uses Wifi fro video transmission and will cover you for up to 1.2km, whilst flying for around 25 minutes on full charge.
It will be available at some point this year, with no set dates but, if you don’t want to wait for this one, there’s also the award winning Lily camera drone; it’s deemed to be your own camera man as it has the capability of following you around as you concentrate your action packed adventure. The Lily camera drone can record 1080 HD videos at 60fps, it’s waterproof and you can grab one now for February delivery.
If you have the patience, we were also impressed with Parrot’s new drone, the Parrot Disco, set to be available at some point this year also and no confirmed price yet.
Parrot demoed the prototype at CES in Las Vegas earlier this month. It features and impressive battery life of 45 minutes, that’s more than DJI drones and can go as fast as 50mph, so do be careful flying this in a congested area.
Smartphones:
Still holding out on a new smartphone or due to upgrade soon? There are some new smartphones to look forward to. Samsung already impressed us with the Galaxy S6, S6 edge, S6 edge plus, Google introduced the Nexus 6P with pure android experience, USB Type C port and a brilliant camera that blows the iPhone’s camera out of the water in low light and this year we are set to see the release of a new Samsung Galaxy S7 with its edge counterparts, new devices from Sony, HTC, LG and Huawei.
Besides the camera performance, what you should be excited about is how powerful the processors will be, with Samsung’s Exynos impressing last year, wireless charging, more USB Type C connectivity and more. Stay tuned for all the releases during the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona later next month.
Wearable Tech:
While it’s very easy to confuse a wearable tech with health and fitness trackers, I still believe they are two separate things. People often find that one does one function better than the other, for example buying an Android Wear smart watch won’t offer the same value as going all out and buying a Fitbit or Microsoft Band. Having said that, just like drones, wearable tech will continue to dominate this year with eMarketer predicting that we will have over 81.7 million adults using wearables by 2018. If you want to join the team wearable tech, this is a good time to get on board as they have now been tried and tested. With so many of them on the market today, you’ll have to dig deep and have a think about what you’d like to achieve.
Looking for a smartwatch? Then the Huawei Smartwatch is one to be added to your list. It offers a long battery life, it’s sexy and comes in variety of colours. It uses Android Wear OS, so you will be able to speak to your watch, say a few commands to stay productive on the move.
With Google now integrated, you can easily ask about the weather, reply to messages and more. It comes with Google Fit application so you can still monitor your steps, HR and did I forget to mention you can change watch faces to suit your mood and receive notifications directly on your wrist? It’s also compatible with iOS, although you don’t get the full Android Wear experience, so if you are very much into iOS, then the Apple Watch would be the alternative route. As the year goes by, we hope to see the price of the current Apple Watch drop in anticipation for the second generation.
Health and Fitness
As mentioned in the wearable tech recommendations, if you are looking for a gift idea for the health and fitness fanatics or you’re one yourself, you need to go with something more dedicated and not something that’s trying to do everything. There’re few trackers out there, playing jack of all trades.
The best one on the market right now is the Microsoft band 2. Microsoft took on board all the feedback from the first version and released a better version in terms of design. It now offers better comfort, especially if it’s to be worn as much as possible. It has the most amount of trackers or sensors when compared to the likes of Fitbit surge or other Fitbit trackers.
You have an accurate HR monitor, Barometer, UV sensor, monitors sleep cycle and can even measure elevation. What I really like about the Band 2, is the coaching feature – it’s able to help you become a better athlete. If you are a golfer, it has a golf mode, able to measure your swing and help you become better over time. The Band 2 is currently available for around £200 on amazon or via Microsoft directly.
Getting around:
You’re probably expecting a recommendation along the lines of a hoverboard and due to how popular they are, that’s fine, but what if we showed you a better one? If you’re into skating, wake boarding or snowboarding, you can have that experience everyday on an electric skateboard called Boosted boards. It powered by electric motors and with a control trigger in hand, you will be on your way in no time.
Depending on which version you go for, you can expect speeds of up to 22mph and over up to 8 miles travel range. The bad news however is that they are quite pricey, with price starting at $900. Whether you want to ride it for fun or for commuting, I’m yet to see someone who purchased it with regrets, so get it on your list.
Accessories:
You can get accessories for just about anything these days, however the accessory that really stands out to me this year so far is the new kit from Olloclip. Having used their lenses for a while for the iPhone 6S plus, this one looks very interesting and well thought out in terms of functionality. The Olloclip Studio is a great kit for those who wants to step up their iPhoneongraphy game and filming on your iPhone 6s or 6s Plus. It’s a combination of an all-new, more protective case design that incorporates an integrated rail mounting solution and some photography accessories.
In the package you get a Finger Grip, 1/4-20 clips to attach a tripod, grip or handles. Includes mounts for both landscape and portrait orientation, cold-shoe adapters to attach lightweight accessories, like a microphone or light, in a snap and a kickstand for watching a movie or reading your favourite book or blog.
