The cool gadgets list – March 2018

£199.99, gopro.com

Yey, a new iPad! Ok, maybe it’s not so new, more of a update of the previous model but with a beefier processor, but the big news is that, like the iPad Pro, it now supports Apple Pencil. You will have to fork out an extra £89 for the luxury, but given the new tablet is geared towards education (Apple are even offering a discount to schools), it should help kids scribble notes (or doodles as most of us did on our schoolbooks), and the updated iOS 11 introduces split screen working, drag and drop as well as improved multitasking.

From £319, apple.com/uk/ipad-9.7

Of course, kids being kids rarely appreciate the value of a £319+ tablet, which is why Logitech are quick on the release of the new iPad with the Rugged Combo 2 case.

The detachable keyboard has silent, pry-resistant keys to stop them flinging across the classroom, is spill resistant and has a proprietary connection to stop any budding Steve Jobs using their technical skills to cheat in tests. It also comes with the Logitech Crayon, a (cheaper) alternative to the Apple Pencil.

Logitech Crayon $49.99, Rugged Combo 2 $99.99, logitech.com

Google Assistant is at your command, and multi-room playback comes via Chromecast, but it’s the two 89mm woofers and 20mm tweeters that pump out 96kHz/24-bit audio that should be music to your ears, especially as it’s about £50 cheaper than its nearest rivals.

Available soon, £349.99, JBL.com

£TBA, htc.com/uk

£249.99, steelseries.com

Internet privacy is a pretty hot topic this month. Although it might not be able to keep your Facebook data safe, the InvizBox Go should be able to keep the rest of your internet browsing secure.

When you hook the portable VPN (virtual private network) to your computer or phone, it acts as a secure gateway between your device and the wider world, protecting your identity, browsing history and encrypts your data. Not only that, it blocks adverts, extends your wi-fi, removes geo-blocking and will even charge your device on the go.

From €199, www.invizbox.com

$200, aveine.paris (in French)

Samsung make excellent TVs, but somehow they always have a little trick up their sleeve. In their newest 2018 models, not only have they make them smarter (with voice-assisted control), more discreet (with a near-invisible cable) and more colourful ( thanks to the QLED technology), they have also included an ambient mode, which means that when it is switched off it can either blend into your surroundings or provide useful information like weather forecasts or headlines.

£1,209, www.samsung.com

You’ll struggle to lose these Soundsport wireless headphones from Bose. As well as a neckband and over-ear loops, the Bluetooth in-ears have Tile’s tracking tech built in, so if you do misplace them, just fire up the Tile app on your phone and it’ll give you their last location.

Available late Spring, £149, bose.co.uk

The da Vinci 3D Pen Cool is the new model of the company’s 3D-printing pen. Now, the resulting models aren’t as hot to the touch. It’s one of several new 3D-printing products from the company: there’s also the tiny Nano printer and, for business users, the $4,000 full-colour 3D/inkjet printer AiO.

€69, xyzprinting.com

£400, garmin.com

Want to jazz up your business presentations? Perhaps it’d be worth investing in Samsung Flip, a 55-inch, 4K electronic whiteboard that connects to digital devices either wirelessly or via USB, then lets up to four users write, scribble or draw over the top. The board can be used in either landscape or portrait.

£TBC, samsung.com

£29.99, pawbo.com/uk/pawbo-ipuppygo

Is it a wasp? Is it a bird? No, it’s a microdrone! Uvify Oori fits in the palm of your hand, but can roar along at speeds of over 80km/h (50mph). Its front-mounted camera streams first-person footage back to the full colour screen on the bundled handheld controller, or to any compatible pair of video goggles.

$389, uvify.com

$200, coros.com

£170, razer.com

Price TBC, blipblox.com

Want to improve your performance on the green? TaylorMade’s new putter has a built-in Blast Motion golf sensor that will track backstroke velocity, impact stroke speed and face rotation, then relay the info to an app so you can monitor your game.

$400, taylormadegolf.eu

You might have caved under pressure and bought your kid a new phone, but how can you be sure they aren’t seeing anything that would send them straight to the naughty step? ThePhoneCloud is a service that alerts parents whenever any profanity and sexual images come through, and filters it out from innocent eyes. Aimed for children between 8 and 12, the service has just launched a smartphone with ThePhoneCloud baked in from the very beginning, which also lets parents filter apps, block access to certain websites and limit screen time.

£199.99 for the handset + £5 per month for ThePhoneCloud subscription, thephonecloud.com

21

QuietOn Sleep

Sometimes earplugs aren’t enough – if you’ve ever been kept awake at night by the drone of snoring from your other half or the ambient noise of the world going on outside your window, you’ll know what we mean. QuietOn Sleep are noise-cancelling earphones specially designed to help block out the specific frequencies that are common when you sleep, and are small and comfortable enough to not irritate if you’re sleeping on your side.

From $149, www.indiegogo.com

We have loads more gadget news in the Innovations section of BBC Focus magazine, where we look for even more novel and unusual tech that could change the world we live in – find out what is in the current issue here.

 

---

Follow Science Focus on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Flipboard