your ultimate christmas gift GUIDE! DRONES YOU CAN CONTROL WITH YOUR PHONE
COFFEE MACHINES FOR BOXING DAY
NEW MULTI-ROOM SPEAKERS
SMART TVS FOR XMAS VIEWING
the best
TOP COMPACT CAMERAS
STREAM THE BEST Festive MOVIES
STUNNING NEW HEADPHONES
For christmas 230 HANDPICKED GADGETS FOR YOU!
issue 250 december 2015
FITNESS TRACKERS
Vr headsets
COOL SMARTWATCHES
TOYS FOR THE FAMILY
PRINTED IN THE UK £4.99
iPAD PRO TESTED
EXCLUSIVE! the FIRST REVIEW OF APPLE’S laptop-slaying MONSTER TABLET
PLUS! CYCLE SMARTER / ULTra HD HOME CINEMA / brew CRAFT beer!
issue 250 / December 2015
Contents
Features 048
Gadget Guru This month, our resident tech expert is full of goodwill to all men, and selflessly dispenses his pearls of wisdom, including fashion advice and cookery tips. You have been warned
enda 053 Ag
Seven wonders of technology that’ll give you an appetite for adventure, including a high-tech cycle helmet that can send SOS alerts, two new action cameras and a super-warm surfing wetsuit
102
game of drones Want to shoot spectacular aerial footage? Well, the sky really is the limit now. We put three super-drones in a dogfight to battle it out for supremacy
114 M an Vs Tech
T3’s Editor attempts to organise a piss-up in a brewery – or, to be more precise, to create our very own craft pale ale in an independent microbrewery full of extremely expensive equipment. What could possibly go wrong?
063
102
C ATEGORIES 064 070 076 080 086
gifts for him gifts for her gifts for dad gifts for mum gifts for kids & teens
092 g ifts for £50 and under 096 t 3’s top ten gifts for 2015
SAVE 62%
Exclusive T3 subscription offer – p100
114
To subscribe to T3, point your browser at myfavouritemagazines.co.uk or turn to p100. The next issue of T3 goes on sale 22 Dec
M ore grea t content a t the a ll-ne w w w w.t3.co m
d e c e m b e r 2 0 1 5 T3 1 9
issue 250 / December 2015
Contents 022
Win!
122
Preview
apple iPAD PRO
The latest gadgets you can buy, including Nokia’s Lumia 950 smartphone, the Triumph Bonneville (yes, as in motorbike) and the, er, rather unusual Samsung Serif TV
This is no tablet toy – it’s billed as Apple’s most powerful iPad to date, and is designed for business use. We subject it to rigorous testing to find out if it’s up to the job
042
128
we can build you... Turn your home into an entertainment hub that’s the envy of your mates, with our guide to the best tech for setting up an affordable home cinema. Just add popcorn and Christmas films…
super six Fed up with the sound of voices or wail of sirens interfering with your listening pleasure? Enjoy your tunes in peace with a pair of noise-cancelling headphones. We’ve chosen six of the best right here
130
046
our gadgets
No matter what you think about technology, our resident expert Duncan Bell will probably have a completely different and unique point of view on the matter
Every issue, the T3 team test a selection of top tech and tell you what it’s really like to live with. This month, a VR headset, and our Ed indulges his ears with AKG’s flagship N90Q LE headphones
opinion
022
a SPHERO BB-8 STAR WARS DROID p144
145 introducing the best buyer’s guide known to man
From thermostats to tablets, and camera to cars, our selection of the very best tells you what to buy Plus! T3’s £100 Hotlist
136
games We’ll tell you exactly what you should be playing right now
141 apps
Choice selections from the worlds of Android and iOS for smartphones and tablets
042
136
128
Essentials 013 015 100 142 144 162
2 0 T3 d e c e m b e r 2 0 1 5
Gamechanger welcome Subscriptions Next issue Competition Money No Object M ore grea t content a t the a ll-ne w w w w.t3.co m
we can build you…
A kick-ass home theatre
Kit yourself out for the ultimate armchair experience. House re-mortgage not necessary the reader
t h e e x pe rt
Daisy Lucas
Dave James
Daisy wants a bigscreen experience in the comfort of her home, so we’ve put together a set-up that’s not crazy-expensive but has the sound quality to bring any movie to life
Audio and TV guru Dave has been obsessed with tech since he could crawl. Whether it’s the latest 4K TV or high-res audio soundbar, Dave’s usually got something to say about it.
0 1
0 4
Philips 55PUT6400
A projector isn’t your only option for that home cinema experience: there are big-screen TVs coming out at great price points. And if you want to start down the road to 4K, Philips’ 55in Ultra HD smart TV is a great alternative to a Full HD beamer. The image is excellent and the Android TV OS gives you access to a great range of 4K content. £749, www.philips.co.uk
0 2Arcam Solo bar PLUS Image isn’t everything, especially in cinema. Weak-heart TV or projector speakers might be fine for catching up on EastEnders, but for that proper movie experience you’ll need something measurably more powerful. That’s where Arcam’s Solo Bar Plus comes in, offering audiophile-quality sound using components from its seriously high-end A/V receivers. £650, www.arcam.co.uk
0 3Nvidia SHIELD
Blu-ray is great for those with the film libraries to match, but a good streaming device will give you so much more immediate access – and Nvidia’s SHIELD box is the best media streamer around. Its Android TV interface OS could do with a little more finesse (and app support) from Google, but that will likely come in time. That doesn’t stop it from being able to run pretty much every audio and video codec in existence, though, and give you all the streaming sources you could wish for. £149, www.nvidia.co.uk
4 0 T3 d e c e m b e r 2 0 1 5
BenQ W1070+
4K might be the future, but right now in projector-land 1080p is where it’s at. You won’t get much change from £6,000 if you go Ultra HD, but for a tenth of the price this excellent Full HD BenQ beamer can generate a top-notch picture. The image quality is impressive, with great colours and deep blacks. It also comes in a compact chassis and doesn’t sound like an over-active air-conditioning unit either. Bonus! £599, www.benq.com
A projector can really bring the cinema home… and doesn’t have to cost a fortune DAVE JAMES
No trailing cables While it might seem a predominantly visual medium, the audio experience is vital to give that cinematic feel to a movie. Spending smartly on your audio system doesn’t mean trailing cables around for a 5.1 surround set-up – a good-quality soundbar like the Arcam will still deliver
100-inch 05Homegear projector screen
If you’ve got the perfect wall for projecting on, good for you, but for most people a projector screen is a worthy investment. This Homegear option has a great price, comes in a large format and is motorised, too, enabling it to stay mostly out of sight when not in use. Its surface will also make the most of the BenQ projector’s picture. £75, www.amazon.co.uk
0 6Panasonic DMP-BDT270 Audio is important, so Blu-ray can be the best way to experience movies. Studios are able to fit more audio data onto a Blu-ray, and that will mix beautifully with the Arcam Solo Bar Plus. This is a good-value player, but it still comes with 4K upscaling if you do end up plugging it into an Ultra HD display. Right now, though, it will flood your screen with immaculate, pin-sharp images from any source. £99, www.panasonic.com
Ready for the revolution The SHIELD is the most powerful media streamer around. On top of that, it’s ready for the 4K revolution, with native 60Hz Ultra HD support from the outset M ore grea t content a t the a ll-ne w w w w.t3.co m
Hype we can build you…
Bright lights
Space-saver
One of the historic issues with home projectors is the brightness of the image, even with a good beamer like the BenQ here. But the reflective surface of a dedicated projector screen will help the picture if the ambient light isn’t perfect, and add clarity, too
Not everyone has the space for a 100-inch projector screen in their living room, but this Philips screen is the best-value 55-inch Ultra HD smart TV around. You won’t find bigger for this kind of money
Big-screen beamer A good-quality projector will deliver an excellent home cinema experience, especially given the size-tocost ratios compared with TV technology. And given most content is still running at 1080p, opting for a Full HD model isn’t just a cost-saving measure
Smart and physical Physical media is still alive and kicking, but this Panasonic Blu-ray also packs the smarts to deliver streamed media, via Amazon Instant and Netflix, as well as other catch-up services
M ore grea t content a t the a ll-ne w w w w.t3.co m
d e c e m b e r 2 0 1 5 T3 4 1
talking tech
OPINION
Duncan Bell is getting old …Although not as old as the people at the recent launch of a new streaming service
I
4 4 T3 d e c e m b e r 2 0 1 5
the problem with that is you suddenly find yourself talking like a high-court judge. “Who are ‘The Beatles’?” “What is ‘a YouTube celebrity’?” “Why must all these young people attach rows of cartoon faces and a short, animated film to all of their emails?” That sort of thing.
Better in my day… It’s a fact that a lot of tech is made by, and for, either young people or slightly not-so-young people desperately trying to appear young. That hasn’t stopped the rise of ‘silver surfers’, of course. The fact that the over 50s and 60s have embraced tech is probably down to two things. One is that tech now (unlike five or so years ago) is sufficiently reliable that it can be more or less trusted to, hey, ‘just work’. The other is that the kids of those people can serve as IT support when they do go wrong. “Hi Mum, have you
Sparkles had totally generation-gapped me, with his super-modern way of making a living tried manually setting the subnet mask on the DHCP server? Thought not.” I also went to a launch this month of a product that I think you could say was aimed at old people. Oldies and those who are clueless about tech, anyway. It was essentially a Spotify rival, and had all the trappings of a Spotify rival: millions of tunes, a regular subscription, curated playlists. The key difference was that it was called Electric Jukebox – they might as well have called it Fab Gear Rockola Box
for Dads – and it literally came in a box. Oh, and the playlists were compiled by Stephen Fry and Robbie Williams, rather than anyone called ‘Zane’. It was aimed at people who find using a mobile phone to play music too confusing. So you just plug your Electric Jukebox into the back of your telly, choose tunes from the on-screen menu and settle back to enjoy the sounds of Emerson, Lake & Palmer, or whoever, through your telly speakers. Another difference here was that, where many tech products launch somewhere cutting edge and full of young people, this launched at BAFTA’s fusty HQ on Piccadilly, and was presented via an interminable chat between a bunch of music biz ‘legends’, and Alexander Armstrong off the telly. As these old codgers waxed lyrical about the joys of communal listening, the crackle of vinyl, silently enjoying Crosby, Stills & Nash around the frontroom record player, I thought, “You’re not so much launching a product as trying to recapture your own youth. Times have changed. Nobody needs a ‘jukebox’. Get with it, Daddio.” I did think, maybe, there’s a market for this in people who are genuinely scared by technology, to the point where they think playing Spotify through a speaker is really hard and need a totally simple means to do it. Maybe. However, what I mainly thought was, “But I don’t know any people like that. Hallelujah! I’m not that old.”
M ore grea t content a t the a ll-ne w w w w.t3.co m
Illustration: Ciara Phelan
recently met a guy called Sparkles. It wasn’t his real name, but he was – and is – a YouTube celebrity. I had to confess that, as I’m over 40, he was going to have to explain what he did very slowly, using short words. Actually, this turned out to be quite straightforward, as what he does is play games and put the videos online. You’ve probably, maybe, heard of PewDiePie? Well, this guy is like a UK version of him. (Why do all these YouTube gaming-celeb blokes have such weirdly cutesey, childish names? I don’t know.) Anyway, he was a lovely chap. We talked for a bit about VR (he found that it gave him nausea and headaches, so he persisted with it, and now the nausea and headaches have receded – that’s dedication), and then he went off in search of a club where they played “hard dance”, whatever that is. At this point, I became extremely concerned that I might be old. Sparkles – who will accept your own gaming videos on his site, by the way, but it must be “only CRAZY footage” – had comprehensively generation-gapped me with his super-modern way of making a living. The fact that he was utterly charming as opposed to bratty and obnoxious made it worse, too. He was explaining it to me like I was a teacher, or a friend’s dad. The thing about tech is that, as it just keeps on coming out, iteratively changing, if you work in or write about the subject, you always feel pretty damn up-to-date and cutting edge. I can tell people at parties all about wearables and VR and most other techy areas, until their eyes start to glaze over and they start muttering something about needing to go and find a bottle opener. But you can’t watch everything, and whole swathes of online social interaction have become massive without me even noticing. And
gift guide 2015
2015 has been a stellar year for tech, with lots of gorgeous gadgets to tempt you this Christmas. Here we round up the very best techie treats in town so that you know what to ask for - and buy. Flip the page and start making a list! words: claire davies, PAUL DIMERY, CRAIG STEWART, GARRICK WEBSTER | photography: joseph branston, neil godwin, simon lees | illustration: vault49
M ore grea t content a t the a ll-ne w w w w.t3.co m
d e c e m b e r 2 0 1 5 T3 6 3
for him From wearables to audio, smartphones to computing, here’s the hot tech that Santa expects you to be putting on your wish list this Christmas…
1 Devialet Silver Phantom Weighing in at 12kg, this must-have speaker pumps out 3,000 watts and goes up to 105dB. You can literally feel the ultra-dense sound as its lateral domes thrust the beat out into the air. Don’t know what that means? Just listen and enjoy! £1,690, en.devialet.com
2 Sage By Heston Blumenthal The Barista Express Imagine if Mr Blumenthal were there to make you coffee on Christmas morning, wiping away the previous evening’s excesses. Well, his deluxe coffee machine is the next best thing. £549.95, johnlewis.com
1
2
3 Google Nexus 6P The P is for ‘premium’, and Google has dialled up the ante with a smartphone that looks elegant but feels functional in your palm, with its 5.7-inch high-res screen and front-facing stereo speakers. 3
£449 with 32GB, store.google.com
4 Nixon Ranger Stormtrooper 4
Star Wars Stormtrooper armour inspired this retro sci-fi timepiece. It’s got a stainless-steel wristband coated in Cerakote, and Star Wars artwork on the back. £280, nixon.com
6 4 T3 d e c e m b e r 2 0 1 5
M ore grea t content a t the a ll-ne w w w w.t3.co m
AKG N90Q
MSI GS40 6QE Phantom This ultra-thin 14-inch gaming laptop feels light but offers thunderous performance with 4K output abilities, via a sixth-gen Intel Core 7i processor and a NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970M graphics chipset.
Looking gorgeous in gold and black, these cones produce the kind of warm sound you need in midDecember. You won’t even need to fiddle with the EQ and calibration features – just unwrap and listen. £1,300, uk.akg.com
£1,323, overclockers.co.uk
Sony PlayStation 4 (1TB) The top games console on the market today comes with Metal Gear Solid V, Bloodborne, PES Soccer and more. Sleek and powerful, it has Blu-ray, a great interface and Sony’s best controller yet, the DualShock 4. £349, playstation.com
Sony Cyber-shot RX1R II Capture those Christmas memories in super-high res with Sony’s new RX1R II camera. It’s got a tiny frame, captures mind-blowingly huge images, and has a fixed 35mm F2 Zeiss Sonnar T* lens. £2,600, sony.com
KNOMO Bude Backpack
Philips Series 7000 S7370/12
Smarter Coffee Machine
This lightweight bag is made from treated cotton and has a compartment to keep your laptop protected.
Suffer from redness/irritation when shaving? The Series 7000 boasts three DynamicFlex heads to offer a super-smooth cut.
This machine can be controlled via your phone. Set it up to grind your beans and brew up a cup for everyone on Boxing morning.
£250, philips.co.uk
£179.99, smarter.am
£129, knomobags. com/uk
M ore grea t content a t the a ll-ne w w w w.t3.co m
Samsung SmartThings Starter Kit
SteelSeries Sensei Wireless
Libratone Diva This soundbar will boost your TV’s audio with the help of an integrated subwoofer. It also doubles as a Wi-Fi/ Bluetooth speaker.
Pair this with the SmartThings Mobile app, and control your home’s heating, lighting, security and more.
Picture the smile on your gamer pal’s face as they unwrap this mouse. They won’t be worried about lag with this bad rodent.
£199, samsung.com
£139, steelseries.com
£649.99, libratone.com
d e c e m b e r 2 0 1 5 T3 6 5
for her
1 B&O Play H7
With so many awesome tech treats to choose from, including sleek smartphones, opulent high-res audio players and vintage-style cameras, you’d be a fool to use any gift guide other than ours when shopping for her
1
These wireless over-ear Bluetooth headphones not only ooze quality and deliver B&O’s exquisite signature sound, but everything from volume and track-skipping to answering calls is controlled via the touch interface on the right ear cup. Swish.
3 Lomography Belair X 6-12 Jetsetter Shooting panoramas has never been easier, thanks to the Belair’s automatic exposure shutter and choice of a 90mm or a 58mm wide-angle lens, while the vintage style of this medium-format film camera screams old-school glamour.
£329, beoplay.com
£269, lomography.com
2 Apple Watch Sport
4 Huawei Mate S
There’s so much to love here; the fitness-tracking tech alone is enough to make her fall for Apple’s super-gadget. Porting all sorts of smartphone functionality – like ApplePay, tickets and boarding passes, text pings and more – into a watch, Apple has come up with something very convenient.
Want the effect of Apple’s 3D Touch without the eyewatering price tag of a 6s? Huawei’s Force Touch brings pressure-sensitive tech to your fingertips in this smartphone, making previewing documents or images easier, and playing games more immersive.
£339, apple.com/uk
From ¤649 (£462), consumer.huawei.com
3
2
70 T3 d e c e m b e r 2 0 1 5
M ore grea t content a t the a ll-ne w w w w.t3.co m
Moov Now The second-gen fitness tracker from Moov features a tweaked design and a nineaxis motion sensor for daily activity monitoring. But the best feature of this funkylooking multi-sport wearable is still the in-ear voice coach, which keeps you in check throughout your workout. £64, welcome.moov.cc
Sony NW-ZX100HN Now she can enjoy high-res audio wherever she goes, thanks to this NFC-enabled Walkman. It’s designed with ClearAudio+ tech, Sony’s S-Master HX digital amp and LDAC, a new technology that enables her to enjoy high-quality wireless audio via Bluetooth. £500, sony.co.uk
4
HTC One M9
Kobo Aura H20
Samsung R6
BrydgeMini
A sleek-bodied, classy smartphone that’s brimming with goodies including a 20.7MP camera, Dolby BoomSound speakers and 32GB of internal storage, with a microSD slot for more.
A premium e-reader for women who love to read in the bath or at the beach, the Aura H2O features a water- and dustproof design and a 6.8-inch Carta E Ink touchscreen.
Give the gift of 360-degree sound with this wireless rechargeable speaker. Thanks to NFC and Bluetooth tech, she can stream music to the R6 from her phone or tablet indoors and out.
This versatile aluminium keyboard will turn her iPad Mini (1, 2 or 3) into a laptop. The hinge design offers 180-degree viewing, and she can get three months’ use from one charge.
£579.99, htc.com/uk
£139.99, uk.kobobooks.com
£329, samsung.com
£99, amazon.co.uk
Foreo LUNA Mini
LulzBot Mini
Gibson Trainer
Designer luxury facial care is hers with this softtouch silicone facial brush. Designed to unclog pores and make skin glow, the LUNA Mini uses sonic-pulse technology to revitalise her skin.
This steel-framed 3D printer ain’t cheap, but it does feature a decentsized print base and respectable resolution. It also supports a huge variety of materials for those 3Dprinting projects.
Sporty types will adore these Usain Bolt-endorsed headphones. Onboard controls enable her to play/ pause/skip songs, and toggle on/off a handy sounddamping feature.
Vain STHLM Originals
£99, foreo.com
£1,025, lulzbot.com
M ore grea t content a t the a ll-ne w w w w.t3.co m
£149, gibson innovations.com
Your girl will love these svelte yet bass-heavy earphones. Housing an 11mm dynamic driver, they feature a remote control/ mic so that she can take calls between listening to tunes. £62.95, harrods.com
d e c e m b e r 2 0 1 5 T3 7 1
State of the Art
Game of drones
Pro aerial-photography gadgets or expensive toys? T3 heads skyward with three of the latest super-drones… Words: Chris Barnes
Photography: Joseph Branston
rones, or UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles), are the source of much controversy. Anti-drone campaigners say they’re an invasion of privacy, and will ultimately fall from the sky and kill us all (captured in glorious HD, of course!).
D
But as evolving technology makes the specialist skills required to operate drones ever more redundant, so spectacular aerial footage is slowly replacing shaky camera and phone clips as the amateur snapper’s video of choice. 1 0 2 T3 D e c e m b e r 2 0 1 5
One major drone manufacturer claims to be selling around 30,000 units per month, and it’s no surprise: YouTube is brimming with unbelievable amateur drone footage, and their use is prolific in the world of TV and film, too. Police are tracking criminals from above with the miniature spy gizmos, and Amazon predicts that your Rocky box set could be delivered by drone in the future. However, with so many rules governing their operation, and with cases of misuse recently hitting the headlines, a complete aerial takeover is way off. The four-propeller drones tested here are a far cry from the intimidating war machines we see on the news, but they’re no plastic
Christmas tat either. The trio represent a new breed of drone: supremely easy and safe to fly, they’re loaded with formidable tech, including live HD-video streaming to mobile devices over dedicated Wi-Fi connections. They also have GPS, powerful smartphone apps, intuitive photography modes and multi-axis camera gimbals for slick and stable cinematic shots. In this mega-test, we’re pitting the very latest products from drone pioneer Parrot, Chinese tech giant DJI and the fledgling 3D Robotics, in an aerial dogfight for supremacy. They aren’t cheap, but if you’re looking to up your game and capture a dazzling new perspective in your videos without chartering a helicopter, read on.
M ore grea t content a t the a ll-ne w w w w.t3.co m
State of the Art
drones
W hat’s on test…
1
DJI Phantom 3 Standard A cheaper take on DJI’s Phantom 3 Professional and Advanced models, the Standard rocks a 2.7K camera and a Beginner mode, so newbies can hit the ground running. Price: £649 URL: dji.com
2
Parrot Bebop Drone The smallest, lightest and cheapest drone of the three. We tested it with the optional Skycontroller, but it can be flown from a mobile device. Price: £399.99 (£799.99 with Skycontroller) URL: parrot.com
M ore grea t content a t the a ll-ne w w w w.t3.co m
3
3D Robotics Solo The world’s first ‘smart’ drone, the Solo boasts two 1GHz Linux processors and can connect to a GoPro via a three-axis gimbal (sold separately). Price: £979.95 URL: 3drobotics.com
D e c e m b e r 2 0 1 5 T3 1 0 3
State of the Art
Test 01:
DJI Phantom 3 Standard
Design
Three drones. Three very different designs. But which is the best?
t the heart of the Parrot Bebop Drone is a hard polystyrene body that houses the camera, GPS, Wi-Fi antennas and 8GB of flash memory, all supported by an ABS-reinforced structure. A lithium-polymer battery clips behind the body and is held in place by a flimsy strip of Velcro. Optional polystyrene bumpers attach beneath the motors for peace of mind during your first, crash-prone flights. The Bebop’s flat profile restricts take-off options, meaning long grass is a no-no, and our red model (blue and yellow are also available) was not easily visible at a distance. The bulky Skycontroller is also an eye-watering £400 upgrade. The DJI Phantom 3 Standard boasts reassuring weight and a curvaceous body that stands 100mm off the ground for improved take-off clearance in comparison to the Bebop. The Phantom’s white body and metallic, coloured-stripe detail make it more visible at altitude. Underside LEDs not only distinguish the front from the back, but change colour to alert the pilot of operational issues. Motors are
A
DJI’s Intelligent Smart Battery features integrated power management for optimal performance. You’ll get around 25 minutes in the air from a charge
The Solo is a meanlooking motherplucker; the heaviest drone on test spun by curved electromagnets, adding up to smooth action, control and long-term durability. The underside camera is built into a three-axis gimbal to keep your shots steady. The precision engineering is impressive, but a major collision could expose the gimbal’s fragility. The matt-black 3D Robotics Solo is a meanlooking motherplucker, and the heaviest drone on test. The body sits about the same height off the ground as the Phantom, and features similar active underside lighting, making it perfectly visible in the air. Motors are connected by plug and socket, rather than hardwired, and are therefore easily replaced in the field if one fails. The Solo’s gimbal costs extra and is only compatible with a GoPro, but it’s uncomplicated and engineered to last. The gimbal connectivity lets you control, and charge, your GoPro from the ground via the 3DR Solo app. The compact and comfy Solo controller includes buttons for instant take-off and landing, plus a colour screen that guides you through everything from set-up and calibration to controlling camera functions. 1 0 4 T3 D e c e m b e r 2 0 1 5
DJI decided to keep things simple with the Standard’s controller
specs Weight: 1,216g Camera: 1/2.3-inch, 12MP sensor Video: 2.7K/2,704 x 1,520p at 30fps Live-streaming video quality: 720p at 30fps Wi-fi video-link operating frequency: 2.4GHz
Range: 1,000m Max altitude: 120m Max flight speed: 16m/s (36mph approx) Max ascent speed: 5m/s Navigation system: Built-in GPS Flight time from full charge: 25 mins (max)
The origin of drones A dewy-eyed look back at the first ever UAV The earliest version of a drone might not be what you expect. How about a balloon filled with explosives? In 1849, a year after Venice revolted against Austrian rule to declare itself a republic again,
the Austrians retaliated by blockading the city. Austrian Artillery Lieutenant Franz von Uchatius devised a dastardly plan to launch a series of unmanned balloons filled with explosives into
Battery charge time: 60 mins (approx) Controller battery: 2,600mAh li-po 18650 Drone battery: 4,480mAh li-po 4S Media: MicroSD card App compatibility: iOS 8.0 or later/ Android 4.1.2 or later
Venice. The balloons, each of which measured 5.7 metres in diameter and was carrying 33 pounds of explosives with a 30-minute lit fuse, were released. The attack was largely unsuccessful in terms of damage to the city, but the starving citizens of Venice still surrendered two days later.
M ore grea t content a t the a ll-ne w w w w.t3.co m
State of the Art
drones
Parrot Bebop drone
3D Robotics Solo
BEST FOR DESIGN
The Parrot Bebop Drone can be flown directly from the FreeFlight 3 app
The Solo’s GoPro-compatible gimbal will set you back an extra £379.95
With the Solo, drone and camera control is boosted by two 1GHz computers
The Parrot Skycontroller includes a dual-band 2.4GHz/5GHz Wi-Fi antenna
specs Weight: 420g Camera: 180-degree fish-eye, 1/2.2-inch, 14MP sensor Video: 1,920 x 1,080p at 30fps Live-streaming video quality: Unreported Wi-fi video-link operating frequency: 2.4GHz/5GHz
Range: 250m Max altitude: 150m Max flight speeD: 13m/s (29mph approx) Max ascent speed: 6m/s Navigation system: GNSS (GPS + GLONASS) Flight time from full charge: 11 mins (max)
specs Battery charge time: 60 mins (approx) Controller battery: 1,200mAh li-po 20C Drone battery: 1,200mAh li-po 20C Media: 8GB internal flash memory App compatibility: iOS/Android/Windows
Basic drone terminology
Weight: 1,800g (with removable gimbal and GoPro) Camera: GoPro Hero 3+ Black and Hero 4 Video: GoPro Hero 3+ Black – 1,920 x 1,080 at 30fps; GoPro Hero 4 – 4K/3,840 x 2,160 at 30fps Live-streaming video quality: 720p
Wi-fi video-link operating frequency: 2.4GHz Range: 804m Max altitude: 122m Max flight speed: 25m/s (55mph) Max ascent speed: 5-10m/s, dependent on mode Navigation system: Built-in GPS
Flight time from full charge: 25 mins (max) Battery charge time: 90 mins Controller battery: 2,600mAh li-ion Drone battery: 5,200mAh li-po Media: MicroSD card App requirements: iOS 8.0 or later/ Android 4.3 or later
Test 01 winner
Become an instant pro by learning the language of these aerial adventurers
HD live stream The drone’s ability to beam HD-quality camera footage directly to your mobile device.
3D Robotics Solo
Gimbal This is the pivoted support that enables your drone’s camera to rotate on single or multiple axes, helping you to capture stable aerial stills and video.
Quadcopter, hexacopter, etc Drone ‘types’ based on the number of propellers they have. A quadcopter has four, a hexacopter has six and an octocopter has eight.
Robust, stylish and packing loads of cuttingedge on-board tech, the Solo sits just ahead of the DJI and leaves the Bebop in the dust
Flyaway When malfunction or interference causes your drone to fly off without returning to base. This is becoming less common as technology improves.
M ore grea t content a t the a ll-ne w w w w.t3.co m
D e c e m b e r 2 0 1 5 T3 1 0 5
ENJOYED READING THIS MAGAZINE? Treat yourself or someone else Choose from a huge range of titles Free personalised gift card when buying for someone else Guaranteed delivery in time for Christmas! Plus a range of stocking fillers from just ÂŁ5
Subscribe and make great savings at www.myfavouritemagazines.co.uk