Month: September 2017

As we roll into Autumn, it’s the perfect time to share our top tech picks for 2017.

Play with it. Program it. Plug it in. Whatever you’re into, we’ve got you covered.

So grab a coffee, sit back, and enjoy our rundown of the latest and greatest gadgets for your pleasure…

1. The Laser Beam Pro C200 Focus Free HD Projector

I don’t know about you, but I love watching movies on the big screen. But with a full-time job and family commitments, I don’t get to the cinema as often as I’d like.

With this little beauty, I can watch my Godfather special edition blu-ray on a huge 150” screen at 1366 x 768p resolution (perfect for Brando’s nuanced portrayal of The Don).

And you can forget about fiddling with the focus – the C200 is focus-ready all the time, and completely eye-safe.

Better yet, it fits in your hand and works with any device, so you can take it round your mate’s house with a few bags of popcorn and watch anything you like. Those dragons in Game of Thrones never looked so big…

So go on, invite the cinema into your home and you might never leave the house again. At $485 it ain’t cheap, but I challenge you to find a 150” TV at that price.

2. Anti-gravity iPhone case

It won’t make your iPhone float like Sandra Bullock in Gravity, but it will leave your hands free next time you’re using Epicurious to cook up a storm.

Using state-of-the-art nano-suction technology – invisible suckers, if you will – this ingenuous case lets you stick your iPhone on windows, mirrors, whiteboards, metals, and other surfaces.

Perfect for video calls, selfies, recipes, DIY videos on YouTube, putting on make-up… pretty much anything where you need to look and do at the same time. It’s also a pretty nifty way of keeping your phone safe, and at $24.99 it’s less than the cost of a new screen (and cheaper than other cases, too).

3. Nano Prowler Mini Drone

It’s time the little guy had his day. This mini drone doesn’t cost the earth at just $36.99, but it will fly high above it.

Eschewing the heavy (and expensive) HD camera of its bigger brothers, this little aircraft packs in full 3D steering and a gyroscope for a smooth flight – it’ll even flip mid-air to the astonishment of those below.

So ditch the chunkier drones and take flying to a new level. Impress your friends with your aerial acrobatics with this palm-sized powerhouse and be the talk of the picnic park.

4. LifePower A2-L 27,000mAh Portable Charger

Picture this: you’re at the beach enjoying relaxing grooves from your bluetooth speaker. Everyone around is nodding to your summer megamix while you queue the next track on your smartphone.

Then suddenly the music stops. Your phone dies. The sun disappears behind a cloud and the crowd bopping to your tunes begins to disperse…

Not with the LifePower A2-L portable charger. With a whopping 27,000mAh charge, based on Tesla battery technology, you can DJ at the beach all day and all night, with enough juice left for ordering your Uber in the morning.

So whether it’s a beach-bum holiday or a rustic countryside retreat, keep your devices switched on with the LifePower A2-L charger – all for a reasonable $229.

5. Endoscopic camera

When things go wrong, it pays to get a closer view. This WiFi enabled, HD flexible endoscopic camera gives you just that – a live feed of those hard-to-reach areas your eyes alone can’t see.

Our cars, appliances, and household fittings often have hidden parts and when they fail, they’re tough to find.

With an 8 way adjustable LED, IP67 waterproof rating, and 3 metres of reach, you’re guaranteed to squeeze through the narrowest gaps and passages to the root of the problem.

Oh, yeah – they’re also great for looking under sofas and… what’s that? Spying on people? Best leave that to 007 or you could find yourself in hot water.

At $29.99 I think this is a steal – it’s certainly cheaper than calling in a plumber.

6. Voxoa Bluetooth Headphone Adapter

They snag, they tangle, they fray… Let’s face it: wires have had their day.

Set your headphones free with this Bluetooth Headphone Adapter that’ll turn any pair of cans with a 3.5mm jack into a wireless wonder.

Whether you’re on the train, out for a run, or just doing the housework, don’t let cables get in the way. And with CD-quality sound and a 10 hour battery life, your music stays as energetic as you are.

At $69, there’s no excuse not to dance.

7. Kasa LED Low Energy Smart Lightstrip

Whether it’s a housewarming, dinner party, or a romantic night in with Billie Holliday and a bottle of red, this fully adaptive LED Lightstrip will turn any room into the VIP room.

Set the mood from your smartphone by choosing from 16 million different colours, with a dimmer for those late night moments, and a scheduler so you never miss out on that stylish yet subtle ambience.

I love this because it turns my kitchen into a Manhattan cocktail bar for just $36.99. (But mostly because it looks so purdy.)

8. Gunnar Optiks Intercept Advanced Computer Glasses

This one goes out to the coders, the bloggers, the social surfers… to anyone who spends more than an hour or two staring at screens.

Ever get that dry, itchy feeling in your eyes after a later night in front of the monitor? That’s eyestrain, my friend. It might even be giving you headaches, or keeping you awake long after you’ve closed your laptop.

We’re all guilty of too much screen-time, so why not protect your eyes with these cool Gunnar Optiks computer glasses. For $64.99, their engineering grade polymers filter screen light, minimising discomfort and letting you rest when you need it.

9. SunFounder Raspberry Pi Robot Kit

Ever fancied your own robot army, but didn’t know where to start?

What if you had the tools, the materials, and the programming code for building your first robot car?

For those of us without a PhD in Engineering, this SunFounder Raspberry Pi Robot Kit is a great introduction – you get a Raspberry Pi 3 and all the Python code to get up and running.

And while it won’t enable world domination, it does come with a USB camera that’ll record pictures and videos, and you can take it for a spin with your smartphone, tablet, or laptop. That’s a pretty decent second, in my opinion, and all for just $149.99.

10. Monet Stylus 

Monet had his paintbrush; Michelangelo, his mallet and chisel.

Even the greatest artists need the right tools for their work.

Now you can create your own digital masterpiece with this pressure-sensitive stylus from The Joy Factory.

Write, paint, draw – all with the comfort of a 165° writing angle for precision detail and realistic strokes. Let the line between canvas and screen melt away with the brushed aluminium body that feels just like a paintbrush.

$14.99 is a great price for turning any old touchscreen into a work of art.

That concludes our 10 coolest gadgets of the year so far. I hope I’ve got you thinking about your next must-have bit of tech – happy shopping.

A strong VPN (Virtual Private Network) offers many benefits. A VPN can protect your identity and keep secret, the sites that you’re visiting. A good VPN can secure your data should your Wi-Fi network come under cyber-attack. A good VPN can allow you to log onto the internet from servers located all over the world, should there be any reason you would need to do so.

The list could go on but in the end, one fact rings true. In today’s cyber-world of constant internet transactions a strong VPN is essential, just like anti-virus and anti-malware programs, for all security conscious individuals. Here we present 6 of the best VPNs that guarantee safe and speedy surfing.

6 safe and speedy vpns

1. Hide My Ass

This VPN service routes your internet traffic through remote servers, so the websites you visit can’t tell where you are and block you. The Wall Street Journal recommends Hide My Ass and celebrates how it is helping people in internet-censored regions, like China, access information and news that their governments try to block. On top of that, when it comes to speed, flexibility, security and worldwide access, Hide my ass wins outright.

Hide My Ass has servers in over 190 countries meaning you’ll be hard-pressed to find a website on the planet that you won’t be able to access if you’re running Hide My Ass VPN.

2. VPN Unlimited: Lifetime Subscription

This multi-award-winning VPN gives you a lifetime of privacy protection for just $49.99. Browse freely without bandwidth or data caps, and it includes a DNS firewall so you’re protected from invasive ads and malware. Don’t fret about paying extra for your other internet-enabled devices, either – you can add up to 5 at one time, and their KeepSolid Wise technology ensures your speeds aren’t throttled by your ISP.

If server count is your thing, this has it in spades – it operates over 1,000 in over 50 countries, including UK, USA, Australia, and Japan. With such broad coverage you’re assured of finding a location for your needs.

3. Private Internet Access VPN: 2-Yr Subscription

PC Mag scored this robust VPN 4.5/5 stars, making it a firm favourite of those in-the-know. It’s one of the most secure VPNs around – using Bruce Schneier’s own Blowfish CBC encryption algorithm – and is used by big brands such as Forbes, PC World, and Wired.

Private Internet Access offer over 3,310 servers in 25 countries, ensuring you’ll always be able to browse unrestricted, no matter where you’re based, and should the VPN connection fail it immediately halts internet traffic so your data isn’t compromised.

They won’t log your traffic, which is a boon for the privacy-conscious, and provide malware, adware, and tracker protection, too. At just $59.95 for two years service, you’d be hard-pressed to find a better VPN for those with anonymity and security in mind.

4. VPNSecure: Lifetime Subscription

This VPN vows never to log your traffic – going so far as to say they “will move jurisdictions” to keep that promise. So you can rest assured your browsing history isn’t recorded. It also operates several encryption protocols so you can choose the level of protection you need.

Many of the world’s largest economies restrict the sites you can access, but the limitations vary. With servers in over 48 countries, VPNSecure lets you switch browsing locations at the click of a button, so you get the best of the world’s content without restrictions. At just $39.99 for a lifetime subscription, it’s a small price to pay for anonymity and internet freedom.

 5. PureVPN: Lifetime Subscription

This VPN is a real treat – a customer favourite that tops TrustPilot rankings with a score of 9.3/10. It’s not surprising given they’ve over 10 million happy paying customers, and 24/7 live support from their team.

Security is outstanding with 256-bit encryption, and DNS leak prevention built in. Like the others on this list, it allows up to 5 simultaneous connections, and provides exceptional speed through its server network spanning an incredible 141 countries. You’re again free to choose from all currently available VPN protocols.

Perhaps PureVPN’s greatest benefit is that it owns and manages its own servers instead of sharing them with third parties, giving them total control over things like bandwidth and efficiency. It’s not the cheapest VPN on the list at $99.99, but it’s a damn good investment for a lifetime of protection.

6. Windscribe VPN: Lifetime Pro Subscription

Windscribe offers both a desktop application and browser extension to give you a stronger shield against prying eyes. This extra layer of security safeguards you against hackers, advertisers, and other shady types who hunt down your data for profits or politics.

Windscribe takes your privacy extremely seriously and never logs your traffic or sells it to third parties. They don’t need your email address to use their VPN, and they’ll even let you pay with bitcoin for ultimate anonymity.

A useful feature of their browser extension is Cruise Control, which automatically connects you to a server for optimal speed, but will change automatically as soon as it encounters blocked content. This makes Windscribe super easy to use, and at just $49 for a lifetime subscription, you can’t go wrong.