Tech Know – January 2012

Essential gadgets and gizmos

Tech Know looks at the gadgets and gizmos that make our lives easier, this month we look at the HTC Sensation XL smart phone, the Olympus LS-100 audio recorder, the Pioneer X-SMC3 air play enabled music dock, the Polaroid Z340 instant camera and the Bayan 7 twin iPod dock.

HTC SENSATION XL

See main photo

The second smartphone from HTC integrated with Beats Audio, the Sensation XL offers exemplary audio in an impressively slim design, while the 4.7” screen is handy when using HTC Watch – a library of movies and TV shows at your fingertips.

£26pm/£450
htc.com

OLYMPUS LS-100

A pocket-sized mobile recording studio, the new LS-100 from Olympus features both directional microphones and inputs for external jacks for capturing sound, and covers eight-track overdubbing capabilities. Add in a metronome and tuner and you’ve got a musician’s new best friend.

£449
olympus.co.uk

PIONEER X-SMC3

This sleek dock benefits from Air Play, which means you can stream music from any wi-fi enabled Apple device, as well as plugging them in directly. vTuner enables Internet radio, while FM/AM stations can still be reached with an antenna. Great sounds for a great price.

£200
pioneer.eu/uk

POLAROID Z340

Evolving the digital translation of their legendary film camera, Polaroid’s Z340 sees an increase in picture size from a 14MP camera. Feature controls and scene modes enhance instant snaps, and you can see the physical results in less than sixty seconds.

£230
polaroid.com

BAYAN 7

With twin docks for both iPod and iPhone, the Bayan 7 can effortlessly switch between devices for double the pleasure. What’s more, the twin amplifier set-up blasts 120W of sound power, proving two heads are indeed better than one.

£299
bayanaudio.com

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