Earphones Review: Jays a-Jays Four

Built Four your iPhone

Earphones Review: Jays a-Jays Four

by Trevor Tan

05:55 AM Feb 25, 2011

ARE you one of the many users frustrated by the limitations of the earphones bundled with your iPhone or iPod? The latest Jays earphones, the a-Jays Four, might be what you are looking for.

At 115cm long, it is neither too long nor too short. Not only does it look cool with its stealthy black finish, its flat tangle-free cable and a unique L-shape plug also allows you to put it in your pocket without fear of entanglement.

It comes with five silicone ear tips of different sizes, so one of them will surely fit your ears comfortably.

Plus, the a-Jays Four is equipped with a minimalist-looking remote and microphone with three soft-touch buttons that allow you to control the volume and answer calls. Voice reception is clear on both ends of the conversation - in fact, clearer than using the phone itself.

Not only can you use a-Jays Four's remote on the iPhone (3GS and later) and newer iPods, you can also use it on the Apple MacBook, MacBook Pro and Mac Pro (2009 generation). Audio is supported on any music device that has a generic 3.5mm stereo port. The sound quality is superb, with solid bass that does not overpower. The mid-tones are warm and fluid with the highs holding well.

Compared with Apple's $128 In-Ear Headphones with Remote and Mic, the a-Jays Four ($118 with a two-year warranty) actually seems reasonably priced, considering its superiority in both build and sound quality. Trevor Tan


Source: www.todayonline.com

Read more...

Tech Toy Review: Parrot AR.Drone

Polly wants a quadricopter

Tech Toy Review: Parrot AR.Drone

by May Chua

Updated 01:25 PM Feb 25, 2011

NEED a spanking new tech toy to distract yourself until the new Apple iPad lands in your hands? Check out the Parrot AR.Drone ($449).

The AR.Drone is a lightweight quadricopter that you can control with a free app on the iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad. Think of it as a souped-up, remote-controlled helicopter.

The drone creates its own WiFi hotspot. Once you've connected to that using your iOS device, just install the free app and launch it to start playing.

The basics of flight control are easy enough to master. There are two ways to control the drone: Place your thumb over the left button and use your iOS device as a steering wheel, or use the right button as a directional pad. A handy button at the bottom of the screen allows you to instruct the drone to land on its own.

You can fly it indoors and outdoors - we prefer indoors, where the wind is less of a factor.

Once you encounter anything stronger than a light wind, the drone becomes more difficult to control. Here's where the autopilot swoops in to save the day. When the drone is dangerously close to an obstacle, just let go of the button and it will attempt to stabilise itself and hover on the spot. It works most of the time.

We initially expected the 15-minute battery life to be a dampener, but ultimately found it better than expected. Even with constant airtime, it typically lasted longer than 15 minutes.

The quadricopter can soar to a maximum height of 50 metres - an impressive sight. However, beware of flying it too high when you are near a forested area; during one test flight, the toy nearly got stuck in a tree. Oops.

There are two cameras on the AR.Drone, one at its front and another underneath it. The video feeds are streamed back to your iPhone. If you have two drones or more, you can play augmented reality (AR) games. So far, however, only one official game app is available for the AR.Drone: AR Pursuit (US$2.99), which allows you to shoot virtual missiles at other drones. We did not get the chance to play it as we had only one review unit. The YouTube videos and game trailers looked promising, though.

This toy hit the shelves last month and has sold several hundred units so far. No models or updates are planned for now, though an Android app is in the works. It is expected to be out in a few months' time.

Though we would prefer the AR.Drone to be more wind-resistant, it still makes a cool toy for both adults and children past the destructive age. May Chua



Check out our video of the AR.Drone in action on TODAYonline's video gallery: bit.ly/TODAY_quadricopter


Source: www.todayonline.com

Read more...