Sennheiser RS 120 - Wireless Headphones, Crystal Quality!

Wireless headphones first seemed like a gimmick to me, which would be used with the likes of phones via Bluetooth. Using the likes of radio to transmit the music is the approach that Sennheiser has taken with the RS120's. Offering the sound quality you've come to expect from Sennheiser; the fact you can plug them into an audio source and then roam freely within the transmission range seems less like a gimmick and more of a quality selling point!

Before going into all the specifics of the headphones, the first and most important question that has to be answered; is the sound quality good? That answer being yes, having used these while watching tv, cleaning the house with music playing, gaming and using them with my laptop I have a great indication to how the headphones perform in all different situations. The quality of music regardless of whether you're near the box or nearly out of range was the same - great, not just the quality, but the depth. There is a great range of hi and lo tones, from the vocals to the high hat of the drums you are able to hear it all as you normally would be a standard set of headphones.

For the system to work you need to have the transmitter plugged into the electrical mains and the standard headphone jack plugged into your audio source, when all that is set up and the music is playing it is a case of turning the headphones on and playing with the frequency till you get a sharp signal: then that's it. You are listening to your music without the wires! The convenience factor is what I most love about the system. I can be sat on the computer, listening to music and just get up without having to take the headphones off and still be listening to my music. I know the idea of wireless headphones is obvious but the sound quality that Sennheiser have achieved amazes me.

Comfort is a major aspect of all headphones, these headphones have a memory foam padding across the head and cushioning on the headphones themselves. This makes for a very comfortable experience, when using them to watch TV or long periods of time comfort can be the most important, headphones which are not comfortable are headphones that will not be used regardless of how good they are; but this is not the case here. Although comfortable, they don't seem to sit right when on your head there is something strange about them which I think could be fixed by using ear cups and going over ear on headphones rather than on ear.

Although the quality and comfort of the Headphones are brilliant the product comes with the downsides due to the technology used to make them work, using radio as the point of transmission means it can be interrupted easily. I have found if everyone is in the house and have a lot of gadgets in use, this affects the strength of the headphones signal. Although this does not really affect the quality, it seems to make the music quiet however rarely interrupts altogether. The way I have found to deal with this is to go to the transmitter and to switch channels and just setting up the system again but this is still an inconvenience when using them.

Overall I think that if you are in the market to purchase some wireless headphones that you are not needing portability for and will always be used within the home then these are going to be perfect. Sound quality and comfort when using the headphones makes it a pleasurable experience. With that being said they do have their downsides, having some signal issues and being limited by batteries albeit that the ones provided do last a long time before needing to be charged.

Written by: Oliver Braithwaite

Edited by: Jamie Flynn

Images by: Oliver Braithwaite

Spotify Update - 21/02/2013

Spotify have brought in its next big updates and bringing in a range of new features that are unique and that I can see being used by a lot of its users. A few of the changes include a new activity feed, who you are allowed to follow being expanded, subscriptions to playlists and much more will be discussed the changes they have made how they will affect the impact on the user.

After installing the new update you will be asked to choose who you would like to follow on Spotify through your Facebook friends this will allow you to see changes they make to playlists, music they are currently listening to and music they have "starred". Giving the activity feed a brand new look and the whole right hand side of the application shows they want to push the whole idea of sharing music I love. After you have selected which friends you would like to follow you can now choose from any artists found on the service that you would like to follow and this will allow you to find out when they have released new music which I feel is a brilliant new feature and instead of you having to find out if your favorite artists have released new music Spotify will now tell you which adds a huge amount of convenience to the application.

A new look to how artists profiles now look gives you a longer list of their most popular music which makes it easier to explore new artist and gives you a long list of your favorite artists popular music to listen to. The new update will make it easier for newer users to use and makes it a lot more fluent to navigate through the different menus which can only make it better.

Click to Enlarge!

Do you like the new Spotify update? Comment below!

Playstation 4 Announcement! (Details and Pictures)

Pictures from the event below!!

After the long awaited Playstation announcement for the next generation of consoles they have finally announced what the whole of the internet had been speculating over. With a great need to step their game up with new consoles and PC gaming on the rise they will need to put at something amazing to get the gamers of this generation going back to gaming with Playstation.

Announcing first that they have designed a complete new controller for the system featuring a new more ergonomic design, a re-design of the bumpers and with a touch pad in the center of the controller but they did not give a great deal of information about what it would be used for. You will see the coloured bar on the top of the controller and this is for 2 reasons, when using more than one controller you will have different colour bars so you are able to quickly identify which player is which, mentioning also that that bar was for the console was able to locate the user when it comes to showing 3D through the TV.

Not really saying to much they mentioned the spec they wanted to work on for the console, what was mentioned:

• X86 CPU
• Enhanced PC GPU
• 8Gb of Unified memory
• Local hard drive storage

Playstation pushed the fact they were designing a console which would allow the developers of the game a platform which they will be able take there ideas and run with them and with the spec they were describing you would expect to see some excellent games in the near future due to the massive power being given for the developers to work with.

A huge part of the presentation was around the users, making it clear that today user wants to be able to share their progress within a game or parts of a game they have enjoyed and be able to stay linked with social networking sites on their console. The account system will consist of profiles much like facebook Playstation network will still use usernames and logos as part of user ID but using the likes of real names and details for when you are communicating with friends through the console. One aspect which seemed very interesting was the fact you could go to your friends profile and be able to watch what they are doing live from their console without them streaming, similar to this you are able to request help from a friend and they can remotely take over the game you are playing and do a section of a game you are struggling which seemed like an interesting concept. The rise of live streaming and watching professional gamers is massively on the rise world wide and they have taken this into account, you will be able to stream direct from your Playstation 4 to sites such as UStream. 

In terms of how the Playstation vita comes into play with the new console you are able to do remote gaming from your Playstation 4. While playing a game if you are being kicked off the television or you are going out you are able to turn on your Playstation vita and play the same game from the console to the hand held device as long as the game is support with this feature.

They did not at any point show the design of the actual console or state any kind of price for the console but I would expect they will announce more information about that and more when it comes to E3. What they did mention that it will be coming by the end of 2013 which is exciting news!

Griffin iPhone 5 Cable

Griffin have developed a cable for the new iPhone cable which is able to charge and transfer from device to computer, releasing a cable that is affordable when apple develop their cables and charge outrageous prices for new cables. When using other cables you can be a little on edge the first time due the fact your phone is not something you want a fault with in the battery or charge department.

Cable has a lot better build quality than the actual apple cable that I got with my iPhone which makes me trust the fact that I can trust it to do the same job as the original as you can find cables on the likes of amazon which can fry your battery and in some cases do not even work. Having used the cable on a regular basis for charging at work and university I have found it to be reliable and charges in the same as the standard apple cable. Since I have started using it I have no issues with the battery life which shows it is a great quality cable. If you are looking for a replacement cable or a second cable this would be perfect if you don't want to pay the apple prices!

This cable also works with all the current Griffin charging stations and wall plugs for USB.

Nikon S1 - Who should buy it?

 Nikon have released a new range to the "Nikon 1" series of compact system cameras. Introducing the S1 this camera being aimed at the consumer market, this camera is aimed at those who have the likes of point &  shoot cameras but would like to step up in both quality of images and speed of the camera. You may say this look very similar to the J series compact system, you would be correct but Nikon have made several changes to the system to make it more user friendly and appeal to the correct target audience. You are able to use interchangeable lenses which will allow to change between all of Nikons compact system lenses.

So what makes this camera different to the likes of the J1 and the V2? The S1 has been stripped of all real manual settings which you are able to access in the other camera and has have an overhaul in the menu setup to be more user friendly and easy to use. Using all in camera menus to navigate the different aspects of the camera from setup to shooting modes of camera which if your coming from a background of using digital cameras it will be a very smooth transition as using the likes of the J1 might be confusing from someone stepping up into the compact system market.

Don't be put off because the camera because although it is a beginner or entry level camera into the compact system market it will still be able to pack a punch, being on par with the J1 and having the same 10 MP sensor you will get the same quality of shots but what has been taken away is the likes of such high FPS available in the J and V series as well as you are not able to access them manual settings which will give you access to the full potential of the camera. This series being designed to be more user friendly and there as an option from someone ready to step up from the compact camera world they will find using the likes of the "perfect shot" system and all the different shooting mode will get them really high quality images that people who don't want to get into photography but want high quality images wants to be able to get out of a camera.

Turtle Beach XL1 Review

The XL1 series is the cheapest of the headsets for the Xbox 360 and PC that turtle beach provide so it is interesting to see what the quality of product is for the price and if a big brand name in the audio world like turtle beach will provide for the cheap price. The headset if very basic to setup even thou there is a lot of wires you will be able to tell straight away where they are meant to go if not the instructions are very clear and they come with the headset in the packaging.

After using them for a while you can get a good idea to the quality that the headset provides, the sound quality is very good and due to the setup of the headset is surround sound based on the headset, using the headset with a game like call of duty you are able to hear where the enemies are, if they are walking around you or they are shooting. Playing other games is a pleasure to the to fact that the that you are provided with very high quality sound which you would expect from turtle beach.

When using the microphone is very sensitive which means the microphone does not have to sit in your mouth so the people on the other end of the chat to be able to hear you but if you are in a loud environment this can be a drawback as it picks up everything which means TV and other talking can be heard on the other side of the microphone.

Although the sound quality of the headphone is very good that’s where the benefits of the headphones end. When you have the headphones on the pads on the ear cups are not as comfortable as they look which is a big drawback due to the fact that when you are gaming you would assume that you will have them on a long while. Although the headset is bearable the cups make the headset sit off your head which I prefer to have the cups mould to the user and sit comfortably but the XL1's don't seem to do this which is the only downside to the headset but one of the main factors of purchase being comfort.

Having used other turtle beach models it might be worth paying a higher fee so of get higher quality of sound and comfort.

Memory Foam Headphone Tips - Useful or not?

The standard in ear headphones come with silicon tips which in my experience when using them have the knack of falling out of your ears when walking or doing exercise. The idea with memory foam is that it expands when warm; the tips will expand gently inside your ear and create a seal. Creating this seal is what can create a better and more comfortable feel when listening to music.

When first trying them out I felt a little differently when using these compared to the silicon tip and take some getting used because the feel in different in your ears but the seal it creates a block out from the outside world which music’s the music seem louder there benefiting the people around you as well.

After using the tips for 4-5 months I cannot say that I fully prefer the memory foam tips to the standard silicon, they make the music sound a lot more whole when listening to the music which can only be an improvement. When using them in the gym I now have no problem with losing headphones be that during cardio or weight lifting which is a vast improvement to constantly putting the silicon tips back in my ear as they keep falling out in my experience. Generally I feel that changing the tips has enhanced my listening experience when using my in ear headphones and would recommend them to anyone who constantly uses this style of headphone like myself.

Nikon S3100 - Review

The S3100 is based on the design features of being easy to use and small and compact you are are able to fit it into your pocket and if you want to take a picture just point and shoot. Showing off a range of scene modes you are able to pick the situation you are in and it will adjust the setting of the camera to get the best shot possible. Rocking at 14 megapixel CCD sensor is for those who just want to take simple photos the camera is a plain and simple point and shoot.

The camera is very easy to use, using the zoom which is positioned round the shutter release you are able to zoom up to 5x using the optical zoom into your subject and simply just focus and take a photo. The camera when using it seemed a little bit slower than I expected from a compact camera and some others in the same price range I know to have a faster focus time. When taking a photo of a landscape I was pleasantly surprised at some of the results as it was able to take a good shot as long as you had a good few seconds to take the photo.

In a compact camera these days consumers expect a good performing continuous shoot mode so they can keep up with subject weather that is kids running round the house or their dog in the park and when using this shoot mode on the S3100 is seemed very unresponsive and slow so if you are using it this this kind of environment your result would be poor.

Navigation through the different setting was very simple and easy to use, just pressing the record button you could put it into video mode without having to change it into video mode in the settings. Being able to select the different scenes was very easy again which shows how Nikon know who the camera is aimed at and have made the different feature easy to access to take advantage of. For those wanting to do a little but more with the camera the only setting you will be able to have fun with is white balance as this range of camera does not support any kind of manual setting what so ever.

My overall conclusion of the camera being that if you are after just a very simple point and shoot camera for landscapes and taking picture of the family then this will be perfect for you, with a range of colour you will be able to find one that fits your style but for those expecting a high performance compact camera this would not be a camera I would recommend. It struggled in macro mode when trying to take pictures of small details and objects up close but the landscape features seemed to be good. Personally does not suit my needs for a camera but would be good for someone looking for just a very simple point and shoot.

Nikon J1 - In Depth Review with Sample Images & Video

Nikon J1 - Initial thoughts
When you first take a look at the camera you can tell it is a camera which is aimed at the consumer market and this is clear from the size of the camera and also how it is designed. The design is very sleek & sexy which will appeal to the consumer market which will care about how the camera looks when they are using it but that is not the only appeal to the camera cause the power inside this little body is a force to be reckoned with in the compact systems market Slightly smaller sensor than the standard micro four thirds mirror camera range currently on the market but don't let that put off the camera as what you may think it lacks in spec it will make up for in quality images and video!

User Experience
Using the camera is a pleasure when you are using both the image and video aspects of the camera, using the crisp and sharp screen you get a good indication to the quality of the image before you get home and get it on the computer or print the image. The easy access to the flash is perfect when in low light situations it truly lights up the whole area and the images produced when using the flash are surprising in terms of the quality of expect. I have found when using other camera when you are focusing to take to take the photo it is a slow process and sometimes the moment you were waiting for has passed by the time the camera has focused, not with the J1 the camera has the fastest focusing time in the camera market at the minute, it is very impressive how fast the camera has focus and you are able to take a very crisp and high quality image in a matter of seconds which when I have used the bigger DSLR camera this is not an experience I have been able to have which really shows you the power of this camera.


Usability 
When navigating through the camera weather that is going through and changing the settings manually or you are just going through the photos and scroll wheel on the back makes this a pleasant experience and this in pairing with the easy to use menu system will not scare anyone who dares to play with the settings who is new to the word of photography. It is clear what every button does and the camera is not littered with buttons which have not purpose on the body when they could just be in the menu.

Modes 
The camera has a series of modes which will allow the new users of this style of camera to learn about all the different settings or allow them to just use the camera in automatic and let the camera do the work and allow them to get some excellent results. There is mode such as programmed auto which will allow to adjust a few of the settings but the camera still does some work, Shutter priority which allow you to create images with longer exposures, aperture priority creating images which will make the subjects of the image pop out and really make a crisp image and full manual mode which would be fantastic for DLSR to use if they are just wanting to use a camera with a smaller body but still wanting the same features that they can access on the bigger more powerful cameras.

Lenses and accessories
There is a series of different lenses that can be purchased with the camera and different boxed bundles that can be purchased as standard with the camera. When purchasing the camera I highly recommend you go for the twin lens kit as this gives you the 10-30mm lens (wide angle) and the 30-110mm lens (zoom lens) for most people these lens will be all you will ever need as this allows you to zoom into subjects and also get a wide angle landscapes you are after.  The reason I recommend to get the twin lens kit is cause you'll pay about £50 more for the package but if you wanted to get the zoom lens separate you will pay around £150 for it so you are making a saving you are getting a better range of images as with the one lens you will only be getting wide angle shots which for most users will put them off using the camera due to the limitations one lens will give you. 

Portability
The camera is very compact and this is perfect for people who love to travel either on holidays or days out, want to be able to go places and take quality photos but not want all the size and weight that having a DLSR system requires. I carry the camera in the LowePro Streamline which is a small bag but I use this cause normally I wouldn't carry bags on a day out but the weight of the camera when using it in the bag is minor and having the bag is worth it for the quality of the images you are getting, although we would all love a camera that with just shove in your pocket you wont be able to do this with the J1 but a big coat pocket would be perfect for this camera so the size is slightly awkward but you will put up with the just a little to big body to have the power of a camera like this with you.

Conclusion
This camera is perfect for someone wanting to pay a little bit more money for a lot more quality than your standard point and shoot, want the near quality of DLSR systems but in a compact body and the portability that comes with a camera this size, want to be able to get into photography but not be thrown in at the deep end as the camera allows you to use all its different modes to the users advantage and if you love the idea of changing the lenses on your camera and want a professional feel the the pictures you are taking then this camera is perfect for you! I have had this camera for about 2 months now and it has not put a foot out of place and that is why I rate the camera so highly as it ticks all my boxes. The only down side to the Nikon 1 range is the current lack of lenses but Nikon are saying on the website they're working on more lens for the product, I would mainly like to see more a lens with a large zoom then the 30-110 as in rare situations you are limited to what you can take but that would be the only thing I can take away from this camera. Take a look at some of my sample images and see the quality of the camera for yourself.