T3 April 2016

CAT S60 No, this isn’t the phone used on covert night raids by Special Forces, but it’ll enable you to view the world as if you were looking through the eyes of the Arnie-stalking Predator. Yep, we’re talking thermal imaging, people! And it’s thanks to Caterpillar, a company that makes boots so tough, even Wolverine wears ’em. Despite its futuristic looks, this is a practical handset with a 4.7-inch HD capacitive touch display (with wet-finger and glove support), a 3,800mAh battery, a 13MP main camera with dual flash, a 5MP front-facing camera, a Snapdragon 617 octa-core processor, 32GB of storage and 4G LTE tech. Suited to outdoorsy types and nerds wanting to look a bit more macho, the drop-proof S60 is, according to Caterpillar, “the world’s most waterproof smartphone”, safe at…

Rob Carney EDITOR Rob’s been beavering away on the annual T3 Hot 100 this issue. After months of research and collaboration with key contributors from the likes of Techradar, the list is complete. See p44. Claire Davies ASSISTANT EDITOR We’re worried about Claire. This month, she’s been losing her mind over the new Witti Beddi alarm clock (p20) and babbling about how she needs one now! Seriously. It’s. An. Alarm. Clock. Dan Grabham EDITOR, T3.COM Dan’s now back from Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, where he fondled the Galaxy S7 Edge, LG G5 and Xperia X. He’s after an HTC Vive (p12), too, but he’ll need a bigger house before he can use it. Nick Odantzis DEPUTY EDITOR Nick’s so into home security, he’s installed a Nest Cam in every room in his house. At least, he tells us it’s in…

This is the 11th year that T3 has published its Hot 100 – a list of the best tech, gear, gadgets and people that are the hottest things around right now. Over the last 12 months, we’ve seen so many exciting developments, so many hightech gadgets and so many amazing innovators, it was a challenge to keep our list to just 100. Still, we did it – so take a look at what became a gargantuan feature, starting on p44. Another very exciting feature this issue is Man Vs Tech (p86). Our lifestyle writer Spencer spent ages honing his driving skills on the Xbox with a full-on driving rig, before taking to Brands Hatch to see if his practice did him any good. It was bucketing it down on the day…

ZOMBIE ATTACK! THE UNDEAD VR EXPERIENCE P38 HTC Vive Pre £689, htc.com/uk Ooh, this looks exciting. Is it HTC’s new VR headset? Aye. The Vive Pre (packaged with two controllers for a full range of actions) is the second generation of the dev kit, which bridges the gap between this and the final consumer version of HTC’s VR headset that you’ll be able to buy this April. Excited? You should be – this baby is going to deliver one heck of a VR ride. Truth time, T3: what’s it really like? We had an extended session with the Vive Pre at the Consumer Electronics Show in January, and we can confirm that the experience is nothing short of incredible full immersion. Immersion, you say? You bet. We were stunned at how much it affected us – standing on…

This is so cute, T3. What is it exactly? You’re looking at the new activity and sleep tracker from Withings. When worn without the included wristband, the Go looks like a funky fob watch that you can clip onto your clothing or carry in your pocket. This colourful gizmo automatically recognises a variety of daily activities (ie, running and walking), and tracks steps taken, calories burned and distance covered. Plus it’ll nose into your sleep routine. Don’t mean to be rude, but it looks pretty basic. The Go was never designed to compete with flashier trackers, but it’s ideal for newcomers, for those on a budget, and for relaxed gym-goers who want easy-to-digest stats, not a constant barrage of intense biometrics. So I won’t have to fiddle with buttons? Nope – the Go is refreshingly…

Qb? That sounds a bit like ‘cube’ Well spotted. The Mu-so Qb is the cube-shaped baby brother of Naim’s Mu-so, a wireless music system that won T3’s Sound Award in 2015. The Mu-so Qb packs the same tech into a more compact unit, without compromising on sound or style. Can’t argue with that. So what can it do, then? You name it, the Mu-so Qb plays it. Built-in Wi-Fi lets you stream music via Apple AirPlay, Spotify Connect, TIDAL and internet radio, or it can play tracks in high resolution from PCs and other networked devices. You can even link up to five Mu-so Qb units in different rooms, and control them using Naim’s smartphone app. Digital and analogue inputs, USB and Bluetooth cater for the rest of your kit. £595, though! What makes…