T3 April 2017

RETROBLOX Retro games consoles have been coming thick and fast over the last year – Nintendo brought its own reimagined mini NES to the market and is set to follow with a SNES version – but what if we told you there was another player entering the old-new-school space that could play all your favourite old bangers? Like, all of them (almost). The player in question is Retroblox: a modular retro console that will enable you to play all those titles gathering dust, so you won’t need a cabinet stuffed with old console in order to get your retro gaming fix. The makers call it the ‘one console’ and it works by using exchangeable Element Modules, each one designed to support a particular type of game and game controller. Want to play…

Rob Carney EDITOR Rob’s T3 adventure comes to an end this issue as he leaves the mag for a new chapter. He’ll miss everyone on the team, but most of all he’ll miss bringing you the latest in cutting-edge tech. Matt Bolton CONTRIBUTING EDITOR Incoming editor Matt has been furiously working on the next few issues of T3, and will be bringing you the best new smartphones, audio, home kit and more over the coming months. Stay tuned! Robert Jones FEATURES EDITOR, T3.COM When he wasn’t spending time snowboarding in France (very suave), Robert had a blast reviewing the new Nintendo Switch videogame console. You can check out his review on T3.com! Nick Odantzis DEPUTY EDITOR Nick’s been a words machine this month, testing the latest augmented-reality driving tech (p94) and spending countless hours listening to wireless bookshelf speakers (p98). Luke O’Neill ART…

What would be your tech development of the year? Or your favourite gadget? Or what about the one person that’s done the most to revolutionise the industry? Well, we reckon our annual Hot 100 covers all the bases – we’ve left no stone unturned, getting opinion from some of the industry’s finest tech luminaries, commentators and journalists. Flick to p46 and you’ll find our sprawling list of the tech, gadgets and people that have rocked our world over the last 12 months. Elsewhere this issue, we’ve reviewed the best multi-room audio systems in our State of the Art group test (p76), and in Man vs Tech we discover what kit it takes to throw the ultimate house party (see p86). We’ve also got a bit of an exclusive this issue, as in our…

Paul Dimery, party dude Former production editor Paul knows how to throw a party. So we challenged him to get the ultimate kit in for the perfect house shindig. Find out just what his guests got up to on p86 in Man Vs Tech. Sam Taylor, illustrator Our Gadget Guru always needs a good illustrator, and there are few better than the sublime Sam Taylor – who once again brings his humorous take to our tech genius’s wise words on p28. Steve May, audio guru Steve lives and breathes audio. Some say that he was born with a high-res audio player in his hand. This month, he tackles three top-end multi-room audio systems in State of the Art (see p76).…

From $1,030 (£822), maglevaudio.com Am I hallucinating, or is that record player floating in mid-air? While all those Pink Floyd and Jefferson Airplane records may have altered your mind, you definitely aren’t tripping here. Mag-Lev Audio’s remarkable Levitating Turntable isn’t powered by the occult, but instead uses strong magnets to keep your wax suspended in zero gravity. The turntable also uses sensing software to ensure it spins 100 per cent smoothly. Just connect the record player to your stereo system or favourite amp through phono-in and you’re ready to rock. It looks amazing. Pricey, though. The vinyl boom has led to no end of budget friendly turntables, but to experience your collection in high fidelity you’ll need to pony up. Not only does this higher price tag equal slick operation and a richer sound,…

$349 (£278), www.lg.com/uk Nice timepiece, T3. What’s the story? This is LG’s new sporty smartwatch, rocking Android Wear 2.0 and developed in collaboration with Google to make the most of the updated OS – expect better navigation, some nifty standalone apps and, of course, Android Pay functionality. So you can pay for your Butterscotch Brulée Latte with just a tap of the watch. Butterscotch? Pff! I see it has a crown thingy. Exceptional use of language. And yes it has a crown or ‘rotating side button’, enabling you to scroll through menus, messages and notifications on the display. And what a display it is: a 1.38-inch P-OLED beauty optimised for bright light conditions, so no more squinting to read data in the sundrenched outdoors. The UK doesn’t do sun-drenched. Now, what about activity tracking? Well, pardon…