Nokia 9 PureView
Mobile photography on another level
Price R12 000
Nokia has steadily been making great inroads into the smartphone market since its re-entry in 2016. Using the Android operating system, their differentiator is that they use the stock Android version from Google. What this means is that you get your security updates and Android version updates as Google releases them. Nokia has a long history with photography using Zeiss optics. Their latest flagship phone, the Nokia 9 PureView, is designed for photography enthusiasts. It features the world’s first five camera array smartphone. It’s strange looking at the device with these five “eyes” looking at you. Why five, you ask? Each of the cameras works simultaneously to capture your image and the Nokia 9 PureView fuses it together into one 12MP photo. The sensors collect up to 10 times the amount of light than a single similar sensor. The result is incredible photographs with impressive detail in areas of both bright sunlight and shade. The flagship Nokia device also has the ability to shoot images in RAW format and edit them on the phone using Google Photo’s built-in editor or Adobe Photoshop Lightroom. The phone itself is really slick and stylish and combines the business functionality with those with a passion for photography with all the bells and whistles you would find in a premium phone.
Jabra Elite 85h
Premium intelligent headphones
Price R4 999
Headphones are big business. The market in 2018 was worth $14 billion and is expected to be worth an estimated $26 billion by 2024. Premium headphones make up 40% of this market. Anyone that has travelled on a long-haul business flight with noise-cancelling headphones will tell you that you will never be able to travel again without a great pair of headphones. Jabra has entered the premium headphone market with a bang! The Elite 85h features eight microphones, four of those microphones are dedicated to the Smart Active Noise Cancellation that helps filter out the noise. The noise cancellation is very impressive and comparable to the likes of Bose. Comfort is very important, especially if you are planning to keep them on for several hours. The Jabra Elite 85h are really comfortable with the memory foam around your ears and a comfortable strap around the headband giving you a snug fit. The battery life of 36 hours is very impressive and the longest amongst its competitors. Jabra uses its SmartSound technology to analyse your sound environment and automatically apply your personalised audio experience. I tried taking calls on the Elite 85h in a windy environment and was impressed at how good the sound quality was. The recipient on the other side of the call could not believe that I was outdoors. If you use Amazon Alexa, Google assistant or Siri these headphones have full voice assistant support for these technologies. The best part about Jabra Elite 85h headphones is the price – at R5 000 they offer incredible value.
DJI Osmo Action
The action camera that you need outside the boardroom
Price R6 999
DJI has been developing amazing camera technology over the last few years and deploying this into their drones, making them world leaders in this field. Their latest DJI Osmo Action camera puts all that innovation into the palm of your hands. When you swop the boardroom for a weekend of cycling or running, or any outdoor adventure activity for that matter, then your should seriously consider the DJI Osmo Action camera. The image stabilisation using RockSteady – DJI’s Electronic Image Stabilisation (EIS) technology -– is incredible. You could be cycling over bumpy, rough terrain or simply running with it attached to your head – playing back the video will leave you gobsmacked at the stability of the high-quality 4K video footage. There's also a Slo-mo and Time Lapse feature if you fancy getting really creative. The camera is dustproof, waterproof and can even operate at below freezing temperatures – just in case you were thinking of the Arctic as your next family holiday. Operating the camera is so simple, they have included a front and rear-facing camera so you can actually see the footage you're capturing. If you're looking for a robust camera to capture those incredible adventure moments the Osmo Action ticks all the boxes!
App – Seeing AI
Extraordinary technology using your phone’s camera
Free
Microsoft’s Seeing AI app is one of the coolest things you will do on your phone. The app was designed for people with low vision who need the technology to help them see the world clearer. Imagine the camera of your iPhone as a human eye that narrates the world around you. It uses smart AI to describe people, text and even objects. Once the app is open simply point it to any text and the app will read out what it sees. It can identify colours, the currency of a banknote, scan bar codes, help you read documents and can even read handwriting. The coolest feature is when pointing it at a room of people, it will be able to tell you how many people are in the room, describe them, and even be able to read their emotions. One of the new experimental features allows a user to take a photograph. The app will then analyse the picture using its algorithm to identify the objects it can see and describe them to the user. Although this app is designed for people with low vision in mind, it highlights what is possible, and where we are heading in a world with artificial intelligence, algorithms, the power of cloud computing and human innovation – the future is going to be amazing!
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