Author: Stuff writer

Throughout the era of smartphones, cameras have evolved from grainy little novelty additions to a realistic replacement for our compact cameras. And then someone decided to invent the selfie. Joining the ranks of other 13MP selfie cam-packing phones like the HTC Desire Eye, comes the newly announced Asus Zenphone… Selfie. It comes with 13MP cameras on both sides, and the rear features a dual-LED flash and laser auto-focus, similar to the one found on the LG G4. The main selling point – the front-facing seflie camera – also has a dual-LED flash, which should go a long way to ensure…

It was just a year ago that Google introduced its Cardboard VR initiative – without any fanfare at all. What initially seemed like a silly gag ended up spawning more than a million app downloads, and made the company see serious value in the phone-based platform. That’s apparent in the company’s Cardboard news last week at I/O, where a brand new version of the viewer was revealed. It’s easier than ever to assemble and has a cardboard button that works with all phones now. More importantly, it supports phones up to 6in now (that’s a Nexus 6 up there) -…

Computex 2015 is taking place this week, and consumers are hoping that the very tight-lipped Acer reps will announce an official release date. No price details have been provided yet, but the three new wearable bands from Acer have been confirmed to be arriving soon. All three offer activity and fitness tracking, with the opportunity to put your own twist on them via interchangable bands. The Liquid Leap was Acer’s first attempt at wearable tech, and whilst it wasn’t a failure, it still left a lot to be desired. We’re hoping that Acer will have taken all the feedback on…

As rumoured earlier this week, Apple has launched a new range of 15in MacBook Pro models, as well as a new, more affordable configuration of its 27in 5K Retina display iMac desktop. The new 15in MacBook Pro with Retina display models feature a number of tweaks ushered in with the unveiling of the 12in MacBook earlier this year: faster flash storage, longer battery life and the haptic sensor-equipped Force Touch trackpad. Flash storage on the laptops now works up to 2.5 times faster than on the previous generation, while battery life has been increased by up to an hour. Graphics…

After being subject to numerous leaks on Dutch and German websites, LG has officially launched the G4c as a more compact version of its G4 flagship. Also added to the line up is the 5.7in G4 Stylus, which, as you may have guessed, comes with a stylus. LG says both phones offer similar features to the middle sibling G4. The G4 Stylus will be offered in LTE or 3G versions. The LTE specs include 13MP rear- and 5MP front-facing cameras with laser autofocus, 1.2GHz quad-core processor, 1GB RAM, 8GB onboard memory with microSD slot and a 3000mAh removable battery. The…

If you’re in the market for a compact, smart-looking, high performance interchangeable lens camera, another option has just dropped into your lap: the Fujifilm X-T10. The latest addition to the company’s X series of cameras that marry retro looks with new advances in technology, the X-T10 slots in beneath the flagship X-T1 model and works out at around half the price – but yet manages to offer a lot of the same features, as well as a brand new autofocus system that Fujifilm says delivers better subject-tracking functionality than its previous arrangement. Switch autofocus to its new Zone or Wide/Tracking…

The 15in MacBook Pro was left unloved a few months ago. While Apple revealed the new MacBook with its fancy Force Touch trackpad (which also made its way to the 13in MacBook Pro), the 15in version was left out in the cold. That looks set to change however. Shipping times for the 15in MacBook Pro on Apple’s store have slipped back, and custom made-to-order models are no longer available, indicating that a refresh is in the works. Apple’s new Force Touch trackpad no longer depresses like a button. Rather, it simulates the pressing of a button, thanks to its sensitivity…

I’m fed up of games that are huge for the sake of it. Games that make a big song and dance of how many hundreds of hours of “entertainment” their sprawling worlds contain without realising that spending most of that time traipsing around a boring environment picking up pointless collectibles isn’t actually very entertaining. At all. Thankfully, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt isn’t that sort of game. By which I mean that it is that sort of game in terms of being massive (around 50 hours for the main story, another 50 for the side quests, and perhaps another 50-100…

Purveyor of expensive portable music players Astell & Kern has a new flagship player it wants to shout about. And no, that price tag above isn’t a typo. In fact, we’ve rounded it down from its full price of R55,800. Even if you’re not an audiophile, you can’t argue with its looks. If Tony Stark has a ‘flying through the air shooting rockets and bad guys’ playlist, this is probably what his headphones will be plugged into. And don’t even get us started on that gorgeously machined, textured volume dial. Mmmm. The AK380 has received various upgrades over its similarly…

Candy Crush Saga is a global phenomenon, and even Windows Phone finally got to share in on the fun at the tail end of last year, but now it’s coming to desktops: the free-to-play, match-three puzzler will be released for Windows 10. And not just released, actually. Microsoft says that the game will be pre-installed with Windows 10 “for periods of time following the game launch” later this year, whether you’re installing Windows fresh or upgrading from a previous version. It’ll have “cross-play options for iOS and Android devices, as well, which we assume just means pestering friends on all…