It’s time for another roundup of can’t-miss offers from TNW Deals! We’ve got some fantastic gear to help you enjoy your favorite media at home and on the move — and a video drone too!
Here’s what you can get your hands on right now:
Style meets substance in AIAIAI’s Danish-designed TMA-1 headphones. Powered by dynamic 40mm closed titanium drivers for accurate, clear sound across frequencies, the TMA-1 is great for DJing, commuting or relaxing at home with your music library. They’re also packed with great features like a lightweight and flexible body, adjustable cups, cable lock and a three button in-line remote and mic.
Beautiful sound that goes anywhere, for only $159 (with free shipping across the US).
The award-winning iRest for iPad makes “me” time more comfortable than ever before. Kick back on the couch and enjoy that movie you’ve been meaning to see, or read that new ebook you just bought, without having to hold up your tablet. The iRest holds your iPad at a comfortable viewing angle and sits on your lap with soft foam cushions, for hours of strain-free entertainment.
Sit back, relax and tune in, hands-free, for only $35.99 (with free shipping across the US).
Tune in to your favorite music all around your home with the gorgeous new Double Spot by Soundfreaq. This minimalist Bluetooth speaker is small enough to fit in easily in your living room, bedroom or kitchen, and pairs with your mobile devices for glorious balanced audio. Plug it in or use it completely wirelessly, and charge your phone while you’re at it with the built-in battery.
Fill your home with sound for just $112 (with free shipping across the US).
Take to the skies for your next video project with the DJI Phantom CF40 Drone. This compact, easy to fly quadrotor packs its own 720p camera to shoot beautiful HD quality video, while remaining airborne for up to 15 minutes over a distance of 100 meters, and it’s perfect for those getting started with aerial cinemtaography. Control the FC40 with your Android/iOS device and use it to shoot sporting events, adventure experiences, or just capture moments with a new perspective.
Fly and shoot video with ease, for just $499 (with free shipping across the US).
TNW readers can get an additional $35 off with the code: phantom35
PlayStation TV review: A good idea with poor execution
Sony has been steadily building up a deep gaming ecosystem across multiple devices, including its PlayStation 4 console, PlayStation Vita handheld, Xperia smartphones and now the $99 PlayStation TV set-top box. Unfortunately, the PlayStation TV (PS TV) doesn’t live up to its potential just yet.
Originally called the PlayStation Vita TV in Japan, the PS TV launched in the US earlier this month and arrives in Europe in November. In addition to the $99 standalone system, Sony is also selling a $139 Lego bundle that includes a DualShock 3 controller, The Lego Movie Videogame and an 8GB memory card. The hardware is surprisingly small – slightly bigger than the palm of my hand.
The set-top box, which outputs at 720p resolution, includes ethernet HDMI and USB connections. It also has slots for the Vita’s proprietary memory cards and game cartridges.
PS TV offers a few different ways to play. You can sync it with a PS4 in your home to use Remote Play on a second TV; play Vita games through the device’s included card slot; join the PlayStation Now open beta to stream games from the cloud and finally just buy compatible games directly from the PlayStation Store. Beyond gaming, you can also use the box to watch movies and TV shows.
Remote Play on PS TV didn’t work well for me on my home network. Even with the PS TV connected over ethernet, I still experienced noticeable lag when trying to play Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor, Diablo III, Drive Club and Destiny. I could sometimes get a suitable connection using the PS4’s WiFi Access Point feature, which skips your router to connect directly to the PS TV, but the results still varied.
Remote Play also suffered from poor image quality. Even aside from the choppy frame rates and visual artifacts that came from the spotty connection, the overall fidelity is painful to look at if you’re used to the beautiful graphics on your PS4. If you have a super-fast network at your home, Remote Play should work well for you, but you might need to update your router if it’s an older model.
Playing Vita games on the PS TV sounds like fun, but you’re probably better off just sticking to playing on your Vita. Minecraft’s retro graphics looked fine, but MLB 14 The Show looked pretty awful blown up on the TV.
Retro fencing game Nidhogg did a solid job at showing off how the PS TV fits in the ecosystem. Nidhogg supports cross-buy and cross-play, so you can pay for it once and play it on PS TV, Vita and PS4. It was easy to fire up the set-top box for a quick match with friends.
Earlier this summer, I tried out PS Now on the PS4. I’m on a Time Warner Cable connection that averages between 14-20Mbps, according to Speedtest . Several of the games I rented were still active, so I could jump right in and start playing them directly from the PS TV. The service is still in beta, so the experience is far from perfect, and the game selection is lackluster. In the long-term, I expect PS Now to evolve into an excellent gaming service, but, at least for now, it’s still more of a novelty than it is useful.
Sony has posted a list of compatible games for the PS TV, including Vita titles, PSP digital downloads, and PS One classics. You’ll find cult games like Persona 4, but there weren’t many titles I was excited to play.
PS TV relies on a similar bubble UI as the Vita. I found it horrendously dated on a TV and frustrating to navigate.
So should you buy the PS TV? For now, I’d recommend that you hold off. At launch, it doesn’t do any one thing particularly well. If you live in a house with fast broadband and often have to share the main TV with others, the box’s Remote Play feature might be worth the $99, provided you can put up with the significantly lower quality graphics. That seems like a rather niche use case to me, though.
When Sony works out the kinks for Remote Play and PS Now and has grown the game library for the PS TV, it will serve as an affordable way to get more value out of your existing PlayStation devices, but, at least for my gaming needs, it’s not there yet.
Update: An earlier version of this article attributed issues with Remote Play to Internet connection, but it’s actually an issue with the home network setup. I apologize for the error.
HP jumps on the smartwatch bandwagon with a luxury designer device
The first glimpse of the HP and Gilt tie-up, a smartwatch designed by Michael Bastian , has been posted online today .
According to the announcement , Gilt sought to work specifically with Michael Bastian for the design and HP for the manufacturing side of things, and the device will work with both iOS and Android devices via an app.
Gilt says it’ll perform the usual raft of smartwatch tasks, like letting you quickly check weather, stocks and sports updates, or keeping you up-to-date on your email, SMS and social media notifications. It’s also “water resistant” and has a battery life of up to seven days.
Of course, this device isn’t so much about the tech specs as much as the design. On that front, there’s a 44mm stainless steel casing with three hardware button controls and three interchangeable bands to adapt it for different occasions.
“A watch like this should provide men with quick, simple, accurate information at a glance, much like the displays and dials of a car dashboard — you can almost think of it as a personal dashboard for your digital life. The watch’s interchangeable straps in perforated leather, nylon and rubber even reflect this inspiration,” Bastian said in a statement.
If you’re interested in a designer smartwatch inspired by a car’s interior and made by HP, then you can sign up for more details on the Gilt website, although, it should be a tell-tale sign that the price hasn’t been revealed yet. We suspect you’ll need relatively deep pockets for this one.
➤ Gilom Teams Up with Michael Bastian to Launch Luxury Watch with Smart Technology [Gilt via Engadget ]