All The Tech You Need to Start off 2022
The Gamer’s Face Mask
If you want gamers to buy anything, it’s a well known scientific fact that you need to bedazzle it in LEDs and they’ll go wild for it. The Razer Zephyr is about as “Look at me!” as it gets. It uses a transparent anti-fog design around the mouth so people can see your emotions and even has internal lighting so people can see your mouth floating around at night. RGB lighting around the filters can create 16.8 million colours.
It uses replaceable N95 Grade filters for daily protection. The filters have two way protection and are FDA-registered. For boosted air circulation it has two fans with adjustable high-speed modes (4200/6200 RPM) via a multifunction button. The filters last three times as long as regular disposables and helps the environment by creating 80% less waste.
Battery life can be stretched to eight hours without light use and fans set to low settings. It’s breathable without the fans going so if you want to live in the Stone Age, it can as long as you like.
Keys that Pop
For the first time in my life I have seen a keyboard that makes me feel like a withered old man. Logitech has brought out a new line of keyboards targeting the youth, which I would have been all over in the halcyon MSN days before we all switched over to reacting to things with /giphy on Discord.
Logitech Pop Keys is a compact mechanical wireless keyboard that’s all about that Twitch generation. It has dedicated buttons to quickly switch and pair with three different devices and has a row of customisable emoji keys to quickly thrash out an emote. Battery life lasts for up to three years and an accompanying mouse and webcam complete the look for the full Pop experience.
Pricing starts at $149
For the Pros
I don’t think game controllers have improved in terms of comfort since the Xbox 360 wired controller. Unfortunately production of those ended a while ago and now we’re only left with their Bluetooth XB1 counterparts.
8BitDo is in the business of lovingly recreating classic controllers with their own iconic look, which appears to be SNES controllers if they were made in 2021. Their latest offering on pre-order now is the Pro 2 Wired Controller Designed for Xbox. This is a pro level wired USB controller at an affordable price point. An app on your phone can help you map every button on your controller if you need customised setups, as well as stick precision tweaking, trigger tension and actuation.
They took special care to make sure the D-pad feels the way you remember, but haven’t been afraid to add two extra pro-level buttons on the grips, meaning you can use your fingers to pick up the slack of hitting button when you need both thumbs on the sticks so you don’t lose momentary control of your movement. To top it all off, it even has a 3.5mm audio jack so you can maximise the amount of wires you have going everywhere. Death to Bluetooth, long live the noodle of cables.
Guccified
Speaking of Xbox, in November a Gucci crossover caused ripples online when it instantly sold out. The Xbox by Gucci is essentially a regular Xbox Series X but with a pretty sick looking ‘double G’ patterned skin adorning the black exterior. The bundle comes with a pair of quite cool Gucci branded controllers, a subscription to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate and an incredibly conspicuous (and far less aesthetically pleasing) branded suitcase to lug it all around in. Only 100 of the limited-edition models were made available and the bundle was priced at an eye-watering US$10,000 (over NZ$14,000) which, for context, is around 20 times what your standard Xbox Series X is retailing at currently.
Fast Charger Bottle Opener
High Six is like the Swiss Army Knife of adapters. Keep it handily clipped to your bag for the times you need USB-C to USB-C or easy adapting for Micro-USB, Firewire, or USB-A. It also doubles as a bottle opener for those times you don’t mind getting your adapters dangerously close to a beverage. The only downside is that when it unpacks, the adapters can float loose, although this is mitigated by two magnets on the tops of the USB-C heads that can quickly click the adapters in place. Not the most elegant solution, but it works in a pinch.
kickstarter.com/projects/vonmaehlen/
Energy + Sound
Sick of your earbuds running out of juice when you go on your usual 15 day jog? The 29-watt hour HyperSonic 360 is here to solve all your problems with a pair of earbuds connected to a gigantic charging pack. To be honest, this is less a True Wireless Headphone System with 3D sound (which it is) and more an all-in-one charging pack for your laptop and smartphone. Having a set of headphones attached feels more like a bonus. It has 360 hours of charge, hence the name, and can fast-charge your phone to 50% in about 25 minutes. If you’re okay going at a more chill pace, you can wirelessly charge as well by placing any Qi-wirelessly compatible device on top of it. The earbuds come with microphones as well of course, so you can take calls.
The Social Screen
There’s now a screen so tall and narrow it’s only good for one thing, endlessly scrolling through your socials. Due for release in February 2022, the Elsonic EK-MD088 from Japan is a 8.8 inch 420 x 1920 monitor with a tiny footprint on your desk. It uses Mini-HDMI and comes with a vertical stand. You can also use it horizontally but for what, I have absolutely no idea. Pricing is going for about NZ$186.