CIARA O'BRIENlooks at some technology gadgets
LG SL9000
FORGET LCD and plasma - the latest technology to hit the TV world is LED. Not only are the new TVs thinner, but the picture can often be superior to its rivals, with brighter colours and sharper contrast levels. LG’s new TV, the SL9000, looks impressive. At 2.9cm thin, the set is available in 42in and 47in models, and has a pretty impressive picture. It also comes with some handy extras. Bluetooth allows you to watch content from devices such as your mobile phone without the need for cables, and the included USB port means you can playback content stored on a USB stick or external hard drive. It looks slick too, with LG’s borderless design that eliminated the visible frame on many flatscreen TVs. Speakers are hidden, but LG’s invisible speaker technology ensures the sound is impressive.
HUSQVARNA AUTOMOWER
SITTING OUT in the garden on one of the few nice days we get in Ireland might be one of last free pleasures we have these days, but with a garden comes work. More specifically, cutting the grass. And with the colder weather approaching, the last thing you want to do is spend your free time battling the lawn. Enter the Husqvarna Automower, a lawn mower that will do all the work while you sit back and watch. Lay a wire around the perimeter of your lawn and the Automower’s sensor system will ensure it stays on track. The mower runs on rechargeable batteries, and is designed to work even in the rain – probably a very good thing, given Irish weather. The grass cuttings are fine, and so will decompose naturally. The Solar Hybrid model is even more environmentally friendly than the electric versions, using a large integrated solar panel to charge the mower when there is daylight available.
THE BEATLES: ROCK BAND
WE HAVE all fancied ourselves as budding rock stars at one time or another. But for those of us who will never grace a stage, The Beatles: Rock Band might be as close as we get. The game is less to do with music though and more to do with hitting the right button at the right time.
But with The Beatles, you get a few nice accessories to at least make it feel as if you’re part of a band: a drum kit modelled on Ringo’s, Paul McCartney’s Hofner bass guitar and a microphone with a stand. You can also buy some extra controllers, such as John Lennon’s Rickenbacker and George Harrison’s Gretsch Duo Jet guitar to play along with tracks such A Hard Day’s Night and Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds. Entertainment at its best.
