Onkyo DP-X1 - entertainment for your ears

The DP-X1 is Onkyo's take on the personal hi-res audio player, but as Ed Selley notes, there's more to it than just a measured performance with tunes

Not content with making an AV receiver for all occasions, Onkyo has been busy beefing up its music credentials over the last few years. It's curated its own hi-res music portal (Onkyo Music), launched headphones in collaboration with Iron Maiden and courted two-channel love with a growing range of hi-fi separates. Now comes its DP-X1 personal audio player, which promises to deliver high-quality listening on the go and give your smartphone a break. If you're the kind of technophile who's amassed a hi-res library (FLAC, WAV, AIFF, ALAC, DSD, etc) but wants to set it free from the confines of your home cinema, this pocketsized gizmo is for you.

Keeping Your Smartphone Charged On The Move

Struggling to keep your phone charged all day? Sarah Dobbs finds ways to give it some extra juice when you're not at home

If you could talk to your 2006-self about your mobile phone, Past You would probably be pretty amazed. The phone in your pocket today probably has a touchscreen, no keyboard, the ability to surf the web, GPS, and all sorts of other awesome things. On at least one count, though. Past You probably has a phone that outperforms yours: battery life.

Yup, while mobile phones like the old Nokia 3210 or even the swanky-at-the-time Motorola Razr V3 could go days without needing to be charged, your smartphone is probably starting to struggle by mid-afternoon if you've dared to actually, you know, use it. Make a few calls, check Twitter, use Google Maps to find your way somewhere, play a bit of Candy Crush, and you're probably looking at 40% battery left at best.

Ultimate Phone Photos: Part 1

In the first of a two-part feature on phone photography, Mark Pickavance looks at taking better pictures and choosing the right phone

I remember when cameras first appeared on phones, and while most people were impressed that it was even possible, the results weren’t great. Early sensors had low resolution and very poor low light capability, and they were usually borrowed from cheap compact cameras that produced equally abysmal results.

But as new phone generations appeared they got better, driven mostly by social media, and the compulsion of capturing important moments to share with others. Soon phones had better sensors, then built-in flashes and eventually decent optics and image stabilisation.

Nitro Concepts E200 Gaming Chair

Ergonomics, comfort and style. What’s not to like?

We’ve seen and sat on a fair number of computer, workstation and gaming chairs in our time, some of which have been constructed from rich Corinthian leather or boasted a fascinating array of technical additions. One thing we have learned in that time, there’s more to a computer chair than just a list of features.

Kobo Aura One

Nathan Spendelow looks at one of the strongest Kindle rivals we’ve seen in years

Amazon’s new Kindles might not command the headlines as they once did, but the retailer continues to sell e-readers by the bucketload and is more dominant in the sector than ever.

Kobo, however, is keeping up the fight and its latest offering, the Aura One, is a premium device with a generous 7.8in screen that has its sights set firmly on Amazon’s Kindle Voyage and Kindle Oasis.

With such a large screen, the Kobo is closer in size to a small tablet like the iPad Mini 4 than a standard e-reader. This has the advantage of fitting more words per page, providing a less cramped read. On the other hand, it’s significantly more cumbersome than the smaller 6in Kindles and is heavy for an e-reader at 230g.

Sony Xperia X

Flagship phone lacks firepower

We’ve had the Xperia Z3, Xperia Z4 and Xperia Z5 – so what has Sony called its latest Android smartphone? Xperia X. Yes, just X. We don’t yet know if there’ll be an X2, but there’s already an XA (which is cheaper) and an XA Ultra (which has a bigger screen).

Vodafone Smart Prime 7

An Android Marshmallow phone for £75

It’s not quite as cheap as the Smart Speed 6, but the Smart Prime 7 is strikingly affordable for a smartphone with all the features you’d expect, including the latest Android 6.0 Marshmallow operating system. One of the best things about Marshmallow is that – unlike earlier versions – it lets you store apps (and their associated files) on a microSD card (available online from around £10). This means the meagre 8GB of internal storage on the Smart Prime 7 is no great problem.

Parrot Zik 3.0 Wireless Headphones

Parrot launches some of the most desirable wireless cans yet

At the very moment I unpacked Parrot’s Zik 3.0 wireless headphones, there came the realisation that these were something special, and that’s even before I discovered how much they cost!

Everything about them is lovely. From the bone-like elegance of the metal support arms, to the sculpted ear cushions finished in leather. The review models even had a new ‘croco’ effect leather, if they weren’t sumptuous enough already.

Asus Zenpad 10 (ZD300C)

Is this budget hybrid too good to be true?

If you’ve ever doubted the importance of shopping around, then may we introduce the Z300C from Asus. Comprised of a 10” tablet and detachable keyboard/speaker dock, this set sells for anything between £160 and £240.

We’re going to base this review on the lowest price, available from Amazon and the BT shop, and we wouldn’t suggest paying any more that, for reasons that we'll explain shortly. It’s also worth bearing in mind that you can buy the Asus Z300C for around £140, which is exactly the same tablet but without the dock.

Huawei MediaPad M2 10

A stylish Android tablet

The tablet market has gone a bit quiet in the past few months. Even Apple’s iPads haven’t been selling quite as well as expected. There’s a feeling that maybe everyone who wanted a tablet has got one and is quite happy with it, thank you. They don’t get broken as easily as phones, and we don’t rely so much on their cameras, so there are fewer incentives to replace or upgrade them.

HTC 10

You get what you pay for

It’s a cunning plan to call your smartphone ‘10’. Hmm, I wonder how many marks out of 10 we should give this? Well, sorry HTC, we only go up to five.

If only getting a positive review was as simple as sticking a number after the product’s name. In reality, the product has to impress us. That’s not something HTC proved very good at with last year’s M9, which was basically their previous phone with a different rubbish camera and the battery life of a turnip.

LG Stylus 2

A phone with a pen

Does anyone else remember PDAs, or did we dream them? Before there were smartphones, there were pocket computers from companies like Psion and Palm. And their black-and-white screens came with that essential accessory: the stylus.

It seems odd to feel nostalgic for something we were only too happy to give up. Glorified cocktail sticks are frustratingly easy to mislay, after all, but we can generally find our fingers.

Ultimate Ears Boom 2

A Bluetooth speaker for your summer holiday

This tough wireless travel speaker (available in several colours) would be great on holiday. Knock it into a swimming pool and the IPX7 waterproof rating means it should survive up to a metre deep for half an hour, although you won’t be able to hear it so well.

Huawei P9

Are two cameras better than one? Yes

Remember when we all thought it was silly to put a camera in a phone? Now our phones all have two cameras, and apparently that’s still not enough: this year’s trend is three. Tire LG G5 includes a separate wide-angle lens to give you a choice of framing, which is useful. Huawei has done something different: the P9’s two cameras work together to take pictures with more dynamic range.

LG G5

The first upgradable smartphone

In the old days, computers were made up of a bunch of widgets slotted together. When a component failed or a better one came along, you could undo a screw or pop open a flap and do a quick swap. Desktop PCs are still like that, which is why they’re not extinct, despite being unattractively bulky. But nowadays we carry more processing power in our pockets than we used to have on our desks, and one way engineers have achieved that miniaturisation is by abandoning ‘modularity’: the principle that parts should be independent of the whole.

Amazon Kindle Oasis

The best ebook reader yet

Two hundred and seventy pounds? For an ebook reader? We had to doublecheck to make sure we hadn’t misread the info or been transported back to the 1980s. These days, Amazon itself sells a full-blown all-purpose colour tablet computer for 50 quid. Is it seriously expecting people to pay more than five times as much for a gadget that just shows text in black and white?

iHealth Lite Scales

Keeping track of your weight has never been so easy

Digital technology for healthy lifestyles has moved on considerably since the old pedometer days. Now our phones can continually monitor the number of steps we’ve taken, how far we’ve ascended up a flight of stairs, how many calories we’re burning during moments of activity and rest, and all the while keep track of every detail.

Element Gaming Xenon 700 Headset

No noble gas, just great sounds

Element Gaming’s top-of-the-range Xenon 700 series headset is a wonderful thing to behold. The bare metal frame, with braided wiring and a large adjustable microphone arm all speak of a product that costs in excess of a hundred pounds. Surprisingly, though, the Xenon 700 is half that price.

Edifier Rave MP700 Speakers

A powerful portable and rechargeable Bluetooth speaker from Edifier

The latest trend for Bluetooth speakers has been smaller and smaller sizes, to the point where some of the units are about as much use as a bean can and a length of string. (If the analogy escapes you, ask your parents). Yet this latest offering from Edifier has gone in the opposite direction, with a quite large and, it must be said, heavy unit, which has a retro look more like a 1970s transistor radio. Let’s hope it delivers the depth and power its presence suggests.

BenQ WiT e-Reading Lamp

BenQ’s new LED lamp gives you light, without all the annoyances

BenQ is a brand that is synonymous with desktop monitors, and lately they’ve been on a journey to ensure that users are not burdened by eye aches by introducing things like anti-flicker and anti-blue light into their products. The company is going one step further by introducing a reading lamp, which is to be used with your computers. Introducing the BenQ WiT e-Reading Lamp.