ISSUE 382|COMPUTER SHOPPER|DECEMBER 2019 103103
T
he Vivoactive seriesof Garmin fitness
watches has been consistently brilliant,
and it looks like the newly revealed
Vivoactive4(right) and its smallervariant,
the Vivoactive 4S, will only improve things.
The 1.3in displayisl arger than thatof the
Vivoactive3(Shopper363),butit’snotoverly
bulkyand the narrower bezel helps make it
look betteroverall. GPS is also included, as is
built-in music playback, something the
Vivoactive3lacked untilaspecial edition
model was launched earlier this year.
There’s also nowaPulse Ox sensor,
which can provide insights intoyour blood
pressure,and besides the usual step
counting, sleep tracking and heart-rate
monitoring, the Vivoactive4has been
upgraded with menstrual cycle tracking,
hydration tracking and respiration tracking.
Fitnessfans will have no shortageof data
to sift through when the Vivoactive 4
launches later this autumn at £239.
O
ne big company making its first-ever IFAappearance was
Nokia: this wasasurprise,considering how long both Nokia
and IF Ahavebeen around. The Finnish firm didn’t wastethe
opportunity,either,showingoff five new smartphones.
Another surprise was that only twoof these,the Nokia 6.2
and 7.2, fit the modern smartphone mould. Nokia’s presentation
also included the Nokia 110, essentiallyaremake of the 2012
feature phoneof the same name,and the Nokia 2720,a4G
flip phone.There was also the Nokia 800Tough, afully
ruggedised Android handset that meets both the IP68 and
milspec 810G specifications.
The Nokia7.2(below) overshadowed them all, however.Itw ill
cost £299 when it’s released later this year,but it looks and
feels like areal high-end handset, withamassive 6.3in screen,
48-megapixel rear camera, andastylish glass and metal frame.
M
ultiroom audio specialist Sonos announced three new
products at IFA: the Sonos One SL, which is basically a
Sonos One speaker without the voice control microphones; the
Sonos Port, which can turn analogue music players (such as
turntables)intomultiroomsources;andtheSonosMove(above),
abattery-powered smart speaker you can take anywhere.
Perhaps not anywhere,asi t’s still moderately bulky, and
will need Wi-FiforAlexa and Google Assistant (both are
supported)to function. With Bluetooth connectivity and IP56
weatherproofing, however,it’s the first Sonos speaker you can
comfortably take outside in the garden.
Back indoors, it can tune its frequency responseto best
suit the sizeof the room it’s in, and bestof all can do this
automaticallyby using motion sensorsto detect its
surroundings. The Apple HomePod can do the same,but it
needs manual setup.The Move is an excitingly complete
speaker,and is available right nowfor£399.
NOKIA
GARMIN
SONOS
