HASAKEEH6MINI
DRONE/£19.99incVAT
SUPPLIERamazon.co.uk
Custom kit
PhilHartupchecksoutthelatestgadgets,gizmos and geek toys
REVIEWS / CUSTOM KIT
ATARIVAULTBUNDLE/£24.99incVAT
SUPPLIER amazon.co.uk
Hotdrinksaresupposedtobehot,andtheFornorm USB mug warmer
is supposedtokeepthemthatway.It looksniceenough, and it has a
smooth,flat-topsurfacethatcanaccommodatecups and mugs of
differentsizes.TheFornorm,beingUSBpoweredand of relatively
insubstantialdesign,doesn’thavethechopstokeep a cup of tea
significantlyhotterforanygreatlengthoftimethough.
Ofcourse,youdon’twanta devicethrowingoutthe sort of heat
neededtokeepa fullcupofcoffeepipinghotonyour desk all day,
buttheFornormis ultimatelya flawed
concept.You’llstaveoffyourtea
gettingcoldfora fewminutes
longerthanusual,butthat’sit, and
bearinmindthatyourhotdrinkwill
thentakelongertogetdowntoa
drinkabletemperatureinthefirst
placetoo.Ultimately,you’rejustusing
a USBportfora coasterandmessing
withyourdrinktimings.A hotmess ThehotnessFORNORM USB MUG
WARMER/ £6.99 inc VAT
SUPPLIER amazon.co.ukThe Hasakee H6 is a tiny quadcopter
with a six-axis controller, and it
manages to offer a ridiculous amount
of fun. For such a small drone, it’snot
easy to miss, it has lights front andback,
and it makes a noise like a miniature
crowd with vuvuzelas. That shouldbe
terrible in theory, but somehow theHasakeestylesoutitslooksand
noise with ostentatious charm.
Flying it is generally easy, but accidentsmayhappenwhenyou’re
starting out, so expect it to flip out sometimes. Thankfully, the small
mass, safety guards and spare rotors mean its capacity for destruction
is limited. The controls are comprehensive, with automatic take-off
and landing, as well as an emergency stop and an altitude hold.
Charging up via USB gives you around ten minutes of flight time for
a half-hour charge. When the power gets low, the Hasakee performs
an automatic landing, which looks a little bit like falling out of the air like
a stone, so don’t fly it over anything that won’t like being hit by a drone.
Wasp Hoverfly
nccVAVATTTThe Atari Vault Bundle combines a USB Atari 2600-style
joystick with a Steam key for the Atari Vault collection of games.
The joystick itself is an extremely faithful recreation of that
classic style of joystick, which is a mixed blessing because
they were often excruciating to use, even when they
represented the cutting edge of console technology.
The games included with the pack aren’t limited to
emulations from the original Atari 2600 anyway,
though, so you shouldn’t feel married to the
joystick to play them. For example, Pong and
Missile Command used a dial controller and
trackball respectively, rather than a joystick, when
they came out. The games within the Atari Vault
collection are immaculately remade and, even for people who are
too young to have nostalgic feelings towards them, are worth a
look purely from a historical point of view.
Recommending the joystick itself is less clear-cut. On
the one hand, if you want authenticity, then the
joystick is the way to go for the Atari 2600 games- just bear in mind that the authentic experience
in this case is clunkier than a van full of wrenches
going over a speed bump. That said, the Atari Vault
Bundle is a gem of a collection of vintage games
and well worth picking up anyway.
Stick in the mud Joystick