HTC unveils One A9s with 5-inch 720p display, Helio P10 SoC

At IFA 2016, HTC announced the sequel to last year’s mid-range One A9, the One A9s. The phone retains the design aesthetic of last year’s model, with a few subtle changes: there’s no HTC logo above the home button, and the camera sensor at the back is no longer centered. Overall, you’re looking at the same minimalist brushed aluminum design with rounded edges and antenna bands along the sides at the back. This time around, HTC is targeting a lower price point, and as such we’re looking at revised internals.

The main difference is the 5.0-inch display, with HTC moving from a Full HD AMOLED screen to a Super LCD 720p panel. The One A9s is powered by the MediaTek Helio P10, a stalwart in the mid-range segment. The SoC has eight Cortex A53 cores clocked all the way up to 2.0GHz, and a Mali-T860 MP2 GPU. HTC managed to eke out the most out of the Snapdragon 617 chip used in last year’s model, and it is likely we’ll see similar optimizations to ensure that everything runs smoothly.

The One A9s will be offered with 2GB of RAM and 16GB internal storage or 3GB of RAM and 32GB storage based on the region. Other specs include microSD slot that can take in cards up to 2TB, 13MP f/2.2 camera with 1080p video recording and manual controls, 5MP front shooter, NFC, Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.2, LTE (1/2/3/4/5/7/8/12/17/20/28/38/40), and a 2300mAh battery. You won’t find BoomSound stereo speakers up front, but HTC has included customized sound profiles that kick in when you plug in a headset.

HTC didn’t reveal pricing and availability yet — those details will vary by market — but has mentioned that the One A9s will launch globally, including the U.S. The phone will definitely be more affordable than last year’s $499 launch price of the One A9, which is obvious given the hardware on offer and the competition in this segment. The renders point to an October 14 launch in London, so that could be an indication as to when we’ll hear more.

What do you think of the One A9s?

Liveblog: Huawei at IFA 2016 — 10:30 a.m. CET (4:30 a.m. ET) Sept 1

It’s time to see everything from Huawei live from Berlin.

We’re coming at you live from Huawei’s 2016 IFA press event, from the Velodrom in Berlin. If this year comes anywhere close to last year’s event, we’ll be looking at some sort of new phone. But this is Huawei we’re talking about. Something exciting and unexpected isn’t out of the realm of possibility, right?

Only one way to find out. We’re liveblogging this bad boy stating at 10:30 a.m. CET — that’s 4:30 a.m. in New York City, and 1:30 a.m. on the West Coast (the best coast) of the U.S.

See you there!

Huawei unveils mid-range Nova and Nova Plus, MediaPad M3 tablet

At its IFA 2016 press conference, Huawei unveiled the Nova and Nova Plus, and the metal-clad 8.4-inch MediaPad M3 tablet. The Nova and Nova Plus are the latest entrants in Huawei’s mid-range series, which sits one tier below the flagship P9. The phones are aimed at a younger audience, offering an 8MP front camera and a 12MP rear shooter (16MP on the Nova Plus) with large 1.25 μm pixel size.

In broad strokes, you’re looking at phones with metal designs (with the Nova looking like a smaller version of the Nexus 6P), chamfered sides and decent specs. The Nova features a 5-inch Full HD display, 14nm Snapdragon 625 SoC, 3GB of RAM, 32GB storage with microSD slot, 12MP camera, 8MP front shooter, USB-C, and a 3025mAh battery. The Nova Plus comes with a larger 5.5-inch Full HD display, a 16MP rear shooter, and larger 3340mAh battery. Both phones have fingerprint sensors at the back, and run EMUI 4.1 based on Android 6.0 Marshmallow out of the box.

The MediaPad M3 tablet offers an 8.4-inch display with a resolution of 2560 x 1600, HiSilicon Kirin 950 SoC (four Cortex A72 cores at 2.3GHz, four Cortex A53 at 1.8GHz), 8MP front and rear cameras, 4GB of RAM and storage variations of 32GB or 64GB, Wi-Fi ac, Bluetooth 4.1, and a 5100mAh battery. The tablet also runs EMUI 4.1.

The Nova will be available in over 50 countries starting October for €399 ($444), with availability kicking off in Germany, Austria, France and Spain before hitting other markets. Similarly, the Nova Plus will debut in October in Spain, Italy and Canada for €429 ($477) before making its way to other global markets.

As for the , the tablet will be available starting September 26 in China, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, France, New Zealand, Spain, Germany, Philippines, Thailand, Italy, Portugal, United Kingdom, Japan, and Russia. It will be sold in Wi-Fi and LTE variants. Here’s the breakdown:

• €349 4GB RAM + 32GB storage (Wi-Fi only)
• €399 4GB RAM + 64GB storage (Wi-Fi only)
• €399 4GB RAM + 32GB storage (LTE)
• €449 4GB RAM + 64GB storage (LTE)

Check out our hands-on coverage for more on Huawei’s latest:

• Huawei Nova and Nova Plus preview
• Huawei MediaPad M3 review

Press release follows:

Huawei Debuts New nova Series of Smartphones at IFA 2016

Thousands of great shots on a single charge

Berlin – Sept. 1, 2016 – At IFA 2016, Huawei Consumer Business Group debuted the Huawei nova and
the Huawei nova plus, the first smartphones in the new series designed to meet the needs of today’s
most dynamic consumers. The new nova series features a stunning multi-curve design, camera advances
for more vivid photography and performance updates for enhanced usability. Every feature of the
Huawei nova and Huawei nova plus is designed to support consumers’ fast-paced lifestyles and express
their unique personalities, whether that means capturing the perfect selfie or taking thousands of shots
on a single charge. Huawei also announced new color options for the awarding-winning Huawei P9
smartphone.

Available beginning in October, the €399 Huawei nova and €429 Huawei nova plus in Prestige Gold,
Mystic Silver and Titanium Grey, are just the beginning of an exciting new series designed to defy
expectations. The series delivers brilliant usability features combined with stunning looks and powerful
performance, which continues Huawei’s commitment to innovation and design.

“Huawei recognizes that dynamic consumers demand a device that keeps up with their fast-paced
lifestyle,” said Richard Yu, CEO of Huawei Consumer Business Group. “Designed to bring new
experiences to life with its incredible performance, stylish design and advanced camera features, the
Huawei nova and Huawei nova plus devices are the perfect fit for a generation that lives their life on a
smartphone.”

At an exclusive launch event held at the Velodrom in Berlin, world-renowned fashion blogger Xenia
joined Yu on stage and praised the nova’s high-end design features and fantastic camera, calling the
device a “must-have” for her fast-paced, camera-ready lifestyle.

With its Huawei nova series, Huawei continues to defy expectations following its successful smartphone
launches earlier this year, including the powerful Mate 8 and Huawei P9, which redefined the standard
in smartphone photography.

Ergonomic Design

The Huawei nova smartphone’s curved surfaces and 5-inch screen connect seamlessly to create an
ergonomic, compact design that fits perfectly in users’ hands, enabling single-handed functionality. As
beautiful to look at as it is to use, the Huawei nova draws inspirations from curves found in modern
architecture with its curved metallic back polished by an advanced sandblasting process, hairline
finishing and signature oblong composite panel stretching across the top of the phone. The subtle
contours and smooth curves reflect light to emit multiple shades of brilliant colors and sheens.

Outstanding Photography Experience

Today’s smartphone users demand a device that empowers them to capture and share their favorite
moments, anytime and anywhere. With its powerful 8 megapixel front-facing camera, the Huawei nova
enables users to take and share better selfies in any lighting condition. Additional features include the
proprietary Beauty Makeup 2.0 and Beautiful Skin 3.0 applications, which apply cosmetic effects and
skin smoothing filters to create more flattering images.
2

The Huawei nova’s 12 megapixel rear camera with 1.25 μm larger pixel sports an enhanced wideaperture
lens and imaging sensor allowing it to capture photos in low-light conditions, while the Huawei
nova plus features an outstanding 16 megapixel rear camera, enabling it to capture more light for
sharper, clear and richly refined photos in any environment. In addition, the Huawei nova series
supports fast autofocus for amazing accuracy, helping consumers capture wonderful moments in their
life.

Real-world Performance

The Huawei nova series is powered by the Snapdragon 625 processor, which uses advanced 14nm
technology to increase performance and reduce power consumption. The Huawei nova’s 3020 mAh
battery with Smart Power 4.0 can power longer sessions for users to easily navigate between different
apps. With a next-generation 3D fingerprint sensor, the Huawei nova supports faster and more accurate
360-degree unlocking for improved security, convenience and single-handed selfies. The Huawei nova
plus’s 3340 mAh battery delivers an even longer battery life, allowing users to capture thousands of
shots on a single charge.

The Huawei nova also features DTS Headphone:XTM optimized audio for authentic 3D, home-theater
quality surround sound.

New Fashion-forward Huawei P9 Colors

Following its global launch earlier this year, Huawei released new fashion-forward colors for the Huawei
P9 dual-camera smartphone co-engineered with Leica AG. Inspired by the dramatic, bold colors found in
1960’s pop art, the P9 is available in two new vibrant finishes, Red and Blue. Beginning at €549, these
new colors represent Huawei’s focus on creating on-trend products for consumers who value style and
design.

Availability

The Huawei nova, with 32GB ROM and 3GB RAM, will be available in October in over 50 countries and
regions, including Germany, Austria, France and Spain before being offered in additional markets. The
Huawei nova plus, with 32GB ROM and 3GB RAM, will initially be available in October in over 50 markets,
including Spain, Italy and Canada, before being offered in additional markets. In China, the Huawei nova
series can be purchased online at JD.com and Tmall.com, in addition to the Huawei store.

Huawei Nova and Nova Plus preview: Making affordable feel premium

Huawei makes its best build quality more attainable than ever in a brand new line of metal-clad phones.

In the past ten months since it shipped the Nexus 6P, Huawei has firmed up its place among the best Android manufacturers when it comes to industrial design. Sure, the software has often been a whole other mess, but it’s hard to argue with the build quality of phones like the P9 and P9 Plus. Huawei makes good stuff — hardware that deserved a spot next to the Galaxy S7

But premium hardware often demands a premium price tag, and that’s where the Chinese firm is looking to differentiate itself through a new mid-level line: Huawei Nova.

Nova is a new “mid-tier” brand for Huawei, sitting below the flagship P series in the grand scheme of things, aimed at a slightly younger audience with discerning tastes, big battery demands and a the need to take lots of photos. If that sounds familiar, it’s because it’s not unlike the “digital natives” pitch from Huawei’s other brand, Honor. But a company spokesperson told us they’re not worried about any crossover between Nova and Honor. Honor operates as a separate company, mainly through online channels, while Nova looks to be a carrier-based proposition under Huawei. (For what it’s worth, Nova’s audience is described as “dynamic aspirers,” in case “digital natives” wasn’t quite cringey enough for you.)

But onto the phones themselves. In an era when mid-level handsets still have a tendency to be functional and frumpy, Huawei brings its top-tier industrial design to Nova in two form factors. As with the P9 line, there’s a choice of two screen sizes — 5 inches for the regular Nova, 5.5 for the Nova Plus. And in physical terms, both devices have echoes of some earlier Huawei designs.

The Nova resembles a shrunken-down Nexus 6P, with a stylish glass band containing its camera and chamfers adorning the front and back. It’s altogether less bulky than the 6P however, with no protruding “wedge,” and a thickness of just under 7 mm. Given the smaller footprint, slimmer body and slightly angled sides, it’s a comfortable fit in the hand, and at a screen size that for many still represents the sweet spot for smartphones. Though arguably a little generic, it looks good and feels good, and isn’t going to weigh you down.

The regular Nova looks like a tiny Nexus 6P, the Nova Plus a shrunken-down Mate 8.

Despite this, Huawei’s packed in a 3020 mAh battery — a reasonable capacity which, combined with Qualcomm’s latest Snapdragon 625, the company claims can deliver two days of use per charge.

The 625 is the successor to the older Snapdragon 615 — a chip which has (rightfully) earned a reputation of being dog slow, power-hungry and running hot. Fortunately, thanks to a quicker GPU and a more efficient manufacturing process, the 625 shows none of these issues. So there’s every reason to expect the Nova to strike a better balance of performance and power-saving. And that’ll surely be helped along by the fact that the regular Nova’s only running a 5-inch 1080p IPS LCD, as opposed to a larger panel.

When it comes to imaging, the Nova inherits some of the Huawei P9’s imaging chops, with a 12-megapixel sensor boasting 1.25-micron pixels. That’s the same as the P9 on paper — and may even be the same sensor as that phone — only without the contrast-enhancing monochrome sensor backing it up.

Switch up to the Nova Plus and you’re dealing with a larger 5.5-inch screen, still at 1080p, and a chassis that looks more like a shrunken Huawei Mate 8 than anything. The Plus swaps its futuristic camera visor for a traditional camera bump, while switching up to an optically-stabilized 16-megapixel camera (presumably with smaller pixels around the standard 1.1-micron level). It’s also ever so slightly more rounded than the smaller model, but besides that many of the design traits carry over — subtly curved metal back, brushed aluminum and chamfers that help break things up visually while helping with grip.

The bump up to Nova Plus gets you a larger screen, a bigger battery and a camera with OIS.

Both cameras performed similarly in our brief time with the Nova series ahead of the announcement, though we suspect the Plus’s OIS chops will help it pull ahead in darker conditions. There’s no Leica branding to be seen here, and instead the Nova and Nova Plus both use the standard Huawei camera app — but that also has plenty of tricks up its sleeve, including “Pro” mode for manually controlling ISO and shutter speed, and a light-painting apps to create artistic shots when the phone’s mounted to a tripod.

In any case, the Plus’s larger size makes it a little more difficult to wrangle one-handed, but it’s no worse in this respect than its high-end counterpart, the P9 Plus. The camera bump is perhaps a little unfortunate, but the trade-off in low-light performance should be worth it. Nova Plus owners should also benefit from even better battery life, with Huawei promising 2.2 days of use from the 3,340mAh fixed cell.

When it comes time to charge, you’ll power up both the Nova and Nova Plus over USB Type-C, with the Nova series being one of a growing number of mid-level handsets to use the latest reversible connector. Huawei isn’t saying anything about quick-charging support at the moment, but that’s perhaps not surprising given that it’s traditionally done its own thing in this area.

EMUI is still a mixed bag, but there’s more good stuff than ever before.

Both handsets are powered by Android 6.0 Marshmallow and Huawei’s EMUI 4.1 software layer. As we’ve said many times before, the latest version of Huawei’s UI fixes a lot of the things that were either annoying or straight-up broken about previous versions, though it remains a highly customized variant of Android, with an iOS-style lock screen and notification setup. There are tons of useful little features to discover if you go looking, and EMUI is pretty good about keeping apps in check to safeguard battery life. That said, you’ll probably have to manually tweak things to keep background apps working as expected. And it also takes some tweaking to get EMUI looking like the Android you might be familiar with. But at least it’s no longer messing with all your app icons.

EMUI is still long overdue a complete overhaul — and by all accounts it appears to be getting one with the upcoming EMUI 5 release, based on Android 7.0. It’s a shame it’s not ready in time to debut on the Nova series, but then we wouldn’t necessarily expect such a major software upgrade to appear first on a mid-tier device.

Overall, it’s kinda crazy to think that this is what a mid-range phone looks like today. The Huawei Nova series isn’t the highest of the high-end, but their design build quality convey flagship aesthetics. And they also have the potential to exceed expectations in camera and battery performance.

But the main takeaway here is how premium design no longer has to demand an excessive price tag. Although I’ve only spent a short amount of time with the Nova series so far, I’m impressed — these metal-bodied beasts wouldn’t look out of place at the €500 mark. And the internals are solid too. It’s just a shame that, as ever, these phones come with a big software-related asterisk — at least until the next major firmware upgrade arrives.

The Huawei Nova will be available in 50 countries starting October. Launch countries include Germany, Austria, France and Spain. Pricing starts at €399 for the Nova, and €429 for Nova Plus.

Huawei MediaPad M3 review: Excellent hardware meets frustrating software

Huawei brings its top specs to a new, smaller MediaPad — and the result is basically an 8.4-inch phone.

Android tablets are in a weird place right now, with slow sales and relatively few compelling devices on the market. Huawei is one of the rising brands in Android phones right now, particularly in Europe, and thus the company has cash to plow into making high-end tablets where others might shy away.

The Huawei MediaPad M3 is the latest creation of the Chinese firm, with significantly upgraded specs from the previous-gen M2 — let’s just forget about that thing, okay? — as well as refreshed software and refined build quality. Huawei’s latest fits neatly into its portfolio between devices like the MateBook and P9 series, with an 8.4-inch display size that hits the same sweet spot as the iPad mini.

But can a company still struggling to find its way in smartphone software step up and create a worthy Android tablet experience? Read on to find out.

About this review: Ahead of its announcement at IFA 2016, we used the Huawei MediaPad M3 for a week in Manchester, UK and Berlin, Germany. Our model was LTE-equipped — using an EE SIM card — and running pre-release B005 firmware.

From the outside, the Huawei MediaPad M3 mirrors the design of the company’s latest mid-level phone, the Nova. There’s a big Nexus 6P-style camera visor up top housing the 8-megapixel rear shooter. Aside from that, and a bit of branding, it’s a largely featureless slab of metal, broken up by reflective chamfers that also ease one-handed use a little.

The hardware has a premium look and feel that was lacking in the MediaPad M2, and it seems like manufacturing tolerances have been dialed in to more or less where they are in Huawei’s latest high-end phones. It lacks the otherworldly thinness and lightness of the current iPad mini 4, but that’s not necessarily a deal-breaker. (After all, it’s a bigger device in all directions.)

Huawei’s tablet build quality finally matches that of its high-end phones.

A large part of that heft has to do with the immense battery lurking within — a 5100 mAh cell that we’ve found able to drive up to a week of moderate-to-light use on Wi-Fi. (Helped along by Android 6.0’s Doze functionality, no doubt.) As for video playback (streaming, also over Wi-Fi), the tablet sips power, and after a couple of hours of YouTube binging we’d yet to deplete the tablet to below 80 percent. On a cellular connection you can expect a predictable dip in longevity.

Elsewhere, the MediaPad M3 packs in all the latest Huawei internals — the Kirin 950 chip powering the Mate 8 and Honor 8, backed up by 4GB of RAM and 32 or 64GB of storage, along with microSD expansion. And as this is a MediaPad, audio and video have received special attention too. The display is an impressive 2560×1440 IPS LCD panel, which boasts vibrant colors and ample daylight visibility — though with just a tiny bit of noticeable light bleeding in the white model we’re reviewing.

On the audio side, Huawei has partnered once again with Harman/Kardon to bring an impressive pair of stereo speakers to the MediaPad M3. Alongside a dedicated DSP capable of handling 192kHz, 24-bit content, the bundled software can tweak output depending on the type of content you’re listening to. Generally, audio playback is similar to that of the MediaPad M2 10: extremely loud (almost uncomfortably so) at the highest volume level, but lacking some of the bass and clarity you’d get from a standalone Bluetooth speaker system.

Huawei’s latest tablet is also a phone — at least technically. As well as being LTE-enabled, you can also make calls through the built-in phone app — although the lack of an earpiece and proximity sensor means you’re stuck in speakerphone mode. (Not that you’d really want to hold a 8.4-inch slab of metal up against your head.)

The tablet inherits Huawei’s excellent fingerprint scanner tech from its Android phones, with a front-mounted sensor for unlocking that also doubles as a mini trackpad of sorts for gesture shortcuts. (For example, swipe horizontally to launch the recent apps switcher, or tap to go back.) Despite its small size (compared to the average smartphone fingerprint sensor, at least) it performs well, and Huawei’s fingerprint setup is relatively painless too.

A largely forgettable rear camera.

Unfortunately, despite the prominent camera band around the back of the device, the M3’s rear shooter is largely forgettable. Low-light performance from the 8-megapixel unit is aggressively mediocre, with an abundance of chroma noise. And even daylight shots appear soft, without much fine detail. It’s not surprising for an Android tablet camera to be an afterthought, it’s still disappointing to see such a low-quality setup used in a relatively high-tier gadget.

Performance across the board has been decent, with a few exceptions. The Kirin 950 chip is a proven performer, and manages browsing and light app usage with ease, as well streaming video at up to 2K resolution without a hitch. The only places we ran into performance issues were in demanding games like Asphalt 8, where the default graphical settings made the game almost unplayable. Less graphically intensive titles like Angry Birds 2 performed just fine.

The major takeaway here: Browsing and media consumption are just fine, but don’t expect the M3 to be a serious gaming tablet. The Kirin 950 simply doesn’t have the graphical horsepower to drive high-end games at 2560×1600.

Familiar Huawei software bugbears remain — at least until the EMUI 5

On the software side, the MediaPad M3 mirrors what we’ve seen from the past generation of Huawei smartphones. It’s running Android 6.0 Marshmallow out of the box, along with Huawei’s EMUI 4.1 software layer. Like its M2 predecessor, the experience you’re getting here is basically a phone UI on a larger display. Given the M3’s 8.4-inch form factor, however, you can more or less get away with this. And this time around Huawei’s also done a better job to ensure built-in apps like the dialer, messaging app and settings panel scale sensibly in landscape mode.

That said, the experience remains basically just like using an enormous Huawei phone. All our favorite features from EMUI on phones — tight control over background apps for improved battery life, handy tethering features, display tweaks like “eye protection” mode and direct control over screen density — remain intact.

As does Huawei’s split-screen mode, which is useful enough on a larger display, despite only supporting a handful of apps. Unfortunately you’ll need to wait on an update to Android 7.0 Nougat and EMUI 5 to benefit from system-wide multi-window support.

But by the same token you also get Huawei’s weird icon setup — yep, despite Huawei phones moving away from obnoxious custom icons for third-party apps, the company’s tablets continue to give Google and other applications an irritating rectangular trim that you can’t disable.

Another of our pet hates is back too: Huawei’s iOS-like notification system makes an unwelcome return, as do its many compatibility issues with numerous Android messaging and music apps. It’s no easier to excuse these issues on a tablet than it is on a phone. We’ve already seen that the customized notification shade is going away in the next version of Huawei’s software. Until then it’s just a case of toughing it out.

Overall, the Huawei MediaPad M3 is a decent tablet that reflects where Huawei is right now as a gadget maker: the hardware’s still excellent, but it lands at a time where we’re waiting on a really big, important update to Huawei’s software. There’s no guarantee when exactly EMUI 5 (and Android 7.0) will land for the tablet, but like each and every one of Huawei’s phones, this device will be immeasurably better once it does.

Until that time, it’s a cautious recommendation for Huawei’s latest Android slate. It’s not cheap, with pricing starting at €349 for the cheapest 32GB Wi-Fi model — and that makes it a tough sell over Apple’s iPad mini 4. Still, it’s a decent option for anyone after a solid, high-end Android tablet without a huge gaming focus. But as ever, Huawei’s software quirks are something you’ll have put up with — at least in the short term.

Huawei MediaPad M3 pricing and availability

The Huawei MediaPad M3 will be available in the first wave of launch countries from Sept. 26. This includes China, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, France, New Zealand, Spain, Germany, Philippines, Thailand, Italy, Portugal, United Kingdom, Japan and Russia.

• €349 — 4GB + 32GB Wi-Fi
• €399 — 4GB + 32GB LTE
• €399 — 4GB + 64GB Wi-Fi
• €449 — 4GB + 64 GB LTE

TomTom Spark 3 and Runner 3 let you explore on your runs with new route tracking feature

The TomTom Spark (and the Runner sister product) have expanded their skills with a new route discovery feature.

In its new guise as the TomTom Spark 3 (or Runner 3), you get all the features of the current models, but boosted with the new route tracking feature.

Using the Spark’s compass and GPS, the route will be traced across the display, meaning you can run free, knowing that the watch has a record of where you’ve come from, so you can easily find your way back to the start. 

This new feature sits alongside the Spark’s optical heart rate tracking, which we’ve found to be very good on previous models, as well as its regular GPS tracking which will record your speed and distance.

Pocket-lint

As before, the TomTom Spark is designed to track a range of different sports, from running to cycling, and offers 40m water resistance.

Although the body of the watch remains the same design as previously – with a large four-way controller sitting below the display, the Spark 3 offers a newly designed strap that’s softer and more comfortable, with more elegant fastenings than before.

The Spark 3 syncs with your MySports app to let you examine your workout in more detail once you’ve finished. 

As with the existing Spark or Runner models there will be a number of different versions, covering the basic Spark 3, Spark 3 + Music with Bluetooth headphones, Spark 3 Cardio, Spark 3 Cardio + Music and finally Spark 3 Cardio Music + Headphones.

Pocket-lint

The entry level Spark 3 device lacks the heart track sensor or music and starts at £119.99; the top level model will cost you £249.99.

The Spark 3/Runner 3 will initially launch in the Cardio + Music configuration at £199.99 and goes on pre-order today. The full range will be available from October.

Gamification of driving: TomTom Curfer will deliver driving stats to improve your performance

There’s a connection on your car that’s talked about on car forums and in service centres, but not a lot else. It’s called the OBD, on-board diagnostics, and TomTom has just made a fun accessory for it.

The TomTom Curfer connects to the car’s OBD port and then transmits data collected to your smartphone, where you’ll be running the Curfer app.

The data that the Curfer collects is broken down into four major sections: acceleration, braking, idling and cornering. The app will assess your performance as a driver and give you a score, so you can see where you could be doing better.

Pocket-lint

TomTom says that Curfer doesn’t just pull these figures out of thin air, they’re based on sound driving practices and the aim is to get those scores up to 100 per cent. This isn’t a live thing, it’s based around making long-term improvements to your driving habits.

Aside from monitoring your driving habits and urging you to drive more efficiently, the Curfer can also monitor your car’s systems. It will recognise the car you have and be able to report back on a range of stats that you might not always have access to.

It’s designed to be fun and aimed that those who love their cars and want to know a little bit more about what’s happening on the road. It’s something of a niche offering, but we can’t help feeling that there’s the potential to make more of that OBD port for everyday consumers.

The TomTom Curfer will cost £59.99.

Libratone enters the Lightning headphone biz with its Q Adapt series

Libratone has launched a new series of headphones called Q Adapt.

The most interesting thing about this series is that it features both Lightning-powered and Bluetooth models with adjustable active noise cancellation. The seven-year-old audio company has described the series, which consists of Lightning-powered in-ear headphones and wireless on-ear headphones, as having its “signature Scandinavian style”. There series initially has just the two models to offer.

The Q Adapt on-ear headphones connect to any Bluetooth, have a microphone integrated into the ear cup, an ergonomic fit, and a touch interface that lets users set ANC and control playback and phone calls. You can use activate Libratone’s Hush function with a simple hovering hand gesture. Other features include built-in proximity sensors that cut the ANC and wireless daisy chaining so two users can share music from one device.

The on-ear cans also feature a new CityMix technology from Libratone. The idea is that while full ANC prevents you from turning up your music to block outside noise, you sometimes need to hear some of the outside world so you can quickly react, and CityMix makes that possible. Libratone said it lets you “enjoy great sound and ANC, completely uninterrupted, anywhere you are throughout the day”.

Libratone

The Q Adapt in-ear headphones will work with all of Apple’s iPhone and iPad models with a Lightning connector and are capable of delivering a “more robust digital sound”, according to Libratone. They don’t need a “cumbersome extra battery pack” like typical ANC headphones, it said. Features include cables made of a “special Libratone fabric”, an embedded microphone, and earbuds made of durable rubber.

The Q Adapt in-ear headphones are priced at £159 and available in the colours Elegant Nude, Cloudy White, Stormy Black, and Rose Pink, while the Q Adapt on-ear headphones are priced at £219 and available in the colours Elegant Nude, Cloudy White, and Stormy Black. Both can be preordered at libratone.com from early September and will be in major audio retailers in October.

TomTom Vio is a satnav for scooters, to help you get where the funk you’re going

TomTom is launching a new satnav that’s designed specifically for those commuting on scooters or motorbikes.

A simpler alternative to TomTom’s existing Rider line of bike navigation devices, the TomTom Vio opts for a funky round design, so it will match the mirrors on your vintage Vespa. 

The TomTom Vio itself is waterproof, comes with changeable covers for colour customisation, and offers a couple of mount options – either on the handlebars or on a mirror stalk.

Pocket-lint

The Vio then easily twist locks onto the mount for secure access. Waterproof and accessible with gloves, the Vio isn’t a full satnav unit, it’s really an extension of your phone. All the Vio provides is the display and an additional GPS unit, but then relies on a Bluetooth connection to your phone, where the TomTom app will run the show. 

That means there there’s no complex interface: you enter the destination on your smartphone and that’s reflected on your Vio. It gives you instructions on the round display, as well as offering voice instructions, through your headphones, your helmet or whatever you have. The Vio will also alert you if you’re speeding, turning red, as well as notifying you of things like incoming calls.

The TomTom Vio is compatible with TomTom Traffic, so you get all the advantages of a full system, but without all the complication. 

The TomTom Vio will cost you £149 and sadly there’s no plans to release a car mount. Sad face.