Bundle-up and hibernate at home at this snowy time of year? Here is the hottest tech for the coolest season.
While some Canadians enjoy spending time in the great outdoors during winter months— skiing, snowboarding, skating, or ice fishing others will travel down south or choose to hibernate indoors until the thaw.
Whatever your pleasure and wherever you end up… home alone or with others, winter can still be plenty of fun.
Nowadays, we can all expect to enjoy extraordinary entertainment experiences with immersive home theatre gear, while those who prefer to be pampered might opt for massaging chairs and mixed reality headsets that make it look like you’re meditating on top of a mountain. Or how about a pizza oven that works indoors (in the winter) and can be brought outdoors by the Spring?
The following are a handful of ideas to get you going, while cozily warm in your home, for one wild winter.
Wild about wireless
Good technology could solve a problem. Rather than limiting where to place your television in your home because of where your cable or fiber enters the building, LG’s OLED evo M3 Series offers the world’s first wireless OLED televisions (aside from the power cable).
That is, each M3 TV includes a Zero Connect Box, which you can place somewhere in the room. This is where you’ll connect your devices like your cable box, video game console, or Blu-ray player.
Once connected, the box can wirelessly transmit 4K resolution video to the television, at 120Hz speeds for up to a 0.1 millisecond response rate (comparable with high-end gaming TVs), up to 10 metres away (about 33 feet). It can also transmit Dolby Atmos audio.
Available in a few ultra-large sizes, prices are $7,999 for the 77-inch version or $9,999 for the 83-incher.
Get a handle on it
Speaking of wireless screens, the HP Envy Move All-in-One PC ($1,569.99) may look like a regular 24-inch all-in-one desktop computer—and it is—but when the mood strikes, simply unplug it from the wall, lift it up using it built-in handle, and carry it off to another spot in your home. Battery life tops four hours between charges.
Super clever Integrated legs fold in when HP Envy Move is lifted up and then expands once it’s placed back down on a flat surface. A small pouch in the back holds the wireless keyboard when not needed.
Adaptive surround sound that senses where you are in the room to deliver a full-sounding space based on proximity is also a much loved feature.
Ideal if your son or daughter, who doesn’t ordinarily have a TV in their bedroom, has invited friends for a birthday sleepover. Just carry the aptly named HP Move into their room and let the little darlings stream Disney+ until its time for bed. Or, bring the Intel-powered PC to your home office to continue working in peace and quiet and take it to the kitchen to follow along with a recipe while Zooming a friend. Other users take it to their home gym for a virtual yoga class. You get the idea.
From whispers to booms
For private audio, Bowers & Wilkins’ Px8 ($899) are the company’s flagship over-the-ear headphones,that fuses extraordinarily clear and well-balanced audio with reliable wireless performance and buttery-soft comfort.
Available in classic colours—classic black, tan, and a new royal burgundy—the Px8s feature high-resolution (24-bit DSP) audio, complimented by its new 40mm Carbon Cones, that reduces distortion, increases clarity, and captures subtle nuances in your music.
What’s more, these headphones—that combine light aluminium arms with Nappa leather—support aptX adaptive wireless technology for streaming without compromise, along with proprietary noise-cancelling technology via its six integrated microphones that work together (and to deliver clear calls, too).
Virtually there
What do you do when you’ve made the no. 1 selling virtual reality headset?
If you’re Meta—grabbers of 50% market share in this space—you launch an all-new model that boasts several new features and improvements over its predecessor.
Please welcome Meta Quest 3 (from $649), an impressive new mixed reality device to (ahem) augment its existing and still popular Meta Quest 2 virtual reality headset (and its more business-centric Meta Quest Pro). Applications range from gaming and fitness to meditation and chat rooms to virtual travel.
Along with a smaller headset, Meta Quest 3 ups the resolution to 4K for each eye, resulting in much crisper graphics, along with more power and memory.
But the key difference with the newbie over its predecessor is its colour pass through capabilities—as evidenced by the cameras and sensors on the front of the new headset. Now users can clearly see and interact with digital information superimposed on top of the world around, not just what’s inside the headset.
This is fun when you’re playing tabletop games with objects that seemingly appear on a table or desk, or when shooting colourful critters hiding behind your furniture or trying to blow holes in your wall.
In other words, Meta Quest 3 is now a proper mixed-reality headset, instead of just a VR headset with Meta Quest 2. The controllers are smaller and more comfortable now and include “haptic” feedback, it vibrates based on the content you’re experiencing.
Get laid back
There are massage chairs and then there’s Osaki’s Ai Vivo 4D+2D that promises a more stress free start to the new year.
At $15,999 this top of the line massage chair is equipped with an uber-relaxing dual massage mechanism system, consisting of advanced 4D rollers across the entire back and at 2D rollers near the bottom—for your glutes and the top of your hamstrings.
Artificial intelligence provides an optimal massage based on your body’s condition using an integrated health monitor that gathers data to detect stress and tension and metrics like heart rate, blood oxygen levels, microcirculation. There’s even a fatigue index.
By applying pressure and kneading muscles, tendons, and pressure points the chair promotes better blood circulation, while also gently stretching the back, and adding heat, if desired.
Along with an integrated phone charger, the chair includes support for voice control and a touchscreen remote controller. Now that’s chill!
Guilt-free pooch pampering
On a cruise, visiting family or just at work. Why not keep an eye on your precious pet while you’re not at home, and even dispense treats on demand. That’s the premise behind the Petcube Bites 2 Wi-Fi Pet Camera with Treat Dispenser ($239.99).
Simply connect the HD camera to your Wi-Fi network, install the free app on your smartphone or tablet, and then kiss Rover or Fluffy goodbye and leave the house.
Wherever life takes you, launch the app, talk to your pet, snap a pic or shoot video (1080p HD resolution, and with 4x zoom). Dispense a small, dry treat from the launcher by simply swiping your screen.
Other features include 160-degree wide angle view, night vision to see fluffy in the dark, 2-way audio, sound and motion alerts, and even a built-in Alexa assistant that play music, answer questions, read you the news, controls your smart home, and more.
Pepperoni please
There is nothing better than a homemade pizza, especially when making it is ‘easy-peezy.’
Enter the latest Ooni pizza oven($1,299)—the company’s first all-electric pizza oven that can be used indoors and outdoors.
Like all other Ooni pizza ovens, the Volt 12 boasts high heat—up to 850°F in just
20 minutes,and so you can cook a delicious stone-baked pizza in just 90 seconds. Seriously.
It conveniently fits on a standard kitchen countertop, with built in handles for easy portability, and can be brought outdoors in warmer months to make a ‘za’ on a backyard deck.
Features include a heat-retaining triple-paned borosilicate glass door, adjustable dials to control top and bottom heating elements, and larger 13-inch cooking area. (And hey, at just 90 seconds apiece you can simply make more pizzas, if desired, instead of larger ones).
Along with its built-in timer, temperature control and Boost mode, the optional Ooni Pizza Ovens app includes tools like a pizza dough calculator (to make a perfect pie based on several variables), a recipes section, and videos (covering a variety of topics).
For the past 25 years, Marc Saltzman has been a recognized expert in consumer electronics, business tech, and automotive trends. Marc is a keynote speaker across North America and hosts the weekly Tech It Out podcast. You can follow Marc on X @ marc_saltzman.
