Great new gadgets for personal use

Garmin puts a heart rate on the wrist, a hub with style, a Sony projector for the pocket and B&O gives more control.

vivoactive HR, Standard Views, United States

Garmin Vivoactive HR

The Vivoactive HR adds wrist-based heart rate and a barometric altimeter to the original Vivoactive. Previously you had to wear a separate chest strap to measure heart rate. The Vivoactive HR has an always-on touchscreen and is designed to keep track of each individual training session. It’s also waterproof. It specialises in tracking running, cycling, pool swimming, golfing, stand up paddleboarding and rowing, and skiing and snowboarding. It accumulates lots of activity information. Using its accelerometer and GPS it can track runs either indoors or out. It measures each lap and sends vibration alerts for heart rate, pace, run/walk intervals, and offers post-run summaries. Vívoactive HR will begin shipping in April for a suggested retail price of $399.

HyperDrive USB Type-C 5-in-1 Hub

Hubs are usually nondescript black boxes, essential but nothing to be enthused about. But this one grabbed my attention. It’s designed to sit flush against the side of a 12-inch MacBook or Chromebook Pixel, and it matches 12-inch MacBook colours: silver, space grey and gold. It offers a variety of connectivity and shows the versatility of USB Type-C. You get two USB 3.0 ports, a microSDXC card slot and a regular SDXC slot. The hub has its own USB Type-C port that supports charging. $US49.95 online from www.hypershop.com

Sony Mobile Projector

Sony’s mobile projector is a short-throw, pocket-sized projector that delivers 1080p HD resolution images. It can display a screen size of up to 120 inches at a distance of 3.45 metres. It has a built-in speaker and can be used for home and mobile entertainment, business presentations and for displaying content from smartphones and tablets. It can connect to a source by HDMI, to a mobile device using MHL (mobile high-definition link) or use screen mirroring to display content from a smartphone, tablet device or PC via wi-fi. It has an aluminium body with a matt finish and a 3400mAh battery that delivers up to 120 minutes of HD playback. It is available on www.sony.com.au for a recommended $699.

Bang & Olufsen H8 noise cancelling headphones

B & O’s Beoplay H8 is a wireless Bluetooth headset that lets you control incoming calls and music playback with gestures. On the right ear cuff, you can short press/long press, swipe forward or up and down to answer or reject calls, redial, turn the volume up and down, and select the next track. It has a metal/leather headband, leather ear cuffs and is powered by a rechargeable lithium-ion battery. It offers 14 hours of playback using Bluetooth and active noise cancellation and up to 35 hours with ANC only. It comes with a flight adaptor and a carrying pouch. $679 from Bang & Olufsen stores.