EposVox here with a slightly different tech video than usual.
I’m going to cover a few last-minute tech-ish gift ideas you can pick up this holiday season.
We’ve got one core gift and one stocking stuffer that I would’ve been hella-excited
to receive!
The third is something I’m using to record this very video… ooooh.
First and foremost we have the new Fast and Furious edition Anki Overdrive.
I used to play hours upon hours of the old electric and magnet slot car race tracks with
my dad and cousins, followed by some really awesome Hot Wheels race track setups - good
ol’ D batteries…
Well Anki takes this concept and modernizes it, and this is a great starter kit to get
going.
Rated for ages 8 and up, but this is fun for the whole family - even the cats!
In the kit you get quite a few track pieces, guard rails, risers, a couple cars, tire cleaner
and car charger.
You see, these cars connect to your phone via bluetooth, and you control them via their
app.
Minor complaint being that there’s different apps for the different sets instead of one
hub app.
Install the app, pair with the cars, and plop them down on the track.
The cars will automatically scan the track to get the layout - however you want to build
it!
The pieces are super easy to put together with magnets, add the guard rails to keep
from losing the turns, and you’re good to go.
Racing can be done versus the AI or other players on different phones.
Hold down the throttle to control speed and turn your phone to change lanes.
I got to play a bit with my dad again lately, and it’s awesome.
If you’re looking for family fun, this might be the one to check out.
For the retro gamer on your list, Retro-Bit has recently released more Capcom-themed controllers,
this time for the Super Nintendo and Sega Genesis -- still maintaining PC compatibility,
of course.
I’ve been finally working on picking up some SNES must-haves lately, so having some
solid controllers to play with has been a blast.
These feature graphics from MegaMan (just in time for the new MegaMan 11 announcement!)
and Ryu from Street Fighter, great build quality and a decent length cable with both original
console and USB leads, and they work great on Windows, Mac and Linux.
Lastly, we have Hooke Audio.
This is what all of the audio in this video has been recorded on.
This is a set of wireless ear buds with binaural microphones built-in.
These are BlueTooth and let you record high-quality 3D audio on your smartphone, while providing
something easy to carry, provides normal ear bud functionality, and makes a good stocking
stuffer!
They come in an awesome carrying case and include a cable for connecting to a normal
audio recorder or a GoPro.
Which is great, considering I honestly hate their app.
It’s unstable, it records to a proprietary format that they don’t let you export, limits
your video recording specs, and they want to charge more for software filters to turn
your existing camera recordings to “3D audio”...
No thanks.
But I will say that for such tiny binaural mics, they sound really, really good - without
feeling as bright as others I’ve tried.
The ear buds sound really good, too - even some of the Patreon “Thank You” videos
I’ve recorded with my phone’s built-in camera mic, the vocals sound super “present”
and “here”.
Though while using the app, the headphones go back and forth with different “active”
sounds of hissing, light popping, etc.
Doesn’t seem to happen during normal use, but it keeps changing while in their app.
The hardware is great, though, and could be a fun gift for any video nerd, audio nerd,
or someone just wanting something new to play with.
I don’t do these kinds of things often, but just wanted to share some stuff I’ve
been playing with - instead of working with - lately.
Product affiliate links, as always, will be in the video description below.
Like and subscribe if you enjoyed, and do me a favor and have a great holiday season.
Cheers.
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