Author: Brett Venter

After years of being dominated by the Kindle, ereaders have finally started to explode. No, not like that. The Durobo Krono is just the latest reader hoping to tempt you away from Amazon’s increasingly walled garden of fiction. It might just do it, too. See, the Krono isn’t just an ereader, though the 6.13in E-Ink display makes it ideal for that purpose. It’s also got audio and AI ambitions, as well as a twiddly bit at the back that you’re unlikely to keep your hands away from. Krono shift Durobo used a 300ppi Carta 1200 display for its newest reader’s…

Honor has a new pair of smartphones heading to markets. The Honor X5d and a Plus variant have been previously released as the Honor X6d and X6d Plus. We don’t have to worry about the ‘we’ve seen this phone before’ issue, however. The original version was never released in South Africa. There’s a chance this one will also pass us by. The two phones have turned up in Malaysia so far, with no official communication on where they’ll appear next. Based on the phones’ available specs, it’ll be a pity if they don’t make it to SA. Knight to X5d…

Dyson is known for things that blow and things that straighten. The company’s new HushJet Mini Cool is one of the former. In case you’re wondering what this odd-looking appliance is, it’s a handheld fan. A R1,700 ($100) handheld fan, to be precise. It’s a lot more conventional-looking when compared with the company’s Zone headphones or its robotic ambitions. It’s also got more in common with its portable air purifier range than Dyson’s actual fans. So what if it looks like it fires UV light at your face? HushJet takeoff The Cool Mini might just live up to its title,…

Kickstarter is always a good place to find weird and wonderful tech. The I’m Back Roll (yes, that’s its real name) might be the strangest we’ve seen in a while. The project hopes to convert old and modern film cameras into 26.1MP digital models using a camera-film-shaped accessory. On an I’m Back Roll roll The concept is sound, since the company making this version has already done something similar. But the solution was previously hosted outside of analogue cameras. This version looks like a roll of film, which stretches across the camera’s rear and plops a new digital sensor right…

Xiaomi is already trying to make everything from cars to robot AI models, in addition to its smart home tech. Is it any wonder that the Chinese brand also has your daily rituals in its sights? The company has introduced its first capsule coffee machine, with plans to bring it to locations around the world. The Xiaomi Mijia Capsule Coffee Machine isn’t confirmed for South Africa yet, but its appearance on the company’s global website makes it a distinct possibility. It targets Nescafé and Keurig as competitors, rather than the snooty folks at De’Longhi, but that’s fine. Not everything has…

Ride-hailing service Uber has loads of plans for its offerings around the world. Flyers, other flyers, people who can’t find parking, and folks who don’t like making lists are all due some sort of upgrade. Closer to home, it’s motorcycles. Lots and lots of motorcycles. Uber revealed plans at the South Africa Investment Conference to invest some R5 billion in the South African market over the course of a decade. Said funds would go towards delivery and mobility solutions in the country. In less abstract terms, it means more motorcycles on the road. And not just for deliveries, either. Two-wheeled…

Just before LG ended its smartphone ambitions for good, it launched the LG Wing. But there was another, more creative phone waiting — the LG Rollable. We’ve seen glimpses of it over the years, but a proper, comprehensive look at the device has remained elusive. The previous sentence implies the existence of an ‘Until now’ follow-up, and that’s just what we’ve got. YouTuber JerryRigEverything has posted a teardown of the LG phone that never saw proper daylight. Even in 2026, the Rollable phone is a very advanced piece of tech. Rollable rewind https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vDMpANNGND4 The main innovation of the phone, which…

Given how far along the Artemis II mission is (smoking toilet and all), it’s a good time to check out the NASA Artemis Watch 2.0. It’s not made by the American space agency, of course, but it does have all the right branding. Creators CircuitMess have made sure of that. CircuitMess’ space-themed watch is extra-appropriate at the moment. The cyberpunk aesthetic merges with the current Artemis mission because buyers can choose to build the wearable themselves. Given how NASA’s astronauts have been repurposed into plumbers, a wearable you have to assemble makes sense. That includes the extra expense. On Artemis…

Parents have a new opponent in the war against excessive screen time — Netflix. The streaming company was already an antagonist, but the launch of Playground ups the stakes when it comes to keeping Junior and his sister away from smartphones. Netflix, obviously, doesn’t see Playground that way. As any business might, the streaming service is pitching the new “curated space where parents know kids are entertained, engaged, and enriched” as a good thing. Playground of the damned? It’ll probably be a good thing… for Netflix. The new kid-friendly addition will include a new “preschool and kids’ series, films, and…

We’re getting used to fully humanoid robots. Weirdly, a UK company called Humanoid’s first ‘bot, the HMND 01, is not one of those. It’s mostly humanoid, from the waist up, at least. Since the rest of its title is ‘Alpha Wheeled’, the bottom design makes sense. We suppose. Legs or not, the autonomous droid has already gone to work. Specifically, at a UK-based automotive factory for a company called Martur Fompak. They install car seats, for the most part. The HMND 01 spent some time on the company’s factory floor, where it functioned as a robotic factory worker proof-of-concept. HMND…