ICON
£749 /g-shock.co.uk
THE ION-PLATED BEZEL HAS BEEN SUBJECTED TO AN AGEING PROCESS
Where did you dig that up from? It might look like this G-Shock has been unearthed from somebody’s garden by a canine archaeologist, but that’s exactly the point. The GWG-2000CR-1AER Cracked Mudmaster is designed to look like it’s already been through the kind of punishment that it’s able to put up with: Casio has laser-engraved the ion-plated carbon bezel and subjected it to an ageing process, giving it a cracked pattern that’s meant to look like the sun-baked terrain it’ll help you navigate. The textured resin band has also been given a similar look through all-over printing and heat treatment.
So how tough is it, exactly?
G-Shocks are always more Jason Statham than Jason Donovan on the toughness scale, but this one is particularly mean. Its Carbon Core Guard case gives it the kind of resistance to degradation that you’d expect from carbon fibre, plus it protects against heavy impacts and vibration. There are also dust-proof pushers so it’s sealed against dirt and sand, and waterproofing to 200m means it’s prepared for far more intrepid expeditions than your weekly shop (even if that’s at Aldi).
We prefer Lidl, actually.
Good choice. Their ice cream is excellent. But if you end up in an unfamiliar branch and need to find your way to the checkouts, it has a compass, altimeter and barometer. If you’re worried about the battery dying before you get out (how big is this Lidl?), its Tough Solar tech can generate power from the shop’s lights. And even if those go out, the hands glow in the dark, plus the face lights up when you tilt it towards you, so you’ll know exactly how long it’ll be before a shelf-stacker comes to rescue you.
Prod gave lock’n’roll to you
They say you can’t teach an old dog new tricks, but with a Loqed installed you can get your pooch to open the front door. It comes with a touchpad below the handle – so as long as a phone containing the necessary digital key is within Bluetooth range, you can use a finger, your knee, or even a paw to get in. Installation only takes about 20 minutes and you can control it from anywhere via the app, allowing you to grant temporary access when you’re not home or set up a schedule for it to lock and unlock. It also works with Alexa and Google Assistant… but unless you can teach your dog to talk, it’ll only respond to human voice commands.
from £299 / loqed.com
All I have to do is stream
Try to control your old hi-fi separates with your voice and you’ll be sadly disappointed (and potentially sectioned); but plug in this compact streamer and you can u
