Daily Star’s high tech to strive for Black Friday, from Samsung and TCL to Imou and Cherry
The world of tech is becoming more and more crowded these days – with potential customers having no idea what to buy. So the Daily Star has been trying out a plethora of different new items, from phones and tablets to watches and dashcams, to figure out what’s new, exciting and worth trying.
Some of these are high-end, like those from Samsung, while some are from more budget-friendly brands such as TCL and Imou, however all of them are well worth trying out.
And ahead of Black Friday, it’s well worth figuring out what you want to buy before the sales hit so you’re thoroughly prepared to brave the sales.
TCL NXTPaper 14 and 50 Pro NXTPaper 5G
We tried out several products from TCL’s latest range, including the NXTPaper 14 tablet and the new 50 Pro NXTPaper 5G phone. I’ll admit, I had never really tried out TCL products before apart from having a television made by the TCL brand, so was going into this with no expectations – and I’ve always been a fan of higher-end phones, as a long time OnePlus user.
So to my surprise, I absolutely fell in love with the main selling point of both the TCL 50 Pro and TCL NXTPaper 14 tablet. In short, there’s a button on the side that turns both devices into a kindle-like product, but to a much more higher quality than what most are use to, and they can both still be used as full-working tablets and phones even when this mode is turned on.
Whether it’s note taking or just reading, or even just having a phone that isn’t shouting at you all the time, I would recommend both of these. It’s clever and imaginative in a market flooded with phones that all look the same, and do roughly the same thing depending on what processor they have.
Both of these devices are well made, and look high-end even though they are priced at the lower end of the market, which is something TCL’s designers should be applauded for. The tablet is priced at £374.56 on offer on Amazon right now, while the phone is around £279.99.
Murena Fairphone 5
I had long been fascinated with the idea of the Fairphone. In their own words the Murena Fairphone 5 “combines privacy, eco-responsibility and speed! The Murena Fairphone 5 runs on the /e/OS operating system, enabling your phone to protect you at all times against Google’s constant data collection”.
Before talking about the software, the build is solid and it looks more like an iPhone than an Android, which is not a bad thing. It’s tough, looks nice and would fit in against other competitors in the mid-range band of around £500.
However, the software left me a little . . . underwhelmed. Yes, it’s clean and bloatware free, but do I need more than one app store for my apps? This is very much a first world problem, but it’s not so easy to live outside of the Google ecosystem when the entire world is in it.
If you don’t mind that, then yes, this phone is great and is for you. It’ll require a bit of getting used to, but the effort could be worth it for many. On the tech side, the camera is a decent choice, and the battery life is great and only required one charge per day to keep up with my daily life.
Samsung Galaxy Watch 7 and Samsung S24FE
I’ll be blunt – the Galaxy Watch 7 is my favourite device out of everything listed here. It’s beautiful, sleek, fits well, runs smoothly, and managed to become the first smart watch I’ve worn where I didn’t want to take it off after a few hours.
Kudos to Samsung for that. Anyone looking to invest in one, you really do get what you pay for in this market, and invest in the Watch 7. As for the S24FE, I can’t fault it. Yes, it’s not quite the top-of-the-range Samsung phone, but if you want Samsung quality at a slightly lower price, then this is for you.
I do wish Samsung would stop loading things with bloatware, however . . .
Twinkly Curtain
Do you have a child with a bedroom or a garden with a fence? Then get yourself a Twinkly LED light curtain. It might sound like a strange addition, but it honestly adds a bit of class and fun to your private spaces. I tried out the 210 light version, at various prices online currently, and it has 16 million colours and many different customisable options.
It looks great in a garden, especially when its colder and the garden’s looking a bit sad. It also looks great indoors, and your kids will think they’re in a fantasy land with this over their windows. It could also double up as outdoor Christmas lights!
A good products, does what it says on the tin and will put a smile on anyone’s face.
Cherry Xtrfy GP5
For anyone who loves gaming or even spends all day sitting at a computer at home, the new Cherr Xtrfy GP5 gaming mouse pad is a good choice. I’ve never been let down by Cherry products, and while this is a mousepad in a crowded market of mousepads, it’s unique designs and long length make it stand out.
Simple, effective, lovely to look at. Treat yourself, it’s only £29.99!
Cuktech Power Bank
Powerbanks have always disappointed me, so I was intrigued by the latest one from Cuktech. I took this with me on a quick weekend in Paris, and wasn’t disappointed – although it does have its quirks.
Currently on offer at £39.999, the 20,000mAh batter pack has enough juice to charge most phones four to five times over, and this one does it at speed. The LED screen is a nice touch, however I am still yet to figure out how to turn it off properly . . . the instructions are not the clearest.
A solid piece of kit that could become the new market lead in the power bank space.
Netxbase Piqo dashcam
I have mixed feelings about this. The dash cam and record quality are great, but the app lets it down so much. I love how little space this takes up on the windscreen, and that you can feel at ease knowing your journey is being recorded at really high 2K quality. But does the app really need to be so . . . chunky?! It seems like it’s trying to pack too much into an app where all you need is a screen that shows you a live feed where you can scroll through and download what you want in the same way the Ring Doorbell app does.
If the app was less clunky, this would be a 100% winner in my eyes, but as it stands I would only give it a 3.8/5. However, if you don’t care about the app, then this really is one of the better cameras on the market at the minute and is worth taking a punt on.
IMOU Cruiser Dual and Ranger Dual
Home security is a huge talking point in today’s increasingly worrying world, and IMOU has been around long enough to be considered one of the leaders in the field. I was at first a little intimidated by the Cruiser Dual’s set-up, as it needs hard-wiring in from the outside, but it actually didn’t take that long and it provides great coverage and security. My only negative on it is that it’s a little big and bright if you’re trying to be subtle with your security. The Ranger Dual is a good choice for an in-house version, but I did keep finding connection issues on the app.
Cosori Meat Thermometer
I always like to be positive in my reviews, and I’ll give this product some props for its sleek design and case, but having used it often over a few months, I’m 99.9% sure the temperatures are not as accurate as they should be. I am experienced enough in the kitchen to know when a piece of chicken is cooked, but this device swore blind it wasn’t, so I stuck with it and ended up with very dry poultry, on several occasions. It might only take a few tweaks of its software to fix, but I can’t say this one is a winner until that happens sadly.
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