Vanacci Lockstone Pendant

Vanacci Lockstone Pendant – Lock in your smell!

Vanacci Lockstone Pendant – Cologne Saver!

Do you ever find that your perfume/cologne doesn’t last all day? No matter what the adverts say? Well introducing the Vanacci Lockstone Pendant, a really cool pendant that allows you to take control of your cologne! Spray perfume or cologne inside the pendant, screw the pendant back up and the smell will be locked in all day long! Approximately lasting 7 times longer that you normally get. You can use any scent and the pendant is corrosion resistant so you can use this for as long as you want! Since it is very absorbent and doesn’t leak all over your clothes, protecting them from potential stains.

To find out more please click here!

To listen to our latest show please click here!

 

Star Wars Jedi Challenges

Star Wars Jedi Challenges: Become a Jedi

Star Wars Jedi Challenges: Feel The Force!

Star Wars Jedi Challenges is the piece of tech for all Star Wars fans in 2018. With the help of augmented reality you’ll be transported into the Star Wars universe! There’s an array of cool VR/AR tech coming to our homes in the coming weeks and months! However, this has got to be one of the best things we have seen here at the office! We cannot believe that someone hasn’t thought of this before. Augmented and Virtual reality is perfect for the Star Wars franchise. Helping to bring nostalgia to a lot of men and women around the world. So we think that this is going to be used a lot more by the parents than the children!

With the help of the AR headset, complete an array of challenges to become a Jedi! Train to become a Jedi Master, have Jedi Battles with the Sith, play HoloChess, complete strategic combat right from your table! This sounds absolutely incredible and we LOVED it when it came into the studio!

So, how does this become reality? By using the smartphone-powered Lenovo Mirage AR headset and a Lightsaber controller, that is all, to transport you into space and fight to save the universe! The Lightsaber controller enables you to experience what it’s like to yield a lightsaber. So you can feel your opponents attacks with the force feedback! Whilst a tracking beacon ensures accurate and detailed tracking of yourself and the lightsaber controller. Furthermore allowing the AR headset to fill your environment with an immersive universe. While not just a video image displayed in front of you.

Click here to complete the challenges and become a Jedi Master!

Click here to purchase your own!

nintendo labo

Nintendo Labo: Get Creative With Cardboard!

Nintendo Labo

This is Nintendo Labo and they’re giving you new ways to interact with the Switch, with cardboard.

So, what exactly is it? It is designed to help you get creative with the Switch. Create all different kinds of gaming add ons with the variety kits that are available. Such as fishing kits, play piano or even the most impressive one that we have seen an AR Robot kit!

Nintendo are calling the cardboard kits, ‘Toy-Cons’ and are designed to be solely used with the Nintendo Switch. Just by following the onscreen instructions that are displayed on the Switches touchscreen.

The Toy-Cons are so versatile that you can either use the Toy-Cons independently of the screen itself and you watch what’s occuring on screen. I.e: Fishing. Where all the computing is done inside the joy-con controller, or by using the whole console itself to find new ways to play! An example of this would be the use of a motorbike, whereby the switch is placed in the center of the ‘Toy-Cons’ and ‘Joy-Cons’ are placed either side and the accelerometer acts as a steering mechanism.

The most impressive of the lot was the use of a HUGE contraption, with the Robot ‘Toy-Con’. This cardboard accessory is HUGE and is placed on a users back and utilises cables to detect a users movement. From the imagery online this game looks incredibly immersive and we cannot wait to check it out!

Nintendo Labo: Customization

Most of all, the ‘Toy-Cons’ are cardboard and come pre-printed with designs. Therefore users are able to colour them and customise them as they wish! Furthermore if you’re a computer whizz and know how to code, then you’re in luck! You can even create your very own games that interact with the Nintendo Labo! So, get those thinking caps on!

Nintendo Labo

This is Nintendo Labo and they're giving you new ways to interact with the Nintendo Switch, with cardboard.It's called the Nintendo Labo and is designed to help you get creative with the Switch. Create all different kinds of gaming add ons with the variety kits that are available. Such as fishing kits, play piano or even the most impressive one that we have seen an AR Robot kit!Find out more here:howtokillanhour.com/gadgets-tech/nintendo-laboMarcus Bronzy Nick Bright DJ Ace

Posted by How To Kill an Hour on Thursday, 25 January 2018

What do you think of the Nintendo Labo? Get in touch and let us know via our socials!

To purchase the Nintendo Labo please click here!

To listen to the guys chatting about this please click here!

Episode 266 5 Fun Apps For February 2018

Skyfront VR

Skyfront VR: Find out who the peacekeepers are!

Skyfront VR: Who’s the champ

Skyfront VR, it’s time to decide who really is the best shooter around.

We  love virtual reality and feel as though it’s the next best thing for gaming. (Whilst also the most logical step in next generation gameplay) There are an array of great games currently available for the various VR systems out there. However, one caught our eye recently. Skyfront VR. A team based multiplayer shooting game that’s set in the future!

An idyllic future (2300) at that and all of your favourite city’s and landmarks were once a war zone. In AD 2700, society is now rebuilt and thriving after a terrible few hundred years. A zero-gravity battle arena is formed to prevent this from happening again. Teams take each other on to determine who are the best in town. What Skyfront are calling ‘The Final War’ it is up to you as a team to help determine who are the ‘Guardians’ – otherwise known as ‘Keepers of the Peace’ To find out who exactly are the peace keepers, a challenge was set. A battle, if you will. ‘The Skyfront Tournament’ is that challenge where players take on each other to preserve the memory of a violent past.

Skyfront VR: Gameplay

While the story is a lot of fun and one of the most original we have seen. Most of all the gameplay is incredible. The movement mechanics take advantage of the characteristics of your VR motion controllers. So, for example, move your wrist left and aim the controller sideways, the hand/gun mimic this behaviour. Paving the way for one of the most innovative and immersive gaming controllers that we have ever seen. Plus the game is incredibly fast paced, you can get hit from any angle so it’s a good idea to keep your witts about you! Plus don’t forget the arena is zero gravity, which adds another layer of uniqueness to this truly amazing game.

Most of all, and those who suffer from motion sickness will like this. The game developers are claiming that it’s nausea free!

We have to say we haven’t experienced any yet!

To apply for the early access to Sky Front VR please click here!

To Hear about it on the How To Kill An Hour Podcast click here!

5 Fun Apps for February 2018

5 Fun Apps for February 2018

5 Fun Apps for February 2018

It’s February 2018 (unless you are seeing this before / after February 2018) so we thought we’d share with you our Top 5 Fun Apps for February 2018!

Retro Soccer

First, this game is A LOT of fun! It’s one of the best football games we have played on mobile in a long time. The gameplay is super quick and is the definition of pick up and play! Picking up and playing is the easy part. Putting the game back down again. There’s your problem.

There’s an array of different challenge matches to do, which include some of the most thrilling comebacks in history! Complete these challenges to unlock your favourite footballing legends and compile a dream team! Above all you can take on the world trophy and league competitions if you have that extra bit of time to kill!

Even share replays of your best goals to your friends!

Price: Free

To download Retro Soccer please click here: Apple / Android

Amateur Surgeon 4

From legendary adult cartoon makers Adult Swim, Amateur Surgeon returns for a 4th time!

Although, you are not just any trainee surgeon. You’re an amateur surgeon. In the truest sense of the word!

Complete surgery on over 100 patients with HOUSEHOLD tools! You’d never thought you’d need to grab a pizza cutter a start an operation!?

You take on Doctor Bleed and your task is to help solve the mystery of his very own sudden resurrection. Travel around the world looking for answers and saving lives along the way. Even recruit some teamates (doctors) with their own specific, unique and weird special abilities that you can use to help you.

Had enough of trying to solve mysteries. Take on ‘Field Hospital Survival mode’ for high speed surgery and try to beat your friends.

Haven’t played the other 3 games? Don’t worry. With Amateur Surgeon 4, you can play 1-3, with a remastered, retooled versions complete with brand new operations and each with their own unique story.

Free

To download Amateur Surgeon 4 please click here: Apple / Android

Pigeon Panic AR

This game is really simple and something utterly ridiculous and we cannot believe someone has made a game out of this. AR like this is amazing.

Pigeon Panic AR projects a flock of pigeons on to the floor that you’re standing in. Scatter some food on the ground (in AR of course).

Pigeons soon appear around you.

Then run in to them and watch them fly away.

That’s it.

Stupid. Ridiculous. Fun.

Price: Free

To download Pigeon Panic please click here: Apple

Table zombies

This game comes in two versions free and paid. Table Zombies is an AR game where you play the role of a shooter based inside a helicopter. Your aim is to stop the zombie infestation from reaching the survivor base, by shooting the horde from above!

Unlike other AR Games, this one requires you to download a PDF from the link in the app store, print it out and place it down. The game will then appear from it.

There are 4 different environments to play and Zombies, being Zombies, will appear from anywhere!

The game has 4 different environment. The zombies will be from every direction and everywhere.

Price: Free

To download Table Zombies please click here: Apple / Android

Paper Bin AR

We all did this as a child, even now as adults. Throwing rolled up pieces of paper into a bin.

Have you ever put the bin farther and farther away and challenged a friend to see who could get the paper into the bin. This is exactly what Paper Bin AR is all about.

Though they’ve changed it slightly. With Paper Bin AR it’s in augmented reality (obviously) to make it more immersive, but there are added obstacles. Such as having electric fans in the way to blow the paper out of the way.

How many paper balls did you manage to get in the bin? Let us know via our socials (@howtokillanhour)

(AR version not currently available on Android)

Price: Free

To download Paper Bin AR please click here: Apple / Android

 

To let us know what you think of each of the Top 5 Fun Apps for February 2018, connect with us via our socials! (@howtokillanhour) on all platforms.

To listen to the guys discussing the Top 5 Fun Apps for February 2018 please click here!

Hello Neighbor

Hello Neighbor: A stealth Horror

Hello Neighbor

Thanks to the guys over at Tiny Build we were able to check out Hello Neighbor (Steam)!

What is ‘Hello Neighbor’ I hear you ask? Well it’s not a game that requires you to knock on all of your neighbors homes and introduce yourself. Nor is it a knock down ginger game.

It’s a game all about mystery. A mystery of your creepy neighbor.

You play as a young boy, playing with his ball in the street, when all of a sudden he hears a strange noise coming from his creepy neighbors home. It turns out that he’s hiding something in his basement. This intrigues you and you want to find out exactly what he’s hiding in there!

This is where you, the player, come in. It’s down to you to use your wit and problem solving abilities to maneuver yourself to discovering what is unknown.

Hello Neighbor: AI Intelligence

However, you always have to come up with new ways to get into the house and away from the creepy neighbor. The neighbor may be creepy but he is highly intelligent! If you get caught trying a potential solution one way, you’re unlikely to be able to do the same again! He remembers where you went and how you did it, so may lay down traps for you!

This adds an element of replayability as it makes you think about what you’re going to next. Therefore making the game not as linear as others as our game may not be the same as yours! He will learn and he will adapt, so it’s down to you to be one step ahead of the creepy neighbor each and every time!

To listen to the guys chatting about this on the How To Kill An Hour podcast please click here!

To purchase ‘Hello Neighbor’ on Steam, please click here!

Laser League

Laser League: Tron re-born for 2018?

LASER LEAGUE

There’s a brand new arcade game coming out soon that we’re sure that you’re going to love! It’s a lot like Rocket League meets Tron. (If you’re old enough to remember that) It’s called Laser League!

Where the aim of the game is to stay away from the coloured beams of your rivals. (Sounds a lot like Tron huh?) Yet cause incredible damage to your opposition by blocking their path. You got to use all your speed, strength and strategy to really get ahead.

Not only that you can also use power ups of the arena floor to give you that extra edge on the battlefield. Activate differing abilities (offensive/defensive) to help your team win the battle for the control of nodes.

 

  • Over 60 characters from 5 Unique brands
  • Select from 6 unique and spectacular classes; SMASH, THIEF, GHOST, SHOCK, SNIPE and BLADE.
  • Play up to 4v4 intense offline or online matches
  • Compete on 3 packed international Stadiums and master up to 10 laser maps.
  • 16 available power ups drastically change gameplay momentum.
  • Level up to unlock over 250 character customizations.

(LaserLeague)

The game has got a plethora of praise from various gaming outlets on the web too!

Polygon: “Laser League could be the next competitive gaming hit!”

Playstation Lifestyle: “Roll7 has an absolute hit on their hands with Laser League”

Sidequesting: “Laser League will be a competitive obsession!”

We don’t know about you, but we’re super interested in Laser League and cannot wait to give it a go! Unfortunately there is no release date as of yet. However on Laser League’s product page Early 2018 is the release window.

If you’re super interested in this game you can sign up for the beta by clicking here!

 

Top Tech from CES 2018

CES 2018 TOP 5 – Top Tech from CES 2018

Top Tech from CES 2018

GadgetsBoy joins us this week to check out his Top Tech from CES 2018!

CES Top 5 Tech Bits!

It's CES 2018 and there's lots of great tech that's being shown off! See below our Top 5 pieces of tech from #CES2018, click the link below to hear our thoughts on them from this weeks show with GadgetsBoy here:howtokillanhour.com/shows/ep265Marcus Bronzy Nick Bright Funk Butcher DJ AceVideo Credits:RazerSamsung TVTheverge.comDJILaCieMobilegeeks Deutschland

Posted by How To Kill an Hour on Wednesday, 17 January 2018

Lacie DJI CoPilot

Top Tech from CES 2018 Lacie DJI

Top Tech from CES 2018 Lacie DJI

Lacie’s DJI CoPilot is basically a rugged external hard drive. But for the videographer’s out there. It’s a lot more than that. Who doesn’t want 2TB’s, a back up battery and a SD card reader in one?

Not got USB C? The CoPilot has got you! Use the regular USB or MicroUSB ports. Plug in any piece of media and the CoPilot does the rest, it’s automatically backed up. There’s also a small screen on the front to tell you how much storage is left. Making it great for videographers who don’t want to carry around their laptop ‘just in case’ they run out of space on all their SD cards.  The CoPilot will also charge devices and daisy chain other drives off of it. Simply plug another external HDD into it and your lappy will be able to read and write to it!

 

Samsung’s ‘The Wall’

Top Tech from CES 2018 The Wall

Top Tech from CES 2018 The Wall

Samsung announced at CES a breakthrough in home television technology. A world first. A modular, yes you read that right, a modular. 146-inch TV, that utilizes MicroLED technology. What’s beneficial of MicroLED’s over normal LED’s is that they are much much smaller than them and can serve as their own source of light. Thus vastly reducing the chance of backlight bleeding (as there isn’t a backlight) and burn-in. As well as creating darker blacks and much brighter colours on screen. Plus they draw a lot less power and can save you a lot of money in the long run! Bigger Tv Cheaper to run. Win Win in our books!

 

What’s even more intriguing is the fact that it has a modular design. This allows for a screen that is completely bezel-less and fully customisable to suit a consumers needs. Make the TV as big or as small as you like. You really are only stopped by how big your wall is!

Razer’s Project Linda

Top Tech from CES 2018 Project Linda

Top Tech from CES 2018 Project Linda

Razer’s Project Linda is a Lapdock. Don’t know what a Lapdock is? Basically it’s a laptop that has no internals and basically runs off of your mobile phone. What we’re about to tell you is really cool, but it’s just a prototype at the moment and it may or may not see the light of day. But one can hope!

Project Linda will run off the latest Razer Phone and it looks incredible and fits in well alongside other traditional gaming laptops. The phone sits where a trackpad would be and then you use the laptop traditionally but with a mouse.

Whilst being connected to Project Linda, games will take advantage of having an extra display and display vital stats and other information on the phone’s screen whilst the main action on the laptop screen.

When docked the phone will be charged by Project Linda and whilst the laptop doesn’t have internals per say there is 200gb of internal storage on the device. To store apps, games, media and phone backups. The aim of the device is to bridge the gap between handheld entertainment experience and laptop convenience.

Stats:

  • 13.3” Quad HD 120Hz touchscreen
  • 5.7″ Razer Phone screen can act as a touchpad, second display for stats or touch display for fine editing
  • Keyboard powered by Razer Chroma (Fully customizable laptop keys)
  • 200gb internal storage
  • o.59 inches thin
  • 3.5mm headphone jack

 

LG Rollable TV

Top Tech from CES 2018 LG Rollable Tv

Top Tech from CES 2018 LG Rollable Tv

 

Not to be outdone by Samsungs ‘The Wall” LG showed off a rollable 65″ TV prototype, which has a resolution of 3840 x 2160. (UHD) Much like their Wallpaper series, LG are highlighting to the world what OLED technology can actually do. When we saw the Wallpaper series we were impressed, it’s incredibly thin, yet produces some gorgeous imagery. The fact that it can now be rolled up, one saves space and two, makes it less easy to break. One small caveat of the Wallpaper series is although it was pencil thin, it looked really fragile!

 

Vivo’s In-Screen Fingerprint Reader

Top Tech from 2018 CES Vivo Fingerprint

Top Tech from 2018 CES Vivo Fingerprint (The Verge)

Whilst many of us have iPhone X’s and have got used to FaceID, (so long TouchID, we hardly knew thee) there’s just as many who LOVED touch ID. We know have the notch. The notch we don’t want. There was a lot of will they won’t they prior to the launch of iPhone X in regards to the fingerprint sensor under the screen. While many experts believe that Apple will introduce it on this years iPhone. A Chinese tech firm have beat them to the punch!

Vivo, have announced at CES 2018 a phone that does just that, a phone that’s bezelless and with a fingerprint sensor embedded into the screen. The reader is completely invisible and makes for a super sleek design. The guys over at The Verge have been testing it out for themselves. Whilst they state that the phone and the tech is slow, it works. That’s all that matters. Whether that’s just because we’re used to super quick fingerprint sensors on Apple and Samsung devices is another matter entirely.

The Vivo is using a Synaptics optical sensor. The tech works by looking at the gaps between the pixels on an OLED display and scanning your prints that way. (LCD’s won’t work due to the tech needing a backlight.) The guys over at The Verge did state that whilst this is a breakthrough in tech, no phone has been announced. BUT. An announcement is due imminently.

 

To read more about GadgetsBoy please click here!

Listen to the guys chatting about this by clicking here!

Arcade Hotel

Love Gaming? You’ll Love This! – Arcade Hotel

Arcade Hotel Amsterdam

We went to an amazing hotel in Amsterdam. The Arcade Hotel! Check out the video below to see how we got on!

Love Gaming? You Will Love This Hotel!

We went to Amsterdam recently to check out the famous The Arcade Hotel If you love gaming, you will love this…Marcus Bronzy Funk Butcher Nick Bright DJ Ace

Posted by How To Kill an Hour on Thursday, 18 January 2018

Rooms

As the Arcade first and foremost is a hotel and comes with a wide range of rooms to suit your needs. The Arcade Hotel caters for singles, couples and groups and they all have their own unique gaming related nickname. For example a single person room is titled 1 Player. The rooms that are available if you’re a 1 Player sort of person are: “Love Shack” and “Highlander”. Whilst if you’ve got a tag team partner and you’ll be able to pick up a 2 Player room: “Luke and Leia” For the 4 Player teams out there you can pick up a room called “The Fantastic Four” or “Double Impact” Each coming with their own unique twist.

Tech Wall!

Arcade Hotel Tech Wall

Arcade Hotel Tech Wall

Each of the rooms come fitted with a “Tech Wall” which have big televisions on complete with an Nvidia Shield as standard alongside a modern and retro console. Plus you get your own gaming couch to play in complete comfort!

Arcade Hotel Gaming Couch

Arcade Hotel Gaming Couch

Retro consoles

So, you get a retro console in your room. But which retro console do you get? Well, that is, is a secret. The Arcade Hotel won’t tell you which console you get as their sworn to secrecy! Guess you’ll have to find out on arrival!

Arcade Hotel Retro

Arcade Hotel Retro

However, there are a wide range of consoles available to you in other areas of the hotel. The gaming isn’t just limited to your room. There’s other areas where you can get your game on and show other visitors of the gaming hotel who’s boss!

Gaming Lounge & Library

Arcade Hotel Gaming Wall

Arcade Hotel Gaming Wall

There are other gaming spaces available to visitors located next to the cafe and bar. While our rooms are very cool and we could have spent hours playing all of our favourite games in there. Arguably this was one of the coolest areas of the hotel.

Arcade Hotel Gaming Lounge

In this area there is literally every retro console that you can think of available to you. Not only that there is a HUGE gaming library. (The whole wall) That you can access with some high quality gaming classics to play. We could have spent months in that room alone!

 

Gaming suite

Arcade Hotel Gaming Suite

Arcade Hotel Gaming Suite

If you want to get a bit more high tech and away from all the old school gaming, you can check out the gaming suite known as the Game Room!

In here there are:

  • VR Consoles (HTC Vive)
  • 6 TOP OF THE LINE gaming PC’s (Which are also networked up for multiplayer)
  • All of the modern consoles (PS4, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One) with a HUGE gaming library, displayed on two big screen LCD’s
Arcade Hotel Gaming Suite

Arcade Hotel Gaming Suite

 

To listen to the guys chatting about this please click here!

Location

Amsterdam obviously!

Here’s the location though:

Book a visit to the Arcade Hotel by clicking here! (map below).