Gear Patrol

With age comes the ability to do a long highway cruise better than we ever could as a youngster. Summer’s right around the corner, so we’ve compiled above all the gear you’ll need to make new memories on the road. Get what you need and hit the road, Jack. Grab the wheel and point it west, take a buddy and leave the rest.

Spot Global Phone Made for the rugged outdoorsman, this satellite phone handles text messaging, voice calling, voicemail and emergency calls the world over. An available data kit allows a computer to jump aboard the uplink, and up to four hours of talk time means you’ll never miss a call. $499 2(X)IST No-Show Sock Collection Say…

Summer Fridays are a thing to be put on a pedestal, the ultimate luxury for 9-to-5, Monday to Friday working stiffs. They’re a chance to bug out as soon as possible, to hit the road or jump a train to the beach, a cabin in the woods or some other resplendent getaway. In any case, we can’t just go into a summer Friday unprepared, men. We cannot go silently into that good mini vacation. What we need is a kit — the perfect gear for the perfect summer Friday getaway.

Mod Mobili X-Base Table If you’re tired of using your ironing board as a workstation but don’t want to stray from the general principle, the X-Table is wildly more practical and almost definitely better-looking. Rather than relying on electricity (is that a thing for desks now?), the Scandinavian-designed beauty can be adjusted manually. $1,250 Adobe…

A respite from noise might seem thin on paper, but spend a few hours on an inescapable airplane with crying babies, heaving green-faced passengers or even a chatty cathy neighbor and get back to us on what you’re willing to pay for a little peace and music. What’s more, NC options have some of the best sound profiles available, making them true gems for audiophiles and the easily distracted alike. Considering the vastly small market for noise-canceling headsets available at the moment, the problem isn’t necessarily narrowing down the field — it’s choosing the best one for your audio needs. From pioneering audio staples to buzzing newcomers, these are the noise cancelers worth turning your ears to.

Chefday Choose one of the gourmet chef-designed recipes on Chefday’s website and every last organic, almost entirely locally sourced ingredient — from salt to tenderloins — will be hand-delivered to your door, pre-measured and pre-washed. All you have to do is follow the step-by-step video instructions and set the table. It’s an ultra easy way…

Breitling Emergency II The built-in personal locator beacon in the Emergency II uses a dual frequency transmitter to communicate with satellites, making your watch (and everything attached to it) easy to track down in case of an emergency. A rechargeable battery means you can explore corners of the Earth unfettered by Radio Shacks and without…

It wasn’t so long ago that 10-key calculators and instant messenger were the most exciting things happening to technology. But nowadays, tech moves fast — new computer segments are born and buried quicker with each passing year. Don’t let that scare you away from the good ole desktop, though. All-in-ones have more to offer than ever: effective touchscreens with the UI to back them up (Windows 8), high-def displays that can easily double as TV screens (thanks to HDMI and built-in TV tuners), and slimmer profiles for fitting just about anywhere.

Sure, it’s tough explaining to grandma where to put the floppy disc, but we’ll leave that to you. Before choosing which one is right for you, though, figure out just what it is you need. Whether that means sexy looks, entertainment nirvana or a gamer’s sweaty-palmed fantasy, our five picks for the best all-in-one desktops are awaiting below to help out.

We want to hate this Sony Action cam mounted on an RC multi-copter. It’s a drone. Those are the scary things that the government uses to spy on you as you go about your vital covert actions (picking your toenails, or watching Bravo channel). But this Sony creation — it’s kind of… cute. And also freaking awesome, mind you. This little bugger zooms around Battleship Island (you know it from Skyfall).

Hermes Keychain The spendaholic’s mantra: If you can’t afford luxury, downsize it. $280 (★) Dream Car Any child or adult with a good imagination can release their inner auto designer with these modular toy cars made of walnut, beech and poplar, and coated with chalkboard paint. $65+ A Map of the World: The World According…

The point-and-shoot market may have hit a smartphone camera iceberg, but the ship hasn’t sunk yet. In fact, bitter competition has sped up the photography arms race, producing a wide field of top-tier compact cameras with big sensors — at a better price. Boasting image quality more than good enough to be deemed professional, these cameras can be a useful tool for the prosumer and feverish enthusiast alike, providing an infinitely more portable, all-in-one option rather than bulky DSLRs while sharing many of the same features and image quality.

That said, it’s up to you sharpen the focus on what you really need. We don’t mind walking a few steps to get the right shot — so our choices hone in on the best compact cameras that sport big sensors, fixed lenses and fast focusing. There’s a big field of small shooters; we’re here to slim it all down to the cream of the crop.

There’s no doubt about it: Sony’s Fourth Generation PlayStation has a hell of a lot to live up to. Sony’s video game rock star has absolutely shaped the gaming world, and the tech world in general, leading the way through three iterations of gaming domination, DVDs, Blu-rays and a massive library of titles. But today’s gaming market is a whole different beast. At an introduction event Wednesday, Sony revealed some of what’s to come in the new console, though quite a bit was (maddeningly) kept under wraps.

Originally designed to play music on only their own products, Apple’s AirPlay technology now allows users to stream multimedia from iPhones, iPads and computers to any enabled HDTV or speaker system via wi-fi. Because Apple now allows third parties to use their tech, myriad standalone speaker systems designed specifically for AirPlay are on the market: some are better than others, and they all span the price and design spectra. Here are our 10 picks for some of the best AirPlay speakers available.

The 1 pound, 6.9mm-thick Sony Xperia Tablet Z pushes gadget bulimia to new lows as the thinnest 10-inch fingerprint magnet on the market. But while the fat’s been trimmed, all the muscle’s still there — including a Qualcomm 1.5GHz processor, 2GB of RAM, 32GB of storage, an 8.1MP Exmor R rear camera, 2MP front camera, NFC, LET, a microSD slot, “S-Force” virtual surround sound and a 10.1-inch full HD screen.

It’s widely known that swimmers and rainy weather joggers (and really all audiophiles hindered by humidity) are more than a little jealous of the ease with which their fellow athletes can take in tunes while exercising. Sony’s whipped up the next in their line of wet-weather answers: the Sports W Series Waterproof MP3 Player, a…

Sony’s finally taken the gloves off in the smartphone ring with its Xperia Z and Zl flagship Android handsets. Externally, the perfectly rectangular 0.31 inch thick Z is a classic example of Sony design and definitely different, — but it’ll likely take some getting used to in the hand. Its hardware rap sheet also stands toe-to-toe with premium devices like the Droid DNA, Optimus G and Nexus 4 thanks to a 5-inch 1080p “Reality Display”, Snapdragon S4 Pro quad-core processor, NFC, LTE, 2GB of RAM, 16GB of internal storage and a MicroSD slot.

Sony has struggled to create a successful smartphone in a U.S. Android handset market stuffed tighter than Oddjob in a dinner jacket. Its latest Xperia TL flagship, however, is the first compelling device we’ve seen from the lauded Japanese electronic giant, thanks to a spec list that can finally stand toe to toe with other…

The Sony RX-1 is the smallest camera to ever feature a full-frame sensor. Specifically, it crams the same 24MP 35.8×23.9mm beast found in the newly released Sony a99 DSLR that boasts an ISO range between 100 – 25600, in a body that measures 4 1/2″x 2 5/8″x 2 3/4″ and weighs only a pound. Those…

After dropping a mere $25,000 on Sony’s 84-inch XBR-84X900 4K TV, you’ll naturally want a 4k receiver to match. The Sony STR-DA5800ES 4K receiver ($2,100) is one of the first audio hubs on the market that supports native 4K resolution while packing a bevy of other tricks, including 4k upscaling, a four port ethernet switch,…

Looking to chip away at the iPad’s death grip on the market through dual functionality and some serious Windows 8 guts, the Sony VAIO Duo 11 represents yet another foray into the field of computer meets Transformer. It’s no wannabe: powered by an Ultrabook-level Intel processor (your choice of i3, i5, or i7) and an…

The new

Sony just announced their MDR-1 line of high-end ear-thumpers that combine gorgeous retro styling with serious audio chops and advanced connectivity. The top-of-the-line cans are available in three different models, all of which boast 40mm neodymium drivers with an impressive response range of 4Hz-80kHz. While the basic MDR-1Rs stick to traditional wires, the Bluetooth equipped…

If you’ve got action on the brain and some road rash/broken bones/brag-worthy scar tissue to show for it, then the Sony Action Cam is the right tool to capture and broadcast your adventures in pain and thrill-seeking. Measuring a mere 2×2.6×0.9 inches wide, it certainly fits the bill for portability — the direct volley at…

The future may not be televised in 3D after all, so how about 4k? Earlier this year, we saw a few prototypes at CES, and now Sony has officially announced its first set, boasting 3840 x 2160 resolution chops in the form of the 84-inch, 4K goliath: the Sony XBR-84X900. Since virtually no content out…

With the advent of smartphones the compact camera has become about as contemporary as a Walkman. The next step? Being relegated to Urban Outfitters as a hipster’s novelty purchase. Major brands are abandoning the segment faster than dubstep and everyone seems to think that an Instagram filter (#nofilter, please) is what most people will ever…

GEAR PATROL SPONSORED POST Smartphones are the ultimate connectivity security blanket for a new generation of consumers. But the gift of talking, texting and tweeting from anywhere we fancy comes at the price of distraction. Today, we’re all seemingly at the beck and call of a chime or vibration, pausing life to dig into pockets…

Sony’s latest flagship KDL-55HX850 bundles internet connectivity, immersive 3D capabilities and Motionflow XR960 to into a 55” LED backlit beast. Add in Skype, Netflix and Pandora at a button press away, and all those set-top boxes littering your living room can be moved elsewhere; and believe us, that’s a good thing. The “monolithic design” results…

Now that 3D is pretty much standard for new home theater gear, 4K resolution (or Quad Full HD, as it’s also known) is the industry’s new hope for driving consumer upgrades. Sony’s VPL-VW1000ES is the first home theater projector to offer the ridiculous 4096 x 2160 resolution standard at home. The 2,000 lumen rig also…

If you’re considering sneaking some Adderall into your favorite kid’s midday snack, you should take a peek at the Sony Wonderbook first. Recently unveiled at E3, the educational tool is an augmented reality pad consisting of only 12 pages that leverage the PS3’s PlayStation Eye camera to create the ultimate version of the pop-up book…

The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 ($650) is your new Facebook adversary. Sporting a compact design, this little-camera-that-can packs a huge punch with a 1” 20.2-megapixel CMOS sensor -— literally twice the size of sensors in other comparable prosumer point-and-shoots. In front of it, sits a ƒ/1.8 Carl Zeiss Vario-Sonnar T* lens with 3.6x optical zoom, while…