Hike in Hanmer

If you’re spending the weekend, start a Hanmer hike before the rest of the world wakes up. Chatterton Track A quieter hike, the Chatterton Track starts at the car park from Chatterton Road end, and follows the Chatterton River through beautiful beech forest. Described as moderately challenging, this is a roughly 4km return […]

Feature-packed powerhouse with a catch

Got an avid gamer in the family? Metropol’s gadget guru Ian Knott puts Logitech’s Astro A50 X Gaming Headset through its paces. The Astro A50 X is the latest iteration in the Logitech G line of high-end gaming headsets. It boasts a feature list unlike any other, including HDMI switching between PC, PS5 […]

Gadget gift guide

Ghoulish glow up

Halloween needn’t be yet another expensive occasion. Metropol’s Gadget Guru Ian Knott looks at a crafty options for spicing things up. Halloween “celebrations” still struggle to get a foot-hold in New Zealand compared with the likes of the USA. Whether your family goes all-out, or simply lights the odd candle to make some […]

I’m in the mood for lighting

Customisable lighting helps set the mood, and enhance the experience of almost any occasion. Metropol’s Gadget Guru Ian Knott explores some very clever options. Whether it’s a romantic night in, an action movie night, sporting occasion, video game session, or just some ambient room lighting; being able to change colours and brightness is […]

This thing sucks really well

Bigger is better, right? When it comes to vacuum cleaners, the answer is yes, and no. Metropol’s gadget guru Ian Knott discovers the long, and the short of it. Long recognised as the world’s formost innovators in vacuum technology, Dyson have added an upsized version to their popular cordless stick-vacuum range, without adding […]

Father’s day tech

Drag dad into the 2020s with some cool gadgetry this coming Father’s Day. CURATED BY IAN KNOTT

The quietest keyboard around

Worried that his workmates were getting sick of his awesome, but very noisy clicky gaming keyboard, Metropol gadget guru Ian Knott tries out the new, and virtually silent, Logitech MX Keys S keyboard and mouse combo. It should be said, that I genuinely love the Logitech G413 SE Mechanical Gaming keyboard, and have […]

Unravelling Threads

With so many social media platforms to choose from, it can be hard to tell which (if any), you should be investing any time into either personally or professionally. Metropol’s tech guru Ian Knott takes a look at ‘Threads’ – Meta’s answer to Twitter. As the band Weezer once sang, “If you want […]

A sound investment

Having separate headphones for different occasions can be expensive. Metropol’s gadget guru Ian Knott finds that one new headset may have solved the problem. When it comes to investing in a good pair of over-ear headphones, it pays to think about where and when you plan to use them the most. For online […]