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Pocket-lint tech year in review 2013 in pictures
12/27/2013 10:30:00 AM
Over the last 12 months, Pocket-lint covered just about everything in the tech, gadget and games industry that moved and many that didn't. And along the way, with a team armed with cameras of all makes and sizes, we've managed to capture a lot of it in photo form ourselves.
This then is a retrospective look back at 2013 through the lenses of the Pocket-linters' cameras. We present to you the snaps we're most proud of and think sum up the year for us perfectly. They might not be the most obvious choices - like the Union Jack-adorned Dalek made for the 50th anniversary of Doctor Who we spied at the Toy Fair - but we like them and hope you do too...
Google Glass comes to London, we go shopping for ice cream (July): We'll start with a take on one of the most talked about gadgets of 2013, Google Glass. When we were offered a chance to give the wearable tech a spin, we decided to drag a Google UK representative to a nearby ice cream parlour - seemed fitting considering the company's Android ties. This is a classic snap of Pocket-lint CEO Stuart Miles enjoying the fruits of his labour. It's not all hard work you know.
Binatone The Brick hands-on: It's hip to be square (October): Another Linter to have been caught on camera trying out a gadget was contributing editor Britta O'Boyle, who was trying out the Binatone The Brick retro-style phone. What was most amusing about this pic, taken for the hands-on, was that it also, unbeknownst to us, appeared briefly on Carphone Warehouse's website. Fame at last. Of sorts.
Nokia CEO Elop admits that Microsoft could drop the Nokia brand completely (October): Not a Linter this time but no less important, we managed to grab a quick snap of former Nokia-CEO and Microsoft-bound Stephen Elop, who will be in charge of the Lumia phomes when they make the leap to Redmond. He was stood there, we tapped him on the shoulder and Bob's your uncle, one in the can.
Usain Bolt on PS4 vs Xbox One: 'PS4. I'm a PS fan.' (July): Perhaps our most impressive celeb spot was when we attended the Parisian press conference for the Samsung NX camera range - most notably the Galaxy NX. Usain Bolt is the ambassador for the line-up so we got to sit in a room with a lot of French people and managed to fire one question at him that didn't involve running or Samsung. In the process we got an exclusive from his about which games console he prefers. Tidy.
In at the deep end: Pocket-lint takes on festival gig photography (August): The last of our encounters with celebrities featured here (but by no means the last of our encounters) comes in the form of a snap we took while masquerading as festival photographers to see if we could match the professionals. We have to say that we came close too, with this particular shot of Labyrinth being a fave. However, what we realised is that while it's all well and good filling entire 64GB memory cards with countless shots, the real skill comes in filling an 8GB memory card with the right shots.
Burberry's Christopher Bailey talks iPhone 5S, being mates with Jony, and the new spring/summer 2014 collection (September): Now we move on to the kit itself being the star. And this shot taken during the Burberry spring/summer 2014 collection catwalk show is interesting because instead of taking shots of the models and clothes, we were interested in the crowd taking shots of the models and clothes - mainly because they were mostly using mobile devices. It was also a different way of covering the iPhone 5S launch as one was used to record the show in 4K.
Microsoft's stunning 120-inch 4k widescreen TV: Samsung watch out (March): 4K, of course, was a massive buzzword in 2013 and Microsoft invited us to its Evisioning Center in Seattle to check out its particular take on a 4K Ultra HD TV. No less than 120-inches and 21:9 it was just stunning in the flesh. Now Samsung and LG are following suit with 105-inch 21:9 UHD tellies being shown at CES in 2014. They've thrown in curved displays too. Anything you can do Microsoft, we can do better. Or at least weirder.
Hands-on: LG G Flex review (December): Speaking of weird curved displays, we managed to get our hands on the LG G Flex before the end of the year. With a massive screen and some high spec innards, the phone is hard to get across in photographs. Even more so when you consider it is shaped like a banana. A big, flat, oblong banana. We managed to get a great shot though, that shows off the curvature perfectly. The phone won't be available in the UK until early 2014, but you can look at our pics and giggle if you like.
Android 4.4 KitKat's hidden Easter egg revealed (November): Another superb phone photo opportunity arose when we discovered that Android 4.4 KitKat had an Easter Egg splash page hidden on the system menu like with previous versions. Even then we didn't imagine that we'd be able to snap the logo with such vibrancy and almost Pantone accuracy in red representation. In some ways, the picture and revelation about the logo screen overshadowed the hands-on with the Nexus 5 we were doing at the same time.
Xbox One vs PS4: The verdicts are in, so which is better? (November): Perhaps the biggest tech story of the year in terms of launches is that it was time to refresh the current generation of consoles and enter a new cycle. This time though, both Microsoft and Sony decided to launch their new machines, the Xbox One and PS4, in the same year. Indeed, with a week of each other. It was a great E3 in June, therefore, with plenty to see on the machines and a lot of rivalry in press conferences and briefings. The fact that the big guns had their stands next to each other was a source of amusement - and a great pic, which we saved for a comparison head-to-head when they were released.
Goal line tech: We play referee with the Hawk-Eye system ahead of 2013/14 Premier League debut (August): Not so much a consumer product, but something that will affect many people's lives nonetheless, Hawk-Eye goal-line technology for the Premier League in the UK was finally introduced this year, and Pocket-lint attended the launch at Arsenal's The Emirates ground to check out the system and the connecting watch that the referees now wear. It was so exciting, you could even see us stood behind the goal in many other journalists' photographs and video clips of the event.
BMW i3 pictures and hands-on: The premium electric megacity car (July): We've featured a lot of cars on Pocket-lint over the year. A. Lot. None though have created quite as much buzz as the BMW i3 electric car, a futuristic-looking inner city runaround vehicle that might come at a hefty price (£25K) but is so packed with tech that it left us salivating. Thankfully, not on the exterior however, we left that spittle-free as we took a pic we were rather proud of.
Jaguar Project 7 F-Type pictures and eyes-on (October): Another of the impressive cars we've seen in the last year is, sadly, not due to enter production at all. Instead, the one-off Project 7 F-Type debuted at Goodwood Festival of Speed and has been shown off in locations up and down the country since. One of those appearances occured outside the world famous Harrods in west London and Pocket-lint was on hand to take pictures of the stunning race car. There are some assignments we just can't say no to.
British Airways A380: We jump on board to check it out (July): Cars weren't the only type of transport vehicles we were invited to check out in 2013. When British Airways was ready to unleash the super kitted-out Airbus A380 plane, we were in hand to sit in the Business Class chairs. All in the name of testing of course. We didn't actually fly anywhere, but the BA crew let us go everywhere we wanted on the craft, including the cockpit. That in itself satisfied a long-standing ambition.
Into 'Oblivion': DJI Phantom drone test flight over Iceland's black sand desert (August): We didn't just take shots inside something that (usually) flies, we also got to fly a craft of our own. At the foot of an active volcano too. To help promote the Tom Cruise movie Oblivion, Pocket-lint was flown to one of the locations of the film to pilot a DJI Phantom drone around the black sand alien-like landscape. Not only was it fun, we returned with some cracking shots, we think you'll agree. The rainy weather was so bad at times during the trip, we almost came home empty handed, which makes the pics even more special for us.
Hands-on: Manfrotto BeFree tripod review (December): Taking the Manfrotto BeFree tripod out for a spin turned out to be more fun than some would expect. It's not the usual sort of thing we test here on Pocket-lint, but we have to say that we were very impressed by the results, and as this is a look at some of our favourite photographic moments, we can't ignore the pictures taken around London on that day. There were several good ones of London in motion, but our favourite has to be the roundabout.
Lego Back To The Future + Lone Ranger Constitution Train Chase = BTTF III gold (July): What do you do when you receive a limited edition Back to the Future DeLorean Lego set and a Lone Ranger Lego train? Construct the scene out of Back to the Future III of course. That's exactly what we decided to do in the summer and think that it is a fitting end to our pictorial round-up.
Do you have any favourite stories that appeared on Pocket-lint over the year? Or what was the best moment in the tech year for you? Let us know in the comments below...
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