Top 3 Gadgets of the Month: Affordable Headphones, Budget Smartphones, & Pocket Printers

From budget smartphones to pocket-sized printers, there are a few things that have locked our attention this month; and we’ve rounded them up to showcase the very-best gadgets you need to check out.

Dooggee Y9 Plus

Price: R2,299.90

Spanish-turned-Chinese brand Doogee is seeing decent growth in South Africa, with their devices becoming available throug Cash Crusaders and other retailers, and their Y9 Plus is a fantastic Android option for those looking for something more-than-capable at an affordable price. This mid-range release includes Android 9.0, a sizable 6.3-inch display, Face ID and fingerprint scanner, and in terms of snappers, has a 16.0MP front and a 16.0MP + 8.0MP + 8.0MP triple lens rear camera combo. With 4GBs of RAM and 65GB of storage, this is a suprisingly robust offering that, while it may not go toe-to-toe with the bigger South Korean and American giants out there, delivers all the bells, whistles, and functionality you need.

Volkano Lunar Series headphones

Price: R349

If you’re looking for some good quality headphones, but not willing to break the bank on the more expensive brands, Volkano’s Lunar Series is a set of Bluetooth headphones that perform far above their price-point. The set does have quite small cups, but they fit snuggly enough on the rim of your ear and deliver clean and clear sound. They might not be the biggest bass-droppers on the market, but for less than R400, they’re a decent option to use at work, home, or just listening to that podcast in the evening. They also have a line-in, so if you don’t feel like charging them up, they can be used like traditional wired headphones; plus, a built-in FM radio is a nice touch too.

Fujifilm Instax Mini Link Printer

Price: R1,895

The Fujifilm Instax Mini Link Printer is a handy rechargable device that prints any shot on your phone’s camera roll using real instant film and an easy-to-use app. Unlike competitors that typically use low-quality heat-sensitive thermal materials to print, the Mini Link opts for instant film. While instant film may be more expensive than its Zero INK (zink) counterparts, the chemical process of instant film allows for crisper detail and much truer colour. Obviously the results also greatly depend on your camera phone as well. If you use a good-quality smartphone camera with this printer you won’t be disappointed in the snaps it produces. Using a Huawei P20 Pro delivered some lovely, crisp prints with beautiful colour using the Instax Mini Link. While the small print size may not appeal to adults, parents will find that the printer is ideal for tweens and teens who love to scrapbook or display their prints in a creative way.

Will you be picking up any of the above gadgets? Let us know by tweeting @MenStuffZA, posting on our Facebook page, or commenting below.