Steve Litchfield

As usual for my case roundups, I'll cover a variety of styles, with most samples supplied by MobileFun, kind people that they are. See their complete range of Pixel 4a 5G cases and covers . But on with the individual cases, each link goes to the relevant product page, of course. Olixar Ultra-thin, £7 I've been a fan of this minimalist design for years. OK, the clear TPU is thin and the case is more about grip than protection, but the system works. Your Pixel 4a 5G doesn't really get any thicker and yet it becomes 10 times grippier, so you're far less likely to drop it in the first place. There's a ridge around the camera island and there are even very slight increases in depth at the top and bottom of the design. In all, top notch as long as you don't want to take your Pixel around on bike or hiking trails. This is a case for the office and for suburbia and it does its minimalist job superbly. Score: 9/10 Olixar Carbon Fibre, £13 One of my all time favourite des...

As usual for my case roundups, I'll cover a variety of styles, with most samples supplied by  MobileFun , kind people that they are. See their  complete range of Pixel 5 cases and covers . But on with the individual cases, each link goes to the relevant product page, of course. And this is the first batch, since there doesn't seem to be much available for this phone at the time of writing. I'll tack on a part 2 in due course, no doubt. Olixar NovaShield, £13 The soft-finish, slab-sided NovaShield design is well known and established - and, as always, it's very ...solid. It's black (in this case, like the Pixel 5), it's smooth, it's protective, there's nothing to dislike. Except that there's little be wowed by either. The Pixel 5 feels perfectly fine in this, but I'd always go for a bit more grip on the sides and I like having textured button covers that I can activate by feel and don't have to look, which is the case here. On the plus side, t...

Headphones are very much a 'personal preference' thing.  You might love big over-ear 'retro' headphones and you'd be right, the sound is nearly always better with larger speakers and more physical space. But over-ear headphones aren't super-mobile and you can't fit them in a pocket. You might love Apple EarPod-style (typically white) outer-ear headphones, but in this case you'd be wrong since you've become used to sub-standard audio. So much bass and music information gets lost in the air between the speaker membranes and your ear drums because there's no seal - not even remotely close to a seal. You might like the idea of TWS earbuds - 'True Wireless' - separate gadgets that stick out of each ear, and the lack of wires is certainly appealing. But many TWS earbuds also live in the outer-ear, and those that sit in the ear canal (providing a seal) are usually crippled by having to have a tiny speaker membrane and so there's limited bass...

Despite the much-publicised failures of Android Wear and the equally publicised successes of the Apple Watch series, the smartwatch/wearables world is still exploding - almost everyone seems to be experimenting with some form of band or watch - and I'm no different. Although I'm more a smartphone guy, I've tried a number of wrist options. The Fitbit Versa got very close to my perfect wearable (I reviewed it here ) but ultimately the tension of a band on my wrist wasn't something I could stand for multiple days at a time unless there was a single huge benefit. The arrival of the Zepp E , made by Huami, also makers of the Amazfit range, presented quite a benefit though: Compatible with any Android or iOS phone (so many other accessories are limited to a particular platform, manufacturer or version) A built-in SpO2 (oxygen saturation) sensor (now matched by the top end Apple Watch in the last week or so, and a few others, mind you) Sleep quality monitoring (also tied into...

As usual for my case roundups, I'll cover a variety of styles, with most samples supplied by  MobileFun , kind people that they are. See their  complete range of Pixel 4a cases and covers . But on with the individual cases, each link goes to the relevant product page, of course. Olixar Soft Silicone Flip, £13 A superb mix of premium-feeling materials at a value price but let down by a huge design flaw. Sadly. We have the grippy 'soft silicone' on the outside, with soft felt on the inside cover and even softer cushioned and textured felt inside the hard TPU frame. Super. There's even a metal earpiece audio passthrough. In use, the Pixel 4a is terrific most of the time, provided you're OK with the 'folio' concept and especially if you like having a 'media stand' option, since the folio back is hinged in the usual way. The problem is with the cutout for the fingerprint sensor - while accurate, the thickness of the interior cushioning, the TPU and then t...