Something on the Side: Bulletproof your phone

In Something on the Side, SEAN BACHER highlights the Holy Grail bulletproof screen protector, B&W’s P3 colored headphones, the GoPro Blackout Housing and the Western Digital My Passport Pro.

The Holy Grail bulletproof screen protector

A bulletproof smartphone screen protector sounds like overkill, but there is such a thing and it is available from Sir Lancelot’s Armor. The Holy Grail screen protector ranks 9 on the Mohs scale of hardness – with only a diamond ranking higher. Simply stick it onto the phone’s screen and it will protect it from everyday scratches and bumps and then some. A YouTube video shows it being hammered, sawed and attacked with a screwdriver – without showing the slightest sign of a scratch or dent. Although it is bulletproof, it is not suggested you try to shoot your phone. The screen may be protected but the phone’s insides will definitely not survive the impact.

Stockists: Visit www.amazon.com or www.sirlancelotsarmor.com

Expect to pay: Prices range from R330 to R560 depending on your phone.

Bowers & Wilkins (B&W) P3 coloured headphones

The B&W P3 headphones offer great sound for users on the move and are extremely comfortable to wear – even for long periods. The headphones use the over-ear speaker or driver design, which eliminates earache and sweaty ears. The over-the-ear design also eliminates all outside noise and gives the user a sense of being “enveloped” in the music. The frame is made from brushed stainless steel, and the foam around the drivers and headband is covered in leather, giving them an elegant look and, at the same time, making them extremely sturdy. The P3 headphones collapse into a neat little bundle, making them easy to stow in a bag. Wearing them around your neck is another option thanks to the foam headband. The headphones are available in black, red, blue and white.

Stockists: Visit www.bwloudspeakers.co.za for ordering information.

Expect to pay: R2 800

GoPro Blackout Housing

The GoPro Blackout Housing is all about covert filming. It lets users capture footage without drawing too much attention to the camera, as it conceals the GoPro camera as well as all the LEDs. The housing also allows users to capture better images where lights or reflections can ruin the shots. As with the standard transparent housing, this one is waterproof up to 40m and is also dust resistant. The Blackout Housing is compatible with all GoPro Hero3+ and Hero3 cameras.

Stockists: www.omnico.co.za for ordering information.

Expect to pay: R835

Western Digital My Passport Pro

The Western Digital My Passport Pro is a portable, Thunderbolt-powered dual-drive capable of transfer speeds of up to 233MB/s. The drive allows users to create backups via RAID (redundant array of inexpensive disks). In the past, RAID was used only in servers where large amounts of data were mirrored between disks. This allowed IT administrators to switch between disks in an instant should a drive fail. Because the Digital My Passport Pro consists of two physical disks and Western Digital’s RAID backup software, users are now able to perform this type of backup at home. The Western Digital My Passport Pro is shock- and dust-resistant and is available in capacities of 2 or 4TB.

Stockists: Visit www.wd.com for ordering information.

Expect to pay: The 2TB drive costs R3 299 and the 4TB model costs R4 800.

* Sean Bacher is editor of Gadget.co.za. Follow him on Twitter on @SeanBacher