Fully Loaded: Top five gadget, gear and game picks of the week
Fully Loaded selects top-tier gadgets, gear, and games weekly. Don't miss out on the Marshall x Patta Emberton II speaker, Analogue Pocket retro gaming device, Astell&Kern SP3000 Gold player, Cornilleau Play-Style table tennis, and Omega x Swatch MoonSwatch. Stay ahead with the Fully Loaded newsletter for exclusive drops.
Slang for stuff that’s the best of its kind, we don’t use the term shiznit lightly when handpicking the five Fully Loaded gadget, gear and game picks of the week. With a constant influx of new tech and other droolworthy items, it can be hard to keep track, so our meticulously curated collection aims to keep you ahead of the curve and several steps ahead of your social circle. Of course, we’d love you to come back and check the Fully Loaded list for fresh gadget, gear and game drops every few days, but we know life can be hectic so if you tend to be forgetful we’ve got a solution: To have fresh shiznit slide straight into your inbox every week, sign up for the Fully Loaded newsletter and get the scoop on the greatest gear selected by us before anyone else.
As if a string vest in Caribbean colours wasn’t loud enough, rock gods Marshall have partnered with Dutch streetwear label Patta to create the audible equivalent. The Marshall x Patta Emberton II is a proper shouty portable Bluetooth speaker inspired by soundsystem culture, dipped in fluorescent orange and set off by a multi-coloured grille. But to hear the pitter Patta of tidy beats, you’ll need to be quick when the limited edition speaker goes on sale on February 23rd.
£179.99 at Marshall
Loaded loves: Stack mode allows you to wirelessly connect multiple Emberton II speakers for a true DIY soundsystem.
Loaded readers of a certain age will remember the halcyon days of owning a Nintendo Game Boy complete with The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening – well, the Analogue Pocket is the flashback gadget you’ve been waiting for… and more. A multi-video-game portable handheld and digital audio workstation with a built-in synthesiser and sequencer, Pocket is compatible with the 2,780+ Game Boy, Game Boy Color & Game Boy Advance back catalogue. Full disclosure; Pocket isn’t exactly new, but limited drops mean the multidextrous gaming gadget isn’t always available – be quick and you can nab a white one now.
$219.99 at Analogue
Loaded loves: Analogue accessories let you play Sega Game Gear, Neo Geo Pocket Color and Atari Lynx titles too.
Spandau Ballet renditions at the ready, this limited edition SP3000 from luxury portable audio purveyors Astell&Kern is essentially a really, really fancy iPod dipped in 24K gold plating. The only player of its kind in the world displays some obvious lustre, but there’s a method to the beautiful madness of using the precious metal – exceptional electrical conductivity. With the application of gold extending to semiconductors and other components, the SP3000 represents tech that sounds as good as it looks.
Loaded loves: The glorious 5.46-inch display and a special all-over coating to prevent fingerprints. Perish the thought.
£4,399 from Selfridges
Table tennis is sexy – the music video for Air’s ‘Kelly Watch the Stars’ proves it and so will Paris 2024 when the world’s most participated sport hypnotises crowds in the French capital this summer. So the fact that Cornilleau has somehow managed to make ping pong even more alluring is a testament to the stunning design of its new Play-Style range. The highly stylised hybrid collection for indoors or outdoors can double as a dining table or work desk. Genius.
Loaded loves: Lab-tested to withstand the absolute shitshow that is the British weather and repairable for at least 20 years.
From £1,825 at Amazon
Copping a MoonSwatch continues to be harder than buying a pint in central London without a Klarna payment plan, but while the hype builds for the unveiling of a Snoopy-inspired version there may be a way to snare a suitcase-full – albeit an eye-wateringly expensive way. Sotheby’s is hosting a charity auction of 11 suitcases containing 11 unique Omega x Swatch “Mission to Moonshine Gold” timepieces. The auction ends on February 24th and current bids stand at around 30,000 Swiss Francs (about £27,000).
Loaded loves: Each watch features a seconds hand coated in 18K Moonshine™ Gold – which Omega say offers a more subtle and long-lasting form of yellow gold.
Available at Sotheby’s