Alan Martin

Alan Martin is a freelance writer specialising in consumer technology, including the ways in which smart home tech can make your abode more comfortable. He’s reviewed more smartphones and smartwatches than he’d care to remember — and once had to wear seven at once during a 10k run for a feature. He’s been writing about such things for over a decade with bylines across the web in publications such as Tom’s Guide, TechRadar, NME, LivingEtc, The New Statesman, ShortList and Wired, as well as cropping up in the occasional magazine and national newspaper column.  

Ideal Home Truths

Where’s your happy place?

While very happy in London, it’s always nice to visit my childhood home in Derby — something I try to do multiple times per year. The comparative silence is quite unnerving when you’ve grown accustomed to the sonic punctuation of car alarms and amorous foxes.

What’s your home addiction?

Being in the tech world, obviously it’s making my living room the best home cinema it can possibly be. A big OLED panel and surround sound makes for the perfect environment to stream the latest blockbusters.  Or it would be, if it weren’t for three cats who routinely like to jump up in front of the screen. We don’t have the budget for ushers to escort them out.

What is your next home project?

I’ve never really been a garden person and happily ignored mine until the pandemic. We’re now in the process of making it a pleasant place to be with better seating, new paving and — yes — an outdoor pizza oven to try and tempt people round to share it.

There’s that, and the ongoing fight against boxes. When you review consumer technology, finding new and innovative places for packaging to live becomes a part-time job in and of itself!