Wireless

Following on from the NBS8, recently reviewed on Gadgetspeak.com, Nakamichi has launched the next product in its range of portable Bluetooth speakers. Not surprisingly this next model has been named the NBS9.

This looks like a conventional DAB/FM radio and indeed it has both those functions, it is also able to be an Auxiliary output, play anything from a Media server and is also the best – and easiest to use – Internet Radio I have seen.

This is marketed as a quick and easy way to transfer data via your own secure Wi-Fi network. If your first use is via an Android (or I assume an ‘i’ device) this may be so but it may be far harder if you start from a PC with only the supplied five point guide.

Like big red buses that tend to turn up in pairs, no sooner do I complete my review of a wireless extender product than a similar product turns up.

WiFi's become an almost indispensable adjunct to our computing and home entertainment, but it has its quirks. It passes easily through interior stud walls - unless they happen to be foil-insulated - but can grind to a halt when confronted with brick. UK regulations limit transmission power, and hence the range, and dead spots are not uncommon in traditionally-constructed British homes. Sod's law dictates that these will exactly coincide with the location of your Net-connected set-top box, or you

Sometimes due to the layout of the environment and traffic demands, a wireless network can struggle to deliver. This next product offers to help.

As we move increasingly towards FTTC (fibre to the cabinet) for higher performance internet, there is an increasing requirement to separate the router from the modem. D-Link’s DIR-880L Wireless AC1900 Dual Band Gigabit Cloud Router is a high performance unit which ticks all the right boxes for those who are also moving to file sharing and media streaming.

In the past I have looked at a number of products from the HMDX range of Jam audio devices. Up till now these devices have been Bluetooth speakers but this next offering, while supporting Bluetooth and providing audio output, belongs to a different category of product. It is the Jam Transit. This is a set of wireless stereo headphones.

Once as rare as “hen’s teeth”, wireless headsets are now appearing regularly including this offering from the BOOMPOD’s range of products.

With a brand name that suggests an explosive device and an appearance that reminds me of a slightly squashed sweet I enjoyed when I was younger, the subject of this next review is a Bluetooth portable speaker unit.

With the amount of available content, either free or subscription based, you might need help to access it. This next product could help.

This time last year I checked out the Kingston MobileLite Wireless product. This device allowed you to stream content wirelessly to various mobile devices such as smartphones or tablets. The content being streamed was stored on SD memory cards and USB flash sticks. Since my original review Kingston has been busy developing the next generation of this product which, appropriately enough, is entitled MobileLite Wireless G2.

Adding to the already large number of Bluetooth speakers in the marketplace is the latest offering from Edifier.

Having recently looked at a Freeview device from Humax it seems only fair to offer the same for those who use a Satellite to receive their signal. So what if anything can this method offer to persuade those with a decent aerial signal to switch.

It is described as Retro with a leather over the top grab handle to allow movement. This offering from View Quest is up to date in that it has Dab, FM, iPod and Auxiliary Input. The sound is also up to date in that it is Stereo.

The TP-Link 300Mbps Universal Wireless N Range Extender model TL-WA850RE provides the means of improving the coverage of your 2.4GHzWi-Fi network. It is a stepping stone to extend the reach of the network, or fill in dead-spots where there isn’t a really useful signal as well as improving existing data throughput where signal strength is weak.

It has been a while since I last took a look at a Wacom device but a visit to a distributor’s trade show brought that period to an end.

Relish is the name for a pilot 4G fixed network initially covering the central London area just launched by UK Broadband. It is being offered as an alternative to fibre.

A tool to do a single job, link to various web sites such as YouTube and relay whatever you have on your phone or Tablet and via some electronics in the supplied HDMI dongle and show it on your TV with sound, so any non ‘Connected’ TV is updated.

A regular source of products that I feature in reviews is the Denmark based Sandberg company. The latest offering to arrive from Sandberg is the Bluetooth Stereo Headset Pro product priced at £53.99.

This is one of those occasions when I found it easier to source a product from a retailer rather than the manufacturer. Thanks to Gizoo for supplying this Oregon Scientific speaker.

My collection of favourite music has its origins in the vinyl era of recordings. I mention this merely as a lead in to a recent visit I paid to a location known as the Vinyl Factory in the Soho area of central London.

TRENDnet’s AC1900 Dual Band Wireless Router, model TEW-818DRU is a high-performance router that, as well as providing two concurrent wireless networks to virtually eliminate Wi-Fi bottlenecks even for power users, offers both Gigabit and USB 3.0 connectivity in a versatile package that should meet virtually everyone’s needs.

“There is more than one way to skin a” – the reason for my not completing this saying is that I am currently being stared at by a bundle of fur busily sharpening his claws just waiting to see whether I dare or not. While torn jeans might be fashionable elsewhere, it does not include my current abode and also I am somewhat attached to the unblemished state of my legs to risk coming into contact with those claws. However I still wish to make the point that there is often more than one way to ach

When I hear the words “Dragon Lily” it always seems to evoke memories of tales based on espionage featured in numerous old movies that were popular in days gone by. However “Dragon Lily” is also the name of a flowering plant and a product from Nakamichi. It should not come as a surprise to discover that it is the technology device rather than the horticultural one that is the subject of this review.

With the adverse weather conditions we have had to endure of late in the UK, we should not be surprised at the arrival of waterproof devices such as this next product.

This is a DAB, FM and Internet radio; however it is also a music player and has a full Last FM trial. Roberts are one of the main names in these devices so how does this mid sized unit shape up overall for both quality and value.

I have reviewed a number of large DAB units, a few units that can be considered ‘audio systems’ but I think only two units previously that are small enough to move out and about without the tether of a mains lead connected.

In the past I have reported on a Sandberg Bluetooth speaker and now it is the turn of a Bluetooth headset from the same company.

While it wasn’t on my schedule for forthcoming reviews, I did not need to think twice when offered the opportunity to review a Toshiba FlashAir™ Card by the company’s PR Agency.