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With this next product I had to combine the roles of a reviewer and a brother.
It began, as can sometimes happen, with a telephone call. This was not the usual type of phone call with a PR agency asking if I would be interested in reviewing a product from one of their clients. Instead this was a call from one of my sisters to inform me that her desktop computer was playing up in various ways and she was ringing to ask for my help.
Over the last few months I have told you about the new small LS-P2 PCM Recorder and also the Olympus OM-D camera. So here finally is the meeting of the two parts connected by a standard audio cable and an adapter that fits into the camera shoe so you can have brilliant audio linked to your videos.
Adding to its portfolio of graphics software, Serif has developed an application that can run on the Mac and Windows platforms.
Developed by Serif, Affinity Designer first saw the light of day as a Mac product. More recent development has seen the product make the journey over to the Windows platform. Affinity Designer describes itself as a personal vector design application that contains pixel-based textures and retouching capabilities.
Mixing forward planning, strategy and aiming skills, this next game sets you task of defeating darkness.
The Sparkle series of titles, developed by 10tons, belong to the Match-3 Shooter gaming genre. Starting with the original offering of Sparkle, the game developed into Sparkle 2, hardly the most inspiring naming of a game, before the subject of this review, Sparkle Unleashed, made its appearance. This title places the player in charge of an orb shooting apparatus in an effort to save a world from the evil that has spread over the land.
If I said Master Socket few would know I was referring to how your Ethernet connection should be connected, if you have problems with slow speed or lots of time your line drops it’s the first thing the phone engineer will talk about.
It seems that the only thing that should connect to your Master Socket is your Modem or Modem/Router. Phones should only connect via secondary sockets, of course this is not a problem if everything connects via Wi-Fi and everything is well in range. Only once you satisfy these criteria will BT or whoever your ISP is will then look to see if the problem is elsewhere. A pair of Orbi routers can be the answer, in my case they are.
Are you into action water sports? If so you might be interested in this net product.
I have to admit to a certain degree of surprise at the continued appearance of devices designed to enhance the capture of Selfies and the like either with or without an accompanying celebrity, location or action that might hold some significance. When this vanity capturing phenomena first burst on to the scene, I regarded it as one that would quickly disappear as people became bored with the activity.
This is a small Bluetooth speaker from a company with a good reputation for sound quality. However they also have another less desirable reputation – for me anyway - that of their boxes having to be destroyed to get the contents out of them.
The Barricade Bluetooth Speaker from Skullcandy measures 12x10x7.5cm and weights 510grams, the last figure could be important as it has a fabric thumb loop to enable use while on the move. It should be drizzle proof – I try to say that rather than shower as some might consider shower to mean what occurs in the bathroom – with a rubber bung covering external connections.
Anti-Virus software was developed in response to people who wanted to harm your computer, then it was the whole Internet Security thing with people trying to get at your money, now the latest Kaspersky suite focuses on protecting your children from harm.
As with most recent products this is multi-platform which means not only your PC – or MAC – but also your SmartPhone and Tablet or Notebook in fact most things that connect to the outside world. So count up the number of devices you need to cover before you buy as Kaspersky have versions for 1, 3, 5 or 10 devices. No longer do you purchase a ‘boxed copy’ or as in this case a DVD cased copy because what is inside is a credit card.
Having purchased a LeapFrog tablet for your child, you might be interested in card sets designed for use with the LeapPad tablet.
Adding to its portfolio of apps for its LeapPad range of tablet devices for young children, LeapFrog has developed its Imagicard products. Currently there are three titles making up this series. These offerings are entitled Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Letter Factory Adventure and Paw Patrol – To the Rescue.
At this time of year a lot of people just forget their gardens, nothing much grows even the weeds call a truce. So here something for those who cannot leave well alone a garden blower to move those leaves around and regiment them in neat piles.
Designed specifically for young children, the LeapPad takes a walled-garden approach to the access and content available to its users.
As the combination that makes up its title of LeapPad and Platinum might indicate, this particular LeapFrog product is the company’s top-of-the-range tablet aimed at the younger members of the family. In fact LeapFrog has pitched this tablet, with its collection of facilities that include WiFi connectivity, built-in stylus, front and rear cameras and a rechargeable battery, at the 3 – 9 year age group.
Are you up to defeating an enemy who controls floating figures with staring eyes? If so then be prepared to fight the flames.
Developed by Mad Head Games, Dark Realm: Queen of Flames is a Hidden Object Adventure game. I have been looking at the Platinum or Collector’s version of the game. This version comes with a number of extra items whose access will depend upon the progress made within the main game and bonus chapter.
Wrist watches are less popular now than at any time since people stopped using a pocket watch. However fitness devices worn on the wrist are now so popular that the fact they also tell the time is perhaps often overlooked by many.
The Asus VivoWatrch measures is 3.5x4.5x1cm and weights only 48grams with the attached strap.
Do you control your home? Or does it control you? Devolo believes it can put you in the driving seat.
Technology, in its many guises, aims to improve the quality of the standard of living of users through the use of device that might bear the appendage of “Smart”. No I am not referring to smartphones, although they could have a part to play, but the creation of a smart home where devices can be set to remotely control aspects of a personal living environment.
Having recently told you about an A3 printer that was little bigger than an A4 unit here this is not only larger and faster it has two built in paper trays and can easily serve a whole office via Wi-Fi and Ethernet and even print remotely.
The HP OfficeJet Pro 7740 is an All In One that means not only, Print, Scan, Copy but also for those who need it Fax. It is 58x48x38cm and if you use the flatbed a little more space is needed on top of the last figure but unless you use it under the eaves this will not be a problem as few shelves will be able to cope with its 19.5 kilo weight. It has four inks the three colours are as supplied stated to last 640 pages and the black to last 1000 pages.
A set of earbuds that stay in place even during exercise and while they are not tiny they can be close to invisible if you have long hair as they fit in then tuck over the ear and behind the neck to complete the connection at the other ear and they are of course Bluetooth.
Bluetooth just got a whole lot more important as if you have an iPhone 7 you no longer have a 3.5mm socket to plug into. Bluetooth has another advantage in that your phone can be in a bag or purse and of course with the long hair scenario already mentioned no one need know you are even listening to music.
The Toshiba Canvio Alu portable USB 3.0 hard drives, which form part of the company’s Advanced range, are solidly built 2.5 inch units and are available in a choice of capacities from 500GB to 2.5TB
What do a Skullcandy headset and a character from Last of the Summer Wine have in common? Their name!
A battery powered scooter as sold by Halfords in the UK was for me anyway the most interesting thing I viewed at the Halfords Christmas Show held in London in September, so I asked to see one and this is what I was sent to review.
It should be easy to assemble using the supplied Allen Key and a mid-sized Philips screw driver (not supplied), while will pester you for one this is for them, the stated age is 8 plus and I would suggest that this is the correct age or even older. This is not a light unit and it is only steerable by leaning left or right, as children need a helmet to ride a bicycle they should also need one for this as the battery gives a good speed boost and the brake is only on the rear wheel.
NETGEAR has recently released a combination of router and satellite to help boost network traffic but you need to provide the modem.
Recently released by NETGEAR, the Orbi™ WiFi System promises to provide high-speed WiFi throughout buildings of up to 4,000 square feet in area. This kit consists of units that are designated as the router element and a satellite which make use of tri-band technology. You also get appropriate power lead and an Ethernet cable. You will need to provide a modem for the required Internet connection.
The follow up title to Bubble Zoo, a game which I missed out on, Bubble Zoo 2 belongs to the Match-3 genre
This is one of a new variety of cameras that have interchangeable lenses but are still almost small enough to fit into a pocket, yes they are therefore a DSLR but probably not considered so by the purist. Meet the Canon EOS M10 which is a mirrorless camera.
Canon describe the EOS M10 as a ‘a compact system camera that combines DSLR performance with effortless portability.’ It is 10.5x6.5x8.5 when the 15-45mm lens in locked shut, it weights 438grams. It comes with a neck strap but I preferred using it in the hand. In deference to those whose life would end without the ability to take a Selfie the TFT swings through 180 degrees to allow this process to take place.
Adding to its extensive range of printing devices, Epson has developed the XP-640.
Unlike the previous Epson All-in-One unit that I looked at, the Epson XP-640 is based on the company’s ink cartridge technology using Micro Piezo™ print head technology rather than its innovative Eco Tank range of products. The Epson XP-640 is being targeted at home users looking to product high-quality photos and text documents with a device capable of delivering scan, print and copy functionality as its main remit.
Coffee Machines have always been popular with Gadgetspeak readers and none more so than those produced by Nescafe Krups. However it’s been quite a few years since I could get my hands on one and they certainly have changed a lot.
This unit is designed for the small home and is quite small in its worktop width, it is 16.5cm wide 32cm deep and 18cm tall when shut and 31cm tall when open and ready to use. This small size means that the water container is also quite small and it can take no more than two pints of water.
Often finding suitable small gifts for members of the opposite sex is not easy, I mean friends but not those especially close to you. However if they use an iPhone I might have some suggestions that are also affordable options for Christmas gifts.
This is described as external memory for iPhone but I see it also works with the iPad. However not only is it storage but once connected to your ‘i’ device it will download an App that even for people like me – a confirmed Android user – can understand. The App allows very simple transfer of files – music, pictures and videos – from the iPhone to the iBridge and also the reverse.
Is it a notebook? Is it a tablet? No it is both.
Hot on the heels of its BravoWin 2-in-1 notebook, Venturer has released the BravoWin S 10KR product. This device is classified as a 2-in-1 mini notebook. The 2-in-1 reference in the product’s title refers to the ability of the BravoWin S to split into separate screen and keyboard elements with the separated screen adopting the role of a tablet.
Not everyone wants or needs the largest SmartPhone so this slightly smaller offering from Samsung may fit their needs. It seems that the mobile phone teams to follow are Samsung or iPhone as far as the vast quantity of publicity created.
Adding to its range of smartphone handsets, Huawei has released the Mate 9.
Featuring a 5.9-inch full high density touch screen, this Mate 9 has a high-precision unibody, aluminium metal frame that has been finished with a soft sandblasted texture. With dimensions of 156.9 x 78.9 x 7.9mm (H x W x D) and weighing 196g (including the non-replaceable 4,000 mAh battery), the Mate 9 is available in a choice of colours including Space Grey, Moonlight Silver, Mocha Brown and Black plus the Champagne Gold of my review model.
The Gizmos are back with a new set of nonograms to test your puzzles solving skill.
This is the top of the range electric shaver from Braun. In September I attended a presentation which included a section by satellite from Los Angeles and as this was quite early in the morning in the UK it must have been the middle of the night there.
SyncroSonic Technology is what Braun have developed in their shaver but before I cover that a few more thoughts from Dr Michael Breus in Los Angeles who has a very interesting book The Power Of When which tells you how and what to do when having told the assembled journalists about the best way to start the day I asked about the end of the day and he said Blue Light was bad when trying to promote sleep he suggested red light but I am sure he was not suggesting a visit to a house of ill repute an
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