A trip down Londons Brick Lane introduced me to a new smartphone from Huaweis Honor range.
Following the release of its top-of-the-range P8 smartphone, Huawei has now refreshed its Honor range which is aimed more at the budget section of the market. The Honor 7 is a 5.2-inch smartphone that comes with the tag line of “For The Brave”. In appearance, this smartphone certainly fits the bill with its fully metallic body that has been air-brushed with a ceramic coating.
The StorenGo super speed USB 3.0 500GB portable hard drive is one of a new series from Verbatim that provide a convenient way to back up the files on ones laptop.
In addition to this 500GB drive the others in the series have capacities of 1 and 2TB. They each incorporate a 5400rpm, 2.5inch drive in a unit which is 119 x 81 x 14.5mm in size and weighs 150g so that it is easily carried around in a pocket or rucksack. They are available in a choice of colours -- black, silver, blue, red and white -- with a diamond check pattern embossed front surface together with the Verbatim name and logo. They are supplied with a 21cm USB 3.0 cable.
This is a multi-function device which means it not only prints, scans and copies but for those who still use or need it the unit also has fax. It is quite small and light and runs with two cartridges, it is black but here thats OK as this is an office product.
The HP OfficeJet 3830 measures 43x48x30cm the figures I have given are with the paper output shelf extended and paper in the rear upright paper tray. At the back left of the unit is where Ethernet or USB leads are inserted and the centre of the back is where the mains lead connects. A sloping front edge has the on/off button on the left and the 5x2.
If available space on your desktop is at a premium then this next monitor might be able to squeeze into a small gap.
While hardly the most descriptive of titles, the 227E6E model number is the one given to a Philips SoftBlue 22-inch monitor. Actually if I was being really picky then it should be made clear that the panel size for this monitor is 21.5-inches or 54.6cm. However to the naked eye (or even wearing glasses as I do) I would not be able to notice the 0.5-inch difference in size. Having cleared up the slight size issue, I should explain about the SoftBlue aspect of this product.
While I have heard them referred to as vanity sticks, especially in the hands of certain individuals, manufacturers and many users prefer the term Selfie for this type of device which allows users to grab a self portrait of themselves in various locations. The latest product of this type to arrive for testing is the Selfie Pole from Kaiser Baas.
I have to admit that until the arrival of the Selfie Pole, I had never heard of the company known as Kaiser Baas. Not surprisingly, due to the company’s name, I could be forgiven for thinking that this was a German company but that thought would be well wide of the mark. Kaiser Baas is actually an Australian company that has been involved in the design and development of innovative gadgets since 2006.
This latest offering from Gigabyte will have gamers interested, as most will know the Gigabyte brand is built on fast motherboards and everything else builds on that, a lot of Desktops have Gigabyte motherboards but they brand notebooks themselves.
The Gigabyte P34W measures 33x23.5x2cm and weights 18.17grams. Like a lot of recent full size notebooks size and weight have been saved by the non-inclusion of an optical drive. If one is required you could always attach a USB one. So just what connections do you get. Starting from the back left a Kensington Lock fitment then an Ethernet Port and VGA out, two USB3 ports and finally headphone and microphone 3.5mm socket.
As part of the latest refresh of its Business Printer line up, Brother has released the MFC-L2700DN model. This All-in-One device combines a mono laser printer with copy, scan and Fax capabilities. The letters DN, forming part of the products model number, indicate that Duplex printing and Network connectivity are part of this units feature set.
Befitting its business status, the MFC-L2700DN has a solid appearance with a predominately gun-metal grey colour scheme that would probably not be acceptable in a home environment. The only exception to this mass of grey is the front mounted control of which more a little later. Considering it is meant to be used in an office, this All-in-One is reasonable compact with dimensions of 409 x 398.5 x 316.
I received this unit four months ago only to find nothing I had was compatible. I consulted the list and eventually I got something that worked with it; ironically this was the first iPad to pass over my desk, me being a confirmed Android person.
The TabletTV portable tuner has been designed for use when you are out and about. On first use you have to answer that you are in possession of a UK TV Licence. It consists of a 9x5x1cm box that has a tiny three piece 15cm rod aerial at one end, the other end has a micro USB port to charge the units battery, there is a micro USB to USB cable supplied.
This has been waiting since early 2014 to be reviewed; it came at the same time as the Pulse Oximeter and the Blood Pressure Cuff. The Pulse Oximeter worked immediately, the Blood Pressure Cuff when Android went to V5 but this had to wait for an iPad to arrive.
It is a watch but until it can be linked to something it is just something that flashes a Bluetooth symbol. Once it talks to an operating system it understands then you have a usable watch and it has travelled with me for the last ten days. It comes with two surrounds and bands blue and black. In fact it also comes with a clip if you prefer to fit it to a piece of clothing rather than a wrist.
Since its first appearance, many years ago, as the software of choice for many users when it came to burning content to disc, Nero has developed into a HD Multimedia Software Suite of tools. Nero is now available in its 2016 version with Classic and Platinum flavours depending upon your needs. I have been looking at the Premium product which comes with a Content Pack that is made up of video effects and themes for use to enhance your own projects.
When installing Nero Platinum, there are separate routines covering the main program, requiring the entry of a 39-character serial number, and the bonus Content Pack. In both cases you do have the option to join the Nero Product Improvement Program which collects anonymous data regarding the use of the software. The installation of the product can prove to be rather time consuming, giving you time for a cup of coffee and a chance to raid the biscuit barrel.
While a lot of computer items get smaller, Modem Routers seem to be an exception. Of course a lot of this is down to having the ability to work on more than one bandwidth and also to have far greater Wi-Fi range to mention just two features.
This however is the largest I have seen and will need more desk/table space unless you utilize the two holes in the back and hang it on a wall. It is 28cm wide, 22cm deep and 4.5cm tall all those are without any stand or cables connected. It weights 855grams; if you add the antennas this adds 31cm to the width and around 18cm to the height.
New from MAGIX is the latest version of the companys video editing software. This 2016 version of MAGIX Movie Edit Pro is available in Standard, Plus and Premium editions. My review is based on the basic Standard offering.
When installing Movie Edit Pro 2016 you have a choice of custom or standard procedures with the former allowing you a degree of choice in the modules that will be included in the process.
Bringing together the Dragon and Phoenix Kingdoms is the task set you in this Hidden Object Adventure game.
Spirits of Mystery: Song of the Phoenix is a Hidden Object Adventure game available for downloading from site such as GameHouse and Big Fish Games. My review is based on the Collector’s Edition version of the game which includes bonus game play that becomes available once the main game has been completed. These bonus items include music, concept art, wallpaper, screen saver and an additional chapter. As usual with such games, you can create profiles for individual players.
A number of such devices are now available this one from Buffalo offers 500GB (1TB also available) of storage. It can be used to automatically backup items from your phone should you wish, it uses its own Wi-Fi network.
The Buffalo MiniStation Air 2 measures 14.5x8.5x1.5cm and weights 250grams. The front edge has power input, USB3 port and connection button. The right side and back are clear while the left side has a USB2 port for charging of other devices. The front part of the top has a single on/off button and behind it four LEDs to denote various things.
The Kurio Tab 2 is a tablet that has been designed for young children to use. Arriving with the claim of being the safest tablet for kids, the Kurio Tab 2 is a 7-inch Android device that is supplied preloaded with 40 educational and fun apps that should appeal to its targeted audience.
Providing visual evidence that the Kurio Tab 2 tablet has been designed specifically for young children is the presence of a protective, blue, compressed rubber jacket that fits over each end of the tablet. The back section of this jacket features cut-out areas so as not to obstruct the rear-mounted 2.1MP camera and a detachable plate whose purpose is to act as a stand for the tablet when it is inserted into a slot in the jacket.
When I saw the first version of Chromecast it was around the same time as a similar product from Roku, to my mind the latter was a better product at a near similar price. So what will the second version have to offer to change my mind?
To start with its an all in one design with an 8cm lead hard wired to the side of the unit to avoid the possible connection problems associated with poor TV design that puts the HDMI ports very close together. When not in use this lead will not dangle as there is a magnetised back that pulls the HDMI lead to the main 5cm circular disc that is the new Chromecast it is less than 1cm thick.
I think of Sennheiser as a maker of quality headphones but at a reasonable price, to give an example one top of the range audio store stocks Sennheiser as their lower priced range. Here is something new for me anyway earbuds from Sennheiser.
They measure 1.4metres from buds to the ‘L’ shaped 3.5mm plug. 12cm down the left bud lead is the comprehensive control, another 20cm on the two cords become one for the rest of the distance to the plug. There is a slider that can hold the two cords as one if 32cm from the ears is too much. There are two pairs of smaller silicon earbuds in the packaging along with a hard sided zip up case to store the earbuds in. Finally there is a small fold out multi-language Safety Guide.
Rather than concentrating on audio features, this next speaker also promises a visual attraction but then failed to deliver.
The Thumbs Up! Infinity speaker is an oval shaped unit that arrives attractively packaged in a solid box that helps inspire some confidence in the enclosed product. Included in the box, with the speaker unit, are a micro-to-standard USB lead for charging purposes, an audio lead with 3.
This starter kit promises to finally give you Wi-Fi Anywhere. This is a bold statement especially if your property is a strange shape or you have lots of solid walls. There is another problem in that these devices used to do the job but slowly.
This starter kit consists of two units the main unit to be placed fairly close to your router is 15x8x5cm with the built in 13amp plug at the base, the top has two Gigabit Ethernet ports. The front has a 13amp plug face so other items can still be plugged in to the unit. The second unit is slightly smaller at 13x6.
Combining stylish appearance with quality audio, this next headphone product offers support for iOS, Android and Windows mobile devices.
With the promise of being the world’s lightest closed-back planar magnetic headphones, the OPPO PM-3 product belongs to the over-the-ears style of headphones. Weighing 320g, the OPPO PM-3 brings together a brushed metallic frame with plush padding materials surrounding the headband and ear pieces. The padding is encased with durable synthetic leather that helps add to the comfort of this product when worn for lengthy sessions of entertainment.
Computer gaming has come a long way since those early days when blocky monochrome pixels, simplistic sound effects and a storyline that could put a great deal of pressure on the players imagination. Nowadays, with photo-realistic graphics, smooth fast animated action, Dolby surround sound and an all-engulfing storyline set in an atmospheric environment, the game provides us with a virtual world to inhabit. This next title comes somewhere in between these two extremes.
Entitled Retro RPG Bundle, this offering, part of the Avanquest GSP game catalogue, brings together three retro role-playing adventure games in a single package. The titles in question are Deadly Sin, Skyborn and Deadly Sin II. I was rather surprised to discover that the earliest of these titles only dates back a mere six years – I expected it to be far older than that. Each of the titles needs to be installed separately from the same front-end menu.
This is another very mature product. When it first came out it was a new way of working by speaking to your computer, now many imitators are available, even Microsoft spawn Cortana. Here however is a product that requires almost no correction.
The previous version that was on my work PC was 11.5 and once you start the installer this version 14 requires that the earlier be removed before install but you can keep your speech files. Enter your serial number and then the installation starts with nothing appearing to happen apart from the DVD drive spinning then after around four minutes files start installing.
The Netgear Nighthawk X4S AC2600 WiFi VDSL/ADSL D7800 MU-MIMO modem router is aimed at ticking all the boxes for gamers and heavy users as well as for those who are keeping an eye on tomorrow's needs.
The X4S, which can sit on a shelf or be wall mounted, has four Gigabit Ethernet, an eSATA and two USB 3.0 ports together with four external WiFi antennas. The MU-MIMO (multi-input/multi-output) WiFi technology minimises wireless dead spots while the added power increases the range of the X4S which has a theoretical aggregate throughput of some 2.6Gbps made up of 800Mbps and 1.73Gbit/s respectively on the 2.4 and 5GHz bands.
As a regular source of gadgets and the like, Sandberg has developed a Bluetooth QWERTY keyboard.
Mobile devices, such as smartphones and tablets, have proved to be extremely useful in many ways. You have only to consider how many times each of us rely on such devices to provide a service that we feel we could not manage without, to realise how we have fully integrated such products into our lives or perhaps it would be more accurate to state that these devices have integrated themselves into our lives.
Archos are a French company that have had a presence in the UK for many years. Like many other companies they have decided that mobile phones are a field they wish to participate in. Here an entry into the 4G market the 4G LTE.
The Archos 50d Helium smart phone measures 14.5x7.2x.8cm and it weights 150grams. Like the vast majority of mobile phones today it is touch screen and this is shiny so finger marks are a big problem. The screen is 11x6.2cm which gives the diagonal measurement of 5inches. Dual SIM phones are still not that prevalent in the UK so it you want one here is your chance. The sides are chrome and the back can either be stone blue or stone grey, mine had both backs in the box.
Music while you ride could well be what you do with this product as it is supplied with a handlebar mount. However it is still a perfectly good set of speakers for those of us who prefer music from the comfort of their armchairs.
Some of the lounge police might object to the bright orange of the unit that predominates, the front and back are covered in black mesh. It is 13x6.5x6cm and without the bicycle mount it weights 423grams. It is reasonably water resistant as the orange is rubber and the front and back mesh is very fine. The only external connections are on the left end under its handle and they are covered by a tight fitting bung. The connections are micro USB for charging and an Auxiliary input 3.5mm socket.
Although misnamed as they generally sit below instead of on top of the television, set-top boxes have become a must have feature for the modern living room. With its flag firmly attached to the Good Ship Freesat, Humax has delivered numerous set-top boxes including its HDR-1100S model.
There are set-top boxes and set-boxes. Some of these units provide access to free services, such as offered by Freeview and Freesat, while others deliver a gateway to the various paid for channels available from Sky, Virgin and BT. The Humax Freesat HDR-1100S belongs to the former category (its title gives it away) and can provide the viewer with a choice of over 200 channels on a no subscription basis once a satellite dish is in position.
This is the first unit I have reviewed that was supplied with Windows 10 pre-installed. This told me several things including the fact that my upgrade on an old notebook just before launch had not gone entirely as it should have done.
The ASUS Transformer Book T300 measures 31x19x1cm, the last figure varies from .8cm at the front edge to 1.4cm at the back edge. It weights 1425grams all these figures assume you use the unit as a notebook. It can also be used as a tablet without the keyboard when the weight is only 720grams. So let’s deal with the keyboard first. It is an 84key unit with alpha and numeric keys being full size.
Providing the dual functionality of battery charging and storage capacity is a small device for use with Apple devices.
The Imation LINK Power Drive combines battery charging functionality with flash storage capability. Designed specifically for use with various iOS mobile devices, the product is available in 16, 32 and 64GB capacity models. My review is based on the 16GB version of the product which is currently available from selected Currys / PC World stores plus Amazon.co.uk and Tesco Direct.
Swans with nettle vests and a speechless Queen accused of black magic feature in this Hidden Object Adventure game.
As the second title in the Grim Legends series, Song of the Dark Swan is available in Collector’s Edition format from the Avanquest GSP catalogue of games. This Hidden Object Adventure game comes with a number of bonus items, some of which are available immediately while others, such as replaying the Hidden Object scenes and watching various cut-scenes, require the main game to be completed before you are granted access.