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One day last summer, I know it was summer because it rained on that day as I attended an event that included an introduction to a product known as View21. As can sometimes happen with an introduction look at a product, several months were to fade into distant memory before I was able to get my hands on a product to check it out.
View21 is a twin Freeview HD television tuner/recorder. Included in the box with the View21 box are the two-piece power lead, HDMI cable, aerial linking lead plus a remote control unit with the accompanying two AAA batteries. Although not included in the box, you could find an Ethernet cable, SCART lead and a modem/router would prove useful in some situations especially when giving you access to content that might be available from the Internet.
I have always imagined that time travel would be an invention of the future but this next game has the development of time travel in the past.
Do you fancy being a hero? The opportunity could present itself with a new game from Alawar Entertainment. The game in question is the Age of Adventure: Playing the Hero. In this new time management title you take on the role of an actor who finds himself cast in a part that is perhaps too near real life for his particular comfort and ease of mind especially as death could prove fatal.
This is a rather nice Smart TV, it is also a good large screen panel. I have seen a report saying the new black is white; this almost qualifies as the back and base are both white, the face is however still a traditional black colour.
The Samsung C24B750X measures 63.5x47x20cm. The base is integrated so cannot be removed, that does however give a nice stylish sweep to it. The viewable screen is 60x33cm giving the notional diagonal imperial measurement of 27inches, the normal 1920x1080 in PC mode.
Creative has added to its range of speaker systems with the release of a new model in its Inspire series.
Although Creative has put a lot of effort into the development of its Sound BlasterAxx™ generation of Bluetooth wireless single speaker units, the company has not neglected the more traditional offerings of a speaker set up made up of a subwoofer with attached satellite speakers. As a result Creative has launched its new Inspire™ T3300 speaker system. This is a 2.1 system made up of a subwoofer, two satellite speakers and a permanently attached remote control unit.
Extensively it looks like a small to mid sized portable radio. However with all the bits this has inside its small frame perhaps Tardis would be a better description. Not only is it a conversional radio but it can record and more.
It is 19x9x1.5cm (without the seven piece rod aerial being raised) it weights 270grams so small enough to fit into a deep pocket. As a radio it has stereo - unusual for such a small unit – the bands are FM, AM and SW. For me I found that I did not need to raise the rod aerial for FM. You can record radio. It can record MP3 or WAV by using the inbuilt microphone or by attaching an external microphone with a 3.5mm end.
All Android tablets are the same is something I have heard stated, well I disagree and here is a great example of a company giving more than you normally get, one such added extra is a full size USB port so importing or exporting is just a matter of attaching a USB stick.
This particular Android table is from Polaroid and measures 26.5x16.5x1.3cm while weighing 672grams. The viewable screen is 22x12.5cm. The system is delivered with Android version 4 (Ice-cream Sandwich). There is a small 28 page User Manual that is well laid out with illustrations to explain all the controls and connections. The screen is capacitive and multi touch so enlarging or reducing something is just a matter of opening or closing two fingers.
My apologies to those who were hurrying home from work in Shoreditch recently and were accosted by a bunch of journalists, myself included, taking photos. It was not our fault; blame Canon who sent us out to check out a new camera.
The Canon PowerShot S110 is a pocket-sixe compact camera. It comes with the promise of offering the user a range of features aimed at appealing to gadget-loving users. Included amongst its feature set are built-in WiFi, GPS tagging facility and a 9MP lens with 10x 36-360mm zoom capability. With dimensions of 98.8 x 59.0 x 26.9mm (W x H x D) and weighing 198 including the battery pack and a user-supplied memory card, the PowerShot S110 is available in various colours.
These are two sets of headphones from a company in Sweden. The first is a lightweight set with smaller earpieces and a little padding on the headband, the second even more lightweight and these also have a modern feel.
Both these were displayed on a stand from a twice yearly press show that enables me to see items that are from companies not often shown in the UK. These were white and had 3.5cm of movement in each arm for anyone with a larger head. From the base to the base of the headband – when fully retracted – is 15cm. They fit on top of the ear and can be worn either on top of the head or as seems more fashionable slightly back towards the neck and give a cool light feel to the wearer.
This next game attempts to add a new slant to the popular Hidden Object Adventure genre with some innovative features.
Tearstone is a game that is described as “a Fantasy Hidden Object Adventure into the Unknown”. Although the words “Hidden Object Adventure” might make you think this is yet another title that mixes together Adventure exploring with Hidden Object scenes, Tearstone puts a different slant on this popular genre.
Printers tend to fall into distinct categories offering the user a choice of either / or facilities. You could select from a laser or inkjet model. Perhaps a standalone unit or a multi-function device that can provide print, copy, scan and possibly fax capabilities would fit your needs. There is a choice of an A3 or A4 model with both types being able to produce documents in various smaller sizes. Now there is a further category to consider as Brother has introduced a range of printers that turn document printing through 90 degrees with its landscape, rather than the more familiar portrait, printing capability. This facility allows the printer to product A4 and A3 documents from the same machine.
The first such printer to be launched in this innovative J4000 range is the MFC-J4510DW. As the MFC suffix indicates, this is a multi-function device that gives you print, copy, scan and fax functionality. You also get a 20-page ADF (Automatic Document Feed) feature and automatic Duplex printing. This model provides a choice of USB, wired LAN or wireless network connectivity when adding this product to your computer system.
While most will use this sitting on a table or desk, it can work from a wide shelf or even on the floor behind a sofa if the lounge police dislike the black colour. It can be connected via USB or by wireless meaning it need not be in sight.
It is 42x30x15cm, add around 5cm to raise the lid on the flatbed to insert pages. You will need around 20cm extra to the second figure the depth to allow A4 paper to emerge from the output tray, so 42x50x20cm is total space in use. Both USB and the power lead connect back left and as Duplex is automatic no further space is required for this action. There are a total of eight buttons and several LED’s along with a numeral display all along the left side of the top of the unit.
Keeping your teeth clean can help various health issues as well as having a cosmetic effect.
Whether featuring squeaky clean teeth or a case of bleeding gums, adverts for different brands of toothpaste appear on a regular basis on our television screens. Yet less consideration is given in these marketing exercises as to the hardware that applies this software solution for the benefit of our personal oral hygiene. A recent survey of 11,000 adults in Scotland has revealed that oral health can have a direct impact on heart disease, diabetes and complications during pregnancy.
Netgears readyNAS duo V2 is arguably the ideal storage centre for the advanced home user or small business. Documents, images, and video files etc. can be uploaded to the readyNAS and then shared across the LAN or even remotely over the Internet. As it can accommodate 1 or 2 SATA drives each having a capacity of up to 3TB, and has two USB 3.0 and one USB 2.0 ports, it will prove more than adequate for the vast majority of users.
It is a solidly built unit which is approximately 140 x 100 x 22mm deep. It has an attractive dark grey finish and weighs just over 2kg even without disc drives. There is a separate power “brick”. The large fan, the two USB 3.0 ports and the gigabit Ethernet and power connections are on the rear panel of the unit. On the front as well as the power switch, LEDs and a USB 2.0 port there is a door which provides access to the two disc trays.
Two satellites and a beefy sub woofer plus a corded remote to allow you to control the overall volume without leaving the comfort of your chair. It can be used to spice up your PC or connect to anything with a 3.5mm jack.
These units are basically triangular; the sub woofer is 29cm from front to back, 24cm across at the front and 2cm across at the back and it is 22cm tall. All connections take place under a slight overhang so no protrusions. The pair of satellite speakers are 10x12x23cm at the base and this reduces to 4x5cm at the top and includes the amount the lead juts out the back. You can connect to anything with a 3.
Some would call this top a fashion item; others would call it simply clothing however its the technology side that got me interested. It has enabled me to listen to music without earbuds inserted around my home and to keep me warm.
Being a male of a certain age clothes to me are something to wear and fashion is a thing that I let others worry about. I know some of my wardrobe is older than a lot of my readers are. In fact I have a pair of motorcycle boots that are over fifty years old and while I no longer ride a motorcycle they still get used quite often.
After the success of the Gadget Show held in Birmingham around the Easter period, a London-based version of the show took place at the end of November. One of the companies exhibiting at the show was Damson with its new Twist product.
The Canon PowerShot SX500-IS is another in the range from Canon, this one on a cursory glance could be confused with a small DSLR unit, it is however a digital unit with excellent zoom as well as other features making it almost a bridge unit.
The Canon PowerShot SX500 IS measures 12x6.5x7.5 however the lens will come out another 1.5cm as soon as you switch on and under full zoom another 3.5cm. The unit is capable of 30x optical zoom and the largest image size is 16MP but even at lower image sizes the pictures you take are sharp and have good depth. The old PowerShot shape is maintained what was the ‘AA’ battery bay now contains the solid battery and any SD card you use.
After each review of an Edifier speaker system, I try to imagine what shape or appearance the companys next model will adopt. I have yet to get even close.
The Edifier e10 Exclaim product is a multimedia speaker that follows Edifier’s normal pattern of developing a design concept that is somewhat out of the ordinary when it is paired with a PC, Mac, laptop unit or even various mobile devices. As I have mentioned before, on at least a couple of occasions, Edifier speaker systems certainly make an effort to stand out with regards to their appearance.
Where they come from nobody knows but the Globs need your help to progress to the next stage in their evolution.
Sticky Licky is a puzzle game recently added to Alawar Entertainment’s extensive catalogue of titles. Some initial research reveals that there is a game entitled Sticky Licky available for the iPhone from the Apple App Store.
Both these units from rely of what you sit them on to produce the majority of volume, a small amount - enough for a quiet room occurs naturally but place either of these of different solid surfaces makes everything come alive.
A new name to me with the unusual motto ‘designed in Yorkshire, made in China’. This of course insures UK standards of production quality. It is circular 5.5cm and 6cm tall. Mine was a metallic light blue colour with two silver stripes around it near the base. This is always going to be a personal speaker; methods of connection are either by the supplied 3.5mm jack or by Bluetooth.
Storing your documents, images and music in digital format on your computer is now the de facto choice of many. But how would you manage if this data became corrupted especially if you did not have a backup?
Over the years Acronis has built up an excellent reputation for producing back-up software for the Windows platform. The company’s flagship product of True Image is now available in its 2013 edition. This product features a set of tools designed for back-up and recovery tasks and includes support for Windows 8.
The wise think of fitting surge strips in their home but what about for the notebook when on your travels. The second is a device to allow you to get an e-SATA connection from a USB port, designed for USB3 but works with USB2.
With a personal trainer costing a fortune and a gym membership not a lot less those of us wanting to shed a little weight and trim up a bit have only one method available until now - will power this little gadget may help.
I first saw this at a press event before Christmas and mistakenly said I had asked on at least two occasions at events previously for them to send me one to review, then after a pause they asked are you sure you don’t mean a similar name (one letter different) which of course I did. After that things improved and I was soon sent one for review. I have been using it for a couple of months and while I can’t claim the weight is dropping off I do feel somewhat less decrepit.
While it is a part of out body that is used on a regular basis, it sometimes does not get the attention it deserves. Just how clean are your teeth?
According to recent research, up to 90% of the population is likely to experience some form of gum disease during their life time which could then lead to tooth loss and maybe complicate other medical conditions. Inefficient brushing can allow plaque to build up on teeth while allowing bacteria to attack gums causing bleeding and inflammation.
This is a DAB/FM radio and i device player. That is the bare bones of a quiet stylish device, not the least of these is the i device placement. Certainly I have never seen one in a similar place or one that comes up in such a way.
The main body is 32x10x15cm, however when the metamorphic ‘i’ device holder rises it adds 10cm to the 15cm height and 5cm to the 10cm depth, so the overall in ‘action’ size is 32x15x25cm. The height will be more with an iPad. It comes with a 5x8.5cm remote control that has 22 buttons however virtually everything can be done from the 14 buttons on top of the unit. These are bar type with one end doing one thing and the other end something else.
As the current hot bed of less expensive high tech equipment, Chine is the source for this next laser printer.
Seine Technology is a Chinese company that concentrates its expertise on producing laser printers and printing supplies. I thought I would just mention that as, like me, you might not have heard of this company before. Currently the laser printers from this company are being released under the Pantum brand name for both the home consumer and the business marketplace. The first printer in this range to come my way is the Pantum 2000.
Are you ready to enter a nightmare? This is the challenge facing you with the Big Fish Games Nightmare Realm. This next game adds an Origami tutorial to the popular mix of adventure, action and Hidden Object searching.
This should be the first of several Philips items to come to be reviewed as they now have a PR Person to oversee things. Certainly I have requested things before but the requests always seemed to disappear into a black hole.
The Philips 237E4 E-Line monitor measures 53x32.5x1cm; the last figure is at the edges. The viewable screen is 51x28.5cm giving the notional diagonal imperial measurement of 23inches. Its stand raises the screen by 8cm above your desk or whatever you place it on. The base is circular at 19cm with a diagonal arm from the very back that attaches about 5cm up the back of the panel. Unlike some panels the connections are above the bass connection and are all very easy to get at.
It has been quite a while since I last looked at a Hauppauge television tuner. Now the company has added WiFi capability to a two-tuner device for around the world access.
Co-incidentally on the day I started to check out the various items that make up this next piece of kit, the Internet was full of reports on Super Storm Sandy and the havoc it wrecked on New York with areas underwater. I mention this as a kind of tenuous connection between a popular New York landmark of Broadway and the title of the next product under review which is Broadway 2T from Hauppauge.
The first from a name big in shaving for more years than I can remember this offering however is battery powered. The second from the Kings of USB residing in Hong Kong a hand warmer that is available in four colours.
An electric shaver using blades is a basic description it also has two other combs that attach to the base unit to provide the style. A single ‘AA’ battery fits into the arm of the unit to provide the power at a touch of a button. It is 16.5cm long with one of the five bladed heads attached; these have a 4cm across shaving action as it moves across your face. The unit is 3cm wide and 2cm deep with a rubberised coating to facilitate holding when wet.
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