GadgetSpeak Articles
GadgetSpeak has close to 5,000 product reviews and other articles. You can use this page to find others opinions on anything from mobile phones to computers to the latest kitchen appliance
Having recently told you about a small DAC from SoundBlaster here a larger one, this however is not just a DAC it is also an external 7.1 sound card and still more. While the recently reviewed DAC was useful for those on the move to get great sound quality here the X4 is definitely for those in a static position probably to get improved sound where an internal card is not available.
The SoundBlaster X4 measures 12.5x12.5x3cm with a big round volume control knob on the top that increases the height by close to another centimetre. Also on the top are three indented touch buttons for Audio Balance, Direct Mode and Super X-Fi. The front has 3.5mm input for microphone and 3.5mm output for headphones. Both the left and right sides are clear. The back has four 3.5mm Line out sockets for front, side, rear and Q/Sub, there are also Line in, Optical Out and USB ‘C’.
Developed in Spain, a new smartphone arrives to tempt users.
This is a quality speaker that has Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Chromecast and Auxiliary input; it has control by voice curtesy of Google and of course like everything of quality ‘size is not everything’ as it is quite small. Setup should be a matter of minutes then just enjoy the quality of the sounds and wonder why other speakers even large ones do not sound so good.
The Braun LE03 measures 16x16x7.5cm but the power lead sticks out from the back by another 4cm, if you were thinking placing it on a shelf it weighs 1.7kilos. There is possibly another problem but I will mention that later. Setup is first placing the unit, then linking it to Google Home and then enjoying your purchase.
Continuing the Academy of Magic series, e-Funsoft turns a student into an evil wizard.
A new term starts at the Academy of Magic. As the new students arrive for their lessons in magic, e-Funsoft has come up with the next version of its popular Match-3 series as students need to battle the latest threat to their way of life from the forces of evil. This time the threat comes in the form of Dark Possession.
While there is plenty of publicity and action regarding the food we eat, there seems to be less concerns about the water we intake.
Turn on the tap in your kitchen and you should receive, unless there is a blockage somewhere in your pipes, an output of sparkling water. This liquid can then be used for a variety of tasks including providing the body with an important element for a healthy existence. However, while the water you receive from a tap might have the appearance of a clear water, it is not always the pure liquid we think it is despite the efforts that have been made to remove impurities by suppliers.
A lot of rather nice Tablets and Laptops come with only a 256GB SSD drive and once a few larger programs and Apps are loaded you start to see a smaller than 50% of free space load a few videos and things start to become critical. So this offering of an external SSD unit of 512GB – or even 1TB – is a very nice option to have.
This fingerprint secured external SSD from Verbatim provides 512GB of storage, measures 11x4x1.2cm and it comes with a 60cm USB lead. The lead plugs in to the top end of the SSD drive .5cm from the top of the unit is the 2.5x1.6cm finger print reader.
Sometimes murderers can get away with their crime but then you could step in and solve the murder.
This is the first product I have seen from Rock Jaw Audio, a set of in ear earbuds they are wireless and these Bluetooth buds come with a charge box that means the buds internal batteries can be quickly recharged without needing to find power as the box provides extra power for the buds and also provides a safe storage space for them when not in use.
So what do you get, a flip open box 7x3.5x3.5cm which is the charge point for the earbuds, a 30cm long USB ‘C’ to USB cable that is used to recharge the box. The buds are fitted with a pair of gels and there are another five sets in the with the unit, there are also a pair of silicon fit fins for those doing workouts to keep the buds in place. There is also an annoyingly small 9x4.
From where do authors get their inspiration? This next game may provide the answer.
With a title that seems more at home when uttered with a pause partway through, Enlightenus is a game that belongs to the Hidden Object Adventure genre. Developed by Blue Tea Games, Enlightenus casts you in the role of a detective who receives a message from an author, named Edgar Lee, who required your help. As Lee was your favourite author when younger, you were only to willing to help him locate the missing pages from his novels.
When purchasing a Xiaomi handset from Affordable Mobile with a specific contract, you could end up with a free gift.
A bag within a bag this backpack is very lightweight and indeed folds up to a small size to fit into its own bag for easy transportation when not in use. It’s made of a lightweight material and when folded in its bag it could even fit into a larger handbag and quickly be unfurled to carry a good amount of stuff before fitting onto your back. They even provide a waterproof drawstring bag to put it in for those times when it has been used and got wet.
When folded up in its outer bag it has a size of 20x13cm and its weight is 270 grams. When unfolded it becomes 39x28x13cm the last figure is at the top and bottom, the central area is slightly more at 15cm. The straps are well padded so it does sit comfortably on your shoulders, as a well-built man I needed the extension to easily fit onto my shoulders but a thin smaller person could easily take these in via the fitting strap and give several centimeters less in overall size.
Since its original conception, around 2004, CCleaner has made its life existence to improve the performance of Windows and make your computer a faster and healthier computer.
Following its usual start-up procedure, CCleaner will offer to run its Health Check feature on the host. This facility checks out a variety of issues that tend to build on a Windows system over a period of time through general use. These issues tend to be categorised as Privacy, Space, Speed and Security. As part of its check up on my test system, CCleaner found 4987 trackers resident on the computer plus 2797 items that were considered junk amongst other findings.
Available in two colours, when I delved into what colour I was sent I find it was listed as Pink but to me it’s more like a light violet. This is a rather nice and quiet powerful Laptop from a company known for producing top quality items.
It is 21.5x31.5x1.5cm the last figure is at the back, at the front it is only 1cm. The screen display is full HD 1920x1080 and the notional diagonal imperial screen measurement is 14 inches, it weighs 1428 grams. The connections on the left side are 3.5mm socket for headphones and a USB port. The front is clear.
Digging down in my collection of games not in their first flush of youth. I came across the story of Malgray Castle.
Usually when vampires are featured in a game then you can expect more than your fair share of blood, gore and an overall atmosphere that is soaked in layers of gothic terror. But usually does not mean always and there are exception to the rule. Take for example the game of Vampireville which was developed by Nevosoft. Vampireville combines Hidden Object game play with a puzzle solving aspects.
With a back story of wizards, villagers and an angry dragon, this next game presents linked grids.
Storm Tale 2 continues the story of Erik and Annabelle as related to the old wizard Griffri. Presented in the format of a Match-3 game with some extra elements, this Green Sauce developed game focuses on the destruction caused by the dark wizard Tyrannus and the dragon under his control. You are cast in the role of a helper assigned to assist Erik and Annabelle as they set about rescuing the unfortunate villagers following the devastation inflicted on their land.
A small and very portable DAC can often make listening to output enjoyable this offering from THX can do even more it can clean up recordings so the blur that occurs when changing from Analogue to Digital so you again can hear clearly exactly where the instrument was positioned on the original recording.
The total length of the lead from USB ‘C’ to 3.5mm socket is 20cm; add another 2.8cm centimeters if you do not have USB ‘C’ for connecting via the USB ‘C’ to USB ‘A’ adapter. Next turn the volume level right down unless you wish to shatter your eardrums. The THX device is installed and you are ready to listen with much more depth and clarity and a great deal more volume.
Maybe you should search your drawers, attic, garage or other storage areas to see if you have any old mobile phones long forgotten about.
The G7050 is the latest unit from Canon to use the impossible to spill ink bottles that fit into ink tanks that are so easy to fill. The cost of printer ink is often said to be more expensive than Champagne so having it arrive in bottles means it costs less per page.
The Canon Pixma G7050 measures 38cm wide, 39cm deep and 21cm tall all these figures are when the unit is closed. Add another 10cm to the depth when the control panel and output tray are opened and add another 15cm to this when you are using the second ‘sit up’ input tray at the rear. For everyday printing you use the inbuilt paper tray at the base but for items such as quality photo paper the rear ‘sit up’ tray at the back gives more options.
Be careful what you wish for, lest it come true or maybe that should be that you should be careful as you may receive it. Whichever is your preferred version of the old adage, it forms the basis for a title from the Grim Tales™ series of computer games.
Developed by Elephant Games, The Wishes is a Hidden Object Adventure that involves the trouble a young boy gets into when he accepted the help of an old woman. As usual with games of this genre, profiles can be created so that different people can play the game and have their individual progress recorded. Various adjustments can be made to the game playing environment.
While not as convenient as a smartphone when it comes to portability, a tablet can provide various useful for those in a more sedentary environment.
When I think of Alcatel my thoughts tend to veer towards the company's brand of smartphones. However smartphones are not the only product bearing the Alcatel brand. The company also produces tablets that would appeal to users. One such offering is the Alcatel IT 10 Smart device. I have been looking at this particular tablet over the last few weeks. Decked out totally in black, the IT 10 Smart tablet has dimensions of 255 x 155 x 9.4 mm (W x H x D) and weighs in at 415g.
This is the latest SmartPhone to cross my desk loaned from Vodafone. I remember when Oppo first arrived in the UK and you saw their name at Wimbledon and I am sure most people had no idea who they were, I noticed it this year at The Queens tennis and I am sure more now know they are a mobile phone company.
It is 15.8x7x1cm the last figure the thickness is where the line of three cameras are slightly proud of the back. The unit weighs 186grams; the viewable screen is 15.1x6.8cm which gives the notional diagonal imperial measurement of just under 6½ inches. The screen resolution is 1080x2400. Going around the outside has the on/off button on the right side, the base has speaker, microphone, USB ‘C’ port and SIM entry point.
The hard working dwarves return to produce more mosaics in this next title from Digimight.
A few months ago the members of the Dwarves Craft took me on a journey based around the story of a returning son helping rebuild his father's home. Now the central character of that title has continued his adventure by setting out to explore the Northern Ridge of the Dwarves world. His intention is to meet up with the legendary Dwarven craftsman and possible benefit from the craftsman expertise.
While there are a good number of units that are stated to withstand both heat and cold as well as dust and wet there are a lesser number designed to work for longer periods in places where there is zero or very limited mains power available so this triple battery model might be the answer.
It is 34x28x3.5cm and weighs 3.15 kilos. The viewable screen is 30.5x17cm which gives the notional diagonal imperial measurement of 14inches, out of the box the screen resolution is set at 150% but 125% should still be viewable and for those with perfect vision maybe 100%. The screen surround is 1.5cm on each side with 2.5cm at the base and 3cm at the top. Inset in the centre at the top is a webcam that has a vanity slider. On the area on the right side is a fingerprint reader.
Joining the collection of Grim Tales stories is The Stone Queen. This game belongs to the Hidden Object Adventure genre and comes from the Elephant Games team of developers.
Like other titles in the extensive Grim Tales series, The Stone Queen allows you to create profiles to store the progress of different players plus make some adjustments to the game playing environment. Different audio output levels can be set for elements such as music, sound effects, environment and the voice dialogue delivered by voice actors.
This is a rather nice 24inch flat panel from Philips. It takes up only a limited amount of desk space and has a good amount of height adjustment, all the normal connection types are supported and it can also be used portrait as well as landscape and just for good measure it has three USB ports - one always on – built into the unit.
The Philips 243B9 measures 49.5x52cm on its stand at the minimum height of 6cm on its stand in landscape mode this can be increased to 20cm, the screen thickness at the edge is less than 1.4cm. The viewable screen is 52x29.5cm which the notional diagonal imperial measurement of just under 24inches, 23.8inches to be exact. In the centre top of the screen surround is a touch out webcam that means your personal privacy is guaranteed if you remember to push it in when not in use.
TCL took the opportunity of the Mobile World Congress 2021, held in Barcelona, to whet our appetites with various announcements regarding a number of new products.
Sounding a little like a Star Wars device, DOOGEE has developed a smartphone that can act as your message.
DOOGEE, the Spanish technology company, has announced the launch of its S97 Pro product. This particular product comes with the claim of it being the world's first rugged smartphone with a professional laser rangefinder. As yet I have not laid eyes or hands on this product but I have been supplied with various specs and information regarding this phone that forms the basis of this report.
I was sent an email offering samples to review from a company called If You Care, I asked for household gloves and cleaning cloths, what I received was far more so I will tell you about what was delivered from ‘If You Care’. Before the pandemic of close to 18 months ago I am sure we all washed everything and wiped surfaces regularly, now I am certain we do all that and more and probably most people’s hands suffer from all the extra twenty second washes that take place numerous times a day.
Children can find it easy to get lost especially when surrounded by attractions. Can you help re-unite a grandma with her missing grandson?
Penguins do seem to appreciate mosaics. I am not referring to the artistic designs produced by the Roman Empire of many centuries ago but those that form the basis of Match Gems nonogram puzzle offerings featuring members of a penguin family. In this case the penguins are Mrs Penrose who, when taking her grandson Robby, on a trip to an amusement park, manages to loose the youngster. Her resulting search for the boy is covered by the game Fantasy Mosaics 45 - Amusement Park.
Have you ever considered what happens to games once they get past the first flush of popularity?
Occasionally an unsold copy could be left to gather dust on a retailer's shelves or maybe it could be purchased by another publisher to be re-released as a single offering or packaged along with other similar titles. Falling into the latter category is a collection of five Hidden Object games. These titles are National Threat 2, Echoes of Sorrow 2, Dark Strokes, Treasure Masters Inc - The Lost City and Esoteria - Hollow Earth.
Older articles
Main Menu
