GadgetSpeak Articles
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An electronic game that replicates the TV series Deal or No Deal. Easy to play and easy to carry around.
The Deal or No Deal electronic table top
game is for four players. The first thing I liked about this
board game is there are no pieces to loose!
The lack of individual pieces makes this an easy game to
play on the settee, in the car or to take around to the relatives
on Boxing Day. Like other TV tie-in games, it does help if you've watched the
TV show.
This is the first of the latest batch of Logitech keyboards to come my way. This is a new breed of keyboard that notes the increased number of notebooks that people use on a desktop.
So apart from this being a full size keyboard it also comes with a stand to raise your notebooks screen so that in effect you have the same arrangement as you would get with a desktop, so you just put your laptop in the stand and forget it has a keyboard once you have tuned the cordless offering here to your notebook.
If it's classic styling you're looking for - a DAB radio that'll looks as good as it sounds
and that can comfortably take pride of place in your home then Roberts may have something for you.
The 'Revival' range has been around for a little while from Roberts in various finishes. This
limited edition version takes style to a new level. When you take it out of the packaging
the first thing you notice is the weight - at around 1.5Kg (3lb) without batteries this is
probably the heaviest DAB radio I've seen.
As USB flash drives shrink in physical dimensions, they do seem to increase in storage capacity and additional features.
In an effort to differentiate their USB flash drive products from the competition manufacturers have put in varying degrees of effort into trying to make their particular products stand out from the rest of the pack. Physical dimensions and various shapes have been tried as the means of differentiating certain brands while others have opted for the approach of adding extra value in the form of bonus software such as Ceedo, U3 and encryption protection.
Add together equal measures of scientific exploration and computer interaction with a dash of curiosity, fun and creativeness could well result in a product from Digital Blue
The product QX5 Computer Microscope has been specifically developed to allow children to explore a world of small creatures and other items without too much fuss or mess. This kit consists of a cylindrical shaped microscope with a permanently attached USB lead; a stand with a moveable tray for holding specimens; and software for displaying and adding special effects to the images.
As an Officejet it is unlikely to ever get past the lounge police partly because it is not small but mainly because it is black with grey sides, shame really as it is a nice MFU.
Firstly for those occasional readers an MFU (Multi Function Unit) has fax capabilities whereas the AIO (All In One) does not. Both have the ability to print, scan and copy. It is 54x42x36cm and compare that to a lot of similar machines and you will see it is big. Mind you it has a duplex unit that adds to the second figure the depth and the third figure the height would be less without the page feed.
Are you looking for the best hair straighteners to go to that party, or just look great for work. We put 4 different hair straighteners to the test.
When I received four different hair straighteners I wondered what could be different about each. Most straighteners these days have ceramic plates, held to be better for your hair, and swivel leads to stop the wire from tangling up (a good invention).
Although many users tend only to think of Olympus as a developer and manufacturer of traditional and digital cameras, the company also has a long established reputation for producing high quality digital voice recorders.
Recently the company expanded its range of voice recorders with three new models in its DS series. These models are the DS-30, DS-40 (the subject of this review) and the DS-50. Measuring 110 x 37.5 x 16mm and weighing 73g, the DS-40 is a handy size device in more ways than one. It will fit easily into a pocket or bag, without an unsightly bulge, when not in use.
The demise of
VHS video tape has left a big hole in convenient TV recording not filled by the promise of DVD.
This Thomson box from Top Up TV offers a rich set of features at an unbeatable price.
Hard disk recorders have been around for a little while - most famously pioneered by Tivio and
then, in the UK, by the Sky+ box. Great if you're a Sky subscriber. With the advent of FreeView
based Digital Television Recorders (DTR) this facility is available to the masses without
the expense or restrictions of a subscription-only services. have launched their own product in this space - the
" " - not quite as catchy as "sky+" - but don't let that put you off.
This is an Analogue TV but it has almost any connection at the rear so with a digital PVR you have a new TV with the ability to view and play HD.
This is the first TV I have reviewed that is supplied with a screwdriver. Yes it is self assembly - of the stand - the screws are provided as are the screw holes and after a couple of minutes it is ready. A good idea should you ever need to relocate it as the box for a 32 inch TV is tiny only just bigger than the screen so the stand needs to be flat in the boxes back.
Over the last couple of months we've reviewed a number of coffee machines, across a wide
price range and with distinct capabilities and characteristics. We're just about
coming down from our caffeine high so now is a good time to offer a summary!
First of all a few terms so we're all singing from the same hymn sheet!
is the common 'brew' across the machines we reviewed. Think of this as a base coffee
from which others are made. Espresso is a short (40ml) strong black coffee. From this base
you can add hot frothy milk to make , for example. The machines we reviewed made coffee either from special proprietary 'capsules', such
as the system or the Braun Tassimo capsules, from fresh ground coffee or from
.
While neither of these two items are likely to be needed that often when one or other is it will certainly get you out of a hole.
USB Portable Floppy Drive Nowadays the majority of new PC's are sold with an 'A' drive, the capacity is small and most situations can be handled with a pen/stick drive. There are occasions when these will not do and one of these could well the one that totally knackers you or me. Certainly if you have several PC's then if Windows will not boot then a USB floppy could be a 'lifesaver'.
With this little foursome she can have a pampering experience any night of the week - and you'll still have change from £100. Great gadgety beauty gifts for the girls at Christmas.
Boots are a firm favourite with shoppers at Christmas so we asked Boots for a selection of their gadgets for the girls this Christmas. They sent us some of their popular products: The Boots Compact Epilator, Lee's Box of Tricks and the No 7 Rechargeable Manicure Set. We also received the Mini-Massager on the Go, by Homedics, which you can also buy from Boots. For girls who want smooth legs for Christmas and New Year - a nice little epilator - affordable and simple to understand.
While the various MP3 type devices were designed as personal music players that has not stopped developers from trying to expand the range of audience participation.
Entitled , the provides additional audio output capabilities to your MP3 player. Although it does come with a claim, clearly mentioned on the packaging, that the product has been designed for all MP3 players, it is obvious that the iPod has had a major influence on the design concept but more on this a little later.
I am so impressed with the Kaleidoscope games. It's fantastic to see a company that has come up with a truly original, high quality and addictive game. The Kaleidoscope games deserve to reach the iconic status of Monopoly and Scrabble, when the other board games inspired by TV programmes and novelty characters are 6 feet under.
Just when I thought that was the perfect game, along came it's big brother -
Krusade - a board game for 2-4 players. I liked Kaleidoscope
Classic, the original game, so much that it was awarded the
Gadgetspeak 5*5 award a few weeks ago. Kaleidoscope
Classic In brief, Kaleidoscope Classic is a
brainteasing puzzle of 18 pieces which cover 64 squares and can placed in at least 101 ways to give different patterns.
While I have seen cheaper unbranded boxes on sale in adverts, this is a new ball park low in a nationally advertised box it breaks the £20 price point and of course its not a sale price.
This is a simple black box, it is 21x17x3cm with the aerial lead inserted. There is a single LED on the front and the mains lead is hardwired into the rear. Unusually for basic Freeview units not only does an aerial input but an output as well. Most will connect to a SCART socket and it of course has one of those.
For those of you that like espresso, but often just want a jug of warm coffee then
Krups have combined both functions in a single unit.
The is a stylish brushed stainless steel and black plastic unit. The combination of espresso and filter means that it's physically bigger than other machines we've tested at 35x32x31cm (Width x Height x Depth) - my measurements from the actual unit and weighing in at 3Kg.
With music where ever you go, Sony Ericssons slider model offers plenty of functionality.
The Sony Ericsson W850i is the company's first slider model to grace its family of mobile phones. Available in either golden white or precious black, this phone measures 98 x 47 x 21mm and weighs 116g which, while not the smallest device around, is a reasonable size for the functionality it provides.
Everybody loves to win a prize especially a possible life-changing one as is offered by this next product.
Eternity is supposed to last for a very, very long time. In fact it is meant to be the infinite period that never ends. Yet despite this apparent longevity, not only do we have Eternity but Eternity II. I should make clear that this Eternity and the follow-up Eternity II are puzzle type games that have been developed by Christopher Monckton who was at one time (but not an eternity ago) an aide to Margaret Thatcher.
This is a powerful intermediate user camera, more than point and shoot but a step down from a DSLR however it has 6x optical zoom and can take 12mega pixel images.
This is not a small unit, but somewhat less in size than a DSLR. It is 11x7x4.5cm and weights close to 400grams with it's 4x'AA' batteries inserted. I found it surprising that such a powerful unit only comes with 'AA' batteries. The case is silver in colour apart from the right hand side 'the grip' area which is black. Almost all the controls are also in this area.
Usually at Gadgetspeak we review products. Recently we were given the chance to review a video encoding technology called Mobiclip. A technology that will enable mobile phones to store movie length films at high quality and without impinging on battery life. We were sent a Nokia N73 with a film on memory card using the Mobiclip technology by Actimagine.
You can't actually go out and buy 'Mobiclip'. It's one of those things to be aware of and look out for when buying a mobile phone. You'll find some Nokia, Sony Ericsson and Motorola phones that come with Mobiclip technology and, if you want to be able to watch full length movies on your phone, this may end up being one of the reasons why you choose one phone over another.
As my current main phone was suffering from a dodgy power connection, it was time to check out a replacement.
Generally I do not believe in co-incidence but sometimes circumstances force me to reconsider my position. Take, for instance, the combination of two recent events. On the very day that I had decided to review a new BT phone, who should turn up but a team of BT engineers. Their assigned task was to replace the telegraph pole situated outside my home. To me the original pole look fine but I was not consulted about the matter.
The Thrustmaster Run'N'Drive is a wireless game controller for the Sony PS/2, PS/3 and IBM PC - an ideal
alternative to the wired variety if you're fed up with untangling wires - or just want to get further
away from the screen.
To look at this controller is similar to a standard PS/2 controller and includes all the standard gaming buttons one would expect. For PS/2 users two vibrating motors are included - with the option to switch them off to save battery. I found the basic controller pretty comfortable to hold - the two 'wings' are much longer than those on a standard PS/2 controller.
A number of companies have produced photo frames, most however are no bigger than seven inches, so this at 50% bigger could well be worth a look, it also can play music.
It looks like a red wooden frame with another white spacer frame inside. The total external dimensions are 31x25cm. It has 3.5cm of depth, if you support it on a desk a snap in black plastic fitting fits into the black back of the unit and it leans slightly back in either portrait or landscape mode just like a traditional photo frame. The internal white spacer frame is 2.2cm wide top and bottom and 2.5cm wide at the sides.
A few weeks ago I told you about a couple of games/puzzles from Coiledspring games, here I am looking at two further offerings from the same company. Read the other review they are made of wood and are quality.
Katamino This is a game for one or two players and it can be easy or hard dependant on the number of pieces you use. Described as suitable for age 3+ in this case I can see at the basic levels that children of that age could compete. You have a wooden board 30x14x1.5cm a divider bar placed at various points along the board (according to difficulty) and twenty different sized coloured shaped bricks.
OK, so we know they all want an iPOD, the Wii and a Nintendo DS Lite - that's obvious. But what else could you put under the Christmas tree. Here at Gadgetspeak we've personally road tested some great products with real kids (big and small) and here is our list of Top 10 ideas. Your can see a full review of each by clicking on the titles.
1. - by Braingym (UK) Ltd, from £14.95 - Gadgetspeak 5*5 Award Kaleidoscope A fascinating game with a myriad of
possibilities for kids and adults. With eighteen pieces which cover
64 squares to make up a chequerboard, this game is part strategy and
part puzzle.
While hardly operatic, Sony Ericsson chose the Kings Cross Scala as the venue for its latest product announcements.
Sony Ericsson W890 The guys from Sony Ericsson were back in town earlier this week with news of some new offerings made up of mobile phones; a mobile Broadband modem; and an entertainment download service. Let's take a look first at the new phones coming our way. All these new models will not be available in the UK until early next year, so really this is just to whet our appetites for the post-Christmas period.
It's National Indoor Allergy Week 19th - 23rd November, so we're reviewing the Bionaire Air Purifier BAP412. Air purifiers are known to help those with allergic reactions and asthma.
In the UK a shocking 5.2 million adults
and 1.1 million children receive treatment for Asthma and someone is
admitted to hospital in England once every 8 minutes because of the
condition. Asthma is on the increase and is potentially life
threatening. At very least it can make life uncomfortable and many
activities difficult to take part in.
One of the better names for a DAB radio as especially if you are listening to cool music you would often come near to laying back for exactly its name.
It is black in colour, 17x14x5cm although those the maximum dimensions with only the centre rear being 14cm as it curves quite sharply each side. There are twelve silvered buttons on the top with the speaker mounted behind them. Should you prefer to listen via earbuds there is a 3.5mm socket on the top. The front has a 6x2.5cm three line display. The top line being twice the size of the other two.
The iM207 is a small stand-alone speaker for those on the move, intended to be plugged into various sound sources - an MP3 player, iPod, your mobile phone or computer for example.
Having recently reviewed the I was interested to see how Altec Lansing served the lower end of the market. Where the iM600 is a top of the range stereo speaker system specifically aimed at the iPod - this time we're looking at a small circular speaker with built in amplifier. To look at the 'Orbit' is fairly simple. From above it's circular with the Altec Lansing logo embedded in the silver speaker grill while from the side it's a squat cone.
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