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The SoundBlaster Play 4 is a DAC, a plug in device to USB or USB ‘C’ that improves the sound quality of music and indeed of the spoken voice be in from a phone call or any other source. As a plus it can also improve your voice be it a phone call or any other connection with other people. In the simplest of terms a DAC is a Digital (to) Analogue Converter.
The SoundBlaster Play 4 measures 5x1.5x.8cm and has a 3.5mm headphone or earbud connection at one end and the other end has a hard wired 8cm lead ending in a USB ‘C’ plug, an adapter for USB ‘C’ to USB is included in the box, this would add 2.5cm to the length. A lot of Notebooks and most Tablets compromise audio; I have even seen a Tablet without a 3.5mm socket.
Combining the adventures of the students from the Academy of Magic is this next offering from e-FunSoft.
This is the latest offering from Samsung to cross my desk. While it supports 5G it also works perfectly well for those of us who do not have those faster transfer speeds available on our doorsteps. The phone feels very solid with what looks to me a light violet back, and, on this back, three cameras in a vertical line at the top left corner that look like a set of traffic lights, for some reason this area is in a gold colour which draws your eye to it, so why not smile.
Going around the outside has the volume rocker with the on/off button below this on the right. The base has speaker, USB ‘C’ for charging or data transfer and SIM entry point. The left and the top are both clear of controls. The phone is 15.8x7.4x.7cm apart from the area where the cameras are that is very close to 1cm thick. The viewable screen is 15.5x7cm which gives the notional diagonal imperial measurement of 6.7inches.
Reminiscing is a popular past-time of many as they look back on previous years to relive how things were back then. I was recently reminded of this with the arrival of a gaming product to review.
This offering, bearing the GSP logo (incidentally GSP sold its gaming catalogue to an American company several years ago), was entitled Adventure Mysteries Triple Pack. The three games making up this Triple Pack are Little Shop Road Trip, Cruise Clues Caribbean Adventure and Welcome to Mysteries City Las Vegas. Having made their first individual appearance over a decade ago, these three titles each have their own installation routine giving entry into their form of Hidden Object game play.
This offering is a partnership between Emporia and RNIB. So while it can be used by a sighted person, most of those using it will either have severely limited sight or be registered as blind. While most of us take our phones with us to stay in contact and indeed I know of people who run their lives from their phones, for a blind or partially sighted person being in contact can be much more important than that.
Once the SIM and battery are installed this becomes an easy phone to use. The right corner of the back allows a fingernail to slip under to insert the SIM and then the battery the three contacts on the end of the battery line up with three contacts in the battery bay so it will only fit one way. Fitting the SIM is a little more tricky not least because being Nano it’s very small. This is a Flip Phone small enough to fit easily in the palm of your hand when closed. It is 9.5x5x1.
"Worn out" is not a condition often applied to gadgets as we tend to rush and replace them before this state even gets close to occurring.
This is a watch although Honor call it a Band. In fact it is far more than a method of telling the time as it tells you your heart rate and a great deal more. In fact it does more than my own watch that is four times the price of this unit.
The Smart Watch measures 4.5x.2.3x.7cm and weighs 30 grams with the attached strap. The viewable screen is 3.5x2cm. It is stated to last up to two weeks between charges this is of course dependent on the amount of time the display is on and after eleven days I was down to 15% so this seems about right as I was testing all the modes for my review. Like most recent Smartwatches or Bands it works with an App on your Android device.
However much we have, we always seem to want more. AVAST offers a way to extend the output delivered from a battery.
Most mobile devices are generally well-served with a variety of products that are usually referred to as power banks. These products have been designed to provide a power boost that will help extend the battery life of the appropriate mobile device. However the use of a power bank is not the only way of extending the battery life of certain offerings.
Rescuing a young woman from a tower can cause more problems than expected.
Based on the adventures of a sister and younger brother, this Treasure Seekers package consists of two separate titles.
In Treasure Seekers 1, subtitled Vision of Gold, the siblings, named Nelly and Tommy, are two young children in search of pirate treasure that they believe their pirate grandmother had secreted away. The second game in the series, Treasure Seekers 2, subtitled The Enchanted Canvases, deals with the same two characters but several years older. Both of the Treasure Seeker titles have been developed by Artogon Games and belong to the Hidden Object genre.
Nescafe produce a large number of two pod solutions for those liking a coffee with milk, Cappuccino, Latte and most other possible combinations. Until now there has only been a single offering in one pod Flat White. In the last five years there has been a 400% increase in Veganism so to help those who do not partake of dairy items, three plant based offerings have been produced, Coconut, Almond and Oat and while I was checking these out along with the original Flat White I found Starbucks had produced a single Pod Café Latte.
So let’s deal with the Starbucks Latte first, all recent pods have slashes on the front of the box to denote the desired setting on an automated machine, and I noticed that this like the other samples I was sent all come in a brown pod. To my taste it was a less enjoyable drink than those made with a coffee and a milk and mainly because there was no real coffee aroma while making which for anyway always start me wanting to enjoy it.
Taking a trip back into the mists of history reveals one of the many battle between the forces of good and evil.
In this case the year was 1380 and the battle was between those returning from the Crusades, known as the Guardians, who were pitted against the forces of the so-called Clan of Nine who resided in their fortress within the confides of Prague. The battle was over the possession of a special Artefact which was under the control of the Clan of Nine.
This is both a ‘normal’ SmartPhone and also one with added help for those with hearing and or sight impairments as well as those of us where age has caught up with us. Externally this looks like a perfectly normally recent SmartPhone but Emporia have been producing offerings for those with such problems for longer than even DORO.
It is 14.8x7.3x.8cm and weighs 177grams. The viewable screen is 12.5x6.2cm which gives the notional diagonal imperial measurement of 5½ inches. Once you power on having inserted your SIM you see a normal Home screen with all the normal icons and indeed if you do not feel you need the added assistance you can continue without any, when you do, just press the Emporia icon and answer three quick questions and sit back with the extra help it gives.
Returning to an old home can bring forth unexpected problems that will need to be solved.
To slightly alter a popular song of yesteryear, "If you go down to the woods today, you better watch out for a hard working dwarf".
This is a very lightweight on ear set of headphones. Appearances can be deceptive and in the case of these it is certainly so, they do not look much and my first thoughts were these are from SoundBlaster, yes they are reasonably priced but they look not that special. Looks are not everything and all that changed when I linked them to my phone and I realized that were a really rather nice offering.
They can be as little as 15cm from base of the ear pieces to the inside of the headband. Each side can be increased by up to 3.5cm so anyone from a child upwards should be able to wear them securely. Total weight is only 84 grams. While most will use these with Bluetooth they can be used with the USB ‘C’ to USB lead as a wired unit. All the controls are on the right ear and they slope slightly from front to back.
If you are looking for a new smartphone, then POCO has a couple of models that might fit the bill.
I suppose you might state that developers of mobile devices should never take the option to take their foot off the pedal and stand still with regards to adding features offered by their handsets. As a result, despite the restrictive effects brought about by the pandemic and lockdowns, new handset models continue to appear on a regular basis. A recent example of this trend is POCO's launch of two new models to its range of handsets. These smartphones are the POCO F3 and the POCO X3 Pro.
While Polaroid cameras have been around for a very long time new models and colours continue to be launched. Even new film types for a range of different scenarios. I was sent both i-type and 600 film types to test with one of their latest PolaroidNow, but I see other types are also available.
It is 15x11x9.5cm these are maximum figures and it weights a tad under .5 kilo at 492 grams. A large instruction sheet is included and providing the unit has some power in its internal battery they are clear and easy to follow. So to avoid any problem attach the supplied USB to micro USB lead for a few minutes before inserting a pack of film stock. All current Polaroid film types colour or black and white are eight image films.
Dare you enter an old house where warlocks practiced their art in a by-gone age.
Mystery of the Ancients - Lockwood Manor is a Hidden Object game with elements of Adventure and mini game action thrown in for good measure. Developed by Mariaglorum, and part of the BlackLime series of titles, this game is based on events which are claimed to have taken place within Lockwood Manor in the late 1800's. According tot the stories, Lockwood manor is where warlocks studied black magic involving the use of human sacrifices and the practice of encasing demons in statues.
Joining forces with an enemy can help defeat an even larger opposing force.
If I mention that The Enthralling Realms - Knights & Orcs comes from the development team at eFunsoft then you would not be surprised to hear that this game belongs to the Match-3 genre. Using the familiar format of creating groups of three or more similarly embellished tiles, arranged on a grid, by switching two adjacent tiles, this game is based on the never-ending war between the orcs and humans.
This is one of the new breed of Chromebooks that give you much more functionality and even allows access to the Google Play Store and that also allows you to link to your Android phone. In fact it bears little resemblance to an early Chromebook that did not even have the ability to store things offline. This should really be considered a totally new category of product.
The Acer Chromebook Spin 511 measures 29.5x21.5x2cm and weighs 1212 grams. The viewable screen is 23.5x14.5cm which gives the notional diagonal imperial measurement of 11.6inches and this gives you a variable screen resolution of up to 1518x853 which may make text a little small for some but a slider lets you change it through a range of resolutions up to 911x512. Going around the outside, on the left side is a small blue LED denoting power on, next is a USB ‘C’ then USB3.
Can you solve the mystery of the missing archaeologist and understand a new language?
Thanks to Inkle, a Cambridge based company, you have the opportunity to visit Heaven's Vault. This is an archaeological adventure with more than touch of a science fiction element along with a translation aspect, to it. In this game you take on the role of Aliya Elasra, an archaeologist, as you explore the Nebula assisted by a robot, bearing the name of Six, to complete a mission involving various exploration skills.
Two rather different toys that will also intrigue, first a ball – a little smaller than a tennis ball – that can with very little effort bounce to a far greater height than it is dropped from. Second a rocket that takes off with only the effort of your foot. So while I must say it very quietly they are both toys to get the child thinking and therefore learning.
The box says for 5+ but I would think children far younger would puzzle as to why a ball dropped will bounce up to the same height, or why a ball bounced goes even higher and then exactly how high will it bounce when thrown onto the ground. Even on grass I easily got it bouncing well above my head, on concrete it bounces far higher.
Available as part of the BlackLime series of titles, Malice: Two Sisters belongs to the Hidden Object genre of games. Developed by Game Devo, this title is based around a Boarding School mystery as your character searches for her missing sister.
As you might suppose, you are cast in the role of one of the sisters mentioned in the game's title. You are Victoria who sets out to search for Emily whose last known whereabouts was on Urami Island. This location was the site of the boarding school that both sisters attended when they were younger. In the intervening period, the island and the school had become abandoned with people whispering that a curse had settled upon the island.
This looks very similar to the other recently reviewed Canon unit the G2560 on the 3rd March 2021 however while the dimensions may be similar the speed and connection methods do vary so worth a look at both reviews to see which might fit your needs best.
The G3520 is 44x32x16cm, the exception is the rear input paper tray that doubles the height (the last figure), the left side at the back has the power input and on the right side also at the back is USB input. However this can also be used via Wi-Fi meaning the G3520 does not need to be tethered to your PC and you can also print to it from other devices such as Tablets and SmartPhones.
Can you find the missing parts of an invention and rescue your brother?
Available from the catalogue of BlackLime titles, Final Cut - Death on the Silver Screen is a Hidden Object Adventure game that is rated suitable for those aged 7 and upwards. Set in the 1950s, the game casts you in the role of a daughter of a film mogul and inventor, named Morton Wolf. Following the death of your father, you are faced with the bizarre disappearance of your brother and the occurrence of strange events taking place in your father's mansion and deserted film studio.
These are the latest TransMemory flash drives and micro SD card offerings from Kioxia. I was sent a 128GB USB3.2 and a 256GB similar device one was black and the other white. Also was a 128GB High Endurance micro SD card and this also has a holder so it could be used as a standard SD card. The TransMemory devices have a five year warranty and the micro SD card a three year warranty.
The 128GB one (white) was 5x2x.8cm and weighs 8 grams. It has 8x2mm hole through the case on the right of the top edge so that it can be attached to a keyring. The cap only fits one way as it is larger one side than the other, this is a snug fit so far less likely to fall off in a pocket or bag. This is a USB3.2 Gen 1 drive however it still works with earlier versions of USB3 and even USB2 at a somewhat slower speed.
This early example of Hidden Object game play turns friends into enemies.
Now available on the budget BlackLime Games label, Dark Ritual is a Blackwood Mansion Mystery. This game, rated at being suitable for those aged 12 and upwards, is a Hidden Object Adventure game. Despite being worried regarding your sister, who has gone missing, you are assigned by the FBI to undertake the task of investigating the case of Dr. Seymour Brown, a scientist who is rumoured to have been conducting inhumane experiments and dabbling in the occult.
When looking for assistance when solving a crime in the countryside, who better to ask than a fox.
Developed by Paprikan, "Montgomery Fox and the Case of the Diamond Necklace" is a game that belongs to the Hidden Object genre. When a diamond necklace, belonging to Lord Raccoon of Hiser, goes missing, panic spreads though the countryside and everybody questions as to who could have committed the crime. Help was required and who better to ask than the famous city detective, Montgomery Fox. He immediately asked for your assistance to solve this crime.
Are you ready to set out on a journey to discover the four elements that could save the world?
Temple of Life - The Legend of Four Elements is a Hidden Object Adventure game. Developed by QuickClick, this game casts you in the role of Jane, an archaeology student whose professor has made a discovery that could unleash total destruction of the world. Not unnaturally it is up to Jane to work through numerous tasks and puzzles as she attempts to correct the professor's mistake, restore balance and save the world.
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