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This is not just something to find you a route or show you a map. Its a very long way from the early Next Base product on a floppy disc, and it now comes on a DVD.
Normally items labelled 2007 would appear early autumn in 2006 but no doubt most people were working on Vista and Office 2007. So as far as I know it first appeared at the very end of January. The installation was quite quick at only 10 minutes, on my machine it consisted of three parts. First an update to Net Framework, then the complete installation of AutoRoute 2007 and finally a text to speech module.
Photoshop has long been the image manipulation software of choice for professional and keen amateur photographers. However for those who are hobbyists the cost is a problem.
While I do not claim that Photoshop and are in any way the same product the more basic features are there, and if like with a word processor you are one of the 80% who use 20% of the features may fulfil your needs. Photoshop Elements Photoshop Elements As with a lot of recent software not only does it require Windows XP but will only work if you have (SP2) service pack 2 installed. The processor requirement is 1.3GHz or better.
It is small, combines male and female connections and could open up access to a blocked USB port.
Like ideas, some gadgets are simple in concept while others have varying degrees of complexity as they perform their designated tasks. The subject of this review definitely falls into the first category as it makes life easier for those of us who are addicted to using numerous USB devices especially when one of the devices in question has a connection plug that has over-dosed on steroids.
This is a multi function unit (it has fax) and is a versatile unit. Not tiny but not massive either and it comes with sheet feeder as well as flatbed.
Why change a winning design? HP certainly think like me if something works why change it, the ink may differ but the case looks almost identical to my HP Officejet 6110 of a few years ago. The is 48x25x37cm and weights just over ten kilos. The figures given are maximum as HP store paper in a tray in the base and it is delivered on top of that tray when printed. HP OfficeJet 7210 There are a total of 38 buttons on the front edge of the unit.
It is puzzle solving time again as we check out an ancient tower that hides secrets of the Zodiac.
The city of Atlantis, prehistoric dinosaurs, and an ancient Zodiac tower might seem like an unusual progression but not to Enkord. First it was Jewel of Atlantis; next came Jurassic Realm (both reviewed earlier on this site); and now it is the turn of Zodiac Tower. In each case the game is of the puzzle genre and involves the removal of gems, stones or tiles in order to make progress through various screens.
I saw this unit at the Stuff Live show three months ago, it looked the ideal companion for those who walk around in unfamiliar areas. It can also work efficiently in a car.
It is easily small enough to fit in the hand and I used it regularly for over four hours and even longer with only switching to standby mode on a single charge. It is 8.5x6x2 cm and weights only slightly over 100grams. The base has an earbud socket and mini USB - for charging - as well as a neck/wrist strap anchor point. The left side has 'M' menu button.
Imitating the style of a popular artist is the sole function of a software product from Serif.
Often referred to as "the father of pop art", Andy Warhol was born in 1928 and died in 1987. His work, whether you are a fan or not, is instantly recognisable. You only have to mention Campbell Soup and the series of star faces portrayed in repetitive format to know that the subject matter is Andy Warhol. But what, you may ask, has Andy Warhol to do with this review of a software product. The answer is Pop Art.
A phone looking like a small PDA including Internet connectivity and Blackberry push email, it also has another feature that can make texting a joy not a chore.
I think I could probably send a text using the Sony Ericsson M600 as quickly as a teenager, the one proviso the teenager should be using a normal phone keyboard. No I have not developed Superman's thumbs it's the keypad on the M600 that makes me faster. There are a total of 18 keys and a QWERTY keypad. Each key has more than one action dependant on where you strike it.
This is a DAB/FM radio and CD player it comes in a wedge shaped unit containing everything ideal to sit by the bed as it has sleep timer an alarm among its features.
The is a maximum of 19x19 at the front and 10cm tall, at the rear it's only 4cm wide and that is why I found it best to call it a wedge. It is black with grey grills covering the speakers that start at the front and mould around the edges. The buttons are all silver. Pure Chronos-CD The top has the CD under a manual open and close lid and four buttons along the front edge that can control it.
Like fish & chips, a mouse and mouse mat go together. So why not increase the functionality by adding power to the equation.
"Batteries not included" is not a message that is usually associated with computer peripherals. Whatever the device, whether it is a wireless mouse, keyboard, or whatever, you will generally find the required batteries tucked away somewhere in the box. However, as we all know, batteries tend not to be everlasting. In fact they do have a propensity to run out of juice at the most inconvenient moment.
For all those that remember IBMs think pads and other great notebooks they are now in the hands of Lenovo. This offering I should have seen in May still eight months late its here.
I am told what I have not been sent is a totally new version. It is 30x22x3.5cm and weights close to 1.9kilos. The screen is 26x16.5cm giving the notional screen size of 12.1 inches. There is an 83key keyboard with all but the function and arrow keys being full size. Behind the keyboard are six buttons for on/off and various sound controls together with a range of LED's.
With several types of paper and a stopwatch in hand, a new printer is put to the test.
One of the names that immediately springs to mind with regards to printers is that of Epson. Tucked away in a corner somewhere I still have my original Epson LQ800 model that was popular many years ago before inkjets and lasers took over the market but that is another matter. So forgive my brief bout of nostalgia and lets get on with today's topic which is the printer.
After looking at a range of 15x10cm printers its nice to be back to an A4 offering that is quick, produces excellent output and can also print direct onto CDs, alas it refuses to make the tea.
It is 43x30x18cm and weights close to 7.5kilos. This is a six ink offering and I suspect most would use it for printing photos and this it excels in. However first the details of text pages using my default 200 word document it prints 14PPM in what is termed 'fast' mode. Printing a more normal 1500 word document spread over four pages in the same mode produced 9.5PPM.
Jewels, gold coins and ancient Egyptian symbols are just some of the elements found in a new offering from URSE Games.
Like big red buses, games of the same genre have a habit of making their introduction in close proximity to each other. An example of this happened quite recently when two similar games, that belonged to the Breakout/Arkanoid family, turned up within days of each other. One of these titles was reviewed earlier on this site and now it is the turn of Gem Ball from URSE Games.
This has one clever plus on the large range of Skype phones, to use this the PC does not need to be turned on. So provided you have a wireless router thats it.
The is 11.5x5x2cm and looks exactly like a chunky mobile phone. The weight is close to 100grams and the rubberised exterior says it could survive the odd drop onto the carpet. Belkin WiFi phone for Skype It has 16 buttons plus the ubiquitous joystick. Above these is a 3.6x3cm clear a bright display.
Its been a while since I have reviewed an educational product. This one is from Focus, it has some great maps with views from space and satellites but the info is the king.
If you leave the DVD in the drive you can have a 290MB installation, however should you prefer to store it away safely then a full install took 3.6GB on my PC but amazingly it took only 10 minutes to complete. Windows ME or later is required along with a Pentium III 500 or better, 310MB of memory (or 3.6GB for full install) 1024x768 screen resolution in 16bit colour and a DVD drive.
A rainy day in South London was brightened by news of several new products from Canon, a company celebrating a double anniversary.
Perhaps we could all join together and sing a chorus of Happy Birthday to Canon. This would be to celebrate Canon's 50 years of existence in Europe and the current 20 years of sales built up by the EOS system at the heart of Canon's range of camera products.
This upright unit plays CDs and has an FM radio it also has a clock, alarm clock and sleep timer. It can also be mounted on a wall, all its speakers are built in. All in All it look rather stylish.
It is 30x15x28cm and the top half of the face has a rather nice mirror finish. There are basic controls on the sides. However the real surprise is the circular remote control that looks rather like a kitchen timer. My first surprise was the manual that came in six languages - none of them English - so I was left literally having to fathom it out without any help as currently the ability to download a copy from the website is greyed out.
Fitting somewhere between a mobile phone and a landline, a new DECT phone is put to the test.
Why should mobile phones have sole access to all the tasty features that are currently available within the telephony sphere? Landlines have been around for far longer and, even now, hold the dominant position within the home - so maybe it is time for some of these usability features to make the transition from mobile to landline.
Do you fancy your own robot wars? The new N.S.E.C.T Swarm radio controlled creature could be just what you are looking for. A great toy for kids in the 7-11 bracket.
Do you fancy your own little robot wars creature? Mattel have brought out this radio controllled 'insect' which looks a lot like something you might see on Doctor Who but quite a tad smaller. The N.S.E.C.T Swarm Nano Shocker is a creature about 6 inches across in 'protected' mode and 10inches in attack mode. It has a whip of a tail which goes around its middle. Now being an adult I don't always get the play value of these things.
This 15x10cm printer can also be used to charge your camera and to transfer images to the PC. However with the optional battery it can print when away from mains power.
Unlike the other recent mini printers that I have reviewed from Canon, Epson and HP this can only print direct from the camera, the PC or via Pict Bridge, so no card slots. It is 20x18x10cm without the paper tray inserted this adds another 15cm to the 18cm depth. You will also need around 12cm clear at the rear when printing as the 15x10cm sheets are pulled from the tray and then out of the rear to prepare for the four pass Dye Sub printing.
Adding a new design concept to a travel mouse results in a device that looses its hump and is flat.
I doubt whether any research has been conducted on the subject but, from my personal observations, it does appear that many laptop users seem to prefer a mouse to the touchpad that forms an integral part of the portable computer. Where ever I go, even locations such as exhibitions where space is at a premium, laptops that are demonstrating the various software offerings and services, generally have a mouse attached.
This is a KVM switch and in this case not only links two computers together using only one keyboard, monitor/panel, mouse but also a single set of speakers.
A KVM switch has long linked my two computers that sit either end of my desk, now I can dispense with speakers as well. The long term test Acer panel has excellent speakers built in and now the set of speakers that were used for the other PC are redundant so the office now has that little bit more space and the eight gang surge strip even has a spare plug.
I have used Paint Shop Pro since its very early days of being a shareware product. It has come a long way since then, it is now owned by Corel and also has a slight name change.
Of course being Corel they have to 'add value' and they have done so here by including a 'light' copy of Snapfire Plus called 'SE' and two hours worth of training videos from a company called Lynda.com, in case you are worried they might not be suitable for the children they cover people using . As for Snapfire it is possible to download a copy of Snapfire for free.
Always on the look-out for more storage space, Michael Fereday discovers a new Seagate initiative.
Following its take-over of Maxtor, Seagate has not been sitting back admiring its new acquisition nor has it been contemplating a cull of its enlarged product portfolio. That is not to say there won't be any casualties but, for the record, Seagate will be continuing with the Maxtor brand.
This is a 15x10cm photo printer, however it is very unlikely to be confused with any other manufacturers product on looks as it is certainly very distinctive in appearance.
Perhaps if I called the ruggedised that would best describe the look, it is gun metal grey and looks exactly like a solid metal box and because of this it weights around 2.6kilos. This would increase if you had the optional battery pack to allow you to print images away from mains electricity.
It is time for some play as we take a look at a new entry in the Breakout/Arkanoid genre.
This is small and can be used as a standard PC or with the supplied remote control as a Media Centre PC. If space is at a premium then this offering from Evesham could be the answer.
It is 16x16x5cm but once normal leads such as for a monitor and USB are added the depth increases by around another 5cm. It can be used in Media Centre mode but then I found that the back of the unit needs to face you as the remote control sensor is on the rear of the unit. If used in PC mode moving the mouse brings up the ability to get to the standard XP desktop.
As a prime target for break-in merchants, it does help if your Sat Nav device can be placed in your pocket when away from the car. The Mio P350 certainly qualifies.
Sat Nav products tend to fall into one of two main categories. There are devices that have been purposely built to provide just the functionality of satellite navigation whether based in a car or used in pedestrian mode. While a second approach, used by certain companies, involves adding satellite navigation capabilities to a third-party device.
This looks rather like a 35mm offering and it has functionality. It is very useable as a basic digital camera coming with internal memory but it can support an SD card.
It is 8x9x7.5cm when closed and weights just over 300grams. It has 10x optical zoom and while this is becoming more normal now not long ago this would have been a very high specification as around '3x' would have been the norm. Like a lot of other reasonable digital cameras it has 'modes' if fact 14 different modes for capturing the shot to the best of the cameras ability.
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