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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
I have seen several excellent small screen notebooks recently and this certainly does not buck the trend. 10.6inch screen but apart from that everything a bigger cousin might have.
What do you do in the kitchen? Whatever it is, you will probably appreciate a kitchen device designed to entertain.
Modern technology is such that there are few areas within the average home that are not considered suitable for an influx of electronic devices. Even that bastion of food preparation, the kitchen, has opened its culinary doors to numerous devices and not just those involved in the actual food creation process. For example, Dualit, a company steeped in the manufacture of catering equipment, has produced a DAB radio for the kitchen.
This is an MP3/WMA USB player and voice recorder that is aimed at kids. Not only does it have 256MB of built in memory but can also play content on SD/MMC cards.
What is round and uses flash drive technology? A FlashDisc of course.
Dimension wise this All in One is tiny, weight wise it is very light, however despite some interesting translation software as a printer it can be very slow.
As SCART becomes the defacto standard for home electronic devices, you could find a product such as Smart-SCART-PLUS useful.
We all have blood pressure, thankfully most of us are in a normal range. However should you be one of those who have abnormal blood pressure than this may be of use.
The business end of the product consists of a cuff suitable for a 9 to 13 inch upper arm and a device that provides the air to inflate the cuff and measure the pressures as well as your pulse. These are stored in the unit. Of course after a while seeing three sets of figures on an LCD screen become only a mess of figures.
Not all hubs are created equal. The latest hub device from Belkin is a prime example.
This is three products in one. On the face of it an upmarket Integrated Headset with MP3 player, also an MP3 player with earbuds, finally a rather good set of Headphones.
Firstly in it's smallest configuration it is 7.5x3x3cm and weights less than 50grams. It is basically an oversized pen drive in an 'L' shape as it is powered by a single 'AAA' battery (supplied) that fits in a pod that clips into the side so the measurements given are the maximum.
Burning content to disc is just one of the functions covered by the latest version of Nero.
Think of disc burning software and one of the first names to pop into your mind will probably be Nero. After all this software product has been around for a good many years and it is a popular choice for manufacturers to bundle with their rewritable drives. Following its brief flirtation with the Matrix theme with Nero 6 Reloaded, the latest version of the software is entitled and arrives in a distinctive flip-top box.
Very similar to look at as the 3310 but without the ability to connect wirelessly and in its favour probably around £70 cheaper.
The unit is 46x40x22cm and weights 11.9kilos. The figures include the paper tray and even the control panel and TFT screen when tilted. It is possible to store both A4 and 15x10cm photo paper in the multi use tray at the same time and you can direct both Windows and the control panel to use your choice.
Logitech has taken the desktop set to new levels of functionality with its new diNovo kit.
Often when making a decision about a new computer, two components tend to get overlooked. As these items provide the main method for the user to communicate with the computer, it is not surprising that many quickly decide that a replacement keyboard and mouse should be placed at the top of their wish list for future purchases. Fortunately there are plenty of alternatives available.
For those who are fed up being tethered to a headset this solution may suit, however if you work with others they will either have to put up with hearing your conversations or you will need to use an earpiece and that rather negates the advantage.
This is a circular disc unit 8cm across, the centre 2.5cm is a surprisingly clear spear the speaker grill is actually 4.5 of the unit. From the top (back of the unit) a mini USB plug fits in and there is a space for an optional (supplied) earpiece. There are three buttons on the face surround and a blue LED at the bottom front of the unit with a small - but powerful - microphone fitted into the side of the unit.
Despite its USB roots, the iPod Shuffle can be fully integrated with the other members of the family.
Sometimes a product passes you by, however a friend has these speakers and his hearty recommendation caused me to ask to look at them.
I used the with three different PC's and three notebooks, in five out of six cases I was more than happy with both the quantity and quality of sound they gave. Logitech V20 speakers Inside the box is a 25x18x6cm toughened zip up case and this contains the pair of speakers 16x8x4cm and a very small user guide, that's it, no CD nothing else.
Forget cables, forget wireless connectivity, there is an alternative that involves the minimum of effort.
This product originated as probably the best word processor around, mind you it was a DOS product and I am talking a very long time ago, Bill Gates had not even got far into world domination.
After installation - you only use CD1 or the three provided - at the first run you have a choice to make which of four interfaces do you want to use. The choices are WordPerfect mode, Microsoft Word mode, WordPerfect Classic mode (that's the DOS product that ruled the word 5.1) or Legal mode. I suspect most today will choose Microsoft Word mode as at schools and colleges that is what is mainly taught.
Converting content on VHS tapes to DVD media is within everybodys grasp with a product such as Grabster AV150.
Patience can sometimes be rewarded as my experiences with this next product proved. Grabster AV150 comes with the claim of being able to convert VHS tapes to DVD media. I must admit that my initial attempts to get this product to work were a complete failure. This is where the patience comes into the picture. Let me explain.
Not only is this available on a two CD offering but also on a DVD designed to be used on a standard DVD player, so with the latter no PC required.
X3 is not a term of affection used by SMS addicts but a way of avoiding using the number 13 for the latest version of a product such as CorelDRAW X3.
Although perhaps not the dominant force it once was in the graphics market, the arrival of the latest version of Corel's flagship product is still a worthwhile event. (either a marketing ploy or a means of avoiding the superstition attached to number 13) is aimed at professional, business and other users who want powerful graphics tools at a reasonable price.
This Fujitsu Siemens unit is truly two items in one case, it is a rather nice small but powerful notebook computer and also probably the best Tablet PC I have used.
It is 23x17x3.5cm and weights in at only slightly more than a kilo. I was sent it with a DVD RW super multidrive that is likely to add around £190 to the price however as this connects via USB any CD or DVD that connects this way will work and with large format pen stick drives around any software you want to install could firstly be copied to a pen stick drive using a CD from any PC.
Earphones are fine for personal MP3 listening but for group purposes you really need a set of portable speakers.
Rumour has it that later this year we are all going to be heavily involved in supporting England's football team in its efforts to make progress towards World Cup glory and the financial rewards it will bring. No doubt many will be seen wearing the appropriate football shirt and sporting rosettes and the like while waving flags and decorating their cars and homes.
Certainly one of the more mature products for the PC, I first used version 1.2 when of course it came on 5.25 inch floppy discs, then some years ago they pioneered the change to CD.
LCD screens with fast response times are becoming more affordable as can be seen with the LG Flatron L1732P unit.
For a long time my main computer display was handled by the original Flatron CRT monitor from LG. Sad to say that monitor has now departed the scene, taking with it its built-in set of USB ports, after providing many years of excellent service. Currently acting as a temporary replacement is another Flatron model. This is the LG Flatron L1732P unit.
Strange no one wants a notebook reviewed in January but there is a glut in March! Here I am looking at Intel Centrino Duo processor in an Acer Aspire 5672 notebook.
The notebook is 35x27x4cm and weights around 3kilos. I would probably say this was a desktop replacement as it most likely be too large for most to carry around regularly. It has a 15.4inch screen and the default resolution is 1280x800, there is a ATA Mobility Radeon X1400 graphics chip, the unit can support dual displays and there are both analogue and digital outputs. The screen surround is 25.5x35.
There are alternatives to Microsoft Office and one such offering comes from Corel.
A Rip Van Winkle character going to sleep in the 80s and waking up today would immediately notice a big difference with the leading Office applications. Actually lots of other differences would also be evident but for the purpose of this review lets concentrate on the main Office software.
This is a twin tuner PVR (hard disc recorder) with built in Freeview so you can record two channels at the same time, or start watching something from the beginning after its started, and, lots more.
There are lots of hard disc recorders about, some are analogue, a few are digital but this unit marketed by Evesham Technology has built in Freeview (so no other box is required) and best of all it can record two separate channels at the same time. Because of the loop through you can still watch an analogue channel at the same time.
Computers and Windows can develop a love / hate relationship. System Mechanic is a product that offers to alleviate possible problems.
This is a multi function unit, however for some reason even though it has a Fax HP decide to call it an All In One, this is normally saved for units without the Fax.
However the main feature of this unit is that it is the first tri mode unit on sale in the UK. The tri modes are USB, Ethernet and Wireless. I have recently reviewed an inkjet printer from Canon with tri mode but this - I am told - is the first tri mode All In One. It is 45x40x21cm, while it has a paper tray it is contained within the depth so these are the maximum figures you need.
If you like Jazz then like me you must enjoy these two offerings from the Naim label the first just released and the second nearly ten years old but still available.
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