Highly Commended
Some products just miss out on our coveted 5x5 smiley award - a product has to be just about perfect in every way to receive that award! That doesn't mean there aren't a lot of very good other gadgets out there!
To recognise those products that missed out on a 5x5 award by just a whisker, we've introduced the 'Highly Commended' status. Products still have to be pretty good to get one of these and out of almost 5,000 reviews on GadgetSpeak (as of February 2016) only around 280 have gained the required marks to be Highly Commended!
Tell me more about the GadgetSpeak Awards!
This PC has taken longer to review than normal simply because not only did I have a PC to review but also the operating system it was installed with. Yes Vista is supplied with Eveshams Solar MX100.
Having recently now with thanks to Evesham for their patience lets look at this rather nice PC. Firstly mine came with some quite meaty Creative speakers, a wireless keyboard and mouse set from Logitech, and a 19inch panel that gives a rather good image all within a small total screen surround size of 44x30cm the name on it was new to me Cibox. It is however only an Analogue offering but you can pay extra for a digital model. The maximum screen display is 1440x900.
Samsung 32inch Digital and Analogue TV (LE32N73BD)
Published in Entertainment
by paul_smart
on 19 Apr 2007
Several people I know say Samsung is a good make so after a long while trying I have succeeded to get one to review and you know what they are not wrong.
The outer screen dimensions are 81x51x10cm, there is a 4cm high base (but you can fit it on a wall) and the bases footprint is 24x47cm. The actual size of the wide angle screen is 70x40cm giving the diagonal 32inch measurement. As with most recent TV's the routine is much the same, remove from box, fit the base, plug in aerial and any other boxes (Sky, Cable etc), plug into mains and switch on.
Not perhaps the most catchy title but if I say 50 hours or use on a single AA battery that becomes interesting and as a DAB radio around 14 hours, did I mention that its also tiny in size.
As always I tend to barge right in without reading the blurb. I have over the years reviewed lots of MP3 players and initially if you got 8 to 10 hours of use you were doing well. As things developed then 15 up to around 20 hours was possible. But I have never got beyond that on a single AA battery. Here after 20 hours the indicator is still registering fully charged. Apart from some short tests to tune the DAB all my use up till then had been on MP3 use.
Corel expands its product portfolio as it takes on board the latest version of WinZips compression software.
With my first disk-based computer I was able to fit the operating system, along with a word processor and various documents on a single floppy disk that had a storage capacity of 180K. Those were the days when tight code and other constraints meant that we had little need to consider any form of compression when transferring data from one location to another.
While Adobe PhotoShop is the market leading product, not everybody can afford its premium price. There is an alternative.
Adobe PhotoShop is an excellent product with a range of features and a high performance level. However this quality does come with a premium price tag that puts the software out of the range of many users. This is not only my opinion but that of Adobe as well. The result of this is that Adobe has developed PhotoShop Elements.
This is a rather nice 20inch panel from LG. It has both analogue and digital connectors as well as some quite reasonable speakers built in. It also has a TV tuner.
First the dimensions it is 49cm tall on it's base, 45cm wide and around 6cm thick at the thickest point. The base itself is circular at around 25cm. It weights 8.5kilos. The screen itself is 44x27.5 giving the 20inch diagonal measurement. It has a 3cm surround on both sides and the top, the bottom has a 9cm surround with two quite reasonable conical speakers in it.
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.
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.
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.
As a leading UK developer of graphics software, Xara continues to impress with its latest graphics package.
While Adobe and Corel occupy the high profile positions in the arena of computer graphics, there are other developers producing creative software that deserves consideration. Flying the flag as a leading UK developer of graphics software is Xara.
No matter how careful you are problems can occur and a back-up program can come to your rescue.
Having set up your computer to suit your own individual style of working before storing all those important documents, images, videos and audio tracks, it does make practical sense to take precautions, such as a backup, in the event of problems occurring. While Windows has its own backup facility, it is not the most feature-rich utility currently available. A well respected alternative is .
I must admit that my mouse and hand/eye coordination has been put under considerable pressure recently. The cause of all this activity is a new game.
Following on from its Jewel of Atlantis title, Enkord has now turned its attention to a period of history even further back in the mists of time. Instead of ancient artefacts, it is prehistoric animals that form the centre of attention of the company's latest puzzle game. Entitled Jurassic Realms, this game is built around tiles embellished with distinctive icons.
When using your computer to watch DVD movies, the experience can benefit from specialised software.
While Windows has its own media player, this particular feature is not everybody's favourite nor is it as feature-rich as some of the competition from third-parties. One alternative, with a long pedigree, is WinDVD. The latest version of this InterVideo product is WinDVD 8 with both Platinum and Gold versions being available. This review is based on the Gold edition.
A photo printer but certainly not run of the mill as it not only supports 15x10cm but also 18x13cm and panorama 30x10cm images. It has a certain upmarket look.
The unit is black with grey buttons and a grey trim around the drop down front that provided the reception for captured images. However when this is opened the whole front is found to be grey.
Certainly a camera small enough to fit in any pocket or purse and while it is supplied with a woefully inadequate memory card it does come with a case as standard.
It is 9x5.5x2.5 but the width extends from 2.5cm to 6cm with the lens extended. The weight is around 200grams. All this means it is easy to fit into the palm of an adult hand. This is a 6.3mega pixel camera with 3x optical zoom that is various shaded of silver. Just for a change lets start with the back this is dominated by the 5x4cm TFT display and to the right of this are six buttons and a five position wheel.
Portable devices have a habit of requiring a power top-up at inconvenient moments. Fortunate help is available.
We are living increasingly in a mobile society. A quick check through the possessions we carry with us on a regular day-to-day basis will certainly prove this point. What with mobile phones, PDAs, portable gaming devices, iPods and other brands of MP3 players, we have come to rely on having the tools of modern life at our finger tips 24/7.
This is an All In One from Canon that, on first glance, appears to have no controls on it at all, just a grey, silver and black rectangular box with a lid on the top of the flatbed scanner.
The is 43x34x15cm when closed. Lift the paper storage tray at the rear and place some A4 in it and this adds 20cm to the 15cm height. The controls all sit under a flip up lid on the right top edge at the front of the unit including the 4x3cm TFT display that can sit at vertical or up to 30 degrees beyond to suit, so that viewing is always easy.
Fed up with terrestrial landscapes then venture further afield with Distant Landscape
Paint Shop Pro has undergone a slight name change with the latest version of the software.
With the latest release of , Corel has not only increased the version number (still sticking with Roman numerals) but also added the word "Photo" to the title. I'm tempted to say that you certainly get a lot of "P's" for your money but perhaps not.
Continuing my series of 32 and 37inch LCD TVs with this Digital and Analogue TV from LG, having both means PIP (Picture in Picture) can be used to show a second channel.
The was reviewed in the same place as the 37inch offerings with my own 28inch standard TV sitting on the floor sulking. While there was more space on top of the unit the missing five inches does not really detract. It is 80x61x13cm and sits on a silver grey stand that is 21cm deep at the widest point in the centre so the panel itself is well within the stand.
The lady who demonstrated this to me said as it has a ball even a man can use it I think it was a joke, however it is a very good vacuum cleaner.
For more years than I can remember I have used an upright Hoover and apart from emptying and occasionally changing the bag the only thing I ever remember doing was replacing the belt to the sweeping brushes a couple of times and this is over at least thirty years. Then a couple of years ago I found that the bags were no longer available.
Focus Driving Test Success
Published in Software
by paul_smart
on 19 Oct 2006
Until now this has been sold in modules just like the test itself now Focus have offered the whole package on two DVDs and amazingly it is all sold for £9.99
Another printer looking like a rectangular box, however providing the other half does not mind the grey colour then surely its all about the print quality and print speed.
The is a four ink and four cartridge offering from Canon so should you be a heavy user of one colour you save a little in ink costs by having to buy only that cartridge. Fitting them is foolproof as unless you get a red light for confirmation you know it is not inserted correctly. So when you see four red lights under the cartridges you know they are correctly inserted.
The blurb says works without any training, well always the one to take people at their word I installed it on a notebook that had no files of mine, installed it and then started the program.
Dragon NaturallySpeaking 9 Preferred comes on two CD's and say's it needs 1.3GB of hard disc space, the actual space taken on the notebook was 1523MB and the install time was only 12 minutes. On starting the program you get a toolbar along the top of the screen, so as not to give it anything I used Windows Notepad and started speaking, reproduced below are the first words I spoke and the three errors, with what I intended added in brackets, I was astonished.
From analogue and tape to optical and digital media is made a simple process with a new product from Pinnacle.
The Dazzle Platinum is generally no long available. You might like to read our review of
the latest product, the .
Dazzle DVD recorder According to my Concise Oxford Dictionary, the word "Dazzle" means "Glitter" or "Confuse or dim with excess of light". Fortunately neither of these definitions applies to .
This DAB and FM radio also features ReVu that allows what you have just heard to be replayed. It can also accept a Charge PAK meaning no more batteries to buy, or course you can also run it from the mains.
Pure are perhaps the best known name in DAB technology and have produced a whole range of offerings. I recently reviewed their excellent
a real portable unit. Here we have a more conventional portable unit that can go with you round the house and out into the garden. Pocket DAB1500 (28/8/06) The is 28x7.5x17cm however the last figure the height increases by 48cm when the seven section rod aerial is fully raised.
This All In One is functional in design however when the job is to print, scan and copy appearance is less important than delivering the goods and this it does with the added plus of six ink quality.
The is a rectangular box, 32x27x15cm and when the paper tray is lowered with paper in it the middle figure increases by another 15cm. However I am not decrying it for being rectangular or functional it does it's job well so what does shape matter. It is of course light grey - maybe a sin as far as the fairer sex are concerned - but it does what it should.
Ultra Thin MXT Flat Panel Technology speakers for laptops, MP3 players and anything with a standard headphone socket.
Over the years I have owned various sets of portable speakers for walkmans, Minidisc players and MP3 players but now I was looking for a small, but powerful speaker package for my new laptop. I needed something that would fit nicely into a laptop bag, look the part (important for me) and of course, and most importantly, sound OK.
The Sony PSP has been around for a while now. Is it still likely to be top of the Christmas list this year? Well - it's top of mine at least.
Sony PlayStation on the move Is it a games console, a music player or a movie player? Yep - all of these, and probably a whole lot more. The (PSP) is quite a remarkable, to the extent that I wasn't even sure how to approach this review.
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