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!
Acer may have been late coming to the digital camera marketplace but the company has quickly made up ground as its latest models show.
The technology behind digital cameras continues at such a pace that it is easy to become confused by the range of specifications that are on offer. There are so many different aspects that need to be considered when making your choice. Some say that the higher the camera's megapixel rating the better and this can affect the quality of the image. However other factors have their part to play.
Although displaced by the iPod as the number one choice for mobile music, the Walkman refuses to lie down as its appearance in various mobile phones indicates.
Sony is well known for its style and entertainment expertise while Ericsson is seeped in the technology of telecommunications. Put the new companies together and one result is the Sony Ericsson W810i Walkman phone. Decked out in cool Midnight Black, this Quad band (GSM, GPRS, EDGE 850/900/1800/1900) handset combines a Walkman music player and 2.0 megapixel camera with a full range of mobile phone capabilities.
Being responsible for your data storage, a hard disk deserves the type of special consideration that Acronis can offer.
Insuring your computer against data loss is just a matter of making sure you have backup software and USE it on a regular basis.
Not all hubs are created equal. The latest hub device from Belkin is a prime example.
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.
Portable Photo Printing
Published in Printers/Scanners
by mfereday
on 24 Mar 2006
The rise in the popularity of digital photography has seen the introduction of personal photograph printers such as the Photosmart 385.
The arrival of a new printer, for testing purposes, is usually followed by a period of hectic activity as boxes and the like are moved around in the vain hope of creating enough space for the printer and its accompanying packaging. I must admit that you can become quite skilled at this type of exercise but it does take up time and can increase the frustration level.
Logitech LX7 Cordless Optical Mouse
Published in Laptops/PCs/Apple
by mfereday
on 16 Mar 2006
There are so many mice to choose from that it can be a difficult decision. Here is one that quickly became a personal favourite.
I have had the opportunity to try out numerous wireless mice from various companies such as Microsoft and Logitech. In most cases the kit would be made up of the mouse and a receiver unit that attaches via a lengthy lead to a USB port or with a USB flash device style receiver. However there are always exceptions and one such example is the Logitech LX7 Cordless Optical Mouse.
Getting from A to B has never been easier for those taking the GPS route. Navicore has recently updated its product for the intrepid traveller.
Navicore is one of the companies leading the way in making Satnav technology an economic and easy to use proposition. Last year saw the introduction of Navicore Personal and this product has been quickly followed by Navicore Personal 2006 which offers several new features to the basic Satnav features. One aspect of the product that has not changed is Navicore's approach to the technology.
One way to help speed-up hard disk activity is to use a defrag tool. A leading contender is Diskeeper.
No matter how careful you are, the content of your hard disk will become fragmented over the passage of time. This will happen quite naturally through the normal course of business as files are removed and new data is added. Rather than look for a space big enough for the new information, Windows will break the file into portions which can then end up in various locations on the hard disk rather than a contiguous area.
Getting Bluetooth to work has not always been as easy as it should be. However help is available with a new device from Belkin.
I must admit that my experiences with Bluetooth have not always been totally successful. This wireless technology, originally developed back in 1994 by the mobile phone company Ericsson and named after a tenth century Viking king called Harald "Bluetooth" Blatand, has probably been responsible for a number ( I was tempted to say 'fair number' but decided against the pun) of my grey hairs.
Seagate Portable Hard Drive
Published in Laptops/PCs/Apple
by mfereday
on 17 Jan 2006
Struggling for more storage space? Then why not consider an external hard drive.
Goodmans Micro1104SDAB affordable HiFi with DAB radio and CD
Published in Entertainment
by jonw
on 15 Jan 2006
Want something with Dab radio that doesn't look like it came out of the ark? Want DAB as part of a system with CD player? Want 'stereo' that sounds great? And all at an unbelievable price? That's what we found in the Goodmans Micro 1104SDAB.
We weren't particularly looking for all those features, what we wanted were a couple of good quality, non-portable stereos that we could give the girls for Christmas. Non-portable, because we didn't want another one they'd cart around and break. Wandering round John-Lewis we found a stack of these Goodmans micro-systems. I've had a couple of Goodmans products before and never been disappointed and at the special price of £69 I was wondering what the catch was.
With more and more users taking advantage of Broadband, wireless and networking, NETGEARs® Wireless ADSL Modem Router could come into its own.
As Broadband and the take-up of networking expands into the small office and home user market, so there is a need for kit that will provide the necessary features with greater ease-of-use and perhaps having a touch of style about it. This is an area in which NETGEAR feels its products have the necessary combination of performance and distinctive appearance to make them stand out from the pack.
If Adobe Photoshop and Premiere titles are beyond your budget then alternatives are still available from Adobe.
Looking for a way to improve your systems performance then perhaps you should consider a set of utilities from VCOM.
ViewSonic VA702
Published in Laptops/PCs/Apple
by mfereday
on 17 Dec 2005
Do you need to increase the space on your desktop? Then why not change your bulky CRT monitor for a slim line LCD screen.
With different DVD formats available, it can be difficult deciding the type of media to use. Why not opt for a drive that supports all formats.
While new computer systems, whether of the desktop or notebook variety, generally arrive with a CD/DVD burner as standard, the drive will probably not support all the various formats available. With a choice of DVD+R, DVD-R and DVD-RAM, it is more than likely that the drive in residence will only be able to read / write two of the three formats. However there are drives available, normally referred to as a multi-drive, which can handle all three formats.
Mobile Media Centre
Published in Laptops/PCs/Apple
by mfereday
on 29 Nov 2005
DVDs, video, music, images and television are the main ingredients of a media centre. They can all be found on a notebook from Acer.
The latest version of an old favourite returns under new management. This should please the many Paint Shop Pro fans.
What Windows product is owned by Apple Computer? The answer is a top selling database that I have been using for many years.
Vonage Phone Adapter
Published in Phones
by paul_smart
on 13 Oct 2005
This offers a very similar service to that I reviewed earlier this year, the main difference is that this is a portable service and can be connected to any standard router.
Epson Stylus Photo R220
Published in Printers/Scanners
by mfereday
on 30 Sep 2005
Looking to produce hard copies of your photos or decorate your CDs with fancy labels, then think about spending £70 on an Epson printer.
Belkin Surgemaster F9M820UK2M
Published in Misc
by paul_smart
on 30 Sep 2005
Outwardly it may look like just another surge strip however it has a very nice extra feature. This is not the up to £175,000 you could claim if it should fail to do its job.
Hi-Speed USB 2.0 Hub and Card Reader
Published in Laptops/PCs/Apple
by mfereday
on 20 Sep 2005
Increasing your USB 2.0 connectivity options and memory card capability is now possible with a single device from Belkin.
A 64-bit TravelMate
Published in Laptops/PCs/Apple
by mfereday
on 13 Aug 2005
Acer continues its assault on the laptop market with yet another addition to its TravelMate range.
A Network Laser Printer
Published in Printers/Scanners
by mfereday
on 10 Aug 2005
With home networks on the increase, perhaps it is time you considered a laser printer designed for that particular environment.
Brand names come and go but one that seems to go on for ever is that of Hewlett Packard's LaserJet product line. With a pedigree that stretches back to the 1980s, there seems to be no end of laser printers joining this particular family. One of the more recent additions is the LaserJet 1022 model which is available in standard (1022), network (1022n) and wireless network (1022nw) versions.
PDF documents are everywhere. ScanSoft offers a means of working with these files.
Mega Arcade Action II - time travel for the armchair bound!
Published in Entertainment
by jonw
on 20 Jul 2005
Ever wanted to go back in time to the 80's and all those great arcade games that didn't take a month of Sundays to play?
If you're bored with your latest Play Station games, frustrated that you've been playing the latest Harry Potter game since Christmas and can't get to the end or even, like me, work out whether there is in fact an end - then help is at hand! still If you just hark back to a noisier time when video games could be played, and lost, in a matter of minutes with explosions everywhere and a complete lack of sublety, then help is at hand! The video game gives you all this
Hold that pose! Theres a camera out there just for you and it could well be the latest Acer model.
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