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!
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.
ZyXEL Prestige 660RU
Published in Laptops/PCs/Apple
by paul_smart
on 30 May 2005
Over the next couple of weeks this will be mentioned several times. As not only does this rate a review of its own it has also featured in at least two others.
A Travelling Companion
Published in Laptops/PCs/Apple
by mfereday
on 18 May 2005
When it comes to laptops, Acer believes it can satisfy your every need. The TravelMate 4650 is one example
Whereas the Acer Aspire range of laptops has a home/entertainment feel to it, the company's TravelMate models are aimed more at the mobile/office worker who is looking for a desktop replacement or a combination of power and portability to take on their travels. Positioned somewhere in the middle of the TravelMate range is the 4650 model.
I reviewed the sibling to this (iP2000) last year, although this came out at the same time the media recommended to work with its CD/DVD printing capabilities has only just arrived.
It is 42x29x17cm and weighs around 6.5kilos. Paper is loaded face forward in a vertical stack at the rear of the unit and this adds around 21cm to the height. Paper is delivered face up from a drop down door that doubles as a tray to catch output and this adds another 21cm to the depth. As always the stated print speeds are not met, I managed 12PPM printing a 200 word document and just on 9PPM printing a 1500 word - spread over four page - item.
Memories fade as do photographs if you dont look after them. But how?
It started life as Shareware, became a popular commercial product and now has a new owner meet Paint Shop Pro.
http://www.corel.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=Corel2/Products/Home&pid=1047023911984 It is with more than a touch of sadness that I have to report that
this review is based on the last version of Paint Shop Pro to appear
from Jasc. Incidentally I am reliably informed that the company name of
Jasc was formed from the initial letters of the founder's two main
interests - those of Jet planes and Software Company.
Carrying your data in a pocket has never been easier with a USB storage device.
Not all mice are created equally otherwise we would be deprived of the luxury of choice.
Print your photographs. Copy your photographs. Scan images. All these tasks can be undertaken by a single device.
Like most peripherals, printers have come a long way since those
early days when monochrome and dot matrix were the accepted standard.
Now we can take our pick from monochrome or colour lasers, all-in-one
(multifunction) devices, basic inkjet or specific photo printers with
additional functionality built in. The Epson Stylus Photo RX420 could
really be said to bridge two of this categories.
Let Your Finger be the Key
Published in Laptops/PCs/Apple
by mfereday
on 28 Sep 2004
Instead of letting your fingers do the work, you could use them as an aid to your memory. To discover how, read on!
Goodmans 3megapixel Digital Camera
Published in Cameras
by paul_smart
on 18 Aug 2004
3megapixel, 3x optical zoom, 32MB SD card, if that does not get you interested then perhaps the sub £100 price point may, if not then you are probably not looking for a digital camera.
Main Menu
