Similar in many respects to the W705, the Sony Ericsson W715 is a slider handset that is available in either silver or black.  This handset, as its “W” designation indicates, is a member of the Walkman family.  I have been looking at a review unit that is of the silver variety with gold trimmings.  Weighing just 98g, this handset measures 95 x 48 x 14mm (H x W x D) when closed with the height increasing to 128mm once you have slid it open with a touch of your thumb.

There is no prize for guessing the thinking behind the decision to call the main character of this next title, Alabama Smith.  After all this character is a professor at a university who has a strong interest in ancient artefacts.  Like the other fellow, who shall remain nameless, Alabama Smith is always up for a challenge and laughs at danger.  You can join him as he sets out to complete the Alawar developed game entitled The Quest of Fate.

I have to admit that until very recently I was totally unaware of Cygnett, a company immersed in the development of accessories to enhance the iPod and MP3 music experience.  Set up in 2003, Cygnett has expanded into an international company with its headquarters in Australia and offices located around the globe.  The company came to my attention with the arrival of its GrooveTransmit product for review.

As a child, it was considered a great family treat to embark on an occasional trip to the local cinema with the possibility of being rewarded with a choc ice during the interval.  There was also Saturday morning cinema with its diet of cartoons and Western films to look forward to for the princely sum of sixpence (old money of course).

Like the rest of us (well at least me), a computer’s performance does tend to fall off over time.  No matter how careful we are, our computers and the companion operating system will slow down, develop problems and collect unwanted items, sometimes as if they were going out of fashion.  Left to your own devices the task of spring cleaning and bring back the computer to a reasonable standard could be extremely time consuming.

Adding to its range of video editing, DVD player and multimedia software solutions, CyberLink has released a new video conversion software application.  This is entitled MediaShow Espresso which immediately reminded me of visits to a local coffee bar in my youth.  But enough of nostalgia, lets stick with the present day and this new application from CyberLink.

While it is possible to purchase a keyboard and mouse as separate items, there are several desktop sets available that bring together these elements as your interactive tools for communicating with your computer.  One such example recently arriving on my workspace for testing is the Microsoft Wireless Comfort Desktop 5000 product which comes with the claim of “Being designed for comfort”.

Currently Acer has released six different versions of the Aspire One, starting with the Linux driven unit and followed up with Windows XP and the business targeted Pro model.  This review is based on the Aspire One D250 product that includes the Android operating system with dual booting capabilities. Available in a choice of Ruby Red, Seashell White, Diamond Black or, in the case of the review model, Sapphire Blue, the Aspire One D250 measures a compact 258.5 x 184 x 25.

Known as the Burning Company, Nero has put this expertise to work and come up with a backup product appropriately titled Nero BackItUp & Burn.  Now up to version 5, this product is aimed at those who want to save their multimedia content through the use of secure automatic backup facilities.  For those who like to taste before they buy, a trial version can be downloaded from .

Mobile phones have quickly developed into a sort of Frankenstein monster with their multi-functional make up.  Where ever you look, mobile phones are appearing with PIM software, email receiving and Internet browsing options plus photographic capabilities, music downloading and playing features, video watching and game playing activities.  Just by checking on your own mobile phone you can see how true this observation is.

On reflection I have to admit that reflective surfaces do not rank high in my list of attributes for a variety of devices.  It is not just that they reflect images, including that of my visage, but they tend to become disfigured with finger smear and the like.  However I shall put these feelings to one side as I report on the Asus F70SL laptop which definitely falls into the category of desktop replacement model.

Adding to its FreeAgent family of products, Seagate has released FreeAgent Theater.  Described as a HD media player for use with your television, the FreeAgent Theater is decked out in black with the top having a fingerprint retaining lacquered effect.  Measuring 31 x 183 x 180mm (H x W x L), the player unit comes with a small remote control, mains power lead with replaceable two and three-pin plugs, composite video stereo/audio cable, SCART adapter, setup guide and software CD.

While Microsoft is best known for its software, the company also has a well-establish hardware business.  A long standard element of the hardware side of the business is the development and manufacture of numerous mice.  Joining the ranks of Microsoft mice is the Wireless Mobile Mouse 4000.  As its title suggests, this mouse uses wireless technology for communicating with the computer and has been designed more for the notebook rather than desktop market.

The latest example of a game with a diamond theme to make its presence felt on my desktop is Amazing Adventures Around the World.  This is a Popcap re-release now available from Focus Multimedia.  Those familiar with the SpinTop Games developed Amazing Adventures series will not be surprised to discover that this title combines hidden object and puzzle solving game play. The game sets you the task of finding the World Diamond.

Described as a compact, lightweight, portable storage solution, the Buffalo MiniStationLite is an external hard drive.  This product is available in Crystal Black, Ruby Red or Pearl White with a choice of 250, 320 or 500GB capacity.  This review is based on the Ruby Red 250GB model. Comparable to the Seagate’s FreeAgent Go with regards to size and weight, the MiniStationLite dimensions are 129.6 x 80.6 x 15.5mm and weighs 190g.

At the beginning of the year I reported on my first encounter with a product from Powertraveller Ltd.  This is a company that supports the David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation ( ) which funds long term projects in Africa and Asia aimed at species survival in their native habitat.  The product was the unusually named powermonkey-eXplorer.

Recently my nightly slumbers have been interrupted on a number of occasions by shrieking sounds.  It didn’t take me too long to discover that the sounds were coming from a family of urban foxes as they explored the local rubbish bins.  Maybe the developers of this next title encountered a similar state of affairs thus giving them the idea of the trouble that two inquisitive fox cubs could get up to without too much effort.