This is probably a desktop replacement as it weighs 2.43kilos. It can work on batteries in my tests I got over four hours with a good amount of Wi-Fi use. It is 38x24.5x2.5cm. The last figure the thickness is at the back this reduces to 1.5cm at the front. The viewable screen is 35x19.5cm which gives the notional diagonal imperial measurement of 15.6inches.

This is an all in one unit with the earbuds fixed into the player unit. With some earbuds you can choose to hang them directly from the ears of to take them round your neck, here there is no choice as the ‘C’ shaped band will only locate in the ear if you then go behind your neck. The stretched out length of the band connecting the two buds is 33cm but is will always return to two ‘O’ shapes.

This is no bigger than a medium sized digital camera; it is however a DSLR offering so that those intent on improving can hone their skills at a reasonable price and the still images they know were captured by their skill level. It is 12x6.5x3.5cm with a lens attached. The one I was sent was an 18-55mm offering so this adds a minimum of 7.5cm to the last figure the width and another 3cm when fully extended.

These are designed to display via Wi-Fi to your ‘i’ or Android device, both allow you to download a Free App to show the results. I know that you can also display results on a PC when you link to your free account as all information remains on their servers. What you get in the box are two cylinders, the larger one is 15.5cm tall and 4cm across. This needs mains power which is supplied by a USB lead, it can be from a PC or notebook or via the supplied USB to 13amp plug.

It is 44x34x20cm. It features the modern idea of a drop down flap at the base that is the multi paper input tray. However a feature I not keen on is that the output tray – by design – only partially drops and more than once when I want to do a quick print or scan I get told that the paper output tray is not open, why can it not fall fully open when you drop the input tray down and load paper, of course if you leave it loaded with paper you will add around 12cm extra to the depth.

Exercise and me are not the best of buddies, the nearest I get to a run is a trot the last 50metres to a bus stop or train station if it will avoid a long wait. I do walk a good bit but again not often at a pace that would be deemed 'rapid'. The unit is 5x3.5x1cm without the belt attachment fitted. Unlike a lot of other such units it can count your steps without it being fitted to you your bag or purse will work just as well as it tracks movement in three dimensions.

The recipe book and manual makes the bold claim of ‘10seconds’ quite often and indeed from preparation to finish for certain chopping jobs it is possible. However unlike most demonstrations people do not tend to have everything nicely prepared and within easy reach however this is certainly a good way to chop and prepare vegetables and fruit and indeed I have never made a smoothie or other types of iced desserts so quickly.

In fact Windows XP will need a new driver to be able to read the larger capacity – over 8GB – devices. Today with huge file sizes 8GB is often too small, a word that was popular a few years ago when things fitted in less than 1GB was bloatware, now of course its large video files that are the main culprit. Externally this Kingston product looks like a lot of other multi card readers.

The Canon PowerShot S110 measures 9.5x6x2cm and weighs less than 200grams. It can take images up to 12MP and has an optical zoom of up to 5x. The face has only the 5.2-26mm lens, the right side has a rubberised bung over the A/V and HDMI out ports. The left side is clear, the base has a tripod screw and a door behind which the solid battery and any SD card you use goes. The top has the automatically raising flash module that is above and to the left of the lens and never closer than 4cm.

The D-Link DCS-5020L web camera can be fitted on the supplied holder or used flat on a surface meaning it is a lot easier to move from place to place. Without the fitment it is 17cm tall, 12cm wide and 11.5cm deep with power lead inserted. Unlike most other fixed units that you adjust to view at a certain area this can pan and tilt, in fact it can also zoom in all from the ‘i’ device or Android controls on the viewing screen.

As we finally seem to come to the end of the longest hot and dry spell for a very long time perhaps a weather station will start to give useful advise rather than hot and dry. It is 17.5x9.5x1.5cm the exception is that it sits on a circular base so for the first 1.5cm it is 9cm round. The base contains three ‘AAA’ batteries which are there to maintain readings when power is not on however the unit will not display anything when mains power is not available.

Any Bluetooth speaker unit that can play for 18hours and 11minutes between charges is certainly worth a second look. It is small and easy to walk around, it does have the ability to play via a 3.5mm lead, but the main focus of this unit is as a Bluetooth device. It is 17.5x6.5x5cm. My unit was black and as there are no open paws and everything being rubberised their claim of it being splash resistant or even showerproof should be true.

This is described as a ‘Docking station displays and charges your gadgets’. Rather than having items such as phones and other devices lying around and chargers hanging out of power outlets now you can keep everything in one place. It is cream 30cm long up to 13cm deep at the base and a maximum of 10cm tall this is 10cm from the front. It has a 24cm long rubberised slit 4.5cm from the front, in the centre of this is also rises by 4.

Around a year ago I told you about the Kingston tiny Wi-Drive. This is about the same size but does a range of other things including being a mobile charging point for anything that takes charge by USB however it is far more than that. First job is to charge it up via the supplied micro USB to USB lead, while this is happening go to the Android or iDevice store and select Kingston and then Mobilite and download the App which is free.

Looking at past notes I see its 13 months since I saw a version of Power DVD from Cyberlink it is far more than just another device to play and convert video. The installation took five minutes after which you have to enter a 30 character serial number before you can run it. Perhaps now is the time to drop ‘DVD’ as most will download it and while I still managed to get a unit on physical media it is becoming more difficult.

The Q10 measures 10x5.5x8.5cm the latter with the lens fully in, fully extended add another 2cm. It weights only 300 grams without attaching the near superfluous neck strap. It is capable of capturing a 12MP image. The lens supplied is a 5-15mm offering and while this may sound ‘tame’ compared to the more standard 18-55mm offerings it takes rather good images.

Windows 8 no longer contains Media Centre, so here the card required for TV is provided by Aver Media and of course the remote control to make channel changing easier. Here ‘All In One’ means that the screen contains the PC as well as being a touch flat panel. The external parts are only the Wireless Keyboard, Mouse and Remote Control. The screen is 57x40cm and the stand is attached to raise this by 7cm above your desk.

This is a 1:18 scale car that works by remote control on the 2.4GHz band. It is 29cm from back to front and 14cm wide at the rear wheels, the maximum height is 9cm. It weights 550 grams. Apart from the car you also get a rather large remote, a charger unit for the cars battery and a plastic coin that allows you to turn the screw on the battery bay to remove it for charging.

This is a handheld cordless vacuum, unlike a lot of other units that often get consigned to cleaning out the car this has a place in any home or office. It is 42cm long, at either end it is less than 2cm thick this increases to around 10cm for the central 20cm of the unit and it is 7.5cm in the same central area. The weight is 612grams. It is equally useable by those like me who are left handed as the on/off button is on the top and can be controlled by either thumb.

It is 48x42x35cm, you will need to add a few centimetres to the  last figure if you wish to use the flatbed scanner rather than the page feed. The front is dominated by the pull up 9.5x5.5cm TFT display. Just above this are five LED lights with clear markings. The on/off switch is towards the base under the TFT overhang. A substansial paper input tray is in the central part at the base with the output being delivered on top of this. A USB stick input is to the left of the paper tray.

It is 14x13x7cm with grey sides and base and black top. The rear has the DC input, USB and eSATA sockets. The other three sides and the base are clear. The top has two flip down lids where you insert either one or two drives and in front of those three touch buttons, power, duplicate and start. All the buttons have LEDs in them and the colour varies according to what is being done.

It is 12x8.5x12.5cm the last figure with the 18 to 55lens fitted and fully in, fully out it extends another 3cm. It weights 618grams without the supplied neck strap. The right side has a flip door behind which are micro USB and micro HDMI connections. Both sides have anchor points for the supplied neck strap. Moving to the base the flap door has the solid battery and any SD card you might use behind it.

It has eight legs and these surround the device, either with four extended to make a stand or with two extended to make a slope. This is a simple device that works well to do just a single job. Each leg is around 8cm and each has three joints. My unit was white and the soft touch grippy plastic outer covers a wire inner so it can bend to almost any shape. The box shows it’s obvious use on a desk but also on a bicycle and in a car.

Looking at the unit it seems very like a small version of the soft of unit you see in thousands of coffee shops in the UK. It is 20x26x32cm and is of course chromium for easy cleaning. The exception is the back that has a clear plastic with blue tinge and black lid removable water container that lifts out it can contain up to 1.5 litres of water. Hard wired into the back is a 1metre mains lead.

In fact to get the display just insert the CD-ROM and then right click on your Desktop and then Screen Resolution and identify and accept the 1920x1200 offered. I loved my initial 1600x1200 screen and always missed the added screen depth especially when viewing web pages, you might say it’s not much different but it’s close to an extra 13% and that shows a lot more on most web sites.

A week before the Gadget Show in Birmingham where this was launched, journalists were given a chance to hear it in use and meet the CEO of Damson. The place chosen was a large room on an upper floor of an event venue called The Hospital. I got there at the prescribed time and had a long chat the CEO. I was expecting to take away a review unit but these did not arrived until several weeks later. However as soon as I plugged it in I knew this was worth waiting for.

Many years ago before the time of separate Theory and Driving Tests I used to be a Driving Instructor. The Highway Code was a few questions after your practical test, often the questions would be aimed at part of your test that was borderline and the result might have influenced the result. Now of course unless you pass the Theory Test and Hazard Perception modules you do not get to take the Practical Test.