Publication History For : Paul Smart
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This is the first dual SIM phone to cross my desk. Surprisingly to me anyway it is running quite an old version of Android at 2.35. Having two SIMs may avoid the huge number of people I see using two different phones.
The Prestigio Multiphone measures 11.5x6x1cm and weights 124grams. As with most modern phones almost all the controls are via touch screen. The external connections are on/off on the right side, headphone (3.5mm socket) on the top, volume + or – on the left side and micro USB connector on the base of the unit. That is all of the units external controls.
This is a camera that a proportion of the users will love as it uses AA batteries. It looks almost basic in its design however it offers a decent zoom and a large image size yet it is small enough to fit inside the majority of pockets.
Almost all PowerShots used to run on ‘AA’ batteries, then in recent times they had solid batteries but still kept the very nice hand grip shape on the right side to allow a firm grip. This unit however runs on two not four ‘AA’ batteries and so the ‘bulge’ has gone. It is 11x7x4cm when off the thickness increases as soon as you switch on as the lens emerges by 2.5cm and this can increase by another 2.5cm when you are fully zoomed.
A 2.1 speaker set that can be used with a PC or notebook to give it extra fizz in the sound department or a set of speakers to let you hear the true sound when attached to an MP3 player or any other device with a 3.5mm jack.
The two satellites are each 10x9x5.5mm. The Sub woofer is 21x17x16cm with cables inserted in the rear for power and MP3. The bass of the sub woofers chassis is 27cm from front to back and it is as wide as the sub woofer. The shape of the units is unusual, some may call them stylish, perhaps most importantly they give a good sound. Both the speakers have silvered frames that lift the speakers by a couple of centimetres at the front.
I have a long memory - its just yesterday thats a problem sometimes and I remember a shareware product that easily fitted on a floppy disc. That was long before JASC was purchased by Corel the current version fills a CD-ROM.
While I have reviewed most versions in between this one was stated to be compatible with Windows 8 so I waited until I had a stable Windows 8 system to review it. As with the few other Windows 8 items I have looked at you need the Desktop to install from and those who have tried Windows 8 know its one level down from the shiny icons. The install itself works just the same, you need to enter a 31 character key before it happens and then you are encouraged to register.
Having reviewed TV recording devices from early VHS tape devices through most other methods including those using external memory sticks and hard drives this still came as a shock because of the units sheer lack of size.
This is a Freeview + HD box with a 500GB recording unit inside and the quality to include Dolby Digital Plus sound. It is 27x20x1cm, yes the thickness is just one centimetre. With cables inserted in the rear the depth becomes 25cm. You are totally reliant on the remote control as the unit itself has a single on/standby button with an LED beside it. The rear is where the connections are, Aerial Out, Aerial In, HDMI out, Ethernet, two USB and finally the DC input.
It could be the baby, an elderly relative or even just your home when you are away. There are devices that can tell you what is happening no matter if you are in the kitchen or maybe in New York, they are security cameras.
This is not a ‘cheap webcam’ it can work in darkness and a webcam certainly cannot do that. It is designed to fit on a ceiling or beam to see all from above. Look in any large store or supermarket and you will see similar items. So while this can be used in the home it is far more on the security end of the spectrum than the item I am looking at further down this article. The kit supplied consists of the 360 degree camera, an Ethernet cable and a DC adapter.
Since reviewing The NEX5 a couple of varietys have emerged, however new cameras from Sony are not frequent so when I saw a prototype some months ago I immediately requested to review the new NEX6 when it was available.
Small enough to be a digital camera but it’s not. Small enough to fit in a pocket but it has a neck strap. It can have different lenses and mine came with a 16-50mm lens, this can also zoom to 2.8 times. Another reason why this is a DSLR – although Sony just call it an interchangeable lens camera - is that it has something most digital units do no longer have, a viewfinder.
Either of these would be welcomed by anyone who loves their music. First from Sol Republic a rather nice set that you build. Second from TDK a set that would not disgrace a recording studio, I would be happy with either.
I opened the box to be greeted by the two earpieces and nothing to connect them. I have had headphones with separate cables before but a set without any apparent headband. It’s in the box as a single length with adequate padding for the centre 11cm. As this band pushes through the outside of each earpiece it will fit any head however large or small. There are two 2.
Both these items are portable speakers, both and single pieces. The first from Edifer Image charges from USB but can be used away from power. The second from a new name to me i-Box Twist is a portable Bluetooth speaker.
It is triangular like a wedge 26cm long 5.5cm deep and 4cm tall. It weights 321grams. On the left edge is where you connect the supplied .8metre 3.5mm lead. Just below this is where the supplied micro USB to USB lead for charging the unit is attached, this is .75metre. You will probably need to study the getting started leaflet to work out how to switch it on. There is a circular button at either end which reduce or increase the volume. You need to press them both at the same time to switch on.
While my own TV is a unit capable of displaying HD it cannot show 3D, at 32inches by todays idea of size it is small. So I cleared a larger space in my lounge and here look at a Smart TV from LG that does it all that includes Wireless.
I am no superman but moving it around is not difficult as TV’s are so much lighter than early LCD unit used to be. As always I start with the dimensions. The screen is 95x56x2cm, it can of course –using a kit- be attached to a wall. However a stand is provided and this is a maximum of 52x25cm and it raises the TV by 7cm.
At a recent TDK event I was shown four new small sets of speakers, all were in a single case. I was subsequently sent one to review, it can run on mains or internal battery and be a wired or Bluetooth connection.
While this was designed as a Bluetooth unit it of course has the ability to accept ‘Aux’ input from any 3.5mm device. Most will use an ‘i’ device or MP3 player but as I recently found the lack of volume in some DVD and Blu-ray films mean volume levels from your TV often go only so far and to hear quiet dialog needs more. It is 24x9.5x5cm and weights 1160grams.
While almost everyone has heard the name Kindle there are other people who make book readers and one such name is Kobo. In fact they do a whole range of devices here I am looking at two the KoboGlo and the KoboMini.
Either of these would qualify as the smallest dedicated book reader that I have seen so let's start with the larger. The Kobo Glo measures 15.5x11.5x1cm and weighs 183grams. Mine was white with a pinkie red back. It has two buttons on the top a micro USB connection on the base and a micro USB slot near the base of the left side, that is all the connections. The viewable screen is 12.2x9cm.
This is the second such device I have seen that comes with a separate keyboard; the other was the excellent offering from Archos whose only real problem was the price. This seems to be more reasonable in the price department.
The Gemini JoyTAB GEM10312BK measures 24.5x18.5x1.5cm with lid/keyboard on, it weights 1026g, without the external keyboard it weights 726. All the controls and connections are down the right edge, on/off, volume up, volume down, DC input, micro USB, mini HDMI out, headphones, micro SD slot and finally internal microphone. There is a built in camera on the centre top of the screen for Skype etc. The better resolution camera is on the back together with the pair of speakers.
Yes finally a HP unit I know its taken 18 months since their last offering but at last they have reverted to their original PR agency and so review items have started to become available to be tested, here a rather nice Ultrabook.
tHE HP Spectre XT Ultrabook 13-2100ea measures 31x22x1cm. The last measurement is the thickness at the front and it increases to 1.5cm at the rear. The unit weights 1410grams. It is silver grey in colour apart from the screen surround which is black but rubberised so no fingermarks show. The viewable screen is 29.5x16.5 with a notional diagonal imperial measurement of 13.3inches. The screen resolution is 1366x768. The 1cm empty space above the screen has a webcam mounted in the centre.
SSD drives are slowly getting bigger, more quickly they are becoming lower priced. So is now the time to get one? Certainly the PC/notebook units I have reviewed that have at least a small SSD drive show a huge increase in booting speed.
This item from Kingston is a 120GB unit. This is the same size as in the HP Spectre XP Ultrabook to be published very soon, that unit was manufactured by Samsung but in essence it’s the same size in dimensions and capacity. The Kingston Technology SSDNow V300 measures 10x7x.5cm and weights only 90g. First the claims on the box 10x faster than a 7200RPM standard hard disc. Then the 450MB/s read and write speed this can do.
The One For All Indoor Aerial worked with a TV and TV/Panel the latter reviewed two days ago. The second landed on my desk just before Christmas and for such a small ball it gives a good sound so two amplifying items, both are currently around £15 each.
I reviewed this in two places, the first with reasonable reception where certain groups of channels were received even with amplification. The second where most aerials struggle and with amplification I got acceptable reception on all channels. These two places are either end of my not huge property, so it certainly works. It consists of two parts a single rod aerial and a eight bar offering (highly directional elements) within a sleeve still visible but protected from knocks.
This is a Blu-ray player and a sound system, Pioneer call it the BCS-SB626. The Blu-ray has some extra features including 3D. The 2.1 system includes a meaty sub woofer and a sound bar to sit in front of your TV.
While I suspect that you could put a sound bar and a Blu-ray combination together for a smaller part of the price I doubt that the sound quality would be as good. Often people rave about large cinema systems and if you have the room and can hide the multitude of cables then you can have a similar experience to that of a cinema. While TV has improved out of all proportion to even say ten years ago a sound bar offers much more, link it with a sub woofer and you are getting something even more.
This is a rather nice Smart TV, it is also a good large screen panel. I have seen a report saying the new black is white; this almost qualifies as the back and base are both white, the face is however still a traditional black colour.
The Samsung C24B750X measures 63.5x47x20cm. The base is integrated so cannot be removed, that does however give a nice stylish sweep to it. The viewable screen is 60x33cm giving the notional diagonal imperial measurement of 27inches, the normal 1920x1080 in PC mode.
Extensively it looks like a small to mid sized portable radio. However with all the bits this has inside its small frame perhaps Tardis would be a better description. Not only is it a conversional radio but it can record and more.
It is 19x9x1.5cm (without the seven piece rod aerial being raised) it weights 270grams so small enough to fit into a deep pocket. As a radio it has stereo - unusual for such a small unit – the bands are FM, AM and SW. For me I found that I did not need to raise the rod aerial for FM. You can record radio. It can record MP3 or WAV by using the inbuilt microphone or by attaching an external microphone with a 3.5mm end.
All Android tablets are the same is something I have heard stated, well I disagree and here is a great example of a company giving more than you normally get, one such added extra is a full size USB port so importing or exporting is just a matter of attaching a USB stick.
This particular Android table is from Polaroid and measures 26.5x16.5x1.3cm while weighing 672grams. The viewable screen is 22x12.5cm. The system is delivered with Android version 4 (Ice-cream Sandwich). There is a small 28 page User Manual that is well laid out with illustrations to explain all the controls and connections. The screen is capacitive and multi touch so enlarging or reducing something is just a matter of opening or closing two fingers.
These are two sets of headphones from a company in Sweden. The first is a lightweight set with smaller earpieces and a little padding on the headband, the second even more lightweight and these also have a modern feel.
Both these were displayed on a stand from a twice yearly press show that enables me to see items that are from companies not often shown in the UK. These were white and had 3.5cm of movement in each arm for anyone with a larger head. From the base to the base of the headband – when fully retracted – is 15cm. They fit on top of the ear and can be worn either on top of the head or as seems more fashionable slightly back towards the neck and give a cool light feel to the wearer.
While most will use this sitting on a table or desk, it can work from a wide shelf or even on the floor behind a sofa if the lounge police dislike the black colour. It can be connected via USB or by wireless meaning it need not be in sight.
It is 42x30x15cm, add around 5cm to raise the lid on the flatbed to insert pages. You will need around 20cm extra to the second figure the depth to allow A4 paper to emerge from the output tray, so 42x50x20cm is total space in use. Both USB and the power lead connect back left and as Duplex is automatic no further space is required for this action. There are a total of eight buttons and several LED’s along with a numeral display all along the left side of the top of the unit.
Two satellites and a beefy sub woofer plus a corded remote to allow you to control the overall volume without leaving the comfort of your chair. It can be used to spice up your PC or connect to anything with a 3.5mm jack.
These units are basically triangular; the sub woofer is 29cm from front to back, 24cm across at the front and 2cm across at the back and it is 22cm tall. All connections take place under a slight overhang so no protrusions. The pair of satellite speakers are 10x12x23cm at the base and this reduces to 4x5cm at the top and includes the amount the lead juts out the back. You can connect to anything with a 3.
Some would call this top a fashion item; others would call it simply clothing however its the technology side that got me interested. It has enabled me to listen to music without earbuds inserted around my home and to keep me warm.
Being a male of a certain age clothes to me are something to wear and fashion is a thing that I let others worry about. I know some of my wardrobe is older than a lot of my readers are. In fact I have a pair of motorcycle boots that are over fifty years old and while I no longer ride a motorcycle they still get used quite often.
The Canon PowerShot SX500-IS is another in the range from Canon, this one on a cursory glance could be confused with a small DSLR unit, it is however a digital unit with excellent zoom as well as other features making it almost a bridge unit.
The Canon PowerShot SX500 IS measures 12x6.5x7.5 however the lens will come out another 1.5cm as soon as you switch on and under full zoom another 3.5cm. The unit is capable of 30x optical zoom and the largest image size is 16MP but even at lower image sizes the pictures you take are sharp and have good depth. The old PowerShot shape is maintained what was the ‘AA’ battery bay now contains the solid battery and any SD card you use.
Both these units from rely of what you sit them on to produce the majority of volume, a small amount - enough for a quiet room occurs naturally but place either of these of different solid surfaces makes everything come alive.
A new name to me with the unusual motto ‘designed in Yorkshire, made in China’. This of course insures UK standards of production quality. It is circular 5.5cm and 6cm tall. Mine was a metallic light blue colour with two silver stripes around it near the base. This is always going to be a personal speaker; methods of connection are either by the supplied 3.5mm jack or by Bluetooth.
Notebook Devices
Published in Laptops/PCs/Apple
on
21 Jan 2013
The wise think of fitting surge strips in their home but what about for the notebook when on your travels. The second is a device to allow you to get an e-SATA connection from a USB port, designed for USB3 but works with USB2.
With a personal trainer costing a fortune and a gym membership not a lot less those of us wanting to shed a little weight and trim up a bit have only one method available until now - will power this little gadget may help.
I first saw this at a press event before Christmas and mistakenly said I had asked on at least two occasions at events previously for them to send me one to review, then after a pause they asked are you sure you don’t mean a similar name (one letter different) which of course I did. After that things improved and I was soon sent one for review. I have been using it for a couple of months and while I can’t claim the weight is dropping off I do feel somewhat less decrepit.
This is a DAB/FM radio and i device player. That is the bare bones of a quiet stylish device, not the least of these is the i device placement. Certainly I have never seen one in a similar place or one that comes up in such a way.
The main body is 32x10x15cm, however when the metamorphic ‘i’ device holder rises it adds 10cm to the 15cm height and 5cm to the 10cm depth, so the overall in ‘action’ size is 32x15x25cm. The height will be more with an iPad. It comes with a 5x8.5cm remote control that has 22 buttons however virtually everything can be done from the 14 buttons on top of the unit. These are bar type with one end doing one thing and the other end something else.
This should be the first of several Philips items to come to be reviewed as they now have a PR Person to oversee things. Certainly I have requested things before but the requests always seemed to disappear into a black hole.
The Philips 237E4 E-Line monitor measures 53x32.5x1cm; the last figure is at the edges. The viewable screen is 51x28.5cm giving the notional diagonal imperial measurement of 23inches. Its stand raises the screen by 8cm above your desk or whatever you place it on. The base is circular at 19cm with a diagonal arm from the very back that attaches about 5cm up the back of the panel. Unlike some panels the connections are above the bass connection and are all very easy to get at.
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