This is the only Nikon unit I know that is powered by two ‘AA’ batteries. It weights 165grams and is 9x6x2.5 cm. The unit was a glorious matt black meaning that even the TFT is matt and therefore does not show finger marks. The only non black bits are the lens surround, the two buttons on the top and a central line all in chrome. This is still a Coolpix camera and it takes excellent images while ‘Easy Auto Mode’ is the default a single button press can change this.

Here a toy for a younger child that even three has a great Edutainment use. It uses large letters that fit into a pod and as they are inserted the letter is spelt out, it claims that over 250 three letter words can be produced and there are three games included to make spelling fun. It is 23x15x4cm and joy of joys it comes with the required batteries installed. Each letter is 4.5x3.5x2cm; all letter surrounds are identical and with the rounded top will only fit one way.

Assuming you stand the  vertical the Buffalo AirStation HighPower ADSL Modem Router measures 17x18x3cm with leads plugged in but not including the two external aerials, these add another 9cm to the height. I am not going to say this was breeze to setup, as far as the modem and router side it was probably the easiest I have ever used.

The Plextor PX-B120U blu-ray player measures 19x16x3.5cm the first figure the depth, includes the USB inserted this adds 2.5cm to the total depth of the unit. The actual drive connection was just a matter of connecting the supplied USB lead to the drive and then to the PC, I used both USB2 and USB3 ports both worked without problem although when copying files from the drive the latter was of course quicker, in my various tests maybe three times as fast overall with a mix of file sizes.

The unit is 31x29x11cm with cables inserted in the rear, only the upslant of the wireless aerial makes the last figure increase by 5cm. This extra should also accommodate most iPods and iPhones inserted in the players dock. There is an 80 page Operating Instruction book and joy of joys it is in a single language, also a large double sided sheet folded into four, Quick Start Guide that should be enough to get most people doing things without problems.

This is so new that it only just made this last part of my Christmas toys and games features. It is a range of products. If you are anti toy guns then perhaps you should move on to the second item in my last feature.

The Samsung RV720 is a large unit at 40x28x2.5cm, more importantly the viewable screen is 38x21.5cm giving the diagonal imperial measurement of a tad over 17inches. Now the first disappointment the screen resolution is only 1600x900. The left side has the DC input, Ethernet, two USB2 ports, VGA out, HDMI, microphone and earbud sockets and an SD card port. The front is clear and the row of five pinhole LEDs that live in front of the trackpad are invisible when the lid is shut.

Outwardly it looks like a Pure One however there is of course a big difference in that it has the ability to record in your absence. It measures 21x14x7cm with the second figure, the height, increased by up to 76cm dependant on how much you extend the eight piece rod aerial. The right side has a column of three connections, mini USB, earbuds and Line In.

During my review period it did several updates and while these are happening you cannot do much with the unit. It is 19.5x11x1cm and weights just over 300grams. The viewable screen is 15.5x8.5cm giving the imperial diagonal measurement of 7inches. Boot time is somewhat disappointing at 35 seconds after an initial five second hold of the on/off button, shutdown takes 10 seconds.

The Ricoh PX Digital Camera measures 10x5x2cm and that is when off or on as the lens zoom is achieved by internal movement thus no hole round the expanding lens to let in water. It weights 158grams. My camera and sleeve were both shades of green. The base has a flip open door that is by design made to fit snugly it has the solid battery, SD card slot and both HDMI and AV outlets. At the far end is the tripod screw unusual that it is not centrally fitted.

This is the home or small office version, available in a range of colours and I tested one recently in my home. It is 43cm deep (with cup tray open) 35cm tall and 27cm across, these are the actual figures I needed space wise. When you purchase one it needs to be plumbed in to a cold water supply.

The unit is 22.5x33.5x12cm, the middle figure (depth) is with the supplied wire radio aerial inserted in the rear and the last figure (height) without an iPod or iPhone inserted, even one of the smaller iPods will add around 8cm. The speakers are quite beefy at 17x25x26cm, these have 13cm mid range speakers and 2.5cm tweeters all in black wood.

A child's first notebook aimed at 4 to 9 year olds. While it is a toy it is also an educational product what used to be called edutainment. Unfortunately they missed the first chance to make the child appreciate their toys by placing it in packaging that really cannot be used again as even removing it carefully really does not give you anything to replace it in. It is 23x18x2.5cm and weights 575grams with the required 4x'AA' batteries (not supplied) that are required to make it work.

SMEG are best known for their high end retro fridges. Here however a fridge freezer that still has that retro look, however the energy rating is A+, just like exams the smaller the letter the better for energy use – it costs less to run. They do a range of ten colours. Mine was pillar box red but even brighter and the finish is exactly like a brand new car, what surprised me was that even after two weeks of use it still looks bright and shiny after a damp cloth wipe-over.

I have been lucky enough over the years to hear Nigel in a range of small groups and often just as a backing member whatever the context he adds something to the mix, here first in his latest double CD and then as an integral part in a CD by a fantastic tenor saxophone player that I would probably never have heard but for Nigel. Even on this double CD you see two different sides to Nigel, first in the environment he is found most often with his organ trio.

The Acer Iconia TAB A500 measures 26x17.5x1cm and weights 760grams. It has both Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. The box contains the A500 Tablet, a small user guide, a mini USB to USB lead and a power adapter to charge it. The base has a Docking Port (I did not see the dock itself which is an extra). The left side has a micro HDMI port, headphone/earbud 3.5mm socket and the on/off button this needs to be held for around five seconds to switch on.

I very much liked what they produced last year, this offering offers more and just perhaps it gets too near to a ‘real guitar’, the guitars themselves (there are three designs) look more realistic and in fact they do far more and maybe even sound better. You can even download a free app from that allows you to add your own music into the internal memory. It comes with some music pre programmed into the guitar to allow you to strum along as a taster.

It is 24x10x14cm, the last figure the height is with the six piece 70cm rod aerial retracted. The radio (without optional batteries) weights close to 1.3kilos. The rear has the rod aerial, line out socket and DC input. The left side has a flip clip that opens the back to allow 4x‘D’ cell batteries to be inserted. All the controls are on the top of the unit. The centre of which is a 6x3.5cm black on white five line display.

This is a unit sold exclusively by Dixons stores group (includes PC World), like most currently it is based on Android v2.2. It is 27.5x18x1.3cm and weights 675grams. The viewable screen is 22x12.5cm (10.1inch), this is probably just too small to view a standard width web page unless you have 20:20 vision but the zoom function is quick and efficient. From fully discharged it took 264 minutes to get to fully charged while it was switched on and in use.

It rather depends on your use, if you have a solid wireless signal – or you work only in hotels and coffee shops with free Wi-Fi – then yes but should your signal die for whatever reason then there is very little that you can do. The Samsung Series 5 Chromebook measures 29x21x2cm and weights just under a kilo and a half. My unit had a white lid, matt black base and only the screen surround was the nasty shiny black that shows every single fingermark even with a cloth always wiping.

When you try to count the number of dogs in an image – several times – and keep getting a different number you either give up counting or you go very strange, I did the former and found completing the jigsaw quite therapeutic. This is a 1000 piece puzzle that has somewhere near to one hundred dogs on it, quite a lot of Labradors some German Shepherds, Huskies and several Dalmatians, not being a dog expert I will stop there before my limited knowledge lets me down.

The HP Notebook DM1 measures 29x20x3.5cm at the back and only 1.5cm at the front and it weights 1560grams. Unlike the majority of small units I have reviewed this has an AMD chip and not an Intel one, in use it seems just as good. The Windows Experience gives an overall figure of 3.7 made up of Processor 3.7, Memory 5.5, Graphics 4.2, Gaming Graphics 5.6 and Hard Disc 5.9.

Even those with a minimal knowledge will have heard of a tripod that is designed to hold a camera steady for a tricky shot either for the distance, the zoom or just for lack of light, sometimes however there is no room for a tripod. That is where a monopod can help, in its basic form it is a stick with a screw at one end to attach your camera to. This offering from Manfrotto in its fully collapsed form is 38cm long.

It is 12x6x3cm and weights 130grams with the supplied two ‘AA’ batteries inserted. The base has an on/off switch to save power when not in use. It can also hold the wireless transmitter when not inserted in a USB port of your PC.

‘Reveal the secrets of the speaking animals and find the thief!’ is the tag line on the front of the box. It is a game for two to four players and the stated age is from ‘7 up’. You need to find a missing ring as it protects the Kingdom from the evil wizard who is on his way. Who has stolen the ring find that and you have solved the simple version.

The Roberts' Unologic DAB/FM radio measures 19.5x12x7.5cm. These measurements are maximum to encompass the tuning knob on the front and the volume control on the right side, the width and thickness are around 1cm less for both everywhere else on the unit. It weights a tad under 700grams with 4x‘AA’ batteries inserted, yes it runs on ‘AA’ batteries not ‘C’ cells as with most.

It is 44x40x20cm to the top of the ADF but you will need another 17cm to the last figure the height to insert a stack of A4 in the rear vertical tray, that should also allow you to place anything on the flatbed of the scanner. There are a total of 31 well marked buttons on the front edge of the unit to control it along with a 6cm long two line display.

It is 24x13x9cm but you will need to add another 2cm to the second figure the depth for the D/C lead to be inserted. This includes the eight piece rod aerial that expands to 70cm when fully extended for optimum sound.  My unit was shiny black except for the front that was matt black, surely the whole thing in matt black would look better as the matt black does not show finger marks to the same extent so it will look cleaner to the casual glance.

Apart from being marked as for ‘8+’ this is also small so could well be useful for travel that might lessen the ‘are we there yet’. 10,000+ Brain Busting Puzzles is what the front of the product claims and, joy of joys the batteries are included.