Publication History For : Paul Smart
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This is a small neat Netbook with the faster Intel 1.66GHz processor and Windows Starter edition. Ideal for travelling as with the larger battery you could get a days use. While colour is not important to me this cream and grey offering is nice.
The Packard Bell Dot SE Netbook is 25.5x18.5x2cm and it weights just 1125grams in the provided slipcase, as stated mine was cream with silver grey surround to the keyboard, the keyboard itself was cream with black lettering, this means no visible fingermarks, the viewable screen is 22.5x12.5cm giving the diagonal 10.1inch imperial measurement.
If you have a PC or Notebook with poor speakers then your normal option is to lump it or use headphones/earbuds, here some rather nice headphones great for privacy but also a second option is external speakers.
First the headphone solution, this is not a cheap solution but one anyone who sees it will think a single word quality. In their non expanded state they are 16cm across 15cm high and a maximum of 5cm across at the earpieces. However the earpieces flip in and the whole will fit into a supplied zip up case 17x12x4cm so ideal for travelling. Apart from the supplied 1.2metre micro USB to USB lead and a 1.5metre 3.5 to 3.
This is the Worlds Smallest Laser unit, smaller than most basic inkjet printers, the main differences are that this is of course only monochrome but the claimed printspeed is the actual printspeed something you certainly cannot say for inkjets.
The Samsung Laser ML1865W measures 34x22x17cm with the paper input and output trays closed. Open these and the 22cm depth increases to 33.5cm. This is a unit with minimum connections and minimum controls but it does not mean it has little to offer the user. The ML1865W is rather like the ML1665 reviewed last summer. This unit has connections so it can be used as USB or Wireless. Both the power and USB connections are on the back right hand edge of this compact unit.
A webcam is normally something that notebook users take as a given, however for some reason I do not think I have ever seen one in the top of flat panel and certainly not one in a monitor, this then is for those who use these devices.
With most notebooks coming with a built in webcam it is likely that this will me used with a flat panel and the arm behind the camera is made for this purpose. Again the Face Vision FV TouchCam N1 is not a cheap alternative but it’s not only for still but also higher quality video use. With most modern video cameras smaller is more desirable.
Yes I know its been a long time since I have reviewed any HP PCs but once a company changes agencies it often takes a long time to get involved again. Now of course almost everything is Notebook, Netbook or touchscreen Tablet, here all three.
The HP TouchSmart TM2 measures 31x23x4cm as a maximum as it is only 2.5cm thick at the front. It’s not that light at two kilos and can be a little rear heavy. The left side has an HDMI out, a USB port and a headphone/earbud socket. The front is clear while the right side has a multi card slot, two USB ports, the DC power input and two buttons the first for on/off and the second for wireless both have bright LED’s built in.
Two of the latest offerings from Doro who make both mobile and home phones for those who difficuty in using a conventional phone for whatever reason, bigger buttons, brighter displays and louder rings are some of their features.
Here I am looking at phones for your home use, both the phones I am reviewing here look very similar and have very similar model numbers the main difference one has an answering machine built in the other does not. It is 18x5.5x3cm, white with black buttons that have white writing on and this makes then extremely easy to read. The display is 4x2.5cm made up of only two lines the top smaller line for symbols and the bottom line 1cm tall numerals. Below the display a total of twenty one buttons.
The numbers of people producing speech software are reducing and Dragon is the main player in the PC part of the market, they are now part of Nuance. So what advantages does version 11 have to make you rush out to purchase?
First the bit that may confuse, the various versions now have new names, what was Standard is now called Home, what was Preferred is now Premium (the one I am looking at) and then there is Professional and Legal. While I am not a heavy user of speech software I have used it in some form or other for around ten years. The main difference now is that ‘training’ is not essential to get reasonable results.
Another of the items received in part last autumn after a briefing, however they were not reviewed as the star item a potato/vegetable peeler despite requests never arrived, spring cleaning has taken place and so now the belated reviews.
First a 19cm green bowl designed by morph. It has two handles ideal for salad etc as the handles extend from the side it is easy to clean. For me the highlight is the black rubber .5cm ring around the bottom that lifts it just that smidgeon from whatever surface you place it upon. While I do not use a dishwasher there is nothing to say it cannot be cleaned in one. It does however warn not to use it in the microwave, for me anyway it’s for cold/cool use.
The first is somewhat unusual in that it is battery operated and stated to give up to 20 hours between charges. The second a far more conventional unit being a pair of speakers requiring mains power, both can have a useful place.
It is 12x6x2cm and weights 218grams. It comes with a mini USB to USB lead to charge its internal battery and this can take several hours. Once charged you can take it anywhere with any device that connects via a 3.5mm lead. So it can be an iPod MP3 player or other device you could even connect it to a notebook should you wish to improve sound. The only connections are on one end being the mini USB socket and the 3.5mm jack.
The first is a set of red and white lights to attach to yourself ideal for cyclists to be seen at night. The second who has tried using the modern touch screen in gloves? This normally will not work, however with these gloves it will.
Let’s first of all think cycling and then think whatever else they might be useful for. When I was growing up – long time ago – you did not leave your cycle pump on your bike - now it seems the whole bike will be pinched. So while dark mornings or evening require lights it seems the police are quite happy if a white and red light static or flashing are displayed somewhere. One such way is on the front and back of a helmet.
I certainly remember a radio that had this retro look many years ago; of course it was not DAB. In fact the View Quest Retro DAB radio has most modern controls, easily implemented and of course it has an iPod/iPhone dock but it just has the retro look.
The maximum dimensions for the View Quest Retro DAB radio are 29x17x9cm this assumes you have the unit powered by mains as this adds 3cm to the depth. My unit was red with a leather like fabric covering all but the front and the back with the carry handle in the same finish. All the controls and connections are on the back and front. The back has the battery bay, the 66cm seven piece rod aerial, on/off slider, Auxiliary in and DC in sockets. The front has a two line 6.1.
This is an All In One (no fax) but I doubt if very many people still use that facility. This can scan, print and copy and while it is USB you only have to then convince the lounge police that black is the 2011 colour of choice.
The Canon Pixma MG5150 measures 45x35x15cm when closed, the front paper exit tray opens automatically when something is being printed and this adds 10cm to the 35cm depth. The USB lead exits back right while power goes in back left neither add to the size. This is a five ink offering with a small black for photos and a larger one for text printing as well as the standard three colour inks.
I am told there is an earlier model that did not have the DAB radio. This has it all and just for good measure an external speaker and bed shaker for those who never seem to hear the alarm go off, this you will not be able to ignore.
The iLuv iMM178 main unit is oval measuring 25x10x9cm, the bed shaker unit is also oval at 11x6.5x2.5cm. The lead that connects the shaker to the main unit is 2metres long and this I found was adequate. The mains lead ending in the power adapter plug is 1.7metres and this to me is a tab short unless the electric socket is the same side of the bed as the table/stand. The extra 30cm that the shaker unit has just gives that extra amount to allow easy placement.
An interesting mix an executive toy and something that never existed in my childhood pens designed especially for use for left or right handed children, they even do different models according to the age of the child.
This is one of a long range of cameras with the PowerShot name produced by Canon. It is also a contender for one of the best; it allows both the novice and those more advanced to get the best from it as well as from themselves.
The Canon PowerShot SX30is measures 12x11.5x8cm however with the lens fully zoomed the 11.5cm can increase by another 6cm. It weights 635grams. This camera does not need a case – apart from keeping it dry – as the TFT rotates on itself as is the fashion with camcorders. It can be totally operated without the using the TFT so people who come from 35mm film can still use the viewfinder to capture and here even for quick review.
Calling this an alarm clock is a vast understatement both in abilities and indeed in size. It has sat by my bed for several days and roused me in the morning even before the buzzer/sounds/radio has sounded simply by its built in light.
Most people have the idea that A3 machines are big, this one is not, this is not just a printer but a multi function unit as it scans, copies, faxes and prints, also it can also print photos direct from a card or a memory stick.
It is 52x48x31cm when you have A4 paper in both trays, the top tray can also accommodate A3 paper and it expands to accept this making the depth 58cm, another 10cm only. Please note this machine prints up to A3 and A3+. Everything can be installed from optical media, two discs are supplied one with the manuals and the other with PaperPort 12 and other software but it still downloads other items from the web. Total install time was 12 minutes including a reboot and it took 1.
While most seem happy to say YES when completing a 1000 piece puzzle me included I started my quest before Christmas on two larger offerings a 3000 piece one eventually completed, meant time to start a 5000 piece offering.
Of course even these are tiny in comparison to the 32,000 plus pieces in the world’s largest jigsaw that they produce. See last paragraph. For me anyhow a 2000 piece jigsaw is at the very least ‘a challenge’, it also has an awful lot of various shades of blue.
This is much more than just a phone, like all decent recent phones its cordless and DECT however it can connect to any Wireless network and using its Touchscreen you have a unit capable of Internet browsing or playing Internet radio.
The phone is 15x5x2cm it has a cradle that is circular at 14cm and 3cm tall it has a small stand to allow leads etc to emerge and this raises the height by another 2cm at the rear of the unit, both the phone and the cradle are shiny black. The viewable screen on the phone is 4.3x5.8cm. Below the screen are the green answer button and the red end call button above these a back button and another between these is the ubiquitous five position joystick control.
This is exactly what a modern notebook should be, well specified and easy to use. The latter is handled by it having a full suite of touch modules built it so things that used to need the mouse can now be completed using your fingers.
The Acer Aspire 5745PG touch screen laptop measures 37x25x3cm and weights 2.65kilos. It is black with the area in front of the keyboard being grey. Unfortunately the black is that horrible shiny black that shows fingermarks and the screen is rather reflective. There is a 106 key keyboard with the alpha and numeric keys being full size, there is of course a separate numeric keypad.
Panasonic do two ranges of cameras the ones that could even be called professional and can be seen being used by keen amateurs, they also do a Lumix range that look like point and shoot but have far more functionality.
The Panasonic Lumix TZ10 measures 10x6x3cm, the last figure can increase to 6cm when fully zoomed. My test unit was black with silvered fittings, it weighed 215grams. It has up to 12x zoom and captures images up to 12MP in size, this model can even use GPS to tell you where your images were taken. So this is by no means anything like an entry level ‘point and shoot type’ offering. The right side has two connectors behind a flip open door for HDMI and AV out.
Brando from Hong Kong has cornered the market in quirky devices that are in some way powered by USB. Here a USB hub with a touch responsive Plasma Ball, the second DJ Mix Turntable, both these items are fun things.
It is 14cm to the top of the ball which starts 6.5cm from the base. The hub is the base and is 9cm across but there are the four ports - two on each side with the spaces in between filled by the USB to mini USB lead and a simple on/off switch that controls only the Plasma ball the USB ports are live all the time the cable is connected. Of course from the point of view of a man this is not perfect, the glass sphere is of course clear but the Plasma when idle is P I N K.
Having looked at two earlier models that were only available from Amazon.Com, here after a very long wait I get to sample the joys of the latest sleek offering that at long last is available from Amazon in the UK.
The latest Amazon Kindle measures 19x12x.5cm and weights only 230grams, the viewable screen is 9x12.2cm giving a diagonal screen measurement of 6inches. When off the screen displays one of a range of wonderful monochrome graphics, these graphics use no power. The controls are simple, both the left and right edges have < and > keys to move page forward and page back. The bottom has a volume up and down rocker, 3.5mm headphone/earbud socket a micro USB socket and on/off slider.
This is very slightly larger than a small point and shoot digital camera but a good deal smaller than most DSLR however in reality it is neither, it has good points and bad, two that stick out are no optical zoom and a poor inbuilt flash.
The Sigma DP1x Digital Camera measures 11x6x5cm with the last dimension, the depth increases by 2cm when you remove the lens cap and turn it on, it weights 280grams. Truly an oblong box with the lens protrusion being the only thing extending, the face has only the lens as the flash – such as it is – has a manual release mechanism on the top, I rarely mention its size but as it is 2cm long and less than .
Amplicon are better known for improving peoples hearing with devices and aids. Here they offer help from the other end by making a mobile phone with a high ringer volume and increased sound volume for the phones user.
The company whose phone the Amplicom Powertel M4000 most resembles to me is Doro who do a lot for those with disabilities. Here Amplicon have a phone with big buttons and large text on the screen to go with a ringer that will wake almost anyone so those who are hard or hearing are well catered for. Often however a loud ringer on its own is not enough as the volume of the caller is still not increased enough, that is certainly not a problem with this unit.
Over the last few months I have told you about various Oregon products but not the one they are best known for Weather Stations, I got one early in summer and just recently a second model both can prove extremely helpful.
If you just want a weather station to tell you the internal and external temperatures plus things like day date humidity and prediction for the next 24 hours then several fit the bill one such is the Slim Weatherbox BAR 800 received recently more of that in a bit first… I have been testing this since the summer, my main worry was that as the main unit is Solar it would die during the winter months, it has not done so, it is in my kitchen window and even with so few hours of light it kept
This is a completely different shape for a Multi Function unit. It is Multi Function as not only does it print, scan and copy but should you still need the facility it can also be used as a Fax machine. The shape is higher rather than wider.
So in height, width and depth order the Lexmark Genesis S815 measures 43x38x30cm. It has a shiny black front, silver grey sides and matt black for the rest. It comes with four inks the black being larger than the three colours. Once you have used the machines touch screen to set location you install the inks. Next add some paper and you are ready to print a test page.
Not quite an iPad but still a lovely piece of kit. The screen is that much smaller but of course it will fit in a larger pocket that unless its a poachers one the iPad will not, it is however an office on the move as even without wireless you still have mobile.
For the Samsung P1000 Galaxy Tablet weight is perhaps the most important statistic, well it's 380grams and it measures 12x18.6x1cm; the viewable screen is 9x15.5 cm. If you have a wireless connection around your home/work then it’s just a case of entering your password once and from then on all the time it’s on you are in contact. There are of course thousands of ‘apps’ available. The top has a 3.
This is described as the Ultimate HD Video Editing Solution some will purchase it just for the codec that allows you to play Blu-ray movies on your Blu-ray drive in your PC or Notebook as without something like this you cannot.
However there is far more to this product than that feature – as nice as it is – you really can put together a movie and add soundtracks etc and then burn your output to a vast range of optical media, however you will need time. Starting with the 27 minutes to complete the installation - on a reasonably fast notebook – this comes in two parts with a reboot after the nine pieces of Microsoft software installed taking .
I remember getting these tiny speakers early last summer but for a multitude of reasons it was 2011 before they got tested. The earbuds are from Altec Lansing more normally known for their speakers so a good match?
I think most will know the Altec Lansing heritage in speakers so their ability to produce speakers is without doubt. The box says designed for iPod, iPhone and iPad but they will work with anything that outputs to a 3.5mm jack. The lead is 1.35metres in length. It has a gold plated 3.5mm jack (with the three bands) the earbuds are the silicon type that fit snugly in the ear to reduce external sounds, other sizes are provided to suit most ear canal sizes.
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