Publication History For : Paul Smart
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In the early summer I saw a range of Sony audio and photography items. I have already told you about both the photography items I selected. Here is a rather neat stack system that for me stood out as the item to request.
Nothing flashy just a black box but everything works as it should and as you would probably expect it to do no nasty surprises. It is 31x21x14cm with leads plugged in the rear so this is the space you will require, however if you place it on a shelf the 21cm height figure will need extra space for any iPod you might insert as this dock is on the top of it. The speakers are 14x24x20cm and each have a 1.5metre lead to connect to the rear of the main unit.
This is another small Netbook. Here with Windows 7 Starter edition and Office 2010 Starter. So although everything is basic it does mean that you are still using the program and tools that almost any modern business does.
The Acer Aspire One D260 measures 25.5x18x2.5cm and weights only 1200grams. The visible screen is 22x12.5cm giving the diagonal 10.1inch measurement. On this the 1024x600 display is clear sharp and readable even in sunlight, or direct light. There is an 85 key keyboard that is just about touch typeable for a stubby fingered man like me. The alpha and numeric keys are 1.5cm deep and 1.6cm wide while the function keys and a few of the symbol keys are smaller.
Doro have a range of static and mobile phone offerings, they also have devices aimed at the less mobile and visually and audibly impaired. Here two devices for people who are hard or hearing or maybe even the totally deaf.
A lot of recent phones just do not have the volume levels attached to the old units. Some of the fancy tones sound great but can merge into the background if you have the TV or Radio on. Here is a solution useful for all. It is 17.5x13x3.5cm, mine was white. All you need is a mains plug. You do not need to attach it to the phone circuit just place the lead near to you phone so it can hear it ringing. You choose if you want sound only, strobe light and sound or just strobe light.
Back to Hong Kong for two further USB items, the first a Skype (or other VOIP handset) that is shaped just like an old BT handset. The second a USB stick that is made from a set of three dice, either would make ideal presents.
Blu-ray players used to be rather expensive. Now a unit costs less than its predecessor and has more functions. So smaller neater cheaper and more functionality seems to be the way to go with the latest model from Sony.
Sony Blu-ray BDP-S370 is 43x23x3cm and weights only 1850grams with the hard wired 1.5metre long mains lead included in the weight. The rear of the unit has mains lead entry point, Ethernet port, Audio and Video out, Component out, HDMI, Coaxial, Optical and USB. The sides top and base are free of sockets while the front has another USB socket on a 1cm shelf protruding just four buttons, on the left on/off, in the centre open, play and stop. Not quite enough to control the unit.
This is I believe the first such product from a known name yes the Powermat was earlier at 10-1-10 but for me anyway Powermat was not a known name whereas Duracell are known for their various types of batteries.
The mat is 20x16cm and apart from the left edge is only .2cm thick. It consists of twelve mirrored 1cm wide strips with .2cm gaps between them. The power adapter fits in the top end of the wider/thicker left strip and protrudes by 3cm at the top of the mat. The lead is 1.5metre in length and ends in a slightly larger than normal 13amp plug that holds the power adapter. There are five very thin 2cm round rubber feet under it just to lift it off the desk/table or whatever you sit the mat on.
It was March when I had a chance to wander round the Focus show with a pre production version of this DSLR unit. Now in late autumn I finally get to look at the boxed version and to try all the G2 has to offer for real.
It is 12x8x12.5cm and weights a tad over 600grams. Normally these units are supplied with a 14-55mm lens here it was a 14-42mm one. Deliberately when it first arrived I did not read the manual, I did not investigate the potential, I just turned the wheel to ‘Auto’ and took images, and I then pressed the video button and took videos. Card out and the results were okay. But what a waste, if you have a wonderful unit such as this read the manual and try things out.
Chilli Technologies have produced a head cam ideal for wide angle shots for those times when you do not have an available hand such as cycling. The second is a mouse that does not require desk space to function this from Brando in Hong Kong.
The camera is 9x4x3.5cm and weights 130 grams when mounted on the tiny platform attached to a 3cm wide elastic band to fit round your head. The controls are simple an orange button on the top of the camera turns it on, press that button again and it starts to record, press it again and the recording stops. Press and hold the orange button to turn the unit off. There is a second small orange button under a 1.
Not the absolute latest Camcorder from Sony, but this current version will do everything that most will want. A hard disc to record to, great video in full HD and the ability to take still images at a size that can be reproduced at A4.
The Sony HDR-XR155E measures 11.5x6.5x5.5cm and weights 345grams. With the TFT display open you add 8cm to the width. The TFT can be rotated through 270°. While there are controls on the unit almost everything can be done by touch using the TFT itself and this includes zooming.
The vast majority of items I tell you about are sent for review, however just occasionally I purchase something myself as here with this Currys Essential Upright Freezer that replaces a unit that reached end of life.
I am not sure how old my previous offering was, certainly thirty years so when its red warning light started to come on telling me the temperature was too high I knew the time had come to look around. Placing a thermometer inside got a figure of only around minus 13c but at least it kept working although it was running constantly to maintain that. I checked the local independent shops as well as the likes of Comet and Currys.
This is a small Camcorder weighing little more than the budget Flip type units. However this unit has all the abilities of a Camcorder but is small and light so easy is easy to slip into a pocket or bag and is easy to use.
When closed The Samsung C20 camcorder measures 10.5x5.5x3.5cm. The left side hinges out by 9.5cm to provide a TFT screen of 6x3.5cm and this can rotate through 270 degrees. The diagonal measurement of the TFT screen is 2.7inches. The top has the wide angle/telephoto rocker and beside this a button to capture still images, the back has one of two start capturing buttons mounted on a door behind which are an AV socket, mini USB and DC power input.
Your PC or Laptop is working fine with one exception you are rapidly running out of hard disc space. Simple answer get a larger hard disc but this means starting again from scratch reinstalling everything again, or does it?
With a desktop PC you probably have another drive bay but try as you might Windows still prefers to install everything on drive ‘C’. With a Laptop or Notebook you probably do not have room to install a second hard disc. The solution could be to Clone your hard disc onto another larger drive. In theory anyway such software products exist and used correctly they do work, or course you would still need that second drive bay to make this work.
Fancy a large monitor? How about 23 inches? This is a Full HD 1920x1080 offering, what I found surprising as I moved my 20inch panel aside to review the Samsung SyncMaster BX2350 is that it weights around half that of my own smaller panel.
The Samsung measures 55.5x33x2cm. The stand is an inverted ‘V’ shape 23.5x35cm and it raises the screen 9cm above whatever you place it on. The actual screen area is 50x28cm giving the diagonal 23inch measurement. It can display full HD 1920x1080. One reason that it weights less is that it does not have internal speakers, the main one however is that technology moves on and my five year old unit has far heavier materials both internally, externally, and, in the stand.
While there are many tiny (non powered) 500GB hard drives around this 1GB unit is not one of them, its large and needs its own power but has a range on interesting LEDs and a whole raft of software provided on a CD-ROM.
It is 18x17x4.5cm, the first figure the depth is when cables are plugged in. The unit weights 1135grams and it is shiny black in colour. Why do not manufacturers make such unit a non shiny colour so that fingermarks are not a problem? The front has a small square on/off button and when off it appears to have three small graphics to its right to show full, half full or empty. In fact when on there are a line of blue square LEDs that show the amount of free space on the drive.
Two items from Oregon Scientific one firmly in their Wellness range and other for relaxation so this loosely fits in. First a Heart Rate monitor that does far more than just check the rate. Second a Soothing Sounds clock that can also be used to play from an MP3 of iPod.
Oregon make several different Heart Rate Monitor, unlike a blood pressure monitor that has a single job of measuring your blood pressure the various heart rate monitors can check your rate before, during and after exertion. The other difference is that a blood pressure monitor is attached and used while the heart rate monitor is worn all the time. So a fast walk or run should produce a vastly different reading to a slow walk or sitting reading a book or doing the vacuuming.
First let me admit I am a frustrated drummer, second as regular readers will know I am a big jazz fan. However life does not always/sometimes/hardy ever give you what you want, here however for £25 I can enjoy myself.
This is a multi function unit (it has fax). It is almost all cream in colour apart from a black band and black vertical paper tray. As an All In One it would cost less, if anyone out there still uses fax either at home or in a small business write a comment.
The Canon Pixma MX340 is 44x41x32cm with paper loaded in the rear vertical tray. There are a total of 27 buttons on the front edge (12 are redundant if you don’t use fax) either side of the two line black on grey display. Let’s start with copying; this can be done from within Windows or direct from the unit that does not even require the PC to be connected. A one off black A4 page took 10 seconds while in colour the time taken was 25 seconds.
Get used to it as it will not go away Christmas is coming and this rather special DAB radio would make an ideal gift based on the Evoke 1S it has a rather high quality finish and look. This is certainly a gift that will be in constant use.
It is 21x8x15cm and weights 1524 grams. The top has a nice solid grab handle but unless you purchase the optional ‘charge pack’ that allows it to be run on batteries I doubt it will move around much. The top also has 65cm seven piece rod aerial gold in colour. Overall the unit is covered in black leather with the corners having black plastic padding for extra protection. Both sides are clear as is the base apart from four chunky feet.
Frying Pan, Saucepan and Pressure Cooker all from Tefal. The first one of the range bearing Jamie Olivers name. All were replacing antiquated items and as with most decent new products you wonder why you waited to renew.
This was actually a gift but as I used two previously it replaced one that was bowed by heat so it gave a poor contact and the other was less than perfect in the non stick department. So two pans recycled and a bit more kitchen space. This is either 23 or 26cm depending on if you measure the base or the rim of the pan. It weights 890grams. A very heavy grade so it would stand a gas ring.
With Christmas want lists abounding one item high on a lot of them will be an electric guitar. Will this be something that is a fad or just possibly is your child a real musician? For £25 the Paper Jamz Guitar may just tell you if you should make the next step.
Unlike a lot of toys this unit has musical ability the fret board covers more than an octave and while initially the child can strum mindlessly to one of three built in tunes there is an in between mode that means they need to time their input correctly. However the real test is when they go ‘freeform’ and then all the work is their own. The maximum dimensions of the unit I had were 80cm long, 35cm wide and 2cm thick. The total weight was around 450grams.
This is a media storage box, but not a normal one that will only work within the local network. You can access data providing youre my Ditto box is connected to your router from anywhere in the world securely using a USB key.
My unit is a dual disc box it is 19x16.5x8cm and weights around 2.6kilos with two discs inserted. Inserting and removing a disc is just a matter of opening a catch and then removing a tray. My unit came with a single 1TB drive. While the power lead was of a good length the Ethernet cable supplied was extremely short. Having two drives would enable you to set up a Raid arrangement.
At a recent event from PC World to showcase Xmas items (sorry yes Christmas is coming) this 22inch TV was the main item that took my eye, quite small in size, light to move yet it still has a 22inch screen and has a DVD built in.
The Logik L22DVDB10 measures 52x32.5x7cm and on an oval stand maximum 30x20cm that raises it 4cm above whatever you stand it onto. The viewable screen is 48x27cm which gives a diagonal viewable size of 21.6inches. It comes with a large five point Quick Start Guide which is well illustrated and should certainly be enough to get anyone up and running.
I always enjoy the occasions I get to look a DSLR unit. This will always be the pinnacle for any amateur photographer. It gives you the chance to capture images of the same quality as those who stand around in freezing, wet or hot conditions to capture images professionally.
The Samsung NX10 has one advantage over most DSLR units in that the TFT can be used to view and capture images. There is a very good adjustable viewfinder but anyone coming from a digital camera is often confused/put off by not being instantly able to capture an image with the TFT. Size is of course another thing to get used to as well as the 650gram weight. The dimensions I am giving assume it has the 18-55mm lens attached.
The connection between these items is of course no cable as they are both wireless. The first to give a non wireless PC that capability, and the second to enable devices such as a PDA or phone without a keyboard simular.
The vast majority of modern laptops have wireless. But there are still many PC’s that don’t. Here a USB adapter that updates them. It is small at 3.3x1.5x.5cm, in fact once inserted in a USB port only 2cm of it sticks out. The makers Conceptronic say ‘it is 3x faster and has 6x better range than an 802.11g device’.
Hard drives no bigger than a floppy drive (3.5inch version) are now the norm. What to a man of mature years still takes some getting used to is their capacity is hundreds of time the size and the stack of floppy disk would be huge.
It weights 150grams and will easily fit into a shirt pocket. I was less happy about the colour I was sent as it is close to err pink but I suppose it’s also close to a milky red. It has two white stripes (the GT bit) along the length. It is 11.8x7.5x1.5cm the only connection is a mini USB port towards the front of the left side of the unit. The base and sides are silver grey and each corner of the base has a small rubber foot for stability when on your desk.
If you can be ill or well we accept illness so why not wellness? Here two items from Oregon Scientific a Wake-up Clock and an Ultrasonic Aroma Diffuser both from their new Wellness range of products recently launched.
Having reviewed two versions of a similar device from Philips I thought I knew what I needed to know to get this up and running, up to a point I did but the six pages of the manual that are in English and the Quick Start Guide are both helpful. It is 25x18x10cm. The first 8.5cm is where all the controls are and the last 16.5cm is the shade for the 60watt screw in bulb made interestingly by Philips.
Yes the manufacturers inform me the Modu is the worlds smallest phone. As such it has no keypad all the controls are via the screen. Should you want a keypad or a camera then a sleeve can be purchased. However then its not the worlds smallest phone.
So how small is the Modu? It is 7.2x3.6x.6cm and weights a mere 42grams. It works as I have made several calls from it but making them when you have to input the number is a slow task as you need to highlight each number on the 2x2.5cm screen and then press a key to accept then highlight the next number and press a key to accept. Of course if you are dialling someone in your address book it’s a lot quicker and very little different from a conventional sized phone.
Two different products from Veho although the second can be used as a powering agent for the first. A tiny movie camera probably its best use is for security and a charging unit for all those occasions when portable power runs out.
This is a tiny video camera measuring only 5.5x2x3cm and it weighing a mere 45grams. From the rear there is a strong clip to allow it to be fitted anywhere with something of around 1cm or less for grip. The jaws actually open to 1.5cm. The left side has Micro SD card slot and sound on/off slider. The top has a capture button. The right side has power on/off button. Finally the base has a mini USB slot to charge the internal battery.
To me this looks a very stylish piece of kit. A brushed metal silver grey item with a large touch screen surely a must have for anyone who wants to look the part. However being down to earth my question is does it do the job?
The LG Optimus GT540 measures 10.5x5x1cm and weights 115grams. The viewable screen is 6.5x4.3cm. Below the screen is a single slightly raised sculpted bar that is call, menu and end call dependant on where it is touched. Two soft buttons are above this but still below the screen. The right side has a door behind which is the micro USB connector. Below this the search button and finally the camera button. The left side has volume rocker button.
As more areas prepare to turn their Analogue TV signals off more companies are bringing out HD TV digital boxes, here an offering from Grundig that in my area anyway gives stunning pictures from the three HD channels.
The Grundig GUD300HD Set Top Box is 26x15x4cm and shiny black but as it need not be touched once in position then this does not matter. You will need another 4cm to the second figure the depth to insert cables in the rear of the unit so actual space required is 26x19x4cm. The leads supplied are a fly lead for those who need one or who still want to use Analogue while available and an HDMI lead. You should also be able to connect via SCART but no SCART cable is provided in the box.
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