Publication History For : Paul Smart
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Regular readers will know that I first saw this at the Toy Fair in January and it was one of the items I requested to review as and when available, now it has arrived from Gizoo.
While it can - and does - fly outside a good space away from anything breakable is required indoors to avoid problems. I would suspect the reason it scared Andy's wife was not because of anything else other than the threat of breaking items. The full comment from Andy on my Dream Toys report was "I've used the Remote Flytech DragonFly, I crashed a few times at the start but soon got in to it, GREAT fun but scared my wife ha".
Here I am looking at not one but two mice from Kensington, the first a traditional desktop rodent. The second a smaller wireless offering primarily for notebook users. Both rodents are optical so no balls to pick up the dust and grit.
Ci20 Optical mouse My first joy on receiving this rodent was that it was in a box so no need for the industrial scissors. It is jet black with two grey stripes down the sides. 12cm long 6cm wide and a maximum of 3.5cm tall. On first glance it is a conventional 3 button offering but the left side has two more making it one of the 5 button variety.
I love music but I am no musician, however this Casio keyboard with all its learning modes would certainly give me the best chance to at least grasp the rudiments of music.
Around twenty years ago I got an old Casio keyboard and that is exactly what it was a keyboard and little else. This top of the range offering is a world away from that. It is a five octave keyboard but what lies behind the keyboard is the guts of the unit. It is 95cm long, 34cm deep and 3cm tall at the front increasing to 13cm at the back.
This is a widescreen panel that is also a dock for your iPod allowing you to charge and or play it while working at your PC. Just like the Swiss army knife this has more much more.
For regular readers the is basically the same unit as I but as that was a 19inch panel it's maximum display size was 1440x900 while this 22inch one can display 1680x1050. Viewsonic VX2245 reviewed on the 6/6/07 The overall dimensions are 52x38x6cm and it weighs a little over 6kilos. I remember my first 17inch monitor if you moved it you certainly had somewhere nearby to put it down again.
Wind up radios have been around for a while, Solar power has been usable abroad, now with global warming they become viable here, combining the two could suit the UK.
, as this is the ultimate green product it is no surprise that it is a green colour. It is 7x5x8cm and weights only around 200grams. It may come in other colours as the packaging shows a white unit. This is a rectangular unit The front is a grill mesh with a 4cm circular speaker behind it. The top has a small five piece rod aerial that extends to 22cm and 4.5x3.5cm solar panel. The left side has circular volume control and earbud input.
This device shaped like a letter Y is a two port USB hub but and heres the difference - it is also a 2GB stick/pen drive, so data can be stored on it from the PC or from the devices you connect to the Yego.
It is 8cm in length a maximum of 4cm wide at the top of the 'Y' and only 1.5cm wide. The one I saw was green and white and with a green LED in the shape of the 'Y' when connected. It has a small connecter in the trough of the 'Y' to allow attaching to a keyring. So a device only slightly larger than a pen/stick drive has a second use as a USB stick. Memory gets smaller and cheaper but here it has a second use.
This is grey and cream in colour inkjet printer. Its rather low slung and could even be acceptable in the lounge. Also, it is quite quiet when in use, even in economy mode.
The Hewlett Packard is 43x35x14cm, paper is stored face down in the base and delivered face up on top of the paper storage tray so no extra space is required. There is also a built in 15x10cm paper tray that photo paper can be left stored (face down) in and only when you select photo tray is it moved back into place. After printing of the 15x10 photo images it is moved forward out of the way. In fact the whole paper storage on the D5160 is quite novel.
Like a lot of recent camcorders this records to mini (8cm) DVDs either DVD-R or DVD-RW. This is the lowest specified of three almost identical offerings but dont let that put you off.
It seems strange to call a 30x optical zoom entry level but of the three in this grouping it is. I took both movie and still images with the and was perfectly happy with both. Canon DC201 It is 13x8x4.5cm and it's weight is around 400grams. The recording method is not the old fashioned tape or by hard disc but by DVD's. It works with both 'R' and 'RW' DVD's. However this model can also support DVD-R DL (dual layer for added recording time).
This is a rather special USB cable with some rather clever software that over the coming months and years is likely to be in much demand as people realise they have information on their PCs that needs to be transferred to another.
So what is in the packaging? A 2.4metre USB cable with a clever dongle in the centre and a mini (8cm) CD as well as a few leaflets. Both the copy of the instructions on the CD and the paper version go to four small sides. My normal rant about Belkin packaging applies. You need a large strong pair of scissors and a strong pair of gloves if you are not going to suffer nasty cuts from the plastic as you try to detach the cable and CD from the packaging.
This is certainly a camera small enough to slip into a shirt pocket, however do not let its lack of size make you think it is just another near entry level offering, it has hidden secrets.
The is 9x5.5x2cm maximum measurements. When you zoom in the lens does not move out and the zoom is handled internally working rather like a periscope. The weight even with the metal body is only around 150grams. FinePix Z5 This has a solid feel without being heavy.
This is a small DAB/FM radio with clock. Has this new offering from Alba anything new to offer an already crowded market apart from what Alba always offers lower prices.
This is a grey unit with shiny black front and sides. It is 18cm wide, 16cm deep (with power lead inserted) and 5cm tall. If weight is important the unit - minus the power brick - is around 600grams. The rear has the power brick lead input, beside this is a 3.5 earbud jack and a wire aerial (this is around 1.3metres long). The sides have no controls, the base has two rubber feet at the rear and a label saying designed in Great Britain.
They say that good things are worth waiting for. Well I certainly had to wait for this with a © of 2006 (technically launched in November) and the retail launch in January I received it in May.
As Office 2007 has been available for download or on numerous computer magazine cover discs almost anyone can trial it for sixty days. So this look will not major on what is included. There are various versions but apart from the Basic Student version (Word, Excel, One Note and PowerPoint), there are three other main versions Small Business, Standard and the one I was sent Professional.
Ninja Brain Workout
Published in Software
on
14 Jul 2007
As regular readers will know I am not a huge game player. I do however when time allows enjoy a puzzle or three. Here there are no less than eight programs in the one DVD case.
The first three are all based on one game Sudoku, this in it's printed form now I believe is more popular than crosswords in daily papers and you can print out some versions here. The main differences between the three versions must be minor as they are all the same 'game' even to the extent of all being the most popular nine by nine grid. The look of each however is different and naturally the styles vary.
JVC 32 inch DTV
Published in Entertainment
on
12 Jul 2007
JVC are most known for Camcorders and TVs, finally I have managed to get one of their recent 32inch offerings to tell you about.
It is technically possible to connect a VCR, a DVD recorder, a DVD player, Audio Components, Games Console, Digital Camera and or course a Video Camera from this unit. I have never seen an illustration showing all these connected at one time, however as it has more or less the same external connections as most modern TV's they could probably do so as well. The right side has only four buttons and an input for earbuds.
Having recently looked at the top of the range C520t that seems to do most things. Here is their entry level offering that is exactly what it says a satellite navigation unit.
The unit has one huge plus over it's larger and multifunctional rival, better battery life and should you use it as a cyclist or pedestrian then this is vital. Mio C220 The overall dimensions of the C220 are 10x8x5x2cm and it weights around 150grams. The landscape screen is 7x5.5cm with the largest viewable map area of nearly 5.5cm square when in cockpit mode. Going round the unit the right side has input for an SD card and earbud socket.
Whats to come from Hitachi
Published in Phones
on
9 Jul 2007
On a day without rain in London theres a rarity I heard about technology that will vastly improve what you see on displays such as mobile phones and it will also give longer battery life.
While the basic technology has been around since 1996 it has been vastly improved and now on sale in Japan are mobile phones with the ability to display 864x480 video and still images. I have seen a demonstration that will knock your socks off, still images are brighter, sharper and most of all have a wide viewing angle. As for video that also allows you to watch at angles other than being right straight on to the mobile phone screen.
This product sold by Avanquest in the UK is version seven and looking at the things it does for your PCs health they are divided into seven main sections. Use the various preventative modules and with luck you will keep your PC in good health.
As always before installing any software it is wise to set a system restore point. This done I installed and when offered choices I went for a complete install. However should you want only a partial install (say two or three modules) it is possible. Eight minutes later and 264MB of hard disc used everything is installed.
Do you get a lot of business cards? If so when you transfer the information its so easy to transpose a couple of numbers in a phone number or a couple of letters in a email address. Here help could be at hand.
The is a maximum of 16.5x10x4cm, silver grey in colour and will accept a maximum 10cm width card. It can scan both portrait and landscape cards. While the card unit is easy to use it is only a rather good scanner that enables you to easily scan information from business cards. The all important part is what happens to the details and this is all controlled in software.
This is a MFU (multi function unit) as not only can it copy, scan and print but should you require it then it can also send and receive faxes.
The is cream with grey trimmings and as such may just creep into a lounge. It's dimensions are 44x33x23cm and it weights just over ten kilos. I would describe this as an office machine and as such it is fast but on the other side of the scales it is not cheap. HP PhotoSmart C6180 The units controls are on a sloping front edge - 45% below horizontal - and the 5x3.
A new operating system and a vastly revamped product. Surely now is the time to start learning again and these two books from Apress give the insight it may take you years to learn on your own. Both the books are subtitled Beyond The Manual
Windows Vista The first thing is that there is no manual with Vista - like a lot of other software packages today - help files and even PDF files are not manuals. This is described as a companion and not a crutch. I think this means that while it covers how to, it certainly will not tell you how to use a mouse so you need a working knowledge of Windows.
This is the first dual box that I have seen, great for anyone with a perfectly serviceable tubed analogue TV that only has a single SCART socket; oh thats exactly my situation when not looking at other peoples offerings.
The box is 42x28x5cm and is silver grey in colour. The total weight is around 2.4kilos. The front edge has six silvered buttons and the front left has the DVD tray while to the right of this is a LCD display. Once configured most will probably control the unit with the 47 key remote control. Providing you have a TV with a SCART socket the Alba unit provides everything you will need.
This is the top of the range unit from Mio and the size of screen makes it ideal for use in a car. There are modes for pedestrian and bicycle but the size and short battery life make these unsuitable.
Within a few hours of the arriving I had fully charged it and taken it for a drive. To start with without altering any settings it was telling me measurements in metres and finding the switch to change to miles took a while. I noticed with pleasure that there was plenty of volume at the default setting and in fact it had more in reserve. Mio C520t The unit is 12.5x8x2cm and this allows a screen of 10x5.
Add some good weather to a decent pair of earbuds and a good book and what better way to pass an afternoon or three.
V-Moda VIBE earbuds I would be the first to admit I know very little about Apple but I am told these designer earbuds are the number one seller in Apple stores. These ultra stylish earbuds weigh only 12grams. Of course anyone who purchased an iPod was immediately targeted because of the white earbud leads. These are available in eight colours.
This is a camera by Samsung from their entry level S series of cameras. However it has a number of features that are certainly not entry level but it still can be a point and shoot offering.
The is a maximum of 10x5x6cm (with lens extended) it is only just over 3cm thick with the lens closed. The weight is something under 200grams with the two 'AA' batteries and SD inserted and the wrist strap attached. The SD card is not supplied. The camera itself is silver/grey in colour with a leather type strip for the finger grip. Samsung S800 This is an 8Mege pixel offering with 3x optical zoom.
This is a multi function inkjet printer, so it prints, scans (flatbed and page fed), copies and just for those who still need one, it has a fax.
The is 44x38x25cm and rather boxy by today's standards, it is silver/grey and black. It weights a little less than eight kilos. It is a two cartridge four ink solution. Lexmark X7350 While a lot of recent devices have card slots this only has a Pict Bridge socket. One reason maybe is that it only has a fixed two line LCD display and this is black on blue and not that easy to read at certain angles.
This is an ideal bedroom TV and with the DVD player built in so even when there is nothing to watch live you can always resort to the DVDs.
I was somewhat surprised that no aerial is supplied with the / . If like me the bedroom is just too far away from the roof aerial then a portable one has to be used. While the image they give is normally far from ghost free the quality in most cases will be watchable. Bush LCD DVD combination I first tuned the unit in my lounge using the loft aerial. Next I moved it to the bedroom and found a couple of portable aerials.
Cross Racing Championship
Published in Software
on
17 June 2007
I do not get to see that many games but now and again it is nice to regress and see just what originally tempted me to a life in computers. I think my first foray was with a Commodore Pet, however a Tandy model 1 was my own first PC.
This is a rallying game over a range of surfaces using a range of cars. It was originally produced by Invictus and while the 210 seconds from initial load to being ready to start has a lot of good graphics you will be pleased to know that most of it can be cut out.
This is not a SELPHY but a Pixma but it only prints 15x10cm images. It looks rather like a projector or a fan heater of a few years ago rather than a printer, however the images it produces are good.
The is 22.5x22x7.5cm and weights 2.2kilos. It is white with gun metal blue sides. A carry handle pulls out from the back allowing it to be easily moved but this is a mains only unit so the power brick and lead need to come with you.
A name that has been in consumer electronics such an keyboards, watches and even handheld computers for many years but they are also a name in digital cameras.
While 7.2mega pixel may be considered by some manufacturers to be 'entry level' the extras within the unit make this far from the case here. Casio EX-Z75 It is 10x6x1.7cm when closed add another 2cm for the lens extension when ready to shoot. It is silver grey and weights less than 150grams.
This is a widescreen HD ready TV but it does not have Freeview built in (they do another model that does £50 more) so this is ideal for anyone with Sky, Cable or a PVR with Freeview.
Although the screen size of this is 26inches the surrounds make it seem somewhat bigger the external dimensions are 81x46x11cm with a rectangular stand raising it around 2.5cm from whatever you stand it on. Should you prefer wall mounting a kit is supplied. The base is 48x20cm. Evesham Alqemi TV The stated screen size is 26inches made up by 57x32cm however a lot of the programs broadcast have a 1.75cm area top and bottom blank making it often 57x28.
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