Publication History For : Paul Smart

Click to see this members public profile

hp officejet 561

HP Officejet 5610

Published in Printers/Scanners on 9 Nov 2005
This is a Multi Function Machine – as opposed to an All In One – simply as it also has a fax built in, so it’s a printer, scanner, copier and fax in a single unit.
To do a full software installation for the takes 850MB of hard disc space it is possible to do a lesser install taking 400MB. I found the full install took around 20 minutes. HP Officejet 5610 The unit is somewhat bigger than some other similar (all in one) units at 44x46x21cm with leads inserted. This - according to HP - is a business machine but it must be close to home/SOHO as the price is reasonable.

Adobe PhotoShop Elements 4

Published in Software on 7 Nov 2005
Assuming you cannot afford PhotoShop then your choice is possibly Paint Shop Pro or perhaps Adobe PhotoShop Elements will do all you require.
If your job is photo editing then you almost certainly use PhotoShop however if your hobby is photo editing then the extra cost may not reachable. Certainly PhotoShop Elements is a step towards the main product. However the learning curve is not as steep and it can be described as the consumers PhotoShop.   Certainly the Organiser module works in such a way that others struggle to offer the same.

iZ and iDog

Published in Entertainment on 4 Nov 2005
More goodies from Dream Toys 2005, this week I have one item very definitely for children and another unit purporting to do more or less the same that will I feel be a hit with adults.

JVC DVD Recorder DR-MH50S

Published in Entertainment on 2 Nov 2005
Having recently reviewed another such unit I immediately knew the difference between entry level and deluxe models, you do pay extra but you get so much more.
You notice the things you did not have immediately, then you realise other goodies that your did not even think about. Basically this is a DVD and Hard Disc recorder and player. On the DVD side it can record to DVD-R, DVD-RW and DVD RAM discs. However I am sure most people will record in the first place to hard disc. This means that you can view and should you wish to keep it you can then dub it to DVD.

Greeting Card Factory V4

Published in Software on 31 Oct 2005
I know I have looked at one or more previous versions of this product and this seems to have a lot more than earlier versions.

Two More Xmas Gifts For Kids

Published in Entertainment on 27 Oct 2005
These two are remote control items one for use on water and one on land. However the good start in my previous review is not totally equalled here.
Firstly I will answer my cryptic comment in the opening sentence in that the batteries are not provided. My first is from Impact a working remote control Lifeboat. The second mentions a character called 'Bob' is a large remote control Scrambler, this from Born To Play. Atlantic 75 This product from Impact is stated to be the first that the RNLI have allowed their name to be linked to.
A TV that can run on 12 or 24volts as well as on mains, and a TV with both analogue and digital tuners built in.

Two Microsoft Mice

Published in Laptops/PCs/Apple on 23 Oct 2005
Interested in a laser mouse, or maybe, a wireless optical mouse suitable for use on a notebook, then you may find what you want here.

Kids love Pets

Published in Entertainment on 20 Oct 2005
The real things however need feeding, watering and in a lot of cases exercise. Here they are certainly low maintenance an occasional battery is all they need.
Not unique - but still quite rare - are printers that not only can print text and photographic images but also print direct onto CD’s the Epson R220 does it all.

The Idaptor

Published in Entertainment on 16 Oct 2005
This is certainly the best Freeview adapter I have used, it is also the smallest, the easiest to setup and probably one of the cheapest, if case you are unsure I liked it.
    Unbelievably it is only a maximum of 8x7x2cm and it fits into the SCART socket on the back of your TV. It simply is an enlarged SCART plug, it comes with a power adapter and a small IR adapter so you can change channels from your armchair with the supplied remote. Definitely a product where the parts are bigger than the whole.

Vonage Phone Adapter

Published in Phones on 13 Oct 2005
This offers a very similar service to that I reviewed earlier this year, the main difference is that this is a portable service and can be connected to any standard router.
lexmark P315 printe

Lexmark P315

Published in Printers/Scanners on 11 Oct 2005
Do you print photos? If so then you might consider the Lexmark P315 but it is solely a photo printer, if you want 15x10cm images printed without a PC being involved this could be for you.
Outwardly this looks like many other such units from the other inkjet printer manufacturers. It is 24x22x17cm with paper waiting to be printed. Unlike most other printers of this type it has no possibility to be connected to a PC as it solely has connections for various card types and 'Pict Bridge' cameras.

Alba Entry Level DAB Radio

Published in Entertainment on 9 Oct 2005
Yes this is cheap ‘money wise’, however it is well constructed and gives a good clear crisp sound, for those entering the DAB market this could be a good starting point.
It looks like a normal radio with a telescopic rod aerial and a nice carrying handle, it could be used on batteries (6 'C' cells) or more likely on mains. It is 23x16x7cm and weights 1.35 kilos without batteries so it is not flimsy.   The first difference anyone new to DAB will notice is that there are no dials or knobs only a total of 16 buttons and a 6x1.5cm display.

Dream Toys 2005

Published in Entertainment on 7 Oct 2005
The annual show that tells the UK what the top selling toys will be this Christmas I paid my annual visit to this one day event this week, below is a summery of what I hope to tell you about in detail over the next few weeks.

ZyXEL 660HW

Published in Laptops/PCs/Apple on 4 Oct 2005
Earlier this year I reviewed an excellent Ethernet Modem from ZyXEL, how will a combination modem/router and wireless router perform?

Dvico Tvix Multi Media Player

Published in Entertainment on 3 Oct 2005
If you have content, video, images or MP3 that you wish to view on your TV then this product could well be the answer.

Belkin Surgemaster F9M820UK2M

Published in Misc on 30 Sep 2005
Outwardly it may look like just another surge strip however it has a very nice extra feature. This is not the ‘up to £175,000’ you could claim if it should fail to do it’s job.

McAfee 2006

Published in Software on 27 Sep 2005
You know autumn can’t be far away when various companies start releasing 2006 products. Here I am looking at two from the McAfee Consumer Range.
epson dx3800 printe

Epson Stylus DX3800

Published in Printers/Scanners on 25 Sep 2005
This is one of a growing band of multi function units often called All In Ones, it is an inkjet printer, a scanner and a colour copier, best of all it takes up the space of only one unit.
This is 42x45x14cm with paper input and out trays extended. It is cream with a grey lid for the scanner. To install everything took only 10 minutes on a reasonably fast PC, very little intervention is required once you have decided what to install as the software installations are linked. It took 435MB of hard disc space.
alba RDVD1001 dvd recorde

Alba DVD Recorder RDVD1001

Published in Entertainment on 22 Sep 2005
A sub £100 DVD Recorder not so very long ago you would not have found many DVD players in that price bracket.
This is quite large at 41x41x7cm with cables inserted. Several units I have seen are thinner and certainly less deep but they do cost considerably more than the Alba. I was very pleasantly surprised at how easy this was to setup. Plug in the aerial and the SCART lead and turn on. It then scans channels and finds not only the five terrestrial but also my cable channel even though it was switched off.

Compaq Presario SR1519

Published in Laptops/PCs/Apple on 20 Sep 2005
Some people maybe surprised that the Compaq range was not quietly dropped after the merger with HP. However what are produced look very different from the HP offerings and certainly have there own identity.

Mobile Content World

Published in Phones on 19 Sep 2005
A conference and show held last week at London Olympia, I listened to a lot of the conference and spent some time in the exhibition.

Microsoft Student

Published in Software on 15 Sep 2005
I have for many years written articles for education – not to be confused with edutainment – and this offering from Microsoft could well be a big assistant to the student.

HP PSC 1510

Published in Printers/Scanners on 13 Sep 2005
This is a multi function unit often called an ‘All In One’ as it prints, copies and scans. Over the recent months I have reviewed different models from the same range the HP 1410 and 1610 so now the 1510.

Goodmans GPS185DAB

Published in Entertainment on 11 Sep 2005
This looks like lots of larger CD/Cassette/FM/AM radio units of a few years ago, there is of course a bonus and that comes in the form of DAB.
This is not by any means a small unit, a little smaller than the ghetto blasters that ruined the shoulders of many a youth and the hearing of those that came into contact. It is 34x22x12cm. It can be run on batteries but as it takes 8x'C' cells this would make it somewhat expensive to run.

HP R817 Digital Camera

Published in Cameras on 8 Sep 2005
This is small and this is powerful, on the face of it ideal for a pocket or purse. Not only is this a 5 mega pixel unit but the lens also supports 5x optical zoom.

Ministry Of Sound MP3 Headset

Published in Entertainment on 6 Sep 2005
Given that you are paying something for the name, and something for the novelty I suppose £49.99 may not be that much for a headset, oh did I say it has an integrated MP3 player.
The main problem is that it is only 128MB and that means two hours of decent MP3 and around twice that should you approve of WMA. Yes everything is in the rather simple over ear headset. It looks rather like a headset provided with a lot of MP3 players a year or so ago. The difference is that the left earpiece has two rocker controls, a small jack socket for a USB lead and an LED.

Jabra and Bluetooth

Published in Phones on 4 Sep 2005
Jabra was a name new to me, they do headsets and speakers for use with Bluetooth mobile phones, however when I looked around in various mobile phone shops I see their name is quite widespread.
Here I am looking at one from their range of headsets and a speaker system useful in the car or office again using Bluetooth.   Jabra BT205 This is a small and light it weights less than 25grams, it fits behind the ear and gives you four hours of continuous talk time. The unit is black and silver and 8cm wide to accommodate the microphone and a total of 8cm long for the controls that sit at the rear of the unit.

JVC DVD Digital Cinema System

Published in Entertainment on 2 Sep 2005
This is big it is also heavy and the box it comes in would probably rate as deluxe accommodation by a homeless person. The main box does even contain the DVD player only it’s speakers and sub woofer.