Publication History For : Paul Smart
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To be precise this is a Micro SD Card but it does come with an SD card holder so it could be used as an SD should you so wish. Being old my mind boggles at the size (capacity) of these tiny items. I well remember the first consumer hard drives they were heavy took a full size 5.25 inch drive bay and the capacity was 10MB.
About two years ago the size of Micro SD card acceptable to recent mobile phones started to rise and before this unit arrived the largest I had to test was 64GB now I can check claims with this 128GB offering that without the SD card is small enough to get easily lost and of course at this sort of capacity is both expensive and perhaps could contain a great deal of information not easily immediately recreatable. So most of my tests have been with a range of recent mobile phones.
All In One PC’s are not exactly new but here is a large screen offering that is equipped with lots of good features and even includes a Thunderbolt 3 socket as well as HDMI in the latter ideal for you to attach a PVR for those after work hours watching.
The screen is 63x39x2cm the stand is fixed and raises it by 10cm from your desk. The stand is in the shape of a ‘V’ with 13cm being behind the screen, the sides of the ‘V’ are 33cm long which means it needs a total of 25cm from back to front of desk space. The notional diagonal imperial screen measurement is 27inches.
While the desk version recently reviewed is small enough to tuck away when not required this is a far larger offering that would certainly dominate any environment that it would sit in as it is close to one metre tall but it will cool a larger area.
There are two distinct sections and the top area can cool one area and the lower section another, it can be used statically or rotating through a 90 degree arc. The unusual thing is that the top can be twisted to a separate position than the lower part so two static areas or even two different 90 degree sweeps can be produced from the same unit. It is 97cm tall and 15cm across apart from the base that is 28cm across.
This is a complete Karaoke system that you can hold in your hand, that is the music on micro SD card, the microphone and the speaker and because it has a solid rechargeable battery you do not even need mains power with this unit.
It can also connect to your mobile phone via Bluetooth so whatever music is on your phone can be relayed to you to – in my case anyway – damage beyond recognition with your voice. However it is not all bad news it could be used as a microphone in an area where more volume above a normal voice is required. It can also connect to your mobile phone via Bluetooth so whatever music is on your phone can be relayed to you.
The answer is not seven, but it is a phone that is getting a lot of attention and the launch held recently took me to the Copper Box Arena in Queen Elizabeth Park near Stratford, a new Overground Station was almost complete and when finished will surely make this a venue of choice for people wanting to hold a worldwide launch, this was a venue I had never visited although the park itself got a couple of visits just before the 2012 Olympics.
This is a big phone without it looking as big as it is. 15.5x7.4x.7cm may not sound large but the notional diagonal imperial screen measurement is 6.3 inches. The front screen has the top line of messages, time, battery state, Wi-Fi etc. split into two halves by the front camera this can be got rid of in settings but of course this would reduce the total size to under 6 inches.
Having recently told you about the Teufel One M (May 2nd 2018) here I am looking at its much smaller sibling that still possesses almost all of its facilities but as it is far smaller just with a somewhat smaller volume output but it’s still rather nice.
It also has one big plus over its larger sibling it is a lot cheaper. The One S is 18cm across at the front and 14cm across at the back, it is 18.5cm tall at the front and 15cm tall at the back and 8.5cm thick. The speakers are the front and sides of the unit. At the rear near the base are seven buttons and inputs in a line. The top has a line of nine not that easy to read buttons the pale grey markings are on a black background and only really clear in a good light.
This is a column fan described as a ‘Mini 15ʺ Desk Fan’ but it also works just as well on the floor, any fan is likely to disturb papers and while this at lower levels did not do this the rotating action of the unit is likely to catch the eye when on a desk.
The fan is round at 4 inches diameter and not surprisingly 15 inches tall, the vents are between 5 and 12 inches from the base and the five wide openings are spread over 2 inches and are five deep so a total of 25 vents, each is 2/10th of an inch wide and around an inch deep they are slightly staggered.
Those of us of a more mature persuasion remember the first mobile phones, they did one job making and receiving calls, they were huge and you probably got various strains from carrying them around. Now for those who want a simple phone that does far more and weights very little the phone I am looking at here could be the answer.
The Maxcom Classic 330 measures 12.6x5.6x1cm and weighs 111grams. The viewable screen is 6.5x4.8cm which gives the notional diagonal imperial screen measurement of 3.2inches. While it can make and receive calls it also has a torch, 5MP camera, FM radio and can take a micro SD card up to 32GB to store multimedia. Going around the outside of the phone has only two connections both on the top the Micro USB connection to charge the unit and a 3.5mm headphone socket.
This is second Watch from Huawei that I have tried the first was just over a year ago in March 2017. So how has this developed and devolved over the last year, it certainly linked with my phone almost instantly and means my phone can remain in my pocket when in areas that I would rather not remove it while out and about.
The watch is circular at 4.2cm across and chunky at 1.4cm thick with the supplied strap the total weight is 57 grams. Both the watch and strap are what they call carbon black. The watch can be used using Bluetooth connection from your phone – the way I used it – or you can insert a Nano Sim in the watch so that it does everything itself. There is a 10.5x7cm Quick Start Guide in eleven languages the first eight pages are in English with adequate illustrations.
A rather nice 27inch panel from Philips, which should be able to give you 2560x1440 resolution which is that step up from the default offering these days of 1920x1080. It has a good colour gamut and shows well in a whole range of lighting conditions.
The panel is 62x37x1.7cm and the stand 23x20cm raises it by between 4 and 17cm from your desk. The viewable screen is 60x34cm which gives the notional diagonal imperial measurement of 27inches. The line of connections on the rear are Digital, HDMI, Display Port and VGA, there is a 3.5mm audio input for VGA as well as headphone output socket, all these are on the left side of the unit with the kettle style power lead entering on the right rear side there is also a flip up on/off switch.
For those who already have a coffee machine of choice this unit can give you the froth you sometimes want to get the perfect Latte or Cappuccino or even should you want it - cold frothed milk - it is quick and easy to use and works even with semi-skimmed milk.
It is a round jug with a push fitting clear Perspex lid, the whole unit fits into same size base which means that the jug – minus the base – is able to be fully washed in whatever way you normally do. It is 10cm across and 17cm tall. The inside is impressed with Min and Max fill markers. There is a handle connected to the top so you can pour and or spoon the contents once creamed into the cup or cups.
Having recently reviewed the Huawei P20 I immediately noticed so many of the same features on the Honor 10 which as both brands are in the same ownership is perhaps not that surprising however the Honor 10 is made powdered glass to make it shiny and move its back in the light and it shimmers like satin.
The Honor 10 SmartPhone looks a lot like the recent Samsung Galaxy S9 and others who have held both together struggle to tell them apart when blindfolded. Someone has done the maths and worked out that the viewable screen is 78% of the front and as a landscape fingerprint sensor is also on the front that does not leave much else. The Honor comes with twice the memory that you get with the Samsung and is a lot cheaper.
While this is a Notebook as it has a keyboard it is more likely to be used as a Tablet as the keyboard folds back behind the screen and then you have an excellent touch screen Windows unit that even comes with a stylus for accurate work. If fact the keyboard can even be totally detached should you wish.
The Acer Aspire Switch 5 measures 28x20x.1.5cm and weights 1311grams with the keyboard being 390grams of the total weight. The viewable screen is 35.5x17cm which gives the notional diagonal imperial measurement of 12inches, the screen display is 2160x1440 at the default 150% display.
Are you old enough to remember Ghetto Blasters? Then if you increase the size and weight you have a rough idea of this rectangular box however the sound it gives even from a low level stream from a mobile phone via Bluetooth is well, that vastly over used word WOW.
It is 49x22x31cm, it weighs 9.5kilos and is available in Blue, Red, Orange, Green, Yellow, White, Grey or Black. The one I was sent was Blue. It has a very solid feel and has a black leather carry handle screwed into the top of the unit. You can purchase it with an optional cover and or battery pack, the latter is said to give between 15-20 hours playback time at a good volume level, I was sent the Classic without the options, so the mains lead that is provided needs to be used at all times.
The latest offering from Huawei a company that around two years ago was not heard of outside China, now they have Samsung and Apple worried with their technology and quality at a lower price than their competitors high end offerings.
Unlike the first Huawei unit I saw this is not all about its excellent camera. In its small overall size it packs a lot and while some might find a few minor niggles there are many more plus points. It is 14.9x7x.7cm and weighs 165grams. Its pair of vertically mounted Leica cameras do protrude slightly from the back but the finger print reader is on the front below the screen in a horizontal format. Talking of the screen it is 5.
This device is small but can allow a lot of things that would otherwise cause problems for those who find themselves with a USB ‘C’ port as their only easy method of getting data from either a phone or one of the growing range of Notebooks and Tablets that only have this method of transfer. I found it also worked on the SmartPhones I tested it on.
This small USB 'C' memory card reader measures 5.5x3x1cm and weighs 21 grams. The 3cm depth is increased by 1cm when not inserted as this the amount the USB ‘C’ port sticks out of the back of the hub. I use the word ‘Hub’ as when you first insert it that is what Windows calls it. The box calls it a Type-C Smart Reader but it is actually a quadruple adapter and also has an LED light on its top.
A black leather book with creamy white pages looks very innocent until you open it, red, blue, green, purple and white light emerges in sequence from the pages, yes not a book at all but a light powered by three ‘AAA’ down the spine.
This mood light measures 16x13.5x2cm and weighs 270 grams. Anyone opening this not so little black book is certainly in for a surprise it is held shut by magnets and you need to exert a good force to open it at all. At first I thought there must be some tape holding it shut but no it’s just its magnets. So no addresses, phone numbers or emails of past or present lovers or friends just a light so here the black book has a new twist.
This is a multi-functional pressure cooker as not only can it work as a conventional pressure cooker but also has the ability to be a slow cooker – there’s an oxymoron – cook from frozen ‘to sear’ and according to the book even prepare desserts.
The Morphy Richards MyPot measures 30cm tall and round at 29cm across weighting 3.675 kilos it is stated to handle up to four litres at a time. I remember my grandmother’s pressure cooker it was a good way to redecorate the kitchen as more than once it had a mind of its own and dinner ended up everywhere. My mum had one a generation later and this was more reliable providing you followed the rules and were very careful when the pressure was removed.
While a lot of better mobile phones has decent enough cameras I still get a buzz to test out a proper interchangeable lens camera from a good manufacturer. Here is such an item from Olympus now at M5 iteration II.
The The Olympus E M5 II is not a large unit but is powerful and the images its takes are superb. As always I start in Auto mode while I familiarize myself with everything it can do.
This is a four in one unit as it prints, scans, copies and for those who still use it faxes. However for those wanting to use it via Wi-Fi you can print from any mobile device as well as direct from an SD Card so it’s very versatile.
The Canon Pixma TR 855 measures 43x43x18cm, the last figure is on the left as this is where the page feed mechanism is it is only 14cm tall at the right side. The dimensions given include the 39x8cm front display shelf being raised from vertical (closed) to horizontal, it can be at any angle in between to suit your viewing angle of the 10.5x6cm display mounted in the centre of it. The only other control on it is the on/off button with its LED mounted to the left of the display.
I had read a good bit about this tiny bare board computer that a lot will use for a single purpose. Then I was offered the chance to review one of the new batch that can take the required power from an Ethernet cable which seemed unusual at least.
My computing life goes back before the PC, in fact my first computer was made by Tandy and you had to load the operating system and files from a cassette tape. My first surprise was the lack of size the box it arrives in is 9.5x7x2.5cm and the total weight is 60 grams including the box. The next is that it comes with no instructions only a health and safety sheet.
Not the first sleep aid I have reviewed but this is the easiest to setup and install. As with all these products there is an App easy and quick to download from either the iOS or Android store, then connect once a day to get all the sleep details uploaded.
I know most will leave their phones on but as I still have a landline my phone goes off in the evening and stays off till the next day that’s how I know the data will still be transferred once the link is established even if it not immediately after you rise. In fact I left it off for three days and all the outstanding data was then shown.
While I must confess to already being a convert to Nest as I have their Smoke Alarm/Carbon Monoxide detector their Indoor Camera was new to me having been brought to my attention by an on the ball PR person trawling through previous reviews.
Installation is just a matter of downloading the Nest app from the iOS or Android store, scanning the cameras code and attaching the supplied USB lead to the supplied USB fronted plug, the link takes place and you can then view the camera output on your phone. One big advance over some other cameras is that this offering from Nest knows the difference between ‘motion’ and ‘person’.
Let’s make no great claims for this phone it’s cheap and while it looks good perhaps it should be regarded as a spare or emergency phone, it’s slow to react and load and perhaps the best thing about it is the Vodafone service which is good.
However while I often struggle to find bad points to say about a device here it is no problem, looking for good points is harder, well lets see, solid and cheap. It is 14.5x7x.9cm and weighs 168grams. Screen shutdown is 4 seconds but activity is still happening, Bootup is poor at best it is 57 seconds. The viewable screen is 8.2x11.1cm which gives the notional diagonal imperial measurement of 5 inches; the display is 480x854 with a low ppi of 196.
If you are a small business or even a sole trader then accepting card payments is difficult or more likely near impossible, the card companies often set rather high barriers. However a company called Square in the UK have an offering that works with a £46.80 Card Reader and your mobile phone and you even get your money next day.
I saw this small device demonstrated at a briefing in London at the end of May. The customer touched the card on their reader it links via the phone and a beep on the device says the transaction is completed, all data is sent encrypted and next day the money arrives in the vendors account. Apart from the £46.80 (Inc. VAT) all you the vendor pay is 1.75% per transaction and there is no minimum charge. So if you sell some flowers for £20 you receive £20 – 1.
This was actually announced over a year ago but due to a change of agency it was only when sometime later I spoke with them that one was forthcoming. The reason for speaking was another such printer recently reviewed from another manufacturer.
ZINK technology means no ink so the shiny white paper looks just like ordinary photo paper used in standard printers but of course it is not. The unit is 11.5x7.5x2.2cm and it weighs 183 grams. It has an internal battery that is recharged by supplied micro USB to USB lead. The HPSprocket app is downloadable from the iOS or Android store and connection is via Bluetooth. In the small box is the Sprocket and a sample pack of 10 sheets of the special paper.
Anyone who spends a good amount of time gaming needs a fast PC/Notebook good connection speed a detailed - good resolution – panel and extremely good hearing and communications, this latest headset from Sennheiser can take care of the last mentioned.
With no extension in the cups the distance from the lower edge of the cup to the base of the padded headband is 16cm and as there is up to 4cm of extension in each arm this can be increased to 20cm so it should suit any head from an older child to a large headed person. With the pads parallel and fully extended the distance between them is 17cm and fully contracted it is 13cm. The total weight of the headset is 378 grams.
This is an electric shaver and beard trimmer that has everything in ‘one blade’ it is usable wet or dry. The recent trend for a lot of shavers it to go multiple blades, what the first misses the second will get etc. Here is a slim and light unit.
It weighs only 96grams 16cm long and roughly 2.5cm square for all but the last 2.5cm where the neck starts to turn to give the shaving angle. My unit very dark grey back and front with a ridged lime green rubberised colour on both sides so it is very grippy when wet.
A new name to me but I got up at the crack of dawn – or what is the crack of dawn to me at my age – and travelled through the London rush hour for a briefing held at a house in the Kings Cross area of London to get to know their products, I liked what I saw and in time you should hear about three of the items I saw, first an overview of their whole range.
If you have a decent bicycle you will know that keeping it safe from being stolen is not easy and in the back garden of the house I saw a number of locks that would defy almost all thieves and send them looking for an easier target. These range from locks and chains to multi sided metal that will make bolt cutters small enough to carry ineffective. They have locks with key entry so small that picking them would only work in TV programs.
Maybe suitable as a phone for a younger child because every action is monitored, once older although it has good intensions I doubt the child will allow their parent or guardian to know their exact whereabouts all the time.
The purpose is to protect the child from being bullied and while in my day the bullying was done face to face nowadays it seems to be done predominately online and this phone has a large range of words – some I have never heard of – that it will not allow to be used without being reported. The Phone itself is a rather nice 5.5inch screen running Android 7 with an overlay which is called "The PhoneCloud Control Panel" that you are unable to close even should you want to.
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