Publication History For : Paul Smart
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This is the top of the range electric shaver from Braun. In September I attended a presentation which included a section by satellite from Los Angeles and as this was quite early in the morning in the UK it must have been the middle of the night there.
SyncroSonic Technology is what Braun have developed in their shaver but before I cover that a few more thoughts from Dr Michael Breus in Los Angeles who has a very interesting book The Power Of When which tells you how and what to do when having told the assembled journalists about the best way to start the day I asked about the end of the day and he said Blue Light was bad when trying to promote sleep he suggested red light but I am sure he was not suggesting a visit to a house of ill repute an
A long weekend in Glasgow in late November was not high on my list of places to visit, nothing against Glasgow or Scotland but the week previously it had been -10 degrees in Glasgow so armed with my long johns I ventured north of the border.
Let’s get the weather out of the way it was cold but not below freezing, it was dry with no rain or snow, some free time Saturday afternoon saw a visit to a Distillery not far from Glasgow, and while I do not drink alcohol I found the tour interesting and when we were returning to Glasgow after the visit there was the most amazing sunset. The nine notebooks come from four ranges Swift, Spin Convert, Detachable Switch and Cloud Book Aspire One 11.
This product has been around in one form or another since the CD-ROM first started to appear in PC’s. Other companies have come and gone but Nero has only undergone a name change and of course it now does so much more than oversee the burning of media.
Rip & Burn was possibly why people first purchased Nero, certainly I still use the Burning ROM feature at least weekly, Nero Express, Nero Disc to Device and Nero Cover Designer completes the Red section of the Home Screen all under the Rip & Burn entry. A Turquoise Blue column has Nero Media Home and Nero Media Browser under the Manage & Play entry.
This is a Bluetooth Speaker sold by a company from the Isle of White. To confuse everyone the company making the product is Lexon who as far as I know is French, so what has this turquoise blue unit got to offer listening wise.
The Lexon Tykho Booster measures 24x8x7cm, weighs 705grams and is covered in rubber so should be water resistant to a point where a shower of rain should be OK. This does not mean it should be left outside as it is not designed to be water proof.
This Toshiba unit should be available in sizes up to 8TB by the time you read this. I was sent the 6TB offering as the 8TB has been delayed from the initial launce briefing earlier this year 34 floors up the Shard near the supposedly soon to be finished London Bridge station.
While the Shard is meant to look unfinished I doubt six years ago when they started changing London Bridge station that anyone who suffers it daily thought their ordeal would still be going on.
This is described as a telescope for both sun and moon observation. However as most will know you should NEVER look directly at the sun so this telescope tracks things via your SmartPhone attached to the side of the telescope.
A couple of times a year I get the chance to tell you about special offers being run by ALDI and as always these tend to last only a few days they in fact often sell out sooner than that. I have permission to tell you a day or so in advance so you get the chance to get there on the first day. If that is not possible then you can purchase from them online in advance of the store sale day but be warned online stock often sells out before the day.
The title on the box says Vintage Suitcase Turntable. Which to me anyway makes the suitcase sound vintage, in fact nor is the turntable although until a few years ago when vinyl came back into fashion it would definitely be retro.
This is one of Aldi’s bargain buys that are always on sale until they sell out which could be a week or even much less, often their online stock sells out prior to the on sale day in their stores, so if you want one don’t think about it for too long. The suitcase itself is brown and covered with a leather effect wipe clean plastic.
Both items from a company called tech21, first a case for an iPhone 7 and also for the same device something that Apple devices certainly seem to need a screen protector and this is called Impact Shield Self Heal 4.7 inches.
Protection made intelligent is how tech21 label this case. It makes three claims on the front of the box 3metre 3-layer drop protection, ultra-thin & lightweight and limited lifetime warranty let’s delve deeper into those claims. The case itself stretches over the back and sides of the iPhone and just enough over the front of the unit to hold it in place.
There is often a long interval between requesting an item and it arriving, this is certainly the case here with this well constructed USB external drive. The manufacturer G Drive calls this a mobile USB drive that works on both MAC and Windows.
It is 12.5x8x1.7cm, the length increases by 4cm with the supplied 60cm USB3 cable attached. It weighs 170grams. The stated transfer rate is ‘up to 136MB/s’ according to their website. It is available in 1TB in Black or Grey, 2TB in Black or 3TB in Black as I received. The prices given on their site in dollars are $69, $119 or $179. It is a 5400RPM class drive speed.
Having recently covered a couple of Notebook/Tablet offerings this item from ASUS is different in that the keyboard is detachable so without it it’s a true Windows Tablet and with it then you have a small touch enabled Notebook
The viewable screen is 21.6x13.8cm which gives the notional diagonal imperial measurement of 10.1inches; the default screen resolution is 1280x800 there is a webcam in the centre of the top of the 2cm strip above the screen. It is 1089 grams in weigh made up of 506 grams for the detachable keyboard and 583grams for the screen unit. It feels a little back heavy but it is not unstable, the screen has a positive fit into the back of the keyboard unit at around 100 degrees.
This is a multi-connection easy to use and to setup 24inch flat panel. It is literally open the box clip the connection between the base and back into the back of the panel and then clip the base into that, plug in the leads and you are done, two minutes at most.
This BenQ GW2455H LED monitor measures 57x34x1.6cm; the stand is oval at 24x19cm and raises the panel by 10cm from your desk. The viewable screen is 52x29.5cm which gives the notional diagonal imperial measurement of 23.6inches. There is a line of connections mid-way up the back on an overhang, to the left of the support arm, VGA, Digital and HDMI and to the right the three pin kettle style power input.
Lava Lamps were all the rage about two generations ago, this is a very similar thing in that there is a coloured liquid in the container and towards the base what looks like a layer of sparkly stuff which slowly turns into small craters and then it starts to rise.
The lamp itself can either come in chrome or brass finish mine was the former and the container has very dark blue liquid. Assembly requires an Allen Key (provided) and the container fits into the chrome skeleton and the one fitting holds the skeleton to the container. Just be careful when assembling that the top fits inside the bottom or the two will not be joined. A short 50cm electrical lead is hard wired into the base of the lamp. This then joins the main 1.
Monster might be a brand name but these are large over ear headphones and even when fully compressed I feel they are a little loose and no one has ever told me I have a small head so these are certainly not the headphones for a child.
From a point mid-way between the parallel earpieces to the base of the well-padded headband is 19cm and that is the same distance between the earpieces. The headphones are not light as they weigh 357grams. These are corded and or Bluetooth headphones. The indication as to which ear is in the inside of the ear pad with ‘L’ and ‘R’ in the respective pads. The base of the left earpad has connection for the 3.
There are lots of advantages for Wi-Fi perhaps the most compelling for most will be the lack of trailing wires, so how do you get Wi-Fi to work when you are close or perhaps even just beyond the normal coverage given by your router.
A lot of my sockets are on the shirting board so that means anything that juts out below the plug itself are not directly connectable without the aid of an extension lead. I know newer properties have the standard of all/most plug points being at waist level but a short extension lead in the box would have been useful and in my home anyway most plugs are utilized so a pass through might help those with newer properties. It is 16x8x4.5cm at the base of the unit it is slightly less higher up.
It seems a long time ago when I first looked at one of these devices and they have moved on in what they show and indeed how they show it. For those who do not know it's a screen that shows you the easiest/quickest way to get from A to B and these days so much more. According to some information I was sent they have been around for 25 years.
The TomTom Via62 GPS satellite navigation unit measures 16x10.5x4cm the last figure the amount it will stick out from your windscreen is a minimum figure it can be far more according to the slope on vehicles windscreen. There is a forty page booklet printed in six languages with one fact per page, the first twenty six have helpful information which should enable even a first time user to set things up successfully. The item attaches to your windscreen via a two way sucker mechanism.
The first a rodent for those of us who still have a desktop system or those who just cannot get on with a trackpad on a notebook, the second something that arrived without notice a Waterproof Bag for your mobile phone from MPOW.
When I think of Cherry my mind thinks quality keyboards but then it is not that difficult to think of other peripherals that might be sold in the same way so when I was offered a mouse bearing the Cherry name I tested what it could offer. It is 12cm long 6.5cm wide at the back wasted to 5.5cm in the centre and 6cm wide at the front, at the 5.5cm point it is close to 3cm high and lower elsewhere and only .8cm high at the front, it weighs 130 grams.
Part of a new range of units recently launched, this is currently exclusive to Dixons/Currys and is a unit designed with the student in mind, either those off to university or maybe college, so it has to be a strong unit.
It is 37x25.5x2cm and weighs 2121 grams.
Going around the outside on the left edge are DC input a full size Ethernet port which is achievable by the base of the port flipping down, VGA, HDMI, two USB3 ports and a Kensington lock port. The front is clear. The right side has an SD Card slot, headphone out and a USB port then amazingly a DVD optical drive which like the Ethernet port is squeezed in by being a reduced height unit. The back is also clear with the screen going down to around 140 degrees.
A rather nice 27inch panel from BenQ but while I am not greatly in favour of long names I would have thought of something that flows off the tongue better than EW2775ZH. Still this is about the usability of the unit and not its name.
It is 61x36x2cm and it has a stand that is 31x17cm in the shape of an upside down ‘T’ so only the front 6.5cm is the full 31cm width. It raises the screen by 8.5cm from your desk; there is good back tilt and more front tilt than most units. No side to side movement is available but of course you could turn the whole unit. The now standard claim for most panels is that they can be viewed from 178 degrees from each side.
In past years I have reviewed a number of Doro phones for both house and their specialist mobile phones for those with sight and hearing problems. Here it’s the former category with the accent on connecting other units to the base station.
Why may you ask well I have been contacted by several people who say it’s not as easy as it should be. Doro have made their name on ease of use and while in the past I have just reviewed base units often people want to attach other units to the same line with remote phones. Normally the Doro instructions are ‘bullet proof’ and also clear and easy to read.
However much desk space you have it seems never to enough, if you have a tower or mini tower you can probably move it under the desk, a lot of panels have a USB hub but that still leaves the problem of the keyboard and the mouse.
Here I am looking at a small keyboard and a mouse that looks more like a pen in a holder than the traditional rodent. I laid this on top of my standard keyboard and its about 2/3 the size. The actual dimensions are 28.5x14x.7cm, the last figure is at the key end the back can be up to 3.5cm if you use the tilt supports. It runs on two ‘AAA’ rechargeable batteries which you charge when needed by a retractable USB to micro USB lead (supplied).
If you move around then the most important things with a notebook/tablet are good battery life and unless you spend a good bit of time in the gym the weight of the unit or to be precise the lack of weight, this unit from ASUS ticks both boxes.
This ASUS Zen Book measures 32x22x1.2cm and weights 1344grams. Firstly as a normal notebook the slight copperish tinge to the lid, base and keyboard surround means no nasty fingermarks to show. Sadly this does not apply to the standard shiny black around the screen. The left side has a USB port, SD Card Slot, two pin hole LEDs with explanation, volume rocker and finally on/off button. The front and back are clear. The right side has DC input, USB port, USB 3.1 port, mini HDMI out and 3.
If like me you enjoy a good manual then this unit should make you happy. The manual I saw was in PDF format – sadly not something to read in the bath – and it is 156 pages with 144 pages before the safety and warranty pages, bliss.
If you purchase this unit I assume that the manual will be in print as the camera I had for just one week came without a box just the component parts in bubble wrap. While you might purchase the unit ‘body only’ I was sent an 18-135mm lens with it as the latest 155mm lens is not yet available. Certainly a unit to attach the neck strap to securely as it weighs 1140grams. It is 14.5x12x9cm with the lens collapsed and fully extended it increases the first figure the length to 20.5cm.
This is a portable speaker system that can sound great indoors as well as out. This is a Bluetooth and 3.5mm system that looks stylish and has a battery that lasts well over the claimed eight hours even when playing via Bluetooth.
The Edifer MP700 bluetooth speaker measures 29x10x6.5cm with handle down with handle raised its height is raised from 10cm to 16.5cm, the unit weights 1569grams. My first joy with this unit was that the User Manual was bigger than the safety instruction manual. The second joy was the sound quality initially from 3.5mm lead and once I read the manual – ten small sides – via Bluetooth and later via NFC. While the manual is not large it is clear and has plenty of illustrations.
This machine uses pod coffee from Lavazza and they do a huge range so you should find at least one you like, it also has a fool proof milk frother jug as part of the unit now there is no longer an excuse not to have a perfect Cappuccino at home.
The Lavazza A Modo Mio Fantasia coffee machine measures 32x17x27cm, the last figure needs some extra clearance as the mechanism to insert the pods requires this to be lifted to move the used pods to the internal storage area and this adds around 12cm to the height. Do remember to empty this regularly as it also contains waste coffee from the pod and otherwise it can overflow.
The word convertible brings my mind to cars where the roof opens out and in a way turning a Notebook into a Tablet is much the same transformation. This Pavilion unit from HP can be a standard Notebook however push the screen back through 180 degrees and you have a Tablet.
The HP Pavilion X360 Convertible laptop/tablet computer measures 32x22x2cm and weighs 1660 grams, the viewable screen is 29.5x16.5cm which gives the notional diagonal imperial measurement of 13 inches the native screen resolution is 1920x1080.
For those who need a larger screen than even the largest phone can offer and need to be able work when out of Wi-Fi range then a Tablet such as this sold by Vodafone may well solve all your needs just don’t hold it to your ear for answering a phone call.
It is 25.5x15.5x.7cm and weighs 450 grams. The viewable screen is 21.5x13.5cm which gives the notional diagonal imperial measurement of 10.1 inches. The native display is 1920x1080. The edges and back are silver grey with the standard shiny black for the front which unfortunately does show finger marks. The edges are very smooth with on/off and volume rocker towards the top of the right side and the base as well as the left side having nothing. The top has 3.
While top of the range SmartPhones are in the middle hundreds there are a few ‘more basic’ offerings often with older operating systems that are available for say £50. So what can you expect to get for well under one hundred pounds?
One such is the Obi MVI which looks a little different simply because the top is flat and the base is curved. It has – like some other phones – a skin over the Android 5.1.1 operating system their offering is called Cyanogen. It is a little different in that all the Apps are displays in groups under the initial letter so in a way you can move quicker to what you want.
This is the latest version of the backup software that has protected me for many years. They do two versions one you purchase outright and other a 12 month subscription which of course will give you lots of updates during the year.
I usually just install the latest version on my work machine and continue my regime of weekly full backups. Being a belt and braces person, I also do separate backups for emails and for any work in progress files.
This is a DSLR in a body so small that you assume it isn’t. It comes with a 14-42mm lens and is smaller than even some small digital cameras, it has a neck strap it has a viewfinder and it has a flash shoe in normal conditions you might never use any of them.
The Olympus OM-D measures 12.5x7x8cm and weights 534grams. The right side has a neck strap anchor and a hinged door behind which any SD Card you use lives. The left side has the other neck strap anchor and a rubber bung over the external connectors. The back has a 6x4.
Just 12cm wider than an A4 unit this six ink inkjet offering might solve problems for those who need the ability to print A3 as well as A4. It can also print direct from a range of cards and memory sticks, connection can be via Wi-Fi, Ethernet or USB.
The Epson XP-960 measures 45x37x15cm however if you place this on a shelf you would need a few centimetres more on the last figure the height to add or remove items from the flatbed. You will also require around another 13cm in front for the paper output tray and TFT screen to open so 45x50x28cm should be the overall space requirements.
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