GadgetSpeak Articles
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Instead of providing food and transport assistance, this llama has a charging facility.
The llama is a domesticated South American camelid that is widely used as a meat and pack animal by Andean culture since the Pre-Columbian era. In their natural habitat, these creatures can grow to a height of 1.8m and weigh between 130 and 200kg during their lifespan of up to 20 years.
External hard drives used to be large and also require external power now not only are they powered by the USB lead they are also very capacious and often far larger than the hard disc of the PC that they are often connected to.
The drive is 11x7.7x1.7cm and weights 216grams with the supplied 40cm long USB3 attached. This will add another 2cm to the 11cm length of the unit. If you do not have full size USB ports and only USB ‘C’ you have not been forgotten as a USB ‘C’ to USB adapter has been supplied. This fits into your USB ‘C’ port and sticks out 3.2cm to give you a USB3 port. The total measurements of the adapter are 4x2.2x1.1cm.
With its Zink technology, this next printer is small enough to fit in a pocket.
Usually when I review a printer, it is a desktop inkjet model with the ink being delivered from cartridges or, more recently, tanks. The printed documents, produced by this type of printer, would be supplied on copy or photographic paper of varying sizes up to and including A3. However, in this case, the next printer under review is a different animal altogether.
Cygnett are an Australian company – now with a base in the UK - and they have been around for a number of years, they tend to concentrate on things that allow other devices to work more efficiently and this device is one of those to let you charge your phone more quickly, while some phone companies produce their own devices to do this, those tend to be device specific.
It is 14x6.5x2cm and weighs 246 grams. The total capacity is 10,000mAh. This device has the advantage of being able to charge both wirelessly - for those items that accept wireless charge – and via the USB ports on the unit. There is yet another plus for this unit over others that give only vague indications of the amount of charge by LED lights this has a two figure number IE 84 to state the current percentage of power showing on the top front edge of the unit.
When assigning blame after a traffic accident, an independent witness could prove useful
Accidents can happen and often do whether you are in attendance or not. Follow-up issues, when they do occur, tend to cause the most problems as the blame for the accident is allocated between those involved. Evidence and statements can be collected from participants and available witnesses. One witness that could prove invaluable, especially for the innocent party, could be a Dashcam device such as the NextBase 412GW Professional.
Out of the neck of a unicorn music was meant to flow, or so it was claimed.
The unicorn is a legendary creature with a single large, pointed, spiralling horn protruding from the beast’s forehead. According to ancient legend the unicorn’s horn had the power to cleanse poisonous water and make it fit to drink merely by being placed in it. Further beliefs attached to the unicorn’s horn include the ability to heal wounds. It was also believed that the unicorn could only be captured and tamed by a virgin.
Having the ability to display four screens at once is possible for all users of this panel and while technically you could do the same manually with a 1920x1080 display I am not sure how long most people’s eyes would last and indeed how much you could see with it. Here however once used to the AOC software moving things is a breeze.
This AOC LED monitor has a screen that measures 66x40x1.5cm. This gives the notional diagonal imperial measurement of 28inches. It has a ‘V’ shaped stand 43cm wide at the front and 9cm wide at the back, the stand raises the screen between 3 and 16cm from your desk. Looking at the rear of the panel has a thicker area in a smaller rectangle with a four port USB3 hub on the right side and all the connections on the underside which makes then easier to access.
Whether Brexit goes through or not, a passport will be required.
As part of its “My Passport” family, Western Digital (WD) has released a wireless SSD (Solid State Drive) product. This particular offering is a SSD giving the user wireless connectivity to a variety of devices, Along with the My Passport SSD unit, this kit consists of a protective bumper or rubberised jacket, USB power adaptor with a choice of 3 or 2-pin plug, and an adaptor to switch from standard-to-Type C port use.
Samsung is one of the largest brands and certainly one of the companies that bring new things to the market. Here a slim sleek and powerful offering that will do everything you want and never look out of place even in a boardroom.
While I am aware that the Samsung range is rolling out ‘V10’ of some of its offerings a while after the launch is often a good time to invest or buy as any slight problems at the time of launch will have been sorted and indeed the amount needed to purchase could be a little less. It is 16x7.5x.7cm and it weighs 201grams. The screen resolution is 2960x1440. There are four colours available mine was Ocean Blue. The viewable screen is 14.5x7.
How often do you need to change the cartridges in your inkjet printer? Imagine doing it just once a year or even less frequency.
Unlike most inkjet printers, whether of the single or multi-purpose variety, which rely on cartridges for their ink supply, the Epson Ecotank family of devices make use of ink supplied from bottles. The latest such device to join my computer set-up is the Epson ET-2711 model. This product is classified as a 3-in-1 device which means it offers the user the ability to access print, scan and copy facilities from a single device.
Smile please you are about to be printed could mean Polaroid is out and about.
Over the years life at Polaroid must have seemed like a series of “ups and down” as the company struggled to cope with different marketing conditions. My first experience of Polaroid was with its rather bulky camera that would automatically deliver an instant black and white print of the captured image you have just taken. Applying a quick fixative would help ensure the print did not fade later.
Being able to make a coffee shop coffee at home or in the office needs a machine that can grind beans and dispense the coffee and if a Latte is your choice then a device that can froth with steam from fresh milk this offering from Melitta does both.
The Melitta CaffeO measures 47cm deep, 32cm tall and 20cm wide, these are maximum dimensions. Unlike a lot of home coffee machines here there are only a few controls, these are for the number of cups – one or two – the size of the cup 30ml to 220ml, the strength of the brew and addition of milk for a Latte. When you unpack the box you only need to find a place for the machine – as the hard wired power lead is only one metre long – within a metre of a power point.
Transported from the past, your on-screen detective, with paranormal skills, has crimes to solve.
Classified as belonging to the Hidden Object genre, Paranormal Stories has been developed by e-FunSoft Games. In this game you take on the role of Esther, a private detective who has built up a reputation of being successful at completing her cases. Her reputation is such that she is often called in to help by the local police. However we are getting a little ahead of ourselves.
It is small, lightweight and capable of moving files you do not want to loose.
Have you noticed how many brands of smartphones there are? This number of brands is probably equalled by the different ways these multi-purpose devices are put to use by their owners, especially by those users who feel their lives would be seriously compromised without a fully-functional and working device. While similar in certain respects, these constant companion devices do tend to vary somewhat with regards to price and street cred.
Last year Dell showed their new rugged range in London and as spring dawns one of their offerings arrives for me to give it the once over. Of course it will be in my office and the around surroundings and not as the early sample was in far flung places with very inhospitable conditions when things like battery life were truly life challenging.
It is 34.5x28x5cm and weighs 2694 grams as supplied to me. Unlike most normal notebooks the figures here need some explanation. The width is to the edge of the padding, the depth is to the extent of the non-retractable handle and the width includes the fairly substantial feet. The viewable screen is 30.5x17.5cm which gives the notional diagonal imperial measurement of 13.8inches. The default screen resolution is 1920x1080 at 150%. It has an Intel Core i5 running at 1.
Mixing a mythical past with modern technology.
As a country we have been referred to, on many occasions, as being a nation of pet lovers whether the creatures be of the domestic or the more exotic variety. This affection for the companionship of animals does seem to be seeping into areas other than live-in pets and also widening the range of possible creatures, such as those normally regarded as mythical. Take, for instant, this next product under review. I have recently been sent a Unicorn to check out.
Another new phone company to the UK, freak UK weather and a taxi drivers protest caused gridlock in the part of London where the launch was due to take place so my first contact was when their latest offering the RX17 Pro arrived on my desk. So all I know is what I discovered during my testing as well as what is shown on the OPPO website.
The Oppo RX17 measures 15.5x7.4x.8cm and weighs 183grams. Going around the outside has the on/off button on the right side, the base has USB ‘C’ socket for charging as well as the SIM’s entry point, the USB socket can also be used for the supplied headset to listen to music. Also in this very congested area is a pin hole microphone as well as the speaker. The left side has the volume up and down buttons. The top is clear.
How healthy are you? And what are your plans to improve matters?
Music plays a big part in my life and while earbuds may help pass the time on a journey a decent set of headphones or as here a 2.1 speaker system in the home gives a far more rounded sound and may even take you to the performance as laid down by the musicians. My favourite Genre is Jazz and then small groups and a live performance.
This is a small 2.1 system as it has a sub-woofer to enhance the base and a pair of speakers for the rest of the sound range. While I have a pair of quality – large – speakers these days you do not need huge units and nor do they need to be expensive these at the time of writing are only 80 Euros (around £70). The sub-woofer is a virtual cube at 26cm. The speakers are 18x11x11cm so easily fit on a shelf or window sill. The two speakers have a single hard wired lead of 1.
With awards aplenty on offer, Huawei led the way at accepting the applause.
There has to be a first time for everything and this was that kind of occasion for me when looking at this next product.
Photo editing software comes in a variety of brands and product offerings for different sectors of the market. I am not just referring to the Windows and Mac platforms here but also the areas at which the product is aimed. Some of these photo editing products are obviously targeted at the home enthusiast and amateur consumer, while certain products have a more professional feel to their feature sets and overall appeal.
If like me you are old enough to remember the original Ghetto Blaster it was large and you needed strong shoulders to walk it around, it did not have that many features apart from being very loud. This unit is very different.
Yes it is heavy at over 9 kilos (that more than 20lbs) it can be loud should you wish/want but it has four quality speakers and separate bass and treble controls as well as a balance control. It has radio – both FM and DAB – cassette, CD, it can also play from USB stick. It has Aux and Microphone inputs and also has the ability to record both to cassette and also to USB stick. It can be run via mains or battery power, there is a solid internally rechargeable battery provided.
Put away your fishing rod as this sea-based offering involves mermaids and pearls.
I have to confess to never having actually met a mermaid. I do not suppose that you have never had this type of meeting either. Perhaps, like me, you would like to attempt to rectify this particular omission in your life experience by playing a game entitled “League of Mermaids”.
Deezer is one of the most popular streaming services, however often people want to stream music when they are not at home on their Wi-Fi, and even if mobile data is available – it certainly is not on most tube lines – it is an extra cost. One solution is to save music when you stream on your Wi-Fi and then replay it when out and about, and with Deezer this is an option.
While you can only download for later playback with a ‘paid subscription’ you can investigate if your Genre of music is well catered for with a free trial and one of the best places to start is with one of the range of pre-selected playlists, find a tune by an artist that you like and then explore the whole CD to check if other tracks please you. For a while I have been tracking ‘Deezer Desktop’ as its very long BETA period has been evolving.
Adding to its extensive range of audio products, Edifier has released its M1390BT model.
This M1390BT piece of kit is a 2.1 speaker system. It offers users a choice of PC, AUX and Bluetooth connectivity. Included in the box, keeping the two satellite speakers and sub-woofer box company, is an 3.5mm to 3.
Some years ago Microsoft vastly reduced offering the chance to own certain software notably their flagship Office product in favour of a subscription model where you continue to pay every year/month to continue using the product.
You may have heard of the golden age of gaming. Now you can experience it for yourself or pay a return visit.
A few months ago I took a look at several gaming units which were based on those machines that ate up our pocket money and loose change as we spent time in various establishments such as cafes and social areas. These gaming devices, offering opportunities to play classic titles that included the Pac-Man™, Dig-Dug™ and Galaja™ blasts from the past, were table-top units with dimensions of 115 x 175 x 105 mm (W x H x D).
A cylindrical speaker with speakers on the side and top, it should withstand some water as getting in to charge it or insert a 3.5mm lead (if not using Bluetooth) is far from easy, to say the base is a tight fit is quite an understatement.
It is 14cm tall and circular at 7cm. At the top of the back of my blue unit is an orange loop so you could walk along with it over a finger – it weighs 477 grams – below this in orange is a large ‘O’ then a raised rib and below this a large ‘X’. I have just described all the controls and as it can do all the normal things like answer phone calls move forward or back a track etc. certain combinations need to be followed.
The Philips 27 inch monitor 273V7Q is a no frills basic 1920 x 1080 unit offering reasonable performance and so will meet the needs of many users who want to keep their eyes on their budget.
The monitor, which has a 16 x 9 aspect ratio IPS panel with WLED backlight, is approximately 24inches wide and, like many more expensive products, has a frameless black bezel on three sides and just 1 inch wide on the lower edge. Near its right hand end of the lower edge is the power indicator LED and, printed in white, are the labels of the controls which are located conveniently on the underside of the bezel.
This next title comes from that hot bed of creative gaming talent known as FIVE-BN Games.
Forming part of the Lost Lands series of game episodes, this offering is sub-titled Mistakes of the Past and deals with a dark sorceress who was buried centuries ago but now walks among the inhabitants of the Lost Lands. Your role in this game is to put right this mistake of the past and restore harmony to the Lost Lands. The game, which belongs to the Hidden Object Adventure genre, is available in Collector’s Edition format featuring a number of bonus items.
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