GadgetSpeak Articles
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The recent worldwide launch of two new smartphones held in London by Huawei brand Honor was held with the slogan “For the Brave”. One, the Honor View 10 was described as “challenging the smartphone market with AI” will be available early next year while the other the Honor 7X is available now.
The Honor 7X is a good all-round phone for the budget-conscious. It has a large high-resolution display, dual-lens camera, 4GB RAM and 64GB storage. The phone with an all over black finish (but also available in blue) weighs 170 gm (just under 6oz) and packs a 5.93 inch 18:9 “FullView” edge-to-edge screen providing 2160 x 1080 FHD+ resolution into its 155 x 75mm overall size.
Having in recent years told you about Kaspersky Internet Security here a different product from Kaspersky their Family Security Cloud offering. This it seems is only available as a download product so for me to review it I was sent a link to download it.
The download is not large by today’s standards at just over 150MB but for it to work efficiently you need regular Internet access. This product firstly considers what is and is not safe for any devices that your children might have access to.
With the tag line of Blink and you are home, this next product guards your home.
Having surrounded your home computer system, and the data it holds, with your preferred choice of antivirus and Internet protection software, you might have thought you were safe and secure from outside intrusions. But that is only part of the problem faced by many. No matter how many hours you spend in the virtual computer environment, there are still those excursions in the real world of bricks & mortar to consider. Just what is going on in your home when you are away.
Prime membership from Amazon brings certain benefits including guaranteed one day delivery and extra substantial reductions on certain items; this coffee machine from Nespresso was £30 cheaper as a Prime member than for everyone else.
As a reviewer when you see various good quality coffee in a range of machines by Nespresso and others you miss it when they go away. While my normal instant coffee is one of the best out there I admit that I have become ‘hooked’ by better quality such as that supplied by two decent recent Nespresso review units.
Music on the move has become an increasingly popular past-time as we adopt a mobile life style. Unfortunately the audio output of many mobile devices used to store and deliver the audio entertainment is often relegated into second and sometimes an even lower rating position when it comes to improvements being made to the new version of devices. Stepping in to help in the respect of improving audio output is the nano iDSD Black Label DAC/headphone amp from iFi.
Music on the move has become an increasingly popular past-time as we adopt a mobile life style. Unfortunately the audio output of many mobile devices used to store and deliver the audio entertainment is often relegated into second and sometimes an even lower rating position when it comes to improvements being made to the new version of devices. Stepping in to help in the respect of improving audio output is the nano iDSD Black Label DAC/headphone amp from iFi.
While searching for your father, you encounter a cursed child.
Cast in the role of a psychic named Scarlett Everitt, you need to take the lead in solving the challenge of Scarlett Mysteries – Cursed Child. Developed by World-Loom Games and published by Artifex Mundi, this Hidden Object Adventure title is described as an interactive gothic horror novel set within a steampunk frame.
A lot of homes need a Dehumidifier as there is too much moisture in the air or even the walls of a property but almost as nasty is having a too dry atmosphere especially if you have frail people, by trying to keep a home warm you could also make it too dry.
This item from Philips is circular 33cm tall and 22cm wide. It is in two parts with the point where the two parts join together being slightly wider than the top or the bottom. Where a Dehumidifier starts without water in its talk and stops working when the tank is full a Humidifier cannot work without water in it and once its tank is empty it will stop working until more water is poured into it.
Combining the functionality of a notebook and tablet elements is a product from Acer
Adding to its extensive range of computer based products, Acer has released its Swift 3 offering. While classified as a notebook type device, the Acer Swift 3 adopts the more modern style of product by incorporating the ability to split itself into two separate units. A straightforward ripping motion is all that is required to turn the basic notebook format into a tablet and detachable keyboard arrangement.
A cutthroat shave from a barber is a treat that will probably take a long time especially with a hot towel treatment. Now this kit gives you chance to do it for yourself at home - certainly not something to try after a night out.
For me anyway the extra sound - quality and amount – that Dell can give you from a panel is a big plus if only from the point of desk space and the fact that you no longer need a pair of speakers on your limited amount of desk space.
This 22 inch monitor from Dell measures 49x29x1.5cm and its stand lifts it 10cm from your desk. The notional diagonal imperial measurement is 21½ inches. The area above and to the sides has virtually no border with only 1cm border at the bottom. It is of course a full HD offering (1920x1080) and allows you to connect via HDMI or VGA. The stand is ‘D’ shaped at 24x15cm; this connects to the arm from the panel by a twist screw.
Wileyfox is now offering an appreciable discount on the price of smartphones in return for users accepting lockscreen advertising with its Add-X service. This is the latest move in a cut-throat marketplace where vendors are looking for innovative ways of attracting price-sensitive buyers and generating revenue.
Following a tie-up with Korean firm Buzzvil, whose lockscreen advertising service is already active in South Korea, the US, Japan and Taiwan, Wileyfox has launched its range of Add-X variants as an extension to its existing range of Swift 2 and Spark smartphones. They are being offered with up-front discounts of up to 42% off the list price. However, users who buy a discounted Add-X phone will have the opportunity of reverting to a standard Wileyfox phone by paying back the discount.
Still quite a new idea, I have reviewed one such item previously a thermometer that you move across your forehead, it then gives a near instant reading. It can be used by the whole family as when the reading is taken you scroll through all the names and highlight yours; the reading is then transferred to your SmartPhone via Wi-Fi.
Most will think of Nokia as a mobile phone manufacturer but they have purchased Withings who have long been a name in health and fitness devices. It is 12cm long and 3cm wide the head is circular for the front 3cm, behind this area is the single control an on/off button, working back from this is a 4cm area made up of 1cm tall figures or letters which are white dots – six to the 1cm height – and that is it.
Do not think of this as something to get oil stained in the garage or that languishes in the shed. This is more like a piece of jewellery it even comes in a box that might otherwise contain a necklace or perhaps a bracelet read on to find the contents.
While never small this Backpack can quickly become cavernous so not only most Notebooks and all the extra bits that come it as well as a spare shirt pants and socks to facilitate an overnight stay can all be accommodated in this Backpack from Riut.
The Swift range was launched a year ago in Glasgow and I have previously looked at a different model from the same range. This is a rather smart looking Notebook with the screen capable of going back to 180 degrees.
The Acer Swift 3 is an ultra-thin notebook measuring 33x23x1.5cm and weighing 1629 grams. The base has a 27x1cm strip of rubber and the two front corners a 3x1cm front to back strip to protect whatever you sit it on, this matters because the body is all metal. Looking at the Acer site finds 21 different Swift 3 models with various memory and processor combinations. The one I have has silver body an Intel i5 processor, 8GB of RAM and a 256GB SSD drive.
The Supra KeySafe C500 is a secure key box that, when installed outside a house, provides a safe and secure means of holding keys and yet making them accessible to authorised people.
StarTech is a company that has those had to find things that others do not have. Here something that could be a larger seller with more small notebooks being marketed with only USB ‘C’, so how do connect a standard USB device as well as other components.
‘Ultra-Portable’ is often the phrase the notebook is compact, and, as long as everything you need is already there that is fine. This 17x9x4.5cm box and all the likely to required leads are supplied by StarTech with the less than catchy name of MST30C2HDPPD Okay that’s the part number but the name is USB-C Docking Station for Laptops – Hard Drive Bay – MST and Power Delivery – 4K.
This Toughbook looks ‘normal’ which while it may sound like a criticism, it isn’t, some Toughbook’s are very rugged as they are used on building sites and other places where they get abused, here one that would not look out of place in a boardroom.
I first saw this over four months ago at a pre-launch briefing at Panasonics factory in Cardiff. The Panasonic Toughbook CF-XZ6 measures 28.5x22x2cm and weights 1.2kilos. The viewable screen is 25.5x17cm and it has the notional diagonal imperial screen measurement of 12inches and a screen resolution of 2160x1440 which never looks small even on the smaller than normal screen. There is a 2MP web cam and microphone in the centre at the top of the landscape screen.
Both these award winning products are now available in a single box. So if you normally take videos but want to get a photo from a video or if it’s the other way round then the solution lies in having both items to get the best possible results.
Two top of the range photo and video manipulation products supplied in a single box by Cyberlink, you not only get a good discount by buying both together but you also get a digital copy and 50GB of cloud storage for 12 months. It comes on two DVD’s, the basic programs are on DVD 1 and took ten minutes to install on my Windows 7 notebook, the installation took 2.69GB of hard disk space. DVD 2 has extra content for both packages. There is a six side 18x12.
Big it is, and the curve means that the centre is 3cm further in than the outside and unless you are viewing from a good distance away it is certainly noticeable. However while sound is often low on this list of priorities here there are fantastic up facing speakers mounted in the rear.
Most speakers in panels are at best ‘average’ here they are superb as the extra depth is used to have great up pointing speakers in the back. While – for me anyway – the red line of LEDs under the base of the screen and the two pairs of red LED lines of lights on the back do little they may suit some. You would never buy this panel for word processing or spreadsheets this is a gaming or video watching panel.
If you need to move data around then on a Ethernet or Wi-Fi network should be easy, if however the files are in different places this is harder, so maybe a large capacity USB stick can help, or possibly to move from a mobile device to a PC then an OTG device can help, both are covered with the below.
Inflation is a thing most of us have problems with in one way or another, as far as computer memory it means that programs and the data they use can be larger, much larger, a long time ago – yes I am old – the operating system its programs and data fitted on a floppy disc of less than 100MB here however is a USB stick that can contain up to 115GB of data.
With backward and forward movement between centuries your character needs to save her daughter
Developed by TuttiFruitti Interactive, Darkarta – A Broken Heart is a Hidden Object Adventure game that is available in Platinum edition format. Following a rather dramatic opening sequence, set in 1700BC, featuring a Samson-like chained prisoner and a human sacrifice procedure, the actual game is based in a more modern day environment involving your character, Mary, her husband James and their young daughter Sophia.
This is a full size (22inch or 32inch available) TV that can run off an internal battery pack, mains power or even off a car cigar lighter socket. Best of all it comes with everything you need even a Philips screwdriver and an external aerial.
This rechargeable LCD television measures 38x30x8cm, my unit was the 22inch model, the viewable screen was 48x26.5cm this gives the notional diagonal imperial measurement of 22inches. This is a first for me a TV that can run off an internal battery pack, while it is of course ideal for caravans it is also useful for anywhere that suffers regular power cuts and it can even power a couple of low power lights which are supplied with the unit complete with the LED bulbs.
Moods can come and go, often influenced by outside conditions such as lighting.
Cinema, television and theatre directors have proved over the years that different lighting conditions can evoke a variety of moods within the audience. More recently this technique of using lighting to create an atmosphere is being used by companies developing lighting equipment for use in the home environment as a mood generator.
I think of Focal for higher end quality speakers and even headphones, here something a little less expensive a set of wireless earbuds for use most likely on the move and probably with either your iOS or Android SmartPhone.
They are 55cm from one earbud to the other the connecting cord has two boxes in the cable the one most will know seems to do everything as the three buttons and LED when charging/linking/dying as well as connection for USB charging are all in the 4x1x.5cm box. The one thing I did not mention is microphone which seems to be the job of the slightly larger 4.5x1x.7cm box.
This was one of five things that I requested from one of the range of Christmas In July events. I was told they would go on sale in September however at the time of writing in October this is the only one of their units to arrive with me.
This is a quite light remote control car that can travel across a solid floor or with a change of a setting on it up walls or for that matter across ceilings. The car is 13x8x4.5cm and weighs only 57 grams. It is charged from the rear by the supplied 60cm yellow USB lead. The control box is 14x7x5cm and is powered by six ‘AA’ batteries (not supplied) it weighs 234grams; all dimensions given both for the car and control unit are maximum figures.
When composing a list for Santa, you may like to consider the following items.
Every year, around this time, a panel of the leading retailers in the toy industry will get together and announce the hottest items that are expected to fly off the shelves in the lead up to the Christmas season.
Normally when I hear ‘All In One’ it refers to a printer and scanner unit. This however is a PC everything is built into the touch screen with the only external bits the wireless keyboard and mouse so much less desk space is required.
The overall size is 53.5x33.5x3cm, the stand is 23.5x23.5cm and raises the screen by 6cm. The only other parts are the keyboard and mouse both are wireless controlled by a single tiny USB controller. Apart from one USB 3.1 port, a headphone socket and an SD Card port on the left side bottom edge of the screen everything else is on the rear of the unit. On the right side of the connecting arm are an HDMI, two USB 3.1 and a USB 2 port as well as a small Kensington Lock Port.
How good are you at packing your luggage before a trip? This product might help.
Described as the ultimate carry-on backpack, the GOBAG 2 offers to provide the regular traveller with the means to fit as much content as possible into the available storage space. As the figure “2” part of its title might indicate, the GOBAG 2 is the follow up offering to the original GOBAG which was launched back in 2015 on the crowd-funding Kickstarter platform. GOBAG 2 is following a similar route with a Kickstarter launch in November 2017.
Take a trip, back in time, to Persia and help save the land from evil and mis-rule.
Persian Nights – Sands of Wonder is a Hidden Object Adventure game developed by SO DIGITAL_. As its opening premise, this game is set in the kingdom of Persia which has been brought to the edge of ruin by the harsh rule of the Grand Vizier Zaved. Your role in this game is that of Tara, a talented young apothecary, who sets out to purge the kingdom of the disease and evil that has spread throughout the land.
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