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As part of its range of graphics products, Corel has released the latest version of its Pinnacle Studio offering.
Pinnacle Studio 21 is the latest version of Corel’s video editing tools package for the Windows environment. Three versions of the product are available, designed to cover the needs of different users. You can select from Standard, Plus or Ultimate offerings. My review of the product is based on the 64-bit version of Pinnacle Studio 21 Ultimate.
It is time to become a collage graduate as you help a famous archaeologist
It’s been a couple of years since I have been offered a Roberts DAB radio to review. While I have looked at offerings from other manufacturers the Roberts units have not been available. This I assume was down to the excellent PR lady I have been in contact with for some years moving on.
This is a DAB/FM Alarm Clock Radio, it is 19x11.5x6.5cm but you will need another 3cm behind it as the power lead sticks out by that much. Instead of the more normal rod aerial this uses the wire type offering it is 60cm long and emerges from back right it should either hung down or be stretched up especially for the initial scan of DAB stations, in my area it found 96 stations. This is a mono unit but you can listen in stereo via headphones or earbuds.
As a walking repository of various medical ailments, I am always on the look out for health offerings such as this next product.
According to recent research conducted on behalf of the National Health Service (NHS), an estimated 25% of the UK adult population suffer from hypertension, often without realising the fact. High blood pressure or hypertension can be caused as the result of smoking, poor diet and the lack of exercise. It has been known to raise the risk of heart attacks, strokes, kidney disease and dementia.
While I get to see a range of new phones from Vodafone here are something that I have previous not seen. First a very nice small pair of on ear headphones ideal for traveling with, second a small cube speaker for those occasions when you share your sounds.
These headphones are small, with the phones parallel there is only 13cm between them, at the same position and no side extension it is only 17cm to the base of the head padding. Fresh ‘N Rebel seems to be the name for these matt blue on ear headphones. There is close to 1.5cm of padding on each ear and nearly 1cm on top of the head.
This is the latest – and certainly the best – Nest indoor security camera that I have seen, the information about when and what was seen along with the video quality makes this a wow product for any internal security purpose you may have.
The initial email notification will say ‘Someone’ or ‘Something’ has been seen with a still image you can then click on the link and see a very high quality video with exact timeline. It is possible for you to identify people so it can say change this message to ‘Mother’ or ‘Jimmy’ for example and if they have access you can then ignore the message.
After a number of in-ear products, this next listening device is of the over-the-ear offering.
Developed by Sandberg, the Blue Storm is a wireless headset which forms part of the company’s Esports Equipment range of products. Arriving with a five year warranty, this product consists of the Blue Storm headset, a 16cm audio cable for use when the music is supplied from a non-Bluetooth source, a 54cm micro-to-standard USB lead and a small, brief Quick Guide booklet which relies more on illustrations than text.
As my trips to various venues around London for Xmas in July comes to an end I smell the inviting coffee from Lavazza and here in the form of a tiny machine for your Expresso or other black offering as well as a separate machine for those who prefer their coffee white with a coffee shop head.
Always popular with Gadgetspeak readers are coffee machines of all types no matter if they are pod or bean machines and if they have good coffee with them then this reviewer gets his fill of extra nice coffee as his reviewers perk. While the quality of the coffee is the most important factor, for those who love a cappuccino then being able to foam the milk is also important and the kit as supplied to me does that. Few will disagree that the Italians know about coffee.
Just how smart is smart? Your home may contain any number of devices that claim to be smart but do you really trust them to respond in an appropriate manner when they receive instructions, especially when the instructions emanate remotely from an outside source not under your control. It could happen.
The current big topic, referred to as IoT or Internet of Things, is for all your household goods, whether fridges, kettles, lights and even air purifiers, are all interconnected and remotely accessible via the Internet and a mobile device.
Do you need to practice your skills at recognising twins and triplets? If so, this next game could help.
Developed by Shaman Games, and bearing the rather impressive title of Spirit of the Ancient Forest, this next game belongs to the Hidden Object genre. However, instead of the usual approach of producing lists of text objects or silhouettes that need to be found, this game takes a totally different route when presenting its challenge of finding the required objects. It does this by simply not telling you what objects are required.
Not just another Tablet/Notebook this looks very different and while it has an attached keyboard there is nothing showing when it is turned off and it can also be used with a (pen) supplied as a drawing area altogether taking things in a new direction.
They do a PC and an Android version I was sent the Android one. It is extremely thin and could even be described as a book because of the way the hinge looks, it is 25.5x17.5x1cm, the last figure the thickness is at the back and its even less at the front, it weighs 690grams. The viewable screen is 21.5x13cm. Everything about this unit is minimized.
With the tag line of “Effort Rewarded”, this next product reports back on how your heart copes during various activities.
he MYZONE MZ-3 is a physical activity belt that has been designed to track the user’s heart rate during various forms of tasks conducted as part of a work out session. The product consists of a wearable hardware device and a downloadable app that is available from either the App Store or Google Play depending upon your preference for the mobile device that will provide feedback regarding gathered data.
When the first ‘Polaroid’ type camera came out it was the camera equivalent of sliced bread. The models were big and the quality of the image was not that great but to see the image immediately was what people wanted to have.
Here a Hybrid camera from FujiFilm that can function as a near normal camera but still have the ability to produce that near instant image. The FujiFilm Instax SQ10 measure 12x11x4.5cm and weighs 471grams. It has two modes, the ‘Auto’ mode is what you have with any conventional camera, whatever you click the shutter on gets printed which of course can be expensive as the film strips are not the cheapest.
This is a food scale which when use with an App might help you to lose weight, that is you have the willpower to keep it up and above all NO SNACKING BETWEEN MEALS the last directive is perhaps the most important thing of all.
The scale is 26x15.5x1.5cm and weighs 606 grams with the required – not supplied – 3x‘AAA’ inserted. The batteries are inserted in the back of the scale and each corner is raised slightly by a tiny foot to insure accurate measurement. The deck of the scale has a 5.
Taking your equipment on the road requires a suitable receptacle to provide protection and easy access.
Designed by STM, the King is a rucksack type bag or, as the Australian designers prefer, a Backpack. Available in a choice of botanical green, china blue, tornado grey or, as in the case of my review sample, desert brown, the King has dimensions of 47.
This is one of a range recently launched at Thorpe Park on what in some parts of the country was the hottest day of the year. While it was an event I was unable to make I have been kept up to date by the excellent Acer PR Company, here the first offering sent to me.
This laptop from Acer measures 37.5x24.5x1cm at the front and 2cm at the back, it weights 2304grams. It has a grey back, black elsewhere apart from a matt very dark grey screen surround so less finger marks will show. The viewable screen is 34x19.5cm and is refreshingly matt so quite good in strong sunlight. The screen is 1920x1080 and has a notional diagonal imperial measurement of 15.6inches. There is a webcam built into the centre of the area above the screen.
How many passwords do you have? And how do you remember them all?
Let me start off with a confession. Alright it is not a new confession but it does fit in with the review that will follow. My memory could best be described as having a close resemblance to a colander in that it is full of holes. As a result I am forgetful especially when it comes to remembering passwords.
Take a trip through various worlds as you set out to protect a book from the clutches of somebody intent on ruling everybody.
Amaranthine Voyage: The Obsidian Book is a Hidden Object Adventure game developed by Eipix Entertainment. The game forms part of a series that includes The Tree of Life, The Living Mountain and the Shadow of Torment with each title being a self-contained entity. I have been looking at the Collector’s or Platinum version of The Obsidian Book which comes with a number of bonus items. The bonus items are available from the game’s title page under the heading of Extras.
Often things arrive at totally the wrong time of year, sometimes however they arrive exactly when you can get the best from an item, here one of the latter category a column fan during the hottest part of the year and over the next few weeks it got lots of use in both my office, lounge and bedroom, in the case of the last mentioned because it was nearly silent.
This column fan measures just over a metre tall and around a quarter of that size at the base, it weighs just under 5.4 kilos. It can rotate 90 degrees or be used in a static position. It is ribbed all the way up in horizontal increments and starting 27cm from the base there are 59 rows of three spaces where the air is expelled. The area they cover is slightly decreased as they near the top. The top edge is slightly sloped and the manual controls are on this area.
Adding to its portfolio of make-over software for either portrait or landscape images, Anthropics Technology has released the follow up title to its LandscapePro offering. Not surprisingly, this software is entitled LandscapePro 2.
Anthropics LandscapePro 2 comes in a choice of three flavours designed to suit the needs of different users. The product is available in Standard, Studio and Studio Max versions. This review is based on the new Studio Max product which includes Photoshop plug-in capability, support for RAW files and different colour spaces plus a Histogram pane, batch mode processing and more streamline editing amongst its feature set.
A flat panel that has speakers is the norm these days, they are normally tiny and do not have much volume, here something different as the speakers fit into the stand of the panel, so they can be larger and also give a far better sound.
The Dell S2418H full HD monitor measures 54x30.5x1.5cm; its stand will raise it from your desk by 10cm. The stand is a frame in the shape of a landscaped ‘D’ and the supplied speaker fits in it .5cm at the front (flat edge) and 3cm at the rear, it has two buttons + and – to control the volume. There is a short grey lead that emerges from the rear of the speaker which connects to the panel; the audio signal is transferred via the HDMI connection from the panel to the speaker.
Until recently apart from trips to hospitals the only thermometers that I have used were the glass ones with mercury in them that went under the tongue. Then last year in a roundup of medical devices one that went in the ear so much quicker, but still not perfect, here something that takes only a second to use and will work even with a wriggling child.
At the flick of a button or press of a finger, you can automate different tasks that make up your everyday life using this next product.
With its short and snappy name, the Flic is a button. When I first saw the packaging containing my review sample, I though that it featured a claim that the Flic was the word’s smallest button and my initial response was “Surely not!”. A second glance, after rubbing the sleep from my eyes, revealed that the claim was actual that the device was the “World’s Smartest Button” which was more intriguing and possibly more believable.
This item from Netgear even looks sinister as you remove it from the black box that this switch comes in. The matt black finish and the areas made up of triangles and rectangles add to the illusion that this device is somehow not a friendly one, add to that the dark blue ‘V’ of LED light when switched on it becomes more menacing.
It is 19.5x14.5x3.7cm before anything is plugged in to the rear of it, so add another 3cm to the middle figure the depth. It weighs 765grams main because the case is Zinc-Alloy. The base has four small 1.5x1cm rubber feet to make sure it stays flat on your table or desk and it has to be used in this way as unlike some routers it is only stable in this formation.
As a popular manufacturer of audio devices, Edifier once again steps into the spotlight.
When starting to review a product, such as the Edifier R19U unit sat in front of me at the moment, I generally follow an initial set pattern for hardware devices. This pattern involves removing the device to be reviewed from the packaging and checking that all the content is how it should be and present. However in this case there was a problem in that I could find no mention of a content list or any documentation whatsoever.
A recent visit to view some of Amazon’s cornucopia of goods introduced me to a product designed to enhance my communication skills.
Are you ready to play a game? I should explain that this is not the usual type of game that I review for Gadgetspeak. Rather than a computer game offering visual representations of different environments as you search for clues and carry out tasks, this next game involves cards designed to pique your imagination and creativity as you produce your own visual imagery.
When I went to a recent Bosch event that featured items like fridges that were connected the one item that seemed out of place was a tiny chain saw, ideal for use in the home or even the garden but it works in the same way as it would on a tree branch but for smaller items.
Having recently tested a powerful hedge trimmer I took one of the thickest items it had cut at 2.5cm across and cut into it with ease with the Bosch saw looking at the two ends bore no resemblance, the Bosch saw cut was smooth the hedge trimmer end was a work of three slashes to get through. Certainly in the home you do not want anything but a smooth finish. Bosch call it the EasyCut 12 cordless NanoBlade saw.
As you might expect from its Toughbook classification the FZ-Q2 is a product that has been developed for use by professional field workers who require a device that can withstand the rigours of a workspace environment.
Developed by Panasonic, the FZ-Q2 combines a touchscreen element, which can double in the role of a laptop screen or tablet, with a spill resistant keypad. Whereas other 2-in-1 laptop products that I have checked out arrived as a single unit, my review sample of the FZ-Q2 was delivered boxed as two separate units packaged within their own boxes.
This is modestly called ‘The World’s First 3D Printing Pen’ but as far as I know it is. It is certainly the first 3D printing pen I have seen or used. Given the price of 3D printers a pen that can extrude onto a flat surface in 3D it is well unique.
While anyone can draw a 2D image drawing a 3D is different and in theory anyway you could use this kit to replace any broken plastic part. The instructions make it sound easy, I followed them and they worked, the one thing I was lacking was any real artistic talent.
In hot weather a cool bag is very useful either to keep your lunch, shopping or even picnic cool or maybe allow frozen food to stay frozen. Most are insulated bags with a cool brick or two inserted but those bricks take up valuable space.
Here I am looking at a small version called a Lunch Bag and one more than twice the capacity called a Picnic Tote. These bags are different in that the coolant is between the outer and inner layers and you actually fold the bag up and place it in your freezer overnight and then in the morning pack your lunch/picnic or take the bag with you when you shop the next day.
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