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At this time of year a lot of people just forget their gardens, nothing much grows even the weeds call a truce. So here something for those who cannot leave well alone a garden blower to move those leaves around and regiment them in neat piles.
Designed specifically for young children, the LeapPad takes a walled-garden approach to the access and content available to its users.
As the combination that makes up its title of LeapPad and Platinum might indicate, this particular LeapFrog product is the company’s top-of-the-range tablet aimed at the younger members of the family. In fact LeapFrog has pitched this tablet, with its collection of facilities that include WiFi connectivity, built-in stylus, front and rear cameras and a rechargeable battery, at the 3 – 9 year age group.
Are you up to defeating an enemy who controls floating figures with staring eyes? If so then be prepared to fight the flames.
Developed by Mad Head Games, Dark Realm: Queen of Flames is a Hidden Object Adventure game. I have been looking at the Platinum or Collector’s version of the game. This version comes with a number of extra items whose access will depend upon the progress made within the main game and bonus chapter.
Wrist watches are less popular now than at any time since people stopped using a pocket watch. However fitness devices worn on the wrist are now so popular that the fact they also tell the time is perhaps often overlooked by many.
The Asus VivoWatrch measures is 3.5x4.5x1cm and weights only 48grams with the attached strap.
Do you control your home? Or does it control you? Devolo believes it can put you in the driving seat.
Technology, in its many guises, aims to improve the quality of the standard of living of users through the use of device that might bear the appendage of “Smart”. No I am not referring to smartphones, although they could have a part to play, but the creation of a smart home where devices can be set to remotely control aspects of a personal living environment.
Having recently told you about an A3 printer that was little bigger than an A4 unit here this is not only larger and faster it has two built in paper trays and can easily serve a whole office via Wi-Fi and Ethernet and even print remotely.
The HP OfficeJet Pro 7740 is an All In One that means not only, Print, Scan, Copy but also for those who need it Fax. It is 58x48x38cm and if you use the flatbed a little more space is needed on top of the last figure but unless you use it under the eaves this will not be a problem as few shelves will be able to cope with its 19.5 kilo weight. It has four inks the three colours are as supplied stated to last 640 pages and the black to last 1000 pages.
A set of earbuds that stay in place even during exercise and while they are not tiny they can be close to invisible if you have long hair as they fit in then tuck over the ear and behind the neck to complete the connection at the other ear and they are of course Bluetooth.
Bluetooth just got a whole lot more important as if you have an iPhone 7 you no longer have a 3.5mm socket to plug into. Bluetooth has another advantage in that your phone can be in a bag or purse and of course with the long hair scenario already mentioned no one need know you are even listening to music.
The Toshiba Canvio Alu portable USB 3.0 hard drives, which form part of the company’s Advanced range, are solidly built 2.5 inch units and are available in a choice of capacities from 500GB to 2.5TB
What do a Skullcandy headset and a character from Last of the Summer Wine have in common? Their name!
A battery powered scooter as sold by Halfords in the UK was for me anyway the most interesting thing I viewed at the Halfords Christmas Show held in London in September, so I asked to see one and this is what I was sent to review.
It should be easy to assemble using the supplied Allen Key and a mid-sized Philips screw driver (not supplied), while will pester you for one this is for them, the stated age is 8 plus and I would suggest that this is the correct age or even older. This is not a light unit and it is only steerable by leaning left or right, as children need a helmet to ride a bicycle they should also need one for this as the battery gives a good speed boost and the brake is only on the rear wheel.
NETGEAR has recently released a combination of router and satellite to help boost network traffic but you need to provide the modem.
Recently released by NETGEAR, the Orbi™ WiFi System promises to provide high-speed WiFi throughout buildings of up to 4,000 square feet in area. This kit consists of units that are designated as the router element and a satellite which make use of tri-band technology. You also get appropriate power lead and an Ethernet cable. You will need to provide a modem for the required Internet connection.
The follow up title to Bubble Zoo, a game which I missed out on, Bubble Zoo 2 belongs to the Match-3 genre
This is one of a new variety of cameras that have interchangeable lenses but are still almost small enough to fit into a pocket, yes they are therefore a DSLR but probably not considered so by the purist. Meet the Canon EOS M10 which is a mirrorless camera.
Canon describe the EOS M10 as a ‘a compact system camera that combines DSLR performance with effortless portability.’ It is 10.5x6.5x8.5 when the 15-45mm lens in locked shut, it weights 438grams. It comes with a neck strap but I preferred using it in the hand. In deference to those whose life would end without the ability to take a Selfie the TFT swings through 180 degrees to allow this process to take place.
Adding to its extensive range of printing devices, Epson has developed the XP-640.
Unlike the previous Epson All-in-One unit that I looked at, the Epson XP-640 is based on the company’s ink cartridge technology using Micro Piezo™ print head technology rather than its innovative Eco Tank range of products. The Epson XP-640 is being targeted at home users looking to product high-quality photos and text documents with a device capable of delivering scan, print and copy functionality as its main remit.
Coffee Machines have always been popular with Gadgetspeak readers and none more so than those produced by Nescafe Krups. However it’s been quite a few years since I could get my hands on one and they certainly have changed a lot.
This unit is designed for the small home and is quite small in its worktop width, it is 16.5cm wide 32cm deep and 18cm tall when shut and 31cm tall when open and ready to use. This small size means that the water container is also quite small and it can take no more than two pints of water.
Often finding suitable small gifts for members of the opposite sex is not easy, I mean friends but not those especially close to you. However if they use an iPhone I might have some suggestions that are also affordable options for Christmas gifts.
This is described as external memory for iPhone but I see it also works with the iPad. However not only is it storage but once connected to your ‘i’ device it will download an App that even for people like me – a confirmed Android user – can understand. The App allows very simple transfer of files – music, pictures and videos – from the iPhone to the iBridge and also the reverse.
Is it a notebook? Is it a tablet? No it is both.
Hot on the heels of its BravoWin 2-in-1 notebook, Venturer has released the BravoWin S 10KR product. This device is classified as a 2-in-1 mini notebook. The 2-in-1 reference in the product’s title refers to the ability of the BravoWin S to split into separate screen and keyboard elements with the separated screen adopting the role of a tablet.
Not everyone wants or needs the largest SmartPhone so this slightly smaller offering from Samsung may fit their needs. It seems that the mobile phone teams to follow are Samsung or iPhone as far as the vast quantity of publicity created.
Adding to its range of smartphone handsets, Huawei has released the Mate 9.
Featuring a 5.9-inch full high density touch screen, this Mate 9 has a high-precision unibody, aluminium metal frame that has been finished with a soft sandblasted texture. With dimensions of 156.9 x 78.9 x 7.9mm (H x W x D) and weighing 196g (including the non-replaceable 4,000 mAh battery), the Mate 9 is available in a choice of colours including Space Grey, Moonlight Silver, Mocha Brown and Black plus the Champagne Gold of my review model.
The Gizmos are back with a new set of nonograms to test your puzzles solving skill.
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
Do children spend too much time using a mobile device? Amazon believes it has a solution for this problem with a tablet and software managed by parents.
In an apparent effort to integrate, and influence, every aspect of home life, Amazon has developed a version of its Fire tablet specifically for the younger members of the family. This Amazon offering combines a standard 7-inch Fire tablet with a removable child-proof bumper frame in either blue or pink plus a one-year subscription to appropriate content that has been graded for specific age groups. This product goes by the title of Fire Kids Edition.
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.
A visit to a central London location, just off Oxford Street, introduced me to a new handset from Wileyfox.
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.
Offering to add VDSL / ADSL Internet connectivity to your router-based LAN set up is a NETGEAR modem.
Supplied in undistinguished packaging made up of a rather plain cardboard box, the DM200 is a Broadband high speed DSL modem from NETGEAR. This product acts as the link up connection device between the vast virtual world, known as the Internet, and your router and / or computer. The DM200 product offers the user VDSL / ADSL Internet access.
With this next game its title gives you a clear indication of what is in store for you when firing it up. The Ultimate Hidden Object Game, also known as the Original Clutter Game, presents the player with a plethora of action involving searching for objects found in cluttered scenes with a smattering of puzzle bonus game play.
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.
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