GadgetSpeak Articles
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Are you ready to enter various dreamland environments as you search for children missing from Kronville?
Kronville – Stolen Dreams is a Hidden Object Adventure Games that is based on the disappearance of twelve children. Your role in this game is to take on the task of locating and rescuing the missing children from whatever force has imprisoned them. Unlike many other games of this genre, the options available to players are rather limited when setting up the game environment. You can create named profiles for individual players.
Having recently told you about their rather good Sounddeck here are a pair of speakers that can be used in several ways and that even includes multi room use. With these speakers the sounds on your phone will never have sounded so good.
The pair of speakers are 17.7x10.5x12.7cm each, and they weigh 1407grams each. If you currently buy the pair you also get the Wi-Fi extender included, this is 11x11x2.5cm. You can have them in Black or White or should you wish one of each which could help identification and possibly even satisfy the lounge fashion police.
Aimed at the budget sector of the mobile market, and currently it is available for around £74, the Archos 70b Helium has been released under the banner of “Entertainment your way”.
While some might regard the Archos 70b Helium as a bulky smartphone, I tend to feel that its size pushes it more into the phablet (a word that I do not find all that appealing) classification. This smartphone on steroids has dimensions of 188 x 108 x 9.9mm (H x W x D) which means that this unit is far too large for my usual phone pocket.
A 27inch flat panel that is light but solid, the silver grey stand is in the shape of a squashed C with an extended bottom part makes it very solid but it also takes up very little desk space and everyone knows how that is always at a premium.
This LED flat panel display from AOC measures 62x36x1cm and sits on a stand 32x17cm that raises the screen 8cm from whatever you sit it on. The viewable screen is 61x35cm which gives the notional diagonal imperial measurement of 27inches. Unlike most recent panels the stand is fixed so you take it out of the box connect the leads for power and signal and you are ready to go. There is virtually no surround on the top and sides and it is only 1.5cm at the bottom.
Both these devices have 32GB of memory, both are there to store and easily transfer data. The first item from Kingston is a fast access SD or micro SD card ideal for videos. The second is a nice looking USB able to clip to your keychain or purse.
This is a 32GB Micro SD Card designed for the rapid acceptance and playing of video without frame drop in the latter and stutter in the former. The figures are 90MB/s read and 45MB/s write so while you are recording to say your head cam while zooming across rough terrain in death defying action it is all being captured for your mates to enjoy and your mum to clip your round your ear for doing it in the first place. These are available in 16GB, 32GB as I was sent, and 64GB.
According to recent research, 29 of the UK’s major insurers will now accept evidence from in-car cameras as part of an insurance claim. Some insurers, such as Swiftcover, even offer a discount on motor insurance premiums if you are using a recognised in-car dash camera.
This is an Android phone so everything should be the same as every other phone? However LG have never been one to conform, I remember their white phone of many years ago. Here there are no buttons on the phones sides.
The Leon from LG has one button just above the centre middle of the back. Sorry if this is not a new feature but sometime ago LG stopped sending out review units so the only way I have to review such items is via people like Vodafone. This is not the largest of phones at 12.7x6.5x.8cm and it weighs 138grams. The viewable screen is 9.8x5.5cm which gives the notional diagonal imperial measurement of 4½ inches. Both sides are clear the base has mini USB for charging and the top has 3.
How many entities share your bed? The answer might surprise you. Did you know that an average mattress can be home to 10 million dust mites? The reason why dust mites choose this type of habitat is that they thrive in the warm, moist environment engendered by such a location.
Once firmly established in a mattress, the dust mites can get to work by bringing on allergies and respiratory problems for their human bedfellows who tend to spend up to one third of their lives in bed. It has been estimated that 300 million people suffer from asthma and up to 250 million people suffer from other allergies on a worldwide basis which goes to show how extremely busy the dust mites have been.
No doubt you know the story of the first Cinderella. But perhaps you are not as familiar with the tale of the Final Cinderella especially when it forms part of the Dark Parables series of titles.
Dark Parables: The Final Cinderella is a Hidden Object Adventure game developed by Blue Tea Games. Standard and Collector’s Edition versions of the game are available and this review is based on the Collector’s Edition which comes with a number of bonus items, most of which can be accessed immediately. You can tackle puzzles, view wallpaper, check out a movie gallery, concept art and parable notes plus an additional game.
This device turns an Audio System without Bluetooth into an Audio System with Bluetooth providing you have either RCA jacks or a 3.5mm audio input, however it has an extra not found on a lot of other devices it also has Wolfson DAC.
The One For All Bluetooth Music Receiver measures 10.5x6.5x2cm and you should add another 2cm to the middle figure to allow for whatever cables are inserted into it. Supplied in the box is a DC lead to small power brick this lead is 1.8metres long, also a 3.5mm to 3.5mm lead that is 1metre long and a small RCA pair to 3.5mm plug that is 10cm long.
When all the router’s Ethernet ports are full, Netgear’s SOHO Gigabit Ethernet switches provide a means of connecting more devices to one’s LAN. In addition they can often make the house a tidier place by cutting down on the number of long cables needed around the network.
Early last summer I attended a Google launch I have already told you about Chromecast and Chromecast Audio. Here is a Chrome phone running Android Marshmallow (Android 6) – also launched at that event - from Nexus part of Google but made by Huawei and this one is from Vodafone, follow that, good.
The Huawei Nexus 6P measures 13.8x7.7x.7cm and weighs 177grams. The viewable screen is 12.6x7cm which gives the notional diagonal imperial measurement of 5.8inches. On the right side are the on/off button and below that the volume rocker. On the base the USB 3.1 power connection. The left side towards the top is where your Nano SIM is inserted. The top has a 3.5mm socket for headphones.
I thought I would have reviewed my last cassette player quite a long time ago but if someone now brings one out they must think there is still a demand, perhaps the mix tape as a way of breaking the ice with a partner may be making a comeback.
As its version number of X8 indicates, CorelDRAW has been around for a good number of years. In fact this software’s first appearance was back in 1989 as it offered users full colour vector illustration and layout functionality on the Windows platform. Over the years this software product has undergone numerous changes including a metamorphosis into a suite rather than a single offering.
This latest X8 version of this package consists of CorelDRAW X8, Corel PHOTO PAINT X8, Corel Font Manager X8, Corel CONNECT X8, Corel CAPTURE X8, Corel Power Trace X8 and Corel Website Creator. You also get bucket-loads of content with 10000 items of clipart and digital images, 2000 professional digital photos, 10000 OpenType® fonts, 350 professionally designed templates, 2000 vehicle templates and over 1000 fills, frames and patterns to use with your projects.
A visit to the Wearable Technology Show had me feeling less fit and able than normal. This device was one of the worst offenders simply because the people wearing them were the exact opposite of me in three ways, young, fit and healthy.
The chest belt is the hardware but more important is the software that knows what you have achieved previously and indeed how hard you are working. So in theory even an old decrepit specimen like me could become less decrepit assuming the effort did not bring on a fatal heart attack.
Whether playing to win or just for enjoyment, you need the appropriate tools in order to succeed in the competitive gaming arena.
As part of its expanding range of gaming keyboards, Logitech has released a couple of new Cherry Mechanical offerings under the G610 Orion brand. Constructed of industrial grade plastic for a strong, robust appearance that is strong enough to handle the heavy workload of a gaming device, these keyboards are designated as either Brown or, as in the case of my review model, Red.
It will not come as a surprise to regular game players to hear that Shadlight, developed by Wadjet Eye Games, is a point and click adventure offering that is set in a world where everything is a little off-kilter. In fact the world of Shadlight takes you into an environment that has come about following a post-apocalyptic blast which occurred some 20 years earlier. This is a world where what is left of the population has split into distinct classes.
In the world of Shadlight the ruling classes are known as Aristicrats. This highly distinct group, with names taken from the Roman Empire and an appearance that pre-dated the French Revolution, control all the world’s facilities and available resources. They hand out titbits as personal favours for carrying out their wishes.
A Tablet is becoming more popular, some say they will overtake sales of Desktop or Laptop systems. Most Tablets I get to see run Android or Chrome but this one runs Windows 10. Tablets have touch screens which is a big part of Windows 10.
The Archos 90 Cesium measures 23x15x1cm and weighs 459grams. The viewable screen is 19.2x12cm which gives the notional diagonal imperial measurement of 8.8inches the screen resolution is 1280x800 pixels. Assuming you are using it in portrait mode the right side has on/off and volume rocker. The base is clear the right side has connections for an external keyboard attachment (not supplied).
While many users have an anti-virus contract in place, they sometimes fail to protect their data in other ways.
According to BullGuard, a fast growing anti-malware and mobile security brand, millions of us are putting our personal and financial data at risk. One reason for this worrying claim is the habit that many of us have of auto-storing passwords on our smartphones.
Having reviewed other Roku items the Roku 2 seems something that until now has passed me by so when offered one to review I thought I would put that oversight right. Roku are one of the big companies in streaming things to your TV the box claims ‘1500+ channels’.
When you get to my age the bald look is in, not by choice but simply because hair stops growing on top, it makes up for this by growing extremely vigorously around the sides and out of most other orifices, so a Hair Clipper still has it uses.
Designed by Huawei, the P9 smartphone comes with a couple of “Firsts” that might appeal to purchasers.
Following the company’s recently established practice of alternately switching between the release of a premium and more budget orientated model, the latest offering to appear from Huawei is the company’s high-end P9 smartphone product. Released with more than a touch of the style I have come to expect from Huawei, the P9 has been created in collaboration with Leica Camera AG. The result is the first-time appearance of a distinctive dual-lens camera smartphone.
A visit to London for the recent Intel Labs Day told me new things to come and also the current relationship with McAfee a company now part of their portfolio. An Intel Anti-Virus is something for the future here I tell you about what is available now.
Spread over five chapters, the game of Parallel’s Cross is situated in the grounds and buildings that make up a boarding school with the name of Westerfeld Manor. As you play this graphics adventure offering that is available for purchasing and downloading from various gaming sites, you are cast in the role of a mother who son has gone missing during a car journey.
Parallel Cross’s opening title screen gives you the option of adjusting various game settings and creating profiles for individual players. You can adjust the volume levels for music and sound effects plus opt to play in full screen mode with the assistance of hardware cursor. Three levels of difficulty are available for players of varying ability.
Mixing a touch of style with plenty of storage space and a single USB connection, Seagate adds a new hard drive to its portfolio.
In one respect this could be considered as one of those “Big Red London Bus” moments that occur from time to time. Usually, in my experience, this type of event happens when two products of a similar type roll off the review production line in close proximity. However, in this case, the products concerned are not all that similar in that one was a smartphone and the next to appear in the line is an external hard drive.
A few weeks ago I had a gas problem, when I realised it was going to take a while to fix I started to look around for other ways to keep warm in the mornings, at this time of year the afternoons are not a problem and nor are the evenings.
I have one halogen heater and while it could be moved around it’s a pain to keep plugging and unplugging, so that sits in my office, so I needed something very portable. I took a walk around my local town and could not find anything suitable so while I was waiting for my bus home I popped into the local Wilko store as much to keep warm and out of the rain as anything and there at the end of an isle was this little Beldray Fan Heater.
The Braun Beard Trimmer BT 5010 is one of Braun’s new range of grooming aids for men. It is a well-designed rechargeable battery-powered tool that makes it easy to keep one’s beard in good shape.
It fits neatly into the hand and has a matt black surface with the underside, where one’s fingers rest, having a rubberised feel for better grip. The press button on/off switch and other controls are usefully coloured turquoise. The comb unit can be removed by gently squeezing the turquoise buttons on either side to release the latches and then sliding it off.
Having recently reviewed a Sounddeck and a Soundbase that both sit under your TV. I now turn my attention to a Sound Bar that can sit in front of your TV or be mounted on your wall if that is where your TV lives.
The Edifer Cinesound SoundBar measures 1metre long by 10cm tall and is 8cm deep. So first point if you are placing it in front of your TV make sure it would be raised by 10cm above whatever it sits upon. Of course it can sit elsewhere like on the floor but you will need line of site for the remote to work. The remote is 9x3x.5cm and has 12 well marked buttons in two columns of six, it is powered by a circular watch type button battery that is supplied.
I am sure we all know either first or second hand ‘hello, hello, hello then a range of expletives’ whichever phone company you use they all have ‘not spots’ so the Anywhere SIM allows you to make you call across three different major providers.
The SIM as I received is a full size or micro SIM but it did require careful extraction as the plastic surround was more solid and less well perforated than previous SIMs I have used. As most users will know some SIMs work better in certain areas than others and most will have a SIM to suit their locale.
Having recently divested itself of some of its product line up, Sony can now put more effort into offerings such as its Smartphone catalogue.
The Xperia Z5 is the latest addition to Sony’s range of smartphones to be available from Vodafone. This particular model has dimensions of 146 x 72 x 7.3mm (H x W x D) and weighs in at 154g. Featuring a 5.2-inch screen with 1080p resolution, the Xperia Z5 is available in a range of colour schemes including White, Gold, Green, Pink and, as in the case of my review unit, Graphite Black.
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