GadgetSpeak Articles
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Described as archaeology meets adventure style offering, Barrow Hill: Curse of the Ancient Circle is an adventure-style game that is set in Cornwall.
According to Sods Law, the battery on your mobile device will run out when you need it the most. But, like a boy scout, you can be prepared.
At the beginning of the year I reported on my first encounter with a product from Powertraveller Ltd. This is a company that supports the David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation ( ) which funds long term projects in Africa and Asia aimed at species survival in their native habitat. The product was the unusually named powermonkey-eXplorer.
Two very different approaches to music through a speaker. First the rather grand Yamaha offering that enables your iPod to be located away from the speaker. Second a small (fits in pocket) speaker to give a good sound for iPod or MP3.
This seems like an easy mix. Place your iPod in the wireless sender that fits around your iPod it sends signals to the speaker and sound comes out. Not what happened for me, I assumed (wrongly) that the speaker was faulty and a replacement was sent, still no joy. Then it was suggested I upgrade the firmware in my series one iPod Nano, now upgraded to version 1.31 all works correctly.
Time travel, friendly animal characters, hidden objects and numerous mini games all features in this Alawar title.
Recently my nightly slumbers have been interrupted on a number of occasions by shrieking sounds. It didn’t take me too long to discover that the sounds were coming from a family of urban foxes as they explored the local rubbish bins. Maybe the developers of this next title encountered a similar state of affairs thus giving them the idea of the trouble that two inquisitive fox cubs could get up to without too much effort.
First another in the range of Doro mobile phones for those less agile and or with disabilities. Second a DECT cordless phone suitable for anyones home and it includes a built in answering machine for those times you are not there
This is almost like a normal mobile phone except it has the larger buttons and an easy to read display. It has Bluetooth and MMS and even a built in FM radio. It is a flip phone and when closed the black back makes it look like ant other phone. However open it up and the white face with vibrant green piping around the edges make it stand out for the visually impaired. There are just 18 keys all well spaced apart. The bottom four rows are the normal 1-0 and * #.
Either of these items would make a great Christmas gift, but give some thought to the receiptant as the first one runs backwards. The second is a more conventional al la Wallace and Gromit conventional both are great fun.
At first look this may seem bizarre, however it works exactly like a normal Quartz clock with the twelve at the top and the six at the bottom but there the similarity ends as to the right of twelve is eleven and the sweep second hand goes anti clockwise (as do the hour and minute hands) if you are still confused look at the clock in a mirror and all will make sense. This is great talking point and during my tests it kept perfect time.
Photos and video clips are meant to be viewed not hidden away on your hard disk. So put them to some productive use.
Having recently looked at a LG offering that had Ethernet options, I now see the latest Sony offering the BDP-S360 that also allows Ethernet to play a part. However first and foremost it is a rather nice full featured Blu-ray player.
The BDP-S360 measures 43x22x5.5cm and weights less than two kilos. It is matt black with the exception of the drop down front and top front edge that are both shiny black plastic that of course shows every finger mark. Somewhat surprisingly you do have to visit the unit not only to insert and remove DVD’s or Blu-ray discs but also to open the door to insert and remove as much to my surprise there is no open/close button on the remote control.
No matter how careful you are, modern devices often show evidence of any handling by the user. Instead of wearing gloves you might consider this solution.
Lex, the cute and friendly bookworm, returns for his third outing in a Popcap developed word creating game. This time Lex stars in the sequel to Bookworm Adventures which, appropriately enough in the style of Hollywood blockbusters, is entitled Bookworm Adventures 2. Yet again your ability to form words from alphabetical tiles, while managing health and power resources, is put to the test as Lex takes on another batch of characters in a series of one-on-one (well some of the time) contests.
Much to my surprise this bigger unit was launched before the Zx1 that I reviewed earlier this year (10-6-09). For some reason it was long after the Zx1 that I found out about it. So what does it have going for it apart from a larger screen?
This unit was far from new when it arrived and certain of the items were missing. However as it works on the same principle as the so I was able to use it without problem. Not only is the screen larger but to accommodate that so is everything else. The Kodak Zi6 measures 11.5x6x2cm and it weights 160grams, my unit was black but I see they do other colours including pink for the ladies. The face has the 5x3.
When a game plan proves popular, it makes sense to return to fertile ground (especially when the subject matter involves farming) by creating further titles for the enjoyment of users. The result of this type of approach can be seen with Farm Frenzy 3 from the Alawar Entertainment and Melestra stable.
Having just reviewed a rather nice Vista PC with a 1.4GHz Intel processor the next unit in has exactly the same processor and memory configuration, this unit also has a very thin screen and is also quite nice and light.
The MSI X-Slim X-340 measures 33x22.5x1.5cm and weights less than 1.3kilos. It is black, matt on the base and keyboard surround, but rather strangely fingermark showing shiny black for the screen surround and lid. It has an 87key keyboard with all but the top (function keys) full size. The only things behind the keyboard are the hinges with the power on button on the top right edge. The trackpad is in front of the keyboard 10.
First a tiny speaker shaped to look like a Pandas head, and second, a four port card reader that is stated to support no less than eighty one (yes 81) card types. Remember whatever the size of your order you only pay $3 (US) p&p.
This is tiny and will easily fit in your pocket or purse. It is of course black and white in colour and near round. 4.5cm tall and 5cm wide and deep. There is a micro USB lead in the bottom to charge its internal solid battery. The top between its ears is a 3.5mm socket to connect your iPod or MP3 player to. Finally a slider switch to turn it on/off on the left side and a red LED on the right side when it is switched on with power. The box contains a 12cm 3.5 to 3.
Kodaks pocket sized HD camcorder has been my recent companion when on my travels.
Like many of my generation, my first camera was a Box Brownie. Since those early days, cameras have changed out of all recognition with regards to their shape, size and functionality with the latter showing the greatest change as digital dominates the scene. The latest such device to come under my gaze is, in fact, not a camera but a camcorder from that doyen of all things photographic, Kodak. This is the Kodak Fx1 which is a HD pocket camcorder model.
Recharging an array of gadgets while on your travels has always been a problem - Duracell have a solution thanks to USB
Until very recently of your gadgets will have required their own personal charger, complete with proprietary connector. Travelling with your mobile phone, camera and MP3 player could easily mean three separate mains chargers eating up your luggage space. USB (Universal Serial Bus) was developed as an inexpensive common interconnect system for computers allowing devices as disparate as keyboards, DVD drives and GPS navigation systems to share an interface a connector.
While a lot of digital cameras have special features some much better than others a DSLR camera can normally take a better image, yes they are bulkier and even if you settle just for a single 18-55mm lens you will not regret it.
It is 12x13x9cm and weights a tad under 800grams. The figure I gave was with an 18-55mm lens fitted and in its most compressed setting. For anyone coming from a standard digital camera there is of course a learning curve. Attach the lens, attach the neck strap, insert memory card and make sure the solid battery is charged. Move the dial to auto and switch on.
Edgar Allan Poe (1809-1849) was an American writer, poet and editor who is best known for his tales of mystery and the macabre such as The Raven. Now he has become the focal point for a new game from MumboJumbo.
Those creative people at GameHouse have been at it again. This time you are abandoned with amnesia.
I have been lucky enough to be using the shipping version of Windows 7 since the end of August so if there were any real problems there is a good chance I will have found them. Not only on a 4GB powerful notebook but also on a 1GB Netbook.
Only very recently have I reviewed any Vista systems they really seemed to work well with the operating system. Here however I expect Windows 7 to settle down very quickly. No manufacturer has so far offered me a Windows 7 system to look at even under a non disclosure agreement. So my tests have been with my own notebooks.
As a personal mobile device, it makes sense to use your iPod for your in-car music entertainment when making a road trip.
Although not exclusively so, the vast majority of products available from Griffin Technology have been designed with the Apple Mac and iPod in mind. One such product is the RoadTrip. As you might suppose from its title, the RoadTrip is an in-car device that could help when you need to make long distant journeys. The RoadTrip designated task is to send music from your iPod or iPhone to your car’s stereo FM radio kit.
Just as Vistas troubled life comes towards its end comes a notebook that runs well with it, also a notebook that gives a full eight hours of use. Put the two together and you have the Packard Bell Butterfly.
The new Packard Bell Butterfly measures 32x22x3cm and weights 1.8kilos. It is shiny black and grey (don’t know any Butterflies of that colouration), open the lid and the grey is the keyboard surround while the screen surround is the shiny black. It has an 87key keyboard with all but the function keys full size. Strangely the trackpad is mounted in the centre of the area in front of the keyboard most seem to favour an area slightly left of centre.
Here a home phone from Panasonic that is tough and stylish and it is even capable of working after being encased in ice. I know they do tough notebooks (Toughbooks) but surely encasing a phone in ice makes that tough as well.
I have my doubts about my abilities to be hard enough to review this ‘Shock & Splash’ resistant handset. At the launch it was encased in a large ice sculpture. Is that what they call ‘splash’? I am really worried as to what they call ‘Shock’ as I have visions of a sequence in an old ‘Gadget Show’ where they got a tank to go over ‘tough’ phones. This Panasonic DECT Phone (KX-TG6481ET) measures 16x5x3cm and weights 160grams.
It seems like only yesterday that I took a look at Magix Movie Edit Pro 14 (actually it was around six months ago but who is counting) yet here I am sat watching version 15 install itself on my system.
Installation is not the quickest operation but at least it gives me the opportunity, as I wait for the procedure to complete, to tell you that currently this latest version of the product comes bundled with a copy of Photo & Videoshow Soundproof 6. This is on top of the various items, such as Photo Manager 8, Mufin Music Finder, Xtreme Photo Designer, Vasco da Gama 3Magix Edition and iClone 3 SE, that are supplied on the DVD media found in the Movie Edit Pro 15 Plus box.
Here I am looking at two different yet similar USB hard drives. Not in either case from mainstream manufacturers of this sort of item. The first from Buffalo and the second from Dane-Elec. Both these 2.5 inch drives are 250GB.
It is 13x8x1.5cm with just over 2cm being added to the first figure by the USB lead. It weights 186grams with the 35cm long USB cable inserted. My unit shiny black ‘crystal black’ on the face and matt black everywhere else. I find there is little to say about hard discs of any size, most come with some ‘extra value’ software to enable you to keep your date safe. Here it is something called ‘SecureLockMobile’.
The hidden object genre of game play continues to be popular as yet another example finds from Popcap its way on to my hard disk and keeps me entertained and occupied for many hours.
As a Private Detective (PI) you are used to being offered all manner of cases but this is the first time that you have been hired to track down a missing will. This will belonged to a fun-loving New York billionaire and has been hidden somewhere in New York City. Speed is of the essence as you have to complete the task within 17 hours otherwise the billionaire’s fortune will go to the Cat & Dogs’ Home.
My lack of horticultural skills is such that my only chance of success is with virtual gardens such as those found in a new title from Playrix Entertainment.
While there are numerous examples of the Hidden Object genre currently available, it is unusual to come across one that has fully integrated the hidden object element into the actual storyline. Usually you just need to identify a list of objects in order to move on to the next scene or maybe receive an inventory item as a reward. One exception to this is a new title from Playtrix Entertainment entitled Gardenscapes which involves you in the restoration of a garden.
Did the idea for this unit come from a number of recent films; it certainly looks like something from several popular films. So you have in effect a webcam that can roam around to give you content from different places.
The website describes this as a toy, well no doubt most children of a certain age would love one but I suspect the price will mean that it will be an ‘executive’ toy. This is a very clever piece of kit. What has 33 wheels? Yes you know the answer before you even try to count them.
Taking on the role of the companys first WiFi enabled Walkman handset is the Sony Ericsson W705 product.
The Sony Ericsson W705 is a slider phone that weighs 98g. In its closed state the handset measures 95 x 48 x 14mm (H x W x D) with the height increasing to 128mm when slid open by a smooth movement under the control of your thumb. The review unit has a brushed metallic silver fascia with gold trimmings and a black back. A red version is available. As you would expect, the front of the closed handset is dominated by a 2.5-inch screen.
Things have changed hugely since I last looked at a baby monitor. Wired has long gone and now wireless with its limited channels has now been replaced with DECT technology, this unit however goes much further.
The baby monitor is 11x8x7.5cm while the parent unit is 11x5x3cm. A well written 40 page manual is well worth a thorough read just to see exactly what this multi functional unit can do. If you are just expecting a baby monitor then you are in for a big surprise. As an example the baby unit has no less than 50 lullabies built in to lull your baby to sleep, with technology ruling every other part of our life why not the baby monitor as well.
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