GadgetSpeak Articles
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Recently I was invited to the launch of a new product that was described as a personal sharing device. This was the Leyio PSD.
Bluetooth technology has been around for quite a while. During this period it has allowed us to transmit and share personal data, such as found on a business card, between mobile devices. Thinking back, I can only remember using this facility on one occasion.
This is the second Nikon offering I have reviewed, the first was extremely popular and I see no reason why this mid sized unit will not be equally so with anyone wanting to progress that bit beyond point and shoot.
The Nikon Coolpix L100 measures 11x7x8cm, the latter figure the width can increase by 2cm when the lens is out. It weights 445grams. It is black with silver colour clips for the neck strap and around the shutter area. The left side has an anchor point and a rubber bung to cover the A/V out and DC in. The right side has only the anchor point. The base has tripod screw and battery/SD card door.
Wireless speakers are one such method and outdoor speakers are another. Here I am looking at both. First some rather natty speaker cubes from Griffin. Second an outdoor speaker that works by wireless from wherever.
The last time I ventured into Londons Battersea Park was to visit a fair ground. That was years ago now it its modern technology that is the featured attraction.
The title of this book is really a misnomer as it is really suitable for all beginners to digital photography irrespective of whether or not they have previously used film.
The opening section “Getting started with your digital camera” starts with how one should go about choosing a camera, and then takes one through the basics under the heading “taking your first photos”. This is ideal as one is always impatient to get started. This is followed by a chapter on adjusting the various settings and menus.
Just one week ago I told you about the first mobile phone sized HD camcorder from Kodak, this offering from Flip is an obvious competitor, I suggest you read this and last weeks review to make your own comparisons.
This is the third Flip I have reviewed the first was a little garish the second quite smart aimed at the younger market but the Flip Mino HD is their first HD offering. It is the same size as the Flip Mino at 10x5x2cm and that is perhaps major problem. The screen was always small at 3x2.2cm and with HD recording you have bands top and bottom and the playback/capture image is 3x1.
Adding to its range of MP3 devices, SanDisk has released the Sansa Fuze model for those wanting both video and music mobile playback facilities.
Measuring 50 x 7 x 78mm, the Sansa Fuze, with its ability to play MP3 and WMA audio tracks plus video clips, is the company’s obvious challenger to the market leading iPod nano device. Positioned between the excellent Sansa Clip and Sansa View units, the Sansa Fuze is available with 2, 4 and 8GB storage capacities in a choice of blue, red, pink, black or silver. This review is based on the 4GB version of the product. Taking over the top half of the unit’s front is a 1.
Its time to get into survival mode as you need to escape after being washed ashore on a mysterious island.
Following a storm at sea you are shipwrecked on a remote and mysterious island. You appear to be the only survivor. Although hardly the most hospitable location, you are at least alive and on dry land. There is also enough evidence to show that there have been inhabitants at one time or another. However, for no apparent reason (maybe you just want to get back home to watch the next episode of Lost), your first priority is to escape.
This is the second notebook I have seen recently that has a Blu-ray drive. The drive itself is not that special but its the power needed in the notebook to drive it so you can watch the latest movies with the special Dolby sound quality and therefore the speakers provided are.
The Acer Aspire 6935G measures 38x27x4cm and weights 3.2Kg. It measures 28cm from front to back with the lid open this may sound strange but the hinge opens behind the rear of the unit. The left hinge is where the power plug goes in – novel – in front of this is the modem port (anyone still use dial up?) VGA port, Ethernet port, E-SATA and HDMI along with three audio ports complete the left side. Under the front edge is a card port.
Despite being a firm believer in the "If it aint broke, dont fix it" mantra, I was recently tempted to carry out an upgrade.
While it might seem illogical, I have always regarded my notebook as a totally different beast from my workhorse desktop machine even though both systems use the same operating system. I should explain that the difference I am referring to relates to adding certain hardware enhancements to the computer’s make-up.
A colour laser printer with an RRP of less than £200 surely is worthy of further investigation. The size is not that large something that earlier printers could not say and it prints quite quickly without colour pages printing at ¼ speed.
The Canon i-SENSYS LBP 5050n is 38x4325cm and as printed pages are delivered face down on the top of the unit no extra space is required. It weights around 18kilos so should be easily moveable if required. When I removed it from the box I noticed there is a cardboard sling that makes removing it easy.
Not one item but two, first a battery powered screwdriver from Black and Decker and second a nice powerful USB torch from Brando in Hong Kong and as you would expect it does have another function, read on to find out what.
When the choice of colours is Lava Black, Jungle Grey, Cosmopolitan White or Active Blue, then you should have a fairly good idea that the subject mater will be a Sony Ericsson mobile phone.
In this case the phone belongs to the Walkman series and bears the W595 designation. The combination of the Active blue colouring with silver trimmings and slopping curves at the top and bottom of the unit give this handset a stylish appearance.
Apart from a very heavy Dell (purchased second hand) my first 17inch monitor was the then new Flatron brand. It still touch wood works on my Windows ME system that still performs, this is of course smaller lighter and has a much larger display area.
This LG Flatron W2261V-PF 22inch Flat Panel measures 39x52x18cm when vertical sitting on the oval stand. The screen surround is 52x30cm with the display area 47x27cm giving the notional 21.5inch diagonal measurement. This is a 1080P widescreen unit capable of displaying 1920x1080 but perhaps more important when used with a notebook it can display far lesser resolutions well without the text or images looking strange.
You could say that I am one in a billion. Well not exactly me but rather the subject of this next review.
Logitech has recently announced that it has shipped its billionth mouse which presumably calls for some sort of celebration but as yet I have no information regarding what this might be. The count of one billion includes the V550 Nano model which is currently taking up residence on my workspace in its role as the pointing device for my notebook. Like the previous mouse in the Logitech Nano series, the V550 model is a cordless laser device that links to your computer via advanced 2.
This is one of two small HD camcorders (mobile phone size) that I am looking at. So as part of my reviews I take some clips at local gigs and then send links to the clips to the musicians, whom I ask which is better and why.
I have previously reviewed a couple of the ‘Flip’ models who both took images at lesser resolution. This is the first pocket camcorder I have reviewed that takes movies in HD. It is 10.5x5.5x2cm and it weights 135grams. It is marketed with a You Tube logo on the face and indeed should you want to share videos with the world then this would work however if your efforts are for friends and family there is another way via Vimeo.
From the printed page to the computer screen comes a murder mystery from the fertile imagination of a best selling author.
I have to admit that I have never read a book from the pen of the best selling author, James Patterson. This gap in my literally education means that I am unable to confirm whether the storyline used in the James Patterson Women’s Murder Club: Death in Scarlet game, released by the GSP arm of Avanquest Software Publishing, stays true to the original book offering.
While hardly the sexiest of products, database software does have an important task to fulfil especially when it is available in cross-platform format.
A long established application on my desktop, dating back to the days of Windows 95 and before, is FileMaker. This product, available for both the Windows and Mac platforms, has provided all my database needs on both my desktop system and handheld devices. Sad to say, the Mobile version of the product has been discontinued (shame on you FileMaker) but the latest version of the desktop product, FileMaker Pro 10, is now with us.
If it isnt broke dont mend it does not seem to apply to the highly successful range of Ixus cameras. I have reviewed several and numerous things are in different places in fact it looks quiet different to earlier models.
I suppose change had to happen as the wide screen mode alters the form factor it is still small and powerful but the shape has changed. It is 9.5x5x1.5 when the lens is fully extended this adds 2cm to the last figure. The weight is 160 grams. Mine had a powder blue face but they are available in a range of colours. The right side has a door covering the HDMI and A/V out sockets as well as a very trendy looking wrist strap anchor point.
This product concentrates on the Driving Theory Test. It is a product that runs on the Nintendo DS Lite. Some readers may know that many years ago before the theory test I used to be a driving instructor. Then of course all this was the Highway Code section after the practical test.
As with most Nintendo DS products you get a 13x12x2cm case with in this case the module that fits in your DS Lite and some documentation. This includes a sixteen page manual and a proof of purchase leaflet that entitles you to your first driving lesson free via Insert the 2.5x2cm module and switch your DS Lite on.
While listening to commercially created music is a popular pastime, have you thought about creating your own compositions?
MAGIX has a long association with different aspects of audio. The company has developed software products for cleaning up audio tracks and adding special effects; organising the management and computerised selection of themed tracks; plus the transfer and conversion of content on vinyl and tape sources into digital audio that can be burned on optical media.
Here I am looking at a high end set of earbuds where an impression of your ear is taken to get an exact fit. The second is a rather natty set of headphones that work rather well even when out and about.
These are rather good earbuds and are sold for ‘Apple’ people mainly. We are talking musician’s type earbuds and indeed this company make special noise reducing ones for musicians. They are very light at less than 40 grams and come with a standard 3.5mm jack and a 1.2metre lead. There are three types of eartips in the box, two different sizes of three shields and a set of the foam ones.
Just the thought of the difficulties that could ensue following a hard disk failure should be enough incentive to encourage users to consider taking precautions and follow the Boy Scout motto of Be Prepared.
There are several offerings available to help keep disaster at bay and one of them is Hard Disk Manager 2009. Describing itself as an “All-In-One Suite to completely protect, maintain and manage your PC”, Paragon’s Hard Disk Manager 2009 is a suite of tools aimed at avoiding hard disk problems and solving those problems that might occur as the result of normal wear and tear through everyday usage.
Mixing together match-3 action, strategy and a storyline that involves dragons, magic crystals and user-selected wallpaper offerings, a new game published by Alawar has been taking over my game-playing time.
This is a touch screen phone (no keyboard) but for those whose handwriting is better than mine almost everything can be written using the provided stylus, however there is a soft keypad for people like me.
The KP500 mobile phone from LG, also referred to as 'Cookie' measures 10.5x5.5x1cm and weights less than 90grams. Mine was black with a metallic grey strip around the edge. The face has a 6.5x4cm screen. The 140 page User Guide is very comprehensive. The face of the unit has three buttons below the screen. The right side has the insertion point for the 5cm long stylus that expands to 7.5cm for easier writing this unusually for a stylus goes horizontally along the base of the unit.
Although Verbatim is best known for its data storage products, there are many other products in its portfolio including portable loudspeakers. These include units suitable for MP3 players as well as notebook computers. Among the recently launched units are the 2.1 Multi Media Speaker System and the USB Speaker System.
The former, as well as being mains powered, can be run from batteries. Hence, it is ideal for the person who needs more powerful sound, both at home and on the move, than the PC or MP3 player is able to provide. Consisting of a single base unit 9 x 7cm together with pair of units, roughly 10 by 5 cm, each of which incorporate 2 speakers. Four AAA cells fit in the base unit which also has the controls. These are volume up/down and power buttons together with a LED indicating when power is on.
Old technology can still have a purpose if only to provide new technology with which it can work.
According to certain members of my family, there is more than a touch of packrat in my make up. This is a charge I deny although I do admit to a reluctance to dispose of some items. Experience has taught me that whenever I get rid of something, it is not long before a need arises for that particular item. As I result I still posses several pieces of equipment and media that are no longer regarded as state-of-the-art.
Having recently reviewed a number of small and light notebooks this is somewhat of a culture shock. In fact a doubt anyone without personal transport would ever think of it as a notebook more of a desktop replacement.
First a device that allows you to charge up to five USB devices from a single 13amp socket. Second two AA and two AAA rechargeable batteries from Vatra, they come with a Free dual recharger unit.
It has 6.5x7x3.5cm visible when plugged into a 13amp socket. The front shows 4 USB slots, however remove the outer sleeve and a micro USB is reviewed on the end of 65cm of cable that is wound round the body and clips into a storage bay. So now a single 13amp socket is capable of charging five USB devices simultaneously. The load can be up to 3000mA distributed among the four female ports and the mini B connector.
The quick and easy camcorder market is certainly hotting up as Flip Video introduces a new model to the Flip family.
Although it was not all that long ago that the Flip Ultra was launched in the UK, Flip Video has followed up that initial offering with the new Flip Mino. Again targeted primarily as the “fun loving” user who wants the ability to capture video content quickly and then transferred it to a computer or viewed on a television set, the Flip Mino is a camcorder that puts simplicity near the top of its feature set.
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