Entertainment

Yes two more useful USB gadgets from the people in Hong Kong that charge a flat rate postage and packing fee of $3 US no matter what the size of your order. First a Micro SD Card reader that is also an MP3 player and second a model plane that is a speaker.

A new product from Sandberg offers to add ease-of-use and increase functionality when linking devices by HDMI.

As well as its takeover of Pinnacle’s PCTV line up, Hauppauge has added to its portfolio product with the release of its WinTV-HVR 900 offering.

It has been a long time since I have told you about some of the recent Naim offerings that come under the broad heading of Jazz. Jazz in itself is a word that means many things to many people, my preference is modern but not experimental.

While you may recognise the name of Memorex, you might not be so familiar with the company’s new focus on your life with regards to in-home entertainment.

In February this year (23-2-09) I reviewed a pre production version of their 250GB version. Here I am looking at the resale version and the one I have is 500GB and it takes a long time – with normal watching – to fill this unit up.

Just over a week ago I told about two ways of listening while unconnected, here are two different types of quality earbuds. The first from Shure and the second from a company that designs earbuds to suit your Genre of music.

First an ingenious device called the Deco Mandala Designer and second something – say it very quietly – educational from the History of Art series, that dare I say is fun as well as educational what used to be called Edutainment.

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.

Adding to its range of MP3 devices, SanDisk has released the Sansa Fuze model for those wanting both video and music mobile playback facilities.

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.

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.

Old technology can still have a purpose if only to provide new technology with which it can work.

Offering to improve your listening experience with a portable music player is a device from Orbitsound

An iPod can keep you entertained during the day and help you awake from a restful night’s sleep.

Perhaps what Ravensberger are best known for in the toy and games market is Jigsaws and here I am looking at two such offerings. To me two things matter the quality of the image and the quality of the pieces, both are excellent.

When opting to display your digital images, you are almost spoilt for choice. Yet another digital picture frame demands by attention.

It was about 12 months ago that Logitech introduced the Pure-Fi Anywhere product to the UK. Now there is a new version of this portable compact speaker set for the iPod Pure-Fi Anywhere 2which is entitled, not surprisingly, Pure-Fi Anywhere 2.

Sometime a degree of patience is required during the interval between seeing a new product and getting your hands on a review unit. With this next product that wait lasted six months before I was able to confirm or adjust my initial impressions.

This is described as a USB Turntable, the difference from other - more expensive – units recently reviewed is that you are not forced to save in MP3 but other formats are available including .WAV that means your LP’s can be turned into CD’s.

Sometimes first impressions can be misleading. Take for instance this next product from Kensington.

Two items essential for those who want to just do their own thing. First a rather nice set of headphones from TDK that can block almost anything out. Second a way to occupy your mind, a book from Adrian Arnold, Computing for the Older and Wiser.

This Blu-ray player was the one I used with the recently reviewed Samsung Series 6 Full HD LE32A656 however any full HD TV should allow you to see the full glory of Blu-ray. To hear the full cinema sound quality you will need a 5.1 or 7.1 sound system.

Last year I reviewed the Edirol from Roland (25-7-08) it got a well earned highly commended. In some ways this is less easy to use, in others it offers more bells and whistles. So the choice if you want a serious portable .WAV and MP3 recorder that does not break the bank the choice lies between the two.

This is the first 32inch full HD TV I have reviewed, not ‘HD ready’ but showing full HD and I can assure you it gives a far nicer view even when viewing standard TV down your aerial and is the first digital TV I have seen where I prefer the digital image to that available from the Analogue channels.

Adding television reception to your computer has never been easier with various companies offering products. This next product was developed by Pinnacle but now forms part of the Hauppauge portfolio

Here I am looking at a traditional board game which is great when several of you have an hour or more to spend around a table. The other offering is for the Nintendo DS Lite multiple versions of the Rubics Cube.

Although its main purpose is to play music and videos, my iPod also comes in useful when testing products such as a speaker system from Logic3.

This is a small dual recorder unit. That means you can record either one or two channels simultaneously and even replay something else already recorded at the same time. Being a modern unit it can also be set to record a whole series of a program whilst setting it only once.

If you just want to transfer LP content to a PC and then create MP3 files then he ION USB Record deck reviewed in December will do what you want. However should you want something that does the lot without the aid of a PC and lets you end up with audio CD’s then this could be for you.