Wireless

The original version of this review was completed a while ago. I held it back to allow AirTies to check out a possible compatibility problem with an item of equipment I was using. As yet I am still waiting for the results of this investigation and so heave decided to release the review.

At a recent one evening exhibition to show off new products I saw much of the same that I saw last year however there were a couple of interesting items and this cube is perhaps the star of the show its ingenious.

A three band outdoor radio, but it is so much more, it’s a torch, it can charge your mobile phone and is also an Altimeter, Compass, Barometer, Thermometer, Chronograph and it even has an alarm and it can recharge using Solar power.

It is difficult not to make comparisons having recently reviewed the excelled Magicbox Tower that was only a smidgeon short of the rarely awarded 5x5 award. Here is a different beast, the Magicbox Parabola, a DAB/FM radio with alarm and sleep timer.

This Nevada DAB/FM radio is easy to use. While most will use it on mains it is possible to run it from 6x‘C’ batteries. The plastic finish makes it easy to wipe down so ideal for use in say a kitchen where there could be spills.

While Cisco’s plans for a multi-faceted consumer brand may have suffered a hiccup and not been as successful as it had hoped, the company has still managed to produce a number of stylish products that are both easy on the eye and functional. Into this category falls the Cisco Linksys E series of wireless routers.

Headsets are very popular ways to listen, here a choice of two. The first both conventional and unconventional as it lets you roam as its Wireless. The second intended more for gaming means you are tethered buts its USB.

Pure Digitals ‘Bug’ designed by Wayne Hemminway is a very futuristic early DAB radio with extras. Some have its Re-view feature but almost none have what is for me its best the ability to save timed recordings to SD card.

To me this name makes it sound ‘large’ and it certainly isn’t, in fact I am fairly sure it’s the smallest DAB, FM and iPod dock unit that I have seen, it is of course a tower shape but only very little, however the sound it gives is not small.

This is a DAB, FM, Internet radio that also has Flow technology that allows you to purchase what you are listening to. However there are other goodies from Pure Digital, this includes the ability to Media Stream and the Lounge.

Amongst other things the Logitech Squeezebox Radio is a rather good Internet Radio with the quickest connection (almost no buffering delays) whether you connect using Ethernet or Wireless. Plug In, turn on, select Internet Radio, choose you station and listen.

Unlike the T3 and T12 (reviewed in 2008) this is far more than a speaker unit. It does have a speaker as an output but this is an Internet, DAB, FM radio, iPod dock as well as being able to be used as an Auxiliary unit to project sound.

Get used to it as it will not go away Christmas is coming and this rather special DAB radio would make an ideal gift based on the Evoke 1S it has a rather high quality finish and look. This is certainly a gift that will be in constant use.

A sleek and slim DAB and FM radio with Auxiliary input. It is black with a two line display top right and various touch controls below it, the other controls are on the right side of the unit. It is ideal for a bedside table.

First a rather nice small Bluetooth earpiece from Plantronics. The other item is from Brando those clever USB people in Hong Kong; it is a natty Bluetooth Audio receiver to allow you to remove the wires from almost any audio device.

A lot of Bluetooth items require that you enter text either with an on screen keyboard and stylus or perhaps even more daunting - for the occasional user - via a phone type keyboard with up to four characters per key touch.

Calling this a watch is rather like calling Big Ben a clock. I do not just mean the size but also the fact that it is a lot of other things as well. Compass, Altitude and Barometer, Stop Watch but sad to say it refuses to make the tea.

After looking at numerous iPod speaker docks its nice get a chance to review a set of speakers designed to support something else and that is Bluetooth so almost any Bluetooth device can output through these speakers.

This is a Sat Nav unit from one of the best known names in that field. This is also an in car TV capable of receiving all the digital channels. Why put both in one unit? Well if you have ever travelled with children you will know why.

This is triangular in shape and ideal for beside the bed, not only DAB, FM but also CD and an Auxilery input. It has two small internal speakers so decent stereo (considering its size) can be achieved from this Pure unit.

Not just another DAB radio for many reasons firstly it also has Internet Radio as well as DAB and FM but perhaps most interesting is the fact that ten buttons on top most controls are by touch on the front of the Pure Siesta Flow.

As you might guess this is based on the Pure Elan however it is rather different. While the sound quality – as with all Pure units – is excellent I suspect the style police have had something to do here and this would look good almost anywhere.

For once the first word describes this product exactly, it is a Power Mat, you lay your supported devices on it and it or they are recharged, in some cases quicker than they would be if they were recharged by a conventional cable.

First perhaps the smallest one I have seen from Jabra, you just need to use it in your right ear. Second a more conventional (still small) offering from Plantronics, this you can use in either ear. Both have noise reducing abilities.

With the proliferation of small valuable gadgets you don't have to be of a nervous disposition to worry that they may be liberated from you!

Here two devices to help you talk on the move. Both these devices allow hands free speaking and listening. The first from Plantronics and then the second from Jabra, both are light and efficient.

I have had this device for some months; however I have only been able to use it twice. Normally a device review has a lot of use but when it requires two units to do anything meaningful it is somewhat difficult when you only have one.

It is always useful to have a small radio that is available for use as and when needed. This could be when sitting in the garden away from the house, when on a train journey or even when there is a power cut. The PowerPlus Cheetah is a pocket-sized radio which could fit the bill.

Whether you are a fan of the iPod or MP3 style of mobile music player, you presumably purchased your chosen device as a personal player for you ears alone. However once the item has been purchased, there is no need for it to remain a personal device.

The clue is in the last letter of the title, this is a stereo DAB radio. While the majority of DAB radios give a stereo output it is normally only heard natively in mono as they have only a single speaker. This is a more beefy unit and has two speakers.