Handy Gadgets

Samsung SPF-105P Digital Photo Frame Review - Trusted Reviews

Sat, 02 May 2009 15:14:00 +0000

Trusted Reviews have published a review of the Samsung SPF-105P Digital Photo Frame. 'This sleek little frame arrives in two parts: the frame and its leg, which join together using a unusual ball-and-socket joint. Assembly is simple, though pushing the 'ball' in does require some force. Once set up, this gives the leg a nice amount of flexibility, though this frame is obviously not designed to be used in an upright position. Surrounding the 10in display is the frame, which is finished in Samsung's traditional piano-black and enhanced by a subtle whorl pattern, with a narrow dark-silver inner trim separating it from the screen. Though you generally don't want too narrow a bezel on a photo frame, you do want it not to look too bulky either and the SPF-105P obliges by being less than a centimetre deep at its edges.'

Apple iPhone Bluetooth Headset Review - The Gadgeteer

Sun, 06 Jan 2008 17:03:29 +0000

The Gadgeteer have published a review of Apple's Bluetooth Headset which extends wireless capability to users of bluetooth enabled cellphones. 'Apple's Bluetooth Headset easily paired with all the bluetooth enabled cellphones I have tried it on; Motorola Razr, Treo 680, and Blackberry 8800. The headset has a single function button that controls pairing, connect/disconnect of phone calls, and on/off of the headset itself. The sound quality is the best of any device I have ever used. Its in-the-ear design does a great job of blocking out ambient noise, making the calls much easier to hear. As the pictures show, the device is small, black, made of aluminum, and definitely precision engineered. The headset does not have built-in volume control, you control its volume via the cellphone, Blackberry, or smartphone.'

Mio DigiWalker C720t Review - PC Mag

Fri, 04 Jan 2008 21:25:50 +0000

A review of the Mio DigiWalker C720t portable navigation device has been posted over at PC Mag. 'Before deciding if the C720t is for you, you should check to make sure that there's live traffic data available in your location. Current coverage information can be found here. The Radio Data System traffic receiver bundled with the C720t is built into the mounting cradle. When you snap the C720t into the cradle, it picks up power and data through connectors located on the bottom of the device. This is a more-effective configuration than ones that require you to connect both a power source and the FM antenna each time you insert the device into the bracket. Still, it's not as clean an installation as, say, Garmin's nüvi 760, which combines the RDS-FM receiver and antenna with the DC power cable that simply plugs into its bracket. With the C720t, the FM antenna is a long piece of wire with suction cups that attaches to your windshield. Though the Mio's RDS receiver works well, Garmin still has the best receiver/antenna implementation on the market.'

Philips AJL308 Digital Clock and Photo Frame Review - CNET

Fri, 04 Jan 2008 21:11:22 +0000

A review of the Philips AJL308 7" Digital Photo Frame / Clock Radio has been posted over at CNET. 'On the clock radio front, there's an FM radio with 20 presets (the presets are a little bit of a pain to set, but 20 is a lot), plus two alarms, a sleep timer with interval options between 15 and 60 minutes, and a dimmer/snooze bar conveniently placed at the top of the frame. Beyond its photo capabilities, the AJL308 also plays back MP3 and WMA files and select video files from your SD/MMC card or thumbdrive. By select we mean limited--we didn't have any luck with videos that we'd shot with a handful of cameras from leading manufacturers (Canon, Nikon, Olympus) and the one video that did start playing (from a Samsung camera) didn't have any sound.

Bowers & Wilkins Zeppelin iPod Dock Review - 14U News

Wed, 02 Jan 2008 22:12:38 +0000

14U News have published a review of the Bowers & Wilkins Zeppelin iPod Dock. 'The B&W Zeppelin is a very simple looking design with no LCD screens and no ports visible from the front of the device. The only thing you see when you walk up to the B&W Zeppelin is the shiny polished stainless steel and black speaker along with the iPod dock on the front of the device. A red LED glows behind the black cloth speaker grills to show when the unit is in standby mode, dock your iPod and the red LED turns blue to let you know you are ready to listen.

PSP Slim Review - Captain-Odegard

Tue, 01 Jan 2008 22:34:41 +0000

Captain-Odegard have published a review of the PSP Slim portable unit. 'Officially, the PSP Slim support MPEG-4 LC and h.264/MPEG-4 AVC Main profile. In real life, video is such a hassle there really is no way of knowing what it will accept. For a long time, video files could only be up to 368x208 or 320x240 pixels, which means it didn't cover all of the PSP's 480x272 screen. It also required you to name the files in a very confusing way and use specific folders for each codec type. Luckily those days are over. The PSP now support fullscreen video, and you can name the files what you want and put them in the VIDEO folder. It's still picky about the codecs, and I've encoutered a number of errors while trying to get video onto it. Luckily, there are programs out there that will convert video for you, and these will correct most troubles that I had converting the files manually. You don't get the same quality as with a manual conversion, but it will do.'

Plantronics Pulsar 590A Bluetooth Headset Review - Notebook Review

Mon, 31 Dec 2007 21:31:07 +0000

A review of the Plantronics Pulsar 590A Bluetooth Headset has been posted over at Notebook Review. 'The review is for the 590A, not the 590E, but to clarify the only difference between the two is the universal bluetooth adapter. The adapter comes with the 590A but not with the 590E making it a more affordable choice if you dont need the adapter for any reason. However that adapter is one of the main reasons that I was attracted to the Pulsars: It single handedly lets you turn almost any device you can think of into a wireless device. Using a 1/8" headphone jack it broadcast a strong and clear bluetooth signal to the headphones for up to about 20-30 feet away. It's very important to me since that lets me use them with my home stereo system, while others may use it with their Ipod or Laptop.'

Wacom Bamboo Tablet Reviewed

Sun, 30 Dec 2007 16:04:38 +0000

Caleb Schmerge writing over at Notebook Review has posted a review of the Bamboo Pen tablet from Wacom. ‘This tablet has four buttons on the tablet, two buttons on the stylus, and a zoom/scroll ring. The controls are pretty good. The buttons on the tablet are large, and fell good. You won’t press them on accident either. By default the top two buttons are Forward/Backward, and the bottom two are customizable. This helps to allow you to make them more productive for your work style. I don’t use them much, but when I do, they save me a lot of time.

Pioneer DV-LX50 DVD Player Review - Trusted Reviews

Sat, 29 Dec 2007 15:00:42 +0000

Trusted Reviews have published a review of the DV-LX50 DVD Player which plays a variety of formats including DVD-Audio, Super Audio CDs, DivX, MP3, Windows Media and JPEG photo files. 'Pioneer has been specializing in high-end DVD players like this for some time, and its latest flagship model is aiming to keep the company's fine reputation intact. The DV-LX50 is a universal player, which means it plays DVD-Audio and SACD as well as DVDs and CDs. This makes it not only the perfect deck for videophiles but music lovers too. But one of the most impressive aspects of the DV-LX50 is its flawless build quality, the foundation of which is a rigid, double-layered chassis that allows the disc mechanism and optical pick-up to operate with maximum stability. As a result, this isn't one of those wafer-thin, lightweight decks - it's big, chunky, heavy and proud of it.'

TerraTec NOXON iRadio Network Music Player Review - Madshrimps

Thu, 27 Dec 2007 16:00:42 +0000

A review of the NOXON iRadio network audio player has been posted over at Madshrimps. 'Since the iRadio comes with only one speaker, you get mono sound, if you want to get stereo you need a second speaker, you can either hook up your own, or get one for ~€40 with the same style and look. By plugging in the speaker, the left channel will be played, so the iRadio speakers becomes the right speaker.If you want to use the iRadio to play music through your Hi-Fi or tuner, you hook up the line-out and get stereo out through your own speakers, the iRadio speaker will continue to play too, you can mute it by turning the volume dial to the left, the line-out volume is not affected here. The iRadio device is not high, but quite deep, since the construction serves as the speaker’s “boom box”, a look inside reveals that there’s a lot of “breathing room”.'

Monster iSlimCharger Review - CNET

Wed, 26 Dec 2007 21:11:05 +0000

CNET have published a review of the Monster iSlimCharger for the iPod Shuffle portable media player. 'The iSlimCharger is pretty much a miniaturized version of the default Apple charger that's included with the Shuffle. The cable is dropped completely, leaving you with a small USB dongle that's no larger than the Shuffle itself--just 1.83 inches by 1 inch by 0.25 inch. Plug the iSlimCharger into the Shuffle's headphone jack (which doubles as its charging port), and then slip the combined unit into any standard USB jack, and you're done. The iSlimCharger even has a tiny wedge that slips behind the Shuffle's clip, providing a nice, stable fit. The iSlimCharger will charge the Shuffle from any standard-powered USB port--which means it should work with nearly any PC or Mac, as well as any Apple or third-party iPod charger. When connected to a computer, you can also use it to sync the Shuffle with your iTunes software.'

TEAC LP-R400 Turntable CD Recorder & Radio

Tue, 25 Dec 2007 21:14:03 +0000

The new TEAC LP-R400 Turntable CD Recorder & Radio available from C.Crane allows you to make backup CDs of your old vinyl collection. 'Plays 33, 45 and 78 rpm records. You can also use the auxiliary line in to connect other devices and make backup CDs of other audio as well. Uses blank CD-R or CD-RW discs that are available anywhere, but we recommend our high quality CD-R Music CD to guarantee the highest quality recordings. We even include one of our CD-R Music CD's free so you can try them out. This modern, black console features a well thought out button layout, a headphone jack and a handy remote.' Price: $449.95

Review: Merrell Chameleon Wrap Ventilator Walking Shoe – Pocket-Lint

Mon, 24 Dec 2007 21:33:34 +0000

A review of the Merrell Chameleon Wrap Ventilator walking shoe has been posted over at Pocket-Lint. ‘A cross between a trail runner and a multi-sport shoe, the Merrell Chameleon Wrap Ventilator is a lightweight shoe that comes in a variety of colours to suit your walking attire. The core construction of the design is a Pigskin leather upper over a breathable mesh lining. Coasted with GoreTex it means that your feet stay dry without getting too hot as water doesn't penetrate the outer skin.The sole is Merrell's now standard Vibram Chameleon Sport Sole and this provides good grip on most terrain, but not so great in the city.’

Venturi Mini Review - CNET

Sat, 22 Dec 2007 21:44:08 +0000

CNET have published a review of the Venturi Mini car tech device which streams stereo audio through the in-car sound system for music playback and hands-free calling. 'The Venturi Mini has a compact design and a flexible and adjustable profile, enabling it to be plugged into even the most awkwardly placed 12-volt adapters. Its hinged design makes it easy to adjust the orientation of the bright, white-on-black OLED display and push-button controls. Programming of the Venturi Mini's phone and music playback functions and access to its menus is straightforward, thanks to a number of intelligently designed and positioned controls. The front of the device comprises two sets of clearly labeled buttons: two Mode keys (one for music, one for phone); and two colored keys that serve as multifunction buttons for playing and stopping music, answering or rejecting calls, and confirming or rejecting set-up menu options.'

Vudu Reviewed - InfoSync World

Fri, 21 Dec 2007 16:50:42 +0000

InfoSync World have published a review of the Vudu Internet-based video download box which connects to the Internet in order to bring movies to your television set on demand. ‘Packing an impressive 250GB HD, Vudu promises up to 100 hours of storage for purchased movies. The company also claims that its video processor is capable of rendering video at Full HD 1080p resolution. Port-wise, the Vudu is as flexible as they come. It offers an HDMI port for digital video and audio as well as component, composite and S-video output options. Audio is pumped through R/L analog, digital coaxial or digital optical ports. The Ethernet port allows connection to the service, and two USB ports allow for future storage expansion. Vudu includes the most advanced (HDMI) and the most rudimentary (composite) cables for connection to your television; for the in-between options you must find or purchase additional cables.’