Monthly Archives: March 2012
Lenovo IdeaPad U300s Ultrabook
I still don’t fully understand why Intel needed to create the Ultrabook platform. Surely the concept of an affordable thin-and-light notebook with great battery life would have seemed like a good idea to manufacturers without Intel creating the blueprint? After all, Apple has been cleaning up with its MacBook Air for some time now. But…
D-Link DIR-657 Wireless N HD Media Router
Users are spoiled for choice when it comes to choosing a new or replacement router, with models to suit pretty much every budget and whim. D-Link’s new DIR-657 is a mid-range model with a rather odd mix of advanced and basic features. The bad and the good With every router manufacturer falling over each other…
Kid Icarus: Uprising
As that great actor, James Caan, said a long time ago, “You know the old saying, absence makes the heart grow fonder? Absence makes them think you’re dead.” That’s been the problem for Nintendo’s Kid Icarus for the last nineteen years. Once upon a time he was part of the gang, partying with Mario and…
Devolo dLAN 500 AVplus Starter Kit
The popularity of Homeplug networking over power-lines continues to grow, with more and more manufacturers moving to the 500AV standard, which offers link speeds of up to 500Mbps. Devolo’s latest product, the dLAN 500 AVplus, has a ‘piggyback’ design, with a filtered pass-through mains socket that means you don’t have to sacrifice a power point….
MoviePlus X6
The latest version of Serif’s home video editing program adds new features designed to appeal to users who want to create movies with the minimum of effort and a number of extras designed to enhance its appeal to more serious enthusiasts. In this way, the program continues to serve the needs of most home users…
Archos 101 G9 Turbo ICS tablet review
Archos has had its 101 G9 tablet on sale for a while now, running Android 3.2 “Honeycomb” and it proved a capable, if not exceptional, device. With the launch of Android 4.0, a.k.a. “Ice Cream Sandwich,” Archos has taken the opportunity to upgrade its 10.1in tablet with not only the much improved version of Google’s…
Sony Xperia S smartphone review
Sony is now producing smartphones under its own label, having split with Ericsson last year. Its new line, the NXT series, has retained the Xperia name from the Sony Ericsson days, at least for now, and a number of new Xperia handsets have been announced. The first to appear in retail is the Sony Xperia…
Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX90
Since introducing its first digital camera as long ago as 1997, Panasonic has built its Lumix brand into a market leader with a solid reputation for quality and technical innovation. I’ve reviewed well over a hundred different Panasonic cameras over the years, and I’ve become accustomed to finding very few faults with them. It comes…
Kogeto Dot
Kogeto’s Dot gadget is built to offer iPhone 4 and 4S owners a different kind of video recording experience. It has a fish-eye lens (with an anti-reflective coating) that is built into a plastic holder, which snaps around the body of your iPhone. This fish-eye lens is then positioned, to fit over your smartphone’s camera…
Samsung Galaxy Extreme Xcover S5690 smartphone review
Samsung has plenty of phones in its portfolio, but the Samsung Galaxy Extreme Xcover S5690 is a bit different from the rest. Not only because of it’s got a super long name, but because it is rugged. Its nearest competitor is the Motorola Defy range, the Defy, newer Defy Plus, and the imminent Defy Mini….