Sexy Gadgets, Cool Gadgets and Concept Gadgets

We were wondering when TV companies would start bringing in smaller LED panels for the masses. VU is the first to start the small LED TV war and has released a new 24-inch TV for the price of a similar CRT set. Till now LED TVs were available in sizes of 32 inches or above. But with VU going smaller, there is likely to be ferment over size and pricing in the segment. Read the rest of this entry »

You haven’t heard surround sound if you haven’t heard this sound bar from Philips. The HTS7140 has an in-built Blu-ray disc slot to play 3D movies at the highest resolution. Unlike channeled home theatre systems, this one does not require you to be at the sweet spot to enjoy surround sound. No matter where you are in die room, you will always get the best surround sound delivered to your ears. Apart from BD, MP3s, DVDs and VCDs this sound bar can play media directly from USB pen drives. All popular formats such as DivX, MPEG4 and Xvid are supported. At just 6.4 kg, this sound bar can be mounted on the wall under an HDTV.

Lenovo’s G570 laptop has entry-level components such as Intel Core i3 2.1 GHz processor, 3 GB RAM and Windows Home Basic. The exteriors too are no-frills. A glossy blend of black and maroon covers the top lid. Flip it open and you will see a brushed metal plate around the keyboard and trackpad. The 15.6-inch LED screen supports HD graphics. Though this one does not possess a discrete graphics card, Intel’s HD graphics does a good job for high resolution tasks. Lenovo has added good applications such as Veriface and Power DVD to begin with. These bring security as well ease of use to the laptop. We got spectacular scores from the G570. It squeezed out 5754 points on PC Mark Vantage test and 4047 on 3D Mark 06. HDMI, VGA, Ethernet and 3 USB ports run along the sides with a DVD writer. The full numeric keyboard is fairly large and comfortable to use. You won’t run out of space on this laptop, it has over 600 GB of hard drive space. This laptop is worth every penny spent.

There is a new showstopper in town. Acer has just launched a tablet that can make the most luxe of tablets stare in admiration. The Iconia’s looks are inspired by Acer’s Timeline series of notebooks—brushed aluminum back and dark grey plastic running along the sides. The front has al 0.1 -inch screen running edge to edge. On the sides are located the power, volume and screen orientation lock keys along with a couple of ports such as Micro HDMI and USB. Yes, unlike most tablets, the A500 has a USB port that eases connection to a memory drive. It can also connect a USB keyboard in case you do not want to use the virtual one. Read the rest of this entry »

It seems from the most recent survey of smartphone operating system markets that they have settled down into a sort of steady state. Shortly after the introduction of the Android operating system, that powers such phones as the Samsung Galaxy S, the rise in the popularity of Android phones was so rapid that it swamped the smartphone market as a kind of marketing tsunami.

Certainly this popularity wave took it to the top of the OS pecking order and within a couple of years it had gained 37% of the market and had swamped, almost out of existence, Symbian, the once market leading OS. However, this acceleration in gaining market share has come to a halt and although it remains the market leader with 37% of the market, it does not seem to be gaining any more ground.

The other two market leaders in smartphone operating systems are Apple’s iOS, which powers the iPhone series, and the RIM operating system, which powers all of the Blackberry smartphones. Their market shares have also remained constant for several months; currently Apple enjoys a 26% market share and that of BlackBerry phones is 22%. Read the rest of this entry »

We’ve seen laptops and monitors with Nvidia 3D Vision technology before, but this is the first all-in-one we’ve come across with a screen capable of displaying games, movies and pictures in glorious 3D.

It isn’t as elegant as we’d like: the transmitter that synchronizes the images with the included active shutter glasses isn’t embedded in the chassis, but has to be connected via USB. You get everything you need to get started, though, and the 3D effect works well.

We’re less keen on the 24in panel. Detail is good and there’s no backlight bleed, but colours are oversaturated. We prefer the Sony, Dell and HP panels.

A range of touch-specific software is packed into a dock at the top of the screen, with launch buttons for media, note-taking and painting apps, alongside access to Asus’ @Vibe app store, cloud storage service and more. The software is slick, but there’s little to differentiate it from the pack. Read the rest of this entry »

Samsung’s SyncMaster C27A750X is the first of a new breed of monitors. Designed to pair with a laptop, it replaces the traditional video cable with wireless ultra-wideband (UWB) technology. Plug a tiny dongle into a spare USB port, install the drivers, and the video feed displays wirelessly.

Samsung suggests the USB receiver should be placed within 75cm of the monitor to guarantee a stable connection, but in our tests it worked up to 4m away. Full HD movies played smoothly, and there’s no perceptible lag – even fast-paced games were playable. Read the rest of this entry »

Garmin offers a huge range of satnav devices – but oddly, only one with live services onboard: the nuLink 1695. Like both TomTom devices in these Labs, it has a built-in GPRS radio, and offers similar features.

There’s Google local search, for when a points of interest search doesn’t find what you’re looking for. It also provides a more reliable means of receiving traffic data than the FM-based TMC system, and its trafficTrends technology works in a similar way to TomTom’s IQ Routes, gathering journey data from other Garmin users to base route choices on. In addition, the nuLink has live airport departure and arrival details, weather, and a Google Latitude-alike service that lets your friends monitor where you are. Read the rest of this entry »

This board has seven PCI-E expansion slots and support for up to four-way SLI. This board was one of the most popular motherboard options in last year’s Dream PC roundup, and it’s still a powerhouse. Those with high-end CPUs will also like that the X58 Classified 4-Way SLI can also provide up to 600W of CPU power. The onboard diagnostics and LED readout are ideal for troubleshooting, and the built-in buttons to clear the CMOS, power on, and reset the PC help to overcome PC problems.

A glance at the top of this month’s feature table reveals a couple of interesting facts about Acer’s Aspire Z3101: at £650 inc VAT it’s the cheapest system here; and it’s the only PC on test to eschew Intel for AMD, with an Athlon IIX4 615e processor inside.

It isn’t a particularly good performer, with its benchmark score of 0.53 being the lowest this month. While that’s still enough power to handle basic tasks with ease, the 23101 can’t handle power-hungry applications as well as the Sony or Packard Bell PCs. Read the rest of this entry »

By far the cheapest colour laser in this test, the Konica Minolta falls short of the competition in some areas. However, its sheer value for money may redeem it if your printing needs are modest. It works much like the Epson, featuring side-facing main and multipurpose input trays. However, while the multipurpose tray adds bulk, it accepts only a single sheet. The Konica Minolta is thus rather limited in paper-handling terms, able to hold only 251 sheets at once. Read the rest of this entry »

The MSI Big Bang Marshal certainly I warrant the “big” in the name, as this board sports no fewer than eight PCI-E xl6 slots in addition to all the trappings one comes to expect from a high-end motherboard.

Running the Intel P67 (B3) chipset and thus supporting Sandy Bridge Core i3/i5/i7 chips, the Big Bang Marshal has USB 3.0 and SATA 6Gbps support. There is a smattering of additional features built into the board, including Super Charger, which charges your mobile devices extra-fast; M-Flash, which lets you backup and restore the BIOS with a flash drive; Multi BIOS, which stores a second BIOS onboard in case of a borking; and Wink i3, a Linux-based environment that grants you quick access to the Internet even while the system boots. Live Update 5 and Live Update Online ensure that you get all the latest updates from MSI. Read the rest of this entry »

The Naga Epic is Razer’s third attempt at an MMO mouse. The original Naga (see Issue 76, p80) was tar from epic, though, particularly in the comfort department. The Naga Epic is even more expensive than its predecessor, clocking in at just under £100. However, if you’re still reading then the price might not be too much of an issue for you. The Naga Epic is more of an evolution of the Naga, but there are a number of new additions.

The biggest change is that the mouse is now able to operate in either wired or wireless mode. A detachable braided USB cord is on standby for initial charging, and as a backup if your battery wavers. The sturdy wireless docking station is rock-solid and feels heavy-not something that will be easily knocked over by the cat. The lag-free wireless operation of the Naga Epic is flawless; this and the slick design of the plug’n'play cord are easily the biggest improvements. Read the rest of this entry »

Pure’s One Flow radio modernizes the boxy design of the Evoke Flow, with curves, a dash of colour and a backlit OLED screen. Its menus are intuitive, and it’s a breeze to use. The One Row supports DAB, FM, internet radio and UPnP streaming, and there’s a 3.5mm input port as well, for connecting an MP3 player. The Lounge – Pure’s internet radio portal ֊ is expertly executed, and you can also access Pure’s FlowSongs service, which gives you the chance to buy tracks mid-song. Sound quality is well rounded, with plenty of bass and volume, and the £35 ChargePak battery system lets you listen on the move. The One Flow looks good, sounds good and is easy to use – and at less than £100 it’s an absolute bargain.

This cute-looking device looks like a shrunk-down version of a traditional projector. Benq’s Joybee GP1 isn’t as compact as the other pico projector models on test, but it weighs a mere 640g. The GP1 can be tripod-mounted or placed on a desk or shelf, and includes adjustable feet to get your image just right. It didn’t provide the display size of the other projectors in our test, but offered an adequate 70in, tweaked with the analogue focus control that was a little fiddly but did the job. Read the rest of this entry »

This month has seen a variety of specialist systems in the Labs, with Sony’s gesture control, Asus’ 3D technology and HP’s tilting chassis. Dell, though, Is more interested in impressing with quality throughout.

It isn’t the most extravagant system on test, but its matte-grey finish and black screen bezel look classy and subtle touches such as the metallic feet and black speaker grille ensure it won’t look out of place in the most stylish of living rooms.

The 23In screen is one of the month’s better offerings. Colours look slightly oversaturated compared to the cool Sony, but this isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Bright whites and rich colours throughout ensure pictures are vivid without looking unpleasant. Read the rest of this entry »

Sony’s VAIO J Series was a clear winner in our last touchscreen group test, so the new L Series has a lot to live up to. Luckily, Sony has introduced something unique to keep its 24in machine on top of the heap: gesture control.

Load up the VAIO media suite and the L21′s webcam kicks in, letting you wave your hand to play, pause and skip tracks, and navigate through photos and video.

Gimmicks aside, the software is the slickest here, with tabs giving access to your media and content suggestions from the internet. The innovation doesn’t stop there; various controls are accessed via the touch-sensitive screen surround. Read the rest of this entry »

Passive technology is similar to what you get when you go to a movie theater and wear those flimsy fitter glasses. This set uses the same type of polarized glasses rather than the heavy battery-powered active-shutter specs used with other 3D sets and they are very lightweight and comfortable.

When it comes to 3D performance, the XVT3D650SV delivers the goods. We found depth of field to be every bit as good as our current Editors’ Choice, the Samsung PN58C8000, and crosstalk artifacts were minimal. Color quality was excellent and the picture remained fairly bright as well. However, background detail appeared a bit sharper on the Samsung set. Read the rest of this entry »

For all of Asus and Sony’s technological innovation, the two systems still rely on chassis designs that are tame compared toHP’sTouchSmart610.

It’s built around a solid base rather than a slanting stand, which enables its tilting 23in screen to take centre stage: pull it forward and the display hunkers down towards the desk, angled upwards; push it back and it reverts back to the standard upright pose. This makes it easy to operate from a standing or sitting position.

The software has been given a comprehensive facelift since the last generation. Gone are the huge icons, replaced by a freeform front-end with a carousel of apps running along the bottom, reminiscent of the Asus. Read the rest of this entry »

This app and hardware add-on for iPhone and iPod touch is an incredibly easy-to-set-up universal remote for all your home theater components. It also provides a better way to navigate and discover content you’ll actually want to watch. While it’s not your typical standalone universal remote, the Peel wins our Editors’ Choice.

The Peel consists of three pieces: a mobile app for the iPhone and iPod touch (with Android and iPad versions coming soon); a 10-foot black cable that plugs into a power outlet and into your Wi-Fi router’s Ethernet port; and the Peel Fruit, a plastic, pear-shaped infrared blaster, powered by a C-size battery, that sends the Peel’s commands to your home-theater components. Read the rest of this entry »