Review Archive

PHONES
HTC HD2
PHONES
Droid by Motorola
HARDWARE
Dell Adamo XPS First Look

Results 1 to 25 of 65.

Evesham iPlayer HD Freeview PVR
One set-top box to rule them all? 31 January 2007 16:01 GMT

The Good
Future proofed, HD upscaling, IPTV access, support for external USB storage devices

The Bad
Cost, single tuner only, small hard drive, build quality

Verdict
Future proof hybrid digital TV set-top box media centre

Price
£299.99
Star Fox Command - Nintendo DS
Can the space adventure perform on the handheld? 30 January 2007 11:00 GMT

The Good
Cracking control system, hectic action, included strategic elements work well

The Bad
Boring story, easy missions, not much variety

Verdict
The odd new trick and stylus control method has helped, but Nintendo seems to have forgotten what made Star Fox great in the first place

Price
£35
GEAR4 JumpSuit Plus for iPod nano
Protect your nano on the move 30 January 2007 8:56 GMT

The Good
Hard screen protector, good value for money, available for original and 2G nano

The Bad
No instructions for armband

Verdict
A good solution to carrying your nano whilst running, or just mincing about the place

Price
£14.99
Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium - PC
Is it time to finally replace Windows XP? 30 January 2007 8:15 GMT

The Good
Quick, easy to use, looks and works great

The Bad
Too many confusing versions, graphics heavy

Verdict
It may not be cool to like Microsoft but this version of the new OS is simple stunning: easy to use, impressive and (so far) safe to use, which makes upgrading to it a far more enjoyable thought

Price
£220
Microsoft Office 2007 Home Edition
Office is back, but is it any good? 30 January 2007 8:05 GMT

The Good
Intuitive, easy-to-use, grows with you

The Bad
Expensive

Verdict
It’s the workhorse of the office but this new version takes a great deal of grunt out of the grunt work, making this the best version of Office yet

Price
£280
Mr Site Takeaway Website - PC
Can this package help you build your own website in minutes? 29 January 2007 13:00 GMT

The Good
One-stop solution

The Bad
Can take a long time to set up and run

Verdict
With everything you need to become the next potential .com millionaire, this is a great tool for the http:// challenged who want to create their own website

Price
£35
Acer TravelMate 4285WLMi
With 3G built-in, this should be a must have for business users, but is it? 29 January 2007 11:37 GMT

The Good
Great battery life, 3G built-in

The Bad
Heavy, flimsy finish

Verdict
Acer’s first 3G notebook is something of a mixed bag: it’s great value for money but it’s too heavy and not solidly built enough to carry around every day

Price
£1000
Yamaha YSP-900 speaker system
Can one speaker match a complete home cinema system? 26 January 2007 13:00 GMT

The Good
Neat, stylish and compact, helpful initial setup utility, plenty of configuration options

The Bad
Sheer range of ways you can configure sound is a little daunting, bass response not as good as we’d hoped, quite expensive

Verdict
The YSP is a bit of a luxury but it certainly looks good and the overall effect is impressive. It doesn’t really deliver fully in comparison to a dedicated surround sound setup though

Price
£599
Lemmings – PS2
Retro classic faithfully updated 26 January 2007 0:00 GMT

The Good
EyeToy integration, great family game, good clean fun

The Bad
Online aspects fairly mundane

Verdict
A great update for the PS2 and well worth adding to your collection

Price
£24.99
ExpressCard Media Remote VP6600
Want to use your PC card slot for something useful? 25 January 2007 13:00 GMT

The Good
Size, weight, storage, functionality

The Bad
Fiddly for fat-fingered users

Verdict
Self-charging and truly portable remote control for your laptop

Price
£35
Lost Planet - Xbox 360
Just another shooter, or something more? 25 January 2007 11:00 GMT

The Good
Stunningly gorgeous, tonnes of intense action, fantastic online

The Bad
Single player doesn’t last too long, story isn’t exactly Tolstoy, controls take some getting used to

Verdict
It might not last forever – though multiplayer will keep you hooked for a fair old while – but it’s a cracking ride while it lasts

Price
£40
Logitech Alto portable notebook stand with integrated keyboard
Logitech combine a laptop stand and keyboard in one, but is it the answer to better ergonomics? 25 January 2007 0:00 GMT

The Good
Keyboard, 3 USB2 sockets, easy to install

The Bad
Takes up a lot of desk space, laptops with front loading CD bays won't be able to use the CD bay

Verdict
The Alto does kill two birds with one stone, by not only putting your screen in the right place but also giving you a decent keyboard to type on to boot

Price
£69.99
Canon IXUS 850IS digital camera
Can the updated 850IS impress? 24 January 2007 13:00 GMT

The Good
Great build, image quality as lower ISOs, responsive, easy to use, good metering and colour, nice lens focal range

The Bad
Reduced detail due to noise reduction processing, Intrusive noise at higher ISOs, unreliable AiAF focus system, bodywork prone to scratching

Verdict
The IXUS 850IS offers some neat new touches and a million extra pixels, superb build, a nice wider-angle zoom lens and great image quality at lower sensitivities

Price
£260
Severance - DVD
The Office meets Deliverance or Hostel meets Shaun of the Dead? 24 January 2007 11:00 GMT

The Good
A host of biting one-liners, plenty of gratuitously naked Eastern-European chicks, a top-notch English cast

The Bad
The jarring clash between side-splitting humour and skull-splitting violence, a ridiculous sight joke involving a passenger jet and a bazooka, the over-long running time

Verdict
Smith also makes a decent fist of twisting the traditional horror template

Price
£20
Paper IQ digital pen for BlackBerry
Is the pen mightier than the keyboard? 24 January 2007 0:00 GMT

The Good
Easy to use, easy to setup, auto saves to online database

The Bad
Another bag of bits to carry around with you, only works with special paper

Verdict
If you're someone who owns a BlackBerry and takes lots of notes in meetings this is certainly worth a look

Price
£189.95
Cyberlink DVD Suite 5 - PC software
Can Cyberlink take on Roxio and Nero? 23 January 2007 13:00 GMT

The Good
Cheap, 10 different tools

The Bad
Poor interface, resource heavy

Verdict
You can create audio and video discs as well as watch them, which is great for value but the interface is too unwieldy

Price
£35
Cyberlink DVD Suite 5 - PC
Can Cyberlink take on Roxio and Nero? 23 January 2007 13:00 GMT

The Good
Cheap, 10 different tools

The Bad
Poor interface, resource heavy

Verdict
You can create audio and video discs as well as watch them, which is great for value but the interface is too unwieldy

Price
£35
Super Monkey Ball Banana Blitz - Nintendo Wii
Can the Wii version impove on previous outings 23 January 2007 11:00 GMT

The Good
The same old puzzle/platform action returns, highly addictive, masses of mini-games...

The Bad
Some of which are rubbish, control can take some getting used to, not for monkey haters

Verdict
So not quite the monkey’s nuts then, but worth a roll of notes

Price
£35
Samsung YP-K3 - FIRST LOOK
Samsung takes on the iPod nano with its latest MP3 player 23 January 2007 10:55 GMT

The Good
Easy to use, silm, funky interface, bright display

The Bad
Not much

Verdict
At first glance the K3 looks to offer a decent package with a good range of standard features in a box that does look rather funky

Price
£
Asus W2P laptop
Is HD DVD really that important that you'll pay over the top for it? 22 January 2007 9:16 GMT

The Good
HD DVD, great performance

The Bad
Not cheap

Verdict
The price may sting a little but the performance and build quality of this notebook will easily sooth away the pain on your wallet

Price
£1999
Norton AntiVirus 2007 - PC
Latest offering from Symantec 22 January 2007 5:09 GMT

The Good
Faster than before, the start-up delays are gone, can be basically ignored

The Bad
You have to pay for it, lots of running processes

Verdict
Overall, there is nothing to comlain about - vast improvement over previous versions

Price
£40
Wario Ware Smooth Moves - Nintendo Wii
Wario's back, but is it worth the bother? 21 January 2007 9:00 GMT

The Good
Tonnes of min-games, remote control works a treat, fun for all the family!

The Bad
Single player wont last too long, the odd bout of initial confusion, can be blooming tiring!

Verdict
This latest incarnation of WarioWare doesn’t drop the ball

Price
£35
11.14 - DVD
Twisted black comedy or poor man's Crash? 20 January 2007 9:00 GMT

The Good
Tarantino-style black humour, an all-star cast including a rejuvenated Patrick Swayze, a clever, twisting, multi-stranded plot

The Bad
Only 86 minutes long and lacking any extras whatsoever, the ridiculous release date, it never stood a chance against the Man of Steel

Verdict
Mixing an ensemble cast, with clever, well-paced plotting and mischievous wit this is well worth checking out

Price
£20
Sharp LC52WD1E LCD television
Want big? Sharp thinks it has the answer with its 52-inch set 19 January 2007 13:00 GMT

The Good
Superb, consistent picture quality, impressive audio from the surround speakers, beautiful design

The Bad
The 52in on test is relatively expensive compared to smaller panels in the same range

Verdict
If you can afford it and you’re looking for an LCD this size, the Sharp puts you in a perfect position to take advantage of upcoming 1080p video while offering fantastic picture quality and a great all-round package

Price
£2799
Crank - DVD
Luckily nothing to do with the Crankies but is it worth your time? 19 January 2007 11:00 GMT

The Good
Statham’s cheesy deadpan humour and powerful athleticism, The relentless pace of the narrative, some David Fincher-style flashes of directorial class

The Bad
At only 80 minutes long Statham fans may feel a little short-changed, Amy Smart is a letdown as Chev’s ditzy girlfriend, the lack of extras. Look out for the special edition later this year

Verdict
Cheesy deadpan humour and powerful athleticism make Chev Chelios the summer’s most memorable action hero to date.

Price
£20