Us Brits do like a cuppa. It's said that our empire was built on tea - arguably not the drinking of it, before the historians among you start to get in touch - and thankfully, that's about the only thing that's left over from our colonial days; the love of a good brew.

So when somebody comes along with a gadget that claims to help us make the perfect cup, we tend to take note. The Strauss T6 is just such a gadget.

Hot and cold water on tap is hardly revolutionary, but that doesn't mean you have to settle for the bog standard set up either. Office workers all over the world will be familiar with the handy little machines that dispense cold filtered water that's fit to drink, but will also spit out a jet of H2o that's hot enough to brew your favourite mid-morning pick-me-up.Now, thanks to the T6 you can have the same convenience at home. But in a much more stylish package.

Style and simplicity 

It's a handsome gadget by anyone's standards and it sits on your work surface replacing the need for a kettle, a water filter and a zip tap, and because it comes in 12 (yes, 12!) different colours, you won't have to stare at something that sticks out like a sore thumb in your colour coordinated designer kitchen.

The unit is plumbed in to your cold supply by one of the Strauss engineers, and usually it takes just minutes. Then, after a quick demo, you can chuck the kettle in the recycling bin and start using your filter jug as an avant-garde vase.

With minimal controls, you can dispense cool, filtered, purified water that beats just about anything you'll find in a bottle. The dual filter and UV lamp setup takes care of the purity and the custom functions take care of the amount you can dispense. Or you can fill any sized container by holding a button down.

The T6 also heats water to near boiling in seconds, and that's where the perfect cuppa comes in. Apparently the perfect temperature for tea and coffee is around 91 degrees Celsius and that's exactly what this unit will give you. Does it work? Well, yes it does. The first cafetiere of coffee I brewed was noticeably smoother and Mrs Pocket-lint was happy with the tea too.

Near-boiling water also saves time when cooking as you can fill a pan in seconds and leave pasta and vegetables to the last minute. There's an 'extra hot' button that does what you'd expect too. Heating to full capacity took a lot less than even our fast-boil kettle and we never found we were running low on temperature once. Once we enabled the child lock, we stopped worrying about jets of scalding water being unleashed by curious toddlers too.

Handy for families 

Talking of little 'uns, the 'mix' setting is something we wished we'd had years ago. You can set it to pour out a particular amount of water at exactly the right temperature for a baby's bottle, at the touch of a single button. And, crucially, as the water is purified, it's better than waiting for a kettle to cool down while a baby screams in your ear waiting for the next feed.

So, we've got water at any temperature, dispensed in customisable, one-touch amounts, from a gadget that looks brilliant and is easy to use.

Downsides

There are a few minor issues. We found the cup holder didn't really fit anything we had, so it tended to be stowed away, which the engineer had warned meant that drips would end up on the counter rather than the integral drip tray. Even with the stark warning, we didn't actually see any drips at all, but over time maybe that might be something that could be an issue. So we ended up folding the little shelf away. This meant there was a certain amount of splash back, as what the T6 lacks in volume through the nozzles it makes up for in sheer force.

Filling some bottles was a bit awkward too, as the nozzles are set very close to the unit - we have a couple of CamelBak bottles that are quite wide and had to be held in position. Not the end of the world, but we found that just about everything you do with the T6 is a two-handed operation, and disabling the child lock while holding something in place can be a bit tricky.

The unit was also noisy at times, particularly when we weren't really using it. Undoubtedly a small price to pay for the convenience of instant temperature controlled water on tap, but we were still a little surprised at times. You can set the unit to power down and back up again at convenient times, so it didn't keep anybody awake at night, but in smaller, open plan living spaces, it's something to consider.

But, in all they're minor grumbles about what is an elegant, convenient addition to the average home.

The other big thing to consider is the cost. The T6 is not particularly cheap, either to buy or at first glance, to run. By joining the Strauss Water Club you're sent filters and UV lamps at timely intervals, but even on the longest, most economical plan this still works out at around £12 a month. Add to that the cost of the energy used to chill and heat the water simultaneously, admittedly offset by no more kettles and the unit's energy saving settings, and you have to do the maths before you consider shelling out.

Tags: Gadgets Kitchen gadgets

Strauss T6 Water Dispenser originally appeared on Pocket-lint on Wed, 19 Oct 2011 12:00:00 +0100

The ability to watch the telly via your PC is hardly a new idea - TV cards, Slingbox, etc. But this new model from Pinnacle ups the ante with its sheer simplicity.

The unit plugs into your satellite or Freeview box and then into your router and a few steps of a set-up wizard later you're watching Jack Bauer kick serious terrorist butt on your desktop. If you're in to that sort of thing.

Once set up correctly, a virtual remote control can displayed on screen which allows you all the major functions of your handset. This is achieved with an unsightly, but clever little infrared blaster which points at your set-top box.

The response times on this are adjustable, but I found that the strength of my wireless signal was a major factor in how quickly the unit will react to your choices. Signal strength is also a factor in determining picture quality it would seem. Wired network users should have none of these concerns, but those using Wi-Fi might need to make a few adjustments to their network to maximise their viewing pleasure.

Programmes can be recorded direct to your hard drive at the click of a button and these default as MPEG files so there's no need for any third party converters to view these wherever you choose. These can also be easily burnt to DVD.

Tags: Hardware Networking TV tuners Wi-Fi Pinnacle

Pinnacle PCTV To GO originally appeared on Pocket-lint on Wed, 20 Jun 2007 11:00:00 +0100

Kodak are a name to be trusted - always have been and hopefully always will be. Having fully embraced the digital revolution some years ago, the boys at Eastman have since acquired ASF - a specialist in digital photographic correction applications. These plug-ins for Photoshop (and compatible software) are the latest result.

A set of tools for correcting the most common problems within digital images, they aim to fix the flaws at the touch of a virtual button. And there's no argument from us that they do just that, and they do it very well.

But we do have some issues, namely, the price. These plugins retail at $49 each so the full set is going to set you back three figures. Are they worth it?

From a professional image editor's point of view, almost certainly. However, a pro would probably be able to correct most things using the existing tools within Photoshop itself.

Kodak's SHO plugin mirrors almost exactly the Highlights/Shadows adjustment in CS2 (in testing the default results were almost identical). The GEM software is an image noise and grain reducer and works very well, although the default setting was a little too harsh for our liking. The same could be said for the GEM Airbrush - the quick result of one snap had a rough and rugged colleague looking like a Barbie doll - in his complexion at least. The ROC plugin corrects colour and this performs very well.

All these little applications are fully customisable in their effect and the pro versions all handle 16-bit colour and often have a few extra bells and whistles.

One thing we definitely didn't like was the preview window where you see the effect of your tinkering. The interface dominates the screen but at the same time you're frustrated at not being able to see the whole image at a decent scale. You can zoom in on specific areas, sure, but we'd like to be able to resize the window to suit our needs. No biggie, but a grumble nonetheless.

The best thing about this lot is the sheer speed at which you can become proficient and I guess that's what you're paying for. Average images soon become excellent ones and could mean the difference between commercial success and total obscurity.

Tags: Software Photo editing software

Kodak ASF Photoshop Plugins originally appeared on Pocket-lint on Sat, 31 Mar 2007 00:00:00 +0100

In the Pocket-lint 2006 Awards, mobile phone of the year went to the Sony Ericsson k800i, and we can't help feeling that Nokia might have taken this a bit personally.

In the next few months they're set to release a raft of new phones aimed at all corners of the market and the E65 is one of the first barrages in their counterattack.

Aimed, we reckon, at what you might call the average user, it does a bit of everything, but unlike previous sliders from Nokia (the disappointing 6280 springs to mind), it does most of them very well.

The unit is slim and partially wrapped in a faux leather skin (either red or chocolate), which we've seen before in their designer ranges, but not so much in Nokia's "straight" phones. Inside there's a basic 2 megapixel camera, numerous media players (although noticably you don't get stereo headphones in the box), and the usual suite of personal productivity software solutions. It all runs on the third version of the S60 operating system and compared to earlier phones it's pretty quick at performing most functions.

The outside of the phone has more buttons than usual. Nokia are trying to give you dedicated buttons to make life easier, but to be honest, I found it a bit fiddly and if you forget to lock the keypad when you close the phone you could be doing all sorts of weird and wonderful things. Some users (those without fat fingers, probably) will like it though. There's buttons for conference calling and contacts and the all important mute/unmute.

The active standby screen is as on earlier phones, but I have to say that the font size is a little on the small side. This seems to be a common problem throughout the phone and for the life of me, I couldn't find how to increase it.

The messaging and web browsing functions will be familiar to most that’ve seen Nokia's S60 phones previously, although the addition here of Wi-Fi could transform the experience for many.

When downloading emails, for instance, the phone can be set to ask which access point you want to use. This might seem tedious at first, but by giving you the choice, you can save some pennies if you're within range of your wireless network. Connecting to your WLAN is child's play too.

The web browser in particular has some neat features - being able to zoom in on the area of a page you're interested in, then zoom out to see an overview of the whole thing is a welcome touch.

Call quality was acceptable although there was the occasional echo noticeable - something that flip and sliders phones have been known to suffer from - and in noisy environments, it proved a bit tricky to hear the other person. However, these are minor grumbles.

Memory expansion is via the micro SD medium (again, noticeably absent from the sales package) and another grumble is that you have to remove the battery cover to swap disks. The only other niggles for me were the seemingly pointless little tweaks that always seem to appear in various applications - just when you're getting to know something they change it again!

Tags: Phones Mobile phones Nokia 2 megapixels and below Mobile phones

Nokia E65 mobile phone originally appeared on Pocket-lint on Wed, 14 Mar 2007 00:00:00 +0000

iPod. They might as well just call it iCon. The ubiquitous little white (and of course, now black, pink, green and blue) box has taken such a hold on the world that newspapers and trade magazines call each new rival product “iPod-killer”.

So far, none have succeeded. Many are, probably, better products. But iPod’s success lies in that rare combination of substance with lashings of style.

Think of the Porsche 911. Old Ferdinand got it pretty much right over 40 years ago, and each new incarnation has just been a tweak here or there - bringing the previous model up to date. Each new model has a new name – the latest of the Stuttgart super cars is actually the 997, but everybody calls it a 911.

As it is with iPod – it may be a Nano or Mini or a Video you have in your pocket or handbag, but everybody sees those little white headphones and thinks “iPod”.

With both Jonathan Ive’s and Ferdinand Porsche’s iconic designs, the originals still look as good today as the day they first hit the market. The newer models just have a little more refinement and a lot more oomph. And, as is Porsche’s motto: “there is no substitute”.

And so we come to the enhancements. We have iDocks, iTrips and iSkins – in fact if you can put a little “i” before it, it’s pretty much been done.

Memeo’s iExtend (there it is!) is a useful little enhancement that brings some refinement to iPod’s data storage capabilities. Most users know that you can use iPod for keeping contacts and notes and even a calendar, but how many do? Many users won’t want to sacrifice precious space for anything other than media files, and with so many other gadgets out there that will undoubtedly do a better job of it, why should they?

But if you do want everything in one place, iExtend is an affordable and likeable option.

Once loaded you simply tell it which files you want backed up to iPod and every time you plug your player in, your files are updated. You can even specify how many days worth of emails to carry with you, and the beauty of it is that if your files have been updated on your desktop, they are automatically updated on iPod at your next synchronisation.

Once updated, your files are stored in folders within iPod’s menu structure and finding things, although a little long-winded if there’s a lot to scroll through, is simplicity itself.

The software is undoubtedly aimed at iPods with colour screens, as it brings with it some attractive iconography, but my trusty old 20GB 4th generation workhorse benefited nicely from the elegant and easy to use interface.

The only slight grumble I had was the desktop software’s insistence that every time I put my laptop to sleep was an “improper shutdown”. Improper language resulted every time.

Tags: Software Mac software Music software Memeo

memeo iExtend for iPod originally appeared on Pocket-lint on Fri, 21 Jul 2006 12:56:46 +0100

It seems that it wasn’t long ago that I stood marvelling at a graphic designer friend of mine as he produced from his (painfully trendy) shoulder bag a portable hard drive.

It was the size of a two telephone directories and judging by the relief on his face when he put it down it weighed as much as two telephone boxes. That was only a couple of years ago and since then, the means of carrying your essential files with you have become smaller, faster and more sophisticated, with dirt-cheap DVD burners, flash drives and even MP3 players doubling as storage devices.

Diino goes one better. Once known as NetPod, Diino (that’s digital information organiser) is web-based file storage and networking environment that can be accessed from any PC, anywhere in the world.

Simply download the software, create your account and upload your files.
Er, that’s it.

The interface is simplicity itself. Clean, straightforward and totally uncluttered, the Diino portal appears as a set of default folders to store your pictures, music files, videos and other documents. Obviously you can customise your folders to reflect your home environment, and depending on the level of your Diino account (the basic package is 10 gigabytes) you can upload all the essentials from your hard drive.

Away from home, access is granted through a nifty credit card-sized CD key. Pop this into the drive of any PC and you’re immediately able to access your remotely stored folders. But this is where the first minor glitch hits: slot-loading machines might well swallow the key whole! That aside (and I’m sure Diino could provide a full-sized disk if required) it’s a neat solution.

The other major problem was the fact that uploading your files will take a long time unless you’re lucky enough to have a dedicated ISDN line. Broadband upload speeds are still generally limited to 256kps, which when you’re trying to upload 10 gig worth of data, will take quite a while.

But, once your files are in the system, you can start utilising Diino’s full potential. Each folder or sub-folder can be shared with anyone you like. By entering the email addresses of the recipients you can invite people to view, edit and download your files. This access can be as restricted or as open as you choose: MP3s for example can be set for streaming only - handy considering potential copyright issues. You set a password based on the individual folders shared so you don’t need to worry about people snooping around in other areas.

A free email address also comes with your account - but this can only be accessed via the Diino interface.

Tags: Software Online Online storage

diino.com online storage service originally appeared on Pocket-lint on Tue, 07 Mar 2006 12:10:07 +0000

In a poll at the end of last year it was revealed that the most hated animated character of recent times was Crazy Frog. Now I’m not one to rock any boats, but there’s one that springs to mind that infuriates me even more. It’s that pesky little hourglass that pops-up whenever my PC grinds to a halt.

Of course, your time spent counting those pixelated grains of sand can be minimised by keeping your PC in tiptop order. Norton Systemworks 2006 from Symantec is one tool you can use to do just that. It is essentially a suite of housekeeping applications that at the touch of a button can analyse your system, suggest quick fixes and then repair any problems found.

Over time, during even relatively light use, a PC becomes clogged up with fragmented bits of data and corrupted files. The various components of Systemworks are aimed at finding these problems and fixing them with the minimum of fuss.

All very straightforward, and that’s the real reason for anybody to buy Systemworks. Essentially all the tools you’re presented with are, in one shape or another, already loaded as part of your operating system. Within Windows there are disk defragmenters, system analysis tools and several ways and means of clearing up your files and folders. But to the average user this can be a bit daunting, so what Symantec do with this package is to lump them all together in one suite of utilities to make it easier to manage.

I say easier to manage, and don’t be fooled into thinking it will be all plain sailing. There has been talk recently about whether default settings and installations are always the best option. Let’s face it, that’s exactly how most spyware and malware makes it's way into your system - it comes bundled with software that you do want. This is not a case of taking the rough with the smooth - it’s completely avoidable. I mention this because I tried three times - yes three times - to load Norton Systemworks using the default settings. And without success.

The first time I tried all seemed normal until it reached that tantalising point when the progress bar is full and the countdown timer has reached zero. But here it just kept going. And going. And going. All I got was a message saying that Norton GoBack - a new incarnation of Ghost - was “packing” the contents of my hard drive. It seemed to be doing this in no particular order and in no particular hurry, so I left it to it. Overnight. In the morning my system was frozen, prompting me to resort to the fix-all solution utilised by systems engineers the world over: I turned it off and turned it on again!

On resuming my installation exactly the same thing happened. So I tried uninstalling, which froze my system again. I then deleted any Norton files I could find, and ran a registry cleaner. This time when I tried to reinstall, I was given the option to uninstall.

Still with me? So, I uninstalled. I deleted everything. Again. Cleaned the registry. Again. Back to square one.

For the third time it started its “packing” and I left it running for 10 hours. Now my hard drive really isn’t that extensive so I can only assume that GoBack just plain doesn’t work. Or maybe it does, but you are given absolutely no information about what’s going to happen when you try to install the software suite or what’s happening while all this “packing” is going on. I gave up in the end.

A custom installation allowed me to uncheck the GoBack option, leaving me with just the diagnostic and maintenance utilities.

These work just fine and the main selling point is the “one-button check-up” which performs a smart scan of the most common problem areas and then fixes any bugs found.

The other utilities: disk analysis and space-saving tools, Windows diagnostics, and a new addition, the XP “System Optimizer” - essentially a user friendly version of many of the system settings found in the XP Control Panel - are all easy to use and clearly laid out.

But the fact that nearly all of these applications are just better presented versions of existing Windows tools just doesn’t justify the expense in my mind. One small justification perhaps is the inclusion of the Norton Antivirus - a robust security application that really does work very well.

As for GoBack - if you need to make back-ups, use something else. Or an old version of Norton Ghost which always worked perfectly well in my experience.

Tags: Software PC software Security software Symantec

Norton Systemworks 2006 originally appeared on Pocket-lint on Tue, 28 Feb 2006 15:30:28 +0000

A quick definition for you. Muppet: either one of many of a collection of loveable puppets created by Jim Henson and loved by millions of people across the globe or anybody who connects a computer to the Internet without adequate protection.

You get my drift. It seems amazing in this day and age that there are still people out there who don’t use any form of protection when surfing, mailing or networking.

Every few weeks there seems to be a new scare in the media, and let’s face it, if it’s making the Ten O’clock News it must be pretty serious, right? With identity theft on the increase and the world being full of unscrupulous operators generally, you know it makes sense to batten down the hatches when setting sail on the great ocean of information that is the web.

Security suites come in all manner of guises and price brackets, and Norton from Symantec is probably one of the best known. But does fame bring reliability? I’ve used a variety of packages from different manufacturers and Norton has always been a trusted option.

It’s a one-stop shop giving you a personal firewall, anti-spam and antivirus protection as well as privacy software to protect any innocents you have in the household. (With the Internet porn industry generating an estimated $12 billion last year, that’s a serious amount of smut out there).

Installing any Symantec product is generally straightforward. But, in this case it’s very important that you remove any previous security packages. Norton comes with tools to help you remove other software as you install, but I would recommend removing everything beforehand and running a registry cleaner to remove any stubborn file extensions. Failure to do this could result in conflicts, leading to flaky performance and problems with the installation.

As you begin, you are given the option to install with account management and privacy controls. If you need to restrict internet access for any reason - parental supervision for one - this is the way forward. Other users can skip this, which means that your system isn’t burdened with stuff you don’t need - a welcome change in my opinion. A quick system scan also runs as a precursor to the main installation. Any major problems with your security will be picked up here and appropriate steps taken.

The step by step wizards take you through activation and configuration of the basic services, such as firewall and antivirus. It can seem as though you are bombarded with pop-ups warning of various security risks. Most of the time this is just Norton paranoia flagging legitimate programs that you normally have running. But, always read the messages fully - you never can be too careful.

An improvement on previous incarnations is the anti-spyware measures - a very welcome addition with the seemingly endless march of spyware (unwanted and unauthorised monitoring software that transmits your browsing habits to third parties) into the world’s computer systems.

In some respects this is very forgettable software. That is: once installed, you can forget all about it. It runs quietly in the background until something happens to rouse it. Then a pop-up message tells you what has happened and what Norton recommends you should do. By following these recommendations you can be sure that your system’s integrity is protected at all times. By scheduling events such as full system scans you can protect yourself further. As part of the package you get a year’s subscription to live updates from Symantec’s security centre.

You will have a few days or maybe weeks of bedding-in time when the software gets used to your working practices - the firewall actually learns as it goes along, and after while you won’t even notice it’s there. I found Norton much less intrusive than some of its competitors’ products.

The software looks much nicer this year - it is more in keeping with XP generally and navigating around it simplicity itself.

Advanced users will want to explore all the options to tailor the package to individual requirements.

Tags: Software PC software Security software Symantec

Norton Internet Security 2006 originally appeared on Pocket-lint on Wed, 22 Feb 2006 11:10:08 +0000

Since the dawn of time three questions have preoccupied mankind:

1) Is there a God?
2) Are we alone in the Universe?
3) How do I wear headphones without getting tangled up in the cord?

OK, so that last one has only been around since the late-70s when people first started to limp around with a Japanese-built electronic brick in their pockets. The Sony Walkman revolutionised the way we listen to music and since its advent, portable music devices have become smaller, slicker and in terms of technology are now light years away from those twin-spool monsters of yesteryear.

But headphones - the aural pleasure delivery devices if you will - are still basically two small speakers strapped to your head. Sure, you can buy the small ones that go so far into your ear that you need a neurosurgeon to remove them, or you can stick to the big ones - the “cans” - favourite of wannabe DJs and sk8ter boys everywhere.

Most deliver sound so good you’re likely to think Fatboy Slim has moved into your cranium and some cost more than your average MP3 player. But they all have one thing in common: the dreaded cord.

The Plantronic 590A headphones are different. Utilising the ubiquitous Bluetooth protocol you can now be truly wireless for sound (what would Cliff Richard say?).

No more snagging on your jacket collar or garrotting yourself when you turn to reach something from your bag? An intriguing prospect.

The full kit comprises of the headphones, an in-flight extension lead, a rather natty charging cradle and the optional Bluetooth universal adaptor. The adaptor has a 3.5mm jack plug allowing you to plug it into just about any audio device you can think of. With Bluetooth you can connect to most mobile phones and you are introduced to the 590A’s alter-ego as a handsfree headset.

Pairing was easy, both between the adaptor and the headset, and with my Nokia phone, and within minutes I was wireless and wonderfully immersed in sound.

Although far from being uncomfortable, you certainly know you’re wearing the headset and I found that I had to place it in a slightly awkward position in order to get the best sound. Maybe I have deformed ears, but I’m not sure how long I would like to wear it.

With my trusty in-ear phones I can listen all day - with these I might not want to. There was also quite a lot of noise leakage - you may not be too popular on the train with these babies on your noggin. (Assuming they haven’t been ripped from your skull by a passing hoody-clad ruffian of course - the rather fetching blue flashing light on the headset could well attract the wrong kind of attention.)

The sound (once I’d adopted said position) was actually pretty good. I don’t know why but I kind of expected a slightly tinny or muffled sound - memories of my first Bluetooth headset coming back to haunt probably - so the rich and clear sound was a nice surprise.

Although, when listening to MP3s stored on my phone, there was a noticeable drop in quality. But with my iPod, my television, my home stereo and my laptop, the sound was more than acceptable. While plugged into the TV, however, there was a noticeable delay on the sound, giving everything that badly-dubbed Hong Kong martial arts movie effect. Not the end of the world but irritating none the less.

Tags: Audio Headsets Plantronics Headphones

Plantronic 590A Bluetooth headset and headphones originally appeared on Pocket-lint on Thu, 12 Jan 2006 00:05:04 +0000

Sennheiser: the very word screams quality. Since 1945, this German company have produced some of the finest audio equipment available. Until the early-1990s, in the UK at least, they were only widely known of in audiophile circles, but these days you can find stockists almost anywhere.

The MX-500 are aimed at the iPod market (yes, they're white) and as a replacement for the ones shipped with Apple's world-conquering gadget they are a very affordable option. At around £20 they are leaps and bounds better and more robust than the ones in the box from Cupertino, CA.

They're slightly on the large side for earbuds headphones, but I was surprised at how comfortable they were. The sound was impressive too, but this wasn't much of a shock, as I've not yet heard a bad pair of Sennheisers. Not much sound leaked out either, making these a good choice for commuters and those heeding recent US research that suggests that cheap in-ear headphones can permanently damage your hearing.

Tags: Audio Headphones Sennheiser

Sennheiser MX-500 headphones originally appeared on Pocket-lint on Wed, 11 Jan 2006 00:00:02 +0000

This is probably the last you’ll hear from me. You see, I’m changing my name and skedaddling. Making a break for it, skipping the country, doing a Lord Lucan, call it what you will. And all I’m taking with me is a suitcase big enough for the Sonos Digital Sound System.

“A Fluffy? Best Home Entertainment Gadget 2005?” I snorted, ready to pour scorn on such bold claims. But oh, how wrong I was.

Sonos is a wireless music streaming system that can play digital music from your home computer on any one of up to 32 ZonePlayers dotted around your house. It can all be controlled by the optional wireless remote, or straight from your desktop via a software interface. Sounds simple doesn’t it? That’s because it is.

Now I’m not for one minute suggesting that this system is anything less than state of the art technology, but the way they put it together for you is simplicity itself.

The various components come beautifully packaged in separate boxes, adding something of a frisson to the whole setting-up procedure, and meticulously unwrapping each bit, I was suddenly aware that I might be in for something of an anti-climax. But again, I was wrong.

Sonos claim that this system can be set up “in minutes” - which provoked another derisory snort from me. Whenever I’ve tried to set anything up on on my network, be it a Wi-Fi security camera or a wireless print server, there’s always been more than an occasional swear words uttered. My router, for instance has, all by itself, decided that the password I chose was nowhere near good enough, and has created its own. And not told me what it is.

So it was with some trepidation that I surveyed the Sonos system: unpacked, plugged in and laid out in all its glory. I had visions of madly resetting routers and fishing out manuals and Ethernet cables from wherever it is that the “Hide Anything Of Any Use In Bizarre And Forgettable Places Fairy” puts them when I’m not looking.

But, no - with the supplied cable plugged into my router it was just a case of installing the software and following the on-screen prompts. It took seconds. I sat there staring expectantly at my screen, waiting for the inevitable failure or error message, but all I got was a very polite invitation to tell the ZonePlayer where my music was. Once pointed to the correct folder, the desktop controller indexed the music, and it was done.

I had the complete set-up in the living room with another ZonePlayer wired up to a set of my own speakers in the kitchen.

Next came the wireless remote, where I fully expected to hit my first snag. Sure enough, as soon as it powered up, a warning appeared. But it was just telling me that the software needed to be updated and it promptly got on with it. The controller looks and behaves a bit like an oversized iPod, with a large colour screen and a click wheel. Buttons are limited to just a few essentials and the whole thing is really quite neat.

The moment of truth. I was ready to rock and roll. Or drum and bass, or hip and hop for that matter. I added a suitable selection of tracks to the playing queue and hit the button.

The sound was instantaneous and quite lovely. The speakers produced a warm and crisp sound without any immediate tweaking of the system’s equalizer settings and I actually laughed out loud at the marvel of it all. I set about linking the two separate ZonePlayers together and within seconds the whole flat was filled with sound. I instantly wanted another one for the bedroom but in such a bijou residence perhaps that would’ve been overkill.

The novelty of having music wherever you are, without having the stereo in one room set to an ASBO-inducing level, was just fabulous - even my wife (an unrepentant technophobe) liked it. She loved the idea of us being able to listen to separate playlists in different rooms at the same time, although was slightly less enthusiastic when she realised that as “Master of the Remote” I would be in charge of what she would be listening too. And perhaps the optional wall-mountable charging cradle could be supplemented with a tasteful range of remote holsters? (If Sonos take up this suggestion, I want 20%.)

Some cynics have suggested that you can set up similar systems yourself using, for example, the Apple Airport system, with remote speakers in every room of the house. I agree, you could do that, but it would be nowhere near as elegant as the Sonos system. You also couldn’t control it remotely from wherever you were.

And that really is the word for it - elegant.

The desktop software is straightforward to use and easy on the eye and I was glad to see that they hadn’t tried to ape the iTunes style in any way - despite the obvious aiming of the overall design at the iPod generation. I must mention that this brought on at least one detractor. A house-guest pointed out that in a few years all these white and brushed metal housings might look a little dated and with such an expensive bit of kit this might be a consideration for some buyers. Perhaps a more classically-styled product would appeal to a wider audience. But in real terms, the only bits of this system you need to have on display are the speakers and the remote control. Everything else can be neatly tucked away.

You can link up to 32 Zone Players to the system, if your house and bank balance can accommodate it, and you can run more than one remote too (only don’t tell the wife that bit). There’s no delays, no distortion and you can adjust the individual zones’ volumes levels as well as the entire group’s. It plays, MP3s, Windows Media, AAC and Flac (lossless) files. You can even connect analogue sound sources to the ZonePlayers. Oh, and did I mention instant access to internet radio? It really is a joy to use.

Tags: Home Cinema Networking Sonos Sonos Digital Sound System

Sonos Digital Sound System originally appeared on Pocket-lint on Fri, 16 Dec 2005 00:08:50 +0000

So you’ve probably owned a digital camera for a couple of years and when you bought it, 2 or 3 megapixels were something to be proud of. But these days, mobile phones are fast encroaching on the camera market and you might be thinking of upgrading.

Like everything, you have to make some important decisions. Do you buy a better compact, or do you stump up the extra cash and buy a digital SLR. If only there was something in between - a sort of best of both worlds compromise.

Well, the Pentax *istDL might just be that compromise. This is a digital SLR with 6.3 megapixels and is widely available bundled with an 18-55mm lens at around £550, putting it firmly in place at the top end of the compact camera price range.

So, what do you get? The *istDL is a scaled down version of the earlier *istDS SLR and what Pentax have done is to trim some of the features to bring the price down. In fact the “L” could well stand for “Lite” as the newer camera has reduced specifications. But, will the average punter notice the difference, or even care?

The camera is small and light for an SLR and this will appeal to those upgrading from a compact. And although I felt the camera wasn’t the most comfortable to hold, all the most-used controls are well laid out. The four-way controller on the back of the body however, I found a little unresponsive. A shame as it’s the main input device for the camera.

The main selling feature of the *istDL is it’s Autopicture mode, which Pentax claims lets the camera decide for you, which of the camera’s numerous shooting modes to adopt.

Great in principle, but I was sceptical. I don’t believe in testing equipment in optimum conditions, as you so rarely find yourself in optimum situations, so I thought I’d try to catch the camera out during my field trips.

Sure enough, when taking a landscape, it would adopt the Landscape setting, but the results were not all that great. Again, when focusing on moving objects it adopted the Action setting, but again the moment wasn’t captured very well.

The built-in flash would indeed pop-up in low light situations but the resulting images were very harshly lit.

I soon tired of the camera’s opinions in favour of manually selecting the various modes depending on conditions. This is a method that both I and most modern camera users are familiar with. Again, the results were disappointing.

The images were consistently underexposed and with sometimes ridiculously vivid colour saturations.

So, despite being very easy to use, the results are well below what can be achieved.

But, the great thing about this camera, is that being a Pentax, you can customise it to suit your tastes and working practises, and sure enough, after quite a bit of time spent adjusting the metering zones, the AF settings, the white balance, the auto exposure compensation, the flash compensation, the colour saturation, the contrast and the partridge in the pear tree, I started to get some usable pictures. But surely that’s not the point. This camera is aimed at those making the bold step into digital SLR photography and should produce impressive results straight from the box. In my opinion it doesn’t.

I even tried a total reset, restoring the whole shebang to factory settings, with no visible improvement. So again I set about fiddling with the metering zones, the AF settings, the white balance, etc, etc.

And another thing: making all those adjustments is quite a chore as they all have to be changed via the main menu. Some cameras out there have dedicated buttons to change the most-used settings, and this is where the Pentax’s size counts against it. I would like to be able to switch between spot metering and centre-weighted very quickly depending on what I’m shooting. The same is true of the drive mode. The *istDL can shoot at up to 2.8 frames per second, but by the time you’ve figured out you might need continuous shooting, whatever you wanted to shoot has long gone. It’s just a bit too fiddly, not helped by the fact that every time you access the menu, it doesn’t remember where you were - it defaults to the top level.

But, and it’s a jolly big but, once you’ve got it set up how you like it, the *istDL does produce some lovely pictures. The images carry very little digital noise, even at the fastest ISO setting. The internal mirror is quite noisy in operation and you can actually feel it moving (probably due to the camera’s slight build) but you do have the capacity to lock it up should conditions allow. The auto focus is accurate and generally pretty fast in acquisition.

The metering was patchy. I abandoned full frame metering almost immediately as it struggled with anything other than optimum lighting, but centre-weighted and spot metering were fine once I’d knocked the exposure compensation up half a stop.

The preset shooting modes gave mixed results. The Portrait mode produced pretty good results, with nice skin tones, as did the night mode (despite the slightly harsh flash). The Action mode I found next to useless and the Landscape setting struggles with anything approaching high contrast scenes

I would like to have seen the camera in action with an external flash as I felt the built-in unit wasn’t up to scratch - red eye was also a problem with the flash being so close to the lens. Of course there is a reduction setting but I tend not to use this on any camera as you can lose the spontaneity of candid portraiture.

One very useful feature is the power options - the camera should ideally be run from two CR-V3 camera batteries, but you can just as well slot in four AAs and start shooting. The manual warns that some functions may not operate when using AA batteries, but in testing I couldn’t find anything that didn’t work. (The batteries that came with the review model only lasted for around 70-80 shots - though I have no way of knowing how old they were, it’s worth bearing in mind that running AAs may not be the most efficient method.)

The bundled software was adequate, but far from perfect (a recurring theme with Pentax, in my mind) but with a little perseverance most issues can be overcome. A bit the like camera itself I suppose.

Tags: Cameras DSLR cameras 6 megapixels Pentax Digital cameras

Pentax ist*DL DSL digital camera originally appeared on Pocket-lint on Sat, 10 Dec 2005 09:53:13 +0000

You know you’re getting old when:

a) you don’t watch Top of the Pops anymore because you ”prefer music with proper words and music”;
b) you only ever agree to meet friends in pubs that have somewhere to sit down;
c) you find it impossible to walk past an estate agent’s window display;
d) your editor gives you some interior design software to review and you get very excited.

OK, so maybe last one only applies to me, but I have to admit that it was an intriguing prospect. Floorplan 3D promises (on the box anyway) to let you design and build your perfect home, with “thousands” of options.

My one acid test with any new software is whether I can achieve anything substantial without referring to any manuals or tutorials. Not very sophisticated I know, but in this case I was surprised at how far into replicating my front room I got before getting bogged down. In a nutshell, you simply draw your walls, add windows, doors, furniture, fixtures and fittings and you’re away. Add another floor, a garden, a garage, a pond, you name it you can have it in your virtual estate.

The technical aspects of the program are mind-boggling - everything from the units used and the thicknesses of your building materials to the sizes of your fixtures and fittings is customisable. But bear in mind that you’ll be furnishing your ultra cool cyber pad with a Silicon Valley uber-geek’s idea of “contemporary” styling. So those “thousands” of options they speak of on the box are reduced to, ooh, literally four or five useable objects.

The tutorials are the best way of finding your way round the software and the true scope of what you can do with Floorplan 3D becomes apparent. You really can go all Kevin McCloud and do a Grand Designs type project in the comfort of your own home.

I ran the programme past an interior designer, who felt that the whole package needed its style content de-Americanised to be of much use, but as a project management tool it would prove helpful in visualising construction and layouts without having to visit the actual sites. The landscaping capabilities were particularly useful.

But, and this is an enormous “but” in my book, some of the more exciting tools were virtually unusable due to the amount of system time needed to process them. I wanted to see my (somewhat amateurish) replication of my front room as a “photo-realistic” plan. My laptop crashed. I rebooted and tried again. It crashed again. In fact, it crashed four times when I tried to process the request.

The tutorial does warn you that “some operations may take some time” which is fine - I’m a patient man, I can wait. I can even switch over to another programme and get on with something else if I really need to (who says men can’t multi-task?). But on every occasion my laptop (a Fujitsu with a 3.2GHz Pentium 4 and a gig of RAM, in case you’re wondering) couldn’t cope and froze completely. Unfortunately, I’ve lent my Kray supercomputer to the evil genius who lives in the extinct volcano at the end of the road, so my test had pretty much hit a dead end.

Tags: Software PC software Photo editing software Avanquest

FloorPlan 3D v10 Standard - PC originally appeared on Pocket-lint on Tue, 29 Nov 2005 00:57:39 +0000

At the risk of sounding like Denis Norden; if you’re one of those people who likes to have all the latest stuff; to have your dinner party guests cooing and clucking over all the lovely toys on display in your house, then the Monitor Audio i-deck is right up your street.

The latest iPod sound deck to hit the market is produced by a thoroughbred name in audio equipment. Indeed Monitor Audio have been producing excellent speakers for over 30 years, so this is hardly a surprising venture for them. What is perhaps a little surprising is that anybody is producing these things.

There’s nothing wrong with them, but why spend £250 on yet another gadget when you can pop to your local electrical retailer and pick up a 3.5mm jack lead for three quid and whack into your home stereo system?

That aside, the i-deck produces a nice enough sound. They claim it’s the perfect partner for iPod and in many senses it is: stunningly simple to use, it has distinctive lines and does what it says on the tin.

Sadly, to be honest, I felt it didn’t deliver the earth-shattering and ear-splitting sound that I would expect having shelled out £250 for a room-filling audio experience. Yes, it’s louder than most amplified speaker systems you can plug into the planet’s favourite MP3 player, and the speakers are undoubtedly of the finest quality, but to be honest it just wasn’t beefy enough for me. I get much better sound with my £3 accessory.

As I said, the i-deck is beautifully simple to use and literally within seconds I had sound pouring into the room.

The radio frequency remote is the primary way of controlling the i-deck (the iPod volume control is disabled as soon as it slots into the cradle), and with only six buttons it’s very simple to get going. However, volume and track skipping is all you can do from the comfort of your armchair - or this being an RF remote, from any room within range (in testing, this didn’t prove to be as far as might be useful). The EQ settings on your iPod still have to be adjusted on the device and I found that it was preferable to have the backlight permanently on so that you could see what was playing from a comfortable distance. What I’d like to see, especially in this price bracket, is fully integrated iPod control - access to all the menus from the remote, or separate EQ controls on the i-deck itself would be a huge advantage. With the remote itself, the buttons are a little unresponsive too.

Tags: Audio Speakers iPod speakers Monitor Audio iPod

Monitor Audio i-Deck iPod speakers originally appeared on Pocket-lint on Wed, 31 Aug 2005 11:22:41 +0100

I feel dirty: like I need a shower. You see, I’ve been unfaithful. Worse than that, I’ve enjoyed myself too. Let me explain: I’m a Canon man. Every camera I’ve ever owned has been a Canon (apart from a brief and misguided dalliance with a sexy little number from Olympus). So I was ready to pour scorn on this shiny little upstart from Pentax when it landed on my desk. But there was something about it from the start...

The camera itself is small - not the smallest on the market by any stretch, but unless you’ve got fingers like a hobbit that’s no bad thing. In fact, this aluminium-bodied little minx strikes a good balance between weighty substance, compact portability and ease of handling.

If, like me, the first thing you do with any digital camera is to turn off the digital zoom, then, like me, you’ll be intrigued to hear that the SVi has a 5x optical zoom. This it an equivalent to 35mm range of 36-180mm - and 2x more than enough for your average snapper.

In testing, the lens delivers good results at both ends of its focal length. Combine this (at your peril) with the 4x digital zoom and you’re almost in paparazzi territory.

The SVi’s versatility doesn’t stop there; the range of functions on offer was something I only expected to see in far more sophisticated outfits. On top of the usual white balance, sensitivity (Pentax-speak for film speed), file size and quality settings, here you have the option to bracket your shots. This choice isn’t restricted to just the overall exposure. Contrast, saturation, hue and white balance are all bracketable. So if you’re not sure about your setup you can review three shots of the same composition and choose the final image you prefer. It can take a while to figure out all the variables, but the results add total flexibility in all shooting conditions.

Another neat little feature was the digital filters. These are preset effects that you can add to an image after capture. So if you think something might look better in sepia, just add the filter. Other cameras let you take sepia pictures, but the Pentax idea means you don’t have to commit your chosen composition to just one effect.

But now to the acid test, so to speak: does it take good pictures?

The autofocus is just a little bit too slow for my liking. I found with moving subjects that the delay between composition and focus acquisition just too long, very often resulting in off-centre images. This I know is a problem with many digital compacts, but it still irks. Shutter lag however wasn’t as bad as I’d anticipated.

Something that always takes a little getting used to for the novice digital photographer is camera shake. When using a screen to compose your pictures, as you would nearly always do with this Pentax, most snappers will hold the camera at arms’ length. Without the body to brace your arms against, as with a traditional shooting position, you’ll find your hand wobbling a bit and the resulting blurred images a disappointment. This is a problem I found gets worse as the camera’s size decreases, but with a little practice you can steady yourself and soon be producing pin-sharp photos.

With 5.2 megapixels to call upon, the actual quality of the captured images wasn’t a problem - although these days I think anything below this mark is starting to look a little outmoded. Also, I would advise keeping the settings set to maximum at all times. With high-capacity SD cards readily and affordably available, it seems silly to sacrifice image quality simply for disk space. If you don’t agree, let’s face it: file sizes are easily adjusted within most photo-editing software packages.

Talking of software, I felt that the suite that came in the box was probably best left there. The image preview in the ACDSee suite was awful and to be honest, if you buy a card reader you might as well bypass the whole thing and let your operating system import the pictures. As for the editing software, it was just too basic. With so many others to choose from (many available for free), I think it’s an area Pentax need to look at.

Back to the camera itself: on the full auto settings, which I’m sure a lot of users will spend much of their time using, the resulting images tended to have a slightly cool appearance (a blueish colour cast was very noticeable). This means almost immediately you’re into territory where changing the settings becomes obligatory. With a custom white balance function and the usual selection of preset colour temperatures correcting the problem was easy. Thankfully, the SVi also has a lovely little feature tucked away in its menus that allows all your settings to be kept whenever you turn the camera off.

So with colour corrected, what of the overall exposure? In optimum conditions, it performed very well and with three different auto-exposure settings (whole frame, centre-weighted and spot) it proved flexible in more challenging environments. The built-in flash was adequate at short range but struggled with subjects further afield, but this wasn’t too much of a surprise in such a compact unit.

One area where this little camera excels is in its variety of shooting modes. With the camera set to manual, you can choose aperture priority, shutter priority or full manual. This is where you can let your creativity run riot with long slow exposures or lightning quick shutters speeds.

However, like many manufacturers, Pentax have tried to make creativity easy with preset modes that you can select depending on what you want to do: Night Mode; Landscape Mode; Macro and Super Macro settings (the last of these allowing focusing at as little as 3cm). These modes I found easy to use and produced results that although nothing special were perfectly acceptable. A notable exception was the sports setting which with the slow autofocus I just found frustrating.

Viewing your stored images is straightforward and you can add a commentary to your masterpieces at the touch of a button. Scrolling through the images was a little sluggish but this is true of most compact cameras I’ve seen.

There’s the usual movie capture mode, which is fine for short, fun clips, but obviously is no match for a camcorder, but that’s not why anybody would really buy this camera.

For the money (£200ish) this little box of tricks is a very good buy - especially for somebody new to digital photography. All my grumbles come from having been spoilt by handling more sophisticated (and grossly more expensive) hardware.

Tags: Cameras Compact cameras 5 megapixels Pentax Digital cameras

Pentax SVI digital camera originally appeared on Pocket-lint on Tue, 30 Aug 2005 13:09:12 +0100

The SDA from T-Mobile is one of three smartphones on the network, all running on the Microsoft Windows Mobile operating system. The music version (with dedicated MP3 buttons) and the MDA (a mini version) are the other two models.

Before you start getting elements of deja vu this model is by no means a new phone - it’s basically a repackaged version of the Orange SPV, made by HTC.

So why should you pick this phone over any other smart phone? I have to say, unfortunately I can’t think of a single reason.

The Windows Mobile environment is, in essence, a scaled down version of the PC system, with all the various hiccups and bugs that can be associated with it. In the one week I had the phone it froze twice and rebooted of its own accord once - hardly a promising start.

Navigating through the myriad menus and options was a bit daunting at first as some menus have as many as three different screens full of options to scroll through. They do provide keypad shortcuts for many of them though, so with the familiarity that comes with time and practice you can find your way round a bit quicker.

There’s so much here than I feel Microsoft have tried to cram in as much as they can - there’s countless ways you can personalise your phone but this comes at the expense of actual performance. A truly awful selection of “musical” ringtones is just one example.

Aimed at the business user, the phone offers pocket versions of Microsoft's most popular software like Word and Excel. Pocket Outlook was fine, however the GRPS connection speed compared to 3G is so slow it’s like going back to dial-up once you’re used to broadband.

Setting up a new email account and navigating your way through the messaging suite was infuriating. Hitting the back button more often that not had me running in circles and switching from SMS to email or MMS was far from straightforward. There’s no elegance to the whole package and to be honest it left me cold.

One redeeming feature was the Microsoft Activesync software. This made synchronising with my PC a doddle, and in no time all my contacts and appointments were installed. It also loaded onto the phone all my Outlook email folders (including archives). You can select how far back you want Activesync to go in order to save disk space on the phone. The Bluetooth connection was also better than I’ve experienced with other phones.

In the age of megapixel camera phones the SDA is left seriously lacking in the imaging department. The various different shooting modes and digital effects would be much better suited to a higher quality camera. Although if all you want is phone-based snaps then it’s more than up to the job.

As a media player I found it lacking, although 64mb of internal memory is a step in the right direction and one that other manufacturers would benefit from following. I’m hoping that the music version of the phone is better in this area.

Handling the phone was a little on the fiddly side: the buttons are small and shiny, so any speed-texters out there might find them selves slipping and sliding about and keying in even more unintelligible nonsense than usual. One odd thing is that there’s a whole button, all to itself, dedicated to the T-mobile website. On a keypad this limited for space I think this is a little self-indulgent.

Tags: Phones Mobile phones Mobile phones T-Mobile

T-Mobile SDA mobile phone originally appeared on Pocket-lint on Thu, 18 Aug 2005 12:27:04 +0100

The much awaited 6680 promises to bring 3G well and truly into the mainstream for Nokia, but can the new multitasking phone offer you multitasking options. We look and find out.

I’ve been anxiously awaiting the arrival of the Nokia 6680 for quite some time. You see, I’m one of the many people to be more than a little disappointed with the 6630 - Nokia’s first UK 3G offering. It was riddled with bugs from the outset and even after many software updates, failed to live up to most expectations. Enter the 6680, a sleeker, more business-like descendant, running on basically the same principles but with a few nifty improvements.

It looks so much better than the 6630. A more square shape to the design instantly makes it look like a professional’s tool, rather than the slightly gimmicky pear-shape of its predecessor. The keypad, despite still being a little small, doesn’t have that slightly odd upwards curve to it. So it’s easier to use and just feels better in your hand.

The first major and noticeable improvement is a forward facing camera in addition to the 1.3 megapixel main imaging unit at the rear. So now, you can video call without having to buy an additional cradle (or developing a nasty RSI in the wrist from trying to flip the 6630 round to see and be seen!). The rear camera is also protected by an active slide, which, I discovered after taking numerous candid images of the inside of my jacket pocket, remains active even when the keypad is locked. It may be useful for getting to the camera function quickly, but the option to turn it off would be helpful. There’s the addition of a flash and at short range, it’s actually quite effective. Another nice enhancement to the camera is the ability to change the white balance - surely one of the best things about digital photography and a rare feature on a camera phone up to now.

The video calling function also has a new element - the ability to share video clips during a call, so all those embarrassing “fall over in pub” moments can be shared immediately with your mates. Or is that just me…?

Nokia are most proud of the XpressPrint feature which lets you print your images directly on any PictBridge-enabled printer (Bluetooth even means you can do this wirelessly!) and as long as you’re not expecting to put your photos on a billboard, the quality is actually pretty good.

Get past the printing aspects and another new element that is likely to appeal to the office boys is the active standby screen. This resembles a miniature PC desktop, with shortcuts to your favourite applications in addition to the customisable soft keys.
There are also some neat little applications bundled with the phone (although this may depend on your network). There’s QuickOffice to view Word, Excel and PowerPoint files and a comprehensive suite of imaging and video editing applications.

The requisite messaging and multimedia functions are here too and, as always, are straightforward to set up and operate.

Tags: Phones Mobile phones 3G Nokia

Nokia 6680 mobile phone originally appeared on Pocket-lint on Thu, 09 Jun 2005 00:00:53 +0100

Southwing is a newcomer to the Bluetooth headset market in the UK. But can the unheard of brand make it in an over saturated market. We started making some calls.

Southwing hail from Barcelona and is aiming to mix it with the big boys and of the two models here, the Neo 507 and the Neovoice USB, I can honestly say that probably only one of them is likely to cut the mustard.

The 507 is the more expensive of the two at £45.95 (expansys.com) but it has one enormous advantage over its cheaper cousin. The Neovoice USB (£37.95) can only be worn on your right ear. As soon as I realised this I almost put it straight back in the box. However to be able to offer an honest review to you, dear reader, I felt it necessary to give it a once over.

The Neovoice USB is cheap and plasticky to handle and really doesn’t strike me as all that robust. On a positive note this does mean that the unit is fairly light and relatively comfortable to wear, but the “right ear only” design is a major flaw in my opinion.

The Neo 507 on the other hand is completely customisable, including four different colour plastic mouldings and “either ear” positioning. It is equally light (again due to a slight build) but more comfortable than the Neovoice USB due to some well-placed rubberised material.

For both models the only means of input is a multi-directional scroll-wheel, which took some time to master as it can be a little over-sensitive, but does the job adequately. Pairing was straightforward and connection integrity was excellent: I didn’t have a single dropped connection with either unit - something that some more famous (and more expensive) headsets that I’ve played with cannot boast.

One very useful feature of both headsets is the ability to charge the units from a USB port. Bizarrely though, despite its name, the USB model doesn’t actually come with a USB cable in the box - something of a drawback as it’s probably the major selling point of the Southwing products. The 507 however, comes with a cable as well as a handy in-car charger.

Tags: Phones Phone accessories Headsets Southwing

Southwing Neo 507 and the Neovoice USB originally appeared on Pocket-lint on Thu, 12 May 2005 00:00:02 +0100

The 7710 has been around for some time now. One minute the phone is available, the next it’s awaiting the next phase. Some 2 years after it was originally shown off, Nokia has finally got product to market. So was it worth the wait?

“Whoa, big fella!” were my exact words on opening the box (read: trunk) that the 7710 arrived in. Swiftly followed by “What is it?”

This is a beast of a phone, but it has to be to accommodate the myriad bells, whistles and, let’s face it, foghorns that Nokia has crammed into its latest smartphone. It weighs in at a pocket-busting 190g and with dimensions to make a family car blush; you know almost immediately that you’re holding something a bit different in your hand, sorry, hands. (Enough jokes about its size, I promise!). But, two hands is definitely the case here - one-handed operation is nigh-on impossible. They even provide a cute little stand to rest it on - which annoyingly isn’t very stable when you’re charging the phone.

If you’re used to a regular smartphone like Nokia’s 6600 or 6630, your first thought might be: “Where’s the keypad…?” and you soon realise that there isn’t one. Nokia has done this before, notably on the recent 7280 Fashion model where it came across as a bit of a gimmick. However, with the 7710, you’ll soon appreciate the break from tradition and more PDA-styled interface.

This is definitely a PDA with a phone built in, rather than the other way round, and for once we have a manufacturer not apologising for it - both modes are equally functional.

The screen is wide, touch-sensitive and as sharp as I’ve seen on a PDA/phone combo. It’s a gamer’s dream as I soon discovered - and a word of warning the casino set of games is horribly addictive even if you can’t win any cash.

The 7710 runs on the Symbian Series 90 operating system and third party applications are widely available, but in my opinion hardly necessary with everything that comes preloaded.

Start-up however was disappointingly slow and to be honest the processor seems a little sluggish generally, nothing like the Intel X-Scale processors we’ve seen in Dell and HP/Compaq PDAs. The whopping 90Mb of RAM helps though and with an MMC expansion slot hidden inside, we can’t see memory ever being an issue.

The menu screen resembles a PC desktop and is customisable for those of us who really like to fiddle about with things. The usual suspects are here, application-wise and the To-Do, Calendar and Contacts are some of the best I’ve seen on a device like this.

The telephone function - (I love the way it’s listed separately!) - brings up a touch-screen dialler and this will probably be the first time you use the handy stowaway stylus. Simply tap in the number and hit call. Once you’ve figured out which end to speak into (it might take a while) you’re in business. Call quality was excellent and despite its bulk the phone felt surprisingly comfortable to use. Mind you, the black leather case that came bundled will not see the light of day unless you want to be seen chatting into to your granny’s purse.

There’s the de rigueur 1.3 mega pixel camera and video functions and they’re both more than adequate. The photo-editing is a welcome inclusion for those serious about their phone-based photography; however I thought the video playback was decidedly average.

As a multi-media device generally though, the 7710 performs well, even if it’s only on a relatively basic level. There’s Real Player installed as well as Nokia’s own music player, though where this phone excels is in its FM radio capabilities.

The Visual Radio application links you straight into a directory of radio stations, which you select according to your local area. Then simply select the stations you want and store them in any of the 20 preset channels. The bundled headset is the HS-3, which is a superior piece of kit to the bog-standard ones usually found in Nokia boxes. Despite lacking 3G the 7710 is a heavyweight in the data division too. The GPRS connections I used were quick to connect with no dropouts.

Inputting text into any application is achieved with the stylus and you have the choice of a size-selectable on-screen keyboard or the option of handwriting recognition. The latter was pretty impressive, once I’d stopped using all those ingrained Palm-type hieroglyphics I spent years perfecting!

Once inputting text is mastered, the 7710 becomes a joy to operate. The messaging suite has everything you could desire and configuring everything was probably the easiest I’ve found. The email was HTML compatible which really brings the screen surprisingly low 65k colour screen to life, and multiple accounts are supported. The screen is also a real advantage when using the web browser, which really suffers from the lack of connection speed. (Come on Nokia - slap in the 3G here and you’ve got a winner).

You can take your office with you with a suite of applications to view Word, Excel and PowerPoint documents and synchronising with your desktop is a breeze, if a little slow, with PC Suite (visit http://www.nokia.com/ to make sure you get the latest version). Bluetooth reliability was vastly improved on previous smartphones I’ve tried too. Virtual Private Networking is possible for the advanced user and both file and device management are clear and easy to use.

Tags: Phones Mobile phones Mobile phones Nokia

Nokia 7710 originally appeared on Pocket-lint on Thu, 28 Apr 2005 00:00:00 +0100

With wireless networks becoming increasingly common in the modern home, it’s not surprising that manufacturers are exploiting the situation with an array of toys and gizmos to plug in.

D-Link has seen this gap in the market and produced the DCS-5300g - a souped-up webcam that promises wireless security coverage of your home.

The possibilities here are endless: no more roaming the house with a five iron in my hands after hearing a strange noise in the middle of the night and finally a chance to find out what makes those animal noises are bottom of the garden.

Out of the box, I was a little disappointed with the plasticky feel to the camera and immediately realised that it was actually quite fragile (that’s the flower bed surveillance out then). D-Link is quick to point out that this is designed as indoor equipment rather than nature hunting outside but still it would have been nice to have that option for the price.

The easy set-up guide seemed the obvious place to start and apart from the fact that there was an entire page of settings not covered, I managed to get the camera installed. The configuration processes use a web browser interface and an Ethernet cable, but beware, in tests we had some trouble with network addresses - mainly that the software automatically assigned an address to the camera, which was already occupied by another PC on my network. Once this was overcome however, the rest of the setup was relatively straightforward.

The bundled software suite consists of two applications: one to monitor the camera and another to play back any recorded material. Both these were user friendly and easy to configure.

My initial feeling on seeing the picture from the camera was that the image quality was quite poor - especially as D-Link are keen to point out that the 5300 is a security camera and not a regular webcam. However, the image quality was improved by tweaking a few settings according to bandwidth and frame refresh rate (I’m getting the hang of this networking jargon by now).

The digital zoom, like most cameras, was a bit disappointing and the picture quality suffered greatly at maximum range. The pan and tilt was smooth however, and once I’d selected the appropriate movement increments, I could hone in on any object fairly accurately (even if I couldn’t tell quite what it was…).

The inbuilt microphone was more than adequate for security monitoring, however an external microphone can be added if required. The whole unit can be attached to a TV and video, both for viewing and recording, although most users will take advantage of the hard disk recording capabilities of the 5300G as a means of storing the footage produced.

This I should point out was all achieved in the camera’s wired mode (i.e. physically connected to my router) and the first major problem I encountered was switching to wireless mode. The manual was a bit sketchy on the whole idea (apart from pages and pages of info on settings and more acronyms that an episode of ER) and I finally resorted to phoning the D-Link support line. Forty minutes on the phone to a helpful chap called Walter, and I soon had the camera operating wirelessly. Its full potential became immediately apparent.

You can set it to “Auto Patrol” a selected field of view and it can be connected to other device such as sirens and flashing lights to indicate activity. The camera can also be configured to record snapshots in a staggeringly comprehensive combination of schedules and intervals. These can then be saved to hard disk or even emailed to an account of your choosing. As baby monitors go this thing is the cat’s pyjama’s, giving vigilant parents real-time live feeds of their pride and joy. It is motion sensitive and fully adjustable to react to the slightest twitch of baby Johnny’s blanket. It also comes with a small infrared remote to pan and tilt the camera.

With correct settings, the camera is also accessible from any computer via the web, so the possibilities for keeping an eye on things back home (especially with the prospect of 3G phones linking directly into your home security network via the web) are truly amazing.

Tags: Hardware Networking D-Link Wi-Fi

D-Link DCS-5300g originally appeared on Pocket-lint on Tue, 19 Apr 2005 14:53:12 +0100

As Orange enters the world of 3G voice calling, we look at one launch model, the LG U8150. Will the LG handset live up to previous models or will an Orange 3G interface ruin the experience?

The phone is solid and well built. However it does lack Bluetooth, which, while not important to some, will be paramount for those looking to use a Bluetooth headset or this as a fast and effective way to connect to their laptop when out on the road.

For your money you get two screens, and this had a heavy effect on the battery life of the unit, mainly because the main screen stays on when the flip is closed and despite fiddling with the Display settings we couldn’t turn this off.

Unlike other phones Orange are offering the LG U8150 with only a basic camera, instead of 1 mega pixel which would seem to be what’s expected on a 3G handset. Image settings were pretty comprehensive although the controls are slightly fiddly. The Zoom was very difficult to figure out how to operate and as for the “Flash”, it’s just a dim light that shines. Those looking for video might as well not bother either as the camcorder function offers a maximum of 1 minute of capture. Finally, the aerial is old fashioned but the signal was significantly better than one of Orange’s other 3G handsets - the Nokia 6630.

Even once you get past the build of the phone, the ringtones are seriously shocking. In fact we couldn’t actually find a tone that sounded like a phone and we loathe the idea that we should have to download a tone that isn’t going to get us lynched in the office from day one.

It’s strange therefore that while the ringtones were dire, the actual quality of the voice calls was excellent. No echo effect was apparent as you sometimes get with earlier flip phones.

When it comes to menus the LG gets mixed responses. Nokia users never can get used to other systems, and those used to the a Nokia interface will probably struggle with the menus here as they are very intuitive. You have several options down the left-hand side of the standby screen, and then you hit the Menu button and you get some of the same options, but this time they’ve also crammed everything into the menu’s nine folders. This means that quite a lot of stuff sits under slightly illogical headings.

For example, in Calendar, you select your date and then with other smartphones (like with Outlook on a PC) you can start typing and the phone creates a new entry. Not so here - you have to create an entry first and then fill in the blanks. Also, you can’t switch between applications. On a Nokia you can hit Menu at any time and open another application, with the LG you have to exit one to open another. Not helpful if you’re writing an email and then need to check a date or a contact for example.

With no Bluetooth, connecting to a PC is reliant on wires, however we couldn’t get PC sync to work. It couldn’t see the phone despite installing all software twice and connecting and reconnecting. The interface seems OK, although you’ve got four different applications to play with. To begin syncing you need to open up a Sync Manager, then the desktop software before you can proceed. You’re just left wondering why LG decided not put it all in one suite?

Setting up the email element was thankfully much easier. Using the 3G connection, email downloads were speedy - you’re getting 384Kbps after all. However there isn’t any way of checking data downloads and if you don’t have a set amount each month it would be nice to know if you’re about to go over your limit.

Probably the biggest drawback is that there is no expandable memory on the LG U8150, and one or two applications will put paid to the idea of storing large amounts of emails, contacts, images or MP3 tracks on this phone.

Tags: Phones Mobile phones 3G LG

LG U8150 3G PHONE originally appeared on Pocket-lint on Thu, 17 Feb 2005 09:18:29 +0000