Dan Leonard Reviews Archive

News from Dan Leonard

Results 1 to 25 of 67.

Sony Ericsson HBH-PV700 headset
The hands-free law in the UK is coming up on its first anniversary, So should you celebrate with a Bluetooth headset 14 December 2005 0:10 GMT

The Good
Advanced echo reduction and auto volume

The Bad
No voice dialling, available on cheaper Sony Ericsson headsets

Verdict
Cheaper than the HBH-610, but you'll pay with a reduced battery life

Price
£39.99
Sony Ericsson HBH-610 Bluetooth headset
There is no better time to invest in a Bluetooth headset if you hoping to make that important call when out on the road. 6 December 2005 0:03 GMT

The Good
Advanced sound balancing

The Bad
Lacks voice dialling

Verdict
Auto volume and echo reduction makes this a good professional choice

Price
£49.99
Sonic Rush - Nintendo DS
The first instalment of the Sonic series on the Nintendo DS, and the fourth on Nintendo handhelds, might well be the best Sonic yet - regardless of console. We take a closer look. 4 December 2005 0:16 GMT

The Good
Great use of the dual screen, good value multiplayer download play

The Bad
Not much touch screen play

Verdict
Potentially the best Sonic title to date, on any platform

Price
£30
Serious Sam 2 - Xbox
You may have loved the first person shooter Serious Sam, but will the second in the series do the same again? We get blasting and find out. 3 December 2005 11:39 GMT

The Good
Very long scrolling levels

The Bad
Feels a little budget, unappealing lead character

Verdict
Probably best to wait till the sales kick in next year.

Price
£35
Sony Ericsson W900 mobile phone
The W900 is the 3G follow-on to the hugely successful and popular W800 from Sony Ericsson, but do we really need it? We get listening to find out. 3 December 2005 0:04 GMT

The Good
3G, 2 megapixel camera phone, 470Mb built in memory

The Bad
Bigger than the W800i

Verdict
Where the W800 will succeed is its bolting on of 3G to an already successful phone

Price
£Price dependant on contract
KISS Technologies DP-558 DVD Player
9 November 2005 11:31 GMT

The Good
Record to HDD, transfer to and from your network, and beyond

The Bad
Even playing a DVD, it is very noisy

Verdict
Not cheap, but the network element will change the way you think about TV and video

Price
£289.99
Sony Ericsson W550i mobile phone
8 November 2005 10:14 GMT

The Good
Handles HTML very well, preloaded with Gauntlet and Worms

The Bad
No removable memory. Very close in specification to rest of the range

Verdict
More exciting than the W800i and its non-'Walkman' brother, the D750i

Price
£Price dependant on contract
Nintendo DS handheld games console
27 May 2005 11:46 GMT

The Good
A unique rethinking of handheld control methods, with wireless gaming, twin cart format and surround sound.

The Bad
The look of the unit is clunky and larger than the Advance SP. Using a stylus of finger to control isn't easy and that screen gets pretty greasy!

Verdict
A good handheld that just falls short of the Sony PSP dream

Price
£100
Ulead v9 Video Editing Software - PC
17 May 2005 10:44 GMT

The Good
A 30 day free trial is available as a download, Great scanning of DV tapes- at 6 x speed, Adjust light levels from desktop file thanks to two new tweaks for V9

The Bad
Capture elements are more efficent than than the editing tools, Masking and effects built into the software are more fun than functional, Some windows are too small and not resizable, making effects editing a chore

Verdict
A good package for the hobbyist or amateur. Not in the same league as final cut, but stands up against the competition. With try before you buy, you can't go wrong.

Price
£45
JVC DR-MX1SEK Combi
10 May 2005 0:00 GMT

The Good
Long live VHS! Twin tuner, watch and record from different channels simultaneously

The Bad
Large, and a little clunky. Problems with writing individual chapters to DVDRW

Verdict
This is a forward thinking device, in terms of input and outputs, but lacks that certain something

Price
£289
Sony PSP handheld console - First Look
6 May 2005 0:00 GMT

The Good
Get to play now, screen, games, movies

The Bad
Wi-fi only wireless b, Import may have region coding issues later on

Verdict
The must have gadget of the year

Price
£180
AverMedia DVB-T USB 2.0
29 March 2005 6:40 GMT

The Good
Quick installation. Small and lightweight. USB powered. Nice antenna included

The Bad
Limited platform. Requires a powerful PC for optimum use

Verdict
If you can overcome the setup, it pays dividends. Forward thinking HDTV device.

Price
£85
JVC GRPD1EK Mini DV Cam
28 March 2005 12:52 GMT

The Good
Manual and automatic options, lightweight, great range of capture options, innovative rotating grip

The Bad
JVC software awkward to use, bad onboard microphone, only one CCD chip

Verdict
An advanced Mini DV cam, revolutionary, both in its use of only one chip, and in the capture and authoring of 16:9 video to DVD

Price
£1727
Ministry of Sound STIKAX
16 March 2005 6:08 GMT

The Good
Editing software isn’t cheap, and the TRAKAX is user friendly, Sample CD ensures MCRPS compliance.

The Bad
If you’ve edited before, you may feel it a little limiting. The handset doesn't simplify the process of editing.

Verdict
A cheap way to get sound and image mixing, with a novelty piece of hardware thrown in

Price
£90
Astro Boy - PS2
11 March 2005 6:47 GMT

The Good
Bright vivid animation, a faithful conversion

The Bad
Too easy for adults and frustrating to control in places, even for kids

Verdict
What could have been the new Mega Man pails in comparison to the GBA version. This classic hero does not get the justice he deserves.

Price
£35
Force FX Star Wars Lightsabers
23 February 2005 6:41 GMT

The Good
Authentic replicas with sounds sampled from the movies

The Bad
They aren’t real, so don’t retract

Verdict
Absolutely awesome and as close to the real thing as you’ll find. Great construction, individual styles for each character and the ultimate accolade for your desk or shelves.

Price
£100 - £180
Motorola HF800 Bluetooth Speaker
10 February 2005 6:56 GMT

The Good
Cheap, quick in car/ roaming solution. Supports 3-way calling

The Bad
Expect background noise. No mains charger. Too many commands via one button

Verdict
An alternative to headsets, with 10-metre range that will store up to 8-paired devices, but limited by overall sound quality

Price
£60
Tiny NB 64-3700+ E01315 laptop
9 February 2005 10:22 GMT

The Good
Buy direct and save. More memory, more hardware- same great chassis.

The Bad
Weighs a ton. Windows XP pre-loaded, scant on software.

Verdict
Buy direct and save, but beware of the perils of the XP package.

Price
£999
iriver IFP-990 MP3 player
8 February 2005 14:07 GMT

The Good
One hand operation, lots of extras. Feels like an HDD player. Upgradeable firmware. Ultra lightweight magnesium build

The Bad
Only stores one editable play list. A little more cash gets a lot more memory

Verdict
Lightweight, intuitive. A prince among flash players, with all the mod cons and many accessories

Price
£150
Zen Gennum Bluetooth headset
3 February 2005 6:18 GMT

The Good
Acts as a noise-cancelling amp in noisy situations. Overall sound quality is good

The Bad
Conversation amplifier can cause feedback. Tiny controls for an overly large earpiece

Verdict
Overly large headset, especially for one with no boom microphone.

Price
£110
LG DP8821 7in Portable DVD Player
25 January 2005 6:24 GMT

The Good
Nice picture, good sound, great looks

The Bad
No illuminated buttons

Verdict
You could save a lot of cash opting a budget player, but you can feel the quality here

Price
£279.99
Logitech IO2 Digital Pen
19 January 2005 11:09 GMT

The Good
Transfers text from pen to PC, converting to email and word documents

The Bad
ICR can be tiresome. Short battery life. Reliance on special paper limits use.

Verdict
A nice idea, but something is lost in the translation.

Price
£150
Junior board games - PS2
14 January 2005 7:57 GMT

The Good
Ludo, the low price

The Bad
Rule changes, unclear sprites

Verdict
Budget board games for the under 8s, best avoided

Price
£10
T-Mobile MDA III
6 January 2005 7:32 GMT

The Good
Discreet slide-out keyboard, huge memory

The Bad
Needs dock to charge. Still looks and feels like a PDA

Verdict
PDA users looking for a converging camera phone/PDA device should consider this unit

Price
£price dependent on contract
Logitech Rally Vibration Feedback Wheel and pedals for PS2
5 January 2005 8:15 GMT

The Good
For PS, PS One and PS2. Extendable wings for laptop use

The Bad
Suction cups don’t offer much stability

Verdict
It’s a wheel that works on all PlayStation variants – what’s not to like.

Price
£40