Ian Hughes Reviews Archive 
News from Ian Hughes
Results 1 to 20 of 20.
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Pinnacle PCTV To GO
Can this compete against the Slingbox?
20 June 2007 11:00 GMT
- The Good
- Simple to set up and operate, no need for media converters
- The Bad
- Picture quality dependent on network integrity, sluggish response times.
- Verdict
- A startlingly simple way to get your favourite TV channels onto any PC in the house
- Price
- £150
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Kodak ASF Photoshop Plugins
31 March 2007 0:00 GMT
- The Good
- Makes light of your everyday photo fixes
- The Bad
- Too expensive and the preview window needs to be bigger
- Verdict
- Money no object? Then a must-have, otherwise learn the tricks for yourself
- Price
- £around 100 (depending on the exchange rate)
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Nokia E65 mobile phone
An early salvo in Nokia's new quest for GSM domination
14 March 2007 0:00 GMT
- The Good
- Solid performance, packed with features and looks good too
- The Bad
- A bit fiddly, button-wise and call quality could be improved
- Verdict
- A good entry-level slider with plenty to keep the average user occupied. We reckon we'll wait for the big guns in the near future though
- Price
- £price dependent on contract
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memeo iExtend for iPod
Can you turn your iPod into a data storage device?
21 July 2006 12:56 GMT
- The Good
- Easy to use, affordable, attractive interface
- The Bad
- A bit unnecessary, and the desktop software can be a little intrusive
- Verdict
- Worth the modest investment if you’re serious about using iPod for data storage
- Price
- £30
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diino.com online storage service
With dirt-cheap DVD burners, flash drives and even MP3 players doubling as storage devices Diino tries to go one better and offer all of the above online.
7 March 2006 12:10 GMT
- The Good
- Simple interface with clear and easy access. Remote access to your favourite files anywhere in the world
- The Bad
- Uploads speeds determined by connection speeds. Full-sized CD key required for some users
- Verdict
- A relatively low cost, secure, web-based solution to carrying your essential files with you, accessible from any PC
- Price
- £Prices vary on storage space
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Norton Systemworks 2006
Norton Systemworks 2006 from Symantec is one tool you can use to clean-up your PC. But does it work?
28 February 2006 15:30 GMT
- The Good
- Easy to use system maintenance and monitoring tools. Antivirus is a welcome bonus
- The Bad
- Certain elements proved troublesome to install and practically everything here can be found elsewhere in your system
- Verdict
- A one-stop solution for system maintenance, but essentially an unnecessary purchase for anybody with the skills and confidence to explore Windows
- Price
- £49.99
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Norton Internet Security 2006
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?
22 February 2006 11:10 GMT
- The Good
- Ease of use and navigation
- The Bad
- Bedding-in period requires patience – you’ll be asked to permit or deny access to all your networking tools
- Verdict
- A market-leading total package to keep your system secure
- Price
- £50
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Plantronic 590A Bluetooth headset and headphones
Bluetooth headphones are set to change the way we listen to our portable music, so has Plantronics got the right idea?
12 January 2006 0:05 GMT
- The Good
- Wireless listening, doubles-up as a handsfree unit, docking station is natty
- The Bad
- Phone won't interupt you listening to music, plenty of noise loss
- Verdict
- At last musical freedom from wires and universal compatibility. Although for use with a phone there are more elegant handsfree solutions
- Price
- £100
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Sennheiser MX-500 headphones
The MX-500 might be aimed at the iPod market, but are they worth replacing for? We plug in and find out
11 January 2006 0:00 GMT
- The Good
- Good sound, cheap
- The Bad
- In-ear headphones can damage your hearing
- Verdict
- Small (ish), stylish and punching above their weight in the sound department. A good budget choice for improving your iPod experience
- Price
- £19.99
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Sonos Digital Sound System
Can this make your audio life at home easier?
16 December 2005 0:08 GMT
- The Good
- Sound; ease of set-up and use; total flexibility and overall elegance
- The Bad
- Price
- Verdict
- Simple, elegant and a joy to use. The must-have gadget of the year for any serious digital music lover. But your bank manager definitely wouldn’t approve
- Price
- £1200
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Pentax ist*DL DSL digital camera
DSLR camera from Pentax
10 December 2005 9:53 GMT
- The Good
- Size, weight, price, ease of use
- The Bad
- Auto settings are atrocious giving poor results, inaccurate metering, power consumption, fiddly menu
- Verdict
- If you’re looking for a good mid-range digital SLR then maybe you should think about something from the big two
- Price
- £
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FloorPlan 3D v10 Standard - PC
Floorplan 3D promises (on the box anyway) to let you design and build your perfect home, with “thousands” of options, but can one software package achieve so much? We get designing and find out.
29 November 2005 0:57 GMT
- The Good
- Easy to use at a basic level; highly technical capabilities
- The Bad
- Style content; need for enormous processing power to realise designs
- Verdict
- Good, but only for those with appalling taste in furnishings
- Price
- £30
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Monitor Audio i-Deck iPod speakers
31 August 2005 11:22 GMT
- The Good
- Build quality, ease of use, sound, compatibility
- The Bad
- Styling, lack of sound control, remote feel and range, price, price, price
- Verdict
- Monitor’s claims are, in the main, fulfilled, but the question remains: do you really need this in your home?
- Price
- £
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Pentax SVI digital camera
30 August 2005 13:09 GMT
- The Good
- Size, weight, build quality, range of functions and features
- The Bad
- Slow autofocus, under-powered flash
- Verdict
- The Pentax SVI was a fun little fling that will promise good pics
- Price
- £200
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T-Mobile SDA mobile phone
18 August 2005 12:27 GMT
- The Good
- Activesync software; call quality good; Bluetooth integrity
- The Bad
- menu navigation; software reliability; keypad layout; connection speeds
- Verdict
- There’s nothing really wrong with the SDA (minor software grumbles aside), but, quite frankly it’s a small, slightly outdated fish in an ever-expanding pond full of sharks.
- Price
- £Price dependant on contract
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Nokia 6680 mobile phone
9 June 2005 0:00 GMT
- The Good
- sleek design; software improvements; two cameras with flash; direct photo printing.
- The Bad
- active slide can’t be disabled and does feel a little flimsy; quite heavy;
- Verdict
- It seems Nokia has listened to its customers and put right many of the little niggles that were evident in the 6630
- Price
- £price dependent on contract
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Southwing Neo 507 and the Neovoice USB
12 May 2005 0:00 GMT
- The Good
- Price; ease of use; reliability; styling;
- The Bad
- Build quality; the USB model can only be worn in the right ear and no bundled cable; over-sensitive scroll wheel on both models.
- Verdict
- Affordable and reliable Bluetooth headsets, but build quality lets both units down – perhaps you’re just getting what you pay for
- Price
- £from £40
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Nokia 7710
28 April 2005 0:00 GMT
- The Good
- Sharp, wide 65k colour screen; FM radio; PIM applications
- The Bad
- Sumo-size and weight; design requires two handed usage most of the time; slow application speeds and no 3G
- Verdict
- A heavyweight in all areas except speed - 3G and a faster processor please Nokia! Otherwise, it’s not short on functionality and ease of use
- Price
- £price dependent on contract
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D-Link DCS-5300g
19 April 2005 14:53 GMT
- The Good
- versatile, compact and easy to use (once set up), sound quality, accessible from anywhere.
- The Bad
- build quality, complex set-up instructions, picture quality not amazing, price, knowledge of networking an advantage
- Verdict
- A good home security device or a voyeur's paradise. Either way an excellent addition to home or small office wireless network.
- Price
- £329
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LG U8150 3G PHONE
17 February 2005 9:18 GMT
- The Good
- Keypad shortcuts, solid built, strong ariel strength
- The Bad
- Interface a bit awkward, VGA camera, no Bluetooth
- Verdict
- A solid model, but nothing to write home about
- Price
- £price dependent on contract
PHONES
Nokia N900 mobile phone Will this revive Nokia's fortunes?
PHONES
PHOTOS: First ELSE hands-on Up close and personal
AUDIO
Vodafone Pocket-lint Gadget Awards date confirmed and tickets on sale Get your tickets today
