This post was written by Fedrick Chan
Lexmark X4550 printer’s USB installation is very simple, as the supplied software installs and discovers the printer without problem. It would be good to be able to sing the praises of the X4550 and its wireless connection makes it particularly easy to deploy – it doesn’t have to be tethered to your PC. However, it’s very slow, particularly when printing in colour and printed output on plain paper isn’t worth the wait. At £90, you’d rather forego the Wi-Fi and look at faster, prettier prints from the competition.
Buffalo Wireless G MIMO with DD-WRT equipped router is a worthy choice for professionals and enthusiasts that don’t mind getting their hands dirty. It offers a superb level of features and although documentation for most of them is non-existent there is a flourishing user community offering a wealth of inside information on its inner workings. Buffalo has given the web interface its own design touch making the myriad features easily available. The router can act as an access point (AP), a client or a bridged client, or function in Ad Hoc mode.
Taxan KG-PS125X Wireless DLP projector offers good value for money. Connections look sparse at first – all you get is VGA, S-Video, composite and 3.5mm audio inputs on the rear panel – but these disguise more comprehensive potential. It’s not the smallest unit in the world or the sexiest to look at. The thick black plastic casing has a finish that looks like it will resist scratching. It even turns the lamp off when you close it. All is forgiven, however, when you take a look at the price.
U.S. Robotics (USR) has taken a couple of its old-timers and bundled them together to provide a complete broadband and wireless solution. The package consists of its USR9108 ADSL2+ Gateway and USR5421 USB wireless adapter with both products supporting USR’s MAXg technology, which claims speeds of up to 125Mbps. The router is an imposing slab of silver plastic which provides the obligatory quad of switched Fast Ethernet ports along with an integral ADSL2+ modem. The management interface is a simple affair with easy access to the various functions.
Axis’s 207MW Wireless Network camera isn’t much to look at but its compact chassis hides a wealth of features. The camera provides full motion detection along with support for both Motion-JPEG and MPEG-4 compression. Installation beats the same path as all Axis cameras. Bandwidth demands are quite high so for wireless links reviewers would only recommend using this camera over an 802.11g link. Nevertheless, for sheer image quality the 207MW is quite superb and it augments these abilities with an impressive range of surveillance features.
Panasonic’s Lumix DMC-G1 is a revolutionary camera that delivers on its promise of SLR-like quality in a compact body. Build quality and design are up to Panasonic’s usual exemplary standard, and despite its small size the camera handles well. In terms of performance and especially image quality it matches other Four-Thirds system DLSRs. The autofocus system is amazingly fast, which helps the G1 to have a very impressive shot-to-shot time. The only downside is the high price compared to an entry-level full-size DLSR.
3’s mobile phone INQ1 includes the Skype stuff and takes things a step further by putting Facebook at its heart. The phone’s contact book lets you get to people via Skype, Windows Live Messenger, Facebook, email, SMS or voicemail. This is a nicely constructed slider with a fairly good range of apps on offer and two very enticing special tariffs. There are a few niggles which hopefully will be ironed out in the next version but as a first effort from the INQ/3 partnership it is impressive.
Hannspree’s HT09 is a million miles away from the HG281DJ in terms of appearance. Its chromed buttons aren’t easy to operate. Audio connectivity is another disappointment, with just twin phono inputs for the component source and a 3.5mm jack for PC audio. Overall, the HT09’s many flaws leave it difficult to recommend despite its incredible price. This TV will only be suitable for a small minority of users: those who primarily watch the better digital channels, aren’t too picky about image quality and want something to plug their games console into.
Sennheiser has taken a slightly different approach to creating its high-end in-ear earphones, the IE8s, and has come up with something that sounds quite astonishing. Their huge bass response will certainly please rock and pop music fans and even those that prefer the finer things in life will find these represent a good listen. One thing reviewers particularly liked about these earphones is the removable cable. However a few issues with the package as a whole make it hard to recommend these outright.
Samsung’s HD870 does indeed redefine what you can expect from a sub-£100 player, knocking stars off its rivals along the way. The sleek lines of the Samsung belie its cost, and will have the cheaper plasticky models hastily covering up their sleazy styling. Features aren’t lacking, either. HDMI, component, TGB Scart, composite plus a digital coaxial output for audio all receive a big tick. The amount of detail and insight on offer is very high indeed, even in the gloomiest of dark scenes. It’s a real DVD all-rounder, which is quite incredible for £70.