AQ66-All about Tech Gadgets

Choosing the best printers for the home office

admin — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 08:01:32 +0000

When you start to think about it, there are quite a range of factors to consider when it comes to shopping around for printers for the home office. While getting a quick overview of the range of printers out there is simply a matter of browsing sites like Ryman.co.uk, the selection process must really begin at home. Here we look at some of the basic considerations when it comes to selecting the most suitable printers for the home office.

The first point may seem obvious, but can be easy to overlook when shopping online, and is the space actually available for your new printer in the home office. As printers have developed, so has the range of functionality, and with increasing capability has come an increase in unit size for the popular all-in-one models. If you want to have the printer next to you on the desk, it is worth spending a few minutes with a measuring tape, remembering to leave yourself elbow room, and space to lay out documents when required.

If space is limited, you may find that you have already taken a significant step towards narrowing the field of choice, but this doesn’t necessarily mean compromising on the functionality you require by picking a more basic, smaller printer. You may simply need to consider wireless printers, which can of course be located anywhere within range of your wireless router or hub. For the average home, this tends to mean anywhere in the building, although those living in particularly large houses or older properties with thick stone walls may wish to try out proposed wireless printer locations by first checking internet provider access through the local network with a laptop.

Many all-in-one printers are now wireless, providing both text and full colour photo printing, scanning, and faxing facilities. At the bottom end of the price scale, quite a few Wi-Fi printers also provide Bluetooth connectivity, which can come in handy if you want to make a quick print of a photo taken on a smartphone or digital camera, and the computer is tied up.

Web printers are the next tier up in terms of both functionality and price, connecting directly to the internet without the need to run things through your computer, although in the home office environment you may need to ask yourself how often you will need to send print jobs from a device outside the range of your wireless network.

Indeed, it can be easy to get carried away when you start looking at the capabilities of all-singing, all-dancing printers, and forget the impact of ongoing running costs. While the quality of the print is not always directly related to the overall cost of the job in terms if printer ink and electricity, there is obviously a correlation. Running the highest quality photo printers can become quite a pricy proposition if you will be making a lot of prints. Perhaps more importantly for the home office scenario, using such printers for large runs of textual printing can end up costing up to five times more than the same job produced on a basic, monochrome laser printer. Understanding your regular requirements of the machine is thus one of the most important factors when it comes to selecting the most suitable and affordable printers for the home office.

BlackBerry Bold 9900 with New Liquid Graphics

admin — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 14:54:50 +0000

BlackBerry has been considered by many to be a little old hat for the last couple of years. The advent of HTC and Samsung has seen the Canadian made phones fall from grace with Androids and iPhones swamping the market and eating into RIM’s market share quite drastically.

However, the new T-Mobile BlackBerry Bold ? which takes up the mantle of what some would say was the last great BlackBerry, the previous Bold ? will hope to change that. So, can BlackBerry make a comeback with this device, or is it done for? Will BlackBerry 9900 deals be competitive enough to stop the advances of the ever growing Android hordes?

Well the Bold 9900 starts off well and looks like quite a sleek phone and has the appeal of the more modern handsets like the Samsung Galaxy SII or the iPhone in its streamlined design. Gone are the faux leather and little additional rubber bits on the side and in comes a carbon fibre looking machine.

The device’s touch screen has also improved, and it is thankfully a massive improvement on the Storm’s screen, which few people have good memories of. This all is topped off with the new 1.2GHz processor that speeds up proceedings by more than double that of the Torch. The phone also comes with an improved 5mp camera and has BlackBerry’s new OS7 – another leap in technology for RIM.

So is this all enough?

Well, though this is a wonderful jump in capability for a BlackBerry, the phone seems to have just caught up in many areas technologically. Technical specs aren’t everything though and the major breakthrough has been with the new operating system. The new OS7 is light years ahead of previous BlackBerry interfaces and is much less demanding than competing interfaces like Android.

BlackBerry OS7 shows that RIM has finally produced what it takes to compete in today’s smartphone market in terms of software. Like Microsoft who revamped their mobile Windows interface at the end of 2010, RIM has finally produced an operating system worthy of the current era of phones.

The OS deals out a much sleeker look and comes with new Liquid Graphics that make it one of the more eye catching operating systems. OS7 now includes HTML5 video and a far superior web browsing experience. This is good considering that BlackBerry phones have always been superb devices for online features anyway.

The Bold 9900 has a 5 megapixel camera with 720p video support which will provide more than enough for most people’s day to day photography needs. Included are the standard BlackBerry features like Messenger and BlackBerry Maps.

Physically the Bold 9900 is not much different to previous models, although it has had a revamp in technical specs. Although not as highly charged as some dual core phones on the market the Bold has all the technology it needs to offer a great web, media and professional experience although much of the new found excellence undoubtedly comes from the new operating system.

Panasonic Lumix FZ47 with 24x Optical Zoom

admin — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 17:39:49 +0000

Panasonic today reveals another digital camera, the LUMIX DMC-FZ47 which boasts powerful 24x optical zoom thanks to 25mm ultra-wide angle LEICA DC VARIO-ELMARIT lens, optimized for video recording with a mechanism designed to minimize the noise of AF and zooming.

The camera is armed with 12.1 megapixel CCD sensor capable of capturing 1920 x 1080 full-HD videos in the AVCHD format, complemented with the high-quality stereo sound and paired with Venus Engine FHD processor allows the camera to take high-resolution consecutive shots at 3.7 fps in 12.1-megapixel full-resolution and maximum 10 fps at 3-megapixel recording. With the included Intelligent Resolution technology FZ47’s zoom can be extended 1.3x times to a 32x zoom length.

This new Lumix ultrazoom has a 3.0-inch 460k-dot LCD, also features 3D photo mode, improved AF speeds and a new Creative Control and Photo Style that comes with a variety of options for artistic effect modes. Other features included in the specs: POWER O.I.S. (Optical Image Stabilizer), Motion Deblur, Face Recognition, Face Detection, AF Tracking, Intelligent ISO Control and Intelligent Scene Selector.

The Panasonic LUMIX FZ47 will be available starting in August 2011 for $399.99.

Microsoft unveils Explorer Touch Mouse

admin — Wed, 20 Jul 2011 17:34:45 +0000

Redmond-based software giant Microsoft has unveiled its latest creation in their hardware touch line – the the Explorer Touch Mouse which comes with BlueTrack Technology, allowing you to use the mouse on almost any type of surface and offering up to 18 months of battery life.

This new wireless rodent features a touch strip that allows users to swipe horizontally or vertically for scrolling, plus a the scroll wheel also allows for three speeds of scrolling depending on your needs - slow speed for precise movements, medium speed to advance a page or two, or hyperfast speed to flick quickly through a long document. Explorer Touch Mouse offers five customizable buttons, has a special ‘stash’ on the underside to store the snap-in nano transceiver when is not in use. The mouse utilizes the BlueTrack Technology for seamless scrolling on everything from your carpet to your couch to your pant leg and is also equipped with advanced haptic technology, to “feel and hear” how quickly you are scrolling.

Microsoft has promised that you can use the new mouse for up to 18 months on a single battery. It will be available form Septemeber, priced at $49.95 in Black and Storm Grey colors.

EverCool Hawk2 cooling pad offers also adjustable stand

admin — Tue, 19 Jul 2011 17:31:21 +0000

EverCool rolls out a new cooling pad to help you fighting against the summer heat, which also can acts as an adjustable stand.

The USB-powered EverCool Hawk2 cooling pad has a metal mesh surface for better air convection and ventilation, and is equipped with a mechanism that allows mutli-angles adjustment for the most comfortable position of your laptop. Measuring 360 x 265 x 38.4 mm and weighting 1kg, the cooling pad is appropriate for 12-inch to 17inch notebooks and is fitted with a 12cm “noiseless fan” that works at 1200 RPM.

The price was not announced, but the company claims the will have “a competitive and reasonable price.”

Casio G-Shock Nigel Sylvester’s Signature timepiece

admin — Fri, 15 Jul 2011 17:28:16 +0000

Casio unveiled another collaborative timepiece model, this time bearing the style of Nigel Sylvester, a pro BMX street rider who has joined as a new G-Shock team rider.

The new GD100NS-7 model features stark white band with a contrasting black face and Nigel Sylvester signature emblazoned in red. It comes with the standard for the G-Shock watches toughness and durability, offering 200M water resistant and additional features like auto LED (super illuminator) with flash alert, 48-City World Time, 5 independent alarms , 1/100th second stopwatch, countdown timer, 7 year battery and 12/24 Hour formats.

The Nigel Sylvester Signature G-Shock model will go on sale this August for $110.

Pentax rolls out 645D Limited Edition digital camera

admin — Thu, 14 Jul 2011 17:26:41 +0000

Pentax Imaging has announced a special edition of its 645D 40MP medium-format digital SLR camera to celebrate that it has been honored ‘Camera of the Year’ at the Camera Grand Prix Japan 2011.

The ‘original’ 645D was first announced in June 2010 and is equipped with 40MP, 44 x 33 CCD sensor, 921k dot 3.0-inch LCD, and has dust-proof, weather-resistant body that operates in temperatures as low as –10°C. Thanks to all these features, the camera was selected for “Camera of the Year” at Camera GP Japan 2011.

The new Limited Edition model comes in comes in red lacquer finish with a special leather camera strap (645D japan O-ST123), Body Mount Cap 645D, Center-Spot-Matte Focusing Screen DS-80 and a specially designed paulownia-wood box packaging.

Orders for this special kit can be placed during a two-month period from July 20 to September 20, 2011.

Samsung Solar Powered netbook up for pre-order

admin — Wed, 13 Jul 2011 17:23:46 +0000

Here is another interesting solution on the laptop market, a solar powered netbook from Samsung called NC215s1.

The 10.1-inch netbook is equipped with built-in solar cells on its back lid, which will give you an extra work time when the battery runs out. Spec-wise this laptop comes with LED-backlit (1024 x 600) display and is boosted by an Atom N570 (dual-core) processor paired with 1GB of RAM, GMA 3150 integrated graphics and 250GB HDD. The standard connectivity options are included too – 10/100 LAN, WiFi,802.11bg/n, Bluetooth V3.0 along with a 6-cell battery, which Samsung claims can allow up to 14 hours of operation.

Razer releases the Mouse Bungee

admin — Wed, 13 Jul 2011 17:20:51 +0000

Razer finally is preparing the release of its Mouse Bungee for those who prefer wired mice, which is a gadget that holds your mouse cord and keep it from dragging against surfaces or tangling. It is now is now available for pre-order at Razerzone.com for $19.99 / €19.99 and will start shipping on 28th July.

The Mouse Bungee has leek design and comes in pitch black finish. It features a sturdy base with a weighted centre for stability, a rust-resistant taut spring arm to allow cable flex, a head grip for cord management and anti-slip feet for better grip.

“Back in the old days, mice weren’t as well-made as today and the cord would tangle and drag against surfaces, a major source of annoyance for any serious gamer,” said Robert “RazerGuy” Krakoff, President, Razer. “Then the Mouse Bungee came along and solved all that by keeping the mouse cord off the ground so your swiping is optimally drag-free. Razer’s proud to rejuvenate such an innovative contraption for next generation gamers looking to achieve the highest level of gaming performance with their mice.”

Bowers & Wilkins C5 in-ear, noise-isolating headphones

admin — Mon, 11 Jul 2011 17:18:43 +0000

Bowers & Wilkins has unveiled a new pair of noise-isolating in-ear headphones, which are made form “high-grade aluminium”, features innovative Secure Loop design for better fit and promising “pristine sound quality” on the move.

Made from high quality materials, the C5 incorporates the company’s proprietary Micro Porous Filter which uses hundreds of microscopic steel balls and act as a sonic diffuser, and also providing a more spacious performance than previously possible from in-ear headphones. This filter also has the ability to limit the noise bleed, and together with the noise-isolating properties of the sealed fit, makes the headphones to deliver “flawless audio.” According to the Bowers & Wilkins, the Secure Loop design makes the headphones ideal for use on the move and during activities and fixes quickly and comfortably in the inner ridge of your ear. Another feature incorporated in the C5 is the Tungsten Balanced design which puts high-mass material closer to the user’s ear, for an improved seal and better sound and noise isolation. The headphones comes with an in-line remote and microphone, designed specifically to work with Apple devices, allowing you to make calls.