Gadgetoid

If you frequent Gadgetoid you may remember my look at the SteelSeries Ikari Laser Mouse, it’s a killer mouse (not in the “it has fangs and eats people” sense) and is still my day-to-day mouse both at home and work.

Never one to give up the chance of doubling up on SteelSeries mouse goodness to save me from transporting it to and from work I decided to take a look at the “Iron Lady” branded version of the SteelSeries Ikari.

Read the rest of this post »

 Save as pdf.

With OLED displays becoming more and more prevalent and being exceptionally good at integrating seamlessly into devices and, well, looking good. It’s no surprise that more manufacturers are jumping on the OLED keyboard band wagon.

The United Keys OLED Keyboard and OLED Keypad both boast 9 keys arranged in a 3×3 grid with OLED displays upon each one.

Read the rest of this post »

 Save as pdf.

Recently Sitecom sent over their XC-045 USB 2.0 Express Card for me to have a gander at and test with the MacBook Pro.

The good news is that it works, is compact, and seems to flawlessly support plug and play even with a host of USB devices connected.

Read the rest of this post »

 Save as pdf.

Okay, so I’m not a thoroughbred Mac user, I used windows first, and I still use windows extensively at home and work. I may even be a “power user” but that doesn’t make me immune to the pain of keeping drivers up-to-date for a diverse variety of internal and external hardware. I use a Mac as my primary machine because this driver hell is almost non-existent.

Uniblue have recognised the sheer impossibility of the average user keeping on top of driver updates. They have produced Driver Scanner to try and help you achieve the best possible performance and stability out of your system without needing to manually trawl through manufacturers websites. Even I’m somewhat interested in this idea, graphics driver updates are a particular pet-hate of mine.

Read the rest of this post »

 Save as pdf.

The dark, cold nights are settling in and the number of shopping days left until December 25th grows smaller. If you’re unsure of what to get the gadget-lover in your household then why not take a look at these:

Sandberg Wireless Touchpad Keyboard

If you have a media centre pc or are just looking for a greater degree of flexibility in your interface options then this wireless keyboard with mousepad may prove useful. It has a row of shortcut keys for standard Windows applications as well as special keys that make navigating Windows Vista Media Center a breeze and will operate up to 10 metres.

The Sandberg Wireless Touchpad Keyboard retails at £49.99 and is available from most stockists, including amazon.co.uk.

Read our review of it here.

Swann PenCam DVR

Made by security specialists Swann, this seemingly innocent ballpoint pen is in fact a covert colour video and audio recording device. It’s ideal for discreet undercover surveillance, useful if you’re making a documentary about fraudsters or just trying to find out who’s been stealing your post it notes. It has plug and play USB connectability and can also transmit to a connected tv or monitor up to 100m away.

The Swann PenCam DVR retails at £99.99, but for a limited time is available at Maplin for £69.99.

Hopefully we’ll be reviewing the PenCam in the near future…

 Save as pdf.

Digital Notepads are an interesting breed that, with the advent of E-Ink, should become exceptionally convenient replacements for traditional pen and paper note-taking in a few years time.

In the here and now, however, the most cost effective digital notepads still use good old plain pen and paper in order to visually represent the notes, sketches or other input. A graphics-tablet like technology is responsible for creating a digital copy of these traditional pen and paper notes on internal storage or an SD card. You can then transfer the results to a computer and attempt to run them through OCR or convert them to a usable format, from static images to vector graphics.

The AipTek MyNote Premium II available from Expert Verdict is one such device. At £129.95 it’s not unreasonably priced when you consider the fact it doubles as a basic pen input device for your desktop or laptop computer.

Read the rest of this post »

 Save as pdf.

Stretching the term “portable” somewhat, Edifier have produced a zero compromise 2.1 portable audio solution that includes a discrete subwoofer and two satellites in a nifty little carry case.

It’s all really rather pretty, with the 9w subwoofer made from brushed aluminium and two tasteful satellite speakers in a spherical design with metal weave speaker grills.

The speakers take 12v of DC, meaning they’re not feeble USB powered nonsense and use a standard 2.3mm stereo line in so you can use them with pretty much any audio source.

 Save as pdf.

16:9 aspect ratio displays are looking like the next thing in line to sweep over modern computing and gaming. With movie aspect ratios growing ever wider and shorter our 16:10 screens are looking somewhat narrow and leave us with some serious letter boxing. Ick!

ViewSonic have pushed out the VX2260wm, a 1080p, 16:9 display packed into 22 inches of screen real-estate and boasting a 1920×1080 desktop resolution which is fairly rare in a computer display.

Despite its inherent unsuitability for desktop work, at 22″ that 1080p is going to cause some serious eye-strain, the VX2260wm is looking like a fantastic companion to a bedroom Xbox 360 or PS3 and gaming PC. Judging by the specifications, however, it looks like it’s lacking an HDMI port or two.

 Save as pdf.

You may, or may not, have noticed that we’re getting fairly close to that most wonderful time of the year, when radio stations start playing Mistletoe & Wine, scarf and gloves become a daily necessity and mince pies are back on the supermarket shelves.

It’s also a time of the year where a fiercely drawn out competition takes place on both the real and virtual high street between the manufacturers of toys, games and other technology wonders.

The Gadgetoid team was kindly invited down to the St Martins Lane Hotel, London to get a hands-on look at some of Microsofts games and gadgets that will be available in stores in time for christmas. Follow the jump for our thoughts about the New Xbox Experience, Live Mesh and more…

Read the rest of this post »

 Save as pdf.

I currently have the most perculiar of mice attached to my right index finger. It’s known only as “FingerMouse” and it is exactly what the name alludes to. A mouse that you use with a single finger…oh and a thumb for mouse clicks.

FingerMouse is a very intruiging idea executed in such a way that it works, but leaves me wanting a little more fit and finish.

To use the mouse it is attached, ring like, onto your right index finger; it’s designed in such a way as to completely rule out lefties (of which I am one, but have always moused with my right hand) which isn’t uncommon in mice and is unfortunately necessary in FingerMouse to make it usable. It simply would not be practical in its current form to produce a version that has buttons both on the left and right sides.

Read the rest of this post »

 Save as pdf.