PC World New Zealand Magazine: Technology advice you can trust.

Reviews

Cisco Linksys RE1000 Range Extender

Wi-Fi Range Extender

Friday, 13 January, 2012 Wi-Fi is wonderfully convenient compared to cabled networking, but often the signal doesn’t reach every corner of your house and you experience poor performance and even connection drop-outs. Luckily, there are ways of making Wi-Fi go further, using a repeater like the Cisco Linksys RE1000.

Editor's rating: Editor's rating: 4.5

Leica V-Lux 30

Digital compact camera

Friday, 13 January, 2012 We check out legendary German imaging master Leica's V-Lux 30 travel zoom, and find something just a little too familiar...

Editor's rating: Editor's rating: 2

Gigabyte Z68XP-UD3-iSSD

Motherboard

Thursday, 12 January, 2012 Gigabyte and Intel have teamed up to roll out yet another hybrid solid state storage technology that promises great performance at a moderate price.

Editor's rating: Editor's rating: 4

Samsung WB700

Digital compact camera

Wednesday, 11 January, 2012 Korean Manufacturer Samsung is working hard to get a foothold in the camera market, and the WB700 compact is a creditable effort: your money buys a 14.2-megapixel camera with German Schneider-Kreuznach zoom optics. The lens is reasonably bright at 24mm and f/3.2, and deserves the mega-zoom moniker with an 18X reach.

Editor's rating: Editor's rating: 3

Sandisk Cruzer Fit (8GB)

USB 2.0 flash drive

Wednesday, 11 January, 2012 If you’re in the market for a plug-and-stay USB flash drive, the Sandisk Cruzer Fit should satisfy your desire for lilliputian gadgets. At 21 x 14 x 6mm, it’s possibly the easiest-to-lose USB key we’ve ever come across.

Editor's rating: Editor's rating: 4.5

Creative Inspire T12 Wireless Speakers

Wireless speakers

Tuesday, 10 January, 2012 If you’re looking for standard computer speakers – the kind that you don’t remove from your desk unless you absolutely have to – then Creative’s T12 wireless speakers might be right for you.

Editor's rating: Editor's rating: 3.5

D-Link Boxee

Media streaming device

Tuesday, 10 January, 2012 D-Link's media server, Boxee, is a strange-looking device that brings content from all over the web into one easy-to-navigate place.

Editor's rating: Editor's rating: 3.5

Revisited: Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ20

Digital compact camera

Monday, 9 January, 2012 | 1 comment When we first looked at the DMC-TZ20 in early 2011, image quality was disappointing. We checked back two firmware revisions later to see what, if anything, has changed.

Editor's rating: Editor's rating: 3.5

Huntkey Universal Notebook Adapter (65W)

Universal notebook power supply

Monday, 9 January, 2012 Huntkey’s Universal Notebook Adapter provides a cheap replacement or spare power adapter, at a more affordable price than you’re likely to see for an official spare part.

Editor's rating: Editor's rating: 4

Razer Ferox gaming speakers

Mobile gaming & music speakers

Friday, 6 January, 2012 Razer's Ferox speakers are simple but sexy, and Razer claims they’re “tiny but mighty”. Tiny they may be – they’re about as tall and wide as a tube of lipstick – but mighty they are not.

Editor's rating: Editor's rating: 2.5

Lexar Echo ZX (16GB)

USB 2.0 flash drive

Thursday, 5 January, 2012 The Lexar Echo is a tiny USB flash drive at just over 2cm in length and 1.5cm wide. When it’s plugged in, only 7mm protrudes from your USB port. Our review model came as a 16GB version, but you can also get 8GB and 32GB versions.

Editor's rating: Editor's rating: 4.5

Kodak Easyshare M583

Digital compact camera

Thursday, 5 January, 2012 As the name implies, Kodak has gone down the simple route with the M583, and done a good job of it too. This nicely designed piano-black camera eschews manual modes in favour of four groups of scene selections.

Editor's rating: Editor's rating: 4

Sennheiser PC 360 gaming headset

Gaming headset

Wednesday, 4 January, 2012 The PC 360 is a seriously high-end gaming headset, with a fold-up microphone and large, comfortable ear cups. The design is minimalist in all black, and the build is typical of Sennheiser – solidly constructed and likely to last for years.

Editor's rating: Editor's rating: 4.5

Fujifilm Finepix F550 EXR

Digital compact camera

Tuesday, 3 January, 2012 The stylish and robust Finepix F550EXR is aimed at serious photographers, with RAW image format support and manual exposure modes.

Editor's rating: Editor's rating: 3

Logitech G930

Wireless gaming headset

Monday, 2 January, 2012 Don’t like being chained to your computer? Logitech's G930 provides wireless connectivity and virtual surround sound.

Editor's rating: Editor's rating: 4.5

Canon LEGRIA HF R26

Digital video camera

Friday, 30 December, 2011 What is a ‘Legria’? Canon must know, as it gave that moniker to its HF R26 HD video camera that features a 20x optical zoom and dual SD card slots as the highlights.

Editor's rating: Editor's rating: 3

Lexar Professional USB 3.0 Card Reader

Multi-card reader

Thursday, 29 December, 2011 Memory cards are getting astonishingly fast. The fastest CompactFlash now chugs along at around 101Mbyte/sec and the latest SD cards do a barely-slower 95Mbyte/sec. So we were pleased to see the first USB 3.0 card reader, from Lexar, arrive in the test centre late 2011.

Editor's rating: Editor's rating: 4

Sound Blaster World of Warcraft Headset

USB gaming headset

Thursday, 29 December, 2011 If you want a headset that’s got style, this is it. While this headset has World of Warcraft in the name, the elements of the popular MMO are subtle enough in the design that if you’re not a fan of the game, it doesn’t matter.

Editor's rating: Editor's rating: 4

Thermaltake Level 10 GT

PC case

Wednesday, 28 December, 2011 For those of you who like big, ‘look at me’ PC cases, your eye might have been caught in 2010 by the Thermaltake Level 10 which was co-designed by BMW DesignworksUSA. At $1,499 NZD it was eye-wateringly expensive, but damn did it look cool. In 2011 Thermaltake offered a cut-price version of that case in the form of the Level 10 GT.

Editor's rating: Editor's rating: 4

Razer Carcharias

Gaming headset

Tuesday, 27 December, 2011 Razer's Carcharias is a sturdy headset, with a flip-down microphone that doesn’t seem easily breakable, and big, soft ear cups for comfort.

Editor's rating: Editor's rating: 3.5

Western Digital My Book Studio 3TB

External hard drive

Tuesday, 27 December, 2011 The Western Digital My Book Studio 3TB is designed for Apple’s Mac computers. It’s pre-formatted for Mac as an HFS journalled partition, and it’s compatible with Mac OS X’s backup software, Time Machine.

Editor's rating: Editor's rating: 4

Lexmark E360dn

Monochrome laser printer

Monday, 26 December, 2011 Lexmark’s E360dn is a monochrome, single-function laser with automatic duplexing, massive toner capacity and a high monthly print load of 740-6000 pages (37-300 pages per workday).

Editor's rating: Editor's rating: 4

LG D2342

3D LCD monitor

Monday, 26 December, 2011 The LG D2342 is a 60Hz, LED-backlit LCD monitor with passive 3D capability. The visual quality doesn't match that of active (shutter-glasses) 3D technology, but the price is good and additional glasses cost next-to-nothing.

Editor's rating: Editor's rating: 3

Gigabyte GA-X79-UD5

Motherboard

Friday, 23 December, 2011 This mid-range board from Gigabyte offers a lot more features than other basic X79 boards, without costing a whole lot extra.

Editor's rating: Editor's rating: 4

Lexmark C540n

Colour laser printer

Friday, 23 December, 2011 Lexmark’s C540n is a colour single-function laser similar to the HP CP1525nw, but designed for greater speed and higher volumes.

Editor's rating: Editor's rating: 3

Polaroid Z340

Digital instant camera

Thursday, 22 December, 2011 The modern-day Polaroid Z340 is liberally packed with the kind of retro charm that sets anyone old enough to remember the 80s queuing up for their sixty seconds of Polaroid-printed fame.

Editor's rating: Editor's rating: 3.5

AOC i2340ve

23-inch LCD monitor

Thursday, 22 December, 2011 Many love IPS monitors for their wide viewing angles and accurate colour reproduction, but are put off by the higher cost compared to the more common TN monitors. AOC looks to buck that trend with the i2340ve: an IPS monitor with pricing almost on par with TN technology.

Editor's rating: Editor's rating: 3.5

HP CP1525nw

Colour laser printer

Wednesday, 21 December, 2011 HP’s Laserjet Pro CP1525nw is a colour, single-function laser printer with a small footprint and built-in Wi-Fi. It's great for the space-starved home office without a whole lot of network infrastructure.

Editor's rating: Editor's rating: 4

Canon PowerShot A1200

Digital compact camera

Tuesday, 20 December, 2011 At PC World, we’ve checked out some of the top-specced digital compact cameras on the market. The PowerShot A1200 sits at the opposite end of the scale, proud in its position as Canon’s most entry-level model.

Editor's rating: Editor's rating: 4

Asus ML239H

23-inch LCD monitor

Tuesday, 20 December, 2011 Asus has joined the bargain-basement IPS monitor bandwagon with the 23-inch ML239H - at the time of writing, the cheapest IPS monitor to come through our test lab doors.

Editor's rating: Editor's rating: 3

Fractal Design ARC Midi Tower

PC case

Monday, 19 December, 2011 Fractal Design has quickly made a name for itself as a purveyor of fine PC cases. The ARC shows fine design doesn't have to come at a premium price.

Editor's rating: Editor's rating: 4

Logitech Z305 USB speakers

USB speakers

Tuesday, 6 December, 2011 These laptop speakers are incredibly well designed in that they can clip onto the lid of any laptop easily, even if the shape is a little strange, plug into a USB port and work their magic.

Editor's rating: Editor's rating: 4.5

Nikon Coolpix S8200

Digital compact camera

Monday, 5 December, 2011 This digital compact camera sports a square design that’s functional rather than pretty and ergonomic, and is all automatic without any manual modes.

Editor's rating: Editor's rating: 5

RunKeeper

Exercise tracking app & website

Monday, 5 December, 2011 | 1 comment RunKeeper is, in many ways, an enormous sprawling mass of a site. You can add data from a huge range of plugins, and events such as marathons. For most of us though, the appeal is in the combination of the app and the website, which synchronise seamlessly.

Editor's rating: Editor's rating: 5

Western Digital Scorpio Blue (WD10JPVT)

1TB 2.5-inch SATA hard drive

Monday, 5 December, 2011 Smaller 2.5-inch disks used for laptops normally can’t fit in as much as their bigger 3.5-inch desktop cousins, but Western Digital begs to differ here with its new 1TB Scorpio Blue WD10JPVT model.

Editor's rating: Editor's rating: 5

HP ZR24w

24-inch LCD monitor

Monday, 5 December, 2011 HP’s ZR24w has been around for over a year now, but remains a popular screen due to its high quality IPS panel and low price tag compared to professional monitors.

Editor's rating: Editor's rating: 4

Canon PowerShot G12

Digital compact camera

Monday, 5 December, 2011 Canon’s flagship G-series compacts have built an enviable reputation for being the backup cameras chosen by professional photographers and for good reason.

Editor's rating: Editor's rating: 5

Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF2

Hybrid digital camera

Monday, 5 December, 2011 Like Samsung’s NX100, the GF2 from Panasonic is a small hybrid lacking an inbuilt or electronic optical viewfinder; you have to shoot it like a compact.

Editor's rating: Editor's rating: 4.5

SoundSaver

Audio recording software

Monday, 5 December, 2011 Audio restoration is a signature skill of Bias Inc. The company’s SoundSoap and SoundSoap Pro have been music industry staples for a long time, but those products are expensive. Enter SoundSaver, which not only implements noise reduction, but records, splits and saves multi-song recordings as well.

Editor's rating: Editor's rating: 4.5