This is a review for the Philips Azur GC4850/02 Steam iron. This particular model has now been on the market for over a year and a half, and it’s still selling strong.
And for good reason too, as it’s a great iron at an affordable price. The styling is traditional with a pleasant pale blue colour.
I find a long power cable is important with an iron, as there’s nothing worse to have the cable continually snag on the ironing board whilst ironing. As the Philips Azur has a 2.5 metre cable, this is half a metre longer than cheaper rivals. The result is minimal snagging whilst ironing, leaving me a happy person! The weight it 1.6KG, and the iron felt comfortable in the hand, and I could easily see myself powering through a full pile of clothes with minimal fuss.
Steam output is rated at 50g a minute, which is standard for level of steam irons, you can also provide a shot steam at 170g/m for more stubborn creases. The ceramic soleplate is designed to move other a range of materials with ease. I found it removed most creases with just a couple of sweeps of the iron.
Power usages is 2600W, and the water reservoir allows for 350ml. Contained in the Iron is an anti-scale feature, which is important to have if you live in a hard water area – I do, and so it’s vital to have such a system otherwise there’s a chance you get scale on your clothes, plus it extends the life of the iron.
The iron comes with the usual temperature settings, steam shot and water spray feature.
In conclusion the Philips
Samsung are continuing their trend for sleekly designed televisions with the Samsung UE22ES5410W 22-inch Widescreen Full HD Smart TV. With a screen width of 22 inches (56 cm), it’s perfectly suited for the bedroom or compact living space, you’re also able to hang it on the wall with a wall fixing – sadly, it doesn’t come supplied, but you’re able to buy it at the point of purchase.
Samsung really do design elegant televisions, and the UE22ES5410w is no exception. Finished in white, the TV has a modern feel to it. The plastics used in construction seem to be of good quality, and it’s easy to clean with a cloth.
Screen
The 22 inch (56 cm) 1080p HD screen provides a colourful and vibrant picture, Blu-ray pictures are of high quality and despite the relatively small screen size, you can really see images in detail. Resolution is 1920 x 1080, and it can be used as a second PC monitor, or connect it to your PS3, XBOX 360 etc.
Smart TV Options
One of the main benefits of the Samsung UE22ES5410W is that it’s a Smart Internet TV. What this means is that you’re able to connect it to the internet and benefit from the following:
Download Samsung Apps – Facebook, Youtube, BBC iPlayer, games etc.
Please note that the Samsung UE22ES5410W doesn’t come with Freeview HD.
Summary
At the current price of £229.99 at Amazon.co.uk, the Samsung UE22ES5410W Smart TV really does offer great value for money. It’s an excellent choice as a 2nd TV for the bedroom, or dedicated use on a games console. Go on, treat yourself or your family now!
The Digihome LCD42913FHD3D is a 42 inch LCD 3D TV and is suited for people who want a lot of TV for a relatively small amount of money. Read on to see if it’s worth buying.
The main feature of this TV is that it’s 3D enabled, it comes with a set of 4 passive 3D glasses – these are similar to what you use at the cinema. And it’s ready out of the box for 3D viewing. The 42 inch screen is big enough to give a convincing 3D effect, however please don’t expect the same quality of picture as you’d get with a more expensive 3DTV, compromises have been made by Digihome in order to keep to a low price point.
Design and build quality
Build quality is fine, the border around the screen is a little on the thick size, but with its black finish, you don’t really notice it. It’s relatively slim and can be hung on a wall.
Screen
The 42 inch screen provides a full 1080p HD experience, the resolution of which is 1920 x 1080. To be honest, the picture quality isn’t the best, it’s a bit fuzzy in places, but after a while you do get used to it. 3D viewing is ok, buy again, a lot of other 3D TVs offer a better viewing experience. In all honesty, only consider this TV if 3D is a must, and your budget won’t stretch an extra couple of hundred pounds for a more expensive TV.
Technical Specifications
The Digihome LCD42913FHD3D does shine with the number of ports it offers, being:
HDMI
VGA input
Digital audio output
2 SCART connections
USB input – so you’re able to connect a USB HDD (or device) and watch movies from it.
Note that the installed Freeview tuner is the normal Freeview SD tuner, not the Freeview HD version.
Summary
If you want a 42 inch 3D TV and have less than £300 to spend, then this TV will provide you with the goods. However, the picture quality will be bettered if you’re able to spend more cash.
Ariel, the manufacturer of insanely fast cars have just revealed their latest road toy - the Ariel Atom 3.5.
Ariel have tweaked the chassis, so it's now siffer than it was before. They've also uprated the engine mountings and added new dampers - giving the car a more comfortable ride, without affecting the famous Atom handling.
The 3.5 also has updated looks, with new headlamps and LED indicators. The front has also been modified, whilst the cockpit has an updated LCD display.
Male Jewellery is becoming more popular, and one of the most recognisable brands is Police. Police is an Italian brand and have been in business since 1983.
Famous for their deal with David Beckham promoting their sunglasses, Police also make excellent Jewellery.
Other notable wearers of the Police brand are:
Bruce Willis
George Clooney
Antonio Banderas
However, I’m not too sure if you start wearing these items if you’ll also turn into someone famous…
Click image above for the latest deals on this laptop.
If you’re looking for a portable laptop, maybe because your primary laptop is too big to constantly carry with you, then it’s worth having a look at the Samsung 305U. Read on for my detailed review.
Design and build quality
Weighing in at 1.21kg, the Samsung 305U is a very light laptop, combined with dimensions of: width 277.6mm x depth:196mm x height:23.1 - 27.5 mm – this is the same height as a £1 coin and it really is a perfectly sized portable laptop.
Ideal for a student or if you travel a lot on business. The 305U feels very solid, with almost no flex. The shell doesn’t give under pressure, and it survived a drop from my desk (oops!) without any damage to the laptop.
Screen
The 11.6inch laptop provides a native resolution of 1366×768. Colours are rich and contrast is good.
Keyboard
The keyboard has excellent feedback and it comfortable to use for extended periods. Despite the small size of the laptop, it doesn’t feel cramped.
Performance
For its size the Samsung 305U perform remarkably well. It’s fast, and able to handle having multiple applications running in the background. This is mainly due to the AMD dual core processor (AMD Dual Core E450 1.65 GHz) and also that the graphics card uses 256MB. I was able to play some modern 3D games at lower settings, the AMD HD 6310 graphics card really does shine. Whilst I wouldn’t use it as a dedicated games machine, it’s certainly good enough for the occasional play.
The 305U has 4GB of RAM on board and is located on the motherboard’s 1 DIMM slot. There’s a 500GB HDD and due to its compact size there isn’t an optical drive. If you want to watch your DVDs on the move, then you’ll need to purchase a separate USB DVD drive.
Battery life
From normal use I was able to get 5 hours of life from a full charge. Perfectly adequate for day-to-day purposes.
Ports
1 x VGA
1 x HDMI
3 x USB 2.0
Headphone/Mic. Combo
Internal Mic
4-in-1 Multi Card Slot (SD, SDHC, SDXC, MMC)
Ethernet
Wi-Fi 802.11bgn
Speakers are rated at 2 x 1.5 W and there is a 1.3MP Webcam – this produces good images and is great for Skype.
Operating System
The Samsung comes pre-installed with Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit and a 60 day trial ofNorton Internet Security.
Summary
This is an excellent laptop at this price point, and I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend it.
Amazon are currently offering 26% off the RRP of £379.99 (saving £99.01), so if you’re thinking about buying this laptop then hurry, as I’m sure at this price it’ll soon be out of stock.
If you’re looking for a cheap 17.3 inch laptop, then the Asus X73E laptop may fit the bill. Read the full review below.
Design and build quality
Weighing 3.2 kg it’s not the lightest of laptops, however 17 inch laptops aren’t really designed with portability in mind. The textured aluminium effect is pleasant on the eye and also to touch. It makes the laptop look more expensive than what it is – always a plus point!
The 17.3 inch screen boasts a native resolution of 1600×900 – this is one of the main benefits of the laptop. Having the extra screen space is great if you like to have more than one application on screen at once, or if you enjoy working with applications such as Photoshop. However, note that this is a budget laptop, so whilst the screen size is large, it’s not ideal for heavy graphical processing. Saying that, it’s fine for editing your holiday photos etc.
Keyboard
Being a large laptop, there is plenty of space for a full size keyboard. The quality is good and the X73E has a chiclet style keyboard. If you don’t know what a chiclet keyboard is, well it’s the same style you see on a Macbook Air. It’s comfortable to type on for a long period of time, and because of the chiclet style, any dropped crumbs of food can just be brushed off (hooray!)
Performance
The Asus X73E uses an Intel Core i3 2350 processor with a speed of 2.3 GHz and has 4GB of RAM, it won’t set the world on fire. The HDD capacity is 500GB. For the price it represents good value for money. I was able to watch full screen movies on it without a problem, and it’s great for browsing the internet, emails, writing documents and working on MS Excel.
Battery life
One of the main weak points of this laptop is the battery life – 3.5 hours. I think I’m getting too used to more expensive laptops and their 7 hours batteries! A couple of years back and 3.5 hours would’ve been a selling point.
As the laptop is one of the largest you can buy, it’s more suited for keeping in the home or office, and therefore battery life is less of an issue.
Ports
Being a budget laptop, the Asus X73E doesn’t have a wealth of ports. No USB 3.0 here. What it does have is:
1 x HDMI
1 x VGA
Card Reader
3 x USB 2.0
Ethernet
Wi-Fi 802.11bg/g/n
Headphone and Microphone jacks
There’s also a webcam and a DVD rewriter.
Operating System
The X73E comes with Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Bit.
With the L855-12G, Toshiba proves they know how to build a good laptop. With a Intel core i5-3210M 2.5/3.1GHz, 6GB of RAM, and a 750GB HDD you get a lot of laptop for your money.
If you’re after a laptop with great performance and style, then the L855-12G is worth a look. After taking it out of the box the first thing that stuck me was the brushed aluminium finish - it really sets it apart from other laptops in this price bracket.
The Intel i5 processor and 1GB AMD Radeon HD 7670M dedicated graphics card means it can handle most modern 3D games - great if you or someone in your family love playing games.
The laptop comes with 6GB of RAM, and it can easily handle multiple open applications without any sign of slow down.
With a 750GB HDD, there is plenty of room for HD movies, games, photos and all your other files.
The 15.6 inch screen has a resolution of 1366 x 768, this is ample for most, and with a HDMI port, you can connect the laptop to a 1080p TV for HD movie output.
After a full charge I managed to get just over 4 hours from the battery, this isn’t bad considering the specification of the laptop.
Ports
Ethernet
Wi-Fi
Bluetooth
Card reader (SD/MMC)
2 x USB 3.0
1 x USB 2.0
HDMI
There’s also a DVD RW drive, and an integrated webcam.
Conclusion
The Toshiba Satellite L855-12G is perfect if you want more than just the typical laptop. It’s a premium product from Toshiba, and the aluminium case really does give the impression that it’s worth more than it actually is.
The Toshiba Satellite C855-18Dis the latest in a long line up of Toshiba Satellite laptops. This laptop comes with the Intel® i5-3210M processor and comes with either a red or silver gloss finish. Both are attractive to the eye, so personal choice will dictate which one you prefer. Personally, I like the silver option.
Design and build quality
The case is made out of plastic, and is well finished - something you'd expect from Toshiba. The weight is around 2.3KG, so a little lighter than other laptops in this price range.
Screen
The screen is 15.6 inches (39.6cm) in size and supports a resolution of 1366x768 - the standard for this size of screen. If you hook the laptop up to an external monitor, then the maximum resolution is 2048x1536. It uses an
Keyboard
The touchpad has two buttons below it, and supports multi-touch gestures. This means you can pinch to zoom, rotate, scroll etc. all from the touchpad. This is great for photo editing or when you're browsing the internet - scrolling down without having to use the keyboard makes for a more pleasurable experience. The keyboard in matt-black and has 102 keys, the quality is good, with a decent response as you type.
Performance
The Toshiba Satellite C855-18D comes with the Intel® i
6GB of memory is supplied, and there is a 640GB HDD. A DVD rewriter drive is also installed in the machine.
Battery life
Battery life is good, and we had about 5 hours from a fresh charge.
Ports
The C855-18D boasts a number ports, being:
1 × external VGA monitor
1 × Ethernet adaptor
WiFI 802.11b/g/n
Bluetooth 4.0
1 × external microphone
1 × headphone (stereo)
2 × USB 2.0
1 × USB 3.0
1 × Multi-Card Reader
1 × HDMI-out supporting 1080p signal format
1 × integrated 1.0MP HD Web Camera (1,280 x 800) with built-in microphone
Operating System
Windows 7 Home Premium 64 bit comes as standard. There is also an array of pre-installed software provided by Toshiba. Also included is Microsoft Office Starter edition. This gives you MS Word and Excel for free (they're supported by Microsoft adverts).