Reviews

LG GW620 Review

We have here the first effort from LG at making their handsets as ‘Smartphone like’ as possible as they have incorporated the android 1.5 OS into this handset to try and spice the market up a little. Has this attempt worked?

So should you buy a handset like this which, in terms of hardware, has a pretty decent specification that seems at first to be somewhat let down by an older version of Android being utilised?

Read on for my full review and let’s see what I think of it!

Trafficmaster Smartnav Review

All smartphone platforms these days have voice guided satellite navigation but the reason I stumbled across Trafficmasters Smartnav is that on the BlackBerry there is not a decent navigation app here in the UK.

Smartnav is different to most other sat nav apps. Not only do you not see an onscreen map whilst driving you can also call a Trafficmaster assistant if you need help. How about that for service! In addition Smartnav will check for problems on your route and re route you if necessary to prevent you from getting stuck in a traffic jam.

Trafficmaster’s Smartnav is the most efficient sat nav and live traffic information service available and is supported by a unique team of Personal Assistants, operating 24/7. It’s already known to save frustrated motorists at least four hours per month from sitting in traffic and always makes sure you are on the right road and the quickest route to get to your destination.

Read on to find out more.

Sony Reader Pocket Edition PRS-300 Review

When it comes to eBook readers the Amazon Kindle (and Kindle DX) seems to get all the press but in fact there are several other makes and models of eBook reader to choose from. The Sony Reader Pocket Edition PRS-300 is just one of the smaller and less expensive units on the market and one which I shall be using and reviewing.

The Sony Reader is one of a growing range of eBook readers, a product designed to function as an electronic book reader. The PRS-300 is the baby of Sony’s range, although that doesn’t mean that they have compromised on quality and function. It is a sturdy well-built device that’s also affordable.

Read on to see my thoughts.

Aspire One D250 Review

Acer were one of the first to get on the netbook train with their Acer Aspire One AA0 that we tested some 18 months ago.

As time has gone on they have expanded the range and here we have the D250 which is a dual booting version – in this particular case it’s dual booting Windows 7 and Android.

Android on a netbook you say, isn’t that normally used for mobile phones? Well yes, but as proven here it can also be used as an OS on other hardware.

Let’s take a look…

IM+ for iPad mini review

I’ve had my iPad for a few weeks now and one of the first things I wanted to sort out was an instant messaging client. Now there are lots of instant messaging apps for the iPhone and iPod from apps that are specific to one IM service, such as the Yahoo Messenger app, to those that support connection to multiple IM services.

However, there are not many instant messaging apps that are designed for the iPad yet. For example my previous favourite, Palringo, does not yet have an iPad version available and while the iPhone version will work on the iPad it’s limited to running in a small window on the iPad or virtually full screen using the pixel-doubling zoom function on the iPad, either way it’s not ideal.

Sony NWZ-A845 Walkman review

We have here the latest instalment of Sony’s Walkman media players the NWZ-A845. The first thing that comes to mind for me is “Is the device as good as it looks? And will it be an IPod Nano beater?” To find out if the answers to these questions are yes; I have prepared a full review of the device for you to make your own judgement and maybe for you to answer them for yourselves.

Introduction

Sony as a company have been making walkman MP3 and media players for many years always improving on what they previously released to the point where people say ‘wow’. Here at tracyandmatt we have had quite a few of Sony’s MP3 and media players to have a play around with and to also review and we have always been very impressed with the sheer quality of the devices so when I received this one I definitely expected it to give the same impression. We first heard about the product early in January of this year so we have been really anxious to get hold of one to review so when we finally received it I jumped at the chance to do the review.

HideIP VPN review

As you may or may no know, our US friends are able to enjoy all sorts of free streaming video and audio services that we just don’t have access to here in the UK. There was a time when I used to listen to Pandora radio all day long as it allowed me to choose the type of music I like to listen to and it customised the station for me. There are also services like ABC Player, similar to the BBC iplayer, that allows them to watch many of ABC’s TV shows on-demand.

You may be wondering why we cant simply use these services here in the UK? Well the fact is that when you attempt to connect in to these services either from your computer or iPhone you’ll be stopped at the outset by a message warning you that you the service is not available in this country. They know by the IP address of the connection which country you are coming in from and were not allowed to connect from the UK.

HTC HD mini Review

It was back in February that I first got my hands on the HTC HD mini. One of four devices announced at Mobile World Congress, the HD mini is the third to be released, following on from the HTC Legend and Desire. Still to come is the HTC Smart. The HD mini is the only Windows Phone out of the four and with Windows Phone 7 coming at the end of the year a lot of people are wondering if the HD mini is worth getting.

Like its big brother, the HD2, the HD mini runs Windows Mobile but now with version 6.5.3. There are not too many changes in terms of software but a few hardware ones. As the name of the phones says, it’s more or less a mini version of the HD2 just with slightly less power.

Interested? Read on to find out what I thought of the device and how it compares to its big brother.

HTC HD2 Car Pack Mini Review

When the HTC HD2 was released it created a huge amount of interest and it still does now, a few months on. There are a few options available for mounting the HD2 in car and here we have a very cost effective option courtesy of mobilefun.co.uk

From a personal prospective I actually use mobillefun for most of my accessories and have always been impressed with the service. Ordering online is painless and on most occasions I have received the purchased items next day. (I’m not being paid to say this!)

As you can imagine there is only so much you can say about an in car phone holder so this will be short and sweet.

If you could do with an in car holder for your HTC HD2 read on after the break.