Apple AirPort Express (2012)
Four years in the making Apple’s latest tiny router features integrated AirPlay and AirPrint technology…
- By Gordon Kelly (for TrustedReviews)
- Published: 25 August 2012
Overall score: 8/10
Price as reviewed: £79
Pros
Stylish, minimalist design
Class leading AirPlay Performance
Integrated AirPrint functionality
Intuitive setup
Cons
Mediocre wireless performance & range
No Gigabit Ethernet
No support for USB storage
Key Features: Dual band 802.11n Wi-Fi; Integrated AirPlay & AirPrint; Small, discrete design; Extends wireless signal; Guest connection mode
Introduction
The AirPort Express range has the right to feel unloved. Unlike Apple’s other lines, which are refreshed on a rigid annual schedule, the company’s humble wireless base station had sat unchanged since March 2008. At that time the first generation iPhone was still the current model and now the sixth generation iPhone 5 is just around the corner. The tech world has been revolutionised over this period, so can we expect a similar step forward from the new AirPort Express?
Features
The short answer is no… but it doesn’t need to be. The cogs in the wireless standards industry turn much more slowly than those driving the smartphone revolution so evolution is the name of the game. As such the 2012 AirPort Express still performs the same functions as its ageing forebear: it can work as a wireless router when connected to a modem, extend the range of an existing wireless network, bring AirPlay wireless audio streaming to any stereo or dock and AirPrint wireless printing to any connected printer. Like the 2008 Apple AirPort Express the 2012 model also still doesn’t support external storage.
Where the new AirPort Express unit does differ is its support for simultaneous dual band 802.11n Wi-Fi over both 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands (the 2008 unit made you choose one or the other). This functionality was added to the AirPort Extreme and Time Capsule back in 2009 so it is primarily a catch-up feature. In addition Apple has added a LAN port alongside the existing WAN port, but surprisingly this only operates at 10/100Mbit rather than Gigabit Ethernet which has widely become the industry standard.
Design
So where do the real innovations come from? Apple being Apple means the most obvious step forward is in design. Whereas the 2008 model plugged directly into a socket, in 2012 Apple has repackaged the AirPort Express into the 90 x 90 x 23mm case of the Apple TV. The fact it is white rather than black and 30 grams lighter (240g vs. 270g) helps you tell them apart and you get the benefit of the same premium build quality, but otherwise it is clear Apple has done a little industrial recycling.
That said this move is to be commended… This is a sample, read the full review on TrustedReviews
Copyright for all reviews, editorials and features on this site belong to their respective publishers. All samples published on this website are via prior agreement with those publishers and serve to act as a portfolio and centralised location for all my work. Contact me at gordon@gordonkelly.com should you wish to commission me or supply review samples, press releases or arrange meetings.
Will Apple Become A Trillion Dollar Company?
August 27, 2012 by Gordon
Filed under Features & Editorials
At $623bn Apple is now the most valuable company is history. Is this the beginning of the end or just the start?
- By Gordon Kelly (for TrustedReviews)
- 25 August 2012
On Monday Apple became the most valuable publicly traded company in history. Stocks ended the day up 2.63 percent, roughly $665.15 a share, giving it a market capitalization of $623.52 billion (£393.61bn). With record financials and a new line-up of products on the way for Christmas the question must be asked: can anything stop Apple becoming the first trillion dollar company?
To fully grasp the current situation it is important to first put Apple’s valuation into context. The record Apple broke was that of Microsoft which was valued at $616.34 billion in 1999. Adjust for inflation and today that would be the equivalent to $850-900bn leaving Apple well short. Conduct a history lesson and the gap gets even bigger. In 1720 the South Sea Company hit a dizzying peak value of £3.675bn, equivalent to $73.8 trillion today.
But whether Apple is really number one over the course of history is not the issue – what happened to both its rivals is. Microsoft is today valued at $257.71 billion, a huge reduction (particularly allowing for inflation), while the South Sea Bubble was named after the South Sea Company’s spectacular collapse by 1721. While they fell away for very different reasons (fraud was central to the latter) key to initial concerns was the feeling that both companies had peaked and could only go backwards. With Apple currently worth $200bn more than the world’s second most valuable company, ExxonMobil, similar misgivings would be understandable.
The Case For
And yet Apple makes a remarkable case, not only for being worth its huge price tag, but potentially far more. “It is actually not amazing that Apple is worth $623 billion,” argues Henry Blodget of Business Insider. He points out that stock is trading at 13x earnings, which is widely considered a sensible sum. Furthermore “Apple is delivering on earnings in all major product lines, including the iPhone, iPad and to a lesser extent the Macbook.”
This is potentially just the start… This is a sample, read the full editorial at TrustedReviews.
Copyright for all reviews, editorials and features on this site belong to their respective publishers. All samples published on this website are via prior agreement with those publishers and serve to act as a portfolio and centralised location for all my work. Contact me at gordon@gordonkelly.com should you wish to commission me or supply review samples, press releases or arrange meetings.
Sony CMT-V758BTiP Dock
Sony uses ‘Magnetic Fluid’ to create an ultra thin Apple dock & CD player.
- By Gordon Kelly (for TrustedReviews)
- 22 Aug 2012 16:00
Review Price £299.00
Score 6/10
Pros
- Slim design requires little desk space
- Integrated CD player & DAB radio
- Smart LED display
Cons
- Clipped lows and highs
- Monotone audio delivery
- No AirPlay
- Too expensive
While we’re not sure we’ll ever get over the irony of Sony manufacturing Apple docks, it cannot be denied the company has an eye for style and smart design. Interestingly with the ‘V75′ (or ‘CMT-V75BTiP’ to use its catchy full name) Sony has pushed the envelope even further and produced something genuinely eye opening: the world’s thinnest iPod dock.
Predictably Sony’s skinny offering also has the edge on build quality. It is constructed like a malnourished Bose SoundDock Portable with metal grid speaker and matt finish (available in red or black) while it also sports a pop-out Apple dock connector at the bottom. Happily booming iPad sales mean Sony has followed the growing trend for an open connector so iPhone, iPod and iPad will all fit, but the iPad doesn’t sit as securely and – given the dock’s small size – obstructs much of the audio output. Pop the V75 on a pair of scales and it weighs in at an expectedly light 2.9Kg. There is a separate power brick though and given it powers off the mains it isn’t quite as portable as you might think.
Features: A lack of inches thankfully hasn’t translated into a lack of features. Aside from the Apple dock connector, the V75 is kitted out with a slot loading CD player, DAB digital radio and Bluetooth for wireless streaming. This latter aspect ensures compatibility with almost any handset or MP3 player, but the absence of the highly impressive aptX codec is disappointing and more controversially AirPlay doesn’t make the final cut.
Before we grumble too much, however, it is worth pointing out that Sony has included something far too many docks omit… This is a sample, read the full review on TrustedReviews.
Copyright for all reviews, editorials and features on this site belong to their respective publishers. All samples published on this website are via prior agreement with those publishers and serve to act as a portfolio and centralised location for all my work. Contact me at gordon@gordonkelly.com should you wish to commission me or supply review samples, press releases or arrange meetings.
Dyson DC44 Animal
A handheld that can also replace a full size machine? Clever.
- By Gordon Kelly (TrustedReviews)
- 18 Aug 2012
Review Price £279.99
Our Score 8/10
Pros
- A potential two-in-one hybrid device
- Superb cleaning performance
- Long battery life
- Comfortable & well balanced as a full size vacuum
- Won’t replace vacuum in a large property
- Much more expensive than a dedicated portable vacuum
- Charge dock feels cheap
Design
Copyright for all reviews, editorials and features on this site belong to their respective publishers. All samples published on this website are via prior agreement with those publishers and serve to act as a portfolio and centralised location for all my work. Contact me at gordon@gordonkelly.com should you wish to commission me or supply review samples, press releases or arrange meetings.
Lenco IPD-9000 Dock
A virtual surround sound dock with CD playback sounds good on paper…
- By Gordon Kelly (for Trustedreviews)
- 15 Aug 2012 11:24
Pros
- Impressive virtual surround sound
- Smartly designed metal facia
- CD player a nice differentiator
Cons
- Weak midrange & low maximum volume
- No wireless connectivity
- Priced too close to superior rivals
Design
Out the box our initial leanings move towards the former. Lenco is a brand looking to move away from its budget origins and the ‘IPD-9000′ is its biggest step to date with neat, minimalist styling that could have come via Denon’s design team. This look is centred on the attractive facia whose metallic finish is actually metal and the tasteful blue-lit LED display and lighting around the slot loading CD player and oversized volume knob.
Frustratingly this look is not continued throughout with the rest of the IPD-9000 constructed from matt black plastic. This two tone approach creates a slightly jarring appearance from any angle but straight ahead, though construction is solid and it certainly catches the eye.
Features
The IPD-9000′s design may be minimalistic but its functionality is not. The aforementioned CD playback is an increasingly rare and therefore increasingly welcome differentiator. Meanwhile connections along the back include the usual power, auxiliary in and another fast disappearing feature: an FM aerial, but they are backed up by the more unusual site of a composite video output. This allows video playback on an attached iPhone or iPod touch to be outputted to a TV with the audio coming from the IPD-9000. This is a sample, read the full review at TrustedReviews.
Copyright for all reviews, editorials and features on this site belong to their respective publishers. All samples published on this website are via prior agreement with those publishers and serve to act as a portfolio and centralised location for all my work. Contact me at gordon@gordonkelly.com should you wish to commission me or supply review samples, press releases or arrange meetings.
Innovation Demands Apple Beat Samsung In Court
August 13, 2012 by Gordon
Filed under Features & Editorials
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Companies must be forced to find their own identity
- By Gordon Kelly (for TrustedReviews)
- 12 August 2012
There is more than one way to skin a cat. Technology has forgotten this phrase, but the notion that there can be different approaches to achieve a desired result (namely huge sales and profit margins) needs to be relearned. Here’s hoping a certain California courtroom will be host to the first lesson…
That’s right, I want Apple to win its eye watering $2.5bn (£1.5bn) copyright lawsuit with Samsung and I want it to win comprehensively. This is not because I am a fan of Apple, it is because I am a fan of innovation and creativity and the technology sector should be too. Minimalist, mono-coloured devices and walled garden software is not the only way and if it takes a courtroom to set a clear legal president that minutia cannot obscure blatant copying it will force companies to go down new routes. New, different, potentially groundbreaking, routes.
The arguments on each side are straightforward. Apple: “Samsung must play by the rules. It must invent its own stuff. Its flagrant copying and massive infringement must stop.” Samsung: “Apple’s overreaching claim for damages is a natural extension of its attempts to monopolise the marketplace.”
Of course the arguments are gross generalisations. Apple has done its fair share of flagrant copying over the years. Most famously it claims to have invented the mouse and graphical user interface, but both ideas were actually thought up by Xerox - Apple popularised them. Stones and glasshouses. That said I take bigger issue with the attitude expressed by Samsung that the damages claim is an “extension of its attempts to monopolise the marketplace” – as if Apple’s way will win if we aren’t allowed to copy a bit. It is a perspective that rots the tech industry. Sod Apple’s way, find your own and win with that!
If that scenario sounds intimidating – given Apple ‘has a way’ of doing things and seemingly most others do not – the alternative is downright terrifying. This is a sample, read the full editorial at TrustedReviews.
Copyright for all reviews, editorials and features on this site belong to their respective publishers. All samples published on this website are via prior agreement with those publishers and serve to act as a portfolio and centralised location for all my work. Contact me at gordon@gordonkelly.com should you wish to commission me or supply review samples, press releases or arrange meetings.
D-Link Cloud Gigabit Router N600 (DIR-826L)
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The flagship router for the new mydlink Cloud platform has us scratching our heads.
By Gordon Kelly (for TrustedReviews)
11 Aug 2012
Pros
- Compact, small design
- Fairly affordable pricing
Cons
- Very disappointing wireless performance
- mydlink is rudimentary at present
Our Score 6/10
Review Price £84.99
Features
The ‘DIR-826L Cloud Gigabit N600′ is the router D-Link has chosen to headline its move into the Cloud, something it believes will demystify networking for the masses. It is a dual band (2.4GHz and 5GHz) 802.11b/g/n router (no 802.11ac) which D-Link claims is good for a combined theoretical bandwidth of up to 600Mbit. That said D-Link’s hugely impressive SmartBeam range and performance boosting technology (seen in the excellent DIR-645) is absent. It also has just two internal antennas for both bands whereas the DIR-645 had six for just a single band. Colour us confused.
Despite this IPv6 compatibility is in there (it is just about standard on most new routers), along with WPS and WPA/WPA2 security. The stock four Gigabit Ethernet ports and one USB port (the latter to connect a printer or storage directly to the network) make an appearance too, though we can’t help but wish manufacturers would’ve increased this to two or three by now. Looking to make up for this rather modest hardware, however, is the company’s debut ‘mydlink’ Cloud service which allows remote management of your router from any location as well as opening up access to media from mobile apps. More of which later. This is a sample, read the full review at TrustedReviews
Copyright for all reviews, editorials and features on this site belong to their respective publishers. All samples published on this website are via prior agreement with those publishers and serve to act as a portfolio and centralised location for all my work. Contact me at gordon@gordonkelly.com should you wish to commission me or supply review samples, press releases or arrange meetings.
Convergence Now Means Picking a Side
August 6, 2012 by Gordon
Filed under Features & Editorials
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Today you don’t buy a device, you buy into an ecosystem.
- By Gordon Kelly (for TrustedReviews)
- 04 August 2012
Convergence is great, right? Your phone is your camera, your GPS, your games console; your TV is your web browser, your social hub, your on-demand media centre… and everything works together. It should be amazing, but that isn’t how it’s panning out. In reality convergence is exposing a sinister dark side: segregation by brand.
Today you don’t buy a device, you buy into an ecosystem. Take the iPhone, for example. The apps you buy you will have to buy them again if you jump ship to Google or Microsoft. But these apps will transfer to an iPad and it synchronises with an iPhone so you might as well make your tablet one of those. Then along comes Mac OS X 10.8 ‘Mountain Lion’ which integrates aspects of the iOS user interface, messaging functionality, back-up and more. Your computer should be a Mac then.
Do you want your Mac, iPhone and iPad content on your TV? Apple’s proprietary AirPlay wireless streaming is the way to go and that requires an AirPlay Express module or Apple TV. Might as well go the whole hog and buy an AirPlay music dock and AirPlay wireless printer too… all because you bought a phone, or any one of these devices.
Some might say that is Apple being Apple, but everyone is going the same way…
This is a sample, read the full editorial at TrustedReviews.
Copyright for all reviews, editorials and features on this site belong to their respective publishers. All samples published on this website are via prior agreement with those publishers and serve to act as a portfolio and centralised location for all my work. Contact me at gordon@gordonkelly.com should you wish to commission me or supply review samples, press releases or arrange meetings.
Cowon Z2
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Cowon puts its audio prowess into an iPod touch rival.
- By Gordon Kelly (for TrustedReviews)
- Reviewed 02 August 2012
Price as reviewed £219.00
Overall 7/10
Key Features
- 3.7in AMOLED Display
- 1080p video playback
- JetEffect 5 Sound Enhancement Technology
- Android 2.3.5 Gingerbread
- Mini HDMI output
- microSD slot
Audiophiles love Cowon. The South Korean multinational has developed an unrivalled reputation for the sound quality of its portable devices, but it has gained an equal number of detractors for their cost and utilitarian design. The Z2 is the product Cowon hopes can finally please everyone…
Design
Out the box this perception isn’t immediately challenged. The angular Cowon Z2 is far from the most beautiful PMP we’ve seen and at 116.5 x 62.8 x 11.8mm and 116g it isn’t the most compact either. In hand things get a little better. The rubberised, lightly textured back provides just enough grip to stop it slipping from hand and feels durable enough to withstand bumps and scuffs. The front is less impressive with a fascia that is a fingerprint magnet and touch sensitive menu, home and back buttons which are not backlit making control in low light more difficult than it should be.
Cowon does rather better with the rest of the Z2. On the right side volume controls are supported by dedicated play/pause and skip/search buttons which give the first hint of the Cowon Z2′s multimedia-centric nature. On top is a power/standby button and at the bottom is a 3.5mm headphone jack with microUSB, (64GB compatible) microSD and mini HDMI ports hidden under a flap. A nice touch is this seemingly extraneous flap doubles up as a kickstand, which holds the Z2 in place when watching video.
To load content onto the Z2 simply switch it into ‘USB mass storage’ mode, connect it to a PC and drag and drop content. As the Z2 is natively formatted in NTFS Mac users will have a harder time, but conversion software such as Paragon NTFS for Mac provides a simple workaround.
Features
Under the hood things begin to look more phone than PMP…
This is a sample, read the full review at TrustedReviews.
Copyright for all reviews, editorials and features on this site belong to their respective publishers. All samples published on this website are via prior agreement with those publishers and serve to act as a portfolio and centralised location for all my work. Contact me at gordon@gordonkelly.com should you wish to commission me or supply review samples, press releases or arrange meetings.
iRobot Scooba 230
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This tiny robot vacuum wants to wash our floors, I let it…
- By Gordon Kelly (for TrustedReviews)
- Reviewed 30 July 2012
Price as reviewed £249.99
Overall 8/10
Key Features
- iAdapt navigation system
- Advanced Water Management System
- Compatible with all hard floor types
- 16.5cm diametre, 9.2cm tall
- Cliff detect
- Soft touch bumpers
Design
The first thing you will notice about the Scooba 230 is its size. With a diameter of just 16.5cm and measuring 9.2cm high it is 50 per cent smaller than the Roomba 780 and weighs just 1.92Kg. In fact it looks like someone hit it with a shrink ray. Despite this iRobot has still packed a lot of familiar technology inside such as its iAdapt Responsive Cleaning system which covers areas multiple times, Cliff Detection sensors to avoid stairs and other drop-offs and Virtual Wall technology which allows the Scooba to be confined to specific areas or rooms with the supplied Virtual Wall accessory.
So why so small? Primarily it is because the 230 is designed to clean smaller rooms (think hard floor kitchens and bathrooms, rather than an entire house) and get into hard to reach areas. Furthermore battery life remains pretty good with the 230 covering 41.8 square metres on a single charge. Where the size limitations do start to press is water capacity with cleaning limited to 13.9 square metres (typically two to three rooms) before the dirty water needs to be emptied and fresh water added.
Functionality
So how does it work? The setup is simple: pour clean water and the cleaning solution (more of later) in one end, empty dirty water out the other, shut their respective watertight caps, switch it on and press the big ‘clean’ button on top. What happens under the bonnet, however, is a little more complex. Using the imaginatively named ‘Advanced Water Management System’ the 230 is fitted with an active-reservoir which keeps clean and dirty water apart.
This is a sample, read the full review at Trustedreviews
Copyright for all reviews, editorials and features on this site belong to their respective publishers. All samples published on this website are via prior agreement with those publishers and serve to act as a portfolio and centralised location for all my work. Contact me at gordon@gordonkelly.com should you wish to commission me or supply review samples, press releases or arrange meetings.