Samsung Galaxy S7 / S7 Edge

Is Samsung’s evolution rather than revolution approach enough?

Being in the business of making successful Android flagship devices is no easy feat. Just ask Sony. Or HTC. Or LG. Arguably the only company that managed to really triumph with its flagship last year was Samsung, with the acclaimed (albeit not perfect) S6 and S6 Edge, which were shortly followed by the S6 Edge + and the Note 5. Highly capable mid-range devices have continued to erode the need for ultra high-spec devices over the last year, and with companies such as Xiaomi entering the fray with the competitively priced and highly capable Mi5, there has never been more pressure to deliver a truly exceptional experience with top of the range products.

Top 10 Maps App Features

If you are a Windows 10 user, you have a powerful Maps app on the Start menu. Roland Waddilove lists his favourite features

1 Print Maps

It doesn’t look like there is an option to print, but there is. In the bottom right corner of the app, are three dots. Clicking them displays a menu, which includes Print. Click it and a window opens with print options; the printer to use is at the top and the default is selected, so it should be fine for most occasions. There is an option to send the map to OneNote, though, which is useful if you are compiling notes for a project. There is also an option to output the map as a PDF file, which can then be saved to disk, emailed, posted online, shared with friends and so on.

Remembering… Text Adventures

David Hayward goes North, West, Down, Get Sword...

Although the latest graphical masterpieces are a wonder to behold, there’s a lot to be said for simply using your own imagination and playing a clever, well written text adventure game.

Text adventures were once as popular as any platformer, 3D space game or arcade conversion. There was a time when computing was pretty low on resources, even 2D colour images were difficult to squeeze on to a tape or 5¼” floppy. So the game makers of the time used a different method to get their products out to the world.

Devolo dLAN 550 WiFi Starter Kit

Devolo delivers modest improvements to its dLAN range

German engineered Devolo dLAN technology has some of the best Powerline gear I’ve used, bar none. But I accept that not everyone can afford its gigabit-capable tech or, indeed, need it. For many, its dLAN 500 spec gear is fine and affordable, especially if all they’re trying to do is deliver networking to a child’s bedroom or wi-fi inaccessible location.

BenQ GW2870H

While BenQ usually offers users a plethora of features with its monitors, the company has taken a slightly different approach with the GW2870H. quoting the embodiment of the Bauhaus “less is more” philosophy.

The GW2870H is a decentsized 28" VA LED panel, with a maximum resolution of 1920 x 1080, a 5ms GtG response time, 3000:1 native contrast ratio and 20,000,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio. Viewing angles of the VA panel are as good as an IPS screen, at 178º, and it has a more than reasonable level of brightness.

SteelSeries Siberia 350 RGB 7.1 Surround Sound Gaming Headset

Steelseries entices gamers with a pair of marvellously effective cans

Not long ago, I reviewed the SteelSeries Siberia 200 headphones and found them to be a pleasant audio experience. The Siberia 350 headphones cost 50% more, so quite reasonably I expected more from them.

In terms of general comfort, these are as good if not better than their stablemates, but where the real difference lies is in how these they’re coupled to the audio source.

LIFX 1000 Color Smart Bulb

Dispel those dark winter hues with controllable coloured lightbulbs from LIFX

I'm not sure about you, but coloured lighting in my home isn’t a high priority. However, many people do like to alter their mood chromatically, and for them LIFX has created the 1000 Color Smart Bulb.

For those following the smart home device trail, Philips got into this market earlier with its Hue bulb range, but in almost every respect the LIFX 1000 series is superior. Where the Philips Hue needs an associated hub to be networked, LIFX bulb offers self-contained wi-fi, reducing the cost of a single bulb installation.

Magix Youcast

Get your vlog or YouTube videos online quicker with the new Magix Youcast

There’s no doubt we live in a very visual age, where people share their lives (however boring) online and vloggers offer us news, rants and reviews and introduce us to hobbies we never knew existed. Most of these are lashed together with some flavour of video editor or simply uploaded to sites like YouTube straight from smartphones, warts and all. Nevertheless quite a few internet stars have risen in this genre, with followers to rival those of pop and film stars. To be fair, though, these folk have crafted their content to quite a sophisticated level, using highend graphics products, produced using professional cameras and microphones. Many of these also host live streaming events, to bring their particular brand of 'entertainment' to their ever hungry followers.

BenQ BL2420U

A monitor made for designers, with some tantalising extras

The BenQ BL business range of monitors has so far proved to be quite impressive. We’ve already had the BL2420Z and BL2711U through our doors, and each has shown great quality and design.

Now we have the BL2420U to look at, a CAD/designer monitor that ups the business series ante with higher-end performance and even more features.