Friday, November 04, 2005

Saitek A250 Wireless 2.1 Speakers


This stylish wireless speaker system allows you to access your entire PC music library and listen to Internet radio from anywhere in and around your home.

Stream music from your PC wirelessly all around your home, enjoy quality digital 2.1 stereo with active bass with this easily portable and durable speaker system.

Reliable high-fidelity wireless technology streams your music to Saitek's Neodymium speakers which provide exceptional clarity and bass performance.

Transfer music easily from room to room, whether you're studying upstairs, cooking in the kitchen, working in the garage or entertaining friends. Stream music wirelessly from your PC...to anywhere around your home.

Subscriber price: £79.99
Reader price: £79.99

Saturday, October 29, 2005

Gadgets for ALL

Face it: You live for new adult toys and the latest in high tech goodies. Some of them are necessary, others should never have left the vaporware stage.However on here I will try and give you the latest in all those "Must Have" products that are in the shops now or within the next few weeks. I will also be listing some of the more interesting product pages that I find on the net.

Sunday, October 23, 2005

Guess what just turned 34?




Googler insights into product and technology news and our culture.
Guess what just turned 34?

10/21/2005 03:19:00 PM
Posted by Paul Buchheit, Gmail Engineer

It's difficult to pin down the exact origin of email, but in October 1971, an engineer named Ray Tomlinson chose the '@' symbol for email addresses and wrote software to send the first network email.

At the time, it must not have seemed very important – nobody bothered to save that first message or even record the exact date. I've always thought that it would be fun to witness a little bit of history like that – to be there when something important happened. That's part of what drove me to join a little no-name startup named Google, and it's why I was excited when I was given a chance to create a new email product, now called Gmail.
Read on and when you get to the end you will find an invite to join the Gmail fun and Games (Well Fun Anyway)
Tony

Friday, August 05, 2005

LaCie Silverscreen

Price: £164
Overall rating: **** (4 out of 5)
Manufacturer: LaCie
Technical specifications
silverscreen 40 GB USB... £162.00
Lacie's Silverscreen is a portable hard disk with a difference. As well as being an ultra-quiet external USB drive, it can play media files directly to a television. The 40GB version holds about 40 DivX movies, 10,000 songs or 40,000 pictures.

The drive comes pre-formatted with the Fat32 file system and getting your data
onto it is as easy as dragging files into pre-defined folders. You can then entertain family and friends by hooking up the drive to a TV and selecting the file you want to play from an on-screen menu using the supplied remote control.

The Silverscreen is one of the first devices we've seen with an HDMI connector, which can output composite, S-video and component video together with audio. It can also output HDTV signals at up to 1080i. Only composite and S-video leads are supplied, but you do get a Scart adapter. There's also a digital audio output.

While the remote is sluggish, playback quality is good and the drive can handle a range of Mpeg1, 2 and 4-based files, include video-on-demand files from DivX.com. Audio support includes mp3, wav, wma and aac. However, a major let-down is that the Silverscreen can't play Quicktime or wmv files and doesn't support Apple's version of aac used in Itunes. There's also a lack of any accompanying software; except for a freeware backup utility for Macs, all you get is a pdf of the manual. A utility for ripping DVDs or converting video between formats would have been an obvious choice.

The Silverscreen is incredibly easy to use but is let down by a few niggling omissions. However, once these are sorted out, this will certainly be a five-star product.

Friday, July 29, 2005

Ulead DVD Movie Factory 4

Price: £24.99
Overall rating: **** (4 out of 5)
Manufacturer: Ulead
Ulead DVD Movie Factory... £19.99
Ulead DVD MovieFactory 4 £28.99
Ulead DVD MovieFactory 4... £42.99
Ken McMahon, Personal Computer World 27 Jul 2005

Most budget video-editing programs now provide some DVD authoring tools, so dedicated authoring applications need to offer something extra. Ulead's DVD Movie Factory 4 offers ease of use and the ability to get video from a variety of sources - files from your hard drive, camcorder footage and digital TV recordings - onto your discs with the minimum of fuss.

Movie Factory uses a tabbed, wizard-style interface, which guides you through the DVD production process. First, a launch screen presents the various project options, which include Create Video DVD, Create Slideshow DVD, Copy disc, Straight to Disc and Edit DVD. Similar options are provided for CD-based projects.

As well as producing standalone slideshows, the package lets you incorporate them within a DVD-video project. Movie Factory's tools for assembling shows - sorting images, adding transitions and arranging backing music - were always good. This version adds new pan and zoom effects so that even still images can be given a more dynamic feel.

Straight to Disc is perfect for instant archival of a DV tape. All you need to do is connect your camcorder with a Firewire cable, insert a blank or editable DVD in the drive and hit the button. It's just a shame that this new version's support for 16:9 widescreen format video doesn't extend to this feature. If you have a camcorder capable of shooting in 16:9 format, you'll have to capture and author manually.

Convenient as Straight to Disc is, most people will opt for the more hands-on approach. The first step here is to import your source clips by capturing from a DV camcorder or analogue TV tuner or by locating files on your hard drive.

Captured footage can be encoded on the fly - this saves you having to do it later, prior to DVD burning - and the mpeg2 encoding options have been expanded, with new quality presets, 16:9 formats and Dolby Digital Stereo audio encoding.

It's not up to the standards of a dedicated video editor, but Movie Factory has all the basic tools for editing and organising clips into a format for DVD viewing.

The Multi-trim window makes light work of cutting unwanted footage, allowing you to scan through a clip using VCR-style controls and a jog slider, marking sections of the clip you want to keep and discarding the rest.

The add/edit chapter feature is used to add chapter points to longer clips and create sub-menus for them. You can add chapters manually - a preview window, VCR-style controls and a jog wheel let you skip through a clip adding chapters as you go. You can either create chapter points at fixed time intervals or where Movie Factory automatically detects scene changes.

The Enhance video feature lets you add transitions between clips, superimpose title overlays and record and mix voiceover narration and background music tracks. These features make the program a good choice for those who don't own a video-editing application but still want some creative editing control.

Having organised and edited your content, Movie Factory's menu editor puts it into a default template, with thumbnails to link clips to chapter menus and navigation buttons to move between menu pages. A selection of templates is organised into categories such as corporate, vacation, festivities and romantic. If these aren't to your liking, they are easily customised.

Changing the background image or video, customising the thumbnail buttons and adding menu background music takes seconds. You can now drag and resize elements in the menu preview and templates customised in this way can be saved and re-applied to subsequent projects with a click.

Prior to burning, a built-in software player fulfils a preview and testing role. As playing motion menus (thumbnail buttons and backgrounds that use video loops) can put a strain on all but the fastest systems, this option can be disabled.

Burning options are more than adequate; you can record straight to disc in standard DVD-video format, Ulead's fast re-editable format, or DVD+VR. Alternatively, you can burn the files to a folder on your hard disk or create a disc image from which multiple copies can be produced. There's also support for dual-layer DVD recording.

At £24.99, DVD Movie Factory 4 is the best value for money DVD authoring application out there. But for existing users it's not a compelling upgrade; many changes are cosmetic and unless your camcorder can shoot 16:9 or you've just invested in a dual-layer burner, you could probably live without the new features.

Digital Cube I-Station

Price: £329.99
Overall rating: **** (4 out of 5)
Manufacturer: Datamind
Will Stapley, Personal Computer World 29 Jul 2005


The 20GB I-Station from Digital Cube supports playback of DivX, Xvid and mpeg video files, along with a wide range of audio formats, and boasts a built-in FM tuner and mp3 recorder.

Although the compact case is a little plasticky, the interface is clean and easy to navigate thanks to the 3.5in touch-screen display and stylus.

In tests the I-Station coped extremely well with the various flavours of video thrown at it, but if you want to play wmv or asf files you'll need to use the included transcoding software.

While it doesn't have the advanced PVR features of the Archos AV400 (also available from Datamind) and can't record video, the I-Station impressed us a great deal with its playback compatibility.
Verdict

Pros:
Good compatibility; easy to use

Cons:
No video record feature

Friday, July 01, 2005

PHILIPPAS Page


Hi PEEPS These are just some of the links that I have been looking at.


Canon IXUS 430 Review

Product Information
Unmistakably IXUS, the fashionable Digital IXUS 430 is a celebration of designer chic and miniaturisation, with an exquisitely finished all-metal body protecting a multitude of ingenious features.

Features

* 4.0 Megapixel sensor
* Designer style, ultra compact all-metal body
* 3x optical zoom, approx. 11x combined
* DIGIC and iSAPS
* 9-point AiAF
* 3 minute movies with sound
* PictBridge/Canon Direct Print compatible
* Print/Share button
* Access to CANON iMAGE GATEWAY (Not available in all regions)
* Includes 32mb Compact flash card

A stylish, high performer.

All IXUS Just the way it feels in your hand tells you this is an IXUS. The beautifully styled Digital IXUS 430 blends uncompromising build quality with an array of integrated technologies, advanced electronics and precision optics. A 4.0 Megapixel sensor allows up to A3 photo print enlargements.

The IXUS eye A 3x optical zoom culminates 60 years of Canon optical heritage to deliver crisp, corner-to-corner clarity. A 3x optical zoom (11x combined) offers a wide angle of coverage, while the 9-point AiAF ensures accurate focusing, even with off-centre subjects.

Outstanding performance High performance demands plenty of processing power – which is why the Digital IXUS 430 incorporates Canon's dedicated DIGIC processor. DIGIC delivers superb image quality at high speed with less drain on the battery for extended performance.

Photographer's assistant iSAPS is a hidden photographer's assistant, instantly analysing the scene and making adjustments even before the shutter release is pressed. iSAPS optimises exposure, white balance and auto-focus settings in every shooting situation for consistently brilliant results.

Advanced features An Intelligent Orientation Sensor automatically rotates images before playback. Movie mode allows up to 3-minute movie clips with sound recording, playback and 'in-camera' editing. Auto mode is perfect for 'point and shoot' situations, while Manual mode puts you in creative control.

Easy printing The camera prints directly to all PictBridge or Canon Direct Print compatible printers. Create beautiful, instant photo prints by connecting camera to printer and pushing the Print/Share button, which also speeds up online sharing to any Windows PC. When used with a Canon Compact Photo Printer, you can print ID photos, or a series of movie clip frames.

Online sharing With Canon's ZoomBrowser EX (for Windows) and ImageBrowser (for Macintosh) you can arrange albums, crop photographs and adjust image contrast and brightness. Your new IXUS also comes with membership to CANON iMAGE GATEWAY, your personal online gallery with 100MB free space for sharing albums with family and friends. CANON iMAGE GATEWAY also allows you to personalise the camera with start-up image and sound-effect downloads.

Shoot under water For diving, surfing and skiing, an optional waterproof case gives your camera full protection to a depth of 40 metres.

Best Price --£169.98 inc VAT at EBuyer



Canon IXUS 30 3.3mp Digital Camera -
Canon has today announced what it is calling a brother-sister pairing, in the shape of the PowerShot SD200 and PowerShot SD300. They are the first cameras to incorporate two UA (Ultra-high Refractive Index Glass Moulded (GMo) Aspherical lens) elements which has alllowed Canon to produced its smallest cameras to feature a 3x zoom. Both are SD compatible with the only main difference being the resolution; four million pixels (SD300) and 3.2 million pixels (SD200), priced 399 and 299 respectively.

* Resolution 3.3 Megapixel
* Optical Zoom 3x
* Camera Type Ultra-Compact
* Interchangeable Lens Without Interchangeable Lens
* Optical Zoom 3x
* 35mm Zoom Lens 35 - 105 mm
* Digital Zoom 3.2x
* Focus Type Autofocus
* Focus Range 11.81 in. to Infinity (w)
* Macro Focus Range 1.18 - 19.69 in. (w) / 11.81 - 19.69 in. (t)
* Focal Length 5.8 - 17.4 mm
* Video Speed 30 fps
* Max Movie Length Without Limit (Depends on the camera free memory size)
* Aperture Range f2.8/f4.9 (w/t)
* Shutter Speed 15 - 1/1500 sec
* Frames Per Second 2.8 Frames
* Memory Type SD Card
* File Size for Highest Resolution 1.6 MB (80 images on 128MB card)
* File Size for Lowest Resolution .08 MB (about 1,600 images on 128MB card)
* Flash Type Built-In
* Viewfinder Optical
* LCD Panel With LCD Panel
* LCD Panel Size 2 in.
* LCD Screen Resolution 118,000 pixels
* LCD Protected Position Without LCD Protected Position
* Interface USB
* Battery Life 140 Images
* Mp3 Built In Without MP3
* Built-in Microphone With Built-in Microphone
* Built-in Speaker With Built-in Speaker
* Tripod Mount With Tripod Mount
* Width 3.4 in.
* Depth 0.83 in.
* Height 2.1 in.
* Weight 0.25 lb.
BEST PRICE -£139.98 inc VAT at Ebuyer


CASIO Exilim EX-S100

Type Type Compact camera
Pixels CCD CCD 1/3.2" - 3,2 megapixels
Resolution (in pixels) 2048 x 1536
Optical
Optical Viewfinder None

LCD display 2" (5,0cm)
Macro Distance 17cm - 50 cm
Normal Distance 40 cm àto infinity
Optical Zoom 2,8x
Digital Zoom 4 x
ISO range ISO 50 / 100 / 200 / 400, manual
Aperture and Shutter Speed Shutter: Normal 1/8 - 1/2000 Sec
nightmode: 4 - 1/2000 Sec.
Fireworks: 2 Sec. (fixe)
Aperture: F4.0 - 6.6
Flash (built-in) Auto, on, off, red eye reduction
Distance: Approx. 0.4 - 2.5 m
Storage Image formats JPEG (Exif, Ver. 2.2) DPOF & DCF Compatible
Memory Card Type SD Card and MMC
Included Memory Card -
Internal Memory Internal flash memory 9,3 Mb
Video Video mode Yes, with sound
Video Sequence 320 x 240 pixels
TV Out -
Webcam -
Computer InterFace Port USB on dockingstation with AC adapter connection
Wireless function -
Compatibility PC
Included software Manufacturer's information not available
Extras Power sources Rechargeable li-ion battery
Other features Zoom display (4x); 9 picture display; calendar; Photostand function
Date and time recorded with image data; auto calendar up to year 2049
RGB histogram display; grid display; album function; favourites folder
Size 88 x 57 x 16,7 mm
Weight (in grams) 113
Included accessories USB cradle terminal, AC adaptor for cradle, USB cable, strap, rechargeable Lithium-Ion battery
Manual provided in French, English, German, Spanish, Italian, Dutch
Manual available for download from official website
BEST PRICE -£129 Inc. VAT from PIXMANIA


Pentax Optio 50 3x Optical 4x Digital Zoom 1.8" TFT Digital CameraDescription
The PENTAX Optio50 is a compact, lightweight digital camera that makes digital photography easy for virtually anyone. Incorporating a handy "Simple" mode, it allows the user to quickly choose an icon that matches the subject at hand and have the camera select all the optimal settings automatically for the best possible results. And to ensure easy use continues no matter where you go, the Optio50 has also been designed to be powered by AA batteries, which are widely available internationally. But to be worthy of the PENTAX name, of course, ease of use is simply not enough. Indeed, the Optio50 offers the power and clarity of a 3X optical zoom lens and the sheer detail and high-level resolution of 5.0 effective megapixels, making it as sharp at shooting as it is easy to use.

Monday, June 06, 2005

Compact Cameras Get Faster, Smarter, Thinner

Though these pocketable digital cameras may be small, they are certainly not slim on features. But which model is most suitable for shutterbugs?
Small cameras sometimes sacrifice features such as full manual controls and comfortable, one-handed operation to attain their tiny size. But Casio's Exilim EX-Z750, Nikon's Coolpix S1, and Sony's Cyber-shot DSC-T7 all achieve a fairly good balance between features and size. Despite their diminutive dimensions all three shipping cameras provide a 2.5-inch LCD; 3X optical zoom; and attachable port extenders for USB 2.0, video-out, and power. Still, though I found aspects of each camera to like, in the end none of the models blew me away.

Hands-On Testing

In my informal tests each camera started up in roughly 1 second, and each took a snapshot almost instantly after I pressed the shutter. Each needed a second or less, depending on image size, to store the photo before becoming ready to capture another shot. The 5.1-megapixel Sony T7 was a smidgen faster than the others at most tasks.

Click to view full-size image. In our PC World Test Center shots, the 5.1-megapixel Nikon S1 captured the most accurate colors. The Casio EX-Z750 produced the sharpest photos overall, thanks in part to its 7.2-megapixel resolution. The Sony DSC-T7 lagged a bit behind on most tests; in our flash photo, for example, its reproduction was overexposed. Like many other point-and-shoot units we've tested, all three struggled with focusing in low-light conditions.

In battery tests the Casio captured 446 photos on one charge, for a total shooting time of 4 hours, 5 minutes. The Nikon came in next at 205 shots (1 hour, 30 minutes), and the Sony trailed with 150 pics (1 hour, 23 minutes).

Nikon's Clever Coolpix S1

The 4.5-ounce Coolpix S1 is Nikon's first ultraslim camera, measuring about 0.75 inch thick. Nikon did a good job of outfitting it with photography tricks that help you take better pictures.

While Casio and Sony each include red-eye reduction in their camera's flash, Nikon promises that its model will automatically detect and remove red-eye errors before processing an image. Indeed, the flash portraits I took with the S1 came out red-eye-free.

Other nice features: The camera autodetects blurriness immediately after you take a shot and pops up a message asking if you want to keep the image. It also lets you lighten dark photos by applying a technique called D-Lighting. This feature worked pretty well on one of my dimly lit shots, brightening the scene overall but also introducing minor artifacts.

Though the S1's $380 initial investment seems reasonable, you'll have to spring for an SD Card, as the camera ships sans media and includes a paltry 12MB of internal storage.

Casio's Easy Exilim EX-Z750

Besides having the highest resolution of the three, the EX-Z750 surpasses the Nikon and the Sony in ease of use, thanks to an intuitive menu system plus well-placed buttons and controls. The camera is comfortable to handle, and (unlike the other two models) it includes an optical viewfinder for framing shots, in addition to the LCD.

Casio also offers a few useful photo-enhancement functions on the EX-Z750. For example, it has an on-camera editing feature that adjusts the brightness or white balance of saved photos. In addition, it has a ton of scene modes--30, to be exact--including one for office-focused photography such as shooting whiteboards.

The $450 EX-Z750 has only 8.3MB of on-board memory, and it ships without a starter SD Card or MultiMediaCard. Tip: If you're looking for a comparable 7-megapixel camera, check out the similarly configured Canon PowerShot SD500.

Sony's Stunning Cyber-shot DSC-T7

The 4.7-ounce Cyber-shot DSC-T7 is a head-turner. At just 0.625 inch thick, it's one of the slimmest cameras I've seen. It sports a sturdy metal body and nice details, such as well-made levers and a substantial cover for the battery housing (most cameras have flimsy rubber covers that fall off or break easily).

But the $500 DSC-T7 does have its share of design flaws. Its slimness, combined with the positioning of several buttons on the left, made the camera somewhat awkward to hold and use at times. And because the navigation buttons are on the left and the shutter is on the right, I was unable to operate the camera with one hand, which was frustrating. I could never get a comfortable grip on the camera, and I ended up smudging the LCD with my fingerprints on more than one occasion.

The good news: The DSC-T7 comes with both a 32MB Memory Stick Duo and a compact battery charger. (The Casio and Nikon models recharge their batteries inside the camera when you seat them in the included cradles.)

After shooting with these cameras, I'm hard-pressed to give any of them a glowing recommendation--all three had niggling issues. I would seriously consider buying the Casio EX-Z750 or the Nikon Coolpix S1. However, if I had my way I would combine the vibrant image quality of the Nikon, the intuitive menus and sharp photos of the Casio, and the sturdy housing and svelte design of the Sony to make the perfect tiny camera.

Tuesday, March 22, 2005

The Roller Cycle,

The Roller Cycle, personal power accelerator, puts you on the cutting edge of inline skating and skateboarding with a 1.5 horsepower engine propelling you safely up to 25 MPH. The Roller Cycle will take you easily over any terrain. Make no mistake this is a workout.

Roller Cycle's unique full-body cardiovascular workout will invigorate you. The force generated by RollerCycle travels from your rear through your torso to your feet. This action not only works out your arms as you hold the Roller Cycle, but the force traveling through your body works out your abdominal and leg muscle groups. As you travel up to 25 MPH, you skate along with the RollerCycle adding exercise to help your respiratory system.

This just can't be a good idea.

Sound warning: embedded Realplayer clip autostarts upon loading

Thursday, February 24, 2005

Compact Casio Digital Camera


Casio's Exilim EX-P505 digital still camera packs a 5X optical zoom and a 5-megapixel image sensor into a compact body.

Unlike many other digital cameras, the Exilim EX-P505 has a short shutter lag (the delay between when the shutter is pressed and the image captured) of only 0.01 seconds. The camera is ready to take a picture 0.8 seconds after it is first switched on. Other noteworthy functions include VGA-quality MPEG4 video recording at 30 frames per second and a 2-inch LCD monitor that flips out from behind the camera.

The Exilim EX-P505 measures just under 4 by 2.22 by 3 inches; it weighs 7.5 ounces. Its battery life is sufficient for 220 images, according to Casio. The camera goes on sale in February in both Japan and the U.S., and in March will be marketed in Europe. It will cost $500 in the U.S. Lets take a guess as to the UK Price shall we?

Compact Casio Digital Camera


Casio's Exilim EX-P505 digital still camera packs a 5X optical zoom and a 5-megapixel image sensor into a compact body.

Unlike many other digital cameras, the Exilim EX-P505 has a short shutter lag (the delay between when the shutter is pressed and the image captured) of only 0.01 seconds. The camera is ready to take a picture 0.8 seconds after it is first switched on. Other noteworthy functions include VGA-quality MPEG4 video recording at 30 frames per second and a 2-inch LCD monitor that flips out from behind the camera.

The Exilim EX-P505 measures just under 4 by 2.22 by 3 inches; it weighs 7.5 ounces. Its battery life is sufficient for 220 images, according to Casio. The camera goes on sale in February in both Japan and the U.S., and in March will be marketed in Europe. It will cost $500 in the U.S. Lets take a guess as to the UK Price shall we?

Friday, February 11, 2005

Don't ditch that drive

Inside of consigning that old hard drive to a dusty draw, why not make it into a portable storage drive. Vantec’s NexStar NST-350UF is an external hard drive enclosure that offers both USB 2.0 and FireWire interfaces. An attractive slimline unit, the NST-350UF has aluminium covers to aid cooling and noise damping.
Fitting a drive inside is easy; the most difficult job is trying not to lose the tiny screws that hold the side plates in place – it’s a good job Vantec supply a few extra ones in the box.
The NST-350UF comes with a power supply, stand and both USB and FireWire cables.

Price £39.89 (£33.95 ex VAT)
Contact Tekheads
www.tekheads.co.uk

Thursday, February 10, 2005

Samsung E330 clamshell phone


Oval Brilliance The stylish, oval-shaped Samsung E330 clamshell phone boasts a dual band, dual color, high quality VGA camera with its own flash and intenna into it's compact frame. Special features also include photo caller ID, global GPRS communication platform, and an advanced WAP browser.

Friday, February 04, 2005

Video Edit Magic v4.04


Download FREE trial version of Video Edit Magic v4.04 !

Or, purchase full version NOW!
View tutorial
View user guide
What's New?
Video Editing Software that Gives you High End Features with Simple Elegance.

Its drag-and-drop interface makes it easy to capture video footage onto the editing timeline and assemble a movie in mere minutes. Add professional scene transitions, some background music, a couple of title effects, and get ready to show the world your finished masterpiece. You can even edit and combine popular file formats including AVI, WMV, ASF, MPEG, JPEG and many more, all on the same timeline. This really comes in handy and saves a lot of time, when you want to create something truly unique from multiple media sources.

Friday, January 21, 2005

Sony DWD-22A 16x Dual Layer DVD-R/RW OEM

Sonys amazing new DWD22A is the next generation Dual Layer DVD recorder for your PC that brings together all the popular formats in a single drive: DVD+R and DVD+RW, as well as CD-R and CD-RW.
£36.00 Ex VAT  £42.30 Inc VAT
£42.30 Inc VAT

Friday, January 14, 2005

On Test: TFT monitors under £250

The price of TFT monitors has plummeted in the past year. We've found six bargain 17in slim screens that will cost you no more than £250
In October 2003, a decent 15in TFT monitor would have set you back about £300. Nobody likes a smarty-pants, but we're happy to tell you that the prediction we made towards the end of last year was spot on. Well, almost.

We said that by this time the same figure would buy a 17in monitor, but we've managed to dig up six 17in displays and save another £50 in the process. So here's our choice of the best TFT monitors for £250 or less.

As prices have dropped, sales have soared and manufacturers have been keen to point out how sleek, chic and drop-dead gorgeous their models are. Looks are important, but it's the view projected before your eyes that matters most so we're going to judge each monitor on picture quality.

We did some technical testing in our labs, but the final judgement was made using the mark one eyeball. We looked at depth of colours, sharpness of contrast and particularly at the quality of black images. The display of dark images is something that inferior TFTs struggle with, so we were looking for deep, dark, inky shades.

We also looked at how easy it was to set up and adjust the display, judging how easy menu options were to use and whether automatic setup options gave good results. We also indulged in a spot of wrestling to see whether the monitor could be moved and swivelled to a range of positions. You can spend many hours gazing at a display, so it's important that it can be adjusted to suit your posture and eyesight.

So what about value for money? That's a tricky one, especially at this time of year when the shops are offering deals to entice canny consumers, but we have taken note of extra features such as built-in speakers.

All the prices listed here are suggested retail prices; if you shop around, especially online, you could find them even cheaper. Try our Active Prices to search for the cheapest prices on the internet.

Acer AL1715
www.acer.co.uk
The Acer AL1715 is priced at £223 and includes a set of built-in speakers, which is great if space is tight, but the monitor fell a little short in terms of adjustability. Image quality was good, and there was no evidence of ghosting (slight after-images that can appear when an image changes quickly) which is common in video or games. This used to be a big problem for TFT monitors but new technology has largely solved the problem.

The automatic setup option produced good results, extending the display area to all four corners of the screen and there was no evidence of what are called moiré patterns. These are areas of the screen that appear to have a cross-shaded pattern and are an unwelcome distortion. The auto-setup did not affect the brightness and contrast options, sensibly leaving users to adjust these settings to their own preferences.

The button for the on-screen menu was not fiddly and brought up options for manually adjusting and fine-tuning settings that were simple to read and navigate. The supplied instructions were helpful and the sound quality was good, certainly compared with the internal speakers in other monitors we have seen this year.

The only flaw we could find was that only the vertical angle could be adjusted by tilting the screen. This helps to avoid screen glare from other lights in the room or from windows, but swivelling the monitor is not possible. However, if you rarely need to swivel a display, to show an image to someone sitting next to you, for example, it's not much of a problem.

CTX P772L
www.ctxeurope.com
The CTX P772L was the most flexible monitor in our test. You can tilt and swivel it to change the viewing angle and adjust the height. It is even possible to rotate the monitor to a portrait orientation, making it easier to work with word processor documents. Unbelievably, though, CTX does not include the software required to make this feature available for the asking price of £249. Instead, it offers a CD for sale separately for another £17.

We needed to tweak a few settings after using the auto-setup feature to make the picture fill the entire screen area. We found the option to do this in the menu system without much ado. However, the menu system wasn't without fault. There are only four buttons and some have more than one function. That's fine if they follow a logical progression, but that wasn't always the case.

Also, the volume control for the built-in speakers needs to be accessed from the on-screen menu, which means that adjusting volume is not something that can be done very quickly or easily.

The P772L excelled in terms of image quality and did particularly well in our colour registration test, which reveals the gap between the red, green and blue pixels. This test is particularly tough on TFTs but the CTX sailed through, meaning its images will look sharper on screen and will be a closer match to images printed onto photographic paper. That's clearly good news for those who like to edit digital images.

The P772L would have been the winner of our Buy It award but for CTX's decision to charge extra for the portrait adjustment software. A good monitor that is let down by penny pinching.

Iiyama ProLite E435S
www.iiyama.co.uk
Including the Iiyama ProLite E435S was a little cheeky on our part, as the suggested retail price inclusive of VAT takes it to £263, but as it was one of only two monitors with a DVI connection, we sneaked it in. As we said, you should be able to find it discounted online.

The DVI socket came in addition to the standard analogue connection. This ensures excellent picture quality when attached to PCs that have a graphics card with a DVI output. It also removes the need for almost every aspect of setting up apart from brightness and contrast, which should always be adjusted to each individuals' needs.

The ProLite E435S has four presets for brightness and contrast and a very fast response time of 10ms, giving great performance in video and games. The auto-setup feature for the analogue connection was more than adequate. The picture quality of the ProLite E435S was excellent. The only problem was with the preset modes. When we used the setting designed for working with pictures, we found that the monitor lost some distinction between close shades of bright colours.

Six buttons control the monitor's settings and there are three pages of menu options to scroll through. However, if you use the digital input, several are greyed out because they are not needed. Four of the buttons have two functions, and to access the second function it is necessary hold the button down; for example, you have to hold down the brightness and contrast button to access the volume setting. Depending on the specific setting you want to change, this can soon become very fiddly.

All things considered, whatever socket you have on the back of your computer, the Iiyama ProLite is a great choice.

Philips 170C5
www.club.philips.com
Philips may be better known for televisions but the 170C5 proves it can transfer its expertise to digital displays. There are no speakers or dual inputs but the image quality makes up for this. Moving images were displayed with no problem and colour gradients in still images flowed smoothly with no visible banding effects. Text was sharp and easy to read, making this a good monitor for any purpose.

The auto-setup option did a good job of adjusting the monitor and even asked if you wanted to save the changes it had made, making sure the user remains in control of settings. The buttons are mounted on the side of the monitor but the legends are on the front so it's easy to see what each button is for.

The on-screen menu was easy to navigate, partly because there are enough buttons on the side to make sure they don't have to double up on functions. The power supply is built into the monitor and the video input can be detached, which reduces the risk of damaged cables.

At £250 the Philips 170C5 has no extra frills, but it is a good-quality monitor. We would have liked to see a DVI socket though.

Relisys TL795
www.relisys.com
The Relisys TL795 is another monitor that offers a choice of analogue and digital inputs and includes speakers in a pleasingly small amount of space. The digital connection ensures a good-quality picture as soon as you plug it in. There is no contrast control when using the digital input but the brightness control gives sufficient control over the image.

There were no problems in any of our tests and the image was consistently good for both still and moving images. The analogue connection did suffer from moir‚ in some of tests, so you should use the digital connection if possible. The auto-setup kicks in for the analogue connection, although we needed to select it again once Windows had started even though it claimed to have worked when the computer started.

There are stereo speakers built into the frame of the display, which are good enough for listening to music. The controls for the volume and on-screen display are touch sensitive and glow blue when they are pressed. If anything, they are too sensitive and a cable brushing against them is enough to activate them. The up and down keys control the volume and the on-screen menu is opened by either of the select function keys.

Although slightly marred by the oversensitive buttons, the Relisys TL795RU is clearly an excellent monitor with a slew of features, and all for £239.

Samsung Syncmaster 710V
www.samsung.co.ukk
For £250 the Samsung Syncmaster 710V can promise good-quality images but it is hamstrung by badly designed buttons. The menus were easy to navigate but accessing them was not so simple. The problem is that the power button is placed between the up and down keys, a thoughtless design feature that lead to us inadvertently turning the power off when changing options.

The selection key doubles as the auto-setup button and while you can adjust the brightness without entering the menu, you can't do the same with the contrast control.

The manual is supplied in electronic format on CD and is a useful reference if you want more information on the different settings. The power adapter is built into the monitor so there is no need for an external one, and the monitor cable is not moulded onto the case so it can be detached.

The screen is nice and bright without being hard on the eyes and images were very sharp. The monitor includes a feature called MagicBright, which allows the monitor to be adjusted for specific tasks such as word processing, internet browsing or games. Overall, the MagicBright feature is a nice idea, but if you have never felt the need for it before it is unlikely to convert you now.

Monitor your spending
Given the price drops over the past year there has never been a better time to buy a 17in TFT monitor, although we were a little surprised that only two monitors had a digital input. Half of the monitors here had built-in speakers, which can be useful if you are short on space. They can't supply cinema-quality sound but they are fine for enjoying some music while you are working.

We said in the introduction that the winner would be judged on picture quality, and the Relisys TL795RU edges it because of the quality shown when using DVI or analogue. The Iiyama ProLite E435S was a close second despite being just outside the price range, although we'd be surprised if you couldn't find it for £250 or slightly less.

The CTX P772L is also a runner-up on picture quality and ease of use alone, but we thought that asking people to buy the software to access the portrait mode separately was an insult to consumers that couldn't be ignored.

So what would we like to see next year? The positioning and functions of buttons have attracted plenty of criticism in this test. Manufacturers always insist that their products are tested for ease of use, but after trying them out, we often wonder whether the testers have three hands.

Hopefully, by next year a DVI option will be included as standard on all TFT monitors, so most setup buttons will become redundant. After that, all users need are dedicated buttons for volume (where relevant) and brightness and contrast.