We check you the latest gadgets, gizmos and
geek toys.
Media streamer
The dinky Roku 2 XS promises to turn any TV
into a smart TV with Internet media streaming. Net connection is handled via
either Ethernet or 802.11n WiFi, and you can output through via either Ethernet
or 802.11n WiFi, and you can output through composite or HDMI connections. The
Net channels on offer are a little US-biased, but you can get free access to
iPlayer, Crackle films and a host of news channels. Various paid-for channels,
such as Netfix, are also available.
However, the major problem is that you
can’t stream media from other network devices, such as your PC, out of the box.
Instead you’ll need to install a media server, such as Plex, which is a hassle
that mars an otherwise neat package.
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Price
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$150 inc VAT
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Supplier
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www.scan.co.uk
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Manufacturer
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www.roku.com
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USB drive Kingston 64GB DataTraveler HyperX USB 3
Sometimes there just isn’t a substitute for
a whopping great big USB stick – whether it’s moving a hoard of media files to
a different PC, or simply backing up your Steam library in preparation for a
Windows reinstall, more storage is always useful. Admittedly, you can get this
much USB storage for less elsewhere, but the Data Traveler Hyper X
distinguishes itself as one of the fastest sticks we’ve seen, with read speeds
of 106MB/sec and write speeds of 92MB/sec – a handy attribute when you’re
moving acres of data. The chunky metal casing and cap also lend the insides
some much-needed protection.
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Price
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$147
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Supplier
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www.scan.com
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Manufacturer
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www.kingston.com
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Griffin beacon (Android version)
The Griffin Beacon is a nifty piece of kit
that will take a Bluetooth signal from your smartphone or tablet and turn it
into an IR signal that your TV, Blu-ray player or hi-fi can understand. Setup
is handled via an app called Dijit, which contains 200,000 device profiles – we
easily found our LG TV and Blu-ray player. If you can’t find your device then
the app’s learning feature makes it easy to set up a custom profile. You can
even set up custom macros (such as turning on two devices at once) or change
the layout of the buttons in the app to best suit your screen size or usage
patterns.
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Price
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$75
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Supplier
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www..co.uk
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Manufacturer
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www.griffintechnology.com
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Samsung – navibot VCR8895
Maybe it’s all that Tomorrow’s World we
matched as kids, but frankly, we expected there to be more robots around by
2012. As it is, your only real recourse if you want a robot assistant at the
moment is to buy a robot hoover. The Navibot VCR9985 is such a device, and
quite a good one at that. It will dutifully clean a room or two before
trundling back to its dock to recharge, and you can set a timer so that it
cleans while you’re out. You’ll need an open-plan house to get the best out of
it, however, and it isn’t cheap either. Our only other gripe is that it doesn’t
look roboty enough.
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Price
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$750
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Supplier
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www.comet.co.uk
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Manufacturer
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www.samsung.com
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Charging hub – arctic charging station
Relying on USB-charged gadgets is fine at
home, but keeping them juiced up when you’re travelling can be a pain. You’ll
either have to use a laptop (which typically has to be switched on) or pack the
plug adaptor, which isn’t even included with some devices. The Charging Station
looks to end this hassle by providing four powered USB ports from a single wall
plug. The charger also included US, UK and EU plug adaptors, which make it
immensely flexible. To test the charger, we attached two phones, an MP3 player
and a video camera at the same time – a load that the unit handled without
breaking stride. Not everyone will have enough gadgets to make use of it, but
it’s great for those that do.
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Price
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$19.5
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Supplier
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www.airetech.co.uk
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Manufacturer
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www.actic.ac
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Hard drive dock: startech unidock3ugb
Startech
unidock3ugb
Most new motherboards no longer have IDE
controller, and while this reducers PCB clutter, it can also be a little
annoying if you still have some perfectly serviceable IDE disks. Thankfully,
StarTech is on hand with the handy dual-bay hard disk dock. It’s compatible
with both SATA and IDE drives, and connects to your PC via USB 3. During
testing, we saw healthy read and write speeds of 64MB/sec and 54MB/sec
respectively. The only stumbling block is the price, as you’ll need to use it
on a regular basis to justify spending $75.
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Price
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$75
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Supplier
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www.ebuyer.com
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Manufacturer
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www.startech.com
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