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Showing posts from June, 2024

Nitro Deck+ review: a slick upgrade, but not a transformative one

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Two-minute review Peripherals manufacturer CRKD is back with the Nitro Deck+, an upgraded version of its fantastic Nitro Deck handheld Switch dock/controller. While said upgrades here essentially boil down to a handful of quality-of-life improvements, these changes make the Nitro Deck+ unequivocally the best product the manufacturer has put out so far. But it’s not necessarily the one that offers the best value for money. The Nitro Deck+ features a slick translucent shell not unlike the Crystal Collection limited edition variants of the original model. It offers six remappable buttons as opposed to the original’s four, comes packaged with an HDMI adapter that allows you to play on the TV and an improved kickstand that feels notably less stiff and fiddly. Performance remains excellent across the board, with class-leading Hall Effect thumbsticks that effectively eliminate the risk of drift. The face buttons, extra remappable buttons, and bumpers all still feel snappy, responsive, and

Astell & Kern HC4 review: a petite but powerful DAC that sometimes oversteps the mark

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Astell & Kern HC4: Two-minute review Astell & Kern is no stranger to digital audio in all shapes and sizes, and the A&K HC4 is its latest attempt to coax worthwhile sound quality from your smartphone or laptop – and for good measure, it’s got strong gaming credentials too. It’s a thoroughly specified little device, from its high-end AKM AK4493S DAC chipset via its balanced and unbalanced headphone outputs to its support for UAC 1.0 as well as UAC 2.0 to ensure compatibility with as many gaming devices as possible. Its aluminium construction looks and feels smart, too – so while there’s not much of it, the AK HC4 nevertheless appears to offer decent value for money. And when it comes to its single function – taking the digital audio information from your source device and converting it to the analogue equivalent – there’s plenty to admire here. The HC4 sounds big and organised, and extracts a lot of detail from a recording – it’s a peppy and informative listen. It overpl

Eufy Omni S1 Pro review: outstanding mopping and an excellent app

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Eufy S1 Pro robot vacuum: two-minute review View Omni S1 Pro at Eufy The Eufy Omni S1 Pro (or just Eufy S1 Pro if you're not in the US) is a robotic vacuum cleaner and mop with a docking station that automatically empties the dust bin, replenishes the water tank with clean, ozonated water, dries the mop and charges the battery after each clean. It uses lidar to help with navigation around your home, creates accurate maps of every room (even across multiple floors) and employs the Eufy Clean smartphone app to let you set schedules and customize how you want the S1 to clean. I tested one out to see how it performs in practice, how it compares to the rest of today's best robot vacuums , and if it justifies its premium price tag. On test, I found the S1 to mop hard floors incredibly well, thanks to its rotating mop that spins at high speed and pushes down onto the floor with 2.2lbs (1kg) of force. The S1 also does a good job of vacuuming, with four suction strengths available

KitchenAid 7 cup / 1.7L Food Processor review: convenient but costly

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KitchenAid 7-cup Food Processor: two-minute review Product info This model has slightly different names and product codes in different territories: US: KitchenAid 7 Cup Food Processor KFP0718 UK: KitchenAid Food Processor 1.7L 5KFP0719 AU: KitchenAid 7 Cup Food Processor KFP0719 The products with 719 in their codes have extra accessories, specifically a thick-slice disc, and a plastic dough blade. For this review, I tested the UK model. There may be minor differences between different countries' models. The KitchenAid 7 cup Food Processor (known as the KitchenAid Food Processor 1.7L in the UK) is compact, thoughtfully designed and has proven to be a great time saver when meal prepping. Something to mention straight off the bat is that the UK and Australian models have a couple more accessories than the US model, which is reflected in the price. At the time of writing, the 7 cup / 1.7L Food Processor is on sale for $84.99 / £143.65 / AU$219, while the list price is

JBL Live Beam 3 review: a strong case for stellar earbuds that easily outlast the rest

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JBL Live Beam 3: Two-minute review There are lots of great options on our guide to the  best noise-cancelling earbuds , but there's one feature that none of those excellent buds offer: a screen on the case. And the screen on the JBL Live Beam 3 is so much more fun than the display of its predecessor, because now you can select a lock-screen wallpaper from any of the photos stored on your paired smartphone, and the image will even flip so it stays the right way up (so all your friends can see it) when you snap open the case.  I still wouldn't describe it as a must-have – it still feels as if JBL could deliver greater more through this touchscreen, since it still doesn't present functionality that your smartwatch can, for example –  but given the fact that to tweak the volume by tapping the buds results in the loss of either playback control or ANC profile-scrolling (you don't have to sacrifice anything using the box), it's certainly useful. In addition, the lock-s