Full hands-on reviews of gear I bought or was sent, with the pros, cons, and whether it is worth your money.
Western Digital refreshed its WD TV media player in May 2014, with a new interface and wider format support including .mkv, .mp4, and .avi. It adds social apps like YouTube, Hulu Plus, Pandora, and Facebook, plus Miracast for projecting.
The Linksys WRT1900AC came in the biggest router box I've ever received. Inside, everything sits in protective foam rather than cardboard, with a sponge fixed to the lid to cushion the router. It retails for S$399.
The LifeTrak Zone C410 is a fitness watch from Salutron, Inc. Founded in 1995, Salutron was among the first companies to develop On-Demand, ECG-accurate heart rate monitoring, growing from commercial cardio equipment into a name for chest straps and watches.
The TomTom Multi-Sport GPS Watch tracks activities like indoor and outdoor running, cycling, and swimming. It features an extra-large display, full-screen graphical training tools, and easy one-button navigation, monitoring key metrics such as pace and calories burned across your workouts.
The Logitech Ultrathin Keyboard Cover for iPad Air retails for S$139 on the Apple Online Store, in Black or White. Despite its smaller size, it keeps full-size keys for comfortable, easy typing, and includes a built-in stand.
The Fitbit Flex retails for S$129 and launched in Singapore on 29th May 2013. This wireless activity tracker logs your steps, distance, and calories burned, and also monitors sleep quality, including how well you sleep and how often you wake.
Philips hue lets you control your lights wirelessly through a smartphone or tablet app. It launched in Singapore on 13th November 2013 as an Apple Online Store exclusive, then reached Apple Premium Resellers and Philips outlets from 11th December.
Officially launched on 22nd October 2013, the Sony SmartWatch 2 comes in two versions: with a black metallic strap at S$338 or a black silicone strap at S$288. Sony also sells straps separately, and it uses a standard 24mm strap.
The Canon PowerShot N launched in April 2013 for S$399, available only in white. It uses a microSD card and packs a 12.1-megapixel CMOS sensor with a DIGIC 5 image processor, along with built-in Wi-Fi connectivity for easy sharing.
The D-Link DIR-868L Wireless AC 1750 Dual-Band Gigabit Router retails for S$319, or S$279 at Challenger's member price, steep for a router. Still, it's cheaper than the Cisco Linksys EA6500 was at launch. This draft 802.11ac router supports simultaneous dual-band.
As ever, I'm no audiophile, so forgive me if I don't dwell on audio quality. The Logitech UE 6000 retails for S$319 in Singapore, in black or white. It sits in the middle of the Logitech UE headphone range.
The Logitech K310 Washable Keyboard retails for S$59, a reasonably priced wired keyboard. Most keyboards are filthy, a 2008 study found them carrying 150 times the recommended bacteria limit, five times worse than a toilet seat, harbouring dirt and hair.
The Canon Selphy CP900 is a photo printer supporting wireless printing through the Canon EasyPhoto Print app on iOS and Android. Retailing for S$199, it also prints from USB flash drives, memory cards, direct from a camera via PictBridge.
The Logitech Rechargeable Trackpad (T651) is a Mac trackpad retailing for S$98, while its Windows counterpart, the T650, costs slightly more at S$109. It's an alternative to the Apple Magic Trackpad, which also sells for S$98, and supports multi-touch gestures.
The Logitech Bluetooth Easy-Switch Keyboard (K811) is a Mac keyboard retailing for S$169, with its Windows counterpart, the K810, at the same price. It's a fairly pricey alternative to the Apple Wireless Keyboard, which costs just S$98, but adds backlighting.
In my final Synology DiskStation DS413j review, after covering unboxing, setup, and performance, I focus on its multimedia features. These include Video Station, Audio Station, and Photo Station, along with their mobile apps, DS Video, DS Audio, and DS Photo.
The Sony Xperia Z goes on sale in Singapore from 1st March 2013 for S$988 without contract, in black, white, and purple. Known as the water-resistant phone, it can be submerged up to one metre deep for 30 minutes.
The Western Digital My Book Thunderbolt Duo (8TB) retails for S$1,199, steep for an external drive. Its dual Thunderbolt ports let you daisy-chain up to six Duo drives, totalling 48TB, or other devices like monitors, media players, and editing gear.
In this second part of my Synology DiskStation DS413j review, after unboxing and setup earlier, I cover performance, backup, and CloudStation. I tested file transfer speeds with LAN Speed Test, the DS413j running SHR with WD Red drives.
In this final part of my Dell XPS 12 review, after covering unboxing, design, features, and functionality earlier, I share my experience actually using it. The big question is ultrabook versus tablet: given the choice, I had no clear favourite.
I've been seeded the Synology DiskStation DS413j with three WD Red drives for a three-part review, beginning here with unboxing and setup. Since the DS413j is a four-bay NAS, I popped to Sim Lim Square for a fourth WD Red.
In this second part of my Dell XPS 12 review, after unboxing and design earlier, I cover its features and functionality. Starting with the ports, all sit on the right side, save for the headphone and microphone combo jack.