Academy G1

Advantages: It is light
Disadvantages: Everything else

.... The reasons why the recording is bad: it is extremely distorted however quiet you sing. There is a horrible crackling sound all the time. And it is not my sequencer either. I tried others and it didn’t change the sound at all. The worst thing in my opinion is the sound lag. There is more than a second delay when you record, so with a backing track, you need a lot of time having to quantize the vocals with it. This microphone can’t even qualify for karaoke, sorry to say (or sing!). Philips are the last major British company, so really it feels sad having to ‘diss’ them like this, but I even bought an ‘Academy’ microphone from poundland and it does a better job. Of course, the Academy microphone is still shocking, but compared to this, it scores gold. I have also tried to use the Philips microphone for speaking, and it has the same problem... Read review

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Advantages: Fast charging
Disadvantages: None

...I have not found a better charger than this! This charger came with my Canon 300d Digital SLR camera, and is an excellent bit of kit. It is small and compact, weighing in at around only 100g and being about 4"x3"x1" , it is easy to pack when you go on holiday too This charger has an approximate charge time of 2-6 hours, now I personally think it is much less than that,, I would say it charges a completely flat battery (to the point where my camera actually turns itself off from no charge) in under 90 mins! You can charge batteries in any state, from ones needing a full charge, to those just needing a top up, it won't damage the battery as it will only charge until it's full. This canon charger can charge either the BP-511 / BP-512 lithium ion batteries. The charger can be used anywhere in the world, just get a plug adapter and away... Read review

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Advantages: Small, needs nowhere to stand
Disadvantages: Remote sensor needs to be stuck down

.... This tiny tuner comes in a large box, and it plugs straight into the scart socket on the TV or video, so it sticks out of the back. If you have no room behind your TV, eg for a wall mounted unit , a short scart cable is supplied, so the tuner can dangle. Set up was easy, and it sorted through the various transmissions and allocated standard numbers to the programmes e.g. 1=BBC1, 2=BBC2, 3=ITV1 etc. The aerial plugs into the right hand side at the back, and, on the back, the power lead is plugged in, on the back, next to the remote sensor socket. The remote sensor is required to be placed where the remote control can access it, either by sticking it on to the TV with double-sided tape, or some other method of keeping it in place. The problem is that it is so small and light, that its cable pulls it to where the cable wants. The remote control... Read review

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