Jamo E 500

Advantages: Size, speed, colours, waterproof, SD slot
Disadvantages: Reliance on poor Magellan Maps, no third party support

...I wanted a small GPS unit principally for my off road mountain biking activities. It's a real hassle stopping the bike unfolding the OS map and working out precisely where you are, on a legitimate bridle path or in a farmers backyard. When I saw the advert for the new eXplorist 500 at £350, featuring Magellan's topographical UK map, I thought this is it, a bit expensive, but just what I've been waiting for. The reality is somewhat different to the expectation, hence my disappointment. Now don't get me wrong, this little GPS unit is easy to use, it's fast and accurate and will display your position on it's simple and crude basemap as good as any other Garmin or Magellan unit. It will also give you an accurate reading of latitude and longitude or OS grid reference. But what's the use of a 16 colour TFT screen if the map on it... Read review

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Advantages: Good quality dvd's like HD
Disadvantages: None

...I have recently purchased the new Toshiba 42ZV555DB LCD TV which upscales SD signals to near HD quality. I was a bit sceptical but the difference is unbelievable. The pictures are so sharp. High quality bitrate signals like the BBC news look like the presenter is 3D!! That's on normal Freeview aswell!! As I am always lookin for the best picture possible I thought I would give Toshiba's new XDE 500 DVD player a go, as the new TV lived up to claims. I already have a PS3, Toshiba HD player and a very expensive Denon upscaler attached to the TV. All of which do a very fine job with standard DVD's. You would not believe the difference this player made!! My two bench mark DVD's are always Star Wars - Revenge of the Sith and Monsters Inc. I was absolutely gobsmacked at how good these films looked. I would honestly say they were HD... Read review

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Advantages: Great TV, good price, looks great, brilliant sound
Disadvantages: No component connectors

...INTRODUCTION ----------------------- Mirai is not a very well known make, certainly the Mirai DTL-642E500 is not very common. Before buying this TV, I tried googling it, I looked for reviews on the AV forums, Ciao etc, but none were forthcoming. Right, so the TV. I am just a normal pleb chap and I don't know much about all these technical things. I just knew I wanted an HD telly of about 42". The TV's specs are some of the highest among the shortlist I had. It has a resolution of 1920x1080 with a brightness of 500cd and a contrast of 1200:1. Also, another great feature for gaming is a pixel response time of just 6.5ms The TV's remote has phosphor buttons, which is pretty cool at night! MOUNTING ---------------- I bought an LCD TV bracket from eBayer "m-form" for my old 32" TV. It was a simple thing to mount... Read review

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