Martian Communicator

Advantages: Great performance, secrecy function, lights, shape
Disadvantages: Price, lack of LCD screen

...If you work in an international office, you will know that conference calls and part of everyday life. Not an afternoon passes without the shrill voice of someone booming through out conference phone. However, they are not the easiest things to conduct or concentrate on and end up more like a fussy moon landing conversation. I always want to say ?Tranquility Base here, the Eagle has landed? at the end of the call. It is therefore Ironic that the solution to our dodgy conference calls comes in the shape of an alien spacecraft and more at home in Star Trek than our conference room. However, the Polycom Soundstation 200 is just that. What does it look like? Well, it is a dark grey tripod shaped device which is about the size of a vinyl Album. To one of the 3 sides, it has the controls and buttons for dialing and the overall control...

andycharger 01.10.2002 · Read review
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Review of Polycom SoundStation

Bose Sound Dock (2nd Generation)

Advantages: Incredible sound from such a small unit, good build quality
Disadvantages: Price

...I bought this unit in November this year. There are two models, the original sound dock which I think is about £199 and the second generation one (the one I bought) which was £279 from John Lewis. The second generation one is basically the same as the first except: a) it has a rechargeable battery b) it has a swing out dock c) it has an auxiliary (3.5mm) jack input If you just want a basic model, then go for the first gen one. I got the second gen one because I thought the battery was a useful addition as is the auxiliary 3.5mm input - I have mine connected to an apple airport express that streams itunes from my laptop to my bedroom although I have used it in a friends house with my ipod too. The sound quality is good for its size which is about the same as a hardback book and it weighs in at about 1 kilo. You can take...

PeteLuv 28.12.2007 · Read review
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Review of Bose SoundDock Digital Music System

Radio 2 -- Easy Listening With Style!

Advantages: Diverse shows that appeal across the spectrum
Disadvantages: The mix can be a little strange at times.

...I always find it surprising as to the diversity of Radio 2, the schedule on any given night could contain a short half hour program about Folk music and another night a program about Theatre organs can be heard, I have listened to both and realised there is more to life than listening to such stations as Happy FM (or Capital) that tend to play the same record over and over again every two hours. Besdes these stations appear to be aimed at someone about 15 years younger than myself anyway. Radio 2 on the other hand caters for people of my age and boy they certainly deliver, I always tend to be in the car coming home or going somewhere when Elaine Paige is broadcasting. Sometimes the journey can be from hell at worst and other times just damn right boring. So to experience the diversity that Radio 2 offer on a Sunday is a bonus...

Timbo3107 14.03.2009 · Read review
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Review of BBC Radio 2

PlayStation2 Slimline

Advantages: Smaller, Lighter, Quieter
Disadvantages: Flimsy Disk Flap

...I am sure you can tell from the name of this product, Sony PlayStation2 Slimline, that this product is alot smaller in size and shape to its bidder brother, The Sony Playstation2. This new design was released in September 2004 and overall, it is much prefered to its previous because of its weight, size, sound and mobility. In my opinion, the slimline model is much more attractive than the origonal one because it is so much smaller. The thickness of this product has been reduced to under 3cm which is almost one third the thickness of the older version. As a result, the PlayStation2 Slimline looks much more compact and in my view, the smaller the better. Furthermore, not only has the size of the product been reduced, but also te weight too, which again, adds to the appeal of the product. Overall the slimline version has lost half...

CFC4EVER 13.06.2007 · Read review
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Review of Sony PlayStation 2 - Slimline Model (PS2)

Harman Kardon Soundsticks, awesome sound quality...

Advantages: Rich sound, super clarity, deep base, look great, robust, high quality
Disadvantages: Simply none!

...the Soundsticks the hifi unit, worth £900, got relegated to the loft as the Soundsticks do a better job, look great and save space. On the left hand stick there are volume control pads that are nice and responsive to the touch. It became apparent to me that these speakers have a variety of uses and I've had mine plugged into the TV, stereo and games consoles in addition to the Mac. In fact, if you're looking for a cheap alternative to surround sound for your favourite movies, these will do the job very well. For example, plug these into your TV next time Mission Impossible is on and you'll see what I mean. Harmon Kardon Soundsticks have been on the market for a few years now. I've owned mine for 2.5 years without any issues and I haven't heard better units during this time. I haven't seen better looking units either. Really great value for such...

Speakeeze 24.08.2009 · Read review
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Review of Harman Kardon SoundSticks II

YOUR MONO, ONE-SPEAKER TV SOUNDS BETTER...

Advantages: Relativly Cheap
Disadvantages: Very poor quality

...A sound station for you PS2 could provide the user with an increase in sound quality, but is this the one? ***SPECIFICATION*** · 300 watts PMPO · 3 way sub-woofer speaker system · Variable volume control · Variable bass control · Acoustically engineered cabinet · Purple/Grey (iMac Blue also available) · Ideal for use with consoles. · Also accepts output form a Walkman, Discman, MiniDisc, MP3 etc ***PRICE*** The price of this speaker system is a quite reasonable £39.99, which if you compare it to other sound equipment on the market, this isn’t bad. But if you actually see past the spec and price you will find yourself very disappointed. The range of feature available is very poor eg. treble adjust, Bass adjust ( it has go this sort of, but there is hardly any bass anyway) ***ACTUAL QUALITY*** In my...

jamespugh 21.10.2001 · Read review
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Review of Sound Station

The sound quality matches quality of the design!!!

Advantages: sleek, sexy, head turner
Disadvantages: can't see any to be entirly honest

...These speakers are a sleek, stylish and classy addition to any personal computer. I bought these speakers from PC world instinctively. I saw the clear and transparent style on the box and immediately knew that I had to have these speakers. I havent regretted this rash decision at all. Thye sound quality matches the design quality. I already knew that Karman Kardon produce superb sound devices in many exclusive bmw sound systems and this system did not disappoint at all. The sub woofer produces a nice, clean bass sound. The stick provide enough power to accomodate the loud sub woofer. Best of all has to be the design. Its something that catches the attention of anyone walking into the room. The button to change the volume is on the stick and is touch sensitive. A trick to show off to any person who comes over. I would...

crofton6 15.06.2008 · Read review
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Review of Harman Kardon SoundSticks II

Sound quality matches the style!

Advantages: Great sound and look superb
Disadvantages: I wish i could show them off more!

...---Brief--- I bought these speakers to replace an old aiwa 2.1 system for my computer. The speakers looked the part and i wanted to buy something that could equal the sound of my hifi system. The reason for this being that i now store the majority of my music on my computer and rarely use my hifi system. Sorting through albums and songs on something such as media player, is far easier than sorting through a big pile of cd's and ending up in a mess! ---Sound--- The speakers are strongly built and very soild. They sounded a little stiff brand new, but from experience with other speakers i expected that. I ran them at low volume for few hours to break them in. This is suggested by many speaker firms to prevent damage to new speakers. I put the satellite speakers on the table top, about 2 feet from each other, and the sub under...

sam_mule2k 18.01.2006 · Read review
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Review of Harman Kardon SoundSticks II

The sound of a revolution

Advantages: Great sound, sturdy, easy to use
Disadvantages: Only runs off mains power

...Before I got my iPod and sounddock, I was one of those who refuses to subscribe to the technological revolution. Prefering hi-fi and compact disc to the digital music phenomenon. However, within a week (once I'd worked out how to use it), I was hooked on my iPod and once I got the sound-dock, there was no turning back. I think it's fairly safe to say that the era of compact disc players and tape decks is over... The only reason I still have a normal cd player in my house is to listen to the radio, and those few albums that I just haven't got around to putting on my iPod yet. The Bose sound-dock is a piece of mastery in the area of audio technology. Beautiful, sleek and streamlined; it's large frontal speaker provides both volume and sound quality. The music I play on the sound-dock sounds almost incomparably better than CDs...

cocoklo 11.12.2005 · Read review
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Review of Bose SoundDock Digital Music System

Environmentally sound

Advantages: Beautifully conserved
Disadvantages: Hard to reach

..., the fjord was burrowed out of the mountains by the god Tu Te Raki-Whanoa with the assistance of four young sea gods, whose contribution accounts for its branching arms. The Maori called the fjord Patea, but this name was superseded when Captain Cook, exploring this coastline in 1770, declined to risk sailing in on the grounds that he was "doubtful" as to whether he would ever be able to sail out again. Later navigators were less sceptical, but Doubtful Sound remained accessible only by sea until as late as 1959, and since then only by a private track. The track was laid to facilitate construction of a hydro-electric project designed to harness the power of water flowing from inland Lake Manapouri to the glacial valley that descends into Doubtful Sound. Mention of the resultant power station may provoke an immediate sigh of despair...

torr 10.05.2005 (29.09.2008) · Read review
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Review of Doubtful Sound