Advantages: Great LCD, Battery Life, Versatility, just an awesome device.
Disadvantages: Converting your DVD's for it can be technical.

...The Archos AV500 is a mobile DVR; Digital Video recorder. So what does that mean and why should you be interested? Hopefully this review will help you. Lets start with a basic specification, the Archos AV50 comes in 3 sizes (yes 3 despite what Archos' own site indicates!) 30, 60 and 100GB. It can play Divx 5 and 6, as well as Xvid and Microsoft's PlayForSure video content. It can play WMA, MP3 and WAV files. It can record from a number of sources and it can playback to the TV as well and it understands both PAL and NTSC. It has a 4 inch screen of excellent quality for solo viewing, but because its viewing angle is excellent two people can comfortably watch the screen without both people having to meld their heads together!!! It can display photos's BMP and JPG (but not progressive JPG) and it can act as aUSB host for self powered... Read review

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Advantages: Excellent device with many features. rock solid.
Disadvantages: Video compatability is an issue

...So what is the Archos AV500: In short it is a DVR which stands for Digital Video Recorder and allows the user to record, view and store videos and pictures from an external device like your TV/computer. However the Av500 has many more great functions that I have found incredibly useful. Il talk more about these later. Basic Features: Record directly from your TV, VCR, DVD player, cable or satellite box. Make scheduled recordings. Store up to 130 hours of video, 85 movies, 15, 000 songs or 300, 000 photos. Transfer photos directly from your digital camera using the USB host port. Play MPEG-4 files. Play TV recorded shows, movies and home videos on a 4" color screen, your TV or any external screen. Originally I did not set out just to buy a DVR but for a device I could use to record from a helmet camera I had been given... Read review

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Advantages: High capacity; records from television with included accessories
Disadvantages: Unattractive design and interface

...This review is for the 80GB version with TV docking pod. Looking for a practical upgrade for my Creative Zen Nano Plus MP3 player, I had a look around and decided on the Archos AV500. Capacity was the primary concern; I wanted to be able to store all (~40GB worth of) my music on there. I'll admit, I kicked myself a little bit after making the purchase, because for half the price I could have had a Creative (can't remember the model name) MP4 player - I'd bought the AV500 for the top-end price from eBuyer. I would also have had a smaller solution, rather than the hard drive-based clunkiness of the AV500. But the main selling point for the AV500 over the other MP4 player - and ESPECIALLY the iPod - was the ability to record directly from television. First thing you'll notice is that the AV500 isn't the prettiest of MP4 players. I... Read review

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Advantages: Multi Region, Good picture, slim, durable
Disadvantages: No Scart, not a recorder

...DVD was launched commercial over 10 years ago. The major manufacturers made the mistake of not licensing the technology appropriately and subsequently the cost of DVD players has fallen dramatically within the past 5 years. Some people may find it hard to justify the cost of a DVD player when they can picked up for £30, but I am going to write this review to communicate the advantages of having a medium range quality DVD player. So firstly, why Toshiba? Toshiba have an excellant reputation for producing quality products for a great price. There are some manufacturers such as Sony, that in my opinion rely too much on their brand image to sell the good. Toshiba both provide an excellant product, more importantly quality and value. 'What hifi' have for many years ranked Toshiba as the best budget DVD player, and the Toshiba SD340E itself... Read review

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Advantages: Light, Fast, Looks nice, Reliable, Value.
Disadvantages: Doesn't have a built in webcam or Bluetooth connectivity.

...I first started investigating laptops in August as I wanted to take a laptop with me to university. My main requirements was that it was to be fast enough to handle most programs so that it doesn't leave me sitting around waiting to take notes or finish a task as well as remaining portable and more importantly good value for money. I am interested in computers and am doing a computer based course, so I thought I would have to budget form around £600 - £800 for a good performing laptop, as I was going on what my friends had paid for their laptops. I was also aware that after researching a bit on the internet, I found that when you buy a laptop its important that its from a good manufacturer e.g. Acer's apparently are unreliable, Compaq's are slow performing and Sony's tend to be out of most peoples price range. However Toshiba was the one... Read review

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Advantages: Fast, lots of features, easy to use
Disadvantages: Problems with internal modem, infra red port has short range

...The Toshiba satellite m30 pro is a thin and sleek laptop matching the looks and requirements for todays busy and on the move users. It is literally a desktop computer packed into a small, light and easy to use 1.6GHZ, 60 Gb memory HDD and 512 MB RAM machine. I have found it not only easy to use but also fun and hassle free most of the time. (With most problems the occasional usual thing that you get with computers) Features: - dual Harman/kardon speakers - Infrared port - Wireless lan - Internal Toshiba software modem - Dvd-r burner - Dvd player features (play, stop , etc buttons on the side of the laptop) - IEEE port - Serial port to add monitor - Expansion card slot - 3 USB ports - Multiple settings for battery use. Can alter power settings to extend the life of the battery to its maximum approx 8 hours life - Intel... Read review

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Advantages: Build Quality, Light, Small
Disadvantages: None as yet

...INFO I have been involved with Toshiba laptops for a few years now. First in having one as a work laptop and secondly supporting them for other users. Toshiba have the ability to create a laptop that is rugged enough to withstand daily use whilst being designed well enough to fit the daily use it was intended for. The Portege R200 is no exception and is an exceptional laptop for the business traveller. Once given the go ahead to buy a couple of these I couldn't wait to ditch the Dell equivalents. COST I managed to secure 2 R200 laptops for a mere £1234 each excluding VAT from Inmac. I have however seen one on EBAY last week for £994. Now that's cheap. FIRST THOUGHTS When the first R200 arrived I couldn't believe the size of the box. It's so small you would think it had a couple of paperback novels in it and not a PC... Read review

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Advantages: Compact, good hard drive space and processing speed
Disadvantages: Its durability, and has become out-dated

...I’ve never really been interested in laptops, I’m more of a desktop girl myself, but when moving to university 3 years ago and having to live in a studio flat, my desktop just took up too much space. So I needed a laptop. Unfortunately, I had spent a lot of my loan on clothes and holiday’s (as you do!) so I had to find something on the cheaper side. Luckily I know a little about computers and knew pretty much what I needed; something compact, but with good processing speed and a large hard drive. So I went about my laptop shopping…. ***Why I chose Toshiba*** I popped into the Dixons in Watford and they had a couple of ex-display models on sale. I came across a Toshiba satellite 1800-204. I noticed a few people had a Toshiba Satellite notebook, and so it caught my eye immediately. It was made in 1999, and basic specs include... Read review

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Advantages: Great laptop
Disadvantages: none yet

...with the special tft monitor cleaner, just put on a cloth and everything comes off and leaves the monitor nice and gleaming! This laptop is very easy to use for any computer whizz or dummy (like me), as it is very easy to get to grips with. It has taken me all of a week to figure out where programmes are and stuff on here, more used to a computer! The ease is just incredable. Here is the specs of it all that is off the Toshiba Website: Processor type : Intel® Pentium® Dual-Core Processor T2080 clock speed : 1.73 GHz Front Side Bus : 533 MHz 2nd level cache : 1 MB Operating system Genuine Windows® Vista® Home Premium Edition System memory standard : 1,024 (512 + 512) MB maximum expandability : 2,048 MB technology : DDR2 RAM (667 MHz) Hard disk capacity : 160 GB certification : S.M.A.R.T. DVD Super Multi drive... Read review

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Advantages: Robust, powerful, functionally superior to the competition. All you could ask for from a tablet pc.
Disadvantages: Can get hot, but nothing to worry about, battery life shorter than with other models (3.5hrs), heavier than the competition making it awkward for the true mobile user.

...Over the past few months, I have been evaluating and rolling out tablet PC's across my organisation within the Health industry. My evaluation has covered the HP Compaq TC1100, the Motion M1200, the Fujitsu Stylistic ST4120, and the Toshiba Portégé 3500. What follows is a brief discussion of the Toshiba Portege 3500 which I hope will give users some guidance and prove informative. Of all the tablet PC's currently on the market the Toshiba Portégé 3500 has the best performance of all the systems because it uses the Intel Pentium III-M 1.33 GHz processor and a fast hard drive. Perhaps as a consequence of the faster processor, the Toshiba is also the hottest and noisiest; it is the only Tablet PC I have used which utilises a case fan. Furthermore, it has the shortest battery life (3:05 versus 3:25 for the top-scoring Fujitsu). Unlike... Read review

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