Category: Video Reviews
SHINY VIDEO REVIEW: EA Sports Active for the Wii
With the Wii Fit the best selling product in the galaxy, and the next three beyond right now, it’s not a huge surprise to the likes of EA jumping on the diamond encrusted bandwagon with their version of home exercise. Ladies, gentlemen and Shiny Shiny’s Zara Rabinowicz, meet EA Sports Active…
There are 26 cardiovascular exercises to bore yourself senseless/knacker yourself out with and provided you’ve already got the Wiimote and Nunchuck you can pick it up from EA for £50 from 19th May or for £35 with free delivery if you go shopping here instead.
SHINY VIDEO REVIEW: Flip MinoHD – 720p recording and under 100g
Let’s make this simple. If you like the original Flip Mino, you’re going to ache for the MinoHD. Same kettle of bananas, only this time with 720/30p video recording instead of boring old VGA. Want to know what that looks like? Press play on the box below…
There’s only a couple of real issues with what is one of the best camcorders I’ve held in my hands. The first is that it’s mono sound recording. Not much you can do there if you want to keep the weight down. The second is the price.
Now, £169.99 isn’t that expensive but it is a) around double what you’d pay for the VGA Mino and b) a little bit more than other Full HD camcorders to be hitting the shelves very soon.
Doubtless the Flip MinoHD will still do well. The battery lasts a lifetime, the 4GB/60mins recording memory is ace and I’ll be very sad when it’s time to send mine back.
Flip
SHINY VIDEO REVIEW: LG Arena touchscreen mobile
This week is Lucy’s last week at Shiny. She’s moving on to pastures new and video production values high but that still doesn’t quite explain whoever it was that indulged her this nine minute review of the LG Arena.
In Lucy’s favour, it’s a darn good review of this premium touchscreen handset from Korea’s favourite brand and if you’re thinking of buying one then look no further than this most thorough piece of bloggo-jounalism. Take it a away Luce…
I’ve been lucky enough to be walking round with an Arena in my pocket (rather than just being pleased to see you) for the past few days and I’d have to agree with Ms Hedges that there’s plenty for LG to be pleased about.
The trouble is that they’re on the market for £35 per month on an 18 month contract which puts it in a very similar class to the recently reduced iPhone 3G that sits at the same cost but for six months longer. So, the question is, is the Arena as good?
For me, parts of the OS are a little over complicated with too many ways of performing the same operation and the touchscreen isn’t quite as good as the iPhone, although better than the Renoir.
What you do get that Apple doesn’t offer is 5-megapixel camera, video capture, Bluetooth and Dolby surround sound. The FM transmitter is also a nice touch and good dig at all iDevices at the same time, which has to use a variety of poor auxiliary gizmos to play wirelessly through your radio.
What you don’t get with the Arena, though, is the App Store which is probably the most important pull of the iPhone 3G. They’ve laid down a lot of useful bits and pieces but it’s not enough and, sadly, despite it being a very well manufactured handset, I can’t see the Arena really competing.
Having said that, there’s a Phones4U deal over here for £25 per month with 600 minutes and 3,000 texts. Now, for that kind of money, they could be in business.
LG Renoir review:
SHINY VIDEO REVIEW: Olympus μ9000 – 10x zoom and real pretty too
I’ve worked with the fantastic Zara Rabinowiscz for over a year now and this is by far and away her best review ever. Zara’s a bit of compact camera fan, so if she’s giving the Olympus μ9000 her Shiny seal of approval, then it’s time to pay attention. Sit back, get out the popcorn and enjoy the show (featuring Lucy Hedges).
If, like Zara, you’re convinced, then you can pick yourself one up in blue or black just over here for £299.00.
SHINY VIDEO REVIEW: Nokia E63 'messaging device'
The Nokia E71 is probably the most cult successful smartphone currently on the market and, despite its business target market, it’s being enjoyed by consumers in the know the world over.
Just in case you missed it, though, Nokia has released the E63 – an ever so slightly downgraded version of the handset for the public to get to grips with. Lucy took a look at this latest offering to check that this mobile design still has what it takes.
SHINY VIDEO: Tech Digest goes on the hunt with Resident Evil 5
Yesterday morning, Duncan and I went on the hunt for dead bodies. Capcom had laid down a treasure hunt over London for gamers to win themselves "a dream holiday" in Africa and feeling rather pasty and cold, we decided that Tech Digest was going to win that luxury break. We didn't but this is how it went down…
SHINY VIDEO PREVIEW: Acer M900 smartphone
It may be a little on the chunky side at 188g and you may not be a fan of Windows Mobile 6.1 – not really sure who is – but otherwise the Acer M900 smartphone has got plenty to offer. There’s GPS, full HSDPA browsing capability, a 256MB processor, a fingerprint reader and, oh, I’ll let this guy tell you the rest…
SHINY VIDEO REVIEW: Optoma Pico Projector
I’ve had this thing for far too long but after a fair bit of faffing around to find the right cables, I finally got a good go on the PK101 Pico projector from Optoma. So, grab yourself a cup of tea, sit back and I’ll tell you all about it…
SHINY VIDEO REVIEW: Panasonic Lumix DMC-G1
If there’s a new camera on the block, then I definitely want to a have a play with it. So, when a new photographic system hit the headlines, a review model was just about all I could think about. A few months later, a couple of weeks getting familiar and this is what I thought about the Panasonic Lumix DMC-G1 micro four thirds DSLR…
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SHINY VIDEO REVIEW: 3M MPro 110 projector
I’ve been playing around with 3M’s MPro 110 projector for a couple of weeks now, and I’m not sure what it’s for. It will throw a (small) picture onto a wall in a dark room, sure, but it seems to be built to be portable. The problem is that I can’t see a situation that you’ll encounter on a regular basis where this thing will be useful.
Even in lights-down conditions, it simply isn’t bright enough for you to see what’s going on – a pitch-black room would be fine, but on-the-move – where this product is intended to be used – you’re not going to run into those conditions.
Basically, what I’m saying is that I don’t have a real problem with the product (beyond the cable length issue mentioned in the video) – I just don’t see any demand for it. I guess that’s 3M’s problem, not mine. It can be yours (the product, not the problem) for £299, and it’s available now.
