Name: Canon Powershot N

Type: Compact Camera

Specifications: Click here for full specs

Price as reviewed: Around £270

Packing Canon's Digic 5 image processing engine and a 12.1MP CMOS sensor into a tiny, quirky compact frame, Canon's PowerShot N will certainly turn heads. But can it take a good photo, and it is it comfortable to use? Read our full review to find out!

Design

Canon's PowerShot N could arguably called a "wearable" camera thanks to its tiny 78.6 x 60.2 x 29.3 mm size and 195g weight. Though it's chunkier than your average smartphone, it's certainly pocketable, with its squared off design meaning that the lens system makes up practically all of the front side of the snapper. With two bolts either side of the palm-sized camera for tying on a carry strap, it's a great option for lifeloggers looking to upgrade from a smartphone and Instagram.

Spin the camera around and you'll find a 2.8-inch touchscreen that can be folded 90-degrees, giving you access to image settings, filters and playback of still shots and videos, as well as touch-focus. While the camera can stand tent-like with the touchscreen, it's a shame it can't be folded over 180-degrees to face the subject for framing up self-portraits - quite a missed opportunity, given the target audience.Around the edges are a handful of switches and physical buttons, including a power button, a playback button, one to switch on the camera's built-in Wi-Fi connectivity for connecting to a tablet or smartphone, and another to access the Creative Shot mode (which we'll detail a little later). There are also a handful of ports and slots; one for accessing the microSD storage, another for hooking up the charger, and another to access the AA-size rechargeable battery. Inevitably, a camera this small was always going to suffer with fiddly buttons and ports, and it can be a bit difficult to press the button you need in a hurry as a result.

Still Shooting

A camera this small packing in Canon's impressive Digic 5 image processing engine, a 12.1MP CMOS sensor and an 8x optical zoom (28-224mm equivalent on a conventional 35mm camera) would usually be the headline features, but it's actually the control scheme thats most interesting with the PowerShot N.

Rather than using dedicated shutter buttons or zoom dials, zoom and shutter controls are housed in the lens ring. Split into two sections, the thicker first section twists to control zoom distance, while the thinner grooved section is pressed down on to take a photo. It's a novel way of making the most of the limited space on offer, and it works surprisingly well given how easily you'd imagine it to be for your fingers to slide into frame when using it. Pushing down on the lens ring can sometimes shift your framing if you don't have a steady hand however, and there will definitely be those out there who prefer the ergonomics of a regular shutter button. Lens-shifting image stabilisation helps here a fair bit though. The zoom speed is very fast too, and you can easily find yourself veering into the crummy old digital zoom levels if you're not very careful.The PowerShot N's BSI 12.1 MP sensor shoots JPG images at 4000 x 3000 resolution, with widest apertures of  f/3.0 and f/5.9 and a maximum sensitivity of ISO 6400 . However, grain began to muddy our images at ISO 400, so don't go too crazy there. Even at the highest ISO 6400 setting images remain legible though, providing you're willing to accept a drop-off in vibrancy in darker image areas and a drop in definition around the edges of lighter elements.

For the most part however the PowerShot N performed admirably. Colour reproduction is very accurate (even if reds lost a little vibrancy in some of the softer shades), with no fringing on dramatic contrasts. Macro modes also impressed - we pushed the camera right into the face of a number of flowers and Lego figurines, and the camera quickly and accurately picked up the desired focus points with an attractively shallow depth of field.

Those expecting a full raft of manual controls will have to look elsewhere though - you've no manual control over shutter speed (ranging from 1/2000 second) nor aperture for example, leaving you with only the auto mode, program, hybrid auto six built-n scene options.

You can check out some of our sample shots and the settings they were captured under in the section of this review titled "Sample Shots".

Video

Shooting video is one of the PowerShot N's strong points. Capturing full HD 1920 x 1080 video at 24fps, there's also options offering a neat tilt-shift Miniature mode, letting you play back clips at 5x, 10x or 20x their natural speed.

Video capture is strikingly detailed, looking super sharp in brightly lit scenes and managing to adjust to quick changes in ambient lighting rapidly without jarring transitions in the resulting footage. Ambient sounds is clearly picked up too, though the zoom lens can bring some unwanted noises into your clips, so use with caution.

Filters and Connectivity

As well as a standard selection of Instagram-like filters, the PowerShot N also has a feature called Creative Shot mode, which automatically applies a number of filter effects to a shot, giving you five alternative versions of your captured photo, as well as saving the original. It's a neat gimmick, and can make for speedy experimentations, but suffers from a lack of direct control over the filter parameters.

Wi-Fi connectivity is limited too, allowing you to share photos between the camera and an iPhone or Android device through Canon's CameraWindow app, as well as add a GPS tag.

Battery

You'll get 200 shots out of the PowerShot N's camera, or 280 if you use it's Eco mode that dials back things like the brightness of the touchscreen. Expect less with Wi-Fi switched on. We'd have liked to have seen the camera hit around 300 in Eco mode and 250 standard, but that's a bit of a tall order we imagine in a camera this size with such limited space for a large capacity battery.

Sample Shots

All images are at the camera's maximum 4000 x 3000 resolution, and have not been tweaked with any image editing programs. Click on each to see them blown up to full size. Settings used are displayed below each image.

4000 x 3000, 1/40s f/3.0 ISO1600 5mm

4000 x 3000, 1/320s f/3.0 ISO160 5mm

4000 x 3000, 1/400s f/3.0 ISO160 5mm

4000 x 3000, 1/800s f/3.0 ISO160 5mm

4000 x 3000, 1/400s f/9.0 ISO160 5mm

4000 x 3000, 1/60s f/3.0 ISO400 5mm, Macro

4000 x 3000, 1/80s f/3.2 ISO160 5.89mm

4000 x 3000, 1/60s f/3.0 ISO640 5mm

4000 x 3000, 1/60s f/3.0 ISO1250 5mm

4000 x 3000, 1/60s f/3.0 ISO200 5mm , Macro

Verdict:

Canon's PowerShot N is ultimately a strange little snapper then, and one that's in turn incredibly niche. As a proof of concept, it's superb - it's a tiny little thing with a unique control system, a camera with strong image quality that seems at odds (in a positive sense) with its gimmicky design. However, those quirky controls are as likely to turn people off as they are to intrigue them, while the high price is just as likely to scare would-be buyers away. It's an attractive prospect, but the Canon PowerShot N won't be for everyone.

Name: Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D

Genre: Platformer

Platform: Nintendo 3DS

Price: £29.99 from Amazon

Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D sees one of the Wii's most challenging and beloved platform games squeezed onto a Nintendo 3DS cartridge and given a 3D makeover. But has this modern-classic lost anything in translation to the handheld format, and is there any reason for owners of the Wii original to return to Kong's country? Read our full review to find out!

If you're a Wii-owning platforming fan, there's a good chance you already know much of what there is to know about Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D. As a Nintendo 3DS handheld port of 2010's critically acclaimed Donkey Kong Country Returns, owners of the older Wii version of the game will have, aside from a few gameplay tweaks and a couple of added levels stuck onto the end, likely seen practically all this 3DS remake has to offer. It's very much a refinement rather than an overhaul.And that's no bad thing when you're refining something as good as Donkey Kong Country Returns. As the old adage goes, "if it ain't broke, don't fix it", and this 3DS version perfectly shrinks down the jungle hijinks of the Wii game for handheld play without losing anything in the process.

A side-scrolling platformer in the vein of DK's Super Nintendo adventures, the game kicks off in classic Donkey Kong fashion, with the tie-wearing primate discovering that his prized banana horde has been stolen and his jungle buddies turned against him, this time thanks to the voodoo magic of the floating Tik Tak Tribe. From the start, the game's humour pours forth and sets it apart from the Mario series; hilariously animated, Donkey Kong is too dense to fall foul of the Tik Tak's hypnotic charms, blasting their leader through the wooden door of his hut.

From here on, it's vintage DK. You'll run and jump through luscious green foliage, volcanic factories and Incan-like ruins, taking out bad guys with a palm-slapping ground-pound or shoulder roll, or a good old fashion jump onto the head. Barrels can be picked up and thrown at enemies too, and some will contain Donkey Kong's little buddy Diddy Kong, who adds the ability to hover a short while at the peak of a leap thanks to a jet pack and doubling the number of hit points the pair can take before being sent back to a checkpoint.Other levels may see the duo blasted from explosive barrels to other floating canons, with the player having to time precisely the shot in order to avoid hovering obstacles or line up correctly with the next barrel, or clambering up vines that sometimes decorate the levels, letting you avoid spikes and uncover secret routes through stages. And, of course, the series signature break-neck mine cart runs return - on rails sequences where Donkey Kong hurtles down a rickety old track, leaping across chasms and avoiding traps laid by enemies.

Level design is greatly inventive, and, considering how almost all of the game design is the work of original developers Retro Studios rather than porters Monster Games, much of the praise again has to be heaped there. From devious traps to crumbling environments to some of the most devilishly hidden secrets with encountered in a platforming game, it's a masterclass in how to pack out a 2D side-scroller with inventive, interesting challenges.

Boss fights are great. Though they follow the "hit-till-defeated" pattern of most platforming bosses, they scale up in difficulty perfectly, challenging you to put into practice all the techniques you've mastered in the run up to confronting them.

It also looks fantastic too. Each Kong and all the enemies are animated excellently, with fantastic charm running through each character, with cutscenes that have a perfect sense of comic timing. There's life in every frame of the jam-packed levels, with small animations often offering a cue to hidden secrets in the level for eagle-eyed gamers. There are some wonderful stylistic choices too found throughout the game, such as levels where the setting sun means all that can be seen of the Kongs is the red of their clothing against their silhouetted figures. It's stunning.Monster Game's implementation of the Nintendo 3DS's stereoscopic 3D effects work impressively well too. The original game's level design already had a great sense of depth to it; though a 2D side-scroller, the Kongs' movement down the fixed path of the levels often saw them move towards and away from the foreground, and the 3D effect here captures that sense of deepness and distance perfectly.

For the most part, Monster Game's work has been to make the game more accessible to newcomers. Make no mistake, Donkey Kong Country Returns was one of the most challenging platformers we'd ever come across, with the sort of "throw-the-controller-at-the-wall" difficulty levels that some gamers love and some detest.

Donkey Kong Country 3D then includes two different difficulty levels: the punishing Wii original, and a more friendly new version that adds an extra hit point to both of the Kongs, allowing for a maximum of six hits when Diddy Kong is in play. There's also a wider variety of helpful items available from grizzled old Cranky Kong's shop (found inbetween some levels), allowing you to trade in coins found during stages for items that can help you find secrets or add more health, among other tricks.While slightly easier in this mode as a result, the game is still incredibly difficult. It's not enemy hits that will fell your Kongs - it's the gaping chasms and pinpoint timing of platforming sections that cause the most trouble, and many of these moments are instant-death falls. If you fall into an abyss, you're transported back to the last checkpoint, which could be quite some way away. Even with the helping hand offered by items that let you recover from falls, you're going to hit some massive difficulty hurdles that only the hardiest of gamers will overcome.

Thankfully, the game is so good that you'll likely want to grit your teeth and plough on through. There's so much to see in each level, and so much warmth to be found in the game, that only the most jaded of players will give up on the chance to seeing what new delights wait around the corner.

And then, hopefully, you'll beat the game, and come up against the handful of new sadistically difficult levels put together by Monster Games. They fit perfectly into the world created by Retro Studios, and make the original game's most fiendish levels look like a walk in the park. It's probably not enough new content to tempt owners of the original Wii title back, but those that get that far will feel a great sense of achievement when they overcome the challenges that lay in wait at the game's end.

Verdict:

There's a mighty challenge to be found with Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D, and even with the reduced difficulty level only the hardiest of players may see the game through to the credits roll. But you'll never regret a moment of playtime with the game, even if it's going over difficult sections repeatedly. There's a charm here that's all Kong's own, with beautiful level design and cleverly hidden secrets making this title a perfect platforming alternative to Mario's 2D handheld adventures.

Name: Disgo 8400G

Type: Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean tablet

Specifications: Click here for full specs

Price as reviewed: £149.99

The race to the bottom of tablet pricing continues, as Disgo offer up their 8400G tablet for a mere £149.99. Considering its 3G connectivity it's a steal, but can this budget offering stand up against its premium rivals? Read on to find out!

Design
Though an uninspiring design, the Disgo 8400G packs in enough compelling hardware features to make it a cut above the budget tablet competition. Packing in 3G connectivity as well as Wi-Fi, the tablet also has GPS and A-GPS capabilities (making it a reasonable alternative to a dedicated sat nav)  and Bluetooth 3.0 connectivity with Disgo pulling in some low power elements of Bluetooth 4.0 in an attempt to extend battery life.

A 7.9-inch screen sits in a sizeable bezel, with the device measuring a chunky 214 x 155 x 11 mm and weighing a hefty 460g. Though it's thick bezel makes it comfortable to grip and watch movies without obscuring the screen, it's weight makes it uncomfortable to hold in one hand for extended periods of time, something that should be a benefit of the 7-inch form factor. A textured finish on the rear made the plastic casing a little easy to hold without slipping though.Were you deciding to sit and watch many films on the Disgo 8400G you may be a little disappointed. Running at a 1024 x 768 resolution, the screen suffers from a lack of sharpness, brightness and a tighter viewing angle than its competitors offer. A tablet newbie won't necessarily notice at first glance, but pop the 8400G next to an iPad and there's a marked difference in screen quality.

Port placement is a little busy too. When held in portrait orientation, you'll find practically every connectivity port sitting along the top. These include the microUSB data transfer and charging port, a 3.5mm headphone socket, a volume rocker, a power button, a microSD port and a SIM tray. Bunching so many connections together looks unsightly and can make it uncomfortable to hold in landscape orientation.The tablet is powered by a 1.2 GHz dual-core processor, backed by 512MB of RAM. With so little RAM and a processor speed that would be considered entry-to-mid level by today's top-end standards, performance across all aspects of the tablet is as expected a bit lifeless, with a notable lag between your input in almost all tasks, and choppy visuals on more demanding applications. It is however, performance consistent with the price, considering there's a premium 3G connection also squeezed in here.

It's worth noting too that we tested out two units over the course of our review, as the first shipped with a faulty flickering screen and an accelerometer that would lock and make certain games unplayable. The second tablet had no such issues, but in the interests of full disclosure, the review unit initially sent out was not without its problems.

Interface, Apps
Thankfully, apart from a "Nature" inspired theme with homescreen imagery fitting of the title, Disgo have pretty much stuck with the core Android Jelly Bean UI experience. Five homescreens can be customised to your liking, letting you add app shortcuts across the device from the app drawer. There are also a number of resizable Live Widgets pre-loaded on the Disgo 8400G; these are larger icons spread across the homescreens that offer live updating information at a glance. Calnedar, web bookmarks and contact details are among the pre-installed widgest, though others such as condensed Twitter or Facebook feeds, email inboxes or weather reports, for example, can be grabbed from the Google Play store.

Google's Play store is a welcome addition on a budget tablet, with many manufacturers often scrimping on the effort it takes to get accreditation from Google. Over 600,000 apps are up for sale through the store, and unlike Apple, Google are open to more zany (sometimes unsavoury) submissions. Though it's slightly more susceptible to attracting hackers and dubious apps, there are also loads of really impressive apps available that can really add to your enjoyment of the Android experience. The catalogue improves all the time; whether you're a gamer, a reader, someone hunting news stories or recipes, a photographer or a blogger, there's something for everyone. Many are free too, and few cost more than £3 or so. The pre-installed suite of Google-built apps (including YouTube, Gmail and Maps), is impressive too, offering a wide array of functionality right off the bat. When it comes to mapping, Google's Maps app is far and away the best navigation solution available, particularly in comparison to the woeful Apple Maps. Likewise, the stock Android web browser is among the best on mobile devices, only bested by Google's own Chrome, itself a free download from the Google Play store.

It's a shame then that the Disgo 8400G's processor isn't a little more responsive. Whether swiping through homescreens, multitasking or downloading apps, it's incredibly easy to overload the tablet, leading to a sluggish experience. Whether jumping between apps, opening and closing apps, loading a complex web page or dragging around items to customise the interface, expect the Disgo 8400G to lag behind your intentions.

Calling and Messaging

It's not often we get to talk about calling and text messaging when putting together a tablet review, but with the Disgo 8400G packing in 3G connectivity, you can also use it to ring up your buddies and send SMS messages once you've popped in a SIM-card.

Using the stock Android contacts, dialler and messaging systems, it's a nice option to have if you've got a Bluetooth headset, though you'll look utterly ridiculous holding the chunky device to your ear for a call the old fashioned way. Text messaging though is actually rather pleasant, thanks to the larger keyboard afforded by the 7.9-inch screen.

Gmail comes pre-installed, as does the stock Android email up for connecting up an account from another non-Google service, and both are of the same high quality that Android users have come to expect. Instant Messaging is handled by the pre-loaded Google Talk app, but of course you can download the one of your choice from Google Play.

Typing away on the Digso 8400G has a nice and tactile feel thanks to its haptic feedback (something few tablets offer), but the sluggish responsiveness of the tablet made typing at speed difficult; if you can touch type at a decent speed you'll regularly overtake the tablet's ability to process your input, which can lead to spelling mistakes.

Media Playback and Gaming
Being an Android tablet, its easy to fill the Disgo 8400G with either your own content side loaded from a computer, or fresh movies, music and TV shows from the Google Play store. Though it's still no match for iTunes, Google Play offers a wide variety of film and TV shows at a reasonable price to buy or rent. And if you're the user of multiple Android devices, your purchases carry over across devices too.

However, the screen's low brightness, muted colours and tight viewing angle made it an unpleasant watch, with video regularly becoming choppy, even if little or no multitasking was happening. Sound over the loudspeaker was at a good volume though, and reasonably clear for a single speaker.

Though it's microSD support makes it capable of holding a large media library, the overall performance makes it unlikely to be your primary playback device. A lack of DLNA support is also notable, meaning you wont be able to access networked videos straight away.

Gaming on the tablet is at times a thankless task too. Though graphically simple games like Angry Birds are perfectly playable, the tablet became hot and performance became choppy when we tried to play more demanding 3D titles like Grand Theft Auto: Vice City. It's unsurprising given the price tag, and considering many Android games are less graphically demanding than our test game, it may prove serviceable in this department for casual gamers.

Camera performance

Though you'd be mad to use a tablet as your primary snapping device, the Disgo 8400G has a particularly unintuitive photo taking app. All control sit on the right hand side of the screen, with the image taking up the left.

Three different modes can be used (still, video and panorama shots), with a circular menu dial giving you control over zoom level, which is the active camera and access to the setting menu, letting you tweak things like exposure, picture size and geotagging. It's all a bit cramped and hidden away, with icons that don't clearly line up with the settings they represent.

Having said that, the actual resulting pictures on the Disgo 8400G are at least a match for similarly priced tablet's cameras. Shooting 2MP still, it handles outdoor photography well enough to illustrate a Facebook post or tweet, but struggles with a lack of flash for low light and indoor photography. Video, captured in H264, H263 or MPEG4  formats however is choppy at best, with poor response from the microphone and a general lack of detail with the video. That 0.2MP front facing camera though is perfectly acceptable for Skype calling, and really all you need from a tablet in terms of photography.

Battery life

Though Disgo claim you'll get 8 hours of battery life out of a single charge of the 8400G, we found that in reality that figure to be closer to 6 hours. You'll need to keep the screen brightness up very high for it to look its most readable, and a combination of video playback and 3G browsing quickly take its toll on a tablet lacking any notable battery management facilities.

Thankfully, the 8400G charges over a standard microUSB port though, meaning you can plug it into a computer or laptop and charge it at work if need be without the need to carry a proprietary charger around with you.

Value
Though we've some reservations about the performance with the Disgo 8400G, one thing that's indisputably excellent is its value for money. At £149.99, it's one of the cheapest 3G-enabled tablets around. Compared to rival tablets in the 7-inch category, that's considerably less than the 3G Nexus 7 (£239) and a hell of a lot cheaper than the 3G iPad Mini (£369). Of course, the premium you pay on those two devices bags you a more consistent user experience and premium design sensibilities, but considering the Disgo 8400G shares much of the same functionality as those two more expensive rivals, it's maybe a concession worth considering. If you simply looking for the cheapest possible tablet and can live without 3G functionality, check out Amazon's Wi-Fi Kindle Fire tablet line; starting at £129, even the entry-level model is altogether slicker than the Disgo 8400G.

Verdict:

It ain't perfect, and it certainly ain't pretty, but the Disgo 8400G offers great value for money and reasonable performance for its low, low price. If you're desperate to get in on the tablet craze, and love to be able to access the internet when on the go it's definitely worth checking out. However, if its just the pennies you're worried about and not the added 3G functionality, you may want to check out Amazon's very cheap Kindle Fire line instead.

Name: Samsung UE32F6400 3D Smart TV

Type: 32-inch 3D Full HD TV with web connected Smart TV features

Specifications: Click here for full specs

Price as reviewed: Around £600

We've seen the flagship 55-inch F8000 3D TV whopper from Samsung, and now we venture into more affordable territory with the 32-inch F6400. With many of the same connected Smart TV features of its big brother, can it impress in the same way? Read our full review to find out!

NOTE: We tested the 32-inch F6400 model. However, with the specifications between this model and the 40 and 46, 55 and 65-inch models almost identical, we're confident that our tests with the 32-inch model will reflect a very similar experience were you looking to pick up one of the larger televisions instead.

Design:
While not quite as dazzling as the flagship F8000 models with their slimline bezels and low-clearance stands, the F6400 Samsung TVs still look very attractive.

At 49.5mm thick, it's a fairly plump set by today's super-slim standards, but not so much to make wall mounting unsightly or impractical. With the stand attached, that depth jumps to 264.8mm, but again that's not a depth that even a smaller TV cabinet couldn't handle. A black glossy bezel of a uniform size just over a centimetre sits around the screen, with the edges finished with a clear perspex for a reserved, stylish finish.

For the F6400, Samsung have reverted back to their four-pronged chrome stand, what we at Tech Digest affectionately call the alien foot. It still looks great, and it's more stable than the curved arc stand that ships with the flagship models even with it's ability to swivel a little, though admittedly is a bit more "in your face" than the mostly hidden arc stand.

Though 3 HDMI ports, 3USB ports and the antenna are mounted on the right hand side of the rear of the screen, composite, LAN and a fourth HDMI port, along with power supple, go directly into the back of the screen, which may cause a few cable tidying headaches if using all ports when wall mounting.

Connections:

It's good to see 4 HDMI inputs on a smaller set at an affordable price, alongside an array of USB ports. Freeview HD only here though, which may rile those hoping to get a Freesat HD tuner too.

• Component In (Y / Pb / Pr) x 1
• Composite In (AV) x 1 (Common Use for Component Y)
• Digital Audio Out (Optical) x 1
• Ethernet (LAN) x 1
• HDMI x 4
• RF In (Terrestrial / Cable Input) X 1
• USB x 3
• Headphone x 1
• Scart x 1
• CI Slot x 1
• IR Out x 1
• Built-in Wi-Fi

2D Picture Quality:
The UE32F6400 has a standard 1080x1920 Full HD 1080p resolution, and performs above and beyond the picture quality we'd expect from a TV this price.

Out of the box the UE32F6400's Movie picture mode doesn't look half bad, and while it's still not at an enthusiast's level of picture perfection, ample image tweaking options (including white balance and green and red tint controls), will let you calibrate it just how you like it.

As with the F8000, Samsung's improved the backlight consistency for the F6400, and it makes a marked difference to the overall picture quality. With deep blacks and rich, detailed and accurate (once tweaked) colours, there's no problem with light leakage or image clouding with the latest models, with the blacklight and edge-lit algorithms working in tandem to really enhance the overall contrast of the image, and pull the most detail possible out of dark, shadowy scenes.

The screen's sharpness sees images really pop in high-definition, and firing up a Blu-ray disc lets the screen really let rip, offering up great detail for what these days (in the age of giant LCD living room panels) could be considered a second room or bedroom set.

Motion clarity on the presets is a little too aggressive for our liking, and you'll want to dial it back a bit with a custom setting unless you want to suffer from slightly watery movement. Once adjusted, fast action scenes move with little perceptible judder, and it's a very pleasant set to view movies and sport on as a result

As you'd expect, HD content looks the best on the F6400, but with the screen size here not gigantic, SD content looks perfectly fine too. The upscaling capabilities aren't quite as impressive as on the F8000, with some jagged edges appearing where they wouldn't on equivalent HD content. But with a screen this size a decent distance away, it's less noticeable anyway. Keep in mind that SD content on the larger F6400 models may suffer as a result.

3D Picture Quality:
The F6400 uses active shutter 3D technology, and it performs well for a TV this size. Of course, with a 3D visuals, you're looking to bag as big a screen as possible to keep the 3D effect immersively encompassing your peripheral vision, but for a 3D gamer sat up close to the screen, the effect is still pretty good.

However, the forced motion processing which impressed so much on the F8000's 3D visuals doesn't work quite as well here, introducing significant motion interpolation that can hinder the depth effect. It's possibly a processing side-effect of the low-powered F6400, using a dual-core system rather than the F8000 quad-core array. Even with the Motion Plus setting set to off, it was still present, and was only defeated by switching on the Game Mode, itself introducing a lot of judder. Which looks better is up for debate, and neither is perfect.

Two pairs of 3D glasses come with the set (the same design that's a standard across all this year's 3D models from Samsung), and they're very light and comfortable, with the watch-battery that powers them sitting in a snap-down panel over the bridge of your nose. Ideally we'd prefer bigger lenses to help us from peeking out of the immersive 3D visuals, but the ones on offer here are large enough to sit relatively comfortably over a pair of prescription glasses.

Sound:

The UE32F6400 suffers from the usual shoddy audio that the majority of flatscreen TVs seem afflicted with.

Though 3D sound options are available, the down-firing 10W stereo speakers sound hollow and tinny, lacking any real punch, though doing a good job of keeping voices to the fore.

As ever, our advice is to pair the screen up with a soundbar or home cinema surround unit, the sad price we have to pay since leaving the bulk of CRT screens behind us.

Web Connected Smart TV and EPG features:
Packing in both Wi-Fi connectivity and an Ethernet connection, the F6400 has access to many of the Smart TV bells and whistles of its pricer counterparts. Though there's no built-in webcam or mic, putting Skype video calling out of the question as well as the so-so motion controls, you can still use the microphone built into the second of the two supplied remotes to interact with the TV screen.

The F6400 shares the same radically overhauled Smart TV interface that we reviewed in the F8000, so aside from a few pertinent omissions, this next section is basically the same as when we reviewed the pricer set.

As well as connecting up with your household's other smart devices (which we'll talk about in the " Remote Controls and Smartphone Apps" section of this review), Samsung have given the interface a drastic makeover, increasing the homescreen count from one to five.

These homescreens each focus on different aspects of the TV's capabilities. The first is dedicated to live TV, offering a picture-in-picture view of the channel you're currently watching, as well as recommendations based on your viewing habits showing similar shows as thumbnails surrounding it. Access to the Guide, Timeline and Recorded TV (shows are stored on a connected USB device) sit on the bottom.

The second screen focuses on On Demand TV and movie streaming services, and again offers recommendations based on your viewing habits, improving over time. As it stands, it can be confusing figuring out which service the recommendation comes from (it's a pain to have the premium Acetrax service pop-up when we're only looking for Netflix content), and though a cool feature, it'd benefit from being able to limit the sources the Samsung guide trawls through.

A third screen offers social feeds, aggregating Twitter and Facebook accounts into one place, and giving priority to video content shared on each site that can be played back on the TV. Also present here (once you've accepted the option to install it) is a Skype app, though it's severely limited without a built-in webcam.

A fourth screen allows access to music, video and photos shared on your network or a locally connected device, displayed in all their glory on the big screen. Recorded TV shows can again be accessed from here too.

A final fifth screen offers a grid-like interface for accessing dedicated apps, covering everything from health and fitness videos to Spotify, a web browser (which is among the best we've tried on a TV), and a great selection of video services on offer including Netflix, LoveFilm, BBC iPlayer and iTV Player, as well as Samsung's own 3D channels. A surprisingly robust app store lets you add more apps to this hub, including TV-optimised versions of popular mobile apps like Angry Birds

It's an intuitive layout that can be controlled in a variety of ways, but the whole experience suffers from the use of a slower dual-core processor. While the F8000 has a quad-core processor, the F6400's dual-core means navigating the Smart TV menus (well, all menus on the screen in fact) seem a little sluggish by comparison. Without having tested the two TVs in such close proximity we perhaps wouldn't have noticed it at all, making it a minor grumble, but it's a point where the pricer set's premium value becomes clear.

Remote Controls, Voice Activated Controls and Smartphone Apps:As seems Samsung's standard this year, the UE32F6400 comes with not one, but two remote controls.

One is a standard remote with rubber buttons, including shortcut keys for accessing Smart TV features, as well as playback controls for videos and ARC-connected HDMI devices. It's comfortable and sensibly laid out, and Samsung have sensibly removed the rarely-used "Family Story" shortcut button. It's a shame that there's no dedicated button for accessing aspect ratio, leading to a lengthy trawl through menus to get to it, and the same goes for the Game Mode. Also missing is the backlight, which featured in last year's flagship set's remote, though arguably it's battery draining excess anyway.

The second remote control is smaller and more squat, and is identical to that which comes with the F8000 except that it has a black finish compared to brushed silver finish of the more expensive TV's remote. It features far less physical buttons in favour of a touch panel. It works surprisingly well, particularly when using it like a laptop trackpad for browsing the TV's web connected features. It also features a built-in microphone, meaning you can use the TV's voice-activated controls without shouting across the room, or over the volume of the set itself. However, it's not as instantly familiar an experience to use as the standard remote, and, just like last year, we still found ourselves using the regular remote more often than the touch-enabled one.

While Samsung's motion control system isn't present here, Android and iOS apps can hook up the screen for some second screen functionality. With them you can stream video from the TV tuner to a tablet or smartphone, control the TV from an app or share content from the phone to the TV. Unfortunately, there's no single all-encompassing app yet that covers all features, meaning you've got to use a handful in order to get to all the features. iOS apps are still missing a few features, but Samsung promise to add more features as time goes on. All in, the tablet/smartphone controls are more useful than the gesture and voice counterparts at this stage.

Verdict:

Samsung's 3D TV range scales nicely this year, with this inexpensive 3D Smart TV retaining many of the very cool features of its more expensive stablemates. 2D performance is excellent, and 3D performance fair. But the real star of the show here is the Smart TV platform, of an incredibly high quality and one that would have come with a massive premium just a few short years ago. If you're looking for a web-connected set that won't break the bank and let you dip into 3D thrills from time to time, this is a great value set to invest in.

Name: Samsung UE55F8000 3D TV

Type: 55-inch 3D Full HD TV with web connected features, webcam, motion controls and voice activated controls.

Specifications: Click here for full specs

Price as reviewed: Around £2,500

Samsung's latest edge-lit LED TV has every conceivable feature you could care to find in a modern television, from solid 3D performance through to voice controlled apps and an intelligent, attractive EPG. It's also pretty darn expensive. Are its many bells and whistles worth the extra cash? Read on to find out!

NOTE: We tested the 55-inch F8000 model. However, with the specifications between this model and the 40 and 46-inch models almost identical, we're confident that our tests with the 55-inch model will reflect a very similar experience were you looking to pick up one of the smaller televisions instead.

Design:
The UE55F800 is a truly beautiful set, with a jaw-dropping design befitting of its price tag. Measuring just under 35mm thick at its plumpest point (and barely 15mm at its thinnest), it's almost impossibly thin given its huge panel size. The image on screen itself is pushed to the fore thanks to a bezel only half a centimetre thick - the closest we've seen a television come to that "bezel-free" dream that all TV manufacturers are chasing at the moment.

Connections on the rear are sensibly accessible from the side, allowing for wall mounting, and can be hidden away with a snap-on magnetic covering panel, which will save from trails of eyesore cabling being visible around the rear should you plan on placing the screen away from a wall.The rear also houses a small control panel on the bottom right hand side should you misplace the sets two remote controls. The topmost edge of the television hides a small retractable webcam that pops out when pressed, smoothly extending to sit flush on the top edge of the screen. The lower edge has a small glowing Samsung logo which, like the boot-up graphic, can be disabled if you find it annoying.If you're not planning on wall-mounting the set, an attractive curved stand comes with television, arching around the rear of the screen and allowing the television to sit very close to the surface on which it stands, with clearance of little more than an inch. While the stand is stylish and unobtrusive, it's frustratingly balanced. It seems as if all the weight of the set is taken at the front-most points of the stands feet, meaning can lean forwards and topple over if not placed on a wide surface. Though relatively light at 18.3kg with the stand attached (16.8kg without) it'd still do some damage to the screen if it were to fall this way, so think carefully before placing it down.

Connections:

A solid 4 HDMI inputs is what we'd expect from a TV of this size and price, with a wide and useful array of ports and connections on the UE55F8000. The inclusion of both Freeview HD and Freesat tuners are welcome, giving plenty of viewing options to buyers.

• Component In (Y / Pb / Pr) x 1
• Composite In (AV) x 1 (Common Use for Component Audio L / R)
• Digital Audio Out (Optical) x 1
• Ethernet (LAN) x 1
• HDMI x 4
• RF In (Terrestrial / Cable Input) x 1
• RF In (Satellite Input) x 2
• USB x 3
• Headphone x 1
• Scart x 1
• CI Slot x 1
• R Out x 1
• Built-in Wi-Fi

2D Picture Quality:
The UE55F8000 has a standard 1080x1920 Full HD 1080p resolution, and with Samsung now testing the UHD waters, could well be the company's last flagship at this resolution. If that's the case, it's a fitting swansong - the image quality here is superb.

Usually we're ones to knock a television's preset image settings, but even out of the box the UE55F800 impresses. That's for the most part down to Samsung's refinement of their backlight system. Previous Samsung LED models have struggled to deliver a consistent backlight across the frame, and while the rest of the image has been colourful and punchy, dark scenes suffered from light bleed in and cloudy grey patches as a result. Here, the backlight is consistent right up to its maximum brightness setting, allowing those who enjoy a bright, dynamic image to do so without worry.

With this in mind, Samsung have also introduced a new Cinema Black feature to be used when watching letterboxed 21:9 ratio movies. This allows the set to factor in the black bars above and below a picture before applying any edge LED enhancements, giving solid black bars at the top and bottom of a movie, free of grey light waves and pulses.

With deep blacks and rich contrast performance nailed then, Samsung's stalwart colour accuracy looks as good as ever, with great detail and range in colour tones and subtle shadow details in murkier scenes.

Images are sharp and detailed, crisply bringing out all the finer points of that Blu-ray collection you've been building up. Images in motion look good too, thanks to the use of a native 200Hz panel and a scanning backlight. Though Samsung's more aggressive motion-processing settings still look a little otherworldly, fine-tune them with a customised setting and you'll find even the busiest action scenes moving buttery smooth.

We'd still encourage you to dial the backlight down a bit though if you want the most natural looking image possible, and it's a shame that Samsung still haven't managed to get a really good preset image setting nailed down. A matter of taste we suppose, but expect to do a little tweaking to nail down the most stunning image that this set can offer.

As ever, a HD screen this big will always do best with high-resolution content, and standard definition material can look a little blurry and muddy by comparison. It's no worse than big screen HD rivals though, and the upscaling attempted here by Samsung makes SD content look as good as is possible.

3D Picture Quality:
Using active shutter 3D technology, Samsung's flagship offers some of the finest 3D visuals you'll get inside the comfort of your own home. Watching Pixars Brave 3D, motion processing is now also applied to 3D images too thanks to the quad-core processing engine onboard, removing some of the judder issues that have caused problems on 3D Samsung sets in the past.

Crosstalk issues too are notably reduced, and we saw only one instance in the whole of Brave, with a background moon pictured with a separate shimmery edge. Best of all, the improved backlighting functions of the television and incredibly high brightness levels mean that the dark-tinted glasses barely make an effect on the overall vibrancy of the image.

Two pairs of 3D glasses come with the set, and they're very light and comfortable, with the watch-battery that powers them sitting in snap-down panel over the bridge of your nose. Ideally we'd prefer bigger lenses to help us from peeking out of the immersive 3D visuals, but the ones on offer here are large enough to sit relatively comfortably over a pair of prescription glasses.

Sound:
Flat screen TVs never perform that well in the audio department; when they're this thin, where are the speakers to go?

The UE55F8000 is a breath of fresh air in this regard then. With dedicated bass speakers, it sounds far richer than previous sets of this ilk, offering deeper, punchier sounds and a wide soundscape that nearly matches the scope of the picture on screen.

You'd still do well to match the telly with a soundbar or home cinema set-up, but for once it won't be painful to your ears if it isn't.

Web Connected Smart TV and EPG features:
Packing in both Wi-Fi connectivity and an Ethernet connection, it's easy to get the UE55F8000 hooked up to your home network, letting you access a wide variety of Smart TV content and apps.

It's a radical overhaul for the company's Smart TV service too. As well as connecting up with your household's other smart devices (which we'll talk about in the " Remote Controls, and Motion and Voice Activated Controls and Smartphone Apps" section of this review), Samsung have given the interface a drastic makeover, increasing the homescreen count from one to five.

These homescreens each focus on different aspects of the TV's capabilities. The first is dedicated to live TV, offering a picture-in-picture view of the channel you're currently watching, as well as recommendations based on your viewing habits similar shows as thumbnails surrounding it. Access to the Guide, Timeline and Recorded TV (shows are stored on a connected USB device) sit on the bottom.

The second screen focuses on On Demand TV and movie streaming services, and again offers recommendations based on your viewing habits, improving over time. As it stands, it can be confusing figuring out which service the recommendation comes from (it's a pain to have the premium Acetrax service pop-up when we're only looking for Netflix content), and though a cool feature, it'd benefit from being able to limit the sources the Samsung guide trawls through.

A third screen offers social feeds, aggregating Twitter and Facebook accounts into one place, and giving priority to video content shared on each site that can be played back on the TV. Also present here (once you've accepted the option to install it) is a Skype app, and with the built-in webcam, your set is turned into the sort of video screen that'd make Marty McFly envious.A fourth screen allows access to music, video and photos shared on your network or a locally connected device, displayed in all their glory on the big screen. Recorded TV shows can again be accessed from here too.

A final fifth screen offers a grid-like interface for accessing dedicated apps, covering everything from health and fitness videos to Spotify, a web browser (which is among the best we've tried on a TV), and a great selection of video services on offer including Netflix, LoveFilm, BBC iPlayer and iTV Player, as well as Samsung's own 3D channels. A surprisingly robust app store lets you add more apps to this hub, including TV-optimised versions of popular mobile apps like Angry Birds

It's an intuitive layout that can be controlled in a variety of ways as we'll detail next, making for the most attractive and speedy Smart TV interface we've yet had the pleasure to try.

Remote Controls, and Motion and Voice Activated Controls and Smartphone Apps:The UE46ES7000 comes with not one, but two remote controls.

One is a standard remote with rubber buttons, including shortcut keys for accessing Smart TV features, as well as playback controls for videos and ARC-connected HDMI devices. It's comfortable and sensibly laid out, and Samsung have sensibly removed the rarely-used "Family Story" shortcut button. It's a shame that there's no dedicated button for accessing aspect ratio, leading to a lengthy trawl through menus to get to it, and the same goes for the Game Mode. Also missing is the backlight, which featured in last year's flagship set's remote, though arguably it's battery draining excess anyway.

The second remote control is smaller and more squat, and is similar to that which can be found with the ES7000 models. It features far less physical buttons in favour of a touch panel. It works surprisingly well, particularly when using it like a laptop trackpad for browsing the TV's web connected features. It also features a built-in microphone, meaning you can use the TV's voice-activated controls without shouting across the room, or over the volume of the set itself. However, it's not as instantly familiar an experience to use as the standard remote, and, just like last year, we still found ourselves using the regular remote more often than the touch-enabled one.

Two returning features from last year's flagship sets are voice and motion controls, working in tandem with the remote's built in mic and the screen's built-in camera. Both have been improved, but neither is again perfectly implemented yet. Waving a hand to activate a text entry box is far less finicky than navigating with either remote, and is a nice way to guide the cursor around the screen, making it the lesser of two evils here. You still wouldn't want it to be the primary mode of control, and the screen still gets confused if you stand up or stretch, thinking it needs to turn on the motion controls. Voice commands are still ropey too - shows on the screen can annoyingly activate the trigger word, bringing up menus accidentally, while the speech recognition still makes plenty of mistakes. We still think it's the future of TV control, but it's just not quite there yet.

More successful are the Android and iOS apps, which work best on a Samsung mobile phone, but now also offer iPhone functionality too. With them you can stream video from one of the TV tuners to a tablet or smartphone, control the TV from an app or share content from the phone to the TV. Unfortunately, there's no single all-encompassing app yet that covers all features, meaning you've got to use a handful in order to get to all the features. iOS apps are still missing a few features, but Samsung promise to add more features as time goes on. All in, the tablet/smartphone controls are more useful than the gesture and voice counterparts at this stage.

Verdict:

The UE55F8000 is a real stunner, with magnificent picture quality, surprisingly good speakers, a raft of useful control schemes and a host of well thought out web-connected features. It is prohibitively expensive though, and we'd happily save some cash by ditching the voice and motion gesture controls until they've been perfected. Also of note is the slightly worrying stand design - we're sat looking at the screen as we write this and are still worried it may topple over if brushed against with a modicum of force. But these flaws, on the whole, are minor when put against the many superb features on offer here. If you can afford it, we can't recommend this TV highly enough.

Name: Star Command

Genre: Space strategy

Platform: iOS (iPhone / iPad / iPod touch)

Price: £1.99 from the Apple App Store (Android and PC versions to follow)

The long-awaited Kickstarter-funded space-sim Star Command has finally touched down, putting all your Star Trek bridge power fantasies in the palm of your hand. It is however, long overdue. Can it possibly match the weight of expectation loaded upon it? Read our full review to find out!

Before we go any further, lets get one thing straight: any comparisons between Star Command and last year's indie-hit FTL: Faster Than Light, are misguided. Though they share a retro graphical style, and are obviously both spaceship management games, they're very different. Whereas FTL is a sprawling, randomised rouge-like, Star Command is a focussed, more action-orientated affair.

They may share surface level similarities, but they're both very different. And like FTL, Star Command is very, very good.Star Command puts you in control of a very Star-Trek-esque ship and crew. As a Star Command captain, you'll travel through the galaxy, encountering alien races and hostile space pirates, directing a crew to man critical ship systems and firing upon hulking cruisers bearing down upon you.

There are four main components to the game; a simple ship-building mechanic (allowing you to spend tokens earned to add new facilities to your cruiser), space battles which make up the brunt of the game and include potential boardings from enemy parties, and point-and-click style dialogue trees with enemy captains, allowing you to influence how well prepared you are for enemy encounters by intimidating or reasoning with rival crews.Space battles are part strategy, part mini-game reflex tests. You'll have to balance attacks from your weapons based upon the ship your facing and its abilities, while also repelling invaders with X-COM-style crew controls, setting phasers to kill.

Some weapons and ship manoeuvres require tokens be made with which to power them, and you'll have to assign crew to their construction in order to use systems. Once activated, most systems require the successful traversal of a mini-game in order for them to work: lasers need you to hit moving targets in order for them to hit enemy ships accurately, dodging an enemy barrage needs you to hit the dodge button when a pulsing red target on your ship is at its least visible. All this usually while helping your crew from being overcome by alien boarders.

The game is at its best when all this is happening at once. It's chaotically fun trying to balance all your ship's needs at once, and frantic attacks that lead to victory are all the more satisfying for it. Crew AI can be a bit ropey at times (they'll stand amid flames, burning away unless you move them to safety), but the mix between strategic token resource management, RTS-lite crew control and action-orientated mini-games make for fast-paced fun. It's also well suited to short play sessions, with the average mission lasting no more than 10 minutes.

A moment must be taken to praise the writing in the game too, all delivered through text with no voice overs. It's often hilarious, playing with genre cliches without ever being mocking. It's a game for space-opera lovers, obviously by space-opera lovers. The exchanges between yourself and the various nefarious space villains you'll come across are real rib-ticklers: being called a pig-monkey by an ant pirate intent on eating your crew is one of my favourite in-game conversations of the year.Crew and ship upgrades are earned as you progress through the game. Crew pick up XP for successfully participating in battles (without biting the laser-bullet), while each successful battle earns you tokens with which you can hire more crew, build new ship facilities and improve existing ship areas, such as weapons medical rooms. Levelling up your crew and customising their looks gives you an attachment to them similar to that of X-COM - death here is permanent, and losing a seasoned member of your team is a killer (even though more an be recruited from home planets).

Visually, the game is one of the most charming games we've ever seen come out of the App Store, bringing to mind Sword and Sworcery EP with its 8-bit graphics (another iOS classic). From chunky ship design to the simple and often hilarious animations, the game manages to pack a lot of character into its colourful pixels.

It's also a bit of a busy style, sometimes to the detriment of the action. When fires are blazing aboard your ship, alien enemies are invading your space-bound crib and UI elements flash demanding your attention, it can be hard to pinpoint exactly where you should be tapping next. It's as much a limitation of the small smartphone and tablet screens as it is a failing of design, and the game is far better suited to tablet play as a result.Even when the difficulty ramps up (and it will get pretty hard once you get a few hours in), you'll always be inspired to keep going by the sumptuous score. It's packed with tunes as rousing and evocative as any John Williams Star Wars soundtrack. I'd happily give it a whirl on my iPod separate from the game; it's that good.

Though incredibly fun, it has to be noted that this is not the Star Command that was originally pitched on Kickstarter. A prolonged development cycle (seeing the game's release slip from 2011 right up to this morning) has seen many features culled: there are no planet landings, no abandoned ships to explore, no civilisations to conduct diplomacy with.

What's still here is great, but it's significantly reduced in scope from what was initially planned. Developers Warballoon promise that these features will still come at some point (with the planned PC version set to be a testing ground going forward ahead of iOS updates), but its worth noting the changeable nature of Kickstarter projects: you're backing a vision and a promise, not a set-in-stone product.

Verdict:

It may be stripped back when compared to the original epic pitch, but Star Command's focussed gameplay, fun presentation and stirring soundtrack still makes it an iOS must-have. With the promise of more features in the pipeline, this is one gaming galaxy we anticipate spending a lot of time in.

Name: Turtle Beach Ear Force XP510

Type: 5.1 wireless gaming headset

Specifications: Click here for full specs

Price as reviewed: £249.99

Turtle Beach's new Ear Force XP510 is a beast of a gaming headset, boasting wireless connectivity, Dolby Digital Surround Sound and plenty of preset EQ settings. But does anyone need to rage through a Modern Warfare match in a £250 headset? Read on to find out!

If you're laying down a quarter of a grand on a gaming headset, you're going to want it to be able to do everything but wash the dishes for you. Turtle Beach realise this, and have put together what's possibly the most comprehensive feature set we've ever seen from a gaming headset in the Ear Force XP510.Not counting an array of charging cables and a digital optical cable, the XP510 is comprised of four main components: the over-ear headset, an RF wireless transmitter, a detachable microphone and an XBA Bluetooth adapter that slots into the bottom of your Xbox 360 controller. Though billed as an Xbox 360 accessory primarily, the set will work with a PlayStation 3 too or Bluetooth-enabled PC. A cheaper version without the XBA adapter aimed at PS3 owners is also available.

There's a fair bit of kit here to set up but it's all pretty straightforward, with a choice of either RCA or digital optical audio connection on the back of the transmitter. A USB charging port on the bottom of the headset allows for rechargeable battery-powered dual-band wireless connectivity between it and the transmitter, and pairing the two is a simple matter of holding down the power button on each device for a few seconds. If you're using a PS3 you'll simply need to scroll through your Bluetooth settings menu to pair the headset with the console, but Xbox 360 players will also have to go through a short Bluetooth pairing process between the XBA adapter and the headset itself. Once paired with your device of choice, you won't have to worry about doing it again.You'll even be able to pair the headset with the base unit and a Bluetooth audio player (such as a smartphone or iPod) simultaneously, allowing all manner of combinations between answering calls, in-game chat, game audio and music playback through the headset.

The headset is a little weighty, but is well padded, making lengthy play sessions comfortable. The green and black colour scheme won't be to all tastes, but seeing as it's likely to be only used in the privacy of your gaming den, that shouldn't be too much of a concern. Having said that, its Bluetooth chops and on-board battery make it a viable set of Bluetooth headphones to go with your smartphone.A gaming headset of this price should really enhance your game considerably to be worthwhile, and the XP510 doesn't disappoint. As well as offering virtual 5.1 surround sound (with a good soundstage giving the impression that audio events are occurring all around you), the XP510 comes equipped with all manner of pre-loaded EQ presets on board, which an be navigated with a press of a button found on the left ear can. These include everything from a setting that enhances the sound of enemy footsteps creeping up behind you to a setting that amplifies in game explosions for a more immersive experience. Ten presets are pre-loaded into the XP510, but Turtle Beach's keen community have made tons more that can be uploaded onto the headset using the supplied data cable. For the first time in a Turtle Beach headset, there are also settings optimised for movie and music playback.

Sound quality is superb, with no hiss or interference despite the wireless connection. Bass booms and the ricochet of trebly bullets pierce through appropriately. Dialogue in the mid range comes across clearly (especially noticeable when watching movies on the optimised preset) and the well balanced sound across the frequency ranges makes the XP510 not a bad pair of headphones for music playback either. The simulated 5.1 surround is also pulled off with aplomb - you're able to pinpoint movement happening all around your characters as a result.Which is why perhaps we weren't convinced by the "surround angles" feature, activated by a button press on the transmitter. It's supposed to elongate and widen the "rear" channels of the simulated surround sound, but we couldn't hear any discernible difference with it activated. Thankfully, the standard 5.1 offering onboard does a fine job of enveloping you in game sounds.

The detachable microphone, plugging into a rotating port on the left ear cup, sits on a durable bendy arm, and offers crystal-clear audio pick-up. Directionally tuned, it expertly dampens ambient noises, meaning other players will only ever hear your own dulcet tones through the mic.

That's if you wan't them to hear your own voice, of course: the XP510 offers a range of chat/mic presets too, accessed by another button on the left ear can. Though there's a range of game-aiding settings (like one that ramps up chat voices if in-game volume spikes) we had loads of fun winding up our friends with the voice-masking settings, changing our voice to make it sound Barry-White deep, Tweety-Pie high or into an alien, metallic sound. The high-pitched one is a sure-fire way to get opponents to rage-quit.Perhaps the most useful of all the features of the XP510 is just how much control you have over all the separate audio volume sources. The left can offers separate volume dials for game volume and how much of your own voice you can hear in the headset from the mic, while the right has buttons for controlling the volume of connected Bluetooth devices (including incoming Xbox Live chat), while the transmitter base unit has a separate volume dial for line-in devices. Being able to fine tune them to your in-game needs is really useful - being able to quickly dial down mouthy teammates during a crucial co-op cutscene, for instance, can be a lifesaver.

Battery life is said to be good for between 10 and 15 hours depending on usage, and we'd say that's accurate - we're approaching a solid 12 hours with the headset so far, and haven't reached for the charging cable once, no mean feat considering all that's going on within the headset. Using the headset wirelessly, you'll be able to get between 15 and 20 feet away from the base unit before audio crackles to a halt.Should you run out of battery, the headset can be hooked up directly to a device with a standard 3.5mm cable.

Our one major concern? £249.99 is a hell of a lot of money to be dropping on a gaming peripheral this late in the console cycle, with attentions now turning to next-gen machines. Now there's nothing to say that the XP510 won't work with any eventual Xbox 720 or PS4 console - indeed its optical cabling and Bluetooth connections are industry standards. But there's nothing to say too that the Bluetooth controller attachment will work with future Xbox controllers, for example. Of course, this unit is being sold as a current-gen accessory, so let us make it clear that these are not faults with the device. But considering it's very possible that your PS3 and Xbox 360 may be gathering dust in 6 months time, think long and hard before splashing the cash if you're planning on diving straight into the next-gen.

Verdict:

Though it's expensive, it's hard to find fault with the XP510. Solidly built, offering superb sound quality and incredibly flexible when it comes to fine-tuning the headset to your personal needs, it's a superb addition to the pro-gamer's arsenal.

Name: Onkyo ES-HF300

Type: Over-ear headphones

Specifications: Click here for full specs

Price as reviewed: £179.99

Home cinema champions Onkyo turn their attentions to the increasingly-competitive headphone market, launching the premium ES-HF300 over-ear cans. Do they live up to the brand's respected home cinema pedigree? Read our full review to find out!

Onkyo have taken a tasteful, no-nonsense approach to the design of the ES-HF300 headphones. Available in black, white and purple finishes, we've been playing around with the seriously cool black model. A solid construction combining both aluminium around the cans and ABS plastic in the headband, they're satisfyingly chunky in the hand, but manage to stay a comfortable 240g in weight. Compared to the garish Beats headphones (which we'd say are Onkyo's biggest competition here), the ES-H300s feature discrete branding, with a small embossed Onkyo logo in the middle of the recessed outer side of each cup.

Each ear cup rotates so that the headphones can be more easily packed away into the supplied soft travel bag, though they wont lie completely flat, due to the width of the headband. Though the headband can be adjusted to fit different head sizes, it doesn't fold, meaning you'll have to take care not to snap them when in transit, though they do look sturdy enough to take a fair old beating.
Both the headband and ear cups are generously padded, each with a leather covering, adding to the premium feel. The headband grip is a snug fit, so you shouldn't be in any fear of them slipping off your head, but that also means your ears will get a little toasty.

Into each can goes a detachable "audiophile" grade copper cable, which Onkyo promise offers the best possible sound quality. Ending in a 3.5mm L-tipped jack on one end and splitting into two separate chrome finished MMCX micro coaxial connectors that snap into each can, the cable itself is a silvery white colour, with a slightly rubbery feel. They thankfully don't get into too much of a tangle, though do tend to bounce about a bit and sit at unusual angles rather than hanging or laying flat. Sadly, the cable doesn't offer an in-line remote, meaning you're going to have to pull out your music player of choice if you want to adjust volume or skip tracks. Onkyo promise that versions with a remote will be available later this year. It's worth noting that the audiophile-grade cable is the only discernible difference between the high-end Onkyo ES-HF300 headphones and the company's cheaper ES-FC300 headphones. Seeing as the cabling is detachable on both, and Onkyo offer the audiophile cable as an optional upgrade for ES-FC300 owners, it's worth considering the cheaper alternative and buying the more expensive cable if you find you really need it later on.

Onkyo have stuffed top-notch audio components into the ES-HF300s, including 40mm titanium drivers in the closed-back cans, and two bass chambers in each cup for rich low end with presence without overpowering the mid-and-hi ranges. It's a really lovely, balanced sound, warm without stifling high frequencies, and with detailed response across the board. Offering a 10Hz to 27kHz, they handle lossless audio as well as the best of the competition in this price bracket.We threw every musical genre we could bring our ears to listen to at the ES-HF300s, and couldn't find a weak link anywhere. Phoenix's new Bankrupt! album, awash with synths and 80s bass hooks sounded suitably thick and punchy, with the ES-HF300s picking up detail from within the relatively-busy mix. Heavier fare, like Black Sabbath's War Pigs saw the bass and crunchy guitar sit complementarily alongside each other, with the hi-hit shimmering in the rear of the intro. Moving onto lighter sounds, the acoustic strings of Daughter's Youth were clear and well balanced, with the cans really shining as the movement of the first building synth and string sounds pan from left to right in the mix. The beautiful Claire De Lune by Debussy again showed off the warm tones of the headphones, but still allowing the treble some breathing room as the high tinkling keys run into the deeper bass keys.

Verdict:

Onkyo's first foray into headphones is a great success. Sounding and looking beautiful, all that's missing from the package is an in-line remote for mobile playback control. A well balanced tuning, they'll compliment many different genres of music, and look cool while you listen. They're not cheap, and it may be worth giving the lower-end ES-FC300s a try if you're counting the pennies, but splurging the extra cash here won't leave you disappointed.

Name: The Knife of Dunwall (Dishonored DLC expansion pack)

Genre: First Person Adventure/ Stealth

Platform: PC (reviewed), Xbox 360, PS3

Price: £7.99 through the Steam PC gaming download store
800 Microsoft Points through Xbox Live Marketplace on Xbox 360
£7.99 through the PlayStation Store on PS3

We use a PNY GeForce GTX 680 for our PC game reviews. To find out why it's our graphics card of choice, click here.

Dishonored, one of last year's top games, gets its first meaty story expansion with The Knife of Dunwall. Putting you in the shoes of antagonist Daud, can it reach the lofty heights of the main game?

There's always a distinct relish to be had in donning the guise of the bad guy. Be it swinging Darth Vader's red sabre in the opening act of Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, or shambling around as a Left 4 Dead zombie, it sometimes just feels a little bit cooler to be dispatching the goody-two-shoes of gaming rather than playing as them.

Dishonored's latest DLC pack, The Knife of Dunwall, knows this all too well. You take on the role of Daud, one of the main game's antagonists, responsible for the assassination of Dunwall's empress, exploring his motives and regrets. And spilling a fair amount of claret along the way.There's a markedly different feel to the action in The Knife of Dunwall. Though there's still ample room for experimentation and multiple stealthy routes to each goal, the focus here seems much more action and combat orientated. Daud's moveset and skills lean towards bloodier solutions to problems; satisfyingly grisly, if often not quite as smart as the original's.

For instance, there's no longer the swarm ability at your disposal, replaced by a call for aid from assassins to fight by your side. A new vision mode is introduced too, not quite as interesting as the mysterious secrets that could be uncovered by Dishonored's heart.Where Daud has Dishonored's hero Corvo beat however is in his arsenal of gadgets. Again, they're combat focussed, but all bring a smile to the face. From the laser-like Arc Mines that disintegrate any guards hapless enough to walk into their range to the ninja-like Chokedust grenades that produce a veil of cover within which to dispatch your foes, Daud is like a steampunk Batman.

But even with these tools at your disposal, this DLC pack truly ramps up the challenge compared to the fairly-easy main campaign. Guard patrol routes are more complex and numerous, as are the waves of enemies that will attack should you be routed during your covert exploits. Be prepared for some trial and error that will push all but the most masterful of Dishonored experts beyond the 5 hour mark before bringing the DLC to its conclusion.Though The Knife of Dunwall inevitably recycles assets and locations, the new Rothwild Slaughterhouse area is truly spectacular. A towering warehouse in the middle of an industrial dispute, it's beautifully lit in an evening glow, and filled with the spoils of Dunwall's whaling industry. There are multiple pathways across each location, be they pipework walkways or blood-tinged sewer networks, and a wide courtyard expanse littered with opportunities to flex your stealthy muscles in. Engaging in sword fights with the buzzsaw-armed butchers employed in the slaughterhouse is also a thrilling challenge.

If there's one real disappointment here, it's with the progression of this concurrent storyline. Running parallel to Dishonored main narrative, Reservoir Dogs' Michael Madsen excels as Daud, giving a convincing performance as the conflicted assassin. However, the inner turmoil Daud experiences is never fully fleshed out, and the thrust of his tale falls a few points of exposition short of being satisfying. With Knife of Dunwall planned as a two-parter, here's hoping Daud's perspective will be expanded upon in the next DLC pack.

Verdict:

Though the meat of Daud's story is only teased in this DLC pack, The Knife of Dunwall is a worthy expansion for one of last year's best games. Focussing on combat over stealth, taking on the role of Daud and his wide arsenal of gadgetry is good fun, with the slaughterhouse a location as good as any in the main game. Roll on Knife of Dunwall: Part 2!

Name: Nvidia GeForce Titan

Type: DirectX 11 compatible graphics card

Specifications: Click here for full specs

Price as reviewed: From £839

Housing the most powerful single GPU in the world, the Nvidia GeForce Titan card is an absolute beast. But is its graphical grunt a match for the dual GPU GTX 690, especially considering its extraordinarily high cost? Check out our full review to find out!

Nvidia's GeForce Titan takes the company's £2,800 Tesla K20 "supercomputer" board and reworks it for a luxury consumer market. Dubbed the GK110, it's got a stonking price tag, with the card selling for upwards of £800. That's twice the price of Nvidia's next-best single GPU card, the GTX 680. Can it justify it?

Key Specs

CUDA Cores: 2688
Core Clock: 837 MHz
Boost Clock: 876 MHz
Texture Fill Rate: 187.5 Gigatexels/sec
Memory Amount: 6GB GDDR5
Memory Data Rate, effective: 6.0 Gbps
Memory Interface: 384-bit
Memory Bandwidth: 288.4 GB/sec
Power & Thermal: 250 W
On-board Outputs: DL-DVI-I, DL-DVI-D, HDMI, DisplayPort
Bus Type: PCI Express 3.0
Size: 10.5" x 4.37", dual-slot

Put the Titan against the GTX 680 and you can quickly see what that extra money is going on, with 2688 CUDA cores in the Titan (with 896 double precision cores that can be switched on and off in the Nvidia control panel for intense computing tasks) against 1536 in the GTX 680. Onboard RAM is tripled too in the Titan to 6GB of GDDR5 against the GTX 680's 2GB, while bandwidth leaps from a 256-bit bus in the GTX 680 to a 384-bit interface in the Titan.

If the Titan is looking flabby by comparison anywhere, it's in terms of clock speeds - the Titan has a core clock of 837 MHz and a boost clock of 876 MHz, while the GTX 680 has a core clock of 1006 MHz and boost of 1058 MHz. With the Titan the larger chip, it'd inevitably run at incredible temperatures if clock speeds weren't dialled back a bit, which would render the system unstable if not kept in check.

We've been running the Titan in a PC Specialist Vanquish Prodigy Titan pre-built system (Core i7 3770k @ 4.4GHz, 8GB RAM), which you can pick up here for £1799.

Benchmarking

3D Mark 11 Graphics Score:
Titan - 4530
GTX 680 - 3031

3D Mark Fire Strike Graphics Score:
Titan - 4571
GTX 680 - 3122

Gaming Framerates

Throwing the dual-GPU GTX 690 into the mix, the GTX 680, GTX 690 and Titan all make mincemeat of 1080p gaming benchmarking tests. The following benchmarks therefore are performed at maximum DirectX 11 graphics settings at 2560x1600 resolutions.

Heaven 3.0 DirectX 11 tessellation FPS performance (higher is better)
GTX Titan: 56
GTX 690: 70.3
GTX 680 : 40

Batman: Arkham Asylum FPS performance (higher is better)
GTX Titan: 99
GTX 690: 105.4
GTX 680: 66

Sleeping Dogs FPS performance (higher is better)
GTX Titan: 34
GTX 690: 39.3
GTX 680: 23.3

The Titan seems less powerful than the GTX 690, which is capable across the board of higher benchmarks. However, the GTX 690 is a dual GPU card, and with it you'll have to contend with SLI scaling and SLI profiles, not to mention microstutter issues and the usually-lengthy wait for driver optimisation. Weighing up whether or not the GTX 690 performance boost and cheaper price wins out over the convenience of the Titan isn't an easy question to answer. Titan's increased 6GB VRAM compared to the 2x 2GB of VRAM in the GTX 690 could prove useful over time as higher resolutions become the standard, while it's significantly less power hungry than the GTX 690, running cooler (and thus quieter) too. Likewise, running two GTX 680 cards in SLI is a marginally more affordable way to reach similar heights (potentially faster too depending on your set-up and overclocking courage), providing you've got the power and cooling necessary to keep things stable.

If the Titan can't always manage double the speed of the GTX 680 at roughly double the price however, what you're left with is really a niche product. The convenience of the single GPU will likely mean it's most often found in pre-built systems, the sort of "money is no object" set ups that wealthy PC gamers with no desire to go under the hood are courted by. Enabling the double precision CUDA cores will make this a very attractive card for 3D modellers on a tight budget though, with the card's supercomputer heritage putting its computing pedigree to the fore.

Verdict:

An impressive card, wrestling with whether or not the Titan is worthy of its high price is an argument you're going to have to sit and have a long, hard think about. There's unlikely to be a single GPU that comes anywhere near the Titan for sometime, but those looking to save a fair few quid and are prepared to work an SLI set-up into their build may get more bang for their buck.

Name: IRISNotes Executive 2

Type: Digital note taking pen and receiver

Specifications: Click here for full specs

Price as reviewed: £149 direct from IRIS

Put pen to paper to PC or iPad with the IRISNotes Executive 2 kit, letting you digitise and upload your handwritten notes. It's a solid performer, but is it worth the high asking price? Read our full review to find out!

The IRISNotes Executive 2 kit consists of a digital pen and receiver that work in tandem to turn your handwritten notes into digital text that can be edited with a Mac, PC, iPad, iPhone or iPod touch. You use the pen as you would a standard biro (it uses conventional ink), and sit the receiver at the top of any standard sheet of paper. The receiver is able to track what you're writing with the pen, and then hooking up the receiver to a computer or iOS device over USB or 30-pin/Lightning adapter lets your writing be converted to digital text through the provided software. The resulting text can then be exported to Outlook, Word or Notepad for further editing on a computer, while the IRISNotes HD app for iOS lets you convert text for the word processing package of your choice.

The pen is a comfortable weight and only marginally thicker than a standard ball-point pen, with the kit able to store as many as 100 pages of text at a time before you'll need to offload them to a computer.

The IRIS OCR software does a good job of converting handwritten notes to digital type, but the legibility of your handwriting is important. I have a particularly sloppy style these days (too much time spent typing away!) and the IRISNotes Executive 2 sometimes struggled to accurately recreate my intended words. However, when I made a conscious effort to write more tidily than my usual toddler's scrawl, it was very accurate, so expect results to vary depending on your handwriting. Avoid cursive scripts for the best results, while left-handed folk will have to angle their hand in order to prevent blocking the line-of-sight of the receiver.

In terms of battery life, you should get around 8 hours of continuous use from both the pen and the receiver, more than enough to get through the average working day. Battery packs are built in so there's no need to hunt around for replacements, while the pen sensibly uses standard ink cartridges that can easily be replaced at a stationary shop.
Using regular ink, you'll still be able to scribble away with the pen even when it's out of power, though text can't be retroactively digitised - it's not simply enough to pop the receiver at the top of a written page and expect it to be turned into a digital page, as text has to be captured by the receiver as it's being written by the included digital pen.

So is the IRISNotes Executive 2 worth its £149 asking price? To answer that question, you really have to look towards the competition.

The Evernote note syncing apps for iOS, Android, Windows and Mac are free, letting you upload and sync all sorts of media (pictures, text, web clippings, audio) across all your devices - something IRISNotes Executive 2 does not. Evernote have also recently teamed up with Moleskin to offer Smart Notebooks that, when written in and photographed with the Evernote Page Camera app function, can be turned into digitised pages. Books start at little more than £10, but when they run out, that digital page capture runs out too as regular paper can't be used. The IRISNotes Executive 2 has the advantage in this respect.

A more close competitor is the Livescribe pen range, which works in much the same way as the IRISNotes system, but requires the use of special paper and does not convert notes to word processed documents. It however also allows audio to be recorded at the same time, allowing your notes to act as virtual bookmarks across meetings, interviews or lectures. It's a recommended alternative to the IRISNotes kit, even if its feature set varies slightly.

Verdict:

The IRISNotes Executive 2 works very well, effectively digitising handwritten notes for editing in word processing apps, provided your handwriting is neat. It's not cheap, and there are equally good alternatives with similar functionality, but those who make plenty of handwritten notes on all manner of paper scraps will find this an invaluable tool.

Crucial Ballistix Elite 16GB RAM

Type: Memory upgrade

Specifications: Click here for full specs

Price as reviewed: £128.39 direct from Crucial

A power-user's dream, Crucial's Ballistix Elite RAM packs offer great overclocking potential and neat temperature management. Check our findings on the 16GB pack in our full review.

Aside from installing an SSD into your ageing desktop PC, there are a few better upgrades that can be made than by popping a few extra gigs of RAM into your machine. While 4GB of RAM is enough for the average user, anyone looking to do some hardcore gaming or video processing work should be looking to squeeze in as much RAM as they can possibly manage.

For PC gamers, 8GB has been the standard for the last few years, with the current crop of console's relative lack of memory leading to constrained RAM requirements for console-to-PC game ports. However, with the next generation of consoles on the horizon, complete with improved RAM allowances, it's only a matter or time before 8GB is the bare minimum. 16GB of RAM now looks to be the safest future-proofing option for enthusiast PC gamers looking to smoothly play the next few year's top games.

To this end, we've been testing out Crucial's 16GB DDR3 Ballistix Elite RAM pack, made up of two 8GB sticks, and aimed at overclocking enthusiasts with the most stringent of performance requirements.

With high-end PC cases as much an excuse to showcase your components aesthetically as in terms of performance, we'll spare a quick paragraph on the looks of the sticks. Black PCBs with a mirrored strip on front edge, the Elite has a sizeable finned heat spreader that stands quite tall, making for a tight-squeeze into small form factor cases or those already busily crammed with components.

Stock speeds and voltages are phenomenal. Using two 8GB modules, you'd expect to see higher timings and voltages at slower speeds, but this dual-channel kit rings in at 1866 MHz with flat timings of 9-9-9 at just 1.5v. At this level the Elite is already performing admirably, but it wasn't particularly difficult to get the modules at 2133 MHz at 9-9-9 timings with the Vdimm at 1.65. Tighter clock speeds at lower frequencies didn't cause much of a problem either.

Those heat spreaders work a charm too, keeping ambient temperatures down even when the voltages were pushed. Crucial's Ballistix MOD temperature tracking software never wen't above 30C even when pushed hard.

As far as a RAM upgrade goes, the Elite isn't exactly the cheap options, but it's definitely among the more powerful and flexible module packs you can buy, which enthusiasts tinkerers will appreciate.

Verdict:

Crucial's Ballistix Elite 16GB pack is a lot of money, but money well spent. If you're looking to future-proof your system's RAM for the next few years, there's few module packs we'd recommend more highly, if any.

Name: Amazon Kindle Fire HD 8.9

Type: Android tablet

Specifications: Click here for full specs

Price: £229 for 16GB model, £259 for 32GB model, direct from Amazon. These models come with advertising lockscreens - those without cost an additional £10, pushing the prices to £239 and £269 respectively.

Better late than never seems to be Amazon's tablet motto; landing in the UK a fair few months after its US launch, we've now got the Amazon Kindle Fire HD 8.9, Amazon's biggest tablet device to date. Is this Amazon's iPad killer, or does its Amazon-centric content make such comparisons moot? Read our full review to find out.

Design and Hardware
Despite being priced low enough to be considered a "budget" tablet, there's nothing cheap about the Kindle Fire HD 8.9's construction. Measuring 239mm x 163mm x 9mm, and weighing 567g, it houses a gorgeous 8.9-inch HD display. Being slightly smaller than the Retina-packing iPad and Nexus 10 devices, it's slightly lighter, though those looking for Kindle tablet they can comfortable hold in one hand at length should turn their attentions to the 7-inch, 395g Kindle Fire HD.Keeping the standard slate-like design of pretty much every tablet, the HD 8.9 is essentially the Kindle Fire HD super-sized. It's back still has a dark grey, slightly rubberised, curved finish, making it easy to grip, with a solid black strip around the back housing the speaker grills. These speakers boast Dolby Digital Plus certification, and offer good clarity and superb stereo separation, keeping their definition even when turned up to their relatively loud max. Around the edge of the screen is a reasonably thick black bezel, and with the HD 8.9's focus on video and entertainment apps, that's a good thing, giving you something to hold without obscuring the onscreen action.And what a gorgeous screen it is. Running at a resolution of 1920x1200, it's packing a 254ppi. That's a little less than what's offered by the Retina iPad and considerably less than the Nexus 10, but in practice it's still fantastically sharp and detailed. As an IPS display, viewing angles are wide and colours are bold, while Amazon attempted to reduce glare over previous models too. Though its backlighting means it's not as comfortable as Amazon's own E Ink Kindle dedicated eReaders for long reading sessions, it's just as comfortable as rival tablets, and a joy to browse the web or watch video on.

In terms of ports and buttons, they're all housed around the edge of the tablet. They include a 3.5mm headphone jack, a microUSB charging port, a microHDMI port, a volume rocker and a standby button. Sitting flush in the chassis, it can be annoyingly difficult to find the volume and power buttons however.Under the hood there's a 1.5GHz Texas Instruments OMAP4470 dual-core chipset backed by 770MB of RAM. Though navigation of the tablet UI is swift and responsive, as the majority of in-app experiences, it's not quite as smooth as the latest iPad or quad-core Android slates. In isolation you wont notice the marginally slower load times, or the odd 3D gaming stutter, but against the competition the HD 8.9 is just a step behind the pack. However, given the tablet's focus is on books and videos, not creation tools or gaming, and given the relatively cheap price tag, its performance is fair and on the whole enjoyable.

16GB or 32GB versions of the tablet are available, and neither offer microSD storage expansion. This shouldn't be too much of concern however as the tablet focuses predominately on cloud-based content. Likewise, there's no 3G version of the tablet, let alone 4G, meaning you're going to have to be near a Wi-Fi connection to access the tablet's many online features.

Interface and Apps
The Kindle Fire HD 8.9 is an 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich tablet. Except it's not. Amazon have completely overhauled the stock Android interface to suit their needs, leading to an experience that's quite unique to their Kindle Fire line of tablets.

As such, the centre of the display is dominated by a large horizontally scrolling carousel of your most recently used apps, videos and books. It's handy if you only use the tablet for a handful of specific purposes, keeping the most frequently used items at the front, but can be a bit more troublesome if you're juggling a large content and app library. At the top of the screen is a search bar, which helps alleviate that problem slightly.Directly above the carousel is a smaller scrolling strip of categories, which give you access to the Amazon shop, a Games portal that tracks achievements as well as linking to the App Store, an Apps tab for Amazon's own closed app store, a Books tab for tomes bought from Amazon, a Music tab (also naturally tied to Amazon's MP3 store), a Videos tab which links in to the Amazon-owned LoveFilm streaming service, a Newsstand for magazines (again, sold by Amazon), a web browser tab, a cloud-based Photo's tab and a cloud-based Docs tab. Depending what is shown in the main carousel, you'll also find a smaller strip advertising similar items below that again.

As you can see, it's very much an Amazon experience, and one that's constantly encouraging you to spend money in the Amazon-owned stores. For the most part this is great; Amazon have access to millions of movies, books, songs, TV shows and audiobooks, and you'll rarely come across media that you can't grab in some form or other through the tablet.What's missing though is any form of customisation whatsoever and as wide an array of apps as is offered by the Google Play store. Amazon's own App Store has grown impressively, but its array of applications still pales in comparison to Google's. For instance, all the stock Android apps provided by Google, such as the superb Maps and Gmail apps are missing. Though many apps can be side-loaded onto the tablet, bypassing the store altogether, it's a clumsy process, and one that's potentially confusing for tech newbies.Some navigational controls are a little clunky too - though it's easy enough to swipe from the top of the screen to access settings, multitasking is a chore; to get to another app or piece of content, you have to tap the centre of the screen and hit the Home button that appears along the bottom each time, forcing you to regularly return to the carousel.

Content: Books and Video
Where the Kindle Fire HD 8.9 comes into its own then is with books and videos. The Kindle name has been synonymous with a great digital reading experience for many years now, and the Kindle Fire HD 8.9 is no different. There are over 1.5 million Kindle books that can be downloaded to the device, many of which are free and 800,000 that cost no more than £3.99. If you've bought an eBook from the Kindle Store before on another device, logging into your Amazon account on the HD 8.9 during the setup process will see all your book purchases loaded onto the tablet, ready to be downloaded from the cloud.

It's a comprehensive reading experience on the tablet. Not only do you have control over font options including size, style, colour, line and margin spacing, there are plenty of Kindle-specific features on offer too. For instance, as well as making your own notes and highlights, you can turn on the most popular highlighted passages from the Amazon community of readers. There's text-to-speech for those with poor eye-sight, while the Kindle's X-Ray feature is a fantastic unique feature of the company's eReaders, offering themes, character sheets and regularly used terms, pulling in information from Wikipedia.

It's a similar experience with movies. If you're a LoveFilm customer, logging into your Amazon account on the tablet will unlock streaming from the Amazon-owned video provider, set as the main Video hub on the device. A wide range of TV movie content is on offer (with LoveFilm's film catalogue particularly good), with scrolling, categorised lists of recommendations.Videos get the same X-Ray treatment as books do, with information on cast, crew and other trivia provided by IMDB and popping up over the paused video. It's a great way of tracking down a tidbit of information without having to jump out of the movie-viewing experience.

X-Ray features for both books and films aren't universal however, with many books and movies still lacking the feature. It's a list that's expanding all the time though, and is a worthy unique selling point of the Kindle tablets.

Going back to the actual viewing experience once more, the HD 8.9 is a real joy to watch video content on. That screen is sharp and vibrant, and the speakers really are miles ahead of what's on offer from similarly-sized tablets.You can of course also sideload your own content onto the device from a computer over USB; this works fine for videos (which are stored in the Personal Videos app) but is a little more difficult for books. The easiest way is to check out Amazon's "Sending Personal Documents to Kindle" FAQ, or by downloading a library management app like the excellent and free Calibre.

Amazon also offer 30-days free access to their premium Amazon Prime service with the tablet, which not only offers next-day shipping on physical items bought from the Amazon store, but also access to the Kindle Owner's Lending Library. This lets you borrow one book per month (with no due dates) from a list of 300,000. In terms of the quality of the books on offer, that's up to debate based on your taste (those with a love of Mills & Boon style stuff will be overjoyed, for instance) but anyone how regularly shops on Amazon will benefit from the next-day deliveries. Once the month is over, Amazon Prime membership costs £49 a year.

Camera

The Kindle Fire HD 8.9 packs in a 1.3MP front facing camera, and no rear camera. It's tucked into the horizontal landscape edge of the bezel, and is best used with the pre-loaded Skype video calling app, as it's not really up to much professional shooting.

If you're looking to get photos onto the tablet then, your best bet is to use the Photos tab on the homescreen, which offers to import any photos you've uploaded to Facebook. You've got no choice over which ones get uploaded though - it's an "all or nothing" approach.

Battery

Amazon quote battery life of 10 hours for the HD 8.9, which, based on a mixture of web browsing, video streaming, a little eBook reading and a fair few runs through JetPack Joyride, seems a fair estimate.

However, it's worth noting that the Kindle Fire HD 8.9 does not come with a wall charger, only a USB charging cable that you can hook up to a computer. It's incredibly slow to charge this way, and (if you're perhaps considering buying the tablet for someone who isn't all that tech-savvy) means it's going to require a computer to even charge up. Amazon offer a sold-separately "PowerFast charger" for £12.99, and you'd do well to budget that into the overall cost of the tablet unless you plan on twiddling your thumbs whilst the tablet charges over USB.

Verdict:

The Kindle Fire HD 8.9 is a great tablet, every bit as good as its Kindle Fire predecessors, and at a bargain price. It is however a unique tablet experience that's keenly focussed on the Amazon ecosystem, specialising in books and videos, something that must be taken into consideration before picking it up. If they're all the functions you want a tablet mostly for anyway, than the Kindle Fire HD 8.9 is a steal. If you want a little more control over the way your tablet works however, maybe look at the more open Android alternatives on the market, and if you're after a well-stocked app store, check out any Android tablet complete with the Google Play Store or one of Apple's iPads.

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Top 20 Best Free Kindle Fire HD Apps - Temple Run 2, Pinterest and more!

Name: Bioshock Infinite

Genre: First Person Shooter

Platform: PC (reviewed), Xbox 360, PS3

Price: £34.99 on Xbox 360 from Amazon

£34.99 on PS3 from Amazon

£27.99 on PC from Amazon

We use a PNY GeForce GTX 680 for our PC game reviews. To find out why it's our graphics card of choice, click here.

The wait is over, and boy was it worth it. Bioshock Infinite is finally here. Read our full review to find out just why we think it may well be the best game of this generation.

If this console generation has come to be defined by the first person shooter, then Bioshock Infinite has been given the unenviable task of defining that very genre. The original Bioshock, with its objectivist undertones, strove to hit new heights with gameplay-driven story telling, resulting in the broken underwater city of Rapture, one of the most evocative locations in gaming history. Bioshock Infinite, as the name suggests, sets its sights infinitely higher, both in terms of setting and in its attempts to push the gaming medium to ever-more stratospheric achievements. Much has been made of Infinite's story and setting, but it's only in experiencing it first-hand do you truly appreciate how breathtaking it is. A first-person shooter taking place in an alternate-history 1912, the action is set among the streets of the floating city of Columbia, a breakaway American "State" run by a religious zealot.

Not since Half-Life 2's City 17 (or indeed the original Bioshock's Rapture) has a gaming world been more fully realised. Balancing period details with the anachronistic steampunk technology that the game's fiction allows for, it's a city teetering on the edge of a class war, inhabited by airships and mechanical horses, barbershop quartets stealing songs from the future catalogue of the Beach Boys and dominated by towering monuments to the self-proclaimed prophet Zachary Hale Comstock, who runs the city as much through his future-gazing prophesies as his wielding of Columbia's impressive military might. A twisted utopia, you'll watch as the city goes from a peaceful settlement in the clouds to a war-torn urban nightmare, and play a part in the change.The game puts you in the shoes of Booker DeWitt, a down-and-out gun for hire who is troubled by his part in the Wounded Knee massacre of 1890, has done a stint as a strike-breaker with the Pinkertons, and is struggling to remain on top of crippling gambling debts. He's offered the chance to wipe his slate clean if he'll travel to Columbia and capture Elizabeth Comstock, Zachary's mysteriously powerful daughter who is kept locked in a foreboding tower.

It's no spoiler to share that a few short hours into Infinite Elizabeth becomes a near-constant companion to DeWitt. She is a revelation. Any gamer that's ever struggled to work alongside an AI companion in a game before will delight in just how amazingly executed Elizabeth's character is, from both a technical and narrative perspective. In a battle she'll alway's hide close by and never interferes with your movement, offering support through her special abilities (which we'll detail in a second) and by keeping you supplied with a regular stream of ammunition and health kits. When exploring the world she'll intelligently stop by details you'd otherwise perhaps miss, remarking believably on her surroundings and taking a load off on a nearby bench if you dally too long. What's most impressive is how she has an uncanny ability to anticipate your moves; she'd regularly lead the way to my next destination, even when it was a detour of my own volition rather than one that would progress the story.All these points make for an enjoyable gaming experience, but what makes Elizabeth so memorable is her humanness. Her story is sad and touching (helped along by a deftly written script and excellent voice cast), and her interactions with the downtrodden inhabitants of Columbia endearing. She's just a regular teenage girl at heart, albeit one pursued by a giant terrifying mechanical eagle, and her captivity means that she's seeing Coumbia's sights for the first time just as you are (though with a lot less cynicism than DeWitt). Through her interactions with you and the support she offers throughout the game, you'll come to view her as a true ally and friend, and really notice the lack of her presence on the occasions when the game separates you from her.

Split into levels rather than an open-world setting, the game has far more forward momentum than previous Bioshock games. Though levels are expansive enough to encourage enjoyable exploration, they're designed in such a way as to keep your progression continuing at a merry pace, with very little back-tracking required. As such, there's no map here to check, just an optional glowing arrow to point you to the next area of plot progression, should you choose to follow it. It helps both in the pacing of the narrative and in giving Bioshock Infinite a pulpy, adventurous feel. Indeed, those expecting the darkness of Rapture will find moments of horror used more sparingly here, and as a result, often more effectively.Combat feels far tighter in Infinite than in previous Bioshock games too. There are dozens of weapons on offer, ranging from simple pistols to rifles, RPGs to arcing grenade launchers. Each feels punchy, and hit home on enemies with satisfyingly gruesome consequences. With Infinite's level design accommodating wider, open battlefields, there's far more room for tactical play than before, while gunplay also benefits from an Iron Sights view.

There's also an increased verticality to the shootouts. Above the heads of the residents of Columbia are the Skylines, a tangle of cable-car like transportation routes. DeWitt is armed with a Skyhook, a magnetic, motorised pulley that plays the dual role of grisly melee weapon and Skyline zipline attachment. With it, you can leap high above enemies, darting with great velocity along the rollercoaster-like Skylines, picking off enemies from afar or hurtling down upon them for an impressive instant kill. It's an exhilarating experience, and one quite unique to Infinite's own brand of first-person shooting.Elizabeth plays her part too. As the game progresses, her ability to literally tear the fabric or reality apart comes to the fore, and you're soon commanding her to conjure all manner of assistive items into existence. From cover positions to weapon racks, freight hooks to electricity-zapping Tesla coils, a well placed support item from Elizabeth can turn the tide of a heated battle.

Just as the first Bioshock had super-human Plasmid powers, Infinite has Vigors, run off your supply of Salts. Finding Vigors gives DeWitt the ability to wield massively destructive powers (and, in a nice touch, make the flesh on his hands disgustingly take on attributes of the powers he wields too). Vigors range from the ability to shoot lightning shocks from your finger tips to commanding a murder of crows to slow down enemies, fling flaming balls from your palms, or possess foes to momentarily do your bidding, and more. Each can also be laid as a trap, activated as enemies pass them by. They all look great and are a blast to use, and knowing which is most appropriate for your current situation is key to overcoming difficult fights.

Enemy AI isn't ground breaking, but they've got enough sense to know when to take cover and when to rush you. The real challenge comes when Infinite throws a variety of differing enemies at you at once. While the main thrust of the grunts are gun-wielding Comstock forces or those of the opposing Vox Populi rebel faction, Infinite has quite the menagerie of inventive enemy designs to complement them. There's the mechanical Founding Father wind-up robots, armed with rail guns; creepy Crows who disappear and reappear in a swirl of feathers; the disarmingly sad half-human, half robotic gorilla strongmen otherwise known as the Handymen; the aggressive and combustive Firemen, who are about are far removed from Fireman Sam as you could possibly be. And then there's the monstrous Songbird, Elizabeth's aggressive, towering mechanical ward, an ever-present threat throughout the adventure.Though by no means an RPG, there are light levelling mechanics to play with too. Checking containers for loot such as ammunition, health, Salts and cash, you can trade any Silver Eagle currency you have at weapons, Vigor and items vending machines (each complete with a creepy robotic salesman touting its wares). Weapons can be upgraded to feature improved damage-dealing capabilities, less recoil or larger ammunition capacities, amongst other modifications. Vigors too can have their damage levels boosted, as well as power-specific upgrades that may see effects chain to nearby enemies or reduce the Salt-costs of power use.

Other items that can be found as you progress include "Gear" and "Infusions". Gear packs work like Bioshock's Tonics, allowing DeWitt to pop on up to four items of clothing, each offering different benefits. One may add a flaming strike to melee attacks, others may make shooting from a Skyline more accurate. Infusions offer one-use permanent upgrades to DeWitt's shields, health or overall Salt-capacities.Gear and Infusions are often found as rewards for completing Bioshock Infinite's optional side-quests. They're generally not all that taxing, but do offer the chance to see even more of the enthralling Columbia, as well as unearth the elusive "Voxphone" audio diaries that further flesh out character backstories and the details of the game world. Side quests are almost uniformly exploration based, tasking you to pick up on a clue to hidden treasures hinted at in a Voxphone diary, or unearthing a codex decoder to reveal a secret Vox rebel stash. If you've gathered enough lockpicks on your travels, you can also request that Elizabeth unlocks a few doors or safes littered around Columbia - her years trapped in the tower were not idle as she proves herself to be a budding Houdini when it comes to locks.

Visually, the game is stunningly inventive, revelling in small details that make the world come alive. Characters have a caricature-style look, exaggerating their features but never dehumanising their superb deliveries (though some NPC likenesses are overused a little too often). Each environment is a joy to explore for the same reason, with impossible structures and machinery designed with a consistency and coherence to the rules of the world and time period as to make them believable. There's a much wider colour palette than what's usually on offer from the world of first-person shooters too, with cheery "Fourth of July" scenes giving way to dank industrial gloom.

It's worth noting just how great Infinite sounds too. Each character is voiced with real passion, each gun packing an explosive blast, each arrival of the Songbird punctuated by a menacing squall. The soundtrack is superb too, with a host of modern songs given covered in a ragtime style. Just as ingenious is how the game explains away this seemingly anachronistic detail.We played Bioshock Infinite on a high-spec PC, and though the console versions hold their own given the ageing hardware they're stuck with, it's clear that this is the way the game is intended to be played. So close to the sun in a city drifting through the sky, the developers at Irrational Games have made great use of Direct X 11 lighting and particle effects, with Ultra settings offering PC-only features like Contact Hardening Shadows, High Definition Ambient Occlusion and Diffusion Depth of Field. It's beautiful throughout, even catching the eye of my non-gaming girlfriend.

Though there's no multiplayer mode on offer, Infinite's 13-15 hour length feels just about right. It's a generously rich game as a single player experience, and one that you'll likely want to revisit once the games twisty-turny narrative comes to an end. We're a little way into our second playthrough now, having unlocked the game's ridiculously hard "1999" mode which removes any navigational hints and is far more punishing in both combat difficulty and penalties when dying. Seeing all the game's storyline twists click into place a second time, knowing just what's left to come, shows just how expertly crafted and complex a tale it is.

Verdict:

Bioshock Infinite is everything we dreamed it would be and more. Another bold step forward for world building and storytelling in games, it's the sort of adventure we wish we could experience for the first time again. In any other game Columbia would be the deserved star of the show, much like Rapture was in the original Bioshock. But it's Elizabeth that we keep coming back to. She's a masterclass in gaming design, helping envelope the player in the world and story crafted by Irrational Games, a feat that can be attributed to scarce few other gaming characters, if any. Bioshock Infinite is simply astounding, one of those rare game's that manages to elevate itself above the usual constraints of the medium and one that's as close to perfect as you're ever going to find.

We use a PNY GeForce GTX 680 for our PC game reviews. To find out why it's our graphics card of choice, click here.

Name: Logitech Wireless Solar Keyboard K750 for Mac

Type: Wireless keyboard

Specifications: Click here for full specs

Price as reviewed: £53.99 From Amazon

An eco-friendly keyboard for Mac that also saves you the hassle of wires and batteries? Too good to be true? Read on to find out in our full review of the Logitech Wireless Solar Keyboard K750 for Mac.

If there's two things I hate in the world of tech, it's wires and batteries. The former seem to have a life of their own, tangling around each other in even the most organised of workstations or home cinema set-ups, while that latter always seem to die when you most need the gadget they're powering. In a desktop scenario it's an even more pronounced problem, with wire-housing space at a premium and any lack of power preventing you from getting work done. Logitech's Wireless Solar Keyboard K750 for Mac looks to address both problems. A full size wireless keyboard for Mac, complete with all the Mac-specific shortcut keys you'd expect, it has a killer feature in the form of a solar panel which powers the device.

Two solar strips sit just above the keys, and though the K750 is sold as a "solar" powered device, that's actually selling the keyboard short. In fact, the K750 can even be powered by ambient artificial light from lightbulbs, meaning you don't need to leave the K750 out in the garden on a sunny day to juice it up. As such, leaving the keyboard out in even a moderately well-lit room will keep the device charged, and as the power needed to transmit key presses is so minimal, a fully charged battery will retain power in even pitch-black darkness for a good three months. Say goodbye then to costly wireless keyboard battery replacements. There's also a switch to completely power the keyboard down if necessary, while the keyboard will intelligently switch off if a key is being constantly pressed for a few minutes, recognising this is unnatural behaviour.Should you ever need to check the battery charge, two methods are on offer. The first, and most efficient, is a simple button that sits above the numeric keypad. Hit it and a green light will flash if battery power is good, while a red one will flash if levels are getting low. The second option is to download Logitech's Solar App from the Mac App store, which offers a guage with a Lux reading to keep you abreast of the current power situation. However, it's a poorly optimised app, hogging system resources, and is hard to recommend. Stick with the simple hardware button method instead.

The keyboard connects to a Mac using a tiny USB wireless receiver, transmitting information between the keyboard and computer. It's a shame that a Bluetooth option isn't present, as it means you lose a USB port when using the keyboard. On port-scarce MacBooks, that may be a problem, but at least the signal is consistent - we never had an issue with the keyboard failing to communicate with our Retina MacBook Pro.Moving on to the physical design of the keyboard, it's an incredible comfortable set-up. Measuring 17 inches wide and 6.2 inched deep, it's about on a par in terms of width with Apple's own numeric-pad packing official keyboard, though the solar panel adds considerable depth. Flat, the keyboard is a consistent quarter of an inch thick, keys included. Two pop out legs on the underside of the keyboard raise the profile by just under an inch, while the rounded edges of the keyboard should be easy on your wrists.

Though spongier than the Chiclet keys found on our MacBook Pro, the K750 keys had a short enough travel to make long typing sessions a breeze. Spacing between each key is fractionally more generous than that found on Apple's keyboards, meaning you may need a little time to adjust if you're used to typing at speed on one of Apple's alternatives.All standard Mac keys are present and placed where you'd expect them, including Command, Option and Control keys either side of the keyboard, as well as a full numeric keyboard on the right. F-keys also match Apple's standard shortcut controls - F1 through to F4 work as brightness down, brightness up, Expose/Mission Control, and Dashboard, respectively; F7 through F12 allow for previous track, play/pause, forward track, mute, volume down, and volume up, respectively. Keep an eye out for the Caps Lock key though - there's no indicator light stating when it's activated (likely a battery saving measure) so you may want to double check when it's on or not.

Our two main gripes then with the keyboard (apart from the shoddy optional Solar app)? Firstly, those kickstand feet - they feel more than a little flimsy, and if standing feel like they wouldn't need much pressure applied to them before they'd snap. Secondly, the tiny USB receiver is so small it could easily become lost. It would have been great if Logitech had included a recess in the keyboard chassis where it could click in for safe keeping. Wireless keyboards tend to promote portability, and the chances of it getting lost in transit are high.
Verdict:

The K750 for Mac is a really neat alternative to Apple's official keyboards. Eco-friendly without scrimping on ergonomics, over the course of its lifetime it'll save you a pretty penny on batteries, not to mention the peace of mind that it's unlikely to ever run out of charge. It's foot construction could be a little sturdier, and its accompanying app a little better optimised, but they're small faults in an otherwise superb product.

Name: HTC One

Type: Android Smartphone

Specifications: Click here for full specs

Price as reviewed: £519.99 SIM-free for 32GB model direct from HTC

It's been a tough few months for HTC, but they're firing on all cylinders with the superb new HTC One. Find out why it's the new Android smartphone to beat in our full review!

Design
The HTC One is truly a thing of beauty. With a full aluminium unibody build (displaying no visible joins), it measures 137.4 x 68.2 x 9.3mm, and weighs 143 grams. It's a solid construction that has a reassuringly weighty presence in the hand. Not that it's overly heavy; though its weight and depth are both significantly bigger than the 7.6mm, 112g iPhone 5, the curved back design of the HTC One means that even with its large 4.7-inch screen it's a comfortable smartphone to hold. The use of premium metals also gives it an edge over forthcoming rival the Samsung Galaxy S4, which by comparison is primarily made of plastics.Continuing the minimalist design ethos laid down by last year's One Series HTC handsets, this year's One sees the 4.7-inch screen bookended top and bottom by two aluminium strips, housing the HTC One's BoomSound stereo speaker system and front facing cameras. Flip the phone over and you'll see these strips wraparound with a white line detail, with the much-vaunted UltraPixel camera sitting near the top, a dark silver HTC logo in the centre and the Beats Audio logo down the bottom.HTC keep buttons and ports on the edge of the One to a minimum; there's a chrome single-button volume rocker on the left hand side, a deftly hidden SIM-card tray on the right hand side, a microUSB charging port on the bottom and a 3.5mm headphone jack alongside the power button (which doubles up as an IR blaster) on the top. There are no physical buttons beneath the screen on the front either, with HTC dropping the multi-tasking touch-sensitive button from previous smartphone generations in favour of just touch-sensitive "Back" and "Home" buttons, each flanking a small HTC logo in the centre.The HTC One's screen is breathtaking, a 4.7-inch display with a full HD 1080p resolution for a 468ppi resolution. That's significantly sharper than the iPhone 5's 326ppi, and even the forthcoming Galaxy S4's 5-inch 441ppi screen. In terms of size, it's spot-on for what we'd want from a larger handset too, avoiding the comical size of the Galaxy S4 and the overly-elongated stretch of the 4.8-inch iPhone 5. It's a remarkably vibrant, colourful screen, avoiding the muted tones of the Nexus 4 and offering brightness levels high enough for comfortable viewing in strong daylight.Running the show is a Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 processor, a quad-core beast clocked at 1.7GHz and backed by 2GB of RAM. It's a really zippy processor, powering some really impressive software features which we'll detail a bit later. It also helps with the HTC One's super-quick boot times; even from a full shutdown the handset powers up again in moments.Both 4G and NFC connectivity are onboard the HTC One (necessities these days if you're pushing a top-tier phone), alongside standards such as Wi-Fi (802.11 a/ac/b/g/n), Bluetooth 4.0, GPS with GLONASS and DLNA. Miracast is also supported, as is MHL HDMI.

Storage options come in 32GB and 64GB variants, so no 16GB "entry-level" price point with the HTC One, nor is there any expandable storage beyond Cloud-based apps. Make sure you grab a size you won't later regret.The HTC One houses a 2300mAh battery, which can't be removed or swapped out for a back-up. While larger in capacity than its HTC One X predecessor, it still struggles to last out an entire day. If you're simply pulling down emails and social networking notifications from the web it holds its charge well, but do anything more intensive, like 3D gaming or extensive use of the camera's Zoe system (more on those in a bit) and it starts to really suffer. It's far from being a deal breaker, but HTC are still a long way off from an all-day charge, let alone longer. On average use you'll see a working day out of the HTC One, but keep that charger handy.

Interface, apps and BlinkFeed
Though the HTC One is running Android Jelly Bean 4.1.2, it's almost unrecognisable thanks to the new Sense 5 overlay baked in. Though Android reskins usually cause eyebrows to raise, we've always been fans of the Sense UI, and there's plenty to make us feel that Sense 5 is HTC's best effort yet.

Offering a more minimalist interface (one that surprisingly calls to mind the LG Prada phone), you still have all the customisable bells and whistles of stock Android, with four homescreens you can populate with your choice of apps and widgets, which can be grabbed from the Google Play app store. Various lock-screens are available, specialising in everything from email to photo galleries, while long-presses on any homescreen give you the option to customise the experience. The app drawer now scrolls vertically rather than horizontally, while a static line of four app icons sits in a dock across all homescreens. These constant dock items can also be configured to your choosing. Notifications, battery life and connectivity settings can be seen at a glance from a bar along the top of the screen, which can be dragged down to tweak settings and delve deeper into the notifications you've been sent. It's simple, clean, and a joy to use.An additional homescreen is dedicated to BlinkFeed, HTCs striking new content aggregation app that pulls in everything from blog posts and social networking feeds. It sits somewhere between the Flipboard app and Windows Phone's Live Tiles, squeezing different sized boxes of information, updates and pictures into a vertically scrolling feed. It's beautifully presented, but we have a few reservations.

Firstly, there's no option for adding your own tailored sources, only the ones presented by HTC and their partners. While this covers a wide range of categories and interests, we'd still have preferred the option to import our own RSS feeds, like with Flipboard. Secondly, BlinkFeed isn't very smart; what the content providers push out is what you get, which is a shame as the interface would have been doubly useful if it grew to know your interests over time. We'd also have liked the option to cache a few hours worth of BlinkFeed updates over Wi-Fi for viewing on the go, rather than having to rely on mobile data when out and about. But we're being a little overly harsh on BlinkFeed; we found ourselves using it very often, and even took the option of switching off the lockscreen to see it immediately when waking up the phone. It's a strong USP that really sets the HTC One software apart visually from the iPhone and Galaxy lines.

Contacts, Calling and Messaging
HTC have always known how to handle contacts and address books well, and the HTC One continues in that fine tradition. Upon setting up the phone, the HTC One pulls in contact information from not only your Google account and any imported contacts from a previous phone, but also offers the option of grabbing details from social networking pals too. These are then paired with high resolution images from Facebook, instantly and simply populating your phone with all your pals' and associates' relevant details and profile pictures. Swiping right to left on a contact card also presents each individual's associated social networking updates (in a grid style similar to BlinkFeed) as well as any galleries they may have posted online. It's a comprehensive contacts set up, and again is presented with great care.

Calling is handed equally deftly. For starters, there's a Smart Dialler, letting you pull up a contact by tapping in their name or number using the T9 predictive text input, a feature that should really be standard on all smartphones these days. And call quality is outstanding too; noise reduction means that the recipient of your call can hear you even in the loudest of environments, whilst the inbuilt amp sensibly dialled up volume levels on our end when ambient noise made it necessary. Signal levels were consistently strong too, with not a single dropped call during testing.

SMS messaging is great on the HTC One thanks to the sizeable, accurate keyboard, that elsewhere intelligently adjusts itself dependant on what details are being inputted. Messages themselves are laid out again in a clean, simple interface, with text messages received boxed in white and justified to the right while messages you've sent appear to the left and in grey, all flowing in a conversation style view.Email is handled equally well, with messages on the same subject from the same contact grouped together rather than clogging your inbox up. A favourites folder can be set up to grab emails from VIPs, and a Smart Sync option intelligently pulls down emails only periodically, and when the phone is in use - great if you've got contacts who like to email you in the middle of the night and can't be bothered with hearing mail notifications at ungodly hours.

The Gmail app is also pre-installed, which is a fantastic mobile build of the desktop variant. Gmail users will be totally at home labelling and starring emails and scrolling through long chains of messages from the same recipient. There's also great search functionality built in, meaning you can easily dive into an inbox brimming with thousands of messages and pull out the one you're after.

Media Playback and HTC TV
HTC have clearly set the HTC One up as something of a media powerhouse, and it's something that you'll be made starkly aware of as soon as you hear the chimes of the HTC One intro screen. Those front-facing BoomSound stereo speakers are LOUD, delivering accurate sound at volume levels you wouldn't expect from a smartphone thanks to the nifty amp built in. While a sensible person will only use the (potentially annoying) loud speaker in moderation, that amp works wonders for boosting audio of connected headphones too.

The HTC Music app ditched SoundHound integration, but makes up for it with new visuals and lyrics pulled from the GraceNote database (providing your library of songs has accurate information tied to it). It's a nice feature, particularly if you've a penchant for karaoke. Playback controls and album artwork are presented nicely too, and it's a simple interface for ploughing through even the most vast of song libraries. There's also Google Music pre-installed, handy if you're pulling tracks from the cloud often.

Video playback is a mixed bag though, with battery drain a real killer and the default brightness setting low through the HTC Watch service. Audio had a tendency to fall out of sync too. But with a fair few codecs and formats supported (including the ubiquitous AVI), you'll be fine if you nab another player from the Android store. Once you have, it's a lovely, large screen to watch videos on. It's a shame then that the default HTC Watch service proves such a chore.

One particularly interesting addition however is the HTC TV app. It uses the power button as an IR blaster and, once you've gone through a set-up process to pair the phone with your TV or home cinema kit, allows you to control playback, change channels and more from the handset. You can also browse a guide to see what's on the TV, setting up favourites before seeing them presented as large thumbnails when they're being broadcast. We had no problem syncing the app with a wide range of home cinema kit and broadcast services. HTC have done a really good job of localising the content for the app and attaching appropriate metadata, and it's one of our favourite features on the phone.

Still Camera, Zoe videos
There's much that's been said of the HTC One camera system, and it's certainly a progressive move by HTC. For starters, it's "only" a 4MP sensor, but that's tempered against the fact that each pixel is much larger and lets in far more light, which should result in far more detailed images. Dubbed the "Ultrapixel", it performs particularly well in low-light scenarios, picking up detail that competing smartphone cameras can only dream of. The smaller 4MP images look stunning on the phone's screen, but it's worth noting that you'll see an increase in noise and a loss in detail when blowing them up on a PC screen. They're still pleasant to view however, and again the low-light performance really is marvellous. It's worth noting too that the HTC One shoots in a 16:9 ratio rather than 4.3, which won't be much of a concern to casual snappers, but is a bit at odds with the "pro" marketing of the phone's imaging system. Again, it suits the size of the phone screen though.

Loading up and firing pictures incredibly quickly, the HTC One offers all sorts of manual controls, such as ISO levels, as well as a range of scene selections, filters and shooting options running the gamut from Sweep Panorama to HDR.The Zoe shooting features are most interesting however, accessed from a icon tap whilst in the camera mode. It captures 0.6 seconds of HD footage before you press the shutter button, alongside the 3 seconds that follow a still image being captured. These then come to life in the gallery view, adding motion to the normally static scroll of images. Capture a handful of Zoe shots over the course of the day and the HTC One will pull them together automatically in a 30 second highlight reel, adding date and location data if you've got geo-tagging enabled. It all looks great, but as you need to see the feature in motion to truly understand it, check out HTC's launch vid below (Zoe is covered from the 24.15 mark):

You've little control over how these videos are presented though and Zoe shots quickly fill up the storage space on the phone. A Zoe Share Server is on offer if you want to offload some of the data to the cloud though, which is a prudent move on HTC's behalf.

Is Zoe revolutionary? No, but it's a lot of fun. Is the Ultrapixel camera revolutionary? Not quite, but it's at least a match for what's on offer from rivals, and given more time, could evolve into a real selling point for HTC phones. Even now though its performance is commendable.

Verdict:

HTC may be struggling at the moment, but the stars have really aligned with the HTC One. It's a handset built to high construction standards and brimming with fresh software ideas and imaging innovations. It carries the weight of the company on its shoulders, and has done near everything it possibly could to reverse HTC's fortunes, resulting in what's one of, if not the best Android phone on the market at present. Can it withstand the threat of the Samsung Galaxy S4? On sheer build quality, features and spec-sheet numbers we'd say it's got it trounced. Whether or not HTC can match the marketing might of Samsung to see the phone reach its true sales potential remains to be seen. Either way, we recommend the phone highly; if you're on the market for a high-end Android phone, this is the one you want.

Name: Bookeen Cybook Odyssey HD FrontLight

Type: Touchscreen E-Ink eReader with backlight

Specifications: Click here for full specs

Price as reviewed: 166.66CHF (£115.96) direct from Bookeen

The Cybook Odyssey HD FrontLight sees Bookeen add a backlight and an improved screen resolution to the Cybook Odyssey eReader. But has the company fixed the issues that dragged down the last model, and can the HD FrontLight prove itself to be anything more than a knee-jerk reaction to Amazon's Paperwhite? Read on to find out.

We reviewed Bookeen's Cybook Odyssey last winter, and while we praised its design and touchscreen, we also felt some of its software features were a little bit lacking. The Cybook Odyssey HD FrontLight smartly keeps much of their previous eReader model's design sensibilities, but adds a backlight for reading in darker settings, pitching itself as a rival to Amazon's superb Kindle Paperwhite.

Again with a black casing, Bookeen have managed to shave a few grams off the weight of last year's model, with the HD FrontLight weighing just 180g, thanks to less metals used in its construction. Despite that, the HD FrontLight still feels solid in the hand.Measuring 160x120x9.4mm, the HD FrontLight pops in a 6-inch E-Ink touchscreen up front. At a 1024x758 resolution, it's considerably sharper than last year's Odyssey, putting it just a fraction behind the Kindle Paperwhite's resolution (though any difference would be invisible to the naked eye). As a result, the HD FrontLight's screen is incredibly readable, with an anti-glare treatment making it comfortable to read even in direct lighting.However, even if you're not in a well-lit room, a backlighting system built into the edge of the eReader means you can carry on reading through the night. Accessed from a menu option available throughout the eReader's interface, it offers 20 degrees of backlight intensity. And it can be quite intense at the highest levels; the lighting system in the HD FrontLight feels a lot harsher than the glow given off from the Paperwhite, though reining the intensity in a bit makes it useful for low-light reading. Unlike the Paperwhite however, you probably won't feel comfortable with it on constantly unless low ambient lighting really necessitates it. Thankfully, battery life remains superb; excessive use of the backlight will drain it within a few days, but it's easy to squeeze near to a fortnight out of a full charge.As well as offering touchscreen swipe, tap and pinch-to-zoom controls (of the capacitive rather than infra-red kind, meaning gloves will have to be off), the HD FrontLight also has page turn buttons on either side of its casing, with a "back-page" on the left and "next-page" on the right. The lack of additional "back" and "forward" page turn buttons on either side means wont be able to use these physical buttons to navigate a book in one hand as you would with a keyboard Kindle, as you'll have to reach to the other side of the device to go either back a page or forward one depending on your stronger hand. But with a simple tap on either edge of the screen doing the same job, that's not too big a deal. Below the screen is a single physical button that's used to enter menus (the same can be done by tapping in the centre of the screen) and a power button sits on the lower edge, alongside a microUSB port, charging indicator and microSD slot. 2GB of storage is built in, and that'll give you enough room for over 600 eBooks on the device at once.

There are a few omissions though now. Firstly, and most importantly, there's no longer a 3.5mm headphone jack. This was a real boon for those who like listening to audiobooks along with their texts, and was a key advantage over later-day Kindles which have also removed the port. It seems tablets and smartphones are now the primary home for audiobooks. Also gone is the accelerometer which allowed you to easily switch between landscape and portrait orientations. Though some found its activation erratic, we found it worked fine before, and miss it here.Packing in an 800Mhz Cortex A8 Texas Instruments OMAP processor, the device is zippy to use, registering touchscreen keyboard presses at speed and, if you're willing to forego a full screen refresh and put up with some "last page ghosting", can turn pages at an incredible rate. Any lag suffered when using the device here seems to be a limitation of the E Ink screen technology, not the processor.But where the HD FrontLight falls over is with its software, which shares identical problems to its Odyssey predecessor. There's still a nice selection of font size and style options, responsive pinch-to-zoom text resizing and handy note and annotation options. BUT STILL NO ENGLISH DICTIONARY?! It's a basic standard of eReaders, and though Bookeen are a French company if you're going to market to an English speaking audience it's a much-needed feature. When compared to the Kindle's X-Ray feature, which also scans books for themes and characters as well as pulling in data from Wikipedia alongside dictionary definitions, the device seems sorely lacking.The 100 pre-installed books are also mostly in French, as is much of the content on the Bookeen eBook store, with prices listed in Francs. Not only is this an alienating experience for UK users, the catalogue pales in comparison to what's on offer from Amazon's built in store. You'll also need to sign up for Adobe's Digital Editions DRM service before grabbing any purchases, another barrier, but at least the Wi-Fi connectivity remained consistently strong. In order to get books onto the HD FrontLight your best bet then is to check out online stores such WH Smith or Waterstones. A simple drag-and-drop interface makes transferring eBooks easy, though we'd recommend a management client like the superb (and free) Calibre. With support for a reasonable amount of file formats, including EPUB, PDF, Adobe DRM, HTML, TXT, FB2, and picture files including JPEG, PNG, GIF, BMP, ICO, TIF, PSD, you shouldn't have any compatibility problems when using thrid-party stores.Verdict:

The Bookeen Cybook Odyssey HD FrontLight was a great opportunity for Bookeen to right the mistakes made with preceding eReader, the Cybook Odyssey. However, it's sadly pretty much the same eReader as last time with a light built-in instead. Like the earlier model, it's still a worthy device thanks to its great screen and attractive design, but be aware that you're still lacking standard features such as an English dictionary or a store well-stocked with English language books, while the removal of the headphone jack hurts too. Priced a few quid more expensively than the Kindle Paperwhite, we can't recommend the Cybook Odyssey HD FrontLight over its Amazon rival.

"Everyone is different," explains Troy Nimrick, Director, Gillette, Global Blades and Razors R+D. "Some take just around 100 brush strokes and are finished in a couple of minutes, others take over 700 brush strokes and are shaving for over 20 minutes."

Everything about the way these men shave is measured from the pressure they apply when holding a razor (anywhere from 100 grammes to 1Kg) to the angle of the blade as it comes across their face. Apparently, some men even drag the razor across their lips when shaving which, considering it is many times sharper than a scalpel, shows a little too much faith in the product for my liking.

3D Motion Capture

We're here at Gillette's Research and Development centre in Reading where about 120 people are responsible for bringing us the technology (and there is quite a lot of it) that goes into the humble razor.

Included is a visit to a 3D Motion Capture department where users are fitted with sensors on their skin like those used for special effects in movies or video games to see how they move their arm when they shave, how they hold the razor and how they move it across their face.

The results are then plotted on a computer screen, analysed and shared with other departments including design to ensure the optimum shaped razor is produced for all types of users.

There's even a 3D printing department that can make prototype razors out of polymers (ie. plastic) for testing and which one day may be sophisticated enough to produce the razors themselves.

Jelly face

While the adverts tend to show hi-tech graphics where the blade chops through straight hairs like a woodcutter ploughing through a dense, flat forest of trees at high speed, the reality of shaving is actually very different and a lot more gruesome. Using advanced filming techniques at 30,000 frames per second (compared to 25 frames for standard film and TV), Gillette is able to see exactly how the blade interacts with the skin.

"It's a bit like trying to cut copper wire in jello (jelly)," explains Gillette's Troy Nimrick. Hairs, which are very tough, grow out of the skin at all sorts of strange angles and even when the first blade tries to cut through them the chances are it won't take them out completely. Wetting the skin prior to shaving is essential because it makes the hair a lot less brittle and easier to cut through but it's still clear that multiple blades are better than one.

Whether that means you need to have five blades is another matter. Gillette introduced its first five blade razor, the Gillette Fusion, back in 2005. And while some cynics at the time were critical of the need for five blades, and their high cost, Gillette insists the solution was technologically far superior than its predecessors.

"We only ever introduce products where our research shows that twice as many people like the new design more than the old," insists Troy Nimrick. Interestingly, as Gillette points out, the patent for the first five blade razor was actually filed by Italian Mino Pelizzola back in 1929, but it has taken this long for the technology to catch up with the concept - in particular the ability to produce multiple blades in a single device which are close enough together for an optimum cut (apparently just 1.05mm between the blades).

Style and sensitivity

Though Gillette remains tight lipped on what's next for the humble razor it's clear that products which style facial hair - as well as other hairs on the body - are one key area of development. Launched last year in time for prostate cancer fundraiser, Movember, the Gillette Fusion ProGlide Style was developed in conjunction with Braun Technologies and is a powered razor designed to capitalise on the trend for more sculpted facial hair (as opposed to the old straggly beard look).

Another important focus for Gillette is sensitive skinned men. Once seen as something only women suffered from (or at least admitted to), sensitive skin is clearly a massive problem for men too. Approximately 70 per cent of men wet shave on a regular basis with 52 per cent admitting to doing so less often as a result of having problems with sensitive skin. 

Gillette Fusion Silver Touch

As a sufferer of sensitive skin myself I thought I'd try Gillette's latest solution to the problem: a Gillette Fusion ProGlide Silver Touch razor. I was also supplied with several types of gels and balms.  As well as the sensitive skin shave gel there's also Sensitive Balm and Moisturiser. What's really good about the razor, apart from that it's much easier to get out the box than previous Fusion Razors that I've used thanks to recycled packaging, is that it is powered with a single Duracell AA battery (included).

Although I think wet-shave razors give you a much cleaner shave than electric shavers, I've always been a bit wary of them thinking they are going to scrape half my face off. Which is why I tend to shave infrequently, usually only a couple of times a week at the most.

To me the Fusion Silver Touch seems like a good solution to the problem. It has the five blades of the Gillette Fusion (actually six if you count the one on the back which you can use for your nasal hair - I only just found that out). But because it's powered you don't have to press so hard on your face to shave the hairs off. It's a bit like the difference between a standard toothbrush and a decent electric tooth brush. And what's more at around £10-£15 it's not much more in price than a standard non-powered razor though of course the blades aren't cheap. There is also a manual version of the same razor for those who don't like the electrical noise/feel.

I have to say I was pretty impressed. I thought the manual Fusion was a good razor when it came out a few years ago, but always a little rough on my skin especially when tackling a few days growth. In contrast, the Silver Touch seemed to chop through a week's growth in an instant and didn't feel rough at all.  I didn't even have to hold the razor that hard for it to work well. I still can't imagine shaving every day - it's such a chore and blades are so expensive - but at least I've found a razor that works without leaving me with a sore face every time I shave.

Name: SimCity

Genre: Simulation

Platform: PC

Price: £34.99 from Amazon

We use a PNY GeForce GTX 680 for our PC game reviews. To find out why it's our graphics card of choice, click here.

The streets of SimCity were once paved with gold, but that's not the case for this disappointing new sequel. We do our best Boris Johnson impression and try to get under the hood of this troubled game in our full review.

SimCity is great. SimCity is bad. SimCity is intelligent. SimCity is dumb. SimCity is social. SimCity is antisocial.

SimCity is all of these things at once because SimCity is broken. I can't think of any game recently that's been just as able to fill me with joy as it has frustration which, as a reviewer, makes this a very tough game to critique.Carrying on in the tradition first laid down by 1989's classic SimCity, the latest game puts you in charge of the construction and maintenance of a city. You'll build roads, establish key infrastructure requirements like power and water supplies, balance taxes and encourage commercial, industrial and residential developments to thrive under your mayorship. You'll eventually also set a specialisation for your city based on what it's best established features are.

For the first few hours, it feels like everything a modern day SimCity should be. For starters, it's one of the most inviting and clean user interfaces a simulation game has ever offered up. Navigating the many complex layers of infrastructure and construction is incredibly easy. Any button whose controls you are unsure of can be hovered over for tooltips, while every layer of micromanagement has beautiful visual identifiers that overlay on top of the game world, giving you a far clearer indiction any problems your city may be facing than any notification or finance sheet ever could in previous games. If there's a water shortage, click the Water Map button to see fluids pumping along beneath your city streets and the best places to pop a water tower. If there's a lack of high-wealth residential areas ready for development, click the Land Value Map to see city wealth displayed like a heat signature, and all the things positively and negatively affecting land value in your city. It's clear and wonderfully executed.The work that's clearly gone into the UI is seen in most other areas of the game's presentation too. The toy-town tilt-shift camera effects are charming and good-looking, letting you zoom right up close on individual Sim inhabitants and follow them around on their daily routines, while a number of Instagram like filters can be applied to give your city a whole new feel. Music and sound effects are great too; as with all Sim games, it's aspirational and inspirational, urging you to do right by you little virtual townsfolk.

That's all great, but that's if you can even get into your city. Here's where the cracks begin to show; this review is going up a fair few days later than planned as SimCity requires a constant internet connection in order to play it. At first, the fault lay at my feet - my internet connection was down on launch day, preventing me from accessing the game's servers. Once my personal net problem was fixed however, I then couldn't get online due to the game's servers being overloaded with players looking to play; you'd aim to log in, only to be hit with a "server full" message, requiring you to wait a full 20 minutes before being able to attempt to log in again. Should the server still be full after that countdown, the cycle begins anew. The server strain is lessened now, but still rears its head on occasion, booting you out of your city with little warning.My situation highlights my two first problems with the game. Firstly, without an offline mode, anyone without access to an internet connection will never be able to play SimCity. In this hyper-connected age, that's not too much of a problem when at home, but it means SimCity is no longer the game to pop on a laptop to wile away a long train journey.

Secondly, and most importantly, it means your game is never safe; there's no offline local save file for your city meaning you have to get online to access your progress. This is compounded by the fact that the game has a tendency to fail to sync your progress, meaning you can lose changes made to your city if there's an error along the way. There are reports of players losing whole cities in this way. With no local saves, and the bizarre omission of an "Undo" button, there's a permanence to every move you make in SimCity that also stifles experimentation. Where once you could trigger one of the game's superb disasters knowing full well you can revert back to an older save, here disasters (or any such infrastructural mistake you may accidentally make) are irreversibly recorded for all time.

So why does SimCity require an online mode? Some say it's an anti-piracy measure, or DRM. But EA and Maxis say that it's because SimCity has (despite fan protestations) a focus on online multiplayer, which leads on to my next batch of problems.You see, SimCity towns this time around do not exist in isolation. Instead, each is a component of a larger Region hub of interconnected towns, numbering between three connected cities to upwards of a dozen. You can either chose to run all the cities in a region by yourself, or play online with other gamers, allowing for trade and resource sharing between each other's cities, with the ultimate goal of joining forces to create a Great Works site. Great Works offer a steep challenge that acts as the endgame of region, requiring you to pool your resources to make a giant construction such as an Arcology, Space Centre or other such impressive buildings, each bringing massive benefits to your city.

While in theory, the idea of interconnected online cities sounds idyllic, in practice it is terrifying. If you thought encountering a "griefer" in Call of Duty was bad, imagine one who actively works to topple a city you may have spent tens of hours working on by cutting trade deals you've grown to rely on. There's no bonus for regional dominance (this is SimCity, not Age of Empires) and yet you'll regularly encounter scenarios where other gamers get a kick out of ruining your creations. Even when a harmless gamer decides to abandon a city in the region without any nasty motivations, the consequences for your town can be dire.Even if you have friends onboard for the ride, trustworthy mates who will co-operate for the good of the region, problems still arise. Resources and cash manage to disappear in transit to a city with worrying regularity, as do shared infrastructure elements such as ambulances or fire trucks. The best intentions can be scuppered by bugs.

After my first few rough experiences online I thought I'd be able to avoid the whole online region thing entirely by focussing on my main city. It was to be the pinnacle of (digital) human achievement, a metropolis established and maintained solely by me. But this proved impossible. Either a limitation of the new Glassbox engine or an underhand way to encourage multiplayer play, each plot of land on which to build a city is tiny in comparison to previous SimCity games. Within a few hours I'd built up my city to the limits of its boundaries, with the maximum density streets that I could manage, and yet still more Sims were looking to settle, and still more Sims were looking for new industrial and commercial developments to find jobs in. Add to that the fact that the majority of the vital resources my city needed to survive were not found on my own plot but on the outside regional city plots, and my grand plan was scuppered. I attempted to forge a number of new regional cities, but the complications of managing three different cities in harmony was too great, and made all the more difficult by trade sharing bugs that would see cash and resources disappear between cities.There are other bugs worth mentioning too; path finding for cars is regularly foul, leading to massive traffic jams, and there can be odd visual glitches like overlapping assets and textures. But none of these problems come close to the frustrations the online scenario creates, and the way the game seems determined to hamstring itself in order to accommodate a constantly connected experience.

Verdict:

SimCity will get better. It has to; the weight of criticism it's facing from even its biggest fans has been pretty much unanimous and overwhelming, and many of the problems the game suffers from could be patched into oblivion, seemingly easily. But that's really only half the problem; whether EA or Maxis is to blame is unclear, but the always-online requirements, despite fan protestations, display an arrogant disregard for the consumers that made SimCity such a valuable property to begin with. If we're to believe we're entering a time when games are seen as much as a "service" as an isolated product, SimCity's first few weeks stand to show that the service has to be at least as good as the game mechanics it supports if you're going to avoid a damaging backlash as a developer. There's fun to be had in SimCity, that's for certain, but its problems make it feel less enjoyable than previous entries into the series.

We use a PNY GeForce GTX 680 for our PC game reviews. To find out why it's our graphics card of choice, click here.

Running shoes, it seems, are going hi-tech. Last month we wrote about the new Adidas Boost trainers. This month, it's the turn of Nike to unveil its latest product, the suitably hi-tech sounding Flyknit Lunar 1+.

Essentially based on the same technology that helped propel Mo Farah to Olympic victory last summer in his Nike Zoom Victory Elite, this lightweight £140 running shoe is made from just one piece of fabric which Nike claims helps reduce the weight and friction caused by stitching and gluing multiple pieces of fabrics together.

At an event at the beautiful Somerset House in central London last night I received a pair of pink and black Lunar 1s to test out (see image on the left). Before setting off on our 5Km run along the Thames the running shoes were placed in a steamer for 30 seconds and then moulded to my feet to make sure they fitted properly. I usually run in a bog-standard pair of Nike Darts and what I noticed about these as soon as I put them on was just how lightweight they felt (just over 200 grammes).

Of course the problem with them being really lightweight - like, say, running spikes - could be they offer little support which means you run the risk of wrecking your legs on long runs, especially if you are getting on a bit like I am. But if anything the opposite was true. They actually felt really supportive and bouncy, giving me a real spring to my step even when pounding the pavements (I'm sure there is a more technical term but you get my point). This is largely thanks to the Lunarlon midsole, claims Nike (see video below for technical explanation)

With a price tag of £140 they obviously aren't going to be for everyone, but for club runners and enthusiasts the Nike Lunar 1s seems like a particularly wise investment. To find about more about the technology of the shoe see our interview with Nike product 'Ekin' (a product manager who knows Nike back to front, geddit) Sam Adams.

Sorry it's a little dark (and pink) but it was late by the time we finished our run over the Millennium Bridge and down through Waterloo and then back over to Somerset House.