Name: Samsung Galaxy Note

Type: Android Smartphone

Specifications: Click here for full specs

Price: £499.91 from Amazon, SIM-free

The Samsung Galaxy Note, AKA the Samsung Galaxy Personality Crisis. Is it a smartphone? Is it a tablet? Is it some altogether new-fangled tech beast? And is it any good? All these questions and more answered in our full review!

Design

Samsung's Galaxy Note is gigantic. If you thought the HTC Sensation XL was big, or even Samsung's own Galaxy S II, you've got another thing coming. The Note is Texas big. Brian Blessed big. With a 5.3 inch screen, it sits somewhere between a smartphone and tablet, while never really feeling quite like one or the other. It'll fit in your hand relatively comfortably, and will cover half your face when making a call.

Big doesn't mean heavy though. Like the Galaxy S II before it, it's very light for its size, weighing just 178g. Despite being so large, it will fit in a generous trouser pocket, though it'll fit more comfortably in a jacket pocket or bag.

The trade off here of course is that whopping screen. While an iPhone may sit snugly in a shirt pocket, it offers nothing close to the visual bang that the Note does. Thanks to 5.3 inches of WXGA (1280 x 800) Super AMOLED Plus goodness at 285ppi, there's little to match the Note's screen in terms of clarity, brightness and vibrancy. A 1.4GHz Exynos SoC (system on chip) processor is onboard, and is basically a slightly souped up version of the processor found in the Galaxy S II. As a result, the phone swipes through screens without any difficulties, and showed very signs of lag.

Measuring just 146.85 x 82.95 x 9.65mm, the handset adopts a fairly minimalist approach to design. A single hardware button sits on the bottom of the Note's front, with a power switch on its right edge, a volume rocker on its left, a 3.5mm headphone jack on the top edge and a recess to tuck away the Note's true USP, the S-Pen stylus, along the bottom edge. More on the S-Pen later, but for now take comfort in the fact that, thanks to a large 2,500mAh battery, you'll get easily a day's worth of use per charge, even with the screen running at its brightest.

The S-Pen stylus

Touchscreen phones were meant to kill off the stylus, right? The late Apple boss Steve Jobs' personal bug bear has even been dropped by long-time supporters Microsoft with Windows Phone 7, but Samsung still see a place for the stylus, resurrected here with the Note as the S-Pen.

Despite a major part of the marketing of the Note (the combo of a large screen and pen-like device is supposed to kill off the need for paper and pencil) the S-Pen proves little more than a gimmick. Though it's comfortable to hold and slips tidily away into a recess on the underside of the phone, it's practically pointless.

You've got note taking apps pre-installed and ones for jotting down doodles, but this is nothing new in and of itself. The note taking app could have had some decent application were its handwriting recognition up to scratch, but in reality it's prone to mistakes and slower to use than simply tapping out a message on a keyboard. The S-Pen may well have 100 levels of sensitivity, but it still sometimes didn't register input, and the software tended to lag slightly behind our preferred scribbling speed.

Sure, it's nice to be able to sign documents properly from your phone, and annotate the odd image or website, but it's a mostly needless addition.

Calling and Messaging

It may be gigantic, but the Note is still a phone at the end of the day. You'll look like a plonker holding it up to your ear, but it's not as ridiculous as using, say, a Galaxy Tab as a phone. Your best bet is to pair it with a Bluetooth headset, though that's not a necessity, providing you've got reasonable mates who wont twist your arm too much for the size of your phone.

The dialler is pretty much standard Android fare, but has a few Samsung stylings of its own. Along the top of the app are tabs for the keypad, call logs, contacts, favourites and groups. You can manually attach Twitter and Facebook info to contacts too, though it is not handled quite a slickly as HTC's Sense manages to.

If you can brave putting the Note to your ear, call quality proves excellent, with no interference and clear noise reduction. Signal strength remained consistently high too. As you'd imagine, the phone is a perfect fit for video calling apps, using the Note's 2MP front-facing camera.

For email, you get the standard Android Gmail client with is always excellent, and Samsung's own Mail app which can also pull in all manner of  POP3/IMAP and Exchange accounts you may use. It also makes full use of the large screen, offering a split, two-pane view of your messages when put in landscape orientation.

The standard Gignerbread keyboard is here for email and SMS messaging, but with the screen the size it is, you'll only comfortably be able to tap out messages with two hands. Of course, you could use the S-Pen, but as we stated above, that's just as clumsy.

Interface and apps

Just missing out on Ice Cream Sandwich, the Note is running Android 2.3.5 (Gingerbread) out of the box, with Samsung's light TouchWiz re-skinning over the top. Again, if you've used a Galaxy S II, you'll feel right at home, with "Hubs" collecting apps for social sites like Twitter or Facebook, gaming portals and apps in the Gaming hub, book buying and reading apps in the Reader hub and music and media playback in the Music hub.

As with all Android phones you get ample ability to customise the experience, and Samsung offer a strong array of live widgets (many of which can be resized) for displaying information at a glance across the seven homescreens. Pinching the screen gives an exploded view of all seven homescreens at once, letting you jump quickly from one to another. It's a little fiddly, but apps can be arranged into folders too.

Drag down from the top of the screen and you'll be presented with the Android notifications bar, housing all your email, app, or social network updates. Samsung place a quick settings toolbar in here too, which is handy for quickly accessing GPS, Wi-Fi and profile options.

All the usual Google apps are onboard, including Maps, Talk, Latitude and Places, and you get access to the Android Market app store for grabbing new software. Voice control comes courtesy of a premium version of Vlingo; it's not quite as fully featured as Apple's Siri, but you can quickly train it to navigate media and jump to contacts with the power of your voice alone.

Samsung's Internet browser is the star of the pre-installed app line up though, and again that's mostly thanks to the quality of the screen in the first place. It's so big as to make full screen browsing not far off the experience you'd have with a tablet device, with eminently readable, crisp text and vibrant images. This being an Android device, you have none of the Flash woes that hamstring Apple's devices when it comes to browsing.

The extra screen real estate allows for a few useful additions to the browser UI, such as dedicated page forward and back buttons, as well as dedicated button for jumping between open tabs. There's even static page name info above the address bar. Though text reflow could at times be a little erratic when pinching and zooming on pages, it's still the closest we've come to a desktop browsing experience from a pocketable device.

Media playback and Gaming

The Galaxy Note really comes into its own when it comes to media playback. With a screen this big, and this gorgeous, it'll be a godsend come lengthy car trips or when you're stuck for something to watch in bed. Grab something like the Netflix movie and TV streaming app and you may find yourself glued to the Note all day long. There's even a setting that pushes the brightness levels of the screen even further for viewing in direct sunlight, though be prepared to take a noticeable knock to your battery level as a result.

Samsung have done a good job of providing solid file-format support with their video player, with the device expertly handling everything we threw at it, including MP4, M4V, Xvid, DivX, AVI and 3GP file types. Throw in DLNA support and you're sharing video to and from the Note to all manner of devices, making it an expert media experience. Samsung's video playing app even allows for some basic editing work to be done, which is handy if you're looking to upload to YouTube directly from the device.

Though competent enough, the music player is basically stock Android with a slight re-skinning. You can muck about with EQ settings, and get album cover artwork, but for a deeper music organisational experience you may want to download a third party app.

Gaming on the Note is also really strong. With a powerful processor and impressive screen, you're approaching iPad levels of playability. This was best illustrated with a quick game of the Grand Theft Auto III Android edition, where there wasn't a hint of stutter and the the virtual control pad didn't impede the view of the action in any significant way.

Still Camera and Video

The Note uses an identical 8MP rear camera as that found in the Galaxy S II. That's no bad thing, as that smartphone was capable of some superb shots. Thanks to the dual-core processor, you can boot the phone up from off and be in the camera app shooting snaps within little more than 5 seconds, which is great when you've got to capture a fleeting moment.

Images are crisp and detailed, with accurate auto-focus and colour reproduction. You also get a decent array of manual controls such as ISO settings, as well as Panorama modes and plenty of scene selection settings to scroll through to add a smidgen of Instagram-like cool to your shots.

Despite its strong image capturing chops, the Note is hardly the ideal snapper though. As it's so large, it's actually quite cumbersome to hold when taking a picture. With no dedicated shutter button, you'll be tapping away at the screen to take shots, which means you have to hold the over-sized device in some quite awkward positions. The size of the screen also makes it far too easy to accidentally brush it while taking a photo, leading to unintentional shifts in focus.

Video shooting still impresses though, with Full HD recording at 1080p/30fps possible. The results are sharp, and the image stabilisation does a good job of keeping moving images from being too jumpy. It suffers a little from noise in dark scenes though, and sometimes takes a little longer than we'd have liked to find a sensible point of focus using AF.

Verdict:

Samsung's Galaxy Note has all the trappings of a great phone. Its re-skinned version of Android gingerbread is understated and makes useful changes. Its screen is gorgeous to look at and a joy to use. Its processor allows for demanding multitasking and its camera offers both detailed still photography and clear HD video capture. However, its main selling point (its large screen) is also its downfall, as it's just impractical as an everyday device. It's just too cumbersome to replace a smaller, more versatile smartphone. Also, the Note's S-Pen is a massive disappointment, a gimmick that doesn't really add any useful functionality to an already-responsive UI and touchscreen combo. While it's a superb multimedia device, its going to take a person with very unique needs for it to be their ideal smartphone.

Name: Otone Audio Stilo

Type: 2.1 Desktop Speaker

Specifications: Click here for full specs

Price: £69.99 from Otone Audio

Otone Audio are the latest UK-based company to throw their hats into the home audio ring. As well as a range of 5.1 systems, they're also launching a range of desktop PC speaker set ups. Today we're taking a look at their Stilo 2.1 PC speakers. Read on for our thoughts.

Comprising two satellite speakers, a subwoofer and wired remote, the Stilo speakers are a bit of a missed opportunity when it comes to design. While the cube-shaped subwoofer is simple enough to be easy on the eye (measuring 220 x 211 x 230mm and making up a substantial portion of the package's overall  3.65kg weight), the satellite speakers, measuring  253 x 65 x 106mm , look needlessly cheap. They're a desktop friendly size, and we quite like the the cut-oval shape. However, the decision to make them from a mix of gloss black plastic and a matte silver/grey is a bit of a mess. Perhaps they'll suit the tastes of others, but we'd have preferred just the gloss black, thank you very much.

The pebble-shaped wired remote, which plugs into the back of the powered subwoofer, is a little tidier, with the mix of blacks, silvers and a green LED (indicating the speakers are on) reminiscent of the Android smartphone colour scheme. A dial controls the volume levels, clicking from a low volume setting to off at the counter-clockwise extreme. There's a little bit of a sharp spike in volume level when dialling past the halfway mark though. On the back is a handy pair of ports for auxiliary line in (letting you plug an MP3 player directly into the speakers and bypassing a PC) and a headphone port too, with a standard 3.5mm jack.

There are few other audio connectivity options on the subwoofer though beyond the 3.5mm line-in jack, so if you're looking for a more complicated set up with a high-end sound card, these probably aren't the speakers for you.

For everyone else though, they'll perform very nicely. Using a space-age sounding patented Vortex Drive system, they'll pump out 40W (2 x 10 + 20W) of power, easily reaching room-filling levels. 2 x 2" high-sensitivity twin drivers sit in the satellite speakers, and while a little lacking at the treble end, were otherwise warm and clear. We did experience a little rattling in the subwoofer cabinet at maximum volume levels and with the subwoofer itself turned to its maximum bass setting, but we're fairly sure that was down to a slightly loose fixture in our individual sample, and nothing that should worry any prospective buyers.


Verdict:

The Otone Audio Stilo 2.1 desktop speakers sound, for the most part, great, especially for the £69.99 asking price. You may need to scale the mid-levels back a little in your EQ settings, but our love of the odd spiky guitar shred and rattle of gunfire from Call of Duty wont likely line up with everyone's tastes. They're solid sonic performers either way. It's a shame then that the satellite speakers themselves looks so underwhelming. Sat on a retailer's shelf next to the sci-fi stylings of Harman Kardon's Soundsticks, it's unlikely the Otone Audio Stilo set will get a second look, which does the audio quality they're capable of something of a disservice.

Name: Desaia Beat Box

Type: Bluetooth speaker

Price: RRP £54.99

Desaia may be new kids on the block when it comes to portable audio systems, but their Beat Box Bluetooth speaker shows promise to come. Does it have enough polish to warrant your attention, and your cash? Read on to find out.

Desaia's Beat Box is almost a perfect cube, barring its curved, slightly tapered edges. It stands just 80mm x 80 mm x 76mm and weighs around the 150g mark, making it an easy fit in even the most modestly sized handbags or satchels. It's not much of a looker (our review sample was a black model, though more colours are on the way), but its perforated plastic casing and glossy plastic 4-way button pad on top are simple and functional.

On the rear of the speaker you'll find a port for hooking up non-Bluetooth music devices over a standard 3.5mm audio jack, and a mini-USB port for charging the speaker.

Hooking up the Desaia Beat Box over Bluetooth is a piece of cake. Holding down the Play/Power button fires the Beat Box up, with a blue LED ring flashing around the button pad (which turns red when switching off) letting you know it is ready to pair with a Bluetooth device. It's then just a matter of using your tablet, smartphone or MP3 player's Bluetooth manager to search for the speaker and unite the two units in musical matrimony. We used the Beat Box with an iPad, HTC Desire HD and an iPhone 4S, and had no problems at all with dropped connections during lengthy play sessions.

Those musical marathons can last up to 10 hours if using the Beat Box at around half its maximum volume, which isn't at all bad given the 2-and-a-bit hours charging time needed. It's even better when you note how loud the Beat Box goes. Despite only having a 2x2 W max output, it gives the impression of going far louder at full volume, particularly when placed on a resonant surface such as desk.

Sonically, there are better performers than the Desaia Beat Box. It pushes its mid ranges too much to the fore, while treble is harsh and lacks detail. Tweaking your EQ settings on your device helps to counteract this somewhat. However, you're never going to find audiophile quality sound in a device of this nature, so its something of a moot point; you buy a Bluetooth speaker for simple, on-the-go amplification of your digital tunes, and in that regard the Desaia Beat Box fits the bill nicely.

Verdict:

While its audio quality leaves a little to be desired, the Desaia Beat Box performs well when put alongside other similarly-sized Bluetooth speakers. It's a truly portable bit of kit, offers enough battery life to provide a day's worth of tunes down the park and (while still a little too expensive in our books at £54.99) is priced competitively against rivals such as Logitech's Mini Boombox. We expect to see lots of these sitting around outside tents come the summer festival season.

Name: Resident Evil: Revelations

Genre: 3rd Person Shooter / Survival Horror

Platform: Nintendo 3DS

Price: £32.70 from Amazon

Capcom have made some missteps of late with their Resident Evil series, focussing too much on action and not enough on scares. Resident Evil: Revelations for the 3DS looks to go back to the series' survival horror roots. Are Capcom back to their shocking best, or have they been smoking a bit too much of the Green herb again?

"Survival Horror", a phrase so familiar to gamers, was pretty much coined to describe the first batch of Resident Evil games. Creeping around secluded, drab settings like the Arklay Mansion or the desolate streets of a Racoon City run rife with zombies, each second in the early Resident Evil games was a terrifying race to survive, hunting down weapon ammunition and supplies whilst hoping that turning the next corner wouldn't present you with a shambling horror eyeing up your guts for lunch.

As the series evolved, that slightly slower-paced, brooding terror was swapped out for faster monster movie action that saw you mowing down a near-endless stream of undead or mutant foes. It worked excellently in Resident Evil 4 (which retained a feeling of foreboding), but lost a significant scare factor with Resident Evil 5 and its sun-drenched streets.

Resident Evil: Revelations then represents the game that long-time series fans have longed for arguably since before Resident Evil 4 was released way back in January 2005. Creepy, dark and oozing dread without scrimping on the action, it's one of the best games the series has seen in a long time.

This is partly achieved by the superb setting for the game. For the most part, you'll be controlling series stalwart Jill Valentine as she explores a bio-terrorist attack on the cruise liner Queen Zenobia. Its flooded, cold corridors prove as claustrophobic as the original game's Arklay Mansion and through some stunning work in the graphics department, about a thousand times more realistic. Revelations looks good enough to rival some console games, with excellently moody lighting, detailed character models and a surprising amount of variation in its scenes considering the predominately ocean-bound setting. 3D visuals add slightly to the tension on the 3DS, but we proffered to play with 3D switched off in this case, as higher levels of anti-aliasing then kick in, making everything look silky-smooth. Sonically it's hellishly spooky too, if putting to one side the series almost-trademark, comedically-hammy voice acting; from enemy moans, the screams of survivors to the haunting soundtrack (which Capcom deftly know exactly when to par down to increase tension), you'll have chills down your spine throughout.

The boat proves a great setting to let loose the games monstrous "ooze" enemies too. Closer to Dead Space's Necromorphs than the zombies of old, their loose, flowing nature makes them the perfect fit for the wet world you explore. Their fluidity also makes them far more vicious than previous Resident Evil foes; a seemingly safe corridor can quickly become a battleground as the amorphous nasties slide up through grates all around you. Boss battles are wondrously gruesome too, each offering just the right amount of challenge, needing unique tactics to fell each varied beast.

Enemies are made even more fearsome by the game's return to a survival focus, with methodical combat and scarce supplies. Though the optional Circle Pad add-on for the 3DS offers dual-stick controls, the game is at its heart-pumping best when in fact played with the limited movement offered by the traditional Resident Evil tank-like controls, turning your character on the spot to pick your shots rather than running and gunning. You can move and shoot now in a slightly clunky way, as well as use a rudimentary dodge move, but those added skills prove only a minor help in facing the horrors surrounding you. For once, "hamstrung" controls are intentional, and to the benefit of the tense nature of the game.

It's also a return to desperate item harvesting. Even when at your most shaken, you'll still need to deeply explore your surroundings for supplies, or a weapon box to swap your load out to suit your next challenge. Revelations introduces the Genesis scanner tool to your arsenal. A bit like the visor from the Metroid Prime series on the Gamecube and Wii, it rewards you for carefully examining your surroundings, throwing up snippets of info on the game's backstory, clues to Revelations well-thought-out puzzles and the odd reward for item conservation.

If there is one place where the game's atmosphere proves a bit of a let down, it's in the story. Sure, we've come to expect completely whacked-out plots from Capcom, but what's on show here veers dangerously from B-Movie territory to nonsensical. If you can get your head around the several-too-many twists across the course of the game, it's unlikely you'll care too much about the tale's outcome.

In contrast, the supporting characters aren't wacky enough. They're a dull bunch, while Jessica Sherawat's impractical, revealing costume undoes much of the good positive gender role work being done by Jill's strong lead role. The cast prove just as useless when in a supporting AI mode, shooting by your side but doing no real damage, and acting only to alleviate the game's bread-and-butter tension.

Gameplay is split into chapters, which proves both a blessing and a curse. On the one hand, you've got roughly-hour-long chunks of gameplay to attack in a sitting, which is quite well suited for on-the-go gaming.

On the other hand, however, these chapters introduce Revelations' subplot, centred mostly around Resident Evil's other main hero, Chris Redfield. His action takes you away from the menace of the ship, and often throws you straight back into the kind of mindless shooting galleries that characterised and, to some extent, ruined Resident Evil 5. Chapters will of course naturally break up the flow of gameplay and cut through any tension built, but the transition between Jill and Chris's segments is almost always maddeningly jarring.

The game is fairly lengthy, easily taking the average player well over 10 hours to complete. But it doesn't end with the single-player campaign. Completing the main game opens up the Raid Mode, which supports co-op online play and makes characters such as Jessica and O'Brien playable. Here you and a pal fight through key sections from the main game, with set challenges and differing enemies than you may have experienced in the single player game. Success rewards you with points which can be used to buy upgraded weapons in the Raid store. It's a much better home for the action-orientated gameplay that feels shoehorned in elsewhere in Revelations.

Verdict:

Capcom have done right by the hardcore fanbase with Revelations. While not shying away from the action-orientated gameplay that revived the franchise after Resident Evil 4, they've managed to return that creeping feeling of unease that was missing from Resident Evil 5. The story is even more ludicrous than ever, with the supporting cast never exciting in terms of plot nor allied-AI. However, atmospherically and graphically it's a stunning achievement, which deserves not only to re-iterate Capcom's stellar horror chops, but also to highlight the potential of Nintendo's 3DS console in the right hands when put toe-to-toe with more powerful hardware like the PS Vita.

Name: Motorola RAZR

Type: Android Smartphone

Specifications: Click here for full specs

Price: £419.99 from Amazon, SIM-free

Motorola bring their classic RAZR mobile phone range bang up to date with smartphone specs and a super-thin design. In a year of truly excellent Android smartphone releases, is the RAZR a cut above the rest, or in need of sharpening up?

Design

Motorola's RAZR claims to be the world's thinnest smartphone. It's a claim that's only partly true; while at its thinnest point the phone measures a svelte 7.1mm, a concession has been made that sees a notable bulge sit on the back upper side of the handset allowing it to house the device's loudspeaker, camera sensor and flash. It's by no means an ugly bulge, and you could argue that with the slightly brushed surface of the RAZR's super-strong Kevlar backplate offers a better grip than other smartphones, but it does mean those "thinnest" descriptions must be taken with a pinch of salt.

In fact, with the height and width of the phone measuring 130mm x 69mm respectively, the RAZR actually feels gargantuan. While the overall chassis is perhaps a little too thick around the edge of the screen, there's no denying that it's a beauty. 4.3 inches in size, the Super AMOLED, Advanced qHD resolution (960 x 540) capacitive touch screen is as vibrant and colourful as any you're likely to find. Highly responsive to touch commands, it's a joy to browse even the tinniest of web links, while videos and photos look a detailed treat.

Making use of a unibody design, you wont be able to replace the RAZR's battery pack in a hurry, though this is unlikely to trouble many as the phone always performed stably, never once suggesting it would need a hard-reset. Along its contoured edges you'll also find access to a microSD and micsroSIM slot, microUSB port that's used for charging as well as cabled file transferring, a mini HDMI port (lead not included) and a 3.5mm headphone jack.

Interface and apps

Running Android 2.3.5 (Gingerbread), we were pleased to see Motorola pop all four touch-sensitive control buttons (Home, Back, Menu and the often-missing Search) just under the screen. However, it's a shame that Motorola have opted to ship with Gingerbread rather than holding out for Ice Cream Sandwich, the latest build of Android.

Having said that, Android here is so heavily re-skinned by Motorola that it almost constitutes a whole new UI in itself. The main draw is the tons of widgets Motorola have thrown in. While the content is familiar (calendars, quick contacts, email snapshots, RSS feeds and the like) the ability to resize them is not. It's great to be able to shape the widgets placed on the five homescreens to your precise measurements, allowing for a truly customised Android experience.

Perhaps the most interesting aspects of the RAZR though are the Motocast and Smart Action features. Motocast acts a bit like Dropbox, letting a number of PCs or Macs be linked to the phone, allowing for syncing of documents, photos, videos and music across devices. Providing each linked device is switched on, files can be accessed, streamed and downloaded to local storage over 3G, meaning you don't need to be in range of a Wi-Fi connection to grab the files you need on the go. The Motocast system is built into practically all the major applications of the phone, meaning you'll regularly see options in the Gallery app or Music Player app to access photos or songs you've got stored elsewhere for instance.

Smart Action is a similarly useful feature. It's basically an app that allows a certain set of pre-determined triggers spark a series of actions on the phone. For instance, you could program the app to note your location, firing up the eBook reading app when you leave work, or launch the email client when at the office, or perhaps set the ringtone volume to silent between your set sleeping hours. It's very flexible, and has the potential to largely automate many tedious tasks.

It's not without its faults. 5 homescreens isn't quite enough and it's a shame you can't access quick settings like Wi-Fi and backlight from the drag-down toolbar. But there's enough here to separate the phone from the pack, and ease the pain of the missing Ice Cream Sandwich update.

Like many smartphones, the RAZR's "Contacts" system allows you to attach any number of social networking pages to friends in your phone book, allowing you to get in touch with them in any number of ways over Twitter, Facebook and similar sites. It's a little fiddly, and nowhere near as quick and intuitive as HTC's Sense offering, but works well enough once it's set up.

Motorola's RAZR also uses a universal messaging inbox that pools together SMS messages, Facebook, Twitter, Exchange email and webmail (Homtail, Yahoo, Gmail etc) all in one place. It's an excellent way of browsing all messages that have ever come from a single contact, and is particularly useful as it adds offline support for browsing messages shared on social networks. It's one drawback is that the universal inbox is hidden deep behind a number of menus. You have to enter the messaging app before being able to get anywhere near to the universal inbox, or make do with a shoody widget.

Calling contacts makes handy use of a "Smart" dialler, letting you tap out a couple of letters of a contact's name before quickly seeing their phone number appear. However, calling on the RAZR often lead to strange echo-like noises when "in call". It's not massively frustrating as its barely audible, but did diminish the otherwise-premium feel of the phone.

Media playback and cameras

Media playback on the RAZR is particularly nifty. Using the afore-mentioned Motocast feature, music, photos and videos can be pulled into the handset from any number of sources at any time, making the respective player apps more like hubs rather than fenced-off lists. The music player for instance includes DLNA and internet radio playback, as well as access to locally stored tracks all from one place, and even throws up song lyrics and band bios dragged in from online databases. Video playback is solid and steady, with the handset showing no problems playing back high-def content in a number of formats. The photo gallery benefits likewise from Motorola's aims to give the RAZR a more widely-connected feel, pulling in snaps from social networks as well as those you've taken yourself using the phone. It stakes a good claim therefore as using the RAZR as your only PMP device, but be warned; you'll likely be hard pressed to squeeze more than three-quarters of a day out of its battery.

Video and photo capture on the RAZR was reasonably good, capable of 1080p HD movies and 8MP stills (a 1.3MP front facing camera for video calling also features). Often still images looke accurate and sharp, with a satisfyingly quick shutter speed, but in particularly bright light over-exposure resulted in some images feeling drained and washed-out. Images remained sharp however even in Macro mode, but would benefit from manual white-balance controls. In terms of colour reproduction, videos often suffered from similar exposure issues, and while pin-sharp, suffered from slightly jumpy movement too.

Verdict:

Motorola's RAZR is an impressive performer, with no one fault major enough to undermine a solid Android smartphone experience. However, despite some clever native app work, we can't help but think that the RAZR would have benefited from Ice Cream Sandwich support, something that early adopters are going to have to likely wait quite some time for, and a little more work in the photography department to make it a match for Apple's iPhone 4S. Also, while the 1.2GHz dual-core processor has no problem powering the phone's silky visuals and screen transitions, it seems a little bit of a cut-corner considering many new top-end phones are now opting for 1.5GHz dual cores instead. As it stands, Motorola's RAZR is a great bit of kit, but be under no illusions that it wont be superseded before long.

Name: Samsung UE60D8000

Type: 3D LCD TV

Specs: Click here for full specs

Price: Around £3,350
When it comes to 3D TV, bigger is always better. At 60 inches, Samsung's UE60D8000 is one of the largest screens you can get in your house before going into 3D projector territory, and is backed by an impressive array of connected TV features. However, it's also one of the most expensive sets we've ever tried, nearly £1,000 more than its 5-inch smaller stable-mate at around a whopping £3,350. Does the TV perform well enough to justify the price tag?

Design

A 60 inch beast, the UE60D8000 manages to offer a gigantic screen while remaining catwalk-slim in profile. Measuring just 30.45mm deep and weighing 24.8kg with its slick, four-pronged silver foot base attached, it's as pretty to look at as it is svelte and (for its size) lightweight. A thin silver bezel sits around the edge of the screen, rounding off a space aged look, with a glowing Samsung logo (which can be turned off) sitting at the centre of the lower edge. Volume, power and channel buttons sit on the TV's left hand side, while a wealth of rear-mounted connections, angled in-line with the screen, make it perfect for wall mounting.

A premium set deserves a premium remote control, and the UE60D8000's weighty, metallic zapper fits the bill nicely. Backlit, with a brushed metal feel to the buttons and slightly raised lines to guide your fingers in low lighting, it sits comfortably in the hand and, when paired with the clear and intuitive UI on show here, makes navigating the set an absolute breeze. One-button access to web connected Smart TV apps and 3D features are appreciated, but as as with the Samsung UE55D8000 and the rest of the 8000 Series, the remote really needs a dedicated button for motion processing settings, as these are the ones that we found we most regularly tweaked, and yet are among the most deeply hidden options on the set.

Connectivity

Samsung don't scrimp on the connectivity option with the UE60D8000. 4 HDMI ports (one ARC enabled) are supplemented by 3 USB ports, a component port, Optical Digital Audio Out, DVI Audio In, PC Audio In, PC In (D-Sub) and a headphone socket too for good measure. RF connectors and F-connectors for Freeview HD aerials and Freesat HD satellites respectively both also feature. As well as an Ethernet port for wired web connectivity, the TV also comes with built-in Wi-Fi if running the extra cable up to your screen isn't convenient. Setting up the Wi-Fi connection was simple using the onscreen menu and it maintained a consistent connection when browsing the Smart Hub platform and performing DLNA streaming, which we'll discuss in more detail in a second.

Picture Quality

Both Freeview HD and Freesat HD tuners come built in with the UE60D8000. Paired with one of the slickest EPGs we've seen this side of a Sky+ HD set top box, you're straight into the HD party more or less right out of the box as a result.

For the most part, the UE60D8000 looks a treat when it comes to 2D picture quality, with Samsung cramming in edge-mounted LED backlighting with dimming for deep blacks, as well as their 800Hz Clear Motion system for smooth action, which pairs 200Hz processing with frame interpolation and backlight scanning to hit the claimed 800Hz mark.

As is usually the case with flatscreen HD TVs, the picture needs a fair bit of tweaking before it looks its most natural, pin-sharp best with high-definition content. While there are a handful of decent presets to stick with if you're not the most confident picture tweaker, thankfully Samsung have filled the set with all manner of imaging controls if you want to really make the set shine, including gamma and white balance controls, HDMI black level response and plenty of digital noise reduction settings.

Once you've got it up to scratch, it's an often stunning HD set. Incredibly bright for a panel this size, colours are punchy and vivid, making our Toy Story 3 Blu-ray test footage really come alive. It's also a fantastically sharp image too. Viewing our Blu-ray copy of Batman Begins and watching the early training scenes in the snow between Christian Bale and Liam Neeson, the epic mountainside surroundings of the icy scenes shimmered with detail.

Motion processing techniques are always a little bit iffy, but for once, merely sticking to the pre-set Clear Motion Rate "Clear" setting on the UE60D8000 managed to subtly smooth over fast moving scenes without ever leading to that strange floaty effect overusing the technology usually results in. Largely detailed action scenes, like those found in the Lord of the Rings trilogy Blu-rays, looked a treat as a result.

That's not to say it's always a perfect image however, and the extra screen real-estate has caused a few problems of its own. The strong backlight can be a little inconsistent in its dimming timing, particularly in darker scenes where it's presence can intermittently prove unwelcome as it bleeds into both the corners and lower central area of the screen. It's not an uncommon problem for edge-lit LED displays, but at around the £3,350 mark you'd expect a little better than what's made the cut here in this set.

Standard definition content is upscaled nicely on the UE60D8000 though, which usually proves to be a challenge on a screen this size. Instead, images are never stretched uncomfortably, and clever smoothing techniques make even the lowest bitrate footage perfectly watchable.

3D visuals

Samsung throw in two pairs of their newest 3D glasses with the UE60D8000. These use Bluetooth rather than infra-red to sync with any 3D content onscreen. On one hand, it's frustrating that any older Samsung specs you may have lying around are made redundant by the new standard, but on the other the new specs are far lighter than many rival's pairs, and don't suffer nearly as badly from flickering and ambient light interference as the preceding pairs from Samsung. They're still expensive at £100 a pair, but, again, at least you're getting two sets here.

3D visuals really knock you out on a screen this size. It's hard to explain the importance of a big screen when it comes to immersing yourself in 3D visuals, but with so much of your peripheral vision dominated by the screen itself, it's easy to get lost in the eye-popping action. Using our test copy of Werner Herzog's Cave of Forgotten Dreams through a PS3 console, we were totally enveloped in the subterranean, stalactite filled adventure. Thanks to the strong backlight on show here even the movies moodier, darker cave-bound scenes retained great detail.

It's a pity though that the screen suffers from the same crosstalk issues that many 3D sets we've tried also fall foul of. Ghosting is a regular annoyance when watching 3D content, and while it's not a deal-breaker, it's a nasty side effect that's arguably even more prominent with a screen this size.

Sound Quality

Surprisingly good for a flatscreen, the UE60D8000 offers a fair amount of boom and bite from its stereo speakers. Thanks to the sheer size of the screen there is fairly decent stereo separation on offer, with a comprehensive set of equaliser settings making dialogue sit cleanly at the fore of the soundscape.

Samsung also throw in a few pseudo surround-sound settings too, including SRS TruSurround HD adding to the width of the image. As ever, bass response is lacking in a screen this thin. You're never going to match the audio quality of a dedicated home cinema set-up (it would be a ridiculous oversight were you not planning on pairing this premium set up with at least a soundbar), but the UE60D8000 offers audio quality as good as you're likely to receive from a flatscreen telly.

Smart Hub and Media Playback

Once you're connected to the internet with the UE60D8000, heading over to the Smart TV apps hub shows off a welcoming, intuitive web-connected set up. As well as being the area from which you access networked media files or those stored locally on a plugged in USB drive, it also features well over 30 apps, from VOD services like LoveFilm, iPlayer, YouTube and Vimeo to social networks such as Twitter and Facebook and Skype messaging. There's even a fully open web browser based on the WebKit engine.

Since the last time we had a Samsung smart TV in our office for testing the company have also added a dedicated 3D on demand channel called 3D Explore. Much of the content is free and a perfect way to showcase your set's 3D abilities while you grow your catalogue of 3D Blu-ray titles. As it's mostly trailers and documentaries on show here it's not full of Hollywood blockbusters, but we were happy to see a number of familiar IMAX-like historical titles making an appearance, free of charge.

Media playback, via a USB stick or DNLA networking, remains as comprehensive as you'd like. Be it SD or HD file types, lossless audio or dirty CD rips, the screen had no issues whatsoever handling whichever format or codec we threw at it.

We've been impressed with the Smart Hub before, and that feeling remains with the UE60D8000. Consolidating media playback and web connectivity into one place is a sensible choice, and as the Smart TV platform is growing, Samsung appear to have mastered the art of fitting all the new apps in seamlessly. Where it does suffer though is at pulling off onscreen text-entry, needed quite regularly to scan and search the platform. It's fine to click through individual letters to put in the odd Wi-Fi password, but if you're leaving messages on Facebook or searching YouTube regularly it's a bit of a chore. An input method similar to that which Sony use on their PS3 (similar to the text/dial lettering and numbers seen on a home landline phone) would be a simple way to alleviate this problem.

Verdict:

Without question, the UE60D8000 is a fine TV. Apart from a few backlighting issues its 2D and 3D visuals are up there with the best of them, and in Samsung's ever more powerful Smart TV app hub, it's got one of the best web-connected feature sets to boot too. Text entry is a chore, and audio quality is still mediocre at best, but these are problems not unique to Samsung's 8000 series, but the flatscreen market as a whole. While these few foibles are admittedly minor, when you consider the fact they're in a £3,350 set they get a little harder to stomach. Contrary to the constant stream of junk emails I receive, an extra 5 inches is not worth hundreds of pounds, and here it's one of the only clear advantages over Samsung's own smaller, cheaper offerings. An impressive set then, but unless that extra screen real estate is a must have, you'd save yourself a pretty penny by opting for the marginally smaller UE55D8000 instead.

Sony's Personal 3D Viewer headset first wowed us back in January of this year at CES in Las Vegas. A head-mounted, personal 3D experience, it channelled Tron cool and all the promise of the Lawnmower Man before history had made VR-style headsets seem utterly ridiculous. However, it was a prototype at that stage, with no concrete plans to bring the unit to the consumer market. Fast-forward to IFA 2011 and Sony responded to the phenomenal buzz generated by the kit by revealing the Viewer would make its way to select stores.

Finally up for pre-order, Tech Digest went hands-on today for a comprehensive, hands-on testing session with the Sony Personal 3D Viewer (HMZ-T1). Read on for our thoughts on Sony's snazziest bit of AV gear in years.

You can't help but be drawn to the Sony Personal 3D Viewer. It looks as though it's been lifted straight out of an episode of the Jetsons, and yet manages to remain classy rather than crass. Like an over-sized pair of aviator shades, the Viewer has adjustable straps to fit all head sizes, with a glossy white casing with blue LED strip on the front.

Inside this casing is where the magic happens. Placed in front of your eyes (and taking over almost the entirety of your peripheral vision) are two individual OLED displays, responsible for producing the 3D image from the headset. Each measuring 0.7 inches diagonally, they have a resolution of 1280x720 and give the impression of watching a single 750-inch cinema screen, from a "virtual viewing distance" of 20 metres.

Over your ears slide a pair of simulated 5.1 surround sound ear pieces that use Sony's "Virtualphones Technology" to make movie sounds appear to travel around your head in a way similar to how a dedicated 5.1 speaker set up would. Four different surround sound modes can be configured using a small set of directional buttons on the underside of the visor, which are used to navigate and confirm settings in an on-screen menu overlay and can also be used to tweak image settings like brightness and sharpness.

With no internal battery powering the headset, Sony have popped a small processor unit alongside the HMZ-T1. A small, unassuming black box, it has HDMI in and out ports on the rear for Blu-ray players and games consoles, as well as a socket for a power plug, while on the front sits a bespoke "HMD" connection that not only delivers the sound and imagery to the headset, but the power supply too. The included cable for attaching the headset to the processing unit is a reasonable length, meaning you should be able to comfortably connect the headset to the processing unit from a good few feet away.

So what's it like to use the HMZ-T1? Initially, a little disorientating. It takes a few minutes to get the headset to fit snugly in front of your eyes, while a little slider beneath each eye allows you to tweak the distance between each OLED screen to match the spacing of your peepers, and deliver a 3D image with as little blur as possible. It's a strange sensation to turn your head and have the image move with it, but once you get used to it, it is an incredibly immersive experience.

As the headset employs two separate OLED panels, there is none of the cross talk you often encounter when viewing a 3D display. Using the OLED displays also negates another regular problem faced by 3D fans: brightness issues. Usually, popping a pair of 3D glasses on when watching a 3D flick leads to muted colours and a drop in brightness due to the lensing of the specs. No such problems with the Sony headset, as the two screens sit directly in front of your eyes without any need for active or passive lenses, meaning the picture is as bright or vibrant as any regular display.

As a result, watching some dark scenes from the latest Harry Potter movie showed up far more detail in low-lighting shots and shadowing than you'd get with a standard 3D display. Though the screens only use a 720p resolution, they still manage a sharp, detailed image that stands up well against full HD active 3D TVs. The super-fast response time of OLED panels (just 0.01 milliseconds) led to incredibly smooth motion in action scenes too, leading to one of the most natural viewing experiences we've had from a 3D display. Attaching a pair of small rubber flaps to the sides of the headset manages to block out external lighting fairly well too, though looking directly downwards does give you a glimpse of the outside world.

Sound quality is fairly good too. Bold and loud, there is a decent bass response from the ear pieces that manage to block out a fair amount of external sounds too. It's not the most detailed soundscape we've heard from virtual 5.1 ear pieces (that title belongs to Astro's A40 dedicated gaming cans and mix amp) but they do a good job delivering a punchy sound to accompany the action on the screen.

If there is a single significant problem, it's the weight of the headset. No matter how much I adjusted the straps or angled my head backwards slightly, it always felt as though the Viewer was pushing down on the bridge of my nose. If you could lay flat out you'd probably negate this feeling considerably, but it's unlikely you'll always be laying in bed to use the headset. For shorter sessions it shouldn't be a problem, but it'd certainly begin to feel uncomfortable after a lengthy film. Of course, it may be my massive, unwieldy nose getting in the way, but by all accounts it's of a fairly average size. It's also worth taking into account that if you're a glasses-wearing gadget fan, this headset just isn't for you; unless you pop in some contact lenses, there is no way you're going to get the headset comfortably over your specs.

So are they worth grabbing? Yes, but with a few caveats. Priced at £799, you're paying a hefty price for a display that only one person can watch at a time. It's the perfect accompaniment to solitary pursuits like single player gaming, but not so much a gang looking to watch a flick together (though you could in theory hook a number of headsets up through a HDMI splitter). It's a luxury item in this regards; a selfish way to lock yourself into one of the most visually impressive 3D experiences on the market, if suffering from a few unique comfort issues.

For more info on the Sony Personal 3D Viewer, click here.

Name: Kodak Hero 9.1

Type: All-in-One printer/scanner/copier

Specs: Click here for full specs

Price: £199.99

The Kodak Hero 9.1 throws into the mix pretty much every high-end feature you can think of for a consumer all-in-one printer. Can its print speed and quality live up to the allure of its silky 4.3 inch touchscreen and cloud-printing capabilities? Read on to find out.

If you're flushed with cash, the £199.99 Kodak Hero 9.1 is the premium offering from the company's all-in-one printer range. With a 4.3 inch touchscreen, Wi-Fi and internet connectivity, duplex printing and cloud printing, it ticks every box when it comes to high-end printer features.

It looks very stylish too. In keeping with the rest of the Hero range's boxy look, the rectangular Hero 9.1 features a mix of gloss and black plastics, as well as brushed metal effects either side of the print tray and a red trim just under the scanner lid. Two paper trays feature, one each for 100 regular A4 sheets and another solely for 40 pieces of photo paper. It's a relief not to have to swap paper load outs, and the powered photo tray also conveniently removes the need to manually push sheets. We'd like to see dual-trays hit consumer printers as standard. A printer is unlikely to win any style awards, but Kodak have made a strong effort here to make the Hero 9.1 look tidy and sleek.

Only one physical button (the power one) sits on the Hero 9.1's control panel. The rest, including home, back, help and preview keys, are touch sensitive, illuminating when they can be used to navigate a corresponding function on the gorgeous 4.3 inch touchscreen. A touchscreen this big makes a massively good impression; it not only allows a full QWERTY keyboard to be displayed, making the Wi-Fi set up really simple, but also gives you a far more legible look at any snaps you plan to print off too using the Hero 9.1's front-mounted USB and memory card ports.

Setting up the printer is as simple as it gets. After removing a series of protective tags, inserting the print head and clicking in the two ink cartridges, it's just a matter of switching it on, installing the relevant drivers to your computer, and choosing whether to connect using a standard USB cable, or over Wi-Fi or Ethernet.

If you choose to go down the web-connected route, you also open up the ability to use Kodak's cloud printing service, that lets you send documents to be printed to the unit no matter where you are in the world. The Hero 9.1 is compatible with Google's Cloud Printing service, further expanding your on-the-go print options and effectively doing away with the need to ever have it permanently tethered to your desktop machine.

Though not class leading, the Kodak Hero's 9.1 print speed and quality remains solid. A 10-sheet set of single sided black-and-white text documents printed in two minutes and one second, while a twenty page set of single sided documents sped up noticeably, taking three minutes and 47 seconds. Duplex printing, as you'd expect, was noticeably slower, adding a good third onto the time to print the same documents on a single side. Duplex printing on the whole had some quirks, with the printer automatically reducing the print size by a noticeable margin. Be sure to extend your page margins manually before printing duplex pages as a result, or you'll end up with considerable space around the edges of your prints. In all tests however, text was crisp and sharp.

Colour prints were considerably slower, but we were surprised at the snappy speed of photo prints. In just 45 seconds we had a 4 x 6 inch holiday snap sitting in our hands, ready to be tucked inside an album. Colour print quality was mostly great, delivering really vibrant, rich colours that shone on photo paper. There were a few isolated cases of banding (and dotting for those anally examining their photos with a magnifying glass), but overall it was an impressive show from the Hero 9.1.

The Hero 9.1 is fairly cost effective too, working out at roughly 2.25p per black and white sheet and 3.8p for colour prints, including paper costs. However, when it comes to colour prints you could argue that that figure could erratically jump. The Kodak Hero 9.1 uses a single cartridge for all of its colour pools. Should one run out quicker than the rest, you're going to have to swap out all the colours and abandon any reserves they may have left.

Lastly, printing and scanning. The scanner lid has an automatic document feeder, letting you scan multiple sheets in one go without having to replace each one manually. There's also a small hinge on the scanner lid, letting you more comfortable accommodate a book or magazine for scanning purposes. The 9.1 only manages single-side scanning however. Still, the scanner has a solid 2400dpi optical resolution, delivering accurate colour and detail levels. Copying capabilities are just as impressive, delivering a black and white sheet with great accuracy in just 17 seconds.

Verdict:

It's not the cheapest all-in-one on the market, nor the fastest, but the Kodak Hero 9.1 does deliver solid print and scanning results, as well as offering a premium feature set that you'll be hard pressed to comprehensively find elsewhere. The single cartridge for all colours however is a disappointment; while it may ease the set-up process, it does mean you wont be able to eke the very last drops out of of each colour pool should one run dry.

Name: The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

Genre: Open-world RPG

Platforms: PC (reviewed), PS3, Xbox 360

Price: £37.91 on Xbox 360 from Amazon

£29.98 on PC from Amazon

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim was reviewed using a Nvidia GeForce GTX 560 Ti on the PC. Click here to check it out.

Sweeping vistas, dank dungeons and deathly dragons, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim has finally arrived. An open, sprawling role-player, has it turned out to be the game of the year that all the hype suggested it would? Read on to find out.

Though a city dweller, I pride myself on my strong sense of direction. Pop me down wherever you like, I'll still manage to get on the well beaten path and find my way around. While playing Bethesda Softworks' latest role-playing fantasy epic, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, I couldn't help but wander off into the wilderness, happily losing myself in the living, breathing world the developers have painstakingly crafted. An enthralling, engrossing land, Skyrim's is the most fully-realised world that gaming has ever seen.

It's not the vast size of the world that is so overwhelmingly in deserve of praise, but that Bethesda Softworks have filled it with so much interesting content and so many compelling activities to carry out, letting you tackle them in virtually any order you choose. Skyrim offers freedom unrivalled by any other game out there. Whether battling demons in the dark heart of a dungeon, fishing for salmon, furnishing a Hobbit-like house, having a banter and a beer with the locals in the village tavern, running from a towering giant or scaling a snowy mountain peak in search of treasure, exciting adventure and meaningful discovery lies at every turn.

Building on the solid foundations laid by The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (and to a lesser extent Fallout 3), Skyrim refines the open-world design that Bethesda have been pioneering for many years to near perfection. For starters, there's a far more intriguing main story than has previously featured in the series; dragons, after having been missing for generations, have returned and are terrorising the titular region of Skyrim's settlements. As a "Dragonborn" with the giant lizard's blood coursing through your veins, and against the backdrop of civil war and rebellion, it's up to you to discover why these attacks are taking place, and put a stop to them. With a more flexible engine that allows the legions of non-playable characters to deliver their lines in a far more fluid fashion than before, and with a larger number of well-directed set-pieces, the story comes to life in a way the series has never managed before, backed by an orchestral score that rivals Hollywood's finest in terms of grandeur.

As a result, the main quest line is a suitably epic adventure, far more worthy of your attention than in previous Bethesda games. But as ever with Elder Scrolls titles, true adventure lies in exploration. Venture out in any direction in the game and you'll soon be offered a multitude of well-written optional side-quests, tempting ruins to explore and baddies to battle. Each location, be it a puzzle-filled, waterlogged ancient tomb or leaf-littered autumnal path, are a joy to explore, full of revealing lore and lived-in details that help build a feeling not only of a cohesive world, but one with an ancient history that existed long before you ever stepped foot in it. To see all the content on offer would take literally weeks of solid play, while the main quest line, guild quests (including the sneaky Thieves Guild, brawling Companions and menacing Dark Brotherhood) and randomly issued assignments alone could easily throw up 100+ plus hours worth of gameplay.

Combat will make up a major part of many of your adventures. It's much improved over the often-floaty feeling attacks that characterised Oblivion's battles. Using swords, axes, shields, maces, bows and projectile magic spells from your hands, there are again many options available to tackle Skyrim's imaginative foes. Skyrim introduces a new dual-wielding system, letting you assign any combination of magic, weapons and shields (apart from gear that requires two hands to wield) to each hand. It adds greater flexibility to the way you approach fights, letting you simultaneously strike with a sword and use healing magic for instance, or (once you've unlocked the corresponding ability later on in the game) power up mega spells by equipping the same power in both hands. Even in the lesser-used 3rd person view, movement and striking during combat feels more visceral. Add in the random finishing-kill animations that play out after some battles conclude, and it's a much more satisfying system overall.

The greatest battles come when faced with the much-hyped dragons. These replace the Oblivion gates of the last title in the series and can be seen as the game's major boss battles. Sometimes scripted, sometimes randomly encountered, they're often superb. Huge beasts, they swirl in the sky around you, performing bombing runs before crashing to the ground for close-quarters blows. They're a fair challenge, and not over used, with the dragons themselves excellently realised. It's great to see local villagers often run to your aid during these moments, adding a greater sense of desperation and danger to proceedings. Later in the game these battles lose their edge slightly as you become more powerful, and familiarity makes dragon attack patterns less terrifying, but they remain memorable high-points nonetheless.

Once you've defeated your first dragon you gain the ability to use Shouts. Working much like spells, but using none of your regenerating magicka reserves, they're hidden in ancient scrolls and runes around the world. Again, finding all the new Shouts will push you to explore the furthest reaches of the map, which you'll be gagging to do anyway. Shouts in themselves are great fun to use, with the ability to fire off shock-waves, slow time and summon beasts three of the best of the twenty-four in the game.

Like Oblivion, Skyrim uses a largely-passive levelling system that sees your character improve each separate skill through their use alone, instead of grinding and skill point distribution. Though each of the game's 10 playable races have their own initial pros and cons, you quickly shape the skills of your character to suit your play style. The more you use healing magic, for instance, the greater your ability to quickly restore health will become. Once you've upgraded a few skills a couple of times, your character as a whole levels up, letting you add a passive "Perk" skill from a tree that can do everything from add a constant benefit to one-handed strikes to add a zoomed-view to bow and arrow attacks. Though the Perk menu looks lovely, presented like a constellation in the sky, it can be a real pain to navigate, making selecting a new bonus an unfortunately frustrating experience. Alongside with a handful of bugs that have slipped through the QA net (inevitable in a game this big) it's one of the few annoyances in an otherwise-faultless effort.

Crafting systems are also refined, and play nicely into the game's new job system which allows you to make a little money on the side by wood-chopping, tanning animal skins and forging gear before selling your wares on to traders. Along your travels you'll collect all kinds of alchemical ingredients for potion making and raw materials for crafting, some of which (like firewood) can be gathered from jobs like woodcutting, or fused together using a blacksmith's tools. At first your limited knowledge of alchemy will mean only a few of each ingredient's properties will be known to you, making for weaker concoctions, but the more you preserve and seek out rare ingredients, the more potent your creations become. Likewise, high quality materials needed for strong weapons and armour, and the skill to craft them, will initially elude you, but become available through further exploration and crafting practice. All in, both systems are far more rewarding than the efforts that preceded them in previous games.

Having played the game on all three platforms (Xbox 360, PS3 and PC), the game looks inevitably at its best on a high-spec PC. Console versions manage a superb job of making the game run at a consistent frame-rate considering the lengthy draw distances and busy landscapes, but cant match a top-notch PC for detail or ambient effects. The scale of the game will push all but the most powerful of PC gaming rigs to their upper limits once every graphical flourish is turned up on, but there are a few simple tweaks that can be made to squeeze the very best out of the game. Read our guide to doing so by clicking here. Imaginative and superbly executed, Skyrim is a visual treat whichever system you choose to play it on.

Verdict:

Massive in scope, yet minutely detailed, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim is a game to savour. Whether you're cleaving away at dragons, hunting deer or simply taking in the breathtaking scenery, you'll never be at a loss for interesting things to do. Bolstered by a stirring score, story and excellent art direction, even a handful of notable bugs can't remove you from the immersive experience on offer here. In a year that's spoiled RPG fans rotten with The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings and Dark Souls, that Skyrim manages to feel so superior to both is a revelation. Prepare to lose many hours of your life exploring the misty peaks of this stunning adventure.

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim was reviewed using a Nvidia GeForce GTX 560 Ti on the PC. Click here to check it out.

Name: Assassin's Creed Revelations

Genre: 3rd person stealth adventure

Platforms: Xbox 360 (reviewed), PS3, PC

Price: £37.89 on Xbox 360 from Amazon

£26.99 on PC from Amazon

Templars, towers, hidden knives, buckets of blood and fancy parkour footwork: Assassin's Creed is back with Revelations, the fourth instalment in the historical stealth slashing series. With a million loose ends to tie up and the promise of brand new gameplay mechanics, is it the definitive assassin experience Ubisoft Montreal have always promised? Read on to find out.

Jumping from one historical time zone to the next, the Assassin's Creed games have often struggled to keep on top of the many narrative threads weaving through the series' lore. With Revelations, Ubisoft Montreal have finally managed to tie each storyline together satisfyingly. Following the now-aged Renaissance killer Ezio Adiotore as he hunts for answers concerning his connection to medieval assassin Altair Ibn-La'Ahad, while also offering a selection of modern descendent Desmond's Animus meanderings, players can control all three characters over the course of an adventure that finally sees the trio brought together in a meaningful way.

A marked visual improvement over predecessors (an impressive feat in itself considering the quality on offer through the Assassin's games) Ubisoft Montreal's direction brings an emotional warmth to the characters that was previously missing. You'll care about what's to happen to these greying killers by the game's conclusion, even if the political intrigue that peppers the storyline remains somewhat impenetrable. As ever, the cities you'll explore (Rhodes, Masyaf, Constantinople and Cappadocia) are stunning in both scale and execution; these are living, breathing towns, full of amazingly detailed guards, peasants, fellow-assassins and noblemen.

Much of the series signature gameplay remains the same in Assassin's Creed Revelations. The heart of the game still sees you take on missions, track marks across the city and sneak up on your unsuspecting victims to deliver a killing blow before disappearing into the shadows.

A few notable improvements are made however. To begin with, missions now make clearer sense within the overall story arc; nearly every target you take down has a direct link to your ultimate goal, whereas previously you were left questioning the connection of your target to your Templar tormentors. Likewise, the returning Assassin Recruitment missions, seeing you take control of Templar districts through your network of fellow killers, make better sense in the overall arc of the story.

Combat is also improved. The countering and finishing swordplay remains largely unchanged, aside from a host of slick new kill animations, but the introduction of a button-mapped secondary weapon option adds far more variety to proceedings. It's now far more viable to mix up attack patterns with the other weapons at your disposal rather than rely on the strength of your swordplay alone, giving combat a little more in common with Rocksteady's Batman: Arkham games than before. You'll now also be able to craft bombs throughout the adventure, ranging from simple explosives to coin purses that scatter gold to the begging peasants surrounding guards, disorientating your attackers. They're use is not vital to the success of your missions, but add a little more tactical depth to proceedings too.

As ever, darting across the rooftops using the assassin's parkour techniques is a joyous experience, moving with ease and grace across the dramatic backdrops that the game throws up. In Revelations you'll get a handful of new tools to help with your navigation, opening up new ways of traversing the locations. A zip-line hook lets you quickly get from one distant rooftop to another, and is a lifesaver when pursued by multiple targets, as well as a parachute that lets you glide to safety should you misjudge a leap, or soar quietly towards a target.

The set-piece missions introduced in Assassin's Creed Brotherhood return and mark the highlights of the game. Carefully splitting up the action, they're stunning; whether you're free-running through a fire or being dragged behind a rampaging carriage, they're consistently exciting moments.

Doing a good job of refining the series staples, Revelations gets a little patchy when it comes to the execution of the new mechanics it introduces.

Firstly, the new Den Defence sections. Every time you take over an enemy stronghold through killing their captains, your influence over a region of each city grows. However, brigades of soldiers will attempt to retake their lost positions, which trigger a tower defence minigame. Directing your assassin troops from the rooftops, you'll select units and place them strategically along the tops of buildings using a cursor selection method in order to quell the advance of your enemies. It's a jarring, clunky system that is nowhere near as exciting as the main game, and feels completely unnecessary. These sections normally last around ten minutes, and are rendered utterly pointless and devoid of tension once you realise that you can quickly retake strongholds lost in Den Defence as soon as you regain control of your assassin in the main game, simply by killing the new enemy captain.

More intriguing, though equally jarring, are the optional missions that flesh out Desmond's story. The now-comatose descendant of the assassins finds his mind left wandering through a cryptic strand of the ancestral-memory-hopping Animus system. Depicted as a lonely island, passing through shimmering gates sees Desmond attempt to regain control of his mind through completing a series of first-person enigmas. A bizarre mix of Tetris blocks, Tron visuals and Portal puzzles, the challenges are fairly well crafted, but feel completely at odds with the rest of the game. Though optional, you'll still want to see how Desmond's story pans out, meaning for most gamers avoiding them wont really be optional at all.

A personal bugbear, the removal of horses was a little disappointing for me too. The gallop of steeds in previous games was particularly exciting, and fitted perfectly into the worlds recreated by Ubisoft Montreal. That they are removed here and bizarre inclusions like the above make the cut instead is frustrating.

Thankfully, Ubisoft Monreal make no similar mistakes in the multipalyer modes. Taking the majority of gamers aback with its quality in Brotherhood, the online play returns once again, tightening up the sneaky/stabby action that sees you making a mockery of your pal's sleuthing and slicing skills. While new deathmatch and capture the flag "Artefact Assault" modes are merely good, the developers are slowly turning the returning online modes into truly worthy excursions, and are a welcome break from the frag-fests that make up the majority of gaming's competitive, social play.

Verdict:

Though Assassin's Creed Revelations is very much the best entrant into the series yet, it claims the title through the quality of the stealth platforming that already defines the series, and not the new additions brought to the table in this fourth instalment. Den Defence modes are clunky and mostly pointless, and while Desmond's optional puzzle sections intrigue, it's likely many will find them too jarring to persevere with. What Revelations does improve upon though is story-telling, weaving an interesting narrative around the lives of Ezio and Altair, bringing their blood-soaked tales to a worthy conclusion, and further refinements in the wickedly fun free-running, combat and multiplayer departments. The best parts of the game adhere to the series' familiar formula, and while it's difficult to see where Ubisoft will take the franchise next, Revelations is still often a breathtaking adventure.

Name: The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword

Genre: 3rd person adventure

Platform: Wii

Price: £34.90 from Amazon

The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword marks 25 years of slashing through dungeons in snazzy green tunics. Seen by many as potentially the Wii's last hurrah, Skyward Sword puts a lot on the line with its heavy implementation of motion controls and unique visual style. Can it revive interest in the ageing Wii console, and re-affirm the Zelda series as one of gaming's premier franchises? Read on to find out.

All the Legend of Zelda games are good, without question. But are they all great? Wind Waker had a superb art style, but was let down by lengthy stretches of boring high-seas travel. Twilight Princess had the mature tone series fans had longed for, but had some clunky werewolf-like gameplay mechanics. Sure, A Link to the Past is the epitome of 16-bit adventuring, and Ocarina of Time is rightly regarded by many as the greatest game of all time. But the rest of them? Merely good, not great.

Now I'm not writing this to kindle the flamers or enrage the trolls out on the web. I assure you I'm a massive Zelda fan, having played all but the CD-i adventures extensively. I'm merely framing the series landscape that this latest adventure, The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, finds itself in. Too much of a good thing can lead to complacency, and while complacency can still deliver good results, it'll never produce classic ones.

With the Zelda series then, I feel Nintendo have too long rested on their laurels. I was ready to turn my back on the series, or at least accept that it perhaps wasn't as important as it once was.

And then comes along Skyward Sword, a game that not only refuels my passion for the flagging franchise, but makes me re-think the merits of the ageing Wii console, re-evaluate my concerns with motion gaming, and remind me why Nintendo are still one of the greatest games developers on the planet. The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword is absolutely amazing.

Set many generations before the Hyrule that we've grown to know was formed, Skyward Sword is an origin story of sorts for the series. It also marks a rather impressive leap forward for Zelda games when it comes to storytelling. Link's quest to save the world from evil and rescue damsel-in-distress Zelda remains the same, but the presentation is vastly improved. Though dialogue still plays out through text scripts (and Link is still a mute), Skyward Sword propels its narrative forward with breathtaking cinematic cutscenes, the likes of which have never before been seen in a Zelda game. In terms of direction, they rival Uncharted for spectacle.

These cutscenes are bolstered by a unique and charming art style. A strange fusion of the mature themes of Twilight Princess and the cel-shaded style of Wind Waker, the world of Skyward Sword has the light beauty of a Monet painting if peppered with creatures and locations as surreal as any of the series' finest creations. The Wii isn't capable of the scale or fidelity possible with the processing power of the PS3 or Xbox 360, but the art team at Nintendo has eked out every last drop of potential from the Wii to make a staggeringly beautiful game. From the joyous character models that bring the more complex storyline to life to the dark recesses of a dangerous dungeon, you'll be constantly captivated.

All this and we haven't even touched on the gameplay. For a series that prides itself on perfect pacing and tightly crafted puzzles and combat, Skyward Sword feels so fresh, so innovative, that you'll wonder what you ever saw in the games that preceded it.

A major part of what makes the game so excellent is the superb, complimentary use of motion controls. I've been a motion sceptic in the past, but with Skyward Sword and the Wii Motion Plus add on for the controller, Nintendo have finally justified the technology they risked so much of their credibility on. From 1:1 sword swipes that make every battle a tactical, memorable challenge, to steering a giant bird-like Loftwing above the clouds, it's an ambitious, pitch-perfect, unintrusive implementation of a control method long labelled as merely a gimmick. You may find you'll need to recalibrate your controller a fair few times, but there's no waggling here, just perfectly natural gestures that reward skill and patience.

World design is also streamlined, and more richly populated with challenges. Soaring through the sky realm is great fun in and of itself, but there's now also a quick-travel option to get to and from underworld locations more quickly. You'll likely use it rarely however, as the land created here always offers something new to challenge you. Older Zelda games had lengthy, fairly basic paths between dungeons, but now you'll have to be constantly thinking on your toes and using your arsenal of objects to explore every nook and crannie of your surroundings. It's much more of a "Metroidvania" feel than ever before, as you find yourself regularly spotting treasures just out of sight, only to return later with a new skill in tow opening up a new path altogether to reach it.

Dungeons are now smaller than their predecessors, but no less ingenious, with their difficulty scaling up perfectly as you progress. Tired Zelda puzzles like torch lighting and block-pushing are more-or-less a thing of the past here, with a greater focus on using motion-based items like flying beetles, and the use of combinations of skills and motion-combat in quick succession. Again, set pieces are far grander, often turning your ideas about a particular dungeon puzzle on its head by their conclusion. That's before you've even reached the bosses, which are simultaneously terrifying, challenging and satisfying to conquer. You'll have to revisit key areas multiple times over the course of the game in order to uncover all of the hidden treasures, making for an adventure that will push the 35-40 hour mark.

Were we to pick one minor fault with Skyward Sword, it'd lay with the audio. A voiceover track for the supporting cast, if executed correctly,would have seen the series make the final step towards cinematic greatness. And while the soundtrack is as stirring as any other AAA game out there, some of the recurring tunes just aren't quite as catchy as the best that Zelda games have offered in the past. Other than that, every squeal of an enemy or clang of a sword sounds spot on.

Verdict:

A series that has too long lurked in the impressive shadow cast by Ocarina of Time, Skyward Sword sees the Zelda games once again flying high. Innovative, colourful, with an evocative story and the best example of motion controlled gaming "done right" we've seen yet, it's a fitting swansong for the ageing Wii console. Skyward Sword is not only the best Nintendo game to have hit their consoles in the past few years, it's quite possibly the best Zelda game there's ever been too.

Name: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3

Genre: First Person Shooter

Platform: Xbox 360 (reviewed), PS3, PC

Price: £38.91 from Amazon on Xbox 360
£38.91 from Amazon on PS3

£34.91 from Amazon on PC

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 - Single Player Review
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 - Multiplayer Review
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 - Special Ops Review
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 - Elite Review

You've checked out our single player, multiplayer, Elite and Special Ops reviews, and now here is our final verdict on Modern Warfare 3. Has the most-anticipated game of all time lived up to the hype?

Modern Warfare and the rest of the Call of Duty series had too long sat unchallenged at the top of the first person shooter pile. Each year there'd be a new title, and each year rival shooters would cower in the shadows, pushing release dates back and fading into obscurity, and with good reason; the COD/Modern Warfare games wiped the floor with practically all pretenders to the gun-toting throne.

But this year was different. For the first time in years there was a real challenger, a true contender to rock Modern Warfare's dominance in the shape of EA's Battlefield 3. It was (in-game, in pre-order sales and in the insults traded by the rival developers) war; Modern Warfare 3 vs Battlefield 3.

Battlefield 3 is a good game. A great game even. That Modern Warfare 3 feels so massively better than its nearest rival goes to show just how excellent a package it is that the developers over at Infinity Ward and Sledgehammer have crafted.

The single player campaign is like riding a rollercoaster strapped with guns on it through a series of ever-bigger explosions. You may well be on a linear path, but blasting through the truly outlandish set pieces on offer here will have your jaw dropping like a sky-diving yo-yo. It's not arty, nor is it clever, but it is a lot of fun.

That all those great moments can be refined into two minute slabs of pure, exhilarating fun in the Special Ops modes is a real delight, which even the most hardened Modern Warfare veterans will find a challenge to master.

Multiplayer, as any COD/ Modern Warfare fan knows, is where the real game truly lies though, and Modern Warfare 3 is no exception. Tightly-crafted, well-balanced gunplay is complemented in this third outing with inventive new game modes such as Kill Confirmed, while new Perks and the weapon-levelling system will keep you playing until you're a digital Rambo out on the battlefield. The new strike packages system, rewarding offensive and supporting play-styles equally is a real boon for the series; for the first time veterans and noobs can play together without being too detrimental to the other's game. It's still not quite a level playing field, but now at least both parties can have an equal stake in shaping the outcome of a match, and all will put their controllers down with a smile on their faces.

You could argue that Modern Warfare 3 barely strays from the blueprint laid down by the original Modern Warfare. However, if the 2007 title laid the foundations, 2011's iteration sees those foundations grow into a towering monument of a game. Sure, the single player is still a little simple for our liking, but it's still the best Modern Warfare campaign yet, and still better than 90% of shooters out there. That's without even looking at the staggering multiplayer and Special Ops offerings, or the ridiculously comprehensive Elite stat-monitoring and networking systems.

Modern Warfare 3 would have sold mountains of copies even if the developers had been completely complacent, but there have been real efforts to push the series forward in all departments. Modern Warfare 3 sees the series retain its place at the top of the first person shooter pile, and deservedly so.

Name: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3

Genre: First Person Shooter

Platform: Xbox 360 (reviewed), PS3, PC

Price: £38.91 from Amazon on Xbox 360
£38.91 from Amazon on PS3

£34.91 from Amazon on PC

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 - Single Player Review
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 - Multiplayer Review
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 - Special Ops Review
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 - Overall Verdict

Modern Warfare 3 isn't just about killing people. With the built-in Call of Duty: Elite network, it's about making friends, winning prizes and improving your online skills too. Oh, and yeah, killing people too actually. But do we really need a Facebook for fragging? Read on to find out, and make sure you've also checked out our single player, multiplayer and Special Ops reviews, as well as our overall final verdict on Modern Warfare 3.

Describe Call of Duty: Elite, in a sentence. Well, a decent stab at that request would be "a war-themed Facebook with heatmap-kill-ratio-infographics instead of drunken snaps of your old school pals". A new digital service that launches with Modern Warfare 3 (but is backwards compatible with Call of Duty: Black Ops, and will be supported by all future Call of Duty/Modern Warfare titles), it's designed to keep you playing the online component of Modern Warfare 3 even longer than you were planning to by teaching you ways to improve your online shooting techniques, connecting you with other like-minded players and challenging you to compete for real world prizes.

Available as a downloadable in-game add-on for the Xbox 360 and PS3, a web client for the PC and as an iPhone app (with an Android build in the pipeline, as well as tablet versions too), Elite is a two-tier system that has both free-to-use features and premium, members-only content too.

First off, lets have a look at what you get absolutely free with Call of Duty: Elite.

Split into three core sections, we're going to start with the area we feel you'll spend most time in: Improve. This area gives you access to more stats than you could possibly track manually, and is like Rain Man's wet dream, were he to have an interest in sub machine guns. Tracking your entire Modern Warfare/ Black Ops career, it has detailed information on every map you've played, who killed you where, what gun they used, where you spent most of your time hiding and so on and so forth. There's information on your accuracy with each weapon, which is your proffered weapon, how best to wield it, and detailed explanations of every gun's pros and cons. A mixture of graphs, charts, tutorial videos and user-generated hints and tips, it's like having a personal trainer purely to up your online game. Spend time exploring the reams of information offered here and you'll be top of the deathmatch leaderboards in no time at all.

Next up is Connect. Here you can track all your Xbox Live pals, as well as random gamers you've encountered in-game, and compare your stats to theirs. You can create and join groups, browsable via tags, which we think could create some really excellent rivalries online. Just imagine a "West Ham United" group organising a team deathmatch against a "Millwall FC" group (actually don't - that could cause real-world bloodshed) . There's even Facebook integration, telling your Modern Warfare-playing friends when you're online through Zuckerberg's network and vice versa (though we're not sure we like the idea of our hot Facebook pals knowing we're such massive Xbox Live dorks).

Lastly, the Compete section. Each week the developers over at Beachhead will set-up community wide events with a chance of winning real-world prizes, ranging from (according to one Beachhead team member) "everything from coffee coasters to trips around the world". Competitions will be tiered, meaning more skilled players get prizes worthy of their devotion to the game, while also allowing casual gamers a chance to grab some goodies too. Competition winning criteria will vary wildly too, meaning a high kill/death ratio is just as important as having a good sense of humour and the skills to make a decent "Machinima" video using the game's built-in video uploader.

Much of this is accessible via the iPhone app, which, while stripped back, hooks up with your Modern Warfare gamer tag to offer plenty of information too. It's particularly useful to have the app open while playing online, as the built-in Elite platform can't run at the same time as the actual game; you have to jump between the two. With the mobile app, you've got constant, real-time access to your stats without needing to jump out of the game. The app also lets you build in-game load outs on the go, letting you perfect your ideal online arsenal while on the way to school or the commute to work, and have all your custom weaponry synced and ready to go when you head online with the actual game.

As a free service to delve in and out of, it's obviously a no-brainer that Elite is a great addition, helping you to hone your skills and build up interesting relationships within the wider Modern Warfare 3 community. But what about the "Premium", £34.99/$49.99 annual subscription service? Obviously you get all of the above, but what's extra there and is it worth your money?

At this point it's a little harder to tell. Developer's Beachhead are the first to admit that this will be a constantly evolving service that will be tweaked as time passes, but the initial outlook for Premium subscribers is good. Most importantly, those who cough up the extra dough will get early access to all future Modern Warfare 3 DLC at no extra cost, which, when compared to the usual individual pricing of DLC packs, will lead to considerable savings.

Premium subscribers will also get far deeper Clan support, giving gamers who regularly play together the ability to level up as a group and compete in exclusive Clan Operations. Premium subscribers will also be able to compete for exclusive real-world prizes in the Compete area, some of which will only be available to Clan players. Multiple prizes will be available each week, and they'll be won not just through reaching the top of kill tables, but by submitting inventive, criteria-filling videos too, meaning plenty of people will have a fair chance at winning stuff. It's yet to be seen how inevitable cheaters will be dealt with, but the prize list so far is looking impressive, with everything from iPad 2s to Jeeps up for grabs.

Then there is the "premium episodic video content" on Call of Duty Elite TV to look forward to, featuring Hollywood talent such as Will Arnett, Jason Bateman and the legendary Ridley "BladeRunner" Scott on production duties. In this age of bootlegged YouTube videos locking stuff behind a paywall seems pointless; there's nothing to stop someone with a camera recording the footage off of their TVs and posting it online, though there's no denying they've got some big names lined-up to feature in the vids.

Modern Warfare fans were wary of Elite when it was first revealed, fearing that their beloved multiplayer antics were to become a long, itemised shopping list. But the reality is that even the free features offer comprehensive and useful insights into the game and its vast player base, as well as intuitive mobile apps to bring some elements of the game on the go with you. The Premium package is a tougher sell, one that Clan gamers and DLC fanatics should certainly snap up, but perhaps an extravagance too far for the average frag fan.

Name: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3

Genre: First Person Shooter

Platform: Xbox 360 (reviewed), PS3, PC

Price: £38.91 from Amazon on Xbox 360
£38.91 from Amazon on PS3

£34.91 from Amazon on PC

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 - Single Player Review
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 - Multiplayer Review
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 - Elite Review
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 - Overall Verdict

Modern Warfare 3 is finally here, and with it comes the return of Special Ops missions. Can their quick fire blasts of arcade action capture our imaginations once more, and is the new Survival mode as addictive as Nazi Zombies? Read on to find out, and make sure you've also checked out our single player, multiplayer and Call of Duty: Elite reviews, as well as our overall final verdict on Modern Warfare 3.

The Special Ops mode was an unexpected delight in Modern Warfare 2. Short, sharp slabs of shooting action, they were a fiendishly challenging distillation of everything that made the main game modes so appealing. Whether you were spending 30 seconds running down an assault course or plugging away with a sniper rifle at incessant waves of camouflaged invaders, chasing a perfect 3-star rank was worryingly addictive.

In Modern Warfare 3 the Special Ops modes are more fleshed out and varied than before. There are 16 timed challenges to face altogether, and each focusses your abilities on an individual skill. You can face a mid-air plane-hijacking that's reminiscent of James Bond, storm a submarine, collect nuclear waste and control camera-mounted security systems all within the space of a few breath-taking minutes here, with your efforts star-ranked according to your speed, accuracy and ability to identify the most valuable targets quickly. As addictive as ever, most of the challenges are available for co-operative play too, scaling up the difficulty appropriately to challenge you and a pal.

Star rankings aren't just for kudos's sake this time around however. The Special Ops mode carries with it a unique levelling and ranking system, separate from that found in the multiplayer mode, which plays directly into the new Survival mode by governing the equipment you have access to.

Survival mode plays out a lot like previous Nazi Zombie modes in earlier Call of Duty titles, except that your opponents are armed, any of the 16 multiplayer maps can act as the setting, and that your Special Ops level determines the quality of the weaponry you'll be able to wield. You'll have to spend a fair bit of time mastering the Special Op missions if you're going to perform well against the endless stream of baddies you face in Survival, as well as recruit a reliable friend to watch your back.

The tension is high in Survival, with foes getting progressively more difficult. Providing you get past the early, easier waves, you'll soon find yourself faced with suicide bombers, attack dogs, attack dogs with bombs strapped to them and attack dogs with bombs strapped to them with killer bees in their mouths. Well, maybe not the last one, but the sight of an attack chopper or a near-indestructible armoured Juggernaut soldier bearing down upon you is just as terrifying. Knocking a few foes down will see you quickly earn cash, letting you purchase weaponry from resupply points dotted around the map that your corresponding Special Ops level gives you access to.

The larger maps make for great tactical play too. You can leg it if you're becoming overwhelmed by enemies, but stray too far from your teammates and, should you get in trouble, you'll be too far away to be revived by pals. Should you and your Survival buddies all die, it's game over, and back to wave one.

Nazi Zombies has many fans, but I'd argue that Survival is actually the better mode. Sure, shooting shambling, rotting nasties is fun, but Survival feels like a more natural extension of the core components of Modern Warfare 3. Avoiding ranged fire, for instance, is a small but significant difference, while the greater variety of foes and maps keeps you on your toes more than when playing with the undead.

Special Ops is a stellar edition to the Modern Warfare 3 package. Missions let you relive some of the campaign mode's highlights, twisting them into point-chasing gauntlets, while Survival is an almost-hypnotic mix of risk and reward. Those hankering for some co-operatively play will find themselves well served here.

Name: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3

Genre: First Person Shooter

Platform: Xbox 360 (reviewed), PS3, PC

Price: £38.91 from Amazon on Xbox 360
£38.91 from Amazon on PS3

£34.91 from Amazon on PC

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 - Single Player Review
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 - Special Ops Review
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 - Elite Review
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 - Overall Verdict

Load up on guns, bring your friends, it's fun to lose and to pretend. Modern Warfare is back, with addictive multiplayer modes again returning in the third instalment to dominate your leisure time. Read on to find out whether it does enough to fend off stiff competition from Battlefield 3, and make sure you've checked out our single player, Special Ops and Call of Duty: Elite reviews, as well as our overall final verdict on Modern Warfare 3.

When it comes to online multiplayer, the Modern Warfare series has defined our expectations for a frag session during this console generation, in much the same way GoldenEye, Quake II and Counter Strike did previously. A constant drip-feed of perk upgrades, weapon improvements and ladder-climbing ranked battles, Modern Warfare 3 sees the trilogy continue its tradition of addictive gun-on-gun, "one more go" competitive gameplay, with a raft of improvements and new modes to entice noobs and veterans alike.

The core of Modern Warfare 3's multiplayer gameplay remains unchanged. You're still going to pick a pair of weapons, then head out onto the battlefield with the aim of gunning down your pals and online strangers alike. That's been a fun premise since the imaginary games of our childhood, but it's the surrounding systems that elevate Modern Warfare 3 above the pack, refining the stellar work that made the previous titles in the series so infinitely re-playable.

The most obvious difference for returning fans is the all-new strike packages. These build upon the previous system of Killstreaks, which previously rewarded the most deadly players by giving them access to massively destructive weapons and abilities. Instead you have three different groups of strike packages to choose from (Assault, Support and Specialist), each catering to distinctly different play styles.

Assault strike packages are the closest to the old system of Killstreaks. Here, stringing together a series of kills without finding yourself on the wrong side of a firing squad sees you unlocking offensive skills like an Assault Drone or a Predator air strike. Dying sees you lose any potential benefits, sending you back to the beginning of the pointstreak cycle.

Support strike packages cater for more casual gamers who find kill-to-death ratios a little harder to balance in their favour. They tend to benefit the team more than individual players, giving access to air drops of ballistic vest armour, or reconnaissance drones to sniff out camping opponents. Rather than focussing on your ability to kill foes, Support strike packages can be unlocked by completing objectives (say, capturing a Domination control point), and continue to tally up even if you're killed. In this regard, Modern Warfare 3 does a much better job of making newcomers valued team members too; choosing this strike package load-out gives them purpose on the battlefield as much as their marksmen mates, regardless of whether they can rack up a load of kills or not. If you're a truly awful player, Death Streaks return, giving a brief boost to your powers should you die repeatedly.

Specialist strike packages are tuned for the hardcore player. Rather than opening up air strikes or support drops, you activate extra ability-improving Perks as you rack up kills, giving you as many as seven Perks running simultaneously compared to the standard three. It's an all-or-nothing approach, making you a more deadly marksman if you're able to keep the kills coming, and sending you back to square one should you get taken down.

As ever, taking part in online bouts sees your persistent persona level up, allowing you to face more skilled opponents, collect reputation-boosting titles, and unlock the afore-mentioned Perks which improve your abilities as a one-man killing machine. These Perks offer everything from faster movement speed while aiming with the new "Stalker" ability to being able to spot enemies on the map from afar with the "Marksman" skill.

Modern Warfare 3 adds another element into the upgrade mix by introducing a weapon ranking system. There are more than 40 guns in Modern Warfare 3, and the more time you devote to each individual weapon, the greater its potential will be. This doesn't mean that your aim will be all over the shop when you first start out, but rather that you'll earn a handful of add-ons that improve the weapon itself, such as reduced recoil when firing, faster iron-sight aiming and more precise laser sighting reticules. Being able to tweak each weapon individually adds another layer of complexity to the online bouts, and will prove a real time-sink for any gamer looking to perfect their arsenal.

As well as returning favourites such as Free-for-All and Team Deathmatch, things are kept fresh with a raft of new game modes too. In public matches, you'll now be able to play Team Defender (tasking you with grabbing a flag and/or defending a teammate with the flag in order to rack up points), and our new favourite Kill Confirmed, which may well be the best game mode in the entire series.

With Kill Confirmed, players duke it out not only for kills, but dog tags too, which are dropped wherever you kill an opponent. They're worth just as much as a kill to your overall XP gain, meaning you're forced to try to grab them rather than skulk around in the shadows, making for far more open and nail-biting matches.

Those who'd rather just play with friends are treated to six new Private Match modes too. These include the zombie-inspired Infection (recruiting extra team mates every time you kill an opponent) Juggernaut (turning the most deadly player into a massively-armoured walking tank) and One in the Chamber, which rewards kills with a boost to your initially-meagre ammo reserves.

To round things off, Infinity Ward and Sledgehammer have finally introduced long-awaited dedicated server support for the game. Players will now finally be able to browse, filter and join servers of their choice, as well as letting them create their own custom servers, with their own sets of game rules and ban lists. In theory, you should never have to suffer "griefing" at the hands of a13 year old from Connecticut ever again with Modern Warfare 3's online suite.

So, the most important question regarding Modern Warfare 3: are its multiplayer modes better than that on offer from Battlefield 3? It's a close one, but Modern Warfare 3 just edges it in our opinion. What Modern Warfare 3 lacks in drivable tanks, jets, helicopters and gigantic deathmatches, it makes up for with inventive game modes, a more finely-balanced upgrade system and 16 tightly-crafted maps. Skilled players are duly rewarded for their itchy trigger fingers, but even newcomers are catered for here in a series that has often been intimidating to those who can't devote their lives to memorising every trick and map. Add in the reams of stats and tutorials made available through the new Call of Duty: Elite platform, and you've got arguably the most complete multiplayer package ever seen on consoles.

Name: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3

Genre: First Person Shooter

Platform: Xbox 360 (reviewed), PS3, PC

Price: £38.91 from Amazon on Xbox 360
£38.91 from Amazon on PS3

£34.91 from Amazon on PC

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 - Multiplayer Review
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 - Special Ops Review
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 - Elite Review
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 - Overall Verdict

Ready to kick some terrorist butt? Good, because Modern Warfare 3, the most highly-anticipated shooter of all time is here, locked, cocked, and ready to unload a shed-load of digital bullets into your shell-shocked face. Can it live up to the massive expectations of one gaming's most fervent fanbases? Scroll down to read our single-player review, and be sure to check out our thoughts on Modern Warfare 3's multiplayer and Special Ops modes, the new Call of Duty: Elite service, and our overall verdict on the game.

World War 3 is in full-swing come the opening of Modern Warfare 3, kicking off right where the cliff-hanger ending to Modern Warfare 2 left us. Soap's lying on the porch outside Death's door after being knifed in the chest, and the beardy, hat-loving Price is majorly peeved that uber-terrorist Makarov is still at large, orchestrating world-wide conflicts and genocide. Story-telling has never been Modern Warfare's strong point, and Modern Warfare 3 is no exception, with a plot full of more wild twists and turns than a pole-dancing convention. It's big, dumb fun, only ever a vehicle for a string of gigantic set-pieces, but again at least there's solid voice acting to deliver each gung-ho line in Modern Warfare 3.

Where Modern Warfare 3's campaign really does excel is in the variety of tasks it throws your way. Of course, the meat of the gameplay is running-and-gunning, but nearly every level has at least one unique mechanic, and several blockbuster moments. Just when you've had your fill of shotguns and assault rifles, the game throws up a UGV (Unmanned Ground Vehicle: AKA a mini-robot tank) to control, an airstrike to call in, a chopper-on-chopper dogfight among Manhattan's skyscrapers to take part in or an underwater minefield to traverse. Even if Modern Warfare 3's single player remains stubbornly linear, co-developers Sledgehammer and Infinity Ward have at least come up with plenty of inventive ways to kick-ass. An Inception-style floating gunfight onboard a plummeting plane is a sure contender for "Gaming Moment of the Year", for instance.

That variety is carried over into the locations that the game plays out in too. Modern Warfare 3 packs its passport for a truly-globe-trotting adventure, battling it out in the dusty shanty towns of Sierra Leone, London's tube system and the foot of the Eiffel Tower among other landmarks. It has a bearing on gameplay too; tight, claustrophobic corridor sections segue seamlessly into wide open battlefields, with hundreds of soldiers, vehicles and explosions filling the screen, forcing you to quickly adapt tactics and weapons to suit varying environments. It's always a visual treat too, with colourful explosions, superb atmospheric effects, and never a drop in framerate.

Modern Warfare single-player modes are often criticised for having poor AI. Enemies in the past have soaked up bullets like a sponge sucks up suds in a Radox advert, barely attempting to outwit you. Modern Warfare 3's single-player opponents are a slight improvement; they'll move around a little more to flank you when you are under pressure, and rush you if you hide-out sheepishly in one spot for too long. But they're still far from perfect, often failing to consider other cover spots, even when you're popping caps in their heads.

Like the original Modern Warfare's nuclear blast moment, and Modern Warfare 2's "No Russian" civilian airport execution sequence, there's a controversial moment about halfway through Modern Warfare 3's campaign that is sure to shock gamers, and disgust the Daily Mail-reading public. I'm not a squeamish gamer (read my recent review of RAGE to see how much delight I take in the gory results of a well-aimed shotgun blast) but there are a few moments in the single player campaign that are so gratuitously violent, lingering on disturbing shots, that even this Manhunt veteran felt a little uncomfortable. Sure, war ain't meant to be pretty, but this is definitely a game to keep away from the kids.

Battlefield 3's single-player campaign drew criticism for trying too hard to emulate the blockbuster action of the Modern Warfare series, and falling flat in the process. After playing through both that game's campaign and Modern Warfare 3's, it's a fair complaint. No other franchise can pull off the Michael Bay-style bombast of the Modern Warfare games, and Modern Warfare 3's campaign makes for an explosive finale to the trilogy's story arc. The campaign doesn't re-invent the wheel (it's still rather short, linear and easy), but is consistent in its pacing, and often jaw-dropping in the scale of its execution.

Name: Philips Sonicare DiamondClean

Type: Electric Toothbrush

Specs: Click here for full specs

Price: £250

Can you covet a toothbrush? That's a question Philips are hoping to answer with a resounding "YES" with their latest electric brush, the Sonicare DiamondClean. Packed full of teeth-tidying features, it's about as techy as a toothbrush is ever going to get, and as expensive too. But is it worth the £250 asking price? Read on to find out.

Though far thicker and a good inch longer than your average manual toothbrush, the DiamondClean is an attractive bit of kit, in so far at least as a toothbrush can ever be attractive. With an oblong handle that features a power/mode select button and an illuminated display to indicate which of the brush's five cleaning modes you're currently using (as well as battery charge levels), it tapers off at the neck into a thin, slightly angled head. It feels a little heavy in the hand, but never uncomfortably so, with much of the weight likely made up of the motor system inside and the impressive rechargeable lithium-polymer battery, which is good for 3 weeks of regular usage from a single overnight charge. The brush head (of which two are included) snap satisfyingly on and off, making it easy to hygienically share the DiamondClean with your partner providing you each grab your own head piece.

The DiamondClean looks great on a bathroom shelf, and that's not least of all down to some premium extras thrown in. As well as the brush itself, heads and charging cables, the DiamondClean package also includes an eye-catching silver travel case and a nicely cut glass tumbler with a silver base unit that it rests in.

There's more than meets the eye with these two add-ons however, as both are used to wirelessly charge the DiamondClean. Using an inductive charging system similar to that found in Powermat chargers, simply placing the brush into the glass resting on the base unit (with the base unit plugged into a wall socket) charges the DiamondClean. With the green-lined travel case, it's a similar principle, lying the toothbrush down inside rather than standing it up, and connecting the case via a USB connection on a PC or laptop to charge the brush. Though it may initially sound silly, the USB support is actually a nifty addition; anyone who regularly works while travelling on trains or planes will be able to conveniently charge the brush at the same time.

If you've only ever used a manual toothbrush, how clean your teeth feel after using the DiamondClean will be a revelation. Your teeth feel remarkably polished and genuinely "squeaky clean" afterwards. It's a strange sensation using the brush at first, causing your teeth to vibrate in a peculiar way, but Philips have cleverly designed the DiamondClean to ramp up the intensity of the cleaning cycle progressively after your first few brushes, letting you get used to the way the brush works gradually. If, once the DiamondClean has hit its regular level of cleaning intensity, you still find it too much, you can choose the gentle "Sensitive" mode instead.

There are 5 cleaning modes programmed altogether in the DiamondClean (Clean, White, Polish, Gum Care, Sensitive), each designed to focus on a particular cleaning process. However, apart from the light touch of the "Sensitive" option, we felt little difference between the modes apart from cycle lengths, and generally stuck with the default "Clean" setting which got the job done fine.

On the "Clean" setting, the DiamondClean uses a 2 minute "Smartimer", automatically switching off after you've brushed for the recommended 120 seconds. This particular timer takes it a little further though, stopping the motor for a split-second at 30 second intervals to help you better judge when to move onto a new area in your mouth. It's a great way of making sure you've brushed each area equally, and for the recommended length of time, considering both over and under-brushing can be just as damaging to the health of your teeth.

For all its bells and whistles though, at the end of the day the most important part of the DiamondClean is whether or not it has the ability to give you a Hollywood smile. And, after around three week's use (give or take a day) I've noticed my teeth look notably whiter. The small, pointed head lets you easily get into the nooks and crannies between your teeth, and while I've never suffered from gum disease to know whether or not the DiamondClean has made them feel any healthier, the brush has certainly done a good job of keeping the fleshier parts of my mouth feeling fresh too.

Verdict:

OK, so no matter how hard you try, it's never going to be easy to get all that excited about a toothbrush. But credit where it's due, Philips have managed to "tech-up" the humble gnasher polisher into an attractive package that's made a genuine improvement to the sparkle of Tech Digest's pearly whites.

The DiamondClean is to toothbrushes what the iPhone is to smartphones. It looks great, has a solid battery, travels well and cleans teeth almost as well as my dentist. Is it drastically better than cheaper alternatives? Perhaps not, but it still impresses with a rich feature list that rivals just cant offer. If money is no option (and you're hoping to be munching on steak with your own set of molars well into your old age) then the Philips Sonicare DiamondClean is for you.

For the purpose of this review, Tech Digest were given a sample model of the Sonicare DiamondClean electric toothbrush by Philips.

Name: Kinect Sports: Season 2

Genre: Motion controlled Kinect party game

Platform: Xbox 360

Price: £32 from Amazon

Image Gallery: Click here

Almost a year since its launch, the Xbox 360's controller-free Kinect motion sensor is still waiting for its killer, must-have game. Rare Studios staked a decent claim at the title with Kinect Sports at launch, and this year they've implemented a raft of new features and a host of new sports for the sequel, Kinect Sports: Season 2. Is it enough to convert the Kinect sceptics? Read on to find out.

As a Kinect title, it goes without saying that unless you've got Microsoft's motion-tracking accessory, you're not going to be able to play Kinect Sports: Season 2. So if you've been sitting on the fence as to whether or not you should buy one, have Rare done enough here to coax you into grabbing the add-on?

We'd say yes. Make no mistakes, we've been motion-control sceptics ourselves, but Rare have a good handle on how to get the most out of the motion sensor. Movements still aren't 1:1 responsive when it comes to the actions on screen mirroring your flailing limbs, but it's a damn sight closer than last year's efforts, and control of the 6 events on offer here are, for the most part, satisfyingly tighter as a result.

And, also for the most part, those events are a good laugh too. With an eye on international markets as opposed to the very American-centric original, it's a more diverse range of sports this time around, taking in Golf, Tennis, Baseball, Skiing, Darts and American Football. As any good party game should be, all the sports are simple enough to play with little or no prior gaming experience; so long as you've got a rough idea of how to play the sports on show in real life, that'll translate fairly well to playing in Kinect Sports: Season 2.

So with Golf for instance, standing side-on to the sensor and swinging both arms like you're holding a club will see you strike the ball towards the pin, with the sensor picking up a searching hand to the brow as a cue to scan the course, and a crouched position once the ball is on the green making the game check out lumps and bumps ahead of the hole. The newly-implemented voice activated commands work best in this event, letting you quickly select a club by shouting its name rather than scrolling through lengthy lists. 3, 6 or 9 hole games can be played, and while it's a more forgiving game of golf than say EA's Tiger Woods, it's deep enough and controlled accurately enough to be the sport we spent most time with.

Tennis is far more energetic, and far more fun, here than with its Wii Sports rival. You'll roughly control the positioning of your player too, meaning you'll need a fair bit of space to play this one, but lining up forehands and cross-court shots was a real delight, and ended up with us having a very real bout of Tennis elbow. The slight lag of the Kinect's response time meant you have to pre-empt shots ever so slightly more than you would in real life, but I rarely, if ever, felt cheated by lacklustre system performance.

Baseball plays like a mixture of Golf and Tennis, requiring the swing-style movements of the former and the speed and timing of the latter as the baseball approaches the batter. Stepping into a swing gives added power, while a later or earlier swing decides where the ball ends up on the field. As a pitcher, the speed of your thrusting arm decides the speed of the throw, with arching throws adding curve and spin to throws. Once the ball is hit, so long as it hasn't gone out for a home run, batters run on the spot to reach bases, while pitchers get the chance to catch the flying ball. You're also able to call in a star pitcher or batter to ramp up the tension and increase your chances of winning once per inning.

Skiing is a simple, if effectively presented, downhill sprint. Crouching and leaning forward picks up speed, with a gentle lean left and right governing turns as you aim for gates. You can also jump to pick up air and speed at specific points. In a nice touch, living room spectators can wave their arms about to make the sound of cow bells ring. It's another sport where you feel totally in control of the action, and is one of the most satisfying as a result.

Darts is a peculiar addition (is it even really a sport?) and tended to divide the opinions of those we played the game alongside. If you're not familiar with the sport, you're tasked with whittling down your score from either a starting point of 301 or 501 by hitting numbered segments on a circular board, with some areas worth double or triple points. To win a round, you have to "check out" by lining up a double that exactly clears your remaining points. The Kinect Sports: Season 2 approximation of the event sees you moving an aiming reticule across the board and then sharply pulling your arm back and then through the point you locked in to throw the dart. It takes some getting used to, but a little practice quickly sees most players racking up top three-dart scores of 180 in no time. It's a revelation that the Kinect sensor can pick up such precise movements as a flicking wrist at all, and a testament to the work Rare have put in here.

American Football is the weak link though. While the other sports have quirks and boons that will see them individually picked up as one person or another's favourite, American Football is over-simplified to the point of being redundant and unlikely to find favour with many gamers. After picking a play, all that's required of you as the quarterback is to wave your arm to throw the ball once an icon appears on screen. If another player on the field then catches the ball successfully, it's just a matter of running on the spot and hoping that you make it to the Endzone for a touch down. There are no dodge or juking moves to dupe defenders with, just blind luck. Fail to reach the Endzone for a touchdown before your set number of Downs expires and you'll get to kick a field goal, which are so easy to score as to render all the elements that came before in the event entirely pointless.

As you'd expect, all the sports here can be played either in split-screen modes or alternately with friends in a local session, or online via Xbox Live. AI opponents put up a decent challenge, and ramp up the difficulty appropriately, but it's just nowhere near as fun as jumping about with real-world friends.

Each of the sports also has a Party Mode to play too, making the already wacky takes on the sport even wilder. Darts becomes a magician's spinning wheel of death, Skiing a downhill assault course, for instance. These modes can also be played online in the new Challenge Modes, seeing you set a high score before sending a message to your pals to get them to attempt to best it.

It's all wrapped up with delightfully charming production. Though the Xbox Avatar graphical approach certainly apes the Wii's style, they're lovingly animated, with plenty of jokes and atmosphere surrounding each event. From the X-Factor's very own Peter Dickson on voice over duties to the licensed soundtrack that includes such guilty-pleasure stars as Vanilla Ice and Rick Astley, Rare have nailed the goofy party vibe to a tee.

Verdict:

Go into Kinect Sports: Season 2 expecting a photo-real simulation of your favourite sports and you'll come away sorely disappointed. It's very much a simple title to play with the kids, or with a gang of big kids after a big night out. In that scenario Kinect Sports: Season 2 really shines, with Rare proving a dab hand at not only wielding the Kinect sensor, but painting smiles across faces too. It's not without its faults, and American Football in particular is a real disappointment. But let your guard down long enough and you'll soon find you've lost hours flailing away to the game's genuine charms.

Name: Three MiFi HSPA+ (Huawei E586)

Type: Portable personal Wi-Fi hotspot

Specs: Click here for full specs

Price: £84.99 with 3GB of data/ Free on 18 month tariff at £10.87 per month with 1GB data allowance/ Free on 24 month tariff at £18.99 a month with 15GB data allowance

Three's latest MiFi personal Wi-Fi hotspot certainly is a looker, and with newly-added HSPA+ connectivity, makes some bold claims when it comes to mobile broadband speeds. Can it deliver superfast downloads when out on the road, or will a standard dongle offer similar results? Read on to find out.

If you're even remotely interested in consumer technology (if you aren't, God only know swhat you're doing on this site) chances are that you don't leave the house without several web-enabled devices. From smartphones to games consoles, e-readers to tablets to laptops, if it's got a battery in it, chances are it can connect to the web these days. However, when it comes to mobile broadband, keeping each of these devices connected can be expensive.

Here's where Three's MiFi range comes in. Small, pebble-shaped devices weighing just 90 grams, they're portable, pocketable, battery-powered Wi-Fi hotspots that connect to Three's mobile network and let multiple devices connect to the internet at once, wherever you may be.

On the upside, you're likely to save plenty of dough using a MiFi as you only have to shell out for one tariff every month. In the past, the downside however has been that connection speeds can get a little shoddy when split across multiple devices.

Three's latest MiFi, the E586, more-or-less sidesteps the issue of speed by being the first device to offer a HSPA+ connection. In theory, this gives you download speeds as fast as 21.6Mbps and upload speeds of 5.76Mbps. This, in theory, makes it far more attractive than a regular dongle's 7.2Mbps max download speed.

Great in theory, but how about in practice? Nowhere near as fast, but not too shabby either. In areas of strong signal we regularly topped speeds of 8Mbps, which just wouldn't be possible on a standard dongle, averaging out at 5 or 6Mbps elsewhere. This extra speed boost made connecting multiple devices for simultaneous usage far less of a pain too, making this MiFi kit a real work tool for teams needing reliable web access when out of the office.

Those looking to use the MiFi in a professional capacity will be pleased to hear the many security features built in here too. Though you can easily just pop in the supplied SIM-card and battery, switch on and connect your devices using the SSID/password card, those looking for extra protection can visit http://3.home in their browsers and tweak settings like WPA2-PSK and AES TKIP WPA encryption. You can also use this page to send and receive messages using the MiFi, though the practical application of this feature is limited.

Three still suffer from intermittent coverage blackspots (like, annoyingly, the area of our Central London office specifically where I sit it would seem) but it was very impressive just how often it picked up a HSPA+ connection when out around town. Of course London is likely to have better coverage than more rural spots, so double-check with a coverage tracking site to before a purchase, but even with a standard 3G mobile broadband connection the dongle performed well.

As we alluded to earlier, the new MiFi looks pretty snazzy too. Available in black or white, a small but clear OLED screen shows info on signal strength, connection type, connected devices (as many as five at a time), connection status, messages, battery level, total data usage and roaming state. Charging over USB (or using a supplied cradle) the USB connection can also be used to access the microSD slot on the side of the MiFi (card not included) potentially turning the unit into a portable 32GB drive too. Overall, battery life is excellent too, managing 5.5 hours of heavy usage and as much as 100 hours on standby from a single charge.

Verdict:

Without the HSPA+ capabilities, Three's latest MiFi hotspot would still be a stylish mobile broadband unit capable of reliable, on-the-go connectivity. With HSPA+, and with the flexible tariff system Three have in place, it becomes a genuinely viable alternative to a fixed broadband connection for light internet users. Three still suffer from the odd blackspot, but if you're lucky enough to be within range of a HSPA+ connection here, it's a genuinely excellent bit of kit.

Name: Acronis True Image Home 2012

Type: PC data back-up utility

System requirements: Click here for full details

Price: £39.95 (£23.95 if upgrading from previous edition)

Backing-up PC data can be a chore, but it's a necessary pain if you hope to protect your sensitive and precious files from the odd ghost in the system. The Acronis True Image Home 2012 suite aims to take the hassle out of backing up your files, while also having enough flexibility to sate the appetite of even the most avid PC tinkerer. Read on for our verdict.

Rather than focussing on one form of data back-up, the Acronis True Image Home 2012 suite offers the complete package. Be it online back-ups, file-based or continuous incremental back-ups of whole drives as they update, drive image creation or images of partitions, the software pops all methods into a single neat product.

Whether you're using True Image Home 2012's Nonstop Back-up feature to keep your My Documents folder safely duplicated as you pop new files inside, or using an Acronis True Image Online account to synchronise local folders with a network or a laptop (which follows similar concepts to those that use the Dropbox service), there's a solution for pretty much every situation.

It's all presented in such a way as to be make it comfortable to use for even those who find the thought of back-up processed intimidating. A re-vamped interface opens with a "Get Started", which offers tutorials on "How to back up?", "When to recover?" and "What is sync?". Whatever your skill level, Acronis have done a fairly good job of walking you through each step of each back-up process.

Of course, if you're familiar with the concepts of preserving your files, you can dive straight in with the Backup and recovery" tab and picking from options like: "Disk and partition", "Online", "File", "Email" and "Nonstop backup". Again the interface is clear, letting you easily pick source and destination locations, and in the case of Online and File back-up processes, offering check-box style controls to select the precise files that need copying.

It's all highly configurable too, letting you set back-up schedules, password protect resulting archives and (in the case of the online back-up tools) set network bandwidth limits so that your uploads to the Acronis servers don't totally drain your internet speeds. Archives are created in manageable sizes, and the True Image Home 2012 processes can run happily in the background without hogging too much of your system's resources. The program had a few issues recognising a Crucial solid-state drive we were testing with that hadn't been assigned a drive letter, but it's a problem that seemed unique to our set-up.

Those looking for very specific back-up tools will be pleased to discover True Home Image 2012's Email Back-up and Try&Decide tools. Outlook users in particular will benefit from Email Back-Up, letting you quickly and effectively archive all inbox messages and contacts, saving invaluable stuff in the case of a disaster be you a business owner working from home or simply a person who'd simply die if they lost their email-archived holiday snaps. Try&Decide was our personal favourite tool, letting you road-test risky installations (say a work-in-progress driver or a download from an untrusted source) and then revert back quickly and simply to a prior state if you encounter any problems.

These are among a long list of features already present in previous versions of True Image Home 2012. Managing all these options could potentially become a pain, but again a clear UI means that it's simply a matter of checking a list in the Back-up and Recovery tab to keep on top of everything lined up.

Verdict:

While the computer whiz-kids amongst us will already have fool-proof methods for manually creating back-up copies of their valuable files, True Image Home 2012 makes the whole process much simpler for newbies. There's also enough smart features (like Try and Decide) to make even those with their own tried-and-tested back-up methods consider giving this a try. It's not without its quirks, and the full suite of online support isn't the most competitively priced, but it comes strongly recommended nonetheless..