Philips Living Colours
You may think this is just a lamp, but you’d be wrong. When I saw this revolutionary light on Philips website, I just had to have a go with it. With my obsession for mood lighting, and lighting to suit the mood I’m in, I was a bit too excited when the package arrived at my door.
Philips have always been very unique with the fields they place technology into, and I see the brand as much more of a lifestyle choice, rather than the odd piece of great technology. Whatever they bring to market seems to be the best at what it does and arguably the most stylish against the competition, so much so that I would happily buy kitchen utensils if it had their guarantee of brilliance.
The Living Colours range from Philips follows suit. Capable of emitting 16 million colours, this little lamp will have you playing for hours, changing from red to pink, blue to green and all the colours in between! Changes don’t just stop at colour either, adjust brightness and even intensity for that perfect mood lighting to suit any occasion. Alternatively you can just let it cycle through the spectrum.
Although something you may want to tuck away out of sight, and let the light flood the room, the Living Colours range isn’t an eyesore, almost resembling a base speaker kind of look and style. Even off, this lamp looks stylish and very minimalist. Purchase up to six and you can make a feature of them, and control them all with just one remote, no need for specific light fittings and bulbs, just these little lamps with huge proportions.
One little annoyance has to be the plug lead, unfortunately it isn’t a portable feature and must be plugged in to work. Of course, this does mean multiple sockets are used if you have more than one, but it is worth hiding the lead so as to not ruin the beauty of it’s design.
Available from Philips.co.uk the Black one I tested is priced at £119.00, the clear version is £99.00 and £85.00 for a Living colours Mini LED.
Philips Aurea 2
Now
When I say a 'little bit' what I actually mean is 42" of pure beauty,
add a 4" bezel, backlight and state of the art High Definition
technology, and you have yourself the perfect night in with all your
favourite stars.
Introducing the Aurea 2, the latest TV from Philips brings he cinema home, with plenty of added extras.
So lets start at the very beginning. Gimmicks often help to sell products and usually they have a short lifetime that you often or not get bored of, but Philips have brought practicality and a little bit of science to the art of selling using gimmicks. The Aurea is not only stylish in white but the clear surrounding lip frames the piece beautifully, suited to any room whatever the décor. Philips have taken these fantastic styling features to the next level, the clear lip is actually the speakers surrounding the TV and project the noise toward the audience
However, by far the most spectacular thing about this TV is the 4" bezel, Philips refer to this as the 'Ambilight'. The Ambilight projects an array of colours, reflecting that of what you are viewing, so for instance if an explosion happens, the frame lights lots of reds, yellows and oranges, making things more dramatic for the viewers. Settings can be adjusted due to the feel of the programme, from how active the light is to how much it separates. This is reflected behind the telly so that it softly surrounds, bathing the wall behind in light. Now down to the science…
It's not that complicated really. When you watch such a big screen in dim light, it sometimes strains the eyes, like turning the bedroom light on in the middle of the night, or looking toward a bright sun. Philips have thought about this and the bezel twinned with the backlight on the wall softens the strain on your eyes, meaning you don't feel tired! …Brilliant!
Moving on to the TV itself. Of all the televisions, I have tested this Aurea is by far the greatest, apart from a great set of gimmicks, this TV has the latest in Philips technology called 'Pixel Perfect'. This increases the amount of frames per second from 24fps to 99fps, making watching telly a whole new experience. Combine this fantastic technology with Blu-Ray and you are suddenly dodging bullets with Bond and flying through the air with Iron Man. It truly immerses you into what you are watching and once you experience it, you'll never understand how you lived without out.
Whatever you are doing, from watching telly, to playing games, this Aurea 2 is so versatile, allowing you to match your needs for a perfect night in.
For all this you probably think that the Aurea 2 comes with a hefty price tag, and you wouldn't be wrong, this beautiful piece of art deco comes in at a massive £2,500 but trust me, it is so worth it you wont regret a penny.
Samsung T240 
Now, I am pleased to say that Samsung have joined us!
So to kick off their page they sent me a really lovely LCD monitor, which acts as both a TV and a PC screen. You might ponder on why you would need it, but it nulls the need for lots of different monitors around the house, and would be perfect for anyone sharing a flat, or any students living in halls with not a lot of space to put things.
First things first, what 'our lot' are all about and that is, looks. Samsung have always been known for their beautiful television sets, and stunning mobile phones, and they do not disappoint with their new range of dual monitors. Keeping with the classic, bold, black glossy boarders and adding that touch of class with the thin glass trim around the outside. The standby button is touch sensitive and glows red when pressed. Altogether achieving a fantastic stylish finish, suited to any high-class individual.
You might think 24" is a little excessive for a PC monitor, and I must admit I find 20" more than adequate. But when looking at the Samsung, you have to decide where to draw the line between good size television and oversized PC monitor. I would recommend the 24" as although a little hard to get used to when surfing the net, it's big enough to watch telly on, without having to squint. It's also fantastic for viewing on demand services, and supports HD quality really well, giving you the full experience of the show you're watching.
Last but not least lets talk about sound. To be truthful? It's the only part of this great monitor that lets it down, and to be honest you can't expect it to be anything spectacular, given the size, and that it's in built. Although, hook up a big subwoofer and some surround speakers and you're half way to Heaven on a Saturday night.
All in all it's a fantastic piece of kit, and if you're looking for a little space saving idea and cant afford to spend out on two separate monitors, or if you are purely looking for something that could sit in your room and bring you all the entertainment you need. The Samsung is definitely the Dual Monitor for you.
Panasonic 42" Plasma
After gazing up at the black beauty towering above us, Rich and I decided to plug the telly in and start reviewing it.
Now, the TV itself looks classy, the glossy black frame feels very sophisticated and expensive, which is brilliant when exhibiting this fantastic equipment to friends and family. The picture is clear and bright, overall an appealing, pleasant view, rather than an eyesore.
So although it looks great, is it worth the money and what about the quality?
Well as mentioned earlier, the picture quality is brilliant and matches
that of the Hitachi, so nothing to complain about there. It has all the
picture mode qualities you need for cinema, normal and finally dynamic
(which in my opinion is what you should always be viewing high
definition television in). However, this is not matched by the quality
of sound, although great, you have to turn it up a fair way to get an
impact when viewing theatrical features especially with only two modes
of speech or music, so unless it's a film with Morgan Freeman, or a
colourful musical like Moulin Rouge, you won't necessarily get the best
out of the preset functions. The way round this is to customise the
settings by tweaking the bass and treble of the output (not a burden
but annoying none the less).
With the audio being the only let down the Panasonic is still a brilliant television, in high definition the feeling of reality reveals itself and you can forget about the world around you easily and comfortably. Other great features include,
SD card slot, which seems to be a popular feature amongst many manufacturers, so that you can share digital pictures and videos, with an easy to use menu and slideshow ability.
Inbuilt Digital TV, meaning you can throw away that old 'Freeview' box of yours.
VIERA Link, which gives you control of your whole Panasonic suite.
All in all the Panasonic is a great telly, and although you may have a hard time installing (its heavier than bull dykes boots), it is a stunning masterpiece in technology and a heavy competitor on the market.
LG 5000 42" TV
We love big tellies and every time one gets picked up we weep a little inside, and it was no different with the latest LCD from LG. This piece of equipment is fantastic, with invisible speakers, fantastic range of colour modes and specific modes for gaming, cinema and a dynamic mode that seems to light up the room, all you'd need is a disco ball and a few drag queens and you have yourself the perfect excuse for a karaoke night.
So apart from it being a big lovely telly, that does all the things you'd expect and more from as cheap as £602, what's so special about it?
Well, Its full HD, and has a massive menu of options to choose from, including voice clarity, expert settings to adjust the picture and colours you view and of course the picture modes to suit what you're watching.
Finally, what I see as the boast of all boasts, the Intelligent Sensor. Now this sensor measures everything from the light in the room to the colours on the walls, adjusting the picture to suit the best image for you to view. All in all a fantastic feature and something all televisions should have.
The LG is also recommended by the energy efficient agency meaning your doing your bit for the community and still enjoy the telly.
LG 37" LCD
Now after having a plasma, I wanted to see the difference when it comes to LCD, and not realising how big 42" actually was until it arrived, I thought that 37" would be more than enough. Being the size queen I am, I think bigger is better so reviewing this telly wasn't going to be near as fun as the other's… or so I thought.
The LG looks great, curvy, sleek and its shine finish is classically sexy, with a big
chunky remote that makes you feel really powerful. Aside that the LG
has built in freeview meaning you're all set up ready for the digital
switchover, and no messy wires and boxes, helping to achieve a minimalist
look for a TV with maximum ability. Of course the TV is HD and has
great quality picture, whether you are watching standard telly or
playing high definition gaming.
The LG has a built in DVR recorder. It works much the same as sky plus meaning you can pause and rewind live television, but what's great is that you can schedule a time for it to record and watch the programmes you've missed later on!
Creative Vado 
Pure and Simple. That's exactly what Creative's new venture is all about, clean lines and easy usage.
Creative are known for their audio and we all loved the watching the competition between the iPod and the original Zen. However they seem to have steered in a new direction and are looking towards the internet success of YouTube one of the most successful websites in history. Creative have created the perfect pocket camera to capture videos and upload them to your computer in perfect format for sharing on the web. This little wonderment comes in a big box, proving that great things come in big packages too. (but we all know that boys)
Perfect size for your pocket, the Vado cam can be taken anywhere and should anything unexpected happen, its ready from the moment you turn it on to capture the action.
At £79.00 it is a fairly hefty expense but certainly an investment for all you budding directors out there, and you will definitely benefit from how easy it is to use. With 2GB of memory you get a lot of time to film, and with the built in USB connection there's no fuss of wires or software to install on your PC.
Overall a great little gadget for anyone addicted to YouTube and definitely a step in the right direction for Creative
Also available in silver and pink
Asus N50 
Truly the pinnacle of mobile computing.
The N50 is an elegant statement of style when it comes to mobile computing. With it's stylish dotted pattern across the lid and continued on your desktop and keyboard, you will certainly get looks across the coffee shop when you're typing away like SJP on heat.
The N50 features touch sensitive buttons above the keyboard, controlling volume and multimedia functions making it easier to control your music whilst you work, and a great in built speaker that is as clear as day.
Another unique 'odd' feature which I've never experienced before is it's built in Air Ionizer that helps clear the air around the user of allergens and germs, as well as promoting air-flow and circulation.
As standard now across the board, it features the fingerprint scanner so that only you can access all those hidden files, and now with the built in Blu-Ray Player you can watch your videos and movies in High Definition.
Vista is unfortunately the operation system, (regular readers will know I'm a Mac man) but works well and suits the elegance of this laptop.
In terms of size, it's pretty big, but it seems to be the trend in the laptop industry at the moment, not to be confused with the competition to create the smallest laptop in the world.
Overall, this is a fantastic and well put-together machine and will serve all your needs, and keep you very happy. Designed for intuitive control and user-friendliness.
The N50 costs £749 incl. VAT and is available from www.asus.com
Asus VX-3 Lamborghini 
A lamborghini for only £2,000!?!? That's Crazy Right?
It certainly is. Lamborghini have teamed up with Asus to create a Laptop and a Phone to sell within their branded merchandise, and this laptop is certainly not powered by a huge 6-litre engine. So why is it so much money? Could it be that it has Windows Vista installed? (Definitely not) Or maybe its because of the massive 4GB of memory, twinned with HD?
No, it's the fact that Lamborghini overprice all their merchandise, because its got a little emblem and that ever-popular yellow body work that they are so famous for. Now I love Lamborghini's range of motors and maybe I'm being a little harsh, after all if you can afford a Lamborghini, you undoubtedly have the extra £2,000 in your back pocket, but I just think for all those younger fans that love the cars so much, it's a bit of a high price to pay.
So let's look at what you're getting. A laptop, wireless mouse and mouse mat, the nice little box it all arrives in, a soft fabric sleeve and a briefcase. A fair amount, and as its all branded it does make you feel a little more special. The Laptop itself has 2 batteries, the smaller of which only lasts about an hour before you need to charge it again and overall it doesn't really perform simple tasks that quickly either.
Aside all the complaints and personal issues that we all have with Vista, the Laptop is ultimately very nice, and you'd be respected for having one. The Laptop is packed full of features, for example the fingerprint scanner, built in web-cam and many others, my personal favourite being the stitched leather wrist support and the engraved Lamborghini logo on the keyboard. When you turn the laptop on the Logo appears and it begins to rev its little engine at you, a truly beautiful touch.
I was a little disappointed that it only came preloaded with a desktop background of Lamborghinis and wasn't packed full of more photos or videos of the cars.
But, at the end of the day, there's something about using it and carrying it about that just makes you pleased to have it, and feels very expensive. The attention to detail and the fantastic little touches make the whole purchase worth it and so long as you can deal with Vista then you don't need to worry