Hifiman Supermini Hi-Res portable player

Rating: 5/5

Review:
Fantastic sound and a lovely object

I was sent this Hifiman Supermini music player for review.  There is still a little work to do on the firmware, I think, but the sound is superb, the build quality is excellent and it is very stylish.

To begin with the most important thing: the sound.  It is quite outstanding, I think.  I have used the player with both the balanced hi-fi earbuds supplied with the player, through which it sounds excellent, and with my pair of Cleer DJ High-Definition headphones, which sound superb with it.  The clarity of articulation is extraordinary, with a full, bright sound with plenty of oomph when needed.  Tops are sweet and crystal clear with no trace of harshness, middles are simply lovely and the bass is beautifully balanced but can really thump you when it needs to. 

I've listened to a lot of music with the Supermini now, including my Test Playlist which I use to compare audio products.  This begins with 16th-Century choral music and ends with The National and London Grammar taking in most things in between, and everything sounds just great.  Individual instruments are incredibly lifelike (I can't tell you how good a viola da gamba sounds, which is a real test) and the articulation is good enough to make every note from those shimmering low strings in Sibelius's Karelia Suite Intermezzo completely clear.  Rock is fantastic, acoustic music has wonderful clarity and air…and so on. Lossless (FLAC in my case) sounds magnificent, but even mp3 at 320kbps is excellent.  It is, in short, top-class sound.

It's a lovely, stylish object with excellent build quality.  It's neat, robust and a pleasure to handle.  The screen is excellent and the display is very informative.  Battery life seems excellent – the 22 hours claimed looks about right to me.  I have used cards up to 64GB without any problem.  (The player will need to format a 64GB card first, by the way.  It's dead simple, but do it before loading any music onto the card.)

The firmware is decent and pretty intuitive and the navigation buttons are good, but it has a couple of little foibles. 
- There is currently no access to the internal memory, so everything has to be on microSD cards and your PC will treat the player just as a card reader.  I know 8GB of extra memory isn't a big deal, but I do have some stuff that I like to have permanently available rather than having to change cards.
- Changing cards is a fiddle.  Once a new card is inserted I have to instruct it manually to update the database, which can take several minutes for a 64GB card.
I hope these can be ironed out with an update fairly soon. Other than that it's fine.  (And after a freeze-up, I can confirm that poking a hairpin or equivalent into the reset hole works perfectly.) 

The package is decent, but there's no carry case of any kind, which I think is a shame, and no printed Manual.  You can download a PDF manual from Hifiman's website, but it's not the greatest manual in the world.  You do get an excellent set of balanced earbuds with a good range of tips, though.

I don't claim to be an audiophile, but I do listen to a great deal of music and I've listened through an awful lot of different equipment. I think this is a bit of real class when it comes to sound.  It's a lovely little object, too.  The minor firmware quirks aren't enough for me to dock a whole star; my rating is 4.5 rounded up, and once the firmware is tweaked and upgraded it will be an unequivocal five stars.  I love it as it is, though, and can recommend it very warmly.

Umi Max 5.5" smartphone

Rating 5/5

Review:
Another good phone from Umi

I was sent this Umi Max for review. I have tested a number of Umi phones; I used an Umi Iron as my main phone for a year or so before changing recently to an Umi Super.  I have been impressed with the quality of Umi's phones and the very good specifications for the price. I like the Umi Super very much and the Umi Max is very similar – indeed it's so similar that I had to look quite hard at comparisons to see the difference.  In fact, there just seem to be some differences in memory size and a couple of other specs, but after testing it I found almost no difference in style or performance.

When reading this review, do bear in mind that I am in late middle age and that my use may not reflect yours. I don't game or tweet, for example; I use the phone for calls and texts, music, checking email, some catch-up TV and video streaming, occasional photos and occasional web browsing, and I don't use data. My ordinary user's take on the Umi Max is almost identical to that of the Umi Super:

The packaging is very stylish tin and you get a neat charger, a Type-C USB lead for charging and data transfer, a pin for opening the SIM tray and a quick-start guide. The phone itself is very attractive: it's slim, stylish and has a very nice, robust aluminium case with a gently rounded back. It's quite heavy, but not excessively, and I find it very comfortable to use. There is fingerprint security (but I prefer to stick to PIN locking). The 5.5" screen is excellent to my eyes; it's rounded at the edges and a pleasure to use: bright, true colours and very tolerant of viewing angle. Video, TV catch-up and so on look great and everything works very nicely for me. The Super runs Android version 6.0, and with 3GB RAM (the Super has 4GB) everything is very quick and smooth and pretty intuitive.

The internal memory is 16GB (32GB in the Super) but you can expand with a micro-SD card of up to 128GB capacity (I use a 32 GB and it works fine). Set-up was very easy, but there is no manual available. The quick-start manual is adequate but basic, access to SIM and micro-SD card slots is very easy using a pin to release the tray and if you're familiar with Android the lack of a manual may not bother you, but for some users it might be a drawback.

This is a dual-SIM phone, which can be a very handy feature, but note that the memory card and second SIM share a slot, so you can't have two SIM cards and a memory card installed at the same time. Also, do check that its 4G bands will work for you (LTE FDD: 2100（B1) /1800(B3)/2600(B7)/800(B20)) – not all networks are necessarily supported.

In use, everything I want works very well. Wi-fi connection was very straightforward as was syncing with my account. The battery lasts for several days with my use. The speakers aren't bad for smartphone speakers (which isn't saying much, I know) and through headphones or an external speaker - both wired and via Bluetooth 4.0 - the sound is excellent. There's no NFC, but normal Bluetooth pairing is very quick and simple, and stable up to a decent range. The rear camera has a very good 13mp resolution and the front camera is OK at 5mp. I have found both to be fine for my use, and other functions also seem very good.

Apps install quickly and without fuss. There's a handy little button on the left side which you can program to go direct to any app (simply done in Settings, and simple to change the app chosen), and which you can then use to access an app with a single push.

In short, this is a really good phone with excellent specs for the money.  If you don't need masses of memory then this may well be a better bet that the more expensive Super, and it's warmly recommended.

Amazon page HERE

Umi BSTS3 Compact Bluetooth speaker

Rating: 4/5

Review:
A good compact speaker, but slightly weak bass

I was sent this speaker for review and I like it. It's not hi-fi, obviously, but it is a decent little unit at this price.

The speaker is beautifully packaged and comes with a micro-USB charging cable, a jack-to-jack lead and a very basic but adequate manual. It has a good, durable feel to it and is very well made. It looks very elegant, I think, and is solidly built with a protective rubberised finish. The AUX input, charging port and on/off switch are on the back so they are reasonably accessible but unobtrusive.  The controls are on the top;  they are clear, sylish and work very well, giving volume up and down, pause/play and skip forward and back.  You can make hands-free phone calls via the inbuilt microphone, but there are no phone controls on the speaker so you have to do all that from your phone. Bluetooth connection was straightforward using both NFC and conventional pairing; it is solid with a good range of at least 8m and the jack input allows connection to non-Bluetooth devices.

In use, I found the sound pretty good for such a compact speaker. I have listened to a lot of music through it, including my Test Playlist from Tudor choral music to London Grammar and it all sounds pretty good. The output is clear and hiss-free, the tops and middles are very good and it goes surprisingly loud (to me) without distortion. The bass is OK for a unit like this, but it's a bit weak.  If you want a real bass kick, you'll be disappointed and things like the low strings in Sibelius's Karelia Suite or the deep bass in London Grammar's Hey Now don't come over well, but it's adequate for most things. Battery life seems to be around 8 hours, which is fine for me.

I have tried a lot of speakers in this sort of price range, and I think this is good value at this price. Personally, I think I prefer the sound on two very reasonably priced compact speakers from Audio Dynamix, the Fusion V3 and the Clarity2, or the (much bulkier) Apie Sound Cannon.  However, they are a little more expensive (but not excessively so) and these things are personal; you may well prefer the look and sound of this one. It's a good product which is well made and has perfectly decent sound. I can recommend it.

Amazon page HERE

Aulola Watch storage/display box

Rating 4/5

Review:
A nice watch box

This was sent to me for review and I think it is a very nice watch storage/display box.

The box comes simply but adequately packaged and gives a very good first impression. It has a leather look which is convincing, the stitching is neat, the clasp is very smart and the box is pleasingly proportioned. The window in the top is genuine glass (the instructions warn against "striking or falls") which won't cloud and gives a good clear view of the contents, the catch closes good and firmly and there is a ribbon to stop the top flopping back too far. Inside, the lining is synthetic plush which is well done and seems very securely fixed, and there are six compartments with individual cushions to store your watches.

This works pretty well. The compartments are just big enough to accommodate a 4cm-diameter watch but two of them in neighbouring compartments almost touch, so a couple more millimetres would have helped. The cushions sit pretty snugly in the compartments, but one or two are quite loose. This isn't a problem if the case is just sitting on a surface (which will be how most people use it) but if you move it or tilt it a couple of the watches may well tip forward and move away from the best display point.

These minor caveats aside, this seems like an elegant, well made box. It will look very smart on a dressing table or the like and it does the job pretty well. If you need a six-watch storage box, this should do you well and I can recommend it.

Amazon page HERE

Aulola - 4-gang power strip with USB ports

Rating: 5/5

Review:
A very good power strip

Aulola sent me this power strip for review and I think it is a very robust and useful product.

The power strip has four UK mains sockets and four USB charging ports, two rated at 1A for phones and similar, and two at 2.4A for tablets and higher-drain devices. It doesn't have individually switched sockets but the whole thing is controlled by a single neon-lit switch if you want to turn everything off, and it all works very well. The lead is a decent length and it has a Velcro strip to hold it if you need to coil the lead. The whole thing is very solid and well made; it is obviously extremely robust and will last for many years, I think. (I will update this review if I have any problems with reliability, but I'm not expecting any.)

The power strip is 4cm high and just over 8cm wide so it is rather a chunky thing. This isn't a problem for me because I have it hidden away with the leads I need permanently plugged into it, but if you are going to keep it somewhere visible for access to the ports or need something slim, it may be a consideration. It's certainly not enough to lose a star because it's an excellent product otherwise, but it is worth mentioning, I think.

In summary, this is an excellent, versatile power strip and I can recommend it warmly.

Amazon page HERE

Mixcder ShareMe 5 bluetooth headphones

Rating: 4/5

Review:
Good headphones with very dominant bass

I was sent these ShareMe headphones for review and overall I am pretty impressed. They are well made, reasonably comfortable and have good sound with an exceptionally powerful bass response – perhaps over-powerful for some listeners.

The headphones are very nicely packaged and come with a standard mini-USB charging lead, a good jack-to-jack lead (with gold-plated plugs) for wired connection and a decent User Manual in comprehensible English. The headphones look very nice, I think, and fold up for easy transport and storage.  (They fold and return into place with an unusually strong click, which I found a bit disconcerting, but it all works fine.)  They have both Bluetooth and wired connection, and I noticed no difference in sound quality between the two modes. You can use wired connection to connect to non-Bluetooth devices, of course, and also use it if the headphones are out of charge which may be a handy feature.

The headphones are very are light and I've found them comfortable for pretty long periods. The controls are the usual you would expect: on/off and volume + and - buttons which also serve for pause/play, skip forward and back and standard phone controls, and there's a perfectly decent microphone. Bluetooth pairing is simple (standard pairing only - no NFC). I found both the battery life and range good.

The sound quality is good with exceptionally strong and very deep bass. Middles, too, sound very good and the tops are quite bright but lack real sparkle. I test all headphones and speakers (and I've tested a lot) using a playlist of test tracks which give all aspects of the sound a thorough trial. It starts with 16th Century choral music, it ends with London Grammar and it has most things in between - orchestral, choral, vocal and chamber music, classic rock, acoustic music and so on. For rock and the like these are great if you like *lots* of bass; for me, it gets a bit boomy and over-dominant at times, but others will find it very satisfying. In classical and acoustic music they seem to perform rather better and have a pleasing balance even though the tops aren't the brightest I've ever heard.

If you like a real bass boom in your music these will serve you extremely well. They are certainly very good headphones at this price. They seem solid and durable and if you're looking for a set of Bluetooth and wired headphones with really strong bass, I can recommend these.

Amazon page HERE

Homdox 5-piece food storage clip-boxes

Rating: 5/5

Review:
Good, robust storage boxes

Homdox sent me these clip storage boxes for review and I think they are very good.  They are made of very robust plastic, seal very well and just do the job.

These do seem like a very solid, durable product which should last for a long time.  They go in the freezer and in the dishwasher, so they're flexible and easy to clean and the size range is good.  The largest (2.5l) is a large lunch-box size and the smallest (0.24) has a tenth of that capacity would hold a few biscuits or a little left-over sauce.  They stack inside each other when empty for easy storage and they're also designed so that they will stack securely on top of each other while in use. I find them a very handy range of sizes for everyday food use.

There really isn't an awful lot to say about storage boxes beyond that.  I will update this review if I have any problems with durability but I'm not expecting any.  I'm very pleased with these boxes and can recommend them warmly.

Amazon page HERE

Taotronics TT-EP01 ANC earphones

Rating: 3/5

Review:
Good quality but hiss with ANC

I was sent these Taotronics EP01 earphones for review and I think they are good; build quality is high, with effective Active Noise-Cancelling and the sound is very good.  However, there is significant hiss when ANC is activated which is audible at low music volume.

The earphones look stylish. They are well packaged and come with extra silicone tips and ear-anchors to fit smaller or larger ears, a micro-USB charging lead, an airplane adaptor and a decently produced User Manual. However, the manual doesn't specify exactly how to use the multi-function button.  Trial and error suggests:

- single click: answer/end call

- double click: next track

- triple click: previous track (This almost never works for me on any headphones and these are no exception.  I think I got them to do it once, but don't rely on it.)

Functionally they work well, with the microphone, multi-function button and volume controls on a small panel at the junction of the left and right leads. The Active Noise Cancelling is controlled by a switch on a separate very neat in-line panel and is very effective: general background noise is very significantly reduced and almost vanishes much of the time. I can still hear when someone speaks to me and they don't keep out sudden, loud noises, but they perform very well. They also work fine as passive, unpowered earphones with the ANC turned off. 

The sole flaw in these earphones is, to my ears, an unacceptable level of hiss when ANC is turned on.  It's a great shame because the sound is very good otherwise.  It is well balanced with clear articulation and a good response throughout the frequency range. I have a Test Playlist which I use for audio products beginning with 15th Century choral music, ending up with The Rolling Stones, Leonard Cohen and London Grammar and going through most things in between; these perform well throughout.  If you like your music on the loud side then the ANC hiss may not be a problem for you, but at low volumes or in quiet classical passages I find it intrusive.

In summary, these are good as passive earphones, but the ANC hiss problem means that I can only give them a qualified recommendation.

(You may like to have a look at this guide to noise-cancelling earphones at Reviews.com, who seem to do a pretty good job of assessing various models.  
https://www.reviews.com/noise-canceling-headphones/  )
 

Amazon page HERE

Burei Men's Black luminous watch SM-13016-06EY

Rating: 5/5

Review:
A very good watch

This watch was kindly sent to me for review and I think it is very good. It is well made and has a really nice simple direct style. I have tested a number of Burei watches now and, like all the others, this is a good quality product.

The watch comes in a very nice, hinged presentation box with a manual and a little presentation bag, which would make it a good present. The watch looks very stylish, I think. It has a large face, 4cm in diameter (about 1.5 inches) and a solid feel without being too heavy. The case and bezel are black with a stainless steel back, with a matching black face with large, clear Arabic numerals.  These and the hands are luminous and give the watch a very direct, unfussy look which appeals to me very much. There is a date display at 3-o'-clock. The crown is very nice and the band is matt black leather with a solid brushed steel buckle whose style goes well with the watch itself.

Functionally, it's very good. It keeps very good time, is shockproof and scratch resistant, and it is rated as water resistant up to 50 metres depth, and with a mineral crystal window it's tough enough to stand up well to the sort of knocks and wettings it might get in normal use. It feels like a solidly made, durable watch; if I have any problems with durability I will update this review, but I'm not expecting any. I think it's a really good watch and I can recommend it very warmly.

Amazon page HERE

Burei Men's luminous watch Model SM-13016-01AY

Rating: 5/5

Review:
A very good watch

This watch was kindly sent to me for review and I think it is very good. It is well made and has a really nice simple direct style. I have tested a number of Burei watches now and, like all the others, this is a good quality product.

The watch comes in a very nice, hinged presentation box with a manual and a little presentation bag, which would make it a good present. The watch looks very stylish, I think. It has a large face, 4cm in diameter (about 1.5 inches) and a solid feel without being too heavy. The case, bezel and back are stainless steel back, with a white face with large, clear Arabic numerals. These and the hands are luminous and give the watch a very direct, unfussy look which appeals to me very much. There is a date display at 3-o'-clock. The crown is very nice and the band is matt black leather with a solid brushed steel buckle whose style goes well with the watch itself.

Functionally, it's very good. It keeps very good time, is shockproof and scratch resistant, and it is rated as water resistant up to 50 metres depth, and with a mineral crystal window it's tough enough to stand up well to the sort of knocks and wettings it might get in normal use. It feels like a solidly made, durable watch; if I have any problems with durability I will update this review, but I'm not expecting any. I think it's a really good watch and I can recommend it very warmly.

Amazon page HERE

Zuoao Cable organiser bag

Rating: 5/5

Review:
A good organiser

This bag/organiser was sent to me for review and I like it.  It is well made and does the job.

The organiser comes in minimal packing (fine by me!).  It is well made and robust with tough-looking materials, good stitching, and a very sound zip with double fasteners.  The inside of mine is lined in a rather alarming fluorescent green (see photo) rather than the black pictured on the page, but that's OK; I don't look at it much and it makes the contents easier to see.

Inside there are spaces for cables or earbuds, flashdrives and SD cards and zip-pocket for an external hard drive or phone if you prefer.  I have illustrated this with a few items in the photo.  Thicker or longer cables are a bit of a fiddle, but they do go in; other items fit well without trouble and are firmly held..

There's not a lot more to say about a cable organiser.  This will organise your cables and other gubbins well and it seems very durable so I'd expect it to last.  Recommended.

Amazon page HERE

Thorfire PF03 mini torch

Rating: 5/5

Review:
An excellent little torch

I think this is a really good little torch. It was sent to me for review and I am very impressed. It is particularly good for my needs, but is a well made, practical item all round.

The torch is light and very small - about 9cm long and just over 1cm in diameter. You also get a good user manual and two spare O-rings to preserve the waterproof seal if it ever fails.  It is powered by a single AAA battery (not included with the torch) and gives a very good light on full brightness. I find that a rechargeable battery works fine if you prefer to use one. The torch is well made and very robust (and waterproof); it will easily survive being knocked about in a pocket, bag or backpack, which is what it is designed for. It also has a neat, detachable pocket clip.

In use, it has a press-switch on the end, and three brightness modes: "Moonlight" (very dim), Low and High, which you scroll through by repeatedly pressing the switch making it very simple to use. What I particularly like about this torch is its "moonlight" mode. I want this primarily to make nocturnal bathroom visits without waking my wife by either switching on the light or blundering into things. This is perfect: moonlight mode is just bright enough for night-adjusted eyes but not bright enough to wake anyone else. Scrolling to Low or High makes it a simple and effective normal torch.

If you want a good-quality, very compact torch to carry with you or just to use around the house this will do you very well. I have been using two other Thorfire torches for a couple of years now and have found them excellent.  This is of similar quality and I can  recommend it warmly.

Amazon page HERE

Teclast X80 Pro 8" Dual OS tablet

Rating: 4/5

Review:
A good dual OS tablet

I was sent this 8" Windows 10/Android tablet for review. I think it is a good tablet for the price.

The packaging is a sturdy cardboard box in which you get the tablet itself, a micro-USB lead for charging and data transfer, a little OTG lead and a basic but adequate User manual.

The tablet itself is good. It is robustly made; the back is plastic but it feels solid and robust. It's quite thin and not too heavy and I find it very comfortable to use. The screen is very good: it's bright with good, true colours and has a very good tolerance of viewing angle; I find it responsive and good to use. It has Bluetooth (which is very solid), micro-USB, micro-HDMI and micro-SD card ports, and a 3.5mm jack socket. Set-up was simple in both Android 5.1 (not Android 6) and Windows 10, wi-fi connection was easy and remains solid, and syncing with my accounts was quick and trouble-free. (The two OS are entirely separate, btw, so you have to set each of them up as though they were on tablet of their own. Once set up they're both fine, and you can switch between them with a long press on the power button and then choosing the option from the shut-down menu.)

Setup wasn't trouble-free on my tablet.  It came with some settings already installed and some clutter of Chinese apps. When PlayStore repeatedly crashed I did a factory re-set, and after that it was fine (although the app clutter was still there).  This may just have been a problem with the tablet I was sent, but it was a bit of a nuisance.

The specs are a little basic and in particular the cameras aren't great (2mp front and rear), but the tablet performs fine for what I need. Battery life seems around 4-5 hours with my usage which is enough for me. Boot is pretty slow; it's not terrible, but switching between Windows and Android requires a re-boot and the wait can be slightly tedious. Memory is OK but nothing special: 2GB ROM and 32GB RAM, but I find that everything runs smoothly and without delays. I don't game or use social media and I don't multi-task much so I can't comment on these things but the tablet might struggle a bit with them. My usage is mainly TV, music, web browsing and email. The tablet is just fine for all of these and everything I want just runs smoothly and without problems. The sound quality is pretty terrible, but through headphones or an external speaker it's fine.

Personally, I marginally prefer the Chuwi Hi8 Pro at a similar price, but they're very similar in many ways I think this is a good tablet. It has some limitations, but it's well made and it works for me. It will depend on what you want it for, but if a dual Android/Windows tablet with slightly basic specs in some areas will suit your needs I can recommend this one.

Motorola Moto G4 Play

Rating: 4/5

Review
A nice phone

This is a very decent phone in this price range. It has some slightly basic aspects, but it is nicely made and does the basics very well.

When reading this review, please bear in mind that I am in late middle age and that my use may not reflect yours. I don't game or tweet, for example, and I don't use data; I use the phone for calls and texts, music, checking email, some catch-up TV, occasional photos and occasional web browsing. This means that I cannot advise on detailed comparisons of technical specification and so on, but my personal view of the Motorola G4 is this:

The packaging is basic but it's OK. In it you get just the phone and a charger with a fixed lead, so you'll need your own micro-USB lead for data transfer.  There's also a simple but adequate user manual.

 
I think the phone itself is attractive: it is quite slim with a robust metal frame and sturdy plastic back. It's fairly heavy, but not excessively so and I find it very comfortable in the hand. It runs Android 6.0.1. The screen is pretty good to my eyes; it's a 5" screen with bright, true colours and very tolerant of viewing angle. Video, TV catch-up and so on look fine and everything works very nicely for me. It has just 2GB RAM and the processor is quad-core not octa-core, this makes no difference for my use; everything I want to do seems quick, smooth and pretty intuitive, but if you use apps with big memory or speed demands it may be something to consider. The internal memory is 16GB and you can expand with a micro-SD card; I use a 32GB card and it works fine.

Set-up was very easy. You take the back off to access the SIM and micro-SD card slots, and the replaceable battery (hurrah!). Apps install very quickly and simply. In use, everything I want works fine. Wi-fi connection was very straightforward as was syncing with my account. The battery lasts pretty well with my use. The speaker isn't great (as on most phones) but through headphones or an external speaker - both wired and via Bluetooth 4.0 - the sound is excellent. Both NFC and normal Bluetooth pairing are very quick and simple, and stable up to about 4 metres. The cameras aren't the greatest at 8mp and 5mp, but they're perfectly OK and other functions seem very good.

In summary, this is a good smartphone for the price which seems robust and works well. I can recommend it warmly if you're looking for a second phone, a starter phone for a young person – or if you just want a decent smartphone without particularly high-end specs which just does the job.

Chuwi 8" Windows & Android tablet

Rating: 4/5

Review:
A good Windows/Android tablet

I was sent this 8" Windows 10/Android tablet for review. I think it is a very good tablet for the price.

The packaging is a sturdy cardboard box in which you get the tablet itself, a Type C-USB lead for charging and data transfer and an almost useless User manual. The English is terrible and the content is not at all helpful, but the whole thing is pretty intuitive so I didn't find it much of a problem.

The tablet itself is good. It is robustly made; the back is plastic but it feels good and solid. It's quite thin and not too heavy and I find it very comfortable to use. The screen is very good: it's bright with good, true colours and has a very good tolerance of viewing angle; I find it a pleasure to use. It has Bluetooth (which is very solid), Type-C USB, micro-HDMI and micro-SD card ports, and a 3.5mm jack socket. Set-up was simple in both Android and Windows 10, wi-fi connection was easy and remains solid, and syncing with my accounts was quick and trouble-free. (The two OS are entirely separate, btw, so you have to set each of them up as though they were on tablet of their own. Once set up they're both fine, and you can switch between them with a long press on the power button and then choosing the option from the shut-down menu.)

The specs are a little basic and in particular the cameras aren't great (2mp front and rear), but the tablet performs fine for what I need. Battery life seems around 4-5 hours with my usage which is enough for me. Boot is pretty slow; it's not terrible, but switching between Windows and Android requires a re-boot and the wait can be slightly tedious. Memory is OK but nothing special: 2GB ROM and 32GB RAM, but I find that everything runs smoothly and without delays. I don't game or use social media and I don't multi-task much so I can't comment on these things but the tablet might struggle a bit with them. My usage is mainly TV, music, web browsing and email. The tablet is just fine for all of these and everything I want just runs smoothly and without problems. The sound quality is pretty terrible, but through headphones or an external speaker it's fine – although the volume seems quite limited. It's OK for normal listening but you can't blast it through your headphones which some users may find a problem.

Overall, I think this is a good tablet. It has some limitations, but it's well made and it just works for me. It will depend on what you want it for, but if a dual Android/Windows tablet with slightly basic specs in some areas will suit your needs I can warmly recommend this one.

Amazon page HERE

Burei Steel/tan quartz watch Model: SM-13017-01AE2

Rating: 5/5

Review:
A very nice watch 

This watch was kindly sent to me for review and I think it is very good. It is well made and has a really nice simple direct style. I have tested a number of Burei watches now and, like all the others, this is a good quality product.

The watch comes in a very nice, hinged presentation box with a manual and a little presentation bag, which would make it a good present. The look of watch is very pleasing: it has a large face, 4cm in diameter (about 1.5 inches) and a solid feel without being too heavy. The case, bezel and back are stainless steel, which looks really good. The face is very clear with large, stylish Arabic numerals and it has a nice, slightly retro look to it, with tapered hands and a red sweep second hand. There is a date display at 3-o'-clock. The crown is very nice and the band is good tan leather with a solid stainless steel buckle whose style goes well with the watch itself.

Functionally, it's very good. Adjustment of date and time is extremely simple using the crown. It keeps very good time, is shockproof and scratch resistant, and it is rated as water resistant up to 50 metres depth, and with a mineral crystal window it's tough enough to stand up well to the sort of knocks and wettings it might get in normal use. It feels like a solidly made, durable watch; if I have any problems with durability I will update this review, but I'm not expecting any. I think it's a lovely watch and I can recommend it very warmly.

Burei Black men's quartz watch SM-13017-06AE1

Rating: 5/5

Review:
A very good watch

This watch was kindly sent to me for review and I think it is very good.  It is well made and has a really nice simple direct style. I have tested a number of Burei watches now and, like all the others, this is a good quality product.

The watch comes in a very nice, hinged presentation box with a manual and a little presentation bag, which would make it a good present. The look of watch was very striking when I opened the box. It has a large face, 4cm in diameter (about 1.5 inches) and a solid feel without being too heavy.  The case and bezel are black with a stainless steel back, which looks really good with the white face.  The face is very clear with large, stylish Arabic numerals and it has a nice, slightly retro look to it, with tapered hands and a red sweep second hand. There is a date display at 3-o'-clock. The crown is very nice and the band is plain black leather with a solid aluminium buckle whose style goes well with the watch itself.

Functionally, it's very good. It keeps very good time, is shockproof and scratch resistant, and it is rated as water resistant up to 50 metres depth, and with a mineral crystal window it's tough enough to stand up well to the sort of knocks and wettings it might get in normal use. It feels like a solidly made, durable watch; if I have any problems with durability I will update this review, but I'm not expecting any.  I think it's a lovely watch and I can recommend it very warmly.

Chuwi 10.1" Windows and Android tablet

Rating: 4/5

Review:
A good Windows & Android tablet

I was kindly sent this Windows 10/Android tablet for review. I think it is a very decent tablet for the price.

The packaging is a sturdy cardboard box in which you get the tablet itself, a micro-USB lead for charging and data transfer and an almost useless User manual.  The English is terrible and the content is not at all helpful, but the whole thing is pretty intuitive so I didn't find it much of a problem.

The tablet itself is good. It seems robustly made; although the back is plastic it feels pretty solid.  It's not the thinnest or lightest tablet in the world, but it's not bad and I find it comfortable in the hand.  The screen is very good to my eyes: it's bright with good, true colours and has a good tolerance of viewing angle. It has Bluetooth (which is very solid) and two USB ports (one USB 2.0 and one USB 3.0), a micro-SDHC card slot and a 3.5mm jack socket.  Set-up was simple in both Android and Windows 10, wi-fi connection was easy and remains solid, and syncing with my accounts was quick and trouble-free.  (The two OS are entirely separate, btw, so you have to set each of them up as though they were on  tablet of their own.  Once set up they're both fine, and you can switch between them with a long press on the power button and then choosing the option from the shut-down menu.)

The specs are a little basic and in particular the cameras aren't great (2mp front and rear), but the tablet performs fine for what I need. Battery life is around 6 hours with my usage which is enough for me.  Boot is a bit slow; it's not terrible, but switching between Windows and Android requires a re-boot and the wait can be slightly tedious.  Memory is good at 4GB ROM and 64GB RAM, and I find that everything runs smoothly and without delays.  I don't game or use social media and I don't multi-task much so I can't comment on these things; my usage is mainly TV, music, web browsing and email. The tablet is just fine for all of these and everything I want just runs smoothly and without problems. The sound quality is terrible, but through headphones or an external speaker it's fine – although not the loudest I've ever come across, which some users may find a limitation.

Overall, I think this is a good tablet/notebook. It has some limitations, but it's well made and it just works for me. It will depend on what you want it for, but if a dual Android/Windows tablet with slightly basic specs in some areas will suit your needs I can warmly recommend this one. It's a good product which I enjoy using.

Amazon page  HERE

Umi Super 4G smartphone

Rating: 5/5

Review:
An excellent phone

I was sent this phone for review. I have tested a number of Umi phones and have used an Umi Iron as my main phone for a year or so now and I am impressed with their quality and the very good specifications for the price.  The Umi Super is the best I have tried so far and I like it very much.

When reading this review, do bear in mind that I am in late middle age and that my use may not reflect yours. I don't game or tweet, for example; I use the phone for calls and texts, music, checking email, some catch-up TV and video streaming, occasional photos and occasional web browsing.  I don't use data.  All this means that I cannot advise on comparisons, lots of technical specification and so on, but my ordinary user's take in the Umi Super is this:

The packaging is a stylish tin and you get a charger, a Type-C USB lead for charging and data transfer, a pin for opening the SIM tray and a quick-start guide.  The phone itself is very attractive: it's slim, stylish and has a very nice, robust aluminium case with a gently rounded back.  It's quite heavy, but not excessively, and I find it very comfortable to use. There is fingerprint security (but I prefer to stick to PIN locking).  The 5.5" screen is excellent to my eyes; it's rounded at the edges and a pleasure to use: bright, true colours and very tolerant of viewing angle. Video, TV catch-up and so on look great and everything works very nicely for me.   The Super runs Android version 6.0, and with 4GB RAM (impressive) everything is very quick and smooth and pretty intuitive.  

The internal memory is also big at 32GB and you can expand with a micro-SD card of up to 128GB capacity (I use a 32 GB and it works fine). Set-up was very easy, but there is no manual available. The quick-start manual is OK, access to SIM and micro-SD card slots is very easy and if you're familiar with Android the lack of a manual may not bother you, but for some users it might be a drawback.

This is a dual-SIM phone, which can be a very handy feature, but note that the memory card and second SIM share a slot, so you can't have two SIM cards and a memory card installed at the same time.  Also, do check that its 4G bands will work for you (FDD-LTE 2100 / 1800 / 2600 / 800MHz (Band1/3/7/20) )  – not all networks are necessarily supported.

In use, everything I want works very well. Wi-fi connection was very straightforward as was syncing with my account. The battery lasts for several days with my use. The speakers aren't bad for smartphone speakers (which isn't saying much, I know) and through headphones or an external speaker - both wired and via Bluetooth 4.0 - the sound is excellent. There's no NFC, but normal Bluetooth pairing is very quick and simple, and stable up to a decent range. The rear camera has a very good 13mp resolution and the front camera is OK at 5mp. I have found both to be fine, and other functions also seem very good.

Apps install quickly and without fuss.  There's a handy little on the left side which you can program to go direct to any app (simply done in Settings, and simple to change the app chosen), and which you can then use to access an app with a single push.

In short, this is a really good phone with excellent specs for well under two hundred quid.  I'm very impressed and extremely happy with mine, and it has now become my main phone.  Very warmly recommended.

Amazon page HERE

Leagoo M5 smartphone

Rating: 4/5

Review:
A very good budget smartphone

I was sent this phone for review.  It is 3G only and has some pretty basic specs, but it is nicely made and does the basics very well. At this price (currently under seventy quid) I think it's excellent value.

When reading this review, please bear in mind that I am in late middle age and that my use may not reflect yours. I don't game or tweet, for example, and I don't use data; I use the phone for calls and texts, music, checking email, some catch-up TV, occasional photos and occasional web browsing. This means that I cannot advise on detailed comparisons of technical specification and so on, but my personal view of the Leagoo M5 is this:

The packaging is basic and a bit crude, but it's OK. In it you get:
the phone,
a mains charger,
a white micro-USB lead for charging and data transfer

a pair of white earphones
a phone stand

a hopelessly bad user manual

I think the phone itself is attractive: it is slim and stylish with a robust metal frame and sturdy plastic back.  It's quite heavy, but not excessively so and I find it very comfortable in the hand. The screen is very good to my eyes; it's a generous 5" with slightly rounded edges and a pleasure to use: bright, true colours and surprisingly tolerant of viewing angle. Video, TV catch-up and so on look fine and everything works very nicely for me. It runs Android 6.0.  It has just 2GB RAM and the processor is quad-core not octa-core. Frankly, this makes no difference for my use; everything I want to do seems quick, smooth and pretty intuitive, but if you use apps with big memory or speed demands it may be something to consider. The internal memory is 16GB and you can expand with a micro-SD card; I use a 32GB card and it works fine.

Set-up was very easy (which is just as well, because the User Manual is virtually useless.).  You take the back off to access the SIM and micro-SD card slots, and the replaceable battery (hurrah!).  It takes two micro-SIM cards - not standard SIM as stated on the product page - with a separate slot for a micro-SD card.  Security is OK; it has fingerprint recognition unlocking, which I never have much success with and don't like, but this works as well as any other I have tried and I know a lot of users do like fingerprint unlocking.  (Personally, I'm sticking to PIN unlocking.)

Apps install very quickly and simply. In use, everything I want works very well. Wi-fi connection was very straightforward as was syncing with my account. The battery lasts for several days with my use. The speaker is pretty terrible (as on most phones) but through headphones or an external speaker - both wired and via Bluetooth 4.0 - the sound is excellent. There's no NFC, but normal Bluetooth pairing is very quick and simple, and stable up to about 4 metres. The cameras aren't the greatest at 8mp and 5mp, but they're perfectly OK and other functions seem very good.

In summary, this is a very good smartphone for the price which seems robust and works well for basic use. I can recommend it warmly if you're looking for a second phone, a starter phone for a young person – or if you just want a decent basic smartphone which just does the job.

Amazon page HERE