Disgo 9104 9.7in Android tablet
There are plenty of 10in Android tablets out there, but few of them have the screen 4 x 3 aspect ratio of the Disgo 9104 and its 1024 x 768 resolution. With a passing glance, it's easy to mistake for an iPad, especially having silver metal back too. Admittedly, it’s a bit on the chunky side, as the display is somewhat pronounced from the metal housing. The screen is bright, rather than dazzling and finger prints need a bit more than a lazy wipe to shift after a session.
The 1.2GHz Boxchip ARM 8 chip delivers a somewhat lacklustre AnTuTu score of 3122, yet the Disgo 9104 runs Android 4.0.3 Ice Cream Sandwich quite fluidly. It’s no doubt helped by having 1GB DDR3 RAM on-board along with 16GB of storage that can be increased to 48GB with a micro SD card. Indeed, it works pretty well as a media player and notched up around 5hrs with repeated movie playback and it even has a mini HDMI output. Sadly, there’s no Bluetooth and it doesn’t officially support the Google Play Store.
Instead, Disgo bundles a bunch of apps for free, including OfficeSuite Pro and relies on the Slide Me marketplace for app downloads. However, there is a neat, easy-to-follow hack, if you know where to look and you’re not fazed by the, ahem, limited support: “If you follow the instructions you will be done in 5 minutes, if you don't and can't do it I don't care.” I had the Play Store up in no time and the tablet was transformed. Disgo has said official support for the Play Store is coming, but if you can’t wait and fancy a cheap 10in tablet, it’ll do nicely for most things.
More info Disgo
D-Link DHP-1565 802.11n router and Powerline combo
If you talked the folks into getting a connected TV last Christmas and they’ve complained all year about the streaming quality, then getting them kitted out with Powerline gear is one way to ensure tidings of comfort and joy this Yuletide. D-Link’s 802.11n wireless router offers only 2.4GHz connections, but that will suffice for most people, and it’s the 500Mb/s full duplex Powerline features that are the selling point here. That said, don’t forget that you’ll need to buy additional Powerline adapters to dot around the house, as the DHP-1565 is just the main router, there’s no ADSL modem either.
The Powerline functions are enabled straight out of the device’s mains power cable and it is compatible with 200Mbps HomePlug AV gear and has four Gigabit Ethernet ports if you need them. Expanding its functionality further is the USB “SharePort” that can used to connect up peripherals such as external storage for access over the network. It’s a neat combination of networking options that can be picked up for well under £100 if you shop around.
More info D-Link
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COMMENTS
Fail
I was already pretty dubious about taking the article seriously when it's supposedly about stocking fillers, yet there's nothing in this list at what I would call stocking filler price. I stopped reading altogether when you feature an iPhone case which supposedly reduces mobile "radiation" yet increases signal strength. If you're going to put out such an obvious marketing puff piece based on stuff you've been handed/loaned, next time please put the complete and utter bull***t on the first page so I won't have to waste any of my life on it again.
Putting aside the claims of "radiation" from mobile phones causing harm, you cannot at the same time reduce "radiation" and increase signal strength - THEY ARE THE SAME THING. If you block/attenuate the signal coming out of/into the phone, your signal strength and quality will drop.
"Weird science? Snake oil modelling? Take your pick, it’s going to be hard for a user to determine if the improved signal strength is noticeable or if Pong’s redirection of TRP (total radiated power) is going to save your life or not"
No, it won't be hard for any user with any ounce of common sense at all. Any user with any common sense at all will realise that if you block something you cannot amplify or improve it at the same time. No, they'll stay the hell away from the company foisting quackery on you at an inflated price; they'll get A.N. Other brand silicone case/skin for their phone and pay £5-£15 for it. Which, incidentally, will also stop your phone sliding around and protect it from falls without the exorbitant price tag that this thing commands.
There is no depth of fail low enough to describe the depths that TheReg has plumbed with this "article".
I thought it was going to be serious
Ha ha ha ,
Bob Dormon picked 10 completely random tech items, which probably have a decent kickback, threw them onto a webpage and gave the page a title.
A Spyder4 screen calibration tool for photographers........had me rolling about the office floor
A Dlink routeur .................... had the rest of the office rolling about the floor
An Aston Martin mouse ......... we had people coming in from the street to see why everyone had tears in their eyes whilst flailing about wildly on the office floor and they too joined in....
It's wednesday and Bob must have some serious problems coming up with anything original, so we got this............
ha ha ha.
I'm still wiping away the tears as I write
Not...
Stocking fillers.
Hmm, thinks...... Want a few fun items to fill my Geek's stockings? I know I'll buy him/her a £180 monitor calibration thingumy and some £250 headphones.
Errm. no.
Who at El Reg HQ seriously believes that as a last minute Christmas present, any of us is going to waste £180 on a monitor calibration tool just because it'll work on a FruitPhone? Or £260 for headphones, for that matter?
I mean, yes, I understand that these articles are at least 50% about the affiliate program clickthroughs, but still...had you offered stuff that people might even remotely be interested in picking up as impulse-buy last-minute gifts, it could've worked. I've no idea who this list is targeted at, only that they clearly have far more money than sense.
