Sony are bringing back the “Walkman” brand quite aggressively with various new models at different price points and capabilities. Today we take a look at one of the entry level models, the Walkman B series.

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The LG BL-40 Chocolate has caused quite a buzz with it’s sleek lines and widescreen form factor. I’ve been using one for a week now so it’s time to give some thoughts…

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I’ve been using this unique combined power strip and powerline HD adapter for some time now so it’s about due a review. Read on to get the low-down…

What is powerline?

Many readers will already know what Powerline is all about (in which case, you can skip this bit) but if you don’t: Powerline is a way of using the existing mains cables in your walls to make a network. You just need two free plug sockets – plug an adapter into each one and voila – network!

Unlike wireless, thick walls and long ranges are no impediment to powerline transmission and as far as the PC is concerned, the adapters are just standard Ethernet ports.

The standard for powerline is called “Homeplug” and it comes in different flavours – effectively high speed and low speed. The high speed version is branded as “Powerline HD” and this is what I’ve been testing.

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Fans of the flight simulator genre don’t have too much choice when it comes to joysticks – Saitek, Logitech and CH Products are about all you have. Unless you’re building your own cockpit anyway, but for most of us that’s not an option!

So if you’re looking for a relatively cheap joystick to get the most out of your flight sim of choice the Saitek Aviator (or AV8R) is a good place to start.

The Aviator is unique amongst PC joysticks in that it has two throttle controls which can be independently assigned. You also get the usual twist rudder axis and 12 programmable buttons.

Ergonomics

The joystick action is smooth and provides enough resistance to give you some idea of where you are in the motion range. Inputs don’t spike and the throttles are well damped so fine adjustments are possible.

The second throttle axis doesn’t have to be used to control engines either – I find that mapping it to elevator trim makes long flights a lot more manageable.

Programming

The Aviator is programmable via the Saitek SST software (pictured). This software essentially redirects button presses of the joystick to emulate keyboard and mouse strokes, meaning you can assign long complicated keyboard sequences (“Switch radar mode and select weapon” for example) to a single button press. You don’t need to use it if you prefer to set up your joystick via the in-game menus, but it’s nice to have the option.

The software is quite intuitive, making what can be a fairly complex task quite simple.

The large red control at the back of the stick actually switches the joystick into one of three user programmable modes – in this way each button can have three different functions, depending on the position of the switch. Typically I’d have one position for general flight and takeoff/landing and use the others for special scenarios such as combat.

Conclusion

For £20 online you can’t go far wrong, take a look at this if you like (or like the idea of) flight games.

Some of us can remember the original Sony Walkman – a revolution in it’s day but the world has moved on since then and Sony were slow to jump on the MP3 bandwagon, letting a certain Cupertino based company steal the show.

The “Walkman” brand has been used on various devices since then (most commonly phones) but the new X series marks Sony’s most recent attempt to get back into the portable music player business. Read on to see what we think…

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As regular readers will know I picked up an Arena at an LG event 5 weeks ago. First impressions were good but I promised to write a full review when I’d spent some time with the phone. I’ve used the Arena in place of my Sony Ericsson W980 and now it’s time to tell you what I think of it. This is one feature packed phone and so I’ll limit myself to talking about the highs and lows of the phone rather than get bogged down in too much detail. The full specification and feature list can be found here.

Touch screen and User Interface

The S-Class User Interface is one of the Arena’s major selling points but is it any good? LG have done a great job with the touch screen UI and it’s almost as precise and responsive as the iPod Touch which is high praise indeed. Yes the rotating cube is a bit gimmicky but it does at least give easy access to the four shortcut screens and can also be used to impress you mates down the pub.

The screen is bright and clear but in common with most colour screens it can be difficult to use in bright sunlight. Touch the status bar at the top of the phone screen and a neat shortcut menu drops down giving instant access to: Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, Alarm, Music Player, Calendar items and Phone Profile functions.

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Recently I replaced the hard drive in my laptop with an SSD – specifically a Samsung 64GB model (model MMCRE64G5MPP – 0VA if you’re interested)

SSDs (Solid State Drives) have no moving parts which makes them resilient to knocks, fast and power efficient – exactly what you need in a laptop. The following post has some photos of the install (it was about as painless as you could hope for) and a few observations on performance.

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I’ve spent the past week with a pair of the flagship headphones in Sony’s new "eXtra Bass" range – the MDR-XB700. I did promise a review, so read on to see what you’ve got to look forward to when they hit the shops in April.

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