Getac PS535F GP PDA

Is this tough enough?

Price as reviewed £918.85

Getac don’t like to do things by halves, producing a range of devices for those who work in tough environments. The PS535F is a rugged PDA aimed at those who need a handheld device that can withstand the worst the environment can throw at it.

Unlike the majority of Windows Mobile devices in the consumer electronics category, this isn’t a connected device – it lacks any sort of mobile phone technology as was the case with PDAs a few years back. This marks it out as a working tool and perhaps sets it apart from something like the iMate.

The PS535F PDA comes in that typical grey and black livery that Getac have applied the other devices and it is pretty large, measuring 144.25 x 82.25 x 29.3mm. It also weighs 300g, so is it not light by PDA standards. Much of that will be down to the level of protection incorporated here.

The device is solid – you can’t twist or bend anything here, it doesn’t creak when you grip it or anything else. That’s to be expected because it is engineered to meet MIL-STD 810F and IP54 standards. IP54 means it is tight against dust ingress and splashing water, while 810F outlines a range of laboratory-tested environmental stresses, which the device is certified to withstand.

The front features a 3.5-inch 480 x 640 (VGA) touchscreen display, which Getac boast can be seen in direct sunlight thanks to its anti-glare coating. In this device, where function rules over form, it is true. The anti-glare is good enough that we were able to photograph the screen directly, even in bright light, which is very rare indeed. It is LED backlit too, which helps get the most from the battery.

Across the bottom of the front are four buttons, giving you the normal Windows Mobile Start button, contacts, TacLink launcher and power. Of course you can reassign three of these buttons to launch different programs to suit what you are doing. In the centre of these buttons is a small clickable four-way controller, which means you can scroll around manually without having to use touch too much, but not entirely.

As this runs a standard version of Windows Mobile 6.1, you’ll need to use the stylus for fiddly tasks like using the on-screen keyboard or closing down windows. The stylus slots neatly into the back right-hand corner and is nice and tight, so it won’t fall out.

The buttons are a little too small to use wearing gloves, although if you can grip the stylus, then this shouldn’t be too much of a challenge to use in the cold, but we can see that those wearing gloves will probably choose a larger stylus attached by a lanyard or some such.

The bottom of the device features a large flap, well sealed to prevent water or dust ingress, beneath which lies the connections: a DC power point and Mini-USB for syncing with your PC. There is also a hard power switch, meaning you can shut the PDA off completely and not run the risk of flattening the batteries whilst in transit.

The left-hand side features two further weatherproofed flaps, concealing a 3.5mm headphone jack and the SD card slot (up to 8GB accepted). The latter flap is also secured with a screw, so this isn’t something you’ll be swapping out in the field. It does mean that it won’t accidentally drop out or get lost – vital if you are using it to gather data.

Around the back of the PDA is a small speaker and a 3-megapixel camera, as well as an attachment point for an external GPS antenna (available separately) that you might want to consider if you plan to vehicle mount PS535F.

The camera is average for this type of device – it won’t replace a decent digital camera, but will grab snaps should you need them. Sadly there doesn’t seem to be an option to geotag images straight out of the box. It will also capture video with sound.

In-use the PDA performs pretty much as any other Windows Mobile device, which is exactly what you want. This means you’ll be able to use normal Windows Mobile applications and compatibility with your PC back at the office is ensured.

To support the hardware onboard, however, you do get a couple of special applications. The first is TacLink that gives you a detailed display of GPS information, including satellite locations and levels, as well as your exact location information. You can also log this information, so you’ll be able to record and extract this data for later use. It isn’t a GPS navigator however, so you’d benefit from installing a third-party mapping application if that is a requirement.

The second application is E-Compass, which as the name suggests is an electronic compass. Each time you use it you’ll have to calibrate it by waving it around in a figure of eight, but after that you’ll get the option of having the needle point north, or the dial point north. You get a digital readout of the bearing the device is lying on, as well as altitude (which can be gathered from GPS data), barometric data and pitch and roll.

These features won’t really appeal for those wanting a navigation device as you can get smaller GPS units that will give you routing and mapping information of this type, or a sighting compass is no weight in the pocket and doesn’t rely on batteries. The pitch and roll is useful, because you can use this for levelling, however, and the barometric pressure could also be logged. All the details supplied might feed into the pot of information you have to collect at a particular location.

Sitting at the core of the PS535F is a Samsung 2450 533MHz processor, backed by 128MB of RAM and 2GB NAND flash memory for storage. Navigation of Windows Mobile is relatively smooth, although this is the characteristic pause whilst the OS thinks about what you have asked it to do. As this isn’t a consumer device, that probably won’t be much of a problem.

In terms of connectivity you do get Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 2.0, so you’ll be able to connect to networks wirelessly to move data in and out and take advantage of all the connected features that you can add to Windows Mobile if that takes your fancy. Unlike many consumer devices, there is no modification to Windows Mobile here – you don’t get a flashy interface or any shortcuts

- it is as Microsoft intended.

Logic3 Valve80

Launch price £250.00

• Pros Superb looks and retro style. Powerful and clear amp
• Cons Speakers disappointing. Amp not sold separately

The name Logic3 will be familiar to console owners who’ve ever shopped in the bargain bins for controllers. Where it has less of a following is in the kind of high-end audio market that demands things like valve amplifiers for its music rips.

Not that this should prejudice your judgement of its new Valve80 iPod dock. No-one had even heard of Fatman until it began making valve amps in the early 90s, and you wouldn’t doubt the quality of the Fatman iTube against which the Valve80 must, inevitably, be compared, would you?

Retro-head
It’s not just that the Valve80 is similar in function to the iTube, it looks almost the same too. This isn’t a bad thing: the stainless steel base with its heavy-duty transformer and trio of valves look incredible – and not just in a kitschy, cyberpunk way.

The build-quality is tremendous and as well as the gentle glow of the valves there’s a blue LED level monitor that pulses away in time to the music.

Just like the base station, the speakers are solidly built and trimmed with a 50s flare. The tweeters rise above the main body.

Controls are simple, with just a volume control and an input selector, and there’s a bundled remote for the iPod when docked. The choice of two auxiliary channels means that you could realistically use this to beef up the output of your PC and still plug in a CD or DVD player as well.

Compression exposed
The amp is rated for a healthy 40W per channel, and is clear and powerful enough to shame most MP3 collections. The unprepared will hear clipped treble tones and compression-distorted bass in most downloaded music or rips, but anyone who’s been carefully building up a lossless collection will appreciate just how good this amp is.

Sadly, the speakers really don’t sound as good as they look. The whole reason for buying a valve-based system is to introduce some warmth into otherwise clinical sounding digital tracks, but the boxy, flat profile of the Valve80’s satellites just doesn’t have enough bass to make the effort worthwhile.

In a way, it’s the worst of both worlds – every flaw in your files is revealed by the amp and all the well-encoded parts are flattened by the dull speakers.

And since you can’t buy the Valve80 without the speakers, Logic3 has a problem: anyone who owns a decent set already that would make the most of the amp’s power will be better off with the marginally cheaper Fatman iTube, which doesn’t come with cones.

Multi-Color LED Watch to match your mood swings

Who knows what you might think of as cool tomorrow? The only thing you can really know is what you like today. But our moods change like the wind. The human emotional spectrum is wide and varied. A blue watch from yesterday might seem like a bad idea for today. Our fashion sense can change just as quick as our moods.

The Ohsen Multi-Color LED Watch tries to compensate for those who get bored easily. A button on top of the watch face cycles through a collection of seven colors when pressed. Some days are blue days and some are green. And yet others are pink. This watch from Ohsen offers the whole sha-bang.

The water resistant analog watch isn’t even half bad looking when there’s no LED shining at all. In its “off” state the watch simply resembles your average run of the mill divers’ watch. But when the conditions are just right for some LED action, the watch shows its true colors. And it just so happens that its true colors are whatever you want them to be from the seven available options.

The Ohsen Multi-Color LED Watch can be found on eBay, with auctions starting at only $0.99. But be forewarned, these watches ship from Hong Kong, so there might be some major shipping fees. Most likely fees which are boosted to compensate for low auction prices.

Multi-Color LED Watch to match your mood swings

Who knows what you might think of as cool tomorrow? The only thing you can really know is what you like today. But our moods change like the wind. The human emotional spectrum is wide and varied. A blue watch from yesterday might seem like a bad idea for today. Our fashion sense can change just as quick as our moods.

The Ohsen Multi-Color LED Watch tries to compensate for those who get bored easily. A button on top of the watch face cycles through a collection of seven colors when pressed. Some days are blue days and some are green. And yet others are pink. This watch from Ohsen offers the whole sha-bang.

The water resistant analog watch isn’t even half bad looking when there’s no LED shining at all. In its “off” state the watch simply resembles your average run of the mill divers’ watch. But when the conditions are just right for some LED action, the watch shows its true colors. And it just so happens that its true colors are whatever you want them to be from the seven available options.

The Ohsen Multi-Color LED Watch can be found on eBay, with auctions starting at only $0.99. But be forewarned, these watches ship from Hong Kong, so there might be some major shipping fees. Most likely fees which are boosted to compensate for low auction prices.

Now feast on Cylon (on toast!)

Are you a Battlestar Galactica fan? If the answer is an affirmative smile on your end then here’s a treat. You can start off each new day with a little prayer on your breakfast table to your favorite Battlestar Galactica characters. This particular toast manages to toast your bread with the image of Cylon. This toaster was created as a part of San Diego Comic-Con Exclusive.

Now feast on Cylon (on toast!)

Are you a Battlestar Galactica fan? If the answer is an affirmative smile on your end then here’s a treat. You can start off each new day with a little prayer on your breakfast table to your favorite Battlestar Galactica characters. This particular toast manages to toast your bread with the image of Cylon. This toaster was created as a part of San Diego Comic-Con Exclusive.

Disney’s Mickey Digital Camera Unintentionally Gives Toddlers a Goatse Facial

Careful what kind of digital camera you give your kids from the Disney Store these days, otherwise the spawn of your loins could end up putting a goatse right up against their chubby cherubic faces. Then, their virgin innocence robbed from them, they’ll probably go around leaving this 8MB camera in the darker places of your house, hoping to catch a few nether region images of their own (of poor quality, btw, this is actually a pretty poor camera to begin with).

Disney’s Mickey Digital Camera Unintentionally Gives Toddlers a Goatse Facial

Careful what kind of digital camera you give your kids from the Disney Store these days, otherwise the spawn of your loins could end up putting a goatse right up against their chubby cherubic faces. Then, their virgin innocence robbed from them, they’ll probably go around leaving this 8MB camera in the darker places of your house, hoping to catch a few nether region images of their own (of poor quality, btw, this is actually a pretty poor camera to begin with).

Pandigital Kitchen Technology Center

You may remember about a week ago when we covered a story about the miBook, a PDA that was an instruction book with digital video capabilities. One of the most practical uses for the miBook is for cooking, but this Pandigital Kitchen Technology Center (KTC) is designed specifically for the kitchen. The KTC has a 15 inch (1280 x 720) touchscreen that allows the user to access recipes at one touch.

Pandigital Kitchen Technology Center

You may remember about a week ago when we covered a story about the miBook, a PDA that was an instruction book with digital video capabilities. One of the most practical uses for the miBook is for cooking, but this Pandigital Kitchen Technology Center (KTC) is designed specifically for the kitchen. The KTC has a 15 inch (1280 x 720) touchscreen that allows the user to access recipes at one touch.