HP DeskJet 6540 Color Inkjet Printer Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)HP Deskjet 6540 [PC Pro]
COMPANY: Hewlett - Packard
DATE: Nov 04
Verdict: Excellent text quality, high speed, expandability and smart styling aren't quiteenough to make this basic printer competitive.

The 6540 is the first unit we've seen from HP's all new Deskjet line-up, a range that's been home to several Recommended and A-List award-winners.
Compared to Canon's Pixma iP3000, the 6540 is a fairly basic unit - there's just a single printer tray, no duplex or CD printing, and no direct-print-from-camera functions, yet it still manages to be almost £30 more expensive. In terms of build quality though, it's streets ahead of the Canon. The dapper metal shell of the HP is much slicker than the iP3000's silver plastic, and the whole unit suffers from much less rattle. The lid is even geared so that it closes softly rather than slamming shut.
This attention to detail is carried over to the button panel on the left; the keys have a positive clicking action and are smartly lit. The bottom button switches between printing modes (draft, normal and best), though the printer software can override this if you'd prefer. Paper follows the traditional HP U-feed path - not a problem unless you want to print on non-standard or thicker media - and there's the usual slot for feeding envelopes. You'll also notice the inclusion of an upstream USB port on the front - not for connecting a camera, but as an easy way to connect a laptop. We're not convinced it's a must-have feature, but it's there if you want it.
In testing, text documents were near laser-quality, with crisp, black and well-formed characters on default settings, while draft mode only added slight feathering. Print speeds aren't staggering, but with our 25-page text document taking four minutes, six seconds to run through on draft mode, and only a minute more for default, the Deskjet 6540 should be fast enough for all but the most demanding users. For extra speed, we found fast draft mode to yield an impressive 21.4 ppm, with still reasonable results.
Photo printing is slightly more disappointing. Though prints are delivered in a timely fashion - one minute, 54 seconds for a best-quality borderless 6 x 4in photo - colours are a little washed out, and detail is softer than we'd like. Some prints also exhibit a slight embossed effect, with ink appearing to sit on top of the printed surface.
The black cartridge can be swapped for a photo cartridge to turn the printer from a four- to a six-colour device. Results were certainly smoother, and though colours still lacked punch and the detail was a little fudged, photo prints of this quality are uncommon in a sub-£100 printer. An additional grey cartridge is also available for smooth monochrome prints. On the plus side, it means you can choose how much to invest in the machine as a photo device; we just wish there was somewhere to put whichever cartridge you're not using.
It isn't just the ink that's modular. HP offers a range of accessories, including an automatic duplexer, complete with separate small paper sheet feeder. There's also an additional 250-sheet paper input tray. Compared to what the Canon iP3000 is offering, however, these aren't cheap, costing another £40 each.
If you're looking for a cheap workhorse inkjet, the basic model is a good choice. Its photo printing is respectable for a printer at this price, and when you add to this smart styling, low running costs, and superb build quality, the Deskjet 6540 deserves a PC Pro Recommended accolade. For sheer flexibility and value for money, though, the Canon is a better choice.
By Christopher PhinHope this helps you out.

Click Here to see more reviews about: HP DeskJet 6540 Color Inkjet Printer

The HP DeskJet 6540 color inkjet printer offers versatile performance and connectivity and a sleek-looking low-profile design. Get fast 30 ppm black printing or up to 20 ppm in color or sharp resolutions that are fine enough even for detailed photos.
The 6540 produces crisp 1,200 dpi resolution in black, up to 4,800 optimized dpi in color. The standard four-color printing yields high-quality prints, or for your finest creations you can choose six-color printing (requires HP 99 photo print cartridge, sold separately). The 6540 also offers the choice of printing photos with or without borders on a variety of media types and sizes, and includes HP photo printing software for easy task management and image editing. An optional duplexing accessory is available for two-sided documents.
The HP 6540 offers versatile connectivity. It features two USB ports, one in the back and one in the front. An optional external print server and optional 802.11b wireless accessory are supported for further expansion. The unit is backed by a one-year warranty.
What's in the BoxHP Deskjet 6540 printer, HP 96 black ink cartridge (C8767W), HP 97 tri-color ink cartridge (C9363W), HP Photo Printing software (Windows only), Printer software (Windows and Macintosh), User's guide on CD-ROM, setup poster, reference guide, power supply, power cord; printer cable not included; HP 99 photo inkjet cartridge not included
See for Yourself this printer in action

Click here for more information about HP DeskJet 6540 Color Inkjet Printer

Read More...

Grace Digital GDI-IRD4000 Portable Wireless Internet Radio Featuring Pandora, NPR and SIRIUS Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)In mid 2008, I purchased another Reciva-based product that was more expensive. I still like that one very much, but it has some glitches that are more or less permanent. Some of them are due to the design, and some are due to a lack of support from the brand. I was expecting rough edges from this radio, but my experience with it has been smoother. In short, it has the tried and true feature set common to Recivas, without the glitches of my old unit.
Positives:
Streams, Podcasts, UPNP/DLNA.
MP3, WMA, AAC, OGG, FLAC, Real.
Customizable menu entries via Reciva website.
Differences:
Missing from this is a wired Ethernet jack and a USB port for Mass Storage Compliant devices, but the MSC feature on the other radio was half-implemented anyway. The old unit couldn't run on batteries. The wi-fi bars on the old unit's playback screen have been replaced by a clock.
Knocks Cured:
More robust power cord from "brick" to radio.
Mute works with headphones.
Hardware power switch on back of radio.
More responsive menus.
Wider field of regard for remote control sensor.
More robust remote control.
Remote control takes AA batteries.
Fewer, but easier-to-use presets.
Display backlight can turn off.
Redundant entries removed from station listings.
Station listings have subcategories.


Click Here to see more reviews about: Grace Digital GDI-IRD4000 Portable Wireless Internet Radio Featuring Pandora, NPR and SIRIUS

Crystal Clear Streaming Wherever you Are AM and FM radio stations all over the world stream their audio content over the Internet. Grace Digital Audio's Allegro Wi-Fi radio allows you take advantage of this massive amount of free content, as well as a variety of subscription Internet radio services conveniently and efficiently wherever you are. Setup is simple, all you need is access to a broadband Internet connection via a wireless router. Acting like any wireless device, once configured to the Wi-Fi signal(s) available and its security, if any, the Allegro provides quick access to literally thousand of Internet radio stations and podcasts without having to fire up a computer. Users can listen to the hottest premium online music services like Pandora, Live365 and Sirius* utilizing either standard AC power or via battery power in the form of either 6 AA batteries or a rechargeable NiMH battery. In addition, the Allegro facilitates even further audio functionality by allowing you to stream audio files directly from your PC or Mac to the device's speaker. Supported formats include: audio - AIFF, AIFC, WAVE, CAF, Next, ADTS, MP3, AAC, Ogg Vorbis, FLAC, WMA; playlist - ASX, M3U, PLS; streaming protocols - HTTP, HTTPS, RTSP, WSMP, Shoutcast. Users can also utilize either the full function remote control included, with its 10 presets, search and song skip functionality, or control the unit via iPhone / iPod Touch. Totally portable yet easy access to thousands of free and premium Internet radio content streams. View larger.

Get 24% OFF

Click here for more information about Grace Digital GDI-IRD4000 Portable Wireless Internet Radio Featuring Pandora, NPR and SIRIUS

Read More...

JBL Control 2.4G On Air Wireless Speaker System (Pair) Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Here's the good news: The sound quality is nice. The frequency response seems very detailed, and these diminutive speakers pack more bass than looks would suggest. No complaints about the sound quality.
Here's the bad news: These speakers have MANY very serious flaws that make them unusable.
1) The speakers have a timeout mechanism - they go into a standby mode if the sound stops transmitting. That's fine, but the standby mode mechanism is very overeager: the speakers often enter standby if the music volume stops, or even if the volume just gets a little too quiet, for a short period of time - even as little as 5 seconds. So the speakers can go into standby even during a quiet section of otherwise loud music, and the wakeup process is not trivial: it may take 10 seconds or more to reacquire the signal once the music kicks in again. Worse, this quirk is hard-coded and not adjustable; you can't disable or adjust the standby mechanism.
In short, these $200+ speakers have a tendency to cut out the music for 25 seconds or more when it dips too low. That is a fatal flaw. And it's not the only one:
2) These speakers will SHUT DOWN your Wi-Fi network. I have a very recent 802.11g router (a Motorola SBG900), and when there's music streaming to the speakers, my bandwidth drops from a steady 200kbps to about 5kbps. Seriously. If I unplug the transmitters (which are 10' away from both the router and the receiving computer), my bandwidth comes to life; if I plug 'em in again, my bandwidth vanishes immediately. It's terrible.
3) JBL made some very strange choices with regard to the cabling. The cable from the right speaker to the left is about 25 feet long - a bizarrely long connection for such small speakers - and unless you want to splice it, you're going to have a rat's-nest tangle of excess cable hanging somewhere between or behind the speakers. Meanwhile, the power cable is only about 18" between the active speaker and the power brick; and the power cable coming out of the brick is only about 3' long. As a result, if you mount the speakers 6' high, you'll have a massive black brick with a glowing green LED dangling at about 3', and probably a hookup to a longer power cable about 1' off the floor. It's quite sad; JBL must not have tried to actually mount these speakers before they shipped 'em out.
4) Speaking of mounting: The speakers come with wall mounting brackets that look sturdy at first glance. However, the speakers are very boxy - about 5" deep - so they'll project noticeably from the wall. Much worse, the mounting bracket is very poorly designed. For example, the speakers mount on a ball-and-socket bolt that's *way* too long - you'll see an extra 1.5" inches of bolt projecting from the wall mounting, for no particular reason. (In fact, JBL doesn't seem to trust the integrity of the bracket; they include a camera-strap-like thing for fastening the speaker to the bracket, in case it fails. Creepy.)
5) Want to buy extra speakers and dial 'em in to the same channel? Of course you do; it's wireless, right? Well, not so fast. First, JBL won't sell you *just* the speakers, so you have to buy a whole 'nother set - including a second transmitter - at full price. Second, the wireless setup has a hard limit of two speaker sets per transmitter channel. I own three sets of these speakers, and only two connect to the transmitter at any one time. I don't know why; it's completely capricious, and it severely limits the extensibility of the system.
It's really tragic that JBL made such terrible ancillary choices, because the prime virtue of these speakers - the sound quality - is very nice. But the convenience and sound quality aren't worth the hassles... particularly at such a high price point.
Bottom line: Avoid. Avoid at all costs. These things are FATALLY flawed. JBL needs to recall them and fix them... and if they don't, I'm certainly never buying their equipment again.
- David Stein


Click Here to see more reviews about: JBL Control 2.4G On Air Wireless Speaker System (Pair)

Add a pair of speakers in the bedroom, in the kitchen, in the garage or on the patio.JBL On Air Control 2.4G wireless speaker system combines high-performance sound quality with wireless-installation convenience.The unit includes a pair of wall-mountable loudspeakers that incorporate a wireless transceiver and amplifier, a transmitter/receiver module, and a remote control.This system is ideal for a host of wireless-speaker applications, including use as the surround channels in a multichannel home theater, as a second-room music system, and as a high-quality wireless speaker system for computers and digital music players.The On Air Control 2.4G utilizes the 2.4GHz frequency range for interference-free transmission, and the transmitter/receiver module can be used with up to two pairs of JBL On Air speakers.The active speaker system includes a mini-jack input for connection to a second local audio source and a subwoofer output that enables the speakers to be used as part of a 2.1-channel satellite/subwoofer audio system.The 100mm polylaminate woofer produces rich, deep bass response, while the 12mm titanium-laminate tweeter delivers sparkling, clear high frequencies throughout the listening room.Easy-to-use wall brackets are included.

Get 48% OFF

Click here for more information about JBL Control 2.4G On Air Wireless Speaker System (Pair)

Read More...