LG - GP08-NU10

The nattily named GP08-NU10 is a Super Multi Drive, which means it can do lots of super multiple things. Stop us if we get too technical. It does, of course, refer to this external drive's multiple format capabilities, which means that it can read and write (deep breath) all types of standard CDs and DVDs, both -R and +R, DVD+R DL, DVD-R DL and DVD-RAM discs. It's also compatible with both Mac and PC systems.

The drive is a slim (at just over 2cm in height) and stylish looking unit, finished in glossy white with black trim. It's very much minimalist in design, with only an activity light and eject button on the front of the drive, that's all. It's hooked up to the computer via a supplied USB lead and it runs off the machine's power supply providing that's substantial enough. If your PC hasn't got enough juice, there's a second DC jack to USB cable included, which can be plugged in to draw additional power.

Sanyo - PLV-Z3000

At the tail end of last year we took a look at Sanyo's PLV-Z700, which was then one of the cheapest Full HD projectors on the market. Just a few months on and the PLV-Z3000 has made its way onto our test bench, and with a nice fat price tag of just under £2,000 it's aimed squarely at the enthusiast market.

If it weren't for the dark-grey chassis, it would be almost impossible to tell the PLV-Z3000 apart from the PLV-Z700; quick-access controls are found on the top and the same automatic sliding lens cover adds a touch of class. Vertical and horizontal lens-shift wheels are found on the side, allowing you to sit the PLV-Z3000 at a slight angle to the wall you're projecting on without being burdened by image distortion.

Many of the other specs are the same as the PLV-Z700, including a brightness rating of 1,200 ANSI lumens and a Full HD native resolution of 1920 x 1080. The projector ships with an identical remote control, which comes complete with backlit keys, and you also get the same array of inputs: S-Video, composite, VGA, two component and two HDMI (HDCP-compatible, naturally).

D-Link - DCS-2121

Able to stream live video to any internet-connected PC, network cameras (or IP cameras, if you prefer) are an affordable alternative to expensive CCTV systems and perfect for increasing security at home.

Prices have remained fairly static over the past few years, and the £179 that D-Link's asking for its new DCS-2121 is about what we'd expect given its specs.

The DCS-2121's main claim to fame is a 1.3-megapixel CMOS sensor, enabling it to capture video up to a maximum resolution of 1280 x 1024. It also features built-in 802.11g Wi-Fi, although if your wireless network coverage is less than perfect you can make use of its 10/100Mbps Ethernet socket instead.

We didn't encounter any problems during the installation process. The camera's web-based interface is both clear and well-designed. It comes with easy-to-follow wizards to help novices get things started, but also houses enough manual features to keep experienced users happy.

Both MPEG-4 and MJPEG (Motion JPEG) streaming is offered, with frame rates of up to 30fps. Somewhat annoyingly, though, if you want to use the camera's top resolution of 1280 x 1024 you'll be restricted to MJPEG streaming at 10fps.

MSI - X58 Pro

If there's one thing you'll notice about Intel's latest Core i7 technology and its supporting hardware, it's the price: the processors themselves and the motherboards to fit them into aren't exactly cheap.

MSI's latest motherboard supporting the new technology, the X58 Pro, aims to take some of the pain away by being priced to undercut the opposition by around forty quid, so as to make a system based on the cheapest i7 CPU, the 920, seem almost affordable.

The feature list of the X58 Pro isn't as long as some of its competitors but this isn't necessarily a bad thing, as most of the time all the extra goodies lay dormant in the box anyway and if it means MSI can offer the board at a sensible price, so much the better.

The board is neatly laid out with plenty of space around the components, including the Socket 1366, allowing for larger, third party CPU coolers to be used. Both the Intel X58 North and the ICH10-R South Bridges, along with the MOSFETS, are passively cooled.

Samsung - Omnia i900

The Omnia from Samsung is a Windows Mobile 6.1 smartphone, though you would hardly know it from first impressions. Windows Mobile is hidden away behind a finger-touch friendly front-end that tries to make it look a lot more snazzy than it is.

That touch interface adds some very consumer looking elements to Windows Mobile. For example, the main screen can be populated with widgets which you drag from a bar down the left-hand side of the phone. Widgets can tell you the time, list new emails, let you change profile and even, in a much more active way, pause the currently playing music track. You can even put shortcuts to your favourite contacts on this screen.

Samsung has tweaked many of the Windows Mobile applications to make them more finger friendly too, so that you hardly need to resort to the stylus which, unusually, doesn't fit inside the phone's casing but instead hangs on a lanyard.

Archos

If you are looking for a portable Internet and media playback device then the Archos 7 could well appeal. Coming in 160GB and 320GB versions and with a 7-inch screen capable of 800 x 480 pixels, it sounds spot-on for a bit of movie watching on the move. With a battery capacity of 10 hours for video and 39 hours for music it might even see you through a weekend away without mains power.

But that screen means it is large, and it is quite heavy too. At 640g and 190 x 110 x 16mm it isn't going to fit into your pocket. Nor is it inexpensive, with even the least costly model coming in at more than you'd pay for a laptop computer or netbook these days.

If you decide you can bear the cost and size, then what you get here is a very capable little device - with a big caveat. Archos has had plenty of experience of making media players and the details are good, from the nice large icons on the touch screen through to the little stand which hinges out of the back of the casing and which looks flimsy but does a superb job.

Dell - XPS M1710

The M1710 (N04XPS7) is the bigger brother of the M1210 and, just like its smaller sibling, it's very different in appearance to the rest of the Dell laptop range. It's powerful, too; in fact it's one of the most powerful notebooks currently available. The XPS M1710 has been around for a while but our review sample, the flagship model of the range, is one of the latest with a Blu-Ray writeable drive fitted as standard.

The M1710 comes in two colours - Metallic Black (our review sample) or Formula Red - and, as is becoming for a member of the XPS clan, enough lights to shame a Christmas tree. The design of the notebook is what you could call "funky industrial" with the metallic black lid inlay neatly set off by the metallic silver surround. It's a tough beast as well, with a magnesium alloy chassis, steel lid hinges and thick plastic palm wrests, but weighing in at 5.5kg you won't want to be carrying it around much anyway.