AVM Fritz!Box 3390 review - Peripheral - Trusted Reviews

What is the AVM FRITZ!Box 3390?This is the new flagship in the German networking company's 3000 series. It is the first to offer dual band 802.11n in this range and marks the first major attempt of Fritz!Box (and its curiously placed exclamation mark) to break into the UK after taking nearly 70 per cent of the DSL market in its homeland.

SEE ALSO: Best routers round-up
Fritz!Box 3390
FRITZ!Box 3390: DesignCome in Thunderbird 6! Yes while Fritz!Box and its history may stem from Germany, the design of the 3390 immediately makes us think of 1960s UK cult show Thunderbirds. Its curved lines, matt red and silver paint job and distinctive fins (which hide antennas) certainly give the 3390 the look of a retro space ship and make it a welcome entry into a sector with only a few distinctive designs.

Less interesting is the build quality which, while sturdy, lacks a premium feel. The problem is the chassis is constructed from a series of individual pieces that don't quite fit together as well as they should and produce a slight rattle when tapped (update: having requested a second sample we found this flaw to be a one-off). The 3390 also bizarrely lacks dedicated reboot and power buttons, which means pulling out the power cord is the only way to switch it off. We aren't fans of the five huge green activity LEDs either, which can prove distracting and while their flashing patterns can be adjusted they cannot be dimmed or switched off completely.

On the plus side the 3390 can be wall mounted and it is just interesting enough to look at that this might be an appealing option to those with a bold choice of interior design.

Fritz!Box 3390 2
FRITZ!Box 3390: FeaturesThe router's looks got our attention and its feature list isn't bad, either. This isn't a next-gen 802.11ac device, but it does bring the aforementioned 2.4GHz and 5GHz 802.11n to Fritz!Box's 3000 series for the first time. Furthermore, it joins a fairly limited number of routers in integrating a VDSL (100Mb/s) modem making it ideal for fibre optic DSL customers who want an all-in-one product to replace their ISP's modem and router.

Interestingly, the 3390 also integrates a 'Fritz!NAS' which lets you network folders from connected devices directly through the router as it includes a built-in media server. This won't replace a dedicated NAS, but it is a step up from simply plugging in a USB hard drive. That said you can go this latter route too as the 3390 has two USB 2.0 ports and ticks off all the functionality you'd expect from a premium third-party router including WPA/WPA2 and WPS security, Dynamic DNS, IPv6 support and DNLA compatibility.

Fritz!Box 3390 UI 2
One downside is there is no dedicated WAN port, so those wanting to use the 3390 with cable broadband will have to give up the dual purpose LAN1 Gigabit Ethernet port, leaving you with just three 10/100/1000 ports for the rest of your wired devices.

Toshiba 58L7365DB review - TV - Trusted Reviews

What is the Toshiba 58L7365DB?If you didn’t think you’d have a prayer of getting a TV bigger than 50in for your one grand budget, Toshiba – who else? – is here to make you think again with its 58-inch 58L7365: A king-sized set which despite its affordability carries 3D playback, Toshiba’s latest Smart TV platform, built-in Wi-Fi and a 200Hz picture engine.

Toshiba 58L7365DB: Design and FeaturesWhile lifting the Toshiba 58L7365DB onto its desktop stand, it creaked. It creaked a lot. This, it’s fair to say, didn’t exactly instil much confidence about the 58L7365’s build quality. In fact, we wouldn’t have been entirely surprised if the set wasn’t still working once our lifting work was done. (Fortunately it was.)
Toshiba 58L7365
The set’s flimsy feel can be seen too in the rather plasticky finish of the TV’s bezel.

The Toshiba 58L7365DB is not a complete style wasteland, though. Its bezel is reasonably trim considering what a huge screen it’s wrapped around, and the sliver of silver along the bottom edge together with the bold open-framed rectangular table-mount stand both give it some kerb appeal.

Connections on the Toshiba 58L7365DB’s rear are impressive for its money. Standing out are four HDMIs, two USBs, MHL phone linkage and a LAN port – though if you don’t want to hardwire the set to your home network, the TV also carries built-in Wi-Fi. Or WiDi if you have a PC capable of using Intel’s wireless PC connection system.

If you’re thinking of wall-mounting the Toshiba 58L7365DB, though, you should note that some of the connections – most notably the LAN and one of the HDMIs – face straight out, potentially making it harder to get the set resting flat to the wall.

Despite its sub-£1000 price, the 58L7365DB actually sits towards the top of the Toshiba’s 2013 TV range. Until the brand’s 4K/UHD models turn up, at any rate, which means it comes packing some surprising feature heat.

Looking at its core panel technology for starters, it delivers 200Hz motion processing courtesy of a 100Hz core panel together with a blinking backlight. It also has a dynamic contrast system driving its edge LED lighting, though there’s no local dimming technology to boost contrast. Samsung in particular, though, has proved with its F7000 and F8000 series that it is still possible to deliver a very strong contrast performance without local dimming.
Toshiba 58L7365
The two pairs of glasses included in the TV’s packaging remind us that the 58L7365 is a 3D TV. And surprisingly, perhaps, this 3D is of the active variety, delivering a full HD 3D experience via active shutter glasses.

While there are issues with active 3D playback – especially flickering in bright rooms and the relative expense of active 3D glasses – it remains the AV enthusiast’s 3D format of choice on account of its higher resolution. So long, of course, as it’s done well. For another issue with active 3D is that it’s rather easy to mess it up, especially at the relatively affordable end of the market. We'll cover 3D performance later.

The Toshiba 58L7365DB is capable of playing a solid selection of video, photo and music multimedia file formats from USB stick or networked DLNA-capable PCs. The set’s network options also provide a route to Toshiba’s latest Cloud TV service: a new ring-fenced online platform complete with a redesigned, multi-hub interface that if nothing else shows Toshiba is willing to think out of the box a bit in its bid to offer something different to its rivals.

As noted in our in-depth assessment of the Toshiba ‘Cloud TV’ platform, not all of Toshiba’s ideas stick. For instance, sticking a big Twitter feed line showing hashtag threads associated with the top three trending TV shows wasn’t the smartest move given most Twitter uses fondness for grim language. The presentation is a bit rough and ready too, the TV’s operating system runs painfully slowly, and worst of all there aren’t as many video streaming services on offer as you get with many rival online platforms.

There are good points too, though. Such as the extent of the search engine, the use of a series of avatars to recommend different content from the upcoming TV listings, the provision of an iOS/Android MediaGuide app for off-TV programme listing surfing, and even the facility to establish a shared calendar between your TV and smart devices (though this only works with iOS at the time of writing).

Toshiba 58L7365DB: Set UpWhen you first turn on the Toshiba 58L7365DB, you’re guided through the key elements of initial set up by a pleasingly presented and fairly fulsome series of onscreen menus.
Toshiba 58L7365
Once this initial set up is done, you soon discover that for such an affordable big-screen TV the 58L7365DB is also remarkably well stocked with picture set up tools. There are full colour management and white balance adjustments for die-hard cinephiles to sink their teeth into, as well as gamma controls to optimise the image for different content types.

With the help of these heavy duty fine tuners it is possible to get pictures set up so they measure reasonably accurately against the key video playback standards. Most more ‘casual’ users, though, won’t want to venture into such deep calibration waters. So it’s good to see Toshiba providing a long list of picture presets, including three ‘Hollywood’ options supposedly pre-calibrated to deliver enthusiast-type pictures in different room conditions.

The odd thing is, though, that none of these presets, not even the Hollywood ones, produced colours that looked especially authentic. They all seemed a bit oversaturated while skin tones looked either a bit over-pink or yellow around the gills. So at the very least we’d recommend that you tone down the TV’s colour saturation setting and adjust the red and yellow balances.

Other settings we recommend are: leaving off the Auto Brightness Sensor (which can adjust pictures in response to the amount of light in your room); setting the Active Backlight Control off (to avoid the picture’s light levels becoming unstable and distracting); turning off the set’s twin noise reduction circuits for HD viewing; reducing the backlight level to around its 42 level for dark-room movie viewing; and using the ClearScan motion processing circuitry on its lowest level but no higher. In fact, you may prefer to leave the feature off entirely for Blu-ray viewing, depending on your tastes.

Whirlpool AP51030K Whispure Air Purifier

The Whirlpool AP51030K Whispure Air Purifier is capable enough to take care of a room size of 500 square feet, recycling the air within a room size of the same at least 5 times every hour in the turbo setting. This particular model is actually an upgrade from its previous model providing an extra fan speed setting and an automatic speed detection mode that removes the need to manually set the fan speeds as per requirements.

As a rule of thumb, an air purifier is supposed to do exactly what it is designed for, clean air and keep the room free from pollutants and allergens, it is evident from customer reviews that this HEPA air cleaner certainly does not disappoint.

The Whirlpool AP51030K Whispure Air Purifier does not take air in from the front grills and release it behind it instead it releases air from the top panel and therefore directs air towards the ceiling. Thus, the model can be hung from the wall or pushed against it. This reduces the space consumed by the unit and enables one to use in smaller rooms such as the bedroom. The turbo setting does not produce that much of sound either and is extremely silent in other speed settings.

The Whirlpool AP51030K is rated at 315 CADR and 0.3 micron true HEPA meaning that it removes any particulate matter above the size of 0.3 micron. Smart LED indicators warn users when the time to change filters or clean them has arrived with 5 stage indicators suggesting the life left in the filters.


Whirlpool AP51030K Whispure Air Purifier Features And Specifications
  •  Rated at 500 square foot able to filter a maximum of 4.8 times per hour for such a room size.
  •  Electronic automatic controls filters the air automatically.
  •  0.3 micron filtration rated by HEPA.
  •  CEDR rating of 315.
  •  Turbo speed over the 4 fan speed settings for powerful delivery of fresh air.

Whirlpool AP51030K Whispure Air Purifier Reviews (http://www.airpurifierreviewspro.com)

Over 100 reviewers rated the Whirlpool AP51030K Whispure Air Purifier model giving it on an average a four and a half star rating which meant that almost all users were highly impressed by its performance and would not mind purchasing another unit again in the future.

This Whirlpool filter model was top rated by Consumer Reports Top Rated Air Purifier for domestic usage along with a Hunter model for the year 2010. This speaks a lot about its power and capabilities in filtering closed spaces.

The highest comments are to its powerful filtration capability. Reviewers loved how the filter ran at three speeds silently and filtered the air clean without occupants even coming to know of the same. The unit being easy to install and operate started to filter air the moment it was setup.

Furthermore, the sleep mode setting on this model allowed users to have a sound sleep at night without the disturbance of irritating fan sounds because when the time is set it runs at a speed of three or less for that duration and once the sleep period has expired it changes into the highest setting. This unique feature got a lot of comments from users who loved the fact that they could sleep with the purifier on through the night and not bother about sounds or degradation in air quality.


The Whirlpool AP51030K allows users to simply install the device and leave it running. The automatic electronic controls measure air quality and automatically adjust settings to provide the cleanest air possible indoors. Furthermore, the sleep timer mode is ideal for light sleepers who cannot take the sound of a filter fan running through the night. These qualities and the rave reviews that the device garnered on Amazon make the Whirlpool AP51030K Whispure Air Purifier a worthy purchase for any household.

ASUS V550CA-CJ104H review

What is the Asus V550CA-CJ104H?The Asus V550CA-CJ104H is a 15.6-inch notebook that tries to marry the slim, stylish aesthetics of the Ultrabook with the better value innards and screen estate of the notebook. Packing a dual core Intel Core i3 1.4GHZ processor and 6GB of RAM, it’s certainly no slouch but without a solid state drive, it comes in at just below the £500 mark, making it an attractive proposition to students or families on a budget.

How does it handle the day-to-day tasks, and is it good value at around £499? Let’s find out...

ASUS V550CA-CJ104H 14
ASUS V550CA-CJ104H - Design & Build Quality
As we observed in the introduction, the Asus V550C does have a touch of the Ultrabook about it, and not just in its thinness, where it is less than an inch thick all around. When closed, it’s black all over: brushed aluminum on top with only a large ASUS logo breaking the minimalism, and a textured black plastic underside.

When opened up, the keyboard area switches to a chrome coloured aluminium. Its thinness is emphasised by the speaker bar, which actually sits a good quarter of an inch above the keyboard, fitting snuggly into a gap in the lid when closed. Of course, there’s no way you could confuse this with an Ultrabook - at 2.65kg and 15.6-inches across, it’s just too big for that - but the thinness and inherent portability should still be praised. It feels sturdy and like it could take the kind of knocks you’d need a notebook to absorb.

ASUS V550CA-CJ104H 12

The connections on V550C are a little odd because although it’s got plenty of slots and ports (a quick tally reveals three USB ports, an HDMI slot, a VGA port, an ethernet slot, a Kensington lock and a shared microphone/headphone jack) it doesn’t seem to make great use of its space. While the left hand side has half the area taken up quite fairly with airvents, the right hand side is half sealed shut, leaving the ports and slots crammed in to the bottom right corner. As the sealed section is around the size of a DVD drive, we can only assume that other models using this shell have some kind of optical media, but that area can’t even be opened here.
Asus V550CA-CJ104H - Screen QualityAt 1,366 x 768, the Asus V550C is at the low-end of modern laptop resolutions, especially on a screen this large. On the bright side, as it’s also a touch screen, this does mean that navigating Windows 8’s touch interfaces is nice and easy. On the flip side, it means that icons are nowhere near as sharp as you’d hope for.

ASUS V550CA-CJ104H 10

Elsewhere, the screen is a pretty average for touchscreens in the sub £500 price-range. The brightness is decent, but the viewing angles are unspectacular and it has a tendency to reflect light in a way that can be distracting. Like many cheaper touchscreens, it also has a meshy gauze-like quality when observed up close, which makes edges even less sharp than they should be for the resolution. The temperature is perhaps a little on the cool side as well, with the colours a bit washed out.

This all sounds really negative, but it’s not a bad screen: it’s perfectly serviceable for the sub-£500 price bracket, and you shouldn’t expect impossibly high resolutions and perfect contrast at this end of the market.

Netgear D6300 review - 802.11ac DSL router

What is the Netgear D6300?This is Netgear's second 802.11ac wireless router following the Netgear R6300. Unlike its rivals Netgear hasn't taken a generational leap, but instead made the first wireless ac router with integrated DSL modem and done so at a relatively affordable price. Interestingly Netgear has kept many of the ageing components of the R6300 to achieve this, but claims to have given them a new lease of life through firmware improvements. Can it really have turned overpriced water into well priced wine?

SEE ALSO: Best routers round-up

Netgear D6300: DesignSit the D6300 and R6300 side-by-side and you'd be hard pushed to tell them apart. Given the R6300 was a top of the line product this may sound like a compliment, but in truth it was an ugly router at launch and seeing it cloned 12 months later hasn't seen it age gracefully.

Most striking is its size. At 205 x 255 x 77 mm the D6300 is the largest router we have ever tested and its angular design is at once striking yet instantly forgettable. The D6300 also clocks in at a hefty 654g, though there still appears to be a lot of wasted space inside. The D6300 isn't wall mountable and only sits vertically making it look like an 11-inch laptop propped on its side.

We're not overly keen on the D6300's build quality, either. The fingerprint-loving piano black finish of the R6300 remains and the matt black rear looks a little like a string vest. Like the R6300 the D6300 also comes with a hefty power brick you'll want to keep well out of sight.


Netgear D6300: FeaturesSo the D6300 is no looker, but then again its appeal isn't skin deep. What differentiates this router from its peers is the integration of an ADSL2 plus modem. This enables the D6300 to be the first 802.11ac single box replacement for outdated ISP routers, making for a much neater upgrade.

The problem is ADSL2 plus is an odd choice. These modems are not compatible with cable or fibre optic DSL connections and max out at 24Mb/s. The solution is VDSL, but costs are higher and even major ISPs like BT choose to ship their BT Home Hub 4 with a separate fibre modem. That said exceptions exist like the FRITZ!Box 3390 and with Fritz!Box only offering 802.11n products at present Netgear has missed a good opportunity to pair this with wireless ac and make something truly cutting edge.

On the plus side we do get a strong implementation of 802.11ac with Netgear maintaining the 3x3 antenna array of the R6300. Frustratingly though 802.11n is scaled back to just 2x2 antennas. This means that while the wireless ac theoretical maximum stays put at 1300Mb/s, it drops to just 300Mb/s for 802.11n – a figure more in keeping with midrange 802.11n routers.

That said Netgear claims the D6300 will perform like a premium model due to smart firmware and it boasts 802.11ac will be a match for any wireless ac router on the market.

Elsewhere there is less controversy. The D6300 packs in everything we would expect of a modern router with WPS and WPA/WPA2 security, IPv6 support, QoS, 4x Gigabit Ethernet ports and 2x USB 2.0 – though USB 3.0 is gaining momentum.

Status Symbols: Game Boy Micro

Game Boy Micro
Status Symbols are devices that transcend their specs and features, and become something beautiful and luxurious in their own right. They're things that live on after the megapixel and megahertz wars move past them, beacons of timeless design and innovation.
2005 was a good year for Nintendo handhelds. The original DS was on its way to becoming the most successful portable device of all time, while the Game Boy Advance SP let you play your entire Game Boy library — dating back to the monochromatic original — on one, handy machine. So it was a bit curious, then, when the company decided to release the $99 Game Boy Micro, a small, streamlined version of the handheld that could only play GBA games. It improved form at the expense of functionality, creating a device that wasn't strictly necessary, but was amazing anyways.
The most important thing about the Micro was its size — it was downright miniscule. The screen was only two inches across and the entire thing weighed just 0.18 pounds. That's less than half the weight of the original Game Boy (0.49 pounds) and a drop even from the ultralight iPhone 5's 0.25 pounds. It was so small and light you could leave it in a bag — or even your pocket! — and forget it was there. But it wasn't just that the Micro was small, it was also stylish in a way no Nintendo device had ever been. Unlike the clunky DS or any version of the Game Boy or GBA, the Micro wasn't something you'd be embarrassed to pull out in public. It felt like a gadget, not a toy. The 20th anniversary edition was particularly lovely, with a gold and red color scheme reminiscent of the original Famicom controller (the Japanese version of the NES).
It was stylish in a way no Nintendo device had ever been
While its size made it an ideal companion for just about any trip — I particularly enjoyed using it for grinding through Final Fantasy V levels in between, and occasionally during, university classes — the screen is what made the Micro a great game system. It was small, but it was beautiful. Shrinking down games made them appear crisper, and the brilliant backlight made older games pop with new life and color. You haven't played The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap until you've played it on a Micro with the brightness cranked up to 11. And if you wanted to feel extra cool, the Micro was ideal for playing the Japan-exclusive Bit Generations line of GBA games — sleek, minimalist games in sleek, minimalist packaging, just begging to be played on a sleek, minimalist Game Boy.
Like many beautiful devices, the Micro also had its share of problems. The smaller screen wasn't ideal for text-heavy games, the faceplate was prone to scratches, and the ergonomics could feel a tad cramped after lengthy sessions. But sometimes you have to make sacrifices, and with the Micro it was more than worth it. The combination of its size, style, and screen made it the first machine from Nintendo that looked as good as it played. And unlike later releases, like the iPod-influenced DS Lite, the Micro had a look all its own, and one that has yet to be duplicated. It was the last device to feature the Game Boy name, and though it was far from the most popular, it was definitely the coolest.

Kindle DX apparently discontinued by Amazon

Amazon logo stock
Amazon has seemingly removed the Kindle DX from sale. The 9.7-inch e-reader is currently only available used through third-party sellers, and there is no mention of a possible return to Amazon's virtual shelves. If the DX really has been discontinued once and for all, it wouldn't come as a huge surprise; Amazon vice-president Jay Marine recently said that the company is "pretty much done" with the product, which hasn't seen an update in years.
As pointed out by The Ebook Reader, Amazon cut the DX's price from $379 to $299 last week in what now appears to have been a final effort to shift unsold stock. In the meantime, the older international version of the DX with a white body, lower-contrast screen, and slower software is still on sale for $329. Amazon recently released the excellent Kindle Paperwhite e-reader and is soon to launch the 8.9-inch Kindle Fire HD tablet, but it doesn't look like the company sees much potential in a product between the two.