Morphy Richards 1.6 litres Soupmaker Review

Good effective soup maker, this arrived well packed and protected in a simple Morphy Richards branded box containing the soupmaker, the power lead and instructions including an addendum to correct, add and clarify a small section of instructions.

After opening it all up and cleaning it I had a good read through the instructions, all very easy to follow and including instructive diagrams taking you through the process step by step. The top section with the blending blade detaches from the main base and is quite heavy compared to the weight of the base unit but also very easy to remove and replace.

The instructions contain some recipe suggestions but I wanted to try it with a soup I have made before to give it a good test, using the soupmaker is really very straight forward with no complicated or complex settings to go through, all you do after filling the base with the ingredients, top it up with liquid/stock to the max level, replace the lid, turn the power on, select the soup consistency you want with the mode button, press start and sit back and wait for it to be ready.

The whole process takes between 21 and 30 minutes depending on the finished consistency you have selected, it makes a noise while mixing but I didn’t consider it very loud or annoying. The soup I made came out well cooked, perfectly blended and smooth and had not left or missed any larger chunks in the mix. I have since tried three other soups and all turned out great.

Cleaning is as they claim a fairly simple process and didn’t take long at all, it may sound a small thing to mention but I do have several kitchen gadgets that get little use not because they aren’t effective but because they take ages to clean after use.

• 4 different settings - smooth soup in 21 minutes, chunky in 28 minutes, juice in 2 minutes and a blend function to ensure the texture is to your own taste.
• 1. 6L working capacity - serves up to 4 people in one go
• Innovative top down blade makes it quick and easy to clean.
• An easy clean, non-stick coating makes cleaning a breeze

Overall I think this is a very good kitchen gadget, my wife is a member of slimming world so is always making soup, myself and children love it and there is nothing better than homemade soup knowing what has gone into it. The Morphy Richards soupmaker is very easy to use without complex and confusing controls, easy to clean and gives great results so gets top marks from me.

Price: £69.83
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Sabrent Rocket Pro 1TB USB 3.2 External Aluminum SSD (SB-1TB-PRO) Review

The Rocket Pro arrived in very nice metal tin with a Sabrent branded sleeved around it, inside the tin the drive fitted into a hard rubber cut out along with another cut out for the cable. The tin container gives excellent protection for the drive and ideal for packing when you are on the move.

I plugged this into my desktop PC for testing; my desktop PC only has USB 3.0 so I was fully aware there would be limitations on the speed results I could obtain but as I was planning to use this on my Xbox One as an external drive it is a good and realistic test as the Xbox One has USB 3.0 on all ports so although I have included my speed test in the video and a screen capture they only reflect a USB 3.0 test and you would obtain far higher with USB 3.1 or USB 3.2.

This drive is almost exactly three times the speed of my internal hard drive even with it going through the USB port, I dropped some videos and large images onto it and the loading speed was almost instant with the comparison of loading this from my internal hard drive taking several seconds to start the video or load a large picture.

After running a number of tests on the drive I was more than happy with its speed and stability so it was time to set it up on my Xbox One, I would also add it is plug and play no messing about, you plug it in and it’s there ready to use.

Setting this up on an Xbox One is a very simple process of plugging it into one of the USB ports and the Xbox One recognises it letting you set it up for either games or media, I set it up for games and moved several games across from the 240gig external SSD I already have attached to my Xbox One which all worked flawlessly. For anyone who uses an Xbox One a SSD makes a huge difference to loading times and anyone who plays games such as Destiny 2 it takes away all of the annoying ‘Loading’ messages you get during the game.

Overall this is a really nice fast external SSD, its compact, plug and play, sleek metal design, small enough to fit in your pocket if you need to and also coming with a metal tin with excellent protection should you want to pack it away for transit. It sits nicely on top of my Xbox One and really makes a huge difference to loading times.

• SUPPORTS - Designed to work with both Windows and Mac OS, so you can transfer data between almost any computer in the world. Complies with trim, UASP, and firmware is upgradable.
• PLUG & PLAY - OS independent, and fully bus powered, No drivers required.
• SPEED - Ultra-fast 10Gbps throughput, low latency and power efficient. At up to 1000MB/s,
• DESIGN - Ultra slim aluminum alloy sandblasted shell. Sleek, Durable, and Convenient. Portable yet durable, ideal for traveling.
• USE - Perfect for a variety of uses including data transfer, high-speed storage, data backup, cloning an existing drive, running a mobile operating system, and more.

Product Description

The Sabrent Rocket Pro 1TB USB 3.2 External Aluminum SSD (SB-1TB-PRO) delivers all the advantages of flash disk technology.

Based on 3D TLC NAND Flash memory, its performance speeds can reach up to 1000MB/s. Power consumption is much lower than traditional hard drives, making it the best solution for your external storage needs.

Designed to work with both Windows and Mac, this enclosure is equipped with a USB 3.2 Type-C connector, also includes a USB Type-C to Type-A cable and a Type-A to Type-C adapter, basically everything you need to be able to transfer data between almost any computer in the world.

Features:

• SPEED - With USB 3.2 interface, the Rocket Pro provides speeds of up to 1000MB/s, thats 9x faster than traditional external HDDs. Transfer and backup large-sized data files and 4k videos within seconds. Backward compatible with USB 3.1 and USB 3.0 at respective speed limits.

• DESIGN - Ultra slim aluminum alloy sandblasted shell. Sleek, Durable, and Convenient. Portable yet durable, ideal for traveling.

• HEAT MANAGEMENT - Professional Aluminum Case. Designed for optimal heat Dissipation and reduced power consumption.

• Supports SMART and TRIM commands. Supports ONFi 2.3, ONFi 3.0, ONFi 3.2 and ONFi 4.0 interface.

• Advanced Wear Leveling, Bad Block Management, and Over-Provision.

Package contents:

• 1TB External Aluminum SSD.

• USB 3.2 Type-C to Type-A Cable & Type-A to Type-C Adapter.

• User Manual

Price: £199.00

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Revamp Progloss Digital Ceramic Straightener Review

These arrived in a Revamp branded sleeved box with a side lift opening containing the hair straighteners on the top fitted in moulded plastic and secured with a rubber tie, underneath this the manual and a rubber heat resistant protection mat.

First impressions these have a nice smooth black matt coating which looks and feels very nice, the design has the temperature display LED in the top with the power and temperature adjustment buttons under rubber set back from the ceramic straightener plates in the centre avoiding any accidental adjustment while in use but still safe and easy to use.

After fully unpacking them I had a good read through the manual and asked my wife to start using them and give her opinion, my wife uses the ghd original IV styler but they are quite old and worn now, although she has been happy with them they are not without issues. She was really impressed with how quickly they heat up and are ready to use along with the colour changing LED display indicating the temperature heat range, she found the 360º swivel cable worked great avoiding having to keep moving and adjusting the cable.

My wife has coarse hair so used them at the higher temperature range and she loves them, finding them smooth and easy to use and really liked how quickly after turning them on they are ready to go along with the swivel cable design which avoided the irritating cable tangling, she did say they are far better than her ghd original IV styler even when they were new but I would say these are quite old and it’s not a comparison to any newer versions they may have.

• ULTRA FAST STYLING: The Progloss Digital Straightener features new, one-stroke styling technology. Smoothly glide over the hair with the floating ceramic plates for a frizz-free, pin-straight style, or give it a little twist to create salon enhanced curls
• INFUSED WITH SUPER SMOOTH OILS: The ceramic ionic plates in the Progloss Digital Ceramic Straightener are equipped with keratin, argan and coconut oil for versatile styling, for the ultimate enhanced shine and salon smooth hair
• TEMPERATURE CONTROL: Variable heat options between 80-235 degrees, ensures your hair stays healthy! The digital heat display changes colour based on the temperature: yellow for lower temperatures, orange for mid and red for higher temperatures
• SMARTER STRAIGHTENERS: The Progloss Digital Ceramic Straightener's temperature control allows you to find the right setting for your hair type, ensuring you don't damage your hair: yellow for fine hair, orange for normal and red for coarse hair
• EASY TO USE: The hair straightener comes with a 3m, 360º swivel cable, so you don't get yourself wrapped up during styling, and an automatic shut-off mode which will turn your straighteners off after 60 minutes.

Overall the Revamp progloss digital ceramic straightener are of very high quality performing really well, with good attention to detail along with functions and as my wife loves them, I can’t find any faults with them I have given them top marks.

Price: £89.99
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Umi. by Amazon - TWS Bluetooth 5.0 IPX7 W9 True Wireless Earbud Review

These arrived in a Umi branded lift top square box with a quick start guide on the top with the main more comprehensive manual at the bottom of the box, there is a small accessories box containing different size replacement earbud ends and a flat micro USB charging lead.

After putting the earbud case on charge I had a good read through the manual, its multilingual but has a separate English language section along with diagrams and very easy to follow. Pairing them to the Bluetooth device you are using is very simple and once paired they auto pair once switched on so you don’t have to keep doing it every use.

The sound is crisp, clear and distortion free even at a high volume, these don’t have ear hooks so I would suggest finding the right size replacement end fitting for your ears and once you have they are very comfortable and don’t feel loose or fall out.

I tested the various features and when taking a phone call the earbuds cut the music you are listening to and once the call has finished return seamlessly from the place you left off, pause and volume up/down along with navigating to the next or previous track work well once you get used to how to activate each function.

The case is very small with charging indicator lights on the reverse so you know when they have a full charge and is very small ideal to slip in your pocket or bag, even though these have a small case they will fully charge three to four times before the case needs charging which I found impressive.

Overall these are very nice earbuds with a great sound, the case is very small but delivers multiple charges without needing to be recharged itself, they fit well and the functions all work well so they get top marks from me.

• [W9 with intelligent charging case] The earbuds automatically charge when the case cover is closed, and the charging case is also rechargeable. W9 can be used for 6 hours per single full charge, and the charging box can charge the earbuds fully 3-4 times. That means a full 24 hours of music or talk time, or 100 hours on standby, with fast 1-hour charging
• [Bluetooth 5.0 and deep stereo bass] The Bluetooth transmission communication speed reaches up to 48MBps from 15 metres away, thanks to the strong anti-interference technology. This means smoother, clearer conversations and no music cut-outs when you're on the move. The unique stereo design delivers high-quality sound so you can really feel the music
• [Mini ergonomic design and IPX7 protection] The textured surface, invisible in-ear design, soft sleeves and true wireless technology make these headphones cool, convenient and high-quality. Free your hands and your music: IPX7 protection resists rain and sweat with ease. The charging station is stylish and pocket-sized, or can be carried in the hand so you can charge as you go
• [High-end charging case with patented independent power management technology] The exclusive patented independent power management technology allows you to separately charge the left and right earbuds separately for maximum use time. Place either or both earbuds into the station: one red LED indicates no power, one blue LED indicates full charge. The earbuds will charge automatically
• [Mono and binaural mode] The two earbuds can be used alone or in two channels, and each earphone can be paired independently. Both "L" and "R" can control play/pause/previous/next/volume up/volume down /answer/end/reject call. It's like you have two completely separate headphones. Connect to the same device to share music with your friends or use two headphones to enjoy stereo surround sound.

Price: £34.99

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Maxi-Cosi Pebble Plus Baby Car Seat Review

Top quality baby seat, this arrived in a large box within a box with a cellophane bag covering it, first impressions you can see this is a very high quality product, there are a couple of things you need to remove before use secured with plastic ties, a small tab at the bottom of the harness and the instruction and usage manuals at the top of the seat.

After removing the manuals and tab ticket at the bottom I gave the manual a good read through, it’s very clear and easy to understand along with diagrams to assist. After reading through the manual I had a good look over the baby seat, the quality is really top notch and the finishing and attention to detail top to bottom is flawless as far as I can see.

With the seat weight being under 5kg it’s very light and easy to lift and move about, the handle has release buttons and locks into place once extended and works really well making it easy to carry around and folds back down the same way. The easy-in harness has a nice smooth operation, easy to adjust and not being the common ridged material it can be moved right out of the way when you are placing or removing the baby from the seat.

The seat is very well padded giving a comfortable ride for the baby and with the main cover being removable easy to wash, the seat has the most recent European standard for child car seats R129 (i-Size) so has passed frontal, rear and side-impact tests along with other rigorous tests giving safety reassurance.

• Baby car seat, suitable from birth to approximate 1 year (0-13 kg, 45-75 cm)
• Fits with compatible Maxi-Cosi base unit for ISOFIX installation
• i-Size for enhanced safety and optimal protection against side impacts
• Baby hugg inlay offers a better fit and laying position for newborns
• Easy-in harness, stays open to easily place baby in car seat
• This Maxi-Cosi car seat is compatible with Maxi-Cosi and Quinny pushchairs for a complete travel system

Overall the Maxi-Cosi Pebble is a really high quality baby car seat, it has safety reassurance, is under 5kg so very easy to carry around, the material used and padding is superb also being removable for washing, is compatible with Maxi-Cosi and Quinny pushchairs so can be used for pushing the baby around if you have the base and very easy to fix and remove from the car. I can’t fault this product so it gets full marks.

Price: £199.00
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SOOTEWAY Mp3 Player Review

The last MP3 player I had was about five times the size and didn’t have Bluetooth so this is certainly an upgrade to that. It arrived in very basic plastic packaging with an apple style set of headphones; the instructions are reasonable taking you through the features and functions. The Mp3 player is really small and fits in the palm of your hand and the matte material gives a good finish feeling nice in the hand.

After opening it up I put it on charge and gave the manual a read through, once it was fully charged I gave all the features and functions a good try out, the radio is reasonable but relies on the headset being plugged in to get a signal, the movie player is really a bit pointless as it only seems to supports amv format, the voice recorder works although the record quality is average, it has an e-book reader limited to text which works.

The screen and menu are very clear and I found easy to navigate once I was familiar with how it controlled, I added some albums to the player a very simple process just using the supplied USB to micro USB connector linked to my computer, I also added some albums to a micro SD card to test the expanded memory.

I found the sound quality very good once I linked it to a Bluetooth headset and also to a Bluetooth speaker; the music on the micro SD card worked perfectly giving a massive boost to the storage and listing everything on it.

Overall this is a very nice and tiny MP3 player but I feel it tries to do too much and the added features such as movies, e-book, pictures, radio are underwhelming and should either been worked on more or left off the player. As an MP3 player I found it really nice with good sound quality, really small and lightweight, extra storage capacity, Bluetooth connection and a good menu listing system with easy to navigate menu on a good clear screen so although I wouldn’t give it top marks I would recommend it just for its MP3 playing features.

• [16GB and fast charging] 16GB of memory can store up to 5000 songs, Micro SD card slot can support up to 128GB TF card (not included). The SOOTEWAY MP3 player can be quickly charged and you can enjoy music quickly.
• [Grinding material and exquisite] matte material, soft light, clear vision, wear resistance, give you a smooth touch and ultimate experience. The 1.8-inch body is compact and easy to carry. You can easily put it in your pocket.
• [Backlight button and high-sensitivity button] The backlit button allows you to easily access the music world at night. It has a high resolution color TFT screen. Simply press the power button to lock/unlock the screen. Six high-sensitivity touch buttons are easy to operate and feature independent.
• [Wireless Bluetooth 4.1 & HIFI lossless sound quality] Bluetooth 4.1 technology mp3 player, fast and stable transmission, easily enjoy wireless high-fidelity lossless music! It can be paired with most Bluetooth speakers and headphones, supporting background music playback, music fast forward/rewind, and playback. This MP3 player uses a professional intelligent digital noise reduction chip to provide close to the original HIFI level sound.
• [Multi-function MP3 player and premium service] This versatile MP3 player features music playback, one-click lock, voice recording, FM radio, photo browsing, and e-book (only supports TXT format). 

Price: £20.99

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ASTRO A50 Generation 4 Wireless Headset + Base Station Review

The Astro A50’s are in my opinion the best true wireless headset you can get for the Xbox One, I will start off by saying this does not mean I didn’t have any issues it just means there are limited options to choose from with only three companies holding licences to make true wireless headsets for Xbox to my knowledge and I consider these are the best.

These arrived in a very slick Astro branded bespoke box with everything needed to set them up and have them working, the quality of the headset feels and looks really nice. After unboxing them I had a read through the manual for setting them up and I would suggest going to the Astro website and following the setup video’s or going to astrogaming on YouTube as the setup video’s are far better than following the manual.

The first thing I did after setting them up was to install the Astro command center software from the Astro gaming website and update the firmware, a very simple process and something I would always suggest doing as it helps to remove any bugs they find or are reported. The command center software also has some very good usage tutorials to follow and I found it more than adequate for small adjustments and for advanced user settings.

They seem to have taken great care with how these fit and feel when wearing them and they have a lot of easy adjustments from the slider on the sides to the movement in the ear cups so you can adjust them to exactly the position you want them on your ears. The controls are easily accessible with the voice balance adjustment being on the side of the ear cup this makes it really easy to adjust and get the right balance between game and voice chat volume.

The volume wheel I thought needed more resistance and it was too easy to accidently move, the microphone is good and mutes chat when you push it back up, personally I prefer a mute chat button but it works fine. The sound is really superb and as I have been using Turtle Beach headphones years I would say considerably better quality, I would like to have had your own voice feedback to the ear also from the mic which helps distract from the fact you are wearing a headset but not a big issue.

• Improved Connectivity: Updated wireless technology resulting in enhanced connectivity, range, battery and audio performance
• ASTRO Audio V2: Delivers crisp highs, controlled mids and distortion-free bass for clear dialogue, music and in-game sound
• Dolby Audio and Dolby Atmos: Immerse yourself in the game with cinematic quality spatial audio that gives you a competitive advantage
• Game/Voice Balance: You have total control over your game and chat audio by using the controls built into their headset
• ASTRO Command Centre Software: Fine-tune your audio and voice communication preferences to your specific needs

Overall the sound is really superb, they are way more comfortable than the Turtle Beach headsets, the build quality which is something that Turtle Beach don’t seem to even care about is very nice and well thought out not having high stress areas and using strong resilient lightweight material meaning they are not too heavy, the base station is very compact and works well both for storage and charging so overall I really like them.

 Price: £279.99
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Juno Interactive Baby Elephant Review

Juno hasn’t left my daughters side since she got him/her even going to bed with her. This arrived in a really nice custom designed elephant box and was certainly well packed and secured inside with all the elephants legs tied down and fitted to little plugs in the bottom of the box.

This certainly has a wow factor that puts a smile on your face and as my daughter say’s ‘it’s so cute’, it takes four AA batteries which are not supplied but not really a big deal, it comes with a little mouse and peanut which Juno throws about with his trunk much to my daughters delight.

After opening it all up I gave it a good look over, the finishing and feel of the material used is extremely nice with great attention to detail, after fitting the batteries I opened up the manual which was very disappointing being in multiple languages and very difficult for me to follow never mind a child, I looked up the products YouTube channel which was much more informative giving a good visual idea of how it all worked so it was then it was time to introduce it to my daughter.

My daughter absolutely loves Juno and he hasn’t left her side even having to eat dinner with her, she didn’t have any problems getting Juno to respond and is already on a third set of batteries, she talks to Juno, praises, tells off for throwing the peanut, laughs and cuddles Juno.

• LIFELIKE ANIMATED TRUNK: Juno My Baby Elephant has a highly realistic and playful moving trunk that responds to your touch. It's incredible to watch in any mode of play. Juno uses her trunk to make adorable trumpet noises, eat her peanut, play games, interact with her toy mouse, give you a kiss, and more.
• PERSONALITY THAT GROWS: When Juno first comes home, she'll be a bit shy and hide behind her ears. As you pet and play with her, Juno's silly and cute personality unfolds. Once she's comfortable she'll giggle, make funny sounds and playfully swing her trunk around.
• INTERACTIVE ACCESSORIES: Feed Juno her peanut or use it to teach her tricks like how to dance and trumpet with her trunk. Give Juno her toy mouse to play games like peek-a-boo and build a tune. Discover more of Juno's special games and tricks as you play together.
• Wildluvs Juno My Baby Elephant is an adorable interactive pet elephant, and makes the perfect gift for kids aged 5 and up. Requires 4 AA batteries (not included). Love begins the moment you unbox Juno.

Overall very cute toy, really good variety of sounds and movement, the finishing and quality is extremely nice, the only real issue I have is the manual it really needs a makeover. Juno goes through a set of batteries in around four hours but when they get low he doesn’t just stop working he becomes lazy with his sounds working but he no longer flaps his ears or throws his trunk about, I like this as it means I can spot it needs a battery change before my daughter thinks he’s broken.

Price: £80.00
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