A glowing recommendation for a Samsung printer is becoming almost a monthy event in these pages. Following on from the Samsung SCX-4600 comes this retooled version that adds 33.6Kb/s fax facilities (amongst other things) to the mix.

Some multifunction devices make it rather difficult for you to switch between the different features. Not the Samsung SCX-4623F. This device comes with a simple but intuitive panel of buttons that lets you slip seamlessly from one mode to another. And while the generous sampling of number keys necessary for a good fax machine can swamp a lesser product, the Samsung SCX-4623F’s interface remains pleasingly clean and uncluttered.

Advanced copy features include: ID card copy to copy both sides of an ID onto one page, clone copying to print multiple versions of an image or design of any size, on to a single A4 page and poster copying to enlarge an image to 3 x 3, and print it out on nine perfectly-aligned A4 sheets.

The control panel has an easy to use Blue Compass Navigation button that allows you to navigate menu options quickly and easily. The enclosed cassette tray provides a compact finish and ensures the paper is kept dust free and clean, helping guarantee reliable professional prints. Samsung’s SCX-4623F is designed to fit perectly into any professional business, helping to add a touch of style.

The BenQ MP780ST falls into what’s rapidly becoming a distinct subcategory of interactive, DLP-based data projectors built around Texas Instruments’ version of interactive technology. These projectors all share some key features, including a short throw, an interactive wand that doesn’t have to touch the screen, and the ability to move the projector and then set it up quickly for interactive use without needing to calibrate it.

There are, of course, differences in the details. The MP780ST earns its claim to individuality with its balance of resolution, brightness and price – at WXGA (1280 x 800) resolution, a 2500 lumen rating that measures even a bit brighter than spec in its non-interactive mode and its $1350 street price. The price is low for the resolution class, with an education discount also available.

The MP780 ST’s interactive pen can be used as a wireless mouse simply by pointing it at the screen from a short distance away.  When used with BenQ’s QDraw software, it also allows for drawing lines and shapes on a variety of presentation types.  With the projector so close to the screen, the presenter will not interfere with the projected image, nor will he or she have to look back toward the lens of the projector.  The MP780 is also 3-D ready, incorporating Texas Instruments’ DLP link technology.  The BenQ MP780 ST has a specified output of 2500 lumens with a 3000:1 contrast ratio.  Both are very good ratings, especially the contrast ratio.  The MP780 ST is also quite portable, at only 8.38 pounds, giving it the flexibility to be easily moved from one location to another.

For those requiring flexibility in installation, BenQ offers the MX750, which differs from the MP780 ST in that it has a 1.6X zoom lens instead of being a short throw, is XGA (1024×768) resolution and does not have the interactive pen feature.  The MP780 ST’s PointDraw allows you simply to connect the projector to a notebook or desktop computer and “get ready to point, draw, and create on any plain surface – no whiteboard or screen needed”. The PointDraw pen lets users doodle up to 8m away from the projected surface and  features a button that works the same as the “left” button on a mouse, allowing them to perform the same functions.

With the announcement of the first models of the new “X” Series, the Nokia X3 and Nokia X6, the manufacturer has turned over a new leaf in the development of their music line-up that was, until recently, called XpressMusic. Today, we are introducing the Nokia X3 that is less spectacular than the X6, but will certainly appeal to people on the lookout for a compact and affordable music-oriented handset. The X3 is a slider phone utilizing Series 40 interface and equipped with 2.2-inch display, 3.2-megapixel camera and the mandatory, for today´s all-about-music devices, 3.5mm jack and stereo loudspeakers. One of the more interesting extra features of the handset is the presence of a built-in FM Radio aerial – something that is quite rare these days.

The X3 comes with 2.2-inch display with native resolution of 240×320 pixels that is, frankly, nothing to write home about as per today´s standards. Despite its 262k color support, the images it delivers appear worn out and thin in the dark, just like what cheap, entry-level handsets offer. Fortunately, the device is totally usable in direct sunlight – everything on the screen gets kind of monochromic, but remains easily readable.

The slider feels tight while being opened, although we can´t say it´s among the best we´ve seen. Still, its quality is passable for a phone in this class. The keypad is enjoyable to use, because it sports large buttons that are clearly felt when pressed. You might think it´s made of metal when you see it first, but you will find out it´s actually plastic the minute you touch it. One of the stereo loudspeakers is right below, with the second located on the top side, next to the 3.5mm jack, microUSB port and the one for Nokia´s previous generation of chargers. The right and left hand sides of the device feature uncluttered design and what you´ve got is handy camera shutter, volume rocker and microSD expansion card slot.

The Canon Pixma MG8170 is by no means small. It weighs a massive 10.7kg and is slightly bigger than the size of the standard desktop printer. It comes in a glossy black design and looks quite stylish. However, as with all glossy designs, this one too attracted a lot of fingerprints and rubbing them off was a major problem. The inkjet printer cum copier cum scanner has a whole slew of panels that open out revealing the scanner and cartridge slot. The side panel includes the MS Duo, SD MS and Compact Flash card slots along with a USB slot underneath. The placement of the USB slot could have been better as devices larger in size might have a problem fitting in.

The top of the 8170 includes the LCD screen and the touch panel. The touch panel has the directional pad, home and return button, ‘+’ and ‘-’ button for choosing the number of prints, the print button – with colour and black printout option – and three buttons for selecting the menu. From the looks of it, this initially sounds a little confusing and might have a steep learning curve but with the initial few button presses, or rather ‘touches’, you’ll get the exact function of all the options that are on the touch panel. The back contains the power slot, printer slot and LAN port for network printer. Overall, the Pixma 8170 sports a neat design but the glossy exterior may spoil the look of the device in just a few days of usage.

MG8170 is a bulky printer with a black and shiny rectangular body. The top, which is the scanner lid, has a 3.5 inch LCD display supported by an extensive touch-based interface. The bright coloured display is adjustable and can be raised for convenient viewing. To control it you have several touch keys, which are purpose specific and glow to indicate what keys can be used for a particular task, saving you the exercise of searching for it. It saves a bit of power too. The interface registers slimmest of touches and responds fast.

The keys are big and are arranged like this: Three select keys under the display, followed by, On/Off switch, Home and back on the left side of a big OK key with cursor wheel. On the right lays black, colour and cancel keys. The power port and a USB2.0 port are at the back. USB flash port is placed on front along with a closed panel for SD, micro SD cards. There is a paper tray in the front and a paper cassette at the backside.

Canon MG8170 is an inkjet which rolls out A4 to 4×6 size sheets in PDF and JPEG formats. Photo printing can be carried out directly from a USB flash drive and SD or micro SD cards. One can also run slideshows from the flash drive on the printer LCD and also alter the settings and preferences as desired. A Special print option allows eleven template formats for A4 sheets. The print quality is crisp and intact, though it takes couple of sec for the ink to dry up. Smallest font size of 8 showed the same amount of clarity. A4 colour printout of text and photo document takes 70 sec and a black & white text document takes just 14 sec. Dupleix black & white A4 print takes 50 sec. 4×6 glossy photo print showed remarkable vibrancy and took 30sec. Speed definitely is not what one should expect from it, as it also takes some time to warm-up.

ASUS’ EAH5550 Limited Edition graphics card is currently on offer with a 10% discount coupon on a shiny new Battlefield: Bad Company 2 game, and you’ve got two choices to EAH5500 to choose from: one loaded with a fan cooler and based on a low profile design, and another that’s totally based on a passive cooler. Powered by an ATI Radeon 5550 chip, the card handles most graphics quite smoothly. The user shouldn’t expect high end performance from the card, because it is outside of that price range. But the performance that the EAH5550 delivers is remarkably good, all things considered.

The most prominent feature of the card is the massive heatsink that it sports. This heatsink adds the ‘Silent’ to the card’s name, because it effectively cools the GPU without even a whisper. The added bonus of guaranteed cooling is also a plus – there are no fans that can stop spinning here. Despite the lack of fans, the card is still fairly large, and will take up a considerable amount of room in your PC case. It is, however, smaller than the run-of-the-mill card these days, which will also assist with air-flow in a properly put together PC box.

The EAH5550 sports 1GB of DDR 2 VRAM. This should be more than enough graphic RAM for any of the latest releases (StarCraft 2 requires only half of that as a recommended spec.) The GPU chip is also punchy enough to deliver solid performance. You might not get to set everything to maximum in your favourite game, but chances are you will be able to squeeze a hell of a lot out of this sweetly priced device, particularly if the system it is combined with is good.

Specs and features:

Graphics Engine AMD Radeon HD 5550
Bus Standard PCI Express 2.1
Video Memory DDR2 1GB
Effective Memory Size 1024 MB
Engine Clock 550 MHz
Memory Clock 800 MHz ( 400 MHz DDR2 )
RAMDAC 400 MHz
Memory Interface 128-bit
Resolution D-Sub Max Resolution : 2048×1536
DVI Max Resolution : 2560×1600
Interface D-Sub Output : Yes x 1
DVI Output : Yes x 1 (DVI-I)
HDMI Output : Yes x 1
HDCP Support : Yes
Software ASUS Utilities & Driver
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Dimensions 5.19 ” x 4.38 ” Inch