Macworld UK Reviews

WriteRoom for iPhone review

Mon, 01 Dec 2008 16:00:00 GMT

Writing app offers compelling alternative to Notes

I’m sure you’ve been in a store and had the idea of a lifetime. You frantically search around you for a slip of paper to jot it down, but you can’t find anything. You turn to your iPhone, but you just can’t bring yourself to use the included Notes app because of its lack of customizability and syncing. Sighing heavily, you resign yet another world-changing idea to the possibility of remaining trapped within the echoing corridors of your mind.

MacBook Pro 17-inch speedtest

Fri, 28 Nov 2008 14:00:00 GMT

Apple's biggest laptop performs well--particularly with optional 7,200-rpm drive

Following the top-to-bottom refresh of Apple’s laptop line announced in October, people paid plenty of attention to the new unibody MacBook and MacBook Pro models. Little to no attention was given to either the top or the bottom of the line.

iSee for iPod nano 4G

Thu, 27 Nov 2008 18:00:00 GMT

Keep your iPod safe with this see-through case from Contour Design

The 4th-generation iPod nano is sturdier than previous models (in particular the 1st-generation nano which was particularly scratch-prone). However, keeping it safe from hard knocks plus general wear and tear is always important; even more so with the latest model because the new ‘shake to shuffle’ feature is an accident waiting to happen.

Flick Fishing for iPhone review

Thu, 27 Nov 2008 15:00:00 GMT

Flick the reel and land a whopper with this fishy sim from Freeverse

Freeverse is rapidly getting a reputation as the best iPhone and iPod touch game developers around. It's recent title, Flick Bowling, kept the Macworld team entertained and this latest game, Flick Fishing, is even more fun.

Flick Fishing for iPhone

Thu, 27 Nov 2008 15:00:00 GMT

Flick the reel and land a whopper with this fishy sim from Freeverse

Portable Hard Drive review

Thu, 27 Nov 2008 07:00:00 GMT

As you’d expect, all the drives on test draw their power supply from your computer’s USB or FireWire port. Some laptop computers may not supply enough power through a single USB port, so most of the drives include a second USB cable in case you need to draw extra power from another USB port. Only Verbatim’s Portable Hard Drive FireWire/USB actually needed to use the second cable when attached to the USB ports on our MacBook.

T-Mobile G1 review

Wed, 26 Nov 2008 17:30:00 GMT

Google lines up to take its first shot at the smartphone market, Macworld says hello to Android

In many ways it's a shame that the T-Mobile G1 has been lined up as a potential "iPhone killer", because that's a hard tag to live up to. And we'll get straight to the point and say: "no, it isn't".

My Passport Studio review

Wed, 26 Nov 2008 07:00:00 GMT

Western Digital has always done a good job with its Studio range of hard drives for the Mac, and this portable ‘Passport’ model is no exception. The Passport Studio has WD’s traditional slimline, silver-grey design and provides 250GB of storage that’s pre-formatted for use with Macs (160GB and 320GB also available).

iDiary for iPhone review

Tue, 25 Nov 2008 17:00:00 GMT

Simple note-taker brings diaries into the digital age

Diaries are typically for keeping secrets or intimate thoughts safe. That’s why they have locks.

YouNote for iPhone review

Tue, 25 Nov 2008 12:00:00 GMT

Useful features and powerful note-organisation tools help the appeal of YouNote

Both the iPhone and iPod touch come with a built-in notepad app, which works very simply and efficiently. You type in your note, you save it; the app notes the date and time. Onward and upward. Who could ask for anything more?

FreeAgent Go for Mac review

Tue, 25 Nov 2008 07:00:00 GMT

A lightweight drive that's a great addition to your MacBook

This is the first time Seagate has designed a product specifically for the Mac, and it’s come up with a real winner. The FreeAgent Go For Mac is slim and light, with a neat silver and white trim that complements your Mac. It provides 320GB of storage (250GB is also available) pre-formatted for Macs so there’s no need to reformat it.

Spore Origins for iPhone review

Mon, 24 Nov 2008 20:00:00 GMT

iPhone offering follows the same path as iPod version of virtual life game

Spore Origins for the iPhone roughly follows the same track as the iPod game, though the interface has been improved for the iPhone and the game benefits from the device’s larger screen. But it’s essentially the same game, culled from the full Spore game’s first stage, when you’re responsible for the care, feeding and evolution of a microscopic spore swimming in protoplasmic ooze.

Flick Bowling for iPhone review

Mon, 24 Nov 2008 20:00:00 GMT

Bowling game misses some little details

Flick Bowling features six different players and you can either ‘free play’ solo as any of the characters, or play against the computer or another player to whom you pass your iPhone.

Little Disk review

Mon, 24 Nov 2008 20:00:00 GMT

LaCie's stylish little USB drive is an attractive addition to your Mac

Like all LaCie products, the Little Disk is attractively designed and does a good job of catering to Mac users. The glossy black case is slim, yet solidly built and provides 320GB storage (a 250GB model is also available). There’s an extending USB cable that can be pulled out for easy access, and two FireWire 400 ports that allow you to ‘daisychain’ the drive with other FireWire drives if you need to.

Par 72 Golf 2.03 for iPhone review

Mon, 24 Nov 2008 14:15:00 GMT

Can't see the wood for the tees? Let our review of Par 72 golf guide you down the fairway

There aren't many golf games on the iPhone, let alone serious ones. This is surprising considering the worldwide popularity of the sport, but even in the absence of competition Par 72 from Chillingo provides a reasonable – if a little lightweight – representation of the sport on the iPhone.

Concert Vault for iPhone review

Fri, 21 Nov 2008 17:00:00 GMT

Music-streaming app provides great-sounding live tunes

Want to listen to Pink Floyd’s May 9, 1977 performance from Oakland, Calif., while waiting for your flight at the airport? Or the Miles Davis Quintet from the Fillmore East on March 7, 1970 on the train during your morning commute? How about The Clash on February 13, 1979 in Cleveland on your next run? Anyone who enjoys live music from the past 40 years would like Wolfgang’s Vault, a Web site whose Concert Vault section offers more than 1,900 free streaming versions of concerts (plus more than 100 interviews) from more than 1,100 artists.

Convert Vault for iPhone review

Fri, 21 Nov 2008 17:00:00 GMT

Music-streaming app provides great-sounding live tunes

Path Finder 5.0.2 review

Fri, 21 Nov 2008 12:00:00 GMT

Frustrated by OS X's Finder? Then discover this program the expands the Finder beyond all recognition

If you find yourself frustrated by some of the Finder’s limitations, you’re not alone. For example, while the Cover Flow mode is interesting, it’d be more useful to me if the bottom section of a Cover Flow window could be switched to icon or column view. And as I noted in my article on Leopard annoyances, you can’t assign custom colorus to the Finder’s Labels feature; you can't set the font size or face, or disable sections, of Finder-window sidebars; and the sidebar and toolbar are linked together—you can’t hide one without losing the other. Finally, I pointed out that Spotlight in the Finder is borderline useless for certain searches, as you can’t show more than the three provided columns in search results.

BlackBerry Storm 9500 review

Thu, 20 Nov 2008 12:00:00 GMT

Quad-band touchscreen smartphone aims to take on the iPhone, and - to a certain extent - suceeds. Discover what Macworld UK thinks of the BlackBerry Storm 9500

It's been nearly two years since Steve Jobs first demonstrated the iPhone, a move that shocked the mobile phone industry. The iPhone wasn't just a "bit better" but a completely different approach. In the 18 months that the iPhone, and then the iPhone 3G have been on sale we honestly couldn't even consider another phone; now we have two to look at. The first is this one, RIM's BlackBerry Storm 9500 available from Vodafone (the second is the T-Mobile G1, or Google phone as it's better known).

Imitation Apollo review

Thu, 20 Nov 2008 07:00:00 GMT

Imation’s Apollo is one of the smallest hard disks reviewed here, offering a relatively modest 160GB storage capacity. However, there are 250GB, 320GB and 500GB models available too, so you can get more space if you need it.

Apollo review

Thu, 20 Nov 2008 07:00:00 GMT

MiniStation TurboUSB review

Wed, 19 Nov 2008 22:00:00 GMT

Like most of these drives the MiniStation is sold pre-formatted for use with Windows PCs, so you’ll need to reformat the drive before using it with a Mac. However, it does include a Mac version of the Memeo backup software, which will come in handy for people that don’t have Leopard and Time Machine on their Macs yet.

Renamer4Mac review

Wed, 19 Nov 2008 07:00:00 GMT

Batch rename files on your Mac using a program that finds and filters files based on exact parameters

If there were an industry prize for most literally titled software product, Renamer4Mac would surely be near the top of the short list. It renames files on your Mac. End of story.

Epson Stylus PX800FW review

Tue, 18 Nov 2008 17:00:00 GMT

Epson's stylish new multifunction printer does more than just shoehorn a printer and scanner together

Most multifunction printers are created by combining a printer with a scanner, and if you're lucky a few copying functions. Some go further with faxing options but a rare few, such as this Epson Stylus PX800FW, go as far as adding features we haven't seen before.

BeBook e-reader review

Tue, 18 Nov 2008 13:15:00 GMT

Read a wealth of online classics without paying a penny, thanks to this versatile e-reader. But how well does it work with a Mac?

Having digitised our music collections, photographs and videos we’re left with very little entertainment based on old-fashioned media formats. The printed page is the last format to go digital, but e-readers, such as BeBook, aim to turn the printed page into a digital form that can be easily carried around.