Cadogan Guides Tuscany, Umbria and the Marches is a good example of these always-reliable guides friendly format. The book acknowledges that the travellers have moved beyond the golden hills of Tuscany west to the Bolgheri and Maremma seasides and east into the regions of equally stunning Umbria and the Marches. Its insider focus on food and wine based on a healthy appreciation of the culture gives it a mix that other guidebooks can miss.

The drawback to this approach, when coupled wi..

The DVP-NS300 is Sonys entry-level DVD player, but still boasts the comprehensive set-up controls of the more expensive models. It also carries Sonys TV Virtual Surround and a Block Noise Reduction system to improve picture quality. On professionally encoded modern DVDs the effect of this is negligible, but it does help with some of the early DVDs which were poorly encoded, helping to reduce artefacts.

The first thing that strikes you about this player as you pull it from its box, is that it ..

The Sony DCR-TRV130 Digital8 Camcorder provides a good introduction to the world of digital video, being an easy-to-use and capable entry level digital camcorder. Despite being Sonys "best value" Digital8 camcorder, the TRV130 has a list of features that would fill this review on its own.

The Digital8 format uses standard 8 mm tapes to store digital video rather than the more expensive MiniDV format. You can fit up to 90 minutes on a single tape in LP mode. The TRV130 is respectably compact a..

The blonde My Special Baby looks outwardly like a normal doll with pretty flaxen hair, large blue eyes, painted lips and a charming pink and yellow outfit. This cute facade hides a number of sensors and computer chips making it an extraordinary voice-activated toy that can do everything from laughing and crawling to singing, walking and even growing a few centimetres in height.

The comprehensive setup and operational instructions need to be followed carefully by an adult, with the child..

It takes two hands to hold Sonys new DSC-F717 digital camera, but thats because there are so many features packed into it. The F717 captures images at up to 5.2 megapixel resolution--thats 2,560 x 1,920 pixels--and can facilitate good sized enlargement prints.

Images produced by the camera are crisp, colourful, and deep in detail. With USB 2.0 support, transfers to PC zip by and can be set to happen automatically. The large auto-focus Carl Zeiss lens zooms optically at 5x, with another 2x i..