Well its been just under a month since I purchased my very own Brother MFC-7340 Laser Multi-Function Center, and its about time I wrote the review on the unit.

The Affordable MFC-7340

When I got the unit home it was extremely well packaged and came with everything I needed to get started apart from the USB Cable.  It did include the Power Cable, Phone Cable, Phone Adapter, a printed manual and CD with Drivers and OCR Software (software which reads the text from a scan, and converts it to a editable document).

The unit took a couple of minutes to get out of all the packaging, remove the protective tape and insert the toner/drum, after that was all ready to be plugged in and powered on.

Powering on was seamless, it booted up in around 20 seconds and was able to set up my Inital Preferences easily using the built in screen, with the simple questions of Location (which already defaulted to Australia) and Date and Time.

Once that was done, the system was ready to be used instantly for copying and faxing without any further setup.  The three modes all have lit up buttons, so you can easily see which mode is active, and has an informative 2 line display to adjust settings.

Installing the software was also a breeze, after a few simple prompts when you put in the CD, the software is all automatically installed and ready to go in around 5 minutes.

Printing

This printer is one of the better lasers I have used, with the printouts all being extremely clear, and usually having this first page out in around 7 seconds, with a page roughly every 2 to 3 seconds after that.

If the printer is in sleep mode (you can set how long before it goes to Sleep) it usually is around 13 seconds before first page out.  It is also one of the quieter printers I have used, using it in a Small Office, I could easily talk on the phone still without it causing too much background noise, the printer being in the middle of the room.

I also have found the Single Media Tray useful, with it allowing me to easily print on letterheads or envelopes.  The only downside is it is a bit hard to load the media at times.

Scanning

You can either use the computer software to start the scan process, or use the controls directly on the printer.  Speed is great with the Automatic Document Feeder set on Standard Quality Black and White, with a page being scanned roughly every 8 seconds.

Colour quality could be a little better however the results experienced are perfectly adequate for general office scanning where exact colours are not important.

The one thing I like about the scanner on this machine is the ADF feeder and cover for the flatbed scanner are designed so the tray does not slam closed if you let it go, it stays up allowing you to position your document with both hands.

The software allows you to save the finished files in many formats, including standard still pictures or even a PDF, where every scan in that set is combined into one PDF file.

Fax

I personally have not been able to try out the Fax functionality of this printer, other than seeing how it reacts with scanned documents.  If you scan the documents using the ADF it will automatically cycle though all the pages then start the fax call.

If you need to scan using the flatbed scanner, it will ask after you scan the first page if there are more pages to scan, or to start the Fax call.

Once you start the fax call the inbuilt speaker is extremely clear and lets you know easily if the fax is going as it should be.

You also have the option to make the Fax automatically print out a Transmission Report or not after every fax.

Conclusion

For the price I find this a great value Multifunction System.  The performance is great and consistent, the toner refills are not expensive and does hold 250 sheets of A4 Paper, so only needs to be refilled occasionally.

The unit feels sturdy and well built, and think it would last through consistent office use.  I would not recommend it if going to be used to print on special media such as envelopes on a regular basis, it only holding one envelope at a time and being slightly hard to load would cause delays in a busy office.

The one other thing I would gripe about is that the display is not back lit, meaning you have to use it in a well lit room to see the screen clearly.

You can buy the Brother Laser MFC-7340 here: http://www.warcom.com.au/shop/flypage/Printers/Brother-Printers/6468

DrayTek Vigor 2710VN Review - Buy From Warcom!

1. It supports ADSL/2/2+ so no matter what type of service you have the 2710Vn will know how to get the most from it.
2. Four LAN ports to plug in 4 different PC’s and really open up that network connectivity, great for a home network or the small office.
3. Firewall and security features second to none, blocking and preventing against all kinds of attacks from the Internet. Whether you’re a total newcomer or a seasoned professional the firewall features will impress.
4. USB port enabling you to insert a 3G USB dongle to give you wireless in those remote ADSL areas and also to prevent against fall over and give you uninterrupted service in the occasion that the ADSL connection goes down.
5. The USB Port can alternatively be used for printer support enabling most USB printers to become a network printer and everyone on the network will be able to access it.
6. Save money with VoIP. The FXS port will let you connect your existing telephone handset and make calls over the internet saving you tons of cash on those lengthy phone calls
7. N Wireless is the latest in wireless speed and technology. It will transmit seamlessly your high-speed broadband connection throughout your entire house, faster, clearer and stronger than ever before. Great for all your wireless devices, everything from your mobile phone to PC’s and gaming consoles.
8. VPN Facilities, the 2710Vn has the capability to set up a Virtual Private Network giving the users of your choice remote data Access. It has two VPN tunnels meaning that at anytime you can have two additional PC’s dialing in remotely to connect to the network, sharing files, music, movies, logging into databases, the list goes on. This can be a network set up between offices, states or even countries, the distance knows no boundaries.
9. Antenna Upgrades, coming with three 2dBi Antennas is great for in and around the house, but if we want to get some more distance covered we can do an easy and simple upgrade to 5dBi or even 7dBi antennas giving you much more range and coverage.
10. Really easy to use and setup, the 2710Vn is ready to rock straight out of the box. Pre-programmed to automatically recognize most of your settings all you need to do is put in your username and password and you’re online.
11. Reliability and ultimate dependability are what Draytek is all about with an extremely low failure rate this is the modem you want in you home or business.
12. Style and Design and embody this truly tidy piece of kit from Draytek. It is a great looking unit and fits right at home with your Mac or PC. Fantastic for the home or office and with all the features mentioned above the 2710Vn is a modem router that totally stands out from the crowd.

A robust hardworking class of modem/router, the Billion BiPAC 7401VGP is a good all rounder for any home or SOHO user. A vast feature set offering VoIP, G Wireless, Firewall Security, Quality management systems and IPTV application support gives it quite a high specification covering all the essential bases yet it still manages to maintain an affordable price.

Upon first glance any modem setup can seem confusing, but the 7401VGP comes with connection wizard software and an Auto Scan ADSL feature making it a breeze to get going. It is simply the case that you open the box, plug It in, fire it up, put in your username and password and the modem will pretty much do the rest.

Whether you have ADSL2 or 2+ connections the 7401VGP will work with either, and it is even backward compatible with ADSL making it versatile no matter what speed your service is.

It is G wireless ready to go so straight out of the box it gives you a wireless Internet connection throughout your whole house. No need for wires, or messy cabling, making connecting in the room of your choice so much easier. Password security can be set via WPA (Wi-Fi Protected Access) and WPA2 so this will leave you feeling safe and secure as it eliminates the threat of other people being able to connect to your wireless service.

When it comes to cost saving its hard beat the fact that you can make unbelievably economic phone calls taking advantage of the VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) services. You do this by simply connecting your existing telephone handset to the FXS port, at the same time it still has a free FXO port to enable you to make calls via fixed line as well, and it does all of this whilst still sharing a high speed Internet connection.

Billion 7401VGP R3 Review

There are four LAN (Local Area Network) ports on the back enabling you to connect four different computer terminals directly into the modem, giving you greater options for networking, particularly with the home office setup, this is additional to the wireless services and connectivity already being broadcast.

Firewall security options with DoS (Denial of Service) prevention and the SPI (Security Parameter Index) provide hard and determined results blocking even the most intrusive of hackers giving your home or home office a secure network environment, and with traffic prioritization and bandwidth management via QoS  (Quality of Service) management systems you can look forward to a smooth and responsive connection to the internet.

The 7401VGP is quite future-proof and supports IPTV (Internet Protocol Television), a technology in which a digital television service can be delivered over the Internet. As we move forward into the future the boundaries of IPTV are limitless and we are only just really touching on the services that are going to be available to us.

Compact, reliable, and loaded with features the 7401VGP packs quite a punch giving you everything you could possibly need to facilitate and manage your home or SOHO broadband.

Greetings Geek-Lings!

I posted a run down on our famous DrayTek 2820VN yesterday at Overclockers, so I figured I’d replicate here for your reading pleasure.

————–

1. The unit supports ADSL1/2/2+.
2. It has a 3G fall over featured (via usb) so if you internet goes down, you plug in a 3G/NextG usb dongle and keep your interwebs up!
3. It supports VoIP, so you can save loads on phone calls to family friends, and people overseas.
4. The firewall features are fantastic for both newbies, and seasoned professionals in the security game.
5. The VPN features are outstanding, possibly the best VPN of all the units in this price range. (We sell hundreds of these units to HP staff, as they login remotely via VPN to their work).
6. Gigabit ethernet port – so run this out into a gigabit switch and you’re off and running!
7. Reliability on draytek units is second to none, their failure rates are extremely low.
8. It has built in wireless .N support. Great for wireless all around the house, and to your gaming consoles.
9. You can use the USB port as a NAS port.
10. And last but by no means least, it has a secondary WAN port. So you can connect another ADSL modem, or cable modem, or any form of connection really to this port, and setup a triple fail over redundant connection. (Including the USB port obviously)

DrayTek Vigor 2820VN

Greetings Friends,

By any chance are you still using an old CRT monitor? Or are you stuck with a 19″ LCD upgrade which you were never quite happy with? I think it may be time for a change!

The AOC 2434PW 23.6″ Widescreen LCD Monitor could just be the answer you are looking for, and I’m not just saying that because I have one!
This beast is big, glossy and offers HDMI resolution and quality at a great price point.

AOC 2434PW

Upon opening your 2434pw you’ll find the polished aluminum base ready to attach to your 23.6″ glossy screen completing a 3-way adjustable stand.

Once set up and angeled to your liking, you can choose how to drive your widescreen and 2.5 watt built-in speakers. You can settle with the D-Sub and 3.5″ audio jack if need be but with a HDMI cable supplied by AOC, let’s hit up 1080P Full High Definition!

The HDMI is used for both picture and sound and comes with a very tidy cable management system, this means the 2434Pw will be looking the part no matter how many connections you’re running.

AOC 2434PW

The monitor features touch-light controls, including the power on and menu buttons which light up when touched.
In regards to the panel, you are looking at a super fast display; 2ms response time and a dynamic contrast ratio of 60000:1, all available up to a resolution of 1920 x 1080.

To address the issue which some HDMI monitors experience where they are difficult to power on and refuse to go on stand by when connected via HDMI, the AOC 2434PW comes through with flying colours. Once set up under HDMI, the AOC will turn on and off as required and move itself onto stand by when need be.

Winner of the Red Dot Award in 2008 and a massively popular seller in 2009, get your 2434pw for 2010!

Check it out here!

Cheers,

Adam

The Linksys SPA9xx Series has been a solid seller for years now, being labelled as an Easy to Use, Reliable Business Series of Phones, especially the SPA942 4 Line Unit.

Cisco, having seen the success of the SPA942, have taken the core functionality of the unit, and improved on it with their new range, which offers something for everyone.

Each of the phones in the SPA5xx Range now offer support for the High Definition codec G.722, which allows your conversations to be crisp and clear as possible.

I will highlight some of the key features of the unit we find to have the Best Features and Best Price Point for Small to Medium Business Use.

Cisco SPA504G 4 Line IP Phone

The New SPA504G IP Phone

This unit at time of writing currently retails for $180.86 Australian Inc. GST at warcom.com.au.

The SPA504G is suited for nearly any business environment, with the ability to have four lines connected, corded and cordless headsets as well as 2 Expansion Panels (headsets and expansion panels purchased separately), where each button allows you to see the status of other lines around the office, or even use them as speed dials or one touch transfers. (Specific Enqipment may be required for all functionality of the Expansion Boards)

With a Backlit, Monochrome Display, the user can:

• See exactly who is calling at any time.
• Choose any name and number from the 100 Entry Phone Directory.
• See records of any Answered, Missed or Dialed Calls.
• Program the phone directly from the unit, without logging into the web interface.

If you would prefer to set up your phone from a computer, the phone has a fully featured Web Interface to allow you to check its status, change any feature and even reset it, just by entering the IP address into an Internet Browser.

The phone also includes a high quality speakerphone, for small conference calls or while waiting for your call to be answered.

The SPA500 Attendant Console

The SPA500 Attendant Console

The SPA5xx Range of Phones are all compatible with the SPA500 Attendant Console, meaning any phone, whether it be the cheapest 1 Line Unit to the Colour Screen, MP3 Playing, Bluetooth Compatible SPA525G.

The Attendant Consoles allow you to One Touch Dial to any Extension or Speed Dial, check the status of other lines around the office (Specific PBX’s required that offer this functionality) with the 3 Colour LED’s on each button.  Each phone can handle up to 2 of these units, and are powered by the same power source from the phone.  No extra power plugs required.

The SPA500 Attendant Console does block the Corded Headset Port on the phones, so please be aware of this before purchasing.

If you have any questions on the range, please feel free to drop us a line at service@warcom.com.au or call us on 1300 WARCOM (927 266)

Introducing the FiiO E1 Earphone Volume Booster Amplifier For iPhone!

The FiiO comes very well packaged in a nice retail box, whilst there’s not a lot inside the box apart from instructions and the warranty info, it certainly makes for a great gift!

Navigation

Moving onto the unit itself..

The inline amp has the options of being able to control your iPhone/iPod using the buttons on the amp itself.

These buttons include the following:

• Increase & decrease volume.
• Play next track.
• Play previous track.
• Play a track.
• Pause a track.

The clip on the back of the unit is pretty good, it’s very strong and should survive being man handled.

Overall, the build quality of E1 is simply superb!

Sound Quality

At firs,t I was really skeptical as to how good this unit would be, but after connecting it to my iPhone and cranking it all the way up I was very gob smacked.

There was a noticeable difference in both sound levels, bass and also mid’s.

Noticeable enough that I made all the boys in the office listen to some tunes and give me their feedback. — They agreed, and gave it a big thumbs up!

I’ve since sent a several of these around to close friends and family have given the unit the thumbs up also.

Summary

For the grand total of $39.95 I’d certainly recommend giving the FiiO E1 a go.

Even for the sheer convenience of not having to take your iPhone/iPod out of your pocket to skip a track makes it great, but if you’re anything like me, you want your music crisp, clean and LOUD, then the FiiO E1 certainly helps do just that!

Cheers!

Hello Ladies and Gentlemen!

We are very pleased to announce that Warcom is now an official Apple Affiliate Partner, and as such we will be able to bring you all the latest and great Apple deals the moment they’re released to the public.

To get things started here’s this months offers:

Make sure you check back every month as more offers come to hand!

Enjoy!

This little stocking filler finally is the answer to a question we get asked rather frequently: ‘Do you have a modem that does not require a 3G USB Modem to use Mobile Internet?

We now can answer: ‘Yes, we do!’  Let me introduce the Billion BIPAC 7800GZ!

Billion BiPAC 7800GZ

This brilliant unit allows you to just insert a Sim Card directly into the unit, not requiring the additional expense of buying a compatible USB 3G Modem.

To list some of the features this brilliant device has:

• An ADSL2+ Modem built in to allow you to still take advantage of your hard-line connection, so you can have the best of both worlds.
• 4 Wired 10/100 Ethernet Ports to connect different systems, printers and even NAS (Network Attached Storage) to your network
• Wireless G Networking Built In for all wireless devices (Mobile Phones, Laptops etc) compatible with Wireless G Networking
• The ability to change an Ethernet Port to another WAN Port, allowing another separate modem to be used for internet.
• Secure VPN with Powerful DES/3DES/AES to help make sure your data is safe
• Quality of Service Control with Traffic Prioritization and Bandwidth Management
• SOHO Firewall Security with DoS Prevention and Packet Filtering
• Supports IP Television

With all these features, including Wired and Wireless Networking, Built in ADSL2+ Modem, VPN and Quality of Service this really is a great little unit for business or home use.

To find out more about this product have a look at it in our store here:

Billion BiPAC 7800GZ 3G/ADSL2+ Modem/Router

If you’re reading this post, congratulations! Your internet works – all thanks to a combination of technologies such as ADSL, modems, and routers.

If you’re looking at getting a new thing-that-powers-your-internet, then you’ve come to the right place. Warcom has an amazing selection of high-quality routers available, and all of them will get the job done (and no, I’m not just saying that). Here’s a quick breakdown on what sorts of technologies you’ll be diving into.

Today we’ll be taking a look at the most visible part of the equation – what you can see inside your own home, the combination ADSL modem/router. While it’s true that most ADSL modems are also routers, you can also get routers that aren’t modems, although they’re not as common. But what’s the difference?

ADSL modem: when you’re thinking of the mystery box-of-tricks that connects your computer to the internet, this is the part that does all the hard work, sending out those one’s and zero’s to strange places on the big bad internet. ADSL isn’t the only way you can connect to the internet, but unless you’re stuck with dial-up, it’s certainly the most prevalent. However, it doesn’t stop there – to connect more than one computer to the internet you’ll need some additional stuff to make that happen, which brings me to…

Router: basically, every computer on your network needs what’s called an IP address. You can either give your machine an IP address manually, or you can let a router do all the hard work, and assign IPs to machines for you. Routers also have the capacity to exchange information between computers, allowing you to share files and resources. Routers commonly come with more than one ethernet port, purely because you want a router to work with more than one computer at a time.

So once you’ve got that sorted, you’ve then got to make a decision on how many extras you’d like with that:

Wireless is probably something that you’ll want to look into, as wireless technology is pretty much everywhere these days, and if you ever want to connect an iPhone or an iPod Touch or similar Wi-Fi device to the internet, wireless will be the way to do it. I’d almost go so far as to say that wireless is pretty much a given by today’s standards, but there are those of you who like your tin foil hats…

Next on the list is VOIP. VOIP is for if you’d like to ditch your conventional phone line, and use Voice-Over-IP technology instead. Essentially you use your internet connection as a gateway to talk to other people, regardless if they’re on the same technology or not. VOIP is often seen as an excellent way to cut costs, as VOIP-to-VOIP calls are usually free (or very close to).

Those are probably the most common extras you’ll see, but there are also some pretty serious routers out there, like the DrayTek Vigor2820Vn, which do the following:

3G – the DrayTek mentioned above allows a USB-based 3G modem to be connected to the router, essentially allowing you to have a separate internet connection in case your main ADSL line goes down.

Firewall – all this is is a set of configurable rules that either allow (or deny) certain connections to computers on your local network. How configurable these options are (from straight allow/deny to the serious allow by certain times of day) depends on how powerful the router is.

QoS – quality of service allows you to prioritise certain activities over others, so that available bandwidth isn’t all being taken up by one person (or activity) in your house (so YouTube has a lower priority than your brother’s gaming on his PS3/Xbox, for example).

VPN – virtual private networks allow you to create a virtual network via software for the purposes of wider-networks with security and, as it’s name suggests, privacy. Think of it as having a local network (people can’t see in, but you can communicate between computers easily), over the internet (allowing you to access a work computer from home, for example).

Without getting into any more specific than that, there you have it – a reasonable overview of what powers the wires between your computer and the internet.

Without further ado, cue the recommendations…