Asus N56VM 15.6in notebook review
Audio enhanced entertainer complete with a separate sub
A good journalist always tries to avoid clichés, but sometimes when I’m writing laptop reviews I do find myself reaching for a few stock phrases, such as: the speakers are crap. Imagine my relief, then, to discover that the speakers on the Asus N56VM don't fall into the crap category, but are actually rather good, no doubt …
HP Spectre XT 13in Ivy Bridge Ultrabook review
Slim, light, fast...
The Spectre XT is HP’s third shot at an Ultrabook in less than six months. The gleaming Gorilla Glass livery of the original 14-inch Spectre was both eye-catching and rugged, but it was also very expensive and quite a bit heavier than you’d expect from an Ultrabook. That was quickly followed by the Envy 4, which was much more …
Ten 15in notebooks for under 400 quid
Product Round-up Back to school, boys and girls
As much as Intel would like us all to rush out and buy an expensive new Ultrabook, the fact remains that the top-selling laptops for most manufacturers are still low-cost 15.6in models. Laptops for £400 or less have back-to-school appeal written all over them, but the mix of components varies enormously to appeal to different …
Acer Aspire Timeline M3 Ultra review
The affordable Ultrabook
It seems safe to say that Ultrabooks haven’t given the PC market the shot in the arm that Intel was hoping for. The high prices haven’t helped, of course, and there also seems to be some evidence that many people are turned off by the relatively small 13in screens that dominate the Ultrabook category.
Acer Aspire Timeline Ultra …
HP Envy 4-1010ea 14in Ultrabook review
Cost-effective compromise?
HP made quite a fuss when it launched its Spectre Ultrabook back in May, and whilst we praised its gleaming, glass design we also noted that the Spectre was a bit on the porky side for what was meant to be an ‘ultraportable’ laptop. It was also burdened by a £1200 price-tag that might make even Apple blush.
HP Envy 4-1010ea …
Dell Inspiron 17R SE 17in Ivy Bridge notebook review
Core i7 beast of burden
I’m currently mourning the demise of the 18-inch Dell XPS that I’ve been using as a TV/DVD player in my bedroom for the last five years. Hardly anyone seems to make 18-inch laptops anymore, but Dell has come up with a good alternative in the form of the new Inspiron 17R SE (Special Edition).
Dell Inspiron 17R 17in Core i7 …
FileMaker Bento 4
iOS App of the Week Make your tablet productive
When the iPad was first launched it was very much considered to be a device for content consumption, rather than a proper computer that could be used for work. Apps like Bento show that the iPad is, in fact, a very practical work tool.
Bento 4 iPad app screenshot Choose a template...
There’s been an iOS version of the Bento …
Crime Map
iOS App of the Week Watching the defectives
It’s often been said that there’s big difference between the public’s perception of crime – getting worse all the time, the country’s going to the dogs, blah-Daily-Mail-blah – and the actual crime figures that have shown a decrease in recent years.
Of course, there’s plenty of statistical information about UK crime rates …
Over 40 Magnifier
iOS App of the Week The eyes have it
I almost decided not to review Over 40 Magnifier, simply because of its rather insulting name. I may be over 40 but my eyeballs haven’t given up the ghost just yet. Nonetheless, this simple little app has still proven to be very useful and has taken up permanent residence on my iPhone.
My eyesight is respectable enough, but I …
HMRC Tax Calc
iOS App of the Week The money program
The Inland Revenue’s latest on-line tax calculator fell flat on its face when it was launched last week – swamped, no doubt, by starving millionaires desperate to know how much their 5 per cent tax cut was worth.
HMRC Tax Calc iOS app HMRC Tax Calc iOS app Quick input and summary calculation
And even when it was up and …
Vyclone
iOS App of the Week Multi-angle mega movie mash-up mixer
Everyone’s looking for the new Instagram – an app with zero revenue that was bought by Facebook for $1 billion – and there’s a lot of buzz on the web right now about video-sharing app Vyclone.
Of course, there’s no shortage of apps and web sites that let you upload and share videos. However, Vyclone does more than just upload …
Zombies, Run!
iOS App of the Week Exercise motivate-urgh, urgh
There are dozens of apps aimed at joggers that can plot a route for you, and measure your speed, progress and calories burned. Yet none of them deal with the fundamental fact that jogging is the most boring form of exercise known to humanity.
Zombies, Run! attempts to add a bit of fun to your pavement pounding by involving you …
SoundBrush
iOS App of the Week Paint me a tune
After happily tapping away with Figure just recently, I decided to try and find some other simple apps that might be fun for musically challenged people like me. SoundBrush is well named, as its clever interface allows you to doodle with sound in the same way that you would sketch with a simple painting app.
SoundBrush iOS app …
Ten... Ultrabooks
Product round-up Light, fantastic
Reg Hardware PC Week
It took a little while for the production lines to get going, but the first few months of 2012 have seen super-slim Ultrabooks completely outnumbering every other type of desktop or laptop PC coming our way.
Intel’s tight definition of the Ultrabook category means that there are certain things you can …
Microsoft SkyDrive
iOS App of the Week Sync'n'store more
I looked at SkyDrive back in early 2011 and was impressed by the 25GB of free cloud storage that it offered. Unfortunately, it also suffered from the Microsoft’s traditional ‘designed by committee’ syndrome, and lacked the simplicity of rivals such as Dropbox and, more recently, Apple’s iCloud.
Skydrive iOS app screenshot …
Sony Vaio L VPCL22V1E 3D PC
Review All-in-one with finger fun
Reg Hardware PC Week
Finding the all-in-one Sony Vaio L Series with a 1TB hard disk isn't as easy as it might have been. The reason you'll need to be keep a keen eye on the specs is, according to Sony, due to a shortage of hard disks – a consequence of the flooding in Thailand. Indeed, the Vaio L series models soon to go on …
Philips HMP2000 HD Media Player
Review Jumping on the Netflix bandwagon
Philips describes its new HMP2000 as a ‘smart media box’, along the lines of rivals such as the AppleTV and Western Digital’s WDTV Live. However, it would probably be more accurate to describe it as a Netflix box, since Netflix is clearly its primary raison d’être.
Philips HMP2000 HD networked media player Media smartie: …
SnapGuide
iOS App of the Week RTFM? WTFM!
There are zillions of ‘how to’ apps that provide expert – or not-so-expert – advice on pretty much any topic you care to name. However, SnapGuide is a free app that puts you in the driving seat and allows you to share your know-how and wisdom with the rest of the world.
If there’s something that you’re really good at – whether …
CloudOn
iOS App of the Week Microsoft Office on your iPad, courtesy of the cloud
There have been a lot of rumours recently about Microsoft launching a version of Office for the iPad. I doubt it - it would amount to a pre-admission of the failure of Windows 8 on tablets.
It’s not really essential either, as there are a number of good Office-compatible applications and suites that are already available for iOS …
Propellerhead Figure
iOS App of the Week Finger-tapping music-making fun
Propellerhead’s ReBirth app brought some powerful sequencer tools to iOS last year, but made a fatal mistake by simply transplanting the complex interface of the original PC software onto the smaller screen of the iPhone and iPad.
Propellerhead Figure iOS app screenshot Propellerhead Figure iOS app screenshot Clear hints help …
Wondershare PowerCam
iOS App of the Week Powerful photo effects with no editing
I thought that the recent one-two punch of Adobe's Photoshop Touch and Apple's iPhoto would have knocked out most of the competition from other photo apps, but Wondershare’s PowerCam shows that the big-name boys don’t have a monopoly on good ideas.
Wondershare PowerCam ios app screenshot Pick your effect
At first glance, …
Zanther Taposé
iOS App of the Week Ill-fated MS tablet tech comes to iPad
Oh the irony. Microsoft cancelled plans for its Courier tablet when Apple launched the iPad, but the Courier’s two-screen design has now found a home on the very device that killed it off, courtesy of Taposé from developer Zanther.
Tapose iOS app screenshot Create your journal then add handwritten notes...
The basic idea …
TopWrite
iOS App of the Week Messaging made (really) easy
There’s no end of messaging apps available for the iPhone and iPad, not to mention the built-in email and SMS/IM apps included in iOS itself. But that over-abundance of apps can actually be something of a problem: you can often find yourself fiddling with multiple apps and services when all you want to do is fire off a quick …
Apple iPhoto
iOS App of the Week Touch up your snaps. Literally
Apple’s iPhoto has a relatively modest set of editing tools but – as you might expect from Apple – wraps them up in an attractive and easy-to-use interface that leaves most other photo-editing apps looking positively antiquated.
Apple iPhoto iOS app screenshot Collate your photos in albums on the iPhoto bookshelf
The app is …
Apple New iPad Wi-Fi only
Review The screen's the star
Let’s cut to the chase. The "new iPad" doesn’t have the much-rumoured haptic touch technology. In fact, its list of major new features can be counted on the fingers of one hand. It doesn’t even have a number after its name. How disappointing is that?
Apple New iPad 3
And yet, after a weekend of gazing longingly at the …
Adobe Photoshop Touch
iOS App of the Week The Mac’s killer app finally comes to the iPad
Annoyingly for us iOS fans, Photoshop Touch actually made its debut on Android, late last year. You can download it from Google Play. However, it has now arrived on the iPad 2 and the ‘new iPad’ – but not the first-generation iPad or any other iOS device – just in time to bump pixels with Apple’s own iPhoto.
They’re not really …
Poynt
iOS App of the Week Steer yourself to cheaper petrol
Reg Hardware Car Week
With the price of petrol hitting yet another all-time high, I decided to try and find an app that could save us all some money when we fill up our tanks.
Also available on BlackBerry and Android, Poynt started out as an app for locating nearby businesses, such as restaurants and cinemas. But the …
Ten... top iOS games
App of the Week Special Play away
Reg Hardware Mobile Week
Love 'em or hate 'em, iDevices - iPad, iPod and iPhone - are now serious players in handheld gaming. We love the new PlayStation Vita, but we can see why some folk would want to game on a gadget they're already carrying with them.
And the bigger screen play offered by Apple's tablet can be a real joy …
Grid Lens
iOS App of the Week Frame and fortune
Grid Lens is a fun little photography app that allows you to combine multiple images within a single shot.
Grid Lens iOS app screenshot
Grid Lens iOS app screenshot Single lens mode
The app uses a grid to divide the image on the iPhone’s screen into a series of frames. You can then take photos in two different ways. Single- …
NHS Direct
iOS App of the Week Cock-a-leaky?
Reg Hardware Sex Week
Apple, in its infinite prudery wisdom, has decided to protect users of iOS devices from any material that it deems "inappropriate" or "overtly sexual". Dating apps have to be constantly monitored by developers to ensure that your profile pics don’t show too much, and even the mighty Playboy has had to …
British Red Cross First Aid
iOS App of the Week In case of emergency, break out app...
The Red Cross was in the news recently when it issued new guidelines for performing CPR - Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation - and it has followed this up with a free First Aid app that's worth downloading in case of emergencies.
The app is divided into four sections. The Emergency area provides instant advice for dealing with common …
CNN
iOS App of the Week Here is the news
I’m a news junkie, and when I recently cancelled my Sky subscription I found that the one channel that I really missed was CNN. So I was pleased to find that there’s a free CNN app that is available in versions for both iPhone and iPad.
CNN iOS app iPad screenshot The iPad version opens in 'front page' mode
There are actually …
TVCatchup
iOS App of the Week Live telly beamed to your iDevice
IPTV Week logo
I don’t know how I ever lived without the BBC iPlayer. And, of course, there are now similar catch-up TV apps available from many UK TV companies. The drawback with these apps is that they’re tied to specific channels or broadcasters, which means you can’t hop from channel to channel within any single app. …
Toshiba Qosmio DX730 PC TV combo
Review Touchscreen desktop entertainer
IPTV Week logo
Toshiba’s Qosmio laptops regularly appear in our hardware reviews but the new Qosmio DX730 is a bit of a departure. In fact, it’s not a laptop at all. It is, according to Toshiba, the very first desktop PC that they’ve ever released here in Europe. And it’s a pretty good one at that.
Toshiba Qosmio DX730-102 …
Infinity Blade II
iGamer In need of a quick slash?
I liked the original Infinity Blade when it arrived just over a year ago, but it seemed to fall short of classic status due to the repetitive nature of the combat, the rigidly linear exploration and threadbare fantasy storyline.
This sequel does try to add a bit more variety to the formula, although I still found the continuous …
Ten... boomboxes
Product round-up The noise on the street
There are some really excellent iOS speaker systems available at the moment, but most of them are designed for a tasteful dinner party with friends rather than a full-on party scene. And, of course, they’re mostly mains-powered and designed for use at home. However, there are a number of boombox systems that can run off …
Iomega TV with Boxee
Review If, at first, you don’t succeed...
I’ve reviewed various models in Iomega’s ScreenPlay range in the past and, to be honest, haven’t been wildly impressed by any of them. Weaknesses such as the inability to list album tracks in the correct order suggested that Iomega’s designers hadn’t exactly thought things through properly.
Iomega TV With Boxee and Network …
Errands To-Do List
iOS App of the Week Task tracking for the terminally disorganised
For some reason, I just don’t get on with the new Reminders app that Apple introduced with iOS 5, so I recently went looking for a decent task manager to take its place.
There are hundreds of these on the App Store, of course, but the one that seems to best suit my semi-organised approach to life is Errands To-Do List.
Errands …
Samsung Remote
iOS App of the Week AV kit control over Wi-Fi
CES 2012 Week
We’ve reviewed a number of gadgets, such as the Gear4 Unity Remote, that allow you to use an iOS device as a universal remote for your TV and other AV kit. iDevices don’t have IR transmitters built into them so the Unity and its rivals all have to encompass both an app and a separate piece of hardware that acts …
OnLive
iGamer Cloud gaming on your tablet and phone
CES 2012 Week
Sometimes technology just blows your mind. When I reviewed the OnLive Game System, I was impressed by the simple fact that this "cloud gaming" kit worked at all – let alone that it worked so well.
Then the company invited me along to see its new iPad app and my jaw landed with a thud on the ground as they fired …
Sleep Cycle
iOS App of the Week Here is the snooze
Perhaps it’s a sign of the troubled times we live in but I’ve noticed a recent rash of gadgets and apps, such as the Jawbone Up, that are designed to monitor – and hopefully improve – your sleep patterns.
I’m a somewhat erratic sleeper myself, so I decided to look at a few of these apps over Christmas. The one that stands out …
Belkin LiveAction Camera Grip
Geek Treat of the Week Get a grip….
Hats off to Belkin for coming up with some really neat iOS-oriented gadgets just lately. Following on from its kitchen stands for the iPad, it has now come up with some handy little photographic accessories for the iPhone. The first one to arrive is the LiveAction Camera Grip, with an external microphone and remote control unit …
Dermandar Panorama
iOS App of the Week 360-degree photography made easy
There are quite a few apps that can be used to stitch together a series of overlapping photos in order to create a single, wide-angle panoramic picture.
These apps all use clever algorithms to try to line up elements within the photos in order to create a seamless overlap, but even the smartest software can’t do much to help if …
Philips Fidelio AS851 speaker
Geek Treat of the Week At last, a dock for your Android phone
Philips’ Fidelio speakers for iOS - such as the DS9 - have gotten a big thumbs-up from us in the past, and now Philips has released a new range specifically designed for Android devices.
I got my hands on the top-of-the-range Fidelio AS851, which comes in at £200, but there’s also a smaller model called the AS351 priced at £129 …
Dell XPS 14z 14in Core i5 notebook
Review Shiny, shiny
Don’t worry, the XPS 14z may be one of Dell’s new "thin and powerful" range, but it doesn’t fit into the superslim Ultrabook category so there’s absolutely no need whatsoever for a gratuitous comparison with Apple's MacBook Air.
Dell XPS 14z 14in notebook
It’s certainly a more stylish affair than the businesslike hardware I’m …
OnLive Game System cloud gaming console
Review Server-ance play
The OnLive cloud gaming service was launched in the UK in September, and I was impressed by the fact that it allowed me to play a wide range of PC games on my Mac – without requiring Boot Camp and a copy of Windows, or any virtualisation trickery.
OnLive cloud gaming system microconsole The USB ports are for charging wireless …
KitchenPad
iOS App of the Week Book the cooks
The big problem when preparing the Christmas mega-feast is synchronising the timings for all the different dishes. My oven just has a single timer on it, so KitchenPad’s ability to create multiple timers is just what I need.
The app has two main screens: the first provides a neat graphical display of the burners on your stove, …
08 Wizard
iOS App of the Week Cut the cost of premium-rate calls
I’d heard about apps and programs that could be used to look up alternatives to premium-rate 08 numbers, but had never really bothered with them before as – apart from my bank – I didn’t really think that I made all that many calls to premium numbers.
However, the last bill for my home landline number included a tenner’s worth …
Pocket Boom portable vibration speaker
Geek Treat of the Week Make cardboard boxes, brollies sing
There are a number of these little ‘vibration speaker’ gadgets that allow you to turn everyday objects into speakers, but the Pocket Boom is cheaper and a bit more portable than many of its rivals.
Pocket Boom portable vibration speaker Works best with hollow objects
Currently priced at £24.95 – although that’s due to come …
Thumbs Up Desktop Phone
Accessory of the Week Cheap and cheerful handset for the iPhone
I use a USB handset with Skype on my Mac, and I’ve been looking for something similar to use with my iPhone when I’m in the office. Bluetooth headsets just make me feel silly, so I’ve opted for the distinctly low-tech and unpretentious Desktop Phone from Thumbs Up instead.
The Desktop Phone is a simple dock for your iPhone, and …
