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Saturday, February 22, 2014

How Panasonic's plasmas defined TVs in 2013

So far in this series, each of the products that defined its sector in 2013 has also been a pointer for what's likely to come our way next year.
Not so here, for while Panasonic's TX-P55VT65 and TX-P42ST60 each garnered five-star reviews as two of the best TVs we've seen all year, they mark the end of plasma.
Panasonic resisted the lure of LCD for years, holding out as one of the last mainstream plasma manufacturers. You can see why too, as practice has indeed made perfect. The VT65 and ST60 flew through our tests, with vivid colours, smooth motion and deep, satisfying blacks.
Even the speakers, which can sometimes be lacklustre in flat-panel devices, were up to the job of filling a room with cinematic sound as Panasonic got pretty much everything right in what are likely to be plasma's swan-song products.

Nexus 4 and Raspberry Pi star in CNET UK's Products of the Year

It's a been a whirlwind year of tech launches, with phones and tablets taking centre stage. Our colleagues over at CNET.com went the whole hog and wrote up their 100 top stories of 2012, but as the year draws to a close I wanted the CNET UK team to take a moment to reflect on their personal highlights of the past 12 months.
We've all picked a single product that has impressed us the most, and given our reasons why below. It's inevitably a much more UK-focused list than that of our American chums. What do you think of our picks? Let us know in the comments box at the bottom or on our Facebook wall.

Best laptop of 2011


The technology world is moving at an incredible pace and laptops are no exception to this. The last 12 months have seen a remarkable number of machines being offered with huge amounts of power shoved inside increasingly slim bodies.
The advent of the ultrabook genre saw razor-sharp laptops, crammed full of high-performance components, just begging to tackle demanding tasks on the move.
Desktop replacement laptops are just as popular as ever, offering massive high-resolution screens and enough muscle to satisfy all but the most hardcore of users.
With so many varieties being pushed out by a plethora of manufacturers, there's a laptop to suit everyone's needs and budget. We take a look through our top 10 favourite laptops of 2011.

How the Nexus 5 and Moto G defined phones in 2013

How low can you go? That's what every tablet and mobile maker is asking these days. Even Apple's made some small concessions with the (slightly) more affordable iPhone 5C. Not much, mind you.
For a bone fide bargain, you'll have to look at Android, and particularly Google's own devices. By collaborating with HTC, Samsung and LG, Google has proved that driving down prices doesn't necessarily mean driving down quality. Case in point: the Nexus 5, which is yours for £299 SIM-free.

Best Windows 8 convertible laptops

With the arrival of Windows 8, various convertible devices have shown up on the market. While they come in various shapes and sizes, they all fundamentally pair the touchscreen operation of a tablet with the physical keyboard of a laptop. Due to Windows 8's touch-optimised interface, convertibles allow for a good mix of casual swiping and getting on with some real work when needs be. Let me give you some pointers on what to look out for if you'd like to get hold of one.
If you're yet to lay eyes on Windows 8 then take a look at our review. In short, it's a drastic change from the Windows you've become so familiar with over the years. The classic desktop and Start menu are gone, replaced instead with big, colourful live tiles. Those tiles and the reliance on gestures as a method of navigation show that Windows 8 has been built with touch interaction at its heart -- using a traditional keyboard and trackpad combination isn't the best way to get around.

Best laptops for students

Forget those expensive textbooks, non-stick pans and packets of noodles -- the most important thing you can buy as a student is a laptop.
A laptop will be your office, your media hub and a valuable connection to your friends' goings-on (and maybe to your parents if they're lucky), all wrapped up in a few inches of plastic and metal. Sounds like magic, right?
Unless you've got cash coming out the wazoo, you're going to want your machine to last at least the three years you'll typically spend at university, so you shouldn't skimp on the important bits. Look for solid construction (a metal chassis is best), and a full-size keyboard for comfortably typing long essays.

Best laptops for under £500

In these glorious times, getting your hands on a shiny new laptop that offers good performance no longer means selling your treasured family heirlooms. Many laptops are now available that prove 'budget' no longer stands for 'plasticky and about as useful as a submersible toaster'.
You'll still have to make some compromises when you're shopping around though. Most cheap laptops pack an Intel Core i3 processor which, while offering great performance for the price, sits at the lower end of the CPU spectrum. If you're looking for a high-powered gaming machine, you'll have to fork out considerably more money.

Friday, February 21, 2014

HP Spectre XT Touchsmart review

So you've been enticed by the colourful tiles of Windows 8 and want to dive into it on a touchscreen laptop? But you also want a colourful screen, enough performance for everyday tasks and you want to carry it around in a slim bag?
Blimey, how about the moon on a stick? But wait! HP's Spectre XT Touchsmart might be just the ticket. It provides all of the above and doesn't look too bad doing it. It will, however, set you back the cool price of £1,000.
If it floats your boat and you don't mind missing a month's rent, it's available now from John Lewis.

Should I buy the HP Spectre XT Touchsmart?

With its 15-inch display, slim, metal body and decent performance, the Spectre XT is perfect for general computing on the go. The display's Full HD resolution and good grasp of colours makes it handy for movie lovers too.
Its touchscreen means using all those crucial Windows 8 gestures and prodding at its large icons is made enjoyably easy, but it does of course add a premium. At £1,000, the Spectre XT isn't cheap. Strip out the touchscreen and you can find slim machines with similar performance for less money.
HP's Pavilion 15-b146sa Sleekbook doesn't have the Full HD resolution or the touchscreen, but packs similar internal components, Windows 8 software and costs less than half the price of the Spectre XT. At the other end of the scale, Acer's Aspire S7 is incredibly slim and packs a powerful punch, but will set you back upwards of £1,500.
At £1,000 it might be rather steep, but it's a good all-round machine and it makes a stab at trying to justify the money with its classy body. If you can find it on offer somewhere for a little less, it's worth considering, but at this price I can't wholeheartedly recommend it.

Design and build quality

The Spectre XT is unmistakably an HP machine. Its outside is clad in the exact same brushed metal you'll find on its older Pavilion DV7laptop. It's not an unattractive finish, but I think it's a little overused and is beginning to feel dated. I certainly prefer the glass top of HP's Envy Spectre 14.
It is at least much smaller than the Pavilion. It measures 22mm thick and weighs 2.15kg, which is pretty heavy for something claiming to be an ultrabook. It'll fit comfortably inside a backpack, but you probably won't want to drag it around town all day.
HP Spectre XT Touchsmart back
The brushed-metal look is a little 2012 for me.
The metal lid helps give the machine a more luxurious look and, together with the firm, rubberised base, will help protect the delicate internals from knocks and bumps. There's little flex in the lid and none in the wrist rest and keyboard tray, which makes it seem generally well put together.
There's a slightly off-putting plastic bezel around the very edge of the screen, which is rather cheap, but generally I didn't have any worries about it falling apart. That's a relief, given you're dropping a grand.
Port options include two USB 3.0 ports, one USB 2.0 port, an HDMI port, a full-sized SD card slot, a Thunderbolt-enabled Mini DisplayPort and an Ethernet port. Storage is taken care of by a 500GB hard disk drive with a 32GB SSD for the operating system.
HP Spectre XT Touchsmart side
The Spectre has a solid collection of ports.
The keyboard is lifted straight from HP's other laptops -- functional, but boring. The trackpad is large, reasonably responsive but a little spongy for my liking. If you want to do precise work in Photoshop, for example, I recommend using a USB mouse.

Screen

The Spectre XT's 15.6-inch display boasts a resolution of 1,920x1,080 pixels. There's no optical drive on board, so you won't be able to enjoy your Blu-ray collection, but it's perfectly equipped for handling high-definition streamed content from YouTube and the like.
It's reasonably bright, although it doesn't have the same retina-searing power of laptops from Samsung or even some of Dell's machines. That means it's more susceptible to reflections than I'd like -- something that's exacerbated by the high-gloss coating of the screen. If you plan on working under harsh office lights or in bright sunlight, you might want to test it properly before you throw down your moolah. It's bold though, and colours are displayed very well -- in most circumstances, it's an ideal mobile media machine.
HP Spectre XT Touchsmart screen
The Full HD screen is reflective, so turn down your lights.
Having the screen touch-enabled makes a real difference withWindows 8's touch-optimised interface, which is rather unintuitive if you're just using a mouse or trackpad. It's a responsive screen, which makes navigation that bit easier, but you will of course have to wipe off your smeary fingerprints when you want to enjoy a film.

Processor and performance

The Spectre XT is running on an Intel Core i5-3317U processor clocked at 1.7GHz with 4GB of RAM. That's a fairly decent lineup of specs for a Windows 8 ultrabook, so I was looking forward to seeing what it can do.
On the Geekbench test, it achieved a score of 6,762. That beats the 1,390 achieved by the convertible HP Envy X2 by a huge margin, and casually beats the 4,971 of the similarly priced Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga 13. It's far from supercharged of course -- the Core i7 chip in the Acer S7 achieved over 8,000 -- but it's perfectly adequate for most computing tasks.
I found general use to be pretty swift too. Swapping between open apps using Windows 8's swiping gestures was immediate and didn't cause any lag. Streaming and playing back high-definition video was handled without quibble, as was multi-tabbed web browsing.
It was even able to tackle some photo editing. I loaded some high-resolution snaps into Adobe Photoshop Elements 10 -- included as standard with the laptop -- and found making image-wide edits to be immediate. It won't tackle video editing with anything like the same aplomb, but for cropping the creepy guy out of your holiday snaps, it'll cope fine.

Conclusion

The HP Spectre XT TouchSmart might be pricy, but it has some good kit to justify the price. The Full HD screen is well-suited to movie lovers and its touch abilities mean you can get the best from Windows 8. It's not the most powerful machine in the world, but unless you're a serious power user or media pro, you're unlikely to find it lacking. I can't think of too many people, however, who'd be willing to spend £1,000 on a laptop without any particular reason.
If you're willing to splash out for a classy, touchscreen Windows 8 machine for life on the go, the Spectre XT is one to consider. Just bear in mind that you can get the same power for much less if you're happy to sacrifice the touchscreen.
By  - Source: CNET

Apple MacBook Pro 13-inch Retina 2012 review

With its sturdy unibody design and high performance, Apple's MacBook Pro quickly became the must-have laptop for on-the-go media professionals. 
Apple's made the baby of the range -- the 13-inch model -- smaller still, with a thinner, lighter chassis. It's packed in a super high-resolution retina display too for ultra-crisp text and photos.
In true Apple fashion this new model doesn't come cheap. Far from it. My review model which included an Intel Core i5 processor, 8GB of RAM and a 256GB SSD costs a whopping £1,700. Add a beefier processor and a 768GB SSD and it will set you back £2,660.
Is the new design and sharper screen worth the stonking price? All models are available now online or in Apple stores. 

Samsung Series 5 Chromebook review

The Samsung Series 5 Chromebook is the first laptop to use Google's Chrome OS operating system. The software strips away the familiar desktop, start menu and folder system, instead relying almost entirely on browser-based operation. Sadly Chrome OS is far from perfect, and Google may find it a struggle to convince users to take the plunge.
The Series 5 laptop itself is well-built, with a dual-core, 1.66GHz Intel Atom N570 processor, 2GB of RAM, and a beautifully bright and clear screen. The machine's super-fast start-up time is also pleasing, but its price tag may be too steep for many.
The 3G and Wi-Fi version will cost around £400 when it's released on 1 August, while the Wi-Fi-only model will set you back around £350 when it emerges on 1 July.
To begin with, we'll take a look at Chrome OS specifically. If you're after information about the Samsung hardware, feel free to skip forwards.

Is your head in the cloud?

Although it may seem odd initially, there are numerous reasons why you may wish to opt for an operating system based entirely around a Web browser.
Firstly, while you won't be able to install programmes such as Adobe Photoshop, Windows Live Messenger and Microsoft Office onto your hard drive, equivalent apps are available in the Chrome Web Store. These apps are downloaded to, and operate entirely within, the browser.

Everything takes place in the browser.
This system allows a relatively slow machine to perform processor-heavy tasks, such as video editing, as the remote servers that power the app perform the majority of the work -- all your computer needs to do is keep the browser open. It's a similar system to that used by game-streaming firm OnLive, which allows users to play demanding video games on low-end machines at home.
Since you no longer need to install programmes onto your hard disk, you should find that the Series 5 runs smoothly. It's certainly quick to start up, taking around ten seconds.
Another advantage of the cloud-based system is that, as no data files are stored locally on the laptop, it's less at risk from viruses that can sneak into your machine and tamper with user data. As such, the Series 5 doesn't come with antivirus software, which often noticeably hampers the performance of a computer.
Google claims that Chromebooks may actually perform better over time. The company says it will be able to automatically push out updates to Chrome OS that could lead to improved performance, boosting battery life, for example.

Not-so-polished Chrome

While there may be some good reasons to opt for a browser-based OS, there are sadly more -- and better -- reasons not to. The whole concept of operating permanently in the cloud -- a concept that the Series 5 is sold on -- is probably one that most users would find difficult to live with.
It's very easy to say "all your data is in the cloud", as though it's a positive point, but, in reality, who wants all their data stored online only? Such a system means you are totally dependent on having a reliable Web connection. You won't just have a more difficult time reading your documents if you don't have Internet access -- those files simply won't be available to you until you are next able to get online.

There's a fairly limited line-up of ports.
Certain Chrome Web Store apps, such as Angry Birds, allow the user to sync the app, so it can be played offline, but these apps are few and far between. Google Docs isn't even available offline, even though it has been promised for a while. If Google itself isn't even able to sort out offline editing, it doesn't bode well for lesser developers.
Google is likely to have its work cut out in trying to convince people to compute in the cloud. Many users will find it difficult to believe that an online service will keep their files totally secure, especially after the recent problems Sony has had with PlayStation Network hacks. Even Google managed to wipe the Gmail accounts of up to 150,000 usersearlier this year, proving that the system still isn't flawless.
Also, bear in mind that you'll need a fat wallet to pay for all the mobile data you'll consume if you regularly use the Series 5 over a 3G connection.
The 3G-enabled version of the Series 5 comes with 100MB of data per month on a SIM card from Three. While this may be enough for some light Web browsing on a smart phone, it probably won't be anywhere near enough for use with the Series 5, especially if you make a habit of streaming video from YouTube or BBC iPlayer.
A Wi-Fi-only version of the Series 5 is available, but you'll have to be absolutely sure you'll never want to use it on the bus -- without 3G, you'll be scuppered.

Let's talk about hardware, baby

The Series 5 itself is an attractive laptop. Its 12.1-inch screen means it's a portable size, and it's only 20mm thick too. Weighing around 1.5kg, it isn't the lightest machine on the market, but you certainly won't feel like you have an anchor chained to you when you're walking around with it.
There's a limited number of ports -- two USB 2.0 ports, a combined 3.5mm microphone and headphone socket, a VGA out (with included adaptor), a slot for a SIM card, and an SD card slot.

The trackpad is larger than that which you'll find on many fully fledged laptops.
The 12.1-inch screen is beautifully bright and clear. Colours are reproduced well and text is crisp and very readable. The matte coating keeps reflections to a minimum, which makes the Series 5 great for outdoor use.
The keyboard is wide, making use of all the available space. The isolated keys are easy to press and make typing over long periods very comfortable. Below the keyboard is a multi-touch, clickable trackpad that's larger than the one found on many bigger laptops.
As this laptop isn't bogged down with a bloated OS and power-hungry antivirus software, it manages a start-up time of around 10 seconds. It also wakes almost instantaneously from sleep mode -- something that's very handy if you need quick access to your emails.
The no-frills approach also helps to give the Series 5 a battery life of up to 8 hours of constant use. In our tests, we found that this figure was very achievable, and we were able to go a couple of days without charging.

Running in the middle of the road

Under the hood of the Series 5, you'll find a dual-core, 1.66GHz Intel Atom N570 processor, paired with 2GB of RAM. Those specs won't blow anybody's mind, but, considering the kind of tasks that can be performed on this laptop, you won't need much more power. A 16GB solid-state drive provides room for syncing offline apps -- here's hoping more of them become available soon.
Web browsing is a speedy affair -- the Series 5 is able to load a full page of photos without anything resembling a hiccup. Video streaming from YouTube is pleasant too, but only up to a 720p resolution. 1080p streams are practically unplayable. That will prove annoying if you were hoping to hook this machine up to a monitor.
We did encounter certain browsing issues along the way -- Facebook Chat didn't want to load for us, and, when we received Facebook notifications, the drop-down box wouldn't work. Still, we may have missed some important poking from our more annoying friends, but the browsing experience was mostly fine.
When you have a Web connection, you can access the many apps on the Chrome Web Store. There are browser-based versions of most types of common software to play with -- just make sure you don't lose your Internet connection.
As the OS is entirely browser-based, there's no folder system in which to save your photos and videos. If you plug in an SD card, though, a crude file explorer loads in a new browser tab, allowing you to view its contents and upload them to a Web service.
Browsing photos on a card is somewhat sluggish, though -- even more so when viewing high-res images -- and the Series 5 wasn't able to play back our AVI video file due to codec issues.

Conclusion

The Samsung Series 5 Chromebook is well-built and pleasingly portable, but Chrome OS feels more like an experiment than a finished, polished product. We reckon the price tag is also too steep for a no-frills laptop, especially when you can buy a decently performing netbook such as the Toshiba NB520 for about £70 to £120 less.
Still, all experiments have to start somewhere, and it's almost certain that we'll all be increasingly living in the cloud as technology marches on. We may well soon find ourselves looking back fondly at the Series 5 and musing "That's where it all began".
Edited by Charles Kloet
By  - Source: CNET