Nigel Whitfield, Personal Computer World, Wednesday 7 January 2009 at 11:56:00

The first hard drive recorder for Freesat

The Humax Foxsat-HDR is the first device for Freesat+, the branding being used for hard disk recorders on the BBC/ITV-backed Freesat satellite service.

It’s a slim standard-width device with a front panel featuring just a bright display that shows channel and recording names.

There’s also a standby button, a power switch on the rear, along with the connectors. Inside is a 320GB hard disk, and one of the latest system-on-a-chip PVR designs.

For full functionality, you’ll need two satellite feeds; the Humax detects whether you have them or not during initial installation, then asks you for your postcode – so you get the right BBC and ITV regions – and scans for channels, of which there are around 140 so far, including radio and regional variations.

Picture quality is, on the whole, excellent via HDMI, though little can redeem the low bit rates on some SD satellite channels. And with two feeds, you can record two channels simultaneously; with just one, the box dims out those channels you can’t select. Picture quality from BBC HD is stunning, but the claim of space to record 80 hours HD is a bit optimistic – we reckon it would be around half that.

There are quirks, though; press the Record button when in the Electronic Programme Guide (EPG), and you just get a single recording of that programme. To get a series recorded, you press OK instead, then answer successive questions about recording the series, and the HD version if available. We’d like this to be simpler; and be able to delete programmes more easily, and faster. You can’t customise the EPG, and the remote control layout is very long yet still feels a bit cramped.

But there are plenty of good touches; you can archive programmes (though not presently BBC HD) to a USB hard drive, and the Ethernet port will allow iPlayer access in future. There are configurable ‘skip’ options that mean you can avoid adverts easily, too. In day-to-day use, we had few problems, and no missed recordings – but as with Freeview+ you will be at the mercy of the broadcasters sending the right signals for series and over-runs.

Emil Larsen, Personal Computer World, Monday 5 January 2009 at 16:34:00

A system that muddies the waters between low-end and regular PCs

Shuttle has broken with tradition with its new X27D barebones by bundling a processor – Intel’s new dual-core Atom – as well as the case, motherboard and power supply.

We’ve had no complaints about the meagre performance Intel’s single-core Atoms provide so far, since they’re cheap and draw little power. The new Atom 330 remains a frugal desktop processor, even if its Thermal Design Point (TDP) has doubled to 8W compared with its 4W Atom 230 predecessor (which is much higher than the Atom N270 for laptops, with 2.5W TDP). The TDP, which equates to its energy consumption, would probably have been lower if this were a native dual core. Instead, the Atom 330 contains two separate processor dies.

It continues to operate at 1.6GHz, while the extra core means Level 2 cache has been doubled to 1MB. Intel has also added 64-bit support to the Atom 330, although that doesn’t benefit the Shuttle X27D, which has a 2GB Ram limit.

Overall, our benchmarks show that its performance sits between the single-core Atom and low-frequency Core 2 Duo. Performance doesn’t improve in applications that aren’t multi-threaded, but in our multi-core Cinebench test performance increased 85 per cent, while performance went up 37 per cent in our PCmark05 CPU test over the single-core Atom.

The Atom 330 has a similar TDP to a 1.2GHz Core 2 Duo U7600, but is half the speed in our Cinebench 9.5 tests and a third slower in PCmark05’s CPU test. Vista operation is sluggish and the dual-core Atom can be justified in low-cost devices only.

The Shuttle X27D’s physical design is impressive. It’s a compact, all-metal chassis, with ventilated sides and an external power brick. A solitary fan whirs quietly inside below a removable metal caddie that can only accommodate a laptop-size 2.5in hard drive and slimline optical drive. Externally you get DVI and VGA ports, as well as six USB ports and analogue surround-sound 3.5mm jacks.

Our X27D, fitted with a 5,400rpm hard drive and 1GB of Ram but no optical drive, idled at 25W and drew 28W under load. This is an excellent result and only the Eee Box B202 and PCs using laptop Core 2 Duos (such as the Novatech Solo Pro).

Tom Royal, Personal Computer World, Friday 2 January 2009 at 10:40:00

A small, smart internet radio

Terratec’s Noxon iRadio Cube is, as you might expect, an internet radio. On the other hand, it’s not actually a cube: it measures a slightly wonky 130x140x130mm. The white-on-black display looks good if you’re close enough to read it, though, and the device also doubles as an alarm clock.

The iRadio can connect to both wired and wireless networks. Wireless setup is pleasantly simple: after selecting your wireless network from a list, you need only type in the network key using the remote control and choose whether or not to use DHCP. Once this is done, you’re ready to start listening to the FM radio or internet stations.

Radio stations are easy to select using the four-way pad on the front of the device, and a dial quickly adjusts the volume. Stations are listed by genre and location, and there’s also a category for popular ones. A podcasts menu allows you to listen to the latest recorded shows, with the selection from the UK including programming from the BBC, Classic FM and the Financial Times, among others.

The iRadio also works as a music-streaming device, and the CD includes a copy of the Twonky Media UPnP server to run on your PC. Twonky Redial isn’t the friendliest media server program, but it’s highly configurable and runs unobtrusively in the Windows system tray. New computer users might struggle to get the best from it, but anyone who can configure a wireless router via its web interface should find the server’s web configuration system similar.

Sadly, playing music shows up the iRadio’s key shortcoming: sound quality. We didn’t expect great things from such a small device, but even so, it’s decidedly lacking in bass: spoken word sounds fine, but music lacks punch. An audio out socket on the back makes it possible to connect some better speakers.

Overall, the iRadio works well, but at £180 it’s too expensive. We’d save money and grab the beautifully designed Tangent Quattro for £30 less.

Tom Royal, Personal Computer World, Friday 2 January 2009 at 10:39:00

A simple way to extend your wireless network

Wireless networks are ideal for sharing internet access around the house, but there are often places where the signal from a single router just won’t reach. There are many ways to extend a wireless network, and this kit from Devolo is one of the simplest we’ve seen.

The kit includes a wireless router with built-in Homeplug networking, a small Homeplug unit and an Ethernet cable. Setting the whole thing up is easy: we plugged the router in at one end of the house, hooked up the Homeplug adapter to our main wireless router using the Ethernet cable, then plugged it in nearby. By the time we got back to the router, it was connected, providing an unencrypted wireless network with internet access via the remote Homeplug.

So far, so good, but we wouldn’t recommend anyone to leave their network in such an insecure state. Securing the Homeplug link is simple enough, requiring you to press a button on the router and Homeplug within a few minutes of each other.

Adding wireless encryption isn’t much harder. Devolo includes a CD with utilities to track down its router on the network and open the configuration interface, but anyone with a basic understanding of networks will be able to tap the right address into a web browser and get going straight away.

The web configuration interface is pleasantly simple, with a few key options on every page, and it doesn’t take long to password-protect both the router and the wireless network (Wep, WPA and WPA2 are supported).

At around £140, this kit isn’t cheap, but you could easily spend £80 on a similar Homeplug link and £50 on a wireless router, so you’re only paying £10 or so for a neater, easier solution.

Paul Lester, Personal Computer World, Thursday 1 January 2009 at 11:25:00

A network streaming and storage solution for your digital media

If you’re in the market for a digital media streamer that can store content locally, then Verbatim’s Mediastation Pro may be ideal. It comes with a 500GB hard drive pre-installed, supports a range of formats, including AVI, MP4, MPG and WMV, though the H.264 codec is not supported. There is also an HDMI connection for hooking it up to HD-ready TV.

Using this you’ll be able to stream and view video up to 1080p resolution and, if you don’t want to lug the thing to another room every time you want to copy files across, you can connect external USB storage directly to one of the ports on the back.

Setting it up and viewing content that’s stored locally is as simple as connecting an AV cable and firing it up. You’ll then be able to select the internal drive and filter by audio/video/photos, or view the whole lot at once. We can’t imagine why anyone would choose the former, as this feature is a simple file-type filter that removes unnecessary formats. So, provided you keep things organised into folders, it isn’t really necessary.

If you want to browse and play back files across a network, you’ll need to search and connect using the tools in the setup menu to allow access. To view folders on your PC, you simply share them using Windows’ default tools, which, while basic, is quite an effective approach, since it allows you to retain the folder structure to keep things organised.

We were impressed with the performance of the Mediastation, both in terms of how quickly it can browse and access files, and in the video quality on an HDTV. We tested some high-definition content over the wireless connection and only noticed it starting to struggle when entering 1080p territory.

And though files can sometimes take a little while to load, it’s a pretty effective way to handle the latest formats. There’s also a decent amount of control here, including subtitle customisation and support, aspect ratio adjustment and search and browse features. Unfortunately, this doesn’t follow through to music and photo playback, which offer very little beyond simple browsing and a range of repeat functions.

In addition to media playback, you’ll also find access to a limited range of internet radio stations, the ability to copy files from FTP servers, password protection and a skinnable interface.

Despite these advantages, Mediastation Pro is a little uninspiring since the interface itself is basic. Most of the time you’re simply shown a list view through which to choose content to play back, and though there are some basic playlist features that allow you to combine videos, photos and music, it doesn’t feel as though you have decent control over your media.

The supplied remote control can be rather awkward to use since it packs in far too many context-sensitive controls, many of which you’ll never use, and it’s almost impossible to work out what you’re doing without squinting down at it to find the right button. The Mediastation can also be a little unstable - it crashed more than once during testing, resulting in having to pull the plug and restart to regain control.

While Verbatim’s effort performs quite well, it does come across as rather basic and doesn’t offer anything that’s likely to redefine the market. If you’re looking for a straightforward solution and can cope with occasionally awkward controls, then it should suit, but unless you make good use of the internal storage there are better options available elsewhere.

Paul Monckton, Personal Computer World, Tuesday 30 December 2008 at 17:23:00

The new flagship model in Samsung’s L series brings with it a wide range of features

The L310W is the only camera in Samsung’s point-and-shoot range with a wide-angle lens. With a 35mm equivalent zoom range of 28-102mm, it’s great for group shots or interiors where you can’t put a lot of distance between yourself and your subject.

It also comes with a 13.6-megapixel sensor.

While this is almost certainly too high for a camera of this size, it gives you some bragging rights as it’s one of the highest pixel resolutions currently available.

The L310W is crammed with useful features: face detection for up to nine faces, dual optical and digital image stabilisation and high ISO modes all help you get the best pictures with minimal effort in a wide variety of shooting situations. Processing features include smile and blink detection, as well as a Beauty Shot mode that automatically enhances skin tones.

We found the L310W took some sharp, high-quality shots at ISO 80 and effective noise reduction kept shots usable even at the highest sensitivity modes, despite the inevitable loss of detail.

Samsung has built a photo help guide directly into the camera interface. This gives step-by-step instructions with diagrams to help overcome common problems such as camera shake or poor focus.

Unfortunately, it’s not immediately obvious what each of the camera’s tiny silver control buttons does, and their legends are very difficult to read. If you do more than just put the camera in full auto mode, you’ll need a little time with the user manual.

We also found that after turning on the L310W, the built-in flash needed several seconds to charge up, and the camera was a little sluggish in operation generally.

Overall, Samsung’s L310W is a point-and-shoot camera that does it all for you, occasionally with very good results.

Paul Lester, Personal Computer World, Tuesday 30 December 2008 at 17:30:00

A slim but pricey device with excellent features

The Archos 5 is the latest in an award-winning series of portable media players that many use as the yardstick against which competing devices are measured. This time around Archos has ditched the optional tactile controls alongside the display in favour of touchscreen-only operation.

This allows for a large 4.8in 800x480 LCD and, in fact, the only controls around the exterior are an on-and-off switch and volume. There’s a kick-stand for propping it up, but no stylus. This isn’t too much of a problem when navigating menus, as the interface is intuitive and makes it easy to browse the various features.

When it comes to keyboard-specific functions such as browsing the internet, this becomes more of a problem and we can’t quite understand why there isn’t something provided to offer a bit more precision.

Archos 5 has an excellent-quality display. This carries through to movie and photo viewing, where colours are superbly accurate with sharp lines and effective contrast. Audio is also improved over previous versions and is on a par with the more impressive MP3 players currently doing the rounds.

We were impressed by the degree of control available when viewing media, which includes aspect ratio, slideshow creation, playlist creation, thumbnail views for all media and more.

There are a few notable changes from the way Archos has presented the device to consumers over previous versions. Unfortunately, the plug-in system still persists, but it has been refined so that many key features are now included by default.

Format support is better out of the box, though you’ll still need a plug-in for MPEG-2/VOB formats with AC3 sound and for H.264 video. Web browsing is available as standard, along with internet radio and web TV channels.

As well as plug-ins, the ccArchos 5 can be upgraded with a range of accessories, such as a helmet camera, Freeview tuner, GPS dock and FM receiver. We couldn’t get hold of all these, but did manage to test the most useful - the DVR station.

This is a pass-through device that sits between a TV and receiver box, enabling its functionality as a personal video recorder (PVR). There have been a number of improvements here, such as the ability to download a full programme schedule relevant to your existing setup and an HDMI port for high-definition output.

Unfortunately, the device isn’t capable of playing HD content yet, though there is an HD plug-in in the works.

We were disappointed not to see an HDMI in and out, since you will lose signal quality by passing content through Scart to the DVR station. However, connecting the device to a TV using component or HDMI results in better picture quality. At this point, it’s possible to record programmes directly to the internal drive and even set up schedules using the programme guide, with options for adjusting recording quality.

In addition to setting up Archos 5 as a PVR, you’ll also be able to make better use of its wireless facilities by browsing the web via your TV or, more importantly, streaming media from a computer. Unfortunately, it requires use of WMP11’s UPnP media sharing, which can hog your computer, but we were impressed by the quality and responsiveness of playback.

Archos 5 is capable of most functions you would expect from a portable media player. Despite the excellent audio and video performance, and unrivalled potential, its price over previous versions means you’ll have to get quite a bit of use from the features to consider it a worthwhile investment.

Will Stapley, Personal Computer World, Tuesday 30 December 2008 at 17:20:00

An MFD packed with features but which still ticks the budget box

With print, scan, copy and fax functions, Lexmark’s X5650 certainly isn’t lacking for features. Setup didn’t cause any problems, although it was disappointing to have to finish off the printer assembly by sticking the English labels on the buttons; Lexmark includes labels for a wide range of languages.

The X5650 looks more functional than stylish, but Lexmark has done a good job keeping it compact. Sat on the top is an ADF (auto-document feeder), which makes faxing and copying multiple documents a snip, although the feeder can only hold 25 pages at a time. A multi-format card reader sits just to the left of the large control panel and is accompanied by a USB port, so it’s possible to print without a PC.

Lexmark has made a big song and dance about its commitment to Wifi over the past couple of years, so it was something of a surprise to find the X5650 doesn’t support wireless networking. Instead, you’re left with a simple USB connection.

During testing, the X5650 didn’t astound us with its speed, taking just over one minute 30 seconds to print a 6x4in photo. Standard-quality text documents were produced at a rate of around 5ppm (pages per minute). Freshly printed pages smudged very easily on cheap paper; switching to more expensive Lexmark stock solved this problem.

The X5650 produced some surprisingly good photo prints with rich, deep colours. Those with an eye for detail will want to look elsewhere, but for the majority of home users the prints will be perfectly adequate.

Loaded with features and capable of decent prints, the X5650 certainly justifies its price tag. But shop around: you should be able to find it for under £60, which is a real bargain.

Nigel Whitfield, Personal Computer World, Friday 26 December 2008 at 12:45:00

Good looks and an OLED screen in a small package

The N85 is the sleeker younger brother of the N96; it’s similar in size to an N95 without the slider, and its own slider feels positive and well built.

The case is largely black, with menu, application, cancel and media keys lighting up when they’re active, and fading away the rest of the time, giving a very polished look.

Push the slider down and the buttons will either light up in media player mode, or N-Gage mode for gaming. The phone’s a little heftier than the N95 and feels more solid, despite being smaller.

It has an OLED screen, rather than LCD, which helps with battery life and gives great, vivid colours – though as it’s OLED, you’ll find the screensaver glows. It’s also great for movie playback.

At first the keypad looked similar to the N96, which felt flat, but in use it’s actually much closer to the N95, with good tactile feedback, so you can text quickly and accurately. The navigation pad can also double as a scroll wheel, though it takes a little getting used to.

The software – S60 Third Edition Feature Pack 2 – is much the same as on the N96, with support for Web Dav, you can connect to services such as your iDisk and browse them in the file manager. There’s internet radio support (as long as it’s MP3), as well as the standard FM, and you can even share your music in the car, thanks to a built-in FM transmitter.

We do have a few gripes – the usual Series 60 browser isn’t up to par. USB charging is a welcome addition, but the micro USB port means another cable, and there’s no socket for an ordinary Nokia charger. The camera is OK, but needs pretty good lighting for best results. And there’s no edit button – if you want to copy and paste, you need to call up the menu.

But those are mostly minor issues; this is a nice phone – it’s compact, has good battery life, good build, and a great screen. The N96 may have DVB-H, which is probably pointless in the UK, but it’s the N85 that’s really the flagship in our book – and arguably what the N95 should have been.

Tom Royal, Personal Computer World, Tuesday 23 December 2008 at 10:00:00

File backup and media streaming in a compact package

External hard disks that connect via USB or Firewire might be a convenient way to add extra storage to one PC, but if you have a couple of computers, they’re far less convenient. Iomega’s Storcenter ix2 is a small Nas device that adds up to 2TB of storage and makes it easily accessible to several networked PCs.

The Storcenter is small, measuring 8x12.5x20cm, but feels very sturdy and weighs a little over 2kg. The case design is Spartan, with only a Gigabit Ethernet port, two USB sockets and the power socket on the back. There’s also a small fan, but the device isn’t particularly loud in use. A rather large external power adapter is required.

Setting up the device is easy enough: it leases an IP address via DHCP and the supplied software will find it and start the web configuration process. A few shares are automatically configured. One is designed for media files, and copying files into it makes them accessible via a UPnP network media player. Another is designed for backups and is used by the included EMC Retrospect HD software. Adding extra storage devices is simple: just plug them into one of the USB ports.

The Storcenter’s web interface is simple enough to use, allowing you to add users, create new shared drives and perform maintenance operations, but for some operations you need to use the included client software running on a PC instead. We also liked the fact that, by default, the device is set up to provide 1TB of storage with Raid 1 mirroring, so even if one of the two disks inside fails, your files will be safe.

All in all, the Storcenter does a simple job well enough. It’s not pretty or cheap, but it is easy to set up and provides both mirrored backup storage and a handy media server.

Simon Crisp, Personal Computer World, Friday 19 December 2008 at 10:00:00

Good battery life and a large screen, keyboard and hard disk give the U100 the edge

Bridging the gap between the original Eee 700 and an ultraportable notebook, the popularity of MSI’s Wind U100 was one of the reasons Asus brought the 10in Eee PC to market.

A sleek-looking design, the Wind U100 has nicely rounded corners to the chassis and the glossy finished lid, which comes in a few different colours.

But its main attraction is the 10.1in screen with its 1,024x600 resolution which allows for a larger keyboard to be fitted, in this case right up to the chassis edge.

The keys are more manageable than those on the Eee PC 901, but not as large as on HP’s Mini-Note 2133. Thankfully they are good and responsive; the only problem is the slightly awkward layout which will take a little getting used to.

While the keyboard is nice and large, the same can’t be said for the trackpad, which is very small in comparison. It is responsive without being too sensitive, though, and the two mouse buttons have a satisfying click when you use them.

The Wind is powered by an Intel Atom N270 (1.6GHz) backed by 1GB of PC2-5300 667MHz DDR2 memory which is enough to keep installed Windows XP Home SP3 OS happy. There’s plenty of storage space, too, with a 160GB standard Western Digital 5,400rpm hard drive installed.

One of the early problems with the Wind, and indeed many other netbooks, was the poor battery life from the three-cell unit. However, our review sample of the Wind came with a six-cell 4,400mAh battery ­ this does add to the dimensions and, more importantly, the weight of the Wind, but the small sacrifices are more than made up for by doubling the battery life over the smaller-celled battery.

Simon Crisp, Personal Computer World, Wednesday 10 December 2008 at 17:27:00

The latest update of the original netbook

Released a year after the original Eee 700, the Eee 900 changed it from something many people regarded as a gimmick into the realms of a proper notebook.

With the 901, Asus has raised the bar higher still, replacing the Celeron CPU of the older model with Intel’s latest Atom processor – in this case an Atom N270 clocked at 1.6GHz and backed by 1GB of DDR400 memory.

The storage and battery size have also been increased. Our review model featured a 12GB SSD and Windows XP Home – the Linux version comes with a 20GB SSD.

Battery life had been a bone of contention with previous Eee PCs, but the 901 comes with a six-cell battery for both the Windows XP and the Linux versions which, together with the lower power requirements of the Atom, gives the 901 a battery life of around six hours. What’s more, we achieved this even without all the power-saving features applied.

Asus has also improved the screen. It’s now an 8.9in panel with a resolution of 1,024x600, which gives you a bit more desktop space to play with.

There’s also a 1.3-megapixel webcam in the top bezel of the screen, while dual integrated microphones are also fitted, which makes it perfect for dictation.

The design of the chassis has a more rounded look to it and its stylish gloss finish does make it attractive, but the keyboard still remains awkward to use if you have large fingers, since the miniature keys are laid out in a cramped manner, but on the plus side they are good and responsive.

If you only intend to use it for browsing websites and sending short emails, though, it’s fine.

Simon Crisp, Personal Computer World, Friday 12 December 2008 at 10:00:00

Good battery life, but the UL-100's shortcomings are inescapable

Hi-Grade’s Notino UL-100 forsakes the Intel route and instead uses a Via C7-M ULV (ultra-low voltage) processor clocked at 1.6GHz.

This gives the UL-100 reasonable battery life even from the three-cell battery our review sample came with; we managed just over two hours when used reasonably intensively and just under four hours in our reader test.

The keyboard shows a fair degree of flexing while typing and the keys are a little small, but it’s still possible to type quickly on it.

The first thing that strikes you when you open the lid is there doesn’t appear to be any touchpad, just one long chromed mouse button. It is there but since it’s coloured white just like the rest of the notebook it’s easy to stray away from it without realising. Why Hi-Grade didn’t add a small border to the trackpad is a mystery to us.

Something to watch out for is the front-mounted 4-in-1 card reader. This doesn’t allow an SD Card to fit completely inside it, so with half the card remaining outside it’s a recipe for disaster.

Permanent storage is provided by a traditional disk-based 160GB Samsung drive, which should be more than enough for most users.

Like the keyboard, the 10in screen shows a worrying degree of flex and you will want to protect the UL-100 when you carry it around just to be on the safe side. The screen has a native resolution of 1,024x600, with a 1.3-megapixel webcam built into the top bezel.

Apart from the 802.11a/b/g Wifi there is also a 10/100Mbits/sec wired Ethernet port and three USB sockets.

In the face of some stiff competition, it’s hard to recommend this Hi-Grade netbook.

Simon Crisp, Personal Computer World, Monday 15 December 2008 at 10:00:00

Sturdy and stylish, but on the heavy side in terms of weight and price

Weighing in at 1.4kg (without power adapter), the HP 2133 Mini-Note is one of the heaviest netbooks we've seen.

There are, however, a couple of very good reasons: build quality and the massive six-cell 55WHr battery. It also has Windows Vista installed; in this case, Vista Business.

It uses a Via C-7M ULV processor rated at 1.2GHz in preference to an Intel CPU. Because of its Vista OS, it also comes with 2GB of PC2-5300 667MHz DDR2 memory ­ the maximum it will support.

It features a stylish design and good build quality. You really have to press hard to get any flex in the screen. It looks good, too, with a brushed-metal lid set off by a silver finished chassis and gloss black screen bezel.

But the star of the show is the keyboard – ­ a full-width unit with slightly concave keys that are well spread out. The keyboard also has very little flex to it, making typing easy and comfortable.

The trackpad has vertically mounted mouse buttons on each side of it, which takes a bit of getting used to, but it was the only place HP could put them as the trackpad comes up to the front edge of the chassis. The trackpad on our review system was overly sensitive with the pointer moving all over the screen at the slightest touch, which was very annoying.

The 8.9in WXGA screen has a 1,280x768 resolution and comes with a glossy coating, which is fine indoors but may be problematic in bright outdoor conditions.

The sliding power on/off button on the left front side of the chassis is matched on the other side by a switch for the 802.11a/b/g Wifi, a handy way to increase battery life.

Simon Crisp, Personal Computer World, Monday 15 December 2008 at 10:00:00

Plenty to like, but a bigger battery is a must

Medion’s Akoya E1210 is a rebadged MSI Wind.

It suffers by having the smaller 2,200mAh three-cell battery and an 80GB hard drive, but this does allow it to be sold at a lower price than the MSI original.

Fitted with Intel’s Atom N270 processor clocked at 1.6GHz, battery life should be impressive as the TDP (thermal design point) of the Atom is only 2.5W. However, because Medion has equipped it with such a small battery, it’s not. We recommend you budget an extra £54.99 to get the bigger 4,400mAh battery.

A sleek-looking design, with nicely rounded corners, the E1210 comes with an all-silver finish; the only non-silver component is the black keyboard.

The keys themselves are more manageable than the Asus Eee PC 901, but are not quite as good as the ones on HP’s Mini-Note 2133. They do feel responsive to the touch, though, and, while the layout is slightly awkward and the touchpad a bit on the small side, neither take too long to get used to and we were impressed overall.

The 10.1in 1,024x600 screen is powered by Intel’s integrated GMA950 graphics core, which is configured to share up to 64MB of main system memory. This is fine for the jobs netbooks were originally designed to do, but it may struggle if you have too many windows open at once.

For storage, there is an 80GB mechanical hard drive and, built into the side of the chassis, a 4-in-1 card reader. You’ll also find three USB ports, 802.11a/b/g/n Wifi and a 10/100Mbits/sec wired Ethernet connection to talk to the outside world.

There’s plenty to like about the Akoya E1210, but the battery life isn’t great.

Nigel Whitfield, Personal Computer World, Wednesday 17 December 2008 at 17:38:00

The Google phone lands in the UK

Google’s Android phone system has been keenly awaited for some time now, and it has made its first appearance in the UK in the shape of the T-Mobile G1, manufactured by HTC.

It’s a similar size to the iPhone, though somewhat thicker, with a large screen and a panel below sporting five buttons and a small trackball. This is angled slightly forwards – though whether it makes any difference to sound quality is debatable.

The keys are for dial, home, back and end, plus menu – which you’ll be using a lot. The rest of the interface is managed through the touchscreen, though it doesn’t support multi-touch gestures.

The battery is charged through a mini USB port on the bottom, covered by a plastic flap. Startup time was lengthy – and at around a minute you’ll prefer to keep the G1 charged and running, if you can.

Setup was simple: enter your Google account details and your address book will be synced automatically. You can even use the Gmail application to check your messages.

That was about the first thing we did, and also the first inkling we had that rather than being a great phone this is more like a work in progress. As with many applications on the phone, pressing the physical menu button displays a row or two of icons at the bottom of the screen for common tasks. One of these will be a ‘more’ option, popping up a longer on-screen menu through which you can scroll with your fingers, then highlight a message. You can also go straight to this menu by holding down your finger on a message until it pops up – pretty standard fare, so far.

What’s annoying is that – as many Gmail users will know – you have to spend a lot of time marking messages as junk. So, why not put that option on the short menu, so you press the physical key and then tap the Junk button? Instead, it’s the last option on the pop-up menu, so scrolling is inevitable. It’s the sort of simple UI mistake that becomes irritating very quickly.

Other email accounts are supported, though some users report problems with mailboxes updating. Our complaint is somewhat different: mobile access to every Imap folder on the server is great, but if they’re in a hierarchy, they should be shown in a hierarchy, complete with collapsible folders rather than as a very long list to scroll through – 150 items in our case.

The G1 has no on-screen keyboard, aside from the numeric pad for dialling numbers. For texts and emails, you have to open the screen. It moves slightly towards the top, then to the right, leaving you to turn the device and use the thumb keypad in landscape mode. It’s a reasonable keypad, and you can get up a decent speed typing, but it’s not always convenient, so we’d like to have seen the option of an on-screen keypad.

There’s a rear-facing camera, though no front one for video calls, and a dedicated shutter button on the side. It’s none too quick to start up, and you’ll need pretty good light to avoid grainy photos. We’ve seen much better, including on Nokia’s N series handsets. After snapping, an on-screen menu gives you the option to send by email, among other things. But while you get a blank email with the photo attached, you can’t simply scroll through the address book – you’ve got to open up the keyboard and type instead.

There are, of course, good points: the interface is easily customisable, and you can have different sections of the home screen, scrolling from one to another, perhaps to differentiate work from play.

Installing apps via the online store is easy, as is web browsing, and using the built-in GPS, which found our location extremely quickly. And given the Linux base of the system, many of the quirks and niggles may well be addressed by ports of better applications.

But considering that Google’s phone platform has been treated in some quarters with the near-messianic zeal usually reserved for Apple products, we expected better – better battery life, a more responsive touchscreen and far fewer loose ends with regards to user interface. To be fair, this is the first phone with the Android operating system, so glitches aren’t completely unexpected. It’ll probably be very good when it’s finished.

Nigel Whitfield, Personal Computer World, Thursday 18 December 2008 at 12:13:00

Greatly improved battery life but Symbian flagship upgrade still needs to do more with the browser

Until recently Nokia’s N95 was the flagship Symbian phone. Its successor, the N96, certainly has a more modern look ­ rounded corners and a minimalist almost flat fascia ­ but it’s really just an evolution of the N95.

It has the same dual-slide action, but loses the lens cover ­ you just hold down the shutter to start the camera ­ and gains a dedicated keylock switch. There’s also a more sensible position for the headphone socket on the top of the handset.

The software’s had a minor visual update, but will be instantly familiar to Series 60 users, with a more configurable standby screen. The Nokia configuration includes a BBC iPlayer link on the main screen, and it’s easy to use, although you’ll need Wifi to access it. Much has been made of its DVB-H support, but that probably won’t turn out to be of much use in the UK.

Playback of H.264 clips is very good, with a bright, crisp picture; iPlayer downloads are messier, but that’s the BBC’s bit rate, more than the phone.

Battery life is much better than the N95. Even with some video playback and Wifi use, you can go more than two days between charges.

But there are niggles. The phone’s not really any faster than the N95, and the new keypad is too smooth for our liking, with the application and cancel keys a bit small. And when you’re playing video, the keypad dims, so you can’t see which is the pause button. The rear cover comes off for access to the battery, resulting in a slightly cheap plastic feel when you grip the phone.

The RSS reader is useful, but the web browser still compares poorly to other platforms. Sometimes we had to force the screen to change orientation and back again to redraw pages so they could be read. And, while there is Imap support, it’s not as comprehensive as we’d like to see.

The N96 is a good phone but it’s up against stiff competition, and it doesn’t shine. Nor does it do enough, aside from better battery life, to address the niggles of its predecessor.

Clive Akass, Personal Computer World, Monday 22 December 2008 at 10:00:00

Home and office surveillance equipment that is easy to install

Logitech’s Digital Video Security System is a suite of home or office surveillance products promising plug-and-play installation, as the cameras link up when plugged into the mains.

As a minimum, you need a £249 master pack comprising an indoor or outdoor camera and a Homeplug data-over-mains adapter that connects to your PC’s USB2 port. You can add up to five more cameras at a cost of £199 each, either indoor or outdoor.

All the cameras come with mounting brackets. The indoor model also comes with a sucker pad for attaching it to a window. It can face either way – so it can give an outside view as well.

The outdoor camera comes with a 4m cable; less sensible is the use of a sealed plug, which will have to be cut off if you need to pass the lead through a hole in a window frame. The data connection is not guaranteed: our host PC could not see a camera fitted in one electrically noisy room.

System setup via the Wilife Control Centre software is easy, provided you know your email server address. The system records only when it detects motion, which can trigger an email alert, or a text message if you use an email-to-SMS service. You can view all cameras live over the web.

Network drives are not supported. For off-site video storage you are encouraged to subscribe to Logitech’s platinum service. This also gives you scheduled monitoring, remote viewing of stored video, remote control, PC pop-up alerts, and digital pan tilt and zoom. These functions could be replicated in a subscription-free standalone system but, given no-brainer surveillance at relatively small cost, many subscribers won’t care.