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Tech in 2016
Why were excited about the year ahead
22/12/2015 11:35
CONTENTS
NEWS & ANALYSIS
6
66
66 GROUP TEST:
Gaming laptops
76 GROUP TEST:
Dash cams
86 Improve smartphone
battery life
REVIEWS
GET FREE
SOFTWARE
PAGE 117
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62
64
88 H
ow RAM works
92 16 best free PC games
98 5 Google Drive features
TEST
CENTRE
Asus T100HA
HP EliteBook 1020
Amazon Fire
Microsoft Lumia 950
Motorola Moto X Force
Wileyfox Storm
ZTE Axon Elite
Motorola Moto 360 2
Microsoft Band 2
Google Chromecast 2
Brainwavz S0
Kef M400
Marsboy Bone Conduction
Bluetooth Headphones
Cowin Ark
Xiaomi Mi Band 1S Pulse
BT Ultra HD YouView Box
BT Home Cam 100
HP DeskJet 3630
Brother DCP-J562DW
Netgear Powerline 1200
Sphero SPRK
Mad Max
Until Dawn
Assassins Creed: Syndicate
GAMING LAPTOPS
68
69
70
71
72
Asus G501JW-F1201H
Dell Inspiron 15 7559
HP Omen 15-5001na
Schenker XMG U506
Toshiba Satellite P50T-C-109
DASH CAMS
78
79
80
81
82
80
22/12/2015 11:32
CONTENTS
IMPROVE SMARTPHONE BATTERY LIFE
88
86
BEST FREE PC GAMES
HOW TO
92
98
66
TEST
ON THE COVER
CENTRE
117
TOP 5 CHARTS:
BUYERS GUIDE
121
122
123
124
125
126
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
100-112
28
76
Laptops
Budget laptops
Ultraportable laptops
Chromebooks
Gaming laptops
Gaming PCs
All-in-one PCs
Smartphones
Budget smartphones
Phablets
7- and 8in tablets
9- and 10in tablets
Smartwatches
Activity trackers
Budget printers/Printers
Wireless routers/
Powerline adaptors
138 NAS drives/External hard drives
139 SSDs/Smart thermostats
140 Budget graphics cards/
Graphics cards
141 Budget flat-panel displays/
Flat-panel displays
142 e-book readers/Media streamers
143 Games console/
Budget portable speakers
144 Budget headphones/Headphones
145 Power banks/Desktop chargers
22/12/2015 11:32
NEWS
PC shipments fell
by 10.3 percent in
2015, reveals IDC
17/12/2015 14:39
NEWS
Keep up to date with PC Advisor news:
pcadvisor.co.uk/news
pinterest.com/pcadvisor
twitter.com/pcadvisor
plus.google.com/+PCAdvisor
facebook.com/pcadvisor
youtube.com/pcadvisor
CHRIS
MARTIN
Japanese giants considering combining their laptop and PC businesses, according to a media report
Its been reported that Toshiba, Fujitsu
and Vaio are considering a merger of
their laptop PC businesses. According to a
report in The Nikkei financial newspaper,
the three companies have begun specific
discussions on the merger later, with the aim
of launching the company on 1 April, when
the next Japanese financial year begins.
Vaio was spun off from Sony in mid-2014
and will likely be the surviving entity, with
Toshiba and Fujitsu merging their laptop
businesses into the unit. Ownership will be
roughly equal, says The Nikkei.
It wasnt possible to immediately contact
the three companies for comment.
As we report opposite, global demand
for PCs is decreasing. In the third quarter
17/12/2015 14:39
News
17/12/2015 14:39
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15/12/2015 16:50
16.09.15 10:30
NEWSVIEWPOINT
Gabriel Aul
22/12/2015 11:40
NEWSVIEWPOINT
For most users, the November autumn
update was the first instalment.
This is a new approach for operating
systems, but its something thats been
business as usual for years from cloud
services such as Gmail, as well as for
mobile apps. Until it sought to appeal
to businesses with Google Apps, Google
services were notorious for staying in
beta as the company continued to develop
them, and Microsoft Office 365 has added
features regularly. Doing this at the
operating system level is definitely harder
than for a cloud-based service, Aul admits,
but we think the model makes sense and
were committed to making it a smooth and
low-friction process for customers.
Even so, its not clear how willing business
users are to make that transition.
Edge Browser
It meant previews of the mobile version
of Windows 10 began by being far behind
what Microsoft was already shipping with
Windows Phone 8.1. Early previews lacked
features such as the ability to open Office
documents, and even now the new Mail
and Calendar apps dont offer significantly
more functionality than the Windows Phone
equivalents. In addition, the Windows Store
no longer allows users to send apps to their
phone from their PC; they have to load the
apps directly from the Store on their phone.
That step back to move forward
process may not always be comfortable,
Cortana integration
22/12/2015 11:39
News: Viewpoint
Lumia 950 XL
apps, while still helping existing customers
who may need more time to transition.
However, although Edge supports the
latest HTML standards, it has fewer features
as a browser than Internet Explorer, Chrome
or Firefox. Its only in the fall update that
Edge added the abilities to synch Favorites,
to upload files by dragging them into a
browser window, to download files to a
specific folder and to stream video from
the browser to other devices features IE
has had since Windows 7. The update added
a thumbnail preview for tabs, but that
only works inside the browser; the taskbar
preview still works only for the active tab,
so you cant close individual tabs from the
taskbar thumbnail as you can in IE. You
cant pin specific sites to the taskbar either,
and you can only re-open the most recently
closed tab without digging into your history.
The promised extension support
(which replaces the IE model of plugins for
everything except Flash) that was expected
in 2015 is delayed until some time in 2016;
according to Microsoft, its still actively
working to develop a secure extension
model. And even though Windows Mobile
will bring the Edge browser to phones,
they wont get extensions as quickly as the
Windows 10 browser (something that would
have put Windows phones ahead of Android).
OneDrive
22/12/2015 11:40
News: Viewpoint
Depending on Insiders
The testing goes beyond what Microsoft can
do alone. The key advance for us has been
adding the millions of Windows Insiders who
are contributing to the testing and feedback
process, he says, which allows us to ensure
MARY
BRANSCOMBE
22/12/2015 11:39
NEWSANALYSIS
HIT: Windows 10
Windows 10 was the do-or-die makeover for
the companys flagship operating system,
and in most ways, Microsoft delivered. It
removed the worst of Windows 8, brought
back the best of Windows 7, and added cool
innovations such as the Cortana virtual
22/12/2015 11:13
NEWSANALYSIS
MISS: Windows 10
Mobile OS and hardware
If only Windows 10 Mobile could borrow
some of Windows 10s mojo. The operating
HIT: Continuum
Yes, Continuum is something to be genuinely
excited about. Yes, it requires a standalone
peripheral (either the Display Dock or a
Miracast dongle), but whats nifty about
Continuum is that Microsofts Universal
Apps can be projected onto the larger
screen, including Microsofts superior Office
Mobile apps, which are supposed to be free
only on phones or tablets smaller than 10
inches. Most importantly, Continuum allows
Microsoft to claim that a Windows phone
can be a PC, too something that none of
its competitors can say yet.
HIT: HoloLens
Microsofts first stab at augmented reality
is an undeniable success, even though it
has yet to ship. Microsofts unveiling of the
22/12/2015 11:07
News: Analysis
HoloLens
collaboration one of the chief demands,
we imagine, of Microsofts enterprise
customers. In this, it delivers. We like
22/12/2015 11:13
News: Analysis
Xbox One
alleviate the Windows 10 app gap by
providing tools for porting Android and iOS
products to Windows 10 and Windows 10
Mobile. The Project Astoria bridge to port
Android apps to Windows has reportedly
stalled, however, leaving its iOStoWindows
toolset, Project Islandwood, as the last
hope. Islandwood, though, is in an alpha
preview state, and were not likely to
hear anything more about it until March
2016, when Microsoft holds its next Build
developer conference. Meanwhile, the
Windows app market languishes, both
on mobile and desktop.
MISS: Cutbacks
in OneDrive storage
In 2014, Microsoft promised that Office
365 subscribers would eventually receive
unlimited OneDrive storage. In November
22/12/2015 11:07
News: Analysis
An Android fork?
At this point, Microsoft has several other
options. One of these clearly is its current
18/12/2015 11:05
News: Analysis
18/12/2015 11:05
News: Analysis
18/12/2015 11:02
News: Analysis
18/12/2015 11:02
NEWPRODUCTS
More new products online:
tinyurl.com/gadgetspca
18/12/2015 10:25
NEWPRODUCTS
CHRIS
MARTIN
Sky Q
Home entertainment system
Skys upcoming entertainment system is made up
of various different pieces of hardware. The Sky Q
Silver box is the key one, with 2TB of storage and
12 tuners. It supports 4K content, and can resume
viewing in a different room or even download
recordings to a tablet using a new app.
TBC
sky.com
18/12/2015 10:25
Parrot Bebop 2
Drone
Drones are all the rage right now and Parrot is
aiming to be a key player with its latest effort.
The Bebop 2 is just 500g and has a flying time
of 25 minutes. It can reach up to 37mph and
comes with a built-in 14Mp fish-eye camera.
439 inc VAT
parrot.com/uk
Philips SHB8850NC
Headphones
A pair of headphones with noise cancelling
will normally set you back a decent
chunk of money, but Philips has broken
the 100 barrier with its latest pair. They
have 32mm drivers, NFC, Bluetooth and a
battery life of up to 33 hours.
89 inc VAT
philips.co.uk
Huawei Mate 8
Smartphone
Despite the recent launch of the Mate
S, Huawei has announced the Mate 8.
The phone has a 6in Full HD screen
and also comes with a Kirin 950
processor, fingerprint scanner, 16Mp
camera and up to 4GB of RAM.
419 inc VAT
huaweidevice.co.uk
18/12/2015 10:25
OnePlus Icons
Headphones
OnePlus doesnt just make phones these
days. Apart from its iPhone case, the firm
now has another audio product. The Icons
headphones are the inear variety and
come in a choice of silver or gold finishes.
A carry pouch is included in the box and
the sound is provided by 11mm drivers.
39 inc VAT
oneplus.net
18/12/2015 10:25
REVIEWS
LAPTOP
279
inc VAT
Asus T100HA
Contact
n
asus.com/uk
Specifications
Build:
Features:
Performance:
Value:
Verdict
The new chip is as slow as before,
but increased economy let it provide
a further hour of tortoise operation.
Windows is no more compelling on
a tablet than it was with previous
Transformers, leaving us a slow and
unreliable 10in laptop, weighing little
over a kilo and with a pretty IPS
screen. J Andrew Harrison
18/12/2015 10:05
REVIEWS
LAPTOP
1,892
inc VAT
HP EliteBook 1020
Contact
n
hp.com/uk
Specifications
Verdict
The reflective touchscreen is
the main blight on an otherwise
superbly machined executive laptop.
Build quality is faultless and it has
twice the USB count of the MacBook,
if less compact and with half the
battery life. J Andrew Harrison
18/12/2015 10:05
Reviews
TABLET
49
inc VAT
Amazon Fire
Contact
n
amazon.co.uk
Specifications
Build:
Features:
Performance:
Value:
Design
This isnt just an older model with
a price drop: the new Fire has a
new design. Amazon has moved
away from the angled edges and
chamfered rear panel. Now theres
rounded edges and corners.
All the ports and buttons are
on the top edge, which makes
18/12/2015 10:18
Reviews
Performance
With a quad-core 1.3GHz processor
and 1GB of RAM we were never
expecting great performance from
the Fire. We could list a load of
benchmark results here, but for
most people thinking about buying
this cheap tablet theres only one
question: is it fast enough?
In general, it is. Sometimes its
quicker than youd expect, and the
operating system Fire OS 5 feels
slicker than some Android tablets
costing twice as much. Apps load
within a couple of seconds, and even
faster if theyre already running and
youre just switching back to them.
But the limited amount of RAM
means you have to be careful not
to run too many in the background
as the Fire becomes sluggish and
unresponsive when you max it out.
The screen can take a while to rotate
when you turn the tablet, so you
turn it back and the screen rotates
to the other position as you do.
Its no speed demon for games,
either. But if youre just crushing
candy or playing other casual
games, its fine. Battery life is okay,
but not great. Amazon says it will
last up to seven hours, which is a
few hours short of the best tablets
today. Charging time can be an
issue, as it takes almost six hours
using the included mains adaptor.
Verdict
Its not perfect, and the lack of
Google apps will still put some
people off, but the Fire is excellent
value at under 50. J Jim Martin
Software
One of the biggest improvements
over previous Fire tablets is the
latest version of Fire OS, version 5,
but referred to as Bellini. Theres
logic here, since Fire OS is based
on Android which uses friendly
codenames as well as numbers.
Bellini is based on Android
Lollipop, and it shows much more
than in the past. You get an almost
standard Android notification/quick
settings panel when you swipe down
from the top of the screen and can
swipe away notifications, adjust
March 2016 www.pcadvisor.co.uk/reviews 29
18/12/2015 10:18
Reviews
SMARTPHONE
449
inc VAT
Contact
n
microsoft.com/en-gb
Specifications
Build:
Features:
Performance:
Value:
Price
Microsoft has decided to undercut
rivals with the price. A new phone
from a big name normally costs at
least 500, but the Lumia 950 is
yours for 449 from Microsofts
store, though you can get it for
419 from the likes of Amazon
and Carphone Warehouse.
This is partly down to the
fact that theres a larger version
called the 950 XL, which costs
529, still a good price considering
you get a free Display Dock.
While the Lumia 950 is cheaper
than an iPhone and there are few
devices at this price, the HTC One
A9 springs to mind, there is an
issue. Launch prices of big name
phones might have been higher
than this, but launching late in the
year mean the Lumia 950s rivals
have dropped in price.
It can often be a wise move to
simply buy an older phone that is
still offering the latest tech. For
example, the Samsung Galaxy S6
can be purchased new for under
350 thats a hefty drop compared
to the initial list price of 599.
Design
You might think that a design
refresh is in order for the first
Windows 10 phones, but thats not
the case at all. In fact, its far from
it with a design that by and large
follows on from previous Lumia
devices. The 950 can be summed up
in a word, and that word is plain. The
front is almost entirely featureless,
with a Microsoft logo the main
element. There are no navigation
buttons below the display, with a
move to onscreen alternatives.
That move is fine, but were
disappointed to find a lower build
quality compared to the Lumia 930,
which has a metal frame running
round the edge and glass, which is
subtly rounded at the edges and
sits perfectly flush with the metal.
What the Lumia 950 provides is
a plastic removable rear cover and
completely flat glass. Microsoft has
Microsoft has stopped producing brightlycoloured models, and the Lumia 950s overall
feel is distinctly mid-range and unexciting
screen department, but Microsoft
has stepped things up a notch
and the Lumia 950 has Quad
HD. A resolution of 2560x1440
on a 5.2in display means a pixel
density of 564ppi. Thats slightly
lower than the Galaxy S6, not
that youll be able to notice the
difference. As with previous
Lumias, the screen is high quality,
with great colour reproduction
and excellent contrast thanks to
the AMOLED ClearBlack panel.
Inside the 950 is a Qualcomm
Snapdragon 808 processor, which is
hexa-core and found in other phones
15/12/2015 17:17
Reviews
Software
Although this isnt Windows Phone,
the interface will be familiar to
existing users. In essence, its the
same as it was before, so youve
still got the Start Screen with
its rearrangeable tiles, dropdown notification bar with quick
settings, the vertical app menu
18/12/2015 12:47
Reviews
Verdict
Windows 10 has arrived on
smartphones and were not exactly
blown away. Loyal Windows and
Windows Phone users will appreciate
features such as Universal Apps,
and while Continuum appears to
be a real wow feature, it requires
a lot of extra equipment. The
operating system is buggy, too.
The Lumia 950 itself offers some
decent hardware, namely the screen,
inside an uninspiring design. Unless
youre set on the OS, there is a lot
better on the market and for less
money. J Chris Martin
15/12/2015 17:17
01/06/2015 16:08
Reviews
SMARTPHONE
449
inc VAT
Contact
n
motorola.co.uk
Specifications
Build:
Features:
Performance:
Value:
Design
While similar to other Motorola
phones, the X Force is subtly
different in design. Instead of a
constant radius at the back the
bulk is quite flat, with more sharply
angled edges. The aluminium frame
is thicker, too, extending a few
millimetres in at the sides before
you get to the textured back cover.
Our review unit was the base
black ballistic nylon version, but
you can use Motorolas Moto Maker
to choose pebbled leather in
natural, cognac or black. Theres
also a soft grip option in more
colours, but all are quite muted
compared to the more vivid options
you get with the Moto X Play.
Youve also got the option of a
white front with Light Silver frame,
or black and Dark Grey. Then you
can choose an accent colour which
affects the camera surround on the
rear and the top grille at the front. .
The only option you can select
which will change the 499 price
is to go for 64- instead of 32GB of
storage: thats an extra 35.
The bezels at the front are
reasonably small, although theres
quite a bit of space below the
screen with nothing going on: its
a shame Motorola didnt go for
physical touch-sensitive buttons
rather than on-screen buttons.
Unusually there are three grilles
at the front. Only the bottom-right
is a loud speaker. The top one is
for phone calls, and the left-hand
bottom grille appears to be only for
Display
The highlight feature is the screen.
Youd be forgiven for assuming
that Force meant that its a screen
which responds to pressure, like the
15/12/2015 17:11
Reviews
Performance
While the X Force is a great
performer. It has basically the same
setup as the Google Nexus 6P:
Snapdragon 810 (at 2GHz), Adreno
430 and 3GB RAM and performed
similarly in our tests, managing
40fps in the T-Rex game test and
4455 in Geekbench 3.
In general use it also feels fast,
and there are some neat Motorola
additions including two hardware
co-processors, which enable the
phone to respond very quickly
to motion and voice commands.
These tweaks make the phone
more usable, such as the doubletwist to launch the camera app
when the phone is asleep.
Motorola has also put a big
battery inside (non-removable), and
claims it will last a full two days.
The actual amount of time it will
last between charges will depend
on what youre using it for, but we
comfortably got over a days use in
our subjective testing.
In our battery rundown test,
the result was lower than expected
at just over five-and-a-half hours.
The Nexus 6P lasted well over six
hours in the test, and the 5X just
over seven hours.
As well as wireless charging
you get a TurboPower charger
in the box which really saves time
over using a generic USB charger.
Geekbench 3
Cameras
Theres no change to the cameras
compared to the Moto X Style and
Play. That means 21Mp at the back
and 5Mp at the front.
The range of shooting modes is
subtly different, as it doesnt shoot
1080p at 60fps like the X Style,
but it records slo-mo in 720p, which
is better than the 540p mode of the
X Play. It can also record 4K video
at 30fps, and supports HDR video
in 1080p and 4K.
There are both front- and rear
flashes, with the rear being a dualtone colour correcting unit thats
become common on many phones.
Photos are generally good, as
are videos, but theyre not quite on
a par with the Nexus 6P or 5X. One
of the main disappointments is the
smearing of certain textures which
appears to be the fault of the noise
reduction system.
Software
Motorola keeps the stock Android
interface, which we love, and
adds useful extras throughout.
As well as the Moto app theres
Attentive Display, which keeps the
display on when youre looking
at it, overriding the timeout if
necessary. Thats handy when
youre reading something.
Moto Display is configurable to
show notifications from only certain
apps and thanks to the AMOLED
display, it uses very little power as it
only lights up the necessary pixels.
Actions include the double-twist
for camera, but you can also double
karate chop to turn on the torch.
Merely moving your hand over the
screen displays notifications when
its asleep, and picking up the phone
does the same thing.
The fact you get Lollipop out of
the box is bad timing, but Motorola
has confirmed an update to
Marshmallow will soon be available.
GFXBench Manhattan
GFXBench T-Rex
SunSpider*
Verdict
Theres a clear reason to buy the
Moto X Force: the shatter-proof
screen. Its a great phone in its
own right, too. Powerful and with
a top-quality screen and decent
cameras, you cant ask for much
more at this price. J Jim Martin
* lower is better
15/12/2015 17:11
Reviews
SMARTPHONE
199
inc VAT
Contact
n
wileyfox.com
Specifications
Wileyfox Storm
We were impressed by the Swift
(currently number four in our best
budget phones charts on page 130),
so had high hopes for Wileyfoxs
Storm. Its slightly more expensive
at 199, compared to the Swifts
129, but its still very affordable
In terms of competition,
Wileyfox isnt the only company
trying to offer an attractive phone
at under 200. A key rival is the
Motorola Moto G (3rd generation),
which is one of the best cheap
phones of 2015 at 159. Vodafones
own-brand Smart Ultra 6 (number
one in our budget phone charts)
is also a spanner in the works,
and offers similar specifications
for just 125. Then theres the
gorgeous OnePlus X which is the
same price as the Storm, 199. The
problem with this handset, though,
is that you need to apply for an
invite from the manufacturer to
buy one Wileyfox has no such
restrictions with its phones.
Design
Build:
Features:
Performance:
Value:
Performance
As weve touched on, a key
difference when compared with the
15/12/2015 16:56
Reviews
Geekbench 3
GFXBench Manhattan
Software
Sometimes theres little to say
about a phones software, with
many Android phones offering a
stock, or close to stock, version of
the operating system. Wileyfox, like
OnePlus, has opted for Cyanogen
OS 12.1. Its based on Android 5.1.1
Lollipop, so its not like a completely
different experience the biggest
change is a vertically scrolling app
menu. The OS is, in fact, very similar
to the normal Android operating
system, with the same layout and
stock components, such as the
notification bar and recent apps.
Although the lockscreen also
looks like a stock version of Android,
Cyanogen offers a large amount of
customisation. You can, for example,
choose which lockscreen shortcuts
you want, instead of being stuck with
the default. There are also different
themes on offer, with the ability to
choose specific parts such as icons.
Quick Settings can be rearranged in
the notification bar, you can switch
of elements like the brightness
slider and you can manipulate parts
of the status bar, such as the clock
and battery percentage.
Furthermore, theres control over
the LED notification light and even a
left-handed mode, which moves the
GFXBench T-Rex
Verdict
Overall, the Wileyfox Storm is a
decent phone for under 200
and has upgraded specifications
compared to the cheaper Swift.
However, poor battery life and a
disappointing camera mean we
prefer the Swift. If you want a bigger
phone, its hard to recommend
buying this over the excellent and
similarly specified Vodafone Smart
Ultra 6. If you dont specifically
want a 5.5in device, then we prefer
the OnePlus X at the same price or
the Moto G (3rd generation) as a
cheaper alternative. J Chris Martin
SunSpider*
* lower is better
15/12/2015 16:56
Reviews
SMARTPHONE
289
inc VAT
Contact
n
ztedevices.co.uk
Specifications
Design
The design is going to appeal to
some people, though others will
dislike it. In our opinion, its certainly
fancy-looking but ZTE seems to be
trying a little too hard to impress
the extra detail stretches even to
the volume rocker. If you like to be
the centre of attention, then this
is definitely the phone for you.
Its made with sturdy-feeling and
premium-looking aluminium, but
has fake leather stitched portions
at the top and bottom on the rear.
These serve a practical purpose its
here that the antennas are housed,
and remove the need for those lines
were used to seeing on the side of
metal phones to improve signal
but detract from the phones overall
design and premium feel.
Its a bit on the chunky side, at
9.3mm, and a large 5.5in screen
and front-facing speaker grilles
on the top and bottom add to the
height. The ZTE feels good in one
hand, but at times you will likely
find yourself needing to use two.
Mi-Pop is a software feature
that places a little widget on the
Security
One of the Axon Elites most
interesting features is its security
and unlocking options, of which
there are several. You can choose
to use a passcode, the eye- or
Its made with sturdy-feeling and premiumlooking aluminium, but has fake leather stitched
portions at the top and bottom on the rear
17/12/2015 14:58
Reviews
Cameras
The Elite has two rear cameras 2and 13Mp both of which are paired
with a dual LED flash. This means
you can capture images that can be
refocused later, making for some
brilliant results. We also like the
ability to capture multiple exposures
in one image for a dreamy effect.
The camera on the front is an
impressive 8Mp. Youll also be able
to capture 4K videos using the
rear-facing camera.
Software
Verdict
The ZTE Axon Elite has great
specifications and some interesting
technology at an excellent price.
While we appreciate that some will
love the design we arent taken by it
especially the fake-leather parts on
the rear. If you cant get your hands
on the OnePlus 2, this is a close
second best and its much easier to
get hold of. J Ashleigh Allsopp
17/12/2015 14:57
Reviews
SMARTWATCH
From 229
inc VAT
Contact
n
motorola.co.uk
Specifications
Build:
Features:
Performance:
Price
Value:
Design
We loved the original Moto 360
when it launched early in 2014. It
was one of the first Android Wear
smartwatches and had a circular
display, which helped it look more
like a traditional watch rather than a
lump of tech strapped to your wrist.
Our biggest complaint was that
a portion of that circular display
was dedicated to the ambient light
sensor and therefore didnt have
pixels. This resulted in an irritating
flat tyre effect. Thats why were
so disappointed to see that its still
there. If you want to use a circular
design as your clock face, youll find
that the bottom is cut off in an ugly
Hardware
Weve talked about how the Moto
360 looks, but what can it actually
do? Each model comes with a
Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 chip,
with a 1.2GHz quad-core processor.
This brings the Moto 360 into line
with premium smartwatches such as
LGs Watch Urbane and the Huawei
Watch (placed fifth and second in
our top smartwatch charts).
17/12/2015 15:00
Reviews
Software
Performance is generally
very good, though in our tests it
occasionally froze, mostly when
dismissing a notification or card.
This is a shame since its not
something weve experienced on
rival devices. It also takes a couple
of seconds to load some apps.
That Snapdragon chip is paired
with Adreno 350 graphics, and
theres 512MB of RAM and 4GB of
onboard storage should you want to
download songs and listen to them
while youre out and about without
your smartphone.
This brings us on to our next
point, which is that the Moto 360
can connect to Wi-Fi, which means
you can use lots of its internetrequiring features without your
smartphone as long as youre able
to connect to Wi-Fi.
Weve talked a bit about the
screen size, but taking a closer look
at the resolution youll find that the
42mm model is 360x325 pixels at
a pixel density of 263ppi, while the
46mm watch offers 360x330 pixels
at 233ppi. Both are clear, crisp and
an improvement on the original in
this respect. However, as mentioned,
that flat tyre is a real sticking point.
Like the original watch, it has a
heart-rate monitor located on the
rear. It works better than most weve
seen and gives a reading without
requiring you to push the watch into
your skin. Were not convinced its
always accurate though, providing
a reading of 100bpm while sitting a
desk writing this review.
Theres no GPS, so it isnt a
great choice for those looking for
great fitness features. Youll want
to hold out for the Moto 360 Sport
when that arrives.
Verdict
The new second-generation Moto
360 is a decent smartwatch that
offers excellent build quality and
hardware. The battery life and
performance are also good. All
of this would have lead us to a
whole-hearted recommendation,
if only Motorola had made the
one change we wanted removing
that flat tyre from the display. As
much as we like the Moto 360, its
hard to look past this, as small as it
may seem. J Chris Martin
17/12/2015 15:00
Reviews
ACTIVITY TRACKER
199
inc VAT
Contact
n
microsoft.com/en-gb
Specifications
Build:
Features:
Performance:
Value:
Microsoft Band 2
The Band 2 is the second generation
wearable from Microsoft. A
wristband/smartwatch hybrid
that aims to make you both more
productive, and more healthy. It is
an important product for Microsoft,
because it is intended to promote
the Band platform to OEMs, in
the hope that partners will come
onboard and build other Microsoft
wearables. But it is important for
wearables in general.
Thats because Microsoft has
taken the long view on wearables,
not rushing in with over-specified
expensive products such as the
Apple Watch or Google Glass,
nor jumping on the wear-em-forthree-months-then-bin pedometer
wrist bandwagon. The Microsoft
Band 2 builds on the ideas behind
the - frankly, prototype - Microsoft
Band, offering a similar feature set
in a more complete and consumer
friendly device.
It is not a smartwatch on your
wrist, nor is it a dumb activity
tracker. Rather, the Band 2 is a
device that enhances smartphone
use while allowing you to be more
present in your environment.
And it is a GPS-enabled fitness
tracker that helps you to improve
athletic performance, and quantify
and enhance all the factors that
influence your overall health. Finally,
it allows you to check and respond
to messages from your wrist.
Design
The biggest knock on the original
Band was its design and build.
And the criticism was justified. It
was clunky and uncomfortable to
wear. This has been mostly, but not
entirely, addressed in the Band 2.
It remains big and chunky for a
dumb wristband, but is relatively
discreet. In place of the uniform
black of the original we find a silver
metallic finish on the edges. The
main unit is bigger, hosting more
sensors and a bigger display, but
where in the past there was a rigid
band the new Microsoft Band is
made of soft, smooth rubber.
It feels a lot more comfortable to
wear, but isnt entirely comfortable.
I find myself taking it off when I am
at my desk, as the bottom of the
Band rubs on the top of my wrist.
Its not disastrous, but it does mean
Display
Key to the success of the Band 2 is
its curved display. This is a bright
and sharp Corning Gorilla Glass
3, AMOLED screen. Measuring
32x12.8mm, with a 320x128
resolution, it boasts a snazzy pixel
density of 255ppi. That combined
with the rich colours of AMOLED
makes for a rich display experience,
albeit on a tiny screen.
You wouldnt compare the display
to that of a smartphone. Or, at least,
you wouldnt compare it favourably.
At this size that would be daft, and
anyway it exists to show off data:
words and numbers, not images. As
such it is perfectly fit for purpose,
without being battery draining. Even
when tramping the mean streets
of Surrey, sweat in our eyes, we
could always see distance, heart
rate and speed data at a glance. The
touchscreen is responsive and there
is no obvious pixellation, either.
Good job Microsoft.
Features
The Band 2 is an fitness aid that
tracks heart rate, calorie burn and
sleep quality. Out of the box it can
work as a pedometer, and to track
and record running, cycling, gym
workouts and golf. But Microsoft is
also keen that other providers jump
in and add other activities.
The Microsoft Band 2 provides
notifications of incoming email,
tests and calender alerts. You can
get it to add other notifications
such as WhatsApp messages, too.
17/12/2015 15:04
Reviews
Battery life
Microsoft claims around 48 hours
of in-use battery life for the Band
2, which has a lithium polymer
battery. We cant benchmark it in the
same way as we can a smartphone,
so I can only speak to my own
experiences of using the Band 2.
In short: 48 hours is about right.
I tend to charge it for half an hour
or so when I am in the shower and
getting ready every other morning.
It charges quick: Microsoft claims a
full charge in one and a half hours,
but I found that a half an hour burn
gets it up to around 80 percent
charged. And that will do for a day
or two, in which I walk to the station
and then to the office, receive emails
all day long, and almost always go
for a run or a bike ride.
So although a wearable feels like
it should last for a week or more,
we cant quibble with the Band 2s
battery life. It is fit for purpose. And
as it synchs with your smartphone
via Bluetooth, I guarantee the phone
will run out before the Band does.
Which is in itself an issue.
As a productivity tool
This is weird. But I have to be
honest. I love the feature set of the
Band and the Band 2. I find that
wearing a device which puts on my
body notifications about incoming
email and texts actually makes
me more present in the real world
Perhaps this is exclusive to me, but
I receive so much (boring and workrelated) information every day that
I find it impossible not to constantly
As an activity tracker
It is a great activity tracker. The
Microsoft Band 2 has everything
that my TomTom GPS-enabled
runners watch gives me, and more.
As well as everything I can get from
my Fitbit or Jawbone. And in a
better shell, with a better app.
Of course the Band 2 tracks your
steps. And the built-in GPS is a must
if you are serious about measuring
performance. In my experience it
locks on quickly and accurately.
I love the way I can clearly
see heart rate, distance, time and
average pace on a single screen.
Every GPS runners watch I have
tried has shown only one of those
things in a format that I can
reasonably see. This is even more
important when out on the bike.
We havent managed to get out
on the golf course with the Band
2, but we did take it to the driving
range. All three of the courses
closest to my house are in the
app, and so next time I hack my
way around I can log on and it will
measure from where I take each
shot. Which reduces the chances of
cheating somewhat, but does give
you accurate yardage into the green.
On the range, it worked as
advertised. The Band 2 ignored
practice swings but recorded when I
As a sleep aide
With an eight-month old child at
home, I am not the right person to
track my sleep. I dont need to Band
2 to tell me how bad I am at it right
now. But because of its combination
of accurate location, movement and
heart-rate tracking, the Band 2 is an
excellent sleep recorder. It records
all of that data, and uses it to
accurately measure your light sleep,
deep sleep and wakefulness. You
simply tell it when you are going to
bed, and when you wake up. And
it wont alert you to any messages
you receive during this time.
Verdict
The Band 2, is definitely good value,
as the combination of sensors and
features is much greater than any
comparable product at this price. For
me its a winner. J Matt Egan
March 2016 www.pcadvisor.co.uk/reviews 43
17/12/2015 15:04
Reviews
MEDIA STREAMER
30
inc VAT
Google Chromecast 2
Contact
n
google.co.uk
Specifications
Build:
Features:
Performance:
Value:
Price
V,
es
Design
As you can see from our images, the
Chromecast looks different to its
Hardware
The original Chromecast was limited
to 11b/g/n single-band, while its
successor features the up-to-date
11ac standard should you have a
router with matching specs and
supports dual-band (2.4- and 5GHz).
15/12/2015 16:58
Reviews
widerangeofdevices.Featuressuch
asscreenmirroringworkwithmost
Androiddevices.
Fast Play
Thisoptionpredictswhatyoure
goingtodonextandgetsitreadyto
avoidyouhavingtowaitforthings
toload.Forexample,itmightget
Netflixreadywhileyouredeciding
whattowatch,orstartpreloading
thenextepisodeofaseries.
Casting
Googlehasntchangedthe
Chromecastformula,soyoustill
dontgetaphysicalremotecontrol.
Insteadyoullneedtouseyour
phoneortablettochoosewhat
thestreamerisgoingtodo.
Thisremainsadownsideofthe
Chromecastaseverytimeweve
reviewedarivalwithatraditional
remoteanduserinterface,things
aremuchsimplerandeasier.You
noticethedifferencewhenyou,
forexample,wanttobrowsecontent
asagrouporwanttojustquickly
pausewhateverisplaying.
Googlehas,however,designeda
newChromecastapp,whichhelps
thingsalittle.Itallowsyoutosee
yourdevices(handyifyouhave
morethanoneChromecast),but
moreimportantlyhelpsyoudiscover
whatappssupportcasting.
Itdoesthisviatwosections.
Thefirstofthese,WhatsOn,shows
youwhichinstalledapps(splitinto
visualandaudio)willworkwith
theChromecast,whileGetApps
highlightsappsyoudonthave.
Content
Despitecostingjust30,alotof
contentisonoffer.Thisincludes
BBCiPlayer,Netflix,SkyNowTV,BT
Sport,and,ofcourse,Google-owned
YouTubeandGooglePlayMovies.
All4(formally4oD)hasjustbeen
added,thoughtherearestillsome
gapsthatneedfillingintheportfolio.
IfyouenjoywatchingshowsonITV
PlayerandAmazonPrimeInstant
Video,youllbefrustratedatnot
beingabletocastthesetoyourTV
viatheChromecast.
Thebestselectionof
programmesbelongstoRoku,which
offersarangeofdevicesincluding
aChromecast-likeStreamingStick.
Itsmoreexpensiveat49,butthe
extracontentandremotecontrol
currentlymakeitworththeextra.
Verdict
OwnersoftheoriginalChromecast
havelittlereasontoupgrade,
eventhoughGooglehasimproved
thedesignandWi-Fi.Wealsolike
thenewappandthedeviceisa
bargainat30.However,theRoku
StreamingStickoutclassesitfor20
extra,withmorecontentavailable,
aremotecontrolandexcellentuser
interface.JChris Martin
15/12/2015 16:58
Reviews
IN-EAR HEADPHONES
29
inc VAT
Contact
n
brainwavzaudio.com
Specifications
Brainwavz S0
The Brainwavz S0 is an in-ear
monitor headphone that fits in
toward the bottom of the scale in
terms of cost, but delivers superior
performance, build and comfort.
It comes with three different sizes
of silicon ear tips, and a canvas
carry case. You get additional
bi-flange and tri-flange tips,
too. And with a microphone and
remote control on the cable, the
Brainwavz S0 is certified compatible
with iOS devices such as iPads and
iPhones, but works with pretty
much any smartphone.
Price
Build:
Features:
Performance:
Value:
Design
At this price we were not expecting
space-shuttle levels of build quality,
but the Brainwavz S0 stacks up well.
The bud itself is housed in blackcoated aluminium. Our review model
had red-plastic trim with opaque
black silicon tips, and a thick black
cable. The overall effect is one
of bold but simple style. It feels
marginally dated, but to our mind
in a good way.
The cable is around 1.2m long,
and is thick, flat and square-edged
Audio quality
At this price we dont expect much.
But in this case we were pleasantly
surprised. The Brainwavz S0 is a
very well balanced earphone. Bass
is prominent, but clear. We could
detect no muddiness when playing
Verdict
Well made, decent-sounding and
very good value. We are big fans of
the Brainwavz S0. If you want an
in-ear monitor for 30 or less, you
can do a lot worse. J Matt Egan
17/12/2015 14:44
Reviews
ON-EAR HEADPHONES
199
inc VAT
Kef M400
Contact
n
kef.com
Specifications
Price
Build:
Features:
Performance:
Value:
Design
Kef has stuck with a similar design
when it comes to the M400
headphones. They clearly look like
the recognisable M500s, but have
been slimmed down. Everything is a
bit smaller, thinner and lighter (just
175g), which may suit your needs
better than the flagship model.
The M400s are a bit more
fun and lively than the M500.
You can choose from Deep Black
and Champagne White, but also
Racing Blue and Sunset Orange. We
especially like the blue option and
the fact that the headphone jack
comes in a matching colour.
As we found with the M500, the
cushions on the headphones are
extremely comfortable and made
from memory foam covered in sweat
resistant protein leather. Theres a
Audio quality
As well as the carry case, a flight
adaptor and a 1.3m detachable
cable with in-line controls and mic
are included in the box. The in-line
control is primarily for use with
iOS devices, but you can still pause,
play and skip on Android using the
middle button (tap or double-tap).
Underneath the shiny aluminium
exterior is a 40mm full-range
driver; the same size as the
one found in the M500s. This is
good work considering the more
compact design. They also use a
very similar acoustic tuning plate,
but theres no sealing ring, so
they leak a fair amount of sound.
This is probably the main issue
we have with these headphones
and even then, with the kind of
ambient noise you get in an office
its not that noticeable.
Verdict
Once again, Kef has made a stylish
and well-built pair of headphones
in the M400. They are lightweight,
portable and the optional splash
of colour is nice. Sound quality is
once again very good, although
these arent the best choice for bass
lovers. Our main issue is that you
can currently buy the flagship M500
headphones for less making these
hard to recommend until the price
drops. J Chris Martin
17/12/2015 14:44
Reviews
39
inc VAT
Contact
n
amazon.co.uk
Specifications
Build:
Features:
Performance:
Value:
Features
The headphones come with
Bluetooth 3.0 technology, and
have a claimed range of up to 33
feet. During our tests, we didnt
experience any dropped connections
when we had our phone on our
Audio quality
Bone conduction isnt anything new;
indeed its said that Beethoven had
a special rod attached to his pianos
soundboard, which he would bite
to hear the sound the instrument
Verdict
The Marsboy headphones are great
if youre looking for a set that allow
you to hear whats going on around
you, but thats about it. Theyll
stay on your head when exercising,
but it cant make up for the audio
quality. If youre looking for high
fidelity sound, you should look
elsewhere. J Lewis Painter
48 www.pcadvisor.co.uk/reviews March 2016
17/12/2015 14:48
Reviews
BLUETOOTH SPEAKERS
149
inc VAT
Contact
n
cowinmusic.com
Specifications
Two-part Bluetooth
speaker system; NFC
compatibility; Magnatec
technology; wireless
charging; aux-in; 35W
output; 2x speaker drivers,
2x passive radiators and
5in ported subwoofer;
300x145x230mm
Build:
Features:
Performance:
Value:
Cowin Ark
The Ark is a two-piece Bluetooth
speaker system, designed and
manufactured by Cowin. Unlike
many other Bluetooth speakers,
its formed of two parts; a portable
Bluetooth speaker/soundbar
that sits on top Cruze and
the wired base Ark.
Design
Design wise, the speaker system
looks like a premium product,
despite costing under 150. The
mixture of brushed metal sides and
a mirror finish on top means that
the Cowin Ark demands attention
if youre looking for a Bluetooth
speaker thatll be invisible in its
surroundings, then this isnt your
best option. Despite being large
(Ark: 300x145x170mm and Cruze:
200x65x60mm), the Cowin is
pretty sleek, thanks to the curved
design of the system.
Though this is a two-piece
Bluetooth speaker system, the
Cruze can be taken outside and
used by itself, thanks to its built-in
rechargeable battery. The Ark uses
Magnatec technology, which syncs
the two parts of your system ready
for playback, while also keeping the
Cruze securely attached to the Ark
whenever its placed on top but
thats not its only function. The
Magnatec technology also provides
wireless charging for the soundbar,
which means the Cruze is fully
powered and ready to go whenever
you are. Oh, and the Ark can also be
used to charge up your smartphone
too, if it supports wireless charging.
Features
Even though this is a two-piece
speaker system, the two dont need
to be in contact during playback
to be in sync. Once youve turned
on the base and soundbar, theyre
automatically linked, which makes
the system adaptable. Watching a
movie on your laptop or playing
a game on your tablet? Place the
soundbar in front of the display and
the Ark on the floor for an enhanced
audio experience.
We found the freedom to move
the system around appealing,
especially as we didnt have to
worry about the battery life of
the soundbar if it ran out, wed
just place it on the Ark and carry
Audio quality
Even though the Cowin Ark has
peculiar audio prompts, this doesnt
reflect its overall quality. We were
impressed by this, especially with
regards to its bass output. The
levels of bass are nothing short
of phenomenal and when paired
Verdict
Were impressed by the Cowin Ark,
especially with the levels of bass
it offers. We love the Magnatec
technology that wirelessly charges
both the soundbar and any wireless
charging-enabled smartphone,
providing you with a portable
Bluetooth speaker. The audio quality
is good, providing crisp vocals, clear
highs and deep bass. The fact that
the two are wirelessly synced means
you dont have to keep the soundbar
and subwoofer in the same place,
making it ideal for use as a mini
soundbar for your laptop when
watching a movie. J Lewis Painter
17/12/2015 14:48
Reviews
ACTIVITY TRACKER
22
inc VAT
Contact
n
mi.com/en
Specifications
Build:
Features:
Performance:
Value:
15/12/2015 16:47
Reviews
Software
As with the original Mi Band, the
Mi Fit app will work with the Mi
Band Pulse to do its thing with zero
interaction from you. On launching
the app, youll still see the daily step
counter (with number of calories
burned), and can access daily
data on a bar chart from the past
month. These are plotted against
your daily target, which can be set
as high or low as you like.
A swipe to the left brings up the
sleep data, and you should find its
now more easily able to distinguish
between light- and heavy sleep
cycles thanks to the heart-rate
sensor (if you want to extend battery
life further you can turn off the
Design
Weve already partially covered the
Mi Band Pulses build and design
in this review. Almost identical
to the original its still extremely
Verdict
With a tougher band addressing
our issues with the original, and a
new heart-rate sensor bringing it
into line with rival activity trackers,
you simply wont find a better-value
fitness band than the Xiaomi Mi
Band 1S Pulse. It still falls down on
social interaction, apps and its use
of a proprietary charging cable, but
given the price we can accept these
shortcomings. J Marie Brewis
15/12/2015 16:47
Reviews
SET-TOP BOX
49
inc VAT
Contact
n
home.bt.com
Specifications
Build:
Features:
Performance:
Value:
Hardware
If youve been using BTs previous
YouView box (DTR-T2100), then
things will be familiar. Not only does
the box look the same, apart from
an Ultra HD logo, a glossy black
front panel instead of silver and a
single light on the front. However,
the remote control is identical, and
you can even carry on using your
existing one if you prefer.
Setup is simple plug in the
power, aerial cable and HDMI cable
to get going. You will need a 4K TV,
Performance
This may be the only Freeview
box on the market with 4K, but is
the Ultra HD YouView boxs main
selling point any good?
In a word, yes. We tested it on
an LG 55UF950 and the Ultra HD
channel looked stunning in its
3840x2160 resolution remember
double the resolution means four
times the amount of pixels when
moving from Full HD. The result (8
million pixels) is a superbly crisp
image that feels extremely lifelike,
theres a real wow factor here. Of
course, your TV will have an impact
on what things look like.
The 4K channel on offer here
is BT Sport Ultra HD, so this may
be the best thing ever or might
Verdict
The BT Ultra HD YouView is a
decent upgrade for new or existing
customers, but only if youre a
big sports fan. While the box has
1TB of storage and the quality of
the Ultra HD content is superb, a
single sports channel that often
shows demo footage is a bit of
a let down. J Chris Martin
052 BT 248.indd 52
15/12/2015 16:32
DIGITAL
EDITION ON
ANDROID
& iOS
tinyurl.com/kg776m8
15/12/2015 11:32
Reviews
99
inc VAT
Contact
n
home.bt.com
Specifications
Network surveillance
camera; Android 2.3 or
later, Apple iOS 5.1 or later;
built-in microphone; H.264
Video Modes: 720p
(1280x720, 9fps); 4 infrared
LEDs; 3Mp CMOS 1/3in
sensor; 3mm lens focal
length; F/2.0 lens iris;
78-degree horizontal field
of view; 45-degree vertical
field of view; Wi-Fi:
802.11b,g,n; 1-year warranty
Build:
Features:
Performance:
Value:
Design
Priced 99, its no surprise that the
Home Cam 100 is a 720p camera:
1280x720 pixels. There are four
infrared LEDs for night vision.
The glossy black finish looks
good, but it doesnt help the camera
blend in. White cameras are less
conspicuous, but you may not mind
the camera being seen. The plastic
stand really needs to be mounted
to a horizontal or vertical surface
plugs and screws are included but
it will sit on a shelf without tipping
over. The ball joint lets you point
it in a variety of directions, but
once fixed in place you cant alter
it remotely. Its an indoor camera,
so you cant install it outside.
Its easy to set up the camera
using only your phone. You dont
need to hook up a network cable
as with many cameras, as theres
no ethernet port. Instead, you flip
a switch on the back to Setup,
then search on your phone for
the cameras own Wi-Fi network.
Then its just a case of choosing
your routers Wi-Fi network,
entering the password and then
reconnecting your phone to that
same network. Youll need to
create an account via the app, just
an email address and password,
and name the camera. With that
done, you return the switch to
the Camera position and the app
will show the live feed so you can
adjust the angle to your liking.
The app appears to have been
designed for iOS 5 as it lacks the
look and feel of the latest versions.
The Android app isnt much better,
but does at least let you schedule
when to receive notifications.
Design, however, isnt really a
problem compared to the lack of
options and features available in
both Android and iOS apps.
Motion detection is supported
as youd expect. You can set the
Verdict
The Home Cam 100 is relatively
cheap, but without the subscription
its little more than a webcam.
The app is also dated and needs a
redesign. J Jim Martin
15/12/2015 16:35
Reviews
39
inc VAT
HP DeskJet 3630
Contact
n
hp.com/uk
Specifications
Four-colour A4 inkjet
printer; 1200x1200dpi front
resolution; 1200dpi
scanner resolution; Wi-Fi,
USB, Apple AirPrint;
60-sheet A4 paper tray;
manual two-side printing;
158x438x310mm; 4.2kg
Design
Build:
Features:
Performance:
Value:
Performance
Text quality is reasonable for such
an inexpensive printer, but leaves
room for improvement. The speed
of 8.5 pages per minute (ppm) is
perfectly respectable, although text
output is a little heavy. It will be fine
for printing routine letters or an
essay for the childrens homework,
but it lacks the smooth text outlines
that you can get from some of the
best inkjet printers. If you work from
home, then you might prefer a more
expensive printer for your business
documents and letters.
Text printing is expensive, too.
The standard size black ink cartridge
Verdict
The upfront cost of the DeskJet
3630 is genuinely good value for
money. The colour ink cartridges
arent too expensive either, so
you can certainly use the printer
15/12/2015 16:35
Reviews
103
inc VAT
Brother DCP-J562DW
Contact
n
brother.co.uk
Specifications
Four-colour A4 inkjet
printer; 1200x1200dpi print
resolution; 1200x2400dpi
scanner resolution; Wi-Fi,
USB, Apple AirPrint,
Google; 100-sheet A4
paper tray, 20-sheet
photo paper tray;
400x341x150mm; 7.2kg
Build:
Features:
Performance:
Value:
Performance
Print quality is a bit of a mixed
bag, though. Plain text printing
is very good, with smooth, finely
detailed characters, and the
DCP-J562DW managed a speed
of 9.5 pages per minute (ppm) in
our mono printing tests, which
isnt at all bad for a printer
costing just over 100.
Colour printing is a bit slower, at
around 3.5ppm, but the quality is
perfectly adequate for presentations
and other types of graphics
documents. However, photo printing
was a little disappointing, even when
using high-quality glossy photo
Running costs
Our biggest concern, though, is
with the printers running costs. The
first thing we noticed when setting
up the DCP-J562DW was that the
manual points out that the starter
cartridges provided with the printer
have only 80 percent of the capacity
of the standard size replacement
cartridges, which means that it
wont be too long before you have to
stump up for some new cartridges.
The standard black ink cartridges
cost a hefty 16.79 and only last
for 260 pages, which comes to
more than 6p per page. The XL size
black cartridges double the yield
to around 550 pages, but at 22.19
per cartridge that still works out
at about 4p per page, which is well
above average for an inkjet printer.
Colour printing is pricey, too.
The standard cyan, magenta, and
yellow cartridges cost 9.59 each
28.77 for all three together and
with the same 260-page yield as the
Verdict
We like the compact design of
the Brother DCP-J562DW, and its
print quality for text and graphics
is good for a printer in this price
range. However, photo output could
be better and the expensive ink
cartridges will sting you in the long
run. Rivals such as Epson and HP
have done a lot recently to reduce
the running costs for their printers,
so Brother needs to do more to keep
up with innovations such as Epsons
high-capacity Ecotank printers
or HPs Instant Ink subscription
scheme. J Cliff Joseph
15/12/2015 16:37
Reviews
POWERLINE ADAPTOR
69
inc VAT
Contact
n
netgear.co.uk
Specifications
1200Mb/s Powerline
adapters x 2; one gigabit
ethernet port per adaptor;
PLP1200 also features
PassThrough sockets.
Build:
Features:
Performance:
Value:
Design
Netgear offers two versions of
the Powerline 1200. The PL1200
(pictured) is a basic system, with
one gigabit ethernet port per
adaptor (you get two in the pack,
along with two ethernet cables).
Your other option is the PLP1200,
which offers the dame features but a
PassThrough socket on the front of
each adaptor. This means you wont
lose a valuable wall power socket
in each room where you deploy the
Powerlines. This adds about 10 on
to the price, and makes the adaptors
taller too. For the extra money wed
recommend this adaptor.
But both models lack features
that you may desire. For example,
that solitary gigabit ethernet port. If
you have multiple devices (smart TV,
Sky+, games console), the solitary
gigabit ethernet port is not going to
connect everything to your network.
You can, of course, swap out
the ethernet cable to the particular
Performance
Verdict
15/12/2015 16:38
Reviews
GADGET
99
inc VAT
Sphero SPRK
Contact
n
sphero.com
Specifications
Build:
Features:
Performance:
Value:
Learn to code
Coding is now part of the UK
national primary curriculum, and
thats scary to most parents and
teachers, whose knowledge of
15/12/2015 16:40
Reviews
SPRK coding
The block-based coding language
requires no previous experience
of programming, but children who
know a little Scratch will start faster
than complete novices.
You drag-and-drop actions
(colour, spin, move, change angle
of direction, speed, and so on)
in simple blocks from the apps
menu, and these commands lock
together in whatever order you
decide. Changing that order is as
easy as moving the blocks around
the screen. Even more fun is to
set actions and reactions around
events such as On Freefall, On
Collision and On Land.
Sensors give feedback regarding
heading, speed, and vertical
acceleration, and you can use these
to determine other actions, such as
Verdict
Sphero SPRK is a fantastic tool to
teach kids (and yourself) the basics
of programming. Children arent
sat at a desk staring at a screen.
Theyre running around the room,
controlling a hyper-active robot
15/12/2015 16:40
Reviews
GAME
30
inc VAT
Mad Max
Contact
n
madmaxgame.com
System requirements
Open world
Its set in a desolate postapocalyptic
world, with huge sand dunes and
vicious gangbased warfare. The
game is open world, with two main
pillars focused on exploration
and combat, both on foot and in a
vehicle. Although unknown by the
games inhabitants, players soon
discover that it is set in what would
be San Francisco, with whats left of
the Golden Gate bridge visible.
Visually, Mad Max is stunning,
especially when played on a PC
where it can really flex its graphical
muscles. You can see fine details
such as sand blowing in the wind
over dunes and the sunlight seeping
through the cracks of an abandoned,
desolate stronghold. Many open
world games fall flat with texturing,
as there is such a huge area to
cover, but Mad Max captures detail
perfectly, and buildings look as good
up close as they do from afar. It
15/12/2015 16:21
Reviews
Factions
The games post-apocalyptic
environment is split between
various factions, each with a
stronghold that Max can access at
any time. Establishing a friendly
relationship with these factions by
eliminating hostile enemies and
bases yields great results, including
additional side quests and unique
upgrades for your car.
As well as eliminating the
competition, Max can scavenge
parts for stronghold utilities
that will give the player access
to ammunition, fuel and water.
Other benefits include having
faction members pick up scrap
from destroyed cars automatically,
which saves you from doing it.
Improving utilities also improves
the stronghold visually, and over
time youll be able to restore each
stronghold to its former glory.
Combat systems
Since youre going to be spending
a lot of time driving around, youll
be glad to hear that Mad Max
has one of the best in-car control
systems weve ever used, even if it
took a little bit of getting used to
at first. Its extremely satisfying to
crash into a War Boy vehicle at top
speed and see it explode in a ball of
flames and debris, and it gets even
better when they fight back. In-car
combat is dirty, gritty and can be
tackled in a number of ways using
weapons at Maxs disposal.
You could, for example, stop
the car in its tracks by firing a
harpoon at the driver and pulling
him out, an ideal move when trying
locking horns with a huge convoy.
Plus, whenever you take aim,
time slows right down and allows
you to perfectly place each shot
for maximum effect and unlike
in many other games, theres no
time limit on the slow-mo mode.
The combination of weapons and
a slow-motion aim can bring huge
chains of destruction, which is
always satisfying to see. Whenever
Storyline
But what about the storyline, one
of the most integral parts of any
successful game? Sadly, this is one
area that is lacking. Main missions
feel like side ones collect X from
here, destroy base Y, race at location
Z, and so on and without a solid
narrative, the game falls flat on its
face. The storyline is usually our
main motivation for completing a
game, but here it feels as though
its developers have concentrated
too much on the customisation and
destruction of its post-apocalyptic
wasteland and forgotten about the
story. Dont get us wrong, we had
a great time exploring the open
world and blowing things up, but
wed like a good narrative to sink
our teeth into, too.
Verdict
Even with its weak storyline, Mad
Max is a pleasure to play. The
combat system is fantastic and
the sheer amount of violence and
explosions is enough to make
anyone happy. J Lewis Painter
March 2016 www.pcadvisor.co.uk/reviews 61
15/12/2015 16:21
Reviews
GAME
39
inc VAT
Until Dawn
Contact
n
supermassivegames.com
System requirements
Sony PlayStation 4
Doctor Hill
Its not just the butterfly effect
that makes this game interesting,
though. Early on youre introduced
to a shady psychiatrist named
Doctor Hill, who some gamers will
recognise as Prison Breaks Peter
Storemare. Doctor Hill breaks the
fourth wall and addresses you
directly to establish your fears and
anxiety triggers by showing you a
number of images, and making you
choose which one makes you feel
the most uneasy.
These choices include needles,
rats and clowns, and your choices
will reflect what you come across
during the game. In essence, the
game finds out your worst fears
and anxiety triggers, and uses
them to scare you even more than
a standard horror game would.
Scared of clowns or cockroaches?
You bet theyll make an appearance
at some point during the game.
However, as interesting as Doctor
Hills character was initially, he
15/12/2015 16:22
Reviews
Verdict
Overall, we enjoyed playing Until
Dawn. Itll take around 10- to 11
hours for a complete playthrough,
which to some may be relatively
short, but with the sheer amount
of possible storylines, it deserves
multiple playthroughs as youll
experience something different
every time. The use of the choiceand-consequence system makes
playing the game more interesting,
as youll find yourself questioning
each decision you make, and the
possible outcome of your choice.
Every element of this game has
been well thought out, from the
design of the environment to the
varying camera angles used, and
the finished product is one of our
favourite decision-based horror
games ever. J Lewis Painter
15/12/2015 16:23
Reviews
GAME
49
inc VAT
Contact
n
assassinscreed.ubi.com
System requirements
15/12/2015 16:24
Reviews
A note on bugs
Verdict
22/12/2015 10:09
GROUP TEST
Gaming
Laptops
Andrew Harrison puts five of the best laptops for gaming through their paces
TEST CENTRE
17/12/2015 15:36
GROUP TEST
17/12/2015 15:36
ASUS G501JW-F1201H
Build
Features
Performance
Value
Overall
red, including screen piping and monochomatic keyboard backlight.
The keys feels reassuringly well-damped, although the trackpad
lacks the precision we prefer from a 1,300 laptop.
For storage Asus includes another Samsung strength, the SM951
SSD in generous 512GB form. This fast PCIe x4 drive is a great match
for a fast machine. Its the same model but twice the size as the
firms 17in G751GT has. The fourth-generation Intel Core i7-4720HQ
remains a popular part for gaming laptops, more than fast enough
to accompany the GPU. With the single 8GB stick of 1600MHz RAM it
allowed decent Geekbench scores of 3494 and 12,801 points, singleand multi-core modes. Leveraging the meaty graphics, PCMark
8 Home complete with 3018 points. The IPS display was vibrant
covering 97 percent sRGB, with good if not great contrast up to
530:1. Accuracy could be bettered too with Delta E average of 3.43.
Switching to Intel graphics, the G501JW lasts for four hours 30
minutes in our streaming video test. Thats not bad for a gaming
laptop, but half the runtime of the non-gaming competition.
VERDICT: Asus has assembled a fast and lightweight gaming laptop,
with good results. The 4K-UHD screen is perhaps more about pose
than performance but at full-HD resolution this machine takes
Windows games in its stride at high detail.
17/12/2015 15:36
TEST CENTRE
Build
Features
Performance
Value
Overall
found the keyboard particularly classy, precise and quiet, although
the US layout on our sample meant a half-height Return key. The
UK version should have the standard double-height key.
Less attractive was the noisy trackpad, reasonably accurate but
with an annoying dull clunk evinced from every single finger tap. If
you use the 7559 in a reference library, expect scathing looks.
Two internal fans is not unusual for quad-core 15in laptops
but Dell fits three large air vents to secure ventilation. Following
good business practice, the bottom panel can be removed to allow
exchange of storage, memory, wireless card and battery service.
The new Skylake quad-core chip here beats an older chip at
same frequency, a Haswell (fourth-generation) Core i7-4720HQ.
Okay, so it beats it by only 2 percent or less in Geekbench (3577
and 12878 points compared to 3494 and 12801 from the Asus
G501). PCMark 8 Home returned a great result of 3018 points
using OpenCL acceleration; 2621 points without.
The nVidia graphics propelled the Dell in gaming to 55fps for
Batman: Arkham City at full-HD with all the stops out. Likewise,
Tomb Raider at Ultimate detail was possible, if now averaging
only 34fps. You could even experiment with UHD resolution we
recorded 27fps with Normal detail.
The touchscreen is an IPS panel for decent image quality. We
measured contrast ratio at 500:1 and theres 97 percent coverage of
the sRGB standard. Battery life was a usable five hours 27 minutes
streaming video wirelessly, if short for the large 74Wh battery.
VERDICT: The Inspirons powerful discrete graphics will please gamers,
although the reflective screen and a trying trackpad knock points off
usability. If you can live with these foibles, its good value.
17/12/2015 15:36
BES
ANCE
PERFORM
NT
EFFICIE
HP OMEN 15-5001na
Build
Features
Performance
Value
Overall
Storage is a 256GB M.2 SSD, four-lane PCIe but v2.0 so just
behind the curve. Wi-Fi is throttled to pre-2007 standards by
single-band 11n. Fast quad-core and PCIe SSD make the HP Omen
15 a quick laptop, scoring 3096 points in PCMark 8 Home, rising
to 3494 points with GPGPU assistance. Geekbench scored it 3446
points, or 12,936 all cores.
The IPS display has potential, but is marred by an untreated
mirror finish and gimmicky touch control, particularly redundant
on a gaming laptop. The HP Omen 15 almost covered full sRGB
gamut (97 percent), and had 580:1 contrast ratio. Colour accuracy
was so-so, averaged at 4.0 Delta E. But the backlight is cheap
PWM, meaning flicker. Like most touchscreen laptops, the panel
wobbles disconcertingly whenever its tapped.
Gaming is the key metric here, and as portended the Omen
15 coped well, averaging 53fps even in Metro: Last Light (full-HD,
High). Extreme detail in Batman: Arkham City at native res allowed
59fps; Ultimate settings in Tomb Raider gave a more controvertible
32fps. Battery life was just three hours 58 minutes.
VERDICT: The shiny touchscreen is a pointless ostentation raising the
price and weight besides sapping power, and network connectivity is
limited. Otherwise its a well built, stylish and speedy gaming laptop.
17/12/2015 15:36
Build
Features
Performance
Value
Overall
the U506 survived two hours 23 minutes of streaming video
wirelessly through its 2x2 802.11ac WiFi.
Build quality is outhouseclass, chunky and utilitarian, but
eminently serviceable, with two slideoff underside plates for
component access. Its an enthusiast machine through and through.
The display is another crowning achievement, a matt IPS panel
with superb image quality and little glare. The fullHD panel had up
to 630:1 contrast ratio and 90 percent sRGB gamut. NVidia 970M
graphics are central to gameplay, allowing maxedout settings for
one display in typical games. With 6GB of memory, two DisplayPort
1.2 and HDMI 2.0 you can also connect external displays.
With GSync disengaged, the U506 averaged 113fps in Highdetail
Tomb Raider, and 58fps set to Ultimate. Batman: Arkham City started
at 115fps and was still playing 86fps in top Extreme mode. Averaging
27fps, Metro: Last Light in Very High with all effects could be
upgraded to 88fps by reducing effects and setting to High instead.
Beyond gaming, it averaged 12784 points in Geekbench 3 from
this nonHyper Threading 3.5GHz CPU; or a recordbeating 4182
points singlecore. PCMark 8 Home returned a round 4000 points,
very much a superior desktop result.
VERDICT: Slipping a performance desktop PC processor into a laptop
may seem lunacy, but Schenker gets away with it, aided by the 14nm
Skylake architecture. How much it actually helps gaming is moot,
since weve seen nVidia GTX 970M run as fast, or faster, in laptops
with mobileclass chips. Besides benchmarkbusing results, Skylake
also means stateoftheart connectivity such as Thunderbolt 3. As
a workstation gaming or CAD the chassis and top components
make a powerhouse with real performance to spare.
17/12/2015 15:36
BES
ANCE
PERFORM
NT
EFFICIE
Build
Features
Performance
Value
Overall
The Satellite P50T also features a Blu-ray drive able to write and
read BDs besides DVD media. Its tray kept popping out whenever
the laptop was picked up, though.
Connectors are typical for a mid-range model, with three USB 3.0
ports, ethernet and an SD card slot, though only one video output,
HDMI 1.4, limited to 1600p/60. Its unlikely youd want to connect
a second 4K display, but if you do, this is going to be a problem. A
2560x1440 screen will be fine, though.
While the laptop lands with Windows 8.1, our sample had been
changed to 10, and a Cortana button can be found on the F1 key. The
keyboard is a high-quality design, with a reassuringly firm frame
and professional slick action. Toshibas chosen Synaptics trackpad is
better than budget too, a large and buttonless design.
The use of a hybrid disk drive and up-to-date Intel processor
means the P50T feels reasonably fluent in use. Geekbench 3 scored
the system with 5460 points using all processor cores, and 2766
points single-core. The PCMark 8 Home results were less convincing,
just 1797 points, lifted marginally to 2128 points with the help of
graphics acceleration.
VERDICT: The Satellite P50T has high-end touches on a mid-range
model, such as UHD IGZO screen and nVidia gaming graphics, plus
some metal machining to suggest premium build. Its let down by
a reflective screen and lousy battery life. Despite underwhelming
benchmark results, it should be speedy enough for general duties.
TEST CENTRE
17/12/2015 15:36
Conclusion
Its hard to pick a winner from the selection
here. Each model offers a compelling reason
to buy it, but also at least one reason not to.
The cheapest model here the Toshiba
has a decent 4K screen and good power for
the money, but some will be put off by the
reflective touchscreen and poor battery life.
If youre looking for more power, the
Schenker delivers in spades thanks to its
desktop processor. But it doesnt really
improve gaming performance and its hardly
the last word in portability or style. We do
like its matt screen finish, though.
A cheaper option is the Asus, which
also has a matt-finish screen. Here its a
4K panel and a good one. There are a few
annoyances, though, such as the lack of
an ethernet port (an adaptor is supplied)
and relatively limited storage.
The HP Omens styling might appeal
to you, but the relatively high price would
appear to be due to the unnecessary
TEST CENTRE
17/12/2015 16:15
BES
ANCE
PERFORM
NT
EFFICIE
Speed tests
PCMark 8 & Home
ASUS
DELL
Model
G501JW-F1201H
Inspiron 15 7599
OS
Windows 10 Home
Display size
Display type
IPS gloss
Processor
Graphics
Memory
Storage
Ethernet
Gigabit ethernet
Wi-Fi
Bluetooth
Bluetooth 4.0
Bluetooth 4.0
Cellular
N/A
N/A
Optical drive
None
None
USB
3x USB 3.0
3x USB 3.0
Video ports
HDMI 1.2
HDMI 1.4
Card slot
SDXC
SDXC
Speakers
Stereo
Stereo
Webcam
0.9Mp
0.9Mp
Microphone
Single mic
Audio IO
Keyboard
Trackpad
Battery
Power charger
Dimensions
381x255x20.6mm
383x265x26.1mm
Weight
2122g
2766g
TEST CENTRE
17/12/2015 15:37
Battery life
HP
SCHENKER
TOSHIBA
Omen 15-5001na
XMG U506
Satellite P50T-C-109
Windows 8.1
IPS gloss
IPS gloss
Gigabit ethernet
Gigabit ethernet
Bluetooth 4.0
Bluetooth 4.0
Bluetooth 4.0
N/A
N/A
None
None
BDRE/DVDRW, trayload
4x USB 3.0
3x USB 3.0
HDMI
SDXC
SDXC
SDXC
Stereo
Stereo
Stereo
2.1Mp
2Mp
0.9Mp
Single mic
Single mic
Buttonless, 140x65mm
Buttonless, 106x66mm
382x249x20.8mm
387x266x37.5mm
380x257x23.7mm
2150g
3350g
2333g
TEST CENTRE
17/12/2015 15:37
GROUP TEST
If the worst happens and youre involved in an accident, dash cams are a great
way of proving responsibility. Jim Martin looks at five of the latest models
Features
GPS: This allows the camera to record your
route as well as your speed. The GPS data is
synched up with the video clips when played
back in special software, so you can watch
TEST CENTRE
22/12/2015 09:34
GROUP TEST
TEST CENTRE
Some cameras have extra features that warn you when you
veer out of your lane, or you get too close to the car in front.
These are useful if they only operate over a certain speed
Insurance: Since some insurers have a
limited list of cameras, its important to get
one they recognise. However, if you change
insurers regularly, it isnt worth paying more
for a camera on one insurers list.
Warranty: Warranty, as always, differs
from model to model. Expect at least one
year, but for cameras ordered from China,
getting a warranty repair may be costly
and take a long time. In fact, even if you
purchase a camera from a UK supplier, it still
22/12/2015 09:36
Build
Features
Performance
Value
Overall
Performance
Proving that you cant look at a cameras
specifications on paper and decide how good its
video quality will be, the Asus outperformed cameras
with higher resolutions. It may not be the best quality video,
but whats important is that you can see details such as
registration plates when you pause the video.
The HDR mode isnt noticeably different to the standard
mode: both appear to expose the scene well. At night, it
clearly offers a better exposure than its rivals, with much
more shadow detail, and colours arent washed out.
In the menu, you can disable the ultra-wide angle mode,
but the difference in the field of view is minimal. Both options
are wide (140- and 160 degrees), with noticeable distortion, just as
youd expect from such a wide field of view.
Audio is good, with the bass frequencies removed to cut out
rumble and drone, and theres plenty of treble.
The problem was that the GPS receiver struggled to pick up a signal
quickly during our tests, taking several minutes, even if it had had a
signal when we parked up five minutes ago. By contrast, the Dome
and Cobra had no such problems. The software may be in English,
but it crashed from time to time, and refused to load the map, telling
us the page cannot be displayed. Asus is working on a fix.
VERDICT: Despite problems with the GPS and software, the Asus Reco
Classic is a great dash cam, which records useful video. Its not the
cheapest model out there, but its still pretty good value.
Detail
Day
Night
TEST CENTRE
22/12/2015 09:34
Build
Features
Performance
Value
Overall
Detail
Day
Night
TEST CENTRE
22/12/2015 09:34
BES
ANCE
PERFORM
NT
EFFICIE
Build
Features
Performance
Value
Overall
DOME D201-1
Detail
Day
Night
TEST CENTRE
22/12/2015 09:34
Build
Features
Performance
Value
Overall
Detail
Day
Night
TEST CENTRE
22/12/2015 09:34
BES
ANCE
PERFORM
NT
EFFICIE
Build
Features
Performance
Value
Overall
Detail
Day
Night
TEST CENTRE
22/12/2015 09:34
MW Digital filler.indd 75
01/06/2015 15:47
ASUS
COBRA
Model
Reco Classic
CDR 840E
Website
Asus.co.uk
Cobraelectronics.co.uk
140
118
Video format
MOV
H.264 AVI
Screen size
2in
1.5in
Wi-Fi
GPS
G-sensor
Speaker
N/A
Not stated
Memory card
Not included
Accessories
Connectors
82x52x48mm
99x61x38mm
App
N/A
N/A
TEST CENTRE
22/12/2015 09:35
Conclusion
All of the dash cams here do a decent job of
recording your journey. You dont necessarily
have to pay more to get one with GPS, and
this is a useful feature if you need to prove
the speed at which you were driving if youre
involved in an accident.
Wi-Fi is generally an unnecessary luxury
as the only real advantage is being able to
download clips to your smartphone. This is
a slow process and in most cases its better
to simply use a card reader (or the camera
itself) and copy or watch the footage on
your computer. You can also use their video
outputs to review clips on a TV.
DOME
SJCAM
TRANSCEND
D201-1
SJ5000X Elite
DrivePro 200
Szdome.com
Sjcamhd.com
Uk.transcend-info.com
1080p, 30fps
170
160
MP4
MP4
MOV
2.7in
2in
2.4in
Not stated
80 minutes at 1080p
N/A
16GB
96x49x45mm
61x42x25mm
67x70x35mm
N/A
iOS, Android
iOS, Android
TEST CENTRE
22/12/2015 09:35
FEATURE
IMPROVE SMARTPHONE
BATTERY LIFE
Fed up with charging your phone every night? Jim Martins tips will make your battery last longer
2 timeout short
17/12/2015 10:10
FEATURE
Go easy on location
8 notifications
Push email
10
Power-saving modes
6 in the background
17/12/2015 10:10
FEATURE
RAMming speed
Well, this. This is what happens.
Utter memory module carnage.
Since weve already gone this
far, lets tear this bad boy apart
to see what makes modern
RAM modules tick.
15/12/2015 09:41
FEATURE
Social circles
Each of the copper lines running through
the PCB is a single electrical connection.
The small circles you can see in the
copper pathways are the point where
the connections traverse between the
many layers in the PCB.
15/12/2015 09:41
Bumpy ride
The silicon-based memory chips are connected to the PCB
using the many small metal bumps on their underside.
15/12/2015 09:42
A modern marvel
The truly amazing thing to acknowledge
is the complexity of a RAM DIMM. From
the copper traces to the supporting
hardware to the packaging, RAM is
a modern marvel. Whats even more
amazing is that all of this complexity can
be yours for one click and about 30. J
15/12/2015 11:38
FEATURE
16 GAMES
BEST FREE PC
Dota 2
We might as well start with Dota 2, considering it still maintains
the biggest e-sports prize on the planet: the International 5
featured a prize pool of $18 million this year. Its huge. Dota 2
is a successor to the WarCraft III mod DOTA, or Defense of the
Ancients, the godfather of the now-booming Multiplayer online
battle arena (MOBA) genre. Players pick a hero and battle it out
against the other team, competing to bring down the enemy base
by outmanoeuvring foes with skilful tactics. Or, if youre like us, you
pick a hero and mess something up five minutes in and your entire
team gets angry because they know you just lost them the game.
17/12/2015 15:15
FEATURE
League of Legends
Team Fortress 2
Team Fortress 2 is the first non-MMO,
big-budget game we remember.
Whatever deal with the devil Valve
made to turn Team Fortress 2 into a
free-to-play shooter, it clearly worked.
Eight years after its release, its still one
of the top-five most-played games on
Steam on any given day.
15/12/2015 11:27
Path of Exile
Path of Exile is an action role-playing
game (RPG) in the Diablo II vein you
explore randomly-generated maps,
click things until they die, collect loot,
and repeat. There are seven classes
(six to start) and the skill trees are so
complicated you might have an aneurysm.
This summers Awakening expansion
added an entire new chapter to the
story, plus made the levelling even more
modular than before. Simply put, this is
the best action-RPG of the past few years.
If you were disappointed by Diablo III, try
Path of Exile. If you werent disappointed,
try it anyway. The games free, after all.
Marvel Heroes
If you prefer your action-RPGs with a bit
more spandex, Marvel Heroes is where its
at. The game is similar to a free-to-play
version of the fantastic Marvel: Ultimate
Alliance series, with a wide roster of classic
characters available to unlock (if you have
the time) with in-game currency.
Hearthstone
Hearthstone is a collectible card game
(CCG), developed by Blizzard and based
on the WarCraft universe. Like Magic: The
Gathering, Pokmon, and other physical
CCGs of old, your task is to create the
most advantageous deck and battle it
against your opponents.
Blizzards been adding new content
to the game at a prodigious pace, and at
the time of writing was in the process of
releasing the new League of Explorers
adventure, with all new cards and
mechanics. The downside? Its becoming
harder to get into Hearthstone, as each
new expansion makes the game a bit less
accessible to newcomers.
15/12/2015 11:27
War Thunder
If you prefer your combat in the air, try
War Thunder. Its a World War II flight
simulator that throws dozens of players
onto the same map in massive battles.
Gaijin (the developers) has made
some horrible decisions with this game.
It tries to get you to spend money at
every turn, its made some questionable
balance decisions, and so on. So why is
it on this list? Because its also a much
better simulator than World of Tanks
or World of Warplanes. And it has the
potential to be great again. If it continues
its rather prodigious decline, well stop
recommending it, though.
World of Tanks
Wargaming has built up quite a catalogue
of games in the past few years, but its
still World of Tanks that gets most of the
attention. Sick of War Thunders asinine
updates, or simply tired of all those
planes buzzing around with their dumb
propellers? World of Tanks is all-tanks-allthe-time. A veritable planet full of tanks.
But its just one slice of Wargamings
ever-expanding combat empire. If you
start to miss those dumb propellers you
can always check out World of Warplanes,
and old salts can sail to their hearts
content in World of Warships.
15/12/2015 11:27
Tribes: Ascend
A few months ago we would have cut
Tribes: Ascend from this list. Developer
Hi-Rez had basically abandoned the game
to work on Smite, the community was
dead, and all hope seemed lost though
the core shooting experience has always
been fast-paced, high-flying (literally) fun.
But in September Hi-Rez released a
patch, appropriately named Out of the
Blue, and suddenly we find ourselves
hoping Tribes: Ascend can resurrect itself
and become great again. The world needs
a shooter that makes you hate yourself
even more than Counter-Strike.
Wildstar
For an MMO thats friendly to its freeto-play users try Wildstar. Its the classic
case of: Game launches with subscription,
game dies on the vine, developers go freeto-play, game doesnt suck, game starts to
revive. Sort of.
An action-heavy, ultra-hardcore MMO,
Wildstar was supposed to be the next big
MMO. Now that its free-to-play, maybe
those dreams are a bit more realistic.
15/12/2015 11:27
Tera
Another action-heavy MMO, Tera came
highly recommended by a number of
people when we originally made this list.
We gave it a shot, and can definitely see
the appeal: fantastic graphics, excellent
combat (for an MMO), and a solid free-toplay model. The writing and quest design
arent great, but Tera definitely deserves
a nod if youre looking for a modern
fantasy MMO that breaks out of the
World of Warcraft mould.
StarCraft Arcade
WarCraft III was a fine real-time-strategy
(RTS) game in its own right, but it was
the custom games that really set it apart
Defense of the Ancients, for instance,
which led directly to Dota 2/Heroes of
the Storm/League of Legends.
Perhaps hoping to replicate that
success, Blizzard has made it free for
you to play any custom StarCraft II
maps. Download the free StarCraft II
Starter Edition and you can jump in. And
if youre curious about the new Legacy
of the Void expansion, Blizzards also
made a free three-mission prologue
titled Whispers of Oblivion available.
Warframe
Warframe should be one of the bad freeto-play games. It gets repetitive. It is a
grind. There are major balance issues.
Theres a lot of waiting around, which can
be solved by dumping money into the
game. It is, in other words, a predatory
free-to-play game. But you get to play
as a space ninja, teaming up with other
space ninjas to kick butt and take names
across the galaxy. The core concept kept
us coming back long past the point where
we were annoyed with the game. J
15/12/2015 11:27
FEATURE
5 COOL
GOOGLE
DRIVE
FEATURES
Power up your productivity with drag-and-drop uploads, quick creation links, and more.
By Michael Ansaldo
1. Drag-and-drop files
Normally when you want to upload a file to
Google Drive, you hit the New button, select
File upload, and then navigate the folders on
your computer to grab the file you need.
Heres a simpler way: just drag the file(s)
from Windows Explorer or the Mac OS Finder
into your Google Drive file list. Googles dragand-drop icon will appear and youll see a
progress bar showing you the upload status.
3. Search by sender
Googles collaboration capabilities probably
have you working on a number of shared
documents at any given time. It can, however,
be hard to keep tabs on who sent you what,
4. Convert PDFs
and images into text
While youre probably taking advantage
of Drive to store all kinds of files, you may
not be aware you can use its built-in OCR
technology to convert non-text documents
like images and PDFs into editable text.
15/12/2015 10:04
FEATURE
5. Translate documents
Given the global nature of business today,
you may find yourself occasionally working
with documents written in another language.
You could cut and past the text into the
15/12/2015 10:04
HOW TO
10/12/2015 12:25
HOW TO
Factory restore
Many laptops and PCs have a hidden
partition on the hard drive which contains
a copy of the original Windows, programs,
drivers and settings which were on your
computer when it arrived. Upgrading to
Windows 10 shouldnt have affected this,
so it should still be intact.
Whether or not you can access it is
another matter. Typically you can look
out for a message while your computer
is starting up, such as Press F11 for
recovery options. When you press the
appropriate key, you should be presented
with a menu that will include the option to
restore factory settings.
On some computers, youll still have a
Windows application which allows you to
perform a restore by using the manufacturers own method. On
an Acer Aspire laptop, for example, we found the Acer Recovery
Management app which made it simple to go back to the original
version of Windows which came in the box.
Performing a restore will wipe the C: drive, so you will lose all
your personal files and settings. So youll still have to back these
up, and youll still have plenty of Windows updates and programs
to install after the restore is complete. You shouldnt have to worry
about anything not working, since the drivers will be reinstalled.
But any hardware youve added will need their drivers reinstalled.
10/12/2015 12:26
10/12/2015 12:19
Click, this then when prompted for an email address, select the
I dont have this persons sign-in information option, and on the
next page click Add a user without a Microsoft account.
Now just enter the username and password you want for the
account and it will be created.
The new account will be a standard user, but if you want to upgrade
it to an Administrator then when youre in the Family & other users
section click on the account and select Change account type, and
select Administrator. Thats it, now you can login to your machine
without a Microsoft account. J
17/12/2015 15:22
10/12/2015 12:21
10/12/2015 12:21
11/12/2015 10:38
Now youll see a blue box named Accounts, listing the ones
already found by Mail, and offering the option to add an
account. Click on this and youll be given a list of popular services
(Gmail, Yahoo, iCloud, Exchange), plus Other account the latter
will enable you to add whichever service you prefer.
Setting up the account is a simple case of selecting the relevant
option, then entering your email address and password. Mail will
then test the connection and make all the necessary adjustments.
Once this is done youll be brought back to the Accounts windows
where you can click on Ready to go and launch the app.
Deleting an account
If you decide you no longer want an account in Mail, click
on the three lines to open the Menu bar, right click on the
account name, select Account settings, and then choose
Delete account and click Delete to confirm. J
11/12/2015 10:38
The idea behind System Restore is simple. While you use your PC,
Windows is periodically taking a snapshot of your system all the
apps, data, and the operating system itself and saving it on your
hard drive. Then if you hit a point where you develop a problem,
System Restore allows you to go back to a previous instance, before
the problem arose, so you can salvage the situation. The clever
part is that your data documents, images, and such remain
unmolested, whereas any apps youve installed after that point in
time are removed. Even so, we still strongly recommend making a
full backup of any data you need before you begin this process.
10/12/2015 12:07
10/12/2015 12:08
confusing that most sane minds can handle. If all of this is too
much, and youre happy with the idea of shedding your password,
then in a few steps you can make Windows 10 remove the need for
a password when you log in. Be sure to think this through though,
as convenience and security do not often make glad bedfellows.
from sleep, you will go straight to the desktop rather than the
cumbersome log in screen. There, thats it, youre now released
from the shackles of passwords, but of course remember, so is
anyone else who has access to your PC. If this risk proves too
stressful, then reverse the process above and your password will
once again protect your precious data. J
10/12/2015 12:10
really serves to slow down your access to the device. Disabling the
lock screen isnt quite as simple as clicking an option in Settings,
but its still something that can be done easily in a couple of
minutes if you follow our guide.
NoLockScreen and a pop-up box will appear with the Value Data box
highlighted. In here change the value from 0 to 1 then click OK.
Now, when you reboot your machine the Lock Screen should be
nothing but a distant memory.
10/12/2015 12:22
You should now see that the Find My Device screen has
changed to Find My Device is on as seen here. To make
sure that everything is working, log in to tinyurl.com/nkL4ury
with your Microsoft account and you should see the name of your
PC listed under Your devices.
If you dont know the name of your device, right-click on the
Start button and select System. In the Control Panel window that
opens youll see it under Computer name. J
08/12/2015 15:00
How to: Clear the clutter when you print a web page
Chrome
With Chrome cooking up its own print option, the best option is to
use an extension such as Evernote Clearly (tinyurl.com/q8gtu7h).
This creates a simplified reading page, which you can then print
out. The downside is that it requires an Evernote account. If you
dont already use Evernote, you can choose other extensions
such as Print Friendly & PDF.
10/12/2015 12:12
download apps for months or years without even realising all the
cool stuff it can do. This guide will walk you through the more
advanced features of the Google Play app.
Parental controls
Password preferences
11/12/2015 10:42
App permissions
Auto-update settings
Redeem a gift
card or promo code
11/12/2015 10:42
and calls > Backup Chats. This will now create a backup on your SD
card, which you can then swap into your new handset.
Reinstall WhatsApp on your replacement device (with the
SD card inserted) and the app should spot your backup and
automatically restore the chat history.
Restoring messages on an
Android phone using an SD card
If you have an Android phone with an SD card, then the process
for transferring your chat history is reasonably straightforward.
Open the app, then tap the Menu icon then go to Settings > Chats
10/12/2015 12:14
DOWNLOADS ZONE
Welcome to the PC Advisor Software Downloads Zone
Youve probably noticed that theres no
cover disc with this months issue. Weve
taken the hard decision to remove the
disc and move to online downloads.
Most software developers distribute
their programs online rather than on CDs
or DVDs. And more often than not in the
past, developers required PC Advisor
readers to use online registration, and
increasingly demanded that software
be downloaded rather than allowing
them to be included on the cover disc. So
despite there being a disc taped to the
cover, there would often be little more
than a link to download the software.
For these reasons, weve created a new
Downloads Zone on our website. And to
make things as easy as possible, we have
removed the need for individual codes to
download or register each program.
The only code youll need is
DOWNLOAD1215, which you can
enter at the following page:
pcadvisor.co.uk/magazine/download
Once logged in, youll be able to
browse the software on offer or search
for something specific using the search
box, or click the Downloads link at the
top of each page and browse by category.
The Downloads Zone has hundreds of
great programs and apps that are just a
click or two away.
March 2016 shop.pcadvisor.co.uk 117
07/12/2015 17:01
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07/12/2015 17:00
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07/12/2015 17:00
TOP5CHARTS
TEST CENTRE
PC Advisors charts rank and rate the best products every month. If youre looking
to buy the latest and greatest kit, look no further than our 100-plus reviews
121
122
123
124
125
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140
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145
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144
TEST CENTRE
07/12/2015 17:12
Top 5 charts
Best laptops
Aorus X7 v2
Alienware 13
5
Apple MacBook Pro Retina 13in
Price
Website
Aorus.com
Alienware.co.uk
Apple.com/uk
Hp.com/uk
Apple.com/uk
Build rating
Features rating
Performance rating
Value rating
Overall rating
Processor
RAM
16GB DDR3
16GB DDR3L
8GB DDR3L
8GB LPDDR3
Storage
256GB SSD
256GB SSD
256GB SSD
128GB SSD
Screen size
17.3in matt
13.3in matt
15.4in matt
14in matt
13.3in matt
Screen resolution
1920x1080
1920x1080
2880x1800
1920x1080
2560x1600
Graphics
Video memory
8GB
2GB
N/A
N/A
N/A
Wireless
802.11a/b/g/n/ac
802.11ac
802.11a/b/g/n/ac
802.11a/b/g/ac
802.11a/b/g/n/ac
Ethernet
Gigabit
Gigabit
Gigabit
Gigabit
Gigabit
Bluetooth
USB
3x USB 3.0
2x USB 3.0
2x USB 3.0
2x USB 3.0
FireWire
Thunderbolt
DisplayPort
HDMI
DVI
VGA
eSATA
Audio
Optical drive
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
Extras
HD webcam
2Mp webcam
720p FaceTime
0.9Mp webcam
720p FaceTime
Operating system
Windows 8.1
OS X Yosemite
Windows 7 Professional
OS X Yosemite
Bundled software
None
None
None
None
None
Gaming scores
Not tested
Not tested
Battery
74.7Wh lithium-polymer
52Wh lithium-polymer
74.9Wh lithium-ion
42Wh lithium-polymer
74.9Wh lithium-ion
Battery life
1 hr 48 mins
10 hrs 20 mins
8 hrs 58 mins
5 hrs 41 mins
17 hrs 5 mins
PCMark7 score
6304
5429
Not tested
4783
Not tested
Dimensions
425x303x24.5mm
328x235x26.7mm
358.9x247.1x18mm
338x232x17.3mm
314x219x18mm
Weight
3.2kg
2kg
2kg
1.6kg
1.6kg
Warranty
2-year return-to-base
1-year collect-and-return
1-year return-to-base
2-year return-to-base
1-year return-to-base
FULL REVIEW
TINYURL.COM/KLUXLGE
TINYURL.COM/O8VXAGL
TINYURL.COM/O6U4NCR
TINYURL.COM/OWV2FRR
TINYURL.COM/NG98LD4
07/12/2015 17:12
Top 5 charts
Best
budget laptops
Asus X555LA-XX290H
Toshiba Chromebook 2
Dell Vostro 15
Acer Chromebook 13
Price
Website
Asus.com/uk
Toshiba.co.uk
Dell.co.uk
Toshiba.co.uk
Acer.co.uk
Processor
Intel Celeron
100
RAM
4GB DDR3
4GB DDR3
4GB DDR3
2GB DDR3
4GB DDR3
Storage
1TB HDD
16GB SSD
500GB SSD
32GB eMMC
32GB SSD
Screen size
15.6in glossy
13.3in IPS
15.3in matt
11.6in glossy
13.3in
Screen resolution
1366x768
1920x1080
1366x768
1366x768
1920x1080
Graphics
Intel HD Graphics
Intel HD Graphics
nVidia Kepler
Video memory
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
Wireless
802.11b/g/n
802.11a/b/g/n/ac
802.11b/g/n/ac
802.11b/g/n
802.11a/b/g/n/ac
Ethernet
Gigabit
Gigabit
Gigabit
Gigabit
Gigabit
Bluetooth
USB
2x USB 3.0
FireWire
Thunderbolt
DisplayPort
HDMI
DVI
VGA
eSATA
Audio
Headphone minijack
Headphone minijack
Headphone minijack
Headphone minijack
Headphone minijack
Optical drive
DVD writer
None
None
None
None
Extras
Webcam
Webcam
Operating system
Windows 8.1
Google Chrome OS
Windows 8.1
Google Chrome OS
Bundled software
None
None
None
None
None
Battery
37Wh Lithium-ion
Not specified
40Wh Lithium-polymer
26Wh Lithium-ion
Not specified
Battery life
5 hrs 17 mins
9 hrs
5 hrs 17 mins
6 hrs
9 hrs 20 mins
1985
Not tested
2296
Not tested
Not tested
Batman (Low/High)
30fps/Not tested
Not tested
29fps/Not tested
Not tested
Not tested
Dimensions
381x257x26.3mm
320x214x19.3mm
1378x259x24.5mm
315x216x20.3mm
18x327x227.5mm
Weight
2.1kg
1.4kg
2.4kg
1.1kg
1.5kg
Warranty
1-year return-to-base
1 year
1 year
1 year
1 year
FULL REVIEW
TINYURL.COM/OMYZQJ3
TINYURL.COM/OP9NQAY
TINYURL.COM/NDAX6WT
TINYURL.COM/OQC4PUO
TINYURL.COM/Q2YT5AD
Build rating
Features rating
Performance rating
Value rating
Overall rating
TEST CENTRE
07/12/2015 17:12
Top 5 charts
Best
ultraportable
laptops
Price
Website
Apple.com/uk
Hp.com/uk
Apple.com/uk
Dell.co.uk
Microsoft.com/en-gb
Processor
RAM
8GB LPDDR3
8GB DDR3L
4GB LPDDR3
8GB DDR3
4GB DDR3
Storage
128GB SSD
256GB SSD
128GB SSD
256GB SSD
64GB SSD
Screen size
13.3in matt
14in matt
13.3in glossy
13.3in IPS
12in ClearType
Screen resolution
2560x1600
1920x1080
1440x900
3200x2000
2160x1440
Graphics
Video memory
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
Wireless
802.11a/b/g/n/ac
802.11a/b/g/ac
802.11a/b/g/n/ac
802.11ac
802.11a/b/g/n/ac
Ethernet
Gigabit
Gigabit
None
Gigabit
None
Bluetooth
USB
2x USB 3.0
2x USB 3.0
2x USB 3.0
2x USB 3.0
1x USB 3.0
FireWire
Thunderbolt
DisplayPort
HDMI
DVI
VGA
eSATA
Audio
Headphone jack
Optical drive
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
Extras
720p FaceTime
0.9Mp webcam
720p FaceTime
720p webcam
5Mp webcam
Operating system
OS X Yosemite
Windows 7 Professional
OS X Yosemite
Bundled software
None
None
None
None
Gaming scores
Not tested
Not tested
Battery
74.9Wh lithium-ion
42Wh lithium-polymer
38Wh lithium-ion
52Wh lithium-polymer
8000mAh lithium-ion
Battery life
17 hrs 5 mins
5 hrs 41 mins
12 hrs 49 mins
6 hrs 12 mins
9 hrs
PCMark 7 score
Not tested
4783
Not tested
Not tested
Not tested
Dimensions
314x219x18mm
338x232x17.3mm
300x192x17mm
304x200x15mm
292x201.3x9.1mm
Weight
1.6kg
1.6kg
1.4kg
1.3kg
0.8kg
Warranty
1-year return-to-base
2-year return-to-base
1-year return-to-base
1-year return-to-base
FULL REVIEW
TINYURL.COM/NG98LD4
TINYURL.COM/OWV2FRR
TINYURL.COM/PH3YN5K
TINYURL.COM/PPD3BYW
TINYURL.COM/OLDJ9KK
Build rating
Features rating
Performance rating
Value rating
Overall rating
07/12/2015 17:12
Top 5 charts
Best
Chromebooks
Toshiba Chromebook 2
Acer Chromebook 13
Dell Chromebook 11
HP Chromebook 14
Price
Website
Toshiba.co.uk
Acer.co.uk
Dell.co.uk
Hp.com/uk
Uk.asus.com
Processor
Intel Celeron
RAM
4GB DDR3
4GB DDR3
4GB DDR3
4GB DDR3
2GB DDR3
Storage
16GB SSD
32GB SSD
16GB SSD
16GB SSD
16GB SSD
Screen size
13.3in IPS
13.3in
11.6in glossy
14in glossy
11.6in glossy
Screen resolution
1920x1080
1920x1080
1366x768
1366x768
1366x768
Graphics
Intel HD graphics
nVidia Kepler
Intel HD Graphics
Intel HD graphics
Intel HD graphics
Video memory
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
Wireless
802.11a/b/g/n/ac
802.11a/b/g/n/ac
802.11a/b/g/n
802.11a/b/g/n
802.11a/b/g/n
Ethernet
Gigabit
Gigabit
Gigabit
Gigabit
Gigabit
Bluetooth
USB
2x USB 3.0
2x USB 3.0
FireWire
Thunderbolt
DisplayPort
HDMI
DVI
VGA
eSATA
Audio
Headphone minijack
Headphone minijack
Headphone minijack
Headphone minijack
Headphone minijack
Optical drive
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
Webcam
Webcam
Webcam
Webcam
Webcam
Operating system
Google Chrome OS
Google Chrome OS
Google Chrome OS
Google Chrome OS
Google Chrome OS
Bundled software
None
None
None
None
None
Battery life
9 hrs
9 hrs 20 mins
7 hrs 17 mins
7 hrs 50 mins
6 hrs 7 mins
SunSpider score
Not tested
660ms
465ms
470ms
502ms
Peacekeeper score
Not tested
Not tested
2468
2478
2453
Browsermark score
Not tested
Not tested
3732
3643
3698
Dimensions
320x214x19.3mm
18x327x227.5mm
295x201x24mm
20.5x345x239mm
19.1x288x204mm
Weight
1.4kg
1.5kg
1.3kg
1.7kg
1.4kg
Warranty
1 year
1 year
1 year
1 year
1 year
FULL REVIEW
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Build rating
Features rating
Performance rating
Value rating
Overall rating
Extras
TEST CENTRE
07/12/2015 17:12
Top 5 charts
Best
gaming laptops
Asus G751T-T717H
Alienware 13
Price
Website
Asus.com/uk
Mysn.co.uk
Alienware.co.uk
UK.msi.com
Toshiba.co.uk
Build rating
Features rating
Performance rating
Value rating
Overall rating
Processor
2.3GHz Intel Core i7-4850HQ 3.5GHz Intel Core i5-6600K 2.4GHz Intel Core i7-5500U
RAM
Storage
256GB SSD
1TB SHDD
Screen size
17.3in matt
15.6in matt
13.3in matt
15.6in matt
15.6in matt
Screen resolution
1920x1080
1920x1080
1920x1080
1920x1080
3840x2160
Graphics
Video memory
Not specified
Not specified
2GB
3GB
Not specified
Wireless
802.11ac
802.11ac
802.11ac
802.11ac
802.11ac
Ethernet
Gigabit
Gigabit
Gigabit
Gigabit
Gigabit
Bluetooth
USB
4x USB 3.0
3x USB 3.0
3x USB 3.0
3x USB 3.0
FireWire
Thunderbolt
DisplayPort
HDMI
DVI
VGA
eSATA
Audio
Optical drive
None
None
None
N/A
BD-RE/DVDRW
Extras
Integrated webcam
2Mp webcam
2Mp webcam
2.1Mp webcam
0.9Mp webcam
Operating system
Windows 8.1
Windows 8.1
Windows 8.1
Windows 8.1
Bundled software
None
None
None
None
None
Gaming scores
Battery
90Wh lithium-ion
82Wh lithium-polymer
52Wh lithium-polymer
48Wh lithium-ion
44Wh lithium-polymer
Battery life
3 hrs 9 mins
2 hrs 23 mins
10 hrs 20 mins
2 hrs 49 mins
3 hrs 20 mins
PCMark 7 score
Not tested
4000 (PCMark 8)
5429
6241
1797 (PCMark 8)
Dimensions
389x265x20.3mm
387x266x37.5mm
328x235x26.7mm
389x265x20.3mm
380x257x23.7mm
Weight
416x318x39-82mm
3.4kg
2kg
2kg
2.3kg
Warranty
1 year
1 year
1-year collect-and-return
2-year return-to-base
1 year
FULL REVIEW
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07/12/2015 17:12
Top 5 charts
Best
gaming PCs
Vibox Spawn X
Price
Website
Wired2fire.co.uk
Chillblast.com
Vibox.co.uk
Meshcomputers.co.uk
Eclipsecomputers.com
Processor
CPU cooler
Prolimatech Basic 68
Akasa Nero
Memory
16GB DDR4
16GB DDR4
16GB DDR4
16GB DDR4
Storage
Power supply
500W FSP
Motherboard
Asus Z170-P
Asus Z170M-Plus
Gigabyte
GA-Z170X-Gaming 3
Asus Z170-P
Operating system
Windows 10 Home
Windows 10 Home
Windows 10 Home
Windows 10 Home
Windows 10 Home
Screen
Asus VS247HR
None supplied
None supplied
Graphics
MSI nVidia
GeForce GTX 970
Palit nVidia
GeForce GTX 970
Palit nVidia
GeForce GTX 970
Sound
Onboard
Onboard
Onboard
Onboard
Onboard
Connectivity
Gigabit ethernet
Gigabit ethernet
Gigabit ethernet
Gigabit ethernet
Gigabit ethernet
Ports
Optical drive
DVDRW
None
DVDRW
DVDRW
DVDRW
Case
Chillblast Kube
Thermaltake E-Sports
Commander Gaming Set
Thermaltake E-Sports
Commander Gaming Set
Other
None
None
None
None
None
PCMark 8
2.0 Home score
5434
5332
5327
5316
4575
172.6/90.1fps
173.4/90.7fps
169.7/89.8fps
169.6/89.6fps
170.3/88.8fps
133.2fps
134.6fps
132.8fps
130.4fps
128.3fps
Sniper Elite V2
(Low/Medium/Ultra)
461.4/208.5/49fps
459.6/201.8/49.2fps
447.3/205.9/49fps
444.7/203.2/47.6fps
356.4/203.9/47.7fps
Power Consumption
5/295W
55/303W
Not tested
63/251W
51/264W
Warranty
Vibox Evolution
Lifetime Warranty
FULL REVIEW
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Build rating
Features rating
Performance rating
Value rating
Overall rating
TEST CENTRE
07/12/2015 17:12
FOR EVERYTHING
ANDROID
DIGITAL
EDITION ON
ANDROID
& iOS
tinyurl.com/nk4osoh
Top 5 charts
Price
Website
Apple.com/uk
Acer.co.uk
Chillblast.com
Asus.com/uk
Hp.com/uk
Processor
RAM
8GB DDR3
8GB DDR3
16GB DDR3
6GB DDR3
8GB DDR3
Storage
1TB HDD
1TB SSD
1TB HDD
1TB HDD
Screen
27in
23in touchscreen
24in
23in touchscreen
23in touchscreen
Screen resolution
5120x2880
1920x1080
1920x1080
1920x1080
1920x1080
Graphics card
Video memory
2GB
2GB
2GB
N/A
N/A
Wireless
802.11b/g/n
802.11b/g/n
802.11b/g/n
802.11b/g/n
802.11b/g/n
Ethernet
Gigabit
Gigabit
Gigabit
Gigabit
Gigabit
Bluetooth
USB
4x USB 3.0
FireWire
Thunderbolt
HDMI
Optical drive
None
DVD Writer
Blu-Ray Combo
DVD Writer
DVD Writer
Wireless keyboard and
mouse, Beats Audio stereo
speaker system (8x 12W)
All-in-one PCs
Build rating
Features rating
Performance rating
Value rating
Overall rating
Other
Operating system
OS X Yosemite
Power consumption
(idle/max)
46/215W
46/91W
35/177W
33/69W
43/81W
Sniper V2 Elite
(Low/High/Ultra)
Not tested
47.7/18.7/5.1fps
91.5/41.2/10.5fps
31.4/7.8/5fps
27.7/7.4/5fps
Not tested
2906
3776
2828
2702
Dimensions
650x203x516mm
540x489x579mm
585x200x450mm
571x359x50-214mm
563x143x413mm
Weight
9.54kg
8.8kg
14.6kg
9kg
8.4kg
Warranty
1-year return-to-base
Not specified
5-year labour
(2-year collect-and-return)
1-year return-to-base
FULL REVIEW
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TEST CENTRE
07/12/2015 17:13
Top 5 charts
Best
smartphones
Samsung Galaxy S6
Google Nexus 6P
LG G4
Price
Website
Samsung.com/uk
Google.co.uk
Apple.com/uk
Samsung.com/uk
Lg.com/uk
OS (out of box)
iOS 9
Processor
A9
RAM
3GB
3GB
2GB
4GB
3GB
Storage
32/64GB
32/64/128GB
16/64/128GB
32/64GB
32GB
MicroSD support
Up to 128GB
Graphics
Mali-T760 GPU
Adreno 430
M9
Mali-T760MP8
Adreno 418
Screen size
5.1in
5.7in
5.5in
5.7in
4.5in
Screen resolution
1440x2560
2560x1440
1920x1080
720x1280
1440x2560
Pixel density
577ppi
518ppi
401ppi
518ppi
538ppi
Screen technology
Super AMOLED
Quad HD capacitive
IPS
Super AMOLED
IPS
Front camera
5Mp
8Mp
5Mp
5Mp
8Mp
Rear camera
16Mp
Video recording
4K
4K
4K
4K
4K
Cellular connectivity
4G
4G
4G
4G
4G
SIM type
Nano-SIM
Nano-SIM
Nano-SIM
Nano-SIM
Micro-SIM
Dual-SIM as standard
Wi-Fi
802.11a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band
802.11a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band
802.11a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band
802.11a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band
802.11a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band
Bluetooth
Bluetooth 4.1
Bluetooth 4.2
Bluetooth 4.2
Bluetooth 4.2
Bluetooth 4.1
GPS
GPS, Glonass
A-GPS, Glonass
A-GPS, Glonass
A-GPS, Glonass
A-GPS, Glonass
NFC
USB OTG
Extra features
Heart-rate sensor,
fingerprint scanner
Fingerprint scanner
Fingerprint scanner
Heart-rate sensor,
fingerprint scanner
24-bit/192kHz audio,
rear key
1347
Not tested
2527
1497
Not tested
4438
3939
4407
Not tested
3513
SunSpider
1048ms
636ms
210ms
718ms
715ms
GFXBench: T-Rex
30fps
34fps
59fps
37fps
25fps
GFXBench: Manhattan
14fps
14fps
38fps
15fps
9fps
Battery
2550mAh, non-removable
3450mAh, non-removable
Lithium-on
23000mAh, non-removable
3000mAh removable
Dimensions
143.4x70.5x6.8mm
159.3x77.8x7.3mm
158.2x77.9x7.3mm
153.2x76.1x7.6mm
64.9x127x8.6mm
Weight
138g
178g
192g
171g
155g
Warranty
1 year
1 year
1 year
1 year
1 year
FULL REVIEW
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Build rating
Features rating
Performance rating
Value rating
Overall rating
07/12/2015 17:13
Top 5 charts
Best
budget
smartphones
Wileyfox Swift
EE Harrier Mini
Price
79 inc VAT
99 inc VAT
Website
Vodafone.co.uk
Motorola.co.uk
Vodafone.co.uk
Wileyfox.com
EE.co.uk
OS (out of box)
Cyanogen OS
Processor
1.2GHz
RAM
2GB
1GB
1GB
2GB
1GB
Storage
16GB
8GB
8GB
16GB
8GB
MicroSD support
Up to 128GB
Up to 32GB
Up to 64GB
Up to 32GB
Not specified
Graphics
Adreno 405
Adreno 306
Adreno 306
Adreno 306
Not specified
Screen size
5.5in
4.5in
5in
5in
4.7in
Screen resolution
1920x1080
540x960
720x1280
1280x720
720x1280
Pixel density
401ppi
245ppi
294ppi
294ppi
312ppi
Screen technology
IPS
IPS
IPS
IPS
IPS
Front camera
5Mp
0.3Mp
2Mp
5Mp
2Mp
Rear camera
13Mp
5Mp
8Mp
Video recording
1080p
720p
1080p
1080p
720p
Cellular connectivity
4G*
4G
4G*
4G
4G
SIM type
Nano-SIM
Micro-SIM
Micro-SIM
Micro-SIM
Micro-SIM
Dual-SIM as standard
Wi-Fi
802.11b/g/n
802.11b/g/n
802.11b/g/n
802.11b/g/n
802.11b/g/n
Bluetooth
Bluetooth 4.0
Bluetooth 4.0
Bluetooth 4.0
Bluetooth 4.0
Bluetooth 4.0
GPS
GPS, A-GPS
A-GPS
A-GPS
A-GPS, Glonass
NFC
USB OTG
Extra features
FM radio
Double-twist launches
camera, lockscreen alerts
FM radio
3D G-Sensor,
Wi-Fi calling
649
464
464
Not tested
Not tested
2469
1463
1401
1456
1549
SunSpider
1545ms
1301ms
1301ms
1760ms
1880ms
GFXBench: T-Rex
14fps
13fps
9.4fps
10fps
10fps
GFXBench: Manhattan
5.7fps
6fps
3.8fps
4fps
4fps
Battery
3000mAh, non-removable
2390mAh, non-removable
Not specified
2500mAh, removable
2000mAh, non-removable
Dimensions
154x77x9mm
66.8x5.2-12.3x129.9mm
141.65x71.89x9mm
141x71x9.4mm
138x67.9x9.5mm
Weight
159g
145g
155g
135g
124g
Warranty
1 year
1 year
1 year
1 year
1 year
FULL REVIEW
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Build rating
Features rating
Performance rating
Value rating
Overall rating
TEST CENTRE
07/12/2015 17:13
Top 5 charts
Best
phablets
LG G4
LG G3
OnePlus 2
Price
Website
Samsung.com/uk
Lg.com/uk
Lg.com/uk
Oneplus.net
OS (out of box)
Processor
RAM
4GB
3GB
3GB
2GB/3GB
3/4GB
Storage
32/64GB
32GB
32GB
16GB/32GB
16GB/64GB
MicroSD support
Up to 128GB
Up to 128GB
Graphics
Mali-T760MP8
Adreno 420
Adreno 418
Adreno 330
Adreno 430
Screen size
5.7in
5.7in
5.5in
5.5in
5.5in
Screen resolution
720x1280
1440x2560
1440x2560
1440x2560
1920x1080
Pixel density
518ppi
515ppi
538ppi
534ppi
401ppi
Screen technology
Super AMOLED
Super AMOLED
IPS
IPS
IPS
Front camera
5Mp
3.7Mp
8Mp
2Mp
5Mp
Rear camera
Video recording
4K
4K
4K
4K
4K
Cellular connectivity
4G
4G
4G
4G
4G
SIM type
Nano-SIM
Micro-SIM
Micro-SIM
Micro-SIM
Dual-SIM
Dual-SIM as standard
Yes
Wi-Fi
802.11a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band
802.11a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band
802.11a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band
802.11a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band
802.11ac, dual-band
Bluetooth
Bluetooth 4.2
Bluetooth 4.1
Bluetooth 4.0
Bluetooth 4.0
GPS
A-GPS, Glonass
GPS, Glonass
A-GPS, Glonass
A-GPS, Glonass
GPS, Glonass
NFC
USB OTG
Extra features
Heart-rate sensor,
fingerprint scanner
24bit/192kHz audio,
rear key, IR blaster
24bit/192kHz audio,
rear key
None
1497
Not tested
Not tested
Not tested
Not tested
Not tested
3272
3513
2465
4094
SunSpider
718ms
1367ms
715ms
959ms
1471ms
GFXBench: T-Rex
37fps
27fps
25fps
20fps
46fps
GFXBench: Manhattan
15fps
11fps
9fps
Not tested
16fps
Battery
23000mAh, non-removable
3220mAh, removable
3000mAh, removable, Qi
3000mAh, removable, Qi
3300mAh, non-removable
Dimensions
153.2x76.1x7.6mm
78.6x153.5x8.5mm
76x149x6.3-9.8mm
75x146x8.9mm
151.8x74.9x9.9mm
Weight
171g
176g
155g
149g
175g
Warranty
1 year
2 years
1 year
1 year
1 year
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Build rating
Features rating
Performance rating
Value rating
Overall rating
07/12/2015 17:13
Top 5 charts
Best
7- & 8in tablets
Google Nexus 7
5
Google Nexus 9
Price
Website
Play.google.com
Samsung.com/uk
Sony.co.uk
Apple.com/uk
Google.co.uk
OS (out of box)
iOS 9
Processor
RAM
2GB
3GB
3GB
1GB
2GB
Storage
16GB/32GB
16GB/32GB
16GB/32GB
16GB/32GB
16GB/32GB
MicroSD support
Up to 128GB
Up to 128GB
No
Graphics
Adreno 320
Adreno 330
Apple A7
192-core Kepler
Screen size
7in
8.4in
8in
7.9in
8.9in
Screen resolution
1920x1200
2560x1440
1920x1200
2048x1536
2048x1536
Pixel density
323ppi
359ppi
283ppi
326ppi
287ppi
Screen technology
IPS
Super AMOLED
IPS
IPS
IPS
Front camera
1.2Mp
2.1Mp
2.2Mp
1.2Mp
1.6Mp
Rear camera
5Mp
8.1Mp
5Mp
Video recording
1080p
1080p
1080p
7200p
1080p
Cellular connectivity
4G version available
4G version available
4G version available
4G version available
4G version available
Wi-Fi
802.11b/g/n, dual-band
802.11a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band
802.11a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band
802.11a/b/g/n, dual-band
802.11a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band
Bluetooth
Bluetooth 4.0
Bluetooth 4.0
Bluetooth 4.0
Bluetooth 4.0
Bluetooth 4.1
GPS
GPS, Glonass
GPS, Glonass
A-GPS, Glonass
A-GPS, Glonass
GPS, Glonass
NFC
Yes
USB OTG
Yes
Fingerprint scanner
No
Waterproof
No
Extra features
None
Stereo speakers
None
BoomSound speakers
Not tested
Not tested
Not tested
Not tested
1904
Not tested
2765
2708
Not tested
3352
SunSpider
1136ms
1089ms
1017ms
397ms
955ms
GFXBench: T-Rex
Not tested
14fps
28fps
Not tested
48fps
GFXBench: Manhattan
Not tested
3fps
11fps
Not tested
22fps
Battery
4500mAh, non-removable
6470mAh, non-removable
6700mAh, non-removable
Dimensions
200x114x8.65mm
126x213x6.6mm
213x124x6.4mm
200x134.7x7.5mm
153.7x228.3x8mm
Weight
299g
294g
270g
331g
425g
Warranty
1 year
1 year
1 year
1 year
1 year
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Features rating
Performance rating
Value rating
Overall rating
TEST CENTRE
07/12/2015 17:13
Top 5 charts
Best
9- & 10in
tablets
Google Nexus 10
Price
Website
Apple.com/uk
Samsung.com/uk
Sony.co.uk
Apple.com/uk
Play.google.com
OS (out of box)
iOS 8.2
iOS 8.2
Processor
RAM
2GB
3GB
3GB
1GB
2GB
Storage
16GB/64GB/128GB
16GB/32GB
16GB
16GB/32GB
16GB/32GB
MicroSD support
No
Up to 128GB
Up to 64GB
No
No
Graphics
Apple A8X
Adreno 330
Apple A7
Screen size
9.7in
10.5in
10.1in
9.7in
10.1in
Screen resolution
2048x1536
2560x1600
1920x1200
2048x1536
2560x1600
Pixel density
264ppi
288ppi
224ppi
264ppi
300ppi
Screen technology
IPS
Super AMOLED
IPS
IPS
IPS
Front camera
1.2Mp
2.1Mp
2.2Mp
1.2Mp
1.9Mp
Rear camera
8Mp
8.1Mp
5Mp
Video recording
1080p
1080p
1080p
1080p
1080p
Cellular connectivity
4G version available
4G version available
4G version available
4G version available
No
Wi-Fi
802.11a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band
802.11a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band
802.11a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band
802.11a/b/g/n, dual-band
802.11b/g/n, dual-band
Bluetooth
Bluetooth 4.0
Bluetooth 4.0
Bluetooth 4.0
Bluetooth 4.0
Bluetooth 4.0
GPS
A-GPS, Glonass
GPS, Glonass
GPS, Glonass
A-GPS, Glonass
GPS, Glonass
NFC
No
Yes
No
Yes
USB OTG
Yes
Yes
No
Yes
Fingerprint scanner
Yes
No
No
No
Waterproof
No
Yes
No
No
Extra features
None
Stereo speakers
PlayStation certified
None
None
1816
Not tested
967
1487
Not tested
4523
2769
2719
2703
Not tested
SunSpider
Not tested
1079ms
1099ms
400ms
1329ms
GFXBench: T-Rex
48fps
14fps
27fps
23fps
Not tested
GFXBench: Manhattan
Not tested
3fps
Not tested
Not tested
Not tested
Battery
7340mAh, non-removable
7900mAh, non-removable
6000mAh, non-removable
8600mAh, non-removable
9000mAh, non-removable
Dimensions
240x169.5x6.1mm
247x177x6.6mm
266x172x6.4mm
240x169x7.5mm
264x178x8.9mm
Weight
437g
465g
439g
469g
603g
Warranty
1 year
1 year
1 year
1 year
1 year
FULL REVIEW
TINYURL.COM/PLQXWSZ
TINYURL.COM/OESDFZQ
TINYURL.COM/M8BZZUN
TINYURL.COM/NVOOF6H
TINYURL.COM/PUAG9RN
Build rating
Features rating
Performance rating
Value rating
Overall rating
07/12/2015 17:14
Top 5 charts
Best
smartwatches
LG G Watch R
Huawei Watch
Sony Smartwatch 3
LG Watch Urbane
Price
Website
Lg.com/uk
Consumer.huawei.com/en
Motorola.co.uk
Sony.co.uk
Lg.com/uk
Operating system
Android Wear
Android Wear
Android Wear
Android Wear
Android Wear
Compatibility
Android
Android
Android
Android
Android
Display
Processor
Snapdragon 400
TI OMAP 3
1.2GHz ARM V7
RAM
512MB
512MB
512MB
512MB
512MB
Storage
4GB
4GB
4GB
4GB
4GB
Waterproof
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Battery
410mAh
300mAh
320mAh
420mAh
410mAh
Dimensions
46.4x53.6x9.7mm
42x11.3mm
46x11.5mm
36x51x10mm
46x52x10.9mm
Weight
62g
40g
45g
67g
Warranty
1 year
1 year
1 year
1 year
1 year
FULL REVIEW
TINYURL.COM/QATY8FT
TINYURL.COM/PXV9PVX
TINYURL.COM/O9C69K6
TINYURL.COM/OQVZ3PN
TINYURL.COM/Q3VK7ES
Overall rating
Best
smartwatches
10
Asus ZenWatch
Apple Watch
Pebble Steel
LG G Watch
Sony Smartwatch 2
Price
Website
Uk.asus.com
Apple.com/uk
Getpebble.com
Lg.com/uk
Sony.co.uk
Operating system
Android Wear
watchOS
Proprietary
Android Wear
Proprietary
Compatibility
Android
iOS
iOS, Android
Android
Android
Display
Processor
Apple S1
Not specified
Not specified
RAM
512MB
512MB
512MB
512MB
Not specified
Storage
4GB
8GB
Not specified
4GB
Not specified
Waterproof
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Battery
1.4Wh
Not specified
130mAh
400mAh
Not specified
Dimensions
51x39.9x7.9-9.4mm
38.6x33.3x10.5mm
46x34x10.5mm
37.9x46.5x9.95mm
42x41x9mm
Weight
75g
72g
156g
63g
123g
Warranty
1 year
1 year
1 year
1 year
1 year
FULL REVIEW
TINYURL.COM/NN7GA7W
TINYURL.COM/OUTH9XK
TINYURL.COM/PPBXV7J
TINYURL.COM/Q84WL6L
TINYURL.COM/P4X7AZM
Overall rating
TEST CENTRE
07/12/2015 17:14
Top 5 charts
Best
activity
trackers
Fitbit Charge HR
Fitbit Surge
Fitbit One
Microsoft Band
Fitbit Charge
Price
79 inc VAT
99 inc VAT
Website
Fitbit.com/uk
Fitbit.com/uk
Fitbit.com/uk
Microsoft.com/en-gb
Fitbit.com/uk
Compatibility
iOS, Android
Display
OLED
Touchscreen
OLED
TFT
OLED
Pedometer
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Heart-rate monitor
Yes
Yes
No
Yes
No
Sleep tracking
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Alarm
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Call notifications
Yes
Yes
No
Yes
Yes
Waterproof
Yes
Yes
No
Yes
Yes
Battery life
5+ days
5 days
10-14 days
2 days
7-10 days
Dimensions, weight
21.1mm, 26g
34mm, 51g
35.5x28x9.65mm, 8g
11x33mm, 60g
21.1mm, 24g
FULL REVIEW
TINYURL.COM/PCKV4SU
TINYURL.COM/O83DR47
TINYURL.COM/PT2TC6F
TINYURL.COM/LHMQ2AC
TINYURL.COM/PFMQ9KH
Overall rating
Best
activity
trackers
10
Basis Peak
Xiaomi Mi Band
Jawbone Up 2
Jawbone Up Move
Jawbone Up24
Price
29 inc VAT
89 inc VAT
39 inc VAT
99 inc VAT
Website
En-gb.mybasis.com
Mobilefun.co.uk
Jawbone.com
Jawbone.com
Jawbone.com
Compatibility
iOS, Android
iOS, Android
iOS, Android
iOS, Android
iOS, Android
Display
E-Ink
No
No
No
No
Pedometer
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Heart-rate monitor
Yes
No
No
No
No
Sleep tracking
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Alarm
No
Yes
Yes
No
Yes
No
Yes
Yes
Yes
Call notifications
Yes
Yes
No
No
No
Waterproof
Yes
Yes
Splashproof
Splashproof
Splashproof
Battery life
4 days
30 days
7 days
7 days
Dimensions, weight
33x43x10mm, 51g
157-205mm, 13g
220x11.5x3-8.5mm, 25g
27.6x27.6x9.8mm, 6.8g
FULL REVIEW
TINYURL.COM/LHMQ2AC
TINYURL.COM/QZ3YVCR
TINYURL.COM/PHT98ZK
TINYURL.COM/PFXQFNE
TINYURL.COM/ND8YMB8
Overall rating
07/12/2015 17:14
Top 5 charts
Best
budget
printers
HP OfficeJet 3830
Brother HL-1110
Price
60 inc VAT
79 inc VAT
59 inc VAT
70 inc VAT
91 inc VAT
Website
Hp.com/uk
Samsung.com/uk
Brother.co.uk
Canon.co.uk
Canon.co.uk
Technology
Colour inkjet
Mono laser
Mono laser
Colour inkjet
Mono laser
1200x1200dpi
1200x1200dpi
600x600dpi
4800x1200dpi
1200x1200dpi
B=11ppm C=4ppm
B=20ppm
B=16.4ppm
B=9.7ppm C=3.8ppm
B=22.2ppm
Scan/fax facilities
None
1200x1200 scans
None
1200x2400 scans/fax
None
Supported interfaces
USB 2.0
B=6p C=7p
B=2p
B=2.7p
B=2.7p C=4.8p
B=2p
Input capacity
60 sheets
150 sheets
150 sheets
250 sheets
Dimensions
222x454x362mm
332x215x178mm
340x238x189mm
458x385x200mm
379x293x243mm
Weight
5.8kg
4kg
4.5kg
8.5kg
7kg
Warranty
1 year
1 year
1 year
1 year
1 year
FULL REVIEW
TINYURL.COM/PJ4K9D7
TINYURL.COM/PQ9JUDN
TINYURL.COM/OQE9LGJ
TINYURL.COM/N9LXVN7
TINYURL.COM/KZW8VU3
Overall rating
Brother HL-L9200CDWT
Price
Website
Canon.co.uk
Samsung.com/uk
Canon.co.uk
Epson.co.uk
Brother.co.uk
Technology
Colour inkjet
Mono laser
Mono laser
Colour inkjet
Colour laser
9600x2400dpi
4800x600dpi
1200x600dpi
4800x1200dpi
2400x600dpi
B=14.3ppm
B=22.7ppm
B=24ppm
B=18.9ppm
B=30ppm C=30ppm
Scan/fax facilities
2400x4800dpi scanner
None
None
None
Supported interfaces
USB 2.0, ethernet, 802.11b/g/n USB 2.0, ethernet, 802.11b/g/n USB 2.0, ethernet, 802.11b/g/n USB 2.0, ethernet, 802.11b/g/n USB 2.0, ethernet, 802.11b/g/n
B=2.4p C=8.1p
B=1.5p
B=1.5p
B=1.1p
B=1p C=5.9p
Input capacity
125 sheets
250 sheets
250 + 80 sheet
Dimensions
435x370x148mm
368x335x202mm
390x473x431mm
3461x442x284mm
410x495x445mm
Weight
7.9kg
7.4kg
19.1kg
11.4kg
28.3kg
Warranty
1 year
1 year
1 year
1 year
1 year
FULL REVIEW
TINYURL.COM/PZ3SVH7
TINYURL.COM/QECOF7V
TINYURL.COM/LE9WA5N
TINYURL.COM/OC7FUJ3
TINYURL.COM/PT52MH6
Best printers
Overall rating
TEST CENTRE
07/12/2015 17:14
Top 5 charts
Best
wireless
routers
Asus DSL-AC68U
Price
Website
Apple.com/uk
Netgear.co.uk
En.avm.de
Tp-link.com
UK.asus.com
Standards supported
802.11a/b/g/n/ac
802.11a/b/g/n/ac
802.11a/b/g/n/ac
802.11a/b/g/n/ac
802.11a/b/g/n/ac
Frequency modes
2.4GHz/5GHz (concurrent)
2.4GHz/5GHz (concurrent)
2.4GHz/5GHz (concurrent)
2.4GHz/5GHz (concurrent)
2.4GHz/5GHz (concurrent)
Antennas
6x internal
3x external
Internal
3x external
3x external
Built-in modem
Manufacturers rating
1300/450Mb/s
1300/600Mb/s
1300/450Mb/s
1300/600Mb/s
1300/600Mb/s
WPS
Ports
8W
9W
8W
N/S
N/S
171/572Mb/s
171/592Mb/s
114/563Mb/s
146/622Mb/s
114/565.3Mb/s
Dimensions, weight
98x168x98mm, 945g
285x186x45mm, 750g
220x160x83.3mm, 640g
Warranty
1 year
Not specified
Not specified
Not specified
Not specified
FULL REVIEW
TINYURL.COM/MFDLLSC
TINYURL.COM/Q2NRQ8Q
TINYURL.COM/PHQ34EG
TINYURL.COM/OF8KYPC
TINYURL.COM/PGHOUFQ
Overall rating
Best
powerline
adaptors
TP-Link AV1200
Price
43 inc VAT
41 inc VAT
88 inc VAT
Website
Solwise.com
Trendnet.com
Uk.tp-link.com
Devolo.com/uk
Devolo.com/uk
No of adaptors in kit
1 (2 required)
Max throughput
1200Mb/s
600Mb/s
1200Mb/s
1200Mb/s
500Mb/s
410Mb/s
146Mb/s
500Mb/s
357Mb/s
96Mb/s
107Mb/s
71Mb/s
200Mb/s
126Mb/s
47Mb/s
Ethernet ports
2x gigabit
1x gigabit
1x gigabit
1x gigabit
3x gigabit
Passthrough socket
Yes
No
Yes
Yes
Yes
Wireless hotspot
No
No
No
No
Yes
Encryption
128-bit
128-bit
128-bit
128-bit
128-bit
Dimensions
62x122x41mm
55x87x58mm
230x190x100mm
130x66x42mm
152x76x40mm
Weight
Not specified
90g
898g
Not specified
Not specified
Warranty
2 years
3 years
1 year
3 years
3 years
FULL REVIEW
TINYURL.COM/NZ4EJW8
TINYURL.COM/QYEPJQ7
TINYURL.COM/NVONCWT
TINYURL.COM/Q4EOO4M
TINYURL.COM/OVNPPQ7
Overall rating
07/12/2015 17:14
Top 5 charts
Best
NAS drives
1
Qnap TS-421
2
Synology DS115j
3
Qnap HS-210
4
WD My Cloud EX2100
5
Synology DS414j
Price
Website
Qnap.com
Synology.com
Qnap.com
Wd.com
Synology.com
Drive bays
Processor
Memory
1GB DDR3
256MB DDR3
512MB DDR3
1GB DDR3
512MB DDR3
Remote access
eSATA
2x
1x
USB port
2x USB 2.0
2x USB 3.0
Raid options
0/1/5/6/10/JBOD
None
0/1/JBOD
00/1/JBOD
0/1/5/6/10/JBOD
Software
Backup Station
DSM 5.1
HD Station
My Cloud
DSM 5.0
Dimensions
177x180x235mm
71x161x224mm
302x220x41mm
216x109x148mm
184x168x230mm
Weight
3kg
700g
1.5kg
3.5kg
2.2kg
Warranty
2 years
1 year
2 years
3 years
3 years
FULL REVIEW
TINYURL.COM/MCYWUB8
TINYURL.COM/MNEYVNK
TINYURL.COM/OEXRYNY
TINYURL.COM/M643BSG
TINYURL.COM/M643BSG
Overall rating
Best
external
hard drives
Seagate Seven mm
Price
74 inc VAT
70 inc VAT
90 inc VAT
76 inc VAT
99 inc VAT
Website
Seagate.com/gb/en
Uk.transcend-info.com
Wdc.com/en
Toshiba.co.uk
Seagate.com/gb/en
Capacity tested
2TB
2TB
2TB
2TB
500GB
Capacity range
1TB, 2TB
500GB
Disk size
2.5in
2.5in
2.5in
2.5in
2.5in
Spin speed
N/A
5400rpm
N/A
5400rpm
5400rpm
Transfer speed
142MB/s
135MB/s
114MB/s
117MB/s
49MB/s
Encryption
N/A
256-bit AES
256-bit AES
256-bit AES
N/A
Other interfaces
USB 3.0
USB 3.0
USB 3.0
USB 3.0
USB 3.0
Software
Seagate Dashboard
Transcend Elite
WD Drive Utilities
None
Seagate Dashboard
Dimensions
113.5x76x12.1mm
130x82x19mm
110x80x19mm
111x79x21mm
123x82x7mm
Weight
159g
234g
241g
207g
178g
Warranty
2 years
3 years
3 years
2 years
2 years
FULL REVIEW
TINYURL.COM/OABWL4B
TINYURL.COM/M72D3EP
TINYURL.COM/L2B7V3B
TINYURL.COM/JWHHACB
TINYURL.COM/O6KZFDM
Overall rating
TEST CENTRE
07/12/2015 17:14
Top 5 charts
Best
SSDs
Crucial MX200
Price
69 inc VAT
Website
Ocz.com
Samsung.com/uk
Sandisk.co.uk
Uk.crucial.com
Kingston.com/en
Capacity tested
240GB
1TB
480GB
1TB
480GB
Price per GB
28.8p
36.5p
35.8p
30.1p
38.5p
Memory cache
512MB DDR3
1GB LPDDR2
1GB
1GB DDR3
256MB
Controller
Samsung MCX
Marvell 88SS9187
Marvell 88SS9189
Encryption
AES 256-bit
AES 256-bit
AES 256-bit
AES 256-bit
Unknown
Flash
None
489-/447MB/s
564-/534MB/s
556-/525MB/s
533-/514MB/s
564-/543MB/s
79.2-/90.3MB/s
103.2-/93.7MB/s
102.7/91.4MB/s
26.1/90.1MB/s
91.6-/94.8MB/s
27-/127MB/s
36-/89MB/s
32-/88MB/s
29-/131MB/s
26-59MB/s
Warranty
3 years
10 years
10 years
3 years
3 years
FULL REVIEW
TINYURL.COM/QZQLYY4
TINYURL.COM/OVHDALD
TINYURL.COM/NMSJU25
TINYURL.COM/P3YX2KE
TINYURL.COM/ON54VUC
Overall rating
Smart
thermostats
Honeywell EvoHome
Heat Genius
Tado
Price (from)
Website
Honeywelluk.com
Heatgenius.co.uk
Nest.com
Hivehome.com
Tado.com/gb
Zones controlled
12
Underfloor heating
Warranty
18 months
2 years
2 years
1 year
1 year
Verdict
FULL REVIEW
TINYURL.COM/Q3CXA4Z
TINYURL.COM/Q2TUKL9
TINYURL.COM/N9MWV4G
TINYURL.COM/PDLCSAS
TINYURL.COM/O4K3A2A
Overall rating
07/12/2015 17:14
Top 5 charts
Best budget
graphics cards
MSI R7 260X OC
Price
65 inc VAT
91 inc VAT
90 inc VAT
65 inc VAT
48 inc VAT
Website
Sapphiretech.com
Uk.msi.com
Eu.evga.com
Asus.com/uk
Uk.msi.com
Graphics processor
Installed RAM
1GB GDDR5
2GB GDDR5
1GB GDDR5
1GB GDDR5
2GB GDDR3
Memory interface
128-bit
128-bit
128-bit
128-bit
128-bit
Core clock
950MHz
1175MHz
1294MHz
1033MHz
780MHz
1625MHz/6.5GHz
1253/5012MHz
1.25/5GHz
900/1800MHzHz
Overall rating
640
896
512
384
320
Texture units
40
56
32
32
20
Power connectors
1x 6-pin
1x 6-pin
None
1x 6-pin
1x 6-pin
DirectX
12
11.1
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
Digital interface
Warranty
2 years
3 years
3 years
3 years
2 years
FULL REVIEW
TINYURL.COM/OLJ83SQ
TINYURL.COM/OZ6WUYT
TINYURL.COM/PB3F6EN
TINYURL.COM/PAH5VMJ
TINYURL.COM/P8J4C2R
Best
graphics cards
Price
Website
Asus.com/uk
Zotac.com
Uk.msi.com
Club-3d.com
Xfxfore.com/en-gb
Graphics processor
Installed RAM
12GB
12GB
4GB
8GB
8GB
Memory interface
384-bit
512-bit
256-bit
512-bit
512-bit
Core clock/boost
1216/1317MHz
1105/1140MHz
1216/1317MHz
1010MHz
1050MHz
Memory clock
7200MHz
7010MHz
7010MHz
6000MHz
6000MHz
Stream processors
2816
2816
2048
2560
2816
Texture units
172
172
128
160
176
Power connectors
2x 8-pin
1x 8-pin, 1x 6-pin
2x 8-pin
1x 8-pin, 1x 6-pin
1x 8-pin, x 6-pin
DirectX
12
12
12
12
12
Digital interface
Warranty
3 years
5 years
3 years
2 years
3 years
FULL REVIEW
TINYURL.COM/NDZZQKJ
TINYURL.COM/POYHNUH
TINYURL.COM/Q5OPK9S
TINYURL.COM/PC5PGWM
TINYURL.COM/Q8Q2GVS
Overall rating
TEST CENTRE
07/12/2015 17:14
Top 5 charts
Best budget
flat-panel
displays
AOC i2369Vm
Philips 234E5QHAW
BenQ EW2740L
BenQ GL2450
Price
Website
Aoc-europe.com/en
Philips.co.uk
Nec-display-solutions.com
Benq.co.uk
Benq.co.uk
Screen size
23in
23in
23.8in
27in
24in
Panel type
IPS matt
IPS matt
IPS matt
VA semi-matt
TN matt
Native resolution
1920x1080
1920x1080
1920x1080
1920x1080
1920x1080
Pixel density
96ppi
96ppi
93ppi
82ppi
92ppi
Brightness
220cd/m2
187cd/m2
250cd/m2
300cd/m2
261cd/m2
630:1
210:1
650:1
280:1
610:1
Response time
6ms
5ms
6ms
4ms
5ms
Ports
2x HDMI, VGA
DVI-D, VGA
Dimensions
531x204x398mm
532x213x414mm
558x214x380-490mm
623x191x451mm
579x179x436mm
Weight
3.75kg
3.5kg
6.3kg
4.2kg
4.1kg
Warranty
3 years
2 years
3 years
2 years
2 years
FULL REVIEW
TINYURL.COM/OOEFYPR
TINYURL.COM/KLYLW4V
TINYURL.COM/KNCGVOU
TINYURL.COM/OO6EC5L
TINYURL.COM/OOUPFUE
Overall rating
Best 4K
flat-panel
displays
Panasonic TX-50CX802B
Samsung UE48JU7000
Sony KD-55X8505C
Philips 40PUT6400
Finlux 55UX3EC320S
Price
Website
Panasonic.co.uk
Samsung.com/uk
Sony.co.uk
Philips.co.uk
Finlux.co.uk
Screen size
50in
48in
55in
40in
55in
Panel type
LCD (LED)
LCD (LED)
LCD (LED)
LCD (LED)
LCD (LED)
Native resolution
3840x2160
3840x2160
3840x2160
3840x2160
3840x2160
3D enabled
Apps
YouView with BBC iPlayer, ITV BBC iPlayer, Netflix, YouTube, BBC iPlayer, Netflix,
Player, All 4 and Demand 5;
Spotify Connect, Daily Motion, YouTube, Twitter,
Netflix, YouTube, Amazon
Philips App Store, Google Play Facebook, Viewster, Flickr
Networking
Ethernet, Wi-Fi
Inputs
3x HDMI, 3x USB
4x HDMI, 3x USB
4x HDMI, 3x USB
4x HDMI, 3x USB
4x HDMI, 3x USB
Dimensions
112.1x4.6x65.2cm
108.7x6.7x63cm
123.6x6x72.2cm
90.4x8.3x52.6m
123.3x10.6x71.3cm
Weight
18kg
11.1kg
19.9kg
7.8kg
17.2kg
Warranty
1 year
1 year
1 year
1 year
1 year
FULL REVIEW
TINYURL.COM/ZLFQ3JV
TINYURL.COM/Q2W3VZY
TINYURL.COM/ZGSP9FM
TINYURL.COM/JQVWCFU
TINYURL.COM/P934VXT
Overall rating
07/12/2015 17:15
Top 5 charts
Best
e-book readers
Nook GlowLight
Price
59 inc VAT
89 inc VAT
Website
Amazon.co.uk
Amazon.co.uk
Amazon.co.uk
Nook.com/gb
Kobo.com
Screen size
6in touchscreen
6in touchscreen
6in touchscreen
6in touchscreen
6.8in touchscreen
Screen technology
E Ink
E Ink
E Ink
E Ink
E Ink
Screen resolution
1440x1080
600x800
768x1024
758x1024
1430x1080
Built-in light
Yes
No
Yes
Yes
Yes
Storage
4GB
4GB
2GB
4GB
Book store
Amazon Kindle
Amazon Kindle
Amazon Kindle
Nook
Kobo
Cellular connectivity
Optional extra
No
Optional extra
No
No
Battery life
Six weeks
Four weeks
Eight weeks
Eight weeks
Two months
Dimensions
162x115x7.6mm
169x119x10.2mm
117x169x9.1mm
127x166x10.7mm
179x129x9.7mm
Weight
180g
191g
206g
175g
233g
Warranty
1 year
1 year
1 year
1 year
1 year
FULL REVIEW
TINYURL.COM/NXAAU3Q
TINYURL.COM/NSFORJE
TINYURL.COM/PREZPRK
TINYURL.COM/OZ5WMPO
TINYURL.COM/MJVR4M9
Overall rating
Best
media
streamers
Roku 3
Google Chromecast
Apple TV
Price
49 inc VAT
99 inc VAT
30 inc VAT
35 inc VAT
59 inc VAT
Website
Roku.com
Roku.com
Play.google.com
Apple.com/uk
Apple.com/uk
Type
Dongle
Set-top box
Dongle
Dongle
Set-top box
Ports
HDMI, Micro-USB
HDMI, Micro-USB
HDMI, Micro-USB
Processor
600MHz single-core
900MHzsingle-core
Single-core
Dual-core
Apple A5 single-core
RAM
512MB
512MB
512MB
1GB
512MB
Graphics
Not specified
Not specified
Not specified
Not specified
Not specified
Storage
None
None
Voice search
No
Yes
No
No
No
Remote control
Yes
Yes
No
Yes
Yes
Dimensions
78.7x27.9x12.7mm
89x89x25mm
72x35x12mm
84.9x25x11.5mm
98x98x23mm
Weight
18g
170g
34g
25g
270g
Warranty
1 year
1 year
1 year
1 year
1 year
FULL REVIEW
TINYURL.COM/OAP9QF9
TINYURL.COM/PT7MGUL
TINYURL.COM/QBGTCS2
TINYURL.COM/NAQRNOC
TINYURL.COM/OLCJRC3
Overall rating
TEST CENTRE
07/12/2015 17:15
Top 5 charts
Best
games
consoles
Sony PlayStation 4
Price
Website
Playstation.com
Xbox.com
Nintendo.co.uk
Playstation .com
Xbox.com
Processor
IBM CPU
Graphics
RAM
8GB GDDR5
8GB DDR3
Not specified
Not specified
512MB GDDR3
Storage
500GB
500GB
500GB
500GB
Optical drive
Ports
5x USB, HDMI
Connectivity
802.11b/g/n
Other
1 controller
1 controller
1 controller
1 controller
Dimensions
275x53x305mm
333x274x79mm
46x269x171mm
290x230x60mm
269x75x264mm
Weight
2.8kg
3.2kg
1.6kg
2.1kg
2.9kg
Warranty
1 year
1 year
1 year
1 year
1 year
FULL REVIEW
TINYURL.COM/NBFLQK2
TINYURL.COM/M6J4KHS
TINYURL.COM/6J49LHL
TINYURL.COM/QDJP56O
TINYURL.COM/PFP9CCK
Overall rating
Best
budget
portable
speakers
UE Roll
Lumsing B9
i-box Twist
Price
99 inc VAT
99 inc VAT
23 inc VAT
41 inc VAT
46 inc VAT
Website
Denon.com
Ultimateears.com
Lumsing.com
Iboxstyle.com
Inateck.com
Speaker(s)
Not specified
Not specified
Not specified
2x 3W
2x 5W
Bluetooth
Bluetooth 4.0
Bluetooth
Bluetooth 2.1
Bluetooth 4.0
Handsfree calls
Yes
No
Yes
Yes
Yes
NFC
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
No
Frequency response
Not specified
108Hz to 20kHz
20Hz to 20kHz
Not specified
76Hz to 108MHz
Impedence
Not specified
Not specified
4 ohms
Not specified
Not specified
Extra features
IPX4 splashproof
IPX7 splashproof
None
None
10 hours
9 hours
25 hours
5 hours
10 to 15 hours
Dimensions
209x54x51mmmm
134x39x40mm
177x50x70mm
246x59x56mm
185.4x61.5x61.5mm
Weight
558g
330g
300g
380g
710g
Warranty
1 year
2 years
1 year
5 years
1 year
FULL REVIEW
TINYURL.COM/QDRNP3P
TINYURL.COM/O7T7ZUU
TINYURL.COM/P623MK8
TINYURL.COM/LET9RDF
TINYURL.COM/QBCJJG2
Overall rating
07/12/2015 17:15
Top 5 charts
Best
budget
headphones
RHA MA450i
Sennheiser HD 429
AKG K77
SoundPeats A1
Price
41 inc VAT
39 inc VAT
45 inc VAT
25 inc VAT
25 inc VAT
Website
Rockjawaudio.com
Rha-audio.com/uk
En-uk.sennheiser.com
Uk.akg.com
Amazon.co.uk
Type
In-ear
In-ear
Circumaural over-ear
Circumaural over-ear
Circumaural over-ear
Frequency response
20Hz to 20kHz
16Hz to 22kHz
18Hz to 22kHz
18Hz to 20.5kHz
20Hz to 20kHz
Nominal impedence
16 ohms
16 ohms
32 ohms
32 ohms
Not specified
Sensitivity
108dB
103dB
110dB
112dB
Not specified
In-line remote
No
Yes (3 button)
No
No
No
Mic
No
Yes
No
No
Yes
Extra grommets
Yes
N/A
N/A
N/A
Carry case
Yes
Yes
No
No
No
Cable length
1.2m
1.5m (braided)
3m
2.5m
Not specified
Weight
11g
14g
218g
190g
210g
Warranty
1 year
1 year
1 year
1 year
1 year
FULL REVIEW
TINYURL.COM/NNYUFBF
TINYURL.COM/P7W7RVL
TINYURL.COM/ND8TD8O
TINYURL.COM/PA8FOX4
TINYURL.COM/NKFLHKL
Overall rating
Best
headphones
Denon AH-D600
Audio-Technica ATH-WS99
Bose QuietComfort 20
Denon AH-W150
Price
79 inc VAT
59 inc VAT
Website
Denon.co.uk
Eu.audio-technica.com/en
Bose.co.uk
Denon.co.uk
Bowers-wilkins.co.uk
Type
Circumaural over-ear
Over-ear
In-ear
On-ear, foldable
Frequency response
8Hz to 25kHz
8Hz to 25kHz
20-21kHz
5Hz to 25kHz
10Hz to 20kHz
Nominal impedence
37 ohms
37 ohms
32 ohms
16 ohms
22 ohms
Sensitivity
120dB
120dB
105dB
102dB
108dB
In-line remote
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
Mic
No
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Extra grommets
N/A
N/A
Yes
Yes
N/A
Carry case
Yes
No
Yes
Yes
No
Cable length
3m
0.8m
1.3m
N/A
1.2m
Weight
250g
250g
44g
23g
195g
Warranty
1 year
1 year
1 year
1 year
1 year
FULL REVIEW
TINYURL.COM/NBCFJW6
TINYURL.COM/QDRCCAT
TINYURL.COM/OEAGFOF
TINYURL.COM/O2CJV3R
TINYURL.COM/NNRV6UT
Overall rating
TEST CENTRE
07/12/2015 17:15
Top 5 charts
Best
power banks
Xiaomi 10,000mAh
Price
25 inc VAT
11 inc VAT
$69 (45)
13 inc VAT
Website
Zendure.com
Mi.com/en
Indiegogo.com
Amazon.co.uk
Ianker.com
Capacity
6700mAh
10,000mAh
13,400mAh
5000mAh
3200mAh
Input
1x 7.5W Micro-USB
1x 10W Micro-USB
1x 10W Micro-USB
1x 10.5W Micro-USB
1x 4W Micro-USB
Outputs
1x 10.5W USB
1x 10.5W USB
1x 21W USB
1x 10W USB
1x 5W USB
Auto-on/-off
Yes
Yes
No
Auto-on
No
Passthrough charging
Yes
Yes
No
Yes
No
Status indicator
4 LEDs
4 LEDs
4 LEDs
4 LEDs
No
LED flashlight
No
No
No
No
No
Carry case
Yes
No
No
No
Yes
Dimensions
93x48x23mm
91x60.4x22mm
77x21x93mm
118x11.6x63mm
92x23x23mm
Weight
137g
207g
247g
150g
80g
Warranty
1 year
1 year
Not specified
18 months
18 months
FULL REVIEW
TINYURL.COM/NGCNO5F
TINYURL.COM/NFQZOCB
TINYURL.COM/PVO2LEC
TINYURL.COM/PVO2LEC
TINYURL.COM/PZHUHJO
Overall rating
Best
desktop
chargers
Price
25 inc VAT
17 inc VAT
20 inc VAT
25 inc VAT
34 inc VAT
Website
Choetech.com
Hisgadget.com
Hisgadget.com
Zendure.com
Mobilefun.co.uk
60W
54W
50W
40W
50W
9W USB
12W USB
12W USB
12.5W USB
9W USB
12W USB
12W USB
12.5W USB
9W USB
12W USB
12W USB
12.5W USB
9W USB
12W USB
12W USB
12.5W USB
18W USB
12W USB
12W USB
12.5W USB
N/A
12W USB
N/A
12.5W USB
Overall rating
Max output
Outputs:
Colours available
Black
Black
Black
Black, white
White
Dimensions
71.5x29x88.4mm
94x60x25mm
100x69x27mm
97x60x27mm
100x69x26mm
Weight
158g
149g
180g
166g
189g
Warranty
1 year
1 year
1 year
1 year
2 years
FULL REVIEW
TINYURL.COM/QG4X5D9
TINYURL.COM/P2CZMCU
TINYURL.COM/MPA4DWC
TINYURL.COM/NKYNJ7P
TINYURL.COM/OCZXK93
07/12/2015 17:15
OUTBOX
NICK MEDIATI
15/12/2015 09:38
IBC_PCAMAR15.indd 71
10/12/2015 13:26
WERED BY
PO
IT
RE
NK
SP
FI
SIP TR
Specialists in business-class
Internet connectivity, SIP and Voice over IP
Dragonfly
[Anisoptera]
The Dragonfly flies up to 11,000 miles while migrating,
following the tropical rains
Benefits
Multiple business call features
Free calls between sites
No up front phone system set up costs
3 month contract gives maximum flexibility
www.spitfire.co.uk
OBC_PCAMAR15.indd 71
10/12/2015 13:32