Laptops/PCs/Apple

This latest version of the Swift 5 is small and powerful and while it is intended for use when out and about, as it has a full size HDMI port there is no reason while it should not be used at home or even in the office if it is the latter then make good use of the Kensington Lock socket or someone else will be using it.

The SoundBlaster Play 4 is a DAC, a plug in device to USB or USB ‘C’ that improves the sound quality of music and indeed of the spoken voice be in from a phone call or any other source. As a plus it can also improve your voice be it a phone call or any other connection with other people. In the simplest of terms a DAC is a Digital (to) Analogue Converter.

This is one of the new breed of Chromebooks that give you much more functionality and even allows access to the Google Play Store and that also allows you to link to your Android phone. In fact it bears little resemblance to an early Chromebook that did not even have the ability to store things offline. This should really be considered a totally new category of product.

This is both a landscape and a portrait panel that has plenty of back tilt and some forward tilt as well as side to side movement available. It is close to 24 inches in corner to corner display size and has built in speakers as well as a USB3 hub; so far however it has stubbornly refused to make my morning coffee, oh well I suppose you can’t have everything.

This Desktop offering is very different to the small and compact offering that I had previously reviewed on 10th February this year. While that could sit quietly and just do its job this is big and not only has a large illuminated ‘V’ on its front the left side has lots of holes that show the inside and also omit a good amount of light to its surroundings.

Sitting between a desktop and laptop viewing area, this next product reminds me of a cup of coffee.

Unlike other ‘rugged’ notebooks I have reviewed this one is a Tablet as it has no cover, and no keyboard other than an onscreen offering. It is not light as it weighs 2619 grams and the screen is 14 inches, totally touch operated either with finger, glove or the provided stylus. It has eight touch controls below the landscape screen.

This is now becoming a rare beast a Desktop PC rather that a Notebook. Sadly it has one thing missing – from my point of view – an optical drive. However during my testing period it has performed well in all departments that will satisfy most people.

This is a 27inch flat panel 1920x1080 that shows everything just that little bit larger, it also has something that most other flat panels do not have a decent set of speakers so external speakers should not be required, so what else does this recent offering from Philips have to tempt you.

Straight from the box this screen shows 3440x1440 which has the ability to show three screens of information at near to full HD IE 1920x1080 side by side with no real overlap and after a small amount of pruning this means no switching of screens just move your mouse to the bit you want and work away.

Certainly not a cheap notebook, however it is a very powerful offering that is capable of doing everything you ask and it does it all within a small footprint so easy to use at home, in the office, or on your travels. So the name is right this is a Travel Mate.

Combining extra functionality connections and plenty of storage capacity is a device from OWC.

Think of this large Tablet that can be used in the home, the office, and anywhere in between as it has a Sim and can therefore keep you in contact anywhere. It has rather good speakers however few will want to hold it to their ears because of size, so Bluetooth for a headset and some form or privacy for your phone calls.

Acer seem reluctant to bring in new names, as I have reviewed an Aspire 5 in the past, only the bit after the ‘5’ varies here however there is doubt that this a different unit as the previous one weighed over 2kilos and this one only clocks in a tad over 1.5 kilos so what else is new on this small and light laptop?

I am used to review samples coming with a US keyboard where only a few keys are differently placed but this arrived with a German keyboard and when you use a UK keyboard overlay on it a number of keys move the most obvious is that the Y and Z are transposed but harder to fathom is where other keys have gone the most vital on initial setup of this Notebook is the ‘@’ key as try entering an email address without it, once booted you can investigate further.

I must admit to have heard little of ViewSonic recently, that is until the company showcased some of its home/office products.

A substantial Tablet in that the screen is over ten inches, it runs Android 10, however as you probably know Trump had a falling out with Huawei and because of that certain features cannot be included, probably the biggest miss is the Google Store for Apps.

Not a new name but certainly the contents are a lot more powerful than the unit I reviewed three years ago. This is a light Notebook that is powerful at the same time; it can happily show a presentation onto an external HDMI panel so ideal for those that travel around.

Often when used as a mobile entertainment device, a smartphone requires plenty of storage space.

The lack of ports is often a problem for a lot of small Tablets as they have as little as a single USB ‘C’ port, this means that unless everything is online you need a hub; earlier hubs were full size USB offerings. This hub is right up to date being USB ‘C’ and the only driver you might require is if you decide to use the HDMI port to output your display to it.

This is quite like the last couple of flat panels that have passed onto my desk however this has one thing to commend it over them a slightly increased resolution as this has 2560x1440 resolution while not a huge amount you can work with more windows open without straining your eyes.

A Chromebook can do a lot of the things that a Microsoft Windows Laptop can do however they normally cost less money. This is a ‘Touch’ version so assuming what you want is available in a Chrome App then this offering may suit your needs.

A rare find these days a Desktop offering, rather than a Laptop/Tablet/Notebook. This is a very small offering the dimensions are below and it comes with a Wireless keyboard and mouse set so nothing apart from the panel needs to be on your desk.

This is a small and light 14inch screen notebook with an AMD processor from Honor. It is a fast product, so what if anything is there that could be improved, first it is not that cheap but then all the components are high end, second there is only a single SSD drive of 256GB divided into ‘C’ and ‘D’ and on an office desk you could be short of connections.

This 24 inch flat panel from Philips is one of their ‘B Line’ range. It gives 1920x1080 HD resolution and has a range of connections which includes USB ‘C’. Other reasons to purchase include a small stand, very easy assembly, the ability to swing it from side to side on the stand and narrow bezels.

This 24inch panel from Philips displays in 1920x1080 like the majority, but here the refresh rate is up to 75Hz instead of the standard 60Hz. Another of the plus features is USB ‘C’ and the ability to charge and transfer data from your notebook or Tablet via a single supplied cable. It also has pivot ability so can be used in portrait mode as well.

I am sure we all have a number of USB Sticks often they have information from vendors of course these may contains ‘cookies’ or much worse but we squirrel away information and data and hope it’s not corrupted when we need it.

A light and full function 1080P notebook that has touch built in so Windows 10 works well, as when it was designed touch was the way it was designed to be used. This notebook is bang up to date and has plenty of memory for you to use.

This is a small and light notebook from Acer that will easily fit into a bag or backpack for those times when you need to be mobile. However it has a full size keyboard and the screen is 1920x1080 so everything should appear exactly as in the office.

A very large and powerful Tower system designed not for gamers – although it’s very fast – but for those Creative People who are not the norm but those who need the power to create their work, this will certainly suit those in that category.