888316 Acer Swift 5 SF514 54Acer Swift 5

Published in Laptops/PCs/Apple by paul_smart on 25 Mar 2020
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.

887913 Acer ConceptD 500 CT500 performancAcer ConceptD

Published in Laptops/PCs/Apple by paul_smart on 14 Feb 2020
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.

887657 Philips Moda 276C8 LCD monitoPhilips 276C8

Published in Laptops/PCs/Apple by paul_smart on 29 Jan 2020
This is a 27inch flat panel that is for normal home or office use, it is not sold as a gaming panel so the refresh rate can be a little slower. However it is also a panel with USB ‘C’ as a connection method so its bang up to date.
The Raspberry Pi 4 Model B Starter Kit from OKdo, a brand of the long-established Electrocomponents Group, brings together all the special items necessary to get started and put together a computer based on the 4GB Raspberry Pi 4 Model B single board computer.
This is large and you will need to sit well away for normal work and even farther away for those times when you marvel at videos shot in high resolution as this panel displays 3440x1440 and unlike other manufacturers offerings this requires no drivers to do it.

886851 AOC Porsche Q27T1 27inch Widescreen IPS LED MonitoAOC Q27T1 Flat Panel

Published in Laptops/PCs/Apple by paul_smart on 11 Dec 2019
This is a 27inch panel that takes up not a great deal of your desk space. The secret is the shape of the stand that remains mainly within the footprint of the panel. So will this achieve everyone’s nirvana of a clean and clear desk space?
This is a keyboard for those who hate the onscreen keyboard that you get with SmartPhones and Tablets. But it is small in its collapsed dimensions it even has a carry bag and the whole thing is 27x5x3cm and weighs only 228gram including instructions.

886045 Acer Chromebook 315 CB315 2H Chrome BooAcer Chromebook 315

Published in Laptops/PCs/Apple by paul_smart on 4 Nov 2019
Having recently told you about a smaller Chromebook, here is something larger that may suit. In fact for those only used to Windows this will not have a lot of differences for you to get used to and if you do not require third party Apps designed for Windows then it may do everything that you require. Also with Windows 7 support ending in January 2020 another reason to change.

885833 brando usb mouse paMousepad with USB Hub

Published in Laptops/PCs/Apple by paul_smart on 11 Oct 2019
This is an aluminium alloy mouse mat (Mousepad) but apart from controlling your mouse it lets you get extra USB ports via lead supplied as well as a Gigabit Ethernet port and both SD and Micro SD ports. So your notebook – even USB ‘C’ only now has standard USB3 and more on tap. I am told it also works with MacBooks.

885692 MOFT Laptop Stand Adjustable Height Folding Laptop StanMOFT Thin Laptop Stand

Published in Laptops/PCs/Apple by paul_smart on 27 Sep 2019
Those old enough to remember manual typewriters will know that you had a good rake on the keys so your hands were always in the right position to type. Desktop computer keyboards less so but if you used the fold out keyboard support correctly there was still some rake, now sadly notebooks have flat keyboards, here is one solution.

885591 AOC U2790PQU LED MonitoAOC 27inch Panel

Published in Laptops/PCs/Apple by paul_smart on 23 Sep 2019
A good sized panel capable of showing up to 4K as well as a range of screen sizes upwards from HD. Its stand means that the amount of desk space it takes is less than most of a similar screen size and the ability to lower or raise the panel is just another good point that can make this something that can fulfil so many demands without costing a fortune.
Chromebooks have been a Windows alternative for a while and dependant on the tasks you want to carry out can be all you need. Certainly you would not get a Windows touch panel unit for anywhere near the price of this Chromebook offering.
This 27inch QHD Philips monitor, model 272B7QUBHEB, has been designed to provide high performance and to incorporate a range of features such as USB-C docking which are aimed at improving ease of use and enhancing business productivity.

885113 Toshiba S300 5TB Surveillance HDToshiba 5TB S300

Published in Laptops/PCs/Apple by paul_smart on 2 Aug 2019
While some Tower and Desktop systems still have 5.25 inch drive bays I have recently seen some who only support 2.5 inch bays rather the norm of 3.5 inch bays. So this latest offering from Toshiba is most likely to be used in a NAS (network attached storage) solution.
This 24inch touch panel can be used as any other panel landscape when vertical but also at any point through 90 degrees of tilt till it is landscape horizontal and with its always attached stand it remains totally stable in any position.

884851 amazon fire 7 tablet with AlexFire 7 16GB with Alexa

Published in Laptops/PCs/Apple by paul_smart on 15 Jul 2019
Recently my review of an 8th Generation Kindle was published and it was something I had not seen for a number of versions. Here another such items a Fire Tablet which I see – over the years - I had tried three previous versions, now it comes with Alexa built in so it is possible to talk to your Tablet. So what exactly has been happening with the Fire Tablet recently?

884584 Acer Nitro N50 600 Gaming PAcer Nitro N50-600D

Published in Laptops/PCs/Apple by paul_smart on 28 June 2019
This is a small but extremely powerful tower system. Acer does a number of different versions under the same name and model number both with and without an SSD drive, it also has various Intel and AMD processors so do think about all this prior to selecting where to purchase it from as certain models like this one are only available from two outlets.
Raspberry Pi has launched its 4th generation model which is significantly faster and more capable than any of the existing products.
The Philips 222B9T 21.5 inch 1920 x1080 touch screen monitor with its 16:9 aspect ratio has been built to the IP54 environmental standard for dust and water protection so it can be used in more arduous situations for point-of-sale (PoS), information kiosks or workshop applications rather than just in the office.
This panel could answer all your viewing requirements. It’s big enough to watch a film comfortably and its range of connections work for a PC or a Notebook/Tablet and even your phone as it even has a USB ‘C’ connection. I used it in HD and a range of other screen sizes up to 4K and it can work in both landscape and portrait modes.
Finding a small tower is not easy, Dell describe this as a ‘Small Form Factor Workstation’. I was asked to find a sub £600 small Tower. This however does not actually fill the request but it is a very powerful system that would do everything you need. On the face of it the price is only just over that figure but as it’s sold as a business unit VAT has to be added.

884282 lenovo ideapad 330 151KB laptoLenovo Ideapad

Published in Laptops/PCs/Apple by mfereday on 28 May 2019
When looking for a portable computer that will not take up too much room in your luggage, this next product might fit the bill.
Size matters and here this is a small tower that can deliver as much as most large towers except of course take up far less desk space. So if you need expansion then this unit can give it as there are three slots although one is occupied in the setup sent to me by the graphics card. So what has Acer squeezed into this small format desktop tower.
This flat panel from Dell ticks a lot of boxes it can be viewed Landscape or Portrait, you can connect to it via Display Port, HDMI or USB ‘C’ and it also has USB ports, and for good measure a screen that does take up unnecessary space.

883785 Toshiba Canvio Premium 400Toshiba 4TB USB Drive

Published in Laptops/PCs/Apple by paul_smart on 22 Apr 2019
External hard drives used to be large and also require external power now not only are they powered by the USB lead they are also very capacious and often far larger than the hard disc of the PC that they are often connected to.

883594 AOC G2868PQU LCS 4K Ultra HD LEAOC 4K G2868PQU

Published in Laptops/PCs/Apple by paul_smart on 15 Apr 2019
Having the ability to display four screens at once is possible for all users of this panel and while technically you could do the same manually with a 1920x1080 display I am not sure how long most people’s eyes would last and indeed how much you could see with it. Here however once used to the AOC software moving things is a breeze.
Last year Dell showed their new rugged range in London and as spring dawns one of their offerings arrives for me to give it the once over. Of course it will be in my office and the around surroundings and not as the early sample was in far flung places with very inhospitable conditions when things like battery life were truly life challenging.
The Philips 27 inch monitor 273V7Q is a no frills basic 1920 x 1080 unit offering reasonable performance and so will meet the needs of many users who want to keep their eyes on their budget.

882976 Acer Nitro 5 Gaming NotebooAcer Nitro 5

Published in Laptops/PCs/Apple by paul_smart on 15 Mar 2019
A powerful Windows 10 notebook for those who still need all the connections yes it even has Ethernet. So suitable for both work and dare I say the word PLAY. This is a solidly constructed offering that may even reduce the need for so many visits to the gym.