I’ve used quite a few tablets in the last year, and indeed I now own three of them (don’t ask!) including the Touchpad and now the Playbook.  So which is better and how does RIM’s model stack up against the competition?

The Blackberry Playbook has a 7 inch screen, a 1GHz processor, 1Gb of RAM and comes with either 16Gb, 32Gb or 64Gb of storage.  It weighs a dinky 425 grams.  By comparison the HP Touchpad has a 9.7 inch screen a 1.2GHz processor, 1Gb RAM and either 32Gb or 64Gb storage, weighing a heftier 740 grams and the iPad 2, also with a 9.7 inch screen contains a 1GHz dual-core processor, 512Mb RAM, 16Gb, 32Gb or 64Gb of storage but weighs in at a much more reasonable 610 grams.

The Playbook does have certain advantages over the competition however which start with a micro-HDMI socket and include extras such as a touch-sensitive bezel, clearly labelled controls on the outer edge and two cameras, a 3MP affair on the front and a healthy 5MP camera on the rear.  This is compared to the woeful 1.3MP webcam on the Touchpad.  The battery life on the Playbook is also excellent, being a match for the Touchpad, but perhaps not the huge battery life of the iPad 2.

The screen is excellent but the resolution is only 1024 x 600 and this results in a fair amount of scrolling being necessary in order to read a full web page or document.  The included software bundle is generally speaking bog standard with apps for the camera, mapping (using the on board GPS which doesn’t work anywhere near as well as the TouchPad), music and music store, video (and YouTube), pictures, video chat (but only with other Playbooks which seems pointless), Calculator, Adobe Reader, Weather, Facebook, Twitter, Hotmail and Gmail (the last three are simply links to the relevant websites), app store and voice notes.  There is also DataViz’ excellent Documents to go for creating and editing Word, Excel and PowerPoint files.

I encountered a significant problem with my Playbook however in that these apps aren’t delivered in flash memory with the OS itself but are rather downloaded from the cloud and Rim’s own servers.  The update server was down when I got my machine and so for almost an entire day my tablet had nothing more on it than the web browser.  This is the achilles heel of RIM’s services as their servers do seem to go down with some regularity.  To have a hardware device that you’ve bought and paid for so tightly integrated with the company’s own servers is something of a worry.

The software is missing a few key apps.  There are currently no native email and calendaring apps (though these are coming later this month with the next OS release so this shouldn’t put you off buying one) and the machine and screen lock feature doesn’t work properly, it asked me for a password every time I turned the machine on even though I had told it to only lock after 30 minutes.  Hopefully this is something else that will be sorted out.

The app store is well stocked but not quite as well stocked as I might have hoped and it can be difficult and fiddly to navigate and find what you want.  I thought the app store on the Touchpad was fairly barren but the Playbook’s store is not much better.

With the OS itself I found some simple tasks, such as closing a browser window, took two actions where on other devices they would only take one, and the left-right swipe action needed to select a running app on the home screen to open was often over-zealous and swiped straight past the one you wanted.  Despite these niggles though the OS is certainly polished, very fast indeed and very responsive.  I really like it.

One of the problems I faced with my Touchpad was being unable to hold it in one hand when using it, it’s just too heavy and bulky for that, as is the iPad.  I was hoping then that a smaller 7 inch tablet would solve these problems.  Alas it’s still just a little heavy and left my hand aching between my thumb and forefinger after holding it for moderate periods.  Resting it on the knee doesn’t work too much either as it’s just too small for that and suddenly you find it’s too far away.  It can also get a little hot in extended use.

You might think then that I don’t like the Playbook and wouldn’t recommend it.  In fact quite the opposite is true.  For the problems and niggles there is also much to like.  RIM’s QNX operating system is very similar to WebOS in many ways, almost always in ways that make it intuitive and simple to operate.  It’s nice to see that RIM have put a great deal of focus on ease of use and they’ve certainly succeeded.

It is very small and light too, so if you’re looking for something to use on the daily commute this won’t get in the way and will be very comfortable to use in an airline seat too, where larger tablets can be too big.  I’d have liked to have seen a 3G/4G slot on something so portable, and this is a complaint I commonly make about tablets and laptops, but for these new super-cheap prices I couldn’t really complain.

It’s this new low price though that really sells the tablet to me.  In build quality, form factor and weight it’s every bit the competitor to Amazon’s new Kindle Fire tablet, but now it also competes keenly on price.  With that excellent screen it’s a very capable eBook reader but doesn’t have the Amazon Kindle-store-focused front-end.  If you’re after your first tablet you won’t get any better for the price.  If you want a tablet to use seriously though and don’t mind spending more, then you might be better looking at the available Android machines.

The first thing I need to say here is that personal choice comes into this in a sizable way.  I for instance like using large computer screens, 23 inch and above, on which I can see complete web pages and other programs and documents simultaneously.  I extensively use Windows 7′s Aero Snap feature which allows me to pin programs and documents to the left and right of my screen so that I can compare them.  That’s when I’m working however.  A tablet for me is something that I will commonly use lounging on the sofa or sitting on the train.  It’s purely an entertainment device and, currently, will only be used for checking my email, a little light web browsing and gaming.

Weight and portability will also factor in largely depending on your own personal view.  Some people won’t mind having a slightly larger and heavier tablet with them as they commonly carry a bag that suits it.  For other people who might carry a smaller bag, or dislike such things, then portability and even pocket-ability is a major factor.

In the image below you can see three different tablets.  The 11.6 inch EXOPC Slate running the Windows 8 Consumer Preview, the 9.7 inch HP Touchpad running WebOS and the 7 inch Blackberry Playbook running QNX.  This will not be a review of usability of the individual devices and their operating systems, just of their size, weight and form-factor.  So which do I prefer and why?

Clearly if you are using a tablet for light duties anything above a 10 inch screen is going to make for a weighty machine that you simply won’t be able to hold comfortably in one hand.  The EXOPC weighs in at around one and half kilos and the ASUS EP121 was just as heavy, if not slightly more so.  I would say that these tablets aren’t for using casually or for travel.  They are for people who take their computing seriously and want a tablet they can actually do some work with.  I’ve seen people using iPads with docks and bluetooth keyboards on trains and it can safely be said this is by far the best way to use a tablet over the size of 10 inches.  In a way this actually negates the point of it being a tablet as it’s easy to argue that adding a keyboard to a tablet turns it into a laptop, or at least means that it suddenly isn’t a tablet any more.

So what of the 10 inch tablets.  Now this category includes many Android machines and also, most famously Apple’s iPad and iPad 2.  It is in this arena that Apple are on to a winner as weight does become an issue.  You might remember Steve Job’s address when he first unveiled the iPad.  Many people criticised him for resting it on his knee while he was working on it.  While this might have been necessary it still remains that the iPad and iPad 2 are two of the lightest tablets available in their class.  The HP Touchpad, seen above, is almost a third heavier than the iPad 2 and it shows.  In use I almost always have to rest it on something when using it, but as I’m usually relaxing on the sofa it doesn’t really bother me.

On the plus side, that 10 inch screen does allow me to see an entire web page or a whole document at one time.  There’s no swiping and scrolling around all the time so that I can read everything.  This is a huge plus for people who just want to be able to relax with their devices.  This form factor is really very portable too, though you’ll quickly notice the bulk when carrying it in your luggage for a trip away and for using it on a train.

One of the reasons that 10 inch tablets are more bulky is that this is the size of tablet that still uses the traditional 4:3 screen aspect ratio.  It’s very true that this allows you to see much more at one time, but if you’re after an entertainment device to, for example, watch movies then you will be using electricity to power parts of the screen that won’t be doing anything.  If you’re in an airline seat too this aspect ratio can get in the way and make what is in effect a small device suddenly feel bulky.

So it must be the 7 inch tablet then that wins?  Well, let’s not be too hasty as while these machines are certainly small and light, some will even fit in an ‘oversized’ jacket pocket, that small screen isn’t very suitable for today’s modern web browsing.  You will find yourself scrolling around a lot to read the information you want, though in portrait mode they can make excellent eBook readers, being the only tablets you can comfortably hold with one hand.

One major advantage of the 7 inch tablets is also one of their largest failings.  I feel with the Playbook that if I go out, perhaps to walk the dog, I want to take it with me and carry on web browsing while walking round the common or sitting on the bus.  Alas far too few tablets these days come equipped with SIM card slots and this is where these ‘mobile’ devices begin to fail.  If you’re after a tablet, whatever size you want, I would strongly advise getting one that’s 3G or even 4G enabled.  Mobile data costs are plummeting and a device such as this, unless you watch video on it, will use much less data in general usage than you might expect it to.

I firmly believe that all mobile computing devices these days should support mobile broadband, it’s a no-brainer given how we now work and play.  It is a shame though that too many manufacturers don’t include this, or charge significant premiums for it, when it’s such a cheap and accessible technology.  My EXOPC for example didn’t come with it, but the company fitted it for me for just £40 (around $55).

It’s this lack of portability on some 7 inch tablets that makes me ask why I should use that if I’m going to be tied to my home, why shouldn’t I use a 10 inch tablet instead?  For this reason I believe the 10 inch tablets are the overall winner, and clearly Apple believe this too as they currently make no other sizes.  If you can get a 7 inch tablet with a SIM card slot then I would advise to think seriously about it, but if a SIM card slot isn’t available, or is out of your budget, then 10 inch is definitely where the best value for money lies.

I was excited about its arrival today.  I already own an HP TouchPad that I picked up in last year’s fire sale and I love WebOS.  It is an extremely friendly and usable OS but, alas, sometimes the 10 inch form factor is a little large and the TouchPad weighs more than its equivalent iPad.  I was looking forward then to trying a dinky 7 inch Playbook and when it arrived I opened the packaging with scant regard for reusing it sometime.

When I turned it on I found that it was still logged-in with the user account of my relative, complete with her settings and possibly even credit-card details for the marketplace.  I decided then to start from scratch and reset the device.  Now you might ordinarily expect a “factory reset” to restore a computer to the point it was at when it left the factory, yes?  On any other device, for example my TouchPad or an iPad, an iPhone, my Windows Phone or any Android tablet a reset would set the machine up for you as you would see it when it was first unboxed, complete with apps for the camera, mapping, photos, music, videos, possibly file management, a few games and of course a web browser.

All I can say is that when I had finished the reset and had created a new Blackberry ID for myself the web browser was there.  I was very alarmed at this point to discover that everything else had been deleted, including all of the apps that you might consider “default” and a part of the operating system.  You can see this in the screenshot above (which I was fortunately able to take despite the camera app being absent).

After a mild panic I hit the Blackberry forums to search for an answer.  Here I discovered a great many people having problems at the same time with, usually new, Playbooks.  A phone call to the support department (at least Blackberry have actual Human beings answering a phone which is an absolute blessing) confirmed my fears, that the company was having yet another server outage, this time to the update servers, following a botched maintenance operation.

The support person informed me that the default apps weren’t on the flash memory in the device, but were instead loaded upon a reset from the Blackberry OS and software update server, which was down, and that as a result I’d been given a corrupt version of the operating system and would have to wait until the servers were repaired and try the whole operation again.

Currently the Playbook is sitting on my desk, switched off as it’s not quite heavy enough to be used as a doorstop.  These server outages at RIM are regularly reported and the achilles heel of the company’s desire to direct all traffic through it’s own closed and secure servers.  The last time there was a Blackberry outage it lasted for several days and affected every country worldwide.  On my very first day with any Blackberry device, here was the evil gremlin laughing back at me.

I’m not saying this isn’t a reason to jump back to my TouchPad, I’ve not turned it on today.  This is a major problem affecting RIM however and its one that is causing them significant problems with lost market share as the 21st century progresses.  I can live without my Playbook for a few more days, frustrating as it might be, but for RIM to survive in the long-term, server outages such as this one simply must be the exception instead of the rule.

Kinect for the Windows operating system has been officially announced during that keynote, which will be available from February 1 on. Retail sites like Amazon are already accepting preorders, with the price tag set to $249.99, which is about $100 more than Xbox 360 users have to pay. A recent blog post on the Kinect for Windows blog reveals details about the difference in pricing.

The ability to sell Kinect for Xbox 360 at its current price point is in large part subsidized by consumers buying a number of Kinect games, subscribing to Xbox LIVE, and making other transactions associated with the Xbox 360 ecosystem. In addition, the Kinect for Xbox 360 was built for and tested with the Xbox 360 console only, which is why it is not licensed for general commercial use, supported or under warranty when used on any other platform.

No subsidizing, no license for commercial use and no support or warranty are the core reasons for the price difference between Kinect for Windows and Microsoft’s Xbox. Microsoft will offer “special academic pricing” later this year.

Kinect for Windows will only run on computers running the Windows 7 or Windows 8 operating systems, and on Windows embedded-based devices. Microsoft will not charge license fees for the SDK or runtime, which will be available for free (and likely included with the Kinect for Windows hardware).

Developers who are currently using the beta SDK with the Xbox Kinect unit may continue to do so until June 16, 2016. New projects, non-commercial and commercial alike, are not permitted to use the unit. They “require the fully tested and supported Kinect for Windows hardware and software platform”.

Kinect for Windows ships with a small USB cable to connect the device to PCs and supported devices. A new firmware for the Windows unit enables the so called near mode which allows the sensors to pick up movement as near as 50 centimeters in front of the device.

Verdict

If you are asking me, I’d say that Kinect for Windows will take a backseat in the beginning. The product certainly has its appeal for developers. End users on the other hand cannot really do a lot with the unit straight from the start. The product seems to ship without games or applications, and if you add the price tag and need for installation of the SDK software to it you end up with an unattractive bundle for now. This may change in the future when apps or conversions becomes available.

What’s your take on Kinect for Windows?

Now after much speculation the prices of RIM’s Playbook 7 inch tablet are also beginning to crash with the 16Gb, 32Gb and 64Gb versions all for sale on the RIM website in the US for an equal $299.  It’s not clear why all models have been pitched at the same price but this presents a $400 discount on the most expensive model and is almost 50% off the cheapest.

I have spoken to several people who were either given or bought themselves a Playbook for Christmas simply because of the price, and all of them told me the same story as was heard when the TouchPad fire sale was on.  This being that the tablet is an excellent device for both home and work but that the price was simply too high before.

This is where Android tablets have a slight advantage, with the core operating system being free, but it’s a common trend because a tablet is seen much more as a consumer electronics device than a computer and, thus, people simply don’t want to spend PC money on something that will only be for light usage.  This makes complete sense when compared to the pricing of other “dedicated” devices such as the Xbox 360 and Nintendo Wii.

So what does this mean for the tablet market going forward, and what might it mean for Windows 8 where Microsoft will levy a charge for the core OS on each tablet sold.  Clearly consumers are speaking loudly with their wallets and saying that, overall, tablets are far too expensive.  There’s still a good market for tablets but at $400 each they’re too expensive for most.  While many people are anticipating Windows 8 tablets it’s very likely that overall sales will be sluggish, pushed downwards by tight profit margins and the high cost of hardware.  Apple too could see sales figures drop and the iPad become a high-end product, unless they choose to release a 7 inch version sometime soon that is.

It’s also a pity that two really great tablet operating systems now look set to be lost forever as the TouchPad and Playbook disappear.  Both operating systems, and some of the associated hardware such as the Playbook’s touch-sensitive bezel, were highly innovative.  Having lived through the all-exciting home-computing revolution of the 1980′s I can say that it was inevitable that the number of tablet operating systems on the market would dwindle, but competition breeds innovation and, as such, it’s always sad to see something go.

If you’re in the market for a tablet then it might be a good time to buy a Playbook.  In the UK the 16Gb and 32Gb versions can currently be bought from the Carphone Warehouse for just £169 and £199 respectively and it’s entirely possible that these prices might fall further and extend to other suppliers.  Keep an eye on these prices because if the TouchPad fire sale taught us anything, it’s that the final few days could come and go very quickly indeed, and once they’re gone… they’re gone.

The handset that Nokia sent me was the black model that’s the first time come to market.  The Lumia 800 will soon be available in several colours including a very fetching pale blue.  It’s almost identical in the hardware to their recent MeeGo handset, the N9 and is very fetching too.  The glass expanse on the front that covers almost the entire front of the handset is extremely attractive and the build quality overall is of an extremely high quality.

Internally it’s a little better than other Windows Phones with a 1,400MHz processor, the usual 512Mb of RAM but a healthy 16Gb of storage.  There are also all the features you’d expect in a modern smartphone.  Externally the handsets sports a 3.7 inch AMOLED screen and an 8 MP camera with a Carl Zeiss Lens, usually the preserve of companies such as Sony, a a dual LED flash.

There is little doubt in my mind that the Lumia 800 is a thing of beauty and every bit as desirable as the Apple alternative, if not even more so.  When you actually live with the handsets though is the experience always as pleasurable?  I set about finding out.

The Lumia 800 has had a difficult birth.  When Microsoft and Nokia first announced their strategic partnership early this year there was a great deal of pressure already on the Finnish phone maker.  Their ageing Symbian operating system was failing in the market, their MeeGo platform with Intel was going nowhere and the company was admitting it was in trouble.  Nokia needed Microsoft as much as Microsoft needed Nokia.  This wasn’t a love-in, it was more like a desperate marriage to keep both parties afloat.

Despite a huge marketing campaign surrounding the Lumia 800 rumours have abounded of sluggish sales.  The company has also had to rush out a patch to fix an issue with poor battery life.

I was definitely looking forward to trying the Lumia 800 and have been looking forward to it for ages now, right from when I saw the first leaked images.

It’s a little heavier than some other Windows Phones, at 142g, and there’s not really any indication as to why as there’s not much more here than you’d find anywhere else.  Some people do like a slightly weighty phone though so they can feel it on their person.  It’s far from heavy though and will fit in a shirt pocket without sagging.

The screen is slightly disappointing.  It actually looks small under such a huge expanse of glass.  It’s lacking contrast too with whites looking a bit creamy on medium brightness.  Finally it suffers from the curse of all AMOLED screens with the live tiles in Windows Phone looking a little fuzzy around the edges if you get close.  The camera is a little disappointing too with images looking a bit washed out.  The camera with the Xenon flash on my Own HTC Mozart is far better and even the camera with an LED flash on the new HTC Titan is a big improvement over the Lumia.

I also have concerns about the USB socket.  This sits behind a plastic pop up flap on the top of the handset, next to the headphone jack.  The effect makes for a very clean outer but I can’t escape the nagging feeling that this flap will probably break over time, especially as you need to charge modern smartphones every day.The battery, like the iPhone, is non-removable but this shouldn’t be a problem for most.

It’s in the software though where this handset shines.  The Nokia Drive satnav app is by far the best addition with downloadable maps for most countries in the world available for free.  This enables you to use your phone as an in car or walking satnav without having to worry about maintaining a data connection.  This single app makes the Lumia 800 worth having on its own.  Elsewhere the custom Nokia software is less inspiring and mostly duplicates, though happily doesn’t replace, the in built Windows Phone apps for music and mapping.

So what do I think of the Nokia Lumia 800 Windows Phone overall and am I disappointed?  In short I’m certainly not disappointed and I’m looking forward to using the phone in anger over Christmas and New Year.  It’s s perfect fit in the hand and very comfortable to hold when making calls, something not every Windows Phone is.  The software and hardware package overall is quite simply superb and the inclusion of a protectivive silicon rubber case and a low-profile charger means that for a first Windows Phone from Nokia I believe we can expect some very exciting things from the company going forward.

Now though the company has gone public with yet more product concepts that are even more exciting than the EXOdesk, is such a thing were possible and are now showing what the touch interfaces of tomorrow will be like.

EXO PC launched jujst over a year ago with their excellent Windows 7 tablet, the EXO PC Slate.  This machine was widely priased for fantastic build quality and I even got one myself for this reason.  The company though is primarily software-focused and now they’re returning to their roots developing and refining multi-touch interfaces.

The EXOdesk is still coming, and Viewsonic will have a prototype on their stall at the Consumer Electronics Show in January in Las Vegas.  Other products through include the EXOtable for your living room.  In the concept the company describes this as a device used to choose a movie, view and organise pictures and play a board game with your family.  Other uses include email and social networking as well as regular browsing.

Their productivity EXOtable takes things to a whole new level however with a draughtsman’s type workstation complete with 32 point touch screen.  If set to work with a variety of styli this desk would surely be the dream for any engineer, designer or technical expert.  It is a very clever and completely obvious use for multi-touch technology that is crying out to be put into full production.

The company’s last EXOtable is a throwback to the gaming tables of the 1980′s that came with PacMan and various other games.  This sit anywhere 32-point touch screen is perfect for groups playing games together.

All of these products are concepts for now, though I can believe they will be coming soon because the EXOdesk will already be shown off to the press and public just next month.  The price point for all of these will be low, which is what’s needed.  Microsoft’s Surface is still a very expensive technology because of the in-built computer.  With the EXOdesk and EXOtables, EXO PC are taking a much more sensible, practical and, I think, a much more long-term approach to the technology.

The products will live or die on the quality of the interfaces and apps available for them however.  I don’t doubt that app developers will clamour to write innovating new programs for these devices, but the price point is critical here to help get them in places where enough people will use them to get developers interested.

All in all though these are truly fantastic concepts and much closer to release than any similar technologies we’ve seen in recent years.  EXO PC is certainly a company to keep a close eye on.

What it means though is a huge leap forward in processing power and this can have the benefits of enabling supercomputers to perform vastly more calculations per second than are currently available, or for far smaller supercomputers to be constructed that would not only be considerably cheaper than today’s machines, but that would also consume much less electricity.

As and when this technology filters down towards the consumer level this will mean smaller and much more energy-efficient datacentres and rack servers that can support up to fifty virtualised environments simultaneously.

Obviously the huge memory required to support running this many VMs is not supported by modern server single-processor motherboards.  Intel will be busy now designing a new generation of motherboards to harness the full power of Knight’s Corner.

There’s no word yet on how much a single Knight’s Corner ship will cost and even who will be able to buy one.  There’s also no word on how reliable the new chip will be.  It is after-all, state of the art technology and packing so many processing cores into a single die will have enormous side-effects and will require some serious cooling.  Intel is obviously happy enough with their new monster though that they’re happy to put it on sale.

Intel say the Knight’s Corner chip is “fully accessible and programmable” and is “visible to applications as though it was  a computers that runs its own Linux-based operating system, independent of the host OS.”

The benefits of this new architecture are the ability to run existing applications without the need to port the code to a new programming environment, according to Tom’s Hardware.  This means that scientists will be able to use the chip with existing x86 and x64 applications and code which will save everything having to be rewritten for the new chip.

The next generation of processors for PCs will also be based on a 22nm manufacturing process that will make them faster and considerably more power-efficient.  Every generation of processors now consume much less energy than the ones before them and a processor has even been demonstrated now that consumes less power when working flat out than a standard PC chip today does when in standby.

With such enormous jumps being made up to 50 cores already, only a few short years after the first dual core chips arrived, it’s clear that it won’t be very long before we see more cores appearing on the desktop and in mobile devices.  Now the operating system manufacturers will need to start engineering their next generation products to leverage the power of these cores effectively to maximise the benefits they bring.

This still doesn’t hit the magic price point of $99.  This is the point at which something drops to the magic ‘obtainable’ price and hearts and minds are won.

Part of the problem stems from the fact that technology is still relatively expensive to manufacture.  There are also only so many manufacturing plants worldwide and the current demand for high-tech electronics such as Apple’s iPad and smartphones dominates many of them.

You might think then that mass-producing these devices would inevitably drive manufacturing costs down.  It’s not quite that simple though as it also emerged today that the new $79 kindle actually costs $84 to make, with Amazon set to make the extra money back through books store sales.

The mark-up on the price of the iPad also isn’t great when you factor in the distribution and retailer costs.  The raw components for technology are, in some cases, becoming harder to mine and some costs are going up, not down.

You might think then that what we really need is a push back to slightly older, some might say “tried and tested” technology that genuinely is cheap as chips to manufacture to help push it into the homes of low-income households worldwide.  But issues around supply and manufacture will always make this technology just as expensive to produce as a new invention as they are all made from the same raw components.

The problem is though that millions of children worldwide are missing out of the educational benefits that computers and the Internet bring.  Pensioners around the world are continuing to be isolated because of the lack of Internet communications and don’t have access to online shopping services that can help them.

The US government said today that last year the number of Americans with broadband at home rose to 68%.  I don’t know what you think but when compared to some scandanavian and far-eastern countries this is pretty pathetic.  It’s a number shared by too many developed countries however and in the developing world we’re often looking at single digit percentages.

What’s need is a greater effort and a greater subsidy to help low-income households around the world get a computer of some description and a broadband connection at home, and to make sure that every child has easy access to both.  In a time when the budgets of world governments are being stretched, and household budgets are being stretched further, the gap between the have’s and the have not’s is widening faster than ever before.

In a report by USA Today, FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski said “In this difficult economy, we need everyone to be working together on solutions, Broadband is a key to economic and educational opportunity and these kinds of commitments to close the digital divide are powerful.”

Never was a truer word said.  Now let’s see if world governments are prepared to do anything about it.

I’ll start this conversation by getting all teary-eyed.  It’s a huge pity that two operating systems as capable as MeeGo and WebOS both seem to be on their way out forever.  We all know that the worldwide smartphone market is easily big enough to support them, but support is the issue as it costs millions for companies to develop and maintain these operating systems.  This is money that Nokia simply don’t have and that HP may not be willing to pay.

But what will this mean for you in the coming years?  For the moment people who have iPhones seem to want the next iPhone when their mobile contract ends, and people who are on Android seem to like it too.  Windows Phone hasn’t yet been around long enough for anyone to reach the end of their first contract using it but RIM’s Blackberry’s also have a loyal following.

There are several main reasons for smartphone loyalty.  These include people being resistant to change and not wanting to learn something new, just getting really comfortable with an operating system and also having paid a lot of money for all those apps you won’t be able to port to a new OS.

But loyalty and favouritism for the operating system isn’t the whole picture.  There is also loyalty to the handset manufacturer.  Many people love Nokia, or HTC because they’ve always had a good experience with their phones.  Many more people like Sony Ericsson (soon to be just Sony) for their gaming integration and so on.

In the end though we all tire of the mundane and want a change occasionally.  This could mean iPhone users jumping ship to Android or Blackberry users jumping ship to Windows Phone.  In short, it could mean anything and there are a whole lot of factors to consider.  There is also the question of if you have loyalty to any one manufacturer and how you feel about this?  I’m very fond of HTC but I’ve owned phones by LG, Sony and others and all have been very good too.

So I’m interested ot ask here what platform you are currently loyal to, if indeed you’re loyal to one at all and what other ones you would consider in the future if you’ve even thought that far ahead?  To start I’ll say I’m very loyal to Windows Phone but, as and when I get bored I’d consider either the iPhone or a BlackBerry.  This would be for several reasons, I’m not happy with the malware problem that still exists on Android and while I don’t like iOS very much, you can’t easily complain about Apple’s hardware.  For BlackBerry, they’d have to produce another handset similar to the Storm, a full touchscreen as I’d never want a full QWERTY keyboard.

So what are your preferences?

According to a report by NeoWin an unnamed HP employee has been quoted as saying “There’s a 95 (percent) chance we all get laid off between now and November, and I for one am thinking it’s for the best.”

In the last couple of months several companies have expressed an interest in buying WebOS, and as a TouchPad owner I can say it’s a remarkably capable and usable tablet OS.  So far nothing has come of it and HP haven’t given any indications that they would wish to sell it.

But could the company just kill it without selling it?  While unlikely this is a possibility and it begs the question where does this leave existing TouchPad owners?

Some people will install Android on it, and I suppose this is always the nuclear option for some.  Many people however will have no idea how to perform such an operation and will be left with a device that will no longer be supported.  In it’s simplest form this just means that the operating system won’t be refined and developed over time.  At it’s worst it means that any bugs and flaws in the system that could be exploited by others won’t be fixed.

Even if WebOS is sold it will be a very significant amount of time before the new owners can begin rolling out updates.  In short this is very bad news for TouchPad owners generally if the rumour turns out to be true.

To add weight to this, HP announced this week that they will be producing Windows 8 tablets for 2012, and we can assume they are already testing prototype hardware now.  It’s even been rumoured the TouchPad hardware might live on with Windows 8 on board, though this is unlikely.

Of equal concern is what will happen to owners of the HP smartphones that are also running WebOS.  These people will need security updates and patches more than tablet owners, because of the direct billing capabilities built into phones.  These people will need firm answers from HP, and pretty soon.

HP has previously said it was committed to WebOS, though the company has changed its mind so much in recent months that nobody would really believe them now whatever they said.  Only a couple of months ago they were talking about offloading their entire PC division, but now they’ve decided that they would really rather hang on to it.  This is company with serious decision-making issues!

For now we’ve just had another update to WebOS rolled out.  I love my TouchPad and wouldn’t want it to be the last.  WebOS is extremely capable and has huge amounts of potential.  In my view it is quite simply the finest tablet operating system available currently.

It’s such a shame then that it’s been so poorly managed.  Do you have a WebOS phone or tablet?  What do you think about this rumour?

For me desktop replacements have to be good to earn the name.  They have to genuinely be able to replace your desktop and this means at least a Core i5 processor, lots of memory, huge volumes of hard disk space and, crucially, a large screen.  My own laptop is a desktop replacement workstation, the Dell M6600 which is an absolute monster with a price tag to match of around $4,000, but it’s possible to get much of the same for significantly less.  A couple of months ago I reviewed Samsung‘s RF711 gaming desktop replacement laptop which comes in at under $1,000 and, while it may make a few compromises such as not having a full HD 17 inch screen, it does come packed with a Core-i7 chip, 6Gb of Ram and twin hard disks.

Now though Acer have stepped into the frame with the new Aspire Athos 8951G and it’s got a very interesting little trick up its sleeve.  This is the most enormous laptop I’ve ever seen with a huge 18.4 inch full HD screen.  It’s over 40 cm wide and weighs more than 4Kg.  Inside though the package is very impressive with my model packing a quad core 2.2GHz Core-i7, 8Gb of DDR3 ram (expandable to 16Gb) and two 500Gb hard disks.  There’s an nVidia GeForce GT 555M graphics card with it’s own dedicated 2Gb of memory and the customary extras you’d expect such as 802.11n WiFi, Bluetooth 2.1 (though not 3.0), three USB 2 ports, a USB 3 port, full HDMI, FireWire, 6 in 1 card reader, VGA, Gigabit Ethernet and e-SATA.  There’s a webcam built into the bezel and a fingerprint reader below the keyboard.

All this comes in, with a Blu-Ray reader at around $1,400 which is more than the Samsung, but it offers more, and is considerably less than the Dell.

It is a very attractive machine finished in jet black brushed metal with matching high-quality plastics throughout.  There are a few small touches of silver finish, a large speaker grille above the keyboard with loud, punchy sound that admittedly lacks range, and a sub-woofer underneath.

The keyboard is a full size, scrabble-tile affair and, while I would have liked full size cursor keys on the machine this large, the keyboard is well proportioned and easy to use.  The keyboard is backlit too, very helpful, but with only a single brightness setting; or two if you include off!  It was disappointing not to see seperate volume and media controls however, but this may be because of the Acer’s party piece.

The full HD 1920 by 1080 screen is glorious, with a glass-effect finish (it’s actually a plastic coating) that give the machine a feel of real luxury.  What it lacks in brightness against some others it makes up for with its sheer size and impact.

Battery life is perhaps less impressive, the 6000 mAh battery will last a maximum of 5½ hours on light use but more likely 3½ to 4 hours in general use.  Play a game on it and, like the Samsung, you’ll be lucky to get 45 minutes out of it.  Build quality is much better with no show-though when I poked the pack of the screen and solid build quality throughout.

The 8951G’s party piece though is the removable trackpad which doubles as a media controller.  Flip a switch on the front of the laptop and out it pops to work wirelessly.  Press a button in the top right and media controls illuminate, it’s really very clever and works at some distance.  While you can click it, though it’s not multi-touch, this sadly pushes the chassis mouse buttons to the very front of the edge of the case, which feels odd.

Alas it’s as a trackpad that the faults begin to appear.  The trackpad has quite a sticky surface which often makes it feel you’re physically trying to shove the cursor across the screen.  It also doesn’t have a rubber or grippy bottom, so you won’t be using it to the side of the laptop like Apple’s Magic Trackpad.

On a desktop replacement machine however you’re more likely going to be using this in a static location with a mouse, and in this configuration it’s simply superb and hugely powerful.  It’s pre-loaded with huge volumes of bloatware and trialware, which I hate, but once you’ve uninstalled all that it’s a desktop replacement in every sense of the word.  I wouldn’t even know how to fill 1Tb of storage on a laptop and I have millions of files!

Overall the Acer Aspire Ethos 8951G is a hugely powerful and hugely impressive machine.  It may be pricey, but it’s not much more than a comparable desktop with all the advantages a laptop brings.  The trackpad lets it down so you’ll really want to get a mouse as well.  But overall, it’s an excellent purchase at a very sensible price.

Overall, 7/10

Computer mice come in all size and shapes. You can buy small models for mobile use, gaming mice with more than a dozen different buttons, plain two button mice and even mice for big handed individuals.

The USB big mouse that is manufactured by Brando nevertheless plays in a different league. The USB mouse measures a whooping 175mm in length, 105mm in width and 55mm in height making it one of the largest, if not the largest, retail mouse in the world.

When you look at the product image above you will notice that it comes with flashing LED lights and a translucent edge.

The core question here is whether it is ergonomic to work with this large mouse for an extended period of time. While that certainly depends on the size of the hands of the user, it looks as if the sheer size of the mouse requires movement not only of the hand but also lower arm.

The USB mouse comes with two mouse buttons and a scroll wheel. The flashing LED light makes it more of a gadget than a piece of hardware that you could work with all day. It is not clear if the effect can be disabled.

When you search for an extra large computer mouse for large hands you do not find a lot of offers, and while the USB big mouse looks more like a gadget, it could be an alternative for users with very large hands. The mouse retails for $20. More information are available at the manufacturer website.

Which leads to the following question: Which computer mouse are you using?

The price drop, which was reported by PC Pro magazine, raises a few questions as to why they are doing this and if it means there will be further implications attached to the price cut.

Blackberry maker RIM has been under pressure for some time with many predicting, perhaps prematurely, the downfall of the company.  It’s clear that Curry’s, owned by electronics retail giant DSG International, see the Playbook as a sluggish seller and they need to offload some stock.

PC Pro contacted RIM to ask if the price cut was their initiative and if they expected to see it adopted by any other retailers in the UK or worldwide.  RIM have yet to reply to their questions.

But what does this mean?  Does it mean that Curry’s sales are sluggish, that people aren’t as interested in the Playbook as they are in other tablets, or does it mean that the love affair with tablets could be beginning to wane already?

While you may think it silly to predict the downfall of tablets, it is clear that most people still want to have a physical keyboard.  Tablets are great for light duties, such as games and a quick check of your email, but for anything else they can prove limiting.

The other question that needs to be asked is, is Curry’s merely giving customers what they want… cheaper and more affordable tablets?

The HP TouchPad fire sale proved that people will easily queue up in the street for a cheap tablet.  The announcement of Amazon’s Kindle Fire at a bargain price also garnered significant excitement.

It’s clear then that for the right money, tablets are still the order of the day and many people have told me that price is certainly the largest barrier to buying one.  People just don’t want to pay £400 for a tablet in the UK or any other part of the world, especially at a time when household budgets are being squeezed.

The launch of Windows 8 in twelve months will, I believe, be the acid test for the tablet market.  With Windows finally joining the other major players, Apple, Google, RIM and HP if the excellent WebOS can be salvaged, tablets will finally be mainstream.

The introduction of Windows 8 will also mean that tablets will finally be proper computing tools and not just a super-sized handheld media and games device.  Here, we will see how many legs the tablet market really has.

This news comes just after the announcement from RIM of their next generation operating system, called BBX, which is intended to combine smartphones and tablets into a single operating system.  This is something Google haven’t really succeeded with that many people said Microsoft should have done with Windows Phone.

It will be a while before we see the first BBX-powered devices but the very next Blackberry phones will be expected to run it.

These days, things have changed. Now the purchase of an external hard drive is a simple affair. Pick the one you want, with the capacity you want, and take it to the check-out point. This is probably largely due to the popularity of external hard drives these days. Shifting data around is always needed, whether it be important work documents or a bunch of illicit video files nicked off of the Internet. And, with long download times via email (aside from email size restrictions) and the generally smaller storage capacity of other data transfer devices, the external hard drive makes a lot of sense. And among those sensible devices are some that make even more sense, for various reason.

Apacer’s AC430 external hard drive is one of those. First of all, it makes use of a 2.5” drive. That means that it’s small. It’s not quite what one could consider pocketsized, but it comes close. That means easy transportation, facilitated by a stylish protective slip-case included in the box. Further portability is implied by the unit’s sturdy design.

The casing is mostly finished in brushed metal, with sturdy plastic caps covering the ends. An internal anti-shock system will help protect against accidental bumps and bruises, although heavy blows may still have an effect on the device’s performance. So don’t throw it at people who annoy you.

The 2.5” drive in the model we tested offers a fairly generous 500GB of storage space, which can be transferred to and from the device via a USB cable. Power is also supplied to the unit via the same cable, so the need for lugging an extra power adapter around is removed. On the downside, though, it uses a very specific USB cable… the plug on the unit itself is an odd one, so you’ll want to treat the included cable like gold. The carry-case has an elasticised strap to hold it in place, but you may want to consider a slightly sturdier option than that.

Best of all: it’s USB 3.0. We haven’t seen too many devices using this new speed standard yet, so the very fast data transfer rates that the AC430 offers are something of a treat. Naturally this can be used with all other iterations of USB technology, but that speed is sublime.

The device also has a smart power management system, so leaving it plugged into your PC or laptop for extended periods of time will not put too much strain on the system.
The drive’s power status is indicated by an LED light housed behind one of the plastic end-caps.

OK, maybe the USB 3.0 isn’t the best aspect here… we really like the price. Considering the reliability and performance of the unit, as well as its sleek, sturdy design, the recommended retail price is really rather sweet. All in all, a winner.

PROS:

• Good value
• Fast
• Well-built

CONS:

• Proprietary USB plug
• “Only” 500 Gigabytes

Verdict:

Sturdy, stylish and fast… it’s like an external HDD version of a sports car.

What MSI have done with the N550GTX-Ti M2D1GD5 is produce a video card that is quick, capable and generally friendly on the pocket. In fact, sticking two or more of these cards in your machine in SLi configuration would not break the bank… nor would it disappoint in terms of performance.

Even when a single one of these cards is used, its performance is good. It performs a bit better than expected from a standard N550GTX chipset, thanks to a bit of tweaking done to the card by MSI. The chipset is fairly fast, and the 1GB of GDDR5 RAM on-board does a lot to help the card deliver a smooth performance.

It has also got a number of bells and whistles to help the user along. First off is the Afterburner software, that MSI ships with all of their VGA cards. This overclocking software makes tweaking the card easy and pretty safe, too. Of course, squeezing more power out of any computer component can have undesirable effects, but the Afterburner package is well put together, and allows for the best options to be easily accessed. It also allows for customisable performance for 2D and 3D modes, meaning that the user can keep temperatures down and even use less power when possible. An advanced fan speed controller will further help to keep the card cool.

Speaking of keeping cool, this card has a rather striking housing built over its large heat sink and single fan configuration. Moving away from the boxy look, the red and black housing, with a few nice curves, looks a bit more mature than the run-of-the-mill graphics card. It is also thankfully devoid of images on luscious maidens in chainmail bikinis, or the like.

The card handles overclocking beautifully too, without heavy spikes in noise or temperature. You can squeeze a lot more out of this card if you tweak it just right, and sunning an SLi configuration will deliver excellent results. As with most PC equipment these days, this VGA card makes use of high grade components – Military Grade is the favoured catch-phrase – including solid capacitors and solid state chokes. These deliver less noise, less heat and a better lifespan. They also won’t explode which, as we have pointed out before, is always a boon inside a PC case.

And all of this comes at a really good price tag. In fact, some buyers may be dissuaded by the price, thinking that it is too low for a high quality product. But, quite honestly, this is one of the best deals we have seen when it comes to graphics cards, and heartily recommend it. It might not deliver true top end performance but, for the most part, you will not be disappointed with what it does.

Verdict:

A good card at a great price.

PROS:

CONS:

• Not the most powerful card around

Buy

You can buy the graphics card at Amazon and other online retailers.

The AR Drone is a fairly large device, with a tough Styrofoam body (covered by a hard outer shell) that is carried aloft by four powerful rotors. It kicks up a hell of a racket doing so, but the noise is just part of the fun. The four rotor system sets it apart from remote controlled helicopters because the user doesn’t have to worry about trim. Thanks to the four rotors and a built in altitude sensing system, the Drone flies steadily and beautifully.

Here’s the real treat though; it’s controlled by a smart phone. Using either an iPhone or an Android device with downloaded software, the user can pilot the Drone by tilting their handset in desired directions. Also, the Drone has a front mounted camera that transmits images back to the handset’s screen. You’re not going to be able to effectively navigate that way, no matter what the makers claim, but it adds a fun dogfighting game element to the device, when two are close together. And it’s cool.

The Drone does not come without its problems, though. It uses a WiFi connection (we’re mystified as to why the makers didn’t go with Bluetooth, which would have been much better) which can drop in areas of interference. If the signal drops, the Drone goes into a sort of safety holding pattern, hovering above the ground. Re-establishing connection may give difficulties, in which case you pretty much have to wait for the rechargeable battery to run out, forcing the Drone to perform an emergency landing procedure.

Another issue is wind. Even seemingly slight winds can carry the Drone off, prompting the user to perform a quick landing to avoid it leaving the 50 meter range of the WiFi signal. Once again, once it is out of range, the same holding pattern behaviour occurs… but a breeze will carry it away.

The Drone can also be flown indoors, as it has a special protective housing included in the box, which shields the rotors on their sides. When all is said and done, the AR Drone is a rather expensive toy. It has no function beyond fun. Yet, despite its cost and niggles, it is just about the most fun you can have without breaking numerous laws. We loved playing with the AR Drone, and anyone remotely (aha, a pun) interested in remote control flying should give it serious consideration. It’s a reason to buy a compatible phone!

Verdict:

The most fun you can have without breaking a ton of laws.

PROS:

• Awesome fun
• Easy to fly
• Did I mention fun?
• Great support

CONS:

• WiFi connection
• Pricey
• Wind issues

Buy it here

Many online shops and retailers sell the Parrot AR Drone.

Samsung are defining themselves as one of the better TV manufacturers out there, with their Smart TV range delivering not only superb performance, but also excellent versatility. See, a TV isn’t just a box to show pictures anymore, and Samsung know this. Rather, it is an important part of a fully integrated entertainment experience and, because of this, Samsung have created a TV that not only displays pretty pictures – and they are very pretty – but also provides a host of connectivity options.

The Samsung Smart TV UA40D5500RR (or D5500 for short) is a beautifully constructed, very thin 40 inch LED TV that delivers awesome clarity and contrast, along with bright colours. It supports a host of added extras, including wireless LAN support and the ability to play media via its USB ports.

One complaint that we can level at this otherwise wonderful TV are the inputs. It features four HDMI inputs, 2 USB ports, a LAN port, headphone jack, antenna input, and a number of audio in and out options. That’s a good list (particularly the HDMI ports.) But the still necessary component cable ports are conspicuously absent. The solution is to supply a specialised interface cable… but although this comes with the unit, it cuts down component cable use to one item. Now, realistically, anyone in their right mind should be using HDMI for… well, everything, but there are still older devices that use component cables only. And we found the performance of the D5500’s component cable converter to be disappointing.

But that’s about it. Everything else, with regards to this TV, was great. OK, it’s not a 3D model, but we’re still a little unconvinced about home 3D viewing (or any 3D viewing, for that matter.) Sure, if you’re after a 3D TV, you’ll probably look elsewhere, but undecided users who don’t think that 3D is a ‘must have it or die’ aspect to a TV need look no further.

The extremely user-friendly device is really top notch. It would be difficult to choose another TV over it, except for almost purely cosmetic reasons (like the fact that it has a very shiny screen that reflects light easily and really is a pain to keep clean) or based on its inputs. Price might be an issue too… it’s not the cheapest TV around, but good quality LED TVs cost more than poorer models.

In short, it is a beautifully constructed TV that has a good, solid base, great remote functions and performs excellently. The decision to buy it or not may only come down to a silly reason like brand loyalty, but there are worse brands to support than Samsung. And if you’re still on the fence, a quick demonstration of its excellent picture quality alone will probably make your decision for you.

Verdict:

A great TV, particularly if you’re not after a 3D option

Pros:

• Excellent picture
• Extra functionality
• 4 HDMI ports

CONS:

• Shiny
• Expensive
• Component ports lacking

Buy

You can buy the Samsung D5500 TV in many online stores, including Amazon.

The tablet, which has been rumoured for some time, would run on Google’s Android operating system which would be specially modified to get the best from Amazon’s Kindle eBook app, and to give the best full-colour eBook reader experience possible.

What we do know about this tablet is that it runs on a single-core processor with 6Gb or storage, a 7 inch screen, speakers, a micro USB post and, oddly, no cameras.  The new Kindle interface is rumoured to be reminiscent of Apple’s CoverFlow and the unit is expected to retail for around $250.

This will price it aggressively compared to other 7 inch tablets and with Amazon’s reputation for quality hardware already confirmed with the current generation of Kindle readers, should be widely sought after and very popular.

Personally I find Amazon’s choice of Android disappointing given the ongoing, and unanswered by Google, security concerns about the platform.  For being open-source however and light-weight it would remain the obvious choice given that neither Apple nor RIM are currently prepared to licence their tablet operating systems to third parties, that HP’s WebOS is currently hanging under a very large gallows axe and that Microsoft’s offering is not only far from finished, but probably wouldn’t be suitable for such a device anyway.

Currently the only direct competition to an Amazon tablet would be the Barnes & Noble Nook Color, which is scarcely available outside of the US.

It’s also possible that Amazon will use the event to announce a refresh to its current Kindle eReader range with possible additions including a touch-screen.

Whatever the outcome, as I mentioned previously, any Amazon tablet would almost instantly become a best-seller and would probably become the most-popular Amazon tablet around, besting the Samsung Galaxy Tab devices.  We’ll keep you informed of what Amazon announce.

This is certainly true of the Dell Precision M6600 Workstation laptop which is one of the most powerful laptops that exists today.  You can pick one up with a SandyBridge Core i5 processor and 8Gb of 1,333MHz DDR3 RAM (They don’t come with any less than this) for £1,280 ($1,600) and specify the internal components up to a staggering £5,000.  The machine I’ve been testing sits at around £3,500.

There’s no scrimping here though.  The processor is a Core-i7 running at 2.5GHz; the fastest Dell provide.  The memory is standard at 8Gb but this can be expanded up to either 16Gb of 1,600MHz DDR3 or a staggering 32Gb of 1,333MHz DDR3.  The twin hard disks inside this machine (you can have up to three including a solid state mini-card) are 250Gb and 750Gb 7,200RPM.  The Dell website will allow you to speficy hard disks up to 256Gb SSDs.

The full HD screen runs at 1920 x 1080 and will display the full Adobe RGB gamut.  It’s multi-touch too, supporting four point control and huge at 17.3 inches.  Elsewhere nternally this machine has it all.  There’s 802.11 b/g/n wireless with WiMax as an option.  There’s 3G, GPS, a TPM chip accompanied by a fingerprint scanner and nVidia Optima 4000M graphics with their own 2Gb of GDDR5 RAM to accompany the integrated Intel graphics.

Externally the machine is very well specified too with a backlit keyboard (optional but very useful), track pad with three buttons and a seperate nipple with its own three mouse buttons, 2x USB2 ports, 1x eSATA/USB2 combo port, 2x USB3 ports, full HDMI, VGA, Gigabit Ethernet, DVD burner with optional Blu-Ray burner, ExpressCard slot, SD Card reader, seperate microphone and headphone jacks, Firewire, Displayport and an excellent webcam built into the bezel.

The touchpad doubles as a graphics tablet and comes with its own powered stylus with its own controls.  This is the kind of attention to detail you can see throughout the Precision M6600.

The keyboard isn’t a scrabble-tile affair commonly seen elsewhere.  It’s a more traditional style and really excellent.  The keys are large and well spaced with a large Enter key and full size keys on the numeric pad.  The cursor keys are in a sensible place though the left shift key is a little narrow.  The keyboard also has controls for the calculator and media playback controls.  Above the keyboard are volume and mute buttons.

The Precision M6600 is very upgradeable too.  Undo two screws inside the battery compartment and the bottom slides off the case to reveal the hard disks, memory and expansion slots all easily accessible and well laid out.  It’s extremely neat, tidy and commendable for such an expensive machine.  The exterior of the case is positively lovely with an aluminium bronze finish that you just want to stroke and a bright, silver Dell logo on the lid.

In use it’s equally as powerful as a good Core i7 desktop machine and you’d have no problems editing HD video on it or using it to create complex three-dimensional imagery for mapping.  There is simply nothing you could currently throw at the M6600 that it would have any trouble with at all.

There are very few problems with the machine either.  The screen is a bit reflective, though it’s very bright and can be used outdoors.  Battery life is reasonable at 5 hours on very light duties but you’ll struggle to get two hours when pushed, maybe even just 45 minutes if doing demanding encoding work.  The charger is a brick and the laptop itself weighs in at a hefty 4.5kg.  This is not a machine you’ll be wanting to lug back and forth, nor giving up space in your luggage allowance when going through an airport.

What can I say about the Precision M6600?  Well what this machine has in terms of hardware is simply the finest currently available.  For the few people who need power of this type there is simply no better machine.  Sony and Lenovo make machines of a similar specification though neither is quite as attractive with it.

The only other thing I can possibly add here is that this particular Precision M6600 is mine.  I personally demand the very best in performance as I do some very demanding work with video production.  I’m personally delighted with the power on offer.  This machine is hugely expensive but also tremendous value for money for the people who would be looking to buy one.

Build quality is first rate and the M6600 feels extremely solid with no give or flex anywhere in the chassis.  An accelerometer works with software on board to protect the hard drives in the event that you drop it.  It’s quiet too with just a faint whirr of the fans during general usage, though it can get hot; but you’re unlikely to work with a 4.5kg computer on your lap.

Overall I’d have given the M6600 a full 10 out of 10 for power, flexibility and quality even if this machine wasn’t my own.  For workstation grunt in a portable form factor, I genuinely believe you won’t find anything finer.