Laptops/PCs/Apple

For me anyway the extra sound - quality and amount – that Dell can give you from a panel is a big plus if only from the point of desk space and the fact that you no longer need a pair of speakers on your limited amount of desk space.

The Swift range was launched a year ago in Glasgow and I have previously looked at a different model from the same range. This is a rather smart looking Notebook with the screen capable of going back to 180 degrees.

StarTech is a company that has those had to find things that others do not have. Here something that could be a larger seller with more small notebooks being marketed with only USB ‘C’, so how do connect a standard USB device as well as other components.

This Toughbook looks ‘normal’ which while it may sound like a criticism, it isn’t, some Toughbook’s are very rugged as they are used on building sites and other places where they get abused, here one that would not look out of place in a boardroom.

Big it is, and the curve means that the centre is 3cm further in than the outside and unless you are viewing from a good distance away it is certainly noticeable. However while sound is often low on this list of priorities here there are fantastic up facing speakers mounted in the rear.

Normally when I hear ‘All In One’ it refers to a printer and scanner unit. This however is a PC everything is built into the touch screen with the only external bits the wireless keyboard and mouse so much less desk space is required.

This is a lightweight Windows Notebook/Tablet with – for me anyway – the all-important touch ability. Other things that might tempt you are USB ‘C’ and narrow screen borders on either side or the screen and the lack of Bloatware pre-installed.

This is both a Notebook and a Tablet computer. It is of course quite light which is nice if you are walking around with it all day but that means compromises the main one for me was the lack of a full size USB port which for some might be a problem.

A notebook with decent Harman Kardon speakers, a not that reflective screen brushed metal front and a mushroom back which means not much to show finger marks all things that are plus points before we get on to what’s inside.

This is part of the Dell back to school/university range. A Chromebook is able to do a lot of things that a Windows or Apple computer can do, it can browse the Internet, collect and send emails and you can these days even store word processing and spreadsheets on it. What it cannot do is run Apple or Microsoft programs.

If you have a clear desk policy then with your PC under the desk you still need to connect various peripherals and the best way to do that is a USB hub so if this hub lives in the item that need to be on the desk - the panel - all you need is the keyboard and mouse and you are working. If you still have a cluttered desk then this panel can help.

Not just another Tablet/Notebook this looks very different and while it has an attached keyboard there is nothing showing when it is turned off and it can also be used with a (pen) supplied as a drawing area altogether taking things in a new direction.

This is one of a range recently launched at Thorpe Park on what in some parts of the country was the hottest day of the year. While it was an event I was unable to make I have been kept up to date by the excellent Acer PR Company, here the first offering sent to me.

A flat panel that has speakers is the norm these days, they are normally tiny and do not have much volume, here something different as the speakers fit into the stand of the panel, so they can be larger and also give a far better sound.

This item from Netgear even looks sinister as you remove it from the black box that this switch comes in. The matt black finish and the areas made up of triangles and rectangles add to the illusion that this device is somehow not a friendly one, add to that the dark blue ‘V’ of LED light when switched on it becomes more menacing.

As you might expect from its Toughbook classification the FZ-Q2 is a product that has been developed for use by professional field workers who require a device that can withstand the rigours of a workspace environment.

Forming part of its business-orientated Pro-line brand of products is the AOC new 90 Series of offerings. One of these new models making up this new series is the 12490PXQU which forms the subject matter of this review.

Having recently told you about a Dell small Tower system with Windows 10 v1703 the next item to cross my desk again from Dell is a notebook in the same Vostro series that also comes with the latest incarnation of Windows 10 v1703.

Verbatim have recently launched some larger capacity drives, while it was not possible to get these newest items in for review their PR person assured me the smaller capacity ones sent to me were identical in all but capacity.

This is a flat panel to fit easily on your desk; it protects your eyes for those of us who need to look at a flat panel for hours each day. This latest offering from Philips is a full HD offering at 1920x1080 and the actual viewable screen is 23.8inches.

Adding to its range of products available in the UK, Venturer has released the Saturn 10 Pro.

This is the latest non Windows PC from Acer, it’s the Chromebook 11. From the outside it looks identical to most other notebooks open it and one look at the keyboard tells you immediately that this is a Chromebook as the alpha keys are all lower case.

It’s a very long time since I have reviewed anything from Dell and even longer since I have reviewed a Tower system from anyone, in fact if my memory is correct after my last Tower review I actually purchased it and that was running Windows 7. Here this system is running Windows 10 and version 1703 at that.

My second laptop, and third as well, were both Acer units and could almost be regarded as desktop replacements. The same could not be said of this next Acer unit.

It has been a while since I last took a look at an Acer device. This drought was ended with the arrival of the Acer Spin 5.

Having told you about a Panasonic ToughPad now onto the really ‘tough boy’ of the group the ToughBook. This is built to withstand environments that you really should not expect a computer to function in, it has even been launched outside a weather balloon and still worked when it came back to earth.

Having told you about the Swift and the Spin we come to last new model that was launched last November in Glasgow this is the Switch. While I would describe the Spin as a Notebook/Tablet this unit the Switch is a Tablet/Notebook.

This is defiantly a curved panel which may seem a strange comment but a lot of earlier screens could almost look flat from not that far away, here this 27 inch offering could never be mistaken for a flat panel however far away you are.

Those of you who read about my trip to Glasgow in November last year would have been waiting for the next part of the Swift/Spin/Switch story the three groups of new notebooks launched there. The Swift arrived swiftly and you can read that part published at the start of January, the Spin has just arrived at the start of March but it does – joy of joys - have Windows Anniversary update (1607) pre-installed.

Adding power and extra storage to your LAN is the task undertaken by the Buffalo TeraStation.