Laptops/PCs/Apple

Last year I attended a press event and requested to review a couple of monitors from one company. The first one to arrive is the subject of this review.

The last unit from Gigabyte had a problem with battery loss when not in use so one of my first jobs here was to charge this fully and then leave it, four days later it still had 99% so no problems there. Maybe it was the lid colour that was bright yellow this is a more sober orange.

Marketed as a way of saving the overweight placed on a number of children’s backs with all the text books they have to carry to a from schools a 8 inch Android tablet and a Bluetooth Pen could be the future to save later life back problems.

This rather nice unit from Philips turns any PC or Notebook of recent vintage into a touch unit with the aid of any normal connection method and a USB lead, so all your finger messages are transferred from the screen to the PC.

If you are considering Windows 8.1 for you next PC then it really should have touch and this offering from HP has it. Windows 8 was made for touch so if you can change your working style then this could well be a good way to adapt.

This is an Android device that will fit in a larger pocket. It has one huge difference in that it can only be used in portrait mode as there is no way to flip the screen into landscape mode. This may or may not matter but it is certainly different.

Certainly a unit to be considered as a Desktop replacement, it is large and heavy and for me anyway does not sit comfortably on the lap. It is however very fast and powerful. One feature I have not come across previously a yellow lid.

As a store within a store, Kobo offers readers a viable alternative to that available from the Amazon Kindle family. Kobo even offers a full fledged tablet option.

This is – as you may guess from the name – a 24inch panel. I have yet to look at any offering from AOC that I would not be happy to put on my desk and use daily and this offering is no exception, a well-made unit with excellent response.

This can be lighter than an Android Tablet, however it runs Windows 8.1. The transformer part is a near full size detachable keyboard so all your Windows programs should run and it comes with Microsoft Office installed.

For some reason this is classed as a business product. For that reason I am told it comes with Windows 7 Pro but also Windows 8 upgrade ready on the unit at no extra cost so you can choose. I was sent the non-touch version.

These days’ kids seem to be using such devices before they can walk. So the age level suggested seem almost pointless to mention. The only mention on the box is a circular road sign with a picture of a young person and a red line. The age beside it is 0-3. 4+ is mentioned on the side of the box, at four most children know far more.

I am told that the Android Tablet will replace the PC as the way we all connect to the world. Certainly as they get faster, have more memory and get screen resolution nearer to that we all have on our PC’s then this could well come true.

Certainly not a small and light offering, ideal for a tower/desktop replacement, the native resolution is 1920x1080 just like what a standard panel will display. The advantage it can travel with you when required to do so.

I always hesitate to be hard on review units, however the RangerX tablet is one that is designed to take more vigorous day to day use than standard products not survive. Here an Android device designed for the harder life.

First a multi card reader that works via USB 3, this is designed for USB 3 ports but will work with most USB 2 ports. Second a large capacity SD Card, so this can transfer large amounts of data via the card reader above and it is 64GB.

Perhaps the name gives a clue to the screen size if not its 8inches. This is an Android Tablet that is ideal to use over Wi-Fi. Of course its touch and with the creamy white surround to the screen it does not show your fingermarks, joy.

I saw this at a recent event which was itself ‘In The Cloud’ as 27 floors up on a misty damp day is certainly in the clouds. However while this storage and backup package lives in your home or office, not as ‘The Cloud’ often means far away.

This is a nice sharp panel, it has the ability to be used as one of a multiple panel display and can also be rotated 90degrees to be used as portrait which for those writing long items or viewing endless web pages saves a lot of scrolling.

This is a small and light Windows 8 notebook with touch. On a unit of this size touch makes sense as it will be within reach of a finger, so if Windows 9 is for you then this latest offering from Samsung may have everything you need.

A small Tower PC but with everything you need apart from a Panel and speakers and if you connect via HDMI you do not even require speakers. While they are no longer fashionable this is small and has far more connectivity than a notebook.

The Samsung S27C750P is a 27-inch LED Monitor that forms part of the company’s Series 7 family of products. This particular model is of the type that can be viewed in either landscape or portrait orientation depending upon your needs.

A somewhat unusual flat panel that requires just one connection, USB, no other power is required and it will configure itself as a second display. This is an ideal accompaniment to any Desktop or Notebook where a second display is required.

For anyone not using touch I feel that Windows 7 is where you should be. However as most new machines now come with Windows 8 I gave up a night’s sleep to go through the long and torturous process of upgrading from Windows 8 to Windows 8.1.

A silvery bronze colour is a good start as it looks far better than a shiny black offering. This notebook is rapid in response and if you do want Windows 8 then it must surely be with ‘Touch’ so this could be exactly what is required.

If one is upgrading from an older 4 x 3 monitor, or even a smaller wide screen display, it pays to consider the current generation of LED backlit larger screen units which will provide an improved user experience. With its 1920 x 1080 (HD) resolution the 23 inch AOC i2360 fits the bill both in size and performance.

Gigibyte are best known for making motherboards for both desktop and notebook computers. They also make rather good notebooks as the motherboard is itself perhaps the single most important component in the notebook.

This is an Android device the screen size you might guess from the title is 9.7 inches. The colour is creamy white rather like those of another manufacturer whose name is taken from a popular fruit.

This is a rather nice book reader however it can be far more as it is Android based, so you can surf the WWW and collect your emails however for some reason not quite all the content of the Android Play Store is currently available.

This is a large 1920x1080 panel. In fact the 27inch size is larger than most TVs were not that long ago, however the newer LED technology means that’s displays stay crisper and blacks stay clearer whatever the display size.