Promoted rather tactlessly as a ‘notebook for the masses’, the 15.6-inch One way Asus X552CL keeps the price down is by using older Ivy Bridge processors from 2012 rather than the latest 2013 Haswell chips. See also: Best laptop. Prices start at around £450 for a model with an Intel Core i3 processor, but our review unit typically costs £500, and runs with a 1.8 GHz Core i5, 6 GB of memory and 750 GB hard drive....
The first Zenbook models matched the Air’s silver aluminium chassis as well, but with the UX301LA, the Zenbook now comes in dark blue plastic, with a Gorilla Glass coating over the lid, that’s particularly glossy. It looks stylish when first removed from the packaging, but the downside to this coating is fingerprint marks, which covered the entire chassis in less than five minutes of use. The UX301LA costs considerably more than the current top-end MacBook Air though....
Asus may have copied the MacBook Air wholesale with its ZenBook range, first launched in 2011. But with this year’s new ZenBook UX305F the Taiwan manufacturer pipped Apple to the post by coming to market first with its Air clone using the intriguing new Intel Core M processor, the same low-power series that drives the new super-lightweight MacBook. The ZenBook UX305F is a 13.3-inch ultraportable, a near clone of the 13-inch MacBook Air in terms of its chassis shape, profile and all-metal solid construction....
Asus ZenFone 5 review: Price & availability in the UK The ZenFone 5 (A501CG) is available to pre-order from Asus now for £179.99, though we think it’ll drop in price as third-party resellers begin to offer it after launch. The smartphone is set to be released in the UK on 20 October. There’s also a 4G version of the ZenFone 5 (A500KL) available, at a pre-order price of £199.99. It uses a different processor (a 1....
The Asus ZenPad C 7.0 has several highlights. It has an attractive, highly portable design, available in black, white, red or ‘Aurora Metallic’, with a stylish chrome-effect trim and grippy textured rear. At this price the ZenPad has a generous amount of storage, which can be expanded via the microSD slot hidden behind a flap on the tablet’s back. And the Asus has a 7in IPS display that, despite its sub-HD resolution and limited brightness, packs in several technologies that help to improve the experience....
Let’s begin with the price. £59.99/ US$69.99 for one PC and one year feels high considering what’s not included. On the purchase page, you realise that some functions included for free in other products are bolt-on additions here. The stand alone password manager, for example, will cost you another £19.99/$24.99. Avast Premier could be an expensive product if you want all the toys, though the integrated password manager for Firefox is free....
The bank told the BBC it was moving 110,000 staff over to the systems, including UK staff in the City of London, but insisted it would keep client data separate. Traditionally, banks have been among the last companies to say they will consider cloud adoption, and are particularly nervous around who controls sensitive customer data. Carmen Herranz, director of innovation at BBVA, said the company’s customer data would “stay in our own data centres”, while email, calendar, documents and chat applications would be farmed out to the cloud....
All three follow a similar plot, with a front protective flap that folds underneath the raked-back body, so that opening the speaker feels like opening a hardback book. It’s a neat design that provides some protection to the front perforated grille if you should travel with it; and despite the backward slope, the speaker will never fall over once it’s sat on its own cover. To help reduce price, various economies have been made in construction and features of the SoundBook GO, when compared to the first editions....
This simple device is basically battery-operated clock that you can hang anywhere in the house. The magic happens when you pair it with an Echo device, as you’re then able to set multiple timers and alarms that can let you know when it’s time to take the chicken out of the oven, leave to pick up the kids, or stop watching Netflix. Each timer can be given a name so that they can be differentiated from each other, and the clock face shows minute markers so you can tell at a glance how long is left....
But although Audible might be the most well-known audiobook service, it certainly isn’t the only one. There are many audiobook services with varying catalogues and differing benefits. Some require a subscription, whilst others are free of charge. Google has now added audiobooks to Google Play, although there’s no subscription service: you buy what you want to read. It says it is rolling out audiobooks in 45 countries and nine languages....
While split-screen co-op was once the default, more and more games now force gamers to play on completely separate systems if they want to play together. That’s not the case with all PS4 games though; some have stayed true to the couch co-op style of gameplay, allowing friends and family to play alongside you on the same console on the same display. The catch? It’s sometimes hard to work out which offer split-screen, and which offer online co-op support....
Companies also tend to extend those offers for the whole week, often called Cyber Week. When the time comes, we’ll hand-pick the best deals across all consumer tech, from laptops and TVs to smart speakers, air fryers, robot vacuum cleaners and so much more – there’s bound to be something that will appeal. Best Cyber Monday deals in the US Best Cyber Monday deals in the UK Best Cyber Monday sales – where to look for the best tech discounts US retailers UK retailers More of the best tech deals In this article we’ve rounded up only the best of the best, but we’ve done an awful lot more deal-searching than that!...
The Oakley Airwave 1.5 googles have that stylish design you’d expect on the outside but it’s what’s tucked inside that’s really interesting. They have a Snow2 HUD built-in which is essentially like a Google Glass for skiing. Glance down at the screen while you ski and you can get information like your speed as you’re hurtling along plus other useful stats like distance, altitude and vertical drop. However, you can do a lot more including getting notifications from your phone and maps for the ski resort (with locations for friends also using the gadget)....
However, most people barely scratch the surface of Gmail’s powerful features, many of which include being able to find the email you want quickly and easily. There are other filtering and sorting tools, along with optional features that can save even more time and, occasionally, face. Gmail is always being updated and now, by default, it will warn you if you’ve mentioned an attachment in the text but failed to actually attach a file....
Older kids are bound to want to install TikTok, Instagram and maybe even Snapchat. Our advice is to hold off on allowing them to use social media for as long as possible. For more, see how to keep kids safe online. Available on iOS and Android. It’s hard to believe, but Minecraft celebrated its 10th anniversary in May 2019. After all this time, kids still love its blocky worlds and the fact they can build anything that they can imagine....
We’ve rounded up the best deals out there on the models that we recommend based on our in-house testing and industry expertise. We’ll point you in the right direction below, but remember some are plain discounts while others require a voucher or code – we’ll let you know what they are. We also have a dedicated round-up for the best budget laptop deals if you want something cheaper. Black Friday month is over but we’re seeing dome deals at even better prices!...
A mobile Wi-Fi connection can be created by the smartphone itself, using a process known as internet tethering, or by a portable device called a mobile router or a mobile hotspot, into which you insert a SIM card. When used frequently, mobile Wi-Fi routers can be the preferred solution because they won’t drain your smartphone’s battery, there’s no fiddling around with swapping SIM cards, and you won’t need to leave your phone with whomever is sharing its internet connection....
To be truly private, you need a provider which doesn’t log information such as your real IP address, when you connected to the service, how long you used it for and which sites you visited. Many VPN services which used to log such details now offer a ‘no logs’ policy: it’s one of the selling points you’ll find highlighted on their homepages. But how do you know that they keep their word?...
Whether your intended victim is a computer whiz or a novice, these hilarious Windows PC pranks are great fun to try. These tricks will also teach you how to know when others are trying to prank you. All of the tricks are reversible, and we’d recommend sticking around so you can ‘fix’ your victim’s computer once the prank is over… or at least leave some instructions telling them how to undo what has been done!...
It’s a strange shortcoming, not least because Xperia phones can boast the latest processors and decent cameras, and yet, the company struggles to compete with its biggest rivals in the likes of Apple and Samsung. Look past Sony’s unconventional naming systems; consisting of Zs, Xs and more recently, Roman numerals, and the chart below should help you better understand the current range, as well as which one will best suit your needs and budget....
