Table of contents for May 2016 in Tech Advisor

The background The FBI has an iPhone 5c that belonged to the San Bernardino gunman, Syed Rizwan Farook, and believe it has evidence inside. The agency can’t access the information because of the phone’s passcode, so on 16 February, the US government issued an order essentially asking Apple to get the data off the phone. Apple posted an open letter to customers on its website explaining its side of the case, prompting government attorneys to file a motion on 19 February disagreeing with Apple’s view of the situation, and asking the court to force Apple to comply. A hearing is scheduled to take place on 22 March. Until then, the lawyers will file more motions, while the two sides also take their case to the court of public opinion. So…

It’s never going to look entirely normal, but you can tone down its appearance if all the bright lights you see in promo shots don’t appeal From £1,350 inc VAT Contact alienware.co.uk Specifications 17.3in (1920 1080) IPS matt anti-glare; 4.1GHz Intel Core i7-6820MHz; 4 cores nVidia GeForce GTX980M; 8GB GDDR5; 16GB 2133MHz DDR4 RAM; 1TB 7200rpm SATA HDD; 512GB SSD; gigabit ethernet; 802.11b/g/n/ac; 2x2 MIMO; Bluetooth 4.0; 3x USB 3.0; 1x USB-C; Thunderbolt; HDMI 1.4; Noble Security Slot; SDXC card slot; stereo speakers; 2Mp webcam; dual mic; 3.5mm headset jack; UK tiled keyboard with numberpad and macro keys; two-button lit trackpad; 31Wh lithium-ion battery, removable; 430x292x34.4mm; 3780g If the latest Alienware 17 laptop was a video game character, it would make the ground shake when it walks. It would have…

£114 inc VAT Contact xiaomi-mi.com Specifications 5in HD (1280x720) screen; Android 5.1 with MIUI 7; Qualcomm Snapdragon 616 octa-core (4x 1.5GHz, 4x 1.2GHz) processor; Adreno 405 GPU; 2GB RAM; 16GB storage; microSD support up to 128GB or dual-SIM, dual-standby functionality (one Micro-SIM, one Nano-SIM); UK 4G support for 1800- and 2600MHz networks; 802.11ac Wi-Fi; Bluetooth 4.1; GPS, GLONASS; IR blaster; 13Mp rear camera with LED flash; 5Mp front camera; 4100mAh battery, charges over Micro-USB; 139.3x69.6x8.5mm; 144g The Redmi 3 is a 5in budget smartphone from Chinese phone maker Xiaomi, and not officially sold in the UK. Price If you do want to get your hands on a Xiaomi Redmi 3 in the UK, you’ll need to pick one up from a third-party grey-market site such as GearBest (gearbest.com), which supplied…

£74 inc VAT Contact cubot.net Specifications 5in HD (720x1280, 294ppi) IPS fully laminated display, 1300:1 contrast, 450-nit brightness; Android 5.1 Lollipop; 1.3GHz MediaTek MT6580 quad-core 32-bit processor, Mali 400mp GPU; 1GB RAM; 16GB storage; microSD slot supports up to 32GB; dual-SIM dual-standby (both Micro-SIM), 850/900/1800/ 1900MHz 2G GSM, 900/1900/2100MHz 3G WCDMA; GPS, A-GPS; Bluetooth 4.0; OTG; 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi; HotKnot; 8Mp (interpolated to 13Mp) rear camera with f/2.0 aperture, LED flash; 5Mp (interpolated to 8Mp) front camera; 2200mAh removable lithium-polymer battery; 71.5x8.1x143.9mm; 165g Cubot isn’t a brand we’ve come across before, but its P12 is a well-designed budget Android smartphone that costs just £75. At this price there are both hits and misses, as we see here. Price At just £74.99 from Amazon with free UK delivery, the Cubot P12 is…

£699 inc VAT Contact hisense.co.uk Specifications 55in (3840x2160) screen; 20W (2 x 10W) speakers; built-in Freeview HD, satellite; 7-day EPG; 4x HDMI, 1x SCART/Component/composite; Digital audio coaxial, headphone jack; 10/100 Ethernet, Dual band Wi-Fi; 2 USB 2.0/ 1x USB 3.0, CI slot; 1239x717x83mm; 17.3kg The Hisense 55K321 is just the kind of set likely to make you do a double-take on the high street. It’s a 4K 55in TV priced at just £699. So what’s the catch? Cosmetically, the set is neat if understated. It has a small grey bezel and wears matching plastic boots (there is no pedestal). To the rear, you’ll find four HDMI inputs, SCART, component and AV phono inputs, plus a digital optical audio output for use with a soundbar and a trio of USBs (one…

£24 inc VAT Contact thetrackr.com Specifications CR1616 battery; 1 year battery life; Bluetooth 4.0; range up to 100ft; 85dB volume; 31x3.5mm Bluetooth tracking gadgets can be a big timesaver. With the TrackR Bravo, you attach it to something valuable to you: your house or car keys, your bike or your wallet. When you can’t find the item, you check the app to see where it was last seen and when you’re in that location, you can activate a siren to make it easier to find. Price You can buy a Bravo from Amazon for £24, although other sellers are discounting it by a few pounds to £19. There’s a choice of black, rose gold, blue or ‘steel’. A pack of four costs £50, which makes each one £12.50. Setup and…

If you’re looking for a laptop and don’t want an Apple MacBook at the top end or a Chromebook at the cheapest end of the price scale, you probably want a Windows machine. The good news is that Windows 10 is looking and feeling as good as it has since the days of Windows 7. Microsoft is back on form. However, let’s not kid ourselves: laptops aren’t as popular as they once were. People are increasingly keeping their old one and buying a tablet for web browsing, email, Facebook and plenty more besides. This means a few of the familiar laptop brands aren’t around anymore: Sony and Samsung have both stopped selling laptops in the UK, preferring to concentrate on other areas, such as TVs. However, there are still big-brand…

Some of today’s desktops can make even the sleekest of laptops seem downright bulky. Computers have been shrinking for years, and the revolution has only accelerated recently. As chipmakers focus on creating processors that sip power without sacrificing performance, thermal concerns have largely been alleviated in modern CPUs. Because of that, today’s pint-sized PCs offer enough performance to play HD video and satisfy those who need Microsoft Office, the opposite of the compromised experience of yesteryear’s microcomputers. From PCs-on-a-stick to discreet boxes no larger than a deck of cards, we look at the wide range of computers available that can fit in the palm of your hand. Raspberry Pi The Raspberry Pi receives accolades for kicking off the maker revolution, but it also thrust the idea of tiny computers into…

If you’ve upgraded to Windows 10, you have a month to decide whether you like it. If not, Microsoft has made it easy to fall back to Windows 7 or 8. The first step is, of course, to back up any information you currently have on your PC that you want to keep. Changing an operating system is a big thing, and data can often be lost along the way. You can use external hard drives, thumb drives, or some of the various online cloud storage such as OneDrive, Google Drive, Dropbox, or Tresorit, that offer lots of space for free. When you’ve safely copied any documents, video, photos, or other important data you need, you’re ready to begin. If you’ve added any user accounts since upgrading, you’ll have to…

You might think recording calls on your smartphone would be a relatively easy task. After all, most new models arrive with some sort of voice recording app already installed, and it shouldn’t prove much of a technological challenge to the likes of an iPhone 6s or Samsung Galaxy S6. Well, that isn’t the case, and in truth it can be a bit of a pain. There are many reasons why you might want to record a call, but doing so can be tricky. Here’s how to record phone calls on a smartphone, and some legal issues to be aware of first. The law One of the reasons you can’t record calls straight out of the box might be the potential legal ramifications that manufacturers would consider problematic. The law currently…

Google Calendar is an excellent way to keep all of your appointments up to date and synced across virtually all your devices. Like many similar services, it allows you to have multiple Calendars at the same time, so if you want to move from your existing service to Google all you have to do is save your current Calendar as a VCS or ICS file and go through a few short steps. The same is true if you receive an invitation to an event and you want to add it to your schedule. START Adding a Calendar or appointment into your Google Calendar is an easy process. First, launch the app or go to the website, and also make sure you have your VCS/ ICS file to hand. In the…

Like us, you probably download apps and files from the internet, relying on your PC’s antivirus software and email provider to block any malware, and also to warn you if you’re about to install an email attachment that’s infected. Antivirus software and email scanners aren’t perfect though, so here’s a way to check for sure whether a particular file contains a virus or is safe to use. How to check if a file contains a virus First, go to Virustotal (virustotal.com), a website that allows you to upload files up to 128MB in size. It will then use over 50 scanners to check whether it contains any malware. When you’ve scanned a file, you’ll see how many of the engines detected a problem, a ‘safe-o-meter’ gauges if a file is…

The most striking part of the design the ‘Dynamic Fulcrum Hinge’, which looks a little bit like a watch strap crossed with an accordion From £1,299 inc VAT Contact currys.co.uk Specifications 13.5in screen (3000x2000) with 3:2 aspect ratio; Windows 10 Pro; Intel Core i5 or Core i7 Skylake 6th-gen processor; Up to 16GB RAM; up to 512GB SSD; 2x full-size USB 3.0 ports; full-size SD slot; 8Mp rear camera, 5Mp front camera; front- and rear-facing microphones; front-facing stereo speakers; 802.11ac Wi-Fi; Bluetooth 4.0; Mini-DisplayPort; Surface Pen; five-point multitouch trackpad; 312.3x232.1x13-22.8mm; 1.58kg (724g, tablet; 860g, keyboard) The Surface Book is the first laptop Microsoft has ever made. The Surface Pro 4, which we reviewed in our February issue, was designed to be tablet first, laptop second. The Surface Book takes a…

The UMI is a good-looking phone and the 2.5D curved glass, rounded corners and tapered rear edges allow it to feel manageable in a single hand £113 inc VAT Contact umidigi.com Specifications 5.5in HD (1280x720) AMOLED screen with 2.5D curved glass; 1.3GHz MediaTek MTK6753 64-bit octa-core processor, ARM Mali-T720 GPU; 3GB RAM; 16GB storage; microSD support up to 64GB; 8Mp (interpolated to 13Mp) Sony IMX179 rear camera with dual-LED flash; 2Mp front camera with LED flash; Android Lollipop 5.1 with Rootjoy; supports UK 4G bands 3, 7 and 20 (800/1800/2600MHz); dual-SIM, dual-standby (both Micro-SIM); dual-band 802.11a/b/g/n Wi-Fi; Bluetooth 4.1; GPS; 2500mAh battery (claimed 12.5 hours screen-on time, 8.8 hours 4G web browsing); 153.8x77x7.9mm; 177g UMI phones were until recently available only from third-party Chinese distributors such as Coolicool.com, which supplied…

The aluminium case has a smooth finish, which is nice to touch, though it can be a little slippery, and the rounded edges look stylish From £144 inc VAT Contact xiaomi-mi.com Specifications 7.9in (2048x1536, 326ppi) IPS touchscreen; Android 5.1 Lollipop with MIUI 7.0; 2.2GHz Intel Atom X5-Z8500 2.2GHz quad-core processor; Intel HD Graphics; 2GB RAM; 16/64GB storage; 8Mp main camera; 5Mp front camera; 802.11ac dual-band Wi-Fi; Bluetooth 4.1; Type-C USB; 6190mAh non-removable battery; 133x200x7mm; 322g Xiaomi products aren’t readily available in the UK, but the firm is making a name for itself by making top-spec devices at budget prices. With Apple setting the standard for many, the Chinese firm’s latest tablet is its answer for the iPad mini. Price Our review unit – a gold, 16GB model – came from…

The Band Zero is also a basic activity tracker, able to count how many steps you’ve taken and estimate how many calories you have burned £45 inc VAT Contact hihonor.com Specifications Supports Android 4.4 or iOS 7.0 and later; 1.06in (128x128-pixel) PMOLED screen; 128KB RAM; 512KB storage; Bluetooth 4.0; IP68 waterproof; 70mAh battery, charges over POGO Pin; 244.4x38x9.5mm (large); 25g The Honor Band Zero is a hybrid fitness tracker and smartwatch under £50. At this price it’s understandably less fully featured than some rival devices, but it may well be all you need. Our review unit was supplied by Gearbest, which offers the watch in black, white or Khaki (more like cream) for £45. Shipping is free if you’re prepared to wait (faster paid options are available), but keep in…

From £129 inc VAT Contact apple.com/uk Specifications A8 processor; 802.11ac Wi-Fi with MIMO; 10/100 Ethernet; Bluetooth 4.0; Infrared receiver; Apple/ iTunes account required; HDMI 1.4; USB-C; Video Formats: H.264 video up to 1080p, MPEG-4, Motion JPEG; Dolby Digital 5.1 and Plus 7.1; Siri remote included; 35x98x98mm; 425g Apple has had three years to come up with a new model and says its fourth-generation Apple TV is the future of television. It’s all about apps. Unlike previous models, you can now browse an app store and install whichever apps and games you like. Of course, this isn’t revolutionary as other streamers and, indeed, TVs have had apps for years. Gaming on a media streamer isn’t new either. Amazon’s Fire TV streamers let you play casual games, as does Google’s Nexus Player.…

From £179 inc VAT Contact nextbase.co.uk Specifications 2.7in 140-degree wide-angle lens with polariser; GPS logging: night mode; speed camera alert; 4.6 hours recording time; 4m car charger, suction mount; HDMI cable; mini-USB cable; 113x63x36mm With prices starting from around £15, it’s well worth investing in a dash cam. However, while the cheapest models have the bare minimum of features, top-end models offer a lot more in addition to higher-resolutions and better image quality. Price When we say top end, we mean it. The iN-CAR CAM 512G – to give it its full name – costs a whopping £179. However, you can buy the 512G from Halfords for £159. You don’t even get an SD card: the optional Go Pack costs £15 from Halfords and includes an 8GB San Disk microSD…

£190 inc VAT Contact ikmultimedia.com Specifications 40W total power (2x 16W low-frequency, 2x 4W high frequency); 50Hz to 20kHz frequency response, 4x Class-D amplifiers, bi-amped system; 2x 3in neodymium woofers; 2x 3/4in neodymium tweeters; Bass-reflex port 1/4in iRig input for connecting guitars and dynamic microphones to iOS devices; Bluetooth compatible with A2DP protocol; 1/8in stereo analogue line input; DSP controlled auto standby; integrated li-ion rechargeable battery; up to three hours with volume at maximum; up to 10 hours normal usage; 250x160x60mm; 1330g With so many portable Bluetooth speakers on the market, it can be hard to know whether you are getting a bargain or not. Some people are more comfortable purchasing a familiar brand such as Bose, Sony or Beats, while others willing to go for something different, providing it…

It’s worth noting that WPS is often enabled by default by router manufacturers, so it is good practice to disable it, especially if you never see yourself using it Wi-Fi security has evolved in recent years to the extent that most modern routers are set up by default to be secure. Gone are the days where hackers (or pretty much anyone) could connect to your home network without a password. Wi-Fi technology has adopted new methods of encryption, while routers now come with built-in firewalls and software to protect you from malicious attacks. There may, however, still be those who will want to hack your Wi-Fi, and in this article we reveal how to ensure you stay protected. While you can hack a Wi-Fi network, you’ll need extreme patience and…

This machine will let you play games at full HD (1920x1080). There are cheaper parts out there, which we could have chosen, but we didn’t want to settle for 720p resolutions Ever wanted to build a computer yourself, but never known how to get started? Or do you simply want to build your own custom PC for bragging rights? Well this guide is for you. Over the following pages, we’ll reveal how to put together a sub-£500 gaming PC. Even if you decide to spend more and upgrade some of the components we’ve chosen, this guide will show you how to put it all together, configure it and install Windows. Build a gaming PC for under £500 Using the components listed in our table (opposite) will set you back £482.83.…

Whether you’ve recently upgraded to Windows 10, or updated from Windows 8 to 8.1, you may be running low on disk space. That’s because Windows installs a completely new version and keeps the old one around just in case you want to go back (downgrade) to the previous version. Here we explain how to delete the Windows.old folder, and get back a huge chunk of hard drive space. You should see Windows.old in File Explorer because it’s not a hidden folder. Open File Explorer by pressing Windows+E and go to ‘This PC’ and then click on OS C: (it’s usually C but may be another letter). After the ‘Windows’ folder should be Windows.old. It contains files from your previous installation of Windows, which were either not required or can’t be…

Windows 10 has some nifty new features when compared to its predecessors: Cortana, Edge browser, and Universal apps being prime examples. But as Microsoft giveth, so it taketh away. Unless you were lucky enough to upgrade from a higher tiered edition of Windows 7 or 8.1, which replaced Windows Media Centre with Windows DVD Player, your new version of Windows 10 doesn’t have ability to play physical media. While more and more PCs ship without DVD drives, there are still plenty of people who want to watch their discs without the need to rip the content into digital formats. Thankfully this is easy to fix with some excellent free software, and in this feature we’ll show you how to play DVDs in Windows 10. Avoid Windows DVD Player When Microsoft…

It was reported toward the end of last year that Google would update its Gmail for Android app and introduce ‘Block’ and ‘Unsubscribe’ options to the Settings menu for individual emails. This should make it much easier to block an email or unsubscribe from an email in a couple of taps, but we’ve yet to see the update filter through to the app. In the meantime, we’ll show you how to block or unsubscribe from email on an Android phone or tablet. If you’re looking for a way to block spam messages from Gmail for Android, it’s important to first differentiate between spam messages and those emails from companies you have perhaps unwittingly authorised to send you marketing information at some point in the past. When you mark an email…

Instagram is a hugely popular social network where people can edit and then share photos and videos with friends. Until recently, people had to create alternative Instagram accounts to promote their websites and businesses, which with no easy way to switch between accounts within the app was a tough job. Thankfully this is no longer the case, as Instagram is rolling out multiple-login support for its iOS and Android apps. It’s available for users running Instagram 7.15 or later. Once you’ve downloaded the latest version of Instagram, head to the app’s settings menu, scroll to the bottom and tap the Add Account button. If it isn’t there, the functionality isn’t yet available to you, although force quitting and reopening the app granted us access, so it may work for you,…

Vaio is in talks with Fujitsu and Toshiba to combine their PC units into a new company, according to Japan Industrial Partners CEO Hidemi Moue. The merger would not include either of Fujitsu’s or Toshiba’s other electronics units. If talks are successful, the newly formed company would follow the strategy already laid out by Vaio. Namely, it’ll begin with creating PCs for the Japanese market, and then move out to serve overseas markets. “The PC market is shrinking, which means there are merits in working together to make the most of research, production volumes and marketing channels,” revealed Moue. In January, market research firm Gartner reported that the PC market fell by 8.3 percent. It’s expected to fall for most of 2016. What this foretells for Vaio’s newly renewed US…

If you like the idea of a small desktop PC, but aren’t satisfied with the performance that NUC kits allow, mini-STX PCs might be the perfect match. We’ll likely see a lot more of these coming down the pipe before long, especially as interest in living room PC gaming ramps up. Intel has been talking about shrinking the socketed motherboard since 2015, and now we’re seeing the first full Windows 10 PCs to sport the new mini-STX technology. Those honours go to MSI and its Cubi 2 Plus desktop range, which starts shipping in March. ASRock also announced bare-bones mini-STX systems in January, but hasn’t started shipping them yet. For Intel, mini-STX is meant to fill the gap between the company’s tiny Intel NUC-based desktops and larger PCs that use…

As the battle between Apple and the FBI over providing access to an iPhone used by one of the San Bernardino terrorists rages on, Apple has been trying to turn the situation to its advantage by garnering all the free publicity it can get. Even the Justice Department, in a filing in federal court, called Apple’s statements a “public brand marketing strategy”. In its campaign, Apple is mustering all the fear, uncertainty and doubt it can. In the open letter to its customers, it states that “the government would have us write an entirely new operating system for their use. They are asking Apple to remove security features and add a new ability to the operating system to attack iPhone encryption, allowing a passcode to be input electronically. It would…

From £1,299 inc VAT Contact asus.com/uk Specifications 17.3in (1920x1080) IPS matt anti-glare display; 2.7GHz Intel Core i7-6820HK; (3.6GHz boost); nVidia GeForce GTX 980M; 8GB discrete GPU; 32GB 2133MHz DDR4 RAM; 512GB SSD 1TB SATA HDD; Gigabit ethernet; 802.11b/g/n/ac; dual-band 2x2 MIMO; Bluetooth 4.0; Blu-ray drive writer; 4x USB 3.0; 1x USBC; Thunderbolt; HDMI 1.4; mini DisplayPort; Kensington Security Slot; SDXC card slot; stereo speakers; 1.2Mp HD webcam; single mic 3.5mm headset jack; UK tiled keyboard with numberpad; two-button trackpad; 66Wh lithium-ion battery; 428x334x43mm; 4360g If you have a lot of cash to spend and want a large, no-compromise gaming laptop, you only really need to consider a few names. The ‘big brand’ option is the Alienware 17 (see page 22), the latest model is once again top-notch, but the Asus…

Build quality is up to the usual excellent Huawei standard, and the phone arrives with a plastic shell case in the box and a screen protector £429 inc VAT Contact consumer.huawei.com/en Specifications 6in (1920x1080, 368ppi) capacitive touchscreen; Android Marshmallow 6.0; HiSilicon Kirin 950 octacore processor (quad core at 2.3GHz + quad-core at 1.8GHz); Mali T880 GPU up to 900MHz; 3GB RAM, 32GB storage or 4GB RAM, 64GB storage; 16Mp main camera, dual-LED flash, support for 1080p video at 30fps, 720p at 120fps; 8Mp secondary camera; 802.11ac dual-band Wi-Fi; Bluetooth 4.2; GPS; NFC; FM radio in certain models; 80.6x157.1x7.9mm; 185g Huawei is churning out phones at an amazing pace at the moment, especially, so when you consider the company is also behind the Honor brand. It was the first to launch…

One thing we do like on the Bluboo’s back is its fingerprint scanner, which is housed in the same gold surround as the phone’s 13Mp camera £98 inc VAT Contact bluboo.com.cn Specifications 5in full-HD (1920x1080, 440ppi) 2.5D JDI IPS display; Android 5.1 Lollipop; 1.3GHz MediaTek MT6753 64-bit octa-core processor, Mali-T720 GPU; 3GB RAM; 16GB storage, plus microSD support; 4G (FDD-LTE 800/1800/2100/ 2600MHz), dual-SIM dual-standby (one full-size, one Micro-SIM); dual-band 802.11a/b/g/n Wi-Fi; Bluetooth 4.0; GPS, A-GPS, GLONASS; HotKnot; rear-mounted fingerprint scanner (0.5-second recognition); 13Mp rear camera with LED flash; 5Mp front camera; 2500mAh removable battery; 71.5x7.9x145mm; 166g Bluboo is a Chinese brand, and is shipped to the UK from third-party sites such as GearBest (gearbest.com), which supplied our review sample. GearBest has a UK warehouse, and buy can buy the Bluboo…

Where the Moov Now really excels is in its coaching, and if you like quick workouts at home, this tracker is the perfect solution £59 inc VAT Contact welcome.moov.cc Specifications Android and iOS compatible; waterproof; activity- and sleep tracking; guided workouts; real-time corrective coaching, acceleration-, rotation- and orientation sensor; swim stroke recognition; 28mm diameter; 6g There’s no shortage of options when it comes to activity trackers, but that makes choosing the right one tricky. Moov Now is an affordable option that adds a new dynamic into the mix. In essence, it acts as a coach to assist you during workouts, though it can also track your daily activity and sleep. Design There’s no getting away from the fact that the Moov Now is ugly. We were not impressed with our…

Epson’s EcoTank range does away with ink cartridges and replaces them with large, refillable ink tanks that offer a much lower cost per page £229 inc VAT Contact epson.co.uk Specifications 4-colour (CMYK) inkjet printer; 5760x1440dpi print resolution; 2400x1200dpi scanner resolution; Wi-Fi, USB; 100 sheets A4; 169x489x300mm; 4.6kg Epson changed the business model for inkjet printers in 2015 when it introduced its first EcoTank model. For decades, printer manufacturers have enticed us by selling their printers at attractively low prices, and then making a killing with the high cost of their replacement ink cartridges. In contrast, the printers in Epson’s EcoTank range cost a lot more than conventional inkjets, but they do away with ink cartridges and replace them with large, refillable ink tanks that offer a much lower cost per…

£39 inc VAT Contact rha-audio.com/uk Specifications Micro dynamic (model 140.1) drivers; 16Hz to 22KHz frequency range; 16 ohm impedance; 100dB sensitivity; 1/5mW rated power; 1.35m cable; 14g The S500i’s understated design is a refreshing take on affordable earphones. They also come with an in-line mic that works with both Android and iOS devices. Design Within the elegantly designed package, you’ll find the S500i earphones, six pairs of ear tips (Sx2/Mx2/Lx2) and one pair of small double-flange ear tips, an ear-tip holder, a soft carry pouch and a shirt clip. Given its low price, you’re given a lot of extras for your money. The RHA’s build quality and design is impressive too – we particularly like the brushed aluminium earbuds. The S500i also has a regular gold-plated straight 3.5mm jack and…

£19 inc VAT Contact thetileapp.com Specifications Requires compatible iOS or Android device with Bluetooth 4 Tile is a Bluetooth gadget that helps you track and find things when they’re lost, just like the similar TrackR Bravo (see opposite). We first heard about Tile way back in June 2013. It turned out to be a very successful crowdfunded project, raking in $2.5m from thousands of people wanting a way to keep track of their precious items. Apparently in a life time, the average person spends about 153 days looking for misplaced possessions and valuables, and we all know you tend to realise you’ve lost something when you have the least amount of time to find it. Price Tile is finally officially available in the UK, so you no longer have to…

£80 inc VAT Contact mcafee.com/uk System requirements Windows 7/8/8.1/10 all 32-and 64-bit, 2GHz Core 2 Duo, 1.5GB memory, 2GB hard disk space Intel’s McAfee Total Protection 2016 is the latest incarnation of the company’s internet security suite, and is particularly flexible in protecting a wide range of your desktop and mobile devices. There are only so many ways you can present the information from an IS suite and Total Protection has the virtue of simplicity, though not much visual flair. The initial display shows the status of virus, spyware, email and web protection, and offers big buttons to add McAfee to other machines. It can offer this because Total Protection covers unlimited devices. This means that, for personal use, you can add to your McAfee account whatever mix of PC,…

1994 saw the release of the IBM Simon, the first mobile phone to offer email, a word processor, an address book, a calculator, maps, stock prices and news The smartphone is arguably the most important invention of all time. It has enabled two billion people to gain instant access to artificial intelligence, as well as vast amounts of information. It has turned instant communication through voice, text, photos and video into an everyday banality. What’s the next invention that will change the world? We believe it will be the AI light bulb. Predicting the smartphone It should have been possible in 1994 to predict the smartphone. In 1994, the graphical web existed, there were personal digital assistants, mobile phones and wireless data. We should have known that these would converge…

On 1 June 2015, Microsoft announced it would be offering Windows 10 as a free download for users of Windows 7 and 8. To let its existing user base know, it slipped in an advertising program (GWX.exe) for Windows 10 within its usual roll-out of security patches for Windows 7 and 8 installations. If you’ve decided you don’t want upgrade your OS, here’s how to block the notifications. What is GWX.exe & the KB3035583 update? The update mentioned at the beginning goes by the anonymous name of KB3035583 and, like a sleeper agent waiting to be activated, appeared on some Windows PCs, laptops and tablets as a clickable item in the Windows taskbar. Interestingly enough, Microsoft doesn’t specify what the update is, or what it is supposed to do. At…

So you’ve got a new Windows 10 PC, laptop or tablet and want to use Microsoft Office but can’t afford to buy it. Well luckily, there are ways of getting the suite for free (restrictions apply). Microsoft’s strategy for Office means you can download its mobile apps for Word, Excel and PowerPoint for free on a wide range of devices. You can download them using the links below: Word Mobile: tinyurl.com/gtcbksy Excel Mobile: tinyurl.com/h7w6pp5 PowerPoint Mobile: tinyurl.com/hok24b7 What you can and can’t do While these are free for any Windows 10 device, they don’t give you full functionality. If you’re using a desktop PC or laptop you’ll only be able to read documents and will need an Office 365 subscription to create and edit. However, if you…

3D may have fallen flat on its face (again), but there’s a new incentive for PC owners to buy a new display: 4K. With four times the resolution of your average 1920x1080 display, 4K or UHD screens are significantly better for viewing and editing photos, playing games and watching and editing video. Here’s how to hook up a 4K screen to a PC. Requirements These days most PCs will be able to drive a 4K monitor without any issues. If you’re editing photos, browsing the web or simply using the extra real estate to have multiple windows open at once, even integrated graphics chips should handle the extra pixels. The same does not apply to gaming. Driving four times the number of pixels in games is a big ask, so…