Table of contents for April 2016 in Tech Advisor

Shipments of PCs with Google’s Chrome OS are growing at the expense of Windows laptops and desktops, as the PC market suffers its biggest slump since 2008. Especially popular are Chromebooks, which are basic Chrome OS notebooks for web computing. They have proved particularly attractive to students, educational institutions and budget buyers. Worldwide Chrome PC shipments in 2015 are expected to surpass those in 2014, according to market analyst IDC. They accounted for 2.8 percent of all PCs shipped worldwide through the first three quarters of 2015. For all of 2014, Chrome PCs accounted for 1.9 percent of all computers shipped. According to Jay Chou, research manager at IDC, Chrome PC shipments in 2015 will outpace those in 2014, and the growth trend will continue in 2016. About 5.7 million…

£399 inc VAT Contact google.co.uk Specifications 10.2in touchscreen display, 2560x1800, 308ppi); Android 6.0 Marshmallow tablet; 1.9GHz nVidia Tegra X1 processor with Maxwell GPU; 3GB LPDDR4 RAM; 32GB or 64GB storage; 802.11a/b/g/n/ac dual-band (2.4GHz, 5GHz) Wi-Fi with 2x2 MIMO; Bluetooth 4.1 + HS; USB Type-C, 3.5 mm audio output; Gyroscope, Accelerometer, Ambient light sensor, Proximity Sensor, Compass, Hall Effect Sensor; 242x179x7mm; 517g (keyboard 399g) Google announced the Pixel C along with the Nexus 5X and 6P, but rather than partnering with LG, Huawei or one of its previous tablet partners, the Pixel C is designed entirely by Google, and manufactured by an unknown company in China. It’s an Android tablet – not a Chromebook with Chrome OS – but you can buy an optional keyboard to turn it into a device…

The display is a full-HD IPS-like panel with a matt anti-glare finish, which we much prefer over the glossy, reflective screens we often see £899 inc VAT Contact asus.com/uk Specifications 13.3in (1920x1080, 166ppi) AAS matt anti-glare display; 2.5GHz Intel Core i7-6500U (3.1GHz Turbo) 2C, 4T; Intel HD Graphics 520; 12GB 1600MHz DDR3 RAM; 256GB mSATA SSD (SK Hynix); USB 2.0 to 10/100 ethernet adaptor included; 802.11ac dual-band 2x2 (Intel Wireless-AC 7265); Bluetooth 4.0; 3x USB 3.0; Mini DisplayPort 1.2, MDP to VGA adaptor included; SDXC card slot; stereo speakers; 0.9Mp webcam; dual mics; 3.5mm headset jack; UK tiled keyboard; buttonless trackpad, 104x73mm; 50Wh lithium-ion battery, non-removable; 65W mains charger with IEC C6 inlet; 322x222x19.4mm; 1419g The ZenBook has proved an enduring ultraportable from Asus, just like the MacBook Air from…

We love that Sony has kept the physical two-stage camera button, which makes photography that bit›easier and feels more professional From £629 inc VAT Contact sony.co.uk Specifications 5.5in 4K IPS (3840x2160, 806ppi); Android 5.1 Lollipop; 2.2GHz Quad-Core Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 CPU; Adreno 430 GPU; 3GB RAM; 32GB internal storage; microSD slot (up to 200GB); 23Mp rear camera AF with LED Flash; 5Mp front camera; Video recording at up to 2160p; Wi-Fi up to 11.ac; Bluetooth; NFC; 4G LTE Cat 6; Nano-SIM; 3430mAh battery; dust and waterproof (IP68); 76x154x7.8mm; 180g The Xperia Z5 Premium is the first 4K smartphone to go on sale, and as you might expect, the price lives up to its name – it will set you back a whopping £629. This makes it one of the most…

£123 inc VAT Contact bluboo.com.cn Specifications 5in full-HD (1920x1080, 441ppi) JDI IPS display with 2.5D Gorilla Glass 3; Android 5.1 Lollipop with Smart Wake gestures; 1.3GHz MediaTek MT6753 64-bit octa-core processor; Mali T720 GPU; 3GB LPDDR3 RAM; 32GB storage, plus microSD support up to 64GB; dual-SIM dual-standby (2x Micro-SIM); 4G LTE Cat 4, supports all three UK bands; dual-band 802.11ac Wi-Fi; Bluetooth 4.0; GPS, AGPS, GLONASS; touch-style fingerprint scanner; 13Mp, f/2.0 Sony IMX214 rear camera, dual-LED flash; 8Mp OV f/2.0 front camera; Smart Audio chip + DOX; 3050mAh non-removable lithium-polymer battery; 71x7.5x143mm; 151g The Xtouch is Bluboo’s flagship smartphone, and marketed as: ‘Probably the best 5in Android phone so far’. It’s certainly got a fair amount of style for a budget Android phone, but we see how it fares in…

£118 inc VAT Contact mi.com/en Specifications 5.5in full-HD (1920x1080, 403ppi) display; Android 5.0 Lollipop with MIUI 7; 2GHz MediaTek MT6795 Helio X10 64-bit octa-core processor; PowerVR Rogue G6200 GPU; 2GB LPDDR3 RAM; 16GB storage (32GB option available); 802.11ac Wi-Fi; IR Blaster; GPS, A-GPS; GLONASS; Bluetooth 4.1; Dual-SIM dual-standby (2x Micro-SIM); 4G LTE support for bands 3 and 7, not 20 (800MHz, used by O2) on both SIMs; fingerprint scanner (0.3s); 13Mp, f/2.2 rear camera with two-tone LED flash; 5Mp, f/2.0 front camera with smart beauty profiles; 4000mAh non-removable battery, charges over Micro-USB; 150x76x8.65mm; 164g Xiaomi’s phones aren’t officially sold in the UK, but while the brand may not be well known to us Brits, it’s bigger than Apple and Samsung in China. Redmi is the company’s budget smartphone line-up, and…

The new QuickConnect service makes it easy to set up an ID and access your DiskStation remotely without the hassle of port forwarding £190 inc VAT Contact synology.com/en-uk Specifications 1.5GHz dual-core processor (STM STiH412); 1GB DDR3 RAM; 1x gigabit ethernet; 1x rear USB 3.0 port, 1x rear USB 2.0 port; 1x 92mm fan; Max capacity: 2x 8TB 3.5in SATA 3 disks; 165x100x226mm; 2-year warranty The DS216play is a network storage device aimed at home users. Synology didn’t release a two-bay ‘play’ model in 2014, so this can be considered the successor to the DS214play, but some might think it’s an upgrade from the DS415play. The headline feature is 4K transcoding, but aside from this and lower power consumption there’s not much to tempt anyone to upgrade. Price Cheaper than the…

If, like us, you’re a bit of a gadget hoarder, a device that can simultaneously charge five phones or tablets at high-speed is a must-have £25 inc VAT Contact tronsmart.com Specifications 5x USB outputs with Quick Charge 2.0 and VoltIQ; max output 90W (18W per USB port); 160x81x28mm; 292g With a name like Titan, the size of this thing shouldn’t be underestimated. At 292g and 160x81x28mm it’s a beast, and roughly twice the size of the other desktop chargers we’ve seen. But the Titan is designed to sit on your desk and stay there, rather than go with you on your travels as a compact multi-charger. The design is functional, a matt black box with flashes of gloss at the edges. Lying flat on the desk a Tronsmart logo is…

£74 inc VAT Contact lego.com/en-gb System requirements Nintendo Wii U; Sony PlayStation 3/4; Microsoft Xbox 360/One These days, new games are pretty pricey, but at £74 (£69 on older consoles) Lego Dimensions is expensive. This is also for the ‘Starter Pack’, so it doesn’t even get you the entire game. That said, it comes with a Toy Pad on which you place characters to play in the game. You get Batman, Gandalf, and Wyldstyle in the box, along with the Batmobile (see below). Furthermore, you get the Lego Gateway, which sits on top of the Toy Pad and is what the game’s characters jump through to visit different worlds. Don’t just build this from the manual though, as the process is part of the game. As we’ve touched upon, the…

For today’s criminals, the internet is where the action is. Compared to traditional thieves, cybercriminals make more money with less risk. And that means that we have to be extra cautious. Protecting yourself in cyberspace is more complex than locking your door or keeping a hand on your bag. However, that doesn’t mean only the technically minded can keep their computer safe: follow the nine tips here and you face a much reduced risk of becoming a victim. They don’t apply only to Windows PCs: you can use the same principles to keep safe on your tablet and smartphone as well. 1 ANTIVIRUS: Whenever Windows is up, it should be running an up-to-date antivirus program. These work in the background, blocking not only viruses, but all sorts of malware. Check…

Microsoft appears to be doing away with product keys for Windows, and that’s a good thing. While some people will have to buy a copy of Windows 10 (which will come with a product key to activate), the vast majority of computers won’t have – or need – one. It’s a welcome change, and one less thing to worry about. If you upgraded from Windows 7 or 8, Windows 10 will have activated automatically after connecting to Microsoft’s servers online. You didn’t need to enter a product key as you were entitled to Windows 10 by virtue of having a genuine consumer copy of Windows 7 or 8. It’s only after doing an upgrade that you can wipe your hard drive and perform a fresh install, but you won’t need…

START Launch the Google Play app on your phone and search for, download and install the Google Now Launcher. 2 Open the Google Now Launcher and you’ll be prompted to decide whether you want to use it Just once or Always. You can choose Just once if you’re not sure you’ll like it, but it’s easy to revert to the way you had things by uninstalling the Google Now Launcher if you opt for Always instead. 3 You’ll immediately notice a change to your app tray, whereby all your apps are listed alphabetically and on a clean white background. But this isn’t quite Android Marshmallow-style just yet. 4 You’ll need to download and install the latest Google App by sideloading its APK file. You can do so by plugging the…

Google UK’s parent company in the US said that $5.6 billion of its global revenue of $59.8bn that year came from the UK, almost five times what it reported to British authorities Politicians want to know why Google is paying so little in back taxes, and will demand that the search giant come in for a talk. The company and Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) will be summoned by the Public Accounts Committee to justify a settlement in which Google UK will pay £130 million in back taxes. Committee chairwoman Meg Hillier recently tweeted, “Bet individual taxpayers wouldn’t get off as lightly as Google on back tax. Cosy deal. Will call HMRC and Google to @CommonsPAC to explain.” The settlement followed an investigation of Google’s accounts dating back to…

£269 inc VAT Contact hp.com/uk Specifications 15.6in (1366x768, 100dpi) TN matt anti-glare; 2.2GHz AMD A8-7410 (2.5GHz boost) 4C, 4T; AMD Radeon 5 integrated GPU; 4GB 1600MHz DDR3 RAM; 1TB 5400rpm SATA HDD; gigabit ethernet; 802.11b/g/n single-band 1x1 MIMO; Bluetooth 4.0; tray-load DVD±RW drive; 1x USB 3.0, 2x USB 2.0; HDMI 1.4, VGA; Kensington Security Slot; SDXC card slot; stereo speakers; 0.3Mp webcam; single mic; 3.5mm headset jack; UK tiled keyboard with numberpad; two-button trackpad, 110x46mm; 31Wh lithium-ion battery, removable; 45W mains adaptor with IEC C6 inlet; 385x255x24.6mm; 2150g The 255 G4 is a budget 15in laptop with a 2.2GHz quad-core AMD accelerated processing unit (APU), a processor that includes integrated graphics – like Intel’s Core series chips, only Radeon-branded and potentially more powerful than Intel HD Graphics counterparts. Price The…

£999 inc VAT Contact toshiba.co.uk Specifications 12.5in (3840x2160, 352ppi) IPS gloss touchscreen; Windows 10 Home; 2.5GHz Intel Core i7-6500U (3.1GHz Turbo) 2C, 4T; Intel HD Graphics 520; 8GB 1600MHz LPDDR3 RAM; 256GB M.2 SATA SSD (Samsung PM871); 802.11ac dual-band 2x2 (Intel Wireless-AC 7265); Bluetooth 4.0; 1x USB 3.1 Type C Gen 2, 2x USB 3.0; HDMI; SDXC card slot; stereo speakers; 0.9Mp webcam; dual mic array; 3.5mm headset jack; UK miniature tiled keyboard with white backlight; buttonless trackpad, 105x59mm; 40Wh lithium-ion battery, non-removable; 45W mains charger with IEC C6 inlet; 299x209x16mm; 1312g Laptops that are also tablets are commonplace now, but unlike the Surface Pro 4, this type has a keyboard, which folds behind the screen rather than detaching completely. It runs Windows 10 which, while not the greatest tablet…

£122 inc VAT Contact umidigi.com Specifications 5.5in full-HD (1920x1080) IPS display; Android 5.1 Lollipop with Rootjoy support; 1.3GHz MediaTek MTK6753 64-bit octa-core processor; ARM Mali-T720 GPU; 3GB RAM; 16GB storage, plus support for microSD up to 64GB (uses second SIM slot); dual-SIM dual-standby (2x Nano-SIM); supports UK 4G LTE bands 3 and 7 (not 20/800MHz); 802.11a/b/g/n dual-band Wi-Fi; Bluetooth 4.0; GPS; OTG; 13Mp, f/2.0 Sony IMX214 camera with dual-LED flash; 8Mp, f/2.2 OV8858 front camera with LED flash; EyePrint ID eye recognition; fingerprint scanner; 3300mAh non-removable battery, charges over USB-C; 152.3x76.5x7.9mm; 148g UMI has unveiled a Pro version of its Iron Android phone, adding a fingerprint scanner and USB-C. Our review sample was shipped to us by Coolicool, which currently charges £122.39 with free shipping to the UK. That’s around…

If you’re tired of having to stay close to a mains power point or carry with you a portable power bank, the K6000 could well be the phone for you £88 inc VAT Contact oukitel.cc Specifications 1GHz MediaTek MTK6735P 64-bit quad-core processor; ARM Mali-T720 MP2 400MHz dual-core GPU; Android 5.1 Lollipop; 2GB RAM; 16GB storage with microSD support (up to 32GB); 5.5in HD (1280x720) IPS OGS display with 2.5D glass; 8Mp (boosted to 13Mp) rear-and 2Mp (boosted to 5Mp) front cameras, dual-LED flash, 1080p video recording; dual-SIM dual-standby (2x Micro-SIM); supports all three UK 4G LTE bands (3, 7 and 20); Bluetooth 4.0; 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi; GPS; OTG; HotKnot (no NFC); 6000mAh non-removable lithium-polymer battery with reverse- and fast charging; 154x77x9.9mm; 205g The K6000 is a Chinese phone that’s available from…

£249 inc VAT Contact samsung.com/uk Specifications Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and NFC connectivity; Circular watch face; 1.2in 360x360 AMOLED display; Heart rate monitor; 1GHz Exynos 3250; 512MB RAM; 4GB storage; 250mAh battery; IP68 resistance rating; Circular UI; 42.3x49.8x11.4mm; 47g Samsung’s latest smartwatch is available in two versions – the Gear S2 and the Gear S2 Classic (£299). We got our hands on the standard model, which comes in both silver and a slightly darker grey. On the wrist, the Gear S2 is lightweight and comfortable to wear. In fact, its weight and general build make it feel like a premium product. The real beauty of the design comes not from the circular display, but the watch’s bezel. Instead of directly interacting with the Gear S2 via the screen, users have the option…

£199 inc VAT Contact sapphiretech.com Specifications AMD Radeon R9 380X; 28nm; 1040MHz core clock: 6000MHz memory clock; 256-bit memory bus; 2048 processor cores; 128 ROPs; DirectX 12, OpenGL 4.5; 4GB GDDR5 RAM; Dual-X fans; 2x 6-pin PCIe; 1x DisplayPort 1.2, 1x HDMI 1.4a, 1x DVI-D, 1x DVI-I; 237x126x37mm; 2-year warranty Six months after the introduction of AMD’s most affordable mid-range gaming GPU, the Radeon R9 380, the company launched the slightly faster R9 380X. The original R9 380 came with 256 of its processor cores disabled, leaving a total of 1792 available for use, but now the R9 380X comes with all 2048 cores available for use. Other than that, the two GPUs are the same. Price You can buy the Nitro R9 380X 4G D5 for £199 from Scan…

It has a 60W total output, which is double that of many desktop chargers, and means that with all six ports in use each can average a 10W output £25 inc VAT Contact choetech.com Specifications 60W desktop USB charger; AC 100- to 240V input with 1.5m power lead; 2x (5V/9V/12V) 15W Qualcomm Quick Charge 2.0-certified USB ports; 4x (5V/2.4A) 12W smart USB outputs; 71.5x29x88.4mm; 158g; 12-month warranty With six USB outputs in total, two of which are compatible with Qualcomm Quick Charge 2.0, this Choetech Desktop Charger is seriously fast. It has a 60W total output, which is double that of many desktop chargers on the market, and means that with all six ports in use each can average a fast 10W output. Qualcomm Quick Charge 2.0 is an awesome…

We didn’t use any tripods, since virtually all photos are taken handheld with a phone. This meant stabilisation systems – whether optical or electronic – could prove their worth In our September 2015 issue, we tested the cameras of nine flagship smartphones, including the Apple iPhone 6, LG G4, Samsung Galaxy S6, Sony Xperia Z3 Compact and HTC One M9. Over the following pages, we reveal which of the latest top-of-the-range offerings performs best for photos, videos and selfies. This isn’t meant to be an exhaustive test of every camera feature on each phone. We didn’t test slow motion, time-lapse and burst modes, for example. Instead, this is intended to be a useful comparison for anyone looking to choose a phone based on the quality of its standard photos and…

As desktop PC sales continue to decline, Intel has increasingly relied on sales to enthusiasts and gamers, who have no problem paying a premium for overclocking-friendly chips Budget PC builders are in for a treat: it’s been officially confirmed you can now heavily overclock Intel’s cheap Skylake chips with a BIOS update. Tech site TechSpot confirmed it through a series of tests (tinyurl.com/z2p8sso). The team overclocked a Skylake Core i3-6100 from its default clock speed of 3.7- to 4.7GHz, after motherboard maker ASRock provided them with a beta BIOS that required switching off the integrated graphics. Intel’s past few generations of chips have limited overclocking to pricier K-series CPUs. With an apparent workaround discovered, higher clock speeds and in essence ‘free performance’ may become far more attainable for those who…

USB-C is a fantastic piece of technology. For starters, it lets you plug a cable into your device without thinking about the orientation. But one overlooked advantage – for laptops, at least – could be the promise of universal charging. Rather than always having to carry your laptop’s power brick with you, you could, in theory, just borrow a friend’s power supply, just like you do with phones today. Today, of course, we’re a world away from that reality. From Microsoft’s Surface Pro 4 to Dell’s XPS 13, the majority of laptops still use proprietary chargers. Still, a growing number of USB-C-powered devices are appearing on the market, and we gathered a few of them to test USB-C’s potential for universality. Our USB-C-powered devices comprised Apple’s MacBook, Google’s new Pixel…

Running a program or application as administrator in Windows 10 is simple and we’ll show you how, but you might not want to do it every time. We’ll also show you how to make sure you always run a program as administrator in Windows 10. The simple way to run a program as an administrator in Windows 10 is to find the app you want to open in the Start Menu, right-click and select ‘Run as administrator’ within the More section. However, this only does it once, and you might want to open that application as an administrator every time. Here are the steps you should follow if you always want to run a particular program as an administrator, though you should repeat only do so with applications with you…

Right now, SSDs aren’t anywhere close to the same price as a hard drive: on a pounds-per-gigabyte basis, SSDs are six times the price of a comparable hard drive If current pricing trends continue, the conventional laptop hard drive could die by 2018, replaced with fast, slim, and increasingly cheaper SSDs. These transfer data faster and with less latency than hard drives, run silently and consume less power. But they’ve traditionally been priced several orders of magnitude higher than a hard drive of the same capacity, limiting their use to higher-end PCs. Quietly, however, that’s changing. The flash vendors designing the chips used within SSDs have aggressively introduced technology that continues to lower their cost. Meanwhile, hard-drive vendors have spent the past 60 years whittling pound after pound from the…

£1,029 inc VAT Contact dell.co.uk Specifications 15.6in (1920x1080) IPS 16:9 screen; Windows 10 Home Intel Core i5-6300HQ sixth-generation ‘Skylake’ chip; 8GB 2133MHz DDR4 RAM (4GB x2); 1TB 5400rpm HDD + 32GB SSD (SATA); 2x USB 3.0, Thunderbolt 3 (also supports USB-C 3.1 Gen 2); DW18303 3x3 802.11ac 2.4/5GHz + Bluetooth 4.1; Mini-DisplayPort; headset jack; SDXC reader; Noble lock slot; 720p webcam; 56Wh lithium-polymer battery, non-removable, 1 year warranty; 357x235x11-17mm thick, 2kg The XPS range is where you’ll find Dell’s most desirable laptops. These aren’t all-practical workstations, or budget models. XPS is where Dell’s fanciest designs team-up with higher-end components. This is the larger of the two Dell XPS models, the XPS 15. Much more than just a larger version of the XPS 13 this one trades away stamina in order…

From £529 inc VAT Contact microsft.com/en-gb Specifications 5.7in AMOLED ClearBlack display (1440x2560, 518ppi); Windows 10; Qualcomm Snapdragon 10, octa-core (quad-core ARM Cortex A57 and quad-core A53 with 64-bit support); Adreno 430 GPU; 3GB RAM; 32GB internal storage; microSD card slot (up to 200GB); 20Mp rear camera with OIS, f/1.9 and triple LED-flash; 5Mp front camera; 11ac Wi-Fi; Bluetooth 4.1; NFC; 4G LTE; 3340mAh removable battery; 78x152x8.1mm; 165g Microsoft has launched two smartphones running Windows 10. In the previous issue we looked at the standard Lumia 950. This month we’ll be looking at the larger and more expensive XL model – £529 compared to its little brother’s £419. Design The Lumia 950 XL is pretty much just a bigger version of the regular Lumia 950. There are a couple of small…

Viewing angles are excellent and colours are good. If you’re looking for a mobile display on which to watch video, this one won’t disappoint £104 inc VAT Contact elephone.cc Specifications 5.5in full-HD (1920x1080, 400ppi) IPS display; 1.3GHz MediaTek MT6753 64-bit octa-core processor; ARM Mali T720 450MHz GPU; ELE UI, based on Android 5.1 Lollipop; 3GB RAM; 32GB storage, plus microSD support up to 128GB; dual-SIM, dual-standby (2x Micro-SIM), supports all three UK 4G LTE bands (3, 7 & 20); 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi; Bluetooth 4.0; GPS; touch-style fingerprint scanner; 13Mp, f/2.0 Sony IMX214 rear camera with LED flash, 1080p video recording; 5Mp front camera; 2600mAh non-removable lithium-polymer battery, charges over Micro-USB; 77x155x7.35mm; 165g If you’re looking for a cheap Android phone, buying from China can get you much more phone for your…

A lot of thought has clearly gone into the design of the DxO One app – design thinking at a level you’d usually associate with Apple itself £449 inc VAT Contact dxo.com/uk Specifications 1in 20.2Mp sensor; f/1.8 lens; Raw capture; ISO 100 to 12800; shutter speed 1/8000 to 15s; semi- and full manual modes; 1080p video capture; built-in battery; Lightning connector; requires iPhone 5 or later; 67.5x48.85x26.25mm; 108g The DxO One is the first truly new concept in camera design since, well, smartphone cameras got good enough to take photos someone else might want to see. It’s also a Marmite product – there are many reasons to hate it, but if what it does appeals, you’re going to absolutely love it. At first glance, the DxO One is a cigarette…

£61 inc VAT Contact canon.co.uk Specifications 4-colour (CMYK) inkjet printer; 4800x1200dpi print resolution; 2400x1200dpi scanner resolution; Wi-Fi, USB, Apple AirPrint; 100 sheets A4; 152x449x304mm; 5.4kg At just £61, Canon’s new Pixma MG3650 is an affordable and versatile multifunction inkjet printer for home users – but, as always with low-cost printers, you need to keep an eye on the cost of the replacement ink cartridges. The low price means the MG3650 doesn’t have too many frills. There’s no LCD control screen, for example. There’s just a small set of buttons on the top-left corner of the printer and the phrase, which came to mind when we checked build quality, was ‘cheap and cheerful’. The cover for the scanner unit seemed particularly flimsy and we almost pulled it off when first setting…

A single piece of metal is folded into a stand, with a lip at the front to secure your device and two rubber feet to keep the stand in place on the desk £23.99 inc VAT Contact choetech.com Specifications Qi wireless charging pad; input 5V/1.5- to 2A; output 5V/1A, 5W; conversion efficiency 75 percent’ 3 coils (works in portrait and landscape mode); stand design; charging distance 0- to 5mm; 5.2x3.2x4.1in; 172g; 12-month warranty The Iron Stand from Choetech is a great idea, propping up your phone and allowing you to wirelessly charge it in any orientation while you sit back and enjoy a video. We’ve spoken about the benefits of Qi wireless charging before, but you really have to try it to see just how convenient it is. We love…

There’s a huge number of smartphones out there, each offering a different hardware configuration. The same applies to audio chips: they vary between manufacturer, with some opting to utilise the audio codec found within the phone’s chipset, while others prefer to use dedicated chip manufacturers. To make this a fair test, we took all the smartphones into an isolated room, and tested them using a range of different head- and earphones at various price ranges. The majority of our testing was based mainly on the Harschacoustic SH-2 custom in-ear models and the modified Denon AH-D2000 headphones. When it comes to listening to audio, it doesn’t take an audiophile to hear the differences between smartphones. The only advantage an audiophile has over the average consumer is that they know what to…

With high-bandwidth memory in the bag and cutting-edge processor technology finally appearing on the horizon for graphics cards – all GPUs have been stuck on 28nm since late 2011 – AMD’s gearing up for a major fight against nVidia in 2016. But the nuts, bolts, and transistors are only part of the equation with modern-day graphics cards; the recently created Radeon Technologies Group is rolling out the rebuilt-from-the-ground-up software Radeon Software Crimson to accompany the new breed of AMD hardware. AMD’s first tease of Crimson was a run-through of the slick new Radeon Settings hub designed to replace Catalyst Control Center. At the time, AMD revealed some of the overt new features in Radeon Settings, such as per-game OverDrive overclocking settings and one-click Eyefinity multi-monitor configuration. More recently, AMD’s has…

In the UK, we typically pay around 10p per kWh of electricity. This is the standard measurement of how much energy you use. Your monthly electricity bill shows how much you’ve used, and you can keep tabs on usage by looking at your electricity meter. If you want to measure how many watts a device draws when charging (or in use) you can buy a power meter for around £10, which plugs into the mains socket and has a passthrough socket for the device in question. Its readout will tell you the current power draw, but it should also have a mode where it monitors power over time and offers an average power draw – useful in the case of laser printers and other products that don’t draw a constant…

Gmail It might seem odd to look for your contacts in Gmail rather than on your phone, but as the services are intertwined there’s a good chance you’ll find what you’re looking for here. When you add contacts into your Android phone using a Google service they are synched up with the online servers to hold a record. You can restore any contact that you’ve deleted in the past 30 days and Chat contacts from the previous 24 hours. START To recover the missing details you’ll need to log on to the web version of Gmail, then in the top lefthand corner where you see the word Gmail. A drop-down menu will appear, from which you should select Contacts. You’ll now see all of the contacts that Google has attached…