Plantronics has a long history of making good quality headsets primarily for office users, so it was with some pleasure that I was looking forward to the latest addition to the stable, the .Audio 995 wireless headset.

The package includes a plug-and-play wireless USB connector that operates at 2.4GHz - in other words it's not Bluetooth - so while this provides better range and reception, those hoping to avoid using another USB port will need to look elsewhere.

The headset is quite bulky, compared to some other wired headsets out there, but the 995 is quite light and does have a comfortable padded headband and swivel-mounted ear cushions covering 40mm speakers, so I had no discomfort wearing them for several hours at a time.

The microphone boom is adjustable, both telescoping a little as well as bendable, and it folds up nicely out of the way when not in use. As an added bonus the mike automatically mutes when stowed, so you don't have to worry about manually muting and un-muting during a call or if you use speech recognition software. I tried it out with Skype and Dragon Naturally Speaking and found the microphone works very well in both video calls and for dictation.

The speakers are good, but not an audiophile's dream, in particular heavy bass feels a little washed out, but the range is quite impressive and should be fine for the majority of users. Most importantly, voices are crisp and clear so using the 995 for VoIP calls works very nicely.

I was also impressed with the reception on the 995 headset. Plantronics reckons the headphones have a range of 40 feet from the transceiver, but this seems to require that the intervening space is unobstructed as I found the signal started getting a bit erratic after about 30 feet, although that was with walls in the way. Judging by my experience, unless you're hoping to be able to wander around your entire house or office with these on, you should be fine.

Streaming music constantly I got a little over six hours of life from a single charge, slightly less than the seven hours touted by Plantronics, but still more than enough to ensure that you don't have to lose the wireless benefits by constantly having to charge them. Another nice feature is that the headset charges over mini-USB rather than some proprietary connector.

The 995 also includes some handy media controls on the side of the headset making it easy to control the volume as well as pause, play and skip music tracks, but it takes a little bit of practice to remember which button does what by feel alone. I found this feature works in Windows Media Player, iTunes and WinAmp. According to Plantronics it should work for most media players, although some will require the application to be selected rather than just running in the background.

Possibly my biggest gripe with the headset is that unplugging the USB connector doesn't automatically restore sound to the speakers, meaning you have to manually enter the speaker settings and reset them every time you want to switch back and forth between speakers and headphones.

At a retail price of around £80, the Plantronics .audio 995 wireless headset is not exactly cheap, but if you find yourself constantly tangling yourself up in your headset or like to pace about while dictating to your PC or listening to music (and don't want to disturb those around you) I reckon the 995 is a worthwhile investment.

Posted by Ian Williams on June 12, 2009 | Permalink | Comments (1)

Here are some images of the new PCs on show by Packard Bell at its big re-launch event today. These were snapped by camera phone, so apologies for the blurry quality of some of the images.

First up are the new netbooks, with two examples of the dot s model with a 10.6in display nearest to the camera, while the third is the dot m with a larger 11.6in screen.

The dot s is available in both black and red colour schemes, the latter shown in the second shot.

White is also a colour that Packard Bell is keen on, with a nod to Apple's influential MacBook models. This shot shows one of the new EasyNote models, while the shot alongside shows three more on display at the event.

This rather indistinct shot of a desktop shows Packard Bell's compact iMedia chassis design, which brings out many of the ports users will need to access to the top front of the case. There is also a recess on top to hold external drives, as you can see.

The final image is of Packard Bell's iPower system aimed at gamers.

These systems will be available from June in retail outlets only.

Posted by Daniel Robinson on May 27, 2009 | Permalink | Comments (0)

Intel executives started a lively debate on netbooks during a briefing for press and analysts this week.

Firstly, EMEA vice president Gordon Graylish stated that netbooks - the mini laptops popularised by Asus with its Eee PC range - have not dented sales of other types of laptops, and are in fact additional sales making up a new sector of the market.

This might come as a surprise to readers who have seen various headlines recently proclaiming that netbooks are "cannibalising" or "gouging" sales of more traditional laptop designs.

In Intel's view, netbooks are a new category of device used for simple tasks such as web browsing and messaging, rather than running any serious applications. This was despite the fact that several of the journalists covering the event were in fact using netbooks.

The subject of netbooks caused an esteemed colleague of mine to treat one of the Intel executives to a rant. The sudden rise of netbooks took the chipmaker by surprise, he opined, because Intel spends too much time listening to executives in large corporations and so it had been blind to the demand elsewhere for low-cost, lightweight laptops.

Rob Sheppard, Intel's Business Client marketing manager, said that netbooks are not suitable for business use because they have no support for Intel's vPro technology, are not validated for operating systems used in business, and are not part of Intel's Stable Image Platform Programme.

These, however, are largely marketing issues. I put it to Sheppard that Intel could build vPro into netbooks if it chose to. His response is too lengthy to be repeated in full, but seemed to boil down to the fact that netbooks do not have vPro because Intel does not regard them as a business platform.

Likewise, netbooks typically have at least 1GB memory and can easily run Windows XP Professional rather than the Home edition of the platform they almost all ship with.

Of course, many business professionals are likely to prefer a laptop with a larger display than the 10in screen of a typical netbook for everyday use, but given the choice between embarking on a business trip with a bulky corporate laptop or a netbook, which would you choose?

Posted by Daniel Robinson on April 24, 2009 | Permalink | Comments (0)

At a launch event in Los Angeles last week, HP gave journalists an opportunity to go under the hood of its new Z Workstation series, which were officially unveiled on Monday.

The Z400, Z600 and Z800 models were designed by BMW Designworks to have a sleek look and clean lines, and all three feature Intel Nehalem processors.

Terry Pilsner, vice president of HP Workstation R&D, said the new line has been designed to be energy efficient and easy to pull apart to service. He opened up the machine to demonstrate how parts such as the graphics cards, fan unit and power supply can be removed without having to disconnect lots of cables.

"There's a green light at the back of the supply. When you plug it into an AC outlet, the light comes on to tell you if the power supply is good or bad," Pilsner said. "If the green light doesn't come on, we can get a replacement out within 24 hours."

The power supply unit has also been redesigned for better cool air distribution.

"With Nehalem, you have two processors and the memory is right next to them, it's a very close design requirement," said Pilsner. "With one processor in front of the other, if you let normal airflow happen hot air would blow on the second one from the front one and cause an imbalance." In response, the power supply has been designed to ensure fresh air flows over the first processor and onto the second one through the column design.

HP was also keen to play up the environmental features of the new workstations line. The Z400 and Z800 will both offer a liquid cooling option from this summer (this won't be available in the Z600 due to space constraints) while Pilsner said the design is 90 per cent recyclable and offers 85 per cent efficiency. "The instructions have been etched onto the metal to eliminate plastic labels" he added. "They're also halogen and lead-free processors with the Intel components."

HP also has plans to expand the upgraded workstation line with advanced AMD chips, with the launch of its first 12-core model based on an AMD processor slated for this summer. Future models will also include a 64GB Intel Solid State Drive.

Posted by Madeline Bennett on March 31, 2009 | Permalink | Comments (0)

This photo shows Lenovo's compact IdeaPad S10e netbook against another Lenovo model, the ThinkPad X300.

The X300 itself is a thin-and-light model, but the picture clearly shows how small the IdeaPad is. It shares some of the styling of the ThinkPad, and seems to have quite a decent keyboard compared with other netbooks.

The S10e has a 10.2in display, Intel Atom processor, 1GB RAM, 160GB hard drive runs WIndows XP.

A full review of the IdeaPad S10e will appear on VNUnet in the near future.

Posted by Daniel Robinson on January 21, 2009 | Permalink | Comments (0)

Sony launched its ultra-lightweight P-Series netbook at the Consumer Electronics show in Las Vegas last week and we were able to get our hands on one for a bit at a recent London launch event. With the top of the range model costing £1,368.99 when bought directly from Sony it certainly isn't cheap, but it is undoubtedly an impressive bit of kit and takes the concept of portability to a whole new level.

The standard model weighs a paltry 638g making it feel almost like an empty shell when you pick it up. This figure is with a three-cell battery and while it won't be a massive burden, the six-cell version will add on a few extra grams, some of which can be shaved off by going for the version with the SSD drive.

Similarly, we weren't able to weigh the power adaptor, but it is small and light, so it won't tack on too much extra weight to the total.

Unlike Sony's recently released TT-series laptops which are encased in carbon fibre, the P-Series is made from plastic and because it's so thin we would be worried that it might be dangerously flimsy. None of the demo units we saw had any signs of damage, but we wouldn't suggest flinging this about too much.

Until someone perfects a flexible display that can be rolled up the device is about as small as it can be while still being functional.

The eight inch 16:9 widescreen is amazingly clear and runs at a resolution of 1600x768, which although an impressive technical feat does mean many users will end up squinting at the screen. There is a zoom function to help combat this or users can just turn down the resolution a notch or two, and given that most sites and applications are happy at lower resolutions so this shouldn't have a negative impact on usability.

In keeping the P-Series as small as possible Sony has had to ditch the trackpad, leaving just a nub nestled in the middle of the keyboard for cursor control. Personally I had no problems getting used to using the little joystick type control, but many customers may want to invest in a small external mouse to keep with them.

The brushed aluminium keyboard is a good size and the isolated keys are a nice touch. I found it easy to type on, even at speed except occasionally we kept brushing the mouse nub which it would treat as a mouse click (an option that can be disabled) and move the cursor to wherever the mouse pointer was located at the time.

The P-series sports two USB ports, one on each side and a combination HDMI/port extender. A small extender is provided adding video and wired Ethernet ports is included in the box.

Connectivity can be done via Bluetooth, draft-n Wi-Fi and there is a SIM-free 3G HSDPA modem and GPS built-in as well. Because there is not enough space above the screen, the webcam is situated off to the right, but it isn't angled at all meaning you're left tilting your head at odd angles if you want your face in the centre of the display when on a video conference.

It also features a hardware Wi-Fi on/off switch, something I always like to see in a netbook as it makes it very easy to turn the Wi-Fi on and off as needed which can noticeably extend battery life.

Below the keyboard are the left, right and middle mouse buttons, a shortcut button and the CrossMediaBar (XMB) launch button. The XMB allows users to boot straight into a menu system that PS3 and PSP owners will be familiar with and gives easy access to media such as photos, video and music as well as a web browser, Skype, Pidgin for instant messaging.

Sony mentioned that booting into the XMB took around 25 seconds and booting into Vista from the XMB took a further 1:45. However it should be noted that the model we were using was a prototype and Sony assured us it would be a bit quicker on the production model.

It runs Windows Vista Premium or Business edition, which runs happily, but given our first impressions of the upcoming Windows 7, we would probably recommend upgrading to that as soon as possible.

Ultimately, the price tag is going make the P-Series an exclusive device and for a lot less money you can get something not much heavier or slower, but for those with the money to spare who need a fully functional notebook that can slip into a handbag or a large coat pocket this could be a winner, and we can guarantee if you pull this out at a meeting it will turn some heads.

Posted by Ian Williams on January 15, 2009 | Permalink | Comments (10)

I've been having a try out with the BlackBerry Storm, Research in Motion's (RIM's) first touch-screen device. My colleague Daniel Robinson has carried out a full review or you can get a look at the Storm in action by watching our video review.

I was keen to get my hands on the device for two reasons. Firstly, I've long coveted an Apple iPhone, mainly for its lovely looks, and screen size and quality and so was interested to have a try out on RIM's touch-screen version; and also because I've just switched over from using my old 8700 BlackBerry and a separate Nokia mobile handset to having just one device, the BlackBerry Bold and so wanted to see how the Storm would compare.

Previously in my old unconverged world of separate mobile/emailer I never used the BlackBerry for anything but checking my email and replying to the odd one here and there; I made the occasional phone call and sent the odd text but much preferred my mobile for those things. So moving to the Bold was quite an experience and I'd advise anyone considering a switch away from two devices to a combined phone/emailer to thoroughly try out the keyboards of any potential handsets before making a purchase.

I found the BlackBerry SMS and phone capabilities difficult to get used to, mainly due to what seem like minor changes from a normal mobile handset but they caused a lot of frustration for me.

For example, the Bold and Storm save all messages in one folder, while I'm used to separate folders for received/sent/draft texts; while trying to change the phone settings, including selecting a ring tone and choosing between the vibrate/ring/vibrate+ring options, proved a real chore, requiring navigating through several different pages and dozens of options before finding the correct Profiles/Advanced/Normal/Phone sequence and arriving at the right place. I also found the requirement of repeating the same choice of Volume/Number of Vibrations and so on for the phone when it is out of holster or in holster an unnecessary duplication of effort; the same process was then required for setting up my preferred SMS profile.

Having said all that, I still rate the BlackBerry as an emailer device, and RIM has made huge improvements since I first began using one a few years ago, especially in terms of the speed of mobile browsing and the ability to view spreadsheets and other business documents.
From my fairly brief look at the Storm, I couldn't spot many different features from the Bold apart from the obvious touch-screen upgrade. Both devices have the same icons, browser, and phone capabilities.

One key upgrade with the Storm was the inclusion of a Chat icon in the menu, offering direct links to download pages for popular instant messaging tools. However, I didn't have much joy with this feature. I managed to download Google Chat, but was unable to log in to my account to try it out.

The music and video players are the same on both devices; the video quality was particularly impressive on both, with high quality picture and sound.

One strange difference was in the charger. I didn't take the charger for the borrowed Storm home with me overnight and when the battery died that evening I automatically went to plug in my Bold charger, only to find they have different connectors. It would be great to see RIM, and in fact all mobile handset makers, standardise on chargers across their different models and it would certainly earn them some green brownie points.

So now onto the Storm's headline-grabber - the touch-screen capability. The general consensus around the vnunet.com office was underwhelming - most people found the virtual keys very difficult to get used to, even with the addition of a "click" when pressing down on the screen - and this was my initial reaction too.

However, having used the Storm as my main emailer/phone for a few days I got used to the way the keyboard worked - I found it helped to aim to put my finger slightly to the left of keys rather than direct centre of them. I also really liked the ability to go back to using a SureType keypad and predictive text, especially for sending SMS messages, something I really miss with the Bold.

A final point: the way the screen switches view to reflect whether you're holding the phone sideways or upright is a neat feature, but it is slow in switching between the views. In the end I found myself favouring a sideways full keyboard view for emailing; and upright SureType for texting.

Overall my first touch-screen BlackBerry experience was good enough to make me consider a full-time move to a similar device in the future - but preferably one with a more satisfying mobile phone experience.

Posted by Madeline Bennett on December 8, 2008 | Permalink | Comments (17)

Sony has very kindly loaned me one of its PRS-505 electronic book devices to try out.

In particular, I wanted to see how it would measure up as a medium for carrying around Microsoft Word and Acrobat PDF files for reading on the move, as the alternative is to print them out or load them into a PDA or laptop.

The first thing worthy of note is that the 6in display of the eBook Reader has to be seen to be believed. Although only black-and-white and lacking a backlight, it has such a high display resolution that it resembles more a printed page than any other computer screen I've ever seen.

So how does it double as a mobile document reader? Sadly, not too well. It's easy enough to get files onto the eBook Reader, but while PDF files are supported natively, Word documents are not and must be converted to RTF format first.

And while the text in PDF files displays very well, any embedded images or graphics can only be seen in the entire page view; zoom in, and the graphic simply isn't displayed any more.

But the eBook Reader is really designed for looking at books, specifically those published in the EPUB digital format, and Sony supplies the PRS-505 with excerpts from several titles in this format for buyers' to try out.

The eBook Reader is a nice size and weight for the job. It is just a bit smaller than a sheet of A5 paper, weighs about 260g, and comes fitted into a leather-effect cover that makes it look like a notepad when closed. The device itself appears to be made of brushed steel, and feels like it is built to last.

Overall, the eBook Reader is fairly easy to use, but it seems to have too many controls. There are ten buttons labelled 0-9 down one side of the screen, plus two navigation controls, dedicated next-page and previous page keys, as well as tiny buttons to zoom in and take you to the main menu.

The eBook Reader has two slots for Sony Memory Stick Duo and SD Card Flash media, from which it can read files. Users can also load files onto the device over a USB cable from a PC using a supplied Windows tool called eBook Library, which seems to have been designed to imitate the look and feel of Apple's iTunes.

One advantage the PRS-505 has over other electronic devices is that its E-Ink "Electronic Paper" screen uses much less power than standard LCD technology, and consequently the batteries last much longer than those of other electronic devices. I used the PRS-505 for several days before the battery charge indicator went down even a single step.

Posted by Daniel Robinson on December 5, 2008 | Permalink | Comments (0)

This photo shows the Asus Eee PC 900 next to HP’s 2133 Mini-Note PC, two miniature laptops that are approximately the same size and both of which cost less than £500.

As should be apparent from the picture, HP’s model is slightly wider, which enables it to have larger keys and thus makes for easier typing. The Mini-Note is also more polished, with a brushed aluminium case, while the Asus feels rather plasticky by comparison.

However, the Asus has the advantage of weighing under a kilogram, while the Windows version of HP’s pint-sized portable weighs almost half again as much at 1.46kg.

There are other notable differences; the Eee PC has Windows XP installed (although the Home edition rather than Professional), and with 1GB memory, it feels as responsive as any other Windows XP system. The HP Mini-Note ships with Vista Business Edition, and despite its having 2GB of memory, Vista is a severe drag on its performance.

Asus also ships the Eee PC with 12GB of Flash solid state disk (SSD), while the HP model has a more conventional 120GB hard drive. Both have an 8.9in screen, but the Eee PC has a native resolution of 1024 x 600, while HP’s is a step up at 1280 x 768.

In early tests, the HP Mini-Note appeared to have a longer lasting battery than the Eee PC, but a full report will appear in a future issue of IT Week.

Posted by Daniel Robinson on May 25, 2008 | Permalink | Comments (3)

I took this photo to give readers some idea of just how small the HTC Shift really is. No, that isn’t a giant comedy mug next to the unit, but an average sized one such as most people have in their kitchen.

The unit weighs just 800g and has a 7in touch screen, specifications comparable to an ultra-mobile PC (UMPC) such as those from OQO or Samsung. But the Shift is better thought of as an ultra-petite laptop; it has a full qwerty keyboard, and the screen slides back and tilts into a configuration just like a typical laptop when opened up, as you can see. It even has a mini touchpad, the dark square to the right of the screen.

The Shift is actually two devices in one. Turn on the power, and it boots Windows Vista. However, it has a second environment called SnapVue that can be activated at any time by pressing a button next to the screen.

This allows access to email, calendar and contact information - even when the main unit is shut down - and also lets users send text messages via the Orange network. The second photo shows the main SnapVue screen (apologies for the slightly blurry quality of the image). The beauty of this is that you can quickly check your email without waiting for Vista to boot up, and this also saves on battery power.

My first impression is that the Shift really struggles to handle Windows Vista, although I found the display a pleasant surprise and easy to read for such a small sized panel. The keyboard is also too small to type at any speed, and the battery is unlikely to last for more than a couple of hours.

Nevertheless, the Shift is much easier to carry around than a full-size corporate laptop, and could quite easily fit into a briefcase without weighing down an executive’s carrying arm. With Wi-Fi and 3D wireless built-in, users can stay connected from virtually anywhere.

Microsoft Office 2007 is bundled with the unit, so those who absolutely must have access to Office applications (including Outlook) while travelling should find the Shift worth evaluating. A full review of this system will appear in a future edition of IT Week.

Posted by Daniel Robinson on March 21, 2008 | Permalink | Comments (0)