The most recent articles from What PC?

Handspring Treo 270

Scott Colvey. — 2002-10-01T10:26:34.000Z

Scott Colvey., What PC?, Tuesday 1 October 2002 at 10:26:34

A compact palmtop computer and mobile phone combined, the new Treo attempts to offer both portability and functionality.

Handspring's proclaimed corporate mantra is: "Keep it small, simple, affordable and connected." Does the company's latest offering meet these criteria?

Well, the new Treo 270 Communicator is certainly small - at least by the standards of most personal organisers. The unit fits easily in a shirt pocket, and while its weight is not negligible, it is barely appreciable.

It can sit comfortably in the palm of your hand, and its jog-dial control is conveniently positioned under-thumb (presuming you are right-handed, that is).

Before you can make use of this or any other control, though, the Treo's lid must be flipped open; this immediately brings the machine to life and acts as the 'off' switch when closed. This useful feature is a hallmark of the Treo 270's mobile phone credentials - but more on that later.

As a palmtop organiser, Handspring's latest offering must rank as one of the most attractive. The small frame belies the unit's wealth of features, which are set off well by the pretty colour screen.

In terms of software, there is nothing new or particularly enticing on offer here. The Treo relies on the popular Palm operating system as its backbone. This includes a simple-to-use address-book tool along with basic memo-taking and scheduling applications. If it is an all-singing, all-dancing multimedia-capable pocket computer you are after, Palm OS is not for you.

On the other hand, if you are looking for straightforward contact management, why complicate life by going for anything grander?

The Treo 270's Palm OS interface is navigated by an at-times baffling combination of the aforementioned jog-dial, short-cut buttons and a pen-like stylus.

In addition to these control regulars, a minuscule keyboard underlines the 4,000-shade display. This is very similar in look and feel to that of the Sharp Zaurus, but here it is a necessity rather than a novel extra. While most other PDAs allow some form of pen-based data entry - be it the simplified strokes of Palm's Graffiti or the cursive writing recognition attempted by Pocket PCs - the only way to get information into the Treo 270 when out and about is via this tiny tapper.

Sadly, while Sharp somehow managed to create a well-spaced layout, the Treo's keys seem a bit too close together.

As a mobile communications device, the Treo is accomplished. The flip cover doubles as an earpiece, and the unit acts much like any contemporary mobile handset. Telephone numbers can be entered via the keyboard or by pressing the large on-screen numeric icons displayed on the touch-sensitive screen.

Alternatively, the jog-dial can be used to flit through a list of speed dials (the Treo stores a maximum of 50). The device boasts a speaker-phone feature, but the usefulness of this is marred by a sloppy design quirk: the hands-free mode can be engaged only after a call has been connected.

In other words, by the time you have got speaker-phone operation enabled, the person on the other end of will already have uttered their greeting. It is not a major failing, but quite annoying - it is perhaps better to use the supplied earpiece with its in-line microphone instead.

The web-browsing facility works well. The software is Handspring's own Blazer browser, which supposedly turbo-charges internet activities, but surfing seemed slothful at times (though this is an inherent limitation of GSM networks). However, if you stick to sites optimised for mobile browsing, like the BBC's News Online service, it is an enjoyable and rewarding experience. Indeed, this aspect alone justifies the colour screen's inclusion.

The Treo 270 is a good-looking, fine-performing device - but it is not without its faults. The speaker-phone mode is flawed, and the keyboard-only entry method will further limit its appeal.

Price: £549 (inc VAT but without connection)

Dual-band (GSM 900/1800) mobile phone
16MB memory
33MHz Dragonball processor
Lithium-ion battery - 3 hours' talktime, 150 hours' standby
Dimenions (HxDxW, in mm): 108x21x71
Weight: 153g
12-bit colour display (4,000 shades)
Connects to PC/Mac via USB or serial
Includes Handspring's own web-browser application (Blazer) and text-message (SMS) management software

Contact:Handspring: 020 7294 0157

www.handspring.co.uk

Philips 150MT

Ben Lewis — 2002-09-06T14:12:16.000Z

Ben Lewis, What PC?, Friday 6 September 2002 at 14:12:16

A useful, smart and stylish device.

The Philips 150MT 15in flat-panel monitor is part of a new breed of devices aimed at users who flit between their PC and TV. It is designed with ease of use and maximum connectivity in mind and has a wide array of ports at the back.

PCs hook up via a standard VGA connector, and there is a separate mini-jack socket provided for audio-in; for TV or DVD there is a standard coaxial TV antenna-in. On top of this, a Scart connection allows DVD players or games consoles to be connected. There is also a composite video port for VCD players and VCRs.

The setup procedure is very easy. The Auto button on the front of the monitor handles the usually difficult task of optimising your PC to fit the screen. Windows drivers are provided, but all you need to do is reset your display settings to the recommended 1,024x768 at 75Hz.

The picture's sharpness is surprisingly good. While watching a DVD, we noticed a bit of pixelation, but this was only slight, and with the fast refresh rate there was no detectable shake or smearing during action scenes.

The enhanced brightness and wide viewing angle produced clean, vibrant colours.

The built-in TV tuner is straightforward to use. It has a switch on the front panel to flip between PC and TV. A good extra feature is the Picture-in-Picture button, which allows you to display the TV screen in three different sizes in the top-right corner of your computer desktop. If you fancy keeping an eye on the TV while you work, this is perfect. The input selector, which toggles between the different video outputs, is child's play to use.

Specifications

Multiple video inputs: PC, DVD, VCD, VCR, TV
Picture-in-Picture control
Super-high brightness feature and fast refresh rate
Auto-adjust for picture quality
100-page teletext memory

Price: £689 (including VAT)

Contact: Philips: 020 8689 4444

www.philips.co.uk

Sony VAIO PCG-NV109M

Ben Lewis — 2002-09-02T12:28:11.000Z

Ben Lewis, What PC?, Monday 2 September 2002 at 12:28:11

Sony's new laptop introduces some much-needed innovation into the notebook sector and offers great multimedia facilities.

With its internal Net MD drive, which has never before been included in a notebook, the Sony PCG-NV109M has something interesting to offer.

The machine sports an interchangeable (or multipurpose) drive bay, which can accommodate either the Net MiniDisc (MD) drive, a subwoofer, a floppy drive or an optional numeric pad. It is built in below the optical drive, giving the overall design an uncomfortably bulky back end.

From the front, however, the machine appears quite slim - a clever design trick. This notebook will not win any awards for portability though, as it weighs 3.9kg, and its dimensions are increased by the bulky multipurpose bay.

The multipurpose bay is a good idea, as it allows you to use sound facilitites, a keypad, a floppy drive or a MiniDisc drive, as and when you need to.

The compact subwoofer sounds excellent and boosts the overall audio quality. It does not cope with loud volumes very well, but the sound is clear, and there are some optional external Vaio speakers available. The ten-key bay gives you all the extra numerical functionality of a full-sized keyboard, but you need to pay extra for this as it is not included in the package.

Unfortunately, you cannot use the subwoofer and the MD unit simultaneously - which seems rather short-sighted - but MD tracks can be copied across to the hard drive. With 30GB to play with, and a Memory Stick slot available as well, storage is adequately covered.

The machine's most interesting feature is the Net MD drive unit. Sony has incorporated its own MiniDisc media format into a notebook for the first time, and it gives you extra options for recording and playing music.

The drive allows you to record digital music from the internet or a CD.

It stores audio in ATRAC3 format, which is a lot faster than the normal recording speed for a MiniDisc, and it makes more efficient use of the available space. The new MD format allows you to download 320 minutes of audio onto an 80-minute MiniDisc. It is ideal for recording music from download sites.

On the opposite side of the bay are modem, network, FireWire and AV ports. The latter can be used to connect the notebook to a TV. The NV109M also has three USB ports at the back, along with the usual range of legacy ports.

Overall, the specifications and features are good. You get a generous 15in display, which is a large size for a notebook and makes watching films or playing games a pleasure. The NV109M is designed for the user who wants to be multimedia-savvy while on the move. The ATI Mobility graphics hardware is powerful and can handle most tasks.

This is a notebook for the audiovisual enthusiast. It is supplied with a combination CD-RW/DVD-Rom drive as standard, which gives you the option of recording onto CD as well as MD. With lots of software included for recording, editing and compiling image and sound files, this notebook is a multimedia master.

With its 1.6GHz Mobile Pentium 4 processor, the NV109M is no slouch in the performance stakes either. And considering the host of power-sapping features, the battery life, at just under two hours, is acceptable.

This is a good all-rounder that offers good connectivity and power, and a comprehensive range of features. If you want lots of audio- and image-editing options in a portable format, it is a tempting option.

Price: £2,003.38 (inc VAT)

1.6GHz Mobile Intel Pentium 4 Processor
256MB DDR Ram
30GB hard disk
15in XGA TFT screen
DVD-Rom/CD-RW combination drive
56Kbps modem and 10/100 network adaptor
Ports: 2 x Type II/1 x Type III PC Card, FireWire, 3 x USB, TV-out, MagicGate Memory Stick
ATI Mobility Radeon 7500 graphics Weight: 3.9kg
One-year standard warranty Dimensions: (WxDxH, in mm) 336x276.1x53.3
Contact: Sony: 0870 511 1999www.vaio.sony-europe.com

Time Pluto Tri-View

Ben Lewis — 2002-08-29T14:03:59.000Z

Ben Lewis, What PC?, Thursday 29 August 2002 at 14:03:59

The first three-screen PC hits the shops.

Time Computers has seldom found renown as an innovative builder of PCs. Instead it concentrates on producing standard beige-boxes with lots of everyday features. But with this new Pluto Tri-View system, Time has broken its favourite mould.

The Tri-View's graphics card can spread its display over three different screens and, just to show off, Time has supplied a trio of 15.1in TFT flat panels. The new Parhelia graphics card from Matrox has two digital video interface slots which are split using converter cables into three monitor outputs.

The headline feature is backed up by a powerful Pentium 4 2.53GHz processor, 512MB of DDR memory and an 80GB hard drive. These high-end components combine to help the Tri-View turn in the second highest ever benchmark score in our exacting labs tests. This alone makes the machine worthy of special attention.

Not surprisingly, though, it is the split-screen technology that stands out. This machine is designed mainly for games, as computer-aided design professionals and the like generally prefer bigger CRT monitors.

The system is easy to set up, as Time has tweaked the Windows drivers and Registry settings to spread the display over three screens.

Sadly, this readiness does not always extend to the games or other software titles you might want to view in wide screen. We tested the Tri-View with Jedi Knight 2: Jedi Outcast as it is one of only five games currently supporting this three-display technology.

Ballistics, Microsoft Flight Simulator, Quake Arena and Return to Castle Wolfenstein make up the list of supporting titles, and a few more are on the way.

However, even though Jedi Outcast works with the Tri-View's three screens, we were forced to enter a cryptic set of codes before the game spread itself across them.

First-person shooters, such as those using the Quake 3 graphics engine, lend themselves well to three screens, and the overall effect is highly impressive. Jedi Outcast's cut scenes lost detail when stretched, but the game itself looked good.

The machine lacks an overall control feature to make all three screens display the same colours and brightness. The outside screens displayed different shades to the central one, and we could not rectify this to our satisfaction.

Interestingly, the two outer screens show a skewed perspective, which looks strange when viewed straight on, but adds to the overall effect when you are looking at the central screen. It will be interesting to see how software developers respond to this surround-visuals ability.

Used properly, it could add an extra element to gaming, but it will need to be easier to configure.

The Pluto Tri-View is a great-value system. It has a network port and two USB ports, a powerful processor and a generous hard drive, as well as three TFT screens. It also has four free PCI slots. The quality of the TFT screens is not the best but, for well under £2,000, it would be harsh to complain.

The system we received for review was equipped only with onboard sound facilities, but Time has said that future versions of the machine may possibly include a separate sound card. If this is important to you, we recommend that you check before ordering.

Time deserves a hearty commendation for embracing this fledgling technology without charging the earth. This is a good, powerful machine with plenty of upgrade options.

Supported games list can be viewed here.

Price: £1,879 (inc VAT)

Specifications:

Intel Pentium 4 2.53GHz processor

512MB DDR memory

80GB hard disk drive

16-speed DVD-Rom drive

32x 10x 40x CD-RW drive

Videologic ZXR-500 5.1 speakers

Matrox Parhelia 128MB DDR (triple-output) graphics card

Three 15.1in NFREN NF-1500MA TFT monitors

Contact: Time Computers 0800 771 107

www.timecomputers.com

Samsung SM151P

Scott Colvey — 2002-08-29T13:52:51.000Z

Scott Colvey, What PC?, Thursday 29 August 2002 at 13:52:51

Samsung and Porsche produce a stylish 15 inch LCD.

What do you get if you cross a manufacturer of hi-tech electronics goods with a designer of exotic sports cars? In this instance the answer is the SM151P, a stylish flat-panel display designed by Porsche and built by Samsung.

In so far as any computer component can be described as attractive, the SM151P is a good-looker. It is slim, bereft of buttons (save for a power switch) and finished with a metallic sheen.

The flat-panel itself hangs off a telescopic arm, so it can be raised or lowered to suit. Better still, the screen can be rotated through 90 degrees in either direction, allowing the user to work on documents in a portrait orientation. Software to work this magic is supplied.

Usefully, the SM151P can receive its images via either a traditional analogue (VGA) connector or a digital visual interface (DVI). Opting for the latter, assuming that you have a graphics card with a DVI-out port, will ensure 100 per cent accurate reproduction of images, colours and lighting.

Indeed, in DVI mode the SM151P's display is outstanding and even produces excellent results from an analogue input.

Sadly, Porsche's image-savvy designers seem to have overlooked some issues of practicality. While we applaud the dual-input feature, it seems rather silly to have both cables hard-wired into the back of the stand. Since a user is only ever likely to employ one, the redundant cord is destined to dangle in the wind.

If you were wondering how the SM151P's display attributes can be altered in the absence of any obvious controls, examine the cigar shaped depression at the bottom left of the bezel; it is a touch-sensitive area with illuminated control labels.

The merest brush of a finger is enough to conjure up an on-screen menu which allows you to tweak the image in any number of ways.

Price: £499 (inc VAT)

Specifications:

15in TFT flat-panel display

Maximum resolution: 1,024 x 768 pixels

Dual input: analogue and digital (DVI)

Pivoting screen

Designed by Porsche

Dimensions (W x H x D): 380 x 404 x 190mm

Weight: 4.6kg

Contact: Samsung 0800 521 652

www.samsungelectronics.co.uk

Modular Technology DAB digital radio PCI card

Nik Rawlinson — 2002-08-21T09:37:34.000Z

Nik Rawlinson, What PC?, Wednesday 21 August 2002 at 09:37:34

A digital radio card that promises to bring affordable, CD-quality audio to the masses.

Sometime between 2010 and 2020 the last FM radio station will fall silent. The Government is keen to see us stop using the familiar analogue transmissions of the past 100 years and enter the new world of digital audio broadcasting (Dab).

Why? Well, apart from the fact that it means the FM frequencies can be used for something else, it should also eliminate the crackle, hiss and interference that plague regular broadcasting.

The trouble is, at around £500, digital radios are far too expensive, so for most of us a PC-based tuner such as the Psion Wavefinder has been our only option.

You can pick up a Wavefinder for less than £50 now, but the software is rather basic, and the process it uses to separate one station from another means that a powerful local signal can knock out a weaker national broadcaster.

The new Dab card, though, seems to have solved this problem. It is an internal PCI device, so is not as easy to install as the USB-based Wavefinder, but once you have fitted it into the case and installed the software, you need only find a suitable location for the magnetised aerial and tell the card that you live in the UK.

This last point is important, as radio is no better than mobile phones when it comes to worldwide compatibility, and what may work in Canada may not work in Britain or Germany.

America, as usual, has opted for an entirely different technology that uses the existing FM band so, if you plan on emigrating to the US in the near future, this card is not for you.

Once up and running, you will spot a number of key features. First, each radio multiplex has a name - Digital One, BBC National DAB, and so on - and each has its own tab on the left-hand side of the screen.

Clicking one displays the stations it broadcasts and, as you hover over each station, control buttons for play and record scroll out from the side.

Currently, only the BBC provides an electronic programme guide. This is free (although rather slow) to download through the Dab aerial.

Once on your system it lists around a week's worth of programmes for the World Service and Radios One to Five, with a small 'record' icon beside each one. Click the icon beside your chosen programme, and at the appointed time your PC will tune into the right station and save it to disk.

The commercial stations, which do not have a guide, rely on you manually clicking 'record' and 'stop' at the beginning and end of the programme you want to save, but it is still far easier to operate than even a simple video.

Not everyone is a fan of digital radio, though. The underlying technology is now 10 years old so, if you have a keen ear, you will probably prefer the more rounded sound of music on FM.

In that respect, it is a bit like switching from vinyl records to Minidisc. Different stations also use different levels of compression so, while a music station may be broadcast at 128Kbits/s, about the same as a lightly compressed MP3 file, talk stations use only 96Kbits/s.

The card is also very temperamental when fed a weak signal, so check that you have coverage in your area before you splash out on new kit. Entering your postcode at www.ukdigitalradio.com will give you the answer you need.

Far more versatile than a stand-alone tuner, digital radio is also cheaper than most but, if you do not want to open up your PC, look out for Videologic's £99 portable digital radio, due out around the same time as this review.

Price: £99 (inc. VAT)

Features:

Internal tuner card
External receiver aerial
Easy-to-use software interface
Electronic programme guide
Hard drive digital recording
Radio web services

Minimum requirements: Pentium MMX 200MHz (or equivalent); 32MB Ram (128MB for Windows XP); 33MB free hard drive space; spare PCI slot; sound card with headphones or powered speakers.

Contact: Modular Technology 01869 321323

www.modulartech.com

Iomega HDD 20GB

Julian Prokaza — 2002-08-15T10:15:07.000Z

Julian Prokaza, What PC?, Thursday 15 August 2002 at 10:15:07

An easy way to add extra storage space to either desktop or notebook PCs.

Hard disks have never been cheaper and, at the moment, a whopping 80GB model will set you back a mere £90. You do, of course, need the wherewithal to fit it inside your PC, and this means negotiating IDE channels, jumper settings, minuscule screws that ping into your computer innards with minimal effort and - well, you get the picture. If you cannot face or simply cannot be bothered with all this fuss, you should get yourself an external hard drive. By strange coincidence, that is what Iomega has just launched.

At £189, the HDD 20GB is rather more expensive than an internal drive, but it is up and running in seconds. It is a slim little number finished in grey and black, much like Iomega's existing Peerless drive. Like the Peerless, the HDD comes in two parts, and the drive clips to a small module that provides the necessary sockets. At less than the size of a paperback book, the HDD takes up little desk space but, unlike the slim Zip 250, there is no option to stand it on its side.

The HDD uses a USB 2 connection, but obviously it will also work, albeit more slowly, via traditional USB. A FireWire model will also be available at some point. Since a USB 2 port does not carry enough voltage to power a hard drive, the HDD 20GB also needs a separate power supply.

In terms of performance, the USB 2 connection transfers 100MB of data in about seven seconds - not as quick as an IDE hard drive, but quick enough for the HDD to be used like one without complaint.

It is a shame that the HDD 20GB it requires a separate power supply, but Iomega cannot be blamed for the failings of the USB 2 standard.

Specifications:

20GB 4,200RPM external hard disk
USB 2 connection
Mains adaptor included
Dimensons (WxDxH, in mm): 141x17.5x191
Weight: 190g

Price: £189 (inc VAT)

Contact: Iomega: 020 7365 9527

www.iomega.com

Creative Inspire 5.1 Digital 5700

Scott Colvey — 2002-08-14T10:33:58.000Z

Scott Colvey, What PC?, Wednesday 14 August 2002 at 10:33:58

A 5.1 surround-sound system with a monster of a subwoofer.

If you've invested in a fancy computer, games console or DVD player, but have not yet added surround-sound, you're missing out in a big way.

Virtually all modern home entertainment equipment will output enveloping audio to a compatible speaker system, and Creative's Inspire 5.1 Digital 5700 is compatible with almost every device.

The subwoofer accounts for the bulk of the huge box. This monster cube has an ominous presence and, for this reason, is probably best hidden from view. The positioning of any bass speaker is largely irrelevant, the human ear being oblivious to the direction of low-frequency sounds. By comparison, the centre speaker and its four satellites seem tiny.

All these speakers connect via wires of varying length to the Dolby Digital 5.1/DTS decoder hub.

Sadly, though, its out-of-the-box usefulness is limited by short cables: the front satellites include a mere two metres, while Creative expects rear speakers to be strung no further than five metres from the hub.

This is fine for a PC workstation or the far reaches of a box bedroom but, for the average-size living room, such lengths are insufficient.

To be fair, Creative is pitching the Inspire 5.1 more at the PC market than home entertainment buffs, but the inclusion of such short cables seems an opportunity missed.

That one gripe aside, there is little else to criticise. The instructions are straightforward, and the audio output is good.

Specifications:

5.1 system (four satellite, centre and subwoofer speakers)
7-watt (RMS) per surround satellite
30-watt (RMS) SLAM subwoofer
21-watt (RMS) centre channel
Optical, coaxial, analogue stereo or digital DIN connections
Dolby Digital 5.1/DTS decoder.

Price: £279.99 (inc. VAT)

Contact: Creative

www.creative.com

PC World Advent 8001

Andy Gordon — 2002-08-02T10:31:39.000Z

Andy Gordon, What PC?, Friday 2 August 2002 at 10:31:39

This Advent is a mover and a shaker - a smart little unit that concetrates on the basics.

This Advent notebook uses the latest mobile processor, so shoppers on a tight budget should look elsewhere.

The 8001 is well-priced when compared to notebooks with similar specifications.

At its heart is a 1.8GHz Intel Pentium 4 Mobile processor, the 'Mobile' suffix distinguishing the chip from the desktop equivalent.

Intel's Mobile chips include a technology called SpeedStep, which reduces processor speed when a computer is not plugged into the mains. The 1.8GHz Pentium 4 Mobile drops to 1.2GHz, preserving battery life when on the move.

The 8001 has 384MB of Ram and a large 40GB hard disk drive.

This Advent is a mover and shaker, and it looks good. Inventive use of the available space produces a compact, well-designed, smart silver unit that is comfortably portable at 2.7kg.

The dark-grey insides complete a pleasant two-tone finish, along with the silver-bordered touchpad controller. The keyboard is a bit small, but is well set out and comfortable to use.

Serial and parallel ports, along with the floppy drive, have been dropped, but plenty of alternatives are dotted around the edge of the case. Three USB ports for peripherals reside on the left and right, along with a modem connection, networking port, VGA for an external display and PC Card slot, while mini-FireWire, infrared and short-cut keys reside on the front.

The optical drive is a combined DVD-Rom and CD-RW. The 14in display replete with (basic) built-in speakers and headphone socket make movie-watching a possibility, and an S-video out is included for connecting to a TV.

Price: £1,799 (inc VAT)

1.8GHz Pentium 4 Mobile processor
384MB Ram
40GB hard disk drive
14.1in display
Weight: 2.7kg
Combination DVD-Rom, CD-RW drive
Dimensions (HxWxD, in mm): 35.3x312.5x257

Contact:PC World: 0800 056 5732

www.pcworld.co.uk

Creative Extigy

Scott Colvey — 2002-07-15T14:59:50.000Z

Scott Colvey, What PC?, Monday 15 July 2002 at 14:59:50

A high-kicking add-on for serious audiophiles.

There's an old joke in computing circles: what's the best way to upgrade a notebook computer? Buy a new one.

Portability always involves compromises, and with compacted computers the ability to later improve their specifications is often the first casualty of any size reduction.

That's where Creative hopes to find a niche for its Extigy, a high-kicking audio add-on aimed primarily at those interested in notebook enhancement.

The manufacturer has dubbed the Extigy an 'external sound card', which fails to do the product full justice. Yes, the Extigy is an external sound card in the sense that it connects to a PC via USB and bestows upgraded audio output on the host, but it's capable of a lot more.

Both the front and back panels are festooned with controls and connectors. On its hindquarters sit most modern audio sockets, including SP/DIF, MIDI-in and -out DINs and digital-out. There are a few more sockets and corresponding controls on the front.

The reason for all this connectivity is that, as well as acting the soprano to otherwise tone-deaf notebook PCs, the Extigy can be connected to all manner of home entertainment devices.

Hook it up to a DVD player, for instance, and the Extigy becomes a Dolby Digital decoder with 5.1-speaker surround-sound output.

Of course, the Extigy can perform the same trick when connected to a notebook PC, but we can't help wondering quite how many portable computer owners crave such a facility.

Carrying a surround-sound speaker set along with a notebook obviously isn't going to become popular, so Creative's latest offering is really for those users who want a better audio experience at home.

The Extigy is undoubtedly a fantastic piece of equipment, but whether notebook owners will be lining up to buy one, only Creative sales figures can reveal.

Price: £149.99 (inc. VAT)

Specifications:

Built-in Dolby Digital decoder
Remote control handset
Can be used with notebook or desktop computers, DVD players and games consoles
Broad line-up of audio input and output sockets

Contact: Creative 0118 934 4322

www.europe.creative.com

Time Jupiter

Frank White — 2002-07-12T11:27:14.000Z

Frank White, What PC?, Friday 12 July 2002 at 11:27:14

An inexpensive way to upgrade if you don't need new peripherals and software.

There are times when you don't want to buy an entire computer. If you're upgrading, but are content with your existing peripherals and software, the computer itself - the so-called base unit - is all you require.

That's just what you get here. Time's Jupiter is shorn of superfluous software and any extras apart from a mouse and keyboard, and this has allowed the manufacturer to focus on internal components.

A powerful Athlon XP 2000+ processor sits at the helm, supported by 256Mb of DDR memory and an 80Gb hard disk drive.

The machine duly turned in some impressive test scores. It achieved 173 in SYSmark, which is good for a package at this price. The system also managed a creditable 3DMark score of 5,480.

This is largely down to Time's inclusion of a quality 64Mb GeForce4 MX440 card, which also comes with a TV-out port. The Jupiter didn't fare so well in our NoiseMark test, with sound levels, even when idle, nudging close to those you would expect from a fridge.

The case itself is large, has a simple design and fits with the performance-per-pound ethos that is Time's priority.

It has plenty of upgrade options, with two PCI slots, a Dimm socket for adding more memory, and empty 3.5in and 5.25in drive bays. This means you should be able to recycle parts from an old PC and use them to bolster what the Jupiter can offer.

That's not the end of the story. There are separate DVD-Rom and CD-RW drives, four rear-mounted USB ports and a Creative PCI sound card. The latter isn't the most up-to-date card, but it does a reasonable job.

Price: £699 (inc VAT)

Specifications:

AMD Athlon XP 2000+ processor
256Mb DDR memory
80Gb hard disk
16-speed DVD-Rom
6 x 10 x 40x CD-RW
64Mb GeForce4 MX440 graphics card
Sound Blaster PCI sound card
4 USB ports
TV-out connector.

Contact: Time Computers 0870 8303 101

www.timecomputers.com

Evesham Evolution 2.5

Scott Colvey — 2002-07-04T10:38:04.000Z

Scott Colvey, What PC?, Thursday 4 July 2002 at 10:38:04

A monster PC with a price to match.

Another month, another leap in processing power. The latest milestone to be passed is the 2.53GHz mark, the clock speed of Intel's latest Pentium 4 processor. It's this high-powered chip that forms the basis of Evesham's new machine, the aptly named Evolution 2.5.

Initially, the Evesham refused to work, so our labs engineer was called into action, and a loose-fitting graphics card was soon identified as the cause.

That little hurdle cleared, we got down to the tests. Is the Evolution 2.5 the fastest PC we've reviewed? Well, with a SYSmark score of 236, the answer is yes. Is that impressive? Of course, but we wouldn't expect anything less of a £2,000 computer.

Alongside the fast-paced processor sits 512Mb of DDR memory and, for long-term storage, the 100Gb hard disk drive is unlikely to run out of room.

The machine comes with an LG 19in monitor. Our review model was missing this particular item, but fortunately the Flatron 915FT is a popular choice among PC manufacturers, and we had a couple in the labs. It's a fine display; flat-screened and expansive. We're sure Evesham's stock doesn't differ from the competition.

When it's not supposed to be making any noise, the Evolution idled at just under 41dB in our new NoiseMark test. But we have to report that a boisterous CD-RW drive upped this figure to almost 49dB when in action.

The Evolution 2.5 is king of the PC castle - for now.

Price: £1,996.33 (inc. VAT)

Specifications:

Intel Pentium 4 2.53GHz processor
512Mb DDR memory
100Gb hard disk drive
16-speed DVD-Rom drive
40 x 12 x 48x CD-RW drive
Leadtek GeForce4 4600 graphics card
19in LG Flatron 915FT monitor.

Contact: Evesham 0870 160 9500

www.evesham.com

Canon S750

Claudia Randall — 2002-07-04T09:32:53.000Z

Claudia Randall, What PC?, Thursday 4 July 2002 at 09:32:53

A 'photo-quality' inkjet printer at a fair price.

So-called 'photo-quality' inkjet printers have been around for some time, and any new entrant to the market has to have something special if it's to stand out.

Canon's latest model, the S750, has a redesigned print head which the company claims increases output speed and eliminates the banding effect caused by poor alignment of the ink nozzles as they pass over the paper.

Canon says that the S750 can print up to 20 pages per minute (ppm) for mono prints, 13ppm for colour and 2.5ppm for a full-colour A4 page in default mode.

It sounds impressive but, as always, the manufacturer's figures are a little optimistic. In tests the S750 managed just over 7ppm for text output, while A4 photographs appeared at the rate of one every two and a half minutes.

So, it's slower than Canon's claims, but let's keep things in perspective: the printer is a good bit faster than many of its contemporaries.

The banding issue, which so often afflicts inkjet printouts, has been solved by what Canon calls Advanced Precision Colour Distribution Technology. In lay terms, a short gap separates the black and colour nozzles, enabling the black ink to dry before the colour jets are fired on top.

This ensures minimal ink bleed. In addition, the colour nozzles are mirrored, allowing the firing order of ink tanks to be the same on both passes of the bi-directional head. The machine also allows for borderless printing, so you can produce photographs without having to trim them afterwards.

Unfortunately, we did encounter problems. After about 40 prints on various media our magenta tank stopped printing, even though it still had ink in the reservoir.

Selecting the head-clean option fixed this temporarily but the problem did recur. However, Canon assures us that this was a one-off problem with our particular test model.

Price: £189 (inc VAT)

Specifications:

2,400 x 1,200dpi print resolution
Separate ink tanks (cyan, yellow, magenta, black)
Borderless printing
USB and parallel port connection
Networkable via optional adaptor
Windows and Mac drivers.

Contact: Canon 0800 616 417

www.canon.co.uk/bubblejet

Packard Bell Chrom@ LS

Ben Lewis — 2002-07-03T08:57:55.000Z

Ben Lewis, What PC?, Wednesday 3 July 2002 at 08:57:55

The Chrom@ LS is aimed at all-round multimedia users.

The Chrom@ LS is aimed at all-round multimedia users and is meant to be an ideal mobile solution for film and music buffs, and gaming and internet fans.

With a super-wide screen and silver finish its looks are vaguely reminiscent of the attention-grabbing Apple Powerbook G4. But is it all it's cracked up to be?

Although Packard Bell pitches the machine as a 'mobile entertainment centre', it is heavy and bulky. At 4kg, the Chrom@ LS is more a desktop replacement than a mobile system. Besides, with a battery life of just one hour and 25 minutes, portable use is limited.

Viewed even as a desktop replacement system, the Chrom@ fails to shine. With the Mobile Pentium 4 chip now on sale and many modern notebooks surpassing the 2GHz speed barrier, Packard Bell's choice of a 1GHz Pentium III seems disappointing. The machine managed middling performance in our benchmark tests.

However, the Chrom@'s 15.3in display and 1280 x 768 resolution make DVDs look fantastic, and the Yamaha sound hardware produces an admirably deep tone from the built-in speakers.

Games look slightly less impressive as the 16Mb ATI Mobility Radeon graphics chip exhibits jerkiness when there's a lot of action on screen.

Connectivity is impressive, with three USB ports, an S-video out and two FireWire ports for transferring video footage, although the 30Gb hard drive would quickly be filled by anything other than light video editing work.

The floppy disk drive must be removed to use the serial and parallel ports. But with a modem, network port and a set of digital S/PDIF outs as well this is a notebook you can link up to just about anything.

Price: From £1,999 (inc VAT)

Specifications:

1GHz Pentium III SpeedStep processor
256Mb Ram
30Gb hard disk
15.3in WXGA TFT screen
DVD-Rom/CD-RW combination drive
56Kbps modem, 10/100 network adaptor
Two Type II and one Type III PC Card slot
Two FireWire and three USB sockets
S-video out connector
Dimensions: (W x D x H, in mm) 365 x 250 x 50; weight: 4kg

Contact: Packard Bell 01628 512400

www.packardbell.co.uk

Creative Nomad Jukebox 3

Julian Prokaza — 2002-07-02T12:40:00.000Z

Julian Prokaza, What PC?, Tuesday 2 July 2002 at 12:40:00

Creative's MP3 player offers PC users an excellent way to listen to music on the move.

Hard disk-based MP3 players make good sense if you like to listen to a lot of music. Even basic versions have a capacity of a few thousand tracks, and that's enough for most people's entire CD collection.

Until the Apple iPod appeared, though, hard disk players were big, heavy and had very short battery life.

The snag is that the iPod is Mac only, and no PC peripheral manufacturer has anything like Apple's talent for style, although unofficial Windows software will be available soon for Apple's cigarette packet-sized player (visit www.mediafour.com for more information).

Creative was the first to launch a hard disk MP3 player with the big and bulky Jukebox and, two years on, it's back with the markedly more svelte Nomad Jukebox 3. Actually, scratch that; the Jukebox 3 isn't that svelte.

It is around a third smaller and lighter than the original Jukebox, but that still makes it the same size as a cheap CD Walkman and all but impossible to carry comfortably in a pocket. It also makes it considerably larger than an iPod, so the Jukebox 3's chances of success may appear slim.

Where the Jukebox 3 scores, however, is with capacity. Its 20Gb hard disk can store 333 hours of music encoded at a near CD-quality sampling rate of 128Kbit/s.

That means you could have it play non-stop for two weeks and not hear the same track twice. Getting all that music on there in the first place is also made much easier by the inclusion of both FireWire and USB ports.

With FireWire, 100Mb of MP3s can be transferred in about a minute, but you'll need the patience of Job to transfer 20Gb of tracks over USB. The bad news is that, unlike the iPod, the Jukebox 3 doesn't recharge when it's connected to a PC's FireWire port so, if you're on the move, you'll need to carry the mains adaptor around to recharge the battery.

The good news, however, is that the Jukebox 3's battery is a lithium-ion cell that will last for 11 hours. There's also a spare slot for a second battery.

With 20Gb of music in your pocket (or, more probably, your bag), operating it could be a nightmare, but Creative has reworked the Jukebox 3's menu system to make it easier to use.

There's now a wheel at the side of the unit for scrolling through tracks, but its stepped action does not allow you to spin it to quickly scroll through a long list.

Tracks can be browsed by artist, album or genre, and play lists can be composed and even saved on the fly. There's still an awful lot of buttons to press, but one of them isn't 'hold'. This essential feature has been stupidly buried in a menu.

The Jukebox is unusual in that it can also make recordings, either as WAV files or MP3s. There's a line-in socket that supports an optical connection, but there's no way to set or monitor the recording level.

This limits the usefulness of the feature but, since the Jukebox 3 is flash-upgradable, it's an issue that may be addressed.

Creative hasn't done much that's new to the bundled PlayCenter application, beyond adding a flexible track synchronise function. The application is easy to use, whether it's for managing your MP3 collection, ripping new tracks or sending them to the Jukebox 3, but it isn't well-executed.

It also locked and crashed a number of Windows XP PCs in our tests, which didn't endear us to it, but a Jukebox 3-compatible version of the infinitely better Notmad Explorer (www.redchairsoftware.com) should be available soon.

Specifications:

20Gb hard disk
Back lit LCD screen
FireWire and USB ports
11 hours playback from single lithium-ion battery, with a second battery slot
Two line-out sockets
Analogue/optical line-in socket
Supplied with PlayCenter MP3 management software
Size: 123 x 130 x 35mm
Weight: 298g without battery.

Price: £350 (inc VAT)

Contact: Creative 0118 934 4322

www.nomadworld.com