Looking for an upgrade to a netbook? I know that 1.3KG can feel different in different form factors but the thin and light laptops shouldn’t be ignored if you’re thinking about ultra mobility. For example, if you need a device to operate for 7-8 hours while typing offline but want to turn up the power dial to 11 now and then for a bit of 720p editing and rendering or gaming, the Samsung 900X3A is one to take a look at. It’s a smart device in its own right but […]

Let me be up-front about my experience with €1600 laptops – I have none. In fact, I’ve never owned a laptop. Netbooks and ultra-mobile PCs and Tablets, yes. Since 2006 I’ve owned a number of them and tested probably hundreds through my work running UMPCPortal.com. Having ‘just enough’ processing power for my tasks in the smallest, best value package with the longest battery life possible was more important than all-out power. Because of a series of changes in the marketplace and in my own requirements though (think 720p video editing) […]

I’ve been spending a lot of time, probably too much time, testing the first iteration of Google Plus and I’m fairly certain where I think it will take root. Google Plus will be the social network of the mobile world. Given a few changes that I’m sure will surface soon (bi-directional connectors to Facebook and Twitter for example) I predict that this tool is likely to end up baked into the Android phone and tablet operating system soon and will therefore make Android the first mobile product to have a […]

Plus is great technology but we’ll have to see how it gets adopted. If it can create enough momentum until it gets baked into the next Android phone OS and receives 500.000 users per day then it’s won but until then, there’s work to do. Personally I think the success purely rests on how it performs in the mobile space. Things I would like to see on the mobile client: Collapsed view on Stream. Two posts per page isn’t enough for scanning. I’m using an Android 2.x tablet. it must […]

We’re testing the 13” Samsung 900X3A at the moment (and what a peach it is!) but there’s also an 11” model. Unfortunately it uses the first generation Core i3 processor. We bring good news today though because not only have Samsung announced an updated 11” model but there’s a total of 5 new models coming. Look out for bargains on the existing models, at least in the US where the new devices have been announced. Via Engadget we’ve got this summary. 11-inch configurations: • NP900X1B-A01US ($1,249, available in August) Intel […]

I write a lot about connected cameras. I’m a huge fan of being able to share the moment and I’m generally writing about cameraphones because ‘real’ cameras haven’t caught up yet. They will soon though. I wonder if they will be running Android. Over the last 6 years my phone choice has been largely influenced by the camera on it and of the phones I’ve had, only the Nokia ones have stood the test of time. That might change soon though because the new Google Plus service raises the bar […]

Thanks to everyone that turned up to watch me mess about with the Samsung 900X3A yesterday evening. We spent a good 2 hours going over almost everything except Bluetooth 3+HS and USB 3.0 which we couldn’t test.