Yet, beneath the plain, uninspiring exterior, there beats the heart of a true Ultrabook. It’s the first time we’ve seen one sporting an Intel low-voltage Core i3 processor, and it doesn’t disappoint. Although it lacks the Turbo Boost of its Core i5 cousins, and so runs at a maximum of just 1.4GHz, it still acquitted itself well, scoring 0.48 in our Real World Benchmarks. Our review unit came with a cramped 64GB Crucial M4 SSD, but retail models will thankfully come with 128GB – which is just as well given the 15GB recovery partition.Where many budget models suffer from poor battery life, the Novatech can hold its head up high. Our light-use test saw the nFinity 2367 Plus browse the web for 7hrs 34mins. Upping the ante with our Cinebench test, which pushes the CPU flat out, it still lasted a very reasonable 2hrs 54mins.Today we reveal how Chrome is making progress, Phorm's financial troubles, Oracle's security criticisms, the impact of Windows 8 and why one writer is sick of backchat from his computer.Google’s Chrome OS appears to finally be winning over manufacturers. A leaked spec sheet reveals HP is planning a 14in Pavilion Chromebook, which would be the largest laptop running Chrome OS to be released yet, notes Ars Technica.
Acer, meanwhile, has revealed to Bloomberg that Chromebooks are making up between 5-10% of US laptop sales for the company. President Jim Wong said the Chrome OS is more secure than other systems. However, he may just be using Chrome to take a dig at Windows, describing the latest release as "not successful". "The whole market didn't come back to growth after the Windows 8 launch, that's a simple way to judge if it is successful or not," he said. Acer's sales have fallen by more than a quarter over the past year.Phorm facing final curtain?Web traffic watcher Phorm is facing doubts over its future, with the company's value falling like a stone. The one-time web enemy number one riled UK ISP customers with tracking software for targeted advertising, and has never really recovered from the fall-out.According to the Financial Times, the company has dropped 40% of its value despite new opportunities in China. "The company is likely to run out of cash around March," the paper quoted one analyst as saying. "Recent share price weakness is potentially unhelpful and reflects financial worries, not progress in the business."Oracle's recent security issues with Java are well documented, but the company has come under fire again even as it tries to address the vulnerabilities and change its company culture. The H documents how the company's recent Java 7 update blocked certain drive-by attacks but still left many customers in the dark, despite promises to be more open.
"They didn’t sound like they have a clear idea of what to do, what to say or even exactly who they were speaking to," nCircle's director of security operations, Andrew Storms, told the site. "If this is the kind of security communication we can expect from Oracle in the future then Oracle customers are not better off."Thomson Reuters has a graphic that underlines the dwindling importance of new operating system releases from Microsoft for investors.While three early iterations of the company's flagship Windows pushed the stock value to new heights, the situation has been different since Windows 2000, with the exception of Vista – yes, really. The trend continued with the release of Windows 8 late last year, with Microsoft shares dropping 5% after launch.The BBC ponders whether computers, and particularly the applications and websites occupying their screens are getting just a bit over familiar, placing us all on first-name terms and trying to convince us they have personalities."When I register on some websites and then log in again, I'll see a message saying 'Howdy Colm, welcome back!'" he writes. "Don't 'howdy' me. You're just a piece of aluminium coated in some sort of magnetic substance in a server farm located in a country where the climate makes it economically viable to keep the machines at constant temperature. You are not my friend. I bet you say that to everyone."
Sick of the mateyness, Colm O'Regan recalls the days when computers simply did their job, or didn't, as they saw fit. "Computers were like bouncers. You were the three-sheets-to-the-wind punter swaying glassy-eyed in front of them pleading to continue. They remained impassive saying, 'I don't have to give you a reason. You're not going into that file and that's that'."Intel's low-power CPUs are fine beasts, but we're seeing more and more of AMD's alternatives appear in thin and light laptops. We've already tested the dual-core Athlon II Neo K325 in the Dell Inspiron M101z; the Samsung X125 sports the other Neo II in the range - the single-core K125.It's a 45nm part running at 1.7GHz, up from the 1.3GHz of the K325, yet both have the same 12W TDP. But any hopes that the clock boost would keep the Samsung's performance up there with the Dell were soon dashed. It managed only 0.46 in our benchmarks, slowing almost to a halt when faced with multiple simultaneous applications. With the Dell scoring a comfortable 0.67, that missing second core is alarmingly obvious.Unfortunately, playing second fiddle to the lovely Dell is something the Samsung X125 had better get used to. Not only is its processor weak by comparison, but it also proves detrimental when paired with the same graphics chip as in the Dell. It's the Radeon HD 4225, which is hardly a gaming contender anyway, but an average in our Low quality Crysis test of just 8fps is down from the Dell's 13fps. It will decode HD video without a hitch, but don't expect much else in the way of entertainment.
Thankfully, the X125 does at least deliver on battery life, lasting 6hrs 44mins in our light-use test and more than four hours when pushed to the limit. That's either a sign of the processor's excellent efficiency or an indicator of just how little power it has, depending on your outlook. Still, combine it with the Samsung's 1.57kg weight and you have a portable companion.It's an 11.6in laptop with a glossy-black interior contrasting with the matte-white outer finish. We'd hesitate to call it attractive, and it feels a bit too plasticky for the type of stylish impact it's going for, but there's a stiffness to the chassis and lid that suggests it will last on its travels. The 1,366 x 768 screen is glossy and a bit too reflective for our office lighting, but colours are good and the backlight is even and bright.The X125 is quite a deep laptop, so there's plenty of space for the keyboard and touchpad. Unfortunately, Samsung hasn't made much use of it, instead cramming tiny cursor and right-Shift keys onto the Chiclet-style keyboard. It isn't a particularly comfortable keyboard to type on, and the rocker-style mouse button sometimes needed a good push to respond.Despite netbook levels of performance, this is meant to be a proper laptop, as the 320GB hard disk gives away. But compared to others around its £368 exc VAT price, the Samsung looks like a bit of a dud. A Dell Inspiron M101z with 4GB of RAM and a dual-core Neo will cost you around £50 more, yet gives 30% higher performance, won't grind to a halt if you open several applications, and has better build quality and a nicer keyboard. It's difficult to find a compelling reason to opt for this Samsung in its stead.The world's largest consumer electronics show is now into its final throes, which means we can reveal the shortlist for our pick of the show's innovations: PC Pro's Greatest Hits of CES 2013.Now we need your help to decide the winner for the Best Innovation. Read the descriptions below and then cast your vote using the link at the bottom of the blog -- but be quick, because voting closes at 6pm (UK time) on Thursday 10 January. [Edit: the vote is now closed]
In addition to the winner of this category, on Friday we'll also be announcing our pick of the tablets, phones and laptops that have been unveiled at CES 2013.We've learned to depend on mobile devices, and there's nothing that proves that point more than running out of smartphone battery.The problem has led to cases with built-in backup batteries and portable charging pods, but Lilliputian System's Nectar Mobile Power has an extra benefit: it offers two weeks' worth of charging.The Nectar Mobile Power system is a small black device, larger than the standard smartphone but at 235g light enough to tuck into a bag. Insert a Nectar pod - a butane-based cartridge - into the side slot, and it converts the fuel into energy to charge the battery of whatever USB device is connected."The technology is based on highly efficient solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) and microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) wafer fabrication methods, including key nanotechnology elements, and is fueled by recyclable high energy power cartridges, or pods," the company said.
Each pod has enough fuel for 55,000 mW-hours, which the company says works out to ten full recharges of a smartphone or about two weeks of power.The Nectar pod is disposable, so when it's empty the cartridge can be recycled and a new one inserted for more charging.The first iteration of the Nectar, launched at CES 2013 in Las Vegas, only works with gadgets that can be powered by a USB 2 connection, but a spokesman told us future versions would likely be able to power laptops, saving users from having to lug power bricks and cords around.The Nectar Mobile Power system is taking preorders ahead of general availability in the summer from Brookstone.com, which ships to the UK. The device will cost $300, while each pod is $10.The Novatech lacks anything as new as USB 3 ports, but there are three USB 2 ports, an SD card reader, full-sized D-SUB and HDMI ports and 10/100 Ethernet. Single-band 802.11n Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 2.1 are also present and correct, thanks to Atheros’ AR9002WB-1NG chipset. There’s a 1.3-megapixel webcam embedded in the display’s bezel, too.It’s all very impressive so far, but it’s up close and personal that the Novatech’s appeal begins to wane. The slight bulge in the left-hand side of the keyboard adds a mushy, bouncy feel to every key press, and while each key hits home with a solid thunk, it doesn’t inspire confident, brisk touch-typing like that of the HP Folio 13 or Dell XPS 13. It’s decidedly average.
The touchpad is basic but functional. Multitouch support allows for two-fingered pinch-to-zoom or scrolling actions, in addition to the traditional scroll zones at the edges of the pad. Unlike many of its rival Ultrabooks, though, the nFinity forgoes the three- and four-fingered gestures, and does away with integrated buttons in favour of a discrete one-piece button that rocks from side to side for left- and right-clicks.The glossy 14in display is a major disappointment. The 1,366 x 768 resolution comes as little surprise, but the issue is its dim backlight: even at its brightest setting it measured just 119cd/m[sup]2[/sup]. That’s barely bright enough for use in a well-lit office, and outside in bright sunlight it became almost completely illegible. Narrow viewing angles are another issue, with even slight movements away from head-on eliciting noticeable contrast and colour shifts. Ultrabooks on the whole haven’t wowed us with their screens yet, but the Novatech is well off the pace.The nFinity 2367 Plus might be cheap, but it’s nowhere near cheap enough given the package on offer. Performance and battery life are right on target, but the dim screen and average ergonomics leave it lagging well behind its slightly pricier peers. The HP Folio 13 delivers a much better blend of design, ergonomics and performance for £799, and we’d recommend you pay that premium if you want a laptop you’re happy with.Intel has updated its requirements for laptops to be considered Ultrabooks, forcing manufacturers to include touchscreens and its own wireless display system WiDi.
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