With the Galaxy Note 20 launch just a week away, all eyes will be on what upgrades Samsung brings to the table. While the chipset might remain unchanged, there might be a silver lining. While Samsung flagship like the Note series and the S series are powered by Snapdragon chipsets in the US and European markets, they come with Exynos chipset in Asian markets such as India. It often tends to lose out on the performance front against Qualcomm Snapdragon counterparts. However, a new leak suggests some good news in this regard. Samsung Galaxy Note 20 release date, price, news and leaks Upcoming smartphones in India: Specs, launch date, price (Image credit: Samsung/WinFuture) According to a tweet by Anthony, a Youtuber, Samsung Galaxy Note 20 will continue to be powered by the Exynos 990 chipset, but with major improvements in terms of the performance and efficiency. These optimizations should bring it closer to the Snapdragon 865 series. He even suggested that it is almost li...
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Best sleep trackers to buy in 2018: 8 gadgets to record your beauty sleep
You can eat well, exercise, find a great job and read all the self help books you like, but if you're not getting enough sleep all the good habits and routines you try to stick to in the day won't have the same effect.
Over the past few years everyone from health professionals to celebs have been obsessed with the magical superpowers of sleep. And it makes sense. Lack of sleep can impact your mood, your energy levels, your skin and a long-term lack of sleep can have serious mood and health consequences.
But the sad truth is many of us just aren't getting enough shut eye. Luckily, there are plenty of devices on the market designed to provide us with a better night's sleep, whether that's through wake-up lamps, devices that track your sleep and even apps that recommend what you can do to rest more effectively.
Most top fitness trackers monitor movement and heart rate during sleep, while a growing range of non-wearables sit above or below your mattress and even on your bedside table. These help you track your breathing, snoring, temperature and allow you to follow those trends over time.
Leading the way are traditional wearable providers like Polar, Nokia/Withings and Fitbit, who have all added powerful sleep tracking to their devices, while there’s also an abundance of excellent non-contact options from sleep specialists ResMed, Beddit and Emfit.
We've collected together eight of our favorite sleep tracking devices designed to keep tabs on how you sleep, provide you with data about how much you toss and turn in the night and hopefully equip you with enough insights to shake up your routine and finally get some rest.
It's been an interesting time for Withings. Nokia bought the health and wellness firm last year, but has since sold it back to Withings co-founder Éric Carreel. That means that the Withings trackers, which became Nokia trackers, are now Withings trackers again. Confused? Us too. It's just worth scrubbing up on the basics so you don't fret if you get yourself a Nokia Steel, it's the same thing.
Both the Nokia Steel and Nokia Steel HR fitness watches are able to track your sleep, but here we're going to focus on the less capable but cheaper watch of the two.
This analog watch is perfect for minimalists who want access to reams of insightful data without an additional screen bombarding them with endless smartphone notifications. You get the time, and a 0-100% dial for your daily activity. All other insights, including sleep, are synced back to the Nokia Health Mate app.
The major advantage of this approach is the six month plus battery life (slightly tempered by the need to replace rather than recharge). In our experience of fitness trackers, all it can take is one missed recharge to get you out of the habit of wearing.
There’s automatic sleep tracking with detailed insights into sleep cycles, time awake and sleep duration.
The app tells you when you went to bed and how long it took you to fall asleep. The watch’s silent alarm will also wake you gently at the optimum point of your sleep cycle.
More specialist than the Nokia/Withings Steel above, the Nokia/Withings Sleep is a pad you can slip under your mattress to keep a track of your sleep quality without having to wear anything on your wrist.
It means you can just jump into bed and you don't have to worry about putting on an extra tracker, and if you do own a fitness tracker or smartwatch you can rest assured that it'll be possible to charge it while you sleep.
The Nokia Sleep will monitor lots of stats too including your sleep phases, your heart rate, the amount of time you've been snoring and the duration of your sleep too.
If you just want to crawl into bed and have all of your sleep quality recorded and ready for you to digest in an easy to use app, the Nokia Sleep is the perfect device for you.
Read our full Nokia / Withings Sleep review
Beddit is an unobtrusive sleep monitor that sits on top of your mattress, beneath the sheets. You don’t have to wear anything, you don’t have to meddle with an app; all you need to do is focus on sleeping.
In the morning, the powerful app delivers you a detailed breakdown of the quality and quantity of sleep, heart rate data and breaths per minute. If the well-placed kicks from your partner don’t do it, Beddit tells you if you’ve been snoring, which is a serious contributor to poor sleep.
The Beddit app also offers feedback on the temperature and humidity in bed, helping you to optimize the sleep environment. All of the information is displayed in easy-to-read graphs, making it ideal for analyzing trends over time.
Although it’s designed to track the movements of only one person, we found the data wasn’t skewed by presence of a sleeping partner. Despite the lack of direct contact with the body it also produces surprisingly accurate data in line with the fitness trackers we were wearing during use.
Apple purchased Beddit in 2017. The company often shuts down products from firms it acquires, but it kept Beddit around. That has to be a good sign, right?
However unobtrusive they feel during the day, wearing a fitness band at night is often uncomfortable. Some dig into your skin or get twisted and clammy, which actually ends up impeding sleep.
ResMed takes a different approach with a non-contact sleep monitor. Despite sitting on the bedside table, it claims it can accurately monitor breathing, heart rate, movement and overall sleep quality.
This is all while keeping tabs on noise, light and temperature levels to deliver feedback on how you can improve your environment.
The powerful companion app guides you through breathing exercises to help you nod off and plays sounds that match the cadence of your breathing. The app even encourages you to clear your head by jotting down tomorrow’s to-do list.
The resulting sleep score, which is based upon age and gender, also offers feedback and suggestions on how you can improve.
This is where ResMed’s years in the field really pays off compared to general fitness trackers. For example, it’ll tell you to try sleeping on your left side if stomach problems or heartburn is a factor, which is something you won't get from other trackers in this list.
One of the best running watches of 2018, the Polar M430 has the sleep smarts to keep it on our wrists around the clock.
The Polar Sleep Plus system uses the watch’s accelerometer to deliver highly insightful feedback, and itt gives you actual sleep time (not just the time spent in bed), tracks your interruptions and delivers data on continuous sleep periods.
You can even rate your sleep and measure it over time against workouts and changes to your training schedule.
All of the insights provided are laid out clearly within the Polar companion app, enabling you to track sleep quality over time, and it fuses well with the rest of your active day, which can become rather addictive (in a good way).
Read the full Polar M430 review
The Emfit QS is so subtle that it hides under your mattress. The no-contact solution is primarily designed for athletes and uses the rapidly emerging metric of heart rate variability (HRV) to determine sleep-based recovery.
HRV is based upon the time between your individual heartbeats while resting. Research suggests the higher the HRV, the better your body has recovered from strain and the more equipped athletes are to perform at a high level the next day without risking injury.
The way Emfit’s approach differs dramatically from all of the other sleep trackers we’ve listed is the ability to see the scale of your body’s recovery throughout the night. You get a score when you get into bed and another in the morning.
If your score is high the next day, your body is ready to attack the day. If it’s low, you probably shouldn’t push yourself too hard.
Beyond HRV, the QS (QS stands for Quantified Sleep) goes seriously deep into sleep stats. It also tracks sleep stages (Light, Deep, REM), movement and breathing rates over the course of 360 days.
If you’ve targeted better sleep as the key to unlocking your performance potential in 2018, this could be the sleep tracker for you.
We previously had the Fitbit Ionic in this list, but we've replaced it with the more aesthetically-pleasing (and slightly more comfortable) Fitbit Versa.
The Fitbit Versa is the brand's latest smartwatch, which has a slightly rounded design, customisable straps, plenty of apps and features, as well as a fantastic battery life that'll last more than 4 days.
Thanks to its sensors, particularly its gyroscope and optical heart rate sensor, the Versa is a really great option if sleep tracking is just as important to you as fitness tracking or getting notifications sent to your wrist.
After sleep, open up the Fitbit app and you won't just see the duration of your sleep, but the different sleep stages you went through throughout the night, from light and REM to deep. Fitbit also attempts to make sense of this data and give you personalised insights about your sleep, but sometimes they're a bit generic.
It's also worth mentioning that the slimmer (and cheaper) Fitbit Alta HR and the newly-launched Fitbit Charge 3 also have Fitbit's advanced sleep tech built-in. So if you're looking for a more fitness-focused, slimmer or cheaper option, we'd recommend you check out Fitbit's full range to see which is best for you.
If you don't fancy the idea of putting a gadget in your bed or wearing one on your wrist that might be uncomfortable, it might be time for you to try a smart ring instead.
Smart rings were tipped to be a huge tech trend a few years ago, but loads never made it past the crowdfunding or initial prototype phase. Luckily, the Oura ring did. It's an activity, wellness and sleep tracking rolled into one tiny, slim package that's about the size of a standard wedding band.
Although it can track your activity, the Oura is focused on wellness and particularly sleep. It provides you with a simple sleep score each day, but you can delve deeper into your stats to find out all kinds of information about the quality of your rest, from your resting heart rate to how much you moved, all presented on a series of bar charts and graphs. It's crack for sleep and data nerds.
Will better technology solve our sleep sorrows?
Samsung Galaxy Watch 2: what we want to see
Update: A new Samsung smartwatch has been rumored, but we don't think it's the Samsung Galaxy Watch 2. Instead it looks to be a Samsung Gear Sport sequel, and you can read all about what we know so far here.
The Samsung Galaxy Watch is notable for a lot of reasons, not least of which being that it’s a highly capable smartwatch that doesn’t run Wear OS or watchOS, relying instead on the Tizen operating system.
With a stylish design, long battery life and loads of tracking skills it does enough to compete with any wearable running those better-known operating systems, but it isn’t perfect by any means, so we’ve come up with a list of improvements that we want to see on the Samsung Galaxy Watch 2.
You’ll find them further down this article, but before that you’ll find our predictions for the Watch 2, including the possible release timing, price and features. As news and rumors start emerging we’ll add them to this article too.
Cut to the chase What is it? The next smartwatch from SamsungWhen is it out? Maybe late 2019What will it cost? Probably at least $329 / £279 / AU$499 Samsung Galaxy Watch 2 release date and priceThe Samsung Galaxy Watch landed on August 9, 2018, alongside the Samsung Galaxy Note 9, so there’s a fair chance that the Samsung Galaxy Watch 2 will land in or around August 2019, possibly at the same event as the Samsung Galaxy Note 10.
However, there’s no guarantee of that and there are no release date rumors yet. But a launch roughly a year after this model would make sense, especially as the Galaxy Watch is in some ways a successor to the Samsung Gear Sport, which landed in August 2017, and the Samsung Gear S3, which landed in November 2016.
In other words, there has been roughly a year between all these models.
There aren’t any price rumors yet either, but the Samsung Galaxy Watch launched for $329 / £279 / AU$499 for the 42mm version or $349 / £299 / AU$549 for the 46mm model, with prices going up if you want a version with LTE. So we’d expect the Samsung Galaxy Watch 2 will cost at least that much and it may cost more.
The Samsung Galaxy Watch 2 is sure to be a fairly expensive wearable
Samsung Galaxy Watch 2 news and rumorsThere aren’t yet any whispers about the Samsung Galaxy Watch 2, but it’s very likely that Samsung is working on it, and we can take some educated guesses as to certain features that it may have.
For example, it’s sure to retain most or all of the features found on the Samsung Galaxy Watch. That includes GPS, a heart rate monitor and NFC, along with tracking for various sports, sleep and stress.
It’s also likely to have a circular face and a rotating bezel, especially as the likes of the Gear S3 also have those things.
The Samsung Galaxy Watch can track a lot of activities
What’s less certain but still very likely is that the Galaxy Watch 2 will run Tizen. Samsung has been using Tizen on wearables for a while and although a move to Wear OS was rumored for the Galaxy Watch, no such change happened in the end.
It’s possible that Samsung will switch to Wear OS for the Galaxy Watch 2, especially as Google’s smartwatch operating system has a healthier app ecosystem. But there are plenty of reasons to like Tizen and Samsung hasn’t shown any real sign of giving up on it.
What we want to seeThe Samsung Galaxy Watch is a great smartwatch but one with plenty of room for improvement. The following seven features are things we’d really like to see on the Samsung Galaxy Watch 2.
1. More third-party appsThe Samsung Galaxy Watch runs Tizen, rather than one of the big-name wearable operating systems, and one downside of that is that there are fewer apps available than you’ll find on Wear OS or watchOS.
So by the time Samsung launches the Galaxy Watch 2 we’d like to have seen it work with developers to get key apps like WhatsApp, Google Maps and Facebook Messenger on the platform.
2. Better stress tracking
The Galaxy Watch tracks most things well, but not stress
The Samsung Galaxy Watch tracks a lot of things and mostly does a good job, but stress tracking is definitely a weak link.
While it’s available, it required us to manually measure our stress levels rather than tracking them automatically in our tests (despite claiming that it can do it automatically), and its accuracy could be questionable, since the data seems mostly based just on heart rate. So we’d like to see this feature overhauled for the next model.
3. Group challengesCompeting with friends can be a big motivator to get more active and handily the Samsung Galaxy Watch lets you do this. Your friends don’t even need a Galaxy Watch of their own – a Gear watch or the Samsung Health app will do just fine.
However, you can only challenge friends individually, rather than having a group competition. It seems like this would be an obvious and easy feature to add, so hopefully Samsung will.
4. Compatibility with more wireless chargers
The Samsung Galaxy Watch uses a proprietary charger
The Samsung Galaxy Watch charges wirelessly, but not just any wireless charger will do, you need a proprietary one that comes with it. This is inconvenient and if you’re ever without your charger means you’re likely to soon have a dead watch (though the Galaxy Watch at least has good battery life).
So for the Samsung Galaxy Watch 2 we want it to work with standard, everyday wireless chargers. That way if you’re at the office or a friend’s house without yours there’s at least a chance someone will have one you can borrow.
5. Big improvements to BixbyAnother downside of using Tizen rather than Wear OS is that the Samsung Galaxy Watch is reliant on Bixby rather than Google Assistant.
This is a problem, because Bixby is nowhere near as good as Google Assistant (or Siri or Alexa for that matter), with one particularly major issue being that it simply struggles to understand us.
While you don’t have to use Bixby to interact with the Galaxy Watch, it has the potential to be a major feature, but until it gets a lot better it won’t be.
6. Better iOS compatibility
Interaction is limited when using the Galaxy Watch with iOS
The Samsung Galaxy Watch works with both Android and iOS, but it’s definitely better with Android, because while you can read notifications on the watch when paired with an iPhone, you can’t reply to them or initiate communications, making it a lot more limited.
This may not be something Samsung can solve, as it would likely require a change on Apple’s end, but it’s something we’d like to see nonetheless, as it could make the Galaxy Watch 2 a real alternative to the Apple Watch 5, or whatever we’re up to by then.
7. Wider LTE availabilityThere are versions of the Samsung Galaxy Watch that support LTE, but only on select networks, which won’t suit everyone. For the Samsung Galaxy Watch 2 we’d like to see an LTE model available on more or less all networks, so it’s an option for everyone.
Don't want to wait for the Watch 2? These are the best smartwatches out now
The best January sales: these top deals are live now
The January sales are stepping things up a notch now with many stores kicking off their discounts a few days early. So if you didn't get time to check out the deals for Boxing Day, don't worry one bit. We've just updated this article and are happy to report most of the best deals are still going strong.
After all, you've surely got better things to be doing on the Christmas break queuing to enter and leave a retail park's car park or trying to work out who is having a decent sale from the huge number of UK retailer websites, sifting through what they're claiming to be epic deals when you know full well you've seen them cheaper elsewhere on the same day. So let us do it for you. We've rounded up the finest, genuine ones right here!
So yes sit back, scroll down a little and you'll see we've started to list the best offers so far. We'll be updating this page throughout the Christmas break right up until the dust has cleared on these January sales too.
January sales: quick links Amazon - deals aplenty from the hugely popular online storeArgos - electricals, home, toys and more discounted todayAO.com - the big sale is live John Lewis - huge clearance on clothes, home and electricalsCurrys - up to 40% off home, TV, kitchen, gadgets and more Very - up to 50% off fashion, home and electricalsMobiles.co.uk - fresh discounts on the latest mobile phones The best January sales 2018 ASOS - save up to 70% on women's and men's clothingBoohoo - 30% off everything!Boots - save up to 50%Blacks - half price jackets and bootsCarphone Warehouse - packed with exclusive online-only discountsCDKeys.com - save up to 90% on games and XBLG/PS Plus subsDFS - big discounts on some super comfy and stylish sofasDorothy Perkins - up to 50% offDreams - save up to 50% on mattresses and bedsDunelm Mill - save up to 50% on furniture, bedding, curtains and rugseBay - discounts on pretty much everythingExpedia - save on combined flights and hotel bookingsExpressVPN - save 49% on a subscriptionJack Wills - up to 50% off men's and women's clothingJessops - save up to £600 on cameras, lenses and moreLastMinute.com - Flash sales and holidays from £149 per personLevi's - save up to 50%Living DNA - up to 30% off DNA test kitsLovehoney.co.uk - up to 50% off the hottest adults-only productsMicrosoft - big discounts on Surface and Xbox productsNew Look - get ready for New Year's with 60% offNewegg - discounts on laptops, computers and partsNext - at least 50% off all sale itemsNow TV - discounts on entertainment, cinema, kids and sports passesOntheBeach.co.uk - save up to 50% on bookingsRiver Island - save up to 70% on fashion and homeware itemsSamsung - save on phones, TVs, smartwatches and moreSuperdry - save up to 50% at the popular fashion brandTimberland - save up to 40% on winter clothing and moreTopShop - save up to 70% in this huge saleTopMan - massive 70% reductions to be had todayTravelSupermarket - get away from it all with hotels, flights and moreWiggle - get discounted active wear ready for those resolutions The best January sales picks so farWe've shown you where the best January sales are happening today. But we thought we'd also highlight some of favourite individual offers from the best sales we've seen, followed by deals in a range of specific categories. We'll be updating this page throughout the sales, so feel free to keep coming back to check out the freshest discounts.
Back to the top ^ Back to the top ^Check out our full guide to the best cheap TV sales and deals Back to the top ^Check out our full guide to the best cheap laptop deals Nintendo Switch January sales PS4 January sales Xbox One January sales Back to the top ^Don't miss the full list of Nintendo Switch prices and bundle dealsCheck out even more PS4 prices and PS4 Pro dealsCheck out the full list of Xbox One deals and Xbox One X prices Back to the top ^We've also rounded up the other Fire TV deals and Amazon Echo prices Back to the top ^ See our full range of the best mobile phone deals Back to top ^We've rounded up some extra Fitbit sale prices and cheap smartwatches Check out our full range of broadband deals. Back to the top ^ So who's having a January sale?All the big stores get stuck in. With so many keen shoppers going online over the Christmas period in recent years, it's just too good a chance for them to finish 2018 off with some extra money in the bank. Let's take a look at the big hitters below and what you can nab from each.
When do the Boxing Day sales start?Not a silly question at all. As we just said, a lot of stores are starting today and we expect even more will go live on Christmas Day - yes they're pretty keen. If just before Christmas is the time to scramble for last-minute gifts, anytime from the day itself onwards is the chance to treat yourself or use those gift vouchers to make a great deal a truly spectacular bargain.
When do the January sales start?Expect an early start here too. Although if we're going off the last few years, the January sales haven't been particularly special. It's been all about the Boxing Day deals really, although we're pleased to report some of the better ones stayed online a good few days into January. January sales are more of a continuation of the remaining Boxing Day sales so you can probably expect to see many stores simply rebrand the sales to 'January sales' the day after Boxing Day on December 27th.
Given many workplaces are off until around January 2nd, retailers are keen to show you the best deals as soon as possible while you've got time off at home rather than try to push deals on you while you're heading back to work or nursing that New Year's Eve hangover.
The best rising Linux distros in 2018
Linux is built for tinkering and experimentation, which means it’s always morphing and changing. New distros are popping up all the time, because all it takes is a little bit of determination, time and effort to create a custom operating system.
Not all of them hit the mark – there are stacks of Linux distros that have seen little to no action, and we’re almost certain that some have been released and never installed by anyone other than their creator.
These are the best Linux training providers and online coursesOther alternative distros, though, fare rather better. Look at the success of Linux Mint, which spun off from Ubuntu to become (at times) arguably more popular than its own parent. Indeed, Ubuntu itself grew from Debian, and its niche offshoots (distros like Ubuntu Studio) have seen good levels of interest. If there’s a market out there for your distro, there’s traction to be had.
So let’s look at our pick of the five distros moving up swiftly through the ranks in 2018. Some of these might eventually become the best Linux distros out there, whereas some might fade away – but it won’t cost you a penny to try them out.
10 of the best Linux distros for privacy fiends and security buffs5 of the most popular Linux gaming distros10 best Linux distros: which one is right for you?What's the best Linux distro for beginners?How to choose the best Linux distro for laptops
Antergos is built on top of Arch and like its parent caters to bleeding-edge users. Package updates are made available the moment they’re deemed stable.
Antergos is a rising star thanks to its default configuration options and easy setup process compared to Arch. The custom installer, Cnchi, installs the Gnome 3 desktop by default, but also allows you to select from five other desktop environments if you prefer something else.
It also downloads and installs the essentials for playing media and other useful applications. Antergos has no default office suite but can make use of the LibreOffice Installer for Arch Linux. The OS is very popular in Spain and throughout Europe as it boasts multi-language support.
The project has come a long way since its early days, when it was a single-desktop distro known as Cinnarch – an amalgamation of the Arch environment and the easy-to-use Cinnamon desktop.
Antergos follows a rolling release model, so once you've installed the latest version (currently 18.6), you won't need to perform any large upgrades again.
You can download Antergos here
Deepin (formerly known as Linux Deepin and HiWeed Linux) describes itself as ‘outstanding from inside out’.
It's a Chinese-developed distro focusing on simplicity and elegance. Until 2015 Deepin was based on Ubuntu, but it’s now a Debian-based distro.
The OS uses a desktop environment called DDE (Deepin Desktop Environment) based on the Qt 5 toolkit combined with the Mutter Window Manager – the overall crisp look and feel is very reminiscent of macOS. The desktop supports hot corners and incorporates a number of widgets to display information such as the weather and app notifications.
The latest release of Deepin (15.8) incorporates HiDPI meaning it supports all HD displays. It also comes with a brand new design for the Control Center and desktop. Deepin is only available for 64-bit systems as a 2.1GB ISO. You can boot this in Live mode and the installer is extremely easy-to-use.
You can download Deepin hereImage credit: DistroWatch
MX Linux is described as a ‘midweight’ distribution which means it's both easy on the eye and not too hungry when it comes to chomping system resources.
The current version of MX Linux is 18. It was released in December 2018 and is based on Debian‘s ‘stable‘ branch, Stretch. The OS includes some very respectable default applications such as Mozilla’s Firefox web browser and Thunderbird email client. MX also includes both the VLC and Clementine media players making it capable of playing a large variety of media out of the box. The LibreOffice office suite is also included.
You can install extra programs with a click of your mouse using the MX Package installer which contains a mixture of applications from the Debian Stable/Testing repositories, as well as a few others which have been chosen by the developers.
Although the desktop environment uses the simplistic Xfce, you may find this hard to believe at first due to its elegance. This doesn't take away from its speed as menus and windows open almost instantly.
MX Linux can run from a Live DVD or USB if you want to test it before installing. If you use a USB stick, you can also use Persistence to create a custom OS that you can carry around with you.
MX is available for both 32-bit and 64-bit systems. Your machine will need at least 2GB of RAM to run the OS smoothly.
You can download MX Linux here
Subgraph is a bit different in that it’s a rising star of a Linux distro which is designed specifically for privacy. The developers stress that it's still in development but the OS holds great promise for privacy lovers.
Subgraph's kernel has been hardened using Grsecurity, which is widely regarded as one of the most secure Linux cores in the world today. This hugely reduces the chances of becoming a victim of DMA (Direct Memory Access) attacks, which is one of the most common methods hackers use to attempt to gain control of a computer.
Applications such as the Tor browser or IceDove email client are sandboxed using a system named ‘Oz’, giving you an extra layer of protection if an app should be compromised. You can also use specialised whitelists and blacklists to determine which applications are allowed to run.
All internet traffic is routed through the anonymising Tor network, which makes it extremely difficult to trace your location, but will slow down your connection speed to some extent.
Unlike some other distros of its type, Subgraph is quite easy on the eyes, using the Gnome desktop environment and Xpra to provide a simple but attractive interface.
Despite all its privacy enhancing features which supposedly function out of the box, Subgraph is still alpha software and should not be relied upon to secure any truly important information.
In April 2017, Joanna Rutkowska, the creator of Qubes, together with security researcher Micah Lee, were able to circumvent Subgraph's security by running a malicious app in the Nautilus file manager, which isn't sandboxed. This attack would also work on other privacy-oriented distros such as Tails.
The Subgraph team has yet to develop a patch for this exploit, but has pointed out that the OS is still a work in progress. Subgraph nevertheless remains easy-to-use and works seamlessly, with all the heavy lifting done in the background security-wise.
You can download Subgraph here
We can hear you shouting from here. “But TechRadar,” you bellow, “Debian is massive! How can you call it ‘rising’?” Here’s how: it is definitely a rising distro. While Ubuntu did a great job bringing Linux to the masses, many users brought on board by its orange-and-brown glitz and glamour have moved away thanks to a few controversial changes. The natural post-Ubuntu route, given the huge amount of shared DNA, is its parent OS, Debian.
Debian packages are selected for their stability. Any 'testing' version of Debian must first go through a 'freezing' process where no new packages are added before it is granted the honour of becoming a fully-fledged 'stable' version. This is the case with Debian 9 Stretch (named after the purple octopus from Toy Story), which became the current ‘stable’ distribution of Debian in July 2017.
The new Gnome desktop environment and huge selection of software from the Debian repos mean that Debian 9 is definitely suitable for day-to-day use, although some of the packages are quite dated. If you prefer to remain on the bleeding edge, consider trying out the ‘testing’ distro of Debian which is codenamed Buster.
Debian only incorporates 'free' software which means that if you use proprietary firmware – for example, for your Wi-Fi card – you may need to use the 'non-free' repositories or manually download drivers yourself. (This could be very tricky if the device with missing drivers is the machine you use to connect to the internet, for obvious reasons). If you don't feel comfortable tinkering with drivers, choose a distro with better support for non-free hardware such as Antergos.
You can download Debian here Linux Format is the number one magazine to boost your knowledge on Linux, open source developments, distro releases and much more. Subscribe to the print or digital version of Linux Format here
It's the end of the road for the Essential phone, but a successor is coming
Farewell then, to the Essential Phone, a bold and occasionally brilliant attempt to disrupt a phone market dominated by a handful of key players. The phone is now out of stock and the company has confirmed it won't be making any more of the handsets.
Rumors that Essential and its portfolio of products are up for sale have been floating around all year, but in a statement given to 9to5Google, a company spokesperson said the focus was now on the "next mobile product" – whatever that might be. Is the Essential Phone 2 still on the cards after all? Or is a different type of gadget on the way?
Essential "will continue to sell accessories and provide speedy software updates and customer support to our existing community" the official statement says, so if you already own a PH-1 Essential Phone then you're not going to be abandoned.
Back in September, Essential confirmed that the company's phone will be getting Android Q, the next major update for Google's mobile OS that's due to make its debut during 2019 – so there's plenty of life left in the handsets that have already been sold.
If an Essential Phone 2 is indeed on the way, leaks suggest it's going to have a particular focus on artificial intelligence: it's going to be able to organize parts of your life for you, and handle some of your messages, apparently, so you can spend less time staring at your mobile phone and more time living in the real world again.
All of that is still to be confirmed but what we know for sure is that the first Essential Phone, the PH-1, is now officially discontinued. It brought some neat ideas with it, but the sequel is going to have to be even more impressive for Essential to survive.
These are the very best smartphones you can buy today
These are the best selling games on Steam in 2018
Every year Valve, the company behind the popular games store Steam, releases its list of the biggest selling games on the platform, and it has just unveiled its list of the best selling Steam games of 2018.
Due to Steam's huge popularity with PC gamers, these lists give us an excellent idea of what games are currently popular. Of course, it doesn't include games on other services, such as Origin, GOG (Good Old Games) or the recently-created Epic Games Store, nor does it include games that aren't available on Steam, but it still gives us a valuable overview of the big PC gaming hits.
Valve doesn't give away exact sales numbers, but it does break them down into groups based on gross revenue for the year: Platinum, Gold, Silver and Bronze.
Platinum gamesThe very best sellers feature in the Platinum group, and include well known games such as GTA V, which continues to make huge amounts of money many years after it was first released.
There's also a number of new games for 2018 as well, which shows that recent releases are capable of making a lot of money.
The following games are the ones that have made the most money on Steam in 2018:
The Elder Scrolls OnlineCivilization VICS:GO Danger ZonePlayerunknown's BattlegroundsRocket LeagueGrand Theft Auto VFarcry 5Rainbow Six SiegeDOTA 2Monster Hunter WorldAssassin's Creed OdysseyWarframe Gold gamesGames that made enough money in 2018 to make it into the Gold category include established games such as The Witcher III, Assassin's Creed Origins and Cities Skylines.
Jurassic World Evolution is a notable new entry for 2018 in this category.
Biggest VR sellers of 2018Valve also breaks down the biggest virtual reality games of 2018 as well. In the Platinum category Beat Saber, Job Simulator, Skyrim VR and Fallout 4 VR are some of the biggest sellers.
In the Gold category, Doom VFR, Zero Caliber and Space Pirate Trainer are some of the biggest sellers.
It's well worth looking at the full list, and while it only shows the biggest sellers on the Steam Store, it shows that PC gaming is in a great shape for 2019, with an eclectic mix of genres and styles selling bucket loads in 2018.
Our pick of the best Steam games of 2018
Netflix’s interactive Bandersnatch movie isn’t compatible with Apple TV or the Windows 10 app
Netflix has done something very special with its latest instalment of Black Mirror, with Bandersnatch allowing users to interact with the episode to alter its outcome, but it doesn’t work with every device capable of playing Netflix content.
The most notable device unable to play Bandersnatch is the Apple TV, and even the latest versions of Apple’s set top box are not compatible with the interactive episode.
Chromecast devices and the Windows 10 Netflix app are also unable to play the episode. In fact, any app that uses Silverlight (software made by Microsoft to play online media) will not be able to play the episode.
Devices running older versions of Android are also out of luck. According to Netflix, you’ll need Android 6.19 or later to play Bandersnatch, and your Netflix app will also need to be updated.
Don’t miss outIt’s a real shame that some Netflix users are missing out on Bandersnatch, as it’s an incredibly innovative – and entertaining – instalment of Charlie Brooker’s acclaimed Sci-Fi anthology show.
However, there are some ways around this issue. As 9to5Mac suggests, you can use your iOS device to play Bandersnatch, and mirror the content onto your Apple TV. You should also be able to do something similar with your Android device (as long as it’s running Android 6.19 or later) and using your Chromecast to mirror the screen of your smartphone or tablet.
Users of the Windows 10 app should use the Netflix website through a web browser instead.
Netflix hasn’t commented on whether the devices that are missing out will ever get interactive content, but at least there are ways for most users to not miss out in the meantime.
Best Christmas movies and TV specials on Netflix
Dell’s refurbished gaming PCs and laptops just got even cheaper with this 20% discount
If you want a bargain gaming PC or laptop, then heading over to Dell Outlet can be a good way to get a wallet-friendly machine – particularly as there is an offer currently running which gives you a 20% discount across all gaming models.
If you’re not familiar with the site, Dell Outlet sells cheaper than normal machines because they are either refurbished, or refurbished with cosmetic blemishes (or indeed, in some cases, in new and unused condition, if they are unopened returns or cancelled orders).
And as mentioned, you can now get 20% off all gaming systems, so whether you’re hunting for a powerful desktop PC, or a groovy gaming laptop – like an Alienware model – you’ll get a fifth off the asking price.
You can check out Dell Outlet’s discounts on gaming machines and other coupons right here. All you need to do is enter the code DOGAM20 at checkout, when you’ve got a relevant product in your basket.
This promotion begins today, and runs for the rest of the year: so it expires at 23:59 on December 31.
Note that Dell offers exactly the same hardware warranty and service on its refurbished PCs, as it gives buyers with new models. So the experience of buying a refurb should be no different to a new piece of hardware (unless you are purchasing a model with cosmetic ‘scratch and dent’ damage, of course – but these come proportionately cheaper, with that taken into account).
These are the best laptops of 2018
The best printers of 2019: inkjet, color, mono and laser printers
Welcome to our list of the best printers of 2019. Whether you're looking for a new printer for your home or your office (or both), then you've come to the right place, as we've listed the very best printers right here.
From all-in-one printers that can handle scanning and photocopying as well as printing, to specialised photo printers that can produce lab-quality printouts of your photographs, we’ve put together this list of the best printers of 2019 so that you can spend less time shopping and more time getting some work done.
The best printers come in every shape and size these days, which means there’s a lot to choose from when you’re shopping for a new printer – we’re here to help.
We went ahead and discarded the jargon to make buying your new printer as simple as possible. We’ve also split this list into the best inkjet printers and the best laser printers, and we include standard printers alongside more complicated units. Regardless of the kind of printer you’re looking for, you’ll find it right here, and our exclusive price comparison tool will help you get the best printers for a bargain.
Check out what printers made it into our top 10 best business printers roundup Best inkjet printer
The WorkForce Pro WF-4630 is a solid printer for small businesses and workgroups given its fast print speeds, solid print qualities and remote printing and scanning capabilities. Using the larger XL print cartridges, the WF-4630 delivers economical print costs that rival laser printers.
Read the full review: Epson WorkForce Pro WF-4630
Best cheap printer
The Deskjet 3630 is a decent printer for the price, offering reasonable print speeds and the ability to connect to mobile devices without breaking the bank. Just be wary as its ink cartridges can be priced when picked up from shops. It doesn't quite have the build quality of HP's more expensive Envy models, but if you're looking for an initially cheap model that catches the eye when sat on a shelf, the Deskjet 3630 is a great option.
Read the full review: HP Deskjet 3630
Best laser printer
This temptingly priced printer offers 28ppm printing at up to 4,800 x 600 dpi (effective, rather than optical, resolution). With wired (Ethernet/USB) and wireless (Wi-Fi/NFC) connectivity, duplex printing, decent eco settings and support for a wide range of media, the Samsung is an excellent all-rounder, although the multi-purpose tray can only handle one sheet of media at a time. The main cassette has a more useful capacity of 250 sheets.
Best printer for home
Great for the traveling professional or someone who needs a small printer for occasional use, printing photos or using the scanner function. It's a bit pricey to buy - and to run - but the flexibility and quality of the printouts is excellent.
Best printer for the office
The M2070W delivers a lot of bang for your business buck – there's NFC printing from compatible smartphones, online document sharing, and a clever Eco system that supplements the usual toner saving mode with a feature to remove images from documents by replacing bitmaps with sketches.
Factor in claimed speeds of 20ppm, a clever scan to mobile feature and an effective print resolution of up to 1200dpi and you've got a multifunction printer that's well worth considering.
Best all-in-one printer
Consumables are usually expensive when it comes to printers. So it is quite surprising that one vendor, Epson, single-handedly decided to challenge that status quo by allowing users to refill their printer using ink bottles. What's even more surprising is that Epson includes two years of ink with the package; no more expensive cartridges and instead, you have enough material to deliver 11,000 pages worth of black and colour inks (that's 700ml worth of liquid). Oh and there's even a three-year warranty making this a great choice for bean counters fixing the TCO of their printers. The ET-4550 lacks the features found on cheaper competitors – it is relatively slower (although it has a higher printing resolution) and has a small paper input tray.
Best 3D printer
The MakerBot Replicator+ is the successor to the popular MakerBot Replicator 3D printer, and the new version has brought improvements to nearly every part of the Replicator. This means the Replicator+ is faster and quieter than the previous version, while maintaining its excellent design and safety features. This desktop 3D printer is expensive, but it offers excellent print quality, and uses 1.75mm polylactic acid (PLA) filament. It's also user-friendly enough for home users and hobbyists to use - as long as your budget can stretch to the high asking price.
If you're looking for a great all-round printer which doesn't skimp on print quality for your photographs, then we don't think you will be disappointed by what the PIXMA TS9150, Canon's flagship printer, has to offer.
While it's certainly more expensive than some of the cheap two in one printers you can pick up, it's not a bad price for something which produces high quality prints, especially if you only need to print at A4 or below.
Best of all, the print quality here is stunning, and it also has an attractive design. While the looks of your printer may not seem that important, it does mean you don't feel the need to try and hide it away out of sight if you're using it at home.
Best portable printer
This handy portable printer allows you to print full page A4 documents while on the go, and is small enough to easily fit in a briefcase or shoulder bag. It supports the MFI Bluetooth protocol, so it's a great choice for printing wirelessly from your smartphone or Apple iOS device. There's also USB 2.0 support for hooking up to your PC, and you can buy an additional rechargeable high-capacity battery, which gives you around 600 pages from a single charge.
Best budget laser printer
This is a colour laser printer, plain and simple. It has a relatively small footprint on the desk thanks to a surprisingly compact design. The printer is fitted with a 150-sheet main paper tray and a 100-sheet output tray, with an integrated drum/fuser unit and manual duplexing capabilities. Controls are adequate, with a two-line LCD display and a number of buttons for basic menu navigation. The C1760NW also offers an Ethernet connector, 802.11n Wi-Fi and a USB 2.0 port; although there is no USB host connectivity. The printer is aimed at office or small workgroups and has a high-rated speed of 15ppm for black and colour. This is a good workhorse for everyday printing, where colour isn't a major part of the mix.
What about the best 3D printers?
The best small business printers of 2019
Welcome to our list of the best small business printers of 2019, where we pick the top printers that best suit the needs of small companies.
This means that these printers can cope with the demands of a small office, while being flexible enough that it can keep up if your business expands. The best small business printers are affordable and reliable devices that can grow with your company.
That means that these printers are fast and accurate, while keeping the initial investment low. The best small business printers are also economical to run, both in terms of power consumption and consumables such as ink.
The brilliant small business printers in this list are also robust enough to handle several people sending documents to it throughout the day, and if it can also handle photocopying and scanning as well, then that's even better. All-in-one printers that offer photocopying and scanning (and even fax) not only can save your small business money compared to buying the devices individually, having them all in one compact device will save space as well.
So, without further ado, here is our list of the 10 best small business printers on the market today. If you're not sure about what type of business printer you need, head to the bottom of our guide, where we explain the best ways to find and buy the best small business printer that suits your needs.
Check out our list of best laser and inkjet printers for all audiencesSo where do you need to start? Even the most modest office will likely be networked, and sharing a resource as useful as a printer is an essential. So you should only be looking at printers that are capable of networked use. Wired offers speed and robust function for a fixed office. Wireless is flexible, cheap to deploy but not as fast in use.
Here are the best 10 printers for businesses - as chosen by the Techradar Pro team - large and small, from a basic monochrome lasers suitable for a small business and a home office through to a small departmental multifunction printer.
The notion of the large, expensive laser printer should have long been dispelled and if nothing else can do that then the Ricoh SP-213w will. This small-footprint mono printer costs less than many inkjets but has the capability to provide basic wireless-based print services to a home office or smaller office. With a monthly duty cycle of 20,000 pages per month, a 1200 x 600dpi print resolution and a print speed of up to 22 pages per minute, its small size shouldn't hide the fact that this could be a little workhorse. Beyond these basics, the Ricoh SP-213w offers manual duplex, a Print and Scan mobile app, support for PCL and a two-year pan-European warranty.
If you want an affordable printer for your business that excels in black and white print quality - and is a speedy performer to boot - then you really can't go wrong with the Samsung Xpress M2835DW. Its small and compact body contains a huge host of features, and its easy to use and understand buttons makes quickly firing off prints a piece of cake.
It supports both wired and Wi-Fi connectivity, runs quietly and can even be controlled via smartphone. Its Eco mode allows you to control the amount of power and ink it consumes while printing, and overall this is an absolutely fantastic business printer.
The Brother HL-L8360CDW is an excellent all-round printer for the office. Thanks to its large capacity and fast print speeds, this is a printer that won't grind to a halt in a busy environment.
It's not just fast either - the print quality is also very good as well. It prints in both black and white and colour, and it has low running costs as well, making this an economical choice in the long run.
There was a time, not so long ago, when colour laser printing was exorbitant. That has fortunately changed with the likes of the Ricoh SPC-240DN doing their best to bring prices down. This is a massive printer at nearly 24kg so you will need to have a strong back and enough desk space to take it on board. Its starter toner kit will produce around 1000 pages and probably better than inkjet ones which dry out with time. It can print up to 16 pages per minute (colour or mono) and has a duty cycle of 30,000 pages per month. It offers both Ethernet and USB ports and, with a 250-page input paper tray, has enough to make a small office pleased. However, at 600 x 600dpi, its print resolution may leave some wanting for more.
The HP PageWide Pro 477dw isn't going to win any design awards but what it lacks in aesthetics it really does make up for in functionality and speed. This entry-level office multi-function inkjet printer offers all the standard print, copy, scan and fax features you'd want to see in an office workhorse. Add to that wired Ethernet alongside wireless networking and it has all the connectivity, too (including Wi-Fi Direct and NFC). Suited to the home and smaller small office, it has a conveniently compact footprint, until you open its paper trays to print. A top speed of 55ppm is stunning for this class of printer, particularly considering its asking price. The inclusion of a 50-sheet automatic document feeder adds to an all-round excellent paper handling capability. Its ability to multitask with print and copy jobs nicely complements the large touch-capable LCD screen.
Consumables are usually expensive when it comes to printers. So it is quite surprising that one vendor, Epson, single-handedly decided to challenge that status quo by allowing users to refill their printer using ink bottles. What's even more surprising is that Epson includes two years of ink with the package; no more expensive cartridges and instead, you have enough material to deliver 11,000 pages worth of black and colour inks (that's 700ml worth of liquid). Oh and there's even a three-year warranty making this a great choice for bean counters fixing the TCO of their printers. The ET-4550 lacks the features found on cheaper competitors – it is relatively slower (although it has a higher printing resolution) and has a small paper input tray.
Ricoh makes it four in our shortlist with the SG-2100N, a bargain basement printer that brings together the best of inkjet and laser technology. It delivers the sort of performance usually associated with devices costing three times its price. A water insoluble, viscous ink combined with a higher-than-average print resolution and a print speed – 29ppm – that surpasses anything at this price range (albeit in draft) make this Ricoh printer one of the best on the market for very small offices. Other features worth noting are manual duplex capabilities, a two-year onsite warranty (parts and labour), a well thought out design, affordable consumables, an Ethernet port and a generous input paper tray.
Read the full review: Ricoh SG-2100N
The HP Officejet Pro 8720 All-in-One is a practical and affordable business printer that also comes with copy and fax capabilities, and it can connect to your network wirelessly as well. It's an excellent fit for small to medium-sized businesses, but for larger organisations it may struggle to keep up. It's got excellent printing speeds, however, and the touch screen makes it simple to use. However, it lacks a few business-orientated features that its more expensive brethren boast,and it's not quite the best when it comes to print quality, either. However, this is an excellent business printer if you're conscious of your budget.
This is a heavyweight colour laser multifunction device intended for small business or workgroup use. Its slabby black and white design is functional and includes a large touchscreen for control, though the printer is only rated up to a recommended 3,000 pages per month. The MFC-L8650CDW includes a 50-sheet automatic document feeder which handles duplex scans and the printer offers duplex copying and printing as well; a welcome surprise! It's rated at 28ppm for both black and colour prints dropping to about seven sheets when printing in duplex. It can handle input from USB, Ethernet or via wireless hook-up, with support for iOS and Android mobiles. A USB port offers scanning to and printing from USB drives.
If only the fastest printer will do, then consider the HL-S7000DN. Surprisingly enough, it is an inkjet printer rather than a laser one. It's fast enough to print out the entire contents of the Bible (Old and New Testaments) in about 20 minutes at the speed of 100 pages per minute (that's roughly 500 words per second). If your needs are less ambitious, then the 500-sheet capacity of its input and output tray should suffice. There's also a 100-sheet multipurpose tray to accommodate other media types. As expected, it prints at a resolution of 600 x 600dpi, has a Gigabit Ethernet LAN port, Wi-Fi and a USB 2.0 port. Its maximum monthly duty cycle, 275,000 pages or 16 A4 reams printed every day, should satisfy even the busiest offices.
How to buy a business printerMulti-function features can be found across the board and at all cost scales. Basic features start with USB Key and card readers for PC-free printing, moving to scanner and copier functions. At the higher end, automatic document feeders (ADF) can manage 50 copies in a single go and produce booklets including duplex printing, stapling and folding. Often the basic ADF features will accommodate most medium-sized offices.
In the past there has been a marked difference in Cost Per Page (CPP) between lasers and inkjets but in recent years, inkjets have managed to drop their prices to compete. Either way it's important you carefully assess the CPP of each device.
Manufacturers measure the toner or cartridge yields with an industry standard ISO rating. So you can safely assess the total price of replacing all the cartridges or toners divided by the print yield across all the potential models.
The total volume of prints you're going to make also needs to be taken into account. Devices often quote a "duty cycle" monthly maximum and recommended figures. These are the total number of prints it's designed to handle per month. If possible assess the number of prints per employee for the office and ensure the device is capable of meeting your current and future demands.
Finally in the past colour especially for laser printers has demanded a premium, that's not so much the case these days. However these models are still more expensive due to the additional materials required for the toners and printer manufacture. There's still a big enough differential that if you don't need regular colour you should opt for a mono model, perhaps using a cheaper inkjet or even out-of-house printing for occasional colour requirements.
The best workstations of 2019
Welcome to our list of the best workstations of 2019. These are the very best, most powerful, workstation machines that can power your business.
These days, the best workstations are around the same size as normal PCs, and offer high quality designs, without sacrificing pure power and performance. Some, such as the iMac Pro and the Surface Studio, are slimline all-in-one PCs that offer brilliant performance whilst not taking up loads of room in your office.
The best workstations can handle any application you throw at it, and they are useful tools for designers, engineers, financial analysts and researchers running more demanding applications, like rendering complex graphics, financial analysis and computations and digital content creation
We've rounded up 10 of what we consider to be the best workstations currently on the market - in no particular order - from the main vendors.
From small form factor models to powerhouses, from all-in-ones to one for all, there's bound to be one for you if you're in the market.
At the bottom of this page you'll also find our list of the best online shops for buying workstations - so purchasing the perfect workstation for your business has never been easier!
There are even a few amazing options that come in laptop form. Check out our best mobile workstations guide.
Acer does a good line in workstations, and most of them are pretty affordable. The Acer Veriton X2640G SFF isn’t the most powerful of workstations, but it will do the trick if you need a dependable machine for most day-to-day tasks.
There’s nothing particularly flashy about this workstation – but sometimes that’s just what you need.
This excellent all-in-one workstation from Dell comes with an imposing 27-inch 4K Ultra HD touchscreen display, as well as a set of six speakers. That makes for the ideal workstation for photographers, video editors and music producers.
The Dell XPS 27 performs admirably against industry-standard graphics-based benchmarks, no doubt thanks to the pacey 3.6GHz Intel Core i7-7700 processor under the casing. And this premium machine also gets premium peripheries in the form of a sleek and stylish wireless mouse and keyboard.
An upgrade to the Mac Pro is imminent so you might want to hold on. But when it comes to the quintessential workstation, nothing comes near to this monolith. How Apple has been able to pack so much firepower into such a small volume almost defies the laws of physics. The current model, though, is well past its prime.
It packs a 3-year old Intel Ivy-Bridge Xeon processor with up to 64GB DDR3 ECC RAM and 1TB storage (no RAID option though). Its two AMD FirePro D500 GPUs are likely to be the weakest link in the system, however, and even the top of the range model doesn't meet the minimum requirements to run the HTC Vive or Oculus Rift VR platform. It's also far more expensive than a comparable Windows-based workstation.
Read the full review: Apple Mac Pro
There's no equivalent to the HP Z1 G3 on the market. The Z1 family was possibly brought to the market in order to compete with (or at least provide an alternative to) the Apple iMac which doesn't provide the same sort of professional-grade components.
Using a mixture of laptop components (memory and 2.5-inch storage solutions) combined with an enterprise-grade desktop Intel Xeon CPU is an interesting alternative which we'd like others to explore, even in the laptop segment.
For now, the Z1 G3 remains the only viable option if you are looking for a transportable workstation with an all-in-one form factor. Oh and regarding the price, it comes with a 4K monitor, Thunderbolt ports, HP's nifty Remote Graphics Software and a three-year onsite warranty, upgradable to five with defective media retention.
The Apple iMac Pro is the most powerful PC that Apple has ever made, so if you love the design of Apple's devices, while using its software, then the iMac Pro is an excellent workstation. Its all-in-one form factor gives you plenty of space on your desk, but it is very expensive, which turn some people off.
Microsoft has produced a brilliant all-in-one workstation that rival's Apple's iMacs for power and desirability. If you're wedded to the Windows 10 ecosystem, then this is a great alternative to the iMac Pro. Versatile and forward-thinking, Microsoft’s all-in-one puts the iMac to shame by introducing an all-in-one that can not only replace your lingering desktop tower, but your Cintiq as well.
The Mac mini 2018 has finally been refreshed with modern hardware, bring Apple’s tiniest Mac into the modern age. This thing is filled to the brim with 8th-generation desktop processors, a ton of RAM and some of the fastest SSDs we’ve seen – all while keeping the same beloved form factor. OK, while it's not as powerful as the other workstations on this list, it has a few tricks up its sleeve which makes this worth considering. First, you can add an external graphics card to the Mac mini for added graphical prowess. You can also chain several Mac minis together and offload tasks onto each machine, making it an expandable – and incredibly versatile – workstation.
This is HP's entry level workstation and one which is very keenly priced with a very compact form factor (about 11L). It's hard to believe that the Z240 has an Intel Core i7-6700 CPU with 8GB of RAM and a 1TB hard disk drive. There's even an optical drive. The company's engineers have managed to deliver a system that weighs less than 6Kg and somehow has 20 (yes, 20) connectors and expansion slots (not all of them empty of course).
It even has four DIMM slots to take full advantage of dual-channel technology. As for the rest of the HP workstation family, this one comes with the Remote Graphics Software as well as a three-year onsite warranty bundled. The only major compromise is the fact that it will only take low profile graphics cards. HP also offers the option to buy the workstation for as little as £16 per month excluding VAT.
At the opposite end of Lenovo's portfolio is the mighty P910, a workstation that offers one or two Xeon E5 CPUs; there's no E3 here and definitely no consumer parts. It is expensive, industrial in its looks, yet functional in its design. And when we say expensive, we mean it. A fully specced model with 28 cores, half a terabyte of RAM, six half terabyte SSDs and two Nvidia Quadro M5000 cards in SLI will cost you around £15,000. You can pack even more in, but you will have to do it over the phone.
The P910 uses patented Tri-channel cooling to keep the main components from overheating, which requires fewer fans and should, therefore in theory, translate to less downtime. As for most other workstations, you won't need a single tool to swap components and there are no cables or plugs to worry about.
The small form factor market is attracting more manufacturers as they are vying to shed the bulky and wieldy image of the traditional workstation. Few, if any, however, can pride themselves on designing and manufacturing their products in the same area. Fujitsu can – take the J550.
It can take a Xeon E3 CPU, a full-size professional graphics card, 64GB of RAM, offering up to 13.5TB storage and nearly 20 ports and expansion slots including quite a few legacy ones. Fujitsu is also the only company to offer a three-year warranty (either onsite or bring-in) across the EMEIA region, which spans across the whole of Europe, into Africa and stretches as far as India.
The best business monitors of 2019: top displays for work
If you're sat in front of your PC all day for work, then finding the best business monitor for your needs is essential. Getting the right monitor means you can work comfortably, with bright, clear colors and high resolutions.
Plus, if you work in the creative industry where color and image accuracy is paramount, such as photography or video editing, then you'll need a monitor that supports a variety of industry standards.
Choosing the best business monitor doesn’t just mean getting one that doesn’t flicker. There’s also the productivity aspect, too. Large display sizes and high resolutions will give you more workspace – and ultra-wide aspect ratios are a dream come true for productivity, though all this comes at a price.
The price is also something you should think about – especially if you’re looking to fill an entire office. We went ahead and listed some of the best business monitors we could find, and each of them comes with their own specific strengths, which may make them more useful for some audiences than others.
Here's our list of the best monitors of 2019
The Dell UltraSharp UP3218K is the best business monitor we've ever tried, however it won't be for everyone. The huge 32-inch screen and 8K resolution makes it perfect for photographers and video editors, and the amount of screen real estate that high resolution offers makes it an excellent productivity tool. The screen is professionally calibrated so it looks amazing out of the box, but be warned: this is a very expensive monitor. Depending on your business, this will either be a brilliant buy, or an expensive folly.
The AOC PDS241 Porsche Design is a gorgeously designed monitor that would brighten up any desk it was placed on. It has an excellent price tag, which means you could realistically fill an office with these excellent screens.
Ports are limited to just a HDMI input, but for general office work, this should be fine. Most importantly, the image quality is excellent, making this an ideal addition to a modern office.
If you're a design professional looking for a monitor that provides you accurate colors, a range of features, professional calibration and a decent price, then the BenQ PD3200U is definitely worth considering. At 32-inches this is a large screen, but it means the UHD resolution of 3,840 x 2,160 doesn't make things too difficult to see or use. It has a no-nonsense design, plenty of features, such as a dark room mode and a mode that makes using CAD programmes easier to view, and the price is also very tempting. If you have a desk big enough to hold it, the BenQ PD3200U could be the best business monitor for you.
You’ll normally shell out an arm and a leg for a 4K display, but that’s not the case with Acer’s S277HK. This is a brilliant business monitor that offers some great features, and impressive image quality, while keeping the price at a reasonable level. You get a huge 1,000,000,000:1 contrast ratio, a color gamut of 1.07 billion and a resolution of 3,840 x 2,160, which makes it an excellent monitor for graphic designers and professional photographers as well. The bezel-less design keeps the monitor from taking up too much room on your desk, but there's no way to wall mount this monitor.
When you think about a monitor, you don't just consider the screen, but also the cables and stand. In terms of the latter, the MB169B Plus is different – it is a portable USB-powered monitor which means that you can power it using a single USB 3.0 cable. It stands out thanks to a smart case that is an adjustable stand and a protective sleeve at the same time. With a full HD resolution and a 15.6-inch screen size, it will prove to be an invaluable accessory for those looking for extra real estate to work when away from their desks, or a presentation monitor for a small team. Bear in mind that you should be able to add a few to your PC should you wish.
BenQ offers the most affordable full HD monitor with an HDMI connector and it doesn't look that bad. The company embraced the Bauhaus "less is more" philosophy to deliver "a celebration of minimalist" lifestyle. Those are their words, not ours. It has some standout features though; one that reduces flicker (PWM technology) and a low blue light mode which may help with headaches and sleeping disorders. The stand design gives it a more expensive feel and its three ports (including two HDMI ones) are worthy of a mention, as is the two-year warranty and the VESA wall mounting option.
To tackle spreadsheets without having to squint, a large screen is recommended and this Acer monitor will give you acres of space (nearly twice that of the ViewSonic monitor) for not a lot of money. It has a low response time, a VESA bracket, three ports including a DVI one and a three-year warranty. As expected it comes with a number of Acer features like the glare-reducing ComfyView and the Adaptive Contrast Management which modifies contrast in real-time. The stand and the bezel could do with some improvement but overall, it is a keenly priced monitor that will provide businesses with plenty of display area without an enormous outlay.
Widescreen monitors have become mainstream, thanks to a gradual decrease in their prices, allowing businesses to fully embrace the concept of having a monitor that is far wider than it is high. The common perception is that gamers are the only ones to benefit from this. In truth even creative professionals and spreadsheet crunchers will appreciate the form factor. With a 21:9 aspect ratio, this affordable LG monitor can display 2560 x 1080 pixels on its 25-inch display. It offers splendid colour reproduction – thanks to the AH-IPS panel – and some cool features like Picture-in-Picture. Uniquely at this price, it offers two HDMI 2.0 ports but no other legacy ports.
This 4K monitor from AOC can display more than 8 million pixels at 60Hz, and is proof that ultra-high resolution displays are coming down in price while gaining some very useful features. This one for example comes with AMD's Freesync technology which reduces tearing. It also has a 1ms response time, 60Hz refresh rate and can even do Picture-in-Picture thanks to its four ports (including a DisplayPort and an HDMI 2.0 one). Sadly, it doesn't come with any VESA mount but at least its design and factory certified calibration make up for this.
This monitor is almost as expensive as the Dell 5K model but can only display a third of the pixels. Why would anyone buy it? Gamers, or professionals looking for an immersive experience (e.g. when developing VR solutions) might well consider doing so because they'll appreciate the curvature of this Acer monitor as well as its aspect ratio. Get a pair of them and you will cover a jaw-dropping panoramic 160-degree arc. There's plenty of connection options as well (HDMI, MHL and DisplayPort) as well as Freesync, a very thin frame, a USB hub, VESA mount and a pair of speakers.
The best business headphones and earphones in 2019
If you work in a busy office environment where there's a lot of background noise, but you need to make and receive important calls throughout the day, then our list of the best business headphones or earphones can really help.
The best business headphones or earphones have features that allow you to make calls, be they traditional voice calls or increasingly popular video calls over services like Skype. These features include excellent audio and recording quality and noise cancelling, which means the people you're speaking to won't hear any background noise.
When you're looking to buy the best business headphones and earphones for your needs, you'll want to look out for a number of features that you may not necessarily think about when buying headphones for listening to music or podcasts on.
Microphone quality is just as important as sound quality, for example – after all, you want the people you're speaking to to be able to hear you as clearly as possible, and vice versa. Good noise cancelling features are a must too, especially if you work in a noisy environment: ambient noise (such as office chatter) is detected and removed while your voice is broadcast to the caller. You'll also want to make sure the headphones are comfortable to wear, of course, if you're wearing them all day.
We've assembled a list of the best business headphones and earphones, making it easier than ever for you to make the right choice – a choice which isn't always easy, considering the huge range of headphones and earphones out there.
So which headphones are the best for business users? Read on to find out what our picks are, and don't forget to use our price comparison tool to help you get the best deals for these amazing business headphones and earphones.
Once you've got your business headphones, make sure you check out our list of the best video conferencing services
The Oppo PM-3's are a truly stunning pair of headphones, and are an excellent choice if you're looking for some over-ear headphones for your business.
They're equally comfortable being plugged into your desktop PC for video conferencing as they are commuting through the hustle and bustle of a big city, and they stand head and shoulders above rival products from bigger brands. We really can't recommend them highly enough, they're just amazing.
Read the full review: Oppo PM-3
The Philips Fidelio X2s are a superb pair of headphones offering premium comfort and build quality with a sound that rivals even the most vaunted audiophile cans.
Their comfortable design means they can be worn for long periods of time while working thanks to the memory foam construction of the earpads.
Read the full review: Philips Fidelio X2
Bose has finally brought its fantastic noise-cancelling technology to a pair of wireless headphones, and it's done so without any of the traditional drawbacks of wireless headphones – they sound great, and their battery life is long enough for even the longest video meeting. Going wireless with your business headphones means you have less clutter on your desk, freeing you up for more important things when on an important call.
At $349.95 (£289.95) the QC35s sit firmly at the premium end of the spectrum, but if you want the best noise-cancelling headphones available right now then you can't get any better.
Read the full review: Bose QuietComfort 35
The Plantronics BackBeat Pro 2 offer insane battery life, great sound quality and good active noise cancellation for the business man or woman in your life. They may not offer the best noise cancellation – especially compared to the Bose QuietComfort 35s or the Fidelio NC1 – but at only $200 (£230, AU$250) it’s hard to think of a better travel headphone for the price.
Ultimately, with the BackBeat Pro 2, you’re getting a travel headphone with incredible battery life, supreme comfort, the ability to pair two device as one and, most importantly, good sound quality for the cost.
Read our full review: Plantronics BackBeat Pro 2
These no-holds-barred wireless headphones are oozing with positive qualities, but for many, they're almost prohibitively expensive. However, if you're an audio lover that can spare the expense, do not hesitate on this comfortable, hard-working set of headphones that will likely last for years.
Read the full review: Sennheiser Momentum Wireless
If you'd rather some in-ear earphones for your business dealings, then the RHA T10i is the first set you should consider for one simple reason: the sound quality is incredible, thanks to the snug seal created when the headphones are stuck in your ear. Plus the bass is also robust for such small earphones.
The RHA T10i look slick with a metal finish around the drivers and around the cable as well. They also come with several replacement tips if the defaults don't fit your ear canal. They're more expensive than other earbuds on the list, but there's good reason they feautre at the top of our business earphones selection.
Read the full review: RHA T10i
If you're in the market for the best in-ear headphones, you should really be looking at Shure's entire catalog of truly excellent in-ear options. Of them all, however, our current favorites are the Shure SE215s – they're not the top-tier performers from the audio company, but we think they offer the best performance-to-price ratio of any of Shure's headsets.
Sure, the headphones look great in their futuristic-looking translucent, space grey color, but the best bit is that you can snag the Shure SE215s for ~$100.
Read the full review: Shure SE215
Life is full of trade-offs, and it's the same with the Bose QuietControl 30s. On the plus side you get a level of noise cancellation that’s on a par with the brand's over-ear headphones, but the compromise here is on sound quality, which is simply not as good as that of other in-ear or over-ear headphones we’ve tried.
However, if you're going to be using these on video or voice calls in a noisy office, then these are definitely worth considering.
Read the full review: Bose QuietControl 30
The V-Moda Forza offer a lot – they sound good, are built to last, and have an innovative modular design that we really like is like nothing we’ve seen before on an earbud. The Forza, therefore, are perfect for anyone who wants headphones that can do it all, from working out to taking these with you on the morning commute to the office.
Sure, they're not the most balanced sounding or highest resolution, but the water resistance and modular design of the Forza make them a pretty compelling option.
Read the full review: V-Moda Forza
The best Bluetooth headsets 2019: top hands-free kit
Welcome to our list of the best Bluetooth headsets for hands-free calling. Even in 2019, Bluetooth headsets are essential bits of kit for many people, especially if you need to take calls while using both your hands for other tasks.
The best Bluetooth headsets make taking calls easy and convenient, whether you're driving, using equipment or typing on a keyboard. For people who rely on their phone and make lots of calls each and everyday, they're a game-changer.
We've collected together the best hands-free Bluetooth headsets that are comfortable to be worn for most of the day, are convenient to be used in a hurry and serve up good audio quality throughout.
But although a good Bluetooth headset can make your constant calling life infinitely easier, once you go out searching for a great headset you’ll find that choosing the best Bluetooth headsets among the myriad knockoffs and imitations can be a pain. And even if there are some devices that look similar, the actual features and functionality can vary wildly.
But don’t worry, below you'll find the very best Bluetooth headsets currently available, and we've used our price comparison tool to help you find the top deals as well.
The Plantronics Voyager 5200 is one of the very best Bluetooth headsets around, from a brand name that is well respected when it comes to headsets. It's designed with comfort in mind, so you can wear it for extended periods without it bothering you and it sits securely in place too, so it won't fall off. It's also completely hands free, as caller ID will announce the name of whoever is calling you and you can simply say "answer" to take the call. Its noise-cancelling is effective even in busy environments and multiple microphones ensure strong voice quality, for a great all-round Bluetooth headset. Its also coated in sweat proof material which gives it a robustness that other Bluetooth headsets lack.
The Sony MBH20 headset used to sit at this point in our list. It was a simple, easy-to-use headset with good battery life, but it's since been replaced by the MBH22. Although they both have a similar, simple design, this latest model is packing some newer features.
There are the same minimal buttons, but now there's a USB Type-C connector instead of an older microUSB port. It's still a good, comfortable fit although there is only one earpiece, which means that might not be the case for everyone.
You can connect two phones at the same time to switch between calls if you're that in demand, as well as smart access to Google Assistant and Siri.
Plantronics simply makes phenomenal Bluetooth headsets, which is why it should come as no surprise that this isn’t the first Plantronics headset to make it on the list of the best Bluetooth headsets, and it certainly won’t be the last. The Plantronics Explorer 500 is built to be compact and discreet, but there is a huge amount of tech built into this tiny package, including three microphones and a boom arm for stellar voice quality. Its small size does mean its battery life isn't exactly on the same level as some competitors, but at seven hours of talk time it's still very passable.
The Jabra Stealth is one of the nicest designed Bluetooth headsets in our roundup, and not only does it look good, it also feels comfortable to wear. It's not quite as small and unnoticeable as its name suggests, but with such a nice design, you won't really mind that much. Perhaps most importantly, sound quality on this headset is excellent, and it does a good job of limiting background noise picked up by its mic as well. This is definitely a Bluetooth headset worth investing in if you rely on voice-free calls.
The Sennheiser Presence UC is a brilliant Bluetooth headset if you work in a fast-paced environment where you need to multitask, as it has a multi-connectivity feature that connects to both your phone and computer, so you can quickly switch between the two. It has very good sound and recording quality, and talk time is also very impressive. It's not the most comfortable headset, however, so if you need something that you're going to wear all day, then something like the Jabra Motion will be better suited to your needs.
If you work outside in noisy environments, and need a robust Bluetooth headset that can eliminate background sounds, then the Jabra Steel is the best Bluetooth headset for you. Resistant to dust, dirt and water, it can also survive high drops, making it an excellent headset for outdoor use - and it comes with a 5 year warranty as well. It also features aggressive noise cancellation which will make your voice calls nice and clear, even if you work somewhere where there is a lot of background noise. Sadly, though, there's no physical volume control buttons on the actual headset, which makes it a bit annoying if you need to adjust loudness.
The Plantronics M70 is the successor to the popular M55, and like its forbear, it is a budget headset, but you get a lot for your money. While it doesn't have a premium build it's perfectly comfortable to wear, it supports voice commands for truly hands-free use and the sound quality is good, especially when aided by the built in noise-cancelling tech. The M70 also has a DeepSleep mode which activates when it's separated from a paired smartphone for 90 minutes and leaves it with up to five months of battery life, but simply bring your phone within range and it will quickly wake up again.
This product is only available in the US and UK at the time of writing. Australian readers: check out a fine alternative in the Plantronics Voyager Edge
With a talk time of over eight hours the Jabra Wave is a Bluetooth headset which just keeps going and going, making it a great choice if you're going to be away from a charger for an extended period. Its fairly large size means it's not the most discreet of headsets, but it's a worthwhile trade-off for all that battery life. It also features strong audio quality and is good at suppressing noise, especially wind. Add to that easy pairing and the ability to connect it to two devices at once and the Jabra Wave is a good option.
This product is only available in the US and UK at the time of writing. Australian readers: check out a fine alternative in the Plantronics Voyager Edge In the market for wireless headphones rather than a headset? We've got you covered there too.
A 48MP future: what the latest smartphone camera developments mean for you
It has been a few years since the conclusion of the smartphone megapixel wars. Back then, manufacturers from across the industry sought to undo one another, cramming as many pixels as possible into each smartphone iteration released.
This mostly stopped by 2016, with manufacturers moving onto what was the next marketing speak craze of the moment, wider apertures.
In 2018 however, with the release of the Huawei P20 Pro, the Chinese behemoth fired the starting shot in the next phase of this war with its combined 92MP across four cameras. Though none as of yet have answered the challenge, 2019 is set to bring an onslaught.
The main weapon in this next phase will be the latest smartphone camera sensor developed by imaging giant Sony - the IMX586.
Behind the generic name lies a whopping 48 million pixels, grouped together, each with a 'compact' size of 0.8 microns.
With Xiaomi, Huawei and Honor (with the View 20) reportedly among the first buyers, and Sony and Samsung rumored to be working on using a similar megapixel count in future devices, it seems the 48MP smartphone onslaught is about to explode onto the scene.
What does this mean for you?A lot has been done to deride the notion of stuffing megapixels into a smartphone camera, with the common assumption being that image quality is actually harmed through an abundance of them.
Historically, this has been true. Mainly however, keen to differentiate themselves, marketing teams for smartphone manufacturers have used megapixels counts as absolute measures of image quality.
They are most certainly not this, and in the past having a few too many on a small sensor impaired low-light capabilities, but times have changed and technology has advanced.
The main advantage of more megapixels is greater detail representation. More megapixels means more image data making it to the processor, which means larger files, which means more versatility.
Famously, the Nokia Lumia 1020 had up to 4x lossless digital zoom thanks to its 41MP snapper. Those purchasing 48MP monsters in 2019 will be able to zoom in closer to their subjects than ever before, and all with little to no degradation in quality.
The Nokia Lumia 1020 boasted a 41MP camera when it launched in 2013
Secondly, there is the matter of low-light capability to consider. Typically, in the past, in order to achieve excellent low-light performance, three ingredients have been necessary: optical image stabilization (OIS), a wide aperture and a relatively restrained sensor resolution.
The first allows for the shutter to be held open for longer, allowing more light in, while the second performs roughly the same function, though in a different manner.
As for the last point, if we think of a smartphone sensors as a rectangle (as they are), pixels are 'windows' crammed into this rectangle. One megapixel is shorthand for one million pixels, and the more megapixels crammed into the sensor, the smaller each individual pixel needs to be (to squeeze them all in).
These 'windows' let light in, and what allows the processor to recreate the scene in front of it. The fewer pixel 'windows' there are, the larger each individual pixel can be. And the larger the pixel, the more light is let in.
A clever trick is used by this new sensor to get past this old limitation however, which effectively combines information from groups of four pixels creating 'super' pixels.
This brings the light gathering power up by a factor of four, making it roughly equivalent to a 12MP sensor of the same size.
Sony says this should improve the dynamic range available by up to four times the average possible for the sensor, allowing it to really push the limits of what is achievable.
The power withinA large part of what makes all of this possible is the raw computing power now available in the average smartphone.
The 41MP-toting smartphone beasts from the past weren't known for being powerhouses. Though it was capable, 2012's Nokia 808 Pureview ran Symbian and had a single core processor, and while it had a dedicated imaging co-processor to handle the large file sizes produced, it couldn't keep with the best of them at the time.
The Nokia 808 Pureview changed perceptions of what was possible from camera phones in 2012
As for the Lumia 1020, though it produced lovely images, the shot to shot time was yawn-inducing, with the average wait sometimes in excess of 8 seconds.
With the latest chipsets capable of easily plowing through the likes of PUBG and Fortnite on our mobiles, it's unlikely that a few chunky image files are going to hold things back.
Not just that, but the advanced post-processing of current and future smartphones will make the situation even more interesting.
Night modes with crazy motion adjusted long-exposures are commonplace, as is advanced auto-HDR. Combined with more exotic camera hardware such as the Sony IMX586, this promises to produce some game changing results.
Samsung has its own version of the chip, the ISOCELL Bright GM1, offering much the same capability but for likely a lower price. There is no word as of yet as to whether rival manufacturer Omnivision will also jump on board, however it's likely with time.
With warfare comes competition, with competition between manufacturers comes innovation, and with innovation comes benefit to the consumer.
2019 promises to be highly interesting for smartphone cameras, whether due to increased megapixel counts or otherwise, and everyone stands to benefit.
Best camera phone 2018: the top smartphone snappers around
Best cloud storage of 2019: free, paid and business options
Consumers and businesses continue the trend of reducing their need to rely on local storage hardware and infrastructure by placing files and applications in the cloud.
Given the multitude of cloud storage providers out there, one has to wisely choose a provider who will offer the maximum amount of low-cost storage and bandwidth, while still keeping your data safe.
This list represents our top picks for cloud storage: most offer a free tier allowing you to see if they're right for you before handing over any hard-earned cash. Business users will need to consider carefully what their needs are as terms and conditions as well as quality of service is likely to differ significantly.
Go straight to your desired option through the jump links below
Best free cloud storageBest business cloud storage
The Granddaddy of cloud storage, Dropbox offers a rather measly 2GB of free storage, but this can be increased up to 16GB free of charge by linking your Dropbox to social media and referring friends to join the service.
Dropbox Business subscriptions allow users to collaborate on work as well as giving each person unlimited space in a personal Dropbox account. There are also enhanced features for file recovery and versioning, and an add-on for Gmail. Business pricing starts from around $12.50 per user per month (£10, around AU$16.50), or you can give it a go for free with a 30-day trial.
Price: 2GB free. 1TB for $10 a month (£6.58, around AU$11) with Dropbox Plus or 2TB for $19.99 a month (£15, around AU$27) with Dropbox Professional, which has some added extras.
Sign up for Dropbox here
Google Drive is a natural choice for owners of Android devices as it's already integrated, but users of other platforms may appreciate the generous free storage too. You can also store high definition photos on your mobile phone with companion app Google Photos, and make use of Google's own office suite (now known as G Suite). Also, upgrading to paid Google Drive plans is now called Google One (although it might not yet be available, depending on the region).
Downsides include the fact that the web interface isn't very easy-to-use, although Windows and Mac users can download a desktop app to drag-and-drop files easily.
Price: 15GB free. 100GB for $1.99 a month (£1.59, around AU$2.50). 200GB for $2.99 a month (£2.35, around AU$4.10). 2TB for $9.99 a month (£8, around AU$13). 10TB for $99.99 a month (£74, around AU$130). 20TB for $199.99 a month (£148, around AU$260). 30TB for $299.99 a month (£236, around AU$426).
Sign up for Google Drive here
With an insanely generous free tier and a simple drag-and-drop interface, New Zealand-based Mega is one of the cloud storage heavyweights. There's a handy mobile app to allow you to upload files and photos, as well as sync clients with desktop machines.
Mega claims that all data stored in its cloud is encrypted on your device before it reaches the firm’s servers. As the company has released the source code to its sync client, experts can check that there are no vulnerabilities.
Price: 50GB free. 200GB for $6 a month (£4.50, €4.99, around AU$7.50). 1TB for $12 a month (£9, €9.99, around AU$16). 4TB for $23 a month (£17, €19.99, around AU$30). 8TB for $35 a month (£26, €29.99, around AU$46).
Sign up for Mega here
OneDrive (formerly SkyDrive) is integrated into Windows 10's file explorer. You don't have to download an additional app – it's there to use out of the box, which is obviously very convenient for those who have made the jump to Microsoft’s newest operating system.
Microsoft's Photos app can also use OneDrive to sync pictures across all your devices. There's an app for Android and iOS devices, and there's even one in the App Store for Mac users (although it has received mixed reviews).
Price: 5GB free. 50GB for $3 a month (£1.99, around AU$4). 1TB for $8 a month (£5.99, around AU$11). 5TB for $11 a month (£7.99, around AU$14)
Sign up for OneDrive here
If you want to back up your iPhone to iCloud, you'll need more than the free 5GB allowance Apple gives you, but compared to rivals iCloud prices are very reasonable.
The Mac Finder app integrates iCloud Drive, where you can store any files you wish. Documents created in the iWork office suite are also saved to iCloud and can sync across your devices. Windows users can also sync their files with iCloud Drive using the official client, and access the iWork apps on the iCloud website.
Price: 5GB free. 50GB for $0.99 a month (£0.79, AU$1.49). 200GB for $2.99 (£2.24, AU$4). 2TB for $9.99 (£8, AU$13)
Sign up for iCloud here
Box's website currently seems to be pushing its Business plans as clicking ‘sign up’ takes you to the pricing page where for $15 per user (£11, around AU$19) you can benefit from advanced collaboration options and unlimited storage. But there is a 10GB free option, too.
As Box has been around for a while, it is supported by a number of mainstream apps such as Google Docs and Office 365. It's also integrated with G-Suite, which means Docs, Sheets and Slides are automatically saved and managed in Box. The Box Sync client is available from the Downloads page for Mac and Windows, plus there's also an official Android client.
Price: 10GB free. 100GB for around $10 a month (£7.50, around AU$13)
Sign up for Box here
NextCloud isn’t an online cloud storage provider itself, but offers free software to download and install a cloud storage service on your own server. Using a server on your home network for cloud storage is much faster. You can also enable encryption and make sure the information never leaves your home network, which is far safer.
If you've no server or IT experience, you can even purchase a preconfigured NextCloud Box (if you can find one) which comes with a 1TB hard drive and will work with an inexpensive Raspberry Pi board to keep your data synced. Unfortunately, NextCloud Box is sold out but you can check out the alternatives on their website
Price: Free to install and use. Self-hosting so storage costs vary.
Sign up for NextCloud here
SpiderOak is part of a new trend of zero knowledge cloud storage providers. The website claims that after installing the client your data is encrypted before syncing. Unfortunately since SpiderOak hasn’t made the client source code public, there's no way to confirm this.
The SpiderOakOne client is available for Windows, Mac and Linux as well as Android and iOS (although, both Android and iOS are read-only apps, meaning you can only view files, and can't upload or sync anything). You can also log in via the web interface but privacy lovers may prefer not to as it exposes your password to SpiderOak employees.
Price: 21-day free trial. 150GB for $5 a month (around £3.75, AU$7). 400GB for $9 a month (around £7, AU$11.50). 2TB for $12 a month (around £9, AU$15). 5TB for $25 a month (around £19, AU$33)
Sign up for SpiderOak here
IDrive offers continuous syncing of your files, even those on network drives. The web interface supports sharing files by email, Facebook and Twitter. Cautious or click-happy users will be pleased to hear that files deleted from your computer are not automatically deleted from the server, so there's less danger of removing something important accidentally. For photos, you have a neat facial recognition feature that helps you to automatically organize them.
IDrive also offers IDrive Express – a service whereby if you lose all your data they will ship a physical hard drive out to you, allowing for the swift restoration of all your backed up files.
Price: 5GB free. Personal: 2TB for $52 a year (around £40, AU$66). Business: 250GB for $74.62 a year (around £56, AU$98)
Sign up for IDrive here
While some bandwidth limits apply, there seems to be no limit to the size of files you can upload, so feel free to sync large media files with pCloud.
The service is available for all desktop and mobile platforms – users can also log in via the website. The company itself is registered in Switzerland which has strong privacy laws, and you can also pay a premium of $4.99 a month (around £3.75, AU$7) for pCloud Crypto to lock (and unlock) individual files with passwords.
Price: Up to 20GB free (You start with 10GB and can increase that by referring people). 500GB for $3.99 (around £3, AU$5) a month paid annually. 2TB for $7.99 (around £6, AU$10) a month paid annually. Lifetime plans are also available: 500GB for 175$ (around £131, AU$230). 2TB for 350$ (around £262, AU$460).
Sign up for pCloud here
Google Drive
Free storage allowance: 15GB (expandable)
If you're a Google user, you already benefit from Google Drive integration, such as the ability to save email attachments from Gmail. However, anyone can sign up for the free cloud storage, even if they don't have a Gmail address, by creating a new Google account. Google is also in a process of releasing Google One as a sort of substitution for Google Drive, although depending on your region it might not be available yet.
With 15GB of space for new users, Google Drive is one of the more generous cloud offerings, and there are occasional ways to boost this capacity free of charge. The catch is that this Google storage space is also shared with a user’s other Google services including Gmail and Google Photos.
Mobile apps are available to allow easy access for iOS and Android users, and Google’s Backup and Sync desktop app lets you synchronize files from your PC to the cloud. Google Drive also includes online office tools for word processing, spreadsheets and presentations which can makes sharing files with others effortless.
Google Drive
pCloud
Free storage allowance: 10GB (expandable)
You might not recognize the name, but if you're looking for a decent chunk of cloud storage free of charge, pCloud could be just the ticket. To kick things off, you're given a fairly generous 10GB to play with, and there's a bandwidth allowance of 50GB of downlink traffic per month.
While we're primarily interested in the free version of pCloud, note that you can upgrade to 500GB of space for a monthly plan of $4.99 (£3.70), or 2TB for $9.99 (£7.50) a month – both of which are great deals for storage. You also have annual and lifetime plans, which are a cheaper option in the long run.
The initial 10GB free offering can also be expanded up to 20GB via an additional 4GB for completion of offers, as well as referrals that add 1GB each. It’s also worth noting that pCloud offers well-designed desktop and mobile apps that supplement the website for seamless integration into a user’s workflow.
With no limit on file sizes, and simple sharing options, pCloud is a great way to send large files to friends and colleagues – it's even possible to share with people who aren't using the service themselves. Add in decent streaming options and a neat online interface, and pCloud is well worth a look.
pCloud
Microsoft OneDrive
Free storage allowance: 5GB
Coming from Microsoft – a company with plenty of money to throw at the cloud – it's a little disappointing to find that OneDrive doesn’t include more space free of charge. Free users get a mere 5GB of storage, although it's relatively inexpensive to increase this to 50GB.
If you have Office 365, you'll automatically get boosted to 1TB of space, but not everyone wants an Office subscription.
The best free alternatives to Microsoft OfficeLike Google Drive's appeal to Google users, OneDrive will be a good fit for anyone who is committed to using Microsoft's services. There's neat integration with Outlook.com, for instance. OneDrive also ties in nicely with Windows 10, and there is a selection of reasonable mobile apps to facilitate access on the move.
It's possible to share files with other people even if they aren't OneDrive users (complete with customizable permissions), and the ability to edit files online without downloading them is a welcome touch.
Microsoft OneDrive
Dropbox
Free storage allowance: 2GB (expandable)
Dropbox is a stalwart of the free cloud storage world, with a web interface that remains streamlined and easy-to-use.
Despite its popularity, Dropbox actually has one of the least generous free packages for new users (just 2GB), but there are various ways to boost this space without paying, including inviting friends to join (you get 500MB per referral up to 16GB), completing the Getting Started guide (250MB) and contributing to the Dropbox forum (which elicits 1GB per 'Mighty Answer' provided).
DropBox really comes into its own when you start delving into the service’s extra features. There's a great collaborative working tool called Dropbox Paper that acts as a group workspace, and – if you install the desktop app – you can back up photos automatically. The File Requests feature also allows you to request another user to upload a file to your Dropbox account.
There are desktop apps for Windows, Mac and Linux, and mobile apps including Android, iOS and even Kindle. This gives Dropbox broad appeal, as does the support for third-party apps and services.
The web version of Dropbox lets you edit files without needing to download them, and really the only thing that counts against the cloud storage service is that most alternatives offer more space to free users.
Dropbox
MediaFire
Free storage allowance: 10GB (expandable)
MediaFire has been around for over a decade, and those years of experience really show. You're given 10GB of free space initially, but you can boost this by an extra 40GB through activities like referring friends and following MediaFire's social media accounts. Few people would disagree that 50GB of free cloud storage is impressive. Free accounts carry ads, but this is a small sacrifice to make.
There's support for large files up to 4GB, and the sharing options are very impressive, even allowing sharing with non-users.
The web-based interface is excellent too, and MediaFire offers mobile apps for convenient uploading and downloading on iOS and Android. These make it easy to access files you're storing in the cloud, and include convenient features such as automatic photo syncing.
MediaFire
SpiderOak
SpiderOak is a collaboration tool, online backup and file hosting service founded in 2007. The platform allows users to access, synchronize and share data using a cloud-based server.
The company places a strong emphasis on data security and privacy. They offer a cloud storage, online backup and sharing service which they claim uses a ‘zero knowledge’ privacy environment. This means the client is the only one who can view all stored data. Not even SpiderOak themselves have access to your data.
SpiderOak’s main focus is on privacy and security. As a result, the tool itself has a very basic design. This makes the admin console and all central device management very straightforward to use. They also include a handy drag and drop feature for organising files.
From the centralized device management dashboard, users can access settings for all applications such as backup selection and sharing. The dashboard also allows users to manage their accounts, set group permissions and gain insight into usage.
Prospective business clients will need to contact SpiderOak’s Sales Team directly to obtain a quote. 500 users minimum is required.
Online commentators have observed that SpiderOak lacks many of the collaboration tools available from other cloud storage providers.
You can sign up for SpiderOak here
Tresorit
Tresorit is a cloud storage provider based in Hungary and Switzerland. It was founded in 2011. The provider emphasizes enhanced security and data encryption for businesses and personal users alike.
If you are concerned with ensuring that your stored data is kept safe online then Tresorit is the service for you. This provider allows you to keep control of your files through ‘zero-knowledge encryption’ meaning that only you and the chosen few you decide to share with can ever see your data. Your Tresorit account can also be secured by two-factor authentication login.
Tresorit’s ‘Small Business’ Packages starts at $25 (£19.60) per month (or $20 monthly for the annual plan) for teams with 2-9 users. This includes 1000GB encrypted storage, secure access on up to 10 devices and synching of existing folder structure.
Tresorit’s ‘Business’ plan begins at $30 (£23.30) per month (or $24 monthly for the annual plan) for businesses with over 10 users. This comes with extras such as digital rights management, remote wipe and phone support. At the time of writing there is a 50% discount on "Business plan", so you can pay as low as $12 (£9.4) per month
The ‘Enterprise’ tier weighs in at $34 (£26.65) per month (or $27 monthly for the annual plan) for businesses with more than 100 users. Extras included in this are personalized staff training, admin API and on-premises deployment. In order to sign up for this plan, users need to contact Tresorit directly.
All tiers come with a 14-day free trial.
The extra security offered by Tresorit makes it relatively expensive compared to other cloud backup solutions. However most users will probably appreciate the greater piece of mind and extra features offered by Tresorit.
You can sign up for Tresorit here
Egnyte
Egnyte was founded in 2007. The company provides software for enterprise file synchronization and sharing.
Egnyte allows businesses to store their data locally and online. All types of data can be stored in the cloud, whilst data of a more sensitive nature can be stored on servers on-premise. This makes for better security.
Business teams can work how and where they want with an easy to use collaboration system through Egnyte’s content services platform.
Egnyte integrates with popular industry applications such as Office 365 or Gmail. This allows both remote and internal employees to access all files with ease.
Egnyte’s ‘Office’ plan starts at $8 (£6.21) per employee per month. This covers 5-25 employees, 5TB of storage and 10GB max file size.
The ‘Business’ packages starts at $15 (£11.65) per employee per month. This includes 25-100 employees, 10TB online storage and 10GB max file size.
In order to take advantage of their ‘Enterprise tier’, which includes over 100 employees, 25GB max file size and unlimited storage, you will need to contact Egnyte directly.
Egnyte offer a 15-day free trial for all packages.
Users have observed that some files, such as photos, can take a long time to load.
You can sign up for Egnyte here
Dropbox Business
Dropbox is one of the oldest cloud storage providers. It was founded in 2007.
To date it is one of the simplest storage providers to use. Dropbox can be installed on most computers or devices and syncs easily between apps. The app can store almost any kind of file while never having any issues with compatibility. You can drag and drop files into the desktop app with ease.
You can also share files with other users easily through links. These can be shared with users who don’t have a Dropbox account.
As Dropbox has been around for a long time it integrates with most other apps such as MS Office and Slack.
All files and folders can be shared with other users even if they are not part of your account. These users will be limited to their own plan's storage limits.
Dropbox Business can be connected to your personal account so you can access all your files in once place. Personal account feature "automatic camera upload" is now also available to Business accounts, as of November 2018.
The dashboard is simple and easy to use. From here, admins can see how many team members they have as well as any pending invites. You can restrict sharing, and allow/block commenting as you see fit. The dashboard allows you to access settings and to monitor usage.
Dropbox offers a 30-day free trial which asks for your payment details. Your plan will automatically upgrade after the trial at which point your card is charged.
The ‘Standard’ plan starts at $12.50 (£9.71) per user per month starting at 3 users and includes 3TB storage.
The ‘Advanced’ package begins at $20 (£15.70) per user per month with unlimited storage.
In order to subscribe to the ‘Enterprise’ tier, users will need to contact Dropbox directly.
Some users have commented on the lack of online editing tools.
You can sign up for Dropbox Business here
Box for Business
Box is a cloud content management and file sharing service for businesses. It was founded in 2005.
Box offers strong management capabilities and security features. The interface is made for ease of use and is simple to navigate.
The dashboard allows access to settings, files and folders. Admins can manage all users, monitors activity and control sharing.
As Box has been around for a while, it is supported by a number of mainstream apps such as Google Docs and Office 365. The Box Sync client is available from the Downloads page for Mac and Windows. There's also an official Android client.
Box offers a 14-day free trial for all packages. Their ‘Starter’ plan is priced at $5 (£3.88) per user per month. This includes 100GB secure storage, 2GB file upload with a maximum of 10 users.
The ‘Business’ plan starts at $15 (£11.80) per user per month which includes unlimited storage, 5GB file upload and no maximum number of users.
The ‘Business Plus’ package is $25 (£19.60) per user per month and comes with unlimited storage, 5GB file upload and unlimited external collaborators.
In order to subscribe to Box’s ‘Enterprise’ plan, users will have to contact them directly for a quote.
If you choose to share files external users are limited to read-only access.
You can sign up for Box for Business here
Jack Black is on YouTube, and he's here to talk video games
Actor, comedian and musician Jack Black is now on YouTube.
The star of School of Rock and voice of Kung Fu Panda will be looking to further the entertainment of the masses with his new YouTube channel, 'Jablinski Games', covering topics as far-ranging as "games, food, and life".
Currently the only video on the channel is the announcement clip below, where Black voices the ambition to be "bigger than Ninja... bigger than PewDiePie", citing two of the video platform's biggest names. There are a few inside jokes that might be confusing for some – the adjustable chair is a callback to an old PewDiePie video – but take a look for yourself.
A star is born?Despite the very low-key introductory video, Jablinski Games currently has over 1m subscribers at the time of writing, with that number rising steadily every day.
The channel will reportedly be releasing a new video 'every Friday', so there could well be one online over the next few hours.
While YouTube is often looked to as a place for rising stars and content creators starting out in the entertainment business, it's also become a place where high-profile A-listers can connect to their fans and audience in a different way.
The videos on Jablinski Games will be edited and produced by Jack Black's twelve-year-old son, rather than any official production team, according to the description on the video posted above.
Are we looking at a short-lived family project, an intriguing intergenerational look at gaming and wider culture, or one big in-joke? We may find out very shortly.
YouTube TV: everything you need to know about the TV streaming serviceThe best free YouTube downloader 2018
CES 2019: here's what you can expect from the annual tech-stravaganza
CES 2019 is nearly upon us – and while there are sure to be some surprises in store, we've also had a flurry of announcements from LG, Samsung and others on what they're planning or not planning to showcase at the massive Las Vegas convention.
We've been keeping up with all the updates as they happen and our team has been hard at work prepping coverage for this year's event. What we're expecting is an absolute deluge of news on January 8, followed by a non-stop scavenger hunt trying to find the best products of the show. It's exhausting work, but there's no place like Vegas during CES.
Every year, Sin City plays host to the gadget extravanganza that is the Consumer Electronics Show, now officially shortened to its acronym, CES. It's the time of year where tech innovators from all over the world gather together to announce the latest and greatest in smartphones, wearables, TV and audio tech, with new laptops, tablets and smart cars filling row after row of booths at the Las Vegas Convention Center.
Last January we saw innovation in droves at CES 2018, from Samsung's 146-inch modular MicroLED TV, The Wall, and the incredible HTC Vive Pro to LG's rollable 65-inch OLED TV and the Huawei Mate 10 Pro. It's the world's biggest tech show, and it's poised to become even bigger in 2019.
Can't wait until opening day on January 8? Read on! We've got all the details, predictions and postulations for what you can expect to see at CES 2019.
[Update: LG is closing out the year with a number of announcements ahead of CES 2019. First up, there's the new Cinebeam 4K, a sequel to its 2018 Cinebeam projector series, which was followed shortly by the announcement of three new Dolby Atmos-enabled soundbars. Samsung fired back with two announcements of its own - a QLED-equipped The Frame TV in 2019 and a PC-connected TV smart platform - while Sony has been eerily quiet so far.]
What and when is CES 2019?The 2019 International CES will begin on Tuesday, 8 January and end on Friday, 11 January. It's been taking place since 1967 and is staged by the Consumer Technology Association (CTA), a trade organization that represents over 2,000 consumer tech companies in the U.S.
Though it gets a lot of attention from the world’s media, this is not an event where the public can go see the latest tech. Unlike the IFA exhibition in Berlin each August, the CES is open only to the electronics trade, as well as journalists, bloggers and plenty of blaggers. (You know who you are...)
How big exactly is CES? It's huge. If you're going for the first time, go on a few five-mile walks in the preceding weeks. Seriously, it's hiking boots-big. There are 2.75 million net square feet of exhibit space. Eleven venues. 24 product categories. Some company's booths are vast and complex, while other, smaller firms grab a table in one of the 25 marketplaces.
In terms of footfall, the CES attracts about 180,000 people from 155 countries, as well as 6,500 media, who visit 4,500 exhibiting companies. All the biggest tech companies in the world gather ... well, except for Apple.
Since 1978 the CES has been staged in Las Vegas. Why? Hotel rooms, all 150,000 of them, and counting. The main venue is the Las Vegas Convention and World Trade Center (LVCC), which is a short (and very busy) monorail ride from The Strip, where most of the hotels are.
Along with the nearby Westgate Las Vegas and Renaissance Las Vegas, this is referred to as Tech East. This is where most of the major booths are. Tech West (comprising the Sands Expo, The Venetian, The Palazzo, Wynn Las Vegas, and Encore) is where you'll find hi-fi and audio.
At Tech South (ARIA, Park MGM/Park Theater and Vdara) you'll see VR, AR, and gaming. There are shuttle buses between the venues, but it's best to stay put for the day at one of the three areas to avoid the traffic.
When do all the announcements happen?Although the weeks before the CES are packed with rumors and reports of what may or may not be launched or announced at the CES, it's not until Sunday, January 6 and Monday, January 7 – the two days before the show opens – that there will be any concrete news. These are the two media days, and they're when the all-important press conferences are held, and consequently when a lot of the headlines are written.
Sunday is typically light on news, and in 2019 it's Monday that will see the big companies' press conferences at the Mandalay Bay Hotel at the south end of The Strip. In 2019, confirmed press conferences include Hisense, Hyundai, Intel, LG, Panasonic, Qualcomm, Samsung, Sony, TCL, and Toyota.
As for whom is actually giving these nail-biting presentations, the first will come from LG on Monday, 7 January; its President and Chief Technology Officer Dr. I.P. Park will discuss AI and 'self-evolving' products … and a foldable phone?
January 8 will see keynotes from IBM Chairman, President and CEO Ginni Rometty (trust, AI and quantum) and Verizon CEO Hans Vestberg (5G), while January 9 has AMD's president and CEO Dr. Lisa Su discuss next-gen computing.
Just give the attendance list a cursory glance and you'll see that a lot of bases are covered at CES - you'll find AR and VR, voice control, connected cars, robotics, smart home, smart cities, health, wellness, sleep, sports, accessories companies, and everything in between.
However, in 2019 there are some trends that are likely to dominate.
The most obvious will be voice control. "Well definitely see more smart speakers with screens," says Jack Wetherill, Principal Consultant: Home Electronics at Futuresource, who also thinks CES will see voice creep into more and more product categories, such as soundbars possibly from Samsung, Sony and LG. The TV remote control could finally begin its death throes.
"There has already been one TV with far-field microphones in the set itself," says Wetherill, referring to Toshiba's upcoming OLED, 4K HDR, and Full HD smart ranges with Alexa built in. CES could also see the spread of Netflix Calibrated Mode beyond some Sony TVs.
Headphones will also get chatty. "A new Alexa development kit from Qualcomm means we'll see more integration of voice into headphones," says Wetherill. "We're waiting for headphones that respond to a wake-word, and while that probably won't emerge at CES 2019, we will see true wireless earphones with longer battery life – it would be logical if Sony brought more ‘true wireless’ products at CES."
Another trend will be foldable displays, with the Samsung Galaxy X likely to feature alongside LG’s foldable.
However, foldables could go much deeper than mere phones. "Where we’re expecting real change is laptops and tablets," says Tom Morrod, Senior Research Director, IHS Markit. "We are expecting to see foldable laptops with OLED screens that extend across the entire keyboard area – this means you could open them up to monitor size, or to book format, or use them as a normal laptop format with the keyboard as half of the touch panel." But how, exactly, Android and Windows adapt their OS for foldable devices will be interesting. Last but not least, connected cars at CES 2019 could also see integrated OLEDs to replace wing mirrors.
Want specific predictions for each company? We've got those, too!
Wireless charging is on the up, and the CES will definitely see three new products from Aircharge: a Fast Wireless Charger 10W, Fast Dual Charger 10W, and a PS4 DualShock 4 Wireless Adapter. Both chargers will deliver 10W fast wireless charging, including both Apple and Samsung fast wireless charging.
Semiconductor company AMD has already said that it intends to show-off its 3rd-gen Ryzen processors and new graphics products at CES 2019.
According to a recent leak, that will include three new entry-level Ryzen 3 processors (3300, 3300X, 3300G), three mid-range Ryzen 5 processors (3600, 3600X, 3600G) and two Ryzen 7 processors (3700, 3700X). On top of the mainline processors, AMD might also surprise us with a few new mobile processors in the form of the 2.6GHz AMD Ryzen 3 3200U, 2.1GHz AMD Ryzen 3 3300U CPU and 2.1GHz AMD Ryzen 5 3500U.
Beyond processors, CES 2019 might be the place that we see the company's next AMD Navi GPUs – though, that seems a little less likely than the 3rd-gen processors.
There's also talk of a new Radeon graphics card, with 7nm Vega II GPUs possibly making an appearance.
All the latest AMD CES 2019 news:
AMD may launch a new Radeon GPU at CES 2019AMD to announce 7nm processors and graphics cards at CES 2019AMD Ryzen 3000 next-generation 16-core processors leakedNext-gen mobile AMD Ryzen processors spotted in laptop benchmarksAMD’s X570 chipset might be the first to add next-generation PCIe support
How about a high-end 10-inch Chrome OS tablet? That's what AndroidHeadlines.com reports that ASUS will be using CES 2019 to announce.
With last year's revamped Zenbook models and Alexa-enabled mesh router, the Asus Lyra Voice, we're excited to see what else Asus could show off this time around.
CanonRumors.co reports that CES 2019 could see the unveiling of a Canon PowerShot G7 X Mark III – complete with a new image sensor and a longer zoom range – and possibly a G9 X Mark III. That rumor seems to be even more likely than ever now that Canon PowerShot G7 X Mark III product images surfaced online.
All the latest Canon CES 2019 news:
Canon PowerShot G7 X Mark III product images surface online
Is Nvidia about to get a serious challenge in the high-end graphics card market? If reports from Anthony Garreffa at TweakTown are anything to go by, a discrete graphics card could be coming from Intel.
In the world of processors, rumor has it that Intel is developing a new 10-core, 20-thread CPU codenamed Comet Lake that will be based on yet another iteration of Intel’s 14nm process. If the rumors are true, this will be the first time Intel has outpaced AMD in the CPU core war in a very long time.
All the latest Intel CES 2019 news:
Intel rumors suggest mainstream 10-core processor could be on the way
It's confirmed, LG will definitely have TVs at CES 2019. We can safely say that because the Korean-based electronics manufacturer already announced the Alpha 9 (Gen. 2) TV processor that will power its 2019 OLED TVs. Details were sparse on how it would significantly improve this year's Alpha 9, but it could be saving that for CES.
We've also heard a lot of buzz about LG's rollable OLED that was available to see behind closed doors at last year's CES. It's not confirmed yet, but there's a good chance it will be available to see on the show floor in 2019. (Actually, that's almost a given considering that it could be on sale in 2019.)
We also know LG will be showcasing two new 'ultra' monitors for the worker bees and committed gamers out there: one being a super-sized 49-inch UltraWide monitor, the other a new 144 Hz UltraGear gaming monitor. LG will also be showing off a new range of high-end Dolby Atmos soundbars, all three of which are launching with Google Assistant built in.
Will LG bring more 'ThinQ' branded smart home products? Probably. However, there are also rumors that LG's CES 2019 keynote will see the unveiling of a foldable phone – though, it might not be available to check out at the show. We may instead have to wait until MWC 2019 to hear about that, though in the meantime we're likely to hear more on the LG G8 flagship phone before it releases in March with a built-in 3D camera.
Either way, look out for pre-Christmas, pre-CES announcements of B-lister products – it's an annual tradition from LG's predictable Comms team.
All the latest LG CES 2019 news:
LG readies high-end Dolby Atmos sound bars with Google AssistantLG G8 release date set for March with 3D cameras but not 5GLG to showcase new 'ultra' monitors at CES 2019LG's foldable phone probably won't appear at CES 2019LG announces new CineBeam laser 4K projectorLG unveils the brains behind its 2019 OLED TVsLG's rollable OLED TV could be on sale as soon as 2019
According to a fresh rumor, Nvidia will reveal its GeForce RTX Mobility graphics cards at CES 2019, supposedly on January 6, which would be in the pre-show run-up to the official start of the event (on January 8).
If the rumor from Wccftech turns out to be true, we'll see the RTX 2070 and the 2070 Max-Q parts along with the 2060, 2050 Ti and 2050 in Vegas early next month.
Moreover, Nvidia may be preparing more than just RTX graphics for laptops at CES 2019, with a reference to MX250 graphics just appearing in an HP laptop listing.
The supposed HP Zahn 66 Pro 14 G2 Notebook PC was reportedly listed somewhere by HP with an Nvidia GeForce MX250 with 2GB of GDDR5 memory, first shared by Twitter user Momomo.
All the latest Nvidia CES 2019 news:
Nvidia GeForce RTX graphics for laptops rumored for CESGigabyte GeForce RTX 2060 leak reveals photos and robust specsNvidia GeForce MX250 graphics pop up in HP laptop leak
The world's first foldable phone? That could well come at CES from Royole, which recently teased the FlexPai, the 7.8-inch AMOLED screen that folds in half.
A CES launch for the previously announced Samsung Galaxy Home smart speaker – compete with Bixby – seems a shoo-in, but will Samsung launch its Galaxy X foldable phone? "While the full Samsung launch might be at Mobile World Congress we could instead see the Samsung Galaxy S10 launched at CES, which won’t be foldable but will have 5G and triple camera, plus a new notch design on the front panel," says Tom Morrod, Senior Research Director, IHS Markit.
Looking to get ahead of the deluge of news, Samsung has announced two new versions of its Samsung Notebook 9 Pen 2-in-1 laptop. Scheduled for a vague ‘2019’ release and with no pricing to speak of, the laptops are both a rehash (13.3-inch) and an expansion (15-inch) of the late 2017 debut model.
We will also almost certainly see Samsung refresh its TV line-up, which will mean more advanced QLED TVs (though probably not a new version of the recent 85-inch Q900R 8K QLED TV). However, if a recent patent filing is anything to go by, we could see a transparent TV. Since Samsung is often launching design-led screens, that wouldn't be a surprise – though if you're after some more practical features, the newly announced Remote Access should be able to source files, programs and cloud services from connected devices and computers direct to your TV.
What we do know for sure at this point is that Samsung will enhance its Serif TV and The Frame designer screens with QLED tech. The new screens will make their debut at the show and, according to Samsung, will reside in the large lifestyle TV exhibition zone of Samsung’s booth.
The last rumor we've heard concerning Samsung 2019 TVs is that they might include both Bixby and Google Assistant – giving users the choice over which assistant they'd like to use.
All the latest Samsung CES 2019 news:
Samsung's 2019 TVs will let you access your computer remotelySamsung debuts Notebook 9 Pen with fresh design, introduces 15-inch modelSamsung’s The Frame TV is getting a QLED performance upgradeSamsung TVs could be getting Google Assistant as well as Bixby
There's likely to be an almighty rush to launch the first 5G-ready phones in 2019, and Sony’s desire to be first-to-market could mean that the CES 2019 sees the appearance of a 5G Xperia phone.
It's also possible that Sony will use CES 2019 to launch its 5.9-inch XA3 and 5.7-inch Xperia L3 budget phones, according to KnowYourMobile.com. Sony may also launch a smart speaker-with-a-screen, following in LG's footsteps.
The streaming service doesn't normally deal in hardware, but could Spotify use CES 2019 to launch its own voice search interface to compete with Amazon Echo and Google Home? Spotify has suites reserved at the Wynn Encore …
One thing’s for sure, after CES 2019 the world of tech won’t ever be the same.
New year, new tech – check out all our coverage of CES straight from Las Vegas, the greatest gadget show on Earth
Bandersnatch is an interactive Black Mirror movie – and it's now on Netflix
Update: Bandersnatch is now available on Netflix, though it seems to be more than your usual Netflix movie.
An interactive adventure that puts the viewer in control of key decisions throughout the film, with various routes the film can travel through, Bandersnatch is a natural evolution of Black Mirror's paranoid depictions of technology – as well as Netflix's growing interest in interactive media on its streaming platform, such as Minecraft: Story Mode.
For the Bandersnatch trailer, and our original article on the film's announcement, read on below...
Has Netflix won the battle for top Christmas TV this year? It's looking likely – first it rolled out the charming Kurt Russel-starring 'The Christmas Chronicles' and now this – the first feature-length Black Mirror movie.
Netflix has just revealed the trailer for Black Mirror: Bandersnatch, as well as some bombshell news – it'll be hitting the streaming service in just a day's time on December 28, 2018.
Here's that trailer in all its glory...
What is Bandersnatch?For the uninitiated, Black Mirror is a series of standalone TV shows, each (usually) focussing on a dystopian vision of where technology, if abused, could lead us.
Created by former games journalist Charlie Brooker, Black Mirror has become must-watch TV over the past decade, with Netflix recently acquiring the exclusive rights to future episodes of the show.
With the might of Netflix's budget behind it, Black Mirror: Bandersnatch looks like the most ambitious undertaking for the series to date. While the trailer doesn't reveal all the special's secrets, it appears to focus around a troubled video game developer in 1980s Britain, whose creation looks to take on a life of its own.
That is... we think that's what's happening. With Black Mirror, as the series' title suggests, all is never quite what it seems. We'll look forward to seeing exactly what's in store for us when Bandersnatch releases imminently.
The best Netflix TV shows: Black Mirror and more
Best free web hosting of 2019
The costs of setting up and maintaining a website can add up quickly, so picking the best free website hosting provider for your needs can help cut costs, and this list of the top-rated service providers out there will hopefully help you make the right choice.
Designing, developing and maintaining a website all need an outlay of one sort, so it's important to minimise expenditure where they can; which is one reason why website builders have grown in popularity over the past few years.
Web hosting is one area where costs can easily grow, as hosting packages are generally sold with monthly billing. There are a (dwindling) number of providers that offer free web hosting, however, and whilst such packages will not be suitable for most businesses, others have a great opportunity to try new things before scaling website projects.
Below is a selection of the best free web hosting available to everyone and since they are all free, nothing prevents you from trying all of them.
Infinityfree is one of the few providers that offer unlimited bandwidth and storage
In the world of free website hosting, Infinityfree stands out for good reasons. It has a well designed website that makes a positive impression and ticks the right boxes for us. Its homepage gets a C performance grade in our load time test but other than that, it looks pretty solid.
It has been in the business for over six years, claims to have 200,000 users and offers unlimited disk space and bandwidth (albeit with a very generous 50,000 daily hits). You can host as many domains as you want but you will only get 10 e-email accounts and one FTP to upload your content.
There is no hidden fees and despite its free status, you will get a 99.9% uptime guarantee (although you are more or less on your own if your site goes down) and the popular Softaculous Script installer. (with more than 400 applications.
We were surprised to see that its features list include 400 MySQL databases (where others give only a handful, if at all), a free DNS service, free SSL and free Cloudflare CDN.
As expected Infinityfree offers a cheap paid for hosting (Infinityfree Ultimate Premium) that offers unlimited everything for $5.90 per month, worth an upgrade as you will also get access to CloudFlare Railgun, which cuts load times significantly.
Try Infinityfree free web hosting service
Freehostia offers a number of different hosting tariffs with outlandish names like Lovebeat, Wildhoney and Supernatural. Its free plan, Chocolate, gives users 250MB disk space, 6GB bandwidth each month, PHP & MySQL compatibility and 3 POP3/IMAP email accounts. Server uptime is guaranteed at 99.9% and 24/7 user support is provided should any problems arise.
It even offers a surprisingly good 1-hour ticket/email response promise. Joomla, WordPress, phpBB and other PHP scripts can be installed with one-click using Freehostia's Elefante Installer and upgrading to any of the paid premium packages can also be done in one-click, should users outgrow the free plan.
As you would expect, 5GBfree provides 5GB of free hosting space to users along with 20GB of monthly bandwidth, 3 MySQL Databases and PHP scripting.
There's no email included in the package, but the company is proud of the technology it offers, claiming, "At any other hosting company, you could be paying between $15 and $20 a month for the same cutting edge software (including the revolutionary CloudLinux operating system!), hardware, and security certifications."
Support is provided in forums via the 5GBfree community and users who require expert phone support can upgrade to the Pro version, which costs $2.95 per month and offers both unlimited disc space and bandwidth.
Of the free hosting providers convered in this article, Freehosting.com is the biggest hitter in terms of bandwidth since it's unlimited, and you just need to make sure you follow their Fair Use Policy. The service also includes 10GB of server space and one email account. For users without a domain name, free subdomains are also offered, such as freesubdomain.freehosting.com.
Paid package is also available, offering unlimited disk space and monthly transfer as well as unlimited email accounts. Freehosting is also one of the few to actively encourage using the hosting service to backup your important files (e.g one 10GB ZIP file), great as it doesn't have a limit for file sizes.
Byethost is part of Byet Internet, a US-based provider of hosting, domain name and reseller services. With more than one million websites hosted, It claims that its free hosting service is, "one of the most powerful networks dedicated solely to free hosting in the world."
Users are given 1GB of server space (although, as of late, it looks like this has been changed to unlimited), 50GB of monthly bandwidth and MySQL / PHP compatibility. They also benefit from 24/7 tech support and access to Byethost's community and knowledge base. And if you are ever interested in becoming a free web hosting provider yourself, Byethost operates a separate entity, myownfreehost, that allows you to do just that.
For businesses that want free hosting with green credentials, Awardspace provides a solution. It offers CO2-neutral hosting with all of its servers running on wind-generated electricity. Its free plan provides 1GB of storage (a 15MB upload file size limit), 5GB of bandwidth per month and up to five MySQL databases. One associated email account is also included.
Users have access to online documentation and 24/7 support should any issues arise. Live chat is also available for pre-sales queries. Worth noting that the servers of Awardspace are located in Kiel, Germany, rather than in the US and house more than one million websites. There's a nifty test hosting speed service that allows you to check the transfer speed in a live environment.
FreeHostingEU is a joint project set up and run by FreeDomain.co.nr and AttractSoft GmbH. Yes, Germans are at the forefront of free web hosting in Europe. Three hosting tariffs are offered - two paid and one free.
The free package provides 200MB of space, 4GB of bandwidth per month and one associated email account. Five free domains at .eu5.net are also included but they are likely to be of little use for most UK businesses. Also, you get three free web site builders.
For users of Wordpress and Joomla, one-click installation is provided and languages supported are PHP, MySQL, CGI, Perl, Flash. Worryingly though, the user forums have been closed until further notice.
For businesses that are looking for hosting that is quick and simple to setup, U Host Full promises the ability to setup a site within five minutes.It also provides a host on one-click installers for platforms including Wordpress, Joomla, phpBB, Mambo, osCommerce and Zen Cart.
Uptime is guaranteed at 99% with unlimited server space provided and unlimited bandwidth per month. Email is also included. Now we don't know what the catch is but it is definitely one of the better deals out there especially since it doesn't have any adverts.
Note that there doesn't seem to be any limit to the size of the files uploaded which is a pleasant surprise.
All of the free hosting options included in this article are ad-free, with revenue generated by other means. Free Hosting No Ads celebrates this more than others, but still offers a solid free hosting deal with 1GB of disk space.
The deal also includes 5GB of monthly bandwidth and three POP email accounts. Three PHP versions are supported (5.2-5.4) and three MySQL databases are also included. As expected, the free service is subsidised by the paid-for service.
Just note this though... "FreeHostingNoAds.net reserves a right to send 1 promotional email message every 6 months that can promote our affiliate products." You may however unsubscribe from the marketing marketing list.
Free Virtual Servers is another free web hosting platform with an impressively straight-talking name. Signing up to the free web hosting service will get you a decent amount of server space - 100MB - which should be enough unless you have a very image-heavy site, and most of the usual features we've come to expect from free web hosting services. Bandwidth is a bit on the tight side, however, with just 200MB, which is enough for small, simple websites, but if your site starts getting popular, you may have to think about upgrading.
Also worth looking at Hostingerx10hostingfreewhaInstafreeHoophostBatcaveGoogiehostAdvancedfreewebYou might also want to check out our other website hosting buying guides:
WordPressCloud hostingE-commerceDedicated serverSmall businessWindowsManagedGreenBusinessColocationEmail hostingResellersVPSSharedCheapWebsite buildersBest website hosting
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