CeBIT, held each March in Hannover, Germany, is one of the biggest showcases of new computer technology in the world, and this week Computeractive has been there to check out all the latest products that'll be on sale over the next six months. With thousands of exhibitors there are just too many to list, so we've boiled it all down to the the best products that represent five key trends from this year's show.

1) Loud Laptops

Laptop computers don't have a great reputation when it comes to sound quality, and with good reason: most have tiny, tinny speakers packed into the case as an afterthought. This year, though, several of the biggest computer names at Cebit have been showing portable computers that, they claim, are designed to sound great.

The Asus NX90 is certainly eye-catching: it's huge and completely covered in brushed aluminium. And, alongside some unusual features such as the two touchpads - one on either side of the keyboard - it has a powerful sound system provided by Bang and Olufsen IcePower. Its speaker enclosures have a volume of 108cc, and although it's very hard to judge the quality of sound in a busy trade show we can testify to the volume on offer.

A similar product was also on show at the stand of Asus's key rival MSI. Its GT660 gaming laptop packs a Core i7 processor, Blu-ray, two hard disks and Nvidia 285M graphics, but also a 2.1 sound system from Dynaudio - again, it's impressively thunderous.

2) Smart Storage

Network attached storage devices are to be found everywhere at the show, with the manufacturers seemingly adding new functions each and every year, but a few in particular stood out. The new Thecus N4200 has an unusual case with two displays, but there's also a lithium-ion battery in the back - if the mains power supply fails, this gives it enough power to shut down properly, saving your data.

Not to be outdone, rival Qnap was demonstrating its new QMobile tool for the iPhone and iPod Touch - this gives access to the multimedia functions of its NAS devices from any Apple mobile handset.

3) Neat Networking

Network storage aside, there are plenty of clever networking products on show. We particularly liked Devolo's new Smart+ powerline network adapters: instead of using LEDs to indicate the network status, these use an LCD display to provide far more information on the status of the network. The company was also showing this prototype of a new product due in September - this little white box will run at speeds of up to 500Mbps:

Also, good news for anyone who was tempted by our review of the AVM Fritzbox but couldn't stretch to the price: the company is launching a new, simpler model with the ISDN functions removed and a much lower price. The Fritzbox WLAN 3370 includes 802.11N networking, and should cost around £115 - it'll be available in a few months.

4) Powerful Programs

Although Cebit includes hall upon hall of new computer hardware, there are also dozens of software vendors showing off their new tools. As we reported previously, security firm Kaspersky Lab used Cebit to launch its new PURE antivirus product - read our story on that here.

Another clever new tool could be found on the Laplink stand. The company is adding a new feature to its PCMover software called the PCMover Image Assistant. This allows users to move both programs and files from a hard disk image to a new PC: so, for example, if you have an image backup of a Windows XP computer, and that fails, you can use the tool to move your programs onto a new Windows 7 PC without having to first reinstall XP. As well as appearing in future versions of PCMover, it'll be included with some disk imaging tools from O&O.

5) New and Unusual

From USB keys in every imaginable shape to foldable pianos to somewhat tasteless computer accessories (don't ask) there's all manner of odd goods on show at Cebit. Some look downright awful, but then there are a few unusual products that caught our eye. Thermaltake's Tt eSports brand may have a very strange name - that extra "t" is not a typing error - but its new keyboard might appeal to gamers or workaholics: reach around the back and there's a small fan that can be clipped onto the top of the keyboard to keep your fingers cool during frantic activities such as gaming or filling in an online self-assessment tax form at the last possible minute. The keys also illuminate in any one of 256 colours.

Also, while Asus and MSI compete to show the biggest range of unusual PCs - from 3D desktops and laptops to concept models and Asus's Bamboo range ("panda friendly", we're assured), there's one computer that really sticks out: the Eee Keyboard.

We saw a prototype at last year's Cebit, but with the finished product due in May this device finally seems to be ready for the market. It has a 5 inch capacitative touchscreen built in, runs Windows XP and can link up to your television via an ultra-wideband transmitter. It uses an Atom N270 processor, 1GB of memory and will be available with 16GB or 32GB of solid state storage - expect to see it on sale for less than £600.

Posted by Tom Royal on March 4, 2010 | Permalink | Comments (1)

The Lindy USB XLR Microphone cable may not have the EQ or pre-amp of my mixer, but it’s ideal for quick projects that only require a single mic, such as podcasts and screencasts.

Setup is laughably simple. Plug a microphone in one end (I used a Behringer Ultravoice XM8500) and plug the other end into a spare USB socket on the computer. Both Windows XP and Windows 7 on my test computers installed the drivers automatically and the microphone was ready to use. It should work with Macs as well.

The one limitation is that it cannot provide the phantom power (48v) required by some condenser microphones, though at this price it’s not an issue.

The sound quality was very good with little background noise.

The cable is 5 metres long and only costs £20, which should leave money left over to spend on a good microphone.

Posted by Tim Smith on February 16, 2010 | Permalink | Comments (0)

A friend has had to send his XBox 360 back to Microsoft for repairs, and the instructions for doing so recommended removing the hard disk first.

I had visions of taking the whole thing apart, as you would for a desktop or notebook PC but was very pleasantly surprised to find that this isn’t the case.

The hard disk fits on the top of the unit and is removed by pressing a button and lifting it from the case. Simple but effective.

Posted by Tim Smith on July 9, 2009 | Permalink | Comments (1)

If you thought the button on the front of the computer and the Ctrl, Alt + Del salute were the only ways to reboot a computer, think again. It’s from a Linux perspective but an interesting read nonetheless.

Posted by Tim Smith on June 22, 2009 | Permalink | Comments (1)

arlier today Nikon released details of its new D5000 digital SLR, a camera that falls in the middle of the company's range of consumer SLR cameras.

At the press conference at the top of central London's Centre Point tower we got our hands on the new model and shot some footage looking out over the streets of London.

As with the previous D90 (to which the new camera bears more than a little resemblance), the D5000 can't auto-focus while it's shooting video, and zooming is also a matter of twisting the zoom ring on the attached lens, just like when shooting still images.

What that means is that shot footage can come out rather shaky, as you can see from the clip, because the photographer is constantly having to reach out in front of the camera to turn the dials.

That aside, the camera looks pretty impressive. It uses the same 12-megapixel image sensor as the D90 and is capable of 4fps stills shooting. The camera costs £720 for the body only or £800 with a kit lens.

Pictures and video courtesy of Olivier Laurent of our sister title the British Journal of Photography.

Read more about the D5000 at the BJP's site.

Posted by Anthony Dhanendran on April 14, 2009 | Permalink | Comments (5)

Once upon a time you had a heatsink on the CPU and that was it, not even a fan. These days it seems that a fan or a heatsink is required for the smallest imaginable flat surface. In fact not even that, as I’ve seen heatsinks for capacitors on some motherboards.

Now, this doesn’t normally cause any problems apart from disapproving stares from co-workers wondering why a small helicopter appears to have been started up in the office.

But there is one big problem. Heatsinks make great hand holds, attractive ones at any rate, even if actually they shouldn’t be used as such. This happened to me the other day when fitting some memory to a computer. It was quite high end so there were the obligatory heatsinks but as they matched the colour of the memory slot I didn’t mind too much. As you can just make out the heat sink rises above the actual circuit board. Ever so slightly but no less significantly.

If you’ve ever changed RAM you’ll know that it requires a little bit of force to get it into the appropriate slot. Being in a slight hurry I just pressed on the first available surface, which happened to be the heatsink.

Turning the computer on produced those dreaded BIOS bleeps indicating a problem with the memory. I took it out and had a look. At first I thought that it was just a case of the heat sink coming away from the chips. Sadly the heatsink had taken the memory chips with it. Not something I can repair.

So there’s my cautionary tale.

Always insert memory by pressing on the circuit board. Not the heatsink. And that probably holds for CPUs as well.

Posted by Tim Smith on April 3, 2009 | Permalink | Comments (10)

I’ve commented before on how I like graphics tablets, so I’ve been very excited to have the opportunity to give the new Wacom Intuos 4, the latest range of professional tablets.

First impressions are very good. It’s hard to explain exactly what it is, but there’s a feeling that it’s just ‘better’ than the Wacom Bamboo that has sat on my desk for the last year or so. The pen is more comfortable and comes with different nibs for simulating felt tips and other pens if you want.

I’ve got the smallest one in the range; not being a designer I don’t really need the extra space. The other difference is that it doesn’t have the coolest feature of the rest of the range, an OLED display by each as you can see in this picture. The display shows what the buttons do.

This is quite impressive by itself but the really cool thing is that the driver can change the button function depending on what software you’re using, and the display changes as well.

The Touch wheel is present on the small one as well and can be used for scrolling or zooming. The middle is a button that cycles between different modes. The wheel doesn’t actually turn, it’s like the iPod wheel and is very useful.

Pricing information: Intuos4 S: £200, Intuos4 M: £330, Intuos4 L: £430 and Intuos4 XL: £700.

Posted by Tim Smith on April 1, 2009 | Permalink | Comments (0)

After spending two days looking mostly at new notebooks and all-in-one PCs, Computeractive spent its final day at Cebit 2009 searching for some interesting new peripheral products. One that caught our eye in particular was this photo frame with a difference: it has a built-in scanner, hidden behind a flip down cover, that can import 6x4" photo prints:



The Skyla Memoir frame has an 8" screen will be on sale from May, and although the price is unconfirmed we expect it to cost less than £200. Skyla is a new brand but the frame is made by Lite-On, a firm well known for its CD, DVD and Blu-ray drives. It also makes the photo frames sold by HP, so it has experience in the area.

Lite-On's other major announcement at the show was LabelTag. Like LightScribe, this technology allows you to label discs using the laser inside your DVD burner, but unlike LightScribe it works on any disc as the text is written on the data side, like this:



The first 24x DVD burners with LabelTag will be available in May.

Another neat product for inside your PC comes from Cool IT Solutions. This company has built an all-in-one water cooling system for PCs that, it claims, is easy to fit: you simply fit it over the processor then mount the radiator unit at the back of the PC using four rubber plugs. We've brightened up this terrible photo taken at the stand so the cooler and two pipes that carry the liquid are more visible:



This "Domino A.L.C" system can be used to keep the processor cool while producing very little noise, and unlike most water cooling products there's no need to fiddle around fitting tubes and pouring liquid: it's all ready to use. It has several cooling modes and a built-in alarm to alert you if anything goes wrong. Expect to pay around £70 for the whole thing.

This ebook reader also caught our eye. It's small, very light and far cheaper than most other ebooks - no date or price has been confirmed, but we spoke to one business that was interested in bringing it over to the UK, so watch this space.



Finally we were exclusively shown one prototype computer that we're not yet able to talk about just yet. We'll bring you more details as soon as we can, but for the moment suffice it to say that there you can expect some really interesting products to appear over the next twelve months.

Posted by Tom Royal on March 6, 2009 | Permalink | Comments (0)

Yesterday we caught up with Asus, so today we went to see the latest products from one of its biggest rivals: MSI. MSI's Wind range of netbooks compete directly against the Asus Eee portables, but the focus at MSI's stand seems a little different: rather than the dozens of netbooks Asus is showing, MSI seems to be focusing on fewer models with more unusual features. Here, for example, is its forthcoming "hybrid" Wind U115:



It may look unremarkable, but there's some interesting technology inside. It uses both a solid state  disk (SSD) and a hard disk, but the hard disk can be disabled at the push of a button. This gives you loads of cheap storage space when you want it, but allows you to save battery power when on the move. MSI claims a battery life of nine hours, and we expect it to cost around £400.

More unusual still is the X-Slim series notebook, which looks a little like a white plastic Macbook Air. We got our hands on an engineering sample to take some photos:



And here it is from the side (note the two USB ports - one more than the Air):



This new "X-Slim" range will initially include two models. The X340 pictured here will use an Intel Core Solo ULV (Ultra Low Voltage) processor and include an HDMI output, and is expected to cost around £800. The X320, however, will use an Atom processor and should come in at between £500 to £600, making it a potentially interesting choice for those who want a really thin and light notebook on a budget. The notebooks will be on shelves in May.

Like Asus, MSI is also creating low cost desktop PCs. Here's the Wind Top AE1900, with a 19" touch screen display, DVD writer and an Atom processor:



It should cost around £600 and will be available by the end of March. Several other models are in the works, including one without the touch screen (the AP1900) as well as 20" and 22" models. A 24" version could appear later this year. Slightly more unusual is this model, the Wind Box DE200:



It has a Blu-Ray drive, HD video output and runs Windows Vista Home Premium - making it an interesting Media Center PC. Expect it in May, but prices are not yet confirmed.

And there are many other interesting products tucked away around the show. Icy Box, makers of hard disk enclosures, was showing a few new media player products that support H.264 video:



This model, the IB-MP309-HW, should appear in March, while one with a slot that accepts a 2.5" hard disk caddy will follow in May. Over in another hall, Zotac have what must be one of the smallest PCs at the whole show:

Posted by Tom Royal on March 4, 2009 | Permalink | Comments (4)

Hannover's Cebit is the world's largest technology fair, and the place where manufacturers from the world over come to show off their latest and greatest products. Computeractive is there too, and today started trekking between the 26 (yes, 26 - our feet hurt already) exhibition halls of the Hannover Messe to find the latest and greatest products. Over the next few days we'll show you what to expect over the coming six months.

One of the most striking stands at the show belongs to Asus. The company is showing off a vast selection of Eee PC notebooks and Eee desktops, not all of which will be available in the UK. A few in particular caught our eye, though. First, the Eee PC 1000HE:

This looks similar to the Eee 1000, but with a new Macbook-like keyboard and a battery that, Asus claims, will run for 9.5 hours - perfect for a full day's work, a long flight or just if you tend to forget to plug your laptop in. It'll arrive in the UK in March, at a price yet to be confirmed.

Other interesting Eee laptops included a tablet:

And this newer, shinier, thinner netbook:

Aside from the mini laptops, Asus was showing off its Lamborghini notebook range - now available in a rather nice ivory white as well as gaudy yellow - and the Eee Keyboard, first shown at CES and now, unfortunately, locked safely away in a cupboard when we attempted to find and photograph it.

We spoke to Asus CEO Jerry Shen, who suggested an interesting future for the Eee computers encompassing both low-cost netbooks and more powerful and featured products.

"We will try to provide more value", he told us. "In the future, when the Eee Top, Eee Box and Eee Keyboard become more popular we will try to separate into two markets".

He denied, though, that the more powerful computers might outgrow the Eee name, saying that "the most important thing for the Eee is "easy"... ease of use is still the key. We still want to keep the soul of the Eee" [in the more featured computers].

One major focus of Cebit 2009 is the environnment, and one of the biggest displays in the "green" hall belongs to Fujitsu-Siemens computers, here to demonstrate its "zero watt PC" - a computer that, unlike most, draws zero watts of power when turned off. A demo unit was on display, complete with power meters for us to examine:

We switched it on and off a few  times and, as you can see, it seems to work quite well - that's the PC power meter in the middle. The zero watt PC will be available from July, in two versions - a desktop and a small form factor PC - at prices to be announced.

Posted by Tom Royal on March 3, 2009 | Permalink | Comments (7)