You probably don't recognise the name Shogun Bros, but you might have seen its first mouse, the Chameleon, in last year's CES coverage. It was the bizarre rodent that could be flipped over and used as a gamepad.
Now the Hong Kong-based company is back with a more serious gaming mouse, the Ballista MK-1, and it's rather impressive.
The curves of the Ballista MK-1 are classic right-handed ergonomics, immediately separating this mouse from the Roccat Lua. There are many other differences too, not least the use of more precise laser tracking as opposed to optical tracking, making the Ballista a much more fully functioning game-centric mouse.
Shogun Bros is new to the UK, and hopefully by the time you read this it will have sorted out distribution over here as well as in the US. It has a neat line in compact mech-switch gaming keyboards too, so I'm welcoming it with open arms.
Precisely
The headline feature for the Ballista MK-1 is that huge 8,200dpi setting, but for me the general performance of the mouse is more interesting. At the top dpi setting I find it too easy to lose my bearings mid-frag - a little jolt of the wrist and you're facing the opposite direction. Still, 5,600dpi is precise and pretty darned rapid. The switching is intuitive too, letting you flick between dpi settings on the fly via a switch by your thumb.
Personally though, it was the smooth tracking of your mouse movements that really warmed me to the Ballista MK-1. Despite the rapid movement that comes with those seriously high dpi settings there was never a time where it felt jerky or twitchy. Fine-grain movements were possible, and smooth tracking shots also became second nature.
I'm not going to say the Ballista suddenly made up for my general lack of twitch-gaming skills, but it certainly made sure that I had nothing else to blame for poor performance but my own dearth of proficiency.
Shogun Bros has also added in a further set of programmable buttons to complement the side-mounted forward/back buttons next to your thumb. These sit by the right mouse button, and are surprisingly easily accessible during battle. It may take a little bit of getting used to their placement, but they become useful accessories when you do.
The added macro creator in the Shogun Bros software is also impressive, allowing a full range of macro recording to be tied into any of the programmable buttons, in five customisable profiles.
Inevitably though, for such an ergonomically designed mouse, the Ballista is going to immediately antagonise the left-handed gamer out there. While you can switch around the primary and secondary buttons easily enough, it's never going to be comfortable to use in the left hand.
But that's obviously only an issue for lefties. For the rest of us the Ballista MK-1 is a nicely designed, well-weighted gaming rodent with incredible precision. It won't suddenly make you the best Planetside gamer in the world, but it does mean that you can't blame your tools.
The 13-inch laptop has gone on leaps and bounds recently, thanks massively to Intel's Ultrabook specifications.
In many ways, a 13-inch laptop is the perfect size for a portable PC; they're not as fiddly and squint-inducing as netbooks, but not as heavy and awkward as a full-on notebook.
And there are plenty of PC and Mac options available, too.
For a broader view, look at our best laptops in the world today. But whatever you do, read on to find our favourite 13-inchers of the past few months in no particular order.
1. MacBook Air 13-inch
In a market becoming densely populated with slim-line laptops from a massive range of manufacturers, Apple still holds the trump card with the MacBook Air. It packs in cutting-edge technology from Intel, along with faster RAM and updated connection ports compared to its predecessor, offering a great experience. The keyboard is excellent (and backlit), the Multi-Touch trackpad works brilliantly, and it's as fast as you like.
The IdeaPad Yoga is all about flexibility (hence the name), offering tablet and laptop all in one. As far as tablet experiences go, a 13-inch screen may seem like overkill, until you're holding it on your lap. And, practically speaking, we love that if you see something in the tablet or other non-laptop modes that merits a deeper dive, you can pull the keyboard out and get busy. Aside from Microsoft's own-brand Surface tablet, this is an ideal flagship device for Microsoft and Windows 8. As much as possible, it takes complete advantage of the Windows 8 environment, particularly the new UI. For now, it's hard to imagine anyone topping a device that can be favourably compared to other laptops as well as tablet convertibles.
Apple's late 2012 13-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display isn't for everyone. Many will baulk at the price, and even those who are willing to pay it should ask themselves whether the small saving and slightly smaller size is enough to recommend the 13-inch Retina notebook over its more powerful 15-inch counterpart, but there's no denying its quality and attractiveness. The Retina screen takes notebook displays to new heights; its Ivy Bridge processors are very powerful; and the new form factor makes it the most portable 13-inch MacBook yet.
This touchscreen Ultrabook was one of the best we saw at IFA this year, thanks to its premium feel. The display is great, with multi-touch and a Full HD 1080p resolution, despite being among the thinnest laptops available. It's light, as well, so will be great for carrying around. When it comes to specs, it's no slouch either, including the latest Intel chips and an SSD for fast running.
The Asus Zenbook Prime UX31A's screen is its big showpiece. It's not just the resolution, but the overall quality. Great colours, excellent viewing angles, good contrast ratio – at 13.3 inches, it's a 1080p masterpiece. Performance is just as speedy as you'd hope for the price, with Windows 7 picking up almost instantly from standby, and even booting barely giving you a wait. Really importantly, it's also comfortable and pleasant to use. The trackpad is good, the keyboard is great, and it's made really well.
This Toshiba Satellite Z930 is a very accomplished Ultrabook – thin, light and powerful enough to handle a wide range of tasks simultaneously. As a work computer, the Toshiba Satellite Z930-10X benefits from the range of connections on offer, including Ethernet, HDMI and three USB ports. At 20mm thick and weighing only 1.1kg, you can easily carry the Toshiba Satellite Z930-10X from home to the office every day without any trouble. As a mobile workstation, it's an excellent purchase.
The Samsung Series 5 Ultra offers excellent value for money, and if you're looking for an Ultrabook on a budget, this is well worth considering. You get 500GB of storage – much more than most SSD-based Ultrabooks – and it offers an excellent keyboard and trackpad. Usability is something we've come to expect from Samsung after testing many of its laptops, and it's certainly the highlight here. Probably the biggest thing in its favour is the price, though – it's great balance of features and budget.
We can't help but be stunned by the look and feel XPS 13 and readily admit that it's jaw-droppingly attractive. The footprint is actually similar to an 11-inch laptop, so it's even smaller and less intrusive than you might expect. When it comes to performance, it's pretty typical for a thin and light laptop, but that means fast boots and near-instant use from sleep. Dell's produced something that's both good for business and personal use, even if it's not the cheapest out there.
The Sony S Series 13P is a shining example of Sony's ability to craft great laptops, and it's practically flawless as an ultraportable business machine. Both the portability and usability are excellent here. So much so, that the excellent specification almost fades into the background – there's a Blu-ray player, Thunderbolt, Fingerprint scanner and backlit keyboard, as well as SSD and a 203 minute battery life. On a chassis this size, that's all absolutely exceptional.
The Lenovo IdeaPad S300 isn't quite an Ultrabook, but – aside from its lack of a fast drive – it has much the same appeal. It's got a low price tag for this kind of laptop, but Lenovo hasn't scrimped on the important things, so it has a pretty good range of connections, including a handy USB 3.0 port, HDMI-out and the latest generation Wi-Fi adaptor for faster wireless speeds. It certainly looks the business, and the build quality looks as if it came from a laptop costing twice the price. It may not be the slimmest or lightest, but it is very attractive, well-built, very nice to use for long periods of time and it does have a decent amount of lick underneath the hood, thanks to its Ivy Bridge processor.
Asus now regularly turns out gleaming high-end machines that we can't take our eyes off, and the Zenbook UX32A is one such machine. The design and usability are great, from the slickness of Windows 7 with the Ivy Bridge processor to the great keyboard with the subtle backlight. Like its predecessor, the Asus Zenbook UX32A is also slim and light enough to carry around all day and the range of connections, especially the three USB 3.0 ports, is excellent. If you're on a budget and looking to make the step up from a cumbersome laptop to a gleaming new Ultrabook, you won't find many better options than this one.
The MacBook Pro is a formidable machine. The new processors and improved graphical capabilities give it a considerable power boost over its predecessors, and the USB 3.0 ports make available a wealth of already-released high-speed storage peripherals. The 13-inch MacBook Pro is ideal for those who need a little more configurability and storage than the MacBook Air can offer, but also need a very portable machine. Intel's latest chips give it some serious performance, and it's hugely usable, with an excellent keyboard and trackpad.
Sony's entry to the Ultrabook market was long overdue, but the Sony Vaio T13 is a fantastic looking ultra-portable computer that is perfectly suited for somebody looking for a day-to-day media-friendly laptop. The build quality is so sturdy and strong that we were never concerned when it came to carrying the Sony Vaio T13 around, even without a protective sleeve. It's also got the speed you'd expect from an Ultrabook, coming on from sleep almost instantly.
The HP Folio 13 is really more aimed at the business market than the home user, swapping the likes of a powerful CPU for stability, reliability and security. And yet, thanks to the Samsung SSD, real world performance and responsiveness is still good. It's very solidly constructed, too, and the tactile experience reeks of quality. That's especially true of the backlit keyboard, which is a pleasure to use. The battery life is solid as well, meaning that while this isn't a showy Ultrabook, it's a solid choice.
As Toshiba's first Ultrabook, the Z830 is an excellent computer, booting quickly and performing well. At 1.1kg, it's unbelievably light, even by Ultrabook standards. Likewise, the 13.3-inch screen is one of the thinnest we've seen. An SSD offers plenty of speed, and battery life is excellent. It also offers Intel's WiDi wireless display technology, which is still a fairly rare feature.
The Samsung Series 9 is a fantastic-looking laptop that doesn't sacrifice usability, like many ultra-portable laptops. But aside form the design, we loved the speed and responsiveness of the system, thanks to the SSD drive. The speedy resume from sleep, and the ability to be in a fully functional version of Windows in just 10 seconds makes the Series 9 hugely versatile.
Securing your data in an increasingly insecure world is no easy task. Backing up computer data,installing software that protects you from identity theft are just a few things we do to secure our data. Think about it. Why wouldn’t you want to protect your Android Phone? It’s not only if you physically lose your phone with ALL the data on it. The pictures, emails, contacts, text messages, music, video. You all know that data is not so secure even when the phone is sitting in the palm of your hand. Below, we explore this security issue with real – life examples and give a few recommendations on apps to protect the data you need. At work. In life.
Here are a few common scenarios that we all can relate to:
You’re sitting in a cafe waiting for a co-worker and the media player app (at least that’s what you thought it was) you just downloaded while on the train to work just started sending SMS messages to all your contacts (Including International) racking up a huge phone bill.
A hacker sends an email or text which appears to be from a trusted source, like your mobile carrier. The message urges you to click on a link, which if you do, infects the device. At this point the hacker gains complete control of your phone, enabling them to eavesdrop on conversations or to monitor the location of your device. Talk about invasion of privacy!
Bitdefender, the creator of award-winning, internationally certified Internet Security and Antivirus software revealed in a recent study on mobile security, that there were over 100 new malware families detected in 2011, as compared to the 3 to 4 malware versions in 2010.
Below is a list of apps we think you’ll find handy. Like any of them? Have any experience with them? Any stories to share? Sharing is appreciated and your recommendations might just make the next list. Please leave any comments below.
This app provides free security protection, backs up your contacts and has a location feature for phones and tablets. The app also includes a premium version upgrade for $2.99 a month or $29.99 a year which gives you added features such as safe browsing, privacy advisor, a backup of pictures, your call history and remote locking and wiping.
This app allows you to lock any application on your phone: Message, Gmail, Photo, SMS. Any app you choose. You can choose to lock sensitive apps only and leave the rest unlocked.
There are many Twitter apps on Android - and Twitter itself shook up the scene with the launch of its own-brand app - but we're sticking withSeesmic. Offering support for multiple accounts, a home page widget showing latest tweets and an incredibly slick and professional design, it's one of the finest examples of app development out there today.
Facebook for Android is lacking in features compared to Facebook itself, but a recent update added Inbox support to the Android app, finally allowing its users to communicate in almost real time. The app's fast and stable, with a simplicity that reminds you of the old days when using Facebook used to be bearable.
3. National Rail Enquiries
After the original free, third-party National Rail apps went paid-for, National Rail has finally brought out its own free app. National Rail Enquiriesenables you to check live train times, plan your journeys, and get notifications of delays. On first use, the app prompts you to enter a home and work train station, and then you can use the 'Get me home' button to see the next available trains.
4. UK Jobs
Hey, times are hard and you've got to pay for your oppressive monthly mobile phone contract somehow. Offering a fully searchable database of current UK job vacancies, UK Jobs, which pulls in its data from independent employment site 1job.co.uk is, a slightly cumbersome but useful and non-governmental tool.
5. Hotmail/Outlook
Microsoft has teamed up with developer SEVEN to offer an official Hotmail app for Android, which gives users a simple, clean interface, push notification support and even lets you manage multiple Hotmail accounts from within the app. If your email needs haven't yet been assimilated by Google, it's a useful option. It's since been rebranded as the Outlook app, in keeping with Microsoft's changes to its mail site.
A stunning app that renders Patrick Moore obsolete, by using your phone's orientation tools to give you an accurate representation of the stars and planets on your screen. Point your phone at the sky, then learn what constellations are visible and if that's a UFO or just Venus. Google Sky Map even works indoors, if you're not keen on getting cold.
7. Layar
The stunning augmented reality app Layar has recently gone commercial, adding an online shop that allows users to buy AR content such as travel guides, local house price apps and much more. But you're still able to use the numerous free Layers to pop data up over real-world locations, delivering a satisfying futuristic experience.
8. Foursquare
The social media darling Foursquare is represented in fine form on Android, with the Google app offering easy one-click check-ins, integrated Google Maps for a seamless Google-branded experience and home page shortcut options to all your favourite places.
9. WordPress for Android
WordPress for Android started out as independent creation wpToGo, before WordPress decided it liked it so much it bought it up - hiring the maker to develop it in-house. It's very feature-packed, with the latest version offering full integration with other apps, letting you spin content and send it directly to the app for easy updating. It could do with more image insertion tools, though.
10. Google Goggles
A bit of a novelty, in that Google Goggles lets you take photos and have Google analyse them and come back with a search results page for what it thinks you're looking at. However, the app's main use is as a QR code reader, which lets you scan barcodes for quick access to apps and whatever data people choose to embed in the odd little data squares.
Yes, the same Winamp from a decade ago. It's had an Android app for some time, with recent updates adding support for iTunes, Mac syncing, plenty of music streaming options, new release lists and Shoutcast integration for radio support. It's a fine, free media player.
12. Samsung ChatOn
There are plenty of messaging tools on Android, but Samsung's beats many of them by offering multi-platform support - with clients even available for older Samsung non-smart feature phones. It could be the ideal way to keep in touch with an out of touch relative. More "with it" users will be able to use its drawing, image sharing and social networking features.
13. Skyfire 3.0
The USP of the Skyfire browser is that it supports Flash content, popping up a little window when it detects an embedded YouTube video or something similar. The actual Flash business is handled by Skyfire's server, which does all the computery stuff, then sends the file to your handset. A bit clunky on slower Android phones, but it works like a dream on models with faster processors.Despite the arrival of Flash with Android 2.2, this is still relevant for those on phones and Android versions not able to support Adobe's Flash Player.
14. BBC News
While the BBC's Android iPlayer app is a bit on the disappointing side, the corporation's BBC News app is much more refined. There's a stylish grid-based front page, plus you're able to swipe from left to right to switch between stories in your chosen specialist category. A recent update also added a couple of Home screen widgets, too, plus the ability to submit your own news tips, as if the BBC was a small blog clamouring for content.
15. RAC Traffic
An official production of the motoring organisation, RAC Traffic is dead simple - it guesstimates your location via the mobile signal, then pops up the current traffic alerts for your area. It's much better than having to listen to the radio for the odd update about arterial blockages.
16. Swype
The odd line-drawing alternate keyboard Swype is a love-it or hate-it kind of thing, with the significant amount of re-learning required to make the most of it quite offputting to some users. Once you're familiar with the idea, though, it's genius - with advanced prediction options further speeding your line-typing. Swype is not available through the Android Market - the only way to install is is via a direct download from the maker.
17. Evernote
After the Android version of Dropbox, the next best solution for keeping all your 'business' in one place is Evernote - which lets you stash and sync all your text notes, voice memos and files on your phone and access them through a desktop computer.
18. Flickr
As well as supporting Flickr uploading, this app also lets you capture photos from within the app and comes complete with a set of filters, so you can hipsterise your life with ease. It supports sharing with Twitter and Facebook as well, so your other, non-photo-nerd friends can enjoy the results of today's snapping session.
19. Last.fm
The subscription-based thrills of Last.fm open up a world of music streaming on your mobile. You have to 'buy in' to the odd Last.fm way of organising things and suggesting new music, but if you're easily led and not restricted by bandwidth it's a superb tool.
20. Google Maps Navigation
An absolute must-get. As long as you have Android 1.6 or above, the latest update to Google Maps introduces turn-by-turn voice navigation, simultaneously devastating the satnav industry while boosting the in-car dashboard dock/charger accessory scene. Route calculations are done at the outset of your trip, minimising data transfer en route and keeping you on target even when the GPS signal drops. It's amazing, it works, and it's free.
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Securing your data in an increasingly insecure world is no easy task. Backing up computer data,installing software that protects you from identity theft are just a few things we do to secure our data. Think about it. Why wouldn’t you want to protect your Android Phone? It’s not only if you physically lose your phone with ALL the data on it. The pictures, emails, contacts, text messages, music, video. You all know that data is not so secure even when the phone is sitting in the palm of your hand. Below, we explore this security issue with real – life examples and give a few recommendations on apps to protect the data you need. At work. In life.
