PC Advisor January 2017 (Issue 258)

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Google, Apple and Amazon announce new products
t's been quite a month for product launches, and this issue of
PC Advisor is packed with everything you need to know about
them. From Google's new virtual reality headset to its voiceactivated assistant, you'll find all the details in our feature on page 76.
But while Google's Home speaker is yet to launch, Amazon's Echo (and
Echo Dot) are already on sale. It's one of the most exciting new gadgets in
years and thanks to lessons learned during the time it has been on sale in
the US, the UK version is a much more polished and useful system. What
can it do? Just turn to page 48 to find out.
You'll also find reviews of Apple's iPhone 7 (page 29), Google's Pixel XL
(page 77) and Sony's new Xperia XZ and X Compact (pages 32 and 34).
Again, there's something for everyone here: if you can't afford or don't want a
flagship phone, check out the best budget phones to buy on page 130.
Things haven't quite gone to plan for Samsung with the Note 7 (page 10). It

initially recalled the first batch of phones and replaced them because some
batteries were catching fire or exploding, but further problems with batteries
in replacement handsets have led it to pull the Note 7 off the shelves and
completely discontinue the phone.
As well as new phones, we've hand-picked four of the best-value laptops
you can buy for around £550. At this mid-price you can expect many fewer
compromises than a true budget laptop, and the models from Lenovo, Acer,
Asus and MSI are all great buys. To find the best for you, turn to page 64.
The MSI is an entry-level gaming laptop, but there's no denying you get
more for your money with a PC. In fact, upgrading your PC's graphics card
can be an inexpensive way to boost performance and avoid having to buy a
whole new machine. We explain how to do this on page 112 and how the
latest generation of monitors can make games look even better (page 101).
We also dissect a graphics card on page 88, so you can see how they work.
Finally, don't miss our beginner's guide to Windows' PowerShell on page
106. Invest a little time in this powerful tool and you'll discover that the
command line can still be useful in 2016.

What do you think of this issue of PC Advisor? We welcome feedback - email
Jim Martin at and include the issue
number in the subject heading

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ISSUE 259 ON SALE 7 DECEMBER 2016

January 2017 www.pcadvisor.co.uk 3


3 CONTENTS

FEATURES & GROUP TESTS

NEWS & ANALYSIS

COVER

6 Latest technology news
14 New
Windows
preview
15 BBC's

FEATURE

10

micro:bit

computer
16 Intel's revenue soars
17 Nadella talks LinkedIn
18 Hackers

create

LJ-

IoT

REGULARS & OFFERS
3 Welcome
20 Subscribe

64 GROUP TEST:
Best

119 Software downloads zone 146
Outbox

value

96 Why you should try Linux 101 Glaptops

Sync vs FreeSync 104 Meet Pixel

76 Google's big launch 88
How graphics cards work

TEST

REVIEWS
CENTRE

Reader Software Downloads
Zone
Latest Windows Downloads

0

Cyt«rUnk PhotoCMrector 7 Ultra

0>9«m*. (OttM M Ml yeMT *9*4) tMM

imwiMi i a***.'.

CyberUnk PhotoOtrwtor 7

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22
25
27
29

32
34
36
39
42
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46
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57
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Chuwi HiBook Pro Chuwi Hi10
Jumper EZBook Air Apple
iPhone 7 Sony Xperia XZ Sony
Xperia X Compact Xiaomi
Redmi Note 4 Xiaomi Redmi
Pro Huawei Nova IMO S
Amazon Fire HD 8 Amazon
Echo Apple Watch Series 2
Synology RT1900ac Yi 4K
Action Cam Devolo WiFi ac
Repeater Griffin Survivor
Omnicharge DJI Osmo Mobile
Bitdefender Total Security 2017
Battlefield 1

BUDGET LAPTOPS
66 Acer S 13 S5-371 68 Asus
ZenBook UX310UA 70 Lenovo
Yoga 11 710 72 MSI GL626QC 065UK

6
0
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2

50
34
4 www.pcadvisor.co.uk January 2017


CONTENTS S

TEST

ON THE COVER

64

CENTRE

119

TOP 5 CHARTS:

BUYER'S GUIDE
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PC ADVISOR
BEST
VALUE
LAPTOPS
________ -

The new generation
powerful and portable

moMioa

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OFull HD screens ©
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Windows 10

GOOGLE'S NEW
GADGETS

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more

REVIEWED!

AMAZON ECHO

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for every room of your home

76

48

29, 32, 77

121 Best laptops
122 Budget laptops
123 Ultraportable laptops
124 Chromebooks
125 Gaming laptops
126 Gaming PCs
128 All-in-one PCs
129 Smartphones
130 Budget smartphones
131 Phablets
132 Best tablets
134 Smartwatches
135 Activity trackers
136 Budget printers/Printers
137 Wireless routers/
Powerline adaptors
138 NAS drives/External hard
drives
139 SSDs/Smart thermostats
140 Budget graphics cards/
Graphics cards

141 4 K flat-panel TVs/
4K flat-panel displays
142 e-book
readers/Media
streamers
143 Games console/
Budget portable speakers
144 Budget

106 Master Windows' PowerShell
111Shut down a PC at a set time
112 Install a graphics card
115 Know when your SSD will die
116 Work smarter in Excel

January 2017 www.pcadvisor.co.uk 5


2 NEWS
Keep up to date with PC Advisor news:
» pcadvisor.co.uk/news » twitter.com/pcadvisor
facebook.com/pcadvisor » youtube.com/pcadvisor

Microsoft announces slew of
new products at Windows event

CHRIS
MARTIN

Brad Chacos reveals everything, from Windows 10 Creators Update to the Surface Mouse and keyboards

Microsoft's recent big event included plenty of
new Surface hardware, but nevertheless, it's
easy to see why the company called this a
Windows event rather than a Surface shindig.
Windows and devices chief Terry Myerson
(pictured) kicked things off with a tantalising
glimpse of the features that will debut with the
new Windows 10 Creators Update, scheduled
to release in the spring. The rest of the event
was dedicated to new Surface gear designed
specifically to marry powerful, thoughtful
hardware with the best of those new software
features.

Windows 10 Creators Update
As we said, the freshly revealed Windows 10
Creators Update, scheduled to arrive in early
2017, kicked off the show. The update is built
around three key pillars: the creation and
manipulation of 3D content, sharing your Xbox
Live gaming experiences and easily
communicating with others.

Surface Studio
Microsoft's first-ever desktop PC is the
paragon for all those Windows ideals. The
Surface Studio all-in-one mixes stunning
physical design and impressive internal
hardware, focused on creating the best

6 www.pcadvisor.co.uk/news January 2017

experience possible for professionals and
content creators. From an ultra-slim
4500x3000-pixel screen with 'True Scale'
1:1 image recreation, to the ability to lay at a
20-degree angle for natural positioning while
sketching, to the sixth-generation (Skylake)
Core i7 CPU and Nvidia GPU powering it all,
the Surface Studio is laser-focused on helping
you get things done. (And showing

off Windows in the best possible.) Prices start
at $3,000 - at the time of writing no UK price
had been announced.

Surface Dial
The Surface Studio's content-friendly design
and Windows 10's new content creation tools
are amplified by the Surface Dial, a radical
puck that can control Microsoft's new PC. It's
primarily designed to work in conjunction with
Microsoft's Surface Pen. Priced at $100, the
UK price has not yet been revealed.
The Surface Dial doesn't have any
buttons. Instead, using it reveals an interface
wheel customised for specific applications,
with selections occurring as you twist the
device back and forth. You may cycle through
tool-tip brushes in an image-editing app, for

instance, or rewind and fast-forward through
written notes in Office. A virtual version of the
Dial appears even if you don't place the puck
directly onscreen, letting you zoom, scroll and
adjust various options such as screen
brightness and volume.
Support will be baked right into Windows
10, and the accessory will be compatible with
the Surface Pro 3, Pro 4 and Surface Book.


contract”call

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Professional, your business won’t miss them.
It’s the mobile service that takes all of the advanced features of a phone
system and lets you use them on your mobile, so incoming calls can be
seamlessly directed to the right person with the right expertise.


files onto these contacts to immediately share
items, or click the contact to interact in a
specific app such as Skype or Xbox Live.

Live PC game streaming

Surface Book i7
Handily enough, Microsoft also revealed a
newer, more powerful version of the Surface

Book, the aptly named Surface Book i7.
It comes with a sixth-generation Skylake Intel
Core i7 processor and an Nvidia GTX 965M
GPU to deliver twice the power of the most
potent original Surface Book.
The Redmond-based firm has also boosted
the Book i7's battery life to a claimed 15
hours, despite the additional firepower, thanks
to a redesigned cooling system and, well,
more batteries.
Microsoft revealed that prices will start at
$2,400, with UK cost to be announced.

Paint 3D
The Windows 10 Creators Update adds Paint
3D, a Windows Store app designed from the
ground up to create 3D images even out of 2D
pictures. The program includes numerous
tools for editing three-dimensional images,
and also integrates with a new Windows 10
3D-scanning app dubbed Windows Capture
3D, which allows you to digitize real-world
objects.
Microsoft also plans to introduce a
'community' hub on Remix3D.com for shared
3D images, plus it'll let you drag your
creations out of Minecraft. Office

8 www.pcadvisor.co.uk/news January 2017

apps will also support 3D images after the
Windows 10 Creators Update rolls out.
You have to wonder how many nonprofessionals are interested in 3D image
creation, but there's no doubting that
Paint 3D looks mighty nifty - and like a
perfect match for the Surface Studio and
Surface Dial's capabilities.

Windows Holographic VR headsets
You'll be able to view those 3D creations
through Microsoft's own HoloLens, or via an
onslaught of Windows Holographiccompatible VR headsets reportedly coming
from Dell, HP, Lenovo, Asus and Acer.
“These headsets will be the first and only to
ship with inside-out, six-degree-of- freedom
sensors," Microsoft's Terry Myerson revealed.
“Unlike every other VR headset on the market
today, this means there will be zero need for
a separate room. Zero need for a complicated
setup."

My People
Microsoft wants to make your friends the
centre of your Windows experience with My
People, a feature that borrows from Android
and iOS. In the Creators Update, five
important contacts will appear as profile
images in your taskbar. You'll be able to drop

Microsoft is muscling in on Twitch. The

Windows 10 Creators Update adds the ability
to easily start broadcasting your Xbox Live
games via the OS's Game DVR toolbar,
sending notifications out to your friends to let
them know when you're online. Once they hop
into your stream they'll be able to chat with
you, as with every other streaming service out
there. The service is powered by Microsoft's
recent Beam acquisition and looks simple to
use. It's easy to envision Windows 10 Game
DVR livestreaming becoming popular on
consoles, but the firm faces an uphill battle on
PCs, where Twitch and tools such as Nvidia
Shadowplay and OBS already enjoy massive
user bases.

Custom tournaments and fancy audio
The firm is tying console and PC users closer
together with custom tournaments powered by
Xbox Live's Arena platform.
Next year, you'll be able to create your own
custom gaming tournaments, controlling
everything from the games, to the rules, to the
players and the start times. Previously, Area
tournaments were only created by Microsoft
and its official partners.
The Xbox One S, which is itself powered
by Windows 10, is adding support for
bitstreaming Blu-ray audio passthrough and
Dolby Atmos. Soon, those 4K videos and

games will sound glorious.

Surface Mouse and keyboards
The niche Surface Dial isn't the only Studio
peripheral Microsoft announced, though none
of the others made it onto the stage. The firm
quietly launched a Surface Mouse and a pair
of desktop Surface keyboards to complement
its premium all-in-one PC. All three match the
grey aesthetic of Microsoft first-ever desktop
PC. The Studio includes a Surface Mouse and
basic Surface Keyboard, however.


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s

News

Samsung kills off the Galaxy Note 7 to end the
exploding battery debacle
Samsung's problems worsen after reports of replacement Note 7s catching fire. John Ribeiro reports

SAMSUNG NOTE 7 ADVISORY
SAMSUNG GALAXY NOTE 7 IS NOT
ALLOWED TO BE CHECKED IN OR USED

ONBOARDISWTTCHED ON OR CHARGED)

01 Oct 201* Count*' Etiwtk-tn »<• bo

daiMd

*J mlm b»lor»

1

A sign at Singapore's Changi Airport advising
against using a Note 7 on planes

Samsung has announced that it has stopped
production of its Galaxy Note 7. The phone
had been plagued with battery problems,
which caused fires and even explosions. The
company confirmed it is stopping production,
a day after it had advised carriers and retail
partners worldwide not to sell or exchange
replacement Note 7s.
Phone providers, including Vodafone, EE
and Three, had already announced that they
would stop offering exchanges after reports of
fires and explosions involving replacement
handsets. These included a report of a Note 7
catching fire on a Southwest Airlines flight.
Samsung had offered to give customers
the replacement phones as part of a recall of
around one million Note 7 smartphones. Other
countries, including the US and Canada, had

announced similar recalls.
It became evident that matters were
getting more difficult for the tech giant

10 www.pcadvisor.co.uk/news January 2017

when it was widely reported that Samsung
was considering temporarily halting
production of the replacement Note 7s. A
recent statement from the firm said it was,
"temporarily adjusting the Galaxy Note 7
production schedule in order to take further
steps to ensure quality and safety matters".
Samsung has not disclosed which product
line will replace the Note 7. It appears that
customers will be able to get a refund or a
Galaxy S7 or S7 edge.
"Samsung is doing what's needed here by
containing the damage to the Note 7 before
consumer fear spreads to other Samsung

products. Killing such an otherwisepromising product line is painful but perhaps
necessary for the long-term health of the
company," explained Bryan Ma, vice
president for devices research at IDC.
The firm still has its flagship smartphones,
the S7 and S7 edge, that users can turn to,
said Ma, who added that if people are willing
to switch from Android to iOS, it could well
benefit Apple. "Users that want to stick to

Android have plenty of other Android
flagships to choose from, be it from LG, HTC,
Sony, Huawei or even Google's recently
launched Pixels."

It became evident that matters were getting more difficult for
the tech giant when it was widely reported it was considering
temporarily halting production of the replacement Note 7s


News ^2

Report: Google to sell its
own Android Wear watch in
early 2017
Google is just getting started when it comes
to selling its own hardware. A report from the
usually accurate Evan Blass points to a pair
of Google-built watches that will come early
next year. We've heard this before, but we
have a lot more context now after attending
the recent ‘Made by Google' hardware event,
where the company showed off the Pixel,
Daydream View headset, Chromecast Ultra,
Google Wifi and Google Home (see page 76).

Something new to wear
The tenor of the gathering and the new shift
by Google told us this wasn't a one-off event.
The firm has installed Rick Osterloh, the

former head of Motorola's mobile division, as
the new senior vice president of hardware.
There's a dedicated Made by Google site
(madeby.google.com) that shows off all the
gear, further solidifying the idea that hardware
will be a major part of its strategy going
forward. Nearly every speaker at the event
talked about the company's services and its
desire to build a ‘personal Google' for every
user require a deep integration between
hardware and software.
Given all of this, a watch makes perfect
sense, particularly if it's high-end and offers
the deep software integration we've heard so
much about. Android Wear has a lot of
catching up to do with the Apple Watch,
though. For Google to compete, it needs to
build a device that targets the same type of
features that Apple is banking on to drive
customers to the Series 2 watch (see page
50): a much brighter screen, GPS tracking,

Google watches

and waterproofing. Those, combined with a
lot of software innovation related to fitness
tracking, make the Apple Watch an ideal
companion for the health-conscious.
Other smartwatchmakers have hit the
pause button this year, likely given the delay

in Android Wear 2.0. It looks like a reboot of
sorts is wisely on the way.

A new tablet?
There were rumours earlier this year that a
Huawei-built tablet was coming. But it

was nowhere to be found at the ‘Made by
Google' event. And the rumour mill has gone
dark. It's all rather odd. The search giant
desperately needs a new, Googley tablet.
There aren't many compelling Android
tablets out there. Plus, a new Pixel tablet
would give the firm the chance to get the new
Google Assistant out into more hands and
further drive people into its new hardware
ecosystem. It's certainly one of the rumours
that we'll want to watch as 2016 wraps up
and we turn towards the new year.

For Google to compete, it needs to build a watch that
targets the same type of features that Apple is banking
on to drive customers to its new Series 2 watch

THE RESULTS SPEAK
FOR THEMSELVES

IMA
GE:
AND

ROI
D
POL
ICE


News

The Nintendo Switch is a radical,
Nvidia-powered console/handheld
Brad Chacos reveals the latest on Nintendo's upcoming console

Nintendo has finally pulled back the curtain
on its long-rumoured NX gaming console,
and well, it's not named the NX. And it's not
really a console - but it is, kind of? Nintendo's
new device is interesting.
The Nintendo Switch blends together
traditional consoles and portable gaming
handhelds by pairing a Sony PSP-like slate
with the Nintendo Switch Dock. When you're
at home, the handheld slides into the dock
and you play games on your TV, just as you
would with any other console.
The Switch appears to double down on
Nintendo's dual strengths of portable design
and damned fun games. And while AMD

Nintendo will offer an optional
traditional Switch Pro Controller...

12 www.pcadvisor.co.uk/news January 2017


News ^2

If you want to take your games on the road, the Joy-Con
controllers on both sides of the Grip slide off. You can
then slip them onto the edges of the slate and yank it
out of the dock. Now the Nintendo Switch is a gaming
handheld, not a console

You can pull those Joy-Con
controllers off the edges and prop
the Switch upright thanks to a
stand on the back, using them as
wireless gamepads instead

won over the Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and
Wii U with its PC-like chips, the Switch turns
to Nvidia's mobile Tegra chips - which also
drive the superb Nvidia Shield console - for
its power, buoyed by custom software and
hardware-accelerated video playback That
helps Nintendo avoid a graphical arms race
with the beefed-up, 4K-ready

You can also use the two Joy-Cons
as separate controllers in simple
multiplayer games, allowing two

people to easily leap into a quick
game of Mario Kart or NBA Live

Microsoft Xbox Scorpio and Sony PlayStation
4 Pro, but is that portable focus enough to
make Nintendo's new console relevant? You
could buy only Nintendo games on the
comparatively underpowered Wii U as well,
and it's been a major flop.
More questions abound. How much
will the Nintendo Switch cost? Do both

controllers come with the system? Will the
handheld get a graphical boost from the
dock? Will third-party developers earnestly
support the Nintendo Switch after
abandoning the company's last console? Is
the tablet's screen touch-sensitive? We'll
have all the answers to these and more, the
closer we draw to its March 2017 launch. J

The results speak for themselves
Independent tests are based on
comparisons with competitive
laser printers

epson.co.uk/workforcepro

_ UQUU

LESS C02 THAN LASERS
WITH WORKFORCE PRO
For more information visit www.epson.co.uk/inkjetsaving

Technology in harmony with ecology

(!) EPSON

EXCEED YOUR VISION


S NEWSANALYSIS

* New Windows 10 preview
adds an iPhone Live
Photos rival, Windows Ink
improvements
Oh, and it includes a Ubuntu update, too. (It's still weird writing that). Brad Chacos reports
he relentless march of Windows
10 Insider previews continues
with the release of build 14951
for PCs and Windows Phones. This latest
glimpse at the future of the operating
system reveals several interesting tweaks,
including a Microsoftian rival to the
iPhone's Live Photos.
If you install Windows Insider build 14951
on a Surface Book, Surface Pro 4, Surface
Pro 3 or Surface 3, its revamped Camera app
can “extend your still captures with a snippet

of video," writes Windows Insider boss Dona
Sarkar. After you've enabled 'Capture living
images' in the Camera app's settings, the
feature kicks in automatically whenever the
subject of your picture's moving when you
click the Capture button.
Speaking of which, those capture buttons
receive a higher-contrast makeover in this
preview build, and you can dive into Camera's
settings directly from inside the app. (Camera
interface tweaks abound in this build.) You'll
also be able to set a timer from the Camera
dashboard and use the spacebar to capture
images on PCs.
Windows Insider build 14951 also adds
new Windows Ink improvements for
manipulating those images after they're taken.
Windows 10's native Photos app picked up Ink
support via a new Draw button, and it records
your scribbling steps so you can share your
marked-up pictures as videos if you'd like.
The build also introduces Windows Ink
'Stencils', starting with a new protractor tool
(pictured) that, according to Sarkar, “combines
functions of both protractor and compass into
one - now you can draw an arc or a complete
circle of an arbitrary size with little effort".
Windows Ink's ruler now displays the
numerical value of angles, as well.
The recent Windows 10 preview build

introduced advanced customisation for
precision touchpad gestures, and this fresh
release builds upon them with volume control
options and the ability to tie touchpad
gestures to the keyboard shortcuts of your
choosing.

14 www.pcadvisor.co.uk/news January 2017

Ink will allow you to add
comments
to
your
photos

The Windows Subsystem for Linux
has been updated from Ubuntu 14.04 to
Ubuntu 16.04, as well. For a full list of
tweaks, improvements, and known issues

in Windows 10 Insider build 14951 these releases always pack in a lot make sure you read Microsoft's
announcement
post
at
tinyurl.com/zr8mpk3. J

After you've enabled 'Capture living images' in the Camera
app's settings, the feature kicks in whenever the subject of
your picture's moving when you click the Capture button

NEWSANALYSIS

E

BBC eyes worldwide
expansion for tiny
educational computer

The Micro:bit Educational Foundation and the Raspberry Pi Foundation both support the teaching of
coding worldwide, but using very different computers, writes By Peter Sayer
new educational foundation hopes
to introduce children worldwide to
coding, using a tiny single-board
computer that has changed the way coding
is taught in schools across the country.
You'll have heard of the Raspberry Pi, a
£29 computer the size of a credit card that,
with the addition of a monitor, keyboard and
mouse, can stand in for a desktop machine.
But this isn't about that. It's about the
UK's other single-board educational
computer, the micro:bit. This is smaller and
cheaper than the Raspberry Pi, and it has a
built-in keyboard and display, albeit consisting
of just two buttons and 25 red LEDs arranged
in a five-by-five grid. It was developed for the
BBC, which gave a million of them to schools.
Whereas the Raspberry Pi resembles a lowpowered, low-priced PC, the micro:bit is more
like an embedded computer, encouraging

children to develop their own takes on the
Internet of Things.
The tiny computer has already found
favour in Iceland, Norway, Singapore, and the
US, and now the BBC and its partners in the
project have created the Micro:bit Educational
Foundation to promote its use in other
countries.
The broadcaster will continue to support
micro:bit users in the UK, but the independent
foundation “will also work to enthuse and
support young people on a global scale as
well," wrote the BBC's head of learning,
Sinead Rocks. It will also have support from
ARM, Microsoft, Nominet, Samsung
Electronics and the Institution of Engineering
and Technology.

micro:bit

single-board computer for a new
educational program that began in 2015

The Raspberry Pi Foundation, founded in
2009, has a similar mission.
For ARM, at least, the story has come full
circle. The company was spun out of Acorn
Computers, which created the microcomputer
used in the BBC's first educational computing
initiative, in 1982. After developing several

generations of the BBC Microcomputer, Acorn
began designing its own processor, then
known as the Acorn RISC Machine. Now a
distant relative of that processor, the 32-bit
ARM Cortex M0, powers

the micro:bit. It runs at 16MHz, stores code
in 16kb of RAM, and communicates via a
Micro-USB port, a Bluetooth Low Energy
module, and three input-output ports that
can carry analogue or digital signals.
The original BBC Micro, in contrast, had
an eight-bit Motorola 6502 processor, 16- or
32KB of RAM, an analogue input, and
network, video, audio, and printer ports. Its
32KB of ROM contained a BASIC
interpreter, and external storage was on
audio cassette. J

The micro:bit is smaller and cheaper than the Pi, and it has
a built-in keyboard and display, albeit consisting of just two
buttons and 25 red LEDs arranged in a five-by-five grid
The results speak for themselves
Independent tests are based on
comparisons with competitive
laser printers

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News: Analysis

^ Intel's revenue soars with help from PC group...
...but the company shifts its holiday forecast downward, reveals Mark Hachman

hough Intel's PC group, data
centre and Internet of Things
(IoT) businesses helped drive the
firm to record revenue in its third quarter
of 2016, all eyes seemed focused on one
number: the company's fourth-quarter
forecast, which isn't great.
Intel achieved a 9 percent year-over-year
increase in profits, up to $3.4 billion, and a 9
percent increase in revenue as well, to a
record high of $15.8bn.
Unfortunately, its projections for fourthquarter revenues are slightly down: $15.7bn,
with some $500 million either way in terms of
wiggle room. Traditionally, Intel sees its
highest revenue in the fourth quarter, so the

numbers provide an indication of how the
holiday tech sales season is expected to go.
In all, it was the sort of topsy-turvy
earnings report not usually associated with
Intel:. The Client Computing Group, which
oversees Intel's PC processors, reported 5
percent growth, which was higher than
expected. That flies in the face of continued
predictions that the PC market is in decline.
Intel also reported that revenue from its
enterprise businesses - usually a strong,
stable sector - hadn't quite met expectations.

The PC stands out
Intel executive Stacy Smith, in his final quarter
as Intel's chief financial officer, commented on
the Client Computing Group's surprise growth
to $8.9bn:

“Everything went right: they had phenomenal
growth, they had unit costs coming down, they
were making prudent disinvestment
decisions." Smith added, “When you add all
that up, they become a real cash and profit
driver for the company."
Intel executives didn't talk much about the
company's products, let alone specifics. The
firm's next frontier is 3D XPoint though, which
executives hope could one day replace the
flash memory technology used in today's

SSDs, and update computer memory as well.
Intel executives said that samples were
being given to customers, who will begin
qualifying the next-generation memory

The blue represents wires, the yellow
a selector and the green a single bit
of data in Intel and Micron's 3D
XPoint pervasive memory
technology at the end of this quarter.
(Qualification is a testing process to ensure a
number of things, including the viability of the
technology and its compatibility with
customers' existing products.) Brian
Krzanich, Intel's chief executive, said that
sales of the products would begin in 2017
and increase throughout the year. As Intel
ramps up production, 3D XPoint's costs
should decrease, he added. J

Seagate unveils the world's largest tiny hard drive
Seagate pushes the 2.5in drive needle all the way to 5TB. Gordon Mah Ung reports
raditional hard drives might take a
back seat to SSD's when it comes
to sex appeal, but when it comes
to space on the cheap, Seagate's
BarraCuda
line will turn heads. The firm recently
announced two new drives: one of which is
the largest-capacity 2.5in drive.

The BarraCuda ST5000 pushes the
capacity limit from the previous 4- to 5TB,
and will be priced around $85 (£TBC).
Seagate says the drive uses the company's
1TB-per-platter design that it unveiled at
CES in January 2016. The same drive is
also available in 4- and 3TB models. All are
5400rpm drives with 128MB of cache and a
two-year warranty. Power consumption is
rated at 2.1W under load and 1.1W while
16 www.pcadvisor.co.uk/news January 2017

Before you consider putting one of these
in your laptop, note that the 5-, 4- and 3TB
BarraCuda drives are 15mm thick. While
they might squeeze into some larger gaming
laptops, their primary target is superthin
all-in-ones that can't accommodate
3.5in desktop drives.
Seagate also announced
a new 5400rpm BarraCuda
ST2000LM015 drive that
conforms to the smaller 7mm
standard used by many laptops.
Unfortunately, that drive doesn't
move the ball any further down
the field, maxing out at 2TB.
That's one area where hard
drive makers seem to be losing

to SSD makers, which don't have to contend
with as many mechanical limitations.
Samsung, in fact, holds the record for the
largest consumer SATA drive with its 4TB
850 Evo SSD that fits into a 7mm case.
Of course, when it comes
to value, there's no question:
Samsung's EVO 850 4TB SSD
is about £1,400. The 7mm
2TB BarraCuda is around
£60, Seagate officials say.
Although some people
argue that hard drives are
dead, for those who want to
get the most capacity for the
least amount of cash they're
still very much alive. J


News: Analysis

Microsoft's Nadella takes on privacy
fears about LinkedIn and Cortana

Microsoft's growing role as a data aggregator gets attention at Gartner conference. By Patrick Thibodeau

icrosoft CEO Satya Nadella
(pictured) faced sharp questions
from Gartner analysts recently
about the privacy-invading implications of

its $26.2 billion acquisition of LinkedIn, and
its all-knowing virtual assistant, Cortana.
Helen Huntley, one of the Gartner
analysts questioning Nadella, was pointed
about the fears. Cortana, she said, “knows
everything about me when I'm working.
She knows what files I'm looking at, she
knows what I'm downloading, she knows
when I'm working, when I'm not working".
Cortana is “big brother intersected... with
productivity," she added.
Nadella countered this with his own
question: “How does one build trust in
technology?" He called it one of the “most
pressing issues of our time".
Cortana will operate on 'four pillars',
which include keeping data secure, as well
transparency, meaning that users will “know
exactly what Cortana knows", Nadella
revealed. There is also an ability to turn off
data access. The fourth pillar is to be
compliant with regulations, he added.
Microsoft's CEO was appearing via video
link from the firm's Redmond headquarters.
He was scheduled to appear in person, but a
back injury kept him from flying. “When you
turn 49 don't act 19 in the gym," he warned, to
the amusement of an audience consisting
mostly of people in their middle years.
With LinkedIn, Huntley, who was asking

questions in tandem with fellow analyst Chris
Howard, was pointed once again:
“What are you going to do to our data?"
“We are just custodians of that data,"
Nadella explained. The only data the

company has access to is when users allow it
for the purpose of adding value to it, he said.
He gave the example that someone can be
much more prepared for a meeting if their
calendar includes LinkedIn profile links of
attendees. A user's news feed can also be
shaped to include information about meeting
participants. “Those are natural points of
integration," he explained.
This ability to integrate with LinkedIn, said
Nadella, “will not be exclusive of Microsoft but
available to everyone". Allowing integration
will help make LinkedIn grow.
The CEO also defended Microsoft as an
open company. “Windows is the most open
platform there is," he argued.
But asked how the firm will work with
competitors on platforms such as Azure,
Nadella turned philosophical. That
knowledge

“comes maybe with middle age" - a point at
which one becomes “comfortable with what I
would say are complex relationships". A gentle

laugh rolled through the audience.
In response to questions about how
Artificial Intelligence will interact with users, he
talked about Microsoft's pursuit of AI, but not
the specifics.
“There is still a dark side," said Howard, of
AI. “There is a risk of an over-mediated life."
But, as he did with privacy, Nadella
worked to calm concerns and argued that AI
will augment human capability, not replace it.
“It looks like they have a vision for the
future," said one attendee, Steve Edmonson,
a CIO with a Chicago governmental
organisation. But with respect to AI,
Microsoft's CEO didn't talk about “where that
is really headed." J

The results speak for themselves
Independent tests are based on
comparisons with competitive laser
printers

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News: Analysis

GER
D
ALT
MAN
N/PI
XAB
AY

Hackers create more loT
botnets with Mirai source
code
alware that can build botnets
out of loT products has gone on
to infect twice as many devices
after its source code was publicly released.
The total number of IoT devices infected
with the Mirai malware has reached 493,000,
up from 213,000 bots before the source code
was disclosed around 1 October, according to
internet backbone provider Level 3
Communications.
“The true number of actual bots may be

higher," Level 3 said in a recent post.
Hackers have been taking advantage of
the Mirai malware's source code, following its
role in launching a massive DDOS
(distributed denial-of-service) attack that took
down the website of cybersecurity reporter
Brian Krebs.
Unlike other botnets that rely on PCs,
however, Mirai works by infecting internetconnected devices such as cameras and
DVRs that come with weak default
usernames and passwords.

18 www.pcadvisor.co.uk/news January 2017

Since Mirai's source code was released,
hackers have been developing new variants
of the malware, according to Level 3. It has
identified four additional command-andcontrol servers associated with Mirai activity
coming online soon. About half of the infected
bots Level 3 has observed resided in either
the US or Brazil. More than 80 percent of
them were DVR devices.
Many of the DDOS attacks are used
against game servers and residential IP
addresses, Level 3 said. “We have observed
several attacks using more than 100Gb/s" of
traffic, it said. “Large armies of bots
participated in attacks, with several using
over 100,000 bots against the same victim."

A few vendors that produce devices
vulnerable to Mirai are encouraging their
customers to take steps to mitigate the risk.
Sierra Wireless, for instance, has issued a
bulletin, advising users to reboot one of their
products and change the default password.
However, it's unclear if other vendors are
taking any steps to do the same. Security firm
Flashpoint has identified Chinese company
Hangzhou Xiongmai Technology as another
maker of DVR products susceptible to the
Mirai malware. Potentially, half a million
devices from the company are vulnerable
partly due to their unchangeable default
passwords, according to Flashpoint. But
Xiongmai has not commented on this. J

Unlike other botnets that rely on PCs, however, Mirai works by
infecting internet-connected devices such as cameras and
DVRs that come with weak default usernames and passwords


News: Analysis

Tech supergroups formed to push PC
data transfers to blazing-fast speeds
Two newly formed consortia propose specifications to bring unprecedented boosts
to data transfers inside and outside of computers. Agam Shah reports
omputational workloads are
growing, and processors, memory,

and storage are getting faster at
a blazing pace. Emerging technologies could
leave computers choking for bandwidth.
The potential chokepoint worries
companies including Google, IBM, Samsung
and Dell, which are moving to remedy the
problem. New specifications from two new
consortia will bring data unprecedented boosts
in data transfer speeds to computers as early
as next year.
OpenCAPI Consortium's connector
specification will bring significant bandwidth
improvements inside computers. OpenCAPI,
announced Friday, will link storage, memory,
GPUs and CPUs, much like PCI-Express 3.0,
but will be 10 times faster with data speeds of
150GB/s (gigabytes per second).
Memory, storage and GPUs will keep
getting faster, and OpenCAPI will keep
computers ready for those technologies,
Brad McCredie, an IBM fellow, said recently.
Graphics processors are now handling
demanding applications such as virtual reality,
artificial intelligence and complex scientific
calculations. Also in the wings are superfast
technologies, including 3D XPoint, a new type
of storage and memory technology that can be
10 times faster than SSDs and 10 times denser
than DRAM.
Servers and supercomputers will be the

first to get OpenCAPI slots and could trickle
down to PCs in a few years.
The first OpenCAPI ports will be on IBM's
Power9 servers, which are due next year.
Google and Rackspace are also putting the
OpenCAPI port on their Zaius Power9 server.
AMD, a member of OpenCAPI Consortium,
is making its Radeon GPUs compatible with
OpenCAPI ports on Power9 servers.
But don't expect OpenCAPI immediately in
mainstream PCs or servers, most of which run
on x86 chips from Intel and AMD. AMD, for
now, isn't targeting OpenCAPI at desktops and
won't be putting the ports in x86 servers, a
spokesman said.
Intel isn't a member of OpenCAPI, which is
a big disadvantage for the group. There are no
major issues that should stop the company
from becoming a member, though it would have
to make changes to its I/O technologies.

OpenCAPI is promising, but computers
will need many changes to take advantage.
Motherboards will need to implement
specific OpenCAPI slots on motherboards,
and components will need fit in the slot.
That could add to the cost of making
components, most of which are made
for PCI-Express.
OpenCAPI is an offshoot of the CAPI

port developed by IBM, which is already
used in its Power servers. In the future,
there may be bridge products to ensure
components made for the PCI-Express
plug into the OpenCAPI slot, McCredie said.
A second consortium, called Gen-Z,
announced a new protocol focused on
increasing data transfer speeds mostly
between computers, but also inside of them
when needed. The protocol, announced
earlier this week, will initially be targeted at
servers but could bring fundamental changes
to the way computers are built.
The consortium boasts big names
including Samsung, Dell, Hewlett Packard
Enterprise, AMD, ARM and Micron.
Right now, computers come with memory,
storage, and processors in one box. But the
specification from Gen-Z, which is focused
heavily on memory and storage, could
potentially decouple all of those units into
separate boxes, establishing a peer-to-peer
connection between all of them.
Gen-Z is also focused on making it easier
to add new types of nonvolatile memory such
as 3D XPoint, which can be used as memory,
storage or both. Many new types of memory
technologies under research are also seen as
DRAM and SSD replacements.
Larger pools of storage, memory and

processing technologies can be crammed in
the dedicated boxes, and Gen-Z could be
particularly useful for server installations. GenZ is designed to link large pools of memory
and storage with processors like CPUs and
GPUs in a data centre, revealed Robert
Hormuth, vice president and server chief
technology officer at Dell EMC.
Having memory, storage and processing
in discrete boxes will be beneficial for
applications like the SAP HANA relational
database, which is dedicated to in-memory
processing. Most servers max out at 48TB of
DRAM, but a decoupled memory unit will give
SAP HANA more RAM to operate.

But there are challenges. The decoupled
units need to handshake in real-time and work
together on protocol support and load
balancing. Those functions have been
perfected in today's servers with integrated
memory and storage.
To achieve that real-time goal, Gen-Z has
developed a high-performance fabric that
“provides a peer to peer interconnect that easily
accesses large volumes of data while lowering
costs and avoiding today's bottlenecks,"
according to the consortium. The data transfer
rate can scale to 112GT/s (gigatransfers per
second) between servers. For comparison, the
upcoming PCI-Express 4.0 will have a transfer

rate of 16GT/s per lane inside computers, and
data transfers in computers are usually faster.
Gen-Z is generally a point-to-point
connector for storage and memory at the rack
level, but it can be used inside server racks. It's
not intended to replace existing memory or
storage buses in servers,
Hormuth said.
OpenCAPI and Gen-Z claim their protocols
are open for every hardware maker to adopt.
However, there will be challenges in pushing
these interconnects to servers.
For one, the server market is dominated by
x86 chips from Intel, which isn't a member of
either of the new consortia. Without support
from Intel, the new protocols and interconnects
could struggle.
Intel sells its own networking and fabric
technology called OmniPath, and also sells
silicon photonics modules, which use light and
lasers to speed up data transfers and connect
servers at the rack level. J

January 2017 www.pcadvisor.co.uk/news 19


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2 REVIEWS
TABLET
£172 inc VAT

Chuwi HiBook Pro

Contact

■ en.chuwi.com

Specifications

10.1in (2560x1600, 298ppi)
16:10 IPS display; dualboots
Windows 10 Home 64-bit and
Android 5.1 Lollipop; 1.44- to
1.84GHz Intel Atom X5 (Cherry
Trail) Z8300 quad-core 64-bit
processor; Intel HD graphics;
4GB DDR3L RAM; 64GB
storage; microSD support up to
64GB; 2Mp front camera; 5Mp
rear camera; 802.11b/g/n WiFi; Bluetooth 4.0; USB-C;
Micro-USB; Micro-HDMI;
3.5mm headphone jack; mic;
dual speakers; 8000mAh
battery with 3A quick-charging
technology over USB-C;
262x167.5x8.5mm; 550g

Buil d:

Features:
Value:
Performance:

jck+jcfi
irkitirti

★★★★

Chuwi has a range of Windows
tablets under £200 that can be
docked to a magnetic keyboard to
turn them into budget laptops. The
HiBook Pro is very similar to the
Hi10 Pro we review on page 25. It's
around £30 more expensive, but
comes with a higher-capacity
battery, a Quad-HD screen and a 5rather than 2Mp rear camera. The
two are very similar in size and
weight. A key difference is that the
Hi10 Pro supports an active
electronic stylus (sold separately).
You'd also struggle to tell the
difference between this HiBook Pro
and the standard HiBook, with the
only real difference being the largercapacity battery (8000mAh versus
6000mAh) and higher- resolution

screen (the standard HiBook has a
1920x1200 display).
All three feature the Intel Atom
X5 Z8300 quad-core 64-bit
processor, 4GB of DDR3L RAM and
64GB of storage, with microSD
support for expansion. In terms of
performance there is very little to

22 www.pcadvisor.co.uk/reviews January 2017

separate these Chuwi laptops, so
your choice will likely come down to
whether you want the higherresolution screen and whether you
need a stylus.
All three tablets also dual-boot
Android, opening up a world of
software you can't get on Windows,
though the two HiBooks run standard
Android 5.1 Lollipop and the Hi10
Pro runs a custom version with the
Remix 2.0 UI. We prefer

Price
Chuwi tablets are sold in the UK via
grey-market importers such as
GearBest. You can buy this Chuwi
HiBook Pro for £172, the Chuwi Hi10
Pro for £146, and the standard Chuwi
HiBook for £154. The optional

keyboard dock, which we thoroughly
recommend, costs an additional £29.
If you are buying from China, note
that you may be asked to pay import
duty (around £30) upon its

With a slim grey metal build and chamfered edges,
the Pro looks more expensive than it is, and it feels
well made with no rough edges or creaking parts
vanilla Android, given the option and we'd also like to see a newer
version of Android given that we're
now up to Android 7.0 Nougat. Still,
some Android is better than no
Android, and you're probably more
likely to use the Chuwi as a Windows
10 device in any case.

arrival to the UK, though GearBest
(gearbest.com) offers free shipping if
you're prepared to wait a couple of
weeks for your tablet to arrive.

Design
You might be paying under £200 for
this tablet, but you wouldn't


REVIEWS S

know it to look at it. With a slim grey

metal build and chamfered edges, the
HiBook Pro certainly looks more
expensive than it is, and it feels well
made with no rough edges or
creaking parts. The only giveaways to
its budget price are flaws of all Chuwi
tablets: chunky screen bezels, a
magnetism for fingerprints and
legends on the rear for the various
ports and core specifications.
We'll start with the screen, since
this is the key difference between the
HiBook and HiBook Pro. It's a 10.1in,
2560x1600 panel with a 16:10 aspect
ratio that is well-suited to watching
video. The standard model has the
same size screen, but a lower
resolution of 1920x1200 pixels.
The HiBook Pro's screen is much
sharper than that of the HiBook, but
with more pixels crammed in to the
same area you'll find text and icons
are significantly smaller. You'll more
than likely want to increase their size
in Windows' settings.
Chuwi uses IPS technology,
which offers bright, realistic colours
and strong viewing angles. The latter
is aided by the use of a fully
laminated OGS screen, which puts

very close together the touch panel
and screen glass.
The display isn't the brightest
we've seen, and you may struggle to
use it in direct sunlight - especially
with greasy finger smears all over its
surface. For most usage scenarios,
though, it is bright enough.
The HiBook Pro is a little larger
and heavier than the HiBook thanks
to its higher-capacity 8000mAh
battery, but it's actually thinner at
8.5mm rather than 8.8mm. When
used as a tablet the HiBook Pro
weighs 550g, but docked to the
keyboard the weight doubles to just
over a (still easily portable) kilo.
We recommend purchasing the
keyboard if you will be using the
HiBook Pro for productivity tasks.
It docks to the tablet with a sturdy
magnetic hinge that can prop up the
Chuwi at a comfortable angle, and we
like the fact it doesn't need to be
separately charged.
It's a US keyboard, but it has
reasonably large, well-spaced keys
and is comfortable to type on, given
its size. It's fairly quiet in use, and
makes typing on a tablet much

quicker and easier.
Usefully, the keyboard adds two
full-size USB ports to the tablet. The
HiBook Pro has a good complement

of ports, but none of which are fullsize USB, which means you will
otherwise need an adaptor to plug in
a USB mouse or hard drive.
Connections are found on the
Chuwi's left edge. There's a 3.5mm
headphone jack that sits just above a
Micro-HDMI port and a mic, then
Micro-USB, USB-C and a microSD
card slot. The HiBook and HiBook
Pro support up to 64GB via microSD,
while the Hi10 Pro can accommodate
128GB. Both also support
802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.0.
There's no GPS, NFC or a cellular
connection.
You'll need to use the USB-C
rather than Micro-USB connection for
charging the Chuwi's battery, which
supports a fast 3A charge.
This means you can fill the Chuwi in
three- to four hours when using a
compatible fast charger. Although it
has a larger battery than the Hi10 Pro
and HiBook, the HiBook Pro also has
a more power-hungry screen. Expect

between six- and eight hours use
from all three of these tablets, give
and take a little depending on your
usage.
As with the other models in the
range, stereo speakers are found low
down on the left- and right edges of
the Chuwi, which means they are
poorly placed when used in tablet
mode and can easily be muffled by
your hands. That's not great, given
that they aren't especially loud and
can be rather tinny to begin with.
Still it's a minor criticism of a tablet
that has a lot to offer.
In common with the standard
HiBook there is a 5Mp camera at the
rear and 2Mp at the front (the HilO

Pro has a 2Mp camera front and
rear). It will suffice for video calls, but
we can't imagine you having much
use for the rear camera even given
its higher megapixel rating.
Every tablet in Chuwi's range has
the same core hardware setup, and it
matches that of other cheap
Windows laptops such as the Jumper
EZBook Air.
You get an Intel Atom X5 Cherry

Trail chip - the Z8300 - a quad-core
processor clocked at 1.44GHz but
able to boost to 1.84GHz when
required. This is paired with 4GB of
DDR3L RAM and 64GB of flash
(eMMC) storage.
You'd therefore expect very
similar performance between models,
and that is largely what you get. This
HiBook Pro didn't perform as well as
its brothers in our graphics tests
merely because we use the onscreen
versions of GFXBench and it has a
much higher- resolution screen. This
may well have been behind its
slightly lower performance in our
other tests, too.

Performance
We run PCMark 8 Home, Geekbench
4 and GFXBench to get an idea on
performance. The Chuwi HiBook Pro
reported 940 points in PCMark8,
which is around 100 points lower
than the HiBook and Hi10 Pro.
A proper budget laptop might
record double this score, such as the
£300 Asus X55LA, which recorded
2028 points. Tablets typically don't
score as highly as laptops, of course,

and the more expensive Asus
Transformer T100HA scored only

January 2017 www.pcadvisor.co.uk/reviews 23


Reviews

1338 points in this test. The HiBook
Pro also gave a lower performance in
Geekbench 4, scoring 2076 points
against the 2144 of the Hi10 Pro.
(We benchmarked the HiBook using
Geekbench 3, which is not
comparable with Geekbench 4.) As a
guide, Geekbench 4 uses a baseline
score of 4000 points set by the Intel
Core i7-6600U, meaning the Atom
chip inside the Chuwi tablets is
roughly half as fast.
That might sound disappointing,
but it's in real-world situations where
performance can be more accurately
assessed. The HiBook Pro is more
than capable for productivity tasks
such as working in Word and Excel,
for browsing the web, for typing up
emails, for browsing social media
and for watching video. You wouldn't
expect to be able to do much in the

way of multitasking on this tablet, but
lag was never an issue in our tests.
One thing you won't want to use
the Chuwi HiBook Pro for is gaming,
or at least not intensive gaming.
Its Quad-HD screen slowed it down
significantly in our graphics tests,
meaning that it scored just 10fps in TRex and 4fps in Manhattan. We've
seen sub-£100 phones do a better
job of those tests. To be fair, when
running GFXBench's offscreen tests
the Chuwi HiBook Pro fared much
better, and we recorded 22fps in TRex and 9fps in Manhattan.

Geekbench 4

GFXBench Manhattan

0|

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GFXBench T-Rex

PCMark 8

Software
It might be called the HiBook Pro, but
this Chuwi runs Windows 10 Home
64-bit, which it dual-boots with
Android. Unfortunately it's old
Android Lollipop (version 5.1 - we're
now up to 7.0 Nougat), which
reinforces the feeling that it's there as
something of an afterthought.
You'll more than likely use the
Chuwi HiBook Pro running Windows
10, which is much more up to date
and better suited to productivity
tasks. However, we like the fact that

you can also use Android if you wish
to, since there are a great many
more apps available in Google Play
then there are in the Windows Store.
When you boot up the tablet you
are asked whether you want to boot
into Android or Windows, and you
can use either the volume button on
the tablet or arrow keys on the
keyboard to make your choice, then
press the power button or Enter key
to select. If you don't make a choice

24 www.pcadvisor.co.uk/reviews January 2017

the tablet will boot into the last
operating system you used.
If you have already booted the
HiBook Pro you can switch from
Android to Windows by pulling down
the notification bar and tapping Switch
to Windows, or from Windows to
Android by double-clicking the
desktop shortcut. Note that it must
reboot to enter the other operating
system, so it isn't a two-second affair
and you should save any work in
progress before doing so.
The tablet's 64GB of storage is
split between the two operating

systems, with the Chuwi reporting
44.1GB available to Windows and
9.72GB to Android. The maths doesn't
quite add up there, but the Android
partition doesn't appear to account for
the OS itself, so we

suspect the split is actually 50GB to
Windows and 16GB to Android.
Of the 44.1GB assigned to
Windows only around 18GB was
free after installing our benchmarks,
and around 9.7GB to Android. At
least when using Windows you will
likely want to make use of the
microSD slot, attach a USB hard
drive or use cloud storage before too
long.

Verdict
Chuwi's tablets are not the fastest
Windows machines you can buy, but
they make excellent portable
computers if you're on a budget.
With its Quad-HD screen and fast
USB-C charging, the HiBook Pro is a
very good cheap option. We
recommend you also buy the
optional keyboard. J Marie Brewis

Reviews

TABLET
£128 inc VAT

Chuwi Hi10 Pro

Contact

■ en.chuwi.com

Specifications

10.1in full-HD (1920x1200,
16:10, 350nits brightness) IPS
touchscreen; Windows 10
Home 64-bit, Android 5.1
Lollipop-based Remix OS;
1.44GHz Intel Atom X5
(Cherry Trail) Z8300 quadcore; Intel HD Graphics; 4GB
RAM; 64GB flash storage;
microSD card support up to
128GB; USB- C; Micro-USB;
Micro-HDMI; 2Mp/2Mp front
and rear cameras;
802.11b/g/n; Bluetooth 4.0;
3.5mm headphone jack;
6500mAh battery;
261.8x167.3x8.5mm; 562g

Keyboard:
267x174x18mm; 545g Stylus:
256 levels of pressure
sensitivity; 110mAh battery;
139x9x9mm; 15g

Bu ild :

Price

Feat ures:
Value:

The Chuwi Hi10 Pro is a cheap
tablet that dual-boots Windows 10
and Android Lollipop and to which
you can add a stylus and keyboard
to turn it into a cheap portable
laptop. But is it any good?

jck+jcfi

Performance:

★★★★

You won't find a Windows 10 tablet
much cheaper than this, with the
Chuwi Hi10 Pro currently costing
£128 at GearBest (gearbest.com).

The optional keyboard dock (a
recommended purchase) is an extra
£29, also from Gearbest, while the
HiPen H2 stylus can be bought from
Geekbuying (geekbuying.com) for
£11.16. That's a total price of £169,
but note that you could be asked to
pay import duty upon its arrival to
the UK that would take the total price
closer to £200.
Buying products from China
typically returns huge savings, but
you should always take into account
the risks. Products can take several
weeks to arrive, depending on which
shipping option you select, and if
they are faulty you'll have the hassle
of returning them at your cost and
dealing with customer services in a
non-EU country with different
legislation.

Design
You might be paying less than
£200, but you wouldn't think it to
look at Chuwi's range of Windows

10 hybrids. In common with its
brothers, the Hi10 Pro has a full
metal build with chamfered edges

that is reasonably stylish and feels
built to last.
There are some giveaways of its
budget roots, for example some
rather thick screen bezels, a display
that attracts fingerprints and some
unsightly legends on the rear, but on
the whole build quality is good.
The display, bar the fingerprint
issue, is among the highlights, an
IPS panel with a full-HD resolution of
1920x1200 pixels. It's clear and
bright enough in all but the sunniest
conditions, and its 16:10 aspect ratio
is well suited to media. Colours are
realistic and viewing angles are
good; perhaps more importantly, at
10.1in on the diagonal it makes for a
very portable laptop.
The Hi10 Pro measures
261.8x167.3x8.5mm and weighs
562g, making it easy to slip into a
bag and carry wherever you want.
Adding the keyboard roughly doubles
the weight, but it's still an easily
portable package.
This tablet-laptop hybrid is the
Pro version of the older Chuwi

Hi10. We haven't reviewed that

device, but from what we can
understand this is a thinner version
that swaps full-size USB 2.0 and
USB 3.0 ports for a faster-charging
and reversible USB-C port. Both
tablets also feature Micro-USB and
Micro-HDMI ports, though only the
USB-C port will charge the Hi10 Pro
(you'd be better off using this port for
charging since it supports 3A even if
you had the choice).
As a result of the slimmer build
(8.5- versus 9.5mm) an insignificant
100mAh has been knocked off the
battery, which is not enough to make
a huge impact on runtime. Whereas
you could get around eight hours
from the Hi10, according to Chuwi,
the Pro can still offer a good seven
hours-plus, which should get you
through the working day. The Pro
version also adds the HiPen H2
stylus support.
Despite the Pro moniker it's
running Windows 10 Home rather
than Pro, though this version of the
Hi10 does also boot into Android.
It's geriatric Android 5.1 Lollipop,
customised with the colourful Remix
2.0 UI, but we like the fact it opens

The Hi10 Pro's screen is clear and bright
enough in all but the sunniest conditions, and
its 16:10 aspect ratio is well suited to media
January 2017 www.pcadvisor.co.uk/reviews 25