HP Stream 13 First Impressions

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The HP Stream 13 holds no surprises, and that's a good thing: As you might expect, it's basically just a larger version of the excellent HP Stream 11, one that is probably a better fit for most adults. And since it costs just $30 more than its smaller sibling the HP Stream 13 is also an excellent value as well.

You can and should check out my HP Stream 11 First Impressions for my initial reaction to HP's stunning $200 laptop. Three points to know up front: Just about everything I wrote about the HP Stream 11 applies to the HP Stream 13, except for the larger screen and body, and a few port differences. We've acquired a second HP Stream 11 that my wife is now using as a replacement for the slower Surface 2 at a standing desk. And if I were to choose between these two devices, the HP Stream 11 and 13, I'd personally choose the Stream 13 because of the larger screen, which I prefer.

The packaging is common between the two Stream laptops, as you'd expect, and you get the same Office 365 Personal offer, Microsoft Store (virtual) gift card, and other semi-useless documentation. The review unit Stream 13 is decked out in the same dark blue color as the Stream 11s we have, and it has the same high-quality gradient paint job on the C-deck, which is the area around the keyboard and trackpad. It's a luxury touch that I think really resonates with people. (HP also makes a magenta version of both Stream laptops.)

HP Stream 11 (left) and HP Stream 13 (right)

The keyboard appears to be identical to that in the Stream 11.

HP Stream 11 (left, top) and HP Stream 13 (bottom, right)

HP describes this as a "97 percent" full-sized keyboard, and while I'm usually sensitive to smaller or cramped keyboards, thanks to my large hands, I find the typing experience to be perfectly acceptable on both. The machine itself has the same solid and durable feel, and it would be a great choice for kids: They're unlikely to really hurt it and even if they did, the cost of the machine is minimal.

The screen is of course larger at 13.3-inches, compared to 11.6-inches on the Stream 11, and it shares the same 1366 x 768 resolution. I really prefer the bigger screen, but then I'm also not in the target market for such a device, so shop accordingly, as some kids will prefer a smaller and lighter device.

HP Stream 11 (back, left) and HP Stream 13 (front, right)

The Stream 13 has roughly the same ports as the Stream 11, with a few differences, but they're laid out differently, not that it matters. On the left side of the device, you'll find a full-sized HDMI-out, USB 3.0, headphone and microSD. (The Stream 11, curiously, has a full-sized SD slot.)

And on the right are two USB 2.0 ports. (By comparison the Stream 11 has only one USB 2.0 port, plus the one USB 3.0 port.)

The processing power is identical between the two devices: A dual-core 2.16 GHz Intel Celeron N2840, 2GB of RAM and 32 GB of eMMc storage. The battery life of the Stream 13 is rated a bit higher, at 7.75 hours, than the Stream 11's 7 hours. But since these devices will be used around the house, this doesn't really matter as much as it would for a road machine.

HP Stream 11 (top) and HP Stream 13 (bottom)

As a bigger device, the HP Stream 13 is of course heavier than the Stream 11, though I've had trouble coming up with accurate specs for either so I can report the exact weights. Suffice to say it's no MacBook Air, but then you could purchase five or more HP Stream 13s for the price I paid for my Apple laptop.

It's no MacBook Air. But it is one-fifth the price

The OS is Windows 8.1 with Bing, of course, and HP provides the 64-bit version, though you can't expand the RAM past 2 GB so that's kind of a wash. In addition to the free Office 365 Personal—a $69.99 value right there—the Stream 13 (like the 11) is awash in what appears to be mostly superfluous additional apps, which is too bad. You can avoid this junk by buying at Microsoft Store, but I will be spending some time ridding this machine of the Connected Drive, Music and Photos apps that HP provides, as well as the other crapware.

With just 32 GB of storage, space is of course an issue. Out of the box, the Stream 13 reported about 17 GB of free space, but after installing a voluminous number of Windows Updates, that was down to 14 GB, and that was before installing Office. So you're going to want to get that microSD card going and configure Windows to use that space for documents and other data.

I'm not sure what to make of this, but the error-prone hoops you have to jump through—in the form of a complex series of Internet Explorer configuration changes and some terrible captchas—to validate Microsoft's $25 gift card are completely unacceptable. Surely there is a better way to handle this. Not HP's fault per se. But unacceptable regardless.

Even when I finally got a code, the page errored out. Nice!

Long story short, it's pretty clear that the HP Stream 13 is a great deal for the very same reasons the HP Stream 11 is a great deal. It's inexpensive at $230, high-quality for the price, and with the bundled extras—the $70 Office 365 Personal offer and the $25 gift card—it's about as close to a technology no-brainer as you'll ever find, especially if you're buying for a child or someone with minimal personal computing needs. The only question is which size—and which color—to get.

You can buy the HP Stream in horizon blue from Amazon.com for $229.99. Or, grab the orchid magenta version for the same price.

How to watch US Netflix in the UK: get American Netflix content on your PC, Xbox, iPad and more

Netflix is a lot better across the pond in the US than it is here with load for content. So, here's how to get American Netflix in the UK. Updated on 27/11/14 with how to get US Netflix on Xbox, PlayStation, Apple TV, iOS, Android and other devices. See also: Netflix tips & tricks

One of the most common complaints from Netflix customers here in Blighty is that we don't have access to the same amount of content that US-based users do – especially films. Competing streaming services such as, Amazon Prime Video, Sky's Sky Store and Now TV have swept up the rights to many films exclusive – including the whole of Warner Bros' new releases. See also: The 80 best movies on Netflix UK

Netflix US also gets TV shows earlier than we do here in the UK. You can watch cult favourites such as Mad Men and American Horror Story on Netflix US – but not on NetFlix UK. Sometimes this is linked to content deals between US producers and UK TV channels that mean you can't see episodes until after they've debuted on UK – sometimes the reasoning behind this is unclear (like much of international content licensing). See also: Netflix vs LoveFilm Instant (Prime Video) comparison review: What's the best streaming service?

The oddity of licensing – coupled with that you essentially have an international subscription to Netflix rather than to Netflix UK – means what affects what you have access to is based on where you are, not where you signed up. This was brought home to me on a recent trip to the US. I opened my laptop in a hotel room in New York, logged onto Netflix and was greeted with a warm message welcoming me to the US and letting me know that things are different over there – though it mainly concentrated on ratings differences, which is good if you've got kids like me. A quick scroll down the homepage made what those changes were obvious – a heck of a lot of films that aren't available now I'm back in the UK. Bummer.

Well, kind of. It's very easy to get your hands on browser plugins that let you pretend you're in the US – which means you get the US Netflix content instead. This is officially naughty and almost certainly against Netflix's T&Cs, which says "You also agree not to: circumvent, remove, alter, deactivate, degrade or thwart any of the content protections in the Netflix service" – and could get you banned.

However, assuming you're comfortable with this, this is how you do it. It only works on PCs, Macs and Android Tablets – not with the iPad, iPhone, PS3 or TV sets or services. Read: How to watch US Netflix on an Android smartphone or Tablet: Use a VPN to view US programs on you Android devices

How to get American Netflix in the UK: Hola unblocker plugin

Step One

First off you need to download the Hola unblocker browser plugin, which works with Chrome, Firefox or the Android OS. Here we've used Firefox.

Go to hola.org and click on Download. Install the plugin. If you're using Chrome, click on options (the three horizontal bars) then Extensions. In the Chrome web store, search for Hola Unblocker, and then click the Free button in the Extensions (NOT Apps) section of the results.

Step Two

Go to Netflix. Chance are, the plug-in will notice and either offer to switch you the US – or have done it automatically. Either way, you'll soon see a whole bunch of content that's technically off limits to those of us in the UK. If the connection doesn't work, click on the little icon at the top of your browser window and there should be an option to try another server.

If you want to go back to the UK Netflix – for example, to watch BBC content that's not available in the US – just switch off Hola and reload the page. Voila.

How to get US Netflix on Xbox, PlayStation, Apple TV, iPad, Android and more

If you want to get US Netflix on your Xbox or PlayStation then you will need to fiddle with some DNS settings. If you head to the network settings of the console/device and manually configure the settings then you can enter a primary and secondary DNS (Domain Name Servers) numbers.

You can search the internet for these (they change fairly regularly) and DroidKit has a good list which you can try. They are free but get easily clogged up and slow and occasionally send you to someone's own site rather than Netflix in an attempt to sell you VPN software or worse.

If you fail to get any of the free ones working, or don't like the sound of it, then you can use a paid for service called Unblock Us. It costs $4.99 Canadian dollars per month but there's a free trial so you can test it out before committing fully. The server numbers you need are 208.122.23.22 and 208.122.23.23.

Unblock Us is compatible with various devices including games consoles, media streamers, Android, iOS and more. The site has good guides on how to change your DNS settings on specific devices.  If you encounter any problems try a simple reboot of your device which normally fixes things.

Tesco Hudl 2 vs Nexus 7 tablet comparison: the best cheap tablet you can buy

The Nexus 7 was the Android tablet that changed everything. Launched in 2012 it was the first non-Apple tablet that was really worth having, and not just for the price. A year or so later and Tesco changed the game once more with the original Tesco Hudl - a very good tablet available with your supermarket shopping for a low, low price.

Today Google has discontinued the Nexus 7, replacing the updated 2013 version with two new products: the Nexus 6 phablet and the Nexus 9 tablet. But you can still get the Nexus 7 for a very good price. Meanwhile Tesco's second generation Hudl is still amazingly cheap, and even more amazingly great.

If you are in the market for a cheap tablet, either of these will suffice. But which is best? We compared the Nxus 7 and the Tesco Hudl 2 to see which is the best cheap tablet of late 2014, early 2015. (For more, see: The 10 best budget tablets 2014: Here are the best cheap tablets available to buy in the UK right now.)

Hudl 2 vs Nexus 7 tablet comparison: UK price

The Hudl 2 is £10 more expensive than was the original, at a whopping £129. But we're not complaining. That is extremely good value for money for a quality tablet.

Tesco offers the tablet with ClubCard Boost, so every £5 worth of vouchers is £10 towards the tablet. Save enough Tesco vouchers and the Hudl 2 is £65. Literally cheap at half the price. In addition the Hudl 2 comes with £60 worth of vouchers in the box. Some require a minimum spend but £25 of Blinkbox credit is a nice touch.

The reason for all of this apparant largesse is simple: Tesco wishes to reward frequent customers with a tablet. It does so to boost loyalty, and so it can tie up Tesco Clubcard data with Hudl use data. It already knows what you put in your shopping trolly, and now it wants to know what films you watch and games you play. That way it can better target you with marketing messages and make itself more money.

That may make you feel ookie, but you can use the Hudl 2 without using the Tesco tools. And it really is a great deal, and you should know that all Android devices are used in much the same way by Google, in terms of targeting online advertising.

Which brings us to Google's own Nexus 7. Google has, of course, now released the follow Nexus 9. This means that you can no longer buy the Nexus 7 direct from Google. But you can still buy it, new, and if you do you will be getting a bargain - if you purchase the right device at the right price.

The 32GB Nexus 7 is still available from a range of respectable retailers at prices ranging from £168 to around £200. Drop down to the 16GB version and you can pick one up for around £150 to £200. As with any end of line product you need to be careful that you are getting exactly what you are getting. Ensuring that it is new, and that you buy from a respectable retailer. Amazon has reasonable deals on Nexus 7s right now - you can pick up the 16GB model for a very respectable £169, and have the support of the world's largest online retailer behind you to back up the sale.

Nevertheless, it is certainly true to say that the Tesch Hudl 2 is way out ahead in terms of price for brand-name Android tablet. Can the Nexus 7 make the price differential worth paying? Let's find out. (See also: The 25 best tablets of 2014: What's the best tablet in the UK right now?)

Hudl 2 vs Nexus 7 tablet comparison: Design and build

The Hudl 2 has a similar but updated look and feel compared to the original. It uses the same type of plastic casing which has a nice matt finish and a rubbery grip to it. And the Hudl 2 is available in a variety of bright and cool colours. It feels nice to hold in the hand weighing just 401 g, and measuring 9mm thick.

Tesco has done a good job of making the Hudl 2 look more sleek and desirable than was the original, which was plastic and blocky. Its clean lines and rounded corners are pleasing to the eye. It has similarities with the HTC Flyer and iPhone 5c. A couple of caveats are that the holes for the rear speakers aren't neatly symmetrical with one side getting cut off by the camera and the seam which runs around the edge.

The 2013-flavour Nexus 7 looks very much like the original version, which was a breakthrough Android device. Excellent build quality has been maintained with no signs of unwanted gaps in the casing or wobbly buttons. It weighs a stunningly light 290g and is only 8.7mm thick. If style is your primary consideration the Nexus will likely trump the Hudl.

It's marginally taller but far more important are the few millimetres which have been trimmed from the width. It doesn't sound like much but the Nexus is significantly easier to hold in one hand. The vast majority of rival 7in tablets, including the Tesco Hudl, are all noticeably wider when held upright – enough to make it uncomfortable to stretch your thumb and fingers to grip both sides. Stereo speakers are placed at either end of the tablet improving ambient sound, and there is a notification LED below the screen.

Both of these tablets are well built and robust, although it is possible the Hudl 2 has the edge in terms of being tough. But the Nexus 7 remains the style king of Android tablets.

Hudl 2 vs Nexus 7 tablet comparison: Display

The Tesco Hudl 2 has a great 8in screen. To be precise, it's 8.3in matching the LG G Pad 8.3 and uses an impressive Full HD (1920 x 1200). The display is bright, offers good viewing angles and nice colours. With a pixel density of 272 ppi everything looks nicely crisp so we're seriously impressed when you consider the price of the Hudl 2.

But then the highlight of the Nexus 7 is also its amazing screen. The 7in IPS display's resolution has been cranked up from 1280x800 pixels to 1920x1200, giving it a mammoth pixel density of 323ppi. It results in a display which is simply stunning to look at.

Everything looks great on the full HD screen. Since it's an IPS panel viewing angles are excellent, contrast is good and colours are vibrant. It's covered in Corning Gorilla Glass and seems to us to be tough enough to withstand everyday use – our six-month-old tablet still looks like new.

The Hudl 2 has a bigger screen, but it's not something that is immediately obvious. The Nexus 7 has a more detailed screen, but it's not something that is immediately obvious. These are well matched tablets.

Hudl 2 vs Nexus 7 tablet comparison: Specs and performance

The Hudl 2 is powered by an Intel Atom quad-core processor which clocks up to 1.83 GHz, and is paired with 2GB RAM. Overall, we're impressed with the performance of the Hudl 2. The device is nippy and smooth the vast majority of the time and copes with web browsing and gaming very well. There are still little signs of lag like when switching between user profiles and occasional jerkiness when moving between homescreens but it's nothing major.

The 2013 Nexus 7 is equipped with a 1.5 GHz Snapdragon S4 Pro quad-core Krait processor and it also has 2GB RAM. The quad-core processor combined with the latest version of Android means the Nexus 7 feels super slick and responsive. It even boots up quicker than your average tablet, taking just over 30 seconds.  

In our synthetic benchmark tests the Nexus 7 stormed though Geekbench 2 and GLBenchmark 2.7, with record scores of 2651 points and, thanks to the 400MHz Adreno 320 GPU, 41fps in Egypt HD, respectively. Whilst not being directly compatible with our Hudl 2 scores these results show us that the Nexus 7 is a player. More up to date scores show that the Hudl is a cut above.

In our Geekbench 3 processing benchmark, the Hudl 2 turns in a strong score of 2165. In the graphics department it is a more modest 17fps in the T-Rex test. Javascript performance is very good with a time of 768ms in SunSpider. In Geekbench 3 the Nexus 7's score was 1584, in the T-Rex onscreen test it got 16fps. And a time of 1136ms in SunSpider 1.0 is decent, but nowhere near the fastest tablets out there - including the Hudl 2.

Both of these devices are top performers, but the Hudl 2 is a little better. As you would expect - it's a much newer device. Battery life in both devices is okay without being outstanding.

Hudl 2 vs Nexus 7 tablet comparison: Storage

You might be disappointed to learn that Google is still only shipping the Nexus 7 in either 16- or 32 GB capacities, and there's still no microSD card slot for expansion. But the Hudl 2 is available only as a 16GB tablet, albeit one with a microSD slot that allows up to 32GB storage. A total of 48GB of storage is better than a maximum of 32GB, obviously. But we would avoid a 16GB tablet, unless you are very disciplined in your storage use.

The Hudl 2 has dual-band Wi-Fi, GPS and a micro-HDMI port. The Nexus 7 lacks the HDMI port.

Hudl 2 vs Nexus 7 tablet comparison: Cameras

The Hudl 2 has a 5 Mp rear- and 1.2 Mp front-facing camera. There's no LED flash and realistically the performance isn't great. The camera can take an age to focus but if you're patient, you can get some snaps good enough for sharing online. The front camera is pretty grainy so video calls won't be the clearest but at least doable.

The Nexus 7 (2013) also has two cameras. The front remains at 1.2Mp and the new rear camera is a 5Mp snapper with auto-focus but no flash. Photos aren't particularly great. Snap away outdoors in good light and the resulting images are good enough for sharing online, but you're going to be a bit disappointed with prints. What was surprising was the sheer amount of noise present when viewed at 100% in Photoshop. It's clearly visible in blue skies, while prevalent coloured noise ruins shadowy areas.

The autofocus and white balance don't always get it right, and moving subjects such as children, almost always appear as a blur in anything but the best light. There's no HDR option.

It's unlikely that either of these tablets will become your main camera, but both have perfectly usable tablet cameras.

Hudl 2 vs Nexus 7 tablet comparison: Software

Tesco Hudl 2 software is up-to-date with Android 4.4 KitKat and Tesco has made the wise decision of leaving the operating system mostly stock or vanilla (as Google made it). The Nexus 7 is slightly - although not noticably - behind, with Android 4.3. And as a Nexus device it is entirely vanilla Android.

If you have never used Android you should know that it is a full-featured and easy to use platform, these days. Android is every bit as good as is the iPad platform iOS, and although there are fewer tablet-native apps than you will find in the iOS world everything you need can be found there.

Hudl 2 vs Nexus 7 tablet comparison: Verdict

Let's be straight on this: the only reason not to choose the Hudl 2 over the Nexus 7 is if you are opposed to Tesco holding anonymous data on your online actions. And even then you can just switch off the Tesco services. The Nexus 7 is better looking and slimmer, but in all other respects the Hudl 2 is simply better or a match for its rival. And it is much more easy to get hold of. The Tesco Hudl 2 is the best cheap tablet you can buy. For more on the Hudl, read our: Tesco Hudl vs Hudl 2 comparison review.

Asus Memo Pad 7 (ME176CX) review: A competitive new entry into the budget tablet market

Asus has launched a new generation of Android tablet, taking another stab at the 7in market with the new Memo Pad 7, which joins the Memo Pad 8 and new 10in Transformer Pad in the latest Asus tablet line-up. At just £120, this budget 7in tablet takes on the likes of the Tesco Hudl, and challenges the £199 Nexus 7. Here's our full review of the Asus Memo Pad 7. See also: The 25 best tablets of 2014

The budget tablet market has been a bit of a risky area for consumers in the past, but since the launch of several impressive but cheap tablets like Tesco's £120 Hudl, the £120 Amazon Kindle Fire HD and the £159 Barnes & Noble Nook HD, the reputation of the sub-£200 tablet market has improved vastly. See also: Best budget tablets

So much so, in fact, that the £199 Nexus 7 is actually top of the PC Advisor tablet chart for 2014 right now, beating the likes of the £400 tablets such as the iPad Air and Sony Xperia Z2 Tablet. So how does the Asus Memo Pad 7 fare against this tough competition? Read on to find out.

Asus Memo Pad 7: Design and build

Like the Tesco Hudl, the Asus Memo Pad 7 (ME176CX) comes in several colours, though we find Asus's colour choices decidedly more appealing. We tested a rather delightful metallic blue model, but there are also yellow, red, black or white options available.

Overall, we found the design and build of the Asus Memo Pad 7 to be surprisingly solid and attractive for a budget tablet. The bezels around the 7in display are small, particularly compared to the Hudl, Nook HD and Kindle Fire HD. Although plastic, the back has a smooth, premium-feel finish, and the ports, speakers, camera and buttons are neat and stylish.

It's 9.6mm thick, which is thinner than the Tesco Hudl, but is chunkier than the 8.7mm of the Nexus 7 and the iPad mini's 7.5mm. It weighs 295g, which is less than the Hudl's 370g and the iPad mini's 331g.

The weight and thickness of the Asus Memo Pad 7 is ideal for a 7in tablet, with the width of the device in portrait mode perfect for gripping with one hand. You'll need two hands to use the tablet while holding it, but for reading or watching a video, holding it with one hand won't get too heavy, and you won't feel like you're about to drop it.

There's no flap to cover the microSD slot, though, so we imagine it could get rather dusty in there if you're not using a card. Also, we found that the tablet's screen is quite reflective and really shows up fingerprints and smudges.

Asus Memo Pad 7: Hardware and performance

The Asus Memo Pad 7's 7in IPS display has a resolution of 1280 x 800 pixels, making a 216ppi pixel density. That's a bit disappointing when you compare it with the Nexus 7's 323ppi display, and even the Tesco Hudl's 243 ppi. However, we found the screen to be bright, colourful and crisp enough for most – you'll only really notice the lower pixel density if you're already used to using a much higher resolution display.

Inside the Asus Memo Pad 7 is an impressive 64-bit 1.86 GHz Intel Atom Quad-core processor with 1GB RAM. Intel's Atom processor is powerful enough to be used in netbooks and hybrids, in addition to tablets and smartphones, so is a fantastic selling point for a budget tablet like this one.

Although Android isn't 64-bit just yet, we found the Memo Pad 7 to be responsive and smooth, and it performed most tasks we through with ease. Apps launched quickly on most occasions – even the camera app, which is often found to be the downfall of other tablets and smartphones. There were a few times when we found the tablet a little laggy, but thankfully it was rare enough that we hardly noticed.  

In our benchmark testing, we found that the Asus Memo Pad 7 scored 2400 in our GeekBench 3 test, 14.4fps in the Manhattan GFXBench graphics test and 608ms in the Sunspider browser test. Those results are higher than the likes of the Tesco Hudl and quite similar to the Samsung Galaxy Note 8.

There's an option of either 8GB or 16GB internal memory, but you'll be pleased to hear that there's a microSD slot that allows you to add an extra 64GB if you need it. This is something that the Nexus 7 lacks, but the Tesco Hudl has a microSD card for adding up to 32GB more.

As can be expected, the Asus Memo Pad 7 has WiFi, though not the latest (faster) 802.11ac standard. It has Bluetooth 4.0, but there's no 3G/4G connectivity or NFC.   

Asus Memo Pad 7 review: Software

We rather like Asus's ZenUI interface for Android 4.4 KitKat. It's not so different that you'll find it unfamiliar, but it does offer flat, simple and easy-to-understand icons and apps across the board, complete with gentle and pleasant colour schemes.

Notably, the What's Next feature is a neat way of managing your schedule, bringing together events, meetings, birthdays and more from different apps. It'll also provide you with reminders if you've got an appointment coming up, for example.

Do It Later (above) is also handy for helping you remember to read that email you got in the middle of lunch earlier, or watch a YouTube video you didn't have time to view for example. It's pretty smart too, organising the tasks into categories so you don't have to sort through the list when you come to complete them.

Asus Memo Pad 7 review: Battery life

The Asus Memo Pad 7 has a non-removable 15Wh battery, which Asus says will last for nine hours of constant use.

We've been using the Asus Memo Pad 7 for browsing the web, sending emails and using social media occasionally throughout the day and have found that it can last for several days with this kind of use. If you're a gamer or like to watch videos or TV shows on your commute, you will find that the battery drains quicker, but you won't need to charge it more than once every couple of days.

The Memo Pad 7 has an excellent Power Saver app, which allows you to turn on what Asus calls 'Smart Saving' options, including optimised mode for general battery life extension, ultra-saving mode if you're running dangerously low, or a custom power saving mode that you can adapt to your preference.

Asus Memo Pad 7 review: Camera

The Asus Memo Pad 7 has two cameras, one on the front and one on the back. The rear-facing camera is 5Mp like the one found in the iPad mini and iPad Air. We found the results to be reasonable, but you won't be printing the snaps and framing them. They're not particularly sharp and many of our test photos were quite grainy, especially in darker conditions.

You can see some examples of the photographs we captured using the Asus Memo Pad 7 below. Click to see a bigger image.

Above: This 100% crop shows that the photographs captured by the 5Mp rear-facing camera on the Asus Memo Pad 7 lack detail and are quite grainy.

The camera app is nice though, with previews of fun filters and effects, including Lomo (above right), Sepia, Cartoon, Hue and more. There's also a useful Burst Mode for action shots and moving subjects. Other options include HDR, Panorama, Night, Selfie, All Smiles, Portrait and Smart Remove, which automatically removes moving subjects.

Above: The Asus Memo Pad 7 highlights a moving object (left) and gives you the option to remove it (right).

We don't usually like to use tablets to take photographs – it always seems like a bit of a clumsy task – but we found that it actually felt quite natural with the size, shape and overall feel of the Memo Pad 7.

The Memo Pad 7 can capture 1080p video, too, and the results, again, were reasonable. It'll do the trick, but if you're heading out with the view to capture something on video, we'd recommend taking another device with better video capabilities.

On the front of the Memo Pad 7 is a 2Mp camera ideal for video calls, with 720p video recording.

Can’t access 192.168.1.1: how to connect to your router to change settings

Need to change some settings in your wireless router? If you can’t access 192.168.1.1 – or the IP address your router uses – here’s how to get connected.

These days it’s much easier to set up a new broadband router. They all come with Wi-Fi enabled and secured. Typically you’ll find the Wi-Fi password on a label stuck to the router, and it may even show the user name and password and default IP address. See all router reviews

It’s trickier for older routers, especially if someone has changed the IP address, password or you’ve simply forgotten the details.

How to access your router settings page

1. If you can’t access your router via Wi-Fi, connect an Ethernet cable between your router and your PC or laptop. We’re using Windows 8 here, but the process is similar for Windows 7 and Vista.

2. Bring up a command prompt by typing ‘command’ in the Start menu search box (or Windows 8 Start screen) and choosing Command Prompt.

3. Type ipconfig and press Enter. You will see a list of the network adapters in your PC. Look through the information to find the number next to Default gateway. This is the IP address of your router.

4. Open a web browser and type this number – in this case 192.168.3.1 - into the address bar, then press Enter. (Don’t add http:// before the IP address. You should now see the login screen for your router.

5. If you don’t see the login screen, it could be because the gateway IP address has been manually entered under your network adapter settings.

To check, open Control Panel and search for ‘network’. Click on View Network Connections under Network and Sharing Center.

Right-click on the Ethernet adapter and choose Properties. Then scroll down the list to find Internet Protocol Version 4. Click on it and then click the Properties button. Make sure Obtain an IP address automatically is selected, and also Obtain DNS server address automatically.

Repeat steps 2, 3 and 4 to see if this has fixed the problem.

6. If you’ve forgotten your router’s username and password, you’ll need to reset it to factory settings. This is usually achieved by pressing a button or inserting a paper clip or pin into a reset hole. Check your manual to find out how long to hold the button for in order to reset it. The router will need to be connected to the mains and turned on in order for this to work, of course.

After resetting your router you can follow the earlier steps to connect to the router’s management interface.

7. If your reason for accessing your router’s settings was to configure a Wi-Fi network, you can now do so. It’s worth changing the Wi-Fi network name to something memorable, but it’s most important to set a password. If possible, choose WPA2 security rather than WEP. While you’re at it, change the default router password to prevent anyone else accessing your router’s settings. Stick a label on the router so you won’t forget the IP address, Wi-FI password and router username and password.

If you’re still having no joy connecting to your router, make sure any software firewalls are disabled. These might be part of your Internet Security Suite, or a standalone application such as ZoneAlarm. Temporarily disable these to see if they are causing the problem. Windows’ built-in firewall shouldn’t cause a problem.

Check also for other software such as parental control applications which may prevent you from accessing certain websites – a router’s settings interface is just a website. There could also be settings within your web browser which are causing a problem, so try a different browser to eliminate this as an issue.

How to stop Shockwave Flash crashing in Google Chrome: make sure you have only one plug-in enabled

If you use Google Chrome you may have become used to the Shockwave Flash plugin crashing. Here, we show you how to fix the problem.

Google Chrome, unlike other browsers, has its own version of Adobe Flash Player built in. If you're also running another web browser that requires a downloaded version of Adobe Flash player to be installed, the two versions of the software are likely to be causing a conflict.

To check Google Chrome's configuration, type about:plugins into the address bar and press Enter. This will bring up a page of information about all the plug-ins currently configured within Google Chrome.

Look for any entries in the list such as Adobe Flash Player, or Shockwave Flash. If you can see two or more, you have more than one Flash plug-in installed.

At the top right of the plug-ins page you'll see ‘Details'. Click this link to reveal more information about each extension.

The filename of each plug-in will be listed next to Location. Look at this information, and you'll see that one is stored under [Your User Folder]AppData\Local\Google\Chrome. This is Chrome's integrated plug-in. The other will begin with ‘C:\Windows\..' . The path names vary depending on your version of Windows. If you're using Windows 8, for example the path for the integrated plug-in is something like C:\Program Files (x86)\Google\Chrome\Application\36.0.1985.125\PepperFlash\pepflashplayer.dll  (the version number may be different).

If both these files offer a Disable link, both are active and likely to be the cause of your browser crashes.

You can now choose which player you want to retain, by clicking Disable on the other one. Chrome will now use whichever version is enabled on your PC.

If you decide to use the installable plug-in rather than the integrated one, it's advisable to make sure you have the latest version installed. Click here to get the latest version of Adobe Flash Player.

If the crashing behaviour continues, try going back to about:plugins and selecting to use the other Flash player.

See all How to articles. Get free tech support in the Helproom Forum.

Visit Windows 7 Advisor for more Windows advice.

i4software Fast Camera (for Windows Phone)

• Pros

  Burst-mode shooting. Manual-shooting mode with exposure slider. Time-lapse and stop-motion capabilities. Focus and exposure lock.

• Cons No video features. Not very intuitive. Few shooting helpers aside from continuous and manual modes.
• Bottom Line

  For less than a greenback, the i4software Fast Camera photo app gives you continuous and manual shooting modes on a Windows Phone, but its powers are limited compared with those of some competitors.

By Michael Muchmore

Windows Phones have some of the best cameras available on any smartphone, but one problem with them is the time it takes to shoot pictures. Fast Camera (99 cents) from i4software is intended to change all that. It not only lets you shoot in continuous and burst modes, but it also includes tools for time lapse, stop-motion, stealth shooting, and locking both focus and exposure. Let's take the photo app out for a spin and see whether it lives up to all this promise.

Getting Going with Fast Camera
You get Fast Camera from the Windows Phone Store. It requires access to your location for installation, although this information is not personally identifiable, according to the app's privacy statement. It's a very small 2MB download, so it won't burden your phone's storage. No signup or account it required to start using the app. I installed the app on an HTC One (M8) for Windows.

Start Shooting
When you first run Fast Camera, there's no splash screen or welcome screen. Instead, you start right out in shooting mode. The whole screen is your viewfinder, and instead of a shutter button there's a Start button with a camera icon on it. Press the button to start shooting. Press it again when you're done. You'll then see a Review button that lets you choose which of the shots you want to keep, and which to delete.

The gear button on the shooting screen offers plenty of settings, including resolution for both front and back cameras. You can also enable manual controls (with the default Windows Phone camera app, these settings are only adjustable through menus), set a timer, and enable time stamp. The OneShot app, however, offers even more adjustments during shooting, along with effect filters.

Shooting mode choices include Continuous, Burst, and four manual options for shooting 1, 5, 10, and 25 shots. With Burst, you hold your finger on the shutter button instead of using the default Start and Stop button as you do in Continuous shooting mode. One very nice option in the settings menu is the short user guide, since not all of the camera app's functions are intuitive, including things like triple-tapping the screen to call up controls.

When you enable Manual mode, you see a very cool couple of screen items—an exposure slider, and a focus/white balance lock, which you can drag around the screen. Unfortunately, Fast Camera doesn't do video at all, so you can't take advantage of these controls in moving pictures. Nor are there any filters, and it lacks some cool shooting options found in other apps, such as voice-activated shooting (available in OneShot), full-screen shutter functionality, and live filters.

Getting Stealthy
Sometimes you want to snap a picture without being obvious about it. For those times, there's Fast Camera's stealth shooting feature. You can only use this if you're in Continuous shooting mode. But there are a couple of problems in with Fast Camera's stealth shooting. It doesn't silence the shutter sound automatically, and it requires you to start shooting with the screen on just as with standard shooting. Only after you start continuous shooting does the screen go blank. You stop shooting by tapping the dark screen. For more effective stealth shooting, check out the single-purpose Stealth Camera app.

Saving and Sharing
Hitting Save in Review mode gives you the option to not only save photos, but also create a video slideshow using the selected images. The obligatory Share option lets you send the images right up to Facebook, email, and any other app capable of receiving pictures, such as Fhotoroom or PicsArt.

Do You Need This Fast Camera?
Since the default Windows Phone camera app already has a burst mode that lets you choose the best of a series of images quickly shot together, that capability in Fast Camera isn't enough to justify its steep price of nearly a dollar. And Lumia users will be better served by the excellent Lumia Camera app. What does make Fast Camera worth consideration are its manual mode with adjustable exposure and focus/white-balance locking. Before I can award the app a high score, however, it needs more shooting options and helpers.

Firefox for Windows 8 review

Firefox for Windows 8 is in effect two web browsers: the desktop version that looks and feels much the same as your current Firefox, and a new Modern UI Windows app designed for Windows 8's tablet-friendly interface. They are of course the same program, but separated by the somewhat schizophrenic nature of Windows 8 (on PCs and laptops at least).

We tested a late beta of Firefox for Windows 8 on our desktop PC and an Intel tablet: the full product should be available by the time Windows 8 launches on October 26.

Firefox for Windows 8: performance

In terms of speed, within the desktop mode Firefox for Windows 8 recorded exactly the same scores in our Sunspider test as did Firefox 16 - completing the test in around 200ms every time. But the Modern UI app didn't fair so well, recording scores of around 260ms. We saw something similar when using our less well specified Windows 8 tablet. In desktop mode Firefox completed the test in around 420ms (the same as Firefox 16), but within the Modern UI environment the scores slipped to around 460ms. In general browsing we didn't notice the difference, but it is there. It'll be interesting to see if similar issues affect other programs that span the divide between old and new Windows.

Using Firefox for Windows 8 across all four instances was stable, and we saw none of the memory-hogging behaviour of which Firefox is sometimes accused.

Firefox for Windows 8: UI changes

There are some interesting UI changes consistent to both versions of Firefox in this iteration. New tabs offer a three-column view of your bookmarks, recent history, and downloads, presented as rectangular icons that follow a similar style to the rest of the Windows 8 interface. On top of the Windows you'll find a unified bar for URLs and searches.

When you're on a web page, Firefox switches to a full-screen view without URL bar or any options - it's not dissimilar to IE 10's approach in Windows 8. You have to right-click to bring up the address bar, and right-click again to show all open tabs. Testing Firefox on our Windows 8 tablet we had to swipe down from the top of the screen for the address bar, and once again to see the tabs.

You can configure the browser to show the address bar and all tabs at all times, but it's worth perservering - sites look great without what Microsoft refers to as the 'chrome' that clutters up modern browsers.

Right-clicking/swiping down also brings up a few other options in a menu bar at the bottom of the screen. Here you can jump to the downloads list, find a word on the page, open a page on the desktop, zoom in or out, create a bookmark, or pin the page to the Start screen.

Firefox for Windows 8 supports sharing via the Charms bar. Find a page you like and you can share it with the world through your Twitter or Facebook app of choice. Of the other Charms Windows 8's universal search function is not yet supported, but should be by the time Windows 8 launches.

You can download Firefox Metro UI Preview here.

Bad Piggies review

Bad Piggies is the latest hit mobile game from Rovio, developer of the hugely successful Angry Birds franchise. It's not a carbon copy of Rovio's original blueprint, but we expect it to be every bit as successful. Here's our Bad Piggies for Android review, also available for iOS, PC, Mac and, soon, Windows 8 and Windows Phone. 

First released for iOS in December 2009, Angry Birds remains one of the most popular mobile games of all time, with millions of downloads from Apple's App Store and Google Play. Rovio has been milking its cash cow ever since, with Seasons, Rio and Space sequels, and an online store that offers a range of merchandise from plush toys, clothing and iPhone and iPad cases to bedding, books and stationery. See Best Android Apps.

We've all bought into Rovio's loveable characters. There's Yellow Bird the dive-bomber, Black Bird who explodes on impact, Big Brother Bird who demolishes everything in his way, and White Bird who drops bombs, for example. And then there are the macaws, bulldogs, toucans, parrots, marmosets and more, introduced in later episodes. But arguably the most important character is the one who features in every level: the egg-stealing Bad Piggy, without whom the Angry Birds would have no purpose; they'd be weapons with no target. It's high time the evil green swines swapped stealing eggs for their own spin-off series.

Unlike Angry Birds, in which you must fire avian missiles to take out Bad Piggies, there is no such violence in this sequel. A cute showreel of the type we've come to expect from Rovio aids your understanding of this new mission. It appears that having found a map telling them exactly where to find the Angry Birds' eggs, the Bad Piggies have managed to lose said map in Piggy Island. King Pig has ordered his minions to recover the map, and you will collect a single scrap of this vital information with each level you complete. 

Bad Piggies is more of a cross with Rovio's Amazing Alex than it is a carbon copy of Angry Birds. In the former, you must interact with various toys and other items to create a chain reaction that allows a football to land in a basket, or pop a balloon let off in the direction of a pair of scissors. In Bad Piggies, a hand-made contraption comprised of propellant devices, wheels, springs, TNT, balloons, umbrellas, engines, sand bags, fizzy pop and more enables you to manoeuvre obstacles, getting your Bad Piggy to the finishing line and a step closer to victory in Rovio's mobile war.

Bad Piggies operates on the same three-star rating system that's become synonymous with Angry Birds, and which has since been incorporated into a plethora of games by developers hoping to build on Rovio's success (read our Bunny Shooter for Android review for an example of just one). There is no baffling scoring system here, though; zoom out of a level to see exactly what is required of you to achieve full-marks, whether that's to complete a level within a certain amount of time, collect all the stars, build a contraption without using a specific part or get to the finishing line unscathed.  

 

You can choose to play in either Ground Hog Day or When Pigs Fly chapters, both of which include 36 free levels, plus nine bonus levels. You'll need to complete a level to move on to the next, and a bonus level is accessible only after you score a given number of stars in the four levels preceding it. Extremely challenging but very fun Sandbox levels can also be unlocked, in essence the equivalent of boss levels, in which you can select any of the tools available throughout the chapter to build a vehicle capable of enduring one mega-challenge. A fourth chapter is simply labelled Coming Soon, welcome evidence of Rovio's promise to continually add free updates. 

There is no single right way to build your cart: several combinations might get you to the end of a level, although not all will allow you to do so with no damage and within a certain amount of time. The game is made more difficult in the sense that you need not only create a winning vehicle, but you must monitor it throughout the level, toggling on and off the engine, opening an umbrella or popping a balloon with precise timing. Even with the correct combination of parts, it can take several goes to win all three stars.

A hint book can be useful in helping you to build a workable contraption for each level, without you needing to visit YouTube for a walkthrough (of which there are many). Alternatively, if you're stuck, you can hire a mechanic to build your vehicle. You get three free mechanic tokens for liking the game on Facebook; thereafter, it costs $1.99 for 10, $5.99 for 35 and $9.99 for 65.

Fresh Paint for Windows 8 review

Fresh Paint is very simple, and it really requires a touchscreen - ideally a Windows tablet - to be of any use. But it is fun and beautifully built, and it shows off the creative possibilities of the tablet format. If you're looking for an equivalent of Paint, however, this is not it. For a start it is a much more sophisticated creative environment. And secondly, in Windows 8 you can - drum roll - take screenshots without having to paste them into Paint in order to create a file. (Hit Windows+PrtScn and a PNG appears in your Pictures file.) See all: Windows app reviews.

No, Fresh Paint is a nicely rendered painting simulator for Windows 8 that is great for casual fun use - kids will love it - but is sophisticated enough to let you create art. Open the app and you'll see a gallery of your previous masterworks - anything you work on is saved automatically. Hit the new button and you see a pristeen canvas, with a simple but brilliantly intuitive painting view. (See also: Windows 8: the complete guide.)

Fresh Pain for Windows 8: UI

At the top of the painting screen when you first get there is a range of brushes, crayons, a pencil, a blender and an eraser. Choose one of those, select a thickness of stroke, and mix up a colour from the palette at the top right of the screen, and you are good to. The palette is brilliant, with a selection of swatches, a bowl of 'water' and a mixing area with which you can mix up colour for use with the brushes.

Cleaning your brush in the water is fun, as the 'liquid' turns the colour of the paint you dumpred in it. Select a pencil, however, and the palette becomes a selection of whole colours in a series of squares arrayed over three rows. That's the frivolous fun side. Should you wish to be more exact you can choose a shade from the colour picker wheel.

Also in the top pane of options is a selection of canvas styles and a link to the Gallery. The latter is self explanatory, the former offers access to various types of canvas and paper in a selection of colours. You can also use use a photo as a base for your opus.

A much thinner ribbon at the bottom of the canvas screen allows you to 'dry' or 'center' your artwork, as well as offering 'Undo' and 'Redo' (remember that you are unlikely to be using a keyboard here, so Ctrl-z would be awkward). Finishing off the interface, at the bottom right there are 'New' and 'Save as...' options. When you click into the Fresh Paint canvas to actually, well, paint the options disappear, but you can call them up any time by swiping from the top or from the bottom of the screen.

Fresh Paint for Windows 8: who's it for?

There's a mixture of fun and serious artistic capabilities about Fresh Paint that appeals. Colour and texture are taken very, very seriously, so that you can just pick up a brush and slap some paint about, or mix and stain exactly the right shades. The way that colours interact is very realistic - you'll get a tiny thrill the first time two strokes run in to each other and smear together into a different shade. With a bit of practice such multicolour streaking is a useful artistic tool. It's also where 'Dry' comes in. Hit this and the colour you just laid on the page dries instantly, so that it won't run into the next colour layer you apply.

Used by hand Fresh Paint is fun, but a stylus does add precision. Mouse use is possible, but really this is an app for touchsreen devices such as our Samsung Series 7 Slate. The way brush strokes are rendered is very realistic, allowing talented artists to achieve precision in their work, and useless hacks to have fun (see my screenshots to see which one I am...)

Tweetro for Windows 8 review

Unusually for an operating system designed for tablet, smartphone and laptop, Microsoft has deliberately avoided baking in social media apps to Windows 8. The company's rationale is that the popularity of social sites and services waxes and wanes in a timespan shorter than the life of a Windows OS. (Putting a Friends Reunited app into Windows XP would look a bit silly now, for instance.)

 In compensation developers of Windows 8 apps are encouraged to 'share' with any other app, a process made simple in the developer environment. So if you have any sort of Twitter and Facebook app on your Windows 8 PC or tablet, you will be able to share via them from any other app, using the Share icon placed just above the Start icon to the righthand side of every screen. And Tweetro is a Twitter app well worth using. (See also: Windows 8: the complete guide.)

As it is a  As a 'Metro' style app, designed to sit on Windows 8's Start screen, it's no surprise that Tweetro looks great on our Samsung Series 7 Slate. A deep black background frames the familiar square tiles. There's lots of information, but also lots of space. Images are a decent size, and look good on a sizeable screen. See also: Tips for building Windows 8 apps.

Tweetro for Windows 8: home screen

The home screen shows your picture or avatar next to a large and welcoming 'Tweet' box, as well as your most recent Tweet, just below. Above is your user name and how many followers you have, to the right is your full name, as well as love icons for mentions, messages, favourites and lists. Further over to the right, Tweetro displays your timeline, with four most recent Tweets from the people you are following. To the bottom left is a ling to 'show full profile'. Beneath your Timeline is a 'show more' link. It's all pretty to look at, intuitive to use, and there's a lot of data in a small space. You can add or remove as many accounts as you'd like from within the homescreen by either swiping up from the bottom to bring up a small settings menu, or click the + sign beneath your profile picture. Pinch the homescreen to see a bird's eye view of all your data.

Swiping across to the right brings up your photos. Clicking into your full profile offers up everything you'd expect: your profile details, followers and those you follow, plus your Tweets, mentions, favorites and lists. You can also search, add searches, and add lists. All of which makes Tweetro a nice environment in which to interact with Twitter, although it falls close to the territory of those apps that are 'like the web page but just a little bit better'. Or, to put it another way: why would you use an app when you could just bookmark the Twitter web page on your browser.

Well, for one thing Tweetro is customisable. You can, in the developer's words, 'Manipulate the display to suit your mood', with themes such as 'Light read' and 'Info highway'. More importantly, you can browse what is behind the text from within the app, checking out links and photos without having to run multiple apps.

And, in common with all Windows 8 'Metro' style apps, Tweetro can be resized to fit on to a portion of your screen as you are working on another app. So you could view your Twitter timeline in a panel to the right of your screen, while browsing the web, say. This is not so important on a large desktop PC when you have space for multiple browser windows, but on a 9in tablet it will be a boon.

Tweetro for Windows 8: Live tile

Also important: as a 'Metro' style Windows 8 app, Tweetro is a Live tile in your Start screen. So you can see Tweets and mentions straight from the home screen without even opening an app or a browser. Take a step further back and you can even see how many new Tweets you have from the lock screen when first you wake up your Windows 8 device.  

So what's not to like? Well, we'd like to receive Twitter alerts from Tweetro whatever app we are in, but can't find an option to make this happen (this may speak to Microsoft's insistence of being able to do everything from within every app). Indeed, lack of true customisation is something of a bind: why can't we change the colour scheme at least? Also, try as we might we couldn't work out how to attach a photo to a Tweet. Some mistake, surely? Finally, in our testing of Tweetro it crashed. A lot. Still, Windows 8 is in beta and Tweetro was apparently built to deadline in just three months, so it's possible these minor issues will be addressed in time. Certainly, we wouldn't expect the crashes to be an issue when Windows 8 fully deploys. And generally, we are fans of Tweetro.

Flutter review

Anyone who grew up watching the Star Wars movies knows how cool it looked to be a Jedi and control things with a simple movement of the hand. For a long time, it seemed as if this would remain firmly in the realm of science fiction along with lightsabers. Now a new app that relies on hand gestures is available for controlling your music. Called Flutter, this free Windows software lets you start and stop your music simply by showing the flat palm of your hand to your webcam. See all software downloads.

You need to use either iTunes, Spotify, Winamp, or Windows Media Player for your music playing. Anything else, such as Miro or Zune, is not currently supported.

Starting and stopping the music is at present the only thing Flutter can do, so look upon this as simply proof that the concept works. Apparently, according to the company website, next up in the pipeline is a beta version (currently for Mac OS X only) that allows you to change music tracks, simply by swiping your hand in front of the webcam. I'm sure they are also working on a version that increases and decreases the volume (at least, I hope so).

The pros to Flutter are ones that will appeal to efficiency freaks. If you're sitting in front of your computer typing away, and you want to change the track on iTunes, then you would have to stop typing, look for the mouse, find iTunes, then the track…that all takes time. But with Flutter, when you want to change tracks, you just stop typing, hold up a hand in front of the webcam, then go back to typing as the Rolling Stones track flips from not getting any satisfaction to singing about Angie. There's no need to click the mouse or to search for tracks. Your webcam and Flutter do it all for you.

Flutter has cons, though. Throughout the few weeks I tested this app, sudden hand movements at times started my Spotify desktop app. Supposedly Flutter should start Spotify only when I show my flat palm to the webcam, but I've had Spotify starting when I scratched my ear or swatted a fly away from my head. In subsequent tests, I failed to recreate this problem, so maybe it was just a temporary glitch. Nevertheless, when you have Flutter on, you should be cautious with your movements in front of the webcam. Plus, until the next version comes out, Flutter has only one function.

iPad Air 2 vs iPad Air comparison review: Older tablet makes for a better deal

The newest addition to the iPad line-up is the iPad Air 2 but what's the difference compared to the iPad Air? Find out in our iPad Air 2 vs iPad Air comparison review. See also: Best tablets you can buy in 2014.

iPad Air 2 vs iPad Air: Price and availability

As per usual, Apple has brought the latest iPad in at the same price point as before. That means the device starts at £399 for the cheapest model. Meanwhile, it's the original iPad Air which remains on sale at a lower price of £319. You can buy older full-size iPads from Apple but only via the refurbished store.

There are three capacities of the iPad Air 2 available to choose from and the option of 4G cellular data if you need it. You can still buy a cellular iPad Air but there are now only two storage amounts to choose from if you're buying new. See the below table for all the prices.

To see which iPad to buy from the whole range, see Which iPad should I buy?

	iPad Air (+ Cellular)	iPad Air 2 (+ Cellular)
16 GB	£319 (£419)	£399 (£499)
32 GB	£359 (£459)	-
64 GB	-	£479 (£579)
128 GB	-	£559 (£659)

iPad Air 2 vs iPad Air: Design and build

Apple loves making things thinner and lighter than before, and that's exactly what's happened with the iPad Air 2.

The original iPad Air is 7.5 mm and although Apple says the new model is just 6.1 mm, our calipers tell us that it's 6.3 mm. On the weighing scales, our 4G sample comes in at 467 g which is a little more than 444 g which Apple claims. That's 20 g lighter than the iPad Air. Although the numbers might sound nice, in real life it's not a very noticeable difference at all.

A couple of design changes to note are the addition of a gold model with the iPad Air 2 and the loss of the screen-lock switch – that handy toggle which used to sit just by the volume buttons.

Read: iPad mini 3 review.

iPad Air 2 vs iPad Air: Hardware and performance

As well as making things thinner and lighter, Apple enjoys making its products faster. To this end, the iPad Air 2 has a new A8X processor which is still 64-bit and also has a new M8 co-processor. Apple claims this processor is 40 percent faster, with graphics 2.5 times better than found in the Apple A7 chip in the first iPad Air.  

As you can see in the table below, the iPad Air 2 is more than 40 percent quicker in the multi-core test. Just remember that this is a synthetic test and you will not notice that kind of difference between the two in day-to-day use.

It's worth noting, even though Apple never quotes it, that the iPad Air 2 has 2 GB of RAM compare to 1 GB of the iPad Air.

	iPad Air	iPad Air 2
GeekBench 3 single-core	1468	1816
GeekBench 3 multi-core	2658	4523

On the graphics side of things there is a fairly big improvement with one test out of the two living up to Apple's claims.

	iPad Air	iPad Air 2
GFXBench T-Rex	9fps	25fps
GFXBench Manhattan	23fps	52fps

Screen

On the face of it, the screen looks to be no different on the iPad Air 2. It's still 9.7in and has the same Retina quality resolution (2048 x 1536). However, Apple has now laminated the front glass to the LCD itself, meaning the display feel like solid glass again. It's also less reflective, thanks to a new anti-reflective coating across the glass.

Touch ID

A new feature to the iPad Air 2 is the Touch ID fingerprint scanner which was introduced with the iPhone 5s. The Touch ID button feels just like that on recent iPhones and means the iPad comes to life shortly after you press your digit onto the sensor.

It's certainly a handy feature but not as much as on the iPhone which you start and stop the display far more frequently. It will be a boon to the compulsive iTunes Store shopper, as you can use it to buy apps and media without the tedious typing of your Apple ID password.

Other specs

The remaining specs of the iPad Air 2 are pretty much the same as the original with the Lightning connector, nano-SIM and Bluetooth 4.0. However, it is worth noting that the new model does have superior wireless as Apple has finally employed 802.11ac Wi-Fi and has added a barometer which can be used for elevation changes.

iPad Air 2 vs iPad Air: Cameras

Upgrades have been made to the camera with most of the work going on the main one at the rear. The front facing FaceTime HD is still 1.2 Mp with 720p video but has a new sensor which improves low light performance.

Meanwhile, the iSight camera jumps from 5 Mp to 8 Mp and adds features such as burst mode and Slo-mo video. General video recording remains at 1080p Full HD. See our iPad Air 2 review for a more detailed comparison.

iPad Air 2 vs iPad Air: Battery life

Apple's battery life claims tend to be pretty accurate and honest. That means the Air should last all day, regardless of whether you're watching videos or browsing the web via Wi-Fi. There's a smaller capacity battery inside the Air 2 – 27.3 Wh compared to 32.4 Wh in the Air although Apple claims 10 hours battery life for each.

Using looped gameplay from GFXBench to play the T-Rex sequence, 30 times over. This gave an estimated total runtime of 3 hour 53 minutes. The iPad Air on the other hand, reported an estimated total runtime of 4 hour 6 min. Both were running iOS 8.1 when we tested.

iPad Air 2 vs iPad Air: Software

There's no difference in software since iOS 8 is available for both devices.

iPad Air 2 vs iPad Air: Summary

The iPad Air 2 is thinner and lighter and has new features including the Touch ID fingerprint scanner, new processor, improved cameras and 11ac Wi-Fi. However, most of the changes won't be overly noticeable on a day-to-day basis so unless you want more than 32 GB of storage, we wouldn't blame you for sticking with your iPad Air or going for the older model to save some cash.

Sky News for Windows 8 review

The Sky News app found in the Windows Store is the poster child for Metro-style Windows app design. Metro is undeniably a great-looking environment and the Sky News app fits in nicely: all cascading live square tiles and shiny black background, with simple slidey navigation. It's made for use on a Windows 8 tablet or even smartphone, but desktop users may find that they prefer the Sky News website.

Open Sky News for Windows 8 and you launch an opening splash page comprising eight photo tiles arranged in two rows of four. Each represents a major news story, in most cases with a photo of the protagonists. Beneath each image is the headline of that story. Click into the either the image or the headline and you get the full story - albeit in most cases a suitably cut down version of the 'full' story. See all: Windows app reviews.

Sky News for Windows 8: live TV

Often the story is accompanied by a video news report, the one that will be used on the Sky News TV station. Should you wish to simply watch the live Sky News TV channel, that option is there, too. It worked beautifully over Wi-Fi on our Windows tablet.

Everything is beautifully laid out, shiny black finish and bright white text. The videos played seemlessly on our Samsung Series 7 Slate. The quality of content is a given: for all that Sky is to the UK what Fox is to the US (ie: a little right wing and more than a little bombastic) it is news service the volume and credibility of which only the BBC can really challenge. And Sky News and Sky Sports are the indisputed kings of slick presentation of factual material. (See also: Windows 8: the complete guide.)

Sky News for Windows 8: customisation

Unusually for a Windows 8 app, there are no real options within the Sky News app. Slide your finger down from the top or up from the bottom and you get only one option: Refresh. Naturally, this updates what stories are visible, but it hardly represents customisation which is disappointing in an app.

But perhaps we are getting spoilt, or missing the point - in Sky News for Windows 8's case, this is surely simplicity. This app doesn't need many options. Navigation is taken care of simply by swiping sideways from Top Stories, through Sky News in Video, UK News, World News, Politics, Business News, Showbiz, Sport and Strange!

This is a simple way of getting about what Sky considers the most important stories of the hour, but on our Samsung Slate the side-swiping mechanism often caused us to accidentally bring up the Charms bar when swiping right, or jump back to the previous app when going left. What can I say, I'm a vigorous swiper? This is clearly more of a Samsung Slate/Windows 8 problem than anything wrong with the app itself, but it is irritating.

Sky News for Windows 8: sharing

As is the case with virtually all Windows 8 apps you can share content via the Share Charm, in the Charm bar, which sits under your right thumb on touchscreen devices, and in the top corner if you are mousing. There are no native sharing capabilities in Windows 8 - each app can see all others, and you share via the social apps you have installed. It's a very neat system - what Microsoft describes as a contract between software and user: regardless of what app you use, you will find all your personal sharing options in the same place. Given that Mail and People are native apps, you can always share via email. In our case because we had already installed Tweetro and FotoEditor, we could also share stories that way. Useful, but again more about Windows 8 than Sky's app (which is no criticism).

I recently attended an event at which Microsoft showed off its favoured aspects of Windows 8. The Sky News app was held up as a good example of the way Microsoft wants Windows 8 apps to look and feel. It's indisputably stylish, although the lack of options make it little more than a cut-down website. And given that one of the reasons it looks so good is the lack of advertising, it poses some interesting questions about the viability of free information apps on Windows 8.