Around the back, the removable 22Wh, 3,220mAh battery pops out to reveal sealed microSIM and microSD slots. Ingeniously, a small, secondary bridge battery makes it possible to hot-swap the main battery without the need to power down. Panasonic claim eight hours of use with the standard battery, and 16 hours with the chunkier 6,800mAh model.
While most compact Windows 8.1 tablets make do with Bay Trail Atom processors, the Panasonic packs a 1.6GHz Core i5-4302Y CPU and 128GB or 256GB mSATA SSDs.
The FZ-M1's 7in touchscreen sports only a modest 1,280 x 800 resolution, but it's crystal clear - with its high 216ppi pixel density we initially mistook it for a Full HD panel.Keeping the resolution down is a sensible decision for a compact tablet, too. On-screen items are tappable and text legible without the need to invoke Windows 8.1's scaling settings, and given that the touchscreen supports input from gloved hands, that's no bad thing. A passive, capacitive stylus comes as an optional extra.
In terms of quality, we have zero complaints. Panasonic claims that the daylight-readable panel reaches a brightness of 500cd/m2, and the FZ-M1 is certainly capable of eye-searing levels of brightness with the backlight cranked up to its maximum setting. We're also pleased to see that Panasonic has used a matte, anti-glare screen finish.
There's an absolute truckload of features in the FZ-M1: the base model comes with dual-band 802.11ac and Bluetooth 4 wireless, a 0.3-megapixel front-facing camera and 5-megapixel camera at the rear. TPM 1.2 is standard, as well as full vPro support. Depending on your networking needs, you can add SiRFstarIII GPS modules, 4G, a passthrough socket for a high-gain external antenna, or integrated LAN or serial ports.
In addition, there are a variety of integrated options that can clip into the FZ-M1's rear, all of which house the secondary bridge battery. The sample we saw had the optional Magnetic strip and barcode reader; there are also smartcard, NFC, and UHF-RFID options.As usual, a range of clip-on straps and multi-purpose mounting systems are available, and now Panasonic has teamed up with iKey to provide a matching clip-on keyboard. Dubbed the iKey Jumpseat, the version we saw was still at the prototype stage, but it mimics the Toughpad design with a ruggedised metal chassis and a sealed rubber keyboard panel. The only omission is a touchpad.
A fully working Jumpseat for the 10.1in FZ-G1 sat alongside, and this boasted features such as two-month battery life, an optional fingerprint scanner and LED backlighting. We'll have to wait and see how many of those features make it to the smaller model, but it's a promising addition, and one that transforms the FZ-M1 into a full-fledged laptop/tablet hybrid.
Pricing is unconfirmed as yet, but the Jumpseat will be selling direct from Panasonic in the near future. We look forward to having a play with a fully working sample.The FZ-M1 is a classic Toughpad. There are so many impressive design features - the passively-cooled Core i5, the bridge battery, and the sheer number of customisations available - that it finds itself in a different class to any other compact tablet out there.And the price? Take a deep breath. The Toughpad FZ-M1 is set to go on sale at $2,099.
That's expensive, yes, but if you need a half-kilo device that can survive the harshest of environments ¨C day-in, day-out ¨C and carry on working, we suspect the FZ-M1 will prove to be worth every penny. Keep checking back to PC Pro for the full review; we'll give you the full lowdown as soon as we possibly can.However, with the Surface Pro touted as a high-end business machine, comparisons with the Surface RT are perhaps less relevant than those to the Windows 8 laptops and Apple iPads it will be competing against.By comparison, the latest iPad lasted almost ten hours in our tests, and although that again is an ARM-based device, the Intel-powered 13in Retina MacBook also approached nine hours in our labs.Sony's Windows 8 Sony VAIO Duo 11 convertible tablet also clocked up just over seven hours in our light battery test.Other competitors will be general-purpose Ultrabooks, with many now passing the seven-hour mark. The recently reviewed Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon, for example, clocked 7hrs 43min in our light-use test.
Sony has warned that 535,000 VAIO laptops could overheat after the discovery of a temperature gauge error.Sony said it had received 39 complaints about overheating in the VAIO F and C series laptops, leading to distortion of the machine's shape.In rare cases, these notebook computers can overheat due to a potential malfunction of the internal temperature management system, Sony said.Of the half a million affected laptops, 103,000 were sold in Europe, with the rest in the US, Japan and China. A Sony spokeswoman said there have been no reports to date of any issues with these models in the UK.In Europe, the affected models are in the VAIO VPCF11 and VPCCW2 series, which have been sold since January of this year. The problem can be mitigated with a BIOS firmware update, available here, where customers can also check if their laptop is one of the affected models.Since Henry Ford first produced the Model T, personalised motorised transport has been a world-changing technology. In recent times, however, it¡¯s lagged behind the machines we have on our desks and in our bags and pockets.
That¡¯s beginning to change. The latest versions of BMW¡¯s iDrive, Audi¡¯s MMI and Mercedes¡¯ Comand APS systems are building voice controls, apps and even 4G into vehicles. And it isn¡¯t just the premium marques, either. Earlier this year, Ford announced Spotify support in its EcoSport compact MPV.The trouble is, most cars on the road aren¡¯t new. They¡¯re secondhand, reasonably priced automobiles. The closest most of these cars will have come to a computer is having a laptop slung in the boot.But it shouldn¡¯t be this way. Computers are everywhere ¨C and they¡¯re cheap. To prove it, reviews editor Jonathan Bray upgraded his gold, 2008 Citroën Berlingo XTR with the latest, greatest tech.We started with satnavs, but we wanted to do more than mount a smartphone on a windscreen bracket or purchase a TomTom Go 500 ¨C we wanted a head-up display (HUD). Handily, Garmin has recently launched its very own retro-fit HUD device.An HUD projects turn-by-turn instructions and other data onto the windscreen. Driving with a unit mounted on the dash has a few key benefits.For one, it offers an unobscured view of the road ahead. Even the display area is transparent, and since you¡¯re looking at a reflection in the windscreen, rather than an LCD screen, your eyes have less refocusing to do, which makes them less tired.
Installation isn¡¯t as much of a hack as you may think. The device sticks to the top of the dashboard, and you apply a small, reflective square of transparent plastic film to the windscreen to reflect the instructions without ghosting.The HUD comes with an integral plastic reflector for those who don¡¯t want to stick something permanent to the windscreen.To get it going, we paired an iPhone 5s with the HUD over Bluetooth, installed the Garmin satnav app, and plugged the unit into a cigarette-lighter power outlet. It took time to get used to having turn icons on the windscreen, coupled with the audio instructions from the phone, but otherwise it worked flawlessly, and the display was viewable in all conditions.There are a few problems. First, you can only use Garmin or Navigon satnav software with the HUD. These work well enough, but we prefer TomTom and CoPilot. Second, the apps cost extra; we¡¯d have hoped the software would have been included.If you¡¯re feeling flush, Pioneer¡¯s ¡ê600 NavGate HUD offers a much richer, full-colour display; hooks up to the driver¡¯s sunvisor to deliver a larger display area than the Garmin; and pairs with our preferred satnav app, CoPilot.
You don¡¯t have to spend hundreds to get a head-up display. The effect can be achieved on the cheap via a dedicated smartphone app. Sygic sells a HUD plugin as an extension to its excellent satnav app ¨C just place your phone screen-side-up on the dashboard.Losing a laptop is always painful, often raising the awkward question of backups when it¡¯s too late. But whether your lost laptop perished of age or disappeared from your bag in a pub, that pain can take on a financial dimension too. Unless your data was encrypted or the laptop was disposed of securely, the blunt truth of the matter is that you¡¯re at risk of exposure to the dark market.Your personal data is valuable, and cyber criminals will pay for everything from bank logins and credit card details to the perhaps less obvious lists of contacts and email conversations. But just how much is your hard disk worth to a hacker? In this feature we¡¯ll find out.What kind of data has value? The simple answer is all of it, just to differing levels. In order to get your head around this you need to start thinking like a criminal, says John Livingston, CEO at Absolute Software.Your hard drive is a potentially easy-access encyclopaedia of personal dataYour hard drive is a potentially easy-access encyclopaedia of personal data
If we¡¯re going to add up the cost of this, let¡¯s start with how many security questions your bank asks you when you call them,¡± he says. ¡°Address? Name? Date of birth? Mother¡¯s maiden name? Customer number? The process attached to ¡®forgetting¡¯ your password invariably requires providing a couple more details ¨C a registered mobile number, email address, or a letter to the registered address. Your hard drive is a potentially easy-access encyclopaedia of data, containing the answers to those questions and more.Ryan Rubin, a director at Protiviti, points out there are also the cached passwords that can be found in applications such as internet browsers, email clients [and] social media clients. Catalin Cosoi, Chief Security Strategist at Bitdefender, would also include the potential access to compromised systems on your internal network which have internet access, which is rented by cyber criminals by the hour.When it comes to your computers used by small businesses, Intel¡¯s Rob Sheppard believes there's a lot more value to be extracted. Things that are valuable include company intellectual property, such as product design and cost information, vendor agreements, customer contact details and financial records, he says.
Konstantinos Xynos, of the faculty of advanced technology at the University of Glamorgan, admits it is hard to place an accurate figure on the value of your data. However, he says cyber criminals will tend to look at the age of the data (how recently data was written to the drive) and who the user is. Roughly speaking, anything up to a three-year-old computer will still have useful data. Data that has not been analysed but has been identified as a personal machine will not have much face value.Integrated gaming systems can contain a huge library of registered games and these types of accounts are highly sought outIntegrated gaming systems can contain a huge library of registered games and these types of accounts are highly sought outInterestingly, Xynos believes any computer that can be identified as having been used primarily as a games machine is likely to command a premium. This is because of the inherent value in the games themselves, he explains. Games, like other commercial software, have serial numbers which can extracted and sold on. Integrated gaming systems, like Steam, Origin and Desura, can contain a huge library of registered games and these types of accounts are highly sought out.
Clearly, the actual value depends on the number of games, along with whether or not credit card information has been associated with the accounts. However, Steam accounts containing up to nine games are often sold for between ¡ê4 and ¡ê8 on the dark market. Accounts for online games such as World of Warcraft are also valuable, as the hacker can log in and transfer all the in-game items to a character they own, then sell them on auction sites.When it comes to mining your email, Xynos insists, there isn't much value to the underground economy unless sold in bulk, when they may command a notional value of a penny per item. Then there's the licence serial keys to your software, which reside on your hard drive and can be sold on after being extracted by trawling the system registry. Windows 7 Ultimate keys are still selling for around ¡ê3 a time despite the launch of Windows 8, for which keys have yet to hit the dark market in any great number.Toshiba today announced three new mobile computer designs to coincide with the 25th anniversary of its first laptop. The Libretto W100 features dual 7in touchscreens, the Port¨¦g¨¦ R700 is Europe¡¯s slimmest and lightest ¡°full-function¡± laptop, while the AC100 is a mobile internet device powered by a Nvidia Tegra processor and Google Android.
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