What Technology Will We Expect with Next Year’s PCs and How Will it Affect Prices?

Smartphones and tablets have a lot to answer for, at least when it comes to making technology affordable for the public.  Since the launch of the first iPhone it’s become not only accepted that sensors and other devices such as GPS, multi-touch capacitive screens, NFC, accelerometers, digital compasses and more should be included but we’ve come to expect, if not demand them.

As the next twelve to twenty four months goes on there will come more and they will be even more commonplace in portable computing devices than they are now.  Windows 8 supports more types of sensor than ever before too with technologies such as Kinect, NFC and more being integrated directly into the platform.  But what is this going to do for the prices of the computers that we buy and is it even affordable to do so?

The latest rumour is that ASUS is testing Kinect sensors built into the bezel of laptops.  This type of integration won’t come as a surprise to many people and it’s only to be expected.  This type of technology isn’t cheap however and integrating it into a laptop will come at a cost penalty.  This is also at a time when PC makers are telling us that the profit margins on PCs and laptops are now so tight that they’re beginning to focus on the high-end computing devices such as ultrabooks in order to get us to part with more cash.

My own laptop contains a four-point capacitive touch screen, 3G SIM card slot, drop-sensing accelerometer, fingerprint reader, TPM chip and GPS.  It’s a high-end model yes, but when you think about where consumers are now with technology it’s likely that people will want to get these types of devices, along with Kinect, already integrated with their new computers, monitors and laptops, and that PC makers will capitalise on this fact to hike prices and push people towards buying even more expensive computers that improve their profit margins and balance sheets.

To be honest I firmly believe that some of these sensors are pretty much essential for work in the modern age.  3G/4G is one such example with mobile broadband now so ubiquitous.  GPS is also something that’s extremely useful in a mobile device and security systems such as biometric fingerprint readers and Trusted Platform Module chips are now essential for any business laptop.

Then we have to face the fact that by the time Windows 8 launches or at least early in 2013, over 80% of new laptops will ship with a multi-touch screen.  Next year’s consumer electronics show will be full of such devices and laptops packed with sensors and NFC readers of all description.  Each will have a use, every last one will be justifiable, and all will be more expensive than they are today.

So what is your attitude to sensors and extra tech on PCs?  Do you already have a laptop that includes some of these devices and do you use them?  I might not use my laptop’s GPS a lot but the 3G module is used several times a week.  Are you happy that the prices of laptops seems to be steadily rising, at the same time as many are predicting the death of the traditional desktop PC with a tower that’s easy to upgrade and cheap to build.  Why not let us know in the comments below.

When will the Have-Not’s Get PCs and Internet at Home?

It’s been announced that US government is about to expand its scheme to get broadband and PCs into low-income households across America.  It’s a similar scheme to others that have been run and that continue worldwide.  As part of the deal Microsoft will provide $250 laptops and desktops pre-loaded with Office and Redemtech will offer refurbished PCs for $150.

This still doesn’t hit the magic price point of $99.  This is the point at which something drops to the magic ‘obtainable’ price and hearts and minds are won.

Part of the problem stems from the fact that technology is still relatively expensive to manufacture.  There are also only so many manufacturing plants worldwide and the current demand for high-tech electronics such as Apple’s iPad and smartphones dominates many of them.

You might think then that mass-producing these devices would inevitably drive manufacturing costs down.  It’s not quite that simple though as it also emerged today that the new $79 kindle actually costs $84 to make, with Amazon set to make the extra money back through books store sales.

The mark-up on the price of the iPad also isn’t great when you factor in the distribution and retailer costs.  The raw components for technology are, in some cases, becoming harder to mine and some costs are going up, not down.

You might think then that what we really need is a push back to slightly older, some might say “tried and tested” technology that genuinely is cheap as chips to manufacture to help push it into the homes of low-income households worldwide.  But issues around supply and manufacture will always make this technology just as expensive to produce as a new invention as they are all made from the same raw components.

The problem is though that millions of children worldwide are missing out of the educational benefits that computers and the Internet bring.  Pensioners around the world are continuing to be isolated because of the lack of Internet communications and don’t have access to online shopping services that can help them.

The US government said today that last year the number of Americans with broadband at home rose to 68%.  I don’t know what you think but when compared to some scandanavian and far-eastern countries this is pretty pathetic.  It’s a number shared by too many developed countries however and in the developing world we’re often looking at single digit percentages.

What’s need is a greater effort and a greater subsidy to help low-income households around the world get a computer of some description and a broadband connection at home, and to make sure that every child has easy access to both.  In a time when the budgets of world governments are being stretched, and household budgets are being stretched further, the gap between the have’s and the have not’s is widening faster than ever before.

In a report by USA Today, FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski said “In this difficult economy, we need everyone to be working together on solutions, Broadband is a key to economic and educational opportunity and these kinds of commitments to close the digital divide are powerful.”

Never was a truer word said.  Now let’s see if world governments are prepared to do anything about it.

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© Mike Halsey (MVP) for gHacks Technology News | Latest Tech News, Software And Tutorials, 2011. | Permalink |
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Acer Aspire Ethos 8951G Laptop Review

Of all the laptops available at the moment, the two categories that interest me most are ultraportables and full desktop replacements.  Ultraportables can be incredibly useful for life on the move due to their small size and incredibly light weight.  For regular laptops to be useful though for anything more than light use is unusual however as they have neither the advantages of an ultraportable nor a desktop replacement.

For me desktop replacements have to be good to earn the name.  They have to genuinely be able to replace your desktop and this means at least a Core i5 processor, lots of memory, huge volumes of hard disk space and, crucially, a large screen.  My own laptop is a desktop replacement workstation, the Dell M6600 which is an absolute monster with a price tag to match of around $4,000, but it’s possible to get much of the same for significantly less.  A couple of months ago I reviewed Samsung‘s RF711 gaming desktop replacement laptop which comes in at under $1,000 and, while it may make a few compromises such as not having a full HD 17 inch screen, it does come packed with a Core-i7 chip, 6Gb of Ram and twin hard disks.

Now though Acer have stepped into the frame with the new Aspire Athos 8951G and it’s got a very interesting little trick up its sleeve.  This is the most enormous laptop I’ve ever seen with a huge 18.4 inch full HD screen.  It’s over 40 cm wide and weighs more than 4Kg.  Inside though the package is very impressive with my model packing a quad core 2.2GHz Core-i7, 8Gb of DDR3 ram (expandable to 16Gb) and two 500Gb hard disks.  There’s an nVidia GeForce GT 555M graphics card with it’s own dedicated 2Gb of memory and the customary extras you’d expect such as 802.11n WiFi, Bluetooth 2.1 (though not 3.0), three USB 2 ports, a USB 3 port, full HDMI, FireWire, 6 in 1 card reader, VGA, Gigabit Ethernet and e-SATA.  There’s a webcam built into the bezel and a fingerprint reader below the keyboard.

All this comes in, with a Blu-Ray reader at around $1,400 which is more than the Samsung, but it offers more, and is considerably less than the Dell.

It is a very attractive machine finished in jet black brushed metal with matching high-quality plastics throughout.  There are a few small touches of silver finish, a large speaker grille above the keyboard with loud, punchy sound that admittedly lacks range, and a sub-woofer underneath.

The keyboard is a full size, scrabble-tile affair and, while I would have liked full size cursor keys on the machine this large, the keyboard is well proportioned and easy to use.  The keyboard is backlit too, very helpful, but with only a single brightness setting; or two if you include off!  It was disappointing not to see seperate volume and media controls however, but this may be because of the Acer’s party piece.

The full HD 1920 by 1080 screen is glorious, with a glass-effect finish (it’s actually a plastic coating) that give the machine a feel of real luxury.  What it lacks in brightness against some others it makes up for with its sheer size and impact.

Battery life is perhaps less impressive, the 6000 mAh battery will last a maximum of 5½ hours on light use but more likely 3½ to 4 hours in general use.  Play a game on it and, like the Samsung, you’ll be lucky to get 45 minutes out of it.  Build quality is much better with no show-though when I poked the pack of the screen and solid build quality throughout.

The 8951G’s party piece though is the removable trackpad which doubles as a media controller.  Flip a switch on the front of the laptop and out it pops to work wirelessly.  Press a button in the top right and media controls illuminate, it’s really very clever and works at some distance.  While you can click it, though it’s not multi-touch, this sadly pushes the chassis mouse buttons to the very front of the edge of the case, which feels odd.

Alas it’s as a trackpad that the faults begin to appear.  The trackpad has quite a sticky surface which often makes it feel you’re physically trying to shove the cursor across the screen.  It also doesn’t have a rubber or grippy bottom, so you won’t be using it to the side of the laptop like Apple’s Magic Trackpad.

On a desktop replacement machine however you’re more likely going to be using this in a static location with a mouse, and in this configuration it’s simply superb and hugely powerful.  It’s pre-loaded with huge volumes of bloatware and trialware, which I hate, but once you’ve uninstalled all that it’s a desktop replacement in every sense of the word.  I wouldn’t even know how to fill 1Tb of storage on a laptop and I have millions of files!

Overall the Acer Aspire Ethos 8951G is a hugely powerful and hugely impressive machine.  It may be pricey, but it’s not much more than a comparable desktop with all the advantages a laptop brings.  The trackpad lets it down so you’ll really want to get a mouse as well.  But overall, it’s an excellent purchase at a very sensible price.

Overall, 7/10

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© Mike Halsey (MVP) for gHacks Technology News | Latest Tech News, Software And Tutorials, 2011. | Permalink |
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Post tags: 8951G, acer, aspire, desktop replacement, ethos, laptop