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Sometimes freelancer covering mobile consumer technology, electric and hybrid cars and when the opportunity arises, industrial archaeology. Pieces have appeared in ZDNet, Expert Reviews, ArsTechnica and The Register. This is a selection of my scribblings from the last couple of years.
With tablet sales declining, manufacturers are increasingly trying to pitch their slabs as alternatives to laptops. Apple, Samsung and Huawei are all trying the same trick and chasing the "productivity" customer with varying degrees of success. The latest to cross my path is the Chuwi Hi9 Plus, a budget rival to Huawei's MediaPad M5 Pro.
This latest Shenzhen MacBook-lookalike is a budget laptop delight.
Geek's Guide to Britain Mention the development of air raid early warning systems in the UK and thoughts will most likely jump to the Chain Home radar network of the 1930s. But a system was put in place twenty years earlier to give advance warning of raids by German Zeppelins.
Geek's Guide to Britain The pell-mell expansion of Britain's railways in the 19th century has bequeathed some impressive feats of engineering. Great stone viaducts like those at Calstock in Cornwall and Harringworth near Melton Mowbray get the glory, but for my money it's the iron bridges that are the real marvels.
If you're prepared to spend some time anglicising your machine, the Mi Notebook Pro offers excellent value for money. But is it worth the risk of buying from China and forgoing any after-sales support?
Specs at a glance: Riversimple Rasa Body type 2-seat, 3-door hatchback Power source 8.5kW Hydrogenics hydrogen fuel cell Transmission Four wheel-mounted electric motors Power 16kW continuous (55kW peak) Torque 4x 60Nm continuous (170Nm peak) Chassis Carbon composite monocoque with aluminium crash structure Bodywork Self-coloured thermoplastic panels Steering Unassisted rack and
The 5.99-inch Redmi 5 Plus looks, feels and performs like a much more expensive smartphone. It's not perfect, but the drawbacks are minor.
For the money, Xiaomi's Mi Mix 2 is a stunning smartphone. It looks fantastic and performs well, and you'll have a phone that none of your friends or colleagues have.
Specs at a glance: 2016 Hyundai Ioniq Hybrid Body type Five-door hatchback Layout Front-wheel drive Powertrain 1.6L 4-cylinder Atkinson cycle petrol engine, with electric hybrid drive and 1.56kWh Li-ion battery Transmission Six-speed automatic DCT Horsepower 105ps (petrol engine) / 32kW (electric motor) / 104kW/141ps (combined) Torque 147Nm (petrol engine) / 170Nm (electric motor) / 265Nm (combined) Suspension MacPherson strut (front) / Multi-link (rear) Combined fuel economy 83.1mpg...
Specs at a glance: Xiaomi Air 12 Screen 12.5-inch 1080p IPS OS Windows 10 Home (Chinese Edition) CPU Intel Core m3-6Y30 dual-core @ 900MHz (2.2GHz Turbo) RAM 4GB LPDDR3 (non-upgradeable) GPU Intel HD Graphics 515 HDD 128GB SATA SSD (M.2 slot available) Networking Wi-Fi 802.11ac, Bluetooth 4.1 Ports 1x USB 3.0 Type-C, USB 3.0 Type-A, HDMI, headphone jack Size 11.5" x 7.95" x 0.51" (292mm x 202mm x 12.9mm) Other perks 720p webcam, backlit keyboard Notes You cannot directly buy the Xiaomi Air 12...