Search results for 'Features' - Page: 10
| PC World - 12 Sep (PC World)If you use a VPN, you’ve likely come across the kill-switch feature. But you may not know what it actually does or why you’d want to use it.
A VPN’s kill switch is one of the first features I recommend people enable with their VPN and something I always have on whenever I connect. It’s a simple, fail-safe way to guarantee your data is never accidentally exposed if your VPN disconnects. It’s so important that a service must include a robust and trustworthy kill switch in order to make it onto my list of best VPNs.
Below I’ll explain what a kill switch is, why I think you should always utilize this feature, and how to use it with your VPN.
What is a VPN kill switch?
A VPN kill switch is a fail-safe for your secure, private connection. If your VPN disconnects for some unexpected reason, the kill switch will immediately engage and block access to the internet, thus keeping your personal information from being revealed by mistake.
Some services offer both an internet kill switch as well as an app-based kill switch. An app-based kill switch only blocks certain apps from accessing the internet in the event of a VPN disconnection rather than blocking the entire internet connection.
Why does a kill switch matter with a VPN?
A VPN’s kill switch is like a safety net for your private encrypted connection. It makes sure that if you accidentally disconnect or the VPN stops working, your connection will still stay private and secure.
This is crucial for almost any activity you’re likely to use a VPN for. Anonymity and privacy are critical for at-risk users or those handling sensitive information such as lawyers, dissidents, and whistleblowers. For these types of individuals, a VPN may be the only way they stay safe using the internet and a kill switch is a reliable backup measure to ensure their identity remains hidden.
Even just casual VPN users who want to watch Netflix can benefit from a kill switch. By using a VPN to circumvent geo-blocked content you’re able to freely watch all of your shows. But if your connection unexpectedly drops, you may suddenly find yourself blocked from that same content. A kill switch can reliably keep your true home IP address location hidden so that when you reconnect, you can pick up right where you left off.
A kill switch is one of the most important security features a VPN can have. Almost every VPN comes with one and if yours doesn’t, it’s probably best to switch providers asap.
How to turn on a VPN kill switch
A kill switch, like this one from NordVPN, is a must-have feature when using any VPN.
A kill switch, like this one from NordVPN, is a must-have feature when using any VPN.Sam Singleton
A kill switch, like this one from NordVPN, is a must-have feature when using any VPN.Sam Singleton
Sam Singleton
Most VPNs have a kill-switch feature and it’s almost always found under the app’s Settings menu. Once you open up the Settings menu, locate the kill-switch feature button, and toggle it to “On.” That’s it, you’re good to go and browse safely with your fail-safe enabled.
Alternatively, if offered by your VPN, you can toggle on the app-based kill-switch feature as well. Here you’ll need to do a little more legwork by individually adding each app you wish to use the kill switch with.
One thing to note though, is that if you have the main overall kill switch enabled at the same time as your app-based kill switch, the overall version will still cut off access to your entire internet rather than just the apps you designated in the event of a disconnection. Read...Newslink ©2024 to PC World | |
| | | ITBrief - 12 Sep (ITBrief)NetSuite unveils AI-driven features at SuiteWorld 2024, promising enhanced productivity and seamless integration for users, at no extra cost Read...Newslink ©2024 to ITBrief | |
| | | RadioNZ - 12 Sep (RadioNZ)Gondola-like pods hanging under rails and over roads, taxiing travellers around city centres, might sound futuristic, but a Christchurch company says it can beat urban traffic congestion with its Whoosh transport project. Read...Newslink ©2024 to RadioNZ | |
| | | PC World - 12 Sep (PC World)Microsoft just announced that the latest update for the Photos app in Windows will introduce a new image search feature.
As of right now, the update is rolling out to Windows 11 users in the Insider program across all Insider channels. After that’s done, it will roll out to Windows 10 users in the Beta and Release Preview channels. And then, of course, it’ll be publicly available at some point in the future.
Get Windows 11 Pro for cheap
Windows 11 Pro
Here’s how the new image search feature will work:
When you open an image in Photos, you’ll see a button for the Visual Search with Bing feature at the bottom of the app window.
Microsoft
Microsoft
Microsoft
As the name suggests, this button will perform an image search via Microsoft’s Bing search engine. When you click the button, a new tab opens up in your system’s default browser and performs a Bing image search using the image currently open in Photos.
Microsoft
Microsoft
Microsoft
The image search results include all kinds of images that look similar to the one searched, along with related products and related content that may be useful. For example, running an image search on a celebrity photo could possibly return the hat or jacket they’re wearing.
This update also includes another useful feature: the ability to sync and view your iCloud photos on Windows 10. You’ll see an iCloud Photos section in the left sidebar, which prompts you to install iCloud for Windows and sign in with your Apple ID to sync iCloud photos. (Windows 11 users can already do this, so this is only new for Windows 10.)
Other goodies in this update include improved navigation in the Gallery app, an option to always run Photos in the background, and the ability to right-click an image in File Explorer and immediately edit in Photos.
Further reading: Obscure Windows features everyone should know Read...Newslink ©2024 to PC World | |
| | | PC World - 12 Sep (PC World)I just found a fantastic deal on a superb Dell gaming laptop and I just have to share it with you. Right now, you can get this Dell G16 laptop for just $1,250 at Best Buy, which is a significant drop from its usual $1,600. That’s a nice discount for a powerful config.
For starters, the Dell G16 features a large 16-inch display with a high resolution of 2560×1600 for crisp images. With a max refresh rate of 240Hz, it’s fast enough for buttery smooth visuals in action-heavy games, offering the ultimate portable gaming experience.
It’s all powered by an Intel Core i9-13900HX CPU and a highly performant Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060 GPU, pushed even further by a hefty 32GB of RAM and a spacious 1TB SSD. It’s an absolute rocket and you won’t need to upgrade for years. What more could you possibly want?
We actually reviewed the Dell G16, although it had a slightly different configuration than this one that’s on sale right now. Still, we gave it 4 out of 5 stars and appreciated that this laptop is as good as a desktop in terms of performance:
“The Dell G16 7630 is big and has plenty of muscle to run your favorite games. Its display is exceptional, and it runs media with very smooth motion. It’s also priced to be affordable. But the gaming laptop’s sheer size means it’s not that portable. If you’re looking for a desktop experience but don’t want to shell out on an 18-inch laptop, then this ripper fits the bill exactly.”
If you’re in the market for a powerful gaming laptop and have some money to spare but don’t want to burn too much, this deal is the one for you. Grab this Dell G16 for just $1,250 at Best Buy while you can!
This Dell gaming laptop is fantastic at this priceBuy now at Best Buy Read...Newslink ©2024 to PC World | |
| | | PC World - 12 Sep (PC World)It isn’t every day that you’re able to snatch one of the best gaming monitors available at its best-ever price. But right now, you can get this 49-inch Samsung Odyssey G9 monitor for only $800 on Amazon, a massive discount off its normal $1,300 MSRP.
For starters, you have to know that this is a super large monitor at 49 inches. That’s basically the size of a television, so expect it to take up a bit of space on your desk — but the size is worth it because it enables you to have an incredible, unparalleled experience.
With its ultrawide resolution of 3440×1440, you can pack so many apps side by side on screen and play your games as immersively as possible. Its fast 240Hz refresh rate ensures smooth visuals with minimal blur, and its 1ms response time reduces lag.
The Samsung Odyssey G9 has a 1000R curvature, which makes it easier on the eyes as you look from edge to edge, reducing eye strain no matter whether you’re gaming or working. And with a peak brightness of 1,000 nits, it shows vivid colors for maximum realism.
Lastly, if you plan to multitask apps often, know that this monitor also features built-in picture-by-picture and picture-in-picture capabilities. (Honestly, you may not even need these features because the screen is so large. Hosting apps side by side should be no problem.)
It feels weird to call an $800 monitor “a bargain,” but this is a top-of-the-line model that delivers real performance at a massive size. Get this Samsung Odyssey G9 at a steep discount on Amazon while you still can because this deal isn’t going to last very long.
This spectacular 49-inch Samsung monitor is on saleBuy now on Amazon Read...Newslink ©2024 to PC World | |
| | | PC World - 12 Sep (PC World)At a GlanceExpert`s Rating
ProsMultiple independently verified no-log auditsUnlimited simultaneous device connectionsVast server networkGreat extra features such as multi-hop and split tunnelingConsApp is a little awkward to useSpeeds are fairly pedestrianOur VerdictPrivate Internet Access continues to be one of the top VPN services on the market. It’s affordable, offers plenty of servers, unlimited simultaneous device connections, and now has very strong privacy credentials due to multiple independent audits. It might not win any speed races, but the average user isn’t likely to notice in most situations.
Best Prices Today: Private Internet Access
Retailer
Price
Private Internet Access
$11.95
View Deal
Price comparison from over 24,000 stores worldwide
Product
Price
Price comparison from Backmarket
Private Internet Access (PIA) has seemingly been around since the advent of third-party VPNs. Since that time, it’s been a favorite VPN service for many users thanks to its excellent pricing and good privacy guarantees. Recently the service has made some truly promising improvements by lifting the device connection limit and undergoing a third-party audit. So, with these new updates how does it stack up against the other titans of the VPN market? Let’s dive in and have a look.
Private Internet Access in brief:
P2P allowed: Yes
Simultaneous device connections: Unlimited
Business location: U.S.
Number of servers: 10,000+
Number of country locations: 90
Cost: $11.95 per month, or $79 + 4 free months for a three year subscription
Further reading: See our roundup of the best VPN services to learn about competing products.
What are Private Internet Access’s features and services?
PIA’s homescreen defaults to a minimized window that can be expanded to show more information or servers.
PIA’s homescreen defaults to a minimized window that can be expanded to show more information or servers.
Sam Singleton
PIA’s homescreen defaults to a minimized window that can be expanded to show more information or servers.
Sam Singleton
Sam Singleton
Upon first opening PIA you’ll notice that it has maintained the same user-interface design since the company overhauled its Windows app in 2019. You’re presented with a simple panel in the lower-right corner of your screen. By default this panel is anchored to that location unless you unlock it in the settings menu. It’s an interesting design decision and one that I’m not honestly a big fan of. It feels a bit constrained, but then again maybe I’m just used to every other VPN having a free window by default.
The Windows app itself is pretty straightforward. There’s a big on/off button at the top and below that is the VPN server location — clicking it takes you to a different screen where you’re able to view and choose a different country or server location. For countries with multiple location options you’re able to click a drop-down menu to display all of the available server locations within that country. And boy are there a lot to choose from. PIA offers servers across 90 countries and, while not officially confirmed, it’s believed to have over 10,000 servers.
PIA’s extensive server list provides useful information including latency and physical/virtual server locations.
PIA’s extensive server list provides useful information including latency and physical/virtual server locations.
Sam Singleton
PIA’s extensive server list provides useful information including latency and physical/virtual server locations.
Sam Singleton
Sam Singleton
Next to each country location is its latency displayed in milliseconds and there’s a heart icon which allows you to designate a server as one of your favorites. It also conveniently denotes which servers are virtual servers with an icon that states “This is a geo-located region” next to the name.
A virtual server is not located within the country itself, but rather assigns an IP address of the country location instead. The transparency here should be commended as not many other VPN providers willingly label which of their servers are virtual or physical.
Overall the server list layout effect is nice and simple to follow. PIA allows you to sort its server list either by latency or location name, as well. This makes it much easier for people who are only interested in speed to find the optimal connection or likewise by name to find their desired location.
Once connected, the app displays your actual IP address and the VPN address you’re using. This basic information is all you can see in the compact view, but if you click the downward-facing arrow at the bottom you can see a ton of extra details as well.
PIA’s publication of transparency reports and up-front nature regarding user privacy and security should be commended.
This includes quick-connect options with locations such as France, Germany, the U.S., and the UK. There are also tiles for bandwidth usage, a performance graph, data encryption and handshake settings being used, and basic settings control. If you prefer to see any of this information on the compact view instead you’re able to click the bookmark icon on any tile to display it. You can add or remove any of these options as you see fit.
While I appreciate the extra connection-details menu, when expanding the drop-down menu it shot past the bottom of my screen making it awkward to view all of the data or reshrink the menu. It’s a small gripe, I know, but an (overdue) interface update could easily remedy these clunky navigational issues.
PIA has a robust feature set which includes a highly customizable split-tunneling feature.
PIA has a robust feature set which includes a highly customizable split-tunneling feature. Sam Singleton
PIA has a robust feature set which includes a highly customizable split-tunneling feature. Sam Singleton
Sam Singleton
Private Internet Access comes with a plethora of great features such as split tunneling, multi-hop, and a kill switch. It even allows you to designate an app-based kill switch, which will block traffic only on specific apps should the VPN connection break.
It’s worth talking a little bit about PIA’s split-tunneling feature. Split tunneling allows you to pick and choose which apps you wish to run through a VPN, allowing you to optimize bandwidth for low-risk activities such as streaming or gaming. And PIA has one of the most dynamic split-tunneling features I’ve ever seen. Power users can go to town tweaking things such as which apps, IP addresses, and DNS requests are allowed to bypass the VPN.
Additionally, taking after other VPN providers such as NordVPN and Surfshark, PIA has added a handy security extra in the form of an ad- and tracker-blocker it calls MACE, and data-breach monitoring with its Identity Guard feature. This is something that’s becoming more common as a means to entice users with a complete online security suite rather than just a VPN service. You can even opt-in to an antivirus tool from PIA for an additional fee when you sign up if you so choose.
The convenience of this all-in-one approach is enticing, but generally speaking, a standalone antivirus software, like our favorite antivirus suites, will offer you more comprehensive coverage and overall security.
PIA is available for all major platforms including Windows, macOS, iOS, Android, Linux, Chrome browser, and some gaming devices and smart TVs.
How much does Private Internet Access VPN cost?
Private Internet Access has long been one of the most affordable premium VPN services on the market. That still remains that case; however, other competitors are starting to offer comparable rates — some other services can even be found cheaper, but usually with less features.
PIA offers three plans including a monthly plan, 1-year plan, and 3-year plan. The monthly rate is $11.95, which is above the industry average, but actually cheaper than other services with the same feature set.
The 1-year plan will set you back $39.96, or $3.33 per month. If you opt for the 3-year plan PIA throws in an extra four months for free and it will cost a total of $79, or $1.98 per month.
A unique and economical pricing feature of PIA’s long-term plans is that they don’t increase in price after the renewal period. So if you opt for the 1-year plan, after the first year you’ll still only be charged $39.96 for any subsequent years.
Most VPN providers will offer you an enticing long-term plan deal initially and then after the renewal period, your price will skyrocket up to a much less affordable amount for as long as you continue subscribing.
When you sign up for PIA, it only asks for your email address. It accepts a good range of payment options including credit card, PayPal, Amazon Pay, and cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Litecoin — there’s also an option to use Bitpay instead of direct wallet transfers.
How is Private Internet Access’s performance?
In my testing I measured connection speeds across PIA’s servers in six different countries all around the world and then compared them to my baseline internet speed. PIA’s speeds were alright, but they weren’t enough to make our top five fastest VPNs. Across all locations tested, the speeds averaged 49 percent of the base download speed and a more respectable 77 percent of the base upload speed.
Of course, as one would expect, I noted that locations closer to my physical location had better speed averages, while server locations further away were slower. Also, curiously, I found that my connections while using the OpenVPN protocol were actually faster than those with WireGuard.
WireGuard is considered to be the faster of the two protocols, as OpenVPN is optimized for security over speed. So to find that my connection speeds were actually faster while using OpenVPN was a bit of a head-scratcher. Still, because the differences only averaged a few percentage points, either protocol will do speed-wise.
For a top VPN, I have to admit that these overall connection speed averages are a bit disappointing. NordVPN, one of PIA’s top competitors, has average speeds of over 72 percent of the base download speed — a full 23 percent faster. Users who demand ultra-fast connections while gaming or downloading large files may want to consider their options. For what it’s worth, I was able to play online FPS games while connected to a PIA server and had no noticeable hiccups or connection issues though.
At the end of the day, PIA’s speeds aren’t terrible and they should be plenty fast enough to allow you to stream or browse to your heart’s content without noticeable lag — depending on your own home internet connection of course.
As for streaming, Private Internet Access worked perfectly fine with all of the major streaming services such as Netflix, Disney Plus, Amazon Prime, and Hulu. I didn’t come across any servers that were blocked and geo-restriction access was never an issue no matter which country’s server I was connected to.
How is Private Internet Access’s security and privacy?
PIA continues to prove that it takes user privacy seriously with a strong privacy toolset.
PIA continues to prove that it takes user privacy seriously with a strong privacy toolset.
Private Internet Access
PIA continues to prove that it takes user privacy seriously with a strong privacy toolset.
Private Internet Access
Private Internet Access
PIA has been owned and operated by Kape Technologies, a UK-based company formerly known as Crossrider, since 2019. There have been some questions in the past about the somewhat dubious practices surrounding Crossrider. Its development platform for browser extensions was used by independent developers to deliver malicious adware and malware to users. Realizing this and facing backlash, Crossrider closed the platform in 2016 and rebranded itself as Kape Technologies.
Since this reset, and subsequent leadership reorganization, Kape Technologies has pivoted to become a major provider of digital security software. It has gone on a run in recent years of purchasing ownership of some of the largest VPNs on the market today including PIA, ExpressVPN, ZenMate VPN, and CyberGhost VPN, as well as Mac antivirus firm Intego.
To its credit, PIA has taken it upon itself to ease the minds of privacy-focused users with regular transparency reports. Additionally, in 2022 and most recently in 2024 it underwent independent security audits by Deloitte to review its “no-logs” policy. In both instances Deloitte confirmed that PIA stores no logs and no details that could be used to identify users or their activities.
Privacy is the main pillar of a good VPN service and these independent audits combined with PIA’s continued willingness to strive for transparency has done a lot to rectify any concerns over its parent company’s past.
PIA uses the industry standard AES-256 encryption and both the Windows and Android apps support WireGuard and OpenVPN protocols. There is also built-in protection against DNS leaks, which I verified by using a DNS Leak test tool. I found that my real location information was never leaked while connected to PIA’s servers.
PIA also uses diskless RAM-only servers, which boot on a read-only image and use RAM modules instead of hard disks. By not storing data on hard disks, RAM-only servers are more resistant to tampering by both hackers and physical breaches. Data on RAM-only servers is also wiped with each server restart, meaning that any collected user data is usually never stored for very long. While RAM-only servers have become more commonplace among VPN providers recently, PIA was well ahead of the game by installing them years ago.
Is Private Internet Access worth it?
Private Internet Access has been at this game for a long time and it shows. The affordable VPN is well polished with a nice — if slightly outdated — interface, plenty of servers to choose from, and tons of tweakable features. The service’s continued publication of transparency reports and up-front nature regarding user privacy and security should also be commended.
It’s true that the speeds might not be the fastest, and its parent company has had its fair share of dubious issues. But that is all seemingly in the past, and PIA has done its best to show that it is removed from all of that anyhow. While there may be other services that do one single thing better, PIA stands apart as a jack-of-all-trades that does everything well. It continues to be a top-tier VPN that, like a fine wine, is only getting better with age.
Editor’s note: Because online services are often iterative, gaining new features and performance improvements over time, this review is subject to change in order to accurately reflect the current state of the service. Any changes to text or our final review verdict will be noted at the top of this article. Read...Newslink ©2024 to PC World | |
| | | PC World - 12 Sep (PC World)Dig into your Settings in Windows 11, and you’ll find a list of your PC’s installed apps—including a couple related to core Windows features like Cortana and Copilot. If you dislike anything, you can nuke the offending software with a click.
But despite a brief moment of excitement on the internet, the same isn’t true for Microsoft Recall, the upcoming AI-infused Windows feature that will capture screenshots of everything you do on your PC. And in all likelihood, uninstalling Recall won’t be a possibility for a while after its launch (if ever).
It should be, though, given Microsoft’s attempts to associate Windows 11 with security and privacy.
Get windows 11 pro for cheap
Windows 11 Pro
Microsoft Recall is a sharp double-edged sword. The AI-driven search feature has the potential to dramatically lessen the burden of tracing your digital footprints—it instead can sift through the screenshots it took of the sites you visited, the information you researched, the files you worked on, and more. All in the hope of finding that one recipe for sourdough bread you forgot to bookmark, or which messaging app your spouse used to send over their flight info.
But the screenshots that Recall takes in order to do that processing also have the potential to reveal extreme detail about your life to others. It’s a potential gold mine for hackers and bad actors, and can also put individuals in abusive relationships at greater risk for harm.
Microsoft listened to the initial outcry about privacy and security concerns when Recall was first revealed back in May—it revised its original launch plans, promising to leave Recall off by default (rather than on) and to retool the style of encryption so that the screenshots were only accessible when needed for a search. The company also delayed wider release of the feature, keeping it to Windows Insiders only for continued testing.
The idea of Microsoft Recall is cool, but not everyone will want it—and they shouldn’t be forced to still have remnants of it on their PCs.
The idea of Microsoft Recall is cool, but not everyone will want it—and they shouldn’t be forced to still have remnants of it on their PCs.Microsoft
The idea of Microsoft Recall is cool, but not everyone will want it—and they shouldn’t be forced to still have remnants of it on their PCs.Microsoft
Microsoft
However, when a preview version of Windows 11 seemed to allow the option to uninstall Recall, Microsoft squashed the resulting buzz by saying it was an unintended bug. You can still disable Recall, but you can’t wholesale jettison it from your PC.
That’s disappointing, because in the most simple terms, a truly secure PC is one that keeps your data out of unwanted hands. And if Microsoft opens up the potential for that information to get served to others, it should also allow fully closing off that possibility. The threat of a PC breach is constant in today’s world—the number and scope of phishing attacks continue to increase. Microsoft Recall is a prospective liability, since features that aren’t removed can always be switched back on or otherwise exploited. The option to uninstall Recall would eliminate a potential vulnerability at its root.
In fairness, the line between future-forward technology and security is often thin. Tech companies can’t water down their products to the point of rendering them useless—but more thoughtful approaches would allow the futurists to see their science-fiction dreams come to life, while protecting those who need it from nefarious intent. The ability to uninstall a feature lets it exist as envisioned for those who want it.
But as it stands, the concerned public’s best hope for Microsoft Recall is it gets the same treatment as Cortana and Copilot, where it’s pushed so hard on every Windows user that no one bothers with it. Eventually, it’ll get put out to pasture, never to be seen again—a sad outcome, where neither the futurists nor the wary truly got what they wanted. Read...Newslink ©2024 to PC World | |
| | | PC World - 11 Sep (PC World)At a glanceExpert`s Rating
ProsEnjoyable keyboardStandard active stylusPlenty of physical connectivityGood battery lifeConsA bit thick for a 14-inch Windows 2-in-1Anti-glare display could be brighterTouchpad isn’t largeModest CPU and integrated graphics performanceOur VerdictThe Acer TravelMate Spin P4 could be quicker, but it provides professionals a good keyboard, a touchscreen with an active stylus, and solid battery life at a reasonable price.
Want a Windows 2-in-1 for business and travel? Your first thoughts may drift towards Microsoft’s Surface or Lenovo’s ThinkPad line, but they’re not the only game in town. Acer’s TravelMate has long offered a more affordable alternative to the competition, and the TravelMate Spin P4 is a good example of what Acer can offer. It’s a bit boring but functional and it offers a wide range of features for the price.
Further reading: Best laptops 2024: Premium, budget, gaming, 2-in-1s, and more
Acer TravelMate P4 Spin 14: Specs and features
The Acer TravelMate Spin P4 is a 14-inch 2-in-1 with specifications that are typical of the category. That includes an Intel Core Ultra 5 125U (the “U” is important, as it means the processor targets a lower power profile instead of performance), 16GB of memory, and integrated graphics.
CPU: Intel Core Ultra 5 125U
Memory: 16GB LPDDR5
Graphics/GPU: Intel Arc integrated graphics
NPU: Intel AI Boost
Display: 1920×1200 14-inch 16:10 IPS 60Hz anti-glare touchscreen
Storage: 512GB PCIe 4.0 NVMe M.2 solid state storage
Webcam: 1080p 30fps camera with IR 3D camera for Windows Hello, physical privacy shutter
Connectivity: 2x USB-C 4, 1x HDMI, 2x USB-A 3.2, Gigabit Ethernet, 3.5mm combo audio
Networking: Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.3
Biometrics: Windows Hello facial recognition, fingerprint reader
Battery capacity: 65 watt-hours
Dimensions: 12.9 x 9 x 0.9 inches
Weight: 3.26 pounds
MSRP: $1,329.99 MSRP (approximately $1,175 retail)
Many of the laptop’s more alluring features are found on its exterior. It has a 14-inch 16:10 touchscreen with an anti-glare coat, a pair of Thunderbolt 4 ports, Ethernet, and two forms of biometric login. It also comes standard with an active stylus.
The Spin P4 is an enjoyable laptop with a good keyboard, plenty of physical connectivity, a bundled active stylus, and acceptable battery life.
Acer TravelMate P4 Spin 14: Design and build quality
IDG / Matthew Smith
IDG / Matthew Smith
IDG / Matthew Smith
I doubt most people would give the Acer TravelMate Spin P4 a second glance. It’s a simple gunmetal slab entirely lacking notable texture or flair. Even the Acer logo is small. This is typical for business laptops, but competitors like Lenovo and Dell manage to deliver a more attractive design without drawing too much attention. These competitors look business-like and functional. The TravelMate Spin P4, by contrast, looks a bit cheap.
It’s also rather chunky for a Windows 2-in-1. The chassis measures nine-tenths of an inch thick and weighs 3.26 pounds. While neither figure is excessive, both are towards the upper end of the category. Dell’s Latitude 5350 is three-quarters of an inch thick, and Lenovo’s ThinkBook 14 is .66 inches thick. The TravelMate Spin P4’s size makes it difficult to hold and use when the display is folded 360 degrees to convert the 2-in-1 to a tablet.
There are benefits to its size, however. The chassis feels rigid; even the display lid shows only the slightest hint of flex when lifted. Acer’s competitors also offer good build quality but, when comparably equipped, tend to be more expensive.
The chassis also provides room for a stylus that tucks into the TravelMate Spin P4 when not in use. This is an uncommon feature, as many Windows 2-in-1s instead choose to use a stylus that attaches magnetically to the exterior. The Spin P4’s design means you’re less likely to lose the stylus, as it’s always secure when stowed.
It also means the stylus is small, though, which might not work for larger users. I personally found it uncomfortable to use, as the end of the stylus barely extended from my closed palm when gripped.
Acer TravelMate P4 Spin 14: Keyboard, trackpad
IDG / Matthew Smith
IDG / Matthew Smith
IDG / Matthew Smith
The Acer TravelMate Spin P4 has a center-aligned keyboard without a numpad. The layout is spacious, as nearly all keys are close to their full size; the right-side Control and Tab keys are the most notable exception, though still large enough that they’re easy to find.
Typing feel is solid. The Spin P4’s girthy chassis offers room for long, robust key travel with a firm and clicky bottoming action. There’s a somewhat hollow quality to the sound of the keyboard that’s not ideal, but I was happy to overlook that given the springy, responsive action of the keys. I prefer this to the keyboards found on recent Dell Latitude laptops, and it’s competitive with Lenovo’s ThinkBook 2-in-1s.
A modest touchpad is found beneath the keyboard. It measures roughly five inches wide and three inches deep, which isn’t large for a touchpad in 2024, and can feel cramped when using more elaborate Windows multi-touch gestures like the five-finger pinch to minimize all open windows.
Acer TravelMate P4 Spin 14: Display, audio
IDG / Matthew Smith
IDG / Matthew Smith
IDG / Matthew Smith
Of course, the Acer TravelMate Spin P4 also has a touchscreen, and it picks up some slack for the touchpad. The touchscreen is a fine alternative to the touchpad when scrolling through documents or pinching to zoom in (or out) of images and documents. Because the Spin P4 is a 14-inch 2-in-1, the display is close at hand and it’s not difficult to reach up to the touchscreen from a normal typing position.
The display’s 1920×1200 resolution and 16:10 aspect ratio are typical for a modern Windows 2-in-1, but the Acer TravelMate Spin P4 has an anti-glare coat, which is less common. Some Dell Latitude or Lenovo ThinkPad 2-in-1s offer anti-glare touchscreens, but most laptops that target consumers (instead of business customers) don’t. The anti-glare coat means the display is easier to read in bright environments and suffers less under harsh direct lighting. However, its effectiveness is reduced by the display’s paltry maximum brightness of 362 nits. The display can look dim if used outdoors or near large sunlit windows.
That’s a bit of a problem because the display also fails to stand out in color performance, contrast, or refresh rate. It’s otherwise a decent but average 1200p display. It has a solid contrast ratio of 2770:1, a modest color gamut that covers up to 85 percent of DCI-P3, and a 60Hz refresh rate. There’s nothing wrong with it, but nothing right, either: it just does the job.
To be fair, though, the same can be said of Acer’s competitors. Shoppers looking for a higher display resolution or more exotic panel technology (like OLED or Mini-LED) generally need to step up to a more expensive tier like Dell’s Precision or Lenovo’s ThinkPad X1 or opt for a consumer laptop, which may not have all the features buyers eyeing the Spin P4 want.
Audio performance also follows the trend of acceptable but forgettable performance. The Spin P4 has upward firing speakers. They’re clear and crisp when the device is used as a laptop, but their placement is not great when using the device as a tablet, as the user’s hands may cover the speakers. In either case, the speakers have modest maximum volume and not much range. They’re fine for podcasts and video calls, but not ideal for music or Netflix.
Acer TravelMate P4 Spin 14: Webcam, microphone, biometrics
The Acer TravelMate Spin P4 has a 1080p webcam placed into its relatively large top display bezel. It provides good image quality for a webcam, with decent sharpness and color reproduction. The webcam also has a physical privacy shutter. A 1080p webcam is essentially the standard for business laptops in 2024, though, so the Spin P4 doesn’t have an edge here.
The same is true of the microphone array: it captures good audio quality that’s well suited for video or voice calls on Zoom or Teams, but it’s not going to work well for recording videos or podcasts.
Biometric login is available through both Windows Hello facial recognition and a fingerprint reader placed on the power button. Both work well, though I often find facial recognition faster and more reliable than a fingerprint reader. The Spin P4 also supports human presence detection through Windows 11, meaning it can dim the display when you look away to conserve battery life, or reactivate the laptop from sleep when you approach it.
Acer TravelMate P4 Spin 14: Connectivity
IDG / Matthew Smith
IDG / Matthew Smith
IDG / Matthew Smith
Acer packs a good range of connectivity in the Acer TravelMate Spin P4. It has two Thunderbolt 4 / USB-C 4 ports, which support USB Power Delivery and DisplayPort Alternate Mode, but also two USB-A 3.2 ports, HDMI, Gigabit Ethernet, a microSD card reader, and a 3.5mm combo audio jack. That is a broad range of connectivity for a modern Windows 2-in-1. The Ethernet port is especially notable, as numerous laptops have chosen to remove the Ethernet port over the last few years.
Wireless connectivity is less impressive, but still fine. The Spin P4 supports Wi-Fi 6E, which is a step behind the latest Wi-Fi 7 standard. While disappointing, Wi-Fi 7 is uncommon and you would need to own or connect to a Wi-Fi 7 router to see a benefit from it. The laptop also supports Bluetooth 5.3. The Spin P4 does not support cellular connectivity.
Acer TravelMate P4 Spin 14: Performance
The Acer TravelMate Spin P4 has an Intel Core Ultra 5 125U processor. It’s important to understand that the “U” in the model name is significant. The “U” series targets a lower power profile than the “H” series.
The 125U has a total of 12 cores, but only two of those are performance cores. Eight are efficient cores, and the final two are low-power efficient cores. The processor also has a modest maximum Turbo frequency of 4.3 GHz. The processor was paired with 16GB of DDR5 memory and a 512GB PCIe 4.0 solid state drive.
IDG / Matthew Smith
IDG / Matthew Smith
IDG / Matthew Smith
The Spin P4 gets off to a modest start in PCMark 10, a general synthetic benchmark, as it reached a score towards the middle of the pack and almost exactly ties the Lenovo ThinkBook 14 2-in-1 Gen 4, which also had an Intel Core Ultra 5 125U processor. It generally falls behind Intel Core Ultra 7 155H-powered machines, though it does defeat the HP Envy x360 14-inch.
IDG / Matthew Smith
IDG / Matthew Smith
IDG / Matthew Smith
Cinebench R20, a heavily multithreaded CPU benchmark, reported a slightly more favorable result for the Spin P4. Here the laptop is closer to the middle of the pack, and it even defeats the HP Envy x360 14. However, the other two Intel Core Ultra 7 155H laptops still manage to significantly outperform the Spin P4 with each laptop at its default power settings.
IDG / Matthew Smith
IDG / Matthew Smith
IDG / Matthew Smith
Next up is Handbrake, where we perform a real-world encoding test of a two-hour 1080p film from MP4 to MKV format. The Spin P4 did not perform well in this heavily multithread, long-duration test, though it did manage to beat the Lenovo ThinkBook 14 2-in-1 Gen 4.
IDG / Matthew Smith
IDG / Matthew Smith
IDG / Matthew Smith
With the processor-centric benchmarks handled, we turn our attention to 3D performance. Here, again, the Intel Core Ultra 5 125U has limitations. It does not offer Intel Arc graphics but instead the more limited Intel Graphics solution.
The performance downgrade is apparent in the 3DMark Time Spy benchmark. The Spin P4’s score of 1,728 is just half that of leaders like the Framework Laptop 13 and the Acer Swift Go 14.
That makes a big difference in 3D games. Even older titles with less demanding graphics do not run well. I’ve recently enjoyed Battletech, a title developed by Unity and released in 2018. Despite its age, the game was playable but jittery even at 1080p and Low detail settings.
Clearly, the Spin P4’s performance has its limits. But the same can be said of its direct competitors. The Acer trades blows with the Lenovo ThinkBook 14 2-in-1 and HP Envy x360 14-inch. And while we have not reviewed the current incarnation of the Dell Latitude 5350 2-in-1, it does come standard with the same Intel Core Ultra 5 125U processor, so I expect its performance would be in a similar range.
Strange though it may seem, entry-level business and prosumer 2-in-1s generally don’t place much importance on performance and instead sell themselves based on connectivity, biometrics, and functional design.
Acer TravelMate P4 Spin 14: Battery life
The Acer Travelmate Spin P4 isn’t the thinnest or lightest 14-inch Windows 2-in-1, but it’s still portable enough that its weight becomes hard to notice in a typical backpack or messenger bag designed for a laptop of its size. It also has a 65 watt-hour battery, which is about average for the category, but enough to satisfy the power-sipping Intel Core Ultra 5 125H processor.
IDG / Matthew Smith
IDG / Matthew Smith
IDG / Matthew Smith
As a result, the Spin P4 endured almost 17 hours of our standard battery test, which loops a 4K file of the short film Tears of Steel. This is a light load test and the laptop is capable of chugging down a charge more quickly if processor-heavy apps are opened. In general, though, the laptop can easily handle an eight-hour day of mixed web browsing, productivity, and video.
The laptop is charged over USB-C and it ships with a 100-watt USB-C charger. That’s great, as it provides more versatility when charging the laptop. You could leave home with the charger provided with the laptop or pack a smaller third-party GaN charger. Most of the Spin P4’s competitors also charge over USB-C, but it remains a useful perk.
Acer TravelMate P4 Spin 14: Conclusion
The Acer TravelMate Spin P4 is a decent pick for professionals and prosumers looking to buy a 14-inch Windows 2-in-1. Though not great for tablet use, it’s still an enjoyable laptop with a good keyboard, plenty of physical connectivity, a bundled active stylus, and acceptable battery life. It’s not very quick for the price and the display could be better. However, these flaws also tend to be found in price-competitive business laptops. The Spin P4 isn’t a laptop that will get anyone excited, but it gets the job done at a modest price. Read...Newslink ©2024 to PC World | |
| | | PC World - 11 Sep (PC World)When deadlines are looming and projects are piling up, Microsoft Project 2021 Professional is the ultimate tool to keep everything in check. With an easy-to-use interface and powerful features, you can break down even the most complex tasks, manage your resources, and stay on top of deadlines like a pro. Access it on your Windows PC for life for only $19.97 if you order by September 29.
Whether you’re overseeing a large team or handling multiple projects, Microsoft Project 2021 offers built-in Gantt charts, task management, and resource allocation tools to keep your workflow smooth. You’ll be able to set priorities, track progress, and adjust timelines in real time to ensure nothing falls through the cracks.
It’s not just about managing tasks — Microsoft Project integrates seamlessly with other Microsoft Office apps, making collaboration with your team easier than ever. Share files, update reports, and keep everyone on the same page without missing a beat.
Don’t let deadlines stress you out!
Right now, you can get a lifetime license to Microsoft Project 2021 Professional for only $19.97 until September 29, and take control of your workload with ease.
Microsoft Project 2021 Professional: Lifetime License for Windows – $19.97
See Deal
StackSocial prices subject to change. Read...Newslink ©2024 to PC World | |
| | |
|
|
| Top Stories |
RUGBY
Wallace Sititi has again earned special praise from All Blacks coach Scott Robertson after another leading performance More...
|
BUSINESS
New Zealand's hospitality sector is struggling, despite a slight year-on-year revenue growth More...
|
|
| Today's News |
| News Search |
|
|