Latest articles from David

Apple's HomeKit app Home is simple and easy to use, but it also comes with a load of hidden features that you might not, on the surface, realise are available.We've put together a number of tips, to enable you to get the most from the Apple backed service... Read more

In the last couple of days, Apple has added indoor maps for airports and shopping malls in the UK. We've been give exclusive backstage access at London's Heathrow Airport to find out what it can mean for your air travel.It's a timely release, too: 15... Read more

Back in September, after Apple's keynote presentation to launch the new iPhones, we ended up talking to the man whose entrance received probably the biggest roar of excitement during the whole event: the father of Mario, Shigeru Miyamoto.He was there... Read more

Downstairs, in the basement, can be a great place to escape to. Your den can be full of fun, from a great TV to video games to the newest entertainment kid on the block - virtual reality.The latter needs some space and perhaps the basement is the best... Read more

It's the bedroom, right? So do you need tech there, beyond an alarm clock? Well, sure you do.You'll be sleeping there so you can benefit from gadgets that really show you how well you're sleeping, or not. They can even help you get to sleep, and then... Read more

Keeping energy bills as low as possible is an all-year-round job.Sure, you don't need the heating on in the sultry days of summer, but then that ramps up the AC costs instead. Or maybe the nights are still a little chilly even in summer where you are?Follow... Read more

The upcoming update for Apple's computers (it's called Sierra and OS X is now called macOS, do keep up) has already announced lots of new features.One stands head and shoulders above the others though: the voice recognition-powered personal assistant... Read more

Ah, the joy of the yard. Sitting outside watching a movie in the summer is appealing enough, as is the idea of sitting in the car for your own private drive-in cinema.Smart tech can also ensure your lawn is watered and mowed with no intervention from... Read more

So there you are, standing in front of the bathroom mirror, brushing your teeth absent-mindedly and pondering the meaning of life. But with a small change you could make your bathroom smarter.You could weigh yourself, wash yourself or even brush your... Read more

Here you are: the family room. Kick back and relax. This is where you can watch TV, listen to music and more. Maybe it's not the home cinema system you've yearned for, with projection room and seating in rows, but you can make it a brilliant den with... Read more

The kitchen is transformed by smartness, whether it's a gadget or home appliance you can control from anywhere in the world, or a kitchen scale or steak grill that's more accurate than previous versions.Some smart kitchen gadgets incorporate recipe apps... Read more

You know how it is: you like to have your iPad with you when you fly. Play some Where’s My Water? and SpellTower, read some books and check out a movie you downloaded from iTunes before wheels up. The only downside is not being able to read or play... Read more

This week’s Leica event in Berlin launched so many products it was easy to miss one if you blinked. The most affordable item, the Leica V-Lux 40, was brushed over so quickly that even the keenest of Leica watchers may have missed it.This is a shame,... Read more

Scott Croyle is the vice-president of Design at HTC. He knows something about how phones should look. But taking over from Horace Luke - the man who brought the world the award-winning Legend and the Desire - in 2011, you might think that Croyle has had... Read more

This year, it’s all about the screen. The third-generation iPad has lots of other improvements but it’s the brilliance of the display which leaps out at you as soon as you wake the screen.Apple has come in for some criticism that the new iPad doesn't... Read more

Get ready with those new year resolutions. If one of them is going to include trying for a fitter, healthier you in 2012, Jawbone is here to help. Jawbone is best known as the maker of excellent Bluetooth headsets and a great portable speaker, the Jambox.Its... Read more

This year’s 20th Century Fox blockbuster, Rise of the Planet of the Apes, boasts the latest motion capture technology, with Andy Serkis, whose performance as Caesar, the ape who gains enough intelligence to lead other chimps to revolution, being tipped... Read more

Here’s the thing: the history of mobile phone companies making handsets specifically targeting women has not been glorious. Mostly, it’s been a series of ho-hum phones picked out by dusty pink cases, the addition of diet apps or, pardon me, a pink... Read more

"Friends and fun in one place" is Packard Bell's appealing promise on the EasyNote TM. Incidentally, we're not writing trademark there, TM is the model code, though it is a little confusing. Anyway, the promise is to do with social networking. Like the... Read more

Bamboo is a cool material: it looks good, reduces our use of plastics and is ecologically sound because bamboo is a sustainably renewable source. It's used for the lid and wrist rest for this new 15-inch display laptop from Asus. Asus has made laptops... Read more

So, you know you want a computer with a big screen but you want to be able to move it around reasonably easily. So a desktop machine like the iMac 27-inch screen computer is right out.Well, there are plenty of Windows PCs on the market, but the most stylish... Read more

Recent Samsung laptops have been stylish affairs, notable as much for their glossy red casing and matching keyboard and trackpad as for their computing capabilities.This new 13.3-inch display model is a more demure machine, dressed in discreet gloss black,... Read more

This laptop is the bigger brother to the Samsung R580 that we reviewed a couple of weeks back. Its snazzy semi-transparent deep red casing caught the eye, and that's duplicated here. Samsung has also neatly mirrored the default wallpaper on the display... Read more

So the hectic fun and drama of DubDub DC is over for another year and, guess what, it produced another iPhone. One that Steve Jobs claimed would be as revolutionary as the first - hence the tagline: "This changes everything. Again."So was it worth the... Read more

We've shown you the official photos from Apple, but now its time to show you our up close and personal shots following our quick and dirty fondle of the new iPhone 4. So what's it like? In the hand and it seems well built, solid, and yes that screen... Read more

How pink can a laptop be? Take a glance at the VAIO M12 and you'll say: none more pink. It's a deep, rich colour that makes the chrome VAIO logo leap out. The underside of the lid, around the display, is similarly eye-popping, though the area surrounding... Read more

Say what you like about Apple, without the Cupertino company we'd probably still have been using beige computers until that other style-conscious company, Sony, entered the fray.But thanks to the greater attention paid to design these days, we're rewarded... Read more

Toshiba's Qosmio desktop replacement laptops are big machines. Large, strikingly-designed and with lots of features. Add in Toshiba's exceptional build quality and you have a potentially winning series. This latest machine is the snazziest yet, with its... Read more

The EasyNote LM is a desktop replacement. Its large screen (17.3-inches, so not just a 17-incher, Packard Bell boasts) would dominate any desk, though it is not as heavy as you'd think at 3.3kg, certainly not so heavy that you'd need to anchor it to one... Read more

Sony's Y-series laptop is good-looking and light. The case is brushed aluminium all over apart from the plastic undercarriage and parts of the edges. Still, with its chrome VAIO label on the lid, there's enough metal to make it a snazzy machine.While... Read more

The Dell Studio 17 1747 is a hefty beast. You'll want to use it as a desktop replacement rather than a portable to carry around with you. Still, the glossy black case with subtle patterning and red edging looks pretty neat, so it won't be out of place... Read more

Last year Samsung released some cool-looking coloured netbooks which stood out in the crowd. For its latest model, the Korean manufacturer has gone for a more demure look with its gloss-black N210.The new netbook has a 10.1-inch screen, though the frame... Read more

The iPad is not the only tablet. Of course, Microsoft had invested in a touchscreen laptop interface way before Apple did, it just never took off. Maybe now the iPad is rolling out, interest in Windows touchscreens will flourish. Mind you, at £999, this... Read more

Last year's NB200 netbook from Toshiba was a neat, effective performer from a manufacturer known for its reliability and strong build quality. Now, the successor, wittily titled the NB300, has arrived. This is the NB305 variant, most noticeably differing... Read more

Thinking about upgrading or investing in a digital SLR camera? Then check out these helpful tips below:Are you trading up from a compact? In that case, remember you'll need Live View if you want to frame your shots using the LCD screen. While most compacts... Read more

All the programs available at launch on Android were free, so if you've got a G1, make the most of this – here's our guide to some choice cuts.1 Google Maps Of course we know Google Maps from other mobiles, but this is the program at its purest. Sure,... Read more

Satellite navigation is a real boon - but there are ways to make the most of it, and things to avoid. Here are seven tips on what to do - and what not to do.1 Be discreet Satnavs have memories with easily accessible data. Don't be tempted to specify your... Read more

Whether you're sending texts or composing complicated emails, we'll show you how to get the best out of typing on the move.1 Make the most of shortcuts Oh the joy of pressing space space on a BlackBerry or iPhone and watching as the system magically inserts... Read more

Get through the week ahead with our daily tips for tech happiness:1 MobileMe Apple’s MobileMe (£59.99 a year) is a simple but impressive example of cloud computing, where your data is not only on your computer but on a remote server, too. Of course,... Read more

Since The Sims and all its sequel editions add up to the most successful PC game franchise ever, it’s no surprise that the publisher, Electronic Arts, has major plans to keep the series fresh. You may have sniffed at recent releases such as the Ikea... Read more

So what do you want from the new iPhone? Do you want 3G, so you can surf the net faster when you’re not in Starbucks? For sure. Push email, so you don’t have to go searching for your mail all the time? Natch. A lower price? Are the Kennedys gunshy?Well,... Read more