REVIEWS
CloudGate PC
Is it a full fledged PC or a portable computing device that you can take anywhere? The
answer is both, as the CloudGate PC defies convention.
I
t would be fair to say that the Android
operating system has gained a
healthy following on smartphones and
tablets, but when it comes to PCs – and
the heavy duty content creation that these
are typically used for – the story is still
quite different (even with Chromebooks).
That though could be set to change, at
least if the homegrown CloudGate PC has
anything to do with it.
Small and mighty
Looking at the CloudGate, its first
impressions wouldn’t lend you towards
describing it as a PC at all, as the device
is tiny (about the size of a CD case) and
lightweight (225 g). However, connecting
this small box to an external keyboard and
mouse (using one of the three USB 2.0
ports) and screen (via its HDMI port) gives
you the Android OS (4.2 Jelly Bean) – and all
of its apps - on a screen size of your choice.
The real kicker is that the device can further
serve up a virtualised Windows environment,
with its apps, across the cloud as well using
the CloudWare software.
Although the device sports a capable quadcore 1.6 GHz processor and boasts 8 GB
of solid state storage internally, everything
one does is meant to be stored on the
cloud. This means that unlike on a tablet
or notebook with a dedicated hard drive, if
it gets stolen or goes missing, one’s data
need not be lost or compromised. That
being said, there is an SD card slot on the
small, inconspicuous box as well, along
with an Ethernet port for connecting to a
wired network. However, we found it more
elegant to just use the built-in Wi-Fi as we
would on an Android tablet; within seconds
of entering our Gmail password we were up
and running.
A mini revolution?
Does the CloudGate PC herald a revolution
of the PC space? Well, it sits very neatly
alongside cloud-centred Chromebooks;
and the CloudGate PC offers a viable,
valuable, adaptable and affordable
computing alternative in an increasingly
cloud dominated world. It has an RRP of
R2 000 from www.cloudgate.co.za. [RN]
THE CLOUDGATE PC OFFERS
A VIABLE, VALUABLE AND
AFFORDABLE COMPUTING
ALTERNATIVE IN AN
INCREASINGLY CLOUD
DOMINATED WORLD.
Additionally, doing content creation work
on it is quite a bit more approachable than
on a small dedicated screen of a tablet.
Asus Transformer Pad
A good hybrid tablet can be a great
aid while doing some multitasking
on the fly, and as such, we had high
hopes for Asus Transformer Pad.
Asus’
W
e love lightweight and easy to use
tablets here at TechSmart, but we
also hold a particular fondness for
ultrabooks, which lend themselves to higher
levels of multitasking. For those that want a
little of both however, a good tablet hybrid is
always worth considering, and that’s where
Asus’ Transformer Pad is aiming to find its
niché.
Getting the job done
Featuring a 10.1” HD IPS display (1280x800),
it retains enough crispness and clarity
to make viewing content enjoyable, but
struggles slightly with more graphically
demanding games. Weighing in at 555 g,
the Transformer Pad is no featherweight, that
being said though, the weight distribution
within the tablet itself is well balanced and
shows no propensity to topple over when the
keypad is attached in notebook mode.
Handling the workload is an Intel Atom
Z2560 dual-core processor, clocked at
1.6 GHz and 1 GB of RAM. This may not
seem high compared to ot \