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We have a Logitech Business BCC950 Conference Cam up for grabs. 

We reviewed this nice little bit of kit last year and were suitably impressed...

Logitech claims that its ConferenceCam bridges the "small meeting gap" in the market. It accommodates groups of 3-4 people without them having to sit each other's laps. This removes the need for a large scale meeting room video system which can be very costly. It is also surprisingly light; weighing 568g it can easily be picked up and taken into a meeting room.

Additionally, this device would suit home workers, enabling employees to have meetings using software such as Skype in full HD clarity.  

All you have to do to be in with a chance of winning the prize is come up with a caption for the following image:

Dell, Acer and Asus have all unveiled various PC models at Computex in Taiwan this week. In a midst of a PC market crash, the computer manufacturers have taken a leap of faith and revealed new designs the safety net being of course the hybrid tablet devices.

Dell

Dell announced its XPS 11 model, a 2-in-1 convertible Ultrabook. This hybrid device has a 360 degreed rotation design in order to hide away the keyboard and flip into a tablet device. At 14.9mm and 2.5 pounds this product could be utilised within an BYOD environment, which has seen many of these types of devices in recent months.

Additionally, Dell launched an OptiPlex 9020 and All-in-One machine. This commercial desktop will be available in four different form factors, an all-in-one computer, as well as three different sized towers, all powered by Intel Core i7 processors.

Dell also launched a 4^th-gen Intel business laptop, including swappable batteries. The Latitude E6540 will feature comprehensive file-level encryption, advanced authentication and malware protection.

The XPS 12, OptiPlex 9020 desktop, and Latitude E6540 will be available in the coming weeks.

Additionally, the computer manufacturer added two printers to its portfolio of peripherals. The B1165nfw and B1265dfw claim to provide affordable printing options, wireless networking capabilities and document management software. The two printers will have the ability to print, scan, copy and fax within the single device.

Acer

Acer announced its new Iconia tablet, the Iconia W3, which claims to be the first 8.1-inch tablet running Windows 8. The company believes that this is the "optimum size for productivity and entertainment, while comfortable enough to sit in one hand". It will be available pre-installed with Microsoft Office Home & Student 2013.

The company also launched a "phablet" device - the 5.7-inch 1280x720 screen Liquid S1. It offers an option to insert two SIM cards, and runs Android Jelly Bean and a 1.5 GHz processor. Additionally, it has a few functionalities to boost productivity: The Acer Float User Interface, which allows several apps to stay open at the same time so users can multitask; the Auto Profile which supports predefined network settings, which will adjust settings such as brightness, volume and connectivity as users visit frequent locations.

Acer also launched its flagship ultrabook, the 13.3-inch Aspire S7. The ultrabook boosts a longer-lasting battery for "all day computing" as well as a updated cooling fan which makes less noise. It also offers wireless display technology for sharing on a big screen wirelessly. Like its previous model, it will include a 10-point WQHD display with 2,560 x 1,440 resolution taking full advantage of the touch capabilities of Windows 8.

Asus

Probably, most interesting from all the launches at Computex, was the Transformer Book Trio from Asus. This 11.6-inch clamshell tablet with a detachable display, consists of two operating systems. It can switch between Windows 8 notebook, Android tablet and Windows 8 desktop PC.

The Transformer series has been a success of Asus in the consumer space in recent years, the ability to switch between app stores, synch data and apparently "continue to surf a webpage when moving from notebook to tablet, could be a game changer for the device in the business space also.

The PC station dock has its own 4th generation Intel® Core™ i7 processor, keyboard and 750GB hard drive and it can also be hooked up to a monitor to be used as a desktop PC. Additionally the screen can be removed from the station dock to be used on the go as a tablet with a 2.0 GHz Intel processor , 64GB and full HD display- taking the meaning of "hybrid" one step further.

Intel

Intel also had a presence at Computex, revealing a 22nm low-power, Atom system on a chip design, which it claimed would offer faster graphics and twice the CPU performance of the current generation. According to Intel, the new chip would power Android and Windows 8.1 devices for up to eight hours.

The fundamental Boogie Board technology has been around for 20 years under the name Kent Displays, but for the last two years the company has concentrated on producing touch slates which replace the need for paper notebooks.

The cholesteric liquid crystal display (ChLCD) screen was developed out of the company's R&D, and the slates remind me of a darker Kindle screen.

English: The Taj Mahal, complete with ripples in the reflection (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The basic slate requires no power to generate or retain an image, and only a small amount to erase (supplied by a small watch battery, which will execute over 50,000 erase cycles).

The next stage Boogie Board (£80) connects to a computer via a micro USB, and as you write on the slate it can be seen replicated on the computer screen, alternatively it can be written away from the computer, connected and saved before erasing. I also played around with a prototype of the next generation device, which will be launched in Q4 2013, giving the Boogie Board wireless connectivity via Bluetooth. 

It's not particularly glam, or sleek like a tablet, but I can definitely see the appeal in utilities, call centres and in health care.

A tablet for the business environment is the holy grail for hardware manufacturers at the moment. Trying to provide a sturdy piece of hardware, with performance specs which can include security features to satisfy IT departments, while still be sexy enough to throw around the boardroom, at a price point that can reflect kitting out an entire workforce? That's a tall order that I can't list outloud in one breath.... and therefore usually something has to give.

A third-party study conducted by Principled Technologies found that the Latitude 10 tablets are up to 17 times faster and 94%less expensive to deploy than iPads in large scale enterprise implementations. It seems that Dell is taking Bring-Your-Own-Device (BYOD) seriously, but is it at the expense of key specs?

Overall I feel that the Latitude 10 almost passes the tests. Light enough to carry around at a mere 725g; the 10.1-inch screen gleams at me through its Gorilla Glass protection, while its capacitive 10 finger touch is nice and sensitive. The device is held within a robust rubber frame. Usually, plastic-like casings don't do it for me, but this remained smooth and sultry, proving that durability can sometimes come along without sacrificing on style. The tablet is sleek and lightweight, meaning I was more than happy to be using it on a day-to-day basis.

Found it much easier to operate while using a sturdy stylus than my finger. Then I remembered that the device came with its own pen and the game changed. The pen has very smooth doodling capabilities, however you still have to revert back to your finger when scrolling through pages as the pen is too specific. I'm still amazed by devices where you can rest your whole hand on the screen and write, as if you were naturally writing on a piece of paper, and this doesn't fail to impress me.

The device runs Windows Pro and I found it very responsive. The joy of Windows 8 is the tablet experience, which is where it shines, making scrolling through news articles and apps so seamless and attractive.

The device houses an Intel Atom (SoC) chip, while including 2GB of internal memory and a storage option of up to 128GB. When it comes to a business computer, it wouldn't quite hit the mark for many businesses thanks to these specs. And it doesn't seem to be  pushing the boundaries of performance on Windows,  but will run office productivity tools. 

Docking system

At the end of the day, you are working with a screen of10.1-inches. Any bigger and you'd be complaining it wouldn't be portable enough, but 10.1-inches is painfully small to work with at a desk office environment. This is where the docking system comes into its own. The docking system allows the device to convert into a PC for the office; being able to attach keyboards, and a monitor if you so wish via the dock's own connectivity.

When you pop the tablet onto the dock, it has to be pushed down very hard to make its connection, this isn't a problem, but just ruins the illusion of a seamless experience a little bit for me, however it does make a chirpy noise and a little light illuminates to tell you when it is connected.

If you do wish to use the device without a monitor, using the touch element becomes very tiresome for your elbows and back as you lean across your desk in an unnatural fashion to touch the screen. However, the dock does provide four USB ports so you can easily attach both a keyboard and mouse in order to continuing working as normal in your office environment. 

Added extras

The tablet has the option to replace the battery, which itself is so slim and lightweight, I wouldn't begrudge carrying around a spare with me on a long business trip. Dell gives you the option to choose from 2-cell (30 WHr) or 4-cell (60 WHr) Lithium Ion swappable batteries.

The device also has great connectivity. Out of ports and slots, it has a full USB 2.0, and SD card reader. As well as a headphone jack, micro-USB charging port and a mini-HDMI port. It has an option for a micro SIM for mobile broadband as well as WiFi and Bluetooth.

Enhanced Security

The device comes with Intel Platform Trust Technology, an optional fingerprint reader or smart card reader, as well a optional Dell Data Protection Encryption (DDPE).

During a meeting last month about the Dells new encryption solution (DDPE), Neil Hand, Dell global vice president, personal computing product group told me that due to the ubiquitous nature of data, security problems are rife in the data protection space. A lost laptop can cost tens of thousands of dollars, rather than just a couple of hundred to replace the device, due to the data security laws that are in place.

"And cloud makes the issue even more problematic," he said. "It's only going to get worse, not better. We need to encrypt and lock down the data."

Dell launch of a key management solution: Dell Data Protection Encryption (DDPE), works in the cloud. Prices will range dependent on a fleet and licensing models.

Pricing and availability

The Latitude 10 essentials 64GB configuration is available starting at £430. The Latitude 10 essentials 32GB configuration is available for £391- this is where the tablet hits the sweet spot, why would you buy Windows RT or Android tablets, when you can run Windows Pro at a very reasonable price? Additionally, at a price point this low, you don't feel short changed when you still have to use your desktop computer when you are sat at your desk.

Fully fledge high performance computer replacement it is not, top of the range tablet device which you can use part-time as a desktop it is. 

Log into the desktop browser for MobileNow to have all the power to manage a fleet of mobile device users.

Currently available for iOS, with Android and other operating systems in the pipeline, MobileNow solves the security questions raised in an age where mobile working is the norm and more and more employees are using their home devices in the workplace (BYOD).

The minds of IT departments around the world are frazzled by the security issues these portable devices cause: data leakage and privacy issues being the main worry.

Appsense has launched a solution to securely manage devices within a company. The SaaS mobile device management (MDM) platform provides an easy to use dashboard for administrators to track who has what device and to go in and alter to a degree, what the devices can do.

Designed for enterprise and mid-market organisations, it bridges application/data access, corporate compliance and strong security to personal devices in work environments.

MobileNow boasts a single interface for IT departments to get a programme up and running, while continually monitoring with no further infrastructure. The product is quick to get started, while offering a number of different profiles with a range of security features which can be applied to different groups within the organisation.

Additionally, MobileNow enables the user to still freely use their device without any fears that their personal data may be remotely wiped if the company feels as though it needs to protect confidential data. Apps and emails which are used for business purposes sit safely within the MobileNow platform, while business email messages and attachments are secure in transit by Encryption AES 256-bit encryption.

"MDM been around for a little time in an early stage which tends to lock down the device," said Ashley Tuberfield, product marketing manager of Appsense. "This is the next generation around mobile information management concerning apps and data rather than the device."

I gave MobileNow a run for its money on an iPad mini this week and firstly, I must note that I was experiencing the solution from the perspective of the IT department (through the administration console in a web browser) and also the as an employee (through using the iPad device). 

Administrator and adding users

My first experience was to set up the administrator page, which was fairly straight forward, once I got past all the passwords I had to note down to remember. I can imagine an IT department finding it very straightforward.

Appsense also told me that IT departments can import all the company's users from an active directory. If a company has already grouped its users, this will be recognised, otherwise it would be beneficial to spend a little time organising users into groups such as 'finance' or 'sales' which then can have different levels of access and restrictions, which you can add later on.

The level of organisation was very formulaic, with a clear dashboard of sections. It just takes a bit of time, like with anything, to get the hang of the different areas. But after setting up your employees and devices the main sections to familiarise yourself with should be 'device policies' and 'app policies' this is the brains of the operation.  

Device policies

This is the main part of the MDM solution. Here you can set policies and apply them to different employees or groups of employees.

Your policies affect the functions of your device, from whether you can screen capture , to allowing the camera to work on the device.

This feature was very useful, imagine IT departments want to stop you using the device's camera, gamecentre, allowing Safari to collect cookies or to use iCloud backup - then a change to the policy could be pushed to the device in an instant. However, when I tried this out first hand, it did work the quickest over WiFi, I tried it on a medium strength 3G connection and it took about 30-60 mins to push through from the desktop browser where I changed the settings to the iPad mini in my hands.

App policies

MobileNow claims to securely isolate business applications - both in-house and 3rd party apps - from personal applications. Again, it ensures business data is always encrypted, compliant and protected by the policies you have set. Here you can set policies such as whether you can print from the app, geolocation restrictions (in the US only), timeouts, or password lengths.

You can also upload internal apps and the solution wraps it securely in real time. Additionally, you can add an app link to the iTunes Store to use the Apple Volume Purchase programme. Rather than everyone buying an app individually, you buy licenses beforehand and make them available. For instance you can buy 100 licenses, which gives you 100 redemption codes. You can then upload them to mobile now, and when a user goes to download the app, Apple takes one of the redemption codes seamlessly in the background.

Finally you can push company apps onto employee devices.

Final thoughts

This piece of software is very intelligent and for enterprises thinking of moving into the tablet space, but worried about security, this solution can solve most worries. However, the system is very "Big Brother" and the power is in the hands of the administrator. While the administrator can't see your screen or know your whereabouts, it is slightly creepy how functions can just disappear or reappear from your device without you doing anything.

That said, if it is a company device, the administrator is completely in their rights to do so, but from a BYOD perspective, you might start to get annoyed if your camera disappears on the day you want to take a picture of your kid doing something cute in the park. However, at least with MobileNow you will know that any existing photos will not be remotely wiped off by an over-eager administrator.

As with most security, it's a balancing act. IT departments should have good communication with employees so they know what is going on with the hardware that they use on a day-to-day basis.

MobileNow is a very strong solution and will take a lot of pain out of deploying a mobile workforce. 

Click here for pricing.

I first came across gDoc Binder at CES on a table Windows PC. The software enables you to digitally create a ring binder of documents, which can be formatted and organised as you would with a real-life ring binder. The table PC showing off the product in Las Vegas really helped demonstrate the ingenius user experience of the product, you could swipe through pages just as we are now used to when reading books on tablets.

gDoc binder officially launched on the 5^th of March, and I've been playing around with a copy for a couple of weeks now. I've been trying out the traditional desktop experience. The instruction manual (which is a gDoc) was really useful in setting up, but it was really easy to get going.  You start off with a template, choose how many tab dividers you want and create.

You "open" the binder by clicking on the cover once, and it opens to reveal a traditional looking ring binder along with a table of contents. Now this is where I began question the desktop user experience opposed to the tablet - the way the binder opens and pages turn is a little clunky on the desktop and also to mention that the graphics are a little Windows 95 for me.

The good thing is that it supports over 32 different file formats, including PDF and word documents. I found that inserting files took a little while to load, but once it got passed the first couple of documents, it sped up. You can also drag and drop documents as well as multiple files, but it did have a little trouble with over ten documents.

The table of contents also automatically updates with the file names of the documents you insert.

I found the tablet view quite intuitive, being able to drag it into different positions and angles, and it also demonstrated to me again how I think this works much better as a tablet application. It currently exists as a Windows 7 and 8 PC and tablet application, with other operating system applications hopefully in the pipeline,

You can also create documents within your ring binder using the gDoc software - but for myself this wasn't particularly useful as I could just as easily import my word documents. You can share the binder in an email in a XPS document

The company recently won a KnowList Award for the professional service industry in the Technology Innovation category. The award was granted to the developer version of the software which allows IT departments and consultants to customize the software for clients, such as adding connectors into existing document management systems.

During the awards it was noted that the judging panel felt that gDoc provided a "tangible benefit" to the legal profession in managing their documents. By using a familiar and natural concept, users found that it saved time when producing closing bibles and court bundles.

"gDoc Binder makes it easy to review and track an entire matter in a completely natural way because it is based on the familiar paper binder concept that has worked in the legal sector for centuries. I've been looking for an electronic file that you can flick through and mark up for years but there's been nothing available until now," said Robert Cohen, IT Director at City firm Speechly Bircham.

When you consider companies who have to import hundreds of documents this would save time and space. And just think at the end of the day, how much physical shelving space you are saving.

It would just be nice to soon see the enterprise benefitting from the same graphics quality as consumers are now used to, because at the end of the day, there is a continuous cross over in expectation.

The company is offering the software for $10 which gives you the ability to create 10 binders. Available to buy from the gDoc Store and Amazon.

At TED 2013 in LA, a transparent computer has been revealed which could shake up the way we create and design.

A user sits in front of what looks like a traditional PC monitor, and place their hands beyond and behind the screen to scroll and type. Users can then lift their hands up to reach the virtual 3D elements and directly manipulate them with their hands.

The SpaceTop 3D computer, which is a collaboration with Microsoft, works thanks to cameras which monitor the user's movements as well as their head positioning and eye movements.

The BBC spoke to TED fellow Jinha Lee who has been working on the machine, and who can see it being used in the industry within ten years.

"The gap between what the designer thinks and what the computer can do is huge. If you can put your hands inside the computer and handle digital content you can express ideas more completely," he said.

I can imagine the scene if Ghost was to be filmed in ten years' time... Demi Moore sat in front of one of these machines moulding a pottery vase while the 3D printer next to her prints it out. But let's not get started on what Swayze would be doing.

Check out the full story and video on the BBC here.

The Epson EB-1945W projector sits in the mid-high end of Epson's fleet of products. This projector is targeted at larger meeting rooms, which sit 30-50 people, or university lecture theatres, as it has a maximum diagonal screen size of 280-inches.

The first thing you notice is how clear cut and bright the image is, this is down to the projector having a resolution of 1280 x 800 and a brightness measurement of 4,200 (brightness in projectors usually sits between 2.5K - 10K).

WiFi

This version of the projector also has WiFi as standard. It has a USB dongle which you plug in to turn it into a WiFi projector and you can then connect your laptop or mobile on a wired or wireless network, as well as remotely managing it through Epson software.

There is also a free app for iOS and Android which you can use for basic projection control from your mobile device. It accepts most file types through the app, however iOS accepts Office documents, while Android doesn't.

When projecting video Epson recommends that you use a cabled connection, however on test a 720 short video worked with minimal jumping over WiFi, which was very impressive

Portability

While it has the connectivity to be ideal to be fixed in one place, it is also fairly portable, being easy enough to pick up and place in a different room. It also features screen fit and keystone correction functions, which are very useful if you intend to move the projector around regularly, rather than keeping it in a fixed position. The keystone correction fixes the distorted tombstone effect that you get if you project an image at an angle, or if the projector is not centred onto the screen. The distortion can be set to be automatically recognised and corrected by the projector in seconds.

Connectivity

The projector supports display port and HDMI (which is useful as most business laptops do not tend to support HDMI, while many projectors have gone over to this standard). And it also has a 1.6 optical zoom which allows the installer much more flexibility when fixing the product in a particular position.

A nice little feature was the AV mute, which is a window which you can close to power down your presentation into sleep mode, if you wish to focus attention away from the presentation for a moment. When you open up the window again you immediately get the presentation back.  

I found the USB port one of the clever add-ons to the device. Plug in your memory stick and away you go with your presentation, no need to find the WiFi network on your mobile, or laptop. In a situation of multiple presenters it would also reduce the need for people to arrive early, or even worry that the laptop will run out of battery, as the presentation can be run straight off the memory stick (however, you'd have to convert your PowerPoint to PDF, as again, Office is not supported).

The Epson EB-1945W projector has been available since last summer, and at £1,568 (inc VAT) may be seen as the cheaper option for such quality and portability on the market. 

Last night, 16 of the most innovative technology SMEs from the UK were chosen to join Web Mission 2013 to India in early February.

The chosen start-ups, building tech for various sectors including  health, education, infrastructure and mobility, included Audioboo, Cyceera, uMotif, Omnisoft Services and BuffaloGrid.

The Mission programme, organised by The Long Run Venture and the Co-Sponsorship Agency, is supported by the Technology Strategy Board and UK Trade & Investment (UKTI), alongside other private sponsors.

This will be the eighth trip. Each trip is designed to help successful early stage businesses accelerate their growth potential overseas. According to the organiser, the chosen companies are all scalable, while offering profitable solutions for low and middle-income populations in urban and rural India, while also offering B2B opportunities.

"When you take UK and India, people think there is a lot of trade, but this is miniscule in terms of start-ups, especially when in terms of investments , eyes are drawn to Silicon Valley," said Guy Pattison, co-founder of The Long Run Venture.

"You would have around 10 million people to pilot a project in India, but a couple of thousand here. These start-ups have the opportunity to get in there and scale up," he said.

The hand-picked companies will visit the country for seven days, first heading to Bangalore to visit other big companies and universities and then onto New Delhi which will provide a government perspective to venturing into the country. 

Start-ups on Web Mission 2013 include:

• Audioboo - Audioboo allows users to record audio and post over social networks. With customers already including the BBC and The Guardian, the company claims to do to audio, what Instagram to did to photos. Audioboo is also delving into the audiobook and education sectors. 
• uMotif - uMotif is a telehealth company which builds attractive apps for users with health problems. The apps help users to comply with taking medicines, to improve treatment and reduce hospital costs of readmissions. The software works on various platforms, not just smartphones, by providing SMS services as well. uMotif is currently demonstrating an app to help people suffering from Parkinsons. The app, which was funded by the Department of Health and adminstered by the NHS Midlands and East, has an engaging colourful interface which encourages the users to "own their own data".
• BuffaloGrid -Buffalo Grid provides mobile charging power to rural areas of the world, where it could quite easily take a quarter of a day's wage to charge your device at a local power station. BuffaloGrid uses solar panelling to distribute power and customers can pay via text message. The company hopes to pair with mobile operators, while any residual power is then sold back to the local people at highly competitive rates. There are around 650m off-grid mobile phones in the world, 300m of which are in India, proving the move into this market incremental for the company's future development. 

Facebook launched its new social search function, called Graph Search, last night, and I have been lucky enough to try out the additions which the company have said are still in beta test mode.

The social network, which boasts one billion members, 240 billion photos and one trillion connections, will enable users to "naturally" search through people, photos, interests and places.

Graph Search will enable users to filter content on Facebook to find out particular things, such as which nearby restaurants their friends have liked or which friends like a certain movie, or to search for photos including selected people.

Facebook will then order answers depending on the number of "likes" or the level of a user's interaction with their chosen person, place or photograph, placing more familiar links at the top of the search results.

Dressed in his statement black zipped-up sweater (for the love of God, you're a millionaire, shell out for a checked shirt at least? No? OK), Zuckerberg stated that while Graph Search is not a web search, like Google, Facebook has partnered with Microsoft's search engine, Bing, to enable users to search the internet when Facebook fails to find an answer.

When I used Graph Search for the first time last night, Facebook provided me with a two minute tour which showed you how to type questions into the search bar. It seemed to personalise the tutorial for me, using "Cardiff University" as an example search term.

However, that's where the personalisation ingenuity stopped, for me at least.

During the press conference Facebook founder, Mark Zuckerberg, and his cronies were describing different types of searches and how they had enabled Graph Search to recognise natural language. They suggested 'photos I have liked' as a search term to gather all the images you have positively engaged with.

Trying out Graph Search for the first time at about 11pm last night, I forgot the "correct" terminology and typed in 'my favourite photos'. Facebook decided to autocorrect my sentence to 'my favourite girl photos' and presented this page of rather nude women, which may I add, I haven't 'liked'.

I found another couple of faults, which can only be expected in a beta test version - It seems that my best friend who lives in Bangor, North Wales, lives in Cardiff, because any Cardiff filters I put in she pops straight up.

I can see this going down particularly well with users who wish to check out single men and women. Just type in 'single friends of friends who live in London' and friends of friends who have publicly shared their relationship status will appear as the results. Maybe if everyone everyone knows is taken, Bing will direct you to Match.com?

While the tech industry generally seems underwhelmed with the added functionality, it will be interesting to see how small businesses may be able to explore their customers' likes and dislikes and target advertising at them. For instance if a user has liked a bar, it will be interesting to see if the bar can then go ahead and filter, finding that user to like a particular cocktail or cuisine, then pointing out special offers to them which will in theory be more attractive to the customer.

Zuckerberg kept a quite tight-lipped on using Graph Search for business, avoiding questions, but answering in regards to existing sponsored advertisements on Facebook:

"You build good businesses over time, by people wanting to use something," said Zuckerberg. "Sponsored ads extend quite nicely to Graph Search, but there is nothing new for this."

I predict that Facebook users will not mind the inclusion of Graph Search in general. It's not a redesign of the site, which is when users usually get up in arms about scandalous changes to their ever-so-familiar pages... for about two days. 

The search bar will feature at the top of Facebook on the blue bar, with the home button moved over to the right. Facebook users do like complaining though, so they might kick up a bit of a fuss, until they realise the power of the Graph Search functionality to increase stalking by 600%.

Still in beta, Graph Search will be rolled out to a "very small audience" from 16 January. The company will collect feedback from users before rolling out to a wider audience. Graph Search will also go through tests before being available on mobile devices.