The 4 Best Smart Home Security Systems of 2016

Everyone wants a secure home, but not everyone understands how to go about making their home safe and secure. There are just too many products on the market, and with the advent of smart tech like the Samsung SmartThings and Google’s Nest, the possibilities are nearly endless. So what’s a homeowner to do?

The best course of action is to figure out exactly what your home needs—before doing any research. From there, you can begin to narrow down the type of home security system that’s right for you and your family. To help guide you in choosing the right one for your home, we’ve compiled a list of the best smart security systems available.

1

Best Overall: Nest Cam

Nest

Formerly called “Dropcam,” the Nest Cam is a pretty little gadget meant to deter would-be intruders from doing all the bad things intruders do. It features 24/7 live vide streaming (HD) to your phone or tablet, motion and sound alerts, night vision, digital zoom, two-way audio and an easy setup. It also features one of the strongest designs we’ve seen from a security cam, with a magnetic base, pivoting stand and a sleek appearance that’s just plain cool.

While the Nest Cam packs enough functionality into the core product, you may be tempted to spring for one of Nest’s subscription packages. Most smart home security solutions skip the fees (because, honestly, no one wants to pay fees), but Nest Aware certainly has its selling points. For $10/month or $100/year you’ll get cloud storage of your video streams for up to 10 days. That time limit increases to 30 days with the $30/month, $300/year packages. Nest Aware also gives you alert summaries, downloadable clips, and time-lapse functionality, among other features.

But maybe the biggest selling point for the Nest Cam is its compatibility with Nest’s other smart home products: the Learning Thermostat and the Protect Smoke Alarm and Carbon Monoxide Detector. As a family, these products offer an impressive array of possibilities. Buy from Amazon »

2

Best Overall Runner-Up: Piper nv

Courtesy of Amazon.com

Piper nv is similar to Canary in that it’s a standalone module with familiar home security features: There’s a camera, a siren and motion detection. But it has a few additional features that make it more of a competitor with the Nest Cam (albeit a little more pricey) rather than the Canary.

The HD camera can record video or be used to monitor your home in real time from your phone. The 180-degree field of view (compared to the Nest Cam’s 130 degrees) is another nifty perk that sets the Piper apart from the pack. Like the Nest Cam, it features two-way audio, which allows you to yell at any intruders scrounging around in your home. It’s also well designed and aesthetically pleasing—a point that a lot of manufacturers overlook when designing products that are meant to sit around in plain sight.

Piper nv also doubles as a home automation hub, allowing you to connect any Z-Wave module, light dimmers, switch or sensor. The only problem with that is the somewhat limited saturation of Z-Wave products. Some folks prefer the competing ZigBee standard, but many more simply prefer an either/or situation. Piper nv is justZ-Wave. Some users may also find the app experience a bit irritating. All-in-all, though, the Piper nv is a solid standalone smart home security solution. Buy from Amazon »

3

Best for Large Homes: iSmartAlarm

Courtesy of Amazon.com

The iSmartAlarm takes a modular approach to home security, sort of like Samsung’s SmartThings. The system features a variety of switches, sensors, cameras and remote tags that can be bundled together or bought separately according to your needs. The system as a whole is self-monitored and self-controlled, and this is perhaps its greatest strength and its greatest weakness.

At the heart of the iSmartAlarm is the CubeOne hub, which coordinates the activities of all the different sensors and switches. It’s easy to set up and necessary if you want a highly thorough, home-wide security system. This DIY approach allows you to, in a sense, customize your home security. There are capabilities for SMS and push notifications, break-in detection and real-time monitoring through the associated App. There are also no monthly fees or contracts to sign, and the network can be expanded to control a near-unlimited number of sensors.

The biggest drawback, however, is that the system does not automatically contact police or emergency services. (Hence, the “self-monitoring” format.) The iCamera, which can be bought individually is buggy and a bit of a hassle to set up, and you may experience some difficulties connecting it to the CubeOne.

Still, iSmartAlarm is a decent option for securing your entire home with smart tech. There are a variety of packages for the iSmartAlarm system, (You can also buy individual sensors, switches, and cameras.) Buy from Amazon »

4

Best Plug-in-Play for Apartments: Canary

Courtesy of Amazon.com

Unlike iSmartAlarm, the Canary is an all-in-one home security solution—with a few extra perks thrown in. The beer bottle-sized device includes a motion sensor and HD video camera, as well as temperature, humidity, and air quality sensors in an affordable package.

All that hardware allows for an impressive range of features, including a 90+ dB siren (which is loud!), motion-activated video recording, automatic arming and disarming, and instant access to emergency services. And it’s easy to set up: no installation, contracts, or fees to pay.

While the Canary may be a solid smart security solution for small apartments and studios, its single-unit design is less practical for large homes. Set it in a room with valuables and rest easy knowing you have the room well monitored, but if you want the same for other areas in your home you’ll have to buy another one.

Some users have complained about the accuracy of the various sensors, while others have expressed concerns about an over-active sensor, poor reliability and a clunky user interface. This could be problematic because the number one attribute you want from a home security system is reliability.

With that said, the Canary may prove useful if you have a specific home security need, and maybe you want to monitor your home’s air quality while you’re at it. Buy from Amazon »

Disclosure

Fresh blow to China's troubled tech giant LeEco

The Chinese smartphone-maker Coolpad has unexpectedly warned of a sales slump, causing its shares to fall by nearly 10%.

It blamed tougher economic conditions and "fierce competition in the domestic smartphone market" for its troubles.
The news is a fresh blow to its biggest shareholder LeEco, which had recently increased its stake in the business.
Earlier this month, one of LeEco's co-founders warned of its own financial problems following a push into the US.

Partnership phone

Coolpad's stock dropped to a four-year low after it announced that sales had fallen by 43% over the first 10 months of 2016. It now expects to post a £3bn Hong Kong dollar ($386.8m; £313.2m) loss for its financial year as a whole.
LeEco became the firm's biggest shareholder in June, when it raised its stake in the company to 28.9%.
The two companies subsequently teamed up to release the metal-cased Cool1 Dual smartphone in August.
But the device struggled against rival handsets from other Chinese tech firms including Huawei, Oppo and Vivo.
"Chinese manufacturers used to be able to rely on their home market to give them unprecedented scale," commented Ben Wood from the tech consultancy CCS Insight.
"However, this year the Chinese market has plateaued and we are starting to see some of the casualties as a result."

American ambitions

The latest development casts a further cloud over LeEco after a period in which it pursued rapid growth.
In June, the privately-owned company bought 49 acres (19.8 hectares) of land from Yahoo in Santa Clara, California for a reported $250m.
In July, it revealed it was buying the US TV-maker Vizio for $2bn.
Then last month, the Beijing-based company held a high-profile launch event in San Francisco, where it announced it was to start selling a wide range of own-brand products in the US.
These include a range of 4K TVs, two smartphones, a virtual reality headset, a set-top box with its own streaming TV platform and an Android-enabled smart bicycle. It also planned for its concept car to drive itself on to the stage, but the vehicle was damaged en route to the event.
LeEco has outsize ambitions," noted the Recode tech news site at the time.
"The company literally describes itself as Apple, Netflix, Amazon and Tesla all rolled into one."
But on 7 November, Bloomberg revealed that LeEco's co-founder Jia Yueting had written to its 10,000-plus workers warning that its finances had come under pressure.
"We blindly sped ahead and our cash demand ballooned," the internal memo said.
"We got over-extended in our global strategy. At the same time, our capital and resources were in fact limited."

it had promised to show off the production vehicle at this January's CES.
It is unclear whether this is still planned.
"It would appear to be the case that LeEco has overstretched itself in multiple areas," said Mr Wood.
"Our bet is that it will now have to retrench and perhaps one of those investments will have to be sacrificed."

Huawei Mate 9 review: Even with unfinished software, Huawei's best ever phone

Huawei's gigantic new flagship is off to a promising start, even on pre-release software. And it's an update away from being a really great handset.

With the spectacular failure of the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 comes an opportunity for everyone else with a big-screened Android phone to sell. A major competitor in the world of "phablets" has been taken out of the game, and China's Huawei stands to benefit handsomely from Samsung's misfortune.

The company's long-running Mate series — itself a reaction to the success of the Note line, back in the day — has carved itself out a niche among consumers who appreciate its metal construction, enormous displays and epic battery life.

The new Mate 9 continues the family line — a slightly slimmer, smarter version of last year's Mate 8, with upgraded internals and a new dual camera setup courtesy of imaging partner Leica. Just as important as any hardware upgrade is the new EMUI 5 software, which is the biggest overhaul to Huawei's UI in years, bringing with it Android 7.0 Nougat.

But there's more than one Mate 9 model this time around. Alongside the vanilla 5.9-inch Mate 9 (with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage), Huawei will release a limited edition Porsche Design Mate 9, with a 5.5-inch curved AMOLED display, and a capacious 6GB of RAM and 256GB of storage.

We've had a little over a week to get to know both the sensible and ludicrous Mate 9 models in the form of pre-release devices given to us by Huawei. They're running non-final software with a few bugs, and will be getting a software update before launch. Nevertheless, we've seen enough to come to some early conclusions. So here's what we think so far...

About this initial review

We're writing this initial review after a week with the regular Huawei Mate 9 (dual-SIM, MHA-L29), and four days with the Porsche Design Huawei Mate 9 (dual-SIM, LON-L29). We used both devices on the EE and Vodafone UK networks while in the UK, and on Telekom.de and Vodafone Germany networks while roaming in Germany.

Both phones were running pre-production software (build B109SP02). We're expecting an over-the-air update to both devices in the next couple of weeks to bring them up to retail-quality firmware. We'll finalize this review in the coming weeks once we have final firmware on both Mate 9 devices. For now, we present our first impressions.

iPhone 6S Review By A Long-Time Android User

I have always wanted an iPhone, ever since Steve Jobs announced it in 2007. However, back then, I was 11 years old and there was no way my parents were buying me an iPhone, and there was nothing I could do to convince them. And trust me, I tried plenty of methods to persuade them, and none of them did the trick.

Nevertheless, I did get to use it and play with it quite a lot, because my Dad bought one, for himself. Sigh. I mean, how can a parent do that to his kid, right? It’s like, you can play with it, but you can’t put your SIM card in it and truly make it your own. And if you mess something up, you’re doomed!

In 2010, my Dad bought a Samsung Galaxy S and I fell in love with its Super AMOLED screen and the Android OS. And, finally, in 2011, I bought my first ever Android-based smartphone: Samsung Galaxy S II — I saved for seven months until I had enough to buy one. Since then, I have exclusively only used Samsung’s flagship smartphones as my daily drivers; upgrading every year to the latest model as soon as it came out.


Moreover, as I have been in the media industry for more than three years now, I have also tested a plethora of Android smartphones from other manufacturers as well. But I have never owned an iPhone, until now.

Mainly because, before the iPhone 6, Cupertino refused to manufacture an iPhone with a bigger screen than 4-inches. While on the Android side, we were rocking devices with screen sizes ranging from 5 to 5.7-inches and sporting a display resolution much higher than that of the iPhone’s Retina Display. There was no way I could use a smartphone with a such a small display.

So whenever my colleagues or friends used to ask for my opinion on the iPhone, I used to say to them: as soon as the company launches a bigger iPhone, I’ll buy one instantly. And Apple ultimately did it. It launched two variants of the iPhone 6, one with a 4.7-inch display and the other with a 5.5-inch display. On launch day, I tried to get one by queuing outside my local Apple Store; I queued for two hours, yet I wasn’t able to score one. Apple ran out of all 64GB variants of both, the iPhone 6S and 6S Plus. After that, I gave up and never bothered getting one.

My good friends over at MobileFun.com have been following my work for quite some time now and sent me a 64GB, Silver, 4.7-inch iPhone 6S for this editorial. I have been using it for more than six weeks now, and I’m ready to give you my thoughts on the current state of the iPhone — a perspective from an Android user.

Now, this piece won’t be like my usual comprehensive reviews, it will be more like the things I like and don’t like about the product, and what I think Apple needs to do in the future.

Design and build quality

There was a time when if somebody wanted to buy a smartphone with a premium design and exceptional build quality, they would just get the latest iPhone without thinking much about it. And, to be honest, I would have done the exact same thing, because Apple was one of the few manufacturers — if not the only one — who focused on the form of its smartphone, not just the spec sheet.

With that being said, nowadays, the tables have turned and almost every Android OEM is producing their smartphones by keeping the design at the centre of the development process. We have passed the point where one device is significantly faster or powerful than the other in its category, so the design is what often plays the differentiating factor in the consumer’s buying decision. Hence, the iPhone 6S’s design doesn’t excite me.

Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that it’s a poorly designed smartphone; It’s just that it doesn’t have the wow factor we all expect from an iPhone, at least in my opinion. And as it’s a flagship Apple design, it’s blatantly being ripped off by other companies to sell their own smartphones, which in return has made Cupertino’s design a bit too generic.

The iPhone 6S’s design language to me is very reminiscent of the original iPhone. It features 7000-series aluminium back (no more bendgate issues) with rounded corners and curved edges, which seamlessly connects with the 2.5D glass on the front; the glass is also curved at the edges.

The entire body is extremely slippery with almost no grip whatsoever; I have actually almost dropped it a few times while taking it out of my inside jacket pocket. In my experience, a glass back provides a bit more grip over a metal back, even though it’s more prone to get shattered once dropped on to the ground. Furthermore, I’m not a big fan of the antenna lines at the back, they break the consistency of the overall design. I really hope the company figures out a way to get rid of them in the next iteration of the device.

As far as the build quality is concerned, I think we all are very well aware of the fact that Apple doesn’t joke around when it comes to the quality of its products. And just like its other products and previous generations of the iPhone, the iPhone 6S’s build quality is top notch. I have been using the 6S without a case since day 1, and there’s not a single scratch or dent to be found anywhere on the enclosure — even the stainless steel Apple logo is so far scratch-free.

Display

Believe it or not, the new 6S is a tad taller, wider, thicker, and heavier than its predecessor — 138.3x67.1x7.1mm, 143g (compared to the 6: 138.1x67x6.9mm, 129g) — and that’s because it’s equipped with Apple’s new pressure-sensitive display technology, which is called 3D Touch. And, in my opinion, it’s the best characteristic of the iPhone.

With 3D Touch, Apple has taken software interaction to a whole new level, it has basically developed a right-click for the iPhone. As the display is now pressure-sensitive, the device detects how hard you’re pressing the screen and acts accordingly.

For instance, if your friend sends you a link to a website, you can light press on the link and a preview window will open up, giving you a peek at the website itself. And if you like what you see, you can increase the pressure of your thumb and it would pop open the website inside Safari.

Just like that, 3D Touch works throughout iOS 9, with the same peek and pop principle. My most-liked 3D Touch feature, however, is being able to change the position of the curser while in a textfield. Almost all the 3rd party apps I use have already been updated to support 3D Touch, except a few Google apps — mainly Gmail and Hangouts.

A very limited number of Android OEMs have also tried experimenting with pressure-sensitive displays, but their implementation hasn’t been as great as Apple’s — won’t get the push from Android app developers. Nevertheless, Google has recently confirmed that Android N will have native support for pressure-sensitive displays, so that sounds like a step in the right direction.

Speaking of the display, the iPhone 6S is packing a 4.7-inch IPS  HD (1334x750) panel with a pixel density of 326ppi, which makes it a Retina Display. Sure, the display isn’t boasting a Quad HD (2560x1440), or even Full HD (1920x1080), resolution or is of an AMOLED variety, it’s still sharp enough and gorgeous to look at.

I must say, before making the switch, I was a bit skeptical about the iPhone’s display, as I had been using Android flagships with much, much higher resolution displays. Nonetheless, I’m glad to report that Apple has sourced one of the best LCD panels in the business. The only issue I had was with the brightness of the panel, it doesn’t perform really well under direct sunlight. And the auto-brightness system isn’t that great too.

I have also been using Night Shift — introduced in iOS 9.3 — which allows the user to manually control the colour temperature of the display, it can also automatically activate and deactivate upon sunset and sunrise or a custom timeframe. Technically, it should have helped me sleep better, but I don’t think it has affected my sleep at all. In spite of that, I did notice that the warmer temperature was less straining on my eyes.

Camera

Apple’s smartphones have always been known for their superb camera systems, and the 6S didn’t disappoint at all. There are three things you need to know: the resolution of the sensor has been increased from 8 megapixels to 12 megapixels, it can shoot 4K video at 30FPS, and there’s a new Live Photos feature. Furthermore, just like its predecessor, the iPhone 6S isn’t equipped with optical-image-stabilisation, while the Plus model is.

Here’s the thing with the camera: the image quality isn’t as impressive as Samsung’s flagship Galaxy devices, but it’s extremely close, and the software isn’t as feature-rich as LG’s G4/V10. By default, 4K video recording is disabled and has to be enabled from the settings, probably because of the 16GB variant Apple is still selling in 2016. Overall, the camera experience is pretty solid — it’s easy-to-use and the sensor is capable of taking great pictures in almost all lighting conditions. However, if you do a lot of low-light photography, I would advise you to put your money on the Plus model instead, as it has OIS built-in.

As for the Live Photos feature, I only found myself using it just for the sake of testing it, actually. I disabled it a week later, as it took double the amount of storage compared to a standard, single image. If you aren’t already familiar with the feature, it’s basically a GIF with audio. What it really does is, it records a 1.5 second video before and after you capture a picture, so you can relive the moment every time you view it. This is actually also the primary marketing trait for Apple’s 3D Touch technology, because in order to preview a live photo, you need to press down hard on the display.

Hardware and software

In terms of hardware specifications, the iPhone 6S is a mid-range device on paper, yet it’s the fastest and smoothest smartphone I have ever used in my life. And that’s because Apple builds the hardware and software itself, so the entire platform is heavily optimised. I don’t think I need to say anything else regarding the performance.

Software-wise, my experience with iOS was mostly pleasant, but sometimes frustrating as well.

The best thing about iOS is that it seamlessly interlinks with OS X on the Mac. As I use a Macbook Pro as my computer of choice, iOS allowed me to make and receive calls directly through my computer, and switch from the mobile app to the desktop one and pick up right from I left off. For example, I could start writing a text on my iPhone, while walking towards my desk, and continue with it on my MacBook, and vice versa. Moreover, I was finally able to use FaceTime and iMessage to converse with my friends and family, who use these specific Apple services regularly.

Furthermore, almost all of my banking apps support Apple’s Touch ID for authentication, so it was super convenient using Touch ID to log into them, as I no longer had to type in a password or a pin number in public places — which potentially is a security risk. Speaking of Touch ID, Cupertino’s fingerprint sensor is insanely fast and accurate. I almost never saw my lock screen, it’s that fast.

I have to say, the user interface is pretty basic and intuitive, it’s so simple that even my grandmother could use it without asking for my help after 5 minutes — it’s brilliant. However, I did miss not having Weather and Google Calendar widgets on my home screen from time to time. Also, not having a permanent back button was a big issue for me. In order to go back to the previous screen, some apps required me to swipe to the right or press the back button on the top left or press the ok button on the top right; it got really confusing sometimes.

The company should take some cues from Android for its notification system, as it’s somewhat deficient. It dismisses notifications from the lock screen as soon as you unlock the device, and if you have already attended a notification but haven’t accessed it directly from the notification centre, it won’t get removed. Additionally, I would have liked if there was a built-in file manager to access my local files and a file extractor to unzip/unrar compressed files.

I live in the UK and we don’t yet have Android Pay or Samsung Pay, but we do have Apple Pay. So it was really an experience using the iPhone to pay for a meal. With that being said, It wasn’t able to completely replace my wallet, due to it being not that reliable. I’m not talking about the service, but the iPhone 6S as whole. I say that, because the battery life on this thing is a joke. It doesn’t even last an entire working day, usually dies on me around 6PM, so I have to charge it at least twice a day. And as it doesn’t have fast charging, it takes more than 2 hours to fully charge it.

Conclusion

Now it’s time for the magic question: will I be using the iPhone 6S as my daily driver? As I mentioned earlier, I don’t really have a daily driver; perks of being a technology writer and reviewer. I’m always testing something new and exciting. However, these days I’m thinking of getting a separate work line, and If I do get one, the iPhone will get my vote for a second smartphone.

Should you get one, you may ask? Well, If you want your smartphone to just simply work, you should get an iPhone. If you own a Mac, look no further and get the iPhone. If you have been using Android for quite a few years now and love customising your software experience, it’s better that you stick to Android for now.

Pebble Smartwatches Looking Better Than Ever with Latest Update

Pebble has been offering relatively affordable smartwatches for several years now — in fact, its original wearable, which debuted with huge success on the crowd-funding platform Kickstarter, is credited with making modern smartwatches popular.
While the company currently offers several different models with a variety of designs and features, all of them tend to fall short of the competition when it comes to a few key areas.

For one, all Pebble smartwatches feature e-paper displays. Some of the products — like the Pebble Time, Pebble Time Round and Pebble Time Steel — feature color e-paper displays, but none of them have touchscreens, which you'll find on the Apple Watch, Samsung Gear products and pretty much all other Android Wear devices.

The upside is that these watches offer much longer battery life, since they don't have an LCD or OLED screen sucking up energy.

One other area where Pebbles have been relatively lackluster is its fitness tracking capabilities. While the Pebble app store has long offered apps like RunKeeper for monitoring your workouts, and the latest watches do offer basic daily step and sleep tracking thanks to Pebble Health. But, thanks to a recent update, this functionality is expanding, moving this data beyond your watch face.
The News
As Pebble announced in a blog post on its site, it's updated Pebble Health to display activity data over time — not just for a given day — and it's added automatic tracking for runs and long walks, including instant watch notifications with a summary of your activity after completing a walk or run (along with more in-depth data on the smartphone app.

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Plus, users will now get "insights and encouragements" to help provide motivation.

More activity-tracking data is definitely a good thing — especially if you're looking to choose a smartwatch that can also function as a fitness tracker — but what's especially important about this update is that Pebble's integrating this information with its mobile apps for Android and iPhone.
Previously, you could only view your health data on your Pebble watch screen, and given the small size it's no wonder you weren't able to pore tons of stats. However, with Pebble Health integrated with the company's mobile apps, you'll be able to pull up your activity info on your smartphone and get a more comprehensive picture of how much you move. You'll be able to view your latest activity levels and compare them with your average, plus you can see stats like calories burned, step distance and active time.
That's not even all the news: In addition to updating its fitness tracking to display much more info in its smartphone apps, Pebble's adding a new Smart Alarms feature to its official Alarms app. This functionality appears to mimic fitness trackers that specialize in sleep monitoring and optimization by waking you up when you're in your "lightest sleep." This means that the monitor could go off as early as 30 minutes prior to your set wakeup time, based on where you are in your sleep cycle.
The last aspect of the update will only concern iPhone users, as Pebble owners with an Android phone have had access to these features for some time. The iOS Send Text app will now allow you to start a text conversation from your wrist, and you can choose from a pre-written (canned) response or use a voice note to interact with contacts. You'll also be able to reply to incoming calls with either a canned response or voice note. It's not exactly as advanced as taking a call on your smartwatch, but it's important functionality for those who want to use their wearable without constantly needing to take out their phone.
As for how to get these updates, you'll need to update the smartphone app (via the appropriate app store on your phone) as well as your Pebble smartwatch firmware. As you'll see once you complete this updates, the app interface has changed as well, moving to a four-tab layout divided between Health, Watchfaces, Apps and Notification.
Why This Update Is Important
First of all, it's important to note that the new Pebble Health features only apply to Pebble Time devices, so if you own an older Pebble watch, you won't be able to enjoy the fitness data. However, Pebble Health itself is only available for Pebble Time watches, so if you have an older watch from the company this is either irrelevant or an extra push to get you to upgrade. (The cheapest device with Pebble Health is the Pebble Time, which starts at $150.
So, assuming you do own a Pebble Time Series watch or are considering buying one, why does this update represent a big improvement? Well, it paints a much fuller picture of your activity and movement, going beyond simple summaries displayed on your wrist to show you data over a span of days, letting you compare your most recent activity to past workouts and more. This is essential if you want a smartwatch that can handle activity tracking as well as on-wrist notifications and other non-workout-related tasks. When Pebble Health only revealed a limited glimpse of your activity info on your watch screen, it was hard to convince yourself that these smartwatches could compete with an activity tracker from the likes of Fitbit or Jawbone. However, now that you can access much more data from your smartphone app, a Pebble Time smartwatch can likely handle your activity tracking needs — unless you're a professional athlete (like a swimmer) or have specific fitness-monitoring requirements.
The bottom line is that this update makes Pebble devices much more competitive with both other smartwatches and basic fitness trackers. It's especially great news for those who already own a compatible device, but if you're on the market for an affordable wearable, the Pebble Time Series is looking more appealing than ever before.

Alienware 18 review

The 14-inch gaming laptop is in just about every vendor's repertoire, while 15-inchers are a step up, and just slightly harder to seek out. At 17.3-inches, the gaming laptop enters even more niche of a category, catered to by a few boutique brands and even fewer mainstream manufacturers, like Toshiba and HP.
An 18.4-inch laptop, however, is a relative ghost. When a notebook gets to be so large it requires a rolling luggage bag to haul around (and costs as much as a downpayment for an apartment) it better be something truly special. The Alienware 18 is just that – for $4,166 (about £2,434, AU$4,443), that is.
Featuring dual Nvidia GeForce GTX 880M GPUs – Nvidia's most powerful mobile graphics chips – and a blazing fast Intel Core i7 processor, the Alienware 18 is the muscle car of mobile gaming rigs fitted with two turbochargers. For all of this graphical might, the unit Alienware sent to TechRadar costs a depressing amount of money. The hardware spec is hot enough to make any PC nerd faint, but is this the pinnacle of laptop gaming as we know it?

Design

Like the rest of the redesigned series of Alienware notebooks, this 18.4-inch beast scored a makeover since the Alienware 18x released two years ago. The Dell-owned company has moved away from gaming platforms that look like trapezoids and instead has adopted a more angular look with rounded edges.
The new look is modern, accented with sleeker lights, and much more pleasing to look at from the front than the automotive grill aesthetic from years past. Rather, the new design resembles a space ship – in fact, a curious onlooker commented the machine looked like just that while I took photos for this review.

On top of the updated looks, the Alienware 18 has a few other premium niceties, including an aluminum-clad lid and magnesium alloy base. The interior of the laptop is also lined entirely with a soft-touch rubbery material, a comfortable place to rest your wrists for extended gaming sessions.
Put all together, this gaming machine is one such meticulously crafted piece of hardware that it closes flush without any gaps. You won't find a single misaligned panel on the laptop even with all the intricate body lines integrated into the laptop's body armor design. This perfection even extends to the notebook's ports, which are all fitted with metal bands. Alienware's attention to detail is truly something to behold.

Around the back of the laptop are two massive exhaust vents. Flip over the laptop and you'll find over a third of the Alienware 18's footprint isn't a plain old panel but an expanse of mesh for the laptop's three intake fans. There nothing understated about the Alienware 18. It's a machine ready to run all the latest games better than any other laptop out there and look good while doing it.

Failure to launch

While the Alienware 18's dual GPU setup lends it unprecedented amounts of gaming horsepower, it does not come with the option switched on by default. At first, the laptop performed struggled to run the latest games at max settings with only one GPU. Luckily, after a quick peek at the Nvidia control panel and a few clicks later, everything was fixed. It's an easily correctable problem, but one that new owners should be mindful of when they pull their rig out of the box.

Another thing users will have to check under the hood is the touchpad's gesture controls. For some unknown reason, scrolling also comes disable, but not two fingered pinching or rotating. It's an odd quirk, and it's unfortunate, because the Alienware 18 sports one of the best touchpads you can ask for on a laptop.