ViewSonic Monitors

When you want to check your e-mail or look at a Web page without trekking off to your PC, a smart display lets you use your desktop PC from anywhere in the house over a wireless network. You have to be running Windows XP Professional Edition but the Airpanel V110 comes with everything you need including a free Windows upgrade and a USB wireless adapter for your desktop PC, plus a USB cable for connecting to your PC to set the smart display up. The wizard makes getting started much simpler than setting up your own wireless network and keeping a desktop and notebook PC synchronised, but you can tinker with the connection settings yourself if you want to use an existing wireless network. The printed documentation isn't at all comprehensive, but there's a full manual on the CD.

Don't think of this as a computer; it's a wireless screen for your main PC that you can write on, so you get all your usual files and settings. The design is chunky and easy to hold, with rounded corners and a clear, bright screen. There are two USB ports on the top so you could plug in a mouse and keyboard, but it's a touch screen with navigation controls so you don't need to. The pen is small but it has a nice balance. The four-way cursor control is a little slow, but you won't knock it accidentally and the left and right mouse buttons are useful with the pen too. Type or write into the input panel and tap or drag onscreen to control Windows; you see your main PC as if you were sitting in front of it, but without desktop wallpaper for speed.

The 10.4" screen looks small initially but when you're holding it in your hands or resting it on your lap it doesn't feel cramped and it's small and light enough to carry easily from room to room. Without the usual PC components such as a hard drive inside, the Airpanel doesn't get too warm to hold on your lap either. The Airpanel V110 is pricier than a normal PC screen but it does mean you won't be tied to the desk. ––Mary Branscombe