Articles by Mark Pickavance

Mark is an expert on 3D printers, drones and phones. He also covers storage, including SSDs, NAS drives and portable hard drives. He started writing in 1986 and has contributed to MicroMart, PC Format, 3D World, among others.

Articles by: Mark Pickavance

Best rugged phones of 2026: The most durable drop-proof and waterproof smartphones for tough jobs

By Steve Clark Last updated 8 June 26

Buying Guide From drop tests and battery life to performance benchmarking, we tested the most durable smartphones for work.

8849 Tank Pad Ultra review: Possibly the best projector on a rugged tablet, but the price is what really caught my eye

By Mark Pickavance Published 7 June 26

Recommended

The 8849 Tank Pad Ultra is a rugged tablet design with a powerful SoC, plenty of memory and storage, along with a DLP projector.

Samsung Galaxy Book6 Enterprise Edition review: Beautifully engineered business laptop but at this price, I expected better ports than USB 3.2 Gen 2

By Mark Pickavance Published 6 June 26

The Samsung Galaxy Book6 Enterprise Edition is a heavyweight business laptop that uses Intel’s latest 300 series silicon.

Lenovo ThinkTab X11 Gen 1 review: An Android business tablet for those who need a more flexible rugged form factor than a phone

By Mark Pickavance Published 31 May 26

The Lenovo ThinkTab X11 Gen 1 is a ruggedised Android tablet that uses a Snapdragon processor.

Ugreen Maxidok 10-in-1 Thunderbolt 5 Docking Station review: Mass-market appeal for those with TB5 or USB4v2 ports

By Mark Pickavance Published 30 May 26

The Ugreen Maxidok 10-in-1 Thunderbolt 5 Dock is an entry-level dock for those with TB5 ports on their system.

Chuwi AuBox X 256V mini PC review: A microcosm of where small PC designs are heading under the current price pressures

By Mark Pickavance Published 27 May 26

The Chuwi AuBox X 256V is a NUC-sized Mini PC with plenty of features and decent performance from its Intel Core Ultra 200 series processor.

Seagate IronWolf 8TB review: There are good reasons that Seagate is still selling this internal NAS drive, but none are its price

By Mark Pickavance Published 27 May 26

Updated The IronWolf 8TB is in its third incarnation, ten years after it was first released.

Bosgame P4 Ultra review: Nothing here convinces me that AMD Zen 3 is sufficiently exciting for the current mini PC market

By Mark Pickavance Published 26 May 26

The Bosgame P4 Ultra uses an older AMD Ryzen 7 architecture but remains an effective general-purpose mini PC

IceWhale ZimaBoard 2 mini NAS review

By Mark Pickavance Published 9 May 26

Following the original ZimaBoard, version 2 has an improved processor and memory, but the same passively cooled NAS credentials.

Ugreen DXP4800 Pro 4-bay NAS review: A subtle upgrade from the Plus model, yet these changes have significant implications for this network-attached storage device

By Mark Pickavance Published 9 May 26

The Ugreen DXP4800 Pro is a sophisticated four-bay NAS at a price that makes sense for both home and small business users.

IceWhale ZimaCube 2 Personal Cloud NAS review: A modern, high-performance network-attached storage device with plenty of room to grow

By Mark Pickavance Published 4 May 26

Leaving its Kickstarter past behind, IceWhale delivers a second-generation ZimaCube 2 for those who want more of everything in an NAS.

Hands on: The Punkt. MC03 secure rugged phone revealed that it still has some development hurdles to cross before it is ready for Joe Public

By Mark Pickavance Last updated 28 April 26

Not yet rated

The Punkt. MC03 is a third-generation design that puts data security front and centre

Beelink EX Mate Pro All-In-One Docking Station

Beelink EX Mate Pro dock & DAS review: An entirely different approach to docking stations

By Mark Pickavance Last updated 28 April 26

The Beelink EX Mate Pro All-In-One Docking Station is a USB4 dock that can mount four M.2 NVMe drives internally.

Ulefone Armor Pad 5 Ultra review: A beast of a rugged tablet with the weight to prove it built for punishing environments and DLP projector to boot

By Mark Pickavance Published 27 April 26

The Ulefone Armor Pad 5 Ultra is a truly rugged tablet design with plenty of power, memory storage and even a DLP projector.

Thermal Master P4 review: Easily the best phone-connected thermal camera yet, but it's not perfect

By Mark Pickavance Published 23 April 26

The Thermal Master P4 is a thermal camera that connects to an Android phone or PC using USB.

UleFone RugKing 5 Pro review: While this rugged phone built to a price, it does have some virtues to offset the vices

By Mark Pickavance Published 23 April 26

The UleFone RugKing 5 Pro is a robust device with decent battery life, but built to a price specification.

InnoCN GA27S1Q 27-inch monitor review: This QD-OLED panel sports a high refresh rate and a low price tag that should make the big brands nervous

By Mark Pickavance Published 19 April 26

The InnoCN GA27S1Q OLED is a low-cost but high-specification OLED monitor that has a foot in both the gaming and business sectors.

8849 Tank X rugged phone review: A feature-rich design built around a 1080p DLP projector and a whole lot of weight

By Mark Pickavance Published 6 April 26

The 8849 TANK X is a substantial design with plenty of power, memory and storage that’s ideal for an adventurer.

Oscal Pilot 5 rugged phone review: A retrograde step for users who rely on their camera

By Mark Pickavance Published 3 April 26

A collection of odd hardware choices.

Acer Swift Edge 14 AI laptop review: Another lightweight wonder from the Acer stable

By Mark Pickavance Published 24 March 26

The Acer Swift Edge 14 AI is a lightweight laptop that leverages a 200-series Core Ultra processor and LPDDR5X memory.

I tested the TP-Link Omada EAP787 - an Enterprise-class Wi-Fi 7 ceiling access point for those with infrastructure ambitions

By Mark Pickavance Published 20 March 26

Recommended

The TP-Link Omada EAP787 is an Enterprise-class ceiling access point that uses 10GbE PoE++ technology for easy deployment.

I tested the Jabra Evolve3 85 - a professional headset built for the office, priced for the boardroom, yet styled for the street

By Mark Pickavance Published 20 March 26

Recommended

The Jabra Evolve3 85 offers all the bells and whistles of a call centre headset while retaining the styling and elegance associated with retail-focused products.

My testing of the Oukitel WP61 Plus revealed that while it’s not a daily driver, this rugged walkie-talkie phone could be perfect for operating off-grid

By Mark Pickavance Published 17 March 26

The Oukitel WP61 Plus is a rugged, heavyweight design ideal for those operating in harsh, remote environments.

D-Link D501 review: This 5G travel router made me wish for better local 5G connectivity, because without it, this is an expensive LTE dongle

By Mark Pickavance Published 13 March 26

Recommended

The D-Link D501 is a 5G USB dongle made for home and small-business use that doesn’t require drivers or special ports.

UPERFECT UFree V Battery Wireless Portable Monitor

UPerfect UFree V wireless portable monitor review: Great specification, low price, but a few caveats

By Mark Pickavance Published 11 March 26

This wireless portable monitor is an affordable and flexible second monitor designed for those who travel.

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
View Archive

Other versions of this page are available with specific content for the following regions:

Mark Pickavance

Useful links