Review: Toshiba's premium Kirabook laptop Toshiba Kirabook (rating: 4/5) The ultimate in mobile computing for consumers from Toshiba used to be its Qosmio line. I remember the 8lb multimedia beast it introduced nearly 10 years ago, which included a television tuner, DVD drive and two Harman Kardon speakers, before Toshiba refocused the Qosmio brand on gamers. The first product bearing Toshiba's new Kira luxury brand still has Harman Kardon speakers but it is more beauty than beast - a slender 3lbs ultrabook in a 13.3in screen configuration. In this, Toshiba is aiming to outdo Apple's MacBook Air, a machine I still consider to be the gold standard for thin and light laptops, and which I use every day. The Air is made of aluminium and Toshiba has chosen a magnesium alloy for the Kirabook, which it says is 90 per cent stronger than Apple's choice of material. I don't doubt that the Toshiba machine is more robust, but the aluminium Air is solidly built all the same and its finish feels classier. The two weigh the same, despite the Kirabook's smaller size, by about 10 per cent. The Air also has a larger, backlit keyboard and a bigger and more responsive trackpad. For blazing responsiveness, both have options for Intel Core i7 processors, 8Gb of memory and 256Gb solid-state drives, but the Kirabook costs $400 more at $1,999 (prices and availability in Europe to be announced). However, the Kirabook does feature a far superior screen. In fact, it has the same sharpness and larger desktop area as the Retina display on Apple's more expensive $1,899 MacBook Pro. The Kirabook weighs about half a pound less than the Pro and has a touchscreen, which I found useful for quick access to apps in Windows 8"s unpopular tiled interface. However, I spent most of my time using the Kirabook on the traditional desktop interface, which Microsoft might let users boot to by default in its update for the software later this year. In fact, I must admit my own lack of love for Windows 8 damps my enthusiasm for the Kirabook, a mood not helped by the webcam being poor for this price, while the speakers are less loud than the Air's, although there is more of a surround-sound effect. The software includes full versions of Adobe's Photoshop and Premiere Elements for photo and video editing. Battery life is comparable to the Mac's at six or seven hours, but this would probably improve greatly if Toshiba were to use the next-generation Core processors coming out in June. They are not in this first version of the Kirabook. Apple is likely to update the Air with the new Core processors next month and it could even add a Retina display to Air. Toshiba's advantage in having combined the best features of the MacBook Air and Pro thus seems as slim as the Kirabook's own profile. But this ultrabook is well-designed and may yet enjoy classic rather than short-term appeal. Toshiba Canvio Connect (rating: 3/5) With only 256Gb of space allocated to store photos, videos and movies on the Kirabook, I have been trying a new 750Gb external drive from Toshiba that allows lightning-speed backups and provides extra storage through the laptop's USB 3.0 ports. At $110 (prices and availability in Europe yet to be announced), it is a little pricier than similar rivals, but I like the handy size of the drive and the excellent software that is included for making backups and remotely accessing content. It even allows you to stream to mobile devices and back up photos and video stored on smartphones. The Canvio Connect is available in sizes ranging from 500Gb ($99) to two terabytes ($190) and colours include black, silver, blue, red and white. While designed for Windows PCs, the included driver software means you can use it with a Mac without having to reformat the drive. Planet of the Apps Chris Nuttall selects his favourite from the latest crop What it is: Snapseed photo editing (free, for Apple and Android devices) Why you should try it: Snapseed stands from the rest in an ocean of photo editing apps. It is now available for Android devices and is free following Google's acquisition of its German developer. Features include cropping, straightening, sharpening, framing, selective fine-tuning and Instagram-like filters. Swipes easily apply effects and a simple tap alternates between the original and a preview of the edited version.