Laptops News - Page 50

Apple has had a big few days, with the Watch pre-orders opening up and the launch of its new Retina-capable MacBook. The new Retina MacBook is reportedly not being stocked at many Apple Stores, leaving consumers furious.

Apple Stores in the US are reportedly not stocking the new MacBook, which seems to be limited to online purchases, for now at least. MacRumors has taken a look at multiple Apple Stores across the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom, which all resulted in the new Retina MacBook being unavailable at all locations, "at least on launch day" they reported.

The new Retina MacBook has seen its shipping times already expand, with custom models shipping in 3-4 weeks as soon as orders became available. The new 12-inch Retina MacBook starts at $1299, featuring a super-slim design, a single USB-C port, a redesigned keyboard and an all-new butterfly mechanism, Force Touch trackpad, fanless architecture and an all-day battery.

Apple's new Retina MacBook doesn't reach consumers until April 10, but we are now looking at some early 64-bit Geekbench benchmarks of the Core M-powered laptop.

The Intel Core M-5Y31 processor is clocked at 1.1GHz, with someone running the benchmark twice, providing two single-core scores of 1924 and 2044. The multi-core benchmarks provided a score of 4038 and 4475. Comparing this to the entry-level 2015 MacBook Air with its 1.6GHz Core i5 processor, we've seen single-core results of 2881 and multi-core results of 5757.

Performance wise, we're looking at the new Core M-powered Retina MacBook being about as fast as the higher-end MacBook Air from 2011, with its 1.8GHz Core i7 processor. Graphics performance will most likely be better on the 2011 MBA, but we won't know that until benchmarks are performed on the new Core M-powered MacBook.

Apple has finished its 'Spring Forward' media event, where we've been introduced to a handful of exciting new products. One of which is the new 12-inch Retina MacBook Air, which has a resolution of 2304x1440.

The new 12-inch MBA features a thinner bezel around its display, with the keyboard reaching both edges of the base. Apple has used a new Taptic engine for the trackpad, something that provides touch feedback on the Apple Watch, is doing the same thing on the new MacBook Air - it simulates the sensation of clicking. You can push harder than a traditional tap, and it will act as a separate gesture, just like the new Watch.

Apple has removed most of the ports on the new MacBook Air, where we only have a 3.5mm headphone jack and a reversible USB-C connector. This port can charge the laptop, send video to an external display and of course, throw data around at USB 3.0 speeds. This port has allowed Apple to make its thinnest laptop yet, at just 13.1mm thick - 24% thinner than the already-thin 11-inch MacBook Air. It also weighs just 2 pounds.

HP has started off 2015 with a bang, announcing its new 13.3-inch Spectre x360 convertible laptop, with the aforementioned 13.3-inch display rocking a QHD resolution of 2560x1440, which also happens to feature Panel Self-Refresh technology, which lets the laptop power down when the display is not changing.

There will be two models of the Spectre x360 released, with one bumping the 13.3-inch screen down to 1920x1080 touch-capable display, while the higher-end model features the QHD panel. There are also two choices when it comes to the processor, with HP offering up the Intel Broadwell-ULT-based Core i5-5200U and Core i7-5500U. The Core i5-5200U is a dual-core part with HT enabled at 2.2GHz or 2.7GHz with Turbo Boost, while the Core i7-5500U is also a dual-core part with HT at 2.4GHz, or 3GHz with Turbo. HP has provided just 4-8GB of DDR3 RAM on the Spectre x360, while storage options range from a 128GB SSD up to 512GB.

HP has priced the Spectre x360 competitively, with the starting price of just $900 for the Core i5 model with 4GB of RAM, 128GB SSD and 1080p touchscreen. HP will offer up the Core i7 model with 8GB of RAM, 256GB SSD and the same 1080p touchscreen for $1150, while the best model will feature the Core i7 processor, 8GB of RAM, 512GB of SSD and the QHD touchscreen for $1400.

If you didn't already know, Sony sold its VAIO brand off to Japan Industrial Partners last year, with the new owner of VAIO announcing new models in Sony's old PC brand. We have the new VAIO Z and VAIO Z Canvas laptops, which are some flashy new transforming Ultrabooks.

Starting with the VAIO Z which comes in two flavors, both with a 13.3-inch display, but you can choose between an Intel Core i5 or Core i7 processor. We also have a beautiful aluminuium carbon shell body, and an SSD that the company says can have the Ultrabook booting up in an impressive 0.3 seconds.

Better yet, a hinge on the rear of the Z's chassis allows the Ultrabook to turn the display on, so it can either be facing outwards to use it like a tablet, or flipped down to show others what you're doing. The VAIO Z is something Japan Industrial Partners calls a "monster PC" but it won't be going through its battery too quick. The company says that you should expect over 15.5 hours of use out of it, which is pretty damn impressive, and more than any other VAIO laptop released.

Gaming company Razer has updated its Blade gaming laptop, now including the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970M and Intel Core i7-4720HQ CPU.

The QHD+ Model starts with the following specifications: Intel Core i7-4720HQ Quad Core CPU, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970M, 16GB RAM, Microsoft Windows 8.1, 128 to 512GB SSD options, and a 14" IGZO QHD+ (3200x1800) screen. Prices start at $2,199.

Meanwhile, the Full HD Model has the following specifications: Intel Core i7-4720HQ Quad Core CPU, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970M, 256GB SSD, 8GB RAM, and 14" IPS Full HD (1920x1080) screen. Prices start at $1,999.

Complete with a 13-inch screen squeezed into a bezel that generally houses 11-inch offerings, Dell's new XPS 13 2015 is packed full of tech goodies including the new Broadwell U CPU, 4GB of RAM, a tiny 2.99lb weight rating and a 1366 x 768 resolution touch-screen.

Being initially released to the market at a tiny price of $800, some are claiming this model to be a MacBook Air killer. Touted by many at CES to be part of their 'best of' categories, with the vibrant screen, strong audio and configuration options helping describe why it's such a winner. Bear in mind that the touchscreen isn't part of the $800 base-model, however it's a great inclusion if you're that way inclined.

Comparing this to Apple's MacBook Air, you're looking at a starting price of $999 for 128GB of PCI-e based flash storage, an Intel i5 dual-core, 4GB of RAM and a slightly smaller 2.38lb weight rating. With the specifications sitting fairly close (bar the CPU), you can't argue with a $199 saving on Dell's product.

CES 2015 - Fully optioned with dual NVIDIA GTX 980m video cards and up to 32GB of RAM supporting a 1080p 18" display, MSI's newest addition to the gaming world is the GT80 Titan laptop and it even comes with a full Cherry MX Brown keyboard - by SteelSeries.

Weighing in at 10 pounds, this beast has upgradeability in mind. With the ability to swap out your dual video cards for NVIDIA MXM mobile graphics, the laptop has a panel on top allowing you access to M.2 SSD slots, RAM bays and a 2.5-inch drive bay. According to MSI, their 350-watt power brick and dual-GTX 980 combo can provide almost the same performance as a single desktop GTX 980 card - further mentioning that the GT80 can support three screens, providing users with one HDMI and two DisplayPort connections.

The system MSI has on display at CES will set back users a whopping $3,700 due to its Intel Extreme 4980HQ CPU, 24GB of RAM, 1TB HDD and two 128GB M.2 SSDs running in RAID. However if the base model is more your flavor, you can expect to pony up $3,300 for your very own model.

PC and laptop company Velocity Micro has announced a new effort to build custom configured laptops that will be completed with lead times of three days or less.

The NoteMagix M17 starts at $1,199 with the following options: 17.3" full HD display, Intel Haswell Core i7 CPU options, NVIDIA GTX 850M options, integrated optical drives and integrated camera and fingerprint scanner.

The Raptor MX50 starts at $1,899 with the following: 15.6" 1920x1080 IPS screen, which can be upgraded to 3840x2160, Intel Haswell Core i7 CPU options, NVIDIA GeForce GTX970M and 980M options, and integrated camera, fingerprint scanner, backlit keyboard.

If you're looking to cram a ton of pixels into a small place, you might need to start looking into Dell. They've just announced, and launched, their new XPS 15 laptop - featuring a 4K UHD display that features touchscreen technology.

Powered by 4th Generation Intel Core Technology, the base system will get you an i5-4200H running at up to 3.4GHz, all the way up to the top-dog offering you an i7-4712HQ at up to 3.3 GHz. With all models coming pre-installed with Windows 8.1 and between 8GB - 16GB of RAM, there's no denying that this laptop will last you an extended period of service if you're using it for general purposes.

If the top model is more your choice, you'll even get a 512GB SSD thrown in along with an NVIDIA GeForce GT 750M - all wrapped up in a 4.44 lbs package.