Laptops - Page 40

Apple's next-gen MacBook Air will arrive as an 11.6-inch device, but the feats of engineering required to get it thinner than the already-thin MacBook Air we all know and love have seen the company hire another watchmaker, according to our friends over at MobileGeek.

MobileGeek's sources in the supply industry claim that Apple's next MacBook Air will be "even thinner, lighter, and above all more compact". According to people familiar with the matter, Apple has hired an extra watchmaker for the development of the new MBA. The watchmaker has the experience in working with highly complex, and very small components.

What Apple wants to see, is an 11.6-inch MacBook Air released, but on the dimensions of the classic 10.1-inch netbook form factor. If there's a company that can get the engineering and design right, it's Apple. It should be quite the small notebook when released later this year.

Apple's already-thin MacBook Air might be a little thinner with its successor, which will reportedly ship as a 12-inch device, featuring a "fanless" design. The current MBA has a tiny, but very quiet fan.

The new MBA would also replace the mechanical "clicker" in the track pad, which would see a gesture-only and tap control, instead of physical clicks. Right now, the MacBook Air comes in two display sizes, 11.6- and 13-inch. Providing a 12-inch screen with a Retina resolution, and being even thinner, would be quite the device from Apple.

If Apple could surprise, and make the screen disconnect from the keyboard, now that would be a nice change. Imagine if when it was disconnected, it flicked off from OS X and enabled iOS, making it a 12-inch tablet. We've already heard about an iPad Pro... why can't this be it?

Laptops capable of playing the latest video games are quickly becoming the norm, and today GIGABYTE has added another high-performance gaming notebook to the mix. The new P34G V2 is a 14-inch Ultraforce gaming laptop that is just 20mm thick and weighs less than three-pounds. GIGABYTE says that the Ultraforce P34G V2 is the company's answer to the fast growing demand for ultra-powerful notebooks, and delivers heavy-weight performance in a light-weight package.

"This new breed of gaming laptop grants gamers superior mobility as well as uncompromised performance, readying users with full-throttle gaming on major titles and bringing a whole new definition to gaming on the go. The simple yet sleek style makes P34G v2 a great choice for business people that like to kick back and game on the side when not presenting or typing up reports on the P34G v2," GIGABYTE said in a release.

The Ultraforce P34G V2 features an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 860M and 4GB of VRAM alongside an Intel Core i7 Haswell processor. A single mSATA SSD up to 256GB in capacity and a single 1TB HDD are on board to handle all of your storage needs, while GIGABYTE's Supra-Cool technology ensures that everything runs cool and efficient. A 1080p AHVA display is present and boast an impressive 170-degree viewing angle. Topping things off, the keyboard is back-lit by a true electroluminescence panel that ensures even illumination accross the entire keypad.

Razer updated its Blade series thin-for-a-gaming-laptop system with the newer GTX 800M series video card, and its 14" model using a QHD+ resolution.

To maintain a particular form-factor, design and maintaining aesthetics true to Razer's brand name, it goes without saying that the company will spend a lot of money on research and development. Its now known that Razer spent $380,000 for redesigning the standard USB port's colour.

Razer didn't do any changes to the USB as a hardware, but wished to replace the USB 3.0's blue plastic colour to a custom one that fitted with their brand's theme: black and acidic green.

Razer launched its new Razer Blade and Razer Blade gaming notebooks with

gaming notebook with the new GTX 870M discrete graphics that was launched very recently. The company went ahead and given a 14inch QHD+ IGZO multi-touch panel for its newer generation gaming system.

The new Razer Blade 2014 edition uses i7-4702HQ processor with 8GB DDR3L 1600MHz memory kits and NVIDIA GTX 870M. It uses Intel 7260 2x2 802.11ac Wi-Fi module and with an option to include SATA M.2 drives. The panel is 16:9 aspect ratio with 3200 x 1800 resolution that's found in many high-end notebooks. The previous model has 1600 x 900 paired with NVIDIA GTX 765M. The 'impossibly thin and light' gaming notebook is 2.03kg/ 4.47 lbs heavy.

Dell introduces a new mobile workstation with ISV certification with optimized performance and dependability. Dell's Precision M2800 is a 15 inch mobile workstation with starting price of $1,199. The mobile workstation is made for engineers, designers and video editors to need a proper set for critical functions and reliability along with speed.

Dell Precision M2800 can be paired with either 4th gen Intel Core i5 or i7 processors, followed by AMD FirePro W4170M 2GB GDDR5 graphics, up to 16GB memory and up to 1TB of storage. The panel is a 15.6 inch UltraSharp display comes with either HD or Full HD, multi-monitor support and docking compatibility.

Jon Peddie, President of Jon Peddie Research said,"The M2800 brings forth a tremendous opportunity to address a gap in delivering an entry-level workstation with strong performance and ISV certifications to run demanding, mission-critical applications, at a great value."

When Samsung first introduced its $250 Chromebook, there were some who thought it would never make it to revision 2, but despite the naysayers, the Chromebook was a major success. Today the Samsung is once again banking on the success of a cheap, but high quality internet only device and has unveiled its all new Chromebook 2 in both 11.6-inch and 13.3-inch form factors.

The 13.3-inch Chromebook features a full HD 1920x1080 display, 4GB of RAM and 16GB of internal storage space. The device is powered by Samsung's latest Exynos 5 Octa SoC and boast 8.5-hours of battery life thanks to the chips new low-power design. Weighing in at just over three pounds the 13.3-inch Chromebook 2 is one of the most high-end Chromebooks ever made. Its 11.6-inch little brother features a 1366x768 resolution display as well as a slower processor. 4GB of RAM remains as does the battery life, and number of USB ports. Both models feature a stitched leather back similar to that featured on Samsung's Galaxy Note devices, with the larger model sporting both black and white trim while the smaller version only comes in grey. The 13.3-inch Chromebook 2 retails for $399.99 with its smaller counterpart arriving at a pricing point of $319.99.

Razer has announced its partnership with Swedish supercar maker Koenigsegg for a series of 'not-for-sale' Koenigsegg branded limited edition Razer Blade gaming laptops.

As far as specification is concerned, its same as Razer Blade: Intel i7 4702HQ with 8GB memory, GTX 765M, 256GB SSD, Qualcomm NIC N1202, Razer's anti ghosting keyboard with adjustable backlight and 14 inch 1600 x 900 resolution panel. All of this in a ultra thin low profile thickness of 0.66 inch and casing made of aluminum.

Koenigsegg branded Razer Blade gaming notebooks will be unveiled at the Geneva International Motor Show in March 2014.

Lenovo India has removed three of the leading Indian e-tailers from their authorized sellers list: Snapdeal, FlipKart and Amazon India. The Chinese based PC and mobile device maker also issued a notice in their website with a message that users should check the warranty period while purchasing from such sites. Few months ago, Nikon delisted FlipKart and Snapdeal from their authorized list.

Many of these companies with its own online retail websites have started a protest against such online retail websites as their 'predatory' pricing are hurting their business and profit margins.

Lenovo India said: "It has come to our notice that some of the online stores and marketplaces are selling Lenovo products at heavily discounted prices. Our observation is that these may not be Lenovo authorized resellers and keeping our end customers' interest in mind, we have accordingly issued an advisory on our Web site."

CES 2014 - There aren't many thin gaming notebooks on the market outside of the Razer Blade, but it looks like GIGABYTE's new Aorus series will take care of that. GIGABYTE's Aorus is the company's new PC gaming hardware brand, which has started off with a new gaming notebook.

The Aorus X7 is a 17.3-inch gaming notebook which features Intel's Core i7-4700HQ processor, two NVIDIA GeForce GTX 765M GPUs in SLI, up to 32GB of RAM, a pair of 512GB SSDs and the storage is backed up by a 1TB mechanical HDD. All of this arrives in chassis that is just 0.9 inches thick, with two fans, four vents and five thermal pipes doing everything they can to keep GIGABYTE's Aorus X7 cool.

Connectivity wise we have dual HDMI ports, a mini DisplayPort and VGA socket that will drive up to three more monitors from the Aorus X7. GIGABYTE has provided some anti-ghosting keys, dedicated macro buttons on its backlit keyboard, a Killer NIC networking chip, and 802.11ac Wi-Fi to wrap things up. We should expect the GIGABYTE Aorus X7 to ship in March, with prices falling between $2,099 and $2,799.

CES 2014 - We all know Lenovo has some of the best notebooks on the market, but it has just refreshed its X1 Carbon notebook at the Consumer Electronics Show 2014 that is currently cranking along in Las Vegas.

The refreshed Thinkpad X1 Carbon offers a carbon fiber-constructed chassis, which weighs in at 2.8 pounds. Something unique that Lenovo has done with its X1 Carbon is provide an Adaptive Keyboard, which the company claims "dynamically adjusts based on the software or application being used to highlight the most relevant keys". The 14-inch display is of the anti-glare variety, with Lenovo offering up a 1600x900 or 2560x1440 resolution.

Lenovo has provided a rapid-charge technology, which will provide 80% of the total charge in under an hour, on top of a nine-hour battery. The pricing on the Lenovo Thinkpad X1 Carbon isn't bad, starting at $1,299. The refreshed X1 Carbon will be available starting at the end of the month.

This morning MSI announced the launch of a new mobile lineup that includes the industry's first 3K gaming notebook and an Adobe certified 3K workstation. Just in time for Christmas, the all new GT60 20D-261US features a ultra-HD display resolution of 2880x1620 which provides bright, sharp and crisp graphics for an unmatched experience.

The GT60 gaming notebook features an Intel Core i7-4700MQ processor, 16GB of DDR3L RAM, an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780M GPU, and a Killer NIC. A 720p webcam is on hand while Dynaudio speakers and a subwoofer handle the audio. The 2880x1620 3K display is of the 15.6-inch class, but does not feature touch sensitivity. Three USB 3.0 ports and two USB 2.0 ports, and a 128GB SSD / 1TB HHD combo rounds things out.

The GT60 Workstation has been optimized to run Adobe Creative Suite 6, Autodesk software, and Solidworks, and the 3K display allows professionals to work in stunning ultra high-resolution for the highest quality work possible from a mobile workstation. The GT60 2OKWS-278US features the same CPU, RAM, and storage. The difference in the powerful NVIDIA Quado K3100M workstation GPU that MSI has fit inside.

Acer has announced their new Acer C720P Chromebook, which is a touchscreen version of their C720 budget Chromebook that was introduced last month. The Acer C720P will be available early December, and will come equipped with a HD 11.6 inch 1366x768 LED touchscreen display. This is Acer's first touchscreen Chromebook.

The Acer C720P has a 7.5 hour battery life and a 7-second boot up time. It runs off an Intel Celeron 2955U processor, it also comes with a 32GB SSD and 2GB of DDR3 memory. Other features include an HD webcam, duel speakers, both USB 2.0 and 3.0 ports, as well as an HDMI port. It can support 802.11a/b/g/n Wi-Fi and will come with 100GB of Google drive storage free for two years, plus 12 free Gogo inflight passes. The Acer C720P will be available to purchase from Amazon, Best Buy, and directly from Acer early December for $299.99.

Acer CTO Arif Maskatia: "Our new touchscreen C720P gives customers an intuitive way to browse sites online, enjoy apps, and do more with the Chromebook. The Acer C720 Chromebook line has been praised for its performance and battery life, and this new touchscreen model allows us to address the needs of an even wider range of customers with exciting new capabilities. We're certain many holiday shoppers will jump at the chance to get a touchscreen Chromebook for just $299.99."

HP and Google's new Chromebook 11 was promised to be this holiday seasons biggest notebook seller, but things are not looking to good for the $279 Chrome OS laptop. Today The Verge received a tip from a Best Buy insider who says that Best Buy corporate offices have sent urgent memos to store managers to stop selling the Chromebook 11.

"Stores should stop selling the HP Chromebook 11 effective immediately," reads an internal memo to Best Buy managers. "Partner with Sales Support to pull the product off the sales floor to a secure location in the warehouse." Since the memo went out, Best Buy has removed the Chromebook 11 from its website. Amazon, HP, and Google have also all listed the device as being out of stock on their websites as well.

At the moment it is unclear as to why sales and shipments of the devices have been suspended, and other than speculation about lower than expected stock levels, no other explanation has been poised by analyst. Amazon does list the item as being unavailable because "customers have told us there may be something wrong with our inventory of the item, the way we are shipping it, or the way it's described here." I have reached out to Google, HP, and Best Buy for comments and will report back when they reply.

Today Lenovo announced the all new IdeaPad A10, the companies first ultra-portable, dual-mode laptop to run Android 4.2. The A10 holds to its description of being ultra-portable too, the laptop weighs in at less than 2.5-pounds and measures just 17.3mm thick. Lenovo says that the new A10 was designed with users on the go in mind and that its new dual-mode feature will greatly enhance the user experience.

"With the recent explosive growth in Android-based, smart connected devices, customers are relying more on Android apps for both work and play. Why should they be required to switch and duplicate to use their laptop? Lenovo's A10 brings ultra-portability and dual-mode benefits to Android users at a reasonable price," said Bai Peng, vice president and general manager, notebook business unit, Lenovo Business Group. "Thin and light, with multiple modes and user-inspired innovations for an outstanding user experience ? the A10 is uniquely Lenovo."

The laptop features a 10.1-inch 1366x768 resolution display which can be flipped 300 degrees to enter "stand mode" allowing for a comfortable viewing angle when watching video content. The A10 is powered by an RK3188, a quad-core ARM Cortex A9 processor which gives the device the power it needs to function as a productivity device as well as an entertainment hub.

Today Apple issued a recall on all MacBook Air models sold between June 2012 and June 2013 that have a 64GB or 128GB SSD inside. These smaller SSDs were manufactured by Toshiba and have a defect from the factory that could cause users to lose all of their data. MackBook Air's with 256GB SSDs are not affected as their SSD was manufactured by Samsung.

Fujitsu has just unveiled its latest notebook, the Lifebook U904, which features a 14-inch IGZO panel and a super-high resolution of 3200x1800. There are two models, one with a glossy panel and touch input, and the second is an anti-glare panel without touch capabilities.

The Lifebook U904 is powered by Intel's Haswell range of processors with Intel HD Graphics 4400 powering the graphics side of things. We have it weighing in at 3.06 lbs and a thickness of 0.61 inches. Fujitsu claims that its Lifebook U904 is the "world's thinnest 14-inch ultrabook." There's a choice of an SSHD or SSD for storage, USB 3.0 and HDMI connectivity are featured, as well as optional LTE wireless which is a nice touch.

You can grab the Lifebook U904 from Fujitsu's online store starting from $1,999 which comes with a glossy touchscreen and 320GB SSHD. Windows 8.1 is featured, so you shouldn't expect to receive the Lifebook U904 until after October 17.

Apple is losing its war in multiple fronts at the moment, all while money is filling its coffers. It looks like MacBook shipments will decrease this year, even with the company increasing its orders to the upstream supply chain for new MacBook models.

The news comes from DigiTimes' sources in the upstream supply chain who also said that their shipments for the new MacBook devices have been increasing since June, with volumes in Q3 increasing by 10-20%. This growth is expected to continue going into this month. But, Apple is seeing issues with its shipment numbers in relation to a suspension of component shipments for a three-month period in the first half of the year, which will hurt overall MacBook shipments across 2013.

Last year, Apple shipped 13.03 million MacBooks, but only 5.3 million units were shipped in the first half of this year. This means that Apple needs to ship over 7.73 million units in the last six months of this year to just be equal to 2012's performance. I think this comes down to Apple not giving the world anything exciting in its Mac line, if it pushed touchscreen models into the mix, we might see a turn around.

Today, GIGABYTE launched what it is calling the lightest gaming laptop in the world. The new 14-inch P34G Ultrablade is extremely thin at just 21mm thick and weighs an unbelievably light 1.6kg. GIGABYTE has designed the new notebook around an ultra-smooth sandblasted aluminum matte finish that lends an air of elegance and sophistication.

The new P34G Ultrablade features a quad-core Intel Core i7 processor and a powerful NVIDIA GeForce GTX 760M graphics card. Everything is remarkably cool and stable thanks to GIGABYTE's unique Supra-Cool cooling system that is comprised of a combination of dual heat pipes and dual fans that are efficient at removing heat from both the CPU and GPU.

GIGABYTE says that the P34G supports up to a 256GB mSATA SSD in addition to a large 1TB HDD for unprecedented fast storage without sacrificing capacity. A full 1080p display panel is featured, which provides excellent viewing even at angles of 170 degrees. Finally, the P34G Ultrablade features an automatic light sensing backlit keyboard that illuminates the keys when powered on in a dimly lit room.

IDF 2013 - Today Acer announced that it will be previewing its first Chromebook that features an Intel processor based on the Haswell microarchitecture platform at the 2013 Intel Developer Forum. Acer says that this third-generation Chromebook is the result from close collaboration between Acer, Intel and Google, and combines the best technology with exciting new innovation to usher in a new era for the Chromebook market.

"The value proposition of the Acer Chromebook line resonates with consumers, education and a growing number of businesses, as more work is done by teams that collaborate, create and connect using a wide and varied range of apps for learning, research, fun and work," said Arif Maskatia, chief technology officer, Acer America. "The new Acer Chromebook will inspire greater innovation for developers and in turn, for our customers in numerous markets."

"The latest Chromebooks with Intel processors based on the Haswell micro-architecture enable sleek new designs with amazing battery life and improved performance," said Navin Shenoy, Vice President, PC Client Group, General Manager, Mobile Client Platform Division, Intel.