Laptops - Page 44

When Razer first unveiled the "world's first true gaming laptop", they had people in a flurry of excitement. It then arrived, and promptly sold out of its first wave of stock, and only just a few days ago got their second wave of stock, which they again, promptly sold out of.

Razer are telling people through their Facebook page that they expect more stock to arrive on February 29th, and those who are signed up for the notification e-mail, will receive one as soon as stock is back at the Razer HQ. Razer are still one-upping the competition by continuing to offer the Razer Orochi Blade Edition to those who purchase the Blade gaming laptop.

If you want to check out some initial impressions of the Razer Blade by our own amazing Cameron Wilmot, check that out here. Whilst it doesn't do much for me, the laptop is popular on its own merit, in the form of selling out, twice. Both times very quickly, too, I might add.

Later this year, and much more in 2013, we should see Kinect on, or in, notebooks. Ultrabooks are set to be the new craze, Windows 8 will power these new Ultrabooks and Microsoft wants to step in between and place a Kinect motion-based device.

The Daily has some "sources inside Redmond" who have been kind enough to give some details on the upcoming Kinect-powered Windows 8 portables. It has been stated that it will be an "exclusive relationship," where Microsoft will license the technology out to manufacturers such as ASUS, but with conditions. Partners using Kinect won't be allowed to use competing motion-control tech in their devices, for example.

Prototypes are "in the wild," where Microsoft technicians have used them in places with a lot of audio and visual background noise, such as coffee shops and bars. It's also been said that Kinect absolutely kills battery life. One solution mentioned hints toward a clip-on unit, with its own battery pack.

CES 2012: I'm trying not to get excited for Windows 8-based notebooks, or ultrabooks, until something comes out that makes me sit back and think "Wow". Well, I think I'm getting to that point with Lenovo's ultrabook, IdeaPad Yoga 13.

Intel requires that all 13.3-inch (or smaller) ultrabooks to be, at most, 18mm thick. However, there is a provision that if the ultrabook has a touchscreen, it can be up to 20mm thick. Lenovo's IdeaPad Yoga 13 sports a touchscreen, yet measures up at just 17mm thick. Yoga 13 does all of this without losing battery life, as Lenovo rates the Yoga good for over eight hours of use.

It doesn't just sport a touchscreen, it's an IPS panel to boot. The panel features very wide viewing angles that are perfect, as the Yoga's hinge allows the display to swing open 360-degrees and can convert itself into a tablet. Once the display spins beyond 180-degrees, the keyboard turns off and you can hold the unit and interact with it just like a tablet. Yoga 13 includes a soft-touch coating on the palm rest that ensures the system is easy to hold and won't slip or scratch if you place it on something in tablet mode.

CES 2012: Something that has been needed for a while is external graphics for notebooks, but bandwidth has always been an issue. How do you solve this? Well, if you're MSI, you wait until Thunderbolt hits, wait until CES and then show it off in person.

MSI showed off "GUS II", which is a prototype at this stage and was hooked up to a MacBook Pro. GUS II had a Radeon HD 5770 rocking inside, and was rendering the Unigine Heaven demo, driving an external display. Better yet, MSI says that GUS II supports double-wise PCI-Express x16 graphics cards, with power consumption up to 150W. This is the most power available from a single PCIe slot, plus one 6-pin power connector.

Pricing and availability are, as usual, not known at this time. But, with Intel's 22nm Ivy Bridge processors, we could see Thunderbolt pulled into the mainstream and then we could see a sudden rush of external graphics. This means notebooks could be sold with integrated graphics and if you wanted any more GPU juice out of them, you could tap some Thunderbolt-powered external graphics.

CES 2012: Intel had quite a few announcements at CES 2012, and one of them was from Intel PC chief Mooly Eden where he says that so far, there are 75-plus Ultrabooks set to launch this year. Yes, more than 75 different Ultrabooks!

Out of these 75, 50-percent of them will sport 14- and 15-inch displays. This is a move to take some of those customers away from buying an Apple MacBook Air, as they'll be just as, if not more thin, light and inexpensive than their fruit-logo'd counterparts.

On top of this, Intel is kick starting one of their biggest marketing campaigns for the Ultrabooks. This new marketing campaign has been dubbed "A New Era in Computing". This will be Intel's biggest marketing campaign since 2003, so you can see they mean business. They haven't planned a launch this large since they introduced Centrino chips for Wi-Fi-capable laptops eight years ago.

CES 2012: Ultrabook, ultrabook, ultrabook. Say it three times in front of mirror and it'll haunt you for this entire year. I think that's all we're going to see from companies this year, and it's not necessarily a bad thing, either.

Samsung unveiled their Series 5 line of ultrabooks, which include a 13-inch model and a 14-inch model which sports an optical drive. Both Series 5 ultrabooks are powered by Intel Core i5 processors, sport 4GB of RAM, eight-hour batteries and Intel integrated graphics. They also feature the same matte, 300-nit (1366x768) display that was in the Series 5 Chromebook.

The 13-inch model includes a 128GB SSD option, but both the 13- and 14-inch models feature a standard 500GB 5,400RPM drive, with 16GB of express cache for that faster boot time you all want, as well as speedy application launches. The Series 5 ultrabooks from Samsung weigh in at 3.5 and 3.95 pounds for the 13- and 14-inch models, respectively. While they may weigh in a bit heavier than other ultrabooks we've seen lately, they do sport a tonne of connectivity.

CES 2012: Acer started their CES unveiling with quite the bang, showing off its second ultrabook, the Acer Aspire S5. The Aspire S5 is due for a Q2 arrival, is just 15mm thick and weighs under 1.35kg.

It sports an Onyx Black magnesium-aluminum alloy cover, a 13.3-inch LCD screen, chiclet keyboard, an Intel Core processor, a solid state drive, and a MagicFlip I/O port panel, which includes HDMI, USB 3.0 and Thunderbolt connectors. Thunderbolt, on an ultrabook? Very good news for 2012 products.

Acer also include their Green Instant On technology which provides super fast booting and resume, and the Always Connect solution which enables users to 'manage their multimedia and data on all their devices at anytime, anywhere'. At the moment, there's no details on Aspire S5's pricing.

A HP employee has sent The Verge a new video showing off a new ultra-think notebook from HP. The video has dramatic music that really, er, sets the mood for the launch of a new MacBook Air competitor.

Is it thinner than the MBA or the upcoming ultrabooks? There's nothing more than a 30-second tease, and then "Spectre" at the end. One thing is for certain, is if HP are showing off (well, at least have a video that an employee can "leak") then the Spectre must be close to release.

CES is next week, so we might actually see some Spectre action in Las Vegas. The Verge reports that it may be the 14-inch HP Envy 14 Spectre, which showed up at the FCC just two weeks ago. Only time will tell, and when that time comes, HP will either hit or miss.

ASUS are reportedly working on a new ultrabook style laptop where they are said to be baking in a swivel design display that transforms the device into a tablet. Since Windows 8 is much more tablet-friendly, this move would actually be quite the bold move by ASUS. DigiTimes says the device will be unveiled at 2012 Computex in Taipei, Taiwan, and might hit retail shelves in time for the launch of Windows 8 next September.

ASUS have been here before, with their Eee PC T91 netbook (as pictured above) in 2009. The device did not sell that well, but with tablets being more popular than ever, and Windows 8 having the OS build a tablet UI directly into the OS itself, it could really work.

There has, to this day, not been a device that could do both. Apple have the iPad and their MacBook range, but nothing that can do both. I personally own a 2011 17-inch MacBook Pro and I've wished for a long time now that I could disconnect my 17-inch display and use it like a big iPad. If ASUS can pull this off, I can tell you now, I'll be all over that in a heartbeat. I can see it now, it'll be called Asus Ultrabot or similar, in line with their "Transformer" line of products. You heard it here first, folks! I call Ultrabot from here on out.

Razer's gaming-themed and feature-packed gaming laptop, Blade, is said to hit shelves and customers hands before Christmas. Razer CEO Min-Liang Tan also explains what has changed since the "world's first true gaming laptop" was unveiled in August, and talks about the Army origins of the laptop's sleek and sexy design.

Something I did not know, is that Tan served in the Army, and is quoted:

ASUS' Eee Pad debuted in 2009 and virtually created a new market: netbooks. They were popular from grand parents, to travellers, to modders. Worldwide, they enjoyed success and to this day, still enjoy that success. But, today's market is a different beast with smartphones and tablets carving out most of the mobile market and ASUS are seeing this as a huge change going into 2012.

ASUS expects to ship 4.8 million netbooks by the end of this year, whilst they only have expectations to ship just 1.8 million tablets. ASUS see these roles reversing come 2012, with tablet shipments eclipsing netbook shipments.

In 2010 the Eee PC owners 20-percent of the netbook market, where it's estimated ASUS shipped 6-8 million units in that year alone. This year, ASUS offered just two tablets, the Eee Pad Transformer and the Eee Pad Slider. They've just announced and started shipping the Tegra 3-powered Eee Pad Transformer Prime.

Netbooks started out as this massive craze, where every man and his dog not only wanted one, but somehow, required one. But, the netbook light that once shone so bright is now a fading star thanks to the ever-increasing speed and power of smartphones and the entry of tablets.

Samsung know this and look to be ditching the netbooks and concentrating on more expensive ultraportable laptops and ultrabooks instead, if we believe an e-mail sent to trading partners is to be believed. The e-mail is quoted by French site Blogeee and reads:

Acer and ASUS are working with panel manufacturers AU Optronics and Chimei Innolux separately to develop a new generation of full HD notebook panels with resolutions of 1928x1080, according to industry insiders. This is contributed by the fact that Apple are pushing for their next-generation iPads to sport 2048x1536-capable displays in early 2012.

Acer and ASUS want to push the next release of Ultrabooks in Q1 2012 at the earliest, to feature 1080p displays. At the moment, ASUS' 11.6-inch UX21 Zenbook models sport a resolution of 1366x768, with upgrades of resolution to 1600x900 for its 13.3-inch UX31 models. Acer's 13.3-inch Aspire S3 also includes a 1366x768 display.

Both ASUS and Acer are expecting to deliver between 400,000 and 500,000 Ultrabooks before the end of this year. Upgrading them to 1080p panels should help them compete against Apple's MacBook Air, a lot.

AMD is reportedly set to unleash their first Radeon HD 7000M series GPUs for notebooks on December 9th. There are said to be at least 16 models to be announced, all based on two silicons: "Thames" and "Seymour", and are being carved out of toggling various components within those GPUs.

AMD will launch models across the Radeon HD 7400M series, 7500M series, and 7600M series. Thames and Seymour are brand new chips that are built on the 28nm silicon fabrication process, which will allow AMD more TDP headroom where they can ramp up the clock speeds.

At the moment, there's no details on things like stream processor, ROP, and TMU counts, but ComputerBase.de have compiled a list which shows GPU and memory clock speeds, memory interface widths, and memory type. The table also makes a mention of higher-end GPU models with names of "Chelsea", "Heathrow", and "Wimbeldon".

It's holiday season once again and while everyone is dodging each other for that latest and greatest smartphone or tablet, Google would like to remind you that there are other options. Options such as their Chromebook, which they've now commenced a fresh push on, including an updated interface and some much more competitive, and festive pricing.

Google are slowly changing their Chrome OS to be more like a Windows laptop, or as user-friendly as an iPad. In May, Google introduced a file system and laptops with working SD card slots, which is a huge upgrade from the once only cloud-based launch. While Chrome OS and Chromebooks are still cloud-heavy, you can now side-load files and even download them to an easily accessible file area on the system.

Where Chromebooks make it easy, is beyond the usual Google/Gmail sign-in, there's no setup. Nothing. Nada. Zip. For those with a Gmail account, you just sign in like you do on an Android-based tablet or smartphone (something I utterly love) and from there, it'll sync your data, contacts, e-mail, photos (from Google+ and others). It really is a no hassles, easy setup process.

There are going to be as many as 50 Intel Ultrabooks to be launched at CES in January next year. According to Shawn DuBravac, director of research for show organisers the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA), he expects a truck load of ultrathin laptops to be unveiled in Las Vegas. DuBravac told journalists at a CES Unveiled even held in London:

Up to this point, there has only been a few manufacturers who have announced Ultrabooks, as most of them are awaiting the 22nm refresh of Ivy Bridge before releasing their devices. Intel CEO Paul Otellini is set to give a keynote speech in Las Vegas, where Ivy Bridge is likely to be officially released alongside a large amount of new Ultrabooks.

LG has readied up its latest 13.3-inch ultra-thin laptop for the Korean market, the P330 under its Xnote line. The laptop weighs in at just 1.7Kg and is only 4.5mm thick. Due to the thin 8mm bezel on the 13.3-inch (1366 x 768) LED-backlit display, the laptop ends up being right around the size of a typical 12-inch laptop.

Packed inside is a 2nd-gen Core processor with 4GB of RAM, while its storage setup includes both a HDD and SSD and graphics in the form of NVIDIA's GeForce GT 555M. Other features include 802.11b/g/n WiFi, Gigabit ethernet, USB 3.0, HDMI output and a 6-cell battery.

The P330 works out to about $1,323 in base form, which can be pushed up to as much as $1,954 depending on your chosen configuration.

Ultrabooks are set to account for 43-percent of worldwide notebook shipments by 2015, just four short years away, despite the devices have only just started hitting the market. An Ultrabook is designed as being a notebook that is very light and thin, at under 0.8-inches.

Feature-wise, they sport more tablet-orientated hardware such as instant-on activation, always connected wireless links, SSDs and batteries capable of delivering more than eight hours usage from a single charge. IHS iSuppli research has led to these results and predictions for 2015, where they said in a press release:

Apple has updated its MacBook Pro line up with slightly faster CPU offerings as well as upgraded GPUs. First up, the 13-inch MacBook Pro has received a 100MHz speed bump with the 2.4GHz Core i5 or 2.8GHz Core i7 whilst the bigger brother 15- and 17-inch notebooks get a 200MHz boost to 2.2GHz and 2.4GHz, respectively.

The lower-end 15-inch MBP has thrown the AMD Radeon HD 6490M 256MB and now has a quicker HD 6750M 512MB. The higher-end 15- and 17-inch models now have the HD 6770M 1GB. Apple has also tweaked the storage options on the 13-inch system, which now starts with a 500GB 5400RPM hard drive instead of the the smaller 320GB model, it can also be upgraded to 750GB.

All of the systems now ship with 4GB of DDR3 1333Mhz Ram, a backlit keyboard and multitouch trackpad, a Thunderbolt port, a Mini DisplayPort output and have an estimated seven-hour battery life. Price wise, we have the 13-inch starting at $1,199 going up to $1,499, the 15-inch model goes for $1,799 to $2,199 and the 17-inch MacBook Pro starts from $2,499.

ASUS have stayed true to their word of an Ultrabook release in October, with the new Zenbook brand. Five new models will debut ranging in price from $999 to $1499. First up we have the Zenbook UX21 which is an 11.6-inch (1366x768) config, sporting 128GB of SSD and either a Core i5-2467M or Core i7-2677M whilst the Zenbook UX31 sports a 13.3-inch (1600x900) display and comes in three flavors: a Core i5-2557M model with 128GB of SSD, a similar model with the SSD pumped up to 256GB and the final model, including a Core i7-2677M.

The 11.6-inch Zenbook UX21 and 13.3-inch Zenbook UX31 weigh just 2.4 and 2.9 pounds, respectively. This os thanks to their aluminum alloy bodies, glass trackpads and all-metal keyboards. Not only that but they look absolutely gorgeous. The 11.6-inch UX21 ranges in thickness from 0.11-inch at the front, to 0.67-inch at the rear with the 13.3-inch packing more in the trunk with the same 0.11-inch front but a 0.71-inch rear.

All Zenbooks feature an instant-on feature that ASUS say will allow the Zenbook to resume from sleep in just two seconds. Battery life we have the UX21 rated for five hours of run time, sporting 7 days of standby time. The UX31 on the other hand lasts a tad longer, at seven hours of runtime or ten days standby from a single charge.