After designing some stylish earbuds, onanoff has just released another good looking design in the form of leather MacBook skins. These skins come as a package and will wrap almost all of your MacBook Air in a leather cover.
The MacBook skins look like a good way to protect your precious Mac on the go, if you want to cut down on the weight and bulkiness associated with hard cases. They’re designed to protect your MacBook from daily wear and tear as well as scratches, while adding a colorful touch to your laptop.
The onandoff Skin package is available for the MacBook Air 11 and 13 inch. They include a top and bottom skin, a palm rest skin as well as a screen protector. They’re available in six different colors and sell for $59.95(USD) for the 11 inch and $69.95 for the 13-inch.
This week the folks at Acer have brought forth a lovely new notebook made for business users with both security and impressive performance made to rock. This device has a spill-resistant keyboard to protect your insides, works with a fabulous Ivy Bridge 3rd Generation Intel Core i5 processor with Intel’s Turbo Boost Technology, and will be coming to the USA very, very soon. This notebook has a 14-inch Acer “ComfyView LCD LED backlit display coming in at HD 1366 x 768 pixel resolution and a 16:9 aspect ratio right up front and center.
This device works with Wireless Display (WiDi) technology which means you’ll be able to connect wirelessly with a high definition display just so long as it’s got a compatible adapter – more on that as the device is revealed. Also inside you’ve got 4GB of DDR3 memory upgradeable to 8GB as well as a SATA hard disk with up to 500GB of capacity. Also onboard you’ve got Gigabit Ethernet, Bluetooth, and Wifi so you’ll be connected no matter what you need to connect with.
The Acer TravelMate P243 notebook PC has a high-def webcam of unspecified quality as well as built-in microphone for use with Acer Video Conference. As for security, you’ve got multi-level Acer ProShield Security with BioProtection Fingerprint protection – it reads your fingerprint and bang! You’re in. You’ve also got Acer ProShield pre-boot authentication (PBA) that “protects the notebook from the BIOS level all the way to the application level.”
With PBA you’re able to create a Personal Secure Drive (PSD) for storing and encrypting your critical files. With your PSD you’ll be sure that all of your files are secure even if someone steals your notebook. You can access this set of assets remotely if you need to delete them – and you’ve got a File Shredder utility at any time if you need to remove files permanently beyond recovery.
Acer Backup, on the other hand, makes sure you’ve got protection for your media and digital assets galore, and Acer eRecovery Manager brings you recovery of your files whenever you wish. Acer Office Manager (AOM) brings power to small businesses with the ability to deploy security policies, schedule maintenance tasks, and monitor IT assets from one application.
This notebook will be available in early August from authorized Acer resellers across the USA starting at $699.99. This notebook will also be available in a much more conservatively powered and priced iteration with a 2nd Generation Intel Core i3 processor for $599.99.
Giada has unveiled its latest small form factor mini PC called the i35G. The new computer has an Nvidia GT610 GPU inside and promises nice performance in a very compact package. The computer supports 1080p full HD graphics and can be fitted with up to 2 GB of DDR3 RAM.
The machine is also designed to be power miserly slurping only 35 W of power when in use. Giada says that the support for full high-definition graphics and low power consumption makes this machine perfect for digital signage, is totality, brand promotion, and digital menu boards. The machine would also work for people for people looking for a compact workstation that can also handle gaming and media streaming.
The i35G measures 192 x 155 x 26 mm and can be used with an optional mounting kit to mount the computer behind large displays or monitors. The little computer has an HDMI connection and remote-control functionality for playing and controlling music and streaming content from across the room. Connectivity options include VGA, Bluetooth, five USB 2.0 ports, and a memory card reader.
The card reader supports SD, MMC, MS, and MS Pro formats. The processor inside the computer is an Intel Atom D2500. The Nvidia GT 610 GPU has 512 MB of VRAM, and storage is to a 320 GB hard drive with an Intel SSD is an option. The MSRP for the computer is $274 minus the operating system.
It’s time to get serious about touch-screen computers here in the summer before Window 8 is formally released – and Lenovo’s got your back with a massive all-in-one called the IdeaCentre A720. This 27-inch display-toting AIO works with 1920 x 1080 pixel resolution, an all-glass “frame-less” front, and an Intel Quad-core Core i7 CPU (Ivy Bridge) under the hood. And it folds flat so you can play touchscreen table hockey – what more could you want?
Hardware
Any review you see of this device – if you don’t run out and buy it right now, that is – will tell you that it’s quite gorgeous. Without appearing too similar to what the market has dubbed “Apple-esque”, this Lenovo machine carves out a new space for the manufacturer, prepping us for a future that’s very bright for sleek-looking and sleek-feeling computers. The display is, again, massive, you’ll be working with just the touchscreen on it’s own if you wish or with a Bluetooth mouse and keyboard (included), and you only need to pop the power cord in to get started.
Hit the power button on the lower right of the display (behind the display, rather, as the outer rim angles inward) and the machine lights up with loveliness. You’ve got a 10-point touch-screen experience ahead of you with several light-up touch-sensitive buttons under the rim near the bottom of the screen as well. There you can brighten up or dim down your display, change sound levels, and adjust what’s on your screen with a touch in several other ways.
The bottom left of the machine has two HDMI ports, one in, one out. There you can connect with your smartphone – as most smartphones now have such a connection in one way or another, or you can push content out to a much more major-league HD display. In other words, you can make this computer the biggest wired remote control of all time!
You also have one USB 3.0 port on that side and three USB 2.0 ports on the back. Also on the back is your power port and Ethernet port as well. Then there’s your ability to adjust the display. The whole computer is massively heavy – ringing in at 11.6kg or 25.6 pounds. You’ll be able to view the display anywhere between 90 degrees straight up and down and 0 degrees (flat). Moving the display (as demonstrated in our hands-on video below) is extremely easy yet keeps the machine tight in place wherever you want to leave it.
The speaker grilles you’ve got up front of the base are part of this machine’s Dolby Home Theater v4 setup, and they sound rather nice. This machine presents one of those situations where you wont be needing additional side-speakers all around just to hear it across the room – you’re set! Along the right side of the base of the machine you’ve got a Blu-ray Disc slot where you’ll be able to read and burn Blu-ray disks as well as CDs and DVDs.
Also included in the review pack we’ve received is the optional TV tuner so we can pick up some sweet channels and make this an even more inclusive device. This package also includes an IR Windows Media Center remote control which has worked like a charm with the included receiver which you simply plug in to the machine and click away.
Up top on the front of the screen you’ve got a 720p HD webcam so you’ll be able to Skype the whole night through – and also make use of some brand new interactive Kinect-like games as well (you’ll see more of this in our hands-on video below as well.) Have a peek at some additional features inside this device in the following readout:
System – LENOVO Lenovo A720
Manufacturer
Lenovo
Product Type
Desktop
Operating System
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit)
Motherboard
LENOVO ChiefRiver
Processor
Intel Core i7-3610QM
Processor ID
GenuineIntel Family 6 Model 58 Stepping 9
Processor Frequency
2.29 GHz
Processors
1
Threads
8
Cores
4
L1 Instruction Cache
32.0 KB
L1 Data Cache
32.0 KB
L2 Cache
256 KB
L3 Cache
6.00 MB
Memory
8.00 GB DDR3 SDRAM 799MHz
FSB
99.8 MHz
BIOS
LENOVO E5KT20AUS
Software
For graphics you’ve got a lovely NVIDIA GeForce GT630M 2GB discrete graphics which you’ll certainly need to love as there aren’t any options for switching when you pick up this machine. That said, we’ve had no problem working with any game that’s been thrown at the machine with Batman: Arkham City flowing like a charm and Diablo III having no graphics issues to speak of. Playing Batman with a wireless game pad and this massive display was an extra treat as the hardware lends itself to a pushed-back appearance. In other words, there’s nothing to distract from the fun.
Because this is a touchscreen-centric device, Lenovo has included a hub where you can play a set of games that work entirely with touch. You’ve got 10-finger touch sensitivity, which makes things rather interesting for the updated Pong they’ve got ready for you, and you can play the keyboard as well – the musical keyboard, that is. This system is demonstrated in the hands-on video we’ve got prepared for you right here, as it were.
You’ll see that not only does this computer make use of its touchscreen surface to make music and to play games, it’s ready to make use of the camera as well to play some interesting video games. The camera-centric games aren’t nearly as fine-tuned as the touchscreen games, which is why you won’t see them advertised as a feature on this system. They are there though, and they’re fun to work with. Windows 7 is here as well, and it’s clear that though this system is working with a perfectly legitimate set of extras (like a pull-out onscreen keyboard) to make your experience nice in the meantime, Lenovo has prepared this system for Windows 8 – that’s not an official statement from them, but it seems pretty clear when you’re working with the machine.
As for performance, you’ll find this machine working perfectly well for an all-in-one system, and with the quad-core i7 under the hood, you’re good to go for processing video and playing hardcore games at your leisure. Of course it’s no beastly custom-made gaming computer, but it’s really not meant to be. What you’ve got here is more an entertainment machine than a workhorse.
Benchmark Score – LENOVO Lenovo A720
Section
Description
Score
Total Score
Windows x86 (64-bit) – Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit)
Integer
Processor integer performance
10910
13347
Floating Point
Processor floating point performance
20119
Memory
Memory performance
8240
Stream
Memory bandwidth performance
8392
It would be nice to have a more vast collection of touch-friendly applications out there in the world of Windows 7 right this minute, but alas, someone has to go first with the hardware. You’ll find Angry Birds and Fruit Ninja – as well as the awesome two-finger version of space hockey – to be more than enough to play with until the new wave of touchscreen apps comes on later this year.
Wrap-Up
The Lenovo IdeaCentre A720 is a home run for Lenovo. You won’t find a better touchscreen PC for this price, not until Windows 8 makes touchscreen PCs a commodity. For now they’re still somewhat of a rarity – and this machine is one of the good ones. This machine is well worth the cash and ready to be your school or home-friendly all-in-one computer right this minute. You’ll find this all-in-one monster available online right now for right around $1849 straight from Lenovo.
The Leap motion controller is one of the most hyped gadgets unveiled this year, and it really is promising. But if you can’t wait until next year to have a 3D tracking interface, MAKE knows a way to make one using readily available tools.
The project is based on the RC time constant, which in simple terms is the time it takes to charge a capacitor. It has three cardboard plates covered with aluminum foil and connected to an Arduino Uno. When your hand (or any part of your body) approaches the plates, the capacitance of the plates change. A complementary program then interprets the changes to determine your hands’ position.
Head to MAKE for the full instructions for making the sensor. Obviously it’s not as accurate as the Leap or the Kinect, but at the very least you’ll have built something that show how capacitive sensors work. I’m sure more advanced tinkerers will find ways to make it more functional.
I’ll admit that this thing doesn’t cost twice what my iPad cost, because I have the 64GB 4G version, but it’s still very expensive. The question is, is it worth it? This system is from a company that specialized in luxurious automotive accessories, but decided to create something for the mobile computing sector as well.
The STRUT LaunchPort is basically a fancy docking stand for your iPad. There’s a matching case that will allow you to charge your iPad inductively, which means that there are no wires involved. It’s handcrafted from stainless steel, and triple-coated in chrome. The case comes in walnut burl, carbon fiber, leopard print or sparkle pink. While it does look pretty good, I’m not sure it’s worth the $1,250 (USD) sticker price. Does it make you feel any better to know the dock is $1,000 and the case is $250? Didn’t think so.
Nevertheless, it will go on sale later this month. I guess it’s something to consider if you’ve got money to burn. From the photos, the accompanying case looks quite heavy, especially if it’s made out of walnut. I wonder how heavy it will make your iPad.
What we have here today is the shiny new HP ENVY 4 Ultrabook sporting a 3rd gen Intel Core-i5 dual-core processor and of course those Beats Audio speakers. It packs a lot of power under the hood and all folded up will only be about 0.78″ thick, but is this enough to earn your dollars? Head down past the break and we’ll find out.
This may not be HP’s ultra high end, but the ENVY series has always been one of their better offerings. Back in May we got our first glace at this Ultrabook, and then late last month we were able to unbox it and dig in a bit deeper. To get you started off with full specs, details, and the unboxing you’ll want to start here.
Chassis
This aluminum wrapped machine hit the shelves last month for about $800 and today we’re going to give you a better look, as well as our review and impressions on the laptop. It certainly isn’t HP’s nicest wrapped device but the aluminum has a great feel. For some reason the tip on top has been replaced with plastic, and the aluminum doesn’t extend to the entire edge of the casing. This gives opening and closing it a rather cheap feel, because the plastic is indeed very cheap. Otherwise the entire body is well built, and feels like it too.
The top has that midnight black brushed aluminum look and the only change is the neat and small HP logo on the bottom corner. As you curve around the sides to the ports however, you’ll quickly notice the aluminum design ends for a soft-touch red matte texture instead. This makes it easy to hold, but causes an area that may separate in the future if it takes too much abuse. The entire sides and bottom are bright “Beats Audio red” and is soft to the touch. This makes it easy to hold, and comfortable to carry.
All in all the ENVY 4-1030us (that we have here) comes in under 4 lbs (3.86 to be exact) and only 0.78″ thick. We’ve seen thicker, but for $800 the package is quite sleek and decent. We’ll talk about ports more below so for now the star of the show is the TrueVision HD front camera for Skype and video chat, and of course Beats Audio.
HP’s integrated dual-stereo surround sound Beats Audio speakers, and they are actually quite decent. Obviously you won’t be getting the bass you’d like, but for music, videos, and even gaming I found them sufficient. Even near full volume the distortion levels are minimal, and I’d give them a solid thumbs up for the price, even if they still have that tin-can sound. Ultrabooks and laptops the speakers can always improve, but these didn’t leave me wanting too much more.
Specs
As far as the hardware specs of the device, if you didn’t catch the full breakdown in my video above here they are again. You’ll get a clear and vivid 14-inch Brightview LED 1366 x 768 display, 1.7 GHz dual-core Intel Core i5 processor (3317U), 4GB of DDR3 RAM, a 500GB HD (no SSD here) 3 USB ports, Ethernet, HDMI, SD slot for storage, then integrated Intel HD Graphics 4000. There’s no dedicated GPU here, but Intel’s HD graphics were enough for the casual game here. You won’t be playing Battlefield 3, but then you shouldn’t expect to.
The 14-inch 1366 x 768 resolution display is rather decent, but obviously we’d always like a higher resolution. Like the Retina Display Macbook Pro for example — but then again this is only $800. The screen is still HD and playing YouTube videos was a breeze. I even used the HDMI-out on the side to stream some Olympics to my HDTV since NBC failed us on their coverage, and it worked wonderfully.
Keyboard and Trackpad
Now here’s one area that I wasn’t to pleased with the ENVY 4. The keys, while backlit, and chicklet style had a rather cheap feel to them. Being a 14 inch device I wasn’t expecting it to feel very compact and low on space, but I found myself struggling to get comfortable — but that will come in due time. The keys while still feeling cheap have a good firm click during use, but certain areas on the keyboard felt weaker than others. The back-light option has a simple on/off setting, but that was all. Being able to manually control this would be nice but for $800 we’ll gladly just accept the fact we have it.
My biggest concern however was the trackpad. I know HP’s been doing this circular diamond-cut like design for ages, but I find it extremely frustrating. You can see the lines all aim for the center from the image above, but I find this type of feedback to be rather difficult. It makes operation feel rather choppy and the “smooth” feel I wanted was certainly missing. The sensitivity was another minor issue. Nothing you can’t get used to, but even after changing it in settings I still found myself having to repeat my taps. Overall I’d take a few points off here, but nothing major as this is all subjective and depends on user preference.
Ports
As mentioned above, the ENVY 4 Ultrabook has 3 USB ports (two left, one right), Ethernet, HDMI, and full size SD slot for storage. Then off to the right side is your power port, 3rd USB, headphone and microphone ports. They all felt great and weren’t too tight, as I’ve had that issue with newer laptops in the past. Here’s a look at the ports:
Performance
This device runs an Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit, which we should all know plenty about by now so I’ll stick to the results. Performance was rather decent, although I quickly replaced IE but that’s just me. Working with a 3rd Gen Ivy Bridge Core i5 dual-core processor and 4GB of DDR3 RAM performance was great, but I’d love to see 6GB for the price point. We have no SSD so hard drive results weren’t impressive, but that was expected.
All this equals a rather powerful mid-range Ultrabook all for a great price. It has a few compromises here and there, but this could still be the device for you. As usual here at SlashGear we’ve ran some Geekbench benchmark tests. You can see those results below and compare with previous Laptop Reviews.
Benchmark Score – Hewlett-Packard HP ENVY 4 Notebook PC
Section
Description
Score
Total Score
Windows x86 (64-bit) – Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit)
Integer
Processor integer performance
5321
6935
Floating Point
Processor floating point performance
9500
Memory
Memory performance
6143
Stream
Memory bandwidth performance
5192
System – Hewlett-Packard HP ENVY 4 Notebook PC
Manufacturer
Hewlett Packard
Product Type
Notebook
Operating System
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit)
Motherboard
Hewlett-Packard 1894
Processor
Intel Core i5-3317U
Processor ID
GenuineIntel Family 6 Model 58 Stepping 9
Processor Frequency
1.70 GHz
Processors
1
Threads
4
Cores
2
L1 Instruction Cache
32.0 KB
L1 Data Cache
32.0 KB
L2 Cache
256 KB
L3 Cache
3.00 MB
Memory
4.00 GB DDR3 SDRAM 799MHz
FSB
99.9 MHz
BIOS
Insyde F.0A
Wrap-Up
All in all this is a rather great machine. It’s lightweight, portable, thin, powerful, sounds great, and has a bright and vivid screen. Oh and did we mention affordable. For everything you get this is certainly an affordable Ultrabook, I just wish it had USB 3.0 and possible slightly better build quality. If you’ve ever used a Macbook for an extended period of time you’ll surely notice the build quality differences. Compared to most others in the price range however, this ENVY 4 Ultrabook is impressive, and will leave many in the dust. Using the ENVY 4 for browsing and a few videos on NFL.com I barely managed 5 hours of battery life, so that is one other thing worth mentioning.
This isn’t quite as impressive as the Acer Aspire S5 we recently reviewed, but then it’s also much cheaper too. For the mid-range price and great “Ultrabook” specs this will surely make anyone happy for under $800. Overall the The Envy 4 is fairly named, and some others in this range will “envy” it. Featuring a premium design and attractive use of the color red certainly makes it an Ultrabook worth checking out. Enjoy the pictures and some of our other HP reviews below.
This week the thinnest ultrabook on the block has been re-revealed with its full specifications, pricing, and release date ready to roll. This next-generation computer will be available from Lenovo’s online store starting on August 21st, and users will be able to configure their own model online starting at $1399 going all the way up to $1849 depending on what’s chosen for the notebook’s innards. This device comes with a 3rd generation Intel Core processor in three configurations: i5 at 1.7GHz, i5 at 1.8Ghz, or i7 at 2.0Ghz.
This notebook works with a lovely 14-inch HD+ display that’s Anti-glare at 1600×900 pixel resolution with brightness up to 300 nits. Memory on each different model is always 4 GB DDR 1333 MHz, you’ve got a battery inside that works with RapidCharge said to last 6.3 hours by Lenovo, and you’ve got a front-facing camera for video chat that works at 720p resolution. Each model will come with Windows 7 Professional right out of the box, and the whole beast weighs in at 2.998 pounds.
Several configurations exist, each of them costing you a few more dollar bills than the last. You’ll start with the $1399 model with Intel Core i5-3317U (1.7 GHz, 3MB L3, 1333MHz FSB) and 128GB SSD SATA 3. Next you’ll ramp up to the $1499 model with Intel Core i5-3427U (1.80 GHz, 3MB L3, 1333MHz FSB) VPRO and 128GB SSD SATA 3. There’s a model that’s quite similar to the second model with an 256GB SSD SATA 3 that’ll cost you $1649 as well. Finally there’s the king of the pack, a model with Intel Core i7-3667U (2.0 GHz, 4MB L3, 1333MHz FSB) VPRO and 256GB SSD SATA 3 for $1849 USD.
These models all come with a fabulous collection of slots and ports: (1) Mini DP, (1) Combo Audio, (1) USB 2.0, (1) USB 3.0, (1) 4-in-1 SD card reader, and Ethernet via USB dongle. They all measure in at the same height, width, and depth, at 13.03 x 8.9 x 0.74 inches. And they all come with a three year warrantee.
We’ll be checking this beast out here on SlashGear with a full review soon. For now, have a peek at the earlier posts about this device and get knowledgeable!
I’m sure you have a thousand and one flash drives by now, but as far as gimmicks go, you don’t see USB hubs with matching flash drives that often. Too bad this toaster USB hub doesn’t pop the flash drives out when they’re ejected.
The flash drives come in four variants, including one that seems to have been burnt to a crisp already:
The toaster also has an SD Card reader built-in. You can of course use the USB hub with any flash drive (and the toast drives with any USB hub), but, well:
Unfortunately, this delicious combo costs a lot of bread. ThinkGeek is selling the goodies separately, $28 (USD) for the hub and $25 for each of the 4GB drives, so for a fully-loaded four-slice toaster, you’re looking at $128.
AOC has been around a long time producing lower priced computer monitors that still have the features people want and need. This week the company has launched a new computer display called the e2752Vh that has a large 27-inch screen and uses LED backlighting. The company is aiming the display at PC gamers and home theater enthusiasts looking for a good image quality at a price that won’t break the bank.
The display will retail for $249.99, counting a $50 discount off MSRP, from August 11 through August 17 at select retailers. Retailers that will be offering the discount include TigerDirect and BestBuy.com. The normal price of the display is $299.95. AOC promises that the display is up to the task of computer gaming with a gray-to-gray response time of two ms. The quick response time should mean crisp and clean graphics even during fast action sequences of movies and video games.
The screen can display 16.7 million colors and can be wall-mounted using a standard VESA 100 mm mount. Connectivity options on the back of the screen face backward rather than down to make it easier to connect. The monitor also features an Off Timer that sets alarm clock to turn the screen off automatically. AOC also ships the screen with Screen+ software that allows it to be divided into four separate work areas.
The 27-inch screen has a resolution of 1920 x 1080 at 60 Hz with a 16:9 aspect ratio. The dynamic contrast ratio for the screen is 20,000,000:1 and brightness is rated at 300 cd/m². Connectivity options include DVI-D and HDMI out both supporting HDCP for protected Blu-ray content. A pair of internal 2.5 W speakers is integrated into the design.
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