‘Tis the season for last-minute shipping updates, and not all of them justify some merrymaking. ASUS originally planned for its dual-screened TAICHI laptops to ship in November, but a company spokesperson tells PCWorld at the last minute that the Windows 8 showcase won’t ship sooner than December, and could slip further still. The PC builder doesn’t say why we’ll be twiddling our thumbs that much longer. Online retailers certainly aren’t waiting around for an answer — they’ve simply listed the myriad TAICHI variants as unavailable for now. Yes, there’s a definite sense of déja vu when ASUS is yet again delaying a touchscreen device during the holidays. We’re just wondering if the trip down memory lane will lead to the same fine outcome.
A company called System76 makes high-end gaming computers that run on Ubuntu, one of the most popular Linux distributions. Why would anyone sell expensive gaming computers to Linux users? Because those people have saved tons of money from not having to purchase an operating system. Just kidding.
The Bonobo Extreme is the latest and greatest and expensivest gaming laptop from System76. It has a 17.3″ 1080p screen, runs on Intel Core i7 CPUs, has at least 8GB of RAM, has either the nVidia Geforce GTX 670MX or Geforce GTX 680M GPU, a removable storage drive (starts at 500GB HDD), an optical drive, a Synaptics multi-touch clickpad and backlit keyboard. It has 4 USB 3.0 ports, 1 USB 2.0 port, 1 eSATA/USB 2.0 port, an SD card reader, an Ethernet port, an HDMI port and a Display port. In short, it’s as loaded as other gaming laptops.
Spec-hungry Ubuntu users can head to System76′s website to order the Bonobo Extreme for at least $1,499 (USD). I am curious though. I know that Steam for Linux has a handful of great games, but is there really a game for Ubuntu that can tax a computer of this caliber? And if there’s none, why wouldn’t an Ubuntu-loving gamer just buy a Windows gaming laptop then install Ubuntu on it? That seems way easier to me.
Ubuntu is known for many things: ease of use, regular updates, widespread community support, and more. One thing it is not known for is gaming. This is changing, however, with Steam heading to Linux in the near future. System76′s new Bonobo Extreme is Ubuntu-powered and aimed at gamers, boasting some impressive hardware and a hefty price tag.
According to System76′s CEO Carl Richell, the new Bonobo Extreme is the fastest Ubuntu laptop available. The base model runs an Intel i7 quad-core 2.6GHz processor. If that’s not powerful enough, users can spend approximately another $500 to get an i7-3940XM Extreme 3GHz CPU. This is accompanied by 8GB of DDR3 RAM.
As far as graphics go, the Bonobo Extreme boasts an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 670MX with 3GB of RAM and 960 CUDA cores. As with the processor, you can shell out $134 more for an upgrade, bumping the system to a GeForce GTX 680M with 4GB of RAM and 1344 CUDA cores. Other hardware includes a DVD drive, a 500GB 7,200rpm hard drive, and an 8-cell battery.
The display measures in at 17.3-inches with a full HD 1920 x 1080 resolution. Ports include HDMI, Display Port, Ethernet, a media card reader, and 5 USB ports. There’s a Kensington lock for security, and the entire system weighs in at a hefty 8.6lbs. You can pick one up now for $1,499, saving you $100 via a Christmas discount.
If size and weight aren’t nearly as important as turning heads at your local coffee shop, then why bother with today’s banal hardware if you’ve got a perfectly good Macintosh Portable lying around? One nostalgic modder with a disregard for luggability has updated Apple’s very first laptop to run OS X, creating what he calls “a great café computer.” Obviously, the software isn’t all that’s changed, as behind the white plastic hides the internals of a Toshiba NB100 netbook sacrificed for the project. The keyboard has been painstakingly rewired through a USB controller, and the ball mouse now houses an optical cousin which connects via the original cable. A cordless drill battery powers the thing, which has also been gifted with all the mod cons — WiFi and USB connectivity — to make it pretty usable. If you’re interested in build pics, the tech-savvy hipster promises to post them soon at the source link below, and for a tour of the finished article, a video awaits you beyond the fold.
Acer America today debuts its new Acer C7 Chromebook, its next-generation mobile computer that runs Google’s Chrome operating system and is priced at a low $199. The premiere offering in the Acer C7 Chromebook line is the Acer C710-2847. Powered by an Intel Celeron 847 processor (2MB L3 cache, 1.10GHz, DDR3 1333 MHz), a 11.6-inch HD Widescreen CineCrystal LED-backlit LCD, WiFi BGN and 2GB of DDR3 memory, the Acer C7 provides the performance to speed through the web, access files, enjoy video …
MSI made a reasonable case for AMD-based gaming when it unveiled the GX60 laptop back in September… just not for Americans looking to buy one right away. There’s a better argument now that the 15.6-inch portable is shipping to the US this week. The $1,300 asking price isn’t quite impulse level, but it’s a relative steal for a system whose quad-core, 2.3GHz A10-4600M processor and Radeon HD 7970M should handle modern games without much fuss. The 8GB of RAM, 750GB hard drive, Blu-ray drive, SteelSeries keyboard and Killer networking don’t hurt, either. As long as the GX60’s 7.7-pound weight isn’t too imposing, it might be the ticket to wielding a brag-worthy PC at the next LAN party without having to follow the Intel-owning pack.
We found ourselves quite enamored with Samsung’s latest entry into the Chromebook line, mostly thanks to its incredibly low price of $250. Now Acer’s done gone even lower: $199 for its new C7 Chromebook. It’s an 11.6-inch (1,366 x 768) machine with a 320GB HDD and an Intel processor, rated for 3.5 hours of battery life — just about half that of Samsung’s ARM-powered entry. It still manages to be under an inch thick and packs a full-size Ethernet port, plus 802.11a/b/g/n WiFi, three USB 2.0 ports and both HDMI and VGA output. (Cellular connectivity does not appear to be an option.) The C7 is available starting tomorrow at the link below, and while we know many of you still aren’t sold on the Chromebook idea, at a buck less than $200 maybe it’s time to start pondering more seriously.
PC maker Lenovo has reported its earnings for Q2, and there was plenty of good news: $8.7 billion in sales, a record high, a PC market share of 15.6 percent, it’s largest ever and operating profit of $206 million, 24 percent higher than the same period last year. The only bad news is that profit growth is slower than previous quarters, mostly due to Lenovo’s reaching into new markets like tablets, smartphones and connected TVs. for now however, Lenovo can claim the crown as world’s largest laptop PC maker, while desktop sales were also up five percent from last year. Its mobile internet division reported sales of $718 million, and is the second largest seller in China of smartphones and tablets. It’s also China’s number one PC vendor with sales outpacing the next four vendors combined and racked up double digit market share in the EMEA region for the first time. Check the press release after the break for all of the details, we’ll be back in a few months to find out how all that new Windows 8 hardware sold.
Windows 8 officially launched last week, which means that a ton of new computers, laptops, and tablets are either on shelves now or coming up soon. By far one of the most interesting new Windows 8 machines is the Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga 13, a new convertible that aims to show off Windows 8 in all of its touch-based glory. The major selling point of the Yoga 13 is its 360-degree hinge, which allows you to use the laptop in a number of different ways. It’s certainly cool, if not a little strange at first.
If you couldn’t already tell, I haven’t used very many convertibles. I was never really sold on the idea of a tablet/laptop hybrid, but with what I’ve seen of the IdeaPad Yoga 13, I might be singing a different tune by the time everything is said and done. The Yoga 13 impresses right out of the box – the silver chassis looks sleek, and I was actually surprised by how light it is. I was certainly expecting heavier than 3.3 pounds, though with that weight, the Yoga 13 still has some heft that you won’t find in traditional ultrabooks.
The screen is really nice as well, though again a little unconventional as far as ultrabook screens go. Instead of running at the 1366×768 resolution we’re all so bored with, the Yoga 13′s touch screen is running at 1600×900 resolution. It’s an odd resolution that we don’t see to often in notebooks, but it’s a welcome change. The visuals are sharp and touch is responsive. This plays hand-in-hand with the touch-friendly tiles in Windows 8; even when using the Yoga 13 in notebook mode, I’m finding myself using the touch screen instead of the track pad. I said in my Windows 8 review that the operating system was clearly geared toward touch screens, and the Yoga 13 backs that assertion up.
There are four different “modes” Lenovo has been pushing with the Yoga 13: notebook mode, which is self-explanatory; stand mode, which allows the user to place the keyboard face-down with the screen angled upward; tent mode, which has the user standing the laptop up on its ends like a little mini tent; and tablet mode, achieved by folding the screen all the way around to the underside of the notebook. Tablet mode feels a little strange at first due to the fact that the keyboard is exposed on the slate’s backside, but thankfully the keyboard and trackpad are both disabled when you’re using a mode other than the traditional notebook setup. This means that you don’t have to worry about hitting keys and screwing everything up while using the machine in tablet mode.
On the inside, there isn’t too much deviation from the hardware found in other ultrabooks. We’ve got a third-gen Intel Core i5 processor clocked at 1.7Ghz – essentially the industry standard for ultrabooks – working alongside 4GB of DDR3L RAM, making the Yoga 13 quite the little speed demon. That’s all helped along by the 128GB SSD, so if it’s speed you want, the Yoga 13 probably isn’t going to disappoint. On the outside, the pickings are a little slim, as you’ve only got one USB 3.0 port and one USB 2.0 port to take advantage of. Those are joined by a 2-in-1 card slot (SD and MMC), a headphone jack, a full-size HDMI port, and of course, the jack for the power adapter.
I’m impressed with what I’ve seen of the IdeaPad Yoga 13 so far. There are certainly aspects that are going to take some getting used to, but I’m looking forward to spending more time with the Yoga 13 and seeing all that it and its 360-degree hinge have to offer. My full review of the IdeaPad Yoga 13 will be coming up shortly, but in the meantime, let me know if there’s anything in particular you’d like me to touch on.
Asustek has just painted a pretty Q3 financial picture, showing a 43 percent jump in net profits — $230 million compared to $160 million last year, according to the WSJ. Gross revenue also climbed 9 percent to around $3.8 billion, which the company attributes to the popularity of its Google-partnered Nexus 7 tablet, along with convertibles like the Transformer Prime TF201 and a healthy notebook lineup. Asus boosted PC shipments nearly 12 percent according to the last round of Gartner surveys, helping it stay the fifth largest player in that market. The company sees good things ahead for Q4 too, expecting double digit gains in PC and tablet shipments due to its burgeoning Windows 8 lineup finally hitting the market. That’ll depend, of course, on how well users gravitate toward the fledgling OS.
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