Microsoft’s already opened up the floodgates with Windows 8 pre-orders, and it looks as if those still on the fence now have a sandbox to goof off in. Pictured above is a trio of Windows 8 notebooks from a Best Buy located in St. Cloud, Minnesota, and we actually called around to confirm with several other stores that a similar setup had been erected in their locales. Nah, we can’t make October 26th get here any faster, but at least you know where to head if you’re looking for a sample.
Back in August, ASUS unveiled its Vivo Tab line of tablets at IFA 2012, which come packing with Windows 8 and an NVIDIA Tegra 3 quad-core processor. However, it seems that ASUS thinks the Vivo tablets need a big brother, so it teased the VivoBook laptop today, which also comes with Windows 8 and sports the same style and look as the Vivo Tabs.
According to a product page on the ASUS website, the laptop will officially be called the VivoBook X202, and will sport an Intel Core i3-3217U clocked at 1.8GHz with 4G of RAM. It’ll also have a 500GB hard drive and an 11.6-inch LED HD display with a 1366×768 resolution. It’ll have capacitive touch capabilities and multi-touch functionality as well.
However, it says it’ll only have “Intel GMA HD” graphics according to the product page, which isn’t fantastic, but if it includes GMA graphics that are towards the high end of the spectrum, it should be able to keep up the pace. Battery life also seems rather disappointing, claiming to get up to only 5 hours of life with a 2-cell battery.
Honestly, the VivoBook almost seems like a glorified netbook rather than a full-scale laptop. It reminds us of the company’s 12-inch Eee PC 1201N from a couple years ago, which easily had comparable specs. Either way, the VivoBook X202 is available for pre-order as we speak from Amazon, Newegg, TigerDirect, and B&H Photo. The laptop can be yours for $599. The listings mention the VivoBook having “Intel HD 4000″ graphics, which technically isn’t the same as Intel’s GMA series like the ASUS product page mentions, so we’ll have to wait until the company’s official announcement on October 23.
UPDATE: ASUS has also posted its TAICHI 21 up for pre-order. It’s an 11.6-inch hybrid machine that comes with a 1.7GHz Core i5 processor, 4GB of RAM, and a 128GB SSD. It starts at $1,300.
Most event teasers have at least some kind of grandiosity; we’re not under illusions that they have to be modest. At the same time, ASUS may have crossed a humility barrier with a teaser for an October 23rd event launching its upcoming Vivo Tabs and (possibly TAICHI- or Transformer Book-linked) Vivo Books. In the space of 42 seconds, ASUS likens the New York City announcement for its touchscreen Windows 8 devices to the Apollo moon missions, the fall of the Berlin Wall, and having a child — a bit much for slabs of aluminum and glass, we think. There’s not much to see of the systems themselves beyond what we already know, although Notebook Italia has noticed at least one reseller listing a Vivo Book S200 laptop with an 11.6-inch touchscreen, a Core i3, 4GB of RAM and a 320GB hard drive for €499 ($647). That price would go a long way towards ASUS’ promise of making touch “available to everyone…” we’re just not convinced it’s as important as Elvis.
The iPhone 5 already proved Apple’s desire to move away from existing processor designs and exert more control over these fundamental components. Is it too crazy to imagine that Cupertino would like the same sense of freedom with its laptops? Perhaps not, especially since the biggest company in the world just hired a guy called Jim Mergard, who helped to pioneer AMD’s low-power Brazos netbook chips and who had only recently moved to Samsung. A former colleague of Mergard’s, Patrick Moorhead, told the WSJ that he would be “very capable of pulling together internal and external resources to do a PC processor for Apple” — possibly based on a mobile-style SoC (system-on-chip) rather than a traditional PC approach. That’s pure speculation of course, but funnily enough it’s where Intel seems to be headed too.
Panasonic‘s Toughbook line of durable laptops has come a long way, with the first models looking akin to something you would use to transport nuclear launch codes. Over time, the laptop line has transformed into something sleeker and smaller, but no less durable. Today Panasonic announced the arrival of the Toughbook SX2, a business PC.
The Toughbook SX2 runs on an Intel Core i5 3.3GHz processor with Turbo Boost Technology. The machine weighs in at 3.13lbs, and is approximately 40% smaller than previous models, with a magnesium alloy chassis. The LED-backlit display measures in at 12.1 inches with an HD+ (1600×900) resolution and 16:9 aspect ratio. The webcam can record in 720p high-definition, and has a built-in microphone. Ports include three USB 3.0 slots, VGA, HDMI, and an SD card slot. The battery life clocks in at 14.5 hours.
What about its durability? The SX2 has a drop height of 12 inches when turned off, with the exception of a drop to its base, which the device can handle while on or off up to 30 inches. The lid and base are rated for over 220lbs of pressure. For security, the SX2 is equipped with a hard drive/user/supervisor lock, a cable lock, Computrace, TPM security chip v1.2, Intel’s Anti-Theft Technology, and optional biometrics security.
The Toughbook SX2 is designed for mobility, which it seems to achieves with its thin and lightweight design. The wide array of features, high battery life, and durability combine the SX2 into a machine that seems as like it will function well as both an workstation and an everyday system. This laptop will be available later in October from authorized Panasonic resellers. The price starts at $2,649.
Today Sony outs in the US its latest Vaio line-up and introduces some already well known devices including the stunning Vaio Duo, and the Vaio Tap 20 alongside the new Vaio T Series, E Series and S Series T Series The top-selling stylish T Series Ultrabook made with an ultra-smooth brushed aluminum shell now comes with a touch display on the new T13 Ultrabook to allow consumers to experience Windows 8-based touch in a clamshell form factor with optional touchscreen. Sony is also introducing …
Sony has introduced its first tabletop PC in the US market, the VAIO Tap 20, a massive 20-inch tablet computer, as well as the smaller VAIO Duo 11 “hybrid slider” PC, which we reviewed back in August. In addition to the Tap 20 and the Duo 11, Sony has also released touch-enabled ultrabooks, including a refresh of the T13 and the E series 14P models. This line of touch-enabled PCs runs Windows 8.
We got our hands on the Tap 20 back in August, and yes, it is as massive as you think it is. This 20-inch tablet is a full PC, and offers a 10-multitouch touchscreen at 1600×900 resolution, a front webcam, USB ports, audio in and out ports, an adjustable metal stand, and a battery. Watch us playing Fruit Ninja on Tap 20 in the video below. The VAIO Tap 20 is priced at $879.99, and will be available in white and black.
Meanwhile, the smaller “hybrid slider” VAIO Duo 11 PC is a smaller, portable tablet/laptop hybrid, with a built-in keyboard that slides under the display when you want to use it as a tablet, and slides out when you want to use it as a touch-enabled laptop. The Duo 11 has a full HD display, a pressure-sensitive stylus with swappable pen tips, a backlit keyboard, Active Clip, Sony original app for photo cropping, and the Note Anytime note taking application. It weighs in at 2.84lbs. The VAIO Duo 11 is priced at $1099.99, and will only be available in black.
As a bonus – especially for artists and graphic designers – Sony partnered with ArtRage, and will provide a copy of ArtRage Studio on all five of these new touch-enabled devices. In addition to ArtRage, the VAIO Tap 20 will include the FingerTapps Organizer, a calendar/organizer app designed to allow families to easily share notes and events with each other, perhaps an indication of who Sony’s primary intended market is. In line with the family-oriented apps, the VAIO Tap 20 will also include My Daily Clip, an app developed in partnership with Sony Pictures Home Entertainment that allows individuals to sit around the tablet and play a movie trivia game.
As for the other three models, the VAIO T13 ($669.99) is a refresh model, with an added touchscreen display running Windows 8. The E series 14P ($689.99) is also a refresh model, with an added touchscreen running Windows 8. The E Series is price as follows: models 11, 14, and 15 at $449.99, and model 17 at $729.99. Both T Series models are priced at $669.99. The S Series 13 has a starting price of $799.99, while the premium S series 13 starts at $1199.99. The S series 15 model starts at $849.99, and the L Series 15 starts at $1199.99.
All five of these devices will be available at the end of the month. Whether the Tap 20 and Duo 11 are the future of PCs as traditional PC sales slip and Microsoft pushes its touch-friendly Windows 8 is yet to be seen. For now, however, it looks like things are getting interesting.
As is all the rage right now, Vizio is upgrading its lineup to support Windows 8’s more touch-centric UI. The company’s 24-inch and 27-inch all-in-one PCs will receive touch panels, resulting in a price bump to $998 for the base 24-incher with Ivy Bridge and Kepler internals, 1920 x 1080 display and 500GB hard drive. Meanwhile, Vizio’s Ultrabooks — both the 14-inch and 15.6-inch models — and its heftier 15.6-inch Full HD notebook will all get “enhanced multi-gesture touchpads” that will allow exactly the same swipes, taps and pinches as a touchscreen. These laptops will start at $849 for the smaller Ultrabook and $1,129 for the notebook. Expect the whole lot to arrive as part of the late October crush.
Here’s the thing with Windows 8: staring at those live tiles feels kinda weird if you can’t reach out and touch them. That’s why Sony has upgraded its Vaio T13 Ultrabook with a touch panel (making it technically the T13-2), allowing you to reach out across the keyboard and swipe away to your heart’s content. We’ve just left some fingerprints on a high-spec model with a Core i7 processor, 1366 x 768 resolution, 256GB SSD and 8GB RAM, which will sell in the UK from October 26th priced somewhere north of £1,000 (or $1,600, though Sony doesn’t set exact prices). A more modestly equipped i7, with 4GB and a 500GB hybrid drive should be somewhere around £900 ($1,400), while an entry-level i3 will start at £700 ($1,100), give or take. Bear mind that the dollar prices will be much lower than these currency conversions suggest — for reference, the original T13 starts at just $770.
Our first impression was that enabling touch on this traditional form factor was slightly awkward, especially if the purpose of touching the screen was to achieve something that would have been more readily accomplished with a tap on the keyboard — such as adjusting brightness, scrolling or returning to the home screen. On the other hand, the UI was incredibly responsive on the Core i7 processor and over time the touchscreen may well come to feel more natural than the touchpad within Microsoft’s new OS. Just bear in mind that enabling touch comes with a couple of sacrifices, aside from any price premium: it adds 100 grams and 1mm in thickness to an Ultrabook that was already on the chunky side, due to the addition of tougher hinges as well as the extra layer in the display. Check out our hands-on video after the break and make up your own mind.
Tonight in New York, Lenovo introduced two brand new tablet/laptop hybrids under the name of IdeaPad Yoga. Those two devices will be Windows 8 powered. Two screen sizes are available, 11″ and 13″. The 13″ model is the first hybrid laptop that meets the Ultrabook requirements.
The 13-inch model features a Core i7 ULV processor, a 1600×900 16:9 screen resolution, Intel HD 4000 Graphics, up to 256GB SSD storage and up to 8GB of RAM. It has a USB 3.0 connector built-in and more traditional connectivity features such as a USB 2.0 connector, a SD card reader, a HDMI output and Bluetooth 4.0. All of this comes in a 1.54kg (3.40 ounces) package.
The 11-inch model, on the other hand, will trade the Intel processor for an ARM-based NVIDIA Tegra 3 (T30) processor. It comes with 2 GB of RAM and a mere 64 GB of flash storage. It feels limited in capacity compared to its bigger brother, which sure looks more interesting. It still weighs 1.27kg (2.8 ounces). But Lenovo promises 13 hours of battery life, which could attract some users for potential niche cases.
Contrarily to the ThinkPad Twist, you just push the display for a full round. The keyboard will still be exposed below the screen.
The Yoga 13 will be available starting October 12 for $1,099 and the Yoga 11 in December for $799. Those prices are for the default configurations.
In the coming weeks, an ad directed by Martin Campbell will run in movie theaters and on TV with the tagline “Lenovo, for those who do.”
Here are some pictures. The orange ones are for the 11 model and the grey ones for the Yoga 13:
This is site is run by Sascha Endlicher, M.A., during ungodly late night hours. Wanna know more about him? Connect via Social Media by jumping to about.me/sascha.endlicher.
WinSource | | Email this | Comments
