It’s not a hybrid like the ATIV Smart PC, it doesn’t run RT like the ATIV Tab or Windows Phone like the ATIV S, and yet the laptop above is apparently destined to become part of the family. The ATIV Book 6 hasn’t been formally announced, but an accidental and promptly-pulled listing on Samsung’s site suggests that it takes on the shape of a regular high-spec Windows 8 notebook with a 15.6-inch 1080p touch sensitive display, Core i7 processor, up-to-date Radeon HD graphics chip, 8GB RAM and 1TB HDD. In other words, it sounds very much like the equivalently priced Series 7 Chronos, apart from the non-metal casing, the model number and potentially other differences we don’t know about yet, such as broader availability — after all, the Chronos we first spotted in the States was something of a Best Buy exclusive. You’d think the ATIV branding would have to signify something, but history says otherwise.
With the release of the NVIDIA GeForce GTX Titan GPU this year, we knew NVIDIA wasn’t going to pull any punches when it came to offering the highest-powered hardware to the public at any cost. Here with the reveal of the GeForce 700M family, the battle continues with notebook warriors galore. You’ll be seeing the NVIDIA GeForce GT 750M, 745M, 740M, 735M, and 720M coming your way soon – get pumped up about laptop graphics monstrousness!
Inside each of these bits of architecture you’ve got the graphics power to take your notebook to the next level. With the GeForce GT 750M, 745M, and 740M, NVIDIA will be aiming for a higher performance segment – not your everyday laptop machine, that is. The two smaller bits, the GeForce GT 735M, and 720M, will be heading to high-powered gaming notebooks this year.
Each of these GPUs is based on Kepler and works with NVIDIA Optimus technology so if you’re all about both next-generation power and long life in batteries, you’ll be set. You’ll have GPU Boost 2.0 technology and all the most fabulous NVIDIA innovations to roll with as well. Have a peek at the GeForce Experience to see what you’ll be working with in the near future on a GeForce-packing notebook near you.
“Every leading notebook manufacturer will be introducing notebooks with GPU Boost 2.0 technology, including Acer, Asus, Dell, HP, Lenovo, MSI, Samsung, Sony and Toshiba.” – NVIDIA
Also meanwhile have a peek at our NVIDIA GeForce tag portal and our Tegra hub to see how the desktop and mobile gaming universes will be converging more and more as the year goes on. We’ll be rolling out with high powered hand-held adventures sooner than you think!
If you were thinking about picking up a VIZIO notebook or PC in the near future – wait just a second! They’ve just released the full lineup in Full HD mode with touchscreen interactivity and Windows 8! Of course while some of their lineup had one or two of these features before, now you can rest easy – greatness is here for all!
You’ll be seeing several different lineups here, each of them delivering the sleek metal looks and attention to detail we were so impressed by when we first reviewed one of their PCs last year (that was right before they switched over to touch!) Now you’ll want to head down to the timeline below to see all the touchscreen action and up-close-and-personal looks and touches we’ve had with these devices at CES 2013 before we go on a review rampage – make it so!
VIZIO All-in-One models
24-inch All-in-One Touch The smaller of the two options here is the first available for pre-order in Microsoft’s online store. You’ll find that this model brings on the more conservative (just by a bit!) display size complete with dual HDMI input, enhanced 2.1 audio system with subwoofer, and wireless controls – you’ll get a remote control for your entertainment bits and pieces, a multi-gesture touchpad, and a keyboard, too! Have a peek at our early review of the pre-touch iteration of the 24-inch All-in-one now! This model will sell for USD $1,279.99.
27-inch All-in-One Touch The one big difference between the 24- and 27-inch models here is the size of the display. They’ve both got the same number of inputs and outputs and all that good stuff, same accessories in the box and the same massive HD 1080p touchscreen technology at your disposal. This 27-inch model will sell for USD $1,549.99.
VIZIO Notebooks
14-inch HD+ Thin + Light Touch The smaller of the two new models we’ve got here has a 14-inch HD+ display and options for either AMD (A10 APU) or Intel (Core i7) processors. This model starts at USD $1,089.99.
15.6-inch Full HD Thin + Light Touch This is the top-of-the-line offering in laptop technology from VIZIO, bringing on Full HD on a 15.6-inch display also with the same quad-core processor options that the 14-inch model is available with: either AMD (A10 APU) or Intel (Core i7). You’ll also find this model available for pre-order now in Microsoft’s online store! This larger version will start at USD $1,189.99.
Included with each
All VIZIO machines here work with advanced Wi-Fi with 802.11ac (that’s the newest generation able to offer up to three times faster delivery of data past 802.11n.) They’ve all got 10-finger touchscreen technology up front, SRS Premium Sound HD audio systems with no less than DTS technology making it all roll right, and Microsoft Signature for Windows. With Microsoft Signature you’ve got a clean install of Windows 8 – no bloat-ware at all!
Sound like the lineup for you? Let us know if you’re planning to go all the way with VIZIO this season!
UPDATE: Comprehensive price list
We’ve now got the full list of prices as they’ll appear straight through the VIZIO online store immediately if not soon!
It was at this year’s CES when VIZIO decided to announce its new line of laptops and desktops and today, the company is announcing pricing and availability for their previously announced PCs.
VIZIO’s 14-inch Touch Thin + Light notebook (CT14T-B0) will soon ship with an AMD A10 APU at the base price of $1,089.99, while the Intel Core i7-equpped CT14T-B1 will start at $1,419.99. If 14 inches isn’t your cup of tea, then you can grab the 15.6-inch version of this notebook starting at $1,189.99 for the AMD A10 version and $1,469.99 for the Intel Core i7 version.
If you’re looking for more of a desktop experience, VIZIO’s 24-inch Touch All-in-One (CA24T-B0) will begin shipping soon for $1,279.99 for the AMD A10 APU equipped version, while those looking for the Intel Core i7 version (CA24T-B1) will be looking at a starting price of $1,439.99. The 27-inch Touch All-In-One (CA27T-B1) will start at $1,549.99.
No exact date was revealed for VIZIO’s upcoming laptops and desktops, but considering they’ve just been priced, we’re sure the wait won’t be too long until you can get your hands on any one of these PCs.
With the Samsung Series 5 UltraTouch you’ve got one of the companies most solid deliveries of an Ultrabook-level computer upgraded with Windows 8 and a full 10-point touch display. With this notebook you’re going to be working with 3rd Gen Intel Core i5 processor power under the hood, a lovely 13.3 LED HD screen, and a market cost well under a thousand bucks. Sound like a value proposition you’ll want to add to your already burgeoning Samsung device collection?
Hardware
This notebook, also known as model NP540U3C-A01US, is not the thinnest beast on the block, nor is it the lightest. But it’s no monster, either. Instead what you’re getting is a 12.4 x 8.6 x 0.6-inch notebook made from a mix of aluminum and plastic parts, certainly sturdy enough – and aesthetically pleasing enough on the outside – to be your daily driver in a public place. As an Ultrabook such as this will likely be used by you for doing work first and foremost, it’s important to take a peek at the keyboard right out of the box.
What you’ve got here is a top-class keyboard that’s not unlike what we’ve seen from the generation of Samsung notebooks that’ve come out over the past year. If you’re used to working with a MacBook, not a PC, you’ll still feel rather at home with this layout and pressure sensitivity. The keyboard features a real no-nonsense set of keys as well, so no worries pecking away at the bits you’re not wanting to hit.
The display is certainly nice looking, and if you’re not used to the ultra-high-definition eye-shattering screens that are also out there on the market today, you’ll have a great time with the 1366 x 768 resolution here with LED HD technology and 10-finger touch. That means that if you’ve got an app that needs every single one of your fingers at once, you’ll be able to do it here. Covering this display you’ve got Corning Gorilla Glass – resistant against scratches and damage like a pro. This display is also 300 nits bright, working with SuperBright Technology so you know you’re backed up by a brand that means business.
Inside you’ll be working with 8GB of system memory, a hard drive of 128GB (SSD), and a find little web camera peeking up at you above the screen. You’ve also got Intel HD Graphics 4000, perfectly generous for your everyday movie watching, and you’ll be connecting to the web either wirelessly with Intel WiDi and Intel Centrino Advanced-N 6235 802.11 a/b/g/n or wired with this machine’s built-in ethernet port.
Next to your ethernet port (which pops open or closes down for a more compact experience, mind you), you’ll see one USB 3.0 port, HDMI out, and your very own headphone/microphone jack. Lucky you! On the right you’ve got another two USB 2.0 ports and a multi-card reader (SD/SDHC/SDXC). Altogether you’ve got a really solid package, certainly one you can bring home to mother.
Hands-on
This device is only surprisingly heavy because I’m so very used to handling computers now that are lighter than they have any business being. When you’re working with Ultrabooks and MacBook Airs and the like every single day of the week, having one like this UltraTouch will seem like a slight change. But as it is with most notebooks and such, the weight and the shape of this machine feels natural rather quickly.
The location of each of the ports feels quite natural, and though it does still feel a bit odd to be pulling open the ethernet port on the left hand side whenever it’s needed, it’s not been a burdon in any way. Toss this and the Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 and the GALAXY S 4 in your pockets and backpack and you’re set!
Software
Samsung is particularly proud of its collection of apps made specifically for Windows 8, including such winners as Quick Starter. With Quick Starter, you’re able to grab your own toolbar and start button (otherwise willfully yanked from your life by Windows 8) so you’ll have a more familiar user interface if you’ve never used Windows 8 before. You’ll also have all kinds of awesome AllShare Play action going on – particularly awesome if you’re a Samsung Galaxy S III or GALAXY S 4 or Galaxy Note user.
System – SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO., LTD. 530U3C/530U4C/532U3C
Manufacturer
Samsung Electronics
Product Type
Notebook
Operating System
Microsoft Windows 8 (64-bit)
Motherboard
SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO., LTD. NP540U3C-A01UB
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
3.71 GB DDR3 SDRAM 799MHz
FSB
99.8 MHz
BIOS
Phoenix Technologies Ltd. P06ABH
With AllShare Play you’ll be connecting with your mobile devices with ease, sharing your media from device to device in a personal mobile network instantly. This interface also works with Samsung Smart TVs and tablets as well as smartphones.
Benchmark Score – Acer Aspire M5-481PT
Section
Description
Score
Total Score
Windows x86 (64-bit) – Microsoft Windows 8 (64-bit)
Integer
Processor integer performance
5173
7046
Floating Point
Processor floating point performance
9610
Memory
Memory performance
6351
Stream
Memory bandwidth performance
6026
Above and you’ll also find some read-outs we’ve taken of the notebook. You’ll see some additional details about what this Ultrabook is packing as well as some benchmark results from our standard test: Geekbench. Feel free to head back to our archive of reviewed devices to compare and contrast as well!
Battery Time
Off the wall connection we’ve found the Samsung Series 5 UltraTouch to be getting a little over 5 hours of battery life. That’s without streaming video – if you’re going to be doing heavy processing tasks, this may not be the workhorse for you. Instead you’ll find this device best for daily work on-the-go without demanding a full 8-hour workday spread without power.
That said, battery life on this device isn’t all that different from the rest of the Ultrabooks out there right now. You’ll find a machine like the Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga 13 working with essentially the same amount of battery time where the newest era of MacBook Air units are some of the only mobile notebooks we’ve worked with that last longer in the field. Choose wisely!
Wrap-up
With the Samsung Series 5 UltraTouch you’ve got an Ultrabook that’s ready to be your best buddy in college, your friendly office companion, or your coffee shop cohort. While the Samsung notebook line doesn’t hold quite the “cool” factor their smartphones and tablets have earned over the past few years, they still connect in more ways than any other machine – particularly if you want to work with the oddity that is AllShare.
The model we’ve reviewed here will cost you a cool $859.99 USD and is available everywhere fine Ultrabooks are sold. We’d recommend, as always, heading out to your local notebook dealer to see how this unit feels before picking one up for yourself. Samsung has made a fabulous notebook here, and you’re going to want to take it out for a test drive before you make the big jump.
Lenovo’s surprise reveal of the ThinkPad T431s, complete with the first major shift in design for some time, has been followed up with the more mundane stuff: when you can get it, and for how much. The ThinkPad T431s will drop in the US and Europe come April, Lenovo has confirmed today, with prices kicking off at $949 for the 14-inch notebook.
In the UK, meanwhile, the T431s will start at £1,119; it’s unclear why there’s such a significant price disparity between US and UK pricing, but one possibility is that Lenovo won’t offer the more entry-level spec variants in every country. Either way, the core specs are the same: up to 12GB of memory, a choice of HDD or SSD storage, and a 1600 x 900 display with useful anti-glare finish.
Connectivity includes two USB 3.0 ports and a docking port, for dropping the ThinkPad into one of Lenovo’s desktop hubs. There’s also a 720p HD webcam, optional integrated WWAN with mobile hotspot feature, and Bluetooth 4.0, together with up to 9hrs of battery life.
However, it’s in the general design that the notebook has seen the most departure from ThinkPads of before. Lenovo says the refreshed aesthetic – which features a “streamlined” keyboard, thinner display bezel, and larger, smoother trackpad – are the result of thousands of hours of customer research spread over nine months.
Another day, another leak from Google. As The Next Web reports, a note-collecting service called Keep was accessible on Google Drive for a short period of time last night — and if your short-term memory is a bit cloudy, Drive itself got leaked in a similarly bizarre fashion before getting official last year. 1E100 had initially found source code, images and various links that seemed to point to Keep, which apparently went live soon after. Interestingly, while all of the links point to error pages, one redirects to a specific, unresolveable app url on Google Play. Android Police was able to snag some screenshots of the web app in action — albeit disconnected from Drive at the time — noting that it’s reminiscent of Mountain View’s late Notebook service that was killed in ’09. Whether the likes of Evernote will have to worry remains to be seen, but the added functionality to Drive will certainly be appreciated — now, how about letting us get at that Now app for iOS?
This week the thinnest-ever T Series machine to come to the Lenovo ThinkPad series has been revealed in the ThinkPad T431s. This machine is bringing on both a thinner and a lighter form factor than ever seen before and works with a lovely backlit keyboard, 5-point TrackPad, and an overall sleeker look as well. Up front you’ve also got edge-to-edge glass across a 14-inch HD+ 1600 x 900 pixel display and a smaller bezel than ever before – it’s hot!
Inside the ThinkPad T431s you’ll find a third-generation Intel Core i7 processor (with options for other i-family architecture if you wish, i5 if you’re feeling like you’d like less than the top amount of power to back you up). You’ll be working with Windows 7 right out of the box (with option for Windows 8 if you wish), and you’ll have Intel HD Graphics as well as Dolby Home Theater v4 for boosted graphics performance and improved video and audio performance top to bottom.
With this machine you’ll have the option of booting up 40% faster with Lenovo RapidBoot 2.0, you’ll have USB 3.0 ports galore for your 10x faster than USB 2.0, and you’ve got your very own built-in Fingerprint Reader that can be used to turn on the machine and log in with just one swipe. Inside you’ll have self-encrypting drives for protecting data in case of theft or loss. This protection comes as part of the Hardware Password Manager suite in the machine for full-fledged “security at your finger tips.”
This machine has Lenovo Mobile Access with WWAN support, always-on USB port for powering up your mobile devices without needing to power up the laptop itself, and Mobile Hotspot for sharing your wifi, WWAN, or ethernet wirelessly. Up front you’ve also got a 720 HD camera with Face tracking, Polycom Ready for voice clarity and video communication, and a full build meeting Mil-SPEC 8 standards for ruggedness, durability, and high quality hardware.
This machine will be out soon and we’ll have pricing information real soon – stick around for the full push!
Japan is generally a peaceful place. But sometimes everybody has a little stress they need to release. Here is a product made specifically for that purpose – A notebook with pages designed to be easily ripped apart! The company says, the pages are not made for nice writing – they are made for nice ripping! Write all your complaints on the SUKATTO notebook and tear up the paper hard! The developers of this product, in true Japanese fashion have thoroughly done their research …
[CeBIT 2013] Fujitsu launched its new LIFEBOOK E-Series at CeBIT and I had the opportunity to get my hands on the devices. The new lineup comes in three flavors: the E733 features a 13-inch 1366×768 display, the E743 gets a 14-inch 1600×900 display and you can get the 15.6-inch either with a 1366×768 or a Full HD (920×1080) screen.
The new E-series has been built using the same motherboard for the three models, that’s why, as you can see in the picture, all the connectors are located at similar spots on all versions. The unique feature of these notebooks is the modular bay where you can either place a DVD drive, an extra battery, another HDD or the Fujitsu patented bay projector (see picture of the accessory below after the jump). The projector is certainly a convenient option for business travelers who need to perform presentations while on the road.
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