Jun 29

Ultrabook sales up in first half of 2012, Windows 8 waits patiently

Posted in: Today's Chili

Ultrabook sales up in first half of 2012, Windows 8 waits patiently

We’ve seen so much Ultrabook news recently we’re beginning to think they’re catching on. Market research firm the NPD Group has stepped in to confirm our suspicions, reporting a 39 percent jump in sales of premium Windows laptops (900 bucks and up) during the first five months of this year, compared with the same period in 2011. Despite a three percent drop in sales of $700-plus Windows notebooks, the Ultrabook share of this bracket increased steadily to nearly 11 percent. The analysts predict sales of these lower-end models will pick up as back-to-school purchases sooth the post-summer blues, with a general boost to the whole Ultrabook market expected when Windows 8 arrives. One thing the figures don’t tell us is what impact these sales are having on the revenue of Apple’s skinny flagship, but we’d sure like to know. If numbers are your thing, the PR is past the break.

Continue reading Ultrabook sales up in first half of 2012, Windows 8 waits patiently

Ultrabook sales up in first half of 2012, Windows 8 waits patiently originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 29 Jun 2012 07:21:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jun 26

Lenovo ThinkPad X131e specs detailed

Posted in: Today's Chili

Netbooks may have had their five minutes of fame, but it looks like Lenovo still thinks life left in the category. Netbook News has spotted specs for the upcoming Lenovo X131e, the successor to the X130e that was running AMD’s Zacate platform. The X131e looks to have the new Brazos 2.0 APU, featuring either a E1-1200 or E2-1800 CPU, plus boosted Radeon HD 73xx graphics. Just like the X130e, there will be an optical ULV Core i3 option too.

In terms of design, not much has changed: the 11.6-inch notebook still has a 1366×768 display, but the specs and port selection have been tweaked. Options will include a dual-core E1-1200 clocked at 1.4Ghz, or a E2-1800 clocked at 1.7Ghz. The GPU on the E1-1200 will be a HD 7310, while the E2-1800 gets a HD 7340 with slightly higher clock speeds and a turbo boost mode. TDP for both options is said to be 18W. There will also be an option for a Sandy Bridge Core i3 ULV CPU which will come with the integrated HD 3000 GPU.

Up to 8GB of RAM can be configured with X131e, although speeds get a bump to 1600Mhz, up from 1333Mhz. The notebook also adds two USB 3.0 ports and HDMI v1.4 in addition to the single USB 2.0 port, Ethernet jack, VGA port, and 4-in-1 card reader. Hard drive options include either a 320/500GB drive at 5400/7200RPM, or a 128GB SSD. The whole thing weighs 3.92lbs, and the 6-cell battery is rated for up to 8.5 hours of runtime.

There’s no word on exact pricing, or even a firm release date, but the current X130e runs around $500, so expect a similar starting price for the X131e. Lenovo’s landing page for the X131e only lists “September 2012” right now, so you’ll have to hold tight if this sounds like the right portable notebook.


Lenovo ThinkPad X131e specs detailed is written by Ben Kersey & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.


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Jun 26

Dell unveils new XPS 14 and XPS 15: Hands-on

Posted in: Today's Chili

If you’re a fan of Dell’s XPS 13 but want something a little bigger with extra connectivity, the newly announced XPS 14 and 15 might just be for you. Both laptops have seen a redesign that sees the chassis’ making use of aluminium while giving the models a much needed thinner profile, and you can expect to see the latest internals with Intel’s Ivy Bridge processors and optional discrete NVIDIA graphics.

The base model of the XPS 14 will come with a 400-nit brightness 1600×900 display, an Intel Core i5 processor with HD 4000 GPU, 4GB of RAM, and a 500GB hard drive. Just about everything can be configured, so you can bump the CPU up to a Core i7, the RAM up to 8GB, add in NVIDIA’s GT 630M GPU, and swap out the standard hard drive for a 512GB SSD at the top end. Ports for the laptop includes two USB 3.0, HDMI, DisplayPort, Ethernet, and an SD card slot. Overall thickness isn’t too bad at 0.81-inches, and all in all it weighs around 4.6lbs.

The XPS 15, meanwhile, adds in an optical drive and a few additional ports, but thickness increases to 0.91-inches and weight to 5.79lbs. The base configuration comes with a Core i5 processor, NVIDIA GT 630M GPU, 6GB of RAM, 1920×1080 display and a 500GB hard drive with a DVD optical drive. The maxed out XPS 15 includes a quad-core Core i7 processor, NVIDIA GT 640M graphics, 16GB of RAM, 1TB of storage plus a 128GB mSATA, and a Blu-ray drive.

Both the XPS 14 and 15 are available to order starting from today. The XPS 14 pricing starts from $1,099, while the XPS 15 will start at $1,299. If you spec out both models to their maximum, expect the price to hit a cool $1,999. If you’re in the UK, the XPS 14 starts from £1,049 while the XPS 15 starts at £1,149.

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Dell unveils new XPS 14 and XPS 15: Hands-on is written by Ben Kersey & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.


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Jun 25

MSI Slider S20 tipped for October $800+ release

Posted in: Today's Chili

MSI’s sliding/folding touchscreen ultrabook, the Slider S20 unveiled at Computex earlier this month, will carry a hefty $799-$899 price tag when it launches according to the latest rumors. The Windows 8 hybrid, fronted by an 11.6-inch touchscreen, will drop in October or November, according to DigiTimes‘ sources.

MSI is yet to confirm final specifications for the convertible, though it’s known to use processors from Intel’s 3rd Gen Core range which pits it against Microsoft Surface Pro rather than the ARM-based Surface. That also means a full version of Windows 8 rather than Windows RT.

Connectivity, meanwhile, includes Bluetooth 4.0 and USB 3.0, along with wired ethernet and HDMI. Interestingly it seems MSI doesn’t think the S20 needs a trackpoint buried in the keyboard, instead seemingly relying solely on the touchscreen, though that could change by the time the laptop/tablet hits shelves.

There’s more on the MSI Slider S20 ultrabook in our hands-on from Computex.

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MSI Slider S20 tipped for October $800+ release is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.


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