Hasta La Gadget!

This week we’ve got our hands on the Archos 101 XS tablet (part of the G10 series) with included keyboard dock, featuring a dual-core OMAP 4470 processor and a 10.1-inch display as well as Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. This tablet brings on a nearly completely vanilla version of Android, here bringing on an un-skinned version of the software essentially the same as the Google Nexus lineup of tablets and smartphones. The unique build here is the star though, this tablet being rather unique with its keyboard dock that connects magnetically and protects the display when you’re not using the device.

Hardware

This device rolls out with a 10.1-inch 1280 x 800 pixel resolution 10.1-inch display surrounded by a rather unique looking bit of chassis. You’ll be working with this device in white with slightly darker gray nearer the display, and the device brings on Archos’ own “Coverboard.” This Coverboard is both a protector for the display and a keyboard dock.

The Coverboard’s keyboard is made up of a collection of chiclet-style keys that are easy to type with when compared to the touchscreen interface. It’ll be difficult for you to get used to this keyboard if you’re used to a MacBook or if you’re using a keyboard on a desktop computer with massive keys – they are indeed physical keys here, so you’ll be able to do real typing, but beware their connection to Android.

While Android does accept the connection to Bluetooth keyboards and has for some time, there’s always a bit of lag that you’ll be dealing with. It’s certainly not the fault of Archos hardware, as we’ve had this situation occur many times with devices using Android, it’s simply the place that Google’s mobile software build is at right this minute. That said, this device is the closest to a real everyday typing machine using Android that we’ve seen thus far.

The Coverboard connects to the tablet using a magnetic interface and a kickstand that rises up from the board itself. This kickstand works well, but you should be careful with it – make sure you’re not letting your kids work with this device as there is a chance that said stand will snap off – watch out!

Archos lets us know that this tablet is 21 ounces light and 0.31″ thin, quite small by any tablet’s standards. The Coverboard adds 0.2″ of thickness and holds tight with magnets to the tablet when you’re ready to put it in your backpack. The Coverboard also has a strange combination of power abilities: when the tablet is docked and the dock is plugged in to the wall, the dock will charge the tablet. When the dock is not plugged in, however, the tablet will charge the dock. Strange stuff!

This device will also be working with accessories in the future with the same docking technology including an ARCHOS Speaker Dock, an ARCHOS Docking Station, and ARCHOS Pouches. We’ll have a peek at those when they’re ready for the market. This device also comes with 16GB of internal storage and a microSD card slot that’s able to take up to SDXC 64GB cards. You’ve also got a miniHDMI port, charging and PC access via a micro USB port, and both Wi-fi and Bluetooth 4.0 for wireless connectivity.

Software

This tablet comes with a nearly vanilla version of Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. It’s got all your Google favorites like Google Play for digital media purchases, Gmail, Google+, and access to Google Drive right out of the box. Of course all of these apps (minus the Google Play store) are available to download by any Android device just so long as you’ve got the Google Play store and support for said store on your hardware.

Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich is in full effect with multi-tasking via your recent apps button on the screen in the dock and we’ve been told that Archos will be updating this device to Android 4.1 Jelly Bean by the end of the year. Archos has also added a collection of Media Center apps so you can see codec and format information on your movies and photos. Seeing your codec and format information also allows you to search items like title, series, actor, subtitle, and other information at will – just so long as your media has that information in the first place.

This device also comes with OfficeSuite Pro 6 for your Microsoft Office documents. This app allows you to read and edit Word, Excel, and PowerPoint documents as well as read PDF documents at will. Also have a peek at a benchmark or two below to see how this device performs with the OMAP 4470 CPU with PowerVR SGX544 GPU. Note that we’re working with an Engineering Sample here, so these might not be perfect final numbers:

Battery Life

This device works well to bring on an abundance of battery life, that’s for certain. We’ve not yet seen a tablet in the Android universe that didn’t last a full day even with heavy usage, and this Archos slate doesn’t disappoint. With the Coverboard you’ve also got an extension of your battery life- with both, you’ve got at least 10 hours of action even if you’re playing games.

Of course you’ve also got to note that we’re still using an Engineering Sample, so final results on the battery may differ in the end. Standby time, though, will likely remain largely the same. If you’re not using the device at all and leave it to sit on its own, with the display off, you’ll have days of battery time – we’re currently at more than four days without needing to charge – what a whopper!

Wrap-Up

This device presents a rather interesting – and certainly unique – offering to the Android tablet universe. Compared to the ASUS Transformer Prime with keyboard dock, this device doesn’t quite seem as high quality a final product – but it’s a lot less expensive at the same time at $399, dock included. We’re also thinking about how this device is currently set for a November release: this doesn’t bode well for a tablet that’s already slightly behind the times for specifications when compared to devices such as the Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1, for example.

If the Archos 101 XS is released in November sporting Android 4.1 Jelly Bean and essentially the same build we’re seeing here, it might be worth $399. It’s still a slightly surprising combination though now that the 7-inch wave is upon us.

If you’d like to know anything we’ve not covered above about this device, please feel free to let us know in the comments area below!

Archos 101 XS Review is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

This week we’ve had a look at the next slide-out QWERTY smartphone to hit the 4G LTE universe in the Motorola PHOTON Q. This device represents some of the best and the worst in the smartphone market today, starting with Motorola’s lovely take on a QWERTY keyboard, complete with light-up keys that feel rather nice to tap away on. The Sprint network, on the other hand, has been a letdown – both to the operating system and the hardware it’s working with.

Hardware

This device feels nice to use, the touchscreen works rather nicely, and the display is both bright and sharp. In the hands-on and unboxing video you’re about to see below this paragraph, you’ll notice that this device has Motorola moving into the no-button universe, relegating the physical buttons to the sides and the inside of the smartphone. The slider is a bit more loose than we’d like to see on a device that costs several hundred dollars right out of the gate, also.

Motorola made a bit of a strange choice with the plastics on this device. The back has a texture that should be made to grip, but because it’s so nearly-flat and linear it slips. That said, the bulk of the device does make grip more than possible, this keyboard-toting unit made to use by the working person.

The buttons around the side of the device are easy to work with, the display is a great size for web browsing as well as watching videos – qHD at 4.3-inches and 960 x 640 pixel resolution. There’s a bar of LED light under the speaker grille above the display that is rather nice and bright – if you like having a little circle of light, you’re going to love having a bar like this.

The display, also, can get amazingly bright. Brighter than you could possibly need it to be, in fact, with Automatic Brightness not bringing you up to full brightness even when you’ve got a full battery. Motorola is going up and over the mark when it comes to retina-burning insanity. It’s pretty awesome.

Software

Motorola is also bringing an extremely unique set of abilities to Android. If you’ve got your standard web browser on your home screen, for example, you can place your finger on it and swipe upward to attain a pop-up window with bookmarks. This same ability works in different ways with several built-in apps on this device.

There’s also a modified look and feel to the settings page, icons across the whole build, and the lock screen. Motorola also brings back the three-circle widget that’s able to show time, date, weather, battery life, and quick access to settings. A swipe across any of the three circles here brings on an alternate view or function.

This device once again brings Motorola’s webtop software interface when you plug it in to HDMI, and there’s once again a lovely collection of accessories available to you even before the device hits the market. Motorola continues to be smart with their microHDMI/micro-USB combo on the side of the device as it works with most of the smartphone/tablet accessories they’ve released over the past year. Motorola’s attention to accessories goes so far as to bring on an “Allow Bluetooth bypass” option in settings, allowing you to turn on voice actions from afar.

Motorola is owning their presentation of Android here, that’s for sure. Have a peek at this Quadrant benchmark result to see how the Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 dual-core processor is helping Motorola bring you a high-powered QWERTY smartphone, too. This is certainly one of the more powerful devices in the slide-out QWERTY keyboard-toting category, that’s for sure.

Speed Tests

Unfortunately we’re forced to speak up against the carrier here in that, just as it was with the last device we reviewed on this network, connectivity was lacking in a major way. Speed tests were essentially impossible as the device was unable to make the connection long enough to test, for the most part – and that’s not just on 4G LTE.

Up in Minnesota we’ve been able to get the symbol for 3G to appear on the device, but we’re extremely suspicious of how real that signal actually is. Buyer beware – make sure you take your device out into the field to see if you can get coverage before committing.

Camera and Battery

The camera is pretty decent, with both 8 megapixel photos and 1080p video working like a charm. Motorola’s camera interface is interesting, certainly, and does offer a few filters that are nice – but for the most part you’ll want to stick to straight up plain-old photos anyway. Video similarly does have some nice detail to it. Have a peek below at examples of both.

Battery life on this device is quite nice, though again we’ve been unable to work with 4G LTE – that would be the biggest battery drainer. As of now it’s the bright display, which if you do set to automatic, you’ll have a perfectly fine time dealing with. Without the display on full blast, you’ll have more than 10 hours with medium usage on your hands.

Wrap-Up

As it stands, this is a rather nice piece of hardware on a surprisingly less than acceptable network. If you’ve used this carrier before and you’ve had a lot of luck, then certainly you’ll be good to go with this device. But if you’re new to the smartphone universe, we’re currently recommending that you stay away – or at least test your device out on a test run before you commit.

Motorola has once again brought on a solid piece of hardware, with a QWERTY keyboard that is easy to use and a processor from Qualcomm that has a fire in its belly as it has on each of the devices it’s been released on thus far. This device will be available throughout the USA immediately if not soon!

Motorola PHOTON Q 4G LTE Review is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

The Lenovo ThinkPad series is currently celebrating its 20th birthday, and today we have their new ThinkPad X1 Carbon on the chopping blocks. After all these years still producing some of the best business and casual laptops available the X1 Carbon looks to improve on its older sibling, while staying at the top of the Ultrabook lineup. Being touted as “the world’s lightest 14″ business-class ultra book” with a sleek body and powerful dual-core power all under 3 lbs lets take a peek.

The brand new ThinkPad X1 Carbon might not be 20 years in the making, but it almost feels that way. Cramming all the top end specs possibly available into a super lightweight laptop that fits the “Ultrabook” standard, while still being similar to last years original X1. This is certainly an evolution of last years model only better in every way. It’s thinner, lighter, and faster yet still comes with a bigger display and more options. Take a peek at our unboxing video to get yourself started and acquainted, then we’ll dig in.

Hardware and Chassis

At first glance there will be no doubt in your mind this is a ThinkPad. With the original simplistic and minimal design, squared off edges, and flat matte black color scheme. Other than a few needed vents for breathing and speakers this is as simple as it gets, in its most elegant form. The ThinkPad line has always been catered for professionals that don’t want a loud and cluttered laptop, and this is no different. We don’t have crazy lights, bright colors, or odd speakers. Everything is clean — ThinkPad clean.

As far as hardware specs there’s multiple versions available. Today we’ll be looking at one of Lenovo’s highest options. We’ll go over the different models below but what we have here is their high-end Intel Ivy Bridge 3rd Gen Core-i7 dual-core version. All X1 Carbon’s come complete with a 14-inch LED display, with a matte finish to reduce glare, 2 USB ports (right side is 3.0), display port, 3.5 mm headphone jack that doubles for the microphone, and a 3G sim slot around back for 3G connectivity. Starting at $1,249 our model will run you $1,579 — and under the hood however is what’s important.

Our X1 Carbon comes complete with the Intel Core i7-3667U 1.8 GHz dual-core Ivy Bridge processor, 4GB of DDR3 666 MHz RAM, and a 128GB SSD. Other options include a 1.7 GHz Ivy Bridge, and even a lower i5. They’ve even got a 256GB SSD selection for those with extra cash and need the storage. As well as 8GB RAM models for the editing heavy user. Packing all of this into something only 2.99 lbs makes this the lightest ThinkPad ever.

As far as hardware the latch-free lid is easy to close, but wasn’t quite as easy to open for us. This you’ll simply just get use to so we can’t really complain. We also found the square charging port to be odd since most have adopted the easy to use round male pin. I actually tried inserting my USB drive into it once, but that’s another story. As usual with Lenovo the ThinkPad has a very durable construction. It feels great in the hand with the soft-touch matte finish, and being lightweight also makes it a breeze to carry.

The screen is 14-inches as mentioned above, but only offers 300 nits of brightness. Using this outdoors wasn’t the most ideal situation, but we’ve certainly seen and used worse. Overall the screen is rather impressive being 1600 x 900, although outdoors the grainy effect was more present.

Keyboard and Trackpad

Just like the X1, the Carbon has replaced the wide keys for Lenovo’s version of the chicklet style, and it works wonderfully. The keys are evenly spaced, comfortable, and have good feedback and response. The slight curve makes them instantly comfortable to use, you’ll just have to get used to the spacing if you’ve owned previous ThinkPads.

As mentioned in the video, the keys are backlit only the button the side toggles radios, not the keyboard lights. Simply press Fn and tap spacebar to scroll through the 3 brightness options. While we’d love additional brightness options 3 is better than most. So we’ll take it. Then in the usual ThinkPad fashion you can use the trackpad, or enjoy the pointing stick mouse dressed up in the familiar red. I personally only use this, but the trackpad is also exceptional for those times you need it. While we’d still like the smooth surface that MacBook’s offer, Lenovo did a great job with their smooth, resistance free trackpad.

Ports

As mentioned above Lenovo outfitted this Ultrabook with only two USB ports, one of which is USB 3.0, or as they call it — Superspeed. You’d never know it but a small barely visible SS logo is near the right side USB port (see above image). The right side also contains the Kensington lock, display port, 3.5mm headphone/microphone, and the full size SD. Around to the left is the charging port, vents, and the regular USB location followed by a Bluetooth and WiFi radio toggle switch.

Performance and Sound

Now Lenovo offers multiple versions of the X1 Carbon, ours however has the Intel Core i7-3667U Processor (4M Cache, up to 3.20 GHz) running at 1.7 GHz. There is two additional i5 options for a lower price as well. Using Intel’s Ivy Bridge and the integrated HD-4000 this isn’t quite up to 3D and gaming performance par, but everything else was exceptional.

Running on Windows 7 64 bit Professional performance was butter smooth as always, and we ran a few Geekbench tests as we always do. After the third run there was a decent amount of heat coming out of the small vents, but the X1 Carbon stayed relatively quiet. Here’s the results:

Obviously the SSD was extremely fast, blowing away any regular HD option available, but sadly this price range only offers the 128GB choice. Overall the results weren’t chart topping but for the price, size, and specs this is a beast of a business-class machine.

Next up we wanted to talk about the speakers and sound quality. There’s no fancy Beats Audio here, but that’s a good thing. Whatever Lenovo did they did well. The speaker ports are located on the bottom sides near the front, and bounce off the desk giving users excellent sound quality. This machine was much louder than the recently reviewed HP ENVY 4, and sounded better in all categories too. While using this on my lap the sound gets aimed the wrong direction and wasn’t as loud or crisp, but desktop usage was perfect.

Battery Life

Now the battery life can be a bit personal, based on user needs and usage, but we found decent results. With continuous usage throughout an entire evening it lasted almost 6 hours straight — and that’s with multiple video clips and web browsing. Using the rapid charge technology detailed in our video we didn’t get 5 hours on a short charge, but was enough to get a job done in a bind. We’ve seen many Ultrabook’s last well past the 7 hour mark, so we’ll chalk this one up for average at best.

Wrap-Up

As far as business-class Ultrabooks the X1 Carbon doesn’t have too much competition. This thing is almost as good as it gets — if an Ultrabook is what you want. If you don’t need the Ultrabook lightweight design for roughly the same price the HP Spectre 14 [see our review] is another solid option. All in all the X1 Carbon is a massive step up over the original, and beats out anything from Lenovo’s past in this size range. Yes the display, battery life, and RAM options could all be better or higher, but in general this machine will be king of the office.

Add in the fact that it manages to be extremely thin, weigh less than 3 lbs, and still manages to have a 720p front camera (image sample below), and integrated HSPA+ 3G connectivity it sure is a great overall package. It might not be the cheapest around but this user friendly machine will be excellent for average users, and the business man. This portable Ultrabook should make you plenty happy, and keep you busy. Have a peek at previous reviews and all our images below, then decide if this is the Ultrabook for your business bag.

Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Ultrabook Review is written by Cory Gunther & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

The Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 has reached the states with a collection of features and applicability for it’s built-in S-Pen that the smaller Galaxy Note will be proud of. For those of you working with the Samsung Galaxy S III, this device continues the next-level connections the manufacturer has set up with AllShare. For those of you looking to upgrade from the original Galaxy Tab 10.1 with more power and better entertainment abilities, your prayers have been answered.

Hardware

This device comes with a 10.1-inch WXGA 1280 x 800 TFT LCD display that’s rather bright and has viewing angles all the way down to the 90 on all sides – it’s quite nice to look at and work with, that’s for certain. You’ve got a Samsung Exynos quad-core processor here clocked at 1.4Ghz, and the benchmarks we’ve run here tell us we’ve very possible got a new king in town. The battle rages on for hardcore mobile processor supremacy in the Android universe.

You’ve got two front-facing speakers that are willing and able to work with “surround sound” – you’ll see what I mean in the hands-on with entertainment video below. It gets so loud that you’ll have a hard time finding a place that you’ll want it to actually be up at the top of the knob – you’ll have to turn it down a bit or it’ll blow your ears off. Also they’re front-facing, just like they always should have been.

Up top you’ve got a power/sleep/lock button, a volume up/down button, and a microSD card slot. You’ve also got an IR-Blaster just like the Galaxy Tab 2 has so you can use your Peel app to change the channel on your television – and get a guide for channel browsing if your cable provider is able to be found by Samsung.

The tablet is relatively light, essentially as thin as it counterparts in the Galaxy Note and the Galaxy S III lineups, and feels really nice to hold. The glass up front sits a bit lower than the silver rim around the entire device, and the uniqueness of the tablet is clear – this is no iPad. We wont be comparing this device to the most popular tablet on the planet right here and now though, check the SlashGear main news feed for more device war action in the near future.

The back and sides are made of some high-quality plastic and there’s a pleasant feel to the whole device. Samsung has put some time into the tactile nature of the device for certain, and here they’ve got a unique device that’s set to carve it’s own path in the tablet universe. As for how well the device does in the standard benchmarks we generally run, it’s a beast and a half. For Antutu we’re seeing 12200+ on average. In CF-Bench we’ve got 24386 for Native, 6906 for Java, and 13898 for overall score. That’s off the charts. Quadrant Standard benchmark has this tablet ringing in at 13041 for CPU, 4469 memory, 5158 I/O, 1000 2D, and 2459 3D.

Software

This device takes Samsung’s idea of a tablet-centric Android with Ice Cream Sandwich and TouchWiz and takes it all to a new level. While a lot of what you’re seeing here will look rather familiar if you’ve used one of the three following devices, you’ll find that here you’ve got an experience that’s wholly unique: Galaxy S III, Galaxy Note, Galaxy Tab 10.1 – the original.

Begin your journey with your connection to the already released Samsung Galaxy S III line with AllShare. Here you’ve got a set of abilities that allow you to connect both with the cloud via SugarSync and via a wi-fi network. With both devices connected to one wi-fi network, you can set up a GroupCast just like you’re able to between two Galaxy S III units, as shown here:

You wont be able to transfer media in exactly the same way you’re able between Galaxy S III units, but there’s always SugarSync. Save all of your photos from all of your Samsung devices to SugarSync for one big gallery of greatness. As far as multi-tasking goes, you’ve got three unique features that will make you a master of doing more than one thing at once. The first two should be familiar, both of them appearing on previously released devices.

You’ve got the Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich ability to see recent apps (this was originally introduced, sort of, in Android 3.0 Honeycomb, but it’s much more versatile here). You’ve also got a lovely little dock of “Mini Apps” as provided by Samsung. These apps each have a small set of abilities, each of them able to pop up in a window that hovers above whatever else you’re doing on-screen.

Then there’s a new Muliscreen function – also appearing in the hands-on video above – that works in the following apps: your built-in Internet browser, Polaris Office, Video Player, Email, Gallery, and S-Note. When you’ve got one of these apps open, all you’ve got to do is tap the “Multiscreen” button up near the right-hand corner of the app at hand. From here you’ll be greeted the first time with a set of abilities.

You can select an application (you’ve just done this), you can close an application with the X inside a rectangle, you can switch windows (left to right, right to left), and you can capture, drag, and drop. With this last set of abilities what you’re actually doing is taking a screenshot of a piece of one part of your screen, then pasting it into the other. Simple as that – and so magical!

Other than that you’ve got a rather powerful tablet, to be sure. And what makes it all unique is not just that you’ve got Samsung connections, and not just that you’ve got front-facing speakers (FINALLY), but that you’ve got the built-in S-Pen.

S-Pen

With your S-Pen you’ve got all the abilities of the Samsung Galaxy Note – the original – in a tablet-sized package. This S-Pen device works essentially the same as the first iteration of this Samsung line, but here it’s built just a bit differently. The pen itself is a bit fatter, the same size as a standard Number 2 pencil if what Samsung told us back at MWC 2012 holds true, and the whole note-taking experience feels rather nice.

You’ve got several S-Pen-specific apps on the device right out of the box including S-Note and Photoshop Touch. Of course the apps you’ll see in the hands-on video above also work, somewhat, without the pen tool, but that’d be just silly. With the S-Pen you’ve got a note-taker that never runs out of ink or needs to be sharpened, but just incase, Samsung has included several replacement tips.

Entertainment

The Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 is made not only be be a machine that can collect ideas with your S-Pen and media with your back and front-facing cameras, but an entertainment monster as well. Samsung’s got several applications such as Samsung Music Hub and the Samsung Media Hub – full of movies and TV Shows you can purchase for download on any number of your own Samsung devices.

Also included in the video above you’ll see us take a stab at working with Netflix and the device’s own Movie Player so we can see and hear the difference in video quality between the three of them (including the Media Hub, that is, for three). You’ll also find that Samsung’s connection to several high-powered game developer groups such as Glu and Gameloft will make your gaming experience rather rich. In the video above you’ll see NOVA 2 played briefly and the Samsung Game Hub explored as well.

With a quad-core Samsung Exynos processor like the one this device has, we’re certainly feeling the power and the swiftness in processing it can bring. With such a processor we’re able to watch video without a hiccup, play the most high-powered games without lag, and do generally anything else – including run Photoshop Touch – without needing to worry about going slowly in any respect.

Accessories

In our review package we had a slip-cover with reinforced sides (to protect from scratches and drops) as well as a simple dock and a Book Cover. The book cover is the most interesting of the three, with a fold-back flap that allows it to stand freely on its own in two positions. For those of you looking to purchase any of the three – there are no magnets involved here, nothing “smart” so to speak, but each of them is high quality enough to be worth the cash they’ll cost.

The slip cover is discreet and nice to hold, the dock allows simple charging and audio output via a standard headphone jack, and the Book Cover is hardcore enough to withstand your everyday drop as well as backpack damage – and it’s relatively cool for those of you using the device to type notes or illustrate on the daily.

Camera

On the front of this device you’ve got a 1.9 megapixel camera perfectly suitable for webcam chat action. On the back you’ve got a 5 megapixel camera that’s surprisingly high quality for its megapixel rating. Have a peek at a few examples of photos and a video shot with this device at top quality here, each of them shot with the back-facing camera.

Battery

If you run this device rather hard, playing games, downloading gigantic files (like the videos and games we’ve looked at here) and using the S-Pen like wild, you’ll find yourself limited to right around 6 hours of battery time. Even 7000mAh of battery can be drained quickly when the situation is right.

If however you’re not the type of person to make everything happen all at once – that is, if you’re not doing a bunch of instructional videos back-to-back – you’ll have a much better time in the battery department. Expect a day’s use out of this tablet at the very least when using it intermittently throughout the day. Low use then will last you a couple of days, no problem.

Wrap-up

This tablet-like device, the Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1, is Samsung’s best effort to date in the 10-inch category of devices. You’ve got a fabulous 10.1-inch HD display as well as some excellent front-facing speakers, making this one of the top entertainment devices in tablet form on the market. With the Samsung Exynos quad-core 1.4GHz processor under the hood, you’ve also got the power to work with beastly apps like Photoshop Touch, to play videos at full HD, and to blast your enemies to oblivion in the most high-end games on the market.

This isn’t the end – we’re going to continue to analyze this rather important launch for Samsung as long as it takes to answer all of your questions about it. Let us know if there’s anything else that you do not see above that you’d like us to discuss or test on the device – and get pumped up for the final release immediately if not soon!

Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 USA Review is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

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:

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.

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.

Lenovo IdeaCentre A720 Review is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
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