Hasta La Gadget!

“No form-factor left untested” may well be Samsung’s unofficial motto for Windows 8, with the company bringing a raft of prototype notebooks and tablets to IFA, Alongside the Dual-Display Notebook were four alternative concepts that played with sliding, swiveling, slate and other designs, as Samsung took a suck-it-and-see approach to Windows tableteering.

The Swivel model, shown above, follows the convertible notebook approach we’ve seen in Windows tablets before, with a touchscreen that can be rotated and then folded flat down onto the keyboard so as to make a ruggedized slate. That would deliver the same functionality as the Dual-Display concept, but with less weight thanks to only having a single screen.

The Binder concept is more unusual, with a touchscreen slate sliding into the docking slot of a removable keyboard. It’s hard to tell how it differs from the docking systems of the Samsung ATIV line-up – all four of the concepts were behind glass – but it presumably has low-profile connections in the docking “gutter” so as to allow the slate to glide into place.

Samsung’s Slider concept took a slightly different angle to the Sliding PC Series 7 the company showed off back at CES in January, with a form-factor more akin to Sony’s VAIO Duo 11. The fixed viewing angle is a compromise, but the mechanism may well be more sturdy than a single swiveling hinge as on the first prototype.

Finally, there was the Samsung Memo PC, a smaller form-factor slate (somewhere between 7- and 8.9-inches, we’d say) with S Pen support, intended for those that don’t need a physical keyboard. The asymmetric profile would be more suited to right-handed users, but it could be an interesting alternative to Samsung’s Android-based Note series.

Of course, that’s assuming any of the designs actually make it to production. Samsung is pushing ahead with more conventional docking-tablet designs right now, but was polling IFA attendees to see if they were swayed by any of the concepts it had on show. Let us know which you prefer in the comments.

Samsung spills Windows 8 concepts is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

No fan of Sony products but loved their latest “VAIO Duo“? Don’t worry! Toshiba has exactly what you need with their latest Ultrabook the Satellite U925t! This nice little 12.5″ wonder comes with a 720p touchscreen and a stunning slide-out keyboard that will offer you pretty much what the VAIO Duo can give you but on a larger screen! Like the VAIO Duo the Toshiba U925t comes with Intel’s latest Core CPU (Ivy Bridge) and will be offered by default with a Core i5 …

Windows 8 devices are all the rage at IFA this year, especially tablets. Toshiba has a new Satellite – the U920t – on the scene, and like many tablets we’ve seen, this one is convertible into a notebook. However, unlike a number of the tablets we’ve seen, you don’t convert this tablet by attaching it to keyboard dock. Instead, it features a slide out keyboard using a mechanism that Toshiba assures will provide for a smooth and stable transition.

The Satellite U920t comes with a 12.5-inch glossy touchscreen, and as you can imagine, that slide-out keyboard adds a bit of weight to the unit. It weighs in at 1.45 kilograms, which is around 3.2 pounds, so while it’s a bit heavy as far as tablets go, it’s still right around the top-end for Ultrabook weight. The U920t makes use of Intel‘s Core range of processors, and you can run with either 4GB or 8GB of RAM, depending on your preference.

As far as storage goes, Toshiba is making use of solid state drives with the U920t, allowing users to pick from either 128GB or 256GB varieties. It also features two USB 3.0 ports and one full HDMI port, which is a pretty rare sight for tablets. It comes with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth capabilities, and even though it doesn’t come with 3G functionality at the moment, Toshiba says that it could update the U920t to include 3G in the near future.

Since it’s a Windows 8 tablet, Toshiba is hoping to have launch bad boy as close to the Windows 8 release date as possible – meaning it should be available right on October 26. Of course, Toshiba may need a bit more time than that, so the company isn’t ruling out an early November launch. The Satellite U920t will cost €949 when it launches in Europe, which comes in just south of $1,200. More details on pricing and availability are likely to follow soon, so keep it here at SlashGear for more information.

Toshiba Satellite U920t hands-on is written by Eric Abent & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Well, this snuck up on us. Close to the end of the first official open-floor day at IFA, Samsung managed to eke out yet another product we want to get our hands on, soonish. This 13-inch Series 9 WQHD Ultrabook beams Windows 8 on 2,560 x 1,440 display (oh yes), making a visible leap beyond the existing Series 9 13-incher, which sticks to a more typical 1,600 x 900. Better still, the surface of the screen has a gentle matte finish. The engineering sample arrived in the Samsung spokesperson’s hands just seven days ago. The resolution matches ASUS’ high-grade gamer monitor in pixels, if falling ever so slightly short of the Retina Display on Apple’s newest MacBook model. There was no news on what the manufacturer will call the new display tech, further specifications, or even whether this was just a proof of concept — the device was chilling in the corner of the electronics giant’s innovation gallery. Hopefully, Samsung won’t hold out on those details for much longer. Take a look for yourself in our hands-on video after the break.

Continue reading Samsung smuggles new Series 9 prototype into IFA: 2,560 x 1,440 on a matte display (hands-on)

Filed under: Displays, Laptops

Samsung smuggles new Series 9 prototype into IFA: 2,560 x 1,440 on a matte display (hands-on) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 31 Aug 2012 11:56:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It appears that Lenovo has decided to take the idea that ultra-thin computers cannot have a disk drive and throw it out the window with their newest Ultrabook, the IdeaPad U510 – and it’s got Windows 8, too! This machine comes in at 0.83-inches thin and has a 15.6-inch HD display along with a full keyboard and – yes indeed – an internal DVD reader/writer and Blu-ray Disc drive that pops out to accept your disks whenever you need it. The U510 will be appearing with a range of colors for its exterior and a fully metallic feel – with real metal!

This unit weighs in at 2.2kg – thats about 4.85 pounds – and is 21mm thick (that’s 0.83 inches, once again), meaning this device is certainly mobile for how powerful it is. Inside you’ll find an Ivy Bridge (3rd Gen) Intel Core i7 processor (if you so choose) as well as either Genuine Windows 8 or Genuine Windows 8 Pro right out of the box. This unit’s display is 1366 x 768 pixels sharp and has a 16:9 aspect ratio as well.

Graphics on the IdeaPad U510 are made possible with NVIDIA GeForce 625M 1GB under the hood, and your memory is going to be ringing up to 8GB HDD storage — 1333/1600 Mhz memory [2 SODIMM slots (1x2GB/2x2GB/1x4GB/1x2GB+1x4GB/2x4GB)]. Right alongside you’ll see your disk drive working with up to 500GB HDD storage – [500GB/750GB/1TB (5400rpm)]; 24/32GB SSD1 cache. For audio you’ve got integrated stereo speakers, two of them at 2W with Dolby Home Theater v4 action backing you up on the inside.

You’ll be working with wi-fi connectivity, 10/100M LAN (RJ-45 connector connected), VGA out, and optional Bluetooth 4.0. Along the sides as well are 2 USB 2.0 ports, 1 USB 3.0 port, HDMI out, memory card reader that works with SD and MMC, and a 1/8-inch Stereo Headphone Output & Microphone input combo jack. Lenovo notes that inside you’ll have OneKey Recovery software for easy data backup and recovery as well as remote disable.

Also integrated in the U510 is the ability to wake this Ultrabook up from Sleep mode in just over a second. There’s a front-facing 720p webcam for video chat with software right inside the OS when you start it up – Youcam and Skype amongst them. Also inside are McAfee, Lenovo Support Energy Management to keep you running strong without eating your battery like a pig, and Microsoft Office (everywhere except Japan).

The IdeaPad U510 will be available inside September 2012 starting at US $679 – go grab it! And also stick around for the rest of the Windows 8 wave and Lenovo‘s full IFA 2012 offering too!

Lenovo IdeaPad U510 Ultrabook brings disk tray to the show is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.