Toshiba’s most recent Ultrabook offerings have something of a split personality. On the one hand, there’s the Satellite U845W, a high-end machine with solid quality and a funky, 21:9 display. Announced alongside it, though, was the Satellite U845, a more modest sort of machine for folks who can’t afford to spend $1,000 on their next laptop. Starting at $750, it offers all the specs you’d expect from a mid-range laptop: Ivy Bridge, Intel Wireless Display and a backlit keyboard. And, given that it’s a slightly larger Ultrabook, it also makes room for key ports like HDMI and an Ethernet jack. But the U845 is hardly the only 14-inch thin-and-light on the block, and it’s definitely not the only sub-$800 system aimed at the back-to-school crowd. Read on to see if there’s enough pizazz here to make this a memorable machine.
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:
Benchmark Score – LENOVO 344422U
Section
Description
Score
Total Score
Windows x86 (64-bit) – Microsoft Windows 7 Professional (64-bit)
Integer
Processor integer performance
4139
5747
Floating Point
Processor floating point performance
7641
Memory
Memory performance
5290
Stream
Memory bandwidth performance
5660
System – LENOVO 344422U
Manufacturer
Lenovo
Product Type
Notebook
Operating System
Microsoft Windows 7 Professional (64-bit)
Motherboard
LENOVO 344422U
Processor
Intel Core i7-3667U
Processor ID
GenuineIntel Family 6 Model 58 Stepping 9
Processor Frequency
2.00 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
4.00 MB
Memory
3.73 GB DDR3 SDRAM 666MHz
FSB
99.8 MHz
BIOS
LENOVO G6ET22WW (1.01 )
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.
We often assume that Ultrabooks scarcely have any room to budge on the inside, and that’s usually true. An iFixit teardown of ASUS’ Zenbook Prime has proven that there’s always an exception to the rule. Looking at a UX32VD with the same base layout as the UX31 we reviewed, the repair outlet finds that the upgraded Zenbook has both embedded and removable RAM: provided owners are still willing to perform some surgery, they can upgrade past the 4GB of included memory on their own terms. The repair team is a bit dismayed that there’s a 5,400RPM hard drive spinning near the mini SSD — how very 2011 — but notes that it’s equally swappable by those who want something faster. Whatever you think of the fully pieced-together ASUS PC, it’s apparent there’s a reward for those willing to take it apart.
Heads up, audiophiles! Here’s a little gem we spotted at the Hong Kong High-End Audio Visual Show over the weekend. Dubbed the Ultrasone IQ, these turn out to be the German company’s first ever in-ear headphones, and luckily they’re more than just ordinary buds. You see, packed within each aluminum alloy capsule is a combo of a traditional dynamic driver and a balanced armature driver, with the former taking care of the bass plus lower-mids, and the latter covering the rest — specific frequency response to be confirmed at a later date. The technology isn’t new, of course, but it’s all about the fine-tuning to match the price tag — we’ve been told to expect around HK$6,000, which is about US$770. This author was fortunate enough to try the pictured prototype at the event and was left impressed by its definition, but the final product will apparently perform even better when it hits the market in late September. Just to seal the deal for hardcore users, these buds feature MMCX connectors, meaning you can swap the original cables with the bundled headset kit (for iPhone and major Android devices) or other third-party wires.
Launched alongside the IQ were the Signature DJ and two new additions to the Edition 8 line: Romeo and Juliet, which seem like a nice idea for audiophilic couples. Alas, details are light here in terms of prices and availability, but at least Romeo and Juliet will perform identically as the original Edition 8. The new DJ cups, on the other hand, await official specifications. For now, hit the gallery to take a look at all of Ultrasone’s new offerings.
The storied ThinkPad line has just turned 20 and, over all those years, the brand has established itself as something that (mostly) successfully straddles the line between boring corporate accessory and classy consumer choice. Stoic is an apt term for the machines and, through those two decades, they’ve only gotten better and better — well, most of the time, anyway.
Welcome, then, to what is the latest and, therefore, what should be the best: the $1,499 ThinkPad X1 Carbon. It’s an evolution of last year’s X1, thinner and lighter than that pre-Ultrabook despite having a larger display. The Carbon moniker here not only describes this machine’s matte black exterior but also applies to the woven and resin-impregnated composite structure within, delivering a rare mix of light weight, svelte dimensions and durable construction. It’s a wonder to behold but can it improve on the previous ThinkPad X1‘s shortcomings? There’s only one way to find out.
Lenovo has been showing a lot of support for Windows 8 lately, and today it showed even more. ABC News reports that the Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga will be running the Windows RT version of Windows 8 when it arrives later this year, but that isn’t all, as Lenovo is apparently preparing multiple versions of the Yoga for release. Even better is that the IdeaPad Yoga is expected to launch around the same time Windows 8 does, which is on October 26.
According to ABC, Lenovo is making two versions of the Yoga: one with an ARM NVIDIA Tegra processor, and one with that uses the more powerful line of Intel processors. The ARM-based model will have a longer battery life, obviously, and sources say that it can last up to two times longer than Intel-based models. Earlier reports suggested that Lenovo was working with NVIDIA to build a Windows RT tablet, and ABC confirms that the tablet in question is indeed the Yoga.
The Lenovo Yoga was announced at CES earlier this year, and is something of a laptop-tablet hybrid. The unit looks like a laptop, but comes with a rotatable screen that can flip over and fold in on the keyboard, turning it into a tablet (get it? Yoga?). The unit is 0.67-inches thick and weighs in at just over three pounds, so despite the 13.3-inch screen, it’s definitely a very portable device. It also supports up to 8GB of RAM and comes equipped with a 256GB SSD, so you probably won’t want for speed when using the Yoga.
Sadly, we don’t know the exact date the Yoga will be available, nor do we know specific pricing details for all models. Intel-based Yogas will cost somewhere in the area of $1,199, but there haven’t been any such estimates for the price of the ARM-based Yoga. With the launch of the Yoga apparently just around the corner, expect Lenovo to unleash those details soon. Stay tuned to SlashGear for additional information.
ASUS made a grand entrance into the Ultrabook race with the Zenbook Prime UX31E, which brought a sleek design and lovely, high-res screen. That machine was one of our favorites in what was still a budding category, though we took issue with the shallow keyboard and uncomfortable touchpad. The company recently started shipping its new Zenbook Prime series, including the 11-inch UX21A we checked out a few months ago. But there’s also a follow-up to the 13-inch UX31E on the market: the ASUS Zenbook Prime UX31A. This laptop offers a retooled keyboard, Ivy Bridge chips and a 1,920 x 1,080 IPS display, starting at $1,069. So how does the new 13-inch Zenbook stack up in a crowded field of high-end ultraportables? Join us past the break for the full report.
Acer’s Aspire S7 will hit store shelves at the end of September, spending a few weeks with Windows 7 before being refreshed with Windows 8. The new ultraportable will be priced from £1,149.99 ($1,465) in the UK, Acer confirmed to SlashGear this morning, with an Intel Core i5 Ivy Bridge processor and 128GB of SSD storage.
There’ll also be 4GB of RAM and the new “white glass” finish which Acer was particularly proud of back at the Aspire S7′s launch at Computex 2012 in June. The ultrabook promises between nine and twelve hours of runtime, with the keyboard being backlit and ports including HDMI, USB and a memory card reader.
Optional will be the touchscreen we played with back at the launch, as well as variously increased amounts of RAM and SSD storage. Core i7 processors will also be offered, with Acer’s new Twin Air cooling system used to keep things from getting too toasty on your lap.
Whether the combination of Windows 8 and a slimline notebook will be enough to distract buyers from the MacBook Air remains to be seen, but the S7 does at least manage to look somewhat different from its OS X rival. More on the Acer Aspire S7 in our full hands-on.
It’s a week for ThinkPad hardware: on the heels of Lenovo’s new Tablet 2 and the X1 Carbon comes the ThinkPad T430u ultrabook, announced back in January and finally hitting shelves. Priced from $779, the 14-inch ultraportable packs chips from Intel’s Ivy Bridge range paired with up to 8GB of RAM and optional discrete graphics.
Inside there’s either various sizes of traditional spinning-platter drive up to 1TB, or a 128GB SSD for those who like their storage neither shaken nor stirred. Those wanting to use their ThinkPad for graphics processor (or, dare we suggest it of the suits, even a little post-work gaming) can pick an NVIDIA GeForce GT620M graphics chip with 1GB of its own memory.
Battery life is rated at around 7.1 hours of use, which isn’t exactly going to set the world on fire (or even the ultrabook segment). Still, this is a compromise machine – roughly half the price of the ThinkPad X1 Carbon, though still managing to be thin, light and have a reasonable turn of performance to it.
Interestingly, while the January announcement mentioned Thunderbolt, there’s now no sign of it on the T430u; instead, the notebook gets USB 3.0 and Mini DisplayPort, along with audio in/out and HDMI. Expect it to go on sale later this month from $779.
Remember the Lenovo ThinkPad T430u? The Ultrabook aimed at business users (and one of the first PCs with a Thunderbolt port, we might add)? If it fell off your radar, we wouldn’t really fault you: it was announced all the way back at CES (read: seven months ago). At the time, Lenovo warned us it wouldn’t ship until Q3, and indeed, it’s about to go on sale later this month, starting at $779. In case you need a refresher, this was one of the first ultraportables we saw to really test the meaning of the word Ultrabook: it has a 14-inch (1366 x 768) display and will be offered with Ivy Bridge processors, up to 8GB of RAM, a choice of HDDs or a 128GB solid-state drive and an optional NVIDIA GeForce GT620M CPU with 1GB of video memory. All told, not a bad proposition for road warriors who can’t bring themselves to spend $1,400 on an X1 Carbon.
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