Lenovo IdeaPad U160 review

An 11.6-inch laptop with a Core i7 processor. Does the Lenovo IdeaPad U160 really need more of an introduction than that? Believe it or not, the ultrathin laptop you’re peering at above isn’t much larger than a 10-inch netbook, but instead of packing underpowered parts (ahem, Atom) its got one of Intel’s most powerful ultra-low voltage processors. For $1,149, the U160 is meant for highly mobile power users, but also those with a portable fan and a bag that can fit a few extra laptop batteries. We’ll explain it all in our full review after the break.

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Lenovo IdeaPad U160 review originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 03 Aug 2010 12:52:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Engadget’s Back to School guide: Netbooks and laptops

Welcome to Engadget’s Back to School guide! We know that this time of year can be pretty annoying and stressful for everyone, so we’re here to help out with the heartbreaking process of gadget buying for the school-aged crowd. Today, we’ve got laptops and netbooks in our sights — and you can head to the Back to School hub to see the rest of the product guides as they’re added throughout the month.

You didn’t think we’d let back to school season roll around without rounding up the latest gear, did you? Good, because here at Engadget we understand that not only is heading off to college nerve wracking, but picking out the best gadgets can as equally scary. We couldn’t think of kicking off our back to school guide with anything but our top netbook / laptop choices since, you know, a good performing and well-rounded machine is absolutely essential for those hours of Facebook stalking, err of homework and studying. No matter what your budget, we’ve got you covered with recommendations and loads of mobile computing options. Now, on to the laptops…

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Engadget’s Back to School guide: Netbooks and laptops originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 02 Aug 2010 14:57:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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ASUS U33Jc-A1 Bamboo series review

Pandas, East Asia, wood. Nope, “laptop” hasn’t ever been on the list of words we typically associate with “bamboo,” but ASUS sure has us willing to tack it on with the introduction of its U Bamboo Series. The company’s newest 13-inch U33Jc is covered in one of the most durable and recyclable materials on earth, and its internals are made of equally strong parts. Sure, the laptop looks incredibly traditional, but the $999 machine actually packs an incredible amount of new technology, including a fresh Core i3 processor, NVIDIA Optimus enabled graphics, USB 3.0 and Intel’s wireless display technology. It’s truly one of the most impressive laptops we’ve heard about in the last few months, but a few gripes hold it back from being the killer laptop it could be. Intrigued? Bamboozled? Hit the break for our full review.

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ASUS U33Jc-A1 Bamboo series review originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 29 Jul 2010 09:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Toshiba AC100 review may explain why we haven’t seen many (or any!) smartbooks

To be honest, when Toshiba’s 10.1-inch AC100 smartbook was revealed last month it looked like one nice clamshell, but we’re not really all that surprised that Hi-tech.mail.ru found it to be rather lacking after putting it through the paces. The good news is that the Russian site found the 1.9-pound smartbook to be incredibly thin and light, and had no ergonomic issues with its keyboard and touchpad. The bad? The 1GHz Tegra 250-powered lappie runs Android 2.1, but like most other Android netbooks or tablets it doesn’t have access to the Market, so you’ve got to sideload your own apps. They also described the browser as “archaic,” presumably because of its inability to run flash content. And on top of all that, the reviewers weren’t all that impressed with the 4.5 hours of video playback. To its credit, the AC100 was able to play 1080p video, which those typical Intel Atom N450-powered netbooks absolutely choke on. Basically, Toshiba’s smartbook — like most — seem to be a mixed bag, but if you’re still lusting for some more details you’ll want to hit the source link for the full translated review.

Toshiba AC100 review may explain why we haven’t seen many (or any!) smartbooks originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 26 Jul 2010 07:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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ASUS UL-series laptops surface at e-tailers with Core i3 ULV processor

If the pint-sized ASUS laptop above looks a wee bit familiar, it’s because you’ve seen it before — the 12-inch UL20FT is basically a refreshed UL20A, but with the surprisingly elusive Core i3 ULV guts. The UL20FT appeared at ExcaliberPC this weekend, while its Optimus-equipped big brother appears destined for Amazon; in a slight change of plans, both feature the 1.2GHz Core i3-330UM processor. While the $600 UL20FT is a solid netbook alternative, the $900 UL80JT has double the capacity (500GB) and memory (4GB) plus an optical disc drive, and if our review of its doppelganger is any indication, the 14-inch switchable graphics machine will have stellar battery life. Still, we can’t help feel a little bummed by the lack of the Core i7-640UM we were originally promised.

[Thanks, David T.]

ASUS UL-series laptops surface at e-tailers with Core i3 ULV processor originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 19 Jul 2010 07:38:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Toshiba reneges on promise of free laptops and TVs if Spain win World Cup

Buy a Core i5 laptop or a Toshiba TV, and if your country wins the World Cup Final, we’ll refund your money. Simple and to the point, don’t you think? Toshiba ran this advertising campaign in Germany, England, Portugal, Italy and Spain in the run-up to the global football tournament, but now that one of those nations has actually gone and scooped the silverware, refunds seem remarkably hard to come by. As it turns out, the small print on that ad included instructions to see Toshiba’s site for further details, which elucidated a requirement that all claimants must register their product by the 17th of June. Naturally, that’s now led to a whole heap of peeved Spaniards feeling cheated, and big time consumer association Facua arguing that such a major condition to recovering your cash shouldn’t have been hidden away online. In the absence of it being clearly marked on the promotional materials, it argues, Toshiba should honor everyone’s receipts irrespective of registration. We’re inclined to agree — maybe the Japanese company can recover any losses from the wages of its cheeky advertising staff.

Toshiba reneges on promise of free laptops and TVs if Spain win World Cup originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 14 Jul 2010 14:22:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Toshiba Portege R705 review

Stuck on the Toshiba Portege R705’s magnesium alloy palmrest is a shiny sticker celebrating the company’s 25 years of “laptop innovation.” Now, we’re the first to hate on the plethora of decals that festoon Windows laptops these days — and this one also deserves to be peeled off and tossed into the garbage — but the sticker actually happens to speaks volumes about why the $800 R705 is such a big deal. We promise to keep the history lesson short, but for years the Portege series has been Toshiba’s top-of-the-line ultraportable brand, featuring the latest CPUs while usually setting the standard for portability, and always been attached to seriously hefty price tags. Take the Portege R500, which was the worlds lightest laptop in 2007, and cost two grand.

The Portege R705, which is exclusive to Best Buy for now, changes that formula. And in celebration of the big two-five, Toshiba’s put out a 3.2-pound, Core i3-powered stunner that’s less than half the price of past Porteges. Oh, and did we mention it has an on-board optical drive, 500GB of storage, Intel’s wireless display technology and promises 8.5 hours of battery life? We won’t beat around the bush — it’s impressive. But did Toshiba maintain the same Portege standards when creating the R705, or did it cut quality along with the dollar signs? That’s been our main question, and we’ll answer it and others after the break in our full review.

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Toshiba Portege R705 review originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 12 Jul 2010 17:06:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sony thinks E Color is the new black, gives you a whole site’s worth to choose from

If your gear isn’t pushing the performance envelope, you typically have to resort to alternative means for attracting those precious customers. Sony’s newish VAIO E series is an exponent of just such a philosophy, with its lurid colorings and replaceable keyboard skins. The company’s decided to take things up a notch, however, by now offering a Color Combo site where we can combine the gnarliest hue mismatches this side of Colorware. The chromatic choices include the laptop’s case and keyboard as well as the additions of a wireless mouse and a reversible sleeve. Everything that isn’t bolted down to the computer will of course cost you extra, but will you really let a little bit of cash stand between you and that magenta dream machine?

Sony thinks E Color is the new black, gives you a whole site’s worth to choose from originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 12 Jul 2010 01:21:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Quanta sets new record for laptop shipments in June

You may not realize it, but there’s a good chance that the laptop you’re using right now was made by Quanta — the company is the largest laptop manufacturer in the world, and it looks like it’s only getting bigger. According to PC World, the company (which counts HP, Dell and Sony among its clients) set a new record for laptop shipments in June, moving upwards of 4.8 million laptops for about $3.1 billion in revenue. It does expect shipments to “slow down a little bit” in July, however, but says things should rebound again in August. What’s the cause for the uptick? Quanta says it’s at least partly due to the easing of some component shortages, including those Arrandale processors that have been in short supply — as PC World notes, Intel has said that it’s been ramping up production in order to catch up with demand before the end of the second quarter.

Quanta sets new record for laptop shipments in June originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 08 Jul 2010 12:26:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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New Acer and ASUS netbooks not coming until the middle of August, says Digitimes report


ASUS’s newest netbooks may just be hitting the US market, but Digitimes is reporting that both Acer and ASUS are currently in somewhat of a holding pattern in regards to their new mini-laptops. The report says that both companies are holding off on releasing new netbooks until current inventory is depleted, and demand has built up for new models. Though the reasoning is hazy, it does seem this has something to do with holding off until Intel releases its dual core Atom N550 CPU during the third quarter as the price delta between it and the weaker N455 / N475 processors isn’t much. That would actually make a lot of sense considering most — including us — would certainly opt for faster netbooks with the dual-core action over the same old single core Atoms we’ve grown tired of. Either way, this would mark somewhat of a new strategy for the companies, which have, in the past, often added new models so quickly that choosing between them could be difficult. All we can say is, we shall see.

New Acer and ASUS netbooks not coming until the middle of August, says Digitimes report originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 08 Jul 2010 10:42:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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