Items tagged with Ultrabook
Choosing a laptop usually involves a series of compromises, one of those being power versus portability. On one hand, Ultrabooks offer the convenience of thin and light designs that make toting them around easy, but if you want powerful graphics and gaming performance, a chunky desktop replacement is in order. Or is it? Razer is challenging that notion with its new Blade Stealth laptop and external "Core" graphics accessory. Let's start with the Blade Stealth. This latest model measures a scant 0.52 inches at the waistline and checks in at a mere 2.75 pounds. It's CNC milled out of aircraft grade aluminum for a premium yet solid feel, resulting in a sleek and travel friendly chassis that won't...
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Utlrabook designs just keep getting thinner, more powerful and more capable with each iteration of the various platforms on the market. Dell's XPS line of ultrabooks has always done relatively well in the arena, with some notable break-out features, like composite carbon fiber construction, that helped them stand out in a sea of offerings from the competition. In fact, when we took a look at Dell's 2014 version of the XPS 13 back in March of last year, it scored high marks with us for impressive battery life, great build quality and good performance, though it didn't have an SD card slot on board. That was a glaring omission for us, in what was otherwise a fantastic machine. Since then,...
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We've got a fairly well defined set of expectations with today's current crop of ultrabooks. What you trade away in performance, you usually gain in convenience with these ultra-light, ultra-portable, and easy to carry laptops. We wouldn't make an ultrabook our primary gaming system or video-encoding cruncher, for example, but we would definitely carry one around with us for everyday computing tasks like Web browsing, managing spreadsheets, some Netflix, and maybe a bit of light gaming (sorry, Witcher 3 fans). We were pleasantly surprised to see Acer's Aspire S7-393 perform so well on most of the benchmarks we tossed its way, however, as you'll see on the pages ahead. This ultrabook is not...
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Lenovo's ThinkPad X1 Carbon has been through a few revisions now and it's easy to see why the product sells so well and why Lenovo continues to invest in the model lineage. The ThinkPad X1 Carbon combines the sleek profile of a mainstream ultrabook with the durability and utility of Lenovo's classic ThinkPad line of business-class notebooks. With arguably some of the best notebook keyboard and trackpad setups in the market, the ThinkPad line is built for road warriors and demanding professionals first, but the X1 Carbon straddles the line with light-weight composite carbon fiber construction and squeaks in at .73 inches thick and just hair over 3 pounds for touch-enabled models. Lenovo...
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HP used the Mobile World Congress event currently taking place in Barcelona, Spain to launch what may be one of the company’s most exciting notebooks ever, the Spectre X360. Like the previous-generation Spectre, the new X360 is a thin and light premium, multi-mode convertible ultrabook, but HP has paid special attention to almost every detail on this new device and improved upon its predecessor in virtually every way. HP worked closely with Microsoft and its hardware partners to choose the right components and optimize the software on the Spectre X360 and the company made some practical decisions with the design and materials used in its construction that have clearly paid dividends on our opinion.The...
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Asus announced the super slim Zenbook UX305 during the IFA trade show in Berlin in September. This ultrabook will be available in two models: one with a 1920x1080 IPS display and one with a QHD+ display that boasts a resolution of 3200x1800. Asus claims the latter model is the world’s slimmest 13.3-inch QHD+ laptop. The UX305 is powered by the new Intel Core M processor which was built for ultra-thin, fanless form factors. The Core M offers some significant advances for both power consumption and performance and enables the thin design found on the UX305. This ultrabook features an all-aluminum chassis that measures 12.3mm at its thinnest point and weighs just 2.6 pounds. Like other Zenbooks,...
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Dell took the wraps off a fresh, new revamp of their popular XPS 13 ultrabook line, out at CES in Las Vegas last week. The new machine was widely considered best-of-show for core computing products and racked-up awards left and right from major publications, including accolades from us here. Dell seemingly hit all the high notes with this machine, from its new 14nm Intel Core i5-5200U Broadwell-U processor power plant, to its absolutely stunning 13.3-inch 3200X1800 IPS display that's strapped with Corning Gorilla Glass NBT and nearly completely devoid of bezel on its side and top edges. Then of course there's Dell's copious use of carbon fiber composite material...
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Lenovo's Yoga 3 Pro 2-in-1 ultrabook has made a bit of a splash as of late, from appearing in a number of holiday shopping-infused TV spots, to flash prank comparisons tricking unwitting mall shoppers into thinking they got framed for busting up a MacBook Air laptop. It's with good reason that Lenovo is making an effort to amplify interest in the product. The Yoga 3 Pro one of the first hybrid ultrabooks to hit the market powered by Intel's new low power Core M Broadwell processor. In a nutshell, you can think of Broadwell as a full-featured Intel Core series notebook processor that performs at near-tablet power consumption envelopes (4.5 Watt TDP). It makes for a very interesting notebook...
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When Intel gave us an early deep-dive look at their new 14nm Broadwell Core M series processor back in August, we were hopeful that great things would be coming to ultra-light notebooks and premium 2-in-1 tablet devices. Intel's low power 14nm Tri-Gate architecture coupled with an enhanced integrated graphics core, offered the promise of "fanless" devices as thin as tablets that could offer true notebook-class performance. Then, once we got a sneak peek at some performance numbers at IDF 2014, we came away even more impressed with Broadwell, at least in its early stages. However, without quality time spent in hands-on testing, we were left with only a view colored admittedly so often by...
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Two years ago, Samsung launched its Series 9 ultrabook and proved the company could design a thin and light notebook that is both beautiful and powerful. Since the launch, Samsung has unified its Windows PCs under the ATIV brand and continues to innovate and build on the popularity of the Series 9. The new Samsung ATIV Book 9 Plus features an aluminum uni-body design and incorporates an all new Windows 8 optimized touchscreen which wasn’t available with the previous model. Instead of simply adding a touchscreen for Windows 8, Samsung cranked up the resolution by including a QHD+ (3200 X 1800) panel with 350nit SuperBright technology that’s reinforced with Gorilla Glass. The ATIV Book...
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Two years ago, Samsung launched its Series 9 ultrabook and proved the company could design a thin and light notebook that is both beautiful and powerful. Since the launch, Samsung has unified its Windows PCs under the ATIV brand and continues to innovate and build on the popularity of the Series 9. As the next generation of the company’s ATIV Book 9, the Samsung ATIV Book 9 Plus features an aluminum uni-body design and incorporates an all new Windows 8 optimized touchscreen which wasn’t available with the previous model. Instead of simply adding a touchscreen for Windows 8, Samsung cranked up the resolution by including a QHD+ (3200 X 1800) panel with 350nit SuperBright...
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Today we’re going to take a look at the latest version of the XPS 13. This updated version has not been redesigned, but it does include a new, larger capacity battery (55WHr compared to the previous 47WHr battery). And along with Intel's 4th generation Haswell Core series processor for more efficient computing, Dell claims the new XPS 13 can deliver up to 11 hours of wireless web browsing on a single charge. Other key updates for this iteration of XPS 13 includes an optional 13.3-inch touch-enabled 1080p display and Windows 8.1. Review: 2014 Dell XPS 13 Ultrabook Delivers With Exceptional Battery Life Like previous versions of the XPS series, the 2014 version of the XPS 13 features machined...
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Dell aims to give users a premium mobile experience with the company’s XPS line of laptops. Not long ago, we had some hands-on time with Dell’s XPS 15 and really liked it. Last year, we also took a look at the 2013 version of Dell’s XPS 13. Here again, we had many positive things to say of Dell's top shelf ultralight 13-inch machine. Today we’re going to take a look at the latest version of the XPS 13. This updated version has not been redesigned, but it does include a new, larger capacity battery (55WHr compared to the previous 47WHr battery). And along with Intel's 4th generation Haswell Core series processor for more efficient computing, Dell claims the new XPS 13 can...
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Well now. Dell and Lenovo are of course direct competitors, as both offer a wide lineup of PCs, laptops, and more, but the former has taken direct aim at the latter by claiming that the Dell Latitude 7000 Series ultrabooks are more durable than the Lenovo X1 Carbon. Dell released a video showing lab tests wherein a pair of hands snaps the lid off of an X1 Carbon by alarmingly gently bending it backward. A Latitude 7000 suffers no damage when the same hands apply the same pressure. Setting aside for the a moment the questionable validity of a biased “lab test”, the distinction Dell is drawing here between these two ultrabooks’ respective durability is specific only to the bending backwards of...
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It could be said that Lenovo's ThinkPad X1 Carbon series cuts through the stuffy corporate facade, offering something for the conference room or coffee shop with a sleeker physique and sports car-like good looks. The original ThinkPad X1 Carbon was initially released back in 2012 and at the time, its carbon fiber-infused chassis offered a rare combination of build quality and light-weight durability that Lenovo could still call a "ThinkPad" but with a style and feel all its own. New for 2014, Lenovo has completely revamped the ThinkPad X1 Carbon, from the 4th generation Intel Haswell Core series processor under its hood, to its new higher density carbon fiber-filled polymer skins, a higher...
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In terms of brand recognition, Lenovo's ThinkPad probably has some of the best "brand equity" of just about any notebook line in the history of Windows PCs. A favorite among IT managers for their rugged reliability, especially in business environments, Lenovo's ThinkPad brand, previously acquired from IBM, helped propel the company towards the number one PC market share position that it enjoys today. Over the years, the ThinkPad has evolved dramatically as well, shape-shifting from squarish, utilitarian designs of the past, to new innovative, mechanically-gifted incarnations like the ThinkPad Yoga we recently reviewed. And while even these newer ThinkPads are usually "dressed...
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The Dell Latitude E7440 is not quite as sexy as some of the sleek ultrabooks out there, but it’s also not as square as most business notebooks we've been subjected to over the years. The Dell Latitude E7440 thus continues a trend we’ve been noticing lately of companies gussying up their business-class laptops, while maintaining a professional look so as not to distract in the conference room. It’s tough trying to straddle two worlds with a product line, offering a business notebook with consumer features to entice end users, but Dell has been doing as good a job of it as any company. Primarily, that’s because it’s been rolling out a ton ultrabooks, and the slim and...
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The Dell Latitude E7440 is not quite as sexy as some of the sleek ultrabooks out there, but it’s also not as square as most business notebooks we've been subjected to over the years. The Dell Latitude E7440 thus continues a trend we’ve been noticing lately of companies gussying up their business-class laptops, while maintaining a professional look so as not to distract in the conference room. It’s tough trying to straddle two worlds with a product line, offering a business notebook with consumer features to entice end users, but Dell has been doing as good a job of it as any company. Primarily, that’s because it’s been rolling out a ton ultrabooks, and the...
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It’s a ThinkPad. No, it’s a Yoga! No, it’s...a ThinkPad Yoga. Lenovo has melded two of its popular laptop design approaches together to create a sort of hybrid ultrabook, bringing together elements of its workhorse ThinkPad lineup and multi-mode capable Yoga notebooks. It has the work-friendly keyboard design of the new generation of Lenovo ThinkPads, yet it also has that innovative hinge flexibility and multimode configurations of the Yoga series. Lenovo Thinkpad Yoga: A Yoga Dressed For Business The result is a laptop that’s either a more utilitarian, thicker version of the Yoga or a much cooler version of the ThinkPad. It sort of depends on if you’re a glass-is-half-full...
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It’s a ThinkPad. No, it’s a Yoga! No, it’s...a ThinkPad Yoga. Lenovo has melded two of its popular laptop design approaches together to create a sort of hybrid ultrabook, bringing together elements of its workhorse ThinkPad lineup and multi-mode capable Yoga notebooks. It has the work-friendly keyboard design of the new generation of Lenovo ThinkPads, yet it also has that innovative hinge flexibility and multimode configurations of the Yoga series. The result is a laptop that’s either a more utilitarian, thicker version of the Yoga or a much cooler version of the ThinkPad. It sort of depends on if you’re a glass-is-half-full or glass-is-half-empty type. So which...
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If you’ve ever worked in a professional environment for an extended period of time, chances are you’ve used an IBM-come-Lenovo ThinkPad at some point. Their simple black rectangle designs with the little red dot on the keyboard are downright iconic... To that end, the latest notebook in the T-series, the Lenovo ThinkPad T440s, is one of the company’s slimmest and lightest to date (save for the X1 Carbon series). It weighs in at 3.5lbs (without the extra battery) and is under 0.8 inches at its thickest point. So is the ThinkPad T440s the same old business laptop with a slimmer profile and a couple of chassis tweaks, or is it a true evolution of the T-series? Lenovo Thinkpad T440s...
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If you’ve ever worked in a professional environment for an extended period of time, chances are you’ve used an IBM-come-Lenovo ThinkPad at some point. Their simple black rectangle designs with the little red dot on the keyboard are downright iconic, but although Lenovo has made smaller refinements on the exterior design of some models, they have been evolving the guts and feature set of these machines to true ultrabook-level hardware. To that end, the latest notebook in the T-series, the Lenovo ThinkPad T440s, is one of the company’s slimmest and lightest to date (save for the X1 Carbon series). It weighs in at 3.5lbs (without the extra battery) and is under 0.8 inches at its...
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