Hardware

Lenovo has these built out with a 23-inch display at 1920 x 1080, running Windows 8 and powered by an Intel Pentium G2020 processor. The model we tested had the processor clocked at 2.9GHz and with Intel HD Graphics 2500, 4GB of RAM and a 1TB hard drive. Hardware specs aside, the system itself has a decent overall look, albeit with a bezel that is a bit on the shiny side. Basically, that is just to say that you can expect to see dust, fingerprints and other smudges. Certainly not a deal breaker, but something to be aware of.

The setup itself is straight forward and easy. Aside from the 23-inch display, the C540 has a webcam sitting front and center on the top along with the power button towards the bottom on the left side of the system. In total there are six USB 2.0 ports — four on the back and two on the left hand side of the system. Also on the left side (above the power button) you will find the headphone and microphone jacks as well as a memory card reader. Rounding out the ports on the back and you have the power jack, HDMI and Ethernet. The system also has Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n connectivity.

Basically, just what you need and all in easy to access locations. The system itself is on the thin side and looking from the front, would appear to be nothing more than a regular monitor. The good part here is that as the C540 is an all-in-one — there is no tower needed. Another item worth noting is a DVD drive which can be found on the right-hand side. Otherwise, Lenovo ships the C540 with a USB keyboard and mouse and has the system sitting on a stand that swivels allowing you to adjust the viewing angle a bit.

Software

The Lenovo C540 is running a 64-bit edition of Windows 8, which means it will bring an experience that will be familiar to many. The basics are all included which means when you first get up and running you will find tiles for goodies such as your mail and calendar as well as people, photos and more. There is also a live tile for the weather as well as tiles for SkyDrive, Games, Camera, Music and Video.

Aside from the basics that you will find on just about an Windows 8 system, Lenovo has also added a few goodies of their own. We will leave the bloatware argument aside and instead simply note how these include some Lenovo specifics such as PowerDVD 10 and the slightly more important items such as the Lenovo System Recovery. Rounding out the software are some third party apps such as an Amazon app as well as a Kindle, Evernote and cloud storage app. The cloud storage app is SugarSync and it gets you started with 5GB for free.

Performance

Speaking in terms of performance, the system was able to handle our day to day needs with ease. Granted, quite a bit of that involved little more than a web browser, text editor and some basic image work. Of course, the key here is who the Lenovo C540 is aimed at — the average home user. In that respect, we have to say the C540 should be able to live up to your needs.

Taking this a step further and the play time experience was just as solid. That is to say we found no issues with some light gaming along with music and video streaming. Shifting over to the technical side, lets get into what the benchmarks look like for the Lenovo C540. These were done using Geekbench and the results are sitting below.

Wrap-Up

Bottom line here, the Lenovo C540 all-in-one seems to be well suited for the intended audience. That is to say the average home user that wants something powerful enough for day to day use. Of course, the good looks and relatively slim design only go to further that thought. The model as configured is priced from $500 and can be found with a variety of online retailers with prices through the $500 range. Also, as one would expect with desktop computers there is always the option to upgrade. In this case, Lenovo has options for faster processors, more RAM and even additional storage. Needless to say, based on what we have tested — we think this ‘as tested’ model will be just fine for the majority of users.

This machine is not the kind of beast you’re going to be gaming on. Nor is it the computer you’re going to want to give to your niece so she can impress her friends. Instead this is the computer you’ll get for your school library or one you’ll have at the workplace for word processing and office display action.

The ThinkCentre Edge 62z’s display is able to be mounted to the wall or sat on a desk – with included attached stand, of course. You’ll find this machine packed with 3rd Gen Intel Core i3 processors for the low end of high power – this is the most recent generation of Intel processors, but there are also Core i5 and Core i7 models that ramp up by a considerable amount with each step. You’ll also find six USB 2.0 ports for plugging in so many keyboards, mice, and external hard-drives that you won’t know what to do with them all.

Each of these units is ENERGY STAR 5 compliant and works with the EuP 2013 energy efficiency requirement “by consuming less than 0.5 Watts of electricity when turned off.” How about that? This machine will be available starting in May 2013 wherever fine Lenovo products are sold.

Dell isn’t the first to try the big-tablet segment. Sony showed off its 20-inch Tap 20 at IFA last year, while Panasonic brought a 20-inch, 4K prototype tablet to CES in January.

Still, the XPS 18 does have some advantages. At five pounds it’s not exactly light for a tablet, but it’s half the weight of Sony’s model and the battery is rated for almost twice the runtime. That means you can actually hold it with one hand, though you probably wouldn’t want to support it that way for more than the minimum of time. Instead, Dell supplies a stand – with a set of power-providing magnetic pogo-pins that charge the slate section – and flip-out feet that can support the XPS 18 either in an upright pose or at a more laid-back angle for comfortable typing. Dell did point out that the rubbery feet on the pre-production units we tried were likely to change, which is good since they were a little slippery on the table.

The display is a luscious Full HD panel which looks great showing photos and video. The XPS 18 has small stereo speakers, one in either side of the slate, but they’re plenty loud enough for impromptu video watching duties, making the portable all-in-one a viable option for keeping the kids entertained. Physical controls are minimal, with a touch-sensitive Windows button in the bezel and a power/standby button on the right side. You also get a pair of USB 3.0 ports and a memory card slot, along with a webcam and integrated digital microphone.

Inside, Dell will run the gamut with processors, kicking off with a Pentium dual-core and then stepping up through Core i3, i5, and finally i7 chips depending on your power requirements. Storage options range from a basic HDD through hybrid drives, and finally SSDs; RAM is from 4GB, while graphics are courtesy of Intel’s HD GPUs. Dell will include a wireless keyboard and mouse in the box, as well as a stand and a single AC adapter; you’ll be able to buy the stand separately for $50, if you want to have a few of them dotted around the house.

We’ll confess, we weren’t too hopeful for the XPS 18 when we first saw it. Still, after a little playtime, it started to make more sense. Where the Sony is ridiculously heavy – more of a luggable than a portable PC – Dell’s version is actually light enough to rest on your knees or crossed-legs without cutting off all circulation. That opens up some interesting browsing possibilities, or simply makes it more likely that you actually will pick up the XPS 18 and carry it round with you.

Nonetheless, it’s a niche product. Dell will offer it from $899 in the US and from £849 in the UK from mid-April, with prices climbing to around $1,200 for a fully-spec’d version. That obviously makes the XPS 18 more expensive than a tablet, but it also makes it considerable more expensive than a regular all-in-one PC. For some, the flexibility will be sufficient for them to overlook the price, but we’re still yet to be convinced that the big home tablet segment is one that will stick around.

What you’ve got here is an All-in-One desktop machine, first and foremost, running Intel Core architecture inside with a full Windows 8 experience up front. The full touch-friendly interface you’ve got up front is working through a 18.4-inch display that’s also detachable and usable as a tablet. When you detach the display, you’re no longer using the Intel Core i5 or Windows 8 – instead you’re working with the NVIDIA Tegra 3 quad-core processor inside the detached unit itself, and you’re working with Android 4.1 Jelly Bean.

NOTE: this isn’t the first time we’ve seen this concept. We had a hands-on experience with an early iteration of the ASUS Transformer AiO last year, too.

The kicker is that with this setup you’ll also be able to work with Windows 8 on the detached tablet in Remote Desktop mode. Of course that’s not quite the quick, perfect, and awesome experience you’ll be getting when you have the display/tablet attached to the desktop, but it’s still quite the exercise in flexibility! When you’re working with Remote Desktop mode, mind you, you’re working over a wi-fi connection in your own home – or office – or wherever you’ve got this lovely beast.

The desktop works with NVIDIA GeForce GT 730M graphics as well, so you’re also working with a double-dose of NVIDIA magic, both the mobile side of things with the Tegra, and the desktop graphics side of things with GeForce. You’ll also be working with four USB 3.0 ports and HDMI-out for additional monitor action. In fact, as the fun never stops, you can have the desktop working with HDMI-out to a monitor with Windows 8 while the tablet works with Android completely separately – fabulous weirdness!

Above: This magician (really, he did magic on stage) is holding the tablet portion of this wild amalgamation.

The removable bit is an 18.4-inch LED-backlit IPS LCD display with 1080p HD resolution that’s got 10-point multitouch and some super 178-degree wide viewing angles all around. This display also has a “convenient carrying handle” as well as a folding stand that you’ll be able to set it up with when you realize how massive it is – not quite a laptop situation, this one.

You’ll be seeing this machine blasting forth early inside the second quarter of 2013 in North America with pricing starting at $1299 USD. Sound like a deal to you? Let us know if you’ve got any questions about this beast and get pumped up for our full review – coming on quick! Also have a peek in the timeline below to see other recent announcements and hands-on experiences from ASUS, too!

IDC states that emerging markets are no longer buying PCs and at an increasing rate. It also states that sales of PCs in emerging markets are nearing the same sales figures as those in the mature markets. In the IDC smartphone forecast, you can see that emerging markets play a huge role in sales as many countries begin adapting to newer technologies. In Q4 2012, there was a year-over-year decline of 8.3% in PC shipments, which is a huge decline considering Q4 is holiday season.

PC shipments are expected to only experience growth in the single digit percentile all the way through 2017. Total shipments of PCs are expected to equal around 207.1 million in emerging markets for this year. Total shipments for PCs are expected to reach around 138.7 million for mature markets like the United States. All in all, there should be around 345.8 million PCs sold this year worldwide. The second half of this year we should be seeing a slight increase in PC sale momentum.

PCs aren’t like smartphones, where people replace them every 1-2 years (or every 4-5 months for me). The average user can stick to the same PC for years to come, and they see no point in spending nearly a thousand dollars on a new PC when their current one is already capable of doing the regular tasks, like web browsing, online-shopping, document editing, etc.

[via IDC]

If you’ve seen a recent MSI all-in-one, the AG2712 shouldn’t come as much of a surprise. It’s a symphony of plastics, stacking various colors, shades, and finishes – clear, black, grey; matte and gloss – into a blunt-edged monolith with an adjustable stand (angle, not height).

It’s not going to win any design awards, nor any for quality feel; still, it does what it promises to. Down the left edge there are power/control buttons, indicator lights, a pair of USB 3.0 ports, and a memory card reader. On a recessed panel on the back, you get two more USB 3.0, along with a pair of USB 2.0, audio in/out, an ethernet port, and VGA output. You also get a pair of HDMI ports, one outputting for a second display, and the second accepting an input so that you could use the AG2712 as a standalone display for a PS3 or Xbox 360, for instance.

Finally, on the right edge there’s a tray-loading optical drive. MSI throws WiFi in the box too, though if you want the 10-point multitouch display you’ll have to pay extra; as standard, it’s a regular Full HD screen. Either way, you get a welcome anti-glare finish which we found did a decent job of avoiding the show-floor lighting.

It’s the pure specifications that MSI is most proud of, though, and so you get a choice of Core i5 or Core i7 processors, paired with NVIDIA GeForce GTX 670X graphics. Audio is courtesy of THX TruStudio Pro processing, though we’d be tempted to plug in some external speakers since, while the AG2712 goes loud, it lacks thump at the low end.

MSI isn’t saying how much the AG2712 will cost, at this stage, and given the all-in-one is competitive with a laptop on specs, but not a regular desktop, we’d hope the company bears that in mind when it slaps on the stickers.

Hardware

The Dell XPS One 27 is a machine that comes in several different iterations – and you may have seen it in the past without an articulating stand or a touchscreen. This version is the newest and, of course, greatest of the pack with a relatively massive 19.32 x 26.14 inch chassis with depth ranging from 1.25 inches to 2.82 inches. This beast has been called competition for the newest iMac, but as you’ll see in our iMac 27-inch (2012) review, aside from the “all-in-one” name, these computers are altogether different, essentially top to bottom.

This XPS monster weighs in at 35.16 pounds as you’ll see plainly in the hands-on video above. The neck is made to make the computer’s bulk feel light, and indeed it does – we’re able to easily tilt the display back and forth with one hand, no problem. Moving the display up and down will require a couple of hands to manage, but again you’ll have no trouble – it’s picking the whole machine up and moving it from table to table that’ll give you a back-ache, but since you’re only going to have this bulk in one place the whole time you own it, that shouldn’t be a problem.

The front of this machine has about an inch of bezel surrounding the display, a bit more than that at the bottom with an additional bit of casing under the glass that brings you down another inch. The display glass sits out and above the casing rather than being flush with it, this giving you the impression that it goes from left to right to top almost magically – not an easy feat and certainly appreciated in the final aesthetic. The back of the machine is a simple gray on the back, all hard plastic casing with the largest collection of ports sitting below the neck.

This set of ports includes four USB 3.0, HDMI out, HDMI in, SPDIF 1 (7.1 ch), and ethernet. On the right side of the machine you’ve got a disk drive for 12.7mm action, DVD+/-RW and BluRay Combo for your pleasure, HDD LED light, and a power button. On the other side you’ve got an 8 in 1 media card reader with support for SDXC (SD3.0), Secure Digital (SD), Multi Media Card (MMC), Hi Speed SD, Hi Capacity SD, Memory Stick (MS), Memory Stick PRO, and xD Picture Cards alike. Also on the left side you’ve got two more USB 3.0 ports that are Sleep Charge Capable – how about that?

Up on the front you’ve also got a set of four relatively hidden buttons that are capacitive and only appear when you tap them. The first two buttons increase and decrease the brightness of your display, the third controls the input of your display (if you’re using your HDMI-in, for example), and the last button will eject a disk from your disk drive, no questions asked. Each of these buttons is marked with an LED light that, again, only appears when you tap it.

The front-facing camera on this machine offers you the ability to speak with Skype (or whatever other video chat apps you like), extremely easy to use and decent at least for video chat in general. While you wont be recording any Hollywood-quality videos with this camera, it’s certainly nice to have as a given. It’s also relatively hidden from view if you don’t plan on using it all – no unrelenting design cues here!

Software and Performance

The machine we’ve got here works with Intel HD Integrated Graphics and NVIDIA GeForce GT 640M 2GB GDDR5, so you know good and well you’ll be packing high graphics power from top to bottom. While we’ve been drawn immediately and continuously to playing HD video as this machine cannot be denied as a great motion picture player, gaming is certainly a reality here right out of the box. You may want to pick up a few gaming-centric peripherals if you do want to go that route as wired may feel slightly more perfectly accurate than Bluetooth for mouse and keyboard action, the power under this hood is good to go.

Have a peek first at the system components included in this particular build, then see below the results of our standard benchmark test in Geekbench. Feel free to compare this score with past reviews of similar systems, keeping in mind that each system is indeed unique and benchmarks, no matter how accurate, show numbers, not your overall positive or negative experience.

Windows 8 is running as smoothly and as beautifully as we’ve ever seen it here on the Dell XPS One 27, making its case for what’s easily one of the most high-quality presentations of the operating system to date. Windows 8 is coming in to its own with more official full-screen and touch-optimized apps every day (see: Office 365 for example) and you’re sure to find yourself lost in exploration with this machine if not ready for full-on entertainment action from day one. Video looks great out of the box, graphics and settings can be optimized instantly with NVIDIA’s newest iteration of the GeForce Experience (still in Beta at the moment, but working great), and touchscreen action has never felt more natural.

Wrap-up

This machine will be costing you right around $1300 USD, and for that price you’re getting one beast of a computer. The Dell XPS One 27 with multi-touch display is easily one of the most solidly put together total packages running Windows 8 today, and makes us feel right at home with the touchscreen user interface immediately on startup. Dell has created a computer that makes us confident that touchscreen interfaces are indeed the future of home computing, especially in the entertainment realm – grab it now!

Setup

Setting up the new TouchSmart machine was fairly straightforward, with only a few roadblocks along the way. First of all, the instructions are completely worthless as far as setup goes, so if you’re usually one to rely on such paperwork, there’s no need to do so this time around. The booklet mostly just discusses maintaining the computer and troubleshooting various problems that could arise. Other than, there are only a few photos meant to help you set up the new computer, most of which were confusing and offered no text to describe the images whatsoever.

In any case, I was able to get up and running in about 10 minutes. The wireless keyboard and mouse connected right away during the initial bootup — no need to pair either devices, and I was looking at the Windows 8 home page in no time. Obviously, everyone expects a smooth and easy setup experience with new products, and HP definitely made it easy for me.

Hardware and Design

This specific review unit comes packing with incredible specs. There’s an Intel Core i7 3770S quad-core processor clocked at 3.1GHz, accompanied by 12GB of DDR3 RAM and a 3TB Seagate hard drive. Graphics-wise, we’re looking at an NVIDIA GeForce GT 630M with 2GB of memory, which provides fast, middle-class performance in case you ever get caught playing any kind graphics-intensive title on your new touchscreen PC. Other than that, there’s Beats Audio integration, which provides three internal speakers along the bottom, as well as boosts performance for any speakers plugged into the audio jacks. You also have a slot-load Blu-ray drive on the right side. Of course, you also can’t forget about the 23-inch 10-point touchscreen display with a 1920×1080 full HD resolution.

As far as ports go, you have two USB 3.0 ports on the left side, along with a SD card slot and microphone and headphone jacks. On the back, there are four USB 2.0 ports, ethernet, and a nifty subwoofer-out port that allows for deeper sound out of the relatively puny speakers that are equipped with the ENVY 23 TouchSmart. Then, on the right side, there’s a lone HDMI port for connecting to an Xbox 360, PlaySation 3, or any other HDMI-capable device that can use the computer as a monitor or display.

As far as the placement of all the ports, I have to say that it’s all pretty scattered. It’s nice to have two USB ports, the SD card slot, and the audio jacks on the side for quick and easy access, but having the HDMI port all by itself on the right side doesn’t quite make sense — it seems it would make better sense if it was with all of the other connectivity options on the back. We’re also not sure why HP didn’t include more USB 3.0 ports on the back. Those with a USB 3.0 external hard drive may be disappointed by this, since you’ll be stuck with plugging it in on the side and having a USB cable stick out the whole time.

The ENVY 23 TouchSmart sits on a big base, which takes up most of the width of the computer and leaves a giant footprint on any desk. Unlike the iMac, and even one of Vizio’s latest all-in-one offerings, HP’s newest machine doesn’t have a small base in the middle. However, that’s mostly because the entire panel is supported by two beams on the sides, which then connect to the base, providing a frame-like structure to the computer. I have to say, though, that the base and the two supporting beams are fairly sturdy. While you can easily adjust the angle of the display without much effort, playing around with the touchscreen doesn’t affect the computer’s stance — it stays still extremely well, even through marathon sessions of tapping and scrolling.

The front of the display is completely covered in a single pane of glass, so when the screen is off, it looks like it’s a borderless display. However, the display has a rather thick bezel, which makes the computer look a little bulky and ancient. HP could’ve easily bumped up the screen size without making the machine any bigger, but most likely due to circumstances that are unbeknownst to me, I’m sure there was a reason why HP kept it at 23 inches with a thicker bezel. The display is pretty glossy, though, so if you plan on using the touchscreen portion (as opposed to the mouse and keyboard), expect a lot of fingerprints and smudges.

Sadly, the computer comes with a power brick attached to the power cord. It’s not too big of a deal, since most electrics come with one anyway, but all-in-one machines are supposed to be meant for saving space, so the power brick may be an unexpected surprise if you’re interested in going with this model. The end of the cord (the end that plugs into the computer) sits at a right angle, so in order to plug it in, you have to bend the cable so that it’s perpendicular to the wall, and then have it bend downwards to feed it behind your desk to be plugged into the outlet. It just make more sense if the connector was straight, or at the very least a 45-degree angle, which is actually gaining popularity with various cable manufacturers anyway.

Overall, the design of the ENVY 23 TouchSmart isn’t too bad. There are certainly things that I would change, including a slightly smaller base and a thinner bezel, but I love the sturdiness of the stand with the ability to adjust the angle of the display easily when need be. It would’ve nice to see some USB 3.0 ports on the back, instead of just on the side, but a total of six USB ports isn’t anything to complain about. The speaker quality was fairly good, and while it did sound a little tinny, it’s definitely an upgrade from what you would get with regular laptop speakers. There’s a lot more bass in these speakers, and if you pair them up with an external subwoofer, it’ll make for a pretty decent system for personal listening.

Software

As far as software goes, there’s actually not a lot of bloatware. There’s obviously a few HP-specific apps — some you may find useful, and others just an annoyance. The company pre-installed their “Connected” Photos and Music apps, both of which are HP’s own version of a photo manager and music player, respectively. Connected Photos is powered by Snapfish, and it not only lets you manage and organize your photo collection, but it also integrates with Facebook and you can easily push your smartphone photos to the app as well. The music player is HP’s own version of iTunes of sorts. You can manage and play your music, as well as browse popular music and even buy tracks right from the app. We’re not sure that most users would utilize these two apps, since there are far superior options out there, but the choice is there nonetheless.

HP also included their own backup app, similar to Time Machine on Mac, and they also have what’s called HP MyRoom, which is a video-conferencing app that resembles most other apps like it, such as Skype (which is also pre-installed interestingly enough). HP even has its own app store called HP+, where you can download games, entertainment apps, software, etc. Sadly, though, it’s lacking in content and doesn’t have a lot of options — you’re better off sticking with the Windows Store.

Other than that, HP included some non-HP apps into the bloatware mix, including Kindle, eBay, Netflix, Norton Antivirus, and Skype. Surprisingly enough, the computer arrives clean of most bloatware, and what’s already there shouldn’t bother the user at all, except for maybe Norton, which pesters you every now and then to activate or update the software. Besides that, though, the HP apps don’t get in the way too much, and if they do, you can simply move around the app tiles to hide the apps and make the homescreen how you want.

Performance

The computer comes with top-tier specs all around, so most users won’t have a problem with performance — the 3TB hard drive will hold plenty family photos and videos, as well as all the music you can think of. The processor is fast enough that apps open quickly, and nothing lags behind, which is great for those older folks that can’t stand anything slower than the Millenium Falcon at light speed. Benchmark scores from Geekbench were actually really decent, and it scored better than most of the newer all-in-ones that we’ve reviewed in the recent past, including Acer’s Aspire 7600U, which has a higher price tag, and it even beat out Apple’s newest iMac, although just barely. The ENVY 23 TouchSmart even kept right up with HP’s Z1 Workstation, which carries a hefty price tag of $2,700.

As far as everyday use, the TouchSmart boots up in about 25 seconds from the time the power button is pressed to the time when the desktop is ready to use. That’s certainly respectable, but considering that HP stuffed a 3TB hard drive inside, we can’t help but feel that the company could have also slipped in a solid state drive as well, just to boost the performance even more. As for the display, it’s a 10-point touchscreen, meaning it will register all ten fingers if need be. In brief, it’s basically feels like a 23-inch upright tablet, and it’s extremely responsive and smooth. It takes little effort to scroll through home screens and websites, and multi-point touch capability is pretty fantastic — pinch-to-zoom works well, and playing around in the painting app with multiple fingers was both fun and impressive.

Wrap-Up

In the end, the HP ENVY 23 TouchSmart can do pretty much anything you throw at it, and it can certainly handle the demanding needs of an entire family, from the little kids all the way up to the impatient grandparents. It comes with most of the features that you would want on a high-end all-in-one desktop — it’s got the large 1080p touchscreen display, a huge hard drive, gobs of RAM, and a super-fast processor. While there are definitely things that I could nitpick about, such as the large base, no USB 3.0 on the back, and a less-than-decent keyboard and mouse combo, I can’t really see how this computer wouldn’t cater to the everyday man or woman. And while the $1,700 may not look too great, the company’s 20-inch models start at around $1,000 if you’re looking for a smaller build. It’s certainly not a desktop that’s aimed towards a specific group of users, so if you’re looking for an all-around Windows 8 machine for the entire family, the ENVY all-in-one series meets the mark.

We’ll jump right in with Vizio’s Thin + Light Touch line of notebooks. As you might have already guessed, the major focus with these new laptops are Windows 8 and a thin and lightweight form factor. In those two areas, the notebooks do not disappoint, with Vizio offering one with a 14″ touchscreen and the other with a 15.6″ display. Ready for some great news? 1366×768 resolution is nowhere to be found with these two notebooks, with the 14″ model offering up 1600×900 and the 15.6″ variant going all the way with 1080p resolution.

Interestingly enough, Vizio will be offering a number of different configurations that you’ll be able to choose from depending on your taste. Both the 14″ and the 15.6″ models will come packing either a 2.4GHz Intel Core i7 processor and integrated Intel HD 4000 graphics, or an AMD A10 4657M clocked at 2.3GHz with discrete Radeon HD graphics. Either configuration should keep things running smooth, especially considering that both come with 8GB of RAM and solid-state drives.

As you’ve probably already figured out, the full HD display on the 15.6″ inch model looks great, though 1600×900 doesn’t look bad either – the only thing its missing is the full HD capabilities of its bigger brother. The keyboards on both are excellent, though the buttons do seem slightly bigger than most notebook keyboards, so that might take some getting used to. Both are very slim when they’re closed and relatively lightweight, so while we can’t exactly classify either as an ultrabook, they’re toward the bottom of the size scale for notebooks.

Next up is Vizio’s new all-in-one touch line. These all-in-one touch PCs will come in 24″ and 27″ varieties, with the 24″ coming with the option of a 2.4GHz quad-core Intel Core i7 and Intel HD 4000 integrated graphics or a quad-core AMD A10 4600M 2.3GHz and Radeon HD 8750A discrete graphics. For the 27″ it looks like the only option is that 2.4GHz Core i7 quad-core and Intel 4000 integrated graphics. Both will come with a 1TB hard drive and a 32GB SSD to offer a performance boost, so don’t plan on storing too much stuff on that SSD.

While both screens look excellent and, like the new Windows 8 notebooks on the way, offer 10-point multitouch, there’s one feature in particular that’s very interesting about these all-in-ones: the power supply also doubles as a subwoofer. With many all-in-one PCs, we often run into issues with sounds and tinniness, but that subwoofer will give Vizio’s all-in-one touch PCs a certain boost that other packages lack. There are a number of ports on the base, meaning that you won’t have any ugly cables sticking out of the sides of your computer. To be specific, both models feature two HDMI ports, and Vizio told us that users won’t need to boot to Windows before switching to their HDMI inputs.

Those HDMI ports will come in handy if you want to watch a movie on the excellent screens, and Vizio is trying to make this a true-to-form multimedia center with the addition of a remote. The keyboard is pretty similar to the ones we saw on the company’s new notebooks, at least from an aesthetic standpoint. Obviously, all-in-one PCs aren’t for everyone, but if you’ve been in the market, we’re seeing some great things coming from Vizio with these computers.

So, even though the Windows 8 tablet was the Vizio product that originally caught our eye, we ended up impressed with the notebooks and all-in-one PCs the company will soon be bringing to the table. Vizio should give itself a pat on the back, because as far as we’re concerned, the company managed to stand out in a sea of other manufacturers that are ready and willing to show off new products at CES 2013. Be sure to check out CES portal for even more from the show!

Design

If we were judging this simply based on looks, the Apsire 7600U would receive a glowing review. This is one sexy computer, with its 27-inch screen and a glass panel that covers the entire thing. Make no mistake, this is a big and heavy computer, but its been very well designed. Beneath the screen is a piece of glass that spans the entire width of the computer – this looks nice, but it does attract dirt and fingerprints easily. Thankfully, that doesn’t seem to be an issue with the screen itself, and even if your screen gets dirty after a while, Acer was kind enough to include a microfiber cloth to wipe it down. Ah, the little things.

On the right side of the device is where the Blu-Ray drive and eject button are located, with nothing else to accompany them. On the left side there’s a bit more going on, with two USB 3.0 ports, a multi-card slot, and jacks for a microphone and headset. Around the back of the device there are even more ports, including two HDMI ins, one HDMI out, a set of four of USB ports (with one of them housing the Bluetooth module), Ethernet, and SPDIF. Among other things, the HDMI in ports mean you can connect an Xbox 360 or PS3 (or Wii U, if you’re lucky enough to have one already), and with a screen as nice as this, it might not be a bad idea.

When I initially pulled the computer out of the box, I spent a good five minutes trying to find the power jack so I could, you know, actually turn this thing on. After looking all over the back and sides, I finally found it – it was on the end of the silver kickstand that’s attached to this all-in-one. That annoyed me at first, but after a while, I came to love the idea. By having the power jack there, it keeps the power cord out of the way, which means that there will be one less cord to get tangled up in the mess you’re bound to have back there before long.

The kickstand itself is nice and sturdy, and though I’m not usually a fan of them, I like this one. The silver meshes well with the overall design, and this kickstand in particular manages to look sleek while still being strong enough to hold this beast of a computer up.

All in all, this is one really nice looking computer. From a design standpoint, it doesn’t get much better than this, and the fact that it’s so slim helps with that a lot. As you get closer to the top, the thickness increases to make room for the Blu-Ray drive and the speakers, but even at it’s thickest, this computer is still pretty thin. As I said above, if we were judging this solely on looks, the Aspire 7600U would receive an excellent review. However, design is only one aspect of the equation, and it takes a back seat to things like hardware and overall ease-of-use.

Hardware

The hardware found in the Aspire 7600U is somewhat underwhelming, which is a shame considering how good this computer looks. Before we jump inside, let’s talk about the screen a little more. As you already know, the 7600U offers a 27-inch screen, this one displaying at 1920×1080 resolution. I think the screen looks great – brightness is spot on for my tastes, and the colors are great. With the Blu-Ray drive this computer comes standard with, it makes a great machine for watching movies, and I have a feeling you’ll be pleased with the results if you decide to connect a game console. The screen features 10-point multitouch, which allows you to take full advantage of Windows 8.

The 7600U comes equipped with an Intel Core i5 3210M clocked at 2.5GHz, which is similar to the processors we see in some ultrabooks. That should give you an idea of where this is headed – you won’t have a lot of power to work with, at least as far as the processor is concerned.

Thankfully, the Core i5 isn’t terrible, and the 7600U seems to make up for it in other areas. For instance, there are 8GB of RAM in this bad boy, which should be enough to keep things speedy most of the time. The processor may struggle occasionally, but it’s nice to have 8GB of RAM on board.

Surprisingly, the 7600U also uses discrete NVIDIA GeForce GT 640M graphics, which makes it a capable gaming rig. You’re not going to be able to crank everything up to max settings on more recent games, but the 7600U should be able run a number of games without any issues. The problem, of course, is the processor – while the GPU isn’t half bad, that doesn’t really matter if the processor isn’t all that it could be. It would have been nice to see a Core i7 in the configuration I received to review, but that would have driven costs up so high that I think Acer would have had a difficult time moving units.

The speakers on the 7600U are decent, but they aren’t great. Sounds aren’t always as full as they should, and the bass in particular could definitely use a boost. They can certainly get loud though, but you may not want to go too high if you’re watching an action movie or playing a game with a lot of explosions (which seems to be most games these days). Truth be told, you’re better off using a good pair of headphones – those will give you the good sound quality you need to go along with the excellent screen.

The 7600U also ships with a matching wireless mouse and keyboard. Both look sleek, and while I was quite pleased with the keyboard, the mouse leaves something to be desired. The mouse feels fine in the hand, though clicking the mouse buttons isn’t all that satisfying. It’s also worth pointing out that the mouse only includes left and right buttons and a scroll wheel, so you’re essentially getting the bare minimum as far as mice go.

Let’s jump back to the keyboard, which I think is a pretty nice piece of equipment. The keyboard for the 7600U is very, very slim, which makes it feel a little on the delicate side, but typing on it is a pleasant experience. On this you’ll find chiclet-style keys we see on notebooks and ultrabooks, and these keys give off a satisfying sound when you hit them. The keyboard manages to pack in a full number pad while remaining quite small, which is nice. There was one small problem I ran into, though: the wireless on this keyboard seems to be a bit touchy at times. There were a few times I was trying to type something with nothing showing up on screen, but a quick adjustment was all that was needed to fix this issue.

Software

One of the main draws of the 7600U is Windows 8. Microsoft’s new operating system is aimed directly toward touchscreens, and with 27-inches of real estate to play with, it works well on the 7600U. If you’re new to Windows 8 you’ll probably still feel completely lost for a little while starting out, but the touchscreen definitely lets you get the hang of things quickly.

You’ll have a number of pre-installed apps right from the start, but thankfully, some of them are actually useful. Acer has taken the liberty of installing apps like Evernote, Netflix, Spotify, Hulu Plus, eBay, and Kindle, so if you’re a user of some or all of those services, it’s nice to have the app ready to go right when you pull it out of the box. A trial of Cut the Rope is installed too, which makes for a perfect way of testing out the screen.

Of course, Microsoft’s programs are there in force too, with Skype, a trial of Microsoft Office 2010, and Internet Explorer present and accounted for. There are also the standard Windows 8 apps including People, Weather, Finance, News, and SkyDrive, so you’ve got a healthy serving of apps already installed before you even plug it in. You’ll have 909GB of the 7600U’s 1TB hard drive available to use, and the installed apps bring that total down to 871GB of free space – that amount should tide you over for a while, but some may want to do some cleaning once they get the computer out of the box.

Above the screen, the 7600U has a camera for video chat and gesture controls. Gesture controls don’t seem to work as well as they should, which is a shame because I could see them coming in handy. The problem is that the camera doesn’t always recognize what it is you’re trying to do – I even had issues working my way through Acer’s tutorial. Instead of popping your hand up for a quick command, often times you end up waving your arms around as if you were playing a Kinect game. It may be a better idea to skip gesture controls entirely and just use the touchscreen or the mouse and keyboard instead.

Benchmarks

Running the 7600U through Geekbench, it’s obvious that we don’t have the most powerful computer on our hands. With a score of 8549, the 7600U actually falls in line with the ratings we see for a number of ultrabooks out there. That being said, it isn’t as if the score is a terrible one, and the 7600U does have some decent hardware running under the hood. The problem with that is the computer’s hardware doesn’t really justify the high cost.

Wrap-Up

So with the Aspire 7600U, we have a computer that’s shooting for high-end but doesn’t quite make it. The screen is definitely the star of this show at 27-inches with 1080p HD and ten-point multitouch to boot. The whole unit looks great too; no cheap looking stand, a slim design despite the fact that Acer had to cram so much hardware behind that screen, and an overall look that does scream “high-end.”

The problem, though, is with the hardware. With that $1899 price tag, it’s clear that you’re paying a lot of money for the screen, as the hardware on its own isn’t all that expensive. The Geforce GT 640M is definitely appreciated, but I feel that the Core i5 might hold it back in some instances. We’d really be rocking if the i5 had been swapped out for an i7, but that would have easily pushed the cost up above $2000, a price point Acer is clearly trying to stay under.

Don’t get me wrong, I liked the time I spent with the 7600U. I just think there will be quite a few folks who will pass at the $1899 price point. Acer did a lot of cool things with this computer, but in the end, the Aspire 7600U falls short of greatness almost every time.

Design

Visual sleight-of-hand and some impressive manufacturing innovation have helped Apple come up with a new design for the 2012 iMac, which from certain angles leaves it looking as slender as a MacBook lid. In fact, the heavily tapered aluminum rear narrows to just 5mm at the edge, though it bows out toward the middle to accommodate everything that needs to fit inside an all-in-one computer.

That accommodation and construction uses everything Apple has learned so far from unibody notebooks, scaled up to suit a 21.5-inch or bigger desktop. So, you get carefully stacked logic boards and custom speaker enclosures, along with a single central fan that pulls cool air from a row of holes under the front edge, and pushes it back out of vents behind the tilting stand. You also get minimal upgrade potential: the 21.5-inch iMac is an entirely closed box, with nothing intended to be user-accessible, while the 27-inch iMac has a small panel by the power socket that allows access to the memory but nothing else.

Apple’s production magic is friction-stir welding, more commonly used in the aerospace industry, and repurposed for the new iMac to bond the front and rear panels together. Traditional welding the seams wasn’t possible, thanks to the slimline build, and so a technique where the panels are pressed tightly together, heated, and fused was implemented. There’s a sizable reduction in weight, too, versus the old design – the 21.5-inch iMac is down 8 pounds to 12.5 pounds, while the 27-inch version is down 9.5 pounds to 21 pounds – which is useful if you’re moving the computer around.

Face-on, meanwhile, and you’d be forgiven for not realizing that you were looking at a new iMac. The black screen bezel and slim aluminum chin look just as they did before, and it’s only when you see things from the side that the new design stands out. The obvious loss from the blunt-edged last-gen model is the optical drive, with the 2012 iMac following the trend of the MacBook Air and MacBook Pro with Retina and focusing on digital distribution for apps and multimedia.

On the back, as before, there are the ports clustered to the left side and the power button on the right. No matter which size iMac you choose, you get the same connectivity: a 3.5mm headphone jack, an SDXC memory card reader, four USB 3.0 ports, two Thunderbolt ports, and a gigabit ethernet port; inside, there’s WiFi a/b/g/n and Bluetooth 4.0. Up front, there’s a FaceTime HD camera above the display, together with a pair of digital microphones that can use beam-forming technology to isolate your voice from ambient noise.

The new iMac’s speakers deserve a little attention on their own, given that they’re nothing like as anaemic as we feared they could be given the 40-percent smaller chassis. In fact, Apple has been able to accommodate two 20W amplifiers, one driving each of the speakers, which themselves fire down from holes alongside the front-edge air intakes. Despite the unusual positioning, sounds feel like they’re coming directly from the display and quality is strong. These speakers are easily capable of being cranked up to uncomfortably loud levels, without encountering any distortion until you’re at the very top end of the scale.

Display

Finessing the iMac’s display is no small part of the redesign process for 2012, though there’s more to it than pure pixels. The LCD panels themselves are the same as in the previous-generation – either a 21.5-inch LED IPS screen running at 1920 x 1080, or a 27-inch LED IPS running at 2560 x 1440 – but the way they’ve been assembled has changed.

Called full lamination, it’s a technique where the cover glass is fused to the LCD panel rather than sandwiching them together with a gap in-between. Apple – and others – have already used it to good effect on phones and tablets, but the 2012 iMac is the first time it’s been implemented on such a large display. The upshot is a thinner panel overall, by around 5mm, and an improvement in picture quality.

Despite the LCDs themselves being the same as before, the combination of full lamination and a new anti-reflection coating process makes a real difference when you’re sat in front of the iMac. Colors are brighter and punchier, the screen is impressively bright with consistent backlighting, and viewing angles are broad, with no inversions or color mangling even when sat almost side-on to the display. Graphics appear as if they’re swimming right at the surface of the glass, rather than being slightly inset from the black bezel.

Apple quotes a 75-percent reduction in reflection, helped by the so-called plasma deposition system which coats the glass layers with more precise coatings of the same materials used to cut glare on camera lenses and fighter pilots’ helmets. It’s a tough thing to measure exactly in a real-world setting, though there’s an obvious cut in reflections (see image above where a flash from camera is minimized) when you set old and new next to each other. We spent far less time tweaking the degree of tilt of the new iMac versus the old to find a position where artificial lighting and the sun didn’t prove frustrating, and even once we’d set up both to our liking, text and graphics simply look better on the 2012 model.

Fusion Drive

Until now, the iMac has been offered with a choice of up to two different storage options: traditional hard-drives, for those who want the most capacity, and SSDs, for those who want the most speed. The 2012 iMac keeps both those options, with a 1TB HDD the default (5,400rpm on the 21.5-inch; 7,200 rpm on the 27-inch) upgradable to 3TB HDD on the 27-inch, along with a 768GB flash storage option on the 27-inch.

For 2012, however, Apple adds a third option: Fusion Drive. A hybrid of HDD and flash storage, Fusion Drive pairs 128GB of speedy solid-state memory with either 1TB or 3TB of HDD capacity, promising the best of both worlds. On the one hand, the flash storage is far faster than the typical spinning-platter drive, but Fusion Drive is also a fifth of the price of the SSD option.

We’ve seen hybrid HDD/SSD drives before, of course, but Apple takes a slightly different approach. Rather than the relatively small amount of flash memory other companies have used for caching a few frequently-accessed files on their models, Apple’s Fusion Drive has a full 128GB of flash which allows a far greater number of files to be kept in the faster part.

Chunks of the OS, the apps you use most frequently, and the media you commonly play are all prioritized automatically, while over time OS X learns which content is infrequently required and shunts that to the more capacious, but slower, HDD. A true SSD will inevitably be faster across the board, but for everyday use Fusion Drive is hard to argue with, as the benchmarks in the next section demonstrate.

Specifications

All new iMac models use Intel’s Core i5 quadcore Ivy Bridge chips by default, with the quadcore Core i7 processors available as options on the more expensive versions of each core configuration. The cheapest 21.5-inch iMac uses the 2.7GHz Core i5, supporting up to 3.2GHz Turbo Boost, while its more expensive configuration gets the 2.9GHz Core i5, with up to 3.6GHz Turbo Boost. The latter can be built-to-order with a 3.1GHz Core i7, with up to 3.9GHz Turbo Boost.

As for the 27-inch iMac, that starts out with the 2.9GHz Core i5, with the more expensive pre-build getting the 3.2GHz Core i5. The build-to-order on the latter is Intel’s 3.4GHz Core i7, with 3.9GHz Turbo Boost. All of the chips come with 6MB of L3 cache.

Memory is 8GB as standard across the range, comprising two 4GB 1600MHz DDR3 chips. The 21.5-inch iMac can be specified with up to 16GB, while the 27-inch iMac can go up to 32GB. However, only the 27-inch iMac has user-accessible memory slots: the four bays are accessed via a panel behind the stand, whereas the smaller iMac isn’t intended to be user-upgraded. In short, if you think you’ll ever want more than 8GB of memory on the 21.5-inch iMac, you should bite the bullet and upgrade at the point of purchase.

Then there’s the graphics. Space constraints mean that Apple opts for mobile GPUs rather than desktop chips, though they’re the same Kepler-based NVIDIA GeForce examples that we’ve seen in the 15-inch MacBook Pro with Retina. On the 21.5-inch iMac, the entry-level model gets the GT 640M with 512MB of dedicated GDDR5 memory, with the more expensive model stepping up to the same GT 650M as in the Retina MBP, only with 512MB of memory (rather than 1GB).

On the 27-inch iMac, the entry-level GPU is the GeForce GTX 660M with 512MB, while the most expensive pre-configuration gets the GTX 675MX with 1GB of GDDR5. The latter is also the only 2012 iMac that supports a graphics upgrade, with the GeForce GTX 680MX with 2GB of GDDR5 memory a $150 addition.

Performance

Apple provided us with a 3.4GHz Core i7 iMac with 8GB of memory, the top-spec GTX 680M GPU, and the 1TB Fusion Drive; all together, it’s a configuration priced at $2,599. We kicked off with Geekbench, a synthetic test of processor and memory performance, and the iMac scored a whopping 14,064, around 50-percent more than the 2011 model could manage. It’s worth noting that Apple’s portables have narrowed the gap between mobile and desktop, however; the 15-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display scored 12,970 in Geekbench.

In the SunSpider test of browser performance, the new iMac completed in 133.3ms (faster is better); the 15-inch Retina MacBook Pro scored 179.5ms in the same test. Cinebench, a test of processor and graphics performance, saw the new iMac score 42.72fps in the OpenGL category, and 7.32 points in the CPU category. Again, in contrast, the 15-inch Retina MacBook Pro scored 34.40fps and 5.74 points in those categories respectively, with its 2.6GHz quadcore Core i7 and 8GB of memory.

FusionDrive certainly doesn’t hurt. In the Blackmagic test of disk performance, the iMac managed read speeds of 409.6 MB/s and write speeds of 318.7 MB/s using the flash/HDD hybrid. Given the flash storage is prioritized until capacity becomes an issue, it comes as little surprise to see those rates up around where recent all-flash models from Apple have performed. The 13-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display, for instance, came in at 431.7 MB/s read and 382.7 MB/s write with its 500GB solid-state drive.

The difference is particularly clear when compared to a 2012 iMac without FusionDrive. We also tested a 21.5-inch entry-level iMac, with Intel’s Core i5 quadcore 2.7GHz, 8GB of RAM, and the standard 1TB 5,400rpm hard-drive. In Geekbench, the iMac scored 9164, but the big change is in drive speeds: without the hybrid technology we saw 90.7 MB/s read rates and 107.2 MB/s write rates.

All those numbers add up to a machine – when equipped with FusionDrive, at least – that simply flies in day-to-day use. Apps generally load in under 2-3 seconds, and while the iMac might use mobile versions of graphics chips, it’s still eminently capable of photo and video editing, and conversion; iMovie and Aperture run with no lag. Gaming is also more than possible, though we wish that – as on some all-on-one computers we’ve seen – there was a video input to use the great display with an external console. However, it’s possible to drive a second external display; up to a 2560 x 1600 panel, in fact, as well as the iMac’s own screen.

Value

The new iMac range kicks off at $1,299 for the base-spec 21.5-inch model, while the 27-inch iMac starts at $1,799. It’s worth noting that of the two 21.5-inch configurations, only the higher-spec can be outfitted with a FusionDrive, which means $1,499 plus $250 for the drive upgrade; there’s also a good argument to be made for maxing out the memory on the smaller iMac, since it can’t be upgraded later, which is another $200.

All versions come with an Apple Wireless Keyboard (a wired keyboard with numeric keypad is a no-cost option) and a choice of Apple’s Magic Mouse, the Magic Trackpad, or the wired Apple Mouse; for $69 you can have both the Magic Mouse and the Magic Trackpad. Those who simply must have an optical drive can pay $79 for the USB SuperDrive, though any external DVD burner should work.

The all-in-one computing market is small, but it’s not non-existent, and the new iMac does have a few rivals. Dell’s XPS One 27 runs at the same 2560 x 1440 resolution as the 27-inch iMac, and starts at $1,400 for the non-touch variant. That, however, uses Intel HD integrated graphics; if you want a discrete GPU, you’re looking at upwards of $2,100 and NVIDIA’s GeForce GT 640M, a weaker graphics chip than Apple’s entry-level 27-inch model. It does support multitouch, should that be a buying decision.

Vizio offers 24- and 27-inch All-in-One PCs, though they both run at 1920 x 1080 resolution, and the GPU – only discrete on the 27-inch – maxes out at the GeForce GT 640M LE. The range of processors is more humble too, with only the top-end 27-inch model getting a quadcore Core i5, though the maximum price of $1,539 makes them competitive for budget buyers.

HP’s Spectre ONE is a 23-inch, $1,300 option, meanwhile, kicking off with the same 2.9GHz quadcore Core i5 processor, but less RAM and a lesser GPU. Several of these all-in-ones offer a secondary flash caching drive, though typically around 32GB in capacity, and as such are less practical than FusionDrive.

Of course, the big difference between the iMac and these other all-in-ones is the OS: if you want Apple’s OS X, then the only way to get it is to buy a Mac. All of the alternatives come with Windows 8, and while that’s a capable platform, it’s not Mountain Lion, and thus a deal-breaker for many users.

Wrap-Up

The new iMac is a beautiful piece of hardware, that’s clear to see. Apple’s clever construction techniques have enabled a stylish, distinctive all-in-one, but more importantly they’ve legitimately improved the user-experience, too. The full lamination process takes the same display pixels as from the previous generation iMac and makes them work harder and look better; you’ll appreciate the many pounds dropped from the overall weight of each system from the moment you lift it out of the box.

With style comes a handful of compromises. As with Apple’s recent notebooks, there’s less room for user-upgrades: adding memory is basically the only thing that you can do, and even then that’s only an option on the 27-inch model. With both, then, it’s a case of digging deep when first ordering, particularly since having experienced the speeds on offer from FusionDrive, we’d seriously recommend that every buyer tick that option box.

DIY enthusiasts may miss the upgrade possibilities, but everyone else will be enjoying an incredibly capable computer. With strong performance the 2012 iMac proves that beauty needn’t be merely skin-deep, and that all-in-one needn’t mean conceding speed. That, and Apple’s creative use of components and design, makes it our pick of the all-in-ones.

The first device ASUS announced today is the ET2300, which is a new all-in-one PC that has an 1080p IPS display capable of lying flat. It’s powered by either an Intel Core i3, i5, or i7 depending on your preference, and if you don’t want to roll with the integrated Intel graphics that come standard, you can opt for a NIVIDA GT 630M instead. It also comes with optional Thunderbolt connectivity, and when you go to purchase one, you can nab up to 8GB of RAM and up to 2TB of internal storage. Not too bad, but sadly, pricing and release information for the ET2300 isn’t available quite yet.

If you’re more of a laptop person, then you’ll be pleased to know that ASUS also announced a trio of new touch screen VivoBooks today. The VivoBook Q200 comes with an 11.6-inch display and can be yours for $499, which is significantly lower than a number of ultrabooks currently on the market. The VivoBook S400 brings the display size up to 14-inches, but also comes with a boost in price – this one comes in at $599. Finally, we have the 15-inch VivoBook S500 for $649, though it’s worth pointing out that you’ll be able to customize the innards of each VivoBook when it comes time to check out, meaning that you could end up paying more if you don’t want the Core i3 that comes standard in each.

Finally, we come to the pricing and release information for the TAICHI, the wild convertible that features a double-sided screen. The 11-inch TAICHI model, which comes equipped with a Core i5 and Intel integrated graphics, will begin shipping next month for $1,299, $1,499 (bumping the 128GB SSD up to 256GB), and $1,599, with that hefty price tag fetching a Core i7 instead of an i5. Those prices are a little high, but then again, what did you expect to pay for a laptop with two screens?

More information will undoubtedly be made available after the launch of Windows 8, and we’ll be waiting with bated breath so you don’t have to! Keep it tuned here to SlashGear for more details on these varied ASUS machines.

The molecules of the aluminum merge together, Apple says, with Friction Stir welding, a new technique that makes this machine seamless. A newly engineered body contains a brand new set of technologies that take what the iMac 7th generation accomplished and pushes it to a whole new level. There will be at least two models available from Apple, those being the following:

21.5 inch 1920 x 1080 display
25 inch 2560 x 1440 display

These units will be working with a lovely IPS display with a 178 degree viewing angle and 300+ nits brightness. These units have a full lamination design, a brand new bit of technology called Plasma deposition – of course this is a whole lot of testing that leads to 75% less reflection on the display than before. Each of these units has been individually calibrated by Apple by hand as well.

The back of these devices have a headphone port, four USB 3.0 ports, two Thunderbolt ports, and an Ethernet port – check the Apple portal for full pricing on this device as well as the rest throughout the day!

Dell will be attacking the PC world with a selection of products running Windows 8 at launch or fully prepared to work with Windows 8 with attachments. These include tablets, notebooks, and flip convertibles as well as accessories. Available for purchase starting this week – with delivery starting this week as well – are the following:

• XPS One 27 with touch – starting at $1599.99
• XPS13 – starting at $999.99
• S2340T multi-touch monitor – starting at $699.99
• TP713 wireless touchpad – starting at $69.99

This update also covers the entirety of Dell’s PCs and Precision workstations which has Windows 8 for pre-order available on the Dell online store. With Windows 8′s formal unveiling happening this week, we’re expecting orders to be shipped sooner than later. The rest of the items being priced today are available for purchase today online but will be delivered at a later date – not too long though, with Dell saying “in the coming days and weeks” as an estimated delivery window.

• XPS 12 – starting at $1,199.99
• XPS 10 tablet – starting at $499
• Latitude 10 tablet – starting at $649
• Latitude 6430u – starting at $899
• OptiPlex 9010 All-in-One with touch – starting at $1199
• Inspiron 15z – starting at $749.99 ($899.99 with touch)

Have a peek at the links embedded in the names of these units to see more information about each of them. The S2340T is a new unit which is indeed Dell’s first multi-touch monitor, it working with a 90-degree articulating stand and full Windows 8 functionality. The TP713 touchpad offers up more Windows 8 gesture and touch functionality with a full-touch surface.

The Latitude 643u is Dell’s first business Ultrabook. This unit works with lovely aesthetics on the outside and a highly manageable notebook on the inside, with durable features top to bottom. This unit works with wireless docking using WiGig technology, has all-day battery life, and is made to be hardcore, “having undergone a broader set of United States’ Military’s MIL-STD 810G standard tests than any other system in its class.” The Opti-Plex 9010 All-in-One is made for those with small desks and big business needs. You’ve got a multipoint touchscreen, fixed or rotating camera, and articulating stand – this unit is also optimized for Microsoft Lync.

The Inspiron 15z Ultrabook is being revealed with an optional touchscreen interface and a giant display. This unit measures in at less than 1 inch thick and has a shiny aluminum finish, made for those that want both a giant amount of space to work and a thin unit to do it in. Expect these devices to be hitting shelves immediately if not soon!

The display itself is an LCD IPS panel with 178-degree viewing angles, while connectivity includes USB, an HDMI port, microSD card slot, and the usual wireless options. The whole thing is 15.9mm thick and weighs 1.05kg – somewhat hefty for a tablet, we have to say – but manages to fit a battery good for up to 10hrs use.

There’s also a “Smart” touch pen, though it’s not clear if that’s a simple capacitive stylus of a proper active-digitizer version; we’re hoping the latter.

As for the LG V325, that’s a 23-inch Full HD AIO PC with 10-finger multitouch and a digital TV tuner, allowing for standalone TV viewing without having to boot into Windows 8. It comes with a remote control just to complete the illusion.

When you’re actually doing some work (or gaming), however, there’s an Intel Core i5 processor, NVIDIA GeForce GT640M graphics, and support for 3D, while LG says the V325 can boot up in half the time of its Windows 7 predecessors.

LG says there’ll also be a display-only version of the AIO PC, the LG ET83, launching from October 26, targeting those content with their PC/notebook but wanting touchscreen control. The company will also have new ultrabooks – the LG Z355 and Z460 – and other laptops and desktops running Microsoft’s new OS, again from October 26.

We’ve more on Windows 8, meanwhile,  in our full review.

These refreshes have also been tipped to be coming with some upgrades, of course, including a Mac mini with 16GB of RAM included in two RAM slots and a denser machine overall. That’s not to say much for the weight of the machine, but the insides will certainly be jumping at leaps and bounds while the size of the unit stays relatively similar to past models. This update has the Mac mini finally able to join the official Apple ranks – rather than just 3rd party modified sales ranks – with its 8GB configuration replaced with 16GB of RAM for the standard edition.

The Mac mini may well have 32GB of RAM then with higher grade models, with four slots for RAM still being the situation on the innards. This boost has separately been tipped to be coming in at a thinner profile than before, strangely enough, this ringing true with the theme of the event, Apple showing us “a little bit more” as it were.

The iMac on the other hand will be keeping its height but reducing its thickness, with a bit of a teardrop design making this all-in-one sort of machine small as it is gigantic. The iMac has been tipped as having a price increase as well, so we’ll see whose reports add up in the end. Size reductions add to the possibility of there being a 13-inch Retina MacBook Pro as well.

We’ll be live at the Apple event on the 23rd of this month – that’s next week – so stay tuned and make sure you’re ready for lots and lots of action. New hardware primarily is what we’re expecting, but we could very well see some software boosts as well – we shall see!

Storage is courtesy of up to a 750GB 5,400rpm HDD, or alternatively a 320GB 7,200rpm drive or 128GB SSD, with Intel HD graphics. Connectivity includes audio in, audio out, four USB 3.0, two USB 2.0, DVI, and gigabit ethernet, with WiFi an option along with a webcam and microphones.

As for the ultrasonics, Fujitsu has equipped the Esprimo X913-T with a sensor that uses reflected soundwaves to figure out if there’s someone in front of the screen. Then, like Samsung Smart Stay on the Galaxy S III, the display stays active even if nobody touches the keyboard, mouse, or touchscreen, but automatically locks when the user moves away. Facial recognition with the webcam can speed up the unlocking process too.

The 23-inch display is posable, and can be laid completely flat for those times you want to pretend you have a SUR40 multitouch table. No word on pricing at this stage, but Fujitsu says the Esprimo X913-T will go on sale from Windows 8′s launch next week.

The Aspire 7600U also has discrete NVIDIA GT640M graphics, while both machines will have Real Sound Lab CONEQ speakers and both HDMI outputs and inputs, allowing them to be used as displays for consoles and other sources. Connectivity includes WiFi a/b/g/n and Bluetooth, plus a pair of USB 3.0 ports; the 7600U also packs four USB 2.0 ports, versus three on the smaller machine.

Storage consists of 1TB of HDD along with a multi-format memory card reader. Touch is actually optional – Acer will make non-touch versions too – but the touchscreen-equipped Aspire 7600U will kick off from $1,899 from late November. The Acer Aspire 5600U with 10-point touch will kick off from $1,149 from October 26 (non-touch from $999).

As for the displays, the Acer T232HL and T272HL, they’re basically the same touchscreen technology as the all-in-one PCs, only without the brains. The T232HL has a 23-inch panel, the T272HL a 27-inch panel, both recognizing up to 10-finger multitouch. Pricing begins from $499.99 for the 23-incher.

That process – where the glass top sheet and the display panel itself are glued together – increases the quality of the picture, as well as reducing some thinness, and would follow similar optical-lamination implementations in Apple’s iPhone and iPad lines. However, issues around extending that lamination system to the larger, 27-inch iMac display may mean that Apple only releases the 21.5-inch model initially, with the bigger version following on later.

Exactly how much the two models will cost is also unclear, though the tipster claims Apple will be hiking prices of the updated iMacs. It’s also unstated whether Apple is using Retina Display panels, which have proliferated among the company’s smaller mobile devices but are yet to show up on 20+ inch models.

As for the electronics themselves, according to the source the image below shows parts of the new iMac’s logic board. iFixit‘s Kyle Wiens has supposedly said that the hardware does bear some resemblance to what Apple is currently using, with the circular silver disc in the upper middle portion of the image looking similar to the WiFi antenna assembly currently hidden behind the plastic Apple logo on the rear of the iMac.

The block circled furthest left is a hard-drive, held in what looks to be a removable caddy arrangement, with the Bluetooth antenna flagged up on the top right edge. Earlier leaks suggested Apple would ditch the optical drive from the iMac, something else that could help reduce the computer’s depth.

It’s possible Apple could use its rumored iPad mini event, believed to be taking place on October 23, to launch the new iMac, with the sources indicating a debut late in October or in early November is likely. Apple is also said to be readying a Retina 13-inch MacBook Pro for the same event.

What remains to be seen is whether Apple will also update its Thunderbolt Display, now over a year old and based on the same aesthetic as the current-gen iMac, at the same time as revealing a new all-in-one. Patchy stock availability of the display has been affecting some retailers since early September.

[via MacRumors]

This update from Dell has you not just able to pre-order the new machines, but the Windows 8 operating system on a set of other compatible Dell machines on the market right this minute as well. Of course no matter what you pick up, Windows 8 won’t be getting to your door before October 26th – after that though, it’ll be a free-for-all. Over at Dell.com they’ve got your whole Windows 8 collection, everything you could possibly want, up for pre-order and regular order right now.

Dell’s XPS 12 is a strange, flippy beast – have a peek at our hands-on from August of this year to see how it looked when Dell first brought it out for sunlight. It’s got a flip hinge to it so you can use it as a normal laptop or can twist it around and push it down for a massive tablet, too. With a full HD display at 1920 x 1080 pixel resolution and full touch capacity you’ll have a hard time saying no – this attached to a price of $1,199 USD on pre-order from today.

A couple of Dell All-in-one machines are also up for order this morning, the XPS One 27 and the Inspiron One 23. With the XPS One 27 you’ll get a massive quad HD (2560 x 1440) display – the same as it’s had in the past – but this time with touch capabilities so you can make full use of Windows 8 and its full touch user interface. This update also has an articulating stand that’s able to tilt the display to a 60 degree angle – flexibility indeed! This device rings in at $1,599.99 USD. Have a peek at our XPS One 27 hands-on right this minute to see the layback.

The Inspiron One 23 brings on a lovely full HD (1920 x 1080) display and a single-cord setup to match its full touch-sensitive interface with Windows 8, all of it running on Intel’s 3rd Generation Core chipset, with several iterations available for pre-order. This model will run you $779.99 USD for starters.

Also of note is an updated version of the Dell XPS 13 Ultrabook, a device that’s now got Ivy Bridge with full Intel HD 4000 integrated graphics – this update comes in at $999 USD and is up in the Dell store right this minute as well. Have a peek at our original Dell XPS 13 Ultrabook review to see what this device is all about.

In the UK, meanwhile, the XPS 12 convertible running Windows 8 will be starting at £999, the XPS One 27 with touch at £1,779, and the Inspiron One 23 AIO with touch at £879.

NVIDIA GeForce graphics using Kepler GPUs will be optional for some of the AIOs, while all will have SRS Premium Sound HD. The new models will be priced from $998, and they’ll be bloatware-free as Vizio has inked a deal with Microsoft to make them part of the Signature program.

As for the newly-updated notebooks and ultraportables, they’ll gain a new multitouch trackpad which supports all of Windows 8′s gestures and taps. Intel’s third-gen Core processors are inside, just as with the desktops, and there are options for 14-, 15.6-inch Think + Light Ultrabook and 15.6-inch Notebook depending on your bag capacity and bank balance.

The Vizio Thin + Light range kicks off at $849, while the 15.6-inch Full HD Notebook starts from $1,129. Like the AIO PC they’re part of the Signature program and so bloatware-free.

Hardware

This device comes in two iterations – there’s a 24-inch display model and a 27-inch display model, both of them with Full HD 1080p resolution under the hood. The display is, as Vizio should very well be expected to present, both extremely bright and readily sharp. The display has a 1.3 megapixel camera with microphone sitting right up top – this camera is ready to bring you basic video chat right out of the box.

The base of the computer has two SRS Premium Sound HD speakers in it, hidden from view entirely in the black bit under the silver metal top. Along with the subwoofer that sits separate from the main unit, you’ve got 2.1 sound that does not disappoint – you’ll not only have the sound you need to play games and watch videos on your own, you’ll be able to use this computer for a home entertainment system if you wish as well – it’ll definitely fill your apartment, that’s for certain.

On the back of the base of the main unit you’ve got three USB 3.0 ports, eSATA port for your external harddrives galore, and an ethernet port for wired internet. You also get two HDMI inputs so you can connect your gaming console and your cable box – or whatever other HDMI-capable devices you’ve got on hand – smartphones, tablets, anything your heart desires! The side of the base also has an SD card port, headset port (headphones and mic compatible), another USB 3.0 port, and a power button. Note the location of the power button, because if you don’t know it’s there, you’ll never be able to find it.

On that note, have a peek here at how minimalistic the design of this unit is. The only buttons you’re able to see are on the wireless keyboard and remote control – everything else is hidden. The Vizio design team took the desire of the modern market to gravitate towards Apple’s minimal silver designs and made a real effort to make it really Vizio-specific.

The keyboard presents a new look at what’s been hashed and re-hashed a thousand times over the past several years. Vizio flattened everything out, made the keys rather gigantic, and let the slight bezels between the keys be the only tactile notification that your fingers are on one key or another. The back of the keyboard – and the back of the rest of the accessories – are a soft-touch plastic so you’ll have a comfortable experience when you’re picking them up or using them on your lap.

The Wireless touchpad has a collection of multi-touch abilities that, while they’re certainly not perfectly tuned at the moment, present a high note for the future with Windows 8. With the next generation of Microsoft operating systems, this Vizio computer will be prepared with this lovely touchpad and the ability to update the software that makes it work whenever changes are needed. For those of you used to using a mouse with a desktop computer, you’ll need some getting used to with this accessory to be sure – its important to note that there’s no basic mouse included in the package – so get prepped!

The remote control or “Wireless Remote” that comes with this device is perfectly simplistic and comforting to hold and use. In combination with the other accessories and the keyboard’s ability to access online support at a single press, you’ll be good to go for whatever activities you’re hoping to do with the unit. That’s the Vizio V-Key up in the left hand corner, a single press bringing you in to Vizio’s ever-changing support webpage and guide.

The display, again, brings on 1920 x 1080 pixel resolution and under the hood you’ve got a 3rd generation Intel Core processor – have a peek at the readout below this paragraph for the build information on the unit we’ve got here. You’ve also got NVIDIA GeForce dedicated graphics, NVIDIA Optimus technology included for automatic switchable graphics abilities, and a choice of build if you’re not wanting to pick up just the most basic model. You can upgrade to quad-core, decide between i3, i5, or i7 Intel Core architecture, and update your memory and hard drive as well!

Software

You’ve got Windows 7 onboard right out of the box, and you’ll be ready to go for Windows 8 whenever you’re ready to make that jump. Vizio created this device – and the rest of their first-wave party of PCs and notebooks – to be prepared for the Windows 8 wave. This is a Microsoft Signature machine – that means, and I quote, “a clean system; no bloatware, no junk, no compromises.”

If you want the software that normally comes on a PC, you’ve only to download it – you can find the vast majority of your favorites by hitting the V-key in the upper left-hand corner of your keyboard – simple! Also of course you still need a few extra bits to keep you safe from evil, so Microsoft Security Essentials comes with the system, inside to keep you safe from viruses and spyware. You’ve got 90 days of Microsoft Corp. technical support right out of the box as well.

What’s interesting about the entertainment aspect of this machine is that because Vizio wanted to not only come correct with a high quality display, but a unique experience as well, they made it possible for you to use the display even when the PC isn’t turned on. You do not need to turn the whole machine on just to use the display for your 3rd party machines – game consoles, satellite boxes, and HD devices of many kinds can make use of this ability.

Performance

Have a peek at our standard benchmark results here, coming straight from your best buddy Geekbench. Note that this computer has run exceedingly well for us during the whole review process, no complaints outside the obvious odd amount of time it took to get used to the touchpad in place of a mouse. The keyboard, mouse, and wireless controller all synced up with the computer in an instant and we had no connectivity problems at all. The wireless internet connection was also a bonus, with your ability to connect via ethernet appearing just for you hardcore wire-lovers it seems.

Wrap-up

This machine is surprisingly great. It’s only surprising that it’s great because Vizio is relatively new to the PC business – it’s not as if they’ve not been in the hardware business before, because they definitely have – but what a surprise it is to find them succeeding in their first effort in the Windows-toting universe. This machine is a perfectly legitimate all-in-one for your everyday Windows user, and as always, you’ll want to head to the store to give it a whirl before you purchase.

When you do test this machine out for yourself, pay close attention to how the monitor sits on the base, how you’re able to adjust it, and how well you like the wireless accessories. You’ll have absolutely nothing bad to say about the speaker system or the display, that’s for certain. This machine is available now in a variety of configurations, starting at around $800 – check it out!

The Optiplex 9010 is the business version of Dell’s XPS One 27, a touchscreen all-in-one PC which can be stood on your desk or wall-mounted via a standard VESA mount. Dell is positioning it as ideal for installed environments, such as lobby display, with support for remote management of the hard-drive. The camera can be rotated so that even if you have the AIO tilted right back, you can still position the webcam so that you’re in frame.

Next up is the Dell Latitude 6430u, a new 14-inch ultrabook and the first such model for Dell’s Latitude business line. It supports all of the usual enterprise-centric remote management, but also includes swappable batteries, memory, and SSD storage.

Dell will also be offering a wireless dock for the Latitude 6430, for those wanting to use a larger display, keyboard, and mouse at their desk. The ultrabook meets military specifications, and has a full-sized keyboard borrowed from the regular Latitude notebook line.

Finally, there’s the Dell Latitude 10, a business iteration of Dell’s XPS 10 announced at IFA a few weeks back. A full Windows 8 slate, rather than Windows RT on the XPS 10, the 10-inch tablet works with a desktop dock complete with HDMI, ethernet, and several USB ports, along with adding extended storage.

Battery life from the soft-touch slate is 18hrs, and there’s a digital stylus for sketching, navigating, and adding handwritten notes. Cameras front and back, and the option for adding not only bigger batteries but building extra functionality into the battery itself and thus augmenting the Latitude 10 down the line, round out the tablet.

Availability of all three new PCs will follow Windows 8′s official launch in late October 2012.

You’ll find that this beast keeps the Spectre brand name hot with NFC technology to tap your devices together and share media wirelessly and utterly simply. You’ve got many of the same features the rest of this newest HP wave of machines have such as Beats Audio for enhanced sound. And HP Connected Remote, Photo, and Music are included as well – HP is presenting an experience here both in hardware and software, with HP technology making a unique experience for you both outside and in.

You’ll get the computer itself along with a wireless multi-touch touchpad and a keyboard inside the box. With what may very well be a giant step forward for how we use PCs in general, HP has opted out of including a wireless mouse in the package you’ll be getting when you purchase the HP SpectreONE. The true test is at hand – can we bring the desktop world into the universe our notebook-loving hands have been working with for quite a few years already?

UPDATE: HP informs us that there WILL be a mouse in the package now. Good for you traditionalists!

HP might be taking a gamble here – even if it is a tiny one. If you want a mouse, you can buy one for next to nothing, after all – even a wireless mouse doesn’t cost a pretty penny if you know where to look. However, it’s the thought that counts. HP has thrown the mouse out the window here, and with it goes the last component that did not look flat. Now with the HP SpectreONE, HP can present a package that is, indeed, working with basically all flat hardware – and you’re going to love it.

This beast will be appearing on November 14th for a starting price of $1,299 USD MSRP – that’s an expected price and release date, of course, we’ll have to wait a bit longer for the final word on that. You can start saving up now though, no harm in that! Have a peek at our HP tag portal to see the rest of HP’s new Windows 8 machine offerings from start to finish – great stuff on the horizon!

These units come in 20 or 23-inch flush-glass displays that bring 10-point touch touchscreen capability to you and yours. This set of computers are right in the middle of HP’s next-level all-in-one lineup, with the HP Pavilion 10 all-in-one PC sitting below them in price and the HP SpectreONE coming forward as the hero of this generation – top class! The ENVY 20 and ENVY 23 TouchSmart PCs act as a perfect in-between with price and power reflected in their made-for-everyone packages.

These computers come with HP Connected Remote, Photo, Music, and Backup and bring the full Windows 8 experience in late October. That’s right around the time that Windows 8 is currently expected to be unleashed upon the earth, with every manufacturer in the field shooting off every different concoction of hardware they can muster with only the best of the best ready to shine through. With the HP ENVY TouchSmart PCs you see here, HP is more than ready to take on the general public with smooth, simple designs and all-in-one greatness for everybody.

The HP ENVY 23 TouchSmart all-in-one PC will be appearing for what’s expected to be $1099 USD MSRP. The HP ENVY 20 TouchSmart all-in-one PC will be appearing for an expected $849 USD MSRP. Both computers are scheduled now for the end of October here in the United States at all of your favorite HP sales outlets.

You’ll be working with HP Connected Remote and Photo for your perfectly tuned control of videos, music, and photo slideshows. You’ll do this from the PC itself or from a connected smartphone or tablet – wirelessly, of course. This machine has a slim design not unlike what we’ve seen from HP earlier this year in their all-in-one lineup across the board. HP has taken a lovely minimalistic approach to their all-in-one designs this season, and it’s continuing on to Windows 8!

This HP Pavilion 20 all-in-one machine will be bringing you a simple set of components that do not sacrifice in overall performance. That is to say, do not sacrifice if you’re looking for an average everyday experience with your PC. If you want to do some hardcore video processing and next-level gaming all day and night long, you might want to ramp up a bit. For those of you that want an all-in-one experience that’s ready for media consuming and light workloads, this model may be your most awesome choice at the price it’s being offered.

This machine will be coming with options in many components, including – as mentioned – Intel Core or AMD processors as well as up to 2 terabytes of storage inside. You’ll be rolling out along with many other HP computers on the 23rd of October with Windows 8, and you’ll be doing it for right around $500 USD – that wont break the bank! Hit up our HP tag portal for more HP releases this week – Windows 8 ahoy!

In other words, we’ve got no reason to believe that this unit wont be a winner. The original was (and is) massive beyond comprehension, this one has been made for people that like the design of the A720 but want to keep it a bit smaller for more realistic human-sized rooms. You’ve got a 23-inch full HD (1920 x 1080 pixel resolution) IPS LCD display working with Intel® HD Graphics 4000 / optional NVIDIA GeForce 615 2G/1G – and there’s two parts to this equation.

First you’ve got the monitor which measured in at 561×345.9×21.5 mm (22.08×13.61×0.84 inches). Then you’ve got the base which is 337x32x210.8 mm (13.26×1.25 x8.29 inches). The whole thing is still going to be relatively heavy at 9.8 kg (21.60lb), but the size is what matters here the most – instead of the massive A720′s beastly proportions you’ve got, again, a human sized monster on your hands.

The Lenovo IdeaCentre A520 will be popping up in October 2012 starting at $999 USD – also a very human-sized price. Have a peek at the rest of our Lenovo coverage of IFA 2012 and stick around for future reviews as well!

The B340 is the one of these two units that works with optional OneKey TV with the ability to turn the display into a high definition television with one button click. When you’ve got this function activated, you’re able to watch TV without powering on the PC at all – cool stuff! You’ll be working on a 21.5-inch Full HD touch-screen display with a collection of specifications that out-do this device’s predecessor, the B320, which was the first computer to have OneKey TV working on it.

This is the second – working with an independent hardware TV circuit board inside the PC to operate separate from the PC’s board. The B320 is also able to allow you to watch picture-in-picture so you can have your PC and TV on the screen simultaneously. As Lenovo notes, “this technology is the first hardware TV solution to be put into an all-in-one PC.

The B340 also has Dolby Advanced Audio V2 as well as NVIDIA GeForce 615 1GB/512M graphics with DirectX 11. You’ll be working with up to 8GB DDR3 memory at 1600MHz and you’ll have the option to have an integrated DVD reader/writer or Blu-ray Disc drive. This AIO can connect with Bluetooth 2.1 if you choose it to be able and you’ve got wi-fi connectivity as well. The IdeaCentre B340 and B345 will be available October 2012 starting at US $599.

Then there’s also the B545, a device which was available in April starting at $699 USD. This all-in-one PC has a 23-inch frameless screen with 10-point multi-touch for Windows 8 – in the near future, that is – as well as 3D vision. You’ll be working with this device in the very near future with up to Genuine Windows 8 as well as the AMD A10 quad-core processor under the hood. You can add on an integrated Blu-ray Disc drive. This device also has HDMI-out as well as HDMI-in with TV tuner – but not quite the same magic tech the B340 has with TV – separate stuff!

Check out the rest of our Lenovo coverage at IFA 2012 and stick around as the more pops up all week long – and over the weekend, too!

There are three new products from Dell for you to take a look at today. The first is the refresh of the Dell XPS One 27, an all-in-one PC that has been given a touchscreen and support for Windows 8. It also comes packing a sexy resolution, running at Quad HD 2560 x 1440 and being able to boast 3.7 million pixels. We were able to spend some time with that 27-inch screen, and you can see what we thought of it in our hands-on with the Dell XPS One 27.

Next up we have the Dell XPS Duo 12 ultrabook. This announcement is significant not only because it’s seemingly reviving the Inspiron Duo, but also because the XPS Duo 12 comes with a swiveling touchscreen, putting an interesting spin on the tablet/notebook hybrid. Dell kept the XPS Duo 12 behind glass after making its announcement, but we were still able to get some eyes-on time with the convertible ultrabook and have a look its full HD screen.

Finally, we come to the Dell XPS 10 tablet. The 10-inch slimline tablet is rocking Windows RT and comes with a removable keyboard dock. That’s all well and good, but what really surprised us were Dell’s claims about the battery. This bad boy can apparently run for 20 hours on a single charge, so if you need a tablet that has a long lasting battery, this sounds like the one for you. Just like the Duo 12, we have an eyes-on with the XPS 10, giving you an up-close look at the tablet. As an added bonus, we also found out that Qualcomm’s Snapdragon S4 processor line will be powering this new tablet, so that’s something to get excited about.

That about does it for our Dell wrap-up, but keep it right here at SlashGear for more news straight from the floor of IFA 2012!

Dell’s plastic bezel isn’t as attractive as the brushed metal of the iMac, but the materials don’t feel cheap, just more subdued. The company is aiming for business as well as home users, who might be more conservative but still want a machine that will last.

As for the stand, that’s reasonably stiff so as to support the heavy screen, but once you get it moving it’s no problem tilting and raising it to suit standing use. We’d like to see it lift a little higher, though being able to tilt the touchscreen back and interact with your fingers is a good compromise, and almost like a smaller version of Microsoft’s SUR40.

Windows 8 touch still has to fully convince the market, and while the Metro-style UI is suited to finger interaction, regular Windows apps have hopelessly small buttons on a 2560 x 1440 screen. How much of a problem that will be to end-users will depend on what software they use most often.

Dell will announce pricing and exact specifications for the XPS One 27 later in the year, when Microsoft releases Windows 8 officially.

Supporting the discrete grey casing there’s a multi-adjusting desk stand that can be pushed back for regular sitting work, or then pulled up higher so that those standing can use it more comfortably. Dell actually launched the XPS One 27 back in May originally, but the touchscreen interface makes much more sense now that it runs Windows 8.

Inside there’s a choice of Core i5 or i7 processors, along with optional NVIDIA discrete graphics to augment the standard Intel HD 4000 GPU. There’s up to 16GB of RAM, up to 2TB of storage, and an optional mSATA flash drive for speedier app loading. Connectivity includes both HDMI input and output, together with gigabit ethernet, Bluetooth 4.0 and USB 3.0.

No word on pricing at this stage, though we’re guessing the updated XPS One 27 will start at around the $1,399 point just as its Windows 7 predecessor did.

Here with the MAINGEAR Solo 21, you’ve got an all-in-one machine that comes with the components you want inside, is able to be upgraded, and brings on the power of a full-size desktop computer with next to nothing in the way of ugly masses of cords and space-stealing components. You’ll be able to build this beast with Intel’s 3rd Generation Core technology (that’s Ivy Bridge), and the whole thing is able to either sit on the mount it comes with OR work with a standard VESA mount up against your wall.

You’ve got the choice of Intel Core i3 2125 3.3GHz or upgradeable to Intel Core i7 3770S inside. You’ve got Intel DH61AG motherboard supporting USB 3.0, SATA 6G, 32nm and 22nm processors as well as optional Intel DQ77KB motherboard support with USB 3.0, SATA 6G, Intel SRT and vPro. Right out of the box this machine has a 500 GB HDD and the ability to upgrade to 1TB SATA HDD. You’ll get a DVD burner built-in with the option to upgrade to a Blu-ray drive, the standard build has 4GB DDR3-1333 and upgradeable to 16GB DDR3-1600 memory, and you’ve got the Intel 802.11n as well as a Bluetooth wireless adapter.

This machine comes with Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit and has up to four USB 3.0 ports so you can move forward with top speed. This machine is able to work with enterprise users with an optional Intel Q77 chipset – with said architecture you’ll have he latest AMT 8.0 as well as Intel Identity Protection Technology and Intel Anti-Theft Technology to keep you safe.

The MAINGEAR Solo 21 will be popping up immediately if not soon direct from the company’s online shop. The standard build will cost you just $899, and you’ll be able to rack up one whole heck of a lot more of a bill depending on what you want to add on or change out. This machine take the previous all-in-one model from Maingear and amps up the build to a whole new level.

While other units are indeed made to be working with their included keyboard and mouse, this Samsung Series 5 AIO PC is made to not only work well with its components, but to treat them like actual pieces of a full machine, not just accessories. Also included here is Genuine Winodws 8 64-bit software right out of the box. Running this interesting beast is an Intel Core i3 – 3220T processor (Ivy Bridge) paired with 4GB DDR3 system memory at 1600MHz (with the ability to upgrade to 8GB, mind you.)

Inside you’ll find a 500GB hard disk drive (HDD) and Intel HD Graphics 4000 to make sure everything is pretty. This machine comes with a DVD +/-RW Super Multi Dual Layer (S-ATA) disk drive and works with a 1.3 megapixel camera on the front so you can video chat and work with hand gesture recognition. This gesture situation allows you to turn your volume up with a twist of your hand, and to stop a movie with a simple double-wave – and that’s just the start of it all. You’ll have so many gestures available to you from 3 feet away from the screen, your head will spin.

This machine also has 3 USB 2.0 ports, 2 USB 3.0 ports, HDMI in/out, LAN, and a 3-in-1 Multi-card slot so you can read just about anything. Included with the machine, of course, is your wireless keyboard and wireless mouse – but you also get a remote control as well. The whole package will cost you just MSRP $749 USD, and the whole machine is made for locations that you’d otherwise struggle to find room in – hence the “kitchen PC” suggestion. This unit will be available starting on the 26th of October, 2012.

Check out the rest of our coverage of Samsung as well as the rest of the manufacturers taking part in IFA 2012 through our IFA 2012 tag – and stick around the SlashGear main news feed for everything else popping up in the gadget universe as well!

The Samsung Series 7 all-in-one 23-inch PC brings Genuine Windows 8 64-bit software with it right out of the box. It’s also got a 1920 x 1080 pixel resolution display and a lovely Ivy Bridge processor under the hood. The 23-inch model’s processor is an Intel Core i5 – 3470T and is paired with 6GB DDR3 system memory at 1600MHz. The hard disk drive on this model is 1TB large, and the machine will be popping up on 10/26/2012 for MSRP $1099 USD.

Another model, the Samsung Series 7 all-in-one 27-inch PC will be popping up on the same date for $1699 USD (MSRP). This machine will have 1920 x 1080 pixel resolution as well, and it’ll be sporting Genuine Windows 8 64-bit too. Under the hood you’ll be getting a high-powered Ivy Bridge processor to keep you strong as well – this time it’s the Intel Core i7 – 3770T and is paired with a larger 8GB DDR3 bit of system memory at 1600MHz. You also get a 1TB hard disk drive here, and both models look rather fashionable, too – have a peek above and below to see the 27-inch machine in all its glory.

Both of these machines also work with five simple hand gesture recognition features. Working with each of the devices’ 1.3 megapixel front-facing cameras you can be up to three feet away from the machine and make gestures with your wrist (in a variety of ways) that flip a page, start a video, and generally allow you to move around your media with ease. Rotate your palm clockwise or counter-clockwise to change the volume on a video, close your hand to click, or wave your hands to stop a movie altogether. Both machines also come with a wireless keyboard, a wireless mouse, and a lovely remote control.

We’ll be bringing you all kinds of Samsung action as well as Windows 8 touchscreen-loving devices all through the week as we continue to cover IFA 2012. Head to our IFA 2012 tag to see all of our on-site and event-related content, and stay close to the Samsung tag for everything from the manufacturer that’s tying it all together with their own Samsung-branded set of apps galore (think Galaxy devices) – more on that later this week!

The innovations continue with a smaller set of ink cartridges that are able to handle super high page yields at the same time as taking up less space in the machine than with previous units. This unit totes no less than four of the most fabulous next-generation features Brother has to offer:

• Fastest in class print speeds
• Smallest in class footprint
• Low cost printing
• Easy-to-use TouchScreen/TouchPanel display

This line is able to create automatic two-sided (duplex) prints and can print onto 11 x 17-inch paper as well. The Business Smart Series is anchored by the flagship model MFC-J4510DW, which comes in at an estimated street price of $199. This unit specifically will be popping up in office superstores and Best Buy stores across the USA in October of this year.

The MFC-J4510DW Brother Business Smart Series color inkjet all-in-one printer will come with a 3.7-inch Swipe TouchScreen Display plus TouchPanel. It’s also able to connect to the web and print via Google Cloud Print, Brother iPrint&Scan, Wi-Fi Direct, and Cortado Workplace. You’ll be able to hold up to 150 sheets of paper in this device’s paper tray and you’ll have up to 20-page automatic document feeding as well for faxing, copying, or scanning.

BONUS: Brother is the same company that works with Project Runway, the fashion-forward TV series whose recent season winner Anya Ayoung Chee we got the opportunity to speak with this year at CES 2012. Have a peek!

Setup

This beast is heavier than you’ll ever want to wish to carry at a back-breaking 21.32 kg (47 lbs). You’ve got a beast of a display up on two different hinges, this allowing you to adjust both the angle and the height at which the display sits. Once you’ve got it where you want it, you’ll probably want to leave it alone, though, as the weight of this conglomeration of metal, plastic, and glass is not the easiest thing to move around.

The monitor sits on its two hinges mightily, both of them making sure that this heaving beast does not move even the slightest bit once its set in place. In addition to being able to set this computer up with its “traditional display” setup (on the stand it comes attached to) you can mount it to the wall with industry standard VESA mounts. This unit utilizes a 100×100 VESA mount pattern, making it easy to set up with 3rd party display gear.

HP has done an amazing job of making sure this computer both looks and feels fabulous with a black and silver metal setup both on front and back. While most workstation-aimed computers are made to sit out of the way or under a desk, this all-in-one unit looks great from all sides. The one odd point that appears off as far as aesthetics go is the power cord port which sits under the display – it feels like HP went so far to keep the front and the back clean that they nudged that rather unsightly cord to the underside.

Connectivity

That said, the rest of the computer is indeed rather clean looking. You’ve got your power button up top on the right, a system activity LED below that right near the eject button for your optical drive. The optical drive is always a Slot Load 8X SuperMulti DVDRW no matter what configuration you pick up, and it sits right above a 4-in-1 Media Card Reader as well. Next on the right is a standard Firewire 1394a port above two USB 3.0 ports and ports for Audio in and out. Each of these buttons and ports are super easy to access.

What’s not so easy to access – and perhaps rightfully so – are the ports below the monitor. This collection of ports includes the power port (as mentioned above), one standard DisplayPort in/out, digital audio via a S/PDIF port, audio in/out and subwoofer out, and a set of four more USB 2.0 ports. There’s also a hidden USB 2.0 port under the hood which HP has used up with a dongle that connects with a couple of packaged accessories: keyboard and a mouse – both of which are relatively high quality.

Software

You can work on this system with Windows 7 or HP provided Linux, the Linux builds including drivers from 32 and 64-bit OS versions of Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) 5 Workstation, RHEL 6 Workstation, and 64-bit SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop (SLED) 11 for your convenience. For Windows 7 you’ll either get 32-bit or 64-bit Genuine Windows 7 Professional installed right out of the box.

With a computer that’s made to be updated in the hardware universe for years into the future, you’ll also want to be sure you’ve got the software to back it up as well. Windows 8 will of course be able to be loaded here, and with HP Performance Advisor included in the out-of-box experience, you’ll have HP’s own software wizard to help out out along the way as you continue to optimize your system towards its constant full potential.

This machine also includes HP Remote Graphics Software, (loaded standard with every new-age HP workstation,) an environment which allows you to access your setup remotely from other machines connected to the web with ease. Just as it was with each of the other HP workstations we’ve tested over the past year or so, this machine plays nicely with a vast array of machines outside its build – Directory Mode allow you to access workstations throughout your office, RGS functionality works with pixels (as opposed to data) to expand your workspace to a wide variety of 3rd party monitors automatically, and the whole RGS suite works on both Windows and Linux.

This device also comes with ISV certification so you know its up to snuff according to the Independent Software Vendor set of tests – standard stuff! Along those same lines is the fact that this machine is Energy Star certified with 90% efficient power supplies, and each HP Z1 comes with a warranty that includes limited 3-year parts, 3-year labor and 3-year onsite service extendable up to 5 years with HP Care Pack Services – business friendly indeed!

Above and below you’ll see some additional components listed as well as our standard Geekbench benchmark results. This machine does extremely well for itself, both in benchmarks and in practice with everyday light and heavyweight tasks like video processing. And again, you can switch essentially every piece out and make it more powerful as you deem necessary.

Versatility

This machine is fabulous in its ability to be modified. Push the display down horizontal and lift the face up like the hood of a car and poof! Like magic, you’ve got a vast array of plug-n-play pieces at your fingertips. You can change out essentially anything under the hood at your leisure, and several expansion slots and bays are available for your DIY modifications. You’ve got one internal 3.5-inch bay OR 2x 2.5-inch bays, one MXM expansion slot for graphics (requiring NVIDIA custom cards, you may want to note) the base model uses Intel integrated graphics, but Quadro 500M, 1000M, 3000M and 4000M graphics cards are optional. You’ve also got 3 miniPCIe full-length expansion slots as well.

Four zones separate this device’s insides, with the 400w power supply, Quadro graphics card, CPU, and memory sitting behind fans and panels. Your power supply, hard drive chassis, and DVD/Blu-ray drive are easily removable, of course, and up to four 8GB full-sized memory DIMMs can be added as well.

Everything under the hood is able to be clipped in and out with ease using the simple to understand green arrows and hard-plastic holds. The hands-on video earlier in this review shows how simple it is to switch components in and out. Business owners pay attention here: upgrading your whole office will be so easy that you won’t need to hire Nick Burns to do it – for real!

Wrap-Up

This computer is a fabulous choice for an office in need of massive displays and Windows 7 (or Windows 8 later this year). You’ve got a perfectly solid build, HP has made the entire structure out of high-end components, and you’ll be able to modify this beast to your liking well into the future. As long as you’re not planning on lifting this monster up and lugging it around on a regular basis, you’ll be glad this was your business-oriented Windows choice for your next-generation standard workstation situation.

Video editors, web designers, graphic designers, and those working with massive files on the whole will find this machine quite satisfying.

Have a peek below at additional HP Z-series hands-on, review, and news posts we’ve published over the past two years, all the way back to the official launch of the series at an event we attended with HP!

The system as it’s offered by AVADirect comes in at $777.61, and includes a Intel Pentium G620 dual-core processor at 2.6GHz, 4GB of DDR3-1600 RAM, a Seagate Momentus 750GB HDD, Windows 7 64-bit Home Premium, a Samsung Slim Black 8x DVD Burner, and an Intel Centrino Wireless-N 1000 card. As we said, not too bad, but you can bump a lot of components up to make this all-in-one unit a bit more powerful. Alternatively, you can bring them down a little to make it even more affordable, but you’ll probably want to avoid doing that if you can.

Other than the hardware, the Intel CAP08 comes with a built-in multi-card reader, 2 USB 2.0 ports, headphone and microphone jacks, built-in speakers, and a 1.3-megapixel camera. Again, you aren’t working with a lot, but that’s to be expected from all-in-one systems. The system also comes wall mount-ready, and we have to say that it does look pretty sleek, so despite some of its shortcomings, at least it has looks going for it.

Aside from being able to upgrade the included hardware, you can also choose to add new equipment. Additions include Bluetooth modules, external TV tuners, routers and wireless access points, mice, productivity and antivirus software, and external storage devices. You’ve got a ton of options with the Intel CAP08, so even though it’s a little underwhelming at first, that can be easily changed if you’re willing to shell out some additional cash. You could potentially turn this all-in-one system into quite the beast, so if you’re interested, you can swap out components to your heart’s desire at AVADirect’s website.

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.

The ENVY 23 is probably the most interesting of the four, with easy wall-mounting, an optional HDMI input for using it as a display (such as for a console) and a choice of Blu-ray and integrated TV tuner on the spec sheet. There’s also Beats Audio speakers and up to 2TB of storage.

The HP Pavilion 23 is somewhat more humble than its ENVY sibling, though offers the same 2TB storage. It comes with a choice of AMD multicore processors. It will be priced at $649.99 and the ENVY from $949.99 when they both go on sale August 2.

As for the business models, the Elite 8300 has a 23-inch display with optional two-finger multitouch, an optional 2-megapixel webcam and dual-mic array, and a choice of 2nd and 3rd gen Intel Core processors. Both integrated and discrete graphics will be available, depending on model.

The Pro 6300, finally, has a 21.5-inch display – though no touch option – and an optional 2-megapixel webcam supporting face recognition. It too offers a choice of 2nd/3rd gen Intel Core processors and optional discrete graphics. It will be priced from $799 when it goes on sale September 3, with the 8300 priced from $929 when it arrives on September 10.

That balance of looks and usability is something Apple grasped the concept of some time ago, but its Windows OEM rivals have apparently struggled to recognize. Many people choose to run Microsoft’s platform – either because they’re forced to by work or school, out of a personal preference for Windows, for compatibility reasons or because Apple’s computers are out of their price range – but the number who end up buying a MacBook and loading Windows on it instead should really have told PC vendors something.

First to get that message – that there’s a still-untapped market out there – appears to be Vizio. Its machines don’t skimp on specs, with Intel’s Ivy Bridge processors and a choice of SSD storage, but neither are they priced out the roof, with the AIOs and notebooks kicking off at $898.

Still to be seen is what corners Vizio has been forced to cut – if any – when production models begin shipping. Initial hands-on reports are promising, with Vizio supposedly putting great engineering effort into getting frequent touch-points like the keyboard feel right, though the proof of the pudding will be what buyers themselves think.