The Yoga 11S essentially takes the small form factor of the Yoga 11 (which we reviewed), and blends it with the performance of the Yoga 13, offering faster hardware on the inside that makes it a bit speedier than the regular Yoga 11. And of course, it comes with the same 360-degree hinge action that lets you use the device as a tablet of sorts.

Lenovo’s website has the Yoga 11S packing a 1.4GHz Intel Core i3 processor with 4GB of RAM and a 128GB solid state drive for $800, while Best Buy has a bit of a better deal with a 1.5GHz Core i5 chip on the inside at the same price. You probably won’t notice too much of a difference, but if you’re all about specs, it seems the Best Buy deal is the better grab.

As for the display, the Yoga 11S has the same 11.6-inch HD IPS screen that the regular Yoga 11 has, along with 10-finger touch support. Best Buy will have the Yoga 11S available starting on June 23, while Lenovo’s website lists a ship date of “more than 4 weeks,” which will roughly get us to late June for possibly a tandem release with Best Buy.

We ended up getting our hands on with the Yoga 11S during CES 2013 back in January, and we also reviewed the regular Yoga 11. Indeed, there is a slight performance boost with the Yoga 11S, but the Yoga 11 is working with the nifty Nvidia Tegra 3 quad-core processor, which packs quite a punch for a convertible laptop like this.

VIA: Windows Experience Blog

SOURCE: Lenovo and Best Buy

The new chip features AMD’s new “Graphics Core Next” architecture, and it’s quite a big jump up from the company’s HD 8800M series. The 8970M features 1,280 stream processors, and a clock speed of 850MHz with a memory speed of 1.2GHz. The new chip should be able to handle pretty much any new game you throw at it on your laptop.

As for the first laptop to get the new 8970M, it’ll be the MSI GX70, which will come with an AMD A10 quad-core processor, Eyefinity support, Killer gaming network card, and will have a 17.3-inch display with a 1920×1080 resolution. However, we should be seeing more laptops with the new graphics chip later this year, possibly next month at Computex.

Of course, you’ll be paying a pretty penny for any machine that will run AMD’s latest graphics chip, with the GX70 most likely exceeding well over $1,000, but they also have slower 8000M series chips that the company unveiled in January, including the 8500M, 8600M, and the 8700M. Of course, the 8500M may not live up to AMD’s 8970M chip, but the 384 stream processors along with the 650MHz clock speed and 1,125MHz memory speed should keep you humming along with most games while on the go.

It’s the company’s first Haswell-based laptop, and other than the processor, the machine runs on 8GB of memory, a 1TB hard drive, and a 32GB solid state drive. The laptop also boasts a 15.6-inch IPS display with an impressive 1920×1980 resolution, which something we don’t see everyday on a lot of laptops.

Of course, there will be different configurations for the LaVie L, with the highest-tier model expected to cost just under $2,000. A wealthy amount of details isn’t quite available yet, as NEC probably knows to wait until Computex next month to fully detail the new notebook as well as the rest of their Haswell lineup, but we certainly can’t blame them for wanting to jump the gun and tease some impatient buyers.

Intel will be announcing its next-generation Core chips at Computex on June 3, at which point we should be seeing a huge slew of desktops, laptops, and hybrid tablets make their way to the market at that point. It’s certainly been a busy time for computer manufacturers, as it was reported that Intel started shipping Haswell chips to OEMs early last month.

We’ve actually already heard some details about Haswell’s graphics portion, which is codenamed Iris, which will bump up the company’s HD Graphics series to 4600 and 5000. These new graphics chips will see a boost in performance over Intel’s previous HD 4000 graphics, as well as battery life improvement. Performance and battery life are the two kickers with Intel’s new Haswell chips, so we should be seeing new laptops that not only contain better graphics performance, but also longer battery life, assuming that OEMs pack in a big enough battery to see an increase.

VIA: CNET

SOURCE: NEC

Acer claims that these new notebooks are 9% slimmer than previous-generation hardware, which doesn’t seem like a huge difference, but Acer seems to think that users will notice a change with these new machines. The new V series includes models all the way from 11.6-inchers to larger versions with 15.6-inch displays, all of which come with touchscreen and non-touchscreen variants.

Aspire V5 and V7 11.6-inch models:

You can also get the new V series with either an AMD dual- or quad-core processor, or an Intel Core chip with either two or four cores as well. Select models can also be equipped with NVIDIA GeForce GT 7000M series or AMD Radeon HD 8750 discrete graphics, which means you’ll be able to do a bit of gaming if you shell out the money for it.

Aspire V5 and V7 14-inch models:

As for availability, the V series laptops will be available toward the end of this month, with a starting price of $499. No word on retail locations that the laptops will be available at, but as with the other new products that Acer announced today, we’re guessing that Best Buy will be the exclusive retailer for the new machines.

Aspire V5 and V7 15.6-inch models:

This laptop sports a 15-inch display that sits on a hinge that allows the screen to be pushed up or back, as well as folding in out and down so that it lies nearly flat with the rest of the computer. The 15-inch display sports a 1080p resolution with your choice of an Intel Core i5 or i7 processor to keep things running smoothly.

Of course, the display is touch-friendly, so no matter how you twist the display, you’ll be able to swipe and tap your way around the device. The whole thing will weigh in at about 5.5 pounds, which is pretty hefty for a laptop hybrid, but what you’re getting is essentially a mix between an all-in-one desktop and a laptop.

As for availability, the Aspire R7 will be out on May 17 only at Best Buy for $999, with pre-orders beginning today. As for further specs, we’re looking at 6GB of RAM, 500GB of hard drive storage (with a 24GB solid date drive), and a bevy of ports and sockets that most users will take advantage of.

Intel’s Dadi Perlmutter, who is the company’s executive vice president and chief product officer, says that these $200 laptops will mostly be running Android, rather than the traditional Windows 8 operating system. The low-cost laptops would also be running Intel’s Atom series of processors, the same chips that were used in a lot of netbooks.

As to whether or not Windows 8-based laptops will reach the $200 price range, or even $300 for that matter, largely depends on Microsoft itself, says Intel. The cost of a laptop usually comes down to how Microsoft would want to price Windows 8, considering that a copy of the new operatings system retails in the triple-digit price point.

Furthermore, Perlmutter says that while Atom-based laptops could reach $200, notebooks running Intel’s faster Core series of processor could be priced as low as $399, with some higher-end Android laptops ringing in at the price as well. Does this spell the comeback of netbooks, or are we actually at a point where full-blown laptops will cost way less?

[via CNET]

First off, the KIRAbook doesn’t look too out of the ordinary. However, all three models will be rocking 8GB of RAM with a 256GB solid state drive. As for the processors, that’s where the three models differ. The highest-end KIRAbook will sport a dual-core Core i7-3537U ultra-low-voltage CPU clocked at 2 GHz, while the mid-tier model will have a dual-core Core i5-3337U clocked at 1.8 GHz.

Details of the processor on the lower-end model haven’t been revealed yet. As for the display, the KIRAbook will feature a 10-point touchscreen, while some models will just have a regular non-touchscreen display. The PPI on the screens clock in at 221, which is just short of the Retina MacBook Pro’s 227 PPI, as well as Google’s Chromebook Pixel, which has a 239 PPI display.

The KIRAbook will start at $1,599, and will go all the way up to $1,999 for the top-tier variant. Pre-orders will start on May 3, when we’ll most likely hear more info about the new laptop, as well as get a handful of photos to see what this puppy looks like. The KIRAbook will officially release on May 12 at places like Best Buy, Amazon, Microsoft, and of course, Toshiba.

The S500 is your typical laptop, although it sports a full number pad on the right-hand side, which is something you don’t see everyday with laptops (or at least 15-inch laptops). Of course, not everyone needs a numpad, but they sure do come in handy when you’re trying to crunch a bunch numbers together in a short amount of time.

The body of the S500 is made out of brushed aluminum, so it should be fairly sturdy for just about any occasion, whether you’re a college student or just a business road warrior. As far as ports go, you’ll be treated with the usual options, including HMDI and USB 3.0, as well as a VGA port for connecting to an older external monitor.

The VivoBook S500 is available now in the Microsoft Store, both online and at physical locations around the US. It’s priced at $699, which is a tad more than the $649 announcement price that was revealed back in October, but $699 is still respectable considering what you’re getting with the package.

The patent is titled “Wireless display for electronic devices,” and it’s pretty similar to what we’ve seen on laptops from other manufacturers, only Apple’s version would come with wireless inductive charging capabilities. Other than that, it looks to be traditional convertible laptop, complete with a detachable display that could also act as a tablet.

As for how the wireless charging would work, the display would use the hinges as a connector for the charging functionality, but we’re sure that other factors are involved. Plus, we’d have to believe that battery life and other technical issues could get in the way of something like this.

However, like many patents, this one may never be turned into a product that would release to the public, although anything’s possible of course. Apple has said themselves that touchscreen computers aren’t all that great, so unless they secretly changed their minds, we wouldn’t expect a laptop like this to make it to the public.

[via AppleInsider]

The LTE version costs $1,449, which is $150 more than the entry level variant at $1,299. Then again, it comes with twice the storage capacity, but that still only makes it a device with 64GB of storage. Then again, we could see some users upgrading to the 64GB model for the storage alone, with LTE being a nice perk that comes with the package.

Obviously, though, you’ll have to pay a monthly fee through Verizon if you want to use more than 100MB per month. According to GigaOM, $9.99 will get you an unlimited day pass. $20 per month will land you 1GB of data, $35 for 3GB, and $50 for 5GB. The free 100MB-per-month deal only lasts two years, so all LTE Pixel users will end up paying a monthly fee sooner or later.

Verizon customers can also add their new Chromebook Pixel to their existing Share Everything plan for only $10 per month. This allows Verizon customers to not have to pay more for data than what they’re already paying for. If you’re not familiar with the Pixel, it’s Google’s newest product and it sports a super high resolution 2560×1700 display, as well as an Intel Core i5 dual-core 1.8GHz processor and 4GB of RAM.

[via GigaOM]

The C710-2055 comes with an Intel Celeron 847 processor clocked at 1.1GHz with 4GB of RAM. There’s also a larger 320GB hard drive for storing various files, along with cloud storage that Chromebooks are known for. Acer claims that this new model will last six hours on a single charge, compared to four hours with the previous model.

Acer says that while the C7 is particularly aimed for educational uses, this new Chromebook is still a good choice for anyone needing a low-powered computer for everyday use. As for looks, the new model doesn’t seem to be all that much different from the C7 we reviewed late last year, but that’s not particularly surprising, since it’s mostly just a hardware bump anyway.

The new C710-2055 is priced at $279, which is a little steep compared to the $199 of the original C7, but you’ll also get better and faster internals if you need them, along with more storage space. The new model comes with a 11.6-inch display, and the whole unit weighs just over three pounds. The Chromebook is available now in the US at various retailers.

Hardware & Design

At first glance, the Aspire M Touch looks like your typical slab of aluminum gadgetry, which it is, but it’s really sleek. Both the lid and the palm rest are made from brushed metal, while the bottom is lined with plastic. It certainly looks like an expensive laptop, but the build quality from just holding it and grabbing onto it isn’t all that great. The lid caves in from very little pressure, as does the palm rest. It’s a little unnerving at first, but babying the laptop — as most people do — shouldn’t cause any problems.

The laptop comes with a great-looking 14-inch touchscreen display with a resolution of 1366×768, which is fairly odd for a computer screen, and we’re slightly disappointed that it didn’t come with a higher resolution, especially for a 14-incher. Viewing angles are average, but as with any typical LCD, colors start to get washed out if you’re not looking at it from the optimum, straight-on angle. The touchscreen is 10-point, meaning it’ll detect all ten fingers if need be, and we found responsiveness of the touchscreen to be fairly good.

Inside you’ll find an Intel Core i5 3317U dual-core processor clocked at 1.7GHz with 4GB of RAM. This particular model has a 20GB solid state drive along with a 500GB hard drive. The solid state drive allows for quick boot ups and launching your most-used apps, while the hard drive is there to store all of your bigger files, like photos, videos, music etc. As for graphics, there’s Intel HD 4000 integrated graphics, so you won’t be able to do any hardcore gaming other than the occasional casual title.

As for ports and different connectivity options around the outside edges of the laptop, there’s a small bevy of options, but the placement of the ports is rather odd. Most of the important ports are on the back, including the power port, two USB 3.0 ports, HDMI, ethernet, and the Kensington lock. On the left side there’s the lone DVD-RW drive, and on the right side there’s an SD card slot and a combined headphone and microphone jack. As for the power button, it’s placed on the front of the laptop near the status lights — an odd place for it considering that most laptops have the power button in one of the upper corners near the keyboard.

As for the capabilities of the keyboard and trackpad, I wasn’t too impressed by either, but it was definitely a better experience than other laptops I’ve messed around with. The keys have very little travel, making it awkward to type until you finally get used to it. However, the keyboard is backlit, which is perfect for typing into the wee hours of the night, but you can’t adjust the brightness of the LEDs — there’s just an on/off toggle. As for the trackpad, it’s simply just made of plastic, making it a bit more difficult to slide your fingers around on compared to the glass trackpads on MacBooks or even the new Chromebook Pixel. The trackpad is large, however, which is always a good thing to have, and it makes navigating much easier.

Software

The Aspire M Touch runs a full version of Windows 8 as usual, and there definitely is no shortage of bloatware on this bad boy. Acer includes a couple of their pieces of software, and the rest are mostly pre-installed apps that could prove useful to some users, but maybe not quite everyone. There’s Acer Explorer, which is an app that basically teaches you how to use the other apps on the computer, and then there’s Acer Cloud, which is the company’s own cloud storage service that shares files across multiple Acer devices. Lastly there’s Acer Crystal Eye, which is a companion app for the webcam, and it comes with a few features that you may find useful, such as different effects.

However, that’s only the Acer apps. The company pre-installed a ton of other apps on the computer, such as Evernote, Skitch, Kindle, eBay, Netflix, Amazon, Hulu Plus, Skype, Spotify, and McAfee. All of these will probably be useful to you, since they’re popular apps, but Acer also pre-installed a few apps that you’ll probably end up never using, including 7digital, Britannica, iCookbook, ChaCha, TuneIn Radio, StumbleUpon, Social Jogger, newsXpresso, and WildTangent Games. Obviously, you can delete the apps you won’t be using, but your first bootup into Windows 8 on this machine won’t be a clean one.

Performance

The Aspire M Touch runs off of an Intel Core i5 3317U dual-core processor clocked at 1.7GHz with 4GB of RAM. This keeps the machine pedaling along nicely, and the solid state drive allows for fast bootup times and quick app switching. Running the M Touch through Geekbench, we ended up getting a score of just over 7,000, which isn’t anything fantastic, but it’s also not terrible. This laptop isn’t really meant for the true power user, but rather the everyday average consumer just wanting to stay connected. The integrated Intel HD 4000 graphics prove that this laptop won’t be able to handle any intense gaming, but those wanting to watch a movie won’t have any problems.

As for battery life, this is where we were pleasantly surprised. We were averaging around five hours of use, with the occasional six hour cycle if we purposely tried to stretch it. This may not seem that impressive, but with so many laptops today not even able to last four hours on a single charge, we have to give it up to Acer for being able to pull it off.

Wrap-Up

The Aspire M Touch is a sleek-looking laptop, and there’s no doubt about that. Some of the design elements are a bit wonky, though. For example, most of the important ports that you need to get to are all located on the back, save for the headphone/microphone jack and the SD card slot. It makes sense to have the power port and the HDMI port on the back, that way you have cables sticking out from the sides, but having all the USB ports located on the back of the laptop is just a plain nuisance. However despite the low travel of the keyboard keys and the plastic trackpad, using both actually wasn’t too bad; it was certainly a better experience than other Windows laptops that I’ve played with, so I can’t complain too much in that respect.

You can grab an Aspire M Touch for around $800, which might seem a bit on the pricey side, but it’s actually relatively lower than most other laptops like it. It’s certainly a machine that we’d recommend to anyone looking for something portable to get them by with their everyday computing needs, and we’d have a hard time believing that users weren’t having a good experience with the laptop.

This specific Chromebook looks to take on Apple’s MacBook Pro lineup, instead of just being an affordable option like past Chromebooks from HP, Acer, Dell, Samsung, etc. The Chromebook Pixel sports a 12.85-inch display with a staggering resolution of 2560×1700, making it a higher resolution than the Retina MacBook. Although, it has a 3:2 ratio, which is fairly odd in this day and age.

The Pixel comes with an Intel Core i5 dual-core 1.8GHz processor, 4GB of RAM, and two SSD options: 32GB or 64GB. Of course, that’s not a lot of storage for all those media files you have, so Google is throwing in 1TB of Google Drive storage with a purchase of a Pixel, which will be free for three years.

You can pre-order the Pixel right this second on the Google Play store, and it’ll cost you a crazy $1,299, which is right on par for what you’ll pay for a MacBook Pro, but we’re certainly not used to seeing this kind of price for a Chromebook, since most of them have been price in the $200-$300 recently.

Hardware & Design

The 2570p is built to last, and it’s somewhat thick structure gives it some ruggedness so that it’ll withstand more than the usual beating. It has a magnesium alloy shell, which should tell you right away that this thing isn’t messing around. Plus, it’s extremely portable, even with it’s added thickness. It’s got a 12.5-inch display with a 1366×768 resolution. Certainly nothing magical in that case, but considering it’s only a 12.5-inch screen, an HD resolution is a welcomed surprise. The hinges connecting the display to the bottom portion of the laptop are made of aluminum, which means you could open and close the lid as much as you want and the hinges won’t weaken one bit, which is a big plus, especially since I’ve seen my fair share of hinges weaken over time.

However, while the palmrest and the top outer shell are made of magnesium alloy, the bottom of the laptop, as well as the screen bezel, is made of plastic. Granted, it’s a really durable plastic that’s a bit more sturdy than what you’d find on most other plastic-lined notebooks, but it’s a slight bummer that the entire laptop isn’t encased in the beautiful aluminum that we’re big fans of. Either way, the entire thing weighs about 4.6 pounds, which certainly isn’t bad at all and it makes it easy to stow away in a bag without having to use two hands. However, for a 12.5-inch laptop, 4.6 pounds definitely isn’t light, so don’t expect to be twirling it around in your hands, and while I was able to carry it around and pick it up with one hand, it definitely wasn’t a breeze to do so.

As far as hardware is concerned, the 2570p definitely isn’t messing around, but it’s also not a powerhouse machine. It sports an Intel Core i5 3210M dual-core processor clocked at 2.5GHz with 4GB of RAM, and a 500GB hard drive. This kind of performance will definitely allow you to open apps quickly and browse without a hiccup, and I’ll discuss the overall performance a bit later, but the 2570p only comes with Intel HD 4000 graphics, which will be able to play HD video depending on your player, but don’t expect to do much else graphics wise.

The keyboard is quite impressive. It’s a chiclet-style keyboard and the keys have a DuraFinish coating on them, making them resistant from long-term wear. It’s also spill-resistant, meaning that a small mug of coffee won’t do any damage, but it may leave a sticky mess. Of course, you won’t be able to dump a tall glass of liquid all over the surface, but it can withstand some minor spills if they do end up happening. The keyboard isn’t black-lit, which almost seems like a must nowadays, but the laptop does come with a retractable LED light where the webcam is. It’s not extremely bright, but it works in a pinch. To round out the keyboard, there’s a biometric fingerprint scanner on the right side of the palm rest, just in case you want added some security to your laptop — a subject that many companies are serious about.

As far as the touchpad goes, it’s extremely tiny. There’s not a lot of room to move around your finger to navigate windows and such, but there are several different options that you can choose from. First, the touchpad has top and bottom mouse buttons. Traditionally there only on the bottom of the touchpad on most laptops, but you now have the choice of having them on top, which I actually find more suitable. There’s also a mini joystick in the middle of the keyboard that you can use to navigate the mouse cursor. It takes some time to get used to and I wouldn’t say it’s any better than the touchpad, but it’s there if you want it.

As far as ports go, there’s quite a bevy of them. On the left side is the power jack, Ethernet port, optical drive, and then a smart card reader that may come in handy for a lot of business folks. On the right side, there’s an ExpressCard 34mm slot, SD card reader, dual headphone/microphone jack, DisplayPort jack, eSATA and USB 3.0 port (combined), and a docking connector towards the back. On the back of the laptop, there’s a VGA-out port, one extra USB 3.0 port and a USB 2.0 port. So in all, there’s three USB ports, which is certainly respectable, and along with all the other ports you get, we have to say there’s not a lot that HP left out. Businesses most likely won’t be disappointed by the 2570p offerings.

As far as the 2570p’s display, it’s just a normal LED screen, and there’s no IPS technology included, meaning that viewing angles are extremely limited. This probably won’t be a huge deal for most business users, but it’s at least something that’s worth keeping in mind. I personally didn’t have a problem with it since there was need to view the screen at an odd angle, but if you’re in a business meeting, for example, and need to quickly huddle around your laptop to show coworkers something, it may not be ideal.

Software

The EliteBook 2570p runs Windows 8, which from a business standpoint is a huge downside. Windows 8 has yet to prove to be a solid OS for business use. Personally, it’s an OS strictly meant for consumers, and it no way does it scream, “business.” Granted, when the laptop was first released, it came with Windows 7, but if you plan on buying any laptop anytime soon, it’ll have Windows 8 on it, no doubt. Luckily, if you buy the 2570p directly from HP, you can actually configure the laptop to include Windows 7, so not all hope is completely lost in this case.

As far as bloatware goes, there’s no shortage of it. It comes with the CyberLink Media Suite, which includes a photo organizer/manager, media player, video editor, and webcam software. There’s also an HP support app, HP Client Security (which uses the fingerprint scanner), and HP’s SoftPaq download manager. Other than that, the computer comes pre-installed with Evernote and PDF Complete, two apps that are proven business tools.

There’s definitely a lot more bloatware than what we’ve seen on past HP computers that we’ve reviewed, but for a business-oriented laptop, that’s not too surprising. My only huge complaint with the software is that it’s Windows 8. I’m not quite sure if PC manufacturers realize that Windows 7 is the business OS that we need to use, or if they’re only concerned about updating to the latest and greatest OS, no matter what. Maybe there are actually some business men and women out there that prefer Windows 8 for their business needs, but it seems that most companies aren’t jumping on the upgrade bandwagon just yet. Again, we’re glad that HP is still giving us the option to stick with Windows 7, but that won’t last forever.

Performance & Battery

As mentioned earlier, the 2570p comes with a dual-core 2.5GHz Core i5 processor and 4GB of RAM, with integrated Intel HD 4000 graphics. Everyday use proved to be speedy, and while more-intensive apps tended to take a bit longer to load, other apps like Google Chrome, Mail, Calendar, etc. opened up swiftly. However, as expected, benchmarks weren’t anything to write home about, but they also weren’t bad by any means. The 2570p scored just under a 7,000 in Geekbench. Either way, the average user probably isn’t going notice a lot of hiccuping with everyday use. Plus, those business folks that’ll primarily use this type of laptop will mostly use it for documents, spreadsheets, and maybe some video conferencing, but video performance was excellent. Even viewing a 1080p YouTube video wasn’t a challenge for the laptop. It played it nearly flawlessly with little lag.

The really good news is that fan noise remains low most of the time. While streaming video would cause my MacBook to get really hot and force the fans to spin at max speed, the 2570p stayed calm the entire time, and I didn’t even notice the laptop getting too hot at any point. This was probably the most impressive facet of the performance of the laptop. I hate fan noise, and while you can still hear the fans running most of the time, they hardly ever get to the point where they start to sound like jet engines.

As for battery, you’re looking at anywhere from 4-6 hours, and this is from my own testing. Light browsing and document work doesn’t put a lot of strain on the battery, but doing more intensive tasks like video conferencing or watching movies will definitely see a hit on the battery. Of course, screen brightness plays a huge roll as well, and just lowering it down a bit added a good hour of extra battery time for me.

Wrap-Up

In the end, the EliteBook 2570p is a sturdy, well-built laptop that screams professionalism, and can prove itself out in the field. The Core i5 keeps the laptop humming along nicely, and while the integrated graphics aren’t anything too special, they prove that big things can come in small packages. As far as price, the 2570p starts at $949, which certainly isn’t cheap by any means, so what you’re paying for is ultimately the build quality of the laptop, along with all of the port options along the edges of the notebook. Sure, you could get a laptop with similar specs for slightly cheaper, but the 2570p will last you a long time, and needing a laptop that’s rugged will be well worth the investment that you put into it.

The video was originally uploaded to YouTube, but has since been taken down, and the company responsible for uploading the video, SlinkyMe, says that the video made its way to YouTube after its servers were compromised by hackers. Of course, we don’t know if that was actually the case, since it’s also possible that the video was just accidentally set to “public.”

The Google-designed Chromebook is supposedly called the Pixel, most likely named after the high-resolution display. It’s not said whether the device is both designed and manufactured by Google, or if they’re partnering with a manufacturer to put it together for them, similar to how the Nexus series of mobile devices operates.

Of course, this isn’t the first time that a Google-designed Chromebook has been made. The company released the CR-48 Chromebook, which only made its way to a handful of people and actually never went on sale. Of course, just like with the CR-48, the Pixel looks to be simply designed and takes a few queues from the MacBook, including the aluminum shell and the chiclet keyboard. We’ll be on standby if more details emerge of the Google Pixel.

[via Liliputing]

Granted, the Pavilion 14 is a little bit more expensive than what you’ll pay for other new Chromebooks, and while it doesn’t come with any hardware that’s crazy impressive, the overall design of HP’s Chromebook might be a big seller for some people. The 14-inch display has a 1366×768 resolution, and on the inside there’s an Intel Celeron 847 processor clocked at 1.1 GHz.

Other than that, there’s 2GB of RAM and 16GB of internal storage, which certainly isn’t a lot by any means, but users will get 100GB of Google Drive storage for free for the first two years. As far as ports go, there’s HDMI, three USB 2.0 ports, an SD card slot, and Ethernet. The laptop also weighs in at around four pounds, making it a bit chunkier than other models.

This marks HP‘s first go at a Google Chromebook, joining the likes of Samsung and Acer, who have more competitively-priced options at $249 and $199, respectively. If battery is a huge concern for you, HP’s Pavilion 14 comes in at four hours and 15 minutes, which isn’t too great for a Chromebook considering that Samsung has them beat, but either way, you can buy it now for $330.

The VivoBook S300 will be available with both premium and budget options, including a Core i7 Ivy Bridge CPU, as well as Celeron or Pentium chips. However, the S300 will pack in a traditional hard drive rather than a more-modern solid state drive. However, you will be treated with a 44Whr battery, a VGA port, two USB 2.0 ports, one USB 3.0 port, and HDMI.

In total, there will be six processor options to choose from, ranging from the Celeron 847 ULV to the most-expensive Core i7-3517U. The four other chips consist of a Pentium, two Core i3 CPUs, and a Core i5. All models will also feature 802.11n WiFi, Bluetooth 4.0, an SD card reader, 2GB to 4GB of graphics, and either a 320GB or 500GB hard drive. The 13.3-inch display will carry a resolution of 1366×768.

Sadly, no pricing or availability details were announced yet, but seeing how you can grab the 11.6-inch model for $499, and the 14-inch model for $699, we’d expect the price range for the 13.3-inch variant to be in the $600 range on average. If you’re looking for a mid-range laptop, the S300 might be the one for you.

[via MobileGeeks]

Teachers can go to the Donors Choose website and request a Series 5 Chromebook for their classroom. The request will be posted on the website where anyone can make a donation to support the request. When teachers reach their funding goal, they’ll receive their Chromebooks from Lakeshore Learning, DonorsChoose.org’s exclusive fulfillment partner for the program.

The deadline to submit a request is December 21, so if you’re a teacher and are wanting to get in on this, there’s no better time than now to send in your request. You can request up to 30 Chromebooks. 30 is about the average size of a public-school classroom, so that would essentially be one Chromebook per student.

The Samsung Series 5 Chromebook is quite a capable machine. It has a 12.1-inch 16:10 LED display with a 1280×800 resolution. On the inside, it’s running a a 1.66GHz dual-core Intel Atom N570 processor with integrated graphics and 2GB of RAM. There’s also 16GB of flash storage, which certainly isn’t a lot, but it emphasizes the laptop’s web-only strategy.

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

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

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

Sony’s high-end line of laptops, the VAIO Z series, not only got upgraded with Ivy Bridge but also got a slight price reduction. Previously, the Z series had to be purchased with a separate Power Media Dock, which costs an additional $300. Now, you can get the Z series by itself at $1,599.99. It comes in two configurations of either i5-3210M or i7-3612M. Both models come with 1920 x 1080 displays, the same AMD 6650 GPU as before, and 128GB SSD.

The Sony VAIO S comes in 13.3-inch and 15.5-inch models, priced starting at $899.99 and $999.99, respectively. The series also offers a 13.3-inch premium version that starts at $1,119.99. Although similar in aesthetics to the Z series, this lineup still retains slot-loading optical drives and is hence a bit bulkier. The refreshed models now come with a i5-3210 processor with the option of either NVIDIA’s GT640M LE switchable graphics or Intel’s integrated HD Graphics 4000.

Sony’s mid-range VAIO E series is also getting Ivy Bridge chips, but only on their premium versions. The standard versions of the 14.4-inch and 15-inch VAIO E series start at $549.99 and $449.99, respectively, while the the 15-inch premium version with Ivy Bridge starts at $699.99. All models in this series also now have backlit keyboards, except for the 11-inch model.

Besides laptops, Sony has also upgraded its all-in-one desktop with the latest Ivy Bridge chips. Its VAIO L series all-in-one is priced starting at $1,299.99 and comes with a Core i5-3210M processor and integrated graphics. There are three configurations in this series, all featuring a 24-inch 1080p capacitive touch display, but the most expensive one of the three also supports glasses-free 3D at $1,999.99.

All of the updated models are available for pre-order now on Sony’s website. The orders are expected to begin shipping on June 5.

The 13-inch IdeaPad U310 is the smaller and lighter of the two, coming in at just 18mm thick (.7 inches) and 1.7kg (3.74 pounds). That’s neither the thinnest nor the lightest that we’ve seen, even from Lenovo, but it makes up for it with a unique visual style available in five colors and  battery life of up to seven hours. Processor options include Core i3, i5 and i7, all Sandy Bridge, and you can configure the notebook with up to 500GB of traditional hard drive storage and an optional 32GB SSD, though the latter is just for cache. The screen is a typical 1366×768 panel, and other features include Dolby Home Theatre V4 and Intel’s WiDi wireless display tech.

The IdeaPad U410 brings a larger 14-inch screen (though the resolution is the same) and slightly larger dimensions, at 21mm thick and 1.9kg (4.18 pounds). That extra space gets you extra options, with hard drives up to a terabyte and the ability to add discrete NVIDIA GeForce graphics. The battery is given a boost as well, with a quoted runtime of 9 hours – which could meet or beat our current Ultrabook runtime champ, the HP Folio 13. The IdeaPad U310 will start at $749, with the U410 coming in at $799.

In addition to the new hardware, Lenovo is using its shiny new Ultrabooks to kick off “The Book of DO” campaign… which kind of sounds like an Old Testament motivational speech. They’ll be using TV, print and online ads to highlight young professionals in Japan, Russia, China, India, the United States and the U.K. They’re also partnering (appropriately) with DoSomething.org and Bing for The Hunt: 11 Days of Doing. The scavenger hunt-style promotion will allow youngsters to complete service-related tasks to be entered to win one of the new IdeaPads, starting on July 10th.

The MSI GT70 is a 17.3-inch laptop that features a 1920 x 1080 Full HD matte display. It has a fully back-lit and multi-color keyboard that’s programmable with macro capabilities, three USB 3.0 ports, HDMI 1.4, WiDi, Bluetooth, a 7-in-1 media reader, an E-SATA prot, and a 720p webcam. It also boasts 12GB of DDR3 memory, a 128GB SSD, and a 500GB HDD. The new GT70 is priced starting at $1,650.

Additionally, MSI is also announcing two more affordable gaming notebooks with the GE70 and the GE60. They are 17-inch and 16-inch laptops featuring Intel’s HM77 chipset, NVIDIA GTX 660M graphics, SteelSeries keyboard, and Headset AMP + Gold Flash Jacks. Pricing for the GE70 starts at $1,300, while the GE60 starts at $1,200.

[via MSI]

His predictions on hardware seem obvious enough: new Intel Ivy Bridge platforms for all the laptops and the iMac, and a new version of both OS X and iOS before the fall. On the iPad side of things, he claims that a smaller model would make sense for the fall, especially in the education market, where the high price of entry for tablets is keeping many away. Interestingly, textbooks seem central to this thesis, even though the meager offerings on iBooks haven’t improved significantly since it was introduced in January. Quote Reitzes, “We do not feel that a smaller, lower priced tablet will dilute the quality of the iPad brand and iOS ecosystem either, despite prior comments by the company.”

The analyst isn’t saying anything more than we’ve already heard (if fact a cynic might say he’s an avid reader of the tech blogs), but he says it with the authority of several billion dollars worth of guided investments. Apple has successfully navigated the passing of Steve Jobs and continues its incredibly profitable streak above the mobile market, while dominating tablets and making strides on the desktop. All of Apple’s non-mobile hardware is due for a refresh, and at least some of it will certainly come during WWDC in June.

[via Forbes]

In the UK the 15-inch versions will be given the model numbers NP550P5C-A02UK and NP550P5C-S03UK. Both have identical 1366×768 screens, 8GB of memory, DVD-RW drives and 5200mAh 6-cell batteries. The more expensive S03UK is equipped with an NVIDIA GT 650M graphics card. The 15-inchers have an admirable thickness of 1.11 inches. The 17-inch NP550P7C-S02UK steps things up with a Core i7 3610QM processor, a 12.3-inch 1600×900 screen, a Blu-ray drive and the GT 650M to boot.

All three models feature JBL speakers with a Mac Bass Boost subwoofer, promising better sound that the usual tinny laptop fare. Expansion options weren’t mentioned, but a shot of the laptop’s side reveals two USB 3.0 ports and HDMI-out. Storage options include hard drives up to 2TB, though Samsung is being mum on which models will get which drives. Samsung plans to launch the Series 5 550 P models in the UK later this month, though they haven’t said a peep on price thus far. There’s no word on other markets.

The laptop comes equipped with a 17.3-inch 1920×1080 (full HD) matte screen, the high-end NVIDIA GTX670M mobile discrete GPU, and a fully backlit keyboard with multiple color LEDs provided by gaming accessory maker SteelSeries. The keys have the typical gamer programming and macro capabilities, plus they’re extra shiny. Killer-brand gaming network hardware handles your data packets with care, and three USB 3.0 ports, HDMI 1.4 and an amplified audio jack have got you covered for expansion. WiDi, Bluetooth, a 7-in-1 media reader, an E-SATA port and a 720p webcam round out the extras.

The systems top out at a whopping 12GB of DDR3 memory, with dual hard drive options of 128GB SSD plus a 500GB traditional drive. You can also opt for a slower but more capacious 750GB hard drive. THX-certified TruStudio audio is offered, but at the moment the only disc option is a DVD writer. Hopefully a Blu-ray alternative will be made available eventually. Of course you can’t cram all that power into an Ultrabook: the laptop is a huge 16.85 by 11.34 by 2.17 inches and weighs in at 8.6 pounds. What say you, PC gamers – any takers for the MSI GT70? The smaller 15.6-inch GT60 should get an Ivy Bridge update soon.

The leaked Lenovo roadmap clearly indicates that its new Chief River Ivy Bridge notebooks will be available for purchase starting June 5. They will continue sales of their top-selling Huron River models through September. However, the wording does seem to suggest that although distributors may start purchasing the new Ivy Bridge laptops in June that channel stock may not be available until September.

The Lenovo devices due to get the Chief River refresh include the X220, the X220T, and the X1. So if you’re considering getting a new Lenovo ThinkPad notebook and can wait till at least September, you might want to hold on so you don’t miss out on the chipset upgrade.

Intel’s Ivy Bridge has so far been tipped for an official launch on April 23 or possibly April 29 with some reports of a delay until June. Apple is believed to be launching refreshed MacBook Pros with new Ivy Bridge chips later this month, likely having priority on the first batch of Intel’s new chips.

[via Engadget]

The new MacBook Pro lineup is expected to pack Intel’s latest Ivy Bridge chips, which are set for release by the end of this month. The quad-core Ivy Bridge processors are expected to go on sale April 29 with the Core i7-3720QM and Core i7-3820QM models along with Intel’s HD 4000 integrated graphics expected in the new MacBook Pros.

The thinner and lighter design of the new MacBook Pro models will be very similar to Apple’s popular MacBook Air. The new lineup will even forgo built-in optical drives to slim down and to favor digital content delivery through iTunes over physical discs. A 17-inch model is also in the pipeline, but is rumored to retain the optical drive to keep power users happy.

[via AppleInsider]

All three Xnote 540 notebook models feature the same Intel Core i7 processor with GeForce Gt555M graphics and 4.1-channel audio. They’re also styled very similar to Apple’s MacBook Pro lineup, featuring aluminum bodies, black bezels, and black chiclet keyboards. The A540-P model that doesn’t support 3D features 1080p Full HD resolution.

The notebooks are set to arrive in Korea first and will be released worldwide sometime in the first quarter of this year. The top of the line A540-H with glasses-free 3D is priced around 2.25m Korean won, or about $2,000, the A540-T/D 3D model is priced at 1.93m won, or $1,700, and the A540-P IPS model is priced at 1.7m won, or $1,500.

[via Engadget]

Citing a source familiar with the new MacBook Pro design, AppleInsider reveals that the new Air-like MacBook Pros will be phased in over the course of this year. The revamped version of the more popular 15-inch model will be introduced first, followed by the 17-inch model later.

For the new notebooks, Apple is expected to eliminate optical disk drives and traditional hard drives, replacing them with solid-state drives. They will rely heavily on Thunderbolt for data transfer as well as digitally distributed software and media, such as downloads from the Mac App Store

The notebooks will feature extended battery life, instant-on capabilities, and Intel’s upcoming Ivy Bridge chips that are set to ship in April. However, it’s not clear whether the new Apple notebooks will be branded as MacBook Airs or MacBook Pros.

[via AppleInsider]

The Classmate+ laptops, first introduced early last year, are designed to withstand rough treatment from student use. This new generation of Classmate+ laptops are designed to be even tougher, featuring a keyboard with enhanced water resistance, a stronger corner design, reinforced steel hinge, and a more durable DC jack.

The 10.1-inch anti-glare screen is available with capacitive touch and stylus capability on the convertible model and optional high-brightness or high-definition available to both models. The laptops run on an Intel Atom N2600 processor with up to 2GB DDR3 memory and up to 320GB HDD or up to 32GB SSD storage. They also offer three USB ports, VGA, an optional HDMI port, and webcam. Battery life is now extended to all-day use, up to 10 hours on a 6-cell battery.

The new Lenovo Classmate+ laptops will be available starting this month, however, they are limited to education and government customers only. Pricing is not listed and will vary depending on configuration options. The laptop comes in a standard gray color, but can be made in custom colors with a minimum quantity order.

The OCZ Deneva 2 mSATA SSDs are touted as being faster, more efficient, smaller, and lighter as well as more reliable, longer-lasting, and secure. They are much lighter than traditional SSDs, weighing about 10 times less than a standard SSD and 15 times less than a conventional 2.5-inch hard drive. Their ultra thin profile allows them to fit into dimensions less than 21mm thick.

The Deneva 2 mSATA SSD series also includes SATA 3.0 and 120GB versions, but those have not been Intel certified for ultrabooks yet. The models certified are the D2CSTEMS1A10-0030 and D2CSTEMS1A10-0060. The series boasts max read speeds of up to 280MB/s, max write speeds of up to 260MB/s, and up to 32,000 4K random write iOPS.

[via TheVerge]

The Durabook R13C also features an IP65 rating, which ensures that all enclosed portions are completely protected from dust and water. It has a water-resistant backlit keyboard and a magnesium alloy case that’s 20 times stronger than ABS plastic. Additional security features include a fingerprint scanner, Trusted Platform Module 1.2, and a Kensington lock.

The laptop features a 13.3-inch multi-touch shock-mounted display with a 1000 NIT LCD that’s readable in sunlight. Inside, it’s powered by an Intel Core Low Power i7-620LM vPro processor along with 8GB of RAM. It also sports a 2.5-inch shock-mounted SATA hard drive with heater, an ultra slim super-multi DVD drive, two USB ports, SIM card connector, and SD card reader. For more details, you can visit GammaTech’s product page.

Apple had booted NVIDIA about three years ago in favor of AMD chipsets, but the recent issues with AMD Llano supply capacities and the failed attempt at implementing them in the latest MacBook Airs have forced Apple to switch back. Despite Apple allegedly swearing off NVIDIA, there’s really no other alternatives in that arena.

The switch will mainly be for Apple’s larger notebooks that haven’t transitioned into an all-Intel solution with integrated graphics. It’s been rumored that Apple has been working on a new MacBook Pro for 2012 that will feature a redesigned chassis that will be thinner and lighter, similar to the MacBook Air lineup.

[via MacRumors]

The two notebooks don’t seem to have been announced before. They’re dubbed Dalmore 15 and Dalmore 14 with model numbers P19F and P25G. The FCC diagrams reveal that the backside of the notebooks are about as thick as an Ethernet port, which pegs them at about 15 to 20mm thick. In addition to the Ethernet port, they also feature HDMI, a mini-dsiplay port, as well as a couple USB ports. A SATA Flash label on the notebook reveals that it will use SSD.

The frame of the notebooks also feature an interesting design that isn’t seen in any of Dell’s current models, suggesting that this could be part of a completely new line. The backside is flat but then angles slightly at the corners reminiscent of the angular corner design we’ve seen on the Motorola XOOM 2 tablet.

[via Wireless Goodness]

The Samsung Series 7 features 13-inch and 15.6-inch laptops. The 13-inch model actually squeezes in a 14-inch screen with its ultra-slim bezel design. Both models feature an HD+ (1600×900) high resolution matted display with 16 million colors and up to 50 percent better brightness (300 nit) thanks to Samsung’s Superbright Technology. Graphics is powered by an AMD Radeon HD6750M.

Inside, the Series 7 packs the latest Intel Core i5 or i7 quad-core processor that features ExpressCache, which accelerates boot-up and start times as well as overall performance with up to 50-60 percent quicker web browsing thanks to an extra 8GB of flash memory loaded directly on the motherboard. Samsung boasts that Series 7 laptops can do a cold boot-up in just 19 seconds and resume from sleep mode in as little as 2-3 seconds. Battery life is rated for up to 9 hours for great all-day use while on the go.

The Series 7 laptops comes in four configurations with a starting price of $999.99 and goes up to $1,299.00. They will be available starting on October 2.

Apple’s mobile PC shipments made up 21.1 percent share of the market and its 13.6 million shipment figure is a 136 percent growth from the same quarter last year. HP comes in second place having shipped 9.7 million units with a 15 percent market share, followed by Dell, Acer, and Lenovo.

Almost 80 percent of the Apple’s mobile PC sales were of iPads, which saw a 107 percent year-over-year growth. Notebook sales, however, remained stagnant across the board with a 2 percent drop from the previous quarter and a 2 percent increase year-over-year.

Tablet shipments in the category as a whole grew 70 percent since the previous quarter and 400 percent year-over-year. However, of the 16.4 million tablets sold, 10.7 million units were Apple’s iPad. However, excluding Apple from the figures, the other vendors did see a 25 percent increase year-over-year in tablet shipments.

[via DisplaySearch]

According to Miller, modern laptop batteries contain their own firmware and microcontrollers to monitor power levels, allowing operating systems to check and respond accordingly. Even when your notebook is powered off, the lithium ion battery inside knows when to stop charging. Also, the battery can detect and regulate its heat level to maintain a safe temperature.

From examining Apple’s laptops, Miller noticed that all the embedded chips in the batteries used the same default passwords. This means that a hacker who knows of the password can find a way to control the chip’s firmware and in turn manipulate the battery to wreak havoc on your system.

There are many possible methods of attack, including not letting your battery recharge, not letting it regulate heat leading to physical dangers, and implanting hidden malware that infects your computer. This last one can reinfect your computer over and over again even after cleaning out the system and reinstalling all software if the battery is not changed as well.

Miller has sent his research to Apple and Texas Instruments and expects to expose the vulnerability at the Black Hat security conference in August. He has also proposed a fix, which he calls “Caulkgun,” that replaces the battery firmware’s default password with a random string. However, this password change could be an issue when it comes to OS updates.

[via Forbes]

Dell Latitude notebooks are designed with the mobile business professional in mind with fast performance, 12-hour battery-life, and enterprise security and durability. But with the help of Verizon, the notebooks are even better for mobile professionals.

The Dell E6420 will now have the option to be configured with Verizon’s 4G LTE mobile broadband technology. The Latitudes integrated video, voice, and data technology have also been optimized for 4G speeds, promising speeds up to 10 times faster. Upcoming rugged models of the Latitude, the E6420 ATG and the E6420 XFR, will also get the 4G LTE option by the end of the year.

However, additional 4G LTE wireless data plans will be required and we all know about the pricey new Verizon tiered data plans.

[via Dell]