HP Envy 14 Spectre Offers Glass Design, We Go Hands-on

Subject: Mobile | January 10, 2012 - 01:42 AM | Matt Smith
Tagged: ultrabook, hp, envy, CES

It’s raining ultrabooks at CES. Unfortunately, this makes it difficult for any individual manufacturer to stand out from the crowd. There was one that caught our eye, however – the HP Envy 14 Spectre.

We’ll go in to the specifications in a moment because they’re not what separate the Spectre from the crowd. It’s the design that commands attention. Instead of using an aluminum lid like most competitors HP decided to use lightweight black glass. This instantly distinguishes the laptop from anything else on the market. While most ultrabooks look like MacBook Air clones, the Spectre is unique at first glance.

UPDATE: We have a video walkthrough of the new HP Envy 14 Spectre Ultrabook for you!

You’d think scratches would be a concern, but the scratch-resistant glass used on the lid appears reasonably tough. In fact, it will likely prove more durable than plastic (which tends to scratch) or aluminum (which tends to dent). The only unavoidable issue will be smudging. The floor model had more than a few fingerprints on it.

Once opened, the Envy 14 reveals a more conventional silver metallic (the palmrest is glass-covered, but remains a metallic silver color) interior similar to the rest of the Envy line. A Beats Audio analog volume knob (along with Beats Audio speakers) ties it in with the new Envy 15 and 17.

Although just 20mm (.78) thin, the Envy 14 Spectre seems to offer keyboard feel on par with its larger and thicker cousins without sacrificing the backlight. There’s also a ton of palmrest space and a large touchpad. Multi-touch gestures are among the smoothest available on a Windows laptop. Perhaps the only downside is weight. At 3.79 pounds, it is noticeably heavier than most competitors. While this contributes to the laptop’s luxurious feel it could reduce the convenience of on-the-go use.

HP plans to ship the Envy 14 with Core i5 and i7 low-voltage processors, 4GB or 8GB of RAM, and 128GB or 256GB solid state hard drives. A 1600x900 display will be standard. Also included is an NFC chip that will allow for short-range wireless sharing. It’s not a stretch to speculate it could also eventually work with the wireless payment features Intel showed during this morning’s ultrabook conference.

Battery life is projected to be 9 hours, and while this will no doubt end up being generous, it’s far better than the 6 hour estimates given by most competitors. Battery size may be the reason for the extra weight.

The Envy 14 Spectre will be on sale in February or March at an introductory price of $1399. That’s a lot of money, but initial impressions suggest that laptop is worth the price of admission. Quality is quite possibly better than the MacBook Air. If the display and performance proves to be as good as promised this pricey laptop could be a hit.

PC Perspective's CES 2012 coverage is sponsored by MSI Computer.

Follow all of our coverage of the show at http://pcper.com/ces!

Source: HP

CES 2012 Day 1 Podcast - 1/8/2012

Subject: Editorial | January 9, 2012 - 02:34 AM | Ken Addison
Tagged: podcast, CES, Intel, amd, nvidia, ocz, ssd, thunderbolt, hdd, Lenovo, laptop, ultrabook

PC Perspective CES 2012 Day 1 - 1/8/2012

Join us tonight as we talk about our first day of CES 2012 - including Storage Visions, CES Unveiled and more!

You can subscribe to us through iTunes and you can still access it directly through the RSS page HERE.

The URL for the podcast is: http://pcper.com/podcast - Share with your friends!

iTunes - Subscribe to the podcast directly through the iTunes Store
RSS - Subscribe through your regular RSS reader
MP3 - Direct download link to the MP3 file

Hosts: Ryan Shrout, Josh Walrath, Matt Smith and Allyn Malventano

PC Perspective's CES 2012 coverage is sponsored by MSI Computer.

Follow all of our coverage of the show at http://pcper.com/ces!

Source:

CES 2012 Day 0 Podcast - 1/7/2012

Subject: Editorial, General Tech | January 8, 2012 - 02:20 AM | Ken Addison
Tagged: ultrabook, podcast, nvidia, Intel, CES, amd

PC Perspective CES 2012 Day 0 - 1/7/2012

Join us tonight as we talk about our CES predictions for this year, from Las Vegas!

You can subscribe to us through iTunes and you can still access it directly through the RSS page HERE.

The URL for the podcast is: http://pcper.com/podcast - Share with your friends!

iTunes - Subscribe to the podcast directly through the iTunes Store
RSS - Subscribe through your regular RSS reader
MP3 - Direct download link to the MP3 file

Hosts: Ryan Shrout, Josh Walrath, Matt Smith and Allyn Malventano

PC Perspective's CES 2012 coverage is sponsored by MSI Computer.

Follow all of our coverage of the show at http://pcper.com/ces!

Source: PC Perspective

Lenovo Unveils ThinkPad Ultrabook, ARM-Powered Laptop Ahead of CES

Subject: Mobile | January 5, 2012 - 01:00 AM | Matt Smith
Tagged: ultrabook, Thinkpad, news, Lenovo, edge, CES

Were you thinking about an ultrabook, but worried that the ones already available just weren’t tough enough? Lenovo has you covered. They’ve taken the wraps off the Lenovo ThinkPad T430u, which blends thin design with durability.

This isn’t exactly new territory for Lenovo, has the company already offered the ThinkPad X1, an extremely thin laptop that we reviewed in the summer of 2011. Lenovo has also long offered the T420s, an thin-and-light version of the already thin-and-light T series. The new 430u has a 14” display and will be starting at just $849, a surprisingly low price for a ThinkPad branded ultrabook.

Specifications include third-generation Intel Core processors, optional Nvidia discrete graphics, mechanical and SSD storage options, battery life of up to six hours and an island-style keyboard similar to the ThinkPad X1. Thickness will be no more than .8 inches and weight will be under four pounds.

Another interesting debut is the ThinkPad X1 Hybrid. Based off the current X1, it includes a feature not yet seen in consumer PC laptops - an dual-core ARM processor built by Qualcomm. Don't get too excited yet, because the ARM processor doesn't run Windows. That task is left to a typical Intel x86 processor. It does, however, run a secondary operating system called Instant Media Mode that allows users to access the web, watch videos and perform other basic tasks. Lenovo claims that using IMM instead of Windows allows for 10 hours of life on the X1's realtively small battery. Owning such an exotic piece of hardware will cost you - the X1 Hybrid starts at a lofty $1599.

Other new ThinkPad offerings include the Edge S430, a “premium” laptop stating at $749 that will offer a 14” display and Thunderbolt connectivity as well as third-gen Intel processors and optional Nvidia graphics. It also comes in a color we haven't seen yet in ThinkPads - Mocha Black. I'm not sure how this differs from regular black, but it makes me want a coffee.

Smaller still are the Edge E130 and E330, 11.6" and 13.3" laptops that fill out the small half of the new Edge line-up. Those looking for a more mainstream option will be able to consider the Edge E430/E435/E530/E535, a series of laptops starting at $549. They will be available not only in the Intel/Nvidia combination but also with AMD Fusion APUs (Lenovo designates the AMD models by ending the model number with a 5). There's also a new color to choose from, Cobalt Blue, while the old Midnight Black and Heatwave Red options remain.

If even that is too expensive, you’ll be able to grab the ThinkPad B480/B580, which start at $499 and offer “essential computing.”

The new ThinkPad ultrabook and X1 Hybrid are sure to be hot topics at CES, not only because they're ThinkPads (which always get geeks salivating) but also because they offer some interesting features are affordable prices. We'll be sure to publish any new information we learn about these products once the show begins.

PC Perspective's CES 2012 coverage is sponsored by MSI Computer

Source: Lenovo

The Ultrabook promises to be really big ... in about a year

Subject: General Tech | November 10, 2011 - 12:16 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged: ultrabook, Intel, asus, acer

Ah, the Ultrabook; Intel's attempt to meet Apple on its own territory and playing by Apple's established rules. Since there has been so much news and speculation about the new ultramobile platform from Intel some of the information we have been given has degraded into noise. The original run was very limited, with about 50,000 units ordered by the major manufactures like ASUS. There seems to have been a second order placed with a much more respectable quarter million units requested by ASUS and Acer, though we don't know about the other players. However with the products launch resembling an attempt at flight by an under-powered, yet aerodynamically shaped chunk of metal these numbers have been reduced to under 200,000. DigiTimes predicts that this time next year the Ultrabook might be significantly more attractive, not just because of Ivy Bridge but also because of the release of Windows 8 which seems almost custom built for the Ultrabook.

"Asustek Computer and Acer have recently reduced their ultrabook orders from 250,000-300,000 units originally to 150,000-180,000 units by the end of 2011 due to the unsatisfactory sales during the initial month after their launch, according to sources from upstream ODMs.

Currently, Asustek is offering four Zenbook series ultrabook models in the retail channel, priced between NT$36,000-49,000 (US$1,194-1,625), while Acer is competing with its S3 series models with prices at NT$31,500-42,000. Because global notebook demand still has not yet seen any recovery, ultrabooks, which have a rather higher price range compared to mainstream models, did not see as strong sales as expected, causing Acer and Asustek to both drop their product orders by 40%."

Here is some more Tech News from around the web:

Tech Talk

Source: DigiTimes

ASUS may be out of HDDs but they are not out of tablets

Subject: General Tech | November 1, 2011 - 12:11 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged: asus, netbook, tablet, ultrabook

ASUS seems to be sitting in a very nice place in the market, with several flavours of 'killer' products, so that which ever ends up winning the form factor battle ASUS will come out with a profit. In this high tech game of rock, paper, scissors we have The Ultrabook, with their newly released Zenbook, The Netbook, their Eee series being the best known and The Tablet, being that nice looking Eee Pad Transformer. They even still sell laptops for those who prefer to exercise their arms and core. Which ever form factor becomes dominant ASUS already has a model out now, with new ones on the way, which explains the 11% growth in profit they recorded this quarter.

One major benefit ASUS has with these smaller form factors is that they all use flash memory for long term storage. With the devastation hitting Thailand as flood waters cover homes and businesses, the tech world also watches the stocks of platter based HDDs plummet. In fact ASUS reported to The Inquirer that they expect to be out of hard drives by the end of the month. That will only effect the larger form factors, ASUS may still hit the 1.8 million tablets shipped target that they are aiming for by the end of 2011.

"ASUS managed a slight increase in profit for the third quarter of this year, despite the global slowdown in PC sales.

ASUS is still shipping notebooks, but has also been strong in netbooks and has launched its own fondleslab range, all siblings to its popular Eee PC netbook, led by the Eee Pad Transformer, but to eventually include the Eee Memo, Slider and Slate."

Here is some more Tech News from around the web:

Tech Talk

Source: The Register

An actual ASUS Ultrabook review

Subject: General Tech | October 31, 2011 - 06:27 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged: zenbook, ux31, ultrabook, asus

Finally a reviewer has managed to get their hands on an Ultrabook; The Tech Report gives the low down on ASUS' Zenbook UX31 in their lateset article. It is every bit as pretty as the pictures implied and is not too bad looking on the inside with a Core i5-2557M, 4GB DDR3-1333 on Intel's QS67 chipset with a 128GB Adata XM11 SSD for storage with the 1600x900 TN display powered by the SandyBridge processors onboard graphics engine. Interestingly, The Tech Report finds its physical characteristics to match or beat the 13" Macbook Air, which costs $200 more so perhaps there is hope for this form factor. Throughout the review are the inevitable comparisons to Apple, who have already mastered this form factor, as well as mention of the soon to be available IvyBridge books which should be about half the price.

"The first 13" ultrabook from Asus looks extremely tantalizing on paper—not to mention visually. Is it as good as it seems, and is it worth the $1,099 asking price?"

Here are some more Mobile articles from around the web:

Mobile

Source: The Tech Report

Ultrabooks taking 1/4 of the mobile market? That's a lot of kool-aid to swallow

Subject: General Tech | October 28, 2011 - 01:39 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged: ultrabook, Intel, market share

Everyone's current favourite kicking horse, the ultrabook, is poised to take over almost half of all consumer notebook sales by the end of 2012 ... at least according to what DigiTimes heard from Intel. Even stranger is that instead of breaking out into laughter, the manufactures peg the likely market penetration at about 25%. Currently there are models from Acer and ASUS which you can purchase for your very own, but don't go out looking for reviews of them. You can find some quick previews and overviews but as far as performance testing you are not going to find the same information as is available for every other mobile form factor; take that as you will.

The Ultrabook is expensive, as SemiAccurate recently pointed out you can get better performance from a notebook half the price and almost the same size. It also seems odd that a form factor specifically limited to only 50,000 units produced in the first run is going to take over the market. Even with broader adoption from companies like Lenovo or Dell, the math does not seem to support a 25% share of the market, let alone 40% and requires you to completely ignore the willingness of the consumer to pay $1000+ for a mediocre laptop. It is small and shiny though; never underestimate the draw of shinies!

"While Intel aims to increase the proportion of ultrabooks among global shipments of consumer notebooks to 40% by fourth-quarter 2012, the proportion is estimated to only reach 20-25% based on current market conditions, according to sources from Taiwan-based notebook supply chain makers.

The sources pointed out that most suppliers are aggressively developing components for ultrabooks, but actual order volumes have so far been below their expectations. Although the suppliers all understand that ultrabook are still testing the water, weakening growth of the traditional notebook market and dropping profits have prompted them to put great hopes on the success of ultrabooks.

As for Intel's 40% goal, the sources pointed out that Apple's MacBook Air will become a strong threshold for ultrabooks since there is not yet a single product can outmatch the MacBook Air in terms of performance and price."

Here is some more Tech News from around the web:

Tech Talk

Source: DigiTimes

Ultrabook Prime; they're here

Subject: Mobile | October 25, 2011 - 12:32 AM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged: Zenbook UX311, Zenbook UX21, acer, ultrabook, asus, Aspire S Series

Those of you who are strangers to the PC Perspective Podcast, or who do not remember the CULV may be disappointed by the retail release of the Ultrabook form factor from Intel. Those of you who have watched us describe the woes of the manufacturers who needed to design and retail the Ultrabook for under $1000 probably already know the ending of this tale. There are Acer models available at $900 and though they lack an ethernet port they certainly carry a citrus aura. ASUS seems to have put together a slightly better version with a fair choice of ports available, though with more dongles required than necessary (>0), but still too many sacrifices have been made for an aluminium clad ultra-thin form factor. Both companies produce better notebooks at a much lower price if you are willing to squeeze in a few extra milimetres.

"You know a product is a dog when it is available widely in stores long before reviewers get sent some. Ultrabooks are no exception, the only thing they have is hype and consumer ignorance."

Here are some more Mobile articles from around the web:

More Mobile Articles

Source: SemiAccurate

Don't worry AMD fans, there's an ultrabook clone coming soon

Subject: General Tech | October 24, 2011 - 06:43 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged: amd, ultrabook, Deccan, Kerala

Not to be deterred by the issues that Intel has run into trying to out Macbook Apple, AMD will also be jumping on a notebook similar to the Ultrabook. The successors to Brazos will be competing against Ivy Bridge and Haswell, so hopefully the statement that DigiTimes makes about vastly improved performance and power usage reduction are true. AMD is also lookign to refresh the chips they've designed for use in tablets which you should be able to get your hands on before the end of the year, if GLOBALFOUNDRIES can produce enough chips.

"AMD has made plans for ultrabook-like products for the next two years – in 2012, AMD will launch the Deccan platform to replace Brazos and will launch Kerala in 2013.

Since AMD's share in the global CPU market has been around 20% in recent years while the company has about 10% share in the global notebook CPU market, AMD is preparing plans for ultra-thin notebooks hoping to raise its share in the notebook CPU market.

In June 2012, AMD is set to launch Deccan, featuring Krishna and Wichita-based APUs and will upgrade to Kerala featuring Kabini-based APUs. With the upgrades, the overall performance and power consumption of AMD's platforms are expected to see an extraordinary improvement, allowing AMD to compete against Intel's Ivy Bridge platform in 2012 and Haswell platform in 2013.

For the traditional notebook market, AMD has already launched its Llano-based Sabine platform to replace Danube, but due to Globalfoundries' weak 32nm yield rates and production issues, supplies of Llano APUs has been limited, which should impact AMD's future plans for the notebook market. However, within AMD's latest plans, the company is set to launch the Comal platform, featuring Trinity-based APUs, for 2012 and will upgrade to the Indus platform in 2013 using Kaveri-based APUs.

As for the tablet PC market, AMD will push the Brazos platform with Windows operating system to target the enterprise market in 2011. In the second quarter of 2012, AMD will launch the Brazos T platform that features Hondo APUs and in 2013 will release the Samara platform, which features a similar architecture as its ultra-thin platform."

Here is some more Tech News from around the web:

Tech Talk

Source: DigiTimes

Subject: Mobile | January 10, 2012 - 01:42 AM | Matt Smith Tagged: ultrabook, hp, envy, CES

Subject: Editorial | January 9, 2012 - 02:34 AM | Ken Addison Tagged: podcast, CES, Intel, amd, nvidia, ocz, ssd, thunderbolt, hdd, Lenovo, laptop, ultrabook

Subject: Editorial, General Tech | January 8, 2012 - 02:20 AM | Ken Addison Tagged: ultrabook, podcast, nvidia, Intel, CES, amd

Subject: Mobile | January 5, 2012 - 01:00 AM | Matt Smith Tagged: ultrabook, Thinkpad, news, Lenovo, edge, CES

Subject: General Tech | November 10, 2011 - 12:16 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom Tagged: ultrabook, Intel, asus, acer

Subject: General Tech | November 1, 2011 - 12:11 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom Tagged: asus, netbook, tablet, ultrabook

Subject: General Tech | October 31, 2011 - 06:27 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom Tagged: zenbook, ux31, ultrabook, asus

Subject: General Tech | October 28, 2011 - 01:39 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom Tagged: ultrabook, Intel, market share

Subject: Mobile | October 25, 2011 - 12:32 AM | Jeremy Hellstrom Tagged: Zenbook UX311, Zenbook UX21, acer, ultrabook, asus, Aspire S Series

Subject: General Tech | October 24, 2011 - 06:43 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom Tagged: amd, ultrabook, Deccan, Kerala

Subject: Mobile | January 10, 2012 - 01:42 AM | Matt Smith
Tagged: ultrabook, hp, envy, CES

Subject: Editorial | January 9, 2012 - 02:34 AM | Ken Addison
Tagged: podcast, CES, Intel, amd, nvidia, ocz, ssd, thunderbolt, hdd, Lenovo, laptop, ultrabook

Subject: Editorial, General Tech | January 8, 2012 - 02:20 AM | Ken Addison
Tagged: ultrabook, podcast, nvidia, Intel, CES, amd

Subject: Mobile | January 5, 2012 - 01:00 AM | Matt Smith
Tagged: ultrabook, Thinkpad, news, Lenovo, edge, CES

Subject: General Tech | November 10, 2011 - 12:16 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged: ultrabook, Intel, asus, acer

Subject: General Tech | November 1, 2011 - 12:11 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged: asus, netbook, tablet, ultrabook

Subject: General Tech | October 31, 2011 - 06:27 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged: zenbook, ux31, ultrabook, asus

Subject: General Tech | October 28, 2011 - 01:39 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged: ultrabook, Intel, market share

Subject: Mobile | October 25, 2011 - 12:32 AM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged: Zenbook UX311, Zenbook UX21, acer, ultrabook, asus, Aspire S Series

Subject: General Tech | October 24, 2011 - 06:43 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged: amd, ultrabook, Deccan, Kerala