If you’ve always dreamed of committing to a two-year contract on a defunct wireless standard to get your hands on a subsidized netbook, today is your lucky day. Sprint may be done with WiMAX phones, but that’s not stopping it from pushing forward with WiMAX netbooks. The Lenovo IdeaPad S205s will cost $199,99 on a two-year contract and come bundled with both 3G and WiMAX connectivity. In terms of specifications, it has a dual-core Intel Pentium U5600 processor running at 1,3GHz, 2GB of RAM, 250GB of storage, and a run-of-the-mill 11,6-inch 1366 x 768 display. The IdeaPad S205s is available from today in-store, over the phone, or via Sprint’s website.
05/2/2012
— Filed under: Hardware,Mobile
Tags: IdeaPad S205s, Lenovo, WiMAX netbook
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If you can’t wait to get your hands on Intel’s 3rd-generation Core processors for some gaming action, you’ll definitely want to check out the MSI GT70. The 17-inch laptop is shipping now from online retailers like ExcaliburPC, complete with Core i7 Ivy Bridge processors and an NVIDIA GTX670M GPU. Pre-configured models start in the $1,500 range and go as high as $2,500 for the more well-equipped versions, depending upon the hardware included. Stock is already running low, so if you want one, get an order in fast!
04/25/2012
— Filed under: Hardware
Tags: laptop, MSI GT70
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Introduction
Can a laptop get much sexier than ASUS’s Zenbook? We weren’t too sure, but then Samsung sent us the second-generation Series 9, and boy, let me tell you, this is the PC equivalent of Natalie Portman.
Like Natalie, the Series 9 isn’t obviously flashy, but it’s svelte, finished with figure-hugging curves and undeniably gorgeous. You’ll have to excuse us for waxing lyrical, but our labs see as many laptops as the local PC World (alright, maybe not that many) and rarely does a system get the lads purring quite like Samsung’s latest.
Launched as an evolutionary replacement for last year’s CES showstopper, this second-generation model forgoes the brushed aluminium look for a more subtle, more sophisticated sand-blasted unibody shell that’s forged from a single piece of aluminium. The end result gives the system an irresistible hue that’s best described as a mystic shade of blue with a thin silver rim.
And when we say thin, we mean really, really thin. Or 16,3mm to be precise — and that’s at the thickest point. The 2012 Series 9 is thinner than Apple’s MacBook Air (17,3mm) and it’s lighter, too, tipping the scales at a remarkable 1,17kg. Only a cynic would describe Apple’s 1,35kg MacBook Air as heavy, but let’s put it this way, Samsung’s Series 9 is a further 13 per cent feathery.
It’s thin, it’s light, and it offers solid-state storage as standard, yet Samsung opts not to describe the Series 9 as an Ultrabook. Despite meeting Intel’s criteria, Samsung has chosen to class this particular machine as a notebook — nothing more, nothing less. Naming conventions aside, one thing’s for certain; this is one of the most attractive portable PCs currently on the market.
The beauty of the Series 9 is extended throughout the machine, with Samsung paying careful attention to each curve and every smooth line. The entire chassis feels strong and ultra-stiff, so there’s no sign of flex, and the curved display hinges aren’t just pretty, they’re suitably rigid and allow the screen to rotate roughly 150 degrees.
It’s exquisite and the little details don’t go amiss. The sunken chiclet keyboard looks inviting, as does the large multi-touch trackpad, Samsung’s thin-bezel 13,3in matte display makes full use of the compact chassis, and there’s very little to disrupt the flow. Aside from a small power button and two tiny LED indicators, there’s nothing to disrupt the flow of Samsung’s smooth design.
Alright, we’ve established that the 2012 Series 9 is sexy. Now for the bad news: it costs £1,200, or £1,000 if you partake in Samsung’s VAT-back offer (ends 07/05/2012). Getting 20 per cent back is an attractive lure, but even so, a grand’s a lot of money to be putting down on a laptop. Particularly one that’s quite small and absent an optical drive and dedicated graphics. So what exactly are you getting for your money?
Specification
Samsung intends to launch a 15,6in variant of the 2012 Series 9 later in the year, but right now, UK consumers have one available option; the 13,3in model labelled as NP900X3B-A01UK.
This is the system strutting its stuff at all the major retailers and it packs a strong set of components that should eradicate the shortcomings of last year’s model. Despite being thinner and lighter than ever before, the 2012 machine has been upgraded to include a dual-core 1,6GHz Intel Core i5—2467M processor that Turbos up to 2,3GHz, integrated Intel HD 3000 graphics, 4GB of memory and a 128GB SanDisk U100 SSD.
It’s a mix of components that’s familiar among Ultrabooks, but Samsung puts itself in the premium category by including a matte 13,3in display that offers a generous 1,600×900 resolution and 400 nits of brightness.
The guts of the machine should make for a rewarding experience, but Samsung doesn’t have a lot of room for I/O ports. Making the most of what limited space there is, the Series 9 offers two USB ports (one 2,0, one 3,0), a combined audio/mic jack, micro HDMI, micro VGA, power and a miniature LAN port that used a bundled adaptor to provide Ethernet connectivity. Samsung’s done well to cover most bases, and unlike the 2011 model, there’s also an SD card reader tucked neatly into the laptop’s right side.
Samsung’s neat chiclet keys sit in a lovely sea of misty blue, but this is one of those instances where the keyboard looks better than it is. The keys are well-spaced and well-sized, but they’re also noticeably shallow. A lack of spring shouldn’t come as a surprise in a laptop as thin as this, but nonetheless, the typing experience on the Series 9 feels awkward, and it a strange sort of way.
We actually had no trouble typing at pace on the keyboard, but the lack of tactile response felt unusual, leaving us feeling as though we were sliding over the panel as opposed to getting stuck in. We weren’t missing keys, but the miniscule amount of travel prevented us from getting a real spring in our step, if you get our meaning.
The keyboard doesn’t feel quite as comfortable as we’d like, but it does have the advantage of being backlit. Though, the backlit is partly controlled by an ambient sensor that prevents you from showing off your wares in broad daylight. Ho hum.
We’d recommend trying before you buy — the shallow keys may actually be your cup of tea — and the same caution could be applied to the trackpad. It looks fantastic, it’s roomy, supports multi-touch gestures and it feels even silkier than the rest of the chassis, but it takes some getting used to. Samsung’s made use of an ELAN pad in which the entire surface can be depressed to register a click, while the bottom left and right areas act as integrated buttons. We heavy-handed users tend to struggle to get to grips with a pad that lacks dedicated buttons, but Samsung’s implementation is actually rather good — two-finger scrolling worked well, button presses registered easily, and aside from sluggish pinch-to-zoom performance, the pad performed admirably.
Display and sound
We never quite felt at home on the Series 9 keyboard, but we could happily sit for hours on end staring at the lush 13,3in SuperBright Plus display. The 1,600×900 resolution is better than most 13,3in laptops and makes for a roomy desktop experience, but it’s the brightness and matte finish that allow Samsung’s panel to stand out.
If you’re inside the display appears vividly bright, and if you’re outside the anti-reflective surface keeps your content clearly visible even in direct sunlight. We’ve become accustomed to the glossy displays that are widely available, but Samsung’s matte panel is a welcome change of pace. That isn’t to say the SuperBright Plus panel is perfect — viewing angles could be improved a touch — but as far as the single-user experience is concerned, the Series 9 display is really rather good.
Unfortunately, Samsung hasn’t provided an audio experience to match. The downward-facing speakers are plenty loud, but they lack any real depth and deliver a harsh tinny sound that makes music playback quite unpleasant. It’s a challenge getting a thin PC to sound good, but considering the £1,200 price tag, the Series 9’s audio capabilities are dire.
Software
We had hoped to see premium ultra-thin Windows PCs ship with little-to-no bloatware, but that may be wishful thinking. By default, Samsung’s 64-bit install of Windows 7 Home Premium is pre-loaded with a fair few apps. None are particularly obtrusive, but among the list you’ll find Bing Bar, CyberLink YouCam, a trial of Microsoft Office 2010, Norton Internet Security, Skype, WildTangent Games, Windows Live Essentials and a bunch of Samsung’s own utilities.
Installing Bing Bar and Norton Internet Security on a machine as beautiful as this ought to be a criminal offense, but hey, the app selection isn’t as vast as it might have been and Samsung’s own applications are quite useful — particularly the pre-configured Recovery Solution that allows you to restore the laptop to its factory state at the click of a few buttons. Sadly, there doesn’t appear to be a built-in option for a clean install.
04/15/2012
— Filed under: Hardware
Tags: Samsung, Series 9
If you’re shopping a new system, the launch of Intel’s Ivy Bridge platform can’t come soon enough. In anticipation of the launch, Hewlett-Packard is getting its ducks in a row, which includes quietly revealing three new notebooks built around Intel’s upcoming platform, as well as a fourth sporting Sandy Bridge hardware inside.
02/23/2012
— Filed under: Hardware
Tags: Hewlett-Packard, laptop
Repeating the advice of my friend and Small Business Guru — Ramon Ray — Technology should be used to solve a business problem.I have been using a variety of tablets. I think of tablets as an excellent After Hours device and I feel the need to use a laptop for business, document, spreadsheets, email, connectivity, VPN etc. You can do this on a tablet but I find it better to use a laptop.
02/22/2012
— Filed under: Hardware
Tags: Dell XPS 13 Ultrabook, display
