Hardware > Earlier Laptops
Review: Samsung Series 9 super slim notebook
Samsung has taken an expensive legal hit from Apple over copying design elements in the iPhone. Yet with the Series 9, Samsung has created something a bit special. The entire Ultrabook concept took its inspiration from the Apple MacBook Air, of course. But Samsung's Series 9 has developed a confident design language of its own …
Asus VivoBook S200 11.6in touchscreen notebook review
A few months ago I tried a preview of Windows 8 on my 11.6in HP Pavilion and frankly it made about as much sense as a vegetarian bacon sandwich. Why? Because, without a touch screen the Windows 8 Metro Modern UI lacks a crucial ingredient. Armed with only a keyboard and mouse, facing a wall of tiles just gets in the way.
Asus …
Apple MacBook Pro 13in Retina display review
When I reviewed the latest version of the 13in MacBook Pro just a few months ago, it seemed to me that Apple was getting a bit complacent. The mid-2012 update did gain a new Ivy Bridge processor, but the modest speedbump that this produced no longer justified the MacBook’s starting price of £999 – especially with classy new …
Lenovo IdeaPad U410 14in Ultrabook review
As a MacBook Pro owner, and yet a fan of the ThinkPad range since the early IBM days, it would be easy for me to assume Lenovo's new IdeaPad U410 Ultrabook fills the gap as the ultimate middle ground model. Indeed, it's a ThinkPad descendant that looks like Lenovo desperately wants an Apple lawsuit.
Lenovo IdeaPad U410 …
Asus N56VM 15.6in notebook review
A good journalist always tries to avoid clichés, but sometimes when I’m writing laptop reviews I do find myself reaching for a few stock phrases, such as: the speakers are crap. Imagine my relief, then, to discover that the speakers on the Asus N56VM don't fall into the crap category, but are actually rather good, no doubt …
Sony Vaio T13 Ultrabook review
It’s only natural that manufacturers want to show off their biggest (or in this case, smallest) and best but Sony has spotted the flaw in this plan. By thrusting their fabulously lean but powerful sexy bits in your face all the time, Ultrabooks have gained a reputation for being the Page 3 girls of computing: naughty, vigorous …
HP Spectre XT 13in Ivy Bridge Ultrabook review
The Spectre XT is HP’s third shot at an Ultrabook in less than six months. The gleaming Gorilla Glass livery of the original 14-inch Spectre was both eye-catching and rugged, but it was also very expensive and quite a bit heavier than you’d expect from an Ultrabook. That was quickly followed by the Envy 4, which was much more …
Apple MacBook Air 13in review
Two years ago Apple got really serious about thin and light laptops - and did something really quite important. It replaced its original Air model – that was by then almost three years old – with two new designs. The first Air had been widely perceived to be an expensive novelty, over-priced and under-powered, and it didn’t look …
Acer Aspire Timeline M3 Ultra review
It seems safe to say that Ultrabooks haven’t given the PC market the shot in the arm that Intel was hoping for. The high prices haven’t helped, of course, and there also seems to be some evidence that many people are turned off by the relatively small 13in screens that dominate the Ultrabook category.
Acer Aspire Timeline Ultra …
HP Envy 4-1010ea 14in Ultrabook review
HP made quite a fuss when it launched its Spectre Ultrabook back in May, and whilst we praised its gleaming, glass design we also noted that the Spectre was a bit on the porky side for what was meant to be an ‘ultraportable’ laptop. It was also burdened by a £1200 price-tag that might make even Apple blush.
HP Envy 4-1010ea …
Dell Inspiron 17R SE 17in Ivy Bridge notebook review
I’m currently mourning the demise of the 18-inch Dell XPS that I’ve been using as a TV/DVD player in my bedroom for the last five years. Hardly anyone seems to make 18-inch laptops anymore, but Dell has come up with a good alternative in the form of the new Inspiron 17R SE (Special Edition).
Dell Inspiron 17R 17in Core i7 …
Apple MacBook Pro 13in
Review Shock horror – Apple laptop in so-so review scandal. The latest MacBook Pro with Retina Display may be setting a new standard at the top of the range, however, this modest update for the standard 13in MacBook Pro looks rather like it’s resting on its laurels.
Apple MacBook Pro 13in mid-2012 Apple's MacBook Pro 13in: available …
Apple MacBook Air 11in 2012
Review The 11in MacBook Air took top spot in El Reg's recent round-up of the best Ultrabooks – even though, strictly speaking, it isn’t actually an Ultrabook, according to Intel’s proprietary definition of the term. This 2012 model doesn’t tamper with the winning formula, but it does provide a respectable update that should keep it at …
Apple 15in MacBook Pro with Retina Display
Review You’ve got to hand it to Apple. Having created the first Ultrabook about three years before Intel even got around to coining the brand, it has now taken another step forward with the new MacBook Pro With Retina Display.
The 2880 x 1800 screen is certainly a looker, and you can understand why Apple has chosen to focus on that …
HP Envy 14 Spectre Ultrabook
Review The test unit I reviewed was forwarded on to me from the Harrods press office. That alone should tell you a lot about the HP Envy 14 Spectre. For you, Harrods may conjure images of oil sheiks browsing bling, affectatious middle classes buying ham and feeble-minded tourists ogling Saint Diana's soiled crockery, but Harrods makes …
Dell XPS 13 Ultrabook
Review Having been in the hardware reviewing game for more years than I care to mention - cue the violins - I have looked at a huge number of notebooks claiming to be both thin and light.
From the days when thin meant something less than half an inch in thickness and light meant something around the 2kg mark if you were lucky, I've sat …
Lenovo U300s Ultrabook
Review A body made from a single piece of aluminium. Uh-huh. A case held shut with magnets. Righty. A multi-gesture trackpad with a glass surface. Ohhh-kayyy, I think I can see what's happening here.
Lenovo U300s Ultrabook Lenovo IdeaPad U300s Ultrabook
With the IdeaPad U300s, Lenovo wants to convince you it has created the most …
Arcam rPac
Accessory of the Week Arcam’s rPac is a digital-to-analogue converter (DAC) and headphone amp designed for anyone who listens to music on a computer.
Or, more accurately, anyone who does so and cares about audio quality.
Arcam rPac
Relying on the computer to perform the digital to analogue conversion usually results in noisy tracks and jitter, …
Samsung Series 3 NP300E5A 15in notebook
Review Samsung’s NP300E5A-A01DX is the Core i3 model in its Series 3 family of notebooks and is priced accordingly, at around £400. Unashamedly aimed at the cost conscious end of market it has plenty of company including Acer’s Aspire 5749 that Reg Hardware reviewed late last year.
Samsung Series 3 NP300E5A 15in notebook Samsung …
Panasonic CF-53 Toughbook 14in rugged laptop
Review Skinny Ultrabooks may be getting all the press at the moment but what it you want a laptop that will withstand the knocks, drops and tribulations of use on the road and in the great outdoors rather than the board-room? Panasonic’s semi-rugged CF-53 Toughbook may be just the ticket.
Panasonic CF-53 Toughbook rugged laptop Ready …
Toshiba Portégé Z830-10N 13.3in Ultrabook
Review The last time I tested a Toshiba laptop, it had a glowing orange screen and the keyboard rattled like a box of Lego. Come to think of it, newspapers at the time were scaring readers about ‘house parties’, so it was quite a while ago. So perhaps you can imagine how utterly charming the pretentiously named Portégé Z830-10N …
Dell Latitude E6220 12.5in Core i7 notebook
Review Dell's Latitude E6220 is a typical workhorse, designed to be solid, dependable and ever so slightly boring. However, Dell is aiming this compact model more at small businesses rather than large organisations. And the increasing numbers of people who, like myself, are self-employed. A touch of style and being just 1in thin and …
HP Pavilion dm1-4125ea 11.6in netbook
Review Now that everyone and their dog has or wants a smartphone or tablet, the recent drop in netbook sales can hardly be a surprise. Yet does this mean there is no space for a small, cheap laptop? Of course not and HP’s recently refreshed Pavilion dm1 is a fine example of why I hope the breed never dies.
HP Pavilion DM1-4125EA AMD …
Asus UX21E Zenbook 11.6in Ultrabook
Review Having already reviewed the slightly larger Asus UX31E Zenbook for El Reg, and quite liking it, I whinged that sending me the UX21E model would be a waste of time. It wasn’t, obviously, because you’re reading this. I loved it. In fact, I preferred it.
Asus UX21E Zenbook Core i5 laptop For such a small device, the Asus UX21E has …
Samsung Series 7 Chonos 15.6in Core i7 notebook
Review Surely someone is having a laugh. Having read nothing but five-star reviews of this luxury notebook on other sources, I find myself surprised to be staring at a four-star product on my desk. Four stars is pretty good, you know, but that’s one less than five.
Samsung Series 7 Chonos Intel Core i7 notebook All in good time: …
Eurocom Panther 2.0 Core i7, SLI notebook
Review While currently every notebook manufacturer seems to offering the thinnest, lightest and easiest to carry around notebook ever, in a bizarre way, it’s quite refreshing to find a company wandering off message and offering notebooks at the other end of the scale. Enter Eurocom’s Panther 2.0, the heaviest, most amazingly specified …
HP Pavilion dv6 15.6in quad-core notebook
Review CES 2012 Week
Choosing an HP notebook isn’t an easy task, not because they are hard to find - far from it - it’s just the bewildering choice of notebooks you can find in a range. Take the recently refreshed Pavilion dv6-6b series, for example. There are currently a staggering 16 different options in this family alone.
HP …
Samsung Series 9 900X3A laptop
Review Samsung’s Series 9 is the Korean giant’s thin and light flagship, and one of several recent models to come to market that borrow engineering and design principles from Apple’s Air range. Which means decent performance, decent components, but minimal expansion.
Samsung Series 9 900X3A notebook Slim and stylish: Samsung's Series …
Asus Zenbook UX31E
Review I honestly thought it would take the industry a lot longer to start producing Windows Ultrabooks for under a grand that are this good. The Asus Zenbook is as flat and skinny and as light as a MacBook Air without trying to look like one, and is a darn sight better connected.
Asus Zenbook UX31E Smart notebook in size zero …
Acer TravelMate Timeline X TM8481T 14in Core i5 notebook
Review As the name might suggest, Acer’s TravelMate family of notebooks are aimed at the mobile users, with an eye on business bods after something a little more stylish than the standard issue grey slab. A new addition to the range is the Timeline X TM8481T with just a couple of variants at present.
Acer TravelMate Timeline X TM8481T …
Dell XPS 14z 14in Core i5 notebook
Review Don’t worry, the XPS 14z may be one of Dell’s new "thin and powerful" range, but it doesn’t fit into the superslim Ultrabook category so there’s absolutely no need whatsoever for a gratuitous comparison with Apple's MacBook Air.
Dell XPS 14z 14in notebook
It’s certainly a more stylish affair than the businesslike hardware I’m …
Acer Aspire 5749 budget 15in laptop
Review Acer’s Aspire line has become synonymous with affordable computing power, providing an air of quality even towards the lowest end of the pricing scale. With an asking price of £399, the 15.6in Aspire 5749 isn’t going to break the bank and it certainly won’t be shattering records, but can so little money buy reasonable …
OWC 6G Mercury Aura Pro Express SSD
Review Macs were never made to be messed with. Apple has softened its approach to aftermarket upgrades in recent years, a little, making it easy to switch out both the memory and hard drive in most MacBooks made in the past couple of years. But the MacBook Air is still a bit of an upgrader's island - you can't even bump up the Ram as …
Apple MacBook Pro 13in Core i5 laptop
Review Guilty, your honour. In mitigation, I would like to assure the jury that I do not automatically adore everything with Apple branding on it, nor have I any intention of jacking off over a Steve Jobs biography. I just happen to like the current range of Apple MacBook Pro notebook computers, that’s all. Is it such a crime?
Apple …
Henge Docks Docking Station
Accessory of the Week It’s less technically sophisticated than the Techne Byte-Dock port replicator we reviewed recently, but the Docking Station from Henge Docks is a darn site prettier and a lot less expensive.
Henge Docks Docking Station for MacBooks
Sold here in the UK by MobileFun, the Docking Station is available in several sizes to suit …
Acer Aspire S3 Core i7 Ultrabook
Review The Acer Aspire S3 is a major new entrant to the emerging market for ‘ultraportables’ – ultra-thin but powerful notebook PCs with reduced components to keep the space and weight to a minimum. It won’t suit everyone, but if you like the idea of a portable Windows computer than can be carried in one hand or tucked under your …
Samsung RV720 17in Core i3 notebook
Review Desktop replacement laptops are a genre of portable computer apparently intent on chuntering on forever without ever truly succeeding or dying. By nature, they tend not to be petite, and Samsung's RV720 is no exception.
Samsung RV720 17in Core i3 notebook Desktop replacement on the cheap: Samsung's RV720
Weighing around 2.7kg …
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 13.3in Core i5 notebook
Review There’s something very strange going on in ThinkPadland. Reports of two-headed calves, even flocks of birds flying backwards – these are nothing compared to some of the design changes wrought on ThinkPad users in recent times.
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 laptop Lenovo's ThinkPad X1 combines new and familiar features
Since it was …
Dell Vostro V131 13.3in Core i5 notebook
Review Back in the old days, you knew where you were a Dell business laptop. Heave it out of the box and you’d be rewarded with a giant, hot-running thing with the aesthetic appeal of a pile-up on the M40.
Dell Vostro V131 laptop Dell's Vostro V131 looks the business and with the Celeron CPU option can be bought on the cheap
These …
Toshiba Qosmio X770 17.3in 3D gaming notebook
Review When Toshiba UK announced the launch of the Qosmio X770 3D – a new gaming laptop with stereoscopic 3D graphics and a 17.3in HD screen, I immediately thought: could this be an Alienware killer? Toshiba has been said to lag behind other manufacturers when it comes to high-end gaming laptops, but after spending time with the X770 I …
Acer Timeline X 5830T
Review Acer has ploughed itself a nice furrow over the last few years, building nice-looking, well-made laptops. The 5830T might lack the instant recognition and wow-factor of the Apple MacBook Pro, but there’s no arguing that it’s a nice-looking system.
The wrist-rest is finished in a light metallic blue, and while the metal strip …
Sony Vaio SB 13.3in notebook
Review Not everyone wants to lug a 15.6in notebook around - even less a 17-incher - so the 13.3in category has always appealed to folk keen for plenty of performance without the bulk. Sony has long offered 13.3in machines, the latest being its SB series, part of its broader S series.
Sony Vaio SB 13.3in laptop Available with a non- …
