Hardware > Earlier Laptops
Sony Vaio 11 Duo hybrid PC hands on review
IFA 2012 Examples of Windows 8 tablet plus detachable keyboard combo devices were all over IFA like a rash. However, Sony’s Vaio Duo 11 has a different approach that keeps the two components together. There are advantages and disadvantages to this arrangement, whichever way you look at it. Great, I’ll never lose that keyboard... mmmh, …
Asus CEO sounds netbook death knell
Asus CEO Jerry Shen has apparently called time on the company's pioneering Eee PC family of netbooks.
Shen has said Asus will make no more of the devices, and when current stocks have shipped that will be that, Digitimes claims.
Shen is reported to have blamed the move on falling netbooks sales in emerging markets and upon the …
PCs get touchy ahead of Windows 8 launch
IFA 2012 PC manufacturers have been busy unveiling their touchscreen laptops at IFA this week in hot anticipation of Microsoft's Windows 8 release.
While several firms have opted for Windows 8 tablets which convert into laptops using peripherals - many of which we talked up yesterday - Acer, Lenovo and Toshiba continued the touchy trend …
Ten 15in notebooks for under 400 quid
Product Round-up As much as Intel would like us all to rush out and buy an expensive new Ultrabook, the fact remains that the top-selling laptops for most manufacturers are still low-cost 15.6in models. Laptops for £400 or less have back-to-school appeal written all over them, but the mix of components varies enormously to appeal to different …
Ten netbooks
Product Roundup Tablets may have taken the wind out of the netbook's sales, and prompted some manufacturers, Dell and Sony among them, to stop selling them, but if you're looking for a small and, crucially, cheap personal computer for the kids, for offspring heading off to college, or just for emailing while travelling, a netbook is well worth …
Ivy Bridge for Ultrabooks
The one thing missing at the launch of Intel’s Ivy Bridge CPU technology was detail on the dual-core and lower powered chips for the mobile market segment, in particular, for its Ultrabook concept. The recent launch of the ULV (Ultra Low Voltage) and dual-core standard voltage mobile Ivy Bridge parts has revealed all, with the …
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 …
New Intel Ultrabooks to spray HOT JUICE into mobes
Intel will build wireless charging into its svelte laptops, aka Ultrabooks, and smartphones by the middle of 2013, according to whisperings on Chinese rumour mill Digitimes
Using the chip giant's own in-house technology, the mobes' batteries are topped up over the air by the Ultrabooks. Apparently the phones can be held anywhere …
Scribe's mobe, MacBook pwned after hacker 'fast-talked Apple support'
Tech journo Mat Honan has told how he helplessly watched a hacker remotely erase and lock his iPhone, iPad and MacBook after his iCloud account was hijacked. It's a cautionary tale against relying too heavily on one cloud platform.
But the kicker?
It's alleged that the miscreant sweet-talked an Apple support staffer and …
If Ultrabooks lasted longer, would YOU open your wallet?
Unfruity Ultrabook users will be able to keep it up for longer with LSI's specially enhanced SandForce controllers.
The SF-2100 and -2200 Flash Storage Processors as they are called handle flash so sensitively that Ultrabook users may get an extra hour of battery life compared to other, non-specified controllers. It's all to do …
Race to super-slim Ultrabooks: More ultra-thin hybrid drives on way
WD is developing thin and ultra-thin hybrid hard disk drives for the Ultrabooks market with a likely transition to energy-assisted recording in 2015 – enabling 1TB 2.5-inch disk drive platters.
This was revealed through analyst briefings by WD CEO John Coyne and CFO Wolfgang Nickl, and we have Stifel Nicolaus' Aaron Rakers to …
Wintel takes kicking from Apple, market share at all-time low
Wintel's grip on the PC market has dropped to an all-time low due to the encroachment of Apple's seemingly unbeatable iPad.
Figures from industry box-counter Canalys show 73 per cent of the 108.7 million PCs - desktops, notebooks, netbooks and pads - sold worldwide in Q2 were running on Microsoft's OS and had Intel inside.
In …
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 readies Linux Ultrabook for autumn release
If you're in the right neck of the woods, you'll be able to buy a Dell Ultrabook pre-loaded with Linux this coming autumn.
The PC giant last night said it was moving its Project Sputnik - a scheme to create a developer-friendly Linux laptop - from pilot to product.
The machine in question is an XPS 13 with a custom build of …
Intel CEO Otellini promises $699 ultrabooks by fall
Despite relatively slow initial sales of the thin and light laptops that his company is making such a huge bet on, Intel headman Paul Otellini remains bullish on ultrabooks, and is confident that $699 versions of the svelte "reinvented PCs" will hit store shelves this fall.
"Ultrabooks continue to build momentum, and achieved …
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 …
Sleek new Macs violate fanbois' Retinas with display garbage
Buyers of Apple's "jaw-dropping" Retina display MacBooks are indeed picking their chins off the floor - in reaction to bizarre on-screen glitches blighting the expensive lap-warmers.
Two fanboi-support forum topics have sprung up to detail problems encountered when the shiny kit runs Mac OS X Lion and is woken up from sleep. …
Early verdict on Intel Ultrabook™ push: FAIL
Intel's much-ballyhooed ultrabook effort is not working out quite as well as Chipzilla had hoped, with global sales of the thin and light laptops falling well behind expectations.
"The volume isn't there and it's going to be way below what Intel had hoped for," IDC analyst Jay Chou told CNET on Wednesday.
Intel's vision of the …
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 …
Retina MacBook Pro nukes Apple's green credentials
The tightly packed new Apple MacBook Pro prevents the laptop from meeting requirements laid down by eco-friendly technology catalogue EPEAT.
The Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool (EPEAT) announced on Monday that the shiny Retina-display lap warmer is "difficult to disassemble for upgrades, repairs, and recycling …
Intel pops $4.1bn to save Moore's Law from repeal
Intel will invest $4.1bn in ASML, widely regarded as the world's leading semiconductor-lithography equipment manufacturer, in an effort to keep Moore's Law alive and kicking for the foreseeable future.
The deal includes $1bn in cash to support ASML's research and development efforts on extreme ultraviolet lithography (EUV), and …
Apple unveils tightened Mountain Lion requirements
Apple has released the System Requirements for its upcoming new version of OS X, Mountain Lion, and as is usually the case with any operating system release, not all Macs need apply – even some that qualified for the Mac's current operating system, Lion.
The basic System Requirements are rather straightforward, although as 512 …
Dell seeks Linux fans to try cut-price Ubuntu Ultrabook
Dell is tempting Linux developers with the promise of a cut-price XPS 13 Ultrabook running Ubuntu 12.04 LTS.
The machine is the outcome of Dell's Project Sputnik, which it kicked off back in May in a bid to create, with the commmunity's help, the best laptop for coders.
The PC giant isn't quite ready to put the machine on sale …
Door creaks and girl farts: computing in the real world
Something for the weekend, Sir? A few weeks ago I dissed the expensive new Apple MacBook Pro for trading a downgraded component spec in return for a pretty display and solid-state memory. In passing, I gave an example of this downgrade: the lack of a CD drive.
Several readers helpfully commented that they hadn’t used CD media in ages and wouldn’t miss an …
Ultrabook demand soars Stateside
That Ultrabooks have grabbed almost 11 per cent of the $700-and-up Windows notebook market in the US during the first five months of the year sounds impressive, until you realise how small that market segment is.
The statistic above comes from US retail market watcher NPD. It said Ultrabooks' share of the $700-plus segment has …
Dixons and Best Buy start selling Google Chromebooks
Google I/O Google is trying to get its Chromebook into the mainstream and is starting to push it in retail stores, signing up Best Buy in the US and Dixons in the UK to distribute the ChromeOS systems.
The Chocolate Factory's ChromeOS is the red-headed stepchild of the operating system market. Since its launch last year, the sales of …
Dell extends XPS laptop line
Dell has extended is XPS line of laptops, with 14in and 15in models joining the 13in Ultrabook it launched earlier this year.
The bigger of the new machines can't claim the right to attach Intel's skinny laptop trademark to their names, but the XPS 14 does.
Dell XPS 14 Ultrabook XPS 14 Ultrabook
It comes with a choice of Core …
Ultrabook makers take the Ivy Bridge path
Extreme Hardware Intel launched quad-core versions of its Ivy Bridge processor in April but held back on dual-core versions, apparently to sell out its Sandy Bridge dual-core chips. With the dual-core Ivy Bridge CPUs out this month, PC makers are already starting to announce notebooks based on the new architecture.
Intel Ivy Bridge chip
First …
DDR 4 sets the pace for fast memory
Extreme Hardware Reducing the size of chips has benefits beyond those seen in CPUs and GPUs. One other key component to gain an advantage is memory.
The specification of the next generation of memory module, DDR 4 (DDR stands for 'double data rate'), is currently being finalised ahead of its anticipated launch later this year. It will use less …
Screen idols: higher resolution means better laptops
Extreme Hardware Intel’s latest Ivy Bridge chipset, currently being deployed by every laptop manufacturer on new machines, is capable of supporting resolutions of up to 4096 pixels horizontally, using integrated graphics.
Known as 4K, these ultra-high resolutions are gaining support in professional video cameras. So why do Samsung, Sony, Lenovo …
Sony deploys 11in Vaio to battle Apple Air
Sony has turned to AMD for processors to power its 11in sub-notebook, the Vaio E 11.
The 11.6in, 1366 x 768 machine incorporates an AMD dual-core 1.7GHz E2-1800 CPU plus Radeon HD 7340 graphics.
Sony Vaio E 11
Pack in a 500GB, 5400rpm hard drive, 4GB of 1333MHz DDR 3, three USB ports - one of them USB 3.0 - HDMI, Gigabit …
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 …
Retina Display detachment
Something for the Weekend, Sir? Those Cupertino Infinite Looping gits have done it again. I don't mean this in an upbeat, admiring, I-can't-believe-it's-not-butter kind of way. I mean it more in a they're-selling-us-less-for-more-cash, not to mention a downbeat now-everyone-else-will-do-the-same, kind of way.
As regular readers are aware of me mentioning 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 …
Apple 13in MacBook Pro to fall into line this autumn
Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo of KGI Securities, a stockbroker, has a good record on forecasts: he accurately predicted the launch of the 15in MacBook Pro with Retina Display just before the machine's announcement. He also correctly said Apple would kill off the 17in MacBook Pro.
Now he's saying a 13in version will be out in the autumn, …
Updated MacBook Air sports tweaked SSD tech
Apple has changed the MacBook Air's SSD connector - again.
A dissection of the skinny new machine by iFixit reveals the SSD, which is implemented as a slot-in slimline daughtercard containing Flash chips and controller, uses an almost but not quite mSata interconnect: 26 lines in the slot, 24 lines on the SSD.
iFixit SSD snap: …
Ssssh. Apple quietly mashes monster MacBook Pro
So farewell, then, the 17in MacBook Pro. Your demise was forecast back in April by market watcher Ming-Chi Kuo of KGI, a stockbroker, and sure enough you're no longer listed among Apple's selection of laptops.
Apple 2012 MacBook Line-up
The pricey - two grand plus - bulky machine was popular with content creators looking for …
Apple introduces 'next generation' MacBook Pro with retina display
In addition to updating its existing MacBook Air and MacBook Pro lines, Apple has introduced what it's calling the "next generation" MacBook Pro, complete with a 15.4-inch, 2880-by-1800 pixel, 220ppi "retina display".
"It's the most beautiful computer we have ever made," said Apple marketing honcho Phil Schiller during the …
Apple's online store goes offline
If you had any doubt that Apple would be announcing new hardware on Monday, doubt no more.
Here's what Apple's online store is displaying in the hours before the 10am Pacific Time keynote presentation at its 2012 Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC):
Apple's online store splash page on June 11, 2012 Backstage web admins are …
Toshiba widens Ultrabook range
Toshiba revealed its Ivy Bridge hand this week, with the spotlight on the Satellite U840W, an Ultrabook with a cinema-savvy, 21:9 aspect super widescreen display.
Toshiba Satellite U840W
The Toshiba Satellite U840W boasts a 14.4in screen with a resolution of 1792 x 768 - specifications the company says are ideal for watching …
Ultrabooks adopt Chipzilla's vPro
Intel has shown off kit galore using the third generation of its Core-i-series PC silicon in Australia, but used the press event at which it did so the emphasise that the new kit is imbued with its vPro management toolkit it aims at enterprise customers with fleets of PCs.
The inclusion of vPro in the new silicon makes it …
Ultrabooks: objects of desire but just too darn expensive
Here's a snippet of market data of interest to folk keeping tabs on the Ultrabook market. In the UK, during the past four years, laptops costing £800 or more have never taken more than 7.5 per cent of notebook sales as a whole.
That's no great surprise, perhaps - you'd expect cheaper laptops to outsell pricey ones. But it is a …
