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Dell's super-thin, depth-sensing tablet is available now for $400
Remember that 8-inch, super-high-res tablet Dell showed off back in September? You know, the one with the depth-sensing camera? It's OK if you don't, but really, you should give this a second look -- yes, even if you have tablet fatigue. Dell's Venue 8 7000 series goes on sale today, with a starting price of $400, and it's notable for not one, but several reasons. For starters, it's the first with Intel's RealSense camera setup, which in this case includes an 8-megapixel rear camera paired with two 720p ancillary ones. The three sensors work together to shoot different variations of a shot, each with a different area of focus. Basically, then, you can go in after the fact and either sharpen or soften the focus on any part of the photo -- yep, just like on a Lytro camera. Also, because these photographs are actually a composite of three different shots, you can easily apply effects to select parts of the picture. Think: sepia for just the bride and groom, with bright colors in the background. (Don't judge me for my tacky taste, OK?) Lastly, an over-the-air update in the coming months will allow you to actually measure items in the photo with an on-screen ruler.
This is Toshiba's answer to the Surface Pro 3
Until now, if you wanted a tablet powerful enough to double as a laptop, there was really only one acceptable option: the Surface Pro 3. Sure, there were other such devices out there, but the SP3 was uniquely thin and light -- kind of a crucial detail for a device that's supposed to work equally well in notebook and tablet modes. But times, they are a-changin', and other companies are starting to catch up. Take Toshiba, for instance. The PC maker just revealed the Portege Z20t, a similarly sized laptop/tablet hybrid with a 12.5-inch screen, but an even lighter design. All told, it comes in at just 0.35 inch thick and 1.6 pounds for the tablet piece, versus 1.76 pounds for the 12-inch SP3. Basically, then, it has the same size and thickness as Microsoft's tablet, except it should be even easier to hold.
Samsung announces a curved-screen all-in-one and its thinnest laptop yet
We hope you like super skinny laptops, because you're going to be seeing a hell of a lot more of them in 2015. Samsung just took the veil off its new ATIV Book 9 Ultrabook, which comes in at just 0.45 inch thick and 2.09 pounds. That's insanely compact for a 12.2-inch machine and indeed, it's the thinnest and lightest notebook Samsung has released yet. (Given Sammy's history with razor-thin laptops, that's saying a lot.) Like so many other slim machines that have come out lately, the Book 9 uses one of Intel's new Core M processors, which were designed specifically to allow for skinnier designs.
Lenovo Yoga 3 Pro review: slim and sexy comes with some trade-offs
I haven't reviewed an Ultrabook in months. It's not because I've grown lazy; it's because there just haven't been many new models to test. Nearly every laptop that crosses Engadget's reviews desk these days is a gaming notebook, a Chromebook or maybe one of those super-cheap netbook things. So here I am, dusting off my Ultrabook-testing skills with the Lenovo Yoga 3 Pro, the company's latest flagship laptop. Like every Yoga that's come before it, this new model has a 360-degree hinge that allows it to fold back into tablet mode. It also keeps that stunning 3,200 x 1,800 touchscreen. But that's not what's interesting to me. No, I'm curious about this because it's the first notebook I'm testing with a new Intel Core M chip, which allows the Yoga 3 Pro to be 17 percent thinner than its predecessor, not to mention 15 percent lighter. As a result of moving to a lower-powered chip, the battery life should be better too. Sounds like a recipe for an all-around better Ultrabook, right?
Intel's Core M chips will boost PC battery life by nearly two hours
Indisputably, the star of this year's IFA show is going to be wearables: round ones, flashy ones, head-covering ones. After that, though, you're also going to see a lot of super-thin tablets and 2-in-1 PCs, many of them made possible by Intel's new low-power Core M chips. Intel first teased these processors earlier in the summer, in the form of a 7.2mm-thick tablet that was even thinner than the iPad Air. Now many such systems are about to go on sale, which means it's time for Intel to fully explain what these new chips are capable of.
Intel's super-thin 'Core M' tablets will be cheaper than you think
It's OK if you're not a chip geek: All you need to know is that Intel's 7.2mm-thick reference PC was the most important thing we saw this week at Computex. Designed for 2-in-1s, the company's Core M-series processors will usher in full-fledged computers that are even skinnier than the iPad Air. Exciting, right? Seriously -- and maybe you just have to see for yourself -- these things are impressive. Futuristic, even. Given that, then, we would have assumed they'd hit the market later this year with steep prices in tow. After all, aren't we used to paying a premium for thin?
