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Maingear Pulse 11 review: a small and surprisingly powerful gaming laptop
More Info Alienware's M11x is no more, bigger is apparently better Maingear's Pulse 11-inch gaming laptop has designs on M11x mourners Origin PC joins the 11-inch, rebadged gaming laptop party, outs the EON 11-S Gaming laptops are strange beasts. While they may have been lugged all the way to the LAN party, they aren't too much fun to use on a plane. That was, until the advent of Alienware's 11-inch M11x, which kept the fast internals at the expense of weight and battery life. When it was unceremoniously yanked by parent company Dell, it left a gap in the market for people who really did need a gaming laptop on the go. Fortunately, Clevo stepped in with its W110ER, an 11-inch laptop that companies like Maingear and others have tweaked to sell as their own. Packing an Ivy Bridge CPU, NVIDIA's Kepler-based GeForce GT 650M and the same 1366 x 768 display as the M11x, it's obviously trying to step into Alienware's shoes. So, is this the new standard-bearer for small-yet-powerful gaming laptops? Does it really blow us away with its power? Will you want to part with a minimum of $999 to get hold of one? Read on to find out.
Dell XPS 14 review: a 14-inch Ultrabook with Ivy Bridge and graphics might
While we can't say that we universally liked Dell's first attempt at an Ultrabook, the XPS 13 we reviewed about three months ago, we can quite confidently say that it earned our respect. Here was a smartly styled, sophisticated machine free of stickers and bloatware from a company that, let's be honest, has delivered its share of each over the years. That machine was far from perfect, but it showed a purity of vision in design that you couldn't help but acknowledge. So where do you go from there? Why, you go bigger of course. Meet the new Dell XPS 14, successor in name only to a model that went out of production over a year ago. It is, as you might have guessed, an inch larger than the XPS 13 and so has more room for ports and pixels -- but there's more to it than that. In some ways this feels like a more polished machine than the 13 that came before, and it's certainly faster but it, too, is far from perfect. Join us for a joyous exploration of why.%Gallery-158982%
Dell outs XPS 14 with optional mobile broadband, XPS 15 with Kepler graphics
Dell's XPS 13 Ultrabook has been rather lonely since it launched in early 2012, but the company is introducing two new laptops to round out the updated XPS line. Today it announced the 14-inch XPS 14 and the 15-inch XPS 15, both of which feature the same aluminum chassis as the XPS 13 and run Core i5 or Core i7 Ivy Bridge processors. The XPS 14 Ultrabook will be available in two configurations, both of which include a backlit keyboard and a 400-nit, 1600 x 900 display. The main difference between the two models is connectivity: the higher-end XPS 14 comes with integrated mobile broadband and uses Dell's NetReady "pay as you go" service to get online when Wi-Fi is out of range. Both versions come with up to 8GB of RAM and can be configured with a 500GB drive spinning at 5,400 RPM paired with a 32GB SSD or a standalone 512GB SSD, and the WWAN model comes standard with a 500GB drive with a free fall sensor on board. Another difference is graphics: the base model ships with Intel HD Graphics 4000, while the WWAN model offers an NVIDIA GeForce GT 630M GPU. Dell claims the notebook provides up to 11 hours of runtime, "the longest battery life of any Ultrabook." The XPS 14 starts at $1,099 and is available today. It just so happens that we've already taken the laptop for a full test drive: check out our review here. Next up is the XPS 15, which weighs 5.79 pounds and sports a 1920 x 1080 Corning Gorilla Glass display. The laptop includes either a DVD-RW or Blu-Ray drive and comes with up to 16GB of RAM and 1TB of storage. As far as graphics go, you get a choice of NVIDIA's GeForce GT 630M chip with 1GB of dedicated memory or GeForce GT 640M graphics with 2GB of RAM. Pricing starts at $1,299, and like the XPS 14 this laptop is available today. Check out our hands-on gallery below.
ASUS N56VM laptop gets Ivy Bridge processor, Kepler GPU for Japan launch
ASUS' N- and K-series notebooks may have debuted under the discerning eyes of Milano fashionistas, but it looks like an already refreshed version will arrive in Japan stores first. The ASUS N56VM benefits from recent hardware refreshes from both Intel and NVIDIA, with a Core i7-3610QM 2.3GHz processor and NVIDIA's GeForce GT 630M running the graphics-heavy show. This is joined by a 15.6-inch (1920 x 1080) screen, 8GB of RAM, Blu-ray drive and a 750GB hybrid SSD, while connectivity includes four USB 3.0 ports and a combination memory stick / SD card slot. The notebook is set to arrive this Saturday in Japan, with prices starting from 99,800 yen ($1,240). It's accompanied by two lower-spec K55A and K55VD models, with the major difference between them being the addition of an NVIDIA GeForce GT 610M in the latter. Otherwise, the two pack the same 15-inch WXGA (1366 x 768) screen, Core i5-3210M 2.5GHz processor and 750GB HDD. The laptops also house a pair of USB 3.0 ports, with an SD card slot and a single USB 2.0 port in reserve. The K55A is priced at 59,800 yen ($744), while the K55VD starts at 69,800 yen ($869), with both arriving alongside the N-series model tomorrow.
iFixit rips open new 15-inch MacBook Pro and 13-inch Air
You've got to admire the ferocity with which iFixit tears into a new gadget. Sure, there might not be much new to look at inside the non-Retina-packing MacBook Pro or updated Air, but that didn't stop the site's dedicated hackers from ripping open the laptops and spreading their guts around a table. So, how does the standard Pro differ from its pixel-packed sibling? Well, in almost every way imaginable. In fact, there's not a lot separating the mid 2012 Pro from the 2011 model. Sure it's got some mildly updated internals, but it's still got the original MagSafe connector, a single Thunderbolt port and it is much easier to upgrade or repair than the spotlight-hogging version. The Air, on the other hand, does get a slight physical facelift, though it also remains largely the same as last year's model. The SSD has a tweaked connector and a new Sandforce controller, but otherwise, it seems like the biggest visible changes are some rotated labels and stickers. To see the full teardowns check out the source links.
Fujitsu outs a trio of similar looking Lifebooks that carry Ivy Bridge over troubled waters
Fujitsu has whipped out three matching Ivy Bridge laptops of various sizes for the business-end of your life. Each of the trio comes with either Core i5 or i7 processors, optional SSD and a nifty modular bay that lets you swap in batteries or optical drives depending on need. The 15-inch E752 desktop replacement will set you back $879, while the 14-inch thin-and-light S752 is aimed at business pros on the go, costing $899. Finally, the 13.3-inch subcompact S762 will blow a $999-sized hole in your departmental purchasing budget -- which you can start doing from today.
Acer Aspire Timeline Ultra M5 Ultrabooks with Kepler graphics coming to the US for $680-plus
We spotted Acer's new Aspire Timeline Ultra M5 laptops at Computex earlier this month, and though we already knew some key specs (NVIDIA's Kepler-based graphics, for example), these Ultrabooks hadn't yet been announced for the US market. Today that changes, as Acer just revealed full specs and pricing details for those of us here in the states. The Aspire Timeline Ultra M5, available with 14- and 15-inch screens, lives up to its Ultrabook classification with a 0.81-inch thick profile and up to eight hours of battery life. As we noted previously, the M5 maintains some of the Aspire M3's design cues, including the chiclet keyboard, 1366 x 768 display and thin silhouette. At the same time, it ups the premium quotient with aluminum alloy done up in a brushed-metal finish. All models include a DVD drive and 500GB of storage plus a 20GB SSD. The base configuration will feature a second-gen (read: Sandy Bridge) Intel processor clocked at 1.5GHz, but higher-level options step up to an Ivy Bridge CPU clocked as high as 2.6GHz. The 14-inch version weighs 4.3 pounds and starts at $680 with Intel HD Graphics 4000 but is also available with an NVIDIA GeForce GT640M LE GPU for $780. The $830 15.6-inch M5 features an edge-to-edge screen, along with that same NVIDIA chip, but it weighs a heftier 5.07 pounds. The Aspire Timeline Ultra M5 Series will ship at the end of June -- in the meantime, check out the photos and press info below. %Gallery-158589%
ASUS Zenbook Prime UX31A alights its Ivy Bridge at Amazon: $1,149 for Core i5 edition
True to its pledge, ASUS has hauled the backlit keys and 1920 x 1080 IPS displays of the Zenbook Prime UX31A stateside, where it just made the Amazon scene in Core i7 and i5 Ivy Bridge flavors. The 13.3-inch Ultrabooks also have 4GB RAM, Intel HD 4000 Graphics and 128GB or 256GB solid state drives, depending on the model, and weigh in at a stark 2.86 pounds. The priciest Core i7 configuration with a 256GB SSD will run $1,599, and the lower-end Core i5, 128GB SSD version is $1,149. Some models are out of stock already, so if want to shell out, check the source for the product page.
MacBook Air review (13-inch, mid 2012)
More Info Apple announces refreshed MacBook Air: Ivy Bridge processor, USB 3.0, shipping today The 2012 MacBook Air vs. the 2011 model: what's changed? ASUS Zenbook Prime UX21A preview The last time we reviewed the MacBook Air, we didn't have a whole lot to compare it to. Sure, there was the original Samsung Series 9, but it was more expensive, at $1,649, and ran off a standard-voltage processor, often at the expense of battery life. Companies like Lenovo and Toshiba already had deep experience making ultraportables, but those notebooks generally weren't as light, or as skinny, as the Air. A year ago, too, Ultrabooks, as we now know them were little more than a concept as far as the computer-buying public was concerned. Today, there are 110-plus Windows-based Ultrabooks on the horizon, leaving consumers with an overwhelming smorgasbord of thin, shockingly powerful laptops. Apple, for its part, has stuck with the same Air design we liked so much the first time around, though it's refreshed the lineup with speedier Ivy Bridge processors and traded those USB 2.0 ports for 3.0. Additionally, the Air can now be configured with more RAM and roomier storage. Oh, and the 13-inch version now starts at $1,200, down from $1,300. (The 11-inch version still goes for $999 and up.) That sounds promising, making an already-excellent laptop faster and less expensive. Still, with so many comparable products on the Windows side, we have to wonder, does Apple really continue to define the category or have other companies narrowed the gap? Let's find out.%Gallery-158436%
Toughbook goes Ivy Bridge with 10-inch magnesium CF-19
One thing we haven't seen too much of from the ongoing Ivy Bridge onslaught, is rugged notebooks. Sure, there was that Durabook from last week, but not much else -- and we all know the big name in indestructible laptops is Panasonic's Toughbook line. Luckily, for those of you with jobs or hobbies that tend to involve dust storms and head-on collisions, the CF-19 is on the way with a 3.3GHz Core i5 under its 10.1-inch hood. The €2,950 (roughly, $3,727), convertible notebook has an optional touchscreen, 500GB hard drive, SSD options for the drop prone, as well as lone USB 2.0 and 3.0 ports. If you're a truly mobile warrior, there's even an HSPA+ upgrade available for the wireless card. Basically it's the Toughbook 19 we've all grown to know and love, but with some nice Intel upgrades on the inside. The updated rugged lappy should start shipping in Europe this July, but we're still waiting on availability info for the US.
Dell gives a peek at a revamped XPS 15 in Romania
Dell showed the heart of its 2012 laptop design language in the XPS 13 just as the snow started melting, but it's been mostly silent or conservative ever since. The company must want to close out the spring the same way it entered: Dell and Romania's Asesoft Distribution have just previewed a larger XPS 15 at an event B1 attended at the Bucharest-based Romanian Aviation Museum. Based on the early look, Dell isn't going to stretch the Ultrabook definition across the whole XPS range. There will still be full-power, 2.5GHz dual Core i5 and quad 2.1GHz Core i7 chips from Intel's Ivy Bridge family, and NVIDIA is supplying some modestly ultraportable GeForce GT 630M and 640M video. Although there's no special tricks that we can see so far, the 15.6-inch system is reportedly due to show in at least Romania by the end of the spring, which leaves just weeks to wait if you prefer your mid-size performance laptops designed in Texas.
Vizio's 24- and 27-inch Ivy Bridge all-in-ones get official: on sale today for $898 and up
Vizio recently announced that its first PCs -- the ones we glimpsed at CES back in January -- will ship in June. From our previous hands-on time, we already knew that the company's 24- and 27-inch all-in-ones sport 1080p screens and include HDMI passthrough for using them as HDTVs even with the PC portion turned off. And the company clearly drew on its TV know-how to turn out desktops with nice and thin profiles: the power supply is integrated into the subwoofer, and the pivoting neck is a single piece of aluminum connected to an invisible hinge. At the company's press event in NYC today, the all-in-ones got extra official -- as in, we have complete specs and pricing info. Both the 24- and 27-inch models feature Intel Ivy Bridge processors, NVIDIA Kepler GeForce GPUs (the base configurations ship with Intel HD Graphics 4000), 1920 x 1080 displays and 2.1 surround sound audio with SRS Premium Sound HD. Storage options start at 500GB of space (for the smaller model) and top out at a 1TB hard drive paired with a 32GB SSD. The PCs include dual HDMI inputs and ship with a remote control (hence Vizio's TV background). The 24-inch model will start at $898, while the 27-incher goes for $1,098 and up. As with Vizio's just-announced laptops, the desktops include a "V key" on the wireless keyboard, with shortcuts to media services like Hulu Plus, Vudu andI Netflix. Interestingly, none of these will come pre-installed, though the company said the services will offer special deals for Vizio PC owners. The PCs are now available online and at retailers such as Costco, Target and Walmart. %Gallery-158331% %Gallery-158330% Edgar Alvarez contributed to this report.
Gammatech's brawny 12-inch convertible Durabook adds Ivy Bridge brains
The Durabook convertible's always been a tough jock, but now it's got some Ivy Bridge finesse as well, with the new U12Ci. Ruggedized to military MIL-STD-810G specs to resist drops, shocks, spills, dust and power nastiness, the new Intel chipset will add more speed and improved battery life to its tough-as-nails surface. The kid brother to the U12C keeps that same 12.1-inch 1280 x 800 panel, with a choice of Core i5 or i7 chipsets, USB 3.0 and the option to add up to 16GB of RAM. Prices start at $1,000, so if you're hitting the trenches or your local Starbucks, head down the source link for more info. Ten-hut!
Acer Aspire S5 Ultrabook arriving this month for $1,400, S3 gets updated with Ivy Bridge and new color
It was only last week that Acer unveiled its first touchscreen Ultrabook, so you'd be forgiven if you forgot about the company's other pinch-thin laptop -- the one that was announced back in January at CES. That would be the Aspire S5, and now, five months later, it's finally going on sale. We just got word that it will hit shelves the last week of this month, with a starting price of $1,400. To recap (in case you've been overwhelmed by all the Ultrabooks on display lately), this is the one with the motorized, drop-down door hiding HDMI, USB 3.0 and Thunderbolt ports. If fourteen hundred bucks seems expensive, remember that these specs (a Core i7 Ivy Bridge processor and 256GB SSD) are actually pretty standard for the money. And, at 2.65 pounds, it's lighter than almost every other 13-inch Ultrabook we've seen. Still, at that price we'd expect something a little crisper than a 1366 x 768 display. For what it's worth, too, the S5 is the first product to ship in the US with the company's free AcerCloud service baked in. In brief, you get unlimited storage for backing up your stuff, all of which you can access remotely using an Android app (Acer has said iOS and Windows Phone versions are on the way). As with other syncing services, your computer needs to be asleep, not powered-off, in order for you to retrieve your files, so avoid shutting down if you think you'll need to reach into your PC later. In other news, Acer is refreshing its first-gen S3 Ultrabook with a new champagne color, and will now offer it with an Ivy Bridge Core i7 processor and 256GB hard drive. The starting price has dropped to $648 with a Sandy Bridge CPU, with the highest-end models fetching about $1,000. Look for these upgraded models sometime next week.%Gallery-158067%
Apple MacBook Pro with Retina display review (mid 2012)
Product categories come and go, grow and wither, revolutionize the world and then slowly fade into a state of cold, quiet, everlasting obsolescence. It happens all the time, sometimes over the course of just a year or two (see: netbooks) and, while companies have made billions by establishing truly new categories, rarely has anybody rocked the world by splitting the difference between two very closely aligned ones. That's exactly what Apple is trying to do here. The company's MacBook Pro line is one of the most respected in the industry for those who need an ostensibly professional laptop. Meanwhile, the MacBook Air is among the best (if not conclusively the best) thin-and-light laptops on the market. Now, a new player enters the fray: the MacBook Pro with Retina display. It cleanly slides in between these two top-shelf products, while trying to be simultaneously serious and fast, yet slim and light. Is this, then, a laptop that's all things to all people, the "best Mac ever" as it was called repeatedly in the keynote? Or, is it more of a compromised, misguided attempt at demanding too much from one product? Let's find out.%Gallery-158164%
Dell Vostro line gets Ivy Bridge CPUs, optional 4G LTE
Dell's Vostro line of entry-level business notebooks is next up to receive the good 'ol Ivy Bridge update. Today the company is announcing the Vostro 3360, 3460 and 3560 laptops, in 13-inch, 14-inch and 15-inch sizes, respectively. All models will be configurable with either second- (Core i3) or third-gen (Core i5 or Core i7) Intel CPUs along with several graphics options and up to 8GB of RAM. And let's not forget those business features: fingerprint readers, file and folder encryption and security software are available on all three models. The Vostro 3360 and 3460 will also offer optional 4G LTE mobile broadband. Getting more specific, the $649 Vostro 3360 measures 0.76 inches thick, weighs 3.67 pounds and comes standard with a 320GB hard drive spinning at 7,200RPM (a 750GB configuration and an optional 32GB SSD are also available). Starting at $599, the 4.92-pound Vostro 3460 comes with the same processor options and is available with NVIDIA GeForce GT 630M graphics and up to a 7,200RPM, 750GB hard drive coupled with a 32GB SSD. Unlike the 3360, the 14-incher comes with a backlit keyboard and includes an optical drive. Lastly, there's the 15-inch, 5.75-pound Vostro 3560, which can be configured with AMD Radeon HD 7670M graphics and a 1920 x 1080 display (you get the same storage options as the 3460, along with the same backlit keyboard and optical drive). The Vostro 3560 is currently on sale for $599 on Dell's website, while the 3360 and 3460 will be available on June 21st. Head past the break for more photos and the full press release.
The 2012 MacBook Air vs. the 2011 model: what's changed?
No, we didn't get the Retina Macbook Air many of us may have been hoping for, but the Apple ultra-portable did get a significant Ivy Bridge boost, including a pair of USB 3.0 ports. There's also an option to double the flash storage capacity with a 512GB SSD, along with adding up to 8 gigs of 1600MHz DDR3L RAM and Apple's new MagSafe 2 connector on the 13-inch Air. Base model pricing remains the same for the 11-incher, at $999 for the bare-bones configuration, while the larger Air will be available starting at $1199 -- a $100 drop over its predecessor. All of the new Airs will ship beginning today, but that doesn't mean it's upgrade time for you. Click on past the break for our side-by-side comparison and a closer look at what's new.
Apple unveils new MacBook Pro with Ivy Bridge at WWDC
Apple is certainly making WWDC a hardware conference this year -- it just unveiled a refresh of the existing MacBook Pro running Intel's newer Ivy Bridge processors on the San Francisco gathering's opening day. The 13- and 15-inch portables run up to 2.7GHz quad Core i7s (turbo up to 3.7GHz), carry up to 8GB of RAM and have GeForce GT 650M-based graphics 60 percent faster than the previous generation. Like the new MacBook Air, they tout USB 3.0 ports. If you're more comfortable with Apple's conventional MacBook Pro design than the new variety, Apple will ask $1,099 for the base 13-inch version and $1,799 for a 15-inch version, with an upgraded 15-inch model going for $2,199. All of them are shipping today -- we're not seeing any mention of an updated 17-inch version, so it may have been cast aside. For more coverage of WWDC 2012, please visit our event hub.
Lenovo IdeaPad Y580 goes on sale melding quad-core Ivy Bridge and GeForce GTX 660M
The Y580 led the avalanche of Lenovo IdeaPads unveiled at CES; its dependence on both Intel Ivy Bridge processors and Kepler-based NVIDIA graphics kept it out of the spotlight for some time, but it's now ready to ship out. The finished 15.6-inch laptop skews very clearly to gamers and other performance mavens. The range starts off with a quad 2.3GHz Core i7, a GeForce GTX 660M and 8GB of RAM. Any heavier outlays of cash upgrade the display resolution, optical drive and storage to as much as a 1080p screen, a Blu-ray combo drive and a 1TB hard drive with a companion 32GB SSD for good measure. None of them will win a contest for sheer portability, but a tight official price spread between $1,299 and $1,549 ($1,039 and $1,239 on sale) guarantees that it won't be hard to get exactly the PC you need to play Spec Ops. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Acer Aspire V5 notebooks get Ivy Bridge treatment, shipping by end of June for $630 and up
While many laptop makers held off on product refreshes -- not to mention new notebook lines -- till Intel's Ivy Bridge CPUs were ready, Acer went ahead and released its Aspire V5 series back in March. Still, that doesn't mean the company can't squeeze in some new models a few months later, and indeed it just trotted out two Ivy Bridge Aspire V5 notebooks. The 14-inch version measures 0.79 inches thick and weighs 4.6 pounds, while the 15-incher measures 0.83 inches and tips in at five pounds. Both laptops have optical drives and 500GB of storage, and like the V5s announced in March they feature Acer Instant Connect for finding and saving frequently used WiFi networks. Both machines have Intel HD Graphics 4000 and 500GB of storage space. You get your choice of Core i3 or Core i5 processors, with pricing starting at $630. Acer says the notebooks will be available by the end of June. As always, you can check out the full press release below.
