We have recently spent some time working (and playing) with the HP Spectre XT TouchSmart notebook computer. Specifically, we have been using the 15-4010nr Ultrabook model. This is a Windows 8 machine and it happens to be sporting a 15.6-inch Full HD IPS display and as implied by the TouchSmart in the name — this one is a touchscreen notebook. The notebook looks good, feels solid and has specs to match. Of course, on the flip side of that, the HP Spectre XT TouchSmart isn’t the lowest priced notebook on the market. The pricing starts at $1,399.99 and while we cannot say whether this notebook will be needed by all, we can share some opinions that will help you answer that question for yourself. With that, read on for our full HP Spectre XT TouchSmart 15-4010nr Ultrabook review.
Hardware
Before we get into the specs of the notebook, lets first talk bout the notebook itself. The TouchSmart looks really nice, albeit a bit similar to the HP Envy Spectre XT, but that is not necessarily a bad thing. HP has the TouchSmart decked out in an aluminum and brushed silver finish. The lid of the notebook has a shiny silver HP logo and there is also the “Hewlett Packard’ branding on the side. While the outside is pretty muted in terms of brands and logos, the inside has a little bit more going on. That is not to say HP went overboard, but there are two Beats Audio logos and two HP logos on the inside.
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Read full post here: https://www.slashgear.com/hp-spectre-xt-touchsmart-notebook-review-26283468/
HP has officially entered into the Chromebook market with their new $329 Pavilion 14 Chromebook. As a laptop, it doesn’t deviate too far from HP standards, and it still sports the same curves and style that you’d expect out of a laptop from the company. Plus, despite being a Chromebook, it feels more like a traditional Windows laptop with it’s fairly spacious keyboard and trackpad, along with the 14-inch display. However, looks aren’t everything, and it’s the internal hardware and performance that can make or break a notebook. Is the Pavilion 14 worthy of a spot on your college laptop shortlist for the upcoming school year? Let’s find out.
Hardware & Design
The Pavilion 14 — unlike traditional Chromebooks that we’ve seen before — sports a standard laptop design for those that will want something a bit more full-size, but with minimalistic elements. It sports an Intel Celeron processor, which we don’t see too often anymore in laptops, but it’s enough to power a lightweight operating system like Chrome OS. It’s clocked at a mere 1.1GHz, and is paired with 2GB of RAM, along with a 16GB solid state drive, so nothing too spectacular spec-wise, but that was expected.
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Read full post here: https://www.slashgear.com/hp-pavilion-14-chromebook-review-27283711/
The Acer machine you’re about to see is rather unique – it’s got what the group calls an “Ezel” hinge, made to expand the units abilities beyond that of the average notebook or desktop. Here we’re using Windows 8 in combination with Acer’s hardware to add another chapter to the unofficial List of Touchscreen Computer Configurations, this time with a display that moves up, folds back, and becomes nearly flat, lifts up and sits vertical or horizontal, and in one particular setup looks strikingly similar to the U.S.S. Enterprise from Star Trek.
Hardware
Like the past several waves of Acer hardware we’ve reviewed, this PC is solid. It’s ready to be a home computer, work computer, or student computer for presentations, touchscreen games, and everything in-between. What it’s best at is looking and feeling unique: this computer really is like no other.
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Read full post here: https://www.slashgear.com/acer-aspire-r7-review-14286385/
I have a confession to make: I never tried the Windows 8 consumer preview. You see, I’ve been a lifelong Windows user (I can remember my parents making a big deal out of our switch to Windows 3.1), and as a lifelong Windows user, I’ve been burned plenty of times in the past. Most recently, this happened with Windows Vista, so when Windows 7 came along, I decided that it was the only Windows version I needed for the foreseeable future. Sure, I watched plenty of videos and read plenty of articles about Windows 8, but none of those convinced me that OS was something I needed to have on my machine. Yet here I am, reviewing Windows 8 for SlashGear. Can Microsoft’s latest version of the OS persuade this stubborn Windows 7 user that the grass really is greener on the other side? Read on to find out.
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Read full post here: https://www.slashgear.com/windows-8-review-20252507/
Lenovo has big plans with Windows 8, convertible laptops and Ultrabooks, and more but one that caught our eye at CES was theThinkPad Helix. With a fancy design, versatility, and an 11.6-inch 1080p display it’s quite the device. After a few delays the ThinkPad Helix is finally available today, so we’re taking it for a full spin in its retail form. Is the nearly $1,700 base price tag worth it? Read on for our full thoughts and plenty of photos.
With anyone and everyone jumping on the Windows 8 touchscreen (and tablet) bandwagon, there’s tons of options, but the Helix instantly stands out. Being a regular laptop, a convertible, a tablet, and even offering an extended tablet mode with longer battery life thanks to the keyboard dock. It’s a full Windows 8 64-bit machine, a hybrid computing device with tons of power, packs two batteries, and is finally available. Only a few months late from the initial February launch plans.
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Read full post here: https://www.slashgear.com/lenovo-thinkpad-helix-review-04288958/
Being touted as a “mini ultrabook” the Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga 11S is the latest and greatest to grace the IdeaPad lineup with full-fledged Windows 8 on board. Everything about the Yoga 11 from last year is still present, only we’ve received a huge upgrade to an Intel Core 15 processor (no ARM Tegra 3 here) and dropped Win RT for the full experience. The device is still as portable and impressive as ever, so read on for the rest of our thoughts.
If you’re a fan of the IdeaPad Yoga 11 or Yoga 13, there’s absolutely nothing not to like about the new and improved 11S. It’s faster and better in every way, while keeping true to the original complete with the 360 degrees hinge setup offering multiple viewing modes and usage experiences. Lets take a look.
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Read full post here: https://www.slashgear.com/lenovo-ideapad-yoga-11s-review-10289923/
The first Lenovo ThinkPad tablet ran Android and wasn’t quite as popular as the company was expecting, but that didn’t stop them from delivering a quality product with round two. Today we have the new Lenovo ThinkPad Tablet 2 Windows 8 Pro hybrid on the SlashGear test bench to share with you all. Everything we loved about the original, including stylus support and 3G connectivity has been delivered on this new full-fledged Windows experience device. Read on to find out our thoughts on the re-imagined ThinkPad Tablet 2.
Hardware and Design
At first glance you could easily mistake the new Tablet 2 for just another Windows tablet, but its whats at the core that separates this from the others. Running on Intel silicon it is powered by a 1.8GHz Intel Atom Z2760 processor, 2GB of RAM, and has 64GB of storage under the hood all enjoying the full Windows 8 Pro experience. No arm-based processor here, yet not the full Core i5 of the Surface Pro.
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Read full post here: https://www.slashgear.com/lenovo-thinkpad-tablet-2-review-12269042/
With the release of the Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 with Verizon’s 4G LTE data coverage, both companies put forth their best. With Verizon it’s the 4G LTE you know and love, and with Samsung it’s their largest “Note” device to date, effectively replacing the standard tablet with one that’s got its own S-Pen for futuristic note-taking and artwork galore. This isn’t the first time the Galaxy Note 10.1 has been available in the United States, but it certainly is the first time it’s been pushed with such vigor.
Hardware
As it was back when we showed our Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 wifi-only Review, this tablet is easily Samsung’s best. At this display size, anyway. If you’re looking for an experience that’s top-notch at essentially any other display size, Samsung has you covered there too – from the Galaxy Tab 7.7 to the Galaxy Tab 2 7.0 to theGalaxy Tab 2 10.1 and back again, Verizon also has you covered with 4G LTE. With the Galaxy Note 10.1 4G LTE, you’ve got the 10.1-inch display coupled with the quad-core Exynos processor and the S-Pen – not to mention the front-facing speakers.
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Read full post here: https://www.slashgear.com/verizon-samsung-galaxy-note-10-1-review-08273129/
The Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0 takes the mid-sized mobile market that Samsung’s had covered for several years with successive Galaxy Note tablets and adds a pen. With Samsung’s newest iteration of the S-Pen, a quad-core Exynos processor under the hood, and this rather thin form-factor, this is easily the best tablet effort in this category the manufacturer has ever offered. In this 8-inch size, Samsung has also created what many will find to be the ideal size for carry-along entertainment and notes.
Hardware
The Galaxy Note 8.0 works with an 8-inch display with 1280 x 800 pixels across its face – that’s not exactly the sharpest screen on the market, mind you, but it’s certainly sufficient for the basics. Compared to the biggest competition this device has – the iPad mini – it’ll certainly do enough to fight: the iPad mini rings in at 163 PPI while the Galaxy Note 8.0 brings a cool 189 PPI to the table.
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Read full post here: https://www.slashgear.com/samsung-galaxy-note-8-review-05498280/
HP’s first go-around with a tablet didn’t actually go so well. ThewebOS-based TouchPad didn’t last long and was quickly discontinued. However, the company is back with another slate, only this time it’s running the more widely-adopted Android operating system, and it seems as though HP wants to give tablets another whack with its first-ever Android tablet, the Slate 7. We took a peek at it during CES 2013 back in January, and it’s a metal-infested 7-incher that looks to take on Google’s Nexus 7 with a relatively stock user interface in a clean and simple package. Let’s see how it fares.
Hardware & Design
Unlike the company’s previous TouchPad, the HP Slate 7 is lined with aluminum for a solid build. Of course, that makes it a bit heavier to hold, but with the added weight, it makes it feel more rugged and solid in our hands. Other than that, one of the biggest things you’ll notice is the bright red backing that gives the tablet a unique look (it also comes in gray if the red hurts your eyes). Plus, it has a soft-touch grippy texture that feels good in the hand and makes it easy to hold.
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Read full post here: https://www.slashgear.com/hp-slate-7-review-15286540/
GoPro, the makers of the little device that puts you close to the action, might just have found a way to put you even closer thanks to a deal with Kolor, a French imaging company that specializes in immersive, 360-degree video capture technology.
GoPro has announced earlier today in a report that it will acquire the “spherical media” company for an undisclosed amount of money. All Kolor employees will join GoPro immediately, however, they will remain in Kolor’s headquarters in Savoie, France rather than migrate to GoPro’s office in San Mateo, Calif.
So what does an action sports company want with a high-resolution, 360-degree camera manufacturer? Well, if we’re reading the all-too-obvious writing on the wall, GoPro wants to get its feet wet in the potentially lucrative VR market before Oculus and Facebook flood the market with their wares.
Does this mean we’ll get a 360-degree GoPro in stores tomorrow? Probably not. But this deal makes that a possibility sometime down the road.
GoPro has already posted a video of what a potential movie will look like using a new panoramic camera and the result, we’ll admit, is actually pretty cool.
First it was wearables – now TomTom has just announced it is branching out into a new category: action cameras.
GoPro might be top dog in this domain right now but TomTom reckons it can deliver a unique experience. The aim was to create a device that makes the journey of shooting, editing and publishing much more straightforward.
The result is the Bandit, a camera that will use its motion detectors and GPS to smartly detect and record exciting moments. It will even detect your heart rate (when paired with the TomTom Runner) and start capturing if it senses a spike in activity.
“We are not entering this category to be one of many,” said TomTom’s Peter-Frans Pauwels. “We can deliver a different user experience.”
It’s also the first camera to come with its a built-in media server, which means you won’t need to download the footage you can edit it.
On the run
The camera offers wide angle lens, high-end 16 MP CCD sensor, and is capable of 4K capture. And of course, it is waterproof.
The Bandit works with a companion app that lets you review your footage instantly, thanks to the camera’s built-in media server. You can use the app to edit your movie with music overlays and all the usual tools, although one particularly interesting feature lets you simply shake the smartphone to “instantly create an exciting movie.”
It’s a bit of a gimmick, but we can imagine we’ll have a lot of fun with it.
We’ll be putting the Bandit (which costs £309/$399) through its paces shortly – hold tight.
Following the Acer C720, which we recently reviewed, HP has brought its own new Chrome OS-harboring laptop to the market, the Chromebook 11. Unlike some of the other Chromebooks that are available, HP has elected to aim its focus on the design aspect of its offering, bringing to market a small laptop that in some ways resembles an older MacBook, adding a splash of color and the ability to charge from a standard smartphone charger into the mix. With this design-centric focus comes a slightly higher price tag than competing Chromebooks, being priced at $279 USD while the new Acer C720 is priced at $249. Read on for our full SlashGear review to see whether the Chromebook meets its premium pricing.
Hardware
The Chromebook 11 features a Samsung Exynos 5250 GAIA processor, as well as 2GB of DDR3 RAM and a 16GB SSD. As a comparison, the aforementioned Acer C720 features an Intel Haswell processor, 4GB of RAM, and a 16GB SSD. It is this hardware difference that puts the biggest divide between the two new Chromebooks, ultimately making up for what the C720 lacks in design and construction and proving to be the Chromebook 11’s Achilles heel.
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Read full post here: https://www.slashgear.com/hp-chromebook-11-review-27302319/
Researchers have developed a high-speed camera that can capture video a thousand times faster than traditional high-speed cameras.
It’s called Sequentially Timed All-optical Mapping Photography, or STAMP for short, and records at one trillion frames per second. That’s just fast enough to capture waves of atoms passing through crystal structures, which move at about a sixth of the speed of light.
The device was created by Keiichi Nakagawa from the University of Tokyo. He saw that the speed of conventional high-speed cameras are limited by their mechanical and electrical components – so used just fast, optical components instead.
It works by splitting ultra-short flashes of light into different colours like a rainbow. These hit the imaged object in quick succession, and can then be analysed to see how the object looked over the duration of the flash. The first version could only take six frames, but that has since been expanded to 25. Nakagawa believes it could be improved to 100 with current technology.
He adds that he thinks the camera “holds great promise for studying a diverse range of previously unexplored complex ultrafast phenomena”.
[Image credit: Keiichi Nakagawa/ University of Tokyo]
The popularity of tablets have posed a solid threat to the PC industry, and in response many 2-in-1 so-called “hybrid” laptops have popped up in increasing numbers that are able to function as both — as a laptop when some serious work needs to be done, and as a tablet for activities best suited to a hands-on approach: mobile games, artwork, and Web browsing, among others. The Sony VAIO Duo 13 is one such hybrid featuring a collapsible design that toggles the machine between a slate and a laptop without effort, but does it provide the best of both worlds? Read our full SlashGear review to find out.
Hardware
The Sony VAIO Duo 13 is thicker than you’d expect from a tablet, but about right for an ultrabook (.77-inches), and though the particulars of transporting a display-side-up slider hybrid requires more consideration than the transportation of a laptop, the overall design is pleasant and feels comfortable in the hands.
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Read full post here: https://www.slashgear.com/sony-vaio-duo-13-review-22305617/
The market is packed full of thin, low-powered, lightweight laptops and tablet hybrids that offer up all the perks that come with primarily playing mobile games and surfing the Web. Some of us require a bit more oomph from our machine’s hardware, however, and that is where workstations like the HP ZBook 15 come in. This laptop is on the hefty side, and with it comes a full keyboard with numpad, a 15.6-inch Full HD display, and surprisingly high battery life. Check out our full SlashGear review to find out what else this beast offers.
Hardware
The HP ZBook 15 is offered with various configurations that allow workers to get a device in their budget range. On the low and mid-range spectrum, the laptop can be grabbed with an Intel i7-4700MQ processor and Intel HD Graphics 4600, and either 4GB of RAM or 8GB of RAM, depending on preference. Storage in those two ranges is 500GB and 750GB, and both come with a DVD+/-RW SuperMulti DL optical drive. The highest end, which clocks in at $2,999 (the other two are $1699 and $2199, respectively), you get the Intel i7-4800MQ with Intel HD Graphics (2.7GHz versus 2.4GHz) and a Blu-ray R/RE DVD+/-RW SuperMulti DL optical drive.
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Read full post here: https://www.slashgear.com/hp-zbook-15-review-28305224/
The EOS 750D and 760D are Canon’s two new DSLRs, and they sit at the top of its beginner’s range, ultimately replacing the old EOS 700D, though this model will carry on for the time being.
So why two cameras and not one? Although they share the same basic specifications, the 750D and 760D are aimed at different kinds of users. The 750D is pitched at relative novices, while the 760D has controls and features aimed at more experienced and more ambitious photographers.
The EOS 760D shares the same basic internal hardware as the cheaper 750D, but it has a more advanced control layout.
Inside, the Canon 750D (Rebel T6i) and 760D (T6s) are essentially the same camera. Both have Canon’s new APS-C format 24.2MP CMOS sensor, a Digic 6 processing engine and the same 19-point autofocus system.
They both use Canon’s new Hybrid CMOS AF III system too, for use when images or video are composed on the screen in Live View mode. Like the 750D, the 760D has Wi-Fi and NFC technology for connecting the camera to a smartphone or tablet for remote control and image sharing.
Even the continuous shooting speed is the same, at 5fps, and the 750D and 760D have the same metering system and a 3-inch articulating 1,040K-dot touch-screen display.
On the outside, though, these cameras have some key differences, and the 760D is clearly designed for more advanced photographers, with a number of features taken from Canon’s high-end cameras.
Build and handling
One handy addition in the 760D is an electronic level that can be displayed on the screen on the back of the camera, or in the viewfinder, to help keep horizons straight. This indicates horizontal tilt, but not up/down tilt, so it’s useful for getting horizons straight, but it won’t help when you’re trying to ensure that the sensor is parallel to a building to avoid converging verticals. Like the Canon 7D Mark II, the 760D’s viewfinder has a dedicated Level icon and it doesn’t use the AF points to display the level – so it can be seen when pressing the shutter release to focus the lens.
The 760D has a mono status panel on the top plate (the 750D doesn’t have one) and the mode dial moves from the right side of the camera to the left.
The 760D has a different control layout too, though the two cameras feel very similar in the hand as there’s only 0.2mm difference in one dimension between them – the 760D is the slightly taller of the two.
The 760D also has an eye sensor to detect when the camera is held to your eye to take a shot, and automatically turns off the display on the main screen, whereas on the 750D you have to press a switch.
One of the biggest differences between the two cameras is that the 760D has a secondary (monochrome) LCD on the top-plate. This shows useful information such as the ISO (sensitivity) setting, battery level, exposure level, shutter speed and aperture. It’s useful to see the camera settings from above and uses less power than the main screen.
On the 760D, the mode dial is on the left of the top plate not the right, and it has a locking button in the centre. This button needs to be pressed before the mode dial can be rotated. It seems rather fiddly at first, but you get used to using it after a while. Nevertheless, it would be better if you could select to lock the dial or not.
Rather than having a dedicated Wi-Fi indicator on the camera body like the 750D, the 760D displays when the Wi-Fi system is active in the top-plate LCD.
The EOS 750D has just one control dial, but the 760D adds a second around the four-way navigation buttons on the back.
In another major departure from the 750D, the 760D has a dial around the navigation buttons – along with a lock to deactivate it. This allows quick adjustments to exposure in manual exposure mode and exposure compensation in the automatic and semi-automatic exposure modes because there’s no need to press a button while using the main dial.
The dial feels a little lightweight in comparison with the larger dial found on the back of higher-end cameras. It’s also rather low down on the body so it doesn’t fall within the natural reach of your thumb, you have to stretch down to it.
Performance
I had the opportunity to try out the Canon 760D at the Canon launch event in London, though Canon is keen to stress that these were pre-production units and the images might not be representative of the final product.
Early verdict
This is Canon’s first new APS-C sensor for some time, and I’m keen to see how its performance compares with the 700D and, indeed, rival Nikon DSLRs using a 24MP APS-C sensor. The camera is currently being put through our lab tests and we hope to be able to post the results very soon.
With the AT&T version of the LG G Flex, we’re getting another look at what it means to work with what this manufacturer calls the world’s first curved, flexible display. While we did get a rather healthy look with our LG G Flex Review back in December, our US-based review here and now gives us the states-based vision. The carrier-based vision, that is, and from a slightly different reviewer’s perspective as well.
Hardware
The team responsible for promoting the LG G Flex makes use of the words “Purposeful Innovation” to show – as clear as possible – their intent to push this device as a true-to-form full-fledged market-ready smartphone. If this device were flat – or even a degree of measurement flatter than it is now – LG would not have to prove itself in such a way.
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Read full post here: https://www.slashgear.com/lg-g-flex-att-review-01314631/
Of all the crazy, backward-looking, self-indulgent ideas you could possibly think of, this surely has to be at the top of the list – you would think.
But the more you learn about the Leica Monochrom (Typ 246), the more you realise is that there’s some sound reasoning behind a camera capable of shooting only in black and white. More on this shortly.
This is actually the second Leica Monochrom, not the first. They have the same name, but the new version has the all-important (Typ 246) suffix, and the newer camera has some important enhancements.
The old Monochrom had an 18-megapixel full-frame sensor, but the Typ 246 has a newer and better 24-megapixel sensor. Leica says it has improved performance too, with a faster ‘Leica Maestro’ processor and an expanded 2GB buffer capacity.
Leica says the new Monochrom (Typ 246) ‘by far exceeds the standards of its predecessor. But that doesn’t explain why anyone would buy a black and white only camera, so here goes…
The black and white back-story
In the days of film, you made a stark choice when you popped open the back of the camera to slot in a film cassette – black and white or colour? Once you’d decided, there was no going back until you’d used up the film and it was time to put in another.
If you wanted to shoot colour too, you’d take a second camera loaded with colour film. Even today, many pros use two cameras – though not to change ‘films’, of course, but so that they don’t have to keep taking one lens off to use another.
The fact is, there are some extremely good technical reasons for using a mono-only sensor. Colour sensors have to use a coloured filter array, so that for every four pixels, two are sensitive to green, one to red and one to blue. To get full-colour data for each pixel, the processor has to use interpolation to calculate the ‘missing’ data and this produces digital artefacts and a small loss in resolution.
Leica’s mono-only sensor has no colour filter array and needs no interpolation. Each pixel yields ‘proper’ data. What’s more, because there’s no colour filter array, there’s no need to use a low-pass filter to prevent moiré effects, so the Monochrom’s sensor has better pixel-level detail.
The M Monochrom’s unique sensor design bypasses the limitations of regular colour sensors for black and white photography.
Leica is also going to launch a set of black and white ‘contrast’ filters for the Monochrom in August 2015, and this highlights a third technical advantage of the mono-only sensor – you get much better results with black and white filters because the each pixel is capturing brightness values alone, not specific colours. You can get the same tonal effects using Channel Mixer tools on the colour images from regular sensors, but this means leaning more heavily on individual colour channels, and this introduces more noise, artefacts and edge effects. If you replicate a ‘red’ filter with a regular sensor, effectively only one pixel in four is used for creating the image.
More details
Leica M-series cameras use a manual rangefinder focusing system and a direct-vision (not through-the-lens) viewfinder. It’s a traditional design that still has many fans. The body is made from high-strength magnesium alloy and top and bottom plates are machined from solid brass. Round the back, the 3-inch 921,600-dot LCD display has a scratch-resistant and ‘almost unbreakable’ glass cover.
You can focus using the viewfinder/rangefinder mechanism or use Live View. Here, you can zoom in up to 10x magnification to check the focus, but the Leica Monochrom also offers a Focus Peaking display, where object outlines ‘snap’ into sharp focus with exaggerated outlines.
Continuing the mono theme, the Monochrom comes with a selection of in-camera toning effects including sepia, cold and selenium toning – and it comes with a licence for Adobe Lightroom.
Leica has not yet revealed pricing, but the previous version is currently on sale body-only for around £4500/US$7000.
The Marvel Cinematic Universe is about to get bigger than ever before, with the announcement that Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 and 2 will be shot entirely in the IMAX format.
While IMAX cameras have been used sparingly for big sequences in several Hollywood blockbusters, including Michael Bay’s Transformers films and Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight trilogy and Interstellar, the Avengers: Infinity War films will mark the first time the format is used to shoot entire films.
This is due to IMAX and ARRI’s revolutionary new Alexa 65 2D digital camera, which is lightweight, completely silent and shoots at a resolution of 6560 x 3102 with an aperture equivalent to a 65mm film camera.
These movies will be Gi-Ant, Man
Joe and Anthony Russo, directors of Avengers: Infinity War, will be using the Alexa 65 camera to shoot a 15-minute sequence for their current film, Captain America: Civil War, which began principal photography today.
IMAX CEO Greg Foster says that the Russos will be spending the “next 15 months or so” designing Avengers: Infinity War with these cameras in mind, as it is something that has “never happened before”.
Captain America: Civil War is set for release on May 6, 2016, while Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 is due to arrive on May 4, 2018.
Get ready for the eventual Avengers: Infinity Wars home video release by checking out the world’s best 4K TVs
Verizon has needed a new Windows Phone 8 flagship, and Nokiawas the obvious choice to deliver it. Don’t mistake the Lumia Iconfor a side-thought in Nokia’s smartphone schemes, however. On paper, at least, it takes the key things we loved from AT&T’s Lumia 1520, and distills them down to a more hand-friendly scale. Does reality live up to those high expectations? Read on for the SlashGear review.
Design
The Lumia Icon’s design is a little as though the Lumia 925 of last year went into prison, spent most of its days pumping iron in the yard, and then emerged at the end of its sentence big, blocky, and a little intimidating. Nokia has reused the idea of smooth, matte metal around the edge, with glass on one side and polycarbonate plastic on the other, but where the Lumia 925 was curved and almost organic in the hand, the Icon feels more imposing.
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Read full post here: https://www.slashgear.com/nokia-lumia-icon-review-20317598/
Lenovo has launched a new addition to its X-Series of laptops, the business-chic X240. This small laptop features a 12.5-inch display and some new perks in the lineup, among them being a very large trackpad, new cover paint, and some Windows 8-related keys. Despite its small size, the X240 makes some big claims, and we’ve put it through the rounds to see how it fairs compared to its older siblings. Read our full SlashGear review to find out how it held up.
Hardware
The X240 is available with either Windows 7 Professional 64 or Windows 8 (including Pro) 64-bit, up to 8GB of memory, and either a 500GB/1TB 5400rpm HDD, a 500GB 7200rpm HDD, or a 128GB/256GB SSD SATA3, giving ample options based on need. There are likewise a few processor options, with an Intel Core i3-4010U up to 1.7GHz being the lowest end, and the highest being a Core i7-4600U up to 3.0GHz (there are a couple i5 options betwixt them).
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Read full post here: https://www.slashgear.com/lenovo-thinkpad-x240-review-29306953/
Samsung has a bevy of notebooks that offer different features for different users, including convertible laptops, and even models that can dual boot Windows 8 and Android. However, some users just need a traditional laptop that comes with performances and a clean look without any of the extra bells and whistles. The ATIV Book 6 is a good option in this category. It sports a 15-inch touchscreen display with a full-size keyboard, and enough processing power to get through most tasks. Let’s see how it fares.
Hardware & Design
The ATIV Book 6 comes with an Intel Core i7 3635QM quad-core processor clocked at 2.4GHz paired up with 8GB of RAM. The processor keeps things humming along nicely, and while it’s not the fastest chip out there, most users will be happy with its performance (more on that later). The laptop also has a 1TB hard drive, which should be more than enough storage to stash all your movies, music, and photos on without a problem.
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Read full post here: https://www.slashgear.com/samsung-ativ-book-6-review-04288983/
With the Acer Iconia W3 you’ve got Acer’s first 8.1-inch Windows 8effort on the market – and the first Windows 8 tablet on the market with an 8.1-inch display in any case. Acer’s previous efforts with Android tablets have been decent – we’ve seen the group go all the way back to 2011 with the Acer Iconia Tab A500 and A501 for some of the first Honeycomb efforts on the market – and the Iconia W3 is no move to scoff at. Will this humble-looking handheld be the slate you’ll want to rock for the dawn of Windows next-wave touch software?
Hardware
Acer is no stranger to firsts, that’s for certain. Even the Acer Iconia Tab A100 took a unique chip at the Android tablet block, making way with the first 7-incher to tote Android 3.2 Honeycomb (back when that iteration of Android was first made for smaller-sized tablets).
With the Iconia W3 you’re rolling out with an Intel Atom 1.5GHz Z2760 processor and 2GB of memory, enough to keep Windows 8 rolling relatively hard at this size a display. You’ve also got a collection of wireless connectivity options including WiFi a/b/g/n and Bluetooth 4.0+EDR and you’ll be able to push video mirroring out with this tablet’s built-in micro HDMI port.
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Read full post here: https://www.slashgear.com/acer-iconia-w3-review-04289140/
With the mid-sized tablet in the Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 series you’re getting the only device on the market to go to war with the similarly-sized Galaxy Note. For Samsung it would appear easy to create so many device sizes that there’s got to be one you’re fond of, but here with the Galaxy Tab 3 generation of devices, it becomes so thick in the industry that the company redefines what it means to cannibalize one’s own sales. That said, pretend the rest of the Samsung smart device universe doesn’t exist and you’ve got a solid competitor for the 8-inch (or thereabouts) tablet market.
Hardware
The Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 8.0 works with an 8-inch display rolling with an 800 x 1280 pixel resolution across it, making it essentially the same delivery of sharpness and brightness as the Galaxy Note 8.0. While you’ll find this close relative tablet mentioned more than once in this review of the Tab, you can be sure here first that the display panels themselves are directly on-par with one another for everyday use.
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Read full post here: https://www.slashgear.com/samsung-galaxy-tab-3-8-0-review-17290671/
In the Samsung ATIV Book series, the company comes to a point in their history with notebooks that they’re ready to go to battle with the highest-quality units in the industry. In the ATIV Book 9 Plus with 13.3-inch LED QHD+ (3200 x 1800 pixel) touchscreen display and Intel Core processor under the hood, there’s scarcely a Windows 8 laptop on the market that we can recommend against it. Not one constructed of pure aluminum, at least.
Hardware
The unit we’ve been reviewing for weeks – top to bottom, with real-world tests in play – brings an Intel Core i5 4200U processor. At 1.60 GHz speed with a turbo boost at 2.60 GHz, this device is built for more than just the standard user. It’s made to be able to handle every kind of entertainment and work usage you’ll be able to toss at it.
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Read full post here: https://www.slashgear.com/samsung-ativ-book-9-plus-review-04307364/
Is it a laptop, a tablet, or something else entirely? Lenovo’s Yoga 2 Pro is an interesting mix of form factors, hardware, and operating system, that much we know. The screen, which folds a full 360-degrees around the back of the device, is the attention grabber, but is there more to it than that? We put the Yoga 2 through its paces to find out.
Hardware
What you find when you open the box is a sleek, modern build that is lighter than it looks. The Yoga 2 has clean lines, and a noticeable rubbery grip around the edges. That touch is not to gain style points; it’s for stability when the Yoga 2 is in various stages of use. You’ll also notice the hinges, which are a bit utilitarian, but hold up well under the twists and turns we put the Yoga 2 Pro through. Bright, chrome Lenovo branding sits noticeably on the outside of the lid, while the familiar compliment of ports and buttons (dual USB, HDMI, card reader, power, volume) adorn the sides.
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Read full post here: https://www.slashgear.com/lenovo-yoga-2-pro-review-26309320/
Lenovo has popped up with a handful of new products recently, among them being the ThinkPad Yoga, a flexible hybrid laptop with a touchscreen panel that can fold all the way back into a tablet-like mode. This follows the ThinkPad X240 we reviewed last month, and rather than sporting the X240’s extremely long battery life and somewhat thick body, Lenovo elected to give the ThinkPad Yoga a more conservative, universal appeal — namely, a thin, flat profile and a slightly less no-nonsense design, something accompanied by a high-end 12.5-inch FHD touchscreen display. Read on for our full SlashGear review to how the ThinkPad Yoga fared.
Hardware
The ThinkPad Yoga is available with both a fourth-generation Intel Core i5-4200U and a Core i7-4500U processor, with the former up to 2.6GHz and the latter up to 3GHz. This is accompanied by 4GB of memory and either a 128GB or 256GB SSD. There’s Dolby Home Theater version 4, as well as enhanced audio for VOIP usage. The keyboard is a lift-and-lock backlit offering, and the webcam is a familiar 720p HD unit.
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Read full post here: https://www.slashgear.com/lenovo-thinkpad-x1-yoga-3rd-gen-review-a-flexible-business-ultrabook-03544289/
Among Lenovo’s newest offerings this year is another release in the T-Series lineup, the T440s. With this ultrabook comes all the trimmings you’d expect to see: Windows 8 Pro, a touchscreen display, Intel Haswell under the hood, and the ever-present TrackPoint nestled in the keyboard. The T440s stands out as a larger offering when compared to the ThinkPad X240 we reviewedlast month, but in many ways they are the same, targeting the same general type of user but bringing its own flair to the table. Read our full review to find out what the Lenovo T440s offers those in the market for a ThinkPad ultrabook.
Hardware
The ThinkPad T440S is an ultrabook, though it falls on the chunkier side of that laptop spectrum at 0.80-inches thick. The machine features a 14-inch Full HD display, above which sits a 720p HD webcam with low-light sensitivity and face-tracking technology. This is accompanied by 4GB of memory and a 128GB SSD, offering moderate storage. Audio is similar to other products launched this year with Dolby Home Theater version 4.
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Read full post here: https://www.slashgear.com/lenovo-t440s-review-01307054/
In October, we reviewed Acer’s C720 Chromebook, a Haswell-harboring notebook with excellent battery life and performance to match. The one thing it lacked, however, was a touchscreen, something Acer has addressed with its latest Chrome OS offering: the Acer C720P Touch, a similarly-designed laptop with a touchscreen display. We’ve got our hands on the Chromebook to see how it holds up compared to its non-touch brethren, which we’ve detailed for you in our full SlashGear review.
Hardware
With the Acer C720P comes a somewhat thick body with a textured feel that greatly resembles the C720 — the biggest difference, in our case, is that we’ve got our hands on a white model this time rather than the grey one, though that color is available for the touch model as well. The lid has the same familiar design as the Acer Chromebooks before it, with an off-center Acer logo and Google Chrome stamp in the corner.
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Read full post here: https://www.slashgear.com/acer-c720p-touch-chromebook-review-06315821/
