MacBook Pro review (13-inch, mid-2012)

DNP  MacBook Pro review 13inch, mid2012 how does the refreshed MBP fare with a new Ivy Bridge chipset

When the MacBook Pro with Retina display is in the game, Apple's "regular" Pros may seem a bit like also-rans. After all, why would you choose them when you could get a brilliant 15-inch 2,880 x 1,800 IPS panel and a Core i7 Ivy Bridge processor? Well, price, for one thing. While we walked away from our Retina MBP review mighty impressed, that model starts at $2,199. The latest crop of Pros, meanwhile, keep the same pricing scheme as last year's models ($1,199 and up), but step up to Intel's third-generation Ivy Bridge processors. We took the entry-level 13-incher for a spin to get a feel for how the dual-core Core i5 CPU, 4GB of RAM and Intel HD Graphics 4000 stack up to the competition. Read on to see how it fared.

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MacBook Pro review (13-inch, mid-2012) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 30 Jul 2012 16:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Samsung Series 9 review (13-inch, mid-2012)

DNP Samsung Series 9 review 13inch, mid2012

Good things come in pairs, right? Earlier this year Samsung revamped its high-end Series 9 line with two new Ultrabooks: an impressively thin 15-inch model, along with a more portable 13-inch machine. So far this year, we've gotten a chance to review the larger version which remains one of our favorite ultraportables ever, thanks to its minimal design, fast performance, lovely display and long battery life.

"So what?" you're thinking. "Why bother revisiting the miniature version?" For one, friends, Samsung only recently refreshed the Series 9 with third-generation Intel Core processors, and we were eager to make note of any performance gains. More importantly, though, the 13-inch Series 9 faces stiffer competition than its big brother. There truly isn't another big-screen notebook quite as thin or as light as the 15-inch Series 9; if those are the attributes that matter most, that's the laptop you're best off getting. But the smaller Series 9 finds itself fighting for space on retail shelves amidst high-end ultraportables like the MacBook Air, ASUS Zenbook Prime UX31A, the HP Envy Spectre XT and, well, you get the idea. So how does this $1,300 system fare against such worthy opponents? Read on to find out.

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Samsung Series 9 review (13-inch, mid-2012) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 06 Jul 2012 10:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Samsung considering a 13-inch, 1080p, PLS panel, display snobs get their hopes up

Samsung considering a 13-inch, 1080p, PLS panel, display snobs get their hopes up

It's a ritual: we publish a review of a laptop with a 1366 x 768 display, the best-rated comment is from someone crying out for 1600 x 900 -- nay, 4K resolution. If you're in the latter camp, you're going to be disappointed by even this article, but for those of you who've merely been craving something, anything crisper than mere HD, we have some hope: Samsung is mulling the idea of a 13-inch, PLS display with a 1920 x 1080 pixel count. Earlier today a company rep told a group of reporters that the PC division is considering a 1080p panel of that size, which would be unusual, to say the least. The outfit isn't ready to make any promises, much less commit to an ETA, though we can't say we'd be surprised if the company made such a display for its 13-inch laptops first -- after all, for instance, some of its 13-inch panels make use of IPS-like PLS technology, whereas its 15-inch ones don't yet. We'll let you decide if that's even necessary -- both the 13- and 15-inch Series 9 already have 1600 x 900 resolution -- but suffice to say, the company has a good track record of squeezing in extra pixels when other ultraportable makers don't.

Samsung considering a 13-inch, 1080p, PLS panel, display snobs get their hopes up originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 16 May 2012 19:14:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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