NEC reveals LaVie Z Ultrabook will ship with third-gen Intel chips, 1600 x 900 screen resolution

NEC reveals LaVie Z Ultrabook will ship with third-gen Intel chips, 1600 x 900 screen resolution

By all means, we were quite impressed when we first laid eyes on NEC's LaVie Z early last month, but much to our disappointment, details were a wee bit scarce at that time. Fortunately for us (and you), however, the company's finally detailed the specs we can expect to see on its 13.3-inch Ultrabook. Among these are -- you guessed it -- Intel Ivy Bridge CPUs (i5-3317U, i7-3517U) and an above-average 1600 x 900 display -- of course, let's not forget it's all bundled up in a 999g package, or about 2.2 pounds if the gram system isn't your thing. As stated earlier, the LaVie Z will be Japan-only once it launches later this summer, though NEC has said it hopes to bring the Ultrabook to other markets at some point in the future. We'll have to wait and see.

NEC reveals LaVie Z Ultrabook will ship with third-gen Intel chips, 1600 x 900 screen resolution originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 06 Jun 2012 06:07:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Fujitsu brings its Lifebook Ultrabooks to the US, NH532 and Esprimos tag along for the ride

Fujitsu brings its Lifebook Ultrabooks to the US, NH532 and Esprimos tag along for the ride

Did you eye Fujitsu's new U772/E Ultrabook and dream of bringing that 0.69-inch thick, Ivy Bridge-packing Lifebook across the Pacific? The company has clearly been reading your mind, since it's just started shipping the portable and a few of its companions to the US. In American guise, you'll find the more simply-titled U772 carrying a choice of Core i5 or i7 chips, as much as a 500GB spinning hard drive or a 256GB SSD for storage, a trio of USB ports, HDMI and an SD card slot. It's joined by a more budget-oriented brother, the UH572 Ultrabook, which is slightly more portly (0.71 inches and 3.5 pounds) but otherwise touts the same credentials. The two are shipping right away and will offer that Japanese Ultrabook flavor at prices of $1,149 for the U772 and $999 for the UH572.

Those more accepting of big-boned computers aren't left out of the mix. On the still semi-portable side, the Lifebook NH532 takes Ivy Bridge to a desktop replacement size, albeit with precious few other details besides its 17.3-inch screen. Three Esprimo desktops (sadly, not pictured) are making the leap to third-generation Core chips as well, including the extra-quiet Q910 mini desktop as well as the fast-booting P710 microtower and full-size E710 desktop. While Fujitsu isn't giving us a full peek at the larger side of the roster, none of them stretch budgets: the NH532 sits in the mid-range at $749, while the E710 / P710 and Q910 are also easy on the finances at their respective $649 and $999 asking prices.

Continue reading Fujitsu brings its Lifebook Ultrabooks to the US, NH532 and Esprimos tag along for the ride

Fujitsu brings its Lifebook Ultrabooks to the US, NH532 and Esprimos tag along for the ride originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 05 Jun 2012 14:45:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Fujitsu outs Lifebook U772/E Ultrabook with Ivy Bridge in Japan, aimed at the business crowd

Fujitsu outs Lifebook U772/E Ultrabook with Ivy Bridge in Japan, aimed at the business crowd

In case you didn't have enough Ivy Bridge-loaded machines to choose from, now you'll have one more to add to the pile of options -- at least if you live in the Land of the Rising Sun. Keeping the momentum going, Fujitsu has unveiled a fresh business-oriented Lifebook, the U772/E. The company's flaunting this Ultrabook's security features as a main selling point, adding bits such as a fingerprint sensor and a security chip to help if you're feeling paranoid. Aside from that, you'll get a 14-inch LCD display (no word on resolution), a third-gen Core i5-3427U CPU, the promise of up to nine hours of runtime and an SSD / HDD mixture. So, just how much will you have to shell out? Fujitsu's slapping a 250,000 yen (about $3,200) price tag on the 9mm Lifebook (at its thinnest point) once it goes up for sale in Japan later this month.

Fujitsu outs Lifebook U772/E Ultrabook with Ivy Bridge in Japan, aimed at the business crowd originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 04 Jun 2012 19:16:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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MSI unwraps Slider S20 hybrid tablet with Windows 8 (hands-on)

MSI unwraps Slider S20 hybrid tablet with Windows 8 handson

MSI is well-known for showing tablets at Computex -- it even showed what amounts to the same tablets at two different shows. It's certainly shaking things up this year, however, with the Slider S20. We've seen hybrid tablet PCs before, but the Windows 8-toting S20 has a fairly slick tilting mechanism that locks the 11.6-inch touchscreen at an angle, turning the slate into a pseudo-laptop right on the spot. MSI is only willing at this early stage to mention a few key details, but it's promising at least one Slider S20 variant with a properly speedy low-voltage Ivy Bridge chip as well as 4GB of RAM, Bluetooth 4.0, HDMI and USB 3.0. Our friends at Engadget Spanish got an early look and found the tablet a bit chunky with a so-so display, but also thought that it looked like a "robust" design. Check our overseas companions' first impressions for more, and know that the Slider S20 is expected to reach Europe in September at €899 ($1,121) in its full Ivy Bridge glory along with a lower-powered model at €799 ($996).

MSI unwraps Slider S20 hybrid tablet with Windows 8 (hands-on) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 04 Jun 2012 10:16:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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HP takes EliteBook W-series on a trip to Ivy Bridge, throws in Z220 Xeon workstation for good measure

HP takes EliteBook Wseries on a trip to Ivy Bridge, throws in Z220 Xeon workstation for good measure

HP has been rolling out a steady stream of Ivy Bridge-based upgrades over the past few weeks, and now it's the turn of the pro-oriented EliteBook W-series to get the long-awaited upgrade. The 8470W, 8570W and 8770W draw on Intel's faster dual Core i5 and quad Core i7 chips with respective choices of 14-, 15.6- and 17.3-inch screens. All of them pack AMD's FirePro for video duties, although big spenders at the larger two sizes can opt for one of NVIDIA's Quadro K-series graphics chips as well as an IPS-based display for color-sensitive work. Options will get you niceties such as a 24GB SSD cache, 3G and up to 16GB of RAM, although the EliteBooks' signature military-spec resistances to dust, shock and temperature are thankfully par for the course. The range costs $1,329, $1,449 and $1,699 as you move up the screen size ladder, and all three will be available before June is over.

If you prefer your workstations to be more powerful but slightly more stationary, you're still welcome in HP's world: the equally fresh Z220 desktop carries Intel's new quad-core Xeon E3 processor or, if that's a bit too rich for your blood, a Pentium or quad Core i7. AMD FirePro and NVIDIA Quadro video cards are both made-to-order upgrades, and the modern underpinnings add both USB 3.0 as well as headroom for up to 32GB of RAM, if the fear of paging to disk keeps you awake at night. HP has both tower and small form factor versions of the Z220 starting off at $699, and they too will be ready to stretch IT budgets later this month.

Continue reading HP takes EliteBook W-series on a trip to Ivy Bridge, throws in Z220 Xeon workstation for good measure

HP takes EliteBook W-series on a trip to Ivy Bridge, throws in Z220 Xeon workstation for good measure originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 04 Jun 2012 00:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Intel to show third-gen Ultrabooks at Computex, makes USB 3.0 or Thunderbolt a necessity

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When Intel first unveiled its grand plans for Ultrabooks at last year's Computex, many of the fireworks were consciously reserved for Ivy Bridge-based variants in 2012 -- well, they're here. This year's show in Taipei will show off the third generation of the skinny, MacBook Air-inspired platform, and Intel is toughening up the design requirements in the process. The thickness requirements are the same as last year, at 18mm for systems with screens under 14 inches and 21mm for bigger machines, but high-speed ports are now mandatory to get that coveted "Ultrabook" label and the full marketing weight of Intel's $300 million Ultrabook Fund: if a PC doesn't have either USB 3.0 or Thunderbolt, it's out of the running. Intel also wants security built-in, rather than optional, as well as guarantees that a system is quick and responsive when it's fully awake. Not that this would be terribly hard with the low-voltage Ivy Bridge processors launching at the same time, mind you.

Just to reinforce the importance of it all, Intel is noting that the flood of Ultrabooks is about to pick up in a big way as the category hits the mainstream. We were promised 75 Ivy Bridge Ultrabooks this year in a presentation back at CES; that number's now up to 110, 30 of which will be Windows 8-friendly touchscreen models and another 10 opting for the convertible tablet route. At least some of those lightweight portables should pop up at Computex next week, and you can be sure we'll be investigating as many of them as we can to see just how well Intel's partners have advanced the game.

Intel to show third-gen Ultrabooks at Computex, makes USB 3.0 or Thunderbolt a necessity originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 31 May 2012 00:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Intel details 14 dual-core Ivy Bridge processors ahead of Computex

Intel details 14 dual-core Ivy Bridge processors ahead of Computex

Intel announced its quad-core Ivy Bridge processors in April, but we've known that dual-core CPUs must be on the way too. And alas, the chip maker does have some up its sleeve -- 14, to be exact. Core i5 and Core i7 versions will be the first to ship, with Core i3 processors launching later this year along with new Pentiums and Celerons. Of the 14 dual-core processors, six are desktop-grade. The rest are mobile, though four are ultra-low voltage (which will be denoted by a U at the end of their name). Computex is just around the corner, and we expect to see plenty of Ivy Bridge systems -- especially Ultrabooks with ultra-low voltage CPUs -- there next week. In the meantime, we've already reviewed the Lenovo ThinkPad x230, a system running a dual-core 2.6GHz Core i5 Ivy Bridge processor. If you're into the nitty-gritty details, you'll find plenty to love in the Intel slides below the break.

Continue reading Intel details 14 dual-core Ivy Bridge processors ahead of Computex

Intel details 14 dual-core Ivy Bridge processors ahead of Computex originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 31 May 2012 00:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Lenovo ThinkPad Edge S430 readies to enter Euro market, gets priced at €809 on German site

Lenovo ThinkPad Edge S430 readies to enter Euro market, gets priced at €809 on German site

A lot has happened since Lenovo unveiled its biz-oriented Edge S430 back at this year's CES, but after months of staying under the radar, it's finally looking like the laptop's ready to hit a few shelves around the globe. If a product page on Geizhals.at is to be believed, the Thunderbolt-loaded, 14-inch S430 is set to carry a €809 (about $1,015) price tag on one of the higher-end models, with this particular one showing a hot-off-the-press Ivy Bridge CPU (i5-3210M), NVIDIA GeForce GT630M graphics, 4GB of RAM and two USB 3.0 ports, among other things. Of course, this kind of cash is a slightly larger amount than, say, the $749 we heard when the machine was announced -- though, that's likely caused by the souped-up specs and could, as usual, vary depending on configuration. Either way, we have a feeling it won't be too long before we find out its official pricing and release date.

Lenovo ThinkPad Edge S430 readies to enter Euro market, gets priced at €809 on German site originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 28 May 2012 20:11:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Quad-channel DDR3 memory corralled in round-up, Corsair, G.Skill and Patriot take home the trophies

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If you've wanted to build an X79-based gaming PC but were fretting over getting the most out of the quad-channel DDR3 memory you'll want to pair with that Ivy Bridge processor, don't fret: HotHardware has gathered together some of the most common high-speed RAM options and put them to the test. The results aren't clear cut and depend heavily on what you're looking for. Corsair's 1,866MHz Vengeance kit and a similarly clocked G.Skill RipJaws Z set are recommended for striking good balances between low lag and raw speed, while Patriot's Viper X Division 4 is lauded for having the best value and the best stock cooling. That's not to say that Kingston's HyperX line isn't worth it for some speed demons, but the testers suggest hitting the middle of the road to get a good trade-off between speed and the cash outlay you'll need to get there.

Quad-channel DDR3 memory corralled in round-up, Corsair, G.Skill and Patriot take home the trophies originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 24 May 2012 07:46:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Acer outs Ivy Bridge-packing TravelMate P243 notebook series in the UK

Acer outs Ivy Bridge-packing TravelMate P243 notebook series in the UK

Needless to say, Ivy Bridge is here to stay -- at least until Intel takes us on a different road. That being said, Acer just announced a business-oriented machine of its own with Intel's latest chips onboard. Part of the outfit's TravelMate lineup, this 14-inch (1366 x 768) P243 rocks some pretty standard features, including a Core i5, Ivy Bridge processor, an HD webcam for all those Skype calls and a USB 3.0 port. As expected, depending on configuration, you'll also be able to choose up to 8GB of RAM, as well as NVIDIA GeForce GT 630M graphics if you don't mind shelling out the extra cash. Speaking of, Acer's pricing the TravelMate P243 starting at £339 (about $536) once it hits UK shelves -- though, there's no word on when that'll be. In the meantime, you can check out some additional eye candy after the break.

Continue reading Acer outs Ivy Bridge-packing TravelMate P243 notebook series in the UK

Acer outs Ivy Bridge-packing TravelMate P243 notebook series in the UK originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 17 May 2012 20:14:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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