HP Envy 14 Beats Edition Laptop, $850

HP's Envy 14 earned 4.5 out of 5 stars in our review, earning kudos for its "fantastic" performance and design. Our laptops expert, Jason Cross, called it a "joy to use." In fact, the HP Envy 14 Beats Edition is the laptop that he'd buy for himself (watch our video to learn why). The Beats Edition has the same specs and options as the Envy 14, but it has a sportier design and comes with a high-end headset. The Envy 14 Beats Edition usually starts at about $1100, but you can use coupon codeNB6633 at the HP Home & Home Office store to knock $250 off the price. Shipping is free.


source: http://www.pcworld.com/article/224838/hp_envy_14_beats_edition_laptop_850.html

MSI X-Slim X-370: The Ultrathin Laptop Race Heats Up

The latest entry in the ultra-slim laptop stakes is the MSI X-Slim X-370. The X-370, announced today, joins the growing ranks of ultra-slim portable notebooks like theMacBook Air and Samsung Series 9. The X-370 runs the latest AMD Fusion processor, is less than an inch thick, and weighs just a bit over 3 pounds, making it a serious ultraportable contender.

Though it may lack the show-stopping looks of the Series 9 or MacBook Air, MSI has designed the X-370 with stylish touches: An etched checkerboard design and shimmering color film print on the cover, set off by silver trim. With a slight dig at its competitors, MSI says these design decisions add up to "a stylish notebook that is elegant without being ostentatious."

The X-370 features a 13.4-inch HD widescreen display and AMD's dual core E-350 processor with integrated AMD Radeon HD 6310 graphics chip. As we've seen previously, the AMD Fusion processorenables greater performance with less power consumption. MSI says the X-370 should have a battery life rating of up to 10 hours (about 3 to 3.5 hours more than the MacBook Air and Samsung Series 9 claim) .

Other announced specs include: DDR 3 memory (installed memory/capacity not yet revealed), 320GB/500GB/640GB 5400rpm SATA hard drive, SRS PC Sound, an HDMI port, 2 USB 2.0 ports, and the option for either Windows 7 Home Premium or Basic (64-bit). MSI has also added a 1.3-megapixel webcam that taps into included facial recognition software to help you log into websites biometrically.

Weighing in at 3.09 pounds and measuring 0.898 inches thick, the X-370 is about two-tenths thicker and heavier than the Series 9 and MacBook Air--a negligible difference, perhaps, especially if MSI can offer competitive pricing (versus the Series 9's hefty $1649 price tag and the MacBook Air's $1299-1599 range). No official price or release date has been announced as of yet.

Stay tuned, as more laptop manufacturers realize that thin is definitely in.

source:http://www.pcworld.com/article/223907/msi_xslim_x370_the_ultrathin_laptop_race_heats_up.html

Toshiba Introduces Svelte Tecra and Portege Laptops

Toshiba announced on Tuesday its new range of slim, high-performance laptops geared towards business professionals, the Portege R830, Tecra R840, and Tecra 850. These Tecra and Portege laptops were reengineered from the ground up to be more portable than their predecessors, utilize second-generation Intel processors, and offer configuration options like solid state drives and optional discrete graphics.

The Portege R830 is billed as "the world's lightest 13.3-inch full performance ultraportable laptop featuring an integrated DVD drive." We took a peek at the consumer version of the Portege R830 when it recently went on pre-order and considered this ultraportable, which starts at 3.1 pounds and is about 1 inch thin, as an affordable alternative to the ultra-thin MacBook Air and Samsung Series 9laptops.

The business-oriented version of the Portege R830 features more configuration options than the pre-configured Portege R835 consumer versions: Core i7 processor (in addition to the i3 and i5 options) and a choice of a 7200 rpm hard drive or 128GB solid state drive (in addition to the 5400 rpm option). Made for business-focused consumers, the laptop also uses Windows 7 Professional instead of Windows Home Premium and offers a longer three-year warranty than the one-year warranty for consumer models. The R830 is available now starting at $1,049 MSRP.

Moving up to the next display size, the Toshiba Tecra R840 features a 14-inch HD LED-backlit widescreen display. The Tecra R840 is like the Toshiba Tecra M11, but after a serious diet and makeover: the Tecra R840 is about 25 percent thinner and 20 percent lighter than its predecessor, measuring about 1 inch thin and starting at 4.2 pounds.

The Tecra R840 is available with Intel Core i3, i5, and i7 processors, as well as optional AMD Radeon discrete graphics with 1GB of dedicated memory and either a 7200rpm hard drive or SSD. The Tecra R840 has a battery life rating of up to 11 hours with the SSD drive. Pricing starts at $899 MSRP.

Tecra R850

Finally, for business users who want more screen real estate, Toshiba is also offering a new desktop replacement laptop, the Tecra R850 with a 15.6-inch widescreen display and built-in 10-key numeric pad. Despite its desktop-like features, the Tecra R850 also measures about an inch thin, like the Portege R830 and Tecra R840, and has a starting weight of 5.3 pounds. This makes the Tecra R850 19 percent thinner and 6 percent lighter than the Tecra A11.

The Tecra 850 also comes in Core i3, i5, and i7 flavors, has the option of dedicated AMD Radeon 6450M graphics with 1GB of memory, and can be configured with either a 7200rpm drive or solid state drive. With the SSD configuration, the battery can last up to 7 hours. Like the other two series, the Tecra R850 is available now, starting at $879 MSRP.

Features for Mobile Users

Whether you're buying one of these business laptops for dedicated business use or just occasional work, the refreshed laptops offer features that are useful for all mobile users. These include Toshiba's EasyGuard technology to protect against accidental spills and bumps, a Trusted Platform Module for high-level data encryption, and durable casing materials (the Tecra laptops are built with fiberglass-enforced casing and the Portege R830's case is of magnesium alloy).

source:http://www.pcworld.com/article/224925/toshiba_introduces_svelte_tecra_and_portege_laptops.html

Make your MacBook look like a real book (photos)

One innovative case maker has a solution for bibliophiles who want a little more book in their MacBooks. Pad and Quill, previously known for its iPad cases, has a new case called the Cartella, designed to fit either the 11-inch or 13-inch MacBook Air. We tried the $79 11-inch version, as seen in the accompanying photos; the larger 13-inch version runs $89.

The company designed this case, like its original iPad cases, to look like a cross between a bound book and a Moleskin notebook. Inside is a carefully machined piece of plywood that holds the MacBook Air securely thanks to some thin rubber bumpers, and there are strategic cutouts for all the ports and connections on the laptop. Unlike the first generation of iPad cases from Pad and Quill, the case now shuts with a black elastic strap, rather than the hard-to-operate button closure we struggled with previously.

The look is clean and vaguely academic, and the Cartella works best for carrying the MacBook Air solo--packed into a laptop bag, the extra size and weight (the case itself weighs 13 ounces for the 11-inch, 17 ounces for the 13-inch) make the ultrathin laptop less portable, not more. Like the pair of iPad cases we tried last year, the fit was very snug, and we had to be careful while removing it.

Nearly everyone around the office who has seen the Pad and Quill cases (both iPad and MacBook versions) liked the concept and look, but some also questioned the utility--these cases seem the most useful for covering up gadgets that will be kept around the home, especially if you hate the look of high-tech laptops laying around, or perhaps just want to create the impression that you read a more books. Still, it's a unique, well-made, and very protective case, and definitely something a little different from the norm.

source: http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-20051400-1.html

Panasonic CF-B10 15.6. The Lightest Notebook in The World

Panasonic CF-B10 15.6. The Lightest Notebook in The World. After yesterday we gave news of the world’s thinnest notebook. Now comes a notebook with the same unique but different parts of theASUS U36 yesterday. Because this time the following notebook product is not the thinnest but a notebook is the lightest in the world.

Panasonic, old things have not ever heard the name. But this time they finally release their products until we know and give the news to you. Panasonic is currently launching their latest product is the Panasonic CF-B10, which is the lightest notebook today. This notebook has a screen size of 15.6 inches. With a screen size of the notebook should have a reasonable weight for a notebook. But it was different for this product is 1.8 kg. Even though mild enough not to screen for display standard for a notebook.

The weight of the notebook is in the can to minimize the device in this product. In addition, the material used is strong magnesium. This notebook has several advantages compared with previous series products. Apart from the weight of this notebook is quite light, Panasonic was not willing to just make the user lighter impressed with this product but also by providing applications that can open automatically. With this feature the user can open various types of documents simultaneously.

Panasonic just wanted to give the price of this product is around 175,000 yen. This price may be quite expensive for some people. But with a title as the lightest notebook. Perhaps this notebook could still be an alternative if we want unique among the others.

Panasonic CF-B10 product will be marketed starting around March next 2011 in Japan alone. Will it be released in other countries that still have not been established? (Source Via Nexus404)

source: http://buynotebookcomp.com/tag/lightest-laptop-16-inch-2011