Razer, the PC peripherals manufacturer, is now a risk-taking newcomer to the world of PC gaming laptop hardware. The Razer Edge gaming tablet and funky second-screen Razer Bladegaming laptop were bold moves, both of which made experimental departures from a somewhat stale gaming-laptop pattern.Yet, the newly announced 14-inch Razer Blade is a throwback: no touch screen. No Switchblade second-screen clickpad. No convertible tablet mode. This is a laptop. A very thin, very sleek gaming laptop, the type you'd recognize.
There is no glory in being basic or entry-level when it comes to laptops. Yet, for many of us, all the computer that's needed is something that spends most of its time in one place and handles Web browsing, social networking, e-mail, word processing, streaming music and movies, and maybe some light photo and video editing.
The Lenovo G580 is that laptop. Or at least the version of it we tested was, powered by a speedy third-gen Intel Core i5 processor. The G580 comes in several configurations, not all of which are equipped to handle these tasks as smoothly. And even our G580 configuration, while good, is currently not the best you can get for the money from Lenovo.
So, while we like the G580 in general, we wouldn't pay more than $500 for the configuration we tested, and we'd skip the base models running on Intel Celeron processor.
The Lenovo G580 looks the part of a simple bare-bones laptop. The lid is a glossy, glittery, deep dark brown polycarbonate that, as long as you clean your fingerprints from it, would look very nice sitting on a home office desk. The dark brown continues inside, while the bottom of the chassis is nondescript matte black. It's definitely a laptop that blends in with its surroundings.
A picture being worth a thousand words makes screenshots often the most convenient method for conveying instructions to people. While Apple has a number of screenshot options built into OS X, these often result in intermediary files that can clutter up your computer if you frequently use them.
For example, if you press the classic Shift-Command-3 shortcut to take a screenshot, the image file will be saved to your desktop, where you can open it, crop, and otherwise edit it before sending it to your recipient. With this method, though, you are left with the file on your desktop that you will have to throw out.
Clicking in window-selection mode will take a screenshot of just the highlighted window.
If you want to avoid this inconvenience, you can take screenshots and mark them up for sending to others without creating a single intermediary file. To do this, first take a screenshot using one of the following methods:
Shift-Control-Command-3
Shift-Control-Command-4
Shift-Control-Command-4 followed by pressing the spacebar
The first of these will create an image of the entire screen, the second will allow you to specify a selection of the screen, and the third will allow you to specify a window to take a screenshot of. The key here is the inclusion of the Control key in these shortcuts, which saves the screenshot to the clipboard instead of as a file to your hard drive.
Yesterday, in a bit of a surprise announcement, Google announced yet another new Nexus device for June in the form of the HTC One Nexus, also called the HTC One Google Edition. The device, which is set to join theSamsung Galaxy S4 Nexus on the Google Play Store in June is a hot topic amongst consumers and will continue to be for the foreseeable future.
At Google I/O 2013, Google took the stage and announced a new Nexus smartphone. However, it wasn’t the Nexus 5, a new Nexus 4 LTE or a white Nexus 4 as had been rumored. Instead, it announced the new Samsung Galaxy S4 Nexus, also called the Samsung Galaxy S4 Google Edition, a device that will be coming to the Google Play Store in late June with all of the features of the Galaxy S4, save for a few.
The new HTC One Nexus (Google Edition) will arrive in June.
The few features it doesn’t share with the regular Galaxy S4 are what make the device attractive. For one, it will come with an unlocked bootloader that will allow users to install custom software in a much easier fashion. It will receive quick updates from Google, rather than carriers, who can often take awhile to issue updates. And finally, and maybe most important, the device comes with vanilla Android, without Samsung’s TouchWiz features. This is a Nexus device, even though it may not launch with Nexus in its name.
Shortly after its announcement, a rumor sprouted indicating that HTC may have a Nexus of its own up its sleeve. More precisely, an HTC One Nexus. HTC denied the existence of an HTC One Nexus though that rung hallow yesterday when Google took the stage at D11 and announced a new HTC One Nexus, also called the HTC One Google Edition, that will be heading to shelves in June as well.
Consumers likely know quite a bit about this device, but what are the most important things to know? Here, we take a look at five things that prospective buyers should know about the upcoming HTC One (Google Edition.)
Release Date is U.S. Only
The HTC One Nexus will be a U.S. only release, for now.
Those in regions not called the United States are going to be out of luck once the HTC One Nexus’ June 26th release date comes around. That’s because the device will be an exclusive not only to the Google Play Store but as Google tells us, to the United States Google Play Store.
That means that those outside of the United States won’t be able to buy it on the Google Play Store on June 26th and will have to find other ways of purchasing the phone if they want it anywhere close to launch.
This is not surprising given that the Samsung Galaxy S4 Nexus launch is going to be U.S. only as well.
A new photo appears to show the front of theiPad 5 with a very small bezel on the side of a 9.7-inch display.
The alleged iPad 5 photo is the second time we’ve seen what may be the front panel of the new iPad and the new leak appears to match up with the earlier photo which showed a front view of the same part in white.
This latest photo shows what may be the iPad 5 front touch panel with narrow bezels on the sides and a new connection setup to fit the smaller design.
Apple.pro posts this photo which it appeared on the hihiapple PhotoBucket account this week. The photo matches up with rumors of an iPad 5 that looks like the iPad mini.
An alleged iPad 5 front panel shows a smaller bezel and connection changes to fit a new design.
The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) has launched two new authentication measures to verify a citizen's identity as well as permanent Aadhaar enrolment centers housed in government buildings as it further builds out the country's electronic ID system.
In a statement issued last Friday, India's Planning Commission introduced the authentication services using a person's iris and mobile one-time pin (OTP).
UIDAI Chairman Shri Nandan Nilekani added in the statement: "This is a major step in the direction of enabling Aadhaar holders to [access] various services by using the Aadhaar identity platform. It also makes sense for various user agencies, both public or private, as they can identify a beneficiary or customer using a fast, secure, economical and paperless format."
For residents using the iris authentication method, they will have to provide both their Aadhaar number along with a scan of the eye. The iris scan will then be matched with the image stored in the Central Identities Data Repository (CIDR) to verify the person's identity, the planning commission said.
Panasonic has re-entered India's smartphone market with its dual sim P51, and is eyeing an 8 percent share of the smartphone market within India, in the first year alone.
According to a press release Thursday, the Panasonic P51 is priced at 26,990 rupees (US$492.70) and has a 1.2 GHz quad core processor and a 5-inch screen, with an In-Plane Switching (IPS) display of 1280 x 720 pixel resolution and 295 pixels per inch (PPI) pixel density. The touchscreen itself is a Asahi DragonTrail scratchproof and damage-proof glass for added durability.
(credit: Panasonic)
The dual SIM Panasonic P51 runs on the Google Android 4.2 Jellybean OS with 1 GB of RAM and 4 GB onboard storage, with microSD support up to 32 GB. As expected, it has both Wi-Fi and BlueTooth connectivity, along with microUSB. I am a little surprised that there is no support for 4G, for now at least.
The rear camera is a 8 MP autofocus camera with LED flash, and front camera is a 1.3 MP HD camera. The Panasonic P51 also comes with a free magnetic flip cover and supports input via astylus pen. This phone measures just 8.5mm in width, weighs 135 grams and will be available in both black and white.
The handset will also come preloaded with news apps by Times of India and Economic Times, in a partnership with the Times of India Group's online division.
Panasonic has ambitious plans to have an 8 percent share of the smartphone market within India, in the first year alone. I say ambitious as even though Panasonic may be a Japanese brand leader, they have their work cut out for them, especially against local Indian brands such Karbonn and Micromaxx, along with the new Chinese models being offered in the market.
Furthermore, in India, people generally associate Panasonic as a brand with other household electronic devices, such as air conditioners and televisions. However, this should work to Panasonic's advantage as they are known to develop and sell durable and reliable products. What remains to be seen is if they can now deliver the same with smartphones in the ever growing and competitive mobile phone marketplace in India.
Ports: USBx2; proprietary power port (can charge both dock and tablet).
First thoughts
The tablet in the dock is a very sturdy laptop, with a good keyboard and decent trackpad. The latter is not as good as other trackpads I've used, but it is functional. The whole package weighs just under 3 pounds and is insanely thin.
The tablet snaps into the dock easily, and has the unlock slider on the tablet and not the dock, which is unusual. Removing the tablet from the dock is as easy as sliding the unlock slider on the lower left of the tablet and pulling it out of the dock.
The VivoTab is a good tablet, with performance as expected for an Atom processor. Operation is smooth and snappy doing typical things for a Windows 8 tablet. The screen is nice and vivid, and touch operation is as expected.
The pen works very well, as is typical for Wacom technology. Inking in apps that support it is smooth and pleasant. Asus went with a pen slightly larger than the stick stylii that most OEMs are using, and it feels more natural in the hand than the little ones. Unfortunately, this means there is no storage silo in the tablet, but it's an acceptable tradeoff.
Included sleeve used as tablet stand. Image: James Kendrick
Asus includes a sleeve for the VivoTab with the tablet that also serves as a dual-position stand for the slate. It fits the tablet without the dock perfectly, but I need to play with the stand capability to see how well it might work.
The most impressive thing about the VivoTab so far is the insane battery life it yields. The tablet alone gets a good 10 hours on a charge and another 9 hours in the dock. Asus uses smart battery handling for the two-battery setup. The dock battery is depleted first, and then it switches to the tablet battery when the former is dead. This gives you a full tablet battery when you pop it off the dock to go pure slate.
I'll have more detailed information about the VivoTab and the laptop dock after I spend more time with it. So far, it has been a solid laptop and a pleasant tablet to use. The pen input is already very useful for taking ink notes, my primary reason for buying it.
I have tested a lot of portable Bluetooth speakers over the years; you can view a wrap up of many of them in this Gift Guide post. I don't travel without a portable speaker, and I think I just found my next traveling companion in the Divoom Bluetune Solo speaker.
You may think of turning the other way after seeing a speaker available for just $49.99, but stick around and check out my gallery and video walkthrough of this speaker. The sound is surprisingly good, the build quality is great, and you can use the Bluetune Solo as both a speaker and a speakerphone.
The Bluetune Solo is available in black, blue, white, red, and orange. I was sent a blue one to evaluate, but may have to pick up an orange one or two soon, since I am a fan of the color orange. Given that you can daisy chain these speakers, and they are available for a decent price, you may want to pick up a couple and improve your sound experience.
The Bluetune Solo comes in a small clear plastic box with the speaker and a USB cable that also serves to connect to non-Bluetooth devices with an audio jack. The cable is also used to charge up the speaker via the micro-USB port.
The on/off switch is found on the bottom of the speaker with rubber pads to keep the speaker from sliding around on your table. You will find a 3.5mm headset jack and micro-USB port around the base of the speaker, where there are also openings showing blue glowing lights.
On the top, you will find a single button that is used for pairing, toggling the Bluetooth connection, and accepting/hanging up telephone calls. That's right, this portable, inexpensive speaker comes with a microphone so you can use it as a speakerphone.
Specifications of the Divoom Bluetune Solo include:
Bluetooth 2.1 +EDR
Output power: 4 watts
Driver size: 50mm micro speaker at 4 Ohms
Signal to noise: 80dB
Microphone sensitivity: -36db
500mAh rechargeable battery with reported life of 8 hours continuous play
Dimensions of 60x60x68mm and 230 grams.
You will see X-Bass branding on the top, and I understand this is a technology designed to provide deep bass in a compact size. Even when I had my smartphone cranked to full volume, there was very little distortion, and the sound was still quite good.
I love my iPad mini but after I borrowed a friend's Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0 recently I had to buy one. The Note 8.0 has a similar size to that of the iPad mini but the resemblance ends there. Samsung has added features that are unique to the Note 8.0 that makes it stand out from the crowd.
The Galaxy Note 2 has similar features but the extra 2.5 inches (diagonally) of screen size on the Note 8.0 brings them to life. The Samsung S Pen made famous on both the Note phones and the bigger Note 10.1 tablet really comes into full usefulness on the perfectly sized Note 8.0. Taking notes on this tablet with the pen is such a good experience it could easily make its way into conference rooms at the office.
Dimensions: 210.8x135.9x7.95 mm, 8.29x5.35x0.31 inches; 340g, 0.74lb
Some folks don't like Samsung's special flavor of Android but as it does on the Note 2 phone it shines on the Note 8.0. There is the right combination of features that take advantage of the hardware and standard Android functionality that makes it work well.
Similar style of Note 8.0 tablet and Note 2 phone-
The 8-inch display makes the Note 8.0 the perfect size to use comfortably in the hand. The tablet is thin and light and it is nice to use in either portrait orientation or landscape. While the build quality feels "plasticky", it is durable and can handle light bumps.
The front of the Note 8.0 has a large physical Home button flanked by two touch buttons (Menu and Return). There is a web cam (1.3MP) above the display in the normal portrait orientation. The top of the unit has a headphone jack and the right side finds the power button and volume rockers. There is also an infrared transmitter on the right for use as a remote control for entertainment devices with an included app.
Two features that beat the iPad mini
The Galaxy Note 8.0 compares favorably with the iPad mini in size and function. Both are solid tablets that handle apps well and are fun to use. Samsung has included some special hardware and apps that beat the iPad mini in functionality.
The S Pen rests in a silo on the lower right of the Note 8.0. Removing the pen from the garage optionally makes a confirmation noise and fires up the S Note app for taking notes. The pen has a hover mode that works like a mouse on a PC, information is displayed by holding the pen above screen controls. Windows can be scrolled by hovering the pen over screen edges which is very useful.
Taking notes in ink on the screen works very well on the Note 8.0 The tablet is a good size for using as a notepad and the pen smoothly flows over the screen when writing. While the included S Note app is a nice simple note-taking app, there are a number of third-party apps in the Play Store that turn the Note 8.0 into a real notepad.
The second feature that leaves the iPad mini behind is the multi-view mode that allows displaying two apps on the screen at once. I discovered the usefulness of multi-view on the Note 2 phone, and the larger display of the Note 8.0 makes it really shine.
Multi-view allows doing things like having Gmail in a window on the left and working on an Office document using the included Polaris Office app on the right. This is only one use for multi-view, you can have any two supported apps (and there are quite a few of them) side-by-side on the screen at once. I like having the Chrome browser on half the screen and the Papyrus note-taking app on the other to take notes from reference sites in the browser.
Big bang for the buck
The Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0 is an outstanding tablet for the price of $399. While some feel that's too expensive, when you factor in the outstanding hardware and features not available on any other tablet it is a reasonable price.
The price is already coming down for the Note 8.0 as Amazon has it for $379.99 at the time of this review. There are cheaper Android tablets out there but none offer the total package as does the Galaxy Note 8.0. I am very happy with this purchase.
Chromebooks are near and dear to my heart as I find them to be great tools in my work kit. I believe I have used most every one available and when I heard HP had a new 14-inch model I moved heaven and earth to get one to test. The Pavilion 14 Chromebook has the biggest screen currently available on a Chromebook.
The casing on the Pavilion 14 is black sparkly plastic that looks nice but feels a bit cheap. Tapping on the lid and on the palmrest when opened doesn't invoke feelings of sturdy construction, but in practice it holds up fine. This is obviously a concession to keep the price low and the weight down.
The island-style keys feel nice and solid and all of the standard Chrome OS control keys are where you expect to find them on the top row of the keyboard. Despite the large display size, the trackpad is small compared to most other Chromebooks. This is due to the inclusion of two large mouse buttons in front of the trackpad. Rather than use a glass buttonless trackpad as found on other Chromebooks, HP has used a plastic textured cover on the Pavilion 14. It works fine but is not quite as fluid as other glass models used by Samsung on its Chromebooks or of that on Google's Chromebook Pixel.
The 14-inch screen is nice and bright with decent viewing angles. Having the bigger display it would be nice had HP used a screen resolution bigger than 1366x768. While this standard resolution works fine, the big screen could use a higher resolution to take full advantage of it.
The Altec Lansing stereo speakers sound better than those found on many laptops. The volume is pretty loud for a laptop and doesn't distort terribly at high volume as many notebook sound systems do.
The battery life of the Pavilion 14 Chromebook is just over four hours due to the small battery, which is likely a concession to keep the weight down. Fortunately, HP chose a removable battery design which makes a second battery an option for those wanting a full day away from a power outlet. This is not possible with some other Chromebooks using a sealed battery design.
Conclusion
The HP Pavilion 14 Chromebook is a solid entry into the Chrome OS space that is designed to appeal to those who like bigger displays. The construction of the laptop doesn't feel the sturdiest due to the all plastic design, but that keeps the weight down for a large notebook.
The Celeron processor is powerful enough to keep Chrome OS hopping without bogging down. Everything runs smoothly and while I wouldn't play intensive games on this Chromebook everything else runs just fine.
The HP Pavilion 14 Chromebook is a solid device and is available now from various retailers. It is also available from HP online currently priced at $299.
Gaming peripherals maker Razer is continuing to expand its hardware footprint (which includes the Razer Edge Windows 8 tablet) with its new additions to the Razer Blade laptop family: a 14-inch version and the new 17-inch Blade Pro.
At just 0.66 inches when closed, the 14-inch Blade notebook is being dubbed by Razer as the "world's thinnest gaming laptop." It also weighs just 4.1 pounds. Nonetheless, it will still feature the latest hardware from Intel and Nvidia, in the form of the forthcoming Haswell processors and the new GeForce GTX 765M graphics card. In addition, you get a 1,600x900 LED-backlight display, 8GB of RAM, a choice of SSD, and Killer Wireless-N Wi-Fi adapter. Razer also says it's using other "bespoke" components to keep the Blade's form factor extra-slim.
The company couldn't do quite the same with the new Blade Pro (pictured above), which features a massive 17-inch screen with full 1080p resolution. Still, it weighs in at 6.58 pounds and is 0.88 inches thick. While the specs are similar to the 14-inch Blade, the Pro takes advantage of the extra real estate to include a trackpad with built-in LCD display for working with Razer's Switchblade user interface.
Also notable is Razer's attempt to reach out to potential game builders with special pricing for the Blade Pro. Developers who have already launched games or ones who have at least $50,000 contributed to a Kickstarter-funded game project can score a Blade Pro for just $999.
For those who consume games instead of write them, you can get the Blade Pro for a starting price (with 128GB SSD) of $2,299, while the 14-inch Blade runs from $1,799 (with 128GB SSD) to $1,999 (256GB SSD) to $2,299.99 (512GB SSD). Pre-orders will start on June 3, though the company hasn't announced a firm shipping date.
The recent article explaining why I ordered a Samsung Chromebook resulted in a flooded inbox with a lot of readers wanting to know more about the inexpensive laptop. I've been using it heavily for all of my work since it arrived, and it works just as well as I remembered from the test unit I tried months ago.
I purchased the model with wi-fi, choosing to pass on the 3G-enabled Chromebook with its slightly higher price. I have become spoiled by LTE and have no desire to drop back to 3G speeds.
Hardware specs
Model Number: XE303C12
Display Size: 11.6-inches
Display: 1366x768 resolution; 200nit brightness
Weight: 2.43 lbs (1.1.kg)
Less than 0.8 inches thick (17.5 mm)
Battery Life: over 6.5 hours
Processor: Samsung Exynos 5250
Memory: 2GB
Storage: 16GB SSD (Google is including 100GB free online storage)
Webcam
Ports: 1 USB 3.0, 1 USB 2.0, combo headphone/mic jack, secure digital memory slot
HDMI Port
Bluetooth 3.0™ Compatible
Speaker: 1.5W speaker X 2
Keyboard: Full-size Chrome keyboard
Wireless: 802.11 abg/n 2x2
This hardware seems typical for a laptop with the exception of the ARM processor. The Samsung Exynos is used in high-end powerful Android tablets, and it powers the Samsung Chromebook with ease. Performance is on par with other Intel-based Chromebooks, although the Chromebook Pixel blows them all away. Of course, the Pixel costs a thousand dollars more than the Samsung Chromebook, so that's a reasonable trade-off.
The performance of the Samsung Chromebook is so good I forget it's not an Intel processor inside, which says a lot. Playing 1080p video shows lags at times, but all other video plays just fine. I have no complaints about the user experience offered by the ARM processor.
Image credit: James Kendrick
The keyboard on this Chromebook is really good, an important attribute for this writer. Key travel is great and the chiclet keys are comfortable for fast typing.
The buttonless trackpad is also good and complements the keyboard nicely. Operating the Chromebook by trackpad is smooth and I find it almost as good as the standard, the Apple MacBook.
What sets this Chromebook apart from the others on the market is the highly portable form. The weight of 2.4 pounds is great for lugging around all day and the ultra-thin form feels as good as the MacBook Air it resembles. It's all plastic but feels solid and handles the bumps of the road as proven by my earlier evaluation.
The display is not the brightest out there (200 nits); I admit I am totally spoiled by Retina Displays and the Chromebook Pixel screen. This one is just fine, however, and I can use it all day with no issues.
Battery life is a decent 7+ hours due to the ARM processor. That's impressive for the thin, light casing which limits how big the sealed battery can be. The Samsung Chromebook can easily handle a full day of work for me.
Conclusion
The Samsung Chromebook is a nice laptop for such a low price. It runs Chrome OS nicely on the ARM processor which yields a decent battery life of over 7 hours. The Chromebook runs silently as the ARM processor requires no fans for cooling.
This is one of the most portable laptops with an 11.6-inch display, weighing only 2.4lbs and as thin as the MacBook Air. Samsung has created a very nice Chromebook for just $249. This could easily be the best $249 you spend this year.
