HP reveals pair of hybrid laptops,Split x2

“Customers want to access and share content anywhere, anytime, on any internet connected device – and they expect those connections to be seamless,” said Ron Coughlin, senior vice president and general manager, Consumer PCs, HP. “The HP SlateBook x2 and the HP Split x2 f4809a are next-generation devices and the latest examples of our continued commitment to evolving the computing experience by providing the flexibility necessary for customers to be productive at home, at the office or on the go.”

The HP SlateBook x2 hstnn-lb42 shares many of the qualities of the Windows based HP Split x2, detailed above. It shares the magnetic screen attaching dock mechanism and the philosophy behind the system design. However this is an ARM powered device, employing an Nvidia Tegra 4, which runs Android Jelly Bean to provide a hybrid combination of laptop and tablet, work and play.

HP today announced the introduction of two new ‘detachable PCs’ – devices that HP considers to be both notebook and tablet. The Split x2 484171-001 is basically a larger version of the first convertible notebook running Windows 8 that HP introduced last year, while the SlateBook x2 is another beast entirely.

The latest version, called the Split x2, is a bold reworking, moving more firmly into the laptop category, with a thin, 13-inch body and hardware closer to what you’d find in a full-time laptop.

I got a chance to get my hands on a nonfunctioning demo unit of the Split x2 hstnn-db42 , and it certainly looked and felt a lot more like a standard laptop than nearly any other hybrid I’ve tried, similar to Lenovo’s Yoga 13, another hybrid that scored by not compromising the laptop form. The matte-black body also brings to mind the classic black polycarbonate MacBook, although the x2 is thinner and lighter, with edge-to-edge glass over a touch screen.

Acer Aspire S7

Acer has long been the poster child when it comes to the race to the bottom in consumer laptops. In the effort to get a laptop Acer Aspire one d150 akku into every home, prices had to come down and the easiest path for doing that was to cut corners. We’ve often lauded Acer’s products for being extremely affordable, but when it comes to overall impressions there are some concerns. These days, every big OEM has at least a few inexpensive laptops sitting on retail shelves, and they’re all basically the same: AMD Llano or Trinity APUs or an Intel Celeron/Pentium/Core i3/Core i5 CPU, 4GB RAM, 500GB hard drive, and a 1366×768 display. Wrap it all up in an injection molded plastic chassis and slap a $400 to $600 price tag on it, and you’re done. The problem is that you get what you pay for, and in this case what you often end up with is a laptop that will start to fall apart after a year or two of moderate use, not to mention the slow hard drive and lousy display.

As we approach the October 26 launch date of Windows 8, PC vendors have been giving us sneak previews of their products. Today we’re looking at Acer’s Acer Aspire one d250 akku lineup, which consists of a mix of touch-capable laptops and convertibles that straddle both notebook and tablet worlds.

We have previously seen some of these designs at Computex earlier this year, but we recently got a chance to try them in their near-final states. These PCs will be available from October 26.

The first Ultrabooks were all very thin, but the quality ranged from decent down to quite poor, with some experiencing cooling problems, overheating, noisy fans, and of course most came with bottom-of-the-barrel 1366×768 displays. The second generation designs weren’t a revolution, but at least we started to see a greater focus on improving the tangibles like the display and keyboard. Now that trend continues with Acer’s S7 Acer Aspire one d255 akku , which is the first Windows 8 Ultrabook to hit our labs. Did I mention that it’s super thin?

Leading the charge is a pair of Acer Aspire S7 Ultrabooks Acer Aspire one d260 akku , available in 11.6- and 13.3-inch models. It’s worth noting that Acer has been talking about making more premium products that command higher margins–the S7 certainly fits the case with a unibody aluminum chassis and ultra-sleek design.

A key distinguishing feature on the 13.3-inch S7 has to be its Gorilla Glass lid–HP may have done it first with the Envy 14 Spectre, but the implementation on the S7 is significantly thinner. We also liked how the glowing Acer logo on the lid corresponds to the actual screen brightness. Of course, we have no idea if this glass lid will stand up to a drop test.

When we look at the specifications for the S7, other than the nice 1080p IPS touch screen and the dimensions and weight, there’s not a whole lot to separate it from the pack. The base model comes with a Core i5-3317U processor, 4GB onboard memory, and a 128GB RAID 0 SSD set and comes with an MSRP of $1399. There’s an 11.6″ S7 as well that has the same specs but starts at $1199.

As for our test unit, it comes with a faster Core i7-3517U processor and a 256GB RAID 0 SSD set but otherwise has the same components and design as the less expensive offering. Besides double the storage capacity, the Core i7 processor comes with a base clock that’s 12% faster and a max turbo clock that’s 15% higher. The ULV CPUs are a potential bottleneck, so if you’re ready to spend $1400 then the extra $250 for more storage and a faster CPU is probably a reasonable upgrade—and thankfully, online pricing is about $100 less than the MSRP Acer Aspire one p531h akku .

Acer C7 Chromebook Gets Boost in Memory, Battery Life

Acer’s C7 um08a71 Chromebook is the cheapest way to get in on Google’s cloud-OS party. But, it still ships a 320GB 5,400RPM drive. Truth be told, such a large amount of local storage is counter to the whole idea of Chrome OS — not to mention that the slow spin introduces a certain amount of unwelcome lag. Thankfully the bargain-basement $199 laptop is about to get an SSD makeover, according to a listing at Best Buy. The official specs at the Google Play store still list the standard hard drive, but the big box shop has a model featuring 16GB of solid state storage. The updated C7 keeps the same affordable price point, though we have no idea when it might start shipping. Best Buy lists the Chromebook simply as “coming soon,” with no estimated delivery date. From what we can see there are no other changes to the machine, so if you weren’t a fan of the cheap construction before, don’t expect that to change.

Five months after releasing the C7 Chromebook, Acer today announced a step-up model to its Google Chrome OS-based laptop with more memory, better battery Acer Aspire 5050 akku life and, of course, a higher price tag.

Designed primarily for the education market, the Acer C710-2055 Acer Aspire 5810 akku promises up to six hours of battery life and carries four gigabytes of RAM. The original C7 has 2GB RAM and up to four hour of battery life.

With the upgrades, the C710-2055 is slightly more expensive than the original model, at $280 versus $200. It’s available starting today.

The rest of the laptop’s Acer Aspire 8930g akku features are unchanged from the C7. It has an 11.6-inch, 1,366 by 768 pixel display, a dual-core Intel Celeron processor and an HD webcam.
The three-pound laptop also comes with USB 2.0 ports, HDMI and VGA connectors and an SD card slot.

Like other Chromebooks, the C710-2055 isn’t meant to be a primary computer. Instead, it’s aimed at being a companion device, and it relies heavily on an Internet connection to provide access to Google’s various services.

In addition to Acer Acer Aspire 1640 akku , Google has partnered with Samsung, HP and Lenovo on Chromebook models. But the company recently stepped out on its own with the $1,300 Chromebook Pixel, a higher-end model aimed at power users.