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Showing posts with label Lenovo. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Lenovo. Show all posts
Friday, June 15, 2012
Lenovo IdeaTab 2110 drops by the FCC for a visit
Wednesday, May 9, 2012
In next 12 months Lenovo be launch first business tablet with Windows 8.
In next 12 months Lenovo be launch first business tablet with Windows 8.Peter Hortensius, president of Lenovo’s product group, stated
He says the design of the Lenovo Windows 8 business tablet will be very similar to the pictured IdeaPad Yoga tablet, which debuted at CES in January of this year. The product is a hybrid tablet/notebook that can be used as either, similar to the Asus Transformer Prime, though the dock is on swiveled hinges rather than completely detachable.
- "We’re seeing a lot of enterprise users carry a tablet, a phone and a notebook. And there isn’t a good reason for why they should have to carry all three."
If Lenovo were to offer the IdeaPad Yoga within the next few months, would you hop on board, if the price point were right?
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
Leaked Photos Of Lenovo Thinkpad lvy Bridge
he new ThinkPads are not Lenovo's only Ivy Bridge offerings, as last week brought news of the Lenovo A720, an all-in-one desktop model powered by Intel's third-generation processors. For the forthcoming ultrabook and tablet, though, the inclusion of the Ivy Bridge mobile processors will mean lower power consumption and, it is expected, improved battery life.
Friday, March 16, 2012
Lenovo To Release First Windows 8 Tablet
According to a recent report by The Verge, Lenovo is looking to be the first manufacturer to release a Windows 8 tablet later this year, and Lenovo apparently thinks Windows 8 will ship in October.
We heard previously that Microsoft is expected to ship Windows 8 some time in the fall of 2012, and whilst Lenovo didn’t release any details about any of their Windows 8 tablets, they did show one off at CES, the Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga which you can see below.
Dell have also said previously that they expect to be one of the first manufacturers to release a Windows 8 tablet, and HP, Asus and Nokia are also rumored to be working on Windows 8 tablets.
It will be interesting to see which company is the first to market with a Windows 8 tablet, and we suspect we will see more than one manufacturer releasing them at the same time.
Source The Verge
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
Lenovo launching 9.7-inch Android tablet in March
Lenovo is reportedly working on yet another tablet, this one's a 9.7-inch device running Android Ice Cream Sandwich and dubbed the IdeaTab S2109A, which is undoubtedly a working codename and will get changed before release.
The new tablet has been revealed thanks to the company filing it for approval at the US FCC regulatory body.
Engadget has received word from an anonymous source claiming it'll sport an IPS display with a 4:3 aspect ratio, a quad speaker setup and will be powered by Texas Instruments OMAP processor technology.
Apparently it'll be launching very soon too with the current word pegging the end of March. The FCC's test report also says the device submitted for testing was a production unit, so clearly this device is ready to go and just waiting for the green light.
We'll bring you more as we hear it.
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
Lenovo ThinkPad Tablet getting ICS in May
This pretty much confirms our apprehensions about customizations on top of the stock ICS UI which, in it current form is very fluid. Lenovo will in all likelihood customize the UI according to its own tastes, which is unfortunate, though pretty much the industry norm. Ever since Android has exploded on the market, OEMs have sought to differentiate the software experience on their devices via customized Android skins. While some of these skins indeed do add some value to the product more often than not, the skin slow down the core user experience and also delay Android updates as once Google pushes out an updates to the OEM, the OEM has to further implement its software changes to the OS.
Monday, January 30, 2012
Lenovo Thinkpad to receive Ice Cream Sandwich update in Q2
Lenovo
are the latest company to jump on the Ice Cream Sandwich update
bandwagon by announcing its plans to update the ThinkPad
tablet.
The Thinkpad has been around since last summer, and while we
don't have a specific date Lenovo have stated that the update will roll out
during Q2. The IdeaPad is also
slated to make the jump to Android 4.0 as well. It's easy to forget about these
in our tablet filled world, but Lenovo makes some pretty nice hardware and the
ThinkPad has a pretty killer keyboard dock as well. An ICS upgrade will be most
welcome.
Lenovo IdeaPad Y470p Notebook Announced
Lenovo has added another new notebook to its range with the launch of the Lenovo IdeaPadY470p, which is an updated version of the Y470 with improved graphics.
The Lenovo IdeaPad Y470p comes with an AMD Radeon HD 7690 1GB graphics card and it features a 14 inch LED backlit display with a resolution of 1366 x 768 pixels.
Processing is provided by a 2.2GHz Intel Core i7 2670QM processor and it also comes with 8GB of RAM, a 750GB hard drive and a DVD writer, plus 802.11 b/g/n WiFi.
Other specifications on the Lenovo IdeaPad Y470p include Bluetooth 2.1, a 2 megapixel web camera for video chat, HDMI out and a 6 cell battery, the notebook will retail for $799, you can find out more details over at Lenovo.
Friday, January 27, 2012
Lenovo ThinkPad X130e Now Available
Lenovo announced its latest notebook, the Lenovo X130e back in December, and now this budget friendly notebook has gone on sale an is available for $429 for the entry level model.
As a reminder, the Lenovo X130e comes with an 11.6 inch HD LED display with a resolution of 1366 x 768 pixels, and is also come with a choice of processors and up to 8GB of RAM.
The Lenovo X130e comes with either an AMD Fusion E-300 and E450 processors of an IntelCore I3-2367M ULV processor, plus a choice of either a 320GB or a 500GB hard drive.
Other specifications include HDMI, VGA, two USB 2.0 ports WiFi, Bluetooth and a multi format card reader, you can find out full details over at Lenovo.
Thursday, January 12, 2012
[CES 2012] Hands-on with the Intel-based Lenovo K800
We couldn’t tell much of a difference between the this phone using the Medfield platform and devices running on ARM-based systems, and that’s a good thing. Response was smooth, HD video didn’t lag or stutter, and the camera was quick when flexing its “burst shot” (10 pictures in 1 second) muscle. It will be interesting too see how the market develops as companies such as Lenovo and Motorola begin to create devices using the different chipsets.
The phone has a solid feel and a sharp design, with geometric lines and hard corners. Intel’s SoC allows for a pretty thin profile, but the K800 won’t set any precedents as far as that is concerned. Check out the video below for the rundown.
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Lenovo IdeaPad S2 Hands-on [CES 2012]
Our buddies from Lenovo were on hand at CES to show off their newest Android tablet and boy is it a doozy. It’s the 10.1 inch IdeaPad S2, an Android tablet that aims to take on the almighty ASUS Transformer series. The device houses a dual-core processor and can last you up to 10 hours of talk time – make that 20 hours when you hook it up to its laptop dock attachment.
The device had front and rear cameras and we were somewhat surprised to see it running Android 4.0. It wasn’t quite as zippy as the Transformer Prime and that’s, of course, due to the fact that it doesn’t have a quad-core processor. It’s right in line with the original Transformer, though, and it really isn’t a bad experience to stomach at all. Be sure to check it out in the video above.
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
Hottest gadgets at CES 2012
The very best gadgets of CES
2012 is what we bring you at Pocket-lint, but this page right here is even
better. It's the best of the best, the best-est, the tip top, the A-No.1 As far
as the hottest gadgets of world's largest consumer electronics trade show
goes.
Throughout our time in Las Vegas this year, the team will be updating this page with the devices that really catch our eye. So, if we think something has a bright future, is highly original or just gets our geek juices flowing for some unknown reason, you'll find it here. These are the hottest gadgets of CES 2012 and the ones we think you should be taking notice of.
?
The Android 4.0.1, 10.1-inch tab boasts a Full HD 1080p resolution and what
appears to be SIM, micro-USB, micro-HDMI and audio jack fun too. There's a
camera on the back, purportedly a 5-megapixel one that can shoot HD video, but
we couldn't get that confirmed. Read
more | Hands-on
?
In terms of glassware, it's reported that the X-Pro 1 will get three prime
lenses - an 18mm F/2, 35mm F/1.4 and 60mm F/2.4?macro. The other thing to note
about the X-Pro 1 is that it offers a hybrid viewfinder similar to the highly
acclaimed one in the X100.
?
The Twenty comes equipped with a power connection and mount for Airport
Express and features a 2.1 channel sound system with 20W output per channel, as
well as offering users the chance to plug in a powered subwoofer with an
automatic active crossover at 80Hz. Hands-on
?
The system works using not just an Intel CPU, but also a dual-core Qualcomm processor too. Using a processor like this obviously cuts power consumption enormously, and while you won't be able to run games and other Windows applications, it's ideal when you need a bit of stamina from your laptop.
It's nice and slim too, making for a laptop that has all of the advantages of
a Windows-powered computer, but with some additional benefits too.
?
iPad owners will, no doubt, have been waiting for this for some time. It's
just amazing it's taken this long for someone to invent a guitar shaped case for
the iPad. Of course, the idea here is that you can play guitar on your iPad,
whilst looking like some sort of idiot at the same time.
The good news is, for a modest 65 quid, you do get a bit of kit that, when
linked to an Ion application, can teach you how to play the guitar. It does this
with lights that illuminate where your fingers need to be. Is it a serious tool,
or a money-wasting gimmick? We'll investigate when it eventually launches in the
UK. For now though, at least it takes pretending to be Slash to a whole new
level.
?
There's a 1.5Ghz dual-core TI processor here too, and 1GB of RAM, so it's
diminutive size shouldn't mess up its performance at all. The phone will also
ship with Android in its Ice Cream?Sandwich?flavour, which is a relief, as a
phone this slim deserves a full-fat OS.
?
What's more, the asking price of $8000 (?5188) sounds like a bit of a bargain
to us. Although it's not cheap, compare it to the launch prices of LCD and
plasma TVs, and it stacks quite favourably. And with OLED offering super-fast
refresh rates and amazing colour, this could be the start of something very
exciting.
Of course. OLED has a lot of quirks too. Panels are said to have a short lifespan, and their vivid colour might look good on demo loops, but how will it look showing an episode of Eastenders?
?
But design gimmicks aside, we have a lot of love for this phone already. It looks stylish, cool and subtle. It's also likely to be one of the first phones to do away with the Sony Ericsson name. It is not, however, going to be one of the first phones of 2012 that has Ice Cream Sandwich but an upgrade is promised this year
Throughout our time in Las Vegas this year, the team will be updating this page with the devices that really catch our eye. So, if we think something has a bright future, is highly original or just gets our geek juices flowing for some unknown reason, you'll find it here. These are the hottest gadgets of CES 2012 and the ones we think you should be taking notice of.
?
Acer Iconia Tab A700
We all went "ooh" when the?Acer Iconia Tab A200 was officially announced earlier back in December but then went "boo" when we found out it was a Tegra 2 machine and not a much anticipated Tegra 3 flavoured one.?But our Kal-El Iconia expectations look set to be met with the Ice-Cream Sandwich-packing Acer Iconia Tab A700 now confirmed as a quad-core device
?
Fujifilm X-Pro 1
Take the hugely successful retro-styled, APS-C sized sensor camera that is the Fuji X100, give it a mount for interchangeable Fujinon lenses and you've got yet another red hot gadget from CES 2012.?The Fujifilm X-Pro 1 is a 16-megapixel machine with the added benefit of Fujifilm's now familiar EXR technology.
?
Griffin Twenty
The heat from the Griffin Twenty is all about the fact that it can turn any speakers into AirPlay ready ones saving you the chore of having to upgrade if you want to stream your music around your house. The new gadget uses an Airport Express to capture the AirPlay stream, decodes it, then sends the lossless, amplified sound through any speakers connected.?
Lenovo X1 Hybrid
A clever idea from Lenovo makes for a laptop that can provide far greater battery life for day-to-day tasks than a normal, Windows-based PC. For things like surfing the net, watching video or writing documents you just put Windows in to sleep mode, and switched to a Linux-based OS.The system works using not just an Intel CPU, but also a dual-core Qualcomm processor too. Using a processor like this obviously cuts power consumption enormously, and while you won't be able to run games and other Windows applications, it's ideal when you need a bit of stamina from your laptop.
?
Ion Audio Guitar Apprentice
?
Huawei Ascend P1 S
Had you read this article yesterday, we might have been telling you about a different phone here. But the current champion in the "world's?slimmest?phone" stakes is the Huawei Ascend P1 S, which is a lot?thinner?than that?clumsy?name. But, with a depth of just 6.68mm, it certainly is a tiny little thing.?
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LG 55EM9600 OLED TV
OLED TVs are something of the tech industry's unicorn. They're exciting, but pretty much mythical. Until now that is, because LG is finally showing of a 55-inch TV, beating the previous record set by Sony of 11-inches in a production model.Of course. OLED has a lot of quirks too. Panels are said to have a short lifespan, and their vivid colour might look good on demo loops, but how will it look showing an episode of Eastenders?
?
Sony Xperia S?
Sony might have some troubles at the moment, but in phones it seems to have finally cracked the winning?formula. The Xperia S proves this by rocking up at CES with a 720p HD screen, 1.5GHz processor and built-in storage of 32GB. It also has a little bit of clear plastic that makes it appear as if it's in two pieces.But design gimmicks aside, we have a lot of love for this phone already. It looks stylish, cool and subtle. It's also likely to be one of the first phones to do away with the Sony Ericsson name. It is not, however, going to be one of the first phones of 2012 that has Ice Cream Sandwich but an upgrade is promised this year
Asus Eee Pad Transformer Prime vs Lenovo IdeaPad S2
Asus' Eee Pad Transformer Prime is, at the
time of writing, the most powerful tablet on the planet. It's beyond fast and
offers virtually every function that a user could demand from an ultra mobile
device.
This week's pretender to the Transformer
Prime's crown is Lenovo's IdeaPad S2, an Android powered tablet that promises to
offer all of the company's computing knowledge in a very small, slick package.
But will it be enough to wrest the mantel from the mighty Prime? Let's find
out.
Power
Asus' Eee Pad Transformer Prime is a
beast. It packs a quad-core CPU, clocked at 1.3GHz, a ULP GeForce GPU, which is
a dab hand at running all the latest top-end gaming titles, and 1GB RAM.
The tablet comes in both 32GB and 64GB
models and supports Micro SD cards up to 32GB in capacity.
Anything missing that the average user
might want? No, we didn't think so.
Lenovo's IdeaPad S2 is powered by a
dual-core Snapdragon CPU clocked at 1.5GHz and offers an Adreno 225 GPU, which
is more than capable enough to keep up with anything it's competitor offers.
The device is fitted with 1GB RAM too, so
it will multi-task with the best of them and will ship in 16GB, 32GB and 64GB
models, giving users a much broader range of choice, though the device will
offer support for MicroSD if you run out of space on your SSD.
It's a close run thing, but Lenovo's
IdeaPad just can't face down the immensely powerful quad-core architecture on
offer in the Asus, which hands the device this round.
Winner - Asus Eee Pad Transformer
Prime
Display
The Asus Eee Pad Transformer Prime boasts
a 10.1-inch Super IPS+ LCD screen which is very responsive, and offers beautiful
visuals and viewing angles.
The display operates at a resolution of
1280x800 pixels and has a pixel density of 149PPI, which seems to be the average
for devices of this size.
The Lenovo IdeaPad S2 offers an
LED-backlit 10.1-inch IPS screen, operating at 1280 x 800 too, and also matches
the Transformer Prime in pixel density, at 149PPI.
Visuals look bright and sharp on the
device, and it seems to share the pleasing viewing angles of its contemporary
too, which is no mean feat.
Winner - Draw
Camera
Lenovo's IdeaPad S2 features an
8-megapixel primary camera with autofocus and LED flash and also has a
1.3-megapixel secondary snapper for video calling.
We can't comment on the performance at
this stage, but we would expect the device to hold its own.
The Asus Eee Pad Transformer Prime has an
excellent 8-megapixel primary camera, which is bolstered by an LED flash,
autofocus and geo-tagging. It also shoots video in 1080P.
The Transformer Prime also features a
secondary 1.2-megapixel camera for video conferencing.
The Prime performs well in the
photographic stakes, with both the primary and secondary sensors doing a more
than adequate job and in the right light we found images to be more than good
enough to print.
Winner - Asus Eee Pad Transformer
Prime
Software
Both tablets run on Google's Android
OS.
The Asus Eee Pad Transformer Prime
operates on version 3.2 of the platform, otherwise known as Honeycomb, though
Asus have confirmed that the device will be upgradeable to version 4.0, AKA Ice
Cream Sandwich.
Lenovo's IdeaPad S2 ships with Ice Cream
Sandwich however, and the device is the better for it.
The newest version of the hugely popular
OS features plenty of tweaks, upgrades and improvements, including a spiffy new
font, new widgets and a re-designed UI and updated core applications.
That said, Honeycomb isn't a million miles
behind, and of course with both flavours of OS you get access to the 400,000-odd
applications in the Android Market, which will allow you to do as much or as
little as you like with your device.
Both devices also offer custom UI
overlays, with the IdeaPad S2 running Lenovo's 'Mondrian' user interface while
the Transformer Prime has Asus' WaveShare UI.
Both pieces of software offer the usual
custom widgets, social networking functionality and visual tweaks, but we're of
the belief that the proprietary nature of the 'improvements' detracts from the
Android experience, so we weren't overly impressed with either.
Winner - Lenovo IdeaPad S2
Features
The Asus Eee Pad Transformer Prime comes
equipped with Polaris Office Editor out of the box and also offers micro HDMI
support, which will allow you to view your pictures and videos on your
big-screen, and support for the usual audio and video formats (sadly no native
DivX support though).
Sound quality on the tablet is good, but
the inclusion of SRS enhancement improves output on the whole.
The Transformer Prime will give you up to
12 hours usage on a single charge.
The Lenovo IdeaPad S2 features
Kernel-level security, which aims to keep your personal data safe from the
phishermen, hackers and email spoofers of this world and also offers an SDHC
reader and up to 20 hours battery life when used with the optional keyboard
dock.
Without the dock you can expect to get up
to 12 hours from the device.
Winner - Draw
Asus' all-singing, all-dancing Eee Pad
Transformer Prime has done it again! But this time the margin was much
smaller.
Lenovo's IdeaPad S2 is shaping up to be a
great piece of kit, with a great deal of potential, but it just wasn't enough to
get one over on the mighty Transformer Prime on the day.
Pricing will be pivotal in the success of
the IdeaPad S2, and we'd be keen to see it tagged with a nice, aggressive RRP to
give it a chance against Asus' baby.
Until that day comes though it's a second
place finish and the Asus Eee Pad Transformer Prime juggernaut rumbles on.
Monday, January 9, 2012
Lenovo LePad K2010 (IdeaTab K2) hands-on: Tegra 3, full HD IPS display
Remember our lovely leak of Lenovo's Tegra 3 tablet from last November? Well, it showed up here atCES under the LePad K2010 moniker for China, while elsewhere it'll likely be known as the IdeaTab K2. We won't comment much on the unfinished software (so no luck with controlling the cursor using the fingerprint scanner on the back), but build quality wise we enjoyed the faux brushed metal cover on the back, and similarly, the sharp 1,920 x 1,200 IPS display between the speakers was very impressive (yes, we double-checked with Lenovo on these numbers).
We also received confirmation that the camera on the back has an eight-megapixel resolution, but obviously we'll wait and see if the picture quality lives up to expectation. Alas, there's still no word on availability, but regardless, China will get first dibs on this juicy quad-core slate. On the bright side, this should give ample time for potential buyers to save up -- the K2010 is aimed at high-end business users, after all. Hands-on video after the break.
We also received confirmation that the camera on the back has an eight-megapixel resolution, but obviously we'll wait and see if the picture quality lives up to expectation. Alas, there's still no word on availability, but regardless, China will get first dibs on this juicy quad-core slate. On the bright side, this should give ample time for potential buyers to save up -- the K2010 is aimed at high-end business users, after all. Hands-on video after the break.
Sunday, January 8, 2012
Lenovo announces IdeaPad S2 10 tablet and S2 smartphone
- 1.5GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 8960 dual-core Processor
- Lenovo's Mondrian custom version of Android 4.0
- 10.1-inch 1280x800 IPS Display
- 1GB RAM
- 16GB/32GB/64GB Internal Storage
- Wifi and 3G Connectivity
- micro USB, micro SD, Micro HDMI ports
- 5MP rear camera and 1.3MP front facing camera
- Integrated keyboard dock also available
- 1.4GHz Qualcomm MSM8255 dual-core processor
- Lenovo Magic 3.0 UI (Android 2.3)
- 3.8-inch 800x480 TFT display
- 8MP camera and .3MP VGA front facing camera
- 512MB RAM for devices with 8GB internal storage
- 1GB RAM for devices with 16GB internal storage
- Micro USB port
- HDMI and MHL Connectivity
- 1500mAh battery
Friday, January 6, 2012
CES 2012 Preview: The 5 Trends to Watch Most Closely
With 140,000 attendees clogging 1.7 million square feet of floor space, next week’s Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas won’t merely be “some big trade show.” No, CES is also The Big Show — the grand coming-out party for every hardware manufacturer that wants to prove its gadget is the single must-see spectacle for which all other booth visits must be cancelled.
But there will be about 2,700 exhibitors at CES next week. No single attendee can pay attention to every booth. Nor should anyone feel this is necessary, as most CES product demos don’t warrant much attention.
CES relevance is waning. Smartphone announcements (always high on our radar) already dribble out throughout the year, and the Mobile World Congress and CTIA trade shows play host to many phone launches as well. Apple, of course, hosts its own product events, demonstrating that you don’t need a trade show to create a huge splash. And Google, Amazon and Facebook — just as relevant to consumer tech as any hardware company — run their own events as well.
But enough cynicism. Just because CES isn’t the show it used to be doesn’t mean it’s not still packed with interesting gear. You just need to focus on the truly interesting product trends, and filter out the background noise.
Gadget Lab is here to help.
I give you five product trends that our reporters will be following when we hit the ground in Las Vegas next Sunday morning. Product previews and press announcements begin Sunday afternoon, and continue through Tuesday morning when the show actually begins.
Microsoft’s Bid For Relevance
The Nokia Lumia Windows Phone series will be updated by
a chart-topping 900 version at CES.
The Lumia 800 Windows Phone should be updated with a
900 version at CES.
Microsoft has announced it’s bowing out of next year’s show — making CES 2012 its final appearance. So the pressure is on for Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer to deliver a commanding CES keynote, a piece of theater that assures the world that Microsoft remains relevant in a world dominated by Apple and Android headlines.
To this end, we should expect key Microsoft announcements (or at least demos) in the mobile space. Microsoft has already demo’d a Windows 8 tablet at Gadget Lab, and if we don’t see more of Windows 8 — running on tablets, not notebooks — we’ll have to assign Redmond a demerit. It’s probably too soon for specific hardware partners to show off OEM-branded Windows 8 tablets, but I would expect to see Windows 8 tablet reference designs somewhere on the show floor.
We’ll be seeing more Windows Phone handsets too. Nokia is now Microsoft’s new best friend in the smartphone space, ditching the Symbian OS for Windows Phone OS. Next week, we’ll likely see a new Nokia flagship phone, probably called the Lumia 900, or Nokia Ace, replete with a larger screen than Nokia’s current Windows Phone offerings. We might also see Windows Phone handsets from HTC and Samsung.
Its CES road show notwithstanding, 2012 is a pivotal year for Microsoft. It’s committing big-time to Windows 8 and Windows Phone, two critical initiatives intended to dispel that stinging diss, “Oh, Microsoft. They make PC software, don’t they?”
Now, whether Steve Ballmer can deliver the presentation of his life at the CES keynote Monday night, that’s another matter entirely. But we’ll be on hand to report his words, and grade his performance.
Ultrabooks
The Toshiba Portege Z835 was one of a few ultrabooks
that arrived in 2011.
Should super-slim, super-light notebooks really be called “ultrabooks”? Why can’t we just call them “better notebooks”? Simple: Because Intel is behind the initiative to prop up competitors to the MacBook Air, and the company has trademarked the term ultrabook to create buzz around what is emerging to be a very compelling (though quite expensive) new product category.
To qualify as an ultrabook in Intel parlance, a notebook must not only be thin and light, but also boot up near instantaneously, much like a tablet. And to do this, the device must be stocked with a solid state drive, or SSD. All that solid-state memory costs a lot, and this is just one contributor to high ultrabook prices.
Regardless, even amid our troubled economic times, the PC industry has telegraphed that it will be going ultrabook crazy in Las Vegas next week. As we reported Wednesday, all the major PC manufacturers — including Dell, HP, Toshiba, Acer, Asus and Lenovo — will be showing off new ultrabooks at CES. When all the dust settles, as many as 50 new models might be announced.
We just saw one of next week’s unveilings in the Wired office, in fact. We can’t betray any details, but I can tell you that interesting new materials are entering the premium notebook space, and that while prices will remain high, at least your ultrabook will exude panache.
I never thought I’d ever get “excited” about a notebook, but ultrabooks really are lustworthy kit. Indeed, once you’ve lived (and traveled) with an ultrabook or MacBook Air for a few days, you won’t want to return to that heavy brick of a notebook you’ve merely been tolerating for so long.
Tablets
The Toshiba Thrive Android tablet was demoed at CES
2011.
CES 2011 was the grand Android tablet coming-out party. That’s where we saw prototypes of the Motorola Xoom and Toshiba Thrive. That’s where all the buzz around 10.1-inch, Honeycomb-based tablets took root. Of course, the buzz morphed into buzzkill as the year wore on, and it became clear that these iPad competitors were over-priced and under-wowing.
But that doesn’t mean CES 2012 doesn’t offer great opportunity for a concerted tablet re-set. Acer, Lenovo, Toshiba and ViewSonic all have tablets on deck for Las Vegas.
Nvidia has already announced quad-core Tegra 3 processors, and we’ll be flattened if we don’t see these chips in a bunch of new tablets at CES this year; Asus already has a quad-core tablet, and Acer is right on its tail. With greater processor power comes zippier interface swiping, quicker multitasking, better video playback, and more visually intense 3D gaming.
We also expect to see at least a handful of tablets running Ice Cream Sandwich (ICS), Google latest Android OS. These devices need to make a big CES appearance after all the hoopla Google has made about ICS throughout the year. Not only does ICS look fantastic, it adds scads of useful, clever features to the Android repertoire. But, perhaps most importantly, ICS is what Google and its hardware partners need to wash away consumers’ bitter memories of 2011’s Android tablets.
Or the hardware industry could just go cheap. Indeed, the Kindle Fire has taught us that non-nerd consumers will buy tablets if they’re priced low enough. So in addition to all the quad-core and ICS action, we’ll also be on a CES scavenger hunt for cheaper, smaller tablets in the 7- and 8-inch range.
But you know what? I’d personally trade in all of the above for a single Windows 8 tablet announcement — complete with final specs, and something I could spot-test with my own hands.
Connectedness — In Appliances, Cars and Fitness Gear
LG's connected fridge has already won a CES Innovations
award for its blast chiller feature.
Don’t snicker, but home appliances, cars, and fitness equipment could be the most interesting hardware to emerge at this year’s show. All of these ostensibly utilitarian product categories are being enhanced with features that provide direct connectivity with mobile devices, if not also online services via the cloud.
LG will be back this year with even more advanced “connected appliances” — refrigerators, dishwashers, clothes washers, floor cleaning robots and other household staples that boast slick touch screen interfaces, and direct connectivity with smartphones and computers. Samsung makes connected appliances as well, but LG is a leader in this arena, and will be showing off higher levels of device-to-device connectivity for its ThinkQ line of smart appliances.
Using LG’s technology, you can enlist a smart phone app to adjust appliance settings, monitor energy consumption, and even set up a service call. But what we really want to see from LG is its ultra-high-capacity fridge that includes a “blast chiller” capable of cooling a beer or can of soda in less than five minutes.
Connected cars will also be a big theme at CES 2012. Ford, Chrysler, GM, Mercedes-Benz, Audi and Kia are all signed up for the show floor, and should be demoing new features that deliver digital connectivity to their automobiles, including better interfacing between car dashboards and smartphones. Expect to see novel new safety systems, streaming music services like Pandora, and hand-free, voice-activated texting like what’s being currently hyped in the Hyundai Veloster.
Fitness gadgets will round out the connectedness theme. At CES this year, various Gadget Lab reporters will be wearing Fitbit step trackers to monitor how many miles they walk (check @gadgetlab for daily updates!), and we expect to see a new Fitbit lifestyle product that directly connects to these handheld widgets, providing even deeper levels of health information.
We’re also curious to see a wristband called Basis that marries pedometer functions to a heart rate monitor — with full reports back to your computer.
The Next Generation of TV
LG's 84-inch TV quadruples typical HD screen
resolution.
Yeah, we know that if any tech category is going to burn the hopeful, optimistic CES watcher, it’s going to be television. As we reported Thursday, 3D TV was all the rage at CES 2010 and 2011, but never caught on with consumers. And then we have the problem of “prototype prestidigitation”: Amazing floor demos that stoke our excitement, but are more or less magic, years away from retail readiness. Indeed, if you want to see a one-off TV that looks like it time-traveled from 2020, head straight to the CES pavilions of LG, Samsung and Panosonic.
But while you should approach TV demos at CES with a healthy amount of caution, don’t write off the razzle-dazzle entirely. Today’s one-offs and prototypes might not be shipping tomorrow, but they indicate various directions in which TV is moving. Even 3D, while not a consumer must-have, will become just another spec box check-off item in a few years time.
So what kind of boob-tube magic is on deck for 2012? LG has already telegraphed two potentially amazing spectacles: an 84-inch, 3840×2160 behemoth that offers four times the resolution of current HD, and a 55-inch OLED TV that’s just 0.16-inches deep. Less amazing from LG? A TV loaded with version two of Google TV, the stumbly-but-getting-better smart TV platform that we first saw in October. And it looks like Samsung, too, will be doing Google TV as well.
And herein lies, perhaps, the biggest CES trend of all — your meta trend: Gadget hardware is becoming less relevant, while gadget interfaces (like smart TVs and the apps that run on top of them) are moving to the fore. Everyone wants a TV with a super-large screen, sure, but the smart apps and video-on-demand services that run on the TV — Netflix, Hulu, Facebook, Pandora, and so on — are beginning to matter even more.
All that, plus we want to control our TVs — nay, all our gadgets, tools and appliances — with our smartphones, verbal commands, and even Kinect-style hand gestures. Apps and interface design should be a big theme at CES next week. We’ll see significant changes in the screens of our TVs, appliances, cars, exercise equipment and more. So set your browser to Gadget Lab for updates and analysis of the coolest innovations.
Thursday, January 5, 2012
Lenovo ThinkPad T430u Ultrabook Announced
Lenovo has added another new ultrabook to its range, the Lenovo ThinkPad
T430u, which will be shown off at CES 2012 next week, and prices will start at
around $849.
The Lenovo ThinkPad T430u features a 14 inch display and it is designed for business users, it will come with a range of customizable options, which include a choice in integrated Intel graphics or NVIDIA graphics and a choice of solid state drives and hard drives with up to 1TB of storage.
We should have full specifications on the new Lenovo ThinkPad T430u when it
is officially unveiled at CES next week.
The Lenovo ThinkPad T430u features a 14 inch display and it is designed for business users, it will come with a range of customizable options, which include a choice in integrated Intel graphics or NVIDIA graphics and a choice of solid state drives and hard drives with up to 1TB of storage.
Monday, December 5, 2011
Lenovo's rugged ThinkPad X130e targets the education market, arrives December 20 for $469
Of all the kid-proof touches, the more obvious ones include a rubber bumper ringing the plastic chassis, along with a thicker bezel shielded by 1.2mm of plastic. It also has recessed, reinforced ports, an accelerometer to protect the hard drive and a hinge rated for 30,000 cycles. Of course, the result of all this ruggedizing is that the X130e is fairly heavy for an 11-incher, at 3.9 pounds (1.78kg). Otherwise, though, its specs are pretty much what you'd expect in an 11.6-inch laptop. For starters, it's offered with an Intel Core i3-2367M processor, as well as AMD Fusion E-300 and E-450 APUs. It comes with 2GB of RAM (upgradeable to 8GB), up to 500GB in storage, Bluetooth 3.0 and a 6-cell battery rated for 8.5 hours of battery life. Lenovo's also added its RapidBoot technology, promising a sub-20-second startup time. It also has three USB 2.0 sockets, HDMI, VGA, Ethernet, a combined headphone / mic port and a 4-in-1 memory card reader. And, because Lenovo is selling these to schools and not individuals, it'll customize the laptops by tweaking the BIOS and tricking out the lid in assorted colors. It'll go on sale December 20th starting at $469, and in the meantime, we've got some press photos below -- after all, just because you personally can't buy one, doesn't mean you can't look, right?
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