Thanks to Lenovo I’ve got the Lenovo Thinkpad X1 Carbon here. It’s a high-end productivity and security-focused Ultrabook and the first Ultrabook I’ve tested with 3G capability. A 256GB SSD and a VPro-capable Core i5-3427U 1.8Ghz CPU along with 8GB of RAM make for an impressive set of specs. The setup being tested here comes with Win 7 Pro a fingerprint reader and has a list price of €2276 although it’s available for around 1800-1900 Euros on the ‘street.’
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The ASUS Zenbook Prime UX32VD looks nice, performs well, could be a casual gamer’s dream!
We’re surprised that so many 2nd-Generation ASUS Ultrabooks have found their way into the hands of reviewers. Considering the Ivy Bridge processors inside them are under NDA you would think that Intel could have kept a tighter control. Instead we’re getting reviews that don’t list CPU part numbers or CPU/GPU performance figures. There will be a huge number of updates on June 5th! Despite that, the UX32VD impresses and because the GT640M GT620M GPU isn’t under NDA, you can see some impressive gaming results.
The X1 is probably the most referenced laptop by commenters on Ultrabook News so I’m sure many of you will be excited to know that it’s being updated and will be offered, alongside the original X1, as the Lenovo Thinkpad X1 Carbon. This isn’t just an Ivy Bridge CPU/GPU update, it’s a full re-work that brings it down to under 3lbs in weight. That’s about 1.35 KG, for a 14” Ultrabook.
We spent a lot of time with the Series 5 Ultrabooks at CES, did a good series of tests and, given the competitive price, we’re quite impressed. [List of previous Series 5 articles here.]
The 13.3” Series 5 is already shipping in Germany so expect full reviews from that part of the world within days but there’s already a nice detailed review up at 3DNews, a Russian website, who also appear to be happy with the Ultrabook. They’ve got some ‘naked’ pictures too!
If you’ve been looking at getting the best specifications into your Ultrabook choice you are likely to have the Toshiba Z830 at the top of your list. With a backlit keyboard, SSD, Intel WiFi module with Wi-Di and My-Wifi support, full size set of ports including VGA, HDMI and SDXC, all in the lightest weight possible, the Toshiba Z830 with Core i5 promises a lot. But that’s just specifications and real-world is sometimes very different. Fortunately the Z830 delivers, although it has one possible showstopper hidden away beyond the specs and a few little niggles that might put you off. You can read about them in the full Toshiba Z830 review below. Thanks to Toshiba Europe for sending the Z830-10J over for review.
Let the Gaming begin! Using the Ultrabook branding, Samsung have officially announced two interesting Ultrabooks that extend the category in a number of directions. The Samsung Series 5 Ultrabooks will offer a larger screen option, terabyte storage and AMD HD7550M discreet graphics in some models.
Samsung Series 5 Ultrabooks launched in homeland, South Korea today.
The press release introduces two models…
The 11.6” Samsung 900X1B, the 1KG sibling to the 13” 900X3A that we tested a while back, arrived today and I’ve had a solid afternoon of testing, and enjoying, this pre-Ultrabook. I won’t call it an Ultrabook alternative because just like the Apple MacBook Air it pre-dates the Ultrabook launch but uses the same design principles…and it’s just as good. With an 11.6” screen it obviously goes up against the Asus UX21 and Apple MacBook Air. Here are some first impressions, relatively detailed, that might help you raise or lower the 900X1B on your list.
Available with Core i3 (1.3Ghz non-Turbo) and Core i5 (1.6Ghz, Turbo-enabled) the Samsung 900X1B (Series 9 range) is a stylish alternative to the ASUS UX21. It’s been around for a few months and in theory, it’s not an Intel Ultrabook but apart from slightly slower quick-boot and a missing TPM module (we are told) it’s an Ultrabook! Later this week we’ll be testing it and comparing it to our ASUS UX21 experiences.
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