Sony has announced the new VAIO S-series 13.3″ and 15.5″ notebooks with the latest Intel 3rd Gen processors and thin cases in aluminum, magnesium, or carbon fiber flavors.

Design of the cases has changed, but not much, judging from the published image. The most notable change is a larger button-less touchpad, replacing the old one with physical buttons. The optical drive is now a slot-loading one, in a DVD and Blu-ray variant.

There are also backlight keyboards. The currently available specs are vague, but Sony says there’s an optional full HD IPS screen and up to the quad-core i7 on the 15.5-incher. Both laptops will have Nvidia graphics and 4G/3G mobile broadband options, as well as solid state drive choices besides mechanical HDDs. Docking solutions include a sheet battery for up to 14 hours of battery life, and a brand new dock with a built-in 500GB HDD.

Pricing and availability are unknown.

The Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon business-class ultrabook, scheduled for release this summer, will sport a 14″ display, the Intel Ivy Bridge processor, and a very light and thin carbon-fiber body weighing 3 pounds and measuring 0.71 inches thick. That’s down from the already light and thin classic 13.3″ X1 ThinkPad’s 3.7 pounds and 0.84″. Besides the larger screen and thinner and lighter chassis, the X1 Carbon delivers improved screen resolution of 1600×900, up from 1366×768, as well as RapidCharge for fast battery recharges. The notebook has a spill-resistant keyboard with backlight and optional 3G connectivity. There’s no word on pricing.

When it comes to the ThinkPad ultrabooks, Lenovo will also release the T430u, which is a lower-end system when compared to the X1 Carbon.

Source: Engadget

An AMD Trinity-powered ultra-thin laptop - the HP SleekBook.

AMD officially announced today the “Trinity” processors for laptops and desktops. Among them, for the laptop market are important the AMD A6-4455M and A10-4655M for the Ultrabook-like thin machines, as well as the A6-4400M, A8-4500M, and A10-4800M for the standard notebooks.

The new processors, also called the 2nd Generation A-Series Accelerated Processing Units, are based on the last year’s 32-nanometer production process and include the improved “Bulldozer” cores now called “Piledriver” and the Radeon HD 7000 “Northern Islands” graphics. According to AMD, the Trinity provides up to 2x performance-per-watt improvement over the previous Llano chips. The first reviews show a clear lead of the Trinity over Intel’s Ivy Bridge in terms of graphics, but the AMD’s chips lag behind the competition when it comes to the raw CPU performance.

Fudzilla has published a nice and quick overview of the new processors, with the most important specs included.

“The A6-4455M is a 17W dual-core with HD 7500G graphics. It is clocked at 2.1/2.6GHz, features 2MB of L2 cache and 256 Radeon cores running at up to 424MHz. The 25W A10-4655M is a quad-core with HD 7620G graphics. It is clocked at 2.0GHz, but with a little turbo it can hit 2.8GHz. It packs 4MB of cache and 384 Radeon cores running at 497MHz.

Moving to 35W envelope parts, AMD starts off with the A6-4400M. It features HD 7520G graphics, two Piledriver cores clocked at 2.7GHz/3.2GHz, 1MB L2 and 192 Radeon cores running at 686MHz. The A8-4500M is a quad-core clocked at 1.9GHz/2.8GHz and it boasts 4MB of L2 and HD 7640G graphics, with 256 cores clocked at up to 655MHz.

The A10-4800M is the fastest part, at least for now. This quad-core is clocked at 2.3GHz/3.2GHz, it packs HD 7660G graphics with 384 shaders clocked at 686MHz.”

You can read the AMD Trinity reviews now on various hardware review sites. Some of them are Hot Hardware, AnandTech, and Hexus.

The chip maker says the AMD Trinity is used in select Acer, Asus, HP, Lenovo, Samsung, Sony, and Toshiba laptops, which will start rolling out today.

Besides the EliteBook higher-end business laptops, HP has announced the refreshed ProBook lineup designed for the more budget-conscious biz people.

The new models are the ProBook b-series 6470b/6475b and 6570b, with 14″ and 15.6″ displays, respectively, and the s-series 14″ 4440s, 15.6″ 4540s/4545s, and 17.3″ 4740s. The ProBook s will also come in a 13.3-inch variant, according to HP. The models ending with 0 number before the last letter are with the 2012 Intel processors, while those ending with 5 use AMD’s CPUs.

When it comes to differences between the b and s series, the most obvious one is the design, with b sporting a plastic tungsten-colored base and aluminum display enclosure, while the s uses aluminum on the base and lid.

Furthermore, the b ProBooks have chipsets supporting Intel vPro technology, which is a convenient feature for use in large companies for remote management of numerous laptops. On the other side, the s-series lack vPro support, so they’re more oriented towards small businesses.

In addition, the b-series have optional higher-resolution displays, such as 1600×900, whereas the s-series notebooks include only basic 1366×768 resolution on the 14″ and 15.6″ models and 1600×900 on the 17.3-incher.

Finally, the ProBook b have a proprietary docking connector, while the ProBook s supports docking only via USB.

All 2012 HP ProBooks come with spill resistant keyboards, optional AMD dedicated video cards, and various built-in mobile broadband connectivity choices.

The laptops are expected to become available on June 4th. The 6470b and 6570b will start at $769, and the 6475b will have a base price of $669. HP says the ProBook s-series will start at $589.

Hewlett-Packard has announced the Intel Ivy Bridge update across the HP EliteBook p-series business laptop line and added a new ultraportable model. The smallest EliteBook member now is the new HP 2170p with a 11.6-inch display. Moving on up, we have the 2570p, 8470p, and 8570p with 12.5″, 14″, and 15.6″ displays.

HP’s EliteBook p-series notebooks have the same industrial design with aluminum cases and chiclet keyboards like on the previous models. The laptops are business-rugged or semi-rugged. The 14- and 15.6-inchers meet MIL-STD810G standards for vibration, dust, altitude, temperature and drops. All models come with spill resistant keyboards and both touchpads and pointer sticks. Among the EliteBook p-series laptops, keyboard backlight is present only on the 2170p, but this model lacks a built-in optical drive, which is available on its larger siblings.

The 3rd Gen Intel Core i3, i5 and i7 processors are available on the 2170p and 2570p ultraportables, while the larger models will additionally ship with the quad-core i7 chips. The only graphics choice on the new ultraportable EliteBooks is the Intel HD 4000, while the 8470p and 8570p provide AMD Radeon HD 7570M 1GB GDDR5 option. Besides the new CPUs, HP has added 4G connectivity across the lineup and all notebooks come with SRS Premium Sound PRO audio and stereo speakers. Notable security features are built-in fingerprint readers, TPM chips, and hard drive encryption, while for system management there’s Intel vPro technology. The laptops support docking.

The HP EliteBook 2170p and 2570p are expected to be available on June 22. They start at $999 and $1,099, respectively. On the other side, the 8470p and 8570p will arrive on June 4 for $899 and up.

The company has also unveiled the first EliteBook-branded ultrabook – the Folio 9470m.

Hewlett-Packard has announced the HP EliteBook Folio 9470m, an Ultrabook specially designed for business users.

The Folio 9470m has a 14-inch display diagonal and weighs 3.6 pounds, with profile measuring 0.75 inches. Its enterprise-class features include Intel vPro system management support, docking capabilities, as well as built-in Trusted Platform Module chip, smart card reader, and storage encryption for better security.

Other interesting stuff on the Ultrabook are optional support for 4G and 3G mobile broadband, a spill-resistant keyboard with backlight, and an integrated pointer stick besides a glass-covered touchpad.

HP’s EliteBook Folio is based on the 3rd Generation Intel Core i3, i5, and i7 processors with HD 4000 integrated graphics and includes support for 16GB of 1600MHz RAM, various hard drive (up to 500GB) and solid state drive (up to 256GB) options, and optional 24GB or 32GB mSATA module. The display is anti-glare at 1366 x 768 pixels and for sound there are stereo speakers. A 720p webcam is optional.

Its default 4-cell 52WHr battery, good for an “all-day” run time, can be extended with another 6-cell 60WHr slice unit and for many users it’s worth noting that the battery is user-replaceable.

Connectors and slots on the 9470m include two USB 2.0, a USB 3.0, Ethernet LAN, VGA and DisplayPort video outputs, and an SD/MMC card reader.

Overall, this Win 7 Pro-based business Ultrabook looks great at least on paper, but the bad news is that it won’t hit the market before October. The price hasn’t been disclosed.

Alongside the affordable HP Envy 4 and 6, Hewlett-Packard has added the premium-class HP Envy Spectre XT to its Ultrabook lineup.

The 13.3-inch Spectre XT features an all-metal body, unlike the previously released glass-cladded Spectre 14. With a 0.57-inch profile, the XT is fairly thin even for the Ultrabook standards and it weighs about three pounds. Inside the silver aluminum case with chrome edges around the base and lid, the laptop houses the 3rd Generation Intel Core processors, 128GB or 256GB of mSATA SSD storage, and a battery good for “up to eight hours” of run time.

Other notable features are a chiclet keyboard with backlight, a single-piece touchpad, quad speakers, Beats Audio, USB 3.0, and HDMI.

For the US customers, the HP Envy Spectre XT will arrive on June 8th with $1,000 starting price.

The 15.6″ HP Pavilion g6 and 17.3″ g7 budget laptops will hit the US market on July 25th, with prices starting at $450, the PC maker has announced.

The Pavilion g-series for 2012 are made of plastics, and feature beveled edges, bowl-shaped keyboards, textured touchpads, and a chrome strip around the speaker bar. The chassis color choices are black, white, red, blue, and purple. HP hasn’t provided details on the notebook duo, but they are expected to come with various Intel and AMD CPU choices, including higher-end 3rd Generation Intel Core chips, as well as with dedicated GPU options.

The $450 price tag will be on the cheapest g6 configuration, while the g7 will start at $500.

Hewlett-Packard has announced the HP Pavilion m6 15.6″ entertainment notebook PC.

The key differentiator between the m6 and other Pavilion notebooks is a sleeker design and use of brushed aluminum on palm rests and lid on the former. The keyboard is chiclet-style and has optional backlight.

The Pavilion m6 includes Intel or AMD processors, and optional dedicated graphics. Exact CPUs SKUs are unknown, but we have found that one of the options will be a 2nd Generation “Sandy Bridge” Intel Core i5. For sound, there are stereo speakers accompanied by subwoofer and Beats Audio. The notebook aslo has a fingerprint reader and the manufacturer’s estimated battery life is up to eight hours.

HP’s Pavilion m6 will be available starting this summer via Best Buy and HP Home. The price is unknown.

The recently leaked HP Envy 4 and Envy 6 Ultrabooks are now official. In addition, the PC maker has announced lower-end configurations of the 4 and 6 series and named them “Sleekbooks” since they don’t meet Intel’s Ultrabook standards.

The 14″ Envy 4t and 15.6″ Envy 6t are configurable models sold via the HP Store. The 4t is available with the low-voltage i3-2367M and i5-2467M Intel Core “Sandy Bridge” CPUs, while the larger 6t comes with the i5 variant only.

The main difference between the Envy Ultrabooks and Sleekbooks is that the former include a 32GB mSATA solid state drive for faster system responsiveness and Intel Ultrabook-related technologies such as Rapid Start, Identity Protection, Smart Response, and Intel Smart Connect, while the latter lacks these and optionally comes with the dedicated 2GB AMD Radeon HD 7670M video card. However, the biggest difference will be use of AMD’s processors inside the Envy 6 Sleekbook, when the AMD version hits the market in June.

The Ultrabooks and Sleekbooks have the same rectangular-shaped cases, measuring 0.78″ in profile. The smaller version weighs about 4 pounds, while the larger one weighs around 4.75lbs. HP says they feature “metal design” with ruby red soft-touch slip-resistant base (you can take a look at the video below).

All of the laptops have 1366×768 display resolution, built-in stereo speakers plus a subwoofer, and Beats Audio technology.

The HP Envy Sleekbooks are cheaper than the Envy Ultrabooks. The Ultrabooks with 14” and 15.6” display sizes are available now with starting prices of $750 and $800, respectively. The 14″ HP ENVY Sleekbook can be also ordered now for $700 and up. The HP 15.6-inch Sleekbook is expected to be available in the United States on June 20 with a starting price of $600.

You can expect the notebooks to come with Intel’s 3rd Generation Core “Ivy Bridge” processors instead of “Sandy Bridge” when the latest-gen chips hit the market this summer, as well as with silver-colored palm rests.

Samsung NP700Z7C-S01US with Intel Ivy Bridge CPU

Another laptop with an Intel “Ivy Bridge” processor is now on sale in the US. It’s the Series 7 Samsung NP700Z7C, listed at Amazon.

The 17.3-incher appears to have the same industrial design as the current Series 7 Chronos laptops, but it packs inside the Core i7-3615QM quad-core CPU from Intel’s 3rd Generation Core family, codenamed “Ivy Bridge”. The i7-3615QM is clocked at 2.3GHz by default, but the speed can be increased on-the-fly to maximal 3.3GHz on some of the CPU cores thanks to Intel Turbo Boost technology.

The Samsung NP700Z7C-S01US has a full HD display which is powered by the Nvidia GeForce GT 650M 2GB GDDR5 dedicated graphics and the laptop also sports 8GB RAM, a 1TB hard drive, and ExpressCache technology for better system responsiveness with help of 8GB Flash memory embedded in the motherboard, as well as a DVD burner.

The NP700Z7C-S01US is priced at $1,399.99, after $100 instant savings.

Source: Amazon

Note: This article was initially published on March 1, and updated on May 9.

The AMD E1-1200, which is going to replace the AMD E-300 series Accelerated Processing Unit, has been spotted in a new Acer Aspire E1 laptop PC.

We’ve tried to find differences between the E1-1200 and E-300, but there are only a few of them and the updates are minor. Both dual-core processors belong to the 40-nanometer “Zacate” APU family and have 512KB of L2 cache, a power consumption of 18W, and UVD3 for 1080p HD video decoding. The new APU has a slightly higher clock speed of 1.4GHz as opposed to 1.3GHz on the E-300. The E1-1200 has the built-in AMD Radeon HD 7310 integrated graphics, but judging from its specs it’s the old 80-shader HD 6310 with clock speed set to 500MHz instad of 488MHz.

The E-1200 is actually a part of Brazos 2.0, an update of AMD’s platform for cheap and small laptops. It is accompanied by the higher-end E1-1800, replacing the AMD E-450.

Regarding the revaled E1-powered laptop, it’s the Acer Aspire E1-421 which surfaced somewhere in Asia. The 14-incher has a brand-new design, 2GB of DDR3 RAM, and a 320GB hard drive. It’s kind of a cheap AMD-based notebook for 2012, but we have no info on pricing, as well as on availability.

Sources: Tech Power Up | CPU World

The first Sony ultrabooks, released last week in the form of the 11.6″ VAIO T11 and 13.3″ VAIO T13, will be available with the 3rd Generation Intel Core processors after all.

The official announcment of the VAIO T series included 2nd Gen Core CPUs only, but Tech Focus spotted last weekend a T11 sample with the 3rd Gen “Ivy Bridge”, which will be reportedly also used in the T13.

Thanks to Tech Focus, we now also have a comparison video of the ultrabook duo, showing them with aluminum cases and keyboards with no backlight. The ultrabooks have user replaceable batteries and RAM.

Sony’s VAIO T ultrabooks will be offered in a wide range of configurations, including up to the Core i7 processors and up to 512GB SSDs. The prices will accordingly range from about $700 to $2,000.

Source: Tech Focus (German, Translated) | Via: Ultrabook News

The MSI GT60 gaming laptop is now available in the US.

As opposed to its 17.3″ GT70 sibling which comes in various configurations, the 15.6″ MSI GT60 is currenlty offered only in the form of the 0NC-004US model with the Intel Ivy Bridge quad-core i7-3610QM processor, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 670M 3GB GDDR5 video card empovering the 1080p display, 12GB (4GB x 3) of DDR3 1,600MHz system memory, dual 500GB hard drives in RAID-0 setup, and a DVD burner.

The GT60 shares gaming features with the GT70, such as the SteelSeries gaming-optimized keyboard with backlight and Bigfoot Killer Gaming Network LAN, as well as a Dynaudio-branded speaker system. However, the GT60 has two main speakers whereas the GT70 packs four, but both laptops additionally have a built-in subwoofer.

The design is similar, but the smaller screen size on the 15.6-incher has enabled a lower weight of 7.7 pounds versus 8.6 lbs.

MSI’s GT60, which directly competes against Asus G55, costs $1,500.

Source: Excaliber PC

The recently launched Samsung Series 9 premium-class ultra-thin laptops are going to be available with the Intel Ivy Bridge processors, officially called 3rd Generation Intel Core.

The 13.3-inch NP900X3C and 15-inch NP900X4C are replacements for the 2nd Gen Core-based NP900X3B and NP900X4B respectively and the processor upgrade appears to be the only notable change on the new models. The latest-generation Intel Core i5-3317U ultra-low voltage chip is used in both known NP900X3C and NP900X4C configurations and that also means use of the Intel HD 4000 integrated graphics instead of the 3000-series.

Prices and availability dates are unknown, but the Samsung Series 9 laptops are traditionally pricey, starting at about $1,400.

Although with their specs and look the Series 9 compete with ultrabooks in the thin notebook segment, Samsung ultrabook branding is currently reserved for the Series 5 laptops. The notebooks in the 9 lineup stand out with their thinness of 0.5” on the smaller and 0.58″ on the larger model, aluminum enclosures, and high-resolution 1600×900 screens.

Sources: NP900X3C (NZ page), NP900X4C (UK page)

The Dell Inspiron 15R Special Edition, the company’s first Inspiron model with the 3rd Generation Intel Core processor, is now available in Singapore, meaning that we will probably see it soon around the globe as well.

Advertised as a “high-performance multimedia powerhouse”, the Inspiron 15R SE packs the i7-3612QM quad-core CPU and the AMD Radeon HD 7730M 2GB video cards as standard components, while the 1080p HD resolution instead of 1366×768 pixels, a Blu-ray Combo drive instead of DVD, and 8GB of DDR3 1,600MHz RAM instead of 6GB are optional. The laptop is currently offered with 1TB of storage, but it’s nice to see an optional 32GB mSATA SSD available as add-on for better responsiveness and almost instant system resume.

Other multimedia features include Skullcandy 2x 2W stereo speakers, Waves MaxxAudio 4 technology, and Intel Wireless Display. The webcam is a 1.0MP one, and the notebook also houses Wi-Fi, Bluetotoh 4.0, Gigabit LAN, all four USB ports at 3.0 speed, HDMI 1.4a and VGA video outputs, and a 9-in-1 media card reader.

The Inspiron 15R Special Edition comes in an all new industrial design with Stealth Black anodized aluminum on the lid and “matching palm rest”, which probably means it’s made of plastics with the same pattern. The keyboard is with isle-style keys and it will be also offered with backlight option, which is not available at the time of this writing.

The notebook measures 1.19” – 1.34” in profile and weights around six pounds.

The starting price is about 1,599 SGD, which is about 1,290 USD. You can also expect the standard 15R edition with 3rd Gen Intel CPus as well, which will likely have a much lower base price.

Source: Dell SG | Via: Engadget

Months after its competitors, Sony today entered the ultrabook laptop market with the brand new VAIO T-series, including the 11.6″ T11 and 13.3″ T13.

Inside the cases combining magnesium and aluminum, Sony’s first ultrabooks incorporate the 2nd Generation Intel Core “Sandy Bridge” power-efficient ultra-low-voltage processors, but there is no word on availability of the forthcoming 3rd Generation chips. Sony has provided only a specs sheet of a 13.3″ model, the VAIO SVT1311M1E, revealing a Core i4-2367M CPU SKU, 4GB of RAM, and the Intel HD 3000 IGP. The pixel count on the display is 1366×768. Storage choices are SSDs and hybrid HDDs.

For fast system resume, Sony employs Rapid Wake + Eco technology, to wake up the notebook “in moments”, while the battery life of models with SSDs incorporated is maximal 9 hours. Furthermore, Sony makes a bold claim of stand-by time of up to 90 days on the T ultrabooks.

The first images of the T-series reveal impressively thin and elegant 0.7-inch thin chassis dominated by a brushed-metal finish on the lid and a matte surface on the palm rests. The weight is 3.5 pounds. Other design features are a chiclet-style keyboard and a button-less trackpad. The notebook seems to be without keyboard backlight, judging from the press release which doesn’t mention it.

The ultrabook supports Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0, and wired LAN connectivity, and houses an SD/MMC card reader, HDMI, VGA, and headphone out jacks, as well as a USB 2.0 and a USB 3.0 port. The built-in webcam is Exmor-branded and has a 1.3MP sensor.

According to Sony, the VAIO T ultrabooks will be available starting this month, but there is no word on pricing.

The Asus N56 15.6″ entertainment-oriented notebook, which is now available for pre-order, delivers not only the Intel “Ivy Bridge” processors and Nvidia GeForce 600M graphics, but also 1080p display resolution and aluminum chassis.

The manufacturer part Asus N56VZ-DS71, currently offered via Adorama, sports the “Ivy” 3rd Generation Intel Core i7-3610QM 2.3GHz quad CPU, the Nvidia Geforce GT 650M 2GB video card, 8GB of RAM at 1,600MHz, a 750GB 5,400rpm HDD, DVD burner, and Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit.

The laptop has a 2MP webcam and stereo speakers, but there is no info on external subwoofer option which is available with the N55-series. Other notable specs are a pair of USB 3.0 and a pair of USB 2.0 ports, HDMI and VGA video out, and a 3-in-1 media card reader, as well as Wi-Fi, Gigabit LAN, and Bluetooth.

The included battery is a 6-cell one and with it the 1.3-thick system weighs 6 pounds.

Further details are unknown, but, according to the previous announcement, the notebook is made of aluminum, the keyboard has chiclet-style keys, the spacious touchpad has a radiant finish, and its sound system is designed by Bang & Olufsen. The full HD screen is a glossy one.

The Asus N56VZ-DS71 costs $1,300, but you can expect the N56 to arrive in cheaper configurations as well. There’s no info on the shipping date.

Asustek also plans to release 14″ and 17.3″ versions of the notebook.

Source: Adorama.com

Dell US has made available the 3rd Generation Intel Core CPU options on the recently refreshed Alienware notebooks.

The 14″ Alienware M14x R2 and 17.3″ M17x R4 now come with the Core i7-3610QM, i7-3720QM, and i7-3820QM “Ivy Bridge” chips, while the M18x R2 is additionally available with the fastest CPU in the new line, the i7-3920XM Extreme edition. The 3920XM is also offered in a factory overclocked variant. Besides the quad-core CPUs, the laptops include the Nvidia GeForce 600M series dedicated video cards, but the announced AMD Radeon HD 7970M option hasn’t been offered yet.

Starting prices are unchanged since the launch of the updated Alienware lineup, which was initally offered with the 2nd Gen “Sandy Bridge” chips. The M14x R2, M17x R4, and M18x R2 start at $1,100, $1,500, and $2,000, respectively and can be ordered via Dell.com. The preliminary ship date for the new mobile gaming rigs is 29/05/2012.

The long anticipated Asus G75VW 17.3″ gaming laptop with the 3rd Generation Intel “Ivy Bridge” processors and Nvidia GeForce 600M graphics is now shipping to the customers in the US. Besides the first known G75VW-AS71, there are four other configurations: the G75VW-BBK5, G75VW-DS72, G75VW-RS72, and G75VW-DS73-3D. The differences between them are in the graphics, RAM, and storage departments, while the DS73-3D is additionally a 3D capable model.

We have put together the table below, with all specs of the notebooks. Besides these Core i7-3610QM-based models, Asus also plans to deliver the notebook with the i7-3720QM, according to the official specifications.

The G75 has been reviewed for the first time by YouTube user Paul Michael Nelson, who bought the Best Buy’s model with the GTX 660M, added a Corsair SSD, and upgraded RAM to 16GB. In his review, the tested unit scored 12,019 points in 3D Mark Vantage, Performance mode. Windows Experience Index of the reviewed system shows the laptop scores 7.6 in the CPU test, 7.9 in memory test, and 7.3 in both 2D and 3D graphics. Paul says the laptop runs cool and is well built. You can check out his video below: