Lenovo launches new ultrabook as ThinkPad

International Business Machines ( IBM) and then acquired by Chinese PC manufacturer Lenovo, ThinkPad has come a long way, and remained a favourite among users in the fast-changing technology landscape.

ThinkPad brand is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year. Over the last 20 years, a little more than 60 million ThinkPad units have been sold. To commemorate two decades of the ThinkPad brand, Lenovo today announced the launch of Ultrabook ThinkPad X1 Carbon, one of the lightest business laptops from the company.

Amar Babu, managing director, Lenovo India, said, “We are extremely proud to celebrate 20 years of continuous innovation with the ThinkPad. Lenovo India has seen phenomenal growth overall, as well as in the commercial business, where we have sustained leadership consistently for two quarters.”

With the launch of the ThinkPad X1 Carbon, we are confident of continuing this rich legacy and offering performance users a product that will help them accomplish their professional and business goals.”

The ThinkPad X1 comes with carbon fiber, and is powered by the latest third generation Intel Core processor. It weighs less than three pounds and packs a high resolution 14-inch display into a 13-inch laptop design while also offering a multi-gesture glass surface touchpad, HD face-tracking camera, dual array microphones and Dolby-tuned audio for crisp and clear sound.

“With ThinkPad turning 20 this year, it stands among the few fortunate brands to achieve an iconic stature, with loyal fans that are passionate about each generation of ThinkPad products,” said Rahul Agarwal, executive director, commercial business segment, Lenovo India.

Dell Launches Two XPS Laptops, One with Ultrabook Capabilities

Dell has unveiled two new additions to its XPS laptop lineup including a 14-inch clamshell that can be configured as an Ultrabook and a more high-powered 15.6-inch device. The new laptops feature thin aluminum casings, edge-to-edge displays with hardened Corning Glass, backlit chiclet keyboards and multigesture touchpads. Both of the new laptops are available now and the specs are pretty close to what leaked to a Chinese tech site earlier in June.

Dell Launches Two XPS Laptops, One with Ultrabook CapabilitiesShared specs between the XPS 14 and 15 include USB 3.0 ports, a mini DisplayPort, HDMI Out, a 3-in-1 media card reader, and a 1.3 megapixel Webcam. Both devices also come with an Ethernet jack, but Dell says the devices were too thin to offer a full Ethernet option. To get around this problem the company included a hinged Ethernet port that expands to fit a cable when you open it.

The XPS 14 standard configuration includes a 14-inch WLED display with 1600-by-900 resolution, dual-core 2.6 GHz Ivy Bridge Core i5-3317U, Intel HD Graphics 4000, 4GB DDR3 RAM, 802.11 a/g/n Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.0 connectivity. For storage options you can choose a 500GB hard drive, a 500GB hard drive with 32GB mSATA SSD, or a 512GB SSD. If you choose one of the SSD options, the XPS 14 qualifies as an Ultrabook, according to Dell’s chief blogger, Lionel Menchaca. Dell claims battery life for the XPS 14 is between 8 and 11 hours, depending on the configuration.

Dell Launches Two XPS Laptops, One with Ultrabook CapabilitiesTo keep the XPS 14 thin Dell decided not to include an optical drive; the laptop measures 0.81 inches thick. Despite the XPS 14's thin size you will still feel it when you throw this thing in a backpack as the weight for the base configuration is 4.6 pounds.

The XPS 15 features a 15.6-inch WLED display with 1920-by-1080 full HD resolution, a dual core 3.1 GHz Ivy Bridge Core i5-3210M or you can upgrade to a quad-core 3.1 GHz Ivy Bridge Core i7-3612QM. Standard features include a Nvidia GeForce GT 630M graphics card with 1GB GDDR5, a 500GB hard drive with 32GB mSATA SSD, 802.11 a/g/n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0, and a slot load DVD-RW (Blu-ray drive upgrade option available). The XPS 15 base configuration weighs 5.79 pounds and measures 0.91 inches thick.

ACi launches laptop...

ACi, a laptop specialist brand from the U.K., on Wednesday, unveiled the lowest-priced and fully-functional laptop computer for the Indian market.

The ACi Icon 1100 is a fully-functional high resolution 10.2-inch screen laptop computer priced at Rs.4,999.

ACi is represented in India by Allied Computers International (Asia) Ltd., which will market the products here and is listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange.

Speaking to The Hindu, Hirji Patel, Chairman, Allied Computers International (Asia), said, “The ACi ICON 1100 is the lowest-priced fully-functional laptop in India. It is Windows-compatible with an expandable memory up to 1 GB.”

The low-priced product is among a range of seven products that the company unveiled on Wednesday and the other products are mid-to-high-end laptops.

On the company’s ability to sell the product at such a low cost, Mr. Patel said, “as is the case with most of these products across the globe, component sourcing as well as manufacturing is done from the Far East, and our margins are very thin.”

Mr. Patel said the company expected to sell 2 lakh units of the ACi Icon in a year.

“That is a conservative estimate, and we may sell that many this calendar year itself. We are planning to launch the ‘model B’ of the base model ACi Icon here in the next two or three months,” Mr. Patel said.

The company has an existing dealership of 200 . “In the next two months, we want to add around 500 more dealerships across India,” he said.

HP launches new range of Ultrabooks, Sleekbooks in India

NEW DELHI: Expanding its notebook portfolio, HP on Thursday launched a new range of Ultrabooks and Sleekbooks in India.

The new HP ENVY Ultrabook range is available in two colour options of red and black. As thin as 19.8 mm (0.78 inches) and starting from 1.75-kg, the new HP ENVY notebooks feature a soft-touch and slip-resistant base which make them easy to handle.

HP ENVY Ultrabook Envy 4 is available in 14-inch and Envy 6 is available in 15.6-inch diagonal display sizes. HP's latest offerings are powered by third-generation Intel Core processors and offer up to eight to nine hours of battery life respectively.

HP ENVY Sleekbook also comes in two variants — Envy 4 and Envy 6. Envy 4 Sleekbook sports a 14-inch (35.56 cm) display, while Envy 6 is available in 15.6-inch (39.62 cms) diagonal display and powered by the latest Intel Core processors. It also boasts up to eight to nine hours of battery life respectively.

HP has equipped its latest products with ImagePad. ImagePad is an advanced image sensor that replaces the traditional touchpad to provide better precision and improve gesture responsiveness.

Dell's wonder ultrabook

THE XPS 13 is Dell’s first foray into the ultrabook line, with its defining thin design and light weight for easier mobility.

Despite its thinness, the XPS 13 is still fully high-end in terms of specifications and functionality.

Dell’s XPS 13 has a width of 18mm and weighs around 1.4kg. One of its distinctive features is the material used in constructing the XPS 13.

Instead of aluminum, carbon fibre is used to help dissipate heat more effectively and also because it is more durable and lessens the weight of the ultrabook.

The ultrabook also has a 13.3-inch display, full-sized backlit keyboard, processor of either Core i5 2467M or a i7 2637M dual-core processor with Intel HD 3000 graphics, 4GB RAM with 28GB or 256GB SSDs options.

It also has a 1.3-megapixel webcam, dual-array digital microphone, WiFi, Bluetooth 3.0, USB 3.0, USB 2.0, mini Display Port, estimated battery life of eight hours, and a headset jack.

Dell XPS 13 also has Smart Connect Technology which enables laptops to connect to the web even in sleep mode so that email and social networking feeds are updated.

The performance and speed of the laptop is considerably good as it is able to load quickly and perform specific tasks in a quick speed.

Aside from that, the physical design of XPS 13 allows the user to work anywhere, anytime.

Despite its numerous attractions, one of the things that is still lacking is the ultrabook’s battery life which can be a crucial draw-back for some heavy users.

When switched on to full brightness, and the power-saving software with the WiFi on is disabled, and the user is surfing and playing music on the XPS 13 , the battery can last just under four hours.

For RM3,499, you can get an XPS 13 equipped with an Intel Core i5 processor, 128GB SSD hard drive and 4GB memory.

For RM4,899, you can get one with an Intel Core i7 processor and 256GB SSD hard drive.