PC Weekly #1 – Samsung takes on Surface Pro, Bose brings waterproof 360 degree Bluetooth speaker
Samsung Galaxy Book – The Microsoft Surface competitor
It looks like the Microsoft’s Surface lineup of products is the way forward for PCs. Samsung has finally announce a worthy competitor to the Surface Pro, the Galaxy Book. Powered by 7th Generation chips (starting with Core M3 and up to Core i5), the Samsung Galaxy Book price starts at $630 for the base model and goes all the way up to $1330 for the top end model that has 12″ Core i7 chip, 1440p Super AMOLED display, 8GB or RAM, 256GB SSD,13mp rear camera, 5mp front facing camera. The base model comes with Core M3 chip, 10.6″ 1920×1280 pixel resolution display, smaller 4000mAh battery, 4GB of RAM, 64GB of SSD storge, 5mp front facing camera (no rear camera). Other specifications include microSD card slot, Windows 10 Home OS, 802.11ac dual band MIMO WI-FI, USB Type-C port, 3.5mm headphone jack etc. Though you can pre-order starting today in USA, the shipping and general availability will only be from 21st of May.
Lenovo MIIX 510 launched in India
Lenovo Miix 510 is new midrange 2-in-1 from the personal computing giant. With starting price of Rs.53,990, the Miix 310 is powered by 6th Generation Intel Core chips (Core i3 and Core i5 configurations available). Lenovo Miix 510 is already available for purchase from Amazon and offline stores. The Miix 510 comes with a 12.2″ FullHD display, 8GB of memory, up to 1TB PCIe SSD, up to 8 hours of battery backup, 2mp front facing and 5mp rear facing camera. The Miix 510 has USB Type-C port, USB 3.0 port, microSIM card slot, combo audio jack. If this is the first time that you are hearing about Miix series, we did a review of Miix 310 laptop back in November 2016 and you read the review here.
Lenovo Flex 11
Lenovo Flex 11 Chromebook is tailor made for those who love Android applications. This flexible convertible chromebook will soon run Android apps as it is powered by ARM processor. Priced at $279 in USA, the Flex 11 Chrombeook will be available to purchase very soon. Powered by 2.1 GHz quad-core ARM processor, the Flex 11 can stay on for 10 hours. The display is 11.6″ in size and has 1366×768 resolution. There is 4GB of DDR3 RAM and 32GB of onboard storage. The onboard storage can be expanded using microSD card. Coming to ports, there is a USB Type-C port, USB 3.0 port, HDMI, SD card reader, combo 3.5mm audio port. The Flex 11 weighs just 1.35kgs. There is a 720p HD webcam at the front.
HP ZBook Ultrabooks are now VR Ready, powerful than Mac Pro
HP ZBook is latest lineup of workstation class Ultrabooks that are capable of supporting VR content (upto 90fps). These notebooks are powered by Intel Xeon and Intel Core processors and also come with Nvidia Quadro or AMD FirePro professional graphics card. The lineup includes HP ZBook 15u G3 with 14″ or 15.6″ (1080p or 4K resolution) display, up to 32GB of RAM, HP Z Turbo SSD drive( up to 1.5TB), AMD FirePro graphics card, Windows OS, Bang&Olufsen audio, wide range of ports, backlit keyboard and the ultrabook weighs just 1.9 kgs. Zbook 15 on the other hand comes with up to 64GB of RAM, more powerful Xeon and Core i7 chips, 15.6″ display (up to 4k resolution), Nvidia Quadro or AMD FirePro or onboard graphics, wide range or ports etc. ZBook 14 comes with a 14″ display and ZBook 17 comes with a 17″ display. Configuration is similar for these. Zbook Studio on the other hand has screaming fast NVIDIA Quadro M1000M professional GPU with 4GB of GDDR5 RAM. There is not much detail on pricing and availability.
Gigabyte BRIX fanless mini desktop
Meant mainly for IoT systems, the Gigabyte BRIX is tiny mini desktop computer that does not have any fans inside. The entire case acts like a bit heat sink. Powered by ultra low voltage Intel chips (7th generation family), the BRIX supports up to 32GB of DDR4 RAM. GIGABYTE BRIX™ IoT ensures you won’t be hindered by lack of connections. Having built-in 802.11ac and Bluetooth 4.2 gives users a higher capacity and broader coverage, allowing them to use their devices and accessories wherever they wish, with no compromise on the speed. Gigabit Ethernet can help increase performance between compatible devices on your wired LAN, especially when large file transfers are involved. The BRIX supports 4K displays (do not expect seamless gaming though). You can also connect three FullHD displays to the BRIX.
Bose Soundlink Revolve Bluetooth speaker is loud and waterproof
Bose SoundLink Revolve is a new Bluetooth speaker that can deliver sound in 360 degrees. Meant to fill out a small room, the Revolve is priced at $199.99 and is available for purchase in select regions. Revolve can also let you interact with Digital Assistants like Siri and Google Now, thanks to the microphone and multi function button. Press and hold the button and input your command to Revolve. You can place the Revolve near a wall and let the sound reflect around the room. The Revolve has water resistant body so you can use it anywhere and on the go. The audio controls are placed at the top of the Revolve. To charge the Revolve, you can use the charging base. There are two variants. Revolve has up to 12 hour battery life and costs $199.95, Revolve+ comesw with with better loudness and 16 hour battery life (costs $299.95).
Logitech G413 keyboard costs just $89.99 and is made for gamers
Priced at $89.99, the Logitech G413 is a brand new keyboard with backlit mechanical keys, designed for gamers. The 5052 grade aluminum cases gives great strength to the keyboard and reduces the weight of the keyboard. The Romer-G mechanical switch has short throw actuation (1.5mm) and is 25% faster than standard mechanical keys. 12 additional keycaps come with G413, so you can upgrade critical gaming keys to be as heroic as your gameplay. Swap them fast and easy with the included puller to remove your Romer-G keycaps.You can use Logitech Gaming Software to program custom functions and macros on F1-F12 function keys. Logitech G413 uses USB 2.0 Type-A cable to connect to computer.
Dell UP2718Q is their first monitor with HDR10 standard support
Priced at $699.99, the Dell UltraSharp U2718Q is the company’s first HDR monitor that meets HDR10 standard. U2718Q boasts an Ultra HD 4K display, with four times more detail than full HD and the depth of 1.07 billion colors. This monitor allows creative professionals to view and edit HDR10 content to create incredibly realistic images. With a peak brightness of 1,000 nits, the UP2718Q produces the deepest blacks and brightest whites and the REC2020 color coverage makes it an ideal choice for video editors working on color-critical post production. The UP2718Q also offers a broad, brilliant color spectrum with Dell PremierColor – 100 percent Adobe RGB, 100 percent sRGB, 100 percent REC 709, 97.7 percent DCI-P3 and 76.9 percent REC2020.