Archive for April 2015

Top 3 HP Laptops 2015

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 Top 3  HP Laptops 2015

We adore HP for its shiny designed laptops that provide easy keyboards and touchpads. The company’s wide variety ranges from 11-inch variable to big-screen multimedia systems, offering something for any budget or use. Coming in fourth in our laptop-maker showdown last year, HP upped the ante by adding ground-breaking touches to some of its devices, including a 3D-motion controller and a new creative touchpad design. Tempted by HP’s options but don’t know which one to choose? To help narrow your options, these are the five best HP laptops available.

1. HP Spectre X360

This stylish, 13-inch, all-aluminum convertible can go from laptop to tablet mode, with several stops in between. Boasting a bright 1080p touch screen (upgradeable to UltraHD), the Spectre x360 also has a large, comfortable keyboard and ClickPad, a Core i5 processor, and a 256GB SSD. It lasts more than 9 hours on a charge and has some excellent speakers to boot. In all, it's a really good deal.

HP Stream 11

Looking for a lightweight laptop that's also light on your wallet? HP's Stream 11 is an eye-catching Windows 8.1 laptop that performs capably, and it costs just $200. Typing documents and reports is a breeze, thanks to the comfortable keyboard, and you'll enjoy ample sound, thanks to the powerful speakers. And with a year's subscription to Office 365 Personal thrown in, the Stream 11 is a great companion when you're traveling for work.

3. HP EliteBook Folio 1020

Easily among the sexiest laptops anywhere, the 12.5-inch Elitebook Folio 1020 runs Windows 8.1. Under the hood sits a powerful Intel Core M chip, while up top is a fingerprint reader and a cool, pressure-sensitive touchpad. Its gorgeous quad HD display will leave you glued to your screen, as you clock hours of watching Netflix or playing casual games. The EliteBook Folio 1020 can also take a beating, since it complies with military standards for resistance to heat, cold, dust and drops.

4. HP Omen

Marking a return to the gaming notebook arena, the HP Omen was designed to get your attention. The 15.6-inch laptop lures you with its slim, lightweight chassis that's sharp and ominous looking. Inside you'll find some serious power in the form of an Nvidia GeForce GTX 860M graphics and Intel Core i7. Customizable keyboard backlights and macro buttons help enhance your fragging performance on the laptop's 1080p display. For the hard-core gamer, missing this Omen would be the greatest sin.

5. HP Stream 13


The larger of HP's reasonably priced Stream line of Windows 8.1 laptops, the Stream 13 delivers the same smooth performance in a larger, but still attractive package. Its fun, bright color scheme will mirror your mood when you realize this 13-incher costs only $230. We mostly liked the booming DTS Studio Sound speakers. Plus, as with the Stream 11, you get a year's free subscription to Office 365 Personal and 1TB of cloud storage on OneDrive so you can take your work on the go.

6. HP Chromebook 14


As HP's second go at the Chrome OS, the $299 Chromebook 14 is a success. For those who mainly use their notebook to surf the Web, watch videos and send email, this may be the entire machine you need. We appreciated the color options for the exterior (snow white, ocean turquoise and coral peach), as well as the impressive 7 hours and 57 minutes of battery life.

Best Laptops, Ultrabooks and Hybrids of 2015

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Best Laptops, Ultrabooks and Hybrids of 2015

1.HP Stream 11

Best Cheap Laptop
Key Fearutes:
·         11.6-inch, 1,366 x 768 display
·         Free Office 365 Personal subscription
·         Excellent speakers and battery life
The HP Stream 11 is an astonishingly cheap Windows 8.1 laptop. It costs less than £200, and comes bundled with a one-year subscription to Office 365 Personal that’s worth £60. In short, it’s perfect for students and families on a tight budget.
 
It’s attractive too and small and lights enough to comfortably carry around in any standard messenger bag. The screen is an average 11.6-inch, 1,366 x 768 affair, but it gets the job done and is complemented by an excellent keyboard and loud, clear speakers. The HD webcam is also more than good enough for Skype calls.
A 2.16GHz Intel Celeron N2840 processor, combined with 2GB of RAM, keeps the Stream going, and it’s powerful enough to cope with light tasks, such as web browsing, word processing and HD video. The battery is great too, and can keep going for around six hours under heavy strain.
 
Price: £179.99/$199.99

2. Asus Zenbook UX305

Best Ultrabook
Key features:
13.3-inch 1080p IPS LCD screen
11-hour battery life
Generous selection of ports
One of the most electrifying laptops we’ve tested, the Asus Zenbook UX305 is an almost ideal ultra-portable that won’t break the bank. It’s clad in great-looking matte-effect metal, and is a super-slim 12.3mm at its thickest point. Despite its slight frame, Asus hasn’t scrimped on connections, packing three USB 3.0 ports, a full-size SD card reader and a microHDMI slot into the Zenbook.
The 13.3-inch, 1080p display isn’t quite a match for the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon’s 2,560 x 1,440 panel, but it’s still pointed and offers good viewing angles. It’s backed up by a well-mannered pair of speakers that aren’t the loudest we’ve come across.
Intel’s Core M-5Y10c processor keeps things ticking over, but it doesn’t deliver the slickest performance. Its good sufficient for general office tasks, web browsing and watching movies, but gamers would be better off looking for something more powerful. Stamina, however, is exceptional – the Zenbook can keep running for around 11 hours between charges.
 Price: £650 / $815

3. Alienware 15

Best Gaming Laptop
Key features:
15.6-inch, 1920 x 1080, IPS screen
outstanding performance
Backlit keyboard and trackpad
Aluminium and carbon fibre build
The Alienware 15 is a powerful machine that’s built for serious gamers. Its bold, chunky design makes it instantly recognisable as an Alienware laptop, while a combination of aluminium and carbon fibre ensures it retains a sense of class. It’s not the most portable, however, coming in at 3kg and over an inch thick.

All models come with a 1,920 x 1,080 IPS display with an anti glare finish, but you can upgrade to a 3,860 x 2,146 touchscreen panel if you have the cash to splash. We tested the lower resolution screen, which is impressive, offering accurate colours, deep blacks and good viewing angles. The speakers are loud and clear, but bass is a little weak for such a chunky laptop.

The keyboard is great, while the trackpad comes with two easy-to-press buttons instead of a clicky surface. Both are backlit, and you can choose from a wide selection of colors.
Price: £1,099 / $1,199

4. Toshiba Chromebook 2

Best Chromebook
Key Features:
13.3-inch screen with 1080p resolution
1.3kg, 4GB RAM and 16GB flash storage
Two USB ports, HDMI and SD card
If you have £250 or so to spend on a laptop then it's hard to look past the outstanding Toshiba Chromebook 2. This 13-inch Chromebook comes with an eye-catching and high-quality 1080p IPS screen that's rich and colorful. It's the best screen we've seen on a Chromebook and that's not all that's good about the Chromebook 2.

Battery life of around nine hours means this laptop will keep going throughout a working day. A 30-minute charge adds 30% battery, too, so you it doesn't take long to top that back up.

The design is stylish for such a cheap laptop, too, and we found the keyboard and trackpad to be a step above. It's an all round winner that's well worth considering provided you can live without with traditional applications.
Price: £250

5. Surface Pro 3


Best Windows 8 laptop and tablet hybrid
Key Features:
Detachable keyboard base
12-inch, 2,160 x 1,440 pixel display
Intel Core i3/i5/i7 CPU
The third generation of Surface Pro 3 is by far the best Microsoft tablet yet, if you’re after something that can function as a real laptop. The hybrid style is still in place, but this latest model has a 12-inch screen, rather than a 10-inch one. As well as giving you a more expansive display to work on, this makes typing easier.

While the keyboard base isn’t included, we think just about all Surface Pro 3 buyers should get hold of one. The kickstand is better this time around too. You can hold the screen at just about any laptop-style angle. So why isn’t it just a laptop? It also offers a digitizer stylus, turning it into a digital notepad, and it’s pretty handy as a giant web browser tablet too.
We don't expect Microsoft to update the Surface Pro until much later in the year, so it's a safe time to buy.
Price: £644 (£109 for the keyboard)

Best Ultra-books Of 2015

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Best Ultra-Books Of 2015

If you’re looking for the skinniest and lightest PC laptops on the market, you’ll over and over again find them labeled as “Ultra books.” A brainchild of Intel, the Ultra book specification means that a notebook has long battery life and svelte chassis. The category is very wide and includes many models at different prices and form factors, including hybrids that double as tablets for the ultimate in versatility. You’ll also find high-end machines with super-sharp, quad HD screens and speedy SSDs. Here’s our list of the Top Ultra books today.

1. Dell XPS 13 - 2015 Edition

Price: From $799

The 2015 edition of the Dell XPS 13 grasps a 13-inch screen into a chassis the size of an 11-inch notebook by using the world's slimiest bezel. In addition to its slender form factor, this consumer Ultra book has an optional WQHD touch screen (or standard full HD panel), an SSD and the latest Intel Broad well processor. Add in a professed 15 hours of battery life and we have a winner.

2. Asus Zenbook UX305

Price: From $815

With the Zen Book UX305, you get an Ultra book that packs an Intel Core M CPU, 8GB of RAM and a 256GB hard state drive into a stylish all-aluminum body -- for just $699. The UX305 also traits a 13.3-inch display with a matte screen for super-wide viewing angles and easy outdoor visibility. And with its fan less design, there's no noise to disturb your work or Netflix spree session.

3. HP Specter X360

Price: From $999

With 9.5 hours of battery life, the 3.3-pound HP Specter x360 lasts longer than most other Ultra books, and still provides the full power of an Intel Core i5 processor. Its aluminum chassis is one of the most attractive we've seen, and its screen folds back 360 degrees, converting this notebook into a tablet.

4. Lenovo Yoga 3 Pro

Price: From $1199

Lenovo's Yoga 3 Pro is the most flexible Ultra book yet -- and also the shiniest. This 2-in-1 hybrid sports a well-designed watch band-style pivot that makes it a cinch to change from laptop to tablet mode, or use it in tent mode. Plus, the Harmony software presents suitable apps as you switch modes. The Yoga 3 Pro weighs just 2.6 pounds but packs a brilliant 3200 x 1800-pixel touch screen and fairly speedy Core M CPU.

5. HP EliteBook Folio 1020

Price: From $1499

One of the skinniest and brightness’s Ultrabooks yet, the EliteBook 1020 is just 0.62 inches broad and weighs just 2.68 pounds, making it svelter than the Dell XPS 13 and the MacBook Air. Inside the aluminum chassis is a 12.5-inch quad HD display, Intel Core M processor and a Synaptic Force Pad, which uses pressure to register clicks. Business users will like the Elite Book’s fingerprint reader, docking port and durability, but we wish the battery lasted a little longer.

6. Lenovo ThinkPad X240

Price: From $1348

The extensive lasting laptop yet, the Think Pad X240's 6-cell battery provided an astounding 20.5 hours of juice in our tests. The smaller 3-cell battery yields a still exciting 7:40 of runtime. We also love the X240's comfortable keyboard with extended palm rest, durable design and wide viewing angles from the IPS display.
 NOTE: The informed version of this laptop, the Think Pad X250, will launch within the next few weeks. It will have the same design, but offer dedicated Track Point buttons and an Intel 5th Generation Core (aka Broadwell) processor that promises longer battery life.

7. Acer Aspire S7 (2014)
Price: From $1085

One of our preferred Ultrabooks has gone quad HD. The 3-pound Acer Aspire S7 attributes an influential 4th generation Intel Haswell processor, a fast 128GB SSD and a new super-sharp 13-inch screen that packs 2560 x 1440 pixels. The new S7 doesn't last as long on a charge as its predecessor, but it's still one of the most outstanding systems in its class.
NOTE: A new Intel 5th Generation Core Series-powered version of the S7 is launching in early 2015.

7. Samsung ATIV Book 9 Plus (2015)


Combining well-designed good glance with Windows acquaintance, Samsung's ATIV Book 9 Plus should be on your short list of Ultrabook options. It features a super sharp, 13.3-inch, 3200 x 1800-pixel touch screen, and is powered by an Intel Core i5 CPU, 4GB of RAM with a 128GB SSD. It even lasts 8 hours on a charge.

8. Lenovo LaVie Z (Innovative and Prominent)


At 1.73-pounds, Lenovo's forthcoming LaVie Z is the lightest 13-inch laptop ever, but doesn't skimp on specs. This $1,299 laptop sports an Intel 5th Generation Core i5 or Core i7 CPU, a full HD screen and a speedy SSD. There's also a folding adaptable model of the Lavie Z that will cost $1,499 and weigh a slightly-higher, 2.04 pounds. Both models are set to lighten your wallet in May.



Best Samsung Laptops Of 2015

8:55 AM 0 Comments A+ a-

Best Samsung Laptops Of 2015

1. Samsung ATIV Book 9 Plus 13-inch (2015)


Samsung hasn't changed the design of the ATIV Book 9 Plus much, and that's a good thing. An elegant anodized aluminum body encloses this laptop's with brilliant 13.3-inch, 3200 x 1800-pixel touch screen. Inside you'll find an Intel Core i5 CPU, 4GB of RAM and a 128GB SSD. That’s more than enough power to handle work and some light gaming. Plus, the 8 hours of battery life will see you through the day.

2. Samsung ATIV Book 9 15-inch


The $1,300 ATIV Book 9 is one of the best-looking laptops on the market, complete with a stylishly styled aluminum body that's just 0.63-inches thick and 4.4-pounds in weight. Inside are a vibrant 15-inch, 1920 x 1080 touch screen, Intel Core i5 processor and superb Dolby-enhanced speakers. The ATIV Book 9's graphics could be better, but we like its 8+ hour battery life.

 3. Samsung Chromebook Series 3


As gorgeous as the higher-priced ATIV line, Samsung's $400 Chrome book 3 features a soft faux-leather lid and weighs a light 3 pounds. It sports a 13.3-inch, 1920 x 1080 displays with an Exynos CPU, 4GB of RAM and an impressive 9 hour and 32 minute battery life. Plus, it comes with several apps not found on most other Chrome books. If you prefer something even more portable (and inexpensive), an 11-inch version with an Intel Celeron processor costs just $250, and lasts nearly 8 hours on a charge.

4. New and Notable: Samsung ATIV Book 9 12-inch (2015)


Samsung's 2015 edition of the ATIV Book 9 comes to market measuring under an inch thick and weighing barely more than 2 pounds. New on this year's model is a 12.2-inch 2560 x 1440 screen and a special mode that boosts brightness when outdoors, so you'll never struggle to see the HD+ display. Equipped with an Intel Core M CPU and a fan less design, it's quiet, and starting at $1,199, it costs $300 less than HP's new Elite Book Folio 1020.
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