Review of Acer Travelmate B115-MP-C2TQ Netbook

This small Acer laptop has a good Acer battery life, an IPS panel and runs silently. Windows 8.1 Professional (64 bit) hints towards the business uses of this model.

The Travelmate B115-MP-C2TQ is the "serious" sibling of the Acer Aspire V3-731 and Acer Aspire E3-111, which we previously tested. Potential buyers of this notebook will be business users, which explains the Windows 8.1 Professional (64 bit) OS found on the notebook. The Aspire V3-111P was able to score points with us thanks to its long battery life and good keyboard. In the following in-depth review, we will find out what its sister model has to offer.

The Travelmate has the same build as the Aspire V3-111P and the Aspire E3-111, so we will not discuss the case, connectivity, input devices or speakers any further (unless there are major differences). For more information about these topics, we suggest taking a look at the reviews of its siblings.

Case & Connectivity

The Travelmate has the same build as the Aspire V3-571. However, their is a major difference, aside from the case colors, the Travelmate has a display cover made of brushed aluminium whereas the Aspire uses synthetic material. As such, the Travelmate cover is sturdier. the Travelmate is intended for business users as is shown by the Windows 8.1 (64 bit) Pro OS. The Acer security software 'ProShield' is pre-installed, but additional security features, like a Trusted Platform Module or a fingerprint reader are not included. The Travelmate buyers get an accessory which the buyers of the Aspire will not get: a HDMI-to-VGA adapter.

Display

The Travelmate uses a glossy 11.6 inch display, which has a native resolution of 1,366 x 768 pixels. The brightness (181.7 cd/m²) of the panel is not impressive as we have come to expect a value higher than 200 cd/m² as a minimum. After all, this is a small, portable laptop which is supposed to be used in various places. The contrast (744:1) and black value (0.27 cd/m²) are quite good.

Performance

The Travelmate B115-MP is a simple 11.6 inch notebook which is predestined for typing and surfing thanks to its long battery life. The Travelmate is aimed at business users, whereas the Aspire V3-111P puts the focus on private users. Our test model is available for around 420 Euros. Acer offers various other configurations - with or without touchscreen.

Review of Lenovo Yoga Tablet 2 Pro

Advantages of Lenovo Yoga Tablet 2 Pro:The Lenovo Yoga Tablet 2 Pro's versatile design features a built-in kickstand and pico projector. Its HD screen is sharp and battery life is long. Its The front-facing speakers and rear subwoofer sound loud and crisp. Moreover, it has a long Lenovo battery life.

Disadvantages of Lenovo Yoga Tablet 2 Pro: There's no app tray. The projector's brightness is rather dim in most rooms and its low resolution will disappoint fans of high-definition video. Also, it's a bit heavy.

The Lenovo Yoga Tablet 2 Pro is the most innovative tablet I've seen all year. The 13.3-inch mammoth features a familiar design with a unique twist; it packs a built-in pico projector.

Performance-wise, it's not a monster, but feature-wise, it's a unicorn. Like last year's Android-based Yoga tablets, this model has a distinct rounded spine with a built-in kickstand that makes hands-free movie watching and on-screen typing easy peasy. Turn on the projector with the push of a button and it also doubles as a quick way to set-up a mobile movie theater. It's a unique, versatile design that works well for entertainment and practical purposes.

Design

If you're familiar with Lenovo's Yoga line of Android tablets, this one should look familiar. If you're not, this 13-inch mammoth probably appears a little odd. It looks like a normal tablet, with the exception of its chunky, rounded spine. The silver, cylindrical looking appendage houses the front-facing speakers and, if you flip it, you'll find the built-in stand.

The rear kickstand easily pops out with the push of a button and can flip out to 180 degrees. You can stand it upright for an all-in-one-like experience or flip it over and place it down to stably type out an email. It feels sturdy, though it's a thin piece of aluminum, and, thanks the addition of the button, it's easier to adjust than last year's models.

Software

Running Android 4.4.2, it comes with a medley of pre-loaded apps, including the full suite of Google apps, and it features a custom overlay that's slightly better than last year's Yoga tablets. The tweaks simplify the Android experience from its often overwhelming customization options and settings, but in a way that I consider more limiting than user-friendly.

 Lenovo Yoga Tablet 2 Pro looks very iOS-inspired, especially due to its lack of app tray. After being downloaded, apps are meant to be placed into prearranged categories like games, shopping and social. The categories can't be deleted or edited. You can place individual app shortcuts on one of the home screens instead, if you'd like.

Review of Lenovo Yoga 3 Pro laptop

Advantages：
 
The Yoga 3 Pro adds a unique new hinge to be thinner and lighter than ever. The high-resolution screen looks fantastic, and the hybrid design still works great as a laptop.

Disadvantages： 

This first outing with Intel's new Core M processor fails to impress, with mediocre performance and Lenovo battery life.


Lenovo's Yoga 3 Pro is so close to perfect that its shortcomings feel all the more frustrating. In terms of form and usability, this is easily my favorite new laptop design of the year. The iconic 360-degree fold-back Yoga hinge has been radically reimagined as a thin strip of watchband-like metal, allowing the body to be especially thin, while still just as flexible as previous versions for transforming into a kiosk or tablet.

It's remarkably thin and light, and feels just different enough from every other slim 13-inch laptop or hybrid to really count as a major step.

The other half of that step forward was supposed to come from Intel's new Core M CPU, a chip designed to be a perfect fit for thin, upscale tablets and hybrids that needed just the right mix of performance, battery life and energy efficiency. The big pitch for Core M is that systems using it can run with minimal cooling, or even without fans at all, allowing them to be thinner and lighter than ever.

Lest this sound like an unenthusiastic take on this new hybrid, remember, there's more to judging a computer than just on-paper performance numbers. If I were simply using the Yoga 3 Pro without seeing any of those application performance or battery life numbers, I'd be very impressed. For the type of work most of us do, running a few Web browsers, streaming video and music and working on office documents, the Yoga 3 Pro felt fast enough. But advanced tasks such as gaming or HD video editing are better served by more powerful PCs. 

 
Battery life was close to Lenovo's promised 7 hours during casual use, although even that feels skimpy by today's standards. Playing video seemed to hit the Core M, designed to throttle computing power to fit your usage, particularly hard, draining the battery in under six hours.

Review of Lenovo ThinkPad X240 laptop

Advantages:

• Ridiculously long Lenovo ThinkPad X240 battery life with hot-swappable battery
• Excellent keyboard and touch screen
• Solid all-around performance
• Laundry list of extra feature

Disadvantages:

• No HDMI and only two USB ports
• Touch pad can miss clicks
• Low-res Webcam
• Only one memory slot (8GB max)

Messing with a winning formula is always a dicey proposition (just ask the New England Patriots), so in updating its popular ThinkPad X series ultraportable, Lenovo took a measured approach. The X240 ultrabook retains the essential goodness of its predecessors—solid build, business-friendly mobility and communications features, excellent X240 battery life—while layering in the latest component upgrades. Those enhancements include Intel's fourth-generation Core CPU, a fine touch screen to better navigate Windows 8, and an embedded battery that augments the removable battery and adds hot-swap capability in the process.
 

The ThinkPad  faithful might not embrace all of the changes, however. The familiar red TrackPoint stick is still there, but the mouse buttons have been replaced by a one-piece touch pad with buttons below each corner, which takes some getting used to. The addition of an internal battery meant the sacrifice of a memory slot.
  

 While the matte-black exterior won't win any design awards, on the inside the X240 is perhaps over-designed. It features an internal skeleton to protect components and has passed MIL-SPEC durability tests for hostile environments such as humidity, high and low temperature, sand and dust, and vibration.
The 12.5-inch screen means the machine can maintain a compact footprint of 12 inches by 8.2 inches. Its 0.8-inch thickness is reasonable, although noticeably less svelte than some razor-thin ultrabooks. The Lenovo ThinkPad X240 laptpop weighs a touch under 3 pounds in base trim, 3.2 pounds with the touch screen, and 3.6 pounds with the extended 6-cell battery. We actually prefer the ThinkPad with the larger battery (just a $5 option) installed, since it gives the system an ergonomic tilt on the desk and a comfortable handhold when carrying it around.

And speaking of batteries, one neat design trick is Lenovo's Power Bridge technology that employs an internal 3-cell battery to increase runtime and make the removable 3- and 6-cell units hot-swappable. Yes, you can detach one battery and attach a spare without shutting the machine down. This is a welcome departure from most other ultrabooks, which have sealed-in batteries and no way to extend runtime when a plug isn't handy.

Review of Dell Inspiron 13 7347

Dell has gathered quite a lot of experience with versatile consumer laptops ever since its exotic Dell XPS 1210. But Dell has also previously experimented with the design tested here in its XPS 11 with a smaller screen size.
This Inspiron 13 7347 can be used in four modes owing to its hinge that enables tilting the screen by 360 degrees. These modes allow use as a conventional laptop or a tablet due to the touchscreen, and two somewhat unusual intermediate steps that Dell dubs "Tent" and "Stand."

 Especially Lenovo's Yoga 2 Pro can be seen as the direct contender because it features the same design and an identical configuration. Users who can warm to a different tablet-laptop mix should look closer at Asus' Transformer Book T300LA. Its keyboard dock can be completely disconnected from the tablet. The just recently introduced Lenovo Yoga 3 based on Intel's Broadwell is also exciting in this context. It will, however, very likely play in another price league.

The Dell Inspiron 13 7347 does not look like a member of the less expensive consumer range, and that it does not come from the XPS line. It is allover silver and the brand logo or the keyboard's keys set black contrasts.

The surfaces are rubberized and feature a good grip. Dell does not specify the material, but we assume that plastic is used as supporters due to the dividers inside the base unit. The build is overall very good, and the gaps are narrow.

We naturally paid special attention to the hinges of the Inspiron. They are pulled tightly enough to prevent the display from wobbling too much. Dell does not show any weaknesses here, and the mentioned positions can thus be used well.

The weight of 1.65 kilograms makes the Inspiron unsuitable for holding in the hands for a longer time even in tablet mode. An odd feeling also develops on the lap because the keyboard's keys rest directly on the knees. The convertible is best used on a table or another level surface.

 

Connectivity

Dell does not install any surprises but does not omit anything essential either. However, buyers should be aware that neither a VGA nor Ethernet socket can be expected in this kind of device. There are two USB 3.0 ports on the left, one of which is powered even when the convertible is off. USB 2.0 is also installed in this laptop and finds a place on the right. HDMI and an SD-card reader are also available.

All interfaces are positioned quite far back on both sides. This will please users who want to connect a mouse.

Accessories

 

The only included accessory is the passive stylus that can be inserted into the laptop's right side. Dell also offers an active stylus that allegedly makes even more accurate inputs possible and that features two special buttons. However, it costs just below 50 Euros. 

Warranty

 

At the time of testing, we found contradictory statements about warranty on Dell's website. A one-year on-site warranty was mentioned in the product test, but it had to be added to the order for 70 Euros (~$89). This service can be extended for up to four years, but also for a steep surcharge of 250 Euros (~$319). Excluding this surcharge, the laptop would otherwise only be picked up and repaired in a workshop for twelve months.

Review of Asus N55SL-S1016V Notebook

The SL comes with a 500 GB hard drive and 8 GB of memory. Another major difference compared with the SF is the price. Whereas Asus price-tagged the Asus N55SF-S1124V at EUR 1100 ($1400), the SL is only EUR 900 ($1145). That is reason enough to take a closer look.

 

Connectivity

The SL sports two USB 3.0 ports, but omits FireWire, eSATA and ExpressCard. The subwoofer of Asus N55SL-S1016V Notebook is a small highlight. The ports are distributed on the notebook's left and right sides. Only the 4in1 card reader (MMC/ SD/ MS/ MS Pro) is on the front.

Communication

 

The SL packs an Atheros AR8151 PCIe Gb ethernet controller (10/100/1000MBit) and an Atheros AR9285 (bgn) wifi module. Bluetooth is included, but UMTS is not.

Scope of Delivery

 

The scope of delivery is bigger than usual. In addition to the laptop, the battery and the power adapter, you will also find the aforementioned subwoofer. Asus also includes a matching subwoofer bag and cable ties.

Keyboard

 

Asus still uses the wave keyboard. The keyboard's layout takes some getting used to and may need a lot of patience especially in the beginning. Instead of placing the escape key in the upper left corner, Asus integrates a key for switching between performance profiles here. This leads to frustrating keyboard errors where trying to bring up an in-game menu (usually with the Esc key) instead switches to a low performance profile and causes intense stuttering.

Touchpad

 

The adequately sized touchpad has a pleasant, rubber-coated surface and merges seamlessly into the SL's design. It is integrated so seamlessly that you can quickly slide off the touch-sensitive surface since there is no clear edge. Of course, multi-touch support is included.

Review of Lenovo's N20p Chromebook

The Lenovo N20p laptop is a consumer-friendly alternative, and Lenovo's first Chrome OS not aimed at either business or education buyers. It's a slim, lightweight ultraportable laptop that takes the central idea of a Chromebook -- a low-cost, simple clamshell for online use -- and adds better keyboard and touchpad than Chromebook users may be used to.

The system will be coming to the UK as well, and is listed on Lenovo's UK site, but without price or availability information, but converted pricing would be about £200. As for Australia, no price or release information was available, but converted pricing would be about AU$370.

Much like the Windows laptop line calls Lenovo IdeaPad, the hinge on the N20p folds back past 180 degrees. Unlike fold-back hybrids, it doesn't go all the way back a full 360 degrees, allowing you to use it as a tablet. Instead, like the Flex, it stops, somewhat abruptly, at 300 degrees. That allows you to fold the screen back for use in what we call a kiosk mode, with the screen facing out and the base, keyboard facing down, as a kind of kickstand. It's marginally useful, more so if you're playing videos or presenting PowerPoint presentations, but unlike the Yoga hinge, it's probably not a system-selling feature.

Despite the trick hinge that might not get much use, the N20p is one of the better Chromebooks we've tested. The body is well-made and slim, the keyboard and touchpad are excellent for a budget-priced ultraportable, and the touchscreen, while not as useful in Chrome OS as in Windows 8, is still an occasionally handy extra. Yes, you could pay less for a Chromebook, but you'll be getting less, too.

 

 

Design and features 

 

For a laptop intended to grab the eye of the consumer (compared to Lenovo's better-known conservative business systems), the N20p isn't exactly flashy. A matte black interior is connected via a chunky central hinge to a lid covered with dull grey and a small Google Chrome logo on one side, and edge-to-edge glass over an 11-inch display and wide bezel on the other.

Like many ultraportable laptops, the chassis tapers towards the front, helping it feel thinner than it actually is. The N20p is 0.7 inches (1.8cm) thick and weighs 2.8 pounds (1.3kg), versus 0.87 inches (2.2cm) thick and 3.1 pounds (1.4kg) for the Yoga 11e. That may not seem like much, but in the hand, there's a real difference between the two, and it's obvious which one would be a better daily travel companion in your shoulder bag (unless you're especially accident-prone, in which case consider the tank-like Yoga 11e).

 And Lenovo used that strategy to great effect, crafting one of the sharpest Chromebooks seen yet. However, talk about combining two of the most divisive technologies into a single machine, neither of which seem like much of a fit for Chrome OS. And to think that Lenovo brought even more primo hardware to Google's laptop spec.
 

Review of MSI GT725 laptops

There are currently three editions of the 17-inch gaming device MSI GT725  laptops  in the German-speaking area. While the GT72-2PE16H11BW (SKU5) has a pretty conventional equipment, MSI really goes all in with the GT72-2PE16SR21B (SKU6) and our review configuration GT72-2PE16SR231BW (SKU7). The box not only contains a large (32 x 27 centimeters) mouse pad, but also a keyboard cover, two dog tags and a bulky backpack. The real highlight is the stylish SteelSeries periphery: Besides a headset (Siberia v2), MSI also equips the more expensive configurations with an optical mouse (Kinzu v2).

The new chassis leaves a much better impression than the GT70 in terms of design. Instead of a chaotic mix of materials and shapes, the customer now gets a pretty grown-up design, even though the 17-inch device still has some gaming elements. While the display cover is made of aluminum, the display frame, the keyboard and the bottom cover are made of plastic. The package is completed by a palm rest that appears to be rubberized.

Even though MSI decided to use a matte finish (only the surrounding of the display frame is glossy), the MSI GT725 attracts dirt quite easily at some spots. Both the metal surfaces as well as the palm rest are very sensitive to greasy fingers. Another point of criticism are the hinges, which sometimes create creaking sounds and cannot keep the display perfectly in position during vibrations. 

The GT725 is also competitive in terms of weight. 3.79 kilograms are on one level with the Clevo P170SM-A, whereas the Alienware 17 and the Asus G750JZ are 400-500 grams heavier. Still, we would classify the GT72 as a typical desktop replacement. Other gaming notebooks like MSI's own GS70 are much easier to carry around.

 The communications section reveals two highlights for gamers. Both the network card as well as the wireless adaptor are based on the Killer technology from Qualcomm Atheros (formerly Bigfoot Networking). Killer products benefit from a comprehensive software and are supposed to be optimized for gamers. Besides the transfer rates, the manufacturer claims to improve the latency as well.

Review of Acer Chromebook 13 laptops

Advantages of Acer Chromebook 13 :

 

The Acer Chromebook has a slim design, a high-res 13-inch screen, and a fast Nvidia K1 processor for a graphics and battery boost over other Chromebooks.

One of the nicer-looking and better-performing Chrome OS systems, the 13-inch Acer Chromebook adds some zip by ditching Intel for an Nvidia processor.

Chromebooks are largely cut from the same cloth. Small, lower-resolution screens, minimal onboard storage, low-end Intel CPUs, and modest plastic bodies.
  

Disadvantages of  Acer Chromebook 13:

 

 Like other Acer Chromebooks, offline functionality is extremely limited. The large screen lacks touch input, and the ARM processor presents some compatibility issues, even with online Chrome apps.






The simply named Acer Chromebook 13 drops the common x86 CPU for the ARM-based K1, similar to what one might find in an Android device. The Chromebook 13 gets a few other upscale-feeling tweaks as well, including a decently slim, angular body, a 13.3-inch full-HD 1,920x1,080 display, and excellent battery life. I'd be concerned if these new features were an excuse to drive up prices, but this model, with a very Chromebook-like 2GB of RAM and a 16GB SSD, costs $300 (£220 in the UK, with no Australian availability announced yet) putting it firmly in the middle of the mainstream Chromebook market. 

Design and features of Acer Chromebook 13:

 

The Acer Chromebook 13 laptops  is a plastic laptop, to be sure, but it feels very solidly built, and its matte white design comes off as more minimalist and sophisticated than budget. You won't mistake this for a $1,000 laptop, but it won't get you laughed out of the coffee shop, either.

Google's online "app store" offers a wide variety of apps, such as Pixlr for editing photos, but they're generally web-based tools that simply take you to cloud-based services. For the most part this process works well, but we did run into a few compatibility issues with this Nvidia-powered Chromebook that we did not with Intel versions.

About laptop batteries and laptop chargers

Did you know that one of the most important and complicated decisions you can make in http://www.laptop-battery.org.uk is choosing the correct battery charging system for your boat? Charging your laptop batteries is a simple process of driving electrical currents into your battery in the reverse direction as the discharge occurred. Although rechargable battery packs can be a simple process, many things do factor into your decision and play a roll in choosing the proper charger.
The goal of our experts is to help you make an informed decision when you replace or add an on-board charging system to your vessel. You are adding value to your boat by having an on-board battery charger. In addition, these chargers also offer you the convenience and the ability to charge multiple batteries at the same time. You no longer will need to drag out a portable battery charger every time your Lithium-ion battery need to be charging. Maintaining your MSI laptop battery will be as easy as plugging in your boat to any 110 volt outlet.
The first step in the process is to identify what type of batteries you have on board your watercraft. You will need to look for some specifics about the batteries you are wishing to incorporate into the charging system. You will need to determine the following:
- Voltage
- Battery type
- Amp-hour capacity
Typically, in the marine world, you will be dealing with 12-volt systems. The battery's capacity is usually listed on the battery as "ah" or amp hour. Marine batteries will be one of the following types:
- Flooded/wet cell lead acid
- Starved electrolyte AMG
- Maintenance free  

MSI BTY-M66 Laptop Battery

10.8V, 488mAh

MSI gx720Laptop Battery
10.8V,7200mAh

MSI  laptop Chargers typically come in single, double, triple and quadruple bank systems and should have independent outputs to charge each battery separately. The battery industry recommends charging your battery at approximately 15-20 percent of its capacity. For example, a 100-amp hour battery would be best charged at 15-20 amps. For your safety, be sure the battery charger you buy is UL listed to Marine 1236 standards and FCC compliant. If you choose a charger that is too large or small for your batteries it could damage them and decrease the life by overheating, gassing and causing excessive water loss.
Depending on what type of boating you enjoy, you will need to make sure your on-board charger's waterproof housing is designed for fresh and/or salt water. It is also important that you make sure it is vibration resistant and incorporates built-in reverse polarity protection. To prevent boil over or your battery over-heating, be sure the charger you purchase has an automatic temperature compensation, this feature adjust output depending on the temperature to assure a fast full charge in any weather conditions. We suggest getting a charger that will charge in three stages typically these stages are:
- Bulk or quick charge mode - gets your batteries charged quickly
- Absorption stage - brings your batteries to a full charge
- Maintenance or trickle charge - keeps your batteries charged and protects batteries
 

MSI BTY-M66 Laptop AC Adapter

• Input: AC 100~240V 50~60Hz
• Output Voltage: 19 V
• Output Current: DC 4.74 A
• Power: 90 W
• Connector: 5.5mm*2.5mm

MSI GX720 Laptop AC Adapter

• Input: AC 100~240V 50~60Hz
• Output Voltage: 19 V
• Output Current: DC 3.42 A
• Power: 65 W
• Connector: 5.5mm*2.5mm

Review of Apple MacBook Pro with Retina Display

Advantages of Apple MacBook Pro with Retina Display  :

 

The 2014 15-inch Apple MacBook Pro offers excellent performance and a better-than-HD screen, plus a boost to its specs for the same price as last year's model.

The entry-level 13-inch and 15-inch Retina models each doubled the included RAM, from 4GB to 8GB for the 13-inch, and 8GB to 16GB for the 15-inch. Both of those models also received a slightly faster CPU, with the 15-inch model reviewed here going from a 2.0GHz Intel Core i7 to a 2.2GHz Core i7, but still from the same generation of Intel Core i-series processors (newer CPUs are expected from Intel late this year).

 Disadvantages of Apple MacBook Pro with Retina Display:

 

 There's very little new here beyond minor component upgrades, and the entry-level 15-inch Pro is the same price as before, even while several other MacBooks have seen $100 cuts. Higher-resolution screens are no longer a unique feature.

Design and features 

 

The exterior design of the MacBook Pro remains unchanged since the 2013 model we reviewed (and essentially unchanged from the 2012 original, as well), so much of the analysis we wrote for the previous model remains unchanged.
This laptop is slim, but with an expansive footprint, and it feels denser than it looks at first glance. The 15-inch MacBook Pro isn't exactly a carry-all-day-every-day package, although one could tote it around to and from work, or on day trips without much trouble.

The large glass trackpad, with its multifinger gestures, remains the industry leader, even as Windows laptops move to more touchscreen controls, at least partially to compensate for the hassle of using a touch pad with Windows 8. The ability to do easy four-finger swipes, and the no-lag scrolling in Web browsers, is something Mac users always been able to brag about to PC users. That said, some basic settings, such as tap-to-click, really should be turned on by default. Instead, I had to go into the settings menus and tweak the touchpad and accessibility settings to get the touchpad set up exactly how I like it.

 

 The keyboard and trackpad remain essentially the same as seen on the last several generations of MacBook. Other laptops have matched, but not surpassed, the backlit Apple keyboard, with the possible exception of Lenovo, a company as involved with keyboard research and development as any.

The 15-inch Retina Display remains a main selling point, and Apple now uses the Retina branding on the iPhone and iPad as well. Some Windows laptops now go for even higher resolutions, and it's not unreasonable to ask when we'll see this trickle down to the MacBook Air line, perhaps in the form of a rumored 12-inch higher-resolution model. The Retina screen has a 2,880x1,800-pixel display, and is at its best when displaying text or professional photography. Videos rarely go past 1080p, and most Mac games can't display higher resolutions to begin with.

Review of Toshiba Portégé Z30t-A-10X Ultrabook

Display:

The 13.3-inch display shows a constant resolution of 1,920 x 1,080 pixels (166 ppi). The resulting improved sharpness and additional work space are features one does not want to miss after short time. Admittedly, the ThinkPad X1 Carbon impresses with 2,560 x 1,440 pixels (221 ppi). However, this high resolution has rather limited practical use - also because button icons of many programs cannot be scaled easily anymore.

The second innovation, the capacitive touchscreen,  should be considered more skeptically. On the one hand, one can ask whether a touchscreen is really necessary for a business laptop. That is an individual decision everyone has to make. On the other hand, the touchscreen function asks for compromises concerning the display: the screen which Toshiba calls "anti-glare" is rather a combination of normal glare and anti-glare display. Besides, sliding properties of the slightly shining coating are not really convincing. These negative aspects are however not entirely due to Toshiba, but rather a general problem of such displays.

 

 With that in mind, the Toshiba Portege Z30t that we are focusing on today is not entirely new: already at the end of 2013 we tested the compact business ultrabook, back then called Portege Z30. The new model with the "t" is based on the same chassis, but offers a full HD display with touchscreen function. In comparison with the basic version, both weight and thickness are therefore slightly increased, which is unfortunately also the case for the price: our test device with a Core i7-4500U, 8 GB RAM, 256-GB-SSD and LTE module costs around 1,550€, corresponding to around 100€ extra charge. 

Performance:  
 The Intel Core i7-4500U of the Portege Z30t is the same dual Core CPU that has already been used in the Z30. Unfortunately, Toshiba does not implement the slightly higher clocked successor i7-4510U. At the same time, the 1.8 - 3.0 GHz  4500U allows for respectable performance values, which are next to the high (turbo-)clock speed mainly due to the pro-MHz performance of the Haswell architecture. Power intake of the ULV chips is rated with only 15 Watt TDP, which is meant to reduce noise generation and temperature increase.

Processor:  
In order for the Core i7-4500U to provide the expected performance, the available Turbo Boost (1 core: 3.0 GHz, 2 cores: 2.7 GHz) has to be optimally used. While this works in an exemplary manner for the Portege Z30, the Z30t shows surprising weak points: the single-thread test of the Cinebench R11.5 is perfromed with only 2.8 GHz, the multi-thread benchmark only with 2.2 GHz. Accordingly, scores are rather bad - other notebooks with identical processor work up to 20% faster. The change between different energy profiles or the way power is supplied (battery/grid operation) does not influence clock speeds or benchmark results. 

Review of MSI GS70 Stealth

Advantages of MSI GS70 Stealth:

 1. The MSI GS70 Stealth looks great, for a gaming laptop, and combines powerful hardware and a generous HDD/SSD combo into a slim body.
2.  Making small performance trade-offs to fit into a slim, attractive 17-inch body.
3. Longer MSI laptop battery  life: can work as long as 5 hours after fully charged.

 Disadvantages of MSI GS70 Stealth:

Gaming performance is a step down from the very top of the line, despite the high price. The lack of a touch screen makes it harder to use as an everyday Windows 8 laptop. Despite loud fans, the GS70 gets very hot when gaming.  

Design and features of MSI GS70 Stealth:
The design of the MSI GS70 owes a lot, in some respects, to the classic 17-inch MacBook Pro. That discontinued model, like this one, contrasts a large screen with a thin body, and uses a subtle, mostly frill-free outer shell to further deemphasize the body's large footprint. MSI claims this is the world's thinnest and lightest 17-inch gaming laptop, and the extended surface area makes it feel lighter than its 5.8 pounds (2.6kg).

The keyboard is a system highlight. It's branded by accessory maker Steelseries, and feels great, considering it's a flat-topped island-style keyboard, which isn't always everyone's favorite for gaming. The keys are large enough to hit cleanly, there's no flex even under heavy typing, and the bundled Steelseries software allows you to customize the multicolored backlights under the keys, and even assign many different macros to keys for different games. 

 
The interior of the system is also minimalist, with only a large power button sitting above the keyboard in a wide patch of empty space. If anything, there's too much negative space, and I would have liked to see some dedicated multimedia keys, such as volume controls -- something gaming laptops almost never have, despite a clear need.

The large touchpad, like most modern designs, is a clickpad-style pad, with no separate left and right mouse buttons. For gaming, you'll probably be using a mouse or game pad almost exclusively, but the pad is fine for everyday Web surfing -- although letting a finger drag near the right edge too often accidentally kicked up the Windows 8 charms bar.
 
Connections, performance, and battery of MSI GS70 Stealth :

One of the best things about using a 17-inch desktop replacement laptop is the wide range of ports and connections available to you. Despite the slim body, MSI still manages to pack in a lot, including four USB 3.0 ports, HDMI, and dual mini-DisplayPort connections. Even better, the system can drive all three video outputs simultaneously for a big multimonitor view.

Review of Samsung ATIV Book 9 2014 Edition

Generally, Samsung ATIV Book 9 2014 Edition has a rare big-screen ultrabook and a premium price. 


Advantages of  Samsung ATIV Book 9 2014 Edition:
1.It is an attractive aluminum-clad 15.6-inch laptop made for mobility with a body that's less than 4.5 pounds, barely more than 0.5 inch thick, and all-day battery life. Its backlit keyboard and large touchpad are generally excellent as is its 1080p-resolution LCD.

2. Samsung's Ativ Book 9 (2014 Edition) certainly looks and feels the part of a premium ultrabook.

3.And that's really the story here with the Book 9 2014 Edition: It's a perfect laptop if you're after more screen space without entirely giving up the thin-and-light body of smaller ultrabooks.  

4.A big-screen ultrabook with a long, long Samsung battery life, the Samsung Ativ Book 9 2014 Edition delivers a high-end laptop experience

Disadvantages of  Samsung ATIV Book 9 2014 Edition: :
Given its more than $1,550 price, you may be disappointed by its lack of discrete graphics and smallish 128GB solid-state drive for storage.

The Samsung  Ativ Book 9 doesn't blend in with the sea of silver Windows ultrabooks that are available, but the gray-black aluminum doesn't scream, "Look at me!", either. The laptop alone weighs only 4.4 pounds (2 kg) and measures 14.7 inches wide by 9.8 inches deep by 0.6 inch thick (37.3 by 24.9 by 1.5 cm).
The gentle curves at the back have just enough room for its full-size HDMI and three USB ports (one USB 2.0 and two USB 3.0) as well as a headphone/mic jack, security slot, and small inputs for Ethernet and VGA out that require dongles to use (the former is included, the latter will set you back $40). An SD card slot is behind a spring-loaded door on just under the curve on the right side. 

 The backlit keyboard of Samsung ATIV Book 9 is nice, too. The larger body gave Samsung laptop room for a spacious keyboard with no awkwardly sized keys and each has a curved key cap, which Samsung says cushions finger tips. Typing does feel soft without being mushy and there's a fair amount of travel despite the shallow body.


The touchpad is large and generally responsive, though occasionally it seemed to pause while scrolling or dragging a finger across it. The surface does have a bit too much drag for my liking, which could have contributed to this. However, I didn't experience any cursor jumping and it ignored dragged palms.

How To Get The Best Laptop Battery Life

Take a look at our top tips for getting the most life out of your notebook off the plug; we review everything from screen brightness to wireless card usage.

Here are some tips to teach you how to  increase your laptop battery life:

1.Reduce Your Screen Brightness

The most notable consumer of power in a notebook computer is the screen. Notebook makers have alleviated this somewhat in recent years by switching from CCFL backlighting units to LED, but the fact remains.
First, here’s how to adjust your screen brightness in Windows 7 and 8/8.1:

• In the system Tray, click the power plug/battery icon
• When the pop-up appears, click More power options
• The next screen will show you the available power plans; the one that’s currently selected will be bolded. Click the Change plan settings link next to it
• Now you’re looking at settings specific to your current power plan. The power plan has different settings depending on whether you’re using AC power or on battery. Move the Adjust plan brightness slider to the desired position for On battery mode and then click the Save changes button to apply your settings.

We suggest you begin by moving the slider all the way to the left (minimum brightness) for the On li-ion laptop battery settings and moving it up bit by bit until it’s comfortable. Remember to keep the brightness as low as you can because even reducing screen brightness by 10 percent can significantly extend how long your notebook lasts unplugged.
One brightness setting will not fit all situations; you may have to increase the brightness in a sunlit room to make the screen usable, for example.

2.Avoid Resource-Intensive Activities
Two other leading consumers of electric power in a notebook computer are the processor (CPU; Central Processing Unit) and the graphics card (GPU; Graphics Processing Unit). The processors and graphics cards used in notebook computers are specially designed to be most efficient at lower power states; they can throttle back their operating frequency (GHz) and voltage to very low levels. They’re only able to do this however when the user is not running strenuous activities that require significant processing power. Strenuous activities include but aren’t limited to the following:

• Photo and video editing
• Playing video games including 3D and Flash/browser-based games
• Playing video, especially HD

The CPU and/or GPU will use more power while performing the activities above. Here are examples of activities that require very little processing power for modern computers:

• Web browsing (standard; non-Flash-based websites)
• Word processing
• Music playback

In other words, try to plan what you’re going to do on your notebook in advance while on battery.

Review of Toshiba Tecra Z50 A-12K laptop

 

Advantages: The slim, lightweight Toshiba Tecra Z50 A-12K laptop still feels very premium, and it deserves credit for being one of the first Windows laptops to feature a better-than-HD display. Thanks to an updated CPU, Toshiba battery life is now good enough for all-day use. It is slim and always stays cool. Should the bosses give it an open-ended contract as soon as possible? We will clarify that in this review of the business laptop.

The material has not been changed and thus everything still has a high-quality feel here. The casing's silver-gray color merges seamlessly in every surrounding. It is well built and features an all-over high-quality feel.

 Disadvantages: Higher-res screens are more common now, and available for less. The generic brushed-metal look isn't particularly distinctive given the price.  

The screen of Toshiba Tecra Z50 A-12K is not as pliable as in the smaller model, and the base unit is just as rigid. The keyboard is still a bit too yielding though. The hinges have a fairly firm hold on the display, but they cannot prevent slight wobbles.

No compromises have to be made in the diversity of interfaces despite the slim and light casing. A Gigabit LAN port, HDMI and VGA out are all available in their full size and without a foldout mechanism. Some users will perhaps miss an ExpressCard slot, or a DisplayPort. However, a total of four USB ports are installed, three of which support the USB 3.0 standard.

Roughly 10 months later, the second-gen Kirabook aims to correct at least a few of these missteps, and thanks to a new processor and some adjustments to features and prices, it feels like a much better machine, despite offering no overhaul of the physical design. 

As mentioned, a Gigabit LAN port is just as available as a Wi-Fi module that also supports the newest 802.11 ac standard. Thus, high-speed wireless networks with a data throughput of up to 1300 Mbps are possible. Mobile Internet is also available and supports the swift LTE standard.

Toshiba does not offer many special accessories for its Tecra Z50 A-12K. Nothing but the power supply, a few instructions and descriptions are found in the box.

The port replicator that we described in the review of the Toshiba Tecra Z40 A-147 notebook costs 249 Euros (~$338). It adds six USB ports, a DisplayPort, a DVI port and extended audio ports.

 

Review of Asus UX32LA-R3025H laptops

Asus Zenbook line is continually growing. In the meantime, the premium and at the same time mobile ultrabooks from Asus are available in the most different configurations. For example, with Intel's integrated HD graphics in the ASUS UX32LA-R3025H or with a dedicated Nvidia graphics chip from the latest generation, together with a Full HD screen in the UX32LN-R4053H for 200 Euros more that we recently tested. All Zenbook family members have the newest processor technology, a high-quality aluminum build, and slim dimensions for mobile use in common.

In addition to the economic Intel Core i5 4200U with an integrated Intel HD graphics and a 13.3-inch screen, Asus' Zenbook UX32LA-R3025H has even further tidbits. Besides a swift 128 GB SSD, the ultrabook can fall back on 8 GB of working memory, and a long-lasting 50 Wh battery with good runtimes.

Another advantage of this construction is found in the casing's stability and rigidity. It is not possible to dent or significantly warp the Zenbook's surface even with stronger pressure. This is also true for the display protected by an aluminum back.

 
 Just like the other members of the Zenbook family, the ASUS UX32LA laptop only provides an average interface diversity in all its configurations: three USB 3.0 ports, an SD card reader, and an audio jack. The Ethernet port is only included in the form of an adapter cable - likely because almost everyone uses Wi-FI at home or on the move nowadays. As to video-out, an HDMI port is combined with an adjacent mini-DisplayPort out. Consequently, the Zenbook can also deal with 4K material. An older VGA port is no longer installed, but an adapter cable is also included for this version.


 

Besides a slim, 65-watt power supply and the usual brochures, the UX32LA-R302H comes with both a VGA adapter for the mini-DisplayPort and and Ethernet adapter for a USB port. Asus also includes a small, yet high-quality sleeve. It not only looks good, it also protects the Zenbook from scratches and light shocks.

Asus installs a 13.3-inch screen with a native resolution of only 1366 x 768 pixels in this configuration of the Zenbook UX32LA. The resulting pixel density of not quite 118 ppi is of course higher than in 15-inch models, but considerably lower than in devices with a Full HD screen. The pixel density would be at least 165 ppi here, and would make a much sharper image possible. 1920 x 1080 pixels should be standard in 800 Euro ultrabooks, and also certainly offer the best value for money ratio. Other models also sport a 2K resolution, or even 3200 x 1800 pixels as in the case of Samsung's ATIV Book 9 Plus 940X3G. This is almost a bit exaggerated in a 13.3-inch device, especially since these pixel densities only lead to a marginally noticeable quality improvement, but a considerably higher price.

Review of Toshiba Satellite P50t and Toshiba laptop batteries

Advantages: The Toshiba Satellite P50t has a full 4K touchscreen display that looks great. High-end components make this a practical premium laptop, even without the special screen.

Toshiba makes many different versions of the Satellite P50 series, but only one specific configuration has the 4K display, along with an Intel Core i7 CPU, 16GB of RAM, a 1TB HDD, and an AMD R9 M265X GPU. It's a powerful set of components for mainstream use, but you need that kind of muscle to run smooth 4K video streams, as we discovered when reviewing the 4K-friendly Apple Mac Pro desktop. Toshiba takes a solid premium 15-inch laptop and adds a great-looking 4K touchscreen while keeping the price reasonable.

Disadvantages: There's little real-world need for this right now, and most photo or video pros are tied to the Mac ecosystem. It's hard to find good 4K content, and the AMD GPU can't play current games at 4K. 

 
The screen of Toshiba Satellite P50t notebook looks amazing, and the system includes a handy app for switching between several presets highlighting different color temperatures and display settings. There's a case to be made for future-proofing with a 4K screen, as long as you're already thinking of buying a premium 15-inch laptop with a powerful CPU/GPU combo and planning to spend about this much anyway. 

It's a bit of an indulgence to be sure, but because the Satellite P50t is a very good upscale midsize laptop even without the 4K screen, it edges just over the line into recommended territory.

Design and features 

The big body gives you the ability to have a generously sized keyboard, a full separate number pad, and a large touchpad. Typing was solid, and there was little keyboard flex, although I still dislike Toshiba's penchant for very short space bars, which led to typing errors for me. The only other thing on the otherwise spartan interior surface is a backlit power button in the upper-right corner. 

The real star here is the 15.6-inch 4K resolution touchscreen display. The native resolution of the screen is 3,840x2,160, the same as 4K TVs. We've seen a lot of better-than-HD laptops lately, from Retina MacBook Pros to systems from Lenovo and Razer with 3,200x1,800 screens, but this is the highest native resolution I've seen on a laptop to date. Other 4K models will no doubt follow (including the one already promised by Lenovo), but until there's a lot more 4K content available -- plus a palpable consumer demand for it -- it will remain a bit of a gimmick for most of the marketplace, outside of a handful of photo and video professionals .

Ports and connections

	Toshiba Satellite P50t
Video	HDMI
Audio	Stereo speakers, headphone/microphone jacks
Data	4 USB 3.0, SD card reader
Networking	Ethernet, 802.11n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth
Optical drive	DVD burner

Connections, performance, and battery

The key selling point of the insanely expensive Mac Pro desktop was its ability to output several video streams (including 4K video) simultaneously. Here, there's a single HDMI output in addition to the built-in display. That HDMI output does, however, support 4K as well. 

Video of Toshiba Laptop Batteries: