Laptop Thoughts: News & Reviews on Laptops, Netbooks, Slates, and More.

"In addition to the new $249 Nook Tablet revealed this morning at a press event in New York City, Barnes & Noble announced a new price drop to $99 and a software update for the Nook Simple Touch eReader."

Part of the Nook Tablet announcement this morning was the release of the Nook Simple Touch E-ink reader. The Simple Touch is an updated version of the Nook Touch. It comes with an improved screen touted by Barnes and Noble as the "most advanced E-ink display" and updated software.

The Simple Touch is now available at bn.com for $99, down $40 from $139. This price drop brings the Barnes and Noble's offering in line with the ad supported Kindle Touch E-ink reader. The update is available to older Touch owners and can be found at www.nook.com/update.

"The Transformer Prime, with its quad-core silicon and tasty OS, has rightfully garnered much attention lately. A PowerPoint deck detailing ASUS' Q3 earnings now gives us a peek at its Eee Pad strategy -- confirming the aforementioned Prime's November 9th release date, while also promising two more bot-powered slates in the first quarter of 2012."

Looking at the accompanying information from ASUS, translated into English (somewhere), and then extracted from a German-language site, the news is about an ASUS Transformer Prime, followed by an ASUS PadFone and a variant on the Eee Pad Slider. Two (2) Windows 8 tablets (Eee Slate E121 and the Eee Slate Business B121) are scheduled to be available in the autumn of 2012, giving ASUS two tablet technologies (consumer *and* business) in the marketplace.

The Transformer Prime looks to have NVIDIA's new Tegra 3 quad-core processor, a 10-inch display, 14.5-hour battery run time, and should run Android's newest OS. The current Transformer is a very solid tablet, and these updates should be welcomed by its fans.

ASUS estimates that it will sell roughly 1.8-million tablets in 2011, with an additional estimate of 600K still to be sold/delivered in Q4 2011 in addition to the 1.2-million sold to date. While the news is (and dates are) a bit contradictory in translation, we can expect some new competitors to the iPad from ASUS.

Just a quick reminder that our giveaway contest to win a set of Audioengine A5+ speakers (valued at $399) wraps up on Friday at noon, so enter now!

"It’s no secret that replacing your notebook’s hard drive with a solid state disk can dramatically transform your computing experience. With even last year’s SSDs, tasks such as opening large files or starting bulky applications take mere moments to complete. And if you own a notebook powered by one of Intel’s 2nd Generation Core Series CPUs, you’re in for a whole new world of fast, courtesy of SATA III, a high-speed interface Intel included in its new chipsets starting in 2011."

One of the secrets of enhancing computer performance is to remove bottlenecks, and a few years ago the biggest (and cheapest) way to gain added performance was to add memory. Today, memory seems to be no longer an issue, so we've moved on to the venerable hard drive as the point where data flow slows down. As SSD prices drop, expect to see the hard drive start to go the way of other past drives, and be replaced all or in part by solid state drives. We already are starting to see hybrid (multi-drive) systems, where the boot (OS and programs) drive is an SSD, and day-to-day data is still stored on a spinning drive.

This review tests SATA III SSDs from Samsung, Intel, OCZ and Patriot, and they also do an interesting comparison on cost per gigabyte, ranging from $1.53 (OCZ 240GB) to $2.31 (Intel 120GB). Retail prices are expected to be lower. Their comparison hard drive was a 500GB 7,200rpm model, but at a significantly lower cost per GB. The tests are interesting, and the SSDs perform as expected, with Samsung's 830 winning the shootout (cost today $229 for 128GB and $429 for 256GB).

Please note that these performance tests were done on laptops with Intel's current chipsets (supporting SATA III). Older systems will not see this performance.

I may be selling these sites and working full time for HTC now, but who says I can't have a little more fun giving away a great prize before I go? Last week I posted about the new Audioengine A5+ powered desktop speakers; the generous folks at Audioengine have offered up a set of these new speakers for a contest. With dual inputs (3.5mm and RCA, the latter of which is easily converted to an addition 3.5mm input with a cable) and a USB charging port, the A5+ speakers are a great companion to an endless variety of devices: desktop computers, laptop computers, tablets, smartphones, and yes, even the humble Zune. Ringing in at $399 USD, these are high-quality speakers that I guarantee will blow you away.

How do you win this contest? Simply post a comment to this discussion thread (one entry per person) telling me what your current audio solution for speakers is and how the Audioengine A5+ speakers will be better. One winner will be randomly selected from amongst all the entries and they'll get to chose either a set of black or white A5+ speakers. Due to the size and weight of this prize, it will only be shipped within the continental USA. The contest will remain open until Friday the 28th at 12 PM mountain time (GMT -7).

Best of luck everyone, and I look forward to reading some interesting entries. :-)

UPDATE: The contest is now over, and the winner is ITforSmallBiz. Thanks to everyone for entering!

"The Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus tablet with Android 3.2 Honeycomb is available for pre-order on Amazon.Eager customers can now place their pre-orders for Samsung’s Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus on Amazon. The device cost $399 for the 16GB model, and $499 for the 32GB version. Shipping dates have not yet been announced."

I think that Samsung will find it tough going competing against the Kindle Fire, especially for twice the price, even though this Wifi-only tablet sports Android 3.2, a 1024x600 touchscreen, front and rear-facing cameras, a 1.2GHz dual-core processor and 1GB of RAM. I travel a lot, and regularly perform (admittedly very unscientific) tallies of the types of devices that I see at airports, on airplanes, in coffee shops and restaurants, etc; and I really haven't seen many 7-inch tablets (Kindle readers, yes), so this market segment has room to grow.

"Windows users don't need to hide in shame whenever they see someone whip out a MacBook Air at the local Starbucks. The ASUS Zenbook UX31 is a slim, stylish Ultrabook that not only packs a robust Core i5 processor and 128GB SSD into its 3-pound unibody aluminum chassis, but a high-res 1600 x 900 display and excellent audio."

Finally, an ultrabook that challenges the MacBook Air (MBA). Higher (1600x900) resolution, but not quite as good with viewing angles. Keyboard is flat, effective, but required harder touches to get keys to register. The large touchpad needs work. Cooling is excellent. Better audio, but the bass vibrates the deck of the UX31. Boot and wake slower than the MBA, but better than other Windows systems. More ports, but some compromises. Processor robust, but topped in the reported benchmarks by the MBA. Graphics performance slightly less than reported by the MBA. Battery life good, but, again, not as good as the MBA. But, starting at $200 less than the MBA, and with a larger screen, my impression is that the hardware is excellent, but that the software (mostly drivers) still needs some work. The MacBook Air still leads, but the competition is narrowing the gap. If I need a Windows laptop, this one definitely goes on my short list.

"Amazon did more than just throw down the gauntlet when it announced its $200 Kindle Fire tablet, the e-tailer may have also scared off some of the competition altogether. Oddly enough, the Kindle Fire might actually help Microsoft increase its presence in the mobile market, as OEMs look to Windows 8-based slates in order to avoid a price war among Android tablets."

Interesting conjecture, that rather than trying to continue to compete in the cut-throat Android tablet space, some manufacturers are considering switching to (building) Windows 8 tablets to target more "business" customers. RIM tried this with the PlayBook, but with a product that was great in concept, but short on execution. Even current Android tablet makers are cutting prices to try to compete with Amazon. But $199?

Dell and HP are two manufacturers mentioned by name, with Dell maybe a real possibility, but HP seems to have totally lost credibility in the market with the TouchPad debacle. Months back, I ordered an HP Slate 500 tablet running Windows 7 when it was announced, but gave up and cancelled my order after they couldn't deliver a tablet more than two months after it was supposedly shipping. And, it was $799, not $199.

The Kindle Fire is going to be a game changer, if Amazon can meet the demand. I've got an iPhone and an iPad, but I ordered one, just because.

"Available tomorrow to Rogers customers, the HTC Jetstream is the first HTC tablet running on the Android™ 3.1 (Honeycomb) operating system. Beyond blazing speeds, it also boasts a striking design, HTC Scribe™ digital ink technology and the latest in HTC Sense innovation - HTC's unique user experience that puts people at the centre."

HTC and Rogers have officially announced the HTC Jetstream. This nicely loaded Honeycomb tablet will be available in Canada starting tomorrow for $500 on "select three year plans". As far as hardware goes, it has a 1.5GHz dual-core Snapdragon CPU, 10.1" 1280x800 Super LCD screen, 8MP rear camera, 1.3MP front camera, 1GB of RAM, 32GB of built-in storage and a MicroSDHC card slot. It supports Rogers gsm, HSPA, and LTE. One thing that I really like about it is the fact that it has a 7300mAH battery! That should give some descent battery life. One thing I'm not sure I like is the fact that it has some form of Sense on it and it only has Honeycomb 3.1, not the latest 3.2. While it supports the HTC Scribe stylus it will cost you an extra $80. Follow the "Read more" link to see the full press release.

The Jetstream looks like a very nice Android tablet. I would want to play with the interface a little before picking one up but I like the hardware HTC put in it! What are your thoughts on the HTC Jetstream? Will this be your next Android device?

Read more...

"Amazon could be on track to ship as many as 5 million Kindle Fire tablets in the fourth quarter, according to an analyst who tracks the market."

Impressive pre-order numbers bode well for the Kindle Fire tablet. Predictions for sales have already risen from 4M to 5M, according to one analyst. This is a little under half of what Apple expects to ship in the same time period. Apple ships about 12M iPad 2 tablets per quarter, according to this same analyst. Kindle Fire shipping is expected to begin around November 15th. The biggest reported gotcha is a potential shortage of 7-inch displays, with ASUS and HTC also competing for a (currently) limited supply. I've pre-ordered mine, and now we wait!

"Windows 8 tablets are just around the corner but and tablet maker Kupa is showing off the X11 running the upcoming operating systems. It was great to play around with a tablet that has Windows 8 navigation up and running."

Interesting to see Windows 8 and the new Metro UI running (and running pretty well for a prototype) on a tablet. Retailing starting at $699, the 900 gram, 10.1-inch X11 sports an Intel Atom processor, a 1366x768 semi-gloss high-res screen, 2GB RAM, front and rear cameras, a nice collection of ports, and a 64GB SSD. For $999 (or $799 per the video) the X11 adds 3G service, and ups the SSD to 128GB. No details were provided on availability, or on a critical component, battery life. To me, the X11 looked a bit bulky (thick), and a bit unwieldy, but again, it's a prototype, not a finished product. Thoughts?

"The Audioengine 5+ (A5+) active speakers deliver audiophile-quality sound and features at a price that continues to set the standard for affordable high-quality audio. Connect your iDevice, computer, TV, or any other audio component for great stereo sound. The goal of Audioengine is to give our customers a high-end listening experience at affordable prices with easy to use, high-quality products. The Audioengine 5 powered speaker system was Audioengine's flagship model and has become a best seller, winning numerous awards along the way. The new A5+ incorporates the same award-winning design as the original A5 but includes customer-requested upgrades and features."

Bar none, Audioengine makes the best speakers I've heard at any similar price point. They simply sound incredible - I reviewed the original A5's back in 2007, and they still sound as good today as they did back then (actually, even better since I bought an Audioengine S8 subwoofer and added it to the mix). With the built-in 3.5mm input jack, they make a great accessory for smartphones, MP3 players, laptops, tablets, etc. I love the sound of AudioEngine speakers so much I have three pairs of their smaller A2 units in my home office. You get the point. :-) AudioEngine's release of the new A5+ speakers brings with it a $50 price increase, making them a pricey accessory at $399, but a set of speakers like this will last for years, through multiple computer upgrades.

What's new about the A5+ over the previous A5's? To quote Audioengine, "advance tuned cabinet with rear-ported waveguide, improved thermal management, upgraded speaker connector binding posts,remote control, variable preamp line out, RCA and mini-jack inputs, and new stand-mount 1/4" threaded inserts". I don't see anything in that list that would make me want to replace my A5's, but if I buy another set of speakers, I'll take a serious look at the A5+ speakers.

"As far as tablets go, a couple of interesting things are going to happen between now and the holiday season. One, we're going to see a glut of smaller 7- and 8-inch tablets running Honeycomb (like this, this and this) hit the market. And if the Kindle Fire and Acer Iconia Tab A100 are any indication, they're going to be cheaper, making slates palatable to folks who previously couldn't bring themselves to spend $500 on a plaything. The Archos 80 G9, then, is the perfect specimen on both counts."

A surprisingly good, solid wifi-only tablet for the money, and it's sporting Android Honeycomb 3.2 (nearly pristine) rather than Gingerbread (2.x) as found on most tablets with a smaller form factor. A very good 1024x768 display (with a very useful kickstand) that can actually be seen outdoors, and a decent processor and battery life (for this smaller size) are the highlights. Negatives are a tinny sound, and a relatively poor 720p front-facing camera. Also offered is an HDD option with a 250GB drive, and a 4GB flash drive for the OS. Prices are $300 for an 8GB version, $320 for a 16GB version, and $370 for the 250GB HDD + Flash version. Nice to see that prices are realistic for potential buyers that are not willing to spend more for a tablet.

Now dubbed the "ZENBOOK", the much-anticipated UX21 and UX31 ultrabooks are coming very soon - as in, available for order tomorrow. Woot! I'm really excited about this personally, because I've been looking for a new laptop for quite a long time now. The UX31 looks like it's exactly what I'm looking for, though I'm reluctant to drop $1500 on one until I read a review or two. Asus has a good track record with recent laptops, so I'm cautiously optimistic this will be a solid product. What about you? Are you getting an ultrabook?

Full press release after the break. Read more...

"While most Android tablets make due with a touch keyboard, for many typists a set of virtual keys just doesn't cut it. It's for these users that ASUS has designed the Eee Pad Slider SL101, the first 10-inch Android tablet with a slide-out QWERTY keyboard. The $479 Eee Pad Slider also features a bright IPS screen, a full-size USB port (for attaching a storage drive or mouse), and a sleek soft-touch chassis. But do these goodies justify the 2.1-pound weight? And just how good is the typing experience?"

For those that prefer physical keyboards, ASUS has heard you! The Eee Pad Slider is larger and heavier than both the Samsung Galaxy Tab, and the ASUS Eee Pad Transformer (without the keyboard), but add a keyboard and the Slider is lighter. The wide bezel around the glossy IPS screen allows for a larger (but still smaller than a netbook) keyboard, and includes dedicated numeric keys. It is also possible to attach a mouse to better approximate a laptop. One point to note is that there is no palmrest, so support for the wrists is lacking, and no built-in pointing device.

If you do a lot of text entry, this is a good tablet choice, but if not, there are better (lighter, and less expensive) options.

"The computer industry is in a constant state of tension between local and distributed computing. On one extreme is the desktop computer with terabytes of storage, a powerful CPU and GPU, and huge tracts of RAM-but which mostly restricts users to direct local access. On the other end are smartphones, tablets, netbooks, and other thin-client devices that rely on cloud storage and constant data access to make up for their lack of oomph, but which allow users to access their data from anywhere. Both types of computing have their advantages, and both can benefit hugely from a home server or other network-attached storage (NAS) device."

MaximumPC reviewed and rated four (4) NAS configurations, and rated them as follows (barebones cost and rating in parenthesis): Promise SmartStor NS4700 ($850, 7); Synology DS411+II ($700, 8); Buffalo TeraStation Pro Quad ($1200, but with four 1TB drives pre-installed, 5); QNAP TS-459 Pro II ($950, 9).

The QNAP TS-459 Pro II wins easily, followed by the Synology DS411+II. If you need vast amounts of storage, you really can't go wrong with any of the four, although the Buffalo TeraStation Pro Quad suffers from wonky software and bad write performance. An alternative for Windows users is Windows Home Server. I've got a couple portable USB-powered backup drives at 1GB each, and alternate backups between them, so I guess that I've got my own cheap guy equivalent (RAID -1 ?) for a lot less money, but, if you need serious, reliable backup horsepower, then these are some fine options!

"Last week NVIDIA provided an update on its Tegra SoC roadmap. Kal-El, its third generation SoC (likely to launch as Tegra 3) has been delayed by a couple of months. NVIDIA originally expected the first Kal-El tablets would arrive in August, but now it's looking like sometime in Q4."

NVIDIA's Kal-El generation of processors has been delayed, so "Tegra3" tablets are now not expected until sometime in Q4 2011, with subsequent generations pushed back into 2012 and 2013. Concerns have been expressed about Kal-El's power consumption, but this has been well addressed by NVIDIA, by power gating, or the ability to turn off individual cores when not active. The new processor offers five cores, but can have either up to four running for various workloads, or have only the fifth core running, for example when downloading emails in the background with the screen off. Performance gains are expected to be 2-3x with Kal-El, with significant power savings. Pretty amazing stuff!

"Last week, Intel demonstrated a "near-threshold voltage" processor that uses so little energy that it could be powered by solar energy, kinetic energy, or even a potato."

I like the premise here, that since we're really struggling to improve batteries for devices, maybe a better approach is to get devices to need less power. Intel has displayed a new microprocessor processor (code-named Claremont), running at 10 millivolts, or about 1% of that used by today's processors (1V). Currently powered by a solar cell the size of a postage stamp, scientists think that these devices could be powered by kinetic energy from walking, solar energy, or even from a potato. They don't explain the potato charging. While this is a bit in the future, imagine how cool it would be to recharge a phone or other mobile device simply keeping it in a pocket while walking. Time to invest in potato futures?

"This week we have warring conferences as Microsoft and Intel scheduled their developer events on top of each other. This means there are a massive number of us trying to be in two places at once, mostly unsuccessfully."

Intel and Microsoft are trying to hasten the evolution of the transportable computer by melding an ultralight laptop and a touchscreen tablet. Windows 8 aims to kick-start things on x86-based Ultratablets by running both the new Metro UI (touchy-feely) for tablet-style apps, and a traditional desktop for legacy Windows apps. ARM computers (tablets) will be limited to Metro UI style apps (no legacy Windows) at least until legacy apps are ported. In the Apple world, this is analagous to Mac OS X gaining the ability to run iOS apps, along with OS X, while iOS devices can run only iOS (not legacy OS X) apps.

Assuming that the big brains can get this all right, we'll see Ultratablets with a great touch interface (but also a keyboard), long battery life, under $1000, with the power to run any (type of) apps. So no more laptops that are great content creators but lousy content providers/consumers, or tablets that are lousy content creators but great content consumers. One device that meets all these needs, the Ultratablet - isn't this what we're all hoping for?

"The Eee Pad Transformer is aptly named; there's more to this thing than meets the eye. Asus is the first to market with a tablet that pulls double-duty, attempting to replace your notebook, too. We put it through the paces to see how it really stacks up."

Oh, the docking station - adding one makes the Transformer a superb tablet. It not only securely locks the screen into the keyboard/dock, but its supplemental battery can significantly extend the battery life. Of course, Tom's Hardware runs the Transformer through a full battery of tests, and it does okay, against the usual contestants, the iPads, the Motorola Xoom, and the Acer Iconia A500. The physical keyboard makes using the Transformer an enjoyable experience, but, alas, still not a replacement for an equivalently-priced laptop. One big gotcha is that today the Transformer is a wifi-only device, but is priced at $399 (16GB), or $100 less than a 16GB iPad 2. Adding the docking station puts the Transformer at $50 more than the iPad 2, but well worth it in my opinion.