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Why my iPad can't replace my laptop: It's the trackpad

I'll let you in on a little secret: I haven't been thrilled with any iPad keyboard case solution, despite testing and reviewing about half a dozen of them.

Sure, some of them are excellent products. Still, I don't find them essential. This is why I don't use my iPad during mission-critical trips to trade shows and live-blogged events. This is why I don't use my iPad as a laptop replacement. Not entirely. Not yet.

I agree with a lot of what Harry McCracken refers to in his experience with his iPad and the ZaggFolio keyboard case. Ideally, having such an ultraportable, flexible device with a long battery life would be a perfect travel tool. For me, however, that perfect tool hasn't materialized yet.

I'd love to have some sort of evolved hybrid of an iPad and a MacBook Air. I've been dreaming of it for a while, actually. Apple's clearly leaning toward a fusion of sorts between iOS and Mac OS X. Lion was the first step. iOS gets a bit more advanced every year, taking baby steps toward being a true operating system for hard-core computing tasks.

There are several reasons it won't work right now, and the biggest by far is the good old-fashioned trackpad--or lack of it.… Read more

Ultrabooks: Final nail in the coffin of 'business laptops'?

I'm not really sure who uses a business laptop. Now that ultrabooks are here and spreading, I'm even less sure.

Case in point: the HP Folio 13.

Here at the CNET offices, I've seen more and more people asking (and hoping) for MacBook Airs. Apple's never had a problem with differentiating between business and personal computers: It simply make products, period. Our IT department allows Apple computers, but they're not technically business laptops. No one seems to mind.

On the Windows side of things, there's been a bit of a divide between some business-targeted laptops--some with crypto-enabled TPM, or Trusted Platform Module chips, others with Intel's vPro technology--and "consumer" computers. That divide is old-fashioned. … Read more

Hands on with the HP Folio 13

Editors' note, January 20, 2012: We posted our full review of the HP Folio 13. We also added our hands-on video to the end of this blog.

As ultrabooks become a major part of the laptop landscape this year, the key to finding a good one might not lie in specs--since so many have identical innards--so much as look, feel, and bang for the buck.

In that regard, the HP Folio 13 might be a winner.

The HP Folio 13, which was announced last year, is a small business-targeted ultrabook that could be equally at home in the hands of a regular Joe User. After all, the "business" differentiation is merely cosmetic and arbitrary, unless you choose to upgrade to Windows 7 Professional an optional TPM chip. What the HP Folio 13 has--a Core i5 low-voltage CPU, 128GB SSD storage, 4GB of RAM--befits any laptop in the 13-inch ultrabook universe circa 2012.

It is a thicker laptop, and a heavier one, too, compared with the MacBook Air and any of last year's ultrabooks. Not by much, though; it's a little over 3 pounds, and still thinner than any "normal" laptop. It's just not wafer-thin. Consider the side benefits, though: the HP Folio 13 only costs $899, which undercuts a lot of the ultrabook competition by at least $100. And, in terms of both specs and features, there are few compromises. The Folio 13 comes with everything that most ultrabooks do, with none of the annoying compromises such as missing SD card slots or Ethernet jacks that were common to last year's ultrabook crop.… Read more

In 2012, MacBooks, ultrabooks mix it up

2012 promises to be a watershed year for laptops. Really thin will be in and internal optical drives out, while some designs venture into hybrid territory.

Apple: Apple is expected to incorporate the MacBook Air design theme into more models, including a 15-incher sans optical drive. And since Apple popularized the really-thin aesthetic with the January 2008 introduction of the MacBook Air, it shouldn't come as a surprise that the company will continue to be a trendsetter.

Trendsetting may include a rumored 2,880-by-1,800-pixel display. That would be a remarkable feat as workstation-class 15-inch Windows laptops, such as … Read more

Ultrabook holiday pricing on the cheap

Ultrabooks are available for the first time this holiday season. That calls for a quick survey of pricing since models have debuted at unexpectedly low prices.

As a refresher, ultrabooks are skinny (typically under 0.8 inches thick), lightweight (three pounds or less) laptops that offer mainstream mobile performance.

In short, they attempt to approximate the portability of a tablet while offering more horsepower via Intel processors. And, of course, they run full-blown Windows--not a minor point.

Pricing runs the gamut but the most-recently-released ultrabooks all fall below the $1,000 mark at retailers like Best Buy. That's important … Read more

How low can ultrabooks go? Toshiba drops to $699

How low can ultrabooks go? How about $699.

Let there be no doubt that Toshiba is setting the pace for ultrabook pricing so far. After debuting at $799 last month, the Portege Z835 is now down to $699 at Best Buy.

"They have a $200 instant rebate this week that brings it down to $699. I think it's surprising. It could be to spur sales. It could be to get people's attention. But it's a smart move and by far the most affordable ultrabook option right now," said Deron Kershaw, an analyst at Gap Intelligence. (Note that the $799 price only lasted for about a week when Toshiba introduced the Z835 in November. For the most part, it's been priced at $899--thus the $200 discount.)

The only major rivals even close right now are Acer's Aspire S3, which is priced just under $900 at Best Buy, and Hewlett-Packard's Folio 13, priced at $899.99.

Ultrabooks, for the uninitiated, are ultralight Windows laptops that compete with the increasingly popular, and more expensive, MacBook Air. … Read more

HP Folio ultrabook available--initially, on the cheap

HP's first ultrabook is now available--and for a limited time below the list price of $899.

The 3.3-pound, 0.7-inch thick Folio 13 was announced on November 15 and has just become available today.

It packs decent hardware for a model that retails for $899, sans coupon code (see graphic). The Folio has a Core i5-2467M processor (not a lower-performance Core i3 like other ultrabooks), 4GB of RAM, a 128GB solid-state drive, a backlit keyboard, and Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit. … Read more

Ultrabook pricing cuts close to cost

The latest report on ultrabooks from Asia is the typical mix of odd assertions, gossip, and a smattering of speculation that could be categorized as news.

Tuesday's Digitimes report says, "Acer, Asustek Computer and Toshiba are expected to lower retail prices for ultrabooks to below US$1,000 by the end of 2011."

Let's see, we're well before the end of 2011 and already we have three ultrabooks priced under $1,000. The HP Folio 13 starts at $899, ditto for the Toshiba Portege Z835 (Model: Z835-P330--which was priced briefly at $799), and the Acer Aspire S3 (… Read more

MacBook Air, ultrabook spell doom for optical drive

With Apple likely forgoing optical drives across all or most of its MacBooks, and ultrabooks doing the same, it's no surprise that the venerable whirring drive will spin away, albeit gradually, into obscurity.

Next to go driveless at Apple is the 15-inch MacBook Air. 9to5Mac says Apple almost brought out a 15-inch Air in late 2010 (but didn't because of a problem with the hinges). Apple now has plans to make this happen next year when Intel's graphics-centric Ivy Bridge processor ships.

Ultrabooks will do their part to hurry the otherwise slow demise of the optical drive. … Read more

Shop 'til you drag and drop: Digital Folio raises $1.2M

Digital Folio today announced $1.2 million in funding that it will use to expand its comparison shopping technology and go after the crowded market.

That level of funding isn't going to grab headlines (oops, it just did) but price comparison engines are powerful and steady money makers. Look at the success of PriceGrabber.com, Nextag.com, Shopathome.com, Shopzilla.com, Pronto.com, ShopLocal.com, etc.

Founded this year and fresh out of beta, Denver-based Digital Folio lets shoppers drag and drop items from major retailers, including Amazon.com and Target, into one shopping list. Prices for the items … Read more