ultrabooks

Big week, or at least big gadgets and gear, on the CNET Labscast. Forget about tiny 13-inch ultrabooks, now these slim laptops are moving into 14- and 15-inch territory, and we've got a couple of examples to pass around the room. Then Ty talks up his latest acquisition, a massive 80-inch Sharp LCD TV. It's awesome for sports (or "sport" as Ty puts it), but you can't make an 80-inch LCD for $5,000 without cutting a few corners.

But before all that, we've got the new iPad 3 (yes, that's what we're calling it), and a very eye-opening comparison of text blown up on both that and the iPad 2--be warned, it's the kind of thing you can't un-see.

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The hottest laptop of the year so far is HP's new Envy 14 Spectre. This unique-looking system was a breakout star at CES 2012 because of its glass-covered lid and wrist rest, giving it a gleaming slate-like look that was different from anything previously seen. As our recent review shows, it's actually a solid laptop as well, with good performance and battery life, and a few noteworthy features, such as Beats Audio and an NFC antenna for connection to mobile phones.

The Spectre is certainly not the first unique laptop design we've seen, but many of the … Read more

Thanks to the vagueries of the international dateline, our corporate cousins at CNET Australia have gotten their hands on one of the very first third-generation iPads to be sold to the public by Apple. A handful of lucky buyers in Vietnam got their preordered units early this week as well, but this is the first round of officially sanctioned retail sales.

Here in the U.S., FedEx packages containing the new iPad are being held in transit until Friday morning, and Apple stores will open to the public at 8 a.m. But as it is already Friday morning down … Read more

With its unique glass-covered design, the HP Envy 14 Spectre was one of the most talked about products at CES 2012 and even took home CNET's Best of CES award for the computers and hardware category. Now, the ultrabook is finally here, and as CNET's Dan Ackerman points out in his review, the Spectre largely succeeds and doesn't become a prisoner to its novelty.

That said, at a pricey $1,399, no one would fault you for wanting more than the current Intel Core i5 CPU, integrated Intel HD3000 graphics, and a 128GB solid-state drive (SSD). However, does a look inside reveal more? Well, Bill Detwiler, head technology editor at our sister site TechRepublic, cracked the ultrabook open to see what's inside, and of course, there's good news and bad news. … Read more

First spotted at CES 2012, the glass-covered HP Envy 14 Spectre is finally here, as both the first 14-inch ultrabook we've reviewed, as well as a unique laptop nearly covered in tough Gorilla Glass.

Almost anyone who sees the HP Envy 14 Spectre immediately compares it to something. For many, it's the Apple MacBook Pro. From the open position, the interior certainly has that look, aside from the transparent raised wrist rest. To others, the glass back looks like a tablet or slate. … Read more

The PC market is likely to see another sluggish year but is poised for a rebound in 2013.

Global PC shipments will hit 368 million in 2012, Gartner forecast today, just a 4.4 percent gain from last year. Though not a huge bump, this year will at least show an improvement over 2011 when shipments totaled 352.8 million units, just a half a percentage point gain over 2010.

PC vendors have faced a difficult climate with a lethargic economy, supply constraints, and especially competition from smartphones and tablets.

"The use of applications such as e-mail, social networking, … Read more

Every new tablet, supersize smartphone, or other multifuncton device seems to give industry watchers yet another excuse to declare the traditional laptop dead, or at least on the way out.

With the new features and capabilities built into the just-announced third-gen iPad (also known as the "new iPad"), I expect a flood of reader e-mail over the next few days, asking if a revamped iPad is better investment than a new laptop.

And it's not a crazy question, even if you've thus far resisted the urge to move more and more of your computing tasks to … Read more

Acer is one of the many PC vendors doubling down on ultrabooks. But that effort has so far made it difficult for the company to profit off those devices.

Speaking yesterday to The Verge, Acer's Christoph Pohlmann, a member of the company's laptop division, said that even at its current price of $799, the Acer Aspire S3 ultrabook is only breaking even with each sale. Any chance that Acer could price ultrabooks any lower at this point seems awfully slim.

But Acer Global President Jianren Weng seems to see things differently. According to The Verge, Weng said yesterday … Read more

Ultrabook suppliers are still dealing with pesky market and profitability issues, according to a CNET source and two reports. And some will turn to low-cost designs as a result.

"The ultrabook adoption during the holiday season was ugly," an industry source, who speaks to ultrabook suppliers, told CNET. That source was speaking about sales for one particular ultrabook vendor.

The market for all ultrabook suppliers, however, is still challenging. "You've got a down market on the eve of a new operating system (Windows 8) at a price point that's fairly robust (high)," said the … Read more