The Verge - The laptops of CES 2012

AMD Trinity demo: full HD gaming, video playback, and transcoding

2012-01-13T23:06:54Z

AMD's next generation of Accelerated Processing Units, Trinity, was shown off to us at CES this year with an impressive multithreaded workload. One display was running Dirt 3 in DirectX 11 mode, another was on the Windows desktop with a video transcoding app in full flow, and the third — part of the laptop running the entire operation — was playing back a full HD movie. The upcoming Trinity chip was handling all three tasks simultaneously, offering compelling evidence for AMD's bold claim that Trinity will offer Llano-like performance but at half the energy consumption. The Dirt 3 instance played with perfect smoothness throughout and we saw no stutter in the HD video being played back on the laptop. We were shown a Trinity APU with...

LG Z330 and Z430 'Super Ultrabooks' (hands-on)

2012-01-11T18:59:40Z

We've just taken a look at LG's first ultrabooks, the recently-announced 13.3-inch Z330 and 14-inch Z430. LG is calling them "Super Ultrabooks" because they go "above and beyond" Intel's requirements. The two laptops are extremely similar — they're both made of aluminium, have (non-backlit) chiclet keyboards, and have thin bezels that let the company squeeze more screen real estate into a smaller frame.

The Z330 has a single USB 3.0 port on the left edge (alongside the power plug), and a USB 2.0 port, HDMI, 3.5mm headphone jack, and MicroSD card slot on the right edge. We weren't crazy about the particular aluminum finish on this ultrabook — it has a texture that makes it feel a bit like plastic and it makes the touchpad too...

Samsung Series 3 Chromebox and new Series 5 Chromebook hands-on photos

2012-01-11T17:53:23Z

We just got a hands-on look at Samsung's latest Google Chrome OS hardware: the new Series 5 Chromebook and the Series 3 Chromebox. According to a Samsung rep, specs are identical for both devices: a dual-core Celeron processor, 2GB of RAM, and 16GB of solid state storage. The Chromebox looks a bit different than the model Google showed off back in May, but there's still no word on pricing for this device. As for the new Series 5 Chromebook, it shares a lot in common with Samsung's other Series 5 laptops — it's mostly plastic, but feels relatively well constructed. Scrolling on the trackpad is unfortunately not the smoothest thing, though we're not sure if that's a hardware or software issue.

Despite the modest specs, peformance was...

Samsung Series 5 notebooks stretch to 15 and 17 inches (hands-on)

2012-01-11T01:53:46Z

We've already covered a solid number of Samsung Series 5 notebooks this week, but now we have a couple of other machines that are worth a mention as well. These mid-range notebooks, however, bear little resemblance to their Ultra counterparts. Depending on the model, you'll get a 15- or 17-inch screen, and up to 1TB and 2TB of hard drive space, respectively. We're light on specs, but the laptops can also be ordered with a Blu-Ray drive and fairly generous 2GB Nvidia graphics card. We'll keep you updated as we get more information.

Samsung Series 7 Gamer notebook hands-on

2012-01-11T00:04:03Z

We've just gotten pictures and specs for Samsung's Series 7 Gamer notebook, a serious piece of hardware that the company hopes will compete with Asus' gaming offerings. The notebook will come in two slightly different builds, one for the US and one to ship internationally. Both have Intel Core i7 processors and 2GB graphics cards, an AMD Radeon HD6970M outside the US (as far as we can tell) and an unspecified Nvidia card domestically. International versions will also come with active 3D. The bright colors in these pictures are custom, however — the default model will be black.

The Series 7 Gamer can ship with either a 1TB or 2TB hard drive, plus 8GB of solid state storage on the motherboard. It can take up to 16GB of RAM, and has a...

XPS 13: Dell launches its first ultrabook for $999 (hands-on pictures)

2012-01-10T21:31:39Z

Dell told us "thin and powerful is where it's at" when it threw its netbooks in the grave, and it's living up to its word here at CES. It's no Adamo XPS in terms of design or thinness, but the XPS 13 ultrabook is definitely looking to fill that void in the company's line up. It might live along the other XPS models, but it's a much thinner and lighter option; similar to the XPS 14z, Dell's using a thin-bezeled display that allows the 13-inch display to fit in more of a typical 12-inch laptop case. At 2.9 pounds, the laptop is .71 inches at its thickest point and .24 inches at its thinnest, making room for USB 3.0, USB 2.0, 3.5mm headphone, and MiniDisplay ports. The biggest oversight of this system may be the missing SD card slot.

H...

Razer Blade gaming laptop hands-on video

2012-01-10T21:01:02Z

Razer's Blade gaming laptop has spent quite a while in development, but it's finally coming in January for $2,799, and we were able to get our hands on it today at CES. We've learned that the laptop won't be customizable or upgradeable, so you'll have to be satisfied with the specs that Razer gives you. Luckily, those specs are pretty good: the Blade's got a Core i7 processor clocked at 2.8GHz, 8GB DDR3 RAM at 1333MHz, a 17.3-inch 1080p display, Nvidia GeForce GT 555M 2GB video card, 256GB SSD, and Razer's Switchblade user interface.

Envy 14 Spectre: HP's Gorilla Glass covered, $1,399 ultrabook (hands-on video / pictures)

2012-01-10T01:00:40Z

HP let our imaginations run wild with its Spectre teaser video last week, but it's time to put all those dreams of it being a flying, self-opening laptop to rest. The company is officially releasing its Envy 14 Spectre today, and while it may not be what you imagined, it's one heck of a machine. Termed a "premium ultrabook" the laptop takes everything we've liked about the Envy line and brought it to a .78-inch / 3.9 pound laptop. There's a lot to talk about inside and out of the Spectre — a scratch-proof glass lid and palmrest, a bright and high resolution display, and NFC integration. Below is a breakdown of everything you need to know about HP's new ultrabook.

Hardware / design

No, it's not as thin and light as others like the new...