Laptops/Portables Reviews
Dell Latitude Rugged Extreme Review
by David Priede - Feb 17, 2016
Review
Designed for real-world performance and security, the Latitude Rugged Extreme series is the first ruggedized convertible device to change between notebook and tablet. Made for road warriors in the field, Dell uses magnesium alloys and shock-absorbent ultra-polymer materials in its 12’’ and 14” models. Built to withstand hazards such as dust, moisture, six feet drops, vibration, extreme temperatures and other punishing conditions Dell’s Rugged Extreme convertible models thrive where common laptops fall apart.
Dell uses rigorous “test-to-fail” to meet military standard (MIL-STD) requirements, so this series can take serious punishment. All entry points are protected against sand, dust, water and extreme weather conditions with compression gaskets and a dual-knife-edge design. Fourth-generation QuadCool™ thermal management helps the Latitude Rugged last in extreme temperatures.
Designed for all lighting conditions, the display reduces reflections, preserves contrast and conserves battery life. Dell’s convertible notebook is ideal for tight spaces or conditions that require a hand-held device. No matter how rough, dirty or cold the job gets, you can work with gloves using the resistive multi-touch screen. The customizable keyboard backlight switches between red, green, blue and white lighting, allowing the keyboard to remain visible yet discreet. Want to go stealth? Press a key and turn off all lights and sounds with a single touch.
Battery performance is low with up to 7-12 hours of life, so carry extra battery packs. With universal docking, you can easily switch between sites, vehicles and workspaces quickly. Beneath the durable exterior is 4th Gen Intel® Core™ processor to multitask and connect devices you use every day, from the latest USB 3.0 peripherals to legacy devices. The Rugged Extreme models comes with solid-state storage that is fast, reliable and easily accessible; just open the protective cover and pull out the hard drive.
When it comes to security, Dell offers a complete portfolio of endpoint security solutions so you can ensure authorized access with a smart card reader, fingerprint reader and Data Protection Tools software to encrypt data across external media and in the cloud. The Latitude Rugged Extreme can take a beating and will take a lot to break it.
Highlights
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Built with a backbone to deliver on your toughest demands
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Stays cool under pressure and made to go wherever your office is
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Performance where it counts with outstanding security
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Intel® Core i3, i5 or i7, DDR3L Memory, Mobility Solid State Drive, Intel® Integrated HD Graphics
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Ports: 2 USB 3.0, 2 USB 2.0, 2 Native RS-232 , HDMI, VGA, 2 RJ-45 Gigabit Ethernet, Pogo-Pin Docking Connector
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Memory Card Reader, ExpressCard or PCMCIA, M.2 Slots (Internal), DVD+/-RW
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Steel-reinforced cable lock slot, Contactless SmartCard reader, fingerprint reader, TPM 1.2, ControlVault™ advanced authentication, Dell Security Tools
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Gigabit Ethernet and triple RF pass-through (GPS, mobile broadband and WLAN), Wireless LAN: Intel® Dual Band with Bluetooth® 4.0 + vPro™
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Dell Wireless multi-mode Gobi™ 5000 4G LTE card, Dell Wireless single-mode HSPA+ card, GPS SiRFstarV™ dedicated GPS and antenna
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3 Year Hardware Warranty
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Military grade toughness to withstand extreme conditions
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Screen is readable in bright sunlight
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Innovative rotating display for touch use
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Swappable hard drive and battery
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Excellent battery life
Pros
Cons
Score
9.5
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On the bulky and heavy side
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Slow single-point resistive touch screen
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1,366x768 max screen resolution
Dell XPS 15 Review
by Malcolm Black - December 18, 2015
Review
The Dell XPS 15 9550 is the smallest performance-class 15-inch laptop in the world. With a compact design, paired with excellent performance, the Dell XPS 15 is great for anyone who needs a laptop that combines quality and reliability. Equipped with Windows 10, the XPS 15 provides you with the tools you need for work or school. Whether you are working at your desk, in a meeting, or on-the-go, the XPS 15 is appropriate for all settings, with its durable, sleek and high-quality aluminum body.
The XPS 15 is not only the world’s smallest 15-inch laptop—with a seemingly nonexistent bezel, over 8 million pixels, and a 4K Ultra HD display, this laptop capitalizes on its spectacular design and visual appeal. Every photo is beautifully detailed, every video is vibrant, and every letter and character is crisp and sharp. This laptop also gives you the opportunity to be more interactive and creative with the touchscreen display option.
This laptop has various options for configurations and is highly customizable. The XPS 15 includes a 6th Gen Intel® Quad Core™ (i3, i5, or i7) processor. You have the option of a 500GB or 1TB hard drive, or you could opt for a 256GB solid-state drive. The XPS is also equipped with a modern Thunderbolt multi-purpose port that can be used for data transfers and charging your laptop, in addition to two USB 3.0 ports you can use to plug in and charge other devices.
Though the design of the Dell XPS 15 is based on maintaining performance and creating a better visual experience for the user, Dell did not slack off on battery capacity. This laptop gets up to 10 hours of battery life. The XPS 15 combines performance, functionality and design. If you are looking for great performance and awesome visuals, the Dell XPS 15 9550 is for you.
Highlights
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Smallest performance-class 15-inch laptop in the world
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4K Ultra HD virtually borderless display
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Advanced docking featuring a single-cable connection for power, Ethernet, audio and video.
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Corning Gorilla Glass NBT display
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Touchscreen display option
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Thunderbolt™ 3 multi-use port
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Durable aluminum body
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Up to 10 hours of battery life
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720p webcam
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6th Gen Intel® Quad Core™ processors
Pros
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4K Ultra HD Display
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Lightweight, thin, and compact for performance-class laptops
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Touchscreen display option
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Good amount of configuration options
Score
9.0
Cons
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Runs hot
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Noisy during heavy use
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Only two USB ports
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Power adapter is finicky
Highlights
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INTEL® CORE™ i7 QUAD-CORE Processor
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NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 970M
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3200x1800 Screen Resolution
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More Memory and Faster storage
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Touch Point Thermal Engineering
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IGZO Technology
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Wide View Angle
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Intuitive Touchscreen Interface
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Thin and Powerful
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Gaming Grade Keyboard
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Special RAZER Software
Pros
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Great design and looks
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Unique multifunctional track pad
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Sharp high-resolution display
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3,200 x 1,800 touch display
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Advanced Nvidia graphics
Cons
9.0
Score
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Battery life is OK
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On the heavy side
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Lack of internal DVD/CD drive
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Some games not ready to work at full resolution
Razer Blade
Review
by David Priede - July 7, 2015
Measuring 0.70-inches thin, with a stunning QHD+ display and system memory, the Razer Blade packs more power per cubic inch than ever before. Driven by a new quad-core Intel Core i7 processor and the latest NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970M graphics, the Razer Blade remains the thinnest, lightest, and most powerful 14-inch gaming laptop in the world.
The Intel Core i7 4720HQ processor gives the Razer Blade 2.6GHz of quad-core processing power and Turbo Boost speeds, which automatically increases the speed up to 3.6GHz for insane gaming performance
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The GeForce GTX 970M with 3GB VRAM is powered by the next-generation NVIDIA Maxwell™ architecture, which delivers blazing-fast performance, advanced graphics technologies, and improved power management. Now you can take on your PC games with faster, smoother gameplay at ultra-settings.
The ultra-portable Razer Blade features up to 16 GB of fast 1600 MHz DDR3L memory and includes solid-state storage with options for up to 512 GB. You’ll experience speeds of up to 4x faster than traditional notebook hard drives, so you can boot quicker and launch games faster.
Razer Blade’s spectacular 14-inch QHD+ display pumps out 5.76 million pixels at 262 pixels per inch for breathtaking clarity, hyper-realistic sharpness, and jaw-dropping color intensity. The Razer Blade features a wide viewing angle with fast response time for smooth video and blur-free gaming. With amazing 350-nit high brightness from the LED backlight, the Razer Blade display is optimized for gaming wherever you go. Colors are much more saturated, accurate, and consistent across the whole screen.
An ultra-responsive 10-point capacitive multi-touch screen works seamlessly with the touch interface in Windows 8, placing updates, apps, work and play at your fingertips. Designed for extreme performance on-the-go and gaming anywhere.
Highlights
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Intel® Core™ i7-4500U Processor
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Windows 8.1 Pro
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8GB DDR3L 1600MHz memory
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Intel® Integrated Graphics
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256GB Solid State Drive (mSATA, SSD)
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Sold Separately: Toshiba USB Portable DVD SuperMulti Drive
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Intel® Dual Band Wireless-N 7260 2x2 AC Plus Bluetooth
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Bluetooth® V4.0
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Clickpad pointing device with Windows 8 Gesture support
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Frameless LED Backlit Keyboard
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Lithium Polymer (52Wh, 4-Cell)—*Not user replaceable
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3-USB (3.0) ports
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Bright Glass touchscreen with 2,560 x 1,440 screen resolution
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Ultra lightweight
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Fast SSD
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Strong construction with premium materials and looks
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Two-year warranty
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Includes a nice software bundle
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Backlit keyboard
Pros
9.0
Score
Cons
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Battery life is OK
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Runs hot and loud, specially when starting up
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Low performance webcam
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Wi-Fi adapter doesn’t support 5GHz networks
Toshiba KITAbook 13 i7s Touch
Review
by Michael Lee - June 3, 2015
The powerful side of luxury: A perfect union of elegant design, meticulous craftsmanship and unparalleled performance.
KIRAbook squeezes 221 pixels per inch into its stunning 2560x1440 PixelPure™ Display. With a 90% higher pixel density than standard HD and true-to-life color calibration, it’s a 13.3” eye-opening experience. When you can see more of every image, and more detail with incredibly high-resolution you’ll enjoy less glare, better text clarity and content that’s easier to read and edit with pinpoint accuracy.
Get ready to touch, tap and swipe your day away with incredible ease and efficiency. KIRAbook™ has a fingerprint-resistant multi-touch screen that’s perfectly paired with the intuitive nature of Windows 8.1. Precisely crafted from ultrastrong Corning® Concore™ Glass plus a fingerprint-resistant coating, it’s a touchscreen that works for the way we work. Visually stunning, lightweight and resistant to surface damage, KIRAbook™ is a touchscreen without tradeoffs. It’s cool to the touch, easy to clean, yet sensitive enough to enable today’s most sophisticated touch applications.
Toshiba is Introducing AZ91with the KIRAbook. AZ91 is a pressed magnesium* alloy that makes KIRAbook light, durable and elegant. This material is over 100% stronger than the A6063 aluminum alloy used in the MacBook Air® and proves once and for all there is beauty in strength.
To ensure an incredibly light experience, Toshiba removed every extraneous ounce without sacrificing performance or strength. The result? KIRAbook™ now starts at a mere 2.9 pounds, with a slimmer, sleek profile of only 0.7”, giving the KIRAbook™ an airy look and feel not found anywhere else. Finally, an Ultrabook® that is easy on the eye and comfortable in the hand.
Toshiba engineers turned to the world-class audiophiles at harman/kardon® to create completely custom speakers. Paired with DTS Studio Sound™, they create an unforgettable audio experience.
Because peace of mind is an integral part of the KIRAbook experience, Toshiba included a complimentary limited two-year warranty, rapid repair, 24/7 support and access to a dedicated team of KIRA experts.
The KIRAbook experience begins the moment you open it with a complimentary bundle of Adobe® Photoshop® Elements 11, Adobe® Premiere® Elements 11 and two years of Norton Anti-Theft™ Security. You’ll have everything you need to do everything you want.
Highlights
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Streamline design
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Up to 12 hours of battery life
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Thin and light
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802.11 ac Wi-Fi support
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Fast - All flash - storage
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Thunderbolt and USB 3
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Powerfull apps
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OX X Maveric operating system
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Solid construction
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Solid design
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Long battery life
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Respectable performance
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Cost
Pros
9.5
Score
Cons
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RAM cannot be upgraded
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No internal Ethernet
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No internal optical drive
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Upgrades are difficult
Apple MacBook Air
Review
by David Priede - May 18, 2015
Fourth-generation Intel Core processors in MacBook Air give you more time to do more things. Add that to an array of other smart and efficient features, and you have an incredible amount of power in your hands.
Thanks to compact all-flash storage in MacBook Air, there’s plenty of room for a big battery. The 11-inch model gets up to 9 hours of battery life on a single charge and the 13-inch model gets up to 12 hours. Put MacBook Air to sleep for more than 3 hours, and it enters standby mode to conserve battery life for up to 30 days. And if you enable Power Nap, you’ll continue to receive new email and calendar invitations while your computer is asleep. In addition, the Intel HD Graphics 5000 processor offers advanced performance you’ll especially notice with games and other graphics-intensive tasks.
MacBook Air supports ultrafast 802.11ac Wi-Fi. — including AirPort Extreme and AirPort Time Capsule — wireless performance is up to 3x faster than with the previous generation of Wi-Fi And your Wi-Fi range improves as well. With Bluetooth technology, you can connect MacBook Air to Bluetooth-enabled devices like speakers and headphones.
With the lightning-fast Thunderbolt port, you can connect your MacBook Air to the latest devices and displays, like the Apple Thunderbolt Display. MacBook Air also comes equipped with two USB 3 ports. The Multi-Touch gestures in OS X make everything you do on MacBook Air more intuitive. And the spacious Multi-Touch trackpad is perfectly designed for them, whether it’s a three-finger swipe to activate Mission Control or a four-finger pinch to see all your apps in Launchpad. Gesture responses are smooth and realistic.
As incredibly compact as MacBook Air is, it still manages to fit a full‑size keyboard that makes typing as natural as it is comfortable. And the keyboard is backlit. A built-in ambient light sensor detects changes in lighting conditions and adjusts the display and keyboard brightness automatically. The display measures a mere 4.86 millimeters (0.19 inch) thin, yet its resolution makes you feel like you’re looking at a larger screen. The 11-inch MacBook Air features a resolution of 1366 by 768 pixels, while the 13-inch model wows with a resolution of 1440 by 900 pixels. And LED backlighting makes colors bright and vibrant.
The 720p FaceTime HD camera, and the widescreen format means everyone can fit into the picture without having to crowd around the display. The dual microphones in MacBook Air are great for when you want to be heard. If you’re making a FaceTime call, for example, the mics reduce background noise from behind the notebook. And when you use Dictation, they create an adaptive audio beam that intelligently adjusts to detect your voice - instead of the noise around you.
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