Those hoping for USB 3, DisplayPort and other exciting new additions will be a mite disappointed, with just the usual array of USB 2, HDMI and VGA ports partnered with memory card readers for good measure.Quoted prices give us hope that Acer's Aspire Timeline X series will be just as affordable as its predecessors, with Acer suggesting that the 14in model (the 4820) will be available for ¡ê599 inc VAT sporting an Intel Core i3 330m processor, 3GB of memory, a 250GB hard disk, an ATI HD 5650 graphics chipset and Windows 7 Home Premium.That¡¯s according to the company¡¯s senior vice president, Mooly Eden, who laid out Intel¡¯s plans to tap this enormous processing power at CES 2014.To illustrate just how far CPU technology has evolved, Mooly Eden explained that a current, state-of-the-art Intel CPU is 3.5 million times more powerful than the first ever microprocessor.For now, the human brain is still vastly more powerful than a CPU - but if Moore¡¯s Law holds, Intel expects to produce a CPU with as many transistors as the brain has neurons within the next dozen years.The big difference between the human brain and a CPU is that the brain works in tandem with the body¡¯s senses; it¡¯s the combination of sensing capability and processing power that allows us to interact and communicate so effectively and seamlessly with each other.
Intel believes the future of human/machine interaction will follow a similar path, and the first piece of that puzzle is Intel¡¯s new embedded 3D camera, dubbed Intel RealSense.Intel was showing off real-time 3D gesture control at last year¡¯s CES, and at IDF several months prior to that, but now the 3D camera technology is ready to roll out in a plethora of products. Eden showed off laptops, desktops and tablets equipped with the new camera from a variety of hardware manufacturers.The embedded 3D camera allows for real time depth processing: Intel showed off how specific layers of a live 3D scene could be edited, while leaving other layers intact. Intel was keen to suggest that this technology could replace the need for green screens, since it¡¯s simple to manipulate the background on a live video stream, although the results were a little rough around the edges in the demo.Where this embedded 3D camera could really break new ground is through non-touch gesture recognition. Eden controlled a variety of games, utilities and even just general navigation of Windows with pure gesture controls. It all seemed to work smoothly, but we¡¯ve seen demos of similar, but ultimately disappointing products (cough, Leap Motion, cough) work smoothly before¡
Apple has kept its place on a controversial green registry, despite previously suggesting its products wouldn't meet the necessary requirements.Apple raised eyebrows in July by pulling its products from the Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool (EPEAT), a US registry of green products.At the time, Apple said the environmental scheme no longer matched its design direction, coming just weeks after the launch of the MacBook Pro Retina, which was heavily criticised for being difficult to take apart and recycle.After a consumer backlash drove Apple to apologetically return to EPEAT's registry, the green group promised to verify the green credentials of Apple's products.At the time, the head of Robert Frisbee suggested the Macbook Pro wouldn't conform to the top level of certification that Apple was claiming.In an exclusive interview with PC Pro, Frisbee revealed that EPEAT didn't only examine the MacBook Air, but all ultrathins with a unibody design, which appeared to be a whole new direction in assembly, which raised some issues.EPEAT examined whether the laptops could be upgraded, whether the battery could be removed or the screen disassembled for recycling, and whether necessary tools were readily available.
The questions were sent to its independent Product Verification Committee (PVC), which declared that tools were available for all 450 devices under consideration. Apple, for example, uses proprietary screws, but compatible screwdrivers can now be easily bought online.The panel also declared that devices were upgradeable so long as they had a high-speed connector, allowing external devices to add storage. That was a little bit of a surprise, admitted Frisbee.The word upgrade has its own implications, but if you look at the functional capability of the device, if you can plug in more power or more memory, I guess that's a type of upgrade, he said.Suffice it to say, the answer [from the panel] was clear... that's the way the decisions get made, so we wouldn't question them. But I think that needs to be in the refresh [of the rules] as well.The panel said it couldn't answer the other two questions - about whether it was easy or safe to remove the battery and screen for recycling - so the query was handed to an independent, third-party lab.Frisbee said the questions applied to only five devices from four manufacturers on the EPEAT registry. All were declared to conform to its specifications - with each taking fewer than 20 minutes to take apart - meaning not a single device was dropped from the list.
At the time of publishing, EPEAT hadn't revealed which five devices they were, but had they failed the tests, EPEAT would have publicised the names, Frisbee claimed.Frisbee admitted the process of testing the ultrathin laptops had exposed how dated the EPEAT specifications had become. Just as an example, the standard refers to upgrading floppy disks, Frisbee admitted.EPEAT is set to start refreshing the computer standards, but Frisbee couldn't say how long it would take. EPEAT is also looking at including tablets, but that raises extra challenges. There are two things that slates don¡¯t do: one is that there is not an Energy Star standard for slates, and you can't be on EPEAT without that, he said. The second is it is mandatory criteria for EPEAT that you have three year warranty ¨C well, not one single slate has a three-year warranty.
The upcoming refresh will leave recycling groups, purchasers, and manufacturers ¨C including Apple ¨C all battling to influence the standard. One of the things Apple said was it didn't feel it had gotten enough credit for what it had done environmentally, and now¡¯s the chance for it to make the pitch to ensure the new standards provide appropriate credit.Frisbee admitted, however, that many consumers aren't worried about the green credentials of a device when making a purchase. If you¡¯re going to make something easily replaceable, no one yet has been able to design an ultra-sleek unit.It wasn't clear if consumers even want to get into the guts of machines, Frisbee added, claiming that some companies might have commercial motivations to prevent their devices from being upgraded.CES 2014 has seen Lenovo continue its blazing run of form, and its newly refined ThinkPad X1 Carbon is no exception. We may not have been fans of the X1 Carbon Touch (we preferred the original, slimmer non-touch model), but 2014 sees Lenovo combine the best of both worlds - the new, touchscreen-equipped X1 Carbon is now the lightest 14in Ultrabook in the world.
It's jam-packed with improvements. The chassis now weighs a claimed 1.28kg, which is lighter even than the original 1.36kg non-touch model. It's also 5mm thinner than the X1 Carbon Touch, measuring an impressive 17mm thick, and 2mm thinner than even the original, non-touch X1 Carbon.The base has clearly lost a little podge around its waist, the slimming effect is most noticeable in the touchscreen and lid - the whole unit is far thinner than that of the previous model. Looks-wise, this is as sleek and steamlined as business laptops get - it's easily smart enough to give a good few consumer models a run for their money.
Silky-feeling carbon fibre stretches above and below, and while build quality still feels up to par, the weight-savings have resulted in a more flexible-feeling base. Lenovo is bullish about the X1 Carbon's toughness, however ¨C the company is keen to emphasise that it has been tested to military specifications, even if it won't specify exactly which specifications they are. The only thing Lenovo divulges is that it's tested for resistance to dust, vibration, heat, cold, altitude, water and humidity. So, just the usual kind of office conditions, basically.
The Adaptive Keyboard feature is ingenious. This replaces the row of Function keys along the keyboards top edge with an LCD strip panel that cycles through four modes. Dabbing the Fn button on the top left edge swaps between standard Function keys and three banks of dedicated action buttons, and the options also automatically adapt to the program in use, providing dedicated buttons for Internet Explorer, Skype and other applications.Lenovo was keen to stress the minimal effect of this on battery life ¨C the LCD strip is illuminated with an ultra low-power phosphorescent backlight. And as you'd expect from a ThinkPad, the rest of the keyboard is just as comfy and pleasant to type on as ever.
Inside, the X1 Carbon is perhaps a little less exotic. Depending on your budget, there's the option of anything up to Core i7 Haswell CPUs, and a variety of SSD storage and RAM options. As ever, if you have a sizable IT budget burning a hole in your Excel spreadsheet, Lenovo will be able to get through it pretty quickly, if you so desire.
While Lenovo's Yoga 2 Pro featured a 3,200 x 1,800, 276ppi display, the ThinkPad X1 Carbon opts for a 2,560 x 1,440, 210ppi display. This decision is intended to slightly reduce the severity of scaling issues, which are common to high-DPI panels ¨C few applications currently scale well at high-DPI resolutions.In any case, the IPS panel serves up strong image quality. There's none of the graininess that afflicted the X1 Carbon Touch, and the combination of vibrant colour reproduction and potent backlighting makes for cracking image quality.
Lenovo has also covered pretty much the whole gamut of business essentials. There's dual-band 802.11ac, Bluetooth 4, optional 3G and a proprietary Ethernet adapter is also supplied. Twin USB 3 ports, HDMI and mini-DisplayPort also make the grade.If all the above isn't enough for you, then the X1 Carbon's new power connector is now compatible with the matching OneLink dock. The socket is still backwards-compatible with previous PSUs, but hook up the dock via the new, larger connector and it's capable of carrying power and USB 3 signals. And as ever, Lenovo's Rapid Charge technology allows the battery to charge to full capacity in little over an hour.
The dock adds four more USB 3 ports, two USB 2 ports, full-sized DisplayPort, DVI, an Ethernet socket and, thanks to the DisplayLink technology, allows the X1 Carbon to power three displays simultaneously.The Lenovo representative we spoke to stated that he'd been happily running five displays - the X1 Carbon's display, two monitors via the DVI and DisplayPort connections and two more USB monitors. Probably enough for most purposes.Our first question after hearing about all the upgrades was: how much? The answer, you'll be pleased to hear, is no more than previously - so around ¡ê1,500 inc VAT, depending on which specification you go for.It's pretty safe to say that the X1 Carbon is going to be a shoo-in for PC Pro's Business laptop A-List. The first concern we have - and we're confident Lenovo will have made sure this isn't the case - is that the new high-DPI display and Adaptive Keyboard feature may end up putting a dent in battery life.The second potential sticking point is the high-DPI display - with few, if any, applications currently taking advantage of the extra pixel density afforded by such displays, we fear it may be a backward step for the X1 Carbon.
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