Naturally it needs a hardcore processor to match the other specs, so it¡¯s no surprise to see an ultra-low voltage Haswell Core i7 4500U processor inside. Toshiba claims a battery life of up to nine hours, and bearing in mind this machine weighs 1.35kg and measures 19.8mm thick with the lid closed, it¡¯s a dream come true for professionals on the move.It adds up to one beautiful laptop and, judging from our first look, a hit for Toshiba. It¡¯s coming to the UK in mid-to-late February at a price of ¡ê1,299 inc VAT. That¡¯s undeniably steep, so we look forward to seeing if it can justify the process once we¡¯ve put the Kira through our full assault of tests.Toshiba today announced three new mobile computer designs to coincide with the 25th anniversary of its first laptop. The Libretto W100 features dual 7in touchscreens, the Port¨¦g¨¦ R700 is Europe¡¯s slimmest and lightest ¡°full-function¡± laptop, while the AC100 is a mobile internet device powered by a Nvidia Tegra processor and Google Android.
Due for sale in July, the Libretto W100 runs Windows 7 but abandons the traditional keyboard for a second 7in screen. You can still use the Libretto as a traditional laptop, with an on-screen keyboard complete with haptic feedback filling the bottom screen, or you can view a completely different application on the second screen.The Libretto is designed to work in both horizontal and vertical positions, switching automatically thanks to a built-in sensor. Reminiscent of Microsoft¡¯s now-binned Courier concept device, this could allow you to make notes in the right-hand screen while viewing a document in the other. See our first impressions of the Toshiba Libretto W100: first-look review, and more photos of the device, on the PC Pro blog.While the Libretto will likely gain the most headlines, Toshiba¡¯s Android-powered device ¨C the AC100 ¨C could have the most long-term impact. Its key advantages over smartphones are a 10.1in screen and full Qwerty keyboard.
The AC100 remains light, at 870g, and Toshiba has worked with partners such as YouTube to take advantage of the larger screen. It will include an 8GB solid state disk, 512MB of RAM, a 1GHz Nvidia processor, 802.11n wireless and, on some models, built-in mobile broadband.¡°There¡¯s a huge battery life of up to eight hours,¡± said Tony Alderson, product manager of Toshiba¡¯s consumer laptops, ¡°and that¡¯s not downhill with the wind behind it type figure, that¡¯s full usage browsing the internet, watching videos type figure. Indeed, it will last seven days on standby as well.¡±PC Pro has had the advantage of using the device for a couple of days, and we¡¯ve posted a first-look review of the Toshiba AC100 on our blogs. It's due for release in August.Toshiba¡¯s final announcement, the Port¨¦g¨¦ R700, can¡¯t match the AC100 or Libretto W100 for innovation, but is still a substantial release. Its key inclusion is a Core i3 or Core i5 processor in a 13.3in ultraportable. Previously, ultraportables have used ultra-low-voltage chips.
Toshiba claims this inclusion is possible due to a unique motherboard design, which positions all the heat-generating components in one small area of the chassis. A low-speed fan then continually pushes air over these components to prevent overheating, even when the system is pushed flat out.The end result, according to Toshiba, is battery life up to eight hours on the standard battery, despite the 13.3in screen and high-end processor. The R700¡¯s weight starts at 1.3kg and prices from ¡ê629 exc VAT. It goes on sale immediately (see the blogs for our first impressions of the Port¨¦g¨¦ R700).All three mobile devices were launched to coincide with the 25th anniversary of Toshiba laptops, and the company¡¯s UK marketing director, Matt McDowell, made it clear this was no coincidence. ¡°Hopefully we¡¯ve demonstrated we¡¯re redefining mobile computing again by launching a new era of innovative, smaller form factors.¡±Intel's Ultrabook concept has seen all manner of gorgeous, slim-and-light laptops make their way through the PC Pro office, but one thing they've never been is cheap. Now Asus is attempting to right that wrong with its VivoBook S200E, a compact little laptop which crams in a Core i3 processor alongside Windows 8 and an 11.6in touchscreen.
As the VivoBook S200E measures a relatively chunky 22mm thick, Asus isn't officially allowed to call it an Ultrabook. Regardless, we doubt anyone would describe this laptop as overweight. At 1.41kg, this 11.6in machine is a little heavier than most 13in Ultrabooks, though not by much, and thanks to the tiny, lightweight 148g wall wart power supply, you can pop both in a bag without too much shoulder strain.While it lacks the razor-edge slenderness of pricier peers, this little laptop is still good-looking and solidly built. Sheets of alloy stretch across the lid and around the Scrabble-tile keyboard, making the S200E look like a chubby cousin to Asus's 11.6in Ultrabook, the Zenbook UX21. The metal and plastic construction feels bombproof, and the whole chassis is stiff and flex-free. It's outlandishly refined for a ¡ê450 laptop.The modest hardware within does a good job of keeping Windows 8 feeling fluid and responsive, too. There are two VivoBook S200E models in the range, with the entry-level model featuring a basic Pentium CPU for ¡ê400, while the model we're reviewing here has a dual-core 1.8GHz Core i3. Whichever you choose, there's 4GB of memory and a 500GB hard disk. It isn't a lightning-quick combination by any means, but the result of 0.48 in our Real World Benchmarks compares very favourably to even full-sized budget laptops. The only annoyance is the quiet whir of the cooling fan, although this is audible only in quiet surroundings.
In some ways, however, the VivoBook S200E is quite out of the ordinary. It does everything you'd expect of a standard laptop, but the 11.6in touchscreen and Windows 8 make a fine pairing. We quickly found ourselves instinctively flitting between tapping at the keyboard and touchpad to prodding the screen directly. Here, the extra weight in the VivoBook's base proves a real boon, preventing the laptop from tilting backwards too easily as you tap. It still doesn't take much force to set the Asus rocking back on its hinge, but as the touchscreen responds to even the lightest of touches, it's easy to adapt to it.Games consoles can help get children interested in coding, according to manufacturers - and Microsoft is offering cut-price Xbox 360s to help get them into classrooms.Sony and Microsoft are racing to get their own consoles into the hands of pupils ahead of the new computing curriculum, which will be introduced in September.Speaking to PC Pro at the BETT education technology show, both firms said consoles were a natural segue into computer science."A lot of people use Xbox consoles and PlayStation consoles at home," said Steve Beswick, Microsoft¡¯s senior director of education. "If you can use that as a device to do programming, it can entice the student by coming from an Xbox environment into computer science rather than coming in from a PC or laptop."
Dr. Maria Stukoff, the head of academic development at Sony Computer Entertainment Europe, added that game development gave children more than just computing skills."Why do we use PCs when it could be PS?" she said. "Especially when you look at future skills, getting gaming technology skill sets [helps with] coding, story telling, teamwork and problem solving."Microsoft will offer discounted previous-generation Xbox 360 consoles and software development kits to UK schools from today, as part of a wider educational drive.The company has also unveiled a new suite of free software, Switched On Computing, to help primary school teachers who will be teaching the new curriculum later this year.This is the first time Microsoft will specifically target the education market with Xbox 360 bundles, with Beswick saying the demand had come from schools."More people are using Xbox to do programming," said Beswick. "As part of our investment into [the] education market, we¡¯ll [offer] bundles where schools can go up and buy technology that includes our developer programmes as well as Xboxes. In the same way that we sell devices and software in a much-reduced way to schools, we're looking to do the same with Xbox."
Sony, meanwhile, said it had spent the last two years examining how PlayStation consoles could be used in schools and plans to release dedicated lesson plans for teachers before September."We were very keen to provide the PlayStation to young talent to come onto our platform, but more importantly to put the PlayStation in the education debate in the UK," said Stukoff.Laptop and mobile phone batteries could see a tenfold boost in performance if a technology breakthrough from scientists in the US comes to fruition.According to researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, replacing conventional battery electrodes with those coated with carbon nanotubes can drastically increase the power to weight ratio compared to conventional lithium-ion batteries.The scientists say they produced the powerful new electrodes by alternatively dipping a base material in solutions containing carbon nanotubes with positive and negative charges to make a stable film coating.
The result is an electrode that is more porous and contains more oxygen groups, which can store a larger number of lithium ions.According to the scientists, the energy output for a given weight of this new electrode material was five times greater than for conventional capacitors, and the total power delivery rate was 10 times that of lithium-ion batteries.In addition to their high power output, the researchers claim the carbon nanotube electrodes were highly stable showing no change in performance over 1,000 charge cycles.Although carbon nanotube production is currently limited to niche suppliers, several companies are gearing up for mass production of the material.Microsoft's Courier tablet might be languishing somewhere in a Redmond wheelie-bin, but Toshiba's Libretto W100 has turned the keyboard-free concept into reality. With dual 7in touchscreens, a miniature netbook form factor and no sign of Intel's weakling Atom, the Libretto takes a daring stride into the future.First impressions are excellent, too. It manages the tricky balancing act of appearing light in the hand without feeling desperately insubstantial, and we were impressed to find the early pre-production units feeling so physically well finished. Brushed aluminium constrasts nicely with the gloss black trim, and the whole effect is one of understated class.
What's probably not immediately apparent from the photographs is how small it is. Measuring just 202mm wide and 123mm deep, it's easy to mistake the Libretto for a plump, miniaturised netbook. It is admittedly fairly thick around its waist - a chunky 31mm - but given how much Toshiba has crammed into its lightweight 840g frame, it's still impressively petite.While we would have been entirely unsurprised to find the Libretto sporting a decidedly modest specification, any fears that Toshiba might have crippled the Libretto with a sluggish Atom processor were soon dispelled. Instead, we were relieved to find a 1.2GHz Intel Pentium U5400 processor taking pride of place alongisde 2GB of DDR3 memory and a 62GB SSD.It's a seriously powerful combination for such a dainty device - not least as the U5400 is more
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