The Samsung ATIV Book 9 Plus, $1224.95

The ATIV Book 9 Plus is a real eye-opener of an ultraportable. With its attractive anodized-aluminum body highlighted by streaks of silver, Samsung's Ultrabook (priced at $1,224) offers Apple-level aesthetics for the Windows crowd. Featuring a 13.3-inch Quad-HD+ touch screen, an Intel Core i5 CPU, 4GB of RAM and a 128GB SSD, the Samsung is well-equipped. But is this laptop really worth $250 more than the MacBook Air?

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Configurations

Our review unit, the NP940X3G-K03US ($1,289 on Amazon), comes with a 4th generation Intel Core i5-4200U CPU, 4GB of RAM and a 128GB SSD, but it's not the model you really want. There's a newer and cheaper model (NP940X3K-K03US, $1,258 on Amazon), which features an updated 5th-gen Intel Core i5-5200U CPU, 4GB of RAM and a 128GB SDD. Intel's latest CPU promises longer battery life and better graphics performance.

If you need some extra speed, there are more expensive models that extend up to $1,700, featuring Intel Core i7-5500 CPUs, 8GB of RAM and 256GB SSDs.

Design 

I've had expensive, professional-grade cameras with thousand-dollar lenses and shouty gaming laptops with blinding neon lights sitting on my desk, but it's the Samsung's ATIV Book 9 Plus' refined elegance that's drawn the most attention from co-workers.   

Samsung's aluminum-skinned notebook looks stately when closed, with an anodized, brushed, midnight-blue finish (Samsung calls it Mineral Ash Black) that shimmers between purple and black in the right light. There's a silver brushed-metal rim that highlights the circumference of the lid and deck, while the bottom features a streamlined design broken up only by speaker grilles toward the front and fan vents near the back.

Opening the laptop reveals a super-sharp, 13.3-inch, 3200 x 1800 touch screen and a spacious, backlit, chiclet-style keyboard. The deck features the same midnight-blue finish as the exterior, accented by the silver metal lip around the spacious touchpad.

Samsung's notebook design is luxurious without being gaudy, and its dark blue finish provides a great alternative to the sea of brushed-metal laptops from other makers. My only complaints are that fingerprints become a little bit more noticeable against a dark finish and that the display's bottom bezel is more than twice the thickness of the other sides, giving the screen a Leno-like chin. But don't let my nitpicking outweigh the positives; the ATIV Book 9 Plus is beautiful, and easily one of the best-looking thin-and-lights laptops on the market. 

MORE: Laptop Interactive Buying Guide

At 12.5 x 8.8 x 0.54-inches, the ATIV Book 9 Plus is ever so slightly larger than the Dell XPS 13 (12 x 7.9 x 0.33-0.6-inches) and the HP Elitebook Folio 1020 (12.2 x 8.3 x 0.62 inches), although it is a hair thinner than both. 

Weighing 3.06 pounds, the ATIV Book 9 Plus is a little heavier than both the XPS 13 (2.8 pounds) and the Elitebook Folio 1020 (2.68 pounds).

Keyboard and Touchpad 

The ATIV Book 9 Plus features a spacious chiclet keyboard with standard measurements for key travel (1.6 mm) and actuation weight (60 grams). This let me surpass my typical typing average of 75 words per minute on 10fastfingers.com, with 78 wpm on my first attempt. The keyboard also features backlighting with multiple brightness levels, which can also be set to adjust dynamically to your current environment. 

The ATIV Book's 4 x 2.7-inch one-piece touchpad is expansive, featuring a lovely matte surface and more than enough room to move around. Two-finger gestures, such as scrolling and pinch-to-zoom, were smooth, and the ATIV Book never confused left and right clicks.

Display

With its 13.3-inch Quad HD+ 3200 x 1800 touch screen, the ATIV Book 9 Plus delivers bright images with deep, saturated colors and wide viewing angles. Everything has a sort of knife-edge sharpness that makes you not want to look away. When I watched the trailer for The Gunman, I was dazzled by the golden sparks of ricocheting bullets and the deep oranges of raging fires and sudden explosions.
Producing 315 nits of brightness, the ATIV Book 9 Plus is brighter than the XPS 13 (285 nits), the Elitebook Folio 1020 (224) and the ultraportable average of 244 nits.
The Samsung also does a good job recreating colors, as the panel covered 95.4 percent of the sRGB spectrum. That's right in the ballpark expected of a premium ultraportable, barely behind the XPS 13 (97 percent) and the same as the Elitebook Folio 1020 (95 percent).
Unfortunately, the ATIV Book's color accuracy lagged slightly behind other systems, with a Delta-E rating of 11, worse than the XPS 13 (5.1) and the Elitebook Folio 1020 (7.4). Lower scores are better.
To evaluate the touch screen, I played a Popcap's Plants vs. Zombies. I had a blast touching the screen to collect sun power and placing Peashooters and Wall-nutts to protect my house from the shambling undead. The touch screen response was quick, both in the game and when navigating Windows' Modern UI.

Audio

For such a thin system, the ATIV Book 9 Plus put out a surprising amount of volume, but if you're looking for the best audio quality, it's best to avoid the max setting. When I listened to Dance with the Dead's "Robeast," I liked the crisp, rich mids and the bright highs. Bass was a little lacking, but that's pretty typical on systems of this size.
On the Laptop Mag Audio Test, we recorded 92 decibels of sound from 23 inches away. While it can't match XPS 13's 94 dB speakers, the ATIV Book 9 Plus is significantly louder than the Elitebook Folio 1020 and the category average (both 85 dB).

Heat

The worry with all-aluminum laptops is that they have a tendency to get a little hot, due to metal being a better conductor of heat than plastic. Thankfully, the ATIV Book 9 Plus manages its temperature well, consistently staying below our 95-degree-Fahrenheit comfort threshold.

On the Laptop Mag Heat Test (15 minutes of streaming HD video from Hulu), the Samsung label below the screen was the hottest spot on the notebook, at 91 degrees, with the underside (89 degrees), space between the G and H keys (84 degrees), and the touchpad (79 degrees) measuring cooler.

Ports and Webcam

The ATIV Book's 720p webcam captures just passable images. A self portrait captured at my desk showed the faint vertical striping in my shirt and some detail in my hair, but the heavy grain in the image overall was a turn-off.
Like most laptops this size, the ATIV Book 9 Plus features two USB 3.0 ports (one on each side), with power, micro HDMI and Ethernet dongle ports on the left, and a slim security slot, combo headset/mic jack and VGA dongle port on the right. Lastly, there's an SD Card slot hiding behind a cover midway down the left side.

Performance

With an Intel Core i5-4200U CPU, 4GB of RAM and 128GB SSD, the ATIV Book 9 Plus easily streamed a 1080p video from YouTube, even with 10 tabs open in Chrome Hearthstone downloading in the background.
When we ran Geekbench 3 to test overall system performance, the ATIV Book scored 5,056 -- just behind the XPS 13 (5,653 with 5th Gen Intel Core i5 and 8GB of RAM), but way ahead of the Elitebook Folio 1020 (3,814 with Intel Core-M5Y71 and 8GB of RAM) and the category average of 3,846.
The Samsung took 5 minutes and 17 seconds to match 20,000 names and addresses in OpenOffice. That's ahead of the XPS 13 (5:34), the Elitebook Folio 1020 (6:36) and the ultraportable average of 11:02.
To evaluate the ATIV Book's 128 GB SSD, we duplicated 4.97GB of mixed media files. The Samsung achieved a transfer rate of 221.3 MBps, a good deal faster than the SSDs in the XPS 13 (154.2 MBps), the Elitebook Folio 1020 (182 MBps) and the category average of 100 MBps.

Graphics

It's too bad we weren't able to test the Intel HD 5500 graphics found on new ATIV Book 9 Plus models, but the Intel HD 4400 graphics in our configuration is more than enough to handle light gaming. The only issue is that the 3200 x 1800 native resolution is often too high for smooth gaming; we suggest moving down to a lower resolution.
When I played Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft at the ATIV Book's native resolution and medium settings, I noticed periods of lag when I was selecting cards and when spell animations were running. After I switched to 1920 x 1080, Hearthstone ran much more smoothly.
On the 3DMark Fire Strike graphics benchmark, the ATIV Book 9 Plus scored 581, about 30 percent behind the XPS 13 (740), slightly behind the ultraportable average of 603, but ahead of the Elitebook Folio 1020 (403).

Battery Life

On the Laptop Mag Battery Test (continuous Web surfing at 100 nits of brightness), the ATIV Book 9 Plus lasted 7 hours and 54 minutes on a charge. While this runtime is not the best we've seen, it's half an hour more than the Dell XPS 13 (7:24) and the ultraportable average (7:27).
MORE: 10 Laptops with the Longest Battery Life
The Samsung also lasted an hour longer than the HP Elitebook Folio 1020 (6:49), even with its low-power Core M CPU.

Software and Warranty

Along with a standard one-year warranty, Samsung includes some helpful software, such as a customized settings menu, recovery tool, software update, the company's suite of S apps (S Agent, S Player and more) and SideSync, which can be accessed through the OSX-like Quick Starter toolbar.
The Samsung settings menu doesn't do much that the normal Windows options can't do, but using it makes it a little easier to set text to a readable size when the resolution is at 3200 x 1800. I appreciate Samsung's SideSync app, which lets you share content from your Galaxy phone, view your phone or tablet's screen on the laptop, and even use your phone's touch screen as a wireless mouse. This is perfect for when you want to play a movie on your TV, but don't want to get up every time you need to pause.
There's some other third-party software on board, such as Norton Studio, iHeartRadio and Netflix, along with trials for Microsoft Office and Plants vs. Zombies. In the end, there's a little too much pre-installed junk for my liking.

Bottom Line

The Samsung ATIV Book 9 Plus has everything you want in an ultraportable: a bright, high-res touch screen; good power; 8-hour battery life; and an exquisitely crafted aluminum body. However, it's not quite our favorite Ultrabook. The $1,399 Dell XPS 13 has twice as much memory and storage (8GB of RAM and a 256GB SSD), not to mention a stunning bezel-less infinity display and smaller, lighter body. Overall, though, the ATIV Book 9 Plus is one of the best ultraportables available.

Source From: http://www.laptopmag.com

7:12 PM   by Unknown ·   0

The HP Spectre x360, $799

Is it a laptop, tablet or both? The HP Spectre x360 13t Touch, the latest in HP's line of Yoga-like systems, fills the gap between the company's previous 11- and 15-inch systems designed to flip from notebook to slate -- and everything in between. Starting at $899 ($999 as configured), this all-aluminum ultraportable also has a bright display, extra-wide touchpad and excellent battery life. But while it's a great notebook, is it the best convertible you can get?

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Design

If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, then HP's competitors must all be blushing. For the Spectre x360, HP looks like it combined the best ideas from most other top-end Ultrabooks.
Like the MacBook Air, the x360 is made from a machined aluminum chassis. Its polished metal sides, not unlike the Samsung ATIV Book 9, are a nice contrast to the matte finish on the lid and bottom. As with the Toshiba Kirabook, the front edges are rounded, while the rear edges have a sharper right angle. Finally, the rear portion of the lid and the bottom section are each rounded and connected by two shiny hinges, similar to the Lenovo Yoga 2 Pro.
The lid has a clean, minimalist look: It's unadorned except for a small groove near the top and an offset "Hewlett-Packard" in the middle. Inside, the x360 is all HP. The keyboard deck, a silver-on-silver treatment, is reminiscent of other HP systems, and the extra-wide Clickpad is also a holdover from earlier Spectre-branded notebooks.
In a necessary concession to its folding design, the x360's power button is on the left edge, and the Windows button is on the right edge (instead of below the display). Also on the right is a volume rocker, useful for when you're using the x360 in tablet mode.
At 3.26 pounds, the x360 is heavier than most other 13-inch ultraportables. Among those whose screens can fold back 360 degrees, the Lenovo Yoga 3 Pro is a full pound lighter, as is the nonfolding Dell XPS 13 (2.5 pounds). The MacBook Air weighs 2.9 pounds.
Like with other convertible notebooks, the Stand mode (with the keyboard facing down) will be useful when watching movies in compact spaces, such as when the notebook is on an airline tray table. However, the sharp edges and weight of the x360 made it unwieldy and uncomfortable to hold in Tablet mode.
MORE: Best Laptops
HP says the x360's hinges contain a set of three spiral gears "for synchronized and precise movement." All I know is that it opened and closed fairly easily, and was stiff enough so that I could poke at the screen without it wobbling too much.

Display

Recently, many notebook makers have outfitted their high-end Ultrabooks with UltraHD displays. On most versions of the x360, HP eschews that trend, opting for a 1080p touch screen, which is plenty sharp and colorful, and most likely helps save battery life. (A quad-HD touch screen will be available, but only on the most expensive configuration.)
A trailer for Avengers: Age of Ultron looked rich and saturated, and the sports cars in Fast and Furious 7 gleamed in the Southern California sun. Details were sharp enough to see the stubble on the face of just about every male actor.
At 339 nits, the x360 outshines its competition, besting the average ultraportable (255 nits) by a fair margin. The Yoga 3 Pro is the next brightest, at 318 nits, followed by the XPS 13 (298 nits) and the MacBook Air (288 nits).
Our display tests backed up my initial impressions: The x360's screen can produce 103.2 percent of the sRGB spectrum (anything around 100 percent is very good). The panel's Delta-E score of 1.25 (numbers closer to 0 are better) means that the colors are highly accurate, too.

Audio

Like its display, the x360's audio also impressed. Kurt Russell's growling voice in Furious 7 was full throated, as were explosions, gunfire and the roar of V12 engines. Vocals were also front and center in Vance Joy's "Riptide." Higher tones, such as guitar strums and the tambourine, were pronounced without being muddy.
Although it seemed to boom in my office, the x360's speakers weren't the loudest. Registering 82 decibels (as measured from 23 inches away), the notebook was a touch quieter than average (85 dB) and the Yoga 3 (86 dB), and nowhere near as loud as the XPS 13 (94 dB).

Keyboard and Touchpad

In all, typing on the x360 was a pleasurable experience. The x360's keys have 1.34mm of travel and require 62 grams of force to press; both numbers are typical of most notebooks (1.32mm/57 grams). While the keys were slightly mushier than I'd prefer, it didn't affect my typing speed by much. On the 10fastfingers typing test, I averaged 59 words per minute with 92 percent accuracy, nearly on a par with my desktop average of 60 wpm with 97 percent accuracy.
I also liked that the top row let me perform actions such as lowering and raising the volume and brightness without having to press the Function key first.
The superwide Synaptics Clickpad (5.5 x 2.5 inches) has similar dimensions to the 15-inch Envy x360, but lacks the former's Control Zones -- sections on the right and left sides that made it easier to launch Windows 8 gestures. The cursor never jumped, either, a problem I've experienced with other Ultrabooks.

Heat

Like cookware, aluminum-clad notebooks tend to absorb heat, and the Spectre x360 is no different. After streaming a Hulu video at full screen for 15 minutes, the touchpad (81 degrees Fahrenheit) and the space between the G and H (86 degrees) were relatively cool. However, the bottom rose to 100 degrees, which is 5 degrees higher than we consider comfortable.

Ports and Webcam

On the left side of the x360 is a single USB 3.0 port, an SD Card slot, the power button and a jack for the power plug. On the right are two more USB 3.0 ports, a headphone port, a full-size HDMI port and a miniDisplay Port.
HP calls the x360's camera a "TrueVision Full HD VWA webcam," but it didn't live up to the name.
Details, such as strands of my hair, were nondescript, and colors, such as my hazel eyes, were muted. To top it off, there was a great deal of visual noise.

Performance

Powered by 2.2-GHz Intel Core i5-5200U processor and 8B of RAM, the Spectre x360 had enough muscle to perform a full system scan using McAfee, run our Spreadsheet test and play an episode of Modern Family on Hulu at full screen without lag.
On Geekbench 3, which measures overall performance, the x360's score of 5,614 trumped the average (4,037) as well as the XPS 13 (5,530), which has the same CPU. The MacBook Air (5,393) came in just behind, and the Yoga 3 Pro's Core M processor scored 4,571.
The x360 finished our Spreadsheet Test (pairing 20,000 names and addresses in OpenOffice portable) in 5 minutes and 4 seconds. That's on a par with the XPS 13 (5:02) and about 40 seconds faster than the Yoga 3 Pro.
While not as fast as the MacBook Air (190.3 MBps) or the Yoga 3 Pro (175 MBps), the x360's 256GB SSD duplicated 4.97GB of multimedia files at a rate of 141.4 MBps. That's enough to beat the category average (121.7 MBps) as well as the nontouch XPS 13 (87.7 MBps).

Graphics

Intel HD Graphics 5000 GPUs, such as the one found in the x360, are good for lightweight games, but will struggle on more demanding titles and systems with higher resolutions. The x360 managed only 26 frames per second on World of Warcraft at its native resolution and effects on autodetect. That's on a par with the category average (29 fps) and a few ticks below the XPS 13 (33 fps).

Battery Life

The Spectre x360 is one of the longest-running 2-in-1s we've tested. The system's 3-cell 56-wHr battery lasted 9 hours and 28 minutes on the Laptop Mag Battery Test (Web surfing via Wi-Fi at 100 nits).
MORE: 10 Laptops with the Longest Battery Life
That's about 2 hours longer than the category average (7:27) and touch-screen version of the XPS 13 (7:24) and an hour longer than the Lenovo Yoga 3 Pro. The nontouch Dell XPS 13 (11:42) and the MacBook Air (12:20) both endured considerably longer, but not having a touch screen increases battery life.

Software and Warranty

HP includes its trio of "Connected" utilities. Connected Music acts as a portal for audio from both local files (such as your iTunes library) and streaming sources such as TuneIn Radio.
Connected Photo, powered by Snapfish, lets you view images on the notebook, as well as on Facebook and Snapfish. Through this app, you can also print photos through Snapfish, if you want to go old school.
Connected Drive is a means to view all your photos, videos, documents and music on your PC, tablet, phone (Android and iOS) and cloud services (Box.net, Facebook, Dropbox and Google Drive).
Third-party apps include Netflix, CyberLink Power Media Player and CyberLink YouCam. Users also get a one-year subscription to McAfee LiveSafe.

Configurations

The HP Spectre x360 starts at a very reasonable $899, which gets you a 2.2-GHz Intel Core i5-5200U processor, 4GB of RAM and a 128GB SSD. You can configure this version with 8GB of RAM ($50), a Core i7-5500U processor ($150), and a 256GB SSD ($50) or 512GB SSD ($200). For the money, I'd recommend the 8GB of RAM and 256GB SSD.
A preconfigured $1,149 version comes with the Core i7 processor, 8GB of RAM and a 256GB SSD, which represents a savings of $50 than if you were to purchase those components separately.
At the top end, a quad-HD version of the x360, available in April, will have a Core i7 processor, 8GB of RAM and a 512GB SSD, and will cost $1,399.

Bottom Line

With long battery life, good performance and an attractive design, the HP Spectre x360 is one of the best convertible notebooks you can buy. While not as light, or convenient, in tablet mode as the Lenovo Yoga 3 Pro, the x360 is less expensive, has a more powerful processor and lasts longer on a charge. If you're not interested in a convertible, the nontouch version of the Dell XPS 13 offers similar performance and much longer battery life in a smaller package. But if you want something that can adapt with your needs, the Spectre x360 is a very good choice.

Source From: http://www.laptopmag.com

7:09 PM   by Unknown ·   0

Asus ZenBook UX305, $699

Design 

The UX305's design is an exercise in simplicity; there isn't a single unnecessary protuberance, and its lines and curves flow from edge to edge with an elegant fluidity. Finished in dark obsidian stone, the UX305 continues the ZenBook tradition by featuring a gorgeous aluminum body and a delicately thin waistline.

The lid is decorated with a subtle laser-cut circle pattern that radiates outward from the center and draws your eye to the silver Asus logo in the middle. 

Inside, the aluminum deck is complemented by a black Chiclet-style keyboard and spacious one-piece touchpad. With its fanless design, the bottom of the UX305 is completely smooth and unbroken, except for the stereo speaker grilles on either side and four rubber feet.

At 12.7 x 8.9 x 0.48 inches and 2.64 pounds, the UX305 is even thinner than the already svelte Dell XPS 13 (12 x 7.9 x 0.33-0.6 inches and 2.6 pounds) and the HP EliteBook Folio 1020 (12.2 x 8.2 x 0.62 inches and 2.68 pounds), although it has a slightly larger footprint than both.

Keyboard and Touchpad 

The UX305's Chiclet-style keyboard is comfortable and spacious. The keys have a standard actuation weight of 60 grams, and I wasn't bothered by the slightly shallower-than-normal key travel of 1.2 mm.

On 10fastfingers.com, I exceeded my 75-words-per-minute average by about 5 wpm on each of my first three attempts. The only thing I missed was the backlighting found on other Ultrabooks; both the EliteBook Folio 1020 and the XPS 13 have this feature. 

For your mousing needs, the UX305 features a well-sized 4.1 x 2.9-inch one-piece touchpad. Gestures such as two-finger scrolling and pinch-to-zoom were smooth and responsive, and the UX305 was never confused between left and right clicks.

Display  

With its matte screen, the UX305 bucks the glossy trend of most modern laptops. This results in colors that look slightly less saturated when compared to the competition, but in return, you get a bright display with almost 180-degree viewing angles and better outdoor visibility. If you spend more of your time looking at spreadsheets and Word documents than pictures or movies, the UX305's matte screen is not only more practical, but looks better, too.

When I watched ABC's Fresh Off the Boat, the UX305's display didn't replicate the same deep colors or sparkle from Eddie's jewelry that I saw on other glossy-screened laptops. On the other hand, I never had to confront my own face staring back at me every time the screen faded to black.

MORE: Laptop Interactive Buying Guide

Using our light meter, we found that the UX305 produced 281 nits, which is a measurement of brightness. That's slightly below the matte-screened version of the XPS 13, but 25 percent brighter than the EliteBook Folio 1020 and 13 percent brighter than the ultraportable average of 247.

In terms of color reproduction, the UX305's display covered 93.9 percent of the sRGB spectrum, which is good but pretty standard for an Ultrabook in this price range. That's slightly more than the matte XPS 13 (91.7), but a bit less than the EliteBook Folio 1020 (95 percent). 

The one area where the UX305 performed poorly was color accuracy. The panel registered a Delta-E rating of 11.7 (closer to 0 is best). That's worse than the XPS 13's mediocre rating of 10.6 and even further from the EliteBook Folio 1020's 7.4.

Audio

The UX305 features stereo speakers designed with help from Bang & Olufsen. Unfortunately, the audio didn't quite live up to the quality I've come to expect from the Danish sound experts. 

When I listened to Childish Gambino's "Sober" the synthy highs were tinny and overpowered the delicate vocals, while the bass warbled and cracked as the speakers struggled to recreate the lows. 

The UX305 comes paired with Asus' AudioWizard software, which offers such presets as Music Mode, Movie Mode and Gaming Mode. But after I tried each preset, the audio quality didn't improve much from my initial testing.

The UX305 also comes with Smart Audio software, which includes a customizable 10-channel equalizer and options for microphone and recording adjustments. I preferred the EQ in Smart Audio to AudioWizard's preset for getting the most out of the UX305's speakers.

In terms of volume, the UX305's underpowered speakers managed to produce just 79 decibels of sound, which is significantly less than the XPS 13 (94 dB), the EliteBook Folio 1020 (85 dB) and the category average of 86 dB.

Heat 

Despite its half-inch-thick fanless design, the UX305 never crossed our 95-degree-Fahrenheit comfort threshold. On the Laptop Mag Heat Test (15 minutes of streaming HD video from Hulu), the bottom of the laptop was the hottest spot, measuring 93 degrees. The touchpad and the space between the G and H keys were cooler, at 78 and 83 degrees, respectively. 

Ports and Webcam 

For such a small machine, UX305 has a healthy number of ports. It features three USB 3.0 ports (one more than both the EliteBook and the XPS 13), an SD card reader, a micro HDMI port, a combo headphone/mic jack and a DC-in port. 

The 720p webcam takes videos at 30 frames per second, but the overall quality was just mediocre, because the camera struggles with white balance.

A picture taken at the Laptop Mag office lacked a lot of detail in my hair, but the bigger problem was the overly yellow tint that evoked photos from cowboy saloons in the 1800s as opposed to a picture taken in a well-lit office in 2015.  

Performance 

Seeing a sub-1-GHz CPU -- 0.8 GHz, to be exact -- can be alarming at first. But after smoothly streaming a 1080p movie with several spreadsheets and 10 Chrome tabs open in the background, the UX305 showed it's more than capable of handling a typical workload without any problems. The UX305 features a low-power Intel Core M-5Y10 CPU, 8GB of RAM and a 256GB solid-state drive.

MORE: Best ASUS Laptops
The Core-M processor has the added benefit of allowing Asus to create a completely fanless system, so even under load, my movie wasn't interrupted by the sound of whirring blades trying to cool the system -- an annoyance I often encounter when using other Ultrabooks.

On Geekbench 3, which evaluates overall system performance, the UX305 scored 4,623. While that's 20 percent slower than the Core i5-powered XPS 13, it's important to remember that the Dell also costs $200 more than the UX305 ($699 for the Asus versus $899 for the Dell) with a 128GB SSD. The EliteBook Folio, which has an Intel Core M-5Y71 CPU, finished behind the UX305, with a score of 3,814, despite a price tag more than double that of the UX305. 

To test transfer speeds, we used the SSD to duplicate 4.97GB of mixed media files. The UX305 completed the test in 33 seconds, for a rate of 154.2 MBps. That beats the $899 XPS 13 (87.7 MBps) and the ultraportable average (106 MBps), but was slightly behind the EliteBook Folio 1020 (182 MBps).

On the Laptop Mag Spreadsheet Test, the UX305 matched 20,000 names and addresses in 6 minutes and 50 seconds. That's almost 2 minutes longer than the XPS 13 (5:02), but only slightly slower than EliteBook Folio 1020 (6:36).

Graphics 

Equipped with integrated Intel HD 5300 graphics, the UX305 easily handled casual games such as Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft at 1920 x 1080 and medium graphics, with stable frame rates and smooth animations. Unfortunately, when I played more intense games, such as StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm, the Asus struggled to stay above 30 fps at similar graphics settings. 

On the 3DMark Fire Strike graphics benchmark, the UX305 scored 603, which is a little lower than the XPS 13's score of 704 with Intel HD 5500 graphics, but better than the EliteBook Folio 1020's score of 405 with regular Intel HD graphics.

Battery Life 

The UX305 nearly makes good on Asus' claim of 10 hours of battery life. On the Laptop Mag Battery Test (continuous Web surfing over Wi-Fi at 100 nits), the UX305 lasted 9 hours and 38 minutes.

MORE: 10 Laptops with the Longest Battery Life

While that's not quite as good as the $899 nontouch Dell XPS 13's whopping 11:42 battery life, it's almost 3 hours longer than HP's EliteBook Folio 1020 (6:49) and 2 hours longer than the ultraportable average of 7:27.

Configurations 

Our sample $699 UX305FA model came with a 13-inch 1920 x 1080-pixel matte display, an Intel Core M 5Y10 CPU, 8GB of RAM and a 256GB SSD. There's an upcoming QHD+ model featuring a glossy 3200 x 1800p touch screen for $999, but it won't be available until April.

Currently, the Microsoft Store is offering a $60 student discount on the UX305, which brings the price down to an even more attractive $639.

Software and Warranty 

Asus keeps the UX305's desktop clean, and it's relatively free of bloat.

It comes preloaded with a few third-party apps, such as Flipboard, Line, TripAdvisor and Zinio Reader. As usual, there's a trial for Microsoft Office. The most helpful piece of software is Asus' WebStorage, which offers 16GB of cloud storage for three years for free on all new UX305 machines.

The UX305 comes with a standard one-year warranty and a year of Asus Accidental Damage protection, which offers one claim to fix damage from spills, power surges or drops.

Bottom Line

You simply won't find a more well-rounded Ultrabook for the money. With its Intel Core M CPU, 8GB of RAM and 256GB SSD, the $699 ZenBook UX305 is an absolute bargain. The only downsides are the quiet speakers and the lack of a keyboard backlight.

Have more to spend? I wouldn't fault anyone for choosing the $899 Dell XPS 13, with its even longer battery life and impressive Infinity display. But for my money, I'd take home the sleek and sexy UX305, knowing I'd have double the storage -- and two extra Benjamins to keep me company. 

Source From: http://www.laptopmag.com

7:06 PM   by Unknown ·   0

The 2015 MacBook Pro with Retina Display, Starting at $1,299

 

The outside remains the same, but inside, the 2015 MacBook Pro with Retina Display feels like it's a league ahead of last year's model. Not only does the new MacBook perform better and last longer on a charge, but it also has an innovative touchpad that lets you do a lot more than just point and click. Starting at $1,299, the Pro costs a good deal more than the 13-inch Air, but those who purchase it will find this system to be worth the money.

Design

Nothing new to see here: The 2015 MacBook Pro with Retina Display is essentially unchanged since its introduction in 2012. At 12.35 x 8.62 x 0.71 inches and 3.46 pounds, the aluminum Pro is thin and light enough to carry around in a messenger bag, but isn't as svelte as the 3-pound, 2.8 x 9 x 0.11-0.68 inch MacBook Air.
I can see why Apple would want to leave well enough alone, but other notebook makers are doing more innovative things. For example, the Dell XPS 13 also has a 13.3-inch display, but packs it all into an 11.98 x 7.88 x 0.33-0.6 inch, 2.8-pound frame. And, it has a touch screen, something the Mac lacks. Apple's smaller new 12-inch MacBook comes in a variety of colors, something I'd like to see the company offer on the Pro as well.
Like last year's MacBook Pro, this year's also includes a USB 3.0 port, an HDMI and an SD Card slot on the right, and two Thunderbolt 2 ports, one USB 3.0 port, and a headphone jack on the left.

Keyboard

The MacBook Pro's backlit keyboard was just as comfortable to type on as previous versions.
With 1.5mm of travel and requiring 60 grams of force to press, the keys have a snappy response, and I was up to my typical typing pace in no time.

TouchPad

Like the ghost of Obi-Wan Kenobi, Apple wants you to use the Force. Showcased on the 12-inch MacBook, but also available on the new 13-inch MacBook Pro with Retina, Apple's new Force Touch Trackpad doesn't move, but uses electromagnets and haptic feedback (its so-called "Taptic Engine") to provide the illusion of a traditional touchpad.
This new trackpad technology has a few benefits. First, you can press down anywhere on the touchpad, and it will have the same feel and reaction. (Most touchpads are hinged at the top). In practice, I didn't find this too much of a benefit, as I typically press the lower half of the touchpad.
The second benefit of the Taptic Engine is that it has two levels of sensitivity, which lets you deep-press to activate additional features. For example, in Safari, I clicked on Kathy Griffin's name, and a small window appeared with a WIkipedia summary. In Facebook, pressing on a news post opened the article in a second smaller window -- too small to be practical to read --but it also let me add the article to my Reading List. When in the Web version of Outlook, Force-pressing on a word displayed its definition in a pop-up window.
However, Force press doesn't work everywhere. For example, it's not compatible with Google Docs, and it doesn't work in other browsers, such as Chrome. However, Apple is releasing the API for Force Touch, so expect it to be available for more applications in the future.
The Force Touch takes a little adjustment. When you press on the pad, you first feel the click of the first layer -- which lets you select text, icons, etc. -- but press a little harder, and you feel the second click, which engages the extra features.


MORE: Best Apple Laptops
I'm glad you can adjust the force required to press down on the touchpad. After trying all three levels, I preferred the lightest setting; not only was it easier on my fingers, but it also made less noise. I had to be more careful when pressing down, but activating tap-to-click (a feature I regularly use on other notebooks) helped alleviate inadvertent Force Touches.

Display

The MacBook Pro's 13.3-inch, 2560 x 1600-pixel display is crisp and far brighter than almost every other notebook we've tested.
At 389 nits, it's more than 130 nits brighter than the average, and outshines the XPS 13 (298), the Yoga 3 Pro (318) and the ATIV Book 9 (315) by a wide margin. Capable of displaying 91.2 percent of the sRGB color gamut, it's a little below the XPS 13 (97), the Yoga 3 Pro (99) and the Samsung (95.4), but in the same ballpark.

Webcam

It seems like a lot of notebook makers skimp on their webcams, which produce nothing but grainy and drab images. Apple's FaceTime HD camera bucks that trend, offering crisp, detailed, and well-lit visuals.
Not only were my skin tones accurate, but I could also easily make out details in my shirt. It was a touch on the grainy side, though.

Performance

The updated 13-inch MacBook Pro packs a new fifth-generation 2.7-GHz Intel Core i5-5257U processor along with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of faster flash storage. These components allow the MacBook Pro to power past its competition, and then some.
On the synthetic Geekbench 3 test, which measures overall performance, the Mac's score of 7,113 blew past other Core i5-powered notebooks, including the Dell XPS 13 (5,653) and the Samsung ATIV Book 9 Plus (5,056). It's also significantly higher than last year's MacBook Pro (6,730), and easily lapped lower-power Core-M systems such as the Lenovo Yoga 3 Pro (4,571) and the Asus UX305 (4,623).
The MacBook Pro was able to pair 20,000 names and addresses in OpenOffice in 3 minutes and 28 seconds, more than a minute and a half faster than the XPS 13 (5:02), and even better than the Yoga 3 Pro (5:46) and the Samsung (5:17). Only the MacBook Air's time of 3:43 came close.
According to Apple, the 128GB PCI-based flash memory in the 2015 MacBook Pro is up to two times faster than last year's model, and in our testing, nearly lived up to the claim. The 2015 MacBook Pro duplicated 4.97GB of multimedia files in 13.2 seconds, a rate of 386 MBps, whereas the 2014 model was 185.7 MBps. That showing also demolishes the competition; the XPS 13 (154.2 MBps), the Lenovo (175 MBps) and the Samsung (221.3 MBps) were all much slower.

Graphics

Most other Broadwell-powered notebooks with integrated graphics use Intel's 5000-series level GPU; Apple offers a little extra oomph with an Intel Iris Graphics 6100 GPU and 15GB of memory.
On the Cinebench openGL test, the 2015 MBP's score of 29 was 8 points higher than last year's model, on a par with the XPS 13 (29.43), and well above the category average of 16.
MORE: Best Gaming Laptops
Still, the integrated GPU shows its limits with displays higher than 1080p. On our World of Warcraft test, the Mac managed just 24 fps with the resolution at 1920 x 1200 and the effects on Good. Bumping the effects to Full dropped the score to 17 fps, and increasing the resolution to its native 2560 x 1600, dropped it further, to just 12 fps.
At its native resolution (2560 x 1600p), the 2014 MacBook Pro averaged 22 fps with the graphics on Autodetect. The 2015 MBP scored a similar 20 fps, but updates to WoW have made it a more demanding game in the intervening time.

Battery Life

Apple claims the MacBook Pro will get up to 10 hours of battery life when browsing the Web, an hour longer than last year's version. Like the 2014 model -- which lasted 10 hours and 44 minutes on the Laptop Battery Test (Web surfing via Wi-Fi) -- the 2015 MacBook Pro with Retina exceeded Apple's estimates, lasting a superb 12 hours and 4 minutes.
MORE: 10 Laptops with the Longest Battery Life
That's nearly 4.5 hours longer than the average ultraportable (7:31), and on a par with the 2014 MacBook Air (12:22). The closest Windows competitor was the 1080p non-touch version of the Dell XPS 13, which lasted 11:42.
By comparison, the Dell XPS 13 with touch and an UltraHD display lasted 7:24, the ATIV Book 9 lasted 7:54, the Yoga 3 Pro, 6:29, and the Asus UX305, 9:38.

Configurations

Apple's laptops don't come cheap, and the MacBook Pro is no exception. Starting at $1,299, the notebook features an Intel Core i5 processor, 8GB of RAM and 128GB PCIe-based flash memory. Another $200 will get you a model with 256GB of storage.
For $1,799, Apple offers the MacBook Pro with a 2.9-GHz Intel Core i7 processor, 512GB PCIe-based flash storage, and 8GB of RAM.

Software and Warranty

Apple packages a robust suite of apps and utilities with its notebooks, including the iWork (Pages, Numbers and Keynote) and iLife (iMovie, GarageBand and iPhoto) suites.
The MacBook Pro also comes with the latest version of Apple's OS X operating system, known as Yosemite. This update "flattens" folders and icons to make them look more like iOS, but beyond the aesthetics, offers greater integration between Apple's devices. For example, Handoff lets you start work on a document on your phone or tablet, and then finish it on your notebook. You can also make and receive phone calls on your tablet or notebook, provided your phone is on the same Wi-Fi network.
MORE: Best Mac Apps
Although it comes with a one-year warranty, Apple offers only 90 days of complimentary technical support, where most other companies offer a full year.

Bottom Line

Who needs a touch screen, anyway? Apple's new Force Touch trackpad has the potential for users to perform a much greater number of tasks than traditional touchpads, and gives Apple something to point to when its detractors complain about the lack of touch screens on its notebooks.
But more than that, the 2015 MacBook Pro with Retina Display feels like a completely different machine than last year's model. Not only do you get much better performance, a brighter display and much faster storage, but you also get more than 12 hours of battery life. Paying $1,299 for a notebook is no trifle, but the MacBook Pro is worth the investment.

Source From: http://www.laptopmag.com

7:03 PM   by Unknown ·   0

The Best Laptop Dell XPS 13

The best laptop is now even better. Dell has given the XPS 13 ($799 to start, $1,399 with touch) a brighter screen, longer battery life, a new USB-C port with Thunderbolt 3 and your choice of Intel's latest 6th-generation Core Series CPUs. Dell also kept all the features we liked on the previous model, including the sexy aluminum and carbon-fiber body, optional quad-HD infinity display, and comfy backlit keyboard. While the location of the webcam still feels out of place, this latest XPS 13 continues to reign supreme.

Specs

CPU	2.3-GHz Intel Core i5-6200U
Operating System	Windows 10 Home
RAM	8GB
RAM Upgradable to
Hard Drive Size	128GB

Design

Like the previous version, from early 2015, the current XPS 13 features a carbon-fiber deck sandwiched between a brushed-metal lid and bottom, which creates an appealing and modern two-toned look.
I really like Dell's attention to detail, which is best seen in the bottom-mounted aluminum flap, whose sole purpose is to cover up the ugly service stickers and labels required by the Federal Communications Commission.

When you open the lid, you're treated to Dell's infinity display (pictured above), which features an almost nonexistent bezel that seems to just disappear into the background. It's intimate and engaging, and when you watch movies, it's feels like the video player is just hovering in midair.
MORE: Dell XPS 13 -- Frequently Asked Questions
The Infinity display isn't just for looks either, as the smaller lid means the XPS 13 also has a small footprint. Measuring 12 x 7.9 x 0.33-0.6-inches and weighing 2.7 pounds (2.9 pounds for the touch-screen version) this notebook is even smaller than some of the tiniest 13-inch systems, including the MacBook Air 13 (12.8 x 8.9 x 0.11-0.68-inches, 2.96 pounds) and the Lenovo Yoga 900 (12.75 x 8.86 x 0.59 inches, 2.8 pounds).

Gold Edition

The Gold Edition of the Dell XPS 13 is physically identical to the original with the exception of the Gold version's luminous yellow exterior.
It comes in only one, $1,650 configuration featuring a QHD touch screen, 6th-generation Core i7 processor, 8GB of RAM, integrated Iris graphics and 256GB of storage.

Keyboard and Touchpad

The XPS 13 features a backlit keyboard with two levels of lighting.
Dell makes up for the keyboard's somewhat shallow 1.2 mm of travel by adding a good spring at the bottom of the stroke, so even though there's not a lot of room to work with, it's not painful when you bottom out while typing.
On my first attempt at 10fastfingers.com's typing test, I recorded 85 words per minute, which is 5 more words per minute than my typical pace.
MORE: Best Laptops
The 4.1 x 2.3-inch touchpad features a seductively smooth, matte-black surface that my fingers simply couldn't get enough of. Mouse movement and multifinger gestures, such as pinch-to-zoom and two-finger scrolling, responded quickly and accurately.
Even better is the feeling of the touchpad's mouse click, which offers a really satisfying snap every time you press down.

Display

The Dell XPS 13's 13.3-inch quad-HD (3200 x 1800) touch screen is a sight to behold. It features wide viewing angles, and even better brightness and great color range than the nontouch, full-HD version of this notebook.

The result is a display whose picture lags behind only that of the Microsoft Surface Pro 4. When I watched the trailer for Gods of Egypt, the radiant blue light of Horus' eye provided a good contrast to the dark and gloomy dungeon. When compared side by side with the nontouch XPS 13, the quad-HD model featured brighter and more-saturated colors. However, the nontouch model exhibited less glare.

The touchpad features a seductively smooth surface that registered gestures accurately.

When measured with a light meter, the XPS 13 produced 336 nits of brightness. That's more than the Yoga 900 (284 nits) and the nontouch XPS 13 (318 nits) could muster. However, the pricier Surface Book (387 nits) is brighter.
Color range was on point, with the XPS 13 covering 103.6 percent of the sRGB spectrum. The MacBook Air 13's color range was significantly more limited, at just 66 percent, although the nontouch XPS 13 (92 percent), Yoga 900 (93 percent) and Surface Book (99) percent) weren't far off.
Interestingly, despite good brightness and great color range, the XPS 13's color accuracy is only slightly better than average. The touch-screen model turned in a Delta-E rating of 3.13. (Closer to 0 is best.) The nontouch model was much less accurate, with a score of 8.2.

Audio

Even though size is at a premium, the XPS 13 still puts out a lot of sound. When I listened to DJ Mehdi's "I Am Somebody," I was surprised by the Dell's better-than-average bass and overall volume (which was more than enough to fill our testing lab), although I would have liked more crispness from the percussion.

Heat

The touch version of the XPS 13 ran hotter than the nontouch model. After streaming HD video for 15 minutes, a section near the vent on the bottom of the touch XPS 13 registered a disturbing 112 degrees Fahrenheit, far above our typical 95-degree threshold.
Other areas, such as the touchpad and space between the G and H keys, were much less worrisome, at 87.5 and 98.5 degrees, respectively.
The nontouch version of the XPS 13 stayed cooler. The hottest spot on the notebook after our video test was the bottom right corner, at 97 degrees.

Ports and Webcam

New on this year's XPS 13 is a reversible USB Type-C port with support for Thunderbolt 3. Though it doesn't charge the laptop, this Type-C connection transfers data at up to 40 Gbps, or outputs video to multiple 4K displays over a single cord.

The XPS 13 also includes two traditional USB 3.1 ports, an SD card reader and a combo headphone/mic jack.
Due to the laptop's slim bezel, the XPS 13's webcam is located beneath the display.
The 1280 x 720 camera features dual mics for better audio during video calls, although it's a little awkward to always be looking down at the bottom-left corner. This can often cause shadows to fall on your face. Despite the good detail and sharp focus I saw in a selfie I took in our office, the picture ended up looking a little dark.

Performance

We tested two versions of the Dell XPS 13 -- one with a touch screen and one without -- but each one featured a 6th-gen 2.3-GHz Intel Core i5-6200U processor, 8GB of RAM and a 256GB PCIe x4 (aka NVME) SSD.

This machine can multitask, stream video and crunch numbers with the best of them.

In our tests, this machine multitasked, streamed video and crunched numbers with the best of them. Even when I streamed multiple 1080p 60 fps videos in YouTube with 15 other tabs open in Edge, there wasn't a hint of slowdown.
On Geekbench 3, which tests overall system performance, the XPS 13 scored 6,374. As expected, the MacBook Air 13 (5,783) with its older, 5th-gen Core i5 CPU, didn't score quite as high, although the Yoga 900, with the same i5-6200 U, was in the same ballpark, at 6,264. The Surface Book finished even higher due to its slightly faster Core i5-6300 chip.
When we used OpenOffice to match a spreadsheet containing 20,000 names and addresses, the XPS 13 finished the task in 4 minutes and 28 seconds. While this is a good deal faster than the ultraportable average, it was slightly behind the times from the Yoga 900 (4:18), Surface Book (4:17) and even the MacBook Air 13 (4:03).

Source From: http://www.laptopmag.com

6:52 PM   by Unknown ·   0