Software Crisis

During the late 1960s and 1970s, there was an outcry over an impending software crisis. The symptoms of such a crisis surfaced then and are present even today. The symptoms are the following:

1. Software cost has shown a rising trend, outstripping the hardware cost. Boehm (1976, 1981) indicated that since the fifties, the percentage of total cost of computation attributable to hardware has dramatically reduced and that attributable to software has correspondingly increased. Whereas software cost was only a little over 20% in the 1950’s, it was nearly 60% in the 1970’s, and about 80% in the 1980’s. Today, the computer system that we buy as ‘hardware’ has generally cost the vendor about three times as much for the software as it has for the hardware (Pressman 1992).

2. Software maintenance cost has been rising and has surpassed the development cost. Boehm (1981) has shown that the bulk of the software cost is due to its maintenance rather than its development.

3. Software is almost always delivered late and exceeds the budgeted cost, indicating time and

cost overruns.

4. It lacks transparency and is difficult to maintain.

5. Software quality is often less than adequate.

6. It often does not satisfy the customers.

7. Productivity of software people has not kept pace with the demand of their services.

8. Progress on software development is difficult to measure.

9. Very little real-world data is available on the software development process. Therefore, it has not been possible to set realistic standards.

10. How the persons work during the software development has not been properly understood. One of the earliest works that explained to a great extent the causes of software crisis is by Brooks (1972). We shall get in the next section a glimpse of the work of Brooks.

Better Explorer Beta 1

Better Explorer is a replacement for the standard Windows Explorer with more features for more convenience. Among other features, Better Explorer has Tabs, Ribbon interface, additional conditional tabs and so on!

This Project is designed for use with Windows 7 (it WILL NOT work on older operating systems).

It also works on the Windows 8 Release Preview.

The main goals of this project are:

- Adding Ribbon Control UI like in Windows 8 (Implemented)

- Adding tab functionality together with use of standard explorer browser control (Implemented)

- Adding additional features like:

• Changing Library icons (conditional tab for Libraries) (Implemented)
• File operation with files and folders (Implemented)
• Synchronized command prompt
• Change of folder icons (conditional tab for folders)
• Extended Jump list support (Windows 7) (Implemented)
• Extended search conditional tab like extended search pane in Vista (Windows 7) (Implemented)

Beta 1 Changes

There were a lot of changes, including:

• Translations into 10 different languages (the translations are not complete and will be updated soon)
• Conditional Select
• new tools for managing archives
• Folder Tools tab
• new search bar and Search Tab
• new image editing tools
• update function
• many bug fixes, stability fixes, and memory leak fixes
• other new features as well!

Note: This is beta software. Do not install this if you don't know what you are doing!

Download: Better Explorer Beta 1 | 14.1 MB (Open Source)

View: Better Explorer Website

Dell Latitude E5430 and E5530 Business Notebooks Announced

Dell today announced the new Latitude E5430 and E5530 business laptops, the E5430 sports a 14” screen while the E5530 has a larger sized 15.6” screen. These two laptops will start at around $800 on Dell.com when they become available next month, which puts them below the asking price for the more premium $1,000 Latitude E6430. The Latitude E5430 will replace the currently available E5420, the style will be much the same as before but internally updates will include the new 3rd generation Intel Core i3 or i5 processors and the integration of Intel vPro system management technology. The E5430 will have a tri-metal design with a brush aluminum finish to provide for high durability even with the lower system price. The keyboard will also be spill resistant and hinges made of steel to add to the overall rigidness of the system. The standard screen for the E5430 will be a 14” 1366 x 768 resolution matte screen and there will be an option to upgrade to a higher resolution HD+ 1600 x 900 screen.

The look for the larger sized E5530 will be the same as that of the E5430, just larger with a 15.6” screen. There will be the option to upgrade to a Full HD 1920 x 1080 screen on this larger Latitude model and it will have a built-in number pad due to the larger size. Both models will offer an integrated web camera and an optical drive.

Availability of the E5430 and E5530 should fall around July or August at which point further details will be revealed.

Vizio Laptops Coming this Month to Walmart

It looks like the Vizio laptops that were announced back in January at CES 2012 will be hitting the store shelves of Walmart this month. Vizio confirmed to Gizmodo that they would indeed be rolling out their first PC offerings to stores in mid to late June, but did not confirm any specs. In addition to a laptop, Vizio will also be launching an all-in-one desktop PC.

It is unclear whether the laptop Vizio intends to release will be the 14” Ultrabook that got displayed at CES. Vizio said at the time they would release an Ultrabook with a price that “doesn’t seem possible” according to the company CTO. Vizio is best know for its uber cheap LCD TVs and they’re hoping to beat the competition on price in the PC market as well. However, if you witness the 8” Vizio Tablet that was released last year, it has basically been following the price trajectory of other Android tablets – down. It’s about the same price as other cheap Android tablets, such as the Coby 8” Tablet andLenovo IdeaPad A1 7” that both cost under $200. So the question that remains is whether Vizio will walk the walk after talking the talk with their pricing here. If they truly want to win on pricing in the Ultrabook space, they’ll need to hit a price point under $700 as HP already has the Envy 4t Ultrabook priced at $699. Lenovo will be releasing their IdeaPad U400 Ultrabook priced at a similar amount too. All will be revealed in a few days and then we can all stop at aisle 4 when doing our Walmart shopping to check these out these new Vizio PC offerings in person. Should be interesting.

New HP Coupons for June, 33% Off ENVY and Pavilion Quad Edition Laptops

HP has yet another 33% off coupon for the dv6t and dv7t Quad Edition and ENVY laptops that has just been issued for June 3 – June 13, 2012. Here are the details to get this discount:

Use coupon code NBG5247 to get 33% off when purchasing a customized HP Pavilion dv6t Quad Edition, dv7t Quad Edition, Envy 15t-3200, Envy 17t-3200 or Envy 173D laptop at HP.com

Offer limited to 900 uses (1 per household), coupon expires on 6/13/2012

This means the dv6t-7000 is once again at the lowest price we’ve ever seen (or at least tied with). When you use the coupon NBG5247 at checkout the base configuration price of the dv6t Quad Edition drops to $770.49:

The configuration for the $770 price has the following specs:

Processor: 3rd generation Intel Ivy Bridge Core i7-3610QM Processor (2.3 GHz, 6MB L3 Cache)

Graphics: NVIDIA(R) GeForce(R) GT 630M Graphics with 1GB GDDR5 memory

Memory: FREE Upgrade to 8GB DDR3 System Memory (2 Dimm)

Storage: 1TB 5400 rpm Hard Drive with HP ProtectSmart Hard Drive Protection

Screen: 15.6-inch diagonal glossy screen with 1366 x 768 resolution

Optical Drive: Blu-ray player & SuperMulti DVD burner

We recommend upgrading to the 1920 x 1080 screen and Nvidia 650M graphics which would bring the total price after coupon to $904.49 – again, a very good price for a fully loaded desktop replacement style laptop that would allow you to do gaming and run the most demanding of software applications. If you need something larger and prefer the dv7t Quad Edition the base starting price is $837.49.

The coupon for 33% off also works on the ENVY lineup, the ENVY 15-3200 and ENVY 17-3200 were released this weekend and include the new Intel Ivy Bridge processors. The ENVY 15-3200 starts at $887.74 with the Intel Core i5-3210M 2.5GHz processor, AMD 7750M graphics and 6GB of RAM.

If you’re interested in buying any of these laptops we have full reviews for all of them, just check out the links below:

HP Pavilion dv6t-7000 Quad Edition Review

HP ENVY 15 Review

HP ENVY 17 Review

In addition to this coupon there are two more new coupons HP has issued that are good June 3 – 13:

Use coupon code NBW3244 to get $75 off any custom laptop > $750 at HP.com

Excludes HP ENVY 4t, ENVY 6t, ENVY 14,and ENVY XT laptops

Expires 6/13/2012 or after 900 uses

Use coupon code NBV9964 to get $150 off the purchase of a Pavilion dm1z Ultraportable laptopat HP.com

Expires after 500 redemptions or 6/13/2012, whichever comes first

HP Envy Spectre XT Ultrabook Now Shipping for $999

HP today threw up for sale the Envy Spectre XT 13” screen Ultrabook that they had announced last month, so it’s a few days earlier than the June 8th released they had said earlier. As expected, the starting price is $999 and at that base price you get the following specs:

Screen: 13.3" diagonal HD BrightView LED- backlit Display (1366 x 768)

Processor: 3rd generation Intel Core i5-3317U Processor

Graphics: Intel HD Graphics 4000

Memory: 4GB DDR3 System Memory (1 Dimm)

Storage: 128GB (Solid State Drive Flash Module)

OS: Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit

Wireless: Intel 802.11a/b/g/n WLAN and Bluetooth

Battery: 4 Cell Lithium Ion Battery for Up to 8.0 hours of battery life

Backlit Keyboard

Included 2 Year Warranty

The Spectre XT has a few upgrade options, you can select a larger 256GB SSD for a whopping $300 extra. You can also bump the processor up to a Core i7-3517U or Core i7-3667U which costs $100 and $225 respectively. For most people the magic $1,000 mark is going to be what you’ll go with, there’s not a whole lot of point upgrading to Core i7 as the Core i5 should offer ample performance for most users. The 256GB SSD upgrade is very expensive, but for those that really need the capacity it may be worth it.

The build quality of the Spectre XT should be top notch, it uses an all aluminum case. Despite the generous use of metal, the weight will only be 3.07lbs and it will have a wafer thin thickness of 0.57”. Battery life is quoted at 8 hours, making this an all day use battery should you be stranded and away from an outlet. Ports included are an essential USB 3.0, HDMI and Ethernet jack – there is no media card slot though.

The ENVY Spectre XT and Envy 14 Spectre both now offer the new Intel Ivy Bridge 3rd generation of Core i5 and Core i7 processors, but the starting price tag of the XT is $400 less than the ENVY 14 Spectre. However, the screen resolution on the Envy Spectre XT maxes out at 1366 x 768 while the ENVY 14 Spectre has a higher resolution 1600 x 900 screen which is certainly worth something. The ENVY 14 also has a unique design that integrates Gorilla glass into the case. Outside of that these are two premium built Ultrabooks with very similar performance specs so that under $1K price tag is likely going to steer more toward the 13” XT.

HP ENVY 17t-3200 and ENVY 15t-3200 Sport Intel’s Ivy Bridge

HP has quietly updated their ENVY 15 and 17 series with the 3rd generation of Intel’s Ivy Bridge and given them the respective model numbers of Envy 15t-3200 and Envy 17t-3200. Indeed this is the only update for the popular 15” and 17” premium performance notebooks. To the chagrin of many, the IPS display in the Envy 15 that so many reported as having reds show up as orange, is still unchanged. No word on when that “fix”Engadget reported will be seen.

The good news? The price is still the same for both models despite the improved processors, so you’re essentially getting something better for nothing compared to those that bought earlier in the year. There’s actually a 33% off coupon (NBG5247) on both models right now that bumps the starting price of the Envy 15-3200 down to $887 and Envy 17t-3200 $988.

So what do you get for the $887 starting price on the ENVY 15? An Intel Core i5-3210M Ivy Bridge processor, the new AMD 7750M graphics (make sure to upgrade from the AMD 7690M for $0), 6GB of RAM and a 750GB 7200RPM hard drive. The upgrade to an IPS 1920 x 1080 screen is $150 – yes, that’s the panel with the red color display issues but it’s still going to be appealing to many given the advantages of a higher resolution. If you want to upgrade to a Quad Core i7 processor it’s +$100. The new AMD 7750M graphics and Intel Core i7 processors should provide a very nice performance bump over the previous generation. The AMD 7750M is reportedly on par with the Nvidia 650M graphics. We recently reviewed the dv6t-7000 Quad Edition with Intel Ivy Bridge and Nvidia 650M graphics and it scored 10,108 3DMarks in 3DMark Vantage versus the 6,970 3DMarks our Envy 17-3000 with Intel Core i7-2670QM Sandy Bridge and AMD 7690M graphics – a performance bump of nearly 40%.

HP ENVY SleekBook 4t First Thoughts - pics, video

The HP ENVY SleekBook 4t-1000 just arrived to us today, theEnvy 4 was ordered direct from HP.com at its base configuration and starting price of $699.99. While HP isn’t calling this an Ultrabook, apparently they don’t want to dilute the appeal of their more premium $999+ Ultrabooks, it’s at least targeted at the crowd that might want an Ultrabook but don’t want to spend over $1,000 that most models do after taxes. The Envy 4t is still very thin at 0.78” from front to back, but its weight of just under 4lbs isn’t exactly feather light when you compare it to the 3lbs or less weight you see in the thinnest and lightest of notebooks. The ENVY Spectre XT for example weighs 3lbs. However, if you’re a student on a budget or simply want a very light laptop that you can use on your lap in the evening when in front of the TV, the low price of the ENVY 4t might hold appeal – which is why we’re here to offer a first thoughts before the full review in a couple of weeks.

Before we go much further I’ll offer up a video tour of the Envy 4t, it’s not a full blown review but should give you a better idea of what this notebook looks like in the flesh:

HP Envy SleekBook Tour

As mentioned, this model under review was customized and shipped direct from HP. Here’s a picture of the box it arrived in and then out of the box so you get an idea what to expect will land on your doorstep:

And then the entire contents of what’s in the box above:

The top lid of the ENVY 4t-1000 has a black brush metal finish, it’s exactly the same as that found on the Pavilion dv6t-7000 Quad Edition. From above it may even look the same as the new Pavilion series with their midnight black finish, but it’s when you view it from the side to see the red accents and thin profile that you can tell this is no ordinary machine:

The thickness is well under 1-inch, but it’s still not as thin as the 0.58” thick ENVY Spectre XT. Either way, it’s still very easy to hold in one hand and how thin do you really need something? At a certain point a laptop gets so thin that you have to sacrifice keyboard quality and port selection, but to me the Envy 4t-1000 is “just thin enough”, you can still fit an Ethernet port, HDMI port, SD card reader, 2 USB 3.0 ports, a USB 2.0 port, headphone and microphone jack which is a lot more ports than other Ultrabooks can claim.

You can see the red accents along the side of the laptop that HP calls “Ruby Red”, that color carries over to the bottom as well, which is a pretty cool look but not exactly something you’ll be seeing much of.

Makes you kind of wish the lid was the same metallic red color!

The build quality of this SleekBook is above what you would expect for $699. I thought HP would cheap out on the case construction and include a lot of plastic in the finish to keep the price low, but that’s not the case at all. In fact this machine is very firm feeling and solid all over.

The screen on the Envy 4t is a 14” with 1366 x 768 resolution. There’s definitely nothing special about the screen, it’s so-so and the same as you get in just about every other budget laptop. It’s definitely not as good as the ENVY 14 Spectre we reviewed back in January. Here’s a look at the viewing angles:

Obviously the best viewing angle is straight on, and if you look at the screen at such an angle (as most will) the colors are good. The whites are white and blacks black, all colors are vibrant thanks to the glossy finish. The downside of the glossy finish is of course that you get a lot of reflections, which over time causes eye strain.

You’ll notice in the pictures of the screen that the keyboard is backlit. This is a nice bonus, a very cool feature is the fact the F5 key that you use to turn the keyboard backlight on and off is permanently illuminated, so in a dark room you can easily find the F5 key to toggle the entire keyboard backlight on and off. Kudos to HP for coming up with a usability feature such as that, I would never have thought of it and it’s the first I’ve seen of such a feature.

The keyboard is an island style key design (chiclet) and feels pretty much the same as other Pavilion and ENVY laptops I’ve used, there’s no sacrifice of key travel due to thinness that you might find in the skinniest of Ultrabooks.

A lot of people will be interested in the performance of the Envy 4t as you can get a discrete AMD HD 7670M GPU and Core i5 processor. Sorry to say that this configuration has the Core i3 processor and Intel HD 3000 graphics as I wanted to test the $699.99 version. Here are the full specs for the unit purchased:

Processor: 2nd generation Intel Core i3-2367M Processor (1.4 GHz)

Graphics: Intel HD Graphics 3000

Screen: 14.0-inch diagonal HD BrightView LED-backlit Display (1366 x 768)

Color: Midnight Black with Ruby Red Soft Touch (base)

OS: Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit

Memory: 4GB 1600MHz DDR3 System Memory (1 Dimm)

Storage: 500GB 5400 rpm Hard Drive

Webcam: HP TrueVision HD Webcam with integrated dual array digital microphone

Wireless: 802.11b/g/n WLAN and Bluetooth(R)

Battery: 4 Cell Lithium Ion Battery – Up to 7.75 hours of battery life

Backlit Keyboard

Even with the base level configuration the performance is good, to be honest I’d rather get an SSD than a faster processor and dedicated graphics, but alas HP doesn’t even offer an SSD. In the more premium Ultrabooks you do get an SSD standard, which really helps with bootup speeds and overall application performance. Most people will simply be getting the Envy 4t to do work on the go or browse the web casually when relaxing, and for those purposes the Core i3 is more than ample. However, if you do have more demanding needs and think you’d like to do some light gaming, upgrading to the Intel Core i5 + AMD 7670M combo will net some nice gains for 3D performance. We’ll have full benchmarks of this particular system in the review to be posted next week.

One last bonus picture I have is the ENVY 4t lined up next to the 12.5” ThinkPad X220 I own, as you can see the Envy is quite a bit slimmer at the back and slightly thinner at the front. Lenovo calls the X220 an Ultraportable. To be fair, even though the X220 is thicker it weighs less. The X220 weighs 3.4lbs while the Envy 4t-1000 weighed in at just over 3.86lbs on my scales.

Stop back next week for more complete coverage and the full review of the Envy 4t!

Where to Buy: HP Envy 4t-1000 @ HP.com

New 2012 ThinkPads Start Selling Today, X230 Gets a 15% Off Coupon

They’re here! The new ThinkPad 2012 lineup are available starting today via Lenovo.com (June 5, 2012) and we’ve got a rundown of the pricing and configuration specs for each of the new models. Each model will be available with a budget configuration that includes the second generation Intel Sandy Bridge or a slightly more expensive config that has the new Intel Ivy Bridge processor. The ThinkPad X230 has a one day sale 15% off coupon, use THINK15X at checkout to get that, so we’ll start with details of that model.

ThinkPad X230 and ThinkPad X230 Tablet

Lenovo.com X230 Product and Purchase Page Link

The X230 is a 12.5” screen notebook, we reviewed the X230 last week so you can see the full analysis of it there. The one recommended upgrade you should definitely make is to the IPS screen, which should cost around $50. The starting Sandy Bridge equipped X230 starts at $949 and the Ivy Bridge just $50 more at $999. For June 5th ONLY there’s a 15% off coupon, use code THINK15X to get the discount. That should bring the price of the Ivy Bridge model down to $850 and the Sandy Bridge to $806.

X230 X230 Tablet 

Bundle Description ThinkPad X230 Laptop (Sandy Bridge) ThinkPad X230 Laptop (Ivy Bridge) ThinkPad X230 Convertable Tablet (Sandy Bridge) ThinkPad X230 Convertable Tablet (Ivy Bridge)

Web Price $949 $999 $1149 $1249

Specs: 

Processor i3-2370M (2nd Gen) i5-3210M (3rd Gen) i3-2370M (2nd Gen) i5-3320M (3rd Gen)

OS Win 7 HP 64 Win 7 Pro 64 Win 7 HP 64 Win 7 Pro 64

Display 12.5″ HD 12.5″ HD 12.5″ Multitouch HD 12.5″ Multitouch HD

Camera No No No No

Graphics Intel 3000 Intel 4000 Intel 3000 Intel 4000

Memory 4GB 4GB 4GB 4GB

Hard Drive 320GB/7200 320GB/7200 320GB/7200 320GB/7200

Battery 4 cell 4 cell 3 cell 3 cell

Warranty 1 Year 1 Year 1 Year 1 Year

ThinkPad T430

Lenovo.com T430 Product and Purchase Page

The ThinkPad T430 is a 14” screen notebook, it’s starting price is actually lower than that of the X230 but there are no coupons available at the current time. The Sandy Bridge model starts at $849 and the Ivy Bridge at $929. You can upgrade to an HD+ (1600 x 900) screen on the T430, which would certainly be a recommended upgrade if you can afford it.

Bundle Description ThinkPad T430 Laptop (Sandy Bridge) ThinkPad T430 Laptop (Ivy Bridge)

Web Price $849 $929

Specs: 

Processor i3-2370M (2nd Gen) i5-3210M (3rd Gen)

OS Win 7 HP 64 Win 7 Pro 64

Display 14.0″ HD 14.0” HD

Graphics Intel 4000 Intel 4000

Memory 4GB 4GB DDR3

Pointing Device Pointing Pointing

Hard Drive 320GB/7200 320GB/7200

Optical DVDRW DVDRW

Battery 6 cell 6 Cell

Wireless b/g/n N-6205

Warranty 1 Year 1 Year

ThinkPad T430s

Lenovo.com T430s Product and Purchase Page

The T430s is a premium version of the T430, it’s slimmer and lighter than the T430 but with the same amount of power. The price is also set to a premium amount, the Sandy Bridge version starts at $1,049 while the Ivy Bridge is $1,249.

Bundle Description ThinkPad T430s Laptop (Sandy Bridge) ThinkPad T430s Laptop (Ivy Bridge)

Web Price $1049 $1249

Specs: 

Processor i3-2370M (2nd Gen) i5-3210M (3rd Gen)

OS Win 7 HP 64 Win 7 Pro 64

Display 14.0” HD 14.0” HD

Camera Cam No

Graphics Intel Optimus 1GB

Memory 4GB DDR3 4GB DDR3

Hard Drive 320GB/7200 320GB/7200

Optical DVDRW DVDRW

Battery 4 Cell 4 Cell

Warranty 1 Year 1 Year

ThinkPad T530

Lenovo.com ThinkPad T530 Product and Purchase Page

The ThinkPad T530 is a 15.6” screen notebook, it’s starting price is $849 with the 2nd generation Sandy Bridge processor and $929 with the Intel Ivy Bridge Core i5 processor.

Bundle Description ThinkPad T530 Laptop (Sandy Bridge) ThinkPad T530 Laptop (Ivy Bridge)

Web Price $849 $929

Specs: 

Processor i3-2370M (2nd Gen) i5-3210M (3rd Gen)

OS Win 7 HP 64 Win 7 Pro 64

Display 15.6″ HD 15.6” HD

Graphics Intel 3000 Intel 4000

Memory 4GB 4GB DDR3

Hard Drive 320GB/7200 320GB/7200

Optical N/A DVDRW

Battery 6 cell 6 Cell

Wireless b/g/n N-6205

Warranty 1 Year 1 Year

ThinkPad L430 and L530

Lenovo.com ThinkPad L430 Product and Purchase Page

Lenovo.com ThinkPad L530 Product and Purchase Page

The L430 is a 14” screen notebook while the L530 is a 15” screen. Think of the L430 as a budget version of the T430 and the L530 as a budget version of the T530. Lenovo also claims these models as their “Green Friendly” due to environmentally friendly materials that are used to build it.

L430 L530 

Bundle Description ThinkPad L430 Laptop (Sandy Bridge) ThinkPad L430 Laptop (Ivy Bridge) ThinkPad L530 Laptop (Sandy Bridge) ThinkPad L530 Laptop (Ivy Bridge)

Web Price $799 $879 $799 $879

Specs: 

Processor i3-2370M (2nd Gen) i5-3210M (3rd Gen) i3-2370M (2nd Gen) i5-3210M (3rd Gen)

OS Win 7 HP 64 Win 7 Pro 64 Win 7 HP 64 Win 7 Pro 64

Display 14.0″ HD 14.0″ HD 15.6″ HD 15.6″ HD

Graphics Intel Intel Intel Intel

Memory 4GB 4GB 4GB 4GB

Pointing Device Pointing Pointing Pointing Pointing

Hard Drive 320GB/7200 320GB/7200 320GB/7200 320GB/7200

Optical DVDRW DVDRW DVDRW DVDRW

Battery 6 Cell 6 Cell 6 Cell 6 Cell

Warranty 1 Year 1 Year 1 Year 1 Year

Please note, Lenovo promised the launch of these would be June 5th, but as far as what hour of the day that is remains a bit of a question mark!

Dell Inspiron 14z and 13z Ultrabooks Arrive this Month

The Dell Inspiron 14z and 13z are just the latest sub $700 Ultrabooks to hit the market as manufacturers try to appeal to a budget conscious audience with the latest technology. The Inspiron 14z Ultrabook (not to be confused with last years Inspiron 14z) is a 14-inch notebook with a not so incredibly light weight of 4.1 pounds. It is however quite thin at 0.83-inches. The 14z comes with up to a 500GB regular hard drive and uses a 32GB SSD for caching and faster boots. The starting price should be $699 for the base model that will come with an Intel Core i3 Sandy Bridge processor. You will have an option to upgrade to the latest Intel Ivy Bridge processor technology, but it’ll take you well above the $700 starting price. Also optional will be dedicated AMD 7570M graphics. Other notable features include a backlit keyboard, built-in optical drive DVD Burner (very unusual for Ultrabooks), 1.0MP web camera, silver brush metal finish with optional red color and 7 hours of battery life. Ports included are two USB 3.0, Ethernet, HDMI, microphone/headphone combo jack and 3-in-1 media card reader. The Inspiron 14z Ultrabook screen will have a standard resolution of 1366 x 768, no options to upgrade.

The Inspiron 13z is much the same in terms of specs, but it will have a 13” screen and weigh a lighter 3.8 lbs. Pricing will also be lower on the Inspiron 13z, it will start at $599. Compare that to the $999 XPS 13z Ultrabook and the price difference of $400 might tempt you!

Toshiba Portege Z930 Business Ultrabook now Available, Starts at $1,149

Toshiba has announced and started selling its Portege Z930 13.3” screen Ultrabook, an update to the Z835 we reviewed last year, essentially it’s just a minor refresh and Toshiba is now pushing this more as a business oriented Ultrabook as they now have a consumer level Satellite Ultrabook 845 that costs around $700. Toshiba has slapped a $1,149 price tag on this model out of the gate, which is rather extreme considering we bought the Portege Z835 at a bargain price of around $699 last year at Best Buy during a sale around the holidays – we’re hoping to see cheaper models of the Z930 soon. So what justifies the higher price? You of course now get the latest Intel Ivy Bridge lineup of processors to choose from and HD 4000 graphics, right now the processor choices include Intel Core i5-3427U Processor and i7-3667U. Quite importantly, there is now a matte screen finish on this model instead of the rather horrible glossy (reflective) screen seen on the Z835, that’s a pretty important update for business users.

Other than that, things are pretty much exactly the same between the Z930 and Z830 models. That’s not all bad though. You get a nice selection of ports — USB 3.0, two USB 2.0, SD card reader, headphone and microphone jack, and HDMI. The looks is the same, it has a brush metal grey finish and is 0.63” thick and weighs 2.4lbs, which is incredibly thin and light and beats out the MacBook Air. That said, we found the Z835 model somewhat flimsy due to the extreme thinness and since the design hasn’t changed it’s unlikely that has either. The Z930 will be configurable with up to a 512GB SSD and 12GB of RAM, the standard size storage drive is a 128GB SSD. There is no regular HD option. The Z930 is up on the Toshiba website now where you can build your own Z930-BT9300 starting at $1,149 or buy pre-configured models for faster ship starting at $1,479.

Lenovo IdeaPad Y580 Now up for Sale on Lenovo, Starts at $1039

The much awaited Lenovo IdeaPad Y580 15.6” screen gaming laptop is now finally available for purchase on Lenovo.com a month after its smaller brethren the 14” screen Y480 was released. The very good news is that the Y580 comes with the powerful Nvidia GeForce GTX660M graphics card as a standard. The Nvidia GTX660M is much more powerful than the Nvidia 640M LE found in the Y480 we reviewed last month, so this will be a much more capable gaming laptop. The GTX660M card should allow for running just about any game on high settings even if you have a Full HD 1920 x 1080 display. And that brings us to the other good news about the IdeaPad Y580, it does have the option for a 1920 x 1080 screen here on day one and it’s only about $100 extra over the standard resolution 1366 x 768 screen. The starting price for a Y580 with Intel Core i7-3610QM processor, Nvidia GTX660M graphics and Full HD 1920 x 1080 screen is $1,159.20. This is not a bad price seeing that you also get 8GB of RAM and a fast 7200RPM hard drive along with that.

Other configuration options include a Blu-Ray player instead of the standard DVD burner, 32GB mini SSD cache and up to a 1TB hard drive. The processor is fixed at the 3rd generation Intel Core i7-3610QM 2.30GHz right now, that’s from the latest Intel Ivy Bridge family and coupled with the Nvidia GTX660 should be plenty of power. Those who order right now should get the Y580 on or around June 19th, so it’s about a 12-day shipping windows if all goes well.

Source: Lenovo.com Y580 Product Order Page

Intel has expanded their SandForce-based solid state drive lineup from their performance-oriented 520 series to the brand-new 330 series of SSD, with the marketing slogan, “The speed you need. The price you want.” Unlike the previous generation of Intel SSDs (510 and 320), Intel has given the buyer an option to buy a fast, SATAIII drive with the confidence of the Intel brand name at nearly $1/GB, or even less if it was purchased during a sale soon after launch ($15 off the 60GB 330, or $60 off the 180GB 330). At $0.78/GB during this sale, the 180GB drive was an attractive offer, but does the value-oriented Intel 330 SSD meet the performance promises, and more importantly, did Intel go in the right direction by choosing the SandForce controller in their SSD?

The 180GB version of the Intel 330 is advertised with the following specs:

Maximum Sequential Read: 500MB/s

Maximum Sequential Write: 450MB/s

Maximum 4K Random Read: 42,000 IOPS

Maximum 4K Random Write: 52,000 IOPS

Delivery and Packaging

The 180GB version of the Intel 330 under review was ordered from Amazon.com while on sale for $140 after mail-in rebate, but has since risen in price to $215. Using Amazon Prime’s two-day shipping, the drive arrived quickly and in good shape. It came in a bubble envelope, though it would have been nice if Amazon had included filler material to further protect the drive; being more shock-resistant than a mechanical drive shouldn’t mean that it’s better to ship without such materials. At any rate, the Intel 330 comes with a 3-year limited warranty that protects against manufacturing faults, standard among most SSDs, but two years less warranty than the previous generation Intel 320.

Besides the drive itself, the retail packaging included a 3.5” mounting bracket for desktop installations, a Foxconn SATA cable (part number G10333-001), Foxconn SATA power cord (part number E99090-001), two sets of screws for the bracket (part numbers E77026-001 and E77138-001), an installation guide and warranty (on a Mini CD), and an Intel “Speed Demon” sticker. It also includes a Quick Start guide to show the buyer how to install the drive to a desktop or laptop, as well as URLs to download data migration software and Intel’s SSD Toolbox software. For laptop installations, the only part that’s required is the drive itself.

Test System and Benchmarking Software

I will be using my Lenovo Thinkpad W520 to test the Intel 330 SSD. This workstation laptop will give a good indicator of how Intel’s solid-state drive performs in benchmarks; with these specs, the storage drive will be the only bottleneck in performance:

Processor: Intel Core i7-2720QM

Graphics: Intel HD 3000 / nVidia Quadro 2000M

Memory: 12GB DDR3-1333MHz (3x4GB)

The Intel 330 and Thinkpad W520 communicate via Microsoft’s MSACHI drivers (version 6.1.7600.16385) via the SATAIII port in the main drive bay. Software used for this review consists of Anvil’s Storage Utilities (1.0.45 RC2), AS SSD (1.6.4237.30508), ATTO Disk Benchmark (v2.46), Bootracer (version 3.8), and CrystalDiskMark (3.0.1). For all tests, I’ll have Windows 7 Professional and several other applications installed as well as some data on the drive, since the valuable benchmarking scores are those that show how the drive holds up under real-world conditions; after all, a SSD isn’t very good if it loses its performance after being partly filled. As seen in the Intel SSD Toolbox screenshot, the 330 has nearly 49GB of data on the drive (Windows and other files) out of 167GB total and the TRIM command was run on the remaining free space (SSD Optimizer).

ATTO Benchmark

Let’s start with an oldie but goodie: the ATTO Disk Benchmark. Using the standard settings, the Intel 330 SSD outputs some nice performance numbers. Write speeds max out at just under 519MB/s, with reads at 557MB/s. Smaller files degrade performance numbers as expected (HDDs and SSDs dislike working with them), and read/write speeds approach advertised numbers at file sizes of 128MB and higher.

CrystalDiskMark Benchmarks

A popular choice for benchmarking solid-state drives, CrystalDiskMark measures the read/write speeds for sequential, 512K, 4K, and 4K QD32 transfers. Two different tests were carried out by CrystalDiskMark: the 0Fill (all 0×00) test and 1Fill test (all 0xFF). While the 0Fill test results are expected (SandForce drives are typically tested using 0Fill), the 1Fill tests are surprising in that SSDs using SandForce controllers typically have performance issues while writing incompressible data to the drive. Running extra tests using this software show similar numbers to the ones in the screenshot; the unusually high write speeds were not a one-time fluke. At any rate, CrystalDiskMark shows that this SSD exceeds Intel’s advertised sequential read speeds.

0Fill CrystalDiskMark Test

1Fill CrystalDiskMark Test

AS SSD Benchmarks

Another favorite benchmarking software title, AS SSD is one of the few benchmarks specifically made to test solid-state drives. AS SSD shows numbers more in line with other drives using the SandForce SF-2281 controller, with the Intel 330 having sequential read speeds just under advertised speeds and sequential write speeds at just under half of what Intel says they should be.

AS SSD also tests for a drive’s IOPS performance at 16MB, 4K, 4K-64Thrd, and 512B settings. The more important 4k-64Thrd scores show that the Intel 330 exceeds advertised random write scores and is in line with advertised random read scores. One more test using the AS SSD software is the Compression Benchmark, and as its name suggests it tests for read and write performance using data sets which are compressible to a certain extent. With completely incompressible data (0% on the x-axis), write speeds are similar to AS SSD’s 207.4 MB/s, though read performance is oddly low until 20% of the data is compressible, at which point read speeds stay steady between 462 MB/s to 500 MB/s at 100% compressible data. The trendline for write performance exponentially increases as we move from completely incompressible data to completely compressible data, reaching a maximum of around 470 MB/s sequential write speeds. This probably explains the unusually high write speeds for the CrystalDiskMark 1Fill test.

One final test offered by AS SSD is the Copy Benchmark, which measures real-life performance of the drive when presented with three different copy-paste scenarios: ISO files, program files, and game files. For example, if a user was transferring an ISO from their Downloads folder to their Documents folder, they should expect a transfer speed of just north of 300 MB/s.

Anvil Storage Utilities Benchmark

One of the new benchmarks on the block, this benchmarking software tests several different read and write scenarios that SSDs will face in real-world environments by using a specially-tuned SSD benchmark.

Bootracer

Last, but not least, the Bootracer benchmark measures the amount of time it takes for a computer to boot from pressing the power button to a useable Windows desktop. After installing the Intel 330 SSD and tweaking my Windows 7 install a little (no-GUI boot, some start-up programs disabled, and some services disabled), I was able to achieve a boot time of 18 seconds total, with 11 of those seconds occurring between the power button and Windows login. While I feel that pretty much any SATAIII solid-state drive could theoretically beat those times, boot times are hard-limited by how long it takes the mainboard to POST (something that a user can’t change).

Conclusion

For the first few generations of SSD, Intel was popular due to their high-quality, in-house controllers and flash chips (X-25 series, 320 series) as well as using high-quality, third-party controllers for their performance-oriented SSD (510 series, Marvell controller). While Intel has always been priced higher than competing SSDs per GB, the old reasoning behind this was because of early SandForce controller issues. However, with Intel’s initial move to SandForce in the 520 series and now the 330 series, we have to reexamine whether or not the Intel premium is worth it. When I bought a 160GB version of their 320 series SSD, I certainly thought it was worth it, and with the recent sale at $0.78/GB the 180GB version of the 330 series was worth it to me. But now that the 180GB 330 is selling for $1.19/GB, it faces strong opposition from other established SSD sellers such as Crucial and Plextor, who still use non-SandForce controllers. Since the 330 is a brand-new drive as of this writing, it’s hard to tell if the SF-2281-based 330 will be as reliable as my previous 320 and other non-SandForce drives, but with Intel reducing the warranty to three years instead of the previous five year warranty offered on the 320, it’s possible that Intel expects the 330 to be just as reliable as other SF-2281-based SSDs. With the purchase of SandForce by LSI, favorable reviews of other SF-2281-controlled drives, and Intel’s custom firmware, it’s looking as if the infamous past of SandForce is starting to be just that: the past. Even still, I’m keeping a backup of my data just in case. If Intel maintains their reliability edge against other SandForce offerings, then Intel’s main competition stays the same (Crucial, Plextor, Samsung; the first two use Marvell controllers, and Samsung makes everything in-house). If SandForce reliability has improved across the board, then there are better deals to be found when the Intel 330 is not on sale, such as Corsair’s Force GT and Force 3 offerings at 180GB, the latter being sold at $1.06/GB (compared to the 330’s $1.19/GB). Since the performance of SATAIII SandForce SSDs are pretty much the same across the board, the decision of whether or not to buy the Intel 330 mainly depends on long-term reliability and pricing. Overall, the Intel 330 180GB offers a value drive with high read/write numbers, low latency, and offers the best of both the smaller 120/128GB drives (lower price) and higher capacity 240/256GB drives (~168GB useable storage compared to 100-110GB).

Where to Buy

Intel 330 180GB version at Amazon.com

Lenovo ThinkPad T430 Vs. T430s Comparison, What’s the Difference

If you’re in the market to purchase a Lenovo ThinkPad 14” screen laptop you’ve probably looked at both the Lenovo ThinkPad T430 and T430s and scratched your head thinking, what’s the difference between these two laptops? More specifically, why is the ThinkPad T430s more expensive than the T430 and is what your getting (or not getting) worth the extra price?



To start, here are links to the product pages for the models on Lenovo.com we are comparing:
Lenovo ThinkPad T430
Lenovo ThinkPad T430s

Lenovo has been offering a slim version of their popular T-series for a few years now. It started with the T400s back in 2009 and since then every release has included an “s” version of the regular T-series. The suffix of “s” stands for slim, as that’s the essential difference between the models, those that crave or need a thinner and lighter laptop but still want something with a fully fledged processor might look more closely at the T430s.

This years models vary nearly up to 1 pound in weight starting out. With the standard 6-cell battery on both models the T430 weighs a quoted 4.78lbs while the T430s weighs 3.90lbs. Now, that might not sound like a giant difference and you may be thinking to yourself “what’s an extra 1 pound of weight”, but in percentage terms the T430 weighs 22% more. In real world terms, you can definitely notice the weight difference when picking a notebook up with one hand, in my experience when a laptop goes over 4lbs of weight it becomes cumbersome to hold level with one hand while suspending it in the air.



Thickness wise, the T430s ranges between 0.83” and 1.02” from front to back as it’s slightly sloped. So at the front it’s almost Ultrabook thin while at the back it’s a reasonable 1-inch thick. The T430 regular meanwhile is 1.18” to 1.20” from front to back with the 6-cell battery. Again, that’s about a 20% increase in thickness and enough that you will notice it. We should also note (thanks to Gary’s comment) that the internal skeleton for the T430s appears to be different, it lacks a separate structural magnesium roll cage slab and the chassis looks more like the ThinkPad X230 internally.

We’ve stated the areas in which the T430s is better than the T430, so let’s switch gears here. Why would you want the T430 that’s thicker and heavier over the T430s? The biggest difference is cost, the T430s is anywhere from $100 – $150 more expensive for a similar configuration. If you’re on a budget, it’s tough to swallow paying that much more for something that performs the same. You also get more processor options with the T430, right now there are three processor choices for the T430 and just three for the T430s. Both top out with up to a Core i7-3520M 2.90GHz Intel Ivy Bridge processor, so you can configure them with the same processing performance. However, the Nvidia NVS 5400M available in the T430, is not available in the T430s, the max for that model is the Nvidia NVS 5200M. Given the expense of the graphics card upgrade at over $200, I think most people will be satisfied with the regular Intel HD 4000 graphics. The Nvidia NVS graphics aren’t that powerful anyway.

Outside of the performance differences, the T430 also offer a larger sized 9-cell battery whereas the T430s maxes out with a 6-cell. You can opt for a 3-cell battery in the Ultrabay for both models however. You also get one less USB 2.0 port in the T430s. I don’t think that’s a deal breaker, outside of that port difference everything else is the same and both come with two USB 3.0 ports which is what’s important.

So which is the better buy between the these two ThinkPad models? That’s up to you to decide based on your needs. If you value the thinner and lighter profile of the T430s I’d say it’s definitely worth the extra $130 or so. However, if you’ll be at a desk all day and not very mobile, you might as well save your money and go with the T430.

Below is a handy dandy table comparison of the T430 and T430s, the areas in which there’s a difference are marked by red row headers:


ThinkPad T430 ThinkPad T430s (Slim)
Processor Options
Intel Core i3-2370M Processor (3M Cache, 2.40GHz)
Intel Core i5-3210M Processor (3M Cache, 2.50GHz)
Intel Core i5-2520M Processor (3M Cache, 2.50GHz)
Intel Core i5-3320M Processor (3M Cache, 2.60GHz)
Intel Core i5-3360M Processor (3M Cache, 2.80GHz)
Intel Core i7-3520M Processor (4MB L3, 2.90GHz)
Intel Core i3-2370M Processor (3M Cache, 2.40GHz)
Intel Core i5-3320M Processor (3M Cache, 2.60GHz)
Intel Core i7-3520M Processor (4MB L3, 2.90GHz)
Screen
14.0″ HD (1366 x 768) LED Backlit AntiGlare Display, Mobile Broadband Ready
14.0″ HD+ (1600 x 900) LED Backlit Anti-Glare Display, Mobile Broadband Ready ($50 upgrade)
14.0″ HD (1366 x 768) LED Backlit AntiGlare Display, Mobile Broadband Ready
14.0″ HD+ (1600 x 900) LED Backlit Anti-Glare Display, Mobile Broadband Ready ($50 upgrade)
Graphics Options
Intel HD Graphics 4000
Nvidia NVS 5200M
Nvidia NVS 5400M
Intel HD Graphics 4000
Nvidia NVS 5200M
Memory Up to 16GB Up to 16GB
Keyboard Standard or Backlit option ($40) Standard or Backlit option ($40)
Ports 2x USB 3.0, 2x USB 2.0 (one always on), Mini DisplayPort, VGA, 4-in-1 card reader, optional smart card reader 2x USB 3.0, always-on USB 2.0, Mini DisplayPort, VGA, 4-in-1 card reader, optional smart card reader
Camera 720p HD camera option 720p HD camera option
Storage
320GB Hard Disk Drive, 7200rpm
500GB Hard Disk Drive, 7200rpm
500GB Hard Disk Drive, 5400rpm
128GB Solid State Drive, Serial ATA3
180GB Solid State Drive, Serial ATA3
320GB Hard Disk Drive, 7200rpm
500GB Hard Disk Drive, 7200rpm
500GB Hard Disk Drive, 5400rpm
128GB Solid State Drive, Serial ATA3
180GB Solid State Drive, Serial ATA3
Ultrabay Options
DVD Recordable
2nd HDD 500GB, 7200rpm w/adapter
1 TB Hard Disk Drive, 5400rpm with Bay Adapter
DVD Recordable
2nd HDD 500GB, 7200rpm w/adapter
1 TB Hard Disk Drive, 5400rpm with Bay Adapter
Battery Options
6 Cell Li-Ion TWL 70+
9 Cell Li-Ion TWL 70++
3-cell Ultrabay Battery Option
6 Cell Lithium Battery T81+
3-cell Ultrabay Battery Option
Wireless
ThinkPad 1×1 b/g/n
Intel Centrino Wireless-N 2200 (2×2 BGN)
Intel Centrino Advanced-N 6205 AGN
Intel Centrino Ultimate-N 6300 AGN
ThinkPad 1×1 b/g/n
Intel Centrino Wireless-N 2200 (2×2 BGN)
Intel Centrino Advanced-N 6205 AGN
Intel Centrino Ultimate-N 6300 AGN
Mobile
Mobile Broadband upgradable
Qualcomm Gobi 3000
Integrated Mobile Broadband (Sierra Wireless MC7700 – Gobi 4000 for AT&T)
Integrated Mobile Broadband (Sierra Wireless MC7750 – Gobi 4000 for Verizon)
Mobile Broadband upgradable
Qualcomm Gobi 3000
Integrated Mobile Broadband (Sierra Wireless MC7700 – Gobi 4000 for AT&T)
Integrated Mobile Broadband (Sierra Wireless MC7750 – Gobi 4000 for Verizon)
Weight 4.78lbs 3.90lbs
Thickness 1.18–1.20″ 0.83–1.02″

More Details Surface for Upcoming Dell XPS 15

Dell has been mysteriously quiet on any updates to their flagship XPS 15 and XPS 17 performance laptops, but enough leaks have now formed that we’re able to get a pretty clear picture of what’s coming anyway. The Romanian based site B1 editors attended an event last week in that country in which Dell had on display the XPS 14 and XPS 15 and several product shots were posted. In the image below you can see a left side view of the XPS 15 that will have product number L521X when released:

The ports there include two USB 3.0, mini-DisplayPort, Ethernet and HDMI. The XPS 14 version of this machine will have one less USB 3.0 port. Over on the right side there’s also a media card reader, headphone jack and microphone jack.

You’ll notice that on the right side you also get a slot loading optical drive, which is a nice upgrade over the tray style optical drive on the current XPS 15 L502X. Worth mentionoin

The B1 site is reporting that the screen on the XPS 15 will have up to a 1920 x 1080 screen, meaning it’s Full HD. The screen also has a Gorilla Glass layer, which means it will be scratch resistant and also glossy. In regards to internal specs, they’re saying it’s either an Nvidia 640M or 630M, which are not particularly high-end graphics cards. The HP ENVY 15-3200 and HP Pavilion dv6t-7000 15.6” screen notebooks offer more powerful graphics, so hopefully Dell will match those models and have at least an Nvidia GT 650M graphics card. The processor will of course be Intel’s latest Ivy Bridge processor offerings, the Core i5 or i7 to be specific.

From earlier leaks we know the thickness of the XPS 15 will be around 0.90”, so it’s an extremely thin laptop for its size. Also, to refresh you here are the known internal specs from the leak thatTweakers.net revealed.

Processor options:

Intel Core i5-3210M dual-core

Intel Core i7-3612QM quad-core

Screen: 15.6” Full HD 1920 x 1080 matte finish, Gorilla Glass cover, 300 nits brightness

Memory: 2GB to 8GB RAM, 1333MHz and 1600MHz options

Graphics: Nvidia 630M or 640M with up to 2GB GDDR5 memory

Storage Options:

2.5″ SATA2 500GB HDD 7200RPM

2.5″ SATA2 750GB HDD 7200RPM

2.5″ SATA2 1TB HDD 5400RPM

2.5″ 7mm SATA3 SSD, up to 512GB

mSATA SATA3 miniCard SSD, 32GB up to 256GB

Battery: 9-cell 65WHr

Battery Life: up to 5 hours

Ports: USB 3.0, Mini DisplayPort, HDMI, Ethernet, Media card reader

Wireless: Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 3.0

Optical Drive: DVD Burner or BluRay

The release date for the L521X should be within the next couple of weeks, we’ll keep you posted on when they’re finally “officially” released!

Via: NotebookReview Forums (Muffin Man)

HP EliteBook and ProBook Intel Ivy Bridge Laptops now Shipping

HP’s lineup of 2012 EliteBook and ProBook business laptops are now available for purchase via HP.com. The big news with these new releases is of course the fact they now integrate Intel’s 3rd generation Core i3, i5 and i7 processors along with improved HD 4000 integrated graphics. 

HP ENVY Pro Ultrabook 4 – 14” screen Ultrabook, only 0.78” thick and 3.98lbs, comes with an Intel Core i5 processor

HP EliteBook 8770w – 17” screen workstation for the most demanding users, featuring DreamColor Full HD display, Intel Core i7 Quad Core processor and dedicated graphics

HP EliteBook 8570p – 15.6” screen workstation style laptop with Full HD screen and Intel Core i5 or i7 processor and up to AMD Radeon HD 7570M graphics.

HP EliteBook 8470p – 14” screen portable laptop with up to 1600 x 900 screen and Intel Core i5 or i7 processor, see our review of the HP 8470p

HP ProBook 6570b – 15” screen budget oriented business laptop with Intel Core i3 processor, optional 1600 x 900 screen upgrade

HP ProBook 6470b – 14” screen budget business laptop with Intel Core i3 processor

HP ProBook 6475b – An AMD version of the ProBook 6470b, comes with an AMD A10 or A8 processor

HP 655 – 15.6” screen basic laptop with budget friendly price and configuration of AMD E-300 processor

HP 650 – 15.6” screen essentials laptop with Intel Pentium or Core i3 processor

HP ProBook 4545s – 15.6” screen notebook build for small businesses with AMD Quad Core processor

HP ProBook 4440s – 14” screen notebook with up to Intel Core i5 processor, intended for small business users

HP ProBook 4540s – 15” screen notebook with up to Intel Core i5 processor, targeted at small business users

The flagship notebooks of this new lineup are the EliteBook 8770w, 8570p and 8470p. All are premium systems constructed using aluminum and built to mil-spec standards for durability and use in adverse conditions such as extreme heat, cold and dust. The design has stayed the same from the previous generation of EliteBooks. You still get the chiclet style keyboard that made its debut last year, but unfortunately there is no backlight option for that keyboard like we have seen in the new ThinkPads such as the X230 we just reviewed. In terms of pricing, the 14” EliteBook 8470p starts at $899 with an Intel Core i5 processor, not a bad price at all. However, fully loaded configurations of the 8470p that come with a 1600 x 900 screen, Core i7 processor and dedicated AMD graphics goes up to $2,000, ouch! The 8570p starts at a similar price of $899 and again escalates in cost as you add more powerful components. Shipping for all of the new HP business models is estimated for June 25, 2012 if you order today, about a 2-week window from order to delivery.

Apple Updates MacBook Air Line for 2012, $100 Cheaper than Last Year

Apple today announced and released updated MacBook Air laptops for 2012. The MacBook Air will now come equipped with Intel’s Ivy Bridge line of processors that offer both better performance and still the same battery life as last years. There will still be both an 11” and 13” model of the MacBook Air and you can configure up to an Intel Core i7 processor, 8GB of RAM and a 500GB SSD. The SSD flash memory on board will be nearly twice as fast as last years models, offering up to 500MBs read speeds. The camera on the MacBook Air also gets an improvement as it moves up to 720p resolution. Speaking of resolutions, the screen resolution does not change from last year. The 11” model of the Air has a 1366 x 768 display while the 13” is 1440 x 900. The pricing starts at $999 on the 11-inch model and bumps up to $1,099 with the Intel Core i7 and shipping starts today, as soon as they get the Apple Store back up as its been shut down today for “updates”. 

All in all the new MacBook Air appears to be mostly served with internal updates to offer better performance and a cheaper price, which you can’t really complain too much about. The design and build of the MacBook Air is already the standard it seems all the PC makers are pursuing, so there’s no use changing what already works. You still get the same backlit keyboard, razor thin design of 0.68” and light weight of 2.38lbs on the 11” model and 2.96 pounds on the 13” model.

Apple Updates MacBook Pro, Offers High Resolution Retina Display

The new Apple MacBook Pro for 2012 is a revamp in design of the popular performance oriented system. The new 15.6” MBP is an amazing 0.71-inches thin and weighs just 4.46lbs, that thickness is not a whole lot different from the MacBook Air but it packs a ton more performance inside. The processor will be Intel’s Core i7 Ivy Bridge with up to Quad Core i7 2.70GHz and graphic processing will be handled by the Nvidia 650M, which is part of the new Kepler lineup. In terms of ports, you get HDMI, USB 3.0, USB 2.0, two ThunderBolt ports, headphone jack and SD card reader. There is no Ethernet port, but there is a ThunderBolt to Ethernet port coming soon. The big news however is the fact that you can get up a 2880 x 1800 resolution “Retina Display” on the 15” version of the MacBook Pro. That’s by far the highest resolution offered on any laptop on the market, the next highest is Full HD 1920 x 1080, so the Retina Display is in a league of its own at the top there.

Apple is also claiming that the SSD (Flash Storage) inside the MacBook Pro is much faster with up to 500MBPs read speed. The storage capacity will be up to 768GB, which is huge for an SSD. The MBP gets a new venting system, it will use what Apple is calling “fan blades” to help keep noise down and the system more quiet. The more quiet fans should help enhance the improved speakers Apple is claiming they have put inside. Despite all the changes and speed improvements, battery life will still come in at 7 hours, which is pretty remarkable for such a fully loaded system. The availability starts today for this new 15” MacBook Pro that Apple is calling their flagship notebook.