ultrabook

NEW YORK -- Vizio, a company best known for making TVs, is officially throwing its hat into the PC arena.

The company is taking the wraps off three distinct lines of Windows computers: ultrabooks, mid-size laptops, and all-in-one desktops.

Vizio had previously announced its plans to jump into the PC market at the January Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, but today's New York press event was the official coming-out party for the new systems.

While the company has previously dabbled in tablets, Vizio is known primarily as a scrappy competitor in the TV space. It's perhaps best … Read more

The upgradable computer is under attack.

In case you haven't noticed, Apple and every other first-tier PC maker on the planet are pushing thin laptops, not to mention even thinner tablets. Problem is, really thin computers are, by design, "sealed." That means, fewer and fewer upgradable computers.

In fact, these days the only chance you'll have to upgrade most ultrabooks and MacBooks is when you order them online. After that, you're stuck with the configuration.

As is the case with the Retina MacBook Pro. "Unlike previous generations of MacBook Pros, the MacBook Pro with … Read more

The MacBook Pro with Retina Display is Apple's new high-end flagship laptop. It's thin and powerful, includes an Nvidia graphics card and solid-state storage, and even has a unique (on a laptop) high-res Retina Display.

But it also costs $2,199, making it a sizable investment, even for a MacBook (the least expensive being the 11-inch MacBook Air, starting at $999).

With expanded configuration options, including new Intel Ivy Bridge CPUs and larger-capacity SSDs, you can also take that same $2,199 and spend it on just about any other MacBook. Depending on your needs, you might even end up with something that's a better overall deal for you.

Presented below are a few different ways we found to configure various MacBooks to cost (roughly) $2,199.… Read more

The new MacBook Airs and Pros unveiled at WWDC promise to make life harder for ultrabook vendors.

The MacBook Air received several key improvements, including the new Intel Ivy Bridge processor, higher-end graphics, and options for more memory and a larger solid-state drive. But beyond the specs, the new prices will prove appealing to the average consumer.

Prices remained the same for the lower-end 11-inch and 13-inch units but were trimmed by $100 for the higher-end models -- $1,099 for the 11-incher and $1,499 for the 13-incher. In a consumer market where every dollar counts, even that $100 … Read more

Apple's cheaper-but-better MacBook Air isn't good news for ultrabooks.

Ultrabooks surfaced last year as a niche product in response to the Air. And now Intel, Microsoft, Hewlett-Packard, Dell, at el are trying to mainstream the skinny laptops.

There's one problem. Apple just cut the price and upped the processor specs on the MacBook Air today.

So, is Apple still standard bearer and ultrabooks just pretenders to the lightweight laptop throne?

Only time and market-share numbers will tell.

Spec check: $1,099 11.6-inch MBA: The high-end model has dropped to $1,099 from $1,199 and packs … Read more

During the upcoming WWDC conference in San Francisco, Apple is expected to announce updates to its Mac line of desktop and laptop computers. This may include the MacBook Air and MacBook Pro laptops, Mac Pro desktop, iMac all-in-one, and perhaps even the Mac Mini small form factor desktop.

Rumors, leaks, alleged lists of part numbers, and blurry photos of spec stickers have all surfaced in the past weeks. Some of these sources seem more reliable than others, and Apple prognosticators are wrong at least as often as they are right. The leaked part numbers and spec sheets found here and … Read more

A new Apple patent may signal legal wrangling ahead for the Windows laptop wedge design crowd -- which means pretty much every major PC maker on the planet.

Apple's patent No. D661,296 S is described as "the ornamental design for an electronic device" and shows about a dozen images (PDF) of wedge-shaped Apple MacBook Air-like designs.

The patent documentation states that "the broken lines are for the purpose of illustrating portions of the electronic device and form no part of the claimed design," as The Verge points out.

So that seems to exclude aspects … Read more

Adding to the growing list of laptops with Intel's new third-generation Core i-series CPUs, Acer has announced the Aspire V5. Not exactly ultrabook-thin, the 14- and 15-inch V5 models are being pitched as thin-and-light on a budget. Acer says they are "great for back-to-school and savvy consumers looking for performance, style, and value."

At 30 percent thinner than Acer's previous budget midsize line, the 14-inch V5 is 0.79 inch thick and weighs 4.6 pounds; the 15-inch model is 0.83 inch and 5 pounds. The design is nondescript, looking a lot like a classic … Read more

With all the Windows 8 hoopla at Computex, it's easy to forget that Microsoft's next operating system isn't a price panacea for consumers.

Acer Chairman JT Wang said Wednesday that the initial crop of Windows 8 devices will be pricey enough that they will be more suitable for "developed economies" like North America where "where purchasing power is strong," according to a report in Taipei-based DigiTimes.

And that means they'll have to be competitive with anything Apple has on the market in the September-October time frame when Windows 8 is projected for … Read more