Author Archive: Josh Smith
Josh Smith is a longtime mobile tech user, currently using a Droid as his primary smartphone. Josh is also an editor at Notebooks.com where he reviews notebooks and other mobile tech. Follow Josh on Twitter @Josh_Smith or email him Josh@Notebooks.com.
Preorder Your HP ENVY 14 Spectre Ultrabook Today
The HP ENVY 14 Spectre made a glassy debut at CES 2012, taking home our Best Ultrabook of CES award and stealing the hearts of many attendees thanks to the sleek glass covered body. The Spectre 14 won’t start shipping until later this month, but if you can’t wait for this 14 inch Ultrabook, you an [...]
Toshiba Portege z835 Review: The $850 Ultrabook
Toshiba has torn apart what you think a $900 notebook should look like and delivered the Best Buy exclusive Toshiba Portege z835. The Portege z835 is an ultrabook, which means it is as thin as can be and lighter than a MacBook Air. Surprisingly, Best Buy and Toshiba are able to sell this ultrabook at [...]
Windows 8 Consumer Preview Coming This Month
The Microsoft Windows 8 Developer preview has been underway since September of 2011, and now it looks like Microsoft is putting the finishing touches on the Windows 8 Consumer Preview. A new page on Bing.com shows a video of a beta fish swimming through a tank filled with Windows 8 links, including an invitation to [...]
AirFoil Streams Audio From Your Mac or PC to Apple TV
If you have an Apple TV, you’ve no doubt used it to stream audio, like Pandora, to your home theater, but there is no Apple provided way to stream music from your MacBook or Notebook to your Apple TV or AirPlay speakers. Enter AirFoil, an AirPlay solution that lets you stream any audio from your [...]
Ergotron WorkFit A: A Refined Sit Stand Desk for Your Office
Ergotron has once again delivered a new Sit Stand desk configuration that is sure to entice the growing number of people who are using a standing desk. Following along in the footsteps of the WorkFit series which we have reviewed, the new WorkFit A allows you to sit or stand at the same desk. This is [...]
Dell XPS 14z Rocks – Great Speakers and Sound
Notebook audio is always a mixed bag, and often a disappointingly muddy and quiet bag at that. When you do hear good audio it’s usually found on notebooks designed to be stuck on a desk, but the Dell XPS 14z is able to pack in some of the best sounding speakers I’ve ever heard, in a surprisingly [...]
Sneaky Ultrabook Test Shows Off Intel Ivy Bridge Performance
Intel has been quiet about the next Intel Core i family of processors, known as Ivy Bridge internally. At CES 2012 there were a number of notebooks using the new processor, but PR reps weren’t able to share much about the new processors. While Intel is still hammering out the details of these new 3rd [...]
ThinkPad X130e Mini Review: Built Like a Tank, Ready for School
Lenovo is most often known for their ThinkPad business systems, but the company also offers a number of systems aimed at the education market, like the ThinkPad X130E. The X130E is a much tougher model of the ThinkPad X120E which I reviewed last year, and is well equipped to handle the hazards of the classroom. While it [...]
Will Your Next Notebook Have Kinect Built In?
Microsoft’s Kinect has been a huge hit in the living room, bringing accurate motion and voice based controls to the Xbox 360. This is great for games, but what about work? The Daily got an early look at these Kinect notebook prototypes, which look to be modified Asus netbooks with Kinect Sensors to bring the power [...]
ThunderBolt Peripherals Turn MacBook Air into Video Editing Beast
The MacBook Air is a very portable notebook, but that comes with some tradeoffs in terms of processing power. You won’t bump into this wall while doing basic office tasks, but if you want to edit video the system will show signs of weakness. During CES 2012 I used my MacBook Air to edit tons [...]
