The Spectre 14 won’t start shipping until later this month, but if you can’t wait for this 14 inch Ultrabook, you an preorder the ENVY 14 Spectre starting today from HP.

The Spectre 14 uses an edge to edge display to fit a 14 inch display int he frame of a 13 inch notebook, and covered the display and much of the frame with Gorilla Glass. There’s even a glass covered trackpad, which we hope will perform better than the average Windows trackpad.

The 14 inch display is also a treat, with a 1600×900 resolution that allows you to see mor eon your screen at once. It is an HP Radiance display, which normally means better colors than your average notebook display.

HP ENVY 14 Spectre Hands On Video

Check out our hands on video with the HP Envy Spectre 14 that gives you a closer look at the Ultrabook and a rundown of the notebook’s features.

Inside HP has an Intel Core i5 2nd Generation mobile processor, , 4GB RAM and up to a 256GB SSD. The notebook is equipped with HP Beats Audio and HP Coolsense for better sound and faster cooling respectively. HP has also included NFC technology and built in HP Wireless Audio support. The full size keyboard is backlit for a better typing experience in low light conditions.

The notebook weighs in under 4 pounds and is 20mm thick. Despite the thin size HP is claiming 9 hours of battery life and delivers all the ports you need including a full size Ethernet port that flips open when you need to connect.

The HP Envy 14 Spectre starts at $1,399 – Preorder From HP

Preorder Your HP ENVY 14 Spectre Ultrabook Today is a post by Josh Smith from Notebooks.com.

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 a price that is competitive with the MacBook Air and an attractive notebook for students, travelers and anyone who wants a two-pound notebook.

The model I have in for review is the Toshiba Portege Z835-P330, which is available exclusively at Best Buy. This model has enough power for most consumers looking for an affordable light and thin notebook, but those looking to do video editing or processor intensive tasks will be best served by a different notebook with a more powerful processor.

The Toshiba Portege z835 is a super thin Ultrabook available at Best Buy.

Who is the Toshiba Portege z835 for?

I would recommend the Portege z835 to students and frequently traveling home users, but would be wary of recommending it to a business user or road warrior. The small package means you can take it anywhere around town without feeling any extra weight in your bag, but it has much more power than a netbook. The price is also attractive.

Toshiba Portege z835 Hands On Video

Design

The Portege z835 has a magnesium alloy case which helps provide an incredibly strong base to the notebook. This does more than help with the overall feel of the device, combined with the internal honeycomb support you get a very solid typing experience as well. The case is a dark grey, that looks like brushed metal, but this is just a finish. Unfortunately the rubber foot of another laptop was all it took to rub some of the finish off on the corner of the lid, which makes me worry about what this will look like after a year on the road.

Another concern is the flexibility of the lid, which can be bent to some pretty nasty angles thanks to the super thin frame. After several months of use I am less worried that I will break it, but it is enough of a concern to give me pause. Thankfully the keys are recessed, which should help keep the display from getting small key marks on it over time.

A Magnesium alloy case provides strength without tons of weight.

The Portege z835 weighs in at weighs 2.5 pounds and is just .65 inches thick. That’s lighter and thinner than the MacBook Air 13. Trust me, you’ll notice the light weight of this laptop when you pick it up. The good news is you won’t notice it when you have it in your backpack.

Even though Toshiba made this notebook thin, the company didn’t skimp on port selection. There’s an SD Card slot, headphone and microphone connections as well as USB 3.0 on the sides. On the back of the Portege z835 you’ll find an HDMI port, VGA, Ethernet and two USB 2.0 ports, one which can charge your smartphone or gadget while the notebook is asleep.

A look at the size of the Toshiba Portege z835.

If you want to upgrade any of the internals, you’ll need to take the entire bottom of the notebook off, but Toshiba has left the screws out and open so it won’t be a challenge.

I’m a big fan of the look that Toshiba used on this model. Instead of copying the MacBook Air, you get an attractive looking notebook that has a style of its own.

Keyboard and TouchPad

The Toshiba Portege z835 has one of the nicest keyboards I have used outside of the Lenovo ThinkPad line. The keyboard has great support throughout, which minimizes the mushiness you often find in thin notebooks. Toshiba has also done a good job of spacing the keys and giving them decent travel. I do wish that they keys had a bit more of a curve to them, but overall this is a very nice keyboard, one that earns extra points thanks to the fact that it is backlit for working in dark environments.

The Toshiba Portege z835 has a backlit keyboard.

The only real issue I had with the keyboard is a common one on 13 inch notebooks. Toshiba placed the DEL, Home, PgUp, PgDn and End keys on the far right of the keyboard. This means that you’ll often hit the wrong key if you are trying to touch type fast. Even after extended use I haven’t adjusted to the key placement. You can change the key assignments, but I wish there was no need to change these settings.

The touchpad on the Portege z835 is OK. If you are coming form a larger notebook you will need to adjust to the size of the small trackpad, but users will appreciate the dedicated mouse buttons which offer good tactile feedback. The mouse surface is smooth and offers precise mousing. The two finger scrolling was jerky when I began using this notebook, but Toshiba must have updated the software along the road because it is much smoother now.

Display

Toshiba has a nice 13.3 inch display inside the Portege z835. The screen has a 1366 x 768 resolution, which dictates how much you can see on a screen. The higher the resolution, the more of a webpage or email you can see without scrolling. I would prefer a higher resolution, but most consumers are used to this bare minimum resolution. If you want a high-resolution ultrabook, you’ll actually need to look at the MacBook Air.

The Toshiba Portege z835 has a 13.3 inch display.

The display offers very good viewing angles, which will make it possible to share the display with one or two other users while sharing stats or a presentation at a coffee shop. Colors are rich, though they do take a hit when you get too far to the right or left.

In most cases you’ll be using this notebook by yourself, so that won’t be an issue. The display proved great for watching videos on Hulu Plus and Netflix.

Features

The Portege z835 has a handful of extra features that users will appreciate. These extras are simple to use, though you will need to buy an extra adapter if you want to use Intel WiDi.

EcoBoost – Toshiba includes a button that turns on power saver settings that sill cut down on your power consumption. This can help extend battery life. The fact that this is a simple button push, means you may actually use it on a regular basis.

Webcam – There is a webcam built into the system with a single microphone. The webcam is nothing fancy, but will get the job done for Skype calls and Google Hangouts.

Intel Wireless Display - This free program allows you to stream your display to an HDTV with a $99 adapter.

Performance, Battery Life and Multimedia

The Portege z835 is a consumer specific version of the Portege z835, which is Toshiba’s first ultrabook. Powering the thin and light notebook is a 1.4GHz Intel Core i3 2nd gen processor, 4GB RAM and a 128GB SSD. This configuration provides enough power for most home users, students and business travelers. I would not choose the Portege z835 if I needed to edit a lot of video or if I want to play games.

I commonly used Google Chrome, a browser that Toshiba installs for you, to surf 10-20 websites at once, while using other programs and streaming music without any issues. The system was able to stream video from Hulu and Netflix without any trouble, including full screen.

While I streamed the latest episode of House, the system was a little warm by the end, but not so hot that I couldn’t keep the system on my lap if I wanted to.

The Toshiba Portege z835 has a faint fan noise while on.

One issue I found with the z835 is a faint fan noise that you can hear anytime the machine is powered on, even with no programs running. If you have music or a TV show on you won’t hear the fan, but if you like to work in silence this noise could get annoying pretty quick.

The speakers on the z835 aren’t great, but the small speaker slots on the front of the device deliver sound loud enough to fill a small room or hotel suite. There is no real depth to the music, but at the same time there is no distortion. If you want premium audio you’ll need a pair of speakers for when you are at home.

The battery life on the Portege z835 is rated for over 8 hours, but using the LAPTOP Magazine Battery Test (constant web surfing over Wi-Fi with the screen set at 40%) the notebook lasted just short of 6 hours. All said, 5 hours and 56 minutes of battery life isn’t bad for a notebook this thin and light. If you cut back on the brightness and use eco mode you should be able to stretch longer.

Toshiba Portege z835 vs. The Competition

The Portege Z835 I reviewed has a 1.3Ghz Intel Core i3 processor,  4GB RAM, a 128GB SSD and a 13.3 inch display with 1366 x 768 resolution. The notebook has one USB 3.0 port, to USB 2.0 ports and includes HDMI, Ethernet and VGA connectivity.

Toshiba Portege z835 vs MacBook Air

Toshiba Portege Z835 vs. Lenovo IdeaPad U400

The IdeaPad U400 offers a comparable experience for the same $900 price point. The U400 offers a faster processor, more RAM and dedicated graphics, but it is also heavier and thicker than the Portege Z835. The U400 has similar battery life and for this price is worth considering before you purchase a new notebook. The U400 is not an Ultrabook, but it is still thin and light with good performance.

Toshiba Portege Z835 vs. Lenovo IdeaPad U300s

While we saw a number of Ultrabooks at CES 2012, not many are available for sale yet. Of those that are out, the IdeaPad U300S offers something worth looking at. The IdeaPad U300s also has a faster processor and similar battery life, but it has a much higher price tag. At $1,499, the IdeaPad U300s, users will want to make sure that they need the extra power of the U300s to justify paying nearly double the price.

Toshiba Portege Z835 vs. MacBook Air

Another competitor is the MacBook Air 13 inch. The MacBook Air starts at $1,299 with similar specs, but you also get a much higher screen resolution and slightly longer battery life. The MacBook Air 13 inch has proven much better for multimedia editing thanks to the built in iMovie software.

The Bottom Line

Despite the fan noise and flexible display frame, the Portege z835 is a solid ultrabook offering for the average consumer. If you want a thin and light notebook that won’t break the bank, Toshiba’s first ultrabook is a stellar choice. Thanks to the inclusion of backlit keys, all the ports you need and a super thin package the Portege z835 offers an attractive value for the mainstream consumer.

Toshiba Portege z835 Gallery

Toshiba Portege z835 Review: The $850 Ultrabook is a post by Josh Smith from Notebooks.com.

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 see what’s new in Windows 8 and answers to your questions about Windows 8 Consumer Preview.

You can’t download the Windows 8 Consumer preview yet, but Microsoft should be releasing the details about a widespread consumer test drive of Windows 8 later this month.

Windows 8 offers a new take on Windows that borrows heavily from the Windows Phone Metro user interface. There is a heavy focus on touch, but Windows 8 will also work with your mouse and keyboard. You can check out a closer look at the Windows 8 preview given to developers last year.

The Windows 8 Consumer Preview is expected to be similar to the Windows 7 preview, which allowed users to test drive the operating system on their existing computers for several months before the system was launched to the public. It is not recommended that you install this on a computer you need to use for work on a daily basis, but if you have a second computer around it could give an interesting look at the future of Windows.

Stay tuned for more details on the launch of Windows 8 Consumer Preview later this month.

Via Cnet

Windows 8 Consumer Preview Coming This Month is a post by Josh Smith from Notebooks.com.

Enter AirFoil, an AirPlay solution that lets you stream any audio from your computer to your AirPlay speakers or Apple TV.

AirPlay for the Mac and for Windows computers is the missing part of Apple TV experience, and that’s what AirFoil solves in a simple to use program. I wish it could also handle video, like Intel Wireless Display, but for now I’m just happy to be able to send my Pandora tunes to my home theater when I work in the living room.

AirFoil has a free trial that allows you tor stream your Mac or PC to the Apple TV for 10 minutes, after which they overlay a hiss on your audio. The full program is an affordable $25, and is delivered instantly.

Using AirFoil is incredibly easy. As long as you are on the same network as your Apple TV, which is almost a given if you are at home, you will see it and any AirPlay speakers listed in the app.

To use the Apple TV as your wireless speaker system, click on the music note to right of your item. You can stream to multiple sources at once, which makes it easy to pump music throughout your house. You can install the free AirFoil Speakers app on your Mac to turn in into an AirPlay receiver.

When you want to change your audio source, you just click the dropdown menu at the top. You can pick from any program on your computer, including your web browser. The only thing I don’t like is that AirFoil will need to restart the program to capture the audio, so you may have to save your work if you want to start using Chrome or Safari in the middle of the day. Thankfully you are warned about this so there are no surprises.

Overall this is a great solution for streaming music from your computer to the Apple TV. Hopefully we’ll have a way of streaming video in the near future.

Purchase AirPlay from Rogue Amoeba

AirFoil Streams Audio From Your Mac or PC to Apple TV is a post by Josh Smith from Notebooks.com.

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 a big plus for users who are trying to switch to a standing desk, and fr longtime users like myself who have days where you just need to sit down.

The new WorkFit A Sit – Stand Desk starts at $379, with a single display, and adding a laptop holder or second monitor mount is just $20 more. If you want a workspace while standing you can add one for about $100.

One of the reasons I really like this new system, and why I call it a refined sit stand desk is that this one mounts on the back of your desk. This means you aren’t a foot away from your desk at all times, perfect in small cubicles. Also, because the mount sits down right to your desk, you can still use your desk surface for a cup of coffee or to spread out papers while you are sitting.

The Ergotron WorkFit A has 20 inches of up and down movement, allowing you to find a height that works great for you, and is a nice touch if you have to share a workstation. The monitor mount has an independent 5 inch adjustment so that you can also find the right height.

For more on standing desks and our reviews of Ergotron Sit Stand Desks check out our previous coverage.

• Ergotron WorkFit S Review
• Ergotron WorkFit C Review
• Standing Desk Guide: Measurements, Examples and Benefits

Stay tuned for an Ergotron WorkFit D review later this month.

Ergotron WorkFit A: A Refined Sit Stand Desk for Your Office is a post by Josh Smith from Notebooks.com.

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 portable package — one that starts at $899.

I’ve spent the morning working on the Dell XPS 14z, after lusting over the Dell XPS 13 Ultrabook we’re giving away at GottaBeMobile, and I’m incredibly impressed with the sound quality coming out of this system.

The Dell XPS 14z has a few things working for it, including the large top open speaker grills which send the sound right at your head, instead of into your jeans like so many other notebooks do. Also helping out is the inclusion of Waves MaxxAudio on the system, which helps deliver better sounding audio in smaller packages.

The Dell XPS 14z speaker grilles help deliver great audio directed at your ears, not your lap.

Listening to a variety of music I was most impressed with the depth and clarity of the music. While listening to 99 Problems by Jay Z and I Put Your Picture Away (Live) by Kid Rock on Pandora it was hard to believe these were notebook speakers. I could make out background sounds that don’t come through on other notebooks and on some dedicated systems I have tried out.

Volume is good, though if you want to host a house party with this system, you’ll need to connect to some bigger speakers. For a dorm room, small office or a hotel room though, you get great sounding music at a sufficient volume.

This isn’t the only system from Dell with Waves MaxxAudio included, the Dell XPS 15z which I reviewed last year also impressed. If you are looking for a great audio experience on your notebook, I highly recommend the Dell XPS 14z, and suggest checking out other Dell systems with similar setups.

Stay Tuned for a full Dell XPS 14z review.

Dell XPS 14z Rocks – Great Speakers and Sound is a post by Josh Smith from Notebooks.com.

While Intel is still hammering out the details of these new 3rd generation Intel Core i family of chips, Golem.de was able to run a sneaky performance test on the Acer Aspire A5 at CES 2012, and has posted the results of rhte benchmarking.

We saw the Acer Aspire S5, and you can check out the hands on video here, but we weren’t able to run any benchmarks.

The Acer Aspire S5 has an Ivy Bridge processor and Intel 4000HD graphics, which delivers an improved graphics experience. In the 3D graphics test which you can see below, the S5 was able to deliver 12.17 FPS, which is better than the 8.36 FPS that Ultrabooknews was able to achieve on the current generation of Ultrabooks.

The good news is that these results will likely be better when the Ivy Bridge processor comes out in the middle of 2012. The demo units shown at CES 2012 did not likely include final hardware and software, or optimizations which will provide better performance.

The CPU benchmark delivered by Cinebench was 2.38, an improvement of Ultrabooknews’ 2.11 result on second generation Intel Core i processors.

You can watch the Cinebench 3D benchmark in the video below.

We’re looking forward to the next crop of Ultrabooks using the new Intel Core i 3rd generation processor. Intel showed off a gaming demo at CES 2012, to highlight the abilities of the new processors, which you can see below for a more visual representation.

Sneaky Ultrabook Test Shows Off Intel Ivy Bridge Performance is a post by Josh Smith from Notebooks.com.

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 isn’t rated for it, I could probably drive my car over it and it would keep working.

The portable form factor, incredibly durable build and excellent keyboard pair up with an all day battery to deliver a well equipped solution for the education market.

ThinkPad X130E - Education Geared Netbook

So far, my only complaint about the system is the very touchy and small touchpad, but an external mouse or smaller fingers will help with that.

The ThinkPad X130E I have in for testing uses an AMD E 300 1.3GHz processor, 2GB RAM and has an 11.6 inch display with a 1366×768 resolution. You might think that this system is underpowered, but I didn’t find it sluggish while going about the tasks I would expect students to be doing such as web browsing, note taking, flash heavy websites and running multiple programs at once.

I’ll get into all the features in a second, but as soon as I picked up the X130E I knew it was a well built notebook. Everything about this device feels durable and well built. Even when I tried to flex the base or lid, I came up with white knuckles instead of buckling plastic.

I haven’t given the notebook a proper battery test yet, which will simulate web browsing until the battery dies, but during my daily use I found that it was easy to get 5 to 6 hours of battery life without worrying about screen brightness. I wouldn’t be surprised if this notebook can last the full schoolday with the 6 cell battery.

As I mentioned, the keyboard is rock solid and perfectly sized for students and teachers. The touchpad is a bit small, and it takes some getting used to. So far it is touchy, even though it is a newer clickpad style touchpad.

Education Ready

The ThinkPad X130E is ready for the hands of schoolkids everywhere thanks to a rugged design and the reinforcement of potential break points. Lenovo has also included security features and customization options that schools will appreciate.

After spending a week with the ThinkPad X130, I can attest to the build quality of the notebook. These design features are more than bullet points on a sales sheet.

The keyboard on this notebook is great, not the best ThinkPad keyboard I have used, but pretty close. It certainly blows away consumer notebook keyboards. This island style of keyboard means that the students won’t be able to pull keys off, at least not without a screwdriver and lots of leverage.

Hinges are tested to withstand heavy use.

Lenovo also made the entire system more rugged, starting with the cover and corners. The corners on the X130 are 33% stronger than the x120E and include rubber bumpers to cope with bumps and drops.

The display bezel is thicker, to protect the display from damage while in transport and the hings have been designed to last 30,000 cycles, or 100 times a day. The ports on the notebook include all of those education environments need including Ethernet and HDMI. The ports are recessed, and Lenovo has made the Ethernet port stronger to prevent damage if a pupil pulls the cord out without pressing down on the tab.

The ThinkPad X130E has recessed ports and a stronger Ethernet port.

Administrators will enjoy the security features including TPM, Intel Anti-Theft (only on the higher end model) and a hard drive retention program that lets the user keep drives that fail under warranty so that IT can dispose of data themselves.

The ThinkPad X130E is available today, but you can only get the Red version shown above in large orders for schools, which can choose from other customizations as well. The ThinkPad X130E starts at $429.

Stay Tuned for our full review of the ThinkPad X130E.

ThinkPad X130e Mini Review: Built Like a Tank, Ready for School is a post by Josh Smith from Notebooks.com.

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 of motion control to Windows 8.

The Kinect Sensors are embedded in the top of the Kinect notebook prototype, and a row of LEDs line the bottom of the display.

Microsoft's working on Kinect notebooks.

After spending a month playing around with Kinect on the Xbox 360, I could see this being useful for activating programs or switching between apps when I am not directly at the keyboard.

Of course, there is always gaming. With Kinect built into notebooks and Xbox being a part of Windows 8 in some fashion, imagine all those Kinect games you have on your 360, now playable on your notebook wherever you are.

Microsoft also hopes that a Kinect enabled notebook would allow disabled individuals to have greater control over their notebooks and portable devices.

There was no word on how thick these Kinect notebooks were, but as we saw with Toshiba’s glasses free 3D notebook, technology can come a long way in a year. Microsoft won’t be making their own notebooks, but rather allowing manufacturers to integrate Kinect into systems running Windows 8.

The company will face some competition from the likes of Tobii, a company that has developed eye tracking software to allow users to control their computer with eye movement. Check out a demo of Tobii below.

Will Your Next Notebook Have Kinect Built In? is a post by Josh Smith from Notebooks.com.

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 of 720P and 1080P HD video content. While the machine was able to handle the work, it was hot, it was loud and it didn’t like to do much else.

So imagine my surprise when I saw that Adobe’s Dave Helmly was going to try to edit 4K video on the MacBook Air. 4K video is about 4,000 pixels, compared to HD which tops out at 1,080 pixels.

In order to do this Helmly relies on the ThunderBolt connection that is built into the MacBook Air, and is making its way to a number fo PCs. This high speed connection allows users who need more power to connect powerful peripherals and accessories to the MacBook Air for more power. This will curt down the mobility of the notebook, but it allows users to keep their work on a single notebook.

Editing 4K video on the MacBook Air with Thunderbolt Accessories

Dave Helmly started out with a MacBook Air rocking a 1.8Ghz Intel Core i7 processor and 4GB of RAM. This system is running Windows 7 64 in Boot Camp. To this he added,

• a Red Rocket Card
• Sonnet ThunderBolt Chassis
• UltraStudio 3D playback peripheral

As you can see in the demonstration video, the MacBook Air can hardly render the video at the start, but once he enables the ThunderBolt accessories the Macbook Air is able to function as a mobile video editing station.

This $5,000 add on makes 4K editing possible on a MacBook Air.

Sure, you need a desk or a car to keep the Thunderbolt peripherals in, but if you want mobility during the day and processing power in your hotel room while on location this shows a promising look at the future.

Did I mention you’ll need to spend upwards of $6,000 on top of your MacBook Air purchase price to do this?

Via 9to5Mac

ThunderBolt Peripherals Turn MacBook Air into Video Editing Beast is a post by Josh Smith from Notebooks.com.