Category: Laptop / PC

The Guleek i8 is a mini desktop computer with a built in battery. This makes it one of the most unique desktops around. It is as small as Zotac mini PCs but has a 3000 mAh battery inside too which allows you to move it from one place to another without shutting it down.

The Guleek i8 is a compact computer with windows 8.1 operating system and is powered by Intel bay trail processor.

Guleek i8 video review

As you can see, this is basically a mini laptop without a display. It features 1.8 GHz Intel Atom Z3735F quad-core processor, 2GB of RAM, 16GB of storage, a microSD card slot, and a fanless design.

On the ports front you get 2x USB 2.0 ports, a micro USB port (for charging), a micro HDMI port, a headset jack, 802.11b/g/n WiFi and Bluetooth 4.0. It measures 5.9″ x 3.2″ x 0.4″ and weighs about 8.5 ounces.

Here is what we did not like about it:
– Doesn’t have a network port;
– The power socket is right next to the USB sockets, should be on the back;
– You can find tablets for the same price with bigger batteries, a screen, and more storage.

This would be interesting paired with one of the old Motorola Lapdocks from the Atrix/Bionic era. The lapdock itself is powered and would provide nearly everything else that’s missing: Display, keyboard, trackpad, audio (possibly), and maybe some extra USB ports. Roll your own networking? Just Velcro the thing to the back of the lid and route the cables into the dock ports like with any other stick PC.

Verdict – It’s really pointless when consumers can spend less and have a fully portable system with dual functionality. This mini PC would only work if it was on par with prices to the ARM devices. If you need a dual display option you can buy a Asus Vivo that runs Intel 4th Gen. It supports THREE displays connected at once, runs Linux and Windows and is almost the same price as this mini PC. And has USB 3, Ethernet “yada yada”. I just don’t see the market appeal if its priced the same as a tablet.

Lenovo has made its new mobile workstation ThinkPad W550S official and it will replace the current model ThinkPad W540 by offering the newest Intel Core i7 fifth generation processor and latest Nvidia Quadro graphics cards in an even thinner and lighter chassis.

The Lenovo ThinkPad W550S was launched during the Autodesk University 2014 event. This model is more compact and slim than its predecessors measuring 380.6 mm x 258.2 mm x 22.4 mm. There is a touch-panel model as well which has thickness of 23.3 mm.

Since it is a ThinkPad you get all the usual perks like Lenovo Precision keyboard with or without backlight, dedicated numeric keypad and TrackPoint. You also get fingerprint biometric sensor and optional smart card reader. Intel vPro technology is also present in Lenovo ThinkPad W550S.

There are two choices in the resolution department – one is full HD panel with a 300 nits brightness and second is 2880 x 1620 pixel IPS panel with 350 nit brightness.

Lenovo ThinkPad W550S specifications

Display: 15.5 inch FHD TN 300 nit, IPS 3K 350-nit, with or without touch
CPU: Intel Core i7 dual-core fifth generation
GPU: Nvidia Quadro K620M 2 GB
RAM: 16 GB max
Storage: HDD 1 TB or 512 GB SSD
Ports + connectivity: 3x USB ports, Bluetooth 4.0, 802.11n / ac Wi-Fi, optional 4G-LTE, Gigabit Ethernet
Battery life: 2x 3 cell 23 Wh / 44 Wh or 2x 6 cell 48 Wh / 72 Wh.

GoClever is an Italian computer maker and today it has launched Insignia 700 Pro and Quantum 700N laptops. These two feature 7 inch display and run Android 4.4 kitkat operating system.

The most compact of the three is the GoClever Insignia 700 Pro that measures 190 x 108 x 9.1 mm and weighs 258 grams. 700 Pro specifications include 7 inch display with a resolution of 1024 x 600pixels that is powered by Intel Atom Z2520 clover trailer processor. Other features include 2 gigabytes of memory, 8GB of flash storage, audio jack, a 2 megapixel rear camera, a front-facing 0.3 megapixel, GPS modules, 3G, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi. All this is powered by a battery with a size of 3000 mAh.

Next up is the GoClever’s Quantum 700N that measures 191 x 116 x 12 mm and weighs 320 grams. The display is identical to the 700 Pro but it is instead powered by MediaTek MTK8127 quad core processor with four ARM Cortex A7 cores and ARM Mali 450 GPU. It is supported by 512 MB ​​of RAM and 8 GB of RAM. Its battery has slightly less 2800 mAh capacity but it should still give up four-five hours of real world use. Price of it is 89.90 euro.

Insignia 1010 specifications

Another model GoClever Insignia 1010 has Intel Atom Bay Trail-T processor and a detachable keyboard. Unlike its other two new models, the Ingignia runs windows 8 and runs on Bay Trail-T.

The Insignia 1010 specifications include 10.1 inch display with 1280 x 800 pixel resolution and Intel Atom Z3740D processor. The RAM is 2 gigabytes and for storage you get 32GB of flash storage. The 3G module is absent.

The Insignia 1010 which measures 258 x 172.6 x 10.5 mm and weighs 924 grams has a slightly higher battery capacity and yields around 6 hours of battery runtime. Its battery capacity is 8000 mAh.

The keyboard dock is included in the package which will be appreciated by the professional. The tablet is already available in several online shops at an average price of around 300 Euros.

• Via notebookitalia.it

Toshiba Portege Z20T was recently spotted on FCC website and we were able to find out its specifications. It comes with a 12.5 inch full HD display and a detachable compact keyboard.

There are a lot of chances the Toshiba Portege Z20T could be fanless and equipped with a Intel Core M broadwell processor or the less powerful Core i5 / i7 ultra low voltage haswell CPUs. SSD drives of different capacities will be used in different models. RAM goes up to 8 gigabytes depending on the model you buy.

Built in digitizer will also be offered in certain models so that users able to doddle or write notes just like a pen. Of course you will Windows 8 operating system on board.

Concrete release dates are not yet know but expect it to be released during or just before the holiday season. Picture shows a tablet with square corners with Toshiba logo on the bottom left. Camera and microphone looks slightly off centered.

The Toshiba Z20T looks like a slightly bigger version of the Portege Z10T released last year. Other than improved processing speed, the Z20T offers maximum angle of inclination of the tablet attached to the dock of 120 degrees which is about 15 degrees more than what one used to get with Z10t.

• Via fcc.gov

Pipo W5 is a windows 8 tablet that costs 199 euro and features a small 8 inch display with 1280 x 800 resolution. The highlight of Pipo W5 is its support for stylus input.

Pipo W5 tablet specifications include Intel Atom Z3735G quad core 1.83 GHz processor, 2GB RAM, 32GB eMMC flash memory, two cameras (5 / 2 megapixel cameras) and a battery with capacity of 4500 mAh.

The Pipo W5 costs about 899 Yuan in China which is about 120 euros in Europe. However we are pretty sure it will retail at much higher cost in European shops if it ever makes a debut here.

The new Windows 8.1 with Bing has definitely allowed the Microsoft to gain some market share in the tablet arena and with devices like Pipo W5, there is little its rivals will be able to do. Windows allows users to do so much more on the move. There are no compatibility issues and you can even connect your scanners and printers with them easily since you can use the existing x86 / x64 drivers with them.  

Shuttle XH97V and DS437T are the two bare bone mini computers that retail for less than 250 euros. Both have good configurability and high expandability which make them perfect for small and home office. This is how it looks like.

Here is a pictures from the back.

Shuttle DS437T Review

The more compact but also the less powerful of the two is the Shuttle DS437T which measures 200 x 165 x 39.5 mm and weighs mere 1.43 kilograms. It is very compact and has volume of mere 1.3 liters. Featuring a completely passive cooling system, it offers a dual-core Intel Celeron 1037U generation processor that is based on Ivy Bridge architecture. The CPU has TDP of 17W and a clock rate of 1.8 GHz.

The Shuttle DS437T can be configured with up to 16 gigabytes of memory and both DDR3-1333 and DDR3-1600 are supported. For storage there is space for single SATA III 2.5 inch disk. Despite its small size it offers a large number of ports. There are a total of 8x USB 3.0 ports, HDMI, DVI video outputs, SD card reader, audio jacks for headphones and earphones and a RJ-45 Ethernet jack for LAN. For connectivity you get the trusty old Gigabit Ethernet and 802.11n Wi-Fi. The Shuttle DS437T is already available on the market at a recommended retail price of 234 euro.

Shuttle XH97V Review

For those who have a little more available space should go for the Shuttle XH97V which offers more performance and flexibility. You can configure it with any Haswell processor that includes Celeron, Pentium, Core i3, i5 and i7 fourth generation CPUs with maximum TDP of 65 watts. The Shuttle XH97V measures 240 x 200 x 72 mm with a volume of 3.5 liters and weight of 2.2 kilograms. There are two RAM slots which can be used to equip the system with up to 16 gigabytes of DDR3-1600 memory. For storage there are a total of three units thus giving the user a lot more flexibility when it comes  to storage. The drives can be configured in RAID configuration as well.

Connectivity and ports selection in Shuttle XH97V is same as DS437T. It is already on sale for 235 euros including VAT in Europe.

• Via notebookitalia.it