Western Digital’s booth here at the Computex primarily showcased their latest ultra-slim HDD primarily made for ultrabooks. The WD 500GB HDD is now just 5mm thin and will be used by upcoming ultrabooks from various brands.
Thinner HDDs allows for thinner form factors for ultrabook designs (and even tablets). The previous standard is 7mm, so a 2mm reduction in the thickness of the storage plates, the thinner the final design of the device.
One of the more interesting ultrabooks that will use the WD Slim is the refreshed version of the Acer Aspire S3 (re-designed to look like an S7).
We accidentally spotted this Chromebook Pixel while checking out the booths of one of the storage companies (they were showing off flagship devices that uses their SSD).
We did not recognize it at first but after powering up the laptop, we finally confirmed it. The huge block of solid aluminum has that same feels as the Macbook Pro, only slightly darker in shade and more monolithic.
It has a somewhat thin profile though not as thin as most ultrabooks in the market (I’d say pretty close to the Macbook Pro Retina).
It has a chiclet-style keyboard (additional pellet-type keys on the top row) and a large area for the trackpad. The Chrome logo is etched at the base, just above the keyboard.
Was able too boot into the Chrome OS but wasn’t able to play around with it because of the login. The display though was very stunning and you can definitely appreciate the high resolution (2560×1700 pixels, 239ppi).
Google Chromebook Pixel specs:
12.85-inch touchscreen (2560×1700, 239 ppi)
1.8GHz dual-core Intel Core i5 processor
Intel HD graphics 4000
4GB DDR3 RAM
32GB SSD (4G model is 64GB)
1TB Google Drive
720p HD camera
2 x USB 2.0
Mini display port
SD / MMC card reader
Backlit keyboard & glass touchpad
59 Wh battery
Chrome OS
297.7 x 224.6 x16.2 mm (dimensions)
1,520g (weight)
For those you who wants to be a get a little more acquainted with Acer’s recently announced Windows 8 tablet – the Iconia W3, we’ve prepared short introduction piece, as well as a hands-on video.
What makes the Iconia W3 interesting, to us, is the fact that it’s the first truly pocket-able (back pocket that is) tablet running on full version of Windows 8 and not the Really Terrible (RT) build. This means that users have access to full Windows Experience, as well as tons of apps from both Microsoft Store and traditional software.
As far as the design is concerned, we think that the W3 is a decent looking device, though its mostly made of plastic. It’s actually a rare feat for a plastic-made tablet as most of them give a rather cheap feel. The device is light and very comfortable in the hands.
The real estate at the front is mainly occupied by the tablets 8-inch IPS display which is accompanied by a pair of components, a 2MP camera up top and physical Windows button on the right. The other camera, which also has a 2MP resolution, is located at the back portion, along with a pair of speaker situated on each side.
The side panel is peppered with buttons, slots, and ports which includes voume rocker and a slot for micro-SD card up top. Meanwhile, the Power button is placed on the left side panel, along with a pair of ports for the micro-HDMI and micro-USB and a SIM card tray. Lastly, there’s the tablet’s twin speakers alongside the 3.5mm audio jack.
Acer Iconia W3 specs:
8.1-inch LCD @ 1280×800 pixels
Intel Atom Z2760 1.8GHz dual-core processor
2GB DDR2 RAM
32GB and 64GB internal storage
WiFi 802.11 b/g/n
2MP rear camera
2MP front-facing camera
micro-HDMI port
micro-USB 2.0 port
Bluetooth 4.0
Windows 8
The combination of Intel Atom processor and 2GB of RAM felt snappy, at least on basic tasks that is. It also did kinda well on the multitasking part, but there’s still some lag when transitioning from an to another. Load time was relatively faster considering its rather modest configuration.
Unlike usual hybrid tablets, the Iconia W3 is paired with a slightly larger keyboard which can be purchased separately for USD90. Another thing about this combo is that there’s actually no physical connection between the two components. Instead, the tablet is paired to the keyboard via Bluetooth and there’s just a carved portion on the latter that acts as a cradle that holds tablet in place.
The 8GB version of the Acer Iconia W3 is slated to be retailed for USD427 and 65 more will get you the 64GB one. But since Windows 8 may take up most of the storage, we highly suggest to get this with 32GB micro-SD so you’ll still have room for your files.
Gigabyte remains to be one of the very few laptop manufacturers that produces the convertible tablet, a design that has been around for over a decade. Spotted in the Gigabyte booth is this 11.6-inch Gigabyte U21M.
The idea behind convertible tablets is that they basically have the standard laptop form factor but the base of the lid has a swivel where you can rotate it up to 180-degrees and lock down the lib back to the keyboard, giving you full access to the touchscreen display as if it’s a fully-functional tablet.
Now that Windows 8 has been built to be very tablet-friendly, Gigabyte is also banking into Intel’s latest Haswell release to make the Gigabyte U21M more compelling than its predecessors.
No specific details were given only that the U21M will run on a 4th-generation Intel Core i5/i7, up to 16GB of RAM and up to 256GB mSATA with an optional 1TB of regular HDD. The rest of the features are basically common but we’re surprised the U21M also comes with a 3G SIM card slot.
Gigabyte remains to be one of the very few laptop manufacturers that produces the convertible tablet, a design that has been around for over a decade. Spotted in the Gigabyte booth is this 11.6-inch Gigabyte U21M.
The idea behind convertible tablets is that they basically have the standard laptop form factor but the base of the lid has a swivel where you can rotate it up to 180-degrees and lock down the lib back to the keyboard, giving you full access to the touchscreen display as if it’s a fully-functional tablet.
Now that Windows 8 has been built to be very tablet-friendly, Gigabyte is also banking into Intel’s latest Haswell release to make the Gigabyte U21M more compelling than its predecessors.
No specific details were given only that the U21M will run on a 4th-generation Intel Core i5/i7, up to 16GB of RAM and up to 256GB mSATA with an optional 1TB of regular HDD. The rest of the features are basically common but we’re surprised the U21M also comes with a 3G SIM card slot.
