Reviews related to : Laptops
Laptops have evolved over the years from a poor cousin of their more powerful desktop brethren to today, where for many manufacturers, laptops outsell desktops.
The focus has moved to laptops with huge investment in improving performance and reducing power consumption. You will still however find even those that claim to be 'desktop replacements' to be slower than a desktop product, and this is likely to remain the case for some time.
If it's raw power you want stick to a desktop computer!
This is both a Notebook and a Tablet. It is a reasonable weight so good for taking out and about with you. It is silver grey in colour.
This 2 in 1 device measures 35x22.5x1.5cm at the back, it is 1cm at the front, it weighs 1782 grams. Going around the outside has a USB3, 3.5mm socket for headphones and an SD socket on the left. The front is clear. The right side has a USB3, HDMI and two USB 'C' sockets. The back is also clear as the Notebook screen rotates through 180 degrees to become a Tablet.
In less than nine months Microsoft stops supporting Windows 10. The HP Spectre X360 is both a very nice Notebook and if you turn the screen through 180 degrees it is an excellent Tablet. In either mode you have Touchscreen ability.
This was a brand new unit which took 35 minutes from switch on till you have answered all Microsoft's questions and done the required updates. I then found close to 50 files in 'updates' after around another 30 minutes I saw a number of the updates had been completed and several others required a restart. After I went to restart it decided I needed a BIOS update and after that a Firmware update. When I checked the updates I found everything completed so almost 50 updates in a hour.
This is one the latest batch of new Notebooks from Acer, it has Windows 11 and it has the ability to use some AI built in.
The weighs 1368 grams and is 31.5x22.5x1.5cm at the back it is .5cm less at the front. Open the lid and the viewable screen is 31x19.5cm which gives the notional diagonal imperial measurement of 14 inches. On the centre of the top of the screen surround is a web-cam. The screen display is 2560x1400.
This is a notebook from the HP range marketed under the Firefly Poly label and unlike most other notebooks does not just have a 30 day trial of A/V software it comes with a possible 15 months for no charge, now that is a useful addition.
The HP ZBook Firefly G11 is a 14inch Windows 11 notebook, measuring 31x22x1cm at the front and 1.5cm at the back it weighs 1500 grams. Going around the outside has HDMI, USB, two USB 'C' and an LED on the left, the front is clear, the right side has Kensington Lock port, USB and a 3.5mm socket for audio, the back is clear as the screen goes back to near 180 degrees. The base has two thin horizontal rubber bars to keep the unit off whatever you are resting it on. Open the lid and there is .
This is one of the latest offerings from ACER and it has a larger screen but is still quite light. So anyone who needs to use it on the move the 3200x2000 default screen resolution can show that much more.
The measures 35x24x1cm and weighs only 1233grams. Going around the outside has two USB 'C', HDMI and USB3. The front is clear. On the right side is a micro SD card port, 3.5 headphone socket, USB3, two LED's and a Kensington lock socket. Open the lid and the screen has .5cm border on the left and right side, the 1cm on the top has web cam in the centre. There is a 1cm border on the bass. The screen itself is 34x21.5cm, the diagonal notional imperial measurement is 16inches.
This is the latest offering from HP that is both a Notebook and a Tablet as such there is of course touch screen either by finger or for those who need great accuracy a pen type device is supplied.
The HP Envy x360 measures 30.5x21.5x1.5cm the last figure at the rear while the front is only 1cm thick. The left side has USB, HDMI and two USB 'C'. The front is clear as is the back as the screen goes through 360 degrees to become a Tablet. The right side has 3.5mm socket and a USB. The base has ventilation and the speakers which still have good volume when used as a conventional Notebook.
In around 18 months Microsoft will end support for Windows 10 so now is the time to start looking for a suitable Windows 11 machine. This offering from Acer in the Aspire series supports 'the earth' by using more suitable components, they name this feature VERO.
It is 35x25x2cm the last figure at the back while the front is only a little over 1cm thick and it weighs 1845 grams. Going around the outside has two USB 'C' an HDMI and USB socket, the front is clear, the right side has two LED's, 3.5mm audio socket, USB and Kensington socket. The rear is clear. The base has four 2x.5cm green bars to keep the base clear of whatever you rest it on and to improve ventilation, there are also two speaker outputs near the front.
This Notebook made by ACER is one of the Nitro 5 range. Its not quite the most powerful but still should help you to stay alive for longer if you are into games. It is also a very useful business notebook as it has numeric keyboard included to the right of the main keyboard.
Going around the outside of the there is a Kensington Lock port, Ethernet, USB3 and audio out on the left, the front is clear, on the right are three LED's and two USB3. The back has charging port, USB 'C' and HDMI. The base has four mid sized rubber feet to keep it off whatever you place it on and allow extra ventilation. The 104 keyboard is 3cm in from the back and this space has the rather good speakers. Left and right has a .65cm gap and the 10.5x7.
Quite unusually this is not an actual review. Nitro is a range of notebooks, the one I wanted to review was not currently available from ACER. To buy it is only available from VERY, so next week all being well I will tell you about the model I am reviewing that is a little less powerful and -because the VERY offer is so special- is more expensive. If my review continues to be as promising as it currently looks then this unit if I had reviewed it could well earn the very rarely awarded 5 by 5 award.
So what does this offer firstly the screen is bigger than most at 17.3 inches, second it has a 1TB SSD drive twice the size of the unit I am reviewing. It has a 12th Gen Intel processor where my unit is 11th Gen. Most other features are simular so while this unit costs £999 against £1049 for the unit I am reviewing you see why with the larger screen, slightly later Gen Intel processor and double the size of SSD this is a very powerful unit.
This i7 processor Windows 11 touch PC from HP is available only from Curry's so I decided that I should check it out. If offers a lot in a quite small overall package and is '2 in 1' as its not only a notebook but also a tablet.
It is 31.5x21cm, its 1.5cm thick at the back and only 1cm thick at the front and it weighs 1512grams. Going around the outside has HDMI out, USB 'C' and audio out on the left, the front is clear, the right side has micro SD card connection, two USB and finally a 3.5mm charge point, you can of course also use a USB 'C' lead to charge as well. There is nothing on the back as the screen goes back 360 degrees as this can also be used as a Tablet. It has an 84 key keyboard, there is 1.
A Chromebook is an alternative to a Windows PC if all you use it for is emails, scouring the web and suchlike. These days a Chromebook has anti virus built in so you are already saving money and you should be safe to trawl the net, but as always remember if the offer looks to too good to be true it almost certainly is and you will probably get bugs that you do not want.
The measures 36x23.5x1.5cm. Going around the outside it has USB 'C', HDMI and USB on the left. The front is clear, the right side has 3.5mm audio socket, USB 'C' and Kensington lock port. The back is also clear as the screen goes back to 190 degrees. The back has four 3x.5cm small rubber feet in each corner the two at the front vertical and the two at the back horizontal. The weight of the unit is 1.37 kilos which is a tiny amount over three pounds.
This is a powerful rugged notebook designed for the sort of conditions that most notebooks would very soon give up. While I can tell you about the unit I was sent, the connections it has can very to suit the use you plan to have for it, so the actual price will tend to vary somewhat.
It came with 32GB of RAM; it has an Intel 12 Gen i7 processor running at 2.1GHz. It has a 1GB SSD ‘C’ drive with 865GB of the 928GB free and a 1GB ‘D’ SSD with 953GB available. The Windows version is Windows 11 Pro 22H2 which is the latest available. Boot up was a reasonable 15 seconds, shutdown is around 10 seconds.
A 16inch notebook that does not weigh that much, it also does not feel that much larger when you move around with it. Unlike a lot of such devices I get to review this one has an AMD processor, this one runs at 2.7GHz. It has 16GB of RAM and a 1TB SSD.
Its dimensions are 36x24x1.5cm and it weighs only 1179grams which is meant to be the world’s lightest. The viewable screen is 34x21.5cm which gives the notional imperial diagonal measurement of 16inches, this is 4K 3840x2400pixel and OLED. On the left edge are two USB ‘C’, USB3 and HDMI. The right side has 3.5mm socket for headphones, USB3 and two LED’s. Both the front and back are clear. The screen goes back to around 45 degrees.
This latest offering from Acer is the Swift 5 a small and light notebook that has Windows 11. Just because it is small does not mean it is not powerful. There are a range of models with different processors, sizes of SSD drives and memory.
The Acer Swift 5 measures 31x22x1.5cm and weighs 1278 grams. On the left side there are two USB ‘C’ ports an HDMI port and a USB port. On the right side are 3.5mm audio out socket a USB port two LEDs and the all-important Kensington Lock port. The keyboard is 84 keys with the alpha keys being full size. There is a 2cm border behind and to the sides of the keyboard with 9cm in front and the 10x7cm trackpad being mounted centrally in this area.
If your main uses of a PC are for emails, browsing the web and word processing or spreadsheets then a Chromebook can be cheaper and even a more secure form of connection to the outside world as Chromebooks are both automatically updated in the background and have Anti-Virus protection built in so you can remain in a safer environment.
This one from Acer measures 36x23.5.1.5cm and weighs 1677g and can show a full HD screen. Going around the outside on the left is a USB ‘C’ port a USB port and 3.5mm socket for headphones. The front is clear. The right side has micro SD card port, Ethernet connection, USB ‘C’ port and finally a Kensington Lock port. The rear is also clear as the screen goes back beyond 180 degrees. The viewable screen is 34x19.
At last a company starts to do something about sustainability as the case on this unit is made from recycled plastic, it has a slightly rough feel no doubt not essential but to make you feel you are doing your bit. This latest offering in the Aspire range is called Vero. The strap line comes up on bootup ‘Vero for Planel Earth’. What does this latest offering from Acer have to offer both for sustainability and also for value for money in these testing times?
The Acer Aspire Vero AV15-51 measures 36.5x24.5x1.7cm and weighs 1800grams. Going around the outside has power input, Ethernet, HDMI, two USB3 and a USB ‘C’. Both the front and back are clear the right side has two LED’s, 3.5mm for headphones and a USB3 finally a Kensington Lock connection. You can also charge the unit with a USB ‘C’ connection. The base has four horizontal 2x.7cm yellow rubber feet, behind the front feet are the 2.5x1.5cm speaker outlets.
So many people moan about Windows continual upgrades, with a Chromebook they still occur but in the background. So do you really need Windows, the answer lies in what do you use your PC for, if you use Windows programs then the answer is yes. However if you use it for Browsing, sending and receiving emails writing books or using spreadsheets possibly not as a Chromebook can do all that and now it even supports the Google Play store.
This latest offering from Acer has another plus ‘touch’ so ideal for those not keen on the Touchpad. It is 32x22.5x1.5cm this last measurement is at the back, at the front it is only a tad over 1cm. It weighs only 1284grams. The viewable screen is 31x17.3cm which gives you very close to the imperial measurement of 14inches, the aspect ratio is 16:9. The left side has USB ‘C’ and 3.5mm headset socket. The front is clear; the right side has USB3 and Kensington Lock socket.
With Lockdowns possible over, it might be the time to take a look at improving your computer experience.
Having recently told you about a Samsung Chromebook that comes with the latest version of Wimdows here is their Chromebook offering that was released at the same time. So here you get a Chromebook that can also allow you to get mobile data to keep you in contact while out of the office and as it has its own SIM so no nicking mobile data from your phone.
The measures 32.5x22x1.5cm and it weighs 1431grams. The viewable screen is 17x31cm which gives the notional diagonal imperial measurement of 14 inches and the display is 1366x768. There is .5cm clear either side of the screen 1.5cm above it and 2cm below it. In the centre of the area above the screen is a 720p web cam. The 75 key keyboard has full size alpha and numeric keys. There is 2cm clear on the sides and 2.5cm clear behind it.
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