CES 2011: Show Floor Coverage (Part 1)
Highlights from the show floor of CES 2011. In this edition, we've plenty of tablets, notebooks and systems covered, courtesy of Microsoft showcasing the more prominent products from their partners in one location. Also covered are Lenovo's new star products from their booth.
Microsoft Booth - New Hardware Platforms for Windows & New Services
We've covered a fair bit of updates from Microsoft via Steve Ballmer's pre-CES keynote session which we've captured the highlights in our videos below. Additionally, we've also covered some of these aspects in a Windows Tech Demo session .
Apart from these, we paid a visit to the Microsoft booth today and we were simply blown away with all the cool new tablets, mini notebooks, multimedia notebooks and other notable devices like systems, media centers and Windows Phone 7 based handsets. And that's without us trawling the full length of the show floor. So without further ado, we'll start off with the upcoming tablet devices using Windows 7 operating system.
Tablets are Raining!
And here's the famous Samsung 700Z, sliding PC 7 series that runs on Intel's Oak Trail platform with a Z670 processor. Other specs include a 10.1-inch display, 2GB RAM, 32GB storage (likely SSD), and is running Windows 7 Home Premium OS.
The ASUS Eee Slate EP121 is a beautiful and responsive slate system running some pretty powerful specs like a Core i5 -470UM, up to 4GB RAM and 64GB SSD. The screen is a 12.1-inch IPS screen with a resolution of 1280 x 800 pixels.
Dell's Inspiron Duo is more of a netbook which has tablet convertible capabilities. Unlike convertible tablets like the popular Lenovo S10-3T, the Inspiron Duo is able to flip the internal frame of its screen, thus the lid closing action actually brings the screen facing on top. The system's specs however aren't impressive as it uses current netbook specs like the Intel Atom dual-core N550 processor, 2GB RAM, 10.1-inch screen and running Windows 7 Home Premium OS.
This is Toshiba's Oak Trail tablet running Windows 7 Home Premium, has 64GB storage and a 11.6-inch screen,
The Exo PC is a billed as a slate device running Windows 7 OS, Specs include a 11.6-inch screen, 1366 x 768 pixels resolution, Intel Atom N450, 2GB RAM, Broadcom Crystal HD chip, SSD storage and a built-in card reader and webcam. Weight is listed at 950 grams.
This is Motion's CL900 tablet running the brand new Intel Atom Z670 Oak Trail platform, Windows 7 Professional OS, has 2GB of RAM, 30GB storage, and has a 10.1-inch screen.
New Notebooks Ahoy!
The HP Pavilion DM1Z is perhaps the first fully finished AMD Fusion based notebook. Specs include a 11.6-inch screen, 320GB HDD and runs Windows 7 Home Premium.
The Samsung Note PC 900X is one of the fastest IGP-based notebook around with a Windows Experience Score of 5.3! Not a bad score at all for a non-discrete GPU engine. The 900X uses the latest iteration of the Core i5/i7 processors, 4GB RAM, up to 256GB of storage and has a screen size of 13 inches.
Here's Toshiba showing some of its notebook magic with a glass-free 3D notebook. Specs include an Intel Core i5-M520 processor, 4GB RAM, 500GB storage, 15.6-inch display size and a pair of Harman Kardon speakers.
Now the interesting thing about the Toshiba glass-free 3D notebook is that it has a proximity sensor integrated and it will only engage auto stereoscopic mode when you're sitting close to the screen. Else, it will revert back to standard 2D playback. We presume it has something to do with a sweet spot viewing range, as well as using less power.
Here's one swell looking multimedia notebook with the Sony VAIO F series. Using a more powerful Core i7-720QM quad-core processor, the notebook also comes with an appropriate 16.4-inch screen real estate, 4GB of memory, 500GB storage and comes with Dolby Home Theater certification.
And of course, how can we not include the Acer Iconia? Uses the second generation Intel Core processors like the Core i5-480M, up to 4GB of DDR3 memory and a pair of 14-inch multi-touch displays (1366 x 768 pixels resolution).
Microsoft Booth - New WP7 Devices and AIO Machines
This is the HTC Surround based on the Windows Phone 7 OS and prominently features a slide-out speaker array (feels a bit stiff though) for virtual surround sound with Dolby Mobile and SRS WOW HD audio enhancement features. Other notable features include a kickstand for hands-free viewing and a Sound Enhancer App with equalizer presets. Screen size is 3.8 inches across and has a 480 x 800 pixels (WVGA) resolution. Naturally, it uses a 1GHz processor, has 16GB internal storage and comes with a 5MP camera sensor.
We also had a go at the Samsung Focus, a very similar cousin to the Omnia 7. Just as expected, performance is good all around and was responsive in our trials.
We just had to check out how our site handles on the new phone.
On to new AIO PCs, Sony updated its VAIO L with this touch PC and HDTV. Screen size is at 24 inches across while the tech specs include the new Core i5-2410M processor, 4GB RAM, 500GB storage and comes with Dolby Home Theater technology.
Here's Acer Aspire's Z5761, a 23-inch AIO machine with a Sandy Bridge Core i7 processor, 16GB RAM, 1.5TB of storage and also comes with Dolby Home Theater technology. The design is a hit or miss thing, depending on individuals.
Lenovo's Booth
Lenovo's got a great setup and lineup going at CES 2011 in the Venetian hotel.
First thing's first - The hybrid U1 notebook/tablet machine is finally going retail! However, it's currently targeted for release in China first. Further release schedules in other countries might have to wait a little while more. At least the concept product is coming to life. It's going to be expensive however as it's the equivalent of getting two separate machines (there are two processing platforms) and it's going to cost just as much at about US$1200.
A quick look at Lenovo's Android based smartphone for the China market, complete with a Lenovo apps store with customized apps. The tight integration with their app store that's currently rolled out in their home ground only limits the phone's availability elsewhere.
Moving on to Lenovo's notebooks, one of their star products is this IdeaPad Y570d, an upgrade with the latest Intel Sandy Bridge processors over the Y560 which we reviewed not long ago, Now with the updated specs and an improved screen, this unit has NVIDIA 3D Vision support with built in infrared emitters to sync with the 3D glasses.
The new ThinkPad E220s is a very swell looking notebook that will command respect from your peers. It has an all matte finish from the exterior to the interior (though not the screen). On the outside, it has a thin metallic strip lining its edge, but that's the only 'bling' to give the notebook a modern and sophisticated look and feel. In our opinion, it's one to look out for. If this 12-inch model isn't big enough, there's also the E420s, a 14-inch edition that comes with a built-in slot-loading DVD drive.
On to AIOs, the IdeaCentre B520 is a 3D-ready machine with native NVIDIA 3D Vision support for the best possible 3D gaming solution at the moment. Comes with in a variety of configurations, but it will feature the latest Intel Sandy Bridge processors and 23-inch Full HD screen with frame-less multi-touch technology.
Lenovo has been promoting their Enhanced Experience for most of last year and it's basically a feature that says how much Lenovo has worked to speedup the boot process of systems with Microsoft. Tweaks have been made at both the software, drivers and BIOS level to help their systems come out on top. Now in version 2.0, Lenovo has kicked up a notch on their optimizations to quite an extent that they've put up an open challenge for anyone to better them with $10,000 prize money.
Exactly how fast are the latest crop of Lenovo machines with Enhanced Experience 2.0? Their desktops can boot into Windows 7 in just over six seconds while their notebooks can manage a cool 7.35 seconds. And those are the figures to beat. As you can see from the score board, at position seven, the next fastest person submit their standings is well over 38 seconds. So if you need a system that boots fast and comes with the suite of control and management software, you know Lenovo should be on top of your mind.
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