Panasonic Toughbook 33: A Brutal Windows Tablet PC!

I honestly don’t have the words to describe the TOUGHBOOK 33. This is obviously not a consumer focused device. Spending some time with this slate PC, there’s a LOT here I wish we could get on more mainstream laptops and tablets.

Industrial practicality still has a place in the consumer conversation.
Let’s chat ToughBook! Continue reading “Panasonic Toughbook 33: A Brutal Windows Tablet PC!”

MSI Creator 15 Review: THE laptop for content creators?

Getting “work” done means different things to different professionals.

For content creators, there are certain features that really help improve your production quality. It’s not just one CPU benchmark or the best battery life, a mobile workstation is a different product than a consumer focused machine.
Does the Creator 15 live up to its name? Let’s take this PC for a spin! Continue reading “MSI Creator 15 Review: THE laptop for content creators?”

SomeGadgetGuy in NYC! Let’s Talk New Microsoft Hardware!

I’ve been blasting it all over social media. While I’m trying to keep my expectations in check, I’m really looking forward to Microsoft’s announcements tomorrow, where the company is expected to take the wraps off of a new Surface Pro, and where we fans of Windows powered phones will finally get some new flagship devices.

lumia 950 leaked photo

Specs have already leaked for the forthcoming Lumia 950 and 950XL, and from a hardware perspective they look like they’ll be competitive handsets with some novel new tech features.

Most interesting to me, will be how this Lumia team has refined the camera experience. It was the old Nokia devices group that ushered in an era of crazy high quality optics and larger sensors on our phones. Nokia was years ahead of the curve there, but manufacturers like LG and Samsung have largely caught up to older devices like the Lumia 1520 and 930 (which I’ve brought along to help cover this event).

lumia 1520 and 930

For my money, the camera battle between the Lumia 950 and the LG V10 is shaping up to be the most brutal as LG is working on improving their audio, and providing manual controls for shooting video, both areas where older Windows Phones still compete really well.

I’m also very curious to see how Microsoft will address mobile security. More Android devices are following behind the iPhone in offering up a smooth fingerprint scanning solution for unlocking phones and initiating mobile payments. The rumors on the 950 don’t show a fingerprint scanner on board, but instead the Lumia will be offering up an iris scanner. While other phones have flirted with using the front camera to unlock a device based on your face, we haven’t yet heard of anything as sophisticated as examining the iris of your eye. Whether this will be used solely for unlocking the device, or if we’ll see it utilized for some form of mobile payments will be closely examined.

And of course, I’m always going to be interested in seeing what Microsoft does with the Surface. As this division has become a billion dollar brand all by itself, the Pro 3 was a very well received product. Will the Pro 4 be a spec bump and minor refinement, or does Microsoft have something craftier up their sleeves?

I’ve only been on the ground here in NYC for about an hour, and we’ll be getting the official answer to all of those questions tomorrow morning! Now I’ve got to hunt down a good slice of pizza!

Lenovo LaVie Z 360 Review – World’s Lightest Touchscreen Ultrabook

After reviewing the LaVie Z laptop, my biggest complaint was how used to a touchscreen I’ve become on Windows laptops and convertibles. Thankfully there is a touchscreen version, and today we’re going to take a look at Lenovo’s LaVie Z 360!

Shop the LaVie Z 360 on Amazon
LaVie Z Speaker Test
Non-Touchscreen LaVie Z Review

Lenovo LaVie Z Ultrabook Review: Shockingly Light, Powerful Portable Laptop

It’s insane how light this laptop is. Lenovo and NEC partnered to build a notebook PC with one goal in mind: The World’s Lightest Laptop. No performance compromises as the LaVie Z is packing a Core i7 processor, but did they have to skimp elsewhere? Let’s take a look!

Shop the LaVie Z on Amazon.
LaVie Z Speaker Test.
More info on the LaVie Z.

Lenovo Yoga 3 11 Review – It Bends, It Flips, But Can it Keep Up?

Lenovo’s third iteration of the Yoga laptop is an ambitious product. Trying to compete against laptops and tablets, while maintaining better-than-tablet performance, in a fan-less shell.

Has Lenovo bitten off more than they can chew? Let’s take a look at the Yoga 3 11!

Shop the Yoga 3 11
Yoga 3 Speaker Test (Laptop Mode)
Yoga 3 Speaker Test (Stand Mode)

Lenovo Announces Z41/Z51 and Ideapad 100 “Simple” Laptops

Z51_White

As Lenovo continues their lead as the number one PC manufacturer, the company took the wraps off of two new lines of laptops available next month.

Lenovo Z41/51

Z51_White

Billed as the “Ultimate multimedia workstation for music and movie lovers”, these new Z laptops are focused on home entertainment. Full HD displays will be powered by Intel processors (up to a Core i7) and there will be options for discreet AMD graphics. Dolby is on tap for their surround sound technology, and the Z51 will also come with Intel’s RealSense 3D front facing camera. The RealSense camera can be used for gaming, capturing 3D photos, or scanning objects for 3D printing.

The 14″ Z41 and 15″ Z51 will start at $499. A Z51 with 3D camera and 8GB of RAM will sell for $599

Lenovo Ideapad 100

Ideapad_100_14_Black-8-OutlookGetting down to basics, this new Ideapad is focused on delivering a streamlined experience at a low price.

Ideapad_100_14_Black-11-VideoIn 14 and 15 inch flavors, Ideapad 100 borrows from recent tablet success using an Intel BayTrail low power processor, and can be configured with up to 500GB of storage. The slim notebook will start at $249 when it’s released later next month.

You can catch Lenovo’s full press release below.

Continue reading “Lenovo Announces Z41/Z51 and Ideapad 100 “Simple” Laptops”

Review: Lenovo ThinkCentre M83 Tiny PC & Tiny-in-One 23 Monitor Dock

Lenovo is building out a line of small form factor PC’s under the “THINK” branding. The hardware certainly has a business-grade focus, and can be paired with an excellent monitor dock. Is the M83 a good fit for personal use too? Let’s take a look!

Shop the M83 Tiny on Amazon.
More info on the M83 Tiny.