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Dell makes Inspiron laptops thinner, more economical
Dell has expanded its Inspiron series of laptops. The devices are now thinner than previous versions and use the power-saving variants of the newest Intel processors to extend battery life. In addition, the Inspirons are now equipped with Bluetooth 4.0 and HDMI 1.4a. The smaller version, the Inspiron 15, has a 1366 x 768 pixel display and costs at least 329 euros (about R3 300). The Inspiron 17 has a 1600 x 900 pixel display and sells for 399 euros. Also available are versions with aluminium cases, the 15R and the 17R. These cost at least 449 euros and 499 euros respectively.
Entry-level tablet, touch-screen laptops from Acer
Acer is bringing an entry-level tablet running Android (4.1.2 Jelly Bean) to the market. The Iconia B1-A71 weighs 320 grams, is 11 millimetres thick and has a 7-inch, 1024 x 600 pixel display. The device has a 1.2-gigahertz dual-core processor and 512
megabytes of RAM. The 8 gigabytes of storage available can be expanded via a micro SD card up to 32 GB. The price is 119 euros. With its Aspire V5 series Acer is also offering touch-screen laptops running Windows 8. The 14-inch model has a Pentium 987 processor and costs 499 euros while the 15.6-inch version has a Core-i-3 processor and retails for 599 euros.
Business Ultrabook from Asus
The first Ultrabooks for business customers are now reaching the market. The BU400 from Asus is designed to be particularly robust and reliable so the 1.64-kilogram device has a carbon-reinforced case and a shock-resistant hard drive. To protect against data loss there's automatic full disk encryption and a fingerprint scanner. The 14-inch display is glare free and the device runs on an Intel i5-3317U dual-core processor. The AsusPro Series BU400 Ultrabook is priced at 1,400 euros.
Ergonomic displays from Fujitsu
In its new monitors Fujitsu puts more emphasis on ergonomics. The 22 by 27 inch displays offer extensive height and tilt adjustment, a USB hub with four ports, integrated speakers, HDMI, DVI, an analogue RGB input, and Full HD resolution (1920 x 1080
pixels). The maximum brightness is 250 candela. The B22T-7 (218euros) and B24T-7 (299 euros) monitors rely on TN technology for their displays while the X23T-1 (299 euros) and the P27T-7 (740 euros) are IPS-based. The HDMI port of the X23T-1 MHL also allows direct connection to a smartphone. The top-of-the-range model, the P27T-7, offers a 2560 by 1440 pixel display, USB 3.0 and a port for connecting an additional display. - Sapa-dpa