Tuesday 23 August 2011

What Laptop Magazine - Designer Laptops Group Tests.

Competitors

• Asus: Automobili Lamborghini VX7
• Asus: Eee PC 1008P
• Dell: Adamo XPS
• Dell: Inspiron 17R
• Packard Bell: Liberty Tab
• Sony: VAIO VPCCA2ZOE

1st Place went to the Asus Automobili Lamborghini VX7

The Dell Adamo XPS received runner-up:
- Design detailed as ‘extremely impressive’
- Described as similar to the MacBook Pro from Apple
- Solid feeling keypad which ‘will suit business users'
- 3 out of 5 for value for money.

Mac vs PC- Group Test.
In the Mac vs PC Group Test, What Laptop proclaimed that the Dell XPS 15z was 'a shining example of what PCs have to offer’. It received a value award from What Laptop and scored 5 out of 5 for features, build and performance. It was described as one of the most capable machines they have ever tested.




Sources:
What Laptop Magazine

Announcing a bid for software company Autonomy causes Hewlett Packard shares to fall 20%.

Hewlett-Packard’s share prices have fallen as reports claim that the company is considering selling its computer business and investing in the software company Autonomy. The strategy surprised the industry as Hewlett-Packard dominates around 17.6% of the market meanwhile Dell comes second with 12.5% of the market share thus highlighting the brutality of the industry.

Autonomy was originally created by Cambridge University with the purpose of specialising in pattern recognition technologies. It currently aids around 25,000 customers worldwide, with over 400 software companies using it to power their company. It also powers some of the Top 10 banking firms in the world. The deal would mean that HP would severely reduce the sales of tablet PCs and smartphones in favour of software; it is believed that Apple dominates the smartphone and tablet sector therefore meaning that there is little room for competitors. HP see the transition from computer to software to be practical and more profitable in the long term. HP offered the Autonomy £7.1billion which is around 64% above the estimated target value of the software firm. Consequently, shares dropped to $23.58 at closing on Friday.

On Thursday 18th August, HP announced that the company’s quarterly results had fallen in line with its predictions and had risen 1.6% since 2010, although Hewlett-Packard dropped its annual predictions from $130bn to $127.6bn. Likely contenders for the company are Chinese companies Lenovo and Huawei.

Sources:
BBC News
(http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-14582489)
http://www.autonomy.com/


Friday 5 August 2011

Stuff Magazine’s Top Ten Laptops

The Ratings are in again from Stuff Magazine and this month Dell’s XPS 15 L501x is coming in at number two. Using Intel’s new fast speed Sandy Bridge i5 silicon system and made from aluminium-clad it comes in at nearly half the cost of what you would pay for a 15in Apple MacBook Pro. At 2.8kg it may not be the lightest of laptops however it comes with a convenient Blu-ray drive and a 15in 1080p screen. Here is a list of Stuff’s top ten laptops:


1.) Apple MacBook Pro 13in from £1000

2.) Dell XPS 15 L501x £930

3.) Samsung N230 £335

4.) HP Envy 17 3D from £1150

5.) Alienware M11x from £500

6.) MSI GX740 £875

7.) Asus Eee Pad Transformer £430 (with keyboard)

8.) Apple MacBook Air 11in from £870

9.) Samsung Series 9 900x3A £1300

10.) Sony VAIO F Series 3D £1650

For more information click here