There has been a surge of innovation in the laptop/tablet hybrid arena since Windows 8 was launched in 2012. Devices such as the HP EliteBook Revolve 810 G1 Tablet offer the best of both worlds: a conventional laptop configuration with a full QWERTY keyboard, married with a rotatable screen that can be folded back over the keyboard and used as a touchscreen tablet.There are numerous business scenarios where such a versatile device comes into its own. Sales staff giving presentations no longer need to get clients to crowd around the front of a laptop or find a projector; they can simply flip the screen round to face their audience and use their fingers to swipe from slide to slide.
Staff working in the field can take advantage of the optional HP Executive Tablet Pen to help them fill in electronic forms, or use Windows 8¡¯s built-in handwriting recognition to transcribe jotted notes into editable text. And given that the EliteBook meets military standards for drop, vibration, functional shock, and temperature extremes at both ends of the scale, the IT department can rest assured that it will survive life on the road.And when there are emails to be dealt with at the end of the working day, the Elitebook has a full-sized, backlit keyboard, a long-lasting battery life of 8 hours and 15 minutes, and 802.11n Wi-Fi and a micro SIM slot to ensure staff will get a connection wherever they are. When portability is paramount, Ultrabooks are the business weapon of choice. Mandated by Intel to be lightweight, yet powerful, Ultrabooks are a superb choice for the mobile executive who doesn¡¯t want to be burdened with a hefty laptop bag as they travel between meetings.
The very latest Ultrabooks will include Intel¡¯s 4th Generation Core processors, which boast as much processing power as the previous generation, yet make a huge difference to battery life, truly delivering on the vision of a laptop that lasts the entire working day without having to be recharged at the mains.Many of the Ultrabooks on the market today also come with touchscreen technology, meaning you can take full advantage of the touch-friendly tiles on the Windows 8.1 Start screen when you want to catch up on the day¡¯s news, scan your emails, or browse the web, and then revert to touchpad and keyboard controls when there¡¯s serious work to be done in the conventional Windows desktop.
HP¡¯s business-grade Ultrabooks also include features and accessories that make the devices practical on the road and at your office desk. The HP EliteBook Folio 9470m Ultrabook, for example, is only 0.75in thick, yet still manages to include built-in VGA, DisplayPort, Ethernet, and three USB 3 ports, meaning you won¡¯t need to fill your laptop bag with a selection of dongles to connect to a second screen or the office network.The Folio has optional 3G or 4G LTE connectivity, allowing staff to carry on working in places where Wi-Fi is patchy or non-existent, such as airport departure lounges. An optional fingerprint reader and integrated smart card reader will help to ensure that thieves can¡¯t gain access to sensitive company data if the Ultrabook is lost or stolen. When staff return to the office after a business trip, they can simply slide their Folio into the optional HP UltraSlim Docking Station and carry on working with external keyboard, display and accessories, while the laptop recharges it battery. With the unrivalled power of an Intel Core i7 processor inside, there are no business tasks that this powerful Ultrabook won¡¯t be able to handle.
Although Windows 8 has revitalised mobile computing, there¡¯s still plenty on offer for those who do their work at the desktop.For power workers, the HP Z420 Workstation offers extraordinary processing muscle thanks to its Intel Xeon E5 processor (with up to eight discrete processing cores), 8GB of RAM, and a configurable range of high-end AMD or Nvidia graphics cards. For those who don¡¯t need the touchscreen facilities, the PC can be pre-loaded with Windows 7 Professional 64-bit using the Windows 8 downgrade rights.For those who need processing power without the desktop tower, the amazing HP Z1 Workstation is a stunning 27in all-in-one with a difference. It can be snapped open, providing full access to the processor, memory and graphics card slots so that the components can be easily swapped out or upgraded at a later date, delivering the kind of future-proofing that is generally absent from all-in-ones.
And for those who want full desktop power in offices where desk space is at a premium, the HP Z230 Small Form Factor Workstation squeezes an Intel Xeon E3-1225v3 processor, 4GB of RAM and a 1TB hard disk into a form factor that¡¯s roughly the same size as a hardback book. That¡¯s 61% smaller than a regular PC tower. If you¡¯re planning to replace your Windows XP machines with new hybrids, Ultrabooks or desktops, HP is currently offering up to ¡ê150 back when you trade-in your old PCs for selected models. Visit the HP website for more details of how you can take advantage of this offer ahead of April¡¯s Windows XP support cut-off deadline. As Windows devices cram ever more performance into portable packages, the plus-sized likes of the Toshiba Satellite S70-B are becoming an increasingly rare breed. If you're looking for a no-compromise desktop replacement, though, you should be paying attention. With 17.3in of Full HD display powered by one of the latest AMD Radeon R9 graphics chips, this ¡ê1,199 laptop delivers a serious amount of power.
The Toshiba Satellite S70-B makes few concessions to design or portability. Indeed, it looks just like the desktop replacements of yore, and although Toshiba has attempted to inject a dash of razzmatazz with a metal lid and wristrest, the thick, predominantly plastic chassis and frumpy curves are unlikely to fire anyone's desires. Nor is this a laptop anyone will relish carrying about on a regular basis: it weighs a portly 2.8kg on its own, and a considerable 3.3kg once you factor in the power supply.Fire up a demanding application or one of the latest gaming titles, however, and the Satellite S70-B is in its element. Its quad-core Core i7-4700HQ is the CPU of choice for most high-end laptops, and Toshiba has partnered it with one of its own 1TB hybrid hard disks and 16GB of DDR3 RAM.
In our Real World Benchmarks, the Toshiba sped to an Overall result of 0.87. That's a little behind other laptops we've seen with the same CPU, but we suspect this is down to the Satellite's lack of an SSD. Despite having a mere hybrid hard disk, however, the Satellite S70-B feels surprisingly responsive in all but the most strenuous of multitasking situations. Toshiba's SSHD definitely plays its part here, and in our tests the drive's 8GB of NAND flash was clearly being put to good use. Even demanding applications such as Adobe Photoshop and Sony Vegas Pro sprang into action with SSD-like haste.
Gaming performance is decent, thanks to the presence of AMD's new mid-range GPU, the Radeon R9 M265X. In our Crysis tests, the Toshiba's average frame rates only dropped below the 40fps mark once we cranked the resolution up to 1,920 x 1,080. At Full HD resolution and High quality settings, the Toshiba recorded an average of 36fps; with the detail levels cranked right up to the maximum Very High quality settings, the frame rate sank to 21fps. Disappointingly, AMD's GPU is off the pace of Nvidia's 8 Series mobile family. The MSI GE70 2PE Apache Pro, equipped with an Intel Core i7-4700HQ and an Nvidia GeForce GTX 860M, was twice as fast in the Full HD Very High quality tests.(cliquez ici pour suivre le lien)