Archive for the ‘Ultrabooks’ Category

COMEX 2012 (30 Aug – 2 Sep) at Suntec Singapore

Sunday, August 26th, 2012

This Thursday, the third of four large annual IT exhibitions in Singapore will kick off at Suntec Singapore. For four days from 30 August to 2 September, the COMEX will open from 12 noon to 9 pm (Admission FREE).

COMEX 2012, 30 August to 2 September, 12 noon to 9pm, Levels 3, 4 and 6. Admission FREE.

COMEX 2012, 30 August to 2 September, 12 noon to 9pm, Levels 3, 4 and 6. Admission FREE.

COMEX 2012 will be held on three Levels – 3, 4 and 6 of Suntec Singapore. With more than 830 exhibitors, COMEX claims to be Singapore’s biggest IT and consumer technology exhibition.

I will be listing some of the promotions available during the exhibition. To see a consolidated list of postings related to COMEX 2012, click here.

You can also click on the COMEX 2012 button (that looks like the logo above, on every page of tech4tea.com during COMEX 2012) near the top of the sidebar on the right and below the search box.

Here are the floor plans for the exhibitors on Levels 4 and 6.

The four major IT exhibitions in Singapore are:

Exhibition Dates Venue
IT Show 2012 8-11 Mar Suntec Singapore
PC Show 2012 7-10 Jun Suntec Singapore
COMEX 2012 30 Aug – 2 Sep Suntec Singapore
SITEX 2012 22-25 Nov Singapore Expo

Computer line-up: Dell XPS, Vostro, Precision, Latitude & OptiPlex

Monday, July 16th, 2012

I had the chance to be briefed on the line-up of computers from Dell and how they empower end-user computing for corporate users. Here’s a quick round-up.

Starting prices of new additions incl.GST: XPS 14 (S$1,399), Vostro laptops (TBA), Precision T1650 (S$1,799), Latitude laptops (S$1,348), OptiPlex desktops (S$1,069).

Dell's updated line-up of laptop and desktop computers.

Dell’s updated line-up of laptop and desktop computers.

Here are some of the latest refreshes in Dell’s line-up. All of them are Windows 8 ready but none of them have touch screens.

Dell XPS laptop family

Dell's latest flagship Ultrabook: XPS 14 (starts from S$1,399).

Dell’s latest flagship Ultrabook: XPS 14 (starts from S$1,399).

The latest addition to Dell’s line-up is the XPS 14 Ultrabook. The 14-inch laptop joins the existing 13-inch XPS 13 Ultrabook.

The XPS 14 looks sleek and elegant, but felt rather heavy at 2.1kg. But it has a super-long battery life of 11 hours, so if you need that durability while on the move, and weight is not a problem, this is the Ultrabook for you.

As part of Dell’s flagship XPS brand, the compact XPS 13 offers portability while the XPS 14 is only 20.7 mm thin and offers long battery life and connectivity on the go.

Both laptops have enterprise-friendly features, such as security and services, to enable them to cross-over for enterprise use.

In a shrewd move by Dell to ride on the BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) phenomenon, users can use their XPS Ultrabooks for personal use at home and bring it to work and connect to their corporate IT information systems.

Dell Vostro laptops

Dell Vostro 3460 laptop (price TBA).

Dell Vostro 3460 laptop (price TBA).

The Vostro 3360, 3460 and 3560 will be available this month.

My personal favourite is the Latitude E6430s which fits a 14-inch display into a 13-inch body – the same form-factor as its 13-inch cousin. The laptop felt robust and rugged but rather light. I wouldn’t mind using it as my main workhorse.

These laptops are designed to deliver strong performance and security for growing businesses.

The Vostro series come in three sizes (13”, 14” and 15”) and three colours (Aberdeen Silver, Brisbane Bronze, and Lucerne Red).

The 13-inch Vostro 3360 is only 0.76-inch in thinness.

Dell Latitude, OptiPlex, Precision
Dell Precision T1650 tower workstation (starts from S$1,799).

Dell Precision T1650 tower workstation (starts from S$1,799).

The Latitude and OptiPlex portfolio of business laptops and desktops were refreshed in June and features durable, consumer-inspired designs that appeals to today’s professionals.

Dell Latitude 6430s (starts from S$1,348).

Dell Latitude 6430s (starts from S$1,348).

They are coupled with advanced manageability and data protection and ships with at least 2GB of memory, integrated graphics, Third Generation Intel Core processors, USB 3.0 ports, and optional 128GB SSD.

The Dell Latitude E-Family and Dell OptiPlex feature physical ruggedness and sports long battery-lives of up to 32.7 hours with an optional 9-cell battery.

The E6230, E6330, E6430 and E6530 laptops comes with 12.5”, 13.3”, 14” and 15.6” displays.

The new design of the Latitude E6430s fits a 14-inch display in a 13.3-inch chassis.

Dell OptiPlex 9019 All-in-One desktop (starts from S$1,069).

Dell OptiPlex 9019 All-in-One desktop (starts from S$1,069).

The Latitude 5430 and E5530 laptops are targeted towards budget-conscious professionals and come with 14” and 15.6” displays.

The refreshed Dell OptiPlex family includes the new OptiPlex 3010, 7010, 9010 desktops; and the OptiPlex 9010 All-in-One desktop.

For powerful performance on a budget, there is the new entry-level Dell Precision T1650 tower workstation.

The T1650 offers a broad range of Intel Core and Xeon CPU options, increased memory speed of 1,600MHz, and four USB 3.0 ports.

Dell offers end-users power to do more

Wednesday, July 4th, 2012

Dell tackles current trends of workforce mobility and consumerisation of IT by offering a complete end-to-end ecosystem of end-point devices, solutions and services – to bestow maximum productivity to end-users in our fast-paced environment.

Chue Chee Wei, Marketing Director, South Asia and Korea Marketing for Dell.

Chue Chee Wei, Marketing Director, South Asia and Korea Marketing for Dell.

I was invited by Dell to listen to how the computer maker envisages the technology landscape and how it plans to cater to different end-users with very different needs.

Slide 1: Changing technology landscape and end-user profile.

Slide 1: Changing technology landscape and end-user profile.

Chue Chee Wei, Marketing Director, South Asia and Korea Marketing for Dell, gave a quick rundown of how the technology landscape and user profile are trending (see Slide 1).

Slide 2: Transformation of computing

Slide 2: Transformation of computing.

As a result of the changing landscape, work computing is undergoing transformation from the traditional highly-controlled and rigid framework – to one in which employees are given much more flexibility in terms of the devices they can use, the level of access, and the ability to access corporate IT anytime, anywhere (see Slide 2).

The organisational challenges to change and adapt current entrenched enterprise IT frameworks and practices are giving many a CIOs sleepless nights, worrying about potential security compromises on the road to recent phenomenons such as BYOD (Bring Your Own Devices).

Organisational challenges facing the CIO.

Slide 3: Organisational challenges facing the CIO.

Chue sees two main tracks in tackling these organisational challenges – managing technology and managing people (see Slide 3).

Chue’s vision for Dell end-user computing

“End-user computing is about delivering open, capable and affordable solutions for an evolving workforce,” says Chue Chee Wei, Marketing Director, South Asia and Korea Marketing for Dell.

To help enterprises and end-uses surmount these challenges, Dell is also placing much emphasis in enabling this transformation.

The company has taken on a customer-inspired design approach across a complete portfolio of systems, services and solutions.

It strives to ensure a seamless experience across multiple devices, operating systems and applications.

And it aims to provide tailored solutions optimised for management, security and productivity.

Simplify technology & people management, improve productivity.

Slide 4: Simplify technology & people management, improve productivity.

As a result, technology and people management are simplified while productivity is improved (see Slide 4).

Chue emphasised that Dell does a lot more than making computers.

Dell’s solution continuum.

Slide 5: Dell’s solution continuum.

It delivers a solution continuum that spans desktop virtualisation, mobility & collaboration, management, security and cloud, service and support (see Slide 5).

Some of these are provided by companies that were – leaders in their areas of expertise – that Dell has acquired over the years.

Dell’s updated line-up.

Slide 6: Dell’s updated line-up.

Dell’s updated computing line-up

Dell also set up and briefed on its updated line-up of computers (see Slide 6). These comprises a whole range of notebooks and desktops that cater to the computing needs of different end-users.

Of note is that Dell is positioning its high-end XPS ultrabooks – which has traditionally been targeted towards consumers – to attract corporate users looking to use their personal high-spec’ed notebooks for work as well.

This is indeed a shrewd cross-over move by Dell to exploit the BYOD phenomenon.

(Slides provided by Dell. Click to enlarge.)

First Apple WWDC 2012 without Steve Jobs

Monday, June 11th, 2012

A year ago, Steve Jobs made his last appearance at an Apple WWDC. This year, Tim Cook helms his first WWDC as Apple’s CEO.

Apple's WWDC 2012 is from 11-15 June in San Francisco.

Apple's WWDC 2012 is from 11-15 June in San Francisco.

The annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) this year is being held from June 11 – 15 at San Francisco’s Moscone West. Tickets were sold out in a mere two hours when it went on sale in April.

Here’s a quick roundup of some of the revelations from the opening keynote presentation on first of the 5-day conference.

MacBooks / OS X Mountain Lion

Refreshed MacBook Air & Next-generation MacBook Pro ships today.
In comes Ivy Bridge processor and USB 3.0, out goes Ethernet and FireWire 800 ports, MacBook Air becomes thinner and lighter, MacBook Pro gets 60% faster graphics performance.
Retina display in MacBooks: 220ppi with 2880 x 1800 resolution.
Highest-resolution notebook display in the world.
Retina Display support: Final Cut Pro, Aperture and Diablo3 now supports 220ppi display.
AutoCad and Photoshop support in the works.
iPad-style Dictation is introduced to Mountain Lion for Macs.
Speak directly into native Apple software, Microsoft Word and Facebook.
AirPort Express available now.
Pocket WiFi router supports simultaneous dual-band.
New OS X feature: Power Nap.
Mac updates emails, notifications and photos, and backs itself up while charging.
OS X Mountain Lion available on Macs in July.
Free upgrade for new Mac purchases between now and arrival of the new OS.

iOS 6

iOS 6 unveiled Beta today, full release in the fall.
More than 200 improvements: launch apps with enhanced Siri, and it comes to iPads, FaceTime over cellular data.
Supported: iPhone 3GS and up, 2nd gen iPads and up, 4th gen iPod touch.
Enhanced Siri launches apps and comes to new iPads and eventually into cars.
Siri to get into the car with Eyes Free: demo: Toggle Siri on by tapping a button the steering wheel.
iOS 6 to get Do Not Disturb feature from Mountain Lion.
Select which push notifications to mute and which to stay on.
iOS 6 integrates more tightly with Facebook, Twitter and App Store.
Share directly from core apps like Maps, Photos and Safari.
Safari offers unified search across the web, browser history and bookmarks.
Following in Chrome’s footsteps.
iCloud Tabs syncs Safari web-browsing across all devices.
Simultaneously see all the tabs open on any device.“IOS 6 will include Apple’s own mobile mapping software to compete with software from Google. TomTom will supply Apple with map data and related content.” – statement from TomTom.
Enhanced Safari features.
Multitouch to help navigate tabs, upload images directly, Offline Reading List.
Passbook provides one-stop purchase of tickets and boarding passes.
No more paper QR-codes and tickets.
Apple replaces Google Maps with own Maps app.
Maps comes with Yelp integration and turn-by-turn navigation, and 3D.

PC Show 2012 promotions: Newstead/Nubox

Saturday, June 9th, 2012

Newstead and Nubox will be at the PC Show 2012 at Suntec Singapore at the Level 3 Concourse.

Click on picture to view/download PC Show 2012 brochures from Newstead.

Click on picture to view/download PC Show 2012 brochures from Newstead.

Here are seven brochures for Newstead’s PC Show 2012 promotions from Nubox, and bargains/deals offered by Newstead for computers from major computer makers Acer, Asus, Dell, HP, Samsung and Toshiba.

PC Show 2012 promotions: Toshiba

Friday, June 8th, 2012

Toshiba will be at the PC Show 2012 at Suntec Singapore at Level 4, Hall 402, Booth A2006.

Toshiba's PC Show 2012 promotions for computers in all form factors.

Toshiba's PC Show 2012 promotions for computers in all form factors.

Here are four brochures for Toshiba’s PC Show 2012 promotions for notebooks, ultrabooks, tablets, all-in-one desktop computers and tablets.

PC Show 2012 Promotions: Asus

Thursday, June 7th, 2012

Asus will be at the PC Show 2012 at Suntec Singapore at Booths B2007, A2004, and A2008.

Brochure for Asus PC Show 2012 promotions for notebooks, netbooks, Ultrabooks, Zenbooks, Slate PCs, and Transformer tablets.

Click on picture to view/download PDF of Asus PC Show 2012 brochures.

Here’s the brochure for Asus PC Show 2012 promotions for notebooks, netbooks, Ultrabooks, Zenbooks, Slate PCs, and Transformer tablets.

PC Show 2012 promotions: Samsung

Thursday, June 7th, 2012

Samsung will be at the PC Show 2012 at Suntec Singapore at Levels 3 and 4.

Samsung's PC Show 2012 promotions for notebooks, ultrabooks, digital cameras, monitors, Smart TVs, and printers.

Samsung's PC Show 2012 promotions for notebooks, ultrabooks, digital cameras, monitors, Smart TVs, and printers.

Here are six brochures for Samsung’s PC Show 2012 promotions for notebooks, ultrabooks, digital cameras, monitors, Smart TVs, and printers.

PC Show 2012 promotions: HP

Thursday, June 7th, 2012

HP will be at the PC Show 2012 at Suntec Singapore at Level 4, Hall 401, Booths A2002 & A2003.

Consumer notebooks, desktops and ultrabooks, including the latest HP ENVY; as well as printers and accessories.

Consumer notebooks, desktops and ultrabooks, including the latest HP ENVY; as well as printers and accessories.

Here are four brochures for HP’s consumer notebooks, desktops, ultrabooks, printers, and accessories. The latest HP ENVY will be available from today onwards.

PC Show 2012 promotions listing

Thursday, June 7th, 2012

This year’s PC Show 2012 is at Suntec Singapore from 7 June (Thursday) till 10 June (Sunday). Here’s a listing of some of the promotions and flyers for the four-day IT exhibition.

PC Show 2012 from 7 - 10 June at Suntec Singapore from 12 - 9 pm. Admission FREE.
Click on the links below to check out the deals and promotions from the brand. To see a consolidated list of postings related to PC Show 2012, click here. You can also click on the button near the top of the sidebar on the right that looks like the logo above.

Floor plans for Levels 4 and 6 can be found here.