I’ve got two PCs coming in for a full review over the next two weeks and I’m happy to take questions. The detachable Samsung Galaxy TabPro S will be with me in the next 24 hours and the Intel NUC kit with latest Core i5 and Iris Graphics is expected by the end of the week. Although these two PCs use the same CPU design, they are targeted at totally different use-cases.

Samsung Galaxy TabPro S

Surface Pro 4, Lenovo Miix 700, HP Spectre X2 even the iPad Pro. These tablets want to replace your laptop and I have no doubt that they can. You’ll need to make a few compromises over the laptop form factor but yes, they are powerful enough. Latest Core m5 and m7 CPUs are about where we were with Ultrabooks two generation ago so you’ll have no problem with most business-focused office work, basic video editing up to 1080p and the usual range of multitasking. I’ve tested all the above and I’m now about to test the Samsung Galaxy TabPro S which fits into this category.  [I haven’t fully tested a Huawei Matepad yet so can’t comment on that.]

Up until now the Lenovo Miix 700 has been my favorite in this class although the Surface Pro 4 certainly outdoes all of them when it comes to long-term load performance. The advantage of a 15W TDP Core i5 shows up quickly.

In preparation for a full and detailed review for Notebookcheck that will take me over a week to complete I’ve checked out some of the detailed specifications. The Super AMOLED display is likely to be the highlight with infiniate contrast and the potential to boost low white-coverage (low APL) brightness in high ambient light situations. This could be the best outdoor tablet ever.

Indoors, the lack of keyboard backlight might be an issue and the fixed screen angles aren’t going to be great for lapping.

My key question is value. Why are Core m based 2-in-1s so expensive? The strategy of combining ‘Core’ marketing with higher prices seems to be the same as was done with ‘Ultrabook’ and high prices. I know it can help manufacturers get over the initial cost issues of designing and selling a new form-factor but we’ve dealt with this form factor for 3 years now. It’s time to cut the cost of Core m devices because they aren’t barrier-free for your average all-day multi-tasker. The Core m3 version with 4 GB of RAM is a silly 950 Euros in Europe now.

Intel NUC6i5SYH

This Core i5 barebones kit also has a Skylake CPU inside but that’s about the only similarity to the TabPro S. The Intel Core i5-6260U comes with Intel Iris graphics and can be fitted with M.2 and 2.5 inch SATA storage and up to 32 GB of RAM. There’s a fan inside. This is a kit that has potential for gaming, video editing and all-day office working.

The main questions for many people with be ‘how noisy is it’ and ‘can it play games.’ Yes, you’ll be able to get some ‘low settings’ gaming done on this but where non-Iris graphics modules tend to support older and less graphics-intensive games the Iris versions can handle a little more. I’ll be doing some games testing so if you have any specific tests, let me know.

The NUC6i5SYH has already been through the Notebookcheck lab tests and it’s on its way to me now. Again the review will take about a week.

If you’ve got specific questions about either of these Skylake-based PCs, let me know in the comments below and I’ll take them into consideration.

I’ve had some time with a production sample of the Lenovo Yoga 710 and while I can’t bring you a full review there’s a lot I can tell you about it. The Yoga 710 is an 11.6-inch ultramobile Windows convertible (laptop-style with 360-degree hinge) running on a Core M CPU. Bloggers had unlimited access to it at CeBIT earlier this month and were able to draw a lot of conclusions. Here’s my summary review.

The Lenovo Yoga 710 is incredibly slick, has a great screen and the keyboard is working very well, at least for me. It’s Macbook-like for sure but not quite the fasion-piece and it’s likely to be offered at a lower price, according to reports.  For me it’s one of the most important subnotebooks of the year.

Note: All information here based on the pre-production sample shown at CeBIT.

At 1.29 KG this 13-inch touchscreen laptop creeps inside our radar for ultra mobile PCs, and it does it in style. I’m not talking about the amazing edge-to-edge display or the great casing materials, I’m talking about the stamina of the Dell XPS 13. I’ve just produced a video of the latest version with Core i7 Skylake inside and the QHD touchscreen. It’s not cheap at over 1500 euros but there’s a Full HD non-touch matte-screen version available that weighs 90 grams less and will save you a few hundred euros. The new XPS 13’s have USB-C with Thunderbolt and a re-worked trackpad but there’s not much else that’s different on the outside.

Image via Notebookcheck.

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I have a Surface Pro 4 with Core i5, Type Cover keyboard and docking station with me now and I’ve just finished the first of a set of videos for Notebookcheck (see it in the Surface Pro 4 review here) and come away, as you’d probably expect, impressed. One of the first things I did, however, was to put the new Type Cover keyboard on my Surface Pro 3. The ‘upgrade’ is significant and is one of a number of considerations to be made if you’re thinking of making the jump from Pro 3 to Pro 4.

Hopefuly you’ve seen the news that Microsoft has sent out invites for an Oct 6th Windows 10 event in New York. No-one doubts that we’re going to see Lumia, Surface and Band products along with an official launch of Windows 10 Mobile which makes it an extremely important event for anyone who reads UMPCPortal. Lumia, with Continuum, could form an important part of an entry-level ultramobile PC set-up. Surface sits at the very high-end of ultramobile computing solutions.

It seems certain that we’ll see a Surface Pro 4 with much the same sizing as the previous model but two questions remain unanswered. 1) Will it be fanless? and 2) Will there be a second, 14-inch model? The reason I ask the latter is that there have already been rumors about a 14-inch model and in a recent search I found screen covers for a 14-inch Surface Pro 4. If a 14-inch model is coming how can Microsoft position the two devices ? There’s a poll below and i’d like to see what you think would be the best constellation of Surface Pro 4 devices. But first, some thoughts on what’s possible and what it brings to a 12-inch and a 14-inch Surface Pro 4.

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Original at Giga.de

It looks like the Lenovo Miix 700 is going to get some strong competition in the 12-inch 2-in-1 space because details are emerging of a new Dell XPS 12 tablet with docking keyboard, USB-C and an edge-to-edge display.

Giga.de have followed up their Venue 8 Pro leak with a slide of information on a new Dell XPS 12 showing that Dell have moved on from the carousel design to a docking tablet set-up. Brief information shows a 4K display which may, or may not, excite you. The same goes for the edge-edge Infinity display which removes the oft-important frame.

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IFA 2015 was as fun and as busy as ever. I managed to get quality hands-on time with a lot of new ultramobile PCs (mostly without the pressure of press-event chaos) and had some great conversations, both public and private, with companies working in the sector. Thanks to Intel for their blogging facilities and an amazing party, Acer for the bright and spacious video-friendly booth and Microsoft for a good evening of networking. Having said that, I didn’t see what I wanted to see.

Deichkind perform at the Intel hall, IFA 2015

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The next generation Core M processors, based on 6th-gen Core technology launched at IFA 2015 in Berlin today. The Core m range now splits into a familiar structure. Core m3 Core m5 and Core m7.

Intel Core M family

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