I want to kick this comparison of with what i think is the clear winner for me. Very little information is known about this machine, as it was just announced at IFA 2013- Consumer Electronics Unlimited show held in Berlin, from September 6-11. We don't know when it is going to hit store shelves, nor do we have word on price either. Oh and the pictures on each side here are of the same device.However this wouldn't be a good comparison if I started with the best right off the bat. I really should start with the others and save the best for last, yet I will go ahead and tease you with the pictures.
My current laptop is a Toshiba Satellite 17.3-Inch. So it would stand to reason that I would start my comparison with the company I know and trust.
The first machine up is the Toshiba Satellite S75D-A7272 17.3-Inch Laptop. Like my current machine it has a 17.3 inch screen, 1 TB SATA hard drive, 8 GB of DDR3 SDRAM, and three USB ports, one 2.0, and two 3.0. However the similarities stop there. Resolution, CPU. GPU, are all different. My current machine has an Intel Core i7 CPU while the new one has just an 3.5 GHz AMD A Series. Nothing wrong with it I have just fallen in love with Intel's Core i7. The Graphics or GPU card is a boost over mine, I have a AMD Radeon HD 7560 (I'm guessing on the model number, I can't ever remember it) the new machine is an 8650G. For a better look at the specs you can checkout this link. The big decision for me is the OS. Windows 8 SCREAMS run away to me! Others may love it and it may turn around and become the greatest OS Microsoft has ever produced. (Very unlikely but stranger things have happened)
I am a big Toshiba fan when it comes to Laptops. I've had two with them and two with HP, and I would choose Toshiba any day of the week over HP in the future. The only problem for Toshiba is I didn't review any HP Laptops/Notebooks.
I have put it up against ASUS. Which isn't really fair. Next on the list is the ASUS G750JX-DB71 17.3-Inch Laptop. This beast clocks in with am Intel Core i7-4700HQ clocked at 2.4GHz. It has 16GB of DDR3 RAM, 1 TB 5400 rpm Hard Drive and a 256 GB Solid-State Drive. They didn't skimp on the GPU either. The 17.3 inch screen is powered by the Nvidia GTX770M 3G graphics card. There is only a few games that will max out this beast and it should have no problem with any application you would need to run. Like the last one the OS does make me cringe but the hardware helps me look past Windows 8. However I am a broke college student who already works two jobs to make ends meet can't really afford the $1,800+ price tag that comes with the machine. If I had the money laying around this would be the machine for me. It has all the hardware needs I want and need to be a developer.
OK now that we got those out of the way we can talk about the real champ. I'm sure there is a better choice out there for everyone, and my choice is not for everyone.
My choice is the new ASUS Transformer Book which is a duel boot machine. Running both Windows 8 and Android 4.2 Ice Cream Sandwich. It is a tablet and laptop all in one. As I mentioned in the beginning, the device was just announced at IFA and there is no word on when it will be available or how much it will cost.You're probably asking yourself how could I pick something not knowing the price of it yet. The answer is easy and is as follows;
- PC Station: 304.9 x 193.8 x 13.4mm, 1kg; Tablet: 304.9 x 193.8 x 9.7mm, 700g
- 11.6-inch 1080p LCD
- 5MP rear, 720P front cameras
- Intel ATOM CPU in tablet, base station up to Core i7
- Android 4.2 / Windows 8
- 2GB RAM tablet; 4GB base station
- 16/32/64GB storage on the tablet; up to 1TB on the base station
- 19Wh battery on tablet; 33Wh on base station
- GPS, Bluetooth 3.0, 802.11 n Wifi
The tablet by itself runs Android 4.2 Ice Cream Sandwich, on the Intel ATOM CPU. If it is the same one as is in ASUS' Fonepad Tablet, then we can expect it to be clocked somewhere around 1.2GHz. It also has 2GB of RAM to help with the memory side of things. It will come in three variations, a 16GB, 32GB, & 64GB of storage. All of this is packed nicely behind the 11.6-inch 1080p LCD display. The battery will keep you going for about 19 hours depending on your use of the device. Heavy media applications will reduce your battery experience.
Now I know this is supposed to be an evaluation of laptops and I just did a tablet, but I'm not done. This is no ordinary tablet. If you chose to get the docking station (basically the keyboard) with it. The device can now duel boot into Windows 8. This is the same Windows 8 you would install on your desktop or laptop. The only difference now is that it incorporated into a hybrid laptop/tablet.
Once the tablet is inserted into the dock you can still use the Android OS, with everything the dock has to offer except for the CPU. How ever Windows 8 can and does require the dock to work. The docking station houses the CPU for Windows 8, which can be up Intel's new Core i7 CPU which has 4 different generations and range from 1.70 GHz to 2.60 GHz. RAM on the dock is at 4GB and we don't have any word on whether it can be upgraded or not. One TB of storage is exactly what I look for when buying a new machine, and this bad boy has it. The battery will last you 33 hours or so, but add that to the tablet's 19 and you shouldn't run out unexpectedly.
Both Operating Systems can use the battery of the other, both can use the two built in cameras, 5MP rear and a 720p front facing camera. The device also includes GPS, Bluetooth 3.0, and 802.11 n WiFi.
I love duel boot machines and this one is right up my ally. Price is still a big point for me, and I would expect this to come in anywhere from $500 to over a $1000 depending on which variation you got.
