touch screens

The best Windows 8 gaming laptops

We recently complained about the lack of a single best-case gaming laptop for the Windows 8 era. That was largely because of the handful of portable PCs with higher-end graphics cards we'd reviewed in the six months since Microsoft's new OS took over, none thought to include a touch-screen display. That's a feature not particularly called for in even current-gen PC games, but it's one that Windows 8 practically begs for during the hours when you're not using your laptop for gaming.

Since then, we've finished reviews of a couple more gaming laptops -- … Read more

Get a Lenovo 13.3-inch touch-screen ultrabook for $599.99

My hunt for a new laptop continues. I definitely want an ultrabook, even if it means paying a premium for a thinner, lighter design, but I'd really like to keep the price under $600. Given that most ultrabooks start at $700, I'm having to marshal all my cheapskate powers.

The latest candidate: Newegg has the Lenovo IdeaPad U310 13.3-inch touch-screen ultrabook (model 59365302) for $599.99 shipped, along with a $50 Newegg gift card.

Staples is also selling the U310 for $599.99 shipped, but you'll probably be on the hook for sales tax. Plus, no … Read more

The 404 1,232: Where we see through your Subreddit (podcast)

Leaked from today's 404 episode:

- How Facebook knew a man was gay before anyone else did .

- NYC subways deploy a touch-screen network, complete with apps and Wi-Fi.

- Man who got porn site logos tattooed on his face now somehow regrets his decision.

- Lululemon pulls popular yoga pants for revealing too much.… Read more

What does a great Windows 8 gaming laptop need?

A recent question from a reader brought up an issue we've been discussing around the office recently -- the lack of Windows 8 laptops that include both a touch screen and a high-end GPU. Our reader's question, excerpted below:

May I ask for your advice on purchasing a gaming PC? I'm considering the Alienware M14x, but the only thing holding me back is the absence of a touch screen and I can't seem to find powerful laptops with a touch screen. Do you think touch-screen laptops will soon become the standard?

It's true that the … Read more

Best Windows 8 laptops with optical drives

If your laptop shopping list includes a touch screen, SSD storage, or even NFC, finding a new system shouldn't be hard. But if you're still tied to your optical discs and need a DVD or Blu-ray drive, that's another story. This once-ubiquitous feature is hard to find in new Windows 8 laptops, largely restricted to older models that have had Win 8 slapped onto them and to a handful of larger desktop replacements.

As laptops continue to get thinner, a charge led by ultrabooks and the MacBook Air (and the MacBook Pro with Retina Display), I suspect we'll see fewer and fewer optical drives.

Slot-loading drives are easier to fit into a small chassis than tray-loading ones, but like Ethernet ports, optical drives may become an added cost that PC makers feel most shoppers can live without, thanks to online gaming, music, and movie services, and the growth of cloud computing.

Since the launch of Windows 8, we've reviewed only a handful of laptops that include optical drives. The list below gives our favorites, and a few that weren't quite as warmly received.… Read more

Windows 8 touch-screen laptop price cuts coming

Expect to see significant price cuts on Windows 8 touch-screen laptops if Microsoft's expected Windows 8 discount on licensing fees for PC makers is implemented.

Those price cuts could range between 10 percent and 20 percent, according to a report in Digitimes, which cites sources at Taiwan's retailers.

Those same sources indicated that touch-screen laptops now account for about 10 percent of sales, but this could jump to 20 percent in some cases with discounts from Microsoft.

Reports Tuesday in Digitimes and the Wall Street Journal indicated that Microsoft will lower the price of Windows 8 for PC … Read more

Asus' lovable Windows 8/Android mashup

The Sony Vaio Tap 20 introduced us to the idea of the all-in-one/tablet hybrid device. Asus has taken that concept, slathered it with Asus' particular brand of experimental enthusiasm, and brought it to life in the form of the $1,299 Transformer AIO.

The Transformer AIO, like the Sony Tap 20, shows an effort to offer consumers an intriguing new blend of all-in-one desktop and semiportable tablet. Rather than following Sony's approach of relying on Windows 8's new touch-friendly interface to achieve that mix with a single, seamless piece of hardware, the Transformer AIO essentially gives you … Read more

Take a Leap in May with motion control

This is the CNET Update you're looking for:

Get ready to control your computer like a Jedi: Leap Motion's controllers are arriving mid-May for $80. Watch the video above to see how users can navigate programs with the wave of a hand or the wiggle of a finger. Developers like Corel and Disney Interactive are releasing apps that work with Leap.

But that's not the only company taking the "touch" out of touch screen. At Mobile World Congress, STMicroelectronics shows how to control a tablet without making contact.

Also in Wednesday's tech news roundup: … Read more

Prizefight: BlackBerry Z10 vs. Apple iPhone 5

BlackBerry still has its following of loyalists but their numbers have dwindled. Even enterprise customers have transitioned to the iPhone and Android phones, a place that used to be dominated by BlackBerry.

The BlackBerry Z10 is the company's first all-touch-screen phone with a sleek design and a bigger, higher-resolution screen. Its new operating system is based purely on gestures without a physical button.

The iPhone 5 has continued to be a beast in the Prizefight ring. Even though the Samsung Galaxy S3 has surpassed the iPhone 5 in CNET editors' minds, we're facing the Z10 off against the … Read more