LG Ultra PC 13Z940 (13.3" FHD 980g Haswell Notebook), and Tab-Book 2 11T740 & 11T540 (11.6" Win 8.1 tablet slider w/ keyboards)

##EDIT 2014-03-01: 13Z940 -> new: up to 8GB i7 256GB, review available at www.pcworld.idg.com.au/review/lg/ultrapc_model_13z940/537932/


I am very excited about these models and have hopes the Z940 might be the first to surpass the Samsung Ativ Book 9 Ivy, and even upcoming new NP900X3G Haswell.

To avoid cluttering, let's collect information on all of these 3 models in here, until they will (hopefully) be available in Europe and the US. When available for purchase, we can make dedicated owners' lounges.

More information will be given at CES 2014.

1. Notebook: Ultra PC 13Z940
- 13.3" IPS FHD w/ reader mode (similar to ePaper, reducing eye-strain, energy saving)
- not touch
- glossy
- 4.4mm bezels (thinnest in industry)
- 980g
- 13.6mm thick
- i5, i7 Haswell
- 128/256GB SSD
- 4-8 GB RAM,
- Win 8.1
- fan vents are "invisible" between diplay and base

2. Tablet slider LG 11T740
- 11.6" FHD
- 400 cd/m²
- 1050g
- 16.7mm thick
- i5 Haswell
- Win 8.1

3. Tablet slider LG 11T540
- 11.6"
- 930g
- 13.7mm thick

Images:
http://www.chip.de/ii/2/3/0/5/0/8/6/3/LG_13Z940_Ultra_PC-adfef370c41184d5.jpg
EDIT: also available in silver/black, see youtube below

more: LG: Leichtes Ultrabook und Convertible zur CES - News - CHIP

refs:
LG Newsroom
http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=7043

see also: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tvTTszN5GZs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=00WN66H08iw (nothing knew)

 

the white keyboard looks terrible against the black bezel screen, why would they design it like that?

 

Hmm, the Macbook Pro also has a bright colored base and a black bezel screen... Personally I think this combination looks good, however I'm not a fan of white used in electronics in general (like iPod. At LEAST the LG has some black, I actually wouldn't like it if it had NO black bezel against the white, I like the contrast...
But I agree they should make an all-black version. There certainly would be a higher demand for al-black, than for black'n'white.

 

Good news!
It's available in various colors, one of which is silver/black, and individual keys are black like on Apple. Almost looks like a chimera between Macbook Pro and Air now.
Bad news: Glossy screen. (and no touch, but I hate touch on laptops anyway. Basically like the MBA in this respect, too.)

LG Ultra PC notebook has a 13" screen, weighs 2.2 pounds - YouTube

 

the silver looks pretty nice and that's a very slick bezel design with a nice IPS screen. non-touch is great, but too bad it's glossy which rules it out for me.

is the keyboard backlit? doesn't seem to be from the video or still pictures.

 

I didn't like the loud keyboard on the ATIV Book 9 and I'm hoping this one is better. I don't like glossy, but I did some tests with a glossy screen and found I personally can live with it (white backgrounds and not outdoors/no windows behind). I'd rather have a silent keyboard/glossy screen than a loud keyboard/matte screen. Whether the machine is silent remains to be seen (heard...), but I read good things about the previous model in this respect.
I too cannot understand why they didn't put a matte screen into this one.
A backlit keyboard makes the laptop thicker/leaves less room for battery etc.- Personally I never needed this because I know where the keys are /never work in a fully dark room (not good for ones eyes), and even minimal lighting suffices to see the keys if one really has to see them. Only total darkness is a problem, but why should one work in total darkness.

 

LG Ultra PC 13Z940 13.3 Zoll Nicht-Ultrabook im Hands-on auf der CES 2014 - YouTube with rear view. again, where are the air vents?

Z940 will be available in Misty Rose, Baby Blue, Powder White and Glam Metal.

Let's hope the 256GB version will have 8GB RAM, and be available in Metal. Everything else will be a problem. (The i7 vs i5 question is rather irrelevant, imho.)

 

I had the older variant of the LG ultrabook Z350 (prior to the white plastic model) and the air vents are located on the bottom. It got pretty hot under load, so I bought a cooler for it.

 

Thank you. However, in the videos, they show all 6 sides of the notebook and there are no vents visible anywhere. Seriously.

 

that picture looks really similar to a very good looking samsung laptop i saw earlier in the year...think it was called a s9 or something...also had curved side like that...although some serious under performance issues for the crazy price. looked amazing though.

 

readers of this thread who like the notebook may want to contact their local LG representation in order to ask them
- to bring the notebook to their country
- to offer the color they prefer (I recommend the silver/black finish)
- to offer a 8GB version
- to check if it is still possible to build the laptop with an anti-reflective matte screen. It's not touch, after all.
- you may contact LG via (often country specific) facebook, I believe twitter, or website.

(I did this for my country today.)

Really, I think this is a big thing and we will likely not see something comparable for another year (on the Windows platform). (Yes, i have taken Sony and Samsung into account.)

According to www.digitaltrends.com/laptop-reviews/lg-ultra-pc-review/ , the release date is set to mid-year, which would coincide with the New Macbook Air. An interesting thought, btw. I'll likely choose the Mac with bootcamp, or this.

 

Note that the T540 is fanless, and the T740 is not. Since the former comes with an Atom processor, and the latter with Haswell, one could argue that the Z940 will likely have a fan, and the vents might be hidden at the joint. Strange still. Unfortunately, the T540 might only be available with just 2GB of RAM. Otherwise I would consider this an interesting fan-less option. On the other hand, it is said that an increasing number of 4200/4500/4600 U Haswell Ultrabooks are designed in a way they will stay completely silent on low load. Watch for SDP-mode enabled Haswell devices for maximum chance of silent operation under low load.

 

see LG UltraPC (Model 13Z940) laptop Review - PC World Business - Notebooks, PCs & Printers - PC World Business and my edits in my first post: i7/8GB!

full spes at

http://open.lge.co.kr/link/it/2014/usp/pc/ultra/13z940/13z940_gh70k/13z940_gh70k.html

It's 303 x 214 mm, which means it's smaller both in width and depth, than the ATIV Book 9, which already was very small for a 13.3". The LG is almost as small as the Dell XPS 11, despite being 13,3".
It also comes with a quiet mode.
It's available at ebay already (!).
Strangely, it comes with windows 8, not 8.1.
I have not yet found an Australian/English, or i7 silver version, please post if you found one.
Korean voltage and sockets seems to be compatible with the German system without adapters, but' I'm not 100% sure, just 99%. It's not identical, but perhaps compatible.... comments welcome.
I once had a Japanese Vaio x505, it worked fine with the extra keys and looked cool. However I'm unsure if I can install an English or German Windows 8.1 Pro on there, and and if drivers will be OK. Problem also being that the control software will be Korean.
I wonder which English or German speaking country will get the first batch, and if a silver i7/8GB will be among them. In any case I'm sold on this one. Nice!

 

I don't quite understand what is the difference between 13zd940 and 13z940, also some are called xnote, not ultra pc. perhaps no differences.
I found that gx70k is a string associated with the i7/8GB version, and as I feared, only the 4GB/i5/128GB /i3 version seems to be available in multiple colors, also in mint BTW. So silver with black keys (like the macbook air) is only available with 4GB RAM, in Korea.
(I also found that one can probably change the language of windows 8 Korean to English with a few clicks.)
I wouldn't hold my breath that we will ever see a silver 8GB, anywhere in the world. :/