Guess who makes the "Porsche" of Windows 10 laptops? No... that’s not it.
If we were to ask about the “Bentley” of laptops, the answer would come easy, at least to those with a finger on the pulse of high-end mobile tech.
Also... Bentley doesn’t make Windows 10 laptops, yet, and if it did, they’d probably come encased in several hundred-thousand dollars of automotive luxury, ready to pop out at the touch of a button, alongside a glass of 1947 Cheval Blanc.
Alas, we are talking about the “Porsche” of Windows 10 laptops, because, for those who didn’t know, Porsche isn’t only known as a historic German automaker. The prestigious brand is also the maker of a range of fashion accessories, under the name of Porsche Design, which includes, for the first time, a Windows 10 laptop PC.
Not just *any* Windows 10 laptop PC, mind you: this is the Porsche of laptop PC... so, without further ado, and before this pun wears itself out, let’s get into the specs:
Porsche Design Book One, can best be described as the closest approximation to a Microsoft Surface Book, except that its configuration isn’t nearly as flexible as Microsoft’s flagship portable PC, which means, that the Porsche Design Book One cannot be built to order.
With that said, the specs are truly worthy of the prestige that comes with the name:
Powered by a 2.7GHz Intel Kaby Lake i7-7500U, this device comes with 16GB of RAM, 512GB SSD storage, and a 10-finger multitouch quad-HD+ IPS display, with a native resolution of 3200 x 1800 pixels. Speaking of the display, the Book One shares similar pixel density with the Surface Book, however the screen is 200 pixels wider, and 200 shorter, which makes it slightly more suitable for video playback and games, though not by an extreme margin.
Expansion ports include two USB Type-C, with one one featuring a Thunderbolt 3 connector, and two USB 3.0, as well as a microSD card reader.
Porsche has also gone one step further than Microsoft, by including a Windows Hello-ready 5MP front-facing camera, for fast unlocking using face recognition. On the other hand, this model does not feature a fingerprint scanner.
German engineering could very well be credited, and without puns, to the formidable 14-hour battery life, claimed by Porsche Design, as well as the ability to fully charge the laptop in less than 2 hours.
While the specs are impressive, it would be unbecoming of Porsche, to skimp on the chassis, and once again, the luxury automaker’s design team shows off some remarkable elements that almost manage to put Microsoft to shame.
The Book One’s chassis (we could call it “casing”, but... you know.), features a machines anodized aluminum, coated in pure silver.
Just like the Surface Book, the Book One is able to flip the display 360 degrees, and once again, just like Microsoft’s own laptop, the screen detaches to become a tablet.
The difference, however, is that Porsche did not use anything remotely close to the dynamic fulcrum hinge, but a different mechanism inspired by “...the gearbox in a sports car...”, according to the Porsche Design Book One product page.
The hinge is designed to allow for the display and the base to line-up flush to each other, without gaps, by using what may very well look like something reminiscent of an actual gearbox.
This design is not only very functional, it is also visually pleasant, and it makes the laptop’s display and keyboard look like they are not even connected to each other, when looking at the unit from the side.
The price tag is very well in line with the specs, as well as the name the laptop comes with, and can be had for $2,495.00, with shipping to begin sometime in mid-April.
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