TWO prominent TV manufacturers are getting more involved into the laptop space, with LG announcing their first gaming laptop and TCL announcing their first-ever laptop at CES 2022 in Las Vegas.
Well-known for their superb TVs, LG have entered the gaming laptop space with the 16G90Q, which is part of the company’s LG UltraGear lineup and represents their first dedicated gaming laptop.
The system will be available in the US and South Korea early this year, and although the Australian release date/pricing has yet to be confirmed, LG have said other markets will follow the American/South Korean release.
The official announcement from LG explains their new laptop pretty well:
“The new gaming laptop from LG features an 11th Gen Intel Tiger Lake H processor, Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 Max-Q graphics card, dual-channel memory and a dual SSD setup. In addition to a 17-inch IPS panel that delivers a 1 millisecond response time and a 300Hz refresh rate, the LG UltraGear gaming laptop delivers immersive, fluid gameplay for PC games with complex graphics thanks to the latest hardware. Also, the laptop’s cooling system features a vapor chamber that keeps it running cool.
Sharing similar design cues with the lightweight LG gram laptops, the 17G90Q is portable and slim, with a large screen and a 93Wh battery, while maintaining a thickness of under 21.4 millimetres and a weight of less than 2.7 kilograms. The LG UltraGear gaming laptop features an aluminium casing that offers style and durability, while the winged UltraGear badge on the exterior is a nod to the premium gaming products LG is known for.
The LG gaming software feature on the 17G90Q, LG UltraGear Studio, optimises the gaming experience by allowing users to customise gaming-related options and track a variety of performance data – including CPU clock, GPU TDP and clock, and memory share rate – in real-time. Additionally, users can choose and apply a different colour to each key of the laptop’s RGB keyboard.
Along with personalisation options, speed and premium picture quality, the LG UltraGear gaming laptop delivers realistic, three-dimensional sound with a built-in two-way speaker system. Supporting DTS:X Ultra, the speakers are designed to accurately convey the directionality and location of sounds in the gaming environment, helping players to find their teammates and track down their enemies with ease. What’s more, the 17G90Q comes with Intel Killer Wireless, which helps deliver a fast, stable network connection for frustration-free online gaming experiences.”
LG Electronics Business Solutions Company senior vice president and IT business unit head Seo Young-jae said the system differentiates itself from the competiton with premium hardware, a generous high-quality screen and a sleek, lightweight design which maximised convenience and portability.
“The LG UltraGear gaming laptop has everything needed to tackle the latest high-spec games, delivering the smooth, responsive gameplay that all gamers want,” he said.
TCL – well known for their affordable TVs and smartphones – are also dipping their toes in Lake Laptop with the TCL Book 14 Go, billed as “a Windows 11 laptop designed for students and young professionals entering the working world.”
The first laptop (well, netbook) from the company has a 14.1in display, measures 13.95mm deep when closed, and weighs 1.3kg so has clearly been designed with portability in mind.
The Book 14 Go has 4G LTE and Wi-Fi connectivity and is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 7C ARM-based architecture; TCL claim it will have a battery life of up to 12 hours.
TCL are also making a point of highlighting the system runs Windows 11, which means “students will be able to create multiple virtual desktops – one for school or work, and another for personal life”.
The RRP in America will be USD$349, which works out to about AUD$480 or so – meaning an estimated AUD$499 price tag probably won’t be too far off the mark for the local market when the system launches here later this year (the exact timing has yet to be confirmed).
