14 DAY TRIAL // As of today, there's a new KDE Slimbook Linux-powered, Plasma-based Ultrabook laptop available for sale and it comes with some impressive hardware specifications and a smaller price tag.
Meet KDE Slimbook II, the second-generation of the KDE Slimbook laptop that emphasizes the widely-used KDE Plasma open-source desktop environment for GNU/Linux distributions. Build for running the KDE Neon Linux distro, the 1st-generation KDE Slimbook laptop was announced a year ago and offered some attractive features, including a 13.3-inch screen, faster SSDs, and latest Plasma desktop.
A year later, KDE Slimbook II is here to redefine what a modern Linux laptop should be and promises to be up to 15 percent faster than its predecessor by featuring either a 2.5 GHz Intel Core i5 CPU with 3MB cache and Turbo Boost up to 3.1 GHz or a 2.7 GHz Intel Core i7 CPU with 4MB cache and Turbo Boost up to 3.5 GHz. It also supports 4, 8, or 16 GB or DDR4 RAM that's up to 33 percent faster than DDR3.
KDE Slimbook II features the same crisp Full-HD 13.3-inch matte anti-glare screen as the first generation Slimbook, more powerful Wi-Fi antennas, a bigger touchpad with multi-touch and support for various gestures, 3xUSB 3.0 ports, including a reversible USB-C port, a slicker backlit keyboard, as well as dual disk drive bay that lets users insert a second drive to extend the internal storage of the laptop, supporting M.2 SSDs of 120GB, 250GB, 500GB, and 1TB.
It's sleeker, more powerful, and better built
KDE community's Paul Brown has given a short overview of the new KDE Slimbook laptop saying it's sleeker, more powerful than the first generation Slimbook, and built as a modern Linux Ultrabook designed from the offset to be used by power users and beginners alike. However, the Ultrabook no longer sports the KDE neon operating system and comes without an OS by default.
"The KDE community has worked closely with Slimbook to make sure that everything works as it should," says Paul Brown. "After test-running the KDE Slimbook II extensively, we can confirm it is sleek, we can confirm it is powerful, and we can confirm that beginners and power users alike will enjoy this full-featured and modern Plasma-based laptop."
Customers will be able to purchase the KDE Slimbook II with either Ubuntu, Kubuntu, Ubuntu MATE, Debian, Linux Mint, elementary OS, OpenSuSE, Antergos, KDE Neon, as well as Windows 10 Home and Pro operating systems. They can also add additional components and upgrade the default ones, but it will also boast the final price of the laptop, which comes with only 4GB RAM, 120GB SSD, and an Intel Dual Band 7265N wireless card.
Best of all, KDE Slimbook II is cheaper than its predecessor and the price starts from 699,00 € for the Slimbook Katana II with an Intel i5 processor and 799,00 € for the Slimbook Katana II with an Intel i7 CPU. Two colors are available, Silver and Black, though the latter will apparently delay the assembly time of new purchases for up to one month, according to the official website.
