Ultrabooks Buyers Guide: How to Choose an Ultrabooks
The ideal characteristics of ultrabooks
Simply speaking, compared with the previous laptop，ultrabooks have five innovations:
1.Ultrabooks choose a brand new low-voltage processor, without loss of performance，they have a smaller power consumption, so battery life will be longer;
2.Ultrabooks choose SSD solid state drive, you can instantly start from hibernation;
3.Ultrabooks have AOAC(Always online always connected) function like the phone. Current common PCs can not have this feature, in sleep mode，they will break the link with WIfi/3G networks, while ultrabooks in sleep mode will be always online and download datas from internet;
4.With Microsoft’s upcoming next-generation operating system called windows 8, Ultrabooks will have touch screen function and a new user interface;
5.Ultrabooks will be lighter and thinner than the Macbook Air.
The current available features of ultrabooks
1 low-voltage processors and lower power consumption, higher performance
Most of current available ultrabooks commonly use Intel low-voltage i5, i7 processors based on SNB architecture. compared with the ultra-low voltage processors in CULV Period, the current low-voltage versions of the i5, i7 processors have been improved significantly in performance, the Core graphics which is integrated inside the processor has greatly enhanced graphics capabilities of ultrabook. The next-generation 22nm process technology Ivy Bridge processors will continue to enhance the power efficiency.
2 The fast response
Ultrabooks’ fast response function has been achieved. Aside those annoying complex technical names, simply speaking, with hybrid hard drives, SSD and some software support, we can greatly accelerate the speed of the system switch and the speed of wake from sleep. Even in the sleep state, we can still access the mail server and achieve SNS regularly updates (AOAC).
3 Ultimate thin and light
How can ultrabooks achieve the ultimate thin and light? From the material perspective, most of the ultrabooks use aluminum-magnesium alloy, compared to traditional polyester plastic material commonly used in standard laptops, aluminum-magnesium alloy shell is lighter and more robust, it can effectively improve the thermal conductivity.
And most ultrabooks use solid-state hard drive which can be integrated on the motherboard; In addition, part of the processor and memory have been cured in the motherboard, thus the space has been effectively saved; lithium polymer battery can be freely shaped and has a lighter weight; ultrabooks have given up discrete graphics and built-in optical drive to control the power consumption and heat dissipation, but also reduce weight.
Build quality, materials
Gone are the days when laptops were made up of plastic and tacky materials. Now and in this age of the Ultrabook, you should be looking for a machine which features materials like Aluminium, Carbon Fiber or Titanium. The better the build materials, the longer your laptop will look great.
Some Ultrabooks which sport a fantastic build include the Lenovo Carbon X1 (Carbon Fiber) and ASUS Zenbook Prime (Aluminium).
Display, resolution
There are Ultrabooks on the market which range from 13” to 15”, and a few with an inch either side. When shopping for an Ultrabook, look out for laptops with a resolution of at least 1366 x 768 pixels. More up-market machines feature 1080p displays, of which are gorgeous.
The Lenovo Carbon X1 Ultrabook features a 14-inch, 1600 x 900 display, whilst the ASUS Zenbook Prime a 13.3 inch 1920 x 1080 display.
Also, newer Ultrabooks will feature a touch screen display; the reason for this is that Windows 8 features a tile based interface, enabled and optimized for touch. Whilst this is okay to use with a track pad or mouse, a touch screen makes the whole experience better.
Storage
All Ultrabooks feature either an SSD (solid state drive) or a small SSD combined with a larger HDD (hard disk drive). Usually, cheaper offerings feature a hybrid of the two. An SSD is an extremely fast drive which allows Windows 7 to cold boot in under 12 seconds and cold boot in Windows 8 in under 10.
Even if you get an Ultrabook with hybrid storage, it will use the SSD to boot Windows and so your laptop will boot up very quickly.
Keyboard
Due to most Ultrabooks being extremely thin, keyboards can be sacrificed in the design stage. In general, Ultra-thins’ suffer from having a shallow keyboard, although after a while this is something people usually get used to. Also, look out for Ultrabooks with a backlit keyboard; once backlit, you will never go back.
The HP Folio 13 has an excellent backlit keyboard, and is cheap too.
Processors
Older Ultrabooks feature Intel Core Sandy Bridge Processors, whilst newer ones feature Intel Core Ivy Bridge processors. The newer of the two boasts better integrated graphics and a higher level of power efficiency, up rating battery life along the way.
The highly affordable HP Folio 13 features a Sandy Bridge processor, whilst newer machines such as the Zenbook Prime feature an Ivy Bridge.
Graphics
If you are planning on playing a few games on your Ultrabook, you might be disappointed, because a lot of them feature Intel HD integrated graphics. Whilst suitable for applications, web browsing and tasks, Intel HD Graphics aren’t very good for gaming purposes. If possible, seek out an Ultrabook with dedicated graphics.
The 13.3-inch ASUS UX32VD features a dedicated Nvidia 620M chip for gaming.
Connectivity
With an Ultrabook you will always get USB 3.0 as standard, and USB 2.0 where the manufacturer seems fit to include them. Be sure to look out for Ultrabooks with an optical drive, as if you need a disc drive for work purposes you should know that super-thin Ultrabooks don’t have them (a portable optical drive is easy to buy however).
Battery life
This is a big feature you should look out for in an Ultrabook. You should be looking at Ultrabooks with a proven minimum of 5 hours battery life from moderate usage, and manufacturers who install high quality batteries. The Lenovo Carbon X1, for example, will give you 5 hours of battery life from just 35 minutes of charging.
Ultrabooks are constantly advancing and unlike in 2011 when they first made an appearance to the UK market, in 2012 they are extremely potent machines offering up some of the best features of any laptops in the world.
