Ultrabooks or Tablets
What is an Ultrabooks ?
They’re both lightweight, portable computers. And they both have high-quality screens that are ideal for playing back media and visual entertainment. So what’s the difference between a tablet and an Ultrabook device? It’s easy to be flippant and say it’s the keyboard, especially as Ultrabooks are set to acquire touchscreens, GPS positioning and other sensors thus far associated with phones and tablets. But there’s a bit more to it than that.
Tablets or Ultrabooks : similiarities
While at a first glance you could be tempted to say that these are very different computer devices, if you look closer you will find a couple of important similarities too.
First of all, both ultrabooks and tablets are extremely thin, light and therefore very portable. Practically, all of the ultrabooks already released or due to be released soon measure 0.6-0.7 inches thick, which is just over the iPad 2’s depth.
Secondly, even though you can’t say that they look very similar, both ultrabooks and tablets have a very strong aesthetical sense, being targeted towards people who care how they look and how their ‘’properties’’ look as well.
Surprisingly enough, the number of ports and connectivity options is also very similar, with both tablets and ultrabooks usually featuring no more than two USB ports, as well as microHDMI, Bluetooth and Wireless.
That’s pretty much all the common ground we can see right now between ultrabooks and tablets and, while some of you might find a couple of extra similarities, we wouldn’t want to stretch these.
Tablets or Ultrabooks : differences
As you might expect from the number of similarities found earlier, the number of differences is very large and important.
First of all, tablets don’t usually come with physical keyboards, like ultrabooks do, but sport touchscreens. That is probably the biggest disadvantage that slates hold right now, giving that they are less functional than a regular laptop or an ultrabook and it is pretty difficult to accurately and quickly type on the iPad 2 or just about any other tablet at the moment.
Another tablet disadvantage refers to the hardware, which is clearly inferior to the ultrabooks’ tech specs. The iPad 2, for instance, as we already mentioned, features a 1 GHz processor and 512 MB of RAM, while most ultrabooks come with snappy 1.6 or 1.7 GHz chipsets and with 2 GB of RAM.
In terms of storage space, as well as in terms of screens, ultrabooks are again better, featuring higher-resolution displays and larger solid-state drives.
As for the software, the tablets and ultrabooks are again very different, but it is pretty difficult to clearly state which one is better. Ultrabooks run Windows, as any other laptop, while tablet PCs run Android or iOS (the iPad 2).
On the other hand, tablets are lighter and more portable than ultrabooks, usually weighing somewhere around 1.2-1.5 pounds (ultrabooks go for 2.4-2.9 pounds). They have rotating screens as well, which could prove very nice when traveling.
The battery life is also superior when talking about tablets, with the iPad 2 being able to easily run for nine or ten hours between charges. Ultrabooks are themselves pretty capable in terms of autonomy, but can’t go for more than six hours on a single charge.
Finally, in terms of pricing, ultrabooks are clearly more expensive, going for 1,000 dollars or even more. Tablets, on the other hand, usually go for 400-500 bucks, but can be bought for as little as 200 dollars as well.
