Ultrabooks or Tablets

Ultrabooks or Tablets 

What is an Ultrabooks ?

What is Tablets ?

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.

Samsung Series 9 NP900X4C-A03US 15-Inch Ultrabook

Samsung Series 9 NP900X4C-A03US 15-Inch Ultrabook 

Samsung Series 9 NP900X4C-A03US 15-Inch Specifications :

• 15-inch SuperBright Plus display with 1600 x 900 resolution for native HD+ viewing (340-nit brightness; non-glare screen)

• 1.7 GHz Intel Core i7-3517U ultra-low voltage, dual-core processor (3.0 GHz with Turbo Boost Technology; 4 MB L3 cache)

• 256 GB Solid State Drive (SSD)

• 8 GB of installed DDR3 RAM (maximum capacity)

• Intel HD Graphics 4000 integrated graphics solution for everyday computing with support for Microsoft DirectX 11 games.

• 1.3-megapixel HD webcam

• Built-in stereo speakers with 4 watts of power (2.0W x 2) and SoundAlive enhancement

• Up to 10 hours of battery life (8-cell battery; 8400 mAh)

• Dimensions and Weight: 14 x 9.3 x 0.58 inches (WxDxH); 3.51 pounds

See more Technical Details from amazon.com at 

Samsung Series 9 NP900X4C-A03US 15-Inch Ultrabook 

Samsung Series 9 NP900X4C-A03US 15-Inch Ultrabook

Customer Review :

Samsung Series 9 NP900X4C-A03US 15-Inch Ultrabook  checks all the boxes for me. Everything. From the matte 15" screen to 256gb SSD to the insanely thin and light body. While thin, it is very sturdy. It's got a large and very usable trackpad. There are no heat issues. Nothing wrong with this at all. It's not a PLS screen (I don't think) , but it's very bright and viewing angles are good enough for me. I'm coming from a Dell Latitude D630 that I loved. I tried a later Dell and sent it back within an hour. I tried a macbook pro for a year, but never used it and never got off the D630. This thing had me off the D630 on day one

I've only had this machine for only a couple of days, but I have to say that I'm completely impressed.  Samsung Series 9 NP900X4C-A03US 15-Inch Ultrabook  is amazing.

Pros:
1. It looks amazing.
2. It is so incredibly light (after traveling this weekend with my old Dell XPS 15", I was glad to see what 3.5 pounds felt like).
3. Startup/wake-up is very fast. It boots up in less than 10 seconds and resumes from sleep in about 2 seconds.
4. Power, memory and storage enough to serve as my main working laptop. I got this to replace my Dell XPS and this will do it easily. With the i7 Ivy Bridge and 256 SSD it has plenty of muscle. Also, the screen, keyboard and track pad (which I've seen others have concerns with elsewhere) are great to me. I don't use graphics intensive programs or work with massive files - mostly just excel, word, internet and email for me - but I do have a real-time trading platform that is somewhat intensive open with several other programs and have no issues whatsoever.
5. Build quality seems to be top notch - no bending, strong hinge, good key feel - and it's very quiet.

The only thing I wish this had was a screen with a higher resolution (1600x900 is the max). Also, I had to remove some of the ubiquitous, extraneous programs all of the manufaturers add. I've had to adjust a few thing I work with regularly to accommodate the screen resolution, but no problem after considering the weight, portability, power, smoothness and looks of this machine. I love it.



See more customer review and buy the best price 
Samsung Series 9 NP900X4C-A03US 15-Inch Ultrabook 
from amazon.com

Ultrabooks Buyers Guide: How to Choose an Ultrabook

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.

What is an Ultrabooks ?

What is an Ultrabooks ?

In the later half of 2011, the term Ultrabook was starting to be used by a number of companies for a set of new laptop computer systems. Then in CES 2012, Ultrabooks were one of the big product announcements with pretty much every major computer company offering up models to be released later in the year. But just what exactly is an Ultrabook? This article delves into this question in an attempt to help sort out the confusion buyers may have in coming months while searching for a laptop. 

Ultrabooks are designed to feature reduced size (less than 2.1 cm thick) and weight (usually less than 1.5 kg (3.3 lbs)) without compromising performance and battery life. They use low-power Intel processors withintegrated graphics and unibody chassis to fit larger batteries into smaller cases.

What Makes an Ultrabook Different?

• Quick startup: Going from hibernate to keyboard interaction must take 7 seconds or less. Resume from sleep should be even faster than that.
• Long battery life: The minimum for a single charge of the battery is 5 hours, and some models promise up to 8 hours.
• Thinness: Ultrabooks need to be less than 21mm (0.82 inch) thick. Most models that have come out so far are much thinner.
• Enhanced security: The laptop firmware has to support Intel’s Anti-Theft and Identity Protection technology.
• Powered by Intel: You didn’t expect Intel to allow AMD CPUs, did you?

Why buy an Ultrabook ?

The single biggest reason to get an Ultrabook is that it makes computing on the go infinitely more convenient. Ultrabooks are nearly as portable as tablets while retaining the performance of full-sized computers. And an Intel requirement that all Ultrabooks should have at least 5 hours of battery life means that, with light use, they will last most of the day on a single charge.

Some staff on our publication have now switched almost exclusively to Ultrabooks when needing to work while travelling, typically on trains or aircraft (or taxis on the way to a meeting). Ultrabooks can be carried in a smaller bag and when you use them in a public place are not as intrusive. One staff member recalls an occasion from a previous era when a fellow passenger on a train complained about being scalded (literally) by jet of very hot air shooting out of the side of a big 15.6in laptop the staffer was using. That will never happen with an Ultrabook because of its much lower heat output, which also means there will no whirring fans and attendant noises.

Tablet-like characteristics

People have taken to tablets for many reasons, but one of the biggest is "instant on," or virtually instant access to apps and data. Although Microsoft claims that Windows' resume from sleep function is now very quick (3-4 seconds) the truth is that it's highly inconsistent and most people still shut down their notebooks after each use, which means at least a minute or more waiting for the system to boot up. Ultrabooks are required to implement Intel's "Rapid Start Technology" which writes the contents of RAM to NAND flash memory at sleep time, ensuring it can be read back in a couple of seconds. In short, when you want to do something on an Ultrabook, your apps or data are no more than 2-3 seconds away. Brilliant. And a cold boot takes no more than 20 seconds compared to a minute or more for a normal laptop.

Ultrabooks have performance comparable to that of full-sized laptops

In a direct,head-to-head battle, the low power Intel Core processors in Ultrabooks would lose against full-power ones in a standard laptop. However, processor speed is not the whole story. Ultrabooks have excellent performance because they combine the processors with solid state drives, which speed up boot and application load times from 50% to 300% and more. The end result is that the Ultrabook CPUs are not hobbled by the kind of slow mechanical hard disk drives found on full-sized notebooks and are able to deliver performance that belies their low-voltage, super-slim, super-light status.

We saw this for ourselves first-hand, not in our labs running synthetic benchmarks, but on the production floor. We were able to test the Acer, ASUS and Toshiba Ultrabooks in the APC office (using them as our daily machines for magazine production work instead of our standard, corporate-issue desktops) and they were able to handle it. This meant they ran all day with lots of Office apps open simultaneously (Word, Excel, PowerPoint), multiple browsers and intensive programs such as Photoshop and InDesign running often, too. The Ultrabooks handled it.

Expect much better reliability

Ultrabooks are built more like telephone and tablets to incredibly fine tolerances, so that all that componentry can fit inside the amazingly thin cases. Because Ultrabooks are so slim, the cases need to be stronger so they're made of ultra-strong alloys, and in the case of the ASUS UX series, use unibody construction, where the entire case is milled from a solid block of metal (just like the MacBooks). Since there are no mechanical drives, there's fewer moving parts to break down. And critically, because Ultrabooks use components with a lower thermal output, they can stand up better to the great destroyer of computer parts: too much heat or poor heat dissipation.