The Ultrabook

Let’s face it; netbooks are terrible everyday computers. While their portability is unparalleled, they lack the horsepower of a full notebook computer. This leads to slow browsing, limited software capabilities, and a general lack of overall usefulness. This is because of Intel’s atom processor at its core.

The Atom processor is amazing for its size and power, and the newer ones even come in a dual-core variety (meaning they are two processors in one). A netbook is a great tool for doing a little web surfing, or checking your email but what about running applications that take a little more power. Adobe Photoshop for instance uses a great deal of processing power and runs terribly on these small systems.

The alternative however, your standard notebook computer, while portable, can weigh a fair bit. If you travel a great deal, this added weight sure makes a difference. They also use more powerful processors which spell out doom for your battery. Your average mid-range notebook PC has a battery life of 2-3 hours at most. While that’s great for a quick presentation or working on that writing project during your lunch break, it certainly falls short of expectations over the long run. Fortunately now, there is a newer series of notebooks that offer power, light weight, and exceptional battery life.

Enter the Ultrabook.

The Ultrabook class notebook is an Intel trademarked series of computers using low-power Intel processors with integrated graphics, solid-state drives for fast loading times, and unibody chassis to fit larger batteries into smaller cases. By using these lower voltage processors, they are able to design a system with the size and weight of a netbook computer, with the capabilities and performance of their counterparts in the notebook category. Add to that the advantage of very high battery life and they start to look like pretty amazing machines.

These sleek systems were designed by Intel to combat the tablet market, which has pushed back PC sales in recent months due to their own portability. Tablets have many advantages over your standard notebook, but lack the true capabilities of a full computer system. Generally, their locked-down operating systems and limited software selection make them less-than-ideal for more than a temporary working environment. Whereas an ultrabook has all the capability of the computer system sitting on your desk and you’re not limited to an “App Market” for what software you use.

Most ultrabooks use the Core i3 to i7 family of CPUs, and boast battery lifespans of 5 to 8 hours or more. This means getting the same power that your desktop tower gives you, for an extended period of time without having to be plugged in.

In addition to providing fast access to your data, solid state hard drives also provide another layer of safety for your computer. Traditional hard drives that use spinning platters inside them tend to be sensitive to shock. It doesn’t take much of an impact on your laptop or netbook to trash the drive, making it difficult if not impossible to retrieve your data. A solid state drive doesn’t suffer from the same vulnerability. They aren’t indestructible of course, but they are a lot less likely to fail from taking a hit or two.

On the pricing side, these light weight machines don’t come very cheap. The prices for these machines range from $800 to $1400 dollars. The capabilities they provide however easily reconcile this price tag if you rely on your notebook or netbook on a daily basis. In the long run it will pay for itself in both time you save, and the chiropractor bills you won’t have from carrying around your full sized notebook.

Something to consider next time your shopping for a portable computing solution.