Choose to buy MacBook Air or Ultrabook?

Ultrabooks are cheap, have more sizes and larger memory, support multiple ports, while the MacBook Air stands out for screen quality, keyboard and touchpad.

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Currently, almost every computer manufacturer has at least one ultrabook model on the market. After this summer, there may be more types of ultrabooks on the shelves at attractive prices, maybe $ 600 cheaper than MacBook Air $ 1,299.

But how is a laptop considered ultrabook? What are the differences between ultrabook and MacBook Air?

What is Ultrabook?

For your convenience, we would like to remind you of the definition of ultrabook.

Ultrabooks are termed by Intel to describe ultraportable laptops that meet certain standards. Specifically, ultrabook must have screen from 11 to 13 inches, thickness less than 20mm and weighs less than 1.2kg, capable of restarting from the super fast mode thanks to SSD hard drive, short battery life especially 5 hours.

Ultrabook than what MacBook Air?

Cheaper

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Toshiba Portege Z835

While Apple's 13-inch MacBook Air starts at $ 1,299, you can choose an ultrabook like the Toshiba Portege Z835 for just $ 799. The Toshiba Portege Z835 is the lightest ultrabook on the market with a mass of 1.1 kg, battery life of nearly 7 hours after a charge. Although the Core i3 processor and 128GB SSD are not as fast as the MacBook Air, the Toshiba Portege Z835 offers no less performance and is totally worth the price.

Other ultrabooks, such as Asus Zenbook UX31 and Dell XPS 13, cost $ 999. These two products have faster Core i5 processors and more attractive designs. In addition, Intel's Smart Connect technology, Dell XPS 13 can automatically connect to the network, update appointments, emails, Facebook and other social networks even when the device is in sleep mode.

Add dimensions, add options

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The HP Envy 14 Specture is the most polished ultrabook ever

Definitely the most ideal size for ultrabook is 13 inches. This is a laptop size small enough to carry anywhere, but big enough to meet the needs of the desktop. However, not everyone has a need for ultra-portable ultrabooks, maybe they just want a larger, more sleek screen.

The HP Envy 14 Specture is the most insidious laptop ever thanks to its casing and sleek cover made of scratch-resistant glass, while the Samsung Series 9 15-inch has a high-resolution screen of 1600 x 900 (MacBook Air screen). is 1440 x 900), with a chassis that weighs less than 1.81 kg and is only 1.47 cm thick.

Add connection port

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HP Folio 13

While some ultrabooks don't have important features like SD card slots (like the Dell XPS 13, Lenovo IdeaPad U300), some of the top ultrabooks support more ports than the MacBook Air. For example, the HP Folio supports both USB 3.0 and full-size HDMI port (no adapter required) and Ethernet port.

The Portege Z835 is even more so, equipped with a VGA port that allows entrepreneurs to connect the projector.

Some models have more memory

One of the most common complaints about MacBook Air as well as some types of ultrabooks are limited users on 128 GB hard drives.

If you want more storage space, Samsung Series 5 Ultra will be the right product. Samsung Series 5 Ultra has a 14-inch screen, 16GB ExpressCache cache (allows booting into recovery in 30 seconds) and a massive 500 GB hard drive.

More MacBook Air than ultrabook?

Better screen quality

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MacBook Air screens are rated better than most of the existing ultrabooks. MacBook Air has a bright screen, wide viewing angle and is not glare when used outdoors. You can have a 13-inch MacBook Air in the sun without any problems - something that's not possible with most of the market ultrabooks, even the UX31 Zenbook - ultrabook has the highest resolution screen. .

Only Samsung Series 9 13-inch screens are considered to be competing with the MacBook Air screen.

The best touchpad

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According to evaluation results of LaptopMag magazine, the touchpad of most ultrabooks has 'erratic' performance. The MacBook Air is different, providing a smooth, very accurate and reliable touchpad experience. Testing the sensitivity of the touchpad is also an important part when you want to buy an ultrabook product.

The glowing keyboard is comfortable to use

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After evaluating more than 10 types of ultrabook, LaptopMag magazine said that there is no ultrabook model that brings comfortable typing experience like MacBook Air. The glowing keyboard is very beautiful and easy to use in the dark.

Except for the Samsung Series 9 15 inch, most ultrabooks do not have backlit keyboards (to save costs).

Conclude

Ultrabook is the product line in the process of development. In addition to the types of ultrabooks that are highly rated such as the Zenbook UX31 and Samsung Series 9, there are still some unimpressive products such as the inexpensive Acer Aspire S3 or IdeaPad U300s without an SD card slot. However, quality ultrabook promises to improve quickly, especially many upcoming laptops will use Intel's new Ivy Bridge processor. In addition, lower prices are also an advantage.

Ultrabook is even more noticeable after Windows 8 launches later this year. Ultrabook models with touch screens like IdeaPad Yoga can make the most of this operating system's capabilities.

In case you are willing to spend $ 1,299 to buy a laptop, the MacBook Air is still the perfect choice, except for Windows operating system enthusiasts.