Things to know about Ultrabook

The new generation of laptops has been much thinner and lighter than before, capable of confusing consumers between them and the tablet.

Ultrabook is the new generation of ultraportable laptops initiated by Intel, which has been creating new waves of laptop design. Ultrabook computers promise to combine the tablet's compact advantages while providing users with powerful processing capabilities of traditional computers. If Intel and Ultrabook manufacturers do exactly what they promise, global consumers are facing the possibility of early access to popular Windows-based notebooks with super looks. as thin as Apple's Macbook Air.

After the models were introduced recently, global users will be even more impressed with the slimmer and lighter models expected to be released this fall. The new models also support the touch screen thoroughly, even allowing the screen to be disassembled to be used as a standalone tablet. This makes these future Ultrabooks truly mobile devices all in one. Let's try to see things that need to be taken care of before we intend to 'take care of' one.

The Ultrabook series was announced by Intel at the Computex Technology Fair last May. Although Intel's main role is to provide processors, the company announced that it will always configure this product line for laptop manufacturers so they can research and create device models. Mobile ' thin, light and beautiful '. Intel currently offers 5 configuration levels for manufacturers.

According to Intel's definition, Ultrabooks will be equipped with Core processor chips, with a thickness of less than 21mm (about 0.8 inch) and have a long battery life (existing early Ultrabook models have been available for a while). Battery capacity up to 7 hours). Ultrabook will also have screens ranging from 11 'to 13', weighing less than 1.2kg, being able to reboot from ultra-fast sleep mode thanks to an SSD-type hard drive. Most importantly, with such outstanding features, Intel still offers an impressive price of under USD 1,000 (~ 20 million VND) for this product line.

In summary Ultrabook is defined as a thin, high performance and inexpensive laptop line. This concept is nothing new and was soon launched by Apple in 2008 with the first Macbook Air Steve Jobs pulled from the envelope. Beyond 5 years, Sony also introduced the VAIO x505 model, which weighs only 0.9kg. Many people may think that the Macbook Air is also a Ultrabook-like product, but don't forget that the ' Ultrabook ' concept is a marketing phrase created and promoted by Intel to bring the traditional notebook manufacturing industry. return to the strong position inherent to the fierce competition of trendy tablet trends and the growing presence of powerful configurable smart phone products.

Until now, when thinking of a thin, light, long-lasting, well-designed laptop, users have almost one choice: the Macbook Air . That is also the reason that laptop manufacturers running Windows try hard to compete with Apple to be able to get more innovative, more popular and more competitive products than the Macbook Air. Ultrabook is the result of those efforts, it will compete with Apple's children in every way from price, design to hardware configuration. The initiator of Ultrabook is Intel is continuing to call for and promote sponsorship of patents to help Ultrabook overcome the Macbook Air.

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The new ultraportable laptops below will be sold by Asus, Acer, Lenovo and Toshiba this fall (in terms of criteria, you can also see Samsung's Series 9 model as Ultrabook, even if it is introduced before Intel launched this concept.)

Asus UX21:

Asus UX21 is known as the first Ultrabook model to be released to the public. It weighs 1.08kg, 0.66 inches thick (~ 1.67cm), 11.6 'screen and uses Intel's powerful Core i7 processor. The machine is scheduled to ship this month and has a selling price below $ 1000.

Toshiba Portege Z830:

Referred to as the world's lightest 13 'laptop. Z830 has a starting price of less than $ 1000, 0.63 inches thick and weighs less than 1.12kg.

Acer Aspire S3:

This model of Acer is listed for sale at 799 euros (~ 1134 USD) and promises to bring similar experiences to the Macbook Air. Aspire S3 has a 13.3-inch screen and offers Core i3, i5 or Core i7 processor options and allows users to choose to use SSD or traditional hard drive.

Lenovo IdeaPad U300s:

This 13.3-inch Ultrabook model is expected to go on sale in November for about $ 1200. U300s has 2 models using Core i5 or Core i7 processors and will have Clementine color option (orange).

The future of Ultrabook: tablet hybrid laptops

Intel has emphasized that the potential of Ultrabooks is huge and promises to exceed the limits of current ultraportables. After witnessing the landing of the first Ultrabook models this year, we will be able to see the next impressive wave with Intel providing the next generation Ivy Bridge processors. Support touch screen. We can imagine slimmer, removable screens for use as stand-alone tablets. Intel has called the Ultrabook product line a 'perfect and must-have new mobile computing device within the next few years'.

Should buy Ultrabook?

This year is indeed a huge year of Ultrabook, it is concerned in both aspects, users and businesses, especially in the field of tourism. They are powerful, flexible, light and incredibly light (compared to before!) And have a fairly 'battery' battery life. If you need to buy a laptop right now, Ultrabook models deserve top attention (reference: 4 reasons to buy ultrabook for work).

However, until now, Ultrabook has not brought great values ​​as originally expected due to price-related issues (high production costs and scarce supply of raw materials). In addition, manufacturers seem to be quite cautious about this new mobile device, even though Intel has poured $ 300 million into the project.

Windows 8 runs on UltraBook

If you don't really need to buy mobile computing equipment right away, you should wait for a while and can see the price of Ultrabook will decrease to a more attractive level. And don't forget, after the recent big launch of Windows 8, in 2012, there will likely be Ultrabook models running Microsoft's new operating system. Also in 2013, the battery capacity of Ultrabook laptop models will be up to 24 hours.