Top 10 Best Ultrabooks Worth Buying

Ultrabooks are now the hottest trend in 2012 and it is also one of the most important segments in Laptops. An Ultrabook is a higher-end type of subnotebook defined by Intel. Ultrabooks are designed to feature reduced size, thickness and weight without compromising performance and battery life. In short, these are an evolving category of laptops that are incredibly thin, battery-efficient, and use low-voltage processors. Intel has even a minimum specifications for these kind of laptops and it includes the ones are a low-voltage Intel Core processor, a frame no thicker than 0.83 inch, at least five hours of battery life, and fast boot times.

There are has been many ultrabook launches in the recent months and below are some of the best ultrabooks you can buy.

1. Acer Aspire S3:

Acer Aspire S3 series was launched back in October/November 2011 and comes with Core i5 and i7 processors. They feature 13.3 inch display with approx. 6 hours of battery. Acer Aspire S3 have a minimum and maximum thickness of 13.10 mm / 17.50 mm respectively. It is one of the lowest priced ultrabooks available for INR 50,000 (~1000 USD).

2. Asus Zenbook:

ASUS Zenbook UX series comes in 13inch and also 11 inch display. It comes with Intel Core i7-2677M at 1.7GHz, with 4MB cache, and integrated Intel HD 3000 graphics. It is again one of the premium ultrabooks available and comes with good set of features and a 7 hour battery life. The starting price of this series is INR 89,999.

3. Dell XPS 13:

Dell XPS 13 Ultrabook launched recently runs on second generation Intel Core i5 or Intel Core i7 processors and comes with Intel HD 3000 graphics and a bright high definition WLED display. It also features a 128GB or 256GB solid state hard drive. Dell XPS 13 is also one of the ultrabooks with elegant, premium looking design and also metal and carbon fibre chassis. It is available for a price of INR 79,900.

4. HP Folio 13:

HP Folio 13 comes with a 13-inch display with a resolution of 1366×768 and include a 1.6GHz Intel Core i5 processor, 4GB DDR3 RAM, USB 3.0, 128 GB SSD, Intel integrated HD 3000 graphics. Like all the other Ultrabooks, the Folio 13 will run on Windows 7 OS. It comes at a price of INR 69999/- and it isn’t the thinnest of ultrabooks.

5. HP Envy 14 Spectre:

The HP Envy 14 Spectre is a premium ultrabook which comes loaded with features like scratch-resistant glass over its screen, lid and palm rest. It features a 14-inch (1600×900 pixel) display, and runs on a Intel Core i5-2467M processor, with 4GB of RAM and a 128GB SSD (with a choice of a second 128GB SSD available). This ultrabook is priced at INR 99,999. HP offers 9 hour battery life for the Envy 14 Spectre, and it also features USB 3.0, HDMI, Mini DisplayPort, Gigabit Ethernet, Intel WiDi and wireless audio, as well as NFC.

6. Lenovo Ideapad U300:

Lenovo IdeaPad U300S Ultrabook comes with a sleek 13.3-inch screen and measures in with a thickness of just 14.9mm, or 0.6-inches, and weighs in at roughly 1.3 kgs. The body of U300s Ultrabook is made from a single-piece aluminium shell. It includes a 2nd Generation Core i5 processor (with a Core i7 option expected to retail soon as well) with on-chip Intel GMA HD 3000 graphics, a minimum of 4GB of DDR3 RAM, up to 128GB of SSD storage, Bluetooth 3.0 / Wi-Fi 802.11n / USB 3.0 / USB 2.0 / HDMI connectivity, an integrated 720p HD webcam (1.3MP), SRS Sound enhancement, and Intel’s Wi-Di wireless display technology. It starts at a price of INR 67,990.

7. Samsung Series 5:

Samsung Series 5 ultrabooks run on an Intel Core i5 processor with 4GB of RAM, has a matte displays with a 1,366×768 pixel resolution. Samsung 5 series comes in 13-inch and 14-inch models, starting at INR 48,990 and INR 54,390 respectively. For connectivity, the Samsung Series 5 Ultrabook features USB 3.0 and 2.0 pots, multi card reader, HDMI port, Ethernet port, and a dual headphone/microphone jack.

8. LG Z330:

The LG Super Z330 has a 13.3-inch screen with a resolution of 1366 x 768, 4GB RAM, Intel Core-i Processors and 120GB or 256GB SSD. The Z430 has 8GB RAM, 16GB or 128GB SSD with a 500GB HDD. Unlike other ultrabooks which are tapered at one end, the Z330 is 14.7mm thick across the whole chassis. Considering that many Ultrabooks are 17-18mm thick, the Z330 really good when it comes to design and it is also among the lightest Ultrabooks around 1.21kg.

9. Samsung Series 9:

Although the company officially does not call the series 9 an ultrabook, it definitely qualifies for one with its ultra slim design. As for specs, the models offer up to Intel Core i5-2467M and 128GB SSD at launch, coupled with 4GB RAM, and  USB 3.0 and a multi-card reader for connectivity. The series 9 boasts of up to 10 hours for the 15-inch and up to 7 hours on the 13.3-inch. The Series 9 is comes with an ultraslim, aluminium single shell body. The shell has also been sand-blasted for fingerprint resistance.

10. Toshiba Portegé Z830:

Toshiba Portege Z830 comes with an ultra slim design and the device measures a mere 0.63-inches thin and has a 13.3-inch display with a resolution of 1366×768. The ultrabook is powered by an Intel Core i5 processor, 6GB of DDR3 RAM, 128GB SSD, one USB 3.0 port, two USB 2.0 ports, a HDMI port and a display connector. Its backlit keyboard is also spill resistant. For its premium features and lightweight design, it will cost consumers INR 96,290.

2012 is definitely the year of ultrabooks, with new Intel processors expected in June 2012, we will definitely see more of ultrabooks.