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Ultrabooks, known for their sleek and portable designs, are keeping traditional laptops relevant amidst the surge of hybrid devices running Windows 8.
1. Best 5 Ultrabooks Right Now
Ultrabooks, known for their sleek and portable designs, are keeping traditional laptops relevant amidst the surge of hybrid devices running Windows 8.
Hybrid devices running Windows 8 may be grabbing attention with their flip, rotate, or detachable designs, but they're not suitable for everyone. Besides, they often come with a higher price tag and limitations like cramped keyboards and less powerful processors.
In short, even with the touch-friendly Windows 8 OS, traditional laptops still have their place alongside tablets and hybrid devices. They've evolved into practical, slim machines commonly referred to as Ultrabooks.
Despite Intel's statement that the final stage in Ultrabook development will only be achieved with the next-generation Haswell platform CPUs released later this year, there are currently many Ultrabooks with Ivy Bridge CPUs that can provide a fairly polished mobile computing experience. Below is a list of the top 5 Ultrabooks compiled by VnReview from the reputable tech site Cnet, sorted by product name.
Some Ultrabooks in the list below come with touch screens. You can opt for a touch screen model to experience Windows 8 more fully, but their prices are usually higher than non-touch screen Ultrabooks with equivalent specifications.
1. Acer Aspire S7
Advantages: Excellent full HD touch screen, sleek and lightweight design, sturdy construction with premium materials.
Disadvantages: Sharp edges for uncomfortable feel, machine tends to get hot, keyboard feels a bit shallow and cramped, low battery life.
Conclusion: Acer demonstrates the ability to design visually appealing hardware with premium materials and high specifications. However, the sharp edges need refinement in upcoming updates.
Why it stands out: We've never been bored with the full HD touch screen on the Aspire S7, feeling like Acer fused a keyboard onto a tablet, with a high-resolution display. Of course, it's still a complete Windows 8 Ultrabook, not just a multimedia entertainment device.
Touch support: Standard Full HD touch screen
See more technical specifications of the Aspire S7 here.
Price in the Vietnamese market is around 30 million dong.
2. Asus Zenbook Prime UX31A
Advantages: Sleek, attractive design, full HD display, long battery life.
Downsides: High price, shallow keyboard.
Conclusion: The Asus Zenbook UX31A is the sleekest and smallest in Asus's 13-inch Ultrabook lineup. But for just $200 more, you can own the Zenbook UX32VD with a more powerful processor and graphics.
Why it stands out: With a razor-thin design, aluminum chassis, and full HD resolution screen, the Zenbook Prime meets all the expectations of a premium Ultrabook. Asus has also improved the multi-touch touchpad drivers to make it more accurate than previous versions.
Touch support: Asus Zenbook UX31A Touch version.
Price in the Vietnamese market is around 30 million dong.
3. Dell XPS 13
Pros: The 13-inch screen is wrapped in glass within a smaller-than-standard frame, exquisite design, eye-catching, and powerful at an affordable price.
Cons: No HDMI port, no microSD card slot, shorter battery life compared to other lightweight laptops.
Conclusion: Dell squeezes a 13-inch screen into the very small frame of the XPS 13 Ultrabook, making it one of the few laptops thinner and lighter than the MacBook Air in some aspects.
Why it stands out: If the XPS 13 had a better screen, we'd surely rank it as the top Ultrabook of 2012. And recently Dell has decided to change, updating the XPS 13's screen with a 1920x1080 px resolution, Ivy Bridge CPU, and SSD. Only regretfully, Dell didn't go further by offering a touchscreen version of the XPS 13.
Touch support: None.
Readers click here to see more detailed reviews of the XPS 13.
The price range for the XPS 13 is approximately 19 to 29 million dong.
4. Lenovo X1 Carbon
Advantages: Lightweight carbon fiber chassis, high-resolution matte screen, sturdy construction, excellent keyboard.
Disadvantages: Expensive, basic model lacks Ethernet and video output adapter accessories, battery life still not high.
Conclusion: Aside from the somewhat limited battery life, the ThinkPad X1 Carbon has improved significantly over its predecessor in all aspects. However, its price remains too high.
Why it stands out: The ThinkPad X1 Carbon blends the classic design of the ThinkPad line with the latest, highest-quality materials often used to design laptops. It's so light that sometimes you forget it's a large, 14-inch laptop.
Touch Support: The Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Touch version.
Click to reference detailed review of the ThinkPad X1 Carbon.
Prices in the Vietnamese market range from 37 to 40 million dong.
5. Toshiba Portege Z930
Why it stands out: Based on the design template from 2011 (Portege Z830), but the Portege Z930 (with Ivy Bridge CPU update) is still a great Ultrabook. Besides the super slim and light chassis, its battery life is also excellent. The keyboard and screen may need improvement, but business customers will find all the useful features on the Z930, especially the rich connectivity ports including Ethernet.
Touch Support: None.
Price range without VAT for Z930 in Vietnam is approximately 27 to 35 million dong.
(Source: vnreview.vn)
