If last week's Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas is any indication, "ultrabooks" are poised to be the hottest laptop category this year.
An "ultrabook" is a new category of incredibly thin and lightweight laptops – "ultraportable," if you will -- that also benefit from a powerful processor.
In other words, there's no trade-off between size and performance as there was just a couple of years ago with small but underpowered netbooks.
A term coined by Intel, "ultrabooks" not only have a fast processor to handle demanding tasks – such as video editing and smooth multitasking – but they also enjoy long battery life, too (once the Achilles' heel of laptops).
At CES, Intel announced more than 75 ultrabooks were it he works for 2012, most of which will house a Core i5 processor, capable of sipping rather than gulping electricity. Most offer at least 8 hours on a single charge.
Ultrabooks also benefit from Intel Rapid Start, a proprietary technology that uses flash memory embedded in the Intel chipset to improve boot-up times considerably.
Some believe the increasingly popularity of tablets had a direct influence on the creation of ultrabooks, as consumers wanted something thinner and lighter to tote around, with a high-powered but low-voltage processor. It would also be remiss not to draw comparisons to Apple's successful line of MacBook Air computers – ultrabooks might be considered a Windows-based version, but many PC makers are adding their own unique spin to the form factor.
At CES, HP unveiled the gorgeous glass-covered Envy 14 Spectre ultrabook with multiple wireless radios under the hood (launching next month), while Lenovo debuted its IdeaPad Yoga, a flexible ultrabook that can swivel into a tablet 9due out later in the year).
I mentioned there were no trade-offs between size and performance but be aware there might be something you're giving up with ultrabooks – and it might be an important consideration for businesses. Most ultrabooks use SSD (flash) memory instead of a HDD (hard drive), which means less storage for all your programs and files. But with "cloud computing" becoming a big trend, it may mean less locally-stored files anyway.
Therefore, if you enjoy carrying around many thousands of documents, presentations or media (photos, videos, etc.) you might opt for a laptop with a hard drive instead.
Lightweight SSD-based computers also contribute to the fast boot-up times and zippy performance, not to mention the lack of rotating magnetic disks means it also helps extend battery life and makes the PC more durable, too.
Also be aware most ultrabooks do not have an optical drive, so you can't run software on a CD-ROM or burn a DVD – unless you opt for an external optical drive that plugs into the ultrabook's USB port. Personally, I haven't used my DVD burner in my laptop in nearly three years, so I wouldn't miss it.
As you might expect, prices for ultrabooks are higher than standard laptops –something budget-conscious businesses must keep in mind, especially if they're handing them to multiple employees -- but prices will inevitably come down over time.
