ULTRABOOKS SALE – What are Ultrabooks?

Ultrabooks are one of the newest forms of mobile computing to hit the market recently, and whilst tablets will continue to occupy their own section of the market for a long time to come, ultrabooks look set to put the rather outdated netbooks to sleep once and for all. So what is the exact definition of an ultrabook? Let’s take a little look.

An ultrabook is simply a standard for computers put forward by Intel, although they are developed by multiple different computer manufacturers, some of the more popular ones which have jumped on the bandwagon recently include Asus and Samsung with many more expected to follow suit pretty soon. In order to be classed as an ultrabook then you will need to agree with the standard that Intel have laid out, the required standard has changed with each new release of the Intel mobile platform due to the fact that computer technology is rapidly evolving. One thing is for certain though, each change guarantees the ultimate level of mobile computing. All of the standards share pretty much the same key points, so let’s see what usually defines an ultrabook:

• They must all include low-power Intel Processors as well as integrated graphics chips.

• 18mm maximum thickness for ultrabooks which have 13.3” displays, 21mm for 14” and 23mm for convertible tablets.

• Return from hibernation state within 7 seconds.

• Solid State storage. The most recent ‘standard’ dubbed Chef River states there must be at least 80MB/s transfer rate and a 16GB capacity storage minimum.

• USB 3.0 Ports.

• Minimum of 5 hours battery life.

If all of these standards are met then you will end up a device that is a much better performer than any of the netbooks currently out there on the market. It is this high amount of performance, with the lowest amount of power consumption that sets apart ultrabooks and netbooks, and since the prices are not much more expensive for ultrabooks it is anticipated that netbooks will slowly be killed off, particularly as you can probably net yourself a real bargain on earlier incarnations of this particular style of notebook, and you can be sure that you are still going to be getting a fairly capable device.

The amount of storage space available on a ultrabook is a lot better than a netbook as well. This is down to the fact that ultrabooks utilize solid state hard drives as opposed to the classic style which can be found on netbooks. This not only means that the body of the computer is much sturdier, but also that it boots a lot faster.

In addition to this, ultrabooks are generally much thinner and lighter, which makes them much easier to carry around. The heaviest ultrabook is only around 1.5kg whereas netbooks can go up to weights that are well above this.

More and more manufacturers are moving away from netbooks and over to ultrabooks for portable computing. It is worth checking out a couple, perhaps even looking into some promotions and taking your pick. It is suggested that if you want a device that will stand the test of time (whilst still look absolutely fantastic!) you should choose an ultrabook!

What are the top 3 ultrabooks?

The concept of the ultrabook has taken the world by storm, Intel probably didn’t realise the amount of impact they would have on the computing world when they designed their specification. This has resulted in a number of top manufacturers competing it out for a bit of the ultrabook pie, however, like anything, when there are a number of companies on the scene it can be difficult to decide which computer will be the best one for you. The models that are going to be highlighted in this article are generally regarded as some of the best on the market, and therefore they would make an ideal starting point for somebody wishing to take advantage of the many sales and promotions at the moment and purchase a new ultrabook computer.


The HP Folio 13-1020us is one of the cheaper models on the market, however that doesn’t mean that it is one of the worst performing. If you are on a budget then this will be the ideal starting point for you. Unlike most other cheap ultrabooks on the market, HP have no compromised in their specification, you will find all of the required ports that you need to carry out your general computing activities, something which is missing from a few of the more expensive devices on the market. The device boots up fully in under 25 seconds, and you can return it from sleep within 3 seconds, well under Intel’s specification. It also boasts a battery life of over 9 hours, which is a rather large feat. The only real downside is that the display is slightly dim and a bit heavier (although only ounces!) over other ultrabooks, however, you do get what you pay for, and then some more when you purchase this particular notebook computer.


If you are still working with a budget, but want something slightly sexier then you can do much worse than turning to the Asus Zenbook UX31-RSL8 which just oozes sexiness. It has built in USB3.0 ports which means it is well up to date on technology. It is much lighter than the previous model I mentioned, and weighs a lot less. There is one aspect where the HP Folio takes it though, and that is the fact with this device you need a dongle for your Ethernet capability, whereas it is built into the folio right out of the box, it also has the small HDMI port instead, this means you may struggle in some circumstances for hooking up devices properly. All in all, this device is one of the best out there despite its failings, during use it boasted a long battery life and fast responses each and every time. This is a serious machine at not much of a serious price. Worth considering!



Now, if you want one of the best of the best then you will most likely want to pay attention to the Samsung Series 9 15-Inch which aims to take on the Macbook Air head on. It is one of the thinnest and lightest devices on the market, and yet despite this, it is also one of the most powerful. The only downside is that there is no HDMI port, although there are a number of USB slots (both 2.0 and 3.0 specifications) as well as a rather nifty SD Card slot to make up for it. It comes with 128GB of storage space, although only 57GB of this is available right away due to the bloat ware, although this is easy to restore. Boot time is a wonderful 17 seconds, and 2.5 seconds sleep awakening time, well below the Intel specifications. If you want a high performing notebook then this is the choice to make, especially with the 7 hours of battery life!

These are pretty much the staple of any computer store, whether it online or offline worth their salt. Therefore you should always be able to find these fantastic ultrabooks on sale. It is worth checking from time to time and you will probably be able to score a fantastic deal which is way below the recommend retail price for these three devices. Remember, this is a just splattering of the many devices currently available, as long as you choose something meets Intel’ specifications then you can really for far wrong.