Ultrabooks – What's on store shelves, what's on the way

After a walking you through the survival story of Ultrabooks in the tab invaded tech world, we thought of bringing ...

After walking you through the survival story of Ultrabooks in the tab invaded tech world, we thought of bringing to you what has been hitting store shelves labelled under this newly found device category. The CES 2012 saw a promising new range of Ultrabooks, while some made their presence felt in late 2011 itself. If the currently available Ultrabooks do not suffice your needs, then you could probably wait, as the year ahead looks promising and we’ve also jotted down what is all set to hit the markets in the near future, going by what has been stated by the spokespersons of leading companies manufacturing Ultrabooks. What’s on store shelves Starting with our own home brewings - Wipro just put on shelves its first Ultrabook dubbed e.go. Aero Ultra, a sleek 14-inch ultrabook posing a 19.3mm thickness. It has been crafted with a 14-inch LED backlit HD display and weighs just 1.7 kg. Running on OEM Windows 7, it come with 4GB memory and 500GB hard disk, along with an isolation keyboard and a large multi-gesture touch pad. This product is a solid partnership between Intel and Wipro with the former’s technologies, like Intel Rapid Start, Intel Smart Response and Intel Smart Connect and obviously Intel Core processor. Depending upon the configuration, it has been priced between Rs.39,900 to sub Rs.49,000. Sleek, stylish design The term ‘ultra’ packs in a lot of strength with portability, battery life and quick start-up, but Lenovo ensures that the chic and good looking attire isn’t given amiss. The company’s IdeaPad U Series ultraportable laptops have been designed for those looking for a stylish and slim PC. The U300s has been crafted from a single piece of aluminum which makes it weight less than 1.3kgs and it has a thickness of 14.9mm. It equips a ‘Breathable Keyboard’, which uses Intel’s Advanced Cooling Technology, while the 13.3-inch screen is HD ready and has LED Backlit. It is powered by Intel’s Core i5 processor with 4GB of RAM and 128GB SSD.  The Lenovo IdeaPad U300s Ultrabook has been priced at Rs.71,990 (Incusive of Tax). The U400 follows on the similar lines, but with a slightly larger 14-inch LED display. It shows off a breathable keyboard, a full-aluminium body and can connect to your HDTV using Intel Wireless Display (WiDi) Technology. Lenovo’s IdeaPad U400 Ultrabook costs Rs.59,990 (Inclusive of Tax). HP taps onto the Ultrabooks segment with the Folio 13, which is known for its slick design, superior battery life, strong security options and solid state hard drive. Fuelled by Intel’s newest Core processors and the Intel Rapid Start Technology, HP’s first for the Indian market is the Folio 13. Measuring less than 0.75-inch thin and embeds an ultra slim 13.3-inch (33.782 cms) diagonal high-definition (HD) BrightView display. Besides the thin and light design, the ultrabook features superior battery life (up to 9.5hrs), good security options and a responsive solid state hard drive to boot. It comes at a starting price of Rs.69,990. As slim as it gets

Asus has its Zenbook series following the Ultrabook trend. The Asus UX31 is powered by the Intel Core i7-2677M with 4GB RAM, posing a slim attire at 1.3kgs. It also embeds a 13.3-inch HD display and runs on Widnows 7 Home Basic operating system.  One will find a 256GB SSD and Intel’s integrated HD Graphics card 3000 onboard. The UX31 comes with the latest Bluetooth Radio 4.0 + HS, Wi-Fi b/g/n, a webcam and Bang and Olufsen ICE power speakers. The Asus Zenbook UX31 is now available for a revised price of Rs.99,999, and click here for its complete review.

Advanced feature-packed

The Acer Aspire S3 Ultrabook made its presence felt last year at the IFA 2011. Weighing 1.4kgs, the device has been embedded with a 13.3-inch screen while the processors range from Intel’s Core i3 to Core i7 and a choice between a 250GB SSD or 320/500GB hard drive with an embedded SSD is available. On the connectivity front, one will find HDMI, SD card reader, Wi-Fi ‘n’ and Bluetooth 4.0 + HSR technology. The base model starts at a price of Rs.49,999.

Highly portable

Samsung has put forth the Series 5 Ultrabooks, featuring 13-inch and 14-inch models. The 13-inch variant is just 14.9 to 17.6mm thin and weighs 1.42kg (with SSD), running on Intel Core i5 processor with 8GB memory, up to 500GB storage and 16GB SSD with ExpressCache. The 14-inch model equips Intel’s Core i5 processor with 8GB memory and 16GB SSD with ExpressCache. It has up to 1TB storage as well as an AMD Radeon HD7550M 1GB graphics card. An integrated optical drive is also installed for maximum convenience. The 13-inch Ultrabook retails at Rs.48,990, while the 14-inch will sell for Rs.54,390.