But Acer is not satisfied with the low end niche, and this year they’ve announced yet another Ultrabook – the Aspire S5 – which definitely fits into the high end profile, bringing several features that are absent on the competition, at a price of course.

Design

The design of the Aspire S5 is pretty unassuming at a first glance, but you notice that the laptop is something special as soon as you take a closer look. It doesn’t remind of the MacBook Air, either, which is a good thing, but the design may seem a bit too simple to some people. The whole housing is made of a magnesium alloy, making it much sturdier than the Aspire S3 and making the extreme 15mm thinness possible, as well. The Aspire S5 is actually the thinnest Ultrabook on the market – it’s very impressive to see just how slim it is!

But Acer didn’t forego any of the important ports that a laptop needs to have – instead, they used a special port panel that opens on the back to accommodate them, since they wouldn’t even fit anywhere else. The company calls it the MagicFlip I/O port panel, which is an accurate name, but the mechanical nature of it can make some people wary since it looks like it can easily break – I don’t think that’s the case under normal use, but I do think it could get damaged quickly if you drop the laptop (then again, the port panel would be the last of your worries in that case).

Hardware features and performance

The selection of ports is good for an Ultrabook, but may be too small for power users – there are two USB 3.0 ports, a HDMI out port, a Thunderbolt port and a 3.5 mm audio jack – that’s pretty much it. The display is a fairly standard 13.3 inch LCD unit with the 1366×768 pixels resolution, which is not all that comfortable for intensive work, but it’s good enough for everyday use. The keyboard is also a pretty standard chiclet style one, with short travel and flat keys, which is good enough for normal use but not for writers, that’s for sure.

The performance of the Aspire S5 should be pretty high compared to the current generation of Ultrabooks thanks to the new Ivy Bridge processors that the laptop will be using. Acer hasn’t confirmed the models they will be using, but it’s safe to assume it will be a Core i5 or i7 or an option between the two. The S5 will also have 4 GB of RAM and a 128 or 256 GB SSD – also standard fare for an Ultrabook. According to the manufacturer, the battery life will be up to three times as good as the S3 (which lasts about 4-5 hours) – that is pretty impressive if it turns out to be true.

Availability and Price

The Acer Aspire S5 will be available sometime this spring, most likely in April-May, seeing as Intel will be officially launching the Ivy Bridge processors around that time, as well. The pricing has yet to be established, but judging by the specs, we can expect the S5 to cost around $1000-1200 – not the cheapest Ultrabook, but it may be worth it.

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But now they’re ready to get in on the new action, and one of the first things that they announced at CES 2012 were a couple of Ultrabooks, among which the T430u stands out as being both very slim and light and having enough hardware power and features to compete even with full-fledged laptops, while still not being overpriced.

The T430u is of course part of the ThinkPad series, which means it’s made for business, and as such it has everything a professional may need. The build quality is pretty high, and there’s a little surprise waiting for you (especially if you’re a fan of the series and know how they’re built) when you take a closer look at it – instead of the usual ThinkPad metal frame with rubbery plastic on the outside, the T430u is made fully out of metal, just like the MacBook Air and the other Ultrabooks, but there are no shiny or brushed parts to be seen anywhere, because Lenovo covered everything with a special paint that feels just like the soft touch plastic on the previous models – very ingenious might I say.

The design of the T430u is subtly more modern than the other business ThinkPads, with the islet keyboard, big touchpad and slightly sleeker overall look being noticeable when you first open the lid. The red accents, hardware mouse buttons above the touch pad and the touch stick remain, and they’re just as good as on any other ThinkPad – after all, this is what the model is known for best.

The laptop is 21mm thick and 4 pounds heavy, which puts it a bit over Ultrabook specs, but you can forgive that if you consider the price and more importantly, the selection of ports, which includes an Ethernet port, a HDMI out port, an SD card reader, two USB 3.0 ports and an audio jack. There’s also a hidden SIM card slot, and a fingerprint reader on the side of the laptop for quick authentication.

There will be two options for the 14 inch display – the standard 1366×768 panel and a high resolution 1600×900 pixels panel, which would make a better choice for any serious work. There is still no word on the final internal hardware specs, but the T430u will be shipping with a Core i5 or i7 processor (the new Ivy Bridge 22nm chips, so there will be plenty of power to go around), 4 or 8 GB of RAM and a 128 or 256 GB SSD – pretty much the standard choices that you’d expect to have on an Ultrabook.

The price of the Lenovo ThinkPad T430u will be lower than its brother’s, the X1 Hybrid, starting at $849 – that is a pretty low price point for the quality, and the first units will start shipping in the third quarter of 2012, so it’s quite a while until we actually see them in users hands.

image source: Engadget

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Budget Ultrabooks with a unibody finish

The IdeaPad U310 and U410 are here to fulfill that niche, and it looks like they will be able to do very well, indeed. Both of these Ultrabooks have a unibody construction and a design that very closely resembles the MacBook Pro – I’m guessing that Lenovo saw that Apple doesn’t react to all the copies and decided to go all out on this. I’m personally not complaining (an ultraportable running Windows and costing half the price of a MacBook Air? Sign me up!), but some Mac users and Apple fans might have a problem with that.

As the name kind of suggests, the U310 and U410 have a 13 and 14 inch display, respectively. They look pretty good, but the resolution is the same 1366×768 pixels on both, so the picture is slightly better on the 13.3 inch model because of the higher pixel density. It’s not too noticeable, but it’s there. The keyboard and touch pad are pretty much the same size and style on both laptops, as is the selection of ports for that matter.

Relatively thin and light, with a decent processing power

The IdeaPad U310 is understandably smaller, thinner and lighter – it’s 18 mm thick and weighs 1.7 kg, which is not as good as other Ultrabooks, but the low price and high build quality is worth it. The U410, on the other hand, is 21 mm thick and weighs 1.9 kg, but besides the bigger display, it also adds a dedicated graphics adapter.

The performance in general should be the same on both Ultrabooks, with both having the same options for a processor – a Core i3 or i5 CPU with an integrated Intel HD 3000 graphics adapter and 4 GB of RAM. The storage space ranges from a 64 GB SSD to a 500 GB hard drive, and the battery life is about 8 hours on both models.

The IdeaPad U410 will provide the better 3D and graphics performance, thanks to the dedicated GeForce 610M chip with 1 GB of video memory – you can even play older games in high quality on this card. Both laptops have two USB ports, a HDMI out port, and Ethernet jack, a 3.5 mm audio jack and an SD card reader, which is actually more than some competitors offer.

Coming soon at a very low price

The U410 will cost $700 in its basic configuration, which is definitely not bad for such a laptop, and the U310 is supposed to have about the same price. The Ultrabooks will also be available in different colors (Aqua Blue, Ruby Red, Sapphire Blue or Spearmint), which is great if you’re tired of the usual gray finish, and they should come to market in the following months (first to the UK, then to other countries).

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The Series 9 Ultrabook is easily the most impressive Ultrabook on the market – it combines great features and high performance with a very sleek design that doesn’t remind everyone of the MacBook Air (as is the case with most other manufacturers and their Ultrabooks) – it’s almost in a class of its own. Now it seems that the time has come for the popular notebook to get an upgrade, with Samsung demonstrating the second generation of the Series 9 Ultrabook at CES 2012 – and it’s really something.

The new Series 9 comes in three sizes – 13.3 inches, 14 inches and the elusive 15 inch version, all of which are simply awesome. The design has been altered, with Samsung going for a unibody construction, which let them reduce the thickness and weight of the laptops even further, but took away a bit of the uniqueness of the first model. Still, the new Series 9 do not remind of the MacBook Air – there are plenty of unique points, and that is quite surprising, as most of the times Unibody=Air, so Samsung should really be applauded for doing the impossible here.

image source: Dan_h

The 13 inch version is only 12.9mm thin at its thickest point with the lid closed, which is really impressive, while the 14 inch version is just a bit thicker at 14.9mm – still thinner than anything else on the market. The weight of the 13 inch version is only 2.5 pounds, which is also quite an achievement. The display bezel is very narrow, which allows for the displays to fit inside a smaller chassis, making these Ultrabooks very portable while not giving up screen real estate. All models have a 1600×900 pixels display – Samsung has finally decided that 1366×768 resolution units weren’t worth it, which is a good choice.

The hardware features and performance of the refreshed Series 9 Ultrabooks remain at the same high level as its predecessors, with Core i5 and i7 processors and 4 or 8 GB of DDR3 RAM providing the performance, a 128 or 256 GB mSata SSD providing the storage space and Intel’s own HD Graphics providing the video and 3D capabilities, which are pretty good on the Sandy Bridge CPU’s. There’s also word that the line could get Ivy Bridge processors by the time they’re released, but it hasn’t been confirmed.

The ports selection has changed a bit, with the new Series 9 having 2 USB ports (USB2.0/USB3.0) and an audio jack plus of course the usual Wifi and Bluetooth, as well as Intel’s WiDi adapter (instead of HDMI, apparently). That could be a problem for some users, but most people will like the extra USB port.

The price will start at around $1500 – that’s what you pay for the best Ultrabooks on the market, and frankly, they’re definitely worth it considering how good the first Series 9 Ultrabooks are.

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Samsung has been quite active at CES 2012, announcing a wide range of products, including several new laptop series and a lot of upgrades to existing models. One of the most interesting offers was the Samsung Series 7 Gamer – as the name suggests, these laptops are meant for gaming and going by the design and hardware specs, they definitely look like they can take on the popular Alienware series from Dell.

The Series 7 Gamer has been available in some countries for more than 6 months now, but the new update brings a lot of improvements, as well as a release in the United States. The design hasn’t changed much – the laptop reminds a lot of the older Samsung laptops, with fake brushed aluminum finish, straight corners and relatively slim profile for a gaming machine. The build quality is very high and there’s little flex, even though the laptop is made mostly out of plastic. There will be a few different colors available, as well – orange, red and gray, which also mirrors the Alienware gaming laptop models.

The internal hardware has received a few pretty major upgrades, as well as a sort of downgrade: users will no longer be able to get the 3D display that the first model had as an option – I don’t know the reason behind this, but it’s most probably because of lack of interest from buyers (not many would want 3D on such a small display). The display that is available is quite nice, though – it has a 1920×1080 pixels resolution, 300 nits of brightness and white LED backlighting and it should be more than enough for gaming.

The backlit keyboard, which surprisingly isn’t chiclet style like most other new laptops, has a different color for the WASD keys to aid when gaming in the dark, and it feels quite good – it can easily be used for typing and work, when you’re not playing games, which is great news for those who want a great all-in-one laptop. The touch pad is big and has a radial finish, which looks nice but not noticeable when you actually use it, but obviously, gaming with it won’t be that great of an experience.

On the side of the laptop, you’ll notice a dial (it stands out a lot, actually), which is used to switch between four different modes: Gaming, Balanced, Green and Library, all of which change several settings to make the experience better in each case (the gaming mode disables the Windows key, so you won’t jump out of the game by accidentally pressing it).

Now, for the main course: the new Series 7 Gamer will use Intel’s all new Ivy Bridge processors, which are faster and more energy efficient than the current Sandy Bridge CPUs. For the graphics, a Radeon HD 6970M or NVidia GeForce GTX 670 will provide the power, and the laptop has a powerful JBL audio system with a subwoofer integrated inside, as well as a big 5900 mAh battery that should last a couple of hours of gaming.

As you can see, the new Samsung Series 7 Gamer laptop is quite impressive, and despite all the new hardware that Samsung crammed inside, the price will be kept under $2000 – the base configuration will cost $1799 in the US, actually, which is definitely a great deal for a gaming laptop.

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A very nicely built device capable of competing with the other Ultrabooks

Dell is no stranger to ultra slim laptops, as their Latitude XT series can prove (the XT3 is a marvelous convertible tablet, by the way), and the XPS 13 can easily compare with the other Ultrabooks on the market. It has some drawbacks, as well, but what device doesn’t?

On the outside, the XPS 13 looks quite nice – it’s got a design that reminds a lot of the recent XPS 14z and 15z, with rounded corners and a very specific chiclet keyboard with a unique font for the letters/numbers (you sure won’t mistake it for anything else than a Dell, and I guess they were going for just that). The whole body is made out of a metal alloy, so it’s pretty sturdy, although it’s not on the same level as the MacBook Air or other unibody laptops.

Thin and light, with hardware similar to that of the competition

The laptop is wedge shaped, with the thickest point being 18mm (at the hinges) and the thinnest 6mm (at the palm rest), which is well within Ultrabooks specifications. The XPS 13 also weighs only 3 pounds, which is light enough to carry it all day long in a bag without much problems.

The 13.3 inch display is nothing special – just another 1366×768 LCD unit, but it should be good enough for most people, and there’s no option for a higher resolution screen. The processing power is provided by a Sandy Bridge Core i5 or i7 processor with an integrated Intel HD 3000 graphics adapter and 4GB of RAM (upgradeable to 6GB and I believe 10GB if you do it yourself) and a 128 GB or 256 GB SSD.

There’s also the omnipresent Wifi and Bluetooth adapters, two USB ports, a MiniDisplay port, one 3.5 mm audio jack, an SD card slot, as well as a pretty big battery that should last about 7-8 hours, according to Dell. This is consistent with what all the other Ultrabooks offer, minus of course, the HDMI port – that’s a weird decision on Dell’s part, but maybe they thought the MiniDisplay port should suffice.

Smart Connect, Rapid Start, 8 hours battery life – all for $999

The Dell XPS 13 supports Intel’s Smart Connect and Rapid Start features, as per specifications, but I don’t really see them being all that useful, especially with Windows 8 having something similar inbuilt. The XPS 13 will be shipping with Windows 7 however, which makes them more relevant.

The base model will cost only $999, which is definitely on the low side for a well built, metal Ultrabook that looks nice and is quite powerful, but if you deck it out with a Core i7, 256 GB SSD and 6 GB of RAM, you’ll have to pay extra, of course.

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While the Edge series is still part of the ThinkPad line, they have a slightly different design that still keeps the overall understated and professional feel, yet is less repulsive than the usual black square bricks that IBM and later Lenovo released – and let’s be honest, they’re pretty darn ugly, even though they’re among the most reliable and powerful laptops in the world.

The Edge series is characterized by round edges, island style keyboards, big touch pads and glossy displays (or more precisely, glass-covered), and the ThinkPad Edge S430 has all of that incorporated into it, which makes it look and feel pretty nice. In fact, I’d say that the S430 looks a lot like a black MacBook Pro – it certainly has the same overall lines, and if not for the unibody construction on Apple’s laptop (the S430 is also made mostly out of metal, with an aluminum palm rest and lid, by the way), it would be quite hard to tell the difference.

The internal hardware is just as good as the external design: the S430 will be using Intel’s all new Ivy Bridge platform, which is faster than the current Sandy Bridge platform, yet the chips will consume about 20-30% less power thanks to the new 22nm architecture and the tri-gate transistor design. That’s pretty impressive and great news for anyone who needs their laptop to last longer on batteries – users will be able to get 5-7 hours out of a charge easily on the Edge S430.

The actual processor models that the laptop will be using haven’t yet been announced, but it’s fairly certain that they will be the normal voltage dual core i5 and i7 chips, with integrated Intel HD graphics adapter, which has also made quite a leap in performance. Judging by the size of the heatsink and vent, the processor will be very well cooled – that’s a trademark ThinkPad design, actually, and it’s good to see it continuing. For RAM memory, the S430 will be using DDR3 modules at 1333 MHz – standard fare, but more than enough for any tasks at the moment.

The display however, is a letdown – the standard 13.3 inch unit will have a paltry 1366×768 pixels resolution, and it’s unknown whether Lenovo will be offering a higher resolution option (I hope they do, though). Among the selection of ports and expansion options, the ThinkPad Edge S430 will have 2 USB 3.0 ports, a HDMI out port, Intel’s new Thunderbolt port, an Ethernet jack, SD card reader and of course, a 3.5 mm audio jack. There’s also the integrated optical drive, which I’m sure many people will immediately replace with a hard drive using Lenovo’s or a third party ODD caddy (who uses DVD or even Blu-Rays nowadays, anyway?).

Overall, the ThinkPad Edge S430 looks like a great choice for anyone who wants an affordable and powerful machine for resource intensive work on the go – it’s not quite an Ultrabook, but it’s definitely close. Oh, and the price will start at $899 – told you it was affordable!

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